*Ballade Pour Adeline ~ April 2007*

Couldn't sleep.. so was just browsing through my video files, and accidentally came across this one..
Didn't even remember recording it.. lol..
This was recorded last year.. 16th April 2007 to be precise..!

Anyhoo.. I tend to get really really nervous when I play the piano in front of people and it usually shows with a couple of slip-ups here and there, and sometimes, I get so nervous that I'll get lost and stuck, and therefore couldn't continue on playing.. hahaha..
So because of this, occasionally I record myself playing to improve my confidence level.. Cause even playing to a camera makes me nervous.. lol
The perfectionist in me, tends to put too much pressure on myself that most of the time, it would result in me screwing things up.. :p

So enough of blabbering.. enjoy the video..
The title of the piano piece is 'Ballade Pour Adeline'.. made famous by Richard Clayderman..
And yes, this is definitely one of my all time favourite pieces ever!
I love it so much that I memorized the whole piece..
So here, I was actually playing without reading the notes..
Do tell me what you guys think ya.. :)
I have 2 videos down there.. they're exactly the same.. it's just that one's from youtube (juz uploaded it :p) which is bigger, and the other one I uploaded straight to the blog, which is smaller but clearer.. so choose :D

Owh.. one last note.. I missed recording a couple of bars at the end coz my digicam memory was full.. sorry!

*3 Days Down*

Happy Sunday :)
For some reason I find the picture of me on the right so funny.. haha..

Today:~
Tonight, some close relatives are coming over for buka puasa to celebrate Encik Perempuan's (grandma) and Shirin's (lil sis) birthdays.. Shirin turned 22 on the 20th and on the 19th, Encik turned 75! I can't believe that Encik is 75 already!.. how time flies..
The menu tonight will be Laksa Johor & Mee Sup.. yummm~
B4 that maybe around 3.30pm later.. I might just go to the mall for awhile to get some stuff..

Yesterday:~
Went out with Sara.. she's doing Unit Trust now.. under CIMB.. been doing so since she graduated in July.. When we were doing our Actuarial Diploma in UiTM.. we heard a lot of Unit Trust success stories from our alumnus.. including Mahadi, who came out in Utusan as the youngest Malaysian Millinaire.. and Elynn, one of the Millionaire Sisters.. Met Elynn and her sister Akma (who studied in Manchester & graduated with 1st Class) yesterday.. and they were really nice, friendly and humble indeed.. Elynn was quite excited when she knows that I was frm her Alma Mater & took the same course.. You see.. Actuarial Science in UiTM is soooo small.. there's only like 20+ students per batch.. and like her.. I also get excited whenever I meet people who were doing the same course.. lol..
Mahadi, the other success story.. is only 2 years older than me.. he was in Afif's & Atiqah's batch.. Both of them (Elynn & Mahadi).. were very inspirational when they came to my faculty back then.. around more than 3 years ago.. and mind you.. they came driving a Nissan Fairlady sports car (Elynn's).. and a Jaguar (Mahadi's).. haha..
Coming back to yesterday.. since Im not doing anything at the moment.. Sara persuaded me to come with her and meet her upline.. ao I thought.. why not.. I'll get to learn some stuff..
Well Sara's upline, Shahril.. was really nice.. he explained everything to me.. he was an accountant with Maybank b4.. and he quit his job to do Unit Trust full time..
So basically.. of course.. if you work hard.. and hv the right connections.. you can make the millionaire list.. I was kinda interested.. Dont get me wrong.. it's not like I was blinded with all the big cars and big bucks that the CIMB Wealth Advisers have.. I mean.. I am really realistic about this.. If Im really gonna sign up for this.. Im only gonna do it part time and have a full time job as well.. This will be like my side income.. I think my main purpose of wanting to join them and become a UT Consultant, is to learn.. I mean.. a lot of people invest in UT.. including my parents.. and someday.. I would want to do the same when I start working.. So being a perfectionist that I am.. I would want to know where my money are going exactly.. I want to know how the system works.. inside and out.. and ultimately.. I want to understand the investment industry better.. Being a UT Consultant can definitely teach me all that.. So there are a couple of stuff I need to d b4 I can become one.. including getting my UT Consultant license from the Securities Commission by sitting for an exam..
So.. will update yu guys more about that later kay..

