I had possibly the most delicious bratwurst roll/hot dog from The Bratwurst Bar. $6 for a huge Bratwurst in a nicely toasted bun topped with onions, sauerkraut and hot chilli sauce. So worth it and so filling!

And finally, meet River (named after Professor River Song, of course).

I got her from the weekend markets. Couldn’t decide between the red or the blue ukulele then I spotted this lovely little thing! Not too expensive and so pretty. She doesn’t sound as bright and chirpy as Aishah’s ukulele; she sounds slightly lower and deeper and at the moment, slightly out of tune. Tried tuning her today and somehow managed to learn Jason Castro’s “Over the Rainbow”. 

Hopefully, we can get her all nice and tuned up tomorrow and I’ll take her out in public :p

Night everyone!

22nd March 2012 | 6.15am | 14 degrees celsius

Autumn is finally kicking in and the nights are getting much much chillier at an alarming rate. It still felt like the height of summer when the season finally turned but I guess the weather’s finally caught up.

I’ve been in Perth for almost 2 months now and sometimes I sit in my little room not quite believing that this will be home for the next 4 years. Living on my own was a shock at first; no curfew restrictions, no need for permission to head out, deciding what groceries to buy, etc. Cleaning up isn’t much of a problem, meals were the least of my concerns. Besides my school timetable, it’s pretty much up to me to decide what I want to spend my day doing – waste it away huddled under the covers or actually hike to the library and be productive.

It’s oddly liberating but at times, I still find myself taking a step back, hesitating and thinking “this would be impossible if I were back home.” I suppose I was quite cloistered back home, typically Asian. Never really saw much of a distinction between the two cultures till I got here; liberal vs slightly oppressive. Even for my family. But I look at these 17, 18 year old kids and I think “did I really miss out on anything?” They take this new found freedom like a fish to water while me, almost 20 year old me, would still hesitate to explore the boundaries.

I am quite afraid to admit that at this point, I don’t miss home. I’ve been away this long and yet, to some who really matter, my absence seemed to go quite unnoticed. I could credit this to our stubborn nature, or maybe I’m just so unfeeling it doesn’t matter to me? Or have my priorities truly shifted now I’ve realized what’s important for myself, my future. Asian values be damned. Suppose I take the next flight back to stay for the rest of the weekend. I honestly doubt it would make much of a difference. It would be as chilly as there as it is here.

Home is where the heart is and I realize, I have fallen quite in love with this place. It’s so peaceful and laid-back, the weather is beautiful and the people are altogether pleasant. There’s a good mix of culture, languages, people who defy the worst stereotypes. Someone once told me that Murdoch University will suck you in; by all means, take me.

I can now safely say that I have survived the SATs. Why did I put myself through a month of daily grind to prepare for a 4 hour exam I most probably don’t need to take anyway? Well, because I can. Because I can. And because I am completely insane. 3 hours of sleep, 2 grande coffees on an empty stomach, 3 toilet breaks and 8 sections into the exam, my heart rate shoots up and all I feel like doing is jumping on the table and shredding the answer booklet. Damn caffeine.

Now that that’s over, I have one week  to get my act together. It seems surreal, to finally be leaving this place. Having completed my last A Level exam in June ’11, February ’12 seemed faraway. There was impatience, sure but mostly nonchalance. I wasn’t in a hurry to prepare myself for the journey ahead and now, I’ve got just over 7 days to up and fly the coop. Where did my 9 months go? Why did I waste it the way I did?

It’s funny how, when I was plenty younger, I couldn’t wait to finally leave; to be independent and to finally live on my own, free from any parental restrictions. But now, as I draw closer to the day I finally get on the plane, I grow more and more reluctant to leave. This place, this has been my home for almost 18 years. Home is where the heart is and in it, my family. The longest I have been away from my family was during my 2 week Beijing/Inner Mongolia school tour and now, I’ll be away from them for God knows how long. The friendships I’ve forged throughout all these years, will they last the distance? All my friends who stood by me when I was in need, I can’t leave them either. If only I can take everyone with me.

I am afraid but in a way, excited. Excited to finally start anew, doing something that I really really like. Finally doing something that I want to do. Ahead of me is a huge unknown and I don’t know what awaits me. Jump in!

