whether the weather will wither away

went to yarra valley yesterday with dad mum and aunties and got to drive a bit. Glad coz i need to get the feel of the wheel back in me again before tasmania otherwise i'd be driving with very little confidence...

but when dad was driving there was this sudden freak sandstorm that jus blew into the valley and out. It was amazingly cool and awfully scary... We were sitting there in the car jus picking up speed from a short stop and then suddenly (i mean really suddenly) the sand a bit far off started swirling and lifting off the ground. It started getting more and more and the swirl became bigger and wider and suddenly there was sand swirling everywhere and engulfing everything. It was so cool. the wind was blowing everything up (except trees, cows and our car) but it was sending twigs and leaves and sand all up in the air like some tornado. The cool thing was that u could see the swirl getting bigger and nearer till it enveloped the car and it literally went blank... All u saw outside the window was sand. Couldn't see past 5 metres of the car and u were like in the eye of the tornado... Awesome. So it blew that way for a good 5 mins or so and cars started pulling to the side of the road...

Then jus as quickly as it came, it left... The wind swept the sand past the road and it jus travelled away like a gloom of iminent doom. It reminded me of the Angel of the Lord passing over the houses of the egyptians and israelites... Then it was gone...

So cool. I've got a video of it. I'll post it up soon. :)

Cool experience and thank God no one got hurt.

Whee

EXAMS ARE DONE.... finally. now it's time to heck school till march and enjoy myself... next up.. Tasmania trip... BOOYAH!

Last Paper

Wow...here i sit... 10 minutes before i leave home for my last exam paper as a year 2...

and i feel so unprepared... haha maybe it's the generalization of this subject... or maybe it's the fact that this subject isn't a memorize information kind of subject... or maybe it's coz it's the last paper..

but i know i'm looking forward to getting it done and settled asap. :) then i'm free to not think about school till march 2010... :)

Aye, God, I'm so in need of You today. hahaha yeh... that was me last nite... pleading... lolz...

Ciaoz people!

Studying in Law Library

This is Uni Life... This is what happens when students camp themselves in the Law Library and study for a paper due tml... 

And this is what happens when u have an essay due tomolo. :) lolz.

Love is like playing the piano

Taken from here

Thanks Joash. i think it's really true.

Hawt....

taken from here

the heat here is bugging me... and everyone else..

GUHHHHHH i want to wear jumpers again and worry about whether i would have enuf layers... and wear my winter coat and feel like my eyebrows are singeing off when Crown Casino's fireshow goes up in the air.

heat, heat, go away, come again another day [when i'm not in melb].... :)

blah. one exam down. 2 to go.

mummy's here

yay... So mum messaged to say she's touched down safely in melb... So i take my essay and walk off to sch... Oh gosh it's a hot day...

Never mind that, i submit my essay and decide instead of tramming down to meet my mum at lygon-victoria, i'll take a nice slow stroll....

So i reach lygon-victoria and i call her and oh my gosh, she's STILL clearing customs... That means it's prob another 45 mins till she's here at least... Gahhh. So i asked her to ring me when she gets on the starbus and then i'll know it'll take roughly half an hour to come to the city... Sigh. The long long wait. And then we'll walk up lygon in this heat. thankfully everything, almost everything, is sheltered. :)

But thank and praise God that she arrived safely. Yay. Now jus to get her here and back home and then i'll have mummy with me for a week before she goes to tassie. :)

Yay. Hehe

~ Joel Tan ~
--- Sent from my E63 ---

HAWT WEATHER!

hahah funny how i blogged about it being chilly and now here i am, bloggin how hot it is...

that's melbourne for you. :)

today was SO hot... was going to die... hannah's place was a fiery furnace la. was so worried my place would be as hot. but thankfully it's not. :) Auntie rina and mama came today so we were running around settling some stuff like handphone plan and all. :) but wahhhh so hot can.

mummy's coming tomolo! yay! hahhaa... i guess i'm just glad that she'll be able to come up and see for herself what my melbourne life is. :) awesome.

Chilly

Need I say more? Consider this... it was DOUBLE the temperature yesterday at this time of the day... then last nite it dropped to 13... and now at 10am, it's 15.... 

