Ensemble So Far

"It's a tempting communion," Night After Night by Laura Marling.


So following up on my previous post, I just thought I'd post a picture of the instruments I have at my disposal so far.

None were priced over $50. For that, I give myself a high-five. The oldest one would be the ukulele, which I bought a year ago, while the newest addition to the ensemble would be the angel glockenspiel (xylophone), which I bought yesterday. 


I haven't even got an amplifier for the Ibanez-wannabe yet. But rest assured it'll be on a strict $50 budget. Then we'll officially be in business.


But I haven't played the ukulele in so long, I've forgotten the chord fingering. And I still have no idea how to play the keys and xylophone.


Oh well, the holidays are approaching, so Youtube-teachers will be my good friends very soon.


May peace be upon you.


Cheers!

Rugby, Scripts, Lyrics

"I know how you feel, I know it's not right, but it's real," Don't Ask Me Why by Laura Marling.


So today was one of the most tiring days I have ever experienced, and surprise surprise, here I am updating the blog. I have no idea how or why I choose the days that I do to write, but here we are.


Joined the New South Wales Malaysian boys' rugby team for this year's National Conference Games  which are to be held at Goldcoast in July, inshaAllah. Second training session was this morning, and training drifted into midday. This time we didn't spend the whole session just playing touch (thank goodness) and did some actual drills. I was entrusted with handling the backline, and I noticed that I've been out of the game so long that it seems that I've lost the ability to speak rugby (yes, it's a language folks), and I hate that. 


I used to love speaking to my team, giving feedback,  listening, communicating, shaping individuals into a cohesive unit, but it seems that I haven't done that for so long that I've forgotten how that was done. I missed the game direly, but being out of the game after what seemed to be forever has taken its toll on me, and I don't like it. It doesn't help that we don't have a proper coach. Or any kind of coach, for that matter. Now I'm not entirely sure how I am to regain that "rugby Anwar" that I so love. Le sigh.


Moving on, I've taken up a script-writing role for the musical theatre "Malam Gema Malaysia". As if I don't have enough on my plate. That was my initial thought when asked if I wanted to do it. What with major assignments (plural, yes) being due in ten days or less now, family coming over, work and training to think of (not to mention pending video updates), I really should be swamped. 


But I accepted the offer anyway. Why? Good question. I think it's because I haven't ever written an actual drama script (or anything close to it, for that matter). The only scripts I have ever made are the scripts for my videos, and those are for my indulgence alone (95% monologue). This is a new challenge that I think is hard to come by, so I'm eager to see if I can actually do it. It's a learning experience, and I like learning experiences. Plus, I miss theatre.


On another unrelated note, I'm thinking of taking music more seriously. Not a become-a-world-touring-Grammy-award-winning-rockstar kind of serious, but more of a record-own-songs-and-publish-them-on-internet serious. This is mostly due to me having Garage Band, and this puts all kinds of thoughts in my head. And I don't intend on getting famous and gig-offers from my songs either. I would just like to share my music with the world, and if it could make even a single stranger smile, then I'd be happy. But I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I've published one song-less piece of lyric that I've written here (click it). Songs, still in my computer, uncertain of their future (that rhymes). We'll see how it goes.


And no haiku for this post. Or maybe just one.


Tiring days drift by,
Shoulders and legs want to cry,
But stay smiling. Bye.


May peace be upon you.


Cheers!

May the 4th

"Don't think I can breathe now," When Catching Butterflies by Delude.


Alhamdulillah.


So I let myself (and probably a few, very few readers) down again. Neglected the blog for only the thousandth time. Failed to keep to my Alahaiku schedule. It's not that I don't write them anymore. I do. It's just that I find it hard to rewrite them on other more mobile pieces of paper and snap a semi-good picture with it. I find that hard. But here I have a whole page of random (emphasis on the random) haikus that I have written since the last post.

Most of them were in fact written in a single session, but I probably shouldn't have told you that.


I have also been disappointing in the video-making front. Failed my 2-week-per-video-this-whole-semester quite miserably, as I have not uploaded a video iiiiinnnn (goes to Youtube to check) almost a month now. Astaghfirullahal'aziim. I have a script under construction and an episode of NTAH to record. Maybe I'll record and upload them both at the same time. 


Of course, that would be easy peasy lemon squeezy stuff to do if it were not for all the uni work I still have to do. I have three essays ranging from 1500 to 3000 words to submit by early next month, not to mention school visits and other stuff that I have to keep up with (sleep being a good example).


But all of this wouldn't be on my plate if The Provider didn't think, nay, know that I would be able to lap it all up with swog. 


Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." - Al-Baqarah [2:286]


I will do the best I can. Please Anwar, do the best you can.


Alhamdulillah.


May peace be upon you.


Cheers!

AlaHaiku 3

"Mata dalam kaca, topi berceloreng," Bawaku Pergi by Zizan and Kaka.


Ada satu yang bukan haiku, tapi saya sertakan kerana ia merupakan sesuatu yang, bagi saya, sangat mendalam untuk sesuatu yang hanya ditulis di atas dinding tandas awam.

May peace be upon you.

Cheers!

AlaHaiku 2

"Let's just call it what it is," Oil and Water by Incubus.

I know it's a day late, but here we go.

Comments please?

May peace be upon you.

Cheers!

AlaHaiku 1

"It seems to be the way that everyone else gets around," Drive by Incubus.

Tomorrow I'll be conducting a mini-lesson on "How to Write Haiku" in my TEP387/EDUC393 class.

Haiku are basically a form of Japanese poetry that are short and meter/syllable-specific. Having said this, English-users have adapted it and a form of English haiku has been established. In the English form, haiku consist of 3 lines, each having 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. Convention dictates that haiku are poems about nature, but we're not too rigid about that, are we?

Since researching English haiku, I have to say that I have grown fond of it. It's a simple form of creative expression, and i'm all for simplicity.

So, in the interest of this makin-lama-makin-neglected-blog, i will write one haiku daily, and i will post those haiku here weekly (I'll try to post every Monday).. I may choose to publish less than seven a week, but not less than 4.

They may be in the form of pictures (like the one below) or actual typed posts.

So let's see how this goes, shall we?

May peace be upon you.

Cheers!

Three Sugars?

"I hear you on the radio," Megalomaniac by Incubus.

So i'm at the library cafe, with no que in sight, i fancy myself a cup of mocha, so I go up to the counter to order myself a cup.

"Hey, how ya goin'?" greeted the girl behind the till cheerfully.

"Good, thanks," the normal response. "Regular mocha please. With three sugars please."

"Three sugars?" the girl said while making a face that might have suggested that she was actually saying "are ya crazy mate!?" while never actually making eye contact with me.

I only stood there, making a poker face on the outside while going "DON'T JUDGE MEEEE!!!!" on the inside.

The end.

May peace be upon you.

Cheers!