Why I love working here...

Been crazy busy for the past week.

Working on a new biz pitch. Worked both days last weekend and will be working this coming one too. Sigh.

But I love working here.
Not just because I've got great friends / colleagues / bosses here, but also because we're like family.

Like today, about 17 of us went out to eat bak kut teh (pork in herbal and garlic soup) for lunch. It's wonderfully communal, chopsticks digging into 2 huge claypots of boiling broth and pieces of meat, mushrooms and tofu. It's wonderfully delicious, with a bowl of rice and a mini-dish of raw chopped garlic, thick black soy sauce and birds eye chillis on the side. The shop was wonderfully hot, crowded and noisy. And we ate, laughed and poured tea above the din.

On the way back in the car, a few of us were discussing Chinese idioms. I'm illiterate in my own mother tongue, knowing just enough for basic daily conversation with my mom and some relatives. So I was learning quite abit about clever Chinese wordplay. It was interesting to say the least, and it made the short car ride back to the office such fun.

Here are some simpler ones (in Cantonese) I learnt from JH and JC.

Sui lok sek choot (receeding water exposes rocks)
- Truth will reveal itself with time.

Tau ngak gwai pin (steal bluff kidnap cheat)
- Untrustworthy (quite obvious hor?)

For siew kei gon (fire burns flag post)
- Now this one is a little complicated. A well-burnt flag post would give you a long piece of charcoal, which in Cantonese is "cheong tan", which also sounds like a "long holiday". So by saying you're burning a flag post, you're actually going for a long holiday. Uh. Okay...

Gai mou ngap huet (chicken feather duck blood)
- Nothing left but worthless things. Usually used when you're saying someone is in deep trouble (especially when it's about money).

Mou ngok butt chok (not evil not done)
- Do nothing but evil. Used to refer to people who does nothing but... well, evil. Quite self-explanatory this one.

Chat chat bat bat (seven seven eight eight)
- Almost compete, but not 100% yet. I wonder if number 10 is considered a complete number by the Chinese. Hmmm.

There are alot more but I can't remember them all now. And it's time to get back to work. Maybe I'll post another one about this, once I have time to do more research.

* For some strange reason, every time I'm stuck in a meeting with a government ministry client (it's nothing short of painful), I get this huge craving for bak kut teh. Good thing my colleagues agree it is the best comfort food. Eating it, even if out of spite, is a balm to my soul. If you want to know why, ask via email. I don't want a lawsuit. Hahaha.

Playing truant!

Half the agency left for Vietnam (company trip) yesterday.
And to avoid explaining myself for the hundredth time (it's amazing how people don't stop asking "Why aren't you going? Free trip what!"), I decided not to go because they deduct two days leave for the trip. And I need my leave days for Hong Kong (flying off in two weeks) cos I only get 14 days a year.

The handful left behind (me and some other colleagues) pretty much enjoyed the peace and quiet. But it was barely 4pm when KC and I decided to forage for booze in our production director's room (we'll replace the bottle, of course).

So we opened a bottle of Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon 2002. Lovely lovely lovely. And before the 'work' day was over, we finished it between the both of us and another colleague. Wine and nice music on my iTunes. Lots of laughs and chit chat. All on company time. Bwahahahaha!

Today, the office is like a ghost town. The second batch has left for Vietnam so it's even more deserted. Come lunch time, a few of us are gonna hit a karaoke joint and uh, we're not coming back. Tee hee!

Have a great weekend, folks!

We have moved

My art director and I have moved out of our cubicle into one of the rooms in my department. It's not a promotion, just a seating place rearrangement. Thing is, no more windows but more privacy cos it's an enclosed space with a sliding door, so I can sleep or blog in peace to block out noise or distractions.

The room is currently a dusty mess though. Its previous occupant was a hoarder (of junk, books, magazines, photos, toys, random pieces of paper, religious paraphernalia) and miraculously moved everything into an even bigger room (he's also my immediate boss). Of course, there is a thick layer of dust where his figurines used to be. I also see a pair of old shoes under my desk.

And where the hell did all the mozzies come from?

Things to get:
1. A mirror. My door is facing my big boss's room. My workstation is right next to the door, so my monitor is in his direct line of vision if he walks out of his room. No evil spirits to deflect, but I do need to close my MSN Messenger windows in time.

2. A portable vacuum cleaner. Need this to suck up the dust under my desk. My nose is itching. Come to think of it, my arms and legs are itching. My skin is getting more dry and sensitive these days. The vacuum will be handy for my car too - there are bits of Sunshine on my carpet.

3. A bottle of lotion. See above.

4. A pillow for my chair. And so that I can have lunch-time naps in the office.


While I'm here writing a shopping list, I need to get:

5. Spare parts for my broken oven. But I'll need to find the manufacturer's HQ first (I'll fake need a day off!).

6. A good food processor. No offense to the mortar and pestle, but time IS precious.

7. A pair of presentable sandals / heels. I currently wear my leather mary janes to work. I love them. They are comfy. But I can't wear them EVERYWHERE. They'll wear out. And I don't know if I'll find another pair like them again. I bought another pair of red mary janes, but they are not nearly as comfy as the pair I'm wearing now. Hush Puppies shoes. I swear by them. Sigh.

8. More presentable clothes. I dress like a hobo to work most days.

9. LASIK. I plan to zap my eyes back to 20/20 vision. Going for a check up at the eye centre this Saturday to see if my lookers are eligible. My glasses are getting on my nerves and my eyes are too sensitive for contacts. What's the worse that could happen? (ok, don't answer that)

10. A life. I've been watching 3 episodes of Dr. House every night. It's Season 2 and, I'm in love with that cranky, impossible man.

