nice rice

Yes....I said it....Rice is definitely nice. Definitely getting jotted down in my list in fact.

NO, I'm not talking about complex carbs where most girls and women churn and curse.

NO, I'm not talking about the culprit for saggy asses and tyre-like tummies people gain from all those complex carbs.

Damien Rice. That's whom I was talking about. Upon by chance, I stumbled back on his CD while going through some old memories I carried back from my host country. I was never a fan of his work. To tell the truth, I have only listened to his CD less than 5 times before! I have no idea what happened on that "fateful" day,but I decided to give Rice a chance and gave it a go.
People do deserve 2nd chances. So did Rice. I LOVED IT. His CD was awesome. I'm suddenly hung on to his music. It has been playing and playing and playing since that day. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic that time. Which also explains why the sudden liking for this Irish singer. I finally understood why Maria was sooo all over him when she shared his music with me. She was so into him, that she also burned an extra CD for me, which I tried declining in vain. In fact I was too polite to decline the CD she purposely burnt for me. I can't thank Maria enough for introducing Rice to me.

Rice is a rare breed of talented singers in our time. His songs "The Blower's Daughter" and "Cold Water" were featured on the 2004 Mike Nichols film Closer (feat Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natelie Portman). He is definitely one of a kind. He has his own style of making real music. He is a singer of substance.

Rice is no Diddy or Timberlake. Nor does he have Ricky's sexy tush or Lachey's washboard abs. However, he has the talent where no combination of Diddy, Timberlake, Ricky and Lachey can match. His songs may be no number 1 in charts around the world. His video may not have skimpy-cladded chics shakin' their booties and pressing their boobs practically up against the video lens.

But yes, this Dublin- born musician is one talented man. Rice is a man with attitude who often becomes annoyed with audience members who speak through his set. Once at a Hollywood party, he said that none less than Britney Spears, who had turned up with date Colin Farrell, talked all the way through his set: "She was a pain in the arse," he was reported saying.

*smirk* Talk about attitude. I like it. I find it sexy. Take that, Spears.

Known somehow as an intensely intimate and dark musician, Rice has undeniably carved himself a name as one of Ireland's most notable musicians.

A man with attitude definitely catches my eye. In his case, my ears and heart too.

VIVA ITALIA!

The Azzuris won. Les Bleurs, with the slip of fate, had to hand the World Cup to the Azzuris who performed their best at the finals in Berlin.

As it was the finals for the World Cup 2006, I knew it couldn't be missed, despite the match was aired at 3am, and the next day I had to attend college. Anyway, to cut things short and simple, refer to the pics. Afterall pictures speak louder than words.

I enjoyed myself thoroughly together with my college mates. We got our faces painted and hung around the colourful lit streets of Bukit Bintang. Flip side and other cool bands also did perform b4 da official match at 2am. We also went "alcohol hunting", lookin' for bars or pubs which offered the cheapest rate for beer. We finally ended up in Outback Steakhouse where our gambling session also started. Thanks to Italia, I won back what I lost during da card session.

Sharmo and her hostbrothers from Switzerland also came n joined us for the match. It was sooo great seeing them again! It felt weird, yet in a good way, cuz just last year, we were in their country, getting to know their culture. Now, vice-versa. It's them getting to know our culture.

The match started at 2am and the whole stretch of BB was packed with football fans, with eyes glued to the huge screens. The 1st half was pretty exciting and we cheered like mad when the Azzuris made their 1st goal in the 19th minute! The 2nd half n extra time was pretty boring and I had to count on my sweets to keep me awake.

Zidane's head-butt was the highlight of the match. The penalty shoot-out just made things even more interesting! All of us just stood up and started cheering and solemnly praying that Italy makes the goals. Same went to the French supporters. Cheered like mad when Grosso led Italy to victory. We cheered n cheered lyk mad! Of course, a couple of my friends who supported France wore dissapointed looks on their faces.....it was obvious dismay considering they lost a huge sum of cash.

Anw, after the match, took the LRT back and sent Sharmo back home. By the time I reached home, it was bout 7am! I was as good as dead. I was exhausted considering the fact I still had to attend lectures at 9.30am! DArn.

I had a blast. Afterall the WC comes once in every 4 years. It was definitely a memorable time I had my friends, Sharmo and her Swiss hostbros.

Pics from BB 2.....

Together with Matteo, Sharmo's hostbrother from Switzerland....

Francesco, Shaynik, Matteo, Sharmo, me, Amir and Lavan cheering after the match

With the guys in front of the World Cup trophy....

Together with Francesco, Sharmo's older hostbrother from Switzerland.....

HOP SCHWIIZ!!! Intercultural exchange between Malaysia and Switzerland...... =)

Pics from Bukit Bintang.....VIVA ITALIA!!!!!

The packed crowd at Bukit Bintang preparing for the finals of World Cup 2006........

Daley, Eu Wis (dunno how to spell his name) and me.....

Supporting Italy......VIVA ITALIA!!!!!!!

Got our faces painted at the Hotlink booths......

The Grand Finale-Carnival at Bukit Bintang

Brotherly love.....

Chongshen called home yesterday!!!!!!!

It was a really pleasant surprise to hear from him after for quite some time. When he heard it was me, the familiar sound of"jie" came to me and we continued our conversation in German for a limited time due to my detoritated Deutsch and his limited Deutsch vocab. I say, my brother now really has the typical German accent compared to my Swiss-german accent, which mostly sounds like I would wanna clear my throat and spit mucous out of my mouth.

We started chatting and chatting....catching up on practically EVEYTHING!!! From his travelling experiences in Poland to my new college life.....we were practically drowning each other with latest information of ourselves.

Chatting with him, I realized suddenly how much I miss my dear brother. Ok Chongshen. I know u r reading this now. Dun flatter urself. =P but undeniably, I really really do miss him.

I miss all those heart to heart talks we used to have.

I miss all those times where we used to crap. Remember how I burst ur bubble by HONESTLY pointing out the coordinates of your village which isn't at all near to Poland? How I *innocently* reminded u that u were practically living in the middle of no-where?

I miss all your sacarstic remarks and witty jokes u use to make...from "innocent" jokes which may seem naive from the outside, but still can be interperated in a slight(which is an understatement) obscene way.... God, I miss those days........

ok....I'm getting all emo and all senti now.......I think I'd better stop b4 someone starts barfing.

I can proudly say I have a really great relationship with my brother. Yes, sometimes we do get into silly sibling squabbles and piss each other off, but still our bond is still stronger than ever.

It's another 6 months till my brother comes back. Time flies. By the time we know it, I'll be waiting at the arrival hall in KLIA.

I'm definitely counting the days.