what an overwhelming week.. finally have a chance to blog down some of my thoughts though there's just too much to begin with..i'm like SHOCKED :O, SAD :( HAPPY :) IN ECSTACY ; ) DISAPPOINTED ):( STRESSED ; { WORRIED : ? TIRED : / ...ALL IN THE SAME WEEK! in fact, the fact that I haven't been blogging bears testament to how little time I have had to even sit down and think things through.. so this is hopefully a good start to my sorting out my emotions and moods again...I need that.. really...

On a gloomy note, there's the WTC collapse that really took me by surprise. The aftermath was even more heartwrenching reading about the people as well as rescuers who perished in both the buildings and the planes. What kind of wicked and inhuman individuals could do that I cannot fathom. It still seems so unreal.. like a scene from an Ultraman movie where buildings get flattened to the ground and people fly through the air. I was there on the 107th floor Observation Gallery in 1996. The view was wonderful and the streets were crowded. Today it is no more.. Happened to have two friends in New York. Just found out they are ok though one was pretty close to the scene and ended up covered in ash.. Phew.. Hope this doesn't lead to the War everyone's talking about.. : (

On a more personal front, work has been hectic and extremely stressful. Found out one of our work staff has been meddling with the shop's transactions and we have had to report it to the police for investigation. Kai and I were confronted by a tearful mother and an aggressive aunt and my poor colleague has been shuffing between the police station and office quite a bit since. It's terrible watching someone being taken in.. It really is... Hope we can sort this out without it turning too terribly ugly.. sigh.. : ( As if this incident isn't bad enough, I experienced having to dismiss someone from the company today .. The first time I'm doing this in my WHOLE LIFE!! Just couldn't do it properly.. spluttered and stuttered and finally blurted it out - totally frazzled out.. She took it ok (sort of) probably because anyone else would have (anyway) in front of the person dismissing you.. very tough decision... TIMES ARE HARD... Boss has since implemented some new company policies and we all have to start work half an hour earlier from tomorrow.. I'm also getting an additional Sales Manager portfolio and am put in charge of the Bras Basah shop..also have to help boss think through e-commerce possibilities for the head office... umm.. quite a bit on the plate I have to admit.. getting new staff also so have to start another round of staff training soon.. seems like we are continually doing it.. we must have the highest turnover rate in the entire industry...CHANGES CHANGES CHANGES.. THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE.... MUST ALWAYS LOOK FOR NEW CHEESE.. DON'T STAY STAGNANT... : {

couple of friends going through some tough times with their relationships all of a sudden so have hopefully been a good enough listening ear for them : )

other than that, got a new 50mm Lens (f1.7) for my 4-year-old Minolta 700si and a new Supersampler Lomo camera!!!! Lifestyle changes!! Spent a bit of last weekend having fun with the Lomo ... great fun.. no battery, no flash and a flimsy little rubber loop that acts like a viewfinder (but hardly!). The beauty is in the unpredictability of the pictures it takes.. a complete opposite of an SLR which can be fully manually operated.. Am going to try to get the Action Sampler as a present for someone now.. for all those of you interested.. The official LOMO club resides at 32B Sago Street (the street in Chinatown that has the yummy Pineapple Bun and Ta Zhong Guo Mooncakes) - also has a funky jeweller called Shing (from this shop called argentum) in the same unit so it's really worth the trip to check them both out. They have all the models of Lomos. Check out also the Lomographic Society and online discussion on the Lomo >

got to hit the sack.. another long day tomorrow.. hopefully everything will be smooth and under control...