Well, my home computer is officially out of commission. Apparently even a simple reformat can't save it. It's totally beyond redemption. Sigh. At least there are certain items I can salvage from it to put into my new machine...when I eventually get a new machine.

Had been toying around with the idea of getting the new iMac G5 (yea, *drooooool*). But practicality and the pocket insists that I get myself a PC instead. High-end G5 at almost RM7000 vs a high-end PC at about RM4000. The money matter makes the decision a little easier. After all, I don't really need a Mac...although it'll look really good in my room...

Oh well.

So a PC it is.

Would like to get one of those swanky 17" TFT monitors too. 'Cos my desk is pretty small and hey, it'll look a whole lot better. (If I can't have a Mac, I must have a good-looking PC!) I'm hoping to trade in my current 17" CRT monitor. Any money is better than no money. Besides, what am I going to do with an extra monitor?

There's a PC Fair coming up on November, 2nd. Hopefully there'll be some pretty good deals then. What this means is I won't have a computer till after that. It's not that bad, really. At least I still have access at work and I'll be off to Bali on Friday for four days, so yea...it's not that bad. (I have to keep telling myself that!)

It's not that bad, it's not that bad...

Hold out another week or two and I'll be RM4000 poorer but I'll have a swanky new computer to show for it!

Kids.

As far as I'm concerned, they're meant to be seen, not heard. Or left to run about.

Pint-sized terrors screaming their heads off, causing a ruckus in a public place which is already packed to the brim. They get in your way, cause you to stumble in your steps 'coz you're too afraid you may step on them (actually, that's not a bad idea. Maybe next time, I will step on them!) But you know what I reckon is the worst of the lot? The parents.

They let their kids run about the place like wild animals. And what do the parents do? Nothing. Except say, "Stop it." Yea, right. Like that's going to curb a screaming hyena.

It's a public place, for gawd's sake. It's not your kid's personal playground. I don't care how your kids behave at home. But I have a right to a public area and my right dictates that I don't have to deal with out-of-control, ill-disciplined pests.

Then there are the kids on those freaking Heelys. Worst when they're screaming kids on freaking Heelys. It's a double dose of hell.

Kids.

If you have to take them out, keep them on a leash with a muzzle around their mouths.

Come to think of it, even dogs are better behaved.

The sudden enthusiasm for 'initiative' and awards work is really pissing me off.

Sure, we have to increase the creative profile of our agency, sure we have to win awards or we'll all lose our jobs. That's the bottom line, isn't it. We'll all lose our jobs - or rather, upper management will lose their jobs first. And that's why they're all shitting bricks.

I think if we worked 24 hours a day, we'd be able to do all these grand plans upper management has in mind. Oh wait, I doubt 24 hours in a day would be enough even. There's the actual work, which we're already bogged down with. And now, all this other shit. Do they think we can come up with ideas and creative as quick as they write their job briefs? Oh I forgot, we're robots, not human at all - just machinery that keeps churning out work without having to rest. Churn. Churn. Churn. Oh wait, that's not just it. We're supposed to churn out work AND win awards.

Hey, I do want to win awards. That's what all creatives want. That's what all creatives work towards. But we don't appreciate the cracking of the whip and the pressure when we're already stressed to the brim.

Leave us alone. Give us reasonable timelines. Treat us not like machines.

AND when we give you a good campaign, be bold and strong enough to get the client to run it!

One zero showing at the awards has turned work into hell.

Those who previously had no interest whatsoever in creative awards have all of a sudden become creative experts, judging work within the office as uncreative and predictable, asking questions like, "is this going to win an award?"

If I knew whether or not a certain piece of work is going to win an award, I might as well be God.

Every piece of work that we do, we do with awards in mind. We don't just resort to presenting crappy work (as a certain anal asshole puts it). The crappy work happens when people in your (yes, asshole you) department compromise our creative product. Giving in to the client time after time after time - that's how crappy work comes about.

Awards are a creative person's livelihood. It determines our paycheque. It measures our demand. You think we're not upset we had a zero showing this year? Just because we don't go around moping about it doesn't mean we're not happy. Everybody's ass is on the line, not only yours you asshole. But you're the only one who's acting like you have a pole up your bottom. Doesn't that say something about you, asshole?

And your trying to help? Puh-leaaaase. You have absolutely no clue what awards are all about. Trying to push a consumer promotion (buy 3 of a certain product and get a different product free) is not going to win you creative awards. One, it's not single-minded enough. Two, who are we trying to please here? Awards are awards, throwing in the, 'oh let's try and help increase sales for client' bit is like throwing a spanner in the works. Get it into your stupid, thick and stubborn skull that the target market for awards are judges (our creative peers), not the consumer or the freaking client. What an idiot.

So now, it's like a freaking warzone in the office. Everybody's so tensed and riled up, it's no longer fun. And my partner and I can't help but feel that we're being blamed for the dismal showing at the awards show. Sure, there are other creative teams here besides us, but it seems as though we're getting the brunt of it. It doesn't help too that the CEO looks us right in the face and says that they're looking to hire more teams, award-winning teams, with heavy stress on the award-winning bit. Oh well. We can act dumb and thick-skinned at times, so we just looked her back in the eye and smiled.

This is no longer a happy place. Certain people whom I used to respect have now lost my total respect with his anal and asshole comments. I wonder how long this is going to last. I wonder how long it will be before I decide to throw in my letter. As it is, the lack of love has already prompted my partner and I to look elsewhere.

My advice and suggestion to those moving house, about to move house, thinking of moving house:

Throw out all the old stuff and just buy new ones.

And by that I mean everything, including clothes and other knick knacks.

That way, you can just move yourself into the new home without any hassle - no having to worry about packing/unpacking and how the hell you're going to fit all your current junk into your new room.

Is hell.