Sunday 29 May 2011

ALERT!


The number of replies I got after this

OVERWHELMING!! 

Because of that, the Production Team had a tough time picking out the lucky winner! But hey, to all those who emailed me with all the correct answers, check your inbox. We've just replied! 

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner! See you at Istana Budaya!
=)

P/s: If you've just gotten those tickets, be ready to be interviewed on that day itself as it will be the Media Night too! So you might just appear on TV and in the news the next day!

Saturday 28 May 2011

Full Stop

Yesterday was my final day at work. Which means that my Dreamgirls' journey will officially start this Monday all the way till the show ends on the 24th of July. Yes, I cried a bucket yesterday! Hmmph... I'm filled with mixed feelings to be honest. Happy, excited, sad (that I won't be at work to annoy my colleagues and my bosses), anxious, panicky, scared, on top of the world cloud-9....everything.

Last night's rehearsal was just awful btw. My coughs did not allow my voice to come out and what more, when I coughed so hard, I got a terrible headache. But naturally, I'm not the type who'd like to 'manja'-kan my body, hence why I don't really stop doing what I do no matter how sick I am. I think if I did, I'd get more stressed up and would fall sick even more. I love the fun kinda stress and pressure, it helps with the motivation and happiness level :):)

Dom, my music teacher has summoned me to at least 6 litres of water a day, and on top of that hot lemon and honey drink. Wait, I'm not finished yet. I'm not allowed bread too! *DIE! How to survive like this? Bread's like the only food I'm not fussy about* Well, it creates phlegm and would make my cough worse. and loads of sleep too! I'm not complaining, but I'm not a fan for sleeping. It makes me restless to sleep other than night time. Sigh...such is harsh love.

Anyway, this weekend will be one fun weekend with my loved ones and to start it off, I have two events to attend today. TAS Iman and FashionValet Launch and the launch Projek Disko Baldi in conjunction with PJ Laugh Fest.  Both events, to cheer on for my beloved and talented friends and of course to also take a chill pill, relax and get ready for a new journey that I have never explored before ever in my entire life.

InsyaAllah, everything will fall into place. May not be easy, but I will take one day at a time.

Thursday 26 May 2011

The happy email

Is that my name up on that list
Does someone know that I exist....
*continues singing 'So Much Better'. It's from Legally Blonde the Musical btw!'*

Semi final selection: Tackled, fell and I broke my toe nail. It had to be the worse ever internal bleeding I have ever had. It bled and my big toe turned green. *cringe* What was worse was when I had rehearsals for Dreamgirls the next day. It bled for 5 days (dressings were soaked with blood!), the Doctor disallowed me from any activities. Of course I was stubborn enough to ignore, but I was also suffering and limping around in my foot guards and bandages.

Final selection: It has been a few crazy working weeks on our side and just a few days before the final futsal selection, I had breathing difficulties which came along with flu and fever on the actual day. Gosh the horror.  A few hours before the selection I was told to give it a pass in case I might pass out during the training session....I just nodded at the Doctor. and of course I was stubborn enough to not listen and not tell anyone that I was still going. And not tell the coach I was having breathing difficulties. And OF COURSE I nearly passed out after the selection. But I just had to go! Thank God for the inhaler the Doctor gave!

Last year, we became a team to represent the Bank for athletics tournament...

...we won Gold. and as a reward, the Bank sent us for a holiday trip to Bali!

Guess what?

We've now earned our places as the Bank's futsal players! Definitely, by far the best email we got today! The confirmation email.

:):):)


Intensive training starts in June for us, before our tournament in July. And quoting the coach,  I am playing as 'Lil Miss Striker'!

For starters, the Bank got me 
.
.
.

A Nike Elastico in my favourite colour!! Green! Yippee!! Thank you CIMB, I'm in love :)



Actually, I realized that my CIMB coaches are the best for they have always arranged to give me everything in my favourite colour. Even my Badminton racquet was previously custom made to have Green Strings and a Green Rubber Grip.


Oh well, higher risks do come with bigger rewards I guess. I'm just thankful that I did not pass out last night! For now, I'm pumped up to start training with the team :) Good luck my lovelies! Let's do this for the Bank and (of course) try to win another Champion's trip! =P

Monday 23 May 2011

1 + 1 > 2


If you believe in something hard enough, it might just be true!

