LANGKAWI 2009

Our annual year end trip to Langkawi for 2009. The whole family with friends. The adventure begins...

18 December 2009 (Friday)

Since our flight was at 10.30am, we were already in our taxis at 8.00am. As soon as we reached the LCCT, Mama got out with fury written all over her face. She didn't like the taxi driver.. Not gonna say more... We met Aunty Darl and her kids (Dini and Adam) and quickly checked in.

Dini is Husna's best friend in SAB and Mama and Aunty Darl grew close earlier this year. While waiting to board (our flight was delayed) we grabbed something to drink. I saw the hugest Gardenia bun display in one of the shops. I never saw that many buns in one place, so naturally we had to take a picture.

The flight was quite uneventful. Not for the family behind us, though. The little boy kept crying (almost throughout the entire flight,) wanting to sit with his older brother who is somewhere at the front. I got an aisle seat and did some sudoku and puzzles. After a brief nap, I woke up to find that the plane was already landing.

It was Adam's first flight and he later told Aunty Darl that it was like riding a car.. Haha!.. Uncle Malik and his daughters were there to pick us up. It took 3 cars to fit all of thirteen of us. First things first, LUNCH!! Uncle took us to a place near Padang Matsirat. We were the only ones having lunch there and as we were eating some more people came. It started to rain just as we got to the food place, which might explain the lack of customers.

Then, we checked in the Seroja Inn Motel.. Haha, joking. We were actually spending the first night at Uncle Malik's and Aunty Zawiah's house. They were having a barbeque that night. Since it was still raining, we cancelled our plans for Cenang and went shopping instead to the Langkawi Fair and Pekan Kuah. I did some early chocolate shopping and spent almost RM150.. Sigh..

The BBQ was nice. They grilled some fish, squids and prawns.. Mama taught Aunty Zawiah how to make Yong Tau Foo. It was kinda funny how everybody would take a peek at my plate to see how to eat it. I didn't add in rice though, preferring to taste the fish and tofu in its raw form.. Haha.. They also had durian (they were huuge!) with pulut and rice with curry. The dessert were lychee and milo jelly.. They kinda remind me of the ones that were sold during IIUM's Bazaar Ramadhan so I had quite a few.

The BBQ ended at about 10pm and we decided to have a karaoke session at the Bayview Hotel. We were there for almost three hours singing all kinds of songs from oldies to the current hit song. I sang Love Story, Gee (I danced a bit), Flavor Of Life and Lucky. We ambled home at about 1.30 am and immediately lights out.

19 December 2009 (Saturday)

At about 7.41am Abah called telling us to all wake up. So we all got ready and had some delicious roti canai and mee hailam for breakfast. Mama and Abah had plans of their own for that day and we were basically assigned to be tour guides for Aunty Darl and her kids. First, we headed to Dataran Lang. The usual photo spot for Langkawi tourists. It was a bit hot when we got there and we quickly got to the picture taking. The sun was already high and the shots that we got with the Big Bird was a bit unsatisfactory since the sun was directly facing us.

As it was Dini's and Adam's first time in Langkawi, Aunty Darl wanted them to visit some historical sites. And I was appointed co-pilot of the operation. With a map (two actually) in hand, we made our way first to Makam Mahsuri. We got there at noon and most of the visitors were already leaving. We bought our tickets and went in the museum first. They were some exhibits and even a video of Mahsuri from her early days to her wrongful death to the curse she placed on Langkawi. Seeing her tombstone kinda made it real for me as I often regarded it as a kind of Malaysian legend. Just outside of the Museum is her resting place and where she used to live. We walked around the compound, took pictures and bought some food to tide us off for the time being.

We promised to meet Mama back at Kuah at 2.00pm and by 1.00pm, we had quite enough of Mahsuri. So we decided to stop by the Langkawi Cable Car. We took some time to get to Gunung Macincang but imagine our (especially Aunty's and her family) disppointment to see that the cable cars were closed due to maintenance. In the end, we just walked around the Oriental Village complex and I ended up buying some dresses. Hee~ We got home at about 3.45pm and just collapsed.. Most of us had a brief nap, then we prayed and had our lunch. I asked for Laksa Penarak which is almost my customary dish everytime in Langkawi. We got ready and headed back to Padang Matsirat for some go-carting action.

