Drama Queen

I was just telling Soap the other day that my life seems to be full of daily drama. As if the day can never be done with just mundane details.

Proven right, I had a major leakage breakdown on this Wednesday past. Part of my wall split open and water gushed out and down the stairs. Dirty water. From the choked gutter on the roof. Yikes! To make matters worse, some cracks appeared on the ceiling and water continually dripped down. Luckily some customers were around to help me move the mannequins to one side, and to remind me that yes, I had a pail that I could use. Why? Coz I was shocked into doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. My mind was thinking what I should do next but there were hundred and one nexts I should do. Haha. Jeremy from Quaint Secrets below went out onto the roof and cleared some of the debris from the roof. After one hour of cleaning up and waiting for the rain to die down, finally I managed to restore the shop to its usual resemblance, excluding the wet carpets and drapes.

Then I thought about it and started laughing. Its funny when you think about it. Tim says luckily I have a sense of humour. Which is true. Positivity and optimism helps in any situation. :D

Suite Stuff's clothes have been featured on December's issue of CLEO! Yaay!

Argentinian Indigenous Ensemble

On the fateful Friday that just passed, I watched a rhythmic, pulsating performance by the Argentinian Indigenous Ensemble. I didn't enjoy it. No lyricism, no melody. There was no one song that stood out. In an almost one hour and forty five minute show, thats a miracle.

There were spoken vocals that I (and I suspect, the rest of the audience) couldn't make out and some costume changes in the vein of animals. Oh, and not forgetting the Maracas Solo along with a backing track. I was thinking what "tape" meant - some indigenous instrument or something and came to realise it was what it was! Tape! And maracas solo? Thats just hilarious. Of all the indigenous instruments they could choose from, the maracas was the best they could do for a solo?

Oh well.



On another note, Beyonce looks fat here. Apparently, this dress is from the House of Dereon, that is, her label. Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything for her.

The Breezy Blouse

I love how this blouse can take you to so many places, whether it be lounging at Cafe Del Mar or just drinking mojitos at Cafe Libre. A punch of colour guaranteed to brighten up your day or night!

Out and About

For days when you just don't feel like wearing a dress. Nanette Lepore's Bandstand Blouse matched with Snow Wash skinny jeans from Topshop. This is my take on a day of shopping and then dinner and drinks with the girls.
Hang the gold and black ornamental scarf from Roberto Cavalli round your neck by day. Use it as a head scarf by night. Tan required.

When Coco Pops come into my life...

you know that i'm out of Singapore. Its funny how I only eat cereals when i'm overseas. Its like suddenly, the invisible shackles between me and that elusive breakfast cereal miraculously come off when I step onto foreign sand.

I'm still trying to make sense of this madness. Don't get me wrong, its not that I hate breakfast cereals. Au contraire, I love them! Especially Froot Loops! When I was in Edinburgh, I ate Coco Pops every morning, after bread and peanut butter just didn't cut it for me anymore. Yup, I finished the whole box in a week, pretty much the same situation here in Sydney now. Haha.

Maybe its my lifestyle in Singapore. The mad rush and chaotic crush. Those endless days of chores and work that doesn't seem to diminish even after you've put in so many hours. No time to sit down and have that bowl of Froot Loops in the morning because its a race starting from the time I wake up to the time I collapse on my bed. Mayhaps I need a change. And that bowl of Froot Loops may be just it.

The Whole Business with Kiffo and the Pit Bull

My current obsession is this book of the same name by Barry Jonsberg - full of witty humour plus a generous dose of drama...consider the following, taken from Chapter Four: Conversations with the refrigerator


Dear Fridge,

The casserole was great! Thanks. However, I feel that our intimate dinner was something of a flop. I made the effort, God knows. Candles, mood music. But, frankly, you were not receptive to my conversational overtures. In fact, solid presence though you undoubtedly are in my life, I sometimes feel that our relationship is not what it once was.
We need to talk.
In the meantime, my new English teacher, a charming woman of considerable charisma, has requested my presence at an after-school meeting tomorrow. Would you be so kind as to sign the attached permission slip?
Your loving daughter,

Calma

----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Calma,

Permission slip signed. What have you been up to? Can you heat up a pizza for dinner tonight? I'm on late shift at the supermarket, so I'll have to straight to the pub. Will be home about two. Don't wake me, please.
Can you cut out the sarcasm in the notes? To be honest, I'm too tired to deal with it.
Love,

Mom

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Fridge,

How can you be so cold-hearted?
Love,

Calma

Party Dresses anyone?

