A day of 'M's

Disclaimer: Its a pretty long post. I don't know how it ended up so long when I didn't know where to begin when I first started
I do not know how to use HTML meta tags to change the size position and shape of words so I can only emphasize words by making them BOLD

If I could use a word to describe the afternoon, it would be Memorable

I somehow managed to make Cherie oblige me by following me to G2000 to expend some vouchers which my sister gave me for my 22nd birthday. To be honest, I really did felt pretty bad because she originally didn't want to go out with me and yet I kind of 'forced' her to go out. I think what Elvin said is true. I am becoming mean:(

Anyway, I was 'late' again. This time though it wasn't exactly my fault. The stipulated meeting time was 12 30 and Cherie smsed me at 12 07 to ask me where was I. My first impression was "how early must I be to ever be earlier than this girl?!?!" (side note: I was late for a previous lunch appointment with her so I could understand how aggrieved she felt). So I met her at 12 15 and yeap she actually admitted she forgot we were meeting at 12 30! :P

Lunch was at Raffles Place "The Soup Spoon". A really funny incident when we were deciding on where to eat.

Cherie: Have you eaten at the Soup Spoon before?
Me: Nope. Have you?
Cherie: Someone died inside before
Me: ........

You know normally these questions would be followed by like yeah its a pretty nice place. Want to go there for lunch? Anyway, here was how it went on

Me: Ok.....so we go elsewhere. Do you eat pizzas?
Cherie: The Pizza Place ah? But I just had ate there on Wednesday
Me: Ok thats it. The Soup Spoon then
Cherie: But I don't want to die leh
Me: We'll take out chances

So we went to the soup spoon. I had smoked ham and chesse sandwich while Cherie had the smoked salmon sandwich. I tell you ah. So far all our lunches are super funny la. Too bad I forgot to take photos of the food so you'll have to bear with my description of the food. Our sandwiches arrived in those really small plates and the sandwiches were seperated by this small portion of salad in the middle.

Me: Do I do it the good old fashioned way by using my hands or struggle with the stupid fork and knife
Cherie: Use the utensils la! Train for FT (finishing touch a module in SMU we are all supposed to take)!
Me: Fine! *picks up fork and knife and then stared at sandwich and then at Cherie* I cant do it
Cherie: Eat your salad first! Then got more 'room' to cut the sandwich!
Me: Oh ya good point. *speechless*

So I ate the really horrendous sandwich and then proceeded with the ardous task of cutting the sandwich. I tried my best and yet I still made a mess out of it. So I decided that the only possible way to realistically eat the sandwich in a very humanely manner was to eat it layer by layer. The bread, the lettuce, the ham, the cheese, the tomato and finally the bread again. At the other end of the table, Cherie seemed to have no problems with her sandwich. Damn. I must really be from a barbaric bloodline.

Sidenote: When we eat we eat slowly. Just to give you a measure of how slowly we ate, I had to point out. "Cherie its 1 30. Its been almost 1 hour since we first sat down and we still have 1/2 a sandwich to go" :)

Shopping was another funny situation since I OBVIOUSLY don't shop and I think Cherie doesn't shop much either considering how ermmm she considered brown pants as formal attire. That was pretty hilarious. And she said I think striped pants look nice. After I tried them on, she was like ermmmm ok maybe its not so nice anymore. )*^@#(%#@

If I had to choose a word to describe the night, it would be Magical

I first met Melissa at the control station in City Hall. I was late! Well teoratically I was walking around in Raffles City since I was bored and after



walking the whole afternoon, there was just no mood to just stand there and wait for someone. And yes Elvin was late. And I couldn't believe his nerve. Melissa told me that Elvin wanted to wear JEANS! and his exact words to me the night before was

4/14/2007 12:41:14 AM Ian Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail: so wads the plan tm
4/14/2007 12:41:16 AM Ian Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail: tmr
4/14/2007 12:42:00 AM Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail Ian: having dinner
4/14/2007 12:42:03 AM Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail Ian: wearing super formal
4/14/2007 12:42:05 AM Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail Ian: i go bathe 1st
4/14/2007 12:42:07 AM Elvin the Elvin- Hail Gramail Ian: den apply masque

