these are busy times...

CV updating can be such a chore. i find the whole introduction segment so difficult to write. how much awesomeness can one write about themselves. nevertheless its good motivation and rather fun.

been out of the office these couple days. and i hate having to go back into the office after hours just because. thankfully today i had a good excuse to leave the office early. went over to ZARA to pick out a jacket for ping's farewell. i dun like to be sent alone to run these sort of errands... i get tempted to shop for myself. really can't believe that he's actually leaving. but i do respect him, very brave of him to decide to further his studies in Germany. imagine a little thai boy who can barely speak english now has to try and communicate and survive in a much foreign land.

so since i have no one to share my day with. let me share my great achievements thus far to all you readers. i know you all will not be able to appreciate this but you do not have much of a choice anyway.

met up with the client yesterday before he was flying off to Beijing. after the meeting with the potential contractor for the job, we head over to Bulthaup to check out the kitchen i had specified. we had to justify to the client why on earth are we spending money on a $150k kitchen system. well, after spending almost an hour at the showroom, i reckon the wife was pretty impress by the kitchen. i must say... its innovation to the max. these germans really thought of everything for a kitchen. hope they wont scrap the proposal... it would be a very nice kitchen to display in the house. now with that hurdle done... the next step is to justify why i chose a bathtub that cost them $30k. haha. it never ends. think the next time they're back, i'll have to take them to see the specified wardrobe. given that they are currently using B&B wardrobe system, the $100k Rimadesio wardrobes should be a good upgrade. notice i'm highlighting the price tags... because until today... i still rather dumbfounded by all these. and to think... they were complaining that the grass cutter's fee of a $160 is too expensive.

So the next day, i had to run around sourcing for a cheaper grass cutter to trim the grass on site. to my horror most of the other offer was $200 and above. crazy. its times like these that i wish those bangladeshi workers carried mobile phones. and so i was left standing on site scratching my head on how to solve this grass problem. then i realised that i was surrounded by construction sites. so i had the brightest idea one could ever think of. i decided to head over to the biggest construction site that was building the condo right across from my site to negotiate and offer my proposition. i decided to take advantage of the fact that they were using my site as a car park, which in fact they had no right to do so because that would be trespassing into private property. so i told the contractor that out of goodwill i had "allowed" them to park their cars on the site, and since i had allowed that to happen i expected them to do me a favor out of "good will" in return. and so they figured that i was indeed doing them a huge favor and obligedly offered to cut the grass for free. haha! well i'll have to head down site again to check if they had done so. otherwise... i would have no choice but to exercise my rights. damn... so i just managed to help the client save $160 bucks.

after a long hiatus i decided to show up for the design committee meeting. why would anyone turn down a free lunch? i guess these meetings in a way is a breather from all the mundane routine meetings. bunch of young architects trying to inspire and change and educate the singapore population of the world of Architecture. so we had a worrying discussion on the poor attendance for this years Designers Forum series. how do increase the numbers. where is all the young aspiring architects and the students? so we reckon and most definitely due to the over priced registration fee in relation to the level to Architectural superstardom of the speakers. oh well. but i think if we minus all the adults in the committee and hopefully they would turn up less and let us run the show... next years archifest sounds like its gonna be a blast. and perhaps... our first Serpentine gallery? ahah!

then later i headed towards east at jalan sultan to check out the conference table for the new office meeting rooms. i was rather dissapointed by the suppliers office setting, further more the poor PR of the staff. i guess the only people with good human relation was the bosses which made me only wanting to speak to them, i just ignored the staff because they were such dick heads. it was so bad until i just wanted to walk out of the place.

anyway... i have so much more to blab about. but its getting late... talking is easier than typing.

life in slow motion...

i have been looping David Gray's "slow motion" more than 30 times today... beautiful song. i agree that everything in slow motion seems so unreal and the whole motion becomes such a beautiful art-form to marvel at. stupid it seems. like watching federer hit a forehand in slowmotion... makes u wish u could do the same at the same exact speed.

i tell you. one of the scary things about living alone is when you choke on something and theres no one around to save you. you could just choke and collapse there and then. not a single person would know until the foul smell of dead body begins to interrupt the neighbors. *cough cough*

was already sick for the past 2 days... and i hate getting real sick. aweful feeling especially when you just can't get yourself out of bed... but you're dying of hunger. but i forced myself to go to work. forced my way out of bed on friday morning... took me the whole morning to do it. sometimes i just don't know why i do these sort of things... just so i can check on the progress of the office expansion, sent out a few letters/ report, and to conduct a technical meeting with the contractor because they were desperate to clear some issues... even if we were not obligated to entertain such last minute cries.

