Customer Is Always Right?

I hate the statement that says customers are always right. The one who came out with this line probably had little interaction with customers from diverse backgrounds, and hence do not understand the agony some unreasonable customers bring to us service providers. Today, I am "lucky" to be able to see one of such for myself.

This afternoon was a pretty quiet office as we did not have many walk-in customers. However, my colleagues and I were still pretty busy as the phonecalls kept coming in. I was handling some paperwork when I overheard a middle-aged man talking loudly into his mobile phone, complaining that no one was there to serve him. I thought he wasn't referring to our company, as I did not even see him step into our office; he was pacing up and down at our doorstep all these while. Moments later, however, it was confirmed that he was referring to us. He mentioned our company's name, and he seemed to be complaining to our main office.

Later on, he stepped into our office, still wailing that everyone was talking on the phone and nobody bothered to serve him. I was annoyed by his boorish behaviour, but tried to ask him if he needed any assistance, but he simply took a quick glance at me and continue his yelling. A female colleague beside me retorted him (in a neutral tone) "If you want us to serve you, you have to approach us. Or else, how are we supposed to know what you want?" This actually provoked this boor more, and starts accusing her of being rude and shouting at him! He then demanded our manager to come over, but nobody bothered to attend to him.

After a few moments of drama, another colleague attended to him and he managed to calm down. He was however, still upset and demanded to cancel his tour package booking which he had originally done with us. Good riddance! It's not as if our company will collapse just because we lose a package from him. It's not as if he brings in ten over grand of revenue for us each time he steps into our office! So what grounds does he have for being so cocky?

Lately there has been complains saying that the service standards in Singapore is not good generally. I beg to differ. As the saying goes, it takes two hands to clap. If the customer is not a bad substance, how good can the service be? Before pin-pointing at the service providers, I think we should reflect on our bahaviour first; when you point a finger at others, your other 4 fingers are pointing back at you!

A False Alarm

Today, a big hoo-ha happened at my work place, which I think can almost make it to the front page of our local papers.

I'll have to backtrack the story to last night, where my supervisor noticed an unclaimed luggage during the closing of our office. Thinking that some passengers who had forgotten to carry it onboard while boarding their bus, she decided to keep it in the office until someone called to claim for it. However, until this morning, no one had yet to claim it, and hence she asked one of my colleague to hand the luggage to the police. From what I heard, my colleague had actually opened up the luggage and found a bottle of green liquid that was wrapped up like some handmade bombs in the movies. My colleague did not bring it to the police of course, and instead, he called up the police.

Shortly after, 2 police officers came, and after a short while more, another batch of policemen came, and soon my office became a mini police station. I didn't know why was there a need to activate so many people, when I thought just 3 or 4 men were enough: 2 to take records and 2 to examine the luggage. I was a bit skeptical about the way the policemen were handling the case, and the way they handle the luggage was rather rough. I could hear the luggage knocking against the cabinets, and my colleague was wondering what would happen if that bottle was really a bomb and exploded under their bad handling. They took quite a while working on the luggage, and they finally decided to take the luggage away. I thought they should have done it long ago! However, the luggage was only gone for a short period of time before the same duo brought the luggage back. My colleagues and I were suprised; what do they mean by bringing it back? Has it been declared safe already? Or they simply did not know what to do? We questioned them about why the luggage was brought back to our office, but they could not give us a definite answer. Instead, they gave us an embaressed smile and they brought it out again. Within the next 1 hour, I could see men in blue passing by. My colleague had actually done a count on them, and claimed that there were at least 10 of them, including those in civilian clothings. Some came into our office as well, but asked the questions that had been previously asked before. I wasn't the one who'd been questioned, but I could feel the frustration of my colleague, as I actually felt irritated by just sitting at a side listening to what's going on! But I don't blame these civil servants. Afterall, after the recent foiled plans to bomb British airplanes, the local police will sure be more vigilant. It's just that their lack of experience in these area made me lose a bit of confidence. Anyway, we were later told by one of the constables who took the luggage away that the suspicious liquid in the bottle was actually washing detergent. However, as this matter was still considered a big issue, they could not return the luggage to us, and hence they had it brought back to their headquarters.

I thought the case was over for the moment, until another colleague reported to work, and told us that the luggage was actually left behind by a customer who had came to buy tickets from us the previous night, and was supposed to leave tonight. She had also requested to have her luggage deposited in our office first and to be collected tonight before departure. We realised that we have made a big mistake, and tried to contact the respective authorities to claim back the luggage, but was told that the owner must collect it from them herself. According to my colleague who had made the call, he said that the whole unit had known about this matter already, as the moment he mentioned our company name, the person on the other side of the line immediately knew that we wanted to know how to claim back the luggage. So, you can imagine how high-key this matter had become!

