You came on a rainy day

Q,

         You brought the rain to us, from where you were yesterday.
         As we shared an umbrella in the continuous rain, I recall the scenes from the K drama that I've watched yesterday, "Love Rain". It's about this couple, who liked each other, but did not say it out because of being shy and scared, and because their friend also like the opposite other. The drama is definitely literally like the title, as there were so many scenes where the main characters met under the rain, gazely lovingly to each other, and I was like "again?" Well, another random thought.
        Anyway, you were here, and yet, I felt at times you were not. Maybe I was wrong, maybe it was just because there were not enough time, and I was too greedy wanting to spend more time with you. Regardless, it was great to meet you again after one year. You grew thinner, still the same sweet girl but with a bit of worry on your face. As time goes, perhaps we will inevitably grew apart, which we will eventually accept it. No matter what, you will always have my support and best wishes in whatever you do. Hope it will stop raining, and that you will have the sunshine you always wanted.

                                                                                                                Regards, jy 

                                             

A weekend to remember

Dear SL, Ig, LK, KH, Eg, KC, SW, MS,

             It was a weekend to remember, not just because it was B's wedding.
             Honestly, I was more estatic to meet you all, especially you who come from far away.
             You brought the joy and sunshine to the rainy supposingly sunshine state for 4 days, and when you left, you brought the sunshine away with you, leaving us with the fog today.
             SL, Ig and Eg had been so busy with B's wedding, and not much time were spent together, but every minute spent was full of laughters, either it was about B's bachelor party, or any little single joke. I was a bit pissed when Ig was claiming that he would like to do things, but it was physically impossible. Hate the word impossible, can't you be the "Yes" man? Maybe I was a bit desparate.
            Anyway, had nice porridge for supper with SL, SW, KH and Eg.
            Spend two days with lovely LK and WS, who paid expensive tickets to come all the way here just to gather. And KH too, who decided to come the last minute. Obviously the others too in the city.
            The church wedding was a bit long, even though it was actually an hour. The dinner reception was not too bad, the food was nice except the dessert,I was quite happy with the complementary wine to bring home. We were separated though for the tablet seating. Although the mentioning of Visa and Amex was a bit odd. B was very steady and happy when he gave his speech. And it was fun seeing everyone dancing, especially people who go all the way.
             Had the nicest roti canai the next day, visited KC place and he made coffee, and visited SW's new place, also went for a second round of Tou Fu fa. KH and SL had left by now. And then LK and WS were next to go, and the weekend came to an end.
              It was as KH said, like a transient dream. And I miss you already. And I wish you would stay.
              Till we meet again, take care.

                                                                                                     Regards,
                                                                                                              jy

                                                                                                           
       

           
 

Missing my second family already

Dear Q,

       Wedding brings people together.
       B's wedding is this weekend, and I and SL came few days earlier to help out and perform their duties as the best man and grooms man.
       It was great to see I and SL again, and to gather with SW and KC and of course B, it seemed like the family is back together again.
       I really do miss them, and miss the year when we were housemates. They bring so much joy and laughter to everyone. I wished they would stay.
       Tomorrow LK will be here. KH is already here. I wish you are here as well. 
      
                                                                                                         Cheers, jy

加油

M，

        你曾有過這种感覺？
        久久期盼的事，發生了，反而不如預期的美好。
        路原來更坎坷。 而我只不過是衆多追求同樣東西的一人。
        現在只不過是一個不被尊重的僕人。
        而有時我會想，是不是自己的行爲讓別人如此看待自己？
        別人如何對你，是因爲你如何待人？
        我是不是太冷太靜太怕？把自己變成隱形人？
        我在等待別人伸出暖手，或笑容，或接納時，是不是應該更勇敢的去觸動別人？
        最近在樓梯閒看到這樣的一個海報：
        “Fear makes you stop, courage keeps you going. ”
　　　的確，害怕會讓人止步。
　　　我要有勇氣，努力改變現狀。
　　　僕人也是一份工作。
　　　敬業的專業人士，應該把份内的事做好。
        而有時閒的話，再格外學習追求想學的事。
        自己的時間如何運用，到頭來還是歸于自己。
        到頭來還是自己要照顧自己，愛惜自己。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　jy 　　

Cleaning 打掃

Dear M,

         It took me four freaking hours, but I manage to clean the house and the room, at least the house is kind of ready when my friends arrive next week. A cleaner place, a clearer mind.
         Cleaning up the mess made, or things that haven't been clean for ages, I wonder maybe it's time for me to get a place of my own and truly settle down. Ah well, more money to be earned.
          Anyway speaking of cleaning. There's a chinese song literally called cleaning, 打掃by 兩個女生, which I liked many years ago (can't believe it was released in 2000, 12 years!), mainly for the catchy music. The lyrics however is more about how the girls not willing to clean because of the memories left in the house. Well, enjoy. 

