am I lazy? Nooooo

Here's the thing, I work in a building of 20-odd floors. We are having the annual fire drill tomorrow... so I get the bit where it can be a bit of a mess to get 10,000 out of a building at the same time, but THIS... is rediculous (quote from building management email);

For those of us who are on the 7th floor, the fire drill will be tomorrow (FRIDAY, 2/1) AM. It would be over by mid-morning. When you hear the announcement, please gather at the stairwell by the Ladies' bathroom. We need to go down four floors so we will end up on the third floor. Third floor knows we are coming so we won't be getting dirty looks from them.

By the same token, when 11th floor do their fire drill, they will be coming down. So when you see a whole bunch of people just hanging around the elevator bank, that's what it is.

----------
So hang on, we're only practicing running to the THIRD floor? Is that going to save me when there's a fire, earthquake or any kind of natural disaster that may strike this city? I mean, what about ground level... I thought that is the safest place of all.

Either way, I'm going wear flats tomorrow. Even when I am only going to the 3rd floor.

agh

great weekend... headache at work. Tremendously glad new laptop arrived today so I don't have to blog from work anymore.

Its planning season and I am back to work level that I'm used to. LOVE IT! Stressful yes, but loving it.

buses, snow and boys and the virtues of dating 'up'

I am currently reading a book call 'Stiff - the curious lives of human cadavers'... the looks I get on the bus is priceless. No one has yet come up to start a conversation while I'm reading, but I can imagine that's because they would be evaluating my kookiness potential and figure it'd be relatively high.

Spent the past 2 weekends at Tahoe... I can REALLY snowboard now. Link turns down blue runs etc! I can REALLY ski now... as in turn down steep blue runs and even manage to jump a little. It goes without saying... I am REALLY broke now.

It snowed about 12in in 24 hrs last weekend - we had to shovel the car out of the snow. I mean, I didn't even know how to do that till friends (from Chicago) showed me. I started thinking whether I can live in the east... yeah, probably.

On the boys front... NYE guy is still around, and every so often sends me a txt to see whether I want to go out. I have suggested a few things, which he isn't totally keen on. Oh well...

Met with flatmates and friends last night for dinner... for the first 'Fortnightly Dinner Club'. I turns out that whilst most at the table is single, I was one of the few who was truly content with my current state.

I now figure some girls are just different. Some are totally into Jane Austen values still, and not realising that it takes a whole lot of work!! What I'm referring to is the idea of 'dating up' - as in Pride & Prejudice, Mum wanted all her girls to be better off etc.

OK, so I admit I like going out with guys who are - like me, in most part - confident, healthy, mentally stable and financially comfortable... but these guys just don't walk down the street and sweep you up in their arms. Whilst I'm not looking, at this point in time... I also don't see the need to whine & moan about their rarity.

To compensate, one particular friend is seeing a guy who sounds boring and ordinary... I wonder why she didn't do her homework before agreeing to go out with him. And AFTER working out that he is more boring than a bar of soap... she stuck by him for another couple of months. Come on girl - have some self worth and let the guy go!!

One girl at the table, however, did have the right idea - bad dates make great stories. Whilst we don't admit it, bad dates are exactly what girls get together to talk about.

I've been overwhelmed by speed dating companies in lead up to V Day (see previous blog site for how I was rejected by some dodgy company)... dodgy bastards.

Going to this 'Ivy League Plus' drinks this afternoon and pretending to be some foreign exchange student who went to Standford and did Philosophy. HA!

Crust. Earnt, spent, etc

This morning was another session of the JFM-quarter Digital Media preach.

Don't get me wrong... I love digital. I wouldn't be blogging if I didn't like it (and to be one of the few in the office who actually blogs ROCK). I love how every session is making me think that I should move into straight digital as oppose to keep with general media... in saying so, I love radio, OOH and integrations. I am a project manage nut (just as anyone who's ever been on a trip with me). Just like online more...

Here's something new - I apparently got a credit card approved with my bank. As I currently have no US credit history, they think I am an illegal alien or something. In fact I have actually been denied a SAVINGS account. Yeah, you read right... a bank almost stopped me from giving them money.

Off to restaurant #2 of within the Dine About Town program. French place of my choice this time with a bunch of people.

Speaking of which - what is the correct way to approach a guy post date? Friendship, yes. Physical attraction? Not so. Not to say he's a bad looking guy - of which he is not - but still nothing from my end.

In unknown territories its always good to fall back on what I know. So I'm going to be totally Asian and passive aggressively avoid the topic.

