Most people wouldn't recognize the animal in this picture. If you do know what the animal is, I am happy for you. Really, I am. Because for many years - actually since I was a little kid - I have always admired this amazing marsupial animal. A great beast which I believe has a heart of an angel. Why I say that, I honestly do not know. I just feel that beneath this wild creature is a heart of love. Sadly, they're very close to extinction. It makes me cry to think of how such a beautiful animal may someday never roam the Earth again if nothing gets done soon. Saddening. Same goes to all the other animals that are close to extinction.

Like I said, I have always been fascinated by this animal. I would read up on it in books, google it on the net, and find pictures of them. I watched a documentary about them once, and saw them in action. Nasty animals. But so graceful and wise. Sexy in a way ;)

This animal is opportunistic, and it reminds me of myself, in some subtle way. It feeds on meat and they hunt for carrion. Another way this animal reminds me of myself: it is nocturnal and crepuscular. I like the night and twilight. Peaceful and serene, yet mysterious and full of surprises.

This animal is the Tasmanian Devil. Most people would know this animal from Looney Tunes. Taz was the character's name. Cute little bubbly, annoying, and shy cartoon character. Probably was one of my favorite cartoon characters too.


I'd like to meet a Tasmanian Devil some day. Look into its eyes. Let it smell my fear. And then we'll make friends.

In the words of Taz....

Flattery will get you nowhere.



Sidenote:
(http://www.tassiedevil.com.au)

I look at the sky, and the stars smile back as though they know exactly what I want them to say to me. It's a beautiful feeling, when the stars talk back at me in their quiet realm of glory, while I am stepping on fragile ground, surrounded by gravity.

I look at the night sky and see a reflection of who I want to be - an endless piece of space and time, empty yet full of awe. I like the night sky. I see it look back at me smiling all the time.

It's lovely when the night air freezes your fingers, and the moonlight gently touches your skin, reminding you of what 'peace and quiet' really means. We say it all the time, but we never feel it, we never be in it. We don't have the time for it.

It is the night sky that allows me to be part of that peace and quiet. I get to speak to the stars, the stars speak to each other, and a whole cosmic conversation begins. The moon joins in and the song begins. The night song. A nocturne.

The stars shine, in perfect harmony. The moon emits comforting light, bright enough to whisper its tune of happiness. The darkness in the sky makes the night feel like one whole symphony of light.

Peaceful calmness.

Quiet calmness.

A nocturne brings glory to a quiet night and makes the birds stay quiet till the morning sun begins to shine on us again. For nothing can beat the sound of the night - the harmony of the stars, the sonority of the darkness, and the melody of the night breeze.

Peace.

Quiet.

It comes at night with a song for us to hear.

Just listen to the night, and you will hear the music.

Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation . . .
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination . . .
Silently the senses abandon their defenses . . .

To those observant enough, I have interestingly never mentioned anything about American Idol here on my blog. Peculiar, isn't it? Considering the nature of my job and my interest in music and singing, one would assume I would be going crazy over the TV show.

Not quite.

I am not one to get crazy over TV shows like American Idol. I have never watched any season in its entirety, and don't plan to ever really do that to myself. Shame on me, I know.

The only thing about American Idol that I still find fascinating is the audition phase of the competition/show. It still baffles me, or amazes me even, how real the self-fulfilling prophecy can be to some people. It is usually the extremely terrible singers who think they will be the next American Idol, and the great singers who come in shy and unsure about themselves.

Recently, many of my past and present students have been sending messages on SMS and MSN, asking me who I support: Archuleta or Cook?

Truth is, I never quite supported any of the two. Not because I don't think they are good. In fact, I admire their stamina and their vocal prowess. In a word, I'd say they were both champions. I see them both as fighters. We could never imagine the kind of pressure they had to go through to be in the final two. I would never see myself in their shoes. It's not like they were singing for Malaysian Idol. It's American Idol, the show that kind of should be calling itself American-Idol-For-The-Whole-World-To-Watch. I wonder if they showed Malaysian Idol over in the US .....

For those who are thinking of asking me my opinion on American Idol, here's what I have to say (after watching several performances on YouTube):

Cook - a brilliant singer with a humble personality. Interesting taste in musical arrangements but not always good at choosing his songs. He has something special that his opponent does not have - manly charm. Heck, he won by 12 million votes. You don't get that without any manly charm.

Archuleta - young, and also brilliant. Too young maybe. Less versatile, but more constant. His choice of songs made him get very far. He made every song an emotional ride for the audiences in the studio and at home. Being only 17, I take my hat off and salute him for being so brave and strong.

Both of them will be making millions in the next 12 months. Archuleta fans don't need to worry much about him, since he's definitely already a star and a winner. Cook fans should be overjoyed that Cook managed to get the extra prizes offered by American Idol. Archuleta has more freedom in his music from now onwards, I see that as something good. Cook has to be a good boy and listen to what people tell him to do for now.

And as for the judges.... some things will never change.



"Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

You know that feeling you get when you go on a long fun trip with a bunch of close friends, and then when the whole trip is over, you are left all alone at home? Everything suddenly becomes quiet again. You miss your friends; you miss being on that trip you just came back from, and you don't know if you should be happy or sad - that butterfly-ish feeling in your stomach?

I hate that feeling.

It's like when you have to face the ending of a great time. But you don't want it to end. Such as the ending note of a great musical; the final line of a great movie like Forrest Gump; or the very last sentence of the very last Harry Potter book.

It is that cadential moment of something great, and you want to hang on to it for as long as you possibly can. Emotional, you may describe it as.

After half a decade of being in college, studying the inner sciences of Music, the physical and spiritual aspects of organized pitch and sound, and the etiquette of musical performance, it was scary to suddenly realize that it was coming to an end.

Of course today as I am writing this, that moment I am describing happened over a month ago. Still, it lingers, like an awful aftertaste of eating durian mixed with ginger and soy sauce.

After my final recital was over, I felt a sense of relief. Finally, college life will be almost over. I still had one more final project to hand up, and then it would be officially over for me. No more exams, no more classes, no more memorizing, no more college (for now).

The emotional part came when I handed up my final project.

I packed up my documents very nicely into a big brown envelope. I wrote my name very neatly at the top left hand corner, together with my student ID number and the course code. I made sure every thing was there. I double-checked everything, closed the envelope, opened it again, then triple-checked everything. Yes, everything that was required of this project was inside. My CD, my booklet, my documentation, and my initial proposal. Everything was there. Smile. Sigh. Smile again, then bigger sigh.

I walked up to the office. Level 4, Block G. That is where we had to hand up our project. I slowly walked up, peeked through the glass door, saw my lecturer having his Burger King lunch with his wife.

Knock knock. "I would like to pass up my project".

And I handed it up. Just like that. I started to feel my heart shaking. Almost trembling. Maybe it was trembling. I don't know. I was too emotional to think.

Was it really happening? My last project - my last assignment - my last day as a student?

Yes, it was. And I was happy and sad. I wanted to be happy, but I couldn't help feeling sad too. Happy, sad. I hate it when the two meet together. I don't like that feeling.

My lecturer asked me a few questions, the normal "will I like your project?" kind of questions. I then gave him some stuff that I had bought for him, as a way of saying thank you to him. He looked at my gifts while chewing his cheeseburger, and was fascinated.

I smiled, and walked out. Took a deep breath, and then a tear dropped.

Finally.

No longer will I be stepping into LASALLE's campus as a student.

There was this sense of accomplishment. And I wanted to just feel the awesome power of that very moment. Instead, I walked out of campus like any other day. I didn't even look back. I just kept walking.

Greater things lie ahead of me, I can feel it. But my past made me who I am today. I am proud of who I am today.

Happy.. sad.. I still hate it when the two meet.

Thank you, so very much, to those of you who voted for me in the 2008 CLEO Bachelors event. And my apologies for not updating everyone sooner.

Thanks for your votes. I did not win any title, however. Still, it was a fun and exciting ride for me. I got to meet all sorts of people. The 50 Bachelors this year are all very exciting people to talk to. I made new friends, and met some old ones (some of the Bachelors were friends of mine - we lost touch for a long time and met again thanks to CLEO).

FYI, Bachelor no. 8 won the 2008 Most Eligible Bachelor title. Congrats to Brian.

But like I said, I met many people. I got to talk to Kenny Sia about his life as a blogger, and finally got to meet the man behind the blog. I had a quick and lively chat with Serena C and Rashid Salleh. I got to know what some of the other Bachelors do for a living, and that opened up my eyes to so many things.

Again, thank you for your support and your votes. I appreciate it a lot.

By the way, catch some of the Bachelors in DEAL or NO DEAL, some time in November. Will keep everyone updated. I will be briefcase number 13. I hold a lot of cash. Surprise, surprise.

Neglected - that is how this blog has been feeling lately. That awful feeling of being rejected by someone. Yet, sometimes I feel it is necessary to know how it feels like to be rejected, so that we get perspective. What kind of perspective? You figure that out.

It has been a year since the creation of domluk.com - more or less. I am proud of how domluk.com has grown over this one short and quick year. An extension of me has made its home here. I have a part of me planted in cyber space. And the whole world gets to see this little vague and unclear part of me. Thank you for being part of my cybernality (cyber-personality). Continue journeying with me for one more year, please.

Un-technically, today is Mother's Day - a day when we celebrate the women who brought us into this physical world and nurtured us with patience. My mother is special because she is perfect, like every mother should be. She has a smile that can make you feel an instant kick of happiness, and a personality that can make you fall in love with her almost immediately. Happy Mother's Day, to YOU mum. And also to all Mothers out there. Thank you for the love you have shown us.

I have so much to blog about. But I have decided to take my time writing out my thoughts here. I see no rush in sharing my thoughts, since they are mine to begin with. This is my way of assuring some of you that you can expect a lot of blog entries soon. My thoughts are beginning to overflow, and I need an outlet for them. And here is a good place, because many people close to me read this blog, and they deserve to know some of my thoughts.