How does one keep the faith?

How do you keep trusting in friendships when time after time one more flaw reveals itself? How does one make herself understood, instead of being misunderstood, misinterpreted all the time? The key is open-ness and honesty. If you've got something against me, come right out and say it. But whatever you do, do not hide behind that cloak of friendship. Don't ever hide behind the facade of smiles and hugs. I detest you for it.

I'm so tired of doing so much. Game over. No more.

The First Suite Stuff Swap

This is what I'll be busy with in the coming week. Although I should have done this a long time ago, like last year when I'd thought of it. Anyways, do RSVP to suitestuff@gmail.com.

See you there!

Hustle and Bustle

The days of hustle and bustle have hit me once again. Not that I'm complaining. Its good to always have something to do. It lessens the chance of me thinking overly much, not to mention saving me from being too clingy.

Was at Feri's wedding on Saturday, and had the wedding bouquet thrown at my feet not once, but twice. Damn embarrassing.

Radical Context's gig at the Orchard Library went well. We got to know the guys from Peepshow, another local band. They liked our brand of jazz and funk. I guess the library people did as well, coz they offered as a monthly slot as their resident band.

I'll be starting my alternate Thursday gig at the Keppel Club this Thursday, so come on down if you're free.

Rehearsals for Dragon Moon and Rainbow Fish have started. Went for choreography session on Monday. It all seems very fun. Its the first time i'm doing puppeteering. Heh.

Anyways, its late, I'm tired and I think I'm suffering from PMS. I'll leave you with this...

I've just gotten the rehearsal dates for Rainbow Fish and Under the Dragon Moon, turning my already packed schedule upside down. Now I must go determine which student to reschedule or which rehearsal to skip. Damn. All because of freaking Edinburgh. Am already regretting my decision to go. But then again, knowing me, I'll be elated to be there when I'm there inhaling the smell of the cobbled pavements. I mean I've been comparing practically every country's smell with that of Edinburgh's. This time, I really must visit London. Really.

I've been in the shop the whole day. No sales. Just some random people coming in, trying and leaving. Oh yes! I got some shoes today that I'm sure Elizabeth will want to get :) heh. Will not tell her. I'll let her read it herself on this blog or see it on me. The best thing about it? It only cost me 8 bucks! And a customer just asked me if it was for sale. Heh.

Merlin's gonna come in tomorrow to get her 40's skirt! Argh. I can't bear to part with it. Its so gorgeous! And what a conversation piece it is! I just had this conversation with the door bitch from Velvet about the skirt. I'm so regretting my decision to put it on the mannequin now! Sighhhh...

A great start to a great week

Went to Harry's at Boat Quay last night with Shaun, Sherry and Soap. OMG, just realised that our names all start with S! Haha. Anyways, we were there to watch ChromaZone, a jazz quintet comprising of Christy Smith, Rick Smith, Eddie Layman and Nicholas Lee, together with singer Denise Mininfield. It was great music. Powerhouse vocals from Denise. Soap kept saying she scared him. Heh. You scare too easily Soap!



Halfway through the night, I got a call from Freddie, saying that we've got alternate Thursday slots at the Keppel Club, starting next Thursday. So come on down to the Keppel Club if you can! I think we've got three sets starting at 8.30pm.

Am listening to Joss Stone's album right now. I just love her voice. And her new image. :)

Check out "Treat Me Right" and "Under Pressure" on the album.

Sat was my hottest gig ever. We played one set at 3.50pm and another at 6.50pm. In between, I played beach volleyball with some guys. Heh. Yup, in my dress :) luckily it stayed up. But my right hand seems to be in some kind of muscle pain now. Can't seem to do any trills or fast passages with my fourth and fifth finger.

Went for an audition with a pub band yesterday. My hands, thank God, didn't let me down. So, yes I'm in. But it might be a six night gigging thing. Stanley's not pleased about it. I'm quite excited about it but six nights seem to be very very tiring. Plus, i'll need to look for replacements everytime I leave the country. Which might prove to be a big big problem, seeing I'm leaving for Edinburgh on the 29th and then Australia in Oct.

More good news....Now Playing got into the next round of the J-rock Omasturi. We stuck out like a sore thumb. Me in my bright green dress amongst all the monotone cosplayer types. Heh. Our music too. Nothing of the screamo stuff. I could see question mark bubbles in the crowd when we went on stage to setup.

Marcus was infallible this time around. Which has been sorely missed in the past performances. I hope he keeps this up. Oh, and one more highlight of the day! Huimin in a skirt, well sort of. And makeup! Pics will be up soon!

