Category: Observing Life

One good thing about having my own website is that I can officially use this site for my own personal purpose. Here is my friend Tong Kiat going for his Japan business trip and here is my Japanese DVD or CD list for him.

Go get it mate. I am counting on you! Check out my site if you forget what I want from Japan (including some cute Japanese). Click here to read more.

First thing first is Ayumi Hamasaki’s DVD Arena Tour 2002. The picture of the DVD is as above.

Next is Ayumi’s DVD Stadium Tour 2002. Again, picture as such …

I also want Love Psychedelico’s DVD called The Film 1999.12 – 2002-05. I have no clue what’s inside but I don’t mind taking the risk.

Speaking as such, Love Psychedelico is coming out a new album called Early Time 4th Album that will be released on 2005.2.9. Not sure if you are still in Japan by then.

Last but not the least, I want Aikawa Nanase’s DVD Live Emotion 2004 Seven.

To summarise, 4 DVDs and 1 CD. They are:

Ayumi Hamasaki’s Arena Tour 2002 (DVD)
Ayumi Hamasaki’s Stadium Tour 2002 (DVD)
Love Psychedelico’s The Film 1999.12-2002 (DVD)
Love Psychedelico’s Early Time 4th Album (CD)
Aikawa Nanase’s Live Emotion 2004 Seven (DVD)

took the above photos when I had my lunch at the Botanical Garden. I was in shock when I witnessed the baby just playing with the plate of rice by pounding the spoon onto the plate for a good half an hour or more. Rice flying everywhere and if you think that the table was messy, the floor was worst. The poor waiter has to clean the floor a couple of times while the baby was having fun and the mother was just not giving a damn!

What shocked me more, besides at one time the baby dropped the spoon onto the floor and his brother picked it up from the floor and gave it back to the baby (guess what, the baby licked the spoon clean!), was the baby’s mother after seeing much of the rice was “eaten” refilled the plate with even more rice. What sort of motherhood is that?

I was used to admire the way Western culture brings up the children – teaching their kids more independent and all. Now, I really admire the Chinese way of upbringing – discipline and respect.

Well, I may be bias but you must understand the emotion I am going through with these pictures.

I remember towards the end of the the show “Something’s gotta Give”, the mother said to her daughter that they probably have more similarity than her daughter have thought ever since she was young. Having my mother and sister flying from Hong Kong visiting me over the weekend surely reminded me that amongst us, we do have a lot of things in common. Walking in the Botanical Garden after lunch was like having three of me walking together. All three of us took our time strolling in the park, observed everything from flowers to tree shapes, taking photos on every unique locations, and just walking till dusk. The entire experience was so enjoyable.

Back at home, my mother was showing the photo album that my father has composed in video format. My father must spent a lot of effort in making a 40 minutes slide show with background music, the photo selection and arrangement, and the title texts and effects. It must have been an obsession for him. And according to my mother, this video copy is already the “Greatest Hits”. I wouldn’t be able to image for a full length video will look like. At times, I have no doubt that all my passion and obsession in everything that I do – right now it is music making – comes from my father.

And back to the Botanical Garden trip, I have taken a total of 180 photos not counting those that I have deleted on the spot. Of course, that is nothing compare to my mother’s reputation in taking thousands of photo whenever she has a holiday overseas.

LC introduced me to DJ Tiestos’s Close To You. And she is right. You can just keep playing this song again and again and keep on wanting more. It is true. For the entire day, I listen to nothing but Close To You. I grew so addict to the artist that I actually bought one of his latest album today.

The beauty of the song mainly comes from the tune and the very sexy lady voice. But the gem comes from the lyrics itself. LC asked me to listen to the lyrics of the song and see what I get out of it. I had so many interpretation ranging from a song sung by the ghost, to someone who is very depressed over the lack of love, to a song to be sung to a lover who is buried under the tombstone.

LC has a different perspective and it has completely blown my mind away. Why don’t you try to decipher and have it posted as a comment. I will post what LC thinks later on.

The lyrics of the song can be found in http://lyrics.trancestation.nl/79 and this song can be downloaded quite easily via the Internet.

Back in UK while I was staying at the accomodation provided by the University, it was quite common to hear the “bed squeaking sound” from upstairs. Occasionally you would hear the sound of moaning. Those were the days.

It is Singapore. Even when I was living in a government housing block, I did not get to hear the “music” from upstairs. Last night however, in the condo of mine, the “bed squeaking sound” just appeared from no where. Do I have new neighbour moving in after months of vacancy?

When I went to bed last night, because the weather was quite cool, I didn’t turn on the air-con. And it was this quietness did I realise my newly occupied neighbours from upstairs were having fun of their own.

My mind was actually drifted back to my Oxford days. I remembered the block where I was staying. The coldness. The darkness. The foreigness. All the oh so sweet memories. What can I say? Golden age of mine.

The pattern from upstairs was interesting. Seemed to me that there were plenty of resting between the actions. Actually I was not paying attention to what was happening upstairs. My mind was flooded with memory.

Before I know it, I heard the footsteps towards the bathroom and water was flowing down the bath tub pipe.

And that was when I fell asleep.