I empty the contents in the package into the porcelain cooking pot and fill it with water. This is the second pot we own. The first one had to be thrown away because overheating resulted in cracks appearing, and hence fluids leaked from the pot.
I start the fire.
Five minutes later the bubbles appear in the water. The soup is like a stormy, untamed ocean in the pot.
This is when I start to notice: some things are not right. There are burn marks on the surface of the pot. The metal grille on the stove turns an angry red. There is an equally angry hissing sound. Smoke grows into bigger, more visible wisps.
SHIT! I dash to turn off the gas.
Too late. WHAM! A piece of porcelain flies off from the side of the pot and lands on the floor. All the soup flows onto the stove. The noodle is a dried-out block stuck to the remains of the pot.
I am traumatised by the pot rupturing before my very eyes. It takes a while before I move to clean up the mess.
¶ 6/29/2006 11:33:00 pm 0 comments
I've uploaded some previously-unreleased music - mainly from the short films whose music I composed - at my music Multiply website. Check them out!
http://sibelius2.multiply.com/music
Birmingham Concert Hall - look at the SIZE of the choir, they even extend to the audience area (look at the left and right circles)! Picture sent to me by Proko.
¶ 6/25/2006 03:08:00 am 0 comments
1) My mouth is crooked
2) My day ends at 5am, begins at 12 noon
3) I hope to sing properly one day – proper technique, produce nice tone
4) I am constantly and easily bored, even while doing my favourite activities
5) I'm trying to look for a week where I can tell everyone not to disturb me
6) I am trying to keep long hair… like Lim Yau
7) I don't like drinking plain water when I'm sick because it aggravates the bitter taste the medicine leaves behind
7 Things That Scare Me
1) Sudden, loud noises
2) Moths
3) Losing my hearing
4) Losing any of my fingers or my arm
5) Sleeping – especially when I know I'm going to have unpleasant dreams
6) Losing any of my friends, or someone I know
7) Not being able to survive financially in the future
7 Random Music At The Moment
1) The Wedding Singer the Musical – "It's Your Wedding Day"
2) Hairspray the Musical
3) Wicked the Musical
4) Mahler's symphonies
5) Les Miserables Tenth Anniversary Concert
6) Cats the Musical
7) Elton John's ballads (from his album The One)
7 Things I Like Most
1) Music Sequencing (with my laptop and my keyboard and me-e-e!)
2) Coffee!
3) Meeting up with people after being stuck at home for a long time
4) Arranging other people's music
5) Listening to Wicked Cast Album
6) Eating oranges
7) Checking email
7 Things I Often Say
1) Jialat!
2) Oh shit!
3) Hi
4) Okay, bye
5) Wah lan eh
6) Siao liao!
7) Ho say lah!
7 People To Do This
1) Anybody
2) Everybody
3) My friends
4) People I know
5) Those who come across this site
6) Bloggers whose sites are linked to mine
7) Basically a living human being
First I remove the keyboard from my desk and put it on the bed so that I can pile it with papers and files and slowly file everything nicely. Very quickly the desk becomes a mess.
I realise I do not have enough files, so I have to try to "recycle" them -- stuff as much material into one file as possible.
I discover Post-Its which come in very handy in labelling the segregations in my files.
By the end of the day the room seems to have returned to its normal state -- it's glorious heyday while I was still in the army and busy with so many projects at the same time.
No more musicals, so no more excuse to keep the room untidy. Don't worry about the cup, it hasn't been there for a month :P
¶ 6/12/2006 12:25:00 pm 0 comments
Me playing the damn chio and damn well-taken-care-of Yamaha U5 at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Picture by Shahdon. ¶ 6/10/2006 11:29:00 pm 0 comments
Me and my babies (well, includes one god-child) - this poster's the one at the bus stop outside Esplanade Mall. Picture by Shahdon. ¶ 6/10/2006 11:22:00 pm 0 comments
LOVE IS IN THE AIR full cast in the Esplanade dressing room, prior to our show. Photo taken by Sharon using Shahdon's camera. I just love this photo, it looks so professional! Sharon has done such a wonderful job, a talent in photography!
¶ 6/10/2006 11:05:00 pm 0 comments
THE NEW WAVE OF SINGAPORE MUSICALS 3 – Day 1
1. Vanity Victorious, Virtue Vanquished (V4)
2. City of the Gods (COTG)
***
12 NOON
Paul tells me that the piano is tuned every morning at 6am without fail. So after a night of banging and clanging away, the piano is back in shape for the performance the next night.
