Wednesday, June 30, 2004

The Age of Innocence

Guess what? Natalie emailed a picture to us yesterday... and look what I found? HAHAHA, this is hillarious! Gosh, I looked like THAT when I was 16? Hmm.. Maybe it was 15. Anyways, thereabouts.



Looking at this picture now, gosh, it brings back a flood of memories of times at high school. It also reminds me of how many years it has been since I walked out from the halls of GMIS, how many years has it been since I last saw all my dear girlies from school, and the stuff that I've seen, heard, lived and experienced in the past few years... man, 7 friggin' years!

Anyways.. since I'm here, might as well post up a few pictures for the world to experience the power of my beauty.. HAHAHAHAHAH.


This is yours truly on an MRT train in Singapore er.. quite a while ago. December 2003 it was...


This is me over dinner at one of the Marche outlets in Singapore.


This is me under a gorgeous Christmas tree.


And this is a pic of me and my sisters on board on MRT (From L-R: Elaine, Daphne, Doreen)

Posted by Doreen at 11:29 am



    

Friday, June 25, 2004

I hate rushing

It's been two very ugly days here in the office. Really, of late, I've been seeing and hearing many people say, "What can go wrong, will go wrong!" How true! *sobs and wails*

Today is even worse. Christ. I hate this advertising and the media in times like this. You got your client pushing you towards the deadline. You got the people from the press pushing you to hand in materials on time. And who ever thinks of the people who get stucked in the middle. With two fat giants squashing us.. It's no pretty sight.

But as I sit here and blog while the team is working, I feel so useless, so helpless! This entire freaking ad is in Chinese. I can't read, write, let alone type! Damn Chinese newspapers!

After this, gotta rush back home, pick up my bags hurriedly and then rush down PJ with Angela. Grandfather isn't doing too good in the hospital. Mom called me early this morning telling me that I ought to go to Penang to see grandfather. They think he won't have many days left. Plus, he mentioned me and my sisters to my youngest aunt who was with him to get us all to the hospital soon. I've got tonnes to do here. Plus, I gotta cancel my weekend DJ-ing stint! I know it's my responsibility to be there.. If I don't, I'll feel so guilty for life for not seeing him once last time despite the old man requesting to see us. But who's head is gonna roll when things at work are not in place?

Last night after work drove to see R. Went with Lewis to discuss possible business opportunities and ventures that we can do with him. Our meeting lasted about 1.5 hours, and towards the end when us three were a bit more relaxed and almost done with talking about work, R would make certain comments along the way, intended to ermm.. "disturb" me. I knew I was blushing hard cos my face would heat up everytime makes those comments. And R would even point out that I'm blushing... all in the presence of Lewis.

Anyways. It felt good. HAHA.

I've got to run. Shit.

Posted by Doreen at 5:07 pm



    

Visually Yours...

This article is by Jennifer Tai who writes for the MSN Women's Channel.

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I stumbled upon a rather interesting article, or someone would call it a book, like the author, on the Net today. Outrageously entitled "How to get the women you desire into bed" by one Ross Jeffries from California, this book is subtitled a 'down and dirty guide to dating and seduction for the man who's fed up with being Mr Nice Guy'.

Apparently, this guy is quite well known for his 'speed seduction' techniques.

Suitably intrigued, I proceeded to read the first two chapters of the book (the whole thing is online here). Now I must warn you that this material is not your average self-help book. Mr. Jeffries here is one bitter man who's clearly sick of being overshadowed by his good-looking friends AND he's made it clear here that THAT is not the only reason, without mincing his words (which is probably why this book is published online?).

What's surprising is that I do agree with SOME of his observations, one of which is that most women (and by that, most of my friends even) expect men to play by a certain set of rules, while they feel free to do whatever they want. Says Jeffries, quite rightly,

"For example, lots of women are more than happy to spend your money and time, and generally lead you on, letting you think you have a reward (sexual) coming. They talk about sex on the date, touch you a lot, and ACT very seductive. Then when you make a pass, they freak out and scream about what animals men are, how we're only after one thing. Then when you make a pass, they freak out and scream about what animals men are, how we're only after one thing. Or they let you have it with that famous line "I'm just not attracted to you.""

