Version 3 Rollout

Herro everybody. Look to the skies! The new header is up!

. . . Version 3 to be exact.

Before your eyes brought you to this post, you might have noticed the poll above. Please do vote for what you think this blog should be called - each and every one of my readers has a stake in the direction this blog takes.

I want to ensure you all have the best possible experience reading it.

Being able to remember my URL faster would be nice, wouldn't it? I seem to think so.

On with the post though. Version 3 is going to be the best look of this blog yet even though I don't plan on changing the current template. Minimalism is and always will be the focus of this blog.

Thanks to Jessica and Padawan, I've been able to implement some minor tweaks to the overall colour scheme that will enhance minute aspects of this blog. Immersion is in the details, so you may not notice them yet. Indeed, that's the whole point. Changes which are largely unnoticeable but add to the overall blog environment.

This would also be a good time to say that bigger things are happening in my life right now - things that supersede this blog. Credit for that should go to the delightfully demented overlords at R.AGE. I've taken to Facebook and Twitter as the primary means of delivering information and updates.

BUT!

Even with these addictive machinations, this gleaming packet of HTML you all know as Alex Leong's blog will not be forgotten. Everything I do to it is for it.

Cheers and I love you all :)

Alex out.

Cheer 09: Beating the Horse.

Anyone up for some moar video footage from CHEER?

Here's a quickie then.



Cheers <3

Alex out.

Piss-poor odds.

The Government's decision to revert the teaching of Maths and Science to BM... is nothing but a badly timed political gimmick and a unthinking power play.

I think Dr M's blog post sums up the peoples' opinion pretty well. Go take a look and vote(!) at the poll :)

Piss-poor odds for the Govvie team to convince us they're doing the right thing. I almost pity them fools <3

"...almost."
Alex out.

Cheer 09 Day 2

Jeng-Jeng-Jeng muthafuckas!

The Cheer 09 Day 2 post is a-up-ah!

The only proper way to begin this post is probably by saying this: "If you weren't there, you missed out big time, bub."

I mean, seriously, the ladies and gentlemen of our cheer-leading squads were out and about strutting their stuff and giving us a hell of a SHOW.

In anticipation of that, I got up at 7, freshened up and left the house at 8. Got there a tad later than expected but it was okay given I was there as a spectator first. I did bring my BRATs badge in case though - Mr Yellow might come in handy.

So there I was, walking into the stadium dressed like a bum with the shorts and T-shirt and sneaker getup. Bumped into Ami and spent some time with her; she came to support Muriel. Shaun See came later on that day to support the Cyrens, his school team.

The crowd turned out in major force on Day 2 of Cheer. Shall I give you an idea of how big the crowd was? Shall I really?

No I shan't.

Cos' y'all weren't there so you couldn't possibly comprehend how dynamic and engaged the madding crowd was :P

They were a raw beast of sound. I liked it very much. Blitzerz had a 1,000 strong mob all bedecked in blue and yellow. Ikea much? Yes indeed. Muriel camped next to them with 50o+ supporters and some conductors while the Dynamitez supporter mob numbered roughly 800.

Xavier had a 1,000-ish fangroup as well if my ailing sight doesn't fail me.

Hey hey, anyway, the teams started performing before their fans got out of hand and what a show they put on! No trick was unimproved from the day before, and no detail was left un-sparkled. The end result was a truly awe-inspiring showcase of talent from Malaysia's best cheer-leading squads.

41 swish-swashling performances later,
10,000 crazed cheerleading fans hitting the fever pitch,
6 hours after the event began,

Malaysia received her new Top 5.

Dynamitez in FIFTH PLACE,

Titans in the FOURTH,

Calyx in THIRD place,



Shirtliff (last year's champs) in SECOND,



Aaaand *drum rolls*

Blitzerz in FIRST PLACE.

Gah, Jesus Christ in a jumpsuit! That's bloody well done for 'em! I seriously believed an all-boys team would win this year but on hindsight, these ladies did just fine. . . Fine enough to bag the gold. 8D

A few hundred boxes of Kleenex later, the crowd settled down, some started leaving, and some mini concert started. Jivin'.

I chilled with Sylvia and the X-plodetes 'til they left. Without further reason to hang around (there was this weird Indian girl singing and dancing onstage WTF people were more interested in her super-cun backup dancers ROFL), Alex left the building and went on his way home.

Cheer 09 was over at last.

Title: A brat and a cheerleader.
(:

...And THAT's one of the ways you spend youself a bitchin' sweet weekend, you sweet bitch you!

Legally lah.

"I hate Sunday nights - that's when the doldrums begin and I getta restless."
Alex out.

EDIT: For pics, go to Sandoi's blog, Kelvin Loh's blog, or Google it. There are dozens of posts on Cheer 09 up for reading!

Cheer 09 Day 1

Bah, I'm feelin' like a right lazy bum right now... but the fact that you're reading this post must mean that at some point I decided I would post about the first day of Cheer 09.

