Hi everyone!

So good to be writing here in this space again. I know I haven’t been blogging for more than a week and yes, I even had to give last weekend’s edition of The Sunday Times a miss.

Haven’t gotten the chance to sit down nor even have time for myself! Given, the last few days have been extremely hectic.

Where do I even start?

I’ve got a new boss at the workplace, an increase of clients under my personal training sessions, more media appearances, engagements and events to attend, more ads to write and tighter deadlines! Any MORE and I think I’ll be going even way over my head!

But here I am taking a quick break from all of that to pen some of my musings here. Despite it being heaps more commercialized than it was 8 years ago, my blog is STILL my only escape, as I’d still like to call it, regardless.

Random selfie. Don’t mind me.

Anyway, here is a recap of two weeks worth of personal updates from The Sunday Times.

It’s gonna be looooooooooong! I think.

Set up an ab and arm routine for one of my sessions last week.

The usual gym jam slam with buddy Carl. It was coincidentally back and bicep day for us.

One of the killer ones I enjoy, the rear delt row.

Just one of the rare days I wanted to record some ab progress before my run.

Energy Boost running shoes sponsored by Adidas Malaysia.

It’s the latest in the market! Will be blogging a review about this soon too! 🙂

After my workout session, I headed down to Cold Storage to grab a bite.

Got a little pissed and irritated when I saw this on the shelves.

SLIMMING NUTS? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Get real please. I hope consumers aren’t silly enough.

There’s NO shortcut to being fit and healthy. Nuts can only help increase your dietary intake of protein, fats and carbohydrates to a certain percentage but its nutritional properties are not sufficient enough as a stand-alone staple in your diet.

So don’t be ridiculous. Marketing it as a slimming nut is only tantamount to a marketing gimmick.

Unless… these nuts has been enriched with fat burners or mobilizers, carb blockers and other thermogenic factors, which I highly doubt. Then… that’s another story.

Anyway! Speaking of which, let’s move on to some of my meals this week.

 Raw honey proats with blueberries and strawberries!

 Spinach, onions, tomatoes and steamed golden pomphret.

Chickpea salad with tuna and flaxseed.

Made 100% clean chocolate biscuit/crackers!

I was surprised it turned out well as I made it so randomly one morning.

Chocolate proats with soy and strawberries.

This lacked a lot of colour and it didn’t taste really good anyway

so I shan’t bother naming it.

Cannellini beans with hardboiled eggs, chili flakes and lettuce

 Vegetable and pork stew! Made an awful mistake using shells instead of arborio rice LOL

But at the end of the day it tasted yummy.

There is this other dish which I made which tasted amazing but it looks like utter garbage. No joke at all, it actually looks like someone’s puke. So I guess I’ll just exclude it from today’s post 😛

But apart from my success-failure rate of cooking, I look forward to Mondays!!!

Because at the beginning of every week, I plan my meals ahead. Yup, it’s meal prep Mondays!

Snacktime! Strawbies rule. ‘Nuff said.

Did you know that IKEA has a new menu?

I’ve mentioned this on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram before. IKEA has now added some new dishes to their menu, such as Nasi Lemak and Beef Ribs! They have also made some slight changes to their existing meals.

Their Poached Salmon now comes with brocolli-potato cakes and mixed vegetables instead of the initial baked potatos and brocolli.

Check out this Nasi Lemak from Hailam Kopitiam in Damansara Perdana!

Couldn’t help but to snap a picture of this. I just love the presentation of our traditional dish.

Would you like to have a plate of Malaysian? 😉

 Speaking of new menus, Hailam Kopitiam has just launched a new Premium Coffee series.

This is the flat white. Will be back to try the rest of their coffees!

More coffeetimes with bestieJoyce

Headed to Shogun Japanese Buffet and I completely went off my calorie intake for the day!

I was practically STUFFED with food

 Bought new sunglasses. What do you think?

 Made my ride happy by giving him a thorough wash and vacuum!

I’m pretty anal about its cleanliness and always try to make it as spotless as I can, both interior and exterior!

The weekend saw me heading out for the exclusive media launch of Oktoberfest 2013.

