Bottled Sky

If I worked at a leave-your-imagination-at-the-door corporation and excitedly told colleagues that I had just seen a dinosaur-shaped puddle on the way to the loo, the normal reaction would have been to say, “What the hell are you smoking? Go back to your cubicle and finish writing that 37-page report that no one will bother to read.”

Luckily I work at a quirky company with people who can appreciate a little silliness here and there. Case in point: when I dragged my coworker, Gabe, to see the said puddle, he snapped a photo, edited it to create the diagram below, then sent an email announcing the momentous dinosaur sighting to the rest of the office.

Nikki and Gabe, brand consultants by day, wicked awesome archeologists by night.

Continue reading Dinosaur Sighting »

Our office has a small courtyard filled with large potted plants, some taller than I (and one we named Gilbert, just because). Sometimes when I get sick of staring at my computer, I step out for a few minutes of sunshine.

In other news, my online portfolio is a finalist at Unique CSS. If it ranks highest at the end of the month, I will get $25. Cue shamelessness. If you have a bit of time, drop by and give my site a 7 rating!

I am in a bit of a bind at work. We’re developing a new matchmaking website for one of our clients, and I’m in charge of coming up with the domain name. According to my boss, the name has to convey the “magic of falling of love.”

I tell you, it is as if the universe is punishing me for all those times I ridiculed people who celebrate monthiversaries. May I remind you that my idea of a romantic Valentine illustration is a rusty robot who fashioned a heart out of an old refrigerator door? Somehow I feel that RefrigeratorHeart.com would be completely lost on my boss.

When I asked a friend for suggestions, the best thing she could come up with was ICanHasMatch.com (inspired, of course, by the ever entertaining ICanHasCheezburger.com) Thanks, FRIEND.

Aside from naming the website, I also have to suggest features and apps that would be appealing to our target audience. For someone who has never even had a Facebook or MySpace profile, that’s a bit of a challenge.

Cue my desperate call for help. I need you to indulge me by describing your ideal matchmaking or online dating website. It doesn’t matter whether you have ever used those kinds of sites before or not. All suggestions and opinions are welcome! You can use the questions below as a guide.

• What features would you like a matchmaking or online dating website to have?
• What would turn you off from joining or continuing to use a particular matchmaking or online dating website?
• What features of your preferred social networking site do you like best or use most often?
• What type of look and feel would you prefer?

Please do share your thoughts. You can’t see the expression on my face right now, but it looks a lot like this:

Thanks so much in advance!

Last Monday I turned 24. It was my first birthday in Singapore, my first birthday at work, my first birthday away from home, and most importantly, my first birthday with two cakes (although I only got to eat one of them).

The first cake came from my coworkers, who threw me a surprise lunch at the office. I went to work expecting nothing, so I was caught completely off guard when they all started singing “Happy Birthday” at noon. Aside from cake we had pizza and a yummy salad that Haydee, one of my coworkers, made herself. They also gave me a large card that they had all signed.

While I can definitely report that my first cake tasted delicious, I can only say that my second cake looked delicious, because I was merely able to enjoy it—and the rest of the birthday dinner my family had prepared for me—over Skype. I chatted with them after I got home from work and “blew” out my birthday candles via web cam. Even our dog Biscuit joined the chat. Check out this picture and tell me she doesn’t look smart:

I swear that dog is a genius! She had her front paws on the keyboard, and somehow she managed to shut down the computer in the middle of the chat by pressing ctrl-alt-del TWICE. Next thing you know she’ll have her own blog, “Biscuit, PhD: The Secret Life of a Canine Genius,” where she’ll write about the digestive repercussions of snacking on dirt and share the best yoga techniques to make gnawing at that hard-to-reach itchy spot at the base of the tail a breeze.

I learned from Meggan yesterday that Bottled Sky was included in Smashing Magazine‘s 45 Excellent Blog Designs article. That was a nice surprise for me, as I haven’t been checking my stats lately. Or reading any of my regular blogs. Or responding to comments. That’s what happens when real life gets in the way

I went on several job interviews this month. I was especially nervous on one occasion, because it was my second interview with that particular company. I knew they would either hire me that day or not. I also knew nerves would definitely not help, so every time I felt the tiniest bit of anxiety on the way to their office I lightened myself up by thinking of the fact that underneath my conservative business attire I was wearing a thong decorated with a cartoon cow. Nothing like funny underwear to shoo away stomach butterflies, I always say. Try it sometime. It worked for me — I got the job.

A few days after landing my first day job I assembled my first piece of IKEA furniture. The process involved a lot of screwing, screaming and cursing and left me exhausted yet satisfied afterwards — kind of like sex, except less… sexy.

Then the day after my IKEA devirginization I was evangelized into the Cult of Mac! Years of dealing with evil viruses and hard drive crashes made me more than ready to finally ditch PCs and make the switch. I’ve had my MacBook Pro for about two weeks now, and I can honestly say that it is the hands-down best thing I have ever owned. Yup, even better than my anxiety-busting cow thong.