RISE OF THE MACHINE

Heart bashed by that band who totally pang-sei-ed its stadium full of fans, I decided to channel all that brimming emotions to my next gig. Hello, Florence and the Machine!

I've had their album in my iPod for awhile now but was blessed with their CD only just now whilst at work. Granted it involved unblocking someone on my contact list and I had to sacrifice some precious time exchanging pleasantries with that one I would not normally set aside time for etc. Okay, now I officially sound like a bitch. Heh.

I kid la. It wasn't all that a chore, consisting of contrived motions. He is an OKAY guy, who I can communicate OKAY with. (Just that given a choice, I'd prefer not to exist in that situation?) The unblocking was unfortunately accurate. Whatever, I just want the physical album so I can be a band-aid on the concert night and get Flo to sign on the darn CD.

Anyhoo, have I told you how much I love pouring over CD sleeves? I get a tad neurotic, go all CSI mode - flipping, sniffing, scrutinizing, hur hur.

This is it guys, ear joy in a quadrilateral... Yes, I styled the damn shot, I'm lame and totally dorky okay?!


















And my favourite tracks in the album, ranked in order, judged by the tunes/beats, the cleverness and accessibility of the lyrics so that they can be related to, and the all-around vibe...


Number #1: Dog Days Are Over



















Number #2: I'm Not Calling You A Liar



















Number #3: Between Two Lungs



















The catch phrases are all lifted off from the lyrics of each respective song. I personally think they are moving and brilliant without being too emo.

Stoked la! Oh if they also flake out, I'll go into a hissy fit rampage for so long, I'll get over it only when I'm menopausing.

Sad but true, I'm unhealthily hung up on things like that.

:(

(11:08 PM)

PON-ING

So I'm home now in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon on a self-declared half day off of work.

Dealt out the sick card so I can go home and watch the Murray-Nadal showdown in the Aussie Open happening in abit.

Yup, mid-twenties and still pon-ing. Is it called truancy if it's not school you're skipping out on? Hmm.

I would not encourage anyone else to do this BTW. But c'mon, it's Murray versus Nadal lei. So exciting!!! How to miss!

I'm team Andy Murray. :D


















Wish he was still decked up in Fred Perry. I was very upset when he sold his soul and traded his previously very preppy super cool tennis garb for Adidas.

Well, sellout or not, I'm still pulling for him.

GO ANDY!!!



**Updates as of 26/01/10 1948 hours:

That was some phenomenal tennis and I did not regret scooting out of the office midday at all.

I watched the whole game by myself though.. Dad was still at work, Howie, my fellow tennis commentator, was in class, B was also in school although that one was monitoring the score. Whatever la. Totally worth it.

Murray in semi's!!! Woohoo!!!!!!

Andy Murray was so awesome, making up his errors with so many tricks up his sleeve. Plus wow is that man quick on his feet! He was sooooo cool, really.

Halfway, I just had to be on my feet and start running on the spot in the living room cos like in every other tennis match, I began to feel like a slob/pig watching these taut fit men sprinting on court.

Nadal, the poor puppy, had to retire during his third set. My dad always say those who are losing and know they are on the verge of losing will always display some kind of excuse to explain why they got their asses kicked. I don't know how legit his injury mid-game was but he did look quite pathetic, I wanna hug him.

I'll be missing most of the Tsonga-Djokovic match tomorrow cos I think if I try to do what I did today at work, I'll be pushing it a tad much. Heh. And I do have shitloads to do in the newsroom.

But like what I said to B, if it comes down to Djokovic and Murray in the finals, I will apply for leave.

Watch me.

(2:07 PM)

WEDDING BELLS

Have rung, and yours truly didn't even feel like cringing or wincing at the sound of them.

Long before there were the Yaya Sisters or the Sorority, there was/is THE sisterhood. The boys in class named us that because we were doing everything and moving around everywhere together.

We call ourselves FRAS, which is essentially the first letter of our names combined. Three of the most amazing girls who made school fun, and that ladies and gentleman, is an oxymoron that is not moronic at all.























S and F. R was snapping that shot and A was busy being the most gorgeous bride. I don't know why I looked so erm, small. Maybe cos the table was huge? Heh.

Sitting at that wedding table at Drey's wedding with these women again could very well be just another countless canteen episode during break time where'd we'd giggle, cackle, bitch, and I would not know the difference - Except for the fact that we were no longer in our arid JC uniforms, but were dolled up in dresses instead.

No matter, it seemed like we were still those girls back in school who would laugh at every little thing. As depressing and demanding the adult world can be, I'm glad we still can laugh, and laugh alot. I would like to think (however deluded) that we've grown much wiser (we were no longer getting into trouble, and making teachers cry right?) but it's quite amazing how the dynamics remain fairly constant. I've missed us - four deceptively good girls.

