Pictures from Viennese Ball Rehearsal June 28th

Polonaise


With Mr.Polt and Selma


The group from H E

Pictures from Viennese Ball coming up soon

Last Minute Change(s)

A hectic schedule it was last Saturday.

We went to collect the white latin shoes(ordered them the Sunday before) from San Lee, Cheras and drove all the way to Puchong to collect our (off-)White Gown, all of which are required for the Viennese Ball tomorrow.

My dress' hem need to be altered cause its a tat too long for this vertically challenged person(me lah). Brenda's dress need to be altered too(not the length, but something else). All done within 2 - 2.5 hours time. Then, we rushed off all the way to TTDI for the practice. We both agreed that we're nuts cause we travel in 1 big round just to get stuffs and do whatever(well, almost) it takes for this interest called dancing.

During and after the practice on Sunday, found out a bit too late that my gown is still quite long. Ah ahh!!! No way and no time to send the gown to Puchong again for alteration. So, what did I do ?

I spent 6 hours(after work) to alter(by hand) the gown myself. What lar!! The tailor takes 2 hours and I need 6 for the (NOT SO SIMPLE) alteration? Ishh!! Well, at least I'm now fully satisfied with the length and won't be afraid of tripping over(fingers crossed) during the ball tomorrow.

Most of the Debutantes were a bit confused during today's dress rehearsal cause the line ups(couples/partners) are different from Sunday's rehearsal(cannot remember who were in front, back and beside us). But, we finally manage to identify our neighbors for the actual event .



Another 9 hours to go for the actual event. After that, it will be MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

And we(Brenda and I) can fully concentrate on our dance class(well, that's another story to be told later) from this Sunday onward. Hip hip horray!!

Ran out of white top(required) to wear for the VB Class on Friday. So, me had on my not so new white dress & a flowery brown cover for the practice instead. Received a few compliments from the ladies and it lifted up my mood during the class.

Went straight to Little Havana after practice, amidst the heavy rain and got 1/4 of myself wet(no thanks to my not so faithful umbrella).

To my surprise, me saw Mango(who disappeared for about 8 months from the salsa scene) near the stairs with his 2 friends(spreading salsa-ism??).

Near the dance floor

DJLee: Senegal is coming up next.

Me: Yeah kah? Cool. Thanks.

Quickly asked Kevin for a dance cos I wanted to dance to VPS.

10 minutes later

Had a dance(basics) each with Mango's friends(yet to learn salsa). They sure pick up the steps fast.

After the salsa(s) ended

Me: You got the steps correct, hope you'll take up salsa lessons and see you at the clubs soon.

Chin & Eng Siang(hope I spelled their names correctly) : Thanks. See you soon too.

Later

Me asked Ash for a dance, not even realizing that its a cha cha song, but we proceed to do the sal-cha anyway. And it sure is fun... lots of stylo milo stuffs that we can do for this dance.

Got rejected twice when I did the asking that night, but its norm lor. Better luck next time.

Had a nice waltz-sa with MamboJays. Wanted to ask him: are we waltzing while salsa-ing ? But, me forgot to ask cos was trying very hard not to be stepped on by the moving-around-a-lot guy behind me.

Closing song, DJLee decided to play waltz as the last song of the night, and me straight away asked Sean for a dance. He obliged and I had a great time(although me got a bit kepala pusing[dizzy] after that) dancing to this sweet melody.

Dancing Waltz in a salsa studio and did the waltz in a salsa club.. One word to describe this:
Siao!!

Why?

Yesterday night(after Viennese Ballroom class).

Was at the entrance at LH paying for the drink when I heard the rhythmic Vamanos Pa Senegal being played upstairs. Darn!! Why play this song so early lar?

Me: WHY you play this song when I'm not here yet leh?

DJLee: Luckily I didn't play Jambu...

Me: In that case, can play track 1 for me ar? Play it much much later also can.

DJLee: Okay. No problem.

10 minutes later, when I'm at the basin, ie quite near the dance floor, but not near enough.. he played my request.

Yiiiii... WHY he play Nina when I'm not around again lar?!?

Quickly went out to at least enjoy the music(since cannot find anyone to salsa with ).

Then, Ash came to my rescue as he ask me to dance to this yummy track.

Heee hee.. I finally got to dance to Nina(by Joe Cuba). Just love this song(and the dance was lovely too)

Thank you Ash.

2.5 weeks ago

FutureSalsaAddict: Is the registration for salsa class still open?

