Yes!!! I have checked that off my list after so many years! Finally!!
Short + Sweet Dance Penang 2016: Everyday Carry
Everyday Carry was indeed was a long journey. It took one whole year and many many unexpected barriers for it to come to fruition.
It started with us approaching BB Ostella Adam to be our choreographer. As it turned out, her husband was planning to relocate back home... home is in Houston, Texas. So, she gave us a couple of options: do it via video-call or she recommended a few of her choreographer friends based in KL to take on this project instead. We chose the former.
We started out with the easiest task, buying the chairs from Ikea. From Jan - May, we had free movement rehearsals and explored with movements with and without the chair and recorded those sessions so that BB can find out our capabilities and range of movement. We started rehearsing actual choreography around July. But Alvin was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis of his right knee right and I was diagnosed with a cervical slipped disc right about end-July. We had to take a break from all physical activity and had to decide whether we still wanted to go ahead with this project.
I was adamant to proceed, because we have gone so far!!! It would be such a waste. So, BB wrote to the organizers to ask if we can transfer our participation to the Penang S+S Festival instead of KL. The Penang dates were later than the one in KL so, we can pick up rehearsals again after our month of rest and recovery from our geriatric orthopaedic problems. The organizers said yes!
And so we started rehearsing again in September, with some new choreography with our injuries in mind.
Performance week came and seeing the professionalism in the dance troupe from the Philippines, we just felt honoured to be sharing a stage with such talents. When Joe Hasham announced the winner of Best Newcomer, he said that normally this award goes to very young people, but this time is not the case. Unexpectedly, we won the Best Newcomer and Festival Director's Award for that dance. I am thankful beyond words that we even managed to complete this project. I am thankful that BB stuck it out with us even through so many hiccups. And most of all, I am thankful to share this journey with my partner in life, Alvin.
It may be our last attempt at a dance piece, but it will not be our last artsy project together. :)
We've always been regulars in the Short + Sweet Musical Category. But this year, we teamed up again in Short + Sweet Song instead. We wrote somewhat of a one-song-musical about 2 ghosts, disgruntled about the food they are being served during the hungry ghost festival that did not match their tastes when they were alive. After all, the Short + Sweet Song festival coincide with the actual Hungry Ghost Festival month!
We never thought we'd win anything in a singer-songwriter competition because let's face it, we're not actually singer-songwriters. We are musical actors, who happens to be very experimental. We love the Short + Sweet Festival as it is our playground platform to experiment. We wanted a very traditional Chinese feel for the song but we both don't play a single Chinese instrument, nor could we find a Chinese instrument band in time. Instead we got help from a super talented musician singer friend, Jee Yan to arrange the backing track for us, which he did beautifully with the full glory of guzheng, pipa, dizi and all!!!
As typical actors, we were super excited about creating our characters Hu Ah Yew and Soo Fah Nee. We really went all out to look like actual Chinese ghosts for the performance and stayed in character during prize-giving and even backstage once our full costumes were on.
From left: Soo Fah Nee and Hu Ah Yew
As it turned out, we won 1st Runner's Up in the Short + Sweet Song competition this year. On top of that, we won the Glitz & Glamour Award too (that one was a no brainer, just look at our costume!).
A double award!
Other than the performance itself, we met many awesome people back-stage... newbies and oldies, comedians and other singer-songwriters. Oooooh, just think of all the possible collaborations!!! We also accidentally scared the shit out of an intern who thought she really had a paranormal encounter backstage. Sorry!
For all of you who missed the show, here's a video of Hu Ah Yew and Soo Fah Nee's performance!
Other than supporting a friend who's involved, why should you come and watch this show??
It is a great STORY; a perfect mix of love, hope, tragedy, mystery and plot-twists.
The MUSIC is pure genius, how all the melodies can standalone or be intertwined to weave the story forward. Nick Choo is an amazing composer, and Mervyn L. Peters, our musical director has really helped us bring the songs to life.
