Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hollywood Moments in Hong Kong

Apparently,humor and irony IN my life are OUT this Fall.

Apart from not being able to wave my last goodbye to my parents before they got on the plane to Mecca for 3 whole weeks and not getting to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha this Sunday with the rest in Muar,I got called up to go for a flight of terror.Halloween's just around the corner,so I'm guessing irony is definitely lingering around somewhere =P

Last 3 days,I was on standby duty at home,confidently assuming that there would be no flights available to go to.Just a few minutes after my standby time started,the officers told me that I was needed on a flight to Hong Kong.Let me tell you folks something about flights to Hong Kong.Not just that it's simple and short haul,the crews also get to enjoy a day off in Hong Kong before flying back home.On top of that,the flight allowances are competitive,considering that it is only a 3 hour and 45 minutes flight.Hardly anyone will miss the chance of jumping onboard that flight.

At first,I thought I hit the jackpot by getting such flight during standby,until,I reached the flight management building to sign in for flight.I scrolled down the list of crew names on the screen of the computer,and there it was,......a name that made my 'luck' seemed a lot more sensible.I didn't hit a jackpot after all,it was more like hitting rock bottom.

A name that all of us dread off,especially the non-supervisory crews.She was the assigned In-Flight Supervisor of our Hong Kong flight.That 1 particular crew,whose place I was replacing on that flight definitely made the right decision to not show up.When onboard,every single of us was picked by her on undefined mistakes we made.I would say that she's the real 'Devil Wears Prada' of our airline.

To take my mind off my fear towards Ms Miranda Priestly during my off day in Hong Kong,I decided to go sightseeing,instead of doing the usual (shopping,of course!) with a fellow companion.We left the hotel to the city central as early as 9am with great plans on our mind.As we reached the central,we walked for almost 2 kilometers towards a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong,the Peak Tram.On the way there,we stopped by a nearby park,right in front of IFC Mall,to eat our McDonald's breakfast takeout.While enjoying my scramble eggs,I was also wishing that I didn't pack my platform ankle boots for this Hong Kong flight.The fashionable,yet stupid self of mine ended up torturing my 2 precious feet with some extra weight the whole day =P

Loved the eggs but resented the adorable boots.

As we reached the Peak Tram,there was already an awful lot of people queueing to purchase tram tickets to get to the Peak.We managed to jump the long queue by getting combo tickets : Return Tram + Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum entry pass.Yes,they have Madame Tussaud's Wax museum in Hong Kong too!I've been to the 1 in London when I was younger,and remembered every second of the magical experience.I got to pose with the whole British Royal Family,Charlie Chaplin,Michael Jackson,Crocodile Dundee and other magnificent wax figures.But yesterday,I posed with a whole bunch of my personal idols!

The hill to be climbed towards the Peak was super steep,thank goodness for the comfy big tram.

Once we reached the Peak,we didn't waste any minute of our time and straight away raced towards the wax museum.We were welcomed by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's wax figures,but once we stepped in,our Hollywood moments started.It was like walking on a red carpet filled with Hollywood A-listers!Definitely a dream come true for an average Malaysian girl like me ;D

Bumped into the Aussie beauty,Nicole Kidman...
...the glamourous couple,Brangelina..
...the hunky vampire Robert Pattinson..
...Rob again..
...and Rob again!Okay,I'm obsessed with Rob,what are you gonna bout it? =P

Moving on to legendary icons of all time ;

Mr Will Shakespeare..I wanted his quill so I could write as good as him =D
The undeniable genius,Mr Albert Crazy Hair Einstein.
..And of course,the Lady whom I shared a name with,Diana..
...and the British Royal family.I was pretty sure I fit in just well among them =D
Obama a legend?Not quite sure bout that fact but I sure enjoyed being his secretary though ;)

Next were the walk of fame past golden Hollywood icons,present as well as in the past.Starting with....

