Sunday 28 December 2008

Perfume

I consider myself an immature perfume fan. I hardly wear them, and I have a bad flu-prone nose.

My first perfume was a Dunhill Desire Blue given by my ex, while the second was a Burberry London for Men, purchased together with my younger brother.

High note, mid tones and base, basics of perfume. Just like liquors, I'm fascinated by the intricacy of perfume making, and the amazing abilities of those in this industry to imagine, blend and smell.

Scent triggers memories. Hence, for almost a year, I stayed away from my Dunhill. But no worries, because I’m happily using it now. LOL

I do wonder, does anyone remember how I smelled like? I’m quite odourless to myself, but that is probably because my nose got used to it.

Here's the story which inspired my rambling. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Should an Old Fragrance Be Forgot

Thursday 25 December 2008

My Secret Santa is...

Today is Christmas.

A few weeks ago, we had the Secret Santa thing going on. What started out as a simple gifts exchange event became a major CSI drama in the office. GP and Allie got obsessed over knowing who is whose Secret Santa and formed the GPS team.

GPS means Gila Power Syndrome in our office, but now they have redefined it to become Gaik Ping Subramanian.

They guessed, investigated, and force-confessed people in the office to complete their list of Secret Santas. And over conversations and MSN, they will tell us “I know who your Secret Santa is!” before they put up a big grin and said “But I won’t tell you”.

Women...

But it was great fun on the 23rd! Look at our happy faces! My Secret Santa was Nico, freaky since I was GP's secret santa... the BMW triplets. Same thing happened to the healthcare team too. We also received personal gifts from each other, the amount of love was just overflowing that day.


Ku giving his speech


Warm and fuzzy felling

Other than a few, the GPS team got almost everyone's Secret Santa correct.


GP checking her not-so-perfect list

The office also went to Karaoke on the same night. And my gosh, the Scary-oke became one of the most fun K-outing I have ever been to! We discovered singing machines, song birds, and ha ha, I sang too, voluntarily!



Big thanks to Ku, Joyce, Jida, Kel, Nico and GP; you guys gave me my first pink-lavender coloured shirt; a book to accompany me (I love the personal note in it); know my music taste (must admit, was a bit worried when I saw the CD shape wrapper); and know my favourite brand for skincare!

Not in the picture: BearBrick Series 17 from Zoe (I kept your small note), a very entertaining “oil hour glass” from Fazz (probably the gift that I’m going to stare at the most, ah yes thanks GP for the correction), and Vennese’s obscenely big pen from Scotland.

P/S: I’m grateful for the two Christmas that we spent together. Merry Christmas & happy anniversary.

Saturday 20 December 2008

My first LOMO experience!

Pictures taken using Alarm’s LCA. Just so I can add more text to this post, do you know the difference between LCA and LCA+?

You don’t know le.

LCA is Russian made, while LCA+ is China made!

Yea~ simple saje. LOL, of course there are more to the answer. Go dig yourself la. It’s fun to make a discovery by yourself, no?

Ok, ok, then let me tell you about the 10 rules of Lomography.

01 : Take your LOMO with you EVERYWHERE you go
02 : Use it all the time, every time DAY AND NIGHT
03 : LOMO does not interfere with YOUR LIFE, it's part of it
04 : Get as CLOSE as possible to the objects of your Lomographic desire
05 : Don't think
06 : Be quick
07 : You don't have to know what you're shooting
08 : You don't have to recognize what you've shot
09 : Shoot from the hip and over your head
10 : Don't worry about rules

Okay enough text.


The darkened corners is LCA's specialty.


Enlarge to see the details. Trust me.






Aiya, why like that!





















To me, LOMO is fun photography! Yea~ You should really visit www.lomographyasia.com and see how the other PROs do it.

Pictures in my FB taken using SLR. Not LOMO. But still very nice. So I like. Hahaha.

The Rope Theory

I remember clearly reading it once in Doraemon, that human’s luck is intertwined like a rope. We start our journey of life from the tip, and walk towards the end, each with its own length.

Luck, like the strains of rope tied to each other side by side, pair good and bad side by side too.

The chain is about understanding balance and moderation, about being prepared for failure when we are successful, and about not losing hope when situation seems desperate.

