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Saturday, January 22, 2005
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This is ridiculous.
ABSOLUTELY the LAST RETAIL BINGE.
I bought ANOTHER 2 cds.
*closes eyes and does a yoga posture*
"Determination Yi-san!"
"Hai!"
Ohhhmmmmm~
But they are both parallel imported so its another $12.50 for two albums - Chen Kun and Li Sen Jie.
So since my first CD purchase at chinatown two days before my birthday. (30th Dec 2004)
Till now : 22nd Jan 2005.
In less than a month,
i bought ...
6 Parallel Imported CDs
5 Original CDS
-----------------------
11 Albums
A Grand Total of
130 dollars spent on Album purchase.
R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S-L-Y E-X-T-R-A-V-A-G-A-N-T
The only way to justify such incorrigible behaviour is that i've been pretty 'reclusive' and saved quite a bit of money by NOT going out. Er. And i earned some money recently too (not from gambling) plus my birthday ang paos. But still. *lowers head down in shame*
I SHALL RESTRICT MYSELF! I SHALL!
The next album i WILL allow myself to buy is either :
1) Sandy Lam's
2) Tori Amos'
3) Jiang Mei Qi's
4) Yang Nai Wen's
5) Damien Rice's
NO OTHER PERSON. I SWEAR! (er. unless of cos yanzi,jay, ken hirai or S.H.E. decides to come out with an album this soon.) (Orrrrr.... some totally mindblowing newcomer decides to come out with an album. BUT. BUT BUT BUT. (i know for a mmt there, all u people were thinking : "cheah. giving yourself a way out." to be FAIR, i can only buy it if junjie, dennis and paul all agree that its worth buying --> to make sure i dun happily talk myself into believing someone is really good jus so i can spend. *grumble* )
I'm terrible. I still haven't gotten my Peng Jing Hui and Huang Lie Chuan albums yet. No choice. You can't win. hmmrph.
SO NO MORE CHINATOWN FOR ME. NO MORE! *in anguish*
Well anyway, (zhao) Aurora isn't that bad. Pretty mainstream but hey, i must admit that among all the female pop singers that i have no special preferences for (which means omitting my usual golden girls) , she has the voice with most potential for development. She reminds me a little of Yanzi. Less unique but more power. There was this song in her album where she sang a "shan1 ge1" and she isn't too bad man. But the songs are really quite ... urg. but oh well. $4.90. what did you expect. But "Aurora" is a nice song. (shuddup qisheng)
Anyway i met up with qisheng today. After like 5 mths i think. haha. he jus decided to call me when i was borrowing my next batch of books fm bp library . The reason being , he realised he hasn't called me in ages. -_-* haha. he's quite funny. tickles me. den we met up in chinatown to buy cds. AND HEY. he's gonna be a CAMBRIDGE KID! haha. today we were discussing if he 'looked' cambridge and whether he 'can' be 'cambridge'. He thinks he's not cut out for the school life but we both felt cam is too prestigious to reject. >:) But oh well, i dun think anyone looks remotely cambridge if you're talking in the 'dictionary' sense. *smirk* Imagine adele's oxfordian. Hullo. They dun want nerds/muggertoads either. But qisheng , you're a bit too sao bao for cam too la. *sniggers*
I was telling qisheng that i REFUSE to let the word 'mug' ever appear in my list of vocabulary in uni life. That's such a LOCAL JC term. *sneers* I really want to have a fruitful studylife : where i ENJOY studying and i never have to stuff info down my throat like i used to in JC physics n F Maths. Although there will def. be tough times where there is information overload and you remember facts to cope with exams but i will ensure that i digest everything at the end of the day. I hope i'll have a brand new experience in my education. No more singapore jc system le. brr.
both jj and qisheng got jay's live concert album where he performed dao dai. The album includes a vcd with all the mtvs for Qi Li xiang and a calender poster of Jay. Not too bad but i never ever collect such stuff. A waste of money i feel. besides, i never liked live versions very much.
i have enough albums to last me 2 months of listening. good.
after i met the two, met dad n mom for dinner at honjin at raffles place. had a jap buffet. stuffed. but happily stuffed. pretty good quality today and i drank a few glasses of wine. (zhao : the place we went w yc)
Another reason why i dun wanna grow up : I dun ever wanna pay for my own meals or alcohol.
