My men

A dear friend of mine in a Cafe of Heidelberg.

5 weeks to partie time

Champagne and alcohol was flowing all over the weekend. Sometimes I wonder if I am alcoholic like what my friends conveniently assumes. (I am not hor.)
On Friday, Champagne was flowing free at Loof as JT made her entrance. Even the owner had to dish out a bottle of Moet to grace her appearance. That is what I call cool! Not having to pay for your drinks at the club.

Saturday was a movie at Vivo City with SN. We went to watch The Prestige. Aiyoh, that movie gave me such a headache after that. All that spinning and suspense from the director was so not farnie. I have to admit tat the new cinema is rather impressive. The mall felt like Carousel and so did the cinema, resembles Hoyts lor. AFter movie, I headed to Tangjong Pagar to meet AW, KT and Nat. One club after another, one drink after the next. I have not done this in ages and I know I so miss this. The night ended at 3.45am after our last stop at Tabs. WooHooo....partie on...

Sunday was quiet with just rehearsals as usual at 2pm, followed by a trip to Sentosa to check on my client's sales suite. More sleep carried on after that. I just could not bring myself to a third night at the clubs and thus rested at home. Did SN a favour by picking him and the DJ for the night up for their makeup. Yes, it is halloween.....the night ppl can dress in wat they want and will.

Never knew butter could taste so good, especally when it is straight from the factory.

Friday nght has always been mundane for me. Hypnotised to sleep through crappy TV programs. However, this night was different. Managed to fnd my way to Butter Factory finally. The deco was actually simple with just cut outs of animations pasted all over the wall. Music was R & B with cute waiting staff. I partied so hard that I do not remember when was the last time I actually got laid. Hahaha.

A short drive

Oooohhhh....took a drive in an Integra Type-S. The feeling was so good, the power of the car is incredible. At least that was how I felt when the accelerator was stepped on. Wheeee.......

How do I live without you?

I am officially out of happy juice. The frustration that I have been accumulating inside me has finally been released. What is going on and I do not know, abd when you think that everything is happy and good on your side of the world.

My sudden realisation of why my closest friends are always asking if I am okie, even when I am not showing any signs of distress. But I suppose that is why they are called friends, they have the instinct to spot your frustrations and tinge of sadness. The usual answer of, "I am good."is no longer feasible. What is left is a broken me.

I broke down and cried while driving home after sending MK back from a night at Attica. A supposed fun night turned out horible when I saw a sight that I had no wish to see. And a cowd that kept pushing me against the wall. Yes, I cried, I cried after realising how hurt I have been from all the "promises" that I have once heard and broken. What is my worth? Why do they do this to me? How do I live wthout you....a simple song that made me pour my sorrows to a depth that never knewI could. I have to climb up now and find the light that would guide me out of the slums.

This is not self pity, but realisation. A reality that is hard to bite, but I have to accept it. I am lonely and without anyone now.

Funny Singapore

Happy Deepavali to all my Indian friends. This is the day that my Indian counter-parts celebrate the festival of lights.

My week was great as it zoomed past without me realising that the weekend is already here. I have to say that as I head towards the second month of being a staff of Immortal, I am liking it here. This small company that doesn't seem to have much to offer is actually keeping me busy with the learning process. There are days at work that you eally feel helpless especially with the clients. Howeve, there are also days that you feel on top of things and just want to move forward. My bosses have exceptional taste and this is impotant to me. I am able to learn from them on how to brand our clients and the direction they should move towards.

Managed to catch Jon and Sabbie for lunch at Maxwell finally on Friday. They are such a busy bunch of people, but I do understand how tough and crazy it can get in a PR firm. Not that I do not have my crazy days, but I am in control and know when are my busy days as I pre-empt them to happen.

