A rare Birthday celebration.
My department people gathered today, to celebrate the occasional birthdays that fell within the 2 months. In today's case, October and November. So, natuarally i was called in.
I can't remember when was the last time i had a birthday cake infront of me
for me. Or perhaps, never?
See, my family has never been in the habit of celebrating birthdays. None of those joyous birthday surprise parties you see on TV, or anything of that sort. So naturally, i don't expect my friends to celebrate for me either. Year by year, my birthdays just pass by without anyone noticing.. well... i do get the occasional card from some girl friends, but that's about it.
So, today's scenario was a little awkward, and alien to me. Especially blowing out the candles.
Luckily, i had my camera with me, and had the guys take some shots. I knew it was a good thing to carry the camera around all the time. You never know when you'd need it. ;)
Looking forward to the weekend. To finishing 6 songs in 3 days. Possible. I must tell myself, it
will be done.
Made a couple of new friends recently, i'm quite happy about it. One is from Malaysia, the other from Taiwan.
Also recounciled with a person i had thought i would never meet again in my life. Someone who was the biggest mystery in my life, and also changed my life forever. I forgive her for what she had done in the past. But it would be hard for me to trust her whole heartedly again. But i have to thank her. If she had'nt broken my heart so badly 3 years ago, i would never have gotten down to writing songs. Because of her, i had started on this journey in music, that i am confident i would take on for life.
Meanwhile, look what came into the doorstep today.
:)
My personalized 5th Generation iPod!!! Finally.. after months of saving. I'm glad i had waited, coz if not , i'd have gotten a lousy 4th generation ipod, which has a smaller screen, thicker build, less space, lower battery time, and NO VIDEO. woot. This device, is the ultimate sexiness. I am in awe. It is so slim, check out the pic with the pen!
Anyway, was taking a break from my songs to write this entry. Time to get back to work. Right now , it's 9 songs down, 5 to go. Cya!
8 Down .. but 6 more to go..
No, i did'nt count wrong. Met up with Shaiful, my scriptwriter and Dhanniah my lyricist today at my place. We discussed about many things. At one point, we were unsure if our intended 11 songs was enough for an average musical. Sure enough.. after asking Dr. Kenneth Lyen, the average song count for a musical is 15 ... Les Miserables went easily over 20 songs.....
So, we panicked for 5 minutes, and i continued working on the song i was doing, while Shaiful & Dhanniah discussed about the story. After i was done with the song, I was told about 3 more songs will be added, with our total coming to 14 songs.
This has got to be the biggest challenge i've faced so far. Never have i been pressed so hard to churn out so many quality songs that are individually unique, within such a short time frame.
I'm quite satisfied with the quality of my output so far, but i'm a little worried i might get too stressed, and creativity starts to slow down. Reason i'm saying this coz, i've already started to recycle ideas while trying to write new songs. Old melodies just keep popping up in my head. Which is a very bad thing. I need to forget everything i've written in the past 1 week.
But damn man.... I've already done 8 songs.. lol ... 6 more to go .... Latest by Monday ...
Anyway, i'm going to sleep now. I've been writing till 2-3 AM everyday for the past week, and waking up at 7:50 AM for work. Haha.. i'm pooped. May the force be with me.
5 Songs Down, 6 to go..
People have been msging me recently, regarding my MSN title.
No la.. i'm not releasing an album..... though i wish it was the case...
I'm writing 11 songs for this musical that will be staged (on a small scale) at next year's Singapore Arts Festival.
I will put up more official information as it becomes available.
Meanwhile, i am so frickin' tired. Went home yesterday thinking to spend the whole night writing songs, but i ended up lying flat on my bed after some exercise. Slept for 2-3 hours till 12 , and then i worked abit on a couple of songs, had a discussion with my scriptwriter, and finally hit the sacks at 2:30am.
Barely pulled myself out of bed this morning. So far, progress has been pretty steady.. But the remaing few song are going to prove a decent challenge, as i've not written any songs about their subject matter before.
One is a song of hope, another is a song .. basically about... the guys visiting prostitutes..... i like to refer to it as "The Geylang Song" . Haha... yeah......tell me about it.
Musical Musical Musical...
Been under quite abit of stress.... completed 4 songs so far, 7 songs to go. In theory, it's only 5 more songs to go, coz 2 of the songs are actually repeated tunes , only different arrangement.
For the past few days, i've cut off all leisurely activities in my life.