The party season is fast approaching. No ideas whatsoever? Click to The Saloon @ The Chic Suite. A total of 13 yummy numbers in all, for your viewing and inspirational pleasure. Enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The pain will be intense for a while. I know it and expect it. But it will fade. I don't intend to pine away. I intend to live. I have had my little glimpse of paradise and now, I will go back to living.

- Mary Balogh

Its so hard to do. If only I were brave enough.

Shake it down..

I love this 1974 Biba poster done by James Wedge. Biba closed down before this poster could go on display. Its for sale now...i want!

I Want to be Honest

I really do. It hurts. And I have to make a decision.

Hepburn and Humphrey have gone

Thanks to all who came down for Hepburn, Humphrey and the old wardrobe. The event was quite a success although there were some major boo-boos along the way (read: Urban's mention of the event but the WRONG DATE). Excellent. I wonder how this could have come about. Gee, maybe I should have emailed them the date not twice, but five times?

Farhana, Liz and Adelyn stayed back to help clear, pack up and put up clothes. We took about one and a half hours before we gave up to starvation and headed over to Sultan Cafe for some sustenance from dear auntie. Thanks dearies for helping! Love ya!

Went to Oosh after to unwind and to meet Joyce and her wonderful funky cousins, Gerry and Carol. Laughter and conversation over mojitos and great music. My kinda thing. I had a great night. Well, sort of. I guess it depends on what one is looking for.

So today's Sunday. Woke up late, decided not to go to the garage sale (didn't know the full address anyway, haha, so kok) and had a leisurely lunch with fabulous Seow. I'm gonna miss her. So much. Sigh. We've made a date for high tea at Equinox on tues, if she doesn't leave by then. Can't wait!

We had a surprise birthday thingy for Hot Mama J, complete with an Oreo Cheesecake, great music at Insomnia and vodka redbull! mmm..what a great start to a great week!

I know i've been talking about it. And I must get it soon. What i'm talking about is the Krate KXB-100 keyboard amp. Priced at $780 on luthermusic.com, its gonna blow a big hole in my pocket. But I have to get it. I do. Really. I'm dying from not playing any music.

Phuture Friday

Friday night found me at Phuture in celebration of Jane's birthday. Happy Birthday babe! She can be so aggressive when high (read: drunk), making me down a mug of beer mixed with tequila and vodka and orange juice. Gross. It was a wonder I didn't puke if you combine that with one lamborghini, a vodka shot and another tequila shot and countless other drinks...which i forget.

Cam whoring ensued....censored pictures will not find their way here unfortunately...heh. Sorry guys, i promised!

capital amusement, not!

Sometimes I think God gave me my students for my amusement. I think men too. I've just about had it.

My only Grade 8 student is going to fail his exam. Which is, lets see...in one week's time?!?! How can I not be frustrated? He's a great kid and all but like all boys, so keen to skip practice. How could Ida have passed him to me at that standard i wonder.......aural not done, third piece not taught, second piece not finished, scales at best average, i can't even begin to describe his sightreading. If only he doesn't keep falling apart.

My Grade 6 girl: Tired all the time. Forgetful. And i have to correct more than 10 mistakes in a four-bar modulation SATB passage!!!

To top it off, my Haig Girls' kids can't seem to respond to slowing down and speeding up signals on the drums. And the teacher keeps making mortifying decisions on my behalf and right in front of my face. Hello?!?! Who's the instructor here?!! Oh. My. God. Someone. Help me!!

And then there's the men. Enough of these sulking, busy, i think i'm asking too much of you nonsense. What the hell's going wrong with my world?!

Wedded Bliss

Xin's wedding came and went. I decided to wear my vintage blue floral bustier dress. You can never go wrong with that. We saw lots of old friends. Some looked better, but the bulk went the opposite way. If you know what I mean. Age catches up on you. I say, run fast. You won't like it when it does.

