From Linz to Leningrad on a Sunday Afternoon

lynda and i made our way (we took the bus believe it or not! and we walked too!) to the esplanade for an afternoon performance by the philharmonic orchestra. poor lynda had to hobble in her high heel with aching thighs after a 15km morning run, in a race against time or else we risk being barred from entering the concert hall until intermission.

esplanade in sight... 10 mins before the performance... kancheong like mad! "lynda ah, faster leh, wait the 2nd bell rings ah, sure they won't allow us in" and the poor girl hobbled along despite her aching thighs


we made it in time...


uber-designed programme booklet... i have a strong suspicion that if this is Singapore in the 70s or even 80s, depicting the old USSR's proletarian emblem of the sickle and hammer might land you in jail and you'd be branded a marxist... perhaps lor...

repertoir
1. mozart's linz symphony - typically mozart... not at all my favourite composer from the classical era. he wrote 'music for softies' lah. i cannot bloody stand anything mozart (with the exception of one orotario, the requiem). almost made me fall asleep especially during the andante and menuetto movements... at least they ain't playing the blue danube or i would have knocked my head senseless *SPARE ME THE WALTZ...ANYTHING BUT THE WALTZ!!!*

2. shostakovich's leningrad symphony - one of the uber best pieces i've heard coming from a rusky comrade! woohoo! very much the style of ravel's bolero... i likeeey! but bloody helluva one long symphony lor, 1 hour 20 mins in all for 4 movements

conversations in between movements:

lynda: (in whispering hush hush tone) eh why they all never clap ah?

me: because ah, in between movements you should not clap, it is actually for you to cough as much as you want, or fart, or burp, or clear your throat of phlegm

lynda: orhhhh... liedat one ah...

me: ahhhh... liedat one... ok shhhh... next movement starting liao

When You're Forced Out Of Bed On An Early Saturday Morning For Latte

early saturday morning, i was still wandering far away in slumberland, hoping for the first time after a long time, to be able to wake up at mid-day.

but no... kai sieng had to call me, here goes the conversation:

*my mobile, on the work desk, next to my bed, rang incessantly and i picked it up*

me: bleddy hell... who's calling me this early? *looking at the screen for caller I.D.* oh... kai sieng *pressed 'accept call' button* hullo kai sieng... yeah whassup... *yawns*

kai sieng: deanna!!! where are you?

me: urmmm... home... in my bed... sleeping... early morning you know...

kai sieng: what??? why are you not up??? wake up! let's go for coffee... there are so many things i wanna talk to you about

me: i'm not up cos it's bloody early morning, darling princess... coffee? when?

kai sieng: like hullo... i mean coffee like NOW... i'm on my way to pick you up now

me: WHAT?! NOW?!

kai sieng: i am so on my way now honey

me: urghhh... yeah... well... okay... but ya hafta wait downstairs... cos i need to shower and all...

kai sieng: oh no... that will take a long time and we won't have time to drive to orchard for coffee, let's just do coffee in holland village then, i'll park downstairs at your place... call you when i arrive...see ya!

me: ok... yeah... see you

-end of teleconversation-

never in my life before have i managed a 10 mins work of - brushing teeth, flossing teeth, mouth wash, pee, showering, dressing up - for coffee on a bloody early saturday morning.

the arrival of the queen of sheba (or rather, princess kai sieng of spottiswoode park)... in his royal carriage... i showered and got ready so fast, i was downstairs even before he arrived

we had latte at haagen dazs in holland village, and conversation ensued. a part of the conversation went like this:

kai sieng: so... what happened to you lat night?

me: what do you mean 'what happened last night'?

kai sieng: i mean why did you leave alex's party so early when i had just arrived?

me: because... you were late? you came at 11pm and i was there since 8pm... and i told you i had to go for C.Y.'s birthday supper didn't i?

kai sieng: yeah i know i was late... like hellooo... i was fashionably late you know

me: (rummaging thru' my head... hell i don't know how to respond to that) yeah you were so totally fashionably late... it made calvin klein looked way too early

Alex Has Left The Building And Moved To The Next...

