Zorgy's Godfather Pays a Visit

J's spiritual home - Raffles Hotel

Yay, J is down for a weekend before I pop. And we manage to cram in a week's worth of eating into two days. Yikes! Anyway from dinner at Botak Jones to high tea at the Bar and Billiards and nibbles and drinks at the New Majestic Bar, D & I are also trying to enjoy our freedom while we can! And Zorgy is happy judging from the amount of kicking going on this weekend (which got noticeably stronger as I approached the 'live crepe' station at the Bar and Billiards, heh)

New Majestic Bar - where they have a "don't serve water" policy!

It's lovely to see J again, and we just know he'll be a most singular godfather to Zorg, most importantly, satisfying the pre-requisite of sending exotic postcards from exotic locales (J if you are reading this, please make sure you get posted to Kathmandu or Zanzibar next, ok?!). D and I (ok maybe more me than poor D) are also harbouring ambitious plans of bringing Zorgy to Bangkok to visit his goddad. I'm sure that's doable innit? Ah well, ok will be a bit more realistic and start with small things first, like err... changing diapers (D and I are both diaper virgins) and bathing baby (all the visuals in the books are sooo confusing... help). Ah well, I'm sure it'll all work out as long as we retain our sense of humour... agh

NB: Didn't want to dedicate a whole post to this but I thought this was worth mentioning. Those in Singapore, do NOT, and I repeat, do NOT, go to Corduroy Cafe in Vivo City. Our experience on Sunday (and this is corroborated by lifestyle diva Dean) has proven that this cafe has dismal service, pre-made, unappealing food, and silly prices to top it all off. Poor J waited at the counter for more than five minutes trying to place an order - even sadder was the man in line before him who had to wait while the clueless order-taker/cashier person checked in the back kitchen to see if doughnuts were available. And couldn't answer any of his questions. They also ran out of $5 home-made lemonade at 12 noon. Oh and last straw was the three staff who were dawdling around the counter doing NOTHING while poor clueless cashier woman was trying to make herself understood. This against the context of their pretentious menu painting themselves as a "literary" cafe. Erk! Boycott! Avoid please...

An All-David Final (and Zorgy's Predictions)

The Cherub and The Rocker: An All-David Final

So I've only like been counting down to this moment for months now. I haven't missed any episodes so far - and Wednesday nights 8pm have become sacred time for me now. Cue my Subway Italian BMT sandwich, cookies to share (2 or 3 depending on a) mood, b) weight, c) availability. Always a mix of oatmeal raisin, double chocolate and chocolate chip, to be shared with fellow Subwayt fanatic, D).

Righty-ho. So down to my (and Zorgy's) assessment of the night's performances:

Round 1: Power Tunes - David Cook's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" vs David Archuleta's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"

David C's voice was way on track tonight, but both D and I felt he rendered the song a bit too slowly. Unfortunately, Bono is also a very tough act to follow and David C didn't quite have enough of a departure from the original to make it his own. Overall great job though, and very enjoyable viewing.

Right from the opening refrains with David A sitting in a spotlight on the stair, the cherub hit all the right notes. Lovely cadences, he connected with the song and the audience, so much so that I didn't have any visions of Sir Elton or creepy George Michael.

Agree with Simon. Round 1 decidedly goes to David A!

Zorgy agreed also, with two sharp kicks in favour of David A!

Round 2: Idol Original Song - David C's "Dream Big" vs David A's "In this Moment"

My least favourite round. The usual schmaltz. Even David C's electric guitar didn't quite lift the song out of trite city. And David A's song was so reminiscent of the one Clay did in Season 2 (think it was called "this is the night")!

Round 2 goes to Zorgy for his pugilistic calisthenics! But seriously, I thought they were both so-so, though David A's song was more in keeping with the epic proportions of the night.

Round 3: Bring it on Home - David C's "The World I know" vs David A's juggernaut "Imagine"

Ok this round was decided even before the singing (and David C's tears) began. David C chose a wonderful Collective Soul song, subtle, nuances, but yes, again I agree with Simon, projecting the totally wrong vibe for the finale song for his set. What he needed was a show-stopping number, the equivalent to the last song of a concert, a "We are the Champions" or "Don't Dream It's Over". Something that can become anthemic, or at least synonymous with him. So although kudos to him for his artistic integrity, unfortunately, this IS a singing competition and this song was just too low-key and un-energising for my tastes!

