Life in Manchester: 30 Seconds To Mars

I came to realize that I would probably given the opportunity to meet my favorite celebrities once I am no longer go crazy over them. Point proven upon Jozan (Johan+Zizan) at the Lawak Ke Der 2 showcase, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda when I attended Living Things concert, Alessandro Del Piero at Soccer Aid 2014 (will talk about that later), BSB In A World Like This concert (also, later).

I didn't get to meet Sofi Jikan yet simply because, as I wrote this, I am still obsessed with him. I hope in near future when I'm all over him, I'll get the opportunity to do a selfie with him.

So, Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars was one of my item of obsession. However, it was just a short term crush which lasted for a year. If you wanna know who Jared Leto is, he's an Oscar winner 2014, played numerous movies and dramas; My So Called Life, Urban Legend, Lord of War, and the upcoming movie Suicide Squad 2016 (played as The Joker).

And believe me, I did not see this coming. I mean seeing him in person before the concert. I bought the VIP package where I could meet and greet him with the rest of the band, Shannon Leto & Tomo Miličević .

Before I go further on how it all happened, let me give a little brief on the band 30 Seconds To Mars. Some described them as an emo band, some says they're a gothic band. I'd say that they're an expressive American Rock band. They express their ideas, give words of encouragement and spread love through music. And they bring out a brand new cult through music and their fans, the Echelon, I am one of them.

The VIP meet and greet package was bloody expensive, but what the heck! I bought them anyway. I came early to avoid traffic, because I assume I might be surrounded with energetic and ballistic fans. The difference between Malaysian fans and the Western fans is that Malaysian are cultured, polite and courteous people when in concerts. But on a daily basis, we're still not as chivalrous as the British.

We (The VIP fans) were taken to a room somewhere way down the basement and waited. I studied the room and noticed that I was the only Asian in the room, an awkward feeling kicks in. I was neither nervous nor bored. In fact the rest of them in the room were as calm as me. When Jared, Shanon & Tomo came in, I'd expect screaming fans. No, they were professional enough to just say "hi" to the band members and not trying to become the hoard of bandits as I expected. I learned that these fans have been in a Meet & Greet session many times before, so meeting them was like meeting an old friend.

The Meet & Greet session allows you to ask questions to the band, but I didn't. I was either tongue-tied or I simply have no brilliant questions to ask. I could just ask them what are their plans 30 years from now? Or, ":I have a cat, Jato named after you. What would you name your pet?" But I just want to stare at Jared Leto's blue eyes and admire him.

Me with the band: L-R Tomo, Shanon, me and Jared

I can tell that they had better Meet & Greet sessions in London because they couldn't just stop talking about it. The photo sessions with the band was swift. Did I not tell you some of the VIP fans were as old as my aunts? No kidding. They were even more excited than us, youngsters. Some of this aunties insisted Jared to sign on her shoulder. What the fuck was that? You expect that's gonna be tattooed? Perhaps. She might have them straight to a tattoo parlor and have it embedded into her skin.

So yeah, I was fortunate enough to be in the first row to see everything.. Despite, the pushing, shoving, jostling, I managed to stay resilient to my spot. Overall, it was a fun first experience concert in overseas. I can now 'check' my bucket list.

City of Angels, ignore my katak voice.

Travelling Tips

I've been travelling a lot since I joined UTM International Business School (UTM IBS). Australia, Thailand, China, even within Malaysia like Kelantan, Perak, Johor (of course). So I thought, why not list out travelling tips which some are commonly known and some from my travelling experience. I hope this will benefit those first timers.

Sharing my tea with a Zebra in Brussels, Belgium

Tip #1: Flight. If you have done online check in, be at the gates at least 30 minutes before they close or 10 minute-ish before they open. If you haven't, it is best to be at the airport like a couple of hours earlier. However, this might not be a helpful tip for the frequent travelers like going on a business trip, conference or just happen to like traveling via because they know how to time themselves from entering the gate, to the security check in to get aboard. And they are familiar with the layout of the terminal. If you have done some homework on the layout of the terminal where you depart, i.e. know how long does it takes to get you to the gate, then that's fine. Otherwise, don't risk yourself of being late for boarding.

