Monday, July 24, 2006

Hot New Jazz Artiste

No idea whether his album is available in local stores as yet, but I heard it on Krisworld and fell in love with it on the spot.

18-year-old laddie from Yorkshire. Plays the piano. Velvety smooth tenor. Suave delivery.

Opening track, Joanna, is pure bliss. Soaring vocals coupled with raw emotion rarely seen in one so young.

Other pieces I love include Spooky ( sizzling ), The Fool On The Hill ( the vocal version of Peter Cincotti's beautiful piano solo cover ), and On Days Like These ( dreamy ).

My favourite, though, is definitely The More I See You. Not sure if it's because this is done in a different tempo -- more Latin / rumba than the conventional big band swing -- but it's a clear winner and I must've replayed it countless times during those hours I spent on the plane.

Am always on the lookout for new talent. This guy looks mighty promising.

Vacation entries to follow another day. :)

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Winds Of Change

Just touched down at 7:30am this morning, after minimal sleep despite a beautifully smooth flight.

I blame it on Krisworld. Heh heh. :)

And speaking of the in-flight entertainment, it appears that a particular seat ( ie. mine ) lacks a handset, even though it has a monitor.

Got moved to another seat with lots of leg space, but sadly, didn't enjoy an upgrade. Oh well.


So how was the holiday, you ask?

In a nutshell:

1. It is probably the single most life-changing vacation I've ever experienced. Not life-changing "event" per se, but "vacation". Big difference.

2. European men are DIVINE. Shall elaborate further in another entry. :)

3. Crossed so many borders I often woke up unsure of my exact location. We were concentrated around 4 countries which share common boundaries, namely Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria. Bavarian territory -- GORGEOUS.

4. Munich is nowhere as happening as Singapore where World Cup fever is concerned. A bit disappointing.

But the beer is something to drool about. 1-litre mug for just Sing$13 ( Euro $6.50 ). Wah lau eh.

5. Took around 400 photos in all. Will upload as soon as I can. Quite mind-blowing.

6. My mom and I were the only Asians in a 26-member Insight tour group. Completely outnumbered by Australians, Americans, Canadians and New Zealanders. All of whom are older than I am, and mostly married with children back home.

Not only did this make me the pampered baby of the bunch -- and believe me, I was enjoying every minute of it, haha -- it also made me the unwitting target of an American couple who are already making plans to matchmake me with some "eligible Asian men" in their church congregation in Boston. Apparently an affluent group of professionals. Bring it on. :D

But seriously, our fellow travellers are truly wonderful people, and we made many many friends during our 2 weeks together. A few of them will be dropping by Singapore soon, so looking forward to seeing them again!

7. Food was better than what I endured in Italy. But the breakfasts consistently suck. Have eaten so many boiled eggs ( since I hate scrambled ) I'm swearing off these things for at least a fortnight to unclog my arteries.

Managed to find a couple of Chinese eateries though. Without a map! Quite proud of that. :)

8. Was caught in the middle of a major heat wave, never mind our close proximity to the Alps. Thank goodness for my t-shirts. Mum didn't fare as well 'cos she packed mostly woollies, but we're the same size, so problem solved.

I'm very sunburnt, by the way.

9. Favourite places on this tour: Salzburg, Vienna, St. Moritz.

10. Have I mentioned that European men are DIVINE? Think I may be developing some form of rejection to Singaporean guys, who absolutely pale in comparison. :D

So much more to write about, but too tired at the moment. Lots of work duties to get through as well, so please be patient.

Nice to see the angsty dude back in action. :)

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

And We Have Lift Off

It's been a long wait, but D-Day is almost upon us, woohoo!

Leaving tomorrow evening and all I can say is: it's really good timing, 'cos if I work another day in this warzone we call an ER, I will start shooting people.

Not kidding.

So it's off to Europe for some R&R. Gonna let my brain rot for 16 days and get all that anger / frustration / homicidal tendencies out of my system.

Plus, will be catching the World Cup finals with native Germans in Munich -- NOT the actual match at the stadium in Berlin ( people keep thinking I have tickets ), but will definitely find a spot with a big TV, order a few beers, maybe place a few bets, exchange a few swear words, heh heh.

Anyhow, pity about Germany losing to Italy. They came SOOOOO close, but alas, fatigue set in and they let their guard down. Can't believe I dragged myself out of bed post-night-shift to watch the game. But Ballack and Klose are worth it. :D

Predictions for the final teams: Italy and France.

My bet's on Italy.


Interesting Link

aliendoc, angsty dude, med student and angrydr, you may want to check this out.

Believe Timothy is an anchor on Channelnews Asia. Wonder how they know about our blogs? Hmm...

Better watch what we write, haha.


Will post from the airport if I find an opportunity. Major packing to get through.