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 :-)

Ricky to Vancouver

We met for a farewell lunch with Ricky at his choice venue - Banana Leaf Apollo indian restaurant (much to Eugene's objection though; he doesn't fancy Indian). But it's Ricky who's going away so the compromise was necessary :-)

It was off to KM8 after lunch for some sun, sand and Corona(s). Still our favourite beach hangout. Got away with not having to pay the island entrance fee when Eugene convinced the gate that we were going to see "OUR" apartment at Oceanfront! Jeeez... in our dreams!?

Gideon's gonna miss his Uncle Ricky. Uncle Ricky's about the only one who has the energy to "entertain" him and answer EVERY single question. Uncle Ricky never says "No".

Gideon : So how many days will Uncle Ricky be away?

Me : About 2 years

Gideon : That's how many days?

Me : Emmm... 730 days?

Gideon : Wow! A lot to count leh...

Ha ha ha! Bye Ricky! All the best with your career and see you soooooon!

The JunkPads

Suneet's wonderful idea of creating a blog for ourselves, being inspired by Ingmar's iirree. It was a Thursday afternoon (although the first posting said Wed - donno why) and The JunkPads was born. More like a junk yard for 6 office pals to "dump" their life stories. It'll be a great place for me to "visit" the guys after I leave (sob sob) and also for frequent updates.

Geography Lesson

It was Julian who introduced the "Animaniacs" to us. Impressive indeed! Try this for a georgraphy crash-course...

Letting Go

After a gruelling week in Bangkok (not from the conference but from the mental torture of deciding between staying or leaving), I finally found the courage to break the news to the boss. "I'm moving on..." I said. "You're leaving your Baby," she said. I know. But I'll always have the great memories of my 4 years from Merchant Court to The Stamford to RIL to the Red Team. It has been a whale of a journey. I've learnt, grown and matured.

Another rung of the ladder. Another experience. Not sure what's in store for me but will surely do my best. My "Baby" will never be forgotten. It was a tearful farewell - painful but necessary. "I'll call you back when I have the position in place," she said as we bid farewell. Till then...

Another 7 weeks to go... I'm sad, truly :-(

The Heart Is Easily Broken

Chanced upon this on Cai Kang Yong's blog and couldn't get it off my head since yesterday. How terribly true. Talk about a picture speaking a thousand words. All couples should have a copy of this picture to constantly remind them of the fragility of love.

Blog Therapy

Blogs can be entertaining - really! For me, blogging and reading someone else's blog could even be therapeutic. I really enjoy Mr Brown and never fail to check it out every other day for updates and listen to his podcasts. As I did so yesterday, I chanced upon his coverage of XiaXue's Top Seven Most Disgusting Bloggers. And there he was again - Steven Lim. OMG! He really is something. You need to be "something" to do that to yourself and have an ego so huge. But it was really entertaining watching his home-made videos - you have to check them out for comic relief. I assure you will not be disappointed.

As I "kaypoh(ed)" other people's blogs, I chanced upon Cruz Teng, popular 933FM DJ. I must say I do enjoy his morning programme - from home to work, he and Weibin never fails to make me laugh (albeit alone) in the car :-). From his blog links, I found the blog of one of my favourite Taiwan comperes - Cai Kang Yong. Now for those of you intending to improve your Mandarin, this is the blog to check out. Kang Yong is witty, intelligent and very very good at what he does. The writing is immaculate and some even inspirational.

Blogs widen your world.
You realise there are people less fortunate than you.
You realise there are people who work so hard to overcome obstacles in their lives (especially illnesses).
You realise there are people who live life to the fullest, despite obstacles and troubles.
You realise there are couples who are truly in love AND married.
You realise there are people who are desperate for attention.
You realise you are not alone...

People laugh at bloggers and blogs. Well, you just don't know what you're missing. Try it some day. You'll see...

Gideon Was Once FAT!

Was supposed to search for pictures of the Golden Gals' BKK trip in 2004 and found a CD of Gideon's pictures instead! Gosh was he FAT then... so cute he was (still is of course) and CHUBBY too. You know, like they say, enjoy every moment and these are definitely some of those unforgettable moments :-)

And this is one of my all time favourite pictures of our baby...

In A Happier Place

Got an sms on my way home from May that Joanne had passed away. It was not surprising as her condition had deteriorated the past week. My regret is that I procrastinated going to visit her since I found out about her condition last October. And I can't even go to her wake tomorrow as I'll be going back to Kunshan again for another week! I believe Jo's in a happier place now with Him - free from the suffering and pain she had gone through the last few years. Her passing has taught me the lesson to never leave things till tomorrow - or it may just be too late. I never got down to seeing her and I never will again. Sorry Jo. And goodbye. You'll always be remembered for your strength, determination and faith.

