Hi everyone! It’s the end of the week again and the start of a brand new week.

Been riding on an emotional turmoil lately, and I’ve been in low-spirits throughout the past seven days.

But let’s get on with this week’s edition of The Sunday Times regardless.

 Random emoface which so happened to suit the mood of this emo post LOL

And of course, I’ve got my machines to keep me company.

Cooking keeps me sane and my creative juices running when I craft new recipes.

A desperate need of antioxidants.

Kon took me out to eat one night. LOL Carls Junior in 1Utama – because we can.

Then we spotted this awesome looking skull bong from Kamelah Tobacco House in 1Utama.

Love it. Love it. Love it. Might just buy it!

I took a day leave off work and flew back to Penang for the weekend.

The weekend was pretty fulfilling.

 Spent quality time with daddykins.

We may have our vast differences, never see eye to eye and subscribe to direct opposite school of thoughts (conservative v/s liberal), but the only time we can actually have deep & meaningful conversations and relatively get along is when we are debating and discussing politics, history and world economics.

Secretly, I do appreciate these rare times.

Spent quality time with mom. My best friend, my confidante, my guide to everything in life.

We spent our time in Chili’s for a healthy lunch and went shopping thereafter.

She knows me really well! Like, duh. Aku kan anak die nih, kan?

Gluttony all over.

Spent time with dearest kakak too.

Threw mom & dad a birthday celebration at Flamingo Hotel by the beach, Penang.

Actually, this is a really useless photo.

I was planning all week to space out the number of Instagram photos I posted as I wanted to dedicate my 1000th photo to both my parents during the birthday celebration. It was already the night of their birthday and i was still at 998 photos!

So I just decided to post up that useless, vain photo above to make it 999 photos.

And finally………..

My 1000th photo on Instagram! Dedicated to mommy & daddy dearest.

Happy birthday you too! Full blog post coming soon!

Which reminds me… I haven’t blogged the 2 more episode of my birthday series yet. Bah!

Got to squeeze in a bit of time for some outdoor activity – hiking!

Attended and covered Emma Hewitt’s world tour concert at one of her stops – Penang!

More about that later but here are a few photos from the night.

 Emma Hewitt during her performance!

Supporting act Sean Tyas during his DJ set!

Thanks to the organizers, I managed to interview the both of them that night.

Full blog coverage: here

What a coincidence! Imagine the surprise on my face when us three, former classmates in KDU College

met by chance in the airport and took the same flight back to KL.

By the end of the week, it was home sweet home. But… yes, there is a but.

Evidently, my whole week went fine until… I started to feel a little emotional this week about a certain issue that had been at the back of my mind for a while now.

I realize that I seem to be falling behind all expectations set for me and the expectations I set for myself. I’m not giving my all; my 100%, my unwavering pursuit in certain aspects of life, character and career.

I find myself under-delivering what I am fully capable of. My full potential remains dormant; simply because I am either not motivated, not bothered to embrace new opportunities.

I am well-aware of this stagnancy, but why am I not doing anything about it to push my drive back on acceleration and catapult my zest to life back on track again?

Many a time I’ve let go of opportunities and fail to get into people’s good books all because of this lackadaisical phase. I attest my nonchalance and apathy to this current state of mind.

What’s wrong with me?

Worst is when I judge myself and for this lack of enthusiasm and poor, half-hearted attempt to life, I feel like I’ve reduced myself to an inefficient, incompetent moron. Thus, I feel that I’m not doing myself justice!

How is it fair to myself, the real me?

But I do not blame anyone at all. If I am worth 100% but only deliver and show the world 60% of my maximum capabilities, it’s only normal that people would assume that this 60% is all that I’ve got in me.

Looks like I’ve got to refocus, reshuffle my priorities and give my best in everything I do all over again. I simply can’t afford to let that burning fire in me die.

This photo I snapped of a forest spoke abundance of how I felt last night.

Couldn’t sleep at all. Just really upset with myself.

I want to run and hide amidst brambles and fallen boughs in the woods,

Where the hollow trees and thickets pose as my only escape.

Niggling wanders play in mind; disintegrating joy to its darkest hour,

It keeps me awake all dusk, perhaps, I may be too lost in my thoughts.

Disturbed I am, by the slightest thought of the unnerving and this shadow of a doubt.

And then I remember…

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Cuddletimes with my furkid.

Sometimes, when you feel like you don’t want to be surrounded by humans, he’s all I’ve got.

Goodnight. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day… or maybe I’m just being an emotional wreck for no good reason.

It’s probably just the time of the month. Women, pfffftt. I despise being one sometimes.

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest, share my personal thoughts and ramblings, as well as to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places! Some photos were posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & my LIVE Blog.