I clearly remembered my earlier days in Corporate Finance when I just joined the corporate world a year and a bit ago, and specifically during the time when the company was at its final stages of completing a deal. The crazy hours of getting in to the office before the sun was up, and going home when the moon was nearly done completing its ‘round’ – just before the sun is due to come up the next day. I forgot how a normal day feels like, not to mention the weight I lost! Good times. Today, my system has gotten used to it, so I gain weight instead when I’m stressed, reason being because I’ll give in to a truck-load of chocs.

First two words I learned were Merger and Acquisition. Having had an awesome team, they never fail to make things fun and simple for me, it’s really funny when I come to think about it all over again. “Acquisition is when company A ‘eats up’ or ‘swallows’ Company B” and “A merger is when Company C and Company D think that they can be a new set of BFF” and “both would take place if one or both the companies see potential benefits in the activity”to gain a greater market share or to achieve greater efficiency. Simply put, the difference lies in how the purchase is executed - if it is a hostile act, then it’s an acquisition, if it’s a friendly one, it is a merger. Well most of the time.

So, 1 + 1 = 3? Why? Because all mergers and acquisitions are meant to create synergy that makes the value of the combined greater than the sum of the two parts at the end of the day. Ok la, maybe it's more logical to say 1 + 1 > 2? So mathematically, it can even be 1 + 1 = 8! Whoa, suddenly I feel like a genius teaching people that an obviously wrong answer, when justified can seem right :P All you need is a vivid imagination!

Those earlier days in the corporate world when everything was new and I was so eager to learn the most complicated things, the process of conducting a valuation to name one, using the different methods. One that is often used was the discounted cash flow. A very powerful tool if mastered correctly. At the same time that it is tricky, it is also 'fun' to measure how much a company is worth. I'm no pro investment banker, but I have to say that it was truly a very mind-enlightening first hand experience eventhough it was tough. Afterwards, I get to 'play around' with the numbers derived and calculate the minimum value of synergies which is needed  so that the acquiring firms do not lose value. Toss in those numbers in the magical equation (which has been stuck in my head since day 1) and tada! Well, obviously la it won't be accurate to the decimal, since like I told you, I'm no pro banker and everyone knows that when doing valuation, it is based on a list of assumptions too. 


The recent Hong Leong and EON deal is finally sealed. If you have not yet heard it yet, the town’s talking about RHB’s future? Who is it getting married to? Or would they remain alone?

*jeng jeng jeng*

Can you imagine, following the proposed sale of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s 25% stake, if RHB ‘decides to let itself be acquired’, the outcome would either determine who would ultimately be the largest Bank in Malaysia or reshuffle the position of local banks’ standings (in terms of total assets). OMG, if that’s not interesting to you, I don’t know what is. Or maybe I’m the weirdo. But hey really, it is super interesting, I get very excited just talking about anything related to it, hence this post!

Oh well, anyway, let’s just see where the market will take us!

*Sings I’m your Dreamgirl…ooohhhh…oooh.oooh.oooh.oooh*

Saturday 21 May 2011

Tweet tweet

A few days ago, I had friends who messaged me on facebook, some that I have not contacted for a while. Their next question was "Hey! Are you in Dreamgirls?!"

before I realized that this was on twitter...



Thursday 19 May 2011

Love will always take one through

When you do something without realizing the time that passes by, that's true love. But when these times are accumulated, you might just drop dead one day too. Without realizing it. And I just realized that! Yeah, secretly I wanted to be a superman when I was small ;) (face it, no one says superwoman one la).

Something I realized the past week. I mean, it has always been at the back of my head, I know it. I just have not experienced it until today. I had to juggle between work, Dreamgirls' rehearsals, theory lessons, futsal training and rehearsals for 'One Night Only' the whole of last week and weekend. Whilst at that, I managed to injure my toe oh-so-badly from futsal training. The internal bleeding got worse when I did not stop to take a rest and went on to prepare for the Broadway shows. But trust me when I say that I forgot that it was even painful when I'm happily rehearsing :) Mind over matter!

Well anyway, I had my first show for Broadway Academy last weekend, and I must say that I truly enjoyed it - the energy, the company, the team dynamic. I just loved everything about it! The practise and the choreography sessions, perfecting our blocking and pitches. Trying out the stage and doing sound checks. Having our teacher and Broadway team by our side making sure we are ok and on standby before and after the show. I just love it. Now I can't wait for Dreamgirls in July!

