Last Sat night, I was at Jenn’s sister’s wedding dinner sitting with some gal pals and dressed to the nines. Of course we girls know that wedding dinners are actually fashion parades in disguise. To my horror, two of my guy friends sitting on the same table with us were wearing T-shirts and jeans! *wheeze* *gasp*

We’ve known everyone on the table for at least 6-7 years and seeing those guys again just brought out the ‘evil teaser’ in me. The part where I thought had matured over the years.

“Haiya, if you guys come to my wedding dressed like that, I will just send you on your way back home. No, on second thoughts, I’ll take your angpows first and then only shoo you guys off.”

Yeah, I know. I’m so evil. It’s just that it’s so fun to rag them like that. For old times’ sake ;)

“Hey, everyone, I know what we’ll do. We’ll all turn up in Pagoda T-shirts and tattered jeans for Joe’s wedding. It’ll be so cool!”

To which Joe replied, “Heh, don’t be surprised if I turn up in jeans myself.”

Oh man.

Everyone was having a merry time exchanging cheeky and gross jokes over the table when an uncle from our previous church came by to say hello. He took one look at me, gave a huge smile and asked, “How many children do you have already?”

Hah??!

I was stunned and could only raise both my hands for him to see that I was ring-less. Good thing he got the hint instead of thinking that I have 10 children!

“Aiyo, sorry ah. I thought you were Diana, Jenn’s married sister,” he hurriedly apologised. “Anyway, I’m proned to say the wrong things at the wrong time. Sorry ah!”

For the remainder of the night, Rina and Esther tried to console me. But no matter what they said, I know that I look nothing like Diana and I wasn’t sitting at the main family’s table for him to mistook me for her. I guess, I just look… married. Waaaaa!!!!

After dinner ended, we took our leave and gave our well-wishes to the family members lining up at the exit.

As I shook Mic’s hand, he gave me a huge smile, “Hey, you look good tonight!”

That single compliment made my night. It sort of took away the ’sting’ of that uncle’s comments.

Or maybe not.

After all, Mic’s Diana’s hubby.

*Sigh*

Haven’t been blogging much lately because of a host of stuff to do at work and yes, the rehearsals. Showtime is this Friday! We’ve been busy with the technical and full dress rehearsals and… I’m enjoying every single moment of it :))

In many projects, I find myself thinking, “I can’t wait for this to be over and done with so that I can take a well-deserved break!”

But it’s different in this project. I have a feeling that I’ll be missing it when all this is all over… It’s almost like going on an awesome holiday knowing that it will end after two weeks or so. A holiday minus all the hard work and late nights put in, of course.

Ah well, at least I’m thankful to be given the opportunity to be a part of it. And I shall savor every minute of it and look back on it as one of sweetest highlights in my life.

Looking forward to tonight’s full dress rehearsal despite my raccoon eyes and tired limbs ;)

The downside of the wonderful long break I had was that I lost most of whatever bond and ‘affections’ I had towards my fellow cast members.

It was apparent during our first rehearsal upon coming back from the break. The chemistry and sparks that were built up during the weeks of intensive video shooting just weren’t there anymore!

Thankfully, as we go through many rounds of rehearsing the same scene over and over again, some of the sparks were recaptured. But we still have quite a long way to go and D-day is coming up real soon.

Most of us, cast members don’t know each other from Adam until we were recruited for this production. Thus, the long break apart from one another sort of made us almost-strangers again.

This is very much in contrast to the reunion I had with some pals from my previous church last night. Jennifer’s sister Susan is getting married next week. So dear Jenn took this opportunity to meet up our old long lost pals to pass the wedding invites personally to them. I tagged along during her rounds yesterday and boy, it was such great fun seeing the faces of dear friends whom we haven’t laid eyes on in years and feeling like hardly any time has passed at all since we last saw each other.

That laugh, the knowing look in the eyes, the smirk, the weird hand and neck gestures – ah, the best things in life sometimes remain unchanged.

One of us had just been through a bad breakup and got a new car in replacement of his girlfriend. We bundled into his spanking new car and he drove us around his housing estate aimlessly for many rounds as we shared our sorrows and joys till late into the night. Jenn commented that we could have jolly well gone to a nearby mamak and yak there but nah, mamaking was just too normal a thing to do when meeting crazy friends from the glorious days of old.

