Significance of colours

I've always wondered why people say "green with envy" why this colour? When I think of green, I think of plants, not jealousy ;) 

Colours are interesting because they reflect different moods and they convey a variety of messages, some subliminal, some blatant in countless situations. Companies use certain brand colours to stand out from their competitors. 

On an F1 track where the cars are whizzing by furiously, colour plays an important role for the sponsors as well as the spectators.  The same applies on a football field...everyone's looking out for the colours of the teams they're supporting. 

Identities of countries can be spotted from the colours of their flags. 

Red is associated with danger, anger, love and passion in the West but in China it's good luck and prosperity (brides wear red) and in India it represents purity. Religions are also associated with colours. 

For instance, Islam is traditionally associated with green, Judaism with yellow but in Hinduism, many of the Gods are blue in colour. Lord Vishnu's divine powers manifested themselves through his numerous avatars in the shape of a human being, animal or human-animal combined form, possessing great, and sometimes supernatural powers. All these avatars of Vishnu appeared in the world to correct some great evil or to effect good on Earth. 

 

In Thailand, purple is the colour for mourning but in Western cultures it represents royalty, luxury, intuition, even magic. In the West, people wear black to funerals as a colour for mourning but in Japan, it is a colour of honour.

Black is an interesting colour fashion wise. It represents power and authority which is why so many business suits are in no-nonsense black. Even in martial arts, the black belt is the highest achievement one strives for. 

SO WHAT'S YOUR COLOUR? ANY FAVOURITES? Well, here's a list of positive and negative qualities for those of you who like to wear....

RED: impulsive, center of attention, ambitious, like to be the best you can be, passionate, expressive, irritable when you don't get your way, strong leader.

PINK: childlike in behaviour, affectionate, loving, a need to feel loved and accepted (some prisons use pink tones to neutralize disorder and violence)

BROWN: down to earth, reliable, approachable, conventional, neutral

PURPLE: intuitive, spiritual, drawn to magic and mystery, artistic, imaginative, arrogant

GRAY: practical, conservative, lonely, responsible, dependable, critical

BLUE: calming, relaxing (many baby rooms use blue for a soothing effect), sensitive, inspiration and communication, can be depressed, appreciates tranquility 

ORANGE: warm, energetic, enthusiastic, creative, restless, competitive...

GREEN: natural, environment, health, fertile, balance, healing, peaceful, jealousy, envy... 

BLACK: wealth, mystery, fear, the unknown, evil, anonymity, power, sophistication, elegance, creativity...  

YELLOW: Happy, optimistic, stimulating, lively, gets attention, can be overpowering (yellow rose for friendship)

WHITE: purity, innocence, cleanliness, simple, humble, divine, angelic, loner, spiritual...

So do you have a favourite colour? Bear in mind that you may be drawn to certain colours at certain times eg, a guilty person who feels 'dirty' about their actions may want to wear white to feel purified. A conservative person who usually wears gray or beige may feel self conscious in red because it's such a loud colour but it would be perfect for stepping out of one's comfort zones. Be aware of the clothes you pick out of your wardrobe and see if it reflects your mood!

I'm not wearing 5 layers anymore! :)

  

What I love about traveling is it transports you to a different world from the one you know every single time and it does this so effortlessly because everything which seems so normal to everyone in their own backyard may be a competely novel experience to what we're used to from street signs to different language accents, unusual buildings and the way people dress.

When I was in England these last few weeks filming Project Alpha (and then staying on for a much needed break) I totally marvelled at seeing snow because I hadn't really seen any in more than 20 years. I loved how it covered the rooftops and city streets reminding me of Xmas. I didn't mind wearing gloves and hats because I was just a visitor passing through enjoying all these differences but now that I'm back in KL, I'm actually appreciating all the tiniest of things I've taken for granted like wearing open toe shoes or a pair of high heels which would've been totally impractical in the freezing cold. 

I remember opening my cupboard thinking "wow, I could wear whatever I wanted to in this heat, even a short skirt and not freeze to death!" lol It's been nice being able to wear slippers and leave my house in a t shirt...all these ridiculously simple things we don't think twice about because we take our tropical weather for granted. In fact, the moment I returned, people were lamenting on how crazy hot it's been in KL and I bet I'll be complaining about the heat anytime soon too but for now, I'm loving it! So much warmth after so much cold is a nice change!

