Month: May 2004

  • [#69] Week-end/day Blasts 


    I know that I owe you lots lots of blogs...I haven't updated anything since my birthday! So I decided to do a long one though it's past my bed time...Savi?


    Fiddler On The Roof party! On 22 May, my birthday.


    Great house inside NewZealand Embassey     by the pool     lots of  people    lots of fun   lots of photos taken      nice to see everyone again         the 'prize giving ceremony'      too much food!      birthday song from everyone to Jack (stage manager)         bought Jack a b-day cake...on my own birthday       b-day song from everyone for me         Jack hanging out his own prize for everyone...and I was The Best Ladder Holding Page Turner         lots of laughters       Video Party after the pool party      watched video of  the show but not totally edited yet         looked great!     Lenne the director cried               Jack cried





     


     











    Motokid In Town


    Ahh, my Xanga-mate Motokid in town, go check out his site. He, who's supposed to be 'straight', explores gay town with Hay-chan and E.   -- E reports.





    That night was a lota fun! Motokid was practising his sexuality in Dragon while Jack and his bf, also some people from F.O.T.R. were also there




    A Birthday Lunch On Sunday


    Me and my friend Rikard who has the same birthday with me,  had this co-birthday lunch on Sunday @ a Yumcha place! Yum...



    Went to Hay-chan's place and did all the girl talk, then went to Fuji and sang so many Karaoke that night and fucked up my voice again...which made the next day's audition miserable! But anyway I had fun on my birthday, what's to complain about!?




    I Got It! ...Monday


    Can't believe that it's such a beautiful Monday and I'm enjoying it!!!


    ...That's what I was thinking when I took a day off to go to the immigration office to get my visa. I knew it's granted but didn't know until I got to the window that I had got a 3-year visa! Woohoo! For most newly grads in Japan, getting only a year's visa is very common on the starting year of their jobs...but guess I was just extremely lucky. And it was sooo quick! After 25 minutes I already got away with my passport and 3-years visa sticker in it and singing my way home...on a bus, with the duckiest voice, Gollum, Gollum!


    Audish


    Went to audition for Cinderella by TTFC (Tokyo Theatre For Children) that night. Saw a few people from F.O.T.R and was so glad to meet them, my fellow Anatevkans :) The whole process was fun. It was the second time I've been to an audition and so good that I was having fun! But during the whole audition I didn't have much confidence coz my voice is so scratched and it was a torture to hear me speaking. Anyway I still enjoyed it and decided I'll do my old job this time again: helping at backstage -- just found out there that the rehearsal schedule is mostly during day time! Grrrr....  Kids! Why do we have to cast kids in the show! Ooops I forgot this is a play for the kids.




    Work


    Finally started going out and meeting clients. I sat at 6th floor on Tuesday and someone took me out to see clients. Thanks to that I'm under the sun again...at 1:00pm during the day! I felt so good. But the meeting itself was so...sleepy. I almost fell asleep coz I had no idea what they were talking about. I was just...there.




    Gym


    Went for a tour of the biggest,  most well-known, heaviest branched and also the gayest gym TIPNESS on Tuesday...before I decided to join. Was not as cruisy as rumour says it is but why does it matter?


    So on Wednesday I joined. OMG! It was 26th and I was still getting b-day presents!!! Hay-chan and Jona.C were spoiling me by buying me presents! Soon after I met Hay in the gym on my first debut in Tipness, he flooded me with 3 huge bags...which made me a bag lady at gym (had three from Hay-chan, two more of my own that day) and when I opened them, the contents were...also bags! Really nice gym bag, 'week-end' bag and a NIKE towel! And they are from the newly opened huge sports wear shop: FIELD! What nice gym-debut presents!!! Thank you guys so much!


