Dammit, I woke up late today and missed Ambush Makeover (thankfully it re-runs on the same day at 2.45am; I don't sleep till later anyway; hence waking up so late)...

But all's not lost. Turns out there's another interesting show that I am starting to get hooked onto too. Introducing...

Finally, A Show That Really Stinks... (so the tagline says...) 

In this show, the two housewifey hosts, Kim and Aggie, in designer garb, and furry cleaning gloves no less, go house inspecting and checks out some truly horrifying homes that contain copious amounts of filth, trash and even poo...

Kinda makes my not-been-properly-cleaned-for-months house look divine...

And then both hosts proceed to scold the inhabitants for their crime of the grime, before turning these human stys into sparkling clean abodes through sheer hardwork and plenty of ingenious cleaning tips...

It's basically Ambush Makeover for your house!!! 

And the hosts are really funny to watch too, sniffing the pee-stained carpets on all fours (while still in their designer garb!), picking up dirty laundry with their beautifully manicured fingers etc, and making "Eewww" noises at appropriate intervals...

I just wish they'll come and transform my flat too, back into something close to the showroom-flat standard that it was in some 30 years ago... 

Footnote:

Just a few hours after the abovementioned programme, I was glued again to the gogglebox to watch yet another home makeover show:

Debbie Travis' Facelift

I am really getting into my long-gone Home & Decor mood again, and can't wait to get a new house of my own to decorate now... 

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Exactly a year ago, I departed Singapore for my greatest adventure to date: my first ever visit to Europe, the farthest I have ever travelled so far...

I landed at Heathrow Airport in London first, stayed a night at a backpackers' hostel and discovered the value of the british pounds, before embarking on a 29-day Contiki European Contrasts tour that took me to wonderful cities like Paris, Fontainebleau, Antibes, Cannes, Avignon, Monacco, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Vatican City, Corfu, Venice, Vienna, Munich, Hopfgarten, Swiss Alps, Heidelberg, Amsterdam, etc and then back to London...

I met so many colourful characters during the tour, most of them from Australia, and learned so many interesting things about culture and lifestyles from these folks and the cities we visited... 

Seemed most of them were interested more in the mating and drinking culture (sex and booze rules for them), but I played the part of the typical shutter-happy Asian and kept myself sane and sober for most of the journey...

All in all, I took more than 3000 digital photos during the one-and-a-half month long trip, which I have yet to fully sort out and reduce for web display. I will post them all up on a photo sharing website sometime this month to commemorate my trip...

Meanwhile, here are just a tiny sampling of the photos that I took (roll mouse cursor over the pics for location names)... 

Although I blew close to $10k for that trip, I have been saving really hard again, and really can't wait to travel abroad and explore different parts of the world... 

Where shall my next stop be? 

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I enjoy life's many little coincidences, and often these happen right in your face and you can't help grinning...

The coincidence of the day turns out to be that I was just getting ready to attend Sarah and Justin's wedding dinner when Sean called and told me he's casting me in his new film, based on Kenneth's earlier banquet musical "Yum Sing!"...

All good news indeed!

At the hotel, the bride looks beautiful and the groom dashing, and most of allI really enjoyed the delicious wedding dinner banquet at the Grand Plaza Parkroyal. Yum, yum, Yum Sing indeed!

Here's a quick snapshot I took of Sarah and Justin's wedding solemnization moment...

Side note: For those who have never attended Chinese banquets and unfamiliar with the term "Yum Sing!", it is simply a (very) loud sustained cheer akin to "Bottoms Up!" and "Prost!"...

After dinner and several glasses of red wine, I decided to dance off the scrumptious meal by heading over to Onyx and then Happy. Met up with several friends at both places, including some Thai friends and a German visitor who's caught amid the current Olympic committee frenzy...

Another side coincidence: just immediately as I finished typing the word "frenzy" here, the TV programme in the background mentioned the exact same word...

Foot note: For no other reason other than today being the Independence Day of America, I decided to indulge myself in a full American breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham, tomatoes and toast...

Yum, yum, yum!!!

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Today's been a rather interesting day in itself, with another set of coincidences lined up...

I had arranged to meet Jeremy at Objectifs at 3pm to record some VOs and to pass him some of my meditation music cds, which might be suitable for our short film "The New Cleaner". And although I had suggested getting August, who did plenty of our music for "Five Foot Broadway", to compose original material for the film, I didn't have his contact number...

Then I made another arrangement to meet Ken at noon at his Lyen Children's Clinic at Mount Elisabeth Hospital to collect the cd recording of "Yum Sing!" the musical, which I'll be working on soon in it's new film version...

I was surprised to find Jack, Ike and later August and Sean, at Ken's clinic. Turned out that they had planned to discuss and reconceptualise "Heartstrings" to improve it for the next production...

The moment I saw August, I quickly got hold of him and brought him along to meet Jeremy at Objectifs, where he showed us the current edit of "The New Cleaner", and recommended August to compose for us...

Guess things happen as they were meant to be, so I am really hoping August's original music will bring "The New Cleaner" into an exciting new level...

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I finally gave myself time to explore my new Bright Idea Deck and go through the cards and familiarise myself with the illustrations and concept...

And I just can't wait to start using the deck with a simple 3-Card Reading (3CR) as suggested in one of the creator's articles (click on underlined link)!

So I selected three cards for tomorrow (6th July 2005) to see what I should take note of when I go through the day. Here's what I did:

I shuffled the deck thoroughly while keeping myself relaxed and focusing on drawing three relevant cards for tomorrow...

1st, the Topic Card, something I need to know or be aware of:

Yellow 2 - Debate (a man at a crossroads deciding whether to go with his mind or with his heart, and a storm is brewing right behind so he has to hurry...)

2nd, the Reason Card, why this topic is important today:

Red Controlling - Direction (an active man who gains the upper hand and wins the game...)

3rd, the Action Card, a suggestion for what I can do:

Red 9 - Release (a man releases a dove from its cage into the sky...)

My interpretation goes:

Something important and impending is causing me uncertainty, and I have to deal with it soon. Rather than just thinking about it, I should take action and be in control in order to be free from this problem... 

There you go, not too difficult after all...

But what are my plans tomorrow?

Well, I will be meeting this new insurance agent guy recommended by I-dunno-which-friend, so let's just wait and see what decision I will have to make tomorrow (nope, I will NOT be getting new policies )...

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Firstly, and most unexpectedly, the 3 cards I selected randomly from the Bright Idea Deck to signify the theme of the day, turned out to be a telling (p)review of the movie that I just finished watching:

"War of the Worlds", based on a brilliant novel by H.G. Wells, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, was about a failed father facing a family crisis amid a worldwide crisis...

Cruise's character, Ray, had to mind his two estranged kids while his ex-wife was taking time off with her new man to Boston. There is war in his family first and foremost...

Then a huge electric storm swirled forth, struck the city and other parts of the world, while releasing towering alien machines on tripods and zapping everyone in their path, and Ray really gotta get his act together and save his torn family using the only working vehicle around, turning down pleas from other helpless and desperate citizens...

