#musicmonday: Come Alive | Hugh Jackman

[Ensemble]
Come one!
Come all!
Come in!
Come on!

[Anne Wheeler]
To anyone who's bursting with a dream

[Ensemble]
Come one!
Come all!
You hear
The call

[P.T. Barnum]
To anyone who's searching for a way to break free

[Ensemble]
Break free!
Break free!

[Chorus: Ensemble and P.T. Barnum]
When the world becomes a fantasy
And you're more than you could ever be
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open
And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open

#musicmonday: From Now On | Hugh Jackman

I saw the sun begin to dim
And felt that winter wind blow cold
A man learns who is there for him
When the glitter fades and the walls won't hold
'Cause from then, rubble
What remains
Can only be what's true
If all was lost
There's more I gained
Cause it led me back
To you

From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on

#musicmonday: This is Me | Keala Settle

ALL THE EMOTIONS.
I'd also say that this is even stronger than the final cut.
(also amused by Hugh Jackman waving his apple in the air)

---

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me

#musicmonday: Rewrite the Stars | Zac Efron & Zendaya

You know I want you
It's not a secret I try to hide
But I can't have you
We're bound to break and
My hands are tied

---

I just watched The Greatest Showman and I'm super impressed.

The only two voices I didn't quite like was Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) and Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams). I don't really know why. I think Ferguson did this weird breathy thing with her voice especially in the verses of Never Enough; was it an affectation? Some accent she was using? Oh wait. She didn't actually sing; it was sung by Loren Allred. The chorus and build up was fine; she does have a good voice. I just think the verse was weird.
Williams also has a very airyish voice. I guess it just isn't solid enough for me.

#musicmonday: Here in the marketplace

So my dad made a remark that a lot of Jesus' miracles happened in Capernaum, and this song came to my mind.



FGA did this back in 1995.

Also, funny story.
My brother was about 5 at the time they did this musical and was learning to read. Or at least, we were trying to teach him to read. Every time we started on of those Peter and Jane books with "Here is Peter. Here is Jane" stuff, and point out the word "here", he would just start singing this song. You can tell we didn't get very far.

#musicmonday: Blame by #FazzBand

Discovered over the Merdeka weekend at the Planet Eupe: A Musical Showcase.

Loved the sound, showmanship and energy.

Also, this might be the sound I'm looking for if I can finally decide on that script to work on. Which would throw all existing plans into a loop.

Eh.

Check them out here and here.

Also, because I enjoy torturing myself, I'm going to try this #musicmonday / #flashfiction combo, where I'll use the song I post on Mondays as the basis of the flash fiction on Friday.

We shall see what happens this Friday! =D

Happy birthday, @yeohjo!

Where do I even start?
I've known you since... forever. Hah. :) I was going to dig out some old photos, but I figured that *I* would probably be more embarrassed about them than you, so... I'm sticking to (mostly) what's already on the internet. (Also I'm lazy. I can't remember where they're kept and I'm a little disinclined to go search. Besides, that's what Facebook is for.)

You've always been the musical one, so it's not surprising that most of my memories with you include music somewhere - singing Disney ballads after watching the cartoons, caroling, firebrands worship team, youth camp...

... and the fasollado singers!

I am blessed to call you a friend. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend," and I believe I have learnt so much just by growing up with you. Where else would I have learnt to be such a perfectionist? (and competitive as well!) I am always encouraged to hear what God has been doing in your life, even if we only meet like... once in six months or so. Haha.

Okay, that picture wasn't on facebook, but, for memories' sake, that was a big part of our history! (At least before everyone started going their merry ways.) Still waiting for the next one... or at least the next album from you. This year, right? ;)

As you enter a new stage of life, may you find greater fulfilment in Christ; may Christ alone satisfy your every need and deepest longings. May His fire and His passion fill your soul; may your mind and your eyes be renewed each day to think as He does, to see as He sees. May your mouth be filled with endless praise and your heart be filled with ceaseless songs; may you be His instrument of worship as you transcribe the songs of heaven, and raise them up again as incense to His name.  

Thank you for being a significant part of my journey so far. This has been us. :)

Happy 30th, Josh.

