Tripping In October

Over the past few years, October's always been a travel month for me, but this year is proving to be especially busy.

From tomorrow until the end of the month, with a few days in between each trip, I'll be in Singapore for 2 nights, Hong Kong for 5 nights, New York City for 4 nights, San Francisco for 2 nights and Los Angeles for 5 nights.

My flights are booked, my hotel rooms reserved and all that's left is to find a way to pack so that I don't have to lug a large piece of luggage across the world.

This work trip couldn't have been timed better, or could it? For the 3rd time this year, I've kinda put what I wanted out there (in the universe, so to speak), and all 3 times, I've had a positive response. It's nice when you hear back.

I'm relishing my last quiet Saturday in before I chalk up the air miles.

Got The White Stuff?

I've never been a huge fan of milk.

This poster from the UK version of the Got Milk campaign (featuring boxing champ Amir Khan) could totally make me reconsider the white stuff.


Indeed.

X Marks The Spot

More information coming through on Kylie's new album, including

- 13 new songs, one of which (Sensitized) lists Guy Chambers (Robbie William's hit-making partner), Cathy Dennis (Kylie's regular songwriter of sorts) and get this, Serge Gainsbourg as writers. Which could only mean a sexy Gainsbourg lyric or melody which we can expect to hear sampled.

- This brand new image for the single that's decidedly very 80's.


- The album will also be released in the US, which means that Kylie will be busy, busy, busy promoting X.

- A somewhat bizarre (but interesting) online story speculates on 'X' as the chosen title for Kylie's 10th studio album. Besides being the Roman numeral for 10, the report makes a connection to Michael Hutchence (Kylie's ex): her new album will be released on the 10th anniversary of Michael's death (apparently from erotic auto-asphyxiation). And INXS, the band that Michael fronted, also had an album that was titled 'X'.

Whatever the case might be, the hype and buzz on X have started.

And Then The Lights Went Out

I've had 2 restless nights, brought on, I'm sure, by the news that my work trip to LA has been confirmed, which led to lots of planning about the best possible way to include SF and NYC in the itinerary, so that I can meet up with my friends in the States.

And I've also gotta squeeze in a brief stopover in Singapore to get a biometric passport, which apparently will ensure a smoother arrival process in the US, given the new entry requirements. Plus I need to be in HK in a week for another meeting...you can see how I was somewhat preoccupied and totally cranky from not sleeping well.

Last night, around 10pm, while I was about to do more checking up on flights, the power went out. It was a major power grid failure because the entire area around my condo, including roads, was lit only by the full moon last night. So out came the tea-lights, which gave my apartment a very sexy ambiance.

For the time that I was powerless, I was able to sit back, breathe and just be. It was a quiet, calm moment that I needed. And I also got a chance to get 'artistic' in the dark.

From Lights Out

The power came on about an hour later. I was asleep an hour after that, and was awakened 7 hours later by a text message from my friend Stephen telling me he had arrived safely in San Francisco.

It was a nice night in with the lights out.

We Don't Have That In Our Country

and I Ran...I Ran so far away...

To Be Honest....

...I wish my parents and I were closer but I know that the connection is still there, even if the there is no sound on the other end...

...KL no longer excites me but I am grateful for the brilliant circle of friends that I have, and the love and support that sustains me...

...I am rediscovering the efficiency of being task-focused and foregoing the fuzzy. But I am also reminded that there's always room for alternatives that can include fuzzy...

...I am surprised that I lose my eloquence when I try to be truly honest about my feelings. Words fail me and I attempt every possible non sequitur to escape the discomfort of laying it all out there...

...I don't know how I feel about the fact that the 2 people who have broken my heart are in India at the very same time. 5 years separate the 2 incidences - one connection is no longer; the other, I am very conflicted about, and protective of, still. I will choose to remember and honour both connections with love, affection and a sense of gratitude (tough one) for the life lesson that came along unexpectedly...

...Lady, you're right - we were meant to be friends. I hate it when you're right. You're a rollercoaster built to crash, but I still love to have you around.

Safe onward journey, my friend. I hope to see you soon.

Sack-Religious News

One of my favourite entertainers, Kathy Griffin, famously said "Suck It, Jesus" in her acceptance speech at the recently-concluded Emmys. The censors were busy that night.

She (knowingly) unleashed urban fervour from one particular Christian theatre group who paid for a full page ad in USA Today defending their faith in Christ. (Click on the article for a bigger version)

Is it just me or wouldn't Jesus have been more pleased if the US$90K had been put to better use? You know, like helping the homeless or the disadvantaged?

