Sigh of relief

Am adjusting my body clock to allow sleep at nights again. Even though its only been 4 days of 10pm to 6am, I'm more awake at midnight than I have ever been.

Have just realised that Dec 13 is fast approaching....leaving from Manchester at 1330, arriving Dubai 0025 on the 14th, leaving Dubai 0955 and arriving at KLIA at 2100 on the 14th.

Can't wait. Well, actually I can. It does feel weird, coming back so soon after leaving in the summer. Feels wrong somehow:-) However, this does mean I'll get to spend a summer in the UK for a change.

Application forms for Foundation Year 1 jobs have been sent off. First part's over for now, so just waiting to hear whether my first choice will accept me or not. While I was completing the form, the thought did cross my mind: wouldn't it be fun to try a year out in a different part of the UK and escape the dreariness and Scousi-ness of Liverpool (!) ?

Couldn't really justify doing that just for a change of scene however, so my first choice was Merseyside. Though revisiting Plymouth, or even Cambridge did sound tempting.

My laptop is slowing down, but did manage to create a farewell video/slideshow for Mathew and Sharon Tan recently. They said goodbye to those of us left behind, and departed for the green pastures, the land of opportunity to us Malaysians that is Singapore.

Though I'm not big on news back home, the recent BERSIH rally managed to reach even my out-of-tune-to-anything-political ears. While I'm not sure of the ins and outs of the matter, I feel the response to the rally was undeservedly overboard. Fears probably ran high on seeing the size of the response, hence the knee-jerk reactions. What I found amusing, like a number of other bloggers, was the Information Minister's blanket comment on all bloggers. Basically, he lumped all blogs together as rubbish. I suppose it is human nature to denounce anything beyond our control. Having said that, my knee-jerk reaction would've probably been to pin the blame on someone else too :-)

Waking up early on Sundays recently....the North England Easter Conference 2008 planning meetings take place then. The theme being 'Cracking Concrete', a suitable poster and various design logos need designing, involving the student fellowship. Unfortunately (!) Ed seems to get most of the designing work as he's the only one volunteering with photoshop experience. Maybe we should start doing photoshop basics for the students...

Colossians and 1 Tim recently. Finished 1,2 Samuel, bits of which I might share tmrw at the core group meet. We need direction, otherwise, as Jin says (okla, the Bible too), the battle is lost. (ok he didn't put it in such grandiose terms).

"Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."
- King David's armor-bearer,
minutes before a crazy assault on a fortified position by 2 men, and 1 sword between them.

Cats

Having just found out that Cats the musical is based on the book by T.S. Eliot (incidentally the only poetry book I've read from start to finish), and having fond memories of the book, I found myself standing outside the Empire Theatre on a cold Monday evening waiting for the rest of the posse to arrive.


The Empire was packed; buses discharged their motley crew of kids and tourists, while the regular theatre-goers milled around in the reception. As soon as everyone arrived, we headed for our seats, on the 1st floor (or is it gallery?) A much better view than what I was treated to during My Fair Lady a year ago.


The musical itself revolves around a number of different types of cats as portrayed by T.S. Eliot in his poetry. For the purposes of a musical, the narrative is tied together by the main group of cats preparing for their ball, namely the Jellicle Cats.

Trying my best to recall the lines from the book, I managed to follow most of the early scenes, after which time our ears became accustomed to following most of the dialogue. Not that it really mattered, as the actors/actresses playing the various cats ( in appropriately skin-tight feline costumes and whiskers) did a great job in fleshing out various characters.

And they were all there: Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, Rum Tum Tugger (complete with suggestive hip-thrusts and tail swinging), Bustopher Jones, the Cat About Town, Growltiger the Pirate and Mungojerrie/Rumpelteazer the Cat burglars. Accompanied by a score which was dominated by the iconic melody of 'Memory' and the theme of the Jellicle Cats, this was a treat to watch.

Personally I was looking forward to the segment on McCavity the Mystery Cat, who was one of my favourites from the book. However I have to say I particularly enjoyed the segment on Gus the Theatre Cat, which was both moving, epic and played with a straightforward melody that left the audience focussing on every word. Also, we were treated to The Awful Battle of The Pekes and The Pollicles, With Some Account of The Pugs and The Poms, and The Intervention of The Great Rumpuscat, which apparently does not get performed at every screening due to time contraints.


I think all of us enjoyed it. Esther, who apparently is a bit of a theatre buff, left planning dances and other cat-themed ideas for the medical school Smoker, and even Fas, condescended to call it 'interesting'.

So, all in all, Cats the musical - I enjoyed it no end, and still find myself humming tunes from Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.

Signage

Good signs sell stuff.