Blunt, but quite accurate, wouldn't you say? Also true to a certain extent is this:

"When it comes to sex, women have a massive power advantage. It's relatively easy for even a fat, ugly troll to obtain sexual satisfaction. All she has to do is go to any bar or club, act even mildly flirtatious, and be willing to put out. She's sure to get laid, if not by the best looking guy, then at least by someone. It's much harder for even a decent looking guy to get satisfaction, sexually. FOR GUYS, GETTING LAID IS A CHORE. FOR WOMEN, GETTING LAID IS A CHOICE".

Now I never really thought about it this way, but when I digested this paragraph, I must say that Jeffries, despite the obviously deep-seeded angst, is right on the money. I mean, when I was in college, I had a formerly fat friend with skin problems (she's gorgeous now) who only had to go to a bar and in under two hours, she would be walking out with some guy.

Compare this to my guy friend D, who's a little plump and odd-looking (looks 40 when he's really just 30), quite a successful businessman in his own right although he does come from a well-to-do family, who has to resort to 'conning' women into talking to him on IRC and then have tell him "aw, you're a brother to me" or simply stop chatting with him when they finally see his picture.

In short, within the first hour of a casual meeting, women are VERY judgmental when it comes to looks, EVEN when it's just for casual sex. We say that men are visual creatures but give a horny, average-looking man a woman who's willing to sleep with him, and he's game. But ask a woman who's allegedly looking for a one-night stand if she'd sleep with a sweaty, balding guy, even if it's just for seven minutes?

So the next time we women want to complain about how men are shallow and only want one thing, perhaps we should remember that we too, are not entirely blameless. Perhaps then we can learn to appreciate a guy for what he truly is - sweaty, bald-head and all.


JENNIFER TAI WRITES ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS AND FIRST-TIME MOTHERHOOD ON MSN.COM.MY'S WOMEN'S CHANNEL EVERY WEEK. SHE WELCOMES MAILS AT JENN@JENNEMEDE.COM AND DISCUSSIONS AT MSN.COM.MY'S WOMEN COMMUNITY BOARDS.

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Isn't she just brilliant? :)

Posted by Doreen at 4:43 pm



    

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Possibility?

Got time to kill.. Thought I'd write something. I'm meeting Roy after this. He's the guy who auditioned me on Sunday for the DJing thing. Told me he's got a job for me for this weekend.. Both on Saturday and Sunday.

Is that quick or what?

But I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. I mean, I don't even have a compilation of music that DJs are supposed to have! Nevertheless, he said not to worry and to come by meet him and he'll brief me etc. So I guess I've got nothing to lose, drop by, meet him up and see what this weekend's event is all about.

You think I can do it? Sigh.

Posted by Doreen at 7:01 pm



    

Superstar?

Inverted Coma's performance at Fete de la Musique was great! The unplugged sets were barely audible.. so screw that. But eventhough the location of Stage 5 wasn't all that great, the band managed to draw a crowd in, and we even had people coming nearer to the stage to do a little dance. I bet it's a good feeling for them up there on the stage when you see your audience enjoying your music huh!

It was a tiring night, after plenty of hiccups and lotsa walking around the cobbled streets in town in my heels, my feet was aching when I finally got home. I swear. Why do girls even bother! Just for the sake of a trimmer silhoutte and a nice pert butt, we gotta endure these bloody 3-inch heels.

Anyways. All in all, I'd say that it was a night that ended pretty well. I'm gonna miss David when he leaves. What's gonna happen to the band? We've got exactly 2 months before he leaves to the States for Uni... Now that we've got Nat to fill up the Rhythm Guitarisit position, in no time, we've gotta start looking for someone to fill vox too. I think vox would be harder isn't it? Hmm.. Will the new person be a party-goer who will drink and party as much as David so then we can still go out and party together? Will the new person do a good Donald Duck impersonation when high? HAHAHA... Gosh gosh.

