In The Cockpit: November 2006

It's been a busy busy month(s?), with lots to update. So big WARNING: this is one long mother post! Having spent 5 nights in Sydney, then 2 nights in KL followed by 3 nights in Ipoh, I feel displaced. I hate that feeling - where there's no point in doing anything big because you'll be going somewhere else soon. Of course it's no longer true lah, the furthest I'll probably go in the next few months is IKEA. I recognise it from when I'd come back here for school holidays (esp summer) and not do anything useful as "I'm going back to UK soon anyway". Yeh bloody waste of time. Not counting the ultra-l33t hand-eye coordination skills picked up in CounterStrike. Coulda woulda shoulda, but nevermind - I shalt not succumb again!

Austrian Air to Sydney

Yes, AUSTRIAN. As in Vienna, and Mozart, and Bismarck, and... I dunno, semi-Germany

and ex-Prussia? The arrangement of the in-flight entertainment was quite interesting - different, with the control in front and the tray-table folding twice. Narrow seats, it was a 777-something-200 I think. 3-4-3 arrangement. I was sitting between Rabbit and some big white dude. I'm glad I knocked out the whole flight there, I was exhausted. The service is something else though. Everyone's dressed in bright red, and are biased against the yellow-skinned. This bias covers sudden loss of manners, increased response time and inability to do their job properly. You know how anal flight attendants are about 'upright seats' when taking off or landing? Well they're not. 4 of them can walk past an obviously un-upright seat without seeing it. The funky thing is that there's a camera in front of the plane and under the plane, that you can tune in to for landing. Yeah quite cool, except that you can see the (lack of) skill of the pilot. Numerous accounts of dodgy bumpy landings. My verdict? Fly it if you wanna save a few hundred bucks (about RM2k for return) and can ignore the service. And fact that the runway doesn't seem to be in the middle of the landing camera. Allow this shot of the screen to sum it up.

Sydney is truly gorgeous lah. Cerulean blue skies (except for the day after my arrival, which was apparently the worst weather they've had in a while. I kinda liked it, it tried to be as miserable and depressing as London but couldn't quite compare. Appreciate the attempt though), clean pretty buildings, soothing regular wind.

A good friend of mine once told me that he had to move back to KL from Sydney because of the pace of life there.

I didn't understand it then, but I discovered it for myself this trip. We stayed in Parramatta, which is a "suburb of Sydney", "close to the city". "Very near, can take the train there." How long is this train ride? 45 minutes. NEAR?!?!? Plus the 15-minute walk to the train station, that's one hour door-to-door! Mate, you can't "pop over" to the city for a quick anything, once you're there you're there for good!

What shocked me over there was the truth of "shops close at 5.30pm". I'd believe that of any "Western" city, except their capitals. I know Sydney isn't their capital, but it's effectively their financial capital (eg compare KL to Putrajaya). But no. I saw suits leaving IBM at 4.30pm even. Dude, you're getting shafted. Hire a Malaysian, our kiasu-ness will ensure that they're still in the office at 8.30pm. To give them the benefit of the doubt, they have to leave earlier, otherwise they can't do any shopping (except on Thursdays). Sorry honey, no sex tonight - I couldn't get to the pharmacy in time. No wonder they drink so much.

I found 2 gems there though. One is Games Paradise. Board games like MAD. Puzzles, card games, miniatures (I think, I didn't go upstairs to see). The other is The Performing Arts Bookshop. Shelf-upon-shelf of books and plays and scripts, all about the performing arts. Not cheap though - average price of books there is AUD30! Blimmin'ell.

Christopher Columbus is my ancestor.

Really.

Some other shots of Sydney (with a compulsory Opera House one).

We went to see Titanic the musical. No, nothing to do with the damn movie. No, no Leonardo diCaprio. No, no My Heart Will Go Sodding On. It was entertaining, but we decided against buying the CD; none of the tunes were catchy enough. Clever work with the set, scene changes were nice and the whole visual imagery was appealing and effective. Damned programme book was AUD20!!! Oh my poor Penang heart.

I had an eye-opening experience at the food court of Queen Victoria Building. There was an older Chinese-looking gentleman there who wandered around, walking like Yoda. He did this for a long time, possibly over an hour. After a while, we realised that he was scrounging for a meal - he took people's leftovers. The person I was with actually got quite emotional about it. "To come all this way then live like this", she said between sobs.

Thank you for showing me a side of you I had never seen before, babe.

Some pics of the wedding, which was at Loxley, Kurrajong - near the Blue Mountains.

Some of my attempts at arty farty photography.

M leading the bridal walk

A shot of the event from on high

A shot of the kiss from on high (and side a bit)

A shot of the signing from StalkerCam

And on to Ipoh Town

Yes, Broken Bridges played at its point of original inception - Taman Budaya. A venue that houses 308, it was especially challenging from the very first day we arrived. Dry, dusty, acoustically-unfriendly and bloody hot, I believe each and every one of us had, at some point or another that day, questioned our sanity in being there. Added to that were more minor challenges backstage - Puppy Dog, Ms Redang, the 1-unflushable toilet bowl for the men, the overcrowded changing room over the women. Thankfully things could only get better, and they did.