Tip #2: Muslim travelers, bring along clay soap with you whenever you travel. We, Malaysian Muslim are mostly cynophobia. I don't see fear coming from my other Muslim friends when they canines or dogs walking near them. In fact I know some of them have them as pets. We fear getting close to them because most of us believe dogs are ritually unclean (najis) & if we touch them wet, we need to cleanse ourselves with clay. So, that's why I suggest to bring a clay soap with you. For me, I use Taharah soap (this is not a promotion, you're free to find any brands of clay soap you can find). Also, the clay soap is being used to wash the dishes provided in the apartment/hostels/lodging in case if the previous guests have been eating non-halal stuff.

Tip #3: For tourists. Avoid donning yourselves with luxury branded material on a theft-prone places even though they're fake. Places like Rome, Paris, where there are lots of immigrants now. Be mindful of what you wear. You're not a parading model on a fashion week, it attracts pick pockets. Dress as casual as possible to avoid attention. Sometimes, I always want to wear something tattered so people might think I'm homeless. However, I could be a target of another group, the police *='P Also, dress as comfy as possible, travelling would require alot of walking or going to places.

Tip #4: Before booking an accommodation, DO YOUR HOMEWORK first. Read reviews of the accommodation from previous guests via Tripadvisor or booking.com or any other travelling blogs and websites. Don't just read one review, read 3 to 4 at least so you can get a general idea how good or shitty the lodgings are. Also, don't stop there. Check its accessibility to eateries and tourists spots as well.

Tip #5: That universal adapter is so helpful, man! You cannot get them in UK/Europe. I think they do have them somewhere in the traveling shop in the airport but it's bloody expensive. Go and get them at Tesco for RM20++ (not sure of the current price).

Tip#6: Another tip for the Muslims which related to tips#2. Muslims everywhere may have different ways of do things compared to Malaysian Muslims, due to different sect (mazhab). Do not bother to explain the local Muslims in Paris that you are doing jamak prayer when they invited you to pray jumaah together. They don't get this. Don't cringe when you see the local Muslims in Turkey walk their dogs. Don't get a shock of your life when observe some of them pray 7 rakaat plus plus for Maghrib (don't laugh, it's true. My Afghani boyfriend practice this). I am no pious, but I suggest do a little bit of homework on the local Muslims of the country you intend to visit, know which Mazhab are they from so you won't get culture shock. See how different their practices are compared to us. One thing I like about traveling is that you get to know different mazhabs and you are aware about Sunnis, Shiah, Ahmadiyya, etc.

I have a few more traveling tips coming along.

Spring break in Nice, France

If Academic Writing Are Created Out of Songs We Hear

State of Depression

Feeling depressed is a mental state that suppressed the mood of being contented. The idea of feeling depressed often comes from negative aura that circulated around a person. This negative vibes come from interacting with bad mix of people who had the tendency to psychologically abuse victims into depression and this repetitive process could weaken the victim’s spirit (Simple Plan, 2004). According to Linkin Park (2003) the unmet gap between external expectations (of the victim’s capabilities) and victim’s actual capabilities creates tension that gradually became a “numb” feeling. This notion is also supported by Eminem’s real life experimentation that includes bad parenting (2001) and “f*cked up” relationships (Eminem, 2000). Consequently from the experiment, victims of psychological abuse that experiencing depression, would retaliate and became defensive and vulgar to their attacker (Eminem, 2001) but others remain reserved and let karma do the work (Keys, 2004; Timberlake, 2006).

However, there are several literatures that provide different views otherwise. 50 Cent (2003), cited by West and T-Pain (2007) argues that despite the fact that the victim experiencing negative vibes around bad mix of people, the victim should continue to be positive, enjoy the goodness of life and “let the money pile up”. Perry (2013), Aguilera and Kim (2003) and Clarkson (2012) added that when the victim is mentally brought down by these people, they will gather strength to become more resilient, fight back and “roar”.

But Swift (2012) argues that interacting with “troubled” people is not the main contribution for depression as it is avoidable; the victim chooses to be associated with them which caused the depression. Furthermore, the state of people in a sadistic relationship suggest that harmful is pleasurable (Rihanna, 2009), yet the act of being harmful with no affection is what some victims seek for (Three Days Grace, 2006).