#review: Sinbad the #musical

It probably doesn't make much of a difference whether I review this now or not, since there are only two more shows in this run - Saturday, 8.30pm and Sunday, 3.00pm. - and I heard that they're sold out. Then again, I suppose feedback is always good.

I enjoyed watching Sinbad, despite the kind of weak storyline as well as the kind of pathetic ending. I'm not sure what the actual Sinbad canon is supposed to be, except that he's this dashing sailor/pirate person, but for this musical, the storyline is a very basic (and slightly underdeveloped) 3-act hero's journey.

I suppose I should start with the plus points:

1) THE VIZIER IS AWESOME.
I honestly think Gene Sha Rudyn basically carried most of the show for me. He's the classic comic bad guy and I think he's a much stronger and well-rounded character than Sinbad was. Or maybe I just like the bad guy. Haha. (Ooo, he was a Malay rocker. Figures)

2) The group songs and choreography had great energy and were actually really entertaining
I particularly liked the group songs in the second act - "Orders is Orders" and "We're not that bad". I don't suppose they really added anything much to the story, but Huzzah and the guards were entertaining in this one (Huzzah kind of grows on you in this scene) and the choreography around the prisoners and their movable prison bars was interesting. From the first act, "We Work", "Sinbad the Sailor" and "Waiting for the day" were interesting enough to grab your attention as an opening scene, but I guess I don't remember anything catchy enough to make it memorable.

3) The singing is good
I mean, compared to the usual fare, these people can really sing. =) I'd rate them a couple notches up from Broken Bridges and super way better than Malaysian Girls. Can't really compare them to Marrying Me I guess due to the size of the productions.

4) Suliman
I don't know what to say about him. Um. But I found his solo impressive, and he had great stage presence.

The not-so-plus points:
1) The hero didn't really feel heroic.
I mean, he was mainly just a love-sick fool. And an enchanted one at that, although he didn't believe in magic. He was rather good-looking though :)

2) I wasn't really sure what the Ezra character was for, and why she was a principal cast and why she had a solo, which I unfortunately tuned out on because I couldn't really get what she was singing. Sorry.

3) The story line was overall rather weak, though it had its funny moments either through a witty line or through one or other of the cast and ensemble's quirks. I'd say that this musical was not so much plot-driven as it was character driven. And the problem it had was that it was focusing on too many characters. So whilst it was entertaining, it wasn't really... cohesive. Maybe another bugbear I have (which others might not really care about) was how much it seemed to depend on cliches. Or what I feel were cliches at any rate.
Maybe the other thing is that... it didn't really have an emotional arc. Things happened. But they didn't really draw you in to feel with the characters. So it's bam-bam-bam, this and that happens, bam-bam-bam, something else happens. Which goes back to why the Vizier and Suliman stood out for me was that I felt them.

I think that's the best I can figure for now.

---

So I noted a few familiar faces in the musical program book.

One of which was that Dominic Luk, whom I worked with in Yes Broadway Penang, was the vocal master. That was like.. woah, really. And also Riena Aisya, one of the really dedicated dancers from Yes Broadway Penang was in the ensemble! Yay for them!

Alvin Looi, of course, who had been actively promoting this musical on facebook for the past few months. (Nah, there's your picture. Don't jeles anymore).

Oh. And the most astounding thing happened. Okay, it didn't just "happen" but... well. I walked down the stairs and saw a college friend of mine, and she was talking to this guy, and she's like "don't you remember each other?" Frankly, I didn't. And then she was like... "he was in Drunk Before Dawn". And I'm like, oh, okay. Brain doesn't quite remember but he's starting to seem more familiar. and then OHHH. Ten years. TEN YEARS DID NOT JUST HAPPEN.

And now I'm thinking... WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?

Glorifying God with your talents (Be yourself!)

So I have about 1.5 hours in the San Francisco Airport until my plane boards. I figured that's enough time for one post, even though a post normally takes me about 2 hours. Hah. I just have to be less long-winded then. Or less picky. Or less... distracted. (Definitely less distracted. Shoo, facebook!)

