Isn't our SAMSU social chair Adela so cute and funny? Here is our motivational message, composed by Adela, to all supporters and players alike to come cheer on our SAMSU soccer team tomorrow.
Dear all, SAMSU is playing outdoor soccer tomorrow SUN, 30 APR at 2PM on Midway FIELD C. The guys have been training really hard and are really excited at their next opportunity to score a victory for SAMSU!So come on out! You know you want to!!
Love, Adela Social Chair for SAMSU
P/S If you get lost just look for the men in macho white and black. Or call me at 773-xxx-xxxx :)
Haha .... the part about "training really hard" and "macho men and black" sounds really cool ... too cool to be true maybe. Well, to every thing there is always a right and a wrong. So I would personally disagree about the training hard part, since I went jogging by Lake Michigan on Friday when the rest of the guys were training ... well, I was training too, wasn't I. It takes some man of steel to go running in the cold along the scenic lake. Finally, about the macho part, well what can I say. It's not far from the truth, is it? Let's just hope that the Bulls beat the Heat in Game 4 tomorrow, and we follow up that victory with success in our soccer match tomorrow. Double whammy! And speaking of the Bulls, shall talk about our trip down to the United Center last Thursday for Game 3, and shall upload the pics when I get enough of them. There's always a time lag between taking photos and downloading the photos onto the computer, and then between downloading the photos and disseminating them to other people, and then finally between receiving the photos and uploading them. So 3 sources of lag. U can't really blame me for not having posted the photos yet, can you?
But just so I know you guys want to see, here's a sneak preview.
We arrived with no time to spare, but thinking we did indeed have a few free moments to wander around aimlessly, we decided to take a photo with a statue of the Bulls' favorite - Michael Jordan. Essentially, this statue is the symbol of the Bulls organization. So what better way to commemorate our last visit to the United Center, then to have Jordan take a photo with us?
(From L to R): Amanda, Alex, Joel and me (with Shengrong taking the photo and hence being out of sight)
With our prized playoff tickets stretched visible for all to see, it's time for us to enter the United Center for Game 3 of the Bulls-Heat playoff series.
I've been guilty of not having written anything here for quite some time now, but give me a break yeah? I've been rather busy with ehrm ... sleep. So Chicago being the hip and happening place that it is, there must be something big happening after Beauty World right? Of course lah! I ask this kind of question, did u really expect me to give no for an answer. So here it is .... Chicago Idol 2006. And yours truly is, of course, one of the co-hosts of this year's idol search. Not taking anything away from the contestants (and this year's crop is pretty good too, judging from the few whom I know are taking part - people like Hannah, Mingzhu, and Helena. Well, ok, apart from the last one, the rest are really good.), I believe that the emcees will be the ones who will steal the show. C'mon, with me on stage, it is pretty difficult for someone else to be more entertaining. And last week's Beauty World auction was only a sneak preview of what is to come on idol day. Being the auctioneer, we managed to raise more than USD200 by auctioning off most of the Beauty World costumes and props. And Mr Slick here even managed to get certain people to outbid themselves, conning them to raise their own bids when there were no rival bids at all.
So let me digress. BW auction was held last Friday. Thanks to Hanxue for organizing it, and the party after. Great reunion for all the cast and crew and japalang people involved in BW. Xuda and I even bid for a pair of fishnet stockings ... well, it's all in the name of charity right? Hey, Hanxue, u and I should both get a cut of the profits right? You, for hosting, and I for being charming!
So let's get back to what I was talking about. Chicago Idol 2006, see all of u there. This year, I promise it to be a fantastic show ... entertaining for the audience, at the expense of the contestants. Haha ... I promise not to be too mean, Germaine.
So, tomorrow, a few of us are heading down to the United Center to catch Game 3 of the Bulls-Heat playoff series. The Bulls had better win .... discounting the fact that coming back from 3-0 down to win the series is practically impossible, it will be damn irritating if I go just to watch them lose. So touch wood, let's bring on the Miami Heat tomorrow!!!
Beauty World was an amazing journey. Now that it's over, it seems as if something were missing from my every day routine. No more rehearsals till late at night ... no more waking up early on weekend to go Shoreland Ballroom .... no more communal dining with 40 other people. Well, here are some reflections.
