Gong Hey Fatt Choy!!!

My dad says that Chinese New Year is getting quieter and quieter year by year and I agree with him. It used to be a really boisterous affair when I was younger. We used to have to visit many more places when my grand-dad, grand-uncles and grand-aunts were still alive. Now despite the fact that many of them have passed away, we're only slightly less busy than before because more people visit us instead! And we still have a few places to visit so it's still pretty hectic.

1st day...we had 6 groups of visitors in the morning. In the afternoon we went out for a bit of visiting, then they came round to our place for dinner. So tiring, cos I was like catching a cold so I took some medicine at lunchtime...it made me so sleepy for the rest of the day.

2nd day...Still feeling a bit sick but had to help entertain 2 groups of visitors in the morning. Didn't feel like going out so I siam all the visiting in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day sleeping...Gotta try and get better soon cos I'll be going to Taiwan this Sunday.

3rd day...Visited Nan and had lunch with her. That's about it...quite relaxed today. Nose still feeling a bit itchy, think I shall sleep early tonight again and hope to throw off the cold completely. Supposed to go back to work tomorrow but I took the day off. Decided that I'd better start organising my luggage for my trip...if not I'll just leave it till Saturday and it'll be too late if I find that I'm missing certain things!

Not sure how much Internet access I'll have in Taiwan, but I'll try to update this if possible. If not then I'll see u guys in 3 weeks' time!

It's Hereditary

Thank you to my dear purple friends and shocking pink friends (you should know who I'm referring to!) as well as those who choose to be anonymous here but nonetheless, thank you very much for all your support.

It has been a harrowing few days and I was in a really bad mood on Monday. It turned out that 23 Jan (Mon) is the gloomiest day of the year, based on a formula worked out by this psychologist. Coincidence? Btw, 23 Jun is supposed to be the happiest day...let’s see if we’re all really happy then...

Ok, trying to cheer myself up since there's not much I can do until 9 Feb anyway. I got both Butterfly Lovers and Reflections of Joey’s Concert DVD. My sis really enjoyed watching Butterfly Lovers, saying that it was way better than watching some mediocre movie on a lazy afternoon. She doesn’t see why 勞斯萊斯 wasn’t chosen as the song of the year for 2005 and likes it far more than 夕陽無限好, 無賴, 希望 or whatever other likely candidates, for its meaningful lyrics and touching melody and arrangement.

I also got a new blog for my guitar stuff. Was thinking of making a separate one anyway and since I signed up for the yahoo one, may as well make good use of it.

Was telling my parents about my air-ticket arrangements and mum asked whether my flight has a stopover in HK? Haha, I wish...but nope. Dear mum understands me so well...I suddenly recalled that she used to be something of a 追星一族 too! When we were cleaning out the cupboard for photo-albums some years ago, she showed me her vast collection of autographed photos! Those days she used to go to movie screenings and the actresses would give out their signed pics! Seems like 原來追星也會遺傳的, hehe...


Stuff to cheer me up...Why do I need both the DVD and VCD of Leung Joke? I also dunno...keke

Shocking News

It's been a couple of days since I heard the bad news; I guess I'm feeling a bit better now...

While she was mopping the floor two nights ago, my mum casually informed me that she has cancer.

What......?

"Don't worry lah, even I'm not worried", she continued cheerfully in a matter-of-fact voice.

How not to be worried??!! I knew something was wrong when she complained of blood when sneezing, but still, the news came as a shock. But dear mum seems to be taking it all in her stride, saying that all she needs is a 6-week course of radiotherapy and then she'll be ok.

She hasn't seen the specialist yet so we don't know the prognosis and when she does I'll be in Taiwan. Why do I have to leave just then? But I can't postpone the thing anymore with all the arrangements done.

I have to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about bad things, trying my best to go on with life as normal, but sometimes it's very difficult. I used to be angry with my dad for not telling me about his illness years ago. But now I realise that he has my interests at heart...it is really very devastating to find out that your loved one is struck with such an illness.