The work week ended on Friday with Sat being a public holiday. Went for dinner with a bunch of friend at Arot Thai. Alan just sold his house and wanted to buy all of us dinner. A very generous gesture indeed. The whole table of bois were full of mischief make snipe remarks about each others age. The sight was hilarious, but if not fun. Dessert was at Haagen Daz when Gary and Alan started teasing the waitresses. We were all rolling off our seats with the way they did it all so camp lor.

I am sure that the weekend wil be equally fun as the week has been for me.

Boo Boo

I am guilty of making a boo boo....sigh

Was tying to communicate with my new colleague from Manila. And I always assume that people from such countries have difficulty understanding English and I always ty to simplify it. But in the most unglam way.

In an attempt to ask my colleague if he cooks at home.

"So do you cook yourself?"

I was ashamed of myself lor.

White clubs and champagne glasses

Been an extremely busy week for me for I had to juggle between clients that are unreasonable an social responsibilities. Cong arrived in SG on Wed and I feel obliged to bring him around to take in the sights and beauty of sunny SG. Afterall, he showed me a side of Saigon that was more than what a tourist can ever expect. Planned for dinner to be at a hawker centre, but AK invited us all over to his place for a hearty meal of claypot rice. He is such a good cook and host with exceptional amount of energy to educate us on a lifetsyle that I might never know. From luxurious cruise liners to fashion statements. It is always nice to just gather and hear what he has to say.

I have to say that I clubbed real hard last night- Mox, Bianco and Happy. The people were so much fun and there was electicity in the air. I started out feeling uneasy and all with the crowd, especially in my Nike top. It was sportswear as a theme and we were suppose to be dressed for the occassion. I just cannot stand being seen in a nike tee at the clubs. It just isn't me. I was so uncomfortable. And to make matters worse, I was spotted by my boss in abid to change into something "decent" in the car. Fashion suicide! I wonder if my boss was judging me by the unsightly tee that I was clothe in. Aiyoh! To think that I am in a job that requires me to be in the know of fashion and luxury lifetstyle. Was dancing wildly at Bianco with a crowd of less than 50. The community is no longer excited about happy nor mox. It feels like the business is suffering a great blow. Taboo on the other hand gathers a crowd that is alost impossible to fit into the club. The queue was long and everyone wants to relive the decadent lifestyle of aj clubbing. A new club must resurrect admist the grey times and hope that a new club will surface to cater to the discerning clubber.

Me, Emmy, Alan, Cong and Ian

Me and Cong

Happy Birthday!

Today is my dear friend's Birthday. Just have to tell him that he is missed. Happy Birthday Ms. Chan. London is not such a bad place and do run out and give yourself for treat with the queen.

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Good Bye Saigon

I boarded the plane with such a heavy heart. The heart that tells me to stay and know more about the city and the people. But I know I had to leave it all behind and visit them again. Hotel Rex the famous building where journalists were located when the people demanded independence, Ciao Cafe that holds such nostalgic moments for the viets. I will visit the city again to unfold the mystery that it holds in me.

Did a quick change of whatever Dongs I was holding onto as I know that when I reach SG, they will have no value to me at all. Managed to squeeze S$60 out from what was left over. Sigh, at least can buy a shirt lor. After spending on food and many drinks, I realised that I spent a total of S$100. Arriving at Singapore Changi Airport, I did a quick walk-through at DFS. I think they really have crappy wines. Skipped buying anything there and headed home. I like the feeling of having just a piece of luggage and not seeing my parents at the airport this time. Went straight for the taxi queue and headed home. So executive, like some business trip like that. (erm....I am right?)

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Sent TO off at the airport in the evening. I was not able to catch up much with him during this trip as was away on the Viet trip. Was nice to be able to see him off before his next trip back. Be good my friend. Someone is waiting for you here in SG. Muahahaha.

Ron, Me and Tim

Miss Saigon says stay

Today was the grand-day, a month of hardwork (not too much) was all for a 20 min presentation to the tDA associates. I was slightly nervous and so wanted to get it out of my system. Thank goodness that the meeting today will be at Hotel Equatorial level 2 of where we are staying at. All I was thinking about seriously was getting it over and done with and head out to the streets of HCMC.