Hmm.. Inverted Coma is made of up 5 very different individuals - and their difference is what makes them so unique. I mean, you'd never think that a punk party-goer like David would hang out with a Pharmacy student like Jason now did you? And then Jason the Mr. Whatever-I-Don't-Care, and Julian.. Julian the.. ermm.. HAHAHA. Julian is funny man! And then we have Natalie.. Nat is all prim and proper and lady-like. But what brings them together is the music and their passion for making music together. Gosh it's great! And I love them all! Big hugs to them all!

With this entry, I wish them all the very best. Forever and ever.. for as long as they decide to make music together. I wish David didn't have to go.. But I guess he's gotta go to Uni right?

Oh, damn. Why am I all emotional today?

Posted by Doreen at 3:03 pm



    

Monday, June 21, 2004

Fresh Air

I heave a sigh of relieve as I feel my lungs and throat clear. I breathe better today. One major task I've been delaying has finally been completed. It's a good feeling.

Plus, I did something nice over the weekend. I went to curl my hair.. It's a nice messy look with big curls.. Love it, love it. Love it cos it's different. Love it cos it makes me feel more womanly. Love it cos it's all messy and bouncy.

Then, on Sunday went for a so-called audition for a freelance mobile DJ job.. And I got it! You know those DJs at shopping malls announcing promotions, events, etc? During the audition, I was given a press advertisement and told to pretend that I was at venue at this Mall which has some carnival going on.. So I grabbed the mike and started talking and talking.. And gosh, it felt good. Then I was told to do it in Malay, Mandarin and Cantonese.. I stumbled here and there for these 3 languages, but an OK overall.

So they hired me. But then again, it's a freelance thing. So it's as and when they have projects and as and when they feel that I am good enough to handle an event. But it's cool.. I need time to go check out their other DJs at work, need time to compile my own music selection, etc.

I don't really care how much they pay me.. I mean of course it's gotta be reasonable.. At the end of the day, I just want to be able to include 'Freelance DJ' in my portfolio. I mean, broadcasting has always been a dream.. If I can use this as a springboard, a platform, to gain experience and exposure.. maybe I can go into radio someday... Hmm... Nice.

Had a pretty decent weekend.. Plus, it must be some National Roadblock Day on Saturday night here in the Valley. Some 4 or 5 roadblocks around Bangsar, Brickfields and Ampang.. All these suburbs within close proximities of one another. Goodness me. We went thru 2 itself that night. Nothing happened.. Just very sober. HAHA.

Oh well..





Posted by Doreen at 4:28 pm



    

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Oh what a night!

Last night went out for drinks with Stefi and Chris. Dropped by this new place where Naresh works.. It was good to see familiar faces around. Indeed a reminscence of the good old days of OneUtama.

Got there at about 8:30pm and finished two beers in the next hour or so. In the hours that followed, I insisted on drinking iced water because I was going to be driving home. Meanwhile, Chris and Naresh were just guzzling beer and I, well, I sat back with my glass of water.

Finally, at about 2:00am, we all decided that we should each have one beer for the road. So I did. One last beer. Which fucked me up. I happily drove home seeing how the night has been great. I didn't have much to drink, am sober, and caught up with two old friends. What more can I ask for on a weeknight?

As I exit the highway and took a turn, a police block was right up ahead. At that very point in time, I was still damn confident of myself, knowing that I had not gone over the limit. I happily turned off the music and wind the window down and he asked me if I had been drinking. I wouldn't dare say no, so I said yes - one glass. He asked me to pull over. I was panicking by then. He told me to get down the car and to blow into the breath test thingie and the red light came on. How can this be? So he said he's gonna drive my car back to the police station and I started to cry. Also said that there is no point I explain now, tell the judge that I'm not drunk in court tomorrow. I tried to sweet talk him and see if I can wiggle my way out. He said no. I got back into the car and made a few phone calls to a few people.. Chris, Naresh, Al.. and they told me to stay calm and try my best to get out of it by paying some money. Shit. Fucking policemen.