My personal favourite idol,Audrey Hepburn!Had a lovely Breakfast at Tiffany with her =D
A flown full skirt moment with the golden girl,Ms Monroe.Yeah,there was a look-alike dress and wig provided for visitors to don.
Rock 'n' rolled with the King himself,Elvis Presley.
...and shared a mic with King of Pop,MJ.
They loved me,yeah,yeah,yeah.....;D

Apparently,not just Hollywood icons made it to the museum,but Bollywood as well!

Namaste,Mr Amitabh Bachan.

And not forgetting my favourite HUGE basketball player,

Couldn't you be anymore taller,Yao Ming?

Well,I took a few more pictures with other amazing celebrities such as Madonna,Lady Gaga,and Spiderman but I'm utterly exhausted to continue downloading more pictures.All I can think about right now are my fluffy pillows and a double mushroom swiss burger with large potion of french fries.But all I can afford to munch on right now is Milo cereals while hugging my fluffy pillows.It's raining cats and dogs outside,and there is no way I'm gonna soak myself wet just to get some burger and fries.

Anyway,now that the nightmare flight was over,I could sleep soundly tonight with hopes of not bumping into the devil who wears freaking Prada in my dreams or reality for that matter,ever again!

*Wonder what my parents could possibly be doing right now..Praying for their safety and accomplishment of getting Haji Mabrur at the end of their journey in Tanah Suci.Amin*

Monday, October 24, 2011

"West End" : The Musical Highlights - It's SHOWTIME!


I believed this was where I left you folks at from the previous post,just right before the ensembles were sent for hair and makeup.So there I was,getting my stage makeup done by a talented,yet hilarious makeup artist,KuYee.We have been reminded over and over again by the producers for not to complain about our makeup,hairdo or costumes.According to them,everything was in order and perfectly done NOT for us to look pretty,but for the audience to notice and enjoy.Quoting the artistic director,o"Regardless when you look in the mirror and see yourselves looking like a monkey,NEVER make any alterations for your own desired fit!Tonight is about looking good for the audience,not yourselves!" Brutal huh?

Unfortunately,my makeup did make me look like a monkey,upfront through the naked eyes.But under the spotlight and cameras,it made me look golden,like a real West End girl ;D So did the rest of us!

I managed to snap a few pictures with my uncountable costumes on before the show actually started.For everyone's convenience,here's the specific run through of the show :

Opening Gambit
Song : Go Go Joseph
Musical : Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Denna : Lead Female

West End Trailer
Songs : Top Hat,You're The Want That I Want,All That Jazz,Lady Marmalade,You Can't Stop The Beat,Don't Cry For Me Argentina,Mama Mia,Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Musical : Sound of Music,Mama Mia,Chicago,Grease,Evita,High School Musical,Wizard of Oz
Denna : Lead Female for Lady Marmalade 

SHOWTIME
Song : No Business Like Show Business
Musical : Annie Get Your Gun
Denna : Not involved

Song : One Night Only
Musical : Dream Girl
Denna : 1 of 3 Dream Girl Singers

Song : Take A Chance On Me,Dancing Queen,Mama Mia,Thank You For The Music (ABBA Medley)
Musical : Mama Mia
Denna : Lead Female for Mama Mia & Thank You For The Music

Song : Grease,We Go Together
Musical : Grease
Denna : 1 of the Lead Females for Grease & We Go Together

Song : Copacabana (At The Copa)
Musical : Copacabana
Denna : 1 of 4 Salsa Dancers

Finale
Songs : Finally,Shake Your Groove Thing,Hot Stuff,I Love The Nightlife,I Will Survive
Musical : Priscilla Queen of The Desert
Denna : Involved in all

Now that everyone has a clearer picture on the musical numbers we were doing,it would be a lot easier for me to describe the details of the musical performances.With pictures,of course.Not that I have any picture taken while we were performing on stage -_-

