alice in wonderland with a cigarette

the road not taken

2009-09-29T09:40:00.003+08:00

there're often times where we find ourselves so familiar with a particular environment we no longer question why we do what we're doing anymore

but that's not quite how she envisioned life to be. not how she wanted to wake up everyday and end the day with wondering if this is it

she always believed that if you start asking yourself if this is it, it simply means it isn't enough

she wanted something bigger. something more inspiring. something more passionate. something that would make her wake up with excitement and the stupid grin everyday

her much loved robert frost talks about the road not taken. more and more so, she's finding herself wondering what life would be if she'd taken the other path? what would you do if you've walked so close to the end of the road to realise its the wrong way? do you beat yourself up over it for making the wrong decision or would you walk right through it anyway and see what it brings?

chimp art

2009-09-07T09:04:00.003+08:00

apart from dabbling in instrumental hiphop, am into chimp art now, you'll probably find more on weburbanist graffiti and art sections.

leave me alone.

2009-09-07T09:00:00.002+08:00

the last thing you need a fresh monday morning is someone telling you how to do your job.

fucking annoying.

About wedding photography

2009-06-19T16:54:00.005+08:00

i just love the old school charm of black and white (reminds her of mafia) and indulging in formal pre wedding pictures with people that matter.

THE bouquet

2009-06-19T16:47:00.002+08:00

THE dresses

2009-06-19T16:44:00.003+08:00

perfect wedding dresses

we've come a long way

2009-06-18T09:04:00.002+08:00

its been 6 years.

and we're celebrating that and growing old together as mr and mrs mak.

about women in their 30s and best friends

2009-06-18T08:18:00.002+08:00

location: dinner @ jones the grocer
date: 16th june 2009
mood? silly, happy, nostalgic

when i was in my teens, mom used to tell me girlfriends are the most important thing for every woman to have. guessed i never quite understood that until i've hit my 30s last year.

the 4 of us have been friends for more than a decade.
celine since i was 13...
trish since i was 17...
tam when i was 19...

despite meeting all 3 at different phases of my life, perth was where we all bonded. it was a time where we saw each other through the ups and downs, the things we didn't do and wished we did, the things we did and wished we didn't do (ha). and if i had enough money, i'd brought them back to perth before bali for a "hen's night" getaway.

anyway, back to the evening.

we were awfully giggly that evening (sans booze). dinner conversation was utterly random. it hovered over men and blind dates gone wrong (could swear celine's got the most interesting dating stories), baby updates, work, coining singlish army code names to buying 4D on trish's new car plate number to debating about the origins of creme fraish.

we've decided to make our sporadic dinner occasions into a monthly ritual because as silly as the evening was, it made us realise how refreshing a little female sanity check with old friends can be. they're not afraid to tell it like it is.

i love old friends, they keep you in check.

pretty beach house tucked away in NSW

2009-06-16T17:46:00.002+08:00

its absolutely breathtaking.

http://www.prettybeachhouse.com.au/

cherub tatts

2009-06-16T17:43:00.001+08:00

been seeing alot of cherub designs but i still like this best for its forlorn expression

silly me.

2009-06-16T17:42:00.002+08:00

have actually stopped blogging for so long that i've forgotten the login and password.

*silly*

naumi

2008-01-31T09:58:00.000+08:00

another new chic small luxury hotel we can be proud of, the naumi @ seah street. owned by the hind group, naumi has only 40 rooms that come with a ladies only floor/suites filled with satin accessories, aromatherapy and aesop skincare products...awww...

its the answer to any female road warrior looking for a recharge.

its 30 this year

2008-01-31T09:22:00.000+08:00

haha. found an excellent old post on women hitting the big 3-0 by andy rooney. its worth a good read again!

- A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask,"What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think
- If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting
- A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a hoot what you might think about her or what she's doing
- Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course,if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it
- Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated
- A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her bestfriend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her
- Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know
- Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her

Yes, women over 30 are praised for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free". Here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realise it's not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage."

haha, how i love prolific writers!

about awesome tattoos

2008-01-31T09:11:00.000+08:00

by tattoo magu's man, she does awesome work with soft pretty colors
this is by kami (also from tattoo magu), absolutely love the shading work
can't remember where she found this but its been one of her favourites for the longest time. the design itself is not unique but the placement of it and how it sits so naturally near the arch is lovely

about random thoughts

2008-01-31T08:43:00.000+08:00

what's funny to you may not be to others. we can giggle about someone's really weird choice of haircut for one day but there is no need to crucify a person forever by immortalizing their haircut "fiasco" in the agency newsletter. its nasty and hurtful to make someone feel like they are the joke even though they should have known better.

ad agencies can be such unforgiving places.
__________________________________________________________________

the father should be christian-ed prime minister of everybody's affairs. he NEEDS to have an opinion on everything, and 99.99% of the time, he's right and you're wrong. For the simplest reason, he's FATHER and you, the little one obviously ain't know any better.

people should do this, people should do that, why can't people do this, why can't people do that...

...

__________________________________________________________________

chinese astrology can be so amazingly conflicting she's stopped reading it.

