It’s heartwarming to see how even a severely swollen ankle won’t stop some people from coming to work.
Hai Yah!!
Meet Captain Crutch, a.k.a. Jialin, who busted her ankle playing frisbee. Yes, that seemingly innocuous plastic disc that sails quietly through the air. More accurately, it wasn’t the frisbee that hurt her, but rather the 200-lb behemoths (or maybe they were skinny maidens, I’m not sure) that she was playing with, the slick, rain-lubricated playing field, and an ambitious leap through the air that resulted in a very painful landing.
It's waaaay smaller now than it used to be
Jialin’s since suffered 2+ weeks of BTF (big throbbing foot). FYI, Jialin has pictures of her mutant foot that I can’t put up for risk of making you lose your dinner. :p
And just when we were wondering if we should start selling off her stuff on eBay, she came back.
Captain Crutch, we salute you!
But before you could even say “auction”, she hobbled back into the office and sat at her desk, threatening to beat us up with her new weapons (a.k.a. crutches)
Don't mess with the one-legged madam
Everyone was pretty amazed to see Jialin back, and many stopped to say “hello”. Some of her visitors weren’t very happy with me putting up pictures of them in previous posts though, so I’ll try to protect their identities from now on.
Visiting hours are from 12pm - 5pm
Other colleagues have started getting ideas about getting a couple of days off from work too. Not terribly convincing though.
No, you're not getting any sick leave.
Anyhoo, I salute our courageous and conscientious colleague for making it back to the office today despite her big bad foot.
Just because we’re in the middle of the World Cup, doesn’t mean this post is necessarily about that little Argentinian striker who’s ripping through defences.
Like a hot knife through butter
It’s really more about this guy (or his desk actually).
Likely lost his wife inside the clutter (hey i rhymed!)
So today, I shall look around the workstations around the office to make myself feel better. (Since Steph commented on the sad state of my desk 😦 ) You know how some people find “order in the chaos” or have a “method to the madness“? I’ve come across quite a bit of chaos and madness in our office. Sometimes on desks too! 😉 But amazingly though, the people who sit at these fire hazards still get things done…
Some people say having more space makes it easier to store stuff, but I really don’t think so. It just gives you more reason to keep stuff lying around.
Peiling threatening to beat me up with her stuffed kangaroo
Well, whatever gets the job done! What do your workdesks look like?
Because I work in the New Media team, I thought it might be important that I also know how to operate the content management system (known to geeks everywhere as a “CMS”). So I sat in with my new Games Time colleagues, Jose (from Republic Polytechnic), Bharath (from the Singapore Sports Council), and Paul (from the National Library Board) Quite an interesting group, given how they are all from different agencies – thus the title of this post.
Half a day of training done, and half a day to go…
Kok Siong educating our webmasters-to-be and me
And congratulations to Robin, one of our webmasters who was MIA this morning, but with a perfectly good reason. His wife just gave birth! Let us know if it’s a boy or girl! 🙂
Seems like just a few days ago when I was at *SCAPE banging away at my keyboard. Seriously, I’ve rambled along quite a bit, haven’t I?
Funny thing is, some of you have started following this blog religously/semi-religiously and it’s nice to know that my $0.02 worth is worthwhile reading on a daily basis. 🙂
Some of you may have even given me feedback in person, which is cool. And anytime I pull out my camera now, people say “You’re gonna blog about this right?” or “Is this going up in the blog?” I’ve even gotten stuff mailed to me as stuff I could blog about. For those of you who asked: Yes, coming up with content is tough sometimes.
Even the hawt babes plastered on my cubicle walls (by my helpful colleagues) can't give me inspiration. To blog, that is...
But make no mistake, the place I work at is overflowing with interesting stuff to write about, take photos of, and record on video. But that’s not exactly my job. (sometimes I wish it was!) It’s the enviable (because of all the access to athletes, events and backstage stuff) and unenviable (there’s really quite a lot to cover!) job of my team to chronicle our journey on the official Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games website, the WhyOhGee microsite, our YouTube channel, and our Flickr account. These things are literally brimming over with content, and what I yak about on this blog really pales in comparison to the stuff that’s being churned out there. Think I’ll dedicate daily post #51 to some of the people who produce the content you read, watch and hear.
