Friday, March 31, 2006
brand politics
funny lunch conversation with the team yesterday:B: so how's Z coping so far?
J: not good, plus his branding cannot make it.
B and A: *pause* haha.
personal branding. how about that?
we've been so busy criticizing about fashion, firms, politicians and others that we fail to think how WE brand OURSELVES.
how do people see you?
like how a consumer scrutinizes its subject's exterior and interior before a purchase, don't we find ourselves doing the same for individuals? we're all guilty of judging by appearance, articulation and mannerisms. but most times, the lack of social intelligence really stands out (the wrong way). you're either born with it or you're not. she's seen professionally slack people selling themselves up the ladder with their strong personalities. so perhaps sometimes, its more about who you are rather than what you can do?
ha.
bee wrote this at 9:29 AM
Monday, March 27, 2006
of weddings
jan and andrew's long wait was finally over last saturday! the couple wedded at the trinity theological college, followed by a yummylicious lunch reception where she loved the escargot quiches and shitakes so much she went hunting for the name card of the caterer in hope of future use like housewarming or xmas gatherings this dec. it's lavish dine catering by the way, heh.
the 9 course dinner was held at the fullerton where she and the other half decided to splurge a night there as well. the hotel's perfect cept for the choice of room. if you're claustrophobic, don't ever check yourself into the courtyard rooms. they may be the cheapest of the range (at $269+++) but due to previous structural restrictions, you'll find yourself denied of an open view cos of this fucking HUGE beam that runs across the middle portion of the window. and so we found ourselves squatting unglamly for a glimpse of the courtyard and singapore river, bloody hell. thank goodness the package came with brekkies for two cos it's ridiculously pricey at $79 for two, all we had were mackers food cept for some kickass homemade marmalade and linseed bread. boy does she miss the five star experience in bali for a three star price.
digressed, back to the wedding. it went really smoothly and she had to admit her surprise at eeling's brilliant vocals when she sang a jazz number for jan and andrew during the dinner. good thing the couple decided to do away with tedious table-to-table yamsengs (chinese tradition of toasting yamseng loudly 3 times), the dinner ended about eleven where the next generation headed over to the postbar and finally up to the bride and groom's Straits room for more boozing. think the wedding planners deb and gary must have crashed out by that time already haha. btw, another six degrees of separation moment. chatted with lorraine , jule's good friend and travel partner whom she read alot about but never met in person and adrian whom she's talked to at work and turned out to be a good friend of the couple! plus she also managed to catch up with sheryl (ex housemate at murdoch who's also the childhood friend of jan) and van at the morning church reception too. pretty small world huh?
to jan and andrew, may you stay happy always and God bless.
bee wrote this at 9:31 AM
Friday, March 24, 2006
of tv shoots
despite the unnecessary stress and long standing (running) hours, she's always loved tv shoot productions. it's hard work but the satisfaction of hearing "it's a wrap" at the end of the long day makes most shitty things worth it. the process of a shoot's a constant vicious cycle. despite all prior prepro meetings and contact reports, surprises (nasty ones) almost always never fail to pop up, in particular:irrationable people whom despite previous agreements, REVERSED their decisions and have the audacity to insist you just do it anyway. which basically meant the crew had to re-setup the entire set AGAIN and the schedule got delayed and OT costs incurred. they should've adopted nike's slogan, fits them to the core.
silly impossible requests they make at the 11th hour that made an entire team and cast to go "HAR? (are you fucking kidding?)"
clients playing pseudo directors. what's up with them? we had sorcese and spielberg in action going on and on and on about the most minute things. actually, they reminded her more of wong karwai, directors with no scripts, cept they lack his brilliance and eye. why in hell do you wanna bother yourself with how the hand of the talent is placed when they've already paid for a proper director, director of photography, creative director and head of art to supervise?
spontaneous production people that make you laugh with their smooth delivery of hokkien vulgarities in a well spoken English sentence
thank God for the patience of a brilliant director to take all the shit from subject X during the entire shoot without once threatening to walk off the set
the sweet people who travelled all the way from city into some Godforsaken loyang industrial park just to bring you muffins and moral support for the entire team
God bless advertising.
bee wrote this at 9:17 AM
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
quote of the day
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
bee wrote this at 3:17 PM
Saturday, March 18, 2006
of sweet nothings
it's finally her time.she's not seen the other half for close to a month due to his killer school and workload lately. what made her heart smile when she came over to his place this morning was the picture of them in the silver frame (his sis took that picture for us at his cousin's wedding last year) sitting next to his desktop amidst the pile of paperwork.
anyhow, she spent the day helping him play editor and had a good laugh over the 10sec spelling bee sessions *hahahah*
aunty meow's making beef spaghetti now. awesome (now she has to figure a way of eating less tomorrow cos she's just eating WAY too much today)
sidenote: cafe iguana makes kickass shredded beef burritos and salsa. YUM.
bee wrote this at 7:08 PM
of slacking on the blog
*this post is for those in the ad, media and other highly stressful industries who'll have more empathy than those who leave their offices at 5.30pm sharp thinking people like us have no lives when we bitch all the time*the past weeks have been CRAZY, going to work at 9am and leaving close to midnight all the time drains all form of "nice and easy" bull. its funny how real work doesn't kill us but it's the unreal stuff that does. the client has effectively spun circles around us driving key servicing and creative people up the wall with their incessant outofthisworld requests and immediate turnarounds.
