The Birthday Wishlist

I’m away on a work trip from 25 Aug – 1 Sept. This is a scheduled post.

In my last post, I talked about how I don’t need any more stuff given to me because I don’t have any room for things that I don’t use. Since I have a birthday coming up (October), I know that some people will feel compelled to give me things anyway.

I’m gonna be thick-faced and give you a list of things that I will certainly find useful and appreciate more than a random coffee mug. I also included a few other things you can do to celebrate my birthday.

Things to do

1. Support your nearest animal shelter or conservation effort. Find out what the shelters need and buy something within your means for them. Adopt a turtle. Do something to help out the animal kingdom. If you’re in Malaysia (KL particularly), see if you can give the Independent Pet Rescuers a hand.
2. Gather all the stuff you don’t need and cart them off to a thrift store that will put the profits to good use – Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.
3. Buy a book for a kid you know.
4. Support your favourite local indie musician by attending gigs, buying CDs or giving away their CDs to friends.
5. Go outside and blow bubbles.

Stuff I want

1. Give me money. I can think of infinite uses for money, including paying off my shiny new credit card debt, getting stuff that I’ve been eyeing and saving to do more travelling. I’ll give you my bank account number.
2. If you think I’m irresponsible with money and will spend it on booze and drugs, here’s a list of stuff that I actually want and will save money from #1 for:

• new luggage – I plan on travelling more and am eyeing the High Sierra backpack (with removable day pack) at Greeks in Sarawak Plaza although I haven’t gotten around to trying one on for size. It costs a lot more than what I’m willing to shell out right now.
• more kayaking trips with Kuching Kayak – while I can usually manage this, saving any amount of money is always good. Anyway, I want to get good enough to tackle Bako in a kayak, crocodiles be damned, and one trip every few months isn’t going to cut it. Now if only I can get more days off from work!
• an mp3 player – because I need my music and my mp3 player is dying. The new iPod looks delicious, but any one will do as long as it can hold more than just 30 songs. With the amount of travelling I unexpectedly have to do recently, I need something to keep commute time from driving me crazy. (Thanks, Rin & Fariah!)
• a good pair of headphones – the ones I have at the office are flaking on me. Sound is not a problem but I have black flecks on my face every time after I use them. Nice noise-cancelling ones would be nice, to block out ringing phones and noisy colleagues.
• a laptop – I don’t really expect anyone to buy one for me because it’s something I’d rather pick out myself. But this is where the cold hard cash will come in useful!
• book vouchers – I’m always buying books. A friend once said it’s impossible to buy me a book because I might already have it. A little help is nice. I like Times Bookstore.
• Lock & Lock Lunch Set Bag – I saw this in Parkson earlier this year but it’s not there anymore and they’re not restocking. Have you seen this somewhere else? I picked up a lunch set from Thermos.

I’ll add to the above list when I think of something else, but this should get you started. Of course there’s always a danger that two parties might end up getting me the same thing. I guess you’ll have to check with me. :-)

Malaysian Indie Music 101

I’m away on a work trip from 25 Aug – 1 Sept. This is a scheduled post.

When hanging out with the 5 bloggers during the DiGi Fu-yoh event and reading their posts after, I realised one thing: a lot of locals are still going “Who’s this? Who’s that? Never heard of them.”

Alamak.

Without further ado, here’s a list of local musicians that you really should check out. This is strictly a personal take. There are a lot of of other bands and singers out there but I’m limiting my list to groups that I like and listen to.

Jason Lo
Lo is likely the most recognisable of Malaysian musicians because more people listen to the radio and watch TV than pay any attention to the scene itself. His songs include “Evening News”, “So Julie” and the more recent “Operator, the line is dead”. He recently played in Kuching for the DiGi Fu-yoh Street Blast. Lo is from Kuching. Listen to more of his music here.

OAG
I love these guys. They are the pioneer alternative rock band in Malaysia, with 15 years of experience in the industry. Lead singer Radhi was, in his own words, “born in Sibu, raised in Kuching and spoilt in KL”. The energy and ease in which Radhi engages the audience, coupled with the polished deliver from the band makes watching them live a great experience. Hear them out here.