I didn't have much left.. Some 80 bucks? Eventually I gave everything. He initially didn't believe that that was all I had but I showed him my empty wallet! Fucking greedy bastards! So pissed.

All the while I was in tears.. and he was being so sacarstic, "Why are you crying? If you're so scared, next time don't drink and drive!"

So I handed him over the entire content of my wallet and he let me off. I called Naresh, Chris and Al and told them that I was OK. Chris and Naresh were really nice and so worried! So Chris told me to call him when I got home safe, which I did. So upon reaching home, I called him and while talking, I heard background voices which didn't quite sound right at that time. I asked him where he was. He was drunk. Way way drunk when we all left Bojangles. He kept saying that he's OK and won't tell me where he was. Finally he said he is having some problems with his tyre.. I don't know what or how or how serious it is, but he assured me that he's at a petrol kiosk and that an attendant there was helping him. What could I say? I just told him to take care and drive home safe. He sms-ed me about 30 minutes later saying that he's now home.

Oh, what a night huh? But it was a good learning experience.. There's a first for everything huh? Those fuckers were just out to scare me I swear, and all they really wanted was some quick money. I'm gonna curse that fat bastard for the rest of my life man!

Anyways, anyone knows how does a breathlyser thingie work? When I first blew into it, the green light came on first - then after a second, changed to red. Is it supposed to be like that? How can one beer make me go over the limit?

Indeed a night!

Posted by Doreen at 9:52 am



    

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Skeletons in the Closet



Thanks Felix! Got it off his Friendster account. Love this pic so much decided to upload it here on my bloggie.

Posted by Doreen at 5:25 pm



    

Cookie Jar

Him and me, we fell into another one of those silly, senseless misunderstandings again. It's damn stupid I swear. But what can I do? When I say something like, "I don't like being ignored", he replies with "And...?" Or when I say, "So why the silent treatment?", he will reply with "Nothing much..." Great isn't it? Am I supposed to decipher that and make some sense out of that few empty words?

So then it was just hanging again. Men. So typical. Women. Very typical too. Why did God ever create us both so differently and expect us to live together? A tad insane if you ask me.

And this soccer fever is just madness! We have wacky stories in the media about how a wife smacks her husband in the head with a remote control and hid away the ASTRO SmartCard because her husband snuck out of the room at 2am in the morning to watch the Live telecast of a match. Then we've got another wacky wife who has a padlock on her fridge so that her hubbie can't get a drink in the middle of the night when he wants to sit and enjoy a Live match. And guess where did she hide the SmartCard of the ASTRO decoder? Bingo. In the fridge which is padlocked. She probably has the keys stuck up her vagina or something.

So some say I'm mumbling. But whatever man. Thank goodness I'm not down with another one of my mid-week hangovers this morning. Last night was Monster's birthday bash. About 7 of us got together and drank ourselves silly at Pascal's apartment. Tequila is still a classic drink man.

Posted by Doreen at 3:33 pm



    

Monday, June 14, 2004

Rest in Peace, Jagger...

As I hurried my pace into the office this morning, excited to see how all my pets are doing after the weekend while I was away, I was praying that Froggy would be alive cos I know he wasn't eating well.

So I eyed Froggy and tapped on the side of the tank, and he jumped and hopped around a few times. I heaved a sigh of relieve and channelled my attention to the 3 newts. There he was, floating with his face and body bloated, and eyes all blurred with a layer of icky stuff all over it. I squealed and backed off. It was a gruelling sight! His mouth was wide open too! As though he choked on something.

As I flushed him down the toilet, I muttered 'Goodbye Jagger' and saw the water wash him off. That was the end of Fatso. Talk about how Monday sucks! Let alone coming in to find a dead pet!

After removing Jagger from the tank and changing the water for Fatso and Spidey, I had trouble swallowing my breakfast. One frankfurter, one hash brown and a sunny-side up.

