Template Change!

A minor template change to my blog, a change which is long overdue. I haven't put up images yet, it's mostly minor cosmetic changes in the fonts, colors etc. In due time I will have to put up a proper background image, else it will look really bland.

ICT FOC 05/06 coming up, as promised!

Introduction

This was my first ever blog post. From my friendster blog, which I have recently decided to migrate over to this blog for purposes of centralisation.

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AUGUST 13, 2005 AT 11.37AM

In this Introduction I'll just skim through what is to be expected in future writings.

I shall mostly be talking about random, disconnected matters, maybe concerning school, maybe concerning everyday occurrences (which go under the category of Highly Singular Occurrences).

It is not my policy to start a subject and leave it hanging. However, that policy may be broken (as all policies are meant to be), due to lack of time. This Book shall consist mainly of little mentions of things as they happen to me and as they occur to me.

Words I emphasize on will be enclosed in asterisks, like *this*. Examples are: Someone *has* to go and mess up those things, right? But we don't *do* these sorts of things.

Compare those with: Someone has to go and mess up those things right? But we don't do these sorts of things.

Alternatively, the asterisks can be replaced by a capital letter at the start of the word, as in: We simply Have to do that. What in the name of Goodness are you doing?

Every single thing in this Book is written in British English. Likewise, reading it in a British accent is suitable (*Very* suitable indeed.)

And so it is.

My next writing shall be about the Freshman Orientation Camp of the Info-Communications and Technology Club. A bit late to speak about this, but better late than never(?) Either way, I have to get it off my back. A note: It shall be written as a first person narrative (in other words, in present tense.)

Friendster Blog or Otherwise?

I have decided to move my posts from my friendster blog over to this blog (like finally!) The post below is the last post from my friendster blog before I decided to abandon it and post exclusively in my blogspot blog. I had already been posting in my blogspot blog since March that year, but at some point between March and June 2006 I realized the inordinate nature of keeping two blogs updated, and uncertainty resulted. Ultimately I decided on maintaining the blogspot blog and as a result, the friendster blog fell into disuse.

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JUNE 18, 2006 AT 6.17 PM

Should I write in a Friendster Blog or otherwise?

A Friendster blog is good in that it may notify people when you have updated it (if you wish it to). It isn't good in that design capabilities aren't so flexible. Terrible aesthetics!

Any other type of blog is more wide ranging in terms of customization, but this customization usually consists of getting an already-made template (I dislike that, but not entirely). The originality of the blog design is questionable. Also, people won't necessarily come to it.

Are my writings interesting, on both my blogs? Should I go on writing on my Friendster blog, or on my Blogspot blog? In the end, I still have to update one, or there will be annoying duplication. I hate the decentralisation. With one blog, it will be the main one, and all writings converge there.

Give a comment, or send me a message. (Comment may be easier.) I realise I am falling back Web-wise. Not even a decent blog to work upon. Tagboards, layouts, photos? How?

If you can help me in my blog design, please do. (I promise to get the Blogspot blog presentable.)

Rediscovery

Slowly, life is settling into a routine. While I would not say life has gone back to normal, it has certainly become predictable (life is considered "back to normal" only when I finally reside in Singapore). Till then, I am a nomad, packing all my sustenance and bringing it everywhere I go. The first of each month always holds some wonder; a month has passed, a month is here, and the year moves on. The days up to the 12th hold eagerness; and once the date arrives, old desires flare up, only to die a few days later (in dismay, I'm afraid). The days after that are spent in deep thought, wondering what I am going to do in the distant future. Planning...

I have made progress on the portability side; for one, I got an iPhone. Unfortunately it was not planned. I forgot that I was supposed to get an iPad.

I am rediscovering things I had long forgotten; the musical saw as a substitute for an ondes martenot, the accordion as a remarkable instrument. These things can bring me to places, if only I will pursue them. They may be regarded as no more than a hobby, but there is a place for everything. The SP Childcare Centre and MLT2 have long been demolished and levelled, but interest in them has rekindled due to my NightWalk Manual (in progress).

If I manage my time I can accomplish a lot in one day (already I'm updating my blog, something I ought to be able to do regularly but don't). Don't shy away from what you want to do. Don't let others dictate what you do. Think carefully. Listen intently.

Is this what you want?

On the spur of the moment:

A solitary pursuit

Never-ending, always changing

The weeks pass.

It remains to be seen.

