I have to admit that, even though I work long intense days, and clearly this gig is for real - I still have to sort of pinch myself and ask "Is this really my life?" every now and then.
I just spent an hour sorting through photos and uploading them to smugmug and I have to say I am so utterly amazed that I get to have this life.
But the funny thing is, whenever I post photos I get a lot of emails (which I love, so please keep writing!) and many of them say things like "Wow, it looks like you're really enjoying as much time exploring as you are working" or "You look so relaxed, you must be getting lots of R'nR".
The reality is that when I am on the road I pack as much fabulousness into the one day off I get each week as I possibly can. Take a thousand pictures. And post what looks like 6 days exploring.
And honestly...I am usually as refreshed after that one fabulous day as I would be after a week off. Which is a good thing. Because let me tell you a little bit about my week.
First, I have been having conference calls. A lot of conference calls. With Toronto and New York. Which means that the earliest they start is 9 pm my time. Usually they are more likely to start at 11 pm my time.
The lovely thing about conference calls at this time of day is that I do have time to go to the gym after work...which gives me a second wind...which gives me the ability to focus and actually contribute to aforementioned conference calls and make them productive.
The more lovely thing about conference calls and second winds at this time of day is it gives me a chance to chat with the godesses of brand marketing in TO. These calls are also productive, but decidedly less so than the ones where I have to be all "businessy". They usually end with me crying with laughter and my pal Nat saying "Teri I HAVE to hang up now. I'm laughing so loud I'm making a scene". But I'm sure its worth it because between her and I we have come up with an amazing campaign to rebrand...um....never mind.
One of the things we were completely undone by this week was the fact that with two words I nearly got someone fired. Well...not so much fired really as told there was no longer a need for their services. The team here is very eager to please. They are also desperately concerned about losing. There is a word for it. "Kiasu". I have grown to hate this word. It literally means "afraid to lose". No one has yet been able to give me a Mandarin word for "driven to win". So their motivation - and they have a lot of motivation - is driven by fear instead of by strategy or desire or just raw competitiveness. They also don't like ambiguity. Nothing stresses them out more than ambiguity. So I have learned to be very concise in my answers and direction.
So, when I was asked "Should I tell him this is the final E communication we will be sending using our previous method and database". I said "Yes. Absolutely." And a dark and deeply troubled look crossed her face and she repeated the question. And I repeated the same answer and moved blythely along to the next item on the agenda. Until about 5 minutes later she meekly interrupted and said..."But I am just not sure how to address this because his contract does not end until June."
At which point I said..."Oh no!!! No! NO!! That is not what I meant!!"
So I am most delighted that on my very first day here I strongly encouraged everyone to ask questions and ensure they had clarity before taking any action or completing any item in the project plan. Phew!! Can you just even imagine?!? I am beginning to see why consultants get a bad name. "Who told you to terminate his contract?" "Teri told me to."
And yet, while they cannot abide ambiguity they do love wildly over the top copy writing. Joel, you would find it unequivocally sublime I am sure. I get emails from Toronto that read like this..."Does this really say "enflamed with a burning desire"? Really?" Full stop. No preamble. No salutation. No close. Just copy angst. So my response was, "I gave her my Harlequin Romance Guide to Copywriting. You don't like that style?"
Nat, just so you know, I just noticed today that there is a poster in the elevator wishing everyone "Season's Greens with Jim Beam". I am confused. If it was a golf promo I could see the play on words...maybe. I think perhaps you really should jump on the next plane. I don't have time to manage copy writing. I have revenue to generate!
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Today I...am spicy!
Today I...am spicy and sticky...and so I just had my third shower of the day.
I know that in some ways I am kind of a high maintenance lass. But compared to the strappy stiletto sandals, designer labels (from shades to hand bags to clothes to accessories to cell phone holders to key rings), skinny jeans and full on photo shoot ready make up of the local girls I am a down right tom boy. I suppose I could argue that they are aclimatized to the heat and humidity but seriously? I don't know how they stay so put together. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the "all over body glow"...and therefore I shower with a frequency that may be moderately obsessive-compulsive.
