the end of the dance ..

Today's the last day of CNY, chu shi wu (er.. day 15 of the first month of lunar calendar? haha), also called Chap Goh Meh. Had only 3 performances from 9am till around 4pm, and for the first time we weren't rushing from one place to another ^^. Sort of got a bit lazy edi actually.. maybe that's because all of us slept late the day before and were dead tired from all the travelling to and from Bahau. So tired that ALL of us were late for the gathering which was supposed to be at 8.30am this morning haha. Me only woke up at 8.11am ^^". But then the others woke up late oso haha ..

So.. this is it. Around a month of my life is gone, dedicated to 'learning' dragon and lion dance. It's been more than 3 weeks since our holidays started, and i'm still in Bukit Jalil ^^". Because i chose to ride at the back of a lorry under the scorching sun instead of lying on my bed back home enjoying blissful sleep. Spent hours and hours training dragon and lion dance when i could have used up all those time playing thru all the PC and PS2 games left untouched for months now. Went to countless shops and houses and even warehouses around Cheras, Petaling Jaya, Kepong, Sungai Buloh, Bangsar, and some other towns.. and not back to my home in Senai. Sigh. Still, i never regretted the decision i made so long ago.. not even for a moment ^^. Learned something new, acquired memorable experiences, and got to know some really great people ^^. Won't see them for a long time.. those not from IMU are already working. Sigh ..

A year ago i whined that CNY wasn't memorable at all. Maybe that's why i chose to stay back here the whole 15 days of CNY, because i know that if i went back home i'll just be wasting my life away. Literally. Man.. i'm gonna miss all this lion and dragon dance.. gonna take a bus back home tomorrow. Wonder what i should do with all these free time i have now.. sigh. One month to bum around.. need to rest my body before the KK trip in 3 weeks time ^^.

Oh btw, anyone interested in joining the newly formed Wushu Club in IMU just leave me a message k? The committee posts haven't been filled up yet.. so, grab a post while they last! =P

Oh and i wanna wish.. a happy Chap Goh Meh to all my friends! =)

Dragon dance in Bahau ^^

So our BIG BIG performance (as coach always put it.. ^^") was finally over. It's like reaching the climax or something.. the one performance we look forward to and dread at the same time. We trained for 2 hours everyday since Tuesday just for that. Mapped out all the moves in the routines and memorise it until we're even doing the dragon dance in our dreams. Practised each and every move to perfection. Nothing was left out, no mistake will be made.

If only everything always go according to plans, eh? Haha. As it turned out, we trained for 2 hours on Tuesday all right.. only that we barely had enough members to practice properly. It rained on Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday night, cancelling all the training we planned. Yeah, how lucky we were. So we had to train on the day of performance itself, just before we leave for Bahau at 4pm (it's not really in Seremban, but Bahau as it turns out). And as if everything just had to make us screw up the dragon dance, there was an appointment for lion dance at 2.30pm (confirmed at the last minute). By the time we finished the lion dance it's already 3.30pm. O.o

And all the training we planned, all the dragon dance routine we're supposed to memorise, all the practising every move to perfection, all that were crammed into an hour of training, just hours before the actual performance ^^". Haha. We're almost used to this already.. everytime there's dragon dance we always plan and practise everything at the last minute. *sweats*

So after the intensive crash course in dragon dance, we're off to Bahau in a 14-seater Mercedes. I've never seen a van with that many seats before haha. Took us 2.5 hours to reach there from Cheras, even had to go through a mountain road (which was just like the road to Cameron.. endless bends ^^"). It was already 7.30pm by the time we reached.

The dragon dance was for some 'Pesta Tionghua' organised by MCA Daerah Jempol, and there were Wushu performance and lion dance too. Our dragon dance were split into two performances, the first and last. First was the tian guang (daylight) performance, which were done under bright lights. Scrapped a few moves due to the probability we might screw up (one was the mei2 hua1, where the dragon was made to look like a 'blooming flower', the other was where half of the dancers jump onto the other half - dunno why we scrapped this.. we tried it a lot of times during the intensive crash course. This time i was the bottom fellar who's jumped on ^^". Thankfully Chua was lighter than he looked hehe). No major mistakes, the audience even gave an applause haha. But it was just ok la.. not really impressive or anything..

