Indian Idol 2 - 7th Gala Round

Except for Sandeep (the Udit copycat), the other 3 boys & 2 gals did well.  Amey (he's definitely Indian Idol 2!) & Anuj (the lucky replacement) were exceptionally good.  This round wasn't much of a performance round, but mainly a test of vocal chords!  Antara tried to sing Bairi Piya from Devdas but sounds horrible (her pronounciation of "sh" & "j" is pathetic, eg. "jiya" she pronounce "zhiya" & "ish" she pronounce as "iss").  Meenal was ok, except her voice shaky, every wk like that!  Abhishek look-alike, Karunya, was power-packed.

Of coz I want Sandeep out, coz once agn, he sang Udit's song in Udit's style, till Sonu Nigam ticks him off for the 2nd time to get out of this "Udit copying or he'll risk being in trouble as it shows that's his talent is limited to just Udit's songs!  But... Meenal & Antara is definitely gonna be in trouble!

UPDATE: 01/03/06, 12.34am

There u go...Antara & Meenal are the 1st 2b invited to the bottom 3 stand! But I can't believe this...Sandeep is very much in!!  Karunya is in bottom 3.  I think every1 is beginning to hate a show that has audience voting as judge!  Anyways, the moment Karunya is in, we all know that 1 of the gals have to go.  Sadly, it's Meenal. 

*Sigh* ... 4 more to go & Indian Idol 2 will emerge in 1 mth!

A dedication to my purple-freak friend

To protect her identity, no names will be mentioned here.

A very special friend is going through the worst times of her life.  Not in my wildest dream did I ever imagine that I'd see her going through such shit in life.  The worst thing is, shocked by the cruelties that she's been subjected to time & agn, I find myself not even knowing how to console her!

If u're reading this u'd know who u are.  I won't lie & say I understand how u feel, coz how wld I when I've not gone tru what u've been going tru!!  But I'm sure u know how sensitive & sentimental I am that I'm not able to discuss certain things (or I'll end up tearing in front of u), but I want u to always remember that deep in my heart, I share ur grief & sorrows...and I pray that this dark clouds will go away soon & u'll see a rainbow emerging far beyond.

Have faith in God, sweetheart!

Some things are ALWAYS best left unplanned!!

Remember this?!

Yes, for me it was dejavu !!  How I eventually met up with Habibi Liyah & Zoha ... that same way I met up with Hajira & Najwa today!!

Hajira, whom I stumbled upon in the cyberworld via Liyah's blog, happens 2b my nephew's wife.  That makes her my niece, by relation, but she's not allowed to call me auntie (hear that Hajira?!)

So anyways, the last time Hajira & I made plans to meet for the 1st time on 19 Dec 05 but didn't materialise ...so recently, Hajira had some 1kg of brochures to lend to me ...  and yesterday, a thought just striked my brain!  Hey, since I'll be available in the afternoon, might as well pop by & meet Hajira!!  So I emailed my "proposal" which she duly accepted and that's it, we made plans to meet today itself @ 4pm.  And boy, when things are unplanned, it materialises!!

I fetched Hajira outside her working place (East View Sec Sch, just a 10 mins drive from my hse) ... ok, Hajira, I'm going on-record - YES, I TOOK A WRONG TURN & GOT DELAYED BY 10 MINS TRYING TO FIND MY WAY BACK!  But I reached alright & we went to a nearby airconditioned foodcourt (S-11) which sells 1 of the best Indian Rojak in S'pore.  We didn't have Indian Rojak tho.  I treated Hajira to fried kway teow & she treated me to a bottle of mineral water!  Plus she got an ice-kachang for both to share.   I 4got to tell the mamak I didn't want veg & ended up wasting time trying to pick taugeh out of my meal!  It started pouring while we were eating.  Hajira had only 1hr for me ... and the moment she realised it was past 5pm, she kept checking her watch.  I wasn't finishing my food soon thanks to the taugehs.  It's raining heavily, and I didn't feel it was right to let her go back herself .. so since it's still early, I offered to drop her home ... provided she show the route & give me directions for me to go back.  She tells me she stays @ Bartley...but I really dunno her actual address till now ... what ... some Sunshine Something ... what was that Hajira?

