Let's be pearly

Bismillah.

Firstly, a disclaimer, this is another nostalgic posting, another holiday rambling so pardon me.

It's Sunday, Alhamdulillah to be given a chance, still, to wake up to a peaceful and quiet beautiful day. And what else, I woke up to Kuala Lumpur little city and my mind inadvertently sang this old number by the Alleycats:
Kuala Lumpur...senyuman mu di pagi ini, 
sungguh bererti kerna cinta bersemi lagi...

It roughly means this: "Kuala Lumpur, your smile this morning seems so meaningful because I have fallen in love again..."

The Alleycats is an awesome band from Penang - Pearl of the Orient [my hometown ehem...ehem in case you still are not aware]. What's awesome about them is that they are not Malays, they cannot speak the language properly yet they have got some of the greatest Malay evergreen songs than anyone. [Lesson learned: something which may seem like a barrier, can actually make you fly. Don't fret it, just sing.]

Another pearl from Penang that makes a mark on the society is Jimmy Choo, an international celebrity shoe designer based in London. There might be readers here who may not know that the late Princess Diana was among his top clientele. I saw a local TV program about Jimmy Choo last night and he seemed like a very religious, very humble, very unassuming person despite his fame and fortune. Yes, very. Despite his inability to speak the English language well, he has conquered the European shoe market and granted the OBE by the Queen. OMG, if I were in his shoes [not sure if I can afford to buy his shoes and the shoes he designs] if I had to have an audience with the Queen, I'd be insanely nervous and conscious about my spoken English. [So one takeaway for me: always bank on your strengths and never let your weakness hold you back.]

One more pearl from Penang I'd like to mention is the World's Number 1 in women's squash - Nicole David. She has won the British open four times and the World Open championship seven times! Amazing eh? She is 29 and speaks good English, by the way. [Point to note: once you find your niche, go, run for it, sweat, persevere, sweat some more and hit it while you are young.]

Hmm...no matter where we are from, let's all strive to be a pearl and contribute a little something towards  our family and society. 

Happy Sunday y'all. And especially to our Chinese friends from Taiwan [one of the top visiting countries to this site] here's wishing you Happy Chinese New Year - Gong Xi Fa Cai.