After that was some Wushu performance by the Selangor team (if i heard Coach right). Then it's the yue guang (night light) lion dance performance, done under UV lights. And that's when it became obvious to us how noobish our lion dance was haha ^^". They had 3 lions jumping onto stilts at the same time.. it was just damn impressive la. Wonder how long it'll take for us to reach that level hehe..

After lion dance it was our dragon's turn again, this time was yue guang dragon dance. As it was dark, funny things tend to happen. Even just as we were coming in haha ^^". The 'head' was short-sighted (which he admitted later) and nearly knocked down a UV light pole on the way in because he's mesmerised by the glowing dragon head lol. As each of us were following the head's every step, you can imagine each of us getting surprised to see the pole there, nearly knocking it down, pulling away just inches from it, one by one (though some didn't even realise the pole was there ^^"). The tail even knocked the pole a little bit, but thank god it didn't fall haha (the UV light pole was the lion dance team's.. we borrowed it coz we don't have enough UV lights).

And just before we end the performance, the head made a mistake coz he couldn't see clearly ^^". He was supposed to go under between me and Chua (who's behind me), but went under behind Chua instead (he even had time to say 'die..' just before he passed Chua haha. That totally caught us by surprise.. coz it was different from the move we practised. Some twists and turns later, we got the dragon back straight.. thankfully it was dark and the mistake ain't that obvious hehe. Heard our performance was ok.. Coach and the MCA reps were happy with it. Heck, it was good considering we only had an hour of training.. lol.

And thus end our BIG BIG performance, watched by hundreds of ppl ^^. It was really damn fun.. though my hands were damn tired after that. And even better coz i was doing it with a great team.. had lots of laughter with them around ^^. Supper in Sri Petaling after we finished, and then i'm back here. With less than 7 hours to our lion dance performance next morning. *sweats*. Some more last-minute appointments, according to Coach.

PS - Didn't get to take pictures coz i was doing the dragon dance, and they don't want us to take pictures of the lion dance (as it might affect their concentration.. and falling down from the stilts ain't gonna be pretty). So nope, no pictures.. =(

P.PS - i was wrong bout no more lion dance .. there's always last-minute appointments, as usual ^^"

Self note (for remembrance purpose)
Members present: Steven (Coach), Steven's brother, Steven's brother's friend, Wan Chieh, Sor Eng, Esther, Janice, Chua, Darren, Tong-ge, Rajah, Zhi Yong (MCA), Wen Chien (MCA), Rahman (lorry driver) and the Mercedes driver.
Dragon dancers (from head to tail): Steven's brother, Esther, Tong-ge, me, Chua, Wan Chieh, Janice, Sor Eng, Steven's brother's friend.
Mercedes seating (left to right, from front): Zhi Yong, driver, Steven, Wen Chien, Wan Chieh, Sor Eng, Janice, Esther, Steven's brother's friend, Steven's brother, Tong-ge, Chua, Darren, me.

ROTFL .. why white girls don't date asian guys

LOL.. you gotta check this short film out.. one of the few rare gems on the internet haha. Thanks Leong for the link! ^^

In case you wanna check the 'producers' out.. this is their site.

Last day of lion dance ..

Today was the last day we leave before the sun rises and go home after the sun sets. Yup, our lions gonna go 'on leave' after today, and replaced with dragon dance training until our big BIG performance in Seremban on Saturday.

