There is no need to attack or defend anything ‘cos I feel safe in this positivity that’s building up every day. Everything in my life is starting to fall into place, now that I am leaving no room for anything that isn’t for me. No bitching, no alcohol and no drugs – no negativity.

I don’t feel the need to drink even when I’m behind the bar all day, before I go home to write/record/mix my music, sleep for several hours and then wake up to do the paperwork for the day until the cycle begins again behind the bar. 2012 is all about going to the beginning and finding my roots to feel the rebirth of good energy in order to find focus in my music and life in general. I am following closely to the theme of a personal year 1.

There are still bits of personal year 9 in me and I know there are things that I need to get rid of so that I can completely embrace what the new year has in store for me and move on. Nothing zaps my energy the way negativity does and it has been proven just last night.

The world needs to be a better place and it starts from within.

What fuels you?

Download

xoxo,
Iris

Dear 2012, it’s your first day and you’re doing a fine job at making me happy.

1) Make more music and release full studio album (FINALLY!!)

2) Post more videos on YouTube of guitar covers.

3) Quit drinking beer. I’m at that age where the body is very unforgiving and it shows, where it matters the most – the tummy.

4) Smoke lesser. 5 sticks a day is apparently okay for the body to take but we are taking baby steps here, so I’m going for 10 sticks per day.

5) Bring bitchiness levels down to what’s equivalent of an average human being ‘cos the universe doesn’t need more negative energy to be put out there.

6) Take everything that comes to me with a heart of gratitude. Work myself to the bone (hopefully, literally).

7) No more processed food, carbonated drinks and *gasps* FRENCH FRIES.

8) Be closer to God. Read the Bible EVERY DAY. And practice what it preaches.

9) No more meaningless sex. I’ve already been there, done that in my twenties, got the tshirt and burnt it ala Magnolia Superhero. We’re moving on, people. Let’s embrace the 30′s which is all about prudence and chastity. :p

10) Keep new year resolutions.

2012: Peace•Happiness•Passion

Silver lining which I’m most grateful for would be flying back to Singapore from Beijing and appreciating being home, for once. I realised that I love Singapore despite the mixed family background which confused my sense of belonging having shuttled between two countries as a kid. Altough I will still feel like I’m going home whether I fly to Singapore or Indonesia. Singapore is probably my favourite home.

So… I’ll be singing at the rooftop of Blu Jazz on the 28th of Dec 2011 (Wed) for the 14th edition of Arts Salon. Starts at 7pm.

Shannon (my guitar) will be there too and so will a couple of the arranged tracks from the upcoming album. The final lineup is FINALLY out. Finalmente. It wasn’t easy but I figured, if the Mayans are right about 2012, here’s my last shot so I got brutal.

Post Christmas and just before the year ends. I reckon I will be in a pretty good mood ‘cos I’m so looking forward to 2012 and there’s no better way to say “goodbye sucky year and please make way for what I am hoping to be a kickass year” than with honesty in the most direct art form – music.

For event details, click here.

Be there. Happy Holidays.
xoxo,
judotter

Music – Surround yourself with easy access to good music at all times. Build up a respectable record collection that will define you and use it wisely to make up a personalized soundtrack of your life. Stuff your hard drive with rare bootlegs and unreleased tracks, watch as many concerts as possible and dance your heart out when moved to wicked beats, slum it in the mosh pit ‘cos when you grow older, the appeal of being hot and sticky among a bunch of strangers with amplified live music will no longer have the same hold over you. DANCE! Even if you have two left feet ‘cos trust me, one day you’ll realize that an older person with two left feet is a lot more embarrassing.

Sex – Enjoy your body. Enjoy other bodies. The cheesiness of John Mayer’s Your Body Is A Wonderland will then feel bearable and somewhat justified. Let’s face it, everything we do or say is so we will eventually get to the same end game. The clothes, the sexy underwear, the tattoos, the hair, the music, the dancing, the falling in love, the alcohol, the drugs. Celebrate youthful libido by making it count with warm bodies of people you love or just people whose bodies you love. Challenge yourself, take a leap into the unknown and hook up with a hot stranger but DO NOT ever stay for breakfast.

Alcohol – Nothing is quite as versatile as the effects of alcohol. It doesn’t matter if you’re celebrating the end of your best friend’s internship at a lousy firm, mourning the tragic demise of a relationship that has become your newfound happily never after, prowling for new strangers to pick up whose pants you wanna get into or just another Tuesday night that needs to be more inspiring. Pick your poison for your wish to be granted. Get high, get drunk, get laid, get hungover and swear to quit drinking till you find yourself slumped over the toilet at 4am in the morning, on a workday. Alcohol is the twenty-something’s most articulate way to say viva la vida loudly.

The dimples on your cheeks when you smile, your stubbornness, your smell, the veins on your arms, your ability to read me effortlessly, your strength, your snobbishness, your ability to speak three languages fluently, your big eyes, your guitar playing, your vulnerability, your kisses, your sharp remarks, your critical sense of beauty, your fashion sense, your songs, your type-A personality, your sexiness, your aggressiveness in love/at work/in bed, your goofiness, your loyalty, your sadness, your darkness, your poems, your addiction to pain, your addictions, your legs, omg, your legs, your skinny body frame, your collar bone, your hip bones, your bones, your long hair, your short hair, your shoulders, your back, your smile, your brains, your perceptiveness, your dry humour, your words, your grey dress, your tattoo, your silence, your passion, your talent, your hands, your fingers, your skin, your serious face, your height, your cuddles, your funny faces, your wildness, your hugs, your soft toy, the fact that you have a soft toy, your bed, your impeccable taste in films, your choice of music, your unromantic side, your romantic side, your soul, your cooking, your hatred for durians, your love for theatre, your love for God, your intolerance for bad English, your bitchiness, your feminity, your masculinity, your beautiful face, your boxer briefs, your brown eyes, your sex drive, your blog, your pop culture references, your fashion references, your love for SATC, your OCD, your laughter, your voice, your business voice, your pointy heels, your Fendi handbag, your glitter eye makeup, your mens watches, your racer back tanks, your black lace bra, your cheeks, your tongue and all the talents it possesses, your clever conversational skills, your letters, your honesty, your love for RENT, your love for Oscar Wilde, your love for running, your love for art, and your love for all things bad including me.

The above are qualities that will make up the perfect girl.

It has to be.

Things used to be, now they not
Anything but us is who we are
Disguising ourselves as secret lovers
We’ve become public enemies

We walk away like strangers in the street
Gone for eternity, we erased one another
So far from where we came with so much of everything
How do we leave with nothing?

- Chloe Mitchell

Blame Game, Kanye West

Some songs can make you cry when you least expect them to.

You weren’t perfect but you made life worth it
Stick around, some real feelings might surface