the night breeze tonight is very cooling. great day to be sleeping outside under the stars. wish i had a balcony or terrace now. man... i love night cool winds.

the meeting of the lawyer went pretty okay. i must give credit to layteng. she is indeed very cute. but sad part is that she only looks good with her thick black frame glasses on. and even sadder is that she doesnt like them. i reckon it makes her look intelligent. the black frames somehow brings out her features. i liked it in a superficial way perhaps. as how Calvino would describe... with and without the glasses one is an entirely different person. a choice of who you seek to be. well i guess it went pretty okay given that we actually adjourned to have tiramisu. but shes only... 22. they come so young, innocent and fresh... so much ahead for them to discover.

movie with the girls after. Bruno. it was a sick sick movie. funny but seriously sick. haha. ah! the worst scene was when he flashed and flipped his dick in the homemade video. horror! well, i guess he had to really go all out for this one to get the sort of hype and reaction he seeks. apparently the movie has been thoroughly screened and censored. i just don;t wanna know what could be worse than what was already shown. sicko.

church tomorrow. 9 or 11? haha. night!

happy birthday...

it has been a grueling 3 weeks. fingers crossed the office renovation will soon be completed. of course then i realised that its only part 1. part 2 has yet to start... and office retro fitting is a much tougher task. but lets not think about it for now.

now... you would think that after 3 years in the field, by now i would had already completed a project. well indeed i have done many designs and proposals etc. but all of them are merely on paper.

so this small ID job will mark the completion of my first built work. pretty exciting innit? well initially, i had hoped my first completed job would had been the ID works for the Urbana penthouse. unfortunately that didnt materialize. the client decided to just sell off the place as it is. he managed to sell it for a decent 10 mil. the renovation work would had cost him around half a million... and he thought that was expensive.

i must say, and it is true that Architects are late bloomers or should i say it takes years before we can see the fruits from our labours.

think about it, a doctor gets to save a life in a matter of seconds, a lawyer can complete a trial in a matter of weeks or days, a accountant would complete an audit in say 3 months, a structural engineer gets to see his superstructure frame completed in 6 months atleast for a high rise building, heck a professional runner can complete his task in a matter of seconds, anyway, well... you get my drift.

let me give you the breakdown of how long it will take before an architect gets to see light at the end of the tunnel:

1 year... spent in finding the right client. client's rarely come to you.

0.5 year... to find the right site

0.5 year to convince self that its the right site

1 year... to study and analyze the site

2 years spent on designing

1 year to obtain the authority approvals

1 year to sort out all the strucutre, mechanical and electrical system

1 year to get the cost right

another 1 year to convince the client that the cost is right

1 year to find the right contractor

0.5 year to negotiate with the contractor on the agreeable price

1 year for the contractor to study and understand the designs

5 years for the contractor to built it ( with constant squabbling with the Architect as of what should be the right way to built it)

1 year spent on rectifying the defects

1 year arguing with the client insisting that this was the design that he approved

0.5 year trying to justify the money spent or more like explaining why the final cost was beyond the stipulated budget

before finally handing over the building back to the client.

and an eternity to be bothered by the clients incessant complaints.

so thats 20++ years to finally have a building completed. its no wonder all architects only become famous in their 50s. sigh.

haha... i know this is an exaggeration... but still... you get my point.

menghitung hari...2

menghitung hari...

post national day. forced myself to the office to check on the contractor's work. vinyl flooring is up. most of the cabinetry framework is up. and the ceiling guy was puttying the ceiling/ partition board. i just can't wait for all this to be over and done with.

saturday was the start of the new tennis lesson cycle. the coach has put up a notch on the training. till today my hand is feeling the aches. getting ready for the big game in september. apparently my backhand is my form of weapon. so i need to brush up on my forehand skills. i have been very skeptical about tennis coaches. took me long time to actually find one that is good. most coaches i've seen around are plain rip-offs. but i dun blame them. coaches for beginner and amateur level does not require any skills. as long as they can hit the ball back to the player then its good enough. heck they dun even need to run for any ball. not a bad option to earn some extra pocket money. but my coach... is the coach among the coaches. damn right he is. he's abit worried because his name is on the line for the tournament as well. haha.

