Poco Loco

I am a crazy person. This has been confirmed by my behaviour the last week, and especially what went down today. More on that later, though, when my mind has some time to catch up with what exactly is going on.

Anywho, you might have noticed that I missed Music Monday. Oops, my bad. But, there is a reason, a perfectly valid reason! Y'see, I spent the weekend in Vancouver pretending I was in Singapore. I ate all my favourites, namely Hainanese chicken rice, Singapore laksa, sambal ayam, prata, milk tea, and kopi. And shaved ice cream. Oh, and sour mango cake. I think that's it? I also went out for Peking duck and sushi (on different nights, people!).

But those aren't the reasons I missed Music Monday, nosirree. I missed my Monday post 'cause I was on a boat. Sunday night I attended the Asteroids Galaxy Tour tour's final show in Vancouver before heading home to Denmark. Danish people are from Denmark, right? I know I'm a Geo minor, but I sometimes forget these things. Anyway, mad rad concert, had a great time, and was too busy singing along to the Safety Dance to blog about it. And yes, I know it's a cover. Men Without Hats did it better, frankly, and I even have a shirt with part of the song written on it. Seriously. I'm that cool.

Now if you'd excuse me, I have a very important meeting with Mr Boss Man tomorrow afternoon. G'night!

photo by moffoys

Twenty-eleven, in Review

Another year has passed by, so it's time for another annual review! Here's a look back at what I've done over the last twelve months, or rather where I've travelled to, 'cause I've spent a lot of time up in the air since January 1st, 2011!

January was rather uneventful, but I managed to finish up my most recent tattoo. Soon after I blogged about a sort of realization I came to, about my self esteem and self perception. Not really heavy stuff, but personal stuff. Suffice to say I'm at a much better place now than I was a year or two back.

February marked the beginning of my worldly travels for the year, with a quick jaunt down to Mexico for reading week with a few friends. We may have only been down there a scant three days, but we stretched those hours to the maximum extent and had an absolute blast. Some people thought we were foolish for spending so much on so short a trip, but I can't say I have any regrets about going - even the unscheduled stay in Texas! I can still remember those buffalo hot wings. Mmmm.

A few weeks into March I participated in the Cut for the Cure, a UBCO fundraising initiative (started by some friends of mine a few years back) for the purpose of cancer research. This time around I actually shaved my head, which wasn't as terrible as I imagined it would be. In fact, I think I managed to pull off the look and since my fear of having an odd-shaped skull didn't materialize. Huzzah! I may or may not shave the ol' noggin again this year.

Nothing happened in April, apparently. No blog posts, no trips: only one exam and a few papers.

After moving back to Victoria in May, I barely had enough time to unpack before jumping a plane to Turkey. I was there for two weeks with my family, and had an absolutely amazing time. I still miss Turkish food (especially Turkish breakfast, those Mediterraneans know what's what) and long to go back one day.

June was my only full month at home for the summer, and for the most part it was fairly laid back. I met up with lots of friends for coffee, put in some time at the Gap, and celebrated a very low-key 22nd birthday.

However, I also went to Vancouver for a big concert, Janelle Monáe and Bruno Mars. Mars was good, but I was there for Janelle. Boy, did she deliver! Easily one of the highlights of my concert-going experiences.
 
July took me and two bags across the Pacific Ocean to Singapore, my new home for the next five-ish months. I had been to the city state ten years earlier, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Nevertheless, I fell in love with the city almost immediately, and count the journey as one of the most important parts of my university education. 

I met a tonne of rad people out in the tropics, some of whom I hope to see again soon. Despite being so far away from home, I still managed to fall in with a Vancouver crowd (figures), so I know I'll be seeing them again in the near future.

In August I did the first bit of my Southeast Asia travelling, a short ferry from Singapore to Indonesia. It's one of those trips that, while it was difficult to enjoy it at the time, will always be remembered with much laughing and inside jokes. Like, "We are just so cool."

The month also marked the beginning of my classes at NUS, my first Singaporean club experience, National Day celebrations, and a music festival. Not bad, eh?

