OH! Open House.

In between shopping at malls and being busy with work, I sneak out from time to time to chill at artsy events.

The latest was OH! OpenHouse @ Marine Parade.

I missed the first OpenHouse @ Mount Sophia, so I really had to get a spot at the second OH! event. Even if it means… reaching 1 hour earlier and to be told that the tickets would only be sold 15 minutes before the first tour start.

DANG.

But it didn’t stop me from hovering around the ticketing booth 15 minutes before that said time.

Thank goodness I did just that. Look at the queue 5 minutes into the sale of tickets! (It was twice as long as this. The queue snaked into the library.)

I was in the other queue, ticket in hand; eagerly waiting for my tour guide.

To prepare myself, I made sure I wore walking shoes and very comfortable clothes.

What i wore: CK inspired Topshop tank, Pleather pants, Ferragamo shoes, Korean leather bag, and CC earrings.

So, what is OpenHouse?

It is all about turning people’s home - or for that matter, common space - into an art gallery for a weekend or two.

Breaking the gated barrier, you get to interact with the homeowners and artists.

Here are some of the art works.

The tv is watching you.

Getting out of the wall.

I really liked the kitty.

There was this one series of art that weaves fiction into reality.

Do you know that Singapore had Dolphins once upon a time?

Really… this is a piece of dolphin bone picked from Marine Parade’s beach.

These are the dolphin boys.

Are you fooled yet?

I was, for a good 5 minutes. These old archived photos looked so realistic! I should have known better given that this is an art exhibition.

Moving on, art is not confined on canvas.

Which world is the right world?

My favourite art work though, has got to be this.

I’ve no idea why, but I started laughing the moment I saw it. It sums up how I feel sometimes.

Universal Studios Singapore is Here!

5 years ago there was a big hoo-ha over whether we should have IR on our home ground. There were protests from the general public and it was much debated in parliament.

Some said that it will breed gamblers amongst us Singaporeans.

Others said, we need it to boost tourism.

The other side won. And here we are 5 years later…

We have to say kudos to the government who came up with the ingenious idea of ERPs…

On the good side of things…

Wearing: Korean top, Uniqlo jeans, Zara heels, Tiffany beanie & 2.55.

It feels surreal to have a theme park in Singapore!

We are so used to travelling 1000 miles to get ourselves tickets to other people’s theme park, it feels a little shocking to have something to call our own.

I mean come on!

Outside the theme park. This reminds me of Hollywood Boulevard for some strange reason.

And we have Hersheys too!

I made it a point to buy a giant chocolate bar to take picture with the Hershey sign.

As much as Mr. Hershey was being awfully cute, I didn’t feel compelled to buy it. Maybe I’ll buy the pillow the next time round.

Over the Casino side, we have our very first Victoria’s Secret flagship store. I was sorely disappointed at the lack of undergarment range. Deeply saddened by how small the store was as well. They pride themselves on the whole notion of “Victoria’s Angels” right? Where’s the fantasy in this particular store? On top of that, I was flabbergasted at the hefty $70 for $5 price tag on the normal range of undies. It goes for US$25 for 5. It would not have been a bummer if they had a nicer range of undies!!! Grrr…

Anyway, over at the Casino side as well. We have this amusing sculpture of Adam and Eve.

This is a definitely one of the first few sculptures displayed in public that shows how Singapore has evolved with time. We are being more accepting of taboo stuff. We hardly see any artistic depiction of nudity around.

I like elephants. How did this big guy manage to support himself on thin bones? Beats me…

And like all good tourists, I had to take a photo with Mr. Merlion, our own mascot.

The theme park has yet to be open, but the place was already buzzing with excitement and shows.

More pictures of Universal Studios soon!

Halloween Part 2

It was “green day” for halloween. =)

My dearest girlfriend Bing wore a green Banana Republic Tee paired with jeans. I went with the renewable energy theme - thus the windmill in my hair (I did it myself!) and the $2 daiso windwill that I’m holding.

I wore a maxi dress from Blum, Tiffany charm bracelet, On pedder crystal slippers.

I so need to give my bangs a trim.

We played Indian poker, Wii, and more card games. Sadly, I got a rash from eating some nacho chips. My palms itched for 2 days.

And now… halloween decoration dominates my estate.

This family hung their decoration 2 weeks ago…

And another family had a love affair with flies…

Others preferred spiders…

This got to be one of my favourite photo.. Shhh don’t tell the neighbour that she tried to steal a pumpkin…

But she put it back immediately, because the pumpkin was filled with water!

Haha…

Shu Uemura makeover

I was invited to attend the Shu Uemura’ s official opening at Ion on Saturday. Oh, what fun I had!

For the event, I wore a sweet blue Forever 21 top which had simple pleats at the edge and a row of satin buttons behind (I like!), white Miss Selfridge skinny jeans, my 4-inch Nine West heels, and my beloved 2.55.

I attended the function with one of my besties, Wenbing. We got there 10 minutes before the occassion, and were one of the first lucky 15 attendees to receive a free express make-over by the Shu Uemura team.

Because the Shu Uemura boutique is really petite, it was quite uncomfortable to squeeze with 130 other attendees; we decided to take a quick bite at Ginza Bairin, before heading back to the shop for our make-over. I had chicken cutlet with Japanese curry. Looks delicious don’t you think?

My cutlet lunch + Before make-over.

There after, we spend the next 1 plus hour exploring Ion. What a HUGE place this is. I felt like I was in American Mall all over again, except that this is walkable. But, Ion has a lot of escalators, and that made exploring the mall very complicated. I shall blog about the shops another time, when I do get to explore Ion again, sometime this week.

My aching feet. I really need to get it padded.

At 1430, we promptly returned back to the Shu Uemura boutique for our mini make-over.

