Coldplay - Amsterdam

5 Random Things I Love About Shanghai

1. The random squabbles I see on the streets. No idea what it's about, but it's fun to watch.
2. My orthodontist clinic is on the same floor as the STD clinic.
3. They sell soy sauce at M&S, but no mince pies apparently. (I've not been there myself, but friend's mum did.)
4. You get to bargain and haggle, just like the good old days.
5. After a few months year, you tend to forget that clouds actually do exist.

I wanted to write 10 Random Things, but I just couldn't think of any... Not that I don't love Shanghai. I love Shanghai! It's a quite amazing place to live. But my mind is at a total blank right now...

Holly Brook - Wanted

Yesterday, my friend introduced me to Picnik, which I have dubbed "Photoshop for idiots", namely, me. Anyway, during my lunch break, I got around to playing with it and here is one of my two creations from today.

This features Grand Gateway, one of my favourite places in Shanghai. Xujiahui is the name of the part of town it's in. I know the words are a little too high, but something got messed up when I was saving it. So.

I did a better one of my friend and my sister, but the file is too huge.

Amy Adams - Happy Working Song

It's cold now - cold enough for long sleeves, sweatshirts and woolly socks in an unheated room - and I feel like I'm up in the Lake District in the middle of August again.

If I think about it, I had a miserable time in England.

I didn't have proper hiking boots and my trainers weren't waterproof, which resulted in me going up and down a mountain and all over the Lake District in purple wellies which, when I converted it over, cost me less than a pound.

At Soul Survivor, I didn't have a proper cagoule except for an embarressing long, tan, David Tennat-esque one with Burberry print which my mum made me bring because she was absolutely convinced that my sensible black one which served me well in Australia wouldn't be enough. I would have more likely tripped over the long hem going up the mountain and tumbled down into the glacial valley below.

And then, I didn't shower for four days at Soul Survivor. It was horribly gross. My hair got nasty. I wasn't at my most attractive. And when I did take a shower, the portable shower had a puddle of nasty, soapy, muddy water which I had to stand in because the water wouldn't drain away properly.

It was the middle of August and I was catching colds and suffering from allergic reactiosn to the tons of carpets they lay down in the house. (For goodness' sake, they have carpets in their bathrooms.) I was constantly tramping around in sweatshirts (there was one warm day there), scarves, et cetera...

To top it off, while we were in Wales, I was sleeping alone in a tent (a purple, "pappy" [as Emma would say] tent) while a storm raged, causing me to nearly inhale the waterproof material as it billowed in my face while I slept.

Also, when we went swimming in the Welsh sea, all my friends had wetsuits while I ran into the water with my summer swim suit. (Okay, Tom, Jake and Isaac had no wetsuits either, but that doesn't count; they're boys. I'm not acknowledging their superiority, I'm just saying that they're guys.) I might as well have gone in stark naked.

Then, in London, my friend convinced me that you had to wear a skirt to a West End show. My skirt is built for summer and not for wind, causing it nearly to expose my plain, cotton "Mummy-pants" (in the words of Bridget Jones) as I climbed the steps up the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

*fume*

But anyway.

I <3 U.K.

Coldplay - Don't Panic

We (Pepe, Pepe's niece Pepe, Gracie, Charlotte V and I) went to see Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida last night at the Shanghai Majestic Theatre (66 Jiang Ning Road, Shanghai; 上海市江宁路66号）. It was quite interesting... I'm going to give a brief review of it here.

The singing was excellent, although their articulation was either very poor or the music was turned up too loud. It took me a while to like Marja Harmon's (Aida) voice, but once the musical got into full gear, it really began to impress. Leah Allers's (Amneris) voice was extremely powerful, and she definitely showed the change in her character very clearly. Although in the plot, Casey Elliot's (Radames) character was caught between these two women, he supported himself very well. However, Vincent D'Elia (Zoser) annoyed me... Not only could I not hear what he was singing, but his voice was really nasal and almost whiney.

The music was a bit predictable, though... Let's just say it was very "pop" and screamed of Elton John's influence. You could just hear him bleeding through the melodies and piano riffs. Anyway, I daresay they could've used a big more strings... But what can I say? - I'm a violinist. (Or at least, I try to be.) Also, there's this one part where the slaves are singing, "Aida, Aida, Aida." It sounded suspiciously similar to the part in Evita where the Argentinean masses are singing, "Evita, Evita, Evita."

Of course, not that I'm accusing anyone of anything...

But there were some really good songs like The Gods Love Nubia (I nearly cried) and Elaborate Lives. So, yeah.

The orchestration was excellent. We later met the Musical Director and Conductor, Daniel Bailey. He was a really nice guy. He signed my program for me. (I'll admit that I'm a bit of an autograph hunter, but not in the obsessive sort of way... More of a sentimental thing.) Anyway, Charlotte got really happy because he said he used to play piano in church. (We weren't talking religion... He just asked if we wanted to come for the matinee today, which is the last performance, but we said we had church. That's how it came up. We're not freaky Jehovah Witness-esque Christians.) Anyway, he was awesome.

(Mr. Bailey, if you're reading this - you're awesome and the musicians in the pit are underappreciated.)

Now, the plot.

Personally, I didn't dislike the plot; it just wasn't the one for me. I prefer plots with lots of depth. (Think Les Miserables and Wicked.) Maybe because I couldn't hear the music, but I thought the plot was pretty... Predictable? But on the bright side, I did like the way Amneris's character transitioned from spoilt brat to next leader of Egypt. And the dialogue was quite clever. Overall, it wasn't a fluffy Mamma Mia! plot.

I bought the soundtrack, but it turns out that it wasn't the Original Broadway Cast or anything... At least it's got people like Tina Turner and Sting singing on it. But then I can't play it on my computer because my sound isn't working... I've been listening to my iPod nonstop.

Does anyone know what the heck an SPDIF interface is?