Though this might be the last day, it's the worst of all the days we've worked. Worst not in terms of performance.. i'd say we've improved somewhat since our first day (maybe not a lot.. but still..). Worst as in we can hardly move a muscle at the end of the day.. everyone was on the brink of exhaustion. We had the bare minimum of six people.. four for the two lions, one drums, and one cymbals. Any less and we won't be able to perform ^^". And because we had the bare minimum, i had to be the head for the first half of the day.. until i can't lift my hands already - after which i took over the cymbals until the last job. Even now my whole body's still aching..

To make things worse, today was the busiest day too. We had so many appointments we're running late before we even finish the previous job. Had to rush from one location to the next without stop. It was dance, travel, dance, travel, dance all the way from 9am to 7pm. Don't even have time to have a proper lunch ^^". But then from the 11 odd jobs we had today, we earned the most in a day too.. 3100+ bucks! O.o . Haha.. the MCA Cheras head treated us to a really nice seafood dinner, complete with red wine and all =D (the restaurant is called Jembo or something like that O.o lol)

And with the end of today, thus ends our job as lion dancers (there might be a performance on Friday, but that ain't confirmed yet) and it's time to take out our dragon now. Can't afford to screw things up in Seremban.. though till now i still don't know what event we're performing for ^^"

Self-thought: No more lion dance for some time after this.. wonder if i should continue training after CNY? My dad is not keen on me joining after CNY.. but then i really wanted to learn lion dance and dragon dance 'properly' (the jumping and all ^^). I'll see how it goes before i decide la..

PS - didn't see any other lion dance troupe in Cheras beside us today.. heard that lion dance is getting less popular these days. Hope not.. this is our culture after all ^^. Esther said in Miri there's like more than 10 groups from a single chinese school alone O.o .. here, i'd be surprised if there's more than 10 troupes in total over here. Is modernization killing tradition? =/

my hands are red O.o

Damn.. i'm beginning to ache all over. Had to be the lion head again yesterday.. the whole day. Now my neck feels sore.. hope tomorrow there's not many 'jobs'. And i'm not getting enough sleep too.. =/

Yesterday had to do lion dance from the morning till 4pm, then i had to rush back to Bukit Jalil. My parents were already waiting there before we go Klang for my brother's last dinner here in Malaysia in at least a year. Didn't really made it in time, but then i'm already rushing. And it had been a really long time since i got really irritated after my Dad called my so many times to ask me to hurry up. Wonder why i got so easily angry then.. maybe i was just too tired.

So my bro flew to Melbourne yesterday. Sent him off at 8pm+. Sigh.. i'm gonna miss him. My room in Bukit Jalil is going to be real quiet. Too quiet. Sigh.

On a lighter note, we did dragon dance just 3 hours ago at a Datuk's place. The job was only confirmed 2 days ago, and we only trained for 2 hours before the performance, so yeah, it was crap =P. Haha.. but we're noob mah, to quote Chow, give chance la! And the space was really small.. i knocked Chua (who's behind me) with the dragon twice ^^". Oh and the small boy from the performance at UE3 (the one who can play drums really well.. and he taught that himself) came to join us too. Couldn't sit still for 5 minutes. Damn hyperactive haha. He's 11-year-old i think.. so small. I feel so old now haha.

Speaking of old, i finally got to see my first ever niece today. She's my cousin's newborn, 3 months already. Haha so cute. Really funny when i looked at my mom and aunts surrounding her =P. She only cries, drinks milk, and sleeps. Nothing else ^^". Finally an 'uncle' now. Guess i really am old ^^".

I'm burned ..

As in sun-burned >.< . Just found out all the sitting on the lorry without cover for the last two days have made my face, hands and the back of my neck charred. And i do mean charred ^^". Anyway i've been posting a lot on our days as lion dancers, and i will until the end of CNY. So if you don't like it, too bad =P. Go read someone else's blog.

Third 'working' day .. (2nd February)
The more performances we had, the more i felt like i'm working or something. Only thing is that i don't know how much we're getting paid, but that's not of my concern at all. I'll still do it even if i had to fork out my own money for travel expenses and such. Yeah i'm in love with lion dance haha.

