Flying off to Hk...

Bye guys. I'll be back in a jiffy.. on Fri.

It won't feel like anything.

It'll just feel like I've had a very uneventful 3 days, and have nothing to blog about.

heh...

Diff side of Khalil....





this is like number 7 of the series... go watch the rest as well!

Good morning Ainanders...

Saturday started at 3am when I had to get ready for filming "wedding of the year". And since I've been sleeping at 6-8am for the past week or so, I didn't get much sleep either. So i went for filming really puffy-eyed....

But filming was fun! Although I'm doing a very small cameo role, but we were filming at Equinox which is on the 70th storey! Hence the great view!

And what really helped perk me up... was filming with Chris and Fann(whom i absolutely love ever since Condor Heroes). I am quite a big fan lar. And I'm always very off-form in front of the people I like...

So it took me a lot of courage to be myself in front of the golden couple.

And even greater courage to say my lines while looking at Fann in the eyes.

I still shiver in excitement when recalling this... and that was like 24 hours ago already...

Carrie was my PA for the day(it was so good to have her around! Thank you!) and she took alot of pictures while we were filming. But I won't share them with you all just in case I'm not allowed to since the movie is still in production, and i think its better we keep you all in suspense and anticipation. =)

AIYA, but i'm also very GENEROUS and willing to share(dying to share actually), so i'll throw in another picture. This picture shouldn't get me in trouble la, since its so dubious. But you do get a good idea that we are obviously filming something. Try to spot the familiar faces.


But i do have a few regrets.
I didn't make it for the jamming session with KKJ ... which means i didn't get to chup the song writing process of this cool thing we're coming up with Youth.sg
sorry guys.
I hope you all don't regret having me as partner and am*ass*r*o*.

I am however above all very thankful and grateful to Lim Teck and CQ for this chance to look at Fann in the eyes and say something. And also, the chance to appear on the big screen!

Man.

Unbelievable.

I wish 'downstairs' would make it on the big screen someday. It would be all the emotions I felt at our first screening at SAM multiplied by a million.

Ok, I'm off to church! Bye!

In common dee randomness:
I was telling Pf I wanna be a starbucks barrister. I wanna learn how to make coffee. The pay sucks, but there's something very attractive about coffee barristers that I wanna be like. Hmmmm.

天黑和天亮 say hello.

又是一个睡不着的夜晚。
这是什么鬼屁生活习惯啊...
但夜晚的宁静有一种魅力, 一种让我回到自我的魔力。
也让我有感而发的想用自己不那么擅长的华语来表达现在的感受。

刚看了 freshmusic 的一个entry...

黎础宁, 她死了。
很难听，但这是无法改变的事实。

为什么要死。
为什么选择逃避一切。
如果有勇气自寻死路，怎么会没勇气走下去。

一把那么好的嗓子。
一个和我同岁的女子。
一个我们都在追求的梦想。
一个复杂的感情世界。
一个结束的生命。
很多破碎的梦。

杨协陈's interview on 100.3UFM

Carrie and I were on UFM100.3 this morning at 9am till 10am doing an interview with Limei and Jianwen. It was fun! Although the both of us were so half asleep when we got there, we were wide awake 5 minutes into the segment!

Sorry we didn't tell anyone about it, we're bad artistes.

We just do what we do.

We're not so good at the 经营事业 bit. But we're very good at enjoying what we do though... heh.

Anyhow, the blessed part of it all! Was other than having a really good time on air, Ivon recorded down our interview when she heard us! So brilliant right! So for those of you who didn't catch our interview... you can hear it now! Its playing on my blog! All thanks to Ivon!

So 伟大 that i cannot help but post a picture of her here. And since I remember envying the friendship these three 臭皮匠's had, I decided i might as well put all their faces up here together.

Huiyuan, Joyce, Ivon and Me
on my 2nd birthday party at macdonalds.

