Little Chatters & Gestures

About a week ago, I made my way to South Korea with 7 of my friends. I had been anticipating the trip for quite some time. Now I can say for sure that I loved it!

This post isn't going to be about that wonderful trip, though. I'm saving that for another post (soon, hopefully).
In this post, I'll be mentioning about some of the little occurrences, involving chatters and gestures from the people I bumped into, as I'm intending to re-live those simple yet precious moments.

KL-to-Seoul Flight
As our plane took off and we were on our way to Seoul, South Korea, the flight attendants were distributing immigration declaration forms to non-Korean passengers to enable us to fill them up while on the flight. A flight attendant was approaching my row and she momentarily stopped distributing the forms as she asked me, "Are you Korean?" just to be sure because only non-Koreans needed the forms. I just smiled like a sheep and replied "No.". I then had a quick look at myself to figure out what made her think that I might be Korean. I answered myself, "Must be my charm spirit..". I was slightly flattered but also puzzled.

Inside the Van from Incheon International Airport, Seoul
The van driver who drove us to our hostel in Seoul was friendly and chatty. Since there were 8 of us girls and we were heading to Girls' Generation Hostel in Euljiro, he called us 말레이시아 소녀시대 (Girls' Generation Malaysia). When he said that out, we went haywire inside the van. Sye proclaimed that she was Yoona, the others took a moment to think who they represented in SNSD (Girls' Generation), someone claimed that Za언니 was Yuri, and someone else blurted out that I was the one who was (is) dating EXO-K's Baekhyun, referring to Taeyeon. While they were at it, my mind was still lingering on the coincidental fact that we indeed seemed like our own version of SNSD and that we were going to stay at Girls' Generation Hostel while in Seoul.

Malaysian Attires at Korean Palaces
We made our way to Gwanghwamun area to visit some of the palaces and the Secret Garden there. All 8 of us wore our traditional attires. I was wearing my traditional Bidayuh costume. It was quite a mesmerising experience as we learned about Korean historical culture and at the same time, we somehow promoted Malaysia by what we were wearing. Like many tourists do, we snapped photos here and there. Other visitors stopped and took photos of us as well, indubitably because of the variety of attires that we were wearing.

♥Army Guy♥ at Gapyeong Station, Gyeonggi-do
From the moment we touched down, my dear friend Sye had been mumbling about how nice it would be if we could meet some Korean army guys (either actual army members or those in 2-year military service, whichever). Deep down, I couldn't agree more. They just generally seem so....cunning, you know. So, after our journey back from Nami Island, we proceeded to commute by train from Gapyeong Station. As we exited the bus and walked towards the train station, there was a cute guy in his army uniform walking in the opposite direction. Some of us (including me) started to feel flustered for no clear reason, so J언니 boldly called out the cute guy and asked if it was okay to take some photos together. He said yes and I was like ♥o♥. Sye and Ya were getting ready next to him. My feet had their own mind and childishly ran next to him too (Thank you for doing that, childish feet!). 2 of our 언니's were ready to snap a few photos. Before that, I asked that cute guy "How old are you?" out of curiosity and after J언니 suggested me to ask. He adorably replied "Twenty-three" in what sounded like perfectly fluent English to me. I responded (in Korean, I don't know why), "아...누나이에요." (Ah...I'm a nuna.), which is true because I'm about 3 years older than him. Once we were done taking photos, we thanked him and bid farewell. I regretted not asking for his SNS ID's if he has any. Inside the train on our way back, Sye looked at the photos we took and 'complained' at how close I was with him in the photos. I didn't notice and didn't mean to be that close, okay. But I'm secretly glad that we were quite close, actually. I just stood there and posed naturally. Sye couldn't get over it at that time and cropped one of the photos, focusing on just the cute guy and me. After she saved the cropped photo, she found out that the original photo was overwrittened. It was a devastating yet funny moment. I couldn't contain my laughter, so I laughed inside the train till my feet couldn't stand any longer and I squatted down till I calmed down. Oh man, it was really funny!

