Supply & Demand

I know I haven't blogged in a while.

Partly because I couldn't find the time ( really ).

Partly because I've just been so exhausted lately ( really ).

Also, because I kinda didn't want to. Really .

But quite a few people have been asking, and since I can't sleep -- post-mother's-belated-birthday-feast-at-church and post-2-hour-afternoon-nap-on-my-day-off-'cos-I-gave-up-trying-to-keep-my-eyes-open-after-reading-the-ATLS-manual-while-half-dead, I thought I'd post something while digesting and waiting for the right moment to knock off.

Hmm, seems I received 70 emails in less than 48 hours. Think I need to set up another account. Yeesh.


Make Me A Match

Or rather, the answer is: Please don't.

Funny how I've been getting bombarded left, right, centre this past fortnight, from the usual suspects ( relatives and friends ) to colleagues ( consultants, nurses ).

One fellow even bluntly offered to lend a hand in fixing me up with one of my former year-mates ( you know who you are ). Granted, the guy you mentioned IS cute, and I find it interesting how other helpful souls like yourself seem to have this erroneous view that "nice people should get hitched" ( although I hardly think of myself as nice, LOL ).

Here're a few useful pointers for anyone else who may harbour similar match-making ambitions:

1. I am NOT searching for a mate. I just enjoy looking, heh heh.

2. I do NOT want people to find one for me.

3. I am perfectly happy being single.

4. I have no time for a relationship.

5. I have no energy for a relationship.

6. I don't date. But I do enjoy hanging out - once in blue moon.

7. I hate the inevitable expectations that come with misconceptions about the possibility of a relationship. Hence, why I don't "date".

8. I'd rather spend an hour with these guys every night than listen to a man drone on about his day.

9. Of course, I occasionally listen to guys drone about their lives when I feel up to it. Which is rare. ( Old pals from school don't count. Those can complain all they want. :))

10. I have no wish to have my heart broken again. Once is enough, thank you very much.

Am I cynical? You bet.

Am I a hopeless romantic? Actually, yes.

I believe a person can be both, 'cos I'm living proof of that. I have dreams, but haven't lost touch with reality. I subscribe to the he's-out-there-somewhere motto. I just haven't met him yet. I've also seen enough relationships sour -- when love fades, contempt rears its ugly head, temptation wins and offspring suffer.

How easy it is to be dazzled. But sustaining that spark - now that's another story.

But most of all, I fear that my tendency to believe the best of people will get the best of me. I've become much less forgiving over the years, but still get duped on and off. Much easier to remain detached under such circumstances.


Next On The List

Weekend crowds be damned. I'm seeing this no matter what.


The Cincinnati Pops Concert - A Very Belated Review

I've lost momentum over the weeks, so writing this is pretty hard.

It was very good, to say the least. And they do enjoy a bit of enthusiastic whooping from the audience ( the front rows - including myself - did that a lot, eliciting broad grins all round :)).

Having grown up on a steady diet of films and movie soundtracks, I was fully familiar with their excellent repertoire, which featured everything from classics ( Dr. Zhivago, Gone With The Wind, The Godfather ) to Broadway musicals ( Andrew Lloyd Webber, Chicago, West Side Story ) to contemporary fare ( Apollo 13, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ).

Favourites:

1. The beautiful Disney medley
-- included excerpts from Cinderella, Mary Poppins and Mickey Mouse Club. They played Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah and It's A Small World as well, but I don't know if these came from movies. One of the early pieces of the evening. That's when I started beaming. Didn't stop for the rest of the concert. :)

2. Themes from Lord Of The Rings
-- ahh, made me think of New Zealand, with its majestic Dart River and Milford Sound ( Queenstown ), awesome LOTR sights in Wellington, and the most amazing mountain ranges I've ever laid eyes on ( Mount Cook region ).
-- their rendition of Enya's May It Be literally brought tears to my eyes. One of the best songs ever written, IMHO.

3. Speak Softly Love from The Godfather
-- brought back vivid memories of Italy ( I still can't understand why I miss the place when I absolutely hated most of my time there, haha ). The string arrangement is quite Mantovanni-esque, with all those multi-layered chords and rich tones. I've heard many versions, but a 'live' performance by the CPO ranks as the best thus far. Major goosepimples. :)

4. America from West Side Story
-- I watched this movie to death way back in primary school, especially that colourful dance sequence when this particular song came on. Energetically delivered by the orchestra, with conductor Erich Kunzel ( a very sprightly 70-plus-year-old ) hopping around on his podium. I especially enjoy a certain bit when he'd wave his baton in a loop as the wind section played a particular phrase. Amused me no end. :)

5. Sing Sing Sing
-- served as 3rd encore piece for both nights, but I thought the first evening's rendition was better. The drums and trumpets took centrestage on this fast swing/ big band Benny Goodman number. A veritable tour de force!

6. The John Williams medley
-- featured only on Day 1's programme, unfortunately for those who missed it. With selections from Superman ( including a moving instrumental performance of Can You Read My Mind, aka the love theme ), Raiders of the Lost Ark ( the unmistakeable march and yet another sweeping romantic melody ), Harry Potter ( lovely ) and E.T. ( yes, they did the bicycle-flying-across-the-moon bit ), this was definitely a huge crowd pleaser, done great justice by the CPO's luscious sound ( the strings, percussion and brass sections being the strongest of the lot ).


I personally would've liked a John Barry medley ( he wrote music for Dances With Wolves and Out Of Africa, among others ), not to mention more John Williams ( Schindler's List ) and perhaps a bit of Danny Elfman as well ( Batman, Spider-man, Beetlejuice, etc. ).

Maybe next time then. You can email the CPO through the CSO's main website ( just scroll down for the link or do a Google search ). Their PR manager is a mighty friendly lady who hinted about a return trip to Singapore soon. Make sure you get tickets!


Something To Do

1. Type the word "idiot" into the Google search engine then click "I'm feeling lucky". Hasn't changed in a week or two, but if it does, it should still be quite fun, heh heh.

2. Cool site. Since I can't blog during my night shifts ( thanks to whichever moron who put up a bloody firewall at my hospital ), this helps keep me awake during those LOOONG 11-hour shifts. Let's see if this site gets banned as well. Reveal yourself, coward.


P.S. Monk's back! The latest season airs every Monday at 10pm on Starworld Channel 18. Great stuff. :)

Time for bed. Another rough shift awaits tomorrow morning. Opinions about our new MO batch to follow in my next post. *evil laugh*

Just kidding.