I forgot to post the link for my Japan pics. So, here it is:
The pics aren’t that great though. I don’t make the best photographer because I always feel a little wary of people looking at me and making comments like "Ugh, tourists" whenever I take my camera out in public…
But do take a look at them if you have the time. 
Today is Merdeka Day and I’m at the office. Doesn’t matter, really, cause I’m here on my own will and I get paid extra for it. But now that I’ve finished my work, I feel like shopping for some furniture.
Except that it’s raining cats and dogs outside so there’s no way I can get out of this place.
Dang.
So, here I am writing another boring entry… There’s really nothing much to say though, so if your name doesn’t pop up in one of the sub-headers below, you might want stop reading and go do something useful instead.
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To COUSINS and NIECE:
It’s great that my cousins and niece have finally found the joys of drinking. Though I don’t think any of them have yet to have so much alcohol that drinking a sip of water the next morning feels like drinking a gallon of poison, I do feel the need to tell them to read up about alcohol poisoning and learn about the dangers of consuming too much alcohol in one night.
So guys, Google "alcohol poisoning", read the essential facts, and then go make yourself a B52.
It’s not preaching guys, it’s more like sharing experiences. There’s no harm in learning things, right?
To THE SELF-LOATHING BITCH WHO FOOLS SOME PEOPLE INTO THINKING SHE’S LOVELY BUT SHE’S REALLY NOT:
For every one bad thing you do or say to others, you will experience three more yourself. And remember, you have two sons.
To MY BIG BOSS:
For the love of life, retire already dammit! And take your useless henchmen with you!
To OONA:
I sooo did not lose weight. It’s got something to do with the sloppy way I resized my pictures, not intentionally, of course. 
Today I wore cargo pants, my VERY old Nike (product placement! product placement!) mules, and a GAP T-shirt I bought from Reject Shop, to the office.
Why so casual?
Because the college paper’s on a break for a week. Or is it two weeks? I don’t know, but whatever it is, yesterday, today and tomorrow, there were/will be no bosses and only one writer around (whom I have allowed to do nothing but chat with her friends on MSN).
BLISS.
Today, I finally got my Lily Allen CD, a proper one I mean. I got the advanced copy weeks ago, and have been listening to it non-stop ever since, but it’s still nice to get the proper album with its nice inlay.
But, I was more excited to get this CD:
Woohoo! Warner even gave me a freakin’ huge poster of Paris. It’s imported, apparently. So thanks WM!
Okay, so I am NOT a fan of Paris, but I am very curious to hear her music. I liked Stars Are Blind ("liked" because I am getting a little fed up of the song, heh), but you can’t judge a singer by one song. Besides, she’s got really good producers and other music makers working on the album, so it should be fairly decent eh?
I’m only up to track 5 (which is Jealousy, a song that is soooo obviously about Nicole "I want to sing too" Richie), but I can safely say that the album is good. Not great or "wonderfully refreshing" as music reviewers would often say to describe new singers, but it isn’t BAD either.
Hmm… Jealousy is actually good. Wonder what Nicole will say about it though.
Paris uses a lot of that "breathy" voice style, one of the many tricks untrained singers use to make them sound like they can actually sing. She used it on Stars Are Blind, and got a lot of flak for it, mostly from people who hate Paris.
To me, however, it’s not a big deal. I mean, if the music’s good, and that kind of voice goes with that kind of music, then what the hell is the problem? It’s not like she’s aiming to be the best vocalist or something. It ain’t American bloody Idol folks, and I am quite sure Paris isn’t comparing herself to Billie Holliday or Cilla Black or even freakin’ Mariah 8-octave Carey. (Okay I could be mistaken, it IS Paris Hilton so she might just compare herself to Mariah, but surely not vocally!)
(Tracks Nothing in this World and Screwed are also pretty good tunes)
Actually, when you listen to her carefully, Paris sounds a little like Gwen Stefani. And Gwen doesn’t exactly have the best voice in the world or is the best singer around. Sure, she’s got strong vocals, and she’s great live, but Gwen Stefani’s voice can get pretty whiney and nasal. She still sold millions of album so that’s what matters.
The one (but not only) grouse I have about Paris’s debut is the cover. I think it’s a bad angle of her face, though she does look slutty enough to entice some pervys.
She’s got this dance track on the album, Not Leaving Without You, which I think is one of those songs you need to listen to a few times to get into.
(Ah, I found it. The track everyone will love to hate - Turn You On.)
Oh my lordy! Paris does a cover of Rod Stewart’s Do Ya Think I’m Sexy! Hahahaha… I kinda like it, in all it’s cheesiness glory.
That’s the last track by the way.
