I attended my first dance class in almost a year today. It felt good. It's not any of the styles I'm most known for, but it's not exactly new to me either, so I guess you could say today's class felt a little more like re-reading a treasured book for the fifth time, rather than returning to a old and forgotten love for me.

As I was explaining to a friend recently, the last time I was dancing regularly, I felt happier and more confident, for some reason I couldn't quite explain. So here I am, returning to some form of it, searching for some of the confidence and self-assurance I seem to have lost in the years that I've been working.

That, and of course the stress relieving effect any physical activity has on me.

I first took up dance when I was waiting for my A Level results. I'd always liked listening to pop music, but it was only when I learnt the mass dance that comes with every junior college orientation that I discovered how much I liked to move to it too.

Being the practical student that I was, I waited till after my studies were over before taking on any additional extracurricular activities. It just so happened that during this time, I wasn't having the easiest of times with my first boyfriend, seeing as both of us were thousands of miles apart. I threw myself into other activities - more dance classes, boxercise, anything - in an effort to expel some of the stress I was undergoing at the time.

That summer, the relationship ended. I prepared for my own entrance into university, left home and ran into a someone about to found the dance society I would later become president of, and promptly began a serious relationship with a new-found love.

Now, many years later, even though my dedication to classes and learning has been on and off, my affection for dancing itself has never waned. Essentially, this is the longest relationship I've had in my life to date.

So, lover, here's to today and here's to many more years of happiness together.

ASEAN Rocks wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Granted, I didn't pay any money to get inside (the perks of having friends who work for the sponsors) and I didn't pay anything for drinks the whole night long (an unexpected perk which said friend didn't know about either) and these two factors definitely contributed towards my non-condemnation of what most people would have considered a lame event. I mean, how else would you think of a music festival organised simply to celebrate ASEAN's fortieth anniversary?

Anyway, I arrived late and didn't catch the first two acts, Wicked Aura (who I think are great, but at the same time, all drums sound the same to me after a very short while) and Hady Mirza, who I know nothing about, but who appeared incredibly dao as he strode out of the Hard Rock Cafe and into his car.

D'Medley from Brunei were pretty okay, with the band doing a rather good cover of Save Ferris - I Know, although I'm not sure if most of the crowd were old enough to remember the song or the movie it was featured in (10 Things I Hate About You featuring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger for those of you not in the know, and one of my favourite movies of all-time). After D'Medley came Bamboo from the Philippines, who were really rocking. They were good performers and generally, more energetic than D'Medley, which was good because when I go to listen to live music, I much prefer faster songs to the slower tunes.

And after what seemed like far too long listening to the two MCs (from 98.7 fm) bantering, and various HRC bands coming on for like two songs each, Electrico, the band everyone had been waiting for (well, everyone but me), finally came on. They weren't too bad, but in my opinion, they now sound like every other new American band, and I don't really like their music anymore.

Anyway, after Electrico's set ended, Wicked Aura was slated to come on again but I, tired after three straight nights of drinking, decided to head off.

While I don't doubt that there is talent present in the region, I don't think HRC are going to make much money out of this particular festival which ends this Thursday. Still, it's a nice thought, I'll admit.

If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

A meme inspired by Mr. Brown and a great way to discover hitherto unknown or forgotten tracks in your massive musical library. Here're the rules:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. Don't lie

Opening Credits:
Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground (The Umbrellas of Ladywell Mix)

Waking Up:
Mocca – On the Night Like This
Rather light and fluffy… and probably incredibly inappropriate given I just woke up.

First Day At School:
U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name (Live from Sydney)
I somehow doubt I was this incredibly happy or euphoric the first day I attended school.

Falling In Love:
L.S.G. – Netherworld
This is a rather intense song, so I guess, on one level, it kind of makes sense… actually, no, it doesn’t at all.

Fight Song:
Anne Clark – Sleeper in Metropolis (Brutus & Nero Remix)
I had no idea I had this song in my library. I don’t even remember why I got it given I know neither the singer nor the remixers. It’s a trance song, so I suppose if it’s a fight a la The Matrix, it might work.

Breaking Up:
Various Artistes – Watch the Birdie
Man, such a happy song, and definitely one of my favourites to swing dance to.

Prom:
Jacky Cheung and Sara Chen – Ming Ming Bai Bai Wo De Xin
Yes, I have Chinese songs in my music library. And this would probably have been entirely appropriate for the slow dance at the Prom.

Life's OK:
Groove Armada – In My Bones
This is a nice, funky tune, so, yes, life is most definitely okay going by this.