No Games, No TV, No Movies, Minimal Sleep. Everyday after i go home, i have dinner, and then start working on music. Hav'nt even had time to practise singing.
But i know i
have to do a good job at this one. It is a good entry point for me to make a name for myself.
Your silent fan of 6 years. . .
I received an email with the subject "Winterealm Feedback" last night. Emails with this subject come from the Feedback form in my
Winterealm site. I hav'nt received one for awhile now, so i was quite eager to see who it was, and what it was about.
I opened the email and was surprised to see quite a lengthy passage.
This girl, (whose name i won't divulge here) had been listening to my piano pieces when i first started publishing my songs on the net. She found solace in them, and she could feel the emotions in every one of them. Coz back then, i did'nt have descriptions for my songs, so one would'nt know exactly what the song would be written about. And all these years she said, she had been growing up with my songs (i gather she's pretty young) , and being a computer-idiot , she did'nt manage to check on my site often, until last night.
She was surprised that i'm still writing music, and how i've grown, blah blah... from there on are some praises and encouragement. And signed off as "Your silent fan of 6 years" . That line just did it for me. I'm touched.
And then, another new person i met yesterday, told me that she actually knew me from my site when she visited 2-3 years ago. Despite my seemingly failure these days, i seem to have had quite a following in the past! hohoho.. but whats the use..... 1000 people can tell me "you'll be the next big thing!" but in the end, i'm still a nobody... Come to think of it, i'm like the internet loser.. the guy who never made it..
Like Janice said, perhaps all i need, is just a smile from lady luck.
Another week
The weekend was a decent one. Had a lovely dinner with Fiona at Crystal Jade, stayed home to finish up some work on Sat, and went out on a group dinner at Compass Point on Sunday Night. It was at a little locally set up japanese restaurant named "Wasabi" . The food was lousy. It cost the same as Sakae Sushi and the likes, but the quality is
even worse than Sakae ... But anyway, it's not like i was expecting some high end japanese food at a place like that..... unlike
Fuji Japanese Restaurant - Bangkok ..
Anyway, i've got a musical to complete by 3 Nov ... that's about 2 weeks, and so far my
scriptwriter has informed me that he's expecting about 13 songs so far. Quite a daunting task, together with my expectations of the music. I don't think i'll have enough time to orchestrate all 13 tracks. I'll see how it goes. Have already done 2 songs, 1 is the main theme of the musical. It's yet another style from me that has never been heard before. I'll see if i can post the songs up on the Winterealm site when they're done.
It's funny how people change.. After 5 days in Bangkok, i seem to have changed from my introvert personality. I seem to have gone back to my old self. I've been having this longing to go out and interact with people the whole week while i was at home. For once in a long time, i actually want to go out, and found it truly unbearable to stay home.
Singaporeans still need to smile more...... especially when they're smiled at. Comon.. not everyone is a serial killer/kidnapper/rapist...
The Bangkok Trip
5 Days in Bangkok left a truly unforgettable experience. Everything there was cheap, yet good. The traffic is bad sometimes, but surprisingly, transportation is efficient! The best way to get through a jam is to get on a tuk tuk, or 1 of the trains. There seems to be no traffic laws in Bangkok. Vehicles swerve in and out of each others' lanes, yet i did'nt see a single accident over the 5 days of travelling about. The people were beautiful and friendly. The food is cheap and excellent, coupled with good service. Even though i don't speak their language, i felt rather comfortable and thought i could get used to Bangkok. I'm definately going back soon!
Anyway, here comes the photos. Enjoy.
Us getting on the bus headed to Changi International Airport.
Taking a few quickie shots before we entered the terminal.
1)That's my favourite Italian style pizza.
2) That's our friend, Kheng. Unlike what his name suggests, he's the most hardworking 1 of the lot.
1) Check out the shiny forehead of that guy on the right, that stood out of the pic for some reason.2) Group shot. Gary, Cedric, Anselm, Clement.
1)The objective of this picture was to take a pic of that stunning gal in the center. She has a milliondollar smile. Too bad we did'nt get to talk to her.
2) Me, on the plane.
Assorted voyeur shots of the SIA Stewardess(s)
Men deep in thought. Seemingly.
The shot and smile that melted our hearts. I asked her to pose for a shot while we were alighting from the plane. Because everyone was moving forward, i could'nt stand still and take the photo, so it was a little blurred. And she grumbled in a psuedo pitiful tone "why am i taking the photo alone..." but it was too late, we were already past her... after which, we cried our hearts out and lamented for not taking a picture with her. Anyone knows her by chance?
