Jun Beng's Review on Music

Top Ten Music for 2008 (Across All Genres)

Year 2008 is coming to an end and it has been a rich year for music amidst the global economic dilemma. This list is a special review from me dedicated to the music industry for the year 2008! Do check out these songs!

A list of songs released in 2008 which are catchy, meaningful, and an all time favourites regardless of the songs' genres. Peer review and personal preferences are fully accounted for the list. The links to the songs are provided below the stated songs.

1. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHnJGXwr-HU

2. Viva La Vida by Coldplay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE

3. No Air by Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBdQs10FEI

4. Carry You Home by James Blunt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BdnwBsWpkY

5. Take A Bow by Rihanna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7XIc36sXs

6. Always Be My Baby by David Cook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8j0_qfxL-0 (the official video isn't released yet)

7. One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzyys6kW8yg

8. Disturbia by Rihanna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Mprmru2D4

9. What About Now by Chris Daughtry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylgchWR-Ig (this video clip is simply beautiful!)

10. Better In Time by Leona Lewis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrNoDUblAtE

This list is compiled by Kong Jun Ming and Kong Jun Beng. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy these great hits!

Offer of Admission at International Medical University (IMU)

Medicine at IMU

Hi there,

Sorry for the late updates. I was busy with my finals and with the task of representing my baking academy for two exhibitions. Anyway, i just got my offer from IMU dated 11th of December 2008. The institution offered me a place for Partner Medical School Medical Programme (PMS) which translates to the idiotic chef who is typing this down having the opportunity to be a doctor! Yay me! Okay, that's lame. Anyway, during the exhibition at Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) on the 6th of December i distinctly remembered helping a student out while i was handing out free food to the public by offering him some tips on IMU's interview. At that point, i didn't even know that i was offered a place at IMU. So, the saying that when you help others out you will be blessed yourself isn't actually false, is it?

By the by, i am still awaiting for the outcome of my applications for medicine from Monash Malaysia and dentistry from University of Adelaide. I hope that they'll get back to me before my IMU's payment deadline which is on the 26th of December. Just so you know, South Australian Matriculation (SAM) results were released yesterday, 17th of December 2008. Good luck to those of you doing SAM. I know i shouldn't be saying this considering the fact that some of you are my competitors and are applying for medicine and dentistry, but i still wish all of you the best of luck!

Lastly, to the rest of you out there who are curious and would like to know more about applying for a medical or dental course in Australia or in IMU, feel free to write to me and I'll try my best to get back to you. I might be able to help you guys/gals with the interviews and the application procedures that i have gone through.

One Step At A Time

HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!

Christmas is around the corner and the presence of this significant day could already be felt with Christmas carols being played in radio channels, promotions on Christmas products looming over shopping complexes and some with high spirits over this holiday could be seen on the streets. Well, i love Christmas not merely because i am a Christian but i also love it for the typical warm atmosphere as well as the ambiance this holiday generates. The decorations and celebrations are fabulous too! So, what do you guys/gals have in mind for your Christmas or New Year's resolution?

For me, i think i would have to take things one step at a time. I realise that i cannot sit still in a place for too long and i barely have much time for myself. I am always engaged in something and sometimes, time is so vicious as to not permit me to do all that i want to do. Hating this idea, i try fighting it by doing A LOT of things at one time and the outcome of it? Well, its either average or plainly horrendous. So, my resolution for this Christmas would be to learn to sit back a while and breathe, dealing with matters one by one at my own pace. I should seriously learn to walk before i start running.

Just to make this blog more tasty, i would like to show you all what i have done for my exam. I flew solo today and the set isn't complete though (Everyone has a partner except for me. My partner has tumor and had stopped his classes).

Appetizer- Prawn Cocktail

Soup - French Onion soup boiled with beer. Its not complete as it wasn't topped with crouton.

Main course - Chicken Parmagiana with homemade pasta. Hmm... yummy!

Well, by displaying those pictures, i hope you guys/gals will have more faith in my cooking. Haha. Okay, i am so desperate for recognition now! ^.^ Anyway, happy holidays and Merry Christmas. I have schooling for 21 days non- stop and a hospital attachment after that. From my point of view, i might be spending my holidays looking at people who are sick and at dead bodies. =.=! My piece of advice (to myself and the rest of you reading this), enjoy your holidays while you still can.

Impotence

Impotence

This post has elements of Jun Beng ranting. No point for you to continue reading on unless you are keen to know what's going on.

A few days ago, the mother of a friend of mine who works at the place i am pursuing culinary arts accidentally slipped by the staircase and fell right under my nose. Initially, i thought what had happened and i stood motionless for a couple of seconds. She was yelping in pain and i guessed that she must have strained her leg. I rushed downstairs and wondered what to do. Although it wasn't an emergency that places the question of life and death at stake, that moment still struck me as i thought "What can i do? I am not a doctor. I have no idea of how to deal with this type of situation!"