Coffee Love at First Sight
To commute from Jeonju to Busan, the 8 of us took the bus. When we reached Jeonju Bus Station, we bought our tickets and roamed around the station while waiting for our bus to arrive. Some of us noticed that there was an army guy in the same station and later on, we found out that he was going to get on the same bus as we were. After loading our bags inside the bus' luggage compartment, we entered the bus and went to our pre-designated seats. To my surprise, the seat next to me belonged to the army guy, with the aisle in between us. I noticed that he was drinking a yellow can of coffee. I didn't get the name of the coffee at that time but later on, I figured out that it was Georgia Max coffee. I whispered to May, who sat next to me, telling her about the coffee that the guy was drinking. She blatantly replied to me, "Minum kopi, tidur jugak." (Even after drinking coffee, he still sleeps.), which was quite a witty comment, I must say. True enough, he was taking naps throughout the journey but he was probably just casually resting. When we reached Busan, we checked in at our hostel and walked around the area. 솔B언니 and I stopped by at a convenience store to buy some coffee as our energy booster. I found myself searching for the same coffee that I saw on the bus earlier on. Something inside me kept telling me to give it a try. I gleefully found that particular can of coffee based on the colours and design of the can since I didn't know the name of the coffee at that time. So, I bought it and had a drink. I loved it! I let Sye have a sip and she loved it too! Ever since, I had been buying the coffee on daily basis while in Korea. (Now I really miss it. ㅠㅠ)

★Army Guy★ at Haeundae, Busan
We took the subway train and exited at Haeundae Station to pay a visit to the beach. It was pretty bright and sunny that morning. As we walked the streets and crossed the roads towards Haeundae Beach, a young guy in his army uniform (again?!) caught my eyes. It was quite a normal thing to see over there but this particular guy caught my attention because it seemed that he was roaming around the area with a friend, searching for a specific place. Before I noticed that he and his friend were searching for something, we happened to cross the same road. Our first interaction was when I looked to my left to see if there was any incoming vehicle, as I noticed a glance of an individual looking towards my direction. I slowly tilted my head up since I was looking downward because of the sunlight and in an instance, I caught the eyes of the army guy. I still can't figure out why but my eyes were fixed on him for a few seconds and he was looking back before I finally looked away and kept walking with my friends. I honestly don't understand why I stared longer than normal. I just did. Now that I think of it, it sounds like a short scene from one of the dramas on TV. After enjoying our time at Haeundae Beach and the area nearby, my friends and I had our lunch and headed back to the station to go back to our hostel. On our way, we came across the same army guy and his friend, walking from our opposite direction. I told my friends that it was the exact same guy and we tried our best to remain calm and cool as our paths crossed. I didn't turn my head to look at him (which was hard for me) but according to one of my friends, he looked towards our direction as we were walking. So, he must have remembered me us.

KL-to-Kuching Flight
The next morning after arriving in KL, Malaysia from Busan, South Korea, I took a flight to go back to my hometown for a while. After finishing my meal, the flight attendant was collecting garbage to be thrown away. I handed over my finished meal and he took it while saying "감사합니다~" (Thank you~). I simply exchanged smiles with him and replied "네.." (Yes..). His Korean pronounciation was pretty good, I could tell. At that time, I was wearing my red Korea T-shirt, which most likely gave away the clue that I just came back from Korea or that I might be Korean, in any way.


All in all, I found that the little chatters and gestures really matter in order to make up meaningful and memorable experiences.

여러분, 고맙다고 사랑한다!

posted from Bloggeroid

Appreciate

I'm now officially 25.

As much as I agree that "age is just a number" in some occasions, there are certain things that we gain only once we get older. One of them is being able to see things more clearly in a wider perspective.

So, this year, instead of being celebratorial, I intend to honour the day I was born by being appreciative.
Before that, have you checked out my birthday message that I prepared out of the blue?
Here you go!


I'm grateful to many people and for many things in my life. However, these are the top things I'm grateful for in particular from the period of my 24th birthday to my 25th.

1) The chance to complete my tertiary education



A special shout-out to my former professors, lecturers, tutors, and faculty staff members for their guidance and support~ I won't forget you all.

2) Getting to kick start my career



I've been learning valuable and interesting things day by day. I hope to keep improving.

3) Having meals and drinks everyday



Most days, I eat moderately so that I'll benefit from it financially and health-wise. However, there are days when I indulge in more 'glorious' food than usual.

4) The ability to move about



I'm telling you, walking and making use of public transportation are advantageous. It may feel a little tiring when you're not used to it yet, but in time, you'll benefit from it in several different ways. Hot weather? Sunblock, cap, sunglasses.. Rain? Umbrella, raincoat.. Haze? Mask, plain water.. Muscle soreness? Warm up, comfy footwear.. Might be late? Get ready early, plan your journey.. Security? Prepare a potential defence 'weapon', stay alert.. What more excuses do you have?