And why 杨协陈 ？

During the show, the audience was asked to give us ideas for names should we start a girl group... and this was one of the most creative names we got! A pity we didn't have time to discuss this on air. But i thought this name was pure brilliance. SO apt, and yet so commercial and localised. We could even end up being the poster girls for Yeo's! My favourite is lemon barley...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our interview segment!
And while I'm at it, Carrie and I will be performing this Sun at a 100.3UFM event at Vivo. Its a charity drive called "给我你的时间“. I think its meaningful... instead of giving money. Why not give some of these people your PRECIOUS time?

I think other than performing, Carrie and I will be thinking of signing up some hours.

Come join us. =)

突然有个想法：不跟你说。

The girls are going to Taiwan!


thank you Mono for helping with the Poster and Shunz for creating the fb invite!



Stayed up all night playing around with Final Cut
and this is what i have to show.
Peeks and Shun, be merciful.

-

Itinerary
Red - Day
Blue - Places visited
*first tour departs singapore on 18th of dec, second tour departs singapore on 27th dec.
Both have almost the same itineraries except for Day 6/第六天 *

第一天：
新加坡–台北 阳明山国家公园、小油坑 (X/午/晚餐)

第二天：
桃园-台北-九份-宜兰 花莲：雪山隧道、梅花湖风景区、苏花公路、阿美山地歌舞
(早餐/午餐自费于九份/原著民风味竹筒饭晚餐）

早餐之后前往台湾民主纪念馆。这座壮观的建筑物，原为了纪念台湾的前总统将介石所建。下一站前往山城九份游览，这是电影（悲情城市）的摄影场地，尚存旧时居民生活旧矿场的独特气息。这里的风味小吃也不容错过，如阿婆鱼羹、九份芋丸、旧道口牛肉面等。接着通过全世界第五长的隧道-雪山隧道前往游览宜兰县梅花湖风景区，道教总庙三清宫。稍后启程前往花莲，观赏台湾原住民阿美族的山地歌舞表演。

第三天：
花莲-台东：太鲁阁牌坊、长春祠、初鹿牧场、小熊度假村（放天灯）
（早餐/养生料理午餐/度假村晚餐）

早餐之后前往太鲁阁国家公园，首先会看到的是题有“东西横贯公路”的太鲁阁牌坊。接着前往橙瓦红墙，采山洞式建筑的古典式祠堂，长春祠，之后参观野生灵芝馆。中午享用一顿养生料理午餐。接着前往台东初鹿牧场。初鹿牧村面积辽阔，牧场内设有露天茶座、露营烤肉区和森林浴场，而远处错落着红瓦房，倒映着蓝天白云，使人仿佛置身欧洲庄园，清静而悠闲。前往住宿小熊度假村，坐拥花东纵谷磅礴美景，您还可在晚间领略台湾悠久的民俗文化-放天灯。（住宿：小熊度假村或同级）www.masterbear.com.tw


第四天：
台东-高雄：车城福安宫、美浓客家村、佛光山、西子湾、梦时代广场、六合夜市
(早/客家料理午餐/晚餐自费于六合夜市）

车城福安宫是东南亚最具规模的土地公庙，门前的石狮为台湾最有名的纯石雕石狮，其化金炉独特之设计，更赢得神明点钞机之美誉。在美浓民俗村体验客家的传统文化。接着前往台湾佛教圣地佛光山，该寺建于1967年，除了是台湾最大的佛寺之外，在国际亦享有盛名，途中参观珍珠养殖中心。之后在美丽的西子湾看夕阳。前往全台最大的购物中心，梦时代购物广场，在这里，游客可以自费搭乘全台唯一可以欣赏海景的Hello Kitty摩天轮。之后将前往六合夜市品尝各种台湾美食小吃。