Next week, we will all be placed in the same table and I can just imagine the awesome time we’ll have catching up on each others’ lives again. Friendships like this that can survive any long breaks are a very rare thing indeed. I can’t hardly wait to meet them again… hee!

One person I forgot to mention a special thanks to in the Lady Marmalade blog entry was Uncle Peter. He keeps an updated stock of medical supplies at home – ready to be dished out to anyone who’s feeling a tad under the weather. Was I ever so glad that he was there – seasoned enough to discern what’s wrong with my tummy and helping my body be rid of that toxic curry puff!

I am generally an unobservant person. So I did not really think too much about the remarks and comments that were made throughout my stay at his family home. Comments like:

“Why don’t I get Amy to join you girls in your shopping trip at Hadyai? If she can’t take leave, I’ll issue her an MC (Medical Chit).” (Said in jest, of course!)

and

“My doctor friends say that I’m bad for their business (sporting a mock sad look). Seems that I take most of their patients away!”

and also,

“How are my two patients doing today?” (Mei Fong took some laxatives for some constipation problem).

etc, etc… were mentioned but it was only on the last day of our stay there that he revealed that his lifelong heart’s desire was to be a medical doctor. Suddenly, all the related comments made sense and I felt a twinge of sadness as I looked into his face. He wanted to live out this dream through his sons but the both of them felt the calling to do things other than medicine.

I couldn’t help but reflect upon the unfairness of it all. Kids with parents who can afford to finance their studies in any chosen field but who are clueless about what they want to do in life. And then, there are kids like Uncle Peter who know where their passions lie but are helpless to do anything about it and thus, have to choose the cheapest education path available.

And still, real life stories like how Catherine Marshall’s parents managed to support her in the prestigious Agnes Scott college despite their apparent lack of monetary funds never fails to remind me that our heavenly Father owns the cattle on the thousand hills and we as His children are heirs to that. Surely if He planted that passion in our hearts, He would bring it to pass.

Seeing how Uncle Peter’s face light up when Mei Fong and I got well under his ministrations made me realise that maybe, just maybe, he is living out his dream after all.

[i]Me and Lady Marmalade ~ photo courtesy of Mei Fong[/i]

Monday was a series of firsts for me. It was the first time I attended a mass in a Catholic church. [url=http://paulosfootnotes.blogspot.com]Paul’s[/url] parents graciously hosted our stay in Kangar, Perlis during our trip up north. They are charismatic Catholics and we followed them to Sunday mass. I couldn’t help feeling excited. I’m going to an honest-to-goodness Catholic mass! I’ll be seeing a priest in action and go through an ordered liturgy. Wowie!

So with eyes agog, I soaked in the whole mass and was inspired by the sermon. Towards the middle of the mass however, I experienced a horrible pain in my stomach. In a flash, I knew that the culprit was the leftover currypuff which was left overnight that I had for breakfast.

Uncle Peter (Paul’s father) had put a note on the plate of leftover local delicacies which read, "Not suitable for consumption". It had an arrow pointing towards some red pudding so I thought that the curry puffs were fine. I never could resist curry puffs and so ate it despite the warning note.

And now, I paid the price for my greed.

The pain was excruciating and Uncle Peter took me home and gave me some laxatives to rid off the toxic the right way. We were supposed to go to Gua Kelam (some famous cave in Perlis) for a picnic and he was optimistic that I would be as right as rain in no time at all.

I wasn’t as optimistic as he was. The pain was consuming the center of my being! So I told him to go ahead without me.

"I will go and have breakfast with the rest and then we will come back to pick you up. Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine!" And off he went.

I crawled to the comfortable bed with a good book to read. After about 20 minutes, my stomach churned wildly and I rushed to the toilet. Gosh, the laxatives were that powerful!

When everyone else returned to the house after breakfast, I still felt unwell and declined to go with them. Seeing how potent the laxatives were, I was worried if I couldn’t find a toilet in time if I was out there in the wilds.

But Rina just gave me a pleading puppy dog look and made me feel guilty if I forego the trip. And so, against my better judgement, I went. And Rina was appeased.

All the way there and as I walked out of the car towards the picnic spot, I still felt worried. It got worse when I saw that the main toilets were closed due to it being a public holiday. Man, oh man, what is a food-poisoned girl to do at a time like this??

Suddenly, an orange vision appeared and came by to brush her head gently on my legs. My heart lifted when I saw the orange cat whom I shall call ‘Lady Marmalade’ and bent down to stroke her. With every stroke, my fear melted and my worries fled with the winds.

