Les Misérables (2012)

The only way to watch this musical is at the cinema – in the dark, on the big screen, with surround sound. (Or in London or on Broadway, of course. =p) To be honest, I didn't thinks so earlier in spite of how much some friends have gushed about it online. Was just planning to download and watch it on iPad. Harhar. How blasphemous. =p But this *points below* c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y changed my mind:

Unfortunately, I don't know when

a visit to the cinema will be possible. :-/

A Fortune For A Laugh

So, The Husband and I joined the madness and jumped on the Russell Peters bandwagon last weekend. After seeing me so down in the dumps lately, he decided a good laugh was worth the effort (soooo much effort to get tickets!), time (jammmmmmeddddd all the way there!) and money (no cheap tickets left so had to buy Gold 1 tickets!) it would take for us to be there.


After a couple of weeks of waiting with just paper printouts of our RedTix tickets, the Russell Peters Notorious World Tour 2012 finally took place last weekend at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam. We didn't get the first round of tickets that were released (sold out in 4 hours or something!?) but all's well and good. The last shall be the first. Those of us who bought tickets for the second show ended up watching it EARLIER than those who fought their way into the first show. Haha. A day before the early-birds, bay-beh!


The Friday night jam was as horrid as ever and as soon as we got into Shah Alam, traffic pretty much reached a standstill. Even so, we made it there just in time and even found parking in the official parking lot. Miracle! Walked in and got assaulted right, left and centre by DJ Spinbad's not-so-good music. -_-''' Thank goodness it didn't last long after we arrived. Made our way to our seats and got comfortable.

The two red Xs you see on the Yellow area mark the spot we sat in.

His opening act was some sleazy, second-rate, ex-boxer dude by the name of Joey Medina. I didn't appreciate his jokes one bit. All dirty and totally inappropriate. It was word porn through and through. If they ever thought of banning Russell Peters, it would be because of him. Shan't waste any more time talking about people I don't like.


Thankfully, Russell Peters took the stage about 15 minutes later and that's when I really started to have fun and enjoy the night. The jokes were good and spontaneous. Some old dude up front kena teruk from him. Haha. "Fizzy" – Russell called him. His two sons – one's 16 (underaged!!) and one's a doctor – also kena. Ah, but it wouldn't make sense if you weren't there so... whatever. Haha.


Bottom line is that I had fun. To be expected, I got tired halfway though and the seats were downright crazy uncomfortable but... on a whole, it was a good show. I'm glad we went and I'm glad The Husband decided to splurge on this one. Now to keep our eyes out for more comedy acts in KL. Preferably those with tickets under RM100 a pop this time around. Hahaha.

Kuala Lumpur, October '11: Day 1 Of A 26-Hour Trip

Hello, dear interwebs! I'm back! =D

From where, you ask? Well – sinceyouaskedandallthat – I just came back from spending the better half of this weekend down in KL with my better half –  The Husband! Uh huh. That's me spending quality time, with my favourite person on Earth, in my favourite place on Earth! Wheee!

*cartwheels followed by happy sigh*

 Taken on the flight down to KL.

View of the skies from Seat 1C.

Super bokeh of my Longchamp.

What you probably didn't know about The Husband and I is that we're total opposites when it comes to where we are and where we'd like to be. I'm all the way up North in Penang, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE KL and miss it to bits. He, on the other hand, is stuck in KL but he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Penang and hates KL with a vengeance like no other. (Ahh, if only we could swap places. Haha.)

Ok, now that I've established that,

let me tell you what ter-happened.

While we were driving along the Pantai Baru Highway, on our way to SS15 to run some errands, my gaze landed on the familiar mess of highways and overheads before me – the very ones I was so accustomed to *points below* – and before I knew it or realised what was happening...

 Pantai Baru Highway on Saturday, 22 October 2011.