Jessicat wears: Buttoned-up sundress by H&M,

Supernova tote by Burberry, strappy heels in pink & orange by Aldo

Accessories sponsored by The Wild Things. Go shop for pretty stuff! I love their designs.

I brought Konzy along. We had a great time at the official launch of Oktoberfest 2013!

 So much food, drinks and merriment in the air. Full blog post soon!

Blue lights!

Our night didn’t end there, as we headed off to JUICE’s 9th anniversary birthday bash at STAGE KL.

 How time flies! JUICE is 9 already? I miss working in the editorial team, so much has changed since!

Came home to see my little precious standing on top of my fridge door.

I guess if he stares and meows at me long enough, I’ll end up giving him something to eat.

I changed my mind. He gets a hug instead.

Another weekend came round again and for the first time, I had to miss Arthur’s Day which I fervently attend every year!

Why? It was all worth it. I flew back to Penang that weekend to attend an old buddy’s wedding.

I’d never miss a friend’s big day for the world!

Congratulations Kooi & Karyn! May you both be blessed with love , happiness and abundance!

Had fun getting all dolled-up for the outdoor wedding party!

This makes me feel like having a garden wedding too.

Contact lens by Charmé.
Contact lens sponsored by: Ivilens.
Get yours at Ivilens.com!

After the wedding ceremony, we whisked off to MOIS, No.1 Upper Penang Road for our insane after-party!

Drenched the groom with 4 rounds of flaming lamborghinis to drink too.

As planned, he did end up extremely smashed that night 😛 More of the wedding coming soon!

BuddyKen made this really cool instant photo  thing for us at lunch one afternoon.

Being back in Penang had me going shopping. I ended up buying more equipment for my fitness arsenal.

Here are the new additions to the family!

Colorful kettlebells, weighted gloves, a steel skipping rope and heavy resistance bands.

Being back home also means taking a break from cooking and meal-prepping, but dictate how I want my

meals to be cooked instead. Check out the Asian version of my clean eating meals.

Ginger-steamed golden pomphret, braised pumpkin and shrimps, stir-fry spinach and carrots.

Some super random egg potato carrot cake.

Black beans and quesadillas from Chilis Bar and Grill.

And when I do eat out, I get snapped on candid camera taking photos of my food.

Oh typical Asian! *rolls eyes

Actually, I don’t know why or how the notion of ‘Asians taking photos of food’ came about.

I mean… surely ASIANS aren’t the only ones taking photos of their food? I’ve seen plenty of Westerners, Europeans and Middle Easterners do the same as well. Blame this on the ever-pervading Instagram culture. Hahaha!

I like my food. I love food. I love to eat. I’m such a fatty HAHAHA.

This means something. Penang International Airport.

Airport means goodbyes.

Or it could also mean hello.

Sunny afternoons heading out for a casual lunch date back in KL!

Jessicat wears: Tank in blue and skinny belt by MNG | high-waisted shorts by Supre |

| accessories a gift from thebestie| tote bag by SEED |

| Classic Suede sneakers sponsored by PUMA Malaysia |

 Surprised Kon on his birthday at midnight!

He doesn’t like surprises. But I’m pretty big on surprises and I always think it’s such a nice thing to do!

Jessicat wears: Geometric print tank by Forever 21| black shorts by MNG |

| accessories from PDI | studded phone case by Topshop |

| high-top sneakers by Playboy |

Dressed like this on a weekday night. Where am I going?

 To watch my idol in action – PORTER ROBINSON!

He’s my favorite complextro, electro house, dubstep DJ-Producer.

AND I WAS SO LUCKY TO PERSONALLY MEET HIM AND TALK TO HIM.

I WAS ECSTATIC WHEN I GOT A HUG FROM HIM TOO! I GAVE HIM THE BIGGEST BEAR HUG EVER.

I HAVEN’T FELT THIS WAY ABOUT A PERFORMER EVER SINCE MY MAD CRUSH ON MATT LE BLANC OF F.R.I.E.N.D.S WHEN I WAS 10 OR CHUCK BASS FROM GOSSIP GIRL WHEN I WAS 21.

