The Birth of Crunk'D!

Date: October 2005

One Vision. One Dream. Twelve Dancers.

Under the direction of our Master Choreographer, 12 troops had been selected and prepared for our moment of glory at the Peninsula Crew Challenge. We would gather on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis at base camp, the Dance Studio, to discuss strategy and movement. It was there, that the inspiration came for the name of the group, Crunk’D! There are 2 meanings to this word: “crazy and drunk”, and “to cry like a crane”. How appropriate!!! :p

No one could anticipate the journey we were about to embark on, which began all the way back in June. The experience of Crunk’D was one that will be very hard to forget. During the winter holidays, much of it was spent in the Studio conditioning our bodies for what would be a grueling 3 months of dancing/training on top of Flare Production commitments. The countless hours of dance, which was matched by the amount of time we spent eating after-practice, the pain, the fatigue and the injuries. My 4 nights of dancing was also complemented by 2 or 3 nights of karate. This ultimately led to a deterioration of my knees, shins, ankles and feet, much of which I can still feel now.

BUT all the pain and sacrifices made throughout that period was justly rewarded. No, we did not win, nor did we come second or third. We actually placed 5th in fact, out of 16 crews. This was a result that everyone was extremely proud of, given it being our first major dance competition we’ve entered. The reason why I felt on top of the world after our performance was based on the journey, rather than result. Twelve individuals (who had brought their own unique characteristics and dance backgrounds) had jelled to become such a tight unit, that we had become each other’s ‘family’ and support group. On stage, we were dynamic, energetic and in sync. As we approached the final turn of the journey, and hearing the last few beats of the song - the adrenalin rush, the feeling of accomplishment and the relief that it’ll all be over soon – I will always remember the huge roar of the crowd as we stood there in our ‘victory’ pose (choreographer’s idea :p). It was a moment of intrinsic satisfaction, something that whatever place we came, can never take away. Thanks guys for making it such an awesome experience!

Bro's 21st Birthday

Date: September 2005

My brother threw a big shindig to celebrate his 21st birthday. I know that older siblings usually give a speech at parties, but I had heard nothing about it throughout the whole planning process. You can imagine my surprise when my bro asked “so do you know what you’re gonna say on your speech?”. My first reaction was “WHAT THE??”. After thinking about it, and taking into account my dislike for public speaking, I decided to do a RAP instead. Looking back on it, I don’t know which option was worse. I had never rapped before in my life, and definitely not in front of 100 people.

This song is sung/rapped to the instrumental of I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy. It took me 2 days to write, one day to record and produce, and one day to practice for the performance. Special shoutouts to Am and Cindy, who provided their voices for the chorus (which was done on the day of the party after dance prac), and BboyVinny, who provided the backing soundtrack and assistance with the lyrics. If anyone wants to hear it, email me :p

This one goes out to you bro….

K-E-L to the V-I-N (that’s me)
BBOY V to the I-N-H (what up?)
A-M-A to the B-E-L (Ya’ll ready for this?)
C-I-N to the D-Y

What I’m gonna do now, is give a little rhyme,
21 years, its been a long time,
1984, September 27
Was the day you came down from heaven
We did not know what to expect
Yo my lil bro, You made a big impact
You gave us love, You gave us pain
But after all that We still love you just the same

CHORUS
I’ll be there for you, whatever you go through
By your side we’ll be, as a family, we’ll be loving you
Everyday you grow, all the seeds you sow,
We just want you to know, that today’s your show, Happy Birthday to you…

For y’all that dunno, Imma tell ya bout Rodney
Yo this boy is a lil weird, and funny
Once a upon time, his lifetime goal
Was to be the fittest FAT man in the world
One look in his bomb struck room
You’ll be thinking to yourself, boy you need a broom!
As you climb over mountains to his bed
If you can get there, then you’re well ahead

CHORUS

Yeah we shall be, like you see
In the 21 years, with you and me
We played sports, badminton, cricket, and footy
All the fights we’ve had, although regretfully.
He’s a ladies man, he be creeping through the night
Girls watch out, Rod – you know I’m right!
But Despite all that, He’s smart, he’s kind
A good friend in him, you’ll always find

CHORUS

This is what the parents have to say
We are proud and happy to this day
Shared the last 21 years with you
Our love for you is nothing new
By your side we’ll always be
As a family, we shall be

