Spoonerism Day/Cleveland Day
2006-07-22 @ 11:49 p.m.

Was late for Music Network because I overslept. Not much, but it threw my whole schedule off. I have mixed feelings about being in the main service worship ministry. I think it's a bit of culture shock. I like using the talent God has given me in a bigger setting. I don't like hearing people complaining about other people. I like singing. I don't like people asking me to choose between singing for YE and main service. Is it very bad of me to think that the only part of service I usually enjoy is the worship, and then only if it's led by certain worship leaders? Sometimes it feels like it's better not to be good at what you do. Then people won't always want you to keep doing more. Not that I mind, but when decisions seem to start being made for you that you don't always feel able to object to, it's kind of awkward. Like when someone asked me if I could just not lead in YE at all so that I can attend weekly vocal workshop sessions on Sunday afternoon before main service. I didn't know how to reply. In all honesty, I much prefer leading in YE to attending the workshop. Yet how am I supposed to express that opinion without offending the person and causing problems for myself? Less confused than disappointed...

The Chocolate Bar was already closed by the time we came out from Cabaret. Just as well, since my mum was nagging about my coming home late. (Though it was really very early if one wants to be precise about it!) We had dinner at New York New York, which resembles NYDC, except that the food's cheaper and better. The place was only six days old when we dropped by, but it was packed! Wanted to try the deep-fried Mars Bars, which I've been dying to try ever since I read about it in the newspapers, but it happened to be sold out. In any case, nobody wanted dessert other than Thong, so I didn't order any either. Main course was spaghetti, but dressed in extra virgin olive oil instead of carbonara sauce, because the latter's very heavy. (Nonetheless, it is still one of the best ways, in my opinion, to judge if a place serves good pasta.) Pictures again, because I'm not going to be seeing some of these people for months. The charming ladies from the Humanities classes, you will be missed, and you know who you are!

Cabaret was incredible! The singing was actually very good, especially Fei Xiang and Emma Yong. Don't think the costumes and set were nearly as lavish as they looked in the publicity photographs though. I was very impressed by the closing scene of Act 1. It's a disturbingly catchy patriotic number, the kind of über Nazi stuff that sends chills down the spine of any sensible post-Holocaust person. What made it especially ironic was that the curtain fell right after the song ended. So when the audience applauded, it was an indirect endorsement of everything the song stood for. It's not like you had a choice about it though; the structure of the musical coerced you into siding with the Nazis against everything the two pairs of lovers stood for. Ben Woon and I both concur about this, and Mel and Vaish think we're brilliant! The ending evoked a mixture of defiance and pathos, a bittersweet farewell to the hedonistic days of pre-war Berlin. Thoroughly enjoyed watching Cabaret. I wish they had a soundtrack made. Some of the numbers were really sweet, like the ones for the lovers' scenes and Sally Bowles's solo. "Life is a cabaret, old chum..."