Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Filling Up The Half-Full Glass?


I got a call from Mediacorp today. The last time I received a call from them was in Nov 05 for a Harry Potter contest that I won, which was one of the craziest things I've done but that's quite another story I'll save for another day with a different mood.

Today, I'm ecstatic.

The call was in response to my application for the position of "Research Writer" that I sent quite some time ago, which I had deemed ended up in the HR trash like countless other prior applications. If only they knew how badly I wanted it!

I've been invited to a written test this Friday morning. While it doesn't promise anything as yet, it is HOPE. I see the half-full glass just slightly fuller. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'd make it through all the way; the glass will fill to its brim.

Strange this has to come a day after discussing dreams with my friend and a casual chat with my sis about how telecommunications, or the lack of, had altered my destiny.

In the days of pagers, when I was still a student, I once made a cold call for a vacation job with LIME magazine. They called my pager, I didn't see it till the next day and because I was staying at the hostel, phone facilities were limited. By the time I managed to place a call back, the position had been filled. If telecommunications had been more 'advanced' then, my name would probably have been on the editorial panel of that magazine, or some of its cohorts, for several years now.

Or maybe that had been a blessing in disguise, for because of that miss, I had the chance to dabble in video production, interactive design, trends research and hopefully in the near future, TV.

Meifeng gave birth to a baby girl this morning. Her name is Cheryl. Both mother and daughter are doing great; I can't wait to see them.

What a truly happy day.

The Glass is Half Full


Talked about dreams with my friend last night. A weird start, but the conversation stemmed from the MTV of My Chemical Romance's "I Don't Love You". Stylish and ironically romantic.

He said, "The glass is half full; I realise the glass is half full, so I drink heartily, knowing the glass is half full."

I am gonna start my day with this.

Maybe the glass is never meant to be full, like half a glass of fine red wine. A full glass cripples you with severe hangover.

Maybe to truly enjoy half a glass is a far bigger joy than hankering after a glass that will never fill.

Another opening at 8 Days. Shall I fill the glass?

Monday, March 26, 2007

Wanderlust 07: 九寨沟


Was at the Natas fair last Saturday - though crowded, it didn't seem as impenetrable as last year. The booking promotions weren't as great either, except for the UOB one where pairs of free CX tickets to Hong Kong were given out to bookings of $10,000 and above, which we would have been eligible for last year.

This year, we went for cheaper packages. No particular reason really. Just that my sis had spotted $399 Jiangnan tour deals in Natas ads so we decided on China as our family destination for this year.

Yet, we fell for the irresistible 九寨沟 (Jiuzhaigou), a gorgeous valley where rainbows perform somersaults on magnificent waterfalls that embrace roaring streams far below while colourful leaves float on lakes more tranquil than the surface of mirrors.

Shuzeng Falls - One of the four waterfalls at 九寨沟, famed for its numerous follow-on falls

The Multi-Coloured Pool

Oh, since international flights land at Chengdu, we'll be spending time there and the agency promised me GIANT PANDAS ! v(^.^)v

Can't wait for my leave application to be approved. I must wait though, since today didn't feel like the best time to ask my 'boss' for favours of any kind - she was in a mad dash for a business trip to Europe tonight. I'll wait patiently till she returns to office on Thursday. Maybe I'll wait till Friday cuz who knows if her jetlag might set accidental fire to my vulnerable leave application form.

And then, I wait some more, till 9 June, when I fly into the great unspoilt natural wonder of inner China.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Mosaic Dreams

Slumber Sunday, Mosaic Dreams

Some sneak peeps at the FREE Mosaic Music Festival performances Pauline and I went to last Friday (16 March). Too bad Fauzie didn't manage to come with us cuz she was ill (later found out that she passed out on the train on the way to work ... poor girl!)

I was excited all week about the show, especially since I missed Baybeats last year and this year's show won't happen till August. August?!! Hasn't it always been July?

We had wanted a quick bite and The Soup Spoon came to mind. I'm still a fan despite the grisly murder of the store supervisor by the restaurant's chef one Saturday ago. It seemed many people were still fans too. We couldn't find seats and decided to just pack sandwiches and went on to the Nokia Music Station, an outdoor concert venue at the Esplanade, by the rivermouth. There's a bigger venue further in called Nokia Powerhouse. Great promotional strategy and extremely targeted at music lovers for their N-Series (incidentally, I've checked out the N95 and feeling lusty for that beauty with a brain this very instant :)

Friday's show showcased indie bands and aptly named Indie-mand. We missed the first act, Goose from Thailand. The second act was a young band from Singapore - Allura. Though not hugely impressed by the performance, I was by their burning passion for music and being able to do something about it.

