(Translated into English by Athlynn from 'about michael' at michael4u.com.)
On the 30th of August of some year, my mother gave birth to me (who isn't given birth by their mothers?).Ipoh,Malaysia,was the place where I gasped my first breath of air. 30th of August, is not a date chosen by me; the reknowned coward horoscope, Virgo, is also not chosen by me, of course! After growing up to be a little older, I finally learnt that those born on the National Day will be given special presents. I asked my mother why didn't she 'endure' it for one more day before giving birth to me? Her reply ... The date was also not chosen by her!
Following a Catholic tradition passed on, naturally I was christened with a traditional name...'Michael'. Since I was small, my family, relatives, friends, teachers, classmates and my dog (now buried in the backyard), all called me Michael. The short form for 'Michael' is 'Mike', which actually has a very similar tone with cantonese - 'mai' (small), therefore Ah Mai and Mai Zai also became my nickname. When I was young, I was short and small, soon my family were so afraid that I'll be like 'small', can't grow up, that they finally decided to stop calling me by my nickname anymore. Hey hey... I can say it out loud now, that I am 174 cm tall. But still I'm wondering why, my weight can never pass above 60kg. I really envy those who frequently rants about losing weight. Hey hey...do you believe it? During the first time I donated blood, it was then that I first learnt that my blood type is B+.
All these while, other than badminton, I am not good in any other sports that involve 'balls'. Swimming is actually my favourite sport. Looking at me now, I know that all of you will have doubts about it, but a restaurant worker once asked me to participate in a swimming competition which was held by the restaurant.
'Guang Liang', this name, even though it's my own name, it is actually only used after I became a singer. At the beginning, it felt strange, because I used to think that my name sounded like a dish-washer detergent. Don't know why, but some of the media reporters insisted on using 'Wang Guang Liang', even though my record company specially telephoned, sent cards, faxed and emailed to tell them that using 'Guang Liang' would be enough. The reason given by them.... We are accustomed to putting everyone's surname. Because of this 'insistance', misunderstandings often happen during award ceremonies when some details of that particular person is announced.. "Some song...Sang by : 'Wang Guang Liang' Song written by : 'Guang Liang' Song produced by : 'Wang Guang Liang', for those who fail to understand, might wonder whether if they are the same person. Sigh.. I'm not any political figures ,why can't I select which name to use? What if they knew that my real surname isn't Wang,I wonder if they'll keep on insisting.
How did I get attached to music? Thinking about the past, the first time I heard a sound beyond the usual daily language are the sounds of my father humming and singing when he was free; next came the sounds of my mother's non-stop, 24 hours switched on radio.
When I was ten, a new friend arrived at my home; after many long years, I finally received a piano that was half the standard of the others (semitone), (now a piano that can't be tuned in any way). It all started back when I had to accompany my six-year old younger sister to learn to play the piano, I then learned the piano for 7 years.
Assigned to computer projects, it gave me a first introduction to midi, which is also my first step towards popular music. Because of a whole-Asia singing competition, I signed my first contract with a record company as a singer. Which also at that time, I went to record my songs and after the recordings completed, it made me definately sure that producing music, will be my lifelong occupation.
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Copyright 2005 Athlynn