5) Technological devices



In this millennium, a lot of us can't live without our devices. I'm not helplessly dependent on technology, but I appreciate the convenience and possibilities that it offers.

6) The things I gain



Money isn't everything, but it's still very important. It represents materialistic value of things. To balance that, why not add holistic value to it by, perhaps, paying it forward and helping out those in need every now and then?

7) Being me



Most of all, I appreciate every opportunity I get to do things my way and try to be amazing at it. I may stumble along the way, but that's no big deal.

Best wishes to me!
Best wishes to you!
Best wishes to all!
God bless..

posted from Bloggeroid

My Fangirl Journey (90's to Present)

You might have heard of the term "fangirl" before. As straight-forward as the term suggests, it refers to a female who is a devoted supporter of a particular singer, dancer, actor, or celebrity. The male equivalent to it is known as "fanboy", although the number of fangirls always overshadow the number of fanboys. Nevertheless, fanboys are as significant as fangirls (though I personally think that fanboys are a little more precious and admirable).

Being a 'truly true' fangirl or fanboy is no child's play, let me tell you that. It has to happen voluntarily and naturally without being forced by peer pressure or trend. You need to feel it first before you can show it through your words and actions. It's different than a mere celebrity crush. Trust me, I've been living as a fangirl since the 90's. Happily, of course. :)

Here, today, I'm going to briefly share with you my journey as a fangirl so far.
Before that, please take note that being a fangirl or fanboy doesn't define our professional life (involving our education, career, etc.). It also isn't exactly our personal life (revolving around our connection with our family, friends, ourselves, etc.). The way I see it, being a fangirl or fanboy should have a category of its own. Seriously. Until we can come up with a brilliant name for it, let's call it fandom life, shall we?

90's onwards: Westlife (British Pop)



Westlife was the first group that I became a fangirl of. The group officially disbanded not too long ago but I'm glad that I got to be part of their fandom. It was their blend of vocals that captured me when I first listened to one of their songs. In the group, a few of them have strong, powerful vocals, fitting for main vocals in any song. The others have gentle, unique vocals, suitably perfecting a whole song with their harmony and enhancements. Westlife did a lot of cover versions of popular songs, originally sung by other singers. Some appeared to disapprove this, claiming that they should do more original songs. However, it never really bothered me because Westlife did the cover songs justice by delivering them in their best abilities and bringing the songs back to life. Plus, it's not like they did those cover versions without consent and proper crediting.

The top 3 cover songs that I enjoy the most are 'Butterfly Kisses', 'I'll Be Loving You Forever', and 'What About Now'. As for Westlife's original songs, my top 3 favourites are 'I Lay My Love On You', 'Every Little Thing You Do', and 'I Promise You That'.
[Let me tell you this. I'm TERRIBLE at narrowing my favourite songs to just 3 songs, but I need to.]

2007 onwards: The Click 5 (American Pop)



The Click 5 was the first band that I really like. The original 5 members learned music and practised together in Boston prior to their debut. I remember their sleek, clean-cut, tuxedo-wearing image from their debut album that caught my attention. Around the time of the band's debut, a local magazine at my place organised a contest with the band's debut CD as the prize. I joined the contest, which required participants to submit a participation form found inside the magazine's latest issue, and a few names would be randomly chosen as winners. I was one of the lucky winners! But before the contest winners were revealed, I bought The Click 5's CD from a music store since I fell in love with the band's songs. So, I have 2 copies of the same CD!
Quite briefly after the band debuted, the main vocalist had to leave the band, which broke my young heart into pieces. ㅠㅠ I even blogged about it as my first ever blog post on my old, no-longer-functional blog site, as pictured above. I managed to keep myself okay and welcomed the new main vocalist. Eric, the original frontman of the band, has a tender, melodious vocal, whereas Kyle, the new frontman, has a sharp, funky vocal. That made the band felt different when Eric left but they were still awesome as a band.

My top 3 favourite songs by The Click 5 are 'Just The Girl', 'Say Goodnight', and 'When I'm Gone'.

2008 onwards: Jonas Brothers (American Pop) & McFly (British Pop)



Yes, I was one of the young souls who adored the Jonas Brothers when they were at the beginning of their career as singers. The idea of brothers being together in a band, combined with the talents that the brothers all have, was simply irresistible. Enough said..

