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| In life, we go through pages and chapters.
And on the last weekend, marked a closed chapter in my life and in many others who shared it collectively.
Though it has been a little over two months now, it is still hard to say goodbye. But we have to 'cos the world ain't stopping for no one. But for that brief moment, we stopped it for you. Truth be told, it was hard to do it. I couldn't bring myself to actually sit through hours of sifting through your pictures and videos. Laying it out in pages and pages that doesn't seem to end. Laying it out on tracks; seeing you dance, jumped, protested; hearing you shout, laughed, talked... I thought that by delaying it as late as possible, I wouldn't have to deal with the emotions amidst the looming deadlines. But I was wrong... And though I had played it in my mind thousands of time, nothing could actually prepare me for the ride that I was taken on when we were on stage. I choked. Whose brilliant idea was it to do a tribute, huh? ~bleah... As much as it was for you, it was more so for us. For us who are left behind to find our way to reach a closure amongst ourselves. To come to terms with the grief and to let the floodgates flow one last time. And the ironic thing, is that you gave us the chance to do what otherwise would never have happened. A motley crew coming together for a single purpose. And in your passing too, many more pacts have been made; many more differences reconciled. I made mine, where our code is "the sky is purple"... And so, in song and dance we celebrated you. g'bye
~ artwork by zL ~
WISH'D YOU WERE HERE
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| perhaps i'd write back again with my thoughts.
but for now there is nothing much that we can say.
no words can fully express or explain what is going on.
too many questions that beg to be answered.
(prays)
...
www.geocities.com/from_da_soul/
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| Sorry peeps, my fingers weren't feeling trigger happy so no photos this time around.
Just want to blog about the Studio Wu musical, EVOKE. Went down to support fellow peers, dancers and brothers performing in the show. Applause to them all. Can't give y'all a proper review 'cos I don't know where to start. But all I can say that I had a good time watching it, albeit moments of me making silly remarks and snickering at the most innane things. But my heart goes out to all of them, as much as they danced, acted and sang their hearts out on the stage in Jubilee Hall.
Speaking of which, I must say that I don't recall Jubilee Hall to be that small. I knew it was a rather small theatre from my last outing there eons ago. But somehow it felt petite tonight. Either that or I must have grown (no, really...). Ok that was a rather inanne comment. Thankfully, I didn't suffer that economy class syndrome with such small seats. It's so small that it ain't funny at all.
Adventures of my bums are of another story. The story tonight was seeing Andy, Ishi and Yutaki on the same stage again. And of course, the befuddled duet by Andy and Ishi, complete with a microphone that refuses to work at the most opportune time. It just have to happen, doesn't it? Nonethess, it was sweet.
Oh, did I mention? The lady-who-answers-her-phone-a-tad-too-loudly had me amused. Really. It was quite funny actually. And having the honor of seated with her in the same row, I caught many glaring eyes turning behing that made me felt very uncomfortable - for her. Ok, that was another digression.
Back to the topic of EVOKE. Dang. I wished you guys could get your hands on tickets. But it's a full house tommorrow night. So those who missed it or are going to miss it, you'd just have to content with my sketchy non-review. Unless someone else out there would do a faithful regurgitation of the show, you've got me to blabber on about it. Tough.
And oh, the appearance of the legendary (and i don't use this as a hyperbole) acs boys got people cheering real loud. These kids know how to flaunt it. Kow-tows.
As you can tell, I had fun. So I can't be trusted with a proper entry. Just to give a shout out to the people of EVOKE. Good job. I had wished y'all with a "break a leg!" this afternoon. For the heck of it, "break a(another) leg!" for the closing show tomorrow. Whoopass!
I'm ghost~ | |
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greeting to all celebrating this glorious day
for everyone else, happy holidays
cheers, all.