Stunning VISUALS, with 1910 period costumes, props and sets, and of course, the real carved wooden puppets! Puppets have had their reputation ruined due to the many horror movies... here, they can finally get the place they deserve as toys or works of art that bring people joy.
It is for the whole FAMILY, with clean language and scenes, and it even involves children in the ensemble. People of any age can enjoy this together!
Do get your tickets from Ticketpro online, from any of their outlets or even at the entrance of the theatre itself. See you and your family there!!!
Finally, one fruitful audition!! I will be back on stage come May after more than a year's break from performing. For the whole of 2014, been backstage instead; as writer, composer and producer. It was fun but my first love will always be a musical theatre performer.
No words can describe how happy I was last night at the Short + Sweet Musical Gala Night 2014. The musical hubby and I collaborated to write and compose won 2 awards as a team! And while we were already over the moon about that, we received the Festival Director's Award. It was all so unexpected as we had decided to take risks this year by recruiting many S+S newbies in both our teams. Praise God!!! Thank You Lord for making all of this possible..
A big fat CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners this year!!!
I am so thankful for so many things and so many people that has made this journey even possible.
First and foremost, to hubby who always pushes and encourages me to continue to be creative and explore new things no matter how tired, lazy or uninspired I feel due to the stresses at work. Contrary to popular belief, spending the effort, time, energy and resources to write, compose or direct a musical is more refreshing, energizing and inspiring than physical rest could ever do. And it is hubby who is always behind me, making me a better person than I could ever be on my own.
Secondly, I would like to thank Ross and Shen for agreeing to take on our baby, 300 Million: The Reconceptualization of a Conception to life. I knew both of you are extremely busy and juggling a gazillion things on your plates at the moment, yet you put your hearts and souls into this. I am so proud of you Ross, your directorial debut really brought to life what had only existed in Alvin and my heads. I LOVE IT!!!!
Thirdly, to Mark and Laura. Thanks for trusting Alvin and me with your baby, A Woman At War. You have no idea how much we appreciate your empowerment in trying to bring to life what was in your heads. I hope we stayed true to your vision and made you proud.
Thanks also to Mr & Mrs Wong and Mr & Mrs Ho, for allowing Sean and Wilfred to be a part of the team at A Woman At War. Thanks for trusting us enough to bring your sons through this musical journey despite the late nights and breaking their curfews time and again.
Thanks to Sean, Wilfred, Daniel and Thern for agreeing to play for A Woman At War. Thanks for your discipline and commitment to the rehearsals. Thanks for all your creative contribution to make the music event better than I could ever imagine on my own.
Thanks to all the cast of A Woman At War: Boon Kit, Sara Vivian, Hilda, Teresa, Riena, Jee Yan, Kevin and Desmond for always seeking feedback and forever eager to improve. You guys have so much chemistry together and you sound wonderful together. I couldn't have asked for a better cast.
Thanks to Alfred, Nabilah and Fara for accepting the roles in 300 Million after the S+S Musical auditions. I know all of you had multiple offers and could have chosen many other musicals but I am so thankful that you accepted to be in team 300 million. And of course thanks to Calvin and the rest of the spermies who also joined the team later and brought the story to life!! You guys were perfect for your roles!!!
Thanks to Joe, Faridah, Soo, Boy, Lawrence, Arif and the entire crew of S+S Musical for the opportunity and the platform for us to explore our passion in the arts.
Last but not least, thanks and the heartiest congratulations to the one and only musical sifu Nick Choo ... who inspired me to start writing 3 years ago after attending your S+S workshop. And thanks for continuously helping us grow by generously sharing your feedback and suggestions whenever we ask you. Really appreciate your time and your input! There is no one else more deserving of the Creative Excellence Award!! Congrats again!!