I believe in it for as long as I can remember.

Dec 9, 2008. I went to work with aching legs due to my excessive walking in shopping malls the day before. It was an exciting day because within the same day, it will be the 2nd Malaysia PR Award night- the event that marks my anniversary in the industry.

But also in this fateful day, my ancient Mitsubishi Lancer 3rd Generation aka Proton Saga broke down at 12.30 afternoon, while the BMW team was on our way to Cyberjaya for the last WIP meeting in 2008.

I can’t tell you how horrible I felt. Surely it wasn’t the first time I experience a car breaking down, but it was my first with passengers!

For almost two hours, Nico and GP accompanied me, suffered and dehydrated under the hot sun while waiting for help to arrive. AAM and highway SOS phone booth didn’t work. Here is GP’s story.

Rescue came when my uncle arrived and confirmed that the tow truck was on its way, and then Allie also arrived to fetch us back to the office, with water and potato buns. I felt like a stranded GI, or rather a refugee rescued by the humvee or black hawk, with patriotic music playing in the background.

Back to the base, exhaustion prevented me from doing any real work. I spaced out for about an hour before we went to Nico’s place to get the much needed shower for MPRA.

This time, GP drove.

Maybe it was the clients who were present, or the excitement knowing that after one year I’m back here again not just as attendee, the rush of blood provided me the energy to look lively.

“We better win something tonight!” was what I said while waiting for help to arrive earlier. The “Rope Theory” worked its magic, and we did.







BMW Shorties became the biggest winner of that night, an honour that must be shared with Sashi and Nahri, and of course our client, Mr. V.





In total, BMW Shorties won:
- Gold Campaign of the Year
- Best Use of Digital

A big thanks to Nico, GP, Ku, and Joyce too.

Not a bad way to end 2008. Cheers.



p/s: More pictures in my FB album and a moment of glam for me in Bernama news.

* My bragging rights, haha.

Monday 8 December 2008

neu

This is new. The client is new, the SOP is new, and the media we deal with are new.

Well, at least for me, a noob in the industry.



Back when we were pitching for it...

But new also means I get to devise the SOP, get to set benchmarks, get to contribute rather than just following the footsteps of pros.

Daunting task that excites me. LOL.

***

Have also put up an album in FB sharing my one year in FH.

Public viewing is available here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=65516&l=3ec67&id=576696560


Saturday 6 December 2008

2008 is coming to an end...

... but it is not yet the last event of the year for me. I have one more coming up on 17 Dec. However, it was the last one for BMW team- BMW Premium Selection Launch







***

Two years ago around this time, I joined Ntv7 as video editor, not knowing what to expect. I thought that I'm a broadcasting person, because I prefer visual, I'm hands on, and most of all, I write badly.

A year ago, I joined Fleishman Hillard as PR executive, also not knowing what to expect. It doesn't make sense to many, even myself! What I know then were... though I prefer visual, I'm not visually creative; I write badly, because I have never written and read as much as I should.

Now, sitting here looking into 2009, I know what I want next year. In three more days, the MPRA is at us again. Coincidentally, MPRA represents my anniversary in FH as well. We have two nominations this year.

You will hear more on Wednesday. I hope.

***

Recently, the office went on a movie character matching rampage. Well, according to my officemates, I'm R2D2 of Starwars, Sam of LOTR, Ron of Harry Potter, and Abu of Aladdin (the monkey). I'm not complaining, because they are all lovable characters, and I used to called myself a hobbit.

We still can't figure out a movie that can match everyone... but there are some interesting stuff. So before I forget, let me write them down here.

Star Wars:

Yoda - Ku
Darth Vader - Joyce
Luke Skywalker - Jon
Han Solo - Nico
Queen Amidala - Jida
Princess Leia - Fazz
R2D2 - Me
C3PO - GP
Chewbacca & Jajabing hybrid - Kel

Disney:

Violet - GP
Jasmine - Fazz
Abu - Me

LOTR:

Gandalf - Ku
Legolas - Jon
Gimli - Kel
Sam - Me
Saruman/ Galadriel - Joyce
Eowyn - GP
Arwen - Vennese

Harry Potter:

Harry - Nico
Ron - Me
Herminone - GP

Saturday 22 November 2008

Sex and the City

Just done watching Sex and the City- The Movie.