My top 3 Jonas Brother's songs are 'When You Look Me In The Eyes', 'Hold On', and 'Just Friends'.

Then, I also discovered an amazing British band known as McFly. Boy, they're incredible! Normally, a band has one frontman or main vocalist. It's different with this band - they have two! The two main vocalists have different vocal strengths, enabling them to complement each other in their songs. Now that I think of it, Tom (McFly) is kind of like Eric (The Click 5), while Danny (McFly) is kind of like Kyle (The Click 5), vocals-wise. But unlike the case of The Click 5, where one main vocalist had to replace the other, McFly can go on with both of their wonderful main vocalists.

Out of all McFly's songs, my top 3 favourites are 'All About You', 'I'll Be Okay', and 'Sorry's Not Good Enough'.

2009 onwards: Arashi (Japanese Pop)



I knew Arashi pretty late. I figured out about them almost ten years after the group's debut. It was probably because J-pop has always been a little more reserved when it comes to promoting overseas. Only a few years ago, J-pop has really started to explore more options to go global. Good for them! Before liking J-pop (the music), I grew fond of Japan through J-dramas and J-movies. All five members of Arashi have always been quite active as actors too, alongside their career as singers. It was through Arashi's youngest member, MatsuJun's drama, '花より 団子' (Hana Yori Dango; Boys Over Flowers) that I was introduced to Arashi, who sang the theme song of the drama. In fact, Arashi sang the theme songs for all two series of the drama and the movie finale. It didn't take me long to dig through Arashi's songs for the past years and I liked what I found. So, I became a fan quite instantly.

The top 3 Arashi's songs that I love the most are 'Hero', '瞳の 中の Galaxy' (Hitomi No Naka No Galaxy; The Galaxy Inside Your Eyes'), and '明日の 極端' (Ashita No Kyoku; Memories of Tomorrow).

2010 onwards: BEAST (Korean Pop)



At this point of time, BEAST members are the kings of my heart. They just are! To be very honest, I never wanted to become involved in anything K-pop-related because I felt intimidated and unsure of how 'healthy' it would be to be part of something that mainstream. I refused to give K-pop a chance, not even a tiny little glance. I would arrogantly say to myself "Walk away, Pris~ It's not worth it." How silly of me.. LOL So, how did I fall head over heels for BEAST? It seemed to me that it happened by accident, or how I like to call it, by destiny. It was my freshman year in university and I was having my lunch break by myself in a mall because I felt like driving out of campus for that two-hour break. After having my meal, I stopped by at a music store. In the promoted section right in front of the counter, something quite bulky caught my eyes. I picked it up and that was the start of my B2UTY-destiny fulfilment. I bought it, which turned out to be BEAST's second mini album with a T-shirt, and listened to the CD in the car as I drove back to campus. There are many great things that I can say about BEAST, but I would be exhausted by the time I finish talking (or typing) about them. To sum it up, I love how talented, loving, and humble the members are. Thank you for everything, BEAST!

If I had to choose my top 3 BEAST's songs, they would most likely be 'Oasis', 'You', and '니가 보고싶어지면' (Niga Bogoshipeojimyeon; When I Miss You).

2012 onwards: BTOB (Korean Pop)



BTOB is the latest (and hopefully the last) added group that I'm really a fangirl of. After BEAST, I vowed to myself that I might not be able to divide my support and attention any further. True enough, BEAST is irreplacable to me. But because of BEAST, I had the chance to get to know BTOB even before BTOB officially debuted. BTOB is BEAST's junior group, under the same entertainment agency. I freely checked out BTOB because at first glance, some of the members reminded me of BEAST, visually and as a first impression. Now, I love the group because they are not only multi-talented, but interesting when all seven personalities collide.

The top 3 songs by BTOB that I enjoy the most are 'Wow', '뛰뛰빵빵' (Dwi Dwi Bang Bang; Beep Beep), and '킅난 건 가요' (Keutnan Geon Gayo; Is It The End).


Alright!
That's my fangirl journey so far.

posted from Bloggeroid

Personal Financial Management, My Way

Whenever mom reminds me to manage my finance well now that I'm working professionally, I always jokingly answer "I know, I know. I'm a Finance graduate, remember?". ㅋㅋㅋ

As much as it's true that I'm indeed a Finance graduate from the dearly missed Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), the truth is, it doesn't matter what major someone took in university, or whether or not someone has graduated from any tertiary institution. We ALL need a proper personal financial plan. By planning and managing our finance well, we can rest assure that our daily necessities will be attainable and accessible. Once we get what we need, we can touch on what we want or desire.

