"I only ask to be free. The Butterflies are free."- Charles Dickens

I saw a butterfly on my way home on Sun....
It made me happy. :)

Soul Cravings

It's my last day of semi-lazing around before my term break comes to an end. I haven't been very successful in bumming around actually....cos my schedule has been pretty packed still. And so I try to find pockets of space to rest, dream, play music and write. A part of me wishes that time would just stand still for a while, until my soul is nourished and well rested. But well.....life is determined to zip on by.

This evening I headed down to Vivo for dinner with Glenn before he flies off to Sydney for a jolly good time with Darlene, Joel, Brooke & Frens (ie. Hillsong Conference 2008). Glenn's like one of the rare few souls who shares my love for the Aussie accent (it makes me happy cos it reminds me of holidays). So when we get together to talk, the Aussie accent comes on pretty naturally...and conversation is peppered freely with "yeahhhh"s and "noiiii" (no in Australian) etc. I love it. haha! In fact, we spotted this shop called "Loang and Noi" on the ground floor. It sounds Vietnamese or Cambodian but Glenn's convinced that it's actually the Aussie pronunciation of "Long and no." haha! Hilarious!

Yeah, it's good to be able to talk crap and burst into random topics with your good fwens. :) Oh and listen to this...

Glenn: Do you like my shirt?
[it's a normal, long-sleeved white shirt]
Mich: *blank look*
Glenn: *adds on* It's from GAP.
Mich: *excitedly* Oh yes!! I love it! GAP rocks!
[We're superficial...but at least we know it. ahha!]

Anyway, here are some pics I took from the evening.....

The bear lamp beside our table at Marche which reminded me of Narnia! So cute right?
They had cow lamps too.

We hung out at Pacific Coffee for drinks after dinner. The drinks suck, but the view is great and they have fabulous swing seats!! :) You can see the chains from our swing seat on the left. That's the pretty night view of Sentosa from our swing. I dared Glenn to swing so hard until we knocked into the table from the Thai restaurant behind us. haha! We tried...but weren't very successful.

Me reading Narnia on the swing while Glenn went to buy our drinks.
My soul craves for more of such quiet moments to fill my tank.
Time to be still, to breathe...

I was walking home and listening to music on my iPod....
It's my way of making space to slow down.
So I looked up at the trees, the stars in the midnight blue sky.
Then I felt a surge of longing in my heart....a silent cry.
I didn't have to say a word. God understood.
He replied, "I know my child."

Colour

"The moment that You
walked into my life
What a pleasant surprise
When You opened my eyes
The moment that You
Stepped into my life
When the world was black and white
You put the colour back into my life"
- 'Colour' by Alarice Thio

Lifesongs

Alarice & Nigel

Last night I headed down to Acts Centre for the 2nd Christian Songwriters Showcase to support some dear frens. Danny was playing for Adeline, and Nigel was playing for Alarice Thio (she's S'porean but based in Melbourne). It was nice hanging out with fellow music kakis Muffin Boy & Dawnie....and bumping into old students/ acquaintances in the crowd. The worship min community is very small in Singapore. haha!

I can't believe Alarice Thio is all but 21 yrs old...and that she has no musical training. Sucks doesn't it?? Well, she's got awesome voice control, and is so natural. In terms of sound and style....she's kinda like a mix between Marie Digby and Brooke Fraser. Great young talent. In fact, Dawnie next to me was going "Hor tia" ('nice to listen to' in Hokkien) when Alarice sang her first note. Dawnie, ever the Ah Lian at heart, is so cute lah. :)

We all had our 'melty' moments. :) One of mine came quite unexpectedly when Nigel started slapping his guitar (like 'August Rush!') for the intro of Alarice's song, 'Away'. So nice lor!! I got goosebumps. haha! Another one of her songs that spoke to me in this season was 'Believe':

"What I see, is in front of me
The plans You have for me
If I just believe"

I think this little evening filled my tank quite a bit. :) It's always encouraging to see fellow believers share their journeys & lifesongs. Reminded me that every song written with a sincere heart is precious in the eyes of God. [Keep it up Ade, if you're reading this! :)]
I was inspired to get down to writing my own songs....and I think the evening reminded some of us to do something concrete about our gigging plans. haha!

