Derrick Siu, a fantastic Australian actor-presenter who relocated to Singapore 6 months ago, organised an Exclusive Networking Event for Creatives within the industry – LAUNCH! He is a good friend of mine, and I witnessed all the hard work, sleepless nights & skipped meals he went through just to get this event together.

Kudos to you, Derrick!

A group of friends & I merely assisted in getting the word out & helping to setup the venue & sort out name-tags & registration on the day itself – 2 Feb ‘10. There was an awesome turnout of people – performers & production companies, directors, agencies – for the inaugural LAUNCH, and it was a huge success.

Other than helping out in registration, I helped to facilitate the mingling sessions, so people would get to know more people! After all, that’s the purpose of a networking event, right? It was fun getting to know more people within the industry, even though I couldn’t get to meet every single person.

Lifestyle Asia’s photographer was present as well, and took many great photos. So I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

Lucas Chia (Actor-Host), Kimberly Gordon
& Joachim Gomez (Actor-Singer)

Me & my “Father” – Actor Laurence Pang

Jae (left) was there too!

Elfa (left) & Bernie (centre) – Talent-TED Agency

Me with actors Peer Metze, Gemia Foo & Jackie Liong,
as well as Director David Shiyang Liu (centre)

Actors’ gathering – Wai Kit, Sue, Simon & Fish

Director David with Actor Jacklyn,
one of the actors in my weekly Scene Work sessions

From Lee Wei Song’s School of Music

Director Kelvin Sng (2nd from left) having fun.
His mini-feature “The Gang” is premiering soon!

Actor Alan (centre) with Lionel & Jenny of Motion Media Works

Derrick (2nd from left), man of the moment,
with other actors – Julie, Rekha, Chris & Jason

Actors with Karen, from Right Angle Media

More photos can be found here: “Launch!” Gallery at Lifestyle Asia.

Looking forward to the next LAUNCH!

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I love nature. Especially nature in HK. The mountains are so different from the Singapore version (think: “Mount” Faber & “Mount” Sophia). Thanks to Yu-Beng, I got the chance to go hiking at Shek O – the south-east corner of Hong Kong Island with him & a fellow actor, Michael Sorich.

Tiny stream trickling down the mountainside.

Before embarking on the “Dragon’s Back”

I am 284 metres above sea level. Amazing.

That’s the Shek O Beach & Village down below.

We wandered off the trodden path to scale these mountainous rocks.

Queen of the World.

The weather’s cold. But I’m feeling like I’m on top of the world!

I rarely go hiking. And let’s face it, in Singapore, there is very little opportunity to go hiking. It’s on overseas trips like this that we really get the chance to experience nature & explore amazing places.

Back on sea level. At the pristine & quiet Shek O Beach.

I think I’m addicted to rocks after this trip. Haha.

After a nearly 2-hour hiking journey, we took a minibus to Shek O Village, and explored the beach a bit before adjourning for lunch.

Thumb-up for the Squid dish.

These pictures make me hungry.

No doubt an amazing day out to explore another side to Hong Kong. Whets my appetite for more nature trips in HK when I get back again. Must remember to pack my proper hiking shoes.

I love nature.

The work of labour is bearing fruit soon – one fruit at a time. Thanks to the hard work of the people behind Brenizer Fanthome Films, the website for CUBIK is finally up & running. To check it out, please click the photo above, or click here – movie trailer, character bios & other interesting tidbits are in store for you!

Played the lead character, Alex Fu, in this story about “a young woman, newly initiated into her family’s criminal organization, who struggles to make her father proud by unearthing disloyalty and betrayal within his trusted circle of men.”

CUBIK’s premiere is coming soon – probably on 19 Feb at Sinema Old School, Singapore. Get ready for a time of adventure, problem-solving & real action!

Today was one of my happiest days in a long while – having dinner with friends from my church ministry. With them, it’s like one big family. There’s laughter shared, wars fought together, friendship built. We grow together, learn together, have fun together. And it’s all pure, sincere love for one another.

Dinner at Tambuah Mas Indonesian Restaurant was preceded by an original game thought up by the organisers, based on police-and-thief. We were grouped into teams of four, and for some inexplicable reason, the four team I/Cs (Kelvyn, Jacelyn, Darren & me) decided to group together. Well, we didn’t win. BUT we were the brains behind the strategy of all the teams. Haha.

