For the past 2 nights, I set myself zero agenda except eating a healthy dinner and watching stuff on my laptop... Life has never been so good!!!
This week has been pretty quiet at work, things have never been busier for my team and as a result, no one really has time to give me stuff to do. (I honestly don't think an intern makes anyone's lives easier since we essentially know nothing and have to be taught everything from scratch and whatever we do has to be checked - resulting in more work for everyone around. I'm really grateful that people bother at all. ^_^") Honestly, I didn't really mind because I always feel bad hounding other people for stuff to "help them with" (like I said, I don't really think I'm helping so much as I'm bothering but I swear I try my best to be helpful) and instead, I could work on my parts of the summer project - the deadline of which is fast approaching and trust me, it's apprehension all around.
I think we essentially have a structure and the content, it just needs filtering and sorting, plus a hell of a good presentation. Having never had a structured internship in my life, the summer started with me really looking forward to the project but looking back, I feel like it was educational but not necessarily something I'd like to do again. (Probably after the internship, everyone will look back with fond memories but currently we're all dying together.) I actually cannot wait to submit it but at the same time, I don't quite want to submit it because I really do enjoy the internship and wish this summer would go on forever.
Except of course, it won't. And going back to Ann Arbor, seeing everyone again, and having a ton of fun in senior year is something I'm actually looking forward to. Even if it means that summer is over and school is coming, and after that the real world.
It's far too early right now (2 weeks too early) to be looking back on anything. I feel like retrospective reflection should be done, you know. Retrospectively. As opposed to currently. And certainly, I don't think my opinion of my internship so far will change very much from now till 2 weeks later but there's a certain gravitas to reflecting on something for real, instead of you know, simply looking back on what I've learned "so far".
However, it is never too early to start looking for a job and thus with a bit more exposure to the field, I have been looking around online, while waiting for an internet article to load for instance, or while that damn document attempts to feebly open on MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint. (I am now disturbingly good at being able to print stuff perfectly, and at making things look pretty and organized, and at being completely detail-obsessed right down to the last double-space between words you can barely see and fullstops/periods that shouldn't be there.) There are some awesome companies that are internationally located (ie: has Asia offices! Woo!) and sound incredibly fun to work for.
In fact today, my manager kindly invited me to a meeting on branding and it was fascinating. Like, seriously fascinating. (I think it was partially the guy who presented who was extremely enthusiastic and completely captured my attention...)
Just as I've always been interested in how people think, I've also always been interested in how brands build this air of mystique around themselves or whatever else it is they wish to convey. How did Louis Vuitton grow to become such a marketing phenomenon? How did Coca-Cola build itself into such an ubiquitous brand? How did Sony become the leader of innovation at one point? And so on.
Not just the advertising campaigns that surround these companies, but also the brand's image, the brand's ambassadors, the brand's essence. How were all these built into seemingly tangible things? How did we come to associate all these qualities with that brand? How can we change people's perceptions of something just by switching around a few things and having a snazzy campaign?
The ever evolving world of advertising, marketing, PR, etc is dizzyingly exciting to me. And learning more and more about the process, and who works on these things is equally interesting. Watching the senior people work makes me aspire to be like them - smart, successful, stylish! And being a workaholic - but I don't think that's a problem. Contrary to my usual lazy, messy self, getting work makes me happy and I'm actually fairly organized (apparently anyway).
I guess that's why it's ok to just sit in my air-less room some nights, and have absolutely no agenda. Like tonight. It gave me time for digestion, processing and reflection. ^_^
"If you listen to your heart the whole night through, your sunny someday will come one day soon to you." - Pink Martini, Hang On Little Tomato
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Pink Martini!] [mood : tired] [food : salad! With roast chicken!] [grateful for : the chance to meet all these wonderful people and learn so many things]
And I loved every moment of it. Even the draggy parts.
Really, it's something I could watch all over again and probably find something new to love.
It helps too that cute guys are involved.
Like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. Very fine.
Leonardo DiCaprio has in fact grown into a distinguished actor, after all that boyish charm in Titanic.
It also helps that everyone in the movie has an awesome wardrobe. (Cue much googling but to no avail.)
And an awesome female lead who doesn't need to blubber at all in the show which is a nice change.
Not to forget the ultra cool and well executed stunt scenes. (Featuring equally cool and well executed gentlemen like above.)
And the also very fine Asian actor who wasn't placed merely as an afterthought. (Not totally anyway.)
But most of all, I loved the twists and turns that have come to characterize Christopher Nolan's style (like Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, etc.) and leave the viewer guessing.
The music was good too. But I wasn't expecting anything less than what they put in anyway.
The architecture of the mind is a very vast and very interesting place to explore.
But most of all, I loved the Kick.
Especially when Joseph Gordon-Levitt was always its victim.
And the scene with him and Ellen Page was AWESOME. I love The Characters Trailer.
