I've put posters around my neighbourhood, and the other ones close by. I've also left some with security guards at several condos in the vicinity. We've gone driving around, slowing down each time we spotted a beige dog. But no such luck.

I'm sorry for not posting much in a while. Every time I think of Murphy, all kinds of horrible thoughts fill my mind and I feel awful. He's just a dog but I love him to death.

I've not had much success with my reading either. So far, The Dante Club is proving an interesting read. It started with a truly grisly death, and now the characters are being introduced one by one. I think I'll take a crack at it again this weekend.

I MISS HIM!!

Still no news, no sign...nothing. Sigh! Just thinking of him wandering alone out there is making me ill. I'm praying that some kind soul has found him and is looking after him. Now if that someone will just call the SPCA or AVA as we've registered Murphy with them.

Just two days ago, I posted about Murphy. And now he's missing! This time he didn't come back from his walk. I've looked all over and he's nowhere to be found. I'm worried because of his age and today was a very hot day. Just say a prayer for him please, that he's safe and will come home soon.

The Thirteenth Tale :: Diane Setterfield
I bought this last Friday night then stayed up to finish it at 2am this morning - it was so good. This remarkable first novel from Diane Setterfield lived up to all its hype and delivered beautifully. Set mostly in Yorkshire, The Thirteenth Tale follows a novice biographer's journey to uncover the truth of the world's most beloved author, Vida Winter. Now nearing the end of her life, Miss Winter has sworn to tell the truth about her life (she's given 20 versions of it so far), and only to Margaret Lea, an antiquarian bookseller's daughter whose past holds a great loss. Thick with secrets in an atmosphere reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw, the novel is truly 'unputdownable'.

Next book? The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. I'm in a 'murder mystery thriller' mode. Any others to recommend? Oh, The Villa of Mysteries by David Hewson was a disappointment. A police procedural set in Rome, it just lost me after the second chapter.

A rather sleepy Murphy wondering what the heck I was doing on the floor next to him. He's getting on in years and is 12 years old. He's slower, slightly deaf (although I have my doubts and think he's got selective hearing now) and takes longer naps. He still takes himself off for a walk every morning and barks like crazy for someone to open the gate after just 15 minutes. He plays in the rain (which is especially annoying when he's just had a bath!). Murphy hasn't lost his appetite, thank goodness. And he hasn't lost some of his puppy ways either. He still hops like a rabbit around me when I get home or when he wants his walk. He's all bark and no bite, and is very gentle around children. Oh, and he loves hugs...great big bear ones.

We're still in the midst of a massive office renovation. Everything has been gutted to make way for a more open concept. Oh... and that's our creative studio's mascot. Rat loves to travel and can often be found by following the screams of unsuspecting suits who discover him in some rather unexpected places.

It's only words and pictures but it seems they're enough to agitate religious men's vindictiveness. Yet where are those very emotions when their 'brothers' detonate bombs in Bali, London, Egypt and now Haadyai that maim and kill innocents? Where is the clamor against the 'infidels' that have twisted their mighty religion to wreck and ruin?

The silence is deafening indeed.

Skipping Christmas :: John Grisham
An interesting little book about one man's determination to skip Christmas. I was rooting for Luther Krank as he did everything he could to get out of the usual celebrations in his neighbourhood and spend it with his wife on a Caribbean cruise instead. Just wish Grisham had allowed them to pull it off but it seems that you can't run away from Christmas. Since when did celebrating Christmas become compulsory? An easy read with an unsatisfying end.

Oh my goodness... I did not know that this was made into a movie with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. Anyone seen it? Recommended?

After experiencing a craving that this time refused to go away, Flee and I succumbed to chunks of NZ Prime Sirloin at Jerry's BBQ & Grill. It was a very satisfying dinner. But it was the post-dinner activity that added the cherry to the whole evening.

We wondered down Orchard Road and ended up at Borders. Now Flee had given me a lovely birthday present earlier: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and a gift voucer from that store. One of the first books that caught my eye was The Thirteenth Tale. I had just read about it and here it was!

Thanks Flee for adding to my TBR pile. Yup, I have to blame someone, and you're it this time. LOL!

I think I've come to this late: A friend sent me the link for Loose Change, a documentary that asked many question on what really happened on September 9, 2001.

If any of this is real, if even one part of it is true... I shudder to think at the extent to which people would go to realise secret agendas, that would sacrifice thousands of innocent lives.

