Forbidden City

I'm currently staying over a a friend's place, typing this entry in air-conditioned comfort, complemented by the huge fan swirling above me.

We went to watch Forbidden City last night, the "highly acclaimed" made in Singapore production that will be taken overseas. Managed to get the tickets at 20% off thanks to Joel Nah who's in the production team. He's a pianist - an extremely talented one for that matter and I think it's absolutely fantastic to be working for such a huge production. It's one of my dreams to actually do a musical, albeit one that still remains high above in the fluff of the clouds; unreachable.

Anyway, given that it was my first experience watching a production in the Esplanade theatre, it was well worth it. Our seats were in the foyer stalls, which were rather exclusive. Raised on platforms in a box for 4, the view was spectacular, and what I reckon, VIP seats. There was even this plague with the company which is a private sponsor on the left hand side of the box. Gloria, JL and I sat in them like VIPs, people streaming in wondering why the hell the group of us could afford the tickets. Hah! Oh well, I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill but too me, the experience was well worth it.

The entire production was satisfactory; Kit Chan delivered a pitch-perfect performance with her crystal clear voice ; the songs had a Singaporean flavour to it; the transitions were smooth; the set was used effectively and Hossan Leong and Sebastian Tan added much comic relief to the entire show. As court scribes, they played the role of narrators, which helped to fill up the gaps and fast forward the story. Their "opera" performance narrating the formation of heaven and earth of hilarious and who can forget their "yin-yang" fans. Both delivered absolutely rib-tickling performances.

Despite the critics' reviews with regards to the storyline, personally, I felt it was good that they didn't deliver the whole sequence of events based on history books. Admittedly, it did get draggy in the second half and I found myself losing concentration in between a few yawns. It would have been better though if they chose to focus on and develop some of the more significant events. The scene where Cixi lays beside her son and wipes his brow could have been a more poignant moment - lingering on a little more with a few moments of silence would have delivered great dramatic effects.

Overall, it was a credible performance by our local actors. It is a local production that when, fine-tuned, could be worthy of something great on broadway. The thing about Singaporeans is that they always believe in something that has achieved success overseas before giving it due recognition. However, from the turn out, I believe it was well supported.

A pet peeve though was to see people still strolling in after the performance has started. Thankfully, our seats were elevated so there was little disturbance. It just goes to show how 'cultured' we are in some sense and I'm not even talking about the dress codes of some of the patrons. Goodness!!

Went to Lau Pat Sat for supper, then to Harry's after to chill out. Had only like 1.5-2 glasses of long island tea and I was already halfway to not walking straight. Crap. I suck - I guess it was because I didn't really eat much so the alcohol got to me. Oh well, must train. Haha.

ATEC is over!

After four hellish days that I thought would never end, I have finally crossed the largest hurdle, ATEC Stage 2. No amount of conditioning, which in the army translates into MORE outfields, can ever prepare anyone for another. The dread of having to go for one, the fear of having to traverse a swamp and so on. Personally, nothing could be worse than getting your boots wet.

More importantly, soldiers are constantly engaged in guerilla warfare against wild and highly evolved species of mosquitoes, capable of sticking their probiscus through the thick camouflage green material of their long 4. They feast on the worst possible places - the fleshy thighs, the succulent buns, the lips and how in the world did they think of the finger joints? It is a battle that is often lost and these tiny creatures humiliate us by turning us into circus monkeys, scratching every possible inch of our bodies and slapping ourselves in the face. By day, they taunt us by flying in our faces; by night, these mosquitoes mock us, incessantly buzzing around our ears as if they're saying, "na-nee-na-nee-poo-poo".

But, and it's a big BUT, it's over. No more outfields in my remaining days as an NSF!

Dragon Boating

I have this gut feeling that I'm a SNAG. Either that or I'm suffering from hormonal imbalances or menopause. Why do I say so? It seems that I can get really emotional upon seeing certain things, especially when I'm alone. The other day, while walking home from the bus interchange, this kid smiled and waved to me as I was crossing the zebra crossing. I felt warm and fuzzy and that life on earth was worth everything to live for; a few steps later, seeing a poor Indonesian maid sitting in a newly opened maid agency almost caused me to tear, seeing how they have to leave their families just to earn a living, depriving both themselves and their kids of a relationship. Why oh why am I so emotional? However, I must admit that my best scenes in some scripts are created at these very moments...

The battalion organised a dragon boat challenge to celebrate the battalion's anniversary on Friday and in part, to boost the morale of the soldiers in anticipation of the upcoming ATEC Stage 2 exercise. It's the final hurdle and no one can afford make mistakes. With the careers of commanders and regulars alike on the line, they were scrambling to give everyone a reason to do well for ATEC, perhaps conscious of how they have treated us thus far. And so, the entire battalion was allowed to go home for the night and head to Kallang river for a day of dragon boating, to foster teamwork, camaraderie, esprit de corps...whatever you call it.

The river water was particularly filthy, with floating debris consisting of leaves, plastic water bottles, the odd dead cockroach - you get the idea. Nonetheless, practice sessions degenerated into splashing episodes and anyone who went out came back soaked to bone, but no one complained. Admittedly, it was fun and i thoroughly enjoyed the company of my friends in the final months before I ORD. I shall disappear soon, especially after ATEC. With 9 weeks left, it's time to start moving on with life.

Soon, I will be singing Aretha Franklin's Freedom and I shall be a happy man, having gone through this rite of passage.

Dry was not an option

Sam and SSG Tok

Andy Woo and our MO

(Supposed hunks? Do I see abs?!)

My gay partner (told you so!)

On the way back I saw this:

XL, L, M and S