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

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!

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

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!

Decisions

this is the emo-side of me ;)

the team had to make a very hard decision today.

well, at least for me, it was a very tough decision to make.

opportunities were there, right in front of us. was it a risk worth taking? what if we say 'no'?

kinda broke down yesterday night as the stress took over :p but i remember a friend once texted me this:

at every crossroad, follow your dream.
it is courageous to let your heart lead the way.
-T. Leland-

so i checked back our aims and objectives. weighed the pros and cons. define the risks involved. ...and asked my heart what it wants.

sometimes we have to say 'no' and make certain sacrifices - coz the purpose for what Malam is should not be compromised.

and finally, there was peace - and a decision made :)

and then the last-minute team meeting (once again thanks to those who managed to come, and Reuben too! :p)

i'm proud of the team - very proud of them.

they listened - with open-minds and hearts - weighed the pros and cons - weighed the risks involved.

they raised their opinions - agreements and disagreements - with maturity and respect.

and ya, we made a decision that will still serve the club well.

i am glad to have the assurance that we are doing the right thing - and i know that CMSA will have great future leaders who will carry on the mission statement of "bringing home closer".

thank you, team! :)

Some Updates

monologue:
we should do some template editing to the blog some day... when the posters and logo are out then we will decorate this blog a bit lar ok? :D

ok. :p)

so where should i start from?

Malam Updates

• worked super hard for the grant proposal! thanks to Wan Yin, IngChia, Ka-Mun, Firdaus, Nat, Elyana for going through this with me! we learnt heaps, kan? :D
  
  
• a lot of fine-tuning of the venue, menu etc etc. won't bore you here with the details. just be rest assured that the team is working very hard for Malam :) very very hard. but as the nagging goes: rmb ur priority is your STUDIES!!!
  
  
• you should be seeing posters and chalking around uni once the semester starts - look out for our marketing stint! ;) oo, and our trailer too! :D exciting exciting!
  
  
• please support our chocolate fundraising efforts!!! :D thank you thank you!
  Wan Yin and her team are working super hard for this as you can see! Man, Alip does make a good model! :D
  
  
• till then, pray and hope together with us for financial assistance! you also want cheap ticket price and good food kan? :p
  

The Journey from the LB (dunno why they call me lady boss.. :p)

• i wan to study!!! super super want to study! i have had enough of Malam for now. luckily this month is exam month, then i can concentrate on my research dy.. :p
  
  
• on the subject of e-mails:
  i said: "please reply my e-mails lar friends"
  Ka-Mun said: "bullet-point, bullet-point :p"
  Bern: "rather have a lot of emails than LONG e-mails."
  
  oklar, i will keep the e-mails short and simple.
  
  but people, next time, when you are in a leadership position, you will know the MOST frustrating on earth is when you need feedback and NO ONE's replying you. ok, wait, i should give credit to those who replied, thanks peepz! :D
  
  i'm not exactly complaining - coz can also understand that everyone's mind is super saturated with uni work. i guess i have to change on my part too: write my e-mails in such a way that ppl will be able to understand quick, read quick... and reply promptly :) (btw, i'm pretty notorious for long e-mails.. ask my friends, they'd know :p)
  
  
• Open and Honest Communication
  i think this is what my team is - super honest with themselves, super honest with me, super honest with everyone. and i'm super proud of them! :)
  people, i cherish all truthful communication :) it helps us to deal with issues in a more efficient way, and not to harbour any unhappiness against each other. so ya, keep up the good job! be loving and truthful ya! :D
  
  
• Learning from each other
  i take this whole Malam thing as a new learning experience. It's stretching me a lot in many ways. Write proposal. Budget flow. Communicating. Listening. Making decisions. Muka tembok. The list goes on.
  
  in many things i dun have the experience, and i'm learning as i go. and i'm super thankful to have wise and experienced people to help out. i guess this is what you call.. equipping and empowering :p
  
  i promised that i will work on with the team with any changes after they've submitted their plans etc. feel bad for not consulting before i do the changes. Sorry ya. Will work on that part :) a good leader must let the team know that he/she trusts them too! :D
  

ok, enough of my rants. till then...

study hard and smart!

the exams are here!!!