0.5 degrees of separation

2008-01-25T10:02:00.001+08:00

she got a call from her ex CD about 3 days ago.

f: "guess who just joined us at my agency bel?"
b: "who? who? oh no, not the ex client turned pseudo writer!!!"
f: "no. its the other one, ms D.Y."
b: "...O..M...G..."

talk about a fucking small world.

you really never know when you're gonna meet the fear of your life at times.

the darn emoticons

2008-01-25T08:46:00.000+08:00

its amazing how an emoticon's able to express what you feel faster and better than a string of words.

damn.

about expectations

2008-01-21T09:26:00.000+08:00

she's a victim of the expectation economy.

she's been through the sweet, the bittersweet and sometimes, sour moments.

so pls don't fucking blame her for having all these preconceived notions of how things should be in her ideal world.

the montage melbourne

2008-01-21T09:05:00.000+08:00

chic new apartments in melbourne. too bad its bout $100k off her 1 bed + 1 study budget.

darn.

the world is watching you fool

2008-01-17T09:29:00.001+08:00

ok, she's going to break her new year resolution of no bitching. figured she's not a very nice person and shouldn't try to pretend like one (but it was good while it lasted anyway).

its amazing how some people are so naive to think they can go on medical leave at least once a week, disappear throughout the most crucial periods when they are most needed and think they can get away with it. er...hello?

she once told a writer: "XX will rise to the occasion (pause) ... by taking leave"

this theory is apparently applicable to a few people, including the one who sings off key while banging at the keyboard at 100 decibels per second on MSN.

honestly, you get what you give.

about macbook air

2008-01-16T09:14:00.000+08:00

how can she stop salivating over this?

about a planner's nightmare

2008-01-16T09:07:00.000+08:00

about naggy stuffy fathers

2008-01-16T08:50:00.000+08:00

if there's anything to piss her off first thing in the morning, its the pseudo master and his never ending naggism.

when you make a point once, its ok. twice repeated, its tolerable. thrice repeated, its irritating. but going on and on for the rest of a 20 minute car drive? FUCKING ANNOYING.

she dreads conversations with the father cos he's always quick to assume and the sanctimonious attitude always brings out the ugliest in her, particularly with her impatience. she always walks away feeling like the brat who didn't know how to show respect to fathers. argh.

thank god for sweet kind mommies.

she wants little girls, not little boys.

boys are e.v.i.l.

industrial jewellery

2008-01-15T17:24:00.000+08:00

concrete and diamonds from sue dorman

concrete from tam aura

stainless steel and diamonds from konzuk

check out gallery flux for more art inspired jewellery and coolhunting for creative pieces

some people never change

2008-01-14T17:03:00.000+08:00

just found an old entry (repeated below)... funnily enough she's still inspired and traumatised by the same things.

inspiration: grace jones. sadness. grannies. poets
phobias: being disfigured. claustrophobia. war
childhood dream: artist. fashion designer. lawyer. writer
childhood nightmare: being alone (probably the reason why i am legend freaked her out)
collects: vintage bags. female portrait spreads. quotes
loves: orchestras. shoes. operas. books. zine magazines. japanese animation by mamoru oshi, katsuhiro otomo and osamu tezuka. noir films
appreciates: considerate people. integrity. being loved. self-indulgence
never wears: platforms. hotpants
always in: birkies. granny stuff

inspiration from grace jones that still puts a smile on her face

[MEN ARE TERRIFIED OF ME. I CAN EASILY STEP INTO THE MAN’S SHOE, AND THAT PUTS THE MAN IN A POSITION WHERE HE HAS TO BECOME THE FEMALE. THAT'S WHAT SETS OFF THE TENSION. BUT MY IMAGE IS SUPPOSED TO FRIGHTEN MEN - SO ONLY THE GOOD ONES COME THROUGH.]

random thought- fuss free travel

2008-01-14T12:02:00.000+08:00

it would cost them $8,600 for a 13-day/9 nights (based on 2 to go) for a south america outing to chile, argentina and brazil but at least it takes the worry bout getting accomodations, day travel and food sorted.

sometimes, its just nice to relax and leave it to the pros for a fuss free travel.

about sleeping in new york

2008-01-14T10:33:00.000+08:00

its almost impossible finding cheap chic in new york...

the best bets so far are:
gershwin hotel , artsy pad

hotel QT by andre balazs

the pod hotel, budget never looked this good

about REALLY weird things

2008-01-11T08:54:00.000+08:00

it all started with ernie and shumei while we were all chilling under the tree at mr van der beek's place on xmas eve.

go check out 2girls1cup on google. it's sick but you have to watch they said, the reaction videos of people who've watched the site (on youtube) is priceless.

so they piqued our curiosity, and we watched.

hahaha. they failed to warn mak the contents may make him throw up. anyhow, the other half walked out after catching 5 seconds worth of footage. as i was watching the 3 videos, i was trying to figure out at the same time if this shit (literally) is for real, how can they possibly enjoy what they're doing i absolutely cannot imagine.

copraphilia sure is weird. only for the select few sia.

watch it ONLY if you have a strong stomach.

dwelling in the home of your dreams

2008-01-10T11:36:00.000+08:00

one of the drivers why she chose to move out of singapore. at least there's a chance she might get to own one of these 10 years from now if she works hard.

brilliant earth's conflict free diamonds

2008-01-10T11:31:00.000+08:00

conflict free diamonds, how better to indulge in guilt free luxury after catching blood diamond

new year, new start

2008-01-10T11:16:00.000+08:00

she's finally decided to open up her blog again.