Anyway, the fanciful name for the one that struck mum is "Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma". I did some reading up on the Internet to try and understand what the results of the preliminary test meant. Seems like things aren't too bad...Treatment is supposed to be most effective when the thing is non-keratinizing and least so when differentiated. The results indicated "Non-keratinizing and undifferentiated", so I am hopeful.

I hope to have good news on 9 Feb...Meanwhile, I just have to carry on, and think positive. First up, to settle my presentation for next week and to finish the stuff that I have promised I will get done by weekend...

Rolls.Royce

I am over the moon! Yeah!! Congrats to my dear Ah C!!!

Initially I hadn’t been nervous at all about JSG. I felt sure that she will get a song award for 勞斯.萊斯 and probably one for singer-songwriter. After all she had 3 successful hits during the selections (如無意外, 化蝶, 勞斯.萊斯) two of which were composed by herself.

Then ten minutes before the Awards were due to start, my sister suddenly said, “I’m feeling excited, wonder if she’ll be getting awards.” And of course the ‘she’ refers to hocc.

Earlier, I had asked my sis about whether I was being biased. Since I’m such a big fan, I may have been less than objective about hocc’s songs. But she said, “No lah, I like 勞斯.萊斯 very much and 化蝶 also.” What about 如無意外 and 圓滿? “Also like. She's got some great songs last year.” Look, my sis isn’t a fan and she doesn’t really like 汽水樽裡的咖啡 so I think her comments are fair and unbiased. Feeling happy and reassured, I asked her what’s her Song of the Year and she replied 勞斯.萊斯! Like me, she loves the interlude part when the Chinese musical instruments come in. She even asked me if my friends are coming over to watch the awards again!

Anyway, I was quite relaxed at first but after so many red herrings and false alarms (花木蘭, 鐘無艷, 男孩像你, 呂方&男方 - Eric Tsang and Amigo really played up the atmosphere so much the whole night, I seem to be detecting references to ah C all the time), I was beginning to feel worried. Then out of the blue, they announced that Hocc wins the Gold for 傑出表現. I should have been happy, but at that moment I was just stunned because it was so unexpected. It was my sister who reacted first with “Yay, she got award!” A nice surprise but when they played the music for 勞斯.萊斯, I thought, did that mean they weren’t going to give her the song award? The 傑出表現 was like a consolation prize and even hocc must have thought so then...I kept saying to my sis “不可能 '勞斯.萊斯' 沒有歌曲獎, 難道頒給 '如無意外' or '化蝶'? But that’s so unlikely...” and she too was wondering aloud how they chose the songs, saying “If she doesn't get a song award, it'll be so unfair...” At this point, my parents woke up from their naps, probably because we were making so much noise grumbling!

Finally when they announced the last song award went to 勞斯.萊斯, both my sis and I let out a triumphant "yeah!" and she cheered even louder than me! She told me later that her heart skipped a beat when they announced that ah C had won and it was a good thing that we haven't got weak hearts! Even my parents were looking happy for Ah C, yeah! But my dear mum exclaimed when she saw Ah C's backview...keke...Personally I liked her 'lantern sleeves' outfit best. Hocc should be 賣歌藝, 歌曲, or even 賣'型' but not 賣'露'. 要露也留給 the Special One mah! Speaking of this topic I didn't see why Joey had to wear that costume when doing the Latin dance. Just making it easier for people to ogle and '博懵'!

I don't remember ever being so stressed out when watching award presentations, not for Sammi, not JSG and even 903 awards. I do get headaches sometimes after times of stress e.g. exams, presentations or job interviews, and I developed one after seeing ah C win the song award! Gosh, it must have been really tense...and I've never seen my sis getting so excited about awards before...hehe.

It was wonderful to hear 勞斯.萊斯 being sung twice...just when I had nearly lost hope. So happy for Ah C and to see her, Joey and Miriam having a ball of a time. Bad blood? Fighting? What nonsense...Btw a re-make of 鐘無艷 by the three of them sounds interesting...hee...

