A Few Short Notes

... before I start a major rambling session. :)

To SP: Hope you've arrived safely. Are you still reading the blog? Keep in touch.

To my good pal: Thank you for meeting me at such short notice. It was great talking to you. Think we needed it.

To Budak Pantai: I need more advance warning! Please update us at least a week before your next performance. I promise to attend if my schedule permits.

To my fellow A&E colleagues: An innocuous comment turned into a huge stress-busting laughing session the other week. And every single day, without fail, we share some measure of good humour and heartwarming anecdotes, even with the many nurses and MOs. I couldn't ask for a happier surrogate family than this.

To the local Clay fans: Your unbridled excitement always brings a smile to my face. I got through the Monday call only because your Forces Of Nature updates kept me up the whole night. :D

And to Clay Aiken, aka the centre of the following major updates, I can't believe that 2 years have passed by so quickly. I can't believe how far you've come, how much you've achieved, and how effortlessly inspiring you are. Most of all, I can't get over the fact that you were in Kuala Lumpur, and DIDN'T COME TO SINGAPORE, aargh! ( Just kidding. ) We're glad you've promised to come by someday ( threads below provide first-person accounts which confirm this ). Definitely something to look forward to. :)

And now for the rambling... ( nasty comments will be deleted, so don't say I didn't warn you first )

A Gorgeous New Website I Recently Discovered
-- the pictures are exceptional
-- lots of hot-off-the-press videos, which I have to download very patiently, since I'm still very resistant to broadband

Thread On Clay's Aceh Visit
-- check out Callisto's video avatar of the dear boy dancing with the children, awww
-- my favourite pictures in the whole lot: the very first one in the thread ( aka Feast Your Eyes #1 from my previous post ), and one included by aikencrazy on March 15, with him crouching next to a little Acehnese boy and waving his arms. My heart melted when I saw that one. :D

Thread on Clay's Appearance at Forces Of Nature In Kuala Lumpur
-- these were taken by our very own Singaporean fans who were just a foot away from the man himself on the red carpet
-- if you can't read through everything, this was where he stopped to sign his fans' CDs and posters, and answered "I will!" when my friend asked if he'll come to Singapore, woohoo!
-- he's grown significantly more haggard, but the years have added a certain compelling quality to his features which exudes quiet confidence and a clear direction. Very rare.
-- he's a brunette now. Even better. :D

The Video You Simply MUST Watch
-- is the 4MB file dated March 18 2005, titled Clay Visits Indonesia ( Reuters version )
-- he is clearly happiest when among children, and anyone who feels nothing after seeing him dance and sing with these kids needs some serious psychotherapy.

Thank you, Clay, for maintaining - and occasionally restoring - my faith in the human race.

Last But Not Least

CD reviews are being put on hold while my brain recovers from a sleepless call.

Training to be an ACLS instructor was fun last Sunday. Seems I was "too kind" to a candidate ( ie. I tried to help her out by prompting just a little too much ). So we were told to just stand there and let them squirm until time's up. Err, okay.

One of my A&E MOs surprised me by blurting the smallest details about American Idol finalists ( both past and present ). The main reason for the surprise? He's a guy... who wants to be a surgeon... and is really good-looking.
And some of you thought only losers love this show. :P

Anyone care to wager that Ian will emerge victorious in Survivor:Palau? This guy is really growing on me. Great swimmer, beautiful smile, kinda geeky at the same time. Yep, my trademark funny taste kicking in yet again.

Star Movies just screened Part 1 of a made-for-TV version of "Spartacus" -- Part 2 is this coming weekend. Having been bored out of my mind by the original which starred Kirk Douglas, I greatly enjoyed this one, mainly because the lead is none other than Goran Visnjic, aka Luca the Russian doctor in "ER". Whereas Douglas was all blonde and bronzed, Visnjic is dark and melancholy. Lacks some conviction where those big-speech scenes are concerned, but the series is well-made, the pace crackling, and certain sequences most memorable ( especially one where the Roman senator disdainfully crushes the fingers of a dying African gladiator ).

"American Beauty" also made an appearance on local television a few days ago. Don't ask me how I missed out on the commercial-free cable telecast ( think I didn't have cable then ), but this classic is irrefutable proof why Kevin Spacey is one of our generation's most accomplished actors, and totally deserving of that Best Actor Oscar.
( Although personally speaking, I still think Swimming With Sharks is Spacey at his absolute best EVER. Think I'll order it through Amazon one of these days. )

I need to get some rest before my health starts to suffer.

Allow me to end off with a quote from "American Beauty":

Lester Burnham ( previously oppressed husband played to perfection by Spacey )
-- "You're right, I have lost something. But you know what? It's never too late to get it back."