The reservation was made for us for 5pm but we got there at about 5.30pm and luckily no one was around. A couple of Zaim's friends joined us for the race. We split into two groups, the boys were going first and then the girls. As the boys were racing, people just kept on coming until the waiting seats were quite full!!

When it was the girls' turn, I felt quite queasy but tried to have fun nonetheless. I didn't keep track of how many laps I managed on the time period given, but it felt like a lot. Abah and Mama showed up as soon as we finished on the track. It was Aunty Darl's last night in Langkawi, so we brought her for a walk around Cenang. As usual, I also bought somethings there (shades, some more dresses). We were just given an hour to roam around. When we got home, we packed our stuff because we were checking in the de Barron hotel after dinner.

Speaking of dinner, it was at the newly opened eating place near Pekan Rabu and we requested for the seats on the pier. However, the wait for our food was a bit long as I think the place was a bit understaffed. And, my order was the last one to come even though I only ordered Char Kuay Tiau. But it was fun hanging out with everyone and just enjoying the night air together. Occasionally we'd see some squids floating near the water's surface. And the nearby people "kindly" provided us with a bit of loud, blaring club music.

With full tummies and bleary eyes we checked in our hotel. Aunty Zawiah booked 4 rooms for all of us and since Mama and Abah were staying at her house, we can have two person in each room. I shared a room with Huda and as soon as we made sure that everybody has settled in, we were off to sleepy land in no time.

20 December 2009 (Sunday)

Huda got the bed further from the aircond, which meant I had a major sore throat that morning. Aunty Darl's flight leaves at 12pm and she still had some shopping to do with Mama, which meant she was already gone by the time I woke up. I rallied the troops and had them ready by 9.30am. We stopped by Aunty Zawiah's for breakfast and made plans for the day. Zaid and Huda also kinda took turns taking us for a ride on the motorbike. Aunty Darl suddenly popped in and announced that her flight was delayed and she was ready for some more fun.

Our first destination for the day was Gunung Raya. It used to be a kind of lodge for government officers but have since changed management and is open to the public. BUT, the journey there is no joke. It is a bit like going to Genting Highlands but worse. I had to close my eyes and force myself to sleep so that I won't throw up. I was all wobbly-kneed by the time we got to the top. But (I'm using a lot of buts in this paragraph), the view was AMAZING!! You can almost touch the clouds and the air was soo fresh. It's like 100% pure fresh air, untouched by civilization, unmarred by pollution. Aah, bliss.. I think the cool air did somewhat ease me of my travelling sickness.

You could easily lose your way in the labyrinth-like layout of the place. The design had a sort of modern feel to it, which we loved since it provides a perfect background for our cam-whoring activities. We went to the topmost level to get the full experience of being on the highest peak in Langkawi. It was a bit dizzying and the wind is quite strong up there, but we enjoyed it as we always do. HUsna and Dini had quite a tough time on the way down the mountain. Thanks to Gee and its addictive dancing, I was able to keep my mind off of the road and be somewhere else. Hee~

Aunty Darl left for the airport after that. Abah wanted to have lunch at Tun Dr. Mahathir's The Loaf. We could tell that the usual clientele is of the upper class, but that didn't stop us from sitting there for almost an hour and just be as loud as we could. HAHAHA.. The food is nice. Even with sore throat, I couldn't help but taste the non-alcoholic wine. It takes a while to get used to since it was so sour. Some of the breads were divine and the pasta was also good.

Then, we were off to our final shopping spree!! First stop, Langkawi Fair. Beacuse I already bought some chocs, I found something else to buy, i.e. jeans. Thanks Abah!! Then, we split up and some of us headed to Pekan Kuah. I bought some pashminas and some more chocs. And, that was the end of my shopping.. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and I managed to finish my book, The Gift by Cecilia Ahern. The book was OK. There were some things that I don't really get but generally the lesson is not to take what you have for granted. To stop and smell the roses and not just bulldozing over everything to get what you want.

Originally, we wanted to go to Cenang (again) for dinner but because we were soo tired, we decided to eat somewhere nearby. So, off we went to Bukit Malut (I think). But since it was quite last minute, we had to wait a while (again!) for the food to come. Fortunately, I brought some Katakana practice sheets and spent some time teaching Mama and Abah about Japanese writing.