第五天：
高雄-剑湖山-台中：逢甲夜市 （早餐/午餐自理/晚餐）

早餐之后前往剑湖山主题乐园，晚间我们来到台中最大的逢甲夜市，游客可在此购买物美廉的流行服饰。www.janfusun.com.tw


*first batch*
第六天: (23th Dec)
台中-台北:（早/午/晚餐自费于通化夜市）

参加台湾电视节目录像，晚上通化街夜市。


*second batch*
第六天：(1st Jan)
台中-台北：日月潭、莺歌陶瓷街、五分埔（早/午/晚餐）

早餐后前往台湾最大的淡水湖，日月潭，面积793公顷，全湖被拉鲁岛一分为二，南部状似月，北部状似太阳，日月潭亦因此得名。我们也将参观供奉孔子与关帝的文武庙，孔雀园以及原住民特产中心。台北，游览莺歌陶瓷街及流行服饰批发中心五分埔。


第七天：
台北：淡水、渔人码头、圆山风景区、台北101、士林夜市 （早/午/晚餐自费于士林夜市）

早餐后前往游览淡水老街和渔人码头。之后前往台北圆山风景区，参观中国宫殿式建筑的圆山大饭店。之后前往貔貅展览馆及原住民特产中心。继程前往台湾最高的101摩天大楼，晚间我们将前往士林夜市自费品尝大饼包小饼、士林大香肠、铁板烧等地道台湾美食。


第八天:
台北-新加坡 （早餐）

于指定集合时间乘车前往桃园机场

We really really really hope to see you peeps on our first tour...
and we also really really really hope to bump into
Jay Chou or Ashin on the roads of Taipei while eating Smelly Tofu.

Let's dream and GO 2 Naruwan Taiwan together!

The end to the week - WEEKEND.

Its been two weekends of hanging out with the Lee cousin's... they've been my motivation for waking up early(very early!) on Saturdays when i usually wake up only for lunch.

Cycling last weeked...

First there was Cycling with the Popsicle Man.

My dear aunty and uncle...
deedeeliamdeedeeliam

Healthy lifestyle! I only slept 2 hours that nite, before going cycling,
plus my bad ankle, maybe not so healthy lar.

Cycling at the beach

and then there was escape theme park today...

I duno what Gareth is doing,
but he almost couldn't join us this morning because he was naughty.

The brothers.

Before taking the inverter!
We took the inverter with a pretty little girl called Germaine.
But she was very quiet, unlike the three of us who were screaming our lungs out. =)

Its been two great saturdays! And I'm looking forward to even more!
Its also been the week of birthdays... on Leb's birthday I went over to his house to play! We ended up recording a unplugged version of Tao Yan... but we wanna try it again with a little bit of changes here and there, work on the vocal arrangement a bit, on the music arrangement abit, maybe even do a Fantasia version of it. Haha.. but for now, here's the video. Take a listen... =)

And finally, Happy happy birthday my dearest two-thirds of the farm family. =)
May all your wishes come true and may our family stick together through thick and thin.

Fat me Fat Ankle

Fat me who normally doesn't do much regimental exercising and is not about to be able to start on any visited the "metal hit" today because I kinda sprained my ankle.

I think I sprained it bout a week back, but I could still walk and even went cycling with my cousins. But it hurts when i twist it in a particular direction and when i tip toe to take things off my shelf... and it hurts like someone stuck a knife into my ankle.

So then i decided something had to be done and made an appointment with the 铁打。

BUT THE PROCESS WAS FREAKING PAINFUL!!!!!

Especially when they applied force on that particular area which is where the problem is.

My ankle is now in a really cool bandage(I always tot bandages were cool), I think I'm supposed to go back and have it massaged again, but I'm not looking forward to it. Too painful.

Owww!!!!

Sad that I have to repeat
the whole painful process again...

*photos courtesy of Carrie Yeo who used her new Panasonic Lumix

噢買尬

A cleaner was mauled to death by White Tigers in the Singapore Zoo today.


More about this story on straitstimes online although I got a bit irritated reading Straits Time's cover of the story because of some unnecessary errors in reporting.

Like referring to the victim as "her" although HE is a MAN,and then referring to the victim as "Mr Montong" in one paragraph and then "Mr Nordin" in another paragraph and then "Mr Mondong"(WHAT?!?) in another as though they are three different people when 'they' are one and the same -- Mr Nordin Montong.

