May 2015 - Celebrated Dad's 69 birthday

It has been a year since the passing away of my father-in-law.  Some people said, 'Time heals'.  As a matter of fact, it doesn't... we just learn to deal with our loss, hide our emotions, continue our lives as usual.

After Dad's departure, we managed to split up our responsibilities which Dad used to help us with.  And we are more careful with our finances as Dad used to chip in a lot with the family expenses.  As for the kids, Erwyn was more affected as he was closer to Ah Gong.  The most recent occasion happened when I brought Erwyn to the petrol station after sending my girl for tuition.  Erwyn wanted to help me to pump the petrol but I declined.  I didn't think it was a good idea but he was very upset about it.  He told me, 'Ah Gong let me help,' with tears in his eyes.

On special occasions like birthdays or Christmas, we misses Dad more than ever.  We would talk about if Dad was still around, he would do this or that.  While we knew that he's in a better place, our thoughts go out to him and our hearts aches as we could no longer enjoy his company.

I remembered few months after Dad's passing, Andrew needed to attend a conference outstation.  I requested my mom to assist me in that few days.  On Friday evening, after attending DG I sent a girl back home.  I felt something wrong with my car and I was afraid that it would break down in the middle of the night.  That was the moment I suddenly realised I have depended so much on my father-in-law whenever Andrew is occupied.  I know there's always someone I can run to and he's always there to offer a helping hand without any hesitation.


A poem dedicated to Dad:-

Silent Strong Dad

by Karen K. Boyer

He never looks for praises

He's never one to boast

He just goes on quietly working

For those he loves the most

His dreams are seldom spoken

His wants are very few

And most of the time his worries

Will go unspoken too

He's there... A firm foundation

Through all our storms of life

A sturdy hand to hold to

In times of stress and strife

A true friend we can turn to

When times are good or bad

One of our greatest blessings

The man that we call Dad

May 2009 - We visited Mini Malaysia at Ayer Keroh after attending Andrew's STM Graduation

May 2010 - Celebrated Dad's birthday

March 2012 - After the passing away of my late mother in law

June 2012 - Attending a church camp at Pork Dickson

July 2015 - After the operation, one month before Dad passed away

Silent Strong Dad

© Karen K. Boyer

Published on February 2006

He never looks for praises
He's never one to boast
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most
His dreams are seldom spoken
His wants are very few
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken too
He's there.... A firm foundation
Through all our storms of life
A sturdy hand to hold to
In times of stress and strife
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/silent-strong-dad #FamilyFriendPoems

A Musical '2nd Chances' Part 3

Scene 8

The moment I finished the duet ‘You Raised Me Up’ with Daniel in Scene 8, I ran to the back stage, took out my mic and into the changing room right away.  Christine has my gown ready in the room.  I just need to step in, took off my clothes and pull it up. Still, it took awhile to tie up the cancan properly.  And immediately when the door was opened, they put a chair for me to sit down there and then. Right there in front of the changing room, two senior hair stylists were doing my hair assisted by another two senior hair stylists; Irene was putting lipstick and blushers for me; Siang Ling and Siew Sun helped me with the earring and necklace; whilst the sound crew was telling the others, ‘Give me some time to put her mic back!’  I was trying to withhold my laughter as I sat there helplessly.  That was the moment I actually felt like a Hollywood star.  So much attention.  Everyone was so tense. 15 minutes was all that we had.

When I was done, Sharmani and I ran all the way up to the entrance and Susanne was already there hurrying us.  The Bridal March was played and I walked down the isle, hastening my step.  At the rehearsal, I was too slow.  So this time, I kept telling myself: Walk faster, walk faster.  My heart was still pumping so fast, but I knew everything is in good hand.  The show was incredibly well done thus far.  

Scene 9

The last scene was very straight forward.  We sang the song ‘People Need the Lord’ to wrap up the musical.  When Amanda brought my ‘baby’ out, I heard the crowd ‘Awww…’  

The show has finally come to an end.  The curtain closed and we bow as the crowd cheered and clapped.  That’s it.  We made it!  With all the limited resources and time we had, we pulled it through.  All glory to God.

