Have I seen you before?

I am famous for all the weird reasons.

The last time I was in the newspaper was when I actually spoke to David Cook, which was somewhere in May. I am the one in the green shirt, in case you couldn't see me (click on the pic for a better view).



Before that, during the 2006 World Cup, I was in the papers along with my foundation mates.

Obviously, we were amused Cristiano Ronaldo fell and cried, hence the smiles and laughter.


TODAY.

I AM IN THE FREAKING NEWSPAPER. AGAIN.


The caption read: Rowena Hanafiah, 21, looking at a Michael Jackson album at Bangsar Village Shopping Complex yesterday.

THIS HAPPENED ON FRIDAY.
So, here's what happened. I was in Bangsar Village to buy groceries with my dad.

We went to Rock Corner and asked them if they had Michael Johns' album. The guy at the counter said "Oh no, but we have Michael Johns on that David Foster album". They don't even know when the album is coming. *WAILS* At least they know who Michael Johns is, so there is hope.

After that, we had dinner at one of the stores nearby and we had a SERIOUS discussion about Michael Jackson and other great bands and I randomly mention that I want to buy my albums to replace the VERY old cassettes I have of Michael Jackson, to which my dad said "Okay".

So, we went to Speedy Video in Bangsar Village to check on some Michael Jackson's CDs and the store assistant said THEY WERE ALL SOLD OUT. OMG WHAT. "The man died so everyone wants a copy and they're all sold out" was the reply I got. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Then, we went back to Rock Corner again to try my luck on the Michael Jackson albums and we see this reporter and photographer taking photos of this girl holding Michael Jackson's albums. I was like "Okay, let me stand here where it's safe" and this other reporter looked at me and asked "OH HI WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE OUR MODEL? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HOLD THE ALBUM AND PUT THE HEADPHONES ON" and I looked at my dad and I said "Okay". My dad was laughing at me when the guy was taking my pics. I died.

The reporters asked me if I was a fan and I said "Yes" and they asked me some other random things. They told me that the article is due Saturday (if they could get it approved on time) and I was like "OMG WHAT? I'LL BE IN THE PAPER TOMORROW?! OMG WHAT?!" and I died again. They asked me for my e-mail and stuff. They complimented my handwriting, saying it looked really neat for a Psych student.
Hello, Medic students have bad handwriting, Psych kids refused to be associated with them.

I called my mother and told her what happened and she was like "WHAT? OMG HAHAHA WHAT DID YOU DO? OH HEY, THERE'S SOME NEWS ON MICHAEL JACKSON ON THE TELLY. I WANT TO LISTEN TO THAT SO TALK TO YOU LATER OKAY?".

I laughed all the way home, thinking about how insane it was that on Friday morning I wrote this long note on Facebook about why Michael Jackson was my hero AND I got interviewed about him later in the evening. The same thing happened with David Cook. I took this photo of him outside Quiksilver somewhere in April and about five days after I took the photo, I found out that I was going to see AND talk to him. Ryan Star? Don't even get me started.

I was relating these things to my dad and he said "You should thank me for this". And he was all "Don't tell anyone yet, let it be a surprise!". HAHAHA.

Full article HERE.

The photo in the online article is small, but the one in the paper is huge, I'm not even lying. You could really see what Skizzy wrote on my left wrist (out of sheer boredom, as always). It was a random Ryan Star lyric. I was hell bent with heaven sent.

So, yeah. I am in the papers again. It is SO VERY embarrassing, I can die.


The things you do for the love of music. Sigh.

Michael Jackson is my hero.

Let's have a little backstory before we start, shall we?

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. This little girl would never sit still and create a riot for her parents. She would steal things from the kitchen and pretend she was a mini-Kyle Peek. She wanted to be a drummer, you see. Her parents, not wanting any more shenanigans from her, decided to tape random music videos, sit her in the cot and let her watch all these music videos. The 80s was a great year for music. She grew up to Duran Duran, Prince, Lionel Richie, Cutting Crew, Europe, New Kids on the Block, Johnny Hates Jazz, Fleetwood Mac, A-Ha and so much more.