Wenbing getting her make-over.

For the make-over, the make-up artist used materials solely from the shop’s newly launched autumn collection. I had bright turqoise eyeliner painted all over my eye lid, and peach tone blusher.

When I first opened my eyes to look at myself, I got a pleasant shock. I felt like a bird. A pretty bird.

Wenbing and I after the make-over. Because I have slightly hidden eyelids, you can’t really see the turqoise eyeliner unless I blink.

As a thank you gesture, Shu Uemura gave us samples of their cleansing oil and a bottle of their lotion. I also got a cute handphone charm for buying their products. I had to get the turqoise eyeliner - it was loud, but cute. I also bought their highlighter (colour 31).

6 hours after my makeover. The turqoise eyeliner is still in place!

Singapore Biennale Part 1

As promised, here are my pictures from the Singapore Biennale South Beach complex. You need to pay $10 for 2 of the Singapore Biennale venues, but it is worth the money. Just a short selection of some of the more outstanding installations that caught my eye.

First up, my favourite installation of them all. The Hair Salon by Leandro Erlich. This installation is totally AWESOME! 2 adjacent rooms are altered to mirror each other. I’m stuck in the glass image. It’s totally cool because everything is in reverse (magazines, dye packaging and clock included). Just standing inside the room made me feel like I was trapped in a doll house.

Next up, a free standing wall with the words “One Hundred Years of Solitude” which is derived from a book written by Gabriel Garcia. Short and simple.

Thereafter, one work that wowed me was this work by Felice Varini. This art work spread across an entire hall’s ceiling. It’s just amazing. From one angle, the image looks 2 D. From another angle, the image appears 3 D. I loved that the art was painted in bold orange.

Now this work was simply funny. I liked that the artists played around with the idea of “boxes” and filling them with personal items like dolls, tv, bunnies, books, radio. There was no real “boxes” though, the artist just made it such that visually the items fit nicely in a box format. Apparently, this is how some garung guni (2nd hand item collector) kept their items at home.

The upcoming installation is made from elastic, steel and fabric. Stretched across an entire room, the dancer is “pulled” to its limits with its hands on one wall and the legs on the opposite wall. Kids might just want to look at the front view of the Dancer though, for the back view is an exposed bum. Even so, I thought that the piece was created with beauty.

Now onto one installation that is filled with happiness and colour. Starburst! Sounds like the fruit gummies that I love. Upon seeing the installation, I just couldn’t resist doing the SMU (SMU started marketing itself to be different from other Singapore Universities with ads staring students & professors alike jumping). If you are thinking why is the floor filled with black namecards? That is because this is a continual installation of another piece which I forgot the name but it’s along the line that says I Hate Me or something. The name cards are really slippery.

The next installation shown here is called September Sweetness. Modelled after a Burmese pagoda, this solid structure is made from sugar. It is suppose to detoriate as the art festival progresses. According to Straits Times, this structure is a tribute to those who lost their lives in Myanmar last september. I thought that this art work was cool, but I was a bit creeped out by the bees that were flying and the ants that were stuck in the sugar delight.

The other art work that you see here, is called Fei Zao or soap. I love it because it makes the whole place smell nice.

There are other art works that are worth the time. Private moon, which is a visual poem about a man and a moon. Swing, which is a isolated swing made from neon light that speaks about the fragility of time. Beauty and the Beast, is a remarkable photography collection that applauds the chewing gum. And The Tuning Fork of the MInd, which is an interactive art display that humours your brains or no brains.

And we got our medal!!!

What a tough fight it was in the Olympics 2008 in the table tennis game. But in short, sweet and sharp words.

WE GOT OUR MEDAL!!!!!!!!

What a well deserved medal for the trio Feng Tian Wei, Wang Yue Gu & Li Jia Wei. And for the glory of our country. HOORAY!!

Match 1: In furious fashion, Feng annihilated Korea’s Dang to a 3-0 match.

Match 2: Nail biting and upsetting match as Li fought to win her opponent Kim, but it was clear that the Kim’s cool composure won over Li’s frustrations.

Match 3: Wang and Li made a comeback in the duo round, which was beautifully done.

Match 4: I think Wang must have been tired from the previous match and though fierce in fighting spirits, it was not enough to win Dang.

Match 5: Cool as a cucumber, and never showing a single sign of emotions, Feng nailed it for Singapore.

Wow, the matches got me sitting at the edge of the sofa, and with the final match won, HOOOOORAAAAY!!!! The taste of crawling your way through to a medal and finally securing it after 40 years is just so sweet.

National Day Parade 2008

In dedication for my love for NDPs. Happy Birthday Singapore!

The Singapore skyline has changed in recent years. Yet, it still remains as iconic.

I love NDP for the:

1) Thrill of seeing the Red Lions parachute into the stadium and hear the crowd scream “Go Singapore”!

2) Aerial display. How can you not drool at the sight of the F16s dash across the sky. They are awfully handsome in the sky. But my heart goes out to the star of NDP 2008… The BLACK KNIGHTS. Trust me, they rule the sky!!!

3) Dazzling fireworks. Rumours say that it is a million dollars project.

Stand up for Singapore, even if it’s raining.

From the National Stadium to Padang to the world’s largest Floating Platform, NDPs are just outdoing the last.

Being the fanatic NDP lover despite my friends endless protests, I have been very blessed to have been able to attend NDPs in all the locations, either as a performing participant, usher or guest. And I have to say that NDP 2008 surpasses my expectations. (Perhaps because I am still drooling from the air display by the BKs or perhaps because I finally got the opportunity to sit on red sector seats!!) Now, the fanatic me shall just tune into the live telecast of the celebrations.

*NB: pictures were taken not at the actual parade but NE2.