LITTE SUPERHERO GIRL

i feel like a little girl
trying to conquer the whole wide world.

everyone does want a piece of me, and i just don't know where to turn.

it's a day and a half to tunisia.

frankly, i'm extremely freaked out.

the pride of being able to represent my country in something has given way to the fear of losing.

of course, it's just me being me.

there're four things that've been on my mind since the weekend...

1) losing is not an option.

2) how to clear up my work before i go.

3) how to pack when i spend every waking hour running errands and trying to clear up my work before i leave.

4) how chin fee shakes her hips.

point four has been accompanied by the song "Hola Senorita", even in my sleep.

like seriously, i wake up with the song still ringing in my head.

i don't dream of chin fee's hips, of course.

i'm really really tired. =( and i have to be at the airport at 5am on friday morning.

last saturday was the first time our percussion team played in front of a real crowd...


chinese girls and chinese drums

that's mel, yvonne and me...and bubba and theodore behind us.


and they said mel couldn't jiggy

it'll be different when she's in her cheongsam, of course.

mel and yvonne have been absolutely girly dears...=)

salsa pal waihwang came to catch our performance and caught this side of me...


shake ya tailfeather!

he calls this "the stalker perspective". hehe.

interesting.

then after work and rueda on sunday, yuli and i went to catch boon and chin fee's performance at the bedok family day shindig, together with some of the VivaSalsa gang.

umm...i have post-performance pictures. =P

check this out...


doesn't this look familiar?

independence day yo!

the hungry lot of us headed down to cafe cartel at siglap and while waiting for food, we gossed and watched videos...


eddie, luther, boon and evelyn

captive audience to the day's gigs. yes, gigs. luther, adeline and eddie had just come back from performing in brunei. =)

and we managed to polish everything off in just under an hour...


yummy yummy for my tummy...um.

so that was the weekend that's just past.

it's been a mad rush for time since monday, and it'll probably continue till i board the plane friday morning...=(

question now is:

should i, or should i not, bring HP onto the plane with me? =)

SHE'S SO HIGH

someone i don't know very well said yesterday that i was kind.

i asked him why he did, since he didn't know me that well either.

he said...

"Kind because you're such a warm and friendly person to be around with during class and after class... even during dinner with friends around... kindness can be felt from the outside, don't have to get inside the person to feel it..."

wow.

wow.

wow.

THE DREAM TEAM

save for these people, my night was bloody bad...


percussion loco!

our percussion team, save for mel.

we're the ones who're gonna be on stage in tunisia...drumming it out.

we've trained hard for this, giving up our sleep, time, money...

so all of you sitting offstage, shut up and show us some support.

of course, the boys had to have a little fun with the camera...


where the boys are

and who says women become camera sluts when they have one in front of them?

zharfie was like..."eh, you can camera ah? come take a picture of me!"


zharfie and riyaz, the indian drummers

and last, but not least, there's us...the chinese girls playing the chinese drums.


me and yvonne

missing mel, of course.

we're such a riot...=)

ANGER MANAGEMENT

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

this is how fucking pissed i am now...


chicken rhythm no more

they stressed me out to script, and to submit the script, then to amend the script...and guess what?

they bloody hell went to change the script and the concept.

old men just aren't receptive to new ideas.

and please...why the hell can't they understand that "YOU" is more personable than "EVERYONE" and "ALL OF YOU"?!!!

bloody old farts of imbeciles.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

the past weekends have been flying by with warp speed, what with rehearsals, dance classes and all.

here's an extreme example of how the saturday that's just past went...


my cymbals

the instrument i'll be playing in the percussion performance in tunisia.

the cymbals mean a lot to me because they're the first thing i learnt in lion dance.

of course, they're the only thing i know in lion dance still, but that's not the point. =P

my musical background, coupled with my skills learnt from yeung ching scouts and lion dance, had me pick up the rhythm and style of our performance item within two practices.

so thank you, yeung ching, for giving me the basics. =)

i'll be accompanied in the chinese drums team by yvonne and melissa...


wendy, yvonne, melissa

wendy and melissa were the original drummers, but wendy got pregnant (cool shit eh?) and yvonne came in to take her place.

after percussion rehearsals from 9am to 1pm, it was a harried lunch followed by a bloody long cab ride to bukit chandu...


frown lines

...where the first malay regiment in the war were slaughtered.

