BUSY BUSY.....

Yes, tomorow is December and i shall be so....o....o. busy up til x'mas which is a good thing. But can hear Angelina complaining 'no updates'.

Thanks to those who remembered my birthday (actually some of you i tell you one la). For those who know, i think i have one of my best birthday this year although it was celebrated low key.

Anyway, mum, niece, sis left for hong kong this morning. Another sis and family will be paying their annual pilgrimage to tokyo disneyland mid of this month.....boo hoo.....i wanna go oso, but cannot.

Anyway, created another look for one of my recent show, quite nice la, but realised i'm looking more mature these days....sigh....is it the birthday (mid life)? Hope still can perform and appeal to uncles and aunties. But Joanne, don't you think you did a good job? (Ahem!) The other Joanne (Tan), if you reading this, welcome to my blog! We shall meet for CNY! Hee

SUCKS-PO

Anyone went to Sexpo? Did you feel your $15 was a rip off?

Wah liao, what a disappointment. I was so looking forward, thinking i can pick some exotic dance move tips, purchase some spit fire outfits for the shows. But the dancers turned out so.o.o. and i mean so.o.o amateur (I think those staff performance i choreograph are of higher standard). And the lingerie hanging on the racks for sale meant for steaming up your bedroom adventures are stocks from 10 years ago. I'm serious!

I thought exhibitions like these would not allow cameras so I didn't bring, but when i saw everyone armed with cameras or phone cameras frantically snapping away, i was like, shit, how come i didn't bring mine so that i can blog? But after browsing for half an hour, i know there was no loss, nothing much for me to snap, and maybe half the Singapore population already went. I think the hollywood boulevard strip in L.a. popular for their strip outfits and toys, if you have been there, is 10 times, make it 20, more exiting.

By far the most interesting things were the exhibits from Qing or whatever Dynasty, and makes you realise people in 3000 B.C. already very kinky, making out at gardens and so on, and usually with a peeping tom peering from a bush . Haha, so funny, and complete with their tok-tok-chiang wayang head gears and usually half cumbersomely undressed, if you know how many layers of fabric they used to wear. hahaha!

The booth that probably attracted most people were the House of Condom and the Vicon girls attemping exotic dance and blowing up condoms like a balloon (er, no, not at the same time, it's 2 separate acts) but what really attracted the audience were their micro mini skirts that revealed their bikini briefs that most ah peks thought was underwear peering out at them. At one point I hear from the main stage blasting Black Eye Pea's "don't funk with my heart" and i dashed to the scene thinking i can catch exotic dance performance. Dance performance it was, but by 2 barely adolescent "xiao mei mei" trying hard to memorise their steps. They had no make up on, no fancy costumes, i was wondering if it was only a rehearsal.

Then out of nowhere there was a dunking machine with a trying-so-hard-to-be coy lass cringing each time a tennis ball hits the canvas when it misses the target. And mind you it's not a free game, you gotto pay some $5 for 3 tries (maybe it's for charity, I don't know, i didn't go near enought to scrutinise). If you think like me "for what"??? (unless it's for charity) you are sane. Neverthless, this 'coy girl' (although i thought it fake) trying to flirt with the audience managed to attract enough insane people to pay to try to get her down.

I'm sorry, I'm usually not that bitchy. I don't mean to be hard on the dancers or the games but what I'm really disappointed is at how the whole thing doesn't worth the $15 admission. Honestly, if it's free admission i wouldn't have been so critical but 2 persons went and already thrity freaking bucks, and most of those toys and lingerie you can find at Orchard Towers, nothing new and unique about them. The most sold item in most of the booths was this vibrating ring to be worn by the men that gives women a sensation and hello, ......this item already hit the shelves of 7-11 more than half a year ago!

And for the dancers....please hire professional ones, not give dance schools a chance to showcase their beginner class students for this highly hyped debut event, i might as well watch those in my pole dance school!

If you ask me if I would go for subsequent Sexpo, maybe 5 years from now, that is if they survive the next 5 years here.

MERRY X'MAS

How Angie, spit fire or not? Kekekeke

10 days never blog already.