Mental Breakdown:
Underworld – Dinosaur Adventure 3D
The way this track starts off, I can definitely imagine myself under a huge amount of stress – or just in the throes of clubbing like heck.

Driving:
Paul van Dyk – Denki Groove – Niji (Potted Gold Remix)
Well, if I were ever driving on a road trip, my playlist would definitely consist of electronic dance music tunes. I’m not sure if I’d listen to trance though, as I’ve moved on since then.

Flashback:
The Magnetic Fields – I Don’t Really Love You Anymore
Kind of apt, given that I’m trying my best to let go and move on rather than wish for the good old days of the past.

Getting Back Together:
Beastie Boys – Intergalactic (Daft Punk Remix)
WTF?

Wedding:
The Pooh Sticks – Force Fed by Love
Errrrrr…

Birth of Child:
Paralamas do Sucesso – Meu Erro
Well, it’s a really happy tune even though I don’t know what they’re singing about.

Final Battle:
Emiliana Torrini – Sea People
This is most definitely not a fight song… more like a sad farewell or possibly quiet resignation.

Death Scene:
Wheat – Don’t I Hold You
This is a really nice song… and I’m undecided as to whether it’s appropriate for a death scene in the slightest.

Funeral Song:
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Ha ha ha! That’s awesome. This would have been my choice for a fight scene, quite honestly.

End Credits:
Polaroid – So Damn Beautiful (Chris Coco Mix)
I certainly hope so.

I love live music. In spite of my reputation for clubbing, there're occasions when I just need to detox by going somewhere with a live band so that I can just chill out and do the whole audience karaoke thing.

Unfortunately, I haven't been anywhere like that in over a year. I promptly rectified that situation last night when I learnt that EIC and Timmy! (pronounced as "Tim-may!") would be performing at Timbre. We arrived at 10 pm but were stuck in the queue for a table for half an hour, before we just walked in to stand at the bar (after I checked with staff that it was fine), and then shared a table with some people, leaving the poor schmucks who'd been in the queue ahead of us still outside standing. Singaporeans and their queueing tendencies. Yeesh.

In any case, EIC and Timmy! were briliiant. I have liked EIC since seeing them perform at Wala Wala a couple of years ago, and last night was no different. I still think Jack, one of the lead singers and guitarists, is pretty cute, and it's good to see that he doesn't look any different since the last I saw him. EIC tends to do more rock songs, like those by Oasis and U2, and it took me by surprise when they performed slower numbers like Coldplay - Fix You and Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars. I really love these songs, and the band didn't do a bad job with them, which is all you can ask for, really.

Then came Timmy! featuring Ngak. I have not seen them perform ever and after last night, I was wondering why it took me so long. I mean, Ngak is one crazy and energetic performer. They came out doing a whole series of punky songs like The Killers - Mr. Brightside and Ngak seriously reminded me of a monkey combined with the lead singer of Gorillaz (no pun intended). And just when I was about to typecast them as a punk/ska band, Timmy! decided to slow things down by doing a really nice version of Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees, and later on went into more Radiohead by singing Creep just before their break, but substituting "we don't belong here" with "we want to drink beer."

All in all, I've been to Timbre twice. Once for a pizza dinner (AsiaCuisine gives the place 85/100 for their food) and last night, just for the bands. The drinks service isn't exactly the fastest in the world, but if you're not in a hurry, and just want to enjoy the ambience of al fresco dining and drinking, as well as soaking in the music of some incredible bands, then this is the place to go.

The front page of Today's afternoon edition featured the response of Tan Chor Jin, the one-eyed dragon, when asked if he still required an English translator for the court sessions.

"I cannot speak in English lah. If I speak in English, how to be an Ah Seng?"

Utterly brilliant. Truer words were never spoken.

If you, like I, have been cleaning out your wardrobe and attempting to get rid of old and unwanted clothes, then check out the Swop clothes-shop-charity event coming up on February 4, 2007. Just bring your unwanted clothes down, pay S$5, and you get to pick and choose from other people's unwanted clothes too.

"That's gotta hurt worse than getting a birthday telegram from Zinedine Zidane."

And the last line in the clip just tops it off perfectly.

If you ever need to whip up a pair of slippers in some kind of bizarre emergency, this tip from JourneyWoman ought to come in handy... provided you're a) female or b) have a female companion around.

For all those career-focussed people out there who are trying most valiantly to still maintain some semblance of a life, perhaps these tips from the Wall Street Journal may come in useful.