Anyways, if the last time I went to Liyah's place, Zoha surprised me wif a warm welcome at the door itself ... this time it was Najwa!! Considering I've always read that she's a tyrant & not too frenly wif ppl!  But hey, she wasn't really interested that her Amma was back, but she's more fascinated wif me (Madhuri!) !!! Aww ... she was such a darling.  My nervousness usually dies when I get such warm welcome by babies!  Chilled-out @ Hajira's place for almost 1 hr ... see Najwa's baby photos, had a drink, tour the house, slack a bit ... and my nephew Naz came home shocked to see his "aunt" there.  Hehehe... Hajira just informed him she's mtg me...but she didn't update any further developments!

Najwa's Nani sure had a long report of her naughtiness for the day..but yea, I saw it for myself, she can be quite hyper at times (kids, what dya expect!?)...which is scary esp when she tumbles.  I can get heart attack wif her.  But she's oh-sooo-frenly ..as tho we've been buddies since she was born! Hehehe... earned 2 kisses from her, plus her plonking herself onto my lap ocassionally!  :-) Yes, she's a darling.  She's also a gd actress (crying scenes)!  Not to mention, kaypo & cheeky! Haha..takes after her mom. 

Chatted wif Naz for abt 10 mins...while Hajira is all amazed that this is probably the longest conversation I've ever had wif Naz.  Wrong Hajira - this is the 1st ever conversation.  Don't blame us, there was just nothing to talk abt .. he was young when our families used to mingle...and plus he's a boy, so he's closer to my bro while I'm closer to his sister.  That's the way life is ... but gd to see that Naz really has matured into a fine young family man.

Anyways, after we snapped photos for memory sake...by 6.50pm, I took my leave (b4 it gets dark & I've trouble finding my way back home).  Hajira was horrible giving directions in the car, she tortures me wif last min instructions to change lane or make turns!!!  She gets pleasure pretending 2b a driving instructor/tester & giving me challenges!  But she did excellent in choosing the simplest route for me & giving me directions to find PIE Changi Airport!! Plus Naz topped it up wif good landmarks to take note of.  Oh well, I did get confused when I hit the PIE bcoz of the many lanes, thus, instead of going straight for PIE, I turned left to MacPherson.  Although I feel that I took the wrong turn, it was too late to filter 2 lanes to my right ... so I just went on with the wrong turn into MacPherson .. and made a U-turn less that 1km ahead (abt 1 min).  After that it was a smooth journey to Tampines.  I reached home in 20 mins!  Cool!

All's well that ends well ... I reached home safe & sound in 1 piece right at the arrival of Maghrib.  A looonggg morning which ended wif a wonderful evening!

An Evening with Hajira

PS: Liyah - the next outing will be for us 3 (actually 5, including 2 jnrs!).  In town.  All take public transport.  Let's work on that, ok.

Work's stress going away...

Remember that darned quotation thingy that was bugging my life?  The relocation of hosereel at Budget Terminal? Alhamdulillah...that's almost over.  Really critically late, but it's finally almost over.  Had to call quotation 3 times!  So the whole issue had dragged beyond 3 wks, when I had thought it was as simple as 1 wk!

Eventually, the demolition & building of wall & relocation of hosereel was done on Tues.  Tomorrow, they're painting the new wall (had to wait for the cement to dry).  By this coming Wed, the new roller-shutters will be up & the shop units will be ready 2b handed over to the tenants for them to start renovation. 

While that headache is done, we've recently received last min instruction that all renovation in Budget Terminal are to stop by 10 Mar and an open house for public will be held on 13 Mar.  That's gonna be another headache if the tenants can't complete their renovations by the 10th of Mar.  I'm really waiting for 26 Mar when the Budget Terminal will start operation.  I'm taking a long break from work after that...to rejuvenate my lost spirits!

Off-office, I'm so elated that Princess Shazadi is back in my life...like before.  I'm finally at ease to know that she's near me again...so I don't have to miss her as badly as I used to...helpless not knowing if she's doing awrite.  Welcome back Shazadi!!

Indian Idol 2 - 6th Gala Round

Hehe...Liyah...I dozed off last 15 mins of Ek Ladki Anjaani Si & woke up 15 mins after Indial Idol started!!  Fish!  I missed Meenal's performance (caught it in the recap tho, but nothing great la!).