My mom was hiccuping for a good 15 min from the rest. all the way back home.
She's RIDICULOUS. hahhaha. she kept insisting she can't stop.
I was trying to SAVE her by asking her to hold her breath but u know how AUNTIE-MOMS are like.
* Mom pinches her nose and takes in the hugest breath ever*
* 7 sec *
* EXHALES FORCEFULLY AND WHINES "CANNOT LE CANNOT LE. TAI4 XING1 KU3 LE." *
....
So i told her " Mom, you've gotta hold on A BIT LONGER LA "
And she tried again. But this time she was SINGING.
Then i asked her
" Er Mom. Why are u singing in such a voice ? "
" Cos i'm holding my breath. "
Right. So she was singing and holding her breath at the same time. Its funny how she thinks pinching her nose means she is holding her breath.
So she stubbornly refused to try cos the "HOLDING HER BREATH" didn't work. But kept complaining thruout the car ride as her hiccuping continued. So i got really exasperated when we were about to reach home and i grabbed her from behind, one hand pinching her nose and one hand covering her mouth.
She tried.
1-2-3.........17
She started whacking me.
1-2-3...5
I let go.
" WAH! NI YAO MOU SHA WO RIGHT! SO XING KU! " *coughs and tries desperately to take in breaths"
Then i explained to her , " AIYO MA, holding breath doesn't mean hold till you need breath but holding until you feel tortured so it works against hiccup la "
And VOILA. her hiccups went away.
tsk tsk. mums.
haha. my dad was demanding i write a xiu1 qi1 shu1 for him in japanese (jus cos we ate at a japanese restaurant. *roll eyes* ) cos my mum said sth like " aiyah, best if you can come sweden with us mah...." den adding behind in a whisper " otherwise no money to spend ". heheh. and later when we reached home, he asked for a xiu1 qi1 shu1 again. cos my mom was asking him why he took e initiative to remove the curtains to wash (cos she was afraid he would spoil the washing machine by washing both at e same time) den my dad started yelping : "WAH! help u wash still get scolded ar! wah! Zheng yi zheng yi , qu4 xie3 xiu1 qi1 shu1 (go write a divorce-your-wife letter)"
My dad and mom are real silly. On the car this morning, they had this debate over some hokkien phrase i couldn't really get . Sth about their friends (this couple) being "young wife old husband" and my dad was saying stuff like
" Why I go laser my eyes ? Cos I know OBVIOUSLY i look better with specs so i try to tu1 chu1 ur beauty by lasering my eyes! Why I go cut my hair so short until i look old (real ugly. urg) ? Cos i can make you look prettier! "
Den my mom was doubling in laughter and adding,
" ya lor ya lor. Like how you purposely mismatch your clothing la, how you cut your fingers so their so short and ugly la , how you make your toes all rotten n smelly la "
Den my dad said very magnanimously,
" no no . Wo men zuo4 ren2 must jiang3 liang2 xin1 (must answer to our conscience). those are inborn one, not i purposely do one. "
haha. full of crap. like watching xiang4 sheng1. i adore the 2 of them.
our family is always either trying to suan1 one another or be sarcastic. like how my mom will say (in e way where she is fishing for compliments) : " Aiyo, some people house one person also take so long to do spring cleaning, if clean our house i dunno how le " and den my dad will hold my mom's wrist and raise her hand up high in the air and shout " HOORAY! " followed by " PECK JOON! (mom's name) " followed by " BEST HOUSEWIFE! " haha. den i will be cheering for her by the side. and my mom will have this half-irritated, half-amused look while trying to look all smug and arrogant. haha. we're always bullying my mom cos she's e least sarcastic one in e family.
isn't it getting more understandable why i turned out like that? *hurhur*
~
4 new books : 3 novels and 1 biography on Deng Xiao Ping by her daughter on his experiences during the Cultural Revolution.
