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Thursday, October 13, 2005

miraculous midosuji -> japan fever!

I've just returned from Osaka, Japan, after performing on one-of-a-kind homemade drums made of Toyogo and Ikea parts at the Midosuji Parade, one of the world's premier street parades, similar to Singapore's very own Chingay Parade. This trip has been totally terrific and i've never had so much fun since i can't remember!

Day 1:
The flight on Malaysian Airlines to transit at Kuala Lumpur and then to Osaka was the longest i ever had, compared to my trip to Taiwan, which was a 4-hour flight. And a crisis surfaced before we even set foot upon Japan. Our total luggage included 12 toms, 40+ bins, 3 UDMs and other miscellaneous items, which took 3 whole hours to pack the previous day. Guess what? it was grossly oversized for the plane's goods storage area, and we had to unpack, dismantle, repack AND relabel them all within ONE hour at the good old spacious Changi airport, drawing stares from other bewildered passengers at the departure hall!

After everything was settled, thus began our long journey to Japan. i was seated beside Liting, and let her have the window seat, so that in the middle of those turbulences i could try to remember my 5 performance sequences, all scribbled on that all-important piece of paper tucked in with my boarding pass.

I hereby declare that i like airplane food, contrary to everyone else. The cutesy crockery and compartmentalised food portions appealed to the systematic perfectionist in me, and the taste was surprisingly quite good.

Day 2:
We were so excited at the prospects of spendng our next 72 hours or so at this new place called Osaka, cameras were whipped out at the sight of mere vending machines and japanese signboards! But mind you, vending machines in Japan sell a huge variety of drinks/snacks/cigarettes, much more interesting than what we have in Sillypore! Everything was just so sophisticated to us "swa-ku" Singaporeans! hahaha.

We barely had time to settle down at our crib called Hotel Granvia, before we moved to our holding area to start setting our drum kits and practicing our beats. But God had it to rain heavily and the organisers had no choice but to cancel all the scheduled performances for that day. Many were disappointed, but i was thanking God in my heart, because we were somehow not geared up enough and not ready to perform yet. It was a blessing in disguise really.

Day 3:
This was the most rushed and chaotic day of the whole trip, and the main reason why we went to Osaka for!
Me - all dolled up in a mad coconut-tree hairstyle, shimmering golden face paint and a red-gold-black ultraman costume - with The Strikeforce played our hearts out on a 3.2km-long Midosuji Boulevard lined with cheering Osakans. Although we were only 26 pple, i think we made a lot more noise (and maybe impact) than other groups there in their giant floats and mass dances. Thank God for the supernatural strength He gave me, i wasn't tired at all even after the whole Midosuji march! i enjoyed myself so much, it seemed like a walk in the park. Later in the night, we were treated like VIPS at a 'Friendship Reception' organised by the Osaka 21st Century Association!

Day 4:
It was International Marching Band Festival day! We were the earliest group to arrive at the performing venue, EXPO'70 Commemoration Park, to set up. During lunchtime it began to drizzle so we all hurriedly prayed for the rain to stop. And yes the miracle did happen for us! It stopped raining for about 10 minutes during our turn on the stage, and when we were done, it began to pour heavily on the other performances behind us! Best of all, we got to rub shoulders with the University of Washington's Marching Band called the Huskies, and witness their splendid well-coordinated performance. Think Drumline, but in full force in real life!

Day 5:
This was our superduper fun Sightseeing and Shopping day! The bamboo forest excursion at Kyoto in the morning was the heartening appetiser, the
Universal Studios rides in the afternoon was the meaty main course, and the Shinsaibashi shopping spree was the sweet dessert!!!

Day 6:
Finally we gotta troop back to Singapore...so sad to leave Japan! I was SO tired, i woke up only 15 mins before our coach left for the airport and nearly panicked sweeping all my stuff off the bed into my luggage. And i had no time to brush my teeth. Okay I know, i know...

So I returned happily to my homeland all in one piece, albeit with unbrushed but still minted breath (courtesy of Listerine). I returned happily to the embrace of Lex, who came to the arrival hall to fetch me and to be the porter of my 21kg luggage. I returned happily to a new abode, my new room chuck-full of keepsakes and edibles from Nihon.

Oh, those o-wesome memories of Osaka~

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for the record

|jenny c| |singaporean|cantonese| |virgo|hetereosexual| |24august|telok blangah| |deer-lookalike|i'm a dear| |music & journalism| |desires to be serenaded| |abuses literary devices| |unwilling perfectionist| |clings on to idealism|
|goes for all or nothing|
|vehemently loyal in love|
|gives glory to God| horrorfreeze[at]gmail.com

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