This round, of the 5 boys & 2 gals left, only 1 boy & 1 gal got my vote.  Amey (muaaah!) & Antara.  Ok, they still hold the crown for now.  Abhishek look-alike was gd this time.  Anuj the new entrant (now 3 rounds already, cannot be new already!) was more lively, sings well too.  Ravi, who's condemned all the time & vowed that he'll keep improving & hope 1 day he'll get a praise from all 3 judges, shocked everyone with a stupendous singing!  The 1st thing I tot was: It'll be sad if this guy is the nxt to leave, but even if he is, am sure he's no regrets as he's finally gotten the praise he wanted so much from all 3 judges! 

Liyah!!!!  Sandeep (the Udit copycat!) has to go!!!!  I can't stand him already!!  I was so happy his singing was the only who didn't earn a praise from anyone at all! 

UPDATE: 22/02/06, 12.45am

Can u beat this: The 1st to go to bottom 3 is Amey!?!  I wonder if Sandeep is bribing ppl, is this gonna be like Saregamapa?!  Meenal (tol ya, nothing great!) & Ravi (wen he's bad, he's saved, wen he's gd, he's here @ bottom 3...wat la!).  Eventually, it's bye-bye Ravi.  Really sad.  I'd have been ok if Meenal went out, coz Ravi deserved to stay & prove himself!   Yet another disappointing episode...I wonder how more disappointing can it get as those left are the gd ones...all will go out 1 by 1 bcoz Sandeep is meant to stay no matter how bad he performs! *arrgghhh*

Indian Idol 2 - 5th Gala Round

Happy Valentine's!!!

Hehe, in line wif that...the theme for Mon nite's round was "love/romantic songs".  Guest judge: Amisha Patel (who debuted with Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Naa Pyar Hai).

Only 2 people sang PERFECTLY!  Amey amongst the boys, and Antara amongst the 2 girls.  Needless to say, both are my faves.  Amey my fave boy contestant & sings 1 of my fave Shaan's romantic songs - Suno Na from Jhankar Beats.  Antara sang a difficult song, Zara Zara from RHTDM...but sang it so well like a pro.  So far, if anyone has tried to sing that song the best, it's Antara.  So, let's see, they both shld be straight in the top slot. 

I think Ravi, Karunya & Meenal is gonna be in bottom 3.  Ravi, who sang Pretty Woman...voice not suitable, not idol material (a lil too old amongst all, he shld juz listen to Dad & be a doctor!).  The new entrant, Anuj, sang 1 of my fave Kishore songs (Dil Kya Kare from Julie) very well albeit a lil shy still in performance, but the judges weren't impressed, I really dunno y!  Of coz, to date, no one sang that song better than the 1st Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant!! My mom got sick of that song at 1 pt of time coz I played that song agn & agn.  But it's the audience who's deciding so let's see.  Karunya is very gd in Punjabi songs, but other genres doesn't suit his voice (he sang Hum Tum's title song..so romantic, but didn't sound nice by him), in other words, not an all-rounder.  Meenal has powerful voice, but somehow, very shaky (nervousness evident!)...if she's lucky, she'll be in, otherwise, bye-bye.  Saif look-alike, Panna, beats everyone in performance dept., but is not a fantastic singer...But last nite, he decided not to perform, so he sang a sad old Kishore Kumar song...very nice singing, since he's not jumping.  So agn, if he's lucky, he'll survive long enuf.  Sandeep (Udit Narayan copycat) as usual, not impressive at all, sang an Udit's song AGAIN (Tere Naam's title song)!!!

PS: 1 thing for sure, both Habibi Liyah & I was drooling @ Amey's dashing persona! *sigh*  Poor Habibi Liyah...she's married. ;-p

UPDATE: 15/02/06, 12.45am

1st to go in bottom 3...Karunya. Tol ya!  Haha, Sandeep finally went bottom 3!!  And he's shocked, as tho, he's so gd!! Kapui!!  Sorry, I'm a sucker for originality.  Tol ya agn, Antara will survive in the tops.  I was rite wif my instinct for Anuj, despite the judges condemning him.  He survived!! I'm happy 4 him.  Deserving.  Gosh, Meenal survived!!!  Both gals IN!!! Girl POWER!  Crazy!!! Ravi is IN!  My Amey in danger, wif Panna...but tol ya, Amey deserve the top slot.  Sadly, Panna is in bottom 3.  Finally, the one's saying bye-bye is...*drum rolls*...blardy hell, Sandeep survived!!! It's bye-bye Saif look-alike. Panna Gill.  There goes the gd-looker of the show! *sob sob*  Disappointing episode. Period.

