I Want This!

i was out shopping with the dancers yesterday. wait... it was more like a bdae celebration for jennifer, but we were just shopping around for our stuff.. i mean her present.

so koustav and i just *had* to go into the Bods shop. and i saw the heaven-of-a-jacket. it's so freaking comfortable, and as kous said, it's like you don't need a bf with that...

i wished i had the jacket then

sia - breathe me

Help
I have done it again
I have been here many times before

Hurt myself again today
and the worst part is
there's no one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me
Wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up and breathe me

Ouch
I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found

Yeah
I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me
Wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up and breathe me

Be my friend
Hold me
Wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up and breathe me

a ceremony of carols

I was at the Victoria Concert Hall last night, watching my friend sing with The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, together wit the Singapore Bible College Singers, in their Christmas offering, A Ceremony of Carols.

Can't actually remember when the last time I was there, but yup, the place is still using that old loud buzzer to tell the performers it's show time. shouldn't they do something about that buzzer? i mean it's so loud, the entire concert hall knows that the performers are coming out.

in any ways, the night was good. the choir started with Lux Aurumque, which was a not bad opening piece, but things got better.

for me, what really made the night was their rendition of Jan Sandstrom's Gloria. i love choral pieces, but i'm not learned in the field. but what i have to say is the remarkable exclamations that were sung out by soprano and tenor soloists (my friend being one of them).

so i was being enchanted by the choir, and then the first soprano soloist sung.

and i was blown away. firstly, the voice was beautiful and rich. secondly, it was pitch perfect. and thirdly, the voice was a he.

that wasn't derogatory in any manner. just that i am always, always, amazed by male sopranos. this guy, Phua Ee Kia, was just standing there amongst some other females singers, and belting out 'Gloria!' like that's what he does everyday, which is probably true for the past few days/weeks leading up to last night.

and of course, in reply to the soprano soloist, the tenor soloists were great as well. Yoh Shirato's voice was deep and thick, with a soothing feel to it, and Fabian Yiong was probably the only name you'll remember after the night.

because before the choir started, before the intermission, and at the end of the night, there was this cheerleading group that shouted out "Fabian!" or "Mr Yiong", like those secondary/junior college performances and the audience's puerile behaviour. okay, so, i have to say something good about Fabian. as usual, his solo part was on pitch, and there was this great emotion behind his singing. and i was totally caught off-guard by how his choral voice sounded, because it's very different from the way he speaks.

i wasn't really impressed with A Ceremony of Carols, which teetered dangerously close to boring, but against i love the soprano soloist, Fu Shi Hua. and she looked like Flora from my school, so the whole night, i was like staring at her and trying to imagine Flora singing.

but what really stole the show i think was the harpist, Yu-Hsin Huang. firstly, there's that beautiful harp standing on stage. and then she was wearing this sleeve-less, yellow sequined dress, very prom-night kind (and i was so glad that there were no wobbling of any kind, thank you very much). and the sound of harp plucking... is just heavenly. there were some parts that i was actually smiling (don't laugh) to myself, because the harp was so lulling-ly beautiful. and there were some parts when i was just listening to her play, and the choir faded to the background.

ok, after the intermission, the songs were very the average. the rendition of O Tannenbaum was interestin, Ding Dong! Merrily on High had a good 'ding dong' part. but i really didn't liked their Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. i think maybe i'm biased, but i think that piece should not be made into a choral piece... it takes quite a lot of out the song.

and this is the kicker: they ended with a sing-along session of carols. i was amused. the guy next to me was singing with gusto. he had a nice voice though. but it felt kinda surreal, like i'm some misfit at some Christmas mass or something.

walking out, i saw Dr Stuart Koe, who looks quite intimidating in person. which of course reminded me of the Repeal 377a hulabaloo the past 2 to 3 months.

