Season 6, Episode 1: A grandstand entrance...

Snapshot: In an elevator from ground floor to the third floor, we fitted ourselves into this photograph! Don't you think we look like fishes fighting for food at the lower part of the photo?

" Because i have a voice!
... yes, you do. " - The King's Speech

Finally, a time for me to blog about my first week- in the midst of all the CNY rush! I can't do it in uni, not that i didn't have time. I have plenty of time that i directed my energy to finalize some event materials, club responsibilities and flipped through some notes. Movies became my companion, finishing most award-inspired movies like 127 Hours, RED and The King's Speech- in which Colin F won for best actor in the Golden Globes. Black Swan is next.

It was because the Internet connection in my uni was terrible. Saying terrible is already an understatement. It was annoying, to the point that i felt like ripping the LAN cable out- though not related, and smash my laptop. The connection is strong but no Internet service. Proxy problem.

New semester, new settings. Staying in Village 5, the claimed nicest village among the rest, my room has definitely a grandstand view- in front of the futsal court! Sometimes, we could hear monkeys singing in the nearby forest. Lots of lush greenery. Fresh air. Far from main gate, closer to lecture halls.

My side of the room. Outside the window are the futsal courts.

The timetable this semester is quite nice- nice meaning no lectures set on Fridays. Lecturers- a little too soon to decide. Usually, it takes time to get to know the lecturers, their styles of teaching, that when the new semester comes, the cycle sets back to start, all over again. One thing for sure, this semester is going to be interesting- i can feel it coming already!

Expressive faces for the new start!

Since CNY falls on Thursday, we applied leave for the three days prior. The best part of CNY is the preparation. Although it is tiring, it's tiring once in a year. The joy and satisfaction entailing the tiresome set up is always rewarding.

The Pavilion KL has huge lion heads at the entrance! It is a sight to behold and if you are there, don't forget to beat all four of the drums- each for different meaning: health, wealth, prosperity and peace.

Posing for the New Year! Frankly, the entrance of the mall looks more stunning compared to the concourse. Nevertheless, the CNY breeze was felt!

'Grandstand' seats in the mall. Wonder what they are looking at?

The CNY crowd-pleaser, the lion dance! *claps claps*

On Tuesday night, eve of new year eve, a dinner was held for villagers in my kampung. Really good food with great performances especially the martial arts and the lion dance. It was a joy to watch the father and son dancing the lion- son in the head and father as the supportive tail. Though the dinner may verge on being political, being there surely amplified the festivity feeling.

After days of gloomy, cloudy weather, hopefully the days will turn better with the New Year approaching! Curtains up, lanterns fixed, 'lo kam' prepared, wc11 anticipates the hop into the new year!

Map of the Invisible World & 127 Hours

" Everything is, just comes together. It's me. I chose this. I chose all this. This rock... this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It's entirely life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. In space, it's been waiting to come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my entire life. The minute i was born, every breath that i've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface. " - Aron R, 127 Hours.

I want to like the book, but I can’t. Where do I start? Alright, first and foremost, reading the back of Map of the Invisible World, I thought the main stars of this book are Adam and Johan. After all, it’s a story about two brothers separated at an early age of childhood, struggling to face their fears to walk down their memory lanes in an attempt to find one another. Though they still remain the main- or should I say idea, characters, I felt Margaret stole their spotlight. I thought I could feel their fears, feel their separation, feel their anger, or feel their sympathy. I was taken by surprise. I thought I could have a connection to Adam, if not Johan, but I felt neither to the both of them. Instead, I was taken into memories of Margaret more than Adam, and Johan’s story was pretty much said in a passing. But on the bright side, Margaret pushes the story forward. Without her, there will be no Karl, no Bill, no Din, and no Z. And no story.

The book begins with Karl, Adam’s foster father, mistakenly captured by the army. Adam then goes to find for Margaret in hope that she can help regain his father. Margaret who teaches in an institution, with her own perspective to life and country, is forced to look back into her history- her history with Karl. She tries her best, contacting her friends and pulling some strings to get Karl back. Din was Margaret’s friend. However, as the story unfolds, he has hidden agendas and drags oblivious Adam with him. In desperation and despair, lost and insecurity, Adam agrees to Din because he convinces him that he can help get his father back. To Adam, reuniting with his father is the only thing he wants and needs.

On the other side of the land, Malaysia, we see the struggle Johan faces as an adopted child in a wealthy family. He has a younger sister and brother, and though he may be rebellious at times, he loves them. He knows he has another younger brother but that memory of him seems vague, likewise for Adam. He then shares his story of how he became part of this family and not with Adam.

In the orphanage, Adam and Johan dreamed of the sea. Though they stayed near the coast where sounds of waves breaking could be heard, they had never seen the sea, only allowing imagination of their minds to the colour, beauty and the sand and water. They went the extra mile to fulfill their dream, on the night before they were separated. I felt this part of the story extraordinarily meaningful.

