Cabaret - the video

Here are the pictures.

Here is the video:



Thank you, photographer and videoman, for capturing the night.

I treasure the memory.

August

was the month

I would remember for two reasons.

The man turned 60. We gathered friends and family for his birthday dinner party. It was as much dinner as party, with a really class act put together with the dance friends. And I remember again what a beautiful gift a dance makes, for the giver and the recipient.

My parents are relentlessly toxic as parents, and as people. I grappled with my feelings about them, about my role as their daughter in May, June, July. Sometime this month, the decision was made for me by Mother. I am now out of the world of distrust, mistrust, disappointment, misunderstanding, delusion and mischief which the parents created and continue to live in. I remember again why I left them in the first place.

I have removed my earlier posts on Mother because I felt it was time I erased bad memories of bad parents. I find now that I was not wrong about them, so I will retrieve and re-post them. As well, I have no need to write in a closed blog. I stand by what I write.

I would pop that bottle of champagne if I could still drink. For I am, indeed, truly, back.

Mooncakes and more mooncakes

Mid-Autumn Festival. Zhongquijie. Lantern Festival. Mooncake Festival.By whatever name, I love everything associated with this seasonal festival - the celebrations, the myths, the mooncakes! Especially the mooncakes.

There is definitely no shortage of variety and versions here. Creativity and imagination run amok as restaurants, hotels and pastry chefs promote their idea of a new and improved mooncake with new and different flavours, fillings, textures, even shapes (!). Somehow, I think of these re-invented mooncakes as experiments. Oftentimes, quite horrific failed experiments even.

In the end, I really want my mooncake as I have always known it.

With the familiar baked skin complete with its imperfections because a pair of hands worked on it. With the smooth lotus paste filling, just this side of too oily and too sweet.

Rolled up in a stack of 4 on plain white paper contrasted against Chinese Red and Gold decorative prints. Or packed in no-frills boxes of 4. And all stacked into brown paper bags carrying the company name.

In my books, the three masters of old-school mooncakes are (listed in no particular order):

Tai Thong Cake Shop
35 Mosque Street
Tel: 6223 2905

Chinatown Tai Chong Kok Confectionery Hue Kee
122 bukit Merah Lane 1 *01-62 Alexandra Village
Tel: 6270 8994

Tai Chong Kok
34 Sago Street
Tel: 6227 5701

His BigSixOh

On the occasion of his bigsixoh, we threw the best birthday dinner party we knew how.

Not for this man the usual grim and glum food and drinks with the folks, young and old. And talk about the good old days.

Because the good days are not in the past. It is in the here and now.

And so, with the support and help of talented friends, we got ourselves a night of

*fine dining ( Table@7),
*great wines (private collectors),
*mesmerising bellydance (special appearance by G)
*dazzling burlesque-cabaret show (my fabulous showgirls),
*memorable keepsake of the night in pictures (amiphotography)
.
I'd like to think that the fun and friendship will last for a long time after the party is over.

I know I will remember all of you. Especially the friends who made it possible.

Cabaret Night at Table@7

The restaurant is new. The players are not. Their culinary expertise is firmly established but their gastronomic creations continue to surprise with new dimensions.

Table@ 7 opened to rave reviews in April, and its popularity continues to grow from strength to strength.

We've been to the restaurant too many times to count, with too many friends to mention. Each time, we come away happy.

So it went without saying that the man celebrated his special birthday dinner party at this special restaurant.
The restaurant worked closely with us in every way to make the party exactly as we wanted it.

We wanted cabaret. We got cabaret. Heh.

Table@7 is located at:
7 Mohamed Sultan Road,
S 238957
Tel: 68366362
Mobile: 8338 6362
website: tableat7.com

Now you see them, Now you don't

So "they" (mysterious powers that be) withdrew the video clips of bellydance performance I thought were wonderful and posted here. I get some mumbo jumbo reason as to why they are no longer available. So I searched again. And found these two clips, which I post here until "they" withdraw again for some other or maybe same mumbo jumbo reasons. Some bits in the videos cover the performances I thought were great. Of course, there are plenty I would have loved to share but are not in these clips. But there you are.

Fusion bellydance when it is good :)

Oops! The video clips have been withdrawn (August 4, 2011). I will repost if they show up again.

There were some happy and memorable moments during the Singapore Street Festival.