I've been kind of wanting to write a proper proper post for a while now, but have been busy travelling and then being distracted and then being tired and then being busy working and then... you know, life doesn't just want you to sit down and reflect and have a cup of tea and write rambles sometimes. But since this is down time anyway...

Well, during one of the cell groups I attended here, Iris asked "what do you think God is speaking to you about?" (or something along those lines). I think the biggest thing for me, which has been felt over and over again every week at church, is just the feeling of release, that it's okay to just let go and do stuff, because it glorifies God. I'm going to need to backtrack a long way to explain this properly, I think. I'm not even sure if I know how to explain it properly.

A gazillion years ago (or maybe about fifteen?), we were having one of those cell group days when it was just us faithful three - Josh, Fran and I. So we decided to just do extended worship (I think we walked out for supper after that, or that could have been another cell meet) and I remember Josh saying something like that I would bless people with my song, with my harmonies. (As you can tell now, I don't have a very good memory.) And I kept that word, because it was precious to me.

Then somewhere along the way, I became afraid. Self-conscious. Part of it was the worry that I was wanting to sing, wanting to do all this stuff for my own ego, because I liked doing it, and because I was good at it. Part of it was the introverted me getting shy when the spotlight came and when people praised me. And I think what confused me a lot was that strange feeling of wanting to be praised but not knowing how to respond to it, mixed with the feeling of not wanting to be praised and letting my gifts glorify God, jumbled up with the voice that said if no one notices or acknowledges what I'm doing, I'm just not good enough.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same way. (Please raise your hand if you do. Virtually, of course.) The question I think I really had was how do you know if you're doing this for God or for your own pride? I guess this is especially relevant for any Christian involved in stage ministries (singing, music, writing, - anything that showcases a visible talent) because it's easy to start serving in these ministries for God, and then get distracted and start doing it for your own ego. And all the while telling yourself that you're doing it for God.

Anyway, I guess what happened was that I started holding back. I didn't want to stand out, I didn't want to seem like I was showing off, I didn't want to push stuff, because of the thought "what will people say?" (I struggle with this a lot). And I felt what God has really been telling me this whole while is, I've given you talents for you to USE them.

So I tell myself - It doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter if I'm singing too loud. It doesn't matter if I look weird. It doesn't matter because if I'm doing it for God, and if my motives are pure, who is man to judge me?

This is especially crucial for me at this time, because my head is running full steam ahead with a gazillion plans - a new musical on the way (hopefully!), a creative arts team to start up, a whole creative arts network to build across Malaysia. The check is always to remember why I want to do this - not for myself, not for the glory, but to be able to build a ministry, build a place where people, creative people, can mirror God's beauty and creativity in our world.

There's much more to be said about this, but there are announcements and signs going up at the gate although there's another half hour to go before boarding but I get antsy about this kind of thing, so I'm going to stop here.

I don't know if it's made much sense because I don't have time now to read through the whole chunk of text I just vomited out but I hope it makes some sense to you.

So, goodbye America.

I'm on my way home. :)

More thoughts on #marryingmemusical and Christian theatre

I'd wanted to write about this a little last night too, but it was late and it slipped my mind by the time I got round to actually writing the review. 

It was just a thought about tragedies and the role they play as catalysts in theatre. The thing is, having some sort of family tragedy is so overdone in Christian plays. It's utterly predictable. 

You have the headstrong person heading to hell and nothing you try to say can change them but then someone dies or nearly dies and all of a sudden they (or the loved one, depending) repent and see the error of their ways and turn to Christ. 

Marrying Me almost had that cliche - except that they faked it. They created a fake crisis to try to make Stephanie get married. I liked the twist and the fact that they made us know it was fake, because if they didn't that would have made it such a boring generic show. 

Which comes to the question - will a tragedy of that sort really change someone? Or would it just be a temporary thing until that loved one really dies? 

