This week's Music Bath

This week I've included two vastly different pieces of music. Vitalic 's One Above One is a breath of fresh air in today's crowded dance music repertoire whilst Max Richter's beautiful instrumental On The Nature of Daylight must be listened to. It is strangely sad yet inspiring.

Hope you enjoy both pieces. Merry Christmas and spend the rest of the 2009 wisely.

Vitalic - One Above One



Max Richter - On The Nature of Daylight



xoxo

Hooray for Plus sized girls, Surrealist paintings and Fantastic furniture

V Magazine will be launching their Plus Size January 2010 issue. I actually thought both were the same models, only just photoshopped, but on closer scrutiny (and after reading the captions, duh!), I found out both were different models. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't their plus-sized model not really plus-sized? They should have chosen a model with more meat to represent most of the plus-sized women now! You judge for yourself.

See the photos here ----- "One Size Fits All"

These are some gorgeous surrealism paintings by Russian artist Vladimir Kush
Would love to frame these for keeps.






New Year is coming and other than the impending resolutions on my mind, I also have the idea of new furniture. Though these would have to stay in my dream house for now...

(items below by Loyal Loot Collective)
One can never have enough of storage...log bowls!!!!




aww too cute!!! finally something masculine yet feminine. You know what I mean.




(items below by Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc)

Phonique sofa and Tapisserie sofa (single) in c minor. Doesn't look comfy but sure as hell looks amazing.





I can just imagine this house-warming kitchen scenario with Mrs Dalloway here:

Overzealous houseguest: "Hey where's your stove? You guys don't cook?"
Lo and behold, I open this mini hot plate to the awed gasps of my guests.

I'm not kidding. I really really really really want this cool fashionista/kitchen item for my house. Dream pad or not.

(items below from Mooi)
This oblique bookshelf can't house much stuff. But then again, its for my DREAM house.


Love love love this smoke chandelier.

My first and only Christmas mail of 2009....

...comes from (surprisingly) a male cousin of mine. Come to think of it, he's my financial/insurance agent as well, so it isn't that shocking after all.

Its been hours since I tore open that square piece of envelope quickly but carefully and I can still feel that pumping excitement of getting a piece of snail mail from someone.

I remember going through my mental phonebook, scrolling up and down, thinking who could this be from. There were a few suspects, though the sender was surely a pleasant surprise. And he thoughtfully penned a short paragraph to me and my family instead of just writing Merry Christmas-seal envelope-affix stamp-send and made my whole family (we were in the lift, see I couldn't wait to get home to open it!) smile.

So thanks Jeremy for the wonderful wonderful card and for making my day!

loves.

xoxo

Christmas is coming...

I made a New Year's resolution to send out Christmas cards this year and guess what? I have! OMG am so excited right now!

I took some pics of the stuff and cards (yes you do get presents through snail mail too how about that!) I sent out (will post them up soon coz I just wanted to get this post out today). Hope you guys like what I got for you!

For those who didn't receive anything from me, there's still next year!!

I've been thinking of setting up another blogsite dedicated just to snail mail. I definitely do not want letter-writing/paper mail to die out!

What have you recently got in the mail other than adverts and bills? Any letters from your friends? Cards?

My grand total of letters from friends and cards is....TWO. And both were wedding invites. Sigh. There is really so much pleasure derived from reading a letter ON PAPER. It would really make my day. *not so subtle hint...LOL*

I believe in paying it forward, so before paper mail makes my day, I should make the first move and send out paper mail!

What would be a cool blog address?

ThankyouMrPostman.blogspot.com??

Or Ilovesnailmail.blogspot.com?

Ideas are welcome!

I just googled and these are a few websites that deal with their love of snail mail!

http://snailmailfriend4life.wordpress.com/
http://www.vivasnailmail.com/
http://welovesnailmail.webs.com/apps/blog/
http://missivemaven.blogspot.com/

And look out for more snail mail coming your way this year!! (methinks I need an address book)


On a solemn note..RIP Brittany Murphy. You will be missed. I loved your wacky antics on camera and your smile.