Presenting...my teenage crush!

*drum rolls* Hans Isaac!! 

The M'sian actor I was sooo crazy abt since I was sweet 17!! So much so, everytime mom cooks fried rice (I knew Hans love fried rice), I'd tell mom 2 pack 4 me & she'd go "nak hantar kat Hans Isaac la tu?!" (wanna send to Hans Isaac rite?!)!  Hans Isaac, Eurasian/Catholic, but looks & speak Malay like he's 1 of them!!  Being close 2 so many Muslim frens in the industry, I'd wished he'd get lured 2 convert 2 Islam (so I cld seduce & marry him?), but think he'll end up marrying a Chinese/Catholic afterall. 

Why is he in my blog?  Well, I've not seen him on TV 4 a while now & today I happen 2 surf channels & landed at Suria & wallah...look who's there?!  My darling...in his latest serial, "Mencari Mimpi".  Ok la, he seems 2 hav aged (but still as cute as eva!)...but I'm not getting any younger myself, na?!  *wink*

Indian Idol 2 - 4th Gala Round

Orite, it's been a while since I've been here.  Other than the fact that my headache at work (the quotation issue) is not resolved, there's really nothing much happening that I'd wish to or I can update on here.

If there's anything I enjoy, it's seeing my choice Indian Idol be the winner (now that I've boycotted Saregamapa since I've proven myself right that this Challenge 2005 show is rigged)!!

So yesterday was the 4th Gala Round with 6 boys & 3 girls left & the theme was OLDIES.  Celebrity guest judges were Priyanka (I like) & Kareena (Yucks! Bitch! Hehe...)  What'll happen tomorrow is 3 will go bottom 3 and 1 will be eliminated.

My assessment: Of the 3 girls, my Antara was good yesterday!! She sang 1 of my fave songs, Tere BINA Jiya Jaye Na from Ghar) .. any songs with the word Bina is my fave song.  For obvious reasons (my name duh!!).  My Meenal was good, chose a difficult song, but her voice a bit shaky, so she's quite in trouble.  Monali who is very cute (mannerism) was also gd, but a bit of nervousness in the voice.  So Antara is sure shot la!

Out of the 6 boys, the best was saved till the last!! Amey Date.  He chose a very old song, I don't like...but he was the best SINGER!! Performance wise, Panna was good (Shammi Kapoor's Aaja Aaja from Teesri Manzil), but his voice a bit spoilt at time.  Can hear his breath also coz he was like jumping jack!  Ravi Tripathi impressed me wif his performance & not a bad voice quality, but not my fave still.  Sandeep (the Udit Narayan copycat), I wish he's go out next!!  Karunya (the Abhishek look-alike) sang a very old song, I don't like ... his voice was like pro! But not much performance, so he may be in trouble!  Anuj, brought back by judges to replace chicken-pox stricken Jolly Das, for 1st time in Gala Round, his singing was good, no problem, but singing a fast song, and no peppy dance is like a misfit!! So I shld be scared for him, altho I'd love to see more of him to see if he can be the next Idol or not.

Let's see tomorrow...the results.  I shall not be surprised at all, since it's the audience who's choosing!! So I shld be prepared that the gd ones will go!!!

UPDATE (07/02/06, 11.58pm):

Ok, I'm not surprised.  The horrible Sandeep & Panna very much sitting on the hot seats.  Karunya, Meenal & Monali in Bottom 3!! Uh-oh.  It's gonna be bye-bye to the gd singers of the lot, but maybe yesterday juz wasn't the best day of their lives, so their singing/performance a bit (I repeat, A BIT!) down.  And the one who's going is....*drum rolls*....quick la Aman (host), u & ur "back after a short break"!!!....*drum rolls*....Monali! Huh!? But her performance/singing was btr than Meenal.  But oh well, Meenal is my choice ... so I shall rejoice!! Hehehe...will miss Monali (she's Indian Idol 1 - Abhijeet Sawant's - choice to be Indian Idol 2!!)...

