Wednesday
spent (almost) the whole day with Dada my love!

- collected my cheque and personalized autographed Steve McCurry 'Potraits' book from Ogilvy.

Inset: For Audra, with best wishes Steve McCurry

is that you turning green? ;)

- headed to Bangsar for abit of window shopping.

- met up with the rest of the girls at Pelita for buka

- went to Starbucks Uptown for coffee with Dada while the rest of the girls went to Asia Cafe in Subang.

- Nadia and Ian joined us. had a look-see at what the Uptown night market had to offer since we haven't been before.

- chilled at Dada's place. watched some telly and laughed at some people. good stuff!

Thursday

- went to Subang Parade to look for (VERY last minute) Raya outfits. MAN have prices increased!! sigh.

- A little over a year ago, dad bought me an Apple iBook G4 for my birthday cum graduation present. came to about RM6000+ with a 20GB iPod. so it was all whoopee and confetti.

didn't even use it for the first half of the year. started to use it heavily when my bro-in-law gave me this Webbit contraption. realised the ibook was giving me abit of a problem (ie. the internet browser would just close by itself) but didn't think too much of it. fast forward to a month back..my ibook just refused to switch on so i sent it to the Mac shop in OU last week.
so today i got a call from this guy called Joe from the MacAsia service center. turns out they need to replace my motherboard. the damage? RM3000. the hell i was gonna pay that much..i just bloody got it!! FOUTRE APPLE! go tell all your friends..and your friends friends..Apple is SHIT. i mean the whole reason why I didn't mind splurging on a piece of white junk in the first place was because i expected the iBook to live up to the rave reviews it got..quality my foot! f!#$@!g ripoff!

Friday

- Adiboo's birthday! broke fast at Pearly's.

- Halloween thingamajig @ Salsa Havana. Sam (that's my instructor) got me my devil horns..so nice! had a smashing time :) even got a consolation prize from Glen - a bottle of wine! pity i don't drink (well not this month at least heh), so gave it to Viv.

Aisha, Me & Sam..i look like a snel!

Saturday

- spent the whole damn day at the salon (from 12pm - 6.40pm). and Mrs Leong persuaded me to get the latest color-design by her daughter Lisa (renowned L'Oreal hair colorist in KL) which she did for Amber chia. so now i look like a frikkin ahlian. BLEH! je regrette!

- joined parents for buka at the club. i hate standing and waiting for food. buffets are the bane of my existence.

Sunday

- went to Subang Parade again to get my outfit.

- went out for mamak dinner with Viv. realised that in all the 9 years we've known each other, we never ever went for a mamak session together!

- planned to go for a late nite movie at OU.

- upon arrival, saw the carnival beside OU and got all excited.

- went for carnival.

- spent RM10 on tokens which basically got us in for 2 rides. hah! wanted to check out the House of Horror but then it looked rather dodgy (scary carnie guy!) and since it was just us two gals..some other time perhaps :P was not too bad actually, just mind the loud fengtau music!

- had strawberry sundae, french fries and coke from McDs and chilled outside my house.

Will prolly be busy-er this coming week preparing stuf for raya (ie. peeling onions..coz that's all i'm good at heh). would have to sort out my room as well for the open house..bleh. can't wait for rayaaa..lemang and rendang people..wheee!

"I start to feel like I can't maintain the facade any longer, that I may just start to show through. And I wish I knew what was wrong. Maybe something about how stupid my whole life is. I don't know. Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to keep on keeping on?.. I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't. I don't want any more vicissitudes, I don't want any more of this try, try again stuff. I just want out. I've had it. I am so tired. I am twenty and I am already exhausted."

Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel.

woe is me.

bleh. going through my usual phase of anti-socialism. i'm in a rut.

oh come quick raya..perhaps all i need are some good raya choons. the hell did they go to?? i demand radio stations and tv channels to play more raya songs NOWW *searches for raya mp3s to get into the mood* i'm SO not feeling it this year. how shit is that?

fasting has been pretty crap as well. my biological clock is messed up..i sleep at unearthly hours and i wake up like way past noon..that's not good fasting! i'm sleeping waaay too much as well. and then i feel guilty coz my theses is not getting anywhere. can't help it, every proposal (well i've only submitted one thus far) needs some changes which in turn needs the dean's approval..which is hell coz i can only get back to him next week. this endless changing of methodology is not helping!! dada...i need a good bitching sessionnn :(

me on most days these days.

In other news, am missing Dewi (that's my sister for you unknowing folk). Anna came down with Alik and Alia today. Pearly dropped by with Adib...only you were not here! ok maybe playing raya songs was not a bright idea afterall. sigh. also looks like the London trip in Nov will not be happening as planned and is prolly a good thing too. I should prolly let the drama die down before visiting certain er..people. double sigh. oh well. next year, I promise..

Do not give in too much to feelings. An overly sensitive heart is an unhappy posesssion on this shaky earth .

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thursday October 20, 2005
PM's wife dies after bout with breast cancer
From The Star Newsdesk

PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Endon Mahmood died at 7.55 am today at the Prime Minister's official residence in Putrajaya after fighting a long battle with cancer.
Endon, 64, breathed her last about 18 days after returning from undergoing a treatment for breast cancer in Los Angeles, United States.
She is survived by two children.



First it was Datuk Azmi Khalid's wife - Datin Yasmin Abdullah, a dear family friend. Now, it was our Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's wife - Allahyarham Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood. Both succumbed to cancer.

Can't say we didn't see this coming though. Mi familia (being the skeptical medics that they are) predicted a while back that it didn't seem like long till she would be stopping the treatments. Once they heard she was leaving Los Angeles, it would only be a matter of time. I am pretty sure Pak Lah and family were well aware of this too. My heartfelt condolences goes out to them..

I first got news regarding the death of Malaysia’s First Lady – Arwah Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood, through an online friend. After hearing the news, I stared blankly at the screen for a good five minutes. My brain was articulating for words, but to no avail.

Almost mechanically I got up to my mother’s room and sure enough, the television set was showing solemn scenes from Seri Perdana. I sat down on the bed with my mother and we watched silently.

My dear friend Ifti prodded me to write an eulogy on Arwah to be sent to the Star newspaper seeing as to how I've had the privilege of preparing the PRIDE report (to which, I am sure she would not have seen seeing how she was in Los Angeles when it was completed) for her as well as having seen her in person while working for the PRIDE press conference in May 2005.
Ifti suggested I write on how Endon involved herself in so many activities - specifically PRIDE, how I remember her in PRIDE and my reflections, what her legacy will be- i.e. she'd be a role model for all VIP spouses to take up worthy causes, personal memories e.g. how she probably didnt end up seeing the report I wrote, focus on her breast cancer suffering etc.

I thought hey I could do that..I could say how inspiring and charismatic she was during my brief encounter with her. She cracked jokes and had such a calming persona to her. Had I not known she was ill, none would be the wiser. She carried herself so well, you wouldn't think she was a breast cancer victim.

The more I watched coverage on the day's processions, the many people interviewed on their thoughts and how she touched their lives..I realized, if I did write a tribute to Arwah..I would probably be unable to do justice to it. It would lack depth for one thing. I mean, who am I kidding..I barely knew her! well not more than the average Malaysian would know that's for sure.

So Ifti, I apologize. Your little scribe of a friend here will not be doing the piece :( I just feel that the article should mean something. As much as I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to have seen her in the flesh few months prior to her passing, it probably won't leave much of an impact on most anyway. It would probably be something I tell my grandkids, something personal for me, like finding a secret shop that sells vintage posters..okay i'm aware that I don't make sense right about now *sheepish grin* I guess what I'm trying to say is that somethings are just best left unpublished (and by unpublished I mean print!).

