The End of 2005.

I started the end of the year with something meaningful. Finally decided to STOP being lazy and just get my butt cracking. Went to the gym with j, for first time trial. Good workout but the membership fees ain't good. :(

After that it was lunch at McDonalds (so much for going to gym). The new chicken rice burger is so-so. Mos Burger is definitely still the leader. It was random shopping with the cellmate. Ended at Chinatown for our fragrances. Her DKNY's Be Delicious and my Ralph Lauren's Cool. Ah, nice nice. But my pocket's burnt, too. :(

I ended this 2005 with a fall on my back. It was a shock to both of us! My goodness!! Strangely, it wasn't painful.

I just got home and received 2 cards which I can recognize the handwriting: from the men-to-be. zhiggy's letter touched me. I'm truly grateful for a friend like him.

December 2005 is a cursed month for me. Things haven't been smooth at work, which leads to stress and inconsistent flaring of temper and etc. I'm just so glad that it's over. OVER!!

Lo and behold!!! Happy 2006, my beloved readers! =)

Italianised.

Lunch at Ricotti after the shoot and it was Carbonara for dinner. I've been Italianised, I felt!!

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the photoshoot today despite feeling that I'm dispensable at the shoot. The AE need not be there, actually because the Art Director and the client are communicating most of the time. The only perk up is the cute producer (who need not be there because his role is almost like mine). We, girls (me, AD & talent) were swooning over him whenever we could, even in the ladies. *Rolls eyes*

Over lunch, I felt that there are many things to learn from the working adults. Not that I am not one of them but I don't feel ahemadultahem yet leh. Boss has decided to switch accounts. 1 for 2. Yeah, you can say I have better life now that I only handle 1 account whilst I pass 2 over to j. But...but...but...nobody asked if I liked the arrangement!!

Well, I DON'T!! Simply because, the accounts she switched are is the FMCG and kids' medical health. I don't care (so much) for the latter but those who know me, will know how much I loveeeeee working on FMCGs. FYI, FMCG=Fast Moving Consumer Goods. I like the adrenaline rush, the vibe, the pace, etc. After the shoot, I realized there's nothing I want more than this one.

I feel like an idiot, saying "Yes" to whatever the bosses said. I don't have an opinion to voice. I don't have the liberty to say "No". I am like a conveyor belt, just going to and fro between the agency and client, without value-adding.

So, I've made up my mind to voice out my desires, my needs (to learn), my wants. I was going to talk to boss today but she was so busy and I could not catch her at a good time.

Urgh, this is frusfrating!!!

A reply to my previous post as to why I'm so upset: eu, it's just work-related problem. I've sorted it out and I've made my decision. =) But thank you for your care.

Upset.

Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset. Upset.

Depression may sink in any time.

Gleeful Boxing Day.

Happy Boxing Day, readers. (If there're readers, still.) The day started with a hearty MacDonald's Big Breakfast late morning. aunt sp then called and asked if we wanted to go to the beach or to Chronicles of Narnia. The kids, of course chose the latter. They've been pestering me for the past weekend!!

So, your truly here had to rush down to town to get the tickets. Why? Because your truly has no credit or debit card to book online. -_- So, who's going to sponsor me a credit card? I prefer credit card than debit. Hehe.

Anyway, it was to ECP after that because I was going to get my skates!! WHEE!! Finally, after a long wait of about 1.5-2 months. I am finally getting them. With aunt sp, of course! She's my walking ATM. :P Hehe.

So, when am I going to start my first lesson, official? No idea. Depends when she's getting her paycheck. Haha.

The Right Time.

The Christmas weekend was spent, well, very Christmasie.

Thursday was potluck dinner with the polymates. Thank you, everyone. For making time and effort to come down. With all the food some more! I really appreciate you all for going through the hassle of whipping up something. :) And Norman who bothered coming. THANKS, EVERYONE!!

Friday was company dinner at Prego. Had the cod fish with soft shell crab with asparagus (Ok lah, I don't remember the Italiano nome, so can only provide the description) and with a choice of red/ white wine. I chose the former. Good, I didn't get as lobster red as I would usually. After which was yummylicious dessert. *Makes a slurping sound*

Eve was dinner with family & the traditional Christmas pudding. Whoa! Good stuff!! The dinner was a simple family spread by my dear grandma. Oh superliciously fantabulous!! Ooh...

Today it's a first step for myself because we went to church. For the first time on Christmas. Went there to "look see, look see" (as Mum put it).

Which of the items above that I enjoyed the most? I'd say the red wine. 'Coz I like to drink. Red wine. Wished aunt bh is still here, we'd drink almost every night. It's good for health! I like it when I get a lil' high. It's when I feel that all troubles are slowly lifted off me. Oh, nice feeling.

I'm now looking forward to January 10th because that's when we're celebrating the 1st anniversary together on the virtual world. As mushy as it sounds, I still want to say:

Cut6, I love you!!

Again.

Again, I am blogging out of home. Don't have to spell out directly where I am now. Looking at the time, you, readers should know.

Again, I don't have much to do. Hence, decided to make a lil' noise on my online diary. Seems that my recent post don't attract much hustle bustle.

Again, I think I am falling sick. My hands feel cold though I'm in jacket and I turned off the air-cond. I've been sneezing a lot and wake up every morning with throat irritation.

Again, I cannot wait for tonight for it's going to be a partyyyyyyyy with cut6 & f4 & a special guest. :)

Conspiracy.

I've been asked to be in a conspiracy with a friend of mine. Tsk tsk, bitch you! :P Heh heh. This is hard, having to keep mum about something that everyone should share the joy. Urgh!!

In any case, I'm a happy contributor to the Singapore retail industry over the weekend. Mum is calculating now and we have come to a conclusion that we've about $1,000 over 3 days. *Gasp*

All the kids' CNY shopping's done. Mum's share's almost done. As for mine, I didn't get the dress I wanted because the display piece was the last piece. Urgh!!! However, I did buy a jacket (very happy and satisfied with it), 3 eyeshadow (AGAIN!!) and some other stuffs to pamper myself. No, no apparel this time.

Boss has been thinking that I've been slacking. Like the Malay idiom says, "new broom" (penyapu baru) - initially as a newbie, I'm very good but have been slacking as days pass by. But...do you expect me to stay in office till 8pm with nothing to do? Hello, if this is how you think I should be then I think you're wrong. We should emphasize on quality, not quantity. During office hours, I do constructive work. Alright??!!

I'm sick of arguing with you for you're the boss and you have final say. As days go by, I feel that creativity is indeed stifled.Here.

Power Booster.

I borrowed my energy from them. It worked! At least, I didn't fall asleep in the cinema just now. Or was it because Potter and his friends were too exciting to fall asleep? The last 2 movies, Exorcism & Perhaps Love was a tad too slow for me, hence I drifted into slumberland.

Anyway, I've decided. I wake up to two choices everyday - be positive OR be negative to the start of your day. I've chosen the former because I've people who are concerned for me and I've very good friends (becksy & giggsy. ;D) who genuinely care and worry for me.

I will hold my head up high and walk again. Of course, I have to be wary of hole(s) in front of me so as not to walk right into them. I've always the tendency to "bump" into things when I don't look to the front at the right time. Hmm.

I feel like a new life when I got into office today and decided to not dwell in my mistakes. Instead, rectify and press on!! YEAH! *Does a lil' dance* So yup. I'm going to wake up and be a Miss Happy. Though I have to don on my bulletproof vest because a certain client lurvesssss pulling her trigger at me. Ah, well. Such is life.

I cannot wait for Friday when my mummy and the siblings are coming. I'm so excited because it means shopping with my ma and that equates fun, in case you don't know. She's the most happening mother I can ask for. :)

On a yucky note, SPH have been nice enough to send ALL their clients (accredited ad agencies) a Christmas gift. We're no exception though we're lil' bean sprout (xiao tou ya in Chinese). However xiao, we're still a client. Yes. But the Ritz apple strudel that we had smelled funny and a lil' alcoholic. If it's not alcoholic, then it's the smell of it has turned bad! Boss amazingly finished everything on her plate then came to us and said, "Don't you all think it smells funny?" *Speechless* I only took the crust and threw the filling, but my stomach is already telling me I shouldn't be greedy. I know but I'm a sucker for pastry crust!

Slowly.

I'm slowly losing interest.
I'm slowly losing patience.
I'm slowly losing focus.
I'm slowly hating to go to work.
I'm slowly being oblivious to my surroundings.
I'm slowly begining to not perform up to my expectations.
I'm slowly hitting the ground.

I'm no longer the eagle soaring high in the sky.

The Hectic, Delighted & Surprised Week.

Hectic at work because there're so many things on my plate and I cannot seem to put them in order and finish them.

Delighted because of this: "(my name), good job! You're the best from (my agency's name) so far that I've come across." Client commented but boss didn't say a word. (?!) Compliments are hard to come by so I think I must have done well. But, always keep yourself humble and strive to be better. I am, I am.

