The mad rush happened on Saturday after a phone call from Dad about a B&W printer he wanted to get at the IT fair. I recalled that certain laptop deals come with a free printer so I kickstarted my memory into the world of laptop specs again. And I thought I could get a laptop in Johor.

Special gratitude to Louise who grabbed some brochures for me on Friday as well as JiaBin & Yunyou who helped look through pages of Fujitsu, Compaq, Nec & Acer during Saturday's crash course & shortlisted the ones I need. Oh and my geeky dance partner too whose opinions are a double confirmation. Ok I'm set.

I did exactly what YY suggested: check out Harvey Norman outside Carrefour for better competitive deals b4 heading to the fair and he's right: the poor Compaq promoter boy was caught in a tight spot with HN offering $1450 while Compaq can only go as low as $1580. So intention was to trudge all the way back to the other end of Suntec to HN @ Carrefour to grab lappy while waiting for parents to purchase their IT-fair printer.
That was before I saw the brochure for Toshiba.

I hope I did you all proud with these specs I fanned over in 5mins:

Toshiba Portege M800-E371 Pearl White Specifications

Processor and Chipset	Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9400 (2.53GHz) check 800MHz Processor FSB Intel GM965 chipset
Operating System	Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition Windows XP Professional media kit included)
System Memory	4GB DDR2-667 System Memory (after free upgrade) check 2�x DDR2 SO-DIMM Slot (simi lai eh)
Video & Display	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (check) 13.3-inch widescreen WXGA Display Native screen resolution - 1280 x 800
HDD	320 GB SATA�(Hitachi HTS542525K9SA00) check 5400 RPM 8MB Cache
Optical Drive	Super Multi Double Layer Drive (DVD +/- RW/RAM)
Communication	Gigabit Ethernet Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate
Audio	Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221 Built-in stereo speakers Built-in microphone
Front & Side I/O Ports	3 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x RJ-45 (LAN) IEEE 1394 (simi lai eh) VGA analog output (simi lai eh) Headphone out with S/PDIF Microphone in Volume Control 5-in-1 Card Reader Express Card slot
Miscellaneous	Integrated camera Fingerprint sensor 6-cell Lithium Ion battery 1 year carry-in international limited warranty
Dimension & Weight	314mm (L) x 229mm (W) x 27.5mm -35mm (H) From 1.97kg (oh so check)

Ok what sealed my decision on the package was the combination of my favourite 4letter word with some alphabets:

A) FREE Norman Security Suite (worth $55)


B) FREE 2GB RAM Upgrade (worth $98)


C) 2nd & 3rd Year Local Warranty Extension (worth >$99)
While waiting in line to get this redeemed, Mum was telling me in her how-come-u-didnt-get-that tone that there's a pink version of my laptop and I was like "Mummy, I don't think clients will take me seriously if I turn up in a dress and a XIAXUE-PINK laptop." I mean, I would definitely go for a sexy bloodred but xiaxue-pink? End of discussion.

D) Canon MX308 4-in-1 Colour Printer (worth $249)
Colour printer + scanner + copier + fax. I am getting excited about this.


F) FREE Toshiba Camileo P10 HD Camcorder (worth $399)
Perfect for filming testimonials for our business + lovestoriesproject + choreo pracs.


)ther FREEbies:
Optical Mouse, Bag, 4GB flashdrive

It was $1,899 with the Student Promotion but this Harvey Norman guy overheard me repeating specs to my parents and told me he can offer me $1840. No amount of cajoling would get him to give me the free Gars Skin that Toshiba was packing in though:

I would have ordered this tribal angel design. Then again, I don't need it. Just for chioness sake and my lappie is already gorgeous enough. And besides, I can choose to design my own Gars Skin in future *inserts smug look*

After cutting the freebies' value from the total bill, I basically paid only $900 for the laptop! Deal or what bwahahaha! All this wont be possible without Daddy's prepayment and W328's generous donation for my birthday present :D Lovetank totally overflowing with abundance! Woots!

And now back to continue working my butt off for projects. Happiness!

PS: Birthday entry coming right up after I've photoshopped some pics ;p

I don't understand why must they make design books larger than A4 size, >1.5kg and hardcover at that. Perhaps they know that hardcore designer wannabes will lug them around anyway to read on public transport.
Yet again, I lagi don't understand why I can't for the life of me recall the whereabouts of this baby whose contents my eyes have been devouring for the past few days:


I will be extremely appreciative to the kind soul who found & return this amazing production to the NLB before 27Mar'09.

I could blame this episode on the lack of sleep (hence, memory loss as to whether I read it & left it in/on the bus/train/cinema/house/taxi) or the OD on Yeo's Elderflower Tea or on me losing stuff.

Murphy's Law: Just when you've gotten a hold on memory loss, it comes back at the worst time.

Scratch the ENTIRE post above. I just found it. Peeking innocently out from another bag which I don't recall putting it into -_- Yes I would have strangled myself too if not for this already-lung-griping cough I'm having.

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I am extremely thankful that I've my hands full in projects for the past few weeks.

Nothing to spur me on like projects involving design/sales/customer relations/copywriting, a 4-in-1 combi of my past job scopes. Would have to delegate the coordination part to Maggs thou.

Really really really thank God for placing me in my previous employment to undergo training (especially for the sales bit... it gave new meaning to "hate with a passion" then)
More than that, the application of skills & tools QT trained me for is invaluable as it stretched my capacity to do more without compromising on efficiency and effectiveness. BMG & Brandcore made me rediscover creativity in the marketplace and that anything really, is possible. Now if she has forgotten the incident where I decorated Ah Boy with multicolored paint from a kiddy fence, I know Myra would be proud of me.

In the meantime, I shall persevere together with Team SG until the first 3 fruits of our labor appear :D

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Detroit Metal City The Movie. If not for L, I might forgo this. See how schedule permits ba ;p

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One delectable read.

Quite a few times during service testimonials, I would point and go "one day, I will be like him/her" to Mavis, whenever we're seated side by side. Not cos she's my cgi but because I know for sure that she'll look me back in the eye and give a firm resounding nod that says to me "yes you can". Ok la that is my interpretation but I know can always count on Mave for being frank. And you can't be frank without being sincere. Thanks Mave, my fellow C haha!

To keep track (read 1st random ramble), I'm starting my "Yes I Can" project once the SOP of Team SG is in place. Of course, before SOT 2009 officially starts. I can't wait to know the news from Yah Lan.
Stating exactly why I want to be like said person,with quotes, pic as well as other related stuff I can keep in plain view.

No wait, I need to finalize my business plan... No wait, I need to design my namecard...

I need to get organized in my thoughts.

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Great News! I just heard from Nig that our first prospect is keen to sign us on the online advertising account. We'll have to show her that we are a one-stop-solution for her company though. And tomorrow's the second pitch, with Nig at the forefront and designer-wannabe-me at the back to tie all the loose ends.

Was supposed to do copywriting and I like what Wiki said:

While schooling may be a good start or supplement in a budding copywriter's professional education, working as part of an advertising team arguably remains the best way for novices to gain the experience and business sense required by many employers, and expands the range of career opportunities.

Yup, I so agree and will willingly pao ka liao the rebranding :)

Jordan Frisbee & Tatiana Mollman

Really liked this routine which they performed at the SSC 2009.
I can't pinpoint what exactly riveted my eyes to them during tagrehearsal.
The comfortable chemistry that comes with years of familiarity
The fast spins which they end smoothly
Or
The fact that they made it all look so easy and non-intimidating... and hence reminding me that it is possible to be a great dancer.