shelleyleong's Xanga

Friendship

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:09:08 GMT

Many friends I meet here don't read my blog or don't know about it.. (I'm kinda happy about that.. no history, no past to make a judgement on, and I would much prefer actual interaction on a day to day then the great internet)... but if anyone stumbles on it, ... hopefully they'll get it:

Thank you for making me feel confident again about myself and letting music flow out of my body freely again. Thank you for your kindness, for feeding me with so much delicious food whenever I come over. Thank you for your generosity, for bringing me into your inner sanctum, meeting your families and friends. Thank you for opening your hearts and sharing your friendship that knows no bounds. Thank you for fixing my bicycle. Thank you for making sure I reach home safely. Thank you for the midnight jams and candlelight. Thank you for making me feel so alive.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:16:39 GMT

Here's something to share with you, (excerpt from 'catching the big fish' by David Lynch)

"If you're an artists, you've got to know about anger without being restricted by it.

In order to create, you've got to have energy; you've got to have clarity. You've got to be able to catch ideas. You've got to be strong enough to fight unbelievable pressure and stress in this world.

So it just makes sense to nurture the place where that strength and clarity and energy come from - to dive in and enliven that."

4th July celebrations

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:00:50 GMT

With Joe, Suzy, Mike, Jessa, Gloria and whole heap of folks from the east bay - at Jack London Square.

Listen to the excited "ooooohs" and "waaahhhhs" - its really quite amusing :) .. it made me feel like a kid again.

camping fun

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:30:06 GMT

It was over 100 Fahrenheit last weekend. Crazy right?

Luckily, we were at China camp - thanks to Joe for inviting us to join. Here's the jetty at China Camp village. We swam under it too!

Painters painting the scenery. There were about 6 of them from a painting meetup group. It was really interesting seeing their respective interpretations of the day in paint :-

The camp grounds:

Jamming under our huge tent:-

I must say... I've never seen SO MUCH equipment and gear brought out for a "Camp". I guess this is what you call American-style-camping? *smile*

Moon: Optical Illusion

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:43:18 GMT

I love the stars, the clouds, and all the wondrous things that the heavens above display to us little folks. For the first time, I geeked out over the moon tonight. Here's what I read:-

(June 17) -- As the full moon rises this Wednesday, many people will be fooled into thinking it's unusually large.

The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon.(Link to article explaining the moon optical illusion)

So, I decided, why not go see it for myself!? So, we had some fun with photographing it.

Here's what I was hoping to capture:

or maybe this:

Instead, This is what we got with our Sony Cybershot:

Az bouncing a moon

I have the power to throw balls of light

But as you can see - it doesn't look THAT big. Just a lot lower.

I later found out, moons on film are the same size, whatever the elevation. You just had to be there to see the illusion with your own eyes. Oh well... moral of the story: nothing replaces real life experience :) (Anyone else saw the moon tonight?)

Waterfall

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:26:32 GMT

If
I were
to be
a waterfall
What kind of waterfall
would I be?
A mighty storm
50
storeys
high,
rushing down
to meet
the strong,
raging
river,

Or would I be
a gentle trickle
soothing your soul
each time
you search
for solace,
for answers,
and somewhere to belong.

- by shelley leong. hope you like it! warmest wishes and have a great day :)

Wake up and smell the roses!

Sat, 24 May 2008 02:21:52 GMT

for better lack of pictures

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:45:40 GMT

Arg. I've lost my connector cable from my camera to the computer, so I've been unable to download photos for the last few weeks.

Many lovely things have happened, so I want to list them down before I go on with life as usual (this is a 'diary' of sort after all :) - I've had lots of fond memories going through this blog)

- got flown down to Boston by the Swiss Consul to play for their conference at Harvard University. They gave us lots of swiss chocolates too. Yummm. The Swiss Consul people are such awesome people too - efficient, well organized and definitely inspiring in terms of what they do to connect people globally.

- my friend Dawn from florida came to visit. She's insane (at times), and I love her. We went to Haight Ashbury, lazed around the gardens in front of the arborateum, japanese tea garden, shopping in berkeley (she almost bought out this store called Crossroads Trading that has loads of cool and affordable clothes), we ate out a lot.