Surprised because (I swear if I had heart attack, I'd be dead two times today) the evil twin dropped me a message on MSN this morning saying she's back. I thought she'd only be back next Monday! I'm pleasantly surprised. :) And two, cellmate is back. I thought she'd be happily picking grapes but no, she decided it's too boring and flew back.

I thought I must be dreaming so I called her and yes, the true, blue meano picked up her phone. As usual, we started yakking for an hour or so about nonsensical things. Some things really never change. We can still talk about something that's absolutely fictitious, in a straight face. Great actresses, aren't we? We should be up for the Best Actress Award at the Star Awards Oscar. We very much deserve it.

Alright, I should be off to bed.

Reminiscence.

I was looking through my own photo album on the laptop and I was reminded of many fond memories. A few nights ago, I was thinking about the cut6 members.

How we braved the storm and came through the 3 years. How we settled the differences and managed to pull by every project. How we managed to contain every small little arguments and prevented them from becoming big, volcanic eruptions.

How we always laugh at other people and remind ourselves not to be like them. How we imitate other people and do it ALL the time, whether in tutorials, lectures or outside. How we always embarass ourselves but always laugh it off anyway.

How we....and the list goes on. Aii...how I miss those times. *Sob sob*

Dilemma.

I'm happy because The King sent me an invitation to go back for the Career Talk on this Wednesday. I'm not (very) happy because I'll be going back alone (without any of my kaki; because they aren't in advertising/PR line or the ones that are, cannot make it). *Heaves a sigh*.

And, the ones going back are those that I wasn't very close to. They're more "Hi-Bye" classmates (some) of mine. Eh, wait. "Hi-Bye"?? They were hardly in class! Playing MIA all the time. FYI, MIA is Missing In Action. Like my boss who likes to MIA most of the days of a week.

In any case, like I said in the opening para, I'm happy because I'm going back to school. On the other hand, I'm not very elated. It's such a dilemma, isn't it? I'm always in a dilema nowadays.

Christine's coming tomorrow and I promised her shopping. I'm so broke and it's only the begining of the month. Today alone, as of 1 p.m., I've bombed myself by splurging $70 in clothes and $30 on grocery. What the heck, how can anyone spend so much on grocery when everything should be bought and made ready since she lives with her gramps? I tell you why.

I lurveeeeee grocery shopping and there was never a time whereby grocery shopping is a less-than-5-minutes affair. I love walking down ALL the isle in Cold Storage and look at various products. Be it the packaging or the contents. I love chocolates, chips, juices, alcohol drinks, frozen food, sundries, EVERYTHING, ANYTHING!! Pretty soon, I'll pop by Jasons supermarket to get their Christmas pudding. I was strolling there with fy the other day and spotted the pudding. Oh, heavenly!!!

Talking about food, we're planning our Christmas dinner at my place. Potluck, it shall be since both meanest and I are soooo sick of thinking where to eat and asking the rest for their opinions. It's our decision, ultimately. So we call the shots this time. Yeah.

*****
I'm a rather disgruntled person as of now because of the various reasons below:

(1) I've so many things to do on Monday. Boss had to send me an email to remind me. Shoots.
(2) With so many things to do, I've to deliver the material for one of our client's magazine ad to
the publisher and to go to another client's office to pass her some CDs.
One word to sum it all: SIAN!!

Alright, looks like I've bored my readers. Sorry and thanks for reading up to the last full stop.

One Wish From Life.

What more can we ask for?

All I Can Say Was...

..."AIYOH!!!!" Yes, that was all I could say or express when I saw the TV advertising for my boys' concert. Once again, AIYOH!!!!!

So, I'm going to the concert with my long-time, crazy buddy (who loves me because we're going together). Oh my, I didn't know there's someone out there like me, who have passionately loved the boys for nearly a decade. Yap. That's how old faithful we are. It's about a decade for her and nearly a decade for me. :D

I'm hap...hap...happy!!! Tickets are open for sale tomorrow and yours truly is going to grab them. I'm aiming the top seats leh!!

Oh, I'm so hyper-happy!!

Is Creativity Stifled Here?

I wrote a long entry yesterday but it was gone with the wind. Anyhow, here's the crux.

I cannot agree more that creativity is stifled here, locally. Firstly, clients are their own designers. They dictate the creatives that we present and propose. Why did you, in the first place ask us to propose new ones then? You want this in this colour, want that placed there. Aiyo, how to make it like that?

Local clients often take designers (and AEs) & ideas for granted. On the contrary, western & Japanese clients respect your every single idea and if you've proposed to what they wanted in the brief, then you've got it. Hardly any major changes. I don't know how true this is because my agency doesn't have any international clients. Only chau locals.

Point 2, bosses also like to become their own Creative Director (CD). Many a times, when both my boss & I go take a new brief, I will jot down every single detail and then come back brief my creative team. Along the way, boss likes to value-add by asking the designers to do what I term as "extra" work because client never asked for them in the begining! To qualify for that, client rejects whatever extra ingredient that was given.

One of my aim when entering the industry was to create or to assist in an award-winning piece of work. Now, I realize, it's hard because creativity is stifled, here. Have you seen a local advertiser clinching the Cannes Lion Award or the Clio Awards? Answer: Hardly.

What do you think?

This Weekend.

I had a short MSN chat with teo yesterday (I was too free at work). Only then it dawned to me that she was having holidays. Apparently the martian started her holidays a few days ago, too. In Singapore and Malaysia, students are having holidays!!! Ever since I started work, I've lost track of (school) holidays. I only have Public Holidays in mind. Sighs! So pathetic.

These few days I could scoot off at 6.30pm. Yesterday was no exception. Everyone was still in office. He gave me a grin when I left (quietly). Haha! Yes, I could leave early. So? :P The creative team, minus him had to go back office today to complete the presentation on Monday. Poor things!

This weekend, I've planned to spend in the home, lazing and sleeping. Trying to catch my missed winks. Think too much rest before this had "nua"-ed me too much. No good, no good. I'm now missing the minimum 12-hour sleep I had whilst on MC early this week.

Oh yes, I was watching the Champion League highlights and noticed that the were using a yellow ball. What's the difference between the normal white and yellow soccer ball? Anyone cares enough to tell me?

See, the above has fully illustrated that if one has too much free time, one tends to think about meaningless issues. Sheesh.

ZZZzzz

How else better to start your day with yawns continuously? Don't know why but I'm feeling superbly lethargic at work today. So tired I can sleep anywhere, anytime.

Colleague j is on leave till Monday. That leaves me covering her work till she returns. I'm supposed to be busy like a bee but no, I'm not. As you can see, if I can blog during office hours, I am F-R-E-E.

Anyone has cure for tiredness? No coffee, please because it will be worse as I will have sleepless night and tomorrow, I'll turn into a panda.

In any case, I think I'd better find something to entertain myself. Tralala~

Boring.

Two days at home spells boring. There's nothing that I did & do & am doing except eat and sleep concuss. Fever came back yesterday morning in office so I cabut off to the doctor to have a blood test.

The results? "Not dengue. It's just bacteria infection. When antibiotic kicks in, you'll be fine." Yeah, sure I'll be fine. But when? Not immediate right? Anyway, the medicine is really, really powerful. Knock me off to slumberland almost immediately.

During these 2 days, I had dreams of all kinds. No kinky ones, though. :P The dreams are work-related. Yeah, scold me. Thinking of work whilst on MC. Not like one can control one's dream, can I?

Ok, I sense the effect of the medicine already. Going to concuss now.

The Road to Success & Wealth.

The road to success & wealth starts tomorrow. Bosses said they see the potential in me (?!?) and wants to groom me to become a Business Development person. They asked if I was willing to take up the challenge. After much consideration, I gave a "Yes". Weighing the pros & cons, I've nothing to lose. I get free training, I get to learn more stuffs, I might get to multiply my earnings (commission-based). So yeah, why not?

And tomorrow marks the first day of the training. Nope, I'm not deviating from my account servicing job. I still love my work as an AE. Just that being a Business Development person has been a challenge to me because:

(1) I thought ALL Biz Development Exec has to reach a certain quota.
(2) I was afraid I wasn't up to doing sales. (Biz Dev means garnering sales)

BUT, they made it clear that I've no quota to reach. (YAY! YAY! HOORAY!!) and the incentive aka commission is rather attractive, no doubt it goes by accumulation system. Of course, to get the minimum 1% is hard, looking at the figure. But, I like challenges.

Things that are too easy are boring. Plus, the adrenaline rush isn't there if there's no challenge in whatever I venture in.

Ok, do you understand what crap I just wrote in the last sentence? Neither do I because I can sense that the effect of the ultra drowsy medicine has set in.

In any case, I hope tomorrow's a better day for me and my flu. I hate running nose!! Why do they call it running nose when they don't run away from you? BAH!

Suspect Only!

I left office at 6.05pm yesterday and raised many's eyebrows. But hey, I have nothing to rush, nothing to do. I didn't even receive a total of 30 mails for the whole of yesterday. Makes me wonder if the mail server is spoilt. But no, colleagues' emails are fine. It's just during some times, I've nothing to do. So free that I fell sick.

