March 31, 2009
年度之歌(aka Song of the year)
Kay Tse has been one of my favorite singer since her debut. she has one of the rarest clear-light voice, and of cos amongst the hong kong singers she can really sing!
i have been keeping this promise to myself again – i shall not listen to one song on the new album until i get the physical copy (applies to eason’s album also), but there’s this day i’ve stumbled across this new song and i am instantly hooked! after checking out the lyrics i am even more mesmerized!
the lyrics sort of describe how pop songs (especially chinese songs) are being manufactured these days and how they can be your most favorite song ever and the next thing you know, you cant even remember the title of the song. (sounds exactly like the “king of c-pop” that the whole world seems to be worshipping… his ballads all sound the same!)
well, that’s pretty much the definition of pop anyway, like bubble gums…
歌曲 : 年度之歌
主唱 : 謝安琪
作曲：Christopher Chak
作詞：黃偉文
編曲：Gary Tong
監製：Alvin Leong
曾經攀上的天梯 曾經擁抱的身體
曾經在乎一切 被突然摧毀 霎那比沙更細
良夜美景沒原因出了軌 來讓我知一切皆可放低
還是百載未逢的美麗 得到過又猝逝 也有一種智慧
＊ 全年度有幾多首歌 給天天的播 給你最愉快的消磨
流行是一首窩心的歌 突然間說過就過
誰曾是你這一首歌 你記不清楚 我看著你離座
真高興給你愛護過 根本你不欠我甚麼 ＊
曾經擁有的春季 曾經走過的谷底
人生是場輕梯 忽高也忽低 不輸氣勢
Repeat ＊
誰曾是你這一首歌 你記不清楚 我看著你離座
很高興因你燦爛過 高峰過總會有下坡
回憶裝滿的抽屜 時光機裡的光輝
人生豔如花卉 但限時美麗 一覽始終無遺
回望昨天劇場深不見底 還是有幾幕曾好好發揮
還願我懂下台的美麗 鞠躬了就退位 起碼得到敬禮
誰又妄想一曲一世 讓人忠心到底
March 31, 2009
Organizations – from the achievers stuck at the bottom
I’ve heard this quote that people leave organizations not because of the organization itself, but their managers.
So true.
I’ve got a friend who has left her job after working for 4 days, so there you go.
I’ve been one so-called organization body for like 2 and a half years, and despite all the crap within the organization, I have had the honor to be under 2 great managers. They have very different management skills, but the one important thing in common they have is that they are kind, generous, thoughtful, honest and true to their subordinates. These are superiors you would be willing to work your as off for.
At the end I still left the company not because there’s anything wrong with my manager, is just that there is just too much crap in the company that I know my manager can do nothing about – from the top management to the bottom of the hierarchy, just name it, there is crap… Even I feel like crap… Before I turn serious crap, I’d better leave before I waste anymore time and effort.
We know not all managers really deserve their position – there are those who worked their asses off to be credited; there are those who turned up out of nowhere and landed above you. Whatever ways they got the job, what’s important is that they know the importance of appreciating their subordinates who are most of the time of use and occasionally a source of inspiration to them. That’s a whole new lesson for a person to learn, sadly there are even CEOs who fail that lesson.
But again, I am deeply thankful I have 2 great bosses to work with, 5 if that includes HODs. They are hard to find, but an honor to keep.
March 27, 2009
Waiting for abang postman… and here he comes!
abang came, and today he brought me my kak ayumi!
ayu is one of those very few singers i would willingly pay RM100+ for an album. this is the 3rd one i bought (plus 1 cassette tape i bought during high school), so obviously my expectations are high.
there has been fans bashing about this album already (but seriously most of them didnt really buy it, so shut the fuck up), so i was ready to listen carefully and thoroughly to this album and so ready to like it. after a few listens, i am really trying.
that’s the thing about pop – u have to be fresh, original, yet carry some character of your own. re this album, the freshness is right at the middle of the bar, so is the originality, and i just wish she retained more of her own character. this sounds bad, but seriously, it is still a decent pop album in some ways – its singles are strong, its album tracks are mediocre fill-ins, but i think it will grow on me… soon…
she’s had her fair share of great trend-setting pop albums, but this is just not one of them, and does hardly any justice to her sinking career. i just think if u are capable of brilliance, why settle for mediocrity?
i’m not utterly disappointed; i am still delighted to possess the actual thing. what are fans for, right?
