Forbidden City
Saturday, September 30, 2006 @ 12:43 AM
I was impressed. Even though our seats were way back at the highest level of the theatrette, so much so that the performers were no more than little specks on the stage, I was blown away by the power of the performers' vocals. One question that lingered in our minds was: Do they sing live or is it all pre-recorded?
Being my first 'musical' experience, I was looking at everything from a fresh perspective. As I settled down into my seat, I couldn't help but went gulp. The different floors were cut into the hall like a rice plantation, but to ensure that everyone had a decent view, the rows of seats were rather steep. For a moment, I felt like I was back in Taiwan, on that roller coaster ride which suspended people in the air before plunging straight down. It certainly took some getting used to.
They had screens on both sides of the performing stage for chinese subtitles. Not sure whether this is a permanent fixture for all performances or just for Forbidden City though. The setting was elaborate though and was versatile enough to be used for many different scenes, from the emperor's deathbed to the summer palace to the invasion of the British. Just changing the lighting and props could transform the whole look, amazing!
I particularly loved the brief appearance of the little boy who acted as the young prince. Kit Chan as a young Empress Dowager was convincing. We were brought through the ups and downs of her life; from the time she got picked as a concubine to her heartbreak and then, the little life growing inside her. The dragon lady who had always been misunderstood, the witch of China who allegedly murdered her own son. (We were told that she didn't of course, that in fact, he died of some STD after a good time in the brothels.)
Hossan Leong and Sebastian Tan were hilarious as the record keepers, popping in occasionally to lighten the mood. The Pan Gu reiteration also had us in stitches!
My female colleagues and I favoured the first segment of the performance, which featured more of the Empress's own emotional turmoil. We quizzed the guys and they declared that they found the latter segment more stimulating, what with the war and revolt scenes. Typical. Hah.
What made the performance all the more enjoyable was the complimentary ticket of course. But something good did come out of it. We are so inspired to join theatre now!! To be part of the performing entourage; the synergy between fellow performers as they danced with precision and then, to stand on the stage and bask in all that applause and ovation. Certainly, all that hard work was worth it.
Farewell..
Thursday, September 28, 2006 @ 10:56 AM
Many of my colleagues are leaving for greener pastures soon, which makes me feel a tad worried. Of course, their contracts are ending earlier than mine, so it's only logical that they are doing so.
One of them, Jason, is leaving for Fuji Xerox. So we've been calling him Fuji-san. But what had us in stitches was this message by my boss on the farewell card...
Dear Jason Jason Jason (photocopy x 3),
All the best! Don't forget to look out for a NICE GIRL (enlarge x 2) while working hard.
eric yum
(toner low)
Heh how can we outwit this?? Tsk tsk.
Feeling Sisterly
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 @ 12:30 AM
Been a long time since I last spent some time with my bro. How many of us hang out with our siblings? More often than not, we are preoccupied with friends and place them on a higher pedestal than necessary. I, for one, am guilty of it.
We went to town yesterday to catch this seminar on photography. The venue was not too fantastic; it was a pool room converted into a conference area, but the stale smell of cigarette smoke was still clinging. Okay, maybe I'm biased but I never really liked that smell. The stench hit me the moment I walked in but my bro didn't notice it at all. Weird.
Ian and Jonathan from TNP saved the day with their humourous anecdotes on press photos; the risk, challenge and satisfaction. They talked about how a photographer tells the story through his pictures and how that can become a tool of manipulation with an unbalanced perspective. I have new-found respect for photojournalists.
Interesting how they can capture different feels and emotions by varying angles and light. I wished I were exposed to such techniques when I was in sec school. But at least, my bro got to enrich himself at a younger age. And for once, I made the effort to do something that I knew he would be interested in.
Am I a great sister or what? heh.
On another note, my bro shuffled into my room late last night, bleary-eyed. He was heading for chalet the next day and his poor, overworked sis was envious. He claimed that he couldn't get to sleep, so I asked, "How come?"
"I'm too excited about tml..."
Who in the world gets worked up over a chalet?? -_-"
It's all over!
Friday, September 22, 2006 @ 11:26 PM
Har?
This is how I feel, now that the Annual Meetings are finally over and done with. We have been gearing up for the past year, building up the momentum and before we knew it, the climax was subsiding. How can it be??
Thursday was the official last day and by that afternoon, folks were already packing up the offices, ready to move off. By that night, the contractors were moving in to dismantle the temporary offices, our abodes for the past 10 days. By the end of Friday, all traces of our existence in Suntec had disappeared. Efficient yes, but makes me feel like seeking confirmation.. "So was I ever there?"
