Is it Thursday already? Wow, seems the past few days have been really busy ones. Yesterday's 4-12 shift was pretty good 'cos I was in resus, but consult got a little out of hand -- don't ask me why people suddenly showed up at the ER on a Thursday evening of all things -- so I was deployed outside to help clear the crowd before the night shift turned up and suffered the rest of the call. Thank goodness it became pretty manageable at around 11pm. But it was still busy for the ward docs, 'cos I think I admitted almost all the patients I saw in resus -- some were really sick, some just wanted to be admitted for social reasons or general anxiety about their health. Sigh. I'm just glad I'm not on the receiving end anymore. :) *pat on the back for those upstairs who kena these funny admissions last night*

Anyway, I think all the late working hours are taking their toll on me. I've now got 3 -- THREE! -- mouth ulcers to contend with. No joke when you have to talk non-stop for 8 hours straight, and have little opportunity to drink water to soothe the dryness and pain. Dosing myself with everything from sugar-cane juice, to water chestnuts and barley. Hope my agony will end by tomorrow. Ouch.

Recommendations for some leisurely activities:

Yummy food -- Borders Bistro . Located next to the Borders bookstore in Orchard Road, it boasts a menu that greatly underplays the actual dish. I tried the salmon pasta, while my mom took the turkey, and our friend ordered the seafood linguini. Absolute heaven -- and I am NOT kidding here! The service is excellent, the prices quite reasonable (healthcare workers get a whopping 25% discount, so make sure you bring your employee card along), and the ambience enjoyable, whether in the restaurant itself or dining al fresco. I'm just waiting for another opportunity to return. :)

Great music -- Mezzanine at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel. I literally stumbled across this lovely little lounge / bar one evening after attending a church celebration dinner. A trio of Filipinos takes the helm, strumming guitars and plucking a cello as they do swoon-worthy renditions of well-loved oldies and loads of requests from the audience. I asked for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" while I was there ( you know, 'cos Clay sang it, haha! ), and was impressed with their gentle yet inspiring version. Later, they sang "Spanish Harlem", some pieces from The Everly Brothers, and even "Bengawan Solo" and a couple of Chinese songs! They're extremely friendly, and go around chatting with everyone. If you plan on dining at the hotel's up-scale restaurant, these guys play there daily from 7-11pm.
After 11, a separate group takes over. Comprising 2 men and 2 women, they favour uptempo songs ranging from pop to jazz. The ladies do a mean dance routine, their manes of big hair and hot pants a big draw for male guests, I'm sure!


Okay, before I go, two more things to report:

Clay is featured in People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue for 2003.
Noooo, he isn't the sexiest man alive, but he's part of their lineup of "pretty hot" fellows, which includes Sanjay Gupta, the medical correspondent for Time magazine and CNN ( I just love his columns in Time, and saw his picture when the mag covered a trip he made to Iraq recently ).

Here's the link to the report:

Clay in People Magazine

I'm glad Johnny Depp's top on the list. No argument with that decision! :D


Second, I finally got my copy of Josh Groban's latest offering, titled Closer. Although it was released more than a week ago, I didn't buy it immediately, 'cos I'd already ordered a special Internet edition from a company in the US. But that's going to take 3 weeks to get here, and another Clay fan -- who's also a JG fan -- shared Josh's music with me this morning when I visited her at home, and I couldn't stand it any longer and had to get it ASAP! Don't worry, I'm first and foremost loyal to Clay. But Josh does have a beautiful voice, and the songs on Closer are so gorgeous they suit him to a T. Here's a track-by-track review:

Oceano -- A lovely, poignant start to the CD that will definitely hook anyone who's hearing Josh's vocals for the very first time. He has a tendency for singing in foreign languages, which is perfectly fine with me. :)

My Confession -- This is among a few pieces featured in Closer that can be either love ballads or religious songs. My Confession has lyrics that go "I have been blind / Unwilling / To see the true love / You're giving / I have ignored every blessing / I'm on my knees / Confessing". This is one of my favourites on the album -- uplifting melody, full orchestral arrangement, powerful words. I'll have this on a continuous loop pretty soon. :P

Mi Mancherai ( Il Postino ) -- I fell in love with this piece when I heard Itzhak Perlman play it on the "Cinema Classics" CD, and it gets a new lease of life in the vocal version here. With Joshua Bell doing a terrific job on the violin, Josh brings soulful emotion to this theme from the touching Italian film.

Si Volveieras A Mi -- Very haunting, with what I detect to be a little Spanish flavour. Turn the volume up and it sounds ten times better!

When You Say You Love Me -- Although it bears the same title as a song from Clay's CD ( what a coincidence! ), the two couldn't be more different in style and message. This is by far my favourite song on Closer. Josh hits the high notes and infuses the lyrics with so much feeling you'd have to be made of stone in order to not be moved. "When you say you love me / The world goes still so still inside and / When you say you love me / For a moment, there's no one else alive" Sigh. :)

Per Te; All'improvviso Amore -- I've put these two together because they run consecutively on the track list, are both in a foreign language, yet differ greatly in mood and tempo. The former is slow and a little operatic, the latter fast with a pumping beat during the chorus. A very nice mix.

Broken Vow -- This is featured in Josh's concert DVD and bonus CD set. It is one of the best love songs I've ever heard, period. Absolutely heartbreaking and sung gorgeously by Josh. "I close my eyes / I'd give away my soul / To hold you once again / And never let this promise end". Wow... :)

Caruso -- I know this tune from somewhere, but can't recall exactly, darn. :P I love drama, and this piece certainly provides tonnes of it.

Remember When It Rained -- From the beautiful intro to the opening verse, this remains the most introspective song of the album. Again easily interchangeable between the romance and religious genres, the lyrics go "Wash away the thoughts inside / That keep my mind away from you" and "Remember when it rained / I felt the ground and looked up high and called your name". The orchestral backing adds an epic effect, then a piano solo cuts in during the bridge. Oh man, I can't begin to describe how much I adore this song! :)

Hymne A L'amour -- Another melody I know from the past ( a movie? a famous classical composition? aaargh! :P ). Lovely, as always.

You Raise Me Up -- Someone from my church might play this on the PA system so we can sing this during service, and for good reason too. This is one of those pieces that touches the very depths of your soul, despite a simple melody and only 2 verses of words. "When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary / When troubles come and my heart burdened be / Then, I am still and wait here in the silence / Until you come and sit a while with me" probably sums up a lot of what devout Christians feel in times of sorrow and despair. Very uplifting.

Never Let Go -- This starts out in what I can only describe as an "interesting" manner, but what do you expect from a collaboration with Deep Forest? :) You need to listen to this a few times in order to let it grow on you. I like the chorus a lot, and it's a nice showcase for Josh to do some new-agey stuff.

Kudos to David Foster for yet another excellent production. Josh has a voice, but you need the right songs and the right musical arrangement in order to come out sounding good. With Closer, Foster succeeds in helping Josh mature. It's sometimes hard to imagine that we're listening to a 22-year-old!

I got my copy from Carrefour, where it costs only $17.50 ( compared to $20 or more at most CD stores ). What the heck are you waiting for?! :D