Friends

When we are so engrossed with our daily grind, day to day, over and over again, doing the same routine, we can just get lost in the convenient, bland sea of sameness. We simply get used to the same routines and get buried in them, as changes are inconvenient acts.

Boredom sets in!


A lot of us do not realise how important it is to have changes in life, both in the short term and the long term. We do not realise how changes can be value-added to our well-being, to our health in general, to our life's happiness.


Changes make our brain tick. Sharp.

One of the best ways to have changes, is to have many friends, as friends inspire us to do other things in life.


I have friends of varying ages (both younger and older), of varying professions and backgrounds. The association with many friends is so enriching. It opens up my world to the different perspectives of life. It makes me do new things in my life. New Changes!



I learn more today, than I ever did before, through the various friendships, I have struck along the way. It mellowed me somewhat, with sharing of both happiness and sadness, successes & failures, with our friends.



It is humbling to realise that friendship is about value and not material.

Note:

1 My wonderful friends & I, met up at The Apartment, KLCC, 12th Dec.

2 I wrote a longer version on 'friends' sometime back.

Christmas Hi-Tea

It was a 'Wear your Fancy Hat' Christmas Hi-Tea held on 3rd Dec, at one of the most prestigious venues in the country, Carcosa Seri Negara.



News has it that Carcosa Seri Negara will close it's doors for the next two years for some serious renovations.

This special Christmas Hi-Tea, organised by the International Women's Club (IWC), was to be one of the last few functions to be held there.




Proceeds of the Hi-Tea goes to MASwings, a community programme for underprivileged children, which is such a noble cause.

MASwings involvement in giving to the community is a continuous effort and is always looking ways to contribute to the communities in which it operates.

MASwings has also introduced a program ‘The Wings of Children’ for children from rural areas in need of medical attention by flying them for free to stations like Kuching and Miri where specialist treatment are available.

Meanwhile, the Sarawak Children ‘s Cancer Society has 30 children under its care and is a non-profitable voluntary organization whose mission is to provide relief and care to children with cancer and their families.

Good work MASwings.

Camel's Milk, the Wonder Milk!

Did you know some of these facts about camel's milk?

Well, I had camel's milk for the first time in my life in the UAE, when I was there some weeks back, & I love it!

Only, it has to be taken with coffee...he he.

1 Camel's milk is the closest milk to human mother's milk. Our bodies not only tolerate it well, our bodies thrive on it (Yes this is true. I felt ok each time I had the milk. My tummy tend to feel bubbly when I take cow's milk).

2 Camel's milk has triple the amount of vitamin C found in cows milk.



3 Camel's milk has TEN TIMES the amount of antibacterial and antiviral properties found in cow's milk.

4 Camel's milk contains an insulin like protein that survives the digestive tract and may benefit people with certain forms of diabetes.

Now a big question! Has anyone spotted camel's milk sold anywhere in Kuala Lumpur? Please, please, please, let me know.

Source:http://www.cameldairy.com/CAMEL_MILK.html

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 Launch

Pic 1: Vips & guests

The Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) was Launched by YB Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, at the swanky restaurant Bijan on the 16th of November.

Pic 2: Ruby, YB Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Hazel.

Pic 3: Ruby, Dhakshinamoorthy Dash, Richard Azlan, Soraya.

Mr. Michael Levin, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship was also present at the launch.

There was a good turn out from young budding entrepreneurs to Captains of Industry.

Pic 4: Ruby, Eliza.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a Global Campaign to promote entrepreneurship, creativity & innovation. GEW was jointly founded by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the USA with Make Your Mark in UK.

Pic 5: Ruby, Michael Teoh Su Lim.

For one week, millions of young peple around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people to generate new ideas & to seek better ways of doing things.

Pic 6: Ruby, Shamsul Qamar.

During GEW, partner organisations worldwide wil conduct a range of simple activities - from simple speeches to comprehensive competitions - designed to inspire, connect, mentor & engage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Pic 7: With Vivian Tian.

Countries across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination & creativity. To think big. To turn ideas into reality. To make their mark.

Pic 8: With Vani Dhakshinamoorthy.

Appointed host organisations in each participating country will encourage participation by recruiting & catalysing partners throughout the country.

Warisan Global has been the host for Malaysia since 2008. Warisan Global's dynamic CEO is Dhakshinamoorthy aka Dash.

Source of information: GEW.

Pic 9: Guests of GEW.

Pic 10: Guests
Pic 11: Selena Mak, Hazel, Ruby, Dhakshinamoorthy Dash.

Pic 12: Ruby, Joanne, Hazel

Pic 13: Guests

Charity Concert with Sean Ghazi - 2

Pic 1: With Sean Ghazi

When I heard about the Charity Concert, I was excited & decided to reschedule an outstation trip that I had previously scheduled, to be able to attend the 'Unforgettable Konsert Amal DiRaja' organised by the Alzheimer's Disease Foundation Malaysia & the Patron of the Foundation is Puan Sri Wendy Ong.

Pic 2: Sean with young fans

I'm glad I made it to the concert, as it was truly an unforgettable night to be treated to some fabulous numbers by one of the best male vocalist here, none other than the talented Sean Ghazi, accompanied by the Kuala Lumpur International Festival Orchestra led by Artistic Director & Conductor, Eugene Pook.