In other words, the act of feeling melancholic is rooted upon victim’s decisions that the end result could bring to that effect. Therefore, one can avoid him/herself from encountering depression by associating with positive people to gain the virtuous energy and they are the ones “to turn to” when one were let down (Aguilera, 2000; Swift, 2013; Knowles et al. 2005) because they help to see perfection in a person’s flaw (One Direction, 2012; Legend, 2014). Besides that, self-reflecting also helps to boost confidence and generate self-affection (Aguilera, 2002; Aguilera 2003; Carey, 2000; Knowles, 2003). Houston and Carey (1998) added that optimism helps to see opportunities beyond impossibilities that promote self-gratification.

Another way to avoid depression is to break away from a short respite such as partying, sex and alcohol drinking (LMFAO and John, 2009; Wayne et al. 2009; Mars, 2012) but one could still feel depressed with the after-consumption effects. The best option is to involve into spiritual activities to cleanse one’s mind and soul (30 Seconds to Mars, 2009; Zain and Kurtis, 2009). And a “happy” person spreads positive vibes to others (Williams, 2013).

References

1.       Simple Plan (2004) “Welcome To My Life”, Still Not Getting Any..., Atlantic Records

2.       Linkin Park (2003) “Numb”, Meteora, Warner Bros, New Orleans

3.       Eminem (2001) “Cleaning Out My Closet”, The Eminem Show; Shady/Aftermath/Interscope

4.       Eminem (2000) “Kim”, The Marshall Mathers LP; Aftermath/Interscope

5.       Keys, A. (2004) “Karma”, The Diary of Alicia Keys; KrucialKeys Studios/Quad Recording Studios, New York

6.       Timberlake, J. (2006) “What Goes Around... Comes Around”, FutureSex/LoveSounds; Thomas Crown Studios, Virginia

7.       50-Cent (2003) “In Da Club”, Get Rich or Die Tryin'; Shady/Aftermath/Interscope

8.       West, K., T-Pain (2007) “The Good Life”, Graduation; Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records,

9.       Perry, K. (2013) “Roar”, Prism; Capitol Records

10.   Aguilera, C., Kim, L. (2003) “Can’t Hold Us Down”, Stripped; RCA

11.   Clarkson, K. (2012) “Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)” Stronger; RCA, Los Angeles, California

12.   Swift, T. (2012) “I Knew You Were Trouble”, Red; MXM Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)/Conway Studios (Los Angeles, California)

13.   Rihanna (2009) “Russian Roulette”, Rated-R; Roc the Mic Studios, New York

14.   Three Days Grace (2006) “Pain”, One-X; Jive Records

15.   Aguilera, C (2000) “I Turn To You”, Christina Aguilera; RCA

16.   Swift, T. (2013) “22”, Red; Big Machine/Republic

17.   Knowles, B., Rowland, K., Williams, M. (2005) “Girl”, Destiny Fulfilled; Columbia Records

18.   One Direction (2012) “Little Things”, Take Me Home; Syco Lable, Sticky Studios (Windlesham, Surrey)

19.   Legend, J. (2013) “All of Me”, Love in the Future; GOOD, Columbia Records

20.   Aguilera, C (2002) “Beautiful”, Stripped; RCA, The Enterprise Studios (Burbank)/Conway Studios (Hollywood)

21.   Aguilera, C (2003) “The Voice Within” Stripped; RCA, The Record Plant (Hollywood), NRG Recording Studios (North Hollywood)

22.   Carey, M. (2000) "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)", Rainbow; Columbia Records

23.   Knowles, B. (2003) “Me, Myself & I”, Dangerously In Love; Columbia Records, South Beach Studios (Miami, Florida)

24.   Carey, M., Houston, W. (1998) “When You Believe”, The Prince of Egypt: Music from the Motion Picture, #1's and My Love Is Your Love; DreamWorks/Columbia/Arista, New York

25.   LMFAO, John, L. (2009) “Shots” Sorry for Party Rocking (International Edition), Party Rock and Crunk Rock; Interscope/will.i.am Music Group/Cherrytree

26.   Wayne, L., Gudda, G., Minaj, M., Drake, Tyga, Millz, J. (2009) “BedRock”, We Are Young Money; Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown

27.   Mars, B. (2012) “Locked Out of Heaven”, Unorthodox Jukebox; Atlantic

28.   30 Seconds To Mars (2009) “Kings and Queens”, This is War; Virgin Records/EMI, The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound, Los Angeles, California

29.   Zain, M., Kurtis, M., (2009) “Subhanallah” Thank You Allah; Awakening Records