what: alex's new office housewarming party

when: friday 27th oct 2006

where: tiong bahru

who came: everyone lor! many people wor!

wow factor: uhmmm... same old faces lor! ok ok, the moet and chandon rocks!

and some things never did change when: haris and william came along and KABOOM! we broke out into a 'makcik kepoh from kampung' skit, much to the amusement and bewilderment of other guests...at least it was off the dancefloor of Velvet this time round...and oh...at William's insistence, i had 3 sticks of ciggies...arghhh! there goes my no-smoking resolution...blaaah!



rizal, lynda and david... all try to act cute only... buay tahaaan!!!


while the rest of the world were at the back downing the booze, david hijacked the vodka orange for us and we did the elitist thing... laid claim to the reception lounge and watched Madge's Confessions Tour dvd


no gurl, you cannot make a fur stole out of the poor kitty...


then it was just elvan, ijack, C.Y., lynda and me doing a late nite supper in honour of C.Y.'s birthday... happy 30th birthday C.Y. old chum

Lynda Hangs Her Laundry

lynda ah, your ikat cloth very nice hor? from where one ah? sulawesi? sumba? timor?

your carved wooden hanger also nice leh... where you buy at ah? got longer one or not?

how come you like to hang cloth which some cultures use to drape their coffins ah? you very brave hor to sleep in the same bedroom as the cloth.

No No Me Not JiHad Joe!

in the early hours of eid (or hari raya), i felt like dressing up the part like the rest of the clan usually does.

just don't arrest me or place my mugshot on a deck of cards like saddam or bin laden.

then it was off to the mosque for the early morning eid prayer.

hookay... how on earth am i gonna manage going to the bathroom in this?

went to this mosque on orchard road for morning eid prayer

later in the day, i decided to go the way how they'd do it in the malay archipelago: velveteen songkok, satin cloth 'baju melayu', silver thread embroidered 'songket'.

C.Y. was all decked in a kurta suit ala pakistani style...dang! should have snapped a picture him in kurta!

selamat hari raya as they would say it in malay, or if you will, eid mubarak minal ai'dil wal fa'izin in arabic.

dang...it's back to work on wednesday...blaaah.

Beyond The Old Causeway

it was a drive down memory lane in marsiling, to the jetty behind the neighbourhood where i spent my formative years from primary school to my university days.

it was a hazy late afternoon when we were there, but memories of my growing up days are still vivid, as if it was only yesterday i moved out from the neighbourhood since mom passed away.

and beyond the causeway, albeit hazy, many bittersweet memories clearly lingered on, saved by the old causeway that connects.

thanks for the drive lynda... that meant a lot to me.

Malaysia Truly Asia According to Dato' Michelle Yeoh

here i go again... going gugu-gaga crazy in KL
i always do... ain't gonna stop i swear

petronas towers from suria KLCC... I'm always in complete awe at the sight of the towers

i had to lie on the ground to shoot this lor

seto catching the same ride with me to KL

breaking fast with nasi bojari in the newly renovated legendary Madam Kwan's restaurant

Ramadhan and Arab Street

the fasting month of ramadhan sure is over!

missed out on 4 days of fasting... not bad for my own personal record.

what remains from this year's fasting month are definitely memories of spending lots of time in the arab street vicinity.

waiting for the exact minute to break fast, puffing the shisha away, tucking into slurpy shawarma while the call to prayer reverberated from the nearby sultan mosque, hunting for oddities and toys that reminded me of my childhood days, going through racks of vintage clothes in 'hole-in-the-wall' shops, etc. - i'd continue doing all that with fabulous company to boot (lynda ah, you make the best sidekick lor!).

call me sadistic or weird, but i am missing ramadhan, somehow... for all its solemnity and sacredness juxtaposed with the profane

arab street light up at night

"teeheehee... i very happy when i drink my pink bandung in arab street"

close-up shot of sultan mosque

sultan mosque from bussorah street

this girl went crazy like a gerbil grovelling through racks and racks of vintage clothes... curiously enough, the shopkeeper looked like she's a twelve year old, who explained to us the couture difference between a male kimono and a female kimono