♥♥ Proud of both team "300 million" and team "AWAW"! ♥♥
Hubs and me getting the Festival Director's Award from the Festival Director herself! (photo courtesy of Short + Sweet Malaysia)
300 million winning Audience Choice Award (photo courtesy of Short + Sweet Malaysia)
300 million winning Best Overall Production (photo courtesy of Short + Sweet Malaysia)
And we are back in action!! This year hubby and I have teamed up once again in not just 1 but 2 pieces for the Short + Sweet Musical Festival: 300 million: The Reconceptualization of a Conception is a punny piece, written and composed by both of us. A Woman at War is an emotional piece of love and war, director and musical directed by hubby and me respectively.
What began with a blip of a thought in my head has bloomed into a living breathing thing on stage. Isn't that amazing? I'm sad that the journey has come to and end... as usual, it's post production syndrome.
I remember looking desperately for a director and musical director as I always believe it is better to have others execute your vision to help suss out the blind spots. Thankfully, I have an uber talented family... hehehe. My sis-in-law, Hilda agreed to direct it!!!
Then came the audition. We spotted a few talents that we liked and approached them. Vanessa was recruited immediately. But our other chosen actors did not accept. As luck would have it, we bumped into a last minute auditionee on the way out of klpac and saw one last auditionee perform. And that was how we got our leading lady, Vivian. Our leading guy pulled out, and in the end we got Vanessa's boyfriend Nick to join us. It's the second time I'm working together with Nick. That, was how our cast came together in the end. What an awesome group it was... 3 triple-threats.
I still could not find a musical director and had to step in as the last resort. Thank God I found an awesome pianist to co-musical direct with me, Elaine. I wanted a cellist but the first 2 I approached couldn't or wouldn't do it. My bff Hazel suggested her fellow sunday school teacher, Siaw Wei and she agreed!! Along with Elaine's bf Francis on bass, we had a full band!!
(picture courtesy of shortandsweetmalaysia.blogspot.com)
(picture courtesy of shortandsweetmalaysia.blogspot.com)
Although we didn't win any awards this year, I was still darn proud of what the team did... music or acting. Seeing how wonderful and moving Nick Choo's piece was (winner of 8 awards!), it has inspired us to want to work harder and want to be better. He was the one who taught me about rhythm, inflection and all that jazz 3 years ago at the Short and Sweet Workshop. I wouldn't have started writing or composing if not for him in the first place.
Everytime I watched it, I had a whole community of butterflies in my stomach... Have always loved that feeling when I was performing. Never thought I'd get that from writing... I love it too. I guess this is only the beginning of more awesome things to come!!! Enjoy!!
What if years ago you had chosen a different path in life? How would things turn out? Better? Worse? Who knows?
I remember the line from a song in Pocahontas' Just Around The River Bend
"But people, I guess, can't live like that
We all must pay a price
To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing
What's around the riverbend?"
I wrote this musical based on that thought, not realizing that the timing is spot on for my very own life. Now, my fictitious story is ever closer to my heart.
13th March 2013, yesterday was the Press Conference for The Unexpected Guest (TUG) at Hilton Petaling Jaya. Press turnout was pretty good, considering we really could not afford to spoil the press in this event since we are a non-profit org. :-)
Details of the event are as below:
Joshua Lee, the Programme Director of StART Society said “Although we are not an events company, we always like to push the envelope and be pioneers or innovators of events such as the Xtramile Run in 2011 which was the first of its kind in Malaysia. Hopefully, by exercising our creativity, we can inspire the kids under our tutelage that anything and everything is possible if we play it to our strengths and passions,” He also added that the children will be performing during this dinner, firstly to showcase their talents and what they have learnt at StART Society... and secondly, to make the dinner seem as close to a normal fundraiser as possible in the beginning and establish that the stage is the stage and the audience is the audience, before the lines are completely blurred later in the night.