Don't you just love melbourne weather? It's like the PMS of all countries...

So yeh, pack wisely [however u can] for here if u're coming.

Dripping

Oh My Goodness... dripping perspiration can!
It's so hot i kept falling asleep in the tram back just now. :S gosh. haha

Bad time to come mudder, bad time.

greetings

So I come up to Phyllis on a Sat morning market trip and since it's her birthday yesterday, i extend my arms out in an embrace and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

AND SHE SAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY back to me!!! Like what the heck... Talk bout not paying attention! Haha but she realized what she did instantly and we laughed about it... It's like she's wishing me 9months in advance.. Haha

I've got such retarded friends. :)

~ Joel Tan ~
--- Sent from my E63 ---

So You Think You Can Dance 09 Auditions

So last night, Hannah's 2 friends [Rachel and Tim Walsh] went to audition for So you think u can dance. It's a really cool show [biggest and most popular dance competition show in aussie] that we were all hooked on when it was airing. This is Season 3 and we're looking forward to it coming to the tele soon...

So yeh, we managed to get into the auditions and it was very free and easy. very open concept and we just felt like we were treated to a really lucky experience... it was cool coz the dance floor was just this big flooring and there were cameras and lights everywhere.. but yet it was so simple.. no big setup or anything... jus the three judges [TV STARS!!!] behind a desk and dancers on the floor one by one... :) it was so awesome coz we were so close to the front... like there were prob a max of 40 people in that area and we were just sitting so close to the judges and all... During the break, i was sitting there facebooking with my phone and one of the judges [jason] just came up to the seat in front of me and was like talking over me to this other girl who was sitting 2 rows behind me and asked her to inform this other lady to be at the studio at this date and time... felt so... like i was part of the crew and all... being so close to people we see on tv.

i know i know, dun idolize them... i'm not..it's jus like.. wow... i'm so into the set piece and the whole audition experience that it's like i'm not watching the filming of a show, it's like i'm IN the show itself... well i was coz the camera does pan the audience quite a bit. haha and it zooms in on expressions we have and stuff. :) so it was pretty weird too... to think u were being watched... there's this camera they have on a long beam that sweeps the audience, flies in where the dancer is dancing and dances with them by twirling around them and all [it's REALLY flexible and versatile... the camera on the beam] and sumtimes it'll come to the audience and jus film us. and it's weird coz it's like the camera is literally in your face [or half an arm's length] in front of your face and what u gotta do is ignore it and jus try to watch the performance without looking into the camera... haha.. weird and nerve wrecking too.

but yeh, it was neat... watching some of the dancers.. some were really good and some of them were so-so... we went thru 20 dancers that night i think.. went on from 8.40 to 2.30am... hahaha but it was WELL worth the whole 4 hours... and tim and rachel were the last 2 dancers... tim danced lyrical and GOSH it was SO blardy good... ;) he did 3 pouriettes and it went straight into an arabesque... and it was epic awesome... so good. technique and all... he was given some advice from the judges and then matt lee [one of the judges] asked him how much he wanted the ticket to top 100 [the best kind of ticket they gave out] and he told him he wants it so much.. and that he'll work so hard coz he's already spent a whole year training and working on some stuff he was advised to change last year... and he was really cute about it all... and matt lee pulled out the top 100 ticket and we just ROARED in applause... we were SO happy for him. ahhaha... then rachel came out and danced. the judges were torn.. but it came down to sending her thru choreo first.. but that was still friggin awesome. :) so cool to actually know them and they know me... and to see them dance... so well.... :) awesome experience.

there are 3 kinds of responses... 1. Go away, u're too lousy for this 2. Go through choreo where there's no limit as to how many people get sent to choreo. they'll learn a short choreo piece and get judged again. 3. Top 100. So u advance straight to Top 100 in Australia and dance for your life to get to become Australia's next So you think you can dance winner. :)

I'm SO watching it when it comes out. i can't wait. here are some of the photos. enjoy!