Malaysian Traffic, Part II

Even the roads we went through had their faults. The roads running through the many kampungs in Malaysia don't have a middle partition between the opposite lanes. As a result, you have cars running towards you on a road only two lanes wide. Very hair-raising stuff.

Also, the lanes wind round, like on a roller coaster, and go up and down hills--what most people call a "winding road into the hills". If a slow truck or bus is in front of you, you have to overtake it, but this means going into the opposite lane. Risky, but it can be done. Unless there's a hill or upward climb.

By the way, the sentences earlier about subject gaps being very far--don't be surprised if one sentence leaps into another, with totally different meanings.

The Malaysian roads at night are a sight to behold. Some stretches of road, there are no lights, and we wish you luck if you are driving on them.The two lane roads without a partition I mentioned earlier had no street lamps along them, I notice. Lucky thing we did not drive on them at night. The only indication that there is a vehicle approaching in the opposite direction is their headlights shining right into your eyes. Nothing to worry about on the partitioned roads, but on the non-partitioned ones you better watch out. Be careful when overtaking a slower vehicle.

The good thing about having no streetlights is that you can look at the night sky, and have a breathtaking view on a clear night. The moon and a few stars amid some clouds can be seen.

Malaysian Traffic, Part I

(This subject was written on 18 March 2003. The Black Book, if you remember me saying so, began because of Malaysian traffic. I felt a need to document all the idiosyncrasies of it. Impossible, Malaysian traffic is!)

Sometimes the gap between one subject, or writing, is very large between another writing. I can be writing one paragraph in my house. Next paragraph may be written in Kuala Lumpur, in a posh hotel.

Well, the earlier paragraph about volleyball was written in the swimming pool in our Le Paris hotel. However, this sentence is written at a table in a Pizza Hut restaurant - in Malacca, at Mahkota Parade, which is a shopping centre.

Yet this next sentence is written in the car, during a stop sign. 40 seconds left. Goodness, in Malaysia'a major city, Malacca, there are timers for the red lights!

Ah, finally we talk about Malaysian traffic. As I was saying, the timers for the red traffic lights were showing 40 seconds. When the light goes green, there are also timers, only now the timer display is in green. For the red light it is red. The lights also, I notice are the new LEDs. Like in Singapore, LED traffic lights are significantly better and faster at lighting up. Even though the difference between incandescent traffic lights are very small ones. But the LEDs are nicer-looking. Only in Malacca, so far, have I seen such modernities. In Johore, the traffic lights are still the old type. The only similarity is that the red lights are still equally as long to wait for.

One annoying feature of Malaysian traffic is that the road signs are all over the place. We want to go to Johor Bahru, and look around for the sign. After driving around and looking around for the sign, we find it at the intersection itself! In very great doubt, we take the correct turn. They should put signs *before* the intersection, so that we can get ready for such an intersection. If we are driving, and suddenly find a sign showing our destination at the place where we are supposed to turn, naturally we'd be very surprised and not be sure (is that *really* the correct turn or not?) Sometimes the sign for the correct place is known with different names. We want to go to JB, and find a sign with "JB and KL to the left", "Seremban and Melaka to the right" and so on, in different places, when actually they all lead to the main highway, where we can choose our direction of movement. And because of this, we wasted half an hour winding through roads of oil palm plantations.

Retrospectives

When I began writing my Black Book Vol. 1 in 2003, little did I know that I was actually beginning my own blog. My style of writing the Book was very much a blogging style, commenting and criticising whatever was happening in my life at the time. At that time blogs had not become popular, but I envisioned that one day these very writings will be placed on the Internet, for everyone to read (wah, like some prophecy like that). Well that's what a blog is, isn't it? A place for your rants and wants. The big difference was that my Black Book was a real book which I wrote in using a pen. No one would know what I wrote if I did not give it to them to read. If it was online all you had to do was type out the address and voila! You would be able to see whatever the person put online.

Well, I'll put up my writings since 2003 online in due time, electronifying my Black Book, if you could put it that way. It would be interesting to see how one's writing changes over the years.

There were a lot of poems and rhymes written in that period too, from 2003 to 2004. Those would be uploaded in due time, but let's take it slow, shall we?

We have much to do, and less time to do it in...

A lot of things have happened since the last post, dated August 11th. At home, at work and at play. In domestic affairs I am much the same; I still live in Johor, have my own room etc. but my brother tends to sleep in the living room more (I think it is windier there). And we have to do the housework now (that IS something!)