That's the trick, I think. If you're not feeling happy about your current situation (and I'm not talking about weather) or you're experiencing boredom in your everyday life, take yourself out of the situation, even if it's just for a few days. Sometimes seeing everything with a new pair of eyes makes you return with a different perspective. For me, a holiday changes my environment enough to slow down the usual pace of my life and helps me stop and smell the roses so to speak so I tend to appreciate everything more, no matter how small :) 

London Part 3

I decided to stay on in England after filming Project Alpha (since I was already out here n wanted to visit my friends) and I found it amusing how so many locals were apologising about the weather as if the cold was all their fault but the truth is, I was fascinated when I saw the streets lined with white. Wow, when I went to sleep, the grass was still green but everything became white overnight.

I can't remember the last time I actually saw snow. It was maybe 25 years ago when I was a small kid so this was an experience. One moment, I was walking down the street in Kent feeling the biting cold and another moment, it suddenly started pelting down. I was almost shocked coz it reminded me of confetti but it was REAL snow falling out of the sky. See the video coz I managed to capture it off my camera! brr it was about minus 6 degrees. 

I kept thinking of my freezer in KL coz it was like walking around at that same temperature. Actually, if you wanna split hairs, this was colder than my freezer back home!

Needless to say there was no one sitting around unless you wanted to be a part of the frozen furniture.

I was like everyone else on the street walking with chin down and hands stuffed into my jacket. Gosh, this was absolutely my coldest day in England so far.

The kids were playing with the snow and throwing it on each other. Adults just walked on too cold to be amused by the weather ;)

I had to take a shot of this scribbled in the snow by one of the kids ;) 

The snow was alright for a couple of days but I can't imagine a whole season of it so I was relieved when the sun came out the next day. Mind you, don't be fooled by how bright it looks.

It was still freezing! haha but I'm enjoying the English country side. It's such a change of scenery and pub meals here like bangers n mash, pies and fish and chips are sooo cheap! :)

I notice on the busses here "Valentine's Day" is now showing, the movie. Such a star studded cast, looks like fun. If any of you have seen it, let me know if it's worth watching? Or any movie for that matter? Suggestions? (coz I'm not doing much outdoors in this weather haha) Thanks guys and Happy belated Valentines day n Gong Xi Fa Chai for all those celebrating...don't lose too much money. Hey, I managed to win 10 pounds playing darts with some friends here hehe ;)

Project Alpha in London Part 2

I am so relieved I got this furry head piece at Camden town coz it helps to block the wind factor. Without anything on your head, your ears can get really cold super fast. Where's your beanie Niki?

I love a good ole English breakfast and we had one every day before leaving the hotel.

Ming was a fabulous host. He took us to Borough Market which was fascinating.

It was alive with outdoor cooking, food lovers and people buying groceries.

Apparently, Jamie Oliver n Gordon Ramsay from Hell's kitchen also buy ingredients from this famous food market!

We then headed off to Stamford Bridge to film football fans going to the Chelsea vs Arsenal game.

It was such a sight to see travellers on the tube with their dogs! They were all so dignified and well behaved (again I wondered whether my own pugs would travel with such nonchalance or composure) yet thinking about it, I reckon they would embarrass me, wide eyed like country bumpkins coz my dogs have never boarded public trains haha

These HD cameras were darn heavy n we wouldn't wanna knock anyone on the train with it so thx David n Mike for babysitting the cams n allowing our cameramen to have a break!

Moment we got off the train, we heard the football fans singing in the street. It was an incredible atmosphere and they're obviously all passionate about their favourite teams.

The police kept a watchful eye on the crowd for safety. There were tonnes of police in the area on foot and on horses. There were heaps of Chelsea fans down the strip selling Chelsea football stuff.