The Kunshan Mission

Had been in Kunshan, China (an hour away from Shanghai) the past week preparing for the take-over of Traders Hotel. The hotel's new ownership by Kingdom Holdings led to Swissotel being appointed the management company of the hotel. The re-brand is scheduled for 1 July but if you ask those of us who were there the past week, this seems almost like Mission Impossible. The detailed legalities hasn't seem to have been concluded and more importantly, staff are jittery about the new management. The Exco team there weren't very cooperative. Almost the entire team had resigned. So Monday till Wednesday was almost a sit-there-and-wait situation. We tried to make the most of it, doing what we can. My checklist of 399 logo(ed) items & collateral kept me on my toes - meeting China printers and suppliers who claim they do ANYTHING. Even if they didn't do it, they often had friends who could produce it. I have yet to meet any supplier who said they were unable to produce something!

The Hong Kong / Macau Room was made our office. Everyone slammed away at their laptops relentlessly. Of course, I had to take pictures to document the take-over and this includes the sunset view from our make-shift "office"...

My shipment from Singapore arrived - much to my relief.

We tried to make the most of the evenings by going out for dinner and then returning to the "office". Suneet, Noel and I ventured into town (yes, there is a shopping area in Kunshan) and had dinner at this interesting restaurant. They put us in a little room which reeked of the smells of food mixed with sweat. Suneet didn't trust the cleanliness of the place and decided to bathe our chopsticks in the hot tea that was served in a thermos flask. The food was ok, except for the pork and fish fins I ordered. The pork was covered with dried chilli while the fins tasted "fishy" Ewww!

And the one fabulous dish we have almost every other day is the fish head soup. It takes about an hour and a half to cook and the soup is simply spectacular. We had dinner at Kunshan Hotel (the entire hotel smelt like the little room at the restaurant) and Annie ordered this giant. Noel insisted that putting his chopsticks in my picture would give a more accurate indication of the size (of both pot and fish head). China is known for its amazing literal translations of the English language. I spotted a huge SPA area on the way to the hotel with a "huge" name as well. Welcome to "Hai Kuo Tian Kong Take A Bath The Center" :-PAnd this scene of a burning van, spotted along the highway was also quite amazing.

It was a terribly tiring week in Kunshan and we have to be back there on Wednesday again. I really need a break after this... hopefully with Gideon and Terence to the long-awaited Gold Coast.

Serene Turns ...?

We celebrated Serene's birthday on Wednesday with a nice (as in the company and not the food) lunch at Doc Cheng's. For once, the four of us were not munching grass (as in salad), Janice's "staple", at Cafe Swiss :-) Food was so-so but the attention (not service) was simply a little overwhelming - probably so when they found out we were from Raffles and Swissotel. With the short time we had for lunch, we wished they would stop coming over at every course, asking if we liked the food. Argghh!

Anyways, Happy Birthday Serene!

Now This is TALENT!

Chanced upon this on YouTube and I have to confess that I was guilty of judging a book by its cover. I thought this was going to be another William Hung gig but boy was I wrong. Check this out and while you're at it, you MUST see Conny the little girl as well!

For those who appreciate Mandarin pop, check this out and you'll agree that Jay Chou should feel a little threatened by now. These are two of the most popular 'stars' of a Taiwanese version of "American Idol" - Superstar Avenue. Now sit back and be suitably impressed :-)

My GSS Find

Yes, call me 'slow'... just when everyone has almost savoured all the great buys offered at the GSS, I decided maybe I can find something for myself. The objective was a pair of Ferragamo pumps but the legs took a right turn into Gucci instead. There hidden in a corner (looking like a new arrival that wasn't on sale) was a unique blue sling bag. I walked over to the quiet corner, saw that it WAS on sale, and the rest was history. The blue babe now lies in the bedroom - my prized GSS find :-)

SHREK 'G'

It's Shrek mania and McDonald's had these crazy Shrek ears on sale for a charitable cause. Noel's and Erin's birthday party was held at McDonald's Kallang last week and a bunch of these were given away. Pity we didn't take a group picture 'cos there were more of us adults with those ears, than kids! But we got this one of Erin and her "boyfriend" Gideon :-) Awwwwww...

In Search of the Doctor

I remember the days when my sis had one of these - Dr Scholl's Wood Exercise Sandals. Never thought there'd come a day when I actually think they look really nice - kinda retro even. Problem is, can't seem to be able to find them in the stores! At least not these ones I'm eyeing. If you know where I can find them (apart from mail order), let me know.