Went to Butter Factory after the wedding with Cindy, Zenas, Steven and Qiang. There, we met up with Cindy's friends, Wei Da (birthday boy of the night), Lawrence and gang. Alot of drinking and dancing (ok, maybe mainly drinking) ensued.

Come Sunday, started teaching at 12 noon, all the way till 5pm. Then i had to head down to Raffles City to meet with the team planning the Gamelan Festival at RP in November. Tim texted me about Big Chief's performance at Chjimes that night. Serene texted me around the same time about some thing totally unrelated. I took it as a sign. We ended up meeting for dinner at Chjimes, and then heading to Insomnia where we had quite a lot fun actually, for two girls armed with glasses of vodka. Met my future guitar teacher (i hope! fingers crossed!), the guitarist of the house band, Alif.

Ok, what's a post without pics. Here you go.

At Insomnia with fabulous Seow

The tired bride at the end of the night

Our big family
My table

Me and da boys

Xiao Qiang!

With IreneYes yes, we do like taking photos...cam whores

At Butter Factory

my racks are falling!!

This week has been a most eventful week. First, we found out that my dress rack was hanging off its wall plug on one side. Stevie, bless his soul, made his way down on Monday afternoon to help with the drilling.

Then, on Wed, I found the mens rack in the same condition as the dress rack! How coincidental is that? So on Thurs, Stevie, again came down to help drill it back. We went through the rest of the racks to make sure they were all tightly screwed on. So fingers crossed! Please, no more falling racks!

I finally stepped into Fitness First after a hiatus of almost half a year. I did a 50-min Body Balance class and I felt so good! Hopefully I'm back on track...i'm already scheduling my next gym visit for next Monday night!

And i'm glad I'm finally making someone happy with the piano. Rather good condition with great hammer action, after all these years. It could do with some polishing and retuning and of course, a heater. Heh. Nothing like a free piano huh? :)

So, all in all, that's almost a week's work done. All disasters in the shop have been averted; I've paid all my designers; started going to the gym; and last but not least, got the piano issue settled. Yaay!

Brian just sent me the video that was recorded during the press preview in Edinburgh. We did the first story of the show, as it was meant to be a taster for the press.
View here: http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/archives/42

Tomorrow's Xin's wedding and I haven't decided what to wear. Argh!

We are the Devils

Last night was Xin's hen night. Enoch commented that its a sign of the coming era...me going to hen nights whilst he's still going to dorm and hall bashes. I've gone to three hen nights this year and I'm thinking there'll be more bombs next year.

The venue was MOS. When i arrived, they made me wear a devil headband complete with a battery pack on one side. Very visible, very eye-catching and very attention-seeking, especially with seven horn-headed women walking about together. People were touching our horns and directing comments at us.

It was strangely fun in a certain way. Its almost like there was a universal descending of barriers. Well, apart from the stingy army blokes who refused to buy Xin a drink even after she told them that she was having her hen night and to get a guy to buy her drink was one of her tasks of the night. And then we met another group of guys, having their stag night and that's when the fun really started. I shan't go much into details but lets suffice to say there was alot of carrying, kissing and feeding going around. Heh.


The tasks we set for her:

1. Stay sober till midnight (so we can have more fun instead of having to bring a drunk hen home early)
2. Get a guy to buy a drink for her
3. Get a guy to give her a kiss
4. Ask a bouncer to carry her
5. Dance with someone for an entire song

And I'm happy to report, she finished all her tasks with aplomb. Good on her! Oh did i mention i love her wedding dress! Gorgeous! Now...just to decide what to wear to the wedding dinner...

He said that he had lots of memories. Good ones. He could even remember what she had been wearing that first time and it moved her.

Takashi!!!

GA did 3 shows at Ai Tong Primary this past Friday -the last show with Barbara just before she left on Sat. In the end, due to bad organisation, we only performed a total of 55 mins for the three shows! The downside? Being stuck in the school for 6 hours. Boredom set in. We made a stupid video that's just priceless and took numerous silly photos. But it was the fun-nest school show I did this year.

The two gals who are leaving us : Barbara and Serene. Bon voyage!

Happy Teachers' Day? Riiighht..

Went to watch a volleyball tournament today. I arrived at Hougang Stadium just in time to see Mr Yong's team playing their last 2 sets to take the third place. Thereafter, International Kakis took on the Singapore Police team in the first and second placing match. It was a very exciting match, both teams closely matched in the 5 set (!!!) game.