From How to Advance Your Career and Still Have a Personal Life:

• Know when you work best. Many professionals are more productive at certain times of the day than others. Tackle challenging tasks during those hours and leave easy ones for when you're less energised.
  
• Set deadlines, even if they're not due by a certain date. This forces you to work to the deadline.
• Control your environment. The average full-time knowledge worker loses about two hours a day to office distractions, such as pop-ins from colleagues. To avert interruptions, place a sign on your door or desk that says you're busy. Also, devote a regular time slot for colleagues to stop by with questions or concerns. People will start working around it.
  
• Eliminate unessential work. Identify low-value and inefficient tasks that you can remove from your plate.
• Work on the go. This works if you have a Blackberry. When commuting to work, tackle noncritical issues such as scheduling meetings or approving projects. Drivers can listen to work-related podcasts or recorded books and make cellphone calls using a hands-free device.
  

Jack Black, Gollum and Grease. What more could you possibly ask for?

There're so many things I want to do this year. In fact, there're so many things I want to do every year. I just feel more determined to get them done this year though, after sort of frittering away the last few years or so.

I mean, I want to learn a new kind of dance (or even a dance I've done before, just as long as I'm dancing), driving (something I talk about every year), wakeboarding (which I've done once and absolutely adored but have been too afraid to attempt ever since my back injury way back in September 2005) , proper Mandarin (hah!), French (again) and jazz singing. And that's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there're other hidden wishes still in there somewhere.

At the same time, I've restricted myself to one new activity every two or so months. Right now, I'm in the midst of kickstarting my incredibly inert lifestyle and learning a new activity. At the same time, there's CFA Level II to worry about, whereby I'll find myself using most of my available hours just studying those five texts that are currently languishing in one corner of my room.

And today, my boss told me that if I want to work towards working overseas (permanently, as opposed to a temporarily), I should tell him now so that he can guide my path in the appropriate direction. He had originally hired me to do primarily local work, which is the reason I haven't felt brave enough to tell him about wanting that overseas experience to last for more than a few months.

He has also offered me a fair amount of opportunities and I do like the people I've worked with both here and around the region, so I feel bad that right now, I'm contemplating just jumping ship because I want to work in a market other than Singapore. I've stayed here for so long and everything is so straightforward that it's plain boring. I really want to work in a market I consider exciting before I turn 28. I mean, I'm starting to run out of energy as it is and going somewhere else and starting over won't get any easier as time passes by.

So the question is... should I trust my boss and tell him what I really want? I mean, as far as I know, I haven't really said anything to my own office about my desire to work overseas, and it definitely isn't in my boss's best interests to let me go. And to work towards that overseas posting in my own company is going to entail quite a lot of hard work to prove that I'm worth it.

So, on top of work abd personal enrichment (academically and hobbywise), I'm also trying to work on spending more time with friends and also towards that ever elusive goal of marriage and kids. Yes, I'll admit it. In spite of the "tough single-minded career woman" act I put up in front of a lot of people, I do, in fact, want to get married and have a family someday.

At this point in time, the idea of a lifelong commitment still freaks me out (yes, clearly, I've some baggage from past relationships) but I do know that someday, I want that ideal. It doesn't look attainable, however. Maybe it's me - my penchant for falling for the wrong guy - or maybe it's the men out there, but right now, it doesn't feel achievable. And given my tendency to throw myself into work, it doesn't leave me much time to meet the single, decent and yet, interesting guys out there.

Blimey. I really am setting myself up for a huge challenge this year, ain't I?

I really do like Starkillers' brand of sexy, dirty house. And of course, it's pretty got a lot more to do with the lyrics than with the actual melody itself, but the tune does make me want to lose myself on the dance floor a little more than I normally would.

Starkillers - (Can U) Scream

Can you make me feel like a star
Can you make me shake and scream
Can you make me beg now baby
Can I leave you loving me

Can you make me lose my mind
Can you tease me
Can you make me wanna dream
Can you please me

If we did it on a magazine
If we did it on a silver screen
If we did it on bathroom floor

Would your girlfriend call me a whore?

This doesn't sound like me in the least. Or rather, it sounds like the kind of person I try not to be. I don't know. I haven't seduced enough people to be able to validate this.

A recent beauty purchase - The Opium Collector Powder for Eyes & Complexion.

The design of the powder palette is so pretty (the palette has been designed as the leaves and petals of a lotus flower) , I almost don't want to use it. But the white eyeshadow, which is actually champagne when applied, is to die for.

