4 shopping malls in a day

Morning went to Berjaya Times Square with brother and mother after signing up for Spanish class at UTAR. Not me, my brother is taking the course but I would love to learn too. Too bad, time is limited. Anyway, at Times Square, my mother changed her Digi plan and got herself a Blackberry!!!! My mother, who can ignore her phone for days is getting, no, GOT a Blackberry Bold 9780. *Faint*


Next, I went to Low Yat and met up with Monica and her friend. We went around because her friend was looking for laptop and cameras so I kinda picked up a few tips on laptop stuff and kinda got the idea of what to get next year =)
Walked around for 4 hours and made a laptop promoter calling Monica doctor!!! Hahahahahaha!!!

Later, I went to Pavilion for a while then to KLCC, meeting my mom for

This movie was hilarious and I really enjoyed myself even though I was dead tired. After the movie, went and had Natural New Zealand ice cream and half way through indulging my chocolate fudge, I saw a familiar face.....BLACKIE!!!!!!! Ran and caught up with him and talked for a while. If I was alone, I will definitely join him for mamak!!!! But oh well, WOW, to meet him at KLCC =)

Btw, my sister got 6As for her PMR. So much for bragging about beating me in studies =P

I always forget to include this. I wanna watch

Sign language

Yesterday was my last sigh language class and I believe it will be my last for the next few years. The SL for UK is different so I can't really continue my SL classes when I'm at UK and the Level 1 class is commencing in January and end after I fly off so it's really sad that I can't continue the lessons.

Anyway, yesterday we had our last class at Old Town Coffee opposite YMCA and 4 of us signed and laughed a lot. I am proud to say that I could hold a 2 hours conversation without muttering a word. If I don't know how to sign the word, I just finger signed it and my teacher, Loula would teach me the proper way. It was so fun.

I will upload the pictures here soon =)

My teacher praised me at FB hehehe
"Hwei Jene, What short simple name should i call u? HJ? Call me Loula. well, we had a great conversation via sign language. I notice you have potential to become a fluent signer some day. Will keep in touch always so that u will pick up signs."

Micael Jackson Medley

By Kurt Schneider and sang by Sam Tsui

YouTube Sensation

I am totally in love with Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider. They can really make good songs and make them even better than the original songs. Totally in love with the way they make their music.

(This picture is taken when he sang Paramore's The Only Exception. Sam can really sing and I love this song a lot!!! Another must watch is Micheal Jackson Medley, Just a Dream, Love the Way You Lie Mash-Up, Firework & Grenade Mash-Up, Unwell and a lot a lot more!!!!)

You guys rock!!!

An interview by The Star Scoop

THE STAR SCOOP:
You work together a lot. How did you guys meet and start working together?

KURT SCHNEIDER:
Some people know this, but a lot of people don’t. Me and Sam were on the same bus route in middle school. That’s when we first met each other.

SAM TSUI:
We both lived in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, which is a small suburb outside of Philadelphia. We literally lived right down the street from one another, a couple houses away…Toward the end of high school, both of us were involved in the chorus and music scene. We started to become better friends through that.

He’s a year above me, so he went off and left to Yale and then the next year, I independently made the decision to also apply and got in. At that point, we were the only kids from our high school that were at Yale. [Kurt] had started to do some music stuff in the year that he’d been at Yale before I was there, and so when I got there, it made sense and we started collaborating together, and everything else was sort of history from that point on.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What is your musical background?

KURT SCHNEIDER:
I always loved music. I didn’t start playing the piano at a really young age. I didn’t start playing the guitar when I was super young. I taught myself piano in high school and started playing guitar in college. I’ve always loved music. I’ve always loved listening to blatant pop music.

SAM TSUI:
My mom was a high school music teacher from Iowa…so I grew up in a house where we had a piano and our whole family is a big supporter of the arts and music. From a really young age, I was singing recreationally. I always said that I wanted to be a singer. Probably [by] middle school/high school I was pretty sure I wanted to perform or sing in some capacity.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Are you studying/did you study music or some music related field?

KURT SCHNEIDER:
I got my degree in mathematics, so I guess I studied math in school. I actually really didn’t go to class too much.

SAM TSUI:
I can corroborate that [laughs].

