I can’t believe it. I’m actually going on a dinner date with Ian Wright, the witty, humourous, brilliant, campy, versatile, discerning, entertaining Globe Trekker host!! Thanks Aud! I LOVE YOU!
I’m super EXCITED!! *JUMPS AROUND IN GLEE*
After watching on him doing crazy stuff with people all over the world right in my living room for years, I’m actually meeting the person who’s job is doing exactly what I want to do before I turn 40! Travelling here, there, everywhere! Difference is, he gets paid for doing that.
Back in high school, most of my lazy weekend afternoons were spent watching the Discovery Travel & Living Channel with mom and each time when Ian comes on screen trying out wacky stuff in foreign lands, I would solemnly advise mom to be prepared for the worst because in the near future, her daughter will be ‘missing’ for months doing stuff like that minus the on-screen telecast of course. I did promised to send her pictures, postcards and call whenever I can but you know moms, they get paranoid when daughters have zany plans of travelling alone. It’s worst when she don’t understand Facebook.
And that was like 5 years ago? I’ve tried to explore as far as I can but with time and moolah constraints, I’m still nowhere near a female version of Ian Wright. Well let’s see. 40? Another 16 more years to go. Loads of time left. Erm.. just need to figure out how to earn a huge long break and lots of moolah!
:S
Now take a deep breathe before I continue with utmost envy for what this man has done with his life which I totally wish to at least experience half of it.
In a span of 15 years, Ian practically travalled all over the world! I am like jumping up the wall now because I’m being reminded again that his adventures are all fully paid for! Can you imagine living that kind of life? He spent three months in Egypt, seven months traveling around India and Nepal, and six months traveling around Europe including Poland and Romania. I’m so jealous!! Check out the long list of countries he featured!
Jaws-dropping? Hold it.
I proudly announce that Ian’s latest show, Ian Wright: Out of Bounds is gonna premiere this May 20 on Discovery Travel & Living every Thursday at 9:00 pm! Goodness! With no new places to explore, Ian now turns his attention to the world’s most remote, unusual and least visited places in the world!
Let’s see. Okinawa, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, Sri Lanka and Siberia. What? SIBERiA? Gosh. With this new TV series bringing him further than he’s ever been before, NO places are out of bounds for this lucky dude.
Did you just screamed awesomeness? I shrieked outrageous!
Haha. Here’s a sneak peek at Ian messing around in Siberia.
I can’t wait for Tuesday to come.
I’m not just full of envy for him. I also like his spirit. I admire his sincere take on bringing travel explorations to a deeper level by going beyond introducing glamourous attractions to simply doing exactly what the Romans do in Rome. For real. No kidding. This guy thrives on getting his hands dirty.
Ian had me at hello when he said:
“ Comforts don’t interest me. The sort of trips I go on are all about living cheap and getting dirty which is how I like it.”
I’m sold. Getting dirty never sounded sexier. That quote from him basically sums up my travel philosophy. Sure, comfort is great but nothing beats going off track to check out real conditions on the ground where I can mess around with real people with stories to share.
Ian had my utmost respect when he questioned the effects of tourism on underdeveloped countries in an interview with Time Asia. I remember discussing this social concern during a sociology class in uni. It’s tough to force people to ignore tourism dollars when it comes knocking. So the best way to highlight this issue is through influential TV personalities like Ian. Rock on, Ian! You’re my favourite travel icon.
I love you!
You know, I’m actually going to tell him that personally over dinner.
*giggles*
Can someone please tell me that I’m not dreaming? I still can’t believe how I got myself invited to this exclusive event! I’m having dinner with Ian Wright on Tuesday! I’m dreaming! Am I?
Hello hello! I was away for a very long, relaxing holiday just like you! Well before I talk about the crazy stuff I did on New Year’s eve, lets time travel to 2 days before year 2010 begin. Why? Ah that was the day 24seven organised a very happy Hat-py Party at one of my favourite place in Singapore, The Singapore Art Museum.
It was a breeze thinking of fun activities for bloggers to do in the museum. It helped that the museum had some really intriguing art pieces exhibiting during that period.
Thrice Upon A Time: A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines was up and I would say that my favourite art piece is Anonymity. It’s a whole series of pictures taken by a witty guy called Poklong Anading. He had random strangers he met on the streets of Manila to pose, holding a small mirror, covering their faces. Then right at the moment when sunlight was reflected on the mirror, he took a black and white photograph. What’s left of the picture is a strangely stunning image of a faceless person sitting on an ice cream cart/holding a bunch of balloons/sweeping the streets etc. Nice. I like Poklong Anading’s interpretation of Anonymity.
