Yay, happy 2nd anniversary to me!

Two years ago today, today was a Saturday. On that hot Saturday morning, my husband and I were married.

So, yeah, happy 2nd anniversary to me and my husband!

We haven’t planned anything special tonight. Truth be told, I completely forgot the significance of today until I was keying something into my Outlook calender and saw the date. These days, I operate by days, not dates. I can tell you today is a Tuesday but don’t ask me what date it is. So yeah, that’s the story of my life.

Anyway, my husband incidentally got two tickets for the premier of Ironman tonight. So, we’re watching that as a way of celebrating our union. These days, I’m up for just about anything. Because it is normally the last minute plans that end up being the most enjoyable.

Since the cinema is near The Curve, we may just have dinner at Marche, where we normally go to treat ourselves. See how it goes.

I know anniversaries should be big deals but not to me. I’ve never been one to celebrate, not even my own birthday. So not surprisingly, I didn’t get any gifts for my husband and neither did he for me. We’re broke this month anyway.

If I have the money, I’ll probably surprise him with an Ipod or something. But we’re the type of couple who splurge on each other for no real reason. I would have made some effort if I weren’t so freakking busy this month.

Whatever it is, I’m glad that I’m able to get one story out of the way. It’s not mine but I’ve been tasked to rejig it. So rejig it I did. I can’t say I enjoyed it. How can you enjoy ripping apart someone else’s work and changing it beyond recognition. On second thought, it sounds like utter pleasure, esp if the story belongs to your enemy.

But I have no enemies (at least I’d like to think so), so I was doing the (re)jiggy like I was treading on eggshells. I hope I made a decent job.

Oklah. Tomorrow is American Idol day for me. Whatever Jason decides to sing, please, please, please make it so good that Simon says its BRILLIANT and ON THE MONEY, Paula starts bawling her eyes out and Randy gives a standing ovation and urges the audience to do the same. Coz I just want to see this boy in the Top Three. That’s not too much to ask, right?

I’m just travellin through memory and I don’t wanna cry

I am listening to some of the studio versions of the performances by Idols Season 7. I just have three words: Oh.My.God.

I know I said that I didn’t get David Cook’s version of Always Be My Baby. I’M TAKING THAT BACK! The studio version is da bomb, ok! *The live version is still ho hum to me.

The Top Six Idols posing with Mariah Carey. I think Jason is dead chuffed (happy/proud) that he got to stand next to Mimi. Well, he deserves the pimp spot for his “cool” remake of I Don’t Wanna Cry.

I’m also loving Jason’s Memory, which is way better than the live version. I’m not sure if this makes sense but it sounded just how it is suppose to sound. Just right. I also can’t get his rendition of Dolly Parton’s Travellin’ Through out of my head. He sounds like Taylor Hanson the most in this song. He sounds cute doing this number and like he enjoys it immensely. A little nasally maybe but definitely cute. I believe Hanson — which he probably grew up listening to — was and still is a big influence to him.

David Archuleta’s Think of Me is also meletup (da bomb) and Jason’s I Don’t Wanna Cry is near perfect. I say near perfect because there is this very noticeable imperfect note during the bridge which sounded jarring. I don’t know why AI let that imperfection slip. I mean, this is the studio version, emphasis on the word studio. So, what’s the point of calling it a studio version if you can’t make it perfect, right? Having said that, I love the little personal touches Jason has put on the song. It’s ironic that he nailed the falsetto parts and fell flat on that itty bitty note.

Now that I have discovered the studio versions of my favourite songs, from now on I’m going to make my judgement based on the studio versions.

If anyone is interested, you can download live and studio versions of songs performed by your favourite Idol at new-music-now.blogspot.com. It’s a godsend, really.

Well, I had better stop gushing about the Idols and resume my work. Tomorrow’s another working day and I had better be prepared for it.

P/S: I spent Saturday night at Guoman Port Dickson Resort. Had a family gathering in PD. We didn’t plan to spend the night there but decided to get a room because it would’ve been too tiring to drive back after the gathering. Woke up on Sunday morning to a very beautiful view of the pool and beach. It’s nice to go to the beach once in a while.

More reasons to adore Jason Castro

Dictionaries should really have Jason Castro’s picture to describe the words beautiful, cute, adorable, charming as well as clueless, goofy, honest, deadpan and comic relief.

Jason Castro during his audition in Texas.

