Silent Tango

As the global village continues to shrink and cultures collide, it is essential for all of us to become more sensitive, more aware, and more observant to the myriad motions, gestures, and body language that surround us each day. And as many of us cross over cultural borders, it would be fitting for us to respect, learn, and understand more about the effective, yet powerful "silent language" of gestures. Gestures and body language communicate as effectively as words- maybe even more effectively...

I took the following pictures sometime back in October 2008 while taking a train ride. These are the pictures that show the encounter between a boy and a girl who didn’t know each other- total strangers… Both didn't manage to strike a conversation with each other throughout the train ride, but the guy was definitely interested in the girl... and the girl was simply playing along...

Hey, pretty...

Dum-de-dum-de-dum....

Invasion of personal space...

I sent one of these pictures to a friend of mine who came up with the following response:

Textbook body language says she is interested. Look at how her legs swing towards the guy. It would have been swinging away, if she did not want the attention. Also, look how close he has stepped into her personal space. He's practically touching her legs already.

It's amazing
How you can speak
Right to my heart
Without saying a word...

Try as I may
I could never explain
What I hear when
You don't say a thing

I was starting to get a bit tired of their little charade by then: "Say something to her, stupid! Don't just stand there!"

The train stopped a few times for the passengers to get off. Sad to say, the boy had to leave at one of the train stops and the girl was left all alone with no one else to flirt with after that. Boy and girl never had the chance to talk to each other. Stupid, right? Must tell their parents about this...

Two strangers who met in a train… were strangers once again… their unspoken hopes and hidden emotions… forever buried and never to be known…

Two souls who briefly encountered each other in a train- not a single word uttered between them, except for the obvious tell-tale signs of a silent duel of hearts and an unexpected emotional tug-of-war between two lonely people just to while away the time with during a boring train-ride.

Maybe they should've tried this little scribble-on-paper game in the train instead, those cheeky but shy people...

The story of Dr. JY... and don't forget about JG

Back at this place where I used to work in, a peculiar moustachioed old man once taught me that it is important to let people know of your many little accomplishments (no matter how ridiculous and laughable those achievements might be). Otherwise, "people would think you've not done anything purposeful with your life and that you're just sitting down and wasting your life away". Maybe he's right, in some ways.

Such self-promotion is usually achievable through various forms of media.

media = the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely

One of the best music teachers whom I've ever had the chance to learn from was Dr. Joanne Yeoh, thanks to Aunty E. I wasn't exactly one of her best students 'cos I was crap lazy and plain erratic with my music practice; and always tired after working hours besides attending some crap evening classes and salvaging what was left of my social life, yadda, yadda.

Not only was Joanne my music teacher- she inspired me to be hardworking and determined to achieve life's many goals. Not that I have that many goals compared to her...












Dr. Joanne Yeoh


I've had a few role models in my life so far, and a few have let me down. But thus far, I think Dr. JY is still the best... for someone within my age range (saying this before some other role model beats me up).



















A few months ago, I got to know from Dr. JY that she had included my name, JG, in the acknowledgement section of her PhD research. This is the part where the self-promotion steps in.

Dr. JY's research focused on music and consumer behaviour.











JG!!



One thing about Dr. JY is that she always remembers people for all the good things they've done to her.

Dr. JY completed her PhD in record time in spite of her extremely busy schedule (she passed with a distinction). She has thus inspired me to do the same. I hope I survive (ZZZzzzzz....).














Picture stolen from here.
Sorry, this is an entry about Dr. JY, not Alan Tam, famous as he might be.


God bless you, Dr. JY.
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Check this out: http://www.yvonnefoong.com/

But honey, i'ts not what you think it is!!

If you care about someone, you sometimes either want to call, write emails to, or buy nice things for that certain someone.

I missed him so much. So I thought I’d get him a necktie as a surprise.



















At times like this, I'd prefer to shop alone as I'd get to look at things at my own pace without having to wait for anyone else, or having another person wait for me while I shop.

There were a few necktie shops in the shopping mall. I entered all of the shops and finally decided to settle for one of the more reputable brands… after two hours.














It took me another few more minutes to decide which tie I should get from that shop. Finally, I made up my mind after going from one shop to another, examining one necktie after another, bewildering one salesgirl after another...

One of the salesgirls took the necktie, wrapped it up in a classy little cardboard envelope and dropped it into a paper bag that was big enough to fit two more boxes of shoes and all of Angelina Jolie's kids in it. Like, save the trees, man. But it was kinda fun walking around in public places showing off that little bag with a particularly eye-catching logo on it...



