i was to host an event there that was supposed to start at 7.30pm or so.

i had to be there by 2.30pm. go figure.


here's where i stand...

uhhuh...here's my view at the events i attend.

i usually host those i do go to. =(

after the third rehearsal of an hour of non-stop talking...my voice just cracked, and threatened to go on me.

by the start of the award ceremony, i had to "shout" to get my words out.

it wasn't a pretty sight...though i could still crack those signature serene jokes.

thankfully, it all went relatively well so i decided to stop being lazy and snap some pictures of the events i go to for the blog...


funny faizal

he always says "eh serene...again you tell jokes i don't understand!"

adorable man.


me and andrew

one of those who always has a ready smile and a witty comment for me whenever our eyes meet. =)

and finally...


bubba and me

old friends, fated friends...whatever they call it.

i think i'm a uniform gal...i kinda look all right in most of'em. =P

SHINE

checked out youth.sg's blog today and caught a link to pictures from the SHINE thank you dinner two fridays back.

didn't even know i got into a coupla'em...but first:


janae

i got to know this little sweetie and her parents at the reception and we ended up at the same table.

she had a little hands over her little ears as the rock band was jamming...poor girl.


steve and i

was trying so hard not to seem star-struck by steve...watched him since his sportscity days.

he's now with CNA and doing stuff for the Y as well.

might be helping out with his projects and the Y in due time...


and they named this "attentive"

what the hell was i watching?!

time to head home. i'm sick.

RUBBER BALL

...i keep bouncing back to you.

sure, the everly brothers have some pretty weird shit song titles like "bird dog".

but when you listen to the lyrics, they do make sense. =)

anyways, the title of this post originates from training last night.

someone called me a "ping pong ball".

this, even though i've obviously put on weight.

in any case, first evening out was fun and left me feeling pretty darn good.

let's hope i can make it to the next one. =)

HEY MAMA!

the mother made an uncharacteristically witty comment sunday night.

my naughty little cousin had taken my brothers hand and folded all his fingers downward 'cept for the middle one.

she pointed it at my mom and said...

"he point middle finger at you, you not angry ah?"

at which my mom (who looked pretty bored) replied...

"it's okay. he's pointing the rest of his fingers at himself!"

i was the only one who caught it and burst out laughing...even my mom didn't know she made a really dry joke.

the aunt and cousins from the states are heading back home this evening.

sigh...wish i had double the time i had now so i could've at least spent a dinner with them.

SAVE ME

uhhuh.

that's the song that's been playing on the cell since friday's meet-and-greet session at the library@esplanade.

that hour or so held a revelation for me, something that angus had pointed out months ago.

"you could've written little superhero girl."

of course, he means it like i was exactly what the song was about.

corrinne may is close to my heart because i can relate to her music.

it was only last friday that i realized i could relate to her as well.

1) how she met david foster.

she said she and a friend, zack, went to an upclose-and-personal session with the guy. after he finished his introduction, he invited people to go up on stage to play their music. zack went while she hesitated. in the end, she was like "oh what the heck, how often do i get to play for david foster?!" and went ahead to play Same Side of The Moon. at the end of the song, david foster sat down and replayed that very song! she was exhilarated.

i've been in many situations like that...where i'm often confronted with a "to do or not to do". most times, i just throw away reason for that moment to take the first step. once i'm on stage, i panic but am forced to go through with whatever i'm up there for because it'd be a horrid waste of opportunity to step down.

if i had never taken that first step, no one would've known me, or how good i could be.

(it's not an ego statement, btw.)

2) origins of Fly Away.

she said it was one of the songs that came out of her most difficult time in the states. it was about her parents loving her too much to keep her from pursuing her dreams.

my parents have always tried their best to make mine come true. unfortunately, it was not meant to be...but that doesn't mean they didn't try.

our parents love us so much to want us to fulfill our dreams. the only difference here is...she managed to. i haven't.

in this sense, perhaps life holds a different path for me.

and perhaps, as much as i yearn to pursue academia, something much bigger lies in store...just waiting for me to wake up and smell it.

i need to get over the fact that i'm never gonna get my PhD before 30.

i've stopped stumbling.

CONFESSIONS

i like wearing my SIA uniform. =)

i tried it on last night to make sure it still fitted...before i bring it all the way to tunisia and realize i got too big for it. =P

it's amazing how simple words strung together could create such an impact on a person.

or how one ol' word can do it.