Why these last four words? You have to view these videos (below) to understand what I mean. I’m not very smart at embedding videos, so here are the links:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x576qo_idols0424_shortfilms
(Where Idols season 7 speak their minds about the judges. Watch out for what Jason thinks of Randy (at 00:38 seconds.)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5480t_ai-extra-top-7_music
(Where Idols season 7 speak on how their weekends have changed since joining the show. Lookout for Jason’s comments somewhere near the end to know how REAL this boy is *lol*)

Castro listens to judges’ comments after one of his performances

Some people have said that he comes of as immature and not serious enough about winning the competition. I say and quote one wise Jason fan: “These people are still upset that Justin left *Nsync” *lol*

I think Jason is real and is unfazed by the whole competition. I mean, this is the guy who was perfectly happy to be a drummer for his band until someone suggested that he pick up the guitar and had only sung in public maybe five times before auditioning for AI. And these are the reasons why Jason Castro is my idol, regardless if he wins the contest or not. With a face like John Travolta’s and a singing voice that matches his good looks (def way better than Travolta’s), this boy is destined for superstardom. And I’ll be buying his CD, provided it is not ridiculously expensive like Elliott’s (which was RM60 or RM80 or something! I kid you not!)

Bye bye carly, we’ll miss you!

I haven’t been THIS excited about a male American Idol contestant since Elliott Yamin (and that was about two years ago). So, here, I’d like to introduce you to Jason Castro, the dreadlocked cutie.

To be honest, I’m not digging the dreads much but with his good looks (aren’t those the most amazing blue eyes you’ve ever seen? Ok, stop gushing!), Jason can totally pull it off. Anyway, I heard that he washes it — quote: “It’s still hair, it still stinks” — so as long as he does that, I’m fine :)

Jason’s hotness is pretty hard to ignore but initially, I tried not to like him because I thought he was another good looking guy who is pretty good with the guitar but can’t really sing. Arguably, Jason is not the contestant with the strongest voice but he more than makes up for it in talent.

Jason (and his two fans in tube tops from left) were elated that Simon loved his personal touch to Mariah’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry”

I loved how he changed Mariah’s I Don’t Wanna Cry to suit his style; made me see Somewhere Over The Rainbow in a completely new light; made me fall in love for folky songs like Hallelujah and Daydream. What I love most about him is that how unassuming he is. He’s genuinely surprised when the judges praise him but he doesn’t sulk or try to come up with a smart retort when judges, like Simon, criticise him. The fact that he’s goofy makes him more endearing. So he doesn’t sound very smart during interviews, so what? He’s simple and clueless in a cute, Kellie Pickler sorta way, ya know what I mean? At least the boy has talent and creativity and none of the diva attitude.

So yesterday I downloaded his songs from AI and also his own song and a cover of Crazy which he did for his auditions. I’m not feeling his own composition so much — he must have written that when he was younger because it wasn’t very polished melody or lyrics-wise. But Crazy was quite good. For the first time, thanks to Jason, I was able to catch what they lyrics were.

I hope he gets to go to the Top 3. If he gets kicked out after then and ends up as the second-runner up, I’m happy. At least then he’ll be like my other Idol, Elliott Yamin who also got into the Top 3. In some ways, Jason is like Elliott. Talented but unassuming and down-to-earth. Quirky and goofy yet endearing. Can you tell that I really like Jason and Elliott yet? :P

Anyway, I just got the good news that Jason is through to the Top 5 and Carly Smithson, the Irish girl gets to go home. It should’ve been Brooke White you know…. she fumbled so many times… it’s not fair to the rest who did better but have to go home just because they have less fans. Sigh.

I’m predicting it’s Syesha’s turn next. It’s a shame because she has improved so much. But something tells me she doesn’t get that many votes.

Anyway, please, please, please let it be David A + C and Jason C in the Top 3 (I’m thinking two weeks ahead now)!

BTW, what’s the theme for next week? Better not be something as hard as this week’s!

Later!

About CSI and AI

This week, Sara Siddle (a character played by Jorja Fox) left the Vegas’ CSI Team. I saw the episode three times — only the second time in full. At first, it left me puzzled as to why she decided to leave. But after seeing the complete episode, I understood her reasons and even thought it was poignant (enough to cry). She was never really my favourite character in the show (Grissom, Warrick, Katherine and Craig are) but it’s still sad to see her leave.