To round off the day, the young'uns went to Dataran Lang (again!!).. Just for fun.. We walked and took some pictures, had loads of fun playing with the lights and then went back to the hotel.

21 December 2009 (Monday)

I woke up quite early and finished up on my packing. We checked out at 9.30am and as usual had breakfast at Aunty Zawiah's. We had some nasi lemak (that looks and tastes so much like nasi minyak) and roti canai. And of course, some last minute picture taking in Aunty's gorgeous house. There were quite a number of people in line for check-in at the airport. I was feeling kind of dizzy so, I slow-walked around the complex, checking out the people.

For everybody else, the flight must've been ordinary but not for me. As we got higher, my ears would not pop no matter how much I yawned and sucked my sweet. I could see everybody but their voices would be coming from miles away. It was surely surreal, almost like an out-of-body experience. And towards the end, the pressure was building up in my head that I feel like it was going to explode anytime. I was thinking that it wouldn't be surprised if my ears were bleeding as we landed.

The pain lessened on the ground though I still couldn't hear as well as I could. So, I kept my head down and just pushed through. Abah got us a van to bring us all home. Almost all of us were very sceptical at first. I mean like, really? One van? For the nine of us? With our bags? But it turned out, we all really do fit in the one van, albeit a bit squished up. I think almost all of us slept in that van.

We reached home (safely, Alhamdulillah) at about 3.00pm. Later that evening, I called Aunty Darl and she said that my blocked ear may be because of the flu that I had, causing imbalance of pressure inside my head. I'm all OK now. Right guys? Aah, what I wouldn't give to see all five of you smiling together like this...

AIDILADHA 1430H

Before I start, just let me say that IRIS totally ROCKS!! Ok.. On to the main event!

27th November 2009

I woke up sometime before 6. Watched a few G No Arashi episodes. Those guys crack me up, especially Sho in sports. Total FAIL. Anyway, the eid prayer were to take place at 8.15 am. I went with Husna and Mama to the nearby surau. There were lots of s**t on the road so we had to pick through our way. That kinda reminded me of kampung where our eyes would constantly be glued on the road for any weirdly shaped colored lumps.Huda woke up late and she went to the Masjid with Abah. Me and Husna kept giggling all through out the khutbah, which is why Mama kinda told us off afterwards. On our way back home, we saw about 6-7 cows tied up outside. There was even a group of foreigners taking pictures with them. Cute!! All of us had breakfast after that. The customary nasi impit with kuah kacang and soto. Yummy!! I managed to sneak in one more GnA in between the nasi impit and soto. Hee.. After we ate, all of us gathered at the living room and wished everybody happy eid and to ask for forgiveness. No photo op this time as most of us were dressed rather casually. Then we saw the video for Huda's birthday that I made. Actually I'm not really satisfied with it, but you make do with the time you have. However, Huda was definitely getting teary eyed towards the end of the video and she kept on LOLing to hide it.

Next, we got ready to go to Nenek's house. The menu there was mee kari. I kept on going to the dining table fror the fruit cake. Cik Ros and family arrived an hour after we did. By then, all of us had eaten and are sprawled in front of the TV. Nenek's purse got stolen earlier in the morning, and that was the hot topic for that day. And the funny thing was when she chased after the thief she asked her to return her car keys. And the thief actually turned around and threw her the keys!! Hahaha..!! Then all of us gathered in front of the TV and watched some Malay dramas together.

We took our leave at about 3pm and headed to Kemensah Height to a friend of Abah and Mama's open house. When we got there, not many people were around as the function was supposed to end at 4pm. And imagine our surprise (HUda's especially) when we saw Datuk Siti Nurhaliza getting up and greeting us. (Please imagine our surprised faces...) We took a table quite far from the hosts while Abah and Mama respectively took their places at the husbands' and wives' table.. The food was delish. The satay was nice. I had some really diluted cendol and some roti jala with kari. Then, we kinda took a walk around the house, which by the way is sooo purrty. Of course, being the camwhores that we are, pictures were taken here and there.

It was almost dark by the time we got home. We stopped by McD's for some prosperity burger. (Ok, I'm starting to crave Prosperity. I want one NOW!!). I fell asleep after the first break in Nur Kasih's last episode and only woke up at 4am only to trudge upstairs and fell on my own bed.