isn't it funny how something quite so contentious gets swept under the rug so fast? (shall not explode into any political diatribe here, since this is a post about the concert last night)

so merry christmas in advance :)

the internet problems

i'm finally back online. *crosses fingers and pray*

Singnet sux.

too tired right now to blog much... but, must show off abit first.

check out the raving review of the NUS Dance Ensemble's The Next Wave 07 here
http://www.hooked-nussu.org/content/view/1195/87/

The Next Wave 07

ok, i have to be a little shameless here to promote this upcoming concert~

The NUS Dance Ensemble is having its annual concert, The Next Wave, on the 21st and 22nd Sept at NUS University Cultural Centre (where the national day rally is held). This is the 15th year of the concert, and it promises to be the culmination of their successes thus far.This year, the concert will feature 7 diverse items as part of its eclectic repertoire which features everything from classical Indian Dance to modern day Hip Hop.

The whole concert is approximately 2 hours, with 2 intermissions of 10 and 15 minutes.If you have never been to a dance concert before, this is a good time to start exploring into this area of the arts, as the variety of the concert ensures that you get a good mix of styles.

Tickets are priced at $12, $17 and $19, and can be purchased from

1) Sistic website http://www.sistic.com.sg/cms/events/index.html?content=1066

2) Sistic counters

3) any Dance Ensemble member (a.k.a me)

Furthermore, from now till August 25th, there's an early bird discount of 20%! (which means if you guys get the $12 tix, after the discount, it'll be about $10 only)

As some of you may know, I'm an associate member of the Dance Ensemble (DE), which is why i'm plugging this concert to you. And i must say that DE's concerts are usually of high standards, and are well received by the general public. In fact, this year's concert in March, Evocation, saw three sell-out nights! So, I urge you guys, to open up your minds to dance, and catch The Next Wave.

some "sample clips" of the DE

national day

4 days into the first week of school, and there's a 'reprieve' of sorts from the mundanity of school itself.

yes, it's national day over the fair island of Singapore. our little island turns a proud 42 today, 9th August, amidst good forecasts for more upwards growth for the rest of the year.

i was talking to my friends over the weekend, and i found out, to my amazement, that there are actually people who don't watch the national day parade/show on TV. watching it on the grand stands of the parade event itself is normally a rarity itself, what with the bidding of seats, and the scalpering of seats at astronomical prices.

but i think it's important to actually watch the national day parade, be it on the TV, or meshed with the 500 billion other people at Marina Bay area, or the hallowed seats of the grand stands. and to make it even more convenient for people to catch this significant event, mediacorp even bring the parade to radio listeners and on the Channel News Asia's website.

i for one, am one to actually stay home and watch the show on my 'big, enormous, 12" screen'. (ok... it's more like 30" actually) which is why i was quite amazed that people actually don't watch the parade.

personally, i think the parade is symbolic in itself. perhaps it's due to the fact that i didn't really have much marching drills, and that being part of a marching contingent is something to be proud of. (and you look damn smart being part of it, i must add)

to me, the parade signifies the country's rallying together on this momentuous day, to tell the world, "hey, we've did it. we're 42, but we look like we're 21". ok, maybe not that exactly, but it does tell everyone that the little island nobody thought would survive long, is doing great now and kicking some major ass around the world.

furthermore, it's probably one of the rare occasions that Singaporeans actually sing the national anthem. after junior college, there's hardly any chance that we would have to sing the anthem or say the pledge. and singing the national anthem amidst thousands of other celebratory Singaporeans really just make you proud to be one yourself.

of course, i'm not being 'evangelical' here, preaching that everyone must watch the national parade. just voicing my opinion, that it is important to watch it. if not for the "boring" parade segment, then at least the more frivolous show segment.

the simpsons!

omg... you have to watch this movie!




i can't remember how many times i really LOL in a comedy in a looooong time. really, even if you're not a simpsons fan, it's still a great movie to catch with ur friends. :) thanx rai and imran~

today is hilarious :)