Way too many celebrities are leaving us this year.

Dragonfly, JB and Enoki mushrooms

I know they don't really go together, but the title of this post pretty much sums up my life for the past two days.

Monday night, Soap was asked to sub for Velvet band's drummer at Dragonfly, so we were there from 9pm to about 5am. And when we got out of the place, not a cab was in sight. For the first time in my life, I've to wait for a cab after clubbing (sort of). Don't ask me what time I woke up today.

St James seems to have undergone a revamp. Otherwise, its been a pretty long time since I've last been. Check out Dragonfly when I first walked in.


Cool huh? Looks super classy. Or maybe its my camera.LOL.

And because I was there for so long. I pretty much started playing around with my handy camera phone.


I tried to zoom in on Soap but my camera's zoom like sucks lah. Anyways, you can just make out Soap's face without his usual smile coz he's very very stressed. LOL!

I especially love this one of Velvet's bassist, Xiang. Colours damn nice.

Lawrence

Kaili aka Jolin. lol.

Simon.

If you're thinking why they look so familiar...its because all of them are from the most recent season of Superband!! Hahaa...Soap included!

Out of point but I must say I really love my phone. I think the camera is damn power!!! Don't you think so??! All the photos in this post were taken by my wonderful phone!! okok back on course....the post continues....

So when we finally got up the next day, we decided to go to JB before Soap's overseas leave expires on Thursday. I bought three pairs of gorgeous heels. I can't wait to wear them but they are so high I just know I'll get calf cramp!

Here's one of them. Love the soft buttery leather feel of these gorgeous grey heels which translates to no blisters!! woot~


Soap bought 3 tops at Padini at great prices (don't we just love sales) and we got Christmas gifts for his siblings - they liked their gifts. phew~

For supper, he cooked this Enoki mushroom dish that was a complete gastronomic delight! (my fellow Enoki mushroom fans - Xin and Cindy will be so jealous)

Needless to say, I finished the whole dish! yum yum~

Smile for the Day, Vid of the Day

When I saw this, I just had to upload this and share this with you guys!!

Deathly Hallows Preview

The preview is out. I can't wait!


Dh Preview One - The best bloopers are here

Smile for today, Vids of the day!

I just saw this on youtube today. Made me smile so I thought I'd post this and make YOU smile!

:D




talk to the moose...moose ah ah ah moose!

Just watch. And be entertained.


Ear Bite - Funny Bud Light Commercial - For more funny videos, click here

Okay technically this won't make you smile unless you're a guy.

This week's music bath

I think I've found the next two songs that will be on my repeat list:

Here's Adam Lambert's soaring and gorgeous vocals in "Time for Miracles". What caught me and has since been holding me captive starts from the bridge of the song all the way to the end. I swear it gave me goosebumps.



Ke$ha's Tik Tok equals dance-anthem worthy in Phuture!

Hamster running

I've been going to the gym everyday (well almost everyday, except today) at 10.30am to run. For those who know me, this comes as a surprise for

a. I don't wake up early
b. I hate running

But many people have been telling me that if I want to lose weight, I have to exercise before my first meal (coz stored body fat will be the first to be burnt off) and running is the best way to lose weight. So I've decided to try this out for a few weeks and see if any thing comes out of it even if I feel like a hamster running in a cage.

And since its so early in the morning (for me, at least) and i'll be perspiring like a pig very shortly after, I don't bathe before going out. TMI! I can hear you say. But strangely, to be going out without bathing and not a smudge of makeup on the face can be quite liberating!

On another note, I am sick. And Soap is sick too. So we're BOTH stuck at his house. Sigh.

What's the best way of curing a sore throat??

This week's music bath

Another winner from Miss Zhang. I think the guitar riff is the most catchy part of this song and is what makes the song all the more unforgettable. You?




