Farewell Part 2

Today, my last day with the hotel, has been tiring. My eyes are puffy from the crying. And my dear friends in the Red Office didn't make it any easier. I walked in after a meeting this morning, greeted by a huge (I mean gigantic) balloon! And the team so thoughtfully put together the greatest gift I've ever received. The Red box amazingly contained a gazillion little gifts, from a nice CD, a tube of "blood" and sweets, to Spiderman in a green underwear and of course some Swissotel corporate gifts! Everything had to be Red of course!

And as we were having our usual after-lunch coffee at Spinelli's, Petra called - only to send my tears gushing again as I stood outside Spinelli's and sobbed. Oh gosh, leaving had never been this painful.

Thanks everyone! I will always remember you!

Edna Ang

First it was Philo Simpson. Now it's Edna Ang. We've been Simpsonising ourselves in the office and just today, I became part of the Incredibles - Edna, after I put on Suneet's geeky glasses. Adrian immediately sent me Edna's picture... sighhhhh... I'm gonna miss this :-(

And as if this isn't enough, I've also got a cameo on the Simpson's - have you not seen me before?

PS : Farewell

The Red Team organised a nice farewell dinner for me at PS Cafe (Dempsey Hill). Great company, great ambience, great evening - what more can I say!?

Pictures of the evening, courtesy of Stephan who proudly created his first slide show :-) And to the guys who terrorised the Tiffany lady, tried on a few handbags at Coach and proceeded to terrorise some other sales ladies at some other Raffles City shops, thank you thank you thank you!

Happily Ever After

It was a romantic wedding by the sea (still remember coming up with that tagline with CK 6 years ago! :-) for Han and Sheran. For me, it was also a fantastic opportunity to catch up with my ex-colleagues from Shangri-la. Apart from the trying to look glam despite my heels sinking into the sand the entire evening, it was a near perfect dinner. Started early, ended early - leaving time for chit-chat, drinks and catch-up.

A blissful and blessed marriage to you Sheran! And we can't wait for your early Christmas present to be "un-wrapped"!

Sinking In

As the month draws to a close, it's finally sinking in that I'll be leaving Swissotel in five weeks (or less if leave is approved). I'll miss the office (the people, that is) especially. As I walk through the trolley infested back-of-house corridor every morning, I do a silent countdown. Everything is so familiar to me - the people, the corridors, the smell (my colleagues will understand what I mean)... It's going to take me some time before I experience the same familiarity again. And despite bitching about the true unglamourous hotel life, I think I'm going to miss it. I've been working in a hotel environment for almost 7 years now. From dingy corridors with stark white fluorescent lights to lobbies with nice piped-in music and warm, cosy lighting. The difference is quite dramatic. I remember stomping in my heels and looking most dishevelled and pissed, heading to the lobby to meet an unreasonable guest kicking up a fuss because his room was not ready - the moment you get to the door leading to the lobby, all professionalism kicks in and you naturally look up, walk straight and SMILE. That's what working in a hotel has taught me. The grooming, those stockings (in the heat!), the suit (must be black - although I refused to conform and became one of the few who dared to wear a WHITE suit).

I admit that it was when I joined corporate office that I slackened in my dressing since I don't have to be around the lobby, meet as many guests etc. But until today, I feel "naked" without stockings ha ha!

I'll still be in the hospitality industry but it's going to be different I'm sure. But then again, who says serviced apartments should be less formal than hotels?

Song of the Moment

Yes, I am a "cheena" at heart. English pop doesn't work for me. I still like Chinese ballads and this is my favourite of the moment. I don't particularly fancy female singers so I think my love for this song is really 'cos of Xiao Jing Teng - a Taiwan "American Idol" show-type drop-out. His vocals are really amazing. Reminds me of a Jennifer Hudson scenario where a drop-out becomes more successful than any other champs. For those of you who cringe at Chinese ballads, don't bother... Otherwise, enjoy :-)