28th November 2009

Mama announced early in the morning that she was going to have breakfast at OldTown Jaya Jusco AU2. All of her kids got ready and were already outside by 10.30am. We had some Kaya Toasts, Peanut Butter Toasts, Nasi Lemak, half-boiled eggs and Hor Fun. It has been a while since all 7 of us had breakfast together. If memory serves me right, I think the last time was when we at the kedai bawah pokok in Gombak. Anyway, we decided to do some shopping afterwards. Huda bought me an anklet and a phone accessory (JaeJoong) for Ayang. Thanks Huda!! Then I bought a couple of sweat pants and Abah bought us Giordano shirts.

We stopped by the house and then were on our way to Mok Yah's house in Shah Alam. She made a chocolate cake (or rather Hajar did) and mee rebus. I watched Kismat Konnection (I miss Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan is a joy to watch) but missed the final half an hour. Can any kind-hearted soul fill me in on the ending? We had to go home early beacuse we had tahlil at Nenek's that night.

We were quite late arriving at Nenek's. Everybody, including our beloved PokSu (@ Yem) was already there when we got to Taman Kamariah. PokSu works for the embassy so he's not always around. Nenek cooked mee kari and grilled some chicken. Mama brought the brown and black pepper gravy while Cik Ros brought some ice cream. After the solah jamaah and yaasin, we cleared the hall and headed to the dining table. I just took some chicken with gravy and fries. Nice.. And guess what was on TV? Death Note!! I only watched some though because Huda wanted to see Tizz Zakiah on another channel. Tsk.. Luckily, I managed to see L and Kira's face-off at the end.. Ureshii!! We went home at about 11pm and ZZzzzz...

29th November 2009

Abah, Husna and me went to see Ninja Assassin at KLCC. Since we took the first show, there were not many people at the cinema yet. The story was somewhat predictable. I felt that more focus could have been given to Mika and her relationship with Raizo. And pray tell what happened to Raizo after the whole revenge ended? Just quietly live at the burned temple, thinking of his lost love? Or made a huge change in career and is now a salesman? Haha, that was random.. The story basically revolves around blood. Like every few seconds blood will be spurting amidst cut-off limbs and blink-and-you'll-miss-it action sequences. Don't get me wrong, I loved the action. It was intense, but a little less blood would be preferable.

We had lunch at the Signature foodcourt. I tried the ebi tempura udon at the newly opened Hachigo but it was not as good as Sushi Kings'. Too bad.. While Abah shopped at the Stadium, I walked around Kino and saw some magazines with Arashi on it. Got quite excited, squeee... Abah wanted to go to the Property fair at the Convention Center, so naturally that was our next stop. Me and Husna were just walking around looking at miniature models. Then, we stopped by Starbucks for Toffee Nut fraps.. It was as good as I remembered it..

The rest of the day kinda went by quickly. Didn't do anything quite interesting after that. Slept and watched 2Days1Night. They got the minivan stuck in the sand at Jeju island and KimC had to walk all the way to camp.

Aaand.. It's a wrap!!

ARASHINKI

Aah, I'm gonna spaz a bit about my two obsessions; Arashi and Dong Bang Shin Ki, hereafter to be known as Arashinki.

As mentioned before in a couple of posts, JaeChunSu are currently in the midst of a legal battle with their (former?) company, SM Entertainment (SME). The dispute is over their slave contract and also on the amount of remuneration they received even after achieving so many successes not only in Korea but also all over Asia. Can you imagine working for 13 (THIRTEEN!!) years, not counting their military service period and for 355 days a year? And what do you get in return? A measly 1% of album sales which by the way you have to split with other members and that's only IF your album sold MORE than 300,000 copies. Does that even makes sense? I'm glad that they are taking a stand for thmeselves but sometimes cannot help wondering why HoMin aren't on board. On the 21st November, me and Ayang practically screamed our throats out when JaeChunSu appeared on stage during Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA).