Interestingly enough, I’m actually majoring in classical Greek, which is perhaps as far on the other end of the spectrum as you could get from music. That was actually one of the things I loved most about Yale…it was a place where I could pursue something totally different academically but still have all the kinds of opportunities and resources to do just as much music as I would majoring in it.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You guys must be superstars in the area/on campus.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
It’s crazy! Everyone at school, they knew us when we had three subscribers, when we had like, none! They would know us as Sam or Kurt. They don’t really see us as YouTube people. It’s crazy! The whole rise on YouTube happened really fast for us.

SAM TSUI:
Everyone who was there before sort of knew me as just Sam, that kid who is in their class…But for a lot of these new kids who are coming to Yale, the first way they know about me is through the YouTube stuff…it’s funny to meet these people who, their first impression of me is not from knowing me personally, but who perceive me as this big YouTube star guy.

When we first started putting stuff up, we had no idea that it would reach this level. We’re obviously very grateful that it did and very excited.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You just put up a collaboration with Christina Grimmie. How hard is it to put something like that together? It looks amazing.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
It is a lot of work. That video was actually put together over a fairly small period of time…If we’re really devoted to something, we’ll just take at it for hours and hours on end and then soon enough there will be a video.

SAM TSUI:
It was pretty fast, believe it or not…laid down the track, we recorded most of the vocals in one day and the video quickly there after it. Obviously the editing took a while. It goes faster than you would think. When we get started on something, because we enjoy it so much, the time goes quickly and we just tend to crank stuff out in a pretty concentrated amount of time.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Sam, you’re almost done with school, and Kurt, you are done with school. Is this going to be a full time thing for you guys? What are your plans post-graduation?

SAM TSUI:
That’s definitely a good question and something I’ve been thinking a lot about, and don’t know that I yet have a good answer. But certainly, continuing to create this kind of content is something that is an absolute must for me. I’m actually looking forward to graduating, if only because it will give me more time to be able to work on this kind of stuff with Kurt and actually devote myself fully to it.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
We definitely have something that’s going right, right now. Definitely, I fully want to continue. It seems to be working well.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You guys have released some original music now.

SAM TSUI:
That’s absolutely something we want to start doing more of. A couple months ago we released a music video to one of Kurt’s original songs, and people loved it. More original material, music videos, are definitely something we want to focus on.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
Yeah. We’ve got some originals in the works that I think you are really going to like. I can’t wait until everyone out there can hear that. I think they’ll all really enjoy what we have in store.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Kurt, we saw that you actually sing as well. A lot of people are wondering if you and Sam have done any singing together? Nothing on YouTube yet?

SAM TSUI:
We haven’t! The only thing we’ve done together is the shows and things we did together in high school.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
That’s true. You know, Sam is a much better singer than me. We sang in little groups in high school as Sam said. We did musicals together. That was a time!

THE STAR SCOOP:
In terms of who you might collaborate with in the future, are there any plans for who you might work with next? And also, we are formally putting in our request for one with Lisa Lavie. She’s amazing.

SAM TSUI:
She is awesome.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
She has a pretty incredible voice. I’m a big fan. We’re possibly doing another collab with an R&B group named Ahmir. We love them. We’re always keeping a lookout on who the people are on YouTube.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Interesting facts or things we don’t know about you yet that would be fun for fans to know?

SAM TSUI:
One funny thing, and these will never be released, I’m pretty sure…In high school we did do a little bit of, I guess you could call it “studio recording.” We did a couple recordings of some of Kurt’s original stuff…instead of the wind protector and the mic, we took a hanger and twisted it into a circle and put pantyhose around it. It was a very humble set up.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
That actually worked shockingly well, I gotta say. That was a surprising success.

SAM TSUI:
[Laughs] There some other problems with those recordings, including the fact that I sound awful in them.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
Or the fact that the songs weren’t good…but ignoring all that…

THE STAR SCOOP:
For anyone who watches your videos and then decides, hey I want to give this a shot, is there any specific advice you have for people you have for what might help them be successful?

SAM TSUI:
I think a big part of what has made us successful and what makes a lot of people on YouTube successful is two things. One, you really have to enjoy making the videos. That’s a huge part of what makes any performance on YouTube shine…If you love what you’re doing, I think that translates into a video that people want to watch.

And also, that combined with something creative or new. That’s always what excites people the most. Whether it’s a take on a song that they’ve never seen before or some concept or idea that’s fresh and new. A combination of enjoying what you’re doing and coming up with something that’s your own, I think those are two of the keys to success for a YouTube video.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you want to say to your fans?