In the end, I guess what really pulls the whole film together was ... everything. The plot. The direction. The acting. The design. The wardrobe. The effects. The music. The scenario. The atmosphere.
The poster seems to depict a world coming to destruction - the apocalypse maybe. But really, it isn't. It's about a world coming to creation - all in a dream within a dream within a dream.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : 明年今日 陈亦迅 + 笑忘书 王菲] [food : Burgers!] [mood : Pleased] [grateful for : the restoration of my faith in American movies]
I just gobbled up a slice of mango swiss roll that I bought just hours ago from Chinatown and like my tweet says, "The taste of home in a mango swiss roll from chinatown is more precious than the best cupcake you can buy in nyc."
At first I was going to blog about how I haven't had time to blog and everything but then after eating that one slice of mango swiss roll (and having 豆腐花 in the fridge, more on that later)... It just reminded me of home such that I had to blog about it. Simple things like that make another place feel more like somewhere you belong. Or at least harbor a sense of familiarity.
So today I went to Chinatown to eat 小笼包 with some people and before that went shopping for all the Chinesey-homey stuff (aka food) that I miss being all the way uptown.^_^" Going to Chinatown on a weekday evening was much more calm and peaceful than the daytime/weekend periods that I've experienced before. Perhaps going down there after work isn't such a bad idea after all... (But the commute back is such a drag.)
Although the mango swiss rolls here aren't as fluffy and delicious as the ones in Singapore, the slice I ate reminded me so much of the swiss rolls I used to inhale while in Singapore... And then it occurred to me that, perhaps if you were to get me to choose between the not-so-good mango swiss roll, and the best cupcake available in NYC, the one closer and more precious to my heart would win.
(This is probably also why in a battle of salad VS 菜... Guess which would win?)
After that, I went to buy 豆腐花. (I am eternally grateful to my brother for telling me about this place.) I was going to buy some for the friends I was meeting but when I got to the counter and ordered (in Cantonese!!! So proud of myself. Haha), the (usually) grumpy uncle laughed and told me he only had 2 bowls left. I was so shocked that he laughed (he can laugh??) that I just said, 好啦！两碗。 (in Cantonese again! Still so proud of myself. Haha) (forgot to be a bit more polite but anyway...)
When I was digging for change, I noticed he was telling the 2 guys behind me that he only had cold 豆腐花 left. I wonder why he didn't tell me that. Perhaps the hot one is what he would sell to me because it tastes better anyway.^_^
(My 豆腐花 is in the fridge though, getting cold as we speak =X I'm going to eat it for breakfast. Wee! I'd rather have fresh hot 豆腐花 however...)
Even though I'd probably never order in Cantonese in Singapore, somehow I do it here. Isn't it strange? But getting the 2 bowls of 豆腐花, something I missed so much in Ann Arbor, felt like it didn't make any difference because what I had in my hands was a taste of home and something that I wouldn't be able to obtain otherwise. Even though the sugar syrup here doesn't have the fragrance of pandan like in Singapore. Even though the 豆腐花 in Singapore is much smoother and less jelly-like (even though the one here is a more than adequate substitute to be honest). Even though they don't come in giant plastic containers for some ridiculously cheap price (they are a dollar here, not too bad at all)...
In that one moment when the 豆腐花 or Mango Swiss Roll or 小笼包 is consumed, it feels like home again. And I guess the memory of it is what really makes the difference.
(I lied about eating the 豆腐花 for breakfast... I kept for one for breakfast and caved so I'm eating one now =X At least it's healthy? And it feels like home.)
When I learned that one of the managers on my account hadn't gone home for 3 years and only just went home over one weekend, I was shocked. How can someone not go home for 3 years? And then it dawned on me that home can exist in many places and pockets of time. Once upon a time, I would have scoffed at you if you told me I'd call Ann Arbor home. I always called it "dorm" (in freshman year) rather than "home". But as the months passed, and I grew more and more accustomed to life there, I really did start calling it home. "I'm going back to my house" "I'll head back home" "See you at my house?" and so on. There it was very much relationships that bonded people together.
Here, in this vast lonely city of New York, I don't think its all about the relationships so much - but the fact that almost everyone can find some semblance of home in something that is familiar to them. Be it a food item (the taste of home), a fragrance (the smell of home), a cacophony of sound (the sound of home), or a place (the sight of home), I think that in a big metropolis like this, there's a place for everyone somewhere.
New York is not a particularly friendly city. Nor is it particularly welcoming. But if you're able to carve out a niche for yourself, there is space to do that. As your little hollow grows bigger, so do spaces for the relationships that come into your life. And maybe, that's how home is created.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Halo Beyonce] [mood : tired] [food : 豆腐花!] [grateful for : being able to eat these yummy foods that remind me of home ^_^]
Technically this weekend is pretty significant because it was one with the final match of the World Cup 2010. But honestly, time just flows and when you look back everything just condenses itself into dates on a calendar with no real sense of how time has actually passed.