I woke up very early for a Sunday morning for me. The Swissotel - which is attached via a 70,000 sq ft shared convention centre to Raffles the Plaza Singapore and therefore not only a "sister" hotel but more like a "Siamese Twin" hotel - was sponsoring Singapore's Vertical Marathon. So it was all hands on deck. So I had to be at least somewhat put together. Shower #1. I honestly didn't do much other than take advantage of an opportunity to access the heli-pad on the 72nd story of the building for some great photos...and then take photos of participants with their cameras when they finished their gruelling run up 72 stories - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity! It was HOT up there. I'm surprised no one passed out (myself included). Youngest participant was 12. Oldest was 83.
So when I saw this beautiful 83 year old climb those stairs with as much stamina - or more - than most of the participants I decided I best go for a workout myself! So I spent an hour on the elyptical groovin' to P!NK and working up a pretty serious glow. Shower #2.
And then, because the best way to see a city is to walk it, I decided to trek all over Singapore...with one of the tallest people I have ever met. Who walks fast in addition to having serious stride length. And who doesn't really stop to marvel at things while his touring companions are taking photos. So I did a bit of jogging today - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity. So in order to be able to sleep with myself tonight...Shower #3!
Its cooling off this week though - going down to 30. But there are going to be thunder showers. So at least it will be humid :-)
Spent the afternoon in Little India, Arab Street and Kampong Glam. That is a lot of cultural areas to hit in one day but it was a great way to gain an understanding of who the people of Singapore really are. You could stick to the pristinely clean, modern, very British city populated by "Singaporeans" and expats if you wanted to. Or you could see all the colors and the cultures. We chose the latter. And, in Kampong Glam, the Malaysian quarter, we inadvertently crashed a "Pre-circumcision" party for wee Selamat Datang. We decided, just to make ourselves feel better, that for sure Selamat must be a boy's name.
I know that in some ways I am kind of a high maintenance lass. But compared to the strappy stiletto sandals, designer labels (from shades to hand bags to clothes to accessories to cell phone holders to key rings), skinny jeans and full on photo shoot ready make up of the local girls I am a down right tom boy. I suppose I could argue that they are aclimatized to the heat and humidity but seriously? I don't know how they stay so put together. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the "all over body glow"...and therefore I shower with a frequency that may be moderately obsessive-compulsive.
I woke up very early for a Sunday morning for me. The Swissotel - which is attached via a 70,000 sq ft shared convention centre to Raffles the Plaza Singapore and therefore not only a "sister" hotel but more like a "Siamese Twin" hotel - was sponsoring Singapore's Vertical Marathon. So it was all hands on deck. So I had to be at least somewhat put together. Shower #1. I honestly didn't do much other than take advantage of an opportunity to access the heli-pad on the 72nd story of the building for some great photos...and then take photos of participants with their cameras when they finished their gruelling run up 72 stories - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity! It was HOT up there. I'm surprised no one passed out (myself included). Youngest participant was 12. Oldest was 83.
So when I saw this beautiful 83 year old climb those stairs with as much stamina - or more - than most of the participants I decided I best go for a workout myself! So I spent an hour on the elyptical groovin' to P!NK and working up a pretty serious glow. Shower #2.
And then, because the best way to see a city is to walk it, I decided to trek all over Singapore...with one of the tallest people I have ever met. Who walks fast in addition to having serious stride length. And who doesn't really stop to marvel at things while his touring companions are taking photos. So I did a bit of jogging today - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity. So in order to be able to sleep with myself tonight...Shower #3!
Its cooling off this week though - going down to 30. But there are going to be thunder showers. So at least it will be humid :-)
Spent the afternoon in Little India, Arab Street and Kampong Glam. That is a lot of cultural areas to hit in one day but it was a great way to gain an understanding of who the people of Singapore really are. You could stick to the pristinely clean, modern, very British city populated by "Singaporeans" and expats if you wanted to. Or you could see all the colors and the cultures. We chose the latter. And, in Kampong Glam, the Malaysian quarter, we inadvertently crashed a "Pre-circumcision" party for wee Selamat Datang. We decided, just to make ourselves feel better, that for sure Selamat must be a boy's name.
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Today I...am curious
Today I...am curious about a lot of things actually.
I am curious about the very large Asian family (four grandparents, two parents, three little girls, and the most beautiful boy with a very broken body, and one nanny) who scolded their little girl Annabelle (a decidedly not-so-Asian name) in crisp, unaccented English when she:
1. Approached my table and watched me write in my journal
2. Smiled very very coyly
3. Covered her mouth with her hands and giggled
4. and snatched the Orchid off my plate.