MUST I get married? #marryingmemusical #review

http://www.klpac.org/marryingme/

When you reach a certain age (normally after 25) the few questions you tend to hear a lot are:

1. When are you getting married?
2. Got boyfriend yet or not?
3. Why no boyfriend yet?
4. Why are you so picky?

It's a presumed fact of life that you are supposed to get married. That's been the formula for the past hundreds of years, and it's supposed to be the formula for the next few hundred, never mind the fact that half the marriages now are ending up in divorce. As Auntie Gertrude (Chang Fang Chyi) says, "Everyone gets married for the wrong reasons."

Marrying Me is a hilarious look at what happens when Stephanie's mother and aunt get together and start planning to make her tie the knot. Stephanie (played by Stephanie Van Driesen), the headstrong CEO of SCOWL, an NGO to help abused women, absolutely refuses to get married... until her mother (Sandra Sodhy) mysteriously falls ill and says it's her dying wish to see her married. Who else can she turn to but her old flame, Tony (Tony Leo), who also just so happens to be Auntie Gertrude's son?

Stage 2 is a really small space, so it's easy to see everything that's going on (no faking due to distance, ha) - the cast of Marrying Me was gave a really stellar performance. This is the first time I've seen Stephanie Van Driesen act (I've heard her sing in the YES Academy 2012 show), and I thought she was superb as this very strong, intensely wacky, and yet immensely vulnerable woman. It was also great to see someone I've worked with before - Benjamin Lin - playing Stephanie's BFF, Leroy (was also totally distracted by the 'legalize gay' shirt!).

What I like best about this musical is how local it is. It's stuff that you instantly relate to like parents pushing you to get married, broken families, the tough relationships that sometimes happen, and the crazy mismatch of religions that we sometimes practice (a Catholic family that believes in palm reading?). Of course, never forget the witty asides on current affairs!

It's really a must-watch show.

P/S- Oh - if you're watching it in Penang, do check where you sit! It makes a bit of a difference, because it's theater-in-the-round so the "front" stage gets more face time, though usually they do face all corners. (And I happened to be in the corner Benjamin was facing... hahahaha!)

Broken bridges - a must-watch Malaysian musical

Broken Bridges is the story of a boy who couldn't wait to leave his small town home of Ipoh, and how he broke his father's heart in the process. It is the story of a boy, grown up, coming back to change his home town, and breaking his father's heart again.

Broken Bridges is the story of the rift between father and son and how they try to make amends giving in, or apologising. It is the story of the generation gap that was and that is, where parents do not understand their children and try to make them copies of themselves, and where children do not understand their parents and do not bother to try.

Broken Bridges is the story of a decision between maintaining tradition and culture and venturing out into something new. It is the story of expectations made and dashed, traditions clung to and discarded, promises given and broken.

Broken Bridges is a story of love. Love of the new, love of the old, love of a town, love of a lifestyle, love of a woman, love of a child.

Broken Bridges is a story of many things. But no physical bridges were broken in its making.

I thought it was a good musical, deserving of the many Boh Cameronian Arts Awards it garnered. It tells a strong story, one that resonates with the local crowd. And boy, was it a responsive crowd at the Sunday matinee. The first act was well-paced. I hardly realised that almost an hour had passed when suddenly it was the end of the act. The second act felt a little bit rushed though, as if there was too much material to be covered (and there was).

The overall casting was excellent. This is the first time I've seen Jon Chew act (after being told to catch his shows, but never managing to) and I thought he was a good fit. Ho Soon Yoon was perfect as Leong, though I think he overplayed the simplicity just a little in the first scene so for a moment I wondered if he was supposed to be a bit retarded. I was a little concerned at first about how Colin Kirton could pull off a "quintessential Chinese towkay" because I remember how strong his accent can be, but he was excellent as Wong. I initially thought Anrie Too was a little old to play Mei Ling, especially when they started describing her as a school girl years younger than Ming, but after watching the musical, it was obvious why they had to make that choice. A younger girl or less mature actress would have difficulty with that role. The only complaints I had casting wise was that Ringo wasn't quite splashy enough for his song. Nick Dorian wasn't from the original cast though, so maybe that was why it didn't quite fit. He was pretty okay, but not really outstanding enough, making the song just a little draggy. (Not quite sure why they changed KL in the original to Singapore in this run. What, KL not good enough for you, issit?)

