Full name is Abdun Nizar Ahmad. With the exception of few relatives, everybody else in the family and at schools (primary and secondary) called me Nizar. A couple of relatives call me Abun, while all three cousins from my mother side call me.... guess what - John McKeterk, or in short, John. Since it's a made up name, I don't really know the spelling to the second name, but judging from sound, that should be it. To this day, they still call me John, their spouses also call the same, and their children - Cik John (Cik is the short for Pakcik, which is Uncle). As for my uncle and auntie (my cousins' parents), they sometims call me Nizar, and sometimes John.
Ever since I began my college/university years, everyone there called me Abdun with very few who prefer Abun. I remember a joke made by a housemate back in the UK - he said Abun Sabun (sabun is soap). Issshhh.. of all the names, but I didn't take it seriously :)
Now, if I meet someone new, if they are relatives (like in the case of my wife's side whom I never met before OR from my side, who may not remember my name), I'd introduce myself as Nizar. But, if they are not (going to be my) relatives, then it's gonna be Abdun. Don't ask me why. I'm comfortable of introducing myself that way.
The address book in my phone
Due to most people calling me Abdun, although I may not be the most important person in their lives, my name usually happens to be the first one in their phone's address book. This has a disadvantage. People had been accidentally calling me/sending me empty messages. What really annoying is that sometimes, the calls/smses caught me at the wrong times like in the wee hours of morning (if they are going to sleep with the phones by their sides, why can't they lock the phones, dang it!) or after rushing to get to the phone, only to hear people's conversations (the case of phones in their pants' pockets or handbags and the calls accidentally made) or kids' voices (obviously their kids are playing with the phones).
There was one time, my phone kept beeping due to receiving almost a dozen of empty messages, one after another, to the extent that it started to attract the unnecessary attention from people at the office. The smses were all coming from a person I met at a seminar.
Guess, I was in the wrong mood to be disturbed like that. You know what I did? I texted her, "since you hardly know me, you might as well remove my name from your phone book." Pretty nasty huh?
There was another incident where after picking up the phone, I heard a friend's conversation with another....and they were talking about me. Luckily, all I heard were compliments about me.I was smiling ear to ear....it took me a while before I hung up the phone :))
All these incidents had taught me something. In my phone book, I put 'abdun'and 'zzzdun' as the first and last names. The numbers behind those names are invalid of course, so those in the 2nd and 2nd last list are spared from any accidental pressing on their numbers.
My nature
I have stint eyes, but without my glasses, people perceive my eyes as rather big (especially if I roll my eyes). Well, so many people had said so, guess that is true. Wife said, my bulging eyes must be the reason why Ikhwan gets so excited whenever I do some acts in front of him.
I am a quiet person and shy by nature, ahaks.... I mean, seriously.. throw me into a social gathering packed with 'strangers', I'd definitely feel very uncomfortable. I think because I hate the fact that I have to put on a (fake) smiling face, and having to think what to say most of the time.
But once well acquainted, you will probably see my bubbling nature. Heck, some even said I was naughty.
On precaution steps
1. Before entering a lift, as the doors open, I always double-check that the lift floor is of the same level as the floor where I'm standing at. Why? Because stories about people who fell to their deaths when they entered the lifts which were not there (after the doors were opened) scare the crap out of me!
2. When driving, if the light is green for me to drive straight or make a turn, I will always make sure the light is really green - to the extent I have to verbally say it sometimes, for example I'd say "terus...hijau" (translation: straight...green). Sounds like I'm too safety conscious huh? Hmmm...despite of this, I still beat the red light once in a while, huhu...
3. I make sure I do these things before leaving the car (after parking it) - the gear is at PARKING, the handbrake is pulled, the aircond is off and the steering is locked. If say, I also need to switch off the headlights or the wipers or the rear window demister as well, I'd do those other things first, followed by the four, starting with PARKING, and the rest in that order. I would also sing them (the four things) in my head or hum them just to make sure they are done.
4. If there are routines that I do in the car, I also have own routine before leaving the house, especially where travelling is required, using the Power of 2 'formula'. Two things in my right pants' pocket - car key and hanky; left pocket - house keys and card holders (that hold credit cards, shopping reward cards and Touch N' Go card); elsewhere around the waist - small comb and wallet AND phone holder with phone in it; and upper body area - wrist watch and glasses. I hate forgetting things which may cause unnecessary strain to the brain. Even with having these routines, I still forget sometimes, usually involving bringing the phone holder but without the phone.