I will be looking forward to reading contributions in the papers over the next few days from people who were profoundly touched by Arwah as it would give me a greater sense of understanding to a lady who undoubtedly, lived everyday as if it were her last and accomplished many great things in her lifetime. Truly an inspiration to us all.

Rest in Peace

Allahyarham Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood

1940 - 2005

it had been requested of me to write in an article for my Uni newsletter based on my practical training experience. i managed to write this in under 3 hours. i know some of you may have read my previous entry regarding my internship, but i have decided to replace that entry with his one. seems abit more holistic and complete. hope you find it to be a good read!


OF INTERNSHIPS & CAREER CHOICES
By Audra Kesumawati Roslani

9 months ago..

My classmates and I were feeling the heat of having to select a company for our internship program, which was part of the Semester 5 syllabus. The pressure was particularly immense on my part, as I wanted to make sure I made the right choice. This was after all, the stepping stone towards my eventual career.

Do I specialize straight away into a corporate company? Select a government office? Or get the overall view of the industry by joining a general PR firm? So many questions! It was however, a no-brainer and I eventually settled for the latter, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide - a major international PR firm in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

Naturally, I was flabbergasted when I heard some of my peers mocking those of us who selected to work in proper PR firms.

“Why did they choose to work in PR firms? Don’t they know the amount of work they would have to do? I want to work in a place with the least hours so I have a longer holiday.”


A+ for attitude and enthusiasm, eh?


6 months ago..

The days leading up to my internship were a mixture of excitement, nervousness and the need to make a good lasting impression. I often found myself day-dreaming about corporate KL - the trendy building I was working at, the sleek beautiful people I saw walk in and out of those doors the few times I was there for interviews, the coffee sessions at Strudels and San Francisco Coffee in the lobby..ooh la la! Who cares if this was an unpaid internship, right?

My first day of work and I was a ball of nerves. Standing uncomfortably in my new work threads and heels (every single day for four months mind you, trés horrible!), I was introduced to everyone and shown to my desk complete with a computer and phone. There were four other interns at the time, all with shorter stints than mine.

The first week was miserable. I had absolutely nothing to do! There were no on-going events, and quite frankly, they had too many interns at the time to delegate what little work there was between all of us. I learned how to compile news clippings though. Hurrah!

Chatting with my classmates on MSN, I started getting upset that I was not getting as much exposure as most of them had received during the first week itself. That and having to adjust to the unforgiving work hours, I fell seriously ill for a week. I kid you not.


Great start..way-to-go Audra!


5 months ago..

By this time, I had graduated from the school of news clippings and had progressed on to more serious matters like operating the photocopier, fax and binding machines. I had it down to a T. I figured, well hey, if all does not go well with PR in the future, I could always operate a stationery shop, no?

Slowly but surely, the workload started to pile up as the other interns started leaving one by one and the peak period for events started to kick off. From working with underprivileged children, to rubbing shoulders with international celebrities, I was lucky enough to have covered a wide variety of events. In a nutshell, here’s a brief summary of some of the events I had the privilege of covering during my four month stint at Ogilvy PR.

i) Mead Johnson Nutritionals 100th Anniversary Celebration
Worked with two orphanages to fete 100 underprivileged children by handing them savings accounts of RM100 each in conjunction with Mead Johnson’s centennial celebration. The press conference and actual celebration were both held at the KL Hilton. The children loved it, the food was great and it was definitely a heartwarming experience to see the smiles on their faces. You could tell it was something they would remember for years to come.

ii) Ford Media Social
One of our clients – Ford Motors, has really good ties with the media because they regularly throw functions for the relevant media to maintain good relations, particularly with the automobile journalists/editors. So this was an okay function, just a little get together for the media with good food, drinks and games held at TGIF, The Curve. It was also a sort of soft launch for the new Ford Ranger.

