Instant Glamourizer

Next I would like to see male models change clothes in a fashion show...now that I have `experienced' the female version.

I dressed two models last night for a fashion show that was more than a fashion show...it was one hell of a show, the hair and the make up were...I simply wouldn't attempt any word from my limited vocabulary. It overwhelmed me, till now I have images from these ten tall women with very attractive `heads' strolling down the decorated stage (with blow-up plastic toys and fuchsia pink cloth, and two psychedelic colors bead curtains). I adored the florescent color tights they each had on underneath those very glamorous dresses.

Speaking of glamour...SM and I discussed a week ago on

INSTANT GLAMOURIZER

...she is preparing for her very romantic Europe `haaanneymoon' and wonders what to pack to be both comfortable and stylish. I came up with a list of items that would dress up any outfit or occasion...

...while walking down the cocktail reception last night after the fashion show ended , amongst the shinny happy glitterati in expensive suits, dresses and jewellery, I felt totally comfortable in my back stage working clothes -- adorned with a few INSTANT GLAMOURIZERs.


my items last night was:

slippers (yes, japanese slippers, flat and almost weightless footwear) from Sg Wang with rhine stones and sequins

satin cargo pants - just go everyday-down-to-earth pieces in LUXE/party/expensive material - that will be comfy AND glamorous

little pull down hat with feathers and sequins - have one signature-stand-alone piece with you in your car for those emergencies, ie. a party hat, footwear in a screaming-for-attention color, junky boho necklace,

high street fashion handbag, colorful and furry - your handbag will dress your jeans and white tee up if you got the right one on...

so anyway, I felt tall thought I was on flats, the feathers on my hat added height, my satin cargo blended well with the glitterati's chiffon dresses and their heels.


Other items to be improvised in your life:

glitter belt

large vintage earrings (with your hair pulled back to give maximum exposure and to show off your slender neck)

rhine-stoned/beaded/sequin/satin/diamante cardigan - don't have one? Make your own, buy beads and/or sequin and start sewing!

a hat like mine - that is absolutely going to make you very very visible so it's meant for attention.

bright or color anything, shoes, wigs, bags, tee shirts -- do remember to blend well with the rest of your outfit to avoid looking `Cartoon Network' rather than `hinge of glamour'.

red lipstick/lip-gloss - 'nuf said

Instant Glamourizers are for:

Day to night look, one tiny piece of item/accessory to make you shine at night while you don't blind out the whole office during the day

From back stage to main stage -- no time to change your outfit from anonymous crew person to the look-at-me crew person

Emergencies - out shopping for groceries and have to rush to a full-watt party

Low key glamour - when adjust well of volume, it's low key and classy

so there you go, have fun with improvisation!

Coming back to the fashion show...pictures will be shown in the party near...Me. I took two rolls, I hope they turned out fine.

Historical moment

Today, I ENJOYED my work. I HAD fun and I enjoyed my work, today.

This will be the start of better things, today, after three weeks and three days at work.

Oh, bonus on top of things got done today, my group CEO told me he heard I was a good singer, so I sang in his room, with two witnesses who agreed I have stuff to show.

Today.

A truck gave way to my car today in a jam, I believe it had something to do with the models in my car.

SM and ST came to my office minutes ago, glowing from their romantic happiness, sharing my joy at work...

today.

Renee's Book

I wanted to cry `tears of joy' when I read this last weekend at Borders with J.

(on her performance at Ground Zero, a few months after the attacks of Sep 11)

Given the fact that most classical musicians are not household names or faces recognizable from television, it's interesting to speculate about why people so often turn to a classically trained musician, rather than a familiar singer from the world of popular music who has sold millions of records? Why turn to a far lesser-known voice whose music is appreciated by a smaller audience? I think the answer lies in two places. First, the tradition of music grounds us and connects us to one another through a sort of universal appreciation that transcends taste, particularly in such songs as ` Amazing Grace' and `God Bless America". Second, a trained voice has a kind of innate authority that transmits a sense of strength. We can be heard without a microphone. We sing with our body. The sounds that we make emanate not just from the head, but from the whole heart and soul and, most important, the gut. The word `classic' has come to to be applied to so many things in our culture -- cars, rock music, a particular episode of a television show -- when in its truest sense it carries a weight of something that has been distilled over time and represents the highest quality in a given field. The music we sing has been loved in many past generations and will continue to flourish and find life and love in the future.