You know, the funny part is, I have never watch a single episode of this super famous TV series. Never. I remember I read somewhere that the TV series was adapted from books. Yes? No? Nevermind.

Anyway, I like it. Particularly during this scene when Carrie asked "Lean?" and Mr. Big reached out his arm to let her slipped into his side... aww... that was very very sweet.

But, my favourite gotta be Miranda. She is like me, very calculative and unforgiving when the partner screwed up. LOL.

Oops, times up. The court is summoning me.

***

UPDATES.

Sex and the City was indeed written by Candance Bushnell. She also published Trading Up, Four Blondes, Lipstick Jungle and One Fifth Avenue. Harper's Bazaar Australia did an interview with her in their November 08 issue.

Friday 21 November 2008

super.awesome.fabulous.BMW.Shorties.

It's official. It's not a dream.

Drum roll.




Nico receiving the award. Brimming. GP got some interesting description here.

Frankly, the excitement really kicked in when I saw who were we up against. No one can define you better than your rival isn't it? And the GREATEST honour- BMW Shorties is among the Top 5 campaigns in Asia Pacific vying for the Campaign of the Year Award!

As the only Malaysian entry, I say the success is monumental! Too often our country is disregarded because we are not the "key market", too little demand, too small... But, who could have guessed that we toppled a giant as big as China in winning an award that defines innovativeness in the digital frontier?

Yes. We won. What next is to continue winning. And we are definitely confident.

BMW Shorties rocks my socks off.

***

In total, FH won:



AND Asia Pacific Network of the Year!

***

Aiks, how can I forget this, the reason why I was so tired on Thursday...



Cover is always cool :P

AND Fuzzy won the FH Team Player Award and bought the office ice-cream!! For that, we are going to make sure she wins every year. LOL.

Talk about having a good day :)

Thursday 20 November 2008

je suis fatigue

Ahh~ the BMW 3 Series LCI launch is finally over. Everything went well, though I still suffered the post-event-adrenaline-rush-fatigue.

Oops, just realized I have 13 days of annual leave to kill. Minus the week off during CNY 2009 and a few holidays in the coming December, I’m still left with 7-8 days. Hmm. How ar?

***

UPDATES!

This is MASSIVE, EPIC, and TOTALLY OWNING because when I was zombie-ing my way home, I received these SMSes-

"Oh my god! We won it! First award of the night! Winner! Im in tears";
"WOO HOO! Congrats Bimmer team!! :D";
"We won network of d yr too!";
"We were also shortlisted 4 campaign of d yr. It was top 5!"


YES! I'm talking about the BMW Shorties winning in Asia Pacific PR Awards. WOo Hoo! I'm ecstatic! It is too good to be true and my mind restricted myself to react to the news, fearing that overly expressing my joy will ruin the whole thing, and I might wake up knowing it was just a dream!

But it is not! The fact is we won! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA~

Tuesday 11 November 2008

我的外婆认识Obama

最近老天爷的脾气不好,阵雨、烈日,难以捉摸。
工作遇上了超无奈的状况,详情不便在这里透露。
只能说是对大伙儿士气的一大打击。

嗯,闲聊时听到不利于我的话,却不知可信度有多高。
因为告密和放话的都是我熟悉,也提防的人。
女人啊,你们的心机重,也别把男生当笨蛋。

尤其是双鱼的。

报喜!死党回来了以后我们篮球也打多了。
哈哈!

外婆在家,我也尽量争取机会和她闲聊。
我的外婆很可爱!而且她认识Obama。强吧!
不,其实她比我还清楚Obama的事迹!
她应该有八十多岁了吧~ 佩服佩服。

Saturday 8 November 2008

eventless week *grin*

Compared to the rest, I have had probably the most eventless week since I joined FH. For five days, I wasn’t rushing for deadlines; wasn’t making too many calls; and wasn’t frantically correcting my own careless mistakes.

YES! For sure, I’m not complaining. *grin*

With December approaching, I’m nearing my first anniversary in PR. I’ve learnt many important lessons from the job, and the relevance of these valuable experiences often transcend beyond work.