Body ache today and could not make it to office. Went to doctor and he suspects me of dengue fever. *raises eyebrows* DENGUE FEVER?!!! If it's true, I'd probably won't be here, blogging. In any case, I've to be kept under tight observation till Sunday morning. If fever persists, I've to go for blood test.

Sighs, I pray that nothing's wrong with me and this is just another virus attack, due to my late nights and inconsistent rest. During the SARS outbreak, it was narrow escape for me. I hope this time, too.

Something meanest said that I think is funny. "You are not young anymore to be as havoc as last time." What has this got to do with me and my age?? Bleh! :P meanest must be referring to herself coz she's older than us!

In any case, get well soon, me!

Hot Date? Bleh!

Boss G asked if I had a hot date yesterday evening. Please lah....it was freaking cold yesterday night ok?? Plus, you held the meeting at 6.45pm when it was supposed to be 5.30pm!?! People had appointments, ok?

Anyway, it was movie session with zhiggy. The movie is damn boring ok? I paid 7 bucks to fall asleep and [to quote zhiggy] "2 hours of free advertising about" (shan't say coz it might be sensitive). Sighs, the courtroom session brought me snores. Sianz! I feel cheated, man. Ok, i rest my grievances.

The dude bought me a boomerang (?!!) from his trip to OZ. Boomerang!? Can use here meh? And the funny thing is on the packaging, it states "Guaranteed to return when thrown correctly." On first read, I sniggered to myself. Fab, the dude owes me his present. Hiak hiak hiak!!

I've been very careless in my work. Very. Last time, it was spelling error and now it's the logo!! Alamak. Hurh!!

New Leash of Life.

3 days ago, I was counting down to this day. 3 days later (now), here I am.

Before.


After.


Cut, dyed (can't see clearly here, though) and treatment. Hmm, good pamper for myself after a hard week, yeah! On top of that, I went on usual therapy with tracy.

Bought hair styling product, some facial products and inner beauty. :)

Tomorrow's shopping for a hair dryer to style my new HEAD. I'm a happier person.

Wish Granted.

Why did I want to be in the advertising line? For something that perhaps no second person would wish for - the fun and thrill of working overnight for pitches, projects. Yeap, got my wish granted. BUT only then I realize it's such a bad wish!!

We were rushing the 28pp collateral till 4am this morning just now. A lot of "Fuck" and "Shit" were going round (bad karma, I know). So much so that the designer and I pondered on what could be worse than shit. He said soft shit. I think hard shit. We couldn't help it!! So "Duh!" right? We were trying to entertain ourselves.

Client delayed: changed number of pages, change information, and 4 of the pages were so tedious that we can spend one whole day doing it. I swear! I went into office at 8.30 am yesterday morning and only completed my part at 10.00 am before passing it to the designer. 4 pages that can make or break us!!

Anyway, I shan't complain too much either because client was nice enough to stay on with us till 3.30. After which, we wrapped up the job and backed up the file for printer. Whoa, I tell you, brain dead, brain freeze, brain malfunction. Same goes for body.

All we could do is curse and swear (without client's knowledge, of course!).

3 More Days...

...to Saturday. 3 more days to a revamped me. 3 more days to a more energetic me. (Bleh, I'm yakking too much).

3 more days before I go on my therapy (again). I hope I can. One of my heels giving way, I just discovered on the MRT this morning. The strap is snapping soon. I reckon, it has a maximum of 2 days, judging by the way I wear and tear them.

Workload has been getting heavier and nothing seems to help. I have damn lot of things to do but I don't have even 30 minutes (undisturbed) at my workstation. Every now and then, is a phone call. One particular client just loves "spamming" my email with whatever materials they want into an on-going collateral we're doing. I call it spamming because they simply adopt the "Nah-do-and-give-me-the-revised-ASAP" attitude. Dump everything to us so that if we delay giving them, it's my fault. BUGGERS!!

But really, I cannot wait for Saturday. I hope I get to hang out with tracy or ex-housemate. Nowadays, hang out = shop, shop, shop till I drop and pok.

On a happier note, [:))] he commented, "You look different today. Maybe it's the specs. Your top suits you. *signature smile of his*" Of course I look different today 'coz the stupid last pair of my contact lense was torn! WTF! In my history of contact lenses, I've never torn them! And because it's the last pair and I won't get my next supply till this Sunday (Gramps are going to bring them back for me), I've to don on my specs. Luckily I changed specs some time ago. Else I'll be a blind bat, in my scratched, old and not-so-powerful specs.

Anyhow, I'm still happy over the lil' comment. I now feel so high, high, HIGH after chomping a bar of Cadbury's Crunchie. I meant to have a lil' bite but ended up biting the entire bar off!!

Post Holiday Mood.

Back from holidays. Was it good? Was it fun? I'd say good, for it's different experience for me. Why? I didn't swim, I didn't go all out and be a wacko and have fun as I would last time.

Instead, all I did was to eat, sleep, eat and sleep. Oh of course, I have to thank my daddy for the pampering spa experience. Mummy and I had an aromatherapy massage. As usual, all good things don't last. Before we knew it, 60 minutes was up. Cheh!!

In any case, the past few days were good. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, be happy! :)

On the other hand, I dread tomorrow. For many hiccups happened whilst I was away. Is it due to my bad handover? I don't know. I hope not.

Like what tracy said, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry for itself." Well said, well said.

Let's Eat Healthy....

...NOT! How to be healthy when I'm snacking on Twix at this hour of the night? Twix....oh heaven! But a tad too sweet after downing 1.5 sticks. Urgh.

Today marks the begining of my long (but short-lived) weekend. Wooh hoo! *Does a lil' dance* I'm going home tomorrow! I'm going Tioman on Wednesday! I want to get a massage. Oh, I badly want one.

The colleague, w; today is sort of listless. Perhaps it's because his "kaki" is gone. For good. Anyway, I was stressed to the max today despite going for a short break starting tomorrow. In came a pair of identical twins as junior designers. They're not very fast with Freehand and I, of course, got screwed upside down, left and right by client(s) today. One word: SIAN!!

Let's turn a lil' grumpy and nasty. I hate a particular client from a particular stat board. Hmmph! How dare she bad-mouth us when she's in the fault? Bugger! PUI! May you not get blissful days and get blisters whenever you take a little step and may you fall down on your nose and flatten your assets! (See, I told you I could get nasty and mean!!) I can be worse but I figure I should not be over-compulsive about cursing. Hmmph! Spare you, lil' wretch!!

I gave another of my client a taste of her own medicine. We're working on a collateral and the norm's my copywriter will provide write-up. However, according to her mood, if they don't like, they'll strike the entire page of write-up and replace with their own. So, what's the big deal, you might say. The big deal is that they wasted my copywriter's time and our time because they could jolly well provide the write-up in the first place instead of us going online to research and rack our brains over it! Blah! So, when we struck away their entire paragraph, leaving 2 lines, she made noise. "Need time to go to their website and extract, not pluck from air, you know? It's painstakingly done." Urgh, hello....you mean to say my copywriter don't have to go to website and extract and painstakingly do about 50 company profiles?! What the hell??

Walau eh, don't know what's eating me up but I just feel like strangling them one by one! Hang them upside down, cut across their abdomen and rub salt into them!

Argh!!! I think it's because I've to do some silly work that I brought back from office. Fuck!!

Rare Day.

It's one of the rare days that I'm awake at this time on a Sunday. cellmate will agree 'coz she knows how oblivious I am on weekends. (Note: I cannot wait for you to come back, cellmate! Then we shall have a cut6 blast or a dmc04 gathering again!! How I miss you, cellmate!)

Anyway, it's a fine Sunday morning to go to the beach to cycle or tan or jog or even go swimming. What I lack is companion(s). Warning: this is going to be a rather depressing entry. So steer away, if you must.

I realized that my social circle is no wider than 20 people. Tsk tsk, no life!! One of my aunties said, "This is your prime age, for you to be wild. Go out there and have fun. You have the capabilities and the financial capacities (no matter how little they are.)" Yeah, I agree. But there seem to be no one for me to ask around. All are "booked" on weekends with their respective boyfriends. (I'm not gloating over the singletons; I am one of them!)

I've decided to do something about this. Go have fun, get to know more people and like I always say, "Life is short and you only live once." I'm so going to live by that and make sure I get the fullest out of my life, man!

I can't wait for tracy to finish exams then we go partyyyyyyyy!!

It Works.

Retail therapy definitely works. It certainly does!! A trip to Northpoint cost me almost a hundred dollars. Esprit outlet here has clearance sale and the ttop that I was eyeing since at least 6 months ago is now $15.90. The original price was $59.90. Tell me, how to resist?? Bottom from U2 is $32.20. After 30%, though it's still a little steep, but I figure I need it, so just get it.

Aiii...One look at my bank account, I feel so pathetic (what's new). I just pray that my cheques clear fast. *Prays hard. Cross fingers, toes and body.*

Aiyoh, I need to get more things next month. Hurr...how to survive like that? Oh yes, did I mention I was so surprised when my pay was not the right figure? Turns out, I've contributed to CPF starting this month, since I've obtained my PR status. Urgh!! So frusfrating.