Music is not just a display of talent and creativity but a great channel to communicate thoughts and feelings, release angst and steam and preach rhetoric and logic that can hopefully help someone. I wish I had that. But I don't. So I will just sit back and soak in the wild enthusiasm and be inspired to act on things which are within my means.

The grand finale was by Lilac Saints. I didn't know they had been around for so long - winners of the Best/Favourite Musical Act award from Perfect 10 in 1996. Boy, were they good! Am especially smitten with guitarist Baskar's skills with the strings.

I made it home in time for Hui Ching's 24th birthday celebration at midnight. Oink! ^(oo)^

It had been quite a happening week last week. Spent Monday at the movies watching The History Boys. It was great fun, made me terribly nostalgic about the old good school days and thinking how right Mom had been about cherishing those best years of our lives, but the characters were just ... weird. In the end, even the least likely person was sexually disoriented. Hmm ... does it make good drama or simply an insight into the real world of all-boys schools? Intelligent boys, at that, cementing the suspicion that it's a calculated choice, not a foolish misdemeanor.

On Thursday, met up with my university clique - 4 girls (ladies?) including me - 2 singles, 1 already a mom of a toddler girl and 1 is on the way to her first baby within these couple of weeks. It's usually kinda pressurizing for me to be hanging out with the uni-clique cuz they talk about 'serious' things. This time, it was babies, maids and cars. Earlier, it was choice of career and financial planning. No Baybeats or Mosaic or hunks.

Very serious, real-life issues that I do not want to spend my leisure moments pondering over, thank you very much. Nevertheless, it was good to be in touch and to see that everyone's doing well and happy despite some grouches about the difficulties with maids, gynaes and the constricted spaces of smaller cars.

And then, there was Friday. And there were effervescent images of dream-chasing talented people whose passion ignited the fire in us to hold our seats in the sweltering breeze-less evening by the Singapore River, feet tapping to the beats and ears ringing well into the weekend.

d(@.@)b


Thursday, March 22, 2007

Stuck In A Moment That I Can't Get Out Of


It's around this time last year that I started with my current company. How time flies, it's been almost a year.

How time flies, it's been almost a week since my good friend-colleague handed in her resignation last Friday.

Today, we had 2 new Trends additions. One's a web consultant and the other, a researcher who holds a Masters degree from Stanford. Whoa. Do I feel a bit inadequate here? I am really not sure.

JY made an interesting prediction to LG today. That I'd be the next after EC to leave. Not that the thought hasn't constantly been on my mind. But finding a suitable job is really, really tough. Have I driven myself into a corner by being too adamant about what I want to do that it's teetering on the brink of unrealism, way out of reach?

Since the arrival of our new research manager, I begin to see a glimmer of hope. He brings with him sound knowledge and a wealth of experience in research methods, unlike our 'bosses' who are pretty much clueless most of the time. Besides, he's French, so I'm looking forward to rekindling my abandoned passion with the most beautiful language in the world :)

Plus, I can't shake off my wanderlust. Much as I complain about tiresome business trips, the chance to step foot on the most exotic countries of Asia and the Middle-east excite me tremendously. I do not know where else in the working world can afford me this "free" travel. Unless I become a travel writer? But that's really hard to find, and even harder to hitch.

So, given these considerations, I'm thinking why not take a look-and-see approach?

And then, U2 sings "Don't say that later will be better, now you're stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it"

Frustrated, I watched Maid To Order 3 featuring ... ELVIN NG! Lol. See, I've tried hard not to blog about him but how can I when he keeps popping up everywhere everyday?!

Well, anyway, his assignment was in Pulau Ubin. His tasks were to clean the toilet, buy groceries and cook a meal or an old lady who had injured her foot. He didn't mess up but didn't exactly perform spectacularly though there were some shining moments like -
1) When asked to scrub mould from the tub, he asked for a demo first (duh!)
2) When he asked Pat Mok how to read 'ka fei fen' (coffee powder) and then blamed his inaptitude at Chinese on her 'illegible' writing
3) When he wanted to put oyster sauce and soy sauce into the fish porridge that he was making (really hope he was just kidding there - ever seen black fish porridge before eh?!)

The shoot was 3 weeks ago, on a Saturday. Incidentally, my foot got injured the day after that (like it had wanted the same royal treatment!) but I didn't get no porridge :(

HA HA HA -- Stress relieved. Sigh.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Rebel's Return To Innocence


Elvin was the first celebrity on a new segment of Shan Wee's late night show - "Celeb Control" - last night (err ... this morning?)

It was kind of Shan to announce at the start of his programme that Elvin was due in at 12 midnight and would play DJ for an hour. I haven't been listening much to Perfect 10 (or Power 98) these days, which I practically glued my ears to everyday previously, due to an influx of 'gangsta' music that I fail to appreciate. The time I spent on P10 last night was the longest in quite a while. Lol.

