Goodbye Rosemary

Finally I made a hocc compilation. It was a real difficult task choosing the songs:

1. 再見露絲瑪莉
2. 出生入死
3. 如無意外
4. 迷你與我
5. 艷光四射
6. 天使藍
7. 露絲瑪莉
8. 神經痛
9. 千千萬萬個我
10. 娃鬼回魂
11. 絕對
12. 兄弟
13. 明目張膽
14. 光榮之家
15. Happy Ending
16. Shampoo

My dad is getting pretty familiar with her! He used to only know her as 'Anita Mui's disciple'. But yesterday when I played this compilation, after hearing a few verses of the first track "Goodbye RoseMary", he asked me, "Ho Wan Sze, right?" Yeah!

He's getting more and more supportive too. I was showing him prints of my HK pics (only printed six first to see if they turn out nice), and he saw the one of me and her and said, "Wow, 很難得!" Then when I told him about her parents and commented that her mum is very pretty, he said, "Yeah, she looks like her mum, cos she's so pretty as well!" I told him I was tongue-tied when I saw her, and he actually gave several suggestions as to what I should have said to her!

Sidenote: He was the one who got me Sammi's Solvil Titus catalogue (Magic Trick/ Magic Wish)! Haha, my dad is so cool!

HK Trip Days 3 & 4

Day 3
The original plan was to visit the Peak with Ct in the morning and go ‘yum cha’ with Irish’s friends. But Judy and Sum offered to bring us to karaoke. In the end, I met Ct earlier to pick up my magazines then we went to Neway Karaoke in Mong Kok. They had various singers’ theme rooms, and the corridors were decorated attractively with nice pictures. Had lunch there while Irish went off to meet her friends. Then Gu and me went to Olympic City to see Candy. Gu’s friend was ok, but we were kind of like ignored by the rest…so stressed! Also quite an experience, squashing into a packed goods lift and standing near some smelly rubbish dump!

We went back to Mong Kok to meet up with the rest. Haha, seems like Fran and gang sang some song called “I,I,I,I,I Have Big Chest” or something! Must have been hilarious! Spent the rest of the day shopping around the area. I bought a red Kinokoron! I thought I didn’t want it at first, but then Fran bought so many and they were saying, buy for keepsake so in the end I did. Quite cute...At first we only spotted a few, then the salesgirl, who spoke excellent Mandarin, opened a drawer to reveal loads of them! But very few phone straps...

Off to Central to meet up with Irish and make our way to Ngau Kee for dinner. It was up several rather steep slopes, thank goodness we went by cab! The lady boss was very friendly and recommended C’s favourite dishes. The food was slightly salty but very delicious. We also watched Super Trio there but unfortunately the reception wasn’t very good and the images were fuzzy...Anyway we can always catch it again in Singapore later. We also left a message to C with Lady Boss!

Finally, we went to Avenue of Stars to look at celebrities’ palm prints. Too bad the souvenir shop was closed by the time we reached there or else Fran’s godma could have gotten some memorabilia. Back to the hotel, our last night in HK, a crazy booze party in our room! Gu played a prank on Judy and Sum, ended up in a minor crush! It was partly documented by Irish! It was like half-past two by the time we sobered up, so our friendly guides for the past few days ended up kipping over...Poor them, had to rush off to work the next day with very little sleep and no bath...Oh yah, Irish bought at 17’s Kiss Kiss Kiss CD for me while shopping with her friends earlier, many thanks!

Day 4
Last day...We took quite some time to pack and check out, leaving our humongous pile of luggage with the Bell Captain. The weather was BAD. Started off with light rain and subsequently got very heavy by the time we reached Tsim Sha Tsui. No good sharing umbrellas, Gu’s whole back was wet while half of mine was soaked and sometimes I inadvertently hit her head with the brolly (sorry!), so she stopped by a shop and bought herself a big umbrella. We had to endure wet shoes and socks and soaked trouser legs at the restaurant. The dim sum was pretty good, but the service so-so. Fran’s godma was so pissed off with one of the waitresses...hoho.

After lunch, we split into two groups. Gu, Fran and I went to Sun Wo to shop for CDs while the rest went to buy the mandatory ‘low por beng’ for us. While the two of them were hunting for Hocc and Josie Ho (actually me too!), I managed to buy my Ping Pung CD “Love and Hate” for only HKD70! I’m very pleased with it. Didn’t find what we wanted at Sun Wo so we went to other shops in Mong Kok. One of them had a few Hocc’s First but think the owner jacked up the price too much so Gu and Fran didn’t want to buy...We managed to grab the Butterfly DVD and Fran bought t-shirts. Then it’s back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head for the airport. Didn’t wanna miss our flight! The Bell Captain suggested that he call a taxi for us cos he saw we had so many bags and were running late! Somehow we managed to squeeze everyone and everything into one taxi!