Tempered Mental
Tempered Mental is another one of my favourite local alternative rock group. I blogged a little about them here, and I still remember how pleasantly surprised I was to find that they are actually very, very good. The song arrangements are impeccable and vocalist/bassist Melina has a strong, smooth voice. She’s from Kuching. Her band members are from other parts of Sarawak but they’re all based in KL. Samples here!

 

SingleTrackMind
STM is Alex Wong, who is also the founder of Music Canteen and is the Malaysian band who opened for the new INXS’s concert last year. He launched his new album [hey.] earlier this year and I like it a lot. Another thing I like about STM is that he uses his resources to help the local talent along (i.e. Music Canteen). Hear him out.

Evenstarr
Funny story. Some years ago, some friends and I were walking past The Joint (now gone) in town when we were accosted by Evenstarr’s then-manager Bryan Nicholas. He lured us in for a show and that was my introduction to local bands. I didn’t really like their music at the time, but when I heard them again a few years later, they have gotten much better. Now I’m a big fan. Still waiting for that new album! Listen to them here.

Owen Nicholas
I was introduced to Owen’s music during one of our local gigs and fell in love with the whole singer-songwriter deal from then on. His music is the kind that makes you ache for someone you lost or will never have. I do like torturing myself. Hear his stuff!

Other Malaysian (although non-Kuching) musicians you should check out include Juwita Suwito, Reza Salleh, Rhapsody (what d’ya mean, you broke up!) and Mei Chern. I’m sure that there are some I missed but if I were to try getting them all, this post will be sitting in my drafts for a few more months!

How can you find out more about local bands?

1. Bookmark Kaki Kuching. That’s where I post news about music events, including Songwriters’ Round.
2. Attend music events. DiGi and Hotlink organise concerts for their subscribers. Senso and MOJO also host music events and album launches. Tru Events organises things like BandKuest. Keep an eye on the news. Or see 1.

Good sources to learn more about local and regional music:

• JUNK Magazine
• Music Canteen
• AMP

Related Posts:

• One last hurdle for Sarawakian bands
• Welcome, JUNK readers?

Stop giving me stuff!

Stalls along Coral Island beach, Pattaya.

I’m on a long-term project of decluttering my life, more practically, on decluttering my bedroom. I have too much stuff. I don’t know where it all came from. Okay, maybe I do know and while I thought I needed it at the time, I don’t need most of it now.

Hence, my current mission is to get rid of my stuff. Whatever I can’t sell, I’ll give away or donate to appropriate parties. Of course I’d prefer to get a few bucks back because the item did cause me money. Extra cash is always good. Especially since the holiday put a noticeable dent in my credit card.

While I can restrain myself from buying the unnecessary, there is always the other source of stuff… well-meaning friends who don’t know what you really want and give you stuff to show that they are thinking about you. Nice. Appreciate the thought, but I’m look at stuff people gave me and most of them are going into the “Get Rid” pile. Especially the big ones that take up space.

I know that decluttering my space is going to take weeks because my efforts so far have consisted of me half-heartedly poking at the mess and getting nowhere, and of me sitting at the computer thinking about poking the mess. It doesn’t help that I’m going off on a road trip for work this Saturday, and will have plenty of time to think about how I’d rather be at home poking at the mess.

My first step in this mission is to ask people to stop giving me stuff. I feel this is timely because I have a birthday coming up and some friends will no doubt be planning to give me stuff. I’m thrilled to get stuff that I actually want or need, but the tradition in giving presents is the element of surprise. Sometimes it’s a lukewarm surprise.

A friend and I did away with this years ago and simply ask the other want she wants when a birthday rolls around. A much better idea. Some people think it’s rude to ask for things, but why waste money on something that isn’t going to be appreciated?

While I’m at it, don’t feed me either. I enjoy my food a bit too much and I know how to treat myself. And I certainly don’t need to get any fatter.

In a future post, I’ll be listing down a few birthday wishes. I originally wanted to include it in this post but that would be introducing too many new ideas at a time.

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