This was the costume meant for the opening gambit of Go Go Joseph.Thanks to a dear friend/technical crew,Hafiz,we managed to snap this picture just right before we went up on stage.Boy,were we nervous!I could barely feel my legs!It was shaking with the thought of me going up stage and dance right in front,in the middle!I was the lead for this number (proud of me yet,Ayah & Ibu?) and trust me,I never volunteered to be one.The routine was tough and tricky.I could slip any minute and ruined the whole thing,but luckily,I didn't that night =)

This was the costume for our West End Trailer and again,this picture was taken just before I went up stage.When not asking Hafiz to snap the picture for me,I pulled him into the picture instead!The top hat I was wearing was awfully big for me.But it managed to stay on my little head as I was doing that sexy thang with my bootie to Lady Marmalade ;) Almost at the end of the trailer,I was responsible to be at the top of a pyramid and that night,the foundation of the pyramid was shaky (thanks to the guys!Huh!) so I fell off behind instead of the front of the pyramid!But nobody was hurt =)

Before.....
....and After.
We were the Dream Girls!I know right?The wigs looked crazy on us and we might as well should just be the lead roles in Priscilla Queen of The Desert being drag queens instead of Dream Girls!Despite the fact that the dresses made it hard for us to walk,I totally loved the details on them.They were so beautiful and glamourous!When will I ever wear another dress like this?!

Next,I should be displaying a picture of me in Mama Mia's costume but sad to say that I never got the chance to even feel its fabric in the 1st place.When it was given,we only had time to arrange it in order of its appearance.I was given to wear a pink knee length glittery dress,accessorized with pink silk gloves and a nuthead pink bob wig!You folks couldn't imagine how ridiculous I looked on stage with the pink wig!It wasn't just hideous,but it kept sticking into my mouth everytime I tossed and turned doing my dance routine!And the bangs were too long that it almost blocked the upper half of my eyes!Everytime I mentioned about the wig to Ibu,she just couldn't stop laughing and said that I looked totally cute in it!Cute was never good -_-

Moving on to Grease.We were the leading ladies of the musical number and didn't we look adorable in our '60s outfit? ;;) The full skirt,bow headband and white sunnies were just so me!Loving every moment of wearing that costume as it was the comfiest among the rest of other costumes.This picture was taken even before the whole show started so didn't even have lipstick on.I was happily twirling and prancing on stage to the beat of We Go Together from the musical Grease,and apparently the crowd cheered for this number the most!I bet most of them missed being young,fun and Grease-y =)
The guys of Grease were looking nerdier and cuter than ever =D

The Cha-cha girls of Copacabana Club!I absolutely have no way to describe this costume for Copacabana number.It was exquisite,sexy,glamourous and difficult to put on.There were velcros everywhere!But we all loved doing cha-chas,so the costume complement every of our movement.

As we were getting ready for the Finale in the changing room,suddenly we heard commotions out in the Grand Ballroom.People were cheering,screaming,whispering and clapping at the same time.For all we knew,the legendary David Foster and Michael Bolton attended our humble event!Out of nowhere,we heard Michael Bolton's husky voice singing 'When A Man Loves A Woman' on the microphone!I quickly ran backstage at peeped through the curtains and saw Michael Bolton performing,for real!My heart almost stopped!I've always loved to listen to Michael Bolton's songs when I was little,and that night,the man himself (with a short haircut now) was singing right in front of my eyes.According to the audience of the event,David Foster sat next to our producer of the event as he was playing his piano on stage =)

So,the night finally ended.Tears....tears...tears....

No words could describe how much I would miss the moments of being part of a so-called West End production.If I were to be excellent in acting,singing and dancing,I would've joined the real production in a heartbeat.But too bad,my fortes were and still are only dancing and smiling,so there I was,performing in a fake production of West End =P

I know I looked like The Joker in Batman in those red lips but I'll treasure this picture of Autumn,Abang Ahmad Kassan (choreographer) and I til the next project that will meet us again.

A million thanks to my wonderful parents who were willing to spare some of their time attending my big show night all suited up.Their attendance meant a lot more than I could ever imagine,even without their could-be-useful dslr =P

I don't know what's coming up next but I sure am ready to jump into another production anytime they need me.I'll keep my hopes high.