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| As many would have known, I'm not quite a big fan of celebrating birthdays. Well, my family isn't anyway, and add to that equation the perfect scheduling of the mid-terms, i have for a better part of my growing up days, spent it on making sure I hit books and well prepared for the exams. So I've often mark the day with just a quite reflection. There were of course the occasional cakes thrown in for a good measure. But otherwise, it's just another hour, another day.
And yesterday was the first from me, in more ways than one. I guess we are always on the route of constant discovery. It was a great time for y'all to catch up with us and with each other. Not even the rain can dampen the mood! In fact, I love the rain. And I figured, the rain decided to make it's presence felt in a big way, so why fight it? =P
So a great shout out to the fiine folks at SOULTRACK for making it a blast. From the decorations to the fabulous food, I think most of us had fun. Cheers to them and the people helping out *claps*. And thumbs up to the short game of Captain's Ball... Haha... I had fun. Did you? =P
And of cos, the symbolic flight of the balloons together with my wishes. I didn't trail long enough to see where the winds take it to. But my fingers are crossed =)
For those are still bothered, bewildered and bewitched with the mid-terms, trudge on! You can make it out alive! Jiayou.
Ok so I have only a smidgin of pictures which I took at the end of the party. If you guys have more, share it here! You can post it on the comments or something =_
Cheers y'all!
zap #01 hope that you guys had a fine time celebrating Mother's Day too! | |
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In reference to my last post, I wish to stand corrected. Benji wasn't a total waste of the good moolah. In fact, he's could be worth every last drop. He's a brilliant dancer. A swing dancer exuding the confidence of a contemporary one. He's truly versatile. My hats off him (tho' it would be mind blowing had it been Travis, but that's another story).
And the story is that Vas and Pris won the competition with a huge amount of moolah poured in and an equally huge cheque to bring home, literally. Congrats to the real life couple. It was definitely a sweet victory for them.
And a bittersweet night for my homegirls, Platinum *applause* It was touching to see them dance their hearts out. Loved the Say Goodbye item and they kicked ass with the Wade Robson medley - much credit due to the main man behind them all. All said and done, they've done themselves proud and for the fraternity rallying behind them. Wished it could have been different, but that was the name of the game.
Nites, all.
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| Yups, it has been quite a long while since we posted anything new here. So i'm back to touch base! Cheerios, all! Hope that everyone is doing well.
Mid-years are here. So study hard y'all. And you'll play even harder after that =_
It's a lazy Thursday morning over here at my place. Where the sun refuse to come up and the rain is out to play. I'm loving it...sings...i'm only happy when it rains...Whatever happened to Garbage and Shirley Manson? Truth be told that was about the only song that I enjoyed off them and the only line that I can remember - but still, i'm only happy when it rains...
And peeps, The Dance Floor finals is this Sunday. For an inaugural national TV dance competition, it hasn't done too badly. Ok. I'm just being nice. There are loads that I can complain about. For example, WTH is the finals in the TV Theatre?? Can't afford a bigger place because you busted it all on bringing in Benji? Peeps! What's wrong with picture here? Benji, you rock but the powers-that-be, you twits. *roll.eyes* I.shan't.go.on. But nonetheless, don't forget to catch it yah. My fingers will be doing alot of the talking that night. And by that I meant, on the keypad. Lest you were thinking of something else.
Have a good day y'all!
~cheers, a. | |
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Such a cabaret song. And no one would ever think of dancing hiphop to it. Seriously. Would you? Well, some "creative" person did and insisted that it would be "edgy" and "progressive" to do so as the closing item. Now, where do you draw the line? And all that idea came to him just ONE hour before he's scheduled to come down to the studio for a first run of the opening and closing items.
It's one thing to be arty-farty. It's another be shoving your brilliant(?) idea up where it don't belong... And what you have is a whole load of messy items and a bunch of overworked dancers. Imagine learning a new dance, in less than an hour. Welcome to the world of commerical dance. 
So the scene is set up for a what is touted as the night of grammys for the "hospitality and tourism industry".
