sigh.

Almost a year ago, one of my other faves, Blur was reunited and I was ecstatic. A year later, my other fave Bloc may be splitting coz my fave member whom I finally met personally a month ago, is considering doing something different. Well, everyone's got their lives to lead. Matt trying something different? I dunno. Family man or writer or what? I somewhat can't imagine if he chooses to leave the music scene. I thought Bloc had a four album contract with Witchita. Well, I'm crossing my fingers that it's not as bad as it appears in the press. From the BBC Radio recording in Stoke, I'm interpreting things postively that they're just taking a break for a while to do what they want to, get inspired and return with new material. And that Matt is the only one that is seriously considering not doing anything related to music.

Sigh.

Currently Funeral By Arcade Fire see related

i met my rhythmatic hero!

i had to put this down that i finally met my fave time-keeper, Matt Tong of Bloc Party. And I must add, he is also my fave member of the band.

The lanky drummer came for the Fuel Festival on 26 Sep 2009 held @ the National Museum. My brudder & I were totally excited abt meeting him. The set started at 10:30 with a local DJ, whose name I do not know. Matt came in at about 11:20, I'm not sure if it was from the back of the projector screen. We had to rush forward immediately to take a few snaps before the crowd starting pooling in. Like Kele at Home, Matt looked a little confused by the equipment but was definitely looking calmer than Kele was. (After all he's got a Music Technology degree from Thames Valley I heard) Before the local DJ left, they shook hands politely. He started with some house music and we were pretty convinced he was better than Kele, not that we want to draw any comparisons between the two. In the middle of the set, he played some conventional RnB such as Beyonce (who was headlining F1 Rocks on the same day btw) and Madonna (whom I grew up with and he's got Vogue spinning). That got the crowd fullof Will.i.am fans moving a little more. His wife, Brooke was also there. She was really sweet.. went to the side of the stage twice. First to kiss him on the cheek and pass him a bottle of vodka and then two glasses of Pure Blonde. I like her, somehow, coz she's really "indie" looking and conservatively dressed in a houndstooth sweater wrap dress (if I rem correctly?). Anyway, she was really very skinny and tall just like Matt. Will.i.am came in to take over the set at about 12:40pm and the entire crowd went berserk once he appeared. I managed to catch a really clear glimpse of him coz I was standing at the sides near the VIP courner when he came. I'm sure he's shorter than 1.7m and had really huge eyes. He was so ready to pose for the crowd. Now that's what you call celebrity. Matt smiled at Will.i.am but there was no handshake. I suppose it was already a lil awkward when Will came in but Matt was pretty cool abt it. We were all prepared to pursue Matt once he left the stage so we stood really close to the VIP barricade. He left very quickly and I shouted his name. He took a few seconds to turn around but later walked towards the VIP area again. We thought he was heading for the exit but he didn't. We tailed behind and he was protected by a security guard to finally where his wife was at a couch. We felt embarressed to approach so we waited for him and his wife to stop talking before we went up to him. I heard his wife asking him how it was and he said it was alright. Kenneth & I didn't know if it was appropriate to approach and we were really hesitant. We were just right behind him actually when Kenneth decided to tap on his back.