Borat

*spoilers follow*

Borat was amazingly funny. Yes, there was a fair amount of gross-out bits involving, among other things, scatological humour and two naked men wrestling, but once you get past those bits, it's incredibly fun just to laugh at the whole WTF-ness of it all. It's also an enlightening movie once you see these so-called intelligent people reveal their hidden dark side, like when the frat boys from the University of South Carolina eagerly ask Borat if women are slaves in Russia.

Did I like it? Oh, most definitely. Great success. Ver' nice. High five!

Pan's Labyrinth

I didn't know what to expect from my first Guillermo del Toro film.

It turned out to be a surprisingly good, if rather dark, fairy tale set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in 1944. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), an 11-year-old girl, travels with her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), to join her stepfather, Captain Vidal (brilliantly played by Sergi Lopez) of the Spanish military who is fighting against the guerilla forces still holding out against the fascist government. At the mill where the Spanish army is based, Ofelia meets Mercedes (Maribel Verdu, Luisa from Y Tu Mama Tambien), the Captain's housekeeper and guerilla sympathiser.

Amidst the violence both within and without the mill (the Captain is a vicious and sadistic man), Ofelia escapes into a world of her own imagination, where she encounters Faun in the labyrinth behind the mill. There, she is told that she is the mortal reincarnation of Princess Moanna of the netherworld, and that they have been awaiting her return for some time now. In order to rejoin the kingdom, she has to complete three tasks.

Featuring a haunting lullaby as the soundtrack for much of the movie, and incredible graphics (I especially liked the Pale Man, a monster with eyes in the palms of his hands), this enchanting and brutal story is definitely a movie not to be missed.

In conversation with a friend who I haven't seen since the World Cup:
Me: I think I'm a pretty fun person. I mean, I get along really well with a lot of people.
Friend: Yes, you are! How could a person who dares to go to Goa by herself not be interesting?

Thanks. I needed that.

I chopped my hair off today. I keep saying I want to try growing it long, but it never quite seems to make it beyond just about shoulder-length before I get a haircut.

But I've got a lot of hair. My hairstylist's been complaining the last couple of times because she takes over an hour and a half just to give me a haircut just because of how thick my hair is.

And maybe it's because of that, or my tendency to get a drastic change in style whenever I'm trying to make some decisions, that my head feels a lot lighter now.

New year, new me. Isn't that how it usually starts off?

Watson's has brought Charles Worthington to Singapore! Yay! Now I don't have to go all the way to Thailand and Hong Kong to get my CW fix. Almost every girl I know who has spent any amount of time in the UK loves CW hair products, especially the Hair Healer Intensive Leave-In Conditioner, something I - and a couple of my girlfriends - have sworn by for the last five years or so.

Well, okay, fine, they've only brought in the Results range, and I would dearly love for them to bring in the Dream Hair range as well, as I like the blow-dry hair spray, but given that range isn't sold in Thailand and Hong Kong either, it's not likely they'll bring it in to Singapore. But hey... Charles Worthington has come to town! Woo!

It's a well-known fact that I am incredibly fond of my caffeine fix. While I try not to indulge my habit too much at work (S$4 cups of coffee every single day can wreak havoc on one's budget), I usually go a little overboard on weekends and vacations, because, to me, nothing says relax more than sipping a great cappuccino while chilling out at a warm cafe, whether alone or with friends.

I had some of the best coffee in the world in Italy (more specifically, Tazza D'oro in Rome) when I went there in 2001 and again in 2005. However, my recent vacation in Sydney gave the Italian cafe experience a good run for its money.

The cafes we went to were:

• Campos: Campos is a small, friendly cafe located in Newtown, the university area of Sydney. The cafe used its own blend of coffee which featured an unusual caramel taste and was overall, just awesome. How good is the coffee? Well, it's so good that the New York Times rates the coffee as being worth the 22-hour flight from New York to Sydney. The cafe also had some great brownies which are delivered once a week every Tuesday. In fact, I found this cafe through a friend who requested that I bring some brownies back for him.
  
  
• Badde Manors: We found this quaintly named cafe through one of the numerous guidebooks on our hotel's bookshelf. I can't recall which one in particular, but it's either Let's Go Australia or Frommers. The coffee was decent but couldn't compare to Campos. The cakes and tarts were more their forte. However, one thing about Badde Manors is that its location is great. It's located in Glebe and is just, well, wonderfully Glebe. We sat outside on in the sheltered al fresco area on a nicely sunny Saturday morning, and just chilled. I cannot found the words to describe just how sublimely beautiful that morning was, and how incredibly relaxed we were that day.