Well, I'll prob be heading down to catch Alarice again (with a full band this time) for her next Esplanade gig, 6 July, 7.30pm & 8. 45pm at the Outdoor Powerhouse stage. If you wanna join me, just let me know. :)

You can go listen to some of Alarice's songs, and see her other performance dates from her myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/alaricemusic

Time to break the bank!

Wow....we barely had time to recover from having to miss Jason Mraz in concert when the papers announced that STING is coming on Dec 8, for his "Songs from the Labyrinth" Asian Tour. Erica says she's on for the concert...but I'm having mixed feelings.

First of all, the tix cost btw $100-600!!!! I know it's at the Esplanade concert hall which is a way more intimate venue than the Indoor Stadium....but this is outrageous! I can only afford the $100....but if I buy that, I'll prob only get to see his ass or get obstructed by some extra pillar or railing! Arghhh!

Secondly....Sting is going to be singing 16th century Elizabethan songs by John Dowland...he's going to be accompanied by renowned Lutenist, Edin Karamazov. I love Sting....he's like one of my favourite musicians in the whole world, I even have his autobiography "Broken Music," but I wasn't so crazy about his classical album. Should I pay so much money to hear him sing obscure 16th cen songs?? Or maybe I should stop making this so complicated and just buy tix so that I can breathe the same air as Sting (Muffin Logic). haha!

Anyway, why are ALL the concert tix so freaking expensive these days???

Arabian Nights

It was Bernice's second last day as a full-time keyboard coach :(....so we had a quiet farewell dinner of sorts with her. (Ok, those who are reading this and yelling about why u've not been invited....don't worry, we will have a proper farewell supper for her when she leaves officially end of next term. We just wanted to keep this one small.) After work, we headed to Bali lane for a cozy dinner at Nabin's...an Arabian restaurant. We had a wonderful time...gushing over the beautiful decor, catching up, sharing jokes and great food. :)

Abi & I chilling out amidst plush cushions & lush curtains

Looking extremely guai....cos Abi made us kneel.

Abi rubbing the lamp....where's the genie?

Berno is not as harmless as she looks...apparently.

Arabian greeting?

Lovely decor

Shine your light...

I love this shot! Clockwise L-R: Abi (with the thumb ring), Erica (the darkest one), Berno (with the skinniest fingers) & Mich (ring on third finger)

This was just our starter platter mind you! It was a mix of pita bread, hummus, falafel and other unidentifiable stuff. All was very yummy tho!

Just Erica & Berno

My fwens!!!

After dinner, we walked down to BluJazz to check out the 10 piece band that was playing. Can't rem their name...but we basically stood outside and gawked for 10 mins or so. It was quite funny! We were really transfixed. We should go back again gals!

Oh the Tragedy!!

Jason Mraz is coming to town for Singfest, 3 Aug, Sun.
Jason Mraz!!!!!!!!! Hat head, Mr-I can-stuffying-50-words-into-one-sentence!!!!
The one I groupie after!!
The one we've been waiting for!!

Mich and Abi can't go because we're going to KL for the Passion Conference.
Our hotel rooms CANNOT be cancelled.
This is the 2nd time I'm missing him. (he came here for Mosaic Fest in 2006 I believe)
The tix for Singfest are $200. (so Muffin can't go either cos its too ex)

Oh kill us now!!
I want to die.

=================================================================
Quotes from fellow groupies:
=============================
Muffin: i don't care if he's only doing 20 min.. that reality is.. if Mraz is on the same island as me, breathing the same air I am breathing.. how can i not be there?

