Love Story by Taylor Swift

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I’m standing there
On a balcony in summer air

See the lights
See the party, the ball gowns
I see you make your way through the crowd
And say hello, little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don’t go, and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I’ll be waiting all there’s left to do is run
You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess
It’s a love story baby just say yes

So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet ’cause we’re dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while

‘Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
But you were everything to me
I was begging you please don’t go and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I’ll be waiting all there’s left to do is run
You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess
It’s a love story baby just say yes

Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it’s real
Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess
It’s a love story baby just say yes
Oh oh

I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you is fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said

Romeo save me I’ve been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said, marry me Juliet
You’ll never have to be alone
I love you and that’s all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It’s a love story baby just say yes

Oh, oh, oh, oh
‘Cause we were both young when I first saw you

I want something different. Give me a love story that’s so romantic that I have no choice but to say “Yes!” Call it the romanticism of a little girl. Call it the fantasies of a dreamer. Call it the emotional extremes of an actor. I want a reason to say “Yes!” ‘Cause I just don’t feel it right now.

I filmed an MOS short film for an NYU Tisch Asia student over the weekend, titled “Love Story”. I played a dead lover who was unwilling to let go of her lover, even while she was in the grave, It involved leg, hand & butt action. You’ll understand if you ever saw it!

There’s so much of me that no one ever understands. When I’m locked in my room & dance to my heart’s content. When I watch movie scenes & tears just run down my cheeks. When I have so much love for life, for dreams, for everyone around me.

If you ever saw the real me, would you fall in love with me?

Beyond the shy, awkward self, the passion within me is something that can only be expressed through my performances. Through this song – “Love Story”. That’s the passion I have within me. If you would just look closer, if you would get to know me better, if I ever gave you a chance to look deep into my eyes, into my heart.

I would amaze you.

My birthday’s coming soon!

In 3 days’ time, to be exact. The older you get, the more you dread birthdays. Because it signals the ticking clock. *tick tock tock tock* Ahhhhhh!

But I love the gifts & the wishes & the opportunity to make wishes over my birthday cake. So for those of you who are planning to get me something, but haven’t got anything yet… Or for those of you who didn’t plan to get me anything, but are now feeling guilty… Here’s my Wishlist!

1. Make-Up from Shu Uemura or M.A.C.

Disclaimer: I think it’s better to buy me the vouchers… because the colours or the products may not exactly suit me. Thanks!

2. Air ticket to Taiwan – planning to fly there (permanently?) in July 2010

3. Find me an Agent that will bring me to Taiwan! Or a flexible job that will allow me to settle in Taiwan. Or an acting project in Taiwan? Hee.

4. CASH – For my overseas fund.

5. New clothes – Dresses, simple blouses, 3-quarter pants.

Yeah, I think that concludes my wishlist. Simple, but effective. Haha.

By the way, here’s the TVC for the Singapore Media Academy that is currently playing on Singapore TV. It was a large ensemble cast but I got a nice (albeit short) close-up shot. I was playing the role of a Director in the film crew which the male lead chanced upon while he was walking down Clarke Quay.

And this is an update on my previous post: The poster for “Slayer”, a Lasalle student short film I was the lead in. Apparently, it was well-received during the school screening.

Meanwhile, don’t forget! My birthday’s on November 10! Haha.

But I’ll be involved in a few rehearsals on that day. Hope to have the time to squeeze in a birthday trip to the Zoo – my favourite place.

At last night’s Word of the Actor session, I chose to do a scene from “Boys Don’t Cry” with my scene partner, Ethel. For those who’ve watched this awesome film, it’s the scene near the end before Brandon & Lana have sex. I knew it was a difficult scene to do – because of the subject matter – but I really wanted to challenge myself this week.

It’s a girl-on-girl scene, but with a twist. I played Teena Brandon (originally played by Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar for Best Actress for this role), a transgender male. One review described it as “a sad song about a free spirit who tried to fly a little too close to the flame”.

The scene was so good… It was awesome. The feeling when I was Brandon – it was really liberating & I totally forgot I was a girl. I was just him, being in love with a girl who he has lied to continuously, but finally comes clean with. It was an intimate scene that felt so right.

Thank you, Ethel!

I wore a shirt & put my hair up in a cap to be in character, but didn’t capture a shot of that.

I love you.

I watched the film today, never having watched it before. It was heart-wrenching, but I felt so much love for Brandon. He was really a lost soul crying out for help.

Had an awesome session with Kelvin Ke, our director for the day.

It’s been a crazily busy week, comparable to last week’s hectic rush. And the week is only half over! Spent Mon & Tues at an NIE Training Video shoot, where I played two different teachers for different case scenarios. Mon & Tues was also spent at a theatre workshop & a rehearsal for an upcoming performance (details below!).

On Wed, I went to watch my 10-year-old students perform at an exhibition in school, after which I did a voiceover for a Mandarin TVC – my first time! I did the English VO for the same TVC last week… And as expected, they had some trouble with my American-accented Mandarin, but I think I did pretty okay.

