AGC Part 2

AGC is finally over... after months of planning. The secretariat refers to the event as our ECA. Despite the tons of work landing on our desks daily, there's the endless amount of follow-ups to do for the big day. The Ascott Global Conference is an annual gathering of Ascott's senior management. This year's "lucky" host was KL. The secretariat comprised representatives from the various functions and yours truly was the "selected" one from Brand & Marketing. Horror stories of how previous years' secretariat suffered and toiled unfolded right till the very end of the conference.

Held from 17 - 19 March in KL, the AGC was more like an "anticipation-of-the-CEO's needs" event. I was overall in charge of the gala event, the finale to the entire conference (not forgetting my involvement in 2 task force topics which were presented during the conference). Long story short, the 2 1/2 day conference went well and the gala was a success. Highlights included the saga of our CEO's coach ride, the near-catastrophic group photoshoot and the embarassing cha-cha during the gala.

The entire planning brought me closer to some of my colleagues. We were a great team despite some strange characters within the group. The KL team was wonderful and I must say, I have lots of yuan with them. Ascott KL was my first overseas assignment after I joined TAG and the AGC brought me back to KL a couple more times. Tony, Shereen etc were fantastic - always rising to the occasion no matter how last minute some plans were.


Behind-the-scenes

As for me, I got to know some really good vendors in KL. Our event organiser was very good and the emcee I chose (with fingers crossed) didn't disappoint. CEO actually went to her personally to compliment her for being "wonderful with the crowd". I'm never comfortable with event organising. I'm so used to seeing and approving stuff before it goes to print, or materialises. With events, you don't see the end product until the event proper - and I don't like that feeling. From the conference backdrop design, to the selection of the emcee and entertainer, I was glad I made the right choices and they all didn't disappoint. Many of my colleagues said this was one of the best conferences and AGC gala; if not the BEST :-) Flattery or not, it surely made the secretariat feel really good that our efforts didn't go to waste.


Gloria the event org & Angie the emcee

After the first conference day, I returned to the apartment exhausted. I received an email from Mr Ong that evening. He sent me a really cute video with a note "thought this will cheer you up after a hard day". That was all I needed to forget all that stress... come to think of it, Mr Ong was there at all my "first conference" - RIL, Swissotel and now, Ascott!


The B&M(ers)

The gala evening came and it was really gratifying that the secretariat was given a standing ovation for a job well-done. Despite my embarrassing moment on stage when the secretariat Chairman pulled me onto stage to do a cha-cha! Argh... I have two left feet, I can't dance for nuts! OK, I guess that was additional entertainment that evening.


The Secretariat with the CEO & their standing ovation


Sabo Cha-cha



And for those who noticed, I wore my Tan Tan again (since it's a different crowd). I had brought a strapless number but figured I'd better go for the safer option since I was going to be running around quite a bit. So these pictures may seem a little familiar :-)

Until the next AGC...

When Buddha Jumped Over the Wall

Have been too busy to put up some of my latest photos. Now that AGC is over, I have time to archive some of them and organise the files (before the huge batch of AGC photos arrive). My MarComms team received pretty good bonuses this year (unlike me, who suffered a pro-rated one - although I shouldn't be complaining; at least I got something :-). And I've been joking with them that I'm looking forward to a Buddha Jump Over The Wall treat! And they actually organised a fantastic lunch at Peach Garden (OCBC Building), complete with Buddha Jumped Over The Wall! The food was scrumptious and the amazing broth was simply devine. Yummm... thanks ladies! We'll work harder this year for a better, fatter bonus yah :-)

AGC is finally OVER!

It's over! Finally after months of preparation, it's OVER! The whole conference (Ascott Global Conference) went well and the gala dinner which I was overall in charge of, went smoothly too! A few hiccups here and there but generally well organised. Will get more photos up as soon as I get them. It's been a tiring week and all I want to do now is to enjoy the long weekend before getting back to the office on Monday. More AGC details later...