Wicked explains so much.

Ms Pat bought Alan and I some pretty good tickets to catch Wicked, for Christmas and we were really really excited to finally be able to watch it. The show was spectacular (even though there were a few things that could be said about the theatre itself) and like I said, it explains so much.

Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked, is a genius, I will give him that. I would, however, like to know how it was possible for him to publish Wicked in the first place. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900 and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t published until 1995. To write a whole book based on another and publish + have it get so popular, how did Maguire manage to stay out of getting sued for copyright infringement. Yes, Baum is long dead but I am sure his estate or someone else would own the copyrights to the source material. But I guess they manage to sort that out. 95 years on however, I still don’t think Baum would have liked to have his work and characters seen from a whole different perspective. Not that he’d be around to object, really.

Back to the story; Wicked is the story of the circumstances behind Elphaba, Nessarose and Galinda becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wicked With of the East and Glinda the good, the origins of the ruby slippers and the twister that brought Dorothy (and her house) to Oz and the back story behind all of Dorothy’s companions; the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow. Also, the origins behind the flying monkeys and the real reason why the Wizard of Oz ran away in his balloon.

Having never read the book, I experienced plenty of “OH! SO THAT’S WHY!”, light bulb popping above head moments. And also, lots of sympathy for the Elphaba. The play held plenty of lessons, the obvious one being not judging anyone by the colour of their skin and always looking at both sides of the story before judging. Elphaba, she wasn’t born Wicked, but the the circumstances of the establishment pushed her to be. Idk if this makes any sense heh. But how many people have been misunderstood because of the way that they try to cope and handle certain situations?

After all these years of reading and watching the many movies based on Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we’ve always just taken for a fact that the witches are well, wicked and everyone else are victims fighting against the wicked witch of the west’s evil plans. But having watched Wicked and hopefully, read it one day, it makes one wonder; what if everyone else is evil and Elphaba is good. Really, the line between good and evil is up to your own perspective. She is what she is because she goes against the so called evil plans of the Wizard and in response to that, false announcements of her succumbing to wickedness was made and all of Oz turned against her.  Everyone else is evil by association to the wizard since everyone worships him so is it really everyone else following the Wizard’s evil plans = evil vs Elphaba’s rebelling the system in the name of good? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Overall, I did enjoy my evening and I would LOVE to watch it on Broadway. The Australian cast is lovely and Jemma Rix (Elphaba) is just phenomenal. She’s beautiful with a slightly wicked quality and her voice is amazing. Every single time I hear her hit the high notes, I get goosebumps. Defying Gravity brought tears to my eyes, legit. In any which case, watching it on Broadway would be a dream but if I never get the opportunity to do so, I’d be happy with this. Who’s to say, maybe the absence of Jemma Rix on Broadway makes it not as good. For me anyway :p

If you have the chance to catch Wicked, please please please do so. Wicked will be playing at the Marina Bay Sands Theatre till the 26th of February. Tickets range from $55 – $250. We got B Reserve tickets we still got a pretty good view, even though we were right at the back of the first floor. I’m sure even the E Reserve seats would be great.

Eva ♥

The holiday season has been nothing but snuggly. There really isn’t a better word to describe it. It’s been raining quite a bit and the only option to really combat that is by hugging something warm and napping on the couch. Snuggling.

The past 2 weeks have been a flurry of activities. Alan came home for Christmas, followed shortly by Dana. We’ve had 2 picnics so far, one comfortably on the floor of his parent’s apartment due to incessant rain and the other, at the barrage park where we escaped more rain, just in time. We’ve spent an afternoon preparing some delicious cookie dough and eventually baking it into even more delicious cookies.

I hosted a very random movie marathon + Kinect games party for some of my friends on the eve of Christmas Eve. 18 people all crowded in the living room while it was raining outside – quite snuggly I would say! Ended off the evening with Love Actually, cleaned up and snuggled in to welcome Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was spent braving the crowds at Vivo City for some last minute shopping followed by even MORE last minute shopping at Mustafa Centre that evening. At least the gifts were very well received!

