Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence

I remember hearing this song when I was very very young. Therefore, I never really knew the real title of this song. But I knew the tune so well, and for a period of time, I've been trying to find this original version of this "oriental"-sounding song.

I know it had been used in the techno song "Heart of Asia" as a backdrop. Now Utada Hikaru had also used it in one of her new songs in her album "This is the One". "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence - FYI" was the title of Utada's version. I always wondered why this title? It drew some curiosity from me because my bro's name is in it. Then as always, I relied on Google to find what it really referred to. It's actually the name of a movie, from 1984. And the real original version of this song is by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was also the one who composed the theme song to the movie "The Last Emperor".

Personally I've watched "The Last Emperor" before when I was very little and my parents brought me to the cinemas. I never really understood what the movie was about, I only knew that the male lead is literally the last emperor, but never knew all the political significance of someone like him. Hopefully now that I'm much older, I can understand all that dramatic emotion expressed in the movie. I remembered the theme song was quite emotional and dramatic, I would get goosebumps whenever I hear it. I get the exact same feeling when I listen to "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence". But I only discovered recently, they were both composed by the same person, Ryuichi Sakamoto (I guess he's someone really famous.) A very talented and accomplished composer and pianist.

Thumbs up for Utada who did a cover using this song. She did the song proud, a very nice R&B version of the song. Probably the best cover using this song so far!

So I wanna share a vid of Ryuichi Sakamoto playing this song on the piano live. I love this version :) Enjoy~

Bro got married, 20th June.

Bro got married, sometimes I still can't believe it. Not that I have anything against my Sis-in-Law of course, but his character used to be one which can't really settle down for anything permanent. Or in other words: restless. Heh, I guess the existence of sis-in-law in his life also kinda made him much more settled. But anyways all is good, and I bet my grandma and mother are dying to have great-grandchildren. Hopefully my bro gets a child soon as well, so I can be an official "Auntie" haha!

I didn't really like the whole process of the wedding? I mean, the venues etc is great and glamorous (very much my bro's style.) But in terms of mingling with relatives, nah. Or maybe its their big big day so one tends to feel quite left out, especially for a sibling like myself. Or maybe I think it is very the troublesome to get married lah! XD So erm, here are some pics of my bro and sis-in-law on their wedding day to share! :) P.S. they are like some celebrity couple right? lol!

I like this pic the best, because it looks casual enough, unlike the usual type of wedding pics. No overly lovey dovey stuff. See the teddy bear on the stairs they always carry around with? That's a BigFoot Teddy which I bought for my bro during one of his birthdays a few years back. Later on, they actually got so hooked onto the teddy bear, that they bought alot more of their own! (They even bought clothes for the bears... o.O) But of cos, I will always think the original which I gave is the nicest of all (probably the one they used in their wedding pictures).

They used the BigFoot Teddy again, to be the official ringbearer during their wedding at Sis-in-Law's church. Mr Frodoooooo~~

Bro's car on wedding day. Seldom see his car like this XD.

The Mickey and Minnie mouse which I bought back from Japan last year for them at Tokyo Disneyland. Surprisingly, their wedding attire, color matches exactly! (Take a look at the next pic to check it out.) What a coincidence... only realised on that day itself.

See? Especially bro's grey suit right? Hurhur.... :)

Shifted. On 16th June.

So why have I been missing and away for soooooooo long? 1 big reason: I've shifted home. Thank goodness it is only a 1-time thing in like 12 years, and I don't think I will be shifting home again anytime soon. All the packing (or rather dumping things into boxes), and unpacking (the yucky part of it), the getting used to the new place, getting all the basic necessities for daily living, getting all the telephone, TV and internet up (my internet speed now sucks =.=), making sure all the basic things are settled and obtained.

Now I'm "supposedly" happier and feel "richer" since I'm living in a "private estate NEW house". But many-a-times, the opposite is true. Private estate? Haha, longer and further travelling & WALKING distance (not that I'm lazy to walk, I like walking, but usually when you wear heels for work, you wouldn't wanna walk very far, trust me. =p) bigger room to clean-up, vacuum, mop, bigger toilet to wash... etc. And then there's the new living with more people in the family. Previously I used to share a unit with my mum only. She's usually not home much, so I always get the whole place to myself. Now there's my Grandma, Aunt, Mum, Bro, Sis-in-Law and the maid. And mind you, they alllllll are not soft-speakers. My room is the closest to the living/dining room and main door. Plus their voice would resonate with the walls. LOL! Goodness. (*sobs* no more late sleeps til the sun reachs more than halfway through the sky.)

I'm so unused to the roads and facilities here. *Gasp* No more auntish-shopping after work at NTUC, or the 2-min walk to a MAC and Cinema where you can even get tickets for the latest Transformers movie during the opening weekend. I think I will rely on the TV and the internet more. Feel kinda cut-out from the world actually, but nowadays the travelling on MRT everyday for 0.5 Hour is actually opening up my eyes to alot of things I've been missing out on for the past 12 years. Er, let's just say the crowd at MRTs and on buses are very different.^^ The way they dress, the way they behave and hold themselves is just....... different.

I guess 1 good thing that comes with this shifting to new home is that, all of us can stay under 1 roof. Which is kinda my grandma's wish all along, to live in a house with all family members. Having a garden is my mum's wish all along though lol! For me, I'm glad that with the larger area, maybe I can rear a dog now (if NOBODY objects, which is gonna be quite a difficult situation.) But then again, SPCA is like just a 5 min-walk away from my place.... duh!

Anyone can recommend any nice places nearby, for a kopi, chitchat or drink? I think I don't even know where is the nearest Mac outlet. ^^;; (Potong Pasir? Serangoon Central? I'm at Bartley.) Bartley MRT station is one of the places I wouldn't wanna walk through too late into the night alone! It's so quiet, and I always end up being the last few people to alight from the train. Plus there are like construction workers hanging around finishing up the Bartley Christian Church. Ok, so that will influence me not to go home too late from now onwards. Btw, there's this house near my home, which I think is very very famous, it even has a name on its own. Its called Loshan Garden, sounds very cheena right? But it actually looks very angmoh-ish. I read a sign outside the house stating that the house is actually solar-powered!

Speaking about new places, there's a new shopping centre near my office "Orchard Central". I really like the sandwiches at Quiznos Subs (rival to Subway?). It's a nice place to slowly enjoy a meal and chit-chat with friends, and it gave me the kinda feeling like I'm somewhere out there (maybe US instead of Singapore?) Coolz! Hope I get to chill-out there again sometime soon.

So there, 1 of the big reasons why I've been missing for so long. Another one of the reasons coming up soon.... hopefully can get it posted tomorrow or something. ;)

P.S. I realized the tone of my writing has changed, to something more.... child-like...... ewww =x Don't know why it's become like this, maybe due to stress.

Happy Birthday Xavier!

Hope I got this right.... but its your Birthday today rite Xav?^^

Happy Birthday to you! Another year older, another year wiser! May all your hopes and wishes come true ;) Eat more Birthday Cake! (So that you can be what is mentioned in the last pic =p)

Wanted to email Bday e-cards to you but realise I don't have your email address. Couldn't post on your blog either! XD Have fun!

What do you call the 2-months MIA-ist, who has came back?

Wow, been a super duper long time since I've posted anything or logged into the internet...
Many many major changes in my life. (Which is quite scary, come to think of it.)
I probably need to do a recap of what had been happening so far.... ~_~ (feeling giddy already thinking about it). So here goes and bear with me....