...a happy sigh escaped my lips. @_@

It came so naturally that I didn't even realise it had happened. But it didn't escape The Husband's ears. He immediately turned to look at me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen sitting on his face and exclaimed in shock, "OMG, YOU'RE MAD!!!" Haha. Yup! And you married me! Hahahaha. Who da mad one now??? Bwahahahaha. (Dua-dua gila. That's why we're made for each other. =p)

So, yeah. Maybe I am a little crazy that way. But I have missed the life I had in KL so terribly that it just felt really good to be back on familiar ground, driving along familiar roads. (I actually started driving in KL so the roads in Penang are still pretty foreign to me. I wouldn't be surprised if I was to get lost on the island one day. Haha. =p #lousypenangite)

Anyway, right after doing what we were at SS15 to do, we zoomed off to Subang Parade to run one last errand on behalf of The Husband's new Blackberry and to grab a bite at Dave's Deli's new outlet before heading into KL for Jayesslee Live.

Our dinner at Dave's Deli, Subang Parade.

I tucked into the 1/4 chicken you see in the foreground while The Husband ate that puny little pie in the background along with that extra plate of mash. We then shared the OJ on the left. To be honest with you, I'm surprised that Dave's Deli started a brand new outlet considering how they've always appeared so very comfortable on that balcony lot upstairs that they've been at since, like, forever. But I guess Starbucks had more money to offer so they probably got sidelined or something. =p (Their old space got taken over by Starbucks.) Anyway, service was slow-ish but the food was good.

After that, we rushed off to PWTC to watch

Jayesslee Live In KL at the Tun Hussein Onn Hall.

Our tickets – this shot was taken after the showcase.

True to form, we arrived fashionably late and the opening acts had already started. Haha. But thankfully I bumped into a couple of friends who were running the show and they guided The Husband and I to some empty VIP seats. Wheee! RM150 seats for just RM120! *happy and blessed*

We missed the first two opening acts altogether but were just in time to watch skinny Shawn beatbox and Dennis Lau (the villain chef in Nasi Lemak 2.0) woo the crowd with funky hair and a funkier electric violin. The Husband was pretty impressed with Shawn but I've heard him BB more times than I can count so... meh. (No offence, Shawn fans.)

I was sitting at the edge of my seat, waiting for the reason I paid RM240 for us to be in KL that night. To see the Korean-Australian sisters and YouTube superstars, Jayesslee, LIVE! After what felt like forever, they finally appeared on stage.

Jayesslee singing their first cover – Price Tag.

The sisters are as goofy as ever! Just like they are on their YouTube channel. Janice dropped her whole mic stand once while Sonia's mic kept giving weird feedback at all the wrong moments. Haha. Funny lah the two of them. Janice actually messed up more than a few times but she laughed it off to ease the tension. Sonia's also got a really good sense of humour and is very, very spontaneous so she helped cover up for her sister, too.

 Sonia on her guitar and Janice with her apple shaker

singing an unrecorded cover that has yet to be

uploaded to their YouTube channel.

It was a good showcase lah. I think they're even better live than they are on YouTube. The ad libs were awesome. Although – since there were two of them and it's natural to want to compare – by the end of the night, The Husband and I agreed that Sonia's the musical-er twin of the two. Having said that, Janice's harmony is just mind-blowing and she complements her sister's vocals well. I guess that's why they make such a good pair. :-/


Bottom line? I would totally go for Round 2 if the twins were to return to Malaysia next year or whenever. The Husband, on the other hand, thinks we should just make arrangements with the organiser (who is a good friend of mine) to matchmake Sonia with his younger brother. HAHA. Fat chance lah, Husband... Both sisters are TAKEN. *snorts*


Left super quickly after the show ended – like immediately after, no thanks to my hustler of a husband who's got anti-social tendencies T_T – and ended up seeing these messages on Facebook the very next day:

Boo hoo.

Anyway, we decided to pop by Mid Valley Megamall on a whim, on our way home after watching Jayesslee, to catch Real Steel. Unfortunately for us, the tickets were all sold out so we ended up just paying RM3 for nothing parking. Sigh. No blood, sweat and gore on the big screen so we went over to SS15 for some thong sui to end the night on a sweet note instead. =)

Cold Tohua Peanuts for me.

Cold Best Seller with Grass Jelly for The Husband.

And Milk Tea for us to share.

Not cheap for just 3 items but ok lah if close one eye.

My favourite dessert place in town!

