Its 7pm and I am still in the office.

Why? I hear you ask.

Because today was our annual stock take and we all have to wait until the final accounts closing is done before we can leave.

Meanwhile I have a great bowling game lined up, that I am going to be super late for.

Grrr.

Some Pictures of the night before Christmas

So here are some pictures of the cast and crew of Baghdad Cafe.

Backstage, photo whoring while waiting for the audience to settle in.
(from back to front: Sherman, Mervin, Sarah, Rachel and Aarika)


The brains behind the madness - Rhordan Wicks. He wrote, produced and staged the entire musical in 2 weeks, with a lot of stress and alot of grace from God.


The Prince and his Harem - Prince looks very happy to be the only thorn among the roses. The girls are (from left) Tiffany, Audrey, Aarika, Rachel and someone whose name I don't know.


The entire cast and crew of Baghdad Cafe. Great bunch of people. Energetic, talented and so much fun!


The people I hung out with the most. And that one girl whose name I still don't know. Clockwise from right - Yeronn, Rhordan, Elgin (stage manager), Kenneth (general do everything guy), Prince, girl I don't know name of, and me.


Aarika and me, glamming in up for the camera. Just before the media mobbed us. :)

So, what's next?

Sigh.

After all the excitement of Christmas, the musical and the hee hee haa haa, life back at work is so mundane.

Especially the thought that I actually have to work, instead of just looking busy and staying under the radar.

It's time to seriously think about doing something different next year. If not job wise, then at least with my extra curricular activities. Definitely continuing the charleston lessons with Sinclair Ang. Then what?

This time of the year is so hard. SO many things I want to do, and so little time.

BTW, anyone want to read my synopsis for my Easter play? Heh heh.

Because I am lazy...

Hey, since I am waaay too lazy to post pics about my Christmas party, I am going to refer all of you to Shal's blog instead. Read about it and see pictures at http://conceal-me.blogspot.com.

Oh, and here is the key to making good dhalcha.

7:00 am to 2 p.m. - visualise the dhalcha, make sure you have all the ingredients and pray hard that it will turn out ok.

2p.m. - 5 p.m. - Take a nap (Do not skip this step, or else you run the risk of ruining the whole dish.)

5.pm - put dhal, meat, potoatoes and carrots on the boil. Add salt to taste. Quarrel with husband about how you are working, for Pete's sake and please get out of the kitchen.

6:00 - prepare the oil and spice mixture (Thaalippu in Tamil) and throw it in with the boiled stuff. Add curry powder and salt to taste. Yell at husband about how he is no help.

7:15 pm: Serve with hot butter rice to general accolades and applause. Take ALL the credit.

Oh, and dhalcha tastes better the next day, so make sure you make enough to have leftovers.

Christmas isn't Christmas till it happens in your heart

My heart is full.
Almost as full as my stomach.

I have not the energy or the composure of mind to blog more right now, but it has been a full and rewarding Christmas holiday.

To all those reading, blessed Christmas and I hope your hearts are as full as mine.

More later.

Theatre Review - Baghdad Cafe

When I was asked to review this play, I initially didn't want to do it. Too many emotions, friendships and heartstrings are tied up in it for me to do an objective critique of the acting, singing or technical excellence.

Therefore this will probably be more a synopsis than a review.

James is a journalist, working for a small time newspaper in a dead-end reporter's job. His dad, also a reporter, was the joke of the town. He spent his entire career searching after this "odd and crazy tale" about a prophecy - that a child will be born to a virgin, and be King. Tragically, he died in a car crash before he could prove anything and left James and his mum with nothing but Baghdad Cafe, with which they eke out a living.

Everything changes one day when a beautiful stranger walks into the cafe and James' life. Turns out, she is chasing the same dream his Father did!

Was it all a conspiracy to drive James crazy? Or is there any truth in this so-called prophecy? And were the powers-that-be going to allow the story to break? James has to take his own journey, reopen old wounds and change alliances to find out.

With an original score of 8 songs written by the anointed Rhordan Wicks, an ensemble cast of 12, and more volunteers, helpers and angels than you can shake a stick at, Baghdad Cafe is as removed as you can get from a traditional Christmas pageant, while keeping the central idea of "Christ Festival" (which is what Christmas means, by the way). The play mirrors reality in that Christmas is a day when the world stops and remembers Jesus of Nazareth, who changed the world, regardless of whether you are a believer or not.