I am now out of office, but I can't help but think of how the customer would react, if she found out that her luggage was now in the police's custody. Although it was her fault for wrapping her detergent in this manner and thus creating unrest, how can we justify the act of opening up her luggage without her permission? I just wish that this matter could be resolved quick, and not turn into another storm!

Back To The Travel Line

I was very nervous the moment I stepped onto the bus and headed for work on Monday. It has been over a year since I left my previous-previous company, a travel agency, and I was starting work on that day at another travel agency, which was just next door to the former!

Having been away for quite some time, I wasn't certain if I could handle the kind of workload and stress at the travel agency or not. (At times the travel agency can be flooded with phonecalls and customers simultaneously, and moments later, the agency becomes quiet again!) Anyway, I believe I would not be sitting behind the counter for a very long period of time, because the position I applied for was not a tour consultant, but a coach operations executive. I'd be assigned to do counter sales for the time being, until the time I am familiar with how the company's coach system works then will I be transferred to the coach department. Actually, I'm not sure if I really wanted to venture into this area, because I was actually aiming at the ticketing side, and this position I took up will not allow me to progress into ticketing. Another consideration was that the future of the coach business is an uncertainty. Just days before, it was reported in the news that Malaysian Airlines and Tiger Airways are looking at the possibility to provide Singapore-Malaysia flights with prices to match that of coaches. If this plan is successfully launched, that means the coach industry will be affected by quite a big deal. Other than isolated and unpopular destinations, who would still want to take coaches, if they could fly at the same cost and a fraction of the time needed? Anyway, I can only cross my fingers and see how things work out within the next few months. Or pray that the company allows me to switch over to counter sales and ticketing!

I arrived Golden Mile Complex at 8.30am, half an hour before my scheduled reporting time. I went to the toilet to change into my uniform, took a slow stroll around the building, and then report to work at 8.45am. It was a nice feeling to be back working at Golden Mile Complex, because I always like the "mini-Thai" atmosphere of the place, except for maybe the fightings and quarrels which happens once in a while. Speaking of that, some of my ex-colleagues actually dared not enter the building, complaining of a strong stench from the walkways into the building. I do not know what is that smell till now, but I believe it should be coming from a kind of foodstuff called "smelly fish". This is a fermented fish which gives off a very strong smell, and is a favourite among the Issan (north-eastern Thais) people, which formed the majority of the Thais in Singapore. This time round, the smell was gone, either the shops there no longer sell such stuffs (lately there has been an "invasion" of Vietnamese goods in the supermarket there), or that my nose has already got used to it.

Time passed rather quickly in my new office, and it was soon time for lunch. I had a late lunch as there were many customers. I noticed a small shop by the walkways into the building that sells Thai noodles. The shop's settings was very simple; clean white walls with a big menu pasted on one of them, and photographs of the food they serve just in front of their stall. There was 3 to 4 tables inside the shop only, and on top of the tables were condiments like fish sauce, sugar, chilli powder and grounded chilli to go with the noodles. This looked so typically Thai that tempted me to try their food. The food tasted quite nice, and I finished the entire bowl of chicken kway teow, including the soup. The female waitress of the shop was actually suprised that I know how to eat their noodles (with the condiments)!

After my meal, there was still half an hour left for my lunch break, so I decided to shop around. I found the CDs for my favourite bands Potato and Peacemaker, but was dismayed that the shop only sell duplicated albums and not originals. I'm a person who prefer to get original CDs if possible. Other than to support the copyright laws, I find that the duplicated CDs had very short lifespans, and within 3 years, the discs will become unreadable, and that's what happened to some of my CDs previous bought from there! Another thing is that the cost of the CDs are considered very expensive, especially when the discs are not even labelled decently.

As I walked out of the CD shop, I saw that the coffee shop just next to it was playing some lakhorn (Thai drama serial). I don't know what show they were playing, but I knew it was produced by Channel 7 (with the TV station's big logo there) and acted by Oil Thana, a singer-actor from one of my favourite Thai pop groups Lift-Oil. I stood there for about 15 minutes watching, but I could not understand a single thing, other than dialogues like "Where are we going, my dear?", "What's that?" and "(female lead's name), I...."!

As I head back to work after my lunch break was over, I got a news from the supervisor there, that I'm be transfered to another branch at Lavender with effect from the following day. I was told that I was supposed to start work there, but due to some miscommunications, I ended up at Golden Mile. That was a disappointment to me, as I actually preferred to work in Golden Mile than in other branches. But luckily, Lavender and Golden Mile is just 10 minutes' walk away, and I'm still able to come back to Golden Mile for lunch anytime.

My first day at work was relatively easy for me, as I was only asked to familiarise with the pricing for coach tickets. However, I did try my hands at calculating prices for tour packages too, and though I haven't been doing it for a long time, I could still manage with a little bit of help from my colleagues. Anyway, I've made a sales of about $500 by the end of the day, which I think was quite a good start for me. Hopefully my new job with the company will kick off a good start as well!

