ICOM Tribute to Classic Rock

ICOM Tribute to Classic Rock
Pentas 2, KLPac
27 April 2013, Saturday

The first ICOM Tribute concert I attended was the tribute to Disney a few years back. It was a light-hearted and fun affair, so when I saw the event listing for this year's installment on Time Out KL*, I knew it was a must-go. I bought tickets for myself, my sister and my dad and we went with Joyce & Nicki. We did not know anyone in the batch (the concert is organized by and performed by ICOM students) but hey, it's a tribute to classic rock lah! Sure good one.

It kicked off with a bang and a vroom - at the beginning of the second song, the deep rumble and roar of a motorbike rang throughout the hall. Before you knew it, a Harley Davidson came creeping out of the backstage in all its glory!

The tribute was divided into three parts - American Rock, Femme Fatales and Brit Rock. Of course lah, keep the best for last. Hohoho. There were different band members for each section, and in the three there were also two exchange students from the Berklee College of Music.

My favorite performances of the night were Walk This Way, Sweet Home Alabama, Barracuda (they always sing this song at American Idol), Stairway to Heaven and My Generation (which I felt should have closed the show - it has a more impactful feel than their encore/surprise performance of Proud Mary, which was also good nonetheless!). Notable lead singers were this dude called Daryl (specky guy) and Amira (the chick with the really long hair).

It was a very shiok concert. No regrets!

*I think the organizers should have pumped in some money towards FB advertising so more people can see it. I would not have heard about the event if I did not visit the TOKL website for Layan Fest, actually.

date a girl who reads

Disclaimer: I normally don't repost mushy stuff, or anything fluff, but this is pretty substantial and I can relate! To all my reader friends:

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."


-Rosemary Urquico

asking questions

Most nights, I will be thinking of this topic and that topic that I can blog about. Most nights, these thoughts wither by midnight -.-" Oh well. At least I'm not the only one with selective, filtered blogging habits.

"A writer who doesn't read is no writer at all." My own quote. Alas, my own obnoxious quote. Good bye.

When people ask me "How's work?", I tend to rewind and delete everything in my mind that happened at work. I don't know why, but I guess it's because I don't want to share about my work with everybody. If I like to talk about my work to you, you're probably one of the five or six people I regularly talk with about my work. If I answer your aforementioned question with "Fine," or "Work's great!" it just means I have more pressing matters to talk to you with.

I sincerely enjoy finding out what subjects people are taking up this semester. It tells so much about what they are studying. Sure, chiropractic and business are pretty straightforward - but analyzing the subjects they're taking is much more fun than asking "When's your finals, ah?"

In the same manner, I also enjoy asking (probing? LOL) others about their work. I like to know their hours, ongoing projects, chances for career advancement and car installment payment. Also whether or not they're looking to get a property anytime soon. While I'm talking on that, please get a property soon. Prices are not going to decrease, you know that full well, and if you're spending half your salary on shopping each month, you might want to consider putting that amount to get you and your family a home.

You know how they say turning 21 is a big deal, because you've gained your independence by then, and are considered an adult? Well. I tried to make a big deal out of turning 21, but it's just not as big a deal as today, when I received my tax income thingamajig form.

songs for a superbike

Get your leather jacket and strap on your boots - these are songs to tear down the highway in a superbike. Maybe at 80km/hour, not 120 :P Drive slowly bros. 

source

Metronomy - She Wants

Divine Fits - Flagging a Ride (I saw them at Laneway but I don't remember anything ._.)

Jet - She's a Genius

Parkroyal on Pickering: Lime (breakfast buffet)

The hotel's restaurant is called Lime. It's located at the far end of the hotel on the ground floor, with 20 feet of ground to ceiling glass walls, so you can see the pedestrians and traffic outside.

Note: I only took pictures of the bread and pastry area because no one was around. Too shy to take the Asian breakfast and Western breakfast spreads - also, it was too bustling with people!

Asian spread: roti prata, Chinese porridge.
Western: bacon, mushroom, egg station, air-dried ham, salmon, cold cuts, salads, pancakes, waffles.
Cereals: many types, plus dried fruits and other condiments
Beverages: five types of fruit juices, coffee & tea
Breads and pastries

On all days, I piled my plate with bacon, waffles + maple syrup, sauteed mushrooms and ham and washed it all down with coffee. Li Sing's plate had salad every day and I felt guilty that I wasn't eating much greens .__. but no regrets bro, no regrets.

Lime also has buffet lunch and dinner, and its dessert spread (close to the lift entrance) always looks sublime!

PARKROYAL on Pickering website

Parkroyal on Pickering: The Room

Parkroyal on Pickering part one: The Hotel

Our welcome drink was a tangy, zesty lime and lemon drink (bottom). 