I'm a sucker for......
zombies. Movies have portrayed zombies to be moving so slow like....errr, the dead (but somehow still able to catch and eat the survivors, like in Shaun of the Dead), or can still run so fast, you might s*it your pants while trying to escape (like in 28 Days Later). Fast or slow, the zombies are either undead (Dawn of the Dead) or they are not yet dead, just infected with some kind of disease (I Am Legend). Either way, they are hunger for flesh and blood. Don't let them catch you, as they will devour you alive. If only your certain body parts are eaten or you were bitten or scratched by zombies, be prepared to join the zombies club soon. Movie-makers always come out with fresh storylines and some horrific/gory scenes never before seen involving zombies being killed or zombies killing people. Apart from zombie movies, as I also love horror and slasher movies. Hmmm.. maybe I should just say, I love movies. Period.
Friends and The Simpsons. I can watch all Friends episodes over and over again until I throw up (I've never actually done that, hehe). So far, no other sitcoms can beat Friends in terms of great storylines, and along with them, come those funny lines (Joey and Phoebe gets the best lines), outrageous acts (like Chandler's quirkiness), memorable characters (Monica's constant urge to clean) and unforgettable scenes (like the one where Rachel and Ross had a big fight when Ross, who thought they were on a break, had slept with someone else). Some favourite episodes would be (among others): the one with the wedding in London, the one where Phoebe tried to seduce Chandler who had been secretly dating Monica, the one with Brad Pitt as a guest, the one where Joey learned French from Phoebe, the one when Joey confessed to Rachel that he's falling for her etc etc etc.
With regard to The Simpsons, just like Friends, I've been a fan since school time. The longest ever running sitcom received its well-deserving airtime last Halloween with a dozen episodes shown back to back. I had a great time, especially since for some of the episodes, I've never seen them before.
I believe in...
respecting other people, regardless of differences in ages, ranks, races and faiths. Say, for example you have a kid niece or a nephew, it doesn't mean you as an adult can easily look down on him/her, because when they grow up, they can easily strike back at you. So how does it feel to be at the receiving end for a change?
good personal hygiene, which I think, should be taken seriously. It's understandable if after a long day, you still haven't gotten the chance to freshen up. What I can't tolerate is those who constantly disregard their personal hygiene. Heck, their bad body odour foul the environment and public places very early in the morning and they expect us to talk or be around them? I also can't stand those who spit in public. Sadly, we Asians are well known for this bad behaviour (other than generally being bad drivers and like to talk at the cinemas). I remember reading how the New Zealand government was trying to educate the Asians not to spit on their sidewalks. Wonder how that went...?
Movies that I watched this year and can't seem to get enough of:
Cloverfield and Bridge to Terabithia. Read my reviews on the movies here and here. While, here's the theme song to the latter. An excellent attempt from a cute-cum-excellent young actress:
I really feel like going.... to so many places in the world. One of them would be New York - probably influenced by how NY is portrayed in TV shows and movies, like in Heroes, Cloverfield, CSI:NY etc etc.
am mostly awed by... God's given gift - the human intellect. How babies develop physically, mentally and spiritually, starting from not knowing anything; new inventions are discovered numbering thousands every year;new catchy songs keep coming out, each sounds usually different from the other, considering there are so many singers for so many years and each album has at least 10 songs; ideas may be repeated but brilliant writers always know how to make the stories fresh and interesting.
scenic places - whether it involves beaches, mountains or lakes/lochs. Top that with a peaceful friendly neighbourhood and nice weather (the latter is open to your own interpretation). I always love to travel. I may no longer be able to travel extensively like in the past, but whenever opportunity to travel comes along, I always take some kind of memorabilia home, and it can be as simple and cheap as a nice looking paper/plastic bag that I get after buying a magazine. I still keep those bags, some, for 10 years now, that I collected from travelling. Now, I shall leave you with this beautiful photo that I found from the Net. Not sure where the place is, but it looks like Bergen in Norway.
As much as I want to start a tag on this, I've learned my lesson that people are not going to do it. But you are welcome to share whatever little things about you that you don't mind other people knowing.
I'm not moving.......ok, I'm moving now, hahahahaha...
Well, who would have guessed it? After writing about how my son enjoys my rendition of the chorus to the song "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script, on that same night, I managed to record a video on that.