SAM TSUI:
First and foremost, just a huge thanks. Honestly, this really started for us as something that was fun to do. We both love making music, love making videos like this. The fact that people started showing interest…and give us a real reason to be able to put a lot of time and love and energy into it has been absolutely amazing.

Just the incredibly, incredibly positive response we’ve gotten from people and the continued interest is not only really touching for us and means a lot to us, but the fact that it allows us to keep doing this stuff that we love and be able to take it seriously is a gift. That’s 100 percent the fans and the people who continue to watch and subscribe to us. I know I’m certainly so thankful for that.

KURT SCHNEIDER:
They’ve been with us since the beginning and they are so much of the reason why we’re here.

Kurt and Sam on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/KurtHugoSchneider

iTunes:
http://www.itunes.com/SamTsui
http://www.itunes.com/SamTsuiAndKurtSchneider

Kurt Schneider Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KurtHSchneider
Sam Tsui Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/samueltsui

Kurt Schneider on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KurtHugoSchneider
Sam Tsui on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SamTsuiMusic

Kurt Schneider MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/KurtHugo
Sam Tsui Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/SamTsui

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1

I woke up at 6am and started watching House Season 6 until around 2ish. Finally completed the 6 seasons worth of House drama.

Mother was complaining about not having the time to watch the current Harry Potter's movie so I checked the newspaper and the next thing I know, we were at Jusco watching the movie.


Have I blogged about this movie before? Nope, don't think so because I am not a fan of HP movies but I like to read the book. When I read, the characters come alive and never once did the actors or actresses of the movie appeared in my imagination. I honestly feel that some actors and actresses just don't fit the personality of the characters.

Enough said, my brain has been banging itself in the skull since Saturday evening and I am still feeling it. Anything to look forward?? Just the movies my cousin is bringing to me =)

Another 12 hours out

I went out of the house from 9am and reached home at 9pm. Again.

So morning, went out for a workshop which delayed for 45 minutes because some speakers just can't stop talking. But I did gained a lot of insights and had the motivation to the things that I have been procrastinating.

Next, went and watch

This movie was somewhat like Harry Potter in the sense that the magic I felt when I first watched the movie was gone. I guess the first movie was like introducing us to their world of magic and after the 2nd movie, I kind of got used to the "magic" and felt like this movie is just another movie.

Came home with a throbbing head and fell asleep by 9ish.

Next movie I'm looking forward to watch is

2 new books

I went out with June and end up with 2 more books.

Loving it =)

Unexpected Friends

Seriously, I have been spending a lot of time thinking instead of revising whatever I need to revise. Ever since I enter my uni, I am no longer the same girl everyone knew back in secondary school and even college. I used to spend my entire day trying my best to please everyone and be their best friend. I used to hang out with a group of friends, laugh, study and have meals with them and the thought of being lonely even for a second just kills me.

And so I thought.

Since I started uni life, I have been experiencing a lone ranger life. I could not find my clique of friends among that hundreds of fellow batch mates. I spent my time alone in the library trying to remember as much information as I can so that I can secure my place in this course. I was depressed for the first few months which worsened when it was exam week.

Surprisingly after spending 2.5 years, I actually found friends that I am comfortable with. Although I no longer spend time in a group, spending time with this few friends really was one of the best time in my uni life. Each of them have their own quirkiness and those quirkiness made me love them more. Besides, I don't need to pretend and put on masks around them.

Back in secondary school and even college, meeting friends at the mall and hanging out with them outside our school/ college was something I have never done before so I expected myself to have the same experience when I enter uni and during my first year, that thought became a reality. When I enter my second year, that reality blurred a bit because of the true friends I've made.

I am so glad that I found them after all the depressing months. Hanging out with them now just makes me cherish them even more.

This post is for you girls who made my uni life so much fun.
I miss you guys so much =(

Whole Day Out

I was feeling sick yesterday because my dad drove recklessly and I skipped lunch and dinner. My face was green and I felt like throwing out. My ears felt hot and I was having cold sweat. There were lots of saliva in my mouth which I got to consciously tell myself to swallow and avoid the anti-peristalsis which was happening soon. Anyway, I felt so sick that my dad sent me home when they went for dinner and I slept till this morning.

So I woke up and followed mum to her office after dropping dad at some hotel. Before that, we went for breakfast and had a really delicious satisfying English breakfast set with 2 pieces of toast, 2 small hash brown, 2 sausages and scrambled eggs. Mum ordered extra French toast and orange juice for my sister and I. It was so tasty!!!