September took me to the island of Borneo, to Sarawk province and Brunei Darussalam. Although I went alone, I joined up with some other backpackers to see the various sights in Miri, Mulu, and Bandar Seri Begawan. The jungles and mountains were a welcome change from urban Singapore (even though the meaning of "urban" in Singapore is a whole lot more green than in North America). 

When I came back from Borneo I attended the F1 Grand Prix and saw Linkin Park in concert. Another full month.

Compared to other months, October was a little more quiet. I took a relaxing vacation to the tropical island of Tioman in Malaysia, where I took full advantage of the sun to get my tan on. Long story short I fell asleep near the equator and got a sunburn. Surprise, surprise.

I also checked off one of the big Singapore Bucket List items: swimming in the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool. It was rad. Mad rad, even. 

By the time November rolled around I still wasn't tired of flying around the world, so I went to Macau and Hong Kong. Macau exceeded my expectations, Hong Kong didn't live up to them. I ate lots of food, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes downright strange; went to a few theme parks; toured each city by foot to a point that I forgot what exhaustion was; and took far too many pictures in Disneyland.
 
Well, by December I really was tired of all the travel, but I still needed to see so much. Somehow I managed to fit a week in the Philippines, two days in Siem Reap, an afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, a day in Singapore, and countless hours in airports and airplanes into the sixteen days before I went back to Canada. It was quite the whirlwind, and I'm still not quite sure how I survived it. A fine end to a great year, I must say.


photos by: vcateyesv, me, me, kanikey, Janelle Monáe, me, me, me, me, Ed Coyle, Ezyan Y.

a Photoblog: F1 brings the Vroom Vroom, Linkin Park brings the Boom Boom

all photos by me

a Local Weekend

For three days Baybeats rocked the Esplanade, a Southeast Asian indie musical treat. I took in the sounds of groups from across the region, from Singaporean Bear Culture to Filipino Turbo Goth, Indonesian Bangkutaman to Japanese Buddhistson. It was immensely ecclectic, with some acoustic sets, some electronic, some genuine rock, and some heavier (but not quite metal) bands. Suffice to say, I had an awesome time.

Also at the Esplanade (a place I am quickly coming to love and will likely frequently visit) were a series of art exhibitions. The one pictured is titled In the air, and is composed of numerous figures knit out of steel wire and suspended from the ceiling. Another, called Circus of Life, depicted local stories from the elderly through marionettes. Another was a series of makeshift walls with work by various graffiti artists, including a tribute wall to Amy Winehouse.

I finished up the weekend at the Night Safari, a sort of guided zoo tour that takes place at night. Obviously. Before we embarked on our adventures through the trails, though, we watched a performance by fire blowers in stylized traditional tribal costume. As wicked cool as that was to see, it was nothing compared to the incarnate glory of the bear cat. I want one. They smell like popcorn, though I'm not quite sure I understand why. Still, popcorn scented bear cat! Do want!

In the vein of wanting things, I've got one such item crossed off my list: a Formula One Singapore Grand Prix ticket. That's right, I finally forked out the big bucks for a ticket to the race (the real race, not the time trials or any of that fluff). I don't get a spot in the grandstands, but I'll have access to almost all the performances, including the finale Linkin Park concert. Night time race in Marina Bay? Worth every penny!



first and second photos by me, third photo by See this World through Lenses, fourth photo by Roro Fernandez. more photos on Flickr

a Photoblog: Baybeats @ Esplanade

all photos by me, more on Flickr

my Year in Review

First off, this idea (and title?) was stolen from a friend of mine. I like to swipe things like that. Here's what I got up to the last 12 months.

Is there an equivalent to Wednesdays in university degrees? As of January, I was officially at the hump-day of my degree program: 5 terms down, 5 to go. I'm not sure whether I was relieved or even more stressed because of it.

February brought Olympic good times as I spent part of my reading break up in Whistler with some friends. Mittens were worn, events were watched, beers were consumes, and I was hassled over and over about where I managed to pick up my Team Canada hoodie.

Did anything happen in March? Anything at all? The only thing I can think of is that I ate copious amounts of phở, but I do that every month. Well, did that until the phở place became blacklisted. I'm not bitter. Not bitter at all.