The only thing i could do then was to bring her to the clinic close to my baking academy. Other than that, i am left helpless. What if there isn't a clinic or any health care service around the corner? What should i do then? Seriously, feeling impotent is the worst feeling for me. I would like to help people out when they're in trouble and my desire to be a doctor grew even more. Okay, i know that there are tonnes of other professions that help societies in different ways but that doesn't discount my urge for becoming a doctor (I am not going to talk about it in this post. Its really long). Anyway, realising the fact that i might not even be selected into any medical schools makes things worse. I know there's nothing that i could do now. But then again, impotence arises.



See, once in a while life will pour some situations whereby we humans will be left, impotent. For me, its like the time when both my grandads died, the time when my aunt died of cancer, the time when another of my aunt who had diabetes and there was a stage whereby it was critical, the time when i couldn't help my friends or those dearest to me in certain matters (this sucks!), the time when i am sitting here wondering whether i ll ever be accepted for medicine, the time when.... it's never ending and really, this post is nothing more than a post where i rant. But seriously, isn't it good to be in the know?



Anyway, back to the lady who slipped. Her name is Sandra. My friends from culinary arts brought her back up as she didn't want to go to the clinic just then. The boss of my baking academy, Liz insisted that she goes to the clinic and we sort of carried her there. She got really dizzy in the clinic. Throughout the way, all i did (as i thought it was right) was just being there, carrying her around from time to time, comforting her and asking her to relax.



Well, I know its pretty useless of me but just recently i managed to think of this (perhaps, just to give myself some satisfaction so that i don't feel useless). As Sir William Osler, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, noted that medicine is (this was taken from IMU's brochure by the way) "to acquire facility in the art of diagnosis....bla bla bla (its really long)... to conduct treatment that the patient may be restored to health... or, failing that, be given the greatest possible measure of relief"



I think that although i failed to treat Sandra's leg, at least i have tried my best to give her a measure of relief by being compassionate. Its a form of medicine in action (okay! this is so me giving myself some solace!)! By the way, i noticed that a lot of doctors these days are rather mechanical and robotic and some have money radiated clearly from their eyes and its not wrong cause everyone is different! But if i were to ever become a doctor, i most certainly will not follow their footsteps.

A Very Reasonable Treat

What's For Lunch? (RM 2/0.57 US Dollars per meal!)

RM2 (0.57 US Dollars) for a meal in Kuala Lumpur? Hard to believe but do check out Ho Guang Vegetarian Fast Food which is situated in Seri Petaling (close to the new police station which is under construction). They have a variety of vegetarian dishes and goodness, the pricing is extremely reasonable. A choice of Chinese tea or plain water is offered as drinks and could be replenished anytime but the best part is, they're free! Their most common course is rice with a selection of three side dishes of your choice priced at only RM2 (0.57 US Dollars)! They also offer other dishes such as vegetarian noodles and vegetarian tidbits and the prices vary. The restaurant is rather clean, the food tastes not bad and the ambience is alright. The only form of media there is a display of a Buddhist monk preaching. Perhaps the restaurant is charity based to feed the poor or to promote vegetarian lifestyle? I have no idea but anyone from all walks of life is welcomed. Its a self service restaurant though which means that you will have to order and collect your own food at the counter but for the price you are paying, i guess that won't be a problem at all! To the beggars or those who are pretending to be beggars out there, this might just be the perfect place for you to dine!

All these for RM2! I bet even getting these from economy rice stalls would never be as cheap!

If you dislike rice, you have a selection of noodles that costs RM 2 as well!

A variety to choose from to go with your rice.

A look into the restaurant. Mind my amazing photography skills though.

This restaurant is recommended for those who live or work in Seri Petaling. I wouldn't recommend it to those who live 20kilometers from this district cause if you're looking for a cheap meal to save some cash, i guess the petrol used to get all the way here would cost more than an average priced meal. Besides, the meals offered are pretty normal and common. Not some fancy tantalizing gourmet you would kill to try.

I Have A Dream

I Have A Dream

Dreams. What about them? Do they live in us or do we have our lives in them? Do they define us or do we, humans, try to explain them? Are our true colours depicted in the actions carried out by us in our dreams or are they displayed by our actions on earth?

Dreams. Some of us dream to live the lives we would like to experience but are prohibited in reality due to certain circumstances. Some others dream to kill boredom. Some dream to try new things out. Some dream for the surreal impossibilities restrained by limits on earth whereas some others dream to cope up with reality.

Dreams. We live a third of our lives in the dreams our minds create. However, the plain truth is, reality affects our dreams more than our dreams affect reality. Or do we choose our own reality? Some of us would shut ourselves out and enclose ourselves in our own personal spheres, thus making our dreams our reality.