See how my son over-enjoyed himself when I purposely sang it out of tune with the intention to tickle his funny bones. See also how he laughed when I said to him, "Ok, I'm moving now". Although the visual itself is a treat, if possible, make sure you crank up the volume too kay! :)))
They just keep coming up with great songs huh? Right now, the one that caught my ears is by The Script, called The Man Who Can't Be Moved. Naturally, when you listen to a song, before you get too familiar with it, the simple words in the lyrics would be the ones that you memorise first. In the case of this song, it's definitely the chorus part that goes:
So I'm not moving... I'm not moving. I'm not moving... I'm not moving.
My son really enjoys himself whenever I sing this part to him, especially if I make silly voice so that it sounds funny. Anyway, here's the clip - cool song, catchy lyrics and a very interesing vid:
Here are two other cool songs and vids. What a beautiful song Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade - 'sungguh mendayu-dayu'. The other one is Check Yes Juliet by We The Kings. Other than keep coming up with great songs, they tend to have weird names for bands and songs also huh? :-)
P/S: These days, whenever he has the chance, Ikhwan really likes to climb on top or on the back of me or my wife - to ride like we were horses. If the 'horses' were to slow, he would shake his body so vigorously and laugh at the same time. Imagine that happening while your stomach is empty. Now, my tummy sores a bit, hehee....
I listen to all types of music. I'm also more keen to listen to English songs than Malay ones, probably because I was exposed to English songs since at a very young age. My wife on the other hand, prefers the latter or at least a mix of both. Whenever she rides with me and all she hears is English songs from my car stereo, she would sometimes ask me to tune in to a different radio station.
I don't really mind listening to Malay songs actually. They sure have improved and varied these past years in terms of genres and catchiness. Occasional listening to Malay songs is fine with me - as long as not too many or listening to them for too long.
Anyway, I enjoy any songs that are soothing to the ears, but bands like Yellowcard, Green Day, Boys Like Girls, Maroon 5 and All American Rejects top my lists of favourite singers. My preference has surprised a few people before. Guess, my personality doesn't quite match my taste in music - they reckoned I'd be more into pop or slow/sentimental music. Yeah, that may be true in the past, like when I was below 10 years old.
In my opinion, there's nothing wrong (for me at least) to like music. I've never been overly obsessed on any particular artists. I always never let music come first before other important matters like praying times or when calls for prayers are being summoned by the muezzins; or let it interefere with my chores where silence is needed. But I do sometimes need music to accompany my reading or when doing house chores.
Anyway, here's a video clip of a song that I can't seem to get enough of, whenever I listen to it. It's a beautiful song, called All (I Need) by a talented band (One Republic). As I understand it (from the lyrics), the song is about someone whose relationships and social life is affected due to much clinging on to the past. But my interpretation could be wrong..., so what's your interpretation?
Another catchy song from the band is called Mercy. Absolutely love it!
By the way, now that I have my own mp3 lists of favourite songs (see below my profile), hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I do... and for those enjoy the oldies, I've added hits from Belinda Carlisle too! Just click on the 'Menu' and scroll 'Left' or 'Right' to find out the track numbers of her songs. More oldies will be added soon of course... :-)
We'll be going back hometown tomorrow for a relative's wedding which happens this weekend. It's been about a month since we last went back, and Ikhwan's four grannies can't wait to see him and miss him so much.
I learn from parents that our beloved cat, Sky has been sick for about a week now. He's 13 years old, and that is considered quite an old age (not to forget, wise) for cats. We love Sky very much. I..... love Sky very much. It's just that lately, I hadn't been able to spend as much time with him whenever I was in hometown - being a family man and all...Sky is such a unique cat - his characters can't be found in any other cats I've known and seen. I hope he'll recover fully soon enough.
I remember the first cat my sister and I owned. His name was Nit. The day he died, I was crying my eyes out. I was 12 years old at that time, if I'm not mistaken and that day marked the first day I started having a diary. Now, I no longer write, as in by hand, in a diary anymore. This blog is more or less a diary of mine too...
Meantime, David Cook wins the American Idol - a difference of12 million votes between him and the 2nd place winner, David Archuleta.... way to go Cook!!!
