Travelling with the Guitar

I've been called a groupie, a roadie, a coolie... but all I really am is wife to my guitar-playing husband who travels some. I get to tag along, to take me away from the monotony of obsessive house cleaning. Here, I log our adventures with food, airlines, hotels, food, organisers, fans, food, people, books I read. Did I say 'food' already? Well, someone's got to tell people what life's like on the road, right?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

History In The Making

In less than an hour, an African American man will be sworn in as President of the United States of America. I didn't think I'd live to see this. Or at least I thought I'd be a lot older. Like when I'm in my 70s or so. It feels strange, unreal. No doubt, it's a wonderful thing though. This change.

I just wonder what is in store for my little girl. What kind of world will Sara grow up in? What about Malaysia? What kind of Malaysia will Sara grow up in?

Ah, the future. People always ask Roger, when are you going to teach her the guitar? He always answers, I'll let her learn in her own time. Wise man, that. With a father like that, Sara's probably going to make it alright.

(21-month-old Sara at home. See? She still looks a lot like daddy, right?)

Sunday, January 11, 2009


2009 - Starting Out On A Good Note

...until I saw this blog. Until I saw how my last post was in August 2008. Yikes.

Sara turned a year old in March 2008 and after that, both of us tagged along to Roger's out-of-town trips more often. Sometimes, we make "special appearances" at his concerts. OK, OK, so we only did that twice. Once at Equatorial Hotel's Summer Jazz Series. Sara and I popped in to peek at the concert, waved to Roger and hurried off. Sara's not a big fan of second hand smoke.

Later that year, we dropped in on another Double Take concert at Equatorial. The Beatles gig. This time, we went in before the concert began. Sara walked around Flo Lounge, looked darn interested in the stage, was making her way there when her daddy stopped her, "This is not your stage - yet."

Touring with a toddler is quite interesting. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, we have to pack more stuff. Like diapers, baby clothes, slow cooker (we try to cook her food as much as we can. Versus buying ready-made food), her toys, her blankie, her Barney and Hi-5 DVDs. We usually max out AirAsia's baggage allowance.

Luckily for us, Sara's a pretty good traveller so we usually end up enjoying all the time we get to spend with each other during the tour. Back home, we don't see Roger for half the day because he has to go work at the studio. Someone has to bring home the bacon, he says. And God knows I LURVE bacon.

Now that Sara's almost two years old and she's sleeping better at night (read "I'm sleeping more at night"), I feel I can move mountains again. Heck! Look at Roger's website. We got it updated with New Year message on the FIFTH day of the brand new year. Isn't that impressive?!! I'm so darn proud of myself! I think last year, we only managed to get a new year message up ... several weeks later.

That's why I said 2009 started on a good note. The kid's sleeping well at night, her daddy is getting his well-deserved rest too, her mommy's not that blur anymore. In fact, right now, I'm already preparing for Chinese New Year: updating our angpow list, trying to figure out how much loot we have to give away this year. Sent off festive cards. Aaaah... the old me is back and I feel wonderful! So looking forward to the new year.


(picture shows Sara watching Roger's full dress rehearsal with re:mix at Esplanade Singapore in December 2008. Children under six years old aren't allowed in the concert halls during performances but the organiser was so kind to arrange for us to watch the rehearsal. It's been soooooo long since I last sat through one of Roger's performances. I forget what a brilliant guitarist he is.)