Andrea: AHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Mich wakes Abi up at 1am:
------------------------------------
[Abi's Jason Mraz ringtone goes off]
Mich: ABI!!! Jason Mraz is coming!!!
Abi: *for a sec...is this a dream??* Huh? wait wait...
Mich: *explains the situation...blah blah*
Abi: NOooooooooooooooooo!!!! *breathes* NOOoooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

[Mich and Abi cry/laugh at the tragic irony of the situation for dunno how many mins.
They go thru all 5 stages of grief:
1) Denial
2) Anger
3) Bargaining
4) Depression
5) Acceptance]

Mich: Remember that time? I asked you to choose btw Chris Tomlin & Jason Mraz...and we said we'd choose Chris Tomlin rite? Cos he's like God-loving worship lder and all. So it makes sense for us to go KL rite??
Abi: I guess. Oh i feel so torn! MICH HOW??????
Mich: I guess when we're in KL watching Chris Tomlin, we could sing a medley of their songs....
"How awesome is the Lord most Highhhhhhh.....(2 3 4, 1,2,3) LIVE HIGH, LIVE MIGHTY, LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY!"

Dawn Treader

The other day...I was feeling a bit tired & down. Fatigue from work, a mix of issues, and coping with colleagues who are leaving (I'm glad they're moving on, but I'm sad that we won't get to see each other so frequently anymore too.) Plus, dealing with my own personal uncertainty as I step into a new season of my life. I'm getting better at handling the uncertainty, and following God as He leads me step by step. But occasionally, there are thoughts that slip in like "am I making a mistake?" or "is it going to be ok?"

So I was on the bus with a heavy heart.....when I saw this magical scene out of my window-
a shower of golden leaves, dancing in the wind. It seemed like something out of Narnia. I stared on in wonder as nature's delicate waltz lasted for slightly under a minute. At the same time, Corrinne May's "Beautiful Seed" was playing on my iPod like the perfect soundtrack! I haven't listened to her for a long time, and I don't know why I just happened to click on her song that day. But it was such a surreal moment.

"you can be a witness, you can be a prophet
you can make the whole world believe
break the strongest fortress
change the way the world thinks
You can build a bridge where foes can meet
Hope for the future, in the tiniest whisper
Dreams are what we make them to be
There is hope in every heartbeat
Tiny as it seems
You're a beautiful seed."- Corrinne May, 'Beautiful Seed'

I know that moment was a gift from God....reassuring me that everything's gonna be alright, that despite my flaws, He sees me as a beautiful seed. As emo as I can get sometimes, as fragile as my faith is sometimes...I think that deep inside, I'm really someone hopeful. Afterall, despair is a very draining business in the long run. Yeah, so keep me where the light is. :) Thank You God....for renewing hope within me.....hope which the world tries to beat out of me sometimes. :)

Then Abi was showing me Berno's Narnia's box set in the office. Almost immediately, my attention was drawn to the book 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. I thought...what a beautiful phrase. And that's really what I want to be- a dawn treader. :)

Girls' Nite Out @ Timbre, Arts House

Last night was the last day of term for me (i.e TERM BREAK!), and it was Dawn's last week of a whole month's of gruelling group work sessions. It called for a celebration, a much needed chill-out session over live music & BEER! So we headed down to Timbre, Arts House, where E.I.C was playing.

Girls' Nite Out!!! We were looking forward to it for the whole week.
On my way to Arts House from Clarke Quay, I was surprised by an explosion of beautiful fireworks from Marina Bay. I thought it was a 'present' from God (haha!) and I almost walked into a pole. Of course....I found out later that it was from NDP rehearsals. Duh Michelle!

Whoa-oh-oh...beer be the solution!

Dawnie is pleased as punch with her biru! (Jap for beer)

And guess who was at Timbre with his frens too?? Glenn the fwen, who is always entertaining and amusing. Erm, we're doing the sign for 'Chorus' there....I'm not sure why either. But Glenny sure looks happy! haha!

Happily Sloshed! Literally, 'Livin' High'. haha!

And what do we do when we're sloshed? We tell Rai (the lead singer) that we think he's hot on the song request form (it's the last line). And being the Jason Mraz groupies that we are....we requested for a JM song! We got Curbside Prophet in the end.

E.I.C who entertained us with their bluesy, soulful, and sometimes country music. haha! Funny boys lah! They ended their set with John Mayer's "Say" which made us very very happy. Dawn bravely went up to front of the stage to take a video of them playing that song. They gamely posed for her. haha! Will upload that video soon.