The Day Before Yesterday:~
Went shopping at Sunway Pyramid with Mama & Shirin, and got a call from Shaq (a friend from Cardiff), saying that Rashdan will be performing at Sunway Pyramid that night for the live show on 8TV, Latte @ 8 with Jason Lo.. Shaq tld me he's playing my fav song.. "My Favourite Soprano".. Since the Pyramid was quite near to my place.. I said I'll be there..
So mama sent me to Pyramid that night.. around 10pm.. coz Noreen was using my car.. she was in an accident a few weeks back.. and she has been using my car while the CRV was in the workshop..
Anyhoo.. Rashdan's performance was flawless and perfect.. as expected ;)
But he didnt play "Soprano".. he played "Matahari" instead.. which was of course.. fantabulous as well! All his songs are.. you guys should definitely check him out.. If Im not mistaken.. he said the best way to hear his music is by google-ing him.. Rashdan Harith.. r yu guys could also go to this link: http://amp.channelv.com/rashdanh
Rashdan.. if you're reading this.. see.. Im such a good friend.. promoting you some more.. I boleh jadi u punya Marketing Person lar.. lol

So here are some pics from that night~

Jason Lo interviewing Rashdan~

The guy who acted in "Kami".. But personally I think he looks like Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock :P

Rock Star & Saya

So.. till next time.. Toodles~

xoxo
Elina

*What's The Story Morning Glory~*

It's 7.13am now, and Im sitting on my bed, updating this blog, while listening to The Platters on my ipod speaker..

Believe it or not, Im still jet-lagging from my trip to New York a couple of weeks ago.. I always have the worse jet-lags ever.. Like when I was studying in the UK, I'll come back quite often for winter , easter & summer breaks.. We had 1 month breaks during winter & easter, and I didnt sleep properly for the whole month! But it was easy for me to re-adjust myself when I returned to the UK :)
So it was worse when it comes to New York as the time difference is 24hours!

Anyhoo.. if you guys saw my facebook profile, you guys should know that my friend from primary school, Nurul Huda, uploaded some pretty embarrassing pictures of us when we were young..LOL!
Thanx a lot Nurul! I noticed that in most of the pics, I wasnt smiling like now.. I guess I was really self-conscious bout my teeth back then.. lol.. but thanx to 2 years of suffering with braces, and 4 teeth being pulled out.. I am now more comfortable with showing my teeth when I smile.. :D
Here are a couple of pictures that Nurul uploaded:~

• This is Berbalas Pantun Team, Im the 1st one standing from the left. We were the Zone 3 Champions and the Petaling District Champions!! This was taken after we won the finals at the District Level :) (I was soooo thin back then.. LOL)
• SK Seafield's netball team.. I was the Goal Shooter.. was still playing the same position in Uni.. :)
• With Kelvin Wong, Kelvin Lim, Chee Yim & Nurul at Nurul's Raya Open House.. haha!