Reading the biography now. Its a bit tough. Cos the appointment names are so confusing. Like district chief secretary and central chief secretary (very blunt translations). But at the same time, its rather interesting to see how Mao gradually turned the party towards extreme left-wing-ism and finally start the C.R.
Politik.
And it didn't help that junjie was asking if Shanghai was in China when i was reading my book at BK today.
No it didn't help either when i told him bout how poets, writers, musicians etc were forced to work in farms for corrective service and he asked " oh no. what about Li Bai ? "
OR when he later tried again , " What about Na Ying ? "
*takes a deep breath with eyes closed*
*weak smile*
it's okay. i'll be fine.
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Tuesday, January 18, 2005
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i'm as fickle as a trickle. (a trickle of WAT i dun know.)
i realised i enjoy making resolutions and taking sides and having stands. With absolutely no thought given to its accuracy or permanence.
i never like sitting on the fence , i never like having no opinion , i never like being undecided. that's prob why i never left MCQ questions blank even if i had no idea what the correct answer was. I'll jus fill it up and get back to it. (the troublesome capsule shading prob had alot to contribute to this habit of mine of course.)
So most of the time i firmly decide on something. Small or big. And i always voice it out. SOMETIMES i think i make a decision so i have something to say. So it seems like i have a strong character.
Like "i'll def. go watch this show / buy this CD / eat at this place. "
so i always end up with a hundred items on my to-do list but then somehow or another, i will lose my interest. And i decide on not another ITEM but another LIST altogether. But cos i have a pretty good memory, i still remember all the things i wanted to do but don't want to do anymore but is still on my to do list.
Or when i get judgemental . I am one of fastest people on earth to make impressions (and very strong ones).
First impression = I hate you = You'll take ALOT of fate to flip the coin.
Oh but dun worry (who is!), i'm fickle remember?
Or when i say i am something. I say i am this. I say i am that. I say all of that at the spur of the moment. The next minute i don't feel the same anymore and i cannot be bothered to clear it up so i end up making contradicting statements.
I think ml n jj know of this characteristic of mine, as such, they take what i say with half the attention it deserves and downplay my credibility. Of course they don't DOUBT me (i'm always sincere at that very moment) but they doubt the validity of my watever-u-call-it. The only way to ever catch them by surprise (a sudden migration of an entire school of thought or declaring that i will sleep around can never do that cos its all pre-empt now) is to actually STICK with a decision. But that takes eternity. Which is a very long time (as long as i live). So i guess i'll carry on being fickle oh me.
And its really funny when i talk to meiling cos we both agreed i was fickle (i agreed at that moment), and cos of that, whenever i tell her some absolutely (from surface value) mind-blowing like " i have fallen in love with XXX " or " i have decided i will never eat ice cream ever again " with all determination of a marathon runner and all firmness of a old hen's wing and all the severity of a police statement, i KNOW she doesn't really believe me. AND AT THAT MOMENT, I am as aware of her suspicions as i am resolute to make her believe in me. And its all very funny as i try to convince her with "REALLY REALLY"s. But its almost as believable as huili divorcing chocalates, christine going vegetarian or junjie saving up this month's salary.
But there are times i regret diving into conclusions or decisions too quickly. Especially when it involves the human factor. It makes situations much trickier. Its usually irreversible (especially when action is taken) and eventually regrettable. But because i'm an impulse person who can never compromise his instincts or desires (i emphasise again : at that moment ), i will do whatever i think best and usually it means making or breaking relationships. But usually i avoid being too rash when it comes to such issues, because not only feelings (which are superficial : ALFIE!) but ALOT OF face (mian4 zi3) is at stake. And there is nothing i hate more than feeling embarrassed or ashamed. (which is ANOTHER of my 'statements'. i think i've repeated this 40 times with different subjects at the end of the sentence)
And everytime i come to a conclusion i am always sure this will be the one that will stick. this will be THE one. SURER than a SHEARER. THE guiding light for the rest of my life. THE grounding principle. THE core value in me. And most of the time, give me a month at most,
i make another conclusion.
Its irritating. Its one of those vicious cycle crap things.
Like how the defensive person will never change cos he wun take in criticisms in the first place.