After that, we went straight back home to bathe, wash up, and crash. I think it was the most happening 6 hours I've had in a long, long time. Haha. But hey, no complaints! That's KL fer ya! Wheee! More on Day 2 later. Now, I'm off to catch my Zs in my own bed in Penang, to make up for the few that I lost while catching Jayesslee Live In KL 2011. Night night! =)

The Proposal (And Marriage!) Of The Century

If you think I'm going all
crazy Bridezilla by asking for a lot,

you should definitely watch this video
to really know how much is "a lot":

via Chun Leung

Wedding Couple: Justin & Nikki
Venue: Americana Shopping Mall in Glendale, CA
Mob Choreographers: Tabitha & Napolean of So You Think You Can Dance
Reality Show: Mobbed by FOX


See??? I'm not asking for such an elaborate 15-minute showdown with over 1,000 professional dancers, actors and entertainers on the guest list wat. But come on... is just 1% of what you see here still too much to ask? :-/

Russell Peters Is Engaged!

I read somewhere on somebody's Facebook page that Russell Peters would be coming to this part of town sometime soon. Like, really??? Cos the dude makes me laugh like hell. Haha. So what I did was, I ran a search to see if I'd be around when he was. And if possible, I wanted to score myself some tickets if they were affordable.

But did I end up getting tour dates? No.
Did something else catch my eye? Yes.


Click on image to follow Russell Peters on Twitter.

THE DUDE JUST GOT ENGAGED, YO!

Looks like everybody's doing it these days!

Haha.

I don't know why I'm so surprised though. I mean, the man is already 39. Haha. About time! =p I dunno, I guess I just never saw him as the dating kind cos he's so unbelievably rude, tactless, obnoxious and so much of an ass on set! Haha. But hey, that's showbiz. It's all a show. Maybe he's a real softie on the inside who likes white bunny rabbits and pink fluffy towels. =p

Anyhoo, sometime last weekend – possibly on Sunday, June 11th – he proposed to his girlfriend, MonicaNBB, with a 4.03 carat, radiant-cut engagement ring and she said, "Yes!" (Who wouldn't with a rock of that size, eh?! Can go blind, man. =p) She shot out a tweet with a picture of her bling so check it out.

Killa.

Now I just wonder if this comedian's planning on injecting some humour into his wedding vows. Haha. I'd buy that DVD for sure. =p

Watch. This.

Popular from Wicked via No Rings Attached


...then tell me this:
How can anybody not want to watch Wicked!?

Even this one part is so freaking funny already. I was laughing so hard that I hardly had time to breathe! Haha. Kristin Chenoweth is da bomb as Galinda lah. So bimbotic, so blunt and so very tactless... but in a somewhat innocent and childlike manner. Haha. Just perfect!


Mind you, Idina Menzel who played Elphaba (the green one who duduk diam diam in this scene), is also a winner in her own right. She won Best Actress for her part in the 2004 Tony Awards! (That year, they also won for Scenic Design and Costume Design.) This is why Wicked is not to be missed. It has won many awards over the years lah, okay. Go Google it yourself. What's important is this:

I WANNA WATCH WICKED!

I Can't Wait...

1. For the 'Ass' Survivor Reunion (SSR) this Thursday.

2. To be at the airport at 2.40PM this Saturday.

3. To be blown away by West Side Story, The Original Broadway Musical on their 50th Anniversary World Tour. How can I not be with a 70-member cast and crew bringing me riveting choreography and an iconic score, right? So, yes. Blown. Away.

4. To have An Evening with Lea Salonga – Broadway's sweetheart and Disney's darling. This woman was the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway! She was also in Miss Saigon and other stuff I can't remember right now but that's not important cos she's still great. Oh, and she's also renowned for being the singing voices of Princess Jasmine (Aladdin) and Fa Mulan (Mulan).



5. To meet a week-old baby girl and carry in my arms. I apologise in advance, dear parents, but I'm so going to OD on baby smell and stock up as much as my lungs can take in. Haha.

6. For the 27th of May to arrive.

7. For this week to end.

8. Darn it, I just saw the time and I'm late for work.

9. Gotta run.

10. Bye bye.

Watching This Made My Skin Crawl

...in a good way.

I'll watch Wicked – the untold story of the witches of Oz – live one day. I will, I will. With Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth playing the parts of Elphaba and Glinda respectfully, if possible. But even if not, I'll be there.


-----------------
Related Posts:
-----------------

• He Knows The Song In My Heart [Thursday, June 25, 2009]
• For Good [Sunday, December 27, 2009]

God's Will?