As I write this, I'm like a happy zombie, all happy and motivated but at the same time, I can just fall asleep in a split second. Have an excellent weekend ahead everyone! :)

Sunday 15 May 2011

Vocals

I learned yesterday that some people are born with perfect pitch. So if you randomly go up to them and say "sing a G", they'll instantly hit the right note and sing you the most beautiful G note (without you having to hit the note on the keyboard first)! Unlike me, tell me to sing an A or B, C, D, E, F, G, and I'll just bulldoze my 'laaaaaa' through. I swear if you say sing a G and afterwards sing a B, my voice box will produce the exact same sound!

Pfft. I was not born with perfect pitch, I've come to terms with it.

I was told that these gifted people sometimes would have a visual moment in their head when told to pitch a note. For example, when you tell her to sing an A, she instantly sings it correctly and simultaneously, a blue coloured splash will appear in her mind! Magical isn't it?!

But I was also assured that through practise, you will get better at capturing it. A step closer to (but definitely will never be perfect for me) having that skill. If that's not difficult enough, currently I'm being taught to sing using my talking voice. I'm not too sure whether I'm talking greek to you now, but anyway, naturally when told to sing one would slip into their singing voice, which is typically 'higher' than our normal talking voice.

Females typically fall into soprano, soprano 2 (mezzo soprano) and contralto, whilst the males typically make up the tenors, baritones and bass (very low, thick rich-ish sound). *Phew* I do listen in class! :) Human singing voices may possess vocal ranges that encompass more than one voice type - and I am in between mezzo soprano and contralto, which is not the highest but not too low nor too rich at the same time.

I have the privilege of having a teacher who was born with perfect pitch, and it's amazing that Eunice can understand my vocal needs to the very core. She also understands that you should never be in your comfort zone too much or you will never progress. So, since my singing voice is rather high, I'm now working on 'Listen' by Beyonce (also from Dreamgirls) where I need to fully use my talking voice to sing. It was such a strain that at one point Eunice pointed out at my head and gasped "Ok, stop! Your veins are coming out already. Get some water to drink and rest your throat". But to be fair, I had that session after a full day of Dreamgirls' rehearsals, so pushing a talking voice after a day of singing was not easy. When Eunice corrects me by singing it herself, I'll just stare with admiration for she always sings so perfectly! So sedap, I'll just suddenly slip into a 'musical Disneyland' - where everything seems so perfect in this world (ok...khayal dah). Oh my God, I woke up with a sore throat the next day and my voice box got a lil confused and did not know whether it's talking or singing anymore!

There is never a day when I don't find new discoveries, it makes me feel 'high' sometimes from the excess happiness! :) Have a good weekend everyone!!

Saturday 14 May 2011

We're Your DREAMGIRLS











"...We'll make you happy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're your Dreamgirls, boys, we'll always care. We're your Dreamgirls,  Dreamgirls will never leave you. No, no. All you've got to do is dream. We'll be there- yeah!"

Earlier this year, I started out with individual classes and choir just twice a week with my two beloved teachers - Eunice and Dominic. One's my Monday teacher, another is my Friday teacher :)



Few months down the line, we are now a team. Rehearsing every single day and working towards producing the first biggest Broadway production in Malaysia! I'm very privileged indeed! P/s: They still remain my teachers when rehearsals are done on Mondays and Fridays!

DREAMGIRLS The Broadway Musical Sensation
14-24 July 2011 at Istana Budaya

Last weekend we had our second Dreamgirls preview promo at the Curve after the Press Conference earlier in April, and the turnout was SPEC-TA-CU-LAR! Although it was just a taster of the songs and acts that we will be performing for real in July, the support and energy present at the promo was overwhelming!!



Rehearsals have started everyday and after each and every session, everyone just improves. It's like magic, really! The chemistry within the group is just so great, it's like 2 persons being very much in love with each other. Just that this time, it's a lot of us put together. "We are a family, like a giant tree, branching towards the sky..." (yes, that's one of Dreamgirls' song too btw!). Did I tell you that I started reading my music scores during lunch break and dancing in the office too at random times. Gosh...luckily I have colleagues who don't judge :P

 Look closely, I have my Dreamgirls' scores on my lap, whilst Saiful reads up about his deal!

What happens when my head absorbs a combination of work and musical rehearsals! 
Dance moves scribbled in my company organizer! I love my Company that much! :)

Have you guys watched Dreamgirls the movie btw? If not, check out what it's all about over here, http://redtix.airasia.com/events/Dreamgirls/ and http://onedreamonly.wordpress.com/about/. You know what was cute though? When I happily told my boss at work about Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson in the movie and before I know it, he cut right through me and said "Hah! Generation gap there. My time, it was Diana Ross". I now can guess his age la like this!