"You know what? I knew you were special the first time I danced with you last time at our Friday class...special and talented some more."

yes it meant something...even though it was said via msn.

"You're getting there...I know you are."

sigh. you guys are too sweet.

i feel a bout of reflection coming on.

tomorrow morning, maybe.

in the meantime, let me bask in the joy of having secured, prepared and conducted an interview in two hours flat. =)

OH WHAT A NIGHT

of near misses.

simon buzzed yesterday afternoon to say he couldn't make it for the corrinne may concert that evening, and i toiled to look for a replacement.

elmie decided she'd be horrible to back out of volleyball training last minute and everyone else just couldn't go cuz it was too bloody last minute.

so i got the only other person i knew who knew of miss may from me - my bro.

then jac's schedule threatened to have her miss the performance too...and she was fighting all the way till the time we entered the concert hall to make it.

alas, it was not to be.

so somewhere in our midst of the sold-out concert was an empty seat.=(

the night went all right, except for the horrid sound system and miss may's penchant for smaller crowds.

the huge concert hall seemed a little too overwhelming for such a toned-down performance.

oddly, the song that received the best response was her remake of "close to you".

besides having heard it in the movie "so close", i don't think it's received much airplay.

but it's a carpenters hit, so go figure.

and the few of us just went a little crazy while in the queue for her after-show autograph session...


me and claire

yes it started with this one picture.

which escalated to "lemme try point-shooting us"...


me, claire and angus

after which claire decided she wanted to give it a shot too.

so she lifts the camera in front of us, and these two guys behind us were like "why don't we help you with the picture?"

and i'm like "she wants to try to point and shoot".

and they're like "uh...i think you should move it slightly..."

*SNAP.


yes it came out like this

we all burst out into laughter. =)

trust us to make acquaintances outta people in the queue.

then of course, we got a little bored so the brother and i started singing "yesterday".

then came the verse...

suddenly
i'm not half the man i used to be...

at this juncture, my brother did this...


am i half the man i used to be?

yes he's looking at his crotch.

*cue the laughter again.

it wasn't long then before we finally got there...


us and miss may

jac said she looks like mulan from the animated film. =P

and then the craziness carried on outside the esplanade.

we cut through the trees to get to the underpass and my brother decides to do this...


yes claire couldn't resist

sigh. =)

OH WHAT A NIGHT.

GO THE DISTANCE

i know every mile will be worth my while...

a friend who yoda-cizes every sentence offered me this simple line of wisdom:

Even Gods were mortal once ... besides, the dancing Force is strong in you they sense, thus the Council they seek you to join.

i was confiding in a non-salsa him about my apprehension.

and he put it into perspective for me, just like how mark put business news into perspective for me.

CEOs are mere mortals. they are no different from you as a human.

great dancers are mere mortals too. yes, bow in reverence of their skill, but there is no need to fear them as humans.

i'm on my way to clearing the hurdle of such ridiculous fear.

and these people might make it easier for me to get over it.

god-like issues aside, here's the photoblog on the madness that was monday night!

the skies were extremely kind to clear up the evening for us, and clement kindly undertook his photog role to capture these special moments for us...

and it begin with this one picture...


the sandwich laydees

ling and i had met up in the late afternoon to grab ingredients for our sandwiches of tuna mayo, egg mayo and ham and cheese.

seems that our dish was way too popular and the first one to go!

of course, charlie simply HAD to join in the exotic fun for the evening...


ling, clem and me

the whole shindig gathered like a class outing on a saturday night, especially when the whole lot of us moved to one side to view the performances.

check out the pretty maidens...


dainty daisies in a row

aren't these ladies lovely? =)

of course, this, being a salsa party, couldn't have gone on without some butt-moving...


cecilia and eddie

check out that frame!

we also had a consolidated birthday treat for our three august babies...


albert, cherie and philbie

yes, they all salsa. =) which reminds me...we forgot the birthday dances!!!

now it being exotic night, we had a surprise item from THE MEN...


boon on pole

argh...my eyes! my eyes!!!

i was yanked into the madness...


boon trying to seduce me

and so was evelyn...


eddie trying to seduce evelyn

check out the slight flicker of apprehension in her eyes. hehe. majorly good actress she is.

they were trying to strip us...