Baghdad Cafe opens tonight and runs till Sunday. The house opens at 7:30p.m.
Location: 36 Prinsep street, #03-00 (opposite Paradiz Centre)
For ticket information, please call 6339 1317.

Speaking English - Building highways in place of barriers

Living in Singapore as a member of a minority ethnic group, there are some things you kind of get used to. Not necessarily embrace, but tolerate with practised nonchalance, lest you get too caught up in negation.

One of the things you get used to is people speaking in Chinese. Not just to each other when it doesn't concern you. But also during business meetings, office discussions, 3 way shop talks, gossip and lunch prattle.

Sometimes it irks me. Sometimes I enjoy the anonymity. But most times, especially now I don't even notice anymore.

But today something happened that brought this to the forefront. I was in a car with my boss and his wife, Katherine, going to a corporate photoshoot. Now both my boss and his wife are typical Chinese business people, who are more comfortable in Chinese than English. In fact, Katherine mostly conducts her business dealings in Hokkien (sitting behind her has improved my knowledge of Hokkien by leaps and bounds.)

But, the whole journey there and back, not one word of Chinese passed between them. They spoke in English, haltingly sometimes, but you could feel the effort they were making. Even when they were discussing private matters, like the renovation of their new home, they spoke English, so that I won't feel left out.

And that's how you spot people of genuine quality. People who will put aside their own comfort zone and try to make someone else feel comfortable, even if it's by the simple act of speaking a common language.

I couldn't let such kindness go unacknowledged, so at the prompting of my manager, Joyce. I sent them an email thank you.

Hi,

I just wanted to tell you both that I was very touched by the way you both made an effort to speak English in the car on the way to and back from Dean's Studio just now.

I know that you both are more comfortable in Chinese, so the effort and consideration you expressed by that act means alot to me. Especially when you continued to converse in English even when talking about private matters - that really shows your heart and the lengths you went to make sure I didn't feel weird or left out.

I have been with 01 Computer for 15 months now, and none of my other Chinese colleagues have ever made the effort to conduct themselves in that way, even while socialising or talking over lunch.

You are both genuinely nice people and I hope your example will spur our people on to be as considerate with their non-Chinese colleagues as you are.

Thank you for your warmth.

And this was his reply:-

Which ever country I went to, I will normally share the good things about Singaporean and I do not like to use the word like “Singapore Chinese or Singapore Indian”. We should all work as a team to build the reputation for the country that is why we are different from other country. Well, we should not speak our own language also especially with you around as you might not feel good. Since we can speak English, why not share our joy & experience with you? The only thing is we do not speak fluent English but we can always learn from people like you. Glad to have with us as a family for the past 15 months and let’s work together to build 01 at a different level against our next nearest competitor. Thank you for your contributions for the past 15 months.

By the way, thanks for your below wonderful message and I have the confident that many of our colleagues will do the same eventually. Cheers……

Now, if only 10 more people thought like that, we could change the whole cultural paradigm of this nation and indeed be Uniquely Singapore.

Dean's Studio

Dean is my company's official photographer, and today we went down to his studio to have some corporate portraits done of our MD.

Dean is not a famous photog, neither does he have expensive equipment or an eye for the quirky.

What he does have is a humble heart, sufficient skills to make you relax in front of the camera and reasonable prices. Oh, and an amazingly quick turnaround.

So if you need pics, good and fast, you could make a worse choice than my man, Dean.

Check him out at http://www.deanstudio.com.sg/

Theatrical Terms

I can't remember who originally sent me this, or where I read it, but it made me hoot with laughter at the accuracy of the definition.

Since we are in Christmas pageant mode, I thought it appropriate to post here:-

Theatrical Terms Defined

Eternity - The time that passes between a dropped cue and the next line.

Prop - 1. A hand-carried object small enough to be lost by an actor shortly before it's needed on stage. 2. Anything that gets in the way of a scene change.

Director - The individual who suffers from the delusion that he or she is responsible for every moment of brilliance cited by the critic in the local review.