There's no denying that the cost of living is getting higher and our liabilities can easily overshadow our assets these days. Therefore, it's not a petty matter at all when we talk about personal financial management.

I'm aware that every individual has his or her own way or method. As long as your way works fine for your lifestyle, by all means, go for it.

Here's my way of managing my personal finance.
First, I set up my principle, which outlines my focus when it comes to managing my own finance. My principle is to make sure that I abide by these two 'rules' - (i) to keep my priorities straight, and (ii) to practise some discipline in my spending.
If I ever feel lost, unsure, or tempted, I take a moment to think about those two 'rules'.

So, every month when I receive my salary, I utilise it in a pre-determined flow.
The flow may slightly change in the future as my circumstances may evolve, but for now, here's the flow.
(1) Receive salary -- (2) Pay mandatory expenses -- (3) Save -- (4) Buy gifts for family and pets -- (5) Do charity -- (6) Reward myself

(1) Receive salary
- I won't specify exactly how much I get paid per month, but I'll just state that my starting basic salary as an employee of an international financial institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is somewhere in between MYR 2,000 to 3,000 per month.
- Every month, a tiny percentage of my salary automatically goes to my Employee Pension Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) fund.

(2) Pay mandatory expenses
- My mandatory monthly expenses include rental (RM450, combined with utilities and residential association), public transportation (RM50 reload of transportation card), daily meals (RM450, including occasional purchase of Gloria Jean's coffee, or Starbucks coffee, or Secret Recipe desserts), mobile phone reload (RM60 for normal calling, texting, and mobile internet subscription) grocery shopping (RM150, usually at ISETAN Food Market or 99 Speedmart), and healthcare/ beauty shopping (RM100, usually at Watson's).

(3) Save
- For now, I allocate at least RM100 for my bank's saving account.
- I allocate another RM150 for my Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB) account, a trust fund for Bumiputra Malaysians.

(4) Buy gifts for family and pets
- Mom always tells me to focus on myself, especially since I'm rather new at this whole working adult notion, but every now and then, I like to get a little something for those back home when I have the chance.
- Plus, it helps to feed my burning passion for shopping.

(5) Do charity
- I believe in "paying it forward", where we do something nice for others, not because we feel obliged to, but because we simply want to.
- As of now, I'm particularly supporting World Vision (www.worldvision.com.my) through their Sponsor A Child programme and Education fund.
- I also support Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (www.facebook.com/MalaysianDogsDeserveBetter).

(6) Reward myself
- Needless to say, this is my favourite part. However, I always make sure that it's the LAST one in line. This way, I can truly enjoy every moment without feeling uncertain or guilty.
- My favourite ways of rewarding myself include shopping for outfits, watching movies at the cinema, café-hopping, getting my hair treated or done at the salon, or going for a karaoke session. (I have more care-free and fun activities to add on the list, to be frank. LOL)
- Aside from the above-listed activities, I also reward myself by going for a trip. This requires a mid-or-long term kind of planning, especially for overseas destination.

So, there you go!
I shall monitor and enhance my personal financial management as time goes by because I want to have a balance between being stable and flexible.

More than anything, I really really really hope that everyone realises the need to properly manage one's finance, regardless of how much we earn and how many dependents we have. Work something out and don't stress out. Let's not take this lightly, alright?

posted from Bloggeroid

Dear Potential Global Support Executive...

To job seekers (Fresh graduates, expected to graduate, experienced.... It doesn't matter.), here's a piece of good news.

HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Malaysia), or HDPM in short, is hiring! To be more exact, this particular position is under HSBC Global Service Centre Malaysia (HSBC GSC MY).



HDPM is a subsidiary company of HSBC Group, under the umbrella of HSBC Global Resourcing. The main office is in Cyberjaya, Selangor but there is a branch office in KL city, which is located inside Bursa Malaysia building at Jln. Raja Chulan, KL.

The work here involves back office tasks and functions, where we receive, process, verify, and settle transactions. Structure-wise, we are categorised into Global Banking & Markets (GBM) and HSBC Securities Services (HSS). For HSS, our core functions are Global Custody (equities, bonds, corporate actions), Sub-Custody, Fund Services, and CTLA (corporate trust & loan agency).

