240109 Leehom Concert in Las Vegas

I flew for an insane amount of time to HK > LA -> Las Vegas.

Thank god for inflight entertainment.
2 Woody Allen shows + Alfie = too much sex on a plane, of too many goodlooking people.



.
.
.
moving on.


this was my first glimpse of civilisation!



Strangely, the last time I was here was 10 years ago,
but I remembered the place very clearly...

My favourite place was the Bellagio,
watching dancing water, listening to Frank Sinatra.

This time round, I didn't have much time to go near to Bellagio.



The show was at MGM Grand,


which housed a Lion Habitat




@ the Arena :)


band room!


drummer Brendan Buckley stood in for the show,
he looks... a tad like leehom!


Traditional lion-dance before the show started -
I thought that was pretty cool!

After all, the arena housed a mini-Chinatown,
and in the spirit of Chinese New Year,
I believe it was a great celebration and time of bonding for the Chinese to be at the concert!


The fans! :)
People from LA, Hawaii, Venezuela??

I enjoyed hearing Leehom speak mostly in English for the concert -
and it only occurred to me later that,
it was the first time that Jamie (guitarist) and Jingles (bassist) knew what leehom was talking about throughout the show!


Our post-party lasted all the way till 630am...
just in time for sunrise...


and i tried my hand at blackjack,
first time playing at a table in a casino!


i slept for a bit, and then, enroute to Harley Davidson Cafe :)



I couldn't stay longer cuz I wanted to be back for the New Year,
and honestly I shopped little at the Premium Outlets...

I got some BCBG dresses, Ed Hardy sneakers, FCUK tees, a Kate Spade wallet...
no Coach! haha.
I don't really like Coach.

I'm planning to (finally) get a car.
So no more frivolous spending!



I've also been thinking about my constant travelling, my irregular nomadic lifestyle,
my dreams to carve out a singing career,
my motivation to expand Yours Truly (my wedding & events company),
my ideas on writing for my own album...

...and my future lies before me like a desert, a huge expanse of nothingness.

I can take whatever route I want to go,
everyday I wake up and rethink my direction.

Somewhere in this desert, pulsates the treasure of a city that is Las Vegas,
the metaphor of megalomanic success.

I'm still looking for it.

猪朋狗友贺新年！

希望今年会是丰收年！
大家努力争取自己的幸福吧！

PS. 以上照片其实是 Ginny&Edmund 大喜之日拍的 -
猪朋狗友的MotherHQ结婚，当然是年度盛事！

Next up, 猪朋狗友将进行捐血大行动，请拭目以待！

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

I'm already mentally prepared for my flight to Las Vegas.

SG->HK->LA->Vegas!

It will take almost ONE DAY, and the best part is I'll be travelling ALONE!!!

i've got books, fully charged NDS and laptop, and prayed for good movies.
Comfy clothes, shoes.
All set!
All ready to camp across 3 seats in the plane.

I wouldn't mind any cute boy across the aisle as well.


On the way back,
I will have reunion dinner crossing timezones,
airplane food complete with disposable cutlery.

It will be strange, but firsts are always like that aren't they.

my love, justin timberlake

futuresex lovesounds is a timeless album.



clarence and i recorded this acoustic cover of My Love by Justin Timberlake
because we lurrrve the song.

we play this at Wala Wala a lot :)

100109 Leehom Concert in Macau

This is my 2nd visit to Macau :)
The first was with David Tao when he did a show for the hotel Ponte 16...
it was last Feb and I haven't even blogged about it...
... more on that the next entry!

We took a ferry from Hong Kong,

and I sat right at the side, next to the rain-speckled windows and the dark sea,
soaking in an imaginary romantic solitude.

But it rocked so badly I shifted to the middle of the ferry
and tried very hard to sleep and not puke.


I wasn't too excited about the Venetian, since I've been to the one in Vegas.
Not a fan of casinos, gambling,
glitzy decor, expensive dining and high-end shops oozing of nothing but money.



there is a stark difference seeing the authentic paintings and architecture in Europe,
and seeing these in a man-made entertainment centre that saw no daylight.


this is FAKE.


this was interesting for about 10 seconds,
but to think they would even think about manufacturing blue skies and daylight.


steeped in the lure of chance, and luck


The only time I felt trigger happy was when I saw the ruins of St Paul, the Ruínas de São Paulo,
and it was a bright sunny day with azure skies.


we had to traverse up a slope
lined with famous Macanese foodstuffs on both sides.

We bought our loot from 大三巴，钜记... they all sell the same things.
I still can't figure out which shop sells what best.

Despite Alfred's persistent reminders to try Portugese egg tarts,
I stood in front of the metal oven at 钜记 filled with egg tarts,
and thought about buying some for him.