It’s not often that I encounter friendly cats like this. And when they do make an appearance, it’s always a sign from my heavenly Father that things will be alright and that He loves me.

And truly, the rest of the day went on to be one of the best times of the trip. We sang worship and love songs in perfect harmony to the strumming of Paul’s guitar. We even danced on top of the stools and table at the picnic grounds because we felt so good. There’s just… something about that place and that cat that makes me feel that everything is alright with the world.

So, thanks Rina for giving me that guilt-inducing look and Lady Marmalade for gracing my path. And thank you, Father for yet another reminder that I’m in good hands… Your hands.

Can’t resist putting up that blog title. My brother decided to forego his company trip to Pangkor Island just because he wanted to see his sister (me!) act. So sweet of him! By the way, the play will be screened from 3-5th December at DUMC, Seapark at 8pm. So, come one, come all :D

On a side note, I am sitting here tapping on my keyboard with a sappy smile on my face. Yes, am definitely in the holiday mood now. Will be heading up north with Rina and some other pals for a long break during this Deepavalli and Hari Raya break. Nothing like a holiday to put me in a happy mode. It doesn’t matter where I go as long as it’s with cool and fun friends! Will be back with some photos of the trip. Stay tuned!

Saw the trailers for ‘Forgiven’ for the first time on Saturday evening. And it was quite a weird experience seeing my face projected on-screen. At some parts, I felt like cringing. Man, do I really look like that when I’m consoling someone? The other lead actor, Thomas felt the same when he saw cool shots of him playing basketball.

On Sunday morning, my cell group members and I came as a battalion to church. Our sacred mission was to prepare the Holy Communion and do the washing-up later.

Our battle plan was to take a break from the washing when the trailers were aired. I wanted my supportive friends and brother to watch it with me and they, in turn, couldn’t wait to see me in action for the first time on the silver screen (my church premises being a former cinema). There were a few false alarms as we thought the trailer was going to be shown and we ran to and fro the washing area towards the big tv screen on the church foyer. Talk about kancheong-ness! [i](Translation: overly anxious)[/i]

The full-time church staff manning the counter nearby smiled at our enthusiastic and excited faces and chatters as the trailer came on-screen. My young friends oooohed and aaaahed and cheered and whistled as the mini-preview was shown. Me, I was simply thrilled and touched at how supportive they were. How I wished my parents were there, too. They are supportive in their own way – releasing me to go for video shoots and rehearsals and understanding when I had to spend all of my weekends away from home.

As my friends cheered on, I was reminded how important my loved ones’ support was to me. It made all the hours and hard work put in so much sweeter and worthwhile.

And it also made the washin’ and the dryin’ of the communion trays and cups so much bearable. Even the most mundane tasks are so exciting to do when we do it together as a joyful and united team. To my supportive family and friends, you guys are my lifeline!

Truly, joys are doubled and sufferings are halved when shared with loved ones :)

Ever since the production crew came over to J-son’s house for video shoots, the house was in total harum-scarum. There were clothes strewn everywhere, as well as camera tripods, plastic bags, boxes, make-up stuff and props like the sponge cake that was left uneaten and turned mouldy after a few days.

When J-son’s youthful mom was due to come back from Australia for a two-week break back home, J-son quickly got a maid to clean up the house. But still, there was so much that one maid could do and we were imagining the horrified look Aunty Ho would have when she came back home.

When the next video shoot came around, I traipsed over the J-son’s house, totally forgetting that Aunty had returned. Being hungry, I was wondering what dishes he had bought for the crew’s dinner. As soon as I entered the house, some very tantalising and delicious smells greeted me. Surely J-son had not ordered a buffet spread for us! No packed chicken rice would smell that good!

Then Aunty came out to greet me and said that she had prepared a simple dinner for us. Simple?? The table nearly gave way with all the food she had prepared!

I looked at her face carefully and detected no signs of the horrified look any mother would have when she sees her beautiful and clean home transformed into something like a war victim’s hideout.

She always had a good word to say and doesn’t mind at all when we took her bedroom space for our shoots. And she made sure we have yummy things to eat whenever she sees us. Yesterday, my respect and admiration for her grew by leaps and bounds when she didn’t bat an eye when we delibrately smashed a vase (part of our props) in her kitchen and banged her kitchen door several times. She helped us clean up the mess and made hot Milo for us before we went back.

Now, is this mama cool or what??