Anyway, on our third day .. our lions are out of job ^^". Only had one shop to perform at in the morning, then no more. Spent the rest of the morning going around tamans looking for work. Lol. Yeah, a MCA representative was going around the shops and houses asking whether they want a lion dance performance or not (while the rest of us played the drums and cymbals on the lorry haha). Until afternoon our lions are still unemployed. I was kinda hoping for that anyway =P. Haven't even recovered from the previous day's fatigue. And we're running a skeleton crew.. only six of us (4 for the two lions, one drum and one cymbal). Pathetic. Lol..

Fourth 'working' day .. (3rd February - today)
Had much better luck today. There was supposed to be only 2 performances, but we added 3 more on-the-spot. The indian boy who spoke much much better Cantonese than me came today, making our numbers one more than yesterday - seven. Oh btw he can play the drums too.. heard he's from another lion dance troupe which broke up already (Esther told me that Coach told her the better a lion dance troupe is, the more likely they'll break up O.o).

First was a grocery shop, then the salon next door hired us on-the-spot as well after the first performance. I was appointed the lion head for both (our 'best' lion head's holiday ended.. and had to return to work as of yesterday).. and i was supposed to cai qing as well. As in, they placed a pomelo+oranges on a plate on the floor, the lion's supposed to 'peel' them open and hand the plate to the owner (or boss). Never did it before.. so my lion was erm, a bit awkward ^^"

Then did a little dance at a car repair shop nearby (another on-the-spot job) before lunch. Next was a tuition centre somewhere in PJ, which was the most 'troublesome' job today. We had to go upstairs, enter every 'class' (8 in the first shoplot), go back down, go over to its 'branch' nearby, go upstairs, enter 3 more classes, cai some qing, go back down and back to the first shoplot, upstairs and cai some more qing. Geez.. but it was really fun haha. Lots of children there. So easily amused. If only we never grow up, eh? =P

Last job was a brief one at a newly-opened minimarket in PJ too (on-the-spot too). Nothing much la.. it's almost the same as the others. So we ended some time before 4pm. Had to be the lion head in all the performances, and Wan Chieh had to be my ass for all too haha. Think his back broke already ^^". Btw had lots more to improve on my lion dance though.. have to make it more 'alive'. Mine looked more like a sleepy lion =P

Leaving on an airplane ..
Sigh.. tomorrow i'll see my elder bro for the last time for a long time. He's flying off to Melbourne, and looking at our current financial situation, he won't be coming back unless he had a really good reason to (not even during holidays i guess). Have lion dance tomorrow too.. but it'll only be until afternoon last i heard. Hope we don't get too many on-the-spot jobs again ^^". Wonder how much he'll change when i next see him tho..

Oh btw.. i'm honoured.. to be on the MMR's Medical Blogroll (added along with Prasad, Yih Seong and Lishun! ^^). Thanks to whoever did that =P .. though i don't think anyone would be interested to read my non-medical related posts ^^"

the dance so far ..

Today is chu si (fourth day of CNY), and also the second 'working day' for our noobish lion dance troupe =P. Have been very tired since... since i can't even remember when i'm not tired. I even forgot what day it is sometimes ^^"

First day.. (29th January)
Started out our very first kai gong day last Sunday, 1st day of CNY. I woke up like 4am O.o . Haha.. not that i'm very excited bout it or anything.. maybe because i slept too much before that =P. Met up at Maluri LRT station at 7.30am (blog-surfed until it's time to leave ^^"), and went on to perform at one shop and four houses for the rest of the day. Just 5 locations.. but we only went back at 5pm. Don't ask me how.. time just seems to fly so damn fast.

It was our first day after all, and we're still noobs, so needless to say we're far far from what you can expect from a 'real' lion dance troupe. As in, we barely learned for a week in total! What else do you expect? O.o Still we just went ahead la.. crap performance also crap performance la haha =P. But it was fun.. especially those little kids who seem just so damn amused by lion dances. Damn fun to play with them haha..