    It's been a while since I went to a gym and I felt good! Did a check on my bones and was told that my 'left leg is slightly shorter than the right one'...exactly what I thought! That's why the way my shoe is consumed on each foot is always different and I feel pain sometime from walking too much...but from different parts of each foot! I did lots of machines on Wednesday and woke up this morning with a slight pain all over my body, not too bad yet. Then today, I brought my swimming suits and tried the pool -- one of the biggest reasons I joined this gym. So nice to be able to swim again and I just didn't want to leave! Think swimming is the best working out. It works on the muscles all over your body and you don't have to be bored to death by a machine. I'm expecting a huge muscle pain tomorrow morning coz I can feel it now already. The only prob was my friend bought this swimming shorts for me a year ago and it's too small! It's almost stopping my blood circulation and don't even call that sexy!!!




    Hey, you! Who lives so far, far away from me. I miss you so much and want to give you a loud shout out here on my site and I just switched the music to this song to match yours... And you know who I'm talking about !

  • [#68] Greates Show of All! (--and you know I'm gonna say that)


    Many friends came to either of the Sunday shows. I was glad. It made me a proud man coz the shows (especially the last one) went beyond my/the entire crew's anticipation, in another word, blew the audience/ourselves away. Especially the last show.


    We all knew that it's gonna be the last show and everyone couldn't be more serious. Before the show began, think every actor/ess pushed him/herself to get the best energy level they could and after the curtain was up, each scene just slided away so smoothly. I was standing back stage and had lots of  chances to see the audience. After each scene was finished, the actors came back behind the curtains and would give a huge triumph pose. Also when songs such as 'L'Chaim' and 'Wedding Dance' were going on the stage, all people hidden behind curtain would go frenzy and dance with the actors at back stage, just as to enjoy the last few moments and feel the happiness along with each scene for one last time...coz this was the damn last show. It's truly touching. It's almost ridiculous that we worked so hard for months but only had chance to give 6 shows...there is always something about the money isn't there?


    It really touched me when I saw a few audience wiping their tears with handkerchives or just their hands during the last song 'Anatevka'. We worked hard and touched them, now they cried and touched us. What a nice give-and-return process! And at the end of the show, the ovation just seemed lasting forever! And it's such a joyfull moment even for us standing at the backstage. I kept urging Jack, my friend aka stage manager to go out onto the stage but he always refused. He was doing an amazing job and this show wouldn't exist if were not for him yet most people dun know how hard and how stressful his job is! After the curtain is finally down, twice, behind it were screams of joy and thousands of hugs. We had a great time and everyone knew that we were also going to leave SunMall Theatre aka Anatevka! Outside the theatre was packed with people, as usual yet a little different after the last show. I was, too, enjoying my friends telling me how good the show was. Then we had to load out. Stressful work I have to say, and it's also bit bitter to see all those props we used for 6 shows were all dismentaled in 1-2 hours and mostly turned into garbage.


    After loading everying onto the lorry, it was already 1am...but the party just began! We went to Fuji, the bar I love to go all the time and flooded this tiny Karaoke bar with 20+ people! The master must be happy :) We put in 'Sunrise Sunset' and 20 people sang together...who needs a microphone!? And we all knew our parts just like on stage and we could do such harmony which made it the best Karaoke in the world! So much fun that night and I didn't go home until 3am! Wish I dun have work to do the next day!!! Grrrr.


    It took me so long to update this last one because I was working on the hundreds of fotos I took during the whole process of the show, reheasals, parties, dress rehearsals, real show... A zillion of them and finally I put them on the web...so have a look HERE!



    'How often does a man get complement like that!?'

  • [#67] Grrreater Show!


    Friday night (7:30pm ~~ )


    The show got greater on Friday night coz Ms Debby (Debi?), a.k.a. Debi Fujin was there. She is mega famous in Japan and she's also the ex-wife of the King of Indonesia. And last night she was there giving 'Tevye' flowers coz she is a friend of his.


    Then the 'bigger' person didn't show up and greet all of us in the corridor of back stage until the end of the show, the Princess of Japan! Yay, we got her to come to the show! She's a friend of 'Golde' and we knew she was coming but due to security reason we were not allowed to know which show she was coming to...but yesterday we could tell right away before the show according to the security situation and the number of the special police! She dressed so normally that anyone could've mistake her for someone else. It's a great honor to meet her! She had such powerful royal atmosphere around her and she has such Emperor's nostrils!