In the middle of fleeing the war zone, Ray struggled but had to let his son go challenge the aliens as a hero, while doing all he could to protect his daughter from harm...

As the movie progressed, Ray had to bring out the hero within himself despite all his shortcomings, and actively fought  the aliens. Finally, with grenades in his hand, he managed to destroy one of the tripods that was trapping them, releasing many others from the cages that trapped them...

Birds flocking on the alien machines also gave him the idea that these tripods' force shields have been turned off, making them vulnerable to the army's final attacks, which ultimately destroyed them...

Hmm... interesting indeed, how the plot tallied so closely with the 3-Card Reading I did for today! Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie and was at the edge of my seat most of the time, and also very touched by the human drama well acted by the leads...

Today's been an interesting day alright. I met up with Jason, the insurance guy, who got my contact from someone called Don whom I couldn't recall. We ended up chatting and getting to know each other as friends instead (I was adamant on NOT talking business, especially insurance policies! =P)

Then Darius called saying he felt like watching a movie, so I left for Lido Cineplex and the only show that suited our times was "War of the Worlds", so I ended up buying tickets for that...

After that I went to the gym and bumped into both Jason AND Don, so I finally knew who that was. We had dinner together with their other friend Tony before I went off to catch the abovementioned movie with Darius...

And after the show, I went pass Borders on my way to the bus stop and saw a huge snaking queue formed, ending at a table where Neil Gaiman, the author of "The Sandman" comics and creator of characters like John Constantine, was giving autographs to commemorate the launch of his new book with the Muppets' creator, Jim Henson (I can't recall the title)...

I was quite excited since I enjoyed "Constantine" the movie and I thought his new book quite cool, so I snapped a photo of him with my mobilephone camera. Only to be told by a Borders employee that I wasn't supposed to take any photos of the session. And I thought, oh well at least I managed to sneak in one shot har har...

But alas, at the bus stop, I checked my phone gallery only to find that single shot to be a blank white image!!! I simply couldn't believe it! 

Oh well, perhaps I really wasn't meant to keep any forbidden photos of the event...

But hmm... that was, nevertheless, very interesting... 

1 angel(s) visited

Inspired by the strange but interesting twist to the result of the previous day's 3-Card Reading, here's another set for today, 7th July 2005...

1st, the Topic Card, something I need to know or be aware of:

Green 6 - Cooperation (a team of colleagues working together to create a piece of art even while the moon has yet to retire, but one of them seemed to be more headstrong and independent...)

2nd, the Reason Card, why this topic is important today:

Trump 8 - Balance (someone having to strike an even balance between a new born baby or project and financial gains, otherwise things could get precarious...)

3rd, the Action Card, a suggestion for what I can do:

Green Learning - Preparation (a man daring and attempting a new stunt that he has just learned or still learning, irregardless of pitfalls ahead...)

My interpretation goes:

 I will need to cooperation with the other team members to produce successful results in a project, yet have to keep my balance between money matters and new financially dependent projects. But I am prepared to learn many new things and grow in these new paths, and will overcome any obstacles along the way...

I can already foresee what these cards are suggesting for my day, which will most certainly involve teamwork and new projects too...

Stay tuned for the outcome... 

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Omigosh, I feel really sad to hear the news on the way home tonight...

Just a day after being selected for the 2012 Olympic Games, London had a blast of another sort. Apparently, terrorists chose a busy rush hour to douse all celebratory moods with four separate bombings in central London, causing death, destruction and hundreds of casualties, not to mention a world-wide panic...

So what makes a terrorist tick? And if everything's part of a Divine Plan, how could such terrifying events be allowed to occur? Who's right? Who's wrong?

To the terrorists, they are surely the ones in the right. They must all have felt certain issues so strongly enough to harden their human hearts and create these disasters... 

I shall try to focus on sending positive love and energies to all involved and transmute any negativity encircling and entrapped within such situations...

Let's change channels for a moment...

My 3-Card Reading of yesterday (7th July 2005) reminded me to focus on cooperation and teamwork as well as balancing new jobs with appropriate finances, and to prepare for new projects by learning as much as I can about them...

The first things that came to my mind were the school shows I have been performing as part of my freelance projects, as these certainly involve plenty of team cooperation...

Just today, the "Gum Health Show" saw yet another set of performers, which meant switching roles for some and new choreo blockings for others. And another show, "15 Mins of Fame", also saw our stage manager taking on one of the characters to replace another actress, and all performers have plenty of homework to prepare for the revival of this show...

The latter show would allow me a new set of income, and to make it even better, I just got cast in yet another short film, and also got recommended by Sean Wong to be part of a new commercial project, which means new job and new income! The trick for me now is to balance these new projects' clashing schedules...

So things I now have to learn includes the script for the second school show, the scripts for the different film projects, as well as songs for "Yum Sing!"...

Oh and I met another fellow Hockchew with the same surname as my mother's family, which is actually quite rare these days...

A couple of days ago, a documentary highlighted the fact that all Human Beings belong to ONE species, different races evolved into different looks and images to suit different living conditions and environment. Ultimately, we are all ONE and should not have discriminatory racial differences...

We are all connected in this world that we live in, breathing the same air, and all made of the same stellar materials...

So why can't we all cooperate with each other and live in peace and harmony? Why? What is so damn difficult?

The answer is: our EGO... 

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This is my 3-Card Reading for 8th July 2005...

1st, the Topic Card, something I need to know or be aware of:

Trump 13 - Passage (a depressed man bemoans the passage of time, yet it is time that allows all things to grow into being. In his hands, he holds the key to different doors and options which could set himself free...)

2nd, the Reason Card, why this topic is important today:

Trump 3 - Nurturing (in front of a door, a matronly lady - who looks very uncannily like my late Mother - sits amidst the flower blossoms she had cultivated and offers a plate of cookies she has baked...)

3rd, the Action Card, a suggestion for what I can do:

Blue 4 - Restlessness (a motherly figure was teaching a little boy some safety rules, but the boy was distracted by other kids playing with the sands of time...)

My interpretation goes:

 I have been dwelling too much on the past even as I hold the key to different options in life, and one of these options would allow me a glimpse back to a time when my Mother would provide for everything I'll ever need. But I often neglected her teachings and warnings, and might end up distracted and restless in life...

Can't wait to see what the day brings forth... 

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It's a fun new run of "15 Mins of Fame" with Elnie, Fared, Janet and me starting today with two shows at Pei Chun Public School...

With only the previous day to revise our parts, the first show this morning was really hilarious, what with sound problems, uncertain lines and choreo mistakes galore. But despite that, and that I almost giggled out loud at the sight of Elnie earnestly singing behind bars during a serious scene, it was a great start!

The second show was much better! In fact, all the kids seemed to enjoy both shows, and the entire hall's energy was up there!

I really miss my primary school days when my dearest Mother would wait for me and my siblings to finish classes, and then drive us around town in our family car, playing and singing all our favourite Carpenters/ABBA/Barry Manilow/Cliff Richard songs...

Every sha-la-la-la, every wo-oo-wo-oh, still shines...

I  really wish we could go back to our childhood days at will; it is getting harder for me to visualise now that my parents have passed on and I am already in my 30s...

