Princess Of My Dreams

Princess of my dreams lulls me to slumber,
All pain and all sorrow diminishes,
Pray do not depart from me asunder,
You are my solace, love so tenacious.I awoke to find you had departed,
Alone again my heart yearns your return,
My mind is that of the broken hearted,
When will this obstinate heart ever learn?

Julian.T

 

Scenic Brisk Walk 28 Mar 07

Yours truly, together with a small committee was tasked to come up with a Brisk Walk as part of a healthy lifestyle campaign for our company. So I came up with a route that passed the Ritz Carlton, Marina Mandarin, the Esplanade Theatre and brought us all the way to the Merlion and back to Millenia Towers. This was to cater for all, young and old of varied fitness levels. The weather threatened to be bad earlier in the day, but lucky for us it was fine towards evening as we did not have a contingency plan. I suppose as a last resort we could have done a last minute vertical marathon..ha ha

En route back to the office, even though most of my colleagues had already disappeared, I was told that the Senior Management Group wanted me to extend their walk. Yikes!….I had to walk and think fast, as there were lots of construction work being done along the Marina Bay area. Again I was thankful that at a certain point past Ritz Carlton, the bay area was still clear, scenic and importantly accessible for joggers and walkers alike. The whole walk which started at 1745hrs and was supposed to end at 1830hrs ended instead at 1930hrs.

Phantom Of The Opera 27 Mar 2007 8:00pm Esplanade Theatre

Wow! To think that this musical started way back in 1986 and for the first time yesterday I had a chance to catch it live in Singapore 21 years later. After watching Notre Dame De Paris which I enjoyed immensely late last year, they announced that Phantom was coming to town. I was so excited I booked my tickets in Dec and decided that since it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity I bought the Cat 2 seats which is the 2nd highest priced. No regrets mates! as my seats were just beside Deutsche Bank’s Box seats.

The props and lightings were impressive, I especially liked the boat scene, when the Phantom and Christine glided across in it on stage with such ease and precision that you actually felt it was on water. The timing of the music, props etc was impeccable. The only slight disappointment I personally felt on the topic of the props, was the Chandelier. Mind you it was a magnificent enough piece however I just felt that the glass/crystals lack lustre, moreover the lighting for it was not brilliantly bright enough to the cue of “Illumination!” As for the costumes, they were jaw dropping gorgeous especially for the masquerade scene! *Two Thumbs Up*

The Cast did a fantastic job, and the lead Rebecca Pitcher (Christine Daae) did a wonderful effortless job of singing soprano which touched my inner being. I actually teared on two occasions, one when Raoul and Christine sang ‘All I Ask of you.’

RAOUL
No more talk of darkness, Forget these
wide-eyed fears.
I’m here,
nothing can harm you –
my words will
warm and calm you.

Let me be
your freedom,
let daylight
dry -your tears.
I’m here,
with you, beside you,
to guard you
and to guide you . . .

CHRISTINE
Say you love me
every
waking moment,
turn my head
with talk of summertime . . .

Say you need me
with you,
now and always . . .
promise me that all
you say is true –
that’s all I ask
of you . . .

RAOUL
Let me be
your shelter,
let me
be your light.
You’re safe:
No-one will find you
your fears are
far behind you . . .

CHRISTINE
All I want
is freedom,
a world with
no more night . . .
and you
always beside me
to hold me
and to hide me . . .

RAOUL
Then say you’ll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Iet me lead you
from your solitude . . .

Say you need me
with you
here, beside you . . .
anywhere you go,
let me go too –
Christine,
that’s all I ask
of you . . .

CHRISTINE
Say you’ll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
say the word
and I will follow you . . .

BOTH
Share each day with
me, each
night, each morning . . .

CHRISTINE
Say you love me . . .

RAOUL
You know I do . . .

BOTH
Love me –
that’s all I ask
of you . . .

(They kiss)

Anywhere you go
let me go too . . .
Love me –
that’s all I ask
of you

And the other was when Christine in a moment of desperation, makes her choice and kisses the Phantom. Stunned by the kiss and touched by Christine’s kindness, he sets Raoul free and tells him to take Christine away immediately. He asks them both to swear to keep his existence a secret.