Top to bottom: 1) Some of our student volunteers. So adorably young. And inevitably makes me feel old. 2) Our little Ops Room, where as many as 10 of us had to huddle. 3) Me, Justin (student volunteer) and colleague, Mr Sie.
At the Plenary Hall, where all the big wigs had their meetings!
Clockwise from left: Me posing in the Press Centre, lots & lots of local + foreign media, Preparing for live broadcast at the Bloomberg Studio, CNA live broadcast studio
Celeb sightings! I didn't manage to catch Dong Shu Hua in her free time, so I had to make do with a background shot. heh.
P.s She is really pretty, more so than on TV!
P.s Timothy Goh had a really thick layer of foundation on his face..he was soooo white! He was really nice though and asked me to forward the pic to him. My colleague was speculating about the reason behind his request. He probably has a corner of his desk decorated with pics taken with 'fans'.
More pics to come when I have time. While it was hectic, we had fun. Certainly memorable. :)
I had thought that I would have an easier life at work after all the hype but doesn't seem so. Lots of post-mortem work! And now we are in the midst of churning out the 2nd ep of the TV prog. *crosses fingers*
Meanwhile, weekends are spent buried in my sch projects. Two due in the week after next, followed by final exams. Bleah. Think I will only have a life after Oct. How sad, how very sad.
I have the best boss!
Monday, September 18, 2006 @ 12:12 AM
I was terribly tired this morning. The moment I opened my eyes, I felt like squirming under my warm covers and not surfacing ever again. Alas, I dragged myself off to work, nursing sore feet and a blooming bruise on my right shin. The bruise was the result of an unglamourous tumble down the stairs late last night, as I shuffled home from the MRT station. Without knowing what had happened, I was suddenly sprawled awkwardly and my bum landed nicely on the steps. As I took a few moments to recover from the fall, I had to resort to looking indifferent, like it was an everyday affair for me to sit on public stairs and shuffle through my belongings. Argh. The result of 12-hour work days for a week straight = uncoordinated limbs.
My boss was kind enough to let me off a few hours early today, seeing the state I was in. Thanks boss! I came straight home and conked out for a few hours. So of course, I am feeling much more refreshed and even managed to squeeze in some school work tonight. Goody!
These days, I can't get myself. There are times when I feel driven to tears when someone offers a kind word. For no reason or rhyme, even I can't figure out why I am so affected, when the issue concerned does not impact me detrimentally. Perhaps I am allergic to sympathy.
Been in the same breathing space with all the big shots these weeks - MM, PM, SM etc. An exciting time indeed. I can't imagine how hollow I would feel when all this is over. We have been preparing for this for so long and suddenly, it's going to be over soon. Sigh.
Though most of the civil society action are at Batam, I managed to catch some today at Suntec. Protestors dressed as Heads of State (George Bush, Angela Merkel, Junichiro Koizumi and Romano Prodi) were 'taught a lesson' on keeping their promises to provide money for education in poor countries.
The Global Campaign for Education - a coalition of international non-governmental organisations, including Oxfam, Action Aid and Save the Children working with teachers' union and children in over 110 countries.
Their mission: Make sure all governments live up to their promises and take immediate action to deliver the right of every person to have a free, quality action. ( www.campaignforeducation.org )
Angela Merkel.
George Bush!
Romano Prodi.
Junichiro Koizumi.
I admire their passion. How many of us can feel so strongly about an issue that we will go around the world to support the cause?
Live from Suntec!
Saturday, September 16, 2006 @ 11:57 AM
We are now right smack in the middle of the event. I've been with the TV crew, going in and out of Suntec, from the hotels to Raffles City and back. I have never seen so many international delegations and media in one place before; all the assortments of skin colours, like a box of multi-spectrum chocolates. We've lost track of time here and I was surprised when told that today's a weekend.
-_-"
Yesterday was a dark and gloomy day, because of the incessant rain. It was freezingly cold the entire day. Us folks look forward to the refreshments in the media centre provided twice a day, coz hard work makes people hungry. Heh. It's a long walk to get food and the nearest snack centre charges at US$ pricing. But the best part is, there are sales in the vicinity! And a lack of a shopping crowd to jostle with. Now, if only we had time to shop at leisure...
We had a media reception on thursday night at MOS, complete with snake charmers, fortune tellers and exotic dancers. Met my ex-boss there, coz its a SPH event and many others. The highlight of the night for me was the photo booth. My colleague and I were posing for a picture together on the red couches when we noticed this smiling ang moh couple watching us. So we smiled back and the man requested for a picture with us. Nothing wrong with that, just that it felt really weird. He sat in between us and placed his arms around our shoulders firmly. Like really gripping your shoulders, so we were kinda pressed against his side. We were aghast when we saw the pic, coz we looked like SPGs. Sigh. Later on, we found out that he was from Israel.
