Well, still 1 more item in the shopping list we hvn't get yet ...... the lantern, for my niece and nephew. So after leaving the market, we head down to Raja Uda to get it.

There wasn't much choices for us there ..... well, almost the same for every shop. So we just grab 2 and hopefully the kids will like it.

As a kid grow up in my kampung in Butterworth, I must say the Lantern Festival is the most awaited event for me throughout the year. I remember that all the kids from the kampung will move from one house to another, to call up the gang for the parade. We will prepare our lantern at our home, and waited for the gang ....... and happily join in, and go around the whole village.

Of coz when it's night, and with no lamp post at all in the whole kampung, when we passed by some area when there's less residence and with bushes growing all over ...... everyone will try to walk quicker and try to talk out loud to scare away "anything" is out there. And we, being the youngest in the team, will always make sure we're squeeze in the middle of the team, as we don't hv the courage to be the 1st to encounter any suprise ahead of us, nor want to be the last one to flee away when something "appears" .

I remember the most the last year I spended the festival there before move to my current resident. As usual, I wake up early in the morning ..... waited anxiously what kind of lantern my mum will buy for me from the market. I didn't make special request to her then, as growing up in a below medium class income family, we hv never learn the word "request". If you get something, then you shld feel fortunate and grateful. Once mum reached home with her bicycle, I quickly approached her ...... but I didn't saw any sight of the lantern. And from nowhere, my mum hands over a gold fish plastic model to me, and excitedly said that this is the latest design, which uses the battery to generate the light, instead of lighting a candle in the traditional lantern.

I felt excited too at that moment, as I might be the only kid in the village that get to hv this "advance" lantern for parade tonight ......... but when the night reached, the excitement faded. As I start worry to be different from others, and started to hv my own plan. I told my cousins abt my concern, and we manage to find an empty condensed milk can, screw some holes on the body. And here I am, instead of holding the most advance lantern, I'm now holding the most simple lantern .

And grow up as a sensitive kid, fearing what I did might hurt my mum's feeling. I hv to hide away the simple lantern and pretending I'm all set to join the parade with the new lantern. But I must be a lousy actor then ...... my worry was all shown on my face, mum sense something was wrong, as the chatty kid was so silent the whole day.

I told my mum what's bothering me at the end ...... I cannot recall now which latern I hv brought for the parade that night. But I remember vividly my mum let me makes my own choice, whichever I feel comfort of .

And my mum never stop there after that night, she still let me to make my own choice throughout the years ....... as long as it is a "bright" decision. But sometimes, and most of the time, it doesn't seems like ...... but again and again, she still stood behind me for the next one .

事隔一年， 再次站在吉隆玻的街道，那种窒息感又冲着我来了。 皱着眉头， 所幸他终于出现了。

我们找了间印度餐馆坐下来， 杂吵的， 我的眉头未有多大的舒展 。我们聊着地，其实是我静静地听着他说，是累了，还是我无心恋战了？

说着说着，他提起你了。。。。。告诉我已预料的结局。我依然听着了，点点头，眼光投射在有限的远处 。。。。那眼神是无痕的。

我是受伤了，但已过去了 。。。。。 我告诉他，把我从他的"病历"中抽起吧 。。。。。 我已经从新上路了。

感谢快乐与悲伤的时光，让我继续填写人生的文章。

就算流泪，就算受伤，也是对生命的灌溉 。。。。。 如果这是爱。 我想，他也须知道的。

So here we are ..... waking up in the morning, and the sky doesn't looks good at all. Not so long after, it started to rain, and rains heavily infact . I never like to drive in a heavy rain on the highway, as hv experienced before my sterling is totally out of control when the water flooded the car wheels .

Luckily, it stop raining by the time when we're off to hit the North-South Highway. It was raining heavily along the way ...... especially when we lost our way while coming out from Ipoh, after a dissapointing Hor Fan lunch . As usual, rang up the technical support around the area, and we manage to find our way and hit the road to KL again.

Traffic is smooth and we're on track to reach Bukit Jalil stadium at 5:30pm. We parked the car and try to find the entrance. Found it, but it is not open yet. Hungry, thirsty .... and yet we can only look helplessly to the stalls park insides the entrance. 2 worlds apart by the gate, and God knows we needed each others so much .

Jacky is late for the opening, yeah ..... 15 minutes late . We hv become sleepy before it's started as we hv been on the road for whole day .

But we're totally awaken after the 1st song .Oh, boy ..... at 43 years old, and he still keeping the beat. It's a fast track, and the visual effect on the big screen is awesome, not forgetting the lighting effects .

I was taken away by his performance that night ...... it might not be the best from him, but he is a great singer. You can feel the soul of the song when he sings it, becoz he meant every word in it. And probably I hv grown from the little girl to an adult woman now, to understand what he's trying to tell.

Jacky is more than a singer for me I guess, as a role model to live our life. He made mistakes in his early life, jeopardised his growing career, relationship ..... and he realised it, come back and be a better person.

I salute him with a standing applause after he performed the last song ..... I wish I can listen to him in live again in the future, together with my big bro, I think he will enjoy it as I do .