In work I have had a complete shift from shift work (pardon the pun) to a five-day week. Well at least I can sleep better now. And at play--hmm, that is indeed something: my NightWalk event is going on at a fair pace, and I hope we make it in time.

Planning for the event began in June. The latest grand meeting was at the end of November, where a lot of big decisions were made and announced and commitments reaffirmed. I thank those people who admitted they couldn't commit and announced their departure from the planning team. At least they made it known in good time. And now things are really beginning to get going.

Does anyone have a portable sewing machine?

The Devil is in the Details

A NightWalk should be treated with the due respect it deserves, not just "Let's throw some props together and voila!" or even "Just give us the props, and we'll think of something!"

Sadly, this is the way most NightWalks end up becoming. We may talk of making the next NightWalk being better planned, with ample preparation time, and if possible better quality props, but in the end it always becomes a rushed affair. Just like an organised enterprise is better than a haphazard enterprise, a properly-planned NightWalk is infinitely better than a "chapalang" one. If it fails, at least we made the effort to plan it.

You know the haunted house attractions of the US and Europe? It is a buzzing industry there, where people acquire properties with a very foreboding aura to them and make an attraction out of it, the more elaborate the better. It is possible to make something as professional-looking as them, but with a shoestring budget (or shall I say, raffia string? ;p) This is not to say such a NightWalk *will* be chapalangly-planned, nor will it *look* chapalang. It will just be thought out more. How to maximise the budget, yet still put out something which will impress?

(Notwithstanding the fact that there *will* be "additional" funding ;)

The Beginning...

--This post took a long time in coming, so I'll just tie up a few strings left loose in the previous few posts.--

I managed to attend FOC 0910! Yes, I know it was right in the middle of "important events", but I managed to doctor my schedule to attend the camp, even if only for the first day, and the last day. There was a heart-stopping episode during the process, but it turned out fine, and I'm relieved to say that all that is over and done with.

I've obtained the Lost World soundtrack from the Esplanade library. A longwinded process, but it was possible to do.

The NightWalk Manual has been safely returned to me. It has not been updated much, I'm afraid, but it had been of some use during this year's MIT FOC. Never mind, MIT 2010 coming up!

About the abandoned writings, I will go easy on myself. No use forcing oneself to do something if inspiration does not strike. A bad case of either writer's block or too much material? It remains to be seen.

Caesar III? That game influenced me a lot, man.

And I have a ton of things to say about NightWalk!

--Pour être continué...--

Props, Netbooks, and more!

A renaissance has occurred! I have been invigorated with literary energy and have revisited my long-abandoned writings of MIT FOC 0607, and to a lesser extent 0708 and 0809. Now FOC 0910 is just around the corner, but I regret to say that there is no possible way I can take part, as it is right smack in the middle of important events happening in my current life! (Further elaboration on these "important events" will be delivered to you verbally upon request.)

The least I can do for FOC 0910 is to help out in the props, as I have always done for MIT since FOC 0607. Last Saturday I met up in the clubroom with several juniors, the majority of which were Games Personnel (GPs), and a few Organising Committee (OC) members. A class on How To Make A Sadako was held, with rather ridiculous results. The funky pink raffia hair hadn't been sprayed black yet! I don't have a photo of this, sad to say, but if I can get one I will.

How To Make A Hand was also taught. The right hand was made by me, and the left hand was made by a female GP (I forgot her name, sorry), which resulted in different-sized hands. But all these anomalies were merely dismissed with a pronunciation of the NightWalk Props motto: "At Night Cannot See!™" (Does not apply to the funky pink hair, though.)

Hope to teach them How To Make A Leg next Saturday. I'll make sure to choose a partner with similar leg sizes, lest we create disproportionate limbs again.

I also couldn't demonstrate fully aural scares. The MIT had two sets of speakers, a large one with a subwoofer and a small Creative one, but both couldn't be made to work! The Creative one was spoilt, and the large one had a missing cable. I must remember to bring an audio cable next week.

On another note, I have just purchased a netbook from the IT Show which occurred last weekend. It was an Asus EEE PC 901 priced at $498. Usually things like these cost $798, but for my version, they removed the 3G websurfing function, and it became $300 cheaper. There were some trade-offs, as is the case with netbooks, but I will excuse them. For now, Internet access is greatly simplified!