The Maelstrom has passed

So, it's finally over... After months and months of rehearsals, the production is over... Bittersweet feelings of relief and loss sweep through the dressing room once the first curtain is raised... It's weird coz everyone knows it's the end and with that in mind, have vowed to dance their hardest.

Seems like the audience knew it too and roared into life the moment the announcements were made. They kept the mood alive and the noise to a maximum with all the 'GO YUSUF's and 'GO BRONWYN!'s. The dancers danced hard and gave it all they got... Including Lois, Hannah and myself. When i went out for my hiphop piece, i was shocked to hear the crowd WOOO in unison when my spotlight came on. It took me by surprise but only served to motivate and push me to dance full out without holding anything back...

The ballet contem piece with hannah and lois was great too. The steps jus came thru muscle memory and the lifts were mostly great. The last night was the most awesome one. I caught hannah with confidence and turned her with ease. The fish dive was executed really well too and a small mistake was hidden by a cover up that blended seamlessly into the next step.

Finally, our windmill lift and carry lift after that was one of the best we've done and i must say adrenalin really kicked in and i lifted hannah up so high my arms were in full extension. She had such a long air time i was quite stunned when i put her down. :) seriously, it was such a great piece and i'm glad that it's all over.

Now that flare's over, i'm glad to have the time back to finish off the last week of semester, write my 3k word essay and prepare for exams in 2 weeks time. :) thank you to all who came and supported us and bought tickets and all. :) really appreciate it... So here's to (Davin, Phyllis, Kenrick, Vanessa, Michelle, Much and Robbie) for coming to specifically watch us and thanks to others who blessed us with 'good luck's and 'all the best's :) it rocks to have friends so caring and thotful. :)

Pics are in facebook but i'll choose some and post them here soon. Watch this space. :)

~ Joel Tan ~
--- Sent from my E63 ---

Maelstrom: Flare Production 2009

It's finally here. We sit on the night before the production. The precipice of the performance... It's great that we're finally here, not great that some pieces aren't perfect yet including mine... but it's just going to happen and we are going to make it work. :)

It's taken up so much time AND energy [yes loads of that] to rehearse over and over again for these 3 nights where we dance our butts off... Although it feels like another rehearsal, when the crowds come in, the adrenaline would be PUMPED up! we've sold out for Fri and Saturday and Thurs is selling fast.. thank God we managed to sell the tickets coz ticket sales were really bad this year.... till now. :)

Looking forward to getting it done with and performing. This is my FIRST production and that's kinda why it has a special place in my heart... it's quite an experience to finally be doing sumthing i never thot i would... i only took up dance like at the 2nd half of my army life so that's about 1 and a half to 2 years ago... and here i am FINALLY putting up a production. :) i guess u can say it's the culmination of months and months of anticipation. :) never thot i'd ever dance on stage... let alone 2 dances of different genres :)

I'm just glad to be able to share this moment... or moments [coz it's 3 nights] with friends... close friends who man the Lighting [matt's doing an AWESOME job] to sound techs [minglei's manning sound] to dancers [Lois and Hannah and many more i've met thru rehearsing] and audience members [Phyllis, Davin, Michelle, Vanessa, Kenrick and many more]....

Just that this production has taken so much from me... time and energy as i mentioned earlier. every night after rehearsal i come back so tired. no more strength left to shower and do work. and school work has been suffering in a way... and it doesn't help that these weeks before project submissions so everyone's working their butts off and i'm having to excuse myself for flare rehearsals... and time and energy taken away from the gf too... i feel so empty these days... it's like yeh we're on stage together and all but i dunno... like just missing sumthing.... sigh. never mind. it's only a few more days till flare's over... then we'll choing projects [although they should be done by this sunday] and spend time with the gf too... 

ok so here's where i must mandatorially pick up the mood and end on a good note... so...

yay!!! Flare Production!!! Maelstrom 2009. 22nd - 24th Oct 2009, 7.30pm, Union House Theatre. Be there!

Distant

You know how you can be next to that special someone and still miss them and feel like there's a gap in the middle? I dunno... Maybe physical presence doesn't mean you're with each other.

