Life As We Know It - Great soundtracks!

Watched 'Life As We Know It' yesterday. To me, the movie is rather decent, but the soundtracks are GREAT! There are two songs in the movie that I really like, hence I'm promoting them here.


#1

The Song Of the Week goes to For You Now by Bruno Merz (not to be confused with Bruno Mars lol). It's slow, sweet & serene. I was instantly touched by the melody when I was in the cinema watching the movie. The song fitted into the scene perfectly. This is the kinda song where you need to lie down, close your eyes, forgo all your thoughts and immerse yourself into its wonderful melody, in the middle of the quiet night.

#2

Sweet Child O'Mine is a great rock song, originally sung by Guns N' Roses. However, I like the Taken by Trees' version better. As opposed to GnR's high-energy, rock version, this cover is slow-tempo & mellow. A nice switch indeed.

Well, in case for some reasons, you find the above two songs boring, I got something else for you. This one sure is going to entertain you. Our country's very own product. Ladies and gentlemen,

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DP Seri Rosmah Mansor's music video - If Tomorrow Never Comes!! Don't play play man, our first lady got MV. How many PMs' wife in this world do you know that has her own MV? Swell man. And the music video is an epic _ _ _ _. The red border, the karaoke lyric... Wait until you watch the MV, whoah man, the voice, the scenes... Not to be missed!

p.s. don't kill me, shit.

Defense Mechanisms

Definition of Defense Mechanisms: "Unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image"

Damn defense mechanism. All of us has it, each with different degrees and types. It prevents you from doing something you should, which you are afraid to / not willing to / lazy to.

For example, when you like someone, but are too coward to express it / not sure how to / afraid of ridicule and rejection, defense mechanism creeps in. It will make you think that you don't deserve that someone, you will not get along with that someone in a long run, and that someone does not have feelings for you, and that another someone will come along when you are prepared etc etc....

But, the truth is, you don't exactly know the answer for it. All you have to do is TRY. Damn it, the defense mechanism will make you do all the stupid assumptions which will lead you to an assumed conclusion aka hypothesis, and influence you into giving up trying, because it is trying to protect you from the possible rejection/ ridicule/ awkwardness/ failed relationship. Again, all the negative outcomes are merely possibilities, but the defense mechanism is so powerful that it makes you think the odds of failure are higher, hence it will be a futile attempt. In the end, you give up trying. Occasionally, you may have the urge to break out from such cowardice and THINK of trying, but then, sigh, defense mechanism is still playing with your mind, eventually successfully persuaded you into giving up. And this thing will go on and on until the opportunity is gone. And then you regret. Deeply.

Another scenario: You are so eager to take medical history from a patient, however that patient was clerked multiple times over. Then, defense mechanism sets in. It wants to protect you from the POSSIBLE rejection from a patient who MAY or MAY NOT be tired of all the clerking. In order to protect you, it will manipulate your mind like the example above, pushing you into making several assumptions:

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"Aiya read the case note enough already la"

"Aiya I have seen such case before, I think the symptoms are the same la"

"I think the patient is tired now, maybe i should come back again later" 

"The patient looks fierce, the probability of being rejected is high, aiya no need to ask la"

"Aiya fever only, no need practice taking history, I can wait for more interesting cases"

"Aiya pity the patient, clerked so many times already; those people lack empathy la, keep disturbing him. I won't want to tire him"

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And you get so creative that you can come out with so many other assumptions, just to hinder you from even approaching the patient. As a result, you risk faltering during case presentation, because you are full of assumptions and lack practice. 

The worse thing is that, sometimes you are rejected by patients and are let down. That will empower your defense mechanism, generating protection at lower threshold. You chicken out more easily in coming encounters. =.=

I can go on and on, giving more examples, but I ASSUME I have made my point.

F**k you defense mechanism!!

P.S. The above 2 examples are rationalization. There are worse types of defense mechanisms which I won't want to discuss.

Gleeky me!

Yes, I'm a Gleek.