iii) Nokia Pusat Majudiri Y Leadership Workshop
Nokia – another major client, worked on its corporate philantrophy by contributing towards the hard of hearing society – Pusat Majudiri Y. I worked with some hard of hearing individuals who were participating in the YMCA World Leadership Camp. We invited motivational speakers to come in and help them with leadership, grooming and presentation skills. It was interesting to see how one handles deaf individuals and I found the experience uplifting and inspirational, a good event and an eye-opener of sorts.

iv) An Evening with Steve McCurry and the Nokia N90 workshop
We (and when I say we, I really mean my consultant) managed to rope in Steve McCurry, the American photographer famous for his picture of the Agfhan “Girl with Green Eyes” (who made the cover of National Geographic in 1982) for the launch of the new Nokia N90. There were two separate events:

An Evening with Steve McCurry held at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom, was organised for enthusiasts in the trade, as well as journalists and editors to share McCurry's experiences and listen to him elaborate on how he came about taking various pictures.

Steve McCurry

The Steve McCurry Nokia N90 Workshop was held at Chinoz on the Park in KLCC for a very select group of media. McCurry gave them a few pointers on what made a good picture and later demonstrated what could be done with the N90. Each member of the media was then presented with an N90 phone and given time to take pictures at the KLCC park and indoors with the N90. The pictures were then printed out for McCurry to decide on a winner.

v) PRIDE Art Exhibition and the Walk With PRIDE Gala Charity Dinner

Pink Ribbon Deeds (PRIDE) is an organization chaired by Puan Azrene Abdullah (daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and patroned by Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood.with the aim of raising breast cancer awareness.

PRIDE was perhaps the project that I am most proud of and would like to consider my ‘baby’ in terms of having worked on it from Day 1 until its execution. I was the only intern working on this project with one senior consultant to manage a steady flow of media coverage three months prior to the event, which meant organizing interviews, press conferences, numerous press calls and sending constant press release updates. I even had the honours of preparing Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood, Puan Azrene Abdullah and Datuk Michelle Yeoh’s questions and answers sheet.

An art exhibition was held at the Residences at Ritz-Carlton to raise funds for the cause prior to the dinner. Works included art by breast cancer survivors as well as more renowned artists. Lorraine Hahn of CNN and the Pointer Sisters were among the international celebrities who were present for the event.

Lorraine Hahn

The next day was the actual Walk With PRIDE Gala Charity Dinner which saw the likes of Jackie Chan, the Pointer Sisters, local celebs such as Sheila Majid, Bernard Chandran, Camelia, Shazfinas, the Malai sisters and Anita Sarawak gracing the event. Shamser and Lorraine Hahn were the emcees. Ms Cherie Blair QC was supposed to have made an appearance based on the earlier press conference but due to the recent turn of events, was unable to attend. Each seat was priced at RM10,000.00. A small price to pay to have celebrities and ministers as dining company, and for a very good cause at that!

The Pointer Sisters

Post-event, I compiled a report to be presented to Datin Paduka Seri Endon, which was met with much satisfaction and enthusiasm from my consultants.


A month ago..

What..I was done? Already? Just as I was getting the hang of it too. It was a bittersweet experience, really. For one, I was glad that I could finally get my eight hours of sleep time back. And of course, my feet were relieved too. I was however, slightly disappointed that corporate KL was not what it was hyped out to be.

Don’t get me wrong. I met and learned a lot from people in the industry. I owe an immense amount of gratitude to a certain Ms. Tham Choy Lin for having been more than just a consultant teaching me the ropes of PR and journalism. She was also a confidante when it came to my future qualms regarding my career choices.

The reality of working life hit me like a tonne of bricks. Did I really see myself doing a lifetime of this? How self-fulfilling would it be? Coming from a family of doctors, I felt miniscule. Would I make a difference? Could I save the world? Those old questions I had before I started work were being replaced by more complicated and detailed ones, and the questions only kept growing and evolving with each passing day.

You may think that this is just aimless rambling from a confused twenty-something, but I believe I am not the only one stuck at this crossroad. Many of my peers have these same questions and fears.

