Hi H2-07

I went to get something from the supermarket near my place tonight and the cashier asked why I had not been there for so long. I would usually go there several times a week, for anything from soup ingredients to biscuits or some late night snacks like peanuts or "Roller Coaster" since the store opens till midnight.

I pondered over her comment for a while and realised how right she had been. I had not stepped foot in there in May and June - TWO full months and I didn't even realise that. It's like the past two months just quietly zipped past, and now we are at the very tail-end - the very last day - of the first-half of 2007.

Tomorrow, the new 7% GST kicks into effect. There's midnight sale going on everywhere and I'm at home. For the past hour, I've been trying unsuccessfully to book tickets for Transformers. "The system is experiencing an unusually high traffic." What's everyone doing at home booking tickets for Transformers? There's a sale going right now, helloooooooo ...

... oh, I'm finally getting through -- I got my tickets v(~.~)v

Hello H2-07

Oh well ... hope the second-half of the year is as smooth-sailing, peaceful and rewarding as the first. I'm still looking for new career opportunities, of course ... hope I hear some good news from my favourite broadcasters.

Sigh ... some key people in the company have resigned. Why is it that everytime I'm beginning to feel comfortable in my job, something happens that signals I could be on a sinking ship and I had better have the shore in sight?

Bored: Writing Presentation Transcript

Whoever heard of writing a presentation transcript? A post-presentation transcript, at that.

One of the many crappy necessities that come with the perks of the job. I asked why it was needed, if it was simply a waste of time. The argument was that if a third person were to present, he'll know what to say.

Yeah right. Like that's gonna happen. But ok, I'll accept that in goodwill, since there's not very much I'm doing right now at work. Still in sort of a honeymoon period.

Oh, aside from revising the additional hours request forms umpteen times since Monday! Can you believe that? Something is really very wrong in the admin system here ...

Otherwise, I'm really looking forward to the next leg of my project.

Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam, China, Thailand ...

Captivity of Freedom or Liberty of Limitations?

I guess this is one of those nights when the mind goes philandering, digging up dirt from the deepest corners of the head.

I suddenly think of one of my recent favourites, The Famished Road.

An excerpt:
"I was a spirit-child rebelling against the spirits, wanting to live the earth’s life and contradictions. Ade wanted to leave, to become a spirit again, free in the captivity of freedom. I wanted the liberty of limitations, to have to find or create new roads from this one which is so hungry, this road of our refusal to be."

Do you see

captivity in freedom

or

liberty in limitations

?

爱: SNAP!

Remember the playing cards Snap? We requested a pack of those and a pack of Donkey when we were on Silkair. Feels great to be reliving our childhood! If only they also had Old Maid ...

Hmm ... a little strange to be reading between lines in comics, but this strip seems to have a deeper meaning. When the person and the timing are right, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP! Don't think thrice about snapping up love when you come face-to-face with it.

True?

Or an overactive imagination at work on a solitary Wednesday night.

A Day at the Pyramids

It's Chalcography ...

... NOT charcoalgraphy, the receptionists were quick to tell us as we got the tickets. We spent the next 2 hours at "Engraving the World", an exhibition featuring a selection of the chalcography collection from Le Louvre Museum, completely mesmerized by the technique, prints and more than anything, the details in the pictures, most of which depict remarkable events in French history. It's like you don't just see a cacophonous crowd, you can almost hear what each person is saying; details on the armour worn by the soldiers transfixed our eyeballs in curious amazement. All these details were hand-carved onto bronze plates by 15th to 16th century French artists. The exhibition left us gaping in wonder.

I woke up this morning feeling wonderful. It was a beautiful day - blue sky, brilliant sunshine. Thankfully, the day continues to be so.

I felt like a "head therapy" so I went to Chapter 2 and got a "bob" do. Rodolphe had recommended the salon so I thought I'd give it a go. Alas, my hair length was a little too short for the young stylist, he was worried I might scream at him for cutting my hair too short because it required a certain difference in length between the hair at the back of the head and that which frames the face, for the bob to be 'obvious'. I had to reassure him umpteen times that I've had hair as short as crew cut so there's no need to worry.

To go with the new do, I decided to also put some colour in it. This time,I chose a "mahogany dark blond" dye. Think it's slightly lighter than what I had last time, but given my unusually dark original hair colour, I'm not confident the colour will appear the way it should. I'll see tomorrow. Gee ... I hate hair dye ... it friggin' smelly! (I DIY-ed, bien sur)

It was always fun catching up with Pauline and Fauzie. Fauzie's story of her colleague with Bono hairdo was hilarious while empathy was all around when Pauline said she finally broke the news to the big boss - she's calling it quits after 7 years of editing corporate videos. Pauline's way more creative than that! She definitely deserves better opportunities elsewhere in the industry, doing something she enjoys.