Me: i just checked the forum & it said closed.

FutureSalsaAddict: . Why so hot one ?

Me: Salsa very popular mar now.


Last week

FutureSalsaAddict: Hey. Good news. I have a friend wanna salsa with me. Nice friend. Young chap and looks like J**

Me: Good. Then both of you can register together.

FutureSalsaAddict: Yah. Need the details. I checking the forum now. Sat is 2.30pm. Very rush for me.

Me: Yup. Right after work have to cabut from office and grab something to eat before class. Normal lar. Me Fridays also like that now.

FutureSalsaAddict: Superwoman

Me: Crazywoman is more like it. Dance addict like that lor.

Viennese Ballroom Lessons - Part II

And the biggest surprise(came through email) today:

Urgent Viennese Ball: Invitation to Dance Lessons

Another unique opportunity to learn and practice Viennese Ballroom dancing(such as Waltz, Boogie, Cha Cha, slow fox, etc). You can bring along your parents and friends who are also interested in dancing. The lessons are FREE of charge

Details:

Venue : Level 1, Sapura Auto BMW showroom, 362 Jalan Tun Razak, K.L.
Date : 6, 7 June 2006
Time : 8.00pm to 10.00pm

So, mi amigos, if you're interested, tell me lar and I'll register your name for you. T&C applies

~ Fin ~

1st Viennese Ballroom Lessons

7pm:
A bunch of us enthusiastic debutantes wannabe were waiting in the studio for the VBC(s) & the Instructor to arrive.

They were like 1 hour late(due to the heavy mud-flood at Jln Duta area; yup yup, my friend's Kelisa swam through the muddy water to TTDI).

While waiting:
Some of the salsa addicts can't resist the temptation of the rhythmic salsa songs and they started dancing( studio party ar?? aisay, why I didn't bring my camera along to capture all this arr ?)

Then, they started a Rueda too.. Waaaa.. cannot stand it anymore and asked MichSoon to rueda too(which he agrees to ). A good and hilarious round of Rueda we had: executed adios(as signaled by the Caller) to arriba(as called by him). And of course, the infamous Enchufla Seremban. No price for guessing who's the caller .

The instructor arrived just when we finished our Rueda and the Waltz lesson begin.

As usual, the ratio for girls to guys in a dance class is like 2:1, so I ended up dancing with a nice lady(her lead for the waltz ain't bad I tell you).

We learn to march(right, left, right, left, bla bla bla.. nope we didn't stomp the studio, its a slow and soft march lar) and curtsy too.

Then, come the part where we learn the walks and the turns for Waltz(hmm, I've done this before, should be okay kua).

Then, come the surprise, Mr Polt(the famous instructor) taught us Rock & Roll(basic and a turn pattern only) too. Cool !! Haven't done any R & R(this is one of my favorite dance when I took up social dance classes last time) for so long and now we're getting free lessons for both dances .

Class finished at around 9.30pm(??) Didn't really keep track of the time cause we're having too much fun dancing to Elvis Presley's Blue Suede Shoes and another R & R song(darn.. I forgot the title of the song again )

~to be continued ~

1st Friday at Little Havana

DJ Lee : You're the first customer here

Me: Ooo ... do I get any free(welcome) drinks ?

DJLee : No, but you'll get Yamulemau.

Me:

And I get to hear Yamulemau and Moliendo Cafe too .

12.10am

Sway(Pussy Cat Dolls' version) was in the air when I was changing into my sneakers(going home lar), and (arrggg) I got the worse cramp ever.

How painful ? Just imagine two people pulling(for lack of a better word) your calf off from your knee. How the heck am I suppose to walk to BB to get a cab lar?

Don't care, I'm completely exhausted by the pain, must go home.

Me: Hi Joe, thanks for the Jambulemau

DJ Lee: you're welcome. Next time, I'll play coco lemau, rambutan lemau

Me: LOL.. But, I want the real coconut & rambutan yeah.

Said bye bye to Mian Li & Cikgu Aisha. Then proceeded to say adios to Guru Sam(alamak!! Sun Sun Babae is on the air now).

Without asking, he just took my hand(a signal for dancing lar) and me being very naughty(and tired) gave him my bag instead. (thinking) I'm still trying to recover from the pain woh.. Don't care! Just dance.

And we did finish dancing(me wearing sneakers, which works better on the slippery floor) to the whole SSB song .