Bye bye HK, see you again soon!

HK Trip Day 2

Hardly slept a wink...Maybe drank too much coke, or maybe the bed was too small for two...Anyway, had a leftover polo bun for breakfast and met up with Littlefish and the rest at a posh shopping mall (called Harbour City I think) in Tsim Sha Tsui. We had lunch at a food court-like place selling Asian cuisine. Haha, we were too scared of being sea-sick to eat much so in the end four of us shared two plates of fried rice. We headed off to catch the ferry to HK Island (was it Wan Chai? Can’t remember again...) Then to the meeting place for the cruise! I was worried about being sea-sick due to my lack of sleep for the past two days, plus the slightly choppy seas...turned out we were all ok, thankfully!

Filled with anticipation...the cruise started with a band performance by ‘the Gootles’. It was quite funny because the yacht was swaying quite a bit, so the mic-stand and other stuff were very unsteady and almost toppled over if not for Money who caught it just in time! I can’t remember the exact sequence of other events, but there was a lucky draw (prizes like t-shirts, watch and Slazenger shoes!), games segment (charades – Goodae was so funny!), singing (Vic and Money dancing around!), birthday wishes clip and cutting of cake. The cruise seemed too short! We took photos with HK friends, Goodae & Goomo again, 25, Vic, Money and of course ah C! Dear Money also helped us get some of our CDs autographed...thanks!

After that, we went to Cat Café for a light dinner before going to Kowloon Tong to catch the special buses that would bring us to TVB studio for Jade Solid Gold 1st round Awards Presentation! My first time at a TV event! It was quite a long ride to Cheung Kwan Ou. The few of us were chatting away in our usual English/Singlish/Mandarin mix spiced with a few occasional Cantonese/Hokkien/Malay words. After some time, a couple of curious Hong Kongers sitting opposite us asked what language we were speaking, cos they couldn’t help overhearing our conversation and were amused by what sounded vaguely familiar and yet incomprehensible! Uniquely Singapore!

JSG was held outdoors for the first time and thank goodness for the good weather! Everyone was given raincoats (we were going to be sprayed with water!) and balloons to wave around. A standing event…our legs were already dying, help! Anyway no choice, just have to bear with it for an hour or so. The first award went to Kelly Chen’s 希望. Both Fran and I can’t stand the song cos we have heard it too often on TV! And a few Kelly fans in front of us kept waving their signboards even when Kelly wasn’t singing, blocking our already half-blocked view, balloons and all. Next up, Hocc’s 如無意外 yeah! Think she wasn’t feeling well as her voice sounded a bit hoarse. But her jamming session with Miriam was the best of the night, a rock version of Home of Glory and a Miriam song partly sang through loudspeakers!

Others awards: Blessing/Hins Cheung, 自導自戀/Alex Fong, 我們三/Toby Leung, 小黑與我/Fiona Sit (her fans were so noisy beside us!), 佳節/Hacken Lee (absent), 明日恩典/Joey Yung, 浪漫時代/Deep Ng, 勁歌金曲/Leo Ku, 冬ling時間/Twins, 長信不如短迅/Miriam Yeung
Other crossover sessions: Toby, Fiona and Twins (dance hits), Hins, Alex and Deep (drum n sing) and Kelly, Joey and Leo (bossa nova medley, also the time when they started spraying water at us poor audience!)

After event, Sum and others brought us to where the singers were leaving and we hung around hoping to catch some action. We got more than we bargained for! Hocc’s van was leaving but stopped some distance away and we made a mad dash. Some HK fans knew we were from overseas and made way for us to squeeze to the front. Wc pushed me to the van entrance while saying something like ‘quick, take the chance!’ I was stunned to be so near Hocc. She was sitting inside looking at us while we just stood there like dummies at the entrance. Then Gu took the initiative to shake her hand. I followed, and Fran also. Her handshake is very firm, and she looks at you straight in the eye with a serious expression. Haha, I was at a loss for words! Fran was the only one speaking normally, but then she had a mission – to help her friend pass something over. It was quite an experience!

Judy and Sum were great, escorting us back to our hotel in case we lost our way. On the way back, we detoured to Temple St. But unfortunately it was too late so most of the stalls were closing. But we had already done so much in the day so missing out on this wasn’t too regretful.

HK Trip Day 1

No early morning flight for me again if i can help it! Getting up at 3am plus in the morning is so tiring...Went to pick Irish and Gu up before heading for the airport. Fran was already there, but we checked in before her cos there was a LONG queue at her counter! But then her flight arrived in HK on time whereas ours was delayed for like nearly an hour...

We bought the ‘Octopus’ card (HK’s equivalent of the EZ-link card) and went to catch the bus. The bus-stop where we alighted was conveniently near our hotel so we didn’t have to walk too far. But strangely enough the main entrance was at the side road. So there we were dragging our luggage up the stairs at the ‘side entrance’ (along the main road!) and had to ask for directions to the lobby!