One name that stuck out for her during the times she watched these videos when she was young was Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

This man played a huge part in her life. She would watch his videos and tried to dance like him but failed. She was born with two left feet. She would sing along to his songs. She had all his albums. When she was 5, she used to pretend she was in a band with her brother and two older nephews. One of them would do the moonwalk, and they'd all sing even if they didn't know the words.

Her best friend of 18 years and her would sing 'Bad' because that's what they wanted to be.

One of her favourite uncles called her 'Dangerous' because of two things:
01. She was a cheeky little thing who'd go around wreaking a mini-havoc.
02. It was her favourite Michael Jackson song.

Said favourite uncle passed away somewhere in late June of 2002. She misses him because of the fact that he gave that nickname for her. No one else.

When Michael Jackson came here in 1996, she was only 9 and couldn't afford to go see him. She was obviously sad, but she made a promise that she would go the next time he comes here. It'll be worth every penny, she said.

She would still listen to the songs and dance along, even if she still cannot dance properly.

When one of her favourite people covered a song of his on American Idol last year, all she thought of was "OMG WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THIS SONG? PLEASE DO NOT BUTCHER THIS CLASSIC SONG". Obviously, he didn't because it was a hit and it left her with goosebumps. You need not know who this person is.

Someone once said that people who covered any Michael Jackson songs DID NOT like the original version to the point they needed to change it up because it is horrible to the ears. To this girl, it is nonsense and an insult to not only Michael Jackson, but also his fans. Anyone who covers his music obviously loves it and they're just trying to be innovative and inject their own vibe into the song so that they would not be deemed as being 'copycats'. Have you seen the remake versions of 'Billie Jean' or even 'Beat It'? Do they NOT sound amazing? Had there been no Michael Jackson, these covers would cease to exist and YOU would be listening to nothing.

Most people she knows now think that "YERR...YOU LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?". She would call them 'stupid' and 'ignorant', but she was taught better than that. One man's meat is another man's poison, no?

To her, she doesn't need to know the person's backstory to like him or the music he makes. As long as he puts out great records and amazing songs, that's all that mattered. To borrow a line from a song: Music is believing, the more you close your eyes the more you hear.

This morning, she went to bed at 4AM after learning that Farrah Fawcett lost the battle against cancer. She woke up two hours later and heard that her childhood idol had died. Not a pretty way to start the morning.

She cried and cried.

You may see it as ridiculous because she is not close to Michael Jackson.

But you forgot something.

Remember her backstory? This is how her love for music grew stronger. She loves music so much that she would rather lose the sense of taste and smell than lose the sense of sight and hearing. Music is an integral part of her life, especially his. She felt that a part of her childhood has died too. He helped shape the person this girl grew up to be.

That little girl eventually grew up to become this person typing this note.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. You are a legend in my eyes forever and many more people will grow and learn to appreciate your music. Thank you for being a great part of my childhood.


In his honour, let's revisit these classics.
Earth Song.
This songs always makes me tear up. He puts this song out about wars, lands being destroyed by people who cannot care less about the environment, slaughtering of animals and so much more for us to see and stop condoning such acts. Has it stopped? Have we changed? Are you listening?

Thriller.
One of my all-time favourites. YOU CAN NEVER NOT LOVE THIS SONG.

Dangerous.
For my late favourite uncle.


**Wrote this originally at 9:45AM in my Facebook note while I was making use of the PCs in the library, but I just got home after a long and crazy day, so I just had the time to post this up here. Oh, by the way, I just got interviewed by a couple of NST reporters about Michael Jackson while I was out with my dad at Rock Corner in Bangsar Village. This thing I have with music is crazy. I talk or do something about a musician I love and the next thing you know, I get interviewed about them, I get to meet them and talk to them. Ryan Star, David Cook and now Michael Jackson. Lucky me, huh?

It's getting harder every night.

Sometimes, I don't get people who don't sort their priorities right but call me unassertive.

The other day, we watched videos on exorcism. I was a little scared.

But today, I saw something that was even scarier than that.


THIS FUCKING SCARED ME MORE THAN THE EXORCISM VIDEOS I SAW IN CLASS.


