Hectic Week

The past one week has been extremely hectic and tiring. I have not experienced such busy schedule for a very long while ever since A-levels were over. Here, I shall list down the couples of things/events that have happened over the short span of one week.

1. I went for the NUS dentistry Manual Dexterity Test on Monday. It was quite fun and I managed to finish and leave the venue one hour before the time is up (I was not the first one to leave though).

2. Desperate Housewives has finally started airing last week. It was sad to see Edie Britt died, she was such a funny character. Edie, my deepest condolences, you will be deeply missed.

3. My NUS dentistry interview was on last Wednesday and I was screwed. The interviewers were extremely mean to me, totally unexpected since many people have discussed online that the dentistry interviews were easy and the interviewers were nice. I believe the interviewers have the impression that I am one selfish and self-centered bastard who just chose to apply dentistry for the sake pf applying, without understanding fully the work and commitment of a dentist. That is it, goodbye Dentistry.

4. American Idol had a double elimination this week and I was so relieved that Anoop and Lil were cut. The top 5 are now made entirely of white people, without any other ethnic races, could that suggest something?

5. Got a phone call on Saturday morning from my Auntie, informing my family that my grandfather has passed away. He was 88 years old this year and he died peacefully sitting on his favorite chair. No one expected him to die so soon, since he did not suffer from any diseases or illness, except for dementia. I was not really very to him though, but nonetheless, as his son and grandchildren, it was obligatory for us to go back to the Kampung and paid him our last respect. It was really nice and heart-warming seeing all my auntie, uncle and cousins all came back and gather at the Kampung. My family had to leave immediately after the cremation ceremony yesterday because I would be having my scheduled Shell phone interview this morning.

6. I woke up early this morning to prepare myself for the interview. Shell called promptly at 8.30 am. The person interviewing me was a lady. She was very kind and friendly, polar opposites from the snobbish NUS dentistry professor. I had a really good time sharing my experiences and talking to her. No mean and nasty questions were asked. The questions asked mainly focused on my personal experiences with heavy emphasis on teamwork. I was later asked to choose from a list of 4 topics related to the problems facing global companies today and to elaborate on it. I chose the one on global energy need and how company can cope with grwoing energy needs without harming the environment. I felt like I was back to a GP examination, but luckily this was guided, the lady would ask me questions related to the issue and I just need to give my opinions and viewpoints. All in all, I felt rather confident after the interview and I believed I had give in my best. I sure hope that I can make it through to the next round.

That's about it. What a busy and eventful week. I am going to rest now.

Shaheen Jafargholi, 12 Year Old Singer

While I was searching for more Britain's Got Talent videos, I stumbled into this amazing performance by a 12 year old school boy, Shaheen Jafargholi, what a weird name by the way, auditioning for the show. The judges disliked his first song by Amy Winehouse, but were stunned by his second song by Michael Jackson, They even gave a standing ovation to Shaheen. It was nice seeing Simon giving a standing ovation again.



He reminds me of David Archuleta. Haha.

Julian Smith, The Saxophonist

Here is another breath-taking performance from the show Britian's Got Talent. I have never heard a saxophone performance like this. This is absolutely incredible. I almost cried during the performance. Wow!

Heart On My Sleeve

This is Heart On My Sleeve, the brand new single by American Idol Season 7 finalist, Michael Johns. Very nice songs, perhaps one of the best songs released by season 7 contestants. He really suited the genre of soft rock and his vocal fitted the song perfectly. Cannot wait for his album anymore! So exciting.



