The dearth of updates lately is not because nothing interesting has occured, but rather the result of a struggle to find reasons to carry on blogging.
It has been a wonderful journey. Because of blogging I discovered an outlet for writing, developed a passion for photography and became exposed to many great thinkers and artists through this amazing and creative platform.
But for reasons I do not wish to get into, I feel my time here is up. In this final post, I wish to thank all those who have been kind and generous enough to comment on and interact with my sharing and muses these past 16 months.
God bless you all.
Beautiful day. Marina Bay. Frisbee Tournament. 'Nuff said!
Here is our very own team from SMU! Yay! You can see Debbie in high action as she chases any opponents off her turf. Scram! Beat it! 
At tournament level, frisbee is not the relaxing pastime you might think it is. It's fast, unpredictable and rough. There's lots of sprinting and sliding on the grass. When you're holding on to the frisbee, your opponent can't touch you. But after you let it fly... be prepared for some body slams! 
Just because it's a sport and you badly want to win doesn't mean you shouldn't look good doing it, right? Jumping and catching is a popular and cool-points earning manoeuvre (if you actually catch the frisbee, that is). Dangling it in front of an opponent is also a good way to rile them up and get them to lose their cool. There are also lots of ways to fake your throws in order to mess with your opponent's timing.
Here are more stances you have to know if you want to be serious about frisbee-ing. Most involve bending of knees (the lower you go, the cooler it looks!) and a devil-may-care expression on your face. Do practice at home before attempting them in public. It's hard to look nonchalant when a tendon is ripping somewhere in your body... 
But why go with the flow when you can stand out with unorthodox methodologies (and outfits)? For example, wearing a sheer skirt and asking for a tango is bound to unnerve some guys. Or if you're bored with throwing already? Well, it makes a decent football, too! Trying out your Bruce Lee poses can also strike fear (and hopefully paralysis) in the hearts of your opponents. And finally, nothing says chic like a good straw hat to block out the sun.Hot on the heels of the anniversary musical comes another project to prevent my vocal cords from getting flabby. The Celebration Chorus began rehearsals today for its year-end performance of famed French composer Gabriel Faure's wistful Requiem in D minor.
I have never had the opportunity to sing in this beloved work so it was a privilege I really wanted to grasp. Also, observing and learning from Tom Anderson, the accolade-laden conductor of the Celebration Chorus, was a strong motivating factor as well.
One of the aspects of music which most people don't realize is how quickly inspiration to perform, pursue or even practice can evaporate and dissipate. Music making is at its most powerful when it is a two-way street; the process has to communicate with something or react to some sort of emotional input. What it shouldn't be, though, is dutiful replication from hours of mindless drills.
As it stands, I have been trudging through a dry spell musically for a fair bit of time now. Churning the songs out for the musical was, in all honesty, like wringing water from stone. The melodies were not difficult to compose, but the content of the songs had to clawed and hauled out from deep within me. Hopefully, this new project will restore some passion and get new ideas budding as well.
The Celebration Chorus is a non-profit organization formed in 2000 for the express purpose of promoting and performing sacred works. Members of this chorus (and orchestra) are volunteers who hail from different denominations and are united by the goal of bringing God's Word through music to the people. Do check out their site for more information.
And I'm finally back.
The anniversary musical is now a memory; a fond kind that curls the edges of your lips upwards as the thoughts run. Up till the final moments, I couldn't be sure if it would all turn out. There were so many things that could have gone awry, but they didn't, and for that I'm so grateful. That the general reaction towards it was unexpectedly back-thumpingly positive is merely icing on the cake. God works in wonderous ways, indeed, far beyond what my little measure of faith would even dare to envision.
Along the way, though, real life deigned to mimic art. Some themes put forth in the musical came alarmingly to life. There were flared tempers, heated exchanges and angry tears of frustration. I supposed it would be naive to be shocked, or even surprised. Afterall, the script meant to reflect real struggles and challenges which could potentially afflict anyone at anytime. So at the risk of sounding jaded and cynical, why should it not have occured in the context that it did?
We are only human, aren't we?
But it's not my intention to dwell on our evident fragility. The success of the presentation was God's doing, who worked through the tenacity of the cast and crew, as well as faithful support from many others. Here is a big thank you to all of them.
I didn't take very many pictures during the course of the rehearsals (there's the mark of a tenth-rate photographer right there! *heavy sigh*), save for the first time we rehearsed in the sanctuary last week. Here are some of those captured moments with rather liberal (but hopefully humorous) embellishments.
"Napping while the rest of us are slaving away?!?"
"This is how you own the catwalk, ladies! Are you taking notes?"
Some people obviously don't know the meaning of 'a-TEN-shun!'
I'm out of good captions for the next 3. Anyone can help?
With the realization that it's all over finally hitting home, I'm a jumbled mis-mash of opposing emotions right about now. It's a strange sensation; sort of like finally getting something you've craved longingly for, only to find it wasn't all you imagined it would be.
Oh well, I suppose I have lots of time ahead to get this knot untangled. But before I start on that, the bedroom kinda looks like it needs work. *groan*