I thought she was curious about me. Clearly she was merely an adorable cleptomaniac. But she got a severe scolding for being "very rude and very naughty" which made her cry and made me want to give her the Orchid she was made to bring back to me. But what cheered her up absolutely made my day. This little boy whose body has clearly betrayed him, wheeled his chair around the table and said "Come on Anna, lets go play". And she put her hand on the arm of his chair and he very independently wheeled out to the promenade with his dad following behind nonchelanty as if any 6 year old in a wheelchair should be able to head to the harbour on a whim with no barriers in his mind.
I am curious about the woman with the expensive camera who was infinitely particular about taking shots of the Hong Kong skyline...and then sat down beside me, pulled a white teddy bear out of her bag, and proceeded to talk to him for a good 10 minutes before packing her things, putting on a pair of musical note socks, and walking away. I was wishing I understood Mandarin. I can only assume she was telling him all about the pretty photos she took. Or perhaps she was promising him a tasty treat, like tentacles on a stick.
I am curious about how we managed to take decent vacation photos before we could instantly see how they turned out...and when we actually had to count in increments of 12 - 24 - 36 exposures. I have been here a day and have over 200 photos...a pretty slow day for me actually.
I am curious about the complete inability of people to take a simple snap shot. Why do these people even have cameras?!?
One of the challenges of travelling alone is that you have to find willing and at least moderately capable strangers to take your picture (so as to prove you were actually there and not just skiving someone elses photos). I employed several strategies:
1. Find another person travelling alone trying to take the "self portrait". Bingo. Great Success! But that was just on the first shot of the day.
2. Approach caucasian couples - high probability that they speak English and that they will want a photo of themselves together. Less successful. Photos of myself at Victoria Peak took about 8 tries to get some good ones. Whereas the couples I had asked to take my picture all walked away exclaiming "Oh! This is a great picture of us!" about the shot I took of them. So, I guess the upside of that is about 8 couples got nice photos of themselves at the Peak today.
3. Approach people with fancy cameras. Less likely to make a run with mine and chances are if they are going to shell out that much for a camera they actually have some skills. Not so much. Worst night snap shots of me - EVER! Unacceptable. I seriously had no less than 16 tries (seriously - I counted the blurry, over exposed, side ways, dark shots of me that I deleted) to get some marginally decent photos in front of the night skyline. I was determined! I wanted that shot damn it!
Having gone through 1 through 3 above the strategy that finally worked?
4. Approach the adorable Asian girl who is loaded down with her Louis Vuitton bag, a Starbucks coffee, a cell phone, laughing at herself trying to take a self portait. Take two great shots of her. She returns the favor and - voila! I have two shots - slightly blurry, but at least my eyes are open, I am actually in the picture, and so are the buildings across the harbour. Great success!
And finally, I am curious about how my fabulous sturdy and practical, yet fashionable shoes completely failed me today and tore my heels to shreds. And also how, after changing to flip flops so that I could actually walk without wincing, I returned from the Ladies Market to find that my feet were even dirtier than after returning from Khan el Khalili in Cairo!!! I just recovered from one plague so I am just marginally paranoid about contracting another. Perhaps I should try to wrangle a standing order of Amoxycillin in every city I visit. Dr. Bonnie can you hurry up and get a job running the World Health Organization so you can hook a sister up?
Today I...sure am grateful for Roxy flip flops, but am needing to get over my obsessive-compulsive disorder about how completely unacceptable it is to have dirty feet.
I am curious about the very large Asian family (four grandparents, two parents, three little girls, and the most beautiful boy with a very broken body, and one nanny) who scolded their little girl Annabelle (a decidedly not-so-Asian name) in crisp, unaccented English when she:
1. Approached my table and watched me write in my journal
2. Smiled very very coyly
3. Covered her mouth with her hands and giggled
4. and snatched the Orchid off my plate.