What didn't work for me was placing the Teacher (Theresa Leahy) as part of the "aunties" group. It was a little awkward that in the scene where the boys visit the pub, and the aunties come in, that they addressed her as "Teacher" (what teacher would dare be seen at the pub in those days?). As it was, I thought her role a little pointless, especially since she didn't really have any role-specific lines and her accent was too different from the rest of the cast & ensemble.

Choreography wasn't quite tight enough in the opening scene (nerves, maybe) but that's the most I have to say about that. Singing/talking complaint is the usual Malaysian diction problem but this was much clearer than most.

Story wise, I would have liked the love story between Ming and Mei Ling to have unfolded a little slower, rather than just a discussion about a book and a song and then oh they kiss but then again, there wouldn't have been enough time for that. (It would also have been interesting if  Siew Yee were still around and had a jealous fit. Hah!) And it would have been a much better closure if at the end, Ming didn't hear the story from the waitress, but from his friend Leong instead. I mean, what waitress would bother to go and learn the history of the place she's working at in such detail?

So overall, good show. Go catch it if you can.
[Much better than Malaysian Girls :P ]

Broken Bridges runs at Penangpac until 8 June. 

#bookreview: Single & Single by John le Carre

Single & Single by John le Carré
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When a book starts off with the intriguing line This gun is not a gun, you know you're in for a rather interesting read.

Single & Single starts off with the cold-blooded murder of a British corporate lawyer in Turkey. His boss, Tiger Single, the brains behind the financial house Single and Single, goes missing. In the middle of the night, Oliver Hawthorne, a children's entertainer, is questioned about a sudden influx of cash to his daughter's trust fund.

John le Carre explores the shady world of money laundering (in epic proportions!), pitting the acts of the father against the conscience of his son. How much love do you need to have to continually gloss over the sins of your loved ones? And what would it take to bring you back again?

Nothing in life is ever clear-cut, and this is evident in the story that le Carre weaves. Who is right and who is wrong, how much of this is real and how much of it is embellishment? What is the magic behind these successful people who seem to get away with their crimes? What moral fiber holds up those strong enough to stand for what is right?

Strong food for thought in a fictional thriller.

View all my reviews

Leading on from that, I'd like to call in a rather interesting parallel that came to mind... which was something I was mulling over in A Place to Call Home, where Daniel finds out his adoptive father is paying out bribes to get contracts. The question I had was - was that really strong enough to make someone decide to leave his home? We figured that maybe yes, it was.
And in Single & Single (hope this isn't a spoiler), Oliver turns himself in and snitches on his father's money laundering operations because his conscience finally caught up with him. But in this case, he had support from the government and was given a new start on life, anonymously, with a different name. And when troubled times hit his family, he turned back and did all he could to save his father.
Where would Daniel's conscience have led him? I wanted him to leave. To turn his back and say no, this life of lies is not for me.
But on the other hand, it would have been ungrateful of him to leave. What kind of gratitude is this boy, adopted from nowhere, showing, if he just ups and leaves after all of the things the Lees have done for him?
What would true love have been? To stay because of the bond of family? Or to call out the wrong?
I think this covers pretty much the essence I was looking for, but missed:

He needed to dab the bruises from his father's face and get him a tooth job and put a pressed suit on him and shave him and deliver him to Brock, and after Brock to sit him behind his half-acre desk at Curzon street; to set him on his feet but say, "There you are, you're on your own, we're quits."

We caught ourselves in a strange compromise in the musical, allowing Daniel to stay because Mrs Lee had independent money that was not tainted, but it wasn't the best of endings.
No, it wasn't at all.

2012: a year in review

I took a screenshot of my stats page today, looked up last year's review and had the shock of my life. Sometime in the frame of 366 days, my blog somehow garnered forty-one THOUSAND page views. How did that happen?
For all my readers, regular or sporadic, THANK YOU SO MUCH. You really made my year!

It really has been a crazy and fruitful year, and I'm not sure how I got through it all. All I can say is thank you, God. And thank you, all of you who have stood by me this year, to listen to my endless whingeings and whinings.

