Far Away

I used to love this band when I was in college. These were the good old days of OAG, Poetic Ammo, Too Phat, Nice Stupid Playground, Tempered Mental, Jason Lo, Innuendo and the list goes on.

Just had an urge to listen to it today, brings back great memories.

John's Mistress - if you're reading... thank you for the music :)

p/s: lyrics were typed out as the song went out so I'm not sure how accurate they are :P



John's Mistress - Faraway
Bluer skies never die
Things will never be the same
Time flies by, so fast
Soon winds always change

Who are those, who said
Life is just a game?
Sand blew blows, water flows
But I can't take it any more

Where do we go, from here?
Cuz I've been sleeping for so long
Where do we go, from now?
Do we have to stay this way?

Darker skies, never fall
Life will never stay the same
Everyone seems to know
How to put the blame on them

Where do we go, from here?
Cuz I've been sleeping for so long
Where do go, from now?
Do we have to stay this way?

You can't feel my pain
You can't feel my soul

Who are those who said
Life is just a game
Sand blew blows, water flows
But I can't take it any more

Where do we go, from here?
Cuz I've been sleeping for so long
Where do go, from now?
Do we have to stay this way?

Never go.... far away.... 
Never go.... far away....
Never go.... far away....
Never go.... far away....
Never go.... far away....

Oh and there's a pretty good acoustic version here!!!
  

Sound of the drums

Sound Of The Drums
(feat. Laura Jansen)

My heart is a beating drum
Moves mountains it’s so strong
My love is a silent song
Everybody moves
Everybody moves

And I wait all day, I won’t give up
’till the sound of the drums bring you back to love
And I wait all day, I won’t give up

Back to love
Back to love

And I wait all day, I won’t give up
’till the sound of the drums bring you back to love
And I wait all day, I won’t give up

Nothing comes easy

I came across this video documentary - A Year with Armin van Buuren where cameras follow him for a full year (Nov 2010 - 2011) it shows you what it's like to be him.

Watching it really  makes me realize a couple of things
1. He's really just one of us - goofy with major OCD issues :P
2. The saying 'love what you do and you'll never have to work for the rest of your life' is pretty much true in his case. So when you find what you love. Stick to it.
3. I admire his strength, passion, positivity and humbleness.
4. He works really damn hard (which is what inspired the blog title).





Hit play to get a glimpse of what his life is like.

Do I or don't I?

This has been on my mind for a while now - the whole wedding/getting married thing.

It's pretty confusing because growing up, all I did was plan for the perfect wedding. 

Like the typical girl, I had themes, locations, colors, dresses, flowers, songs, who my bridesmaids and maid of honor would be... I even had a guest list written out which I saved in as a draft in gmail that I updated periodically.

That was me all the way up till the last break up. My boyfriend of eight years finally mentioned to me that he never thought of us getting married. 

Spending a lifetime together, yes. Married, no.

Being the traditional girly kind of girl, I thought that was absurd. I mean, why would any one spend SO much time together and not want to be together?

Yes I know, we should've discussed stuff like this earlier but it just seemed that it would be the next natural step for us. I mean at one point when he was moving around for work, he bought a house which he said it's for us. Pointed out where I can plant strawberries and raspberries. Remodeled the kitchen so that I'll have a joyful place to cook meals for our little family. Showed me this horse breeder dude who lived down the road and always had a horse or two in the yard (this was just in case I got bored while he was at work).

As I entered my next relationship, I was still that traditional girly kind of girl who wanted to walk down the aisle in a gorgeous white gown. I still wanted the whole dream. But I was scared. So I took things really slowly. 

I mean really slowly.

I used to freak out at everything. The little gestures he would make. Or the little gestures he wouldn't make. 

But as the years rolled by (we're coming to our sixth year now) I finally realized why the ex didn't want to get married and I agree with him now. Because marriage is just not  a priority. 

The pup and I have been living together for so long that we're pretty much like your average married couple - minus the signed paper, fancy rings and expensive celebration.