Well, anyway, Elvin came on right on the dot. (Poor guy, does he ever sleep?) Bright, cheery, cheeky and armed with a very agreeable playlist. I was grinning from ear to ear rocking to my favourite songs that Elvin incidentally picked :) although I would later suffer from a rare case of insomnia.


d(@.@)b

Class of 69 by Bryan Adams
E on why he picked the song: "It's from my JC and at that time, I was obssessed with listening to Bryan Adams."

Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli
(Thanks to E, I found out who the original singer to this 'Lauren Hill song' was. While hers has a unique R&B flavour, this version is more sensual and really very nice. I like it very much.)

Return to Innocence by Enigma
(By this song, I was trouncing my bed. I just couldn't believe that he picked all my favourite songs! I haven't heard Enigma in quite a while and this song just completely lifted my spirits so high up I could see insomnia peeking over my sleep horizon)
E on why he picked this song: "Sometimes I like to listen to this type of music to relax especially when I'm driving home."

Geek In The Pink by Jason Mraz
(I almost fainted that E liked this song because I loved it so much! Jason Mraz is da bomb!)
E on why he picked this song: "I like it because it's unconventional. Maybe rebellious."

The word "rebel" popped up many times during the hour including why he enjoyed Asian and African, post-colonial literature - he liked the rebelling spirit of the people who fought hard for their own destiny. Little did he surprise me with the answer to his choice of the following song, his rebellious streak shining through -

From This Moment by Shania Twain
(I wonder if he knows the story behind this song. Shania wrote it after her parents died in an accident. It's a tribute to their love that was unfortunately, perpetuated in death but from that moment (of the accident) on, they'd be together forever)
E on why he picked this song: "She's pretty (laughs) I like older women." Shan asked, "How old is too old?" E said, "There's no too old as long as you are young at heart." Shan teased, "Even if she's 45?" E laughed, "That's too old. I think about 35."

With Or Without You by U2
(Faint second time. Did he see that 'sold-at-U2-concerts-only' badge on my diary when he signed it? Should have sneaked him a peek at the U2 Sydney concert ticket from the back of my diary - he would have been so envious! Alright, I'm not sure how big a fan he is, but who can resist a U2 concert? Surely not Elvin the Rebel!)

Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind
E on why he picked this song: "It's during my army days. I bought this CD and listened to it everyday before going out to training." Shan asked, " What's your favourite army memory?" E replied, "I'd rather not remember anything from those days. There were happy times but I don't like this constriction thing."

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden
(When he wrapped his segment up with this song, I had no doubt why he's my favourite artiste. Even his musical taste is flawless :)

Today, I was hoping Shan would be super-efficient and have the podcast ready but as expected, it's a NO. I figure it won't be till after this Sunday, when there's a repeat of the show at 2pm (that means 3pm for Celeb Control) so don't miss it!

Instead, I discovered podcasts of an interview with my favourite-est DJ and musician BT when he was in town last September.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Haha ...

Sounds Like a B-day Treat :)

No ... do it everyday :)

Another Year Wiser Today ...

Happy 31st birthday to myself!!
w00t w00t

Had dinner with Fauzie and Pauline at Sofra Turkish Restaurant ... delicious kebab and nice ambience. We chatted and laughed till the restaurant cleared and we were the only ones left. It was awesome. Oh, and they gave me the U2 Vertigo Tour in Chicago DVD!!! Yippie! Though it's a different city, it'll definitely bring back fond memories of that awesome concert I went to in Sydney with Pauline.

Hmm ... forgot to ask Pauline if Alan had sent over those pix of me looking deliciously leggy in the final rays of the sun setting over Botany Bay ...

My birthday wish - the usual one -
May all my dreams come true!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Precious Little Things


I love receiving the National Geographic magazine in my mailbox every month.

Ok, maybe with the exception of last month when many pages were covered with the most spine-tingling creepy crawlies. Hehe ... not literally. It's just a feature on the rarest worms of Hawaii. But me being the chicken chicken (well, the normal chicken would have leapt in joy at the sight of her staple wriggly squishy protein-rich diet :), I have not flipped the magazine since I accidentally stumbled upon those ... ugh.

This month's issue, though, is the GREATEST. As though they know it's my birthday month so I deserve a special treat (well, especially now that I have many dull weeknights to endure since the last episode of ... ok, I'll stop obsessing with the E -word :)



I literally leapt in joy at the sight of a herd of magnificent African elephants on the cover (my sis thought i was gila (mad) but didn't I just have a wanderlust moment last week looking at those pictures on a certain traveller's website? Plus, just yesterday, ST reported the rescue of an abandoned baby elephant from a theme park. It's now residing at the Malacca Zoo and is seeking sponsors for its maintenance at the cost of RM1,500 a month. I wonder how I can contribute ... ). Then as I read the smaller prints, there's also a feature on Orlando, the Disney World city and where NSYNC was founded. I miss it - it's been more than 5 years since I was there - so lucky me, it's a double whammy for me on NatGeo this month!!

