Don't Quit

Leaving a job is never easy. I'm still in the midst of rushing to complete my last few projects before my last day on May 12. Tons of handover work to do, and lots more administration work to fulfil. It's really a hassle. Especially when you know you are on your way out, all these "duties" suddenly seemed so insignificant.

But I've always prided myself for doing a professional handover - and that's not gonna change. May 12 is a mere 2 weeks away. I will survive! :)


By the way, when I was clearing my personal mails today, I chanced upon this poem that someone sent to me some time ago when I was in depression and feeling there was no way out. It gave me hope and made me believe in myself again.

So my friends -if you ever feel that nothing was going right, and all you wanna do is give up, let this be the anthem of your life. It lifted me up and I hope it will do the same for you.



When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit

- Allen James

Bill Gates Was My Father. [If].

For one, I would be typing this entry using MS Windows, though I personally feel Steve Jobs would have a better eye for design for both software and hardware.

Being one of the world's richest man daughter ain't easy. I'd have to mingle with the upper crust society and put up with the bimbotic likes of Paris Hilton and her herd. I guess most people expect women who are born disgustingly rich to possess little intellect. Not only is it expected, it's probably forgivable and understandable.

Somehow I cannot help but wonder - if I was Bill Gates daughter, how different would my life be? How different would I be?

Assuming I am still what I am, then being Elvina Gates will unleash all the person I will ever become. I'd pursue my education in Havard with undying tenacity and with my burning desire to achieve, I'd make sure that I emerge as one of the best scholars to ever step out of that school. That will show those snooty socialites and aristocrats how shallow and inane they really are.

My day would probably start with a sumptuous American breakfast spread, served on a silver platter on my bed. That for one, I would definitely indulge. Food is one of God's greatest gift to men, and I ain't gonna fight that. Starting off the day with a good meal is essential for what I am going to do next.

Armed with the knowledge I have amassed through education, and my devious efforts to mingle and network with the top guns in Dad's company. I would quickly learn the ropes of the business and find out how Dad, looking the way he is, PLUS being a hopeless dropout, could achieve world dominion. That has honestly eluded me for the longest time. But I guess his life played out exactly like Donald Trump's The Apprentice - where the streetsmarts will always outdo the booksmarts.

Speaking of Donald, he is my mentor. Being a prominent figure's daughter has its perks. Everyone wants to or claims to know you. Not that Donald's like that, but all his businesses under the Trump organization have definitely benefited tremendously from Dad's support. Microsoft has become as precious as the air we breathe. Uncle Trump once jokingly took a jab at Dad and told him that Microsoft is just like a woman - you can't live with it, but you can't live without it either.

Dad told Donald it's time he gets a whiff of fresh air and offered me as an apprentice for Uncle Trump. Being the defiant me, I wasn't the least bit intimidated. I wasn't totally in awe because my Dad has already proven the impossible. I was more excited about having the opportunity to learn how Donald works. I mean though I would ultimately love to take over the reins in Microsoft, getting into the clockworks of a Trump organization is no small feat.

After making my rounds through Donald's various businesses as an intern, I'd start inching into MS, and unassumingly work my way up. I have always believed if one did not start from the bottom, they would never be able to understand how the people at the lower rungs of the corporate ladder really feel. It will always be all too easy for management to say they emphatize, but then you realize they actually have no clue of the REAL problems and will try to sweep them underneath the plush carpets. Most top management are inflicted with the Ostrich Syndrome. If you cannot see the issues, they probably don't exist.

Somehow reading those anti-Bill Gates weblogs on the internet, I cannot help but suspect that Dad could be inflicted with this disease as well. Well, at least I know things can still change. Bill Gates ain't an immortal and he would have to report back to God's camp in heaven eventually. Hopefully by then, Elvina Gates will be the one to make history.

For one, I would abolish the monopoly concept that Dad held so dear to his legacy. It should be a free market, and bullying our way through the industry ain't gonna bring us very far. Steve Jobs is an inspiration. He created a dream that wasn't as successful as Dad's, and at one point even tethered at the brink of bankruptcy. But he held on and revive that dream - and with his keen intuition for marketing and design, Apple got a new lease of life.

If I ever have the chance, the first thing I would do is to jump on the bandwagon with Steve and work WITH him instead of AGAINST him. The best business mantra is not to invest our precious resources fighting each other, but to combine them and create a computer dynasty that is practically unrivalled anywhere else in the world! If Gates and Jobs can work together to create more innovative and groundbreaking ideas, software and operating systems that are compatible to each other's products, the end achievements would be outstanding.