Anyway, since I’ve actually made it this far, thought I’d reflect on what I’ve blogged about what I’ve yammered on about and pull out five of your favourite and my favourite posts. You know how some recording artistes can put together a “Greatest Hits” album before they hit 30? I thought I could do one since I’ve just hit a half century. 😉
In chronological order:
#43: Our (new) resident pundit – The MUSNP (click through to find out what this stands for ) is spot on with predicting the score between Mexico and France. I hear he’s gone up north either for a holiday, or to become a full-time football analyst. Thanks to him, we scored our highest ever one-day visitorship!
#38: Art for everyone – This post on art generated the most passionate and intellectual discussion thus far. I hear the next art ballot is coming up soon, for those of you who might be interested in becoming “art collectors” too. 🙂
#33: Who’s the boss? – Had fun sticking smileys on my boss’ face. And I still have my job! Now how many of you can honestly say that? 🙂 🙂 🙂
#14: If this job doesn’t kill you…– People in the organising committee don’t just have to contend with mountains of work, but sharp needles (that’s plural, with an “S”) too. But now they’re immune to everything, I think.
#8: Buzz me later – I’m puzzled about some people who still say there’s “no buzz”. Maybe you can stand a little closer while I blow my vuvuzela in your ear? 🙂
Every month, the various divisions at the organising committee try to get everyone together on the last Friday for about 2 hours to meet the new faces, talk about what’s been done (and what we hope to achieve), then mingle freely with the aid of some food and drink. We call this monthly jig “Happy Hour“.
The accreditation team is obviously happy! More accreditation for all? 🙂
One of the toughest things to do is to try to rip people from their workspaces to show up for Happy Hour, which is another sign of how hard the folks here work, and how much there is to do.
Today I think it was sliiiiightly easier.
Thanks to the well-oiled Logistics and Finance division (affectionately known to all as “LAF” – as in “laugh”) handling the F&B, it was a fine showing in terms of stuff to stuff your face with. There was even a somaliansummariansommelier to give us a quick intro to wine appreciation. No offence to him, but he lost me at “cork”. It was tough, as he was up against the combined smells of curry, prata and laksa wafting into the hall.
A very good Asian "carrot cake" - not too oily
Ladling out the laksa (a.k.a. forget your diet plans)
Sometimes, a glass of wine or two at Happy Hour helps get conversations going and makes my jokes sound funnier too. (To me at least.) And it gives you the dutch courage to ask the questions you’ve always wanted to ask but were too afraid, like “Are you wearing a giraffe?”
New colleague Kay Lii modelling the latest in fauna-inspired fashion
Yes, we even tried to feed it.
Sadly, I’m not even sure if there’ll be another Happy Hour, with the Games looming less than 50 days away. Ah well, there’ll be time to celebrate after the Games I’m sure…
P.S. Some great new equipment for Games time came in today, like a fisheye lens that snapped all the photos in this post. I’m lovin’ it! 🙂
I’ve slipped behind again! I should be at #51 today. Argh…
Today, I’m blogging about lunch meetings. You know, the meetings that are scheduled for lunchtime, where you have lunch and attempt to discuss something at the same time. These are potentially morale-draining because your one hour of mental screen-saver time has now been invaded by work, and the food provided might suck not be to your liking. And you might not understand the guy across the table who’s spewing bits of food while trying to put across a point while you dodge morsel missiles. Those kind of meetings.
I stumbled across one meeting yesterday where the JYOF (Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame) team was discussing their operations. I think our resident “bao” (steamed buns filled with meat or paste) connoisseur, Kee Haur, bought a box of baos for the lucky attendees.
I think not everyone's looking forward to baos for lunch. Or work. Or both.
Got to find the mmmmotivation ...
Anyway, serves me right for laughing. I was just in a lunch meeting myself. :p
On a separate note, I would like to wishdear colleague Cheryl Chong (a.k.a. Chair roll) a happy birthday! I have never seen people run away at the sound of “Happy Birthday” before…
Given the uber-short time frame we had to get this first ever Youth Olympics running, anyone who’s been here close to two years is pretty much an “old timer”. It’s got nothing to do with age, really. (Ok, maybe it does and I’m kidding myself)
So, I’m wondering who’s been here the longest. Personally, I got in on July 2, 2008, and I’m almost a fossil.
I hear from some of the guys who took over the building after winning the bid to host the Games, that the building had seen better days. No power, no water, no furniture… Prior tenants of the building have included the University of New South Wales, Republic Polytechnic, and the Ministry of Education. But if you don’t have the best of things, you make the best of things. 😉
And I think the most senior of the “old-timers” is probably one of the best at living that mantra. May I present to you…
Mr (or Miss) Mao
I don’t know its name, but he sure likes to talk. Or Meow. I’m assuming it’s a “he” based on my (limited) experience with cats. Those who take the lift at the back of the building will testify to his “talkativeness”. He’s also been around longer than anyone can remember, and outlived some of the prior tenants.