Wed night was spent workshopping “Boys Don’t Cry”, then today, I had an early morning 1-scene shoot for a TV drama. Just finished a rehearsal for an upcoming short film with another NYU Tisch Asia student – I’m playing a corpse. Hahahaha.

Last week, I had a couple of interesting shoots.

NYU Tisch Asia 1st-year student’s short film

Untitled as yet, but I call it “The Body Parts Fetish”. Haha.

This was another one for Lasalle, titled “Slayer”.

And the week is not yet over. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be playing a professional music composer in a corporate video over the next 2 days, and a druggie in a weekend shoot with another NYU student.

Conclusion:

Angry Teacher. Daughter seeking for parents’ love. Dying girl who finds hope. Girl turned boy. Real Estate client. Corpse. Professional Music Composer. Druggie.

One week’s work. Phew.

COMMERCIAL BREAK:

ShowOff6 Performance

26 & 27 Nov 2009 (Thu & Fri)

8p.m.

The Substation

Four plays – “The Circle of Truth” (which I’m in!), “Old Friend”, “Not Crazy” & “Going Nowhere” – presented by Faithworks.

Get your tickets from GateCrash today!

P.S.1 My friends said they saw me in a TVC – the one I did with Derrick & Steve & the whole ensemble – but I’ve not been able to see it yet! No time to watch TV.

P.S.2 I’m hooked on the recent Taiwan serials “桃花小妹” (Momo Love) & “下一站，幸福” (Autumn’s Concerto) starring 黄靖伦 Wong Jinglun & 吴建豪 Van Ness Wu respectively. They’re so different, but so captivating! “Momo Love” is laugh-out funny & far-fetched with adorable characters whereas “Autumn’s Concerto” has great acting & a relatively strong storyline.

P.S3 I want to catch Jinglun when he comes to town over the weekend, but it looks like my schedule is packed.*Sobz*

P.S I’m trying out this P.S. stuff because it’s a trademark of Jinglun’s blog (which I’ve been poring over) & I’ve got so much to say but no way to categorise my thoughts. Haha. Okay, I’m done.

Recently, I’ve been involved in a Smoking Info-drama that toured various army camps in Singapore, warning against the effects of smoking & aimed at encouraging the army boys to quit smoking. Having experienced smoking firsthand, I know it’s simply not that easy to quit.

For this project, I teamed up with Val once again.

For those who follow my blog, you’ll remember that Val was my co-star in “Dare to Lust” (picture above).

Well, that definitely helped our chemistry.

It was an interesting experience – partly because the army boys are all so excited about seeing a female in their camp, not clad in uniform. Val tried his best to amp up my “celebrity status” so the boys had something to watch for!

And I played my part too – a version of the Singapore Ah-Lian.

We also had this cheesy “back to the ’60s” dance.

And they were a bit stunned at this final dip.

Trying hard to look intellectual. Hahahaha.

Happy Ending!

My dad has been smoking since he was 18, and he’s a doctor! Not a very good example, obviously. He offered me my first puff when I was about 7 or 8 years old, and I’ve always been exposed to second-hand smoke since I was a baby. Which kind of explains why I’m not totally averse to cigarette smoke & I have no problem with holding a cigarette & smoking in scenes, if needed.

In fact, I smoked for a brief period when I was 16, filching my dad’s cigarettes at night. *shhhhhh* But it’s nothing fantastic – not to mention, it’s pretty smelly. I smoked just two puffs recently for a short film, and my mouth & breath & fingers stank afterwards. Anyway I stopped within a few months after I started smoking – because of many reasons – but mainly ‘cos I think I’ve grown up with smoke around me and there’s no longer any draw.

Hmmmm…

No offence to those who smoke. Like I said, I’m not averse to cigarette smoke so I don’t mind hanging out with you guys.

You know what else is cool?

They gave us each a Certificate of Appreciation after the performance.

Hahaha.

Check out my slightly stunned expression.

QUIT SMOKING!

I don’t celebrate Halloween. Never have, and so I didn’t exactly dress up today in any particular costume. But if you really want me to get into the Halloween mood, I guess I was exuding the Bella Swan (from Twilight) vibe. Haha.

Last week, I got the entire Twilight series from MPH – even though I’ve already read the e-book versions. Somehow I still love the comforting feel of a book in my hands. I re-read “Eclipse” & “Breaking Dawn”. I also got, and read, “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown. It isn’t as good as “Angels & Demons” though. I also got a copy of “Public Enemies”, which I haven’t got around to reading yet.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was trying to be Bella Swan for a day – even though I know Bella technically doesn’t wear dresses. Haha. And my favourite aspect of vampires (from the Twilight series)? Their ability to freeze into statues when they’re shocked or surprised. I already feel like that when I’m stoning!

So… I spent my Halloween as Bella Swan – one-quarter human, three-quarters vampire. Mmmmmm. But if I were her, I might pick the werewolf, Jacob Black, instead.

Oooh. Yummy-licious.