Earlier today, after withdrawing some cash from the OCBC ATM, I received my first birthday greeting. For once, the personalised message, which had always been about selling one financial product or another, put a smile on my weary face.

It's little things like these that make my day. v(^.^)v

Monday, March 05, 2007

red.dot



Heavenly ones. Painful ones. I had them both this past weekend.

Saturday afternoon, I spent a good 2 hours at the Red Dot Museum. I'm talking about a particular spot across from the Pacific Coffee Company. It's the first weekend of March, hence the 'flea market' was on. Not many stalls though, and although there were some attention-grabbing creations (mostly stuffed toys but that's really just me going for anything cute :), others were quite unimpressive. The Red Dot Design exhibition was not great either. Plus the price tags were pretty hefty too. By my standard, anyway, even for limited edition handmade pieces.

Ok, I'm very giam alright ... I have better ways of spending my dollars and more sense than cents to spare, so there. Especially now that I am reading The Famished Road, a beautifully worded and thought provoking novel by Ben Okri about the miserable lives of post-colonial Nigerian society seen through the eyes of an akibu (spirit child) called Azaro. Ultimately, it is about human strength and survival but into the fabric of Azaro's detailed narration is infused African mythology, customs and traditions, heightening my fascination with the continent. I must visit it soon! (I was researching for a project when I came across a website that documented a traveler's journeys to the great wilderness. His pictures of African and Asian elephants were AWE-INSPIRING! -- absolutely my favourite-est animals!)

In a way, the Red Dot Museum (which I've nicknamed The Oasis since my first visit there as it is a basin of tranquility lodged in chaotic CBD) amplified the magic realism of The Famished Road. Even the grafitti on the wall (though a little too 'organised') seemed to draw me into the mystical realm that straddled the platforms of life and death.

In the solitude of the Red Dot compund, I found this paragraph from The Famished Road especially inspiring -

In the middle of the clearing, a solitary wooden pole had been stuck into the earth. The pole had burst into flower. Little buds had grown out along its length and some of the buds had opened into the beginnings of branches. Dad said:

"This is what you must be like. Grow wherever life puts you down."

Xiaoming, Chevy, Elaine and I had an awesome time at Chongqing Huoguo. The steamboat soup came in 2 flavours which we got to choose from a menu. It was Chevy's first time having steamboat and she's gonna bring her family there when they visit at the end of this month.

Since XM definitely cannot take spicy food and Chevy can only take not too spicy ones, we had a portion of chicken soup and a portion of tom yum soup. The latter was the shiok-est thing ever! But only for the first round when it was so super spicy it made my nose run ... hehe. But after several rounds of soup top-up, it was no different from the chicken soup.

Yesterday, my sisters craved for soup from The Soup Spoon at Raffles City. This is another new addictive discovery that we have recently. The soup's awesome and comes in huge portion so we could drink to our heart's content. When upsized, we get a drink, a sandwich/wrap and a little chocolate bar. Yummy!

After downing the hefty meal, we decided to head for the Happy Place (Carrefour) for some cupboard/shelves shopping as we just 'unearthed' some paraphernalia that we had no idea where to place. That's where I got my second red.dot. I swear I didn't even touch the bloody cupboard, but I guess perhaps someone had brushed against it and the loose glass front crashed down on my foot!

There was no pain. I didn't think I was hurt until I looked down. There was a nasty gash. Funny it wasn't bleeding until some seconds later when blood started oozing out that I realised it was actually kinda deep. I started to panic. I worried about glass shards trapped in the wound. Luckily, Hui Ling had tissue to suppress the bleeding, and plaster to cover the wound as we headed for the doctor's.

It was only later last night that some form of soreness and tingling pain set in, perhaps due to an accumulation of acid there? Not sure. Anyway, the doc said he doubted there's any debris in the wound but asked me to observe and see if it starts to show any symptoms of inflammation or infection over the next few days. Hope that won't happen!

So today, I'm blissfully on MC. Photoshopped my pictures and patiently waiting for the last episode of Happily Ever After. Ok, sure I've watched it on mobtv, but still nothing beats seeing Elvin on tv. Sigh, after tonight, it's gonna be many boring nights till June! Hmm... then again, it's good that I'll be able to resume my nightlife - haven't been to the movies and anywhere else in ages! Time to stop obsessing about Elvin and start on more serious subjects - hmmm ... like what to eat tomorrow?

Au revoir for now!