David A however came on stage like he was asked back for an encore, and of course he sang the song that started it all (for me at least), his supremo, sublime, hair-raisingly good and just slightly different version of "Imagine". I remember the first time I heard him sing it during the top 24 round, I kept you-tubing it after at work and would close my eyes and be transported for a few minutes at my desk. This kid is seriously good.

Vocally, he wins hands down. Though admittedly David C has the x-factor and mystique. But hey, bashful just became the new black.

Round 3 goes to Archuleta.

So my pick: Archuleta will be the next American Idol - and he's the closest thing to a true malleable pop star they've come up with in 7 seasons.

Zorgy's pick: Three sharp kicks for Archuleta!

The Southern Ridges Walkway!

This morning, we get up bright and early at 7am (on a Sunday morning mind you!) for a wonderful walk along the Southern Ridges Walkway right round the corner from our new place. We have D's dad and wife, A & S, staying with us and we get a cab bright and early to the top of Mt Faber.

The forest walk - can just imagine me and stroller on this! Can't wait!

The full walk goes for about 9km (pretty good for Singapore standards considering our entire landmass fits into New Zealand's Lake Taupo). But due to heat and my err delicate condition, we only attempt the section from Mt Faber to Alexandra Archway, for brunch at Villa Bali to be exact!

Must say A & S are coping with the heat admirably!

Feel really fortunate to have this right at our doorstep. One vision for Baby Zorg - may his life (and eyesight) not be ruled by Playsation and computers, and may he find peace and happiness in nature and greenery. Of course mum and dad will play a big role in nurturing this, so may we be blessed with the energy and imagination to dream new, fun experiences for this tumbling being in me!

OK, I'm going to be brave and post a picture of me looking mis-matched. What I really wanted to show was the totally cool Henderson Waves bridge that we're on. Kudos to the architect!

For those of you in Singapore - this walk totally rocks. Ok so you may have to share the walk with heaps of aunties and irritating loud families (ugh of which we may be joining the ranks of), but hey, it's great to be out and about with fellow creatures of our natural and urban jungle!

Highlight today was zen-looking brown lizard (large-ish) watching all the commotion from his perch on the sidewalk. Ah... to channel that vibe once Zorg arrives!

Back in Blogland

Ok. So I've totally neglected this site for a couple of months. But I've had good reason!

1. D & I are expecting our very own little Turnip (we've christened him Zorg) in August. So from Jan - March this year, I was pretty much alternating my life between a) trying not to throw up, b) actually throwing up, c) sleeping the deepest, dreamiest slumbers I've had since primary school. Things started looking up in March though, and I had a sublime moment one day at work when I saw a colleague with an ice cream, and just knew that I could now have one too (it took a Huerculean effort not to snatch it mid-bite from her). It was weird how the pukiness just died down suddenly for me!

2. We started renovating our place in February and moved in at the very end of March. That's our living room you see there. It looks out over a very jungley bit of Singapore. We've turned amateur ornithologists and have spotted golden flashes of orioles, blue king fishers, these great dove grey birds with light yellow bellies, cheeky sparrows and mynahs, and ONE squirrel!

3. We've had a string of visitors come stay with us (more to come, yay!) and in between that, we've also started attending ante-natal classes and trying to prepare ourselves for Zorg's arrival. Acquisitions so far: a second hand cot, and a spankin new stroller with car seat.

Anyway, it's great being back. They say that the one of the top factors that draws readers to websites is how frequently it's updated. Err, in that spirit, I guess I've failed miserably. But I'll give this another go. Second wind. Hey, when Zorg is here and I become a stay-home mum for a while (current plan is 10 months time away then back to the grind), I'll probably have even less time, but more need to just be in touch with the rest of the world. So will try to work this into a routine some how. For those of you who still come back to check this poor blog of mine, SURPRISE! I'm back. And hope to keep it that way for a while at least :)