The Makeover

Last week I received a call from a company stating that I was picked from a lucky draw and was entitled to one free makeover session, which at the end of the session I would be given 2 free photographs of my makeover. Sounded too good to be true, but nevertheless I decided to go and take a look, and see what they are up to.

My appointment with the agency was at 8pm, at their studio in Raffles Place. They were rather secretive, and I only know their address and company name via SMS just 2 days before the appointment. I instantly knew this was part of their marketing strategy, a technique commonly used in network marketing companies to "lure" customers. And I was right. The moment I reached the studio, I saw the reception hall filled with people, mostly seated around coffee tables each having 3 chairs and a Mac monitor. Typical network marketing companies' setting! Anyway, although my appointment was scheduled at eight, I was only attended at about 9.15pm. The guy who attended to me introduced himself as the "image consultant" of the company. I had my doubts on him, as his turn-out and behaviour told me elsewise, but I decided to keep quiet. He explained that the makeover session would consist of 2 parts: 1 casual session and 1 formal session. Casual session would be carried out in my attire at that time, and the formal session would include a change of attire into one of their apparels from their wardrobe.

After the briefing, I was led to the makeup room for makeup. I was suprised that the makeup was done with less than 10 strokes of the brush, and completed with a smear (yes, you did not read wrongly, and neither did I type wrongly) of lip gloss over my lips with a cotton bud. I really wonder if these so-called makeup artistes really know how to do makeup, for I had been through 2 makeover sessions before, and I know one needs at least 5 minutes to do the makeup. What's more, the lip gloss was so badly applied that I can feel one big chunk of the lip gloss still stuck to one side of my lips. After the makeup was done, I was ready for the first round of photoshoot. Were they out of their mind? I had been running around the entire day and had been touching my hair for uncountable times that it was already in a mess, and you called that "ready"? I remained quiet, since it was free-of-charge anyway! It wouldn't get me anywhere if I were to argue with them.

The first round of photoshoot was alright, as I am already quite used to posing in front of the camera. However, I did not have confidence in the photographer. Some of the poses he asked me to pose were really awkward. Like for example he asked me to sit on the arm-rest of the sofa, and put my legs on the back-rest. That's a real weird pose! I wondered if he would be asking me to do a leg split on the top of the couch with my front foot touching the ceiling! And one thing I noticed was that he snapped his photographs rather quickly. So far I've never came across photographers who actually took pictures at such speed, and I really wondered if he was just taking random trial-and-error shots.

After the first round, I was led back to the makeup room to choose clothes for my second round. My image consultant chose some floral long sleeve shirt and asked me which one I prefer. With one look I knew the shirts were too big for me, at least a "L", but he did not realised it, and I had to remind him that I can only fit a "S" size. How on earth can an image consultant failed to realise such details? But anyway he explained later that most of their shirts were "L" or larger, so I had no choice but to pick one of them. I was later given a bit of touch-up to my makeup (again with a few strokes of the brush again), and this time round, I finally got my hair made.

I was once again led to the photoshoot studio, but this time round, I was introduced to another photographer. This photographer seemed more professional, as he was more graphic in the poses he wanted me to put on for the camera, and I felt that the poses he requested from me were less awkward than the earlier one. Still, the speed of his shots were fast too.

After the photoshoot was completed, I was led back to the reception hall to view my photographs. As expected, those taken during the first part were simply horrible, mainly due to my messy hairstyle. Some of the poses were problematic too, resulting in me looking more like an Allegria performer or Dunhuang dancer than a makeover pose. Those taken in the second round were much better, and there were a few which I think were quite well-taken. However, as these pictures were raw and unedited, my image consultant proceed to select one of the pictures to do a on-the-spot touch-up. I was impressed by how fast he navigates through functions and shortcuts within Photoshop, but that was it. In terms of skills, I think I could be better than him, although I admit I'm still nowhere near a professional DI artiste. There were instances whereby he tried to touch-up some areas in vain, because he had selected the wrong image layer, and I had to remind him that. Speaking of this, Art was invited by this company before months back for a similar makeover session, and she actually taught her image consultant on how to do some effects!

After "impressing" me with the final finished masterpiece, my image consultant then started to feed me with the "essence" of this makeover session, by telling me the benefits of being their members by signing on a makeover package. I had already anticipated that, but I just pretend I knew nothing and listened. He was rather smart as to not talking about prices (other than the market value of the freebies thrown in with the offer). I pretended to enquire about the price involved in signing up the package, and my image consultant introduced me to another colleague of his, whom he said was in charged of the sales and marketing.