I have spent many an hour pondering about what I had to offer based on my skills and interests. And suddenly, it all makes sense. The beauty of PR is that it is applicable anywhere and everywhere. If you are having doubts and think you may have made the wrong choice, fret not - it is not the end of the world. With PR, you could work in a hospital, a dance academy, a TV station, a ministry, a fashion house – for the lack of a better phrase; the world really is your oyster.

What I’m trying to say is, take everything you do into consideration. From your extra-curricular activities right down to your third language degree requirement, never make an uneducated decision. I now see PR as the stepping stone to eventually doing front line work in a particular organization that I currently have my mind set on. Obviously I would need to equip myself with other necessary qualifications before I get there, but at least it is work in progress for now.


At least, that’s one question put to rest.



Idealism is what precedes experience, cynicism is what follows.

David T. Wolf (1943)

It was a smoky, sensual, pulsating night out at a Cuban bar for the audience of Bar At Buena Vista. Keeping the crowd on their toes were 18 legendary musicians from four of Cuba’s most famous acts. FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN writes.

CARLOS Delgado Bustamente was right when he said that a hotel ballroom was “perfect for the show”.The narrator and company manager of Bar At Buena Vista — the much-respected ensemble featuring some of Cuba’s legendary vocalists, musicians and dancers — was drawing comparisons with theatre halls the troupe had performed in during the Asia-Pacific leg of its international tour.

“Normally the show is held in seated auditoriums where people can’t get up and dance because of the regulations (like the fire escape routes shouldn’t be blocked),” he said, shortly after the show’s Press conference recently.But where Cuban music and genres like the rumba, mambo, cha-cha, guaracha are concerned, the absence of dancing is akin to having an opera without lyrics.

Sexy, seductive and sensual, Cuban music is rich with poetic beauty and understated elegance. Even the most rhythmically-challenged individual would be tempted to move to the beat.

ELECTRIFYING: 'Barman' Lucus (in white) and singer Vera (kneeling,centre)

That’s why, despite strict theatre regulations in various venues around the world, “the audience always breaks the rules at the end of the show; they get up and dance,” Bustamente added. Such is the alluring beauty of Cuban music.But no rules were broken at the spacious Hilton Kuala Lumpur ballroom where the performance was held as the RM95 admission price was for standing room only. There were no regulations against drinking and smoking inside the venue.


The glamorous-looking crowd milled about, checking out who was wearing what and wondering if he or she had what it took to set the dance floor on fire. But dance they did. Bustamente probably didn’t expect so much enthusiasm from the audience but during the intermission, the venue turned into a dancing marathon with couples showing off their dancing skills and stamina (or the lack of it).

Oh, it was so inspiring. Salsa dance instructors would have been proud to see their students, with TV crews around to capture the moves on film. Never mind if hair-yanking and pouty lips were NOT part of the dance.

“Cuban dance is about passion and poetry. Sometimes, it’s also about sex. It’s an erotic dance but still elegant and sophisticated because it is about the courting process between a man and a woman,” Bustamente said.

But here, a courting process it wasn’t. Somehow, there was only a fine line between elegant artistry and inflated egos. The crowd was too juiced up after seeing the 50-something Eric Turro Martinez and partner Doreyle “Mora” Betharte locked in a passionate embrace on stage.

Martinez and Betharte are among the four surviving dancers specialising in “son” (an age-old Cuban dance believed to be the root of the more popular salsa. The pair were simply awe-inspiring, with tricky movements that called for a perfect sense of balance.

But the main star of the show was 87-year-old vocalist Reynaldo Creagh. One of the founding members of the renowned Cuban musical ensemble Vieja Trova Santiagera, his heartfelt and earnest performances sent chills down my spine.

Creagh, who specialises in “trova” (a form of Cuban traditional singing), belted out Dos Gardenias, a song about love and flowers, written by a female composer called Isolina Carillo.