Well, I move to this small town when I was 7. Wasn't knowing we're moving until my mum told the bus driver, I will not need his services when the school open on new term.

My new house is just next to the paddy fields ..... 23 years ago, they still using buffalos to work on the paddy fields. And I remember going near to the paddy fields, and look at the Malay women to harvest the paddy manually ..... no tractor or so.

I grow up catching fish, flying the kites, jumping away from the frogs, observing the butterfly and ladybirds ....... and even landing into the paddy field when my brother lost control on the motorbike, luckily it's almost time to harvest, we hv the plants serve as the mattress for safe landing .

I never capture the scenes of the place where I grow up ...... AW always ask me to capture the photo of the paddy fields, so she can look at it and won't feel homesick when she's in Johor.

I did some 2 weeks ago ..... when I saw a fleet of cranes were resting and hunting at the muddy fields. Recalling the jokes my cousin used to tell, I know it's now or never .

遥远的她 。。。。。 让我认识了他， 张学友。 那年该是九，十岁吧。第一次听到那么浑厚，低沉的声音 。。。没有惊为天人，只是好奇声音的主人是那位。

中学的生涯就在他的歌声陪伴， 因为老哥喜欢听他的歌，我就趁机有免费卡带听啰 。

二十年的岁月，守着他的歌，就象守着每段友情 细水长流 。

下个星期五， 就有幸听到张学友的现场演唱， 圆了我的心愿。 可惜老哥未及赶回来， 不然就会请他和我一起去。 期待张学友， 不可多得的声音 。

中学念书时， 日新旧校舍终有些流传了几代的"故事", 听了后， 庆幸没加入制服团体， 不必在学校过夜D 。

老友敏， 说起灵异故事终是有声有色， 当然她是比赛故事起家的， 总该有些底吧 。

那年独自去新加坡探访隽，参观了动物园， 就在麦当劳享用午餐。 哼， 吃着吃着， 就想到把那个吓得我半死的故事转述隽，心想我也把敏的表情和语气学得七七八八，应该不赖 。

好啦， 我开始讲了，一开始隽的表情也很凝重 ， 我就加重语气啰 。。。。。。 可慢慢地， 怎那家伙的嘴角越来越上扬 。 我看看四周围， 有人让她发笑吗 ？ 没有啊 ！ 。 我开始有点口吃了，灵异故事也变得不那么灵异了 。

最后我投降了，因为我的听众说我讲起灵异故事都会让人发笑 。天啊， 难道我只能走喜剧路线吗 ???

我只能认栽了，谁叫天生一张吊儿郎当的喜剧脸 。 所以，我改行了， 还是该说， 安份做回本行呢 ？

Sometimes we observe what had happened to others, and we conclude that this shld be done, and that shldn't be done. I means this had been all the while, the method we hv use in learning something new ........ we learnt from the past, and try not to repeat the mistakes.

But sometimes, this method doesn't applied to everything in life. Sometimes you have to take the risk, experience it yourself ...... as different ppl hv different perception abt things. And never let go off your belief, coz it keep you going.

I hv heard of the RainForest Music Festival from my cousin while was doing pre-u, and thought when would I be able to fly to Kuching and attend it at least once in my life time .

This year, the Penang government help me to fulfill the dream, without hv to catch a flight to Kuching. Becoz we hv the World Music Festival organised on the island, at the new opened Quary Garden, which is next to the Botanical Garden.

It was being held for 3 days, and unfortunately on every day, we hv the heavy fall came to intercept. I myself went for the Music Festival on Sat night, together with Eng and SY. We carry the umbrealla each, as we can see the dark clouds already surrounding the island while driving on the bridge from the mainland.

A not so "steam" start from the Chinese drum performers though ...... and to make things worse, the heavy rain starts to downpour . Here we go, everyone standing at the open space of the garden, holding various size of the umbrella, and couldn't do much. We were told to be patient and wait for the rain to stop, as the performance too hv to be halted.

My jeans is all wet, and SY was standing in the mud with bare foot ..... I wonder how she can stand it, as she always be this kind of tidy and "fussy" person . Just when we thought how long we can stand it, the rain started to stop.

And the stage is lightened up again, follow the much awaited Afghanistan band "Ensemble Kaboul" ...... yo, I love the tabla, and the new instrument I get to know "rubab". Hemm, the whole Middle Eastern, Persian music just took my mind away ...... the streets of Amman Downtown, Petra, the heated road to Dead Sea.

We're later entertaint by band from Africa, Peru, Spain. It is the last band from Tuva (a small region under Russia territory, and near to Mongolia) that capture our attention again. Ever heard of "throat singing" ??? SY even think it's pretty freaky, and link to those "mummy" films we hv watched as kids . The band "Huun Huur Tu" perform together with the remixer from Russia ...... and truly open our eyes that traditional instruments can mix so well with the modern music, somemore it's the rock style .

5 hours of great performance for the world musician, with the ticket price at RM40, we got 30% discount as purchase it using the MBF card. A very very good deal .

And the best is that we will have the same event in Penang again next year, but will not be held in July though, as it's raining season . Well, come and enjoy it if you happens to be around .