Xiaxue was saying she felt out of place amongst these hard core football fans so she was mighty relieved when we left for dinner :)

U know how we are often relieved to get inside a building coz it's so hot and humid on the streets? Well, same relief to be indoors here but just the reverse scenario. People are not scrambling into buildings for their air cons but heaters instead to get warm ;)

It's a wrap, yay!!!! Filming for Project Alpha Season 2 is done but now post production begins! It's gonna take hours n hours in post to edit soooo much footage but I find the process really interesting, almost addictive coz time slips by without you feeling it in an editing suite. Editing powerfully influences how the story is told n at least I don't have to be wearing any make up in post production since it's all behind the scenes! :)

Related links

Main sponsor: Adidas Fragrance

Official Broadband: P1

Official Airline: Malaysia Airlines

Official Hotel in Malaysia: 360 Hotel

Official Hotel in UK: Millennium Hotel, London Mayfair

Official Radio Stations: ERA and HITZ

Official Cosmetics Sponsor: Rimmel London

Official Hair and Make Up: A Cut Above

Official Blog Partner: nuffnang.com

Official Social Network: ruumz.com

Official Production house: kyanite.tv

On Line News Portal: The Daily Chilli

Project Alpha in London Part 1

The morning of my flight to London, I woke up at 5am and my body could barely move coz I went to bed at 330am! I was up all night trying to pack. When I got to KLIA, I found out that everyone had done the same so they could just sleep on the plane. Michael (above) director of Project Alpha had no sleep at all and Niki was blogging at the airport and hardly had a wink of sleep himself so we were hoping the flight wouldn't be full!

We were sooo lucky. It wasn't a full flight on Malaysia Airlines so I found a row to myself and completely knocked out for almost 8 hours. Flying to London from KL took 13 hours but it just flew by. It was a really comfortable flight. I know some people don't enjoy long flights but for me, flying means I'm going somewhere and no one can contact me in the sky so it's quality time to myself. I enjoy the quiet time to catch up on reading or watching movies on demand :) I saw Law Abiding Citizen on board. It was really good!

I felt fresh as a daisy at Heathrow since I slept remarkably well. I felt the cold the moment I walked off the plane. It was unusual to see the MAS uniform with a long coat!

Everything was pitch dark when we arrived in London. I thought it was night time but it was only 5pm!

We were told that Mayfair is a really expensive, posh area of London. I wasn't used to seeing doormen speaking perfect English with top hats and long coats! All the top fashion designer houses were just walking distance from the Millennium Hotel. I thought of redmummy.com when I was going past Hermes, Jimmy Choo and Gucci :) We were so fortunate to be staying in such a central location.

I got up at 5 am on my first morning in London (my body clock hadn't adjusted itself) so I ran a hot bath and took my time before wandering down to Oxford Street to have breakfast. The trees were amazing and I saw several dogs round Grosvenor Square including 2 well behaved pugs off leash.

I wondered how my Malaysian pugs would cope with the cold....would probably have to buy them jumpers if they ever came here *chuckle*

I wasn't really sure what Xiaxue would be like to work with but she was prompt on all our early morning call times and less of a diva than I expected. She speaks her mind, no nonsense so at least you know where you stand! ;)

Ming and Tim from nuffnang were in London this week and Ming said we absolutely must catch Wicked the musical. It is a prequel to Wizard of Oz. Amazing set and really interesting story. Ming was raving about it and when I saw it myself, I understood why. It was incredible!

Filming in general was really hectic. We shot everywhere we went on planes, trains and on foot. We were always on the go so it was nice to sit down with no cameras rolling on our second night. Ming wanted to take us out to a fine dining restaurant. The food dishes looked like serious works of art!

The whole Project Alpha crew returned this morning (oi, you guys got off easy!) coz today was the coldest day we've had since we arrived. I couldn't believe it. I was walking toward the tube station and it started to 'rain' but it wasn't rain. It was snowfall. My coat had white flakes all over it. It's soooo cold here!

I've decided to stay on in London but I'm excited about seeing the footage from Project Alpha when I get back to KL. Project Alpha Season 2 is sponsored by Adidas Fragrance and the official broadband sponsor is P1. ok, tired now. Blog more later, nightey ;)

Can you keep a Secret?

There is always a night out of the blue that makes me think of him and this is one of those nights so I've dredged up this old blog. I doubt you've seen it. I wrote it ages ago so here it is...