Fiona Sit's 叮叮車 - Chinese jazz! So rare and so well done! And mainstream!!! OMG!



Warwick Avenue - Duffy. Soothing.



If you don't watch Singapore Idol, watch this. I love this song and Sylvia does a great job IMO. Dick's comments are damn funny!



Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings. A bit of fun fantastic frivolity to end this post. I absolutely love this one!

Chocolate Eggs and Promises

After dinner today, my parents and I went to the nearby convenience store to buy some groceries for the house. I spied the Kinder Joy chocolate egg, picked it up and placed it with the items to be paid for at the counter.

On seeing it, my dad said to me "Hey you're not a little girl already! Don't buy lah."

But it was not the first time I bought this chocolate egg and so my dad paid for it and the rest of the items. Then he turned around and said "Next time whatever I want, you must buy for me!" To which I of course replied to the affirmative.


It may seem like an offhand remark that my dad made, it may even seem insignificant but this is a promise that I'll keep. Next time when my daddy and mummy grow older, I'll make sure they live life comfortably and most of all, happily.

I have been a bad bad girl

Its been ages since I last updated this blog. I'm in this constant state of um...procrastination? I'm not doing the work I should, not being where I should be. I didn't even get to blog about the Sony Satio phone and now its out in the market! I just keep finding excuses to play Harvest Moon on my DS (which by the way, isn't a waste of my money). I don't even go online that much anymore! No reading emails, no facebooking, not even online shopping! *gasp*

But thankfully, one thing I've not neglected is my health (I've been going to the gym regular. Having a gym buddy helps! Thanks buddy!! *big smile) and my pals. I've been seeing alot of my friends (well not all my friends as I would ideally hope) but people like the vballers of SRJC thanks to the duo of wedding dinners provided by Elvin and Kenneth as well as Liz (my Left4Dead gamer gal pal - how many gal gamers are still playing Left4Dead?!), my gym buddy and not forgetting my darling Soap.

I better be posting those pics up soon or Cindy will have my head rolling on the floor while she does her rolling of her huge eyes. :D

I'm leaving y'all with this pic. Too cute for their pants.

(via The Sartorialist)

This week's music bath

I thought I'd focus on an Asian theme this week, seeing as I've just started having these urges to go karaoke singing these past few weeks (all started with Soap's bro-in-law's pub opening conveniently giving me an excuse to sing and then Cindy had to go and tell me she was taking half day leave to sing. Thanks -_-).

But anyway, I digress. As usual.

So this one from Fish Leong is a never-fail in my karaoke list (coz the only songs to sing are the Chinese ones. The English mtvs are too damn corny to see, I end up getting distracted and not singing but laughing at the sheer corniness of it all). Again, I digress. Sorry.

Here's my all time favourite: 不想睡 by 梁靜茹, Fish Leong.



Next is the overplayed and over-sung 祝我生日快乐 by 温岚, Landy Wen. I really love this song with its moving melody and lyrics.

I've never sung it. -_-



My favourite Japanese band: Tokyo Jihen with their hit Marunouchi Sadistic.



So there you have it. These are three of the many songs that I hold really close to my heart :)
Enjoy!

Quick Update

- Playtime is over. Phew! I can now celebrate not having to wake up at 6.30am!

- My phone has gave up its ghost, forcing my hand to change to a new phone when I'm ever so reluctant to. Is this a sign of getting old? This reliance on the old comfort zone and hesitance to change to something new and foreign. I don't even want to go figure out all these blackberry/twitter/qwerty pad stuff.

- Update to the update above: I now have a Samsung Pixon phone. I can't wait to take peektures with its 8MP camera!!!


I'm waiting for Sony Ericsson's launch of their almighty Satio phone. Its said to have 12MP camera function and music player function in one handheld set! Its not in the market yet I think. When its out...I might get it. Or not. Let's see if i'm comfortable with the Pixon yet. :)

- My next big job will be forming up a World Music programme for schools under Meiyin's Laras Ethno. Very glad as I'll be getting some extra moosh for this gig. Yayness!