It has been sometime since I last did a commercial dance show. The dynamics of a commercial show is very different. A bunch of dancers come together either through casting or auditions, rehearse in an impossibly short time and even hours just before the show, yet banded together for that few hours, determined to make it good. 
The night before the show was a dreadful. "Creative-edgy-progressive" person wanted a change of opening song. So after the supposed full dress run, we had to troop back to the studio to finish the opening item to be ready for the show the very next day. While I'm used to rehearsing up to the wee hours of the morning with the guys, these last minute changes just pisses everyone off. And the load is on the choreographer to make it happen. But thankfully we managed to keep our senses alive. No less with the help of foreign imports. Filipinos are a riot, i tell you. Throughout the week of rehearsals and show, they kept the spirits alive. The dead will be raised literally if they could. They invoke all sorts of carnal and campy jokes that you would have not thought off. And when i said "they", there were only two(!) of them. And that was more the enough to make up the numbers =) I will never look at the word "spooky" the same way ever again *winkz* 
So the past week for me has been a whole load of dance. On top of the rehearsals for the pseudo-grammy night, had the chance to explore Modern dance. We went down to try out a lesson and ended the night spinning with giddy-ness and newly discovered stretched limbs. Modern dance is an amalgation of various disciplines. It is not a "beautiful" type of dance, with the movements being quite abrasive. In America, Martha Graham was one of the top dancers; she invented many of the movements done today. References can also be made to Twyla Tharp and the more recognizable face today is Mia Michaels from So You Think You Can Dance.
Speaking of which, one of the campy Filipino dancers had done tours and learnt from Twyla and Mia themselves. Amazing. Mental note to self that we need to get out of here to learn more. In the meantime, exploring Modern dance will drive our dance conditioning a notch up apart from the requisite hiphop.
And in case you're wondering what happened to closing item... well, when you have the can-can, you can only do the can-can. No arguments. Whether you think you're creative or arty-farty or progressive or edgy, the can-can is the can-can. Not hiphop, not jazz, not ballet. And we sure did camp it out! 
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| Yes, all ye fashion VEECTIMS. I beg you not to fall for this one. You may commit the most murderous fashion faux pas for all that I care, but please don't ever spend your life savings on this LV concoction. True, LV may have the best designed bags around, if not, pretty decent. But where do you draw the line between the good and the over-the-top-ego-manical-shameless-self-congratulatory-and-i-can-go-on-if-can-help-it.
Allow me to present to you the Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag
"...which considering the price and exclusivity, could very well become the next "it" bag for celebs and fashionistas. The large shopper has a noticeable gold chain handle, but the thing that makes it stand out is that it is made up of samples of 15 different Louis Vuitton Handbags from the LV spring/summer and cruise lines. "It takes all the best parts of the season's creations and rolls them into one. We are confident that the bag is utterly exclusive and that it will remain so," said a spokesman. The bag is limited edition and each one is numbered. Price: £23,484 (US$45,352)..."
Now seriously why would anyone pay that kind of money on an absolute eyesore. ~bleah.
And if you insist, then, can I suggest to you an equally fugly and hideous effort of an imitation that only costs £80 to make?
So save your money and watch some movie, won't you? | |
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| This never fail to put a smile on my face, make me stop for a while and just contemplate. You may have read it, but heck, lemme share it with y'all again... Baz Luhrman's Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 97...Wear sunscreen If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other peoples hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind...the race is long, and in the end it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, and tell me how. Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what to do with your life...the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you wont, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you wont, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary...what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can...don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. Dance...even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents; you'll never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, price will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85. Be careful who advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth. But trust me on the sunscreen...
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| Just when you thought that the heat could be edged a notch higher, it didn't quite reach the boiling point. Perhaps Singaporean gals are to shy to take advantage of the vulnerable guys on stage. I'd assume that many would prefer the safe confines of the closed bedroom door - but when you come to think of it, your12-inch brick wall ain't exactly Fort Knox, dahlinks. But it was all in the name of good fun. Clean? Hahah, yeah we can debate on that for sure. 
