First of all, repeat after me: Nintendo Wii is cool! And fun! And very cool!

Next, absorb this: Sony PlayStation 3 is kinda cool, too, I’ll give you that, but PlayStation is also passé.

So what do you do when your goon partner (affectionately known as The Goonfather) goes and buys a PS3 instead of a Wii?

You protest, that’s what.

So, I made a video protest.

I had fun making my first video, and I figure I need to work on the old “video presence”. That first video didn’t seem to have made much of an impression on the people I was trying to impress. No calls.

No biggie.

I just try again. That’s what I do best. Try try try until I die, but, like, I make slow progress. This new video doesn’t seem to have any more charisma than the last one did.

But, never mind, this is a video protest and I’m not, like, sending it for competitions.

You know, you should get a Wii, too, even if you’re not a gamer, because the Wii is revolutionising the gaming world. Everyone, from very young people to very old people, is enjoying it. Not only is it fun and games, it also doubles as a gym workout machine. Yeah, cool, huh?

I don’t know what the Goonfather was thinking, getting a PS3. He is such a Sony fanboi. He already has a PS1, a PS2 and a PSP. What does he need a PS3 for? Pffft.

Okay, enough of ranting. Go watch my video and petition in my comments for dear Goonfather to pawn his PS3 and buy a Wii! Now!

Categories: Gaming, Videos
23 Comments »

The life of a freelancer is immensely exciting because you never know where your next pay cheque will be coming from.

Of all the places, I never expected to be invited to write for an actors’ resource website based in the USA.

But it happened, and I wrote, and I got published today.

Am now working on my next piece.

I usually tolerate my writing jobs as purely a means to earn a living. But this is one writing job I can dig into with relish because I get to write about acting. Coolness!

Thank you for the job, BackStage.com!

Categories: Acting Journal
21 Comments »

Recently, I volunteered to write a theatre review for The Flying Inkpot so I could watch a play for free.

Plays are expensive, you know.

But I need to watch them because I want to act in them again. After so many years of acting for film and TV, I’ve forgotten how to act on stage. So that’s how I came to volunteer to watch this particular play and write about it.

It’s a noisy play about a bunch of delinquent immortal students who have lost their godly powers.

Delightful plot. It was very entertaining and the leading actor is very charming, but I’ll do my official review when I do my official review, which is not now.

Anyway, watching it made me wish I was there on stage instead of sitting among the audience. How I enjoy torturing myself… not. Watching plays always does that to me, which is another reason I hardly watch plays, aside from costly tickets. (But cost is the bigger deterrent because I’m not exactly rolling in the dough with my struggling actress status.)

Immortalx — that’s the title — was staged at the Jubilee Hall in Raffles Hotel. Very romantic and charming venue.

Hardly appropriate for a wacky teenage comedy, especially when you have people walking around dressed like this:

But I suppose venue choices are limited in Singapore and it doesn’t really matter where you perform something as long as you perform it and people enjoy it, right?

I’m now attending another acting class which I hope will give me the tools to audition successfully for theatre. The next time I blog about a play, I hope it’ll be because I’m performing in it.

Will you watch it if you have to buy costly theatre tickets to see me perform?

Categories: Acting Journal
5 Comments »

I was at Jack’s Place last night when I overheard this dialogue at the next table where a man and his date were dining:

Waitress: Your order, please?

Man: Yes. Can you give me two spring chickens… but, er…*slight pause*… change one of them to baked potato.

The Goonfather and I couldn’t stop laughing. (Very quietly.)

We were still laughing about it 4 hours later, after dinner, after catching a play, on our way home.

Categories: Humour
2 Comments »

I just uploaded a YouTube video for the first time in my life. Not that YouTube has been around long enough for that to be a remarkable statement, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, it’s a video clip I’m not extremely proud of, so when I had to fill in the field called “Tags”, I only typed “Qiaoyun” because I don’t want the clip to be searchable and watched by strangers. I’m assuming that nobody would ever do a search for “Qiaoyun” in YouTube because it’s a weird sort of word to begin with.