Parting shots. We tried to look emo, it turned out really bad. Here's our 'pseudo-band-wannabe-publicity-shot'.

It was a draining work week, but I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with my wonderful gfs, Erica & Dawnie!! You girls rock! Thanks for the cozy company...really enjoyed the candid girly chats and the huge laughs we had. :)

3 Bassists and 2 Girls

I was meeting Erica for drinks at the Esplanade when I spied a poster in the underpass that made me do a double-take!!! In fact, when Erica walked past it earlier...she told me she was so excited that she SKIDDED towards the poster, much to the amusement of the other people around her! hahaha! Hilarious.

3 legendary bassists in ONE concert!!!! Sept 19th, Fri, The Thunder Tour, featuring Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten!! OMG OMG!! *heart racing* (yes, if you don't know both Erica and myself by now, we luv bassists! We're all about the groove!)

Taking groupie shots with Stanley, Marcus & Victor! People kept staring at us. haha!

Erica, just hanging out with the guys...

Erica insists that Marcus Miller is checking her out. Chey! Come Sept 19th....the both of us are NOT going to be free.

Reunions & Farewells

Had one of the longest days at the work...we were there for close to 15 hours today.
I'm like beyond exhausted now. Can't sleep yet, cos my hair is still wet. And I have so many thoughts running through my head, emotions that I'm feeling.....it's a mixed bag really. Sigh. Some of which are too sensitive to be aired in such a public space.

Hmmm....I'm glad that I got to see Abi, Erica & Berno today though. THEY'RE ALL BACK!!!
It's kinda bitter-sweet though...knowing that today was my last Weds at BMI, and tmrw will be my last Thurs.

Had a wonderful sharing session with Priscilla during training today....I love it whenever we get together. It's so girly...how safe and open we feel in sharing with each other, and just encouraging each other as we journey through life and ministry. She's a gift that girl.
Am also very happy that Danny popped by to join us for DW's farewell supper cum Taboo game nite. :) Although we were all super tired, we still managed to have crazy fun playing Taboo. I think I laughed until I teared at one stage...Shenna cracked us all up.

Gosh, what an intense day. That's all I can muster for now.
*poof*

Away

Berno is going for church camp in Johor tmrw. (And I only have one proper day left with her in the office before she leaves)
Abi is still away in Thailand, and won't be back till Weds.
Erica is in Sabah and won't be back till early next week.
Muffin Boy is in Japan until end June.
Glenn the fwen is flying to Sydney for Hillsong Conf soon. Arghh! (Michael Gungor & Israel Houghton!!)

Michelle is not a happy camper. :(

Guess the Passion Conference KL trip will be a small highlight in Aug. Chris Tomlin & Ramlee Burgers here we come! (But that one no need to fly one. I like to fly.)

Oh Pam...

In the office:
==============
Jo: I'm going downstairs...you need dinner?
Pam: Hmm....I'm not thirsty leh.
Jo and I: !??!!?
Jo: Er, I asked you if you need to EAT, not drink.
Mich: Oh Pam....you fail listening comprehension ah!

Get your praise on!

To be absolutely honest, it doesn't come naturally for me to 'count my blessings'....being the emo person that I am. (the emo-ness is fantastic for music...but not so fantastic for one's personal life.) But I'm learning to be content and grateful with what I have, and wherever God has placed me. :) In the words of Israel Houghton & New Breed, it's time to "get your praise on!" And truly, it's an important habit to cultivate.

And here are a few reasons why I'm giving thanks:
=============================================
1) I'm in the midst of organising a few jamming/ gigging sessions with good frens!!! Oh boy, this is gonna be so fun if it works out.

2) Am planning a trip to the recording studio too...to get some proper demos done. :) Am eager to hang out with Kuching Boy too at the recording studio, as he works on his album. I'm so happy for him...that his dream is materialising. I was with him since day one as a struggling songwriter...and he's come so far now. :)

3) My colleague Daniel Wilson's baby girl, Faith, was delivered today!! yay! :)

4) The new fwens that God has blessed me with this year. I really treasure these precious God connections. To be able to be totally real and honest with these fwens is just wonderful. :) Being able to talk crap together is as important as having those heart-to-heart talks. Know what I mean?

