Let us remember the day
And the feeling

Happy National Day =)

Petronas 2008 Merdeka Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpWYkEFnl8I

this made me menangis teresak-esak.

once again, thank you, dad and mum!

Malaysia's 51st Independence Day

This year's theme: Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan (Unity is the Pillar of Success)

The theme song is here.

Free parking!

I know, I know.. this post is gonna excite you. Because there's FREE parking!! What else is better than that?! ;p

Simply click on the image to enlarge.


The one highlighted with darker grey is free all day long (for goodness sake, not Avon River!). Whereas the other on-site parking is free after 5pm or so. However, all are on first come first serve basis. So, make sure you arrive early to get a nice decent free parking. It does save you a fortune. Otherwise, you can start singing "here we go round, and round again, round and round, round again..."...

But, if you're feeling rich, or simply run out of time (otherwise you might miss our grand opening..), just park at the building besides Rydges, or at Farmers!

Enough said. Please be punctual. Looking forward to see all of you at Malam Malaysia!! :)

p/s: Do remember to lock your car! :D

Modern Jive 23/8/2008

a big thanks to Sam and Ingrid for taking the time out today to teach us the modern jive.

We had a great time! Thank you! :)

Stefanie, if you are reading this, could you please send me some photos that we took today so that we can put some up here? thanks!

by the way, i would really like to encourage each and everyone of us to be as participative as we can during Malam.

we have various programmes drawn out and we would love to have as much interaction as we can with the guests.

and even amongst the guests, let's all be friendly to each other - a simple smile, a simple hello.. we will have people coming from CHCH School of Medicine and possibly Lincoln. we might even have some non-malaysians joining us. so ya, let's go out and make friends and be an active part in Malam 2008!

let's all do this together!

:D

Feeling tired?

the team has been working super hard.

with talent night coming along and 6 days away to Malam... and just righ after a crazy term 3!

once again, thanks guys!

take a break when you can k! :D

eh... wait wait... siapa ni?

.
.
.
.
.
.

....the protocol and events boss!
aduh. macam sangat letih!
xin ku ni le!
.
.
.
.
.

...and what's the sponsorship director doing there?

btw, we call them kombinasi yang membinasakan
(the destroyers)

can't wait for the rehearsals to start!

we will be putting up more photos and updates on our preparation progress during this crazy week! hope to see you in Malam 2008! let's all have a fun fun time! :D

Blessed!

on monday i was in a super negative downward spiral mood. we have been yet again been denied another grant application.

we scratched our heads. we think and thought. and we began to be more bugging to the various people that we have approached.

one of the things we might have to do was cut down on the food variety (quantity still same but less variety), and that really was our last resort. i really don't want to get there.

so when Ka-Mun, our sponsorship man texted me a good news today, i was surprised and relieved at the same time! i really didn't expect such an amount to be given to us - but basically now we dun have to cut down the food variety. yay! i'm so so soo thankful!

thanks Ka-Mun for your persistence! thanks MSD for being so generous! and thank God! wow! yay!

we still have a couple hundreds to raise to give subsidies to the committee and performers - will continue to work harder!

mind you, asking for money is one of the hardest thing ever! a lot a lot of courage and a lot a lot of thick-faced-ness! sometimes i have to practice my 'speech' over and over again before entering a shop and speak to the owner.

ah! come on!!!! few more hundreds to go and all will be sweet as!!!!

gambate!

Peek...

the whole team is super swamped for the last week of term, so we put a temporary halt to the preparation. things are more or less much settled and all those details will be finalised next week. time FLIES! man! only 11 more days to Malam.. no.. actually.. 10 and a quarter day...

anyway, just some updates...

Logistics
today our conference manager gave us a call and asked if we would like to have a peek at the hall since there was a dinner function that night. Would be good for us to have a look at how they set up.