Wow, almost three weeks have passed huh, since I last wrote in this blog. The thing is, I've been rather busy. Other than spending most of the time with Ikhwan, there are other non-job related stuffs that (my wife and) I need to straighten up. At times, I feel perhaps I should just give this blog a wrap. But then, there are so many things I had shared in the past, that I don't want to lose, should this blog be removed by Blogger after many months of no updates. Also, I'm sure there'll be stuffs in the future, that I would definitely feel like sharing with the whole world, especially those involving Ikhwan or my family.
But one thing for sure, should the day has come when I've made up my mind not to blog anymore, I'd print out all the entries (photos, sketches and comments included) and bind them like a book, so that one day, when I'm already old(er) and my children all grown up, at least I can share with them that their father once had a blog called boulevard-ijab.
Anyway, back to usual blogging for today. I went to a music store, VS in Sg. Wang Plaza (a shopping complex) the other day, to get the latest Madonna's CD but it was still not out yet (sori, I find the cover of her latest album too..... scantily to portray it here).
VS is my favourite store when it comes to buying the latest original music CDs. Newly released albums or albums of a particular artiste whose song is currently a hit over the radio stations, are sold at 10 to 25% off their original prices, much cheaper than other stores.
The size of VS store is relatively smaller and I'm not aware if they have branches elsewhere. But, they have a good strategy in winning over their customers. Compared to other more popular music stores which require customers to own certain membership cards or to purchase above certain $$ to get discounts on newly released CDs, VS store offers CDs at much cheaper prices with no terms and conditions attached to it. The only condition is that, you have to be quick and lucky enough to get them before they are sold out or before the store removes the albums to regular-priced items shelves.
The VS' unique sales pitch has enabled them to survive the competition, not only with other stores selling music CDs but also stores selling other stuffs, in this 4-storey shopping complex building.
The building that housed Sg. Wang Plaza (SWP) is one of the earliest built. Back then, obviously, not much attention was paid to the design of the building. As a result, on the outside, the shopping complex looks just like another square-shaped building.
Not just on the outside, the inside of the building is also rather poorly planned (in my opinion). Despite still heralded as one of the most popular shopping spots in KL, one cannot deny the fact that on each floors, SWP is crammed with so many shops along its many aisles, with some shops are rather hidden (i.e. not easily found, unless by chance) than the rest. Now, let's not even talk about Bukit Bintang Plaza, which is adjacent to Sg. Wang Plaza and within the same building. It has more stores there too..
Come to SWP or BB Plaza during festive seasons or when there are sales, you'd find the ambience, especially on the lower floors, rather suffocating and you might prefer other shopping complexes which are more spacious instead.
One thing I notice about SWP is that when it comes to product categories, most of the shops sell fashion apparels (especially for women). With Parkson as SWP's major tenant (and Metro Jaya in BB Plaza) and plenty of popular shopping complexes around, I wonder how do the smaller shops make themselves stand out or any different from their competition. What's their unique sales pitch (provided there's any)? Guess, that's why certain shops close down only to be replaced with another that also sells clothing lines... sigh...
Let's reflect having sales pitch in real life. You don't have to be in sales to have your own sales pitch. In fact, we are already good sales persons ever since babies. Babies/toddlers have their way of getting what they want (well, most of the time) like by crying, screaming, throwing tantrums, or simply, by showing their sweet, chubby and have-mercy-on-me kind of face (ok, I'm thinking about my baby here and perhaps, Puss in Boots of Shrek 2 too).
As adults, we may have to think through on our sales pitches (or tricks, as some might prefer) in 'winning over' the love of our dreams, in obtaining the blessing of our parents (and future parents in law) before getting married, getting that dream job or the promotion we're after, having our arguments/opinions/suggestions accepted, defending our rights or wanting to be included in the group of peers.
So, what's your sales pitch? Whatever it is, just don't sell yourselves short la ok or cause other people to be sickened by your pathetic 'sales pitch' :-)
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Madonna is one of those singers/entertainers whose voice is easily recognisable without the need to see her singing. Ok, so, she doesn't have such an outstanding voice that can be projected like what Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houton and the likes can. But Madonna is an entertainer who doesn't rely solely on her voice. She has the whole package and her unique sales pitch makes her still a sought after singer to this day.
One may argue that her music styles have changed over the years and her 'older' songs are more catchy and memorable. I mean surely you can remember and may still even hum to the songs like Holiday, Material Girl, Like A Virgin, Papa Don't Preach, True Blue, La Isla Bonita, Like a Prayer, Cherish and Oh Father. Compare those with her most recent songs, the difference is highly noticable. I strongly believe that Madonna's strategy is to win over the hearts of younger people, so that she is not known only to older people like me, hahhahaaa...
