"CATCH ME LIVE!"

I sing every Monday to Saturday at Holiday Inn Atrium, Singapore - 7:45pm to 10:45pm.
Free entrance at the Lobby Lounge. Find out more below:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193307951274&index=1

Profession: Singer, actress, mistress of ceremony (or emcee), model, drama trainer.
Gillian Tan finally has a casual & regular blog. This is Z Jil. Thanks for popping by!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A New Chapter

So a new year is here. Hello 2014.

I am planning something new this year.

I'm planning my wedding. Heh. I always was fiercely independent and stubborn, afraid to rely on anyone else. And here I am, looking at spending forever with some random soul I met.

Or is it really random? What makes true love true?

For years, I avoided the idea of marriage for many reasons. One being my fear of loss. I learnt that it is not easy for me to get over such loss from my hamster's untimely kidnapping, from missing my grandpa's departure, & barely catching my father's last moments. So creating that possibility of a husband or child dying before I do? No, thanks! I'd rather not love at all than suffer that pain of separation.

But oh well, I went ahead and fell in love. Darn it.

I'll just plan the event they call a wedding then. Not too big a deal to me since the main focus is the marriage. Updates to appear here.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Flaws

Lately, I have learnt how I am affected by moods and atmospheres on set or in a recording studio. If everything is serious, I may absorb and spew that same energy. If the mood is light, I might take that on and add to what I do.

It is great in theatre and live performances where the energy of the audience is something to play off on. Since I am aware of the desire or need to push a story or emotion forward, a negative or unreceptive audience serves as a positive challenge.

However, it might work against me in a recording studio or film set. I don't think about it but subconsciously, I suppose I react the same way. I am not as aware of needing to push the story or emotion forward so I may end up overwhelmed by my environment. I must say that to myself, this discovery is disturbing, frustrating and disappointing. I hope it isn't so to anyone else though, and that I always managed to deliver eventually and do justice to my characters.

I suppose I need to learn to encapsulate myself in a separate world more distinctly on set & in studios. I'll be more aware in future. I would like to think that I can only improve.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Organic Soap Nuts (from The DIY Secrets)

I just received my soap nuts in the mail!

Soap what? Well, soap nuts are fruits from the Sapindus trees in Nepal. In our daily cleaning, many of us release toxins and chemicals into the sewage system which in turns affect the environment in a myriad of ways.

Besides being a biodegradable and organic way to clean, soap nuts are ideal detergents for anyone with skin allergies. It's also safe ans gentle for babies!

I have been reading online how these can be used in the bath, shower, for hairwashes, and for dishes. It's most common use, I think, are for laundry. Also, it naturally softens your fabrics. The nuts can be dried and reused until they don't sud anymore. Usually that means 3 to 5 uses depending on the temperature of your water. I must say at this point that I haven't used them yet. This is all just me being excited. :p

How did I find out about soap nuts? Well, it was my good fortune to have met Lee Cheng of The DIY Secrets (visit http://www.thediysecrets.com) at the recent Ascendas Green at Heart campaign for which I was an emcee. She was so sweet to mention me in her blog on her site, and even more so to send me a kind handwritten note.

I took advantage of their Christmas Sale on December 3rd 2013, 20% off a 1kg bag (usually S$39) with free delivery. Keep a look out and you might be just as lucky, or luckier!

Check out the warmth and festivities in the photos below!

Above: a nicely boxed package, ordered online on Dec 3rd. It arrived timely on Dec 6th.

Above: presented in a soft cotton drawstring bag made in Nepal. And a bonus festive red ribbon!

Above: click to enlarge to read all the wonderful details on why and how soap nuts can help you. Don't forget the lovely card from Lee Cheng!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Post Production Blues

Theatre.

There is no way to really describe what a great theatre experience is. Words can never do it justice. When you watch a heartfelt piece that doesn't try to be smarter than you, when each character makes you fall in love with them, makes you want to help them, makes you cry and ache for them, you know they're burnt in your mind for a long time to come, and perhaps stamped in your heart for all eternity.

Now when you are one of the players, one of the actors, one of the souls whose stories have been told in that space, it's an experience like no other. Perhaps it's the nerves that tingle ever so slightly just to keep your heartbeat racing just so. Or it could be the echo of the musky floorboards that creak ever so lightly beneath the weight of your character's shifting emotions. Then again, who's to say it isn't the audience who fills the seats and adds warmth to an otherwise cold theatre. For some reason, the air conditioning is almost always near freezing and uncontrolled. Could it have a mind and personality of its own too?

Audience members who join us on our journeys each night are invited to open their hearts and souls to listen, to feel. Very often they invite us, the players, in as well. Sometimes we bash our way in without an invitation from them. This could shock, anger, surprise, sadden, or confuse them. Anything that ignites their imagination and emotions. Of course, we don't actively look for that reaction when we share our tales under the shadows and lights, since we respect our characters as real people who we would never exploit, but love and empathize with instead.

It is fluttery excitement yet relief to anticipate your first entrance, and to run up as slowly as you can for curtain call. Curtain call is when you can finally look into the audience and find familiar faces or simply appreciative smiles.

It has been one week since the show ended its run. Life, of course, goes on. But the glow you exude as a actor, even if visible only to yourself, keeps the memories bright in your mind. And like a stamp on your heart, each ventricle will never forget the intensity, meaning and moment that is theatre.

Written post Rojak, June 2013

LOL - What Comes to Mind?

http://www.dailydot.com/esports/league-of-legends-team-solomid-bjergsen/

Moms & Dads, leave that computer running.

December Has Come

December is here and I have decided to give away my old 4 song EP, Four Tunes.

Go to facebook.com/t.jill to find out more!