Silly errors really. Easily avoidable if the reporter had made it a point to read through the passage before publishing it online. Which reminds me of a post I posted a week back about Ms Agnes Lin who claims that she was misquoted in an article resulting in a "money-leeching" image.

I decided to give her the benefit of doubt because of what the reporter had to say in defence to this:

“This put me in a quandary. I couldn’t say she was paying her bills through part time work, as her tuition grant guidelines prevent her from moonlighting. I also couldn’t reveal that she was being given an allowance under the tuition bond as she had explicitly asked me not to, so I chose to leave it out”.

No, this is such a lame excuse. You could have chosen to keep her identity anonymous? You could have chosen to keep it vague and say that she does earn her own keep in small ways in order to lessen the burden on her parents? Leaving out the main details?

“I certainly regret the distress this has caused her, we never expected this to happen, and we understand this has caused her some trauma. Still, she shouldn’t be worried about what people online are saying about her because a lot of netizens aren’t held accountable and can be quite nasty.”

No apology, nothing. I think its more than just "some trauma". And Hah-rowww telling her to ignore the apparently "unaccountable and nasty netizens" is really lame advice to someone who has already been stabbed left right centre by your reporting.

But as a final buffer statement, I must say I have met some fine reporters and read some fine reporting. Just that I guess, its always so much easier to notice and remember the bad stuff.

Similarly, even if you were to give Ms Agnes Lim 10 reports on how gracious and lovely a person she is, most people are really only going to remember the first article. About how reckless she is with spending her parent's money.

Life's unfair. But short, so make sure there are no regrets. *head cock* *wink*

Message on Facebook

"Are you from project superstar? Thats interesting but could i add u?"

Yes I am, but why would that be interesting? And even so, why does being an interesting superstar mean that you have to add me?

I don't get it.

Because I am from superstar and hence I am interesting?

I like to believe I'm interesting even if i hadn't joined superstar.

One day, when I'm a fine musician with great music to share, I'll definitely add you all on facebook. But for now, I'm still struggling with trying to keep facebook semi-private. I know I don't have the liberty to have a super private life now, but I think I have to protect the interests of my friends(in and out of the industry).

So forgive me dears if i don't add you on facebook?

I try my best, and I add you if i know who you are, have met you a couple of times and will be able to remember having added you.

Don't really want people on the street coming up to me saying "hey! You remember me? We haven't met but you added me on facebook!"

Facebook is a great marketing tool. And its great to let more people know who Tan Diya is.
But i don't think that's how i want to use it.

I still believe face to face communication is important no matter how advanced technology gets. So I have to meet you and know you to add you on facebook, I won't add you on facebook to get to know you. =)

I'd love to meet you.

" humpty dumpty sat on the wall,
humpty dumpty had a great fall,
all the kings horses and all the king's men,
couldn't put humpty together again. "

Do you feel like i do?

When i don't want to read a book.

When i don't want to read blogs.

When i have no one to tell anything to because I have so many things to tell.

When I don't want to pick up the guitar.

When i don't want to pick up the drum sticks.

When i don't want to pick up the DS lite.

When I don't want to listen to anything but my own breathing.

When i just want to lie down and slip in and out of semi-conciousness.

Why do i feel like i feel?

Welcome 2 Taiwan!

On 95.8FM tonight at 10pm talking
about the trip~tune in to find out more!

Details of the trip coming soon! Sorry it took so long!

We're trying to Iron out alot of things, and tickets are very scarce this season it seems even with the economic depression!

Plus airport tax and fuel charges it's going to $1500 per person(2 to go) for a 8 days 7 nights trip to Taiwan! And you'll be flying SQ, so this is the deal man...

Departure dates are on the 18th and 27th...

More details coming soon.

Watch. This. Space.

But. If. Impatient.

Call Travel Links at 65366233 for more information.