Matt turned around and he was in all smiles. We said hi, shook hands and then I was @ a loss for words. I just lifted up my bloc record and marker and said that we were fans of bloc and we'll really like his autograph. He immediately signed for me and after doing so, he even used his smartphone to falsh and double check his signature. Kenneth asked if I wanted him to sign anything else but I was embarressed so I said no. Then we stood there not knowing what to say even tho we wanted a photo. Before we spoke, he very quickly put his arm around my shoulder and I almost jumped. He even bent down out of courtesy. Kenneth took a few snaps but he was so nervous he forgot to switch the flash back on. We waited for a very long while and I could feel his skinny frame combusting, haha. After thanking him I asked if Kenneth wanted a photo too but he was embarressed so he said no. Then Matt looked at the two of us again who were once @ a loss of words. I thanked him immediately and said the cheesiest things to fill up the silence. I said he was our fave drummer and we had to catch him. When I said this, I din even dared to look him in the eye coz I was so shy about it. Kenneth said he put his hand to his heart at this juncture where I was thinking how bimbotic my remark was. I added that we weren't here to watch Will.i.am and he looked at me as if I sounded dismissive (err. another embarressing moment) He started asking my name and for a while I cun hear what he was saying. After that I added on to say we watched Kele the last time in Singas. He was surprised and he asked when it was. He spoke to Kenneth later, who asked if he was living in Berlin. He added he was frequently travelling between Berlin & New York. He then pointed to his wife & said she was a New Yorker. Ken then added he was doing German and Matt asked if he was in university and what was his major. When Ken asnwered that he was doing sociology, Matt said it was great. (He did sociology too with philosophy @ UEA i think). We were really embarressed to have hung around for a while and I said we should be making a move. He just looked @ us and smiled so I dunno if he heard me. Then he turned around and offered his bottle of vodka to us. We immediately waved and smiled and he asked something, but I couldnt hear him. Kenneth said he could have been asking if we were driving. Then he turned around and offered us a can of red bull and again we smiled embarressedly and waved. He asked if we had something to drink and I told him no worries we'll get from the bar. I dunno if he felt we were weird/rude for rejecting his offer coz he had a peculiar look on his face. But he seemed to be really warm & welcoming for us to stick around. In order to break away from the awkward moment, I asked if he was watching F1 tomorrow and he said yes. Kenneth said he said his wife wanted to watch it (I couldn't hear him agn...) Then he quickly asked if we were watching but I told him we ain't got any tickets. We smiled at one another again (but this time his eyes weren't really smiling so I tink he may have had a rude impression of us) before I said that we should be making a move and we shouldn't be in his way. We shook hands again and then we left.

After we left, we felt that we were so rude and stupid. We really were starstruck and we didn't know what to say/do. He must have felt that we were such weirdos when he was so welcoming towards us. I've never met a sweeter musician - aww. The questions we asked were stupid and we could have done better. I reckon there were chances to be-friend him and Kenneth speculated we could even exchange email addresses haha. How stupid but well, I am still in disbelief that I met one of the people I really wanted to meet in my life. We were actually disappointed @ the sight of the barricade from the stage and already expecting no chance for autograph. I guess we were really lucky. This is a moment I guess I'll never forget and I think it is a moment which God prolly gave me in kindness in view of the depression/stress I am facing recently. I am truly grateful indeed...

Now I must find the opportunity to drop Matt message for appearing rude yesterday night but I dun wanna look like a stalker. Hmm. We'll have to figure it out....

*Will load piccies as soon as i can*

Currently Silent Alarm By Bloc Party see related

Quittin' Negativity

Some self-reflection over the bus ride home this evening.

I have always been a pessimist amongst other traits of being a Capricornian. I dun like admitting that I hold the traits of my horoscope which I dun take much pride in, except for the fact it is also the horoscope for Kate Moss, Helena Christensen, Sienna Miller, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Zooey Deschanel. Because of the negativity, I find myself sometimes very cold & aloof to my environment. I could take many things for granted. I could also be a potential bitch who would not hold back any mean comments because I am most of the time, honest to myself & others. And because I am and I come across as honest, my bitchy comments are sometimes, brutal.

My negativity is a big flaw I see in myself. It translates into lack of confidence and motivation. It also results in mood swings and tantrums. I hate my pessimism but it takes a lot to overcome it. I can hardly be happy with who I am, what I do and what I have -- hence, I can be a full-time whiner at times. On the other hand, there are times where I do not inhibit myself from being pessimistic and in fact, convince myself that it is good as it minimises my expectations for alot of things in life. It's really unhealthy.

Sigh.

When something positive comes along, I hesitate to accept or react to it sometimes. I dunno if it's hesitation or that I dunno how to react to it. It is high time I learn to embrace positivity coz I have been such an unhappy person for the past few years of my life. I've got to move on.

Life is better spent happy than bitter, isn't it?

Currently Think Tank By Blur out of time see related

The Glastonbury 2009 Backstage Olympics

*LOL*

Hilarious load of crap by the Guardian...XD

Currently Underachievers Please Try Harder By Camera Obscura see related

Let's Get out of this Country...

and laze abt in Perth.