Started the morning at 7am, left the house at 8am and boarded the train. Bumped into Sandra at Masjid Jamek and we boarded the train connecting to Bukit Jalil. The train ride gave me ample time to reflect on just how slow and inadequate our LRT service is. Perhaps the worst part of that thought was the chilling realization that this LRT service is as good as it gets in Malaysia.

"Yep Yep."

Anyway, upon arriving there the BRATs started the day by interviewing the girls as they were warming up. It quickly became apparent as we interviewed them that this angle would benefit a lot more from a video feature, and so we did it. Here is the shimmering diamond-encrusted fruit of our efforts:





Being a member of the press is THE definitive experience for an event such as this, as we had access to the restricted areas AND we had the best seats in the house. This certainly did keep things flowing as they needed to cuz'...

This year, speed was of the essence. We had to update the public over Twitter on EVERYTHING that went on. Live blogging suddenly seems so sluggish compared to the concise elegance of tweeting. The videos we filmed were all wrapped up and edited by the time the day was done. Talk about efficiency, right? And to think we're still amateurs y'know :D

Is dat sum live blogging in a restricted area I seez?

Now, you could be wondering where all the pictures are. Sad to say, I have none to post. All of 'em are with Mark and Sandra, so to Sandra's blog I will direct you. CLICK.

On to the hosts - Jien was great! He took a while to warm up and stuff and it was pretty evident from his less than funny comments at the beginning, but once he got into his groove the man was a rolling stoneeee. Jeremy of Red FM did a wonderful job considering it was his first time =)

In this picture: NOT Jeremy and NOT Jien.

The cheerleaders themselves were amazing. The all-boys teams did great today and had the crowd all pumped up. The all-girls teams were in top form. Can I say top-er? Cos' they have SERIOUSLY stepped their game up, y'all. The stunts were bigger and bolder, and their moves were generally more synchronized and crisp (like fresh ... salad).

'Twas a pleasant surprise to find out that some BRATs were also on the cheer teams. Major props to these fine ladies. A couple of people from Asiaworks MT were also in there somewhere (HI JONATHAN!).

Some other BRATs like Mark and Tristan came at lunch time. Real nice lah, guys.

Hmmm, what else am I missing? Oh yessss... the fans were absolutely bananas on Saturday. The major teams each had a couple hundred supporters (or more). They were loud. They were really loud. By 10am the Blitzerz and Muriel camps had worked up a sweat. Dynamitez had a walking stick of dynamite this time around and he was one helluva sight :D

The performances all went smoothly and I managed to catch up with my lovely ladies in red - the X-plodetes. They didn't make it into the Top Fifteen but they still rocked lah :3

I left the stadium after it all ended with Mark since he was taking the train as well. Got home feeling rather senget but I shrugged it off. One more day, after all~

"It takes 20 minutes to travel 5km in a train. TWENTY MINUTES, muthafucka. My granny can run faster."

"Boom Boom Pow"
Alex out.

EDIT: There ARE some pics lah. Just uploaded.

Cheer 09 Day 1 and 2! A summary-preview-thing.

Righto, I've just emerged from an emergency life pod strapped to the bottom of my rocketship.

...That rocketship is a wonderful dreamland called CHEER 09 and I was privileged enough to not only be there for both days but I was also there as a BRAT. This means I had virtually unlimited roaming space thanks to Mr Yellow STAR Badge.

Hmhmhmhm :)

Managed to squeeze in some time with my ladies in red and white - the X-plodetes! Yes, that means you too Sylvia! (especially youuuuuu)

I should seriously give you girls a trophy for being such sweethearts and putting in your best efforts. Cos' unlike the other teams, I had a rough picture of how grueling your training was.

All the teams were fantastic, the performances were for the most part brilliant and lively, and man, Santwon and Tai (is that how you spell it?) are possibly the most interesting judges for any competition ever!

But I can tell ya, being there can really suck the mojo out of anyone. Oh yes, even me. I'm like, so shocked, girlfriend. *bimbo-s*

And hence because of that, all you get tonight is a summary/preview of what COULD be a proper blog update. Deal widdit, wimminz.

"I know you know he knows she says. But I. Don't. Care. <3"

Alex out.

Lacedaemon's Trembling Keep

Foo. The second round of exams for this year are officially over.

:)

I wagged school on Tuesday, Wednesday and today cos' I didn't have papers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today was just cos' the family had an appointment with the dentist - just a normal checkup and scaling.

There isn't altogether very much to tell y'all about, cept' that I'll be at Cheer 09 tomorrow rooting for my favourite X-plodetes (<3 <3<3) and that I'll be there as a BRAT. Look forward to it like I do! :D

I just set up the Facebook event page for the Surian Prom '09. The first batch of invites are out, the committee has their own group, and I hope you readers will support our endeavor. If all goes well, we might even set up a blog for the prom proper and ta-da, we have the whole smexy deal x)

Right. Time to go off now. Cheers, good men and women.

"Say the word and the world will follow."
Alex out.