Christmas Day itself was a very lazy affair. Alan and I only crawled down to the living room past noon and we all settled in for random hawker fare that my mother brought home after Christmas mass. Matching leather jackets for all and this Alien baby (even though I’ve been using this for a while now and have since completed Portal and Magicka).

Following their celebrations, on boxing day instead of Christmas day, Alan’s family and mine met up for some nommy dim sum and us children went on an expedition for ice cream! The crowds were quite insane.

This monotonous account of my week aside, my Christmas has been exciting and very, very, snuggly. I had the opportunity to spend it with two amazing families; Alan’s family who’ve so warmly accepted me in and of course, my own, dysfunctional yet all round loving one. At this point, life is good.

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you guys have an awesome one.
♥

Average at times, completely nutters at others and at the lowest point, nothing but pain. But I wouldn’t have done it any different if I had to do my 18th all over again. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have and love myself. I’ve met new people, experienced changes to my lifestyle and overall, had a ball.

And to celebrate another year – a week’s worth of celebrations.

A not so good evening at Paulaner on my birthday followed by amazing after dinner drinks at The Martini Bar. Drunken dinner at Itacho, a failed attempt to head to the beach but a successful adventure around Chinatown. A day at Universal Studios and about 6 times on Cylon followed by a 2 hour luxury spa at the Amara. And a completely unexpected day at the Shang’s Valley Wing. 

Let’s not forget the completely amazing POTTER PARTY ♥
Followed by more alcohol at Chupitos. 

All these amazing things, none of which would have been this amazing without mother’s birthday gift. Sweetie flew all the way down from Redmond just to be by my side. Love you darling and thank you mom ♥♥♥

 “Hit the snooze button, keep the dream alive.”
Eve: -poke-
♥ you, silly boy

Never in my life have I ever planned a party. Not just a dinner party but a whole large, okay medium ish gala, with food, music, venue, games, the whole thing. I couldn’t have done this without the help of my co-conspirators Reggie and Swati. We joined forces (together with Reggie and Swati’s mothers) and we had an amazing Potter Party. The venue was amazing and it suited the theme so well, the food was good and the company, even better.

This amazing work of art that apparently everyone knew was going to be gifted to me. Even when I offered to buy it from Swati, I got a “Nah, it’s not for sale.” Cheeky.

I really cannot thank everyone involved in this week, enough for making it such a success. Without any of you, I’d probably be sat on the floor on my birthday, moping about. The whole week, it was just amazing.

Unforgettable
♥

]]> http://tangoinebony.com/2011/10/26/19-%e2%99%a5/feed/ 0 Eva DSC00336 DSC00352 DSC00361 DSC00356 DSC00376 DSC00383 DSC00388 DSC00390 DSC00401 DSC00405 DSC00434 315046_10150327022733483_543558482_8243264_941540983_n DSC00436 DSC00440 321669_10150327029093483_543558482_8243372_1078089895_n http://tangoinebony.com/2011/10/06/art-is-best-appreciated-with-a-spot-of-alcohol/ http://tangoinebony.com/2011/10/06/art-is-best-appreciated-with-a-spot-of-alcohol/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:03:56 +0000 Eva http://tangoinebony.com/?p=1562 ]]>

As Natalie so aptly put it on Facebook – “Workaholics winding down for the day”. Maybe it was simply because we had our planners out, trying to schedule in exhibitions, over beer. This, of course, comes before the ACS Art Exhibition and a quick round of shopping in which I didn’t buy much for myself (besides $81 for two bottles of vitamins and 40% off blush/bronzer in Sephora), I bought a lovely vest for my sister to match mine from H&M. I still don’t see the hype behind H&M.

Anyhow, some beer, a quick bite to eat and some greetings to teachers we ran into at HV and we were off, down Jalan Hitam Manis and up to the art rooms for the exhibition.

I was thoroughly impressed with my friend’s work. This is a display of what they’ve been up to for about the past 21 months or so and the results are astounding. I will never be able to rise to that level of creativity and produce such pieces.

Just a couple of pictures of my friends with their work;

Swati

One of my favourite pieces. Corporate shoes for a high earning job vs ballet slippers in pursuit of passion and dreams. Love this. I’ll buy it off you!

