Say Ahh!!! With The Penang Doctors

I was skeptical when I first heard that doctors from seven hospitals in Penang are joining hands to perform for charity. I mean, how good can they actually be? They will definitely be able to collect a massive amount of donations with their extended list of rich friends and patients, but definitely not with their talents....or so I thought.

Anyway, I attended the event because me, being an ex-celebrity-stalker was excited when I found out that former child star Fung Po Po and news anchor Owen Yap (which is an eye candy) will be at the event as a special guest and emcee for the night respectively.

We were seated quite far away from the stage because we bought the cheapest ticket. So please pardon my bad quality photos.
The ticket, printed like a certificate.
The programme book

About 80 doctors took time off from their busy schedule and performed for the evening. It was really nice to see the doctors working hands in hands for the name of charity regardless of which hospital they are from. There are many performances, mostly singing and I shall only highlight the interesting ones in this entry.

The night kick-start with a dance number, which I feel did not leave a lasting impact as an opening item. But the emcees, Owen Yap and Yen Husin saved the night with their quick-witted and humorous lines.


Then there was the sexy belly dancing performance led by this event organising chairman. The crowd went wild at this point and wanted more but they have to make way for the other performances.


Next up was the 'Half past six doctors'. They came up with this name because a part of each members in the quartet's name means Dr. Quack, Dr. Crazy and Dr. Killer. Despite their names, they belted amazing songs. I don't mind sitting though a few more numbers performed by them. They are one of my favourite performers for the night.


Then it was the rendition of the song L.O.V.E. and the singer was so good that it felt like he was holding his own solo concert. After that, a young and gorgeous doctor took centre stage to render 'Music of the night' from the movie Phantom of the opera. I was totally mesmerized by him (and his good looks) and had a crush on him soon after.

Then there were more singings after that but I was really distracted. 'Music of the night' was still playing in my head and I regret for not taking any photographs of him during his performance.



After all those singings, the event chairperson and my 'phantom' took the stage with their waltz move. It was really impressive and that concludes the first half of the night.


After a fifteen minutes interval, the officials and sponsors went on stage for a ribbon cutting ceremony.


Then, the LSC Pacemaker rendered a medley of songs before making way for the youngsters from the Temple of Fine Arts to perform a sitar ensemble. Sitar if a guitar-like instrument and the melody produced is quite a novelty.



Next was the performance by an invited guest-doctor from Melbourne. He travels around the world to educate young medical students and performed two self-composed songs, one about skin and the other about hand. Many people did not appreciate his performance because they feel that it is not a proper song but I find the lyrics really catchy and cute.


Then, there was a latin dance performance and after that, my phantom took centre stage with a group of professional dancers to perform tango. At that point, I wish that I was his dancing partner.



Then, a group of doctors-to-be (medical students) did a near-perfect cross-over dance routine of street jazz and k-pop.


The night ended with all the performers singing to the tunes of 'Heal the world' and 'We are the world'. It was overall a fantastic night and we get to see the other side of the usually serious doctors. For one night only they drop their stethoscopes for microphones and dancing shoes.


If you notice from the pictures, the stage lightings was breathtaking thanks to the great stage producer Joe Sidek. He is seen below with Fung Po Po. And for those Fung Po Po fans out there, this two pictures of her is for you.





PS : I regret not grabbing the opportunity to get a snapshot with Owen Yap. I was literally brushing shoulders with him because I went to the front of the stage after the finale to get a clear snapshot of Fung Po Po. I could have just ask him for a picture and I am sure he would oblige. Regret!

Love Alive Charity Concert

This event was only advertised once in the local newspaper and it did catch my attention because just by looking at the name of the event, I had an impression that it will be a night of local singers famous for their looks but unpolished vocal prowess. Boy, I was so wrong! I was really grateful that I decided to check out who the performers are and that I did not miss it.

The ticketing booth was decorated in a nice shade of pink. There were banners on the pink ribbon (which symbolises support towards fighting against breast cancer) and there were badges and t-shirts all bearing the same pink logo. Soon, I realise that this charity concert is in aid of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia. And now the title of the event makes sense. Love Alive = With love, we are alive. It is meaningless to live in a world without love.




The concert was the brainchild of the Penang Rotaract Club (youth get together to do charity here) and was supported by Alliance Francais Penang (if you want to learn french, this is the place to go to) and G Hotel (one of the classiest boutique hotel in Penang).

When we reached the G Hotel, we were being served cocktails and the doors open at 7pm sharp. We were really lucky to be seated strategically in the middle about the 6th row from the stage. Soon, the guest of honour arrived punctually and he gave an astounding speech. One of the phrase he said which I find really meaningful was, "When we were young, we spend our life earning money. And when we are old, we spend our money trying to earn back our healthy life." It is so common in todays world for people to chase after material possessions that we have neglected our loved ones and most importantly neglected our health. And as we grow older, we start to treasure life, which might be a little too late for some. So true indeed.



The main reason I decided to attend this concert was because of two performers. They are 'The De Leon Jazz Experience' and 'Moses & Sons'. Both band consist of the father and his two sons.

Moses & Sons started the ball-rolling by playing 3 jazz numbers. Moses was on the keyboard while his two sons worked the electric guitar and drum respectively. Moses also showcased his vocal prowess by belting out two Michael Buble number. It was simply awesome.


