Four to the floor.

Rene Liu and Louis Koo, in their first piece of work as co-stars. I saw the above film last Saturday, with Ah Mao and Meow (contrary to their nicknames, they are in fact far from catty :p). Watching it inevitably reminded me of 1998's "Tempting Heart", aka "Xin Dong", one of my all-time favourite sappy movies which starred Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. "Happy Birthday" was of a strong Sylvia Chang style and flavour that I absolutely loved (she directed "Tempting Heart" and wrote the screenplay for this one). Plain and simple, no frills or special effects - just pure emotions bared in front of the audience without being over the top.

While "Happy Birthday" did not rivet me as much as "Tempting Heart" did, I could relate to the female protagonist through and through. Her insecurities towards love, the once-a-year birthday greeting thing, and how she would rather not start a relationship with the only person she loved for fear of losing him eventually, only reminded me of my own experiences. A couple of scenes were difficult to watch, because they brought back certain memories I would rather have at the back of my mind. I kept going, "Hmm this is me", "This is me again", and "OMG me!" so many times. But all in all, an enjoyable piece of work that totally deserved the hype, if it even had any to begin with. Definitely a beautiful story for those in love, out of love, secretly in love with someone else, sentimental fools who cannot forget past loves - whatever.

I was moved to tears at one particular scene (no spoilers!), but because it was more of a heartfelt type of movie than one which milked your emotions dry (recall HOSAF, My Brother, Brotherhood, etc), I did not bawl my eyes out, thank goodness for that, unlike the dear friend who walked out of the cinema looking as if she was *insert very tragic situation here*.

In other news, I think Gary Cao is absolutely THE bomb O_o Powerful vocals and awesome music. And I actually have the privilege to watch him sing 'live' this Sunday! ^_^

"There are things I care about everyday, but can only say once a year."

Known for years.

Fans waiting impatiently for D & D to appear

Two grandmas waiting for event to commence (aww!).
A very warm and friendly pair of sisters :>

D & D onstage

Daren and... Daren :p

Best friend HJ & Daren

Always smiling; always obliging

X X X

I did NOT attend the above event. I did NOT attend the above event. I did NOT attend the above event.

I did NOT take those pictures. I did NOT take those pictures. I did NOT take those pictures.

I did NOT shake Daren's hand. I did NOT shake Daren's hand. I did NOT shake Daren's hand.

Err.... go figure... :D

P.S. Arigatou Yuki-chan :)

Until the twelfth of never.

Check out the latest issue of LIME, where Elvin graces its cover page with his trademark dazzling smile! I shall patiently wait for him to appear on 8-Days, fufu!!

X X X

Why go, I asked
You know and I know why
And it'll be just as quiet when I leave
As it was when I first got here
I don't expect anything
I don't expect anything.

Rachael Yamagata - Quiet.

I melt with you.

The battle is over. Daren has emerged the male winner of Project Superstar II!! ^_^ Now he only has to win the grand title come Feb 4 and prove once again that men are better singers, in Singapore at least! ;)

Though I must admit that I found runner-up Nathaniel rather endearing too. Awwww!!!

X X X

晓阳：有些人，你可以很喜欢他，可是只能做很好很好的朋友。我对你的喜欢，就是这样。

志航：我知道了-- 我被拒绝啦！

晓阳：什么拒不拒绝的？好朋友可以做一辈子，夫妻却不一定，我宁可做你一辈子的朋友。

It's been a long long time since I thought highly of Channel 8 drama serials, but the above dialogue surprisingly went straight to my heart...

Moments with Oliver.

Recently I have been telling myself that I have to do something out of my comfort zone while I still can; something I am able to consider an achievement in life. I received an email from a huge (and I mean, HUGE) local theatre company yesterday. They will be holding open auditions next month, for the third instalment of a relatively well-known trilogy (no, it's not the Singaporean version of LOTR :p), and when I read that they were looking for someone to play an 18-year-old "Sylvia", my heart sort of skipped a beat.