...i need a new tvc script cos this is not working. show me the revised tomorrow (when its er...5pm now?)
...i need to do an ad (and gives you 1-2 liner briefs without furnishing important information like strategy and directions) so when can i see it? tomorrow? (like WTF?)
...i have a meeting at 5, come over now (er, we wish we're copperfields and blaines but we aren't so you'll have to erm, wait cos it takes us an hour to travel from the city to the far side of singapore at peak hours?)
...and last of all, i'm your client. I CAN MAKE YOU DO WHATEVER I WANT so if you don't deliver what i ask you to, i'll call the CEO to fire you.
*YAWN* whatever la.
i should start taking kickboxing classes. it's good anger relief therapy.
sidenote to jules: we need to drink babe! haven't seen you for E-O-N-S, and jaime too : )
bee wrote this at 6:28 PM
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
house hunt
just love the quaint gas log fireplace, must be her romanticism at work.bee wrote this at 9:17 AM
Monday, March 13, 2006
of one month olds
that's baby erica, sonja and derrick's little angel who just turned one month old yesterday. with dozens of doting aunts around her, this little babe can look forward to being a princess.oh btw sonja, you can't stop us from spoiling her cos she's the first baby in the circle of DINKs, dating couples and singles. READ: none of us are close to having a child of our own so erica's gonna be our focal point *heh heh*
bee wrote this at 9:24 AM
of dad's birthday
celebrated dad's birthday in advance last evening in view of a crap work schedule for the week. mom and i decided not to splurge on gifts this year and put the money to better use by treating him his favourite chinese food instead. went to lei garden and had the usual fav melon soup (kick ass), deep fried soon hock (which no place else make better ones than them), lobster sashimi and eefu noodles.
the restaurant NEVER disappoints.
bee wrote this at 9:07 AM
shoe obituary
you know what the saying bout "its better being happy for a short period than to be not happy at all?" how apt considering my love affair with this pair of brown leather sandals. although its condition had deteriorated, it nonetheless survived the past two years in little singapore's erratic rainy seasons, wet toilet floors and roadside floods. thank you for your patience and endurance.
goodbye and may you be happy in shoe heaven.
bee wrote this at 8:59 AM
Thursday, March 09, 2006
of something called love
ahh. something beautiful she found from jaime.1 corinthians 13 (from the message bible)
love never gives up.
love cares more for others than for self.
love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
love doesn't strut,
doesn't have a swelled head,
doesn't force itself on others,
isn't always "me first,"
doesn't fly off the handle,
doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
desn't revel when others grovel,
takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
puts up with anything,
trusts God always,
always looks for the best,
never looks back,
but keeps going to the end.
love never dies...
bee wrote this at 11:08 PM
of the industry
work can really take its toll on you. everyone around her is going through the same cycle cept that situations are different. from not hitting targets to not being able to complete by deadlines to not being able to deliver 24-7 turnaround, not able to put a stop to anything unreasonable cos you're not the boss (and boss said yes), not able to find sufficient resources cos key people skipped town for a glamourpuss event abroad and worse of all, not able to sort solutions out cos it involves red tape and larger politically sensitive issues which is out of your control.and so what do you do?
she's decided to ask someone for help. she asked for peace, strength and guidance cos she finally understands how certain things are just meant to be. how some challenges in life are not within your reach and that you'll just have to leave it in his hands cos he has the answers and you don't.
like what she told j (the weekend before his breakdown at work), "look j, you can pour your life and blood into the account but you have to understand something too, does your client and top management appreciate it? if yes, go for it. if not, fuck it. you just have to do what you have/ can do, we're mere beings. there are things that we can't just MAKE IT HAPPEN. and really, does it really matter in ten years time?"
advertising is dynamic and liberal, like creative arts but with money in it. we love it and that's why we're in it, through good times and bad. the everyday useless battle may detract us into bitter cynics and hard people but hell, at least we know all ad people are one-of-a-kind (peas in a pod) and that at the end of the day, its the very industry which you've just slammed that you find welcoming you back with open arms for the much needed group hug as you seek comfort.