Watching "Le Divorce" on tv now. Sigh ... French is truly music to my ears.

P.S. Have posted my 成都-九寨沟 pictures on Imagestation. All are welcome to browse d(~.~)b

爱: We Are The World ...

Kyoto, Japan 5-8 June 2007

成都-九寨沟 八日游 9-16 June 2007

爱: The most precious thing ...

... you can find to give. In the case of 手足, it's family love. That is so very precious. To us all.

Counting Down to 手足

Tomorrow's the big day! Actually it's later today - the premiere of Channel 8's drama of the year - 手足 / Kinship. The show has 80 episodes altogether, shown in two parts of 40 episodes respectively.

So must make sure I book the prime position in front of the TV for the next 2 months starting tomorrow at 7 pm sharp (tall order but I'll try!) for my Elvin feast. Haha ... of course, popcorn and drinks are also welcome.

In the meantime, hear out the cast's ghostly encounters. I wonder why they have chosen this topic when the show's about the trials and tribulations of two families ... is there a spirit at work?

Anyway, must check out Chen Tianwen's story. It's my favourite. Elvin's story ... hmm ... the way he tells it in such great detail, it's so disgustingly hilarious it's hardly Singapore ghost story ...

On a separate note, I'm uploading my travel photos on Imagestation but the site seems to be acting up. My photos don't show and it tells me to check back later so I'm putting that exercise on hold. Hope to complete it before I get back to work on Wed. Damn, I'm down with a slight flu now. Hope it explodes ... haha ... then can get MC but pai seh because I've been away from the office since 5 June!

Oh well, let's wait and see but definitely must see 手足 everyone!

See you soon!

Delayed

Should have been on the plane now to Jiuzhaigou. But flight has been delayed to 3 pm. So I have some time at hand to blog just a little.

Came back yesterday from Kyoto after attending (and presenting at) Sony Ericsson Creative Design Centre's Summer Conference. What an eye-opening opportunity! Sure there were butterflies in the tummy leading up to the presentation but well, actually it ain't too bad. The best part is, a bunch of Sony guys came to us after the presentation and said they were impressed and very interested in the presentation - that was dope :)))

Being amongst a bunch very creative (and some very cute) designers indeed was awe-inspiring. Attending one of the workshops, witnessing the sparks of ideas permeating the highly charged atmosphere - priceless.

Great too was the free day on the first day where my colleagues and I roamed the streets if Kyoto city, ending the night with a sumptuous meal of sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. The following, we jumped on the tour organised by SE. There were 3 that we could choose from - the first two would bring us to places that normal tour itineraries would to so we chose the third which included a Japanese tea ceremony ritual which we were highly interested in. But alas, time ran out and we missed the ceremony which was held at a temple that closed at 4.30 pm.

Nevertheless, we managed to visit 3 other temples - 1) the 1000-year-old Byodoin temple, 2) a temple which was dedicated to the fox deity, and 3) the 600-year-old Taizo-in temple at which we had dinner accompanied by live traditional Japanese music. The highlight of the meal was the Mustard Tofu - an unassuming ball of beancurd which stings the unaware with its wasabi core. Haha ... many fell into that pit! Not me though, cuz I took small small bites and saw the green core before it had the chance to do any damage.

The awesome dinner was followed by a short and simple green tea appreciation. Have a piece of sweet cake to kick-start, rotate the bowl of green tea in your hands two rounds clockwise, drink it in 3 and half gulps, rotate the bowl two rounds anti-clockwise.

After that, we pitted our skills at calligraphy. It was great fun seeing the Swedes have a hand at writing Chinese (or Japanese) and honestly, some of them weren't too bad! Almost as good as mine ... haha ... of course, I sucked at it. I wrote "LOVE".

The grand finale to this trip was a lavish dinner complete with geisha entertainment on our last day in Kyoto. What an art, being a geisha! A great trip through and through - shopping was amazing too ... love the tender, loving, care the Japanese put into presenting their goods so beautifully! And the handicrafts are just so irresistible. No doubt, I'll be back for more.

But now, I'm here ... waiting to jump on the delayed flight to Chengdu.

Pictures later - combo of Cairo, Kyoto and Chengdu/Jiuzhaigou.

What Lights My Way?

Pleased Pt. 2

Didn't hit my quota of 10 posts per month! Argh!

Oh well, it's been a crazy month - May. But it's turning out to be well worth all the hardwork (and late, sleepless nights). Had a checkpoint with big boss today and he's really, really pleased with the findings. Absolutely one of the best meetings (if not the best) I've had with him since joining the company. Gee, the final hurdle - Kyoto presentation. Hopefully, all goes well there too and then I'll be off to a week or so in paradise.

Jiuzhaigou awaits.

{ And remembering Elvin's words ... "Our mental strength can help us accomplish many things and overcome many difficult situations." }