Dream. While we are at it, a different world arises. We are in control of the consequences and results of the ending. Sometimes, when they are too addictive, we would need someone to be there to pull us out from our dreams and breathe reality back to us.

Dreams. Numerous successes begin from dreams. Personally, i urge that we do not let them become a reality of its own. Instead, lets realise our dreams by imparting actions necessary to transform reality to liken our dreams. When that occurs, that's when our dreams truly speak to us.

Jaycee Chan and Wu Jia Hui in Sugarcraft Baking Academy, Malaysia

An Encounter with the Superstar's Star and a Malaysian artiste

On the 10th of November 2008, i stumbled into Jackie Chans' son, Jaycee Chan who is an artiste from Hong Kong as well as a Malaysian singer, Wu Jia Hui who i wasn't aware off. Both of them came to the place where i am currently undertaking culinary arts to learn a little about baking and to promote my baking academy. It is due to be broadcasted on 8TV sometime around Christmas, so, technically, you are getting an exclusive premiere through this blog before it is even broadcasted!

It was scheduled for both these stars to arrive at 8p.m. but guess what, i arrived at my baking academy around 8.30p.m. and they weren't there yet. I waited at the bottom of my baking academy together with the rest of the staff. It was anticipated that they have already arrived. I was expecting heavily armed personnel as we scanned through the cars that passed the main road. We waited for 10 minutes or so when a huge white van stopped by the allocated parking lot. There was no police around. My second misconception that night was that Jaycee Chan is the guy with long hair. But, i was wrong again. He arrived and passed through me as he headed upstairs and we were only inches apart. Yet, i didn't know that the guy with short hair who passed through me was him and i was frantically waiting for him to get out of the van.

At first, both of them were reminded lightly on a rather spontaneous script by the producers. I didn't pay much attention to Wu Jia Hui throughout the night as i didn't know that he was a star. Apart from that, he spoke Chinese all the while and i cannot understand his speech and humour. Next, they were instructed by Elizabeth, the head instructor of my baking academy to wear an apron each.

They were then taught on what to put into the mixer and while they were at it, i must say that Jaycee was rather cute or probably he was acting cute. He practically dumped everything that was in a few bowls into the mixer in a rough manner and the scene was like a curious little kid learning how to bake.

After mixing everything, they were brought into the baking room but i didn't follow as the room was small and it was crowded. Although they placed their mixture into the oven, the final products that were recorded weren't their work. They re-entered the room where the mixers were placed and they took some shots with their so called "final products".

Some individual poses of Jaycee Chan.

Then, we had group pictures.

I have to say, i hope that both those stars didn't have a hard time taking a picture with me cause i have to admit that i sweated a lot and smelled like crap!

Finally, Jaycee Chan signed a Sugarcraft uniform and i was quite upset that he didn't have enough time to sign more. Well, i am not a fan of either of these stars but i hoped that i could get their signatures so that i could sell them on e- bay and earn some cash. Okay, i sound like a China man now. By the way, throughout the night, i came to a conclusion that it isn't easy to be a star. I could think of two rules for those who aspire to be a star and they are as follow:

Rule number one: There must be no connections whatsoever with anyone on set when you are promoting something. And this rule applies even when you are done promoting.

Jaycee Chan was halted by one of his three producers when my teacher tried to give him her email for future contacts.

Rule number two: You have to obey to what your producers say!

Jaycee Chan couldn't keep the recipe of the cake he produced and he had to hand it to his producers when they asked for it. Apart from that, Jaycee Chan craved to try the things he baked but his producers didn't allow him to and he had to leave when he was told to do so. Isn't it sad? He wasn't even allowed to get a taste of whatever he had baked. But i have to say that he didn't miss much. My friends who tried them said that they were quite horrible.

My third and most embarrassing misconception that night was that i thought the guy on the right in the picture below was Jaycee's girlfriend at first. I know this sounds ridiculous but in the beginning, Jaycee Chan kept himself so close to this guy and i kept facing his back. All i saw was some dyed LONG HAIR and a shirt that was THREE QUARTERS PINK! Well, silly stereotype i know but he really did look like a girl from behind.

For those who are crazy about either one of these stars, i have some video clips and more pictures that were recorded and taken using my handphone. If you are interested, state your emails on the blabbering section and i ll try to get to you soonest possible.

Carry You Home

Carry You Home

In this world which is currently a huge platform of battlefield, nearly everything is about competition; in education, in the working field, in politics, economy, sports and even in our love lives. The struggle to survive isn't the only battle out there.

The current era whereby we humans have adopted a very sophisticated lifestyle has transformed our previous agendas to raise something which seemed petty back then to a huge issue these days such as the need to be successful. It has no longer become a want but rather it is a need. Whether we like it or not, competition involves nearly every stage of our lives. How we fair in it mostly depend on us and on our surroundings.

