Introducing Ariel

Hello. My name is Ariel (it used to be Bulat but somehow my new masters decided to rename me). Anyway, I’m one year old. I used to stay in Bukit Jalil until two months ago (or was it three months?). Now I lived with a family of five in USJ, Subang Jaya. I don’t really know why these people adopt me. Maybe they wanted “someone” to provide comic relief for them (as whenever I did something that’s remotely funny, they’ll laughed their heads off!)

Sometimes, I just need to put on my cutest face, and they would go “auwwwwwww”!!!! Pelik la humans ni!

Cute la sangat kan..

But having said that, I must say living here, now, is okay. They, the masters, feed me well. I can’t possibly ask for more, right? But it can be boring too – especially, for some reasons, they don’t allow me to step outside of the house.

that's me... bosan ya amat!

So, I try to sneak out whenever possible, especially when they are opening the doors to go outside. But more often than not, they manage to stop me from doing so. On those occasions when I managed to get out, they would usually scream in horror, as if something bad just occurred. Strange people, they are. For goodness sake, I only wanted to take a bit of fresh air and roll around outside. (okay, maybe find a boyfriend too la… but don’t tell them!)

So most of the time, I’m cooped up in the house. And most of the time, its up to me to amuse myself. Tough.

...So I roam around looking for things to do or some insects to play with...

.. or I play with plastic bags - my favourite thing in the whole wide world. It doesn't matter how large, how small, or how full the plastic bag is, it is mine! If I cannot fit my entire body into the box, then I use whatever part of my body that fits to assume ownership of the said plastic bag. (I have used one or two paws, my head, or even just my tail to gain entry and each works equally well for a truly restful sleep.)

or if there's really nothing else to do, I usually take a nap.. here's me at my favourite napping place...

..me sleeping some more....

And let me tell you about my masters (bodek sikit la)... there are five of them in the family...

The first one is the only male in da house... they call him Bapak (although one person call him abang, I have to check why). I'm guessing that this person is rather afraid of me... as he hardly pick me up. He will only pat me or tickle me occassionally. But I know he's harmless.

Then there's this lady they call Mak (or Yan as the only male call her... again I have to check why is this so). She's hillarious, I tell you. And she's motherly too... so that's why I always like to snug up to her especially when she starts to sit in front of her PC. (like above....). She always laugh at the slightest antic that I make.

Then there's this girl call Alia. I am rather perplex as she's the only one the house who doesn't have a room mate. Yes, she has a room all to herself. I suppose I was brought in to be her new roommate (and I like her room too as I can while away by the window and look at all the yummy birds outside). But she always close and lock her room making it so susah for me to enter. How la like this? I wanna be your roommate, okay?

Next is Asma. She's hillarious too. The other day I caught a cicak and I was so proud of my self and brought it to her to show off la. And she had a major freak out moment then and there. Heh. Strange creature this girl!!

And finally, the youngest of them all is Arissa. She's the closest to me. And she likes to dress me up like the pix above. I look ugly, right? And she likes to play plastic bags with me too. In my book, that's a cool person.

Oh yes, there's one other person at home currently. I'm guessing she's the mother of Mak. I call her Opah. She's a gracious lady and always talk to me like I'm a baby. She's funny too. She always got my name wrong... sometimes she calls me May (or something like that la) and sometimes sesuka hati sahaja she calls me Danial and Aidill(!!!@#$$%%???). Euwww that's boys' name!!!!!

Shout! Absolutely fetching!

The Stars: The delightful Tisha, Shaney, Ning, Nikki, Tria and Joanna.

Its a good thing that I have absolutely no idea what Shout! The Mod Musical is all about when we went to watch it on the opening night at KL Pac last evening. I was rather busy earlier in the day so much so I had forgotten to Google the musical, as I usually do if I’m to watch a movie or go for a show.

And I’m glad I didn’t (Google it, I mean) as what happened in the end was a real super pleasant surprise. Shout! The Mod Musical is indeed an excellent off-broadway show.

The musical was Broadway Academy’s debut presentation, featuring golden songs from yesteryear. Apparently, BA is the first Malaysian company granted professional licence to produce Broadway musicals from New York with homegrown casts.

Set in Britain, the musical is about modern magazine Shout!, which focuses on 1960s music, fashion and liberation. It revolves around five girls – homebody Orange Girl (brilliantly played by Ning Baizura), slutty Green Girl (delightfully funny Tria Aziz), awkward Red Girl (versatile Shanel Shanty James), icy but beautiful Blue Girl (the classy Tisha Zarina) and loud American Yellow Girl (fabulous Nikki Palikat).

With a shimmy and a shake, the girls (in patent leather high boots, tight skirts and psychedelic outfits from the 60s) belted out hit songs from that era such as To Sir With Love (Lulu), Downtown (Petula Clark), Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey), Wishin’ And Hopin’ (Dusty Springfield), These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (Nancy Sinatra) and Georgy Girl (The Seekers).

Besides singing, they talked about new fads like Beatles, Twiggy, face creams, the Pill and independence. They also sent in lonely heart letters to Agony Aunt Gwendolyn Holmes (played by the amazing Joanna Bessey) who thinks every problem can be solved with “a fetching new hairstyle” or “a new shade of lipstick”.

We certainly have loads of fun watching and ‘experiencing’ the musical. Yeah, it was an experience. Ning and gang were all equally fantastic with wonderful voices and brilliant comic timing (ntv7's Audition season one champ Tria Aziz is simply hilarious. The music was great and the choreography was easily eye catching and feet stomping. The crowd really got into it.

And as I said earlier, I'm glad I didn't read about this show before going as I might want to cmpare these girls with the original performers (but when I got home, I've youtubed and watched another mat salleh's off-broadway version.... and I have to give our girls the thumbs-up).

I believe that if you are into musicals ala Mamma Mia, this one is not to be missed. Naturally, this high-energy musical held my undivided attention throughout. It brought me back to the lively music of the sixties. A nostalgic trip, indeed. (no, I’m not that old - started my schooling years in the 70's okay!)). But really, if you are from that era, you can't miss the joy. I was smiling the whole time. My teenaged girls seemed to enjoy most of the 60’s music for the first time as they were tapping away in their seats.

So if you are wondering what to do these next few days, why don’t you check out this musical. It’s magically groovy!

Shout! The Mod Musical runs from July 15 till 21 at Pentas 1, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur. Showtime is 8.30pm (with extra 3pm shows from July 16 onwards). Tickets are priced between RM96 and RM225. Tickets can be purchased at Axcess ticket outlets or KLPac’s box office. For details, call 03-7725 6175/4047 9000 or browse broadwayacademy.asia.