This picture isn't exactly accurate, but in April the hard drive in my laptop decided to die (finally?) after four years of service. However, it chose to die in the middle of exams and term papers, and in Kel where my XP boot disks were not. Long story short, I'm now an Ubuntu convert with extreme loyalty to Western Digital.

Even though my school year had only just ended, in May I began looking at the opportunities that I would have this year. And what should catch my eye but an exchange program to NUS. I've been obsessing over it since.

The Canadian group Thunderheist broke up in June, and I had the privilege of attending their last show in Vancouver. Honestly, it was one of the best performances I have seen, and I am so sad that they won't be touring or even making music anymore. Oh, and I turned 21. Minor detail.

Although I go to school in the Okanagan, I had never been there in the summer, when it is at the peak of awesome. In July I flew out to Kel and went camping with a bunch of friends and was finally able to experience an Okanagan summer. Rad.

August brought many of my RA friends back together, after four extremely long months apart (besides the ones I saw in July, heh). More rad people, more rad camping, and rad memories to boot. Mad rad.

I got my first tattoo shortly after I turned 19, and a week later I decided that I hated it. After many years mulling designs, I settled on a Russian firebird to cover the terrible tattoo up. I started the tattoo in September, accomplishing 3.5 hours of work in a single sitting.

October, of course, brought Halloween. I had a posse. Initially, I was a dragon. Then I was a dinosaur. By the end of the weekend, I was the Ogopogo. There were no costume changes. I'm just that awesome. We're just that awesome.

The most terrible month in the history of terrible months was November 2010. I had a very brief post about it, sharing the musicians who helped me through it all. I'm still not quite over what happened that month, but hopefully this new year will bring some healing.

I was finished with exams quite early in the month, so December became the month of movies. In theatres I saw Burlesque, Tron:Legacy, and Black Swan. Many others were screened from the comfort of my living room, or as movie marathons at friends' places. I really needed the down time after this year.




Garfield (c) Jim Davis, Whistler photo by me, phở photo by m0nyet, Thunderheist photo by wagepeace, Okanagan photo by trainboysd40, laser tag photo by a friend, tattoo design by laludia, costume photo by a friend, Chris Corner portrait by lora8, Black Swan poster (c) Fox Searchlight Pictures

First of the Season

Yesterday marked my first major event of the school year, and I hope that many more will follow! Last year will be a tough act to follow, with appearances by Metric, Tegan & Sara, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancing Moulin Rouge, and a roadtrip to Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I'm up to the challenge, though.

Last night I saw Canadian indie powerhouse Stars, and they put on quite the show. Between the white roses they threw into the crowd sporadically and the bubble machines that accompanied the light show they performed some of my personal favourites. I was worried that the concert would focus on the two latest albums of theirs, In Our Bedroom after the War and the Five Ghosts, but nearly half the songs they played were from my personal favourite Set Yourself on Fire. This means I had no voice this morning.

Next up? Who knows, but these are some of the shows etc. that I've got an eye (or two) on:

2010 World Junior A Hockey, in Penticton next week
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Wonderland, March
Reading Week Roadtrip to...?, February
any concert that comes near Kelowna, seriously.

update:
I should probably include my wine tour on my list of recent events, right? Yah, I went on a wine tour. Because I go to UBC in the Okanagan. And we're, like, the wine capital of Canada, eh?

For serious, though, I was introduced to the posh practice of wine tasting this afternoon. I tried six different wines at two local wineries, all for the huge sum of $2 (I have connections, y'know). Not only did I drink wine, but I got to watch some wine-making action, and drink some of the freshly squeezed Riesling grapes. Best. Grape. Juice. Ever. Even better than the actual Riesling wine, which, judging by the Tantalus sample I had, is my favourite. I also sampled a Pinot Noir, which was good, but was accented too strongly for my taste.

After Tantalus we hit Summerhill, which has quite the reputation, but which I found quite lacking on the part of our "guide." We won't go into that disaster. There we sampled a sparkling wine, of which they apparently make the best in the world, an ice wine, a red of some sort (I wasn't paying attention at this point), and a dessert wine that tasted terrible, like currants and stale cake. I do not jest. Obviously I'm not cut out for this wine connoisseur thing. Figures.

photo by Tantalus Vineyards