As the previous set of cards revealed, although I didn't see it that way at first, I could have paid more attention to certain lessons in life if I was always so distracted by other activities...

Now although I certainly could not change anything in the past, but on hindsight, some things that I have done or learned back then truly do influence the person I am right now. It is just so clear and obvious...

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Due to a new modelling assignment I accepted for the official press and media launch of the new spa, Living Space, I was offered some of their services for free, which also formed part of the therapists' training...

So I jumped at the chance to test out their Phytomer range of seaweed based products, which are of a rather high end of the budget...

I enjoyed a free facial with mask and hot mud plus back massage worth about S$150 in the afternoon, and on a whim, dared myself to try out for free their equally expensive waxing services for men...

Let's just suffice to say that after having endured the unbelievable pain and torture and humiliation of Brazilian Waxing, feeling not unlike a plucked chicken that's still alive, I felt sure I could endure ANYTHING! The best part was, I actually found it very worthwhile!

I tell you, I am a survivor OKAY! I dare any of the guy readers here to get yourself waxed! Muahahaha!...

Anyway the process took longer than I expected (felt like decades have gone by, or was my lifespan seemingly shortened each time a strip of wax was yanked), and I ended up late for a rehearsal with Marcus and Gillian for our next short film. At least I made it there under the circumstances and in my tight jeans no less...

Thankfully, rehearsal was a breeze and after an hour plus of improvisations, Marcus drove us to supper (lunch for me) and then sent us home, while taking jibes at my ordeal...

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For 9th July 2005, I have again selected three cards from the Bright Idea Deck...

1st, the Topic Card, something I need to know or be aware of:

Red 8 - Response (a person adeptly catches a falling object just in time while others look on...)

2nd, the Reason Card, why this topic is important today:

Green Feeling - Comfort (a person who manages to feel comfortable sleeping anywhere, even perched atop a tree and far away from home...)

3rd, the Action Card, a suggestion for what I can do:

Blue 8 - Dissatisfaction (a person packs up and leaves a financially secure job behind...)

My interpretation goes:

I should keep alert and respond and react to anything, as this way I will be able to find comfort and peace of mind, and a possible way would be to get ready to move on to new adventures where I would feel better...

Stay tuned... 

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I attended my first rehearsal for the upcoming short musical film version of "Yum Sing!" today, and giving singing and interpretation advice to the cast in our first group singing session was Peter Stead, an accomplished vocal coach...

The cast of this musical film includes yours truly as the narrator/middleman of sorts, and Desmond Moey, Sheng Wong, Dr Wong Kai Peng, Sim Si Ying and Jeremy Sing...

And Si Ying sure could sing!!! Sheng's vocals and lung power were pretty impressive too!

There was originally an afternoon film shoot for Marcus' short film, but I am not in that scene so I will only be needed on Sunday instead. Which means I have free time after the singing rehearsals...

Wandered around Borders for a while before making my way to HMV and bought several DVDs, then settled down at TCC Cafe (Somerset)  for a deliciously healthy ginseng mushroom chicken broth and a refreshing glass of "Dawn" (coke with Mango puree)...

Later, I went over to meet Chris at his gym, where I helped him take several physical training shots for his sgfitnessonline.com e-book...

After that he showed me a video of the "True Files" (Pulau Senang) episode that we both appeared in last year, then had dinner and another round of singing at a karaoke bar...

I am glad to have agreed to help Chris today at the spur of the moment, as I have learned several things from him about creating a website into a marketing tool that sells...

Will definitely apply these tips and tricks, which teaches me how to achieve the points indicated by today's 3-Card Reading pretty well, to my own to-be-updated portfolio website as well as the Omhealth website soon... 

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It's been a rather fruitful weekend, and today I've completed filming for Marcus' short film, as yet untitled, and co-starring my regular co-star, Gillian...

The location was at a camera shop at Funan Centre, which was specially opened for us today for the shoot. No loss for them actually, as they actually made more than $2000 sales just during our brief 2-hour shoot! 

Here are some pics taken on location...

(From L-R: Gillian, Me, Brian, Marcus & Oops-I-forgot-his-name...) 

After Funan Centre, we moved on to Bestway Building where we shot our final scenes at the empty food centre. We barely called it wraps when all of a sudden, there was a huge downpour. Just in time indeed!

Can't wait for the film to be edited and screened already! Haha! I hope this film will win us some awards too!

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For a change, I decided to do a 7-Card Reading for this week using The Bright Idea Deck again, indicating what I should be aware of from Monday to Sunday.

Out of the 78 cards in the deck, I have randomly picked 7 cards, and amazingly indeed, 4 of them turned out to be cards I have picked over the past few days!

Here they are...

Monday:

Green Feeling - Comfort (a person sleeping comfortably leaving all cares behind...)

Tuesday:

Trump 9 - Experience (a learned man sits chained amidst his achievements, and it's his own fault...) 

Wednesday:

Blue 4 - Restlessness (a boy is distracted by other leisurely activities and doesn't pay attention to some instructions for his well-being...)

Thursday:

Red Feeling - Collaboration (a person makes a firm decision during a discussion and gains supports...)

Friday:

Blue 8 - Dissatisfaction (a person leaves behind lucrative issues and heads for better prospects elsewhere...)

Saturday:

Green 3 - Expression (a painter paints herself many times and finally added new items to liven the painting...)

Sunday:

Trump 3 - Nurturing (a motherly figure sits amidst a garden offering some tidbits, while a doorway stands right behind...)

I am no mathematician but I am sure the odds are extremely high against my randomly selecting 7 cards and getting the same 4 that I've just picked the week before...

Perhaps these issues have not been successfully dealt with last week, and are resurfacing again so I can have a second chance...

Well, the card for today, Monday, indicated a lot of sleep and rest and getting comfortable. Indeed, that was all I've been doing today... 

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Whoaaaa!!!!

It was a grey mid-day and there I was, standing and fiddling with my digital camera, taking random shots of scenery around Raffles City area...

There was a whole bunch of Caucasian kids looking much like the cast of "Lost", "Manhunt" and some other tv show all combined, asking me to take their group photo with our tallest hotel, the Swissotel The Stamford (Singapore), as the backdrop...

I obliged willingly and proceeded to arrange the group to fit into the viewfinder of the camera, trying to capture everyone as well as the landmark hotel...

After adjusting a bit, I focused the lens at the top of the hotel tower, and noticed something freaky happening...

The upper floors of the tower seemed to emit a huge puff of concrete dust. And slowly but surely, I saw the steel structure buckle at the top and folding over...

Ignoring the cries of the tourist group, I switched my camera to video mode and saw that the tower is indeed in a state of collapse!

I screamed for the kids' attention and to get them to run, but they weren't looking at the tower at all. Then I noticed that the top quarter of the hotel is breaking off IN OUR DIRECTION!!!

This terrible and dark moment reminded me exactly of The Tower card from a Tarot deck... 

In Tarot-speak, The Tower card usually signifies the need to let go of collapsing old ideals and institutional beliefs, and facing the unknown for survival...

But back to the scene...