new year, new resolutions.

one of which is to be less angry and more zen. so no more bitching!

ha.

wall art

2008-01-10T11:05:00.000+08:00

ain't this a pretty sight! check out beearo for more wall art installations

Capoeira

2007-10-03T11:38:00.001+08:00

the beauty of capoeira's fluid movements.
damn. wished she could do that too

about perth

2007-10-03T09:01:00.000+08:00

lovely piece of oil at the perth royal show
dinner at matsuri, her absolute fav
us at freo

words of wisdom as always from the fairy shop
oysters from kailis, HEAVEN.
next time you're looking for fresh affordable seafood in freo, go to kailis
at the freo beach
more fun at the perth royal show

the best vacations are the ones where you do absolutely nothing.

maya prass

2007-09-21T14:15:00.000+08:00

her favorite designer of the moment.

absolutely love the gorgeous prints, fabric and style.

about zingara cucina

2007-09-21T14:08:00.001+08:00

these days, its all about UNavailability that rocks.

about 40 bond in NYC

2007-09-21T13:58:00.000+08:00

ian schrager bringing ARTchitecture.

awesome.

about erica

2007-07-24T14:58:00.000+08:00

baby erica. super cute!

about new forms of tourism

2007-07-19T09:54:00.000+08:00

grief tourism.

perhaps not something new but definitely more prominent now...

the evils of OPERATION SKIP INTERN

2007-07-16T13:53:00.000+08:00

pre-lunch conversation over MSN...

this is what happens when you're trying to avoid playing nanny to an eager beaver intern 5 days a week.

trishy says (12:22 PM):
let's leave!
bel says (12:22 PM):
shhhhhh
bel says (12:23 PM):
i was talking bout lunch with jehil and i saw angela looking at me again
trishy says (12:23 PM):
no!
bel says (12:23 PM):
so i avoided all eye contact, feel damn mean but...
trishy says (12:23 PM):
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA, she's sure to ask us anyway
bel says (12:23 PM):
anyway...leehuang stuck in 2min talk with david...so we wait about 4min more?
trishy says (12:23 PM):
okies
bel says (12:23 PM):
i could see her looking at me waiting for me to ask only
trishy says (12:24 PM):
she ll juz say wru gals gg, can i come

Just as we were keeping it hush, fran shouts across the room, HEY WHERE YOU GUYS GOING FOR LUNCH?

franncesca has been added to the conversation.

trishy says (12:25 PM):
TOO LOUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
trishy says (12:25 PM):
UR DUM!!!
franncesca says (12:25 PM):
shuddup
franncesca says (12:25 PM):
who's dum?
trishy says (12:25 PM):
U!!!!! ur dum
bel says (12:23 PM):
i was talking bout lunch with jehil and i saw angela looking at me so i avoided all eye contact
franncesca says (12:25 PM):
ohhhhhhhhhh

J * HILL has been added to the conversation.

franncesca says (12:25 PM):
sorry
trishy says (12:25 PM):
ur DUMB
franncesca says (12:25 PM):
so how not asking the intern for lunchie la
franncesca says (12:26 PM):
trish hates intern HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHA
franncesca says (12:26 PM):
LIES!
trishy says (12:26 PM):
LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
trishy says (12:26 PM):
LIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
franncesca says (12:26 PM):
no luv
bel says (12:26 PM):
so hard to find place at kremas for so many people lah!!!
trishy says (12:26 PM):
im hungry lets go, bel and i leave first
J * HILL says (12:26 PM):
I go for briefing first
trishy says (12:26 PM):
plan plan
J * HILL says (12:26 PM):
trish, wait for me
trishy says (12:27 PM):
why? im hungry
trishy says (12:27 PM):
i wanna go NOW
bel says (12:27 PM):
ok trish i go with you first
bel says (12:27 PM):
jehil, you go with LH, fran, we see you at lift
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
i wait for jehil la
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
u all go chop seats
trishy says (12:27 PM):
now laaaa
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
oh so i goin now ah
trishy says (12:27 PM):
how to chop seats for 3 ppl??
trishy says (12:27 PM):
come now
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
jehil alone, you gonna ask the intern?
bel says (12:27 PM):
this lunch is named OPERATION SKIP INTERN
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHHAHAHHAHAH EVIL BASTARDS
trishy says (12:27 PM):
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
franncesca says (12:27 PM):
i love it@
trishy says (12:28 PM):
bel la
franncesca says (12:28 PM):
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHHA
trishy says (12:28 PM):
not me
franncesca says (12:28 PM):
bel so mean
franncesca says (12:28 PM):
AHAHHAH ure the instigator ah trish
trishy says (12:28 PM):
puei! not me
bel says (12:28 PM):
TRISH we go first?
trishy says (12:29 PM):
okies
bel says (12:29 PM):
fran, you bring LH along? she's with david now
trishy says (12:29 PM):
frans cmg too
trishy says (12:29 PM):
nooo
franncesca says (12:29 PM):
oh so how?
franncesca says (12:29 PM):
do i come now or later u bitches
trishy says (12:29 PM):
juz comeeeeee
trishy says (12:29 PM):
NOWWW
franncesca says (12:29 PM):
then LH?
trishy says (12:29 PM):
how to chop seats for 3 ppl??
trishy says (12:29 PM):
are we talking in circles!
trishy says (12:29 PM):
LH ll go w JEHIL
bel says (12:29 PM):
i messaged LH already, told her we'll go first
bel says (12:30 PM):
bel is walking out NOW
trishy says (12:30 PM):
okok
trishy says (12:30 PM):
dumb lets

trishy has left the conversation.

