Bevlyn Khoo

On Saturday, 2 January 2010, close to a thousand RVHS alumni members joined ex-principals, teachers, staff and students of RVHS to walk the entire distance from the Malan Road campus (formerly ACJC) to the spanking new $79M campus in Boon Lay.

And I was there.

I know, it’s a bit crazy. I’ve graduated from RV for…ages…but I still go back almost every Teacher’s Day…it seems like some link which I can’t cut off. I love going back to campus. When RV’s old west coast campus was taken over, a part of me felt crushed…only memories could console. Going back to visit never felt the same ever again (though the familiar faces of the teachers helped). But this new campus feels, right. The colours, the infrastructure, the spaciousness, even a part of the campus resembles the old west coast campus. Going back physically, or mentally, always gives me a sense of protection and feeling sheltered….I didn’t feel it when I was studying there of course. It was only when I was ‘released’ into JC and Uni subsequently that I realised how safe and sheltered I was in RV…the world out there is a deep blue sea. And discipline and perseverance shaped during my teenage years were the 2 best things that came along with the graduation.

The teachers have aged a lot, and of course, so have I. It was a great way to start the year of 2010 by going back to the roots. And this is what I want to do a lot for 2010, going back to the roots of all things. Be it relationships, music or living. In particular, I’ll sing the way I want to sing, the way I love to sing, and follow the way of singing which made me fell in love with singing at the very beginning. No one else can ever tell me how I should sound like (well except for my teacher hiak).

A friend said recently (in his rarest moments of sanity), “If one cannot find beauty in his environment, he can never find beauty in any other places he goes to”. Again, it’s all about appreciation of, roots.

Happy 2010 everyone. May you find beauty in your roots

It’s always amazing how a year can fly by like this year had. It’s not a perfect year, but since nothing is perfect in this world, I thought yes - I definitely had a great 2009! To wrap 2009 up, let’s have 9 points:

9. I’m so happy to have more time to myself this year, be it meeting up with friends and family, getting to know new and interesting friends, or just have plain solitude.

8. I recognise that there are indeed weirdos in this world. And sometimes, you don’t have to seek explanations for why they exist. Maybe they’re here to make you stronger and wiser. So, smile

7. I want to surround myself with people who are always positive, open, and believe in me…  I think, real friends  don’t feel insecure and feel jealous of your success; real friends want you to climb higher even if you guys are using the same ladder. I’ve also come to believe that friends are not necessarily forever, because friendships need to be cultivated over time, as with any relationships.

6. I am open to competition and comparison, because I believe it’s good for my own inspirations. My biggest competitor will always be myself.

5. I actually crave for running these days. I even picked up skating. Evolution’s at work!

4. I’m thankful for the opportunity to release my 1st full-length album under S2S, and I can sense more exciting adventures coming up. And I really want to thank the local media for being so supportive so far. I can’t say enough thanks. 

3. One of my proudest 2009 moments has got to be performing @ APEC, to delegates  and ministers, Ms Hillary Clinton among one of them. Great materials for grandmother story!

2. My family @ A Little Dream just got bigger! Yeah!

1. Reading is so important to me nowadays, for knowledge, comfort, and pleasure. Here’s the latest book which inspired me, and I hope you’ll go get it!

Have a smashing 2010 everyone!
Let’s step into the new year with a sense of humour - with my spoof

You have no idea how much I slept over the past few days. :p

The whole trip was tiring, mainly cos I didn’t sleep well with the new pillow, plus the excitement of exploring the fantastic room @ the ParkRoyal hotel. One of the funnie things to share is, many Malaysians I came across asked if it was my 1st time to Malaysia; my answer was always “Well, my father is from Perak” : )

Once we reached, we checked into hotel, and I zoomed out after 10min of make-up and a change of clothes. It’s usually times like this when I feel grateful for my NCC training back in sec sch days (haha).  Then we zoomed off to One Utama for a radio show where I had to tape  a performance:

All thanks to 98.8fm, DJ May-zi who readily agreed to have me on her program. This is actually a pre-recorded show, so if you’re in Malaysia, it’ll be aired on 26 Dec 09, 3pm on 98.8fm. Other than 4 songs from my album, I also sang 3 Christmas songs… :)  We even had a gift exchange heeeeeee:

Then the next day was a hectic one all over again with the preparation for the performance hosted by CD-Rama @ Summit @ 2pm! This is cool:

I was really very touched to see some fans holding my album in their hands when I was performing. All in all, I felt reeeeeeeally welcomed

They even did an autograph session for me!

Honestly I’m still getting used to all these…. as much as I appreciate, it’s still weird for me at times…

After the performance, we had a late lunch, then zoomed off to the TV station TV3! It’s so cool…cos One fm is inside the tv station! Again, all thanks to DJ Jack for having me on his program. That actually was a very enjoyable radio interview. Maybe cos he’s also from Perak!

And with that interview, my work in KL ended officially~! Heeeeeheeeee.

Then I went up to Genting to catch a joint concert by 4 divas - 潘越云，万芳，齐豫，黄小虎.

At first I was a bit hesitant about catching this concert, but at this moment in time, I am so happy that I didn’t pass it. Of course I don’t know most of the songs, well except for 我是不是你最疼爱的人，橄榄树，分不到你的爱，家后，割爱，and … 新不了情. Actually, when I heard 万芳 sing 新不了情, I felt like I had come full circle. I remembered the times when I was in 木船 as a part-time singer; this song is a song most requested for, and probably most sung. To have this song in my album was a little dream come true, and to hear the original singer perform it with my own ears… I felt like a part of my life had rounded up nicely.