I thought she was curious about me. Clearly she was merely an adorable cleptomaniac. But she got a severe scolding for being "very rude and very naughty" which made her cry and made me want to give her the Orchid she was made to bring back to me. But what cheered her up absolutely made my day. This little boy whose body has clearly betrayed him, wheeled his chair around the table and said "Come on Anna, lets go play". And she put her hand on the arm of his chair and he very independently wheeled out to the promenade with his dad following behind nonchelanty as if any 6 year old in a wheelchair should be able to head to the harbour on a whim with no barriers in his mind.
I am curious about the woman with the expensive camera who was infinitely particular about taking shots of the Hong Kong skyline...and then sat down beside me, pulled a white teddy bear out of her bag, and proceeded to talk to him for a good 10 minutes before packing her things, putting on a pair of musical note socks, and walking away. I was wishing I understood Mandarin. I can only assume she was telling him all about the pretty photos she took. Or perhaps she was promising him a tasty treat, like tentacles on a stick.
I am curious about how we managed to take decent vacation photos before we could instantly see how they turned out...and when we actually had to count in increments of 12 - 24 - 36 exposures. I have been here a day and have over 200 photos...a pretty slow day for me actually.
I am curious about the complete inability of people to take a simple snap shot. Why do these people even have cameras?!?
One of the challenges of travelling alone is that you have to find willing and at least moderately capable strangers to take your picture (so as to prove you were actually there and not just skiving someone elses photos). I employed several strategies:
1. Find another person travelling alone trying to take the "self portrait". Bingo. Great Success! But that was just on the first shot of the day.
2. Approach caucasian couples - high probability that they speak English and that they will want a photo of themselves together. Less successful. Photos of myself at Victoria Peak took about 8 tries to get some good ones. Whereas the couples I had asked to take my picture all walked away exclaiming "Oh! This is a great picture of us!" about the shot I took of them. So, I guess the upside of that is about 8 couples got nice photos of themselves at the Peak today.
3. Approach people with fancy cameras. Less likely to make a run with mine and chances are if they are going to shell out that much for a camera they actually have some skills. Not so much. Worst night snap shots of me - EVER! Unacceptable. I seriously had no less than 16 tries (seriously - I counted the blurry, over exposed, side ways, dark shots of me that I deleted) to get some marginally decent photos in front of the night skyline. I was determined! I wanted that shot damn it!
Having gone through 1 through 3 above the strategy that finally worked?
4. Approach the adorable Asian girl who is loaded down with her Louis Vuitton bag, a Starbucks coffee, a cell phone, laughing at herself trying to take a self portait. Take two great shots of her. She returns the favor and - voila! I have two shots - slightly blurry, but at least my eyes are open, I am actually in the picture, and so are the buildings across the harbour. Great success!
And finally, I am curious about how my fabulous sturdy and practical, yet fashionable shoes completely failed me today and tore my heels to shreds. And also how, after changing to flip flops so that I could actually walk without wincing, I returned from the Ladies Market to find that my feet were even dirtier than after returning from Khan el Khalili in Cairo!!! I just recovered from one plague so I am just marginally paranoid about contracting another. Perhaps I should try to wrangle a standing order of Amoxycillin in every city I visit. Dr. Bonnie can you hurry up and get a job running the World Health Organization so you can hook a sister up?
Today I...sure am grateful for Roxy flip flops, but am needing to get over my obsessive-compulsive disorder about how completely unacceptable it is to have dirty feet.
Today I...contemplated trying Tentacles on a Stick...
...but then I wimped out.
Today I...had an amazing day in Hong Kong. Sort of a surreal day. It is always a bit strange to find yourself on the other side of the world when you live on a schedule that is at best loosely planned 2 to 4 months in advance but never firmly planned until within 2 weeks.
But I was asked to be in Singapore a couple of weeks earlier than the plan ("subject to change without notice" as always) and figured if I absolutely must go through Hong Kong to get there I should really get off the plane and check it out. Have I mentioned that I love my job?
So, in addition to the usual schtick - Harbour Promenade, Star Ferry, Victoria Peak, Symphony of Lights - I decided to go to Mongkok to the Ladies Market on Tung Choi Street. Now, I know that all sounds really exotic but in actuality it was a mere 3 subway stops away from the harbour. The Ladies Market is to Hong Kong what Khan el Khalili is to Cairo and Karama is to Dubai.