After the lovely affair, R and I reunited with our favourite boys and then it was FHRK - pronounced FARK, which basically set the tone for this bunch. Shall skip the proceedings of our shenanigans but point is I got home at 7am.

DIED-ED.

Hence, I think it's fair to conclude that I am too effing old for this. Really. Cannot liao. The morning after was horrid as hell.

To the perpetual designated driver Howie, who would send me back to my village regardless the time and god-awful distance, I would be eternally grateful.

R, A, S, H, K - My favourite letters in the alphabet and the best buncha peeps a girl could have ever asked for.

(10:40 PM)

WISE FRIENDS

Unlike Howie, I don't think I have friends who are "simpletons". My friends are hella smart and yes, by that I mean you you you and you!

I can always turn to them for sage, rational advise and they know how to just snap me back to reality when I veer off course or when I'm simply lazy.

Yesterday for instance, when I just couldn't drag myself out of bed for my chat with the artistic director and was just ready to call it quits, Saffy told me to just go and find out what he has to offer and decide from there. Shan asked for me to do the same thing - just go meet the guy and "if the interest and satisfaction cannot outweigh the monetary benefits then don't".

So level-headed and sensible right these peeps of mine? It got me up and about for sure (well, eventually) cos I know they are right.

Oh and then there's B (the original one) who is generally brilliant but tends to undercut his moment of glory. Sorry sweetie, I have to. It's too funny not to be shared. I heart you!


f® says (6:59 PM):
so i was called for a second interview this fri with the artistic director.. word is that he is crazy mad
im scared
haha

b says (6:59 PM):
why?
you know what

b says (7:00 PM):
you dont need the job
so you can go in without the fear

f® says (7:00 PM):
true that
wah u have ur moments

b says (7:01 PM):
OMG ice cream man is here
should i eat ice cream first
or dinner
haha

f® says (7:01 PM):
and then u ruined it
ha

b says (7:02 PM):
if i eat dinner
then ice cream man gone liao

f® says (7:02 PM):
(i wld eat the ice cream first)
i want sweet corn on bread!!!!!

b says (7:04 PM):
OMG!
HE LEFT!
now he's one block away
haha

f® says (7:05 PM):
are u gonna go after him
stop tlaking to me and go la
omg

b says (7:05 PM):
i really shouldnt
it will spoil dinner

f® says (7:05 PM):
and dun blame me if this makes it to my blog

b says (7:06 PM):
our conversations are private
you cant do that

f® says (7:06 PM):
i didnt recall ever signing a contract
so im freeeeeeeee to do what i want

b says (7:06 PM):
aiya i go buy ice cream

fa® says (7:06 PM):
besides it's a good gauge of ur personality
just this one incident
u're effing fickle n have decision making problems

f® says (7:07 PM):
(aside: u also clearly behave like twenty years younger than ur current age)
lol

b says (7:11 PM):
yay
ice cream
mango bread


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Tell me that is not funny?! A grown man injecting a serious conversation with his sudden/random craving for ice-cream. LOL. Scooted off midway to "run" after the ice-cream man can! Effing hilarious!

Ah, friends!

Thank God for them. :)

(2:20 AM)

WTF KILLERS?!

Today was an eventful day and I was planning to blog about all that until a news broke and overshadowed everything else.

The Killers cancelled their Asian Tour. Why Brandon Flowers, WHYYYYYY?!!!!















Such a flake la. Totally crushed my heart.

I had this lofty moshpit strategy, scheduled them shifts so we will be very upfront, sent out battle plan with subject title: Killing It At The Killers (how gung ho right), Howie had his pre-gig booze plan for us, I rejected a colleague's request to do a Sunday shift, B (from work) had amazingly agreed to accompany me queue in between his photo assignments etc.

ALL THAT has come to NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!! If I don't have youuuuuuuuu....

Lucky I never make that feathered skirt I was planning to wear for the night. Wah, shit pissed can!

All this erratic rock bands.

Fuck la, next time just go for boybands, less attitude. BSB won't pull this kinda stunt I bet.

Pfft.

(6:11 PM)

EN ROUTE PARIS?!!

The B from work and I have been scouring for some good deals for our trip but it seems all flight costs have increased since last year. Argh.