Ing Chia (thanks for the ride :D), Merlin and me went and had a peek ^_^ man i loved it! :D it's really cosy and classy! and with our deco team going all out to spice things up - man! i'm so excited to see how the hall is gonna be transformed during the night! :D


Sponsorship
the sponsorship team is still on the go. i remember vividly what Seng Cheong (year 2006 Malam organiser) told me repeatedly when i met him few months ago: "start your sponsorship hunt early!!!"

i totally understand where he is coming from right now :)

we have been receiving pretty disappointing news these few weeks. Was pretty disheartening but that will not stop us from working harder and brainstorming to get the funds in!!! we have 11 more days.

quoting my flatmate: "Pressure is Privilege." :)


Protocol and Events
Prior to organizing Malam, i wrote down for myself a few goals that i wanna achieve for each team. And i'm really pleased that the events of that night will be meaningful and purposeful and not just some act/event for the sake of having one. Each performance you see, each event happening during will have a message behind to link with our theme, 'Home'. Good job, P&E team! :D

What's left now are full rehearsals and stage managing to ensure a smooth and well-coordinated flow during the night. Ah. and those minute details! Man. it's gonna be a crazy week! We call it 'the Malam week' btw :p


Affirmation
We are very encouraged by each of you who went to the booth and wrote on the affirmation cards. We will have another booth this Thursday, 12pm - 1.30pm at the UCSA. Do drop by and write on a card. Else you can contact Ka-Mun at kml64 and arrange a time with him. Preferably during the holidays though if you wanna arrange a time :p


Okie dokie. That's about all that i am able to update on. Back to uni work. Oh and if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, do drop by our booth or contact us! We really hope to see you there!

All the best for the last week of term!!! And keep warm too - it's been a crazy wet windy hail-y snow-y winter!

Home

i know this might not be one of the most exciting theme for a ball. maybe something like Starry Nights ke, Moonlight Sonate ke, Northern Star ke might be more exciting and mystical and classy and.... lalala.. you get my drift :)

so why 'Home'?

few months ago...
the team met up for a brainstorming sessions. we were separated into a few groups - and within each group, ideas and suggestions were brought up. the guideline was to have a theme that will bring about a night where everyone will feel one with the crowd, and not merely existing in the crowd.

our vision for this year's Malam is to see people getting together, interacting amongst one another, enjoying the night - with a warm sense of belonging and togetherness. That was also the guideline for us when we did the brainstorming.

there were many great ideas. we had well thought-out themes such as 'Clef', 'Glow', 'Pass it On', 'Guess', 'Malaysiana' etc. And so after much discussion, we finally settled on 'Home'.

Here's why...

From the club's point-of-view,
CMSA's mission statement is to 'Bring home closer'. As one of the committee, i must say that we still have a long way to ago to achieve that mission statement. Indeed, there are many areas that we can improve on and various things that we can do to help our members. i apologize for the things that we hae not done right and thank you for your patience and continual support to the club.

we hope that this year's Malam is not just a wrap-up for the year's events, but as we reflect and ponder on what we have done thus far - we will continue to work to adhere closer to our mission statement - bringing home closer.

From a personal point-of-view...
'Home' doesn't necessarily mean your hometown. Before i continue, i totally cherish and love my family and friends back in Malaysia :) Back to the point, over here, i also have a group of friends whom i cherish and love. The friendship and love given by this amazing people provide a place where i feel safe and belonged. This is 'home' :)

That's also how the Malam theme song was birthed - it was a combination of the themes that were brainstormed during the last meeting, and a story of an international student who have been here for almost 4 years and found a 'home' in a faraway land :)

why is this year's Malam gonna be different? because we are organizing it on a totally different perspective altogether - it's gonna be more than a ball, my dear friends :)

We really encourage you to come to this year's Malam and be a part of what we are doing and wanting to share with you! Your presence will really mean a lot to us!

thank you!

Malam 2008 Theme Song

will talk about what inspired the song. we might perform it during Talent Night (25/8). hehe. help to promote Talent Night too ^_^

hope the message behind these lyrics will help you have a better idea of what we hope to bring out from this year's Malam.

