Highlights of the First Half of 2006?

Oprah would ask us, “What have you done today to make yourself feel proud?”. Hmm.. I wonder.. “What have I done this year (so far) to make myself feel proud?”

It’s already coming to the middle of the year. The past months have seen me involved in a weird mix of things - for better or for worse. Some people (online) have been asking what I’ve been up to. Let me see what the highlights have been, NON-income related, of course ..

The Magazine Thingy (as in the previous blog post)

As entered in the last blog, I was interviewed by a magazine. A lot of CORRECT info about my past achievements were published in there but suddenly one or two ERRORS were also there which left me quite embarrassed when friends asked me why. Proud? Not quite. People just notice the errors.

The Asia-Pacific Forum Thingy in Japan (as in an earlier blog post)

Then there was the Asia Pacific Youth Forum 2006 held in Japan, where one person was fully sponsored to represent his or her country for about two weeks there. I felt so lucky to find myself representing Malaysia and having all the fun as well.

The Horrible Telemovie Actor

There was also the telemovie I acted in (March-April), which I didn’t tell anyone at first for fear that they might watch it and see my horrible camera acting (it’s so different from theatre) and my ugly short-hair wig (that’s a whole new story). Acting in that telemovie was meant to be just a trying-out thing. Sadly I received many messages from friends and even long-lost friends telling me they watched the movie. I didn’t know RTM was that widely watched.. haha.. But duh.. another embarrassment successfully amplified.

The Publishing of a Book Containing Poems & Other Artsy Fartsy Stuff

A book which contained four poems of mine was launched in PWTC during the big book fair. The press was there, so I got to see a close up of my uncombed “just got out of bed” hair in the newspapers the following week. It was a book-launch attended by National Laureates, arts people like U-Wei Shaary and friends in the writers circle whom I’ve not been in contact with for so long. Had tehh tarik with the whole lot, and chatted about U-Wei’s upcoming film projects..

The Judge with Too Much Hair

Yeah, well, I was invited to judge a debate between PTD Officers in the National Public Administration Institute. At first it felt not right coz there I was with my “drug addict” hairstyle, addressing all these government officials who would climb up the government ladder and one day become heads of this and heads of that. I know I was just being paranoid but hey, it HAS been a long time since I was treated so nicely by government officers, and spotting long hair in that kinda occasion could be seen as inappropriate and so I didn’t want them to think I was ungrateful. Whatever it is, the experience was uplifting. Reminded me of those school-debating years where I tried not to sound too corny in my speeches but still did.

The "SDAR Fifth Formers of ‘96 Reun10n"

There was also the SDAR Batch of 96 (fondly termed “926” for certain reasons) Reun10n (or tenth year reunion). I was so proud of my friends the committee members who organized it. Over 140 of us including teachers attended the dinner. They didn’t just organize a happening dinner, but the whole weekend was filled with activities for the batch as well as the current students of SDAR. From a major treasure hunt to sports and a tug-of-war, from career/motivational talks to an award ceremony for teachers.. The committee even managed to get over 40 of our long-time-no-see teachers (retired, changed schools, etc) to join this reunion. Everyone brought home complimentary “926-Branded” souvenirs & T-Shirts. The spirit and organization was magnificent. I was totally in awe. I truly didn’t deserve the two slots for speeches that they gave me (dinner and career/motivational talk). In fact, I think I‘ve already lost all my speech skills after 10 years! I’ve even lost my ability to stand up straight at the rostrum.

Their Royal Highnesses' "Landmarks of Perak"

So there I was involved in the launch of “Landmarks of Perak”, a beautiful book containing hundreds of paintings and info on many, many buildings and locations in Perak (the NST report on it didn’t get all its facts straight though). His Royal Highness Raja Nazrin Shah published the book and His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah launched it. We had a hall full of VIPs. At least the 5-6 weeks of inviting and listing and sorting and checking and re-checking and re-checking again had paid off..

IS THAT ALL?? Hafta come up with this category then: Pending Stuff

I still need to figure out a way to best contribute to certain projects (which must include writing something for a soft-publication commemorating the 50^th anniversary of my school or else someone might kill me). Then there’s the whole firm development plan.. Enough of being the last fiddle, perhaps.. Oh geesh.. So much sorting out to do.. I shouldn't be here blogging.