His colleague was a very cheerful person, a bit too cheerful in my opinion! On my way up to their studio when I first arrived, he was the first person I met at the stairways, and he greeted me very politely and warmly. And earlier on while browsing through my photographs, he had actually popped by and commented how great the photographs were taken. I admit I felt flattered, but not naive to not see that these are all business tactics. Anyway, he gave me a quotation of over $2000 for one photo album with all the freebies and benefits as previously mentioned by my image consultant. $2000! What a hefty amount for such "quality" work! I had expected the price to be real expensive, but this amount was really unexpected. Since I had no intention to sign up any package from the start, I simply declined the offer by saying that I did not have that much money, and I did not have any credit cards or savings, and neither was I able to pay in installments. The mega-watt smile of the other guy instantly disappeared, as he stood up and left to prepare the paperworks for me to collect my free photographs. What a change in character! I was then asked to select any of the 2 unedited photographs that I like, and my image consultant then burned them into a CD-rom for me.

I left the company at around 11pm, feeling relieved that I could walk away without paying a single cent. (I'm actually bad at rejecting offers, especially if being pushed by a few persons simultaneously) I had done some touch-up of the photographs on my own and had sent them to print. Hopefully my touch-ups were alright, as I can't visualise from my aging LCD monitor which is forever darker than anyone else' monitor!

Chinese Romantic Musical - Butterfly Lovers

I had this mental block recently, when I was told to redesign the scenography for our September big production in Taiwan, the second time. So I had to dig through my whole cupboard of VCDs, trying to see if I can find any show which I could gather some inspirations from. It was during my ransacking that my eyes found something of interest to me: the original cast recording of Butterfly Lovers, the Chinese romantic musical. I had bought it in Taiwan in 2004, but had not listened to it for quite a while already.

This musical premiered at the National Theatre of Taiwan in 2003, starring Winnie Shin as Zhu Yingtai, "King of Musicals" Berson Wang as Liang Shanbo and Huang Shiwei as Ma Wencai. The main storyline of the show is more or less similar to that commonly seen in Chinese operas, with more emphasis being made on Ma Wencai. In typical Chinese opera shows, Ma Wencai is only a very minor role, if not non-appearing, and is always seen as a rich, flamboyant rascal of little talent. In this show, however, Ma Wencai is seen as an educated and sentimental man who was deeply in love with Zhu Yingtai, but did not understand how love works, and finally lost Yingtai.

From the video footages in the bonus behind-the-scenes VCD, the show seemed quite good. Having said that, this show is not without any weak points. For a start, some part of the music sounded a bit out-of-place, as the composer had actually tried to incoporate western opera music, broadway musical music, Chinese folk music and old Hong Kong drama serial music into the show. Also, the settings of the show was wrong as well. The story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai was supposed to be in the Western Jin dynasty, which was after the Three Kingdoms period. In this show, however, Zhu Yingtai actually sang of Wu Zetian, the female Empress of the Tang dynasty!

This show had just been re-staged again late last year, and I'm not sure if these problems had been solved or not. Anyway, for this latest production, Winnie Shin was replaced by Hong Ruixiang (previously acted as Yin Xin), while the other 2 male leads remained unchanged. I hope they'll come to stage in Singapore soon, or at least release a DVD or VCD recording of the show. It's a big pity if such a production could not be appreciated by people living outside Taiwan!

Old Ma Wencai reminscing the past


"Rebellious" Zhu Yingtai and talented Ma Wencai


Liang Shanbo's "old Hong Kong drama serial" style of music


One of the main melodies in the show, sang as a reprise during their secret engagement scene in the later part of the show


Yingtai agreeing to marry Ma Wencai in order to preserve the honour of her family as well as the safety of Liang's family


Yingtai revealing to Shanbo her engagement to Ma Wencai


Yingtai asking Shanbo to marry someone else and forget her


Shanbo on the verge of death after being seriously wounded and humiliated by Ma Wencai


Finale

Tribute to Chen Jinlang

Even as I write this post, I have this strange feeling inside me. I'm not a fan of Chen Jinlang, but why am I writing a tribute to him?

For those who do not know him, Chen Jinlang, 45, was a famous Hokkien Getai singer in Singapore. He had started singing at a young age, and till now, had a large fanbase, consisting mainly of middle-aged aunties. In recent years, however, his lives were full of up-and-downs as he became bankrupt, and was sentenced to jail once for leaving Singapore without permission on numerous occasions. Last year, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and lost his battle on 25th July 2006, which co-incidentally happened to be the 1st day of the 7th lunar month.

His funeral function happened to be just the the void deck of my flats, and for the past few days, the function was packed with many people, among them were loyal fans and people in the entertainment line. My parents did went to take a look at the function, and even bought his concert VCD, which was recorded a few years ago and currently on sale at the funeral function. I find it rather eerie, that he was already lying in his coffin downstairs, and outside in the living room, his singing was still lingering in the air!