This was an impromptu getaway which I didn't know if I needed. All the skeptics said that PER was a BORING & SLOW city with nothing to do. I beg to differ. We went on a 6 day trip which actually didn't seem sufficient but our air-tickets didn't allow for any extensions. Well, of course, I am not ga-ga over PER as if it was the best destination I've ever been. I was, in fact, pretty disappointed about Fremantle which I thought was a mini San Francisco. It din make the mark but Cottesloe Beach, Swan Valley & Kings Park liven up the holiday. We also had awesome accomodation, booze (not quite enough though) and ora-gasmic winery lunch. Shopping wasn't fantastic in my opinion..and I got frustrated trying to locate the little shops which sold my very much wanted Melissas.

Day 1 & 2 -- Fremantle

Our first meal in PER was at the famous Kailis, voted for best fish and chips in town. I won't disagree that the fastfood cafe serves a wonderful version of the british dish but I'd never to eat from Kaili's fish market again. It sucked big time. We forgot to drink at "tourist-y" places which offered an Indian Ocean view, such as "The View". We had booze, however, at Mad Monks along Cappucino Strip, which served some good black stout of which its name I cun recall. Breakfast at Ginos was satisfactory but god I hated the bacon strips and sausages in Australia... they're the most salty things I've ever eaten in my life. Mt Franklin bottled spring water was the saviour for our salt overdose... I'm surprised it tasted better than Dasani water and I would skip teas everyday if I am accessible to such delicious water everyday, haha!

Day 3 -- Cottesloe, Perth City and Moving to Mill-Point

We visited Cottesloe Beach, late Heath Ledger's fave on Day 3. Though quieter, I thought it has waters comparable to that of Surfers Paradise. Too bad it was winter else we could go for a dip. Spent a little time at Indiana Tea House where celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams visited after Heath's wake... it offered a great sea view and restrooms. Couldn't say much about the food coz we only had "skinny" oysters and cocktails.

Day 4 -- Swan Valley

Highlight of the vacation. We actually only visited 2 wineries - Lancaster and Sandalford, coz we couldn't locate less accessible La Mont and all microbreweries, except the dull-looking MASH, were closed. Lancaster offered free tasting for wines and cheese. We bought a bot of white and 2 cheeses each coz they were definitely notches above the mass supermarket range. Sandalford offered finer wines in our opinion. Staff at Sandalford were extremely friendly and hospitable. We were given free wine-tasting sessions as we were lunching in -- Saved AUD7.50 per pax...your cheapo mama says woot! Waited 40 minutes for mind-blowing lunch but it was well-worth it. Reasonably priced at about AUD40 per pax, its tags were similar to that of the local PS Cafe, but the latter's standards were not quite comparable.

Nite ended at Burswood Casino where I first gambled, after many visits to casinos. Won only fifty aussie buckaroos but couldn't stop grinning inside. WTH. I thought that was a tinge of beginners luck.

Day 5 -- Casual Shopping @ Harbour Town & Perth City

Bad bad weather.. intermittent rain and ominous clouds throughout the day.  Couldn't make it to Kings Park as planned and we weren't very accomplished in our shopping trip. The gang headed to Lucky Shag Bar for some Old Speckled Hen (oomph!) with Swan River view while I continued to look out for shoes at Perth Centre. Feeling unaccomplished, we headed to Burswood again at night for more entertainment. Again I made fifty-five aussie and decided that it was quite enuff to call it a day. I ain't very brave when it comes to money, really.

Day 6 -- Kings Park & Cottesloe again

We missed out breakfast at Old Perth Boys School, which looked a tad like the White Rabbit @ Dempseys as we were running a little late. Headed to Kings Park but din spend too long strolling coz we wanted to squeeze either Cottesloe/ Fremantle Boat Harbour into our itinerary. We ended up at Cottesloe again but we didn't feast at the recommended Bluduck. We had our last meal in PER at Bluewaters which was a stone's throw from Indiana coz it started raining before we could decide which restaurant to settle down. It was also where we started discussing where we should head next for a vacation... well, they are never enuff aren't they, regardless whether they met one's expectations... This trip made me forget about the on-going Glasto Fest so it definitely had been great.

Currently The Spinning Top By Graham Coxon see related