And of course, we gathered a set of wonderful memories that we'll always carry with us and laugh about - "Get Down Tonight", "I'm Too Sexy", Ms "Pow / Phung / Pah!", Mr Alco, our car ride back and of course, our very own Mr Sinister - Dar. Here's Yee Soh's blog with some videos.

Quick notes about Ipoh: Tmn Budaya IS acoustically challenging, so keep voice in good shape and health. Indulgence is lovely and yummy. Scary toilets though - penis-nosed statuettes hang on every wall. Lou Wong's kopitiam does have yummy chicken, and damn-super-amazing-shitass yummy hor fun. Dry or soup, it's delicious (dry better). Taugeh's pretty good too. The nearby soya bean stall's good, the nearby bikkie shop's good. Heritage Hotel's mediocre, and room 713's dodgy. Ipoh's Old Town-Sungai Wang-equivalent has computer stores that sell things cheap. Fingers crossed for another staging of Broken Bridges in 2007. In coolness order, Singapore / Borneo (can't remember if it was Sabah / Sarawak) / Penang / KL / Ipoh (sorrylah Ipoh folk, but I really didn't like the hotel).

The Prestige

Heard that I had to catch it, so I did. Cineleisure does RM6 tickets on Wednesdays, and they show shows after the others have stopped. Now that is a damn clever and damn good show. Highly recommended. Hugh Jackman's my hero now man. Hailing from the underprivileged country Down Under, he does theatre, sings pretty well and acts damn well. Christian Bale is also damn good, he'd be my hero too but he can't get claws to come out of his hands.

Carcassonne

I saw, and I had to buy. After a game or two, we had to go and buy the 1st expansion - Inns & Cathedrals. Brilliant brilliant brilliant. Such an easy game to learn and start, but the strategic depth is awesome. You'll notice that I've added the FAQ as a link on the sidebar on the right.

Candlelight Christmas

The madness has begun. I'm Stage Managing this production, which debuts the KLPac Sinfonietta and also has La Voce Choir belting out Christmas carols.

Malaysiana

An Aussie articulately describes what he sees is going on in Malaysia. I do wish someone high up would wake up and take a good look at what's going on - but that will have to come another time.

Miscellania

Lessons on the nose. Smell is one of our most ignored senses (until someone with bad BO walks along), after all.

Rojak being the metaphor of what's been going on in my life. No, not the food - no culinary nirvana here.

Fresh because of what's coming up in my life next: Broken Bridges rehearsals begin again come Monday. Possibly being Stage Manager for Candlelight Christmas. Rehearsals for Ah Steve. Possibly joining Agel and making it my primary source of income. Australia. My birthday. Christmas. New Year. Potential commercials and ads and voiceovers and gawd knows what else I've thrown myself into.

And fresh because you need to throw out the old one to make a new batch. Put it all down before it rots in the limitless expanse of my mind.

The Odd Couple

Tomorrow marks the last day I can call myself the ASM of The Odd Couple. It's been a wonderful experience, and really such a breeze thanks to the awesome people I've been working with. I'm glad it's been a relatively short process, as I think I'd have been bored of the script had I had to hear it daily for another month. There's only been a couple of stressful moments, and I predict that tomorrow will be one. To self-debrief:

Know the script inside-out. The SM (team) needs to know what's going on all the time. Where actors are onstage, to when and where they enter, to what props they're carrying. What props go where, and when. Who they belong to in the first (and last) place. Even technical details - lights on where when, sound effects, music. It's funny, but the SM is even bigger than any actor - s/he runs the play as a well-oiled machine, and the actors are cogs of the machine - it's the director who hones and refines them. Rehearsals are the lubricant that keeps things running smoothly. Hmmm maybe it's more accurate to say that the director designs the machine, then passes it over to the SM to run it.
Plan plan plan. Make sure every contingency is covered for, however unlikely. It doesn't have to be super-clear and exact, but at least having an idea of what could work is better than having to think of one in the heat of the moment.
Tools. Use anything and everything that'll make things easier. That's obvious, but sometimes the effort may seem not worth the benefit - do it! I made a list of events and entries/exits of actors + props that really helped during the times my brain wasn't functioning so well.

In the end, it's the people you'll remember. I'm happy to say that I've met some people who I believe I'll still call 'friend' in years to come. Cast and crew alike, it's been a great pleasure and honour working with you. Thank you.

Broken Bridges

Excitement. To be working with such an awesome bunch again.

Fun. To be going on a road trip and staying in Ipoh with said bunch.

Joy. To be singing and prancing and yelling away on stage again.

Curiosity. To be meeting 2 new members of the ensemble.

Trepidation. To knowing who the 3rd new member of the ensemble is.

Miscellany

A bit of inspiration? Hear what Uncle Steve has to say.

Want an invitation to visit Kazakhstan from their deputy foreign minister? Make a brilliant comedy poking fun at the country.

For the geeks: first steps to a working cloak.