The weekend at the Swiss Garden Damai Laut Resort in Lumut was fun! It was relaxing and the sun and sea, and not to mention the beer and the food, did me good. It was indeed rejuvenating. We even went kayaking! And poor Donna who was in the kayak with me turned over and fell into the sea as I got off the kayak cos we were nearing shore. HAHA.

Since it was a Christian conference to start off with, there were these seminars, workshops, focus groups, quiet time, etc. that I made a point to not attend. Well, I took this just as a cheap holiday and wanted to get away for a while. But Anderson did make it a point to give me a bible. And I learnt how to use it too. But hmm... What's good of a bible to a non-believer?

Anyways, Fresa, the new Graphic Designer is here today. So are the three Indonesian interns assigned to other departments. Young university kids.. Met them at the retreat in Lumut over the weekend... A great bunch! Oh Donna is one of them!

Here's hoping that Jagger is on his way to a better place now.

Posted by Doreen at 9:12 am



    

Friday, June 11, 2004

Red Is Hot

Of late, I've taken to sleeping at night without drawing my curtains. That way, the early morning sun will shine into the room, and I think my chances of over-sleeping are kept to a minimum this way.

But this morning I woke up with a nice surprise. As I trudged thru my messy room to stand in front of the mirror, the sun shone on my hair, and it's red under the sun's rays! HAHAHA... Love it, love it. Dyed my hair around midnight last night since I wasn't gonna sleep early, had to pack up for the trip today anyway.

So yeah, I feel damn good today. It's probably the new hair colour. Or maybe cos today we're gonna go off for a li'l retreat. But I think the hair colour helps a whole lot. Now, does that mean that I'll have to change my hair colour every other week to keep my spirits up?

We are gonna play under the sun! Yeay!

Posted by Doreen at 10:05 am



    

Thursday, June 10, 2004

whydoineedtoinsertatitle?

Headache. Dehydrated. Sleepy. Fuckin' hung-over alright! Somebody save me! This is bad... so, so, so very bad. OK.. I think I was doing a li'l bit of mumbling there.

Went out with Anna and gang, David, Emily, Fujia and Lily last night.. Needless to say, we just drowned ourselves silly in alcohol. Beer was cheap. House-pouring was going free flow all night long for ladies. The cute bartender never allowed my glass to be empty for more than 30 seconds before he brings me another glass of whiskey dry. In times like this, how can you not get drunk?

I even surprised myself that I could drive home safe! Thanks to David for sitting in the car accompanying me. HAHA.. I initially thought that he could help me drive my car and send me home in case I get too drunk. But I think he was quite tipsy too... Heh heh heh.

Crap. I think I'll write later OK? I just finished a bowl of porridge and drank a whole bottle of mineral water. I think I'll go lie down or something.

Posted by Doreen at 9:56 am



    

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Did You Say Atrocious English?

*Doreen hollers* I DREAD COMING TO WORK AFTER A LONG WEEKEND!

Then again, what's new eh? It's been a relatively peculiar weekend. I say peculiar because I do not know how to describe it. It was slow and boring at times, and also tiring and hectic on other times. Weird isn't it? Joo Thye's wedding went well I suppose. I mean, OK, so I haven't been to so many weddings to gauge whether or not it was a good wedding. But it was crowded and hot most of the times.

OK, this is a very traditional Chinese Buddhist wedding. All the midnight incense lighting ceremony to pray to the Heavens, the combing of the groom's hair as he wears his pyjamas and new shoes parading around, the tea ceremony, God, the tea ceremony. This is one the most boring, tedious and not to mention LONG things I've ever gotta sit through! OK, I'm being a wet blanket here aren't I? OK, it's not that I don't wish the newly-weds well. I wish them eternal happiness and love as a couple with babies on the way!

Heh heh heh. But seriously, all the uncles, aunties, grand-aunts and uncles, grandparents, elder cousins, grand-cousins, grrr... Just so many people. And imagine you have to sit through that at BOTH the bride's and bridgegroom's side of the family! Ouch isn't it? And the weather.. God, the weather. I can't imagine how Pei Pei is feeling in that thick, white wedding gown of hers. Plus the make-up and all the hair-do and whatnot.