Previously I had to go to either an NLB library or SP library to use the net, since my residence in Johor doesn't have a connection. But recently my SP SPICE account was deleted, meaning I cannot surf the net in SP anymore (for free somemore). So I had to use the computers in NLB libraries, which entailed a cost of $1.80 per hour, and you cannot save files and transfer them to a thumbdrive. No colour printing also. Very restrictive. Therefore, the netbook.

Back to Props. The Props Department this year have very ambitious targets for props, I observed. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they're used fully. It won't help making 10 pairs of arms if they're of bad quality, and have to be discarded and remade. A waste of material, I'd say. Masking tape is extremely Valuable!

Wee Hong, the current Camp Coordinator, also requested to borrow my NightWalk Manual for his perusal, the first time it has left my hands. I hope the advice and ideas in it, collected over the years, are of great use. Perhaps some new and refreshing Scare Ideas?

Recent Developments

I'm looking for the soundtrack to The Lost World Jurassic Park. That movie. Hope it doesn't become too difficult. Usually things that I search for are hard to find. And I only find that out when I actually begin searching. Terribly frustrating, isn't it?

A case in point is my 26-inch saw (refer to Dec 20, 2006 and Jan 22, 2007 for the full story). And a more recent item was a toy I saw in my childhood called the Big Big Loader (which I will elaborate upon in subsequent posts). You never know how hard it is to find something until you search for it.

Had been reminiscing recently about my Tekong experience. Thought of posting it, but these things are better said than written. My experience in HTA now is also not worth recording, I feel. Some things are better recorded immediately, like holidays and such, and some are better in retrospect.

Lots of things hanging in the balance. The Black Book (vérsion écrite), I mean. I don't know why, ever since MIT FOC 05/06, I became subjective, and endeavored to record long events like camps in their entirety, which required tens of pages or more. Writer's block would halt production, and the Book would be closed to new stuff till the current one was finished. That was the fate of the second book.

And because of that, my whole poly life went unrecorded (except for camps). Somemore got a lot of things to write. Now mostly forgotten. A bit sad. I've since begun new Books to fill this gap. One day I'll try to remember all the singular things that happened in 3 years of poly.

I rarely end posts at such a low note.

Where Do You See Yourself?

Visitorship has dwindled on this blog, I see. Not many people coming here. Well, I don't blame 'em, me as having forgotten to put new things 'ere. Not even a picture, I might say. Not enough fancy things.

Back to the serious stuff. Sometimes I wonder why things have to be. I look at the rest, and they seem to be going on pretty well with their style, but here, there is no free will! Not free will in the general sense, but in that you are not allowed to do what you want; you must follow a system. And this system, in certain respects, wastes time. It's about life experiences, not about pre-determined things. Pardon me if you do not know what I'm talking about.

I sometimes look at others and see what they have accomplished by the age of (whichever age you want to put here). And I wonder why I haven't done the same. It's all about circumstances, not about decisions. Circumstances affect Decisions.

It's all about hard work, isn't it? You're only young once.

To Put Things Right...

Alright, for the sake of posting, I will comment a bit about the Masquerade Night of SSP Camp 08, as I have mentioned earlier. But only a bit.

Masquerade Night was similar to MIT Club's Disco Night, a regular event in MIT camps. Everyone gets together and dance about. The main difference is that SSP's event is themed, accompanied with live music (what is SSP without live music?), and ample refreshments provided. MIT's Disco Night pales in comparison to that, with its overly loud music, lack of a unifying theme, and minimal refreshments (or sometimes none at all).

Suffice to say, we had lots of fun. If I have time I will elaborate in the next post. For now, back to Tekong!

Sang Singa Purba Kem 60-an Gerek! - The NightWalk

Yet another event brought to you by SSP! I didn't write anything down in my Black Book (version écrite) this time, since I have learnt from experience that in camps there is no time to relax and write at all. There is always something to do, campers to entertain, stuff to sort out, and events to prepare. No tons of entries enough to make into a book like the Wawas affair (thank goodness). I will divide it into a few posts with a main topic and point out the interesting points, as I remember them.

The camp lasted from the 17th to the 19th of June, Tuesday to Thursday, with a Prep Day thrown in on Monday the 16th for good measure. I was part of Manpower, with a hand in the NightWalk preparations (a very big hand, in fact). I also did a few props for the NightWalk (as is my usual custom), in addition to the basketloads of props we borrowed from BE and SMA and the piles of cloth we got from MIT.