Strange and cruel, cold winds may blow
You have your highs and your lows
By your side we’ll always be
As a family, we shall be

We wish you all the best
And Reach success before, you rest
By your side we’ll always be
As a family, we shall be

You brought happiness and joy
We love you very much, our boy
By your side we’ll always be
As a family, we shall be…

My Birthday Surprise

Date: 6th / 7th September 2005

It was a regular Tuesday night with dance practice until about 9pm. I said my goodbyes to the dancers and trammed to the train station to head home. Everything was routine…come home, eat dinner, check email, start work. I was frantically trying to finish work that I needed to complete before a meeting the next day. So much so, that when my mum called me to go into the lounge room, I shouted out to her that I was busy. Then she actually came into my room to drag me to “see something on TV”. As I walked to the lounge room, I saw lit candles on a cake. My immediate reaction was to tell her off, cos I told her not to bother with a cake for my birthday :p But she insisted that I walk into the lounge room.

Then…in a pre-mediated fashion…SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People jumping from behind tables, couches, chairs and under pillows. Hilariously, the biggest guy present decided to hide behind a jacket and a puny little lamp.

I was FOOLED! The dancers had traveled all the way from the city (and even the other side of town) to my house, which is not close, just to surprise me as it clicked over to midnight. It was the best surprise I have ever had, and one that I did not expect at all. A couple of them had tests at 8am the next morning, and everyone was busy with assignments. I cannot thank enough, the people that were involved in that ambush. I was left truly speechless.

Looking back on it, I reflect on a few things that did seem weird, but never occurred to me that something like this would happen. Firstly, the entrance to our house was completely clean (maybe dad went on a cleaning streak and just removed it all). Secondly, there was party food in the fridge when I raided it for dinner that night. I knew they must be for something, so I even asked mum if I could eat one of them, not knowing that they were for MY party..haha Thanks so much again to all to guys!

Flare Gigs (Syn Celeb-Asian)

Date: July 2005

This year, Flare has propelled itself into the dance community, by being recognized as a performance group for Melbourne’s top nightspots and various major events. One of the major turning points for the group was our gig at Next Blue, for SynFM’s birthday celebrations.

Given the circumstances of how this performance came to fruition, it is definitely one of my favourites. The hurdle we had to overcome was me going back to Malaysia for 2 weeks, with the gig happening only a week after I return. Therefore, the choreography was divided between me and another choreographer. There were intensive daily rehearsals while I was away, and at the same time, I had to choreograph whenever I had a free moment in Malaysia, such as waiting for a bus. My choreo was videotaped and emailed to the dancers, hoping they would get a feel of the routine. When I returned, we continued with our daily 3hr practices until the day of our performance. Despite the feeling of lacking sufficient preparation (which is normal with most groups), our performance impressed the organizers of Next Blue. This was the opportunity that we had been waiting for all this time. The sense of achievement of being discovered and representing the name of Flare is something that I will always cherish. For more photos, click here

2005 was a HUGE year for Flare. We had 18 performances throughout the year, out of which I danced in 13 of them. For more details, click here. Dance prac after dance prac, this occupied a lot of my time, but the trade-off was heaps of fun, camaraderie built between the dancers and meeting a group of fantastic people that I would not have been able to go through the year without.

Malaysia…Truly Asia

Date: July 2005

For the first time in 3 years, I went home, back to Malaysia. I had been yearning to see all my cousins, nieces, aunties and uncles. Quite a lot has changed since I last went back. The thing I missed most during that time, other than the food of course, was seeing my 2 nieces grow up. They had transformed from 2 young, innocent children into 2 smart, beautiful girls, each with their own discerning characteristics.



For the first time, we ventured to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. It was only a short 3-day trip, but in that time, we managed to taste their exquisite seafood, climb up a mountain and along a rope ladder (scary stuff), and also get lost while trying to find a restaurant. The restaurant incident was quite funny. Our gang of 10 decided to head to this restaurant that had traditional Malaysian dancing on stage, while you eat. The only problem was that we forgot to write down its address, but we knew roughly which suburb it was in. In the process of finding the restaurant, we were conned to pay for a bus ride that took us only 2 stops, then we had to walk another 15mins to another bus stop, which would supposedly take us to the location. With the next bus driver never having heard of this restaurant, he just drove us to the last stop on his route and dropped us off. Needless to say, we were quite freaked, cos he dropped us on this dark road that seemed to lead to nowhere. However, I think the smell of the food must have led us to the right place, cos after taking a punt and walking 10mins in a certain direction, we saw the LIGHT….the lights of the restaurant sign that we had been searching for over the last 1.5hrs.