That wasn't the most terrifying incident of the day. I went to inform these two dark-skinned reporters (probably from Africa or somewhere close) on transport arrangements back to their hotels after the event. This was what was exchanged, after delivering the relevant information:
Tall, black guy: So what's your name?
Me: Lijin. It's a chinese name.
Tall, black guy: Nice name for a nice lady!
Me: .... *smiles awkwardly*
Me: (to keep the conversation going) So are you guys enjoying yourselves?
Tall, black guy: Yes, but we are lonely. *smirks*
Short, black guy: When can you bring us around?
Me: Actually, we have an information desk in the media centre that arranges tours for tourists. (Then I went on to elaborate on the tours available...)
Tall, black guy: But why would we need to approach the desk when you can bring us around?
Me: ... ....
Now I have a phobia of dark-skinned guys... and they are everywhere.
Extreme Malu-ation
Friday, September 08, 2006 @ 10:56 AM
The guests-of-honour walked in. My colleague whispered, "Clap, clap!" And my hands started coming together of their own accord. To the dead silence in the room. And everyone in the room turned towards the source. Even the chairman who was walking in, chuckled.
We were at a simulated press conference, in the guise of members of the press. It was only after the incident that I found out that she was joking. Alamak. But well, all of us had a good laugh, with me looking like a beetroot.
This was followed by a fire drill and we were one of the first ones to head out of the building. Cameras started flashing and TV crews followed our progress. Sheesh, I was told that we were caught on the news last night. I hoped they didn't catch my look of surprise when I saw them.
But the best part was of course, the buffet spread for dinner.
Countdown: 4 days to the big event. I am filled with nervous anticipation. *Crosses fingers*
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin passed on..
Monday, September 04, 2006 @ 5:04 PM
My fav documentary host was killed by a stingray. =(
Read what happened here.
Arts Extravanganza
@ 2:09 AM
Was at the S'pore Biennale Launch on friday night and we were surrounded by the arty-farty crowd. I probably have not developed an aptitude for the arts yet, so I couldn't really appreciate its finer points. But then again, what is art? When I was in upper sec, Ms G K asked each of us the exact same question in class. My answer then was, "Art is something that makes us ponder." Well, I guess I still agree with my statement. Coz my reaction upon seeing some abstract artwork is usually, "This is art meh?"
PM officially launched the event with the lighting up of huge white balloons which could change colour according to the strength of the tug on it. What particularly tickled me was the mascots for the Biennale. Moc moc and Mer mer who appeared on stage dancing to a catchy tune that is likely to be heard on Kids Central.
Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. That is a merlion on legs, with its tail protruding from its belly. Mer mer's appearance can be a little more tasteful I guess. While Moc moc is a bee/ crocodile/ what?
We saw Bryan Wong & Quan Yi Feng, who were just standing less than 50cm ahead of us. Bryan is ultra metrosexual while YF is so skinny! Gosh, she puts me to shame. -_-"
The Biennale seems interesting though, especially the multimedia installations which will be up at the various sites around the island, which includes religious places. Here are some past work by the artists in other cities:
Titarubi Bodyscape 2005. Consisting of cloth, lamp, resin.
Projection of lights in Paris.
The Crown Fountain. Two 16m tall glass towers in Millenium Park, Chicago.
Guilty as charged
Saturday, September 02, 2006 @ 2:15 PM
I killed for the first time last night. Out of self-defence.
It took longer than expected before its legs stopped twitching; a while more before I could breathe easy. It had persisted for a distance of 300cm before it flipped over onto its back and did its last writhing rites. And my bro walked in, sniffed and exclaimed, "Did you use up a whole can or what?" It was probably closer to an eighth of the can of Baygon. Baygon is really a woman's best friend.
But stupid me knocked out the roach while it was trying to climb out of the bathroom, so it keeled over at the edge of the doorway, leaving me clad in a thin towel outside. I am really terrified of roaches, or any bugs that fly. But roaches are especially scary, with that pair of long feelers wriggling about. Roaches leave me paralysed in fear and have caused me sleepless nights with their presence.
So there I was, needing a shower badly but too frightened to go into the bathroom. Yes, I'm afraid of immobile roaches too. My fear stemmed more from my active imagination; Was it dead or just knocked out? Will it rouse suddenly if I were to venture in?
Today, I have been going about the house, looking out steathily for any other roaches out for revenge.
I once read somewhere that roaches have been in existence since the dinosaur age. These resilient creatures will probably outlive us after the last human has breathed his last. And one day, they might mutate and live in grand mansions ten times the size of HDB flats, with us scurrying about in dark corner crevices.
Surely, humans and roaches can't co-exist!