I’m completely smitten by his music and persona.

Okay okay enough gushing. More about this in another blog post!

Had only 3 hours of sleep right after Porter Robinson’s gig as it was a weekday damnit!

So caffeine was my only fuel to keep me from falling asleep LOL

Spotted an adorable yellow duckling over the weekend while shopping.

I just wish I could bring it home and make it mine! I’m a sucker for soft toys.

Dahla bukan kanak-kanak lagi tetapi masih meminati mainan comel sebegini!

Tak malu pun. I’m an overgrown child.

The weekend saw me landing myself in a shoot for a road safety commercial.

This is a Public Service Announcement. Episode 1 is going to be about Safety Belts – Better to be Safe than Sorry.

Haha there were a few funny bloopers that I’d like to share from my scene!

Also, the fact that it was filmed with me actually driving around without a seat belt, and simulating a road accident scene with ACTUAL cops tailing me really freaked me out. I hope they didn’t find my repetitive driving around the highway too fishy nor suspicious.

Nanti kena tangkap pulak!

I was also invited to attend the Grand Launch of Epiphany Coffee & Tobacco.

This is the latest tobacconist and coffee connoisseurs to hit the market!

Took heaps and heaps of photos, will be blogging all about this cafe soon.

Outfit of that night. Jessicat wears: Striped long tank by MNG | Accessories by DIVA |

Tessuto Saffiano tote bag by Prada | newspaper print leggings a gift from an aunt |

Jeffrey Campbell inspired booties by H&M

No, to answer some of your questions, I don’t dress up all the time.

Here’s me looking like a Plain Jane during office hours.

I hope that my other commitments and work won’t take too much of my time, as I wish to be back here speaking to you again very soon! There’s so many things I have lined up to blog about but alas, so little time! Sometimes, I wish I could take a sabbatical off work for a month to reshuffle my priorities and focus on this blog again.

Farewell party to a colleague that has recently left to take a break!

That being said, have a lovely week ahead and don’t let stress take its toll on you.

Yeah, I totally have to heed my own advice.

 I need a break myself. Totally 🙁

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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!

Finally! After all the urgent commitments to other more important posts, I can finally continue where I left off from my birthday series. Ladies and gents, today’s post will be Part 4 of my birthday celebrations.

Here are the previous ones!

Birthday Part 1

Birthday Part 2

Birthday Part 3

I did mention that I did not want to throw a huge smashin’ birthday party again like I do every year as it somehow always ends up an imperative that I get drop dead drunk.

However, The Pool KL so graciously decided to sponsor me a smaller party at their premises and even gave me a bottle of Smirnoff vodka to enjoy with my guests.

How could I refuse such a sweet gesture?

Thus, I found myself making invitations to give my closest friends outside my social media circle.

Only because if I were to include buddies from my industry, I would take up the entire venue!

So with all my guests RSVPing (despite the last minute invitation, sorry!) the plans for my small, cosy birthday party was ready to rumble! Let’s just hope it goes regardless of the number of pax – it’s the company that matters after all, not the quantity!

We arrived in style at and waited for the rest of our buddies.

The Pool KL was looking really pretty that night!

Couldn’t help but to take photos with the bar, the pool and the pretty lights while waiting!

Not too long after, my guests started to arrive one by one.

Cue the party photos!

Yay! Larry, my first guest arrived!

Gradually, more and more of them began trickling in. Second and third to arrive was Jeffro and Hisham!

Cheers!

Then my girlies Pam and Ning arrived! 😀

Not long after, my long-time buddies Anis and Sharlyn walked in!

Wheeeee reunion photo! We go back all the way to 2007

Sarah made it despite having troubles with the cab driver. Mwah!

The more the merrier!

Smile!

Apart from The Pool KL’s bottle of vodka, we also got ourselves more drinks!

All of us at the table!

Before we knew it,  we were treated to a “first class” full frontral view of a pyro act!

From fire-twirling, fire-eating, fire-breathing, fire-juggling and so much more.

What a daredevil act of bravery! I’ve always been intrigued by fire.

But little did I know that I would be picked by the folks of The Pool KL to join the stuntman for a fire performance.