A couple of tiny regrets...Joey didn't sing 越唱越強 when she won Most Popular Singer...and the abridged version of 勞斯.萊斯 didn't have the "能成為密友　大概總帶著愛" part, that line really strikes a chord, but never mind...It's been a 圓滿的2005 for ah C!!!

Recollection 2005 (Songs)

Favourite Songs of 2005, very difficult to choose so I shall just pick songs that caught my attention this year, somewhat in order but not really, cos it's too difficult to rank!

1. 如無意外 (Denise Ho)
2. 勞斯.萊斯 (Denise Ho)
3. 汽水樽裡的咖啡 (Denise Ho)
4. 圓滿 (Denise Ho)
5. 明目張膽 (Denise Ho)
6. 化蝶 (Denise Ho)
7. 越唱越強 (Joey Yung)
8. 天之驕女 (Joey Yung)
9. 浮誇 (Eason Chan)
10. 遇見了你 (Eason Chan)
11. 大風吹 (Andy Hui)
12. 烈女 (Miriam Yeung)
13. 藍鞋子 (Stephy Tang)
14. 順時針 (Gigi Leung)
15. 你女友 (Bobo Chan)
16. 自欺欺人 (Alex Fong, Theresa Fu)
17. 二等天使 (Wilfred Lau)
18. 男孩像你 (Fiona Sit)
19. 塞車 (Nicholas Tse)
20. 浪漫時代 (Deep Ng)
21. 十個他不如一個你 (Janice)

Come to think of it, Hocc has never got a JSG song award in the finals before...even 再見露絲瑪莉 only got 網上金曲...But chances are good this year! Good luck for tomorrow!

One Step in Life

I’d been thinking about getting Andy Hui's 大風吹 for 2 months yet not making a move because I didn't like the idea of buying it when I've already got the songs in disc 2. Then on Thursday I decided...2 CDs for the price of 1, purchase justified! First CD of the year!

I like the calligraphic "大風吹" words on the cover and the nature theme of the photographs, but otherwise the overall package looks a bit 'tired'...I guess Go East will not put much effort since Andy has left for East Asia.

But more importantly, the songs. 一步一生 is one of my favourite 安仔 songs of recent years; love both the melody and lyrics: “...Looking back, every step in my life was unforgettable. The people I had met along the way are getting further away from me. Yet at the edge of the cliff I stand firm...Who’s walking with me now, who’s holding my hand? Braving hardships, I still have the strength to smile...”


一步一生 (許志安)
作曲/編曲：伍樂城 填詞：林夕

童年是誰伴我走　挽我的手
望我踏上天梯　不可退後
曾經期望著我　前程和戀愛　甚麼都擁有

沿途就算跌　要跌得好看
才能不自責　報答別人厚望
然而誰明白我　沒你們所想的堅壯
我很想找個人　對我說別怯慌

回顧中彷彿一步一生
每一級一世都難忘　如何吸引
曾碰上每個過路人　跟我漸行漸遠
懸崖上我始終都企穩

誰伴我去走一步一生
每一位一個不留神　不再熱吻
還有沒有人　令我驚險又興奮
願我能　提示我這一雙腳　別震

前面是誰伴我走　挽我的手
但笑著吃苦的氣力　我有


There are many other nice songs here: the cheery 大風吹, duet with Anita 女人之苦, 愛你 (famously covered by Sammi in her 1999 concert and more recently sang by hocc serenading Sammi), duets with Deannie Yip 教我如何不愛他 and 美中不足, a rather strange solo version of 會過去的 (the original version with Stephanie Che sounds better) etc etc. Though some people don't seem to like 與神對話 or 學行 much, I think they add an interesting flavour. If not for songs like these you end up with just a collection of 安仔-style ballads.