Ok, I feel slightly better than yesterday. Mood isn't that heavy anymore. I just hope ex-colleagues z & g is better, too. God, help them, please.

One Man's Loss is Another Man's Gain.

Good news: My probationary period is over and yes, I'm confirmed. (I'm like some kinda of goods in the market - "confirmed"). Anyway, phew!! *wipes sweat* But I somehow never expected any glitches. So there.

Bad news: Bosses axed THREE designers at one go. Tough decision for them? I don't think so for the Head, supposedly Junior AD (who is way worse than a junior designer!!) and the designer. I feel very very sorry for the designer, z. We've worked well together and I don't think she has given any trouble. All our deadlines to him are met accordingly. However, boss thinks that he is too rebellious. Rebellious? Hmm...if he isn't rebellious, he's just another guy on the street. No creativity. Of course, I didn't say that. Even the boss feels sad and sorry for him. But baby, it's a cruel world out there.

As for the Head (g), I work well and click well with him. Perhaps like Boss said, there's no quality control. Aih, whatever. Client has been complaining that our quality has dropped. True. But he is not all to blame.

The (supposedly) Junior AD, j. He should go! He MUST go! He gets on ALL our nerves by messing up deadlines and designs and having terrible attitude and he is a thousand times worse than a junior designer. Harlow, you're supposed to be a Junior Art Director leh!! Anyway, enough is enough. Both AEs are sick with you and we're done with you. You stupid, lousy, bad person!! [I can go further than that but I refrain from tainting my blog with such useless remark on such person].

It's happy Friday but I wasn't happy at all. Why? WHY??

The Week Just Flew By.

So did my money. Friday was birthday celebration for October babies in cut6 at Mind's Cafe. Story here.

Saturday was shopping with tracy. Really shopping 'coz we spent about $150 in 3-4 hours. I bought makeup and a top. She got Sarah Jessica Parker's new fragrance, Lovely. The price, of course was lovely too.

Despite spending so much, in fact I've overspent (:P); I feel justified because I feel good! Haha!

Talk about retail therapy. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted!

One's Demise is Another's Birth.

Moans. My country's PM's wife passed away. I'm rather shocked by this and saddened. I'm not very interested, no; I should say I am NOT interested in politics at all. Think they're wasting resources (manpower, time and money). Anyhow, I am (somehow) aware of how much time Datin Seri Endon Mahmood spent on caring for the needies. Sighs. We've lost yet another caring "mother" in our nation.

Her demise on this day marks the birth of another. My evil nut twin celebrates her 20th today. I hope she enjoys her special day because she is my special, one and only one evil twin. :)

On a side note, I hate evil twin for tempting me by telling me how cheap Dorothy Perkins is in UK. Hmmff! Hmmff!! :P

Aftermath.

Quidam was absolutely fantastic that left me in awe. It was definitely worth the money (aunt sp offered to pay for my share as well. *glees*). My first live performance has given me very extraordinary fabulous experience. :D We wanted to buy a top to commemorate our experience but they were mostly long-sleeved. In the end, aunt sp bought me the music CD. I'm a happy girl at the end of the evening. :))

*****
After being a hundred bucks richer, I went on a shopping spree. Went shopping with my grandma and we spent about a little more than hundred buying mum's clothes, my top and what nots. Haih. I really should stop spending because a look at my account balance brings bouts of depression.

Leave's approved so will be going home to join my family for holiday in Tioman. I need this break to rejuvenate and recharge. To rest is to prepare for a longer (and tougher) journey ahead.

Why? Part 2

It gets very depressing to watch the news bulletin or read newspaper these days. Either it's terrorist attack or major earthquake. Bloody pictures "splatter" on the main page of newspaper and TV screen. So pek chek, ya' know? Why can't people out there live in peace and harmony?

*YELLS* "Everybody die then happy ah, is it? Must see blood then satisfying is it?" I hate to see innocent lives gone in a blast. Though I always seem cold-blooded and hard-hearted, never say much about these and portrays a "heck care" look, I really feel for the victims. Makes my day more sian, you know or not???

And the news reported that a luxurious car snootily parked the car at a double yellow line, at the turning corner at that; causing a major traffic jam at I-didn't-notice-where. TWO offences at one go. Walau eh! How can this kind of people exist? Shit man, please be more considerate, ok?? Climax: owner of the car was nowhere to be found. Best. Must be scared stiff due to the big mess created, hor??

I'm just grumbling over anything that I can nitpick at. Pff!

Why?

Why do people do things to make themselves more miserable? One example, people go drinking when they're down/ had a hard day at work/ "escape from reality" and many other reasons. If they go with a bitter feeling, why do they want to drink to make themselves more bitter? I don't understand.

My first couple of sips from Becks taste more bitter than the usual other beer I tasted. Why? Aren't lager supposed to be almost the same? Or is it because of the bitter feeling I'm having with me now? After a few sips, it suddenly taste sweet. Why?

Has it to do with beer/ alcohol knowledge? Sighs. (jambu will laugh at me for sighing literally; chey!) I just got back from movies with shum about an hour ago. We went for Andy Lau's Wait Till You're Older. Nice finishing touch. Hits me that everyone has time in their hands, it's a matter of the span of it. Also, like I always say, live life to the fullest (even if tomorrow's your last day).

Countdown.

9 more days to Oct 13th. Muahahaha! We bought the $120 ticket but our seats are at at the VIP area! Wooh!! Wakakaka!!

In The Pursuit of Success...

...I may have lost some and gain some. Lost some friends and nice things in life. They don't understand the nature of my job. It's ok. If you want to terminate friendship based on this, then all I can say is we ain't true friends after all. It's ok. Life goes on. Move on!!

On the other hand, I've gained experience and the motivation to push myself further. I've learnt of the goods and bads of the industry. All of these are priceless and enriching.

On a grumpy note, I'm so mad, boiling mad!! Boss just said that we're to deliver materials even to publishers. No courier service if we can help it. WHAT!? Save money at the expense of time. What the...

Now, I truly know the meaning of hard-earned money! Food for thought: in bigger agencies, they have despatch personnel right?

Pff.

Quidam, anyone?

Yay! Yay! I'm going to watch Quidam next week; provided I manage to get the tickets on Monday for the Thursday slot. Wooh hoo!!

5 years ago, I missed Saltimbanco because I was wishy-washy about it. Alas, aunt sp went with her friends and when she related the show to me, I was "Ooh-ing" and "Ahh-ing" and gasping in wonder.

5 years later, alas, I'm no longer wishy-washy and more willing to part with a hundred bucks for it. I finally understand the meaning of "you earn your own money, so you can spend your own money." Dad & Mum has been saying that to me. Hehehe!!

I can't wait for Monday (when I go buy tickets) and Thursday (the show time!!).

With the grandparents back, the house is more complete. Washing machine's up and running again, thanks to the everything-can-do Grandpa and my meals are no longer incomplete, thanks to the everything-can-cook-and-they're-good Grandma.

Tralalala. It's October. :D

Oh, time for Chinese lesson 1.

Daily becomes Weekly.

I've been cutting short of my entries from an average of 5 to 2 per week. I'm just so dead tired to blog after work. Everyday, I tell myself this: "Once you get home, bathe then rest for the evening." But when I got home, it's in this order: Sit, rest, watch TV, wake up from accidental sleep to realise it's time to bathe. I badly need discipline. Lucky the gramps are back to bring my life in order again. Phew!

On a lighter note, the toughest job is over. YAY! What's the toughest job, you ask? Answer: doing a manual in Chinese. Yes, translating (the translator & typesetter does it) but I need to check against client's changes before giving client the artwork. If you know me well enough, you know I cannot do Chinese for peanuts. Not at all. So completing this job is like a heavy rock off my body. Client & I went to the translator's office yesterday to finish and wrap up the long-overdue job and we finished by 7pm. It's an achievement, I tell you.

As I thought I could sashay home, a call from a production house sent an electric shock to my entire body, freezing it. I forgot about an ad for Recruit Section tomorrow. It has to be sent in earlier. I quickly called the client; we managed to pull through. The BOMB: we have to pay a 10% surcharge. Holy cow dung!!! Client was hopping mad and so was boss. Boss even had to write an appeal letter to publisher to waive off the surcharge.

I admit this is truly my fault. Really, I shouldn't have forgotten. What was on my mind, you ask? Tell you the truth, a million and one things are going on. Late last week and early this week, I had too much on my plate. I really felt like throwing in the towel already but I gritted my teeth and tongue and survived.

I could barely sit at my workstation for 5 minutes before I've to brief designer(s) or go out for meetings. I was in such a mad rush that I screwed up everything. And I mean everything. I sent out artwork without checking and missed some most of the deadlines.

Two rights make a left. How many lefts make a right?

Cons of Living Alone II

Walau, I feel like shouting at the top of my voice, a string of foul words!!! I am so friggin' pissed now. After cleaning the house yesterday night, the washing machine pipe had to burst and break and flooded the kitchen. Worst of all, I had to replace the pipe.