As frightened as I was, I gave it a go. Performing with fire on my birthday? Heck, why not? Bucket list checked!

I recalled my similar experience fire-twirling back in Australia so I decided that I shouldn’t be as frightened anymore. Mustering all the courage I had in me, I then braved myself to lick the flames and to also do a little bit of fire-twirling – sorry, I was a tad rusty! It has been a couple of years after all.

Here’s a short video footage of my playing with fire in front of everybody!

I must admit, it was rather daunting but I hope I pulled it off alright.

Video credits: Jeff Ong

Thanks so much for the video Jeffro! x

After the fiery act, we continued partying!

I began to pour more rounds of neat vodka for my buddies.

Straight from the bottle!

(P/S: Damn I know I look quite cock-eyed here but alas, it’s the only picture I have of this!)

Pretty sure finishing this would be no problem, right guys? 😉

Bottoms up!

Selfie! Damn my huge fat face seems to take up almost half this photo.

Sarah love and I! xo

Big smiles to friendship and beyond!

Another one for the road!

Thank you so much, everyone for taking the time to come all the way here to celebrate my birthday with me over a couple of drinks, chit-chatting and music! Your company really meant a lot.
Thanks for the lovely birthday presents as well!

Last but not least, thank you The Pool KL for hosting me a great night and a great birthday experience.

Later into the night, we found ourselves moving on to Zouk for an after-party as I was given a 10 pax guestlist to fill in. Yay! So much for not wanting to party hard huh…

To be continued! 😉

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[highlight style=”yellow” ]For more information on The Pool KL or to make your reservations:[/highlight]

Log on to their official website at: www.thepoolkl.com

LIKE them on Facebook at: facebook.com/thepoolkl

Contact them via their phone number at: +6017-998 5577

Drop by this address: 347 Jalan Ampang, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening hours Wednesdays – Sundays: 5pm – 3am

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!

Remember my weekend spent in darkness?

It was spent in the city after sunset, going to a dimly lit massage & spa centre, eating out late at night, partying at Zouk Club KL. Blog post: here

As expected, I would always never get decent photos of my nightlife with just my mobile phone… but that weekend was different. With my new sidekick, I managed to snap awesome photos to remember my weekend!

Did you manage to guess what new gadget that was?

If you didn’t… allow me to reveal its identity.
Drumroll please.

Say hello to the very special, tiny yet mighty gadget, the: NOKIA LUMIA 9

Yup, this is Nokia’s latest smart phone.
One that prides itself on its low-light photography abilities!

I’ve been with my new Nokia Lumia 925 for more than a month now and I must say I am truly impressed with it.
No matter how much technology has advanced, no matter how many gadget brands come up with crazier and crazier mobile phones and no matter which smartphone is the mainstream favorite now, truth is, I’ll always be a Nokia girl at heart.

Getting a little nostalgic here, but my very first cellphone was a Nokia.
It was the legendary, invincible, meme-popular and crabshell opener (LOL) phone:

NOKIA 3310

After that phone served me for a good few years in primary school, I moved on to something cooler – the Nokia 3315. Then, when everyone at school had coloured screens and polyphonic ringtones which were all the rage back then (Gosh I feel old now), my parents got me the Nokia 3100 – in light pink!

Someone then stole it from me in a shopping mall and I was so heartbroken.

My godmum came to my rescue and since I loved Nokia so much, she bought me the Nokia 3220.

That, to my best memory was really cool! The sides would light up and glow in the dark whenever my phone rang!

My then-boyfriend had a Nokia too; it was the Nokia N-Gage. We spent lotsa time playing music and mobile gaming on his phone! It was top notch in the market for its sound system too at the time.

In college and university, I was bitten by the smartphone bug and switched sides after winning one in a contest.
Who would have known 12 years down the road after my first love Nokia, I would be proudly using a Nokia once more?

 I was smitten all over again, I tell ya.

At a glance, the Nokia Lumia 925 has a very pretty display and looks amazingly slim, sleek and stylish.

I loved it smooth metal finish and shiny silver body. The look and feel was just spectacular.