So til then folks,goodnight!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

"West End" : The Musical Highlights - Behind The Scenes

Felt like pinching knocking myself on the head!Couldn't believe that everything was finally over last night!All the hardwork and leg-breaking for 6 months in a row came to an end.Relieved,yet swept by an overwhelming grief by the fact that I could no longer shake my bootie,for the time being :'(

Cabin Crew Nite 2011 was a success and splendidly ended with joyous moments for those who were involved,as well as those who attended the massive event last night.Wanna know why I tagged it as 'massive'?Perhaps you should go along with the progress of this post to know.

Shangri La Hotel KL was the venue of the event.We were there for 2 days in a row for continuous rehearsals which nearly separated my lower and upper limbs.It was hectic,tiring but of course,we created our own fun.The committee members including the technical staffs and ensembles(performers) have our own official shirts with names and signature number,specially designed for official matters such as rehearsals.Some of you might have seen me wearing mine from a picture I posted on Twitter.




Yeah,above were among the last moments of fun we all shared together before we were sent for hair and makeup.In the grand ballroom,the production and technical team were busy putting up props,doing last minute sound checks and singers rehearsing their songs.The singers used to rehearse separately,so it was the 1st time we ever heard of them singing the selection of songs for the night.The songs chosen were 'Fame','I Have A Dream','Bohemian Rhapsody','Don't Stop Believing','Radio Gaga' and etc.I know right?So Glee!

We were the groupies of the band playing.
The singers with diva attitude.
The technical team was working so hard on putting the best props on stage.
And of course,the empty Grand Ballroom.

Okay,I'll leave you folks here and as I continue with the next blog post,it's gonna be all about SHOWTIME!Stay tuned! =)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Convocation,Again

Having been born to have interest in dressing to the nines,I always see formal events or parties as huge opportunities to look golden and watch others do the same.Attending theaters,wedding receptions,convocations,shows,and such ceremonies are the highlights of my boring routine life.

It was Sweetie Pie's convocation day last weekend,and of course,I wouldn't miss it for the world!I never got to attend my own convocation so I got pretty excited attending others'.


Last May was Pasha's convocation ceremony held at University of Auckland,and the experience of attending it was moving.Perhaps the way each university celebrated their graduates varied.Here I'm listing the differences down for you folks :

University of Auckland


*No speech from awarded best student.

*Hands were clapped for every graduate receiving scroll.

*All educators were seated on the stage.

* No singing choir group.

*No automatic moving stand that went right up front of Chancellor for his speeches.

*1 big fat clap from graduates for attendees (parents,relatives and friends)

*No limitation of attendees for each graduate.

*Graduates were less formally behaved,not tied to any protocols.

University of Tenaga Nasional


*A speech from awarded best student.It was touching,I might add.

*No clapping of hands for graduates receiving their scrolls.So,I didn't dare to break the formality by clapping and cheering for Sweetie Pie =P

*Only a number of educators (especially those with PHDs) were seated on the stage,while the rest were hardly noticed among the parents' and graduates' crowd.

*There was a choir group,singing at the top of their lungs during intermissions,opening and closing of the ceremony.

*No claps from graduates to attendees of the ceremony.Damn.

*A limit of two attendees for each graduate.Poor Ammal had to stay at the hotel room =(

*Graduates were formally behaved.None of them even proudly waved to the audience from the stage.

Enough of the differences.One thing that both ceremonies have in common was graduates and attendees suiting up.Although I didn't get to wear my Chanel dress like I did back in Auckland,at least I got to put on a rusty old fancy kebaya I owned back in 2005.It finally got to breath some fresh air out of the closet =P


Denna,Sweetie Pie,Aunty Asiah and Ammal.


