Dad's Birthday

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

My dad turned 76 a few days ago. I am greatful to God that he has given my parents many years on earth and also good health. It is a blessing to have your parents with you. It is a gift from God.

the family

We decided to celebrate his birthday at a friend’s restaurant called Indian Kitchen in Bangsar. My brother invited our close relatives to celebrate the occasion. We had a great time of fellowship and fun, not forgetting the awesome food.

the relatives

I sent my dad and mom home, they were both delighted with the all the celebration and my dad especially, said he had a great time.

getting ready with the cake

Culture

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

Well, the Deepavali festive is in the air. Just about a week ago, I went to Brickfields to buy some spices and boy, was I in for a huge surprise! I didn’t expect brickfields to have blossomed into a mini India; hence they have been requesting it be named, “little India”.

Dance, make the culture....

Being an Indian, I have never really practiced the Indian culture, maybe because I was raised in a Christian family. My friends consist of people from various ethnic backgrounds. I do have Indian friends, but they don’t make the majority.

Clothings, make the culture.....

I am amazed how God has made each culture around the world so unique and interesting, The Chinese, Indians, Malays, Jews, tribal clans etc, I think there must be hundreds maybe thousands of cultures around the world.

I wonder if God made us all the same, it would be a very boring world.

Of late I have become more appreciative of the Indian culture and do like it very much. Not because I am an Indian, but I think they are just so interesting.

Yes! Food makes the culture too....

Take a walk through Brickfields and any of the cultural Deepavali exhibitions during this festive. You will learn to appreciate the uniqueness of one of God given cultures in this country.

Mike Manjini Drum Clinic

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

I had the privilege of meeting this world-class drummer because of my assignment as a writer. I thank God for such a great opportunity, because not only do I get to meet the drummer up close and converse with him, I get to ask him as many questions as possible pertaining to drumming as a whole and not particularly focused on just the information for my article.

Mike's drums

Mike is an amazingly proficient drummer, who currently teaches in Berkeley Music College. Mike teaches some of the world class professional drummers who come to Berkeley for short personal lessons to learn from this genius besides his regular curriculum to teach full time professional students.

Interviewing the genius

Because Mike is a teacher cum performer, it was a great opportunity for me to ask him questions pertaining to teaching which he imparted without reservation. A Computer Science, Behavioral Science and a music graduate, Mike could put all the concepts he has learned into drumming.

The man himself; Mike Manjini.

This helped him to understand people when teaching, use computer binary numbers to come up with amazingly impossible coordination on the drum which he admits, would not have been possible without that knowledge.

The crowd turn up for the clicnic performance was around 400+ and I believe, together with me, they all had a truly spectacular show.

Clubbing

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

I guess it’s the way yuppies let their hair down during the weekends. The youngsters find an avenue to hear music so loud you can’t hear yourself.  Its been a while since I ventured out or visited any club for a while. I thought it would be fun to check out the nightlife in K.L. and P.J.

Karen suggested the Ice club at The Curve. It was an interesting concept where the bar is mostly made of ice with about -15 degrees temperature. Reminded me of Sweden during winter.

Winter wonderland? No, it's the Ice Club at The Curve

The atmosphere in the clubs hasn’t changed much; the music, etc. The girls dress their best and some look absolutely stunning. I wonder why most of them dress in black?

I remember writing for Men’s Health magazine where I had the assignment a few years ago to check out all the clubs in K.L. as to where the babes hang out. The nightclubs have certainly mushroomed since and there are a large variety of clubs that offer unique concepts. Not just music and drinks but a place to experience something unique.

If you have any interesting clubs you want to share with us, let us know.

Honor Thy Parents

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

I have heard so much about the younger generation’s indifference with their parents. The western world had portrayed so much negativity about parent child relationship and this is seeping into our society. Thank God, we are still “Asians” who honor our parents and take care of them in their old age.

Mutton curry, almost ready

 When I was in Australia a speaker mentioned from the stage, that he admires Asians, well the issue of all staying under one roof may not be the ideal way of living he said, but he wanted us to catch the gist of the closeness, Asians share with their family and parents.

I have been quite busy of late and realized I hadn’t seen my parents for almost a month. I usually visit them once a week. I decided to call them over to my home for lunch. Well I always wanted to learn to cook mutton curry so my dad taught me while I did the commissary and cooking.

The Mutton curry was, Oo La La!

The food was great the fellowship was wonderful. Let us take the time to honor our parents, while they are still with us.

Life in Abundance

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

Life is the most incredible gift we have, and can ever have. Most of the time we judge the quality of our lives by the circumstances of our current situation. Well, not all the time, things can go well.

I once heard someone say,  “Yes, a lot of bad things can happen in our lives, but at the same time, a lot of good can happen too”. For e.g, did we invent the light bulb? The television? the airplane? Etc. But we are benefiting the blessings of what our forefathers have sown. True, we may have had bad experiences that may have affected our lives; life is not fair, but God is.

"Will well up from withinin him, a spring of life"

I believe life comes from God and he has purposed it to be at its fullest whatever the circumstances. I have seen people with broken hearts mended, past hurts healed and relationships restored by just entering into the throne room of God in prayer.

God had intended us to enjoy life and have it in abundance because he is, the author of life.