Status now is that we'll either go on Qatar Air, wait abit til after CNY to book or if we are ballsy enough, wait til Natas Fair at the end of February. But yunno how it is, I'm such a spider and I get agitated when things are still in limbo and we still have yet to secure us a flight. :(

B says: (12:04:34 AM)
hmmm sekali we fly to paris n take a train to spain cheaper

f says: (12:05:00 AM)
honey

B says: (12:05:03 AM)
i'm getting ideas

f says: (12:05:34 AM)
no one makes paris a by-the-way

f says: (12:05:38 AM)
it's a destination!

f says: (12:05:46 AM)
u think when im there already i'd wanna go off meh

f says: (12:05:48 AM)
SIAO

B says: (12:05:56 AM)
lol

B says: (12:05:59 AM)
i know!!!

B says: (12:06:14 AM)
i love paris even bef i've been there

B says: (12:06:21 AM)
lol

f says: (12:06:34 AM)
paris je'taime

B says: (12:06:45 AM)
ya...

Ah universe, please work with me, not against me! I just want to be absolutely sure this is happening for real, that I would spend my coming into the 25th century of my life away in a foreign land.

(10:55 AM)

BURNT OUT

It's Friday night and I am just soooooo GLAD to be home, lying on my tummy on my bed.

It has been one crazy week - morn shifts, two gigs back to back and all that meetups. Things I wanted to do badly, peeps I adore and miss and wanted to see but I concluded that I am NOT one who have it in me to have a social calendar this packed.

Can. Die. Really.

Oh home and bed, I love thee!!!

Today it hits me like a bus la. And everyone said I looked beaten up. Walked around in a state of comatose. Massively sleep-deprived.

I'm just relieved the most "happening" thing that occurred in my life today was when Shan reminded me that the stars, in our fluffy horoscopic world, have been telling me that what I want may not be exactly what I need, and APPARENTLY what I need is to get laid.

-.-

I read it myself just to be sure. It's true. It's written down in words. Oh, and I'm inclusive. Hur hur. That's all the excitement I could handle in a day.

Bring my old friends, Boredom and Normalcy, back to me. They've been sorely missed and I'm fucking tired.

Goodnight world, I'm outta here. Gonna make up for all that lost snooze.

And yes, I know it's only 8 ish in the evening.

Zzzzz..

(7:45 PM)

YEAH YEAH YEAHS!!!

The best hundred and forty bucks spent. Ever.

It was surreal midway. I could not believe I was standing there witnessing the greatness that is the YYYs live. Dancing, clapping, jumping, singing, head-banging to them rocking it out right before my eyes. Whoa.



















Karen O is the coolest lady on the planet. THE coolest. Most radical fashion choices, hot bod, and simply fun.

Outfit #1:



















Tell me who else can pull this off and still be so appealing. TELL ME.



















Outfit #2:
























So so hot. The lady is crazy I tell you. She took a gulp of beer onstage and spat it outwards. Actually no, she sprayed them out like a Merlion. Not to the audience, thank god. Just upwards so it drenched her.



















Outfit #4:
























She threw on this studded leather jacket that has her initials on the back. Far too hot. Oh and she kinda swallowed the mic. I can't quite describe it. And definitely can't demo it.



















Outfit #5:
























You can tell me now what a commendable photographer I am. Wahahaha. But seriously, how awesome are my shots? Even I am impressed by the timeliness of the shot. *smug* Mich calls this the muppet jacket. Whatever. I'm wearing it for Halloween. Somebody get me some multi-colored pom poms so I can turn them into the craziest vest of sorts.



















Outfit #5 and a half. She was prancing onstage like that for a significant period of time so I reckon it counts as half an outfit. Wicked mad right this woman! I LOVE HER LA!!!!
























Outfit #6:



















She performed this whole Indian ritual, displaying these sets of visual that totally harmonized with the track. It was truly mind-blowing. I giggled when she came out looking like that. This is one committed performer and you got to appreciate the artistry.
























She then removed the headgear and sang in the get-up shown below for a bit. Sigh. Only Karen O can look sexy in THAT.



















And that was another gig to cross off my list, the list of live acts to catch before I die. And it didn't disappoint one bit. I had so much fun, it was just intoxicatingly incredible.

Also, I would like, at this point, to say how much despite it all, I love my country. People take the safety of our society for granted.

See, I was so blindingly psyched when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came on. I just ran to the front of the stage, and get this, left my bag behind. Everything was in it. My wallet, my cell phone etc. I only took with me my camera. Hence the glorious photos.

Howie too. We were two very stupid people I think now. Hur hur.

After the gig ended, the bags we so kok-ly left on the FLOOR were propped up nicely on the seat. I ransacked mine through and through, thrice over, and all was intact. How swell is that? How amazingly lucky!

In the future, I got to try and reel back the excitement, make sure I don't check my brain at the door.

Next stop: Cat Power in less than 20 hours.

(1:04 AM)

THIS IS FOR RAE























Just because.

Have a great week, lil lady.