For me Brad Little (The Phantom) stole the show, his voice and stage presence was indeed felt by everyone. *stands and clap again*

It is no wonder why this musical has stood the test of time. Even after watching the movie, people still go in droves to watch the musical live. The soundtrack, music and lyrics were wonderfully written and is a definitely must BUY in my humble opinion.

*Note*
The music for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version of The Phantom of The Opera was composed specifically for the voice of his then-wife Sarah Brightman.

Swing Fling V1.1 Yesterday at At 9pm

If not for Kate and the fact that Nicholas (ILM) was there too then I would have been soooo out of place. Why? Because as far as I could tell, all the rest of the couples and there were about 10 at least were all Lindy 3 students. That is the level after intermediate! So where were all the newbies???

I am so grateful to the diva once again for taking the time to partner me so I could practise my basic moves *blush* She is always a joy to be around and *gasp* you should see her in action…I mean with the other better dancing partners.

I really want my dancing ‘Mannequin’ to be modeled after her….hee hee…wait a minute I don’t need one…got ‘locked evidence’ that she will be my dance partner whenever I need her. WOO HOO!

Swing Fling V1.0 Today At 9pm

What is Swing Fling? Well basically it is for Lindy hoppers to gather and practise all they have learned. Apparently this is ‘On’ every Thursday at Jitterbugs Singapore and admission is only $5 with free water provided. Have yet to try it myself, and so was thinking of going down today to have a look at least. The thing is, I am on a post night shift with another night to go and didn’t get much sleep. Furthermore the idea seems more appealing when you have reached at least the intermediate stage no? As in Lindy 2 status. Afterall who wants to practise with a newbie? Unless you’re a newbie yourself….and also the one person who has encouraged me all this while has a new protege and seems very preoccupied these days *sighs* But anyhow I still need the practise…….so will let you know if I decided to go down today….*winks*

My 3rd Swing Dance Lesson 20 Mar 2007

Human nature is funny don’t you think? The last two Dance sessions it rained heavily as I made my way to the studios and I thought it was a SIGN! That had me thinking; What possessed me to take up Swing lessons? But today when it was a clear and nice evening, I felt something amiss. I even started to get a little anxious. But a little bedroom voice in my head said , “You’ll be fine!” *huggies* Yeah right, I thought…wasn’t that the last thing the Crochunter heard too. But somehow that little voice and the accompanying hug did soothe my nerves.

Anyhow the lesson was to start at 7pm and I was early, so I went in to the studio and started reading my book. Guess who walked in at 6:50pm?……YUP it was ANNA the dance instructor. I gave her a sheepish grin and remarked that she was early. Sinclair walked in thereafter, but disappeared to talk on the phone….sheesh! Anyhow Anna asked if I had taken dinner and I told her that I had it about an hour earlier. She remarked that she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and I quickly….(perhaps to quickly) told her to go get something light first as we wouldn’t want her all grouchy. *chuckles* She smiled knowingly and actually did run off to get something. Yeah I know, ain’t life full of surprises?

Well then the lesson started promptly as everyone else showed up all excited. We went through all the basics we had learnt, and warmed up doing them again and again. Funny thing is I always figured that I more less got the basic down, but somehow as we progressed the basics got thrown out the window. I honestly thing that it hinges on practice i.e. the more you practise then the more comfortable you will be. But how? Where? When? Shiftwork doesn’t really help, and does that mean I’ll need to get hold of a mannequin?…ha ha Well I was so absorbed getting the basics right, I was getting the rest wrong…..well not wrong…just not exactly right, hmmm meaning some of the moves were modified but all to the triple step. The only new stuff we learned today was doing a simple ‘RJ’ and for the ladies they learned to do the swivel. The rest of the lesson was more on how to do it with a little more finesse and combining all the various moves available. Oh and there was a spell when Anna asked me to dance with her the very basic moves, which basically consists of only the basic open to close position and she gave me some great pointers and even smiled. But I must say it was daunting as she was pretty stiff in the sense that she was leaning into my right hand which I don’t really feel from the rest of the newbies, I guess they forgot to do that no?