I couldn't think of much else except to run, and everyone else started running behind me when they noticed the hotel collapsing towards us...

I ran for my life as the entire top quarter of the building loomed towards the ground right behind. I knew for sure that those Caucasian tourists would be hit by the debris as they were still far behind, but I managed to get far ahead just in time...

And when the structure did hit the ground, I had hid behind another building, turned around and caught on camera the roof of the hotel slamming towards me and pelting concrete debris and water in all directions...

I  blacked out after that... and when I woke up... phew! It was just a dream! But what a clear and vividly frightening dream it was!!!! I haven't had anything of this kind of quite a while, as if I was actually there...

I also realised that it was raining cats and dogs outside and all my windows were open. Running to the living room, I found my entire floor and my shoes and books wet with the downpour...

But at least no one's lives were in danger... 

Phew! 

2 angel(s) visited

Some things I am really looking forward to...

1) "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" book release (16th July 2005)

2) "Incredible Tales 2" premieres on Channel 5 (18th July 2005)

(I'm on Episode 13, "Coffee and Pau" to telecast on: 26th September 2005) 

(That's me playing a rookie cop trying to hi-jack the auntie's coffee & pau, but it turned out that these were reserved for someone, or something, else...) 

3) Pulau Lang Tengah Snorkelling Trip (12th-14th August 2005) 

4) Selling and moving house (August 2005) 

5) Rehearsals for Toy Factory's "Ten Brothers" play (September-November 2005) 

...

So many things to look out for, so many things I have yet to accomplish...

Oh, I am such a procrastinator...

Today's emphasis seems quite spot on about my uncontrollable Restlessness...

Anyway, just wanna add that I was stung on my lower eyelid by a stupid wasp trying to build its nest in my toilet... 

I often warned these insects and pests not to disturb me if they don't want me to disturb them. Luckily there wasn't any swelling or side effects, but I sprayed the entire toilet with pesticide...

But today was practically painless as I survived my second waxing down under, all for a modelling assignment...

But, nope, I won't be nude... LOL

Recommendation: use Hard Wax rather than Cream Wax!!! 

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Last July, I embarked on a mind-boggling eye-opening journey to various parts of Europe, with a whole bunch of wacky youngsters, as part of a Contiki European Contrasts tour...

Together with a driver and guide, the 52 of us drove by coach to all the beautiful historical destinations, but the group was by no means all that keen on re-visiting history. We were there to MAKE history!

Today I was reminded of the wild and hilarious antics of all the members of this group (yes, I could be wild and hilarious too! =P), when I learned that the rock group, Good Charlotte, performed here at the Singapore Indoor Stadium a couple of days ago...

You see, as part of the Contiki tradition, each tour group has a theme song that we all wake up to first thing in the morning...

Our group chose Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", a very apt song indeed from the similarly aptly-titled album, "The Young and Hopeless" (go figure)...

Here are the lyrics:

Always see it on TV,
Or read it in the magazines,
Celebrities who want sympathy,
All they do is piss and moan,
Inside the Rolling Stone,
Talkin' about,
How hard life can be,
I'd like to see them spend a week,
Living life out on the streets,
I don't think they would survive,
If they could spend a day or two,
Walking in someone else's shoes,
I think they'd stumble and they'd fall,
They would fall,
Lifestyles of the rich and the famous,
They're always complainin', always complainin',
If money is such a problem,
Well they got mansions,
Think we should rob them,
Did you know if you were famous you could kill your wife,
And there's no such thing as 25 to life,
As long as you got the cash to pay for Cochran,
Did you know if you were caught,
And you were smokin' crack,
McDonalds wouldn't even wanna take you back,
You could always just run for mayor of D.C.
I'd like to see them spend a week,
Living life out on the streets,
I don't think they would survive,
If they could spend a day or two,
Walking in someone else's shoes,
I think they'd stumble and they'd fall,
They would fall,
Lifestyles of the rich and the famous,
They're always complain', always complainin',
If money is such a problem,
Well they got mansions,
Think we should rob them,
Lifestyles of the rich and the famous,
We'll take clothes, cash, cars, and homes,
Just stop complainin',
Life styles of the rich and famous,
Life styles of the rich and famous,
Life styles of the rich and famous.

And I commemorated this theme song of ours, which we'd belt out loud daily in the bus, in the official tour t-shirt that I designed specially for the group...

It was a really wonderful and memorable trip, and I am having loads of fun just looking back at all those thousands of photos that I took. Will edit and post them online soon, sort of as an anniversary gift to all the other tour members... 

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"Uncross your legs during a haircut. Sitting with legs crossed can cause your haircut to be lop-sided..."

~ Ambush Makeover

LOL 

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Today began with lots of fun at Bryan's Omhealth Aromatherapy Workshop, held for the AMRO Bank staff during their lunch time...

As usual, he led the entire group of tense office workers through a relaxing and rib-tickling session incorporating his popular and unique "Butterfly Dance" as well as various aromatherapy techniques, recipes and useful tips...

And as usual, I was his sidekick, taking plenty of photos for his newsletter and Omhealth Website, such as the one below... 

After the workshop, and a healthy sales margin, I left and got myself ready for an audition at Fly Entertainment Studio. Ah Law turned up to, though he arrived later than I. But kanasai, he jumped queue so was done before me! Haha! Oh well, who ask the auditioners (media students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic) to take so long to set up, such that everyone's running late...

After my turn, which I took as much time as my character would allow, I made my way over to Synergy Men Spa @ Living Space, which is having it's soft launch to VIPs and the media tonight...

My purpose there was to model for some of their services, and that included a back massage followed by a Nickel facial and thermal mud back treatment and a hot paraffin wax hand treatment...

The other models included Martin (body scrub and rain shower), Derrick (paraffin wax with massage and foot reflexology with thermal mud), and Berdley (paraffin massage and body scrub with rain shower) etc...

After the guests and VIPs have completed the spa tour, the models showered, changed and made our way to join them at the bistro for drinks...

For our (minimal) efforts and time, Eric, the spa owner, rewarded us with spa vouchers and Nickel products and door gifts each. And of course, I got my free volunteered waxing and facial treatments beforehand too...

Hope the radiance on my face now matches the inner glow of my tranquil heart, and will last for a longer while...

Oh, more good news: I got cast in a TV ad for a new condominium to be filmed next Thursday!  

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0+7 = 7

1+6 = 7 

2+5 = 7 

Interesting patterns of numbers, no? Add to that the time of release was also 7am...

Perhaps that's why J. K. Rowling and her publishers have an affinity with the number "7", incidently also my favourite and lucky number, choosing this date to release to the world her latest baby, the 607-paged "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which I have on my lap right now...

Although I simply couldn't wait to purchase this highly anticipated new book (I even pre-ordered it from the Post Office at my block of flats, collecting at exactly 7.01am this morning!), I will not begin reading it till perhaps next week...

I'm currently reading Agatha Christie's superb mystery novel, "Five Little Pigs", and have to finish it soon as it's borrowed from the library. It's a very good book so I doubt I'll take long with it...

And then after that, I'll have to refresh my memory of the previous book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", as it's been quite a while and I want to know where the story left off before I can carry on with the journey and adventures...