Here's Kathy being her crazy self on Larry King Live talking about the 'controversy'. Love her!



And in related news, finally, the Mormons own up to their hotness!


Thank God it's Friday, eh?

You Did Not Just Say That...

I find it hilarious when one half of a couple says something inappropriate in a group, with the other half present, and then the mood in the group just shifts.

I met some new friends of friends tonight, and after a tentative dinner, we went on to the swanky and sweaty rooftop Sky Bar at the Traders Hotel. Maybe it was the humidity (I was damp) or maybe it was just my fatigue that lowered my defenses, but I initiated conversation and just went with it. I'm crazy like that.

The 4 new people were basically 2 couples and one of the women lives in Bali, which of course gave me a natural "So I was in Bali in June" advantage. Bali Gal is super-chilled and I know that I'm so gonna hang out with her when I make an eventual return to the island.

And then the conversation veered towards sex, and the odd things we do and have done in the quest for and completion of the dirty. I shared about my 'friend' who loves women's lingerie and how that was one of the most interesting experiences that I've had.

Which led us to the topic of fetishes and how the Japanese excel at taking things to newer and crazier heights - diarrhoea porn, anyone?

The guy from the other couple then talked about how the Japanese women he had been with used to act like there were being violated during consensual sex, complete with the resisting and refusing. We'd all seen porn from Japan so we knew what he meant. He was kinda getting too excited about the story and even said "She was squealing like a pig".

You should have seen his (current) girlfriend's face. I felt her pain.

I might be seeing them again (inappropriate fella & gal pal) at his birthday party tomorrow night. It's gonna be an interesting Friday night.

The Sex Begins

Well, there was the Seychellois in Singapore, but I was actually referring to the first publicity photo of the Sex & The City movie, filming now in NYC.


Check out her crazy Eiffel Tower bag...let the countdown begin.

Classic, New & See-through

To take my mind off my wonky ankle (how can it get twisted in bed when I was just sleeping?), I did some random surfing and came across a classic from Rufus & Chaka Khan...



...the newest song by Celine Dion that, love it or hate it, is gonna be everywhere...



and Giselle wearing a water dress in the print ad campaign for her own line of Ipanema footwear.


Enjoy your Tuesday.

Addictions and Afflictions

Could my new addiction to online Scrabble, also known as Scrabulous, be indicative of my not wanting to dwell on things past and emotions welling up into the present?

Could I be more willing to focus on how best to utilize my Z, X & Y, rather than honestly dealing with me, myself and I?

Have I forgotten how to be one with all? Or could I have perhaps been momentarily lulled into a false sense of completion? I can't get it out of my head...'cos your loving is all I think about (la la la, la la la la la)...

In related news, here's the artwork for Kylie Minogue's new single "2 Hearts".


And could this be the cover for her new album due out sometime in November?


I'm in Singapore for a couple of nights - let's see what I can focus on here.

Back to Bangkok

I'm back in Bangkok for a couple of nights, attending a Universal Music showcase for their new artist Jamie Scott, and I'm staying at the rather swank Peninsula Hotel.

I guess I'm in true work mode, what with being not completely at ease that I have email connectivity issues, and that I have many things on my mind about schedules and marketing plans and the lot.

It was also good to catch up with old friends and also meet a particularly promising new talent named Jason Creer.

But I'm grateful that a sight like this can still make me pause and breathe.

From Back To Bangkok

6 Years On

I visited NYC for the first time on September 10, 2001.

I flew in from LA, where I was chaperoning 2 viewers who had won tickets to see Madonna in contest. It was also my first time in LA, and it was nice to see everything that, until then, had only existed on TV and in the movies and magazines. My friend Stevie (who had flown in from NYC) and his best friend Ron (from San Francisco) rented a car and we drove around LA and listened to a lot of Eddi Reader.

Oh and when we were in the Hollywood Hills neighbourhood, we attempted to locate Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston by shouting their names like tourists on crack. Great plan, huh?

There was also a 4.5 quake (my first!) that happened while we were shopping on Melrose. There were no reports of serious damage but I was shaken up.

So I got into NYC around 6pm - it was raining, traffic was bumper to bumper, and I had to get to a Jamiroquai concert at the Hammersmith Ballroom with Stevie and his flatmate, Mitchy, who I had also worked with in HK. I was thrilled to be in the capital city of the world, and after the concert, we headed to Korea Town for supper and made plans for the 4 days that I was gonna be in NYC for. Exciting stuff.

