I really need to practise...

twas a cool routine we did at class last nite...at least that was what some onlookers thought. but technically challenging for the girls. the whole pushing n pulling n tension n all will only work if the guy's leads were equally strong. didn't help that some of the guys in class were softer than goosefeather pillows & a couple of others were treating their partners like roti canai. so bosongggg...

i struggled with the moves but managed to get it right in the end. thot i got everything down pat when a partner change got me paired up with cikgu aisha. she nodded n nodded her approval on my moves till the last move which was the usual CBLT...kacang putih stuff to an Intermediate, but cikgu aisha suddenly said "you got a lazy right leg". apparently my right foot stepped backwards too early after completing the turn. i usually ace this move in class n during practice...but then again, i haven't been practising in the studio for almost 2 mths. padan muka ler....

looks like it's gonna be sunday afternoon practice in studio again. sigh...

Twisted Gastronomical Twists

the Chinese will eat almost anything - from newborn rats to pink fat worms to animal genitalia & other unthinkable stuff you can imagine. i beg to differ, but that doesn't mean i've not eaten some pretty weird or disgusting stuff-

coral fish - believe it or not, i was once forced to take this. it wasn't something that i'm proud of & i told myself i won't do it again. nemo will always look cuter in water than in my stomach.

black egg - back in 2004 i visited the Owakudani Valley in Japan....it's a volcanic area with many hot springs. one of the specialties there were eggs boiled in the hot springs itself. the mineral content of the spring water was so high that the eggshells turn black by the time the eggs are cooked. i bought one & it took almost a whole day before i was convinced enough to eat it -

It's really an egg....

.......still not convinced???? .........


.....point proven. note the teeth marks muahahahaaa............

super-contaminated, half-raw pork - happened during my college days when bbq parties were the rage. the grill was set up in a backyard which was so dark that torchlights were used to "illuminate" the food, which made it worse coz we couldn't see if the meats were cooked right thru or just burnt on the outside. unfortunately for me, the piece which i took was the latter & let me tell u...when food is prepared at a rented house with no fridge, rest assured that it's party time for those unicellular critters called bacteria.

in the middle of the nite i was throwing up, running fever & chills n basically feeling like a shithole. went to the clinic like 4 times over the next 7 days but nothing which went down my throat stayed down...not even a mouthful of water. i had to sleep on a reclining chair as that's the only way i could keep from puking. the olympics were on that year...and rtm/tv3 just HAD to telecast weightlifting events the whole day. let me tell you, pot-bellied bald men in tights doing the clean 'n jerk are not a turn-on....more so when your stomach is on strike.

"i demand to be released!! i'm innocent. the bacteria made me do it"...

by the 7th day, my mom got so worried that she even went to consult a temple medium who confirmed that i wasn't possessed by something. she then took the last resort of going to a chinese herbal shop n bought me something called pin tsai wong in chinese....a herbal anti-toxin. it was in cube form, ground into powder n turned into capsules. 1 cube makes abt 8-9 capsules & they burnt a cool RM90 off the wallet. 1st dosage : 2 capsules each, 2nd dosage after 4 hrs : another 2 capsules....and i was up n running with the appetite of a lion. till today i still swear by that herb. lesson learnt : i can't stomach red meat which is not well-done. ever since that incident i've cut down drastically on porkers, sigh...

bug/worm/some creature-in-a-pea : during my days as an auditor, my assignments can get really stressful so i sometimes munch to beat the stress. on this particular assignment i had this bag of green pea snack with me which i'd grab a few at the same time n pop into my mouth without looking. so happened that 1 of those peas had a dead insect in it (either a bug or a worm). i crushed it in my mouth, it tasted funny but instead of spitting it out, i chose to swallow it....

same symptoms as super-contaminated pork above, it was pin tsai wong to the rescue again. but i was spared of the weightlifters this time 'round...

fresh, live, flying bug - this has gotta top all the above "foods". i was swimming at my condo pool in the early evening, sky getting dark, doing the breaststroke, strong technique n all. then i raised my head above the water, opened my mouth to breathe when i realised that i was in exact collision course with a bug which flew at the same level as my mouth.

hohoho....view from the bug's perspective....

before i could say "holyyy craaaappppp...." the critter's brake system failed & it flew straight into my gaping mouth. as there was no gripping surface at the back of my mouth, it slipped downwards into my oesophagus n ended up contributing to my body's protein stores. it really tasted like crap by the way.

