Damn this global warming

As I type this entry, snow is falling heavily in Dublin. Well, at least Blanchardstown as far as I can see and through reports on Facebook. Only about an hour ago, I was happily riding on my Vespa to get some groceries and some petrol to last me for my commute next week.

Damn you Global Warming!

Now, it looks like all that petrol is just going to have to sit in the tank for the next few days. The snow will also probably mean I'll have to pop over to the local Spar and get myself a 5-day bus pass. Even worse than the thought of having to endure public transport once again is the possibility of having to wake up at least an hour than I normally do.

A good-looking fella like me needs his beauty sleep you know.

Of the small minority that would welcome the snow are Search, Hujan and their entourage who I believe are somewhere between London and Liverpool at the moment. Presumably, like most Malaysians, they would have little or no experience with snow so, the whole thing would be as magical to them as it was to me when I first saw snow.

Here's wishing the two bands all the best for their last gig in the UK and hope they get the best of this weather without having to face its dreadful drawbacks.

To the rest of us plebes, spring can't come soon enough!

Search live in Dublin

There’s been a growing trend of Malaysian celebrities popping over to Dublin lately. It might be a quick trip to buy the latest season’s designer handbags (with your beloved old Dato'), visiting relatives or playing the odd gig. The people at Tourism Ireland must be doing some good work over in the Far East, eh?

Anyway, to add to that ever-growing list, Search (the Malaysian rock legends and not some search engine rival to Google) flew over to Ireland last weekend to do at least two of the above. While I didn’t join their wives and entourage shopping around Grafton Street, I did get to go to their gig in Temple Bar. Here's the band performing one of their hit songs that night...

I was right at the front and centre throughout the gig. So, until Astro or Melodi come out with their official coverage of the whole thing, this is as good as it gets.

It seemed quite odd paying €25 to see Search in Dublin when about a quarter of a century ago, I remember being dragged by my Pak Ngah to the annual Pesta Pulau Pinang to watch them play live for around 5 ringgit (around a euro these days and probably a lot less then).

Fortunately, although ticket prices have gone sky-high since the Pesta Pulau Pinang days, Search has remained at their semi-stoned, face-melting, rocking best!

Also, worthy of a mention are Malaysian veterans to the UK gig scene, Hujan and Dublin-based M. Nasir protégés, Dub Apokalipto. Hujan definitely exceeded my expectations of them. They're so good that I'm working on getting all their CDs as I write. To put this into perspective, as far as I can remember, the last time I've bought a CD was probably close to 10 years ago!

On the origin of the (Vespisti) species

Sometimes, I do get that guilty feeling and head off to the gym. The guilt largely stems from the fact that I've got a €40 or so Direct Debit hitting my bank account at the start of the month rather than the excess 20kgs that's been on me for the past few years!

So, you see, I don't really like going to the gym. Some days I feel like a puny little Vespa surrounded by the more muscle-bound, horsepower loaded bikes around me.

I blame my bad back though for making me dislike the gym. Seemingly, my back bone is badly mis-aligned because of a fall I had when I was 7. To cut a long story short, I fell head first into an open monsoon drain. The drain was about 6 feet deep and as you can imagine, the fall caused a big gash in my head.

I eventually made my way out of the drain thinking that everything was all good until I heard the horrifying screams from people around me. I was 7 and thought it was way cool to look like some Zombie from Kampong Pisang scaring all the other school kids away!

My Mama disagreed though. After getting over the blood gushing out of my head (and obviously making sure I wasn't a real zombie), she gave me a stern look and told me to wipe that stupid smile off my face. I duly complied.

Anyway, I think I was given the wrong medical explanation for my condition. I blame the Vespa. Due to its inherent design flaw, I believe scooterists the world over have had to adapt. To evolve.

I think one of my ass cheeks is bigger than the other!

PS: Went to Search's gig in Dublin last night. More on that over the next few days...