• Fratelli Paradiso: Fratelli Paradiso is listed in both Lonely Planet's The Perfect Day and Wallpaper's City Guide to Sydney as a great place to have breakfast. Given such accolades, we decided we couldn't miss out on checking out this cafe even though we didn't have much time left before we had to leave for the airport. We sped-walked all the way there to grab a quick cup of coffee (we finished in less than 20 minutes) and tried to figure out why this place was so highly regarded. The coffee was not bad - better than Badde Manors for sure, but not quite up there with Campos. Not having a chance to eat anything there, we decided that it was most likely the food, the decor (minimalist yet friendly - a rather hard balance to achieve) and most likely, the staff, who, while friendly, absolutely refused to be rushed, so Italian and Australian they are.

Details:
Campos
193 Missenden Road, Newtown
Phone: +61 (0)2 9516 3361
Mon - Fri 7 am to 4 pm
Sat 8 am to 5pm

Badde Manors
37 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
Phone: +61 (0)2 9660 3797
Mon - Thur 8 am to 12 mn
Fri - Sat 8 am to 1 am
Sun & PH 9 am to 12 mn

Fratelli Paradiso
12 Challis Avenue, Potts Point
Phone: +61 (0)2 9357 1744
Mon - Fri 7 am to 11 pm
Sat 7 am to 5 pm

U2 alert! Channel 5 will be showing U2 Zoo TV Live From Sydney at 5.30 pm tomorrow. It's an old concert (more than 10 years old), but has some of the best live versions of many U2 classics such as this great performance of Where the Streets Have No Name.

2007 marked the first New Year countdown which I, quite simply, just slept through. I was too tired to try and stay awake given the prospect of Danny Tengalia's marathon set at Zouk earlier this morning. It felt a little strange, not spending NYE with anyone at all, and listening to my neighbours - and even their maids - partying outside. But it was partly my fault; I had an incredibly late night the night before, only managing to get some sleep at around 6.30 am.

I was awoken by T. at 2 am when he called to ask what I was up to. I got dressed, and headed down to hideout for what turned out to be a mostly R&B party, and did my best to catch up on the revellry by starting my night off with a Bacardi 151 and ginger ale. I'd been meaning to try it for some time now, and I guess starting off the new year by attempting to destroy my liver ain't too bad a way to go.

After a while, we headed to Zouk, but we weren't able to get a cab at all, nor even get through to the phone lines. Such is the usual new year's eve predicament. So we ended up walking from Circular Road all the way to Zouk. As my friend, J., put it after he found out, "that's quite a long walk." We finally arrived around 5 am, after over 20 minutes of walking and a lot of swearing on my part.

And thus began the 7.5 hour dance marathon. Spurred on by a much needed vodka red bull, we joined in Danny T's musical journey. He had started spinning at 1 am, but if I was going to stay till the end, I knew the only way I'd last was to arrive later. Apparently, I missed out the part where he blew his top and told off the people who were requesting trance tracks to be played after he dropped one rather trance-y track. When will people learn? DJs are DJs; they're not jukeboxes. I like familiar tunes as much as the next person, but I do respect that a DJ wants to bring us to a certain destination and detours aren't necessarily welcomed. And for someone who's been around as long as Danny T, and who knows music as well as he does? I'd much rather let him lead the way than demand he play stuff that I know.

And one thing about a Danny T marathon set? You need a lot of fuel to last the journey. I ended up drinking two Stellas, one at 7.30 am and one at 8.20 am. I never thought I'd welcome a beer so much so early in the morning. The good thing about his sets is that they are incredibly danceable - from progressive to tribal to disco - and hence, you tend to dance off any incidental effects of alcohol very quickly.

Even though I missed out on the Singapore countdown, we had two countdowns in Zouk while I was there: one at 12 pm, when Lincoln had mistakenly informed Danny that it would be 2007 in New York, and the real NY one at 1 pm.

That's right, I was in Zouk until 1.10 pm.

I didn't think it was possible, and at some points, I thought dying would be preferable to the continuous dancing I was doing because my feet were really aching, but hey, I was part of history in the making the very first day of 2007, and really, how many people can get to say that? I didn't dance all the way though, sadly. I stopped at 12.30 pm, but really, there were no other females - well, certainly no other single females (i.e. females who weren't still there because their boyfriends wouldn't leave - who lasted that long. I'm rather proud of myself for that... especially if you count the long walk from Circular Road that preceded the dancing!