I’ve learnt about Murphy’s Law and is converted to believe that it is the way of life, especially a day before and during event.

I’ve learnt that working on Q&A and monthly report is the best way to gain knowledge of an industry.

I’ve also learnt new words – dodgy, svelte, drivetrain, torque, purgatory; and how to pronounce Oprah and Opera.

But most importantly, I know I’m still as excited as a year ago when I see my work in the media, and I still believe in quiet hard work.

ARGH~ Why am I talking about these? I was supposed to annoy Jon and GP who were quite busy and tired this week... Seet, lu sesat la

Saturday 1 November 2008

when tech is cute.

aww...



this is beyond cute.



Isn't it awesome? Fingers crossed!

Thursday 30 October 2008

Obituary - Common Sense

London Times Obituary
We Mourn The Passing Of An Old Friend - Common Sense


Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as :
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn)
and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate;
teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch;
and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student,
only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground
when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further
when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student;
but could not inform parents
when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live
as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating
when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home
and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live,
after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust,
his wife, Discretion,
his daughter, Responsibility,
his son, Reason

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights,
I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame,
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on.
If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Wednesday 29 October 2008

About Work

Just like how I've learn in college, PR and journalist does not see eye to eye.




Back then, I was also one who thought that PR is THE dark side for comm people.

Why not? Since advertising is about producing creativity/ artwork that sell to consumer, and journalists are in the mission to report the truth, what business does a PR person do?

Write something, make it sound newsworthy and send it out?

Organize an event, doll up the place and drown media in barrels of alcohol?

Currently working as one, I say… Yes. We do everything mentioned above.

We do it because after a million trees planted by various companies, newspapers think that car accident is much more interesting than million dollar investment to ensure those trees actually grow.

And *some media* LURVE the alcohol. They get angry if you don’t invite them. They get angry if you don’t personally call to RSVP for them. They get angry if they came late and door gifts are finished…

Now, I don’t know how to lead you to my next point so I’m not going to.

A PR person might be in *some way* weigh by the amount of media friends they know (reluctantly I must agree); Media might find themselves in similar situation, where enjoying good relationships with PR persons get you the first scoop, faster access to information, exclusive interviews and ultimately, an edge over your peers.

Having said ALL that, I find myself nodding my head off to what Nade wrote. There is a lot of truth in his article. But it is the system inability to hire the right person for the right job, and the failure of the elected leader to act accordingly. At the end of the day, both ‘spin-doctor’ and Nade are just doing their job.

AND I’m just doing my job too, so leave me alone!

Monday 27 October 2008

about work

“Ok guys, remember to text mr.V when you arrived at Rome.”
“Thank you papa Seet”

Sunday 26 October 2008

你那涂满东西的脸

他们都说,做你心里想做的。
我的心想说,想大声的说:
我相信我所做的一切!

心里有一团糟的感觉,
像由心生,我的脸色应该不太好,
不过也总比你那涂满东西的脸好看。

决定下一个会是择己所爱,
我懒得去理你了。

乱了先后的次序,
时不与我也~

Saturday 25 October 2008

the Corrs.

And so Jon's tag got me all over 6 things I like, most passionate about, listen to, reading, bla bla bla... I went on a nostalgic search of what influenced my music taste the most.

I found them. The first band that I listened to, when I was 12.

Lough Erin Shore

I used to think it was LAUGH Erin Shore.. lol, I'm Chinese educated mar.



Toss the Feathers



Haste to the Wedding

And definitely this one... it's going into my (and million others) wedding playlist.



Everything about them impresses me. Female drummer, violin, tin whistle, pop-folk-traditional-mix...!! They became the benchmark of every band, music I stumbled upon later in life, ooh yes, boy bands never stood a chance :D

Tuesday 21 October 2008

jon's tag

OK, since Jon tagged me, and since he is kinda like my boss… so I guess it’s compulsory.

6 things I'm passionate about:
1) Hanging out with friends
Even going to places and doing things that I don’t really enjoy.

2) Shopping alone
When I agree to go to mall with someone, I’m actually hanging out with him/ her. When I do shop, I do it by myself.