VERDICT: I give it a seven out of 10. The album’s got a good mix of pop, dance and disco and Paris sounds different in each of the songs, which is a good thing.
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Go ahead, make fun of me and my Paris-praisin’ review.
(I finally have no work in the office and what do I do? A FREE review of Paris Hilton’s album on the blog. Them Warner people must be SMILING with glee.)
Before I forget, I’d like to wish Audrey S.T. a very happy birthday. Tomorrow.
Anyways, I realised that I have been telling my Tokyo story all wrong. Well, not wrong, but terbalik. So, let’s start again, shall we (oh stop complaining!)?
It all started a week before my birthday. On Aug 3, AMC came to me and asked me if I wanted to go to Tokyo.
"Er, oklah," was my answer.
Me being me, I went about the day as if it wasn’t a big deal. It really isn’t lah, but just a week before that I was complaining about how I probably couldn’t get anymore overseas trips on account of me being on a different desk and all. So, when AMC told me she was nominating me to go, I was more relieved than happy, really.
However, because I was no longer on the beloved entertainment desk, AMC had to ask permission from several people before my trip was confirmed. All the desk bosses said okay, but the bigger boss took his time to give his approval. And I needed his approval to do my Japan visa.
When he finally signed the letter, it was already Monday. The visa applications were submitted but then rejected because the travel agent signed up for business visas instead of tourist visas. Haiya.
Things were looking bad at first, so I tried my best not to jinx things. I didn’t tell anyone (some of my colleagues knew though, obviously) about the trip, not even my parents. I told Liz though cause I couldn’t tahan anymore haha. I told my sister too, just in case I forget to call home and tell mum.
It was hard keeping the trip a secret, especially since people kept asking me what I was going to do on my birthday.
When I finally told HanSue, it was less than 24 hours before my flight (yes, we got our visas done by then). It was already midnight, and officially MY BIRTHDAY. I had a string of text messages from friends and family, and I replied to all of them without saying a thing about the trip.
Some of them asked how I was going to celebrate. I said I was going to have sushi. Hey I didn’t lie ok!
So anyways, to make a long boring story short, I went to Tokyo on the night of MY BIRTHDAY. I went with JL of UM, and two contest winners - the husband-and wife team of Nidzam and Shareena - who are great sports and wonderful tourists
Of course, when we arrived at Narita, it was already 6am the next day, so bye bye birthday… Still, to me, celebrating a birthday night in mid-air was fucking wonderful.
You’re literally on top of the world. What could be better than that?
Well, that’s the story folks. Boring, but I am a boring gal sometimes. Deal with it.
I am grateful for AMC (and also IN for foregoing the Tokyo assignment in exchange for an NYC one) and for UM for giving me one of the best birthday gifts I have ever had. I am also grateful for JL of UM’s friend’s mother who helped us get our visas on time (hehe).
What do you think I should do next year?
ps/ I know, I know, it’s not a Johnny Depp story. But Johnny Depp always makes for a great title, don’t you think?
So Tokyo was fun. I was there for Summer Sonic 2006, a two-day music festival that included performances from quite a lot of international acts.
I saw (in order of best shows, in my opinion):
Flaming Lips
Muse
The Editors
Massive Attack (with Elisabeth Fraser too!!)
All-American Rejects
Ellegarden (a Japanese band)
Fallout Boy (though I only managed to see two songs… so sad lor)
DJ Shadow (erm, I saw the tail end of his set, but it was fantastic!)
The Feeling
The Kooks
Other acts I wished I had been able to see include Nelly Furtado, Metallica (yes, I flipped a coin and decided to go see Wayne Coyne and play orange baloons with him instead), Deftones (though someone said they sucked), Arctic Monkeys (the hall was too packed so we weren’t allowed in anymore), The Rapture, Daft Punk and The Cardigans (dammit! I waited for so many years to see them!).
I would have loved to see Keane too, but the lead singer fell ill and their set was cancelled. Kesian.
Anyways, the festival was GREAT! It was hot hot hot hot in Tokyo - I got a tan to prove it - though there was a freakin’ storm on the first day. I thought it got even hotter after the rain stopped though…
The festival venue was this huge expo/convention centre place, a baseball stadium and a waterfront stage thingy. The place was so big you had to take the bus to go from one venue to another. SERIOUSLY. I walked to the Muse gig from the main convention centre, took me a bloody 20 minutes! It was worth it though, the Muse set was just wonderful, even though I did fall asleep in between some songs (tired lah, was on my feet the whole day, and didn’t get enough shut eye the night before. Plus I also saw the whole show standing up, there were no more available seats by the time I got there).
Millions of people turned up at the festival. And when I say millions, I don’t mean figuratively. I really do mean MILLIONS.
