woohooo i'm back!

after the refreshing yet short summer, the season starts again and 3 trips in a month is almost unbearable when you so need the phone. cant be happier that i'm back!

and yes it's been a fruitful month, at least for me? both shale gas and ancillary - my own babies - went really well. not perfect (i really want a perfect one - excellent topic with excellent line-up with excellent hotel/ hostess/ AV/ presentations/ discussion... is it realistic?) but good enough i guess. when i got in this morning, the new girl told me she spoke to a delegate in shale and that person loved me! i suppose it's these little things that get you going. and i love the Amst team! they're so cool to work with! ancillary was a crowd puller too!

the last one to prague.. i was super worried. first it's not my proj so i knew nothing about process safety (i was put to sleep after researching for 30mins) and let alone those people.. the number was a new low but with 4 sponsors onboard.. on the day the workshop leader threatened to pull out if ABB/ Ryder Marsh would sit in. nonetheless i heard a lot of positive feedback so it's all cool now! and i joined the sponsor/spker for a night out. don't ask why we're having Argentina steak in prague. thats how it's. and never did i realise the beauty of the city at night! it's like the grounds of Hogwarts!

so these few nights i finally have the luxury to slow down a bit and recollect myself. when i asked myself what i've achieved in the past 7months, obviously nothing major but it's a great step to understand myself better? i know my strengths and weaknesses. now it's a phase to work on these and am glad people are kind enough to give me pointers. and then i'll see the bigger picture in life. fingers crossed. :)

i'd have loved to write more but feeling abit sluggish now. shall come up with something juicy. before that happens, nighty!

blah

it's just hard to play a duet. solo is the way...

-----------------------------------

how can ppl be soooo stupid and lazy!?!?

it's simply unbelievable!!!

and they're all driving me mad!!!!!

grrrrrrrrrr*

...

when everyone carries selfish genes, you gotta...

learn to be tough

learn to love yourself and yourself only

thank you all for being so sensible and ruthless to me.

some nonsense

i always make sure i arrive 15mins early for interview, and then put my fone on silent.

so this morning, as usual, i got there at 9.45am (after being squashed in bus and tube).

sat there and the clock ticked to 10.05am...

lucky i checked my fone n saw a missed call from Ajay (the HR)...

me: hello? did you ring me?

Ajay: yeah! where're u?

me: i've been at the reception for 20mins....

Ajay: ohhh! im so so sorry.. nobody buzzed me

and he came to collect me straight away...

Ajay: i'm terribly sorry to keep you waiting.. (turning to the receptionist) why didnt u call me?

receptionist: this's not my responsibility as my phone's taken away

and at this point, i heard the phone next to her ringing -_-

Ajay: today's scheduled u'll been interviewed by Luc, David, Rachael and Andrew separately, followed by another two tests.

and so... i repeated myself for the same question 4 times for each of them -

Can you talk me through your CV?

Why do you wanna work for us?

How do you see your contribution for the role?

and so on............. WHY DON'T THEY JUST COME IN TOGETHER?!

and like any other times, i was encouraged to ask some *sensible* questions.

me: how do you see yourself differentiate from your competitors?

Andrew (head of dept): honestly, nothing. if we disappear tomorrow, none of our customers would realise. and i never click on those paid search ads in case they're spams

me: oh.. ok.. thats very interesting. so how're you working on this to improve the situation?

Andrew: we're working on it. slowly. but there's not much we can do.

me: hm....... interesting.......

diu

You work but you don't work

i'm living an oriental working life.
monday to sunday, with occasional fri and sat evenings off.
although i don't officially start at 7, i do work through midnights.
i entertain every stakeholder, i blab and i bluff.
i feel like a prick but i can't play pranks.
i thank wiki and google, for feeding me digestible indigestible knowledge (without the time to process).
i sound enthused but i can barely hold my eye lids open.
i'm sick, a leave is outta my mind.
so i shall recompose and continue on my journey, until i hear the true calling...

Dream House?

Queens Park Residence in the inner city of Sydney
Designed by CplusC Design Construct Pty Ltd. (Australia):

''This project involved an uninhibited renovation of an existing traditional three bedroom house located on a corner site in the inner city Sydney suburb of Queens Park. The client brief called for a custom designed home that catered to their specific living and entertaining lifestyle. Generous kitchen, dining and living spaces connect through large operable doors to private outdoor spaces which integrate a swimming pool and outdoor living, dining and entertaining spaces.''

Looking at this picture reminds me of many honkers' life-long ambition, or more correctly, dream, to buy and build their own (dingy) home. even though the size is nothing more than a cramming shoebox, you can still decorate it as a cosy home. it's now a luxury to gather everyone for a night-in, to eat together at the table, to converse face-to-face, to have a few clinks of drinks, and to enjoy the nighty breeze with a home-baked cake.

of course, everyone has different taste. the islington old townhouse, featured in Jan's UK Vogue, now owned by the artistry couple , shall never be my 'dream home'. actually, it is my worst nightmare. i can't stand rough/ scruffy wood panels, shaved and peeled walls, freezing attic, and *art* scattered in and around the house. it's more like a bachelor pad.

on the other hand, neither are those *celeb cribs* displayed on hk interior mags well-executed, despite the owners having all the cash to spare. today's minimalism has become tooooo cliche that home lacks a sense of home. it's merely a purpose-built and integrated pod. i wonder how often the owners would actually cook in the kitchen and host a dinner party. how do they find time to detox and entertain family and friends?

when you get too worked up, all you need is a home, not a beautiful showroom.

Back to Basic

the temp is finally revving up a bit, after a long bitter sleety/slushy winter. thanks goodness.
but designers 've decided to keep the white going for '10 s/s lines, altho some of them (in particular the young brits) are trying a different path to maintain the playfulness.

whilst much praise goes to christopher kane (once again he's just not my thing), we see similar fabrics in peter jensen's collection - which's much more wearable.

Christopher Kane S/S 2010

Peter Jensen 2010 S/S

The rabbit neck tie dress's purely CUTE! and that quirky oversize pearl necklace's irresistible!
okay, i know it might not be a good idea to wear this strolling down oxford st as u'll receive all the odd attention from other weekend shoppers. hmmm

Proenza Schouler 2010 SS

I can't be happier to see proenza return to the glamorous stage! the pieces are simple yet chic, detailed but transforming. worth investing a bit to give your wardrobe an update =)

Anglomania Printed Leggings

Never am i a fans of anglomania, however, this pair of leggings are not bad, right? you can easily pair them up with a tennis polo, a white ruffled top, a black chiffon dress-shirt, almost anything!

Oh! Besides, i'd like to have that new decanter from Selfridges. It's a piece of ART!

all of a sudden i'm craving for sea urchin. very random.

hm, also, to conclude the noughties, monocle did a pretty nice jan issue. a good read. it, too, reminds me of the golden quote - if only i got the money to splash. sigh.

in the meantime, all my sympathy goes to people in haiti.