Luckily, shum (my #1 buddy) came to the rescue. She offered to come over to my place and fix it for me. I was so touched. Alas, when she came, we went pipe-searching and were told that we've to call the LG service centre and engage their assistance. WTF!!! I cannot do anything, what more, shum came all the way from Commonwealth, enduring about an hour's bus journey to my place and we cannot get it fixed. Worst of all, the kitchen is now in a mess and my laundry, too!!

What kind of place is this man?! "Leaving me a rotten stall to keep." (Direct translation from a Chinese saying.) Grrr...I'm so angry!!!!!! Like evil twin said, I'm suay, all bad things happen when I'm alone.

And we're so sian that I decide to blog it away and shum's lying on the couch watching a silly show about pregnancy and baby.

ARGH!WHF????!!!!!!!

Friday and Oblivion Day.

Did not attend the poolside party at Goodwood Park because last minute, boss sent an email to the person-in-charge and said we just got a last minute brief from client and might have to burn midnight oil to finish it. Thus, we cannot be present. :( In the end, boss went off at 5.30pm!! Colleague j could go off at 6 so I encouraged her to attend. I, left office at 8 because I was rushing multiple things. Sighs! There goes a chance.

Today was oblivion day. Nice to sleep till 1pm and rotted in bed till 4.30pm. Such unhealthy lifestyle, you say. Yes, with my busy week, my weekend's just burnt without exercise or social gatherings. But I enjoy today very much because I haven't slept so well for a long time (actually one week). Don't know why I'm so tired throughout this week.

I think I'm snapping soon. Good grief the grandparents are coming back next week. Phew!

All's Well Ends Well.

Phew! Finally, the "drama rama" ended. Colleague realized that she was too harsh and sought my apology. All I'd say is that the both parties were in some kinda wrong. So I sought her apology, too. Anyway, we're back to good terms. :) She even remembered I mentioned I wanted a hair cut and gave me vouchers. Haha! *glees*

Tomorrow I'm attending a "poolside party" at Goodwood Park. It's for media agencies and media accredited agencies. Immerse in the "Hi, I'm (name) and I'm from (company name)." and "Oh, really? Do keep in contact." and the likes. Aii...Don't get me wrong. Not that I detest these social functions. On the contrary, I think these functions are a way to get contacts and build up my address book. However, it just hit me on a wrong day because I'm expecting the time-of-the-month.

Another headache is I don't think I've nice top to go with. Sighs! I don't even have to upturn my wardrobe (my clothes aren't that many, anyway). This is so infuriating.

A Mixture of Both.

Gathering with cut6 & f4 was nice. It's been a while since both cliques got together. Of course, I strongly felt my cellmate's presence. :)

An "abrasion" with colleague spoiled my day and mood today. On Friday, I merely waved a "Stop" sign to her whilst I was on the phone with my client. Not even a personal phone call!! Wah piang! She took that soooooo personally and decided to boycott me today. Asked her to check figures (for billings purposes) against the media booking, she turned the table back at me: "I'm not free!! You do it yourself!!" FYI, those exclaimation marks were signs of her anger at me. Walau!! On another occasion, she said, "Since you've already booked the ad space, you follow up from there. From today onwards, you'll do the media booking. I'll talk to Boss about it."

Are you crazy? Firstly, my workload is heavy enough and with new projects coming in that I'm overseeing. Secondly, with the busy workload, I might miss some of client's requests for ad space. Thirdly, I'm sometimes out of office, so it's naturally better for someone who's constantly in the office to oversee media booking. Lastly and most importantly, you've always been the one who do media booking! What the heck?

Didn't know that elderly have so much "small, tiny gases" in themselves. Or is it menopause? Angry & pissed over the weekend some more? Wah seh! You've certainly lots of energy to spare huh??

On a lighter note, cellmate called, from Australia!!! Whoa! It was a surprise indeed and it was a lovely 55-minute chat. Cellmate, (shouts) incoming calls are free for me!!! *wink wink* Hehehe. She sounded happy with her life there except some bits & pieces here and there, some odour here and there, etc. :P She has somehow evolved to be a different person. We're awaiting your comeback on Jan 25th! For the makan-ing and CNY and most importantly, $$$. Meanwhile, scringe your nose! Haha.

Oh no! We're still as mean. Oh well, as they say; some things never change and old habits die hard.

Readers, FYI, I just noticed that the time I'm blogging this is Tuesday, Sept 20th. The event(s) above occured on Monday, Sept 19th.

Ah, whatever.

WAH! Surprise.

Wah! Firstly, ping dropped comment on my blog. Haha! It's a surprise seeing her. First time I saw it, my reaction was, "Which ping is this? (I have a auntie by the same name; she couldn't have found my blog!)" Then oh, it struck to me it's ping from alma mater. Hehe.

I'm happy to see her comment. Reminds me how much I miss school. Though I want to go back and try to have lunch with them, my schedule is like mad!

Wah! #2: I decided to go to my school website and browse around. Click here and there and found this. It had my name on it! Wahaha!! I'll print this out some other day.

In case you're wondering, I'm still in office. But why do I have the time to blog, you ask. Because evil twin is late, in fact very late for our meet-up! But I shall forgive her. Hehe. :P

Alrightie, I'm going back to my book.

Power Boost #2.

Billings meeting with the bosses and I received another compliment(s) from them. Client (np 2: these letters are made up by j & I for specific clients) commented that my follow-up is good, superb.

Bosses also commented that I am very aggressive in learning, which is good. "But don't be too hard on yourself; otherwise you'll burn out very fast, especially in this industry."

Yeap, yeap. I will bear that in mind.

Words of encouragement from client spur me and stretches me to the max. :)

Cons of Living Alone.

I wouldn't know the gas ran out if I didn't boil the kettle of water. After some time, the whistle didn't sound. One look and there was no fire on the stove. Then only it dawned to me that the gas ran out.

Great, I don't have to drink water for the rest of tonight. Fark!!

New.

Mozilla auto close by itself twice. After I typed my entry, it bade goodbye. Fuck!! Fedup.

To save my energy, I'll briefly repeat myself:

Colleague j and I were so happy our computer systems is changed to WinXP. Unfortunately, it's running on Celeron. Blek!! Nevertheless, we're happy to get our free speakers. So now, we can blast music in our lil' room. I can download iTunes and load in my (lost count of my song size) numerous songs into my workstation.

On a happier note, I got to leave office at 7.45pm this yesterday evening. Dinner with tracy and a quick shopping landed me with a top and a skirt. I consider that fast. It was followed by Starbucks with shan. We encountered some rude people who could just pull the chair away from our table when we were away. What the.....? Such low-class, rude imbecile!!

Other than the new computer system & monitor in office; I've bought a top in S size. First time, can! Muahaha.

Self Reflection.

Somebody out there needs to do some thinking. I love nanotech. I love Apple.

Destruction.

I nearly burnt down the office today. Boss got us muffins from I-forgot-the-name-of-the-bakery; only because client came down to our office to vet through the final artwork. Phew! Alas, we made it. For some time, I thought we couldn't make it on time.

Anyway, we were heating up the muffins in the microwave in our room. Client heated theirs and it was smelling heavenly. When it came to my muffin, I put it in, turn the timer to 2 minutes whilst I serve the client tes water. Thinking to myself, "Hmm, my muffin smells nice! Make great dinner."

Another sniff, I smelt something burning. One look, the microwave was emitting smoke!!!! Oh my God! The 2 clients were in my room whilst I said "Eh, my muffin burnt ah?"

One of them, the younger one quickly flapped her hands and yelled, "Ah! Auntie, quick! Quick! It's burning!" And off she ran out of the room. (Auntie refers to the elder of the 2 female clients, sb.)

The scene was so hilarious, I tell you! The younger female client, j and I were laughing our hearts out when sb ran into hiding behind my cupboard. Hahaha!!

The entire office then smelled of burnt muffin and the joke was passed around office: "Someone burnt her muffin ah." and "Wah, smells so nice! What is that?"

There goes my dinner, ok!!

A Happy Girl.

I'm a happy girl, also a happy owner of an agnés b pouch. Though it's just a pouch, it cost $90. Of course, courtesy of aunt sp. :)

Dinner with her at Anatolia Kitchen, Far East. One word: shiok!!! Haven't been there for ages and it taste the same as before. It was shopping after that. She got her Origins serum gel. Oh, their ginger range smells so good! I was so tempted to buy but when I overturned the products to check the price, I put them back nicely.

After that, she got the bag. Boy, I'm amazed at the service of the sales personnel. She was in her sporty wear, I was in my jeans; both of us happily stroll into the boutique. Instead of standing or sitting on corner, one of them came and served us. Efficiently. Now, that's what I call good service!

Aunt sp was rather pleased by their service and to get the umbrella (with every min. purchase of $400) she die die look for other stuffs to make up the shortage of $170. So the pouch and her new wallet and the pouch found its way to me. :)

All in all, I'm a happy happy girl lah though I'm beginning to get impatient, waiting for my laundry to complete.