My main worry at the beginning of the camp was the lack of time to make NightWalk Props. Up until the last moment, I was either sorting out props or completing them. Even when the NightWalk started, I wasn't at my spot in W4/W5! As a result, I missed the first camper who walked the route (someone by the name of Jalil. It would have been interesting to see what was his reaction to my Ghost-Flies-Towards-You scare. ;-) I only had time to lean the ghost in a corner at the beginning of W4/W5. He was quite startled at the sight of it, I saw from afar!

The most singular thing about this NightWalk was that it went backwards! All my NightWalks since year 1 had gone from FC1 to MIT, but this was the first which went the other way. The rationale was that we would end closer to our bunks at T6. In the MIT camps our bunks were always at MIT, so the idea of NightWalks going the other way simply did not occur to us. I had some difficulty imagining the SSP NightWalk route which went the other way.

Of all the campers which I *did* scare, only one pair of girls screamed! They turned around and ran away! I was already smiling in glee. They recovered and walked back towards me. I raised the hand of the ghost, reaching towards them. They doubled up and ran! Very scared, they were. A job well done!

Of the rest, one pair muttered Arabic verses upon being shocked, and another let forth a stream of words and curses ("melatah", it is called in Malay). Some campers showed absolutely no reaction at all to my ghost; I was quite disappointed. But the most memorable was at the very end of the event, after the last camper has passed. I didn't know he was the last camper, so I waited for more. Then two people came, flashing torchlights around. Certainly not campers, maybe scare point people. I decided to scare them. They flashed their torchlight at my ghost and saw it, then shut it off. When they were near, I made it FLY TOWARDS THEM! They screamed and retreated a few steps back!

It was Fuad and Hady! What a reaction! I didn't expect them to react so strongly... Of all the guys whom I scared tonight, this was the only pair that screamed! =)

And thus our NightWalk ended. The last NightWalk for me, before I go to NS! More about the camp in the next post!

Voices (The Epic)

My internship in Year 3 was in World Scientific Publishing Co., in 2007. Voices is the name of a lunchtime concert we held at the end of July in the library on the first floor. Sharon was the receptionist in the lobby. And with this brief introduction, I begin the poem proper.

On 31st of July at 1.03
There was this concert in First Floor Library
Alamak, some came too early
They think we start already
Actually practice-practice only!

A lot of people came down to see
There was standing room only
Got one song called "Stand By Me"
This one Alvin sing
Then got another song by Rhaimie
"Save the Last Dance..." or something

Everyone clap.

After that we eat KFC
And pizza with Chicken Tandoori
The pizza a bit cold already
The rest we gave to Sharon in the lobby!

WAWAS! - Credits and Epilogue

--Advisory: This is a Very Long Post.--

At the end of every great undertaking, there are always people to thank. I thank these people here for the photos: Aidil, Hadis, Haddad, and Jeff ("Thank God you guys took the correct photos!" ;)

Full albums are available from sangsingapurba.multiply.com. Some of the photos were taken from our blog (sangsingapurba.blogspot.com). Whoever took those photos, thanks!

Here are some photos I had selected that did not make it into the main text:

The Wawas team with the people of Stor Teater and DBP in the first row, the people who helped us greatly in making it Happen. Encik Harun is second from left, and Cikgu Hasnah is in center. The rest I don't know. Thanks guys!


Myself with my grandparents, parents, granduncle etc. after the second performance, with the legendary Yusnor Ef thrown in for good measure. My parents and grandparents came all the way from Johor to watch Wawas! I cannot thank them enough for supporting us. (And I think stage makeup looks horrendous in normal lighting!)


Deep in concentration, making music. Except for Adillah. ("Thank God!")

And finally, in a moment of folly, the pièce de résistance!

Below is a video of the New Year Fireworks. It is 9 minutes long!! Courtesy of womad (which is Haddad).




Unfortunately we left behind the WAWAS poster in Stor Teater! It was in a storage space under the audience seating platforms. A souvenir to the good people of Stor Teater, I suppose it will be.

Sang Singa Purba has gone on to other things. We will have a production called PN08, coming in late 2008. It is still in its nascent stages, though.

There has been talk of staging WAWAS! in singapore, but no news has been heard about it so far (PN08 is the primary issue on our radar). Nonetheless, it is still a possibility!