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!

Good morning, dear readers!

I have no idea how I managed to wake up relatively early this morning after last night’s wicked party!

Emma Hewitt / Jessicat / Sean Tyas

More about the party later, as I will also be including a video of the night into my coverage too, on top of the blog post write-up. For now, let’s talk about the interview I had with them, shall we?

Sep 21, 2013 | Off to attend the rave & interview Emma Hewitt! Catch her LIVE in QEII Penang tonight. Party on, trancefamily! by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Last night, I had the chance to sit down with Emma Hewitt and Sean Tyas for an interview just before the party began. They were very friendly, down-to-earth, and such nice people to talk to and to actually have a conversation with!

You ready? I am. Let’s start with Emma Hewitt.

Managed a quick chat with her. Loved her very sweet demeanour and aura of gracefulness.

25 year old Australian songbird, born Emma Louise Hewitt, is currently residing in Los Angeles, USA. She is a singer-songwriter, and started her foray into music as the lead singer of her own (now no longer active) rock band ‘Missing Hours’. Now popularly known as the princess of trance she is now a full-time trance vocalist and has collaborated with EDM giants to produce chart-topping billboard staples, from the likes of Marcus Schossow, Armin Van Buuren, Dash Berlin and Cosmic Gate just to name a few.

She was bubbly, had a good sense of humour and was very amicable throughout our interview.

Below is the ten-question interview piece I had with Emma. Enjoy!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]1. Welcome to our island, Penang. It’s a pleasure to have you here. How is your trip so far?[/highlight]

Hi! How are you going? Last night was amazing in KL, it was fantastic! The crowd was just really, really great. There was a lot of energy in the room. A lot of people in there were a great fun crowd, really lovely and friendly people. And tonight, in Penang, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Penang! I think tonight is going to be a really fun party.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]2. Being your first time here, how do you personally find Penang?[/highlight]

I’ve heard you guys in Penang have the best food and can party really hard! So now, I’ve seen the food, and it was some of the most fantastic food I’ve ever tasted… and now I have to see the party crowd. So excited!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]3. I’m sure everybody is excited to see you too! You’re a very talented songwriter and a singer. How do you usually get inspiration for your music? Any specific procedures in your songwriting?[/highlight]

I’m always inspired by life itself. If there was something that happened to me in the past, or to my friends and family, I write about it. To me, writing songs, it has to be personal and something that I’m really feeling at the time. So usually my song writing draws from my own experience.
My brother, who is a guitarist, and I used to write songs together in a rock band using the guitar; we play and write, and see what works acoustically. And now with dance music, we write the same way.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]4. A rock band! That’s a really cool start. So, have you fully transitioned from rock to trance now?[/highlight]

Yeah I did! And to be honest, my songs are still kind of the same but they just have trance beats instead of rock. We write them in the same way, they’re all very personal songs. But to me, trance music has allowed me to write in a much more emotional and personal way. I think people are more open to hearing something personal in trance music.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]5. You’ve collaborated with huge names like Dash Berlin, Gareth Emery and Armin Van Buuren. Who are you looking forward to collaborate with next?[/highlight]

I’ve got a few collaborations in the pipeline, but they’re not set in stone yet so I can’t talk about them until they’re definitely happening. But there are about four or five that I’m really excited about! Most of them are trance but some of them are pushing towards a slightly different style. I wanna do some darker kind of vocals and go back to the rock roots with those stuff, and also poppy kind of vocals and deep choruses. So I’m looking forward to work with those DJs on those new styles as well as the trance ones.

Editor’s note: Mid-way through the interview, I noticed her looking at my left collarbone. She then told me she loved my tattoo and asked me what it is. I mentioned that it was a quote by Shakespeare and read it out to her (I know you guys are waiting for my blog post on this collarbone tattoo, sorry for the delay! Will blog about that soon!) She then said it was a really beautiful quote and how she loved tattoos, which led me to my next question…

[highlight style=”yellow” ]6. How about you, Emma? Do you have any tattoos yourself? How many?[/highlight]

Oh I have a few too! She then revealed a half-sleeve on her left inner forearm, and also pointed out to her right hip and some on her foot. Once you start, you can’t stop!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]7. I totally agree. Tattoos always carry a significant meaning, and so do songs, in fact! Which of your tracks meant the most to you? [/highlight]

All my songs carry memories and meaning to me, I don’t have a specific favourite but I would say that the Chris Lake track was very special to me, because it was the first. And also ‘Waiting’ with Dash Berlin, because that exposed me to a lot of people and opened the doors for me in this genre of music, which I’m really grateful for.