Anyway, American Idol was particularly entertaining for me this week since it was Mariah Carey week. After years of being told NOT to do Mariah songs, the contestants are actually made to pick from her song book. Everyone raved about David Cook’s rock version of Always Be My Baby. I thought it was a decent cover but I’m not loving it so much.

Brooke White and Cook both admitted that it was a very tough week for them and that made their performances very “emotional”. It could be because both of them had hated Mariah with a passion before. They were probably the very people who had bitched about her in the past. I’m not saying I know for sure but something tells me they’re not a fan of MC, and I’m not counting on them being fans of Britney Spears either *lol*.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching the performances. I thought many of them interpreted Mariah’s songs interestingly. I actually loved Jason Castro’s I Don’t Wanna Cry. The Spanish guitar in the song must have “spoken” to him and suggested that he do a beach louwow (spelling anyone?) version of it :P He was pitchy here and there but it was overall a pleasant song.

Good or bad, one thing is for sure, none of the singers could out-sing Mariah. The so-called most talented batch of AI couldn’t even NOT botch One Sweet Day. One of the girls let rip a horrible note — during one of the adlib parts — and I think it was Syesha. And I’m wondering why Brooke had to sing in such a low note.

Anyway, I heard from SP that next week is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s week. Good luck to all the contestants on interpreting his songs, especially to David Cook. SP said that his songs are kinda loopy. Well, break a leg contestants!

Ok, time to go to bed. Later alligators!

Guess who’s back in the mack

After spending hours in the office staring at the computer screen and pages for this weekend’s issue, the last thing I need right now is spending another 30 minutes or so staring at the screen writing this blog entry.

I got a shock (a pleasant one) looking at my dashboard. I knew that the layout for the page where I post my entries has changed but I had ZERO idea that the new dashboard has been pimped as well. Now I can tell who had recently linked me from their blogs/websites, how many blogposts I have so far — fyi it’s 542 (incl. this one), how many people read my blog on certain dates and my most popular post, which happens to be my review of Everyday Minerals makeup.

So, mineral makeup fans out there are gonna love this entry because *drum roll* I just got my package all the way from Austin, TX a couple of days ago. Actually, I could have picked it up on the 8th if I had wanted to but I was away in Hanoi. So, as soon as I had some free time on Wednesday, I laced up my walking shoes and speed-walked all the way to the post office (about a 10-minute walk). I swear I was back at my desk in less 20 minutes – the day was threatening to rain, so I HAD to walk fast.

After thoroughly enjoying my free samples kit last year, I decided to make my first purchase from Everyday Minerals website. I chose the personal custom kit (mini) where I get to pick 6 items from the categories below:

* Foundations
* Blushes and Face Colours
* Concealers
* Eye Colors
* Finishing Powders
* Lip Colors

and pay only US$18 (plus US$9 shipping and handling charges). For those living in Malaysia, that translates to around RM88. Not bad, huh?

Anyway, this time around, the products come in purple-lided containers weighing 4 grams each. They are the size of your average lip pots (lipgloss in pots) (see picture below which I lifted off watercoloursky.blogspot.com. Thank you for the picture!)

The colours I picked were:

• Medium Beige Summer and Sandy Medium for foundation in intensive (intensive refers to the formula and it’s suppose to be the best for oily skin like mine. Other formulas include matte, semi-matte and original glo)
• Intensive Medium for concealer
• Weekend Getaway and Apple for blushers
• Cherry Fizz for lip colour

The morning after I picked up the package, I mixed both foundation and chose Weekend Getaway to complete my makeup. But mixing the foundations — which I thought would produce the perfect match for my skintone. Nope, not exactly, as I found out later. I looked too done up. But I loved my blusher which looked quite natural.

So this morning, I just went with Sandy Medium and what do you know, it’s quite close to my skin. I’m sure Medium Beige Summer isn’t too dark for me. It’ll be suitable for certain days when I need a little tan. I’m sure I’ll have one of those days :P

I haven’t tried Apple because, frankly, it looks a little dark. Maybe it’s more suitable for night.

If you want to know how EM looks on my skin, just check out my current Facebook profile picture. In that photo, you’ll also notice that I am sporting a new hairdo. So far, I’ve got positive comments from people. I suppose if they have nothing nice to say about my hair, they probably won’t say anything *lol*. But I like my hair. If I had it my way, I would prefer a bob better but this cut is suited for my curly/wavy hair type. At least I don’t have to tie my hair when I run/walk on the treadmill. When I wash my hair, I use less shampoo and it takes less time to dry as well. I don’t need to use pomade to flick the ends of my hair because my natural curl does it for me FOC in my sleep :P I wake up and voila… instant swingy, bouncy curls.