The next morning, everything changed.

The plane that crashed into the 2nd tower flew by Stevie's apartment building and the engines thundered above us. When the 1st tower came down, the building we were in shook.

I was scared, I was stressed out of my mind and I couldn't believe that this was happening. Over the next 2 weeks, we stayed with Stevie's friends (when we couldn't get back because they cordoned off the downtown area), Stevie's aunt's house in Connecticut (when the winds changed directions and smoke blew into Stevie's apartment), and finally, back in the city for a few days before I had to catch my rescheduled flight back to HK.

It was surreal, it was kinda weird and I got to see the city at its best and worst.

I still get flashes of what I saw in NYC that September and will remember it all for a long time. It was also a turning point of sorts for me - I began to feel more connected to the bigger world, and I also took steps that eventually led me to KL and to this moment when I can look back and say "Boy, that was some trip."

I am so overdue for a return visit. In more ways than one.

Madonna...and Child, That's Just Bad!

A 2nd song from Madonna's new album's been 'leaked' and it's also another Pharrell Williams production.

Nothing to share at this point besides that it's not that much better than the first 'leak', "The Beat Goes On".

But she does have amazing thighs...

Someone with less amazing thighs and other body parts is the reigning queen of white trashiness, Britney Spears.

She returns to the public eye in an embarrassing, half-hearted, do-I-really- have- to-be-here performance of her new song "Gimme More" at the VMAs in Las Vegas.

You know it's not good when even the lip-sync is off. Enjoy the train-wreck.



Good make-up, though. Happy Monday!

Hanging Out In A Hammam

In what was a first for me, outside of the usual circumstances, I was bathed by a grown man yesterday.

KL's very first hammam opened a few months ago, and it's situated opposite my gym. I have to walk past it when I head for the escalator and over the past few months, I got more and more curious about this 'wet sauna'. I happened to read a write-up about it on Friday in a magazine and thought, right, I'd give it a try after my weekend workout.

I chose the Prince Hammam Treats (I kid you not) package, which lasts about an hour and 40 minutes and costs RM235 (USD68). So I get there, fill up my particulars and then get ushered into what you might call the waiting lounge, which looked like a modernized version of the hammam that I had only seen on TV documentaries, and that one movie from long ago about a Turkish bath.

I was introduced to Mike, my tellak (or masseur), who passed me my bathrobe and locker key. Behind a curtained cubicle, I changed, slipped into the purple paper underwear that was provided, and stepped out in my robe. Mike then led me to the private heated room, where he explained what the treatment would entail - wash, scrub (gommage), massage.

Then in the confines of a well-lit warm room, which had taps - shaped like deer heads - spouting water into a tiled basin, he started to bathe me. It was odd, at first, cos I was just sitting on the bench and Mike was pouring water on me, and then applying the pre-scrub and washing treatments. He was very hands-on and professional, so I got over the awkwardness and let him do his job.

After the wash, intense scrub and another wash, I was led to the waiting lounge while Mike changed and prepared the massage room. I was a bit self-conscious waiting in what was basically a common area, and indeed, guests were being shown around the dimly-lit space while I was sitting on a cushioned seat in my bathrobe. But the baklava they served were yummy so I focused on that.

I then stepped into the massage room, slipped into a new pair of purple briefs for the massage (no hanky panky here, thank you) and laid down on a proper massage table - you know, the ones with a hole on the headboard where your face goes through.

The combo of a heated room, the ylang ylang oil and Mike's massage technique eased the knots in my back and shoulders, and I could feel myself relaxing more and more until I actually heard myself snoring.

You're not supposed to shower for an hour after the massage to allow the oils to absorb into your body. Thankfully, they used a high grade oil so it didn't feel sticky at all. I was happy, rested, relaxed and ready for the world.

I went back home, made a salad and played online Scrabble 'til 5 in the morning.

G, Your Phone Looks Terrific!

Amidst my Mariah Immersion Therapy (long story, trust me), I came up for air and came across this interesting article about the rumoured Google phone.

Given that Google's pretty much had success with all their new applications, there's a lot of expectation that the GPhone could actually become the new must-have item.

Here are some artist impressions of what the phone might look like -



There's talk that the GPhone might be out as soon as early 2008, and that it could kick the IPhone's ass with fully integrated connectivity between all Google applications like Blogger, Picasa, Documents, Maps and everything else that the Iperbole has failed to live up to.

