1 Out of 7 Billion
The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.
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Farewell 2010 – Personal Highlights for the Year That’s About to End
December 29, 2010
It just seemed like yesterday when I was going around the house to chase away the evil spirits of 2009 and usher in 2010.
File photo : Crossover from 2009 to 2010
I can’t believe the year is about to end.
As each year brings its unique sense of joy and disappointment (based on my experience), I thought I’d recap what I think made this year worth remembering. There are many more runners-up to this list but I need to keep it short and sweet.
In random order:
1) Got an iPhone
Yes, I joined the bandwagon and very happy I did. And I’m also glad I’m not addicted to it and I have remained very sociable!
Credit: Apple (taken from www.zdnet.com.au)
2) Joined Twitter
Julu “sold” the idea of joining this social network site to me earlier in the year. Switching to iPhone made sending tweets easier.
3) Travel
3 Countries, 4 Trips
Manila, Philippines – to attend Jak & Jolina’s wedding and catch up with family and friends
Jak & Jolina together forever
Taken at Krispy Kreme in Manila. It was also the time of Philippine elections during my visit.
Hong Kong, SAR – 2x
May 2010 with my sister -- Last time my sister went to HK was in 1988. She wanted Barbie dolls then. Now it's H&M.
Traveled solo in Nov 2010 - Also met up with HK friends
Shanghai, China – Business trip but managed to catch up with Daryl over dinner on National Day.
DP with his unique undercut hairstyle in August.
4) Church
Sang the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st time — Was nervous but my choirmates were very supportive.
Volunteered as a part-time facilitator in the parish kids’ camp
It’s been ages since I was involved in an activity for kids (I did a bit of volunteer work in early 2009 for kids with learning development needs). It’s great to see and feel the energy and enthusiasm of children — I felt younger at least for one day! Thanks Ben & Eve for inviting me to participate.
Helped organise my choir’s National Day celebration — Everyone had fun (adults & kids alike). My first National Day-related party / gathering.
5) Concerts
James Ingram
Show Luo – 3D concert
Jay Chou
6) Family & Home
Auleine’s timely graduation from her “Early Childhood Development” course — Now she is Teacher Ollie to a few (almost) 2-year old kids! Congratulations!
Sophie’s 1st birthday and dog training several months after
Celebrated Thanksgiving for the 1st time — Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for year in, year out but this is officially our first family Thanksgiving party. We’d like to set this as an additional family tradition every year.
The biggest bird that landed on our dining table in 2010
With Julu, Eugene, and Veria
7) Gastronomic adventures around Singapore
Food trips during weekends — Truly the best time to try new places and gain some calories. This collage doesn’t do justice at all.
Horlicks McFlurry — The best thing that ever happened to McFlurry. McDonald’s people, please bring this back in 2011!
Brunch 78 — 78-meter spread of delights on a Sunday afternoon with free-flowing champagne. Went 2x. Thanks Tina for introducing this fantastic event to me.
1st time was with Karen and Nat
2nd time was with Julu and Karl
8 ) Singapore : Home Truly
Integrated Resorts — I had no direct involvement with their construction nor opening but Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa opening their doors to the public is definitely a boost for Singapore tourism. I went to Marina Bay Sands SkyPark 2-3x this year!
Resorts World Sentosa
Marina Bay Sands
53A — Discovered the band during my rounds and they’re brilliant artists. Will continue to support local talent!
With Sara, Alvin, and Bani -- Taken during one of their roadshows to promote their 1st album "Settle the Kettle"
Moved to a new office (same company) – From 4 locations, we are merged into one office site. Modern facilities and conducive for agile working. Most importantly, closer to home (a few bus stops away).
I tried walking home during the first few weeks (10-minutes). I eventually decided to take the bus home instead and save time. Heh.
Opening of the Circle Line — Well, “half-circle” but this promises to be big by 2011. This is the first MRT line I’ve seen open since I moved to Singapore 4.5 years ago.
My sister and I tried a few stations when the Circle Line opened.
Hope your 2010 was memorable too!