Amongst the international players in International Kakis was this Japanese dude who looks a little like Alex Toh....he was freaking amazing! Oh my god! His spikes were straight on, the bulk of it undefendable and unblockable. Wooot! Xin nicknamed him Takashi, and it so suits him. Heh. Cindy took a picture of him in mid-spikeserve in the air. Now if only she sends it to me....

No Luggage

Its scary how I can feel so much with you. Extreme happiness one day and dejection the next. This is not what I want...or is it?

The Start of Another Year

I'm officially 26. Where has the time gone to? I remember I was 17 when I stepped into SRJC. 21 when i left the world of tertiary education to start my life in the world. 24 when everything came into sharp focus. And now, 26. What lies ahead?

While I'm finding out, here are the photos from last night's party at Ambrosia. Good friends, booze, shisha and great atmosphere - nothing could be better. Other than that supernatural thingy with my camera...you know how phone cameras always save your pictures? Candice took a photo of me, Eleanor and Terence and we saw our faces on the screen but when i viewed the picture later, there was only murkiness and this weird green thing on the top righthand corner of the screen.It freaked all of us, especially since Eleanor had just told us about the City of the Dead tour she took in Edinburgh that involved a poltergeist.

Photos...some are blurred coz i forgot to turn on the night mode!


My favourite drummers(top) :) and the dragons reunion (below), well, sort of..

This is so wrong.

Another blog?

I just posted my first post to my shop's blog. Another blog? Am I crazy? Maybe I am, but its good for the shop :) Go here: Suite Stuff

I just love this photo, taken by Christine from Anonymous Apparel. Old-world charm anyone?
Of course the shop doesn't look like this anymore....its a little more...er lived in? Heh.

Baggage has arrived

Yaay! My baggage, thought lost for good has arrived from London. Am looking forward to seeing my bottles of Lemon Vinegar, Raspberry Vinegar and Bramble Vinegar. Oh, not forgetting Raspberry Vodka, Blackcurrant Gin, a 10-year old Brandy, Chocolate Orange liqeur...and the list goes on. I'm salivating already.


In case you're wondering where on earth I got these. They were bought from a shop called Demijohn in Edinburgh. They only have two stores in the whole wide world - one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow, and they specialise in making their own oils, wines, vinegar and other what-nots of alcohol. Absolute bliss¬ now who are the lucky ones who get to share in my joy. hmmm....

Go here for Demijohn...they do international deliveries! Damn.
http://www.demijohn.co.uk

Sorry, Love

I spent a pleasant day (or rather remainder of the day, seeing as we have to perform two shows every morning) watching shows today, a total of 4 in fact. The first was Joined at the Heart, a musical about the life of Victor Frankenstein. It was, in my opinion, too draggy, contained too many songs that weren't very nice to begin with, mediocre singing and acting...oh, there was one actress who was so bad, she was distracting. I made it through the whole show, only to leave five minutes to the end. I swear that was about all I could take.

The second show was The Space In Between, set literally in a jazz bar, the Jazz Bar next to our performance venue. It was a great ambience, the bar was closed for the duration of the performance and the actors used the bar space as their stage. Very philosophical, yet funny. Again, I didn't stay for the whole show as I had to go look for Su-ping and Eleanor, to watch another show.

Painting Music - The Colour of Sound was the third and the most enjoyed show of the day. Set in a church, with a very competent pianist and talented cellist and clarinetist, it showcased an artist painting on a canvas to music played by these musicians. 5 songs were played in all and I most loved the Baroque Sonata in C minor and the song about the crucification of Jesus. It was so beautiful and the acoustics in the church were just awesome. The results on canvas were at times stunning, bold and yet

I ended the day with Sorry Love, a very evocative dance piece by two dancers about domestic abuse. She moved with so much grace and lyricism..oh and her body! So tight and taut, but a little manly. The guy was abit more flamenco in style, not as graceful in movement but he provided a good balance to her style. If anything, i thought it was good he be different - providing a subtle warning of the impending rift in their relationship. I loved it.

Reviews!