I first questioned myself if 24-year-old me could play a teenager, and I figured that I probably could [check]. I have to prepare a monologue not more than five minutes [check]. Play season from July 12 to 29 [check]. But I read on, and they stated that rehearsals would commence on June 4 - during the exam period and thesis submission in Melbourne, i.e. I won't be around [cross]. And that one cross was already enough to make it impossible to try.

But above everything else, and even if this thing fits well into my schedule, I am terrified of not making the cut; of rejection. In my first year at university four years ago, I tried my luck at the auditions for an upcoming musical - I had to read a couple of lines and sing a song. They thought I was good, or so it seemed, and I got a role eventually, but it turned out that I was to play a certain "Reporter A" (I didn't even have a name, WTF) with not more than five lines and three minutes onstage. It was a huge, huge letdown, not because I wanted to be one of the five leading ladies, but because it puzzled me that they had to hold an audition for someone to play bloody "Reporter A". To me, it seemed like "Hmm she is not bad but she isn't quite what we are looking for, but then we should let her at least do something yes?... oh right, Reporter A!!!!"

I decided to give it a try initially, just to see how playing this "Reporter A" would turn out. It was a complete and utter waste of my time, because even though that scene was puny and I only had three bloody minutes onstage, I had to be around for rehearsals all the damn time, and for some reason they just didn't realise that it was such an insignificant scene and therefore it should be rehearsed FIRST, if not less often. I found myself spending a longer time WAITING for that scene to be rehearsed than actually reciting those lines. It was frustrating, and this is going to sound arrogant but it was a total waste of whatever acting talent I had :p

I quit the production eventually because I just couldn't be bothered anymore. A few months later I went to watch the production as an audience, and to my utmost horror I saw that they had gotten one of the backup dancers to play "Reporter A". It was quite hilarious in a way, but ouch it did hurt a little. It was a role that anyone could play, I swear. Like I told my mum (hello Darren! :p), they could have just grabbed someone from the crew on the morning of the musical and the person would have done an excellent job anyway. But I got the role through an audition. An AUDITION!!!!!!! -_-

So yes, that is my history. A part of me wants to give this one a go, but if I won't be around for rehearsals anyway, I might as well give it up. I am a bag of nerves in front of strangers, I have no professional acting experience, no performance training, and I am a bespectacled, grossly overweight midget. 18-year-old Sylvia, whom I imagine is tall, slim and beautiful with long flowing locks and killer legs... is not me.

Sylvia is not me, and I am not Sylvia.

All the waves of blame arrange as broken scenery
As they steal your best memories away
What if I was someone different in your only history
Would you feel the same?

Rachael Yamagata - Quiet.

Meet me by the water.

Happy 28th! It's quite an honour to share the birthday month, hee.

The blood diamond.

She is a stunning actress and I loved her, in "House Of Sand And Fog" and "The Blood Diamond". A-class, exquisite performances.

Gone with the wind.


My mom and I were watching Project Superstar on TV just like every other Thursday night (and of course gushing at the male contestants), and at one point the camera zoomed in on OUR favourite contestant Daren (for more info please refer to entry dated Dec 30). She exclaimed, like a idol-crazy girl in her teens, but with auntie-style excitement...

Mom: Feel like pinching his cheeks!!!!

Me: ....................... Oooooookaaay.... X_x

A couple of minutes later, HJ sent an sms saying, "er my mum say he's very handsome ler."

I relayed the contents of the message back to my mom, who replied gleefully that it just proves her point that Daren appeals to girls, I mean women of ALL ages. She then urged me to ask my other friends if their mothers like him too (errrrr??!!). Seems like the inner 'teenage screaming fan' in my mother is here to stay a little longer than I'd expected.

PS: The finalists will be performing at Suntec City come Sunday afternoon. Don't say I didn't warn you, but DO NOT be surprised if you catch my mom at the scene, complete with fan club attire and cap, holding up a life-sized poster of her favourite boy and screaming his name at the top of her lungs...

And love is blind and that I knew when
My heart was blinded by you.