The salesgirls at the shop started giving me those funny I’m-feeling-all-warm-and-fuzzy-inside-distant-faraway looks that somehow said: “Aww, what a great girlfriend she is… How will she give him this necktie? Hide it at his office desk? Blindfold him with it? Help tie it up for him?”




How about, "Hang him? Choke him?"








That glassy-eyed, distant, faraway look



So I got home a few days after that, walked into his study room, dropped that little bag of necktie on his desk and said something like, “Oy, me brother. I got ye a new tie. Your other ties look kinda funny weird, especially that one with the design of a ******** on it. Didn’t your friends ever tell you that?”

I love my kid brother. He’s so adorable… when I annoy him.
















Do your part, get involved- Meme: Save Yvonne's sight!

Look at me, look at me!

I was sitting in a train. Train was full of people. Train stopped... and in came two good-looking Arab guys who stood in front of me. One was extremely hairy and the other was not so. They talked loudly all the way during the train ride... and practically ignored two other cute Malay girls who couldn't seem to take their eyes off those two chatty jokers.

Their singsong Arabic conversation slowly faded away, and the hairy one soon started picking at dry skin flakes all over the palms of his hands. Gosh, hadn't anyone noticed those before, or were they just looking at his face and hairy arms?

Not too long after that, those two jokers started staring at me. Hey, what did I do?

I soon realized that they were looking at my shirt. Bloody perverts...
















One of my favourite shirts.



A few days after that, I was in a plane. I was waiting for my drink. Air-stewardesses walked up and down the aisle carrying trays of fruit juices.

Suddenly, a so-totally good-looking air-steward stopped next to me and asked, "Any drinks for you, ma'am?"

I nonchalantly took my drink from him and continued with my daydreaming in the plane, but my daytime reverie and cup of fruit juice almost collided and spontaneously combusted into flames when the good-looking air-steward said to me, "Nice shirt..."






















"Nice shirt..."



Now you know how to catch any insane guy's attention, girls...

Taking flight

Chivalry is dead.

OK, maybe not dead... but dying.......

It's really no fun encountering crazy middle-aged Malaysian men who quickly get up from their airplane seats and immediately want to rush out from the airplane after any flight while you're left stuck at your seat with no possible way of getting out... I thought only women behave like that, especially during those much-anticipated Year End Sales.




























*Images of aforementioned scary people have been intentionally made indistinct.

The funny thing is, I tend to be able to overtake these crazy people by the time all of us get out from the plane... on foot... or on high heels, to be more precise.

However, I realized this morning that crazy middle-aged Malaysian men who like to rush out from airplanes just like suicidal migratory lemmings are not the ones I should fear most while taking a flight.
















When large numbers of lemmings get on the move, some of them will inevitably drown while crossing rivers and lakes. (Wikipedia)

While reading a magazine at my seat, I heard two cute little Malay boys giggling behind me. One sounded almost three years old and the other sounded almost five. They were probably siblings.

As the plane was about to take off, one of them went, "Waaaahhhh......"

Ooh, he sounded so cute...

Soon after takeoff, the pilot maneuvered the plane sideways.

One of the little kids suddenly went, "Aaaahhhhh! Kapal pusing!" (translation: "Aaaahh! Airplane turning!)

OK, he must be nervous...

Once again, the pilot made the plane turn... slightly...

"AAAAAHHHH! KAPAL TERBALIK!!!!" little kid screamed (translation: "AAAAHHH! AIRPLANE UPSIDE DOWN!!!")

Dear God...

After that, those two kids talked between themselves a little bit and then kept quiet.

As the plane started going through the clouds along the way, the plane shook a little due to that turbulence thing.

"AAAAAHHH!!!! Toloooooonnnggg!! Takuuuuuutttttttt.......!!!!!" one of the little kids was dramatically in action once again (Translation: "AAAAHHHH!!!! Heeeeeeeellllppp! Scaaaaaared!!!")

Bloody hell, shut up already~!!!!




Good grief


In spite of the nightmarish experience caused by those two little chinchillas, all of us safely reached our destination.

As I was about to stand up and leave my seat, a crazy middle-aged Malaysian man from somewhere behind the plane suddenly stood next to me and was about to block me from leaving my seat; so I shot him a look and immediately looked away, rolling my eyes. He backed off. I left my seat and got out from the plane.

Chivalry is dying.....

....makes me feel like hurling a cow head at someone. Anyone...













AAAAAAAAHHH! Kapal pusinggggg!!!! -_-"'