(12:19 AM)

SUNDAY

The week's been good to me.

Caught up with a few of my peeps, watched tonnes of movies, had Saffy's rooftop 25th birthday celebration, got acquainted following a brief blast from the past and spent the Saturday with the nephew, just him and I cos everyone else in the family had someplace to be.

And then it's Sunday.

You know that feeling you get on a Sunday? When you just have the whole day to yourself, and it's been great, but then you remember you have to go to (work) the next day, and it ruins the whole rest of the night.

That Sunday evening feeling ie that hugeass dread. That's a sorta quote btw, the para above, except I don't quite remember it right so it's well, whatever's left of it in my memory. It's by one of my favourite characters from a used-to-be good drama which doesn't even deserve mentioning now.

On a completely random note, here, a string of pictures of Tom Sturridge, to make the week just a tad sweeter. Totally into him after "The Boat That Rocked." This Brit boy is pally with RobPat. Imagine seeing them together walking down the street. Heart-stopping? You bet.

Sorry, there's nothing on TV. I'm bored outta my mind.
























Looking really model-esque here.



















Looking like a potential twink here.
























Looking kinda like RobPat here. Except Tom remembers to take a shower before he steps out of the house.
























Looking uber sexy here.


Tom Sturridge. My current fave Brit Boy.

Ok enough frivolity. Real life beckons now.

Groans.

(3:19 PM)

TECH-BLOCKED

Yesterday night, while I was in the midst of my very important quest erm, pouring over people's tweets (yes, guilty as charged), the said frivolous activity screeched to a sudden halt and was greeted by the following prompt:


















LOL.

The higher powers of technology was screaming at me, GET A LIFE!!! Haha.

So I think that marked the last night I'm nua-ing at home. Besides, sitting here checking work emails (I can't help it!) is making me agitated. How is it that I already have a to-do list down for when I get back in the office only next week???

That's it. I need to get out of my sweet ol comfort hole.

(12:04 AM)

URGH

I know I'm not one for sugar-coating the words coming out of my mouth, nor am I the most patient creature on this planet. I don't care what my horoscope says but I'm not patient. I know that.

My fuse is shorter than I am and I have a temper. I am not walking around in blissful ignorance with regards to my shortcomings.















When I'm nice, I'm nice because I choose to be. I don't ooze sweetness from my pores. When I walk, flowers don't bloom, birds don't sing and lemondrops don't fall. I feel bad for humanity but that's just the way it is.

I am not trying to defend myself but I am also fully aware that I do NOT go out of the way to be caustic, mean and bitchy to people just for personal kicks. I'm not that far gone in the valley of evil villains.

A few things tick me off. Extreme tardiness being one of them. I don't mind waiting 30 minutes max. Any later than that infuriates me. Like seriously, why do we even bother set a time when people don't even abide by it. Is it just a term of expression where you come from?!

I am not always punctual myself so I can actually forgive people who keep me waiting, sure, if you even apologize to begin with. Don't brush it off and make it seem like I'm the uptight ho. Have the decency to say sorry for my time wasted. Be actually sorry. Mean it. At least you cared to show up right?

What's even tardier is when someone completely blow me off. No reasons, not even a fake excuse. If you are disgruntled by my tone of voice when I had to repeat myself like four times, tell me. We can sit down like two adults and have a conversation about it.

But of course, if one wants to sulk and be pissy in one corner, I cannot do anything about it. I just wish I hadn't invested that much effort trying to put something together only to have you shrug it off.

Thank you for wasting my time. I am ever so grateful.

(4:31 PM)

HELLO TWENTY TEN

Are you ready for me? Hahaha.

Okay now I'm seemingly bipolar. But like I said, I'm thinking 2010 could be a good year.
























Maybe cos it starts with a week break off of week so I can just kick back with my homies, go the beach, gossip at the cafe, do whatever I like really. I'm looking forward to a week of nothingness. Ah, bliss.

Then there's the fact that my iCal is littered with gigs. There are three musical joys in January alone. Sssweet..

Rae is back in town. For good. :D Madhz is still here, not down under yet. *clings*

My nephew is the cutest thing ever now that he can talk. Actually he's the cutest thing ever before he could utter a word so it's really not about that.

So now I'm just hoping the year don't let me down.

Funnily I'm dirt broke at the start of the year. I hope that's not an indication of what the rest of the 364 days have in store for me.

I've always wanted to be one of those people holding hands on-stage while Michael Jackson sings "Heal The World". Now that's REALLY not gonna come true ever. Oh wells.

Okay that last bit is completely off the track and random. Ignore that.

Have a good one, my peeps. I don't say this enough but really,
I love you.

(11:05 PM)