So far, we've been getting positive reviews from audiences and reviewers alike. See the reviews here: http://www.itheatre.org/Edfringe07reviews.htm

And we might just be going on a UK tour, if everything turns out well. The organiser for the tour came to our shows last week, so fingers crossed everyone!!

I watched two shows today - Prodigal Daughter (about a Korean woman who returns back to Korea after being sent away when she 6 years old, and finds out why she was sent away) and The New Magic Show (set in a cafe, the audience gets to choose what's on the menu). Prodigal Daughter was rather average. Staging was rather weird in some scenes but the acting was really very competent. It was quite a sad story as the woman, Mina was sent away because she was being sexually abused by an American general during the war. The general would often bring food over for the family. Her mother, alone with four other children could do nothing but choose to send her away, hoping this would stop the abuse (which it did) but did not realise that it wouldn't stop her hurt.

The New Magic Show was funny! I laughed throughout the whole show. The magician, Simon Evans announced at the start of the show that the Fringe office was not happy with the less-than-satisfiable applause at all of the Fringe shows and that he'd be commissioned to solve the problem. Which he promptly did by telling the audience that there were four steps to be taken each time he did a trick successfully:

1.looked shocked (put both hands up to your face)
2.turn to the person next to you, look doubtful and shake your head, he couldn't have possibly done that trick
3. dawning look of recognition that yes! He'd actually done the trick!
4. Applaud and scream.

Another twist to the oft-done illusion trick of putting a person in a box and sticking blades through the box consisted of a cardboard box and plastic poles. Why? Safety regulations prohibiting the use of knives (too dangerous), wooden planks (too dangerous, they might splinter and get into the skin) forks (the restaurant needs to use them) etc etc...

So yes, he gets his assistant to climb into the cardboard box, and then proceeds to stick 6 plastic poles into the box and out the opposite ends. Meanwhile, the assistant is dutifully screaming his lungs out. At the end, all is quiet and then suddenly, the assistant pops up, but only he's in a glittery black dress, revealing his bountiful chest hair in all its glory. yup. not your run of the mill magic show.

The weather's damn cold today! Argh. I walked home in the rain, under an umbrella, and (quite) warmly clothed but the wind still chilled me to the bone. Was thinking of going out to catch a few shows at night but with this weather....i guess I'll be staying at home, catching up on my blogging, emails, reading and shop work.

I just made some strawberry jelly and its cooling in the refrigerator now even as I type. Oh, and here are a few more funny shop names, just for your viewing pleasure....enjoy!

Free and Easy

I took this picture as I was walking along a road on the way to The Pleasance Courtyard to catch Chanbara. Seems so whimsical yet so apt for an easy afternoon. I imagine the person who put this there must have sat on the chair, smoked and watched the world go by, while maybe reading a paper or a book.

I myself have been doing a lot of reading of late and its been really satisfying. Back home, my reading is oft done when i'm on the move, most often in trains, or on buses. It feels so good to be able sit on a couch and really read, without having interruptions! One of life's simplest pleasures. Another one of life's simplest pleasures? Having cocoa pops with a bowl of milk. Mmmmm. What's yours?

So what have I been reading? Nothing serious i'm afraid. Heh. I've been reading a trilogy of books by Nora Roberts, set in Ireland. The geography and culture is somewhat similar to that of Scotland. I'm able to visualise in my mind when she describes the topography of the area. The cliffs, rolling hils and its gentle slopes, faerie-like cottages and more. Its great! I took a drive along the south-eastern coast, out of Edinburgh and up towards Saint Andrews. The drive was awesome. The scenery took my breath away - there were bales of hay resting in the fields, golden carpets of wheat, cows and sheep grazing on the green hills, abandoned cottages, quaint cottages, contemporary houses with their beautifully landscaped gardens and lawns and more! I could go on all the day. There was one part of the drive where hills rose high to our left and to our right, downward sloping hills leading to the sea. That was awesome, and a sight that will leave an indelible mark in my memory.

This time around, I haven't done much shopping. Alot of the clothes here can be found back home and at cheaper prices too. Eleanor was commenting that it could also be a testament to the fact that Singapore's fashion market has opened up so much in the past three years. Although i've been stocking up on skin and bodycare products. They've got Boots here! It has such a wonderful range of labels! Charles Worthington is big here, and Watsons only just brought them in.

