My 100th Post Is Sweet

Blogger reminds me that this is my 100th post. Goodness, an anniversary.

You might be digusted by the larger image. Yes it a close up of a tub of ice cream. It is a wonderful new flavour (I think) from the good folks at Haagen-Dazs. Well, Ben & Jerry's are good folks too. Just that I had a voucher to get HD creamy confections from M1, having traded in my points from all those bills, and I was too busy to queue for the Ben & Jerry's free cone on Free Cone Day. Damn.

This flavour of lavender/ mauve/ magenta striped with deep hues of wine is Summer Berries and Cream. Doesn't that just sound so fantastic?! Summer Berries and Cream - so summery, like a precursor to wine parties and wine highs, a cool yet tangy respite in humid, searing weather with a tinge of England thrown in (the cream, geddit?). OK, too much hype over an ice cream.

But did you know this? Haagen-Dazs Reserve. More goodness.

Looking For A New Love

It's the time of post-Union blues. We have failed in detaching ourselves from the comfort and restive ambience of Union Bar. We miss the camaraderie we shared with the staff and the soft texture of the seat. Fries, they were the best at Union.

Since it closed, we have not been meeting up as often. But recently we have made a conscious effort to try to find another Union. We have been to Unka Bunka twice, There is some potential but the comparisons to Union are inevitable. The flaws of a new place then become apparent. We are unforgiving and spoilt.

There may be Hoegaarden everywhere in the familiar tumbler of six-sided base. But there can only be one...Goodness, we suck at letting go.

Light Light Burning Bright, Sparkle My Life This Night

When the Homo Erectus saw lighting, he/she was very likely awed by the spectacle. That little bit of wonder has trickled down the genes these thousands of years into us. We still go nuts over sparklers and get burnt from holding on to the tips too long. Still, like children and cavemen, we are fascinated.

10 days later

I'm being bad again. I haven't been updating this ol' blog o' mine.

Here's a short history of events gone by:
- I quit my job
- Been tying up current work
- Been taking one personal item from work home each day
- Been telling people I quit
- And I quit my job

Some folks in the company are having a hard time getting used to this fact, and an even harder time wondering why a project manager to going to be a copywriter. The simplest answer is that it makes me happy to write. It is a passion.

It took a long time to secure this. The interview and meetings spanned 2 months. My would-be employer had a tough time reconciling the notion that a PM with some freelance experience would want to pursue creative writing. I wasn't sure initially either but came to realise that a chance like this, to work with good people who know what they are doing, wasn't going to come by any time soon. I wasn't gonna let it slip without trying. It took a test and a lot of convincing to seal the deal. I am thankful for the chance.

I'm going to be earning less, and some folks can't buy that either. "Come on, man, go for the money!", most would cry out in materialistic Singapore. I can't. Somehow I've never been that lucky where renumeration has been concerned, and along the way, I've come to value my time and my happiness with the job.

No more regrets man. Here's to Elroy.

Going going gone

I have the un-esteemed displeasure of announcing the departure of two of the most important, influential persons from the place where I work to the fabled greener pastures. They are the 'sweet-sour-pork' Jorida and 'where's my LV' Cheryl aka Lah moh.

Jo is one of the most organised and efficient persons I know. As an AM, she gets to know clients and handles them like a pro. She dishes out briefs and reminds of guidelines like they are written on the back of her hand. Her Inbox is empty at the end of each working day. Dun play play.

Cheryl is a good PM. She takes control and doesn't let go. She's launched so many campaigns that I think she's set some record. As you may have read, she sits, sorry, sat next to me and we endured each other for the past 20 months. From silly hysterics to cold shoulder indifference, it was a roller coaster colleague relationship.

You two will be sorely missed. Good luck and take care (and we'll do lunch soon).

The 2 Definitions Of Cataract

Definition 1 - An eye problem where the lens gets opaque. It usually happens with age, and there is no real prevention. The only option is to undergo an operation to replace the lens.

Definition 2 - In Latin, cataracts are waterfalls. The link back to the eye problem is suspected to be the association to the opaqueness of the lens to the part of the waterfall where water mixes with air to create that white, foamy, vertical flow of a waterfall.

My mother needs a cataract op. I followed her to the SNEC in the middle of the week to get checked out. She hates the dilating fluid and has no patience for her number to show up on the display board. In the end, we've scheduled one eye to go under the knife in June.

Sunshine

I saw Sunshine the movie last week. I was compelled to go watch it because it was sci-fi, astronomical and looked bloody cool on the trailer. I was not disappointed.