I decided that they won't be as good upon arrival, and I had no appetite,
so I passed.

He finds it such a transgression and demanded I write this in my blog.


through the thronging tourists I see something that makes me happier


old people sit and gaze, and eat.


finally, something real for a change


i am not a deep appreciator of artifacts and history,
but I did take 'S' ( for Special) History in A levels and scored a Merit.

For the record, only 11 or so students took 'S' History in the whole of Singapore that year,
and about half scored an Unclassified.
'S' History was almost an abstract art form, we wrote page-long essays based on the question What is history? for starters.

Having said that, I scored a C for History in A levels, so my Merit in S History is officially a laughable irony.

Back to the Ruínas de São Paulo,
I only know it was destroyed in a fire leaving nothing but the front facade.
And moved on like any mindless tourist.


Up the stairs.


looking down at Lisa!



You can already guess I'm not a fan of Macau,
but we did have some good HK food, and I did find some good Portugese food :)

And the Cotai Arena at Venetian did surprise me.

It was a big arena,
it could sit 6000 more people than the Singapore Indoor Stadium,
and I snuck some photos of a crew member of these gorgeous screens.





Leehom wasn't in tiptop condition,
and I felt a lot of pain for him as he tried to give his best for the show, but couldn't.

There were more changes to this show -
for the last 2 songs before the encore he appeared from the right end of the venue
and sang in the middle of the audience!

It was such a treat for those who sat farthest from the stage.
I loved it.

A random pic from the show that I was tagged in :)

Leehom tried several stunts - jumping onto the grand piano,
and rolling across it, all in delirious fashion :)




Before checking out the next day
I had a brief moment of sun and solitude in my excessively large room.




the 4 large cushions on my princess bed,
to my pleasant discovery, was laid next to the sill at the window,
so i lay on it,
in the sun,
for a while.



i am sooooooooo looking forward to my Bali trip this week!

do you want to see my... (part 2)

part 2!


clinique precious posy blush
- shiny blush! i was never a fan of glitter in makeup, but this is actually pretty nice.
clinique bare pinks blush
- darker shades good for contouring
stila bronzing powder
- i love this but i tend to get carried away and end up having my face a different colour from my neck haha...
shiseido blotting paper with peach powder (or something like that)
- great for mattifying your face


ettusais lip gloss
- the applicator is a flat plastic piece, which makes sense for a smooth application - super shiny
i always liked orangey shades because i tend to imagine that my skin color is more tan than fair... :p
maybelline lip gloss
- mm i got this for free buying some magazine. but it's nice and pink!
loccitane cherry blossom lip gloss
- yummy lipsmacking sticky gloss
kiehls lipbalm
- with a tint of red, this is perfect for light makeup
carmex lip balm
- i can't stand waxy sticks of lipbalm because they absolutely suck for cold weather. this is the BESTEST lip balm i've tried, better than burts bees or that tin of rose or whatever.
no more dry lips.
BUT it does have a weird medicinal taste/smell, (which i like!) but some people might not :p
they are everywhere in taiwan convenience stores and are dirt cheap.


this is my travelling stash aboard the plane.
wuta camille hand cream
- amazingly lightweight and works so well, great smell, dirt cheap at taiwan convenience stores.
loccitane cherry blossom handcream
- honestly, i prefer the wuta camille. this expensive tube looks pretty though. i use it when i feel terrible on board the plane and just need to smell it to feel happy :p
avene water spray
i don't know why these sprays cost so much money.
i don't know why i buy this.
when i wake up in the plane and my eyes are dry, this is the only thing that can save me.
convertor
stick your own earphones into this and watch your movie in peace!
no fear for the early collection of earphones by the flight attendants!


random origins stuff
clear improvement active charcoal mask
- who can resist the clear pore effect of sebum sucking charcoal?
origins spot remover
- i only trust this small bottle of potent stuff for pimples


pantene clinicare is GOOD STUFF. i usually get my stash from Taipei or China.
the hair mask is great -
i think the Singapore equivalent is the one on the right - some 3 minute miracle thing.


bioderma solution
- this stuff is now available in singapore, i used to get it from Taiwan.
i used shu uemura's cleansing oil for the longest time (yellow, green, pink, now the latest purple) and i still use them once in a while, but this is the best non-oily makeup remover ever.
and honestly i feel cleaner seeing that my lashes and eye area are free from black gunk from the cotton pad.
with the oil cleanser i never really know.




i'm now onto my new book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.



it is perfect for me at this time of my life :)
more on this soon.

do you want to see my...

girls are always infinitely interested in what makeup/skincare other girls are using.

so this post is for the girls.
they'd understand.