It's a win-win situation and everyone from both companies will only stand to benefit and reap the rewards. I believe in the new era of business, collaboration, not competition, is the way to go.

Well there, I can almost see myself gracing the covers of Time (just like Dad did), Newsweek, Cosmopolitian, Tatler and all other world glossy-cover publications as one of the millennium's most accomplished woman. That whiff of fresh air that everyone is craving and lusting for after years of Microsoft's tyrannical epoch.





Hold on to your seats people, and brace yourself soon for a mind-blowing revolution in the world of Microsoft.

Yes/No MEME

I ripped this off LuvPhobia's blog as I thought it to be an extremely revealing self-discovery exercise!

Why is this MEME so compelling?

1. You can only say YES or NO.
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages you / comments and asks!

So here goes:

1. Taken a picture naked? yes
2. Painted your room? yes
3. Made out with a member of the same sex? no
4. Drove a car? yes
5. Danced in front of your mirror? yes
6. Have a crush? yes
7. Been dumped? yes
8. Stole money from friend? no
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? yes
10. Been in a fist fight? no
11. Snuck out of your house? yes
12. Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back? yes
13. Been arrested? no
14. Made out with a stranger? no.
15. Met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere? yes
16. Left your house with out telling your parents? yes
17. Had a crush on your neighbor? no
18. Ditched school to do something more fun? yes
19. Slept in a bed with a member of the same sex? yes
20. Seen someone die? yes
21. Been on a plane? yes
22. Kissed a picture? yes
23. Slept in until 3PM? yes
24. Love someone or miss someone right now? yes
25. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? yes
26. Made a snow angel? no
27. Played dress up? yes
28. Cheated while playing a game? yes
29. Been lonely? yes
30. Fallen asleep at work/school? yes
31. Been to a club? yes
32. Felt an earthquake? no
33. Touched a snake? yes
34. Ran a red light? yes
35. Been suspended from school? no
36. Had detention? yes
37. Been in a car accident? no
38. Hated the way you look? no
39. Witnessed a crime? yes
40. Pole danced? no
41. Been lost? yes
42. Been to the opposite side of the country? yes
43. Felt like dying? yes
44. Cried yourself to sleep? yes
45. Sang karaoke? yes
46. Sucked your thumb? yes
47. Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? yes
48. Laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose? yes
49. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? no
50. Kissed in the rain? yes
51. Sing in the shower? yes
52. Made love in a park? no
53. Had a dream that you married someone? yes
54. Glued your hand to something? yes
55. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? no
56. Ever gone to school partially naked? no
57. Been a cheerleader? no
58. Sat on a roof top? yes
59. Didn’t take a shower for a week? no
60. Ever too scared to watch scary movies alone? yes
61. Played chicken? yes
62. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? yes
63. Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger? yes
64. Broken a bone? yes
65. Been easily amused? yes
66. Laugh so hard you cry? yes
67. Mooned/flashed someone? yes
68. Cheated on a test? yes
69. Forgotten someone’s name? yes
70. Slept naked? yes
71. Gone skinny dipping in a pool? no
72. Performed on stage? yes
73. Blacked out from drinking? yes
74. Played a prank on someone? yes
75. Gone to a late night movie? yes
76. Made love to anything not human? no!
77. Failed a class? no
78. Choked on something you’re not supposed to eat? yes
79. Played an instrument for more than 10 hours? no
80. Cheated on a girl/boyfriend? no
81. Did you celebrate the 4th of July? no
82. Thrown strange objects? yes
83. Felt like killing someone? yes
84. Thought about running away? yes
85. Ran away? yes
86. Did drugs? no
87. Had detention and not attend it? yes
88. Dumped anyone? yes
89. Made a parent cry? yes
90. Cried over someone? yes
91. Owned more than 5 sharpies? no
92. Dated someone more than once? yes
93. Have a dog? no
94. Own an instrument? yes
95. Been in a band? no
96. Drank 25 sodas in a day? no
97. Broken a cd? yes
98. Shot a gun? yes
99. Dated a married person of the opposite sex? no
100. Written a love letter? yes

YES - that's me alright. And NO - you may not ask me anything beyond this blog. :)

Try it....and have fun.

Whassup Doc?

If it seems that I have not been updating my blog recently, that's because over the last two weeks, many things have happened.

For one, I've quit my job.