GIGS

RADICAL CONTEXT

When: 30th June 2007, Saturday. First set starts at 2.15pm

Where: Sentosa, Siloso Beach


NOW PLAYING

When: 1st July 2007, 3.30pm

Where: Cineleisure


RADICAL CONTEXT

When: 7th July 2007, Saturday. 3pm

Where: Orchard Library

I'm going for an audition with a pub band this Sunday in which I'll be playing keys and singing harmony and maybe the odd song. I have to prepare 18 songs. Should be easy, I've already done the chords for 6-7 of the songs. Am also going to audition with another guitarist for a duo gig. Plus I'll be jamming with Freddie's band this coming Friday.

You'll probably going, "is she mad?!" I don't know if I am. Its this inexplicable push for me to play music every single waking moment of my life. If I had my way, I'd do nothing but practice and perform every day. Sometimes I get so frustrated. When is my big break going to happen? I told Jenson today, I don't even mind rehearsing everyday.

But I know all this has a downside. All this busy-ness has pulled me far apart from my friends. I was just thinking to myself the other day. If I were to disappear one day, how long would it take for my friends to find out I was gone.

Easy Sunday: David Tao's Rehearsal and Hot Fuzz

Yesterday was a good day. I managed to get three hours of practice on the piano, watched David Tao's rehearsal for his upcoming concert tour, AND watched Hot Fuzz with a very good friend.

The rehearsal was an eye-opener. I loved the arrangements and everyone looked so happy to be there. I wish I had the chance to tour too. I need my big break!

School has started. And I'm back to teaching at the schools. Sigh. I don't know why I started in the first place. Money's good but the atmosphere is so, bleah.
It drains all the life force out of me I swear.

Drama

The early morning calm was pierced by frantic sirens. Minutes later, the sounds of whirring helicopter rotors could be heard....if you think this is part of a movie, you're wrong. It was one of my real-life dramas in Melbourne. This was the day of the shooting - when a solicitor was killed and a backpacker wounded, all in their bid to save a woman being attacked by another man. I wasn't there, but the drama was real all the same, Stanley's house being just one block away from the crime scene. An hour later, police patrols sounded sirens and advised the residents in that area not to leave their houses. Me and Stanley stayed home till after 1, and even then, we were quite paranoid while we were out. I hope they catch the killer.

My other drama was with a stupid travel agent, who happens to have the same name as me. I was almost stuck in Melboune without a return ticket all because of the travel agent, who helped me rebook another flight but failed to advise the airline on the ticket number. So, they cancelled my new flight booking. Luckily I checked the day before I was to leave. When I called her, she was very defensive. I mean, it was obviously her fault. Who else would have my ticket number?! What made me even more fuming mad was when she said, "Hey, I'm doing you a favour. I didn't even charge you for it." At the end of my tether, I called Emirates in Singapore and this very nice lady was so patient and understanding. When she helped me revalidate the ticket, I almost cried. I'm still mad. What an attitude! When I lodge a complaint with CASE, lets see who has the last laugh.

Grrrr...

Melbourne Ver 2

Stanley finally got his internet set up. Boy, Australians are so efficient. And so hardworking. Wait a min, do you detect a faint hint of sarcasm? You are right. I hate the way they do things here.

I just got back from Camberwell Market. Lots of good buys today! I'm excited. I've got an awesome gold bangle from the 70's, two cheongsams from the 70's and this pretty little hand mirror with ornate detailing in silver, from the 50's. One of the sellers was this 85 year old lady who remembered me from the last time I came down in Jan. She sets up and packs up the stall all on her own every week. 85 years of age! Imagine!

Am going to check out the St Kilda Arts Market in a while. Updates later! Ciao..

Ear Candy.

Nice.

Okay, so far, i've been watching alot of CSI. Too much, in fact. I've finished watching the latest season of CSI Las Vegas and am currently midway through the latest season of CSI New York. Its depressing. Most of the time. And I'm becoming a little paranoid. Like there could be danger lurking around every corner. And then my over active brain goes into overdrive.

Okay, so that's how I spent my first week in Melbourne. Loads of sleeping involved too. Not to mention shopping. I've got my boots, my shoes, dresses, and some earrings. The DFO here is really cheap. But then everything is about the same. Pinafore dresses are big here. So are tights, stockings and boots. Not to mention skin tight jeans and long winter coats. But the asians? Different story. All Jap fashion. So boring...and not to mention ugly!!

Okay, its back to CSI now...internet should be up from tomorrow so i'll have more to do. You'll never imagine how bad life is without internet.