- went to a salon (private house party) on top of noe valley hills - with an astounding view of the city. The temperature was hot, hot, hot. Very rare for SF. A brilliant summer night to remember.

- had my gig at Rose street. Lovely cute warm house with a great sound. Listened to some inspiring original music, including "memorial day" by laura zucker, and "if not for love" by Marianne.

- performed with John Steiner at Inja Gallery through Bogofusion. I sang jazz in Chinese, and of course English. It was went down beautifully! The birthday boy was Ted Cohen, a huge art patron in the SF area, turned 80. He has the energy of a 18 year old and still travels the world. I wanna be like him when I grow up.

- on a lovely sunny day, performed for fun on the streets of berkeley and had loads of money and smiles thrown our way. It was just amazing! (this would never happen in KL). I will never forget when an old homeless man actually came up to us, thanked us and offered us his blanket. (that almost made me cry). Some protestors with placards came up to us and thanked us for making their job easier :) . that was a nice touch :) :)

- went to Santa Cruz with Carrie and Mike and their dog, Rufus. Saw Rufus swim very efficiently in the sea, chasing birds (in the sea). Labradors are such good swimmers!

- went swimming loads at strawberry canyon. almost got burnt on the face.

Now... if only I could find that camera cable...

No limit

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:36:39 GMT

The idea that there is no limit to what we can do is freeing.. I'm talking about no limits in things that we genuinely want to do in life.. I'm not talking about 'oh, what if I won American Idol', or 'oh, how nice if I could win a gazillion dollars'.. I'm talking about stuff that you really care about with every ounce of your system.

Recently, I looked back at my life over the last 10 years, and made a comparison of where I was and where I am now. 10 years ago, I was a business major, wanting to make tons of money when I graduate. Get a high flying corporate job and be set for life. I didn't even know why I wanted that, it was just the thing 'to do'. 7 years ago, I worked in a factory like environment in an accounting firm, no doubt the pay was decent, the office was fancy, facing the sydney harbour, and we had friday night free-flowing drinks, but I really didn't know where I fit in. My ex boyfriend loved me, no doubt about that.. but he didn't think I was the hottest girl he ever saw... I know I am far far from that and I don't even care if the world thinks I'm butt ugly, but it is important that the love of your life thinks that. Don't you? Call me strange and delusional. Mmm..

Fast forward to 10 years later. I make my living making music. I live in one of the most gorgeous places in the world. I'm not super famous, I don't drive a fast car, I live in a tiny apartment, I don't have cable tv, actually... I don't have a car, and have no tv reception but gosh I'm happy as can be. The fact is I do what I care deeply about and adjust my life to ensure that this is possible. Just take a step forward each day in the direction you want. Took 10 years, it took lots of mistakes and heartaches. I still have them today. But its ok. I love every breath I take and am proud of this livelihood that I have been blessed with. Oh, and one more thing, my boyfriend tells me each and every day that I'm the hottest girl on earth. :) heee..... (big gigantic clown-faced grin).

Friday, April 18, 2008

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:39:22 GMT

The weather has been delightful lately - we played music with Carrie at the North Shattuck Farmers Market today, and it was so great to have all these kids going crazy with us! Their smiles and enthusiasm could cure anybody's heartache or worries.

Next, catch us again this Sunday!

Az and Shelley @ Mama Buzz Cafe, Oakland
Mama Buzz Cafe
2318 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94512

Sunday, 7-9pm . No cover charge.

Music:
www.myspace.com/shelleyleong
www.myspace.com/azsamad

Oh, and we just watched this:
Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea AND Jack DeJohnette at the SF Jazz Festival.

It was the most amazing and fun show I've ever been too!

Mcferrin has superb command of his voice, and uses it to go everywhere - never ever letting go of his sense of JOY and PLAYFULNESS. Even Corea and DeJohnnette sang! We need to bring back that spirit of playfulness into jazz. Music should be about letting go.