Bridge School Benefit

From their recent Summer Tour to Gossip Girl to F1 Rocks and now the band plays at the Bridge School Benefit. Reading the reviews and sites I've visited, it seems No Doubt were the highlights of the event.

They gave a fantastic acoustic set of 7 songs, No Doubt Unplugged! The acoustic version of the songs sound great! This charity event involving children is something so dear to Gwen that it even moved her to tears after singing her hit "Simple Kind Of Life".

If you ask me, anybody who hears Gwen Stefani sing is fortunate to experience the musical prowess of this incredible and exquisite woman. I hope the children were filled with joy from this heartwarming event. Personally, this event and hearing No Doubt do their acoustic set has really made my week. Downloaded the audio version of the songs from Beacon Street Online and it's been playing on my Itunes ever since.

Here is a video clip of the song "Magic's In The Makeup" which No Doubt performed at the Bridge School Benefit. We now await the highly anticipated release of their next album!

Pearl Of Wisdom

Pearl told me a few weeks back that she has never had a birthday party in her 20 years on Earth (Except in Primary 5, I think) because it is mostly spent with her family and going out with friends.

I wanted to throw her a party this year but the plans did not fall through unfortunately but I still did my best to make it as special for her as I could. I met Pearl in town last night and we headed to Marché at Orchard Central. Apparently, it was still being renovated.

Plan B, we headed to Astons at The Cathay. Guess what? They were closed because of some "pipe fuming" I think. We finally decided on Manhattan Fish Market and thankfully they were still open.

Despite the long line, they let us in first because it was just two of us. Mel and Kenneth went in early to prepare the cake and surprised her in the restaurant. Dinner (Check it out below) and Oreo Cheesecake was fantastic and even better company.

I got a bit restless though from the lack of sleep the past few days which I shall make up for this coming week. Hope you had a great time Dora G celebrating two decades of life and love.

Roll The Dice

Friday was game night at my house. Played Monopoly with Corey, Bob and Mel. We formed alliances too. Bob and I tag teamed against Cor and Mel. It's pretty obvious which team was the last one standing right? Props to Cor and Mel too, just that my team's territory was a greater threat! I'm way too competitive.

I think I can make a good Investor or maybe Financial Planner in the future. It's an alternative to Event Organizing.

After Monopoly, I joined my brother and his friends for Poker. By the end of the game, my income doubled!! Feels great. Dropped Corey and Mel home and finally had some peaceful sleep at 6am! Stay tuned, next entry on Dora's birthday.

F1 Rocks, Still On My Mind

Addison compiled all the footage we took at F1 Rocks to bring you this rockin' video.

It was also featured on the Beacon Street Online.

Enjoy!

Ready To Learn?

The new semester of School began yesterday. School's been quite good so far. Plus after renovations, Singapore Poly is looking more colourful and less dull.

In view of my plan to be focused and more determined this final semester, Toria and I have come up with a Weekly Wednesday plan. Every Wednesday after lunch, we will hit the gym. This will help especially in preparation for the Army next year and allows us to exercise a healthy lifestyle I guess.

Following gym, we will head either to Starbucks or her house to complete tutorials for the coming week. Math for Business is crazy wicked. Hope I can pull through that one.

Last but not least, as the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, thus we will end off with a movie or something entertaining. Tomorrow will mark the first day of this plan and hopefully we follow through with it until the end of the semester.

I haven't taken any pictures yet so I'll just post up old pics from Years 1 and 2. Sorry about that. The ones below feature Dom, Victoria and I when we went down to IKEA to work on a project for class and got a little carried away. HAHAH.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever." - Mohandas Gandhi

Bon Appétit

After hearing so much about the movie Julie & Julia from Addison, it was no surprise that I wanted to watch this film with him.

Addison had read the book and spoke so fervently about it. However, he mentioned that the movie did not capture many things like the sights of Paris that Julia experienced just for example which the book had emphasized more on.

Due to the lack of sleep from the BBQ at Dempsey the night before, I was feeling a little worn out at the start of the movie but my senses heightened quickly after around thirty minutes into the show. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams deliver a superb performance that makes you feel like crying and laughing at the same time.

By the time the movie ended, I turned to Addison and said "Let's do it, let's make the Boeuf Bourguignon" That's Beef Stew with Red Wine. Well we agreed and hopefully we can find the time to prepare all the ingredients and get down to cooking it. As for the movie, I shall give it 3.5 Lobsters.

Bon appétit!

That's Why We're Special

Met Toria for lunch at Raffles City this afternoon and got around to discussing about Halloween this year which is only about 2 weeks away.

I still haven't thought of who to go as. I was thinking Fred Flinstone? HAHAH. Any suggestions?

The evening was filled with lots of crazy, disgusting, loving and twisted discussions with Pearl over dinner at Hans! Whoohoo, we also managed to hash out the details for her 20th birthday next week and finalized everything. Can't wait for that!

So many parties coming up and so is school. Got to be wary of how much cash I'm spending! Ah!

Calling Dr Stefani

I was browsing FaceBook and stumbled upon this new application called "ASK GWEN STEFANI".