we celebrated sunho's belated 100th day celebration. initially the plan was to have an outdoor event. but everyone didnt think it would be a good idea given the recent hazy days. so we had steam boat instead. woot! i've not done such serious super-marketing in a long while. but pushing the trolly around trying to squeeze my way among the crowd was rather exciting. all the food... delicious.

sunday was singapore's national day and the premier of the singapore idol. i was surprise to see BenChow taking part in the contest. he's got a good voice... but i must agree his audition was slightly OTT. but the cast explained why he was missing out of action from Jazz@SB for such a long time. sad. i amazed myself being able to sit through the whole charity shield match. goes to show i was probably very bored and there was nothing much to do given i only had 3 options to choose from; soccer match, mahjong, continually eating. so obviously i chose the one that required the least amount of activity. hah!

beautiful monday morning it was. sadly it only will last for a day. and soon its back to work at the office. well, counting down my days now before i eventually enter a new phase. the sermon on sunday really confirmed my thoughts. although i am still in doubt of my decision and the execution of the plans made. there are sacrifices that have to be made but also things to be gained as well. oh well, we'll see how the year ends.

passing of the blues... rainy days & mondays.

So use it and prove it

Remove this whirling sadness

I'm losing, I'm bluesing

But who can save me from madness

So save me I'm waiting

I'm needing, hear me pleading

And soothe me, improve me

I'm grieving, I'm barely believing now

sukiyaki...

screwdrivers are the best after a tiring and terrible day. terrible or the degree of it however varies from day to day and the situation. but on fridays... its a good way to end the week despite how tired you are.

now that the ceiling grid is up and ready to install the plaster boards. the boss decides he's not happy with it and wants to change it. i agree perhaps i did not put great effort in figuring out the alignment and had put much needed deep thought into the ceiling rational. but sometimes when you think abt it... who gives a fucking damn? in the end it is not my office, and i guess the one who pays and have to bear all the scrutinization would have to be the boss. this is a chance to showcase the office capability which perhaps i am not up to the task. fuck its never to the standard... especially when standard changes from day to day or mood to mood. as i've said.. there is no right or wrong in design. scrutinization is all a perception. someone might say its bad... but another might differ. so it all depends on who's praises you're in favor of.

i really dont know how to tell the contractor that we need to remove the ceilings and already installed aircond. i wish all this would be over sooner. its another addtional 2 weeks before its all done. i hope theres no further comments and all is locked in. to hell with uncertainty and fickle minded faggots who cant be decisive yet do not want to take the responsibility.

and so he says... " you sure these dimensions are correct ah. you better be sure my files can be slotted in. make sure all the ergonomics are correct. dun follow the old standard of proportions..." and i replied... "fuck you... do it yourself you dumbshit and give me more money." haha! yes i know all you other fuckers life is much tougher and harder than mine. shittier hours and worse bosses than mine. boo hoo!

and now mom dad will start blabbing about how i shouldnt be negative about this. and have abit of PR skill. learn to tolerate and just do the work. its a simple task. do as you're told... bla di bla.

sometimes i do not know why the fuck i write these sort of things. people read these stuff and make their call of fucking judgements and ideas. its just a fucking update of my life. so just chill.

all the stress and having to stand in a dusty room doing standing supervision has given me pimples.

AMILCARE CARRUGA was still young, not lacking resources, without exaggerated material or spiritual ambitions: nothing, therefore, prevented him from enjoying life. And yet he came to realize that for a while now this life, for him, had imperceptibly been losing its savor. Trifles, like, for example, looking at women in the street: there had been a time when he would cast his eyes on them greedily; now perhaps he would instinctively start to look at them, but it would immediately seem to him that they were speeding past like a wind, stirring no sensation, so he would lower his eyelids, indifferent. Once new cities had excited him--he traveled often, since he was a merchant--but now he felt only irritation, confusion, loss of bearings. Before, since he lived alone, he used to go to the movies every evening; he enjoyed himself, no matter what the picture was. Anyone who goes all the time sees, as it were, one huge film, in endless installments: he knows all the actors, even the character players and the walk-ons, and this recognition of them every time is amusing in itself. Well: now even at the movies, all those faces seemed to have become colorless to him, flat, anonymous; he was bored.
- italo calvino

anyway... Happy National Day to the Swiss! go federer... WOOT!