Too busy following the controversial news of clapbangkiss, poor girl. Just pity some people who are too young to know the price of stardom. I once had a 19-year old student who was so transfixed on becoming a star (then there were no idol, project superstar contests) her mum hired several home-based grooming teachers and a full time marketing manager to sell her portfolio to recording companies. A day of her life included singing lessons (i was just one of the few singing teachers hired), photography, all kinds of grooming, doing demos etc, and guess what, she wasn't even ready to sing a full song in tune yet! And all these before her manager found any label to sign her up. Eventually I heard there was none and she (and her mother) got big time disappointment. I sacked myself as her singing teacher because she was getting so confused with the varied teachings (she is chinese and she did a demo in malay only because one of the teacher is malay???) and she sang Mandarin songs with a malay accent and English songs with a chinese twang!!! Give up, told mum i was too busy.

Anyway, i know, i know, i owe some the pervert story on plane but today not in the mood to think and recap. So just a few pictures of an awesome event I did last evening for a hip company. Bunch of young, trendy and si-beh on staff and you can tell from the way they dress for the event. One of the staff performance you see below choreographed by me.

These my dancers. Picture taken in ugly storeroom.

LOVE MY PEACOCK DRESS

Have been wanting to post this up because I love what I wore for the opening of the Shanghai Gala event. Bought this some years back from my regular seamstress. She must have sewn this and rented to a bride, but now she no longer in the bridal business (these days she sews the elaborate ballroom dance costumes and my costumes) so she asked me if I wanted to buy it. It was pretty, but I thought I will never have an occasion to wear this because those who know me know that this look is not very me.

Now, THIS IS me,


either this or the Cheena Suzie Wong look



Since my seamstress gave an irresistable price, I took it home and has been sitting in the wardrobe for a while. It's so colourful I call it the peacock dress.

So when I was told it was a Gala event and in China, hmm, I thought this would work because I always watch on TV those new year countdown events held in some big stadium in China and the Soprano female singers always don on one of these gowns, complete with immaculate make -up and hair piled up, with sideburns rolled into tendrils.

Worked it did, many came to tell me they liked my get-up, in fact a chinese model at the event told me I looked like a disney character. I choose to think she means the princess (or at least minnie the mouse) and not winnie the pooh.

A picture I took with Eric Moo, yes he was the guest star for the event (same picture, but one with and one without flash)

Eric raising the temperature with his powerful yet soulful vocals.

Hmm.... yes, he is very good....our pride and joy indeed.

Ok, nowadays I don't have very much time to blog, so til now, just about the event la. Will post pictures of Shanghai shopping and clubbing next, and yes, Ms Sin lady, also the bl**dy square pervert (yes, can you beat that, he is square) who sat next to me, that one must take tme to refresh my memory because it was like a 5-hour of him trying to pick me up. Haha, funny!

SHOULD HAVE READ ALL ABOUT CHINA EASTERN FLIGHTS

I stumbled upon this website http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/c_eastrn.htm I'm not the only one with the unpleasant experience.

No time to blog more, tired, did 4 events in a week including that 2 shanghai-sin in less than 24 hours. Somemore journey come back nap was interrupted by sex pervert. Oh ya, that will be my next entry topic, the pervert. I Lol-ing already thinking of it.

MY SHANGHAI AIRPORT SAGA TELLS ME "GOOD LUCK TO OLYMPICS IN CHINA 2008"

Yeah, good luck to China on trying to shape up, not unless they can do something about their taxi drivers spitting out of the window every 3 minutes, stop the migrain-triggering incessant car honking, and improve service staff attitude by 70%. That's a lot to do in less than 3 years, more like they need 3 decades!

I must say while I had a great time working with Kitson and team in Shanghai (we whipped up an incredible event), but I can't say I have the same experience with the people in Shanghai. Everywhere you hear shouting matches....yes, whether the people are quarelling or not, they speak at the top of their voices, and then you realise, hey, that's their mode of conversation! I was once told if you want things done, you CANNOT speak to them gently. I wasn't used to this but, I had to try.....but how wrong, still didn't get what I want. Tell you how i found out......