The book provides a glimpse into the life in Indonesia many years back through Adam and Malaysia was the setting around Johan’s life. Tash Aw writes quite fascinatingly, with effective uses of words, and has amiable skills in describing a scene. Alas, too detailed description can sometimes be dull and lengthy on my personal thought.

The one part I see action in this book was when Adam was convinced by Din, with evil intentions, to execute his plan. Other than that, this is pure literature, pure drama. The climax was rather predictable with characters lacking intensity in portraying it and the book doesn’t really mention the end to Adam and Johan’s attempt at reunion. Margaret, once again, closed the book.

Probably I was expecting more from Map of the Invisible World knowing that Tash Aw won for ‘The Harmony Silk Factory’. This book has its moments but it is not my favourite. It has something missing. I wouldn’t put this in par with ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ or ‘The Kite Runner’ but to give it some credits, Tash Aw has great writing skills. I just felt it lacked on character.

Moving on to 127 Hours, a movie made for awards by Danny B, i am, again, not extremely thrilled after watching the movie. Perhaps my expectations were raised so high that what i had in mind of the movie is not entirely what i watched. With that being said and speaking from another angle, James Franco is a force to be with. 127 Hours felt much like a one-man show, and James F did it so effortlessly- no pun intended. No wonder he has been nominated at the award season going on now. He plays a mountain climber-cum-canyoneer and after guiding two girls to their location, he goes off to his destination. Unfortunately, while going down the canyon, he gets trapped with a rock pressing down on his hand- and throughout the approximately next hour, he struggles to escape the trap using only his other hand!

Like 'The Hurt Locker' and 'Paranormal Activity', this movie requires patience as its drama unfolds slowly on his shoulder. He tries all-sorts to escape, and when in despair, he tries to get himself together and not go crazy. For 127 hours, day and night, with dreams and hallucination, he forces his way out in anyway he imagined possible.

'Slumdog Millionaire' was amazing and if i hadn't raised my expectations on 127 Hours, i would enjoy it much more.

wc11 read a book over the sem break and is currently watching award movies. Season 6 is about to begin here!

Can't wait to hop in the Year of the Rabbit, at Jusco!

Passage of time: My toy story...

" You can never get bored with the toys you have. "

When i was a kid, i used to own lots of toys. Lego. Cars. Planes. Hero figurines. Animals. Cards- among those that i can still remember fondly in my mind. Every time after we finished playing them, we placed them back inside plastic bags, put those filled bags into a box, and carry the box upstairs where we were disciplined to keep them. Sometimes, we skipped the plastic bag and straight put them in boxes. *being mischievous* . And when we want to play them, we would just pour them out from the boxes, like pouring water, scattering the pieces onto the floor where we would then pick up and play with them. Childhood fun, that is, when we allowed imagination to take the better of us.

Sadly, growing up, we tend to play less with the toys that accompanied us through childhood and lose the dreams and imaginations. We may occasionally see them, then go, 'Eh, that's what i used to play with', then you start playing with it- when nostalgia overwhelms. But when that joy wears out, not long after the play due to other more 'important' matters in adolescence or adulthood, we replace them where we found them and say, 'Next time, next time'.

Thankfully, i'm not that person- and if you may know, watching Toy Story 3 really touched my heart especially the part when Andy parts with his toys. For many years, my toys have been providing me with comfort, a sense of security and a feeling of togetherness. And deciding to give them away, or worst to throw them, may not come easy. They carry sentimental values, each toy bearing an everlasting memory. I don't own some toys to myself, we share them. And that makes it even more painful as looking back at the toys now, images of playing them together, laughing, sometimes quarreling, with brothers and sister sort of mould us into who we are today.

So, like i said, i had faced my 'toy story' moment too. Clearing the upstairs, the habitat for my toys to live as they slowly, silently slipped away from my life, spring cleaning revived them all! Searching through the boxes that collected dust and cockroaches over the years, i found some childhood treasures of mine. Of course, it was instant teleportation to being a kid again.

A huge fan of the construction toy, Lego, now and forever! Looking forward to the opening of Legoland in Malaysia. Honestly, which robot looks better - the left or the right?

Batman! Look at the cape- i don't think you can get to find such type in the market today. And some creature below that i can't remember its name, but remembered playing with.

Building roads, trees, placing animals. Interesting, don't they?

I decided- keep them! Discard nothing of these into the throw pile, or give away pile, these toys are too precious. It's just amazing! No matter how old you may be, when you look back at the toys you played with once, you forget about the world and become a child again. Whether it's your favourite toy, your favourite past time, you favourite company or just you being yourself, toys like pets make good companion. You return to the world of toys, you return to the world of imagination. And i always believe that the mind of an innocent child is the true playground of imagination.

I hope this post of mine makes you want to dig into your pile of old stuffs and hopefully, like me too, you can find treasures of toys you once loved- hugged day and night, and couldn't sleep without! wc11 shares his toy story...