- Have started going back to the gym again. This time with my gym buddy Serene! We have lots of fun as usual. I like the regularity of gymming and then having lunch with her. See? Comfort zone again. I have too many of them.

- Found out that Marcus (Mr Soccer Captain) from SRJC is staying in my block, two floors above me! He's been asking me out to catch up! I don't know why our schedules always clash and we don't get to meet.

I think thats all for now. Too many updates in just a week. I still love my life though. :)

Have a great week ahead!

The Weekend is Over....

and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

For two things specifically: first and foremost, Soap books out of camp on Saturday and Cozycot's Holy Grail party starts on Saturday!

Although I'm still thinking whether to go. Can't stand crowds.

This Week's Music Bath

Here are a few of my favourites from ambient/dance groups Air and Massive Attack.

I've loved Air ever since my JC days. This song was the first song I heard that got me hooked.



Alone in Kyoto. So relaxing and so nicely Asian. :D




Sing Sang Sung is their newest single, released August 25 2009



Massive Attack's Teardrop is always welcome on my late nights.



Milk Inc's catchy Tonight coupled with fireworks galore. I'm in awe of her voice.



Run by Milk Inc. The piano riff captures me. Simple yet so effective.

And Malaysia does it again.

Malaysians love putting their foots in their mouth. Yesterday, Malaysian's Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said:

“We cannot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chilli crab is Malaysian. Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food,” she told reporters after launching the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival yesterday.

What utter rubbish. Even a fool can see that Hainanese chicken rice originated from a place such as Hainan?! If not, why would the dish even be named after a place?!

Oh! Wait! Maybe in Malaysia, all their world maps only have Malaysia on it! That must be the case! How else would you explain this incredible Malaysian phenomenon of disregarding historicial and factual evidence.

And why must they do things like lay claim to this or that. Too full and nothing to do?

Malaysian, here are a few things you should do.

Go build up your economy. Be hardworking and forward thinking and maybe you'll be too busy to bully and envy Singapore. And for once, Malaysian Malays should get off their butts and finally start working and stop ostracizing Malaysian Chinese. Oh yes, and please erase that irritating procrastinating habit.

Why I say that Malaysia does it again. Well, even music falls prey to this laying claim phenomenon.

I have heard that Malaysia thinks that the Angklung originated in Malaysia and therefore its Malaysian. Excuse me? EVERYONE knows that it originated in Indonesia. Oh, sorry. Maybe everyone but poor little Malaysia. Poor thing. Didn't get your research done did you?

Oh and at a gambus performance at Singapore's Sun Festival last year, this Malaysian dude said that the gambus is Malaysian. Go do your research instead of spouting your mouth off lah! The gambus originated in Yemen under the name OUD.

Malaysia, do you know the meaning of the word "origin"?

Origin means the point at which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived.

If it didn't come into existence in your country, then it is not and never will be Malaysian. Get it?

Chilli crab is ours. It is a SINGAPOREAN dish.

Don't even try.

Day Eight without Soap

(via Chotda)

Had Sakae buffet lunch with Emily and Serene today. So full!

While still on the subject of sushi, allow me to divert and present you with these:

Sushi minicakes! (via hello naomi)

If that's not cute enough for you....

Sushi handpainted cookies! (via whipped bakeshop)

These darlings won't find their way into my mouth for sure. I'd rather preserve and display them!

After lunch, we went our separate ways to teach and then me and Serene met up at Orchard to explore ION and to shop at Far East Plaza.

ION is humongous! I do not for a second doubt that I will get lost here. In fact, we got a little lost while finding our way to Wheelock via the underpass.

Bought myself three dresses today. Its been such a long time shopping with a girl at a shopping centre! I finally understand why some girls still choose to shop at physical shops when shopping online is clearly easier. You get to try on the clothes and get to touch what kinda material the garment is made of. Also, the camaraderie one gets from shopping together is irreplaceable.