Hmmm... Maybe. Only time will tell.
But right now, it's miracle after miracle.

I'm impressed, G! =)

Imma Get Me Some Culture

The funny ROFL kind, of course. =p

Best part of the plan is that it's courtesy of the company I'm with. Wheee! Blue moon's comin' out tonight! Woot woot!

About time, yo! And I assure you,
it ain't just me thinkin' that.

didjital and I with our Kind Show
Comedy Court tickets worth RM75 each.

Thank goodness didjital and I decided to go to the PIC yesterday. Others who went today were told that there were no more tickets. Haha. Too bad for them. Who ask them not to be kiasu like us? *grin*

Project 365: 21/08/2009 [The Tilt]

During my younger days – 2000/2001 can consider quite long ago lah – I somehow got involved in a Five Arts Centre musical called "Red and Gold Shoe". (Last time can act/sing/dance lah. Now, old then karat already. T_T Semua tak boleh pakai.)

I remember the practices being gruelling. Fanatical, even. (Thank you, Aida Redza – dance coordinator and choreographer of "Red and Gold Shoe". You are without a doubt my favourite choreographer of all time to work with and train under. I know now that whatever other choreographers throw at me, I can do... and I won't die doing it. =p)


Throughout my 2000 year-end holiday and on weekends during the school term, practices ran from 9AM to 5PM with only an hour-long lunch break in between. Warm-ups were an hour or two long. Revisions – retracing yesterday's steps for the sake of greater recall – took another hour or two, then we'd break for lunch.


Upon returning to the studio after grabbing a quick bite (and chilling a little by the sea), we'd go into choreography, experimental dance and some weird, foreign, funky form of training (nothing resembling the classical ballet training I was used to) that would improve our techniques as contemporary dancers. And give us the courage we needed to pull off the stunts that were required of us.


It took guts for all of that, I tell ya. We'd roll all over the floor, step over each other, throw each other around, carry each other, flip/push/manhandle/swing each other like our lives depended on it – it was nuts! Very dangerous, too! (Hurt my back in a freak accident and never really healed completely. -_-) But lots of fun. =p I loved every minute of it though I always went home looking like a vagabond. My laundry then was my mom's nightmare. HAHA. Everything was always black and dirty. Haha.

Anyhoo, I digress.

We practiced for a whole quarter. Tickets were sold out and we ended up having to do a couple of extra shows to cater to the crowd. (Surprising and thrilling at the same time.) Thing is, after our finale night performance, the Production Director, Janet Pillai, gave us all farewell cards. Mine said, "I'll always remember you. The *censored* girl with the permanent tilt." Haha. She was the first one to notice and tell me about it.


So, yeah... I've been told I have a natural tilt. (I finally got to the point of my story! Wheee!) I talk with my head senget, I take pictures with my head senget, and I laugh with my head senget. Dunno why also. Maybe I got lazy neck. Haha.

Anyhoo, this is my attempt at reversing the tilt.

I think a bit tak jadi. My neck looks like it's going to break and my head appears detached from my body. -_-' Fail. Wait. Maybe in normal colours it will look better. Hmmm...

Nope, still fail, still cacat.

Maybe that natural tilt is nature's way
of helping me look un-spastic. Better dun mess.

Haha.

EDIT at 3:58AM on 22 August 2009: Eh, maybe the tilt is because of my left parting! More hair on my right so it's heavier on that side? Or maybe it's cos my would-be fringe falls to my right so I tilt my head that way to keep my hair out of my eyes and face. Hmmm. Possible. Highly possible...

Beat

Am done with Urbanscapes.


From Left to Right: Yours Truly, Rockstar, Duh Roads and Bulat.

Am totally beat because of Urbanscapes. -_-'

Here's the gist of what went down
in the 8-and-a-half hours I was there.

Shopped some – 3 maxis for RM120 + 1 pink and black skull notebook for RM9. Saw a little – Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet, Yuna and some other performers whose names/band names I can't for the life of me remember right now. Met more people than I expected to – colleagues/bloggers/friends/friends of friends/friends of friends of friends/people whose faces I cannot put a name to. Haha.

But that's what Urbanscapes is about, I guess.
A Big Bang set to house the coming together of
anything, everything and anyone artsy/artsy-ish.