Blocking - The art of moving actors on the stage in such a manner as to not collide with the walls, furniture, orchestra pit or each other. Similar to playing chess, except the pawns want to argue.

Quality Theater - Any show with which you were directly involved.

Turkey - Every show with which you were not directly involved.

Final Dress Rehearsal - Rehearsal that becomes a whole new ball game as actors attempt to maneuver among the 49 objects that the set designer added at 7:30 that evening.

Tech Week - The last week of rehearsal when everything that was supposed to be done weeks before finally comes together at the last minute; reaches its grand climax on final dress rehearsal night when costumes rip, a dimmer pack catches fire and the director has a nervous breakdown.

Set - An obstacle course which, throughout the rehearsal period, defies the laws of physics by growing smaller week by week while continuing to occupy the same amount of space.

Monologue - That shining moment when all eyes are focused on a single actor who is desperately aware that if he forgets a line, no one can save him.

Bit Part - An opportunity for the actor with the smallest role to count everybody else's lines and mention repeatedly that he or she has the smallest part in the show.

Dark Spot - The stage area which the lighting designer has inexplicably forgotten to light, and which has a magnetic attraction for the first-time actor. A dark spot is never evident before opening night.

Hands - Appendages at the end of the arms used for manipulating one's environment, except on a stage, where they grow six times their normal size and either dangle uselessly, fidget nervously, or try to hide in your pockets.

Stage Manager - Individual responsible for overseeing the crew, supervising the set changes, baby-sitting the actors and putting the director in a hammerlock to keep him from killing the actor who just decided to turn his walk-on part into a major role by doing magic tricks while he serves the tea.

Lighting Director - Individual who, from the only vantage point offering a full view of the stage, gives the stage manager a heart attack by announcing a play-by-play of everything that's going wrong. One who whines, throws fits, and says "This is the last show I'm doing here! I swear to God !"

Makeup Kit - among experienced community theater actors, a battered tackle box loaded with at least 10 shades of greasepaint in various stages of desiccation, tubes of lipstick and blush, assorted pencils, bobby pins, braids of crepe hair, liquid latex, old programs, jewelry, break-a-leg greeting cards from past shows, brushes and a handful of half-melted cough drops.

Stage Crew - Group of individuals who spend their evenings coping with 50-minute stretches of total boredom interspersed with 30-second bursts of mindless panic.

Strike - The time immediately following the last performance that all cast and crew members are required to watch the two people who own Makita screw drivers dismantle the set.

Actors - People who stand between the audience and the set designer's art, blocking the view. That's also the origin of the word "blocking," by the way.

Stage Right, Stage Left - Two simple directions actors pretend not to understand in order to drive directors crazy. ( "No, no, your OTHER right !" )

4 days more!!

There are 4 more days to opening night of Baghdad Cafe - a musical production of Full Gospel Assembly, and as usual, there is gonna be a huge miracle involved in pulling this off.

But it's a miracle that will happen. Because it happens every year.
Every year, the musical does not get written till 2 weeks before Christmas.
Every year, full run rehearsals only happen the week of the performance.
Every year, scores of people crawl out of the woodwork to help with a million last minute tasks like cutting out tickets, arranging seating, ushering and catering.

And every year, they put up a bang up show with original score, talented actors, awe inspiring singing and innovative sets.

There is something to be said for working within the family - somehow everybody knows what needs to be done and eventually someone does it. It will not win any Tonies, Oscars or Emmys, but it will touch hearts and possisbly change lives. That's what I love most about Christmas pageant and plays - the simple heart warming touch that reflects the Person that first touched us.

Come watch it. Bagdad Cafe

The Charleston

As they say here in Singapore, "The Charleston is very the siong!" (Translation: Dearie me! That was rather difficult to master, wasn't it?)


For those who have never heard of this dance form, this is it.

Of course, I did not look anything like that, during my first lesson yesterday. And thankfully, neither did the rest of the 10 or 12 students who were there, although some of them had some basic dance experience in various forms. This stuff is hard man! Takes alot of energy, alot of letting go of your inhibitions and just...swinging.

What we learned yesterday was 20s Charleston, and just the basics at that. All that freestyling and improv that make up the soul of the dance will have to come later. Much later, for me at least.