However, in almost every war, some of us might be shot and can no longer stand on our own. Despite how independent or individualistic the society might drive us these days, considering who is willing to carry our burden with him/her when we are hit is worth the thought.

It might sound cliched, but its certainly worth pondering : Who will carry you back home, not back to a house physically but to a home where you belong, where you can carry on being yourself, a place of comfort knowing that the people around you will not leave you behind no matter what when you are wounded in a war? Cause in this new war where a lot of people are individualistic, you either stand alone in the middle of the battle field or you go against the enemies with high spirits and a purpose, to win this war not individually but wining it together with those around you who represent similar aims and ideologies. The true nature of men are tested in the most dire situations. Would you still consider those who leave you behind as friends?

The Peak with its Gift

When Cupid Strikes

The threshold of newly found treasures

A moment to feel

Hopeful regurgitated practices are tested

The enthralling exploration

At its best when the limit's sky high

An end to occasional emptiness

A gain for status

Struck by confusions at times

Reciprocal imaginations might solve it all

When the magnets start pulling

The butterflies flutter

And by the time you knew it

Cupid has taken his shot

This gift at humans' peak

Its simply inexplicable

This post has nothing to do with me at the moment. Its a rather random post from me dedicated to those who are in love. Hope that those of you who are currently struck by Cupid enjoys it!

At that point, i knew i had to... kill... (part 2)

The Last Resort (Part 2)

At first, he was rather casual. He asked me about how i was, about what i had been doing lately and we discussed about general interests. This lasted for 30 minutes and glimmers of hope arose in me. I hoped he was genuinely concerned in me as a friend and that he had brushed his motive of persuading me into his activity aside. As much as i would like that idea to have occurred, it did not. After forty minutes into the conversation, he touched on the topic that i hated but had anticipated for a long time,... his activity. I immediately told him that i was not keen because it is illegal in this country. I was quite taken aback by how blatant i was. His reaction totally changed and he tried to persuade me again, telling me in Malay "Is it? It isn't illegal! I have heard a lot of negative comments too last time but seriously, it is not like that at all! How old are you? Don't you want to earn some money?"


I stood firmly on my decision and answered him politely in Malay "No, i am sorry but i am really not interested".


I tried changing the topic to something else. He followed my flow for a few minutes and faked a few smiles but he reacted in a way where he seemed forced to be polite and interested. A huge sense of disappointment was apparent in him but he tried to hide it. Less than 5 minutes later, he said that he had to leave as he was "busy". He stood up and took his motorcycle helmet with him. I called for the waiter and paid for my drinks. In turn, i offered to pay for the glass of plain water he barely even sipped. He declined and said "Its okay. It only costs 20 cents right?"

After he left with his motorcycle, i sat down alone somewhere else as i waited for my mother's car and confined myself to a painful solidarity. I wondered why i was so foolish to have placed so much of hope on friends as an institution. Depending on the foundations where friendships are built on, on how often you keep in contact, and on the changes that might occur in either you or your friends, friendship in general is a weak institution to rely on. It is circumstantial. I knew that but i am always persistent in believing the general goodness of people, that people are driven by ingenuity, not by motives. After this incident and countless others, i finally decided to be more selective in allowing friends to enter my circle. Not everyone is driven by motives and from now onwards, it is this type of people i am interested in mixing with. At that point, i knew i had to... kill... the friendship i had with the friend i have mentioned before this. I would be nice to him if i were to meet him by chance or by destiny but i wouldn't consider him as a friend. He is an acquaintance, nothing more, nothing less. After making that decision (and this is hard for me cause i don't normally end friendships), i thought about the newly made acquaintance, the friend i used to have and i reminisced about the friendship back then.

We used to be rather close. One of the best Malay buddies i had, considering the fact that my previous school comprised of a vast majority of Chinese. We used to work collaboratively in different areas and helped each other out to improve what we were weak in. He could not find anyone to mix with as he thought that the students in class back then were rather inconsiderate towards his feelings, culture and emotions. I helped him by comforting him, being rather proud as i thought that i have finally made a Malay friend, a close one too. He was better in his handwork and was rather thoughtful as he figured out how to work on certain technical problems for me. After form three, he transferred to a different school and we stopped hanging out since, though we lived only a few yards away from each other.Well, at the very least, our friendship was left untouched with happiness and i would rather not have seen him at the LRT station. If i hadn't, his image would have been that of a pure friend and one that is truthful. However, the meetings this year have stained his image and had turned my perception of him completely and of how people would change over time; be it for the better or for the worse but very few will remain as who they are...


My mothers' car hooted, ending my thoughts abruptly. Without turning back, i headed to my mother's car, closed the door and left the place, leaving our friendship buried behind.





Every account of the events stated above is true and is non- fictional. The incident where i met up with my friend at the mamak only occurred a couple of weeks ago.