The Tubie that got me hooked on Toca

Ladies and Gentleman, Noel 'Toca' Rivera, Jason Mraz's right hand man, buddy, vocalist and djembe-playing percussionist (vocationist).

Toca

I stumbled upon Toca and now I'm a fan. Besides looking like my baby brother (he moves like baby bro too), Toca is one mean djembe playing machine. He's the vocationaist for Jason Mraz and Jason's good buddy. I Youtubed Jason's I'm Yours and saw Toca playing and singing next to him. Sorry, Jason, I love your music and but I think I love Toca more because he's Toca.

Photo courtesy of Backstage Pass and Jennifer Fong

Man is nothing if he forgets the past. He achieves nothing if he does not live for the future. (Man as in male and female man, so don't start the whole gender debate, ya?)

I have always held an intense fascination for the past, especially the history that links my family to this place. Like the antique tiles that used to line the walls of my grandfather's shop, they tell a story of who I am. And that links me to the my own future. It is one thing to reminisce. An utterly useless act that bemoans what is past. It's quite another to empower oneself with the knowledge of the past and catapult to the abundance of the future. This is one of those random thoughts that snapped things into perspective. For me, anyway. The past is gone. My grandparents live on only in my memory. Their legacy lives on, though.

I was reminded just a while ago that the purpose of life is to prepare for eternity. That's very cool. It rings true to me, in any case. Life is a fly-by-night, a fleck in the universe, a bubble in the champagne. It really is. Think about it. We eat, we sleep, we grow old, we die. Is it enough just to live well, be nice and play fair? (and by 'well', I don't mean just the superficial luxuries)? It's just me, but I'd like to get down to the heavy spiritual stuff, thank you very much.

I'm tired, and rambly. I will read this tomorrow and laugh at myself for writing it down. Ha.

The Petrol Pooter Perfaffle

Petrol prices have increased by what seems like a gazillian percent since last year (let's take it at a flat 30% since prices of goods have not been hiked up since yesterday's 40% increase just yet). But what it boils down to is this:
Kolomee then: RM2.20. Kolomee now: RM3.00 (36.4% increase)
Rice then: RM18 per 10kg pack. Rice now: RM25 per 10kg pack (38.9% increase)
1 sio bee then: RM0.40. 1 sio bee now: RM0.80 (100% increase)
1 drink at the kopitiam: RM1.20 then. The same drink at the kopitam now: RM1.60 (33.3%)
Airfares: let's not even go there...but you get the idea....
My salary then: 10 peanuts. My salary now: 11 peanuts (10% increase)

So, while I have 10% more moolah per month to play with, I am paying over 30% more for everything else in my life, 100% if I want to eat sio bee. WoohooWonderfulExcellent. Well, if we're not happy about things, change things or do something else to retain the balance, I always say. I'm going to have to figure out which is works better for me, change things, or do something else.