The major highlights of the year have been:

Israel Houghton Concert: I took a trip down to Singapore in February for Israel Houghton's concert, stayed with my cousin, and managed to meet up with quite a few friends, new and old.

A to Z challenge: The fest saw me writing 26 pieces of flashfiction in April, one of which remains my top read post of all time (as seen above).

YES Broadway Penang: Met many crazily talented dancers and singers through this programme in June, and had my one minute of fame as Mrs Lovett.

A Place To Call Home, the musical: My second full-length libretto, and my first try at actually directing. Conclusion remains that... I suck at directing, but it was a great experience. Oh. I also suck at costumes (no big surprise) and overall stage designery stuff.

Launch of annatsp.com: I finally launched my own website after thinking about it for a long time, and also launched my facebook page.

Stories from A Place To Call Home: Published a book of flash fiction based on the musical, and have 143 downloads to-date.
I'm pretty happy with this, seeing that I haven't really been doing much promotion for it.

Bali and Phuket: Two trips this year, with wonderful friends and CG members. I enjoyed the breaks even if they put me in frightening places!

GTLF2012: Attended my first Literary Festival! Also met a writer friend and attended the launch of her third novel. 

Nanowrimo 2012: Finished for the fourth time. And realised that I really need to get round to editing all these words that are lying around and do something with them. I suppose that will be 2013's goal.

Coursera: Got my first cert from Coursera.org for the Greek & Roman Mythology course! I struggled through some of the stuff... but it was fun all the same.

Giveaways: Ran my first giveaway on a whim. Experimented with Rafflecopter. I might do this again. On another whim, depending. 

Big Bad Wolf: Finally visited the Big Bad Wolf sale and came home very happy. I've already read 5 of the 19. All the unread books, which now fill 3 book shelves, are going into my read goals for 2013. I really need to clear those shelves out. 

Hasn't it been a really busy year? I felt quite tired going through all the things that have been happening. Looking over it now, I really don't know how I did it. 

2012 has been a good year overall, even if I didn't think it was while I struggled through it.
I wonder what 2013 will be like?

S+S Musical, in brief

Just some brief notes before I fly off tomorrow, since poor Alvin will not be able to catch his own show.

1. HAH! - Started off okay, ended up crass. I mean, cat fight? Not much story to it.
2. Detention - High school. Touched on lesbianism, a bit of a story to it, but rather crude and... Well, high school.
3. The quest (something like that) - rather nicely done, prince in search of Cinderella theme, but the cast's voices were rather weak.
4. Background music - rather sweet, single man in search of a wife goes for a date auction for charity. An awkward bit of twist at the end, and we kinda expected a little more cabaret style dance/moves from their get up.
5. Disorder in the court (?) - very witty. Loved it. The lawyers all break out into song and dance. The cast was overall very good.
6. The geongxi is a vamp - HILARIOUS! Traditional Chinese vampire story meets twilight. Very well done! The acting was good and the singing... Ooolala!

I'd say the serious contention is between the last two.

Welcome to the Book Launch And Birthday Bash!

http://www.gifs-paradise.com

Welcome to the BLAB Bash!

I'm uber excited that you're here - this means that we can start our party! What do you need? Nothing much. Just make yourself comfortable, pick up your drink of choice (mmm, a lovely strawberry tea for me!) and prepare to get a little chatty.

First of all, the book launch!

I'm proud to unveil Stories from A Place To Call Home!

Orphaned at twelve, Daniel has often prayed for God to grant him a new family. Two years later, his prayer is miraculously answered: Emily Lee, grieving over the untimely loss of her son Matthew, has persuaded her husband to let her adopt a boy to fill the void in her heart.

But being adopted wasn't as simple or wondrous as Daniel hoped it would be. Matthew's friends resent his intrusion into their lives, getting him into trouble. Edmund Lee, a self-made man, ridicules his faith, telling him frankly that he doesn't believe Daniel would ever amount to anything.

And just when Daniel begins to feel comfortable and secure enough in his new family, he tears it apart again by disagreeing with his adoptive father's business principles.
Will they ever accept him for who he is? Will Daniel ever find a place to call home?