5) Muffin Boy is having a really fruitful mission trip in Japan. I'm so proud of him, and happy for him that he's learning and growing so much in God! Hearing his excitement over gmail chat is so heartwarming. :)

6) Term break is coming soon!!!!

7) My parents are heading to KL over the weekend, soooo, it's gonna be pyjama party time as Audrey stays over tmrw nite!! We're gonna have beers or vodka, eat popcorn, and watch Return of The King, as we drool over Aragorn in all his dirty, rugged glory. haha!

8) For the choir prac that I just came home from! Being able to sing really chases the blues/ stress away for me. :) And of course, I'm loving the fellowship of the choir members. I was particularly entertained and literally tickled by the naughty Alicia. Just hearing her laugh (often at nothing), cheers me up. :)

After choir prac, we were having kopi/teh at the atrium when they made us take this pic cos they thought we looked very cute together...like M&M colours. haha!

L-R: Man Kam, Mich, Clara

Reasons Why You Need A Nord Stage

Michelle is in love....

1) It's red hot baby!
2) Cos you can finally play all those Israel Houghton songs with authentic sounds
3) Cos you've got to funkifize.
4) It's got amazing, classic piano, organ & synth sounds all in one gorgeous package.
5) It won the 2008 M.I.P.A award for Best Stage Piano for the 3rd consecutive year.
6) It's going to inspire you to play more expressively. You just know it.
7) Cos artists like Sarah MacLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5, Hiromi etc play it.
8) It would look perfect beside your Mac...c'mon you know they'll be gd frens.
9) So you can sing "Oh baby you've got it all..." to it. (Jason Mraz groupies will know which song) haha!
10) Have I mentioned it's red hot?

Excerpt from a conversation with Andrea:
================================
Mich: OMG, we so need to get the Nord Stage 88 for our church! We'll be the coolest church in Spore, and I'll be so proud to be a Riverlifer!
Andrea: haha! Just bcos of 1 keyboard?
Mich: Yes, indeed! Bcos of the red, hot Nord!

Finding My Faith

"To believe is to begin"- Brooke Fraser

Am finding myself at that point where God is stripping away all the stuff that my 'security' is built on. So what am I left with when all that is familiar, or held closely to my heart is taken away?

My faith.

"Strong Son of God, immortal Love,
whom we, that have not see thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove;

Thine are these orbs of light and shade;
Thou madest Life in man and brute;
Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot
Is on the skull which thou hast made.

Thou wilt not leave us in the dust:
Thou madest man, he knows not why;
He thinks he was not made to die;
And thou hast made him: thou art just.

Thou seemest human and divine,
The highest, holiest, manhood, thou:
Our wills are ours, we know not how;
Our wills are ours, to make them thine.

Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they."
- 'From In Memoriam, A.H.H' by Alfred Tennyson

My Sister's Wedding

Just came back from my sis's wedding dinner at Gallery Hotel. Couldn't get many good pictures with the lousy hp camera....but these are what I managed to get. Every pic with my sis or other family members turned out totally blur, so shall wait until her photographers send the pics to her.

My cousins: Sabby on the left, with her fish face pose. Candy on the right.

With my cuzzies! :)

That's my Auntie Pauline....lighting on this side of the room was terrible.

With my Auntie Rena, Sabby and Uncle Tony! :) They're here only 2 -3 times a year, cos they live in Sabah. And I miss them everytime they go home.

Connect

One of my fav old BMI pics

About 2 weeks ago, I had a weird dream....that my parents lost our flat (again!), and we had to stay with some relative while we searched for a new place. I was feeling very pissed (in the dream), but what really ticked me off was that there was no internet connection at the relative's house. Ok, sounds quite frivalous in that context right?

Well, I shared this dream with Berno....and instead of saying pseudo-psycho dream analysis babble like "your dream reveals a fear of being uprooted again" or "you have an unhealthy obsession with the internet," the sweet, insightful one smiled and said, "but of course, you love being connected to people! So naturally you would feel frustrated when you're cut off from your friends."