In the meantime, I'll let my vivid imagination go have a party and see what inspirations I could gather about the teen wizard and his magical world... 

Footnote: Just a thought... with so many bookstores and even post offices opening extra early at 7am on a Saturday morning especially for the book launch, it must be pretty demanding on all the staff involved... 

Another thought... J. K. Rowling is a very wealthy woman indeed... 

Yet another thought... last read that the new Pope Benedict wasn't in favour of the Harry Potter series, deeming it unsuitable for the young readers and teaching them wrong values. Oh well, like "The Da Vinci Code", it's just a piece of fiction, folks, lighten up please!

3 angel(s) visited

After meeting Bryan and enjoyed ourselves chomping at delicious deep fried snacks at the huge food fair at Ngee Ann City in the afternoon, I made my way over to a friend's friend's place to do some space clearing work...

What happened was that this friend, let's call him X, was having relationship problems with his wife, and lately even his son had expressed fear of being in his room as he saw a "monster" there...

With my own personal experience with the supernatural world, I was pretty certain I felt such entities lingering in his flat, especially in the living room area while I was there. Both of us literally felt and saw our hairs stand on ends...

I had brought along a little metal bell that Katrina bought for me from her overseas trip, and it came in handy for the space clearing. Basically, I got X to sit relaxed and chant a Buddhist mantra continuously, while I rang the bell throughout the house, with the intention of dispelling negative energies through the loud vibrations...

Then I proceeded to employ what I learned in Reiki Tummo to send positive healing energies and fill every corner of the house and occupants with Divine Love and Light...

In addition, and by fate, Bryan had just handed me today a bottle of mineral water blessed by monks' prayers from the Guanyin Temple, and I sprinkled this cleansing holy water all over the house and also into the drinking water of the household to be consumed...

After all that, the energy of the unit felt much lighter, and I explained to X on how to use crystals to enhance the energies, and also gave him a Tarot reading to give him some guidance and reminders about his relationship problems...

X's wife and son returned towards the end of the reading session, and with his wife keeping to herself in the bedroom, his curious 3-year-old son came over and flipped over a card to add on to the spread. It was a very appropriate card indeed, one that balanced the entire spread and gave a positive note to the reading... 

Not only that, the boy went into X's room and soon came out with an Ang Pow that X had prepared beforehand as a token for my efforts. Interesting how the boy managed to find the red packet that X had kept earlier on...

Kids can be very sensitive and are frequently adept at picking up vibes around them, and that makes them very interesting subjects to observe...

I got X to jot down notes from the Tarot reading, to serve as reminders which might come in useful for him in future. It was then that I noticed that X is working for a property agency that had been calling me with regards to my interest in selling my flat...

And X returned my favour by answering my endless queries on how to settle my housing issues, just the right thing I needed at this moment...

It was an interesting and magical day indeed... 

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It's been a nice cosy Sunday with me idling about the house trying to finish the Agatha Christie book and surfing the net...

Met up with Albert, Ivan and Patrick around dinner time, and then later Patrick's friend KH joined us at Jing Hua Xiao Chi Restaurant where we enjoyed my favourite meat dumplings like "Xiao Long Bao"s and "Guo Tie"s etc and listened to Patrick's accounts of his trip to the Huang Shan mountains in China... 

Turned out Patrick and KH are both looking for places to move to, while KH wants to get another condominium unit, Patrick might be interested in my 3-room unit!

Would be really cool if he wants to buy my flat and I can finally move out! 

4 angel(s) visited

It's been a long and fruitful day, filled with auditions, new jobs, crystals, more good news, good food and meeting old and new friends...

But what I really wanna talk about are the TV programmes I've just watched...

I got home in time to catch the first part of "End Day - One Day, Five Endings" on Channel NewsAsia, a special effects-simulated documentary exploring five possible scenarios for apocalypse (the end of the world)...

With a "Groundhog Day" kind of style, "Part I" gave the viewers a glimpse of a total wipeout by means of a massive tsunami in New York City, followed by a gigantic meteor shower of comets hitting Berlin...

I shudder as I heard the commentator said something to the effect of: "Natural disasters have been occuring for millions of years and destroying parts of the world, and just because we're here right now doesn't mean it won't happen to us..." 

And certainly we've gone through several major disasters in our current lifetime...

Following this programme, I switched over to Channel 5 to catch my friend Siti Zuriah playing a thoroughly spooked nurse in the all new season of "Incredible Tales II". And an old acquaintance, Serena, playing the poor green-hued ghost (do they really come in such funky colours?!)...

Anyway, Siti sure could scream! LOL

But I was frankly quite chilled by this reenactment of an actual nurse's personal encounters, as I have had my own fair share of spine-tinglers in my younger days when I was a frequent hospital patient...

At the end of the programme, a local expert (I think it's Dr Mel Gill) appeared and talked about the possibilities of the deceased persons leaving electro-magnetic "signature" imprints and some people who are more sensitive to such electro-magnetic fields are capable of tuning in to these imprints, otherwise known as ghostly encounters...

I believe... 

Immediately after this supernatural episode, "David Blaine's Street Magic" came on...

I've missed this repeated telecast before and didn't want to miss it again this time. I'm so glad I didn't...

This David Blaine guy just went about the streets of various cities, stopping pedestrians and entertaining rendering them speechless or in hysterics with an awesome brand of MAGIC... 

His sleight-of-hand tricks truly seemed natural, but my goodness, his jaw-dropping levitation (floating in mid-air) trick must have been supernatural, or some pretty clever trick indeed...

Funny thing was, when he asked a girl to think of two different odd numbers, I did that too and came up with "37". And soon enough, it turned out... so did that girl, and so did David Blaine!...

Totally awesome!!! 

I don't know WHAT to believe... 

But I do know what I DON'T wanna know...

PLEASE do not reveal who died in "Harry Potter" spoilers in your blogs which I might "accidentally" discover, thank you very much!!! I'll rather slowly stew myself and find out page by page...

Anyway, I have just completed reading "Five Little Pigs", and even though it's my second or third time reading it (it's sometimes a blessing to have a short memory LOL), I am still amazed at how Dame Agatha Christie worked her little grey cells and created such an impeccable and well-detailed riddle of a mystery novel...

Now I can't wait to begin reading the new "Harry Potter" book, written by another remarkable author that I definitely kow-tow to, J. K. Rowling...

Footnote: For all these TV shows I am beginning to enjoy, I am gonna miss "Ambush Makeover" the most. Hope they'll screen the other seasons soon... 

2 angel(s) visited

"Imagine that... Agatha Christie claimed to have plotted most of her mysteries... in a bathtub (while eating apples)..."

"In a survey, it was found that 29% of women and 11% of men prefer reading in bed to sex..."

~ Design For Living

And that was probably before "HP&THBP" was released. Go figure! LOL

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Woke up extra early today, and thought it's a good chance to enjoy breakfast (during breakfast hours that is)...

After that I made my way over to SGH again this morning for the repeat appointment with my doctor friend TW, and my ultrasound scans confirmed that it is just a cyst and not some cancerous growth or tumour...