Before his death, I don't really like Chen Jinlang. Not that I dislike him, but I personally do not like Getai form of entertainment. However, after listening to his songs for quite a while (my Mum has been playing his songs at home days before his death, after rumours were spreading that he might had passed away already), I found that his voice isn't really that bad. At least he sounded more soothing than the flamboyant Lin Li, who looked more like a desperate clown than a professional singer. Anyway, not only did Chen Jinlang able to sing pop songs well, he sounded equally good when he sings Hokkien opera. I happened to hear the part in his concert whereby he sang Hokkien opera, and it sounded just like what a Hokkien opera singer should sing like.

It was such an irony that I only managed to realise his potential after his death, but I am glad that at least I get to find out! Goodbye Chen Jinlang, may the Buddha's sutras lead you on to your next life...

Hectic Weekend

Last weekend was a hectic one, and I haven't really gotten over it. Hence, to be real honest, I'm actually not in the mood to blog anything now. However, since some people want to read more about our performance last Saturday, I've decided to write a little...

Last Saturday we performed "Bloodshed In The Imperial Palace" at Chong Pang Community Club. We had actually planned to stage this show in March, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, this performance had been postponed and delayed numerous times. This is the first show (but second run) in which I was totally in charged of designing the stage set, as well as making the required stage scenes. However, due to my other troupe commitments, I had no time to help move props into the performance venue, and nothing was setup on stage, even until Friday night, the eve of the performance. My troupe leader was angry with me for not informing anyone about my stage set designs and ideas, but the fact is nobody bother to ask me what I need for the stage, when it was already officially known that I'm in charged of designing the stage. I did not want to argue, so I suggest to go to the community club earlier so that I could do last minute rigging. Luckily some other members helped me with some of the bulky props, or else I could never finish setting up the stage, let only finish my makeup!

The show was quite a success, I would say, although I was not too happy with my performance. I had a bad headache due to the tight "water sash" which I had secured around my head. Well, I believe you have to pay a price if you want to look good on stage, and I thought that was one of my best stage portrayal so far. Too bad I did not have time to take any photograph of me in makeup and costume then!

Our show ended at around 11pm, and we were ordered to go back to Konghuay to help unpack our stuffs. On the bus, everyone was back to their nonsense again, as you can see below:

Juan forcing Art to put on a "dan" wig; Art said that she'd never do that even for $2000!

Amai doing a chocolate commercial

If you think that's all for the weekend, you're wrong! For some of us, we had to reach Konghuay by 11am the following day to rehearse for our Heritage Board performance this coming Sunday. The rehearsal was supposed to be from 11am to 1pm, but it was one of the most unsuccessful rehearsals I've ever attended, as we were interrupted multiple times because of nitty gritty things. I was very fed-up, as it was a completely waste of time. I am in charged of making the MIDI sing-along demo for this show, and it was still far from being complete. Yet, some people jsut don't seemed a bit bothered at not being able to syncronise their actions to my music.


"Mai" In Blue

My controversial portrayal in "Coutesan Yu Tang Chun"

Rehearsal for Heritage Board's programme was just one of the activities in the Konghuay for yesterday. In the afternoon, we were scheduled to have a photoshoot for our latest show "Courtesan Yu Tang Chun". This show has been revamped from the traditional Hokkien opera of the same title, and we'll be bringing this show to Taiwan to perform, our second trip since 1990. I personally do not like photoshoots because they can be very tiring, especially if taken in a big group. Sometimes, making up alone can drain me of all energy already! But then again, we try to lighten our spirits by having a little fun among ourselves.

The photoshoot took too much time, and it ate into our rehearsal time, which was supposed to start at 7.30pm. Yesterday night, we were originally scheduled to run through the whole of "Courtesan Yu Tang Chun", but we ended up only rehearsing the prologue and scene three of the show. These 2 scenes had been rewritten to incorporate some dance, and is one of the highlights to the latest rendition of this show. This is how one of the dance segments is supposed looked like:

And this is what happened during one of the "trial runs" of the same dance!

I'm Leaving!

“Do you have the intention to resign?” my boss asked me out of the blue during our morning meeting today. I was emotionless on the surface, but I was grinning widely inside me.

I don’t like my job, and had actually thought of resigning since May. However, due to various reasons, I had not expressed my intentions to my boss at all. My colleagues, however, knew that I wanted to leave. Not that I’m wishy-washy, but there were a lot of things for me to clear, and I did not want my boss to think that I’m trying to flee in time of trouble. Now that my boss had actually asked me first, it was a big relief for me.

Actually the decision to leave the company was not an easy one. If my company and management were as bad as my previous one, I could have just thrown in the resignation letter without much consideration. However, the company has been very kind and lenient to me, my boss and my colleagues had helped me greatly. It’s just that I’m not cut to be an engineer, and as a matter of fact, I could be sacked long ago if I am in another similar company now. Anyway after the meeting, my boss still took us out for lunch, a thing he always does if he comes to office and to work through the afternoon. We still talked like per normal (less worked up with me now, in fact), and he even asked why did I join and left my previous companies, and what plans do I have after leaving.

