Thursday, January 26, 2006


Our office recieved about a dozen hampers for Chinese New Year so we had a lucky dip today to distribute them. I didn't win one but thats okay because one (one!) of my colleagues gave me this.

That was very sweet of them to think of me in the maddness that is tweleve adults madly tearing away at the plastic wrappings around their pyramid prezzies. Still, I
couldn't help but have a laugh at the brilliant label :) Perhaps he was trying to say something?! xxw
Good God.

My apologies for the blogging diahorrea over the past few days..xxw

The Rain in Spain...

This morning I noticed this month's Architectural Record is sat (sadly, unread) in the table in the centre of our chamber in the office. Someone takes a quick glance through the articles then laughes out loud. I look over and she's pointing at Jean Nouvel's new Agbar tower in Barcelona showing it to someone else who, in turn emits such an offensive noise, I cringe out loud.

How dare she?! How dare they laugh at the Demigod that is Atelier Jean Nouvel? I'm not a follower, but the respect is very much there.


OK. With the combined maturity of a 10 year old boy who giggles uncontrollably as soon as someone mentions willies and whatnot, you can see perhaps the reasoning (if any) behind their blasphemous behavior. Such a great big piece of phallic architecture rising so gloriously into the Barcelona heavens to greet Mr. Gaudi himself, say?

There is no denying the reference I suppose as we are all only human and maybe, all closet perverts. It is a giant willy in the sky as many many other 'great' male architects so enjoy parading. So, know what? Good on him approaching this building with a little humour (JN's other works aren't exactly whimsical in my books).

Good on him cocking his architectural hind leg and claiming his teritory.xxW

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Felice Varini

Anyone who has been following my posts might notice the 'My Pick This Week' under the Art and Architecture header in the side bar. Unfortunately this has been somewhat neglected as my blog has been over the past couple weeks or so while I've been busy with work and dance.

Its changed now to an artist Abang Izam introduced me to and I can't help going through each of the works one by one as soon as my concentration levels dip. I suppose you could take his work for its face value and see that all he's done has played with perspectives and views. Then again you can see that he's carefully thought about the architectural space (or so he says he has!) and singled out a particular vantage point from which 'function(s) as a reading point, that is to say, as a potential starting point to approaching painting and space'. You might say that this singular 'point' is forced upon the viewer and that is almost to say that there really is perhaps only one way/direction to which you should view a piece of art/architecture? I hope not. Although once seen from other angles his compositions take on another life in the same way a pie base is spread into its dish takes on a new shape and form. But to discuss this in terms of pie is silly and brash really. However, he does acknowledge the dynamism his pieces inherit from movement. The works appeal to me is from that aspect really, the movement of the static pieces. Well, apart from the sheer aesthetic value of seeing a circle being smudged along the intricate crevices of the architectural mouldings of course? Who wouldn't see that and think- 'how did he do that?!' A response often given after seeing an optical illusion which is sometimes all this is really..

The scale is another thing. A little tedious and samey as far as we know here but he has done a few city scapes which I think would be great fun to see and try to figure out the vantage point and then go 'hah! found it!'

To critique somthing that I have never experienced is grotesquely misguided and I'm a little ashamed to have indulged myself so much already. Still, I have my opinions on what I see and so here is a really simple one but probably my fave.

But, to discuss and analyse something to death is so dull. Have a peep yourself.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006


I threatened, I posted! Posted by Picasa

Contestants for Grommit Idol Posted by Picasa

Fans! Posted by Picasa

four and four make 8 Posted by Picasa

Stories of an Ordinary Girl

I went home last weekend which was a visit, I feel, was long overdue.
But thats another post!

I was at my cousin’s wedding and we happened to be talking about this blog and Kyle said, ‘You always write about silly little things. Like cats and sandwiches and not about the interesting things we do.’ A statement I’m not going to contest as the evidence is plainly there. This got me thinking as to why I would rather write about my funny experiences with taxi drivers, sandwich ladies and the like?

Suppose I lived the life of a Hilton or Osbourne, I’d be more inclined to tell my everyday encounters with the o-so-chic and famous? Then again if I was a Hilton I’d probably also have a huge following and feel obligated to share snippets from my glamorous existence. I could, perhaps, pretend that I was one and go to exclusive parties, get photographed on the way and make a K or two? Oh what a convoluted little fantasy world I indulge myself in.

I digress. And no, I’m not a Hilton nor will I ever be paid to party or what ever it is that those two do. What a drag you say! Listen to her whine and bitch about her life in Singapore doing what she always wanted to do! Oh the nerve.

On the contrary really, I’m happy where I am except for the occasion when I stamp my feet and clench my fists when things don’t go my way. What it really is, this blog malarkey thing that is, is that my everyday to day ramblings are so mundane I see it of no use to anyone (myself included) to record let alone feel the need to tell anyone about it.

It’s the occasional little human encounters that fascinate. I generally can’t understand a lot of people and often come off as insensitive which I have no intention of being whatsoever. So sometimes I find myself either meeting a stranger who might make me laugh – which, mind you isn’t very hard given my strange sense of humour I’ve been told to have – or sometimes, and this will sound odd to those who don’t do it themselves, continue my conversation with them on my own.

I’ve grown to tone this habit down over the years. There is a memory I have of my dad taking me to the golf course as a girl of probably nine or ten. Probably not the best place to take a child with an affinity for mud pies. Quite literally. Although I think I may have grown out of making deserts out of unidentified ingredients by then – a compulsion I’m afraid to say got revived during my first three years of University. So anyhow, after having successfully kept me occupied for a few hours and telling my mum how his game went, I distinctly remember my dad saying ‘oh yes, she had a good time talking to the birds.’