Amazing song aside, I am currently stuck in a dilemma. Shell just emailed me today, informing me about the details of my interview. There are two options available, face-to-face interview or phone interview. I atorn between the two choices. Should I go for the face-to-face interview held in KL, where I am able to demonstrate my confidence and fast-thinking on the spot directly to the interviewer, or should I stay at home and accept the phone interview, where I can refer to some notes openly when I encounter difficult questions? Both have it's own advantages and disadvantages, and I wonder which of them would allow me to leave a better impression on the interviewers. Phone interview is new to me, and I wonder if I could withstand 45 minutes of speaking nonstop over the phone. It would also be weird being interviewed at home, where your siblings or family can hear you answering to the interviewer. The face-to-face interview, on the other hand, will be held in KL, in a some place near Damansara (which I have absolutely no idea on where is the place), and I would have to travel all the way up and find myself an accommodation and a driver to fetch me to the place if I decide to go for the face-to-face interview. What is even more frustrating is that my interview is scheduled on the 23rd, one day after my dentistry interview. It is impossible for me to travel from JB to KL within such limited time. I will have to reschedule the interview if I decide to go for the face-to-face interview.

Oh man, why must everything come so closely packed together?

Any wise suggestion?

Unbelievable

Here's a video of a 47 years old lady who rocked the stage of Britains Got Talent. Just watch the video and you will know what I mean by unbelievable.



We really cannot judge a book by it's cover.

David Reporting From KL

Here's the latest video blog by David Archuleta, summarising his trip to Asia. And apparently, David loves spicy food.

SFTYTWB

The theme for this week idol, Song From The Year They Were Born, to me, is one of the most boring, pointless and unexciting theme idols could ever come out with. I seriously wonder why is it the favorite theme of the show. Apparently, for your information, this theme has been featured in almost all season, if I am not wrong. Perhaps the only reason for the popularity of this theme, as Ryan has said in the beginning of the performance show, is that we would be able to catch a glimpse of the idols when they were young. I was pretty surprised, though, to see the four judges baby photo, it was really hilarious and Simon was cute.

Tough night, I must say. Mostly mixed reviews. Some were really good while some were simply horrible.

Danny: Wow, what an interesting arrangement of Stand By Me! I like the jazzy and soulful take of the song. Having said that, the vocal was just okay for me, there was still alot of shouting involved. But overall, I enjoyed the performance.

Kris: Singing in the mosh pit was simply a terrible idea. It seems like those who sing in the crowded mosh pit, last week's Matt for example, would suffer. The song was boring and the vocal was verging on monotonous. I was really disspointned with Kris for I have such high hope for him.

Anoop: Ballad is still Anoop's forte. Tender vocal. I just hope that he could be more emotionally connected to the song.

Allison: Her voice is so unique. I like the deep and rocky tone to her voice. She nailed the song this week, by the way. The judges would like her to speak more, haha.

Scott: I was shocked to see him playing an electric guitar. Pretty humorous, with the punk joke. Too ambitious, in my opinion, and the song was simply too big for him.

Lil: Another disappointment from Lil, which originates from Lily which is her grandma name. Interesting history aside, the performance was just okay for me. I agree with the judges that she should try to become an artist, instead of staying as plainly a singer.

Matt: Part Time Lover?? What a cheesy song choice. I was sincerely afraid for him when I heard the name of the song. Without his guitar or any other musical instrument, the confidence and charisma he exuded that night were simply unparalleled. Bravo.

Adam: I like the soft and ballad side of Adam, it way better than the pucky rock side of him. The song had a very creepy and haunting feel. Excellent vocals as always, but I do not think that he deserved a standing ovation from Simon, perhaps it was just a desperate attempt to cut the comment short.

I was really worried for Kris after the performance night, for he has the lowest score on Dialidol, which means he has the highest probability of getting voted out.

Luckily for Kris, American still loves him and I was shocked that he was not even in the bottom three. Thank god. I was very satisfied with tonight's elimination, haha. Finally, he is gone, I have waited for this day for century. I am sorry for you bro, I guess that the American decided not to embrace the braille this week.

The theme for next week's idol is Songs from Movies. Pretty exciting, I hope nobody will sing My Heart Will Go On.