And all he needs every day is a some dry cat food and water. Doesn’t ask for higher pay. Doesn’t need a parking space. Doesn’t complain when things aren’t going his way. (Or maybe he does, and I don’t understand meowinese)
Kudos to you, Mr Mao. We could all learn a little from you.
Deeper down the rabbithole of backdated blog entries I go…! I am now 4 entries behind. *gulp* I’m going to attempt 2 today, so one more is probably popping up later tonight.
Victor, Vicson (no relation to Victor), Deanna (who reappeared after disappearing to Cambodia), Wangwang, Kok Siong, and eventually Amanda were mobilised to help out at the event, manning 3 hi-tech (read: touchscreen) sign-up booths. Sorry for the poor picture quality, was shooting from my mobile phone camera!
Almost like Minority Report (minus Tom Cruise)
Most of the folks were quite impressed by the touch-screen games, and we found ourselves in danger of becoming part-time Acer salespeople at some point. (hmm… wonder if Acer salespeople get paid well.)
Ack! Where did all these people come from?!
We were kinda overwhelmed by the numbers of people who were queueing to sign-up. Some of the crowd managed to sign up on their mobile phones (yes, it’s that easy! just go to http://www.singapore2010.sg/community) but most of them were waiting patiently for one of three terminals, and in total, we scored about 100 signups in just over an hour! I guess having the chance to win a Lyo or Merly plush does make things more exciting for everyone. 🙂
I've also learnt that girls in pinafores travel in packs
In fact, our mascots were so popular that they were “kidnapped” by super-enthusiastic fans several times in the course of the morning. We almost had to pry them free from their kidnappers.
Merlynapper caught in the act!!
But maybe it was the waves of youthfulness that me and Victor were not so used to. Within 3 hours of packing up, the both of us were down for the count. Actually we’re both on medical leave, but still at work anyway. (Shhh!)
So, take pity on the both of us sickly old men and join us on the WhyOhGee Community! It’s no community without “U-N-I” (“you and i” geddit??) Hurry up and add us as friends too (we’re feeling lonely and unloved)
FYI, for those of you cool people we photographed at the event, you stand to win prizes if you go in and TAG yourself in the pictures! If you don’t remember whether you were photographed, maybe these will refresh your memory:
Oh dear. I’m back in Singapore, back at work, and now I’m behind by 3 entries!
Ok, one at a time.
Today’s entry is about family portraits. You know, the ones where families stand/sit together and plaster forced smiles on their faces? It can be a bit artificial and staged, methinks. How often do your family members dress up, look in the same direction and smile, all at the same time?
Here are some examples:
Remember to vary the poses
Might need a little more facial expression though
... but remember to get a shave before getting your picture taken
The Communications & Public Relations family went out for a team dinner last week, and we took a family portrait too. The restaurant we were dining in was way too small to line up 40++ people, so we had to get creative.
Victor works quite well as a placemarker
So I wondered how many Victors I could fit into the space…
Victors everywhere...
It looked about right, I thought. So I got everyone into the space next to the escalator at International Building. It took awhile to get everyone looking in the same direction, but here’s the final product:
click on the image for a bigger version!
I think most of the smiles here are 100% genuine, so this is one family portrait I think is worth hanging up. Nice one guys! … 😉
P.S. A belated Happy Fathers Day to all dads out there!
Yes, this thing has caused much discomfort for folks at the World Cup: Players (Patrice Evra, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are not fans of this thing), commentators (it’s been likened to “a giant hive full of very angry bees”), and people watching at home (i can’t repeat what they’ve said about this thing without blushing) alike.
You wouldn’t think that something whose name sounds like the reproductive organ of a female zebra would be as loud as this thing is, but it clocks in at 127 decibels – that’s just a vuvu-whisker shy of a jackhammer (130 decibels).
I’ve checked the spectators’ guide for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, and no, you will not be able to bring along your Vuvuzelas. (But I’ve also found a free application that gives out a little whimper of what the vuvuzela sounds like on the iPhone. It’s still muchos irritating though! 😉 ) Just thought I’d let you know before anyone gets any ideas …!
And in other news, I’m blogging from Kuala Lumpur this evening and not sure if I’ll be able to sign in tomorrow (cousin’s wedding to attend) but normal service will resume on Sunday. Don’t miss me too much! 😉
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