I got to check out the Best of Blogshops store at Far East. I think its a great business idea. But i felt that the shop space was too cramped and goods weren't laid out as nicely as I would have preferred.

Soap called while I was at the Blogshop store and we talked for a while. Lights out in a while he said so again, our conversation was very short. Wonder what it will do to our relationship in the long run - these hurried calls.

But! I'll get to see him for two and a half days starting tomorrow evening! Yayness!!!

Day Seven without Soap

Been doing a lot of meetups with friends lately and today wasn't any different.

Finally managed to catch up with Siannie over brekkie at Macs and we squeezed an hour of window shopping. Cannot believe the total lack of clothing options these days. Nothing we saw appealed to our eyes.

After teaching, I headed down to City Hall to meet Cindy, Ken and Meixin for dinner at Popeyes' at the Flyer.

After dinner, we made a vid for Ken's wedding. Damn fun. Haven't done this kinda of thing in a long while and Xin is still as drama as ever.

Showcasing our gifts from Cindy on our heads!

I missed you guys.

Day Six without Soap

Helen Huang

Nothing special happened today.

I went to teach at Haig Girls - taught them Asmaradana and then headed down to Esplanade for the first rehearsal for "Nicest Egg in the World" and on reaching there, found out that rehearsal schedules had been changed without updating the musicians.

Nice.

Had dinner at Thai Express with Liz. Soap would have loved the food. Headed down to Paradiz to play Left Four Dead with Ragha. Quite cool to play without Soap as our navigator. We had to find out where to go on our own and I learnt not to be too dependent on others while playing.

Hmm...maybe thats a lesson for real life too?

Soap called and we could only talk for a while. Sigh. Story of our life.

Day Five Without Soap

Today was my free day. No teaching.

Went down to RP to help Amran with GNK. Their level of playing is really good. I'm impressed. However, I'm less than happy with their attitude. Latecoming, and even playing with their mobiles during a song.

Sigh. A student group will always be a student group. Once they get to perform on big stages, they get so big headed without even stopping to think if they deserve the stage or not.

The onus is on you as a performer (not student mind you) to perform and prepare for the performance to the best of your ability and to exhibit at least a little showmanship.

Well, that aside, today's GA latihan was really enjoyable. We played 5 different songs in an hour before calling it a day and heading off for supper to feed a certain starving mother-to-be.

Soap called while we were at supper and I got to talk to him for quite a while. I'm happy that things seem better for him in camp and glad that he's adjusting well. He says that if he passes his IPPT this Saturday morning, then for the next few weekends, he'll be able to book out on Friday nights!

*fingers crossed*

Day Four without Soap

I walked into Watsons today to find a spot corrector for my face and walked out with three Olay products instead. Total damage was $109! My pocket hurts a little but I'm hopeful of the results.

What I bought:


Sundanese Degung rehearsal was not the same without Soap. I miss him so much. Didn't realise how much I enjoy having him by my side while playing my music.

Sometimes, we take things for granted until they are gone. Fortunately, in my case, its not gone forever. Just temporarily stopped while he serves the country.

For now, I'll just have to grin and bear it. But I know things will get better. I will stop missing him and soon I'll get used to his not being around me all the time.

Day Three without Soap

Today Amran, Jim, Emily and me went to visit Feri, Penny and their newest addition to their family, Annabelle. She is so cute! Sweet, adorable, exceptionally tall, pastel bundle of joy with super long fingers and toes! I absolutely love her to bits.


Amran and I then went to Esplanade to give Serene and Barbara our support at their Mbira performance at the Concourse venue.


After their performance, we went for drinks at Makan Sutra nearby. Then a band started playing at the Waterfront Amphitheatre and the music sounded so good that I left to watch their set. Halfway through the set, I realized I had listened to their stuff before - on their Myspace.
The band was none other than In Each Hand A Cutlass or IEHAC for short and they play instrumental rock/ambient music.