I found this picture of Sidney posing with one art piece out of the series I was talking about. Man holding a bunch of balloons. Sidney submitted this picture for games during the event. Took this pic with his Blackberry and sent it to Hat-py Party Submission. Yeah we made the bloggers run around the galleries to so some fun stuff so they can go home with prizes! Btw nice outfit Sidney and that’s an adorable pose (:
Interesting isn’t it? Go check it out the other art pieces in Anonymity. The exhibition is still on till end of this month! Oh I’m gonna share another picture of a thought-provoking art piece in the museum submitted by a blogger. I love how the flash makes the picture more interesting. If I’m not mistaken, he was using a Samsung Pixon 12, proudly sponsored by Samsung. Picture turned out less grainy than Sidney’s. Not bad at all.
And here’s a lovely shot of the team at 24seven taken with Kelvin’s Diana Mini and instant Polaroid accessory. Thanks pirate!
So I was helping out at the reception with molemole. Oh don’t you agree that molemole looked so sweet in her cutesy little lamb hat. Wah so hardworking.
Since this was a Hat-py party, guests who came without a hat will be imposed a penalty. They have to wear these ugly party hats!
Fortunately, almost all of them came in funky hats! I got more and more excited as more and more bloggers found their way to the museum because their have such awesome hats! Look!
The three ladies in kinky wigs and masquerade-ish hats.
Turkey in headphones and a Goth babe
The horny hunk
That’s Claudia’s mini hat which looks like mine and Lester in his yellow-brown shower cap with a cute-looking pile of shit attached to it. Ingenious idea.
No fancy party is complete with pirates! Thats Jerrick and Kelvin!
Not forgetting our wonderful emcee, Ben who wore a very sweet, pretty spiky green cap!
Jng jng jng… and the winner of the best Hat for the night goes to Feliza! Yeah you’re right. Her partner for the night was the horny hunk mentioned earlier. What a lovely horny couple!
Too bad I did not have time to camwhore with them. Busy! Didn’t even have time to let Nicole try out my glittery eyeliner from Bodyshop. Sorry babe! How bout next week at 24seven’s BBQ for bloggers? It’s happening on a Wednesday, January 13 at Aloha Loyang Sea View Bungalow 6. By the way for those of you reading this, feel free to RSVP if you are interested to join us!
Before I end, I want to thank all the bloggers who made one of the biggest gathering of bloggers 24seven has hosted such a bubbly affair. You guys ROCK! Oh oh talking about a rocking crowd, I must also thank Black Diamond Ninjas and Only After Coffee for the rocking band performances! No party is a party without good music right?
Yes yes I love my job. Can’t helped it. Social media is wayy cool. Correction: the people behind social media tools are cool! Yes you, you and YOU!
Pss. Pictures here were all taken by Kris and you can find them here. Thanks Kris!
2 days ago, I woke up really early for a special tour at the Central Fire Station! Was pretty excited to visit the oldest existing fire station in Singapore with 3 other bloggers! Thanks Andric, Andy and Claire for making time to join me on this tour! Well, I was supposed to facilitate them as the representative from 24seven but it was more like a fun outing with friends.
(:
Our guide was LTA Foo Yiing Kai, a former Fire & Rescue Specialist and presently an Senior Officer. Pss. He has a gold badge for IPPT! Impressive! LTA Foo Yiing Kai was also deployed to Sichuan when international help was needed for the earthquake disaster. He’s exactly how I would imagined a fireman to look like! Suave, muscular and manly! Oh la la. Haha. OK come to think of it, all of the officers there fits the bill too! Perhaps it’s because they were all oozing with passion for their vocation. That must be it. Don’t you agree that passionate people are extremely sexy?
Well it’s no laughing matter to be in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). This is not an occupation for the faint hearted. Besides providing fire-fighting, rescue and emergency ambulance services and mitigating hazardous materials incidents, these guys also formulate, implement and enforce regulations on fire safety and civil defence shelter matters. We are talking about a dedicated team that respond to all types of life-threatening emergencies round-the-clock.
They actually sleep in their uniform and are ever-ready to grab a pole, hop on the fire-fighting vehicle and leave the fire station in 1 minute after the alarm bell rings.
After giving us a really informative special-guided tour with exclusive entry to some of the off-limits areas to the public, LTA Foo Yiing Kai shared a heart-wrenching story with us of how he once rescued a toddler from an accident scene. The terrified baby girl actually clung on to him like a koala baby, refusing to let him go because of the trauma she suffered. He had to leave his team at the accident site and accompany the baby to the hospital. I can’t imagined how bloody the scene was. The little girl’s mom was on her way to the hospital for a check-up. They were in a cab and apparently the cabbie took a wrong turn. When the stupid cab driver made a u-turn ILLEGALLY to get to the ride side of the road, a lorry ran over the cab. Luckily the mom and baby survived.
High chance that the firemen had to use this super loud and scary saw to rescue the mom who was stuck at the back of the car when they found her. The roar of this heavy machine (which he lifted effortlessly) was deafening.
After the tour, I kinda got inspired to join SCDF as a part-time fire woman. Oh look! I had loads of fun trying out the equipments!