Spinning Mama

An ex-colleague, M (actually, the writer I replaced at work) was spinning at Zouk for an Independant Female DJ party. I'm not the partying type (I hate crowded, smoky, noisy places). But M came to see the plays K (another colleague) and I were in before. So M found herself some groupies and I tried to err, blend in.




M is a cool mama with a 3 year-old daughter (though she looks barely legal herself). That's her, in the middle, flanked by pictures of Zouk (note the Twin Towers in the background). The other photos are of her groupies.

Back at work

After a big hug first thing in the morning, J made her famous super 'kow' (strong) coffee to go with some chocolate cake she brought from home.

Not long after, A, who's now also technically my boss, popped a pack of nasi lemak with petai, squid sambal and a fried egg on my desk.

"Welcome back!"

And that's just breakfast.

Then there was the orientation pack for 'new staff' (though I barely qualify as one), which included a lunch treat.

I left this company some time ago, but many of us remained friends and kept in touch often.

It's nice to be with them again.
And I'm SO gonna get fat.

P/S: You guys at LB are not forgotten, OK? When there's a Selangor state-only holiday, I'll pop by and we'll go eat at Amigas or something, orite? :)

It's almost time

I haven't typed out my resignation letter.
No big rush I guess. Once I hand it in, I'm out of here in 4 days
(after I deduct my annual leave and such).

I've only been in this agency for a relatively short time.
Well, one year is rather short compared to the 5 years in my previous one.
When I left that place a year ago, I needed two big moving boxes and several bags. That's how lived-in my space was.

When I came here, I didn't quite allow myself to take root.
Maybe subconsciously I knew I wouldn't be staying long.
When I leave end of next week, a big paper bag would suffice to carry my minimum belongings.

While it's a relief to know I'll no longer be working in the city, I'll miss my buddies (Box and the gang), the daily pantry ritual and the new friends I've made.

Truth be told, I'm not overly excited about leaving.
Or starting work at the end of this month at a new place.
These days I don't get excited very much.
Now why is that?

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The week that was:

The past week was quite uneventful, except for D starting on his new job as an education counsellor at a college in our sub-urb.

Its Indian Cultural Society organised a culture night on Saturday.
And D surprised me by taking me there.

So we went, half wondering if we'd be the only Chinese.
But it was really so nice to discover that the committee members and performers were all multi-racial. Making the show even more colourful.

I guess that's the beauty about living in this country.
We embrace other cultures like our own, some more than others.
Like my best friend LY - she knows most Bollywood songs by heart, gets all excited over sari/lengha shopping and can do a mean butt shimmy. Everyone's bet is on her marrying an Indian man one day.

Anyhoo, the performances were really good.
And boy, can they dance.
From the fast-paced stick percusssion ensemble to skillful classical dances to sexy modern numbers, it was quite a treat.

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My mom's birthday was on the 3rd of October.
She's 54 this year.

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant on Sunday with wine and cake.
I think I guzzled probably half a bottle on my own.
Ah...

Ado run run run, ado run run

Haven't been running very diligently. At most, 2 times a week and only 5 - 6km at a time. And when I stop running for more than 3 days, I get that awful feeling. Like an itch deep under your skin you can't scratch. With rehearsals and all, it's quite difficult to maintain a running schedule. My sessions are always rushed, so I do interval training. Gets the heart working, but it won't prepare me for 21km next year. Must spend more time on going the distance, at a slower pace. Though time is not something I have much of these days.

Was so ambitious on Tuesday. Ran about 6km and felt so energised I joined my brother and Darren for badminton with their church group. Haven't played in years so my whole body is in pain right now, especially my right arm. *clicks on mouse* Owww....


Life in the city

Leo Burnett - was only working 3 days before a 6 days long break for Deepavali and Raya. So technically, I've only been working here about 10 days. Don't have my own desk or computer yet. They don't even have space for me. Am currently hijacking another guy's PC while he's on leave. When he gets back next week, I'll have to be a roaming orphan again. Can't really 'settle in' just yet.

Good thing I have Yueli, Ivan and Walter here, or I'd be absolutely miserable. The office is so huge it's probably impossible to get to know everyone. At least not in the same way I knew everyone back in DDBi (oh, how I miss them). The people in creative are nice and down to earth, so that's great. Food wise, it's usually a toss between Indian rice at Amidas (behind Wisma HLA), banana leaf (near the church), chapati and yong tau foo. As far as work is concerned, yet to sink my teeth into anything exciting... though I am working on an interesting pitch at the moment.


Oh, him again.

It's been about 3 weeks since I started going out with Darren. It's all good so far and I'm so very happy. Been seeing each other everyday, and it's amazing how there never seems to be a dull moment. Took me awhile to get used to the idea, but I finally felt I could tell people he's someone special in my life. Especially Jess (who knew us both since our Youth Fellowship days). Told the church gang at a gathering over a week ago and it was hilarious how Kenny freaked out. That face was priceless.

Darren's a gem with my folks. Gets along wonderfully with my woman, Li Yen (they gang up on me even). And makes my friends laugh. He's still trying to get through to my brother, though. Which will take some work. Wow, he's actually trying...

For someone who's always been thinking - I don't need anyone right now cos my life is so full as it is... this whole cloud 9 thing is scary. Cos now things won't be quite the same without him around. Not that I'm complaining.