Starlight Shining at Westlife’s KL Concert (24 February 2023)

How does it feel to finally meet a long-lost friend from your youth? For sure, it would undeniably be a sweet and memorable one. That’s how my wife and I had felt when we recently went to the Westlife concert at the Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

The concert, part of the ‘Wild Dreams’ tour, was held two nights in a row. We attended the second one from last Friday night (or was it Saturday night? I could never get the concept right), and it was definitely a moment to remember. The KL traffic was brutal that day, yet we persevered till we reached the venue, and made our hasty steps from the parking lot to the venue, with the Westlife playlist playing inside our head, rent free.

We actually arrived there earlier than expected, yet we had to queue behind a big ocean of people. Honestly speaking, we thought the visitors would be among those from between the Late Gen Xers to the Young Millennials (or Xennials, but the label’s deemed as scandalous and debatable). Surprisingly, there were a lot of youths, so young that I wondered if they first knew about Westlife while lying in their cradle.

Anyway, we had almost an hour to spare, of which the fans totally utilised the time singing to a lot of multigenerational popular songs being played at the indoor venue (My fav was Everybody Wants to Rule the World). It was already a concert on its own.

Then, they came. It was a soft start with a fine montage display, together with the slow instrumental version of their hits, and the crowd was joining the momentum by becoming more excited and restless. With the escalating mood and lights and special effects, Shane, Mark, Kian and Nicky finally made their presence on stage. The crowd was cheering and singing along to their first performance, Starlight, while the fans were shouting excitedly when the two big screens were showcasing the members for the first time. The group looked genuinely happy to see their Malaysian fans too, and that brought passionate cheers from the crowd.

The night was filled with their greatest hits. Uptown Girl was of pure energy, My Love triggered memories of youthful love from their (Correction: our) generation, and If I Let You Go evoked the what-could-have-been moments when you were young.

What’s more rewarding that night is that the band was really showing their appreciation of their Malaysian fans, as they interacted with the crowd a lot between songs. Shane pointed at a baby from the audience, with the display focusing on the youngest spectator of the night, being clueless and all. They also acknowledged and made jokes on them being older and with kids, together with the fanbase, thus the noticeable lack of energy of both as compared to two decades ago. They also funnily made remarks on the lack of fans at the KLIA for their recent arrival, as opposed to what it was when they came for the first time in 1999, much to the amusement and laughter from the crowd.

The concert ended well, not without them making their last group pose on the stage before making their exit, leaving the crowd fully satisfied. Or perhaps, there was an inner wish by the fans for the night to be a little bit longer, before returning to being adults with responsibilities waiting at home and the workplace.

I guess there were mostly true fans who came there that night, as they disregarded all the miniscule shortcomings of the event, but rather appreciate the rich and interactive experience of being transported to when life was positively simpler and brighter. To sum up, the concert was ‘More than Words’ could say (pun intended).

Hope there will be a next tour soon. And Shane, if you’re reading this, we promise we’ll be at the KLIA next time. Be seeing all four of you. Or five, hopefully.

 

 Nazreen 

- We had Joy. We had Fun -

Throwback 13 Presents: A 'Negeri' Wedding

The Throwback 13 Promo

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7 April 2013.

It was a fine day for a trip. It was also the day when my colleagues (Shifak & Bobo) and I decided to go for a trip to a colleague's (Lisa) wedding reception. The meeting place was at the office in KL. Shifak had already decided to be the driver of the day. Can't imagine if I was the driver...you won't end up reading this blog if I was. :)

Khan, another colleague, also planned to join us as a convoy at the Senawang exit.

So, with Shifak's car, we started our journey (around 10am-ish) to Palong 10, Negeri Sembilan. It is a Felda settlement at Jempol. It sounded near. Come to think of it, the whole Negeri Sembilan sounded near enough from KL/PJ. You can reach Port Dickson from KL in about an hour's time. Air Keroh Melaka may take two hours, even though if you are a rule-observant driver. So, the journey should be short, right?

