Mobbed at Raffles Place

This was the sea of frenzy when we distributed goodie bags at Raffles Plc yesterday from 12-2pm. The 3000 goodie bags were in celebration of the launch of the Children Devt A/C. We came up with a guerilla mkting tactic to dress 10 talents in sharp suits, pushing prams around Raffles Plc during lunch hour to celebrate the launch of the CDA. & never did i imagine the frenzy we stirred, as well as the ugly S'porean attitudes that popped up.

It started with the lorry parking in front of Republic Plaza. The moment the doors of the lorry opened, everyone flocked in and the scene mimicked one of wartime (in my opinion), with hands grabbing for "rations". When we finally managed to move the talents & prams into the centre of Raffles Plc, these "hungry" folks followed & well, started snapping & snatching (it's true i swear!) the goodie bags, even before we could hand them out. In case u thought it's only the bo-liaos that are part of the crowd, u'll be surprise to hear that even professionals in chic suits were part of the mobbing scene. A guy even verbally abused 1 of the talents lamenting that we didn't have enough for him! Some retirees just came back for more, hogging 2 bags at an instance & repeating visiting the prams asking (yes, asking) to be given another.

While we were all under the hot afternoon sun, baked and trying hard to control the crowd, there was just some pushing and shoving going on, the moment the goodie bags were replenished! I was so stunned and cheezed off by the behaviour that a male colleague actually came up to me, asking me to close my gapping mouth! At the instant, i was so embarassed of the behaviour of the ugly S'poreans! Honestly, my time is worth more than Q-ing up for a goodie bag, with no clue of its contents! & this was under the baking sun!!!!

A 3000 goodie bags were snapped up in the 1.5hr frenzy we stirred! While the key takeaway was that freedies worked wonders, it's amazing that professionals can behave in such a "duh" fashion.

My last dinner @ NTU + a whiff of academia

I finally submitted the group thesis on Facebook advertising this evening after 2-3mths of data collection, mulling thru SPSS & research on the existing literature! Phew!!! & the most ironic thing is that the lecturer suggested that we streamline the 72-page paper into a trimmer version to a conference journal! Never in my life i thought i'll have a whiff of academia life & hey, we are in luck!!! I can't imagine others using our research in their lit reviews! WooHoo!!!

Anyway, everyone got so high about this invite that we snapped silly/ bo liao photos in class! lame me! This's my last class liao!!! I just had to snap the last dinner i am having in NTU. See the crazy pics below, plus the love affair we have for the sandwich & vending machines!

Happy Hour @ Morton's of Chicago, The Steakhouse

The mkting team had a gathering with the media & advertising agency today at Morton's of Chicago, Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This's my 1st time there, though i heard soo many good reviews of its juicy steaks. From 5pm - 7pm is Martini Hour, where Martini goes for $10 a glass & there's free flow of juicy beef sandwiches! I had the Chocolate Martini & the Lychee Martini. Personally think that the former tasted like chocolate Baileys and prefer the latter. The sandwiches were served butler-styled & were snapped up in a jiffy!

The gathering came about becoz 1 of the agency directors will be resuming her cancer treatment from Wed onwards. This lady is only 35 (or 36 i think) & has been surviving lung cancer for the past 5 yrs. It's really tragic that before she was given the all-clear in the 5 year window, cancer cells returned & well, spreaded to the brain. While the cells are contained & localized, those in the lungs have spread.

I really admire her drive for life & since i know her on a personal basis, i commended her for her courage & persistence to live in faith & dedication at work, even though she's undergoing cancer treatment all these yrs. The gathering was to have some fun & joy, & to give her some encouragement before she resume her treatment.

A family member of mine is also struck with cancer. While we are awaiting the doc's analysis & recommendations on next steps, we pray that she'll be well again, very very soon. Life's really fragile and while we are all in gd health, let's treasure all that we have & live life to the fullest. Bitch less about the office, take politics as passing comments & power struggles as passing phases in life...

My last photoshoot

My first time in a photoshoot with a toddler. Trying to coax the little one to smile & do what she was suppose to do was the greatest challenge. Makeup artist was on hand to coax her, play with her... the studio was filled with her whines & cries... Afterall, the little one was only 10mths old! But well, she's damn cute! When i look at the blown-up shot, she has a cute double-chin!

This shoot is also the last for me. It'll be a while that i do this again but well, i am pretty glad with the end result. Afterall, the 2 colleagues of mine look pretty natural as parents ya?

My last & final lap @ work & in school. Press on Elena!

It's 99 days to go!