Maybe I've grown up. Maybe this relationship has opened my eyes. Whatever it is, while I am still a romantic inside, I've decided that I'm not going to give in to society pressure.  Yes you heard me. I'm not conforming!!!

1. Engagement ring - we all now know it's a scheme created by De Beers back in the late 30s. The whole point of getting one these days, is just to show off to your friends and family how "much" this guy loves you and how much he makes. Why not get a car? Or a house instead? You know what I mean? Plus, diamonds are pretty much worthless and they're a lot more common than you think. Don't believe me? Try reselling your engagement ring and see what you get.

Alternatively, you could just get one of those that look really real but are priced at only a fraction of the cost. Seriously, who's going to know? They just want to see that rock on your finger!

2. Getting legally married - this is what I call, signing the papers. I kinda don't really get the point now, especially for couples like the pup and myself. We live together. We do grocery shopping together. We cook and eat dinner together. We wake up on Saturdays and head out to our usual haunt for breakfast together. Apart from work and toilet time, we pretty much do everything together - like a married couple. So what difference does that piece of paper make? Does it mean that I love him more/less with that? The only reason I can agree with about signing the papers, are spousal benefits.

3. Getting married - this is the annoying part for me. The ceremony. Seriously, why would anyone spend so much money on such an elaborate party, only to later look back at photos and reminisce about how skinny or young we used to look. Don't we all do that with our photos now? Plus - being Asian, there's a whole lot more to do culturally which can seriously make you want to kill yourself, I kid you not.

4. Having kids - another thing I really don't understand. Why would anyone really want to give up their sleep? I assure you, I'm saying this from a neutral point of view. I love kids. I just don't want them for myself. I love playing with them, reading books to them and generally hanging around with them because I'm a big kid myself! I really just don't see why people want to get pregnant (fat and cranky, I might add), push something out of their vagina or have a hole cut in you to remove a baby, and then spend the rest of your life sleep deprived, constantly worried that something will happen to your child or fighting with an angsty kid... all for what? Because everyone's doing it? Because society says it's the right thing to do? Pah! There are plenty of kids out there who have no mommies and daddies - if you're so righteous, why don't you adopt them instead?

If doing all that really makes you happy, by all means go ahead. But please think about it and do it because you really want to, and not because it's the "next natural" thing to do.

With that said, I open the floor for discussion.

This is not what I expected...

But then again to be fair, Armin van Buuren's music videos have never really been that all cool. His live performances are much better~

When he posted teasers about a Ping Pong video, I was crazy excited. But looking at the teaser... I'm torn between wanting to learn that dance... or cringing :P

Sorry Armin, but making music videos really isn't your forte!

Sizzling hot Kylie!

I can't tell which is more sizzling... Kylie or that intricate lace dress!

Image taken from Vogue.

U

This is one of those songs, that I never really paid attention to, until the chorus kicks in and I get in SUCH AN EMOTIONAL HIGH.

Originally a song by Bo Bruce (btw you should really check out who she is, I know I was amazed when I did!), this track was co-written with former The Voice UK mentor Danny O'Donoghue and titled - Alive. Now here's the part that I'm not really sure about - how Gareth Emery came into the picture and why was it changed to "U" ... seriously, I can't seem to find anything about it around!!!

Anyways, I hope you like this as much as I do




And here's the original !



U
Walking down the highway traffics coming my way
all I see are flashing lights
People wearing blue suits wanna know the real truth
how many did I have tonight?
Looking at the wreckage anyone would guess that all inside had died
But I'm alive

Wake up in a strange place angels over my head
one of them is shouting clear
1000 bolts of lightning bring me back to life
and it's a miracle that I'm still here
As I'm coming to life screaming out for you I need you by my side
Now I'm alive

No I didn't pray to God
No I never saw the light
No I didn't watch my life go flashing right before my eyes
No I didn't do the things that they all said that I would do
I just close my eyes and all I saw was you

All the things in my head everything left unsaid
I never got a second to say
Knew that I adored you the moment that I saw you
just terrified you'd push me away
Though we're dying slowly just want you to hold me what are we waiting for
We're alive