Gosh, we were totally wrong about that.

 It was smooth sailing when we first started; the given direction from wedding card map was clear cut enough as a guide. So, from the KL-Seremban highway, we exited to Senawang. After a few traffic lights, and a very long-winded road, we exited to the Kuala Pilah highway.

The Kuala Pilah highway was way longer than the one before the exit. But it was a cool journey for city folks...as you can really appreciate the natural surroundings. The forest and the green hilly slopes were a good visual therapy.

We got so excited when we reached Batu Kikir. It means that we had already reached Jempol...and we were closing in to Lisa's place. We we extremely happy, and Shifak picked-up the speed.

It was a short-lived celebration. We got lost after that. We found out that we were heading towards Muadzam Shah, Pahang, which was a bunch of kilometres away from our current location.

After asking from directions, used Khan's Waze, made a few stops to understand where we were heading, and came across another colleague (Azlin), we continued our journey.

Finally, after about 3 hours since departing from KL, we managed to reach Lisa's wedding place.

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It has been 4 years since that journey. A lot of changes happened to us after that. Bobo has moved to a new workplace in Terengganu. Shifak is now happily married with 2 children in Penang. Even Lisa has 2 kids now. The rest of team are gaining family members too.

So, to narrate this story is somewhat a personal and emotional journey. Browsing through past memories...and recollect all the things that we used to do together...I notice that I missed the friendship, and the camaraderie that we had as office mates. We are still connected through social network apps now. But, really hope that someday...our meeting will be a real one....insya allah.

Please browse through the pictures. Hope you enjoy browsing through them, as how I enjoyed taking them in the first place :)

The start of a very long journey...like, crazy long. Like, what was I thinking?

Lisa...the bride in zesty orange. Rich in Vitamin See.

Here comes the bridegroom...facing the bride. A complete Ikea sofa set could be filled between them.

A combination of colours. A migraine-friendly pic.

Sincerely happy for them...and for the free food.

The Kompang team. Could this be defined as 'busking'?

My office family. Shifak (middle) has succumbed to Lisa's infectious V sign.

Really love this pic of my office family. And because I looked thinner in this.

On the way back. What we see here is the signature Minangkabau roof. The colour is a bit modern though. The Nippon Paint 'Blobbies' have done it again.

The traffic was so bad on the way back, that we've used up at least 50% of the wedding food energy for the stress alone.

Some of the fruits were in season during this time. The road's double white line made it out of season. *sigh.

Holy smoked meat! (AKA Daging Salai) 

It's a sign, I tell ya.

We were actually tempted to stop for a visit. But our wallets said "Go forth. Avoid regrets".

A prehistoric site. A compartment from my fridge fits that description too.

The colour Green soothes the soul. Green with envy pretty much damned it.

Bobo. Another V sign victim.

This looked like a cool recreational place. You just need to bear with the ongoing repair works, poorly-lit park, and the eerily-quiet surroundings. 

The second highest bridge in Malaysia; a cool fact the first time...not so much on the way back.

Senawang. I believe the name was given to honour the singer who did a collabo with Joe Flizzow of Too Phat.

It was a smooth journey at the PLUS highway. The toll of the journey was the Sg Besi Toll.

Reached KL now. 10 minutes left to be a passenger, and with the time to appreciate the natural surrounding. Missed being a passenger :)

A travelogue video that I did for the journey. Not mobile-friendly :)

Damansara Street Fest: Mega Sale Raya@Tesco Mutiara Damansara

Damansara Street Fest is a very popular event among the Damansara community. It was exceptionally popular among the Hijabista enthusiasts (Hijabista: Muslim woman who dresses stylishly while complying to the the Muslim dress code).

Before I continue...just to keep the facts straight...Hijabista is a popular concept. Even a very masculine man would know about it. Just wanna point that out...*ehem (clearing the throat in a very masculine way).