Me and 安仔 actually 'go back a long time', having first listened to his debut album a long, long time ago! Oh well, my sister bought that. Yeah, it had nothing to do with Sammi at first but I don’t deny that it became somewhat '愛屋及烏' subsequently. And so, over the years, I amassed 8 of his CDs (Looking thru my collection, I see 雨後陽光 1993, 驚喜交集精選 1996, 愛得辛苦精選 1997, 真心真意 1998, 世紀末精選 1999, 借你耳朵聽許志安 2001, ON HITS 2002, 大風吹 2005), mostly compilations though, cos although his songs are nice, I didn't see the need to own all of them (like the case with Joey). Anyway, looking at the frequency they put out best selections, I didn't need to wait very long...



Yeah, my second CD of the year...Mika Nakashima's "Best". The first Japanese album I bought in 3 years or so! What made me buy it? Well, I quite like Mika's singing and she's got some nice songs, and the cover is nice and purple...haha...Btw, she's the one who acted as the rocker Nana in the movie adapted from the comic of the same name, the character Hocc is supposed to resemble...

So I've bought 2 CDs so far and we're only halfway into January...tsk tsk...must keep away from CD shops...Then I'll be getting my Leung Joke musical anytime now and I want Joey's concert DVD (it is super ex, darn!) And yes, I want my Leung Joke...

Future

Been looking up info for this graduate course I've been thinking about...it is super mafan!!!

The good thing is that it's entirely web-based so I don't have to be there physically. And it seems like the only course that has a major component completely relevant to my job.

But there're loads of things to settle...first of all money. Assuming completion in 2 years, based on rough estimates, I'll still need about USD10,000 a year!!!

The requirements...ok, degree and 1 year experience, I've got those. But then they need a 3.0 grade point average (whatever that means) and also a score of greater than 50th percentile on Miller Analogy Test or at least 1000 points on something GRE. (Don't have a clue what all these things mean...are they stringent?)

And for International Students, a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score is required...Hello, English is my 1st language...I guess 'O' and 'A' levels mean nothing to them? Wonder if SAT is any good in proving language proficiency?

Guess I need to write to them and clarify all these things...Also seriously considering if I'll be too tired to plunge into the course while holding a full-time job...

Guitar Lesson 2006

My plan to help me practise in a more systematic manner! Really want to play the chords properly...Ok, I started off with Shampoo, 未來 and 迷你與我, admittedly not the easiest of songs, but since I’ve been practising them for some time, thought I’d just put them in lesson 1. The rest of the songs are chosen in increasing levels of difficulty so as not to get discouraged by tough chords right from the start. C key is about the easiest things can get.

1. Must-learn Songs
Shampoo (D key), 未來 (G key), 迷你與我 (F#m)

2. C Key (easy chords)
獨樂樂 (C), 兄弟 (C), 不眠皇后 (C)

3. A minor & C Keys
禁色 (Am), 越唱越強 (C), 下個密碼 (C# play C)

4. G Key
如無意外 (G# play G), acoustic angel (G# play G), 小丸子的心事 (G# play G)

5. G & A Keys
絕對 (A play G), 絕對 (A)

6. A Key
我會選擇C (A), 愛的教育 (A)

7. F Key
小淇 (F# play F), 明目張膽 (F)

8. F Key (cont’)
圓滿 (F), 千千萬萬個我 (F)

9. D Key
有得做 (D# play D)

10. E Key
喜歡喜歡你 (E)

11. B Key
光榮之家 (B-C)

12. G Key
化蝶 (G), 勞斯. 萊斯 (G# play G)

13. D# or Eb
長不大 (D# or Eb)

More Complicated Stuff...