                                                                                                                                      jy

           
你的鞋子 還放在那個櫃子
沒有你牽我走出這屋子 你的樣子
沒有你賴在身邊數心事 我好怕走失
怎麼過日子 空蕩蕩的房間
被回憶綁住不能飛 你 難道看不見我的傷悲
這屋子裡有太多你的好 恐怕一生都不敢去打掃
我原來是你手中的寶 如今抱著孤獨坐在牆角
這屋子裡有太多你的好 恐怕一生都不敢去打掃
當無助一層一層籠罩
明知道是種煎熬 還不肯放掉

Pentatonix

Dear SX,

         This morning, I came across a website showing different version covers of Gotye's "Somebody that I used to know". Among five cover versions, I like the version by Pentatonix better. This cool 5-member accapella group won US " The Sing-Off" acapella 3rd season tv competition in 2011. Among their performance in "The Sing-Off" competition, I would recommend "Video killed the radio star" and "Dogs day are over". Who knows acapella with a bit of futuristic feel can be that entertaining? Every member is talented, great at what they do. :) Enjoy.

                                                                                                                                       jy

           

                 

King JK

Dear King JK，

          I can't believe you left. You were still young, and had plenty of unfufilled dreams. You were a loving, kind, warm, wise man, brother, son, husband and the king of people. Your smile and laughters were like those of an innocent kid. The only comforting thing is that at least you were thinking of happier things with your wife before dozing off unknowingly to your death in a planned murder.
          That rascal who had broke your family to pieces. Is it true that happiness does not last?
          You will be remembered. Hopefully King JH will mature for the better, and smashed that rascal. I'm so not looking foward for the forecoming misunderstanding next week.

                                                                                                                jy

Burnt

Dear K,

       Burnt out in flames
       Only ashes left
       No soul
       Empty cage
       Hanging still
       before crumbling        

                                             jy

How do you keep the music playing?

 Dear Sx,

         I never heard this song until Mr Tony Bennett sang it with such tenderness few nights ago, giving me the goosebumps. I told myself then to find out about it, but later couldn't remember any part of the song. Today while browsing some of the music videos of Mr Bennett's duets at Youtube, I came across ths special duet version sang by Mr Bennett and Miss Arethra Franklin, both heavy-weights in the music industry, and finally know the name of the song. There's even a tear running down at Mr Bennett's cheek towards the end of this duet, so it must be a great moment for him as well. Noted that this song was done as a duet in both of Mr Bennet's Duet I and Duet II album, with the first duet version being with Mr George Michael. That shows that there must be something special about this song. Anyway, hope you enjoy it too.     
                                                                                                                                    jy

  
"How do you keep the music playing?"  
Composed by Michel Legrand,
Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

How do you keep the music playing?
How do you make it last?
How do you keep the song from fading too fast?
How do you lose yourself to someone?
And never lose your ways
How do you not run out of new things to say?
And since we're always changing
How can it be the same?
And tell me how year after year
You're sure your heart will fall apart
Each time you hear his/her name
I know the way I feel for you
It's now or never
The more I love the more that i'm afraid
That in your eyes I may not see forever..
Forever...
If we can be the best of lovers
Yet be the best of friends
If we can try with everyday to make it better as it grows
With any luck, then I suppose
The music never ends
I know the way I feel for you
It's now or never!
(How do you keep the music playing?)
The more I love the more that I'm afraid
(How do you make it last)
That in your eyes I may not see forever
Forever...
(How do you keep the song from fading, keep the song from fading too fast)
If we can be the best of lovers
Yet be the best of friends
If we can try with everyday to make it better as it grows
With any luck, then I suppose
The music never ends

Music and Lyrics

Dear SX,

         There's a reality show in Korean MBC Music by the name of Music and Lyrics which I've been following recently. It's about a girl, usually an actress so far, writes the lyrics, and a guy, usually from the music industry (singer) writes the music, and together, they create a song, within 30 days.
        
         From the show, it seemed it's not easy to create a song, especially when most of the participants are amateur. Then there's the question of whether you have lyrics first or music first? And the answer seemed that it's easier to have the music first, and the lyrics later, based on the fact that it's easier to imagine a story or scenario based on the mood of the song. However, I guess you can argue that in the other way round,  you can create a song that suits a good lyrics too. So, probably it's the same as the egg and hen debate.

         The first couple of the series were Park Shin Hye and Yoon Gun. And the second couple currently are Kim So Eun and 2PM's Junho. The latter couple are quite cute together, and their song had already come out as a OST for Feast of God.  Oh yeah, while creating a song together, the couples have time where they go out, sort of like dates, which the sweet interactions made it nicer to watch.