Malam 2008 will be more than just a ball :)

Pass It On

i've found a home
in a faraway land
i know i'm not alone
in this journey

i'm part of a melody
that transcends differences
and now it showed me to how to sing

so won't you pass it on
you will bring home closer
let the fire within
warm the coldest nights

so won't you pass it on
the song you are singing
let the hope that you have found
glow in the darkest nights
for you and i

pass it on

A Tribute to Lee Chong Wei

i'm sure by now most of you would have known about the result from yesterday's badminton finals for the men singles (you can google for more news about the match yesterday).

my flatmates and i stayed up to watch the match. we had to admit that it was totally Lin Dan's day. both of them equally had great pressure on their shoulders to perform; and there will only be one winner.

for me, though a little bit sad of the lost, it was still a proud moment for Malaysia with Lee Chong Wei being in an Olympics finals. His meekness was what that struck me the most. After the game, both Lin Dan and Chong Wei gave each other a friendly hug - to me, it was a gracious acceptance of defeat; and also a gesture of respect and 敬服 (can't think of the english word at the moment) to the winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psRcrwwUI3o
This is an interview with Lee Chong Wei before the Olympics. It is in Mandarin though. i have yet to find an English one.

Hope there will be some videos on Chong Wei's feat in Olympics 2008 on YouTube :)

this was written before Chong Wei went to the finals
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/17/focus/22106345&sec=focus

we know he will fight harder. just like how he pulled himself again after a car accident in 2006. and he has inspired me to fight harder too. in all honesty, we are facing some financial difficulties for Malam but we will definitely fight even harder to get the money in!

Well done, Lee Chong Wei! We are all very proud of you! Congratulations!

Jive Jive Jive!

this year Malam will have a dance-floor as our after-party!

Besides the usual clubbing music, we hope to introduce some elements of MODERN JIVE on the dance floor too!

As a warm-up session, we are offering a FREEEEEE dance class! Yes, freee! btw, we will never say no to a gold coin donation! ;)

date?
23 August 2008, Saturday

time?
12.30pm - 3.00pm

place?
UCSA Ballroom

who's teaching?
Sam, a teacher from the UCanDance class.

come along!
bring your friends!
let's warm up the floor and heat the house during Malam!!!

Don't Give Up!

Assigmments and lab reports can drive us crazy. Tests. Exams.

Personal issues.

...even organizing Malam.

but thank God, the Olympics came at the right time. at least it is for me.

the sheer perseverance and determination shown by these athletes. i am always so inspired to see how focused they are toward the goal, and how they pressed on to achieve what they set out to at the first place.

CMSA will also keep pressing on. And the Malam team too! gambate team!

here are a few videos that i thought i'd like share with you. Hope it will inspire you in some way or another and also encourage you to keep pressing on, in spite of.

Dan Jansen - Don't Give Up

Derek Redmond - Weak leg, Strong Father
Derek Redmond - Dad helps Son complete Race
(tears just came rolling down when i first watched this)

Women's Road Race
Nicole Cooke on her Olympics Win
(this turned out to be a really exciting race!)

ooo. and some quotes from this website.

i liked this one in particular :)

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place."
Unknown

More Photos!

found more photos from previous Malams..

Year 2004:
http://www.pbase.com/evyvekt043/malam_malaysia_2004_at_grand_chancellor_album_2
http://enggangkeramat.fotopages.com/?entry=206183

Year 2006:
http://www.nzview.com/ball/

Videos!

Here in my Home: Bersatu 2008 Edition (kudos to MUMSA)
-for a united Malaysia!-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCK59mCYybo&feature=related

PETSOC 08: Tribute to Bersatu Athletes
-affirmation!-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVprNHX8mhY

Bersatu 2007 Videos:
-Winter in Canter... Winter's Warmth-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1b5nzB_7nQ (Closing Video 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMsGjFCgmM0 (Closing Video 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwKN6qFcH2g (Closing Video 3)

The Power of Affirmation

just a simple thank you or a simple word of encouragement may just mean a whole world to someone! :)

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~ Melody Beattie

that's the power of affirmation! :)

Affirmation

Affirmation will start on 11th August 2008 from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm (simultaneously with the Malam ticket sales) The other Affirmation dates are on the left sidebar of this blog.

1. If your name is in my Excel List, your card would have been printed.

2. On the mentioned dates, the committee will be at the booth with your cards.

3. Feel free to write for anyone as all the cards will be displayed publicly on the table.


PS: To check if your name is in the affirmation list, have a check on the Excel file I sent on Wednesday evening (6th August 2008). Any inquiries just hit me an e-mail at kml64@student.canterbury.ac.nz.

Time flies!

it's august!!!

it's gonna be Malam soon!!!

:D

exciting exciting exciting!!!