-____-

Anyway guys, block your dates and get your tickets soon, coz it's now on sale already and the best seats in the house are selling fast... and at the same time, pray I don't fall off the stage ok? Pretty please? Well, some of my closest friends are planning to embarrass me with big banners like "Marry me Alia!" and "Go singing Banker!". Ish... But honestly, I really don't think they can tell me and my Dreamgirls apart once the creative team has made us all up! *grins*

 





So come catch some of our very own great local talents, Dina, Azura, Ruzana, Elvira, Dafi, Indi, Cheryl Samad, Joy, Tony Eusoff and the rest of us on stage this July! See you guys there! :)




For more information and tickets :
http://redtix.airasia.com/events/Dreamgirls/

My earlier post on our Press Conference :
 http://aneconomathemathstisticiansthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/04/dreamgirls-went-live.html

How you can get a discount on the tickets :
http://aneconomathemathstisticiansthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-all-about-dreamgirls.html

Us in the press :
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/08sosmay/Article/
http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/SyaratketatbawamasukDreamgirls/Article
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/67799-local-stars-sizzle-dreamgirls
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=11016%3Abroadways-dreamgirls-to-feature-malaysian-cast&Itemid=4

Our Facebook event page where you will get the latest updates:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154496451276579


Now, time for....

*Drumroll*

FREE TICKETS!

Be the lucky winner who can answer all these questions correctly and you will win yourself a pair of tickets to the preview night of Dreamgirls! Yup, even before the public sees it!!!!!  :)

  1. Who's playing Effie in Dreamgirls this July? And who was Effie in love with in Dreamgirls?
  2. In 1982, which Dreamgirls' solo was a no 1 hit on the Billboard R&B charts?
  3. Which company in Malaysia has been given the full rights to stage Dreamgirls in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand? *yawns...so easy!*
  4. Who's a singing Banker and also a Dreamgirl in this production? (My God, I was forced to put up this question ok!)
Send in your answers to myalia.blog@gmail.com NOW!  = )

This will run till 16 May 2011 before the Dreamgirls' creative team decides on the winner!

Friday 6 May 2011

Sacrifice

You are the creator of your own happiness and you are indeed in control of it.

This whole week has been nothing but a challenging test for me. Reason being because I did not manage to follow the schedule given to me, but I still managed to do all that I love. As you may already know, the rehearsals from DREAMGIRLS have started, full force! 8 hours of just singing and dancing everyday since 1st of May....and this will go on all the way till the show in July.

Right now, I'm the only one with a full time job. So technically, whilst everyone gets the best training in the studio every morning and every afternoon, everyday, I'll be happily working hard in the Bank. Truth be told, I pity my colleagues at work! They've only either gotten a shock when I suddenly start singing or dancing to the Dreamgirls tunes... or they're the best audience I have every single day! Everyone at work knows about my involvement in Dreamgirls and they are definitely the best supporters :) I love it how they call me the singing princess banker at work. Oh the love! I leave office everyday feeling very thankful for having the most understanding team at work really. You know you have the best people around you when you can just be yourself and they understand you inside out! Today, my boss reminded me that it is good to chase your dreams coz you'll never know it until you've given it a shot, "so go do your Dreamgirls!". My boss even bought the most expensive tickets to watch me perform! I nearly jumped up for joy to give him the biggest hug but....yeah


*maintain professionalism at work Alia*

Really, I think it only helps me with my productivity at work everyday, because I know that I have something to look forward to after work and that is to rush to the studio and learn all the parts that I have missed during the day that when I'm at work, I get so pumped up to complete my tasks. Not to mention that some good deals came in this week too! I am so in love with my job :)

Everyday, my Dreamgirls teammates would call me, before rehearsals in the morning, during lunchtime and after they're done to update me on what they did, at the same time encouraging me to continue singing at work and catch up at night when I go to the studio after working hours. On some days, they even stay on to wait for me to come to the studio at night and they'll go through again with me what they did earlier. My God. They do so much for me! and to think that some of them are important Malaysian artists. They're oh so humble and fun to be with, I just cannot explain how thankful I am that I got this opportunity!!

My love for work. and my love for performing arts. I really am very very thankful with how things are now eventhough I don't deny that I am half dead by the time I get home every single night. But then again, when else can i do this if not now? Opportunities like these don't fall into your lap all the time do they? I might as well exhaust myself to the max, as long as I am happy, I am good to go! Amin

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Busy bee on labour day

I know everyone took the opportunity to wake up late today right? But...

