I'm goneeeeeeee! Thanks for all the well wishes etc. I so need this break its not funny ('',)

To all my friends, I will not be picking up any calls so SMS me if anything.. but please remember I'm on an 8-hour lag. I will also be sporadically checking fuzzys at gmail when I can.

Whee!

Seems kind of surreal sitting here at my desk and realising for a second that a week from now I will be sitting at a table across a random Dutch stranger and asking him strange questions about strange buildings. And thats the only thing keeping me going right now. I am half asleep.

You know, stupid as it seems I have forgotten the reason why I keep at it. I am such a sucker.

Couldn't sleep last night thinking about work and ended up packing for my trip. I'm done with packing, which is probably a good thing since I won't have time to pack much in the next few days.

I need to buy some things, like an AC converter and sunglasses. I don't own a pair. I haven't since someone broke into my car to steal my road tax once, and took with them my 3 month old Guccis which were conveniently in my glove compartment. Those were like, the second pair I ever owned - my first were also stolen. I don't have much luck with sunnies, so I figured I'd go without them but I think summer warrants a pair.. and it will be a RM20-something pink pair I will pick up at the mall tomorrow if I have a chance. I'll probably lose it on the trip.

Oh and if anyone was wondering why it seems impossible to get anywhere near Mid Valley today.. it's the J-Card member sale preview. Desperate housewives and crazy unemployed women looking for good bargains caused a massive jam at 9am this morning and when I got in (late) basement 1 was already full and basement 2 was a war zone. Having said that, I'd probably be armed with plastic and sitting at Starbucks at 7:30am too, if I wasn't working.. that is.

Anyone who wants invites to the JUICE 3rd Anniversary Party on the 24th of June can drop me a line.

Some work pics from a shoot we did at a really nice apartment showroom - looking at the showroom made me want to buy the place! This is a constant reminder to me that I need to start 'looking' for my own place some time in the near future but the price tags on these babies kinda put me off the whole thing.. har har. I don't wanna grow up so soon :P

On location with Eric and Chak

Nik wanders around

Julian is in the US and he's bringing back Reese's peanut butter cups. I don't think there was ever a time I wanted to see him so badly as right now.. hehehheh. Julian come back!!

Here are some pictures from Kelvin and Michele's wedding dinner we attended over the weekend.. where my bosses/colleagues decided to go a bit mad with the dress code.

Nik, Alan, Luke and Tze Khay

Big Al :)

TK and his two favourite girls

There's an Absolut Vanilia launch event at Passion tonight and Steph has just decided to stay in the office and do work instead. Wow.

The weekend presented itself in a self-indulging form of facials, haircuts and Godiva chocolates. In between orgasmic bites (the truffle amere and the azteque are highly recommended Godiva picks for dark chocolate fans like myself) we managed to squeeze in two movies and a couple of hours at Starbucks doing travel research.

It's funny how exciting planning for a trip can actually be. For a couple of hours, I even forgot that in the next three weeks leading up to my departure, I actually have to send ten magazines to press. TEN. But reading about the Hollandsche Manège (Dutch royal riding school) proved distracting enough.. thankfully :)

Am even toying with the idea of taking the express to Paris for a night to see the tacky laser show at the Eiffel Tower and blow some bucks on french theatre. I'm even thinking in French while planning.. you know le-tu-eff-ell, see-vu-pleh, dear-French-cabbie and all that (because saying it out loud would bring me back to reality). The other alternative would probably be Belgium, you know, to visit chocolatiers and attack this Godiva addiction at the source.

Or, stay in Amsterdam and see more there. I'm actually going to be doing a spot of work while I'm there as well. Writing an article. Lips sealed for now but maybe Ferry Corsten would be free to do an interview. And I will be staying in this bizarre hotel that used to be a juvenile prison back in the day, before 4 guys decided to turn it into an interior driven hotel. You actually have a pick of 5-star to 1-star rooms (rates differ, of course) each designed by different designers from all over the world, and it even has a proper library and culture centre. I can't wait to see if I get a room with a shower in the middle or a bed suspended 6 feet in the air.

Oh, and wait for this: I'm backpacking! Imagine me, sans stilettos and proper haircare. How exciting.

THIRST update: Indonesia came up tops at the Heineken Thirst Asia Finals in Bangkok last weekend, beating both the Malaysia and New Zealand Thirst finalists! Oh wow, I was really hoping Terence and his gang (Altered Image, Malaysian Thirst finalists) would win it. The same way I really hoped Kimi would win last weekend's European GP but alas his luck ran out just one lap before victory. There goes $50.. shucks. But it is still amazing how he managed to drive the car for over 10 laps with a wobbly wheel at that pace. And Schumi hasn't been having a good season at all, by the looks of the past couple of races. How upsetting. Formula One has been very interesting this season.. so much that I haven't missed a race so far. Am a little annoyed that the Canadian GP will be aired live here at UNGODLY hours.

Speaking of Kimi Raikkonen, I still cannot get over how much he looks like my beloved Mika. Mmm. I think I have a thing for blue-eyed Finns in German cars.

Anyway back to Thirst again.. Altered Image will be playing in a special session at the Velvet Underground tonight. See you there.. if my monthly cramps don't immobilise me, that is.

Happy 1st Birthday, Stuff! Has it been 12 issues already? Me celebrating at Zouk the night Thirst was happening in Bangkok..

Photos from our Initiation Night. Note the captions :)