Speaking of curls, today a colleague asked me if I had permed my hair? Hahaha. It’s all natural, baby!

I think I look boyish with this cut. Someone in the office says it makes me look younger than I already do. And my husband swears it makes me look taller(?!). Whatever!

I actually love long hair but I think I needed a makeover. Seven years is too long to have the same haircut, don’t you think?

Anyway, I do mean to post pictures from Hanoi soon. I still had long hair then. Right now though, I am too exhausted to even finish this entry and go grab a glass of cold water to drink. I promise, promise to do it before the end of the weekend. The Internet has been really good here in the new house so that’s a motivation to get it out of the way.

Ok, I’m so tired that the speaking voice in my head (which is narrating this entry) is slurring :P Night night then!

Hanoi: Day 2

I just got back from dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in Nguyen Huu Huan Street which serves halal food. I just had nasi goreng which tasted home-made. It was basic but tasty — something I could whip up at home on my own. Before dinner, I walked quite a distance to this shop along this street which I can’t remember the name of anymore and bought some selendang. I think they’re nice and would make nice gifts for my mom, sisters and mom-in-law.

I bought some postcards for USD4 earlier – when I visited the Temple of Literature – in the day for three sets of postcards which are reprints of communist propaganda from the 1970s. They’re ultra cool – very mod – and I hope they make good souvenirs.

I’m kind of worried that I had overspent. Actually I haven’t, not really, but it seems that way because I brought too little USD with me. I still some things on my shopping list to strike off. For instance, I haven’t bought the green communist cap and also fridge magnets (my favourite form of souvenirs, bless whoever it is who created them!). Oh well, I’ll figure something out.

Anyway, tomorrow will be a day filled with interviews. The good thing is I have identified the people I want to speak with. It’s a good thing that I have two more days to speak with them – at least it’s manageable. What I gotta do next is prepare my list of questions. I’ll leave that for tomorrow morning because I am dead tired right now. My brain is not functioning and my body is still in Malaysian time mode. By that I mean, I get tired at 10pm Vietnam time like I do when it is 11pm in Malaysia. The good thing is I can wake up as per usual and STILL be an hour early :P

Anyway, what do I think of Hanoi? I think it’s pretty and scenic. I love the lakes, the architecture and the trees but am so loathing the chaotic traffic. Everyone here honks incessantly. It’s quite annoying.

I took some pictures using my camera phone but am too tired to upload them right now. I’ll do it soon, I promise!

Well, I’m a hit the sack now. Later people!

I’ve packed my bags and am ready to go

To Hanoi, Vietnam that is. I was stressing over electricity plugs just now and then I found a website which reassured me that most newer hotels now install G type of plugs, which is similar to Malaysia’s. So, that’s one thing less to worry about that.

I’ll be in Hanoi for a from tomorrow until Friday, which is when I leave for KL. By the time I reach home, my husband would have arrived and probably be amidst some shopping in Bandung, Indonesia. He’ll be there on a company trip because his department made some money from last year’s sales. Good for hubby because he hasn’t travelled abroad since he was in school. So, looks like I’ll be spending the weekend of April 12 and 13 alone without him :(

I packed in an extra bag in case I decide to do some “serious” shopping. But I’m not bringing a lot of cash though because my husband is going to Bandung, THE shopping heaven, so he needs more cash. Anyway, my bag is a bit big and heavy right now. I also brought extra t-shirts and my running shoes as I plan to work out at the hotel’s gym (I’ll be staying in Sheraton). I also went to the gym when I was in Albuquerque’s Hyatt. When I stayed there last May, I was pleasantly surprised to see that at 6am, there were already a few people using the hotel’s gym. What was I doing at the gym that early? Let’s just say that jetlag from the 20-hour flight totally screwed up my sleeping pattern.

I’m really not sure what to expect from the trip. I mean, I have the itinerary and all but it doesn’t make much sense to me right now. I’ll just wait for the briefing tomorrow at the airport and maybe later after checking in.

I’m typing this entry with my eyes practically closed, so I better upload this and log off :)

I’ll try to blog from Hanoi. Later!