You be the judge.

Note: I had no inkling that any of this was out there. NONE of the news reports of explosions in the WTC, theories of a cover-up or otherwise made it to our televisions here. Well, no surprise considering our government's close ties to the US.

Just read a tip from the head chef of Morton's Singapore, Mr Corwin Leong in The Sunday Times.

Do you know how to test for a steak's doneness? Well, according to Mr Leong, "just touch the steak to see."

If you want it rare, it should feel like the hardness of the knob of flesh below your thumb when you make the tips of your thumb and forefinger touch. Touch your thumb with your middle finger if you want medium; fourth finger for medium-well; and pinkie for well-done.

Another tip for DIY steaks in the kitchen: ask the butcher for 300g at about 3cm thick. And he always recommends ribeyes as it's the most flavourful cut.

Eleven books. Nine for me and 2 for my sister (which won't be listed here as they're a surprise). That was my haul at the Time Books' Warehouse Sale at the Expo (ends today). I got into the hall at about 3pm and left when I realised with a shock that it was 6pm. But it was oh! so worthwhile.

Within 2 minutes there, I spotted Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy for S$6. I nearly bought this trade paperback at Kinokuniya last weekend for $28.99! The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber (S$8 for a trade paperback) was next.

The first table of books gave a hint of things to come. Gone were the usual piles of Ludlums, Grishams and Cooks. The selections this time were much better and there were more trade paperbacks. I dove in. By 6pm, I had added a hardback The Dante Club, Virgile's Vineyard, Entering Normal, At the Back of the North Wind, Stargazing, The Villa of Mysteries and hardback Skipping Christmas.

Prices were from S$6 to S$8 per book with many mass market paperbacks going for S$10 for 3. Total damage? S$54 or US$35. Not too bad, huh?

Note: I've started on Skipping Christmas and am nearly done. I think Villa of Mysteries will be next.

The Time Traveller's Wife :: Audrey Niffengger
I don't know why I took so long to get this book. When it first came out, everyone was raving about it but I stubbornly refused to buy into the hype. Many months later, I succumbed and you know what? I love it. An unusual love story of absence and longing, with a dash of sci-fi (the time travelling bit) and two of my favourite characters to date: Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire. I was hooked by page 20 but deliberately went slow so as to savour every page. The end is almost heart-breaking and I closed it with a sigh. This book is definitely a re-read.

Several exciting things are happening here:

1. Singapore Biennale
This is the inaugural international biennale of contemporary art. Curated by Fumio Nanjo, the event will feature 95 artists and artists collectives from over 38 countries and regions including Singapore.
An interesting event took place this evening when Daniel Malone from New Zealand and 300 other people tried to levitate City Hall. it didn't budge but the spirit was in the trying.
2. International Monetary Fund & World Bank Group
From the 11 to 20 September, we'll be under the microscope as over 16,000 global financial representatives from 184 countries visit for the annual meetings. The whole country is prepped for the spotlight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing stupid happens.
And lastly...
3. My birthday on Monday.
Instead of taking that day off, I took Friday instead as we'll be moving next week. Again. This time we're splitting into 2 groups with the creative team (6 people minus one CD who's roaming through Spain for 3 weeks) moving to a temporary 2nd floor tiny cubby-hole of an office, while the suits, finance and HR (about 14 people) will be squatting in 2 meeting rooms of our floor mates, FutureBrand. This will last for about 2 weeks till we move (again!) back to a renovated office before the end of the month. So think of me on Monday when I'll be covered with dust, packing tape, paper cuts and sneezing up a storm.

The largest consumer electronics and IT show started yesterday (till 3 Sept). It is filled from floor to high ceiling with stuff to make anyone think she died and went to geek heaven. This is the first time it was held in the cavernous halls of the Singapore Expo Halls 4 to 6. And it was overwhleming. All the major guys were there: Apple, Canon, Panasonic, Pentax, Creative, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, Hitachi, on and on... Not to mention the local guys with some of the funkiest gadgets yet.

I was in search of a camera and was torn between Canon 800IS and Panasonic FX07. They both take great pictures, have high megapixels and image stabilisation. I trotted between 2 halls looking at and comparing the two. It was Panasonic that won me over with its sleek looks, ease of use and compact shape. Now to wade through 114 pages of how-tos for this pint-size wonder.