My Favorite Magazine

when i was in primary school. a teacher once asked us to write an essay on my favorite ...."something"
i remember a friend was reprimanded by the teacher when she wrote an essay on her favorite song and submitted the lyrics of "Let's Go Baby" - the very theme song of the very Miss Universe that was held in Singapore. it was the very Miss Universe that Singapore got into the finals and the very Miss Universe that a Miss Chile won the crown. while my friend was ridiculed in front of the class - with kids giggling and all- i was taken by my friend's bold self expression. the only lesson i remember from that class is this story. i can't even remember the teacher's name or my friend's face.
anyways, i don;t even know why i'm sharing this story...it's just that this memory from primary school every so often pops up whenever the subject of my favorite something is broached. and today i'm sharing my fave mag: with a link to the online site (my most recent fave fast company article to be precise) and a picture of it.
this mag never fails to renew and refresh my mind with new ideas and thoughts. the articles are extensively researched and sometimes so passionately written that it may mislead and/or inspire you to think you really could come up with a killer app, design, business model and/or be somebody. i'm a sucker for powerful words. and ideas. i'm an idea gal. a recent article that gripped me was "Change or Die." this touches on the tools and environment that are needed to help facilitate change in a corporate environment. but really this could apply to any situation - personal,national, international yadayadyada. the writer here suggests that unlike common perception, logic and fear are not the only agents needed for change.more important is emotionalpersuasion. how exactly this could manifest, it did;t really explain entirely but it does trip that mental lightbulbswitch and sets you on a broader path to change. a really interesting read. you don;t have to believe everything in this article, but its offering of new ways of thinking and looking at change is interesting and worth a couple minutes of your thoughts.

opened the door and walked into this. the sight was precious. when you care, you share!!! haha :)

my top two coconut trees in bali. beautiful colours here, isn't it?

"my pocohontas moment"
if my blog entries have been a little too bali-centric, that's only because i've recently fallen in love with this place. i'm a late bloomer. during my maiden trip to bali recently, i had a spa session at a villa in ubud. it was lovely. and it made me feel at one with nature. (but not as overwhelming as the 12-apostles effect *see earlier 12 apostles entry.)cheesy but true. the rose petaled flower bath was ready for me. the water was just a touch warm. and the oil scents mingled with the gentle breeze, teasing my freshly unbundled hair. oh oh...and the bathtub overlooked a timid brook. what more could i ask for?
as i stripped down to nothingness, ready to step into the luxurious body of water i looked across the brook only to see a little village boy looking back at me. our eyes met, as he looked over his shoulder while standing on a rocky spot in the middle of the stream. he too at that moment was taking a bath. i was tickled and sad all at once. the stark difference in realities separated by a mere what? 50 feet of space had some kind of humour to it. did i just have a pocohontas moment? i asked myself. it was surreal. in my pocohontas story though, i wasn't pocohontas. (i was the cameo ) life is FOS. it's funny that way. are we defined by how we take our baths?? hmmm so many layers around us.

there's this sandwich shop -kaffe kreme- i absolutely love to bits on the first floor of my office buidling. i have the shop's no. on my speed dial and judging by how i time my commute to work and the manner in which i order my breakfast each day, i think i've evolved into a highly efficient lazy person. this deserves a prize of some sorts. i'm sure.

i love my sleep, and i usually try not to wake up (applies to weekdays only) until i'm left with JUST ENOUGH time to shower, change and call for a cab and get to work - estimated at one hour from eyes open to butt on my office seat.

Exactly 10 minutes before i reach International Plaza at Tanjong Pager Rd where the office resides, i make the almost daily call to Kat at Kaffe. the order is pretty standard: a large black; and a chicken, cheese and lettuce wholemeal bread sandwich, slightly toasted and with the sides trimmed.

after making my order, the cab would just have descended from the flyover not too far from the former World Trade Center.

in a couple of mins, i'm scooting out of the taxi, skidding my way to collect my brown bag in my ahem... 3-inch heels, and riding the lift to the 32nd floor.

it's really not as easy as it sounds. i've turned it into an art form.

my recent feet fetish hah! :)

On my left sits the loft, right on the bend of a windy lane that twirls itself into this side of Bali. The lane began likely in a small little town on a hill in Ubud, maybe?
It finds its way here to me. Bringing along first a van, then a motor, then a lady on a bicycle. a string of tourists who own the land with their grazing hours and intoxicated days. wait, a horse pull-ed carriage swings by...as the lady 10 feet away takes a swipe at insects feasting on her padi fields. this is my hour in bali.

walking along kuta... couple of steps ahead...couple of steps behind