Snowboard again this weekend, at Boreal, which is a tiny little field to hone my skills. YAY!

Which laptop should I get?

Techo-educated people in blog land... I am currently home computer-less and need to reinvest!

Which laptop offers better value for its price?
- Macbook 13" black (2.2GHz processor/ 160GB hard drive), OR
- MBP 15" (2.2GHz processor/ 120GB hard drive)


What I need a laptop for;
- go online, full AV functions inc all kinds of streaming
- mess around with photos
- do work... like spreadsheets etc
- organise my life
- sit in a cafe to pick up boys (haha)

What I like on my laptop;
- big screen (spoilt with my last one)
- Internet connectivity
- that it runs fast for what I need it to do (which doesn't involve gaming)

Thank you muchly in advance

Date report!

Haven't had one of these in awhile... so here is a re-cap of where things stand as of last posting, in Nov-07 (you will need to go to 'Print Room Murmurs', my previous blog, to read up on my previous);

November... J decided to tell me, in a round about way, that he didn't want to get serious. Which wasn't exactly hurtful since I didn't want anything serious with him either. So after Florida trip I stopped calling... he obviously didn't make contact either.

December came along and I had a super wild NYE... drinking, dancing and seriously good company. There were, of course, bits in between of which details ought not to be repeated (email me for sordid details if you want) and I was well on my way on forgetting.

And THEN I got this call at 7pm on New Years Day... cheerful voice on the other end saying hey, we should catch up when we're both less trashed. Chills down my spine... how the hell did he get my number? I am 99% certain I didn't give it to him, and to be honest quite happy to forget about the whole thing. I mean, he seemed a guy... but get everyone is nice when you're 6 or 7 jelly shots into the night, washed down with whatever other alcoholic beverage available... didn't regretted any of it, but at the same time I was quite happy for it to be a short lived episode (like Hotel Babylon... remember that show??)

So last night I had a date with Mr NYE. He is actually a nice guy. Not exactly attracted to him THAT way but he has a curious mind that keeps me thinking. He's a east coast transplant to this city and from the sounds of things his workmates knew of my existence already.

I would like him as a friend but really nothing else. Should really introduce this conversation early in the piece, like now, shouldn't I?

cramming my style

San Franciscan are definitely not up there when it comes to public transport cramming.

Think London Tube, MTR & buses in Hong Kong and the Japanese subway. People in these places know how to cram. Sacrifice a little personal space so everyone gets home on time. Share the discomfort and don't whinge. They even made a Visa rugby ad about it.

SF commuters still like their space. Take for example Bus #1, the 'ritzy' bus that travels through the wealthier pockets of town into the Fin District, and 'yuppie bus' #43 which goes from the Marina... no matter how busy it is during the commuter hours, the ladies still manage to keep their blown-dry hair tidy, Gucci bags unscruffed and the Jimmy's untrotted on.

If you go on the #2, #3, #4 and the #38... chances are you will get trotted on but still not to the levels of London, HK and Japan. You will get growls if carrying an oversized gym bag, know intimate details of your bus buddy's everyday life and listen to second hand ipod tunes (usually something crap - morning music is diverse).

I am not sure what's the point of this post... I guess than the people of SF for giving me a little bit of personal space still, within a relatively crammed environment.

Though it will be nice if they learn HOW to cram more bodies on a bus... on an as need basis, of course.

Children are more affordable in...

Sydney and Hungary, apparently.

Recently had US talent right regulations explained to me - which is one of the most inflexible in the world. To get around this, some agencies have taken to shooting the ad offshore, Europe or Australia is preferred since they can make it 'look' like the US.

Found out a junior counterpart of mine in creative is in my home town atm. SO VERY JEALOUS.

If you're curious, each kid could earn around the $30K a quarter mark by being in a high rotation commercial.

bus-time reading & cross cultures

I am currently reading this book called 'Stiff' - it's a non-fiction, comical look on what happens to cadavers. So far I've covered med student gross anatomy, crash test subjects, cosmetic surgery practices and there's also embalming...

Whilst I am sitting there on the 2, 3 or 4 bus giggling to myself most morning and night, I can't help but think what others thought I was doing - the front cover of the book is someone's feet, with a swing tag labelling the corpse. You know, CSI style.

But this is SF... and people pride themselves on being alternative. Like this one time (not at band camp), there was a goth woman on the bus. She had the cutesiest little purse in the style that Betty Boop (or Dita von Tesse for that matter) would carry. Only that it says 'fuck you' in calligraphy lettering. Hmm.