The gun-like hose handler was so heavy! How can they hold on to this thing for so long while fighting fire? No wonder their arms looked so yummy sturdy!
Oh that’s the Light Fire Attack Vehicle or more affectionately known as the “Red Rhino”, a formidable well-designed vehicle which could maneuver into every corner of a HDB void deck! Woah, it looks small but it is equipped with a hydraulic system for rescue tools, a water mist gun and a water monitor.
You know, it was amazing to see so many families spending their Saturday morning at the fire station! Kids were running around in firemen helmets and attire, playing pretend. These mini fire-boys/girls were so adorable! I strongly recommend parents to bring their kids to visit a fire station! There’s a few fire stations around the island. Just pick one that’s near you. Visiting a fire station a fun activity for both kids and parents to do on a weekend. Plus, they will get so exhausted by the end of the day, you can enjoy some quiet time with your spouse alone. Have some wine and laugh over your kids’ hilarious stunts at the fire station.
OMG I had so much fun! A big thank you to LTA Foo Yiing Kai for broadening my knowledge on your occupation. Don’t you agree that the peeps at SCDF are unsung heroes who we remember only in times of need? Perhaps in time, more will acknowledge the efforts put in by SCDF to protect and save lives. You can start by finding out more about what they do here or even drop by a fire station and talk to one of the friendly officers. If you’re lucky, they may stay long enough for a chat before the alarm bell rings!
(:
I’m so pleased with my experience at the Central Fire Station that I shall end this post with a whacky picture of me taken by Andric! Thanks aaandric de blondee for the nice shot! The building totally rawks! I mentioned earlier that it’s 100 years old, remember?
Disclaimer: SCDF is a client of 24seven. This post is not an advertorial by SCDF. I wrote it because I really enjoyed myself and I want share my awesome visit to the Central Fire Station with my friends!
The Boyfriend finished work earlier than me so he went first to grab a good spot while I reached at 7pm with Subway. Show starts in 30 mins. Well there’s a crowd but everyone was comfortably seated on their picnic mats. Realised there’s a lot of young couples around us. Haha. Yup there should be more of such events happening in Singapore since the government is encouraging people to be in love. SDU take note! J
Anyway I must say that we enjoyed ourselves because of the unique performance staged by the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) as it was our first Shakespeare play infused with Peranakan culture, Gregorian Chants and Chinese music. At first, I felt that it was rather an odd mix then The Boyfriend thought that it is quite original, adding a Singapore-style rojak flavour to the show.
Fun frolic at Fort Canning!
Oh remember in my last post that mentioned what SRT promised?
Love, Laughter, Conspiracy and Drama? It’s true! They delivered!
Love
Romance was in the air especially when the play is going on with Singapore’s beautiful city skyline behind the woods and we can only hear the characters speaking amidst the bugs light chirping at the background. I couldn’t resist admiring the amorous setting and the fact that we made time for each other to enjoy a picnic after work.
Anyway a central theme to Much Ado about Nothing is love; Romantic love between dashing young officers and noble maidens, enduring family love between cousins and brotherly love which bind friendship. Nonetheless, we were particularly amused by the love-hate relationship between long time adversaries, Benedick (Adrian Pang) and Beatrice (Wendy Kweh) and the shallow love-at-first-sight for Claudio (Jason Chan) and Hero (Julie Wee). The stark exchange of mood between these two couples is ingeniously Shakespearean.
The colonial manor setting
Laughter
Needless to say, Adrian was hilarious! His expressions never failed to bring the audience to laughter. I must say that I was most engaged when he talks to himself as it appears that he is actually addressing the audience one-on-one. That’s a plus point of theatrics as the level of engagement between the audience and actors can be of a higher level as compared to watching a movie.
Adrian stars Benedick
Conspiracy
A Shakespeare piece will never be without conspiracy and I believe that is the very element that brings the play to life. There were evil and good conspiracies which bring depth to the performance. With an illegitimate brother plotting a scandalous clandestine while plans for a secret matchmaking were going on and a friar suggesting an unplanned death, we were entertained by the twists and turns wonderfully staged by the cast.
Drama
Last but not least, the real drama begun when Claudio refused to marry Hero on their wedding day. I feel that Claudio’s character is vital in unfolding the drama element of the play as he was entrusted with essential emo roles. Jason had to portray three major dispositions; a man smitten with love, betrayed and filled with remorse which enables the audience to track the progression of the story through his mood. Overall, it was a well done live performance by Jason although I almost choked with laughter when he “swooned” in despair after knowing that Hero was innocent. It was simply too dramatic for me to take it. Haha
Here’s an interesting interview with Adrian, Wendy and Jason by Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle about “love at first sight, conspiracy theories and packing the perfect picnic basket”.
Adrian, Wendy and Jason
Verdict: It was certainly a fun-filled frolic in the park. SRT rocks!
BTW here’s a synopsis of Much Ado about Nothing if you are interested to know more.