Bangkok
1) The infamous tuk tuk.
2) Morning view from my hotel window.
1) Me and Cedric
2) Kheng, Fred, Ben, Cedric, Clement, Gary
The streets of Bangkok.
We were headed for a boat ride tour, towards the Wat Arun temple. This was the same type of boat we were about to board.
1) Stuff floating all over the river.
2) A condominum along the river. I'd like to buy a unit here when i'm able to. I heard it costs only 30k baht . How true that is, i'm not sure.
1) On the boat...
2) Cedric and Clement
1) The magnificent Wat Arun Temple
2) Me with an amazing back drop.
1) The glimmer on the left side is not a photo/camera effect!
1) Me posing by some 'great gate' . (Star Gate?)
1) Clement & Fred
1) Groupie: Junhuai, Fred, Anselm, Clement, Kheng
2) Fred & Davis
1) Houses along the river
2) Floating merchants
1) Check out the sizez of the fishes were were feeding with bread. It was supposed to be some kinda good deed to feed the fishes, and perhaps get something good in return.
2) Group photo at the lunch buffet. I look like the Chairman of the association!
The infamous Mah Boon Kong aka MBK Shopping center. Hub of all trendy stuff.
Us taking a break at Swensens. I believe you can't find a cheaper Swensens anywhere else in the world. However, the catch is... Their Swensens only sell ice cream. 
This is the bowling alley at the top of MBK. The place looks fantastic, and i nearly got my ass kicked for taking this picture. But it was worth it. They have a DJ spinning music there, Hip hop RnB stuff, and you have swarms of pretty school girls going there to bowl and hang out. Altogether, the place is an excellent place for chilling out!
1) The guys all dressed up for some night life!
2) Hollywood Discotheque. Recommended by our perverted tourguide, who basically ripped us off and took us on a joy ride. Asshole.
1) Chatuchak. This is a crowded little corner eatery, where we had an excellent breakfast. I was skeptical at first, coz the clay plates looked pretty dirty. But the quality of the food made me forgave everything else.
2) Spring rolls, light skin with ample juicy fillings.
1) I had the rice vermicelli with grilled pork. Was disappointed that there was no sauce, but soon realized that it was cuz the flavour of the grilled pork was so excellent, anything else would bring injustice to it.
2) My friends had the vietnamese pho. The noodles were amazingly elastic and chewy. Something that is seldom seen in rice noodles. The soup was good too.
1) An outdoor shot of Chatuchak market. The biggest flea market i've ever been to. It really defines the term 'Flea Market' .
1) A humble hawker selling some grilled poultry outside Chatuchak. We bought 7 sticks for like 20 baht. Do you have any idea how insanely cheap that is? It tasted very good, and we did'nt get any food poisoning after that either. You MUST try the roadside stalls when you're in Bangkok.
Went to Chinatown's Nam Xing restaurant for some cheap but mediocre quality Sharksfin. Had scallops, brocolli with crabmeat and a huge fish steamed cantonese style. Total damage, about SGD20+ each.
Day3: The street of Pertunam.
1) Birds sold by the cages. You're supposed to do a good deed by buying a cage, and setting them free. That way, your wish that you prayed for would have a higher chance of coming true.
2) Me and Anselm.
1) At a shopping mall in Pertunam. There are like 5 storeys and all of them are connected by these "Step-less" escalators. Pretty cool. Shortly after i took this photo, i came across a sign that said "No Photo"
2) Theres something about skyscrapers that just seem to yell out 'TAKE A PHOTO OF ME!'
The river/canal transport.
2) Aha! Yes.. Fried Cockroaches. The term 'I'll crush you like a cockroach!!" is passe. Here, the fry and eat them. My friends did buy a couple of bags. But none of the roaches though. Reviews from them suggested that fried mealworms tasted like prawn crackers. As in, the Calbee stripey kinda crackers.
1) Had intended to take the girl in the center, but she did'nt give me a pose. Instead, ended up with a pretty stylish night shot.
1) Our last day at Bangkok. We're chilling at another Swensens outlet in MBK. There are like 3 Swensens outlets located in the same building. All 3 of them are equally packed.
2) Tried to take a pic of the gal behind.. She's pretty cute, but she did'nt turn to the camera.
1) My banana split. (Hmmm.. that sounded wierd)
2) Departure from the hotel. Last group shot.
A couple of 'heavenly' shots taken on the bus towards the airport.
to conclude...
hoho.