In our rooms, we found a line of gourmet chocolates sitting on a black tile. The welcome note attached was addressed to someone else but we ate it all anyway :P

The double bedded room (I'm thinking it's a deluxe) has a huge picture window that overlooks the Great Eastern building. There are day blinds and night blinds controlled by switches (a common feature in most modern hotels, like Oasia and Quincy). 

If I sound like a tourist, it's probably because I am. HEHE

Deliciously comfy beds and pillows as soft as dreams.

Have a peep in the cupboard and be pleasantly surprised by their safe, which is lighted from within and comes with a power source (so you can charge your laptop while it's in the safe!). Again, something new in most up and coming hotels. Love it! We kept two laptops securely here, but we're sure it can also fit three more iPads. 

The toilet is open concept, until you pull back the two sliding doors that closes it off from the room. 

Toiletries are from St. Gregory's, very naise. 

Glass weighing scale.

Toilet with no bidet.

Closed-off shower area.

Body towel, hair towel, face towel and hand towel. 

Coffee and tea making facilities. 

Coffee jug is plunger styled. 

Tea is from some French brand. 

A very sleek glass-fronted mini fridge full of mini-sized liquor and candy bars. (Remove anything for more than 8 seconds and it's charged to your bill)

Next post: the hotel's dining area.

Parkroyal on Pickering: The Hotel

Hello everyone and welcome to my crib LOL

Here are pictures of where we stayed while in Singapore.

Parkroyal on Pickering, newly opened in January 2013, is located right between Clarke Quay and Chinatown, making it highly accessible to the busiest parts of Singapore. It's prime location makes it a favourite among business travelers.

Overlooking the grassy field of Hong Lim Park (Singapore's only open public speaking venue for its citizens), the hotel is most known for its unique paddy terrace architecture. Inspired by the tiered paddy terraces of Bali, the grey-and-black ombre staggered ceilings and green-filled structure of the building commands the attention of everyone walking in the area. For srs.

The following pictures will show you just how much this hotel lives up to the "hotel in a garden" concept. Interesting fact: for every square meter of the hotel, there are two more square meters of greenery! (The hotel, like Singapore, is very big on the green movement. Recycling rainwater, setting the thermostat at 20 degrees, etc)

Click on the images for a slideshow

The hotel has a glass-walled fitness centre overlooking an outdoor infinity pool, which overlooks the said Hong Lim Park. Located halfway of the building (on the 5th floor), it's a gorgeous, airy spot for some rest and recreation. Cool beans, man. Interspersed along the length of the pool are birdcage cabanas, big enough to fit 10 grown people. (Loads of people asked me what I was sitting on :P)

What I wore that day: the Singapore sandals + Mango maxi dress

Alrighty, that's all for this post! If you're into hotels as much as I am, look out for the post on the room and breakfast buffet. Mmmm bacon.

Parkroyal on Pickering
3 Upper Pickering St, Singapore 058289

2013 Resolution

If I don't set a goal to work towards, I will be aiming at the air and accomplish nothing noteworthy. If I set a goal, no matter how small or insignificant, I will at least have made the effort to reach it.

I hope to...

Learn to cook one new dish a month! It can be as simple as a slow cooker/crock pot meal or a new pasta, or a no-bake dessert.

Why?

Because I don't cook very often. If I do, it's instant noodles and a fried egg or pasta and Campbell soup for dinner. Basically, rarely anything that involves cleaning up. If I learn to cook something this month, at least I know I can cook and do something useful other than sleep in and sit around on Saturdays! Bahaha.

What:

So far, I've found a few interesting recipes and meals that do not call for an oven or too foreign ingredients like saffron or truffles (anything that has two F's is very expensive) or vanilla pods. Here they are:

-Minestrone soup
-Shrimp fra diavolo (a spicy shrimp pasta dish)
-Tiramisu
-Crock pot French onion soup
-Peanut butter ice cream pops

Let's hope I get to cook something come this weekend! (Y)


Find me on instagram: aishatan

#TypicalTourist in Singapore

Places to take tourist-y pictures in Singapore and what you can do there:

1. At the SkyPark on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands
One of a kind view of the city. Spend as much time as you want here!

2. On the Singapore Flyer

A half hour ride in a giant capsule where you can take in most of the southern part of the island. Look out for the F1 pit stop building just below the wheel!

3. At Universal Studios Singapore

Live out your childhood fantasies in the place where dreams come to life!

4. On Mount Faber

Spend Friday nights at the mountaintop eateries, taking in the city lights and cool breeze. You can also take the cable car ride direct to Sentosa island here!

5. In front of the Louis Vuitton Maison, MBS Shoppes

Chill out on the wide steps in front of the Shoppes. Your view will be towering skyscrapers, a lovely evening sky and healthy Singaporeans jogging along the walkways. 

6. At W Hotel Sentosa Cove
It's a friggin' hotel. Do what you like, this place is fabulous! I mean, look at them glitter bomb pillows!