The only thing now, is when I will be able to leave officially. It could be by the end of this week, end of next week, or end of the month. But anyway I’ve given him the promise that I’ll settle all my outstanding things nicely, so that I can leave with a clear conscience and my colleagues coping well without me around.

Change of Hairstyle

It has been over a decade since I enjoy visit hair salons, because I dread looking at myself in the mirror with a horrible haircut. Last Saturday, however, I was excited about visiting one, reason being I was about to have a change of hairstyle.

Just a few days earlier, I went to have a haircut at the same salon, and the hairdresser asked me if I had considered doing a perm on my hair as well for a change. That came as a coincidence as I have been thinking of doing so of late too. I had wavy hair, which can be abit hard to manage when it gets a bit too long. I could have cut my hair short, but that's not what I like to do, for firstly I don't like short hairstyles, and secondly I'll look even much younger than my actual age. (Already there're people who thought I looked like an early-twenties) That left me with no other alternatives, and hence the thought of perming my hair came to my mind.

To cut the story short, the style I was introduced to is called "twist perm". I know nothing about such styles, so I asked my hairdresser for a sample picture which I can relate to, but they do not have. He then pointed out to another hairdresser in the salon and said that he was spotting that kind of perm. I thought it looked cool, so I felt much at ease with the perm. What the hairstylist did was to twist my hair into spikes, wrapped them up in aluminium foil and then pour perming gel into them to set them into shape. It was a very long and process which took over 2 hours, and the initial stage of hair-twisting was a bit uncomfortable; sometimes I was worried that the hairdresser would pull out my hair instead of setting them in place!

After a long, long wait, the perm was finally done and I was excited at how my hair would look like. The results wasn't quite like what I had expected, and I thought my hair looked more like pork floss! It looked nothing like the other hairdresser in the shop, but I thought it still looked acceptable. Perhaps when my hair starts to grow a bit longer, it would look nicer.

That evening, when I arrived at Konghuay, my hairstyle became a centre of attraction instantly. Some commented that they didn't know I was so "in", whereas some said that my hair looked too dry and frizzy. To be honest, I don't even know if my hair is damaged or not; I don't even know if this is the characteristic of this style of perm. But anyway, I can only live with it for the time being, till my hair either becomes longer, and then I'll decide whether I'll keep the hairstyle or to snip them all away. But now I have another thing to crack my head about: how am I going to style my hair so that I do not raise eyebrows in office!

Chinese Temple Performance

It’s the 14th day of the 6th lunar month, and like the previous three years, we were scheduled to perform in front of a Chinese temple in Jalan Bahar in conjunction with the birthday celebration of the temple’s main God. Unlike last year where we had to act as the eight immortals, this year we were only doing minor acts to link up the different performances that were to be presented at the temple’s altar together with our Konghuay's own dance troupe. This is their debut appearance in this temple's annual celebration.

The weather wasn’t too good as it was drizzling slightly when we arrived by chartered bus. Well it was kind of good for us from another angle, as it meant that we do not have to follow the rest in the procession around the neighbourhood. I’ve done that before, and it wasn’t a good experience, especially under the hot sun and we were all in thick costumes and makeup. Anyway, another advantage of not following the crowd is that we could make use of that period of time to have our final rehearsal on the actual performance ground. Rehearsing back in our headquarters is never the same as rehearsing in front of the altar because the dimension and direction sense of both venues are completely different!

Not long after we finished our rehearsals, the procession crowd returned. This was followed by a religious ritual of welcoming the Gods back into the temple. The various Gods of the temple (represented by their various statues), who had paraded around the neighbourhood in holy lifts during the procession, were to be carried back in the same manner into the temple. During the process of doing so, the lifts would rock a lot. According to Taoist beliefs, this is actually the works of the Gods, and not deliberate acts done by the lift bearers. I was quite used to seeing this as I was practically involved (in a way or another) in the performances for the past 3 years. This year, however, the situation is slightly different: the lifts were rocking rather violently, and from what I could see, some of the lift bearers were actually being possessed. This was the first time Amai took part in such shows and she was shocked by what she had seen. Even Juan (XJ), who had been performing in front of the altar for all previous years, was scared stiff when the lift bearers for one of the holy lifts actually fell to the ground near her. Fortunately everything went on smoothly and nobody was hurt.

After the rituals came to an end, the actual performance kicked off. I was in charged of giving cues to the sound engineers on the music playback and microphone control. It was quite a mess for me, as I have to co-ordinate eight microphones and 5 CDs, and there were only 2 CD racks. Luckily there was no hiccup during the show, except some of our members had slipped a bit during the performance as the floor was full of water and flower petals that were thrown during the praying session after the ritual to welcome back the God. One thing I wasn't happy about, was that halfway through the performance, the emcee of the temple actually made an announcement of a Getai being held at the open field a stone's throw away from the temple. And it wasn't just once, but twice, and they did the same thing last year too, to ask the vehicle owner of a certain car to shift. How rude and disrepectful to their Gods can they be!