Phew! I can live with that so it is not a big deal after all, but I'm glad that's out of the way!!!

Spent the next few hours eating my 2nd breakfast of the day, then back home surfing the net and reading other people's blogs (I have a long list of daily must-reads =P), before heading out again...

Completed yet another school show about "Gum Health", and it was fun as long as the kids were sporting and enjoyed it...

Took the train back to town with Ah Law, and had some time to chat about actors and acting in Singapore... 

Then was stuck neither here nor there with several hours before my next event, so I ended up at the gym...

I always love the feeling when I leave the gym, well worked out and fresh from the shower...

Wasted plenty of time waiting for the bus, but it finally arrived. I had to stand sandwiched between irate and sour-faced fellow passengers who were ever reluctant to budge or move to the back of the bus...

But I survived, and eventually reached Siglap area, where I was tempted to enter the House of Traditional Javanese Massage for another well-deserved treat, but was distracted by next door's Indian restaurant, which was screening some Bollywood-style MTV involving a super-hunky Indian guy dancing, preening and posing among several ultra-gorgeous Indian babes. It was HOT HOT HOT!!!

Finally, I arrived at Marcus' place ahead of time and he was just completing the screenplay for his new short film (an inspired and impromptu piece, and I must add, ingenious indeed!)...

I also got to view the rough edits for the short film that we shot the week before with Gillian, while waiting for her to arrive. When she did arrive, we got ready with the new script and did a couple of rehearsals before changing into our respective attires and started the shoot...

I must congratulate Marcus on this well-written and concise piece of material which was entirely shot with me sitting inside his stationery stationary parked car with Gillian beside me...

I simply love the cool tingling sensation of creative juices flowing by and catching that elusive inspiration as it floats past...

So... what were we doing inside this parked car? I shall leave the juicy plot a mystery till the film is completed... LOL

And after just a few takes here and there, it was a wrap!

Marcus then drove us to Siglap area for a yummy dinner/supper and discussed more about local films and film-makers as well as finding names for the two short films we'd just completed, before sending us home!

At the time of writing, the first short (salesman vs actress) will be tentatively named "Screen" or "Final Cut", while the second one (male driver vs female passenger) got unanimous votes for "Sunset To Sunrise" (these three words start the entire film)...

I think it's been a day well spent!

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It's full moon tonight and full moons have always been a beautiful source of amazement and awe for me. Also, it has always inspired heightened passions and desires...

Well, don't ask me why... can't you just feel it already?

After all, we humans are made mostly of water elements, and we know what effect full moons have on water and tides...

Full moon nights are also the best times to charge and energize your crystals and mineral rocks... 

But let's start from the day...

Upon finishing another energetic school show in the afternoon, I travelled back to town to pass some new Omhealth sticker labels to Bryan's mom, who treated me to Soya Halia (Ginger Soya Milk)...

After that, I went over to the gym to take a nice refreshing shower an enjoyed the steamroom and sauna facilities. It is one thing to be hot and sweaty when you're outdoors in full attire, and quite another to be hot and sweaty when naked with only a towel. All that enclosed and controlled heat is supposedly good for our health...

A while later, I was found browsing books at Kinokuniya bookstore again,  and then with RJ, who was having some tummy trouble, had a nice BLT Sandwich with a Long Black at Toast cafe...

RJ brought me over to his place and watched some ultra-hot Filipino pop singers' concert videos, and even though I don't understand 99% of what they're singing, I found myself falling in love with these beautiful foreign songs...

Later, with RJ's flatmate JT, we went over to Far East Plaza for the evening meal, but I wasn't hungry yet... 

I then went home to get something before meeting JT and WV again later, and soon after, bumped into Chris, Joseph and Calvin as well as several other friends. Calvin reminded me of Justin and David Anthony...

All in all, it's been a long day and night, but thoroughly well spent...

And despite the slightly cloudy weather, the moon is still so beautiful tonight... 

2 angel(s) visited

Whoa, it's been a really really long day man...

Started way too early and way too far, for way too many: gotta travel across the island to perform for an early morning school assembly show at 7.30am, and hang around for another threee more performances that ended only at 4.30pm...

The first show was like crap, all of us tripped on our lines here and there, but thankfully, we were used to ad-libbing and covering for each other. The second show was good as we were finally awake and could focus. The third show had Ema replacing Elnie, and being less rehearsed, there was plenty of nervous looks and hesitations throughout... 

By the end of the last show, which was the best by far, all of us, including Janet, Elnie, Fared and the techies, Farah and Hubert, were all stoned with exhaustion and high on caffeine...

So much for our "15 Minutes of Fame" (which lasted 30 minutes per show)... 

But at least (most of) the kids enjoyed it... 

Oh yeah, it's Racial Harmony Day today, and it's rather fun to see all these students dressed up in their ethnic attires and looking pretty for a day in school...

I was absolutely spent by the time I arrived back to my area, but one look at the delicious "Hong Zao Ji (Red Wine Chicken)" at the economic rice stall at the market tempted me to eat, which took away most of my exhaustion...

I have been eating non-stop today, at every opportunity. After the yummy dinner at home, I finished half of a packet of fish crackers as well as a pack of honey mustard and onion flavoured pretzels (this new series of irresistible pretzels by Snyders of Hanover has already become my latest favourite snacks)...

Here are the two must-try flavours:

  and 

Just watched another moving episode of "Lost" and among other things, I liked how the Korean gal used Eucalyptus leaves to help the asthmatic babe...

I will probably sleep well tonight... 

That is, if I can forget about the latest news about more London bomb attacks and the new twists in the Huang Na murder trials... 

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Had a haircut again today to tidy up my hairstyle for this afternoon's shoot...

Through Sean Wong's and Bey's contacts, I was cast in a minor role as a "Bartender" in Great Escape Productions and Publicis Advertising's new TV commercial for The Sail @ Marina Bay Condominium...

My scene was filmed at the Indochine Waterfront's Bar Opium.

Playing the leads were expat models Dennis and Danielle, and the other cast included Martin and Rei...

Here are some of the photos I took using my Nokia 6260 during breaks...

(From L-R: Martin, Rei, Danielle and Dennis) 

(Me as the Bartender) 

(Me with Dennis in Siem Reap Restaurant)

(Me with Dennis outside Siem Reap Restaurant) 

After the shoot, we stayed on for dinner courtesy of Siem Reap Restaurant next door. I should have asked for Beef Stew Rice, but got Chicken Noodles instead. Still the food was good.  

Stay tuned on TV for this commercial, to be telecast on I-dunno-when, and look out for me in the background...

BTW, since my previous few projects required me to be in formal shirts and suits (the kind of attire I will never wish to put on for a day job), I have decided to finally buy my own sets...

So shopping around G2000 at Raffles City after the above shoot, I purchased my very first full set of black jacket and matching pants, and another set of pants for just-in-cases...

2 angel(s) visited

A couple of days back, our Minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan, announced in Parliament that non-related singles are now eligible to apply for private residential housing using their CPF savings...

(The following are excerpts from various sources...) 