Got home in 1 piece(calf still attach), hit the shower and went to sleep straight away.

Blessing In Disguise ??

11am

Bren : Eh, can teman me to buy dancing shoes ar ? My old ones die already.

Me: Why so kan cheong ? Need to get so soon meh ?

Bren: Yeah lar, for the dance class mar.

Me: Yeah hor. When you wanna get the shoes ? This Saturday ?

Bren: Okay. You working ar on Saturday ? What's the shop's operating hours?

Me: Nope, me free on Saturday. I think it closed about 6pm.

Bren: Ok then. We go on Saturday afternoon lar.

Me: Ok. We set the time later.

1.30pm

You've got mail(attention to all staffs): Please collect your Pirates of the Caribbeans ticket(FREE!!) for 2nd June, Saturday 2.30pm show at ..... department.

Alamak!! I just promised Bren to go and get shoes woh!

Checked the listing for confirmation. Eh, how come my name not inside the list one? Jeff registered for me already mar last week.

FieryST : you need to register yourself via email lar(which I totally forgot to do that day )

Jeff: I also cannot make it this Saturday cause I totally forgot that I need to attend a wedding in Sitiawan the same day. Luckily I can give my ticket to someone else.

Me: A blessing in disguise for us. If not, dunno how to explain to my friend lor.

Jeff: Yeah, luckily for us both .

No FOC movie for us both, but then, there's always the DVD.

Photos from Gangsters & Divo(oops...Divas)

Masterpiece by Salsa/PhotographyKaki JamesQ and courtesy of Hazel

More pics coming up soon(after another round of salsa fix )

Salsa at Little Havana on Fridays

Last night(11 minutes before closing of the party)

Guru Sam: Little Havana has been changed to Fridays from 1st week of June and we'll go to Salsa Havana on Saturdays. Studio Party will be on every last Saturday of the month.

Aiks!! Aiya... so used to LH on Saturdays already. Why change lar ?!?

Still remembered going to LH on Fridays long time ago. Have never missed it on Saturdays since they change it from Friday about 2 years ago.

Now have to brainwash and reset the alarm again to LH on Fridays! LH is on Fridays! No more Saturdays!!

Updates for Little Havana in June(courtesy of DJ Lee):

1/6 = Friday night salsa
*9/6 (salsa on Saturday night for this weekend only)
15/6 = Friday night salsa
22/6 = Friday night salsa
29/6 = Friday night salsa

GANGSTERS & DIVA/O(S)

A cold cold(am talking about the air condition) night of dancing with the mafias and divas.

Didn't dance much, either am enjoying the scene(and/or music) or my mind is somewhere else .

Heard all the familiar and some not so familiar songs the same night.

Music begin and immediately the name came into mind: Merecumbé. Was struggling to remember the second song that came on air next. Er?!? Ah!... yes!! Moliando Cafe. Click here to see why these songs are still sticking in my CPU(brain lar) till todate.

Disturbed DJ Lee 2 songs in a row cause I wanna know the songs' name. Now looking online for Mujer Erotica(darn!!.. I forgot the artist's name lar) and Los Confinados(artist unknown ). Note to self: bring pen & paper along to salsa clubs.

Had pictures taken with Michelle the Diva(or Divo???) aka MichSoon. He got the award for Best Dress(ladies/men... nope.. its Best Dress) In Between. Chiow Er and I were wondering, where did he get the dress(we were informed later by a little birdie where he got it from ) NO pictures to post yet. All the cameraman/ladies still asleep me think .

A slow song towards the end of the night,

Mian Li: What's the name of this song arh ?

Me(still singing along to it): Sealed With A Kiss

Mian Li: Its an oldies, but they salsafied it right ? Who's the singer ?

Me: Er(CPU suddenly invaded by STML virus).. Cannot remember the artist's name leh. Its in one of my album. Have to check(forgot to ask her, the original singer or the salsafied version's singer ).

Mian Li: Maybe Marion would have know the singer's name.

Me: Yup, me think so too.

Talk about addictions: Saw Salsa(photographing)kaki doing bachata(his favourite??) with his camera(his darling) hanging from the shoulder.

End of the night:

Me: wah.. you so sei lei(hebat? great?) can dance with the camera hanging along.

Salsa(photographing)kaki: Was tempted to leave the camera behind, but...

Me: ng seh tak leh(Unwilling)?? Your camera must be shouting: Don't leave me behind!!