Even though we are connected to HSBC Bank, or HBMY in short, we do not do the exact same things. HBMY handles commercial banking, while HDPM handles global services involving institutional clients (corporations, other banks, asset managers, fund managers).

I'm under HSBC *Group* -- HDPM *Company* -- HSBC GSC *Centre* -- HSS *Process* -- Global Custody (GC) *Service* -- GC UK: Overseas Settlements *Department* -- UK-Far East *Team*.

Even though I'm still new at the company, I can confidently say that I've made a good decision to work here, considering the values that the company practises, the work environment, the benefits, and the opportunities that we get, work-wise and non-work-wise. Of course, it has to start with you and your initial mindset.

If you're interested to apply or to know more, drop me a message or comment and I'll reply the soonest possible. Sorry if I don't respond right away, but I'll try.

If you would like to get the assistance of a professional job consultant, I can recommend one too.

"Sharing is caring"~

Cheers~ ★

posted from Bloggeroid

[FAN ACCOUNT] 140808 HAHA Fanmeet @ K-Festival Malaysia 2014

You just never know when luck is on your side. Of course, it's not advisable to rely on good luck all the time because effort still matters more, but when you're lucky, you're lucky.

So, I was very lucky to be chosen as one of the special pass winners for K-Festival Malaysia 2014, held at Pavilion mall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The pass that I won allowed me to participate in an autograph session by HAHA (Real name Ha Dong Hun; Korean reggae singer; SBS 'Running Man' variety show cast member) as one of the activities during K-Festival.

How did I sign up for the special pass' lucky draw, you may ask? Simple. Korea Plaza KL, governed by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Malaysia, promoted about the lucky draw on its social media sites (website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). I saw the promotional post on Facebook and decided to sign up since the steps were very simple. First, applicants should be Kaki Korea Club members (*Member registration can easily be done at visitkorea.com.my for free.*). Second, we needed to submit our basic information (contact details) and answer a trivia question about HAHA. Third, applicants needed to submit the online form and wishfully wait for the result announcement. I went through my days as normal and frankly, I wasn't expecting much from the lucky draw that I almost forgot about it. One evening, as I was having my dinner break at work place's cafeteria, I checked my e-mail inbox like I always do. When I opened the e-mail message sent by KTO KL (which I initially thought was a promotional message about any of its events), my next expression was literally O.O ... I then had my dinner gleefully and went back to my work area. I hesitantly asked my Line Manager if I could get a day off on the particular fanmeet day. Thankfully, I could! From that moment onward, I was looking forward to the day I would meet HAHA.

August 8th came around and I was more than ready to meet HAHA at K-Festival. The day before, a Korean lady from KTO KL called me to inform about special passes' collection. So, I made my way to Pavilion mall, KL via public transportation and a little bit of walking. Along the way, I couldn't help but to smirk or giggle on my own whenever I thought about meeting HAHA 오빠 and getting his autograph in person (!!!). Once I reached Pavilion, I went straight to Centre Court area of the mall, where K-Festival was held. I got my special pass (in the form of a red tag, placed on my wrist by the crew member) and a goodie bag from KTO KL, containing KLiK magazines, "Imagine your Korea" t-shirt, Dove shampoo samples, Sunsilk shampoo samples, and "Imagine your Korea" hand fan. I was then led to the special zone area, where I sat with other K-culture fans. I briefly talked to a few of the girls at the special zone and we ended up getting each others' contact numbers to enable us to stay in touch and discuss everything K-culture-related. ^^



All audience members were entertained by a Kayarang (traditional Korean musical instrument) performance, played by 예쁜 Korean twin sisters. They even performed 'Negaraku', Malaysia's national anthem, and the whole audience stood up during the anthem's performance and sang along. It created such a heartwarming atmosphere. After the Kayarang performance, MC Cody Lim took the stage to chat and interact with the audience. The newly appointed ambassador of Kaki Korea Club was announced - Baki Zainal, TV host and Korean culture fan. Baki went on stage and joined Cody in chatting with the audience. After that, we were entertained by Painters Hero, a 4-member group of male artistes (painters) who impressively created pieces of arts while dancing on stage.