(...and a lil stressed.. will be more than happy if someone can belanja me bubble tea :D hehe. anyway, i believe that all the hard work will pay off! yay!)

what's up so far?

Ticket Sales

NZD45.00 per person :)

the team is subsidising NZD11.00 per person (actual food price is NZD56.00). After all we are all still students :)

we are still working very hard to raise funds for the subsidy and also for various equipment hire costs and decoration costs and all other costs. please do keep us in prayer and well wishes!

Don't forget to get your Malam ticket from any of our committee members or e-mail us at malam.msia08@gmail.com.

You wouldn't want to miss out on this year's Malam! :)


Publicity
We will have a booth at the UCSA on the following days from 11.30am-1.30pm:
August 11, 13, 15, 19, 21

And we will be on RDU98.5 FM too!

Listen up during the following slots (one ad per slot):
11/8 - 15/8 (except 13/8)
0700-1000
1200-1300
1600-1900

13/8
1000-1200
1200-1300
1600-1900

18/8 - 22/8
0700-1000
1600-1900

Affirmation
look out for Ka-Mun's post!

if you are a member of CMSA, you would have been e-mailed about this!

see YOU at the booth on Monday! :D

Wanted: Performers

This email is from BenJ and YuenLEung...

Interested in performing for Malam Malaysia?

Great!

Cuz we are currently looking for people who would like to lend their services to perform for the upcoming Malam!

One performance we are looking for ppl is the band. It will be an acoustic or a mellow-ish performance a.k.a. an unplugged performance. Instruments will be provided such as acoustic guitars and keyboards. Preferably 2 songs will be good. And if it can be one Malay song and one English song it’ll be even better. If you can do songs that are based around the theme of this years Malam, “Home”, that will be even-even better-better!!

We are also looking for sporting people who would like to dress up for a special fashion show. If you think you got what it takes to take centre stage than contact us. More details will be given later upon request. But trust me, it’s gonna be awesome if you would like to help out! :D

Thanks again for those who choose to help out and making this Malam a blast!

p/s: IF you are KEEN, do get back to us by the end of this week. Latest by Saturday (9th August)!!!! Dont miss the chance..

Contacts:
Benjamin Abraham - 02102218503 or bjk52@student.canterbury.ac.nz
Yuen Leung - 021806488 or yll33@student.canterbury.ac.nz

To The Team

i want to thank each and every of you in the team for all the hard work and sacrifice of time and energy.

especially to the team leaders, thank you for attending the weekly meetings and organizing team meetings despite having 2 reports, 3 tests, 4 assignments. thank you also for your hard work on the sponsorship hunt!

thank you for this chance to work with you and to be able to learn from each other! :)

Malam will be EXCELLENT - pre, during, post!

Woohoo!

:D

You and Me

We started out organizing Malam by doing a survey and took your suggestions into account.
We called out for people who would like to be involved.
We called out for people who would like to give us a helping hand here and there.

We call out - because we want YOU to be a part of Malam.

Malam 2008 is not for the team to syok sendiri. Malam 2008 is not just another CMSA event. Hundreds of dollars, priceless time and effort have been channeled into Malam - it's gonna be more than your typical dinner function.

Malam 2008 is about involving YOU and ME to make this night worth a bookmark in your journey. We hope that each of you who attends Malam will have a great and enjoyable night - with beautiful memories of great company, good times; and a warmth that will linger in each of our hearts.

Let's all do this together, shall we? :) Thank you!

Here In My Home - Malaysian Artistes for Unity

was listening to this song again :) we sent it to RDU for the radio advertisement for Malam.

abosrb the lyrics! :)

http://cmsa-malam.blogspot.com/2008/05/come-on-everyone.html

Here in my Home

Hold on brother hold on

The road is long. We’re on stony ground

But I’m strong. You ain’t heavy

Oh there’s a misspoken truth that lies

Colors don’t bind, oh no.

What do they know? They speak falsely.

Chorus:

Here in my home

I’ll tell you what its all about

There’s just one hope here in my heart

One Love undivided

That’s what it’s all about

Please won’t you fall in one by one by one [with me]?

Push back sister won’t you push back?

Love won’t wait. Just keep pushing on.

Yes I’m strong. You ain’t heavy.

