Cheat Work Thursday

I so could use some positive energy to get me through the next two weeks (for now). The Secret ? Check . Exercise? Trying . I've checked everywhere and collected whatever tiny good things that I can find — from under the bed, in the closet, in my handbag (there's a piece of old Kit Kat in there, it still tastes ok).

I used to be a hopeless listener. So now, for 98% of the time, I'm happy that I've learned to listen better, which is probably helped by my job; the other 2% of the time, I secretly wish for a more refreshing experience. Sometimes I'd sit in one corner thinking, god, I hope today will be a good listening experience . I hope I get to listen to people who actually do what they say, if not more. I hope today I won't cross paths with anyone who claims to earn a six-figure income but still tracks every last cent at the same time. Or anyone who claims to live a healthy lifestyle and thinks it's their right to shame others for adding another scoop of cream to their coffee. All the healthy lifestyles should reduce the level of rudeness. We can call it a healthy brain. Though these are probably things I merely witness rather than experience, it's still kind of tiring to hear and see. Then I feel guiltywhineyembarrassed. I should just be thankful that I still can ...

I first heard about True Blood earlier this year from Belle . I watched an episode and was skeptical -- vampires shouldn't have fangs. It's currently on Cinemax again, and now I'm not sure if I'm that skeptical anymore... (though I still find the fangs disturbing). The question is, should I buy the Sookie Stackhouse series?

Location: My bookcase next to my window, possibly the only location used for all the pictures taken for the blog. Model: Green tea with sugar and ice, in a very acquired-for-free glass. Time: Time to buy real dishes.

This morning before I left for work, I saw an article about the elevator pitch -- how would you describe yourself in three words. Just the kind of question my next client would suddenly ask, one that would also make me jump in my seat. Three words are brief. You know off the top of your head, you want to say smart, fabulous and right , but who claims to be smart, fab AND right at the same time? Describing yourself, especially in a work setting, is tricky. We want to sell our good qualities and do not want to come off as  delusional too. We also often confuse this with 'what I want people to perceive me as'. It's safe to conclude, however, that we officially have no flaws. I need to bug my friends with this kind of thing. So while waiting, I texted Jones : "What should I say if I'm asked to describe myself in three words at work? (Don't say lazy, grumpy and cold.)" She replied with: "1) Determined 2) .........." The first one... sound...

Saturday night + not much thinking required + nice dresses + music = The City S1 marathon. I saw a couple episodes of The Hills before and felt indifferent about it. Then one of my favourite blogs writes a bit about both The Hills and The City, so now my brain is picking them up (again). This is a theme, by the way. If I say no to a TV show the first time, what you need to do is just ask again. I do hope they stop labelling the shows 'reality TV', though. I can still close one eye if other supposedly 'reality' TVs are actually scripted. But The Hills and The City, 'reality'? With dialogue that may go, "Hi! How are you? We haven't met for years. Wow, random. Totally didn't expect to see you here. Oh, look what you already have on you -- a microphone!" And like Olivia 'socials' Palermo and Lauren Conrad really have a desk in an office. While we love the shows' (esp Lauren Conrad's) clothes, it's so easy to dislike th...

Sometimes my daydream includes getting away from my routine and getting paid doing something else on a short-term basis (I'm a lil' embarrassed saying 'my routine' here, tbh). So, once in a while, I'll be looking for other types of assignments , like  babysitting or painting kindergarten walls . Not exactly those, but let's just use them as examples. So I've been trying to get this painting job for ages to no avail. The idea is, if a mural job pays you 1k, and soon after you are asked to paint for their 30 branches all over Malaysia, that's 30 0 k for you! Unfortunately, after years, no one seemed to be needing my painting services, but I kept e-mailing the Painting Agency anyway, hoping for the next opportunity. They've never bothered to reply, until today! I've almost forgotten that I've been marketing myself to them for years because the constant e-mailing is hardly a hard work anymore. I can send the e-mail nowadays even if I...

(When I say 'favourite', it may or may not mean I have to wear it every other day.) I miss my old layout. The current brown and white header is constantly making me reach for Oreos. I'm also now thinking about some: - tenggiri and tomato masak asam pedas - nasi goreng sotong and sambal belacan and - chilli fish at Ampang Home Town Yong Tow Foo ... instead of my promise to eat six small meals daily. Dear the-force-against-gravity and metabolism rate, you know I've been working out a lil' harder lately. Harder as in I may have run an extra three minutes on top of the occasional usual ten, so don't die on me yet, will ya? Have a good week ahead. Image (and moar funny pictures): lolcats

For someone who doesn't need a database to manage her friends because there are only six of them have a Facebook account, I'm thinking Twitter could be fun. It's just like blogs but shorter. Maybe I'll finally learn how not to be long winded. So to my four super awesome blog visitors, *drumrolls* find me at _____ (_____ is unfortunately too long, which is a bummer) but with no tweet yet. It's not easy to convert from being long winded to compressing things into one sentence overnight I tell ya. I may need some time to process this, though. I'll come around eventually, I think. Just like blogging, which took me three weeks waking up at night, wondering if it was a good thing to do.

Finally Jones is back after a long medical leave. We had a quick lunch last Friday. There were so many things to spill, to laugh about, so little time. I was touched at how Ave (who stays in the north) has been constantly checking on me for the past couple of months while being very, very (as told by Jones ) pregnant. Already with a little girl, one baby on the way and... me. Ok, not only touched, now I'm a little a lot embarrassed too. And Jones , who just got back from a long medical leave , cheered me up with a gift: a super-handy-for-work document case. I hugged it all the way to my meeting. (Though I was already pretty much in joy, of course, it was Friday.) Well, I believe if Ave and Jones read this, they'll go, "Aww X, you have been an awesome friend too..." I'm sure they'll say that. Except for work and school, I don't recall writing anything longer than a paragraph before the blog. Ok, maybe except for some complaint letters (those can b...