    Then went to the same bar yesterday and Debi Fujin went there too! All the other gay boys in the bar just stared at her and her pretty boy that she's been with for 12 years! Didn't talk to her but think she must be such a sweet person. Didn't stary long and before going home, had a Takoyaki with Jack and Lou (Chava). Soooo tired. But still went home on foot coz I don't already decided to sing all my way home and that's no good when there is a taxi driver around :)




    Saturday (2:00pm ~~ 5:00pm, 7:30pm ~~ 10:30pm)


    That's just such a lovely day! Except for a  bit stomach-ache when I got to the theatre coz I skipped breakfast. Then I had to do this and that so had no time to eat...meaning I'm not professional enough My ex dorm-mate came and I wanted to be some support coz he doesn't understand much English so I got the permission from the director and at beside him and the girl he brought and watched the show! Wow, I'm watching a great show for free, aha! My first-and-only time I stayed off backstage and watched the show. It was truely, truely amazing. I've been going to countless rehearsals but it just looked and sounded sooo great on real stage. Only problem was it is Saturday so lot of children, yuk! They talked so loud during the show, Mama Mama, and they have to pee, or climb up and down. I just wanted to deep fry them! Or perhaps their parents coz this is not a show for kids anyway. But anyway, my friend and his friend enjoyed the show a lot and he recognized a lot of people from 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown', which was also a show he went to see coz he was encouraged by me (see blog dated Nov. 17 2003 ).


    Had a big pizza party under the theatre during the break between first and second show. Coz we have 2 shows today so the energy level sort of went down during the break. I can tell from some tired faces...well I was tired, let alone the actors! But when the show started, it went boom! again. At one scene that Hodel kisses Perchik, a kid went 'Eeeeeew!' and it blew away all the romantic feeling or whatever that scene tried to deliver and the adults were just laughing! It was so funny!


    After the show finished successfully, I heard a lot sighs like  'it's gonna finish tomorrow'...or 'we are gonna part soon' kinda stuff and I was thinking Gosh! must be so much drama tomorrow and who is NOT gonna cry tomorrow after the final show? We went to the same bar...OMG, we were here every day! And the Master of the bar is so happy of that of course! Tonight was a huge group and Lenne again, sang her beautiful Summertime and shocked every one who listened to her first time. Talked non-stop with Katherine, the fiddler in the show and she is such a multi-talented, smart sweetheart with lots of stories!

  • [#66] Grrrreat Show!


    Ran out of my office right after 5 pm and rushing towards the theatre. I feel I'm such a radical doing this in Japan! I did exactly the same thing last night for the final rehearsal and it was fine. Nobody was blaming me for leaving so why not do it again? :)


    Last night, our first and final costume rehearsal on real stage, I took sooooo many fotos. Might be my only chance to take fotos, and they all surprised me. I didn't use any flash and they turned out to be so fabulous! Each scene I took could be made into a poster or something! I'm so proud of my digi-cam now. Since I have many friends who will go to the shows from tomorrow and so on, I'll not let the pics out until later...


    And tonight, the real show #1 was just FANTASTIC! I was working back stage and had no chance watching the show at all but kept peeping through the curtains...OMG I just loved the reactions of the audience and everyone from the cast loved that too! We were having such a blast on or off stage!


    So funny that when we had to make smoke for the dream sequence, we were almost choking to death. God this smoke is stinky and it was way too much for backstage. It was my first experience being so close to the smoke and get choked, and that felt...quite nice, haha!