Freddy Tan, the drama director and me, the writer were excitedly describing the drama while being cautious not to reveal too much that it may spoil the fun and surprise. Freddy described how the actors will be trained and be rehearing differently from a conventional theatre play... to stay in character and expect the unexpected for this drama. They would be trained to feed on the audiences diversions and misdirection and use it in the drama, or re-divert them back to fit into the story. Earlier this week, Freddy was also asked on Capital FM 88.9 if he is nervous about directing something that is a new concept. Freddy said "Yes, it will definitely give me sleepless nights. But it's because of that, the challenge of doing something new and experimental... that I want to do this!"
I was asked where did my inspiration came from. I said "I grew up addicted to mystery and crime investigation novels such as Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie... then in more recent years, I am a big follower of crime TV series such as CSI. My favourite is Criminal Minds as I find human behaviour is the most interesting element in the investigation as compared to just physical scientific evidence. So, expect a lot of elements of human relationships and behavioural elements in The Unexpected Guest!"
Asha Gill (our TUG emcee) asked "If a guest were to voluntarily drink the "poisoned drink" that killed one of the actors, then play dead... how would the actors react?" Freddy answered that he would definitely welcome such involvement and engagement from the audience. He said that he liked the script because it has a lot of room to play around the plot as there are many things happening simultaneously. So, additional back-stories can always be worked into the story whenever the audiences participate in the story. I added that whoever wants to play dead, has to play dead the rest of the night! :p
After the press conference, we had a Food Tasting session at the Hilton Petaling Jaya to sample what will be served on the event day... scrumptious stuff.
Get your tickets fast as the big corporations are snapping them up by the table. ;-) For ticket purchase, please contact StART Society at: 03 7954 5423 | 016 336 8185 | startsociety.info@gmail.com.
Tune in to Capital FM 88.9 from 7.45am onwards on Monday, 11th March 2013:
I will be On Air, for the very first time. Exciting stuff, hehehe. Will be promoting our super awesome fundraising event: The Unexpected Guest. Get to meet celebrity DJ Xandria Ooi. And see the super awesome girl power radio station, where ma favourite colour pink is in, out and all around!! LIKE!!!
I'm super duper uber excited about my upcoming project, and it's all for a good cause too! Do it for the less fortunate children, or just do it to be entertained... but do come join us! =)
Welcome to a night of enthralling mystery, scandals, and eureka moments. Welcome to a place where fiction and reality has little separation. Welcome to a theatrical performance where YOU unwittingly become part of the cast.
Special Appearance:
Marina Mahathir (Guest of Honour)
Carey Ng (Miss Universe Malaysia 2012)
Asha Gill
Emily Lim
Liang
Date: 20 – 21st April 2013, Saturday and Sunday
Time: 7pm – 11pm
Venue: Hilton Petaling Jaya, Kristal Ballroom 1 & 2, 1st Floor, West Wing
Tickets: RM200 per pax or RM2,000 per table
For more information please contact StART Society at: 03 7954 5423 | 016 336 8185 | startsociety.info@gmail.com
Venue Sponsor: Hilton Petaling Jaya
A Fundraising Project for StART Society, where talent is unearthed and nurtured.
Directed by: Freddy Tan
Winner of Best Director for The Geongxi Is A Vamp (winner of Best Overall Production) in Short & Sweet Musical 2012. Director for Corporal PUNishment in 2012 (klpac). Winner of Festival Director’s Award in Short & Sweet Theatre 2011. Writer/Lyricist for Oriental Takeout (winner of Best Overall Production) in Short & Sweet Musical 2011. Performed in INDICINELIVE! in KL, Penang, Kuching and Singapore.
Written by: Karynn Tan
Composer/Lyricist for The Geongxi Is a Vamp (winner of Best Overall Production) in Short & Sweet Musical 2012, Winner of Best Lead Actress in Oriental Takeout (winner of Best Overall Production) in Short & Sweet Musical 2011, Performed in Dama Orchestra’s Empress Wu and klpac’s Malaysian Girls.
As I embark on my job-hunt, these interviews really help you reflect. A popular question "What are some of your areas of improvement?" Nice way to say weaknesses... er, I am only human, sure plenty, kan??