Crikey what an eye opener. Even if they were ten year old eyes. Surely all that happened in my head?! Was I going to grow up into one of those crazy old ladies who talk to themselves or even worse, the birds? How could I stop doing something that I didn’t realise I was doing? It didn’t help that at school we ‘learnt’ from wrote and I was often sat in exams mouthing the answers into the back of someone’s head. Luckily I was never caught doing this and have to face being called a cheat or even worse, admit that I talk to myself? Even more lucky is that by University I managed to tone down the talking to myself turning it into in-comprehensible complicated rambling (out-loud) which eventually impressed someone because I made it though relatively unscathed.

The little things that I observe and the things I read throughout the day make it that little more interesting and I like to think contribute to my understanding of well.. my surroundings if not the world. After all what is the point of travel if not life, say, if we went around looking for all the big things and missed the details which make them worth being sought after in the fist place? What a grossly missed opportunity would a life be, lived that way. Somthing that happens more often than not to my knowledge.

Having said that, I have no intention of glorifying my explorations and observations of the world because that is, quite simply put, what they are. xxW

Sunday, January 08, 2006


Farzad's Brill Photo Posted by Picasa

Oblivious.. Posted by Picasa

Another One.. Posted by Picasa

Friday, January 06, 2006

Marilyn and the Colonel


Didn't put much thought into this one as you can probably tell. Although I think it might be quite funny on a t-shirt after a few changes. I think TV should read 'Mind Control' but I couldn't get the words to fit right and I felt it was a little too obvious - my head isn't quite on properly today so I promise I'll do better when it gets fixed. xxW

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Dr.Gillian Would be Proud

For as long as I can remember I have never made new years resolutions. Its so true. Even when I was younger I never saw the point. I suppose I'm more of a... gradual changer rather than a page turner. Its never occured to me on the first of January to go 'Oh Crap. I'd better get my shit together.'

So yeah..

Don't get me wrong, I like to think I'm constantly changing and improving myself though and rather set myself ahievable goals within a time limit. So being January these are the goals I've set to reach by my birthday at least:

1. Be nicer - I've been pretty catty and viscous the past few weeks which isn't really like me at all. Its not fun and worse of all it hurts the people I love around me.

2. Read more - another simple one. I haven't picked up a book for months and I can feel the gray matter up there slowly deteriorating.

3. No carbs after 6 - this one is a no brainer although probably the toughest one!

4. Dance alot - This one relates to no.3 really.. but I think relates more to no.1 I'm a much nicer person when I'm calm. Dancing makes me calm.

But enough about that... Now that we're on the other side of december 31st I think its a good time to see what happened in 2005.

1. South east Asia is.. different. I've spent a proportionally greater length of time here in the past six months than the past three years. Brunei feels different.. more foreign. No wait. More... backward? I can't put a word to it.

2. I graduated - although unfortunately I'm still stuck with the student mentality of feeling that I'm better than everyone else, except this time I get to wave some piece of paper in their faces and blow raspberries. But seriously, lets face it I've still got more juice (creative that is) than the monkeys I'm working for whose often course of action once presented with something different is to say : 'Oh thats Weird' ( a word I HATE now.) then change things back to the norm. How sad it is in that world. I'm a stickler for the weird and wonderful, the fantastical and far out. These guys willingly got in the box then decided to nail it shut.

From the inside.

3. I started a blog - How very 2003 I hear you say? I guess in 2003 I was busy trying to get that degree I keep in my pocket just in case; just so i can get landed into a job like this that I'm too qualified for and spend half my time thinking of things to add to my blog in the first place. Hey, if you're going to pay peanuts you're going to get a monkey's work. Although unfortunately my landlord doesn't like it when he waits at my door then I open it just enough to pelt him with a handful of them then run away.

4. I spent half my year in the gym. Then spent the second half undoing it. Aaand we start again..

5. I stopped listening to stuff I thought was cool. Now I probably have the same taste in music as your disco dancing, jazz loving uncle.

6. I got my heart broken. Its been a year since I started my final project (for uni that is). If you weren't there or didn't go through it yourself or did go through it and managed to come out without some kind of stress-related illness consider yourself lucky. The hardest part of my life drawn out in six months that was. Then to find some guy walked in and stole my work. To put how much that hurt into perspective during the last three months - Eating was hard. Such a simple human activity which, normally, I quite enjoy; became an arduous chore that was done simply out of necessity. Sounds extreme I know but ask anyone and they will tell you the same. I think if I had to do that without Kyle I would have probably been one of the many who dropped out/dropped.

7. On a lighter, happier note, my sister got married and my baby niece was born- woo! :)

Now that I have sufficiently wasted your time today with my narcissistic ramblings - here's to 2006- all of it. xxW

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Cool download..

Wow this one is better than the last one.

You can tell there's nothing happening at the office when I'm adding links to creepy animation on real plants...


Alien Landscape

xxW

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

After eight before twelve


Kyle and Alastair just before midnight with their cigars! Posted by Picasa

The Posey Bugger that is me


Posey wakeboarding photo on monday 2Jan hahHhaHa... Posted by Picasa

Everyone with crazy singing lady Posted by Picasa

I blame the shirt :) Posted by Picasa

Quick! Photo!


Evangeline, Bhavna and me being cheeky and stealing someone elses spot! muahahaha Posted by Picasa

awwwww... Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 02, 2006

This is such a blurry photo but the only one I managed to get of everyone at Chijmes. I promise I'll post more up as soon as I get the chance. xxW
Happy New Year guys - its going to be a brilliant one :) xxW