Are we right? Or is he right?
Are we too caught up in our own egos to see his way or reasons?
Or is he just being anal?
Shouldn't we give the client what they don't expect as opposed to what they expect?
Why hire us then? They might as well do their own advertising if we go back with what they expect.
Does creativity diminish with age?
Do balls shrink with age?

Gawd, if it does, I hope I retire way before that happens to me.

Yes, my boss has managed to piss the shit out of me again. I seriously have not come across a creative person who is so freaking anal!

Case:
Boss holds current gross-looking pasar malam retail ad of client in one hand and our new much neater, nicer layout in the other. He shakes his head and says no go: we need to put in all the elements from the current ad into the newly revamped layout. But boss, wasn't the purpose of the new layout to show the clients that we can 'beautify' their look thus raising the perception of their brand, I ask. Yes he says but he's still adamant that we put in all the elements from the current ad. You know what, I say as I take the current ad from him, we might as well just present this current ad to the clients then. Why bother with something new?

I knew I was being rude. But I didn't care. Want to fire me, fire-lah.

You're my boss whom I should respect. So give me some reasons to respect you. Being anal, uncreative and ball-less doesn't exactly improve your respect quotient.

Thank goodness he's leaving in a month's time. Good riddance. I just wish it were sooner.

Thing is, we have no clue who they're bringing in to replace him. For all we know, it could be another ball-less, anal, still-living-in-the-80s excuse for a senior creative person.

No time.

Such a convenient excuse, isn't it? The highest form of tai-chi: no time, so here, you do it instead.

Well, bugger off.

You want to watch a play but don't have time to go get the tickets so you want me to get them? I'm nice, so I'll try. But I'm not bending over backwards just so I can get you tickets to a play that I'm not interested in in the first place. I called to try to make a booking or purchase over the phone but they said they don't accept phone purchases or bookings. So, sorry babe, that's as far as I'll go. I ain't going to the theatre to purchase the tickets for you. 'Cos, yea, I no time too.

You no time, I no time, so don't watch la. Just don't make it an issue with me if/when you regret missing out.

I've had perpetual PMS lately. My fuse has been so short that almost every little thing irritates the shit out of me.

Like how I come into work this morning and I find that someone has definitely been into my room over the weekend. The blinds are all the way down and my chair is fucking sitting outside in the corridor. Assholes, if you want to touch or use my stuff, at least have the fucking courtesy to put it back the way you found them. If I hadn't counted to 20, I would have already started screaming this morning.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know why I've been so moody. I haven't changed anything drastic in my lifestyle, haven't taken any new medication that may possibly cause my behaviour to take a turn for the worse, haven't a lot of things - nothing's changed. Except the length of fuse of my temper. Maybe menopause has come early.

Or maybe I'm just sexually frustrated and haven't had a lay for a long time.

Gawd.

Yoga day 1.

Already 20 minutes late for the first class 'cos, as usual, we lost our way getting there.

But we got there eventually. And we did the exercises. And yes, I am exhausted.

I foresee muscles hurting big time tomorrow. For sure. That's what happens when you don't exercise for almost a year and suddenly you're stretching and trying to put both palms on the ground parallel to your unbending feet.

And we haven't even started the exercises yet! Today's class was spent listening to the instructor talk and correct our poses as we committed the Sun Exercises to memory.

"Try doing the exercises every morning before you go to work. At least 8 times," said the instructor.

8 times?!

You mean there's homework?! I don't remember any of my friends telling me they practise at home. Hmm...

Tired now.

Goodnight.

First day back at work after a long, long break. It really does take some getting used to again.

Spent most of the day catching up with my partner as she filled me in on the latest office gossip and antics of the morons downstairs. Lets just say I'm glad I wasn't around to catch the happenings.

Oh, learned a new word today too:

Deja Moo...

...The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

There can be no better word to describe my dealings with the morons downstairs. So apt.

First day back at work and already I'm so bitter. Haha. No, not really. But there isn't really anything else to say about most of the people here. We have a CEO who regularly puts her foot in her mouth, management who's so cheapskate they get the CD to design the interior layout of our new office, a CD who has absolutely no clue about architecture so proceeds to draw out rooms the size of elevators on the floor plan of the new office, management who picks an office location (because apparently the CEO thinks the building looks modern) but neglects to think about the parking situation for the staff - apparently the building has only allocated 12 lots for the agency. We have about 50 over staff. So where are people going to park?

I've come back to hell.

Yay.

Well, I lived to tell the tale. Literally.

On our way back from Tokyo, we transited at Kota Kinabalu. Just as the plane was taxiing off on the runway to take off again, there was a power failure on board. A total shut down. Plane stopped moving. Lights stopped working. Everything. Imagine if we had been airborne when it happened. It would have been bye bye.

But we were on ground. Thank god. And I'm in one piece.

A friend asked me what went through my mind at that moment? Who did I think of? Did I think I was going to die? Err...well...this is pretty embarrassing but the only thing I thought of was, "Damn, I'm not going to be able to enjoy/use all the stuff I had bought!"

Hahahaha. Ok, I did pray too. Prayed that if anything happened, that my loved ones would all still be healthy and well. Yeah, yeah, I do have a sentimental side.

Anyway. Japan. Oh yes, Japan!

I had a wonderful wonderful time. Granted the tour bits were just touch and go and we spent more time sitting in the bus then outside, it still was a great experience. Saw a bit of Mount Fuji (no thanks to the misty, cloudy weather), tried a hot spring bath, slept on a tatami, wore yukatas every night, had drinks in an izakaya (a local pub that also serves yakitori), visited temples and more temples, went to a fish market, caught lots of cherry blossoms, ate like locals, drank like locals, took photos like the locals (everything also snap), shopped, shopped and shopped. Woohoo!

The hotels were good too. And yukatas are amazing pieces of clothing! Well, actually they're just a cotton robe - a less complicated and more casual form of the kimono. But they're soooo comfortable. Here's a tip. If you're going to Japan and staying in a hotel, you don't have to take any pajamas with you. There's the yukata! I wore it to bed every single night I was there. Hahaha. And the bathrooms. Every single toilet seat in every hotel I was in had a built in bidet. Some even had heated seats! So wonderful. Hahahaha. Our last two nights in Tokyo were the best. We had checked-in to the hotel I had booked through American Express (I had redeemed two nights using my points) and they upgraded us to a junior suite. Waahaa! That was pure luxury living. We had a living area and a balcony with tables outside. Thank you AMEX. Hahaha.

Here's another hint. If you only have one day to spend in Tokyo, Harajuku is the place to go. Streets and streets of shopping. Then again, there's nowhere in Tokyo that doesn't have any shopping. Everybody is carrying a shopping bag. When the Japanese buy, they buy as if money doesn't exist. Crazy bunch of people! Hahaha. Shinjuku was plain scary. Talk about people mountain, people sea (and I don't mean Anthony Wong's music label). Shibuya's pretty cool too. But Harajuku is THE place. Hip, happening, alfresco cafes, lots of cool shops, plenty to look at, easy to walk and navigate. I love Harajuku.

9 days just went by in a jiffy. Too short. Too fast. Too soon. For photos, check out nihongo ga wakarimasen.

Now to look forward to my next holiday.