I got to know about DSF through wifey, as she followed a lot of the Instagram boutiques, and she would know if there is any ongoing special event or offers. I remember our first DSF visit last year at the Red Carpet, Encorp Strand Mall. The venue was mostly filled with vendors selling Hijabista apparels. But visitors will also find people selling food and drinks, plus others. I remember a guy who was selling a wide selection of antiquated items, and another selling wood furnitures (similar to those from Wood & Steel furnitures).

The Damansara Street Fest:Mega Sale Raya was not that different. It's just that it was harder to find an empty carpark lot. Located at the Tesco Extra open carpark, from 20th June until 14th July, this DSF catered partly Hijabista apparels, and food and drinks (including Raya cookies for the festivity).

I was there towards the end of last month, due to an invitation by a friend, who, together with her friends, opened a stall that sell Western dishes. She 'tempted' me to come by messaging me some of her food pictures. There pictures were very inviting...so, I dropped by there...just to get her Beef Wellington dish.

I parked my car at the roadside, and crossed the busy street. I'd do anything for that Beef Wellington.

Neelofar...from afar...

A foodie's view

Grilled or smoked. Wait, if you grill it, wouldn't it be 'smoked' too? (grilling my head)

 

My Beef Wellington was supposed to be here

 

A display of non-Beef Wellington foods

 

The view of the second row towards the apparel stalls.

 

I loved the bottle designs for the drinks. 'nuff said.

 

This was a back-up to the Beef Wellington.

 

More back-ups were needed.

 

A handsome celebrity selling the Raya cookies. Emm, can you see any male buyer here? (*contemplating)

In the end, I didn't get my Beef Wellington (as my friend said they closed the stall for a while that day). So I bought some other things; cheesy meatballs, waffle sandwiches, and some drinks. I especially love the waffle sandwiches; grilled chicken and beef burger sandwiches. The meatballs were ok. But really feel that the drinks were overpriced. The Americano coffee tasted just like normal Nescafe black coffee, and the Hazelnut Milk Tea tasted funny. Not sure if it's just me or the drinks...but you won't be seeing me buying them again (but keeping the bottles...they were nice to look at).

Will be going there again soon. And hopefully...will finally get that Beef Wellington.

 

These went well with wifey's Spaghetti Bolognese that day. An accidental western-themed Iftar

 

A different perspective. Waffles...will have you again soon.

Crocs End of Season Clearance Sale@1Utama

Its a very rare thing to have any clearance sale for Crocs for the past 3 years...or that's what I have observed so far. The last one that I participated was the one at the Tropicana City Mall back in 2012. So, it was a very interesting thing to know that there was a sale at 1Utama last week. So, I dropped by for a visit last Thursday.

To side track a little bit...even though I'm passionate about Crocs, I have to bear in mind that clearance and warehouse sales will mean that the sold Crocs were mostly those from the bottom of the barrel. Meaning...the most unpopular designs from the bunch. But in some rare cases, Crocs clearance sales do cater some nice and attractive Crocs (and that idea kept my hopes up). Still, I remember the time in the beginning of the Crocs hype...when people buy anything and everything, as long as they are original-labelled Crocs...regardless of the designs.

Anyway, I went to the Bargain corner at 1U for the sale. This part of 1U is quite a popular place for bargain-hunters; with different clearance sales for a lot of things all year round. It's not that hard to find...you just need to find the Rainforest section of 1U from the Lower Ground Floor, pass by some freshwater aquariums, and you'll see the signage and an escalator leading up to the venue at the Ground Floor.

 Found your fun yet? (*pointing at the poster)

 Lo and behold

 A lot of shoes for the ladies

 The classic Crocs

 More for the ladies

There were some interesting cartoon designs here

 More for the...*sigh...ladies

 The same rack from the 3rd picture

 Interesting designs...but limited variety of sizes.