For now, I will concentrate on getting my calves and thighs to stop aching, and listen to some Ella and Louis. That'll do me.

The only Christmas Play you should see this year!

If you need tickets, email me. I will be watching it on the 23rd.

So, what do you do?

I find that when people ask me this question, I tend to go into in depth detail about the things that I do in my office during working hours. The success of projects, the annoying idiosyncracies of colleagues, the frustration of justifying ideas to the management and of course all the mundane budgets and reports.

But this is just what I do to put bread on the table and provide my family with shelter against the elements. What I actually do on a day to day basis that have meaning, fulfillment and joy, usually have nothing to do with what takes place between 9-6 , Monday to Friday.

So the next time someone asks me what I do, this will be my answer.

1) I worship an awesome and mighty God, who provides everything I need, and his Son Jesus Christ, who took my sins in exchange for His Life.

2) I raise a wonderful boy, who amazes me everyday with his talents and blesses me with his laughter.

3) I relish and maintain close relationships with the ones I love, koffeeklatsching, movie watching or just hanging. I try and make my presence felt in their lives.

4) I am writing a book - historic fiction, in a sense, a biograpy in another. If you really want to know what it's about email me, cos I don't want to see it on Oprah's Book Club with someone else's name on it. :-)

5) I transcribe sermons for my church, so that future generations will remember the foundations that God provided us. Currently they use the transcripts for daily devotion emails, but I like to think what I do has far reaching impacts.

6) I dance. I have completed Salsa, and had learned Indian dance in my childhood. Now I am moving on to the Charleston. I am learning that from Sinclair Ang, a good friend, great dancer and wonderful human being. I don't dance to exercise, or lose weight, as people insist of believing, but to express the joy in my heart with my body.

7) I do anything associated with theatre. Free or paid, I am there. I will watch, build sets, write scripts, block, act, cue sound or stage manage. Free or paid. It's the only thing I will quit my 9-6 job for.


There. That's what I do. A little long winded, but now you know.

Unless of course, they ask me what I do for a living. Then I have to say:-

(droning voice) I am hired to corporately and commercially market the services of a local SME that resell computer supplies and hardware.

Now which answer do you prefer?

Retail Tear-apy or How Bad Service Reduced Me to Tears

Customer service should NOT be proportionate to the size of the price tag. Regardless of whether I am paying $10 or $100, I should be able to expect the same amount of respect and attentiveness.

But honey, this is Singapore. Customer Service is NOT our way of life.

I decided to get cracking on the Christmas shopping yesterday and went to Vivo City since the 3 stores I wanted to hit were all there (Toys R Us, M&S and Tangs)

Good try but...

We first walked into Tangs, and I wanted to buy this pair of shoes. The sales girl was nice and helpful and went and got my size for me without complaining or anything.

BUT she let me walk away without closing the sale!!! I mean, if I could see that the customer was really interested in the item, and the only thing stopping her from buying it was that she wanted to shop around and not have to carry the shoes, I would have at least asked her to pay for it first and offer to hold it for her till she is done.

But she let me walk away and I never did go back and get those shoes. There is always a better deal elsewhere right?

Bouquet

M&S was a pleasure to shop at, as usual. The salespeople don't follow you around (they have plain clothed store detectives for that) :). But when you need them, they are right there, at your elbow. To me this says vigilance.

But this one salesgirl really went the extra mile. I tried on a blouse that I really loved, but it was a little frayed at the seams. She not only called the other stores to find out if they had them. When she found out they didn't, she called the warehouse to order one piece in for me!! I was blown away by her initative and desire to delight the customer. This is why, as inflated as their prices are, I keep going to back to good old Marks and Spencer.

Brickbat

Toys R Us was a totally different story. 8 staff milling around the customer service counter, talking. One cash register open. 10 people in line - some with a full trolley, and behind them, a little girl with one lollipop.

Do they just not see it? Are we such a permission-based society that we have to wait for people to tell us to do our jobs?

Finally, one of the irate ang moh customers complained and they grudgingly opened another counter. I hope someone had the sense to let the lollipop girl go first. I didn't hang around to see.