How the forgetful person will never remember to change his forgetful ways.
How the fickle minded person will decide that he wasn't fickle minded 2 days later.
or 2 min later.
I think i'm not THAT fickle actually.
hmm.
~
I spent $100 on CDs in 3 weeks.
Urg. I feel a bit uncomfortable (not guilty not poor) but...
STILL REALLY HAPPY i get to own SO MANY CDS AND SONGS. Muahahhaa.
Okay the albums i bought :
Mavis Fan Xiao Xuan - " Hai You Bie De Ban Fa Ma? "
Tori Amos - " Little Earthquakes " (FINALLY)
Zhang Shao Han - "Aurora"
Lisa Ono - " Dan Mons sth sth "
Lisa Ono - " NAIMA - meu anjo "
Ken Hirai - "SentimentaLovers"
Ken Hirai - "Ken's Bar" (from KYZ at $5 - what. a. freaking. steal.)
Chemistry - "The Way We Were"
Yang Nai Wen - "One"
WOW. Parallel Import is the WAY TO GO man. Its cheaper than a Macdonalds Fat Super Value Fat Meal (Fat). But of course Tori was original (bows down humbly to her Highness). Ken Hirai , Chemistry , YNW and Mavis were original too. But good ol' Chinatown sells them much much cheaper. On average 16 bucks.
And thanks to dennis, i've got some other albums to listen to!
So i've been trying two albums i really wanted to buy (yea yea "REALLY" wanted to) on my player :
Keane - "Hopes and Fears"
Alicia Keys - " Diary of Alicia Keys "
Oh and also Tori's " To Venus and Back " which ML, LH and Chris got me. Double CD and one of them with all new tracks except for one! and JJ will share Jacky Cheung's Live Concert CD of covers of Chinese Pop Classics like "ting hai", "tian hei hei" , "ai wo bie zou" etc.
And yummy yummy in my tummy, it has been an immensely pleasurable and lifting experience with all these albums, music makes our world go round and round and so freaking round, it may very well be a ball.
I am discarding my old listening habit of having a truckload of chinese pop classics i love (emphasis : "love" not "loved" , i still love the songs) and a miserable number of new albums. And i have replaced it with about 12-13 NEW albums containing NEW MUSIC to get intoxicated with , NEW LYRICS to electrify my literary senses and NEW VOICES to simply, GAWK at. All these were very inspired by Dennis' adventurous style in music listening i got to know about.
For now, i find the appropriate road journey (long enough) to listen to an entire album without track shuffling (something i derived from Paul's care taken in track numbering for our albums : it DOES matter. there IS a reason why they chose this order of tracks).
To appreciate not only the voices and tunes, but also instruments chose, from the drumbeats to the solitary ringing of a bell at some pt of time, the production (bian1 qu3), the harmony, the choice of key, the style of singing and back again to (to me) bloody important lyrics. I managed to discuss alot of these stuff with Dennis and cos both of us are mere appreciators and hardly musicians (if u don't count singing in), there is no fear of sounding amateurish or making silly remarks.
And music is still a hobby but much more refined. Don't worry guys, i still LOVE S.H.E. and Yanzi. The point being i have derived from myself a significance for Chinese Pop (even though it is far from mature) and there is so much more "feel" with mandarin lyrics that i can never give up.
The issue now is how to combine the merits of mandarin lyrics and chinese-pop-styled singing (no ABC Wang Lee Hom or Machi rapping for me) with the diversity and developments of Western Music. And not forgetting JPOP and its uniqueness. Like Ken Hirai who very successfully gave R&B a Japanese touch. And Lisa Ono who broke boundaries with Bossa Nova.
On top of this, i am trying to concentrate on the changes of individual singer/songwriters. On their growth and changes in style. There is Yang Nai Wen whose first album "One" was quite tough to finish because of completely varying styles and had to take some time before i could digest her music. And i've seen her go into unpopular hardcore rock chick wanna be in her 2nd. And finally my fav. album her 3rd where she found her direction and churned out not similar but homogenous compositions. She reminds me of Tori when she was still Ellen.