March 27, 2009
Freaky Wednesday
wednesday. the day i sing at a cafe in Klang. what a day.
it’s one of those cafes that singers would dread to perform there, cos it’s pretty fucked up. it’s always noisy – the customers chatting at high volume like nobody’s business; they make loads of song requests, well, tasteless song requests; they never clap, they just dont, unless u are able to arouse them to do so once in a while; the sound system sucks, and there was one day it turned itself off, for not once be 4 times. anyways, it’s pretty fucked up.
again, it’s wednesday. me and my singing partner K is just minding our own businesses, singing any song we like, and finally we are at our last song. K sings this chinese song 夢醒時分. he was approaching the 2nd chorus, and then this middle-aged, skinny and slightly stoned guy marches in from his seat outside, heading for K’s mic. it appears he is about to grab the mic and sing, not that that never happened during my years of singing. but no. he yelled “傷心的人更傷心!”
K and i are in total shock and puzzlement, and K blurted out “你ok嗎?” he repeats“傷心的人更傷心，我要點歌”. now to say that K is upset is a total understatement. he kept quiet, turned off the sound system and started packing. i am totally caught off-guard and kept my silence. the stone guy apologized, and K turned on his mic and grumbled in high pitch, “不是我講啊，你要點歌不是不可以，但是可以尊重一點嗎?你這樣很沒有禮貌咯!” and continued packing… now i was stoned and didnt know what to do, packing seems to be the right thing.
we packed and sat down smoking. K sensed my surprise and tried to apologized. i told him that he actually did the right thing. i’ve always had this ideology fixated in my brain that customers are always right. but then i thought to myself, do not save your patience for fucked up people – they do not have the knowledge of decency and appreciation.
that was one memorable event i shall deem classic. we are born into this world, we learn, we grow up, we learn to make choices, we learn to react to them. all the time i would choose to be kind to rude and retarded people, but sometimes really, fuck them!
March 25, 2009
Amazing discovery…
i cant recall what i was searching on youtube, i think it was acoustic version of womanizer…
anyways, i bump into this awesome singer that oozes all sorts of… awesomeness…
DAVID CHOI.
didnt hear of him until now. i wasnt really psyched by the so-called singers on youtube, i even think esmee denters is way too over-rated. until this guy shows up…
damn it, he is GOOD! so good that i instantly got his covers onto my ipod, and indulge in his very own renditions of some of the popular songs.
here’s my absolute favorite:
i’m so gonna do this version tomorrow at my singing session. 
quotes from wikipedia:
David Choi (born March 22, 1986) is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his videos on YouTube, largely acousitc covers and original work. His most noted original is YouTube (A Love Song) which he chose to play when he was invited to perform at Kollaboration 9.
March 25, 2009
Waiting for abang postman…
i am one of those ppl who love original press of album cds, regardless of the price. some of you would understand how crappy the quality of local pressed cds are…
anyways, i’ve been keeping my ears wide open while i am at home these few days, and would pause any dvd i’m watching while the abang postman stops by. i just cant simply wait til i get my package in hand…
oh yes, i am waiting for my goddess ayumi to land on my front yard…
just so u know (should u be any bit interested), she’s pulled out some of the greatest singles in her recent years, so it’s highly anticipated amongst the fans that she would do wonders in this one after a few disappointments…
so here i am… an obsessive fan who’s struggling whether or not do download the mp3s… but i think i can stand the thought of waiting…
it’s coming anytime soon…
PS. tho she looks kinda hot on this album cover, it actually looks as if she is suffocating from the tight dress and about to fall off the tv…. :p
March 23, 2009
Google Maps
i can hardly afford a GPS, so i depend fully on Google Maps to find my way around.