I think I was very self-conscious.. even till now.. maybe in a different way.. my best friends and family know what I am self-conscious about, coz for some reason, In Malaysia.. it makes me feel a little bit like a freak.. in the UK, I felt more comfortable, coz people dont stare when you hv big cup size, but in Msia.. omg.. some of the responses I get were really humiliating.. and sometimes they do make me cry.. whenever I complain about them to my mum, she will say that it was because I was wearing tight-fitting clothes.. but the thing is.. even when I wear baju kurung, random people will still stare and give some humiliating remarks.. This is why Im always self-conscious and I never like to walk alone by myself in Msia.. coz even when I walk with my friends, they'll do the same thing..
Like yesterday, for the 1st time in 3 years (coz I was in the UK), I went to Pasar Ramadhan in SS18 with Ibrahim (a friend from school).. I was wearing jeans, a lose baby-T with cardigan..
u see.. a cardigan! who wears cardigan when they go to Pasar Ramadhan??.. I do! coz people are fasting and I dont want to be stared at.. but still.. guys were pointing.. and believe it or not.. a man, who was also staring, juz walked pass me and whispered something in my ear which I prefer not to write here.. I mean.. I was walking with Ibrahim but still these things happened.. They even do it when Im walking with my parents..
Can you guys blame me for being self-conscious??
Sometimes I even feel nervous when I want to buy food in a fast-food joint like McD or KFC..
haha.. weird but yeah..
Well, my mama said I should be thankful to Allah for everything that was given to me.. and with my whole heart Im so thankful and I am totally blessed.. no doubt! I wouldnt want to change anything about myself coz Allah made me perfect the way I am.. Even my best friends said that Im lucky.. but I guess I just wish that the mentality of some of the Malaysians (especially the malays) could be changed..
just let me be~

Gosh.. I dont know why I was talking bout that.. haha.. quite embarrassing!
Moving on~
On Wednesday my best friends and the boyfriends went out for dinner (buka puasa) at Eden Restaurant on Jalan Raja Chulan..
As usual.. everytime we get together.. it will be a fiesta on its own.. us girls talk a lot when we see each other.. not only that.. we talk a lot, loudly, and everyone talks at the same time!! hahaha.. juz imagine.. but the weird thing is that.. everyone heard each other, and at the end of it.. we were all satisfied coz we got to say what we wanted.. LOL!!!
The food was good.. and like always.. loadssss of pictures were taken.. :)
Here are some:
There you go, it took me awhile to upload these pics and I accidentally dozed off.. LOL..
again, blame it on the jet-lag..

It is now 2.48pm.. and this post will end right..... here!

xoxo
Elina

*Akeelah & The Bee*

Im actually in a rush now..
It's 10m to 6pm and the family & I are going to Encik Perempuan's (yes, that's what I call my grandma.. it's a Muar/Johor thing) place in Bandar Utama for buka puasa..
Mama's gonna scream my name anytime now so I'll make this brief..

After sahur (morning meal b4 fasting) this morning.. around 5am, while papa, mama & I were having tea in front of the tv (the others went straight to bed after eating..lol), we came across this interesting & inspirational movie on one of the movie channels, entitled "Akeelah & The Bee"..
It's about a black girl from the hood who was really good with spelling..
Lawrence Fishburne (the guy from the Matrix) was in it too..
It had quite a simple storyline.. at times predictable :p.. but there was something about the movie that got my parents and I hooked on it.. cant figure out what.. lol..

Anyhoo.. there was one part in the movie where Akeelah was questioning herself.. whether she was good enough etc.. and Lawrence F told her to read the following quote..


Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~The interesting thing is that although the quotation is attributed in the film to Nelson Mandela, it was actually written by inspirational guru Marianne Williamson


That part moved me.. or I think the quote did..
Maybe coz I guess I have been in that situation for quite awhile now.. hmm~

Ok.. mama's calling.. gtg..
Definitely gonna write more tonight.. there's something on my mind..
Toodles~

xoxo
Elina

*The Girl Behind The Blog*

The following was what I originally wrote for my “About Me” section for the blog..

Only to realize it later that I was blabbering a lot of nonsense and to top it of.. they had a word limit to it.. LOL!
So, thinking to myself that I’ve wasted some time writing all of these, I might as well repost it as a blog post instead.. haha..