Wow. This girl knows me better than I know myself.
I'm so going to miss her when she leaves BMI...along with those who have left already.
Last week 2 ex-BMI coaches, Mich Poh and Danny came down for surprise visits.
It was really funny, each time I opened the door to head to class, I would be surprised by a friendly face, and end up hugging someone. haha!

Mich Poh showed us pictures of her adorable chinese-dutch baby, Krabi...who's showing talent for the drums at 22 mths. :)
Danny even came bearing gifts....a purple stuffed toy flower (those Toys'r'us kind) for me, and a yellow one for Berno. :)

I really treasure these frens.
And there are more of you whom I've not seen in a while, and miss terribly too.
Yes, I know people come and go, and I have to learn how to deal.
But it's not easy for me, well...being the way that I am.

"C.S Lewis Song"

I'm re-discovering this amazing song by Brooke Fraser all over again. It's been on repeat mode ever since I watched Narnia on Sun, and started reading C.S Lewis' "Mere Christianity" again. It is such a poetic song, the language is just stunningly beautiful, and it's filled with so much wisdom.

"C.S Lewis Song" (Brooke Fraser)
============================
If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy
I can only conclude that I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary
Then of course I'll feel nude when to where I'm destined I'm compared

Chorus:
Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free,
wanting to come alive?
'Cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become

Bridge:
For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live
I was made to love, I was made to know You
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming

One Desire

"To have a simple heart, is to desire one thing."- Søren Kierkegaard

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple." - Psalm 27:4

Comfort in the Crossfire

I had a pretty rough night.....my mum has been getting very stressed up over my sister's wedding this Sat, and is giving me hell cos I'm the only one at home she can yell at. It's really difficult to control my temper and love her when she's being this cranky, unreasonable and downright rude. I'm trying my best...but it just sucks to be caught in the crossfire of family politics, trying to be the mediator between my mum, sis, aunts, grandma etc.

I was feeling pretty lousy and shaken when I went to work today. In fact, I totally skipped lunch at home cos I didn't want to listen to my mum rant. Read a bit of C.S Lewis on the mrt...which was much needed, to help me get my heart right. Then I met Berno for our weekly keyboard lessons (we take turns to teach each other keys/vocals)...and well, the music is always healing.

Later in the evening, I caught Erica in the pantry. And this was the short but amusing exchange that took place:

Mich: ERICA! *affectionately* My Olive Green Fwen! :)
Erica: *proud, wide smile* I KNOW!!
Abi and Mich: *stunned silence....before erupting in laughter*
[what a response right? so funny.]

After that little 'commercial break', I returned to my classes. It's presentation week, so it gets quite intense for the coach in terms of work and concentration level. Thank God for wonderful students. In my first class, I had this super encouraging boy, G, who would say, "shouldn't we clap first?" before his classmate presented. Bless his heart! And after that, he would always be the first to initiate a round of encouraging applause for his other classmates. :)

When my classes finally ended at 9.50pm....my student, S, came up to me and gave me a long, warm hug. It caught me totally by surprise and I asked her 'why?' She said, "you seemed a bit different today, not like your usual self." She's a pastor by the way...spiritual antenna really powerful man! I was really touched by that...and had to hold back the tears. Seriously, I had no idea I looked any different to them...I was so busy trying to learn and play their presentation songs, while listening to them sing in order to give them feedback later.

God is truly amazing in the way He sends people our way to show us His love.
I'm reminded of that day when I was singing on stage a couple of weeks back, and I heard Him say to me so clearly, "I am with you. And I know your heart."

Hope is coming for me

Things have gotten a bit hectic for me to sit down and blog....and I really should be sleeping now, but I feel very strange indeed if I don't get to pen my thoughts down at some point. So here I am, lying on my bed and blogging about the very busy week that passed. :)

I fell sick (ok yes again) with the flu earlier in the week....which got me all worried cos I knew I had to sing for svce on Sun. Other than that, I don't remember much of the work week. It usually passes by in a quick blur.