Alternativeness #2 - I had Indian pizza last night after underwater hockey. No kidding... it's like a naan with topping on top, not inside. Had a Kingfisher pizza to knock it down.

That rocks!!!

Culninary skills

After the movie last night I was in a frenzy - needed to wash yucky, sweaty clothes from last weekend's soccer game, pack for my snowboarding weekend (Kirkwood, at Sth Tahoe) and deal with the defrosted turkey mince that's been sitting in the fridge for 3 days.

The first 2 was easy... I am pretty well practiced with the pack and wash routine... the third?

To be honest I would have been OK for the mince to sit there till I get back from the snow. But I do live with two girls with different food standards than I - so to avoid coming home and find the mince being trashed, I decided to cook it up.

Turkey mince is pretty uninspirational. Don't get me wrong... I love big bird as much as anyone else (especially when there's stuffing, roast veggies and cranberry sauce to go with it)... but its a meat I would unlikely to get unless it's seasonal. I heard Inghams tried to change that consumer habit some time ago...

My brainwaves led me to making meatballs, pan fried then finishing them in a tomato sauce. Speg meatballs.

Turned out ok btw!!

publicity that no company can pay for (well maybe)

I saw the new Fox movie, 27 Dresses, last night... I LOVED IT!!

Total chick flick, love story, bleeding obvious protagonists, antagonists and misguided love interests. Straight characters framed by the eccentric. Cute one liners. Dreamy, alternative looking boy comes from behind to take the girl.

OK it's total cliche of a movie but it was so much fun.

Fox did not pay me to write this blog. Palm did give me a free ticket.

what I learnt today about tech gods

Whilst The Black Wiggle is a total tech god, he is a traditional media-nist...

The fruit likes it BIG... supersites, prime time TV spots.... even online campaigns are a bit of a struggle.

Though reality is that there are so many fan boys out there - as my buddies from Fruit Corp will tell me - advertising is kinda like... redundant.

Just interesting that the fruity team faces the same challenges as I do on FMCG.

Oregon Trail

Ok, can someone please explain WTF is it?

I received a Facebook invite awhile ago... ignored it since I didn't know what it was (sorry Andy). And now my entire office is going nuts over the FB application... and the only explanation I've gotten
"Sorry i don't know how to explain it. Its easier to understand if you grew up here"

Well DUH if I grew up here I won't be asking that question, would I?

This question will now fall under the unanswered file, along with why is the US still so hung up on cheques (yes I spell that differently too).

Oh and another thing... the word 'cute' is so TOTALLY over used in this country.

finally not getting run over!

On about half the mornings, I get off the #2 bus on a traffic island just outside my work. I clearly remember the first time I did this... I looked the wrong way when crossing the road and thankfully the traffic was slow, and the driver stopped.

This morning I crossed the same road and as second nature, I looked the right way and everything was fine.

This might not be very exciting for you but, its pretty big achievement for me:)

Coffee wasteland

Starbucks. That's not coffee.

Having been spoilt by those wonderful Italian and Greek immigrants in AUS, I find myself in a coffee wasteland where Starbucks is considered as amongst the best on offer.

Of course there are the 'other' chains... Coffee Bean Genie, Martha & Bros etc etc... it just isn't the same. For starters I wouldn't waltz into Gloria Jeans to buy coffee in Syd unless its dire.

An example - I was en route from OAK to BUR for Christmas. There are a few options available at Oakland Airport but since I have a cumulative $35 worth of SB gift cards (approx. 10 cups of coffee)... SB was the cheapest option.

I ordered a cappuccino - the staple in any barista education course. I picked up my cup on the pick-up line and immediately knew something was wrong.

The cup had no weight. So i opened the lid to check... one shot of coffee and foamed milk. Nothing else. WTF.

It was 9:30am, Monday morning. I got back from a hardcore weekend at Tahoe night before. Got on a shuttle at 7:30am... I was exhausted. I would have fought back hard if they didn't give me my coffee correctly.

I went back and asked whether they can give me more liquid - after slight bit of resistance (my blood shot eyes probably hinted to how much I was prepared to escalate matters)... i got an extra shot of coffee.

Though it still wasn't GOOD. I mean, I still had to 'fix' the coffee and add more milk... but it was better.

Yet on the same note - I did find a totally out of the way place (24th & Folsom) that serves KICKASS coffee - Philz is highly recommended if you happen to be in SF.

Hello new blog!

I grew up a little... so i need a new blog.

For those who have following my madness in previous years... thank you, it was fun.

For those who want to see what I was up to in the past 3 years - the address is;
http://sassyjayee.spaces.live.com/

=)