Unclutterer.com

Recently, my room got cleaner and less cluttered. But the less cluttered it is, the more i want to unclutter it. Its like an obsession. And yes, when i come home i feel "overwhelemed and exhausted" looking at the little bits of clutter. I feel I need to throw away some things and pack up some stuff. I just have to.

Mono said I'm a neat freak. Me??? Neat?? My mum would laugh in my face.

In my desperation, i googled "any tips on how to reduce clutter in my room?" half expecting the search engine to release a neat-genie who would fly out from the screen in a puff of smoke and say "Master~would you like me to tidy your room for you?"

Nothing like that happened. I did however get some tips from unclutter.com... let me share it with all you neat freaks out there~!

Having a clutter-filled house can make you feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Everywhere you look, you see little chores that should be done. No single task is particularly difficult, but together, they add up to a big headache and a big mess. Pretty quickly, it’s easier just to add to the piles than to try to attack the problem.

Here are ten easy, quick tips that, if followed regularly, will help keep your clutter under control. And none of them takes more than five minutes – if that.

1. Make your bed each morning.
2. Throw away the newspaper each night, even if you haven’t read it yet.
3. Follow the “one-minute rule” – push yourself to do any chore that takes less than one minute. Throw away the junk mail, close the cabinet door, put your dirty socks in the hamper, hang up your wet towel.
4. Identify an organization or person to whom you can give things you no longer need – it’s much easier to get rid of unneeded stuff if you can envision someone else getting good use from them. Also, figure out a place to store those things until you hand them over. We have a special shelf for books that we’re taking to the Housing Works thrift store. When the shelf is full, we drop off the books.
5. Pause for a moment before you “store” something. Storing something means you don’t intend to use it much. Other than holiday decorations and seasonal clothes, you should strive to “store” as little as possible.
6. Beware of freebies. Never accept anything free, unless you’re thrilled with it. A mug, a tote bag, a hand-me-down toy, the lamp from your mother-in-law—if you don’t need it, don’t take it.
7. Get rid of things if they break. When I went through our apartment, I was astonished by how many things I’d kept even though they didn’t work.
8. Don’t keep any piece of paper unless you know that you actually need it. I have a friend who, for years, carefully filed away the stubs when she paid her gas bill. “Why?” I asked, mystified. “I have no idea,” she said. Along the same lines, don’t keep anything that would quickly become dated—like travel information. Remember the internet! If you can easily find information online, you don’t need to keep a hard copy.
9. Hang up your coat.
10. Before you go to bed, take five minutes to do an “evening tidy-up.” Don’t tackle anything ambitious, but just stack up the magazines, put your shoes away, shove the chairs into place, etc. Just a few minutes of tidying can make your house look a lot better, and it’s a calming thing to do before going to sleep. Plus it makes the morning nicer.

To answer Audrea's question:

NO neck cramp, only NOse bruise.

hahahahaha!

就为了还她一个公道。

I rather give her the benefit of the doubt. So read this and pass it on, lest this girl faces even more emotional trauma from agreeing to be interviewed for an article. She gets no money for being interviewed, and instead gets potrayed in a un-flattering manner to almost the whole singapore since we only have ONE main Newspaper company.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/toc-exclusive-agnes-lin-a-victim-of-the-st/

Star Trooper lost in the galaxy...

Maybe we all wear a mask wherever we go...
But it gets tiring when you have to put on different masks for different occasions...

Otherwise, being a star trooper for a day is really quite a bit of fun.

For once, people still stare at me, but i don't feel out of place or akward. I don't feel the pressure to smile and be polite, or find myself wondering if they're looking at me because they recognise me or because there's something slimy crawling around on my face.

I enjoy the bit of attention that i get behind the mask because it brings a smile
not just on my face, but on theirs as well.

Life as a star trooper on earth might be good. =P

这世界笑了
於是你合群的一起笑了
当生存是规则
不是你的选择
於是你含着眼泪
飘飘荡荡跌跌撞撞的走着
你不是真正的快乐
你的笑只是 你穿的保护色 ...