I like Glee so much that I always replay the favorite parts over and over again, and this can go on for more than 20 times. I like Glee so much that I can't contain my feeling and hence I gotta express by blogging about it. (I wish I have such passion in study =.=)

Have you watched the latest season (S2)? Whoah surprise man! Charice joined the cast as Sunshine Corazon. And the interesting part is, she is gonna rival Rachel Berry and New Direction members hahaha. This is gonna inject a lot of excitement to the show. I'm looking forward to more great performances from her. Btw, I kinda wonder, who will be the lead singer in Vocal Adrenaline then? I mean Sunshine Corazon is great, but Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) is just as awesome, if not better. Man he has a wide vocal range! Love his rendition of Highway to Hell and Bohemian Rhapsody... ...

Then in the episode 2 of S2, Glee brought us another surprise. Britney! This is a brilliant theme. The choreography in "I'm a slave for you" and "Me Against The Music" was almost 100% adapted from Britney's music video. Despite the purposeful adaptation and hence the lack of originality, I actually enjoy it a lot! It is refreshing to see someone else doing all the Britney moves. Besides, Brittany (Heather Morris) can dance!! In season 1, she had barely any standout performance. In this episode, she was so impressive in her dancing that I watched her performance for like 20 times already. Ah I wonder why she only get to shine so late? Producer, more air time and solo performance for her please!! 

Glee redeemed itself in terms of originality when they performed Toxic. Love the rearrangement they did to the song, which make it sound more seductive, addictive and erm, toxic. Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) voice is so smooth and silky and incredible, and he can make any songs better to listen to! In short, Britney/Brittany is one of my favorite episode to date.

The strength of New Direction is certainly not their choreography, but the singing itself, and also the unity and the inspiration they brought. Yesterday, I re-watched certain parts of previous season, and I gotta say, I can't get enough of Vocal Adrenaline's performances! Love the choreography in "Rehab" and "Mercy" especially. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Highway to Hell" were great too.

Another surprise I got earlier on was the appearance of Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan and his singing capability. Wow, the duet with Will Schuester in "Dream On" was amazing! I went insane when they both hit the high note at the end of the song. I was like "What? Neil Patrick Harris can sing? He can hit Adam-Lambert-like falsetto?! I thought he can only act!" I replayed that performance so many times.

Strain!

Another character that I GOTTA mention here is April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth). Ah, another Broadway performer with crazy vocal range! She impressed me the most when she sang "Maybe This Time" against Rachel. April won hands down! This song was looped in my music player for an extensive amount of time =)

Of course, Glee is not just all about sky-high falsettos and spectacular choreography. There were many ballads and slow-tempo renditions that really hit my soft spot. My top two favorites in this category: Lean On Me & Smile. These two songs were well sung and were incorporated into the right scenes. Everytime I listened to those songs, my frustration and unhappiness will be relieved, albeit temporary. Apart from these two songs, Sweet Caroline, Somewhere Over The rainbow, True Colour, Don't Stop Believing, Somebody To Love and Dream a Little Dream Of Me were among the songs I really liked.

Lean on me

In short, I am a Gleek. I love the song selection, and their interpretation of the songs, and not to mention the choreography. The themes are highly variable and well-presented. I can't deny the fact that sometimes, the storyline are over-the-top and cheesy. However, there were certain scenes that were genuinely hilarious/ inspirational/ almost tear-jerking.

Yea, you can call me shallow or whatever for watching and being obsessed with Glee. I don't care, because I have found something that I really enjoy - a good musical that suits my taste. 

Thank you Ryan Murphy. Keep it up ya.

If I Ain't Got You

Widely known fact 1: Maroon 5 is a pop rock band.

Widely known fact 2: Adam Levine's voice is distinctive, melodic

Not-so-widely known fact 1: Adam Levine can sing R & B.

Not-so-widely known fact 2: Adam Levine can sing it WELL!

Listened to Maroon 5's live cover of Alicia Key's If I Ain't Got You. Very nice! I really didn't expect him to sing R & B so well. Love the part where he hit the high note with his falsetto near the end of the song! Too bad none of the videos available in Youtube is clear, and don't do Adam Levine justice. You can get the song from Maroon 5's latest album - Hands All Over.