听万芳唱歌是非常感人的。我是一个不易落泪的人，可是，她还没唱这首<<新不了情>>之前，我的眼泪情不自禁地流下了脸庞。那有多夸张啊。可是，就是那么夸张。万芳感性的声音，就好像是在安抚你的心… 就那么一句, “当时，以为过不去的，也都过去了。现在如果你也觉得..过不去，它总会过去的…不要让它挡住了你未来幸福的路… ” 接下来就唱了<<新不了情>>.. “回忆过去，痛哭的相思忘不了…” 加上现场saxophone手激动的演出，我想雪人都会溶化吧?

好棒的一场演唱会，因为感动得让我哭了。

你们还记得吗?

Thank you KL, I’ll be back to eat MORE food soon! :p

Also a big thanks to my S2S family who took such good care of me during the trip. Happy happy!

I wanted to perform at OOOM since early part of 2009, and thanks to Jonathan’s patience, we finally managed to pin a month down with my hectic schedule. I totally ENJOYED myself last night. I dig the cosy intimate setting..people seated on the carpeted floor, many of them performers of their original songs before my turn. Here’s some photos taken by Dengli who’s back for holidays!

Was really happy to share “Play With Me”, and 2 other unpublished works.  I think I go into another zone when I perform my own songs..like hypnosy you know?

Hope to see you there! I’ll be performing my originals, and for sure 1 (or 2) unpublished work!

cheers,
bev

I’m usually not the kind to be star-struck..but it was cool to see the oversea artists in real life, esp Tanya, Jam and Lala - their singing rock! There were really many songs which I didn’t know and had to turn to Tien-yao to ask “What’s the title of this song?” etc…well well. I gotta hand it to myself for not going to the toilet and not drinking any water from 715pm - 12am, never imagine I could do that. Really happy to be seated with Yet and his lovely wife though (Tanya’s mum was just seated next to Tien-yao haha)

Didn’t bring any good camera, but a memorable experience nevertheless!

One fine day, Monica (who took my photos for ‘You Are My Angel’ album) facebooked me and asked if I wanna do an MV. At first I thought she was joking…. Things rolled from there and wow, we’ve actually finished shooting my first music video

I had so much fun throughout the process, from auditioning for my male lead to the actual filming itself… honestly I’m not an actress, so to act in an MV was quite a scary thought (1. left or right profile 2. smile too big or too small 3. fats fats fats??! Then repeat from no.1 again). But the team - Monica (director), Sharon (director of photography), Ryan, Alex, Shawn, Seng Yew and Sam (the male lead) - made the whole filming so relaxed and fun. It’s a whole new experience for me, and I’m so glad I enjoyed it

Actually what I enjoyed the most, were the jokes + goofing around + laughing. And really, the dedication from the team, and the new friendships made!

Special thanks to Ngiap Heng for lending us the location, which is really really cool, and cannot be more suitable.

We couldn’t finish the shoot on day 1 (7am to 6pm), so we had to continue on a 2nd day. I love cool and relaxed ppl. I have to say Sharon and Monica really rock. It feels so good to be inspired and liberated.

Here are some photos  (my comments revealed upon clicking on photo):

Hope to share the video with all of you soon!

So, do you spot the difference?

I was the only non-Korean in the picture, but I thought I blended in quite nicely with the rest. Presenting to you MAYTREE the a cappella group! They are a full-time a cappella group from Korea (in fact one of the top groups). Their concert here on Sat was a success - their blend was superb despite the disappointing sound system, cute presentation, great interaction with the audience though they seldom speak English, creative arrangements of the songs, and loads of talents.

Most ladies will notice the cute guy on the extreme left, but, but, but, the guy on my right (I can’t catch any of their names cos they just don’t register in my memory), despite his kooky look, he is really VERY VERY MAN. I thought my heart skipped a beat when he started singing, esp the korean traditional songs. My korean friend (on my left) dragged him to stand beside me during the photo-taking. I was thinking, “Thanks thanks, how more embarrassing can my life be?”

Extra notes: The girls’ outfit are so kawai, and the percussionist’s (extreme right) vocal drum kit is cool, esp. the “jazz kit”. Brush Brush Brush!

To sample their performance: L.O.V.E, Lion Sleeps Tonight. It’s a bad sample cos ‘live’ is really better x 100 times.

…this Sat (17 Oct 09) from 8pm! We recorded 2 originals and 3 covers. All thanks to the support of DJ Harry and the crew of Power 98:

DJ Harry

I MUST BLOG ABOUT GOOD FOOD.

Ok, so I am a food person. But I don’t really snack (except for the occasional dark choc), but each and every meal to me is important. I do have times when instant noodles are good to fill the stomach and I’m happy with that, but the way to make it taste good, ah, that is a skill by itself. Truth is, I get bad-mood (to put it mildly) when I have a lousy meal.

In September, two wedding couples raised the bar very high when they provided dinner for me and my band. Ta-dah!

Vincent and Huiling (27 Sept 09) ordered this 8-course dinner for the live band. I was still recovering from a bout of food poisoning but thank goodness I could make it to the wedding..and savour all these!

Adeline (pianist) and I having the excellent fish fillet for dinner at Au Petit Salut at Esther and Huan’s wedding (20 Sept 09). Photo courtesy of Eu Lee Photography. It felt so good to dine in the petit alfresco area with the breeze… I wished I could sit there all evening!

If you’re think I’m some high-food-expenditure-diva, I am not. I am equally happy with $2 chicken rice and McChicken. Haha. Do you have any good food places to recommend? Tell me! I can go the distance for good food!