Back in Melbourne

I'm in Melbourne now. The smell of the city is still the same. That's good. Heh. My flight was a breeze. I had the window seat and the next two seats were empty. Food was great and service was excellent. I'm definitely flying Emirates again. Bad thing is, my flight was delayed by an hour...meaning that I got to Mel at about 1.40a.m. and then had to wait till 2.25am for the Skybus into town. Taking a cab would have cost me bloody $50. No way.

While waiting for the bus, I chatted with this Aussie woman from Burnley. She just got back from Dubai. As it turned out, she was supposed to go on a five and a half week tour around Russia and the Baltic States. But when she arrived in Dubai, she was told that her Russian visa was not valid. She stayed for a night in Dubai trying to get the visa settled but to no avail...the next day she got on a plane headed for Melbourne. What a bummer! And then she started crying while she was talking to me. OMG, here am I, freezing my butt off in the queue and this woman is crying. What am I supposed to say?! So I hastily changed the topic. Argh. Shouldn't have sat there in the first place.

Watched Pirates, again with Stanley. It's still funny. Especially the pirate lord with the high-pitched voice. Haha. Oh and I keep telling my friends about that episode from Family Guy with Peter and Robert Losure (is that how you spell it?). Yes, it still hasn't lost its charm. Yet. But Stanley can't stand it already.

Anyways, I miss hanging out at the shop and at Pitch Black. By association, that means I miss hanging out with Shu and Elizabeth. Sigh.

On the upside, I've managed to borrow a keyboard from Saturday onwards, so that means I can go practice.

Now, if only that stupid landlord of mine were to get the electricity sorted out, life would be a breeze. Dammit.

I'm pissed....

"You got in his skin, and you know alot about a person when that happens."

"I hope we'll always be friends as well as lovers and we never have need to apologize for anything."

Fufilling Friday

I made a major boo-boo today. Was supposed to wake up at 10am to get ready for an 11.30am class at Haig Girls. Was told that some NAC people were coming to observe my class. So at 10.30am, a teacher calls me, "Hi are you in the school already?" A blur me says "no, i'll be there by 11.15am to set up" And you know what? She says that the class was supposed to be at 10am! By the time I frantically showered, changed and got there, it was 11am. Class over. Luckily for me, Joyce was there and she taught the class for me. But I feel so bad! Damn. I wish I wasn't so blur at times.

But things got better from then on. Jane from LCube called to say she was sick and could I reschedule my practice time to another day. I effectively had like 5 hours to kill before my piano lesson. So I set my priorities right. Did what I had to do like send the shop's logo to make a rubber stamp. And then I went shopping! Okay, so it was more like shop shop shop, oh yes! gotta go make the stamp for Suite Stuff. Then back to shop shop shop. Now, I'm the proud owner of a pair of fire engine red slip-0ns, a grey vest and my best buy of the day - a blue tube dress rather like what they used to wear in the 60s. Slingback sandals are making quite the comeback I must say. Saw a few pairs that I'd like to own in the Pretty Fit store. Hehe.

Piano lesson was great. I almost wished I could have a longer lesson. Sigh. Now I feel like practicing so much...but am stuck in the shop. Grrr. Which reminds me, I need to get the keyboard amp. Like real soon.
Did i mention that i'm a proud owner of an out-of-production Boss Digital Delay/Reverb pedal? Its awesome. Gone are the eternal problems of bad pa systems of jamming studios. I'll have my own personally EQ-ed reverb. Can't wait to use it at the session tonight!

Ciaoz for nowz!

Street Smarts

I'm bored shitless in the shop! So, thought i'd blog. Heh. Not that I need an excuse to. These are some of my favourite photos taken by The Sartorialist's photographer Scott Schuman in Stockholm. Gee, I wonder what kinda photos he'll take of Singaporeans...

I like her pixie-ish kinda charm. And that bag! I want!

The epitome of cool.

I like the hoodie idea..hehz

Okay, so this is so Lohan and gang but I like the look anyways.


Armani anyone?

Update!

Okay, I'm officially not MIA-ing anymore. Heh.

Did a fusion gig in Catholic High today. Considering the amount of rehearsals and the fact that most of the guys are not seasoned gamelan performers, i say we did pretty good. Gambang and Suwe rocked!

I finally had the chance to really practice on the piano tonight. All 2 hours of it :) I'm glad. Its been such a long time.

Oh and I'm getting a delay/reverb guitar pedal that Marc assures me, is out of production. Can't wait to use it!

Okay, thats like a mini mini update. Gotta wake up at 6am tomorrow to do a workshop at Haig Girls'. Argh!