I went to the dentist yesteday and my whole mouth is still sore.

And I've got cramps today!

Note I didn't just get my teeth cleaned. Although my dentist was as gentle as can be, it still hurt. Told you I've got a VERY low treshold of pain! LOL!!

"We in the Jihad Organization of Iraq declared that the verdict of God Almighty against the two Italian prisoners has been carried out, by slaughtering them."

Two innocent Italian women aid workers, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, were killed by armed Iraqi militants yesterday. They were in no way involved in the US coalition effort but were in Iraq as part of a relief mission to build schools and develop water projects.

How can those Muslim men use the name of God as justification for killing women whose only intentions were bringing help to citizens in that war-torn country? In their blind hate for any Western country that's in Iraq, whether as part of the US coalition or as aid relief, the Iraqi militants have twisted Islam to their savage purpose of trying to get the US out. Islam and Muslims worldwide are facing increasing suspicion, discrimination and hate. Where is the voice of the moderate Muslim in all this madness?

It's been a M A D day today! Non-stop since 10am when my status report meeting ended. Been juggling a mis-printed namecard and compiling a company showreel for a pitch in Indonesia tomorrow morning. Deadlines for both are 6pm this evening. The only breather I had was when I popped over to the production house to tell them which files I wanted in or out. Those were my 1.5 hours of stillness in an otherwise crazy whirlwind of a Tuesday with no brakes.

But you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it. I wasn't stressed as some of my colleagues thought but was concentrating on getting the job(s) done. *grin*

I watched the Emmy on TV last night...and cried when they showed the segment of all my favourite sitcoms that ended eg. Cheers!, Mad About You, All in the Family, The Wonder Years, Frasier, Friends, etc. I especially remember Cheers! which was a huge hit back in the 80s, when I was in college. I remember tuning into NBC, every Thursday night with the rest of my dorm and later housemates, to watch the powerhouse combination of The Cosby Show, All in the Family, Cheers! then 30something. The only one from the latest line-up that even solicits a teary-eyed farewell, is Friends. Oh well...there's always the VCDs.

Thanks to 2 friends, Kiran and Anne, who organised an event at a pub on Saturday, I've discovered a bar at 37 KeongSaik Road that's just behind my office. It's a laid back place, perfect to chill with an after-hours glass of Hoergarden. Oh...and it's surrounded by several still active brothels. You can spot them with their large numbered doorway and the red lanterns.

Last night's event was to highlight the Yellow Ribbon Project which helps ex-prison inmates readjust and re-integrate back into society. I also found out that a good friend of theirs was recently arrested for possession of 2 joints of pot and is now serving time behind bars. Hence the [in]trapment theme for the evening.

And can you believe it...I managed to stay awake till 12:30am without a yawn?! But as soon as I got home, I zonked out. LOL!

I'm floating on a purple cloud, about 50ft above the ground at Bukit Pasoh. It's been a hectic week, but very fulfilling. Now if I can only get used to the early mornings!! LOL!

Two days to TGIF and the weekend. I've really got to plan this weekend better. I just about 'died' last weekend. Imagine, falling fast asleep on the couch at 1030pm!! Geez! And I used to grumble at my sis and her husband for being 'no fun' on a Friday night. Looks like I'm heading there too.

Got a jazz CD on my little stereo and am just chilling till 6pm. Unless another 'fire' erupts in the studio. I see some behaviour among them that I recognise - stuff I used to say/do or have seen in others. However, now I have to put my foot down and just concentrate on the job at hand. No time for prima donnas or half-baked excuses! Gee...if my friends could see me now. *giggle*

Oh...another potential 'found' me online last night and asked me to quote for copywriting job. It's an easy one, of a 4 page brochure and a 2 page leaflet. Let's see if they bite!

You must constantly ask yourself these questions:
1) Who am I around?
2) What are they doing to me?
3) What have they got me reading?
4) What have they got me saying?
5) Where do they have me going?
6) What do they have me thinking?
7) And most important, what do they have me becoming?

Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?

Jim Rohn of "Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine", July 21, 2003)

NOTE: I heard a couple of days ago, that a cousin of mine just had a stroke. She's well and moving around but faces several months of recuperation. Nothing too out of the ordinary here except my cousin is only 29. So...just a word of caution to anyone reading this: Be careful with your diet and lifestyle habits. What's happened to her has me spooked. Now I'm conciously making a change too.

I can only shake my head in disgust and sadness when I think of the people who were affected by the bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta. And the little girl Elisabeth who's since become the pivotal point for the innocent lives that were affected by that cowardly act.

Indonesian lives were lost or maimed because of other Indonesians' (the JI) intent on using Islam as an excuse to carry out despicable acts targetted at innocent human beings. They claim they are on a 'jihad' but the Islamic Holy Book clearly states that human life is sacred as it is God given. Who are these creatures that think they have the right to terrorise their fellow man in the name of their religion? And to what purpose? They say they are doing it in the name of Islam, to eliminate Western (read as: American) influences. All they are accomplishing is generating more condemnation for their cause and, sad to say, mistrust for their religion.

I read in the papers last weekend, of a cleric in Egypt who had the courage to openly state that all terrorists in the world today are Muslims. That denouncement came after word leaked out that the hostages in the Russian school were being held by possibly Arab or Muslim men. Since Muslim extremists love to initiate a fatwa on anyone who opposes them, I wonder if that poor guy is still alive today.

It's been a LONG while since my last post and I do apologise. Work has seen me operating nearly 12 hour days. And when I get back later, the LAST thing I want to do is sit at another computer! Not that I'm complaining. Well, I am...about the 2 morning meetings I have every Monday and Tuesday at 9am SHARP!! Which means waking up at 7am to be there by 845am. Now for those you who know me, you'd know that it's very very painful. Especially after 16 mths of setting my own schedules. Work is challenging, to say the least. And ironic.

After years of protesting that I'd never work in an ad agency, I end up in one. And after all those times of avoiding classes in accounting or finance, guess what I'm doing now? Part of my duties is to close and bill jobs for the company, instruct finance who to bill what and when, chase for contracts and MOAs and file everything. Maybe I should have paid attention in those classes after all. But still, like I said. I'm not complaining. Cause it's actually fun, as I'm getting the hang of it. As for the early morning calls...that is really going to take some getting used to. Sigh!

It's been nearly a week since my last post but so much has been happening at work. This is only the end of my 2nd week but I feel like I've been here for months! Am so happy too, that I'm no longer killing myself over design deadlines. But I find that even though I'm on the other side of the fence, I have to push for jobs that I KNOW will take X days or hours to complete. And deadlines given to me while I know are realistic in the ad agency world, I know I've (and those lot at Vacain) have had it a LOT worse. So my dilemma is to find a comfortable ground where I do not compromise my job responsibilites while still looking out for the creatives.

Anyhow...I'm so glad it's Friday, cause tomorrow is my birthday! Tonight, I'm giving myself a treat of books from Borders, courtesy of free vouchers from SingTel. Then tomorrow night, a bunch of us are all getting together, details still to be worked out.

My WOMAD pixs are still in my camera...and I've got a couple of ideas for the collage. I'll probably put that up tonight, so stay tuned.