Salsa(photographing)kaki: Yeah lor.. Its calling and asking me to bring it along.. Then, I said come darling..

Me(and Chiow Er): LOL.

At about 1.30

Chiow Er: Might join them for yum cha

Me: Ok. But where are they are heading lar?

Someone shouted: Devi's(TTDI)

Me(and Chiow Er staring at each other): Ok.. let me take a cab home. You join them for yum cha lar

Chiow Er: no lah. TTDI leh.. Can go back home straight already.

Me: Ok loh. Let's go home(stomach growling already).

Can't remember what time I reached home(can't even remember being hungry until this morning). Hit the shower and went to sleep straightaway.

Shall try and grab the pictures from Yvonne and all.. (Wondering)when can we see the pictures ?

A Cute One

Saw this cute grumpy 'baby' sitting alone inside my colleague's car today.



Can't resist taking a picture of him.

Its a gift from her friend. Made in China(confirmed place of birth) and sold in Thailand(me think!).

Now, when and where can I get it in Malaysia ?

How to Dance on a crowded Floor

In the middle of a dance floor

Me: Walau.. so many people, how to dance lar? What else can we do ar ? Ok. Let's do some rueda moves(make it small and simple step). Can we do Kentucky ?

FE: Kentucky ar?? Ok lar

After 16 counts

Me: Eh!! Why take so long one the Kentucky? Cannot find the chicken ar ? LOL

FE: LOL. Ok. Here we go. Kentucky, siete(me execute-curi ayam style). Enchufla Doble(No problem for me here). Sombrero

Me: Sombrero your head. So many people, how to sombrero lah ?

FE: Cannot meh? Ok. La Una(No problem also).

Me: Too crowded lah. Me right turn, then you right turn also lar.

And we laugh ourselves off till the song ended . I know we shouldn't negotiate on the moves while dancing, but, but, but its damn crowded & I don't want to stamp on or get stampeded by other people.

In the middle of a Rueda

To my surprise, Desmond and partner join in. Me thinking: cool cool. Another casinero who we can rueda with next time. The more the merrier.

Efficient or LAZY!!

Got my 1st Streamyx bill of RM229.00 and was checking high & low(from their website) where and how to make payment.

The website was quite helpful, it pointed out the locations and opening hours too. But, hullo!! those payment outlets open till 5ish during weekdays and some of them close on weekends too.

Then, it hit me... I paid my phone bill using GIRO woh. So, maybe I can pay the Streamyx bill with the same system too?? But, what if I keyed in the wrong account ?

Was still skeptical on the GIRO transaction thingy, but was assured by Lyn: yeah yeah, you can make payment via GIRO lah. No worries.

And I've finally paid the bill using GIRO(via ATM, not Internet) .

Heheheh, now I don't have to go to the counters, take numbers and wait in a long queue to pay my phone or Streamyx bills anymore. Just go to any Public Bank ATM(provided you have account with them lar) and voila, your bills had been settled!

Am I lazy ? No lar, am just trying to be efficient and prompt only

Celebrated a friend's belated birthday yesterday at one of the restaurants in the Asian Heritage Row, Jln Sultan Ismail.

We were supposed to go to this restaurant called Saray, but found out too late that the restaurant is either not located there or sudah tutup kedai(closed shop).

Proceeded to find another restaurant and finally decided to have dinner at Kristao. It served Malaysian Portuguese food. The minute I entered the restaurant and wowee... I hear a salsa song(talk about a good beginning of the evening ). Then, it hit me... I did read somewhere that there are salsa classes available here. No wonder they play salsa songs.

The food was so so as most of the dishes that my friends ordered are hot & spicy(me not a fan of these kind of food). But, the environment was good, with all the salsa songs and 1 merengue song being played and the chatting session.

Finally we ended our dinner session after 1 and a half hour in the restaurant and we move to Bukit Bintang for dessert, but of course, I went for my salsa fix instead of the dessert.

A quiet night at SH yesterday, with the non-existing air-condition and a few old school salsa songs(those songs that we practice to in classes lar) being played.

The most memorable sight is when I saw Guru Sam and Cikgu Aisha dancing to Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas(translated as love, when glances speaks). Such a lovely coincidence.

Oh yeah... Toya Masaru san is back in KL. Talk about addiction!! He came straight from the airport bringing his luggages along to SH for salsa.

Left the place early though as I'm not feeling that well to dance anymore after 2 dances . Anyway, I do wanna save the energy for tonight's stint in LH(fingers crossed).