“i wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. not fuck, like in those movies. not even have sex. just sleep together, in the most innocent sense of the phrase. but i lacked the courage, and she has a boyfriend and i was gawky and she was gorgeous and i was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. so i walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, i was drizzle and she was hurricane.”
where do i even begin… maybe right from the start.
this was an epic 19 hour solo journey. the first time i went anywhere that far away on my own. i planned this months ahead in april. lets just say the plans twisted and changed around alot BUT turned out to be a wonderful experience in the end. i reunited with an ex-colleague/old friend, been 10 years since i last saw chris. and he let me bunk at his place so i made him hainanese chicken rice to return the favour (video demo of this is in edits as i type). totally bonded over music, dance and adrenaline with kenny and made some new friends along the way. i literally left my heart in LA and im lookin forward to my next trip back there.
first meal in k-town: delish kimchi soup and stewed beef. score!
the korean stewed beef was so meltingly tender
visited the MoCA to check out the Dennis Hopper Double Standard exhibition. tres impressed. that man Hopper had an excellent photographic eye.
doing the downtown crawl with chris
breakie at Bottega Louie - gigantor cuppa chai latte and scrumptious bagel + cream cheese with side of freshly cut fruits for moi x
this amazing wall of empty soft-drink cans, painstakingly put together to create.... (look below)
...a gigantor mural in honour of the late king of pop Michael Jackson!
rooftop bar at The Standard downtown
my uber photogenic albeit lack lustre vodka 7-up
the bradbury building - this is where they shot the final scene of (500) days of summer.. job interview and where he met autumn. gorgeous interior x
chris's kitty cat CHOCO! fattest cat in the whole wide world. x
cute lifeguard spotted at venice beach
gyu tongue on the korean bbq. gotta let a girl have her dose of tongue when she wants it x
the crew - post tequila at los feliz
the getty - most beautiful modern museum in the world. tres breathtakin' x
made chicken rice FROM SCRATCH for chris in return for his excellent hospitality. was a success. video of the experience is underway.. x
on the road to vegas
we finally arrived in vegas.. not impressed at all. first of all, we arrived in the middle of summer. day time temperatures were 45 deg celcius!!! thats two times hotter than singapore! and its DRY DESERT HEAT. horrid. night time temperatures werent any better… it dropped to 40 deg celcius! still hotter than the hottest day in singapore. horrid horrid. makes me wanna stay INDOORS the whole time.
but to be fair, i might not like the vulgar explosion of malls and touristy sights, i did have most my fun in vegas! i went SKYDIVING! omg. video below. i also got myself a chopper ride to the gorgeous side of the Grand Canyon. the experience was a humbling one… love. i admired the Canyon against the backdrop of the setting sun.. the view was GORGEOUS. and for once in my life, i didnt feel the urge to share that moment with anyone… i simply took in the breathtaking view and enjoyed alone time
the view from my room at the brand new ARIA HOTEL at city centre. mad love x
with kenny and gillian at 8am. pickup for our skydive. kenny only had 45mins of sleep prior to this due to hardcore partying which i thankfully declined.
on the skydive pickup vehicle, we were made to watch a video on safety instructions. and this doode was presenting. i nearly died laughing..... and then soon after, i started fearing for my life.
too late for regrets now.. suiting up
flight buddies kenny and gillian
we DID IT! yes we flew up 12500 feet in that tiny lil plane....
rozzie in vegas - not a big fan of the city of sin
until we won shitloads of money from the bellagio + caesar casinos combined! my night's winnings? USD500. from SCRATCH! wooot!
met a coupla rockers on the way back to our hotel - cant tell from this photo but they were SWEATY AS HELL. gross.
treated myself to a solo luxury sunset helicopter ride to the grand canyon
the view was breathtaking.. i was so overwhelmed by the grandeur that i teared a lil.. i know.. damn drama right? i just felt like at that moment, my mundane worries were nothing.. i felt so small.
then we landed in the valley of the grand canyon for a lil champagne picnic!