Some say this year's American Idol is one of the best, while others say it's the best. Well - I go with the latter; it IS the best ever!!!
Last week saw the Top 7 battling it out on the stage. In my opinion, each of these promising contestants are talented in their own unique ways that none of them should be eliminated. My favourites would be David Cook, David A. and Kristy Lee Cook (no! the 2 Cooks are not siblings).
It was a Mariah Carey week (my wife just lurveees her songs, especially the old ones but feels contempt towards her choice of clothes). That would be tough, considering most of her songs consist of high pitch notes right? I mean, if I were to sing her songs, I would most likely end up sounding like a screaming banshee.
For most of the time, whenever contestants sing songs like these, they would either try so hard to sound like the original artists or they fall horribly flat by comparison. But last week saw the contestants' true potentials as singers (as Simon had put it, the show is about finding singers, not performers - no need to show how well they dance or play musical instruments while singing). Not just that, a few managed to rearrange the songs as though they were new songs, their own songs.
One very outstanding one was David Cook. His choice of song, Always Be My Baby was given 'a breath of fresh air' - it sounded so amazing and he sang it so dang well. Really hope he'd win the coveted title...
In the above video, see how he got all teary after hearing the judges' comments. Here's the lyrics to Always Be My Baby (David Cook's version):
We were as one, babe For a moment in time And it seemed everlasting That you would always be mine Now you wanna be free...yeah So I’m letting you fly ‘Cause I know in my heart, babe Our love will never die...noooooo...
You’ll always be a part of me I’m part of you indefinitely Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me Ooh darling ‘cause you’ll always be my baby And we’ll linger on Time can’t erase a feeling this strong No way you’re ever gonna shake me Ooooh darling, ‘cause you’ll always be my....my baby.....yeahhh.....
It was rather devastated to see Kristy Lee Cook go at the end of the show last week, huhuhu. I think last 2 weeks was her best week when she sang ANYWAYS.
Life is great, but sometimes life ain't good, When I pray, doesn't always turn out like I think it should, But I do it anyway (2x).......
The Oxford Dictionary says "boulevard" means wide city street, often with trees on each side. As for me, "boulevard" is the path that I thread my way through in life. At times, the trees give me protection from the hot sun above. While at other times, no amount of trees can comfort me when it pours. Come rain or shine, the road continues to provide me with the journey of life until it reaches its destination.
People say I'm sweet, kind, a gentleman, caring, romantic and observant (let's just concentrate on the good attributes). I love those who matter to me, and care about things that count. I'm a Malay Muslim and proud to be one. I DON'T think Islam should be judged by those nasty followers. Islam should be judged by the religion itself; its teachings and the purpose behind them. I mean, humans will still behave like humans right? Usually, regardless of religions that they embrace. It is also in my nature to please, since I believe that TO PLEASE EVERYONE IS AN IMPOSSIBLE FEAT, BUT NOT TRYING TO PLEASE ANYONE OTHER THAN ONESELF IS A POSSIBLE DEFEAT (own quote). Apart from sharing the things I read, watch and listen to, I'd also share my thoughts and feelings, and express my views on certain issues. Last by no means least, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE OF YOU OUT THERE ABOUT ANYTHING! If we knew each other 'in the previous life' and had lost contact, or we hardly contact each other nowadays, do email me or comment on my entries. Feel free to explore my blog & website (http://members.fortunecity.com/abdunmy/). Cheerio & Wassalam.
Sometimes, to boldly go (where no one has gone before) at warp speed may cause you unnecessary troubles.
Own quote, based on Star Trek
Lesson from the quote: Rushing to reach your destinations or goals may get you there fast, but may not always be the smartest thing to do!
"Note The Quote (Malay translation)"
Kadang kala, perjalanan (ke tempat yang tidak pernah ditujui) pada kelajuan maksimum boleh menyebabkan kesusahan pada diri sendiri.
Rekaan sendiri, berdasarkan dari Star Trek
Pengajaran: Terburu-buru untuk sampai ke destinasi atau matlamat hidup mungkin boleh membawa kita ke sana dengan cepat, tetapi langkah itu tidak semestinya yang terbaik!
You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle.
George Lucas (Film Director and Producer)
"Favourite Note The Quote 2"
A sign in a mosque on the need to switch off handphones:
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Penguin Rush
My name
On precaution steps