Note that the cute blushing teddy was from me,and the other pretty bouquet was from Ammal =)

It was a ceremonious afternoon.Even a few of non-graduating friends of Sweetie Pie came to share the moments with him,and one of them was Adzale,a close buddy of his.He came with great news,telling that he's officially dating a good friend of ours,Mossy!We couldn't be happier for both of them,and I hope they wouldn't mind me telling everyone bout their friendship-turned-to-love relationship here =P If they do mind,well,"Sorry darlings!What's written can't be undone!Just like how you both are fated to be with each other ;D".Hehehe...!

Ad,Haziq,orange sunnies guy(?),and Sweetie Pie.

Time was running out that noon.I escaped the first half of Cabin Crew Nite rehearsal to attend the convocation and promised the producer that I would be joining them for the second half of the rehearsal.With no lunch and proper goodbye to Aunty Asiah and Ammal,I left UNITEN grounds for the dance studio at Taman Sri Rampai.

Of course,before I left,I managed to grab hold of Sweetie Pie's graduation cap.I guess that was how I would look like if I were to ever graduate =P

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Groovy 'Chicken Dance' Kind of Love

I had so much to write about,yet I couldn't get myself to type them.

Have any of you bloggers out there experienced this kinda feeling?It seriously sucked big time,coz all of your perfectly composed words were just trapped there inside your little head stomping your brains and all you gotta do was let them out.But no,you couldn't.You hands were chained to your notebook's keyboard,and for all you knew,you started typing bout something else instead.

Like I'm doing right now.

I wanted to blog bout something more serious and deep,but it was as if an awful lot of factors were holding me back on purpose.So for the sake of updating the blog,here I would like to share with you a favourite scene that I kept rewinding and played on my Macbook and the old song that has been invading my head and iPod all week like a broken record.



When I'm feeling blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When you're close to me
I can feel you heart beat
I can hear you breathing
In my ear
Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love

Any time you want to
You can turn me on to
Anything you want to
Any time at all
When I kiss your lips
Ooh, I start to shiver
Can't control the quivering inside
Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love

Ooh

When I'm feeling blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When I'm in your arms
Nothing seems to matter
My whole world can shatter
I don't care
Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love



This song reminded me of how it felt like when you first fell in love with someone.That crazy feeling you had in your stomach when you imagined yourself looking at his gorgeous eyes or when that gorgeous dreamy eyes stared right back you.You just flipped out and this song would automatically played in your head,like you were directing you own love scene.


I doubt guys would understand any of those craps above but girls would.Especially the hopeless romantic kinds,like myself.Romance is the butter for my bread in life.


Okay,enough with all these mushy stuffs.Snapping myself back to reality...*continue watching New Girl episode 3,chicken dance at the wedding scene ;P*

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Belles of The Mall

It is crucial that you stay in touch with all of your friends,boy or girl,coz you'll never know when you might need them the most.Each friend plays a different role in your life without you knowing it.In girls' world,portrayed in the epic series of Sex and The City,you'll need a Carrie,Samantha,Miranda and Charlotte to surround you at the coffee table during brunch.As you can see,they're all different in all sorts of aspects,but they eventually complete each other and become soulmates for life.

In my case,I'm mostly surrounded by sweet Carries and Charlottes,and.......a Samantha.That Samantha is none other than Ms Carleena.

Carleena is my Sam for a whole lot of reasons.She's fabulous,takes no for an answer,bachelors (or some might be not) at her fingertips,super strong and independent (but secretly fragile),and did I mention fabulous?I've known her since 2007,when we first met at the Petronas Twin Towers,waiting to be interviewed and selected as 1 of Petronas F1 GP Gridgirls.Of course,we both made the cut and became grid girlfriends and not to mention close friends ever since.Together for 3 years as grid girls,Motor GP hotties,Polo Angels,and other minor events.

After a couple of years of not seeing her,Carleena and I finally set a date to catch up and do what we girls always do best,shopping.

Well,my day started horribly wrong.What's new?As I was dolling up in front of the mirror at home,suddenly,all went dark.It wasn't just the weather turned cloudy,but electricity went off too.It was a black out,and I haven't even blown my wet hair yet!Just terrific!Without further delay,I simply continued to do my makeup and picked a random outfit that wouldn't need any ironing.It happened to be my lavender cotton dress and beige cardigan,both from Forever New.