At the office, I spent 2.5. hours watching cartoons through my small handphone and the next 1.5 hours reading manga through my mom's laptop. Then we went to KLCC!!! For the past 5 months working, I go through Pavilion and KLCC to reach my mom's office to follow her home and I seldom shopped at that 2 shopping mall. Regretted a lot for not enjoying Philharmonic when I had the chance.

KLCC was packed with human beings and that turned me into Ms.Cranky. I just hate crowded areas.

Anyway, we went to the Thai restaurant and had our late lunch/ early dinner. It was 3pm already so by the time our food came, it was 3.30pm. We had some appetizer, the pandan chicken, a plate of noodles and a plate of pineapple rice. It was nice, but nothing worth blogging about. Next, we walked around looking for mom's Christmas present. Her office is having this exchange-present event so we went to Godiva (my suggestion), Harrods and got an idea on what to get (managed to try something called macaron) and Arch where mom got her 1st Christmas gift. 1 down, 2 to go (she is helping another 2 staffs to get the present).

This is macaron, the new cupcakes.

We also went to Swatch and mom wanted to get a watch for me and my sis but I didn't feel like getting any so mom got frustrated when every watch she asked "you want or not?" I replied "no". But honestly I love the Christmas collection's Winter Sun

Love it but I'm going to use my own money to get it =)

Then we went to New Zealand Natural Ice Cream and ordered Mount Cook where you are allowed to order 5 types of your choice of ice cream and they add on toppings for you with 2 ferrrro rocher chocolate at the side. This dish costs RM36.90

We had the Popular card so we get to have a free junior one scoop ice cream for free so we asked them to add onto this dish and hence we had 6 scoops of different flavoured ice cream!!!!! So delicious and fattening!!!

Next, mom went and took some more cash while I ran to Kinokuniya to check out some SL books but I could not help myself from checking for this book

And it was in the shelf!!!! I ran back to my mom and got some cash from her, ran back to the store and Finally, It's MINE!!! Wheee!!!!! I hope my agony for getting this book is worth it. Daniel, you better don't disappoint me!!!

Then,we went to the Stadium to get me a jogging shoes. This is my first pair mind you!! Anyway, there were a lot of brands such as Adidas, Nikki and more but I settled on
Cool eh??

We left house at 7.30am and left KLCC at 7.30pm. Not a big fan of shopping but food and books can just cheer me up any day =)

Meeting June for lunch tomorrow. Wheee!!!

pissed

I got to sit for IELTS, AGAIN!!!

Why am I angry? I don't really have a clue. Maybe I just want to have no exam stress for this break? Maybe the exam fee is just up the roof? Maybe I just want to get pissed with something?

Seriously?? Coming to this uni, we need to sit for IELTS and MUET. After 2.5 years studying in English and speaking in English, how bad can our English evolve to? Well, apparently some IELTS officers or someone or someTHING just figured that if English is not the first language, then their English sucks and we need IELTS to determine and proof how sucky are they. Oh wait, there's another reason. We need your money to boost our so-not-very stable economy compared to years ago and make you poorer. We will be nice and kick in some complementary increase in the exam fees and wait for it, we will make sure that IELTS only valid for 2 years. We are so nice to you-non-English-as-first-language people.

Fine, it was stated that IELTS only valid for 2 years when I sat for it back in 2007 but I never hear any of my seniors sitting for IELTS again!! It's so unfair!! Why can't they just let my batch be the last batch to enter UK without a valid IELTS?? If it's because some seniors who suck in English start propagating the idea that our English is really down the drain, then thank you very much. You ruin my week and weekend and you should just die.

On a lighter note, the sem 5 just finished their exam and I can recall how I felt when exam was done and over. Wait, I don't really remember but ya, I kinda recall, or not. I can't make up my mind. I'm just so distracted with the not-so-new-news-to-others-but-still-new-to-me news.

I'll admit that my English is not very good and I'm just an average Asian girl who can speak English well enough to survive but not cool enough to chill and take the exam like some English-is-so-not-a-subject type of homosapien. Alright, I'll admit it, my English sucks and I was hoping to silently blend into the background and never speak a word of English if I have the choice but hey, I speak English and people understand so I'm not that bad, right?? Oh ya, the IELTS officers, someone and someTHING just reminded me, I am a non-English-as-first-language people.


Just releassing some anger and steam here. If you so happen are an IELTS officer, someone or someTHING, don't take this personal. This post is purely fictional (anger and steam is not though, sorry) and you should not be reading this.