School work's not been great recently. I think Flare has quite a bit to do with it. Rehearsals have been getting more frequent (sometimes twice a week. Thankfully i'm only in 3 dances so that's 3-4times a week) and the intensity of each have greatly increased. More lifting, more running to our blockings and just generally stress level higher so choreographers are snapping.

Put that and place school assignments on top of that and deliverables... it's sometimes just quite a bit for one person to all take at once. And maybe it's tough but there isn't another choice. Just gotta roll with it.

I'm rolling. :) just roll with me. Coz i'm not sure i can do it alone. Thanks for everything so far... :)

~ Joel Tan ~
--- Sent from my E63 ---

New House in Feb 2010

So just to update everyone who hasn't already heard the great news, 3 friends and I have finally found our accommodation for the next year. We were trying to find a 4 bedroom house or place but most of them were quite far out of the city [means traveling time] and most of them also are available NOW which means we can't take them since our current leases expires on the 31st of Jan... so we had a big dilemma and have been searching for a suitable, cheap and good locality place since Aug. :S

So after thinking through quite a lot of things, we decided that we won't totally kill the idea of us all 4 sharing a place but for sake of convenience and all, we might find better chances with 2 two bedroom apartments where the girls [Hannah and Phyllis] stay in 1 two bedroom place and the guys [Davin and i] stay in another two bedroom place... i was telling phy that day that the best arrangement would be if we both found places close by so we'd almost be like we're staying together [can have potlucks and stuff and be close to each other] without all the trouble [like sharing a bathroom or kitchen or fridge space]...

Lo and behold,

We go and inspect this student accommodation down at Elizabeth Street area and it's got 2 two bedroom apartments that we're all pleased with. The location is GREAT coz it's within walking distance from everything [Market, School, Town, Safeway which is like our cold storage] and the price is pretty good for it's location and size [though it's not big, it's not tiny either] and the company that owns it is legit, the landlady is very nice [malaysian motherly like person] and actually, it's the same owner as Lois' place so she's been dealing with them for a year already and hasn't had anything bad to say about them... so yeh, it's a great place and so here's what happened.

We inspected the place then went to have a short discussion at the subway just a few doors away [yeh, there's a subway and a boost juice outlet and CommonWealth ATM all just a few steps away from the door] and the decision was made that we're all happy with the place and we should snatch it up before we lose such a great chance. It really was the best arrangement and we were all pretty psyched up about it. :) so we went to the office, signed the bond, paid the money and secured the place. Most imptly, the rental starts on the 1st of Feb so we literally dun have double rental... and that's great coz we were all ready to pay double rent [old place and new place for Nov, Dec, Jan] but with this new place, our new rental starts when our old place expires... so that's FABULOUS..

Yep, so we're real glad for the God send and greater news, I managed to find a place to dump my stuff so i can fly back in peace and when i shift things i'll know it's at a fren [Xiao Xi's] place... :)

Amen! and I'm so looking forward to us all staying together... it'll demand change for some parts of our lives yes, but i guess it'll be sumthing we live with [literally] hahaa. :)

Calvin's 21st in the 1940s

9am Saturday sees me tramming to the gf's place to change out of my party outfit and into my grocery shopping clothes... Why? Well coz in the afternoon, she, davin and i are going to Calvin's (Meliza's bf from Bridge Church) 21st birthday bash.

The theme? 1940s. Haha.. So we're all donning fedoras, suits, suspenders, huge hats and all. :) i promise you, pictures WILL be up. Haha so excited and i think it's gonna be quite a big party... Bridge church IS quite big. :)

But for now, i've gotta settle the normal grocery shopping for the week. Amazing how queen vic market is so close to my new place so from feb 2010 onwards, i won't need to tram to market anymore! Heh. awesome.

Oh, another good news is that my dearest friend Xiaoxi from ocf has graciously, generously and so lovingly offered her place for davin and i to store our stuff when we move out of our old places. Soooo happy. Now seriously almost everything's settled.. And it's only oct. Haha. Thanks be to God for all His blessings and guidance... And answered prayers... He's really given us our hearts desires. :) amen!