The Honey Bee

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

I wished I had a spirit of excellence in the early years of my career. I was never satisfied with my job and always hopped from one to another. Looking back, I believe I would have been successful if I just stuck to one. My brother finally caught up with me and said, “ If you can be the best with what you have, you will eventually succeed financially”. I had just started my business as a drum teacher at that time with only a handful of students earning less than four figures a month. I took his word, stopped running from one job to another and decided to make my drum profession work for me. It didn’t take long before I succeed financially.

Be good at what you do, you will reinvent yourself, if not you are doomed to become fossilised

It’s not wrong to desire being rich, having goals of being a millionaire. Has anyone ever done any good for anybody being broke? With money you can help someone else, provide the best for your family, etc.

The honeybee goes about to get honey, but in the process, it pollinates the flowers. If your motive is to make money, your goal will eventually be a blessing to others. Just learn to strike the balance and don’t make money your primary goal. Money is not the root of all evil, it’s the love of money, that is the root of all evil. Money is neutral. It’s a great servant, but a poor master.

Margaret Thatcher once said, “ The good Samaritan in the bible, could do what he did, because he was rich.”

A Spirit of Excellence

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

When Arthur Kam was producing his short video submission for the International Modern Drummer Festival Undiscovered Drummer contest, after having recorded the same performance five times, he was not satisfied. After having looked at all five recordings, I felt they were all exceptionally good. I then explained to him that he should never be a perfectionist but a person with the spirit of excellence. He argued that it was this attitude of perfectionism that has brought him thus far in his drumming career. I went on to explain the difference between perfectionism and excellence. With the first, you will never be satisfied, but with the latter, you will learn to give your best in what ever you do, and in time, you will get better.

My brother Alburn, designed this open hotel restaurant kitchen; he went on to become one of the top commercial kitchen designers in the world

Once someone asked me what do I do, and I said, "I teach drums". He said, “Can you ever get rich with that?" I said you can get rich with anything, if your mind is focused on excellence and not the money. All of us have various skills and desires and if we give our best in our vocation, opportunities will open up and we will succeed financially. It’s not what job makes you rich, any job for that matter can make you rich.

I once read about a teenager who worked part time as a garbage collector. He was so embarrassed his friends might spot him that he used to hide while doing the job. He went on to understand his profession well and the need for garbage collection from private sectors. After borrowing money to operate a garbage truck to collect garbage for private companies, he went on to eventually buy 8 more trucks and is a millionaire today.

Be the best that you can be, and God will do the rest, to make you succesful

The moral of the story is, be good at what you do. God will give you the creativity ideas if you don’t short change him. With years, you will grow skillful in your area of expertise and be paid more that you can imagine.

By the way, Arthur Kam submitted one of the 5 drum videos and became the first person out of Americas to win the prestigious Modern Drummer Festival undiscovered drummer contest.Watch his two minute video submission on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRFWnoFXcAs

Making that Dream Come True

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

Continuing on our dreams on travel, well I just got an offer for a 3 days 2 nights stay plus a 100 Singapore dollars voucher in a 5 star hotel in Singapore. I have always wanted to go to Singapore for a holiday but this is like doing it in luxury. The only catch is you have to pay S298 for the package and attend a 90-minute presentation. For all that trouble, would you take that offer?

A sight you can't find here. A traffic cop at a shopping mall.

Anyway here are a few pictures I took on my trip to Europe. I am planning to take a year off and travel the world. You think that is only possible if you have lots of money? Think again. When I was in Europe I have met kids who have been traveling between 1 year to 7 years. Where do they get the money?

Ancient castle with marvelous architectural design

Well you stay in a hostel costing 15 pounds a day and find a job. Its very easy to get a job in Europe. Worse comes to worse you can still work as a helper in the hostel you are staying which will pay your daily rent and food and give you enough time to visit the places you are staying.

A rare sight,first day for students being admitted into one of the Oxford colleges

 This works very well in Europe only. I don’t think you can do that in the third world countries.

Living Out Your Dream

Posted by: andrew william Post(s) by this blogger

Most of us have dreams. I am not talking about your ambitions or career goals. What is it in life that you really love to do? I love to travel and do some of the most caziest things, such as sky diving etc. I must say I have done most of what I have wanted to. But dreams such as traveling, scuba diving etc are not one off dreams, as you can never have enough of them.

I promised to touch the toes of Peter Pan in Hyde Park, London some day, and it came true.

I recently came across a blogger and Star weekly columnist, Nicole Tan who also manages a blog called Nicolekiss.blogspot.com. I was fascinated how she at a very young age, lives out her dreams to the fullest. She loves diving and travel among other things and is doing what most of us only dream about.

I used to travel to some of the most amazing destinations in the world but have  stopped doing that  of late. Has life become so busy that I have stopped enjoying it and have instead focused on my career and making money? I remember watching the movie “ Click” Where Adam Sandler fast forwards through life to achieve his dreams of a career, only to find out later that he had lost out in life.

A picture I took of Urquart Castle overlooking Loch Ness in Scotland: I could stay here all day

Let us live every moment of our life to the fullest, before age catches up on us. The greatest regret for any man or woman in their death bed is not what they did in life, but what they did not do.