In the short time that has lapsed since the last post, much has happened:

1. I've gotten back into a fitness regime that seems to be paying off, I'm looking and feeling better about things in general. Now, if only I could eat more healthily (but it's so hard in this food paradise).
2. I hurt a certain friend, albeit unintentionally. If the timing had been better, things might have been very different. This time round, I'm on the other side of fence and feeling bad for it. Time is a healer and I hope that this is a friend I haven't lost. Only time will tell.
3. Ru got news that'll allow her to stay on in London. I'm so chuffed for her, here's wishing her all the best with her future career! *big love for this girl*
4. I've rekindled my love with amazon.co.uk and bought myself some cds which came thru in the post much earlier than I expected. As much as I love going cd-shopping here, the price of Dance CDs in S'pore is just plain silly (compared to the prices of the usual top 40-type CDs). I am now the proud owner of a Erlend Oye DJ Kicks Album and Carl Cox's F.A.C.T......2 albums I've been meaning to buy for ages.....MON!!!!
5. I think my heart isn't in the country. It seems to have landed in a different place, one in which English is a foreign language. Is it time to pick up from where I paused a few months back?

This is it for now.
Peas Oot.

Choonage: A Place In My Heart (Acapella)/Ada-Luckycharm/Erlend Oye -Intuition (Acapella) - Morgan Geist vs Erlend Oye

Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends! Went to see Sasha last night (as a dj; good but not great) and the head is in a bit of a fuzzy state right now. Didn't drink as much as I normally would have and am thankful for that, at least the liver is.
Am also starting to realise that I'm beginning to develop a slight problem as far as my finances are concerned.....I can't seem to stop spending money be it on cds (I buy at least one a week) or booze (this I find especially hard to justify).....this does not bode well. Argh...need to , must, must, must control the spending.......or at least spend the money on something more beneficial to myself or wider society.
Peas Oot.

Choonage: The Horrible Fanfare - Beck

It's been an eventful week. Many issues have been raised (internally and externally) and many issues have been discussed and not much resolution has taken place. From talking and thinking about the immediate future of my next job posting (TBA) to dealing with a particularly nasty bout of Gastric Flu that's made me appreciate being able to eat (and keep food down), I've gotten through the week, feeling like I'm in need of a break more than ever. Monday was the last day at work for my Assistant Director (Angie). Just to give you a bit of history, Angie was the boss I report directly to at work (on the IMF, WB project) and she was, in effect, my first boss ever. She's been a tremendous inspiration and encouragement over the past 6 months and though I knew for ages that she'd be leaving this month, it still came as a bit of a shock to find myself "alone" in the department. I must give credit where it's due and I just want to say that for a first boss, Angie was fantastic. She had a legendary amount of patience and great people skills and she managed to inspire just by setting a good example herself. She did a remarkable job on S2006 and I'm very proud to have had her as my first boss.

Anyhoo, moving on, I spent a lovely afternoon with the folx soaking up some art at the Singapore Art Museum. I'd been meaning to see "All The Best", the Deutsche Bank and Zaha Hadid Collaboration exhibition for ages and today, it finally came to fruition. While many of the pieces and even the concept of the exhibition were quite awe-inspiring, there were a few pieces which were, shall we just say, interesting......

Right now, I've just woken up from my Afternoon Nap (which started in the car and ended in my bed....trust me, it's not as exciting as I've made it sound) and am getting ready to play Tennis at Nick's. Tonight, Lynette is in town, it's Sanjay's last weekend and I've decided to be sensible and not drink any booze.......how now? The cd I just bought and am listening to is not only the most Jackin' thing I've heard in a while but it's also making me lose my will to sleep early tonight. See Below. Let's play it by ear, la, huh!

Choonage:
Fabric 21 - DJ Heather

It seems to me that October 2006 is going to be remembered as the month of sickness. Today, I find myself down with Gastric Flu. Unable to do much apart from feel sorry for myself, I'm beginning to wonder why it is that I've had the misfortune to become so feeble. I can't wait to get better.

Poem of the Day:

Wayward

I thought you knew that I was only playing,
That I never meant to go that far,
Lose control,
And say those things I did.
I never ever meant to hurt your feelings for I'd never hurt a fly...
Abuzz with all the thoughts that in my head did die,
A quick and painless death,
As I swiftly expelled them from my wicked mind,
Only to find,
That I was still talking round in circles and convincing myself that I didn't want to have feelings for you.
When, really, I do.