Some things I used to say often during the past 20 weeks of rehearsals: 1) "Fuck lah ... tonite gotta be at Shoreland at 7 again" 2) "Damn irritating lah .... sit here and do nothing" 3) "Eh Brian, I am so glad to see you .... and the food" 4) "Wah lao eh Serene, u better lose weight lor .... now I feel it more whenever u sit on me" 5) "Sian lah .... miss wrestling tonite again" 6) "Wah lao ... she really have to kiss me ah?" 7) "So you like it huh? Ok, give Towkay Neo a kiss"
Now, I actually do miss saying these things. Every nite I am trying to find something to do .... besides reading up on work stuff, what else it there? Even finding dinner companions seems a chore, rather than a routine now. But, good things do come to an end.
So what have I gained out of Beauty World? 1) Friends, and more friends. I think BW managed to double my social circle lor. And not just non-sporeans like Caitlin, Mingzhu and Hannah, but also the freshie Singaporeans whom I nv bothered to socialize with 2) Late nights. Staying up till 5am every Wednesday nite (or rather Thursday morning) after rehearsals, finishing up Civ response papers (ie after spending another chunk of the nite deciding which pages to read), and then doing Cancer Bio problem sets all due Thursday. Well, that's why I treasure these memories even more fondly 3) Excess baggage (which always seems to find their way out somewhere). Late night suppers constantly increase the input of junk into my body, but amazingly, I maintain a healthy fit physique. Aren't the gals just envious? 4) Public performance experience. A good teacher in Andy Tan, and helpful directions from fellow members of the cast and crew all serve to build up acting fundamentals and stage excellence .... now that I also have Drama 101 to add to my resume, I think Hollywood is my next destination. Or mebbe TCS first???? 5) Knowledge that ACS boys are not hum sup. People thought I would be perfect for this lecherous Towkay role .... haha, but I proved everyone wrong but showing them how difficult it was to get into the dirty mood of hum sup-ness. Guess ACS boys are all decent "scholars, officers and gentlemen" afterall. 6) An ego big enough to fill the size of Shoreland Ballroom, Mandel Hall and the basement of Mandel Hall? This cannot be true!
Well, now that everything is over (or is it?), lemme introduce some members of the newly-soon-to-be formed Towkay Neo fanclub.
The Beauty World journey was long and tedious, calling for sacrifices from one and all, from sleepless nights to frayed tempers to missing WWE Raw on Monday nights, but the show we put on last night made all these sacrifices worthwhile. The spectacle we put up was, simply spectacular and amazing, worthy of the standing ovation we all received at the end. Even though not everything went on smoothly during rehearsals, yet I was quietly confident we would not let each other down; we have all put in much effort into this, it was never gonna fail us at the end. And suffice to say, everyone, from cast to the backstage crew, from the lights people to our sound people headed by AC boy Kenneth, played their part in ensuring Beauty World would forever be the best thing to hit the University of Chicago entertainment scene.
Now, even though I am no dancer, I was actually elated to do the final dance; as I entered for the final bow, and watever all hold-hand and bow things at the end, the adrenaline was really pumping it up; as I saw the appreciative audience rising to their feet to give a standing ovation to each and every one of us, indeed that was the best feeling I ever had for a very long time.
The corny aspect of it all being the audience seeminly treating this whole musical as a comedy, which I am perfectly fine with. Wah lao, I step out in Act 1 Scene 1, havent even smoked my cigar, havent even spoken a line, the audience down there laughing liao. Aiya, I look like a comical towkay meh? So aniways, playing to the audience, most of us just tried to make out lines as witty as possible, throwing in random lines as and when possible. After all, we give the audience what they want right? The high from last night is still here, and I am not referring to the physical highness we all experienced at the afterparty. Simply put, BW is an experience we will all treasure all our lives. yesterday was simply the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. (Note: there is no 'the best is yet to be here', cos yesterday was simply of the highest quality)
So let me upload all the pics I took. As I mentioned on our BW facebook thing, we are all beautiful people involved in this beautiful musical we call Beauty World; even with make-up, we are beautiful ... in every single way.
