10 years

10 years ago, I tendered my resignation letter to GSK and went to work in BBraun, that would forever change my life for good.

10 years ago, I experienced my major boo-boon on stage when I signalled to sing the chorus of "You Are My King" slowly, and the drummer thought I asked him to go straight into the marching beat of "Go Tell It On the Mountain". It didn't help when I ended the service singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in the wrong key.

10 years ago, I was annoyed when my dad called me from his barber and asked me where I was. Later I fetched him there, I discovered that he had suffered a stroke.

10 years ago, I had to make the most difficult phone call  to my sister in Beijing, telling her to come back immediately as dad  was not going to make it.

10 years ago.

In Memory of Looi Hock Seng

21 Mar 1933 - 27 Dec 2002

2012: Year in review

Last year at around this time, I was halfway through the "Malaysian Girls" run in klpac and also cleaning up my table in FF Menara Manulife. This year, I am sort of in a similar situation, as I prepare for SIBKL's Christmas musical "EVERWORLD":)

However, looking back this year, I feel that this year I have done more than I did last year.

Last year, it was basically more about getting on stage. This year, while I still get to do that, I managed to find time to explore the other aspects of performing arts in song & script writing, and collaborating with the missus. I am extremely proud of "The Geongxi is a Vamp" cast & crew for the work they have put into making the musical a huge success.

Also, I get to do the very thing I wanted to do when I started doing shows in KL - taking what I have learned and use it in church ministry. Thanks to Tabitha, we went for the audition in Apr(or was it May?) and we were picked for the musical. Although I had to forgo the chance to audition for Christopher Ling's "Kiss of the Spider Woman", I still believe in my higher calling for this.

While it has been a long and occasionally frustrating journey, as I looked back, I am thankful for the friends I have made over the last few months in this production. And when we start our run on 19 Dec at Sunway Mas Community Centre, I am certain that everyone will put in their very best for God.

Something to be thankful for was I got to take part in Christopher Ling's "Dead Man's Cell Phone". It was a wonderful experience working with Alexis, Anrie & Sandee again while making new acquaintances in Payal & Amir. My only regret is that I only had 2 weeks to prepare for the show. Given 1 more week or so, I could be better at playing Gordon. Also I really hope to work with Christopher in a full production(as in with full preparation) one day.

I am glad to be performing in Dama Orchestra's "Empress Wu", another awesome experience. Kai Loon & Seng Chew have great vision for the musical and they have managed to pulled in all expertise they have and made the musical successful. Kai Loon's attention to details was something I salute and next year when they restage "Butterfly Lovers", I hope I get to be part of again.

So what do I hope to see in 2013?


1. When I tendered my resignation with Fitness First, I told my fellow GX managers that I would work toward finding a career that would allow me to do both GX & performing arts. So I hope that I will be able to do something like that in 2013.

2. After doing 2 musicals, I think it is time to go back to theatre and do a play. So, no musical for me in the first 6 months of 2013 - hopefully something will pop up for me:)

3. I am still thinking of whether to try writing a play for S+S 2013 instead of a musical. The musical I had wanted to write this year is beginning to feel more suitable as a play than a musical. However, with so much competition in S+S Theatre, I don't think my play would be selected. So it may be a safer bet to submit a musical still:)

4. I am contemplating if I should do stage managing in 2013. Though I prefer to be a performer than a SM, perhaps it is good to do it so that I don't lose what I have learned in 2011.

5. Yes, a musical with Christopher Ling please.(Chris, I hope you are reading this!)

Looking forward to a better year in 2013!

Back from the beach!

And so the missus & I took a break from work/performance/cats/KL and went to Patong beach in Phuket.

I shall not blog much about it, since most of the time was spent eating the oh-so-expensive food there. Instead I shall just share some photos I took. For more pics you can head on to the missus' blog, by the way.


First, I really don't understand how one can give such a discount:

We went for Thai massage twice at this nice little place which was conveniently situated directly across the road from our hotel. The place is called Sweet Lemongrass Massage.

This is where we stayed for  4 days- Seeka Boutique Resort. Quite convenient since they provide free transportation to the beach or the main shopping mall Jungceylon Shopping Mall.

The reception desk.

Another shot of Sweet Lemongrass Massage, at night. I do recommend this if you stay nearby. It's got great ambiance.

The beach in the evening...

Traffic is quite heavy most of the time.

This is the famous Bangla Road, where all the pubs are located. The road is closed to vehicles daily from 6pm.

Jungceylon Shopping Mall. I wonder why bother shopping there...

If anyone wants to buy some genuine imitation clothes in Patong, this is the place to go.

Interestingly, there is a bar on wheels.

We had our last dinner in Patong at Hard Rock Cafe. IMHO, the place is just overpriced.

In case you couldn't see it in the earlier picture, the place to go shopping in Patong is the OTOP Shopping Paradise.

Note: If you go to this restaurant, they will "paksa" to eat.

The pool at our hotel.

Yes, you can rent motorcycles & even big vehicles!

The beautiful beach: no sign of the damages made by the tsunami in 2004.

What language is this? Saw a lot of signs in this language over there.

We took the bus from Patong to Phuket Town bus terminal for 35 baht each. Then we hopped on the Airport bus for 90 baht each to the airport. The expensive alternative would be taking a taxi from Patong to the airport for 700 baht.

Anyhow, it allowed us to spend a few hours walking around Phuket town. To be honest, Phuket town is SO QUIET. Good thing, though, that the food is so much cheaper.

The Phad Thai is only 40 baht. Good luck finding food that cheap in Patong. Even the sweet coconuts there cost 50-60 baht.

We also chanced upon this fashion expo near the bus terminal. With more options & better pricing, I reckon tourists should just forget about shopping in Patong & come to Phuket town instead.

We spent about 2 hours in town before we took the bus to the airport.

Next holiday destination: SYDNEY 2013!!!!

We won big... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Short + Sweet Musical just ended last night and sadly I did not get to see any of the performances live. But I was delighted to hear the fantastic news from Pentas 2 that our musical was the biggest winner in the festival, sweeping 7 awards, including best overall production & best director!

Kudos to the cast & crew for their efforts. In all honesty, their creative input helped to make our script better and I am still smiling from the big win!

Below are the pictures taken by Dustyhawk during one of the performances. scroll to the bottom for the video:)

The cast, directors & the musicians!!!!

Thank you S+S Malaysia 2012... next: S+S Malaysia 2013!!!