So here’s my first blog post (which was supposed to be under the ‘About Me’ section):

Come paint a picture of me with these:~

• Elina Effendi
• Daughter of Effendi & Zawiyah
• 2nd out of 4: Noreen, Me, Shirin & Norman
• Recently graduated from University of Kent, UK with BSc in Actuarial Science (Hons)
• Known as Bree Van De Kamp @ Perfectionist
• A 'girly-girl' who loves pink, flowers, dresses & handbags
• Coffee addict.. juz making cappuccino with her espresso machine in the morning can make her happy!
• Has an old-soul
• Loves musical theaters so much that it sometimes makes her heart ache..!
• Loves theaters, museums, ballets & traditional Malay dances
• Head over heels in love with Josh Groban
• Always in awe and fascinated with the history, lifestyle, architecture & fashion of the Victorian days.. the 19^th century
• Loves everything Italian.. the country, the coffee, the history, the language, the gelatos.. & even the men :p (ps: if u're Italian r at least a quarter Italian.. please do leave me a note..)
• Loves creating memories that last a long time.. hence, love scrap-booking, journal-writing, & taking pictures: behind & in front of the camera :p
• Loves interior decorating & architecture
• White & old furnitures
• Passionate & ambitious

So, like I mentioned before, my best friends said that Im a lot like Bree Van De Kamp from Desperate Housewives.. does that sums it up?? haha..
I guess maybe I am like her in a way..

Im a lil bit old fashioned I must say..
I appreciate all the finer things in life..
I like the theater, museums, the music pieces being played on the piano, the smell of coffee in the morning, the grass after the rain & the smell of a new book..

I love organizing get-togethers where love ones or friends can spend some quality time together..
with good conversations, food & good company..
It may be dinner parties, picnics, luncheons, movie marathons, vacations & road trips, or juz a plain night of board games..

I love creating memories that last a long time..
That's why I love taking pictures, scrap-booking & ultimately these cause me to become a hoarder..
My friends & family tell me that I tend to collect rubbish all the time.. but what they don't understand is that every single one of those things remind me of different memories from different points in my life..

Well I guess these leads to me confessing that I have a sensitive soul..
I appreciate every little thing so much that it is often hard to let go..
This is why Im never good with goodbyes.. and worse deaths..
Both my grandfathers past away in the year that I was sitting for my SPM exams..
Both happened in the same month..

But what happened the next year was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experience in my life so far..

Losing Uncle Kris~
Papa's best friend..
Afiq's daddy..
My 2nd Dad..

Uncle Kris had always been there since I can remember..
He came over to the house all the time!
And I was always looking forward to him coming over with snacks & sweets..

My first-times were always with him..
The 1st time I ate sushi, the 1st time I went on a roller-coaster, the 1st time I had ice blended, the 1st time I went clubbing..
And at 14.. he was the one who thought me how to drive.. using his Mercedes.. :)
I remember when I was small, he used to ask me all the time whether I want to be his daughter.. and the funny thing was, I was seriously considering that! haha..
That was how much I loved my Uncle Kris..
Still do.. very much so~

Look at me.. just writing this makes me cry.. haha..
I guess I miss him dearly..
I didnt handle his death very well.. and I dont think I can ever get over it.. ever..
He was taken away from us just 2 days before my 18th birthday & Aunty Mashitah said that the last thing he talked about was what to buy me for my bday.. :'(
Well he was always the one with the best presents.. haha.. maybe it was just because he knows me so well..
Sigh.. I miss him so much!

OMG.. I just realised Im dedicating a huge part of this 'About Me' section to my late uncle.. lol..
See.. told you Im very sensitive! :p

Hmmm.. what else.. what else..

Well.. I believe in true love, love at 1st sight, happily ever after, and that there's a special someone for everyone.. its just a matter of finding the right person at the right place & time.. cliche but that's juz me..

And I kept telling my friends that I think I was born in the wrong decade/century..!

I love those Victorian days..
the 19th century..
where the houses and the furnitures were magnificent, the piano & orchestral pieces were out of this world, & the dresses were simply elegant & stunning!

I love the 50s too..
the style, the simplicity, and the fact that the women were so ladylike & they always dressed up whether they're just going to the shop next door or jetting off on an airplane.. :)

Owh.. on a different note.. Im a perfectionist.. which can be very tiring..
trust me~

So I guess the above is just a taste of what you'll get from reading my blog..
I tend to pour my heart out when I write..
Which can be detrimental to me.. haha..
Owh.. and I do welcome any comments from anyone..
So do drop an ink or two ya!

Cheers~ !

xoxo

Elina Effendi