James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover.

Chances are.

I find myself spending the 9th to 10th January transition (from 11.55pm to 12 midnight) with different friends each year. In 2006 it was with Gabby over some wine and beer, and this year it was with HJ and James, over wedges and onion rings and overly cheesy fries. Nothing too fancy, but it was nice and cosy. Thanks for taking the time out guys (considering it was so last minute!), and also for the snack/tea treat! ;)

WTF, I have now turned 24.

TWENTY FOUR????!!!!?!!!

X X X

In other news...


Sigh................................. <3 <3 <3!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now everyone knows we don't have many strikingly handsome young actors here in Singapore (perhaps with the exception of 715, though I must point out that he is not Singaporean), but damn -- Elvin is SO going to make it big in NO time I swearrrrrrrrrrr. I can't believe Mom didn't exchange phone numbers with him when she totally had the chance to. Even if not for her own sake............ *sobs*

X X X

If you held me close, would you laugh it away?
Would you dare the glance that I steal to stay?

Rachael Yamagata - I'll Find A Way.

Honesty is such a lonely word.

Beautiful Cambodia, and its beautiful children. The extent of poverty these kids are living in is literally unimaginable, I learned that at least one of them has not had a shower in A WEEK. They've probably never seen a camera in their entire life which explains why some of them aren't looking at the camera... and, their faces light up at the sight of cheap candy from Singapore. I almost wanted to take the little boy on the left home, because he was just toooooo adorable (if you look carefully at the other boy beside him, you might realise they are twins, just that the brother on the left has been eating a little bit more)... heeheehee... soooo cute!!!! :)

Eleven minutes.

Last Wednesday, I decided that my December vacation had to come to an end, and that I should get my ass off the couch and work on my thesis ASAP. The following day, I found myself arriving at the new National Library at 12 noon, and stayed in the reference section on the seventh storey all the way till 8.20 in the evening (but obviously I did not spend eight hours on research alone, durrrr ;p).

I don't mean to point out the bleeding obvious, but I realised in that span of eight hours, that working on a 12,000-word thesis is perhaps one of the most lonesome things in the world to do. The topic belongs to you and you alone, you can't share the task of research with anyone, and neither can you actively discuss your research findings with anyone who would even be half as passionate as you are about your own topic (apart from the supervisor, maybe). And while you definitely are able to share those feelings of misery and frustration (that inevitably come with a thesis) to family and friends, the task of writing the damn thing ultimately belongs to you alone, and only you will know your 'stuff', so... at the end of the day, you face those topic/thesis-related problems and worries by yourself. Well, maybe with the exception of those who have conquered, are in the midst of writing, or have given up a thesis, but then everyone goes through a different process and has a different story to tell, which brings me back to my point: writing a thesis is a LONESOME process.

So there I was, all by myself in the library feeling pathetic, worried and confused, and poring through a book entitled "Surviving Your Thesis" (always nice to have some encouragement along the way), when I came across this --

"Some people claim they could never undertake a thesis, for whatever reason, because they see the task as too difficult ("kaching!!!!" for Lynn). But there are others who do aspire to complete a thesis and, while it is arduous and demanding, find the journey of completing a thesis a worthwhile experience, separate from the satisfaction of completing the thesis. A thesis, like other challenging goals, because it is hard, and is a goal that not everyone can achieve, is a more worthwhile goal." - Suzan Burton & Peter Steane

Hmm. I hope this will motivate me for awhile.... o_O

But what I really feel
My eyes won't let me hide
'Cos they always start to cry.

Justin Lo - Lately.

Happenstance.

Whenever I get sick (which does NOT happen very often may I add), it is ALWAYS my fault. My late sleeping habits, the things I eat and do not eat, my lifestyle. Never a result of bad weather or virus in the air.

Yeah okay, say whatever you like. I brought it upon myself so I deserve this. But don't wonder why if I decide not to let you know the next time I fall sick.

(God I can't believe I have to deal with this parent thing at my age.)