*'Passage of time' is another new series that i'm initiating that indicates going back in time.

Makeover. Bolder. Braver.

" Nothing in life is certain. You just have to surrender to chance and let life take you where it wants to. If you do that, you'll probably end up exactly where you dreamed you would. "
- Map of the Invisible World, Tash Aw

Before i start, how do you like the new look? Seriously, i'm wanting to hear some feedback from you whether you like it or despise it, or if you're in between. Honestly, and not being biased to myself, i like the new look- it's got edge, making it bolder and braver!

As the new year came, i thought, changes to the blog must be made. If you don't get tired of looking at the same layout, i know i would. And before i feel that distaste which may eventually lead to the desire to ditch this blog entirely, why not i renovate this blog and bring it back to life. Because frankly, i haven't been posting much in my blog and even if there are, they are huge events that i felt passionate to share with you and of course, the world. Blame it on my poor time management and the evil whispers of procrastination. But not to worry, with the rejuvenation of this blog, i vow to continue to serve you sizzling updates of my life ranging from food to books to movies to travel to life in campus- i'm proud to have 5 seasons aired and more to come, and to anything else that adds spice to life!

Buckle up for a ride of adventure!

Having been a member of the blogosphere for almost three years, with more than 100 posts to date, you may wonder why i chose 'Pitch Dark' as the blog title. And why not maintain the same ole 'Writing Life'. Simple. Change. 'Writing Life: Life is a story, and I'm writing mine' has a simple, direct, clear-cut meaning. Now, it reads 'Pitch Dark: Finding fireworks. Finding the spark within.' It is not crystal clear to understand what this title means (it has a mysterious tune to it) and thus takes you deeper to fully grasp the meaning of the words i'm trying to convey. No doubt, different people may have different interpretations of this title. In a nutshell, mine says hope, and search ourselves to bring out the best in us. We may not know the talents we possess and sometimes, we need to find that spark to propel us forward. The spark lights the firework. Fireworks bring power, strength and valour. And with these, we can break darkness, eventually shedding light and colouring our lives.

The '7 Wonders' in the sidebar have also been updated and i promise to update them as often as possible.

wc11 hereby officiates the new look of this blog on the auspicious date, a date to remember- 11/1/11!




*PS: Season 5 rating is out, 3.9x/4.0. Relieved and somehow elated. I'm not perfect, but really, who is?

Countdown in the clouds... 2011!

" Faith makes all things possible,
Love makes all things beautiful... "
- part of a New Year message

To usher in the new year this time, i thought of making it a special, dear one. After all, it's the end of the decade- ten years after the millennium, and the coming of the end to my teenage years. I remembered during the millennium countdown, we were at Bintang Walk area and it was jam-packed! It was people-touch-people and more of a people-see-people than people-see-celebration! With not much room to walk, we waited at a nearby escalator until the clock hit 12 midnight and the fireworks were released, illuminating the night sky followed by thundering cheers of 'New Year'! Although with all the sweaty people around and the tiring wait, it was this type of countdown that is most memorable and truly, i enjoyed it tremendously along with such anticipating and loud crowd.

As i said, a special and dear one is what i wanted to experience again. And yes, what more can it be different than a new year's countdown at the highlands! It wasn't much planned ahead. Decision made in the morning and we were off to Berjaya Hills (previously known as Bukit Tinggi) later in the afternoon. We were aware of the gala dinner up at Colmar Tropicale but unfortunately, the price per person blew our budget. Nevertheless, it didn't stop us from going there to cheer together for the new year.

This looks a bit out-of-place. I should have done this in Universal Studios instead. But well, it's the new year celebration! While waiting for the countdown, we had dinner and lingered around the place.

Colmar Tropicale's architecture is much under the French influence and this is me under the bridge.

Me against the swan!

I might be able to fit in this armour, don't you think?

Three more hours to countdown!

We waited....


And waited...


And waited...


Finally, it's here...


2011 !!!



That's when the new year messages started to flood the inbox of my phone. Some really flowery ones are nice to read and re-read, and some are just funny like how we are approaching closer to the end of the world in 2012, and advanced wishes to the Chinese's rabbit year.

Leaving 2010, it surely felt nostalgic. Lots of things happened in one year. Lessons to learn, knowledge to gain, and experiences to experience. Have you written your new year's resolutions? I haven't. But soon, i will, after i have found my 2010's resolutions dug deep inside the piles of papers in my cupboard to see which one to knock of the list and which one to re-list and update in the latest one.

What will the new year promises? I can't read the future but i'm sure it'll be just as amazing as we had. But above all the action and adventure are good health and continued happiness that i pray for. wc10, for the last time, wishes a Happy New Year 2011 to the world!

" May the journey of your life be fragrant,
And your heart be happy with love... "
- part of a New Year message.

A new chapter begins...