 Here's the same rack again from the 3rd picture. Guess my subconscious mind kept telling me this rack is pretty. ("What a rack")

I didn't buy anything in the end, as I couldn't find anything to fit my gigantic Size 12 feet. There were some interesting cartoon designs for Irtiza's classic Crocs, but couldn't find his size. Ilan's feet were too small for any of the available Crocs for kids. Wifey needed to be there if she wanted one (due to different designs for the picking).

Before I left the mall, I made a short stop at the 1Utama Crocs outlet (New Wing area). After some acts of drooling, swearing and crying (I'm exaggerating of course), I made my exit.

Today is the last day of the clearance sale (until 10pm). So, you still have time to browse through the selections. As for me...I just hope that the next one will be bigger and better. Peace.

 On my way to the outlet. The Raya deco is up.

 A close-up pic

 The real stuffs. No promotions at the moment. *sigh.

Ps:/ Miss the good old days of Crocs warehouse sales at Ikano. Those were sweet.

Throwback 13 Presents: The Eyes of Grace Photoshoot

Throwback 13 Promo

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Revised: 13th December 2013

The kid version of me loved taking photographs..using my parents' old school Kodak film-filled cameras. Back then, it was mostly for pose pictures during holiday trips and other special events.Then, with my very first digital camera back in IIUM Gombak, I reached my semi-amateur-ish (woah...that's a lot of dashes) status. I remembered that I was everywhere with the camera. It later became  my personal 'fetish'..up to the stage that the pics that I took were basically anything and everything that came across my path...especially those that I find as beautiful and artistic in appearance.

Along the way, I became a webmaster for a society...and the job includes taking a lot of pics of events, plus for a candid camera section of the website (I think my coursemates called me a 'paparazzi' at one time). It was like that scene in a typical kung fu movie, with an apprentice breaking thousands of bricks with his bare hands to perfect the art...only instead of bricks, I produced thousands of digital pics. It was the time when I was more comfortable of being at the back of a camera, than being in front of it.

Marriage changes everything. With gruelling wedding photoshoots, plus those from before and after that...being in front of a camera became something of a norm. 'Smile' techniques were learned and upgraded from time to time...and I was ever-ready for any photoshoot session. But when time passes, photoshoots later seemed to be as unnecessary as a Glucolin drink (really...can't you just make your sweet drinks with what you already have in your kitchen?)

It was the year 2008. Wifey approached me, and said that she was very ecstatic to have our very first family photoshoot (together with our barely-a year-old Irtiza), and did some internet digging for the best packages.  That was the first time that I got to know about Kak Zubye and her Eyes of Grace.

It was an especially unique first photoshoot, that was held at the Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur...as there were helicopters flying above us, with an increasing number of police officers nearby the area. There was an illegal gathering of sorts near the Parliament building (which was just beside the Lake Garden). Funnily enough, the surroundings from within the Lake Garden seemed peaceful and uneventful :)

This year, there was a 1-hour photoshoot promotion done by Kak Zubye from Eyes of Grace. Wifey and I immediately grabbed the opportunity, and chose a date for the photoshoot. It was the 24th February.

At the Eyes of Grace office at Pusat Bandar Baru Bangi. A lil' bit secluded area.

It's been 5 years since our first photoshoot with Kak Zubye :)

Throwback: Our first photoshoot at Taman Tasik Perdana in 2008. Disregard the almost-double chin.

Throwback: Our second photoshoot at Taman Rekreasi Putrajaya Presint Diplomatik in 2009. This could also be used for a Jacob's crackers ad.

Then, there's 2013. The first of many...

...and the next one...

...and the next one.

Striking a pose

The pose is all him...still wondering how did he know how to pose like that :)

After the photoshoot. Hmm...Ikea stuffs :)

Wifey and Kak Zubye. Hehe...a photographer can also pose well too ;)

Irtiza seems to be a bit shy out of the sudden (*partially-hidden at the door)

Before leaving

One of the end results: Our family pic

It was a short session, but we loved the results. Insya allah, we're going to do the next one for next year, together with the new member of the family :)

The Eyes of Grace Photoshoot video