Whilst the show may not be too hot, the queue certainly was. And I meant hot in the literal sense. The absence of the sun does not proclaim the dawn of a cool breeze. In fact, the dearth of it was excerbated by the coiling human link which St. James saw a re-run after it's Monday grand opening. Ok. With two big guys holding a doorknob hanger which boasted Daniel's well developed chest, well, it ain't funny. I had initially conjured an image of us being lost in a sea of ladies. Under a different circumstance, it could be a heaven sent. But for this one, not funny at all. Thankfully, there were more than the fair share of the blokes on the block. Phew! 
I always thank god at these times when I find myself being able to watch comfortably above everyone else's bobbing heads. But it was still a pain-in-the-ass to being packed in like sardines. I suspect that some public safety regulation has been flouted here. Even so, there were more people who were turned away and forced to watch the 'live' telecast at other parts of the complex. Hope that it was worth it for them. I sure didn't come to watch a 'live' show via a 'live' tv feed on a plasma screen. Nice plasma, btw. And so like i said, the show could be hotter. It was decent. Then again, I wasn't there for the feminine thrills, what would I know? I'm sure some of you gals had loads of fun, judging from all the catcalls and whistles. Oh - Two subsidiary awards were snapped by Andy and Yutaki. *cheers!* And of course, the dance items were choreographed by them respectively. *claps!*. And biggest plaque was bestowed upon Christopher Pua for being the ladies' choice of the night. The company that I was with couldn't stop giggling over him. And to think that these are the ladies who staunchly proclaimed that giggling are only for girls ~sheesh. 
It was indeed a night. Sure it wasn't too hot. But good company and tons of laughter more than made up for it. Forget about the psuedo Banghra dance by the dude-bachelor in cap. The real Banghra nite belonged to the table at the front of the stage *respect!* And the pole dance. What about the pole dance? Looks like the bachelor wants to shove it up somewhere. Just don't know where 'cos he can't seem to decide =X And the lap dance...it's not called L-A-P dance for nothing y'noe. Ditching the shirt constitutes only a part of the dance. Where is the LAP? Looked like the girl had to do more on the chair than the shirtless dude prancing around here. Best comment of the night, "Could someone make him stop dancing?" Give that poor guy a break, ok. 10 for effort! It was a laugh. I'm a happy camper. A night that ended with carbs overload couldn't be that bad, could it? Ok. Random-ness. River Island is like Topman but with way better shades. That's where my moolah will end up soon *gasp* 
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| As with someone's smart-y comment goes "...now you know how it's like for us..." or something to that effect (my memory's failing me), I couldn't help but to soak in the atmosphere even more. And due to some peculiar arrangment, or rather, it was more of a chivalrous thing for us guys to do at that time, we gave up our cushy seats and plonked ourselves right at the top of the stairs. Which was truly a better option, considering how tight the legroom was. Swore that I would end up comatose at the end of the show had we sat rooted to our seats. By the stairs, suits us fine, thank you, with loads of space to sprawl our lanky legs. It was indeeed a premium view, with no bobbing heads or flaying placards and banners obstructing my view. 
Yes. The stage was set for me to be part of the groupie entourage supporting our friends in The Dance Floor. So it's not quite like The Wade Robson Project and even eons away from So You Think You Can Dance. Which I could start a diatribe on, but I shall refrain... It was exciting nonetheless, if only because seeing my contemporaries dancing their hearts out there on the stage - it's nostalgic. I can remember the hectic schedules, the adrenaline of backstage, the makeup artistes shouting "touch up!", the cheerings, the lights, the LIGHTS!, the nervousness... All too prosaic, don't you think? Caught the telecast last night? Disco mania ruled the night. There were a few surprises from some of the groups. Yups heelys are definitely indicative of the roller-skates, Gladys. Hope that SFB will maintain their creativity throughout the competition. And ain't Platinum a bunch of dolls? With the candy colored bob wigs. All the way gurls!... Watching BFC squirmed in their tight pants ringed the alarm that we had with our own pants-splitting fiasco. And to think an era was lived through with those bent-as-hell pants. And of cos there were the token afros running amok that night. But something was missing. I couldn't figure it. Perhaps it was the whole disco thing. Didn't get me. Or rather, I didn't get it. I couldn't feel it. The only feeling I had was the hot and balmy sweats trickling my back which gave rise to unnecessary, unpleasant smells. And that, disturbed me. Sorry to those who had to endure my sweet smells. And as with any other obligatory post..."keep your favorite dancers in the competition!". I know whom i'm going to twiddle my thumbs for. Do you? | |
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- Music:Akon - Smack That
I love Today... 