Although we could only understand some of their speech, both of us couldn't stop our tears, especially towards the end when Jae mentioned leader and maknae (our two friends.. *sob*). The appearance is not only to accept the Best Representative of Asia Award, but also as a stand against SME as the corporation has previously declared that they are boycotting the event, resulting in the absence of most of the prominent artists in the KPop scene (SNSD, SuJu, SHINee and f(x)). The boys definitely looked tired and sad but also IMO a little beaten by the strain. As they were making their exit, you can hear the crowd chant Mideoyo (We believe you, also one of the boys' earlier songs, and one of my favorites). All I can say is, Always Keep The Faith.

Also mentioned a gazillion times before, 2009 marks the 10th year of Arashi in the entertainment industry. They have charted the top four best singles sold for 2009 with the release of their latest single, My Girl. I love the PV by the way. All five of them as brothers!! Kawaii!! But in the end, where is Goro's (Jun's) room? Is he sharing with Sho? Kyaa!! Sakumoto forever!! But, I'm not really crazy over Jun's hair. My fave is still Domyouji and Bambi's.. Vito's is also nice. Sawada's too.. *dreams of Jun for a while*

Aaand this year Arashi is invited to NHK's "Red White Kohaku"!! Yattaaa!! The best part is, Tohoshinki (a.k.a TVXQ a.k.a Dong Bang Sin Ki) is also invited!! And they're gonna be on the same team!! Fandom collide!! I like!! *catches breath* This is Tohoshinki's second year joining the prestigious event and Arashi's first. Kouhaku is not the only event that Arashinki will appear together. Both group will be participating in Fuji TV's "FNS Music Award" on 2nd December.

Left:Arashi (top) and Tohoshinki (second from the bottom) listed for White Team in Kouhaku

Right: Tohoshinki is the large name in the middle and Arashi is the third name on the left for FNS

The group's first appearance together since their last concert in Osaka on the 30th August (Jun's birthday!!) will be on the 26th of November on Nihon TV's "Best Hit Music Award 2009". Something all the Cassiopeians are waiting for with bated breath. Although JaeChunSu is no longer under SME, the group Tohoshinki is still managed by their Japanese company, Avex which explains why their Japanese activities are still going on even in the midst of the lawsuit. In fact, there's already talk of Tohoshinki releasing their next single around New Year 2010 titled "Break Out". Can't wait.. But as Kak Maya pointed out, it's high time we hear some Korean music from the boys.. Not that that seems likely in the near future. Going back to Arashinki, I'm SOOO gonna look for their performances. Here's hoping that there will be some actual interaction between the two group compared to the ones in Music Station when Jun laughed his head off when Junsu made the oyaji gag. But just seeing Jun and Junsu together in one frame is enough to make me feel all happy inside. The joys of being a fangirl... Arashinki FIGHTO!!

P/s-I noticed there's a lot of exclamation marks in this post. Not exactly weird because I LOVE ARASHINKI!! Haha.. OK, that was the last one, I promise. And I think some of the facts (especially about the lawsuit) might be incorrect because I'm just too lazy to check and is typing off of memory.

Sidenote-Huda's birthday is tomorrow, so just an early birthday wish to her. May all her hopes and dreams come true and may all the happiness be with her always. God bless her. Happy birthday!!

Till next post, jaa ne..

A DAY TO REMEMBER (Pix Later)

13th November 2009...

Is without a doubt a day to remember, especially for Abah. Why? Because it was his 52nd birthday and 27th wedding anniversary. Not to mention that it was also his last working day before he goes on holiday and retire. Naturally, we had a couple of things planned for him. Bought a cake. Made (yes, made) a huuge card. Created a video. The plan was to celebrate with him after he got off work. But then we encountered a major hitch in our plan. Abah had a meeting that night. And it will most probably end at 11pm. All of us were determined to wait for him, but 11pm came and went without even a single message from him. Everyone ended up sleeping (except for Zaim). And guess what time he arrived? At 1 in the morning!! Zaim quickly woke me up but both of us failed to wake the rest up. Resigned, we decided to postpone the entire thing to the next day. But if we did that, we couldn't celebrate together because all of us (except the boys) are heading to Melaka the very next day. So, with a heavy heart, we decided to just have the celebration at any opportune time.

14th November 2009...