This decision, though it seemed sudden, was quite unexpected actually. I do love what I am doing now, but I cannot help being seduced to the greener pastures that have been beckoning to me from the other side. The rewards are simply too tempting. Not only could it potentially be a wonderful resolution to my existing financial difficulties, it also allows me to put aside some savings for the future.

Though I do enjoy business development work and creating strategic alliances such as the recent deal between MTV and STB, marketing is in fact my real passion. This new job is exactly that and more.

I am tasked with the marketing, branding and communications for one of Singapore's top executive recruitment firms. I must admit that it is indeed a privilege to be headhunted, and an even greater one to be working for this organization. The headquarters for Asia Pacific is based in Sydney, Australia and I will be looking after the Hong Kong and Singapore markets from here. In fact, I've just been told that I'll be going to Sydney for a short training stint some time in June!

My new job starts on June 1 and I will definitely be back with more updates on that!

Secondly, I haven taken on some freelance writing projects. A start-up company intends to publish a set of Guided Composition assessment books for Primary 3 and 4 students and I have been offered the project! The token remuneration is nothing much to rave about, but I do appreciate the opportunity to publish my very first books!

Though I would very much prefer a sensational bestseller novel to be my virgin masterpiece, but I guess this would do for now. :)

Last but not least, I have unwittingly turned into a hopeless addict to the virtual game of World of Warcraft. It has consumed my days, nights, weekends and all my living seconds. I am now a Level 27 Human Priest with 33 more gruelling levels to go before reaching Nirvana.

Yes, life has been wonderful indeed.

For that, I thank you Lord. Your blessings have been more than abundant.

GBBMC

Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign, or GBBMC for short, is an ingenious marketing stint spearheaded by Kevin Apgar to promote Paul Davidson's latest book, The Lost Blogs.

The Lost Blogs is a satirical compedium of ancient blogs by the most infamous personalities in history - from Ghandi to Jesus to Jim Morrison. In this witty and original take on the most important technological development since spam, The Lost Blogs offers hundreds of blogs from the most famous minds in history, detailing their hysterically personal (and impersonal) "revelations".

GBBMC is an amazingly fun project where 40-odd bloggers took to the blogosphere and write as their preferred historical figure for an entire week, and they can try to guess who these writers are blogging as.

I am, of course, one of the Lost Bloggers and if you want to take a shot and guess which famous personality I was trying to blog as, click your way now to I Am NOT What I Am. Do check out the other Lost Bloggers too on my Blogroll and see if you can unravel the mystery writers!

Kids Power!

The 19th Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards was an awesome show! This awards show - is a mini-Oscar's show where kids get to make all the decisions - and vote for their favorites in sports, music, movies and fashion.

It was a star-studded night no doubt, made even more glamourous by the likes of Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jessica Alba, Jesse McCartney, Cameron Diaz, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Justin Timberlake, Hugh Jackman, Nelly, Bow Wow, Adam Sandler, Green Day and Pink.

Yup - go ahead and envy me 'cos I get to see them up so close and personal. Haha...

Jack Black rocked the house with his funny antics as the host for the night. The sets were amazingly elaborate and sensational. The audience were in top form and screamed their lungs out for every star - except for Backstreet Boys. All in all, it was quite an incredible experience for me.

Yes - I do love my job. :)

Check out the animated photo banner below - for they will be able to show you the scale and scope of the event that I would not have possibly been able to describe using mere words.

NICKELODEON'S KIDS CHOICE AWARDS PHOTOS

I'm Home....

...and feelin' tired....

...and feelin' cold cos I was caught in the rain for more than 2 hours on my last day in LA...

...and feelin' lazy.

How's your day been?

Delayed Blogcast From LA!

Yes yes! I know I promised to do a mini-blog on my LA exploits, but I had problems with the hotel's wireless access the last couple of days, so do pardon my tardy updates.

Since all of you are 'dying' to hear from me, I shall tarry no more and get on with my escapades in LA.....

DAY ONE

Reached LAX airport feelin' ultra-zombied. Haven't slept a wink during the 16-hour flight. Guess I wasn't really used to long hauls.

Watched the movie adaptations of Rent The Musical and The Producers on KrisWorld. Rent is achingly fantastic. Now I regret not watching the actual musical. Arrgh.

Cabby Pick Up #1

Took a shared van ride to my hotel with a few other girls and a Chinese couple. Thought it would be cheaper than the cab. I was the last one to drop off, so the driver started chatting with me and recommending places that I should visit whilst I am here.