The other associates prsented what was happening in their country and the current design trends that they are spotting. I particularly enjoyed what Lisa Yong shared about her research work in Asia as well as USA. It allowed me to see that "Ang Moh" is not necessarily all good, Asians still know their market better and more agile towards situations. When it was my turn, I just had to mellow down on how I usually conduct presentations in schools or for corporate meetings. Just sat there and talked about the fashion trends in SG. When we finished, at least my bosses said that it was a well-done job. Thank goodness, I thought I might be fired if I did not do a good job for this. During the short break, I just had to take pictures with the different representatives for the various countries. I truly hope that I will be granted permission to join my bosses in the next scheduled meeting in Mumbai, as I have learnt alot from this short but sweet conference.

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Headed with the group to Bhien Than Market to soak in the atmosphere and hope that I can spend some money. Can u imagine this? I had no other venues to spend my money. Just realised that I am still a "millionaire" at that point. Hahaha. The market was lke any market you would have expected, tourists, provision shops and heaps of handicraft shops. Not too appealing for me as they all looked the same. Nothing "fresh" about them. Packed my bag with some cashew nuts and nothing else was worth it. Took some nice pictures to remember the market by and went back to the hotel with Saxone while the rest headed for more shopping down Opera street, I just wanted to get out from the group and gopefully Cong would bring me to some nice Viet lifetyle.

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Met Cong finally at the lobby @ 7.30pm. As expected, his means of transport was the motor bike. heehee....I was kinda nervous at first. Wondered if I might suffer any injuries from pillion riding. Hahaha. While working n Phuket, I witnessed some nasty injuries sustained by my fellow peers and after that, I got kinda worried. And to think that I am on a bike in HCMC. t was like living life dangerously. LoLx.

We went for dinner at Pho 24, a nice vietnamese chain of restauarants that was clean and dished out great food. As predictable as it seems, I ordered Pho and so did Cong. He explained that Pho is a staple in Vietnam and he eats it like 3 times in a week. Unlike Sg with our wide variety of food.

After dinner was shopping! Trust me I was really hoping to get some real good deals out in the city. After the days of supression, I was more than ready to shop like a millionare. Heehee...but my hopes were dashed after he brought me to the supposed hot spots in HCMC, and claimed that EL managed to squeeze some real deals from them. I was horrified, one after another the shops got more depressing. He even brought me to this shop with nice lookng clothes but basically all fakes! Fake Abercrombie, I almost fainted. Hahaha.... gave up the search and just needed drinks to drown away my sorrows.

Next stop was Club Samsara! I tell you...I almost shouted out in glee! I could actually find a decent club in HCMC with themed like ambience. The waiters and waitresses were all dressed in cowboy outfits and look absolutely stunning. Oh! How cute! The people that were drinking there were also nicely shapped and did not look third world at all. They were fun and had lotsa energy to burn. I downed 5 glasses of Whisky Coke easily under such mood lighting and cool crowd. Cong introed me to his fren with the same name as his. How fun! Vietnam has names that are identical in almost every sense. His fren recognised me from parties and clubs in SG. He travels to SG often for work-related purposes. ow interesting.

We ended the tour of Samsara at 11.45pm as the club closes at the stroke of MN. Next was Apocalypse, it was a mix crowd with many ang mohs there. the atmosphere was much more different than that of Samsara. I must say, for a third world country, this club was still so much better than The Court. Oh, how can HCMC be third world with Vertu and Gucci outlets littered across the city. Hahaha....silly me.

Called it a nght by 12.30pm and headed back to the hotel. I felt like Miss Saigon as the cool breeze carassesd my face calling me back to stay for another hour. I say "Cam On" (Thank You) to HCMC for being a wonderful host to a little boi like me. Saigon will be remembered as a city of lights and hosptality from the citizens.