Wangsa SSP has been formed! SSP's dance section finally has an official name and logo, with the motto "Tarikan Kayanganmu". (Dunno how to translate, but it has an ethereal quality about it.) (Pardon the bad quality of the image. It was the least I could find. It's supposed to be on an all-white background.)

Just recently the preliminary orientations have been completed for the new cubs who are entering SSP this year. Some promising talents, no doubt, of which we may discover more during the coming SSP Orientation camp.

Muzikarama 2008 coming up!

And that's all. Stay tuned!

WAWAS! - "Thank God We Are Safely in Singapore!"

--19 of 19--

We are now at Woodlands Checkpoint, Singapore, waiting in line for Customs checks. Due to the impossibly large size of my accordion bag, I cannot go through the self-service passport check line (it's more fun scanning your passport yourself, what with the thumbprints and gates).

Imagine my horror earlier when I got off the bus and saw my accordion bag deposited upside-down on the road beside the bus! It had fallen out of the luggage compartment when the uncle opened it, I gather. It was nobody's fault; the uncle was already on the other side when it fell, attending to the luggage compartments there (I suppose). I was the first person off the bus. No serious damage was done, just a dented grille, which would require some knocking inside with a hammer. What a souvenir to bring back home after 9 days in KL!

After heaving our bags through Customs, we go through the corridors to the taxi stand. Before that, we bade farewell to some of us who would follow the bus to Beach Road, going home by themselves.

There was a bunch of keys hanging from a road sign by the taxi stand. Whatever were they for? Hadis put forward a lot of absurd suggestions, the most implausible being that they were for some rich driver who owns all the cars parked on this road--just take one and go! We never knew the real explanation for them.

Soon, Aidil's parents came in a van, helping to send home those of us who lived near his area. Our props go into it as well. One by one we left, in our respective vehicles, until only a handful of us remained. My parents came, my accordion bag and luggage was somehow fitted into the boot of our car, and we said goodbyes to whoever was left of the SSP WAWAS! contingent waiting by the roadside. "Send our regards to your parents!"

And so we departed.

"Thank God we are back home!"

WAWAS! - "Tooooo the Lion City!" and Reminiscences

--18 of 19--

And now it was finally time to make our way to the bus stop and board our bus. Laden with our bags and our shopping, we crossed a bridge to the other side of the road where a simple bus was waiting. We had great expectations, but this would do. At least the bus had 3 seats per row, a benchmark of quality.

There were complications as to the arrangement of luggage in the bottom compartment, but we managed to settle it in good time. I sat in the second row along with Zalinah and Haddad. We bade goodbye to Encik Harun and Cikgu (she studies here) and the bus glided into traffic. We were on our way home!


I had time to scribble a few sentences in my black book until dusk set upon us, rendering me unable to see. We shared tidbits, drinks and even ice-cream!--from Zalinah, and we three in the second row passed it among ourselves, making sure the bus driver did not see, because as far as we knew, only mineral water was allowed in the bus. By tacit consent, it was made sure no one behind us saw either, else the ice-cream would finish in a blink.

Some two hours later we reached a resting point. Within it was a tidbit supermarket, filled to the brim with crackers, cuttlefish, fish snacks, drink, and sweets! Its sole purpose was to provide customers with tidbits, and tidbits only, so no detergent or diapers here. Most were sold in gigantic packs. No such thing as "take a little bit" here. You take all or you take none.

After toilet breaks, burgers, drinks and tidbits, we were off again.

I remember some of the things we did which I did not have space for in this chronicle. Call this an Appendix if you will!

Let's see what we have here. I recall with some amusement the "Thank God!" affair with Adillah, when she was spotted in her room speaking on the phone, with a photo of her boyfriend in front of her, on which was written the words "Thank God I found you!" She was playfully reminded of it to no end!

We had the rare opportunity of playing a gamelan set in the middle of our rehearsals, thanks to Encik Harun, who granted us permission to do so. It was located in the foyer of the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka itself, right in front of the hall doors.

Then there was Jeff, who burst out into laughter in the middle of his prayers at a comment made by Didi. He recovered and resumed. Suddenly he dropped out of his prayers *again*! Seeing as we were watching a video of the second performance on Haddad's laptop, he simply could not concentrate on his prayers!

There were also spoonerisms reported, concerning Mai and Jad (short form for Jihad). They were mispronounced as Mad and Jai.