We left the temple at around eight o’clock and headed back to our headquarters. Tonight’s performance might have been a very minor one, but it was hectic nevertheless as we had to stand for a long time in a stuffy and crowded environment. However hectic, we were still full of nonsense after we got back to our “home”, as you can see from these clips below!

Juan (XJ) still fluttering around when everyone had started removing their makeup.

Amai complaining about using real hair as compared to wigs in performances.

Amai and Juan making fun of Art (WMY) about her spiky hair; parody of Zhuang Jinmei's "Love Triangle" melody.

Juan still fluttering around with her wig half-falling off.

Being a Chinese Opera Actor

Being a Chinese opera actor is not easy. Not only do you have to remember your lines, songs and stage movements, you also have to keep your emotions in check. Take a look at this NG scene from our rehearsals, one moment we were laughing away at some blunders made by other actors, and the next moment, we were all serious and into our roles again!

The Pencil and the Brush

I love to draw, and the pencil is my best friend in the world of stationeries. However, I can't say the same for it's near relative: the paintbrush. I loathes it, because to me, it is more like a weapon of mass destruction to my artwork. In short, I can't paint to save my life! In fact, it was only in recent years that I started to get a little more comfortable with coloured-pencils and markers on my sketches.

It's such irony, that I've been longing to be a graphic designer, and is currently doing scenography works, and yet I don't know how to handle the paintbrush. Somemore, it was my childhood dream to become an artist one day! Anyway, I picked up my most dreaded paintbrush today again, as I have to make some hanging props for my opera troupe's performance next month. The picture I had to paint is actually quite simple; just an abstract dragon design in the middle of a circular flat using only three colours. Yet, I still have to spend 2 1/2 hours to get it done. And it's not even totally complete yet!

On a side note, I think I might have to work alongside with my "foe" more often in the near future, as my responsibilities as a scenographer cum stageart maker (for small performances) will be getting heavier and heavier. By hook or by crook, I'll have to brush up my skills or else I'll have a hard time delivering my works

Watch out, paintbrush! I'm out to get you!

The Budget Terminal (part 2)

The day before, I sent my father off to the Budget Terminal, and yesterday, I went back again to fetch him back. You might be wondering why he's only going for a day. Well, the fact is that all he needed to do was just to fly over, meet his person-of-contact over at Hatyai airport, pay him the money and collect his medicine, and that's it! So in fact, my father could jolly well go and return on the same day, and he'd be more than glad to do so. Too bad Tiger Airways only has one flight daily to and fro Hatyai, and the timings simply do not match.

Anyway, back to the Budget Terminal, I arrived at the departure hall at 12.05am with my mother, 10 minutes before the scheduled landing time of my father's flight. However, I realised that the flight had actually touched down at midnight. Lucky for us, none of the passengers were out yet, as I had not told my father that we'll be picking him up. While waiting, I surveyed around the arrival hall. This hall looked much smaller than the departure hall, and there isn't any eatery outlets at all, only some snacks and drinks vending machines at a corner. I wonder what can one do, when the flight of the person he's picking up has been rescheduled or delayed at the very last minute!

My father came out soon after along with other passengers of the same flight. He was full of complaints the moment he saw us. Not because of the plane, but the design of the arrival hall. In Terminal 1 and 2, there're conveyor belts and escalators for people to use, but in this Budget Terminal, there's none of these, and everyone had to walk all the way from the moment they get out of the plane. And it wasn't a short distance too! Many other passengers, mainly the elderly, were complaining about this problem, and some had to stop for a few times along the way to rest their feet.

So it seems, while the Budget Terminal is trying to provide only the basic facilities so as to reduce cost of operations which in turn will be beared by the passenger, they should still take into considerations of people with disabilities. What I could not understand is, while they have got facilities outside the terminal for the disabled, there seemed to be little of such within the terminal. Something for the authorities to think about!

Prologue of "Lord Of The Ring" On Local Television

For the past 2 evenings, Channel 5 had airred "Lord Of The Ring". For those who still can't get enough of the show, here's a video clip (not done by me this time!) from one of the episodes. But be warned; It's a parody!

And another parody!

The Budget Terminal

Yesterday evening, I sent my father off to the airport as he was heading off to Hat Yai to buy medication. This wasn’t my first time driving my parents to and from the airport, but this time round, my father’s taking the flight from the Budget Terminal.