Saw the floorplans of matt's new place yesterday... The pics are Nice la can't wait to see the apartment. The photos are real cool too. :)

Oki. Take care peeps. :)

---- Sent from my E63 ----

Trip To Tesselaar Tulips

Here u am, waiting at melbourne central train stop at 8.45am. My train jus came but what happened before this is surely worth blogging about.

I packed my bags and got everything ready the night before... Checked how long the train and tram rides would take and estimated which tram to take in order to meet my transport (Adelene picking me from box hill station) and set 3 alarms... coz today is daylight savings, so was worried my alarm clock would buzz me an hour late, i set a few at differing times. Anyways... i wake up, get changed and all and then to my horror, the next tram was in 40 mins.. And i'm like... What the??? Apparently the trams didn't follow the morning slotted times and the first tram was at 8.20 instead of 7.49. :s ahhh so i sms hannh and ask her to pass along the message that i'll be late and to change the timing.

Everything's fine and so against logic, i tell myself maybe the trams DO follow the schedule but the tram tracker widget is wrong.. So i set out as planned and reach my tram stop at 7.45am. A tram comes at 7.50 and i smile to myself... Only to realize it passes by quickly coz it's 'NOT IN SERVICE'... Hmm never mind, i'm sure there's the 8.09am tram... So i wait... And wait... For 35mins in the freezing cold.

My tram finally comes at 8.20... Just like the tram tracker widget advised. Dammit. By this time, my brain's frozen solid and my fingers following soon after. This leads me to play a few HORRIBLE rounds of Rockband Unplugged... Guess the cold really affects your reaction time. :s

Sigh. So i learnt a lesson today (in the few waking hours so far).. Always trust the tram tracker widget... It's always correct... And never try to entertain self by playing rockband in the cold. :s

Sigh. Now i'm on the train heading towards box hill... A half an hour journey.. Going to the tulip festival... And i'm just glad for my monthly mobile internet plan.. Lets me blog on the train. :) i feel like August now. Haha.. So techy. Blogging on my E63. Heh.

Yep oki. Here's hoping the festival will be smashing and it'll be worth all this trouble. And if all fails, there's alwats delicious muffins that were baked last night. Heh. Epic success... Form still has a lot to desired. One still looked like a scone. But who cares, heh...

See ya peeps!

---- Sent from my E63 ----

Bahhhhh.

Taken from here

you know sum days something just bugs u and it spoils the rest of your day?

bah. humbug.

i'm going to sleep. dun bug me world. i'm not talking to you.

Hum Sup??

So there i was right, during Flare practice... and all thru the sem, we've been rehearsing this song.. the imaginative setting is that we're 4 guys in a club trying to pick up these 4 girls. What happens after is a partner dance that we dance with the girls and alone...

So here we are, in the present day, 3 weeks from production. Nessa comes and sits in our practice and gives her comments [coz she's the artistic director] of Flare... and we dance couple by couple for my choreographer [daryl] to spot mistakes and give advice... and then after yvonne and i dance, nessa tells me that i look like i'm some hum sup guy trying to get yvonne to sleep with me... :S that totally does NOT help yvonne dance properly.. she already can't stand being so flirted by me... :S so anyways... nessa was telling me to look higher instead of so low coz it looks like i'm just staring at her ass and stuff... but the thing is yvonne's kinda short, and i'm kinda tall... so i HAVE to look down. So daryl tells me, look at the top of her head of at her forehead area instead lor. :S

Sigh... spastik la. hahha... then i was like.. ooook. so u want me to flirt with her and look like i want her but NOT to sleep with her... OOOOkkkk. i could do that... :S spastik la... wanted to go there and SMACCCCCK her. i already dun like nessa much.. and her comments dun help. hahhaa. but yeh, it was all fun coz everyone was laughing and all... it's all good...

flare's happening soon. goodness. 3 weeks till we dance on stage proper... weird to actually be involved in a dance production. never have been but apart from the rehearsals... it's pretty cool la. :) looking forward to the jumper and the nights themselves. whee! hope people come and support and watch us dance the nights away. :)

Come on, dun make me hum sup for nothing. :)