For fans of belly dance fusion, here are some of the really lovely performances:

1. Our very own Darren and Maia:


2. Another home team - Joey and the Jewelz:


3. The very impressive mother-and-daughters dance troupe from Vietnam


4. Bellydance-Indian fusion done right :)

July

was the month
I spent too much time thinking, just thinking, of ways to escape the clutches of wretched souls who seek to subsume the life I have made for myself. I was distracted, ineffective, unproductive. Unfinished business was starting to pile up.

Not anymore. I am myself again. I am back. Because
I accepted the fact that wretched people will always be with me. And so, having realised that they are a constant in my life, I can move on. So long as I never underestimate the ability of such wretched people to subsume me with their wretchedness, I will be alright.

I have not started to write in my closed blog. It isn't a pressing matter anymore. You will hear from me when I get it up and running; I have not forgotten you :)

For now, I am happy to know this: I am back.

The morning after

and I am still reeling from the upset win from last night's bellydance competition. (Click here for details.)

We just knew who the winners were. Too bad the judges didn't. And their decision sticks. Even when it sucks.

I retract my statement about Asia Global Bellydance being a respected competition. I think the quality of the judges is only marginally better than the lot on a recent local TV dance competition.

THE Bellydance Show of the Year

This is one of the most exciting weekends in the year!

I am looking at 3 nights of bellydance performance starting tonight.

The line-up of Singapore competitors this time is simply awesome!

It is good to see some of our strongest performers back in a competition that is suitably respected for this dance form.

To Bali and back

We made the 48-hour turnaround visit to Bali for yet another Paul Ropp Warehouse Sale. We were last there in March! Four months is definitely too short a time between his sales.

There wasn't anything for me to pick up this time. I had bought up everything worth buying the last time. I came away with exactly one pair of shorts. Alright, they aren't just shorts shorts; they are signature Paul Ropp shorts.

The man did better - he managed to find 4 shirts after really rummaging through every rack.

It was still a nice short getaway, made stress-free because we refused to hunt down new places to eat at. We settled for the true and tried Kafe Batan Waru, a short walking distance from our hotel. And for the caffeine fiend in me, this place does a decent latte.

For the uninitiated, this is the only time of the year - the antipodean winter months of June-July-August - when the weather is most pleasant.The days are breezily cool, and the nights are sometimes chilly.

There is still magic in the air in Bali :)

If-you-have-no-clothes

This is talking to me; I have no clothes :)

Oh, not really. But I'm there anyway ...

Remembering

I am tasked with compiling a play-list for an upcoming dinner party. I expected it to be an easy job. How wrong can I go if I select what I love enough to drum my fingers and tap my feet to?

Well, for starters, I am so rusty that I have difficulty recalling the songs I liked, even loved! How sad is that?

I started by looking up "greatest dance song lists" in the last *gasp* 4 decades.That's a long list. It has been a down-memory lane type of exercise as I recall the place, the year, the guy, the friends with every song. I kept only the happy memories.

The guests are my contemporaries; they are going to have to love my selection of hit dance songs.They'd have been down the same roads at about the same time, and therefore they must share the same sentiment. So there!

In the process of making my playlist, I stumbled upon a music genre I loved, which I had long forgotten - Hawaiian slack key guitar music by the maestro Keola Beamer.

I listened. I remembered. The sound still tugs at the heart-strings. And I smiled.

Bellydance Night@Shiraz

I will remember this night for a long time to come. The reasons were many:

The place is Shiraz. They do decent, even good, middle-eastern food. The service staff are always willing to accommodate special requests.

My favourite people - bellydancers - perform every night of the week. I love that they do multiple sets throughout the night. I detest places where the dancer does a single set of 3-songs and immediately leaves for another gig elsewhere; there's no satisfaction from eating or entertainment, just interruptus of the most annoying sort.

The evening provided the rare opportunity to catch up with friends who I otherwise do not get to see.

This time, the limelight shone on Fatema and Katerina Shereen. Both performers saved the very best - the forkloric danceforms - for their last sets with Fatema ending with saidi and Shereen finishing with khaleegi.
I stayed to the very end. The reasons were many.

Katerina Shereen @ Shiraz

There are several exciting bellydance events in the second half of the year.

Starting with this at Shiraz this entire week.

And who is Katerina Shereen?

I am so there there already :)

June

was the month
I celebrated my birthday. I have so many of you to thank for having come into my life and making it that much richer and fuller.