Alas!

Ladies & Gentlemen,
I present to you the fruit of our hard labour. This was the artwork that we were slogging and working out our bones for. It's quite a relief that we see our work printed out. This account is handled by my colleague (who went on 8-day long MC) and yours truly here, took over.

I wanted to go shopping there this week but after the never-ending rounds of changes the client got back to me, I decided against it. Gets sickening.

Anyway, time for digress:
I just sent the gramps to airport. They're on the jetplane to Melbourne. That also means I'm home alone (part 1). Alone. Lonely.

I've told 3 (white) lies this week. I cannot reveal what they are and for what occasion for this concerns those around me. Gets kind of frusfrated. Kids, don't tell lies, not even white ones, alright? Coz one lie leads to another.

The Aftermath.

(Edited)

Boss said I'd be able to sleep well this weekend and feel very motivated on Monday. All because the client (same one that I screwed up) sent a compliment email. I really tried giving them their things on time so as to avoid last minute changes and stuffs.

So I completed my "promises" to them for this week. To end my her day, she sent me an email thanking me for rushing and the hard work. The email was CC-ed to my boss(es) and hers. The bonus thing is she's known to be the MOST difficult person to deal with in our clientele. In return, my boss emailed me and asked me to keep it up because complains are more than compliments like that. It's worth more than a thousand dollars worr....

I'm yawning so many times that I can hardly type this with my eyes open. So, I'd like to take my leave now and prepare for the weekend.

I am brilliant.

"On a personal note, I think you've done a brilliant job." Hah! That made my evening even more enduring. *smug laugh*

Client said despite losing temper at me because things were at their max. level, she said the above sentence.

Now, what more can I say? Hehe. BUT I must say it was really my oversight over the job. So, I apologize sincerely. Because of what you say, I'll work harder and better for your jobs from now on.

I LOVE MY JOB. :))

You Name It, I've Got It.

Cock-up, screwed up by client and now, what more can be worse than your client's ad doesn't appear on the supposed time and publication? Blank ad, yes. Though I just joined the current company for a short period of one month, I think I gave my boss (the AD) a heart attack.

My client (not even my colleague's) nearly had a blank ad coming out for today. Strangley enough, I wasn't even as nervous as I should have been. My mind was saying, "Aiyah, sure can get it out on time. Don't worry too much. At most, pay for surcharge after 7pm lor." That's bad attitude.

I should make sure that all goes well, we can meet the deadlines and stop giving hell to everyone. But how can I help it when the client themselves come to & fro with changes and are only satisfied with the 12th draft? Fuck, you know!! You haven't seen even the first draft for the Chinese ad (which is going out on the same time, same day) and you're changing the layout for your English version. I was about to curse and swear them and just run across the street to murder them! (Yeah, the client's just a main street across from us. Damn!)

The Creative Head got "long face" from Boss because my client is never ending on their changes; and neglected Boss's other ads. I 'm so guilty 'coz I got everyone (I seriously mean EVERYBODY) to work late for me (that's because I a one-man show). Like cellmate said, "What's new?"

This morning was another heart attack. Well, nearly. Deadline was at 10am but approval from client only came in at 12pm. Tomorrow's Chinese ad's going out but first draft will only be viewed at 9am. Oh, great.

I wonder how many heart attacks I'll be getting. (Readers, pardon me but I feel like saying the next word very much.) FUCKKKK!!

Not Good.

Remember I said I was juggling with 5 accounts now? Well, I broke down just now. Yes, as in cry, tears came rolling down, sob sob. You get the idea.

Everything came piling on me and I just couldn't take it. But it's just me. After the breakdown session, I'll pick up the pieces of myself and the motor is up and running again. The secretary saw me and told me to be patient (like what else is there to be said). One of the designers walked in and saw the scene but we managed to convince him I'm alright.

Sighs! This isn't good. Not at all. What's more the computer clock reads "9.09 PM" and I'm still in office.

Lucky, lucky & my ramblings.

I managed to survive today. 6 more days to go. I am taking over my colleague's jobs when she goes for her dental surgery. Technically, I am handling (*counts fingers*) 4 (my own portfolio) and 3 of my colleagues. So that's a total of SEVEN. It's amazing I can still survive and breathe and drink a sip of water. My AD is helping me with 2 of my own accounts. But that still leaves me with 5 accounts. Hurh.

I got screwed by client today. "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HA!!??" Yeah, yeah. The entire agency is sitting around and waiting for you to get back with your changes ha!! Whatever la, you client!!!

I just pray that I'll tide over this one week safely. Safely.

Honoured.

Thanks, you and you because you complimented my passion. :) Anyway, if you've set the heart and foot on it, then go for it. My pooh, no worries, your passion will be back in no time. It's taking a short break before making an BIG impact.

These few days, I've been working my bones off. Came home at obscene hours (according to grandparents) and I slept my weekend away. The weekend was great except I felt that I could have slept more. Despite waking up at 3pm on Saturday and 12.30pm on Sunday. Ahh sleep is never enough.

I was out in the "virgin" meetings with clients today and it burnt my entire afternoon. Got back to office only at 7pm, when sensible people have headed home. Bah, on one side, I'm a little happy because that meant no designers=no work=I get to go home early. On the other side, no designers=no work=I get screwed all over when tomorrow comes.

"Aiyoh!" is the fave word with my one of my designer and the copywriter. And so it is mine.

AIYOH.

For Passion or Mansion?

Before anything else, I must rejoice that I got to see the sky in blueish tone this evening. Yep, I got out of office at 7.30pm. WHEE!!!!! Considering the past 3 days, my average time out of office was around 9-9.30 pm. Yesterday was the last straw. I chucked my work aside and took a cab home because I felt very nauseous.

A couple of designers weren't happy with bosses' action of jotting down each employee's lateness and pin them on bulletin board. They said bosses are very "keh kao" (calculating in Hokkien) and so, they've decided to learn from the bosses. Go home promptly.

My concern is, if they come in late by 30-45 mins daily and go home on the dot, how the heck can we finish the jobs on hand? If you're in this industry, you should know how demanding it is, how "no life" you get. If you want a 9-5/6 fixed timing job, then why choose advertising in the first place?

If you claim it to be your passion (in advertising) then don't complain and grumble. Right? Or are you just working hard to build the mansion you desire?

Huh? What? Who? Where?

My response throughout the day was pretty much like the post title. Started the day with a neckache which I absolutely detest. Popped Panadol but apparently it's helpless. Earlier of the day, I could not register things in my mind and I started work in a slow motion.

And then, work came rushing in and I had to force myself to start working faster. I hate it when I cannot deliver the deadlines for a certain leceh client. I trust that she'll screw me upside down, left, right and all over tomorrow when we go over to her office. Biatch! She's so troublesome and nasty that I fear calling her to clear my doubts. So I passed the saint job to Boss. Hehehe!!

Anyway, I was calculating, if I was paid $10 per hour for OT, I'd see a fat pay cheque of about $2k per month. Yes, I feel damn rich.

Ah, well. There's no OT pay in our industry for the agency's bound to incur losses, looking at the amount of OT we clock daily and the number of persons clocking.

However, having said that, I still like my job. Nyeh nyeh!!

Where Evil Meets Evil.

Shopping with the evil twin was fun today. Bought what I wanted: a handbag (from Far East Plaza) and notebook & organiser (from Popular). Yes, pw; Popular auntie me. I'm so satisfied with the handbag because it was only $19.90.

Something I observed from today's spree:

A man, in a well-pressed suit, goes to work in Paragon, Orchard. In he goes into one of the high class boutique. He could be the manager but let's not rule out the possibility of him being the sales executive (in short, salesman). A while later, you see the same man, outside the boutique. What is he doing? Wiping the glass panel. *Faints* So... don't think that working in a high-class place and going to office in suit is very prestigious.

I'm off to be with the Shooting Stars! *wink wink*

Lovin' Each Day.

The post title says it all. I'm loving my job though it's driving me to the walls with certain client at times.

Nevertheless, Happy 40th Birthday, Singapore.

Happy Shopping, me! :) Tomorrow's officially declared the "Evil Day"! How apt, how apt.

Lesson #3.

Lesson #3: If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on. Not sit and dwell on it!

I had a bigger screw up today. Yup. But I can't say it's entirely my fault. My AD was confused of the 2 different ads the client is going for. So, she got us, the "kah kias" confused as well. Specifications wrong, deadlines wrong, everything turned the other way round.

That aside, I didn't know that the ads were to be sent to the publishing house instead of our media agencies. So, I laid them out nicely and even wrote the courier slip and called the courier man. I had to ask to them to go off and come back again twice. Yeah, I feel bad but senior AE said, "Ask them to go to hell la! They always make me wait, too!" Haha, how funny can she get!!

The issues got ironed out but I've learnt to make sure everything's in check and in line. Phew! I think the word "STRESSED" was written all over my face even the designer came in to check on me. Twice!!

A good, old friend of mine said, "It's useless to keep thinking of it. Move on." So true! So, I've learnt another precious lesson: If you make a mistake, learn it then move on!!!