A press conference session was carried out right before the opening ceremony of K-Festival Malaysia 2014. Representatives who delivered their brief speeches were all amazed at the big crowd that K-Festival managed to attract even from the first day of the 3-day event. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was carried out and K-Festival was then officiated.

After that, it was the moment that all K-culture and 'Running Man' fans anticipatively waited for from the beginning of the day - the appearance of HAHA! HAHA went on stage and the crowd went insane (*I did too.*). HAHA, along with his interpreter and crew members, was surprised to see so many fans at the venue. I can recall how HAHA exclaimed "Waaah~" when he first appeared from back stage. He even took out his handphone to capture the moment in a video. A talk session with HAHA was carried out with Baki as the MC. HAHA even gave away some gifts to the audience by throwing out the (non-dangerous) items towards the audience's direction. The audience was so excited and bold that HAHA had to momentarily go back stage to cool down and wipe off his sweats from all the excitement. ㅋㅋㅋ



Soon after that, the autograph session took place. As one of the lucky winners of the special passes, I excitedly and nervously waited for my turn to get HAHA's autograph on the stage. When it was my turn, I handed out my "Imagine your Korea" hand fan for HAHA to sign on. As he took my fan, I greeted him with "오빠, 안녕!" (Oppa, hello!). He looked up, smiled (so freakin' cutely!!), and cheerfully replied "안녕~!" (Hello~!). He then wrote down my name and signed the fan. When he was done, he initiated a high-5 while exclaiming "Okay~". I happily responded to his high-5. I wanted a little more interaction, so I said out "하그.." (Hug..). He immediately said "Okay!" and stood up for a while to give me a hug. I was smiling ear-to-ear the whole time. God, thank you for allowing such a special occurrence in my life! The official photographer, who had been snapping photos of the session from the end of the table on stage, signalled me to look at the camera, so I did (with my I-am-on-Cloud-9 expression that probably looked silly). I went down the stage, still smiling (*My poor facial muscles~*) and briefly met the new friends I made before making my way to the station to go back. When I reached home, I still smiled like a fool, thinking of how wonderful the whole experience was.



Thank you very much, KTO KL and other co-organisers and sponsors!
Looking forward to more events like this one in the future..
잘하다.. 감사드리다.. 사랑하다..

posted from Bloggeroid

I'm From Borneo, Malaysia

It's no longer a surprising occurrence for me if someone pops out a question like "Erm...may I know where you are from?" even when it is not an ice-breaking or self-introduction session. I get that kind of question a lot and I don't mind it at all. In fact, I feel that it's a great opportunity for me to introduce or promote my birth place to more people. So, to strangers or passers-by who are wondering where I might come from, feel free to ask when you bump into me. LOL..

One of the occurrences took place when I had my meal break at the cafeteria of my work place. Normally, my friends and I would have our meals outside of our office building but lately, we choose to be less 'adventurous' and have our break nearby. It obviously saves more time and energy. So, when I was about to select my meal, the auntie who was catering us, the customers, abruptly asked me "Are you a Filipino?". I smiled and replied "No. I'm from Sarawak (part of Borneo, Malaysia).". The auntie acknowledged my answer and responded "You look special." (- She said it, OK, not me! LOL) I just smiled again and continued to pick my food, which was so good, turning me into a regular customer.

Another instance that really happened was during a Malaysian public holiday. I was on my way to work and the station was particularly packed with people. As I made my way out of the station, I noticed a family of tourists wandering around, as if looking for assistance. I was walking towards their direction. The mother came near me and asked if I could tell them the directions to Independence Square (Dataran Merdeka, KL). I tried my best to explain the directions to them since their intended destination was indeed nearby. Before parting ways, the mother asked me "Are you from Japan? Or Korea?". (- She really asked this, OK. I'm not making this up. Hahaha..) I was startled at the question but tried not to show it. I simply replied "No. I'm from Borneo, Malaysia.".

From these couple of examples, we can see that outward appearance can be quite deceiving but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I see it as a good thing because it shows that diversity exists. In a country as diverse and colourful as Malaysia, it is common to see a variety of Malaysians who look different from each other. This is one of Malaysia's uniqueness. Differences should not break us apart. Instead, let's make use of our differences to complement each other so that we make up a great, diverse team. Despite whatever challenges that we may face as a country or as individuals, I still refuse to give up on our 1Malaysia ideal. It may not be easy, but guess what? It's the challenges that keep the journey alive.

We can make it happen. It's all up to us.

posted from Bloggeroid

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