Onto something personal. I have been worrying sick for the past few days, mainly due to the fact that I still have not received any shortlisting notification from Shell and NUS, since some people have already claimed that they have received them in some online portal days ago (This was referring to the Shell scholarship). And while I was checking my email today, I was ecstatic to see an email from Shell, saying that I am shortlisted for Interview. Yay me. Aside from the shortlisting notification from Shell, I have also been notified by NUS that I am shortlisted for Dentistry interview and the Manual Dexterity Test. I can finally relax and start preparing for them. For those who have applied to dentistry in NUS, you can check your status online at the NUS online application facility.

David Archuleta Is In Singapore!

I thought that David Archuleta is only coming to Malaysia, but apparently he has arrived Singapore today. Perhaps he is just stopping by Singapore to take another flight to the other neighboring countries. Ha, I have never heard from any news that David Archuleta will be performing in Singapore.

Here's is a video showing the arrival of David at Changi Airport. It must be a surreal feeling seeing David in real person.

i(dol)Tunes

I was so excited when I first found out that the theme for this week's Idol is Top Download from iTunes, for I have been waiting to hear the contestants singing more contemporary and current songs. The songs they have done for the past few weeks were mostly old classics, except for the few from Carrie Underwood of course. To my up most surprise and disappointment, only a handful of them chose to sing current songs and most of them still prefer to stay in their 80s or 70s era. Unfortunately, those who decided to embrace the theme by singing more contemporary songs have all fell flat during their performances, Matt for example.

The best performance of the night definitely goes to Kris's rendition of Ain't No Sunshine. Even though that may be one of the oldest songs performed during the night, Kris has successfully made the song new and refreshing. The soulfulness and confidence he exuded during his performance were unparalleled and I was just blown away by him.

Adam is becoming more and more boring to me. All he can do is just screaming! It gets annoying sometimes to hear him always staying at his higher register. Having said that, he sure possesses amazing vocals and I believe he is the only contestant on the show who can dance, without looking hideous and awkward.

Speaking of hideous, Allison was definitely the fashion disaster of the night. All the judges commented on her poor choice of outfit and I suddenly have the feeling that I was watching Project Runway. By the way, Project Runway season six will start airing in June and I am super excited. It is, for your information, my second favorite reality TV shows, aside from American Idol. Sorry for the digression, Allison sounded really great in her performance of Don't Speak, but it was such a waste that all of the attention have been diverted to her hideous outfit.

Scott really surprised me with his new hairstyle and his performance. It was soulful, authentic, confidence and, I cannot believe I am actually saying this, great. Perhaps it was just a one-time thing, and I sincerely hope that he will screw up next week and get eliminated soon.

I am really lazy to talk about the rest of the contestants and so I shall just summarise each of them with one sentence.

Danny, stop shouting.

Lil, nice attempt by seacrest to use her cute children to attract sympathy votes.

Matt, wrong song choice, I like the piano-in-the-crowd thing though.

Anoop, he must stop being so egoistic.

Megan, where is my earplug?

And the person going home this week is, no surprise, Megan. I like her optimistic personality though, she is forever cheerful and happy and even if she was in the bottom three, she can still wave and smile at the camera.

David Cook performed his new singles Come Back to Me during the results show. I liked his performance, but I think he could have shouted less during the chorus.

The impersonations were really funny. It was so easy to copy Danny, since all he can do is just shouting while doing some predictable rift. I also like the video showing the everyday life of the contestant, including Kris's sexy face and Scott's chocolate cakes. Watch the show if you don't know what I mean.

Next week's theme for Idol is SFTYYWB, it's a theme that appears in almost every season of Idols. Try to guess the acronym, it's real easy.

Ain't No Kris Allen

I cannot wait to post this, even though I still have not watched the full episode, for Channel 5 only shows it at 10. I have watched the performances this week, though, online, without the judges comment and I can confidently say that this is, by a million mile, the best performance of the night.

Here it is, Ain't No Sunshine by Kris Allen



He is, by far, one of the most consistent contestant on this season of Idol. I believe he can actually win the competition, in spite of all the pimping given to Adam, Danny and Lil. Kris is really the one to watch. Go Kris.