out of the blue, i try searching for melbourne (to relieve some of my nostalgia), and i found these amazing new feature – Street View!
i clicked on it, and what appeared before me totally sent me off my chair – snapshots of the exact address i keyed in! i can totally see melbourne before my eyes with this! i tried New York, Tokyo and Paris with it and they all have that feature! unfortunately not for Hong Kong, and obviously, KL…
anyways, allow me to share some of the things i found~
this was the first apartment i lived when i was in Melbourne. quite a decent place, AUD300 per week…
then we moved to the suburbs, which is around 10 mins from the city. we had bigger space, and it is quiet and peaceful, quite moldy tho because of the humidity, which literally drove my sister nuts…
and this is my uni. studied here for 2 1/2 years.
tada! Sofia’s Pizza, great italian food that comes in humungous portion, that’s cheap!
and this is pacific house, it serves the best roast duck ever!
last but not least, shark fin house, serves the best dim sum ever!
this i hardly cure for the nostalgia, guess i’ll just have to deal with it until October when i visit Melbourne again cant wait…
March 23, 2009
A Whirlwind Weekend
where do i start?
friday night, marched into Bukit Jalil Stadium to catch A-Mei’s concert. i bought the RM238 ticket, which is actually the 2nd most expensive amongst the ticket range. anyways, when we enter we overhear 2 girls enquiring about the entrance to their RM600 VIP seats, i thought to myself, arent VIP seats supposed to be complimentary? in other words, FREE!? ok none of my business.
i have gone to A-Mei’s concert like once, so i roughly know what to expect, but this time around it transcends my expectations by a mile! there were just too many surprises that i did not see coming. the greatest one is definitely the taiwanese aboriginal guy singing some tribal chants; i’m already blown away by his first note! his act serves as an interlude while A-Mei gets her clothes changed, and he totally pulled it off! another great highlight was the hard rock act where A-Mei belts out some of her greatest rock numbers, and she definitely rocked the grounds with those songs. the warmest moment of the night has got to be the encore acoustic performance, and damn the encore was like 1 hour’s long! before this i would claim that the best concert i have been to is Eason Chan’s Moving On Tour, and this time around A-Mei’s would share that top spot with Mr Chan.
the concert ended around 11.50pm, i have to rush home to get the clothes i forgot to bring, and get money and petrol. the time i was about to leave for PENANG (i repeat… PENANG) was 1.30am… one would assume that i should arrive Penang around 5.30am. but NO. it was like the whole of South China Sea poured upon the North-South expressway, i can only afford driving at 80km/h. we reached penang at 7.00am… fine.
i was soundly asleep until around 10am, the bridegroom arrived to pick up the bride (yes i was to sing at their reception, and we happen to be staying on the same floor, in the same service apartment as the bride). then, as usual, the bride’s jee mui would make fun of the groom’s heng dai and all that crap, and i could hardly sleep since then… and yes i feel like crap.
my singer partners took away some char kuay tiao for me, which tasted ok (better than the ones in kl nonetheless), and we rehearsed our way to 5pm, and got dressed and went to the Gurney Hotel for the function, and i still feel like crap.
we arrived at the ballroom, to be welcomed by an impolite, unprofessional sound engineer (ok he is hardly an engineer). he drove us nuts, and my singer partner totally went berserk. the next thing i know, missiles are flying before my eyes.
then we had dinner and went back to sing. nothing much there, tho they say i sounded so much better after having some wine, a good tip there! :p as we are ending the crowd were so high (and drunk) that the stage changed into a piano bar; people are rushing onto stage to sing (or i would really call it, shouting out their emotions). despite the commotion, it was actually quite fun.
more eating later that night and the next morning, and i headed back to to kl safely, smoothly and pleasantly.
i’ve had my highs and lows these few days, but above all that, i do like singing at weddings. seeing couples celebrating their love and all, it’s a great honor and pleasure to be part of it, and better money anyway
i’m still glad that i am unemployed in some ways; i have these chances to experience life outside the office buildings. what’s next? singapore and redang, be ready for me!
