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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Happy Birthday to Me
June 4, 2009
Another birthday has gone by and I feel truly blessed a lot of people remembered. Received calls, SMS, emails and Facebook wall posts/messages.
The celebration started shortly after midnight/ crossover to June 4. I arrived home with mom and Auleine surprising me with a birthday cake and balloons upon entering the house. Whoa, have never held balloons in a long time (not that I had been hoping to all this time). For age confidentiality reasons, I am only publishing the photo with the balloons. The birthday cake had big and small candles. :p
Happy Birthday to me!
Spent 4 June on one day leave from work and went running around town the whole day before heading to Kallang …
1) for dinner with the family (Dad was busy celebrating my birthday while overseas; he also kept calling or asking mom for my whereabouts !) …
Thai and Teochew menu
Cereal prawns - one of my fave Singapore dishes
Thai Village (5 Stadium Walk, #01-50 Leisure Park Kallang; Ph 6440 2292)
Link : http://www.thaivillagerestaurant.com.sg/
2) The Pussycat Dolls — Doll Domination World Tour in Singapore
Watching this show fulfills my promise post-SingFest in August 2008 that I will catch their full-length concert should they visit Singapore again. Learned about their world tour via Sistic and booked seats immediately.
Show ran for 1.5 hours. Just right though I expected it to have a much longer encore. Stage was simple — they made up for it by using most of it during the night.
One doll was missing (forgot who as I only recognise Nicole, the lead singer) due to a fractured rib (ouch) and her absence was noticeable because there seemed to be space for another person while they danced on stage. Talk about being there in spirit!
Photos
L-R: me, Fanni, Kristy, Wee Siong
The fam
The most expensive section was free standing. Don't think I could last standing for 2 hours or so.
More photos on my Zenfolio site (link on right side of the page — Leo’s Photos)
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!
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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.