This e-book compiles the character development pieces written to define the main characters in the musical "A Place To Call Home", as well as other flash fiction written in an effort to work through snarly areas of the plot line.

So... if you watched the musical last month and you loved it, or even if you couldn't catch it because you're far away from Penang and only know me through the interwebs, here's your chance to find out more about the people who have been hounding my brain since last year.
The e-book is now available (for free!) on Smashwords in like a gazillion formats (epub, kindle, PDF, online viewing, and more) as well as Goodreads (online viewing or epub).

P/S I've got my first review here! Thanks, KK!

And now, to the Birthday Bash!

You see, the BLAB acronym actually has a purpose.

blab [blæb]
vb blabs, blabbing, blabbed
1. to divulge (secrets) indiscreetly
2. (intr) to chatter thoughtlessly; prattle

I'd like to give you, my readers, a chance to know more about me, as well as for me to learn more about you. Since I'm turning 28, I'm going to blab 28 random facts about myself and in turn, you can post facts about yourself, either here in the comments, or on your own blog (link back here so I can visit you!) - how many, that's up to you!

Here it goes:

1. When I was a kid, I really really really wanted to have blond hair. I thought it was really pretty. I still think it's pretty, but I love my hair as it is now.
2. There was a time... when I was about 7, maybe... when I thought it would be an easy life to be a gardener. For a few days. Until I realised... it involved worms. And sun. And sweat. And hard work. *silly kid*
3. Almost every time I hear really good worship music, I see in my mind this lovely dancer covering the altar with ribbons, flags and interpretive dance.
4. I really wish I could dance. And be that dancer.
5. I'm actually really shy. *blush*
6. I used to eat Hokkien Mee (prawn noodles) every single day in school from 1995 - 2001, except when they weren't open. 
7. Since I left school, I hardly ever eat Hokkien Mee anymore. 
8. I'm technically allergic to prawns. Except I don't really care. :)
9. I actually prefer C.S. Lewis' Narnia and Robin Hobb to LOTR. (shh... don't tell the die-hard Tolkien fans).
10. Sometimes I smile and wave, and talk to people, and go back thinking - who on earth were they? Where/when did I meet them before? 
11. I hate auditions.
12. That's why I write my own scripts and act in them.
13. I finished NaNoWriMo at least 3 times. I'm still trying to make something out of those drafts.
14. I go just a little crazy at book fairs. Well, maybe more than a little. It's like when a woman sees shoes....... (or a guy sees gadgets)
15. I decided not to be a journalist because I don't like talking to people. 
16. And then I found out that as an auditor, I need to talk to a lot of people :(
17. On weekends when my parents aren't around, I sometimes don't talk for the whole day.
18. I have another ten random facts to go and I'm about ready to kill myself, or at least bash myself in the head of thinking of such an idea. HAHAHA.
19. The reason why I really hate games is because I hate losing. 
20. I don't really know what my favourite colour is. I mean, I like pinkish and reddish stuff. And purple. But somehow I always seem to buy things in blue. 
21. I often need help colour coordinating my clothes (and no, I'm not colour blind).
22. British accents. Mmm. British accents, all the way.
23. "I'll stop at the end of the chapter" usually means "I'll stop when I realise it's three a.m. and I have work tomorrow".
24. I meet a lot of random people ALL THE TIME. And sometimes, how I meet them is a convoluted story in itself. 
25. I love driving long distance. 
26. Sometimes, the only reason I'm up-to-date on current news is because of Twitter. 
27. I fail at being Chinese. I still can't differentiate between Mandarin and Hokkien and I really don't understand any other dialects. 
28. Despite that, some of my spoken English takes on distinctively Chinese grammar usage. I suppose I don't live in a vacuum. 

There. Finally done. That actually took me all of 2.5 hours. 

Over to you! 

The book launch to-do list

Lots of stuff to do by Monday!

Anything I've missed out?