    Then after the show, director, who used to be such a strong, demanding bitch throughout the whole rehearsals, came behind the curtain and gave everyone huge bear hugs and lots lots of tears...I'm talking about... a LOT! Well it's forgiven coz it actually WAS a great show! All I did was taking lots of fotos and laughed at her face. Now she can be proud of herself and go home bragging about it to everyone and herself! Actually we didn't go home. We went out to this Kusuo Bar in Nichome, to have a few drinks and to absorb the aftertaste from the show. It's a gay bar and so nice to see that everyone was there. Of course everyone including the director was still excited, so for the first part it was just talk talk talk! Then we, who are not gonna be on stage, sang a few songs...including Lenne, the director. She sang 'Summer Time' and she just went like BANG! and shocked everyone! She's such a great singer and most of the crew had no idea! Then I had to leave coz it was already 2am and I have work tomorrow! Uhh, life sux! But at least this Fiddler is gonna give me some satisfaction untill the final party party party was finished. Oh speaking of which, the cast and crew party is gonna be on 22 May, my birthday, yohoo!


    Me wearing the Fiddler Tee, with 'Fruma Sarah' and 'Constable'



    John: Tevye. A great friend, a gorgeous singer and an absolutely fabulous actor!



    Lenne: Best smile of the year. :)


  • [#65] Golden Week


    It's Golden Week in Japan, so have about a week's holiday and I'm currently enjoying it!


    #1> Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles!


    One day morning after I woke up, I found my computer was totally dead and it seemed there is no way to boot it up...not even by giving an artificial respiration! (That was also the reason why I couldn't update for so long!) After asking a few freind's opinion I realized in horror that it seemed it was the mother board's problem! WTH! My computer was bought years ago, second-hand at that time, and has been used for so more than 3 years till now... The mother board was broken means that I'll have to change a new computer but what about the data in my HD! More than 3 years of data!


    I opened the computer case, gave it a thorough clean-up (soooo much dust inside, yuk!) but it still refused to start up. So I went to Akihabara, the biggest 'electronic town' to look for a new computer but couldn't find a good-and-cheap one. Even I found one, I thought, I still have to figure out how to transfer the data from my old HDD...such a big headache!

    I finally gave up shopping for new one and went home facing my broken computer which looked like a pile of useless waste now. 3 days or so has passed and once when I was touching here and there on the motherboard trying to see if there was a burnt circuit or not... then something dramatical happened. Two nails I took off from the computer outbox in order to open it, fell from desk and directly dropped onto the mother-board. All of a sudden the whole compter started moving again! And the monitor turned on too, showing everything was alright! What a miracle that is! I kept wondering what if the nails didn't happen to fall off and hit the board!?!?!? What a blessing on my head :) So I hurried copying all my data from my HDD to another extra HDD, just in case it broke down again. However, I'm using 'my precious' like usual now without a problem! Heeeheee!

    #2> Karaoke
    Dun have to say too much about that, just look at the fotos of the people I sang Karaoke with and imagine how much fun I've had ;)



       


        


      


    #3> BBQ
    Was invited to a BBQ party at Nishi-Kasai, got to know someone who I was always afraid to know even I've seen him around for 4 years...actually he's quite nice. His parents, aunties and heaps of relatives were there, along with his loads of gay friends/fag-hags and his boyfriend there at the same BBQ...yet no one from his family knows he's gay!!! Guess even they know, it won't be a bit deal to them coz they are too...blunt. It was a lovely group and we had so much Yakiniku and tons of other food. It was by the river and you could see a thousand BBQ spots around. It was drizzling but later it got sunny, so we went out to swan-boat racing. It was sooo much fun! It looks excatly like a Mardi Gras on river.





    And...of course, after that we went to Karaoke!



    #4> Singer Simon


    Met this great singer Simon and can't believe that I just met him...he'd been in Japan for 9 years and was finally back to Australia. This time just a short visit to Japan. I met him through a friend and we went to sing from bars to bars! That's why my voice is so *ducky*  now... Wherever we went people just stared at us coz we were such good combination while singing. Too bad that he had to leave so soon. All the singers I met left soon. Bad luck is all I can say. I'll miss him a lot.


    #5> And after all that Jazz


    ...I have to face the biggest blue after this Golden Week at work tomorrow...that sucks!!!