*mental notes again*

• Just support her hand, don’t clasp it
• Lead her to you, and the inner turn is from a held position
• Circle position consists of two sets of triple steps in a close position
• From a close position there are two possible moves only, jockey (dropsy) or swing out
• From the basic open position there are approx 6 possibilities, open to close, circle, inside turn, close to open, RJ. Hmmm hope this is correct….

Well till next time………..

Bonds Of The Heart

It is a gentle and warm surprise when it happens, like a cool breeze on your face as you stretch out to greet the morning sun by the sea. Some take several years to develop such bonds and yet for others it can be just a matter of months.

You grow so accustomed to the smiles, the meaningful conversations as well as the banter. The laughter and the tears, the bitter with the sweet all mingled together to form a wonderful kaleidoscope of kinship. Embrace and cherish such bonds for they are as precious as they are rare.

Fat Loss Myths & Lies

#1 Skip Meals or Extreme Dieting Will Help You Lose Unwanted FatsEat less and you burn less, basically your body enters into starvation mode. i.e. stores the fat in case of emergency. Hence your metabolism slows down.

#2 Losing Fat can be accomplished without hard work

There are no short cuts or magic bullet, you would be on a misguided quest. Only with proper nutrition, hardwork and patience will you make quantum leaps.

#3 You Need Supplements to lose fat

Exercise,nutrition and a positive mindset are the only tools you require to lost fat permanently. Supplementation or rather some basic ones may help speed up the process but that makes up for a very small percentage. Concentrate first on your nutrition and training programs.

#4 You Can Trust Magazines or Magazine Articles

Advertisements can run into thousands of dollars, so don’t believe everything you read. If it sounds too good to be true it then it probably is. Have you noticed how many articles are about the greatest “breakthroughs” in supplements? These are in fact advertisements in disguise.

#5 You Can lose weight in just minutes a day

Your body is a complex machine which is designed to be used often and vigorously. Yes of course you do not want to overtrain and ensure adequate rest and care is given for optimum results, but if you believe in the hype of just spending a few minutes each day doing some specific exercise will make you lean and mean, then I got some junk that I could sell you easily. You basically reap what you sow……

#6 Lose 15Kgs in 30 days

You can lose that kind of weight yes if you dehydrate your body after all the body is made up of 70% water. Question you should be asking is how to lose 15kgs of Fats healthily and permanently. The standard or rather safe weight loss per week is approx 1kg Weight loss in the correct sense is not something to be rushed into.

#7 Very Low or zero carbohydrate diets are the best way to lose body fat permanently

Carbohydrates are not fattening, what is fattening is eating more than your body can use at one time. Low carbohydrate meals causes your energy levels to plummet, I would suggest a moderate carbohydrate meal goes a long way.

#8 Some people are genetically unable to lose weight.

There is no one shoe fits all solution to dieting and exercise. There will always be different groups of people, some will just need to work harder because their metabolism is slower. This simply means you have to adjust your diet and training to fit your body type and metabolism.

#9 Fat Burners Especially the Newer ones are effective for Permanent fat loss

If these were true woudn’t there be fewer Fat people around? There are no miracle solutions to fat loss. Some of these products even contains stimulants that affect the central nervous system and should be approached with caution. An effective Fat burning program must have 04 main components namely 1) Proper Nutritious diet of Natural foods with a mild calorie deficit 2) Aerobic exercise (cardio) 3)Weight Training 4)Goal setting, positive image and motivated.

#10 I can Target which areas I want to lost fat and ladies should not weight train because they will grow oversized ugly muscles

Unfortunately when it comes to fat loss your body decides on each own which part fat is lost first, hence whilst you may be doing 150 situps a day….you may gain some abdominal muscles but lose fat in your back or shoulders instead. Keeping a regular aerobic excercise with mild caloric deficit will be your safest bet in the long run to lose the fat that you want.