franncesca says (12:30 PM):
oh okie
franncesca says (12:30 PM):
dammit
franncesca says (12:30 PM):
okie byeeeeee

J * HILL has left the conversation.

and it took us 8 minutes to carry out this operation.

the bali nusa dua escape

2007-07-05T15:04:00.000+08:00

yummy lunch

doesn't feel like bali does it?

discovered babybel cheese, farking cute

being cheesy. jehil, me and alvin

jehil and leehuang

fooling around at alex's farewell

2007-07-05T09:32:00.000+08:00

alice, me, fran and weekim

infamous chopstick sisters chels and trish (both tall and superslim)

uber hum sap (weekim on the left) and VIP of the night, alex and endless sakes, umeshu and asahi

rocker yana and designer celeste

alex, jackie, me and franny

gregg fleishman flatpack homes

2007-07-05T09:30:00.000+08:00

sustainable homes for the unpredictable earth today.

about bali

2007-05-21T12:17:00.000+08:00

am leaving for bali on wed morning for a complete free loader stay at the westin nusa dua while a couple of her colleagues slog their time at the fast food conference. she's kind of freaked out over the recent tidal wave happenings around indonesia and can only hope and pray nothing of the killer tsunami scale would damage any place ever again.

what're the chances of a non- swimmer like her surviving?

read what the fuglys have to say about bali *completely freaked*

about my blueberry nights

2007-05-21T12:00:00.001+08:00

finally caught 300 in DVD over the weekend, awesome cinematography, its tough making gore look good. am waiting in anticipation of wong kar wai's my blueberry nights.

about a dream

2007-04-16T08:59:00.000+08:00

had a dream last night.

can't remember the details but she woke up feeling poignant longing and sadness. what would she do when she goes over to melbourne alone?would the transfer be approved? would the agency people there turn out to be like the family she has here? would she be able to survive without her mentor? would the clients be as dim or more demanding? would she make the cut there?

many what ifs. many possibilities too.

she wished she would be unafraid to go where life takes her and know she'll be strong.

about new things at borders

2007-04-02T08:46:00.000+08:00

another brilliant creation from martha stewart, blueprint. an excellent read!

the pursuit of happiness

2007-03-05T09:20:00.000+08:00

most touching film she's seen of late. if you haven't watched it, pls go catch the pursuit of happiness. sometimes all we need is a gentle nudge to shake us back into reality and understand no matter what frustrations we face here, at least we still have safety nets to catch us, be it family, friends or a roof over our heads.

be grateful and most of all, be happy.

reversible destiny lofts

2007-02-28T16:44:00.000+08:00

who the fuck wants to stay in a house where you lose your balance and not find what you need every morning? not too sure about its concept of architecture against death. she reckons it would may make you die faster cos of high blood pressure from unnecessary stress. sheesh!

to-die-for time keepers

2007-02-28T16:38:00.000+08:00

oh gosh. the shutter watch from vacheron constantin is an absolute beauty.

about being in love

2007-02-26T11:41:00.000+08:00

there's something about this illustration that warms her heart.

about this thing called "married" couples

2007-02-26T10:59:00.000+08:00

another lunar new year has come and gone.

angpows no longer hold great fancy as you inch closer to the 30 line. in fact, it becomes an embarassment to receive something meant for the "youthful" and little ones. and when you try to reject it politely and perhaps discreetly, all they do is proclaim loudly that "it's ok, as long as you're not married, you will have to take".

great.

just another in-your-face reminder that the clock is ticking.

she'll get round to it when the time is right and more importantly, when she's finally found someone she knows is the best person to spend her life with. no doubt no decisions are ever perfect but she's glad to take the time now with all the sad karma going around that only adds to the delusions about marriage vows. it breaks her heart to know that the saddest thing is not about falling out of love but about making an enemy of the person whom at some point in your life, had once loved so damn much.

and we ask ourselves, where had all the good love gone?

house hunt

2007-02-15T10:52:00.000+08:00

didn't have time to check out the market recently but here's an interesting one at south yarra, beverley hills

erica's one year old bash

2007-02-14T16:51:00.000+08:00

princess erica turns one!
me and erica
eve and erica doing a funny face together
now that's what we call character

about the work

2007-02-14T16:43:00.000+08:00

IT IS FINALLY OVER. the stressful competitive reviews which she's pulling her hair about over the past month is finally over as of today. two of which went pretty well with the exception of the first one where she was still nervous and stiff in expressing her thoughts. anyhow, all's well now and she can finally take a breather, watch discovery in the evening without having stacks of notes in front of her. *woots*

some ironic but funny shit came up today during the prezo. here we are going on and on about having single minded communications when the MD (client) commented that the agency just presented a TVC that's a complete opposite of what the planners here were trying to make a case about. how fucking horrifying is that? anyhow, the issue has since been solved (perhaps for now).

about the agency trip to HK

2007-01-30T08:34:00.000+08:00

the BBDO agency trip to hong kong was a blast.