Online Retail Therapy

Found some really cool sites with gorgeous one-of-a-kind creations. Check out these lovely purses, bags and accessories :-)

www.ochacream.com

www.oktak.com

The Cost of a Cancelled Meeting

How much does it cost when a meeting is cancelled? Expensive for me!

Had a Loh Hei lunch at Raffles City with the Red team last week. Was supposed to go to TT for a meeting after that... After lunch, I helped Suneet at Coach for a bag for his wife and was of course tempted by a sling bag which was at 50% off. Thankfully there was only one last one left, which Suneet got. We said goodbye as I made my way for the train station. Then the phone rang and I was told the meeting may be cancelled; that I should stay put where I was and wait for confirmation on whether the meeting would be cancelled.

And so I hung around - at Kate Spade... one thing led to another and here's my loot (in blue). Thanks to jemej for her VIP discount.


And the meeting WAS cancelled :-)

Now This is ART!

The third day of the Lunar New Year took us to a BBQ organised by R. The kids adjourned to a game of Kids Pictionary. You know what they say about kids taking after their parents' habits and hobbies? Well, there you go... the Gang used to play pictionary at every gathering (until the kids came along) and now we seem to be imparting this cool game to the kids! They had some help from the adults with the interpretation of some words. To my amazement, this is what Gideon came up with! Of course, we got the answer correct for this one! Can you guess what the word is (the circle with the cross means "one word, two syllabus" and he first drew the face, then the ears, then the smaller circles on the ears - get it, get it???

Belated Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Have been procrastinating over the Lunar New Year - being simply too busy and lazy, really. This year's CNY was packed with activities. With the Gang taking turns with their "open house", everyday ended way past midnight and every morning began close to noon. Getting back to work on Monday was a real drag. Even Gideon had an additional day off on Monday since Terence was on leave :-(

Reunion dinner this year was at Seafood Station at the old Singa Inn. Food was so-so but ambience was pretty good. As usual, Gideon hogged the camera and I must say, despite my attempts to perfect taking self-shots, he has mastered that skill before I have:

On the second day, we went to my eldest uncle's home for the reunion of the cousins. It's amazing to remember that once upon a time, these cousins and I were the age of our kids today, playing in my grandparents' kampong house; fighting, squabbling and simply having fun.

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

May the Year of the Rat bring you loads of Prosperity, Fortune, Love and Luck!

A Muse(d)

Ok, I haven't gotten over yesterday, although I feel better. But I sure need a distraction of sorts. Hahhhh... that's when I started to blog surf and came across a perfect distraction. Muse Two by YSL. Gotta have it! Very sinful I know... well I'll sleep over it and we'll see. My latest muse:

Arrgggghhh!

Tossed and turned in bed - it's not me to have problems falling asleep. But tonight, I just had to get up and try sorting out the sh*# that I had to endure in the office today! What a start to the weekend! Was it my wrong judgment? Was it neglect? Was it MY FAULT!!!??? Arrrgggghhhhh! Hate it when the boss gets upset with me. Hate it even more when I wasn't the cause of the problem! Hate it some more when I have this knack of starting to blame myself the more I dwell on the problem. It's a long story but let's just say a vendor's mistake and inefficiency led to my misery!

NO! IT'S NOT MY FAULT! and YES! I MADE A JUDGMENT CALL AND WILL STICK BY IT!

Ok, (pant pant) I feel better now. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep now.

Lights, Camera, Action!

It's been a long time since I've supervised a photo shoot. My last was at least 2 years ago. And so, covering for R in KL was a great opportunity to work with Peter again and also to reminise the days when I had to scurry around like mad looking for props, engineering staff and doing crowd control - single-handedly!

This shoot was a breeze. Jacq from Marketing did a fab job getting the props (Wedgewood chinaware and Waterford crystal wine glasses, no less) and the staff were literally on stand-by, by our side, throughout the shoot, at every location! It was such a relaxing shoot.

Peter is one of the best photographers in the industry. His angles are seamless and he always manages to catch them at the first attempt. Check out these nice angles, considering that my amateur digi-cam is definitely nowhere near Pete's lenses.