you can depend on me by tony bennett and kd lang
bee wrote this at 8:36 AM
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
HOON
cool street and hiphop inspired jewellery from Hoonbee wrote this at 8:44 AM
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
a little something for the night
like how a lollipop keeps a child contented, a little bit of affection, reassurance and love would keep an adult just as happy too.how she wished she was back in perth now. standing at the lighthouse watching the crashing waves and setting sun. driving along freeway south, sitting at oriels writing and sketching, pondering over things which brought her both tears and joy.
it doesn't take alot to make her smile, so why is it so hard? can't sleep now with such a heavy heart.
bee wrote this at 11:40 PM
of painful agency moments
today was the first time in her entire ad career that she's witnessed a fellow male colleague break down in the agency. it's horrible seeing him lose this impossible fight, and it affected her personally cos she went through a similar situation at an ex agency where the stress levels soared at alarming speeds and the only way of getting out is to let go of it all. how does top management expect a human with one body, one mind, 2 hands and 2 feet to be at several places at once yet be on hand to make 101 changes when given less than 24 hours to turnaround by the fucking client who incidently still can't decide on what they actually want? agencies are meant to be your creative and communication partners, not your fucking slaves. if all you want is a 15min turnaround 24-7 service, she'll suggest you take your fugly old ass to a sweatshop instead. and if you really want a reasonable delivery timeline, please get your objectives and strategies straight cos we're not here to decipher your vague instructions peppered with "you know what i mean?" condescending mannerisms. and oh, don't lie and threaten us with moving the account elsewhere or think you're God by sending emails to the CEO asking to fire us cos at the end of the day, it's just a job. agencies win some, agencies lose some. so FUCK YOU BITCH for making one of the most hardworking selfless suits throw in the white flag and break down in front of his team. it's heartbreaking really. and since she wasn't the best person for crying shoulders, she offered instead her pack of tissue. just wanna let you know that this team is behind you all the way cos they believe good work is never truly successful without the right support.bee wrote this at 9:13 PM
Monday, March 06, 2006
of something called the da vinci code
found this as her mind was wandering aimlessly."The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:18
on a separate note, have finally surrendered and gave in to dan brown's da vinci code over the weekend. she's always been interested in conspiracy theories hence the love for sidney sheldon when she was a tween. back to the book, she avoided reading it previously cos it was way overrated when first published. everyone was raving bout it and honestly, she saw no reason to read something which might end up confusing a borderline free thinker trying to separate historical facts from fiction. but she has to admit the book piqued her curiosity and became an accidental vehicle to convince and encourage non christians in reading up on other learning materials (so as to ensure they're not fed bull from dan brown).
bee wrote this at 9:12 AM
dilbert on advertising
how very apt.
bee wrote this at 9:10 AM
Sunday, March 05, 2006
of bold gym neighbours
she's got no qualms stripping and changing in front of her locker area in the gym but it's damn DISTRACTING watching some 40-something naked lady parading up and down the length of the locker room like she's some well clothed supermodel on the runway sans super body proportions. she found herself unwittingly stealing occasional glances at the bold lady as she spent the next 5-10 minutes slathering on body creams and whathaveyous. the ladies around ms bold's locker area keep their eyes downcast the entire time, probably cos it's just so bloody weird talking to your locker neighbour when her jiggly bits are staring you in the face.*haha* ms bee's such a prude at times.
bee wrote this at 8:58 PM
Friday, March 03, 2006
of "sian-ness"
it's bad enough rushing round like mad chickens and dealing with condescending no-substance people. then you find the sprain in your leg not getting any better. but you don't really give two hoots cos you're so frustrated. so you try to immerse yourself in alcoholic substances which perhaps might make shitty times seem like happy times. or perhaps talking and bitching would make you feel better? maybe, maybe not. she should just see the doc tomorrow lest the fucking left leg decides to turn blue and get itself infected with some dunnowhat virus again.is there anything to make her smile for the weekend?
guess not.
whatever...maybe a movie might cheer her up. or maybe she should just lock herself in the room with a book for the weekend.
bee wrote this at 7:18 PM
Thursday, March 02, 2006
the one with the fucking crisis
the crisis started like a little flame...wasn't put out when it was supposed to...
turned into a widespread fire...
with like only one fire engine to put out an entire burning forest...
and all the firemen went mad.
word of the day: it is CARDINAL you get it done (huh? wtf?)
how more brilliant can a day be?
bee wrote this at 5:30 PM
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
HUH.
she sure doesn't know how the system works. apparently, the cheque for claims in Jan ain't going through till she submits the later half of Feb's timesheets.what the fuck has February got to do with things that've HAPPENED in January?
she just doesn't get it.
bee wrote this at 9:52 AM
