Rano says today is the 2nd day of Hari Raya and I have a few houses to visit in the next few hours or so. Usually I will up and running by 9 am with my partner in crime, Aaron, rushing from one house to another. My record for house visits was 14 houses in a day and that was back in 2005 if my memory serves me right.
I mentioned earlier on my Facebook and Twitter that my rating for my first day of Hari Raya is a 7.5 out of 10. It's normally a routine that I tagged along with my family and visit our relatives in the morning and a bit in the afternoon. Yesterday, there were slightly change of plans and for the first time, our routine has been broken where we missed two destinations as the host had to fly to NY for the UN meeting on the same day.
And for the first time also that we didn't get to see our extended families whom we normally bumped into on the first morning of Hari Raya. So in a way, it was pretty odd after missing that usual trend for 30 years. The crowd (among our relatives) have grew smaller indeed compared to previous years. I missed it last year because my family was in Singapore back then.
Yesterday was a great feeling as it was the first time I saw him at our relatives' place and it was like a complete jigsaw puzzle. He seemed to be very humble and even took the time to honour people's request to take pictures with him. I should have done that when he was just yards away from me. Anyway, welcome back :)
My first day of visiting was reasonable - three relatives and three friends. So that's pretty good as I hardly visit my friends' house on the first day except for Zari's. Normally, I will just catch on my sleeping hours in the evening till the next day. But yesterday was a different case.
Today I will be resuming my open house visits but slightly late after lunch and I will be taking my sweet time again. Enjoy your Hari Raya peeps!! And drive safe on the road because I care :)
Aiming for a family car? Then you should target an Espace from Renault which only has 5 units left at Maju Motors showroom. The family car can fit 7 people and it's pretty spacious as well. You can also enjoy a 5% interest rate.
For more details, you can call 2655 111 during office hour to know more about the Renault Espace. There will also be a Hari Raya Lucky Draw for buyers. It's a pity to hear about Renault's punishment in the F1 saga and now Renault is banned from competing in the F1 race until 2011.
Cast your votes for Kevin. You may wondering what I'm pledging from you guys but it's simple really. Just click vote on this link and you'll be doing Kevin a favour as he can be the chosen one for the internship including a trip to Japan.
He has a cool video that he came up with - "What if Hole-punchers could recycle those paper dots?" I thought the video was pretty cool. Anyway, after you finish watching the video clip, you can then cast your votes and help Kevin make his dream come true. Good luck, buddy!!
LOS ANGELES - Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, multiple US media outlets reported, sending shockwaves around the entertainment world.
The Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com celebrity news website reported Jackson, 50, died after suffering an arrest just after 12:00 pm (1900 GMT) local time and paramedics were unable to revive him.
The Times cited multiple city and law enforcement officials as confirming the pop icon's death.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. Officials at UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was treated also could not be reached for comment.
National and local television networks showed hundreds of media gathered at UCLA Medical Center for what appeared to be a briefing. CNN was unable to confirm the death, stating that Jackson was in a coma.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales did not confirm Jackson's identity but said paramedics went to an address corresponding to the star's home at 12:21 pm (1921 GMT) and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.
An unidentified family member earlier told TMZ -- the first outlet to report that Jackson had suffered a cardiac arrest -- that the star was in "really bad shape."
Michael's father Joe Jackson told E! Online he was aware of the emergency but did not know further details.
"I am in Las Vegas, but yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital," he said. "I am not sure what's wrong. I am waiting to hear back from them."
The reports came as Jackson prepared to make a keenly anticipated concert comeback in London, his first series of shows in more than a decade and the first since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.
However those concerts -- billed as the "final curtain" -- had been thrown into doubt after Jackson pushed back the opening dates last month.
Organizers of the concerts at the time stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health.
In a press conference from the United States broadcast over the Internet, AEG Live president Randy Phillips was asked about Jackson's health and said: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape."
While Jackson reigned as the "King of Pop" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career had been overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.
Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.
Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.
Four years later, Jackson is still worshipped by fans for revolutionizing music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.
The attention however paid to him in recent years has been less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery -- which he denies -- his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.
Born on August 29, 1958, Jackson made his show business debut with four of his older brothers in the Jackson Five pop group, and went on to lead the stage clan with a piping soprano and dazzling dance moves.
By 1969, the group had signed a contract with Motown Records, becoming one of the last great acts to emerge from the legendary label.
The Jacksons produced seven platinum singles for Motown, selling over a million, and three multi-platinum albums, selling more than two million. They moved to CBS's Epic Records in 1976.
Despite the early success, Jackson was to recall those years as unhappy and lonely ones. Eventually the family act broke up, as Jackson went solo.
In 1979, Quincy Jones produced Jackson's first solo album for Epic, "Off the Wall," a huge disco-oriented success that sold 10 million copies.
They teamed up again in 1982 for what would be Jackson's breakthrough album as a composer and co-producer, "Thriller," which became the top-selling album of all time, with sales exceeding 41 million.
- AFP /ls
|
|
|
|
*HAHA dude... *
