It's hard being a 'Tard

If you have been awaiting my return to the blogosphere, I offer my sincerest apologies.

Absence should never be without reason, irrevelant of how exceptional.

(Us retards have special needs, donchano.)

Excuse 1: Graduation
For those aware of the misadventure of me enduring shabby communication and deflection of blame between multiple academic institutions who are involved in my course and inevitably my graduation, the worst is finally over. I attended the ceremony in May, where I got to wear an ill-fitting hat, sit in a row of what could have been my college friends if it weren't for an administrative slip-up, clap nonchalantly for two hours, and step up on stage and exude enthusiasm in receiving an empty scroll. Ah, such is the attainment of fulfilment. At least my parents were happy. And I managed to stuff my face with raisin rolls.


Hip freakin hooray.

Excuse 2: Work
My company brought in Grease The Musical in June and Cartoon Network Live! less than two weeks later. If you can imagine every aspect of work that ensures the success of two international large-scale stage productions back to back, and then split that amongst one managing director and three rookie chicks, you get ultimate chaos. Okay, maybe one notch above ultimate chaos. To come out of it unscathed would be a scandalous claim. But there were of course those rare times where I could step out of the box and see myself getting somewhere with the things I did. And getting a hug from Bubbles isn't such a bad reward either.


It's still the word, have you heard?


The Powerpuff plan to elude the overgrown babies failed miserably

Excuse 3: Rehearsals
Broken Bridges is going to be the biggest production that the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre would have ever put up to date. There are plans for the opening night to possibly double as the official launch of the venue as the founders have yet to hold one since its first year of operations. The pressure that's mounted on this project is, as you can see, naturally massive. The two methods of getting to Sentul is either hitching a ride with an ensemble mate and bracing the hour-long jam, or taking the train and a 15-minute walk which altogether totals to a similiar duration. I've been doing so every other evening (combine with Excuse 2 and lo and behold a very worrisome pair of parents) and starting from this weekend til showtime, it will be a daily affair. I've learned loads so far and my performance skills have made a noticeable improvement, but it's far from being a walk in the park. I've injured my leg twice and suffered a severe relapse of asthma since rehearsals commenced. Musical theatre is jolly good fun, but no joking matter.
On an incredible note, my director Joe Hasham has come across my account of the audition. I thought I was going to get emotionally flogged for my honesty. On the contrary, Joe loved it so much that he has requested to have the two parts published in Living Arts, a monthly newsletter by The Actors Studio. Joe, if you're reading this, this incident has not been of much assistance to me in the blushing department.


The melodies are memorable but murder to memorize.

Excuse 4: Movies
Promotion for The Flowers Beneath My Skin is finally kicking off. Think Online will be featuring an article on the movie soon, and I had a little chat with the editor Chris which brought back wierd and wonderful memories of the shoot. If I'm not mistaken, Think Online is also helping to organize the premiere at KLpac in July in conjunction with a showcase by Furniture, whose leadman provided the musical score. I've been informed however that KLPac is fully booked until the end of the year. We'll see how things go.
As for S'kali, an article by the Perantauan team and I has just been submitted to Vida! magazine, and an interview with the cast will be published the July issue of CinemaOnline. Also, the official website for S'kali is finally up and running. It's very much a no-frills hub for info, but features may be added on as it gets closer to opening date. There are a few screencaps for your viewing pleasure, and the 20 sec and 71 sec trailers are available for download. If you're curious as to why my face seems so strategically placed on almost every page, then yes, I paid the webmaster. In Sterling.


S'kali-wags & CinemaOnline mascot, Cinammon the sexy b*****d.

Retardation Nation should be back in working order for now. In the meantime, for those who may have a slight interest in my literary pursuits, the Inkyhands online mag has included one of my stories in its May issue. It's a relatively old piece, loosely based on a real experience which some of you may recall, that I decided could be put to some use at least.

With all this brouhaha going on, I must admit I'm not being much of a daughter, a buddy, nor a girlfriend. It's been tough to multi-task, but it's remarkable to know that those around me have the patience and understanding to allow me to do what I need to do at such a dire period that requires me to be calculative with the kilojoules I burn for meal time, rest time and potty time. I'm truly grateful. To those who know who you are: Bless your cotton socks.