You really should hold one for yourself and feel the difference.

In terms of user experience, its display was sharp, crisp and sported bright and strong colours.

The transition from page to page was smooth and I found myself switching between screens and apps flawlessly.

I use a Windows 8 computer so I was practically soaring through the Nokia Lumia 925 like a breeze.

Everything, including the apps and icons on the homepage are all customizable too!

On to its ground-breaking, jaw-dropping camera capabilities.
Here are some very fascinating facts about Nokia’s camera smartphone capabilities.

It is of no surprise that the Nokia Lumia 925’s wondrous camera can take such captivating photos, especially at night as it has 6 physical lenses and uses Carl Zeiss optics!

In fact, I actually took two photos at the exact same moment and exact same place with: my own smartphone V/S the Nokia Lumia 925 just to compare the two images taken and I was shocked at the difference!
Take a look:

Photo takenwith my own smartphone

(pretty obvious which phone, eh? Clue: you probably have the same phone)

V/S

Photo taken with the Nokia Lumia 925.

Unbelievable, right? No editing done on both photos btw!

How does Nokia Malaysia’s cover photo look? Nice? 😛

It came as a surprise when my friends informed me that two of my photos taken with the Nokia Lumia 925 ended up featured as the cover photo for Nokia Malaysia’s official Facebook page! Squeeee!

Here they are. Thanks for the shout out Nokia!

I guess it really shows how gorgeous the photos taken from the Nokia Lumia 925 can turn out to be!

I’m trying in vain to be subtle here LOL but take a look at this comparison.

Check out this ad which speaks for itself.
I myself own both these phones and I can totally vouch for this.

And don’t get me started on the built-in photo editing apps that comes with it!
It was so much fun playing and experimenting with its revolutionary camera.

I loved how the Nokia Lumia 925 can instantly snap photos with just a tap on the screen too.

That way, it auto-focuses on the tapped spot and brightens & illuminates the photograph sans the grainy noise.
The result? A much clearer and brighter image even under terrible, dim lighting!
I wonder how they come up with such a technology.

With a camera like that on my mobile phone, I wouldn’t need to lug  my heavy camera anymore, eh? 😉

Check out this very interesting and informational video to see how the
Nokia Lumia 925’s camera works and its camera user interface.

Check out some of the other types of photos that I’ve snapped with my Nokia Lumia 925 on very, very dim lighting.

From self-shots, to indoor ones, to food and many more!

More amazing low-light photography I’ve snapped with the Nokia Lumia 925 in my previous blog post: here.

Many of you have been telling me that the only setback of using a Nokia is that you would have to say goodbye to Instagram, as Nokia’s operating system, Windows 8, did not have an app for it.
But guess what?

Windows 8 has just launched its official Instagram client app, 6tag!

Admittedly, I was out of touch for a while. But not only did Nokia’s incredulous progress and change impress me by tenfold, its interface, features and capabilities made me swoon.

Its user-friendliness and remarkable battery life, however,

remained the same – just as I fondly remembered it.

I also used the Nokia Lumia 925 a lot for browsing. The loading time was short and the pages, images and text rendered very smoothly. I did not experience any lag.
Calling and texting was a piece of cake too – the clarity and reception were excellent.
In terms of media playback, like its sound, music and videos, I was very happy with the quality both with and without earphones.

For my tech-savvy readers out there, here are the specifications:

I am so ecstatic to be finally using a non-mainstream phone once again.

One that I daresay is probably better and kicks ass harder than all the other smartphones out there.

Oh by the way, it also charges wirelessly. That’s right, no more messy, tangled wires! Heaven just heard my plea 😉

Can your mobile phone do that?

 Overall, it’s powerful, vibrant and smooth on the inside and extremely light and classy on the outside.

For a girl very particular with gadget aesthetics like I am, this Nokia Lumia 925 is certainly more than just a pretty boy that blew me away.

I think I’ve just fallen in love all over again.

———————————————————————————————–

For more information (as if my gloating about this phone wasn’t enough!) on how you can experience a Nokia Lumia 925 like no other, log onto www.nokia.com.my for more details about this prized possession.