Adam Levine's voice to me isn't the strongest, but it is very unique and distinctive. Maybe 'whimsical' is the word for it.

Gonna loop the song in my player for quite some time. Adam Levine FTW!

P.S. I like the first verse of the song. Very true indeed. What do you live for?

Burgers!

I am a sucker for burgers. When it comes to burger, I have a penchant for beef. I have been to several places to try out burgers. So I'm gonna do a little comparisons here.

1. Tony Roma's  - Big Stack Burger

Went to Tony Roma's at Mid Valley Mall for the second time yesterday. The first time, I ordered quarter chicken and I was let down. This time around, as the set lunch promotion was still available, I decided to give it another try and ordered a burger. The name "Big Stack Burger" was rather justified. The portion was big, with a mix of beef patty, cheese, bacon, and some greens forming a big stack! It tasted good. Love the juicy patty, the cheese and the bacon on top! Overall a satisfying meal, which changed my initial impression towards Tony Roma's.

2. Cristang  - Pork Burger

Went to Cristang at 8 Avenue, Petaling Jaya with friends as we all had never tried pork burgers in our life. This burger was an all-rounder! Totally enjoyed the juicy pork patty, the tasty bun which can be eaten on its own, the very delicious pork chilli con carne and the Cajun wedges, which I dubbed as the best potato wedges I had ever tried. You should try this some day.

3. Frontera - Beef Burger

Frontera Bar & Grill at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya serves a variety of Tex-Mex food. During my first visit, I was attracted by a banner promoting their burger and I decided to give it a try. I was impressed by the huge beef patty. Apart from the good size, the patty was juicy and tasted good. Would taste even better if topped with a layer of cheese =). Despite being irrelevant, I gotta mention the Habanero Buffalo Wings here! So goddamn hot man. Both the burger and buffalo wings were worth a try.

4. Chili's  - Oldtimer

I always like to visit Chili's due to the wide variety of foods they offer. I particularly like the Crispy Honey Chipotle Chicken, among others. The honey-chipotle sauce was AWESOME!!! Ok back to burger. I tried the Oldtimer. Wasn't really impressed though. The bun was dry. The beef patty wasn't juicy enough. Maybe I should have ordered medium instead of well-done. The fries, however, was as good as always.

5. New York New York - Juicy Cheese Burger Supreme

Tried this when I was in Singapore. Nothing impressive. Nothing supreme. 

In my opinion, among the burgers I have tried so far, Cristang is the one to beat. Juicy pork patty aside, the topping and the wedges really complement the patty well. Tony Roma's Big Stack Burger and Frontera's Beef Burger was really nice too.

Read from a blog that Pink Sage's American Classic Cheeseburger was superb. Hope to try that out some day.

Time

"Time is very slow for those who wait,

very fast for those who are scared,

very long for those who lament,

very short for those who celebrate.

But, for those who love, time is eternity."

(William Shakespeare)

Received an email containing the above excerpt. And it makes me contemplate.

I belong the the group who think time is moving very fast. I guess that means I'm scared.

I'm scared of the uncertainties I'm about to face as my life goes on.

I'm scared of getting what I don't deserve.

Heck, I'm even scared of the fact that I don't deserve what I want.

I'm scared that I'm not good enough.

I'm scared of the fact that I'm too scared commit mistakes.

I'm scared that I have been doing the wrong thing.

I'm scared that I have been making the wrong decisions.

I'm scared that my personality and my outlook towards life will make me an introvert, making me living in forever loneliness.

I'm scared that I actually over-think and put myself into misery, when I'm actually leading an OK life.

I'm so scared that I wish time will move a bit slowly, so that I have the time to change myself into a more 'ideal' person, before everything is too late.

But time won't slow down.

I guess that means I have to change the way I think, feel and see things. If not, I will forever live in fear, doubts, loneliness and sadness.

FML.