Abah had to leave for Melaka at 6am (pretty busy for someone supposedly on holiday, rite). Because Huda had Mandarin class and Nenek is also otherwise occupied, the rest of us only managed to start our journey to Melaka at about 3pm. It was raining quite heavily which made the travel a little bit longer than necessary. When we arrived in Alor Gajah, Abah was at the nearby mamak place so we met him there. We were also quite hungry because we hadn't had a decent lunch that day. I had fried maggi which is quite nice. And there was also a hilarious episode when Husna went to buy her credit. Anyway, when we got to the house, it was just beginning to get dark. I took a dip at the swimming pool and got ready for dinner.

We were invited to dinner in Umbai. The ride there took almost an hour and a half, with four of us (Nenek, Huda, Husna and me) squished in the back. The food was delishious as usual. I stuffed myself with lotsa prawn, squid and fish. Seafood is NICE!! We met up with our friends (Auntie Za!!) in Melaka and chatted a bit. Truly, there was never a dull moment when we were feasting. However, as fate would have it, that night would also be the night where Channel [V] is airing Arashi's Videoscope. Of all nights. So, I was wee bit depressed whenever I thought of Arashi on the telly (heh, British much?).. We got home quite late that night, which is why all of us stumbled into bed as soon as we arrived and promptly dozed off.

15th November 2009...

As with the previous mornings, Abah was already out by the time we woke up. This time he's headed to a golf course. The rest of us sat by the pool, playing Sudoku and just enjoying the sun. I really loved sitting at the edge of the pool and just dip my legs, listening to the songs on my phone. With the wind blowing softly and little flower petals flying all around me, it was truly bliss. Like a small piece of heaven on earth. Abah got back at around 1pm. And we quickly got together and presented him with his birthday cake that we had hauled all the way from Kuala Lumpur. While we were enjoying the cake (which is the fruit cake from Baker's Cottage, one of my absolute fave.. Oishii!!) there was a knock on the door and who could it be but Auntie Za with our lunch. I was already packing up by then because we wanted to leave by 3pm *there's a repeat of Videoscope at 6pm* But we only managed to be on the road at about 4pm. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that there was NO Videoscope. But later I found out that the repeat will be on Thursday, which I will definitely watch. I also managed to download the show (thanks to araSSH!subs!) but there's just something when you see it on TV as compared to the computer monitor, get my meaning?

Abah suggested for a family solat hajat and tahlil since all of us will be home that night. Especially because Zaid will be taking his SPM on the 18th November. Nenek also joined us. And guess what we did after that? We showed Abah his video. Got out the cake and gave him his birthday card. FINALLY, we managed to celebrate his birthday together, although a few days late. Still, better late than never, aite? Then, all of us enjoyed some cekodok for a night snack. I love food, especially with family. It makes the eating all the more enjoyable don't you think?

That's it for now. Though I think I said quite a lot.. Huu, gomennasai! Till next time.. PEACE OUT..

CONFUSED...

Can you tell me how I'm supposed to feel when I'm reading about TVXQ's dispute with SM Entertainment when I realized that today is Arashi's 10th Anniversary? It's like two different ends of the spectrum.

On one hand, I'm feeling so depressed about JaeChunSu that even hearing TVXQ's songs make my heart ache. On the other, I feel soo happy for Arashi for their tenth year. But the thing is, since I can't listen to TVXQ's songs, I'm mostly listening to Arashi's and watching their videos. Inadvertently, this makes me fall more in love with their dorkiness, which in turn makes me feel soo guilty towards TVXQ. I'll also end up feeling sad because there is a possibility that TVXQ might not make it to their tenth year. I need help..

Bad news first.. Since yesterday, there have been a slew of statements released by both parties (JaeChunSu and SM) and even one alleged statement from HoMin and their fathers (which is STRANGE). The Court decided to side with the boys on the contract dispute but no word on the income allegations yet. What originally started as just a request for revision of contract is turning into a parting of ways between the three and SM. What's sadder is HoMin is stuck right in the middle. No words on what their action will be as yet. I might not be completely informed on this matter, but just the thought of the group disbanding makes me feel sad. They opened so much doors for me, made me enjoy life so much more. But if their journey was meant to end here, I think in time I will learn to accept that. I only wish for the best, not only for JaeChunSu but also for HoMin.. Cassiopeians, don't lose faith.. Believe in the boys and always pray for what's best for them. ALWAYS KEEP THE FAITH.