But, Japan being Japan, everything was done in order. Need to use the loo? Line up. And I don’t mean line up right in front of the cubicle of your choice like how Malaysians do it. In Japan (and Singapore too actually) the line starts just before the first cubicle. And nobody cuts in. NOBODY.
Hungry? Line up and buy your food. When you’re done, take your plate/bowl and utensils and throw them at the designated recycling bins. If you had bought a bottle of water or soda or tea or whatever, you can’t just throw the bottle in the bin. You need to open up the freakin’ label on the bottle, take out the bottle cap and then throw. The bottle itself goes into a different bin. If you don’t do it, there are people waiting by the bin to tell you to do it. Chotto matte kudasai, open-a boteru, rabe-ru and cappo. Boteru trow in dere (points to one bin), rabe-ru cappo trow here (points to another bin).
The loveliest thing is that people actually do it. And they don’t seem annoyed at having to do it either.
Gotta go. Work beckons. Will continue tomorrow.
Hello.
I is back.
I is also back at work.
It sucks.
Somebody just told me I looked 25.
Yay.
Maybe that’s why whenever I interview artistes/celebs who are a few years younger than me they always speak to me as if I was still green and know nuts about well, things.
So, how to look 30 ah? Wear pearls around my neck all the time? Go to work in proper work clothes and not in jeans, T-shirts, denim skirts and slippers? Carry a Louis Vuitton handbag (well it dun go with slippers anyways now eh?) or purse? Wear more makeup?
I’d rather not. I’m happy just feeling 30 and not looking it. It’s not a crime, people. Just take off those pearls.
A happy belated birthday to Encik Chang. I missed it by one day. No, I missed it by one hour, and for a good reason too.
You see, I’m still in Tokyo.
Back to homeland tomorrow, back to work on Wednesday and hopefully back online at the same time. Cheers all, and thanks for all your birthday greetings. Denise, I’ll email you later. Michael, si Stanley Liew mau jumpa kau :P. Choy Yen, it feels good to be in your group! Francoise, thank you for remembering me (aisey, like I died or something… touch wood!) Liz, T-shirts finish!!! only got one, and it’s not so nice… :( sorry….
I like Lily Allen’s Alfie. Apparently, the singer’s ex-boyfriend, who was written about in her song Smile, has replied her in the form of a song. The same song, actually. It’s kinda like what that chick did to Eamon when he sang I Don’t Want You Back. It’s a funny number really, and I suppose it’s a great gimmick to sell more singles…
Anyways, just rambling.
Been pretty busy doing nothing. Work is the same old crap, but term/semester break is in two weeks, so I should be able to write more entertainment stories again by then. Yay!
Hotel La Melodious is doing fine, btw. I’ve got a relatively new bed now, which I bought from a friend who moved to Switzerland to feed the cows and go hiking, apparently. I also bought a small dining table from her, and took her old, rickety chairs as well. She gave me a hookah as well. I have yet to try it though… Any takers?
My sofa, shoe rack and coffee table came yesterday. Yay. Now I can concentrate on figuring out what to do with my clothes, which are still mostly kept in garbage bags on the floor…
Ah well, since I’m running out of money, I guess I’ll have to take things very, very slowly…
In other news, I got another guest coming in this Friday, Miss Cat. Miss Cat, apparently, is dying to go out in KL. She complains that the hometown nightlife is getting a little stale, but I know she loves it all the same. :P
I have no idea what KL nightlife is like now. R hasn’t been updating me much, but she said she’s been busy herself…
Next week I’ll be off on Thursday and Friday. Yay. I plan to get lost. Somewhere. Anywhere. Although, I guess I have to check my bank account first and see if I can actually afford to get lost… Otherwise, I’ll just lounge at home on my new sofa, watching crap on Astro (dang, do you have any idea how much it cost to set up that darn dish? And to think we had someone do it for free last time… ), drinking port and sherry from my ahem, D-I-Y bar, eating chips by the pool, enjoying the breeze from my balcony…
Ahhhhh… sounds heavenly…
at least for an hour or two. If I get bored by the third hour please don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from me screaming about getting older and not being a millionaire and stuck in a job where the big boss thinks i’m just a fool… and I suppose if I’m really bummed out I’ll talk about being single and bored every now and then… Oh well. Looking forward to next week, I am.
If I’m nice I’ll invite my colleagues over for dinner at my place. What should be on the menu folks?
I’ll get the pics of Hotel La Melodious up soon enough. For now, enjoy some nonsensical pics I got from Ed.L, who turned 37 on Monday.
* Ooh, I hope Daryl got me a present from Tokyo! Cause he knows how much I will pester him if he didn’t…