I don't know about corporate flers, but art practitioners crave to get feedback. We'd open the newspapers the day after opening night to read reviews, we stay back after shows for our director's notes. Was our singing off pitch? Intentions unclear? Bad diction? The very next day, we will try our best to fix whatever comment the best we can, be extra vigilant on those areas of improvement.
Feeding on criticism, of course, can go beyond just the arts... if we would only endure the occasional burst of ego-bubble from critics with good intent, those who are honest enough and care enough to help us grow.
Critic 1: Anish
Remember how he got me to my cheese? Well, in the process of finding the cheese & all ... he too gave me 2 distinct criticisms that I can recall: I was too risk-averse & low sense of urgency. At the time, whatever ideas I had, stayed ideas in my head. "no guts to implement? maybe now is not the time yet? maybe I shouldn't fix what is not broken?" Yup, I was like that... but I tried to fix it. Not overnight but little by little, I got a bit braver, more adventurous, and as a result, I was much faster too. If you asked my team in my most recent job in Abbott, I was a feisty, gutsy, out-of-the-box, high sense of urgency person... & will drive them up the wall (or vice versa hehe) if they were conventional or slow. The biggest risk in my career? Taking this sabbatical to pursue the arts; Will I get back the kind of job I like? Can I start back where I left off? Or will I have to make sacrifices & rebuild my corporate reputation from scratch? I still keep Anish's whatsapp message "I know you'll do well, keep following your heart"!! :)
Critic 2: Ai-Hong
My favourite boss, mentor, friend in my entire corporate career. Her critique? You need to be more sharp with numbers. I was indeed quite often careless with numbers but she was super sharp & meticulous. I may have been a math-whiz way back in school but after graduation, after deciding to give an engineering career a miss, I got too lazy to practice it anymore. Use it or lose it. So, it was time to revive the engineer in me. I gotta check and recheck all my data constantly. Then guess what? A few years down the road, I got a distinction in my Finance module in my MBA. Finance! @.@ Sure boh? *blink hard hard* Look at my transcript again, yup! And most recently, I was offered a business analyst job. Huh? Miss artsy fartsy? An analyst? No lar... it's just a part of my mentor which was left behind in me, among all the other amazing stuff that she taught me.
Critic 3: Kerry-Ann
She was the first ever choreographer I had to work with, in my first every production back in 2009. The first person I ever knew who had a Bachelors Degree in Dance!! I remember struggling to understand what she wants... "you need to be in character! what does your character want? what does she feel?" Huh? I thought dancing meant, 5-6-7-8 step here, turn there, fling out an arm, turn to the right, etc etc. What's all this inside-out thing she's talking about? I didn't get her, she didn't get why I didn't get it. She shouted until I cried one day. But after that, little by little, I understood her a little more. Not entirely but just a little more each day. Eh, eh... she stopped shouting. "Now we're getting somewhere" was probably in both our minds. In the end, the choreography was what stole the show. Suddenly I was enlightened that dance, was way beyond what was just physical and mechanical. We've been great friends ever since!
Critic 4: Kai Loon
My very first epic musical, first time having a serious role, first time working with Dama Orchestra. Nerves and anxiety got the best of me. During rehearsals, Kai Loon repeatedly said that I kept looking "lost" on stage, my intentions either unclear or complete blank. Yikes! First production with them, I really really didn't want to screw things up. I tried & I tried, but to no avail... he still repeated I looked lost. Lost? What did that even mean? I wanted to badly to do well and I didn't know what to do about it... I just woke up one morning & cried to hubby. Then I asked for a private rehearsal session with Kai Loon, I wrote down my sub-texts for every single phrase spoken while I was on stage. Went through each and every scene with him. Finally, progress. Yippee! After every nights performance, he would email us his super long and detailed director's notes in the wee hours of the morning. I keep refreshing my gmail... refresh, refresh, until I fell asleep. First thing I do when my phone alarm-clock goes off in the morning, refresh gmail! Everyday, each performance, I dread to see in my email "Lady Liu looks lost"... but opening night, don't have, 2nd show, don't have, 5th show, none, 10th show, still none, 20th, none, none, none. Yayyy!!!!!