Our trip back was just as bad, as the last bus that headed to our hotel had already gone by. We were stranded, all 10 of us, waving to anything that resembled a bus and hoping that it would pull over. Luckily, one bus driver promised to take us back to the hotel, after he finished with his normal route. 10…20…30mins had gone by, but no sign of him. At least while we were waiting on the road-side, I had managed to choreograph 2x8s of the routine we used at Next Blue :p He finally came and was kind enough to drop us off right in front of our hotel. Totally exhausted!!



The rest of the 2-week holiday was spent between Genting Highlands, KL and Penang. I even got to meet up with a friend that I had not seen for quite some time. It was great to be able to go back and just spend time with relatives. I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to travel back there again once I start work.

My New Baby

Date: March 2005

After going through countless arguments and negotiations with my bro for the lil’ Seca that we shared, I decided that I had had enough. I remember at one stage, I had to book the car like 4 weeks in advance, cos I knew that I would need it during production week. It was a constant tug-of-war, as to who would have the rights to the car. And I also got tired of having to pay for petrol, only to find that my bro leaves me less than half a tank to use when I get it back.

I went out on a limb, and decided to make my first major purchase in life. All this while, my aim was to own a house by the age of 23, but I guess that goal went down the drain. After 5 long years of saving – part-time work every week, full-time vac work every summer – I finally “invested” in my new baby….a HONDA PRELUDE.
Ever since I saw this beautiful, slick piece of work when Holly Valance drove past me in it (I’m talking about the car, not Holly..haha), I knew it was something special. At nearly every car yard that I saw, a Prelude would be selling for approx $26,000, which was way out of my budget for a 2nd-hand car. But then, as I was leaving this particular yard, there was a burgundy baby that called out to me. When I saw the price, I could not believe my eyes…under $20,000!!! And the rest is history. And you would not believe the car yard I found it in…surprisingly enough, it was called “Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars”.

Vacation Work @ KPMG

Date: December 2004 to February 2005

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work for KPMG during the summer break. KPMG is one of what they call the “Top 4” in the accounting profession. They also provide services in tax, corporate finance and IT-related issues.

During my time there, I worked in the Information Risk Management (IRM) division, which primarily deals with anything IT-related. I performed checks in financial models, analysed the security of systems and completed internal audit reports. The main “bread and butter” of IRM is to support the financial audit team, by auditing the IT systems that are used to generate the financial reports. Now you guys know what I’ll be doing for most of next year :p

What amazed me was the age of my fellow colleagues. Having completed 4 years of uni at the age of 22, I felt old. But with age, come knowledge right? WRONG! Most of the employees that were in senior roles were around the 23y.o. mark and seemed to be so knowledgeable in their craft. I felt really SMALL (despite my size..haha). It made me realize that no matter how many years of uni you have under your belt, experience is what counts. It is something that you just can’t replace.

The 2 most memorable events during my vac work would have to be the firm-wide Xmas Party and IRM’s Karaoke Night. The Xmas Party blew my mind! It was undoubtedly the best and most grandest, expensive and unique party I have ever been to. They rented 3 huge function rooms at the Rod Laver Arena, each decorated extensively into different Australian themes. These included: Kakadu, Bondi Beach, the Great Outback, as well as the outdoor BBQ. Each area had its own unique type of food and drinks available. To sum it up, it was 7 hours of unlimited food, alcohol and gelati :p We even had Killing Heidi play for us. The Karaoke Night was memorable, cos it saw the debut performance of the IRMstreet Boys. Because the boys knew that I danced, they asked me to be the master-in-charge of choreography and movement to the ever-popular BSB song “I Want It That Way”. They took it quite seriously, with a whole Monday night after work dedicated to rehearsing for this special “gig”. I can proudly say that the crowd went off when the boys performed. Presenting to you: Phil, Tom, Nathan, Kelvin and Dan the Man….

Introduction to the Crunk'D Clown

As the end of the year 2005 approaches, I have started this blog to take the opportunity to reflect on some of the major happenings, achievements and events that occurred throughout the year.