Someone once said that they would love to see me make out with another girl, which made me pull a 'pretty' face (by 'pretty', I mean WTF). This person insinuated that I supported gay rights, therefore I was gay.

WHAT KIND OF SHITTY FUCKED UP LOGIC IS THAT?

HELLO, I CAN BE FUCKING STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW AND STILL VOUCH FOR GAY RIGHTS!


I make friends with EVERYONE, even with the guards or petrol pump attendants. It's something I learnt from my parents.

I have friends who are homosexuals and it sickens me to see what they have to go through everyday. They are the bravest people I know for putting up with shit like this. It's not easy living in a place where everyone looks at you like you have a disease. As you can clearly see in the video, homosexuality is treated like it's a fucking disease.

I do not fucking care if any of my friends are gay. I chose to be friends with you because of the respect you give me as another human being. I DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR STATUS, SEXUALITY, OR RELIGION TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU NEITHER DO I HAVE AN APPLICATION FORM WHERE YOU CAN TICK WHATEVER THAT IS APPLICABLE OR APPROPRIATE.

I was chatting with an old school friend of mine recently and she told me that the school's discipline is going down the drain. Guess what she said when I asked her what was the cause?

"Too many lesbian couples in our school"

Um, hi, I hate to tell you this, but it's not 1999 anymore. FUCKING GROW UP.

So what if there are couples in school? It's their time to be curious. That doesn't make them the REAL misfits.

Are they causing fights? Are they stealing things? Are they vandalising school property?

NO. NO. NO.


Homosexuals are people too. They have rights, just like you and me.


If you asked little 14-year-old Roxy what her stand on this matter is, she would tell you that she is homophobic. Why? Because it has been drilled in her head by school authorities that HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN AND YOU WILL BE PUNISHED IF YOU GOT CAUGHT.

Fast forward three years later, she will tell you that whatever she learnt from them was wrong. IT'S NOT A SIN. GROW UP AND FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS, FOOL.

She still supports and vouches for gay rights.


It's okay if you don't agree with what I believe in. Just don't treat them like bloody outcasts or that they have been possessed by Satan for them to commit such acts.


If ANYONE ever insinuates that I am gay and that's why I support the cause again, I will give it to you where it hurts the most.

Warning: Fangirly tendencies up ahead.

I know I speak non-stop about people I love and that pisses (most) people off.

But these videos had me in tears.




Because what I have ALWAYS wanted to see happen, FINALLY HAPPENED.


I know. I sound so fangirly to the point my friends think that my MAIN personality trait is being a fangirl (but you've got to admit, being fangirly GOT ME SOMEWHERE AND SOMETHING ANYWAY).

BUT LOOK AT THAT VIDEO. IF YOU KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH, YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND WHY I AM TYPING THIS ALL IN CAPS AND HOW THIS MEANS THE UNIVERSE TO ME.

These people mean the world to me. I love their music and also their personalities. I have seen, heard, and touched one, while I have spoken, heard, and seen the other.

That moment is something you CANNOT trade for anything in the world.

Not even for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen tickets.

Ever since David did Baba o'Riley on American Idol, all I said to my 18 years was "Hello, it would be epic if they toured together" because like 2 years before David Cook walked into my life, Ryan Star was my hero AND he also sang this song on Rockstar: Supernova (and got eliminated after that but let's not go there now). She scoffed at the idea.

Fast forward to a couple of months later. They are on tour together, sharing the same stage night after night. No one listens to me, as usual.

How do you expect my inner fangirl to NOT go crazy seeing them together?


And seeing that...I have no words.


I am sorry, all I have are just happy tears.

Guess who's back?

Yeah, yeah. Little baby David Michael is home.

He is no longer ill and works like a charm now.

His not-so little irresponsible mother has since repented and will no longer abuse her child.

*****

In other jolly news, I am rather pleased with my midterm results for this semester. I never expected such good results considering I was working under pressure with lots of assignments to complete AND my parents running around looking after my brother.

Oh, didn't you hear? My brother turned English by breaking his fifth metatarsal toe on his right foot. Oh well, I guess that comes in the territory of sharing the same birthday as David Beckham. Heh.