So. This is a one-minute video of me giving a meaningless self-intro.

You see, I had to e-mail a production house a showreel so I can be shortlisted to go for an audition. But I don’t have a showreel because I’ve been having trouble editing my mpeg2 files (direct recordings of my TV shows) and rendering them into a compressed and viewable form.

To cut the boring technical story short, I had to quickly record an emergency video of myself using my digital camera. The casting lady said I could just shoot a quick-and-dirty self-intro because they just want to see my “video presence”.

So here’s my quick-and-dirty.

If you’re planning to offer up some constructive criticism, please bear in mind that this video isn’t meant to be the least bit entertaining. It’s meant to show how I look on video.

If you’re watching only so you can laugh at me, well, okay, that’s allowed. I do that to other people all the time so I suppose I deserve some retribution.

Have I mentioned how I hate doing self-intros? Yes, I have.

I think I’d drop dead and die if I ever got to watch all the millions of self-intros I’ve done in my life, at production houses and studios. Okay, few hundred is a more accurate number, but the point is that I’ve been doing self-intros all my life and I have yet to reach a point where I feel comfortable giving one.

I just don’t like talking about myself, you know. I mean, verbally. I don’t mind writing about myself, you realise.

Anyway, self-intros suck. Unfortunately, they’re a necessary occupational hazard.

They’re a hazard to me because, like I said, I’d drop dead and die if I ever have to watch any one of them.

Vincent told me he’s watched one of my audition tapes. I think I should kill him for that. You think?

Categories: Acting Journal, Videos
23 Comments »

As a citizen of the blogosphere, I once again find myself obliged to perform my yearly civic duty.

It’s meme time. Wootage.

I try not to get too invovled in this crazy meme game that bloggers have going, so I only get tagged like once a year. Which is GREAT. Please keep it that way. Thank you very much.

This “fashion meme” is a week late in coming but I’m sure sexy Shelly will forgive me.

Your three favourite colours for clothes: White, light blue and black, in that order. I’m boring, yeah. Who cares. I look better in those colours so I’m being smart. I also love cerise-coloured clothes but Elyxia and Nanny Wen swear that I look horrible in that colour so I’m never allowed to buy clothes in that colour.

Your accessory weakness: Boots, I guess. Must always have boots. My first pair of boots were Doc Martens, when I was 16. I haven’t stopped liking boots since then. But that only goes for boots with no heels or chunky/rugged heels. I hate stiletto heels.

Your favourite gem: I don’t really know. They all look the same to me so call me a gem idiot. I guess I’m more into colours. I’m attracted to pastel colours like pale pink, pale blue, pale purple, so if any gem comes in that colour, I’ll probably like it. But I probably won’t wear it because…

Your must have jewellery: I hate wearing jewellery. I have two diamond rings and two diamond necklaces which I never ever wear except to auditions when I need to look old. Well, but I like costume jewellery if that counts. I love necklaces and bracelets featuring organza ribbons. How can anyone not?

Your favourite clothing: JHSU. (Thanks to my perverted bunch of gamer friends, you know who you are.)

Your watch: I don’t wear one cos I don’t think it’s worth the money. Most watches are ugly and I can tell the time on my hand phone.

Your favourite pair of jeans: A pair of 3/4 jeans with a fake tweety bird picture on the back pocket. Very cheap, I think, like $10 or $15.

Your favourite designer: Can’t afford designer stuff. Even if I could afford them, I couldn’t wear them because they’re made for busty or big-sized women. I prefer street fashion. And if had two hundred bucks, I’d rather buy 10 items of cheap clothing than blow it all on one designer item. Then again, I suppose I wouldn’t say that if I had Paris Hilton’s income. Who knows?

And that’s the end of this meme.

And I’m not tagging anyone because I think the whole world has already been tagged and there’s no one else left to be tagged.