Jacq went out of her way and got her husband Ad to pick us up almost every evening for dinner. Imbi dinners aka Zhi Char. Yummy yummy yummy! I was so engrossed with the food each time I obviously forgot all about my camera. One evening, we were brought for "Ratatouille". I was hoping it was not French food, or perhaps some exotic Rat dishes!? Ad stopped at a dark alley and parked right in front of a big old tree. We all got out apprehensively. All I saw was an old man smoking and reading the evening's gossip papers next to a crooked cupboard and flanked by 2 woks. I looked further and saw a scatter of some 5 tables and random stools. Hmm... this is going to be interesting! And that was also the exact moment I put the pieces together and realised "Ratatouille", as the place is affectionately named by Jacq and Ad, referred to the inhabitants of this dark alley - RATS! Ok ... I had to remain calm. After all, we did ask for "street food".

Tea was served together with cutlery and side plates. A "tea ceremony" followed. Jacq and Ad nonchalantly started pouring tea over the chopsticks, plates and tea cups. And then the famed Hokkien mee (udon like, unlike those yellow ones in Singapore) arrived. Y-U-M-M-Y! We cleaned out the plates of mee and the bowl of soup! BURP!

My Ratatouille moment arrived in the nick of time - just as I was wiping the slurpy remains of Hokkien mee from the corners of my mouth. Yikes! I saw one (or two, or three!?) rat dashing across the next table! Thank goodness we were already saying goodbye to the old man (still smoking) by his crooked cupboard. I began to wonder what lurked within those rickety cupboard shelves...

My greatest regret - forgetting to take pictures this adventure :-( But I'm sure to be back. Till then...

Happy 2008!

New Year's Eve was spent at the heart of the Marina Bay countdown (literally!). We were on the verandah of Al Dente at Esplanade. As the throngs of revellers crowded below us, we happily drank, ate and anticipated the fireworks.

As Gideon pushes on to K2, I hope that 2008 will be a fun-filled year for him. His hat may be too big for him now but as time breezes us by, I'm pretty sure it'll not be long before I post a picture of him in his army cap. As for me, I hope 2008 continues to be a healthy, happy one for all.



From all of us

May your 2008 be a blast!

X'mas Wraps

Ed finally put up the pix on Facebook and so I can finally post this. After days of bugging, he decided he will not be photographer for a while or he'll be irritated to death by me "reminding" him to send the pix. Christmas dinner at their new place was nice as compared to the near-rowdy Christmas eve party at Chris and Angie's. As the kids brought the house down (as usual), the BIG kids used Owen's Christmas present, a biting crocodile, for their drinking game. You take your chance to press any of the croc's tooth and if it snaps / bites, you drink up! Geez... to think that a 3 year-old's toy could keep the adults this high! And Owen never got to take the present back with him. The drinking carried on way after he left!

MarComms' Season's Greetings

R put this little greeting together for us to send as a department to our vendors which we thought was rather American Idol(ish). For the colleagues, we added another "pre-holiday shot"... huh huh... quite funny hor?

Santa Rina

Was thinking of an appropriate title for this post. Couldn't come up with anything smart. The thought of Rina always showering Gideon with gifts everytime she returns home inspired the title eventually. It was great catching up with her and Agnes, reminising the good ol' days on the little (and quiet) island of Sentosa. We now can't wait for her return again for CNY :-)

The Blue Tree

Last Christmas, I had a Red tree in the office. What else but Red when we were the Red team in the Red office!? This Christmas, in a new company and new office, it's a Blue tree we put together; and a real tree too that fills the office with the beautiful smell of pine. I took another look at the tree yesterday after I got my confirmation letter. It seems to be symbolic of my new year ahead in Ascott. I have finally left the Red behind although I still miss much of what was before. But work in the Blue office is picking up and I'm just hoping to do well and not disappoint. A number of big projects in the pipeline. Projects with no room for mistakes. That's 2008 for me and I'm already thinking what colour my next Christmas tree is going to be. Blue still I hope :-)

Merry Christmas!

