Charismatic

A FB memory popped up today. It was a collection of photos from my first time recording with GOODTV. Looking back at the photos I don't think the styling was that great (in hindsight), but I had a bunch of supportive friends from OZ-land who cheered my baby steps forward.  It's been almost 7 years since I've first moved to Formosa-land. It's pictures and memories like this that remind me how fresh, expectant and naive I was when I first arrived(despite being a lot less naive than when I was 18 and first moved to Ozland).  Yes, I do cringe at a few things like some of my fashion choices (and those of the makeup/styling artists that I've worked with); like some of my performances and recordings that could have been much better. But sometimes I wish I could always remain that expectant and keep that 'wonder'. Ravi Zacharias wrote a book about the importance of wonder in our walk with God. Been doing some examinations of my own heart and I find that jad...

I wish blogged more regularly about parenthood and kept milestone records more diligently. But life happens...Whoosh and we're into 22 months of official parenthood (plus the 9 months of expectant parenthood).  Bubby turns 2 really soon.  Everyone we've met has commented that he's grown to be such a big boy. No longer a baby, not even really a toddler anymore. He's 2 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs a hefty 13.1kg. He's muscular with a comfortable padding of cute baby fat, has round eyes with double lids, a cute bowl cut, and a smile that lights up the room. He can walk like a pro, and run around quite efficiently now. He climbs like a monkey, has great arm and leg strength, good balance, a startling sense of direction.  Bubby is quite an early talker, especially considering that he's a boy. Also a clear enunciator. Some interesting scenarios lately: Currently he can say, 'C'mon man' (obviously imitating T)  whenever T hits the brakes, or...

Good to reminded of these simple principles of godly success. BEING SUCCESSFUL IS: 1. Loving well - First and second commandment: Loving God and loving people. If we don't get this right, we have missed the point of our lives. Application: Am I loving the people around me well. 2. Partnering with truth Application: Destroying false mental strongholds. Taking captive every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. Not agreeing with any subtle lie or conforming to culture. Remembering: God does not speak in fear. 3. Giving what I have Application: Who He is and what He has done inside of us is meant to be given away. Freely we have received, freely give.  4. Doing my best (not someone's best) Application: Not everyone is created the same.  We were never meant to do the same things. We don't the same capabilities, experiences and background. Do the best that I can do. Not someone else's best.  5. Faithful with what I've been given Appl...

Here it is!  Joshua and Wee Liem did a lovely job with the filming and editing. 

模特 Model It's been a while since I've done a just-me-and-keys cover. This time, I decided to cover a song by this year's Golden Melody Award's Best New Artist, Li Rong Hao (李榮浩). He's from Mainland China, and honestly, he's not much to look at nor does he have much stage presence or charisma at the moment. But apparently he has been in the industry for a long time, writing songs and doing some production stuff behind the scenes. He's a multi instrumentalist (albeit not seemingly specialised in his skills), and he wrote, arranged and produced most of his first originals album that was released last year.  Some of his songs are quite well written, though they sound like they are written by an instrumentalist more than a vocalist (there is a lot of motif repetition and not a lot of room for breathing). He is a fan of John Mayer, so the influence is obvious. In fact, he has been accused of 'copying' John Mayer by netizens and news outlets (howe...

Aloha! It has been AGES since I've blogged. It's been difficult to find time amongst all the chaos, but it's probably quite evident from my Facebook pages and Instagram that I am no longer single! Officially hitched as of the 14th of June 2014! WOOHOO! There is plenty to share about regarding the Big Day, but I'll start with the gowns! After some discussion with mom, I opted to buy my wedding and bridesmaid dresses online as opposed to renting them from a wedding photography studio (as most people in Malaysia or Taiwan do). It was an experience that was both stressful and rewarding. I learned a lot and don't mind sharing a few tips. Mom told me during Chinese New Year that our old church family friend's son had just gotten married, and her daughter-in-law got everything off a Chinese 'e-bay'-ish site called 淘寶Tao Bao. She said that most wedding studios were getting their gowns from China anyway, so perhaps I would be able to find a good deal.  ...

Here's  a screenshot of a blogpost I stumbled across when I was googling 'Give me Jesus 只要耶穌' (yes, I do google my stuff occasionally to see if the right things are coming up for the public).  Made my day that a store in Hsinchu is playing the album, and that people like what they hear, and they are sharing about it. In fact, a few people from HK have contacted me on Facebook saying that they bought the album because they heard it in the store. Love that the music speaks for itself.  Grateful.

My first full-length Mandarin hymnal album is out! It was released on Sept 1, and it is officially in all Christian bookstores in Taiwan. It is also in some mainstream CD stores and bookstores like Eslite Bookstore 誠品. Last week, it was also shipped to Christian bookstores in Hong Kong and Singapore. Hopefully, it will be on the racks soon in Malaysia too!  "Give me Jesus 只要耶穌" Kinda surreal. I have been working for 2 years on my personal album but suddenly birthed this hymnal album in 2.5 months: 2 months of music production, half a month of shoots, designing and manufacturing. That is pretty fast, considering that T and I produced all the tracks with the help of vocal producer, Hao Ku on 6 tracks. I also arranged the strings for 8 tracks. T gave one track a full Enya-meets-Braveheart electronic treatment. We also did one short acapella breather.  Well, since then I've been doing a couple of promo stints here and there. Not terribly busy, but...

I have a fortnight's 'breather'. 'Breather' is in quotation marks because the time spent working needs to be productively spent on preparing for more work. Hah. That is why I am still on the computer at 1.30am.  My 'breather' is due to the fact that the Nanchang show for David Tao was unexpectedly cancelled less than a week before the show date. And, I have also finished all my vocal recording for hymnal album (unless there are some backing vocals I have to do). It's quite interesting to myself that I've barely sung any backing vocal parts for this album. A very 'unplugged' way of arranging and recording the music. I have 2 weeks to relax, supposedly. But I've been trying to organize my next few months. Two months. It's a very short time to pump out a full length album. But I'm relishing the process and I'm not too stressed. It's a blessing to be able to have someone provide the funds to record an acoustic hymnal ...

I was a little pressed for time when I posted this a few days ago. Now there's time to blog a little. I haven't really sat down and had proper "me-time" for a while. Sigh. I've come to realise that my psyche needs that time to reflect, plan and also give thanks periodically. Or I become a groucho without knowing why. Anyways, this post is about my recent new job.  One of my music producer friends, Andrew, called me in March and asked me if I would like to sing backing vocals for David Tao for his 2013 World Tour. Of course, I said, "Why not?". Now, I had been praying about getting a reputable concert-tour gig for a while, and preferably a background vocals gig first (as opposed to a keyboard gig because that would be more stressful as a starter). God is really faithful and He provided this gig that is tailored exactly to my current needs. David Tao was one of my favourite Mando-pop singers while I was in high school. In fact, he is one of the onl...