So he bought me the book. The Inner Voice - The Making Of A Singer by Renee Fleming. For those not familiar with the name, she is a famous American opera singer...

That intro above just did so much for me in terms of reassuring my love in the craft of `beautiful singing' or bel canto, she has said what I wanted to say and to hear, it hit on my spot and got me moving.

She narrated in great detail from how she first fell in love with music (at thirteen), to what important lessons she learned from all her early coaches. This book is written such that, it does not matter if you do not know who Renee is, but as long as you love singing and or are already singing, it does great thing to your understanding of the singing technique and best of all, you read about how this famous person made it through tears and heartache, a sure booster to your singing morale.

I know I have years and decades to go before I mature as any good singer but it's nice feeling to know that I'm doing something I love and be respected for. It also great to know that I'm constantly improving not just in the singing technique, but in cultivating the right attitude.

Haha, I'm sounding too serious...right? Like a formal speech....

In a nutshell, to sing well is no easy task so if you are a singer out there, don't ever let another person puts you down by slighting your talent and interest...and don't ever give up the love.

Blue Collar Happiness

Lately I have been fantasizing about an alternative lifestyle.

No, not my sexual preference, but my status preference...I don't like the word `status' and the implications it carry but I guess it fits what I meant to say.

I have been observing the cleaners in my apartment, office and everywhere, their work seem so uncomplicated, and mind you, seeming therapeutic, especially the gardeners.

It's all about what makes you tick, I think. Those in power and in limelight, because that's where they feel like they belong. Having power over others, ignite fear and seduce admiration from people, etc.

But when I meet the smelly cleaners in my apartment lifts, they look so calm and contented, they are not rushing off to appointments or fitting sessions, they are just...working, in an allocated area and in a familiar routine and at night, they rest and sleep peacefully.

But what's a life without challenges and what success wouldn't be sweet without a fight?

IW said she read a research claiming that people who have more control of their lives (in this context it means people with higher income or white collar jobs), though with higher responsibilities and higher level of stress, do live longer.

I guess my envy for the blue collar folks is one-dimensional. IW said they too have stress...making ends meet, etc.

Well maybe I just ought to fantasize less and just stick to what I have chosen and make it good..instead of dreaming of doing something else whenever I'm at something, just do the something I'm at well.

SM used to tell me this years ago when I first joined my last job -- your job is as good as how you make it yourself.

Isn't She Lovely

All I got from her was a smile and a thank-you-clasp/curtsy as she exited while I sang her requested song.

Christy Chung is a babe, like what we see in the papers and TV.

I went to the Marie France Bodyline event prepared with over 20 jazz standards and a few musical odds. Just minutes before the event was to start, the event manager walked to me and said this:

"Christy said it might be nice if you could sing `She' when she walks out of the hall, can you do it?" All I had on my mind was who on earth at that hour, with given few minutes, could whip up the lyrics for me.

Well, my ex-boss did it. In less than ten minutes after I called him, he faxed the song sheet to the venue and it went safe into my file. My pianist? He didn't need it, he is freaking walking music juke box.

Ms Chung is both literally and metaphorically, smooth. Her voice was both calm and excited, her gestures were both appropriately feminine and not dull...her appearance was perfect, but not boring...unlike certain Malaysian celebrity who never fail to look flawlessly beautiful and, quite BORING.

There you have it, the only acknowledgement to my singing in the entire night was the second she turned to me and flashed her Marie France smile and lipped `thank you' before leaving a hall full of people beaming with hope, to be a bit closer to their Bodyline idol.

So, does our world revolves around beautiful people? I think it's more like power and money. Good looks = good money = power? Money = power, definitely.

Anyway last night we had a hall full of little women in their little colorful dresses, one trying to look better than the next. My pianist was visibly amused. These are short and skimpy dresses we are talking about, it was amazing...the air-con was blowing at full blast and these women seemed unfazed by the crazy room temperature. Even my floor lenghth Zara number needs a little cover when I'm not singing.