Tim'06

Choonage: Will You Please Be There For Me - The Reindeer Section

I've spent the past 2 days at home on MC (Medical Certificate), feeling lousy and out of sorts. I'm down with flu and have got a particularly bad sorethroat and a fever that comes and goes when it wants to. My right nostril is being a bit funny and gets all blocked up when it deems fit and my head feels like it's had the brain hoovered out and put back in again by a right-handed blind man with a pair of tongs in his left hand. Basically, I'm not feeling too hot right now.

I can't wait to get well again and I'm hoping that this happens overnight because I have a shed-load of work waiting for me when I return to the office tomorrow. It's a bit of a bummer but such is working life in The Pore, it never ends! I was just thinking today that if I'd put in the same amount of work in uni, I would probably have earned myself a first!! Not that I'm unhappy with the 2:1, hell no. It's just that I never really knew that I was capable of working this hard....of course, my health has suffered. Oh, if only I could find a job that landed me in "The Happy Middle Ground"; the sort that allowed me to work hard, gave me adequate satisfaction and didn't destroy my health and social life. Then again, I suppose I ought to be happy just to have a job! This time last year, I was still getting used to being back here (still am to a large extent) and was worrying about the future and whether I'd ever be able to find a job here. I'm glad I've had the good fortune to work on a pretty big project for my first job (Singapore's largest ever event, in terms of the sheer scale and complexity involved) which turned out to be a success but my health is not in a good place right now and it looks like it's up to me to take concerted steps to turn things around!

On a different note, I got news from my dear friend, Alasdair, that he'd finally recovered a piece of vinyl that I'd given to him ages ago, "The Youngsters - Smile". I am most excited that he's found it and will soon be including it in one of the long overdue mixes he's promised me for yonks! This song means the world to me, especially the (Smirky Remix), a mix that I haven't been able to find anywhere else, online or otherwise. In fact, come to think about it, I think this was a white label, which makes it all the more rarer! Aha, now that I've informed the entire world about this, Ali, you have no reason to procrastinate!! Hahahaha....nah, I kid, this boy will deliver in his own inimitable way, as he always does!

Right, best to start thinking about hitting the ol' sack. I need a good night's rest if I am to ever get better. Peas Oot.

Choonage: Fall In Love - Tortured Soul

Just an update on the weekend gone by:

Friday night saw me make the last-minute decision to join Angie, a friend from way back when (when being Secondary School), at Zouk to see BT, one of my heroes from 1998,1999 and even 2000. Producer of some of my favourite Trance tracks of all time, I had been meaning to see him dj for ages, esp since the last time I attempted to catch him, I only managed to see the last 5 minutes of his live set. He did no disappoint but rather surprised me pleasantly with his electro-infused set which veered closely towards sounding really chuggy and housey. His dj-ing, to be honest, isn't all that great and a few of his song selections (particularly noteworthy was the stilted mix of "Sexual Healing") just seemed somewhat uncalled for. Still, to listen to him drop that storming cut of "Flaming June", my favourite Trance of all time, just made it all okay. Ru would have loved it as would have Mistah Moon....

Saturday saw me lie in bed useless in the afternoon before heading out to Max's Housewarming with a bottle of red and a Potato Masher (little was I know that this kitchen implement was to be symbolic of the state of my head that night). Got there at about 7pm and made a conscious effort to drink Pineapple juice for my 1st 2 drinks whilst making polite conversation with Max's mate who was visiting from Zurich (Adrian was his name and he loves his breaks and his electro, twas nice to meet somebody who likes his parties and his beats chunky) and other pleasant fellows like Christian and Ravi before deciding that I needed to sort out my throat with some Whisky on the rocks. Didn't look back after that and a fantastic night jumping around his flat to cds playing Breaks, Electro, House and Hip Hop ensued. Ended up at MOS with loads of the folk from the house party where more drinking and more jumping around the various danceloors was to be had before I finally called it a night at silly o'clock. Some of the nutters carried onto Living Room while I went home and passed out and woke up to face yet another painful Sunday morning. My mum's new name for me is "Mr Fumes" (of the alcoholic variety, such was the intensity with which my body was giving them off that she claims that she could smell them). Had a lovely Dim Sum lunch with the folks after before returning home to spend yet another afternoon in bed, passed out.
I realise that I'm turning into a complete lightweight and that the hangovers are just getting worse the older I get and I need to start thinking about drinking a little less in future. Wish me luck.

Choonage: No More Conversations (Richard X Remix) - Freeform Five