No I didn't pray to God
No I never saw the light
No I didn't watch my life go flashing right before my eyes
No I didn't do the things that they all said that I would do
I just close my eyes and all I saw was you

If I don't die lying in the rain and I live another day
then I'd run to you
Cos I don't have regrets just things I never say I need you

No I didn't pray to God
No I never saw the light
No I didn't watch my life go flashing right before my eyes
No I didn't do the things that they all said that I would do
I just close my eyes and all I saw was you

This Is What It Feels Like

Okay this song... and Ping Pong are like my anthems at the moment. 

I love this rendition by John Ewbank & the Metropole Orkest along with the man himself, Armin van Buuren on The Voice of Holland.

Love them heels!

I just saw this pic of Alessandria here and I just had to share it

LOVE the plunging Sally LaPointe SS14 playsuit.

 And I super love these Impera laser-cut Christian Louboutin pumps

Ok I can die now.

Forever love

Another one I cannot stop listening to... is RAM & Susanna's RAMelia.

This track was written as a tribute to his wife who suddenly passed away. Susanna's vocals are hauntingly moving, making the song emotionally charged.

Here's the original video... fast forward to 2:20 for the emo part... seriously... every time I hear it, hot tears sting my eyes and I get major goosebumps because it brings back so many memories of people I have loved and lost




RAMelia
With a simple smile,
A gentle touch,
You gave us everything,
The warmth of your heart resounding from within…
It’s so hard to let go,
When you mean the world to me…
Yet the twinkles in your eyes keep shooting stars across the skies,
I’ll miss you, love,
And all your colors keep shining through the darkest day,
You’ll never fade away,
Never fade away…
Forever love…

Ping Pong

Okay... I liked the song before I went to ASOT650MY and I had it running on my playlist.

But ever since ASOT650MY, this song has been friggin stuck in my head!!! 

I can't stop it!!!

IT'S

SO

ADDICTIVE

p/s: you'll understand why I'm going nuts over this if you watch the video.... or not :P

Video taken from ASOT650 in Utretch (I was too busy bopping around to take a video during the Kuala Lumpur gig)

Forgive me, my dear fans but I will be bombarding the blog with clips from Armin van Buuren :P

My first...

Hahaha got you there a bit with the title, now didn't I?

Well it was my first music festival... or some would call it a rave. I don't care what you call it but I had a hella time there. Say what you want, the trancefamily is loving and caring no matter what they're there for.

Now that I've been to ASOT, my next target is AO!!!

Anyways, I just wanted to say Armin van Buuren was a god... a legend. I am SO in love with him right now. 

Armin if you're reading this... I'm sorry if I sound like a stalker hahaha but you were really that amazing. 

Thank you

 Seriously... how cute is he? 

I loved every moment he was on stage. 

Pix stolen from here because I was like...

Yeah okay here are my pix

Yeah that's the KittyKat and me before going in and bopping our heads off.

 I didn't realize that there was a barricade right there.... this is as far as we can go... the rest in front are the VIPs. Dammit... next time I'm going VIP all the way...

Anyways I say I don't have really good pix because of this control panel hut thingie on the right... they had a camera man sitting on the left most corner of it... and when it started to drizzle... he whipped out this huge ass brolly and left it there for the whole night.

All my pix have them >.<

Oscars Red Carpet: Hit or Miss?

Heyyooo everyone! 

I'm sure the whole world is buzzing about the Oscars (and will be for the rest of the week).

Now I'll be totally honest. I was working while the Oscars were going on so I never saw the whole show. Only bits and pieces here and there off the internet. But that's not going to stop me from talking about the dresses now, would it? :)

I noticed a lot of ice queen styled gowns this year... very nude off-white with beads or embroidery with only a splash of bright solids here and there.

Anyways, here you go!

Hits

 Cate in Armani Prive. I seriously love this. Why? It reminds me of a very mature Britney - Toxic kinda outfit. Sexy but oh-so-feminine.