Women simply do not have enough of male hormones such as testerone to increase big muscle mass. In fact, women have ten to thirty times less of bodybuilding hormones than their male counterparts. Women who accept this myth will miss out on all of the benefits that weightlifting and bodybuilding can offer. Women can only develop bulging muscles if they are on special supplementation and specially designed training systems. Some of those muscle bound ladies you have seen may even be taking steroids, a banned and harmful substance. Normal women carrying weights will just tone their body shapes resulting in tight and firmer bodies. Yes, as a woman you may notice an increase in weight when you step on a scale. This is because muscle tissue weigh more than fat. Thus, as you increase your muscle tissue, your weight will increase but your fats will be reduced giving you a well toned sexy body which most women can only dream of. Another reason that women should do weight lifting is the benefit it can have on your bones. Weight training is a powerful preventive action against osteoporosis, a disease caused by porous bone and low bone density. Women has a much higher risk than men to suffer from osteoporosis. In fact, most women will suffer from this disease as they age. Those plagued with osteoporosis have an increased susceptibility to fractures. These fractures can even be fatal. So, women should exercise with weightlifting to strengthen and increase bone density. Research has shown that six months of weightlifting may increase bone mineral density by as much as 15 percent. As you increase your muscle tissue, your bones must adapt to accommodate this increase in your muscle mass . So your bones respond by increasing in density. The result? You will own a stronger skeletal structure and a reduced risk for osteoporosis.

My 2nd Swing Dance Lesson 13 Mar 07

Would you believe it? It rained heavily again whilst making my way over to the studio. Was it a sign to stop? NO WAY I tell you! ( well you should have seen the virtual glares I got when the thought crossed my mind)

Anyhow in today’s lesson I began to seriously wonder….”Who let the dog out? Who? Who? Who? Who!” Why you may ask? Simply because yours truly was barked at by the adorable Dance Instructor Anna! It seemed like she singled me out from the lot, either because I was a total screw up or maybe….just maybe she saw some faint signs of potential in me ha ha..I’m definitely going with the latter. Just wonder if she realizes that by doing it that way, it doesn’t really help with my self confidence?? Sheesh! But in all honesty I am grateful to her, because she actually took the time to correct me, again, again, again and over again. And it paid off, cos I was afraid to make the same mistake hee hee….well the overall lesson learnt is always master your basics.

Today we basically polished up on what we learned in the first class and later Sinclair and Anna introduced two more steps. The “Dropsy” I think that was what it was called and an inside turn. Overall fun factor still on the high side…..

*mental notes to self*

1. Boom Boom Shakerdi di da shark attack
2. Roll side triple step…..Back away triple step
3. Don’t shuffle learn to do the basics steps right first
4. Body movement signals the move, not so much the hands
5. Keep a comfortable distance, not to far and not too close
6. Try not to look down
7. For the basic inside turn, lead the hand towards the right shoulder and polish the halo.

Now I have to remind myself to get some practice in before next Tuesday…lest I want to be barked at again…eek! Ha ha…..Oh Anna! if somehow you end up reading this, I do actually adore you…..*blink**blink*

Find Your Heart If You’ve Lost It

Your heart is what connects you to life, without it you go through your days cold and bitter. I am not referring to the organ in your body but your capacity to love, to feel and enjoy, essentially your life’s purpose. It is where your courage and determination draws it’s energy.
Together with your mind it will bring you to many places of wonder, love and excitement.It is important that you know what is in your heart or rather the relationship you have with it, are you passionate? warm? emphatic and giving? Or are you on the other hand, defensive, scared, bitter, cynical, dissociated, sacrificial or naive? How removed from life are you? Have you lost your passion? Going through the paces, without fire or zest? Burnt out or used up?