Happy Mooncake eating

The whole day was all about meeting, meeting and more meetings. And I thought that my boss granted us permission to be excluded from the day's meeting and run out to look at the city. Despite the disappointment in the exclusion of possible shopping trips, I have to say that the meetings gave me an insight on the developments of design works in Asia.

Dinner was a dip in the sea at Ngoc restaurant. This is the year the restaurant celebrates its 50th anniversary. How cool is that? Half a century of servicing the public with good food and wonderful ambience. Dish by dish came out of the kitchen without the staff feelng apologetic for the stellar cast. My favourite dish was still the deep fried spring rolls, I just could not stop helping myself to them. By the time I was done with dinner, it was already too late to meet cong who was suppose to show me around town and maybe head out for a drink I badly needed. Today is the next most impt day of the lunar calender and I am not with my famly. I had a sight of a city that was once torn by the war and now scarred from it. The streets were filled with viets celebrating this oriental festival. They are more gregarious than Singaporeans, simple celebrations with enthusiasm. We gave the festval a miss after finding the streets were jammed up. I have no wish to be part of a festival that might attract unforeseen thefts.

Sleeping early for the presentation tomorrow. I need all the energy I can gather to impress my bosses and hopefully make them decide that I have been a good choice of theirs to hire me.

Wow! Vietnam is really different from what I imagined it to be. As the plane was flying into the airport, what greeted me were not just paddy fields, but a whole canvas of colours. The houses were painted in bright pastel colours and it gave it a character of a city that is not known to me.

The architectural build of the airport was also modern and gave the third world city a spruce of attitude and reflects their want to improve and embrace globalisation. Customs were not as pleasing as the faces of the Vietnamese gals. With a queue that that took longer than expected was definitely now enticing to a tourist. I was hopping from one queue to another in a bid to accelerate the process. Finally I spotted a sign that read “ASEAN”. Knowing that SG is part of ASEAN I quickly grabbed my bag and headed over there. It was a much faster queue. They actually put there Caps on the tops of the counter. I wonder if it was a sign of authority.

Getting a cab to the hotel was easy. Cost us USD$7 for a ride to the hotel. Accommodation for the trip was arranged to be at The Equatorial, a five star hotel. It was really not that impressive on the whole. Was rushed to dinner upon arrival and it was not impressive. The hosts actually took us to a “Char Siew” place; I went like “double wow!” Why do they even bother bringing us there when they know that we come from a country with better Chinese food? Can’t complain I suppose as they were just being hospitable.

Sleeping early to be well-rested for the next day of conferences.

Corporate lifetyle

Just 1 more day before I head to HCMC, not feeling particularly excited about the trip as I am not sure what to expect from it. It seems that EL is even more excited for me and has planned a serious of possible activities that I can engage in to occupy my time. But the sole purpose of the trip is to ensure that I complete my presentation and be in tune with what the rest of Asia is doing with regards to Branding and design.

The whole afternoon was spent on meetings that became inconclusive. Why can’t people just go straight to the point? Meetings are meant to solve problems and not create problems. I wonder what is the corporate rationale behind this.

Did dinner with my 2 gals, LSA and JT. We had fun just talking about the progress of work and how their love lives were catching up. Was interesting to know how political people can get and that I seem to be in an environment that is “protected” from all the rubbish. So it seems.

Busy

Howdi! I am typing this while experiencing aches all over my body. Age is really catching up and it seems that I am not as robust as I used to be.

The week was crazy as I tru so hard to ensure that I have covered as much work as I need to before I leave on my trip next week. At the same time, I am learning that there is more work than usual before you can actually leave for your trip. And more work at the trip. Sigh.

The weekend was just pure ARTS for me with helping out at the Victoria Concert Theatre for the whole day. And today was basically more rehearsals for Emeric's play. Will be posting alot more pics soon. =)