I think I can understand how people can be like, "O yea I've been in this job for 5 years" because time just slides by when you are busy. I guess school isn't like that because it's broken up for you - into classes, into semesters, into years. But a job is a continuously flowing process that doesn't "start" when you begin and doesn't "end" when you leave.
It's like a stream that has been flowing forever, and you just step on at a certain point. You probably won't change the flow unless you make a significant change - creating a redirection or stopping the flow. Otherwise, it'll just keep flowing whether you're floating along or not.
And thus, the weekend just slipped through my fingers again.
Considering the fact that for me, an internship is temporary and I always have school to look forward to again, I wonder how working life would feel like - when you cannot see beyond working like that everyday for at least the next few months. O__O O dear. I guess that's why it's important to obtain a challenging job, or at least one that you can honestly say you like doing... Otherwise wouldn't it be draining beyond belief?!
The scary thing about time is that it seems to disappear before you even realize its presence. It used to be "What can I do in future!" to "I need to start deciding what to study so I have some clue about my future." to "How does this relate to what I want to do in future...and what do I want to in future?!" to "I think I need to decide..." and soon it'll be "I think this is the path I will be on from now." O__O O gosh. I don't even want to think about it. -_- This isn't avoidance per se. It's more like lack of knowledge of a viable tomorrow.-_-
Squeak. EMO MOMENT! xP But I don't think people know that they've chosen what they have always wanted till they are able to view the whole thing retrospectively. I mean, honestly. How would you know that this is what you want to do when you first start out?
While putting together the songs featured in the dorama of the summer (素直になれなくて), there are 2 pieces of music from Love Actually. Which makes me really want to watch Love Actually!!! I love that movie. It's so simple and sweet, and is perfect anytime of the year - but especially at Christmas. ^_^ And I love the soundtrack used for 素直になれなくて... It's great!!! Just like how I love the Juno soundtrack. ^_^
Time to sleep early. ^_^ Wee! cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : songs featured in 素直になれなくて] [mood : sleepy] [food : salad~] [grateful for : being able to nua at home on the weekend]
Sam: What brought that on? O__o Midwest food is indeed not terribly impressive but Chicago has quite a few good eats =D
Having returned from a nice airconditioned house in DC to my hot as a cauldron on a fierce fire apartment in NYC... I must say I had a very good weekend. Far better than hanging out and melting from the heat in New York. I did miss an opportunity to see someone but... There are sacrifices I'm willing to make for airconditioning.
Sacrifices such as money to enjoy airconditioning at Starbucks or something. Sigh!
But the weekend in DC was awesome! Apart from the fact that I had to wake up early to catch the bus, and the extremely annoying woman in the bus, everything else went really well.
My first 4th of July in the US!~ ^_^
I saw the DC fireworks over the National Mall from someone's beautiful rooftop terrace!!! I am so getting a rooftop terrace, especially with an outdoor component and an air-conditioned component. Perfect for any season. =P On top of which, I enjoyed what everyone described as a traditional 4th of July feast. A+!!! Haha. There was fried chicken... Sweet potato fries... Ribs... Coleslaw... Corn salsa... Hot dogs... And so on. So good. xD
In other words, my imagination of what people traditionally eat for such gatherings hasn't been too far off. =D Hehe. I still remember when I did the Super Bowl dinner last year... I had a heck of time researching what Americans eat at home for such gatherings. And was rather disappointed to find out that it wasn't anything more exciting than chicken wings and ribs.
At least Thanksgiving is interesting - with turkey and cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (I still cannot understand that but...), etc.
But anyway, I thought the 4th of July weekend was great.=D It was nice to go to a real house and have homecooked food... and hang out with my aunt. But I guess the kid in me still loves fireworks and that was probably the highlight. ^_^ I really do love fireworks... even if its not very good, it'll be great! I wonder when I can next see them...
Now excuse me while I melt... And wait for it to get cooler outside before I go search for food.=P
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : 夏音 GLAY] [mood : HOT. (T_T)] [food : Terra Blues + Cherries!]
So there was this incident with my friend on the plane.
My friend was asked what drink she would like and she said milk, which was received with a stare and silence before the air stewardess moved to get the milk and hand it to her. After that, my friend turned to me and went, "Is asking for milk very weird?!"
I think that event has traumatized me. And everytime I want to drink milk in the cafeteria/pantry I have to stop myself because what if its something weird in this culture... Not that I drink milk a lot in Singapore... In fact you'd probably get stared at in Singapore too now that I think about it.
But then again, drinking soy milk doesn't seem to draw stares from people. Not here and not in Singapore.
Is there some kind of disparity in terms of how people view milk VS soymilk?
Weird.
However, there is a milkbar in Chelsea Market run by Ronnybrook Farms (click for their website!) and I've also bought their milk in Whole Foods. It's delicious. And it also reminds me why I shouldn't ever drink horrible milk when such sweet plentiful versions are out there.=D If a milkbar exists, does that make drinking milk more acceptable? X__X
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