Look Who's Talking

It's been a week since we got back from Brisbane. It's been tough trying to settle down back at work. Sighhhhh... Like a friend told me the other day, you need a vacation from a vacation - how true. And the thought that I'll not be entitled to any leave till next year makes it even worse. Arghhhh!
Anyways, was looking through our Aussie photos again and saw this one I took at Queen Street Mall. My very own Banner! (Well, almost... :-)

Brisbane Memories, Gold Coast Shivers

Just back from a wonderful holiday. Gideon went on his "real" aeroplane journey with games and movies - as we promised. He stayed awake throughout the entire flight, watched endless re-runs of the cartoons and ate almost everything from his meal tray. Laurence met us at the airport and we spent the first 2 nights at his apartment. It never struck me that his apartment was right across the very first place we stayed at when I was studying in Brisbane - Hynes St.

Brisbane had gone through a face-lift since we studied there more than 10 years ago. New buildings towered over the once quiet city and Fortitude Valley (Chinatown then) had become a bustling suburb somewhat like Holland Village. And where Laurence stays, it was once a bus terminus where Belle, Corinne, Lorraine and I used to trot across to get to the other street where we caught the bus into town. QUT today has a lot more facilities and amenities than before. Students there are definitely a lot more "fortunate" than we were.

We rented a car and took a familiar drive to Gold Coast. Vibe Hotel didn't disappoint with its beautiful views, good location and very spacious apartment. The weather, however, was a real dampener (pun intended). It was cold, windy and wet :-( Thankfully, I had Gideon's jumper which kept him warm throughout. Terence managed to "tahan" while I practically lived in my one and only shawl. Surfer's Paradise seems less happening then before. Either it was because of the weather or it's not a peak holiday period. So the weather provided the perfect excuse to shop "to get something warm". But of course, every store was decked with summer apparel with no trace of anything even with sleeves!

Thankfully, the sun greeted us on our last day in Gold Coast so we had a really great time at Movie World before heading back to Brisbane for a last night at Laurence's. We also managed to drive through the neighbourhoods we lived in and caught glimpses of our "homes".

We had a great time. More importantly, this trip brought back fond memories of the good ol' uni days. Laurence was a most generous host and we loved his apartment (even when it was filled to the brim with boxes as he gets ready to return to S'pore). As for Gideon, he's already asking when our next holiday is going to be.

A Year Wiser?

Another year, another birthday. Thanks to Jagdesh for the arrangements, I managed to get us to One Degree 15 at Sentosa for a nice dinner by the marina. The group was small as Angie and Chris couldn't join us with Russell down with a fever. Nevertheless an enjoyable evening. Thanks for the gifts and company!



And to all those who remembered my birthday, thanks for all your sms(es) and well wishes. Even Petra sent me an sms all the way from Zurich (I'm touched :-)!

Not forgetting the Feng Shui plant that arrived at the office yesterday, courtesy of Roza and Rachael. Thanks gals! Will post a pix of it once I get the fountain set up.

The Key To My New Journey

It's week 3 already - how time flies. I'm still trying to settle in to the job, new colleagues, new surrounds, new challenges. I do miss the familiarity but guess I'll get there soon. AK has been supportive and I have a good, hardworking team. I now look forward to our move to Newton. At least I'd be at my own desk (now sitting at someone else's desk due to lack of space).

And oh, the Red team will be Green with envy - I have the luxury of fully-equipped meeting rooms and a TOILET (see the toilet key?)! Hee hee hee :)

My First Chinese Read

I enjoy Cai Kang Yong's talk shows and because of that, decided I should give his books a shot. My first Chinese book (since my secondary school text book). I took a long time to complete it, I must say. But it is a really good book. He looks at routine stuff with a different perspective. The book is written as though he's speaking to an unborn child - warning the child of things he should be wary of when he comes into the world, offering advice, asking for opinions etc. I must admit that there are words (many many) I can't make out but I do manage to understand the short stories overall. Maybe it's time for my second... (book, not child :-)