This movie is great because
- the main plot is about saving the Earth. This basic driving force for survival as an underlying story speaks to one and all.
- the spaceship is so cool. The onboard computer is voice-activated, and responds to each passenger by name. The graphic displays are so Star-Trek-holodeck amazing. The viewing deck that opens the movie is the place all astrogeeks wanna be in. I know they it's all fake but wat the hell.
- the use of colour is cinematographically brilliant. A boiling vermillion sun, the black orb of Mercury streaking across it, the verdant green of the oxygen garden juxtaposed against iPod-white walls and glass, needlepoints of white stars, hard grey metal, silvery shimmery heat insulation, blue globules representing first stage nuclear fusion. The film is a high-tech watercolour tapestry in motion.
- there are 3 credible Asian actors in the show. Danny Boyle can see the influence of Asians in the global community of the future. That's nice.
- the geometry appeals to the geek in me. The shapes, lines, symmetry and angles are so beautiful. My right brain was over-stimulated.
- although sci-fi, there is a very real human story woven into the plot. Emotions and drama in outer space, woohoo. There is also a baddie in there, a real smart crazy baddie.
- sunscreen is important like what Baz Luhrman sang about. It may drive you crazy if you stay out there too long (hint hint).
- the atmospheric tech score and soundtrack was done by John Murphy and Underworld. Apt, just aptly cool. I think I have used that word too many times.

The movie's not for everyone. You need to be one-kind to appreciate the details and love the idea.

June and Kok Leong Wed

Ok, those folks are not June nor Kok Leong. In fact, I don't think I have a single pix of them together! Well, there is one where Furqan adjusts Kok Leong's tie with June looking on, only that one. Hmmm, inopportune snappage.

I know June and Kok Leong through Kim. The first time we met was in 2003 where Kok Leong was having an 'aggressive conversation' with my angmoh IT manager from my ex job. Haha, wat an impression. I have come to know them better albeit on and off these past years. Kok Leong's a pilot with the RSAF (respect!) and I don't know what June does. Hmmm. But they are nice :)

I MCed the event though my fellow Chinese compere Carol stole with her natural Taiwanese spunk. It's ok, I was half-hungover from You Make It Reel event, haha, and even had a Panadol in the pocket (see previous blog entry). Many Marriot courses later, we hung out in the couple's room. The bouquet was thrown and more Prosecco poured. Woo hoo. Then we shot a naughty video of Kok Leong all-out-of-sorts. Ahem.

Congrats to J and K!

Powerhaus Madness

This is a photo essay on the art of having a good time at a client's event-party venue shindig. You need a mad bunch of pple, enuff alkie to cause people to hug and stick tongues out at random, a lot of namecards, a smile, an open mind and a camera that shoots well in the dark.

Noteworthy moments from this pre-Good Friday party -
1. SG bands CAN rock! Summer's Over is so good. See http://www.myspace.com/summersover.
2. USD10K can spur ordinary APAC folk to produce the most amazing video work. See www.youmakeitreel.com.
3. Many beers followed by a vodka is not good. I am sorry taxi driver.

Clueless at 32

I was at this seminar where the MC said that the journey of a million miles starts with a single step, in the right direction. That last bit is perhaps the 2nd most important thing after finding the courage to begin the journey.

The right direction is a big question mark. Many people I know know what they want to achieve as they get older. They want better jobs, more money, family and kids. A car and big house. I'm 32 and I'm clueless. It's not an uncommon feeling friends have told me and the timing is about right - the 7-year itch from when I first jumped into viable employment. I have no goals apparently, and my insurance guy, who wants me to join him in his quest for a financially secure retirement playing golf at 55, told me off for this lack of personal direction. 'What do you want at 40? At 50? Kids, family, what?' It was a stressful, depressing evening.

He's right though. I need to know what I am here for. Not many people do. They live their lives as though it's natural and normal. Get up, go to work, make money for someone else, go home, wife+kids+TV, then the weekends - as if it is basic universal order of things. They may not be supremely content but at least sticking to the line helps them get through life without massive complications.

Most of us want money. Generally, money = happiness because money helps us do things like get a car and travel or buy shoes. I did a test with my insurance guy and money came in 4th in my list of preferred outcomes from my job. Number one was helping people, I think. During evaluation time, I told my bosses that the work I did was ok but didn't really get me all happy and excited, that the satisfaction wasn't really there. This yielded a pleasant intervention from the head honcho (but I had to turn him down for other reasons). So work is all kinda a little fuzzy. Not bad but a little fuzzy.

Looks like I got to sort things out.