adventure 1:
one notoriously sleepyhead art director woke up at 5.30am when the united airlines flight's boarding gates close at supposedly 6.15am. he made it on time, with his hair styled too. highly impressive.

adventure 2:
the super gancheong mama traffic director's boots split. she had to superglue it on the spot before boarding the plane and explain to the anal retentive customs why she needs to bring glue on board.

adventure 3:
ms bee almost screamed at the young chick at the boarding gate for being fucking yayapayaya. apparently, UA does not allow stuff like lip glosses (even in lippy pots) to be brought on board the flights. this should've been highlighted when they were checking in the luggages and NOT WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO BOARD THE FUCKING PLANE. she hates being bullied into giving up three of her expensive lip balms to someone who looks unusually excited at confiscating it and perhaps, keeping it for herself. ms bee made quite a ruckus and the chinese senior male custom allowed her to bring it on board as long as she stuffed them into a ziploc carrier. er...what's the point? cos apparently once they've walked through the detector, she was allowed to take her lippies out of the ziploc and carry them on board as per normal. hmmm.

adventure 4:
the second batch of agency people flying cathay pacific arrived MUCH later than anticipated cos one blur art director went AWOL after arriving at the hong kong customs. mr space cadet thought we had to make our own way to the hotel and decided to take a cab without informing his colleague who spent a fucking half hour searching for him. thank God she wasn't on the second flight.

adventure 5:
a senior art director apparently took the WRONG luggage and only discovered it when his performance outfit wasn't in there. the weirdest thing was...it was the exact same luggage, same surname and same keycode!!!! damn! it belonged to some korean businessman who was smart enough not to take the wrong luggage. the art director found his right one after exchanging it at the airport with a hefty cab bill.

adventure 6:
though the united airlines flight was scheduled to take off later than cathay, the UA people had to check in earlier cos of longer custom checks. 7 people on the UA flight missed the bus ride from the hotel to the airport cos they were stuck in a jam at the hong kong island tunnel.

phew.

and the rest?
- found out who the silent drinker is
- found out some people had personal agenda and had to cheek to disappear during D&D and turn up for free post party booze later. not shy huh?

a real adventure it is. haha.

about the little things in life

2007-01-24T14:17:00.000+08:00

...when he offers his hand for you to doodle silly face tattoos when you're stressed
...when he calls to find out how your day went despite only having an hour's rest the night before
...when he scolds you for procrastinating the VERY much needed dental appointment
...when he lectures you for buying another unnecessary pair of shoes which you know you won't wear but buy it cos its so pretty
...when he hits your hand to stop you from overpicking the cuticles until it bleeds
...when he pulls the covers up to keep you warm when you're asleep
...when he's just being a kid fixing some star wars lego

it's always the little things that move you.

holy cow!

2007-01-24T14:11:00.000+08:00

PUMA Lifestyle Photo Blog

that's chiawei featured on the puma blog! cool shit!

of itunes peep

2007-01-17T08:27:00.000+08:00

ok. she's guilty of being an itunes peep of late. hey, what do you expect when everyone in the agency's on the shared folder. damn, she's not stealing it so why is she so guilty???

about the katong home gathering

2007-01-03T08:47:00.000+08:00

first jan 2007 was spent with the buds and other half at her new place for a mini house gathering.

menu of the evening:

- tuna pasta salad with baby asparagus & chickpeas in light olive oil (turned out kinda bland which prob suited only celine and ms bee's anti-salty taste buds)

- soba salad with sesame soy sauce dressing (soba turned out horribly soggy. lesson learnt, buy proper soba and not the instant 3min sorts)

- sushi (from sakae. saviour of the night for those who don't dig bland food haha)

- dessert: mini banana muffins with mars topping (compliments of celine dammit forgot to take a picture of the yummy dessert) and awfully chocolate icecream from lillian

- fav alcohol of the night: choya and brown brother's sweet dessert wine moscato (i think). for some reason, nobody really wanted the vodka and she now has 2 bottles of it (one from trish and another from jules) in addition to her own raspberry vodka? perhaps she'll consider doing a vodka nite...

VIP of the night: baby erica who coughed up a mini furball after chewing on ms bee's furry teddy bear

she's now planning for another boardgame themed gettogether for the photographers and designers night. will probably do it before CNY for some festive cheer! woots!

the pre xmas gathering at TOPOS

2007-01-03T08:41:00.000+08:00

xmas lights put up by alan
abi and mak
how cute. an orchestrated seating according to sizes from left bryan, ming and ernie. hee hee
trust me. this shot was "unposed". abi and i agreed that computers of any sort should be banned in the company of these photographers, designers and the architect.

about going to bali

2006-12-22T08:58:00.000+08:00

they're going to villa semana in ubud bali, 27-30 dec!

as usual, it's a post boxing day getaway and it'll be nice to chill out in nature and get that long awaited tan (pray it ain't gonna rain) and perhaps some inspiration on:

- the massive competitive research decks due in jan that're driving her nuts now

- easing frustrations when stubborn creatives present everything but what's required. is there something she's missing here?

