Varia: Second Week in XMUM, Mishap and A Win Regardless

This week was my second week teaching in XMUM. Not having ready notes for both subjects, it was really a struggle to prepare for the lectures. The week saw me with less hours of sleep to sometime only 2-3 hours of sleep at best. Tried to keep myself awake like I used to but age has sort of got me tired really quickly and I need to be fresh when I drive. In any case, some students seem to show their appreciation for what I have tried to do for the class. I also had my classes replaced for today's public holiday of Mawlidur-Rasul, earlier in the week. This adds to the struggle for my lecture preparation. 

After many months of less driving (my son took the wheels most of the time), I found myself still shaky driving to work and back. I still use Google Map to help me drive to XMUM and back. I've yet to memorize the roundabout turns (three of them) that I have to take to reach XMUM. Maybe one or two weeks more, I'll be confident to drive without Google Map. The journey is about half-an-hour and the route taken tend to have heavy vehicles which kind of slow down the traffic flow. So last Wednesday, after having my replacement class, I was driving alongside a lorry to get home and suddenly some rubbery flown towards and hit the car and the windscreen. Luckily I did not panic and swerved. I'm not sure if it was purposely thrown towards my car but it was just plain dangerous to have things thrown from a vehicle on the highway. If it was a motorcycle, the rider could have been knocked down. Later, at home, I saw that my car was scratched and even left marks on my windscreen. So today, my other half brought it to a car show and had the scratched parts polished (still some visible marks left).

This week also saw Putri Ariani performing for the AGT finals (see video here) choosing another Elton John's song (Don't let the sun go down on me) with a gospel choir. She also performed the song Run with Leona Lewis (see video here). Like before, I am more impressed with her piano voicings that she chose for the finale song because I guess I know her voice will be amazing. As a constructive criticism, I do think some of her vocal runs and melisma could be further improved with the addition of a few more notes and not to end quickly. Some of the (R&B) runs add elements of surprise to her performance in a good way. The choice of the Elton John's is perhaps not as surprising as her cover of U2's song in the previous performance. Nevertheless, the performance of the song with the choir had the grandeur of a finale performance. 

The results are already out and Putri Ariani only got the fourth place; like many of her fans, I guess I'm disappointed. Having said that, she is still a winner because she won the hearts of many and I hope she (and her fans) take this result gracefully. It is quite easy in such a glamorous world of celebrities to do the opposite. Some time not winning adds more value and certainly more understanding of the world that often do not follow our whims. It adds humility on our part and make our strive better. I must say I have such humbling experience in the academia (where egos tend to inflate) but in the end, what matters most is how we take the next step and grow better. AGT has already given her much exposure (and likewise AGT got more views due to her popularity surge). That in itself is already a win.

I remembered being moved by her performance of Train Wreck by James Arthur (see below)

Whatever train-wrecking disappointment of the results can be, always believe that it is for the better and pray that she continues to be guided and not swayed much by the glitter of the world of celebrities.

Tonight, me with the family went out for dinner at Urban Affairs since our youngest is about go back to his college in UiTM this weekend. This is the first time we dine there. The ambience is good, perhaps as its name suggests, may fall into the hipster category. Due to this, the meal can be relatively pricey (compared to normal restaurants), but the food is good with large portions.