Somehow the conversation steered towards his family. He revealed that he is a divorcee now and his kids are staying with his wife. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he exclaimed with a bright smile,"And now I am single!"

I "congratulated" (condolences wasn't really apt then) him while he went on about the fun things to do in LA. When we were nearing the hotel, he asked if I there was anyone to send me around during my stay here. Before I could answer, he offered to be my driver if I needed transport. Apparently he owned the vehicle so he's basically his own boss and could take time off anytime he wants to.

I "enthusiastically" accepted his name card and told him I would call him should I need a ride. Of course - I'd conveniently forget about it right after I've checked in.

It's not because he was fat, balding, "divorced-and-pretending-to-be-happily-single" that freaked me out. It was really his offer of sending me around - FREE of charge. We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch and well, I just ain't gonna put myself at risk in exchange for free taxi rides to Disneyland.

Walked along the neighbourhood hunting for dinner 'cos I was starving. Found a nice li'l sushi place and had a quick dinner - before running back to my hotel in the pouring rain.

Bummer. I crashed immediately after a nice warm bath.

Weather: Cold, rainy, windy.


DAY TWO

The morning smells wonderful. Is it because there are less traffic, less pollution and hardly any smokers around? It's so cold out there, but yet, I don't see that many cancer stick puffers. Strange....but real cool. :)

I simply luuuurrrrvveee the cool weather. It's like walking in air-conditioned streets.

I hopped onto a cab and headed towards 3rd Street Promenade at Santa Monica. What a quaint little street! It is framed by a small canopy of trees and bricked tiles, and the sides are lined with cafes and restuarants, and some of fashion's best names in their standalone mini-boutiques: Levi's, Nike, Urban Outfitters, Timberland, Banana Republic, AX, Abercrombie & Fitch, just to name a few.

I Was A Street Artist!

I stopped in my tracks as a street artist was about to perform his next act. I took out my camera and was trying to frame the best angle I could find, when to my horror, I saw him walking towards me from my LCD screen. He asked for my name and despite my attempt to put on that terror-stricken look, he continued to pull me towards the area right in the middle of the crowd!

"Everyone, let's give Elvina a warm welcome! She is now going to help me in my next performance. Elvina, you wouldn't need this anymore (he took my camera). I am going to give this to my dad and this (he took my bag) - is for my mom."

To be honest, I was feeling more tired than thrilled. I only wanted to shop before scampering off to the Kids' Choice Awards at 3.30pm. But seeing how hard he was working to entertain the audience, I played along. He started spinning balls into this axis that was resting on my head, as well as onto that little stick that he made me hold up in my left hand.

It was bloody heavy to hold 4 spinning balls ok?! I almost wanted to let them all go, but then the idea of a concussion wasn't really appealing, so I held on.

We earned the applause of an appreciative crowd, but he really got more out of it. Most of them dropped a dollar into the white bucket that he passed around after the gig. I should have just asked him for my commission. (So Singaporean right??!!!)

I was so hungry after that workout, so I dropped by Seattle Coffee for a little snack. It was my lunch actually - tomato and cheese sandwich. This li'l piggie woke up too late and missed breakfast completely. :P

And did I forget to mention that it's uber sassy to sit by the sidewalk cafe with a book in one hand, warm cup of tea in the other, great music flowing into my ears from my sleek ipod nano - and watch the beautiful people whiz by? Life is good.

Cabby Pick Up #2

On my way back to the hotel, my cab driver - this time a much younger Russian - enthusiastically introduced the various shopping malls I should visit. He pointed out the various landscapes to me and explained their histories and heritage in his smattering of broken English. In between the audio guide, he would slip in a comment about Russian men having a preference for Asian women even though women in Russia are reputedly extremely beautiful, or at least according to him. Asian women are smaller in size, and have lovelier characters, he claimed.

That's a hint, no?

I smiled and nodded politely. He said 'it is not everday you meet a beautiful Asian girl like yourself, ya know?', and I said 'thank you very much.'

Then he did the "call-me-if-you-need-a-ride-I'm-available-anytime" trick, and this time, I am all da wiser. I claimed I have friends in LA who will keep me VERY busy the whole time I'm here. I think he got the hint.

The key highlight of the day was really the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. But that definitely warrants an entry by itself, so I think I will stop here for now. Will regale you of the stars that I have spotted during this awards show over the next few days....so keep your eyes peeled on this blogcast.

Meanwhile, be good and await my return. Sleep, I must, and till then, may my words be with you.

Weather: Cool & Chilly