- more random paintings

- dress designs so she can put the raw silk fabric to good use

woo hoo!

the cat

2006-12-22T08:56:00.000+08:00

painting number 2.

how the cat morphed into a mouse.

xmas greeting

2006-12-20T09:09:00.000+08:00

MERRY XMAS dear friends,

lurv mak and bee

snippets of new place

2006-12-20T08:59:00.000+08:00

sweetie helping to patch some paintwork up
love the floor to ceiling entertainment cupboard
that's her beloved floor-to-ceiling wardrobe (space small la, so everything has to be maximised) note: bad photography is when people can't tell where the wardrobe is from this picture *guffaws* she knows she's hopeless at taking pictures, that's why it's never been a career choice.
her window bay

but of cos, some of the pics were taken during work-in-progress. she'll take more of the finished look this week *when she gets round to downloading it that is*

how to be a BS genius

2006-12-20T08:57:00.000+08:00

a little late to be blogging this but look what her other half gave for her birthday! :)

about painting again

2006-12-20T08:55:00.000+08:00

the first attempt at oil painting after all these years.

leave a gift for bee!

2006-12-19T09:23:00.000+08:00

Xmas Stocking

leave a gift for evangelist78@hotmail.com

get your stocking

of some very nice mornings

2006-12-19T09:06:00.000+08:00

here she is. sitting at her office desk alone, watching the heavy misty downpour outside and listening to nat king cole's the christmas song.

what she needs is real snow so she can have a real excuse to wear those tan knee high boots again.

damn, she really loves xmas.

:)

about MRT morons

2006-12-18T10:39:00.000+08:00

enough said.

silkradio

2006-12-14T08:56:00.000+08:00

for those into electronica and underground hiphop, pls check out www.accuradio.com (silkradio).

bad sex by amon tobin featuring chris morris (album xen cuts) kicks ass!

little quirks about moving homes

2006-12-12T08:59:00.000+08:00

1. waking up in the east is surreal cos there's no sound of traffic and the air's different, really
2. don't throw away ratty drool covered pillows and bolsters cos when you're in a new home, familiar comforts do count
3. be an active part of the packing process so you don't have to be SO damn lost when unpacking (referring to the father of cos)
4. throw out old stuff periodically and not only when you're shifting
5. finding long lost ear studs after the house has been cleared
6. rediscovering a "forgotten" wardrobe (stuff which she bought eons back on impulse and given a new lease of VIP shelf life now)
7. movers amazed by the hundreds of shoes between 3 people
8. some things never change. like how the mother insisted on using matches instead of an automatic gas stove?

will post some pics up tomorrow *big smile*

of real bad b- grade films

2006-11-27T14:53:00.000+08:00

she made the horrendous mistake of choosing tenacious d over happy feet last evening (didn't have any other options cos its between some weird chinese film and some horror thingy at century square). it's like some very very bad remake of ken russell's tommy. ok, she's just totally insulting ken russell with this comparison now.

ah well. you need the real bad ones to make the average b grades stand out i suppose.

yuck!

house hunt

2006-11-24T11:16:00.000+08:00

oh my. such a lovely home at cleeve court toorak, love the plans and its simplicity but so out of reach...hate those POA descriptors.

one life

2006-11-23T17:15:00.000+08:00

can someone just applaud the founder (or glorified bull for non advertising believers) of one lifers?

oh?

2006-11-23T16:17:00.000+08:00

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE WHO KEEP SAYING THEY'RE BUSY WHEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY OK?

xmas wish list

2006-11-23T10:19:00.000+08:00

thought she may as well work on her xmas wish list since she's not on birthday leave (some urgent stuff due for review this friday)...

1. metallic havaianas (size 37/38)
2. anything from scott adam’s dilbert
3. the other side of advertising by Wallace Gordon
4. Benetton, the family and the business by jonanthan mantle
5. trip to Bangkok or australia
6. gap or topshop voucher

i, lucifer

2006-11-23T09:47:00.000+08:00

she can't wait for glen duncan's i,lucifer to be out.

the book was awesome so hopefully director dan harris does it justice.

revenge of the tonsils

2006-11-22T16:08:00.000+08:00

she's got the inflamed tonsils AGAIN. probably infected from the lymph nodes virus and consecutive days of eating krema's well toasted sandwiches and super spicy chilli beef soup, hot crispy pizzas, dry cereal and black coffee.

it fucking hurts to even take a sip of water. all she wants to do now is lock herself up in the room with good irish coffee, discovery and not talk at all, hug her pillow and snuggle under the covers and tell herself the flaming throat and stiff neck is going to be ok very soon.

she needs antibiotics...like now.

btw, daniel craig does grow on you, or perhaps he's special cos he speaks to the growing society of disillusioned women.

xmas toys

2006-11-22T15:41:00.000+08:00

the other half found this cute little snow family when they were out xmas browsing. adorable.

happy birthday

2006-11-22T15:38:00.000+08:00

thank you jules. girlfriends rock :)

about the swollen lymph node (again!)