Weekend's here and I'm happy because one week's over. Passed by so swiftly I had no time to think, no time to reflect. I'm going to enjoy sleeping in this weekend. :D

Love Me, Love You.

Before everything else, let's continue with lesson #2: Never panic.

Panic doesn't help. I screwed up the deadline submissions for media house today. Finished Artwork (FA) supposed to reach media house by noon wasn't out; because I mistook it for the one going out tomorrow instead. Mistake on my part; I should have double checked.

I think thought my designers hate me. It's just me, being over-sensitive. The German designer said, "No, don't kill the messenger." That was such a relief!! They're rushing a massive project right now and my client kept butting in for changes. Urgh! The designers are nice to begin with and easy to work with.

Client just faxed a 55-page manual for the new job. It's time to bug the designers. Hiak Hiak!! I suspect the deadline's tight because this clients loves taking their time to approve the drafts and chase our ass for them. Bleh!!

But...having said that, I like my job. As a matter of fact, I love it!!! :))

Let's Start Class.

Lesson #1

Prioritise.

'Nuff said.

Like an intern.

Yeah, that's what I feel today. Learning what to do, what not to do and what to say at appropriate times. Despite first day at work when I should feel excited; I'm tired, hot and having a headache.

Nothing much to do except going through files and files anf more files on clients' ads. To get a "feel" of their work. I'll be taking over several accounts. The amount of work isn't VERY tremendous at this point in time but I reckon it'll be soon because an event is happening in March next year.

Had to meet a new client who is in the disco-pub business. Went down to Clarke Quay to meet her. Boy, she's a real hottie and we think her butt's weird. Like, too much flesh that it bounces everytime she walks. Plus, she looks fierce and she was really pissed today because she was fcuked up by the previous agency. Ah well!!

Warriors.

I had an urge to thank my warriors. So kudos to these friends of mine who've been with me from eons ago.

1- The 3 ninnies: shum, peg & jen. On countless occasions, I've been bombarded hard and almost fatal. But they picked me up and nursed my wounds. We've been together nearing 5 years and I can confidently say that the bond we share is far stronger than any 10-year-long friends.

2- The Becks (7) & The Giggsy (11). The names and numbers denotes meaning. Soccer fans
(Man Utd fans) know that these are the jersey numbers on the respective players. Such a coincidence that jas, eu & I adore David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt respectively. In the MU team, these 3 are known to be best buddies. And in our team, we're the best trio. Beautiful, isn't it? These two have never given up on me and I can feel their concern for me. Literally. Genuine care. They've always supported me in whatever decisions I've made regardless of its outcome.

Words cannot describe how wonderful the five abovementioned people are to me (or perhaps I lack the vocabulary). All I can say is that I cherish our friendships a great deal and I love you five to bits and pieces, screws and nuts.

You guys have been my warriors and you have no idea how grateful I am to Him for you all. You've never despised me when I've been ostracized, never gave up hope on me when everyone else did.

I owe you all an infinite amount of love, care and concern and everything else that you guys deserved. Because you're the BEST.

Miscommunication.

Dear all, if I've ever mislead you people into thinking that I'm going back to school, I'm sorry. Because I'm not. I'm going to work. Starts officially on Monday, 1st August 2005 as an Account Executive in a local advertising agency.

I've always think that working is also a learning process in itself. You learn new things everyday, every minute of your existence. Heck, living your own life as it is, itself is a learning process. Only difference is that the learning curve differs 'coz some are born more lucky than the others.

I'm not complaining or saying that I'm not born lucky. I'm grateful for what I have today, my ever-loving-me-and enduring-my-nonsense parents, my irritating-yet-amusing-and-cute siblings and my never-give-me-up-and-stand-by-me-no-matter-what friends. What more can I ask for?

The beach was crowded today, naturally; being a Saturday. Cycling happily and enjoying the fine breeze with shum when it poured like cats and dogs. Urgh! Stucked in the shelter, cold and wet. The ride back was no more cooling. It was damn cold!! Anyhow, I enjoyed myself though I missed the sun.

Back to school; holiday's over.

Yes, I'm back to school to learn. Getting paid to learn; isn't it great? Perserverance pays.

I've been bad; rejecting a couple and bad karma fell upon me. Nevertheless, I've been patient and voila! I'm just relieved, not very excited.

Having one birthday wish come true means more than anything to me. I guess I've been an overall good girl throughout the year so I get two wishes come true!

Heading to the beach. Sun, sand & water, embrace!!

Pictures Galore.

Some pictures to let you have an insight to my Big Day and the feelings & taste of victory thereafter.

One of the rarest moment with the anti-social boy.

The DMC-04 Class of 2005 family.

This is for my cellmate, who's enjoying the fine weather in Perth.

Brain malfunction after getting my pink iPod mini from aunt sp.

The proud owner and her mummy.

My baby, you....

Cannot see clearly ah? Here, have a good look:

I oh-so-love it to death.

Want to share my excitement? Go here.

Sneek Peak.

Guess what I got for my Graduation? It's 6G, it's mini, it's funky pink! Wooh-hoo!!

Today Yesterday was my Graduation Day. All turned out well, gradually. I arrived very late in Singapore thanks to the Causeway jam and unable to catch a cab. Murphy's Law do happen to me, even now!!

After the ceremony, it's click! click! snap! snap! with my classmates. Memories bind us, we still remember those little gimmicks we did 3 years ago, etc. Ah well. Friends, do be patient with me with the pictures because it'll take me ages to upload the pics. I didn't bring my laptop back home so I probably won't be resizing them and all. :P

Then it was off shopping with aunt sp and mum in town. Aunt sp bought me what I've been yearning for over a year! Take a guess!! Wahahaha! I wasn't sure she was going to get it for me when she asked me into the Apple Centre and asked me to get the salesperson to get it. It was a less than 5 minutes affair! Brain couldn't function well after the buy. I grinned like maddie and was shocked like crazy.

One sentence to sum it up: I'm a goddamn lucky and happy woman today! I feel like dancing now. With my new baby aka boyfriend aka husband aka my life!! This has to be sweeter than thousand packets of sugar and better than sex.

My Weekend.

My weekend was spent with family & friends. Saturday saw my family & I out for dinner to celebrate me getting older. Then it was friends' gathering and they got me a cake! Thank you to all there! The place was alright, but the company made it great. They had the in-house singers to sing me a birthday song and all. And I went home reeking of alcohol (to be more specific, Carlsberg). My personal opinion is that Carlsberg is more bitter than my usual Heineken. And no, jen; I don't support Brad Pitt.

Sunday was spent with CSI Supreme Sunday. After watching CSI Miami, it made me shiver because it was about a victim exposed to radiation and when she got to know about it, she only had about a week to live. "Not even long enough for all my hair to drop." How apt.

Thus it made me wonder; with all these invisible "power" around us, how much of our body is already rotting and how much exposure have we had? How much time do I have left??

The Clock Strikes 12.

It's another year; supposedly one more level of maturity. But I beg to differ.

Time for some reflection:
Life's always a bed of roses. Full of thorns to prick you. You bleed and you sometimes bleed to death. Why can't some things just be the way I want them to be? They always wish me, "May all your wishes come true." I don't wish for many, but they don't come true. What's the use of wishing anyway?

Pardon me for this depressing note. I'm confused. The confusion will clear in the evening later.

Crossing my fingers (even body) to hope for what I hope.

Happy Birthday, S.Y.

Am I Excited?

Whilst most people are getting excited about our Graduation next Tuesday, I am not. Many asked me if I'm looking forward or delighted about it. Well, here's the answer. A big, flat NO to your face. Why should I get excited only now? If I should even get some adrenaline rush, it should be on my last day in school (for us, it's internship). If I recall, I was excited to pack and leave KL on my last day. Heck, I started packing 2 weeks before the end of it.

Other than sleeping and watching TV and surfing the web, I've been doing nothing. I don't even fancy going out, not even when Northpoint's facing me directly. Yes, the place I'm living now faces Northpoint Shopping Centre.I've been such a good girl. I didn't splurge on the Great Singapore Sale this time round. I deserve a round of applause, don't I?

Instead, I'm looking forward to mum coming for my Graduation next Tuesday; because she's my life's Number One (with my daddy) and I love her so much I'd do anything within my means to make her happy. Ok, to be direct, Tuesday's shopping day with mummy. Of course, when I shop with her, tab's on her (more like on daddy, but it's fine too!). I am looking forward to spend a nice day with mummy dearest. Shopping, nice dinner, chill-out, etc.

Belated of the Belated.

Pictures from pw's farewell dinner at Manna, Korean Restaurant. Which all of us self-bombed in an expensive dinner.


(L) Their food when it came.
(R) But it became this after they mixed it up.


(L) 6 for Cut6 and 1 squashed up represents yh. Hehe.
(R) The lead of the night. The "zhu jiao" (pigs' trotter). :P

The Happy Family.

Rest of pictures here. Enjoy!

Bing Bang Wednesday.