HELP!!!

but we didn't let'em.

and it all ended with us girls fully clothed, and the men in their...um...thangs.


the end

while the guys were trying to give us girls a run for our feminine money, we showed them some too...


you go girl!

to the people who thought yuli wasn't IT...BLEAH.

she's so hot, you oughta be pouring ice down your pants!

and we all still ended fully clothed. well, almost all of us. =P


OUCH!

darn the jagged flooring.

anyways, somewhere in the middle of all this madness, philbie managed to sneak in a stranglehold on me...in full view of the parental unit.


double HELP!!!

and so we were...

HAPPY.

IS THIS LOVE

i wanna run...

the euphoria of yesterday is akin to that of falling in love.

when someone tells you he likes you and wants you to be with him, exhilaration takes over, especially when you've secretly had a crush on him for the longest time.

i was offered a fantastic piece of news monday, and it SHOULD'VE happen the exact same way.

but alas, it didn't.

i just HAD to play devil's advocate to myself...refusing to accept the compliment that came along with the news.

i don't get it.

i had secretly admired them from the sidelines eversince i knew of their being.

and i'm euphoric at the prospect of having the chance to join them.

so why did i have to curb that enthusiasm so?

enough rationalization.

i'm excited.

thanks for our little chat monday, adeline.

you've made both my monday and my national day. =)

VEHICLE

great god in heaven, you know i love you.

was just blasting the salsa version of this song...=)

it's tonight! it's tonight!

the food and dancing's gonna be awesome, sensual and patriotic. haha.

i had a very very packed saturday, but 'twas also very very good.

morning till afternoon was percussion practice with the team going to tunisia for the bid.

and then came this in the evening...


flags in the air

my laydees and i went to the esplanade to catch the dim sum dollies in action...but we managed to catch more than that...


PARTEEEEEEE!

there was this huge party going on near the waterfront theater where a female group was croaking a tuneless "truly, madly, deeply".

*hair stands.

union after.

it was good. =)

LULLABY OF BIRDLAND

never in my worldland could there be words to reveal
in a phrase how i feel.

i almost forgot how much i loved it, or how it felt to just...liberate.

but i've paid the price, and man...do i feel like a bag-a-sore-bones right now.

notes to self:

1) learn how to head-flick in the other direction (*massages aching side of neck)

2) do not try to restrict dance days or else your stamina's gonna head down the toilet...

3) good move - not eating more than half a sandwich before dancing

sing me a lullaby.

AND SOME...

and the co-emcee just posted these...=)


prim and proper


oh come on...move closer...NOT!

a pity we didn't have any pictures of me in my dress together.

so much for taking before-and-after pictures.

PICTURE POSTCARDS FROM LA

...to hang on my refrigerator door.

here's one for the fluffy-clouded day...

so you're dying to know what i've been up to over the weekend eh?

and in reverse chronological order...

THE WEDDING

the cousin had his wedding dinner on sunday, with his friend and yours truly as his emcees.

yes i did the mandarin part. (stop the bloody sniggering already!)

my aunt and cousins from california flew down for the wedding after surf camp, so yes, they're tanned as hell.


my mom and me, my aunt and her two kids

tell me you don't know which one's my mom...hehe.

then of course, there's me and me bro.


eugene and me

talk about chemistry. =)

saturday night saw a few of us trying out for salsa fanatico.

we got in.

JAZZ@SOUTHBRIDGE

friday night will be remembered for a long time to come...good company, good music...what more could a girl ask for?

this is such a classic...=P


weirong sandwich

and they had to yank me in for this sleazy one as well...


EEEKS!

hian hong's flying off to the states for work and backpacking tomorrow...he'll be sorely missed by the rueda gang. bless him.

and lastest...

LITTLE JACK JACK'S PARTEEEE...

in true jack jack fashion, he was the star of the night.

of course, this being my blog, i'm only gonna post such selected shots.


casino community, rueda amigos y amigos

we all turned up for jack jack, because he is SPECIAL. =)


me, KY aka jack jack and boon

then people just couldn't get enough of exoticism...


yuli, ling and me

like this one guy, who claims he's charlie, and that we're his angels...hehe...(GOOD MORNING CHARLIE BABY!)


clement aka charlie and his angels

all righty. i'm tired.

back to the drawing board.