I am SO looking forward to playing on that monster (quote Chester).
***
12:30PM
Eleine puts foundation on my face, says it's to brighten me up. I protest but they clamp me down.
Trey has been ill for the past few days. He tells me and Fad that his fever came back last night. He looks extremely pale. I hope he is able to perform later!
We exchange our ICs for Esplanade security passes. I get to hand over my PINK I/C. Hooray! Along the way we look at other's ICs. How different many of them look from what they are now!
***
OMG the piano is DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN chio!
Can I bring it home with me pleaseeeeeee? It's a reward for playing on a lousy 61-key keyboard at TAPAC for the past four weeks. YUCKS.
But I only get to see her for two nights L
***
V4 TECH RUN
I cannot wear the top hat while bowing. It has no strap so that the hat stays onto my head. The moment I bow it drops onto the floor.
So embarrassing.
***
COTG TECH RUN
Shahdon is coughing very badly, if not uncontrollably. Paul tells the Gino, the sound guy, to turn off his microphone while he is not speaking. Shahdon has been like this for the past few weeks already. Last Wednesday we went down to Chinatown for the last resort: TCM. Bitter stuff, but it worked.
***
JUST BEFORE 8:00PM
In the wings of the stage, amidst the myriad of props from bras to sequin-sewn umbrellas to top hats to piles and piles of clothes for the numerous costume changes during the show.
***
PAST 8:45PM
End of V4. The cast is jubilant. Highly-energised. I cannot afford to celebrate with them. Instead I must tone myself down to prepare for the tragedy that is to come. I have only 15 minutes to get out of hyper-mode.
I spot fellow Soraccians May, Agnetta, Yi Lin and Wei Zhang in the crowd. Christina came, but I couldn't see her!
It sucks to play for two musicals whose emotional levels are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
***
The cast of COTG is warming up. Jameson gets them to do this exercise where we wriggle all our limbs. Basically it goes like this:
Wriggle left hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle right hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle left leg: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle right leg: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
You repeat with non-stop rapidity: four counts, two counts and finally one count.
So what happens at the end?
Left hand: 1
Right hand: 1
Left leg: 1
Right leg: 1
Then you do a star jump: "YAY!"
Exercise CUT.
***
Darius is busily de-miking and grabbing his belongings and running out to the audience area in order to catch his creation. Go Darius, go!
***
Karen started off beautifully. "Once upon a time, people build pyramids. And the Egyptians weren’t alone. Two thousand years ago, in the valley of Mexico lay our great civilisation called Teotihuacan. The city housed more than 150,000 people. Our city layout was not very different from what you have now. Streets, houses… and magnificent pyramids. But…"
And suddenly she paused. She looked back at the rest of the cast partially hidden in the shadows.
OH SHIT.
She was probably hoping another member of the cast would do something and get her out of that sticky situation.
Luckily her lines came back to her. "And our story will have to begin with a love that Teotihuacan will forever remember. It begins with our prince Taloc, preparing for the greatest wedding of our time. Behold, the City of the Gods!"
BAM! The majestic opening of "Love of the Century" comes on over the speakers.
Whew!
***
I crash the piano during the part "80 people have died in their sleep!" The sound resonates all over the recital studio.
And one of the black keys get stuck.
Well done.
Three monitors. The 20.1" Benq monitor is hooked up to the Toshiba laptop (left). Reason 3 has the ability to split the Rack and Sequencer onto two separate screens. Reason 2.5, which is loaded on the Compaq (right) doesn't have this ability.
¶ 6/08/2006 04:50:00 pm 0 comments
My studio. Clockwise: Edirol PCR-M80 MIDI Controller Keyboard, Creative M85-D speakers, Toshiba Satellite M100-343 laptop (with Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 card inserted), Creative Gigaworks T20 speakers, Benq 20.1" widescreen LCD monitor, Compaq Evo N800V laptop----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connections:
Edirol PCRM80 --> Toshiba Satellite --> Benq Monitor & Creative M85-D
Compaq Evo --> T20 speakers, Internet Connection
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More details about the New Wave 3 musicals here: http://www.musicals.org.sg/ ¶ 6/04/2006 12:32:00 am 0 comments
¶ 6/03/2006 02:32:00 am 0 comments