The bench #fridayflash

He sat, staring off into space. Life used to happen here. Stories had unfolded. Love was shown. He patted the empty space beside him, wishing that she would appear as she used to, her semi-cutting words, "existential angst, my dear Daniel?"
Her earliest words to him, and her last. Who would have thought?
"Dad, what are you doing here? We've been looking all over for you," Henry said, folding his arms, narrowing his eyes.
"Just... thinking," Daniel replied, looking at his gnarled hands, twisting the single gold band. We can make it work... We made it work.
Charmaine pulled away from her father and sat beside her grandfather, nestling into his side, just like Diane used to. "Are you thinking about Grandma again?"
"Just a little. We used to sit here a lot, you know. Just the two of us."
"Just the two of you?"
"Well, just the two of us and God."
Henry made an impatient sound, glancing at his watch. "Dad, we need to go."
"Go on then. Leave me here."
"Don't be difficult."
"I told you before, I don't need to visit her grave. This was where she was when she died, with me in the garden."
"You were in the hospital - "
"In our hearts, Henry. In our hearts." He looked up at his son wearily. "You don't understand, do you? Then again, you never had much of an imagination. Where did you first meet Sheila?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Just tell me. Humour an old man."
Henry shrugged. "The coffee shop down the street, I guess."
"Still go there much?"
"Yea, sometimes."
"This was where we truly first met. You never forget. I used to talk to the trees, throwing out my grouses at God. She'd come up behind me and laugh at me. This was our place. I don't need a grave to remember her. I just need... to be here."
"But Grandpa, other people don't know here."
He sat for a while, gripping the edge of the bench. "I guess you're right, little girl."
"Grandpa, I'm not little! I'm fourteen!"
"Just the age I was when I first met this bench." Slowly, he stood to go.
As he walked down the familiar neighbourhood, flanked by his son and his granddaughter, he could hear Diane's laugh through the trees.
Existential angst, my dear replacement Matthew? You've proved them wrong, Daniel. 

---

Our show opens tonight.
=)
8 pm
10th and 11th August 2012
Penang Christian Centre.

On channeling Michael Parks Masterson

I was not made to be a director. I suck at it. I mean. I hate telling people what to do. Really. Like really, really really really.

And also, I'm bad at teaching people what to do. Because like, if I know it you should know it too, right? It's like in my head. And I can do it. But I can't tell you how to do it. Or exactly what you should do. (This is also why I should never become a teacher).

I mean, I don't know. How into specifics does a director get? I'm trying to describe what it should look like, but I can't give it to you in specific details about every single thing.

If I were to actually try to tell you like how I think it should be done, I would just have to act it for you. In which case, I should be the actor, and you should be... um. And then it wouldn't work anyway, because the way I do stuff probably isn't going to look or sound natural to you and then you would be awkward, and then I would be even more -

Let's just leave it at that. 

So I've been taking a biiiig breath and recalling Broadway Penang, and attempting to channel Mike. Except it's not working. Instead of sounding in command and like I know what I'm doing, I come out sounding like deranged-PMSing-fire-breathing-dragon-ogress-hulk.

Which is sad.

=(

Well yeah anyway. I have awesome co-directors who channel Mike much better, even if they don't know who he is. DO COME WATCH OKAY. 

P/S: Yes, this is the musical/script I've been talking about since last year, if you've been following this page for that long.

PP/S: I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Life happened. The musical is happening. WORK IS KILLING ME, mainly because when I get home I'm too lazy to do anything else. 

PPP/S: Which reminds me, why is it that when people find out what I do, they ask me when I'm leaving and/or how I stayed for so long? I really don't know. 

PPPP/S: Facebook is a place for misinformation. In case you were wondering about the PP/S and PPP/S above. 

Look, ma, I'm on Broadway! Sort of

So after haunting my e-mail for the whole of Tuesday and then waiting on tenterhooks until Friday, I received a very exciting call in the morning. This was followed by a few excited calls and SMSes and some rather confuzzled, bemused tweets... and then this arrived in my inbox, making it even more real/unreal/surreal and all that jazz.

I am so uberly duberly excited that I tend towards incoherency.
The best way to describe my emotional state now is this:

WWWWWHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=D=D=D=D=D=D=D=D=D=D
*squeal*

I am. Flabbergasted.
Especially since I spent most of Tuesday being a little emo at why no call why no call why no call. Haha.