Sunday, July 18, 2004

DVDs and in-flight movies.

It's grey and dreary outside, a cold front has hit the city and has even dumped snow in the Hills district.
It's DVD marathon time.
I've seen Jack Black's School of Rock when I was on a plane enroute to an asian airport- one good thing about travelling constantly because of work is that you get to see a lot of movies during those hours you have to kill.

The firm I am in has quite a few high profile projects in Asia, some completed and some underway. So we travel to our branch offices in asian cities. I will be leaving for Singapore and Shanghai in the next week. Many big Australian firms are concentrating in China. This is where the majority of our current design projects are.

I have seen a blog post by a certain young Malaysian based aspiring architect literally gushing about our design projects in China. I thought he was a pathetic little yuppie wanna be- If he only begin to know what we do to grab those projects. But I digress, I am veering off on a tangent.


Back to movies. Lost In Translation, I saw earlier in the year.
It seems to be more about alienation and especially about the city of Tokyo.
It's a brilliant piece.


Going back a few years, another movie I loved is Four Rooms
A joint effort between four amazing independent film directors Allison Anders and Quentin Tarantino. Enough said.
Just because I like borderline indie films doesn't mean I'm not motherf**king yuppie scum.
I am yuppie scum. Right from my black turtleneck to my square black CK architect spectacles.




My apologies. I am veering off on yet another tangent, as one is expected to do, on days like this.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Meanwhile back at the ranch.........


The family home is in an affluent hilly suburb of the modern thriving asian metropolis Kuala Lumpur.

The hallmarks of asian wealth adorn this house. A six bedroom two storey bungalow on a hill. The other home is away from the city, near a slightly quieter but newly planned and developed city. This is the weekend house, where we gather for important events.


This is about my family. The most precious thing to me.

My father is an extremely busy man- he's in the newspapers almost every day.
He got to be the kind of successful man that features in magazines, the kind of man people address by his honorary title, the kind of man people immediately recognise... all because of his drive, determination and hard work. I don't know how he keeps up his schedule- he flies across the country several times a week and manages to squeeze in a game of golf here and there. Bet you anything he will visit his alma mater.
My mother is a fun loving lady. She has graced the pages of Malaysian Tatler a few times.
My sister is a busy corporate type in an international company. She is smart, attractive, single and successful. She's also got an amazing sense of humour. We are only a few years apart and we're very close.
My brother- he's a guy who gets along with everybody and everybody wants to be his friend. He is highly intelligent, analytical and cautious.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Attack of the Little Men from Planet Petty

Welcome to my neurosis
(e.g: The thing that's bugging me today)

Anyone who gripes about work to me just bores me.

Nobody is going to read my blog in its stages of infancy, so here we go:
There are a handful of people at work who have been there for, oh let's say: an average of 10 years between them. They're not directors or associates, none of them hold any particular amazing position at work.

They're the people who treat office politics like the be all and end all of their life. They scheme for pettiest things like the best seat in the open plan office. They're the ones who make sarcastic comments out loud. They're the ones who take other people out to lunch and asks them what they've heard A say about B behind their back. They plot and scheme to get the tall poppies fired. They all talk behind each others' backs. They all hate each other but they hang around together and squabble.



They won't leave their mediocre positions because they've been there too long, they're too scared of what's outside.
They're insecure because they've been sidelined and bypassed for promotion by people who have been there for much less time than they.
They pick people whom they think are weaker to build their little empire.

They'll be bitter to the very end.
Watch your back, because they live in EVERY work place all round the world.

Sunday, July 11, 2004

The Maiden Post

I think therefore I am.

I am fearless on the outside.
I am a neurotic mess inside.
I am a professional.
I am restless.
I am into my 30s.
I am reaching a burnout.
I am a sociopath.