The counter on the wedding website has fallen to a double digit. It's now only 99 days away! To think that i always thought i had a lot of time but now, the wedding is really gonna happen!

I made time to visit Dang yesterday & brought mum along with me. She too agreed that my earlier gown looked weird & affirmed my decision to proceed with the change. I decided to go with the empire line gown. It's undergoing alteration at the moment to fit me better.

I also attended my last class for my postgrad pursuit. Bittersweet feeling i must say. I still remember the first day i walked into the LT & well, clueless at what i'll be expecting from my academic journey & today, i finally reached the final class for the entire course. Just 2 exams & 1 final presentation & i am good to graduate! All these are gonna happen in the next 2 weeks! The class adjourned to the Staff Club today for some drinks, to commerate the final teaching semester for the lecturer too! He's going on sabbatical and well, won't be back in NTU for the next 2 yrs.

Fate just reaffirmed my decision today!

I mentioned previously that resignations are common after bonus payouts & well, my gut feel was proven today. My boss has resigned, and the best part, our new Head of Marketing is in a whirlwind, frantically seeking a replacement to fill the void.

Actually i feel very relieved to receive the news of his resignation, not becoz i dislike him, in fact, he gave me adequate autonomy & empowerment to do my job & needless to say, alot of opportunities too. My sign of relief came about becoz of my own plans to throw in the towel very soon too. I always had this feeling of guilt, that i actually intend to pursue my own plans, when he's trying to path out something for me in HK. Now that his departure is even earlier than my intended, i am glad that he's not gonna be the recipient of my letter!

In fact, he had a brief chat with me & asked if i am keen to takeover the team. If i am open to this offer, he'd put in a good word for me. Without a thought, i declined & jokingly said i'll only consider if they give me a 100% increment! While political players might say that this's the best chance for me to step up and climb the ladder, i'd rather give myself a fresh start in HK. Why undertake add'l responsibility just becoz i am a convenient candidate to fill the void?

This series of happenings has just reaffirmed my decision - that it's time to move on & stomach changes.

6 months later, it happened again!

Need i say more? Cab hit me on the right & smashed the headlights & dented the car badly. Well, i won't say i had no part to play in it but the ironic thing was that, my car was stationary when the taxi hit. A good samaritian actually came up offering to be witness to the incident, stating that the cab hit me straight on, when i had already stopped for good.

Well, another $750 i need to cough up. Let's see where the squabbles will bring us to. For sure, he's gonna bear the majority of the insurance payouts!

Learnings from The Bucket List

I caught this movie in the Gold Class theatre @ Vivocity today. In case u think i am so generous to pay for a $30 movie ticket, this's actually a "reward" for working so hard lately. The movie-going was an offsite activity for the entire team.

This movie speaks of 2 terminally ill men trying to fulfil a wish list before each kicks the bucket. After they break out of a cancer ward, they head off on a road trip with an itinerary that includes skydiving, African safaris, Egypt, Beijing's Great Wall & Hong Kong. There were dialogues on "If u knew when u were gonna die", "If only i had done that, how'd life be for me now" and many other ponders. 1 wanted to be a History Professor but landed up fixing cars, another was a self-made billionaire.

Ironically or coincidentally, KL & I were talking about LIFE 2 days back. We spoke about our dreams and what aspirations we had. For the 2 of us, nah, we don't believe that the value of one's life should be measured by their net worth & agree that there are different yardsticks for everyone.have. We kinda agreed that there are some folks who are legends-in-the-making. Some of whom 1 day, will be the legends of Wall Street and faces will grace the cover of Fortune Magazine.

He dreams of being the Principal Partner in his own hedge fund house, taking life easy & even being an Adjunct Prof lecturing at 1 of the SG universities. This to him, is a step to inspire the next generation and share his experience. I hope that 1 day when i am at peace with myself, confident of my own achievements and attained nirvana that power & status are just passing clouds, i'd take a step back & retreat into my own world of community service, contributing back to society via a foundation. While these may be dreams, we hope that come 1 day, we can do that. Dreams are often like stars twinkling in the skies and every often, in the hectic pursuit of life, people get lost within the crowd and their dreams dwindle as a result.

I certainly don't wanna be making a bucket list of wishes to fulfill when limited time strikes. Let's hold true to our beliefs and dreams and make the best outta life.

Our cherished ones

Looking thru family photos always evoke sweet memories. Updated the wedding website with photos of our family folks, as well as of Grandma. I am so glad she's still going strong. One of my greatest wishes (& i know it's also hers!) is to see me get married. She's gonna make it :)

http://kanglinelena.weddingannouncer.com/family.html