Fields of Gold - Sting and Emi Fujita

There had been a few questions thrown at me recently, stirred up certain memories and then I remembered this song.

I first heard Emi Fujita's version, no thanks to the 小三 which I didn't know existed then.

Then there was Sting's version.

Eva Cassidy sang it too, but I still preferred these 2 versions.

I knew Emi Fujita came to Singapore a couple of time, wondering when is she coming again...

Back!

Just came back from a cruise holiday. It was much better than I envisaged it to be - my first thoughts were "cramped spaces + no-where to turn cabins" and "booorrriiiinnngg...!".

Surprising, there were more things to do than if I had been on a 5D4N holiday. Probably cos my "holiday time" is maximised from the time I step on the ship till the time I step off the gangway. Pity though the time for the Phuket port of call is too short. I can sure do with a lot more time at Patong beach, sipping beer, looking at the sunset.

Oh and the cabins' not that bad, considering that there was even space to throw in a small couch in front of the teevee.

Well, possibly it was also cos there weren't so many people on board that ship, judging by the number of deck chairs there were unoccupied and assuming that that the ship is prepped for that event.

A well rested holiday. And I didn't even remember my work woes (of course reality hit on Friday night when I turn on my laptop. Booooo!~)

Anyway photos on FB :)

Biutiful

Some people watch movies as a form of escapism, where you watch the characters live the lives which will never happen in you lifetime, and derive some form of kick from the show. Well, that's the magic of movie.

Which also explained why there were people who suffered post-Avatar blues.

In you belong to the susceptible group, don't ever watch Biutiful.

The pains and heartaches are so real that it was disconcerting to watch. Watching a man about to dying, and fighting against time to do whatever he can. To see the underbelly of a society, the under-privileged and the exploited.

It has a happy ending nonetheless. In the show, Uxbal's spiritual mentor (I'm not sure who she was, but it appeared to be that case), when Uxbal lamented that he couldn't die because he had to take care of his children, she told him that it wasn't him that was taking care of the children. it was the universe, and what he could do was only to prepare them.

How true- you can only prepare up to your limit, and the rest, it's really beyond you. Just let the universe handles it.

Mid year springclearning

Hmm..I better buy some more hangers, I thought looking at the pile of clothes that I swore that I will never fold and chuck at the end of the cupboard, never to see daylight until:-

(i) I remember to iron them, which usually doesn't happen if I can help it (crinkle free clothes are the saviour for any workday); or

(ii) I rediscover them in the next spring-clearning.

Which was what happened - I "rediscovered" them after an impromptu clearing of the cupboard 2 weeks ago.

One night after work, I was putting stuff back into my cupboard and an avalanche happened - a pile of clothes stacked too haphazardly finally defied gravity and toppled all over. Ack. Not a pretty sight, trust me.

I was like..what? Am I living in a pig sty???

And that led to an impromptu spring-cleaning of one side of that cupboard. And start of the usual dilemma when taking out old clothes:

- Oohh..I liked it so much when I bought it..

- But it's such a waste, I only wore it once! (and trying not to remember exactly why I only wore it that once)

- I am sure I will wear this again (And nothing else that I can match it with..)

- Hmm ...I can definitely fit into this again soon~ (I still probably sure I can still! If I become more discipline in my exercise routine..)

But in the end I decided to harden my heart and only took back in those I DEFINITELY will wear instead of those which I may only don in my fantasy. And left the ones which I wanted in a pile so that I would hang them up in plain view so I will not go on a shopping spree again thinking that I have nothing to wear.

And so those clothes are still in the pile..because...erm..I ran out of hangers.

Easy, just buy hangers right?

I then looked at my wardrobe in dismay. The problem is that I'm not sure if I can squeeze in any more stuff on hangers into my wardrobe =.=".

Ok, the truth is out. I have been a hoarder the past few years, going through the motion every year, taking out clothes intending to chuck them and then changing my mind, with the promise that "I think I will definitely wear that again!" and hung them back to the wardrobe.

So today, I hardened my heart. Enough is enough! I started taking out every single piece of item in the wardrobe and mentally went "Yes..No..No..Yes..Erm..hmm..Yes..argh..No.!! You know you will never be caught dead in that!"