I love Wednesdays because AXN has 2 of my favourite shows, back-to-back. Fear Factor at 10p.m. to scare the guts out followed by CSI: NY. I prefer (just) CSI though. Heck, actually Sundays' better because they have CSI Supreme Sunday which has 3 episodes in ONE stretch!! Woooh!!

Meanwhile, I'm stucked here till Friday. Will still be here on Saturday, too if I hadn't rejected one of the interviewer for a 2nd round. It's been brought forward to Friday. Sighs!! When there are no interviews, I lament and curse. But when there is, I don't get the ones I want.

The AE position at a design house sounds like a "school" to me because there are so many things to learn, so many possibilities to explore. What's holding me back is that they're doing mainly editorial contents. Why doesn't the right job come at the right time??

I've decided to STOP lamenting and start to live life afresh. Yeap. I'm going to help out at the shop seriously. Meaning, going to work at the right time and doing serious work instead of waking up late and going in around noon then sit around and wait for time to pass. Yeah, I'll do just that!

I've gotten early birthday wishes from my pooh, auntie bh and girlfriend tracy. Thanks, Winnie! I so love the pic that you decorated!! I hope to visit you in KL soon. :)

Thank you, aunt bh! For all your love and encouragement. Keep our spirits high and flying!

Thanks, tracy! No, you won't die simply because you forgot on the actual day. I'll just make you pay back, sweetie.

Eternal Gratitude.

My heartfelt thanks to those who provided me with support and encouraging words. I'm eternally grateful and believe me, I'm not one who forgets kindness.

The evil in me is subsiding fast. I hope it goes away and never come back!! Hmmph!! Things are slowly picking up, with 2 interviews back-to-back. So, I'm hopping back to the island tomorrow morning.

On a sadder note, my cellmate is flying off (sings: in a jetplane) tomorrow morning and I'm not able to see her off. Better that way too, because I am one who can control almost every body mechanism of mine but the tear duct. (Recall the goodbye saga before we hit internship 6 months ago.) Whoa! SIX months ago! It's been SIX months!! Unbelievable. It felt like yesterday!

Anyway, my nincompoop is back and I'm popping by her house later. Pink jambu, don't be sad for the 3 of us'll surely meet up. I can't wait to get back to our good ol' times.

Ding Dong. Ding Dong.

I hear the ticking inside my body. Is it telling me that it's time to go to dreamland or is it a bad omen??

Fantastic Four was "okay lah". I think it's an adult version of The Incredibles (which is set to con kids). So, the former is to con adults, people like me.

I feel the influenza bug coming to hit me to death. It's a matter of time. The siblings got it bad; parents too. I hate falling sick.

Technology is a double-edged sword. Lets me surf the WWW on my bed or in the living room or in the kitchen. Ahh, they should just lay off all wired internet and replace with wireless for all. Of course, make it more affordable!!

Oh, I saw him at Esprit, Wisma today. Should I yay because I saw a celebrity? Wait, is he considered a celebrity? He's very known in the blogosphere but why did it take me 6 hours to recall who exactly he is?

Ding Dong. Ding Dong. Time to sleep.

Where are Thou?

I'm about to sink into another bout of depression. Rajan tells me everytime (without fail) that I possess both skills and talents needed so I shouldn't worry. Recently he said that only those without these two worry about their future. Since I have both, why should I worry; he asked. But after eveluating myself, I've no skills and not talented!! I can't write as well as val. Neither can I present as well as pw. My language isn't as strong as fy. I'm not as brilliant as wq in studies. I can't draw for nuts like jess. I'm not even half as eloquent as the-now-lawyer eunice. My general knowledge isn't even a quarter of jaswir's!! I can't even match up to peg's swimming skills.

Grrrr....My career (what career?!) is a nought. Stagnant. So is my life, my lovelife and everything else!! I'm such a disgruntled, grumpy person.

Spooky Spook.

It's scary when you know your blog's visited by "unknown" users and how they got to your site. I think it's safest to just link to some companies or websites than simply typing them out. I don't normally get intimidated as I usually terrorize people. My friends know me well.

However, you wonder what they do or rather what they want to know from your blog. Internet is never safe. Especially kids, when you think you can remain anonymous. But no, the World Wide Web is such a Wow Wow World that leaves you amazed 24/7. For blogs, they have those web trackking device that tracks down to your ISP. For commercial sites, they have security devices that tracks your surfing habits. And the list is endless.

Going back to the island for a farewell dinner for my cellmate. Pray that I don't boo hoo hoo and make a fool out of myself.

The Decision II

"We've shortlisted a few but sorry you're not one of them. But...but if there's any changes, we'll call you."

Another rejection. I am fine, really. Not even feeling upset or anything. Instantly, I called them and asked if the offer they made last week is still valid. The reply I got? "Oh, ok..I'm not too sure because I'm not on this case. But drop me an email and after we see a few more people then we'll see how." What the? You offered me then you tell me this? Counter-offer is it?

Job hunt is tough, especially if you're so choosy. OK, it's my problem. I am choosy. However, I've never regretted the decision that I turned down 2 offers. Somebody hang me to death.

The Pink Jambu & Pink Banana Bring Chaos.

Once upon a time, there were 4 good friends named Jambu (Rose Apple in English), Banana, Durian and Cherry. There were good reasons to name all of us in these fruits. Durian's in KL and Cherry's in UK (we think!). So the Jambu and Banana met up yesterday evening. Coincidentally, they are both pink-looking so they were labelled Pink Jambu and Pink Banana (*scowl*).

We walked around the pasar malam chit-chatting; waiting for jambu to fall on her nose; discussing what food that makes boobs grow bigger; how men are intelectually challenged by women and me being the subject of laughter for the jambu. Rojak, fried jackfruit, Malay cakes and some tidbits. Sounds like a feast. Wished I brought my camera along to take pictures to tempt eu-eu. Wahaha! Maybe she's too tempted that she flies back the next day! Yeah, right!!

And the pink jambu was mistaken for a New Zealander by the Malay makcik. Thus I corrected the makcik and told her she's from Pakistan! Hiak Hiak!! And I think the jambu is still trying hard to Google out a "pink banana". Try harder, baby!!

Last few days was spent thinking over the job offer. Called my friend who was working in my intern company. She advised me to take it up as it could be a probation period for me. But I've lost interest in them since it's been a very long time. Heck, I'm just being choosy.

Whee!!

As a Fiknatic, I am happy to have contributed to the official website of my (so possesive; but I don't care!) idol. :)

Thanks Raz, for making my day. Haha. Check out my contribution here.

Lalala~. I'm a happy Fiknatic!!

Shortcuts.

Shortcuts DON'T bring you success. Never.

Wanting to take a shortcut route to fetch the twins to school just now, I whammed into a Mercedes. Fortunately and unfortunately, it belonged to dad's good friend. Fortunately because he's someone we know. Unfortunately because he's someone we know and thus there's the issue of awkwardness. He wouldn't receive any compensation and I felt bad. So do my parents. Sighs! Mercedes, it's a bloody MERCEDES, can!!! He must be cursing and swearing at me inside.

Someone I know love taking shortcuts (in life). He ends up a failure that ashames his family and people he knows (so called friends) shun him. What a shame. Of course, he's a proud and arrogant to begin with. Will not take "No" for an answer.

I'm in quite a dilemma now that they have an offer for me; but it's not a full-time position. Rather, it's contract-based and it's for a couple of months. Couple of months! Means I've to go back into job hunting after that. An Events Exec position asked for a picture. That could mean an interview on the way. And the agency that I went to last Friday might get back to me with a full-time position. I'm confused.

Funeral.

That was how the atmosphere felt like at the Live It Up '05 at Bishan yesterday. The songs bored us to death. I even opened up the "Bing Bing Cracker" which I don't eat at all to kill boredom when a certain heavy-topped Mediacorp Star sang. No interest at all. Mostly were slow songs that all three of us nearly fell asleep to. Rad commented several times that it feels like funeral. The Bishan residents really don't groove at all. Rad entertained herself by grooving even to music she doesn't know and the martian just bent down her head in silence.

Rad's family a fun bunch. And if there's a saying, "As alike as two peas"; it's true 'coz Rad and her bro are as corny and lame as each other! Haha. Her mum's adorable, too. We chatted like mother & daughter on our way back; with our arms in each other's.

I realized that perhaps the last picture in the previous post is too small for anyone to recognize who we travelled (all the way from Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang & Yishun) to see. It's MY idol. Yes, MINE!! Can?!? :D He's the climax of the night and we braved the strong (at least 50,000) crowd to see Taufik perform. Isn't it a wonder?

Many click! click! snap! snap! But a pity, the stage was a tad too far though we've made our way to the front of the barrier.

I'm a happy Taufik fan. A Fiknatic.

Live It Up, Folks!!

I figure pictures speak a thousand (millions, for this); so here goes.


L: The exasperated trio.
R: Raddie & I.



L: Saving Singapore from the invasion of the alien.
R: Some performances can make us die.

We came here to see him.

More updates tomorrow. I need to catch my wink.