Head up, shoulders out, stomach in!!

i bumped into one of my latin juniors at 1U the other day. got a flash update from him on what's happening to our other latin classmates. as it turned out, the 6 musketeers have now dwindled down to 2, one of the 4 ex-musketeers have broke up with her long-time bf & quit class. i have only been absent from their lives for less than a year, but what a difference 11 mths made.

latin is one of the most technical dance forms i've ever encountered. 5 different dances, each with a personality of its own. in order to dance them well you have to be consistently precise in your moves. all the moves are so sharp (even with the slow rumba...my fave of the 5) which meant that any slack move will be immediately obvious to all. no such thing as grooving or styling (like in salsa....:p) to cover up mistakes.

i belong to the 2-left-feet category which meant that i had to work harder than the rest to be as good. perhaps it was the determination to push myself that left me with a bunion problem and cranky knees (found out from an orthopaedist that i was flat footed, which meant that my knees will take extra blows everytime i stomped too hard). in the end, i had to make the painful decision to quit the dance to preserve my foot & knees. thankfully salsa is a lot more merciful on them. phew....

my latin instructor, the great cikgu henry chan, suffers from what i call "artisticitis" - symptoms include mood swings & the tendency to give stinging comments at the worst possible time. but like any other good teacher, he makes the extra effort to coach students who take the dance seriously & shows pride whenever they done well. he teaches the NATD syllabus & has some of the highest-ranking NATD students in the country.

as i now reflect on those 6 yrs of sweat, cramps & pain, i realise that i've learnt much more than dance. sure, i've learnt a lot on the value of discipline & hard work when it comes to any form of dancing & how to take harsh comments positively, but some of the things that cikgu said in class are also applicable in life :-

1. "Head up, shoulders out, stomach in! You'll look taller & slimmer" (i lost count of the number of times my ponytail got pulled for dropping my head a single inch) ~ always put your best foot forward
2. "Good dancers are not born that way. You have to work hard to be good" ~ give of your best & the best will come back to you
3. "Don't complain that the floor is no good or your shoes are no good, it is you who's not good enough" ~ recognize your own weaknesses & correct them before blaming others
4. "The music is never too fast; you are too slow" ~ the world will continue to change & move no matter what, and you'll have to keep up with it if you don't wanna be left behind

i may not have relished those moments when my ponytail got pulled but thank you cikgu henry, for the lessons in life.

Confessions of a Shutterbug

it has only been about 3 years since i developed an interest in photography. not that i'm up there with the greatest but for a reasonably ignorant photographer, i've had my fair share of moments. my pics have been downloaded quite a number of times dun play play....

during my past vacations i have puzzled some of my travel mates & ppl in my tour group as i always seemed more interested in taking pics of things & scenery rather than myself...sometimes holding strange poses or lying down to get good angles. haih don't they get it...they see themselves like 100 times a day, last thing they want is to see themselves in pics. but i do snap pics of other ppl, the curi-curi ones are the best :p

my current piece de resistance -

I was at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Sydney back in Jan this year...smelled something heavenly & traced the scent to a huge tree with glowing white flowers as big as dinner plates. I would've taken this shot at many other different angles but Mr Bumblebee suddenly got fidgety & turned to face me. So it ended up being a case of shoot 'n run....

and what can i say abt sunrise/sunset shots? it's like capturing a moment in time. no 2 moments are the same...one second late, the earth would've moved & the lighting will be different.

Taken from my bedroom window...

started off with my dad's compact digicam (the dear old man luvs to buy techie stuff but is afraid to use them). it has gone places with me & had given me lots of good pics. i've since graduated to a Rebel 350D, the baby of the Canon DSLR family. suddenly forced to learn basic photography over the Canon website...malufying nye...

opening ceremony for my new toy at the Sepang F1 where i managed to almost freeze the entire F1 fraternity at their top straight-line speeds @ 1/4000 shutter speed. fuuyoh....

Heeeeerrre's Lewis!!!

the SLR offers almost endless shooting possibilities for any newbie. depending on the cam's features & your ability to adjust the cam settings (when using manual mode) the outcome can be pretty interesting. downside ~ if you're really into the hobby the SLR lens can burn a huge hole in your pocket as most of them will cost more than the cam itself :(

will be off to Cambodia soon...and hoping to show all of you some pretty neat temple shots & curi-curi pics...will keep you posted.