We settled down and met up with Irish’s friend and mine for lunch at this place near Sum Shui Po mtr. I ordered 爆醬面 which was a big bowl of what looked like 'ban mian' with pieces of meat and veg. The meat was very salty and the soup a bit too oily, but overall it was ok. But me didn't have much appetite following last night's lack of sleep...It was my first time meeting Ct. She's nice but speaks so fast! She got along very well with Fran's godma too and helped us to bargain when we were shopping at Ladies Street.

In the evening, we met Littlefish, my fellow 'jammer' (guitar-mate) at the forum, for the first time before heading to AC Hall (near Kowloon Tong mtr) together to watch the 903 Nescafe Event. Radio DJs Sammy and GCGooBi (replacement for Kitty as she had injured her hand) were very funny. They had to face the challenges from three contestants each - Sammy against three females in lion dance, making a chair and karake, and GCGooBi against three males in singing, hip-hop dancing and ballet. The guy challenging her in singing had a really high voice. They were singing Fish Leong's 分手快樂 and the key just kept going up. Finally GCGooBi had to admit defeat when she could no longer match the guy's soprano-like voice!

Of course the best part of the show was being able to see Hocc and Edmond Leung live. Hocc sang 艷光四射 as a warm-up for the contestants and also 如無意外 and 明目張膽. The atmosphere was great as all the fans sang along with her. Edmond sang 艦隊 and
七友 which were also well-received especially the latter. As it was Hocc's birthday on 10th May, the DJs prepared a cake and Edmond planted a birthday kiss on her cheek.

After the event, we hung around outside the hall and took photos with Goomo, Goodae, Littlefish and other HK friends. Then Hocc appeared (looking a bit thin with sunken cheeks), popping open a bottle of champagne as part of her birthday celebrations I guess. Fran gave her a pandan cake which was supposed to be for Sum, but she told her to give it to Hocc first.

Then, Sum, Jud and gang took us for supper at an eatery along Nathan Road. Considering my polo bun dinner, I decided to get some pei dan porridge. It was probably around midnight by the time we returned to the hotel.

Love and Hate

Wow, I haven't blogged for such a long time! Well, there's a lot of work waiting for me since I came back from HK and some of it quite troublesome, arrrghhh! I also had to sort out my photos, upload them, and choose some for printing (still doing that!). And of course catching up with all the posts in the forums and practising chords for new songs.

A detailed account of my adventures in HK will have to wait, but meanwhile let me just say that I bought a really nice album in HK, "Love and Hate" by Ping Pung. At first I wasn't sure if I would like the whole album, since I've only heard a few songs - 殺她死 (Kill Her), 我話事 (I'm the Boss) and of course my favourite 愛是最大權利 (Love is the Greatest Right) - from it. Then after playing the CD once, I played it again and again over the weekend. I have just one word for it - great! Possibly the best album from 2004 that I've heard so far.

Kary is remarkable; she has really blossomed as a singer. And I like the good quality and interesting mix of songs in the EP, especially the simplicity of 二十世紀少年 (20th Century Teenager). It is the unplugged version, which makes me wonder whether there is an original version and if so where I can find it.

I just wonder if they can keep up the good work in the next album (it's always hard to make a follow-up to a successful first album, just look at FIR as a recent example), or if there would be a next album in the first place, considering the dire state of the music industry. A rock band like Ping Pung may not be the most profitable outfit in a scene more geared towards commercial ballads, where bands are mostly short-lived. Still, I hope for more good stuff from them.

"Life is too short to hate...let's spread more love!" ~ Ping Pung

Seen in a new light

Yesterday I watched some TVB charity show for Canada. Unfortunately it was just highlights and not the entire thing, so they only showed excerpts of one song per singer. There were Johnny Yip, Alice Lau, Leon Lai, Miriam Yeung and Joyce Cheng but those who left an impression on me were Bobo Chan and Cookies.

The song by Cookies was not impressive but their singing has improved greatly especially Theresa and Stephy. (Kary had already proven herself to be a respectable singer.) I'd always thought that Theresa has a nice voice and her slightly lower pitch did not seem to suit the usual Cookies songs in the past. But her live singing was almost atrocious once when she and Stephy were singing "親朋勿友" (Friends or Not) and her rhythm was totally off. Seems that she was very upset by that incident but looks like she has worked hard on her singing and it's pretty decent now. I hope she continues to improve.

What was even more remarkable was Bobo's rendition of her song "羽毛" (Feather). Her vocals are really much, much better than the last time I heard her live which was probably more than a year ago. Until then, I never thought much of her singing, but now I've changed my mind. When hocc mentioned that Bobo's singing has improved greatly a few weeks ago, I was a bit sceptical but now I understand what she meant. I'm looking forward to their collaboration now.