Jarod oh Jarod. I don't know how much hotter you can look but man... I love people who dare to go all out and wear white. It's just so daring. What if you accidentally get something smeared or splashed on it? But he didn't!!!

Oh, and did you see how he thanked his mom? Major love.

Shining, shimmering, splendid! I love Jennifer's 1920s inspired Oscar de la Renta. Okay fine I don't know if it's really 1920s inspired but seriously.... glittery silver tassels all over your dress swaying around as you walk. You can't feel more princess-y than this (except with a major tulle dress).

Ahhh the new princess of Hollywood - Jennifer Lawrence. I really love how beautifully normal she looks and acts. Like it makes me believe that I too will grace the Oscars one day. And even if I do trip, it's okay :) we're all human, no?

This Dior Couture peplum is beautiful, but a teensy bit safe I think. 

Atelier Versace on Kate Hudson. I don't know what I love most about this - the plunging neckline, the delicate shoulder cape thingie or the intricate beading. 

 Kelly + Badgley = HIT! 

I love how Kelly is blooming into a gorgeous swan. Gone are her younger days of ansty ill-fitted clothes and hair color that didn't make sense. She looks absolutely ravishing here. 

 One of my hit/miss this year was really Lady Gaga. It's a major HIT for me that she was there like a regular celeb. No quirky clothes, meat hanging off her head or weird baubles or scary high heels with no heels. 

She actually reminds me of an Ice Queen, don't you think?

Unfortunately this is also a bit of a MISS for me because... I don't know... it's Lady Gaga, you know what I mean? Okay fine, I'm contradicting myself. I can't tell if I love it or I'm missing her flamboyance.

Lupita's baby powdery blue Prada gown caused a major buzz in town and it's not hard to see why. It's so feminine, ethereal, beautiful, elegant, I'm running out of adjectives here!

But seriously. I love how her skin tone juxtaposes against the delicate fabric and color. BIG HIT!!!

 Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Mannnn... I tell you, Portia can make pretty much anything look sexy. I love the peek-a-boo action going on with this Naeem Khan floral halter neck dress. And I keep staring because I think I see something (oh admit it, you are too), but I don't.

 She was an entry on my blogpost for the Golden Globes. I will repeat myself here because I still cannot believe that this woman is 50! I mean, my mom is 55 and not that my mom's not gorgeous... just that Sandy seems to be defying laws of nature with this beeyootiful Alexander McQueen gown.

 

Definitely one of the best dressed couples in town! Not really sure what Will is wearing but Jada's Versace chiffon gown is really pretty. I heard they made it just for her *jelly*

Okay this is a bit more of a miss than a hit (that's why I left it till the end of my hits). I like how Christian and Sibi were matched in black for this, and I love how his suit isn't the conventional black and white. But really, a bit too safe. Still a hot couple anyways :)

Misses

 Ok I totally heart Elsa and Chris and I love the fact that that instead of being home in her jammies resting (while carrying twins), Elsa decided to come and show the world how gorgeous a pregnant woman is. Unfortunately I'll have to say miss for this because that Elie Saab dress is totally unflattering. I mean, I love the detail, I love the teal color and I love how it totally complements her eyes. 

I have no words. Seriously.

I don't know what's worse, that she wore this silk satin-y off shoulder top with pants or that she had her hair streaked cobalt blue to match the outfit. All I'm saying is that if Meryl Streep or Glenn Close can look show-stopping (in a positive way) why couldn't you, Liza?

So yeah there you go :)

What were your hits and misses?

It's Mayhem!!!

Ok I came across this today and it's really too cute and wonderful not to share.

I love mommy-daughter duos and this between Angie (mom) and Mayhem (her nickname) certainly tops the lists!

What do they do? They create their own fashion gowns out of paper, scarves and whatever they can get their hands on!

Some as you can see are the typical weekend arts and crafts projects  but the latest ones they did replicating celebrities are really great!!!

You can follow them on Instagram here.

Ok enough of my ramblings... here are the pix!!!