You know what? When people attend weddings, they get all romantic and think of the day when it will be their turn to get married. But after attending a wedding, especially a Chinese wedding, I hate it even more. I don't wanna ever get married this way!

And then, there's the wedding dinner.. all the protocols, the nosy relatives, when will it ever end?! OK, not all traditions are bad. I just find that some are tediously unncessary.

Then again, at the end of the day - I'm just a Chinese girl from a Chinese Buddhist family. It's not going to be so different afterall is it? Ain't gonna cause no revolutionary changes now am I?

We got back yesterday evening from Penang and went straight to the studio where the band was auditioning Natalie, and as of last night, all of us officially welcomed Natalie into the band, taking up the position of Rhythm Guitarist with Inverted Coma. Congrats to her! She rocks! When I saw her last night, she was in this short denim skirt with princess looking shoes and a pink top. She had nice shoulder length curls which softens her face. But her guitar was a red, sleek looking thing. The first thing that caught my attention was a sticker that read "Wake Up Motherfucker!" I love contradictions. So then she played Superstar? and Ordinary Joe with the band.. And she rocks! She's got the style and groove, and well, we all decided that she's in!

So it's back to work today. Heaps and heaps to do. That's why I hate coming back to work after a long weekend, so many things to complete, so much to follow up, etc.

Then again, I take comfort because this is gonna be a short week -a 3-day week to be precise because I'm off again on a holiday on Friday. Going to Damai Laut Swiss Inn Resort & Spa up north in Lumut. Well, my Manager's gonna be there, so is my CEO and his family.. then there are a few other people from the company. It's not exactly a company trip.. just some conference thingie. Whatever. It's a holiday (despite the presence of bosses) with the sand, sun and sea. No complains.

While I was not at the office yesterday, a drama unfolded. Why am I always at the wrong place at the wrong time? I would have love to smack Moses in the face.. If only I had been here yesterday.

Last year, TWO Advertising was our agency who took care of our art direction and copywriting of advertisements. This year it's back to being in-house jobs. So I took a body copy of last year's campaign (which they so loved back then!) and amended it slightly to fit into our current campaign. Moses came back to the team and complained, demanding to know who wrote the copy. They said Doreen did, and asked him what's wrong. He said that the English is utterly atrocious and that it makes no sense. So when Anderson told me this over the phone yesterday morning when I was still in Penang, I was fuming. I explained everything to him, and told them to make sure Moses gets a copy of last year's advertisement so that he can see the text within that particular ad. Honestly? It wasn't much of a change. Just a few words here and there, and a few additional lines towards the end. Sigh. If only I was at work yesterday, I would have given it to him nicely, be what I do best, my forte - an A-class sarcastic bitch.

Anyways. I've whined enough. Back to some serious works now.

Posted by Doreen at 10:12 am



    

Friday, June 04, 2004

The Irony of Her Actions

When I have a bad day at work, if I happen to tell one of my sisters about it, and one of my sisters happen to narrate the sequence of events to my parents... Then, say Mom calls me up and asks me about the truth in the story or just to check up on me, I'd feel safe and nice, knowing that there are people - my family - who are concerned about my well-being.

Why are some people so defensive of their actions? If you've got nothing to hide, if you've got no crime to hide, why do you build a wall around yourself? Don't forget - Blood is thicker than water. Don't family members have a right for concern anymore? Since when was it wrong for family members to speak of another someone in the family?

If you dare to publish your tales in cyberspace, why are you so afraid of someone finding out what happened?

Get a life, babe! If you insist that you already have one, I think you may need to get a new one or something, it looks pretty fucked to me.

PS: I love your call. How curtly adorable.

Posted by Doreen at 11:49 am



    

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Stephen found Steve...

Apparently, my ex-Manager Stephen the Dick, has found a new subordinate by the name of Steve. Steve was looking for me yesterday when I was on MC. So he got talking to one guy from Student Affairs.