Editor’s note: This Chris Lake track she was referring to is the 2009 release by Chris Lake featuring Emma Hewitt – Carry Me Away. Do take a listen! It is a lovely one.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]8. Yeah, ‘Waiting’ is one of my personal favourites too. That, if I remember, won Best Euro Track at the Electronic Dance Music Awards in 2010 too, how did you feel about that?[/highlight]

Yes, yes it did! That was really nice! It was really cool that it was recognized and how people took notice of that song. Really an honour.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]9. Out of all the trance anthems of all time, what is your favourite trance track of the year?[/highlight]

Hmmm… I’m not too sure if it was released this year, because I’ve lost track of time as I have been travelling so much… but I would say, Concrete Angel was a really great track and one of the best songs. Really, really huge for quite some time!
Editor’s note: Gareth Emery – Concrete Angel was released in 2012 under his record label Garuda.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]10. What is the craziest thing or the most memorable thing a fan has done for you?[/highlight]

*giggles* There’s been some crazy ones, and there are some lovely ones as well. I’ve received beautiful gifts that they’ve made. There was a man who is getting my face tattooed on his leg and is in the process of doing it at the moment. I was flattered but kind of worried how my face would look as a tattoo; I hope it wouldn’t look too scary! I felt bad for him, and was like, “Oh no, don’t do that!” *laughs*
Another fan recently got my signature tattooed on his back and sent us a picture. It was amazing, such a heart-warming experience. I actually teared up when I saw the picture.

Before we concluded the interview, I managed to ask Emma to record a personal message to all her Penang trance fans.

 Hope you enjoyed the interview and getting to know Emma a little bit better.

Moving on…

Sean Tyas is a 34 year old American-born DJ and EDM producer (particularly trance) who is currently residing in Switzerland. He is well known for is internet radio show, Tytanium Sessions and regularly receives airtime on Armin Van Buuren’s ‘A State of Trance’ , Tiesto’s ‘Club Life’ and Above and Beyond’s ‘Trance Around the World’.

He was very jovial, laid back, extremely cheerful and approachable. So let’s hear what he has to say, shall we?

‘

Below is a quick 5 minute interview I managed to do with him. Enjoy!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]1. Welcome to our lovely island, Penang. Is this your first time travelling with Emma Hewitt?[/highlight]

This is my first time in Penang, but not my first time time in Malaysia, though. I’ve been here three times! I’ve done a few shows and performed with Emma before but yes, this is the first time we’re doing a two-gig performance tour like this. I hope you guys will enjoy it.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]2. What would you say; best describes your personal style, in terms of music?[/highlight]

I play usually very high energy trance and usually that comes with a high tempo also. But I’ve been interested in other styles, like drum and bass. I try to integrate the harder sounds of drum and bass into trance music lately.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]3. I’m a huge fan of D&B music too. Any personal favorites or must-listens that you’d like to recommend from your own discography?[/highlight]

From my own stuff, most requested tune that people seem to really enjoy is my remix of Paul Webster featuring Angelic Amanda called ‘Time’. Other than that, as far as reworks go, I’ve done this rework of a track by Breaking Benjamin & Carl B called ‘Diary of Jane’, and that definitely seems to be a crowd favorite.

[highlight style=”yellow” ]4.I’ve heard the Breaking Benjamin rework! Loved it. Will we be expecting to listen to it from you tonight, then?[/highlight]

It depends! All those are fast tunes like 138-140 bpm. Tonight I’m gonna try to keep it melodic, keep it relatively easier pace just to make sure everybody can really dance tonight *chuckles* 140 is really fast, you know!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]5. But that would be the main drive of the track! We Malaysians really know how to party hard![/highlight]

Yeah, that’s right. You can’t really have a low energy tune at 140 bpm. So, yeah okay that’s great then! We’ll see how it goes tonight! If it’s hard enough, I’ll play it!

[highlight style=”yellow” ]6. The pressure is on! What would you be expecting from your fans from Malaysia, in terms of crowd response?[/highlight]

For Malaysians, it’s always very enthusiastic fans who know the tracks. So they would usually sing along and dance, with a very high level of energy and enthusiasm. Really cool!

Before we ended the interview, I also managed to ask him to record a message to his Penang trance fans out there. Just for you!

And that’s a wrap!

It was an honour to speak to you both and personally ask you those questions exclusively! Hope to see you live in concert again some time soon.

So there you have it. Up close and personal with Emma Hewitt and  Sean Tyas. Special thanks to event organizers SOHO Group, KC and Friends as well as Titanium Event Management for tonight’s special arrangement.

In the meantime, dearest readers and trance fans, stay tuned to the full blog post coverage + video on the gig!