(^^)9

on the subject of exams...
"Who invented this evil?"
Lam, 2008

ps: that's why eat chocolate :p (refer to WanYin's post.. ekeke..)

Money Matters

ad a discussion with the treasury team today about the budget.

the increase of cost can really dampen the spirits. we sat there for quite a while in silence. stress began to build in. but still we know that we have to stand strong and have the faith that we are able to get those funds.

i guess most of you who have organized events before will know how this feels ;) all sort of costs just pop out from nowhere... oh well. *pfft*

we are firm on charging not more than NZD45.00 for the tickets - but it also would mean that we are gonna lose quite a big sum of money.

but it's okay - we are still working out the budget - whatever it is, food must be enough, deco must be fantastic, transport must be provided - and everyone has a good time!

so tmrw night will be a long night for me as i work on the grant application and proposal. you want the sponsorship, you better make sure you present yourself worthy of that sponsorship ;)

our sponsorship team is ready to go BLITZKREIG! on potential sponsors - just waiting for me to finish the proposal. Hehe. sorry guys for taking so long but i'll definitely get it done tmrw even if it means that i am not sleeping ;)

anyway, i was feeling a bit down about the cost and ya, can't help but frown. thankfully, out-of-nowhere, Bernard came over and in all his enthusiasm, started to brief me on what his team will be doing.

exciting exciting exciting!

i was encouraged to hear that the team was enjoying themselves and also got things planned out.

thanks Bern for dropping by just at the right time!

Bern, or as some ppl call him Bernie, is one of my good friends here in CHCH. He's really funny - man, you should see him at the meetings ;)

Bern, i just want to say thank you for your commitment and effort that you are putting into this event - and i'm really looking forward to see what your team is going to deliver. it's gonna be exciting!

once again, thank you for all that you have done as a friend and brother;
and as one of the team leaders in Malam.

you are a great guy with a great heart!

fighting!!!

bernard and me at Taylors Mistake
we were about to climb a hill... i mean, walk up a hill..

haha.. i do feel as if i'm walking up a steep hill right now
sometimes it feels so hard to breathe
but when i think of God and the people who are walking together in this journey
it's not that hard anymore :)

Let's do this together!

Basic Communication Tools

haha. i've borrowed some project management books from the library just so that i can learn from the experts on how to handle a project.

it's not just gonna be a ball - it's gonna be more than a ball :) (Lam, 2008)

i'm currently reading a book called "Managing peope, including yourself" by Culp and Smith (1992).

Some basic communication tools for effective interpersonal coomunnications:

• actively listen
• do not judge or evaluate the other person
• demonstrate empathy and understanding
• ask open questions
• check your perceptions of what others are saying (*mm, important!*)
  
• check the perceptions that others have of what you said (*agree!*)
  
• concentrate on the other person, even though your mind may want to race ahead at a speed higher than that of the spoken words (*glo nods head vigorously*)
  
• give feedback effectively
• be generous with praise that is deserved
• be open to receive feedback without reacting emotionally
• evaluate verbal and nonverbal signals
• be sure that your verbal and nonverbal signals are in alignment
• be enthusiastic (haha.. i think i have too much of that.. might scare ppl of at times ;p)
• look beyond the appearance of the person for the message
• use language that is understandable to the other person
• be conscious of and control the nonverbal messages that you send

though we may have heard of all these 'principles' through different channels, but i believe that effective communication is a life-long learning process. it's always good to be reminded :) and i will put these tools into practice not only for Malam, but for life ;)

effective communication will definitely be a valuable tool for a smooth flow for the night ;) most importantly, i will get to know the team members even better as we learn from each other.

i like what Carl Rogers said:

"a sensitive ability to hear, a deep satisfaction in being heard, an ability to be more real, which in turn brings forth more realness from others... herein my experience are the elements that make interpersonal communication enriching and enhancing."

will continue to post up stuff that i'm learning as i read :p haha. 3 more books to read ;) pretty much my bed-time story book or toilet newspaper or bus trip books :p

Wan Yin and me

Seems like we complement each other quite well :p she's more practical and down-to-earth; keeps me in check whilst i go all over the emotional side of things. It's been great working with her! thanks Wan Yin! :)

So now we more or less have our committee set up. Waiting for a few more people to get back to us. First committee meeting will be on 10th May 2008, Saturday. Time and venue TBC.