Moving on to much happier news. I know I've mentioned this several times already in this blog, but today marks Arashi's tenth year in the entertainment scene. They have been through so much. In the first few years of the group, three out of the five originally wanted out. Since they only met for work, they rarely talked about anything but. So, their relationship wasn't the best when they were starting out. But as the years gone by, especially after the first concert, the members start to feel that they might really belong to Arashi and started to really focus on the group. They had many discussions with each other to plan Arashi's (and their) future. Now, each of them has succeeded in their own right. All of them has played lead roles in dramas. (I still think that HanaDan played a major part in their rise to superstardom.. Hahaha.. Major Jun bias). Aiba is the Zoo guy. Jun and Nino are established (?) actors. Ohno has an exhibition for his art collection. And Sho is the newscaster guy. Currently they have three variety shows to their name (and several that has already ended). But they are still together, laughing, crying, taking care of each other. The concerts that they so carefully organized have only one thing in mind. To let everyone from the front all the way to the back enjoy every second of their performances. Seriously, their stages are pure joy to watch. They definitely give new definition to moving stages and flying over the audience. And through their various variety programs, fans get to know how genuine they are and just how clumsy and eternally dorky they are. They are real. What's not to love about that? Ten years is not a short span of time. And it is truly something worth celebrating. HAPPY TENTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY, GUYS. Arashians, celebrate the joy of knowing our boys will most probably last for another ten years...

Just an afterthought.. Arashi took ten years to be as successful as they are right now, but success just kinda happened overnight for TVXQ. And look where each of them is standing now.. With Arashi at the highest of high and TVXQ at the lowest of low.. Just saying.. But I love both of them.. Their music will always be a huge part of my life.. And for that I just want to say thanks and may God bless all 10 of them..

Hmm.. Still confused though...

SMILE!!

I love to smile. In fact, I smile all the time. The one feature I'm most confident with is my smile. Heck, I even love the song Smile from Arashi. Incidentally, the song is playing right as I'm typing this. Hahaha... Aaaand, I just listened to Mighty Mouth's new song feat Insooni, Smile... Hoho..

Talking about Smile, I just finished watching Jun's drama, SMILE (finally!!). But there were a lot of holding hands, which made me kinda jealous of Gakky. How absurd is that... Although cheesy and a bit incomprehensive at times, the drama was OK for me. Not in the least because of Jun, but Shun also plays a minor but very important badass role. I love Jun-Shun.. Fangirl mode:ON.. There was a bit of suspense toward the ending but everything turned out as it should be. And because of the title, Jun had to smile a lot. HaaHaa.. But once again I'm reminded that Jun can't cry. Too bad... The silent Gambatte thing in the drama was ChoKawaii...

My favourite scene in the drama

The drama made me think about the extent to which you should take nationalism. In that should it trample the rights of foreigners to earn a decent living in your country. Jun plays a mix Japanese-Pino in this drama and basically received s***ty treatment from those who didn't know him. It certainly didn't help that Vito (Jun's character) was involved in some serious crime in his younger days. Everyone, including the police have this pre-conceived notion of him being a good-for-nothing foreigner who'll make trouble for them. In a way, it struck a chord because Malaysians have all kinds of foreigners working here. But do all of us have this prejudice against them and sentence them even before a fair trial?

Enough with the heavy talk... The main point of the drama is who would've thought that a smile would be a tool for self-protection. Indeed, it is a useful means to cheer you up and let the ones around you be at ease. The power of a smile can help you through the weary traveles of life. When faced with difficulties, a smile helps you see that there's always a rainbow after the rain. A kind smile can turn a bad day into the best day ever... And turn strangers into friends.. The great thing is, a smile is universal. . You can share a smile with someone from a different country, and they most probably would smile back. Cool, right..?

Don't you just smile when you see this?

I think that a person is most beautiful when he smiles. Especially when the smile came from the heart and shines on his face. It's just heavenly. Smiles also can be shared, not only with the person with you but even to a stranger. Isn't it a wondrous thing?

There's an Islamic proverb "Senyum itu satu sedekah" meaning that a smile in itself is a good deed. So why not share your smile today? As a scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho succintly portrayed,it doesn't take a lot to smile. You just go One..Two..Three..Smile!!(Interestingly, there were several times in SMILE where I got a ShahRukh feeling from Vito, sometimes from the way he walks, his collarbone and just his gaze. Love!!)