I grappled with my conflicted feelings about my parents knowing that I would have to be around them more often in the months ahead. And having to listen to Mother yammer a lot more in the process.

I made a few important life changing decisions. The one that is pertinent to you, my readers, pertains to my blog. I believe in keeping an open blog. I am happy to have met so many of you here. I hope to continue seeing you here.

I have also reached a point in my journal where I want to confine some of my posts to a more familiar and friendly readership. I will let you know when that blog is up and running. Write me (sinlady at gmail dot com) to get yourself on the invite list, please.

You see, I did a lot of thinking about my life and about living. And, with all due modesty, I look back and can honestly say I live my life the best I know how. I have few regrets. Except now, I need to do it better. And therefore, hopefully, have even fewer regrets.

It starts with keeping certain unwanted prying eyes out of some aspects of my life, even if only as a blogger.

She's Singapore's finest

I am around my parents a lot these past weeks because of father's medical condition. My sister has taken on the task of ferrying them to the hospital and be with them for the tests, then waiting and finally getting to see the doctor. I have taken it upon myself to meet them at the hospital to give the sister some respite from mother's incessant meaningless yammering.

Mother has recently taken to repeating ad nauseum the analogy of how a flower has to naturally bloom to be beautiful; if one tries to pry the flower open, the petals will just drop off. She thought the sister and I were like these naturally blooming flowers (because we are on hand to do the necessary?)

I bit my tongue to stop myself from shouting in her face: "Are you mad? You have alienated everybody. There is no one left to see you through these bad times. We are your daughters. What else can we do? Do we actually have a choice?"

I looked at the sister. I saw vexation written all over her face. After a beat, resignation set in. She turned to mother and calmly asked, "Ah then?"

I looked at the sister with renewed respect. So pragmatic. So to the point. So Singapore born and bred, schooled and trained.

I thought to myself: This woman, surely, has to be one of Singapore's finest!

Coffee with the Imp

Many years ago, we would see each other at the few smokey pokey pubs and clubs. So smokey that even the smokers had to step out for a breath of air; so pokey (no pun intended) that sharp elbow jabs stab into your rib cage all night long.We would exchange a smile and a wave, occasionally we managed a quick catchup over the din.

It was just that kind of a place so we had just that kind of a acquaintance.

At some point, I quit the scene. And I sort of followed her comings and goings through the grapevine.

Then I came to know about her blog, and quietly followed it for a while. Where I had once thought her intelligent, I now come to appreciate the breadth and depth of that intelligence, and her critical open mindedness about things she is not certain about.

At some point, we decided to meet up again because, well, it seemed like a good idea. We finally did.

I am happy she made the time to meet me. I see in her everything I already expected. And more, much more.

I see a beautiful, confident, caring and insightful young woman. Someone I am happy to have met and kept in touch with. I wish for her a life filled with meaningful endeavours. I know she will have that.

Even if I had first met her in some smokey pokey pub :)

bye, bye, dress

Remember this dress? Remember I said I absolutely, definitely, resolutely, hated it? I could find nothing to like about the dress; I even called it hideous.

Well, I don't anymore. Hate it, that is. Somebody is buying it off me. And all of a sudden, I feel a tinge of guilt that I was not nice to it.

But I know the new owner will sayang it. So bye bye dress. You will look so pretty on the nice lady.

I will miss you from time to time.

SinLady, Happy Birthday

Sometime in my early 20s, I stopped celebrating my birthday. I learn to avoid mentioning my birthday so that over the years, people start to forget about the day.

It isn't that I don't want to celebrate my birthday with friends; I just find it terribly awkward to walk into a party that celebrates ME.

I took to looking up certain special people in my birthday month, and ask them out for a quiet dinner or coffee. To have some "only for ourselves" time again. Some sort of renewal and re-affirmation of all that is good in our lives, you know.

Because of the recent sad medical news of father, I have been keeping a low profile this time. I just do not have the energy or enthusiasm to look up anybody. I had in fact cancelled a few engagements because I didn't want to put a damper on our meeting. You know who you are, and I appreciate your understanding. I will see you again in happier times.

But, some friends gave me a birthday do anyway. And to you, I say Thank You. For the friendship you give me. For the thoughtfulness you show me. For the happy times to remember.
p.s. check out what's written on the cake! I love it!!!