God know I still have more stuff to work on... am definitely not gonna publish them here on a public blog. :p Well, God sends help in the form of other people to slap me into realization. Sometimes I just can't see these things myself & need people in my life to be my third-eye.
This song below is dedicated to all you people in my life ♫ ♬ "who has helped me most to grow, ♫ because I knew you, ♩ I have been changed... for good"♬ ♩.
I am eternally grateful to you... I love you guys!! Hugz! =)
Back in high-school, I sang in an a-capella group. First we were Karla Ryka, then Dejavu, then As If, then Citadel... yeah, we were indecisive. :-p We used to sing together in class after school & sometimes get "caught" by teachers or prefects thinking we brought a radio to class. On some Saturday mornings, we'd walk to school while singing, building our singing stamina. We sang in inter-school talent competitions and we made it for Asia Bagus once too. Those were the days.
1995 - Sri Garden Talentshow
17 years later... we had our reunion performance at our group member, Kim's wedding. Congratulations to Kim and Kelvin!!! A very beautiful personalized wedding... with a dedication from the bride to her groom. Romantic, kan? :-)
As we are approaching the finale of the Everworld journey, I am beginning to feel the post-production syndrome... a tad early but that sad feeling of love-and-lost has begun. Tears well up in my eyes just thinking about 26th Dec when it's all over. :-(...
I reflect back on all the productions I have ever been in. ALWAYS without fail, I get that post-production syndrome, missing the people, missing the journey, missing the entire emotional attachment to the production. Were any of the productions perfect? The people, the process, the resources, the everything... was any of it so perfectly flawless that we miss being in that perfect team, perfect job, perfect atmosphere?
Nope! Far from it. There are always things that you love and things that frustrates you to the bone in every single journey. Every single journey has its ups and downs. Yet we do it again & again & love it!
What makes a theatre production different from a corporate project? Why then don't we miss our corporate projects, processes and colleagues so much that we get all emotional and tearry-eyed when a project ends? They are all projects right? They involve living breathing human beings, right? They all involve a journey right?
There are probably more but I have zoomed down to just 2 distinctive differences:
One - Purpose
In corporate, the people involved in each project have their own goals. They are using the project as a stepping stone to reach those goals. Very rarely does a person's own goals matches the organization's fancy schmancy vision.
In a theatre production, everyone just wants to put on a good show. 1 lousy actor or 1 lousy sound engineer can ruin the entire show causing bad ticket sales, bad reviews, oh the humiliation! So, people help each other to ensure they achieve their "selfish" goals of putting on a good show.
Two - Passion
In corporate, some of the people are doing it in exchange for something (money, status, sense of stability, etc). Of course there are some who are truly passionate about the cause or the work but the majority are there because they are exchanging their time and efforts for something. They more miserable they feel about their job, the more they feel "entitled" to more rewards. It's about the rewards, not the work or the cause itself.
In theatre, there is no money, no fame, nothing else to gain but to put on a show. You don't get billboards in your name or appear on a silver screen. You do theatre because, well... you love doing theatre. The doing itself IS the reward.
But of course in all cases there are an exception or two but the team's vibe is driven by the majority.
I'm just using theatre because I am a theatre-pratitioner but I am sure there are other examples out there with that common passion and purpose such as working for an NGO or professional sports or an orchestra or so forth. But wouldn't it be wonderful to find a company with a bunch of people with that common passion and purpose?? Where people love what they do or love the cause behind it. I'm still looking... Let's see how it goes. :-)
A month ago I started a temporary job at StART. It's a project bound job rather than a time bound one, I only had to come into the office 2hr a day, 2days a week. And I had only committed until the end of December, for a start. The deal is, if I find the "proper" job of my dreams by January, I will continue this fundraising project after-working hours. If I don't find it, I will continue full-time doing this project until March.