Oh don’t you worry about that….

What we have the shadows can’t deny

Don’t you know it’s now or never?

Rap:

[Malay: TRANSLATED]

Years of fears and years of tribulation

The heart keeps searching for that endless devotion

[Chinese: TRANSLATED]

Hand in hand we’ll march like blood brothers

I speak for my people hope we’ll find peace forever

[Tamil: TRANSLATED]

May the road ahead quench my thirst for success

May the road behind echo a song of the blessed

[English]

So I will let it be known yes I feel it in my bones

No matter where I roam this is home sweet home

Sing!

-
Words & Music by Pete Teo featuring rap by KLG Sqwad &
Altimet. copr Redbag Music 2008. All Rights Reserved

The Concept of Excellence

excellence
noun
1.	the quality of excelling; possessing good qualities in high degree
2.	an outstanding feature; something in which something or someone excels; "a center of manufacturing excellence"; "the use of herbs is one of the excellencies of French cuisine"

excellence. (n.d.). WordNet® 3.0. Retrieved August 05, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/excellence

am currently reading this book by Heather Brown. The following is taken from one of my favourite chapters in the book. Hope it will inspire you in some way or another! :)

• Every one of us has the ability to achieve something greater than we imagine.
  
  
• Every one of us has excellence with us - EVERY ONE OF US.
  
  
• We are all called to achieve something different but equally significant, which is why it's unhelpful to compare yourself with others.
  
  
• Whether we choose to be excellent or not is our own decision.
  
  
• A life of excellence is a journey, but a journey definitely worth taking.
  
  
• Excellence is achievable for every one of us and excellence brings a great sense of accomplishment.
  
  
• Having the desire to put the extra effort into everything we do is something we must cultivate. For most of us it probably doesn't come naturally, but if you desire to be excellent you can develop this into natural behaviour until it becomes an instinctive way of thinking and doing.
  

Make excellence a lifestyle choice and walk in continuous improvement of yourself and your life.

• Excellence is not perfection, but being the very best you can be, putting your very best into everything you do and knowing you have done everything you know to achieve the best possible outcome. This is an excellent effort. Extra effort will always bring a more excellent result.
  
  
• Don't settle for less; 'average' isn't good enough for any one of us. Please don't choose average. You are capable of much more. So be a "Man/Woman of Excellence" and make a difference to your own life and the lives of those around you. Enjoy the rewards you will earn along the way when you step into excellence.
  

Do not strive for perfection, bur rather choose excellence over average in all you do and you will experience the reward which goes with the decision to choose a life of excellence.

• Excellence is not something attained by merely just wanting it, or waiting for it to come to you, it must be pursued. It must be a heartfelt thing coming from deep within you, a desire to do something that shines.
  
  
• When the decision is made in our hearts and minds to choose to be excellent, we begin our journey to higher ground. In order for this to happen, we need to be completely honest with ourselves about areas of our lives which are not working as well as we would like them to be. I believe we all have areas requiring attention.
  
  
• We need to be willing to get out of our comfort zone and out of our places of habit and take a good look. This takes a willing attitude and a determined decision. We need to ask ourselves how badly we want something better for our life and whether we are prepared to do whatever it takes.
  
  
• If we want something better for our lives we will have to do something different. Just wishing will not make it happen; it takes action.
  
  
• Excellence is something to be pursued and sought after; it doesn't just happen along the way!
  
  
• Take your natural abilities and God-given talents and do your very best with them - not compromising or being complacent with opportunities and responsibilities.
  
  
• Commit to doing more than required in every situation. This is how excellence is established. Excellence often comes out of the EXTRA.
  
  
• We have to CHOOSE to be Excellent. It's a decision and there are sacrifices that go with that decision. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?? That in itself is the first choice.
  
  

Excellence - Crave it, Pursue it, and Go After it!

• Not everyone you have contact with will support your changes. Being excellent often makes others feel uncomfortable. When making changes for yourself it may have a ripple effect on others around you. stay focused and determined. believe in yourself and know what you believe in is the right way for you.
  
  
• Do not be discouraged by those who criticise, mock and the undermine excellence.

Foster the Spirit of Excellence and do not be discouraged by others who do not make the same choices.

A life of excellence is a life worth living!