PS: Aiyoh...of all the songs Monali had to choose as her farewell song is Chalte Chalte (old) ... which is so sad ...so sad, I teared! 

Indian Idol 2 - 3rd Gala Round

Some people are just born unlucky...which means some others are just born lucky.

Jolly still did not recover enough to mix with the other contestants, so she can't be a part of Indian Idol 2.  Poor her.  But the judges have promised that next Indian Idol, she's gotten herself a place straight into the finals w/o audition.

With her not joining, her place has been opened to another contestant (previously eliminated).  And the 3 judges has unanimously chosen to bring Anuj Sharma back.  Anuj is a wonderful singer (he's already a small-time singer in his State in India)...but bcoz Indian Idol is based on audience votes, Anuj did not get his deserving place bcoz the audience chose Ravi Tripathi (I wonder why).  It was devastating for Anuj, who has looks & talent.  But I don't see him as an Idol figure...he's too shy.  But who knows, he may just change!!

So there u go, Jolly's loss, Anuj's gain!

So based on last nites performance, my chosen ones are: Karunya, Panna & Amey (but of coz) for the boys & Meenal (finally, she didn't disappoint me last nite!), Antara & Monali for the gals.  Neha wasn't too bad, but too bad, I don't like her...hehehehe...

UPDATE (01/02/06, 12:59am):

Amey & Meenal got into bottom 3, leaving judges devastated & angry wif the audience.  Karunya, Panna & Monali is in top 3.  Joining Amey & Meenal is...Neha...and the gd news for me is Neha is finally OUT!! Bubbye Neha.  Hehehe...That means my fave boy Amey & fave gal Meenal is very much in!! Yeayyy...till next week!

Happy 1st Muharram (Islamic New Year)!!

1st Muharram will always be a day I hold close to my heart.  Not just that it starts the new Islamic year (new record starts for us)...but also a nostalgic moment for me since 26th Mar 2001 (1st Muharram 1422H).  On this very day, I did something I nvr thought I could, should or would do (errr..sounds like WHO DARES WIN...no?).  I started wearing tudung!!!  Big deal, u say?  Yes, it was for me!  Coz no one dreamt I wld take that step.  In fact, 1 yr later, when I told my ex-flame, he was like "Madhuri wearing tudung?!  I tot u said u'd nvr wear tudung?!" 

Now, that's a lie, he misquoted me!  What I used to tell him was that I don't see myself wearing tudung until maybe 5 yrs after marriage, enjoyed enuf, then wear tudung!  Ok, ok, who the hell did I think I was rite?!?  I was a naive arrogant idiot!  Honest!

So for someone who used to go arnd denying wearing tudung (coz she's disillusioned by many tudung girls she sees...wear tudung, but behaviour sux!).  For someone who wanted to cleanse her soul b4 wearing tudung...it took a tragedy in her life to realise that man proposes, God disposes!  Before I realise it, it's coming to 5 yrs (exactly 5 Islamic yrs) since I wore tudung (the irony of it is: I'm still not married..haha..so much for my plan to wear tudung after 5 yrs of marriage!)!

So anyways, juz felt nostalgic abt today's Islamic date.

Life otherwise is as per normal, how it shld be.  Fri nite, movie plan wif Roshni didn't materialise, coz no gd English movie showing (but our chilling out session wasn't bad).  Mon, Nikky wasn't well, so the arcade plan also didn't materialise.  Planned wif Wirza last nite that if there's no gd Hindi movie that's suitable for Shamim (4 yrs old) to watch, we'll go w/o the movie & bring Shamim to a game arcade instead since I didn't go.  This morning, Wirza sms-ed to say she's down wif food poisoning & so can't make it.  So that's my life!  Life ho, to aisi!  The surprise package is Nikky MSN-ed me to ask if I wanna lepak @ TM.  So there u go...some things are best left unplanned.  The best thing is, I'm supposed 2b taking my shower, pray & get ready to meet Nikky 1 hr from then, which is NOW!  Gotta go...chao!