These are all signs that your heart is lost, be it partially or whole. It is time for deep reflection, rest and a commitment to find and bring back your heart. Your emotional integrity depends on it. Without your heart as a whole, you cannot give or receive fully. You tend to rationalise and take shortcuts, to just reach out and grab what you want because you cannot receive. Would you want to live half a life? Do you want to be defined by your roles or by your essence? Healing is definitely required, even unlearning certain things or actions that has led you to this stage. You need your heart! without it you are living out a partial existence. You cannot fully love, receive or give. You cannot enjoy life as it is meant to be, you are reduced to being a prey or predator. You are part of the problem directly or indirectly. Without your heart, you cannot answer the calls for help in times of need. You will not be able to give what you promise to give.

Only with your heart can you know the true meaning of giving. Experience the healing power of tears, or tears of joy. You will be able to hear the calls for help and step up and give of yourself to those around you. You will know purpose, creativity and have mental clarity and vision. You are able to appreciate, know truths, feel gratitude, have openness and are able to receive from others.

If your heart is broken, it is your responsibility to yourself, to anyone you love or ever will love to find or regain it.

On Friendship

With age some find themselves living in a cynical world, where friendships are thought more of a network of people for which they can be taken advantage of. Friendships are more often then naught, kept superficial and dispensable. Some live by an unspoken code, which essentially is that No Man is an island, you need others to survive but ultimately you live and die alone. These people measure their successes by their wealth and believe wholeheartedly that happiness will result from their labour.How many close personal friends do you have? Ones that you can depend on to be there for you in your hour of need? How many of these good friends have you driven away? By being insensitive, thoughtless, self absorbed, self-centered and uncaring.

For me personally, true friendship will stand the tests of time. It takes a lot of work, personal sacrifice and love. Friendship is like a flower garden, you can have many varieties of flowers. Whilst there are basic things you do the help them grow like watering, tending to the soil, pruning and propagating. Different species require different special care and attention. It is truly a labour of love and when you watch them flourish….what joy!

Another way of looking at it, is that Friendship is like opening an emotional Bank account, you have to make constant deposits for it to grow. Deposits like little kindnesses, hugs, care and attention to name a few. From time to time there may be withdrawals but so long as you have enough deposits you can maintain a credit balance. Also for friends that may have drifted apart, the beauty of having had a credit balance is that you can pick right up where you left.

My First Swing Dance Lesson 06 Mar 2007

And so I made my way to the Dance Studio at Red Dot Traffic 28 Maxwell Road #03-13. Getting off at Tanjong Pagar MRT station it was raining heavily. And I thought to myself…hmmm was this a sign? ha ha. Well I had already paid up the full amount, and I was already in the vicinity so heck nothing was going to stop me now. I reached the studio at 1840hrs and no one was there, It dawned on me that I had gotten the unit no. mixed up. But then again the class was supposed to start at 1900hrs. So I waited and looked around, there was another dance studio just one floor down. From where I was standing, I could see clearly a young chinese lady clad in a white tee shirt and jeans gyrating and doing her thing to what looked like hip hop. I have to admit I was mesmerized because not only was she dancing well, she looked hot!Then at 1854hrs a group of Caucasians walked past me and into the studio. I thought they looked more like the owners, and was wondering whether I should make my way in as well. I then decided to SMS Sinclair the dance instructor first to make sure I had the correct unit no. as the signs on the studio actually read “KIDS PERFORMING.” Just as I hit send, Sinclair walked in and motioned for me to follow. He introduced me to the group of Caucasians, who apparently were his new students as well. One couple was from New Zealand, while another couple was from the States . And then there was an Australian lady, and then another Chinese couple walked in after. It was some what nice to see that I was actually the third youngest in the group.

We then started the lesson proper, which caught me off guard because they went straight into the triple step which was not covered at all during the two taster classes I attended. It was an eight count to the timing of boom boom shak a tak! or step, step, triple step. We learned the swing out, swing close, swing circle and how to combine all of them. It was a dizzy experience but fun all the same. Oh and before I forget, Sinclair’s partner and fellow dance instructor Anna was barking at me to watch my form and to square off with my partner from time to time. She reminded me of much of how I missed the dancing diva who had been with me during the two earlier taster classes. At least she still smiled and encouraged me after she barked ha ha.

Well till my next class, which I am actually looking forward to………Cheers Mates!