Interestingly enough and obviously, I clicked it and it really caught my attention. The application basically works like something similar to those horoscope readings people read. When you enter this site, it immediately sifts through the database to present you with your "advice for the day".

The advice for the day is a lyric/ line from a No Doubt/ Gwen Stefani song. I think that's just hella cool. And speaking of Cool, the "advice" I was presented with was "Memories seem like so long ago, time always kills the pain." The strange thing is that that is without a doubt my favourite line from the song. This line has really struck a cord with me ever since the first time I heard the song. The amazing substance the line holds sets me thinking of so many past incidences that are now just a memory and to let whatever has happened be blown away by the wind and move on.

Well I encourage you to try out the application. Consult Dr Gwen Stefani and see what medicine she has in stored for you?

Video Clip On Demand (October)

I was lying on the bed in my room one sunny afternoon and began thinking of ways to keep "dannelunplugged" or "Twist & Shout" or whatever you wanna call my blog, fresh.

Hence, I thought of an idea for a new segment which will feature an entry every first week of the month showcasing my favourite scene(s) from programmes I've been watching from the previous month's Sandbox. Just for the record, I post up whatever books I'm reading, Songs I'm hooked on to and Movies or TV series I'm obsessed with on the side bar which is called The Sandbox.

From September's Sandbox I decided to go with an episode of Weeds (Season 5) titled "A Distinctive Horn". The clip reflects the tension being built up between Nancy and Esteban. Weeds is a fascinating drama/comedy which focuses on the life of Nancy Botwin played by Mary-Louise Parker. She is a widow and decides to sell marijuana to support her family. Mary-Louise Parker is an incredible actress and it's amazing how immersed she is in the role. Hope you enjoy this clip. More to come next month. Added additional footage from Will and Grace, just food for thought.

Every Now And Then...

Stop arguing with me, I'm going out of my mind.

Stop stalking me, I need some prime protection.
Stop copying me, it's a crime against fashion.

Every now and then I get a little high in pressure.
However, you come around and show me my best side.
I try to be nice for your pleasure.
You just can't resist but to show off your pride.

When you're lost, find me.
When you're burdened, give me some of the load.
When you're ashamed, I'll tell you a secret.

Every now and then I get a little insecure.
However you come around and show me it's alright.
I try to be nice for your pleasure.
You just can't resist but to show off your pride.

The Teaching Times

This picture was taken in 2007

Amazingly, I enjoy teaching more every time I try it. I began doing relief teaching at St Stephen's School in 2007 and have faithfully gone back to teach there every semester break.

I resumed work today and I enjoyed my day tremendously. I'll be teaching the primary 3 and 5 levels from today until Tuesday while in the midst of the PSLE examinations.

I can't explain it, but everytime I teach a class or even a pupil, I feel this overwhelming sense of joy. It's like doing charity, but instead of donating money, I'm "enriching" the minds of the future workers and leaders of society.

In the P3 class this morning, some pupils began throwing questions at me and it gave me an idea. I said to them, "If you complete your assignments and hand it in, I'll answer any of your questions".

This really worked and many of them finished it early and we had a short Q & A session before the end of class. They asked me things from sports to entertainment and even to my personal life. HAHAH. I hope the coming days would be easy and enjoyable as it was today. It's not always a joyride in the teaching profession.

Meltdown

In the past two months, the family of normally three had expanded to six with my aunt from India and Uncle from Canada visiting.

Uncle Joe left for Canada last week and tomorrow Dad and my Aunt Mary will be flying off to India. The house is going to seem so empty again. Not just that, I won't have murukku, papadums or chapatis prepared by my Aunt and left on the dining table anymore now, HAHAH.

On a lighter note, I finally picked up the strength, found some inspiration and made my way to the Gym this afternoon after a three week absence.

After I came out, I got a call from Dom asking me if I was going for our class chalet in the evening, which had kinda slipped my mind to be honest. I eventually decided not to go and stay home instead to catch season 3 of Brothers & Sisters on my HP. Not in the mood for any socialising right now.

A Bday in New York

My lil girl is all grown up, yea right. But back to the topic, last night we celebrated Mel's 19th birthday at New York New York. We had such a scrumptious feast that i could hardly get up from my seat after that. Debbie could not make it since it was the same night her mom was having her birthday party too and Corey flew off on Thursday and is now vacationing down under.

Everyone headed over to The Supper Club after dinner for post-party. Enjoy your last year as a teenager Mel before you reach the big 20 next year!

Yesterday was also Ryan Adriano's birthday, my best friend from St Stephen's back in Primary school. Happy Birthday Ryan!

Boy there sure were many birthdays yesterday. Besides May, I think the next month with the most number of birthdays is in October.

The Coming Of Age (Part I)

Happy 40th Birthday Gwen Stefani! She's not Just A Girl but an extraordinary girl from Orange County and sure as hell does not look a day over 25.

In the past 5 years, she's released 2 solo albums, had 2 babies, had 2 USA tours and 1 World tour, expanded her fashion labels and participated in 4 shows in New York Fashion Week.

I can only imagine how her song writing and creativity have grown to date. When Gwen was in Singapore last week I got the opportunity to wish her "Happy Birthday" and gave her a gift card and a pink rose. Tanti auguri Gwen Stefani! I love you!