2006-11-21T14:02:00.000+08:00

had the biopsy done last friday morning. though it was a fast and simple surgery where she got knocked out by general anaesthetic, the whole idea of incisions, operating theatres and surgeons in scrubs doesn't sit well. the last thing on her mind before spiralling into unconsciousness was asking the big guy up there to "keep her safe". woke up in a coughing fit and it took some time for the nausea to go down before swallowing some tasteless tuna sandwich. she couldn't turn the head freely and suffered the stiff neck syndrome for the past three days, yuck. thank goodness the surgery tape came off today.

cryptic quote of the day..."she got kimchi disease from too much hokeypokey sushi"

random design finds

2006-11-10T11:49:00.000+08:00

david jameson's interesting work.

melanie olle's grandma's revenge, this is so cool.

about flameless candles

2006-11-09T18:12:00.000+08:00

wahhh.

hate to sound "suaku" but she's awed by flameless candles. do you know anywhere that sells that here?

pics from CCA

2006-11-07T09:08:00.000+08:00

me and trishy

with the visa team @ CCA. that's lovely father figure peter (seated extreme left) who's left back home to sydney after almost a decade with the network, chels, maddy, trishy (in gold) and me. and er...jon pye overlooking us.

haha.

about dates

2006-11-03T15:09:00.000+08:00

her colleagues apparently thought her birthday's 2 nov instead of 22 so she got her well wishes... about 20 days early.

addy: happy birthday bel! enjoy your day! hope you're not working today!
theresa: happy birthday bel! are you on birthday leave?
celeste: hi sweetie, Happy Belated Birthday to you! Sorry – forgot to send you this mail yesterday.

hehe. cute.

CCA

2006-11-03T08:54:00.000+08:00

ahhh.

today's the night of glory which all creatives have been waiting for.

and the tool to muscle higher salary and promotion with the ECDs later.

funny conversations she had this morning:

b: are you going?
writer 1: nah, not shortlisted.

b: are you going?
writer 2: Is it tonight??I'll GO!!Who wanna join me? I am now an expert at gatecrashing since 2002 which was last year I actually had a ticket! Come, lets go free makan and make contacts. Bring your resumes!

b: are you going:
art director: of cos! i want to check out the food, it's ritz carlton you know.

b: are you going?
suit 1: babe, check this out. my boss asked and they only give tics to the creatives.

b: are you going?
suit 2: limited tables this year so only creatives are going.

b: are you going?
suit 3: maybe crash the post party later (now that's a perfect answer!)

about idiot hawkers

2006-10-30T13:51:00.000+08:00

had lunch at some duck place (opposite bugis junction, below digipost) last saturday with sonja where she wanted to slap some annoying 30 something hawker.

the duckstore "uncle" had the gall to call her "xiao mei mei" not once but three fucking times LOUDLY. she and the teenage girl (in front) exchanged looks at each other, each wondering who's the "meimei" uncle was referring to. so you can imagine the teenager's surprise when the idiot hawker was actually addressing soon to be twenty eight ms bee instead of the teen.

fucking asshole.

of idiotic resorts

2006-10-27T13:33:00.000+08:00

just cos its zouk out doesn't mean you can double the room rates.

blood suckers.

about the reindeer

2006-10-27T08:59:00.000+08:00

ooh ooh.

pop up christmas restaurants.

damn!!!! she wants to go london too.

house hunt

2006-10-25T17:14:00.000+08:00

an excellent new find in melbourne, prahran.

deer park hotel sri lanka

2006-10-25T16:42:00.000+08:00

if you're looking for a damn good way to chill in sri lanka, this is it.

about the road trip with seniors

2006-10-25T10:17:00.000+08:00

went for a church dinner last sunday (like whoa!), was pretty impressed with the young waiter's good manners and quality of food at downtown east marquee. too bad the program dragged on too long. can you imagine having a 20 min break during each serving? the both of them (plus many others) got impatient and went out for ben and jerry's in between.

but that's not the part she wanted to blog about.

the other half had to leave earlier so she was supposed to hitch a ride with his mom and uncle jason back to tampines and grab a cab home from there. simple no?

auntie meow was sweet and didn't want her to spend on unnecessary cab fare so she got auntie kat to see if they can give ms bee a lift home since they're living in the north. but auntie kat had a better idea and called her sister, aunt irene who happens to live just 5min away for the free ride. after some confusion about the meeting (pick up) point, ms bee finally settled in the car with:
uncle harry and his chilli padi wife
pastor mary
aunt irene
ms bee

she had a bad gut feel that the ride home wasn't going to be as easy and fast as she hoped cos the driver was doing everything a driver SHOULD NOT. road hogging, slowing to a stop on a highway, straddling two lanes, almost going past a red light and general bad sense of direction. not that she has great directional sense, in fact she's pretty hopeless on unfamiliar territories. anyway, here's the lodown on the little road trip adventure with the fogies.

left downtown east at 11.10pm after 10min of waiting around and confusion on meeting points.
got into car and drove along at 15km/hr.
pastor mary doesn't know the way home from pasir ris, neither does uncle harry nor the driver aunt irene.
trial and error begins, took a couple of wrong turns here and there
uncle harry insists on going down a certain road which would bring us to marine parade.
aunt harry insists it doesn't seem right.
but since he's the only man in the car and he was SO sure, the ladies listened and drove and everyone ended up at ulu changi air base.
ms bee decides to say something.
why not we turn the car around, head back to where we were and follow aunt harry's gut feel instead? all agreed and finally found our way to pastor mary's home after 45min of road trip in the dark.
ended up home slightly past midnight.

good gosh. lesson learnt? men don't know it all. at times, its better to listen to the wife.

twas funny looking back at the whole experience but she remembered freaking out and feeling frustrated then.

damn surreal if you ask her.

haha.