Or ken hirai whose album " gaining thru losing " was a little too westernised. And "ken's bar" where he attempted english covers with his unique singing fashion (very successful). And finally in "SentimentaLovers" where i think he soared with a perfect balance of JPOP and western influenced R&B. And oh his voice is to DIE for. Tops.
And there's always the very emotional department where we try to listen to the singer tell us about their lives. Like Mavis Fan's "Hai You Bie De Ban Fa Ma" where critics readily assumed to be depressed and full of angst but upon hearing , i found not exceptionally dark or sad but a little emptiness crossed with bitterness and a lot of feelings of being lost. But what fortune it is to be able to dedicate an entire album, an entire musical production to reflecting what you feel and experience at diff moments of your life, telling it to the world like how writers use their words to express themselves.
And comparision. Between a few piano-based albums, Alicia Keys, Keane, Mavis Fan and of cos my dear Tori (whose NEWEST ALBUM is SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE IN FEB! : "THE BEEKEEPER" Yip! Yip!). I really like Alicia Keys' "Diary of Alicia Keys" . rhythmic tunes, sensual singing, clever bian1 qu3. Keane's vocalist has a superb voice. Yum. and Tori is still Tori. ROWRRRRR.
But NO MORE ALBUM PURCHASE FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS! Erm maybe 2 more.
Huang Lie Chuan's and Chen Kun's. I need some tests before hand tho.
Music. Music. Music.
so i say
thank you for the
music.
Music. Music. Music.
~
I can't believe i found my Mei Li Ren Sheng VCD at HMV Heeren today.
WHAT FREAKING LUCK.
HURRAH! 02 Golden Horse Award : Awarded Best Film.
I shall sweetly and slowly chew at it one of these days.
~
I got to drive alone today. *spastic smile*
Heh. Cos dad went to thai for 3 days and bro's at sweden ( as i mentioned ) so i volunteered to fetch mommy to 800 metre away rail mall den conveniently asked if i could send the Tian Cha bottles to Ivan at Tech Whye after i dropped her. So i was alone . ALONE. actually no big deal cos i drive alot on normal roads cos of army (not alot actually , but cos of e recent LCK to Tekong 49 km journey, i have tt impression of driving alot.) Den i drove to my granddad's place near home alone. ALONE. heh.
Its quite okay but i hope i can get mom to let me drive to NUS to fetch SOMEONE. ANYONE. heh. lousy huili n chris no time this week to go eat otherwise maybe can drive them ard. maybe fetch boon or lihui instead. :)
~
Watched Alfie with Boon instead.
Interesting show. Done in self-narration fashion where Jude Law actually TURNS to the camera and talks to the audience. It was quite irritating at first cos i found the narration a bit cheesy cos you know how they always have to crack jokes in front of the cam. But cos it was Jude Law and he was brit, it made it much easier to digest. He SURE suits the role. Haha. Perfect. Smooth and slick. But so vulnerable and fragile at times. You can't help feeling sorry for this heartless casanova at times even though you are just as sorry for e 101 women he dumped. Liked the way they talked about relationship, found it quite easy to relate to and enlightening at some parts. Didn't like the way it got a bit evaluative and conclusive at the end, like moral-of-the-story sort but decided it was the only way to end the movie. Otherwise it would be quite ally mcbealish. No moral implications = no satisfactory ending. Loved the cinematography. How it got Vogue photoshoots-like half way or how it was cut in a way to stagger reality and imagination or how they did short skipping of images fm past to present , back n forth (like Jude be4 he took off his scarf and after) to put emphasis on his body actions giving us more to play with on his emotions and eventually character development. A good 7/10. :) YAY! Now i wanna watch the Aviator. Its not cos of e stupid Golden Globe or watever it is, i wanted to watch it be4 hand. cos of 4/5 reviews. hee. hee.
haven't finished my 8cm thick chinese book (862 pages) (SHIT. i realised there are 30 missing pages! luckily its not a continuous story. gosh. bastardy inconsiderate book users. PUI. ) its due today. OVERDUE tml. embarrassing. 2 weeks cant finish 3 books. useless bum zheng yi.
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