guys, you don't really want to know or hear about this bimbotic side of me.

i have used enough makeup/skincare throughout my growing up years
to know what i like, and what i will eventually use.

too many times, i was taken in by the glitter of pretty packaging and photoshopped pictures
to think i need another shade of blush, eyeshadow or lip gloss...

but experience has taught me they just end up being in a corner of my drawer,
forgotten after some time!
i've bought dark blue, light blue, green, white eyeliner blah blah blah to find that i really don't use them anyways.
etc etc etc
etc etc
etc

nowadays i am SOOOOOOO unexperimental with colours!
i really prefer to stick to basics. :)




allll the basics!
clinique anti-blemish moisturizer
- great for night use
clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel
- great for day - lightweight and does its job!
clinique pore concealer
- smooths out imperfections and pores, but i usually skip this since i have too much stuff on my face
clinique pore minimiser
- this is what i use instead of the pore concealer, it's more skincare than makeup.
clinique all about eyes
- i am addicted to eye cream. i feel like the lines around my eyes dramatically increase if i forget it at night.
clinique moisture surge
- when i fly, i wear nothing but moisture surge all over my face. it's the bestest!


bronze primer from smashbox
- it's so raved about i got 2 bottles from HK. it feels really smooth upon application but honestly it feels kinda weird.
i use liquid foundation, so the foundation almost just glides over it. (not a good thing)
not a fan.
shu uemura UV under base
- i've been using it for the longest time, 1st it's mousse, 2nd it's lightweight, 3rd it makes your skin better, 4th its got UV protection, 5th it's just too awesome.


laura mercier silk creme foundation
- i've heard much about this brand, couldn't decide which kind of foundation/shade to get.
this one is too sandy for my face... mm if you know what i mean.
shu uemura smoothing fluid foundation
- i use this all the time.
clinique oil free foundation
- this has less coverage, great for light makeup :)
clinique loose powder
- it does its job :)


ettusais concealer
- really old tube. generally effective under liquid foundation.
shu uemura concealer
- another highly raved product. it works for me - good coverage, not too cakey, but doesn't come off easily. most importantly it blends well!
i've seen one too many pictures of girls in clubs, whom upon flashlight have startlingly obvious concealer under their eyes.


glow glow glow!
maquillage illuminating powder compact
- i love this! for nose, tzone, browbone etc
shu uemura illuminiser
- this stuff is great for browbone, cheekbone and nose


clinique eyeliner gel
- eyeliner is very simple for me. i just use this gel with the tiny brush.
i was using liquid liner for the longest time - but it still smudges since i have inner double-eyelids.
after this i am a convert to eyeliner gel!
bourjois liquid liner
- i bought this bronze shimmery colour for fun...


talika eyelash gel
- i have really long lashes, but very few -_-" this... kinda works.
i don't know, i always forget to use it
H&M gold glitter eyeliner
- this thick crayon is perfect for lining under the eye, for the inner corner near the nose
red earth glitter gel
- for concert stage makeup, i just put tonnes of black eyeshadow, and layer this gel over.
glitter shadow doesn't work come on, it just falls off.
pat the gel over, and it STAYS.
yves saint laurent concealer
- highly raved product - i hardly use it now, the color is off for me..
clinique high impact mascara
- this works for me, and i prefer it to the washable mascara that they have...
clinique eyeliner crayon
- good for undereye lining...




(part 2 to come...!)








lastly,
just in case you were thinking this is all beauty without brains,
i am also currently reading Rant by Chuck Palahniuk.

i borrow books from the library and never remember to return them, chalking up massive fine amounts.
i'm never a book buyer unless i read something really good, which i then buy to keep.

it is an insane book, with such striking imagery and revolutionary ideas similar to his famous Fight Club (which made me first fall in love with his writing) that everyone should go read it.

not for the faint-hearted though.

弦外之音 - 梁文音

This sweet little lass is born from 超级星光大道,
and I know Chin Hwee is a big fan!

Her new album includes this song 弦外之音，
written by Taz 陈台证，
Singaporean songwriter-arranger-producer making waves in Hong Kong :)

This is the demo version of the song that I sang, VERY LONG ago...
i think more than a year or 2...







I realised recently that the concept of a DEMO is not very apparent to some listeners -
the flow of the songwriting process is this ->

1. songwriter writes a song

2. he arranges the music for it, either with keyboard, guitar, sound effects etc

3. he finds someone to sing it

4. he takes the recorded DEMO and hands it to publishing houses, who then passes it on to record labels who are collecting songs for their singers

5. the DEMO gets picked by, say, 梁文音's company, so they usually rearrange the music, and then 梁文音records it for the album.

there you go :)


Happy song for the NEW YEAR!