Maggie!!
The office is a small little room with 2 work-desks, shared by 5 of us. In the compound, is a colourful van named Maggie, a non-working pool - we cannot afford to maintain it :( , a pond and the occasional friendly neighbourhood biawak. I just get paid a small salary... with no employee benefits, allowances or fat bonuses. Freelancer ma.
Hardly the money, the perks or the luxurious private office I get in the corporate world kan?
Yet, how has it been so far? Not only have I been hanging out in the office every freaking weekday, and even some of the weekend events because the people are awesome. I am actually looking forward to work days. I finish my work ahead of time most of the time because my inspiration keeps pouring in... overflowing even!! I am so excited to have them read my stories, my scripts and to add their little own witty bits in it.
I love spending the time with the team, they feel like family. Everyone is so wonderful and caring and super passionate about their work. The positive energy is totally contagious! Everybody has the same purpose that drives them to work, to see these kids' talents flourish. My boss is not just "tolerating" my commitment to performance arts, he is playing the lead role in the very same production and his commitment to rehearsals are even higher than me!!
Dammit! Why can't giant corporate organizations be so bloody awesome? Passionate people, common purpose, selflessness, understanding team-mates, super high trust & honesty...etc etc :( :( :( If ever I becomes like a GM or something, I shall instill this kind of culture. :)
Dammit! First Musical Theatre, now Writing for an ngo. I just love falling for jobs that don't pay don't I?? Well, I survived on a small salary before 10 years ago, why can't I 10 years later? Let's see:
1. 10 years ago, I did not have my own house to pay for. Now, I share this expense with hubby.
2. 10 years ago, I did not have so many stupid insurances to pay for. Now, I am covered for a gazillion different things.
3. 10 years ago, I was driving a cute little Kancil. Now, I am driving a Mazda 3 - Sport.
4. 10 years ago, my lifestyle was a lot simpler. Now, I have gym memberships, facials-packages, travelling plans, etc etc every year.
5. 10 years ago, my parents were still working. Now, they are my dependents.
6. Inflation!!!
I suppose epf can take care of #1, I can get rid of #2 and #3. And due to my sabbatical, I have already gotten rid of #4. And #6 is something totally out of my control and inevitable, ggahh!
But #5, a responsibility for another human being is something that I will never have the heart to be irresponsible with. I know they will freak out if I even downgrade my car to a Kancil... "losing face" is something dead serious for them. So, because of my daughterly irresponsibility, I cannot afford to be poor.
So, this is precisely the reason why I do not want kids... not before, not now, not ever! If I have motherly responsibilities on top of daughterly responsibilities, I cannot afford to be poor. I myself, is more than willing to sacrifice things that money can buy, for my love of things that money cannot buy. But I cannot force the people I am responsible for, to sacrifice the same thing. I may not be able to choose not to be a daughter, but I have the choice, not to be a mother.
So, if anyone asks me why I don't want children... this is my answer... I want to have The Affordability to be Poor. Do you have The Affordibility to be Poor??
"Picasso once said that all children are born artists. The trick is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately: We don't grow into creativity; we grow out of it." ~ Sir Ken Robinson ~
Love the story about Gillian Lynne. Do watch the whole video... he makes so much sense. If you're more of a reader, go here to read the entire transcript.
I don't ever ever ever want to grow out of creativity.... EVER!!! ;-)
As I bask in the remaining few months of my life as a full-time arts practitioner... I too, shall bask and soak in whatever spotlight that I had managed to shamelessly grab for myself this year. It's been so much fun that time really flew... light-speed!!
Timeout Penang - Aug 2012
**For the link to the original article, click here
Female magazine - Nov 2012
**note: correction on this article, I am 34 & it was a year ago that I made the decision that drove my parents bonkers. hehehe. ;)