Next up was Ronald De Leon and his two young sons. notice that I said young sons? Well, his eldest son is only twelve years old and the younger one is only ten years old. Despite their young age, they have carved their name for being the youngest 8th-grade saxophonist and the youngest 8th-grade drummer respectively. Besides playing the keyboard, saxophone and drum, they also play the guitar, trumpet and violet very well. What a true blue family of musicians.



After both families performed, they went on stage for a collaboration and it was nice to see such talented people performing superb musics.


The audience could never get enough of the jazz music but the two family bands have got to make way for other performances. Next up was a line dance performance breast cancer survivors beautifully clad in baju kebaya.


The night ended with a bang by Dasha Logan. She is the daughter of one of the members of 'Alley Cats'. She may be a petite teenager but she has great vocal prowess like an experienced singer. She also has on-stage charisma and I am sure she can go far without any helping hands from her famous father.


It was a fantastic night of music and talents. I wish that it would not end so soon but everything that begins will definitely end, but one thing for sure was I went home with a lot more love to spread and share with the world. Love Alive!

Going Back To School

Why is it that every time when I am motivated and have the time to blog, the Internet connection will be down?! Finally after waiting impatiently for 48 hours, I got the strong connection back....but now I am faced with writers block. Arghh!!!

I realised that recently my entries consist of many pictures but brief descriptions. So I will try to put my essay writing skill back to work for my following entries.

In the beginning of this year, my mum and I attended mandarin class at a charitable organisation. I stopped mid-year but my mum persevere and she came out first in a writing contest.

This place not only offers mandarin classes, they also have classes for Malay language, English language, computer classes, flower arrangement etc. It operates like a school, equipped with school bell and black board, and it's sort of a nostalgia to be back in 'school'.

At the end of the school year, they have a 'graduation' dinner for the students and also a prize giving session to honour the outstanding students and to thank the dedicated teachers (which are volunteers because they are only paid a meagre allowance).

The dinner was held at the school hall and we were served 8-course vegetarian dishes. If the vegetarian food out there taste as good as those I had during the dinner, I don't mind being a vegan for life. Just by typing this makes me crave for the spicy & sour sauce 'fish' (the 'fish' was made from bean curd).

There were some performances by the students and volunteers. It was not very entertaining but they should be given credit for their effort. Then it was prize presentation time and lucky draw. The night ended abruptly because most of the people left once the number for the grand lucky draw prize was announced. That's a flaw in our local culture. People are not sporting to see other people winning.

The night kick start with a choir performance.
Fan Dance

Mummy collecting her trophy

Back To Basic

I wanted to post this entry sooner, precisely immediately after my dad's minor accident. The reason being that at that very point I was really inspired but now writers' block has taken over.

I tried googling on whether are they any mode of transportation that faced extinction. What triggers me on this subject is bicycle. Bicycle was one of the oldest and first mode of transportation. It is a cheap and practical way of travelling although not for long distance.

I live on Penang Island in Malaysia, also known as The pearl of the orient. It's an island that has enough happenings of a city and yet it still maintains its heritage treasures.

The latest craze in Penang is cycling (the world has nothing else to create and goes back to the things once used by our forefathers?). The government actively promote this activity, many organizations took this opportunity to organise cycling events and the opportunist started making money from this whole cycling hoo-haa . My family participate too since we are true blue Penangites. Well, cycling is good for the air (no emission of smokes to pollute the air) and good for health because it's a form of exercise too. So, why not join in the fun?

On a rainy morning, while cycling downhill,my dad slipped over a wet leaf and fell from his bicycle. Luckily, he only bruised his leg and did not tumble down the hill. At that point, I realised that once we step out of our house, it is not safe out there (well, staying at home is not so safe after all but that's a different story).

Anyway, that made me realise that we have to be grateful that we made it to a destination safely no matter what mode of transportation we were on. We often take our loved ones for granted and casually say goodbye but have we ever thought that that could be the last time we see them? We have to appreciate the people around us and learn not to get mad over trivial things. After all, what is life if not for the other humans around us.

Will we be happy with lots of material possessions but no loved ones or will we be happy with enough material possessions but many loved ones to share them with? I am sure I will find happiness with the latter.

Lets check out my family members' bicycle.
Dad's bicycle.
Mum's.
Bro's bicycle. He was the first in the family to take up this hobby.
Mine. If you have not notice by now, mine is a stationery bicycle. I can only ride in machines that has three wheels (tricycle) or more. So in order to keep up with the family spirit, I got myself this.

Yay, It's My Birthday

This only happens once in every 100 years. Hopefully my birthday wish which was made at 10.10am today will come true. Yay, it's my birthday today.....and it's 10th of October year 2010 today. I feel so special but on second thought, it's just another ordinary day. Well, maybe not so ordinary because I have loads of presents and greetings from all my darlings. But seriously, I feel the whole getting-married-on-10.10.10 is so over-rated and I am quite irritated by it.

Anyway, no major parties or significant incidents took place for my birthday on this perfect-10 day. But I had loads of fun with my dearest family members and friends. All the sweet greetings from my friends and relatives made my day too. We might not keep in touch often but the annual birthday greetings surely bond us in a way.

Home is not a place but a time. Home is the time we spend with our loved ones - mummy, daddy, little bro, becky. It's Monday when I post this entry. I am suppose to be feeling the monday blues but I am not. I took a day off as a post-birthday holiday treat for myself.

Presents from family.
The presents. Love them all.
Presents from friends.

Birthday card from my company.

PS : I regret not taking any photographs during my dinner with family. Well, we were all too busy dining and wining and I was seriously trying to get tipsy.