Today also happened to be Darren’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, Darren!

With leaders in the ministry.

Darren is an awesome individual. During his 2 years of National Service, he grew stronger in the Lord & in the ministry, and he became a leader in the ministry even before the 2 years were up. Stood in the gap. He’s definitely grown in leadership skills, learning how to lead so people will follow & now he’s both a leader & a friend to his team members. Which is awesome.

Not only that, he’s musically talented as well. So, to make him earn his gift tonight (which included a Man Utd jersey!), his team made him play a song on the guitar in public, sort of a roadside “busker”.

Let’s just say that he gained a lot of fans tonight, I think. And I love the song he picked to perform – “Always Be My Baby”.

Always Be My Baby by David Cook

We were as one babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine

Now you want to be free
So I’m letting you fly
Cause I know in my heart babe
Our love will never die
No!

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m a part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby

I ain’t gonna cry, no
And I won’t beg you to stay
If you’re determined to leave girl
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably you’ll be back again
Cause ya know in your heart babe
Our love will never end, no

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby

I know that you’ll be back girl
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder oooohhh
I know that, you’ll be right back, babe
Ooooh! Baby believe me it’s only a matter of time

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my my baby….

You’ll always be a part of me (you will always be)
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on (we will linger on….)
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re never gonna shake me
Ooh darling cause you’ll always be my baby

Always be my baby.

It’s friends who always brighten up my day. And today was definitely a fantastic day – one worth remembering. 2010 is off to a great start. Three upcoming short films, one event to host in March. Casted for a new series of school assembly shows. Continuing another series of school assembly shows.

Other exciting news coming up soon. Meanwhile, it’s time to write & plan for 2010.

ALWAYS BE MY BABY.

I love the weather during winter in HK. Especially when the temperature ranges between 10 to 16 degrees Celsius. It’s the perfect weather to sit in a park, watch people, reflect on your life, and enjoy the present.

No doubt, Singapore is a green city. Trees everywhere, greenery fills the scenery. But admittedly, I don’t really have the inclination to sit in a park in Singapore, because it tends to be sweltering hot & even sitting at a bench for 5 minutes can be unbearable.

I found the parks in HK to be unique, especially given that HK has almost no greenery in its city area – just buildings & more buildings. So I escaped Causeway Bay & walked two blocks down to end up in Victoria Park, a refuge from concrete. It was Dec 11 (Fri), a pleasantly cool day. To me, it was alone time to reflect on what I’d learnt in Jeanne’s Professional Acting Workshop before heading to the Open Class the next day.

Here’s my special notebook filled with all sorts of random stuff – from Acting notes, to Goals, problem sums for my tuition kids, sermon notes etc etc.

I settled on a bench for two hours plus. Just enjoying the weather, nature, watching people, reflecting. Breathing the relatively fresh air. Fending off a weird guy who approached me & started to talk to me & ask if I was from Thailand (?!). All in all, it was a beautiful afternoon. Most of my fellow park companions were elderly folk exercising, resting, chatting with friends.

Peaceful.

The scenes I worked through during 2 days with Jeanne.

Jeanne’s book. Helpful in consolidating what she taught during the Workshop.

I am quite a “nature” person. Nature is my refuge from people, noise, confusion. What I loved most about HK was not shopping & eating, but nature & art. My favourite tourist attraction in Singapore is the Zoological Gardens – I visit there about twice a year, the most recent trip during my birthday in 2009.

I love the black-and-white markings on this bird’s neck.

Field at the centre of Victoria Park.

To many, it seemed like a rash decision that I could even imagine I would achieve anything by traveling to HK alone, not knowing anyone there (with the exception of one friend, who is not in the entertainment industry). It forced me to fight for myself, to get to know people… Yet through it all, like the picture I took above, “Jesus is Lord”. Helps me to be strong even through tough times… And I did have some tough times.

On a foodie note, I had a sumptuous dinner near where I stay …

… before heading out to party at Club Play @ Lan Kwai Fong with Yu-Beng. It was the “City of Nites – Moscow Nite”. Got to know some cool people as well – his fellow actors Kirt & Hiro, as well as Kate & others. Didn’t get any photos, but not too bad for my 5th day in HK.