It is absolutely packed with thousands and thousands of people. It smells like a cross between incense, rancid tempura, a hypnotic blend of 402 knock off fragrances, and something...unidentifiable. The latter, I later discovered, is the oh so alluring aroma of "tentacles on a stick". Yum. What a tasty snack!
So, I suppose the tentacles on a stick (tentacle kabobs?) are to street meat in HK what the paper cones of pidgeon in a bucket are to street meat in Cairo. Deeeeee-lish!
And I have to say that, while I am really not a big fan of crowds, I love the energy and just full on crazy of these markets! However, the constant barrage of "Missy, missy - you want handbag / wallet / watchy?" was only slightly less aggressive than the Arabic version of "Lady, lady - handbag / wallet". But both were better than the in your face "Ma'am, Ma'am, MA'AM!!! HANDBAG!!!" of the hawkers in Karama in Dubai. How is it that anyone out there is actually buying the real thing? Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton...I could start a side business if it weren't for the fact that I am constantly riding the airline weight limits within 2.8 pounds!
I am sure that last paragraph doesn't read as well as it would play if you could actually hear the accents.
And, speaking of which, Erin you and I thought it was beyond hilarious listening to the locals in Houston order Starbucks??? I will work on perfecting "Grande-nonfat-no foam - extra hot - sugar free - vanilla latte" with an Asian accent. I nearly spewed coffee out my nose when the Barrista barked it back at the top of his lungs. It would have made sense to hear it in Mandarin. In English it just seemed so completely out of place. But somehow as much as it was funny I sort of hate Starbucks for taking over the world...and at the same time I love them passionately for being a familiar sight in a very unfamiliar place.
Today I...am reminded that I am the foreigner and I am ever so lucky that the one language I speak has so far been universal in my travels.
Today I...had an amazing day in Hong Kong. Sort of a surreal day. It is always a bit strange to find yourself on the other side of the world when you live on a schedule that is at best loosely planned 2 to 4 months in advance but never firmly planned until within 2 weeks.
But I was asked to be in Singapore a couple of weeks earlier than the plan ("subject to change without notice" as always) and figured if I absolutely must go through Hong Kong to get there I should really get off the plane and check it out. Have I mentioned that I love my job?
So, in addition to the usual schtick - Harbour Promenade, Star Ferry, Victoria Peak, Symphony of Lights - I decided to go to Mongkok to the Ladies Market on Tung Choi Street. Now, I know that all sounds really exotic but in actuality it was a mere 3 subway stops away from the harbour. The Ladies Market is to Hong Kong what Khan el Khalili is to Cairo and Karama is to Dubai.
It is absolutely packed with thousands and thousands of people. It smells like a cross between incense, rancid tempura, a hypnotic blend of 402 knock off fragrances, and something...unidentifiable. The latter, I later discovered, is the oh so alluring aroma of "tentacles on a stick". Yum. What a tasty snack!
So, I suppose the tentacles on a stick (tentacle kabobs?) are to street meat in HK what the paper cones of pidgeon in a bucket are to street meat in Cairo. Deeeeee-lish!
And I have to say that, while I am really not a big fan of crowds, I love the energy and just full on crazy of these markets! However, the constant barrage of "Missy, missy - you want handbag / wallet / watchy?" was only slightly less aggressive than the Arabic version of "Lady, lady - handbag / wallet". But both were better than the in your face "Ma'am, Ma'am, MA'AM!!! HANDBAG!!!" of the hawkers in Karama in Dubai. How is it that anyone out there is actually buying the real thing? Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton...I could start a side business if it weren't for the fact that I am constantly riding the airline weight limits within 2.8 pounds!
I am sure that last paragraph doesn't read as well as it would play if you could actually hear the accents.
And, speaking of which, Erin you and I thought it was beyond hilarious listening to the locals in Houston order Starbucks??? I will work on perfecting "Grande-nonfat-no foam - extra hot - sugar free - vanilla latte" with an Asian accent. I nearly spewed coffee out my nose when the Barrista barked it back at the top of his lungs. It would have made sense to hear it in Mandarin. In English it just seemed so completely out of place. But somehow as much as it was funny I sort of hate Starbucks for taking over the world...and at the same time I love them passionately for being a familiar sight in a very unfamiliar place.
Today I...am reminded that I am the foreigner and I am ever so lucky that the one language I speak has so far been universal in my travels.
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