So, that good news of my results just makes me feel so damn good about myself. Not to the point of being cocky or anything, I do know that studying at the very last minute isn't a good thing ALL THE TIME. I learnt to not take things like these for granted.

So, this is where I make a promise to myself. Starting this week, I will spend time in the library, making notes and studying for my finals. I will return home from college and spend an hour or two watching old Disney animated films to de-stress myself and normal nightly studying service is resumed.

Plans fail and falter, but I'll make sure this one works.


ONE MORE SEMESTER TO GO AND I WILL BE DONE. UK, WAIT FOR ME NEXT YEAR!


Currently listening to:
Declaration - David Cook.

That is my declaration *points up*.

Baby's black balloon needs to fly.

BREAKING NEWS:
My David Michael got taken away from me today because he was chronically ill for the last few months without my knowing.

Lousy owner, I am.

The last thing I saw on David Michael was my Ethics midterm results, in which I did pretty well considering the serious fact that I barely had time to study with all the assignments I had to do and the random ongoings at home.

The last thing I said to David Michael was "FUCK, YES!!!" because I was just so excited over my results because I seriously did NOT expect it. Need I remind you that I had little time to prepare for the exam?
Not only am I a lousy owner, I am also apparently VERY rude.

All the data in David Michael will be erased as the technician said he needs to reformat the whole thing again.
I was smart enough to back the files up before the technician took him away.

David Michael will be away for the next couple of days.
Which means, I can rekindle my love affair with Tomas.


Oh well, something is better than nothing, no?


Finals in another two weeks and I need to study.
Lady luck never strikes twice.

Toodles, kids.
David Michael, come back to me soon.

Five things.

01. I can't wait to graduate.

02. I wish you were more like his friends.

03. So, I am saving enough money to buy Ryan Star's 11:59 and Paolo Nutini's Sunny Side Up.

No, seriously. I am so broke that I can't even buy food for myself. I'm too busy paying off debts. Really.

04. If you haven't listened to Ryan Star's Right Now, I suggest you do so RIGHT NOW.
(Hey, see what I did there? I'm smart!)

I like running along to this song, especially when I am angry and there's no clothes in sight for me to wash. It kind of makes me forget certain things I don't want to know or remember. Stress-reliever as well.

Go HERE to see the video.

05. Remind me to NEVER sit close to the movie screen when watching a 3-D animated film. It will give you a fever, headache of epic proportions and sins. Trust me.


More updates later.

It's crucially official.

Dear May,

You are officially 22.

That makes you officially old.

I am so glad you officially decided to come back to me.

Portuguese grilled pari fish is officially the best thing ever.

Our greeting to each other is officially 'Jesus take the wheel'.

We are officially 18 years and still counting.

I officially just love you.

We will officially always have our jokes about Terry, 'David Archuleta', Steven and random songs.

I would officially not trade you for anything.

You are officially sempiternal to me.

Yours officially,
~Roxy~

OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY PICSPAM PARTY TIME NOW!

The band took a moment to pose and wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY.


Until someone decided to get all emo and sit by the piano and brood. All by himself.


Michael Johns knows how to fix this. Booze is always the cure.


Frank wants in on the celebration too. Sassy boy brought you two bottles of champagne.


Then, he got too drunk and forgot where he was or what he was doing.


Nando thought he could hold the alcohol down. As you can clearly see, he was obviously wrong.


What are Potato and the boys looking at?


Oh, my! It's Adam Lambert they're looking at! He stopped to tell you that he wants you to sparkle and be glamourous just like him. He sang 'No Boundaries' for you as well.


Potato man is telling the boys to stop getting distracted and work on your present.


David Blaine is trying to conjure up your gift while the boys look on.


MIKE IS CURIOUS. WHAT IS THIS GIFT?


TA-DA! A TRAY FULL OF CUPCAKES FOR THE BIRTHDAY GODDESS! BAKED AND SERVED TO YOU BY COOK.


I'm officially mad, but that's okay because so are you.

It all comes back to this.

I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.


I have never been THIS awkward in my life.


Whatever happens, I'm glad.