On Fri, I got my music fix when I attended a jazz concert by M'sian singer-songwriter, Mia Palencia, with my Olive Green Fwen Erica. Mia and the band members were Erica's music college mates in KL, so she wanted to go down and support them. We had a nice dinner of rice paper rolls, Duck Noodle Soup/ Beef Noodle Soup at Siem Reap, Empress Place...after which we headed down to the Arts House hall next door for the concert. Erica's frens joined us there as well. It was a very beautiful (think grand, white columns and lush, red curtains) but small hall. There were probably only 40 people or less in that room...which made it more intimate I suppose. We got seats right in front of the gorgeous stage. Mia Palencia surprised me with her thick, soulful vocals and original compositions. Even her covers were done pretty well, eg. she performed a classy bossa version of a Maroon 5's "Won't go home without you"! I wish the set was longer than its 45 mins though.

Sat was largely a family affair with my aunts and cousins from Sabah. (Gosh, I'm spending my weekend with all these M'sians!) They're in town for my sister's wedding this Sat. After work, I headed down to Ikea Tampines to meet them. We had ice-cream and coffee at Haagen Daaz, Tampines Mall....shopped for a bit before having a long dinner at Seletar Country Club. I'm not particularly close to my parents, cos most of you know how my parents are like....but I always love hanging out with my aunts and cousins. I get this warm and fuzzy familial feeling whenever I'm with them. They love and support me unconditionally, and they're open and free with their hugs and kisses. I wish they were here more often.

I sang for 2 svces on Sun which is always fun and fulfilling, even with the severe lack of sleep. I never tire of seeing the church love on God during worship. It's the most beautiful sight on earth. :) I'll admit though, singing was quite difficult initially during the sound check, cos of the throat infection I had from the stupid flu....but the band prayed for me, and it gradually got better. Think God was building my faith in Him too....as the healer of my heart, mind and body. I'm learning Daddy...to just trust and obey You, to empty myself, and be the vessel in which You flow through. :)

After svce ended, I rushed down to meet Berno and Henry Choo at Cathay, to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Prince of Caspian. I dunno why I agreed to it, cos I was pretty much ready to crash after waking up at 6am, and singing for 2 svces. Anyway, no regrets cos I loved every bit of it....I found it very inspiring and funny as well. I don't wanna ruin it for those who haven't watched it yet, but Pt 2 really has more comic relief than the first film. Watch out for the mice. Hilarious! There are so many spiritual themes that C.S Lewis has woven into the story, but this one hit home for me.

We all need to live for something larger than ourselves. I was tearing during the battle scenes, cos I was so moved by the fierce passion that the characters had in defending their people and land. The truth is, there IS a battle going on everyday, although we need to see with our spiritual eyes, and we ALL have a part to play, no matter how young or small. Often, there is a sacrifice, a cost that we have to pay for the greater good, or to prove ourselves worthy....but that's when we come alive and become the best versions of ourselves isn't it? When we have something to believe in, to fight for and even lay down our lives for.

And then, there is faith....do you believe? I love how Brooke Fraser encapsulated C.S Lewis's writings in these lines of her song, simply titled, "C.S Lewis Song":
"Hope is coming for me, He's coming for me."

Her song should have been included in the official Narnia soundtrack...along with the Switchfoot song, "This is Home."

Aslan talks to Lucy Pevensie of what lies ahead in her adventure.

After the movie, Berno, Henry Choo and I went to Yamaha, Plaza Sing to play on their pianos, clavis and keyboards. Yes, we just love doing that....testing out instruments which we can't afford. haha! I was trying out this expensive ($12 000) clavi that's shaped as a mini grand piano.....and it made me miss my old mini grand piano so much. At one point, I was like going "ohhh" and stretching my arms out to caress it and Berno laughed and said, "she wants to hug it!" So funny that girl. :)

Henry Choo is wicked on the keys btw....he was like going wild with the jazzy chords, while me and Berno watched on with resigned sighs. Resignation turned to madness as we started to 'head bang' to egg him on with his elaborate runs. haha!

So that's my week....tiring, but I like to think of it as a very full one. :)