F1 Rocks (Singapore)
September 27, 2009
“F1 Rocks” rocks. At least, that’s what I can say for Day 3 which I bought tickets for shortly after I learned Beyonce and Black Eyed Peas were coming to town.
Arrived at Fort Canning at around 630pm. Hassle free entry. We bought food good enough to last til midnight when Beyonce was expected to appear onstage. We were also prepared – with small plastic chairs and picnic cloth in tow.
After not going out for one-too-many Friday and Saturday nights, such weekend was truly an awesome way to get back to partying.
Arriving early has its benefits - we sat a few meters from the stage - a distance my digicam's 10x zoom can bear.
BEP at 9pm, Beyonce at 12midnight
Also saw Daryl several meters away. He trooped over to chat and take a photo. (Photo courtesy of Daryl Pan)
Now with my sister who is an expert in pop music, among other things... (Photo courtesy of Daryl Pan)
Now the main event …
Black Eyed Peas
Beyonce
Kylie Minogue – Live in Singapore
November 30, 2008 — 4 Comments
It’s really awesome that international artists include Singapore as a stop in their concert tours. Why wouldn’t they?
Finally, I get to see Kylie Minogue perform. First time I heard about Kylie was in primary schooland over the past several years, I’ve grown to love her music.
She performed most of the songs I knew except for “Locomotion” and “Especially for You” but that wasn’t a reason for disappointment.
Overall it was a great show with a creative concept over two hours.
I guess the only thing I could suggest is to minimize the 20-30 second blackouts during costume changes — maybe continue playing music or having dancers onstage.
Me, Daryl, Ben, Jeremy, Peiru. We should have done a Kylie spelling for this shot.
Small Sunday BBQ Gathering
September 8, 2008
I organised a small BBQ gathering at my place and invited new friends over. By ”new friends” I mean friends I’ve known for less than 6 months.
I’m able to host a maximum of 20 people (bordering on the chaotic due to space limitation). However, the ideal number would be 10-12 so everyone can find a comfortable spot.
If I remember correctly, this is only the 3rd time I’m holding a BBQ party where there were stuff grilled in the BBQ pit. However, I’ve hosted several lunches/ dinners over the past 2 years.
This BBQ was different from the previous two in that I hired a BBQ Assistant. For a certain fee, this guy would take care of setting the fire, grilling the ordered food, and reheating the food if necessary. This was a huge relief.
Thanks to Alex the BBQ Assistant
Dinner started slightly after 730pm. Good food (according to my guests) which was followed by a moderate amount of alcohol. Finally, I have friends to help consume a few bottles I had purchased at Changi Airport during my recent trips. And we drank in a rather “sophisticated” fashion via drinking games I’ve never played before. Immensely crazy but these games kept everyone alive and kicking.
I don't think we've even started drinking when this shot was taken. Photo courtesy of Peiru.
Me, John, Daryl, Ben. Photo courtesy of Peiru.
After dinner, we then went up to my place to chillout and play boardgames.
Jeremy, Peiru, Rex heading up to my unit.
Daryl, Peiru, Ben, Pierre (zzzz)
Jeremy, Valerie, Daryl, and John preparing for their 30-sec dance number for their team
What could have been a quiet / boring Sunday night became an outrageous one filled with animated (good) conversation that ended close to midnight. Thanks guys for coming over. Catch up again next time.
Some useful info
Hamley’s London (where I got “The Big Taboo” boardgame)
Singfest 2008 – Day 2
August 3, 2008
I’m about to leave to catch Day 2 of Singfest 2008. This will be my first outdoor concert (as far as I can remember) and first time to ever be in one at Fort Canning Park. I dread the heat (and the rain, but hopefully we will be blessed with good weather) but look forward to seeing the Pussycat Dolls, Alicia Keys, Rick Astley, Jason Mraz, and One Republic. Don’t know much about Stacie Orrico, Jamie Scott & the Town, Panic at the Disco but I’m sure I will have basic appreciation of their type of music by midnight tonight!
—–
Highlights from Singfest 2008
- Orderly journey to the main entrance
Auleine, Jenna and I arrived at Fort Canning at around 230pm. Fanni followed shortly after. It took an hour for us to reach the entrance. No bag inspection. This guaranteed faster entry but I feel they should have included it given the magnitude of the event.