Two non-related parties such as same-sex couples can now jointly purchase private residential properties using their pension funds as a longstanding rule that prohibits non-related parties from using their CPF savings jointly in the purchase of private properties was lifted...

Previously, only joint owners who are immediate family members (i.e., spouse, children, siblings and grand-parents) may utilise their CPF monies in the purchase of a private property. Same-sex couples who wished to finance their property jointly could only do so if they were both unmarried Singapore citizens, 35 years of age or above and purchased a Housing & Development Board (HDB) or public housing flat from the open market.

The longstanding rule that only single citizens who are at least 35 years old can purchase a HDB flat from the open market remains unchanged.

... 

Hmm... but all these might not have any effect on me, as I am only 32 this year, have no plans to live in an expensive money-sapping condominium, and have no one to share the apartment with... yet...

I will still focus on getting my ideal small-budget resale 2 or 3-room HDB flat near town...

But first, anyone here keen on buying my current 3-room flat in central Telok Blangah area, with excellent views of Mount Faber and enjoy a splendid array of hawker foods?

2 angel(s) visited

Every year, on the 19th day of the second, sixth and the ninth lunar month, Buddhists around the world celebrate the Birthday, Sainthood Day and Nirvana Day (respectively) of the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin...

And since today commemorates Guan Yin's attainment of sainthood, it is a good time as any to go vegetarian...

Which I did... and as I sought out the very few (1% of the food centres') stalls that sells Buddhist vegetarian foodstuff throughout the day, I also gave some thought and gratitude to the animals that provided their meat as food for us...

My cousin-in-law, Zhang Ying, from Fuzhou sms-ed me this morning to inform me that my Third Uncle Ngin Nie who had returned to our hometown to refurbish my Granny's (my dad's mom) grave and had just completed it today...

This brought back memories of last September, when my brother Eric and I visited Fuzhou with Father to fulfil his last wishes, and paid our respects to our Granny's grave...

Based on the local Feng Shui and tradition customs, ancestral tombs had to be auspiciously situated up on a hill and overlooking the future generations of the family tree. Which meant a long and steep climb up the feet-trodden paths and plenty of tall grass and weeds to cut down along the way...

And I still remembered the amazing strength of my female relatives, mostly my cousins-in-law and aunties, who had to carry huge and heavy baskets of food offerings (that they had cooked and prepared earlier) with bamboo poles on their shoulders...

Even Eric and myself had problems carrying these baskets and standing straight just to pose for photos (you couldn't tell these baskets of goodies weighed easily over fifteen kilos), just imagine the dimunitive but extremely tough womenfolk having to handle these burdens on a regular basis (not to mention cooking them)...

And to clear and tidy up each of the ancestral tombs required the help of around ten to twenty of our relatives, so imagine the size of these tombs...

Anyway, these are really fond memories, and I can't wait to visit Fuzhou again...

On another note, Zhang Ying's sms also mentioned that our Auntie Xu Qian Jin (my dad's eldest sister) had prayed for a "lucky number" for us to buy 4D...

Haha, I wouldn't mind sharing it here: "8033", only that I did set out to buy it at a Singapore Pools outlet but this number didn't get me any prizes at all. Sighz...

Maybe if I had bought this 4D in China instead... oh well...

Anyways, will try again for Wednesday's draw, and see if my ancestors are keen to help me along with my finances. If any readers here decide to do the same and did enjoy some winnings, don't forget to thank me and share share ok?  

2 angel(s) visited

It's a rainy monday, and reminds me of an old-time favourite Carpenters' song. But thankfully, the weather didn't get me down as predicted...

I basically idled my way through the morning, read chapters from the "Harry Potter" book, and then went online and filled up the SIDE SECTION of this blog with more of my personal details and other interesting tidbits, to me anyway (check that out ya!)...

Lunch was with Shawn at Rabbit Brand followed by a drink and plenty of catching up to do at Spinelli's, then dropping off my library books and browsing at Kinokuniya, pretty much standard fare on a lazy day in Orchard Road...

Talking with Shawn reminded me of days when I was ardently searching for the meaning of life and gathering my spirituality, as well as my Reiki Tummo days... 

Later back home, I went back online and surfed the net for more interesting stuff and blogs to read, taking a glimpse at other people's lives, or whichever faces they wish the world to see...

I am so gonna stay home on Mondays more often to catch "Incredible Tales II" and "America's Next Top Model 4". The episode on the former show was pretty scary tonight, with a Malay story based on evil spirits. The latter show, which is playing in the background as I type, seemed to be pretty promising, with the gorgeous and not-so babes, and wacky personalities all round...

Footnote:

Today also marks the end of all "Gum Health Shows" by Health Promotion Board and ESN Asia Management. Basically they are so disorganised, low budget and lacked proper communication skills and welfare, that it is no big loss to us by not doing this gig. The entire thing has been pretty unprofessional so far, and all the actors could only do so much before things get bottle-necked. So there...

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This is my very first entry on Photo Friday (#459) and it is based on the current week's photo challenge theme:

Attractive 

"Attractive" ~ Edric Hsu

Picture size: 480 x 640 pixels

Digital Camera: Fujifilm Finepix F-460

This photo was taken on 12th July 2004 during my very first Europe tour and these world-famous monuments at Pisa certainly displayed aspects of attraction, just like a champagne bottle that could not resist filling an attractive empty glass...

What do you think?... 

Oh, and please do vote for my picture here: cast noteworthy vote!

2 angel(s) visited

Hey hey folks, here's something brilliant I just can't wait to introduce to y'all (if you've not already stumbled upon it before!) :Þ

Savage Chickens

by Doug Savage 

 "Do-It-Yourself"

Thanks goes to the creator of these humourous and spot-on post-it note cartoons, Doug Savage, for kindly giving me his permission to post one of them here as a sort of introduction to all you folks... 

Cluck Click on the above cartoon and enjoy your daily dose of Savage Chickens!

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It's getting pretty difficult trying to read the new "Harry Potter" book now, mostly due to the volume and weight of it...

I was reading it in bed last night towards the wee hours of morning and a slight moment of disconcentration had the heavy tome (all 607 pages of it) crashing on my face...

And I once read that many kids throughout the world were suffering from sprained wrists from reading the previous and equally heavy book by carrying it on one hand (not to mention getting more vision problems)...

But all's good, for the books have been such fascinating reads that it's really hard to put down once started...

Anyway, by the evening, I had covered more chapters and was all set to meet up with Janet and Khee Liang for our very first karaoke singing session together...

We've been talking about it for some time but have never got the thing going until now. So there we were at K-Box Selegie (where I bumped into my old choir mate, Sng Chen Yang!!), sorting out the cash vouchers and promotional differences, and finally started singing...

Khee Liang and Janet were basically practicing for their upcoming singing competition, while I amused myself belting out all the higher-pitched songs to stretch my range a bit...

It's fun to sing with friends who enjoy singing, and it shows in these pics...

(From L-R: Khee Liang on the mike, Janet and me) 

Only thing... K-Box really needs to do something with the karaoke machines... can't transpose the key of the songs without it switching back automatically every so often (damn irritating indeed!)...