As I reached The Gardens that noon,I left Carleena waiting patiently for me at Sushi King while I went to blow my hair at Metrojaya's stylish powder room.Oh yeah,folks.I brought my hairstyling tools to the shopping mall,under desperate measurements.I've always hated looking undone when going out so there was no way I would hang the whole day with Carleena looking like a girl who only made it halfway through a hair blow at the salon.A middle-aged Chinese lady from Penang,who was also in the powder room,simply lightened up my day by saying I looked like an angel!I know what you folks must be thinking right now.That Penang lady must have been out of her freaking mind,right?!

Anyway,Carleena and I hardly spent that much time at The Gardens.After lunch,we drove to Suria KLCC for more exciting things to do.Little did I know,my Carleena has turned into a crazy shopaholic only after a couple of years not seeing her!She dragged me from the major department stores to most of the outlets at Suria KLCC.We made bunny hops from Ferragamo to French Sole,Gucci,LV,and Sephora without a single sweat running through our makeup.For all I knew,she was also awfully allergic to the sight of this :

BRANDED SALE!

....like me!Carleena ended up with 2 Warehouse dresses at the sale and nil for me.It was just sad that I couldn't afford to splurge on unnecessary items at critical times (planning a wedding) like this,but watching Carleena did all the shopping on my behalf was just as good.It slowly released me from eternal craze for shopping.


Catching up with lotsa caffeine involved was a must.At the coffee table at Dome,we realized that no matter how long the years have taken into separating us,we were still the same old Denna and Carleena,only with cuter outfits ;D We might have grown a little and changed the men in our lives,but deep inside,we were and still are these outgoing innocent party girls like we used to be.


It was good seeing Carleena again!She reminded me of my younger years,not that I'm pathetically old now =P And by that,I've managed to pull the interest of another potential ARRESted For Life blog reader/follower for mentioning about her on this post. Hehehe! Hope you'll like this post,Carl ;D

Good night folks and love you all!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Belong In The Skies

A dreadful Monday morning.

I've finally made my choice to stay 35,000 feet above sea level (with min of 8days on ground) and said no to Louis Vuitton.

Who in this small world ever turned Louis Vuitton down?That person must be 1 hell of a creep!Apparently,I am that creep.And will remain to be that creep to who turned Louis Vuitton down for the rest of my short/long pathetic life.

I needed something to perk me up and made me believe that I belong in the wide blue skies.Tried watching the hilarious comedy 'View From The Top' more than the amount that I could ever imagined,which helped a little but still the dose was insufficient.

Lucky me,the most anticipated series 'Pan Am' premiered starting last week,on the 25th September!Hoorayy!!


Not that I've ever flown with Pan Am in the late 1920s til early 1990s,coz I obviously wasn't born yet when they were at their peak of the era,but I found the visuals of the show to be accurately on the mark.From what I heard,the stewardesses actually walked gracefully in formation through the terminal while all heads turned.Their uniforms,hair,posture and makeup were perfect.They were worshipped as goddesses by men (young and old) and idolized/envied by little girls and women.

This show did a terrific job of portraying the image precisely.The pilot episode was intriguing enough to make viewers like me to tune in to next episode a week after.

The main characters of the show are the stewardesses of Pan Am - Maggie (Christina Ricci), Laura (Margot Robbie), Kate (Kelli Garner), and Colette (Karine Vanesse).As well as their handsome newly promoted pilot, Dean (Mike Vogel).Pretty stewardesses and a handsome pilot,what more can you ask for on 1 plane?Or in a show,for that matter.

It's hardly too late for you folks to follow the exciting lives of these Pan Am hotties as only 2 episodes were aired so far.Join me on my couch,theoretically,and watch (I mean download) Pan Am on every Sunday! =D

I Love My Job,I Love My Job,I Love My Job,I Love My Job,I Love My Job....*chanting to self with a very indecisive face expression*