Why Would I Write

  • The Tiniest Things

    I’m the king of procrastination. Believe me, there’s so many things that I wish I would finish and haven’t gotten around to it yet. One of those things was cleaning out my room. Despite starting it in January 2018, I finally finished it last weekend. And if it wasn’t because of certain motivating factors, I bet my room would have stayed unclean for the rest of the year.

    What motivated me? Believe it or not – mosquitoes. Yes, those pesky flying blood suckers. Last week I had the worst bout of mosquito attacks in my room. I’d wake up every day with new bites on my legs or arms, and when I was awake, I would notice them flying around the room. Despite my constant spraying of Ridsect every time I went out for the day, and tubs of mosquito repellent I left around my room – they still wouldn’t leave me alone.

    I knew that there was one thing left to do: I had to clean my fucking room. And so I did. I took me two days to go through the boxes of stuff I had (things I had been hoarding for over ten years), packing them into trash bags and other boxes. I threw out tons of stuff. I turned off sentimental mode. I didn’t care that it was a book of drawings I did as a kid – they were rubbish anyway, I threw them out. After that, I gave my room a complete wipe-down, getting rid of dust, dirt, hairs, and whatever left that was lying around.

    The mosquitoes haven’t completely disappeared – I’m sure there are some left for me to destroy, but the bites have stopped. On the plus side, I now have a clean room and boy, it feels good. Also, it felt great to finally finish something that I started back in 2018. At least this year wasn’t such a waste. The next step is maintaining my room’s condition.

  • A Silence so Sudden That I Seem to Hear It

    “I’m sorry,” said an unfamiliar voice. I looked up from my seat to see Lisa standing in front of me. My mind raced – “What the fuck? She speaks?”

    Everybody thought Lisa was a mute because she refused to speak to any of us. Ever since her first day at school, she had never uttered a word. We knew she wasn’t special needs or deaf because she raised her hand during roll call and did the same homework as us.

    We’d invite her to join us for lunch, but she never accepted – declining by smiling and shaking her head at the same time. After a few weeks, we figured she was either mute or introverted. Regardless, she was a part of our classes – except when it came to discussions. The teachers would never pick her. I believed they knew the reason behind her silence and refused to tell any of us. We left it at that.

    And now, on the very last day of school, Lisa decided to speak to me. Of all people.

    “It is time for me to say goodbye,” she continued.
    “Wait, what?”
    “It’s time for me to go.”
    “But I don’t even know you, why are you telling me this?”
    “Maybe I’ll see you again.”
    “I don’t understand,” I replied. I looked around the classroom – nobody seemed to notice that I was having a conversation with the mute girl. They were in the midst of making plans for the summer, drawing dicks on year books, and snapchatting farewell posts.

    Lisa turned around and walked out of the classroom. Immediately, I rose to my feet to follow her out of the room.
    “George, where are you going?” my teacher asked as I began to open the door.
    “I’m going after Lisa!”

    Silence fell over the room as all eyes focused onto me.
    “Who?”
    “Lisa, the mute girl?”
    Everybody was looking at me as though I was crazy. Low murmurs of students whispering to each other began to filter into the air.

    The teacher got up from her seat and walked towards me. She put a hand on my shoulder and said, “George, you better sit back down.”

    Writing Prompt from Reddit: [WP] Everyone thought that one student was mute, though no one knew why. Today, on the last day of school, she speaks to you.

  • Gig #119, Gig #120

    It’s been a while since my last show. I think I say this too often. Probably. But I’ve finally decided to get onto the stage again, with two shows for the coming week! If you’re on a long raya break, no excuse for you to not show up! Join me for some chill tunes and cool beer. Details below:

    PLOY Open Mic #95 ft. Sarah Daniella [Facebook Page]

    Time: 8 PM – 10:00 PM
    Date: 3rd June 2019
    Venue: Ploy at Clearwater [Google Maps]

    The PLOY (at Clearwater) Open Mic is our 2nd longest running open mic night which happens every Monday evening just outside the palace! Each installation features one of our finest musicians, with this one featuring…

    ***SARAH DANIELLA***

    SARAH DANIELLA started singing at the age of 10, influenced largely by gospel and soul music. Her love for the blues developed later on as did her love for rock. She blends these influences to create a unique fusion of music.

    Over the years, Sarah has been a part of a few musical groups and bands. She has more recently begun to focus on her solo project, Sarah Daniella Music. Joined by Ravi Shankar on drums and percussions, the two of them perform a mix of original songs and familiar standards by acts such as The Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Madonna and the likes.

    She is no stranger to the stage and has performed at events such as Tun Siti Hasmah’s retirement dinner where both Tun Siti Hasmah and Tun Mahathir Muhammad graced the event, Filem Festival Pelajar 2014 (FFP), Multimedia University Convocation Dinner 2012. She has also performed in many other livehouses and performance spaces such as Merdekarya, Pisco Bar, PLOY at Clearwater, The KL Journal and many others.

    She sites Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Etta James and Joan Jett as her biggest vocal influences.

    Follow her: https://www.instagram.com/sarahdaniellamusic/

    ***OPEN MIC***

    8.00pm – Juliana Heng
    8.15pm – Yan Chang
    8.30pm – 2storeyheart
    8.45pm – FEATURED ACT
    9.15pm – Clement Lee
    9.30pm – Andre D. D’Cruz
    9.45pm – Dzaim Adzmi

    Poolside Open Mic #92 ft. Eloise Lau [Facebook Page]

    Time: 8 PM – 10:00 PM
    Date: 6th June 2019
    Venue: The Swimming Club, KL Journal Hotel [Google Maps]

    The Poolside Open Mic is our 3rd longest running open mic night which happens every Thursday evening right on TOP of The KL Journal! Each installation features one of our finest musicians, with this one featuring…

    ***ELOISE LAU***

    Eloise Lau is a folk-pop singer-songwriter who has written songs in the full range of the emotional spectrum, from not wanting to get our of bed to wanting to watch a person burn and fall. An experienced performer, she has graced the stages at both local and international venues – as the only Malaysian representative at the 2013 ChildAid Asia concert in Tokyo and most recently at Urbanscapes2017’s #rediscoverKL. In 2016, she embarked on an ambitious song-writing project as a part of her thesis in her final year of university, which gained recognition from local press. She was also nominated as one of the best College/Uni acts at the 2016 VIMA awards and was interviewed as a featured guest Astro VBuzz which was aired exclusively on local TV. Expect to see more of Eloise Lau in 2018!

    Follow her: https://www.instagram.com/eloise.lau/

    ***OPEN MIC***

    8.00pm – Layeena
    8.15pm – 2storeyheart
    8.30pm – Jenssen Kuek
    8.45pm – FEATURED ACT
    9.15pm –
    9.30pm – Black Plastic Hat
    9.45pm – Young & Onn