Rachel

Zech

Faiyaz

Quang Hai

Nathaniel

Sarawadee aka Kieng

Random Shots

My friends are amazingly talented and this exhibition was perfect. I’ve never expected any less from them and am extremely proud. Great work my darlings ♥

Eva

A little cup of friendship
With a bag of tea
When you drink this
Think of love from me

Grandma was due to leave Singapore this evening so mother, Eve and I decided to take her out for some tea. Tea at Regent Hotel followed closely by Rose Veranda at the Shang but unfortunately, both were fully booked for the afternoon. The Fullerton Bay Hotel’s offering for high tea was amazing but fully booked as well, that is, until mom pulled some strings and got us a table.

I really, really like The Landing Point. The very first time I was here was the day after Valentine’s day. Garry and mom had stayed the night while Eve and I joined them for lunch at The Clifford the next day (amazing food btw). Mom went off for her siesta, Garry and Eve were exploring the pool area and I settled down at TLP with a book (I think it was one of Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s Alexander books) a tall glass of cold lemon, lime and bitters and a smoke. It was a nice sunny day and the venue was quiet. The view was quite alright, overlooking the Marina Bay Sands but personally, nothing too special.

Unfortunately, I had to run some errands before tea; beard papa cream puffs and Bee Cheng Hiang Bakkwa (barbecued meat) for my aunt -.-’ By the time I got to TLP, our tea time platter was clean! Apparently Eve was so hungry, she inhaled most of what was on that platter. No matter, I settled in for a Mango and Avocado Salad with Grilled Prawns and a tiny bucket of French Fries with Truffle oil. And a tall glass of lemon, lime and bitters. Never forget the LLB.

And now, the tea is all gone, grandma’s arrived all snug and safe and I am comfortable in my bed. Not a bad Sunday after all. Till next time grandma ♥

Good night everyone!

It was about 8pm in the evening and I had nothing to do. Alan was still asleep so there was nobody to nag at and annoy, I had already cooked dinner (prawn and bacon fried rice) and I was stuck in the living room, vegetating on one of the bean bags. Mom was next to me, flipping through the channels. We looked like couch potatoes.

Me: Bored.

Mom: Me too.

Me: Bored

Mom: Go run naked down the road, I’ll sell tickets.

Me: -.-’

For some reason, we came to a consensus to go to one of the few places in Singapore where one could shop at all hours of the day.

Smack in the middle of Little India, Mustafa Centre boasts to have in stock most everything and anything you could possibly need/want. Armed with a basket (and eventually a trolley) we set off to battle the crowds. Even past midnight on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning, people were constantly streaming in and out. I wouldn’t say it was awfully crowded as compared to say a weekend, but there was definitely a lot of people around.

Hanging out with my mother never ceases to be entertaining. I mean, my insanity must come from somewhere! We laughed so much that evening, chased each other around with stinky packets of idon’treallyknowwhatthatwas, chucking random things into the trolley while the other frantically chucks it out, laughing so loudly the whole aisle turns and stares tripping over boxes because we were laughing too hard. Oops, that last one was definitely me :p

And spending about $130 on a collection of the most random things. We bought bumpits, masala chai tea which happen to be really good, mango chutney, ghee lamps, tapioca chips, huge loaf of bread, bottles of tabasco, more bottles of old style soft drinks like ginger beer, sarsapilla, etc, hair ties, bindhis, shampoo, soap, more random snacks, frozen prata, nuggets with tandoori or something similar… and the list goes on. I also bought a little plush turtle who constantly runs away from it’s shell. I was sufficiently entertained.

No, seriously.

We got back home with bags of our junk, showered, I brewed myself a hot mug of masala chai the two of us resumed our position as couch potatoes in front of the tv, to watch the cheesy Street Fighter (it’s terrible). And then I realized, it really wasn’t the outing to a random spot that made me happy, it really was just hanging out with my mother that felt like the adventure of a lifetime.

After years of arguing, yelling, bringing the house down around the two of us and thousands of scathing remarks, we realize that deep down, we really are very alike. And what a waste to throw away this god sent gift that allows us to understand each other perfectly. These recent years, I’ve grown up and learnt to appreciate my mother more and to accept her as not just an authoritative figure, but also as a best friend.

Love you mom ♥