Shit happens though. At the shop we performed at, they want us to cai gao qing (err.. pluck high greens? haha). Which means we're supposed to do the front-guy-stand-on-back-guy's-shoulders thingy (tie luo han i think? forgot what it's called). Shit. Coach said we're not supposed to do that until Wednesday (today) but what to do.. they want us to do it. So firstly it's me who's jumping. Even though i couldn't do it the previous day, but then nobody else tried to do it before (we're severely lacking practice). Maybe it was because i jumped too much the previous few days.. or that i'm subconsciously afraid of heights, but my legs went soft after i climbed onto the shoulders. Tried to stand up, but lost my balance and jumped back down. Couldn't go on coz my legs are really hurting from the training, so Chua took over. Tough luck, he couldn't do it also, even fell down and dented the lion O.o . So in the end we didn't do the tie luo han la.. >.<

Second day.. (1st February)
Today.. our second day. 4 more houses, and two warehouses (for the same boss though). No mishaps this time, even managed to do the tie luo han.. but not me la, it was the deaf/mute guy the other day. He's bout 5kg lighter than me.. looks like i too fat liao lol ^^". He's taller than me so Coach didn't expect him to be lighter lor. Most of the performances were just us (as the lions) going around peeling every single damn mandarin orange that they placed around the house/warehouse. ^^"

The warehouses were our second job.. and we're supposed to perform at the new and old warehouses (took us 2 whole hours for that ^^"). I was one of the lions for the old warehouse, and i've never ever cai qing before (er.. it's just peel oranges), i was told to peel and EAT the mandarin oranges. Like, if there were one or two nvm la.. but SIX. Bloody six oranges i had to peel and EAT O.o . I 'danced' to the first orange, peeled and stuffed it into my mouth, move on to the second one, stuff half and kept half in my pocket (i didn't know where else to put ^^"), and the next few oranges i gave to my ass to eat. Wen Chieh (my ass =P) swallowed a total of three oranges.. with the seeds and all O.o . It's only after i cai all the qing already that i was told to just peel the oranges only and leave them there. Damn.. now they tell me.. after i developed mandarinorangophobia already >.<

After the warehouses we went on to the 3 houses left for the evening (the other one was done in the morning - there's a mini lion dance by the owner's kid at the apartment ^^ so cute..). Nothing much, just the usual routine. Go around peeling every single damn mandarin oranges they placed. There'll be an ang pau under each orange, which we're supposed to take after we cai those qings. I was one of the lion heads for the last house, and either they bought too many oranges for the new year, or they thought the lions love to eat oranges so damn much. I wasn't counting how many oranges was i peeling.. it just seems endless. There's an orange on top of the TV, an orange on every table in their house, oranges all the way up the stairs, oranges on every single bed, they even placed an orange on a really big egg-shaped ceramic thingy O.o . At the last count by Wen Chieh (my ass, again =P), i peeled SIXTEEN oranges. And we had two lions going around peeling them (which makes the total more than 30! and this is just one house!). Thank god i wasn't supposed to eat them.. O.o

PS - Tomorrow Wong and Chua start working edi.. and they won't be joining us for the lion dance (they were the 'best' we had =/). Looks like us IMU noobies (me, Esther and Wen Chieh) have to make use of whatever little stuff we know.. ^^". Hope we can survive tomorrow.. i'm already dead tired after today's performances.. back still aching from bending over too long (the consequences of being the ass)

P.PS - funny thing.. someone ended up on my blog searching for 'lion dance' haha ^^. The name's don, and he intro-ed himself as a lion-gila fella lol. Damn lot of pictures at his blog, and there's videos of how 'real' lion dance looks like too (when i say damn lot of pics, i really mean damn lot). A new member of 'Khuan Loke' in PJ, who got 2nd at the national level last year ^^ (when only can we reach that standard..). Funny how you can meet new people on the internet hehe..