Brickbat 2

It was the same at Burger King. 4 customers in each line. 7 employees behind the counter. Only two were manning the cash registers. 2 of them were engaged in the all important task of refilling the chili and ketchup sachets and aligning them perfectly. The other 3 were staring at the metal shelves of burgers as if waiting for the Holy Grail to appear.

The manager finally put two and two together, and despatched some of the Crusaders to take orders. The chili and ketchup girls where told to pack it in. I hope this was a result of the angry glaring I did in his direction.

Snapshots of a mildly dysfunctional family

Last week, my family (extended) rented a holiday chalet in Changi for a few days of togetherness, general R&R and lotsa love.

And it was. When you throw about 10 aunties, uncles, cousins together with a liberal sprinkle of itinerant friends and lots and lots of alcohol, there tends to be general goodwill all around.

The chalet also marked a few important occasions. The end of "O" levels for Shalini. A new beginning for Vinodhan, who goes into National Service tomorrow. And don't forget the bonding moments - for the ladies, a good gab fest, and for the men, a chance to do macho warrior things like crab fishing and bush whacking.

Of course, you can't throw that many people together in one space without some friction. Lest I give you the impression that we are perfect or something. My relatives range from the ultra laid back, let-me-know-when-the-house-is-on-fire type, to the extra panicky is-that-a-picture-of-fire type. And the two annoyed each other to high heaven. Too neat, not neat enough. Too cold, not cold enough. Snoring too loud, I don't bloody snore!

Everyone was too polite to yell at each other of course, but that would have been fun to watch *rubs hands together in glee*. My laid back cousins fumed in frustration as one of the ultra picky aunties kept yelling down the stairs to "keep the volume down" , because it was 2a.m. and she needed her beauty sleep. She was aptly nicknamed "Military", and we played a "take a swig everytime she whines" drinking game.


The shoes tell the story. "Military" has been here.


This is what the bedrooms at the chalet looked like before we got there.



And this is after. We are resourceful, if not anything.

Movie Review - Happy Feet

My husband said it best after the movie:-
"I didn't know the saviour of the world was blue eyed and white faced."

If you watched it through your innocent child-eyes, then the story is this:-
Mumble the Penguin was born different, dancing, instead of singing.This is because his father Everybody gave him a hard time about it, until he used his dancing feet to save his world from a famine. Encouraged by his gang of Latino friends, and now-on, now-off girlfriend Gloria, Mumble is a ugly penguin that turned into a hero. As Ramon, Mumble's Latino friend says, "This guy is so accidentally cool."

If you are a slightly older child, you will also receive the following messages
1) Authority is bad. The man wants to keep you down, and he is an ignorant fool.
2) It is ok to be different, as long as you are cool different.
3) If you too different, you can always move to another country where people will think you are cool.
4) Pollution is killing all the penguins and we are are catching too much fish, and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!!

I hope everyone who went watched it through the eyes of an innocent child, because I did not like the socio-political commentary. But the music and the dancing was waay fun. Most of the heartsongs were old school retro classics like Boogie Wonderland, which has all the 70s children in the cinema grooving. There was this little girl who got up and danced in the aisle and she got her fair share of applause too.

Overall, Happy Feet is a good, well-made animated movie. The VOs by Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Robin Williams were awesome. And some of the avalanche animation was breath taking. Anyone who has played Tux Racer will enjoy the action sequences in the movie. And the characters were well developed and totally had our sympathy. Script-wise, it had its weak moments, but Ramon and his friends totally stole the dialogue with their swaggering machismo and easy camaraderie.

What's in a name?

These immortal words of Shakespeare were the theme for the conversation among us cousins while we were at our holiday chalet the last 2 days. We were wondering if the etymology of a person's name actually plays a part in shaping his/ her character and eventually destiny. (This, of course, presupposes that your parents gave you names that they thought about, deliberated over and mean something.)
Take mine for example. Nalinee is from the root word "Nalinam", which in Tamil means "graceful and feminine", usually referring to a dancer's movements and gestures.

So, am I graceful and feminine because that's who I am, or because my name somehow influences my personality? Jumping to the conclusion that I AM those things of course.