Whatever it was, I will always value the high value of good dress. Sometimes a certain dress make a woman. Remember Elizabeth Hurley and J Lo?

Speaking of dress, I still haven't found my wedding dress, no, I mean the dress for me to wear to wedding of the year, June 11.

It should be like those dresses Christy wears for her shoots...

Better than sex

Haha, what a title right?

I mean to say, snuggling in my soft and comfy bed these days are definitely better than

shopping in a fantastic flea market
eating chips
singing

Even while I'm still in my car in the traffic on my way home I could almost feel my hair on the bed, sinking deep into dream land.

Talk about sleeping, I really wouldn't mind a career in modeling now, seeing that they spend quite a huge amount of time waiting around at shoots and events.

There are a few types of them I encountered so far...I haven't seen that many of them but I can already stereotype...

The happy-dancing-model
has a Discman with him and would play his music loudly in the studio and dance around while the crew adjust the lights and set. he is always smiling and telling you how much he is lovin' it...he is still clubbing when he is working. Sunny.

The SMS model
her handphone is with her the minute there's a break and she is either outside the studio/location on the phone or sitting by herself sending sms.

The I-Want-To-Go-Home model
"What time is the shot?" comes from him every fifteen minutes...you know it's not his first time at a shoot but I think he just does that to me because I was there.

The business-like model
Reminds me of all the finance controllers in the world. She comes in, sit and wait for hair and make up, performs when told to....and then goes home. She chats but it's discreet and controlled.

I now wonder the fascination we have with beautiful people, now I can't figure out why people are drawn to them. I would always ogle at stylish women and I know beautiful face is a sign of good genes but that only make sense if you are going to have babies with that person with good genes. So what's the deal with wanting to go out with good looking people? What's so cool about gorgeous people if that's all they are?

Anyway, I will post my thesis here this week...hopefully I get to.

Don't worry, be happy

You just know that things are going to get better when they have gone very very bad. Take it from me, so hang in there.

All impossible tasks will sort themselves out (or someone else will) at the end, so hang in there buddy.

After an impossible Monday, I find myself breathing normally today at my desk. But the chaos will start again, soon.

My hate list
IW and I have concluded last night that I don't really hate anyone in this world and most of the time I mistaken `annoyance' with 'hatred'. But in the case of my new office phone, it's true that I hate it.

It takes approximately 10 times longer the time for me to make one call (to a mobile number) than my old phone and I don't know what, most of the time the call can't connect at the first try.

Second thing, the air-con is way too cold...at first I thought it has to be me because no one complained but today a girl from the other end of the hall ran into the agency area and screamed "It's fucking cold in here, isn't it!!!" We echoed in agreement. My boss was blowing her runny nose and screamed back in unison.

Someone better do something about it.

Does anyone know how to get to the Jalan Kepong MWE Commercial Park from PJ?? Going to send a model for a shot, my first `desptach' work and I hope not to be late with my `parcel'.

talk to you later...

I have so much to say, so little time.

I have so much to learn, so little time.

While work is going on, my recital on June 4 is being planned and I practice as much as I can...details soon.

The Friday show went very well and I hope they sold some jewellery to the well-heeled women. An eye-opener for me, big hair, air kisses, perfumes, jewelled heels and Versace...on a hot Friday afternoon. When it was over we all breathed a sigh of relief and it seemed, it was one of easiest shows to handle. BETTER things are to come.

Took mom out to shop for a straight three and a half hours on Sunday and had dinner with brother and her in an overbooked vegetarian restaurant.

Walked the whole of Mid Valley Mall yesterday looking for suitable clothing for two shows...I have to get more resourceful than that.

We should start a database of retail outlets in Klang Valley....

The Booker

Booker

n : someone who engages a person or company for performances [syn: booking agent]

It's not like no one understands the meaning of `book', it's just the sound of `_ooker' excites my friends and they laugh and say, "Yea, sounds like hooker...weeeehoooooo!!"

To Book

To arrange for (tickets or lodgings, for example) in advance; reserve.
To hire or engage: The manager booked a magic show for Saturday night.
To allocate time for.

v. intr.
To make a reservation: Book early if you want good seats.