So, on Saturday, after an euphoric event on Friday, I was due to fly back to Singapore at 10.35am on MU567 (China Eastern), because I have a performance on Saturday night. Scheduled to arrive back here at 3.35pm, I figured I have ample time to prepare even if the notoriously late carrier suay-suay really kenna some delay. I woke up at 7am, cherrily arrived at the airport at 8.40am and went to check which row I have to queue to check in......my eyes surveyed the entire board once, no such flight, panick, can't be, maybe eyes still sleepy. Rub eyes, check again, still don't have. Freaked out, I dragged my luggage packed for like a 2-week travel to China Eastern ticketing counter to enquire. After staring at the computer for a minute, the girl told me there's no such flight. What? Just 3 days ago I called China Eastern office in Singapore after the 4th attempt (they gave me 3 other tel numbers that turned out to be wrong) that I don't have to re-confirm my seats anymore?? Further check, she said it had been cancelled, but due to what reason, when cancelled whatsoever--don't know! Ok ok, calm down, so what is the next flight I can be on. Oh, so now I have to go to another counter called "Duty Supevisor" to ask. Dragged luggage again (yes I know airport provide trolleys, but I have no time...very stress liao because got assignment back in Singapore). Duty supervisor unemphatically says next flight at 3.50pm and I arrive 8.50pm. Quick mental calculation, after collect luggage 9.30pm, my show at 10pm....CANNOT! I went around looking for another possibility. Found one and only SQ flight at 2.35pm, arrive 7.35pm. Ok, still looks plausible, that is if I apply cosmetic on board the plane. Went to SQ counter ask if I can be tranferred over. No seats. They told me to wait, if there's cancellation, I can get it IF China Eastern willing to endorse the switch over, which is entire at their discretion. I prayed silently, YES, phone rang and Kitson told me someone just cancelled reservation and have 1 seat on SQ. I went to Duty Supervisor again, told them my ordeal again, and tell them to help switch me to SQ, a discretion they were just not willing to exercise. I started by being gentle.....don't work, I remembered someone say must speak English, not Mandarin, still don't work. And finally I have to YELL, until I heard my own echo travelling down the departure hall, still no one moved an arse! All the moron did was wrote me a chit that says the original MU 567 has been cancelled and said that I can pursue the matter with my local agent for issuing me the ticket! To cut the long story short, Kitson was nice enough to buy me and get the agent to send me the SQ ticket and we agreed to take the matter to Singapore since there's is NO POINT in seeking help in Shanghai...these people have never heard of service recovery, problem solving or anger management, btw, while I was shuttling between counters to seek help, I witnessed at least 2 other passenger-and-airport staff squabbles.

Then the final part. After checking in to SQ, I wanted to make sure I cancelled my seat with China Eastern (I held on to the 3.35pm seat just in case I didn't get the SQ) so that I can get the refund back in Singapore. So as usual, I went to Duty Manager who tai-chi the task to the ticketing counter, and as you would have guessed it, ticketing counter asked me to go duty manager. Who wouldn't blow a top by now? And yes, this is the only time it worked. Without bargaining further, she tapped on the computer and told me "Cancelled!". I'm not satisfied, I demanded to know when and why MU 567 was cancelled and why I was not informed. She made a probably bogus call which was not answered and just gave me the tel. no to call myself since she got no reply. I'm exhausted, I have to board so I let her off. While running towards the gate, I made the call and as I already half expected it, the China Eastern call centre rep also can't give light to my plight. He offered several clueless possibilties you wished you had not wasted the roaming call charge.

While the biggest consolation was not only I got back on time to do another great show, the flight back on SQ was so much more plesant (if not for the next passenger trying to hit on me-this is another experience I have to post in my next entry), compared to hot-like-hell Sin-Shanghai China Eastern flight which had the loo smelling like porta pumper.

Bet you are exhausted reading too. Anyway, before I forget, all these happened after I already had a tiff with a hotel receptionist ealier when checked out who insisted I still had to make the balance payment of several hundred yuan when it had already been settled by Kitson during check in. I had to dig out the already stashed away receipt as proof before he irately walked away and declared "mei shi le, mei shi le" (no issue, no issue) like as though he is granting me pardon for something I had done wrong!!

Actually I've many lovely pictures to post, but guess I will do so next post because the re-enacting of the Shanghai airport saga causing me to hyper-ventilate. In the meantime, just one of my favourite one, to remind me that there was at least something cool about Shanghai-the weather! More pictures next post.