3) Basketball
If only I can skip work and watch NBA live… Not forgetting that playing basketball with my buddies is beyond fun.

4) Outdoor
I’m just not myself when I’m in-door. I get tired easily; move slower, and less happy.

5) Arts
Photography, music, theatre, paintings, films, orchestra, comics… I don’t like to study them though, that just kills the fun.

6) City
I love cities, I love living in a city and everything that it can offer.

6 books I read(ing) recently:

1) Giddens’ novel
Think I had read more than 20 of his novels since early this year.

2) Sterling Seagrave’s Lord of the Rim
A book about the invisible empire of Overseas Chinese

3) Peter Mayle’s Expensive Habits
For my writing exercise, still I really enjoyed reading it

4) Eon Colfer’s The Wish List
Also for my writing exercise, I love stories with demons

5) William Strunk Jr’s The Elements of Style
Obviously for my writing exercise, don’t think I can finish it anytime soon

6 songs I can listen to over and over again:

1) Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
2) Panic in the Disco – I write sins, not tragedies
3) Andra & the Backbone – Sempurna
4) Hope – Who Am I
5) BEP – Feel It
6) Soda Green - 是我的海

6 things I learnt this past year:

1) I’m happy with my career switch
2) I’ve a bunch of amazing friends~
3) I work best under stress
4) I’m getting the things that I wanted since last year
5) I can tolerate A LOT of things (Jon yells: Stop being a doormat!)
6) I’m gaining weight

6 valuable things I own:

1) My family
2) My friends
3) My job
4) My room
5) My laptop
6) My appreciation for diversity

6 bloggers I tag:

Jni
Swei
Alarm & Noel
Claudia
Enki
Gaikkie

Sunday 19 October 2008

Am I good enough?

I’m excited.

While I type down my thoughts for an upcoming campaign, my mind travels back to 5th December 2008. It was my first day at work. I witnessed peoples from my agency on stage receiving awards. That night, I was happy that I’m going to work with this bunch of talented people.

What I wasn't aware then, is that the opportunity for me to prove myself in the same award winning campaign would arrive so fast…

Am I good enough?
Am I good enough to work on this marvellous campaign inherited from great peoples who conceptualised it?

I’m sure I have the passion and determination to last me through it. I know I’m ready because instead of worry, I feel energized. There’s so much in my head that I wanted to put into this campaign. There are so many ideas…

This will be a challenge for me, and I will answer my own question next year.

I’m excited.

Friday 17 October 2008

i want my gift.

I still want my gift.
I want it so badly,
I'm blogging about it.

hehehehehehehehe.

All the best in becoming a little white collar in white men world :)



Ha ha ha, we are going to hang out later.
Fazz gave me the cupcake~

Monday 13 October 2008

yummy


yeah~ today i was given a cupcake!

Saturday 11 October 2008

my work life

Let's blog a little bit about my work, that makes up 99% of my life.


This is where I work. I also eat, shop, watch movie, hang out, get my hair cut and spend my weekends here.


Everyone working here is in a rush.


KL city view from Joyce's corner. I like~ Makes me happy.

Like many other kinds of work, presentation happened very often. Here are some funnier moments during the pre stage.


This is Paprika's office. Jon and Kel brainstorming. Obviously someone was not contributing at that moment.


While Ku stayed away from us, the retards.


Ku and Jermyn emitting sheer awesomeness.


Kel stoning, Jon was hungry. We stayed till 2am.


Jon, after presentation.


How often do you get to take picture with an airplane this close?

This is my work life. It roxx~

Thursday 9 October 2008

Cars.People.Work.Fun.

These are black and whites taken during the media weekend drive. I like~ But I'm running out of cash to do film SLR... Should I switch over to digital? I'm not a purist, not even dare to call myself that... But... Film gives me a kind of excitement that digital can't... Instant gratification is not what I'm looking for in photography, I have other stuff for that purpose...

Oops, why don't we just move on to the pictures.

The Randoms





The People






















This girl is running out of expression.

The Cars









Last is this nice restaurant in Ipoh called Indulgence. Ooh~ Vennese said she will buy me a meal there when I visit Ipoh with her, cool!