Interesting times, and if everything that's been written about the GPhone is true, I might just trade in my mobile phone/Blackberry twin-set for this all-in-one toy.

Loyalty for Two

I've been mulling a few random bits and pieces over the past few days in HK about loyalties and how the black and white can sometimes be divided by the slimmest of margins, with huge gray expanses in between.

For instance, I attend a birthday party and meet my friend's new date (their 3rd) - I know (thru my friend) that they hadn't gotten romantic yet, and that they were simply testing the waters. His date and I really clicked, with the same twisted sense of humour and the recognition of a kindred, morbid spirit.

Is it wrong then that my friend's date and I arranged to meet for dinner without my friend? And then we meet again 2 days later at a bar, and end up hanging out at his apartment, chatting 'til 4 in the morning.

Chatting. Only. Really.

Or what about the fact that all my friends have said the same thing about what's-his-face and have all expressed incredulity at my loyalty to a friendship which even I cannot quite explain.

My EQ is slightly out of whack. I'll be listening to my Mariah collection over the next few days to get some cathartic re-calibration...

At Home With The Lau's

Attending 5 meetings in a single day is no ride in the park.

Especially when everyone has a strong view, a vested interest, a specific agenda ,and ideas that are not always coherent to everyone in the group.

By 5pm, my brain was fried. I was zoning and had OD'd on my 4th can of coffee (gross but so familiar). I wanted so badly to head back to my hotel room and just rock myself to sleep.

But I wanted to see Brian & Jen & my favourite dog in the whole world, Jube. I've known Brian for about 7 years now, and Jen, I've known for about 10.

Throughout the years of our friendship, when they were friends and then lovers, then husband and wife and now, parents-to-be, Brian & Jen have always been there for me.

Each have their distinct points of view, but they both agree on being honest and supportive. They're there when I need a sympathetic ear, a warm hug or just a serious dose of common sense.

They've always made me feel like a member of the family and Jube, well, he's simply icing.

From At Home With ...

It's good to be home.

HK Weekend Update

I had a full HK weekend...

Saturday started off slow and fuzzy and picked up its pace as the day went by. I finished a new article for my Fake It Real column in the Tattle Life e-zine, checked out the hotel gym (a first!) and actually did some light cardio, and then headed out to my friend Yvonne's birthday dinner & bowl-a-rama celebrations, which came complete with trophies!

From HK Weekend

Then there was another birthday party (Happy 37th, Michael!), which was followed by drinks at our regular weekend watering hole, Propaganda.

Suffice to say, Saturday was a long day. Sunday was, thankfully, more laidback.

I met up with my cute couple friends, Jessy & Tamara, and had a yummy lunch over a lazy, drizzly afternoon. From their real estate drama to my emotional hangover update, it was good to catch up with 2 of the nicest people I know in HK.

From HK Weekend

I then walked up the street and met up with Davena, who is by far one of my coolest friends ever. We're such kindred spirits and there's nothing that I cannot tell Davena. She's smart and funny and is way cool and knows just about everyone.

I got to see her new bachelorette pad, which was a good size, in a great location, and she got it at a very reasonable rental price. Lucky girl! Here she is in her nice-sized kitchen.

From HK Weekend

In between the 2 IKEA deliveries she had to be home for, we went for coffee and chatted, and walked to the nearby mall and shopped for pillows, bed linen and kitchen wares.

My HK family makes it so easy to feel at home while being away from home. It's deja vu in a very good way.

CameraTripping

It's really odd how a new digital camera and time to kill on a Thursday night can lead to a fantastic ego trip.

But life's too short (I am so overusing this phrase these past few weeks) and if you're gonna know me, you need to see this side as well. Be nice...

From Camera Tripping!

I flew out to HK the next day and after settling in, I went to check out Eugene's new apartment. It's such a lovely space and it's got one of the best views of HK. Congrats, you homeowner!

From Eugene's Casa

I made 3 stopovers between 11pm and 3am and my friend Glenn wins the prize for the coolest T-shirt of the evening. I'm sure my judgment was impaired by my choice of beverage, but it was bright, it was yellow and well, look at it!


It's going to be a busy weekend, what with birthday parties and more overdue catching up with friends. I'll have more to share soon and complete with pics, no less!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go do some ironing.

PS: Lady, thanks for the intro to picasaweb. Loving your pics at the museum.