"...Being a homemaker is a self-centred decision, made only for the benefit of one’s family. On the other hand, National Service is compulsory and it involves sacrificing for the nation. NSmen have the sacred task of defending the nation in time of war, to the extent of laying down their lives for their country.
To put the homemaker on the same pedestal as that on which we place NSmen is an affront..."
tsk.tsk...coming from the mouth of a son whom only a mother could truly, madly, deeply love...*roll.eyes* These guys are damn farnie... Haha I can so imagine some of you gals fuming mad and challenging him to take on a 9-months pregnancy and a lifetime commitment and responsibility towards one, two or even more lives. Enjoy the weekend y'all! | |
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enjoy the holidays!
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| Hope that y'all had a good valentine's celebration. Now could someone please tell me which planet did this guy come from? Seriously... 
"...I believe it is time to dish out some sticks such as imposing more income tax on older singles who refuse to marry and able-bodied childless couples.
Another way is to attract more foreign women who are qualified and who share similar cultural and social background to come to Singapore and allow them to marry the locals. Offer them permanent residence status and citizenship if they can produce two or more children...."
really, wth! *roll.eyes.until.it.can't.be.rolled.anym ore.rolled.eyes* | |
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Been sometime since my last blog n the last time I saw everyone. Kinda miss u gals... Is the feeling mutual? Hmm... haha.
Decided to blog an entry cos I realised I have not thanked everyone properly for making the last SOUL gathering a memorable one. Got to know some of you better thru dat last gathering and had more time to interact as opposed to the "chop chop" mediacorp reception days =P
Here's an update on my life for the past few weeks... Not been having an easy time...
1stly, concerns over the future bogged me down. Uncertainty over how I can achieve my dreams unsetteld me. But now I have a clearer picture n direction of how I can move on after weeks of pondering and reflecting. Gonna up my energy level, improve myself and make the trio work out!
2ndly, I had a bad case of diarrhoea an vomitting which weakened me physically, causing some weight loss too (Juz when I was bulking up... sigh)
3rdly, unfortunate family events made the period gloomy n depressive. Well... the events include funeral wakes and hospital visits. But! Everything's over now. "Rain over sky nice" =P
I'll stop here. Gonna try to blog more often n update everyone ok? Oh ya. Juz a note to ppl who have been waiting for my friendster replies... Give me some time to clear the huge backlog I have due to dis low period. Rest assured I did not "purposely reply others and dun reply u" ok?
Andy signing off! | |
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For entries and updates from Ishi, please log on to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) ishi_2011 | |
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Hi Reader, This is my 1st time posting in LJ and it's your 1st time reading a LJ blog entry from me too. There's a 1st time for so many things but sometimes your 1st time could easily be your last time. And you never know when that could be it. We REALLY ought to cherish what we have in our lives now and make the best outta this existence granted to us, where so many have had theirs taken from them, be it as a baby or an adult, be it in fatal accidents or deadly sicknesses... ( Read more... ) | |
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| [teamFDS in this entry...] It seemed just a day ago that we were having fun at Countdown; time seems to fly so fast. Before you know it, a new chapter dawns upon us. And it saddens the teamFDS to bring to you a statement from the SOUL guys... ( FROM THE HEART OF SOUL... ) | |
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