You know how you can meet a stranger at a party and never forget them because they made a big impact on you? Well, I met a guy at a party years ago in Australia. We didn't even exchange numbers. We met only once and I've never ever seen him since. We were like ships passing in the night but I will never forget meeting him because it was an intense and highly unusual encounter.

I recall he had a shaved head and tribal tattoos. He was over 6 foot, really lean with a hard looking jawline. Basically, he looked like a gangster. You wouldn't wanna cross his path in a dark alley because he looked dangerous.

For some reason, he singled me out at this party and asked if he could have a moment? I nod a little nervously because looking around, I realised we were completely alone on the outer balcony.

He asked me point blank "can you keep a secret?" I nod again even more nervously because I feel he's under pressure. Like a bottle of uncorked wine about to burst open spilling its red contents everywhere.

There was a myriad of conflicted expressions on his face like he was in pain or was suddenly weighing up whether he should tell me or not.

"What is it?" I ask him. "It's ok. You can tell me" I'm not even sure why I used the tone a soothing mother uses on her terrified son but that's what he drew out of me. I was genuinely concerned and more than a little disturbed because he looked like he was about to have a nervous break down.

And that's pretty much what happened. His head was in his hands. He said he'd been carrying a burden which grew heavier by the year and that he couldn't take it anymore. The secret was eating him up, destroying his peace of mind. He was tired of putting up a front and being someone else every day. He was so exhausted by the lie (I was wondering who he was pretending to be but didn't dare stop him. It was all starting to flow out like therapy)

He went on to say that he was the ring leader of a gang of guys who were all "alpha" males. His best friend was also in this gang and he'd been hiding something from him which was becoming unbearable.

He goes on to say "I'm in love with my best friend and if he ever found out, he would probably spit in my face, maybe even kill me" I gasped because it was so unexpected. There was no trace of anything remotely gay about him so I didn't see it coming.

He said he tried being "normal" He even went out with a couple of girls but he couldn't bring himself to sleep with them. He knew there was something not quite right or missing but he just kept quiet. He suppressed all urges thinking they would go away. They never did.

After all, he was in this gang of blokes that even made fun of gays and he would laugh along with them and their "poofter jokes" with the gang never knowing he was a closet case.

I asked him (J)
J: "have you told anyone about this?
He said (H)
H: "no, never"
J: "So why are you telling me?"
H: "because it doesn't matter anymore"
J: "how can that be? Aren't you worried I will tell someone about you?"
H: "of course I am. It's a burning secret I've carried for so many years. I've not told a soul. My Dad would even disown me. I know it"
J: "I promise I won't say anything. There's no one who you know I know. You're safe. We're total strangers"
H: "I probably won't be around tomorrow anyway"

OMG. My heart started to race. I felt helpless because he could see no way out of his situation. Sadly, he was NOT going to be accepted by his parents nor his male gang of friends but what he was planning was not a solution. He couldn't be serious surely? Could this guy be planning his own death? He was shaking. I was so frazzled. I told him he could call me if he was thinking about doing anything really stupid.

I went to get a pen to write down my phone number for him. When I got back to the balcony, he was gone. I asked everyone about him but no one even knew who he was! He must've gate crashed the party which is why he was extra safe there baring his soul to a complete stranger in a roomful of strangers. He knew no one there!

I was deeply troubled by this strange meeting (one of the most disturbing in my life) but there was nothing I could do. I said a prayer for him but I never ever heard or saw him again.

Over the years, I find my thoughts flicking back to that night and I have so many unanswered questions.

"Did he do it?"
"Was I the last person he spoke to?"

I can only hope he found a way to live with himself. Somehow.

It's sad how we pigeon hole people and put them into boxes so confining sometimes that they split open under pressure.

I really feel for this guy and for everyone like him. Be careful not to bottle up your own identity to a point of a total meltdown. By then, it may be too late. I know we can't expect others to accept us if we don't wholeheartedly accept ourselves first. At the end of the day, you must be able to live with yourself. Be comfortable in your own skin.

I truly believe that we are all God's creation, God's children. However we may come.