Guess what? Steve asked Boon if Doreen had problems with Stephen while she was under him. Oh wait till you hear more.. Yesterday was only his second day at work! So Boon asked Steve where he heard the news from.. And Steve muttered like "someone told him". So Boon just shrugged it off and said he knew nothing about other departments.

I wonder who can be such a blabber mouth.. Geez. I'd better be careful to not spill so much to Steve, despite the fact that I would absolutely love to badmouth Stephen the S.O.B.

Anyways. Woke up real early this morning.. Well, earlier than usual. Lily and Pascal had 8:30 classes and no ride to go to College, so I volunteered to pick them both up from their place which was round the corner from my house. And upon getting to their respective classes.. Pascal discovered that his lecturer is absent today. And Lily's class is postponed to 2pm. HAHAHAHA.. So much for getting to school early eh? If it were me, I'd be fuming. I hate it when things like that happen. Especially when it concerns my efforts in waking up early in the morning!

Ah.. There's plans to catch up with a friend tonight. There's plans to hit the town tonight for drinks with some friends. There's also plans to just laze around at home in my old, faded shorts and tee shirt. Decisions, decisions, decisions. They're a bummer aren't they?

Last night, as I was lying in bed in the dark waiting for sleep to befall, I decided that I was gonna seriously start looking for a new job. Maybe I'm getting bored with this organisation. Maybe I don't like what I'm doing now. I don't like a Client Servicing portfolio. I want something where I am able to use my creativity to get a job done. I'm gonna find a way to print out copies of my CV today and then start mailing them out. Hmm.. The Secret Recipe is looking for an A&P Executive some weeks back. I wondered if they have found their candidate yet. Perhaps should give them a call today and enquire about it.

I've contemplated speaking to Anderson about it. About how demotivated I've become to walk into the office everyday and feel that I'm not making full use of my abilities. But upon further consideration, I think - what's the point? The organisation does not really have the porfolios which I'm looking to do. Sure, there are the occassional writing tasks and editing tasks that I get to do, but that's not too often you see.

The Erican Language Centre has assigned another class for me to teach. Another class of 8 or 9 to teach Basic English Reading. Tonight is the first BER class. I saw the syllabus yesterday and it was outrageously kindergarten material you know? Like naming body parts, etc. So I asked the Centre Manager, "What is the age group of this class? Kindergaten and Primary school kids am I right?" He then told me that it's a group of young working adults. I gulped and choked on my own saliva. A bunch of young working adults who can't read simple words? So I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Oh yeah. We gave them an entrance test before deciding which level to place them in.. and they couldn't even finish reading a 2 liner paragraph". Whoa. I must meet them.. Though, thinking about it now, it IS gonna be kinda scary isn't it? A bunch of 20-something year olds who can't read simple words like STOMACH, ANKLE, ELBOW, etc. Oooh.. It's gonna be one helluva class!

I think I'm gonna be super nosy and go check out the Steve guy now : )

Laterz.

Posted by Doreen at 9:17 am



    

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Little Women of the 21st

It's been a great day thus far. I woke up at 8:00am, then realized that I'm in no shape to go to work. Caught a cold last night, and when I woke up this morning, urgh, just feeling plain ugly you know?

Oh, and we were out drinking and dancing till about 3 in the morning, and by the time we finished supper and got home, it was already 4am. HAHA.. So in a way, I guess the night activities had something to do with me not being able to go to work today.

So I SMSed Anderson and told him that I've been running back and forth the toilet non-stop, and that it must be a very bad bout of food poisoning. Went to see the Doctor at the office and had an MC written. Hurhurhur...

Finished the book "Second Wives" by Cindy Blake. The book, about the 4 Preston sisters and their lives.. How 3 outta 4 of them married divorced men.. Their names? Meg, Beth, Amy and Leonora. Jo wasn't in the picture. The incomplete Little Women. It's like a tale of Little Women in the 21st century... A very interesting read.