I was really glad to see the youth smiling and snapping tons of pictures that evening.  This was their moment – enjoying the fruits of their labour.   Retreating to the backstage, Nancy Grace, Nancy Teo and their team were keeping the stuff.  So thankful to have all these wonderful people around.  They have been there for the past few practices and their hard work was not seen by many.  But there could be no show without their sweat.

Susanne, me and Siang Ling

My only regret is we didn’t have a nice group photograph.  And my dear husband only took one and only photo with me (*angry).  

The success of this musical was a miracle.  Besides giving credits to the cast mainly the youth who have battled through the many activities and exams; their parents who chauffeured them around; the adults who sacrifice their family time; a heartfelt thanks to Sharmini who oversaw the whole project and the rest of the backstage crews; I am so grateful to my two kiddos as well.  There were times they had no choice but to join me during some of the practices; yet they did not complain about the long waiting hours.  Bravo to the daddy as well, who takes over the children whenever I was on call.  And… a pat on the shoulder to yours sincerely who restricted her intake of icy cold drink and fried stuff for the past 6 months, practicing the songs over and over again, fighting to complete her assignment, project and study for her exam which was due 2 weeks after the musical while continuing playing the role of a mother.  

p/s: The above photos are taken from Jenna, Siang Ling and Khai Chew.

A Musical '2nd Chances' Part 2 - please click here 
A Musical '2nd Chances' Part 1 - please click here 

 

A Musical '2nd Chances' Part 2

I didn’t feel as tired as I thought I would be.  Perhaps it’s the adrenaline rush.  And I didn’t feel that nervous until the last 5 minutes.  A few of us peep through the curtain to check on the audience.  Every now and then we would hear so and so is here….  The excitement amongst the youth was undeniable.  They were so happy when they found out their friends were at in the auditorium.

Well, I guess in a way I do feel a bit lonely as there was no one I was looking forward to besides hubby and the two kiddos.  I invited no one this time.  My previous experience at PCK stopped me from doing so as I felt guilty for neglecting my friends who traveled from outstation.  Nevertheless, I briefly mentioned this to Doreen, my ex-classmates whose parents are staying in Melaka right now.  And guess what?  Her parents dropped by for the show.  

Eagerly waiting for the show to start

The auditorium was not filled to the brim.  But thank God that it was about 80% full.   The musical started with Susanne welcoming everyone.  Then there was this 4-minutes long music that made all of us so anxious waiting behind the stage.  Finally, when the Opening song was played, the youth was nudging one another to smile.  And off they ran up to the stage and gave their very best.

Scene 1

The first scene was hilarious.  We heard laughter from the floor as Delia captured the audience with her repeated ‘make-up, make-up’.  I needed to turn away to prevent myself bursting into laughter.

Scene 2

After finishing the first three scenes, I felt so relieved.  The hardest part for me is over.  I was a bit concerned that I would forget my lines and lyrics as the first three scenes had no break in between.  Every other scene I would always glanced through the script before my turn to refresh my rusty memory.
 

Scene 4

Now my next worry is will I be able to change to a wedding gown, do up my hair, touch up my make up – all in 15 minutes’ time.

My dialogue and duet with Amy went on well in Scene 5 & 7, except that the sound crew played the song a little earlier than it should be.  Amy was quick to react; she did not finish her dialogue but started singing the song.  I was so worried for her initially, but was so proud that she did it! 

Scene 5

Scene 6

Scene 6

Scene 7

To be continued...

A Musical '2nd Chances' Part 1

This is the day all of us were looking forward to for the past few months…. Months of practices, the emotional trauma we experienced, the time and effort we put in…. today it would all be over!

We reached the auditorium at 3pm as instructed.  Irene, Karen and Kathleen are our make-up artists.  Thank you so much for availing yourselves to transform us from ugly duckling into beautiful swans.  I was one of the first to have my make up done.  Irene did a marvelous job!  I am not sure how long it took but when I looked at the mirror I was stunned as I looked so different.  Well, it’s a good different coz my eyes are bigger.  And I guess, I do look prettier.  Still, it took me awhile to adjust to how I looked.  But a close up will tell how thick the make up was.  That shows how much flaws needed to be covered up.  Yup, I am no Snow White.  