Talked to the LMSS rep yesterday. He will get back to me soon about the collaboration after discussing with the club's president. He was quite surprised that we have not set up our committee till yesterday...

ya. i admit that we are quite late compared to 2006; my main concern now is the venue, food and WHERE TO GET MONEY!! duit duit duit!

We are kinda racing against time; sponsors, grants... and if you want more than on-par performances...time does play an important factor too. We are, after all, busy university students who have to study, work part-time, amongst other stuff that defines a 'university student'.

Whatever it is, we will endeavor to deliver a great Malam! (^^)9

Will post up the deadlines here so that you guys can keep us in check and make sure that we are on track.

Till then, nitez. i'm tired from all the texting and talking :)

ps: keep warm!

Welcome Onboard!

So we now have 3 more people in the team:

Bernard as the protocol guy.
Ka-Mun as vice-secreteray.
Natasha as vice-treasurer.

Bernard has organized formal dinner functions before and is very much experienced and familar with all the formalities and such. He will be looking for a sub-team to help him with the frontline stuff.

Ka-Mun is the secretary of CMSA and Nat is the treasurer. One of the reasons why we are putting them as the vice is that they would be able to assist the secretary and treasurer of Malam - nak 'train' member dan raise leader kan :p

So welcome onboard! Look out for their posts! :)

On another note, my flatmates were giving me some ideas on Malam today.

What really stood out to me in the discussion was:

Think big, as if you have no restraints on the budget. Let the creative juices flow during the brainstorming.

Then when it's time to be realistic, when the limits of the budget kicks in, scale down.

i liked that. i don't want to think within a box. it feels good to have the box of budget lifted away, though temporary, but at least, it allows more room for the creative juice to flow.

we then also discussed on the ways to integrate the theme into Malam. The problem of audience participation came in - even if an idea is good, if there's no participation...well, maybe it wasn't that good an idea after all..

my friend concluded: looks like it's a hard task ahead!

i smiled: i know. but since i'm in it, i will take it like a man.. :p

4 main principles that i will stand firm on:

• Can't please everyone - no matter how good something is, there's bound to be criticism. i'm prepared for that.
  
  
• Trust - trust that the team will do their respective tasks well; and not taking everything into my own hands - not a one man show kan? :p
  
  
• Decisive - firm and with wisdom.
  
  
• Let go - when things don't turn out the way i want it or we want it, we'll let go and think of a better alternative.

last but not least, like Bern said to me once:

Enjoy the whole process! :)

Will be meeting up with the LMSS rep sometime this week! Stay tuned for that! :)

The Ball is Rolling

to start the ball rolling was no easy task. i had to struggle to push myself to get things started.

studies are getting tougher; time is scarce; and Malam is not an easy event to handle. sometimes i even wonder whether i am able to put this together.

but i am thankful for friends who said that they will be behind my back to help me through; i'm grateful for Wan Yin, my lovely assistant and friend who will be coordinating this with me... :)

And so, what is next on the list?

• set up a committee
• discuss the possibility of collaborating with LMSS (Lincolm Malaysian Students Society)
• get a venue!
• food!
• hope to get the ticket price to be not more than NZD45.00.
• sponsors!
• what performances?
• what events?

Wan Yin and me have been going through some ideas; but right now, we need a team to get things started. Hope to get a team by latest second week of May; set up deadlines; and get about doing things!

Remember, no matter how tough the going is, the tough gets going! :D

Fighting! :)