Our babies are back!

A little of two years ago, we bought our bikes from Hup Leong.

It was like two weeks ago when I got to know that the first servicing within two years from purchase can be done for free. Not wanting to waste this free opportunity, I sent our bikes last weekend back to the same shop.

Heh. I see question marks. Bikes? Servicing?

Well, the bikes in question here are bicycles. And yes, servicing for bicycles is as common as servicing for cars, since they do consist of moving parts and are subjected to wear and tear as the parts in cars do.

While I was at Hup Leong when sending the bikes, the service guy did a check to determine which parts need replacement. Fortunately, the brakes are working well but the cables for both gear shift and brakes need replacing; the chain is also stretched and need to go as well. The owner Gilbert explained to me patiently why they need replacing and what I expect to see after.

During servicing, from what I understand, the bike is being stripped apart and cleaned. The crankset, cassette, front and rear derailleurs are being cleaned. New parts such as the chains and cables are fitted on, as well as any new parts. I saw the seat of my gf’s bike already in a bad condition so I got her a new one. How can someone who don’t cycle as much yet wear out the saddle faster?

So one week later, just yesterday, we went to collect back our bikes. They look almost like new. The chain and gears all showing their metallic shine, the frame gleaming in the sunlight. If not for the pre-existing scratches, they could have been sold for something new. I was so happy, I decide to pamper ourselves (my bike and me) with a new set of grips that I saw on ebay few days ago. Sidenote: buying these Crank Brothers Iodine grips from ebay will cost me almost SGD$50, but getting them from Hup Leong is like $28. It pays to NOT be impulsive when buying stuffs online.

Many thanks to Hup Leong and Gilbert for making this a very enjoyable experience for me, although it could have been better had my gf not had a bad fall last week.

Pearl & the Puppets – Because I do

張學友 1/2 Century 演唱會 – 新加坡第二場

There are only a few singers whose concert I will attend. The reasoning is simple, if I am paying to sit for 3 hours and listen, they had better be the best. And when it comes to chinese and canto pop, Jacky Cheung is, in my opinion, one of, if not the best you can find.

The title of the concert is named 1/2 Century because this year, Jacky Cheung hits 50 years old and a remarkable 27 years in the entertainment biz. I had bought the tickets way back in Feb for this, which was the 34th stop, 71st concert for his tour.

Got to our seats without any fuss. I had only bought the cheaper tickets so the view is what you see here.

He began the night with some tap dancing. No introduction, no song.

Then it began with a musical, starting off with “花花公子".

The gigantic screen behind showed a clip starring Jacky and Shu Qi as the lead, while on stage, Jacky acted out the musical with his dancers.

During this time, he sang the songs “小姐贵姓", “初吻" and “你是我今生唯一传奇".

This scene was during the song “你的名字我的姓氏".

But as the story goes, things didn’t turn out well after marriage between Jacky’s and Shu Qi’s characters…

From a rocky marriage to finding out why they loved each other was told by the songs “情愿", “一滴泪", “人在雨中" and “三分拍".

The ending was a heartwarming clip, showing some old photos of young couples and with their present looks.

“如果爱".

“天气这么热"

“吻别(ROCK版)" followed by “LET ME GO" and “我应该".

After which, the screen started showing some shots of “肥姐" or “沈殿霞" or Lydia Shum, a famous Hong Kong celebrity who passed away in early 2008. She was also the god-mother of Jacky Cheung.

Song title is “月巴女且". Its actually taking 肥姐 and separating the characters to form the song title. He also did a leg split at the end of the show, which was a trademark move of Lydia, reminding us the professionalism of her despite her body size.

After the song, he chatted with the audiences, talked about his last album “Private Corner". He then went to the front of the stage, beside a piano and performed some jazz hits like “迷你", “情网(JAZZ版)" and “情人的眼泪".

The jazz section ended and he followed with “我真的受伤了".

What came was a short cartoon clip summarizing Jacky’s life so far, ending with the song “LIFE IS LIKE A DREAM".

He went on to perform “DOUBLE TROUBLE", “李香兰", “每天爱你多一些", “情书", “她来听我的演唱会" and “心如刀割".

And then came three of his best known rock hits. Before which, he said he had better dance while he still can.

The helpers getting Jacky ready for his coming dance and songs.

“饿狼传说"

“头发乱了"

“这个冬天不太冷"

More classic songs like “一路上有你", “遥远的她" and “一千个伤心的理由". When he got to the song “只想一生跟你走", nearly everyone sang along. I never felt more moved by the atmosphere before.

The band at the sides of the stage revealed.

After thanking the backstage workers and everyone who made the concert possible, he performed the last song of the night, “祝福(JAZZ版)".

This is my first ever concert, and I was glad it was Jacky Cheung’s. He continued to entertain with his vocal power, his ability to make the audience feel with his songs and although at 50 and not as energetic as before, his commitment towards his singer career continues to show. He really lives up to, what others call him, “歌神".