Married man goes out and has an affair with a hot, young thing. Married man and hot young thing falls in love. Married man decides to file for a divorce with his wife. Marrie man and hot young thing gets married. Old wife is all jealous and pissed off. Who's at fault? Hot young thing for seducing a married man? Married man for being so damn horny? Old wife for being old and boring? Tho' that's rather superficial I know. But anyways, "Second Wives" was a good read because it showed us both worlds - the misery old wife goes thru when married man dumps her, and the notion of real and possible love between hot young thing and married man. I mean, who ever gives a rat's ass about the second wife right? She's always deemed to be the one who tears families apart.. But maybe she just happens to fall in love with the wrong men? Hmm...

Anyways, I liked the character Beth the most. She's the second Preston girl and is a shrink by profession. She's loud and vocal and loves to pass harsh judgement on people and is very condemning. Anyways, these Prestons girls have a wacko mom who abandoned them once in a parking lot of some shoping centre when they were really young. With no money, they couldn't get a cab home. So Beth approached this stranger, Stuart, and he gave the young girls a lift home. Beth had a little girl crush on Stuart right there and then. Upon getting out of Stuart's car as a little girl, Stuart told her that she's too young, and to call him when she's 21. She took it for real this girl!

20 years down the road, she looks him up in the phone book and voila! Got in touch with him.. At first he thought that she was a stalker.. But in the end, they ended up together as a happy couple. HAHAHA... Cheesy isn't it? But isn't it amazing that the author dares to write of such an "almost impossible" tale?

Anyways...

Posted by Doreen at 4:12 pm



    

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Teacher Doreen sez...

I don't understand. I slept at 1:00am last night, woke up at 8:15am this morning, and am still utterly sleepy. Actually I woke up later than 8:15.. And my hair is in such a sorry state! HAHA. I didn't even bother fixing it up with barette or anything. It's just falling all over the place! HELP!

I had a pretty good class last night. However, I just found out that one of this girl dropped out. So now my student count is sitting at 8. It's a small group, yeah.. But it's a good size. I even told them to come in here and start up their own blogs.. Read this article in the Sunday Star about how blogging helps student with their writing and narration skills. So it'll be good for them.

I've got a funny bunch of them in class you know? Chee Wei is a glamour puss. She comes in with hair perfectly done, nails immaculately polished with the season's colours, outfits that are so tres chic and well, she's very quiet. Kian Bin is one hillarious dude.. He's a nice looking dude who's very jovial and giggly! When he speaks of something funny, he'll be trying hard to contain his laughter and covering his mouth, AND speaking at the same time. What comes out is some muffled mambo jambo that I can barely decipher! Sudha is an ultra-shy mouse! I wish I can get her to be more assertive, be louder and participate more often! Sometimes when I ask her a question, she just shakes her head and smile. Linda is a 30-something year old housewife who has an amazing vocabulary which she is afraid to use! On the occassion when she inserts a big word into her writing and conversation, she would know exactly how to spell the word, know the use of the word, but not able to pronounce it. But that's OK. Fu Wei is a bright kid. She's a deep thinker I think for she hardly speaks up in class, but when she does, what comes out is brilliant. Wei Kay is your average Jane kinda girl. Chubby, with long hair and she needs to learn how to speak up more often! Jasmine is a teacher in a Primary school.. Very outgoing and is always one of the first to volunteer to present anything that I get them to do. Teik Wei is like a closet romantic. HAHA.. He's a computer game addict, looks like your average Joe, but knows how to play the guitar. Hehe... He's quite a S.N.A.G. type of guy I think...

Last night at about 10:30, I went over the Elaine's place with a slice of cake from Secret Recipe. At the hallway outside her apartment, I was busy opening up the box and sticking a candle into the cake and trying to be as careful as possible (knowing my klutziness) to not drop the entire piece on the floor! Hehe.. When everything was all set, I stood by her door, called her on the mobile and told her to open up. You shoulda' seen the look of surprise on her face! Hehe.. It was nice being able to give someone a pleasant surprise and to make someone smile like this. I feel like St. Nick!

Posted by Doreen at 10:19 am