Sucks that the weather was crap during the first half of the day though. It was SO. FREAKING. HOT. that I involuntarily started imagining people getting sunstroke/heatstroke and just fainting (or dying) in the middle of the KLPAC parking lot. It was just crazy lah. Thank goodness I don't perspire much or else I'm sure I'd have been soaked in sweat from all the walking around in the sun I did all afternoon. (Yuck.)


And dah lah I burn easily, kan? (If you didn't know, I tend to look like I don't produce melanin.) Well, after a full 4 hours walking about in the sun today, my skin feels uncomfortably tight (uh oh, that means Peeling's coming tomorrow or the day after) and is unbearably hot (still! Almost like my skin absorbed the heat from my time out in the sun -_-'''). Beh tahan. Am so going to pay for that in the days to come. Sigh.


That aside, my head's aching. The bad part is, the ache's having a real ball gnawing at my patience. The pain started a little after Sepet did. Which was early in the night. About 7PM. Thought it was cos the seat in KLPAC's main hall was a little uncomfortable for me, is all. Well, it's 1:32AM and the pain still hasn't let up though I've already been fed, watered and washed. Sigh.

Show you all more pictures some other time lah, ok?
Right now, I've got a badly misbehaving head to nurse.

5 Things To Be Happy About This Friday Morning

1. It's FRIDAY! The last day of work for the week. YEAH! And that, my friends, is reason enough to be delirious with joy.

2. Momma's coming to visit!!! Time to ber-bonding-bonding.

3. Momma's bringing her entourage along with her this time. Considering the company, I'm expecting that a majority of my weekend hours will be spent running around malls.

4. Am watching grown men prance around in tutus and points tonight! (And that's always a sight to behold, right? *grin*) Finally! Been waiting for this for the longest time. Wheee!!!

5. Imma really liking my outfit today – new top, new necklace, both in matte black. They totally match my matte black hair grips.

Bad pictures with lots of noise cos the lighting here sucks. Aih, takpe lah. I managed to sneak in a couple of chick-chaks with the G1 before leaving the house this morning (HAHA) so just wait for 'em. There's more to come when Project 365: 15/05/2009 makes its way up the factory line lah ya. =p

ANYHOO...

We're not here to talk about fashion. (Haiyo, why no focus and discipline wan you all??? Tsk tsk.) We're here to talk about FRIDAY. I'd be dancing my hair loose and my legs off if I wasn't at the office right now cos YAY! IT'S! FRIDAY! Whoopie!!!

Men In Tutus

I am so looking forward to this!

LOOKS INTERESTING. WHEN'S IT SHOWING?
Shows from MAY 8 to 17, 2009
Tuesdays - Fridays ---> 8:30PM
Saturdays ---> 3:00PM and 8:30PM
SUNDAYS ---> 2:00PM, 6:00PM and 8:30PM


OK, I HAVE THE TIME. WHERE IS IT HELD?
Pentas 1, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
Jalan Strachan, 51100 Kuala Lumpur


TIME AND PLACE IS ONE THING. HOW MUCH IT COSTS IS ANOTHER. SO... HOW MUCH?
RM86 – RM220 + ticketing fees


HMMM. HOW DO I KNOW IT'LL BE WORTH MY MONEY? WHAT HAVE OTHER PEOPLE SAID ABOUT THIS SHOW?
“Artistically brilliant, absolutely hilarious.” – New York Post • “Made us laugh until the tears flowed.” – London Daily Telegraph • “Brilliant dancers, beautiful choreography, stunning costumes & sets.” – New York Observer • "...love Grandiva's Men In Tutus even if you are not a ballet buff." – New York Post • "If you are a ballet aficionado with an open mind, you will be enthralled." – L.A. Times • "Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!" – New York Daily Times • "Grandiva's Men In Tutus is sheer brilliant entertainment." – Japan Times • "This group is absolutely the best and most enjoyable I have seen." – San Francisco Chronicle


FINE, I'M CONVINCED AND I'D LIKE TO SEE MEN IN TUTUS. HOW DO I GET MY TICKET?
Call +603-4047 9000


I'M CHEAP. ARE THERE ANY SPECIALS?
Yes. Reduced rates for Schools, Groups & OKU cardholders. Friends get a free upgrade to the next seating tier.


ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW?
Get more details here.