I woke up with butterflies in my stomach this morning, I swear I could have vomited air, if that was even possible!! It was one of those rare days when I get up excited but nervous about something at the same time. And clearly today was because it was our first full-day 9 hours of rehearsals for Dreamgirls with all the cast. It was very sweet I thought :)

In show business, everyone gets along so well with every(other)one and team dynamic is always at its best! No matter how tough rehearsals can get ( and I mean it can get very tough, I get so nervous before the session everytime), I never fail to come out with a smile as big as a kid who just got the biggest cotton candy on planet earth!!! :):):):) The happiness would stay so long that it gives me this random energy to want to perform better, in anything really. Be it work, Broadway, you name it. That energy just seems so powerful! :):) Well, I don't think my explanation would ever make any sense until you experience it yourself though.

It feels like home everytime I step into the studio and I'm surrounded by my Broadway loves! I foresee myself facing the greatest difficulty when Dreamgirls ends in July. Definitely not looking forward to it. I want to pack every little dreamgirls' cast into my pocket! Gosh....so emo. The whole thing hasn't even started fully yet! (Get hold of yourself Alia!)

Well anyway, we're now planning to catch our very own Assistant Director for Dreamgirls, Megat in action this week! He'll be acting in God of Carnage. I heard it's good! It's currently running at PJLA. A (potentially) good show, with great company and to support our fellow teammate. What more can I ask for :) So much love, I can't wait!

Let's just say that today was a very tough session, but never short of fun times and memorable moments, I loved it. We'll definitely get there, InsyaAllah. So don't forget to get your tickets at www.airasiaredtix.com k!

As if that was not enough happiness for me, my Broadway team and I had waffles for dinner before another round of rehearsals with the Orchestra (yes, my favourite waffle buddy is a waffle Prince. You should see how Dom's face brightened up the whole studio when he smelled waffle. Too cute!) before Aiman and I decided on ice cream for supper! :) I am just so thankful that my busy Monday turned out to be a very happy one!


 Have a good week ahead everyone! :)

Sunday 1 May 2011

The Week I Functioned as Three

After an awesome fruitful working weekend down below with my Singapore team and our clients 2 weeks ago, I came back up to KL in time for a very busy week! Not to mention tiring too. But definitely the happiest one! 

Marina Bay Sands - Simply Gorgeous!
You HAVE to get up there, so serene :)

Started of with a 2-days Trade Finance course which I thought was very useful as I had never had a proper introduction to this transaction. Truth be told, I gained so much for being the 'most junior' employee amongst the Directors and Managers who attended from other Banks, in all seriousness because the rest were not too comfortable with asking 'silly questions' which I obviously went on with. I was the sole representative for mine and I became so interested that the past week I agreed to take on a Trade Finance deal when I got back to work! See why I love my work place? I get the opportunity!
=)

Immediately after that, we managed to host the biggest YCM CEO Series on Tuesday night, thanks to Mr Sajith, country head of Google Malaysia. An impressive session, I thought it was very fact-filling! To whoever who wanted free consulting/advisory services, that was definitely a session to join. So many tips to make the most out of google!! I also witnessed some people who were very eager to get home and beautify their CV/ Resume! Haha! Mr Sajith even mentioned someone's name *ahem* thrice and got her thinking if she should start exploring! Too funny. A very humble man, very intelligent, so approachable and very driven to bring only the best into Malaysia. I know I had fun at the session.
=)


At supper, Mr Sajith decided to google none other than...."Alia Ishak"

Soon after, this followed and I could not be any happier that everything is soon-to-be materialized! Finally, I can only beam from ear to ear watching things fall into place one by one. The rest of the 3-days, I was on leave for Dreamgirls workshop. The new friends I made, the excellent performers I met, and the experience I got, training with some of the best local talents we have. Oh the happiness!
Have you guys got your tickets yet? It's on sale at www.airasiaredtix.com now! :) 

Amazing souls on planet earth. My Broadway loves who never ever ever fail to inject continuous happiness into my system. Btw, my awesome vocal teachers are the power-vocal-couple, Dom and Eunice (standing 2nd and 4th) ! I'm proud they're my teachers :)

and just when the end of the week came, suddenly...going fairer, gaining weight, accumulating mountain load of stress from only 15 hours of sleep and going haywire for this became oh-so-worth-it last weeek....after my boss sent an email that said "Congrats!". I PASSED! 
*dances the Broadway dance*

Aih, sometimes when you wish hard enough for things to be perfect, it does come true! And truly, for that week, as I function my usual role as an Investment Banker, a Broadway performer and a YCM Convener all at once, everything was just PERFECT =)