1. C & G keys
忘 (C), 一秒 (G# play G)

2. D keys
做好準備 (D), 露絲瑪莉 (D)

3. C & D keys
花迷戀 (D play C), 花迷戀 (D)

4. key-change
勁愛你 (D-G), 再見露絲瑪莉 (C-A)

5. E key
沙 (E), 出生入死 (E), 艷光四射 (E)

6. B key
Happy Ending (B), 樓台會 (B)

7. Eb key
艷光四射(美艷到不行) (Eb), 明星夢 (C-Eb)

8. key change
汽水樽裡的咖啡 (C-D-E)

9. key change
我是芭比 (C-Eb-F-G), 娃鬼回魂 (Eb-F-G)

10. key change
失戀日記 (G-G#)

11. key change
二位一體 (A-B)

12. key change
與別不同 (A-Bb), 十八相送 (A-Bb)

13. tough songs
天使藍 (G# play G), 水花四濺 (E)


Changes will be made to my list when I find other suitable songs along the way. 燕尾蝶, 終身美麗, 暖色, 天之驕女 and 神經痛 are just a few that I’d like to include but have yet to work out the chords...

Yeah! My grand plans!

New Year, New Hopes

Before I talk about 2006, first let me do some catching up. Meant to post these pics much earlier but what with one thing or another...Anyway, pop-related Christmas pressies:

Everlasting Regret Limited Edition Box-set, Everlasting Regret Soundtrack, Joey Bus and Denise's Natural Pearl!


The exciting contents of ER Box-set!!


My dear Denise's lipstick (Many, many thanks to leng lui Ripley!!!)



2006, Brand New Start
Sometimes I wonder if it's any good having New Year Resolutions since I don't seem to be keeping to most of those that I made last year. But anyway, I guess I'll have a go again this year:

1. Buy fewer CDs
Believe it or not, this was one resolution I managed to keep last year! Yes, I actually bought fewer CDs in 2005 compared to 2004! Keep it up this year!
2. Practise guitar at least once a week
3. Remember the birthdays of all my loved ones


Wish-List (So far)
This may be kind of contradictory to my NY Resolution no. 1, but given the horrendous nos. and not-so-horrendous-but-still-big nos. of CDs/VCDs/DVDs I bought in 2004 and 2005 respectively, I think I can reduce the no. further. Anyway...

1. Leung Joke VCD and/or DVD
2. Hocc's new EP
3. Joey's Reflections Concert 2005 DVD
4. Anita's re-releases (can't believe they're putting out 8 at one go, 8!!! Luckily, I've already got some of those last time, but I really want the Burning Lips and Demonic Girl ones, among others...)

Awards Awards

Irish, caocao and fanfan came over to my place last night to watch the delayed telecast of the 903 awards. It was definitely more fun to watch together!

I woke up really early today (before 8am) considering that we had stayed up until 2am. Maybe feeling a bit 憤憤不平?

I shall not attempt to hide my disappointment about last night’s awards. Hocc got the silver for Best Female and was a very close 2nd behind Miriam for Most Popular Female. I know that Hocc herself has said that what matters most is that she has already given her best, but I just feel so ‘唔抵’ for her! And I'm sure there are lots of others like me, probably even non-fans who appreciate her hard work last year.

Seriously, I think that the effort put in and the quality of songs produced by ah C did not reap a proportionate amount of rewards. Much as I like Joey (though of course not as much as hocc) and have her "Love Joey 3" and "Bi-Heart" albums, to me "Glam" and "Butterfly Lovers" far outshine the former...I suspect even Joey thinks that Ah C deserves the gold more, and I feel a bit sorry for her because at one point in her thank-you speech she looked slightly embarrassed while saying "I hope you’re not booing me...". And no matter who got which colour of the award, I’m sure that the two of them will be happy for each other...Actually I’m happy that ah C managed to find such good friends in this line, 難得 難得...I love the part when she was singing "勞斯.萊斯" and Joey knew every word of the lyrics!

Ok, finish ‘發泄’-ing. Never mind, new hopes for the New Year, 今年會更好, hope she does better next year; I have no doubt that she will.

My own selections:

Male Singer: Eason
美得有意思　因為你是你自己

Female Singer: Hocc
令人圓滿卻是你

Album: 梁祝下世傳奇
約定了 下世共你更傳奇

Song: 如無意外
無奈在這刻　你才重要
(But suffering the disadvantage of a January release?)

Music Arrangment: 勞斯.萊斯
能成為密友　大概總帶著愛