In an interview with him earlier, he explained: “It would be unfair to tell you what the song was all about. I don’t know where (the songwriter) Carillo got her inspiration from. The song is about two flowers and love, and she made her artistic connection.

“I am not sure if Carillo received the flowers or she sent them to the man (whom she fancied). But that’s what the song’s about,” he said cheekily, with a Cuban cigar between his fingers.

Indeed, the oldest member of the group charmed his audience with his endearing personality and wit.In between his performances, he sat on his rocking chair on the stage, enjoying his cigars.

“It has always been my dream to come here. I feel so privileged,” he told the cheering crowd during the show, walking stick in hand, before belting out his second song El Paralytico which he dedicates “to all the lovely women in the audience”.

El Paralytico is written by Cuban songwriter Miguel Matamoros specially for Creagh. Towards the end of the slow-tempo tune, the lyrics go: “suelta la muleta y el baston, y podras bailar el son” (“put down that stick and get up and dance”).

Which was exactly what he did. He threw his walking stick and started to dance — none of those fancy movements, just slow grooves that got the crowd really, really wild. Creagh was a joy to watch. Creagh’s secret to good health and vitality? “Cigars, rum and women,” he answered. And not necessarily in that order.

Creagh’s charm was perhaps matched by Siomara Avilla Valdes Lescay (“I’m old but sexy — with me, you can eat in or take away”), the only female vocalist in the show.

Dubbed the “Cuban diva”, she was the star in the Academy Award-nominated documentary Buena Vista Social Club and is one sizzling mama.

She performed a string of power-packed tunes, including Perdon (written by Pedro Flores), Del Son Al Son (Potilo de la Cruz) and Por Soy Cubano (Jose Ramon Sanchez). Lescay’s performance was all unbridled passion. Another vocalist in the show was Leo Vera, dubbed “Cuba’s nightingale” who, at 38, is the youngest singer in this ensemble.

Other musicians include Julio Padron, Carlos Gonzales, Barbara Lucila Ferre Sanchez, Jorge Boulet Valdes and Ricardo Munoz Martinez.

Bar At Buena Vista is essentially about Creagh and the other legendary “Cuban grandfathers of music”, namely, 81-year-old multi-instrumentalist Maracaibo and pianist Maetsro Rubalcaba, 78, dubbed “the Hands of Gold”. They all grew up with legendary Cuban musician Ibrahim Ferrer.

The show, said Bustamente, is dedicated to the memory of the Grammy Award-winning Ferrer ((“Ferrer used to earn a living shining shoes”), who passed away in August at age 78.

“They were very close friends for almost 60 years,” Bustamente said, “so you can imagine how sad it was when Ferrer was gone.”

Narrated by Bustamente, the show at the ballroom included anecdotes from the renowned Cuban barman Arturo Lucas, who used to serve drinks to Hollywood legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. He now runs a late-night drinking haven for Havana’s musicians.

Comprising 18 members, Bar At Buena Vista is a combination of four of the largest critically acclaimed shows to come out of Cuba in the last 50 years: The Buena Vista Social Club, Vieja Trova Santiagera, Cubanism and Afro-Cuban Allstars.

The songs performed in this two-hour-plus show included Homenaje A Ruben Gonzalez, Buena Vista, Changui Al Reve, Pibtatelos Labios Maria (which displayed Turro in a jaw-dropping dance sequence with three women), Jazz-Julito, Mi Son Maracaibo and Por Eso Soy Cubano.

Of the show, Bustamente said: “We invited the stars from all these other shows and built on the idea of telling the history behind the culture, traditions and lifestyles of the Havana bar society back in the ’40s and ’50s.” One of the that cultural elements at that time was the Cuban dance “son”.

me with the luvly Vivi and Aisha (my instructor!)

i went! i went!! yes uncles and aunties, i was privileged enough to have gone for the Bar at Buena Vista on Monday. unfortunate that the they came to Malaysia after the passing on of the great Ibrahim Ferrer and Compay Segundo. made my week nonetheless :)