But what if they had gone with their first choice and named me Mira? (She was a woman who believed that she was born to be the bride of the Hindu God Krishna, and spent her life in worship and devotion in front of his statue.) Would I still have been graceful and feminine? Would I have been able to embrace the love of Christ, or would I have believed that I had to worship Krishna like my namesake?

In the bible, it says that God called forth things into being by naming them. And later he passed that ability on to Adam, who named all the creatures. And when Death (the Fall) entered his life. Adam wisely used his gift and called his companion "Life!" (Hawa in Hebrew or Eve, when Anglicised). He thus called life into a situation that may have ended humanity altogether.

And God set a precedent when he renamed Abram (Exalted Elder) and Sarai (Domineering One) to Abraham (Father of Many) and Sarah (Princess). After this change of names, their destiny also changed and they brought forth Isaac and the entire Jewish nation, thus fulfilling God's promise to Abraham.

This only led me to remember a discourse I heard recently on how the ancient Hebrew name of God reveals the gospel of salvation, 4000 years before the birth of Christ.

This is pictorial, so bear with me as I try to explain it in words. Also remember that Hebrew reads from right to left.

H V H Y


Hei Vav Hei Yud

Now, like Chinese, every Hebrew letter is also a symbol for a word.

Yud - Open hand, as if in blessing

Hei - Divine Grace

Vav - Nail

Hei - Divine Grace

So if you read the symbols, God's name, Yahweh, actually says:-

The Open Hand of Grace, Nailed in Grace.

Now, does that remind you of Someone? :)



*Hebrew Lesson and Name of God Discourse credited to Pastor Joseph Prince*

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

I was walking through Citylink Mall on my way back from church yesterday, when I saw something that really baffled me. Citylink Mall, like all other malls, also have their little Christmas campaign to make us spend money we don't have yet, and this is what it said:



For those of you who have less than perfect eyesight, what it actually says is "Let Christmas Joy befall you."

Befall? Befall? I have only ever heard the word used in a negative context as in "Let no harm befall you", so off I went to my trusty friend Webster.

And true enough, he says: to happen especially as if by fate

So now we are fated to have the joy of Christmas? It's not by choice? Oh dear, this absolutely throws a spanner in the works.

Grr.. I wonder who the advertising agency is who
a) came up with the idea or
b)didn't have the sense to advise their client on language usage.

Maybe it's time to buy them both a good Webster's dictionary. Or the way I feel right now, to throw it at their heads.

New Nostalgia

I was looking for Dhoom 2 songs on youtube when I came across this blast from the past.

I swear Zeenat Aman is the hottest fox, man! All these new starlets can't hold a disco ball to her.

The faux musicians in swimsuits are a funny looking bunch, though.

Do you hear what I hear?

My colleague who sits immediately to my left is a pretty nice person. She also is a fan of what I think is the most annoying radio station in the world - 97.2FM. She listens to it 5 days a week, from 9 to 6:30 and it's starting to drive me barmy.

It is a Chinese radio station that consists of the following totally annoying segments (from what I can guess):

1) Songs by singers with vibratos that are longer than 8 seconds. There are a few of these. They sometimes do them in duets too, for added enjoyment. It must have been considered a great musical feat during that era (190s or whatever), to be able to trill like a songbird every 15 seconds. They really take synchopation to new depths here.

2) Advertising by Homeway Design. This interior design shop must have a master contract because they are on every station. And TV. With what is probably the most annoying jingle in the world. Honestly, the only one that I have hated with an equal passion is the Springcoil mattress ad, where there is the high pitched loud sound of a spring uncoiling. It was like scratching your nails on a blackboard.

3) A call-in request programme for fogeys older listeners. They tend to be long winded, have hearing problems and request songs that bring to mind soft focus lenses and rainbow spectrum lighting. And Rahima Rahim in a white dress with a diamante hair clip holding a slim mike with a big pagoda ring on her finger.

4) An evening segment where 2 Chinese DJs pretend to be Indian and mimic the Tamil language as they present their show. This seriously irritates me - both because of the bold bigotry, but also because it's the segment that my colleague enjoys the most and hence turns up the volume! Grrr!

I have taken to plugging in my headphones when I need to concentrate, so that I can block out her radio, but that's not a good long term solution. It also means I can't hear the phone, or my boss calling. Which can be a good and bad thing. Heh heh.