And after that, within the "Yes" pile, there were those "Definitely Yes!" pieces that went back to the wardrobe straight away. And there were the "Maybe..Yes", which I had to try on piece by piece to convince myself that I would never fit/wear those ever again.

And the same went for the "No" pile. Going through the "Yes" pile first had its benefit..the "Definitely Yes" and "Maybe Yes" exercise had made it easier to set the benchmark on what keeprs, so I don't think I have kept any of the "No" pile. Not to mention that the wardrobe is already decently full to remind me that I have enough clothes to go by already.

And the results...

Looks better. The pre- photos are so horrifying that I refuse to put them up.

Guess it was right not to buy more hangers

Going to donate out the clothes, all in good condition. And I promise, I shall not succumb to impulsive shopping again! :x

Edith Piaf La Vie En Rose

I was tempted to pick up French because of Emilie Simon.

Alas, like any other temptations, I started to rationalise..

- what if I need to work OT?

- what if I cannot persevere through the evening classes, feeling hungry/sleepy/grouchy....

- what if...

hmm..

Anyway got a free tix to watch "No Regrets, A Tribute to Edith Piaf" and I was tempted again.

Can't remember when did I come across Edith Piaf..probably it was when I was scouring around on more info on Emilie Simon that I came across some of her old songs in Youtube. Then I learnt that she was the original singer of La Vie En Rose. The song that is so familiar and iconic that I'm sure that many people would have heard before not knowing what it's called. (And the song helped me win some tickets to Cheer Chen concert last year :D)

Then it was "Non, je ne regrette rien" - before it became popular in Inception. How did I come across it? Erm...when I was scouring the net again on a particular subject and saw that someone actually did a tattoo using those words.

And of course, my favourite website wikipedia spewed more info on this legendary singer and her colourful life.

So when a friend asked if I was interested to watch an Edith Piaf tribute, I immediately said yes :)

It was a great show! However within the min of the start of the show, it then dawned on me (other than locking it in the calendar, the exact fact didn't cross my mind) that heck...even though Edith Piaf did sung English versions of her songs, it's a tribute to her dummo, and obviously the show would cover her French songs! And not if I know any French!

But thank goodness, about half the songs were in English, and even for those in French, the narration of each song by Hossan Leong introduced the story to each of them, which were arranged and sung so well that you can feel the emotions stirred just listening to them.

Of course, it would have been better if I understood French. And sooooo....hmm..

Although there had been many other covers, but nothing beats the original. In black and white some more..gives the song more flavour :)

Another year has passed..

Even though didn't do anything significant, had a good day nonetheless :)

Picked up new passport in the morning, rushed for the facial appointment, met friend for lunch (and picked up the goodies from Tabao China..it is gg to be a bane to all ladies in Singapore if there is an easy mean to buy stuff easily from Tabao).

Went to pray at Si Bei Lor after lunch for good health and peace..and was given good advice. After that went to kay poh and followed the friend to her appointment at Sloane Clinic. One thing is for sure, beauty doesn't come cheap :x

At the end of the day, had family dinner at place near home. Went home and had a really nice durian cake this year.

And that ends the day.

Another year starts now..

李宇春 － 会跳舞的文艺青年

第一次听到这首歌，很喜欢这把歌声。

没想到竟然是李宇春。之前，她那首 Give Me Five 听得我每次起鸡皮疙瘩。看来，这首歌更突出她的声线。

MV是拍的很美....但是李宇春的肢体语言...嗯....加油吧....

General Election 2011

The hottest topic in town is the General Election nonetheless. With all the constituencies contested except for one, majority of Singaporeans will have to make a choice to or for the incumbent party, which was never the case. It just made it harder for the incumbent, having to persuade why the people should give it the mandate to carry the country forward for another 5 years.

It was good that I was pondering over my last draft post on GE..before I heard that the company sent out an advisory on sharing personal opinion over the internet and other social networking platforms. Oh well....I'll still continue to watch all the rallies through streaming, and read the online debates.

It will be interesting to see how the result will turn out. But whatever it is, I hope that the chosen ones will fulfill their promises to carry the nation well for another 5 years.