The music sounded really tight, the compositions coherent. However, their showmanship was sadly lacking. The band had very or almost no interaction with their audience, but I guess one can forgive that on account of their competent musicianship. A bit of trivia for you. Ex-Electrico guitarist Daniel Sassoon is a member of the band.

Interested? Have a listen to their Myspace ----- here.

Day Two without Soap

Today is a Saturday. The start of the weekend and I have to teach, which makes matters worse. If only I could stay home and wallow in my misery. Fortunately for me the positive thinking side prevails and I go off to teach a grand total of four students. heehee. And there you were thinking, aww poor thing...having to teach sooo many students. Yup! Only four. But still, its the weekend!

I finish the day's work at 5pm and Sis decides to renege on our outing to IKEA. I go for a bout of window shopping at Tampines One and find this:


MT from Japan is finally here at Urban Write! This is a rainbow of joy in an otherwise dreary day.


See their beautiful products here. Love!!!

Nightfall finds me at home. Alone. Well, not really alone. I watch telly with my parents. Which is great because I've been wanting to spend more time with them. But as the hours tick by and he does not call, I can't concentrate.

My phone buzzes. It Sab, asking me out for supper. She seems surprised when I say I'm available. Haha. She probably doesn't know. But she will soon.

Off to supper with her!

Day One Without Soap

I wake up at 9.30am and have lunch with Dad, bro and sis. Then its off to a whole day of teaching which helps me keep my mind off a certain someone.

Tonight I stay at home again. My parents must be wondering whats wrong with their daughter. Suddenly she's home so much. Well its not only because Soap isn't around. Its also because rehearsals have not started yet. Actually, I can't wait. Then I will have more things to do, and less time to think.

Its hard. I tear up so much when watching the second series of Perfect Cut that my eyes become swollen. He calls and we have a rushed 2 mins of conversation which certainly doesn't help my tear ducts.

The Golden Hour

Gjorgji Orovcanec

My best friend, constant companion and soul mate just went into the army today. I suddenly feel alone, lonely and at a loss as to what to do.

For the next four weeks, I will have an hour everyday (or less) to talk to him on the phone. Tonight, we talked for only 10mins before he had lights out.

I can't believe I'm going through this. Again.

This week's music bath

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons. You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Veronicas - Untouched

I love the strings intro to this song, and then the electric guitar comes and spoils the magic. Didn't really like the chorus - seems like they can't reach the high notes, but the "la-la-la" part is really cool. :D

Couldn't make a head or toe of the video though. Kinda doesn't seem like it fits with the music. A pity.



Paramore - Crush Crush Crush

A gem of a rock song. Frontwoman Hayley Williams is one of the best vocalist in her genre.



2ne1 - I Don't Care

A new breed of Korean singers who can actually pronounce English properly are up and coming. I Don't Care is a great non-cheesy RnB song with a catchy chorus to boot.

Another gem.



2ne1 - Take A Bow

2ne1's very competent cover of RnB princess Rihanna's Take A Bow. Their live band is damn good!

Vid of the Day

This made my day.

Dress-Up Fun!

I went by woodwould today and Soap got this from mudpuppy for my birthday present!

A magnetic dress-up doll with plenty of fashion options from the different vintage eras,



complete with 4 different backgrounds, all housed in a metal tin!



This. Is. So. Cool!

Check out other magnetic dress-up dolls here! Click!

I have my eye on this one :D

and this...

Phenomen'Eyes Mascara

Introducing the new mascara from Givenchy: Phenomen'Eyes Mascara which has gained a lot of hoo-ha probably because of the shape of its er.. wand.

Apparently, this odd-shaped thing of a wand will help us lengthen, curl and volumise even those little lashes on our lower lashline.

Good news is its available in Singapore already - at SGD 39 in Nuance-Watson. :D