Ramblings on the Eve of Eid

from the large window frames of my bedroom
where blue lights glowed
never bright enough to reach the sky of night
the infantile crescent rested amongst the stars
silently on the eve of eid
beautiful as the stars are
my curiosity kept me awake
as i wonder
if some of the twinkling stars
had expired in history
in reality
wherelse my own reality says the stars are still there
i keep wondering

All Aboard The Love Steamy-Boat

what?
elvan's pre-birthday steamboat dinner

where?
some steamboat place in bugis to arab street

who?
lynda, elvan, ijack, c.y. & me

lynda: "woohoo! this will make perfect blog content of mine!"

slices of a dead cow

c.y.: this blackberry makes certainly makes me look real smart

"whoa! i could have sworn it was moving!"

grub time!

Did My Food Just Moved?

"i'm gonna kill dean for making me eat this"

that's my portion

"dude, i think something just did move a while there, you sure about this?"

it's been a while since i last had dinner at samy's curry off dempsey road.

good old south indian chettinad food on banana leaf...loads of deep fried fish, chicken tikka, fish cutlet, mutton mysore, fish curry gravy, dhal (lentils)...all splattered on white steamed rice.

ethan was game enough to chow it all down with me when i broke fast.

*burp*

i didn't know u eat your briyani rice in a curry-bath ethan.

And The Fish Head Watched Us Curiously

over dinner, lynda's brother asked me: she (lynda) is (mentally) unstable right?

me: yeah she is

lynda: (pointing to me) but he more unstable than me lor

lynda's mother continued eating and said: dean, you must help finish the fish head hor, so big this fish head today

i think alex should pick up the script where we left off from and do a movie ala woody allen. sure good one!

i think lynda's family is damn uber! i likeeey.

Blink Blink In The Haze In Geylang Serai

i was attracted to the lights like a bee would to honey

how to bleddy cross the road like that?

testament to my home-decor cheesiness - blue LED blinking lights!

last saturday 7th october, c.y. and i did 'aunty' things. we went to geylang serai hari raya bazaar... so bizzare all the things there.

PSI count was 150 (i think) that night, but what the heck, since i'm not clubbing at all during the fasting month out of respect for its sanctity, might as well go jalan-jalan look see look see if got anything to buy.

got loads of rugs and carpets lor: belgian made viscose rug, synthetic rug, persian rug, shaggy rug ala lifestorey's also have (albeit way way way cheaper).

ah! got many artificial flowers also: plasticky ones, tacky ones, silk cloth ones, dried ones.

i wanted to buy the tackiest of all flowers and exhibit in the living room, but i think colin my flatmate will scream.

so i bought blink-blink lights lor, damn super ultra new technology: LED lights

confirm will never heat up one like normal blinking lights, then can light up to 30,000 hours wor without blowing the bulb. blue colour some more. best thing, i bargained from 20 bucks down to 12 bucks wor!!!

when i reached home, colin wasn't in. so i quickly put up the lights along the window in the living room. colin surely will confirm the fact that i'm so tacky.

when he saw it the next day, he just did not know what to say. buwahaha!

but lynda say sure damn nice if see from holland village got blue lights, i also say same same!

Vrooom...Vrooom!!!

damn shiok! spent whole of sunday afternoon at work and watch grown-up men stuck in childhood time warp...men and their wheel machines!

shiok #1: being driven around the circuit in the ford focus ST by a rally driver... kena the reverse flick, my balls went up to my throat... but damn shiok wor!

shot this on my mobile video-cam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_RNNJK5hvY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX-vjNStr5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQGPn5It5bU

shiok #2: drooled over the ford GT left hand drive...best!

Journey To The West...In Tiong Bahru

bleddy hell... brian said ,"kah kah kah... you macam sun wu kong lah!"
it was helluva fun helping alex move office last saturday 30th sept, despite all the fasting and thirst and hunger and ultra sooper dooper big shiatz heavy office furnitures to move.
and mind you, it was a butch thang to do climbing up and down the bleddy lorry.