The event started half an hour late so I was not surprised the event ended beyond midnight including mandatory gaps for set up.
Sunday afternoon muscle exercise - 8 bottles of water in a box. Turned out to be a good decision as it was difficult to go back to the food/drink area.
Security implemented a phased entry to minimize chaos. I had to get some bottles of water so was temporarily separated from the group who was part of the previous batch that moved with the crowd.
We looked for Jin and Mel who came in slightly earlier than we did. They said they were in a much better location and suggested we move to their spot. As we swam through the sea of humanity, I bumped into another friend Daryl who was with another friend (and I’m sure waiting for several more).
Family/friends whom I spent hours at Singfest with:
Auleine (my sister), who is visiting Singapore with my mom this month.
Jin and Mel
Clockwise after me : Fanni, Jenna, and Wallace
Based on audience impact (intensity of shrieks and speed of applause within 10 seconds, haha) during their performance, I’d say the runaway winners were the (drumroll…) Pussycat Dolls.
These dolls were on fire and would have scared sweet and demure Barbie to death!
I have to say that if the PCDs were not part of SingFest, I would not have bothered getting a ticket for Day 2. Sadly, their performance captivated the audience more than Alicia Keys’ whose type of music catered only to a certain portion of the spectators.
The 1st runner up would be Jason Mraz who is an eclectic artist with multiple and varied stylistic influences, including pop, rock, folk, jazz, country, and hip hop (Wikipedia). I’ve heard his songs before. Quite upbeat and easy to listen to. Jason is a crowd pleaser and I will seriously consider getting a good seat should he hold a concert in Singapore next time.
Honorable mention will have to be my ultimate retro hero Rick Astley. In spite of his has-been status, he has not lost his charm and confidence. I have to admit that I grew up and probably began appreciating music big time during the era when his songs became extremely popular. Needless to say, I knew all the songs he performed at Singfest. His songs (especially “Never Gonna Give You Up”) continue to be immortalised by the youth of Singapore today, with matching synchronised dancing moves. Rick has really never given up!
I have to say something about Alicia Keys as she was the biggest star of the night (multi-awarded Grammy winner), appearing in all publicity materials with the heaviest billing. My heart goes out to her for giving her best to awe the audience but I can’t blame several people who decided to head home midway as it was already very late into the night (1130pm thereabouts). I also saw (though could count with my fingers) people whose heads were touching bent knees sleeping. I’m not a fan of her music but was hoping to be converted after the show. Sadly, I wasn’t but I will continue to appreciate her craft as and when I come across it.
Other perfomers on Day 2:
Stacie Orrico
Jamie Scott and the Town
One Republic, largely popular due to the song, "Apologize"
Panic at the Disco
Noteworthy:
1) I saw Andrea Fonseka , an increasingly popular celebrity here in Singapore. She gamely posed when she saw me positioning my digicam right by the entrance.
2) Individuals who did not brave the crowds and the rather pricey concert ticket.
3) There was a major microphone/speaker problem during Panic at the Disco’s performance. The audience could not hear anything yet the band continued playing as if there wasn’t anything wrong.
- This isn’t “Y” for YMCA. Audience signalling that no music can be heard. See the lady on the bottom right seemingly looking back at the sound booth.
4) There was a Levi’s fashion before the last three performances of the night. Levi’s had a tie up with Citibank where you could buy a Singfest ticket + Levi’s shirt charged to one’s Citibank credit card for only S$139. Good deal. I think they earned a lot through the promo. Honestly though, I don’t think the fashion show appealed much and would doubt how effective it was in getting people to visit stores next time.
5) Digicams came in all shapes and sizes. I love this shot. Expect videos to be made available on You Tube in due course.
6) The aftermath
Litter Free Singapore (or not)
Congrats to the team behind Singfest 2008. It’s amazing how all these artists were brought together in one night!
See more of the Pussycat Dolls during Singfest here.
See more of the rest of the artists during Singfest here.