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I pottered (pun intended :Þ ) around the house the entire day again, but doing nothing substantial other than chew up more exciting chapters of "Half-Blood Prince"...

Dinner time arrived and as promised, I taught Jason how to easily interpret his newly purchased deck of Tarot cards in exchange for oysters and seafood platter at the new Fish & Co. outlet at Wheelock Place... 

A very good deal indeed, I must say, and Jason managed to catch up pretty fast for a total novice. I also tried my best to demystify the whole stigma and false ideas or expectations about Tarot, yet explaining how Tarot can still be uncannily accurate...

Then right after that, I rushed off to attend a really last minute casting call at Fluid... 

Keeping my fingers tightly crossed for good news... 

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Woke up super early this morning to attend Amanda's classes at Serangoon Gardens Secondary School...

Amanda, who has been getting her lower secondary students to try their hands at film-making, has arranged for screenings of "Strings (Hong Xian)" followed by a cast and director Q&A session...

(Above photo gleaned from Amanda's blog) 

Gillian and Jon (my co-actor and director respectively) joined in and together we tried answering some of the students' queries and asked ourselves other questions that the kids are probably too shy (or couldn't be bothered) to ask...

All in all, it was quite fun (for me at least, dunno about the rest) and I couldn't help wishing we had such interesting stuff during my own school days...

Or lessons in "Defence Against the Dark Arts" also can lah... ;-Þ

2 angel(s) visited

Anyway, after the morning screenings, I hopped over to HDB Toa Payoh to make some enquiries regarding my eligibility to sell my flat and buy a resale one...

I might need to have another person's name down as "Occupier", since I am single and below 35yo...

Anyone wanna put their name next to mine for the house?

Well, seems like my housing plans might take longer and costlier than expected...

What I need right now is to:

1. Submit my Dad's "Notice of Death" and my current flat's "Title Deed" (if I can possibly find it after 30 years!) to the HDB Branch Office, pay a sum of money below S$100, wait a while for their processing...

2. Submit at the same time HDB's "Application Form For Request For Valuation", pay the S$177.50 processing fee, then wait a few days for the officers to drop by my place to take photos and evaluate a suitable market price. Might take around 3 weeks for report to be issued...

3. With the "Valuation Report", which is valid for only 3 months from issue date, I've to return to HDB with a prospective buyer to check on his/her eligibility in owning my flat. More payment and waiting...

4. Seal the deal within the 3-month validity (I hope)!

5. Find another place to live (this one not so urgent, I can't rent a room elsewhere in the meantime)...

Somewhere around Steps #1 and #2, I've to faster give my dump of a house a "How Clean Is Your House?" kind of spring-cleaning and a "Debbie Travis' Facelift" makeover. Otherwise who will want to buy it??

Plenty of things to do...

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Oh!!! Here're some really good news in the meantime:

1. I have just been cast in my second TV commercial within a week, this time in the main role for "Courts Ready Finance Month", to be filmed tomorrow afternoon! Yippeeeeee!!!

2.  I have also been asked to model again at the Synergy Men's Spa @ Living Space for Manhattan Credit Card holders,  right affter tomorrow's filming!!! I will make sure I get a good body scrub this time! LOL

Again I discovered that the moment I let go of old commitments (eg. the "Gum Health Show" and other voiceover work etc), new and better ones are waiting just around the corner!

2 angel(s) visited

When I saw this week's theme for Photo Friday, I just knew that my entry (#8) would be related to my Father's death. You cannot be more sombre (somber) when attending funerals, especially of your loved ones...

Sombre

"Sombre" ~ Edric Hsu

Picture size: 600 x 450 pixels

Digital Camera: Fujifilm Finepix F-460

The above picture was taken on 7th December 2004 by my Cousin Barry upon my request, while I, attired in traditional funeral clothing, was writing my deceased Father's names and particulars in preparation for his cremation at Phor Khark See Temple, which occured just minutes later...

That was my second and hopefully last time I had to send my closest family member off in such a sombre way. The first time was on 17th May 1995, for my dearest Mother's cremation. Incidently, that sad day was my brother Eric's 19th birthday... 

Footnote:

If you feel this picture is "vote-worthy" for Photo Friday's Weekly Challenge, do vote for me here: cast noteworthy vote...

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To date, I have been involved in several print advertisements and three tv commercials. Of the latter, I was in the "M1-MiWorld" TVC a couple of years ago, singing and dancing with a whole bunch of people to the tunes of "My Way", as well as last week's TVC for "The Sail Tower Condo".

And today, I completed filming for my third TVC, this time for "Courts Ready Finance Month", in which I played the male lead character. Here are some of the photos taken during the shoot...

(The story board for the TV commercial...) 

(The studio set included a comfy red sofa and a HP notebook, both items I liked...)

(Posing for one of the scenes as according to the story board...)

  (Another comfy pose...)

(I can't remember all the names of the crew and clients, but with this photo, at least I'll remember their faces...)

(Me and the beautiful Phyllis who was leaving the agency...)

The above TV commercial will be aired sometime during the National Day week, and run for about a month (the Courts Ready Finance Month) on TV as well as in the Courts furniture superstore outlets...

For my efforts, I'll also be registered for a free Courts Ready Finance Card, which according to the ad, will allow me "pre-approved spending up to 8 times my salary, with one-time approval for maximum spending power"...

Since my current salary is dunno-how-much, I wonder how it'll add up for me. But this card might just come in handy when I shop for furniture for my dream new house (no more IKEA?)...

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Immediately after the Courts TVC shoot, I took a mis-routed ride from the artistic director, Vivien, and with Julie, to Synergy Men's Spa @ Living Space for my second modelling gig of the day...

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As befitting this week's theme of "Somber", or "Sombre" in British, at Photo Friday, I felt a terrible gloom as I finally completed the final chapters of "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince"...

I actually shed tears of mourning as I read about the death of one of the most-loved characters in the "Harry Potter" series, not only because it is a most tragic ending, but also because the description of the grief and funeral proceedings reminded me of the funerals that I have attended in my life... 

By a funny sort of coincidence, the author mentioned the presence of "merpeople"  who spoke "Mermish" during the funeral, and her description of these creatures uncannily reminded me of what I saw in my past-life regressions (there is a reason why my nickname is "Merman"...

I am feeling tired out, physically and mentally, for this thick book had been an engaging read. So much that I only slept two hours last night before waking up with the urge to complete the final chapters... 

To shake myself from the gloom of the book's ending, and my hangover from last night's drinking, I met up with Juju to try out the new Japanese fast food Pepper Lunch outlet at Ngee Ann City...

We both tried the Curry Beef Rice set, but found the portions a bit on the stingy side (the $2 soup was served in only half a cup! See below pic), and that the novelty of cooking the meal ourselves on the individual hotplates wore off pretty fast...

Feeling unsatisfied, Juju wrote his complaints in the feedback form...

After that, we walked over to Far East Plaza where Juju spent some time surfing the internet at I-Surf, followed by some toast and eggs at the Ya Kun Kaya Toast outlet...

Then we walked over to Paragon, where I left Justin with Vernon, before making my way to The Heeren, and then home to type this out... 

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