Pic 3: With Roziya

The audience was visibly mesmerised by Sean Ghazi's lovely deep vocals. I saw the audience responded spontaneously to Sean's rendition with great pleasure for Sean certainly has a strong stage presence & of course as always, great style & class .

Pic 4: With Sean Ghazi

Furthermore, for his exposure to stage acting, film & television, he is very articulate & eloquent when engaging with his audience, that greatly adds to his dignified persona.


Pic 5: With Deborah Michael

I love the way he dance. He is pleasantly a natural. If I do meet him again at another show, I would request if he could treat us to more of his fabulous sharp dance moves on stage (I didn't get enough of it, yes, it was that good!), as I feel he sings equally as well as he dances!

Ok Sean, what else can I say, except that you are truly multi-talented!

Pic 6: Roziya, Nuri, Ruby, Aiman.

Hope you will meet with great success in Los Angeles (as he currently resides there).

Till the next time...Good Luck Sean!


News bulletin: Recently Sean had a phenomenal US debut, invited by 'Pink Martini' to perform the song 'Let's Never Stop Falling in Love' (I love this number) from his award winning album, 'Semalam', at their sold-out engagement at the Hollywood Superbowl this year in front of an appreciative audience of 17,000. Bravo Sean!

Pic 7: That night we were also treated to performances by an accomplished American violinist, Jessica Lee & our Malaysian multilingual vocalist, Estee Pook. From left Jessica, Sean, Eugene.

Pic 8: With Izlyn Ramli, who co-wrote the song 'Semalam' with Sean Ghazi.

Pic 9: Sean Ghazi with Roziya.

Pic 10: Ruby, Nuri, Aiman, Marzio.

Pic 10: With Deborah Michael.

Charity concert with Sean Ghazi - 1

One of Malaysia's favourite crooners, Sean Ghazi will be in town on the 14th to 15th November to sing for charity.

For those who would like to have an enjoyable evening hearing Sean Ghazi & at the same time supporting a good cause, head along to Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Details are as follows:

Alzheimer's Disease Foundation Malaysia (ADFM) proudly presents the UNFORGETTABLE "KONSERT AMAL DIRAJA".

A Night To Remember, Starring SEAN GHAZI

14 & 15 November, 8:30 PM, Malaysian-born, New York-based conductor Eugene Pook leads 66 premier international and local musicians in a programme of sheer symphonic magic with ...light classical pieces and highlights from the exhilarating worlds of stage, silver screen, and beyond!

SEAN GHAZI will perform songs from his award winning album SEMALAM and other popular favourites like 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and Nat King Cole's 'Unforgettable'.

The Charity Concert Night on November 14th, 2009 and the Royal Charity Gala Night on November 15th, 2009 which will be graced by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, DYMM Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al Haj will be held at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Tickets for the charity concert on Nov 14 (Saturday) are priced at RM83, RM 183, RM 283 & RM383, while those for the royal charity gala night on Nov 15 (Sunday) are priced at RM100, RM250, RM350 & RM500.

Readers of The Star are entitled to a 20% discount when they present the newspaper's masthead for issues between Nov 5 and 13 when buying the tickets at Axcess outlets For ticket enquiries and purchases, call Axcess at 03-7711 5000 or visit www.axcess.com.my.

Read more here: Sean Ghazi

Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight

I've been tagged by Marina Mahathir for the Save Yvonne's Sight Meme.

Yvonne Foong Ming Niang received 'Her World Young Achiever 2008' (read here) award early this year, for she has achieved more than most people have done in a lifetime.

Her continuing fight against neurofibromatosis (NF) is legendary.

Yes Yvonne is suffering from neurofibromatosis (NF) which causes tumours to keep growing inside her body.

In fact Yvonne has received a long list of awards for her tireless work to go on living & help others along the way, for she is a fighter, a feisty wonderful young lady.



To know more about Yvonne, here are some write ups:

Marina Mahathir has blogged about Yvonne : please read this

Sharon Bakar has also blogged about her plight before : please read this.

Yvonne has lost her hearing and now she faces losing her sight too. She is scheduled for an operation between 1 and 4 December 2009. But of course she has to raise the funds by herself. The cost of surgery is USD44,000 or RM154,770, and the cost of staying in hospital for two weeks is USD915 or RM3219.

She has raised about RM10,000 of this and is hoping to raise the rest by republishing her book I'm Not Sick; I'm Just a Bit Unwell in English and Chinese. The books are now available in Malaysian bookshops and from her web site store. She is also selling T-shirts at bazaars and via her web site store. You can read about her surgery and donate to her fund here.

You can also help by sending on this meme. If you do, please follow these meme rules:

1. Create a blog entry titled "Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight"

2. List three things you love to see. Add in the picture of Yvonne's book cover. The URL is http://www.yvonnefoong.com/images/banner/my-story.jpg

3. End with the line, "Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.

4. Tag 5 blog friends. Be sure to copy the rules, OK?

5. If you have a Facebook account, please check out Ellen's new invention, a "feme" pronounced FEEM, a meme designed for Facebook here. And if you want to blog about NF, that would be great too!


Three things I love to see :

1 Wonderful faces of people I love, care & adore (both family& friends)

2 A clear blue sky

3 My collection of colourful beads

The people I'm tagging are my caring & wonderful blogging friends:


Pak Idrus
X-Matters
Jacqui's Curve
Rita Ho
Stupe

If anyone else out there would like to meme or feme this - please feel free.