Anyway, I survived my first two days in the agency. I'm in my jeans for third day and tomorrow I will be going to my first event, shall I say my first site outing? Pick up dresses, head to venue and stay there...guess I'm officially a `go-fer',aka runner.

Plan: Stock up on food in the office -- things have been hectic since day 1.

Plan: To resume my normal lunch hours.

Plan: DRINK WATER!

Plan: Sketch wardrobe combination for day-to-day work clothes, these sketches can
later be turned into my fashion styling profile.

Finally had proper lunch today in a proper restaurant, Bangsar Village, Delicious by Ms Read, it was delicious, my pesto pasta was perfection.

Many more proper lunches to come!

The People Connector

If SM is the connection specialist, then I'm the underdog...I specialize in the non-commercial people-connection services.

When A is having trouble getting along with B, I get roped in to try and help things.

If C is wondering how is D doing because D is staying a bit low profile for a while, C would ask me to check in on D.

Or when I feel that X and Y are having a undesirable way of communicating, I somehow would be doing some third party work, or what my dad would call the `kay-po' work.

And of course, being bilingual helps. I assist in the conversations between the Mandarin-speaking and the English-speaking...when Y is talking to Z, Y would look at/to me for some sort of reassurance, and Z would make sure that her reply to Y is accurate by having me translate Y's reply.

Yea, basically I'm the kay-po in the group...I'm hardly the nice one among friends but I get recognition for `coming out' for others.

Not all my `accounts' are success but some I'm proud of. CM told me recently that sometimes we need to just let things (to do with people) be and meddle less with the affairs of people...when I feel that there's too much unnecessary and unspoken feelings between people.

Most of the time I would target to empty what's on my mind about other people. I rather they know what's eating me up about them and see anything can be helped, than me having to deal with them without trying to change a thing.

I try to evaluate if a certain (of my) opinion is OK to be expressed at a certain time, of course I have had many mishaps, that's why I'm called insensitive-outspoken...etc.

Coming out clean doesn't't work all the time -- when was the last time you tell someone who is fat and lazy to quit being fat and lazy? You tell me.

Or have you ever attempted giving your boss a piece of your mind about the way he or she works?

Well I guess one way or a time to do it maybe after you resign...hehe. I can only tell you that it's real satisfaction when you let things off your chest, in the other person's face. I love confrontations like that. Some say I like challenges...well, all of us like some sort of challenges sometimes, don't we all?

Well you better make sure you do it gently and lather on as much soap as possible, most obnoxious, fat and lazy people can't take your advice or opinion constructively.

Or maybe you can just do it the way you like it, in their faces, and burn all bridges.

Oh, one piece of advice, NEVER blog about what you want to tell these people in your blog...you might get fired too.

....connecting people, I found out today that some of my friends were connecting at some drinkie outing, without me, the connector, looks like my services have paid off, people are connecting fine these days...without the connector, hurray.

Finally

I'm so nervous, after all the fuss and buzz, tomorrow is finally coming...my official `first day' at my new work place, a talent agency, as booker (go figure; I reckon people will be making fun of my title for about 3 months and then they will get bored and quit).

Bits, some updates...SM told me she missed my entries here, hey, me too la.

* My parents are down for a visit, today I brought them to my apartment to witness the place I call home...my dad says it looks like a hotel, thanks to the white-tile flooring and the closed toilet door.

* I met the part-time booker whom I will be replacing, full time...she is a babe, she is a model. Duh, her twin sister is also a babe, also a model...oh ya, my new boss is a babe too.

* The laundry basket is still full, after I have sent two laundry bags to the shop and today, I ran the washing machine for the first time in 5 weeks, I think.

* Farewell lunch at old workplace was...cool, saw the full attendance of office bearer (barrer??) and even the chairman's daughter, she could be model. I got an evening bag from LK for goodbye...matte sequin, grey, class. At first the thought of leaving was unbearable, it's been my `reality' for four years but now it seems like the most natural progression, I guess human beings are indeed one of the most adaptable creatures on earth.

Man, what should I wear tomorrow?