my pilot and me
we flew back into the setting sun.. tres gorgeous
bird's eye view of the vegas strip at sunset... xxx
possibly the largest pastrami sandwich in the whole wide world, known as the Andy Warhol, from a cafe at the bellagio. madness. had to pack away the leftovers!
back in LA after a three night stay in Vegas. so before vegas, i met this guy, Luis, at a tequila bar. we got along pretty damn fine so i thought, hmm, id love to hang out with him before i head back to singapore. so we met up for a casual sunset “date” and drove to Santa Monica Pier. tres lovely….
new person in my life: Luis. drive to Santa Monica Pier
best cuban food everrr
my tangy+savoury grilled pork chops with fried bananas on the side... yummmerz!
im going insane just lookin at the food photos... sudden cravings for cuban!!!
last night in LA - got high on single malts... bliss
chris and luis
love this photo of us. miss you
luis + eddie = taco boys. jesus looks on, amused.
i miss all the lovely people i left behind in LA. esp Chris. it was uber awesome to have gotten reacquainted with an old mate! i’d drop everything in a heartbeat to be back in LA. ah well…
i dont mind walking. i just hate climbing.
to climb anything is to wage war against gravity.
why fight a battle that would only cause you pain.
take the escalator. take the lift. easy.
i dont mind walking. but i do try to keep it short.
i might indulge in long walks if i needed time to
calm down from a fit of anger;
or perhaps hang out with someone i love.
otherwise its just quick steps to the main road to
grab a cab.
there are however rare instances such as this below,
when i actually burned a few more meters
to walk across two junctions and a few blocks
to get my lomo film processed.
restless night the night before. tossing and turning and wakin up every coupla hours. ah jetlag, how i loathe you so. ive been wide awake since 630am. sorta caught the sunrise thru my HDB bedroom window. kinda sweet. its 11:41am now and im zombie-fied. body tired, mind alert. dammit.
i miss LA. left with some awesome memories… AND SHOPPING! lol! went mad at Fred Segal in Hollywood. everything is way too expensive but i couldnt leave without pickin up my Alexander Wang rocco (a/w 2010 version). granted AWang’s really common in the USA, but totally unavailable in singapore. ah the joy!
i was wide awake and bored. so i took to photographing my bag at 930am.
also got a pair of kicks that i picked out at this multi-label store SCOOP in vegas. its like my fashion candy store: alexander wang + martin margiela galore! but i was disciplined and focused. one item really stood out for me that day… the Y-3 Honji studded hi-tops! O.M.G. i had to had to get my feet in them. no prizes for guessing what happened after….
these wicked kicks are not even available for sale in tokyo, according to a friend who was just there. but these may be available soon at the Y3 store at mandarin gallery once the A/W 2010 collection comes in. got it in vegas at USD320… wah lau, it’d better NOT be cheaper in singapore lor!
anyhoos, enough of my narcissistic shopping exploits for now. its Singfest week. busy busy busy. 6 hours after i got off the plane from LA, i had to interview Katy Perry at mediacorp. she was such a BALL! love her energy. she even ran her fingers across my inner arm tattoo as she read my inked words… nearly caused an epic girl orgasm of sorts! LOL! im totally crushing on her… here’s some photos from our private studio interview and the press conference (where katy dons a bikini and reporters have to get wet in the pool to interview her) at marina bay sands sky park infinity pool x
enjoying a glass of ice cold piper heidsieck while waiting for katy's arrival
why does it seem like ive got a tree growing outta my head....
first in the pool: shan wee AKA potential psycho katy perry stalker.
the media frenzy.. can you spot katy?
GORGEOUS KATY!
sigh.. gotta run now. got an appointment at Essensuals (bugis) in a bit. im gonna go for an image overhaul. im sick of normal black hair. ima punkify it with streaks. and just in time too: gonna be hosting the Tokio Hotel autograph session with Shan later this evening at Bugis Junction.. OMG. i cant believe im like hours away from smelling the Kaulitz brothers…. WOOOT! love my job.
will post up pictures of my LA/Vegas trip. includes video of my skydive too! LOADS TO SHARE! now i got over 500 photos to edit.. gimme some time. hope to get it out before the weekend xxx
RYAN LEE