I just bought Benefit's Hollywood Glo and eye cream and night cream from Boot's in-house label, Time Delay. Heh. Will let you guys know how good it is in 7 days. It promises firmer and younger looking skin in 7 days. Look out for the review at http://theboudoir-at-thechicsuite.blogspot.com/

More Updates

Yes, decided to do away with the oft-confusing blog template. No more "where do i click to get to your posts ah?" and no more "oh, so is that all there is to your blog?". But do be patient. I still have some editing to do, html-wise.

Very satisfied with myself today. I vowed to watch at least one show everyday before I came over to Edinburgh and today, I watched not one, but two great shows! One, a breakdancing show from a company from Korea (cute guys!!!) and two, "Just So" - a musical cum play about how the crab became its humble size as it is now. Great singing and acting! I was blown away.

Gotta go now. I've got to let the owner of this computer use it...catch ya guys later!

Edinburgh Part 2

Finally managed to get a computer with a working internet connection. Its no joke not having a computer on hand whenever you need it. Here's your updates, well some of them. More photos coming soon! Fug, just realised that my chatterbox is down. Grrrr...

Went to watch Puppetry of the Penis last night. Nothing great. Just some full frontal nudity and two guys manipulating their genitals, stretching this way and that to create what they call "installations". Hot dogs will never be the same again, neither will KFC's chicken.


The Scots sure have a sense of humour. I was walking along Rose Street, parallel to the shopping mall, Princes Street and this is what I found.

Edinburgh

I've reached Edinburgh safe and sound, after a 16-hour flight. Security was tight and some mixups meant that I had to throw away my canned food. Sob! No tuna, or curry!! :(

The time difference here is 7 hours behind Singapore. Suffering a little from jetlag. On the first night, we had a tech run for the 2 shows at 12 midnight, all the way till 5am (1pm Singapore time). I was falling asleep every time I looked down at my instruments. I think the greatest torture on earth is not being able to sleep when you most want to.

Anyways, the place that I'm staying in is called Roseburn Terrace. Hatta says it sounds like its something out of horror movie. You should check out our entranceway into the building. A dark corridor with cobwebs on the ceiling leading to an uneven spiral staircase. Me and Seri are sharing a super small bedroom. Its so cold here that I'm thankful for the small space. Small spaces are more cosy and trap heat easily.

We've had great meals! Pasta and macaroni and we had chili con carne yesterday for lunch, courtesy of Su-ping! Yum!

Today's the beginning of our 18-day run. Press coming in for our shows. Hope nothing goes wrong...especially my handling of the jellyfish. Heh. Looking forward to watching all the free shows , and of course the ones where we have to pay too, especially The Magnets and Puppetry of the Penis. Yuup. Later...

4 more days to EDINBURGH!

Argh! Where has all the time flown to?! I've been busy making up lessons for August and finishing up what's left of July. Poor me has been working till 10pm everynight. Thought I could have a little R&R and watch a movie, but someone decided that work was too important. Yep. I mean I understand but i'm pissed that I'm not a priority. Okay, that's princess speaking.

Anyways, Sunday was the Heritage Festival gig at Suntec City. Highlight of the day: an 84-year old uncle playing the drums with loads of attitude. Heh. Damn funny. Shall upload pics soon!

I've got a wedding gig tomorrow at the Sheraton. The client had to give me a last minute list. Sigh. Gotta go cram songs soon. Like now. Oh, and tomorrow night's my last night at Keppel Club! Yaay! I mean :( Heh. Its too far! Only makes sense for people who are driving to go there.

Okay. Updates ended. There WILL be more to come.

Bangkok Bangkok

This time round, Bangkok was great. Lots of shopping. Lots of eating and drinking. Coupled with a great night at Route 66 in RCA, with a bottle of Black Label, and the best salted popcorn ever. Mmmm.

Serene with her haul after our first day of shopping.

Yes, thats my humongous rainbow china bag in the background. Heh.

I saw this sign outside another club. Heh. Top 10 reasons for no entry?

At Route 66. Drunk but desperately trying not to look the part.

Vintage heaven. I found so many great dresses!

Queue in the toilet. If anything, it makes queuing more fun hah! Follow the arrows and the numbers.

At Suan Lum night market. Coke never tasted so good.