Sooo super formal to me basically meant presentation attire + a tie. And Elvin well, he didn't look too bad really so he was saved from Daddy's wrath this time round:)

Anyway, dinner at Sakae Sushi sucked. I'm not mincing any words here and I think the standards at Sakae Sushi Marina Square is really not up to mark. I'm comparing based on the same dish I ordered (Salmon Don) as well as previous outings to Sakae Sushi outlets in Simei East Point and I can gurantee you that the standards there are so much higher. Heck I think even Sakae Sushi Downtown East is better.



Evlin and Melissa while we were queueing outside Sakae Sushi. Can't believe that such a crappy place has a queue. I mean seriously.




Melissa and Elvin looking absoultely cozy in a small room in the back of the restaurant which I suspected was a refurbished storeroom.



THE Elvin and yours truely







At the Esplanade, there were on display various art pieces which I thought were absolutely fabulous. There were 2 rules in the creation of these art designs

1. The line must be continuous
2. There cannot be any breaks or overlaps in the line

Before entering the hall, we were photo whoring outside the place:)



This is of Melissa and me.



Of THE Elvin and me.

If I could use a word to describe the musical, it would be Mesmerising



Photography is disallowed inside the theatre so the fact that Elvin managed to shoot this was a feat in itself:)

The Phantom of the Opera:

I was never a big fan of the phantom. Even after I downloaded the soundtrack and listened to it, I felt that it lacked something in comparism to Les Miserables. Even after watching the musical, I still feel that way.

But what really drew me into the show was the powerful performance from the actors/singers/artists. An age old tale of love and betrayal. How can you resist? The story tells itself from many perspectives.

The Phantom:
A disfigured genius who fell for the lovely Christine. Trained and guided her to be the next superstar in musical show biz. Wanted to win her over though his music.

Christine:
Owed her popularity and status to the Phantom. Things just kind of went downhill after she saw the Phantom's true disfigured face

Raoul:
The guy Christine 'ran off' with. Handsome, charming, sweet and rich. An extract from a song (All I ask of you) which the Phantom sang

I gave you my music . . .
made your song take wing . . .
and now, how you've
repaid me:
denied me
and betrayed me . . .
He was bound to love you
when he heard you sing . . .

I won't start a debate over what I am going to say next. In fact, the debate has probably already been settled but...think for a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of the Phantom. You honed the skills of someone whom you truely loved expecting to win her over (unlike modern days this was the late 19th century and love worked differently then). Then, someone just comes in and steals from you a jewel you have been polishing. Yes, Christine doesn't owe him anything but if you were the phantom and you did so much for somebody, could you touch your heart honestly and say that its ok. All I have done for her I did it out of love. Its fine if she doesn't give me anything in return. Can you be you THAT selfless?

Personally, I understand how the phantom felt. I know that in love, everything is fair. But Raoul, well the show made him attractive because he was kind, rich, charming and possibly the big daddy. Well, lifes not fair and all. But this things, I can relate to which made the show wonderful in my opinion. As for Christine, I cant say that what she did was right nor could I say what she did was wrong. If she chose Raoul because she loved him, well thats fine. But I still have this nagging feeling that before she loved Raoul, she was actually very captivated and entralled by the Phantom. Possibly even to the point of her loving him if he was a man (he was her 'angel of music'). Probably something changed when she realized how he really is. *shrug* But thats why this musical is so captivating!

Another subtheme which I absolutely loved in the show was about hiding behind a mask. Go figure.

Masquerade
Paper faces on parade . . .
Masquerade
Hide your face,
so the world will
never find you!
Masquerade
Every face a different shade . . .
Masquerade
Look around -
there's another
mask behind you!

The last photo we took long after the crowd dispersed and the applause died.



Proof of how much I enjoyed the night. Messed up hair in the morning:)