         I guess, from this show, I realise it's more difficult than it seemed to be, to create a song, not to mentioned a memorable song. That's why, there's still nothing in my pocket. Perhaps, I could try to create a song in 30 days? That will be quite an achievement for this year if it happened. :) 

                                                                                                                   jy

Tony Bennett's Concert

Dear SX,
  
        I'm glad I went to Tony Bennett's concert today, even though it was a bargain, it was still not the cheapest ticket ever. Unfortunately I found out at the worst time ever, the cons of my contact lenses, which were no good for focusing far objects. I struggled to see clearly, and most of the time, I'm seeing a double vision of Tony Bennett on the stage. And I didn't bring my spectacles with me, which is such a pity.

        Anyway, apart from that, it was a great 2 hours evening concert. The show starts at approximately 8:10pm with Antonia Bennett, Tony Bennett's daughter, who happen to be the birthday girl today as well, singing a few jazz songs. Her voice is smooth and she has red hair.

Mr Tony Bennett. One of the better photos taken tonight with full zooming. I see him clearly on the camera LCD screen than with my own eyes.

        Then came Mr Tony Bennett in his white/yellowish suite, singing classic songs one by one, sometimes starting with a short story or a scene from his career involving people such as Frank Sinatra, Charlie Chaplin..., and then continues telling the story with the song he sings. His voice control is great, sometimes soft and tender that you hear single movement from the audience, sometimes so strong and loud that fills the whole hall, and yet the transition is smooth and silky. He paints you a picture, conveys his emotions, and sometimes a joke with a bit of jiggling dancing, all with his effortless versatile pitch perfect voice. At 85 years old, I would say Mr Tony Bennett's live singing voice is still flawless, just like hearing it from the records.

        The live music accompaniments from the piano, guitar, bass and drums were very good. They complement Mr Bennett's voice well, and each had their own near perfect solo performance too. The acoustic sound system of the venue was a definitely a plus factor. When softness is required from each instruments, softness comes out clearly, and it was not overly loud, nor was there any echo.

        Mr Bennett sang many songs, some I didn't know their name. Some that I could recall include " I left my heart in San Francisco", " For Once in My Life", "The way you look tonight", "Smile".. and many more. In the end, he ended the night singing "Fly me to the Moon" without any microphone, which was just as good, beautifully raw than ever, which leads to a standing ovation from nearly everyone. Too bad there was no encore, and it finished at around 10pm.

Standing ovation for the final song.

         Yes, it was an enjoyable night where perfect soulful singing and music all came together, spreading joy and warmth to the audience, and most importantly touching the hearts. Even though I could not see clearly tonight, I did hear clearly, the voice of a talented living music legend, Tony Bennett.

                                                                                                                          jy


p/s: I got the Duets CD. :P

The Hunger Game

Dear  SX,

       There was this urge to watch Hunger Game that I travelled to the city by bus, eventhough that day was full of surprises including the embarassing situation when the sole of one of shoes came out in the middle of the road, and I had to try to walk as naturallly as I could, hiding of the embarassing fact, dragging the leg as low as I could.
       Anyway, when I finally made it to the cinema, I was glad that I manage to get the good central seat in iggest cinema of the city. The Hunger Game is based on the same novel about an annual competition where each district around a central city randomly choose a boy and a girl aged 12-17 years old and fight/kill until only one survive. It's a cruel game to the participants, however to the people in the capitol, it's an entertainment surival reality compeititon. Some participants embraced the game, but to most, it's not a choice, but a random bad luck of inevitable death unless you win. And because of the nature of the game, in order to survive, sometimes you have to put up a show to gain sympathy and popularity, even against your nature.
       But you wonder again, as one of the characters correctly said, if there's no demand there will be no supply. If everyone refused to watch the game or participate in the game, will the game have continue to proceed? If everyone refuse fighting or stop fighting, then there will be no killing, no war, no game, even if people force you to. And if you work together, and trust each other, you would be stronger and stop the bullying.
      The camera work was quite shaky. Although it is indeed gruesome, kids killing kids, it's a different kind of story and overall, not boring.
           
                                                                                                                       jy

單戀

KDY，

         你是個很有意思的男子。
         第一次喜歡一個人，為那個人設身處地，默默做了許多事。
         不求回報，不在乎別人看法，更不因爲被拒絕，而生氣撕破臉。
         你真心在乎那個人，給與那個人所需要的一切： 安慰鼓勵教導提醒，還有她心裏喜歡的人和自由。
         你到現在從沒對她哭訴：“那我呢？那我的心呢？看看我。 ”。
         你只說：“不要對我費心。”
         你的行動勝過千言萬語。但是她不一定看到所有。
         單純帥氣的傻孩子, 希望你能幸福。

                                                                                                jy