My initial idea of the terminal was that it should be located somewhere near Terminal 2, and perhaps interlinked with the skytrain. I was wrong! I had to make a u-turn somewhere before reaching Terminal 1, and made some more confusing turns and lane-changing before I reached the Budget Terminal. From the exterior, it looked more like Tanah Ferry Terminal than the other 2 terminals. It looked well-designed anyway, but my praises for the terminal was cut-short soon after, when I was trying to park my car. The parking slot seemed much smaller than normal carparks, and the space between the vehicles on my left and right side were very narrow. This was despite the fact that both vehicles were parking right in the centre of their slots. I then decided to shift to another lot with an empty adjacent one.

The interior of the terminal’s departing hall looked spacious and a bit empty too. Well what more can one expect, when there’s only 1 carrier flying there at this moment. There weren’t anything much to do at that terminal too, if you’re not a travelling passenger, as there is only a Hans eatery outlet within the terminal (and outside, excluding the area beyond the check-in zone). My parents and I had not had our dinner, so we have no choice but to patronise Hans. Luckily for my parents, they do have Chinese (local) food there. However, their menu was designed like a traditional flight display system, without any accompanying pictures for reference. My mother was upset as she wasn’t sure what they had to offer. Finally, under my recommendation, she decided to order a plate of Hor-fun, while my father settled for just a piece of tuna roll. I ordered a grilled fish set, and though it was more expensive than my mother’s Hor-fun, I find it quite cheap, since it comes with soup, drinks and dessert. My mother was initially grumbling about the price of her Hor-fun, but later dismissed it as she find the Hor-fun quite delicious.

After our meal, my father proceeded to his check-in while my mother and I headed home. The sky was turning dark now as the sun had completely set. The lit terminal looked more charming now than when I first arrived, but I was not in the mood to admire it; I just want to return home fast and remove my working attire!

Tragedy of the Benny Hill Palace

There's a theory that says if you speed something up and play the Benny Hill theme song, it will become funny. I'm not too sure how true it is, hence I've decided to try it on a clip from "Tragedy Of The Song Palace"!

The Real Essence of "Duan Wu" Festival

It's the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, a day which we Chinese call it the "Duan Wu" Festival, or so-called "Dumpling Festival" in English. It was said that this day was set aside to remember an patriot from the Warring States period of Chinese history by the name of Qu Yuan, who had committed suicide by jumping into a river to show his loyalty for his country. Common folks who heard the news quickly went out in boats and threw rice balls into the river, hoping that the fish in the river will not eay up Qu Yuan's body.

This may have been the history of the dumpling we eat today, but this story is however, not the main essence behind this festival. In ancient China, eating dumpling and holding dragonboat races are just part of the observations for this festival. The 5th lunar month, back then, was considered a "month of sickness", as this is the time of the year whereby spring and summer intersects. The change in humidity and temperature gave rise to the breeding of insects, and many people tend to fall ill during this period. Hence, this is the time whereby every household will do thorough cleaning of their house, and to hang a kind of herbal plant called "Ai grass" at their doorsteps to ward off "evil spirit". Ancient people, who lacked scientific knowledge, assumed that all these sickness and epidermics during this period were acts of the evil spirits, but little did they know that it was actually the smell of these plants that actually help to repel insects. Another thing people would do during this festival is to drink "Xionghuang" wine, a wine that is said to be have the same effect as the Ai grass. Who those who know the story of Madam White Snake should remember a scene where Bai Suzhen, the snake demoness, drank a cup of the wine and revealed her true self in front of her husband. These practices had been in existence since the Zhou dynasty, many centuries before the Warring States period.

With the advancement of technology and science, the practices of hanging Ai grass and drinking "xionghuang" wine were no longer observed. However, eating dumplings and dragonboat racing were still in practice today, but it is no longer a day to commemorate Qu Yuan; it is just an ancient tradition passed down for generations.

American Idol

The latest season of American Idol finally came to an end and Taylor Hicks emerged champion. As much as I am happy for his victory, I am still quite disappointed as my favourite is actually Katherine McPhee.

Anyway, now that the American Idol and Singapore Idol 2 is coming up next, I thought I'd want to show you the following clip: a parody of American Idol by MadTV!

Clip of "Jao Mae Gwan Im", a Thai Lakhorn Snipplet (part II)

This is another clip from Thai lakhorn "Jao Mae Gwan Im". The costumes looked familiar right? I believe these were actually borrowed from their local Teochew opera troupes, but since no one taught them how to wear, and who to wear what, the costumes were mismatched on stage. Listen to the tune at the beginning of the clip. Does that sound familiar?

Clip of "Jao Mae Gwan Im", a Thai Lakhorn Snipplet

My blogger friends had been uploading snipplets of Chinese opera shows of late. I thought I might as well do something a little different!



Don't ask me if I really understand what the actors are speaking. In fact, I can only understand 3 sentences in this entire clip (guessings not counted), but nevertheless I still enjoyed watching this show.

Disclaimer: do not expect these actor to act and dress like a real Chinese opera actor, because this is NOT Chinese opera!