After the make up, each of us stood on the stage under the spot light to past the ‘make-up test’ with Susanne as the judge.  She commented a few areas that needed to be touched up so I went back to Irene again.  

Next, I went to the hair stylist for my hair do.  De Reve has graciously sponsored all the hair-do for this musical.  A million thanks to them.  The director, Alvin, saw me and for a moment he was wondering who am I.  Finally, another hair stylist asked am I one of the dancers and I told her I am Dianne, my role in the musical, then only Alvin realized.  He said I look so different before and after the make up.  Well, make up can really do wonders!  My hair-do was quite simple.  It didn’t take long before I was released.  

Taking turn to do up our hair

Back to the stage, I was testing my mic.  It was pretty straight forward.  I just needed to walk around the stage repeating my lines and sing a chorus of one of the songs and it was done.  Well, I sure hope there won’t be any problem this time.  Yesterday during the rehearsal there was a bit of disturbance.  Somehow whenever I turned to the left or right, my voice was not captured into the mic.

When all of us were ready, Susanne requested to rehearse two or three scenes that we have messed up yesterday at the full dress rehearsal.  After that, Daniel and I practiced our duet and we called it a day. 

 

One of our prompters, Iris - without their help, there won't be a great show

Mrs Chen graciously assisting us in our pronunciation even till the last minute

 
The rest of the time, we took photos, we chitchat, we ate and we rested.  It wasn’t long before all of us were requested to put on our mics and retreat to the backstage to wait for the moment.

I just love their smile

Two beauty queens

 

Siang Ling's bodyguards???

  To be continued...

The Musical - Part 2

Scene 1: Shaun and Jennifer with her bridesmaids

Scene 2: A solo by Dianne - On My Own

Scene 4: Michael and friends in a party

Scene 6: Young adult Dianne with her colleague

Scene 8: A duet by Dianne and Michael - You Raised Me Up

The finale

The end of man is the beginning of God.  Ever heard of this phrase before?  God miraculously brought Susanne Siegert to us, who has directed several musicals back in Germany.  The project took a new turn as she stepped in and gently guided us through every scene. 

The days of practice were no longer boring but full of laughter and enthusiasm.  We were challenged to reach greater height in our singing, dancing and acting.  Though the actual performance date was drawing nearer and we were running out of time, Susanne did not compromise in her training with us.  She took care of every single detail.

The second miracle occurred when hubby was invited to preach in another church.  He met the PIC of the Oriental Hospital after the service.  Few days later, we checked out the auditorium of the hospital and the venue of the musical was confirmed.  A special thanks to the management as we have troubled them umpteen times for the usage of the auditorium with minimum charges.  I hope our church is not black-listed for that matter.

In less than 2 weeks’ time we would be performing.  Finally, we brought in various talented people to help us with the background music, the props, the costume, the make-up and hair-do.  That is the third miracle.  In such a short time, everything falls into place.  It is definitely God’s grace (hubby says “mercy”).

Last but not least, the musical was staged and I would not hesitate to comment that was the best performance we ever had throughout our practices.  The day before was the full dress rehearsal.  But it was still in a mess.  The mics were not working properly; my singing sucked; the lighting and background sound were not switched on/turned on correctly in a few scenes; the dance routine for the Opening still lacked the enthusiasm/excitement… and etc. 

Two spectators came up to me the day after the musical and told me that they were there during the rehearsal.  After the rehearsal, they were so worried.  Indeed, we were not ready.  But that’s where we experienced the miracles – God’s divine intervention. 

All in all, we give thanks to God for a good performance.  The seed was sown and we pray that in due time people may encounter the second chance in life – a chance to live the abundance life that God has promised for all who come to Him.  That is the center theme of this musical: To know Christ and to make Him known.


p/s: All of the above photos are reproduced courtesy of Khai Chew.