Rosemary Joseph (Caitlin) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Towkay Neo(YC), Sergeant Sita (Su-ann) and Chorus Girl cum Dance Choreographer (Meiyi)
Towkay Neo(YC), Sergeant Sita (Su-ann) and Chorus Girl cum Dance Choreographer (Meiyi)
Chorus Boy cum Production Manager (Jeremy), Boss Quek (Keith), Wan Choo (Shahidah) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Towkay Neo (YC), Stage Manager (Wanyun) and Boss Quek (Keith)
Singer (Shin Yi), Chorus Boy cum Singing Coach (Weiyi) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Chorus Boy (Robin), Ah Hock (Lip Jin) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Chorus Boy (Robin) and Mummy (Huileng)
Rosie (Mingzhu) and Chorus Boy (Jason)
Mummy (Huileng) and Rosie (Mingzhu)
Rosie (Mingzhu) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Towkay Neo (YC) and Mummy (Huileng)
Towkay Neo (YC), Lily (Hannah) and Chorus Boy (Jason)
Chorus Girl (Germaine), Sergeant Sita (Su-ann) and Towkay Neo (YC)
Towkay Tan (Weixiong), Lulu (Serene), Frankie (Wai Keong) and Towkay Neo (YC)
I finally managed to get our Puerto Vallarta photos from Dazhou. Aiya, I can't be bothered to link Dazhou or his blog, nor am I going to be utterly descriptive here, since I am actually in a race against time to catch my bus to school. So I've mainly put in group photos only, since there are 7 of us on the trip, and individual photos would be too troublesome and in some cases, too unflattering. You get the point .....
After 4 hrs of airtime, we finally arrive at Flamingos hotel to find ourselves locked out of our rooms, and our tummys famished. So its off to lunch at 3pm at this atap restaurant in our hotel. Heng, the hotel wasnt all inclusive.
Xuda giving his best impersonation of The Ham of a Cheeseburger -- the uneviable position of being sandwiched between 2 ehr .... girls. Luoren practising for her role of Daisy in Beauty World.
A group photo against a backdrop of the Sea. What's with the caps? Don't these people have hair to show?
My source of inspiration on Day 2. Only Yihan knows the story of the girl in blue. The word's PASSION.
After having deserted the gals finally, the macho men head off to the Blue Shrimp for an evening of fine dining seafood
HOT BODS! I guess when u have 2 solid guy bods, n 1 cmi female one, it still counts as majority wins.
Luoren, Xuda, and Yongchun aboard our Rhythms of The Night cruise .... before the guys fall asleep during the 1 hr long cultural dance show ....
Us at the Rhythms banquet.
Ok I'm seriously gonna miss my bus liao. So that's it for now
Midwest Games 2006 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was eventful, to say the very least. From a broke-down car, to playing in 5 degree weather with only shirts and shorts, to having no supporters cheering on, to numerous members declining to come for various reason, we did enjoy ourselves and come away with a joint-3rd place. There was supposed to be a game for 3rd/4th placing, but hey, who gives a shit when members of both teams involved in this game would rather go off to Saigon Gardens for dinner. So refusing to play this 3rd/4th placing match, players from Uni of Chicago and Michigan headed off to our lovely Vietnamese restaurnat for a dinner together, away from the other Midwest Games people who were still confined to the gymnasium of some Pioneer High School.
Let's show a pic of our brave troops first, shall we?
Squatting: Brian "Hoarse" Ooi, Challenge Trophy, "Assistant Manager" Jiahui, Helena "Vinnie the Manmarker" Lang Standing: Joel "Reverse leg tackle" Tan, Marcel "FT", Chan "Top scorer" Yikley, Jason "Flying shoe" Teo, Chong "Safehands" Yongchun Not in picture: "Indiana" Alim (somewhere puking)
Of course, there's a story to each nickname -- one thing or another happened during the games or after. Honestly, the picture quality is rather crap, so why did we actually bother thanking the cock who took it for us? How difficult can it be to take a proper still photo? C'mon, even a Chinese High boy who doesnt understand English can still follow instructions.