about remembering sweet moments

2006-10-20T09:56:00.000+08:00

it bugs her that she's not able to look at the old heartwarming smses each time she feels down now. apparently, she's not able to access the old SIM card cos its not 3G. so what's she to do now? plug into some chet baker and hopefully a glass of red might make her spirits lift a little.

about kaffe krema

2006-10-18T13:11:00.000+08:00

trishy introduced her to this kick ass cafe at international plaza (unlikely place but true) yesterday and she's been hooked since.

it's called kaffe krema and reminded her so much of melbourne. small set up, only 2 tables and some bar stools but it's got a great cosy and casual atmosphere. the menu is awesome (corn beef sandwiches!) and soups are HOMEMADE, not the starchy ones outta a can.

most amazing of all, the owner kat makes the effort to address all her customers on a first name basis. now that's service at its best, nothing extraordinary but the little extra effort does make a difference.

where else can you find tasty healthy food, affordable prices and kick ass service?

simple pleasures are indeed heavenly.

of work-in-progress

2006-10-17T09:27:00.000+08:00

she's been glum and frustrated of late cos the father wouldn't stop bugging at every possible occasion on the ongoing progress for new home, of which she couldn't give definite answers to some. it came to a point where she simply avoided going near him so he wouldn't remind her of oldthingsnewthings to be done. she had to bite her tongue SO MANY times to keep from saying spiteful things like "if you think you know so much bout how things should be done, why don't you go do it yourself?" but of cos. that's rude and she'll probably be hurt by her own selfish actions than anything else and so she keeps quiet. she had some reservations from the onset of this arrangement but its half way now so they just have to hang in there and finish it anyway. it's tough working with loved ones cos everyone obviously has a different working style and its tough juggling expectations on both sides. worse thing is, there's no nicer way of telling family and loved ones to "back off and listen, this is what needs to be done and just do it". no matter how professional you try to sound, it'll end up being hurtful or negative somehow.

and honestly, she doesn't quite know how to handle delicate arrangements like this.

thankfully for once, she can turn to work. at least that's something that can keep her contented for now. damn if the stomach flu isn't going away. gonna see the doc later cos the bug's been going around afflicting gastric prone people in the agency. fuck. one viral infection after another. thank god the lymph node swelling seems to be going down (for now).

blogger beta

2006-10-16T09:43:00.000+08:00

in view of controlled privacy, she's finally decided to migrate to blogger beta. not sure if it'll affect anything but if you encounter some problems, it's probably work-in-progress.

work is work is work is work. the least she can do is be professional and responsible bout it.

of being really happy

2006-10-13T09:04:00.000+08:00

it's been a week in her new role and she's loving it.

of cos there were moments where she freaked as the new responsibilities can be quite overwhelming. like improvising on creative briefs which account directors pass over. what if she was wrong? what if she wasn't experienced enough too see alternative links? what if she fucked up with the wrong proposition? what if she wasn't able to step out of her old role fast enough to adapt to the new one?

nonetheless, it's a good healthy challenge at this point of her life cos she's able to:
...take her lattes and read cnn every morning cos people come in later and she ain't got annoying small minded clients buzzing her at 9am sharp to make their layouts erm "better" by moving the headline 5mm to the right? she felt bad for the suit seated next to her when a particular soft spoken writer finally lost her temper cos the client decided to put the "boxes" back into the ad after removing them like three times at nine pm with an overdue deadline. thank God she doesn't have to be a "firefighter" anymore.

...surf the net for new trend sites and global design updates. the ad industry moves like a power dynamo and things are constantly changing every second of the day. btw, BBH and Leo Burnett have jumped on the second life bandwagon too. who's next?

...avoid recurring nightmares which have intensified the last 3 months. perhaps things would've been better if she had someone to help her with the legwork instead of bossing her around.

...eat proper carbos again. kudos to aromas cafe and starbucks, now she's getting her well deserved carbo back instead of hawker food. hopefully cedele would come back after the building renovations have been completed. no offence, she loves great hawker food but to have that everyday? eeyucks.

...work and learn from a different calibre of people. the exposure of working with top management people will help train her rash thought processes and actions. hopefully in time, she will learn how to think and operate in a different mode.

...finally work the brains hard instead of working the eyes.

mood: just like bubbly champs

sidenote: saw this really cute yellow and white striped fluffball cat curled up and sleeping on a sunny seat outside starbucks. it looked just like a stuffed toy, should've taken a picture. heh.

of distractions

2006-10-10T10:45:00.000+08:00

the boss is out for a conference and she's only getting a debrief of what she'll be handling tomorrow. in the meantime, she might as well make good use of what free time she has now (or never) for a little leisure surfing. *hurhur*

it's funny how architects often bring with them a simplicity in craft and form no matter what they delve into. she's loving gehry's collection for tiffany & co.

and oh look! outdoor wallpaper by susan bradley, very pretty indeed.

the sweetest thing

2006-10-09T18:02:00.000+08:00

the sweetest welcome present anyone can have on her first day.

a gift from an old teammate who knew her gastric problems and love for munchies. she found this little hamper on her new work desk when she came in this morning.

not only did addy and chels offer her food comfort, the two sweeties saved her a whole bunch of stationery hidden in the drawers (for those who don't know, writing materials here are rare to come by and you most likely have to wait two damning weeks for it, no kidding).

it's fantastic coming back to so many familiar faces, it's like she's never left before.

and that feels just like coming home.