But if anyone wants to volunteer, send me an email and we can arrange something.

Categories: Blogs, Fashion
13 Comments »

The first time I got Aids was in the year 2004. (Technically HIV, but Aids is easier to say.) I was cast in a student short film as a wilful teenager who runs away from home to be with a bad boy who gives her Aids.

The shoot was cool because it was my first time getting Aids. And the first time, they say, is always the best.

The second time, I gave myself Aids.

In May 2004, I was conned into taking part in the Channel U reality TV show, The Next Big Thing.

During the qualifying round, I had to perform a three-minute gig of my choice. I wrote my own monologue and performed my own song. I guess I was inspired by the work I did in that student short film, so I devised a performance about a girl who gets Aids.

That performance was very well-received.

After that, I had to wait a whole year before getting Aids again. My third time was for an educational video commissioned by the Health Promotion Board.

I played this girl who gets picked up by a handsome bloke at a party. After some idle talk, we proceed to make out in a quiet room but, before we can get too deep into it, I get a vision in my head of myself getting Aids and crying hysterically. That, of course, puts a damper on the festives so I ask Mr Handsome to get lost or else.

By this time, the novelty had worn off. I was sick and tired of getting Aids.

But, last month, I was offered a leading role in yet another educational Aids video by the HPB. I couldn’t reject this one because the production house had done some high profile work and I thought it would be a good idea to work with them. Besides, the video was to be made like a TV drama so that’s cool.

Of course, the fact that I was asked to play an 18-year-old made the decision easier. We don’t often get cast as 18-year-olds, do we?

May, the stylist, gave me curly hair for some of the scenes (at the director’s request) without making me look older, like how curly hair always does to me. She’s wonderful, and I enjoyed playing the role very much.

I had the pleasure of acting opposite Louis, an actor whom I met last year at a very intensive acting workshop. During the shoot, we were able to connect and understand each other very well as we applied what we had learned together.

It was an amazing experience and I don’t regret doing it, never mind being typecast as The Aids Girl or whatever. Who cares.

But I think that’s about enough times. People are going to start wondering why I keep getting Aids but I’m not dead yet.

No, wait. You know what?

Cast me in a feature film as the Aids girl next. I’ve gotten it before and I’m really good at it.

Categories: Acting Journal
5 Comments »

Nanny Wen is a weirdo.

But she’s a sweet weirdo because she made me lunch and brought it to my house today (she lives about 10 minutes’ walk away).

Let me start from the beginning.

A few months ago, while we were hanging out at McDonald’s one day, she got a cut on a finger or something like that. Of course, I offered her a plaster. They call me Mini Watsons because I carry something for every emergency in a little pouch.

I said, “I got plaster. You want?”

Nanny Wen stared at me for three seconds before shaking her head with a doubtful expression on her face.

“Your plaster Hello Kitty one. I dowan.”

“What’s wrong with Hello Kitty plaster?? It’s expensive okay!”

*shake head*

Fast forward a month or so.

We were riding down an escalator when she got another cut or something, I can’t remember.

I said, “You want Hello Kitty plaster?”

“Noooooooooooooo!”

I don’t know what’s up with her. A plaster is a plaster is a plaster wat. Especially when you have a wound needing to be protected. So what’s wrong with Hello Kitty?

Fast forward again. Back to today.

She brought me lunch in a MANGO paper bag. When I looked inside, what do I see?

HELLO KITTY LUNCH BOX!

She who rejected my Hello Kitty plasters owns a Hello Kitty lunch box! Hah.

Actually, she also owns a Hello Kitty umbrella, which she carried to my house some weeks back when it was raining.

In her own defence, she said, “Plasters are permanently stuck on you wat. Lunch box can hide one corner, nobody can see.”

HUH?

Well, regardless, she’s a sweet and talented weirdo. Her chicken rice was yummy.

She’s now sleeping on my bed when she should be studying.

Sweet, talented, naughty weirdo. Tsk.

Categories: Random Musings
7 Comments »