Friends from Overseas

When we stepped into the ballroom, the atmosphere was at fever pitch. And there was nothing. The event had not started but the clappers were being used with full force. There was a lot of whistling and cheering as our enthusiastic Indian workers went up on stage excitedly to take photos with the backdrop, something for them to share with their families when they went back.

It was the first time in six years that we had a Dinner and Dance and possibly the first time that all workers were invited to attend. There was so much riding on the success of this one, and it turned out to be a huge rallying call for everyone. Getting together and having a good time, the spirit of good cheer was overwhelming. For most of us, it's something we never had the chance to experience and for quite a lot of them, it must have bordered on the uncomfortable. We had a sizable crowd of PRCs, Bangladeshis, and to a smaller extent Malaysians and Filipinos but it was the Indian crowd that brought the house down with their catcalls and passion to dance. Reminded me of the Lady Gaga concert. That's the level of intensity that we had!

I loved that they really knew how to party (and thankfully nothing got out of hand). We had F1 Grid Girls and these "Desert Rose" dancers that whipped them into a frenzy. I was impressed by how well-behaved they were and laughed when a colleague told me that their supervisors had briefed them, saying that if they "anyhow touch the girls, straightaway go jail"! They were really into the music, whether it's singing or dancing, they cheered especially loud when Shakira's Waka Waka came on. There's a common denominator in there, somewhere.

My favourite part was when the Indian guys from one of our production departments took the stage during the talent competition, dancing Michael Jackson's Dangerous. Electrifying. The smoke machine went on overdrive and the lights guy gave them dizzying flashes of white light like they were in the Thriller video! Supporters rushed to the front of the stage, whipping out their camera phones to record the spectacle and the most exciting part for me, was that the performance was really good. They went on to win the competition, with prize being an $800 cash voucher and a huge-ass, ridiculously heavy trophy.

Organising the event made me aware of how insufficient my knowledge was of them, as well as the other foreign workers that make up our company. I was also struck by how much more that I could done to reach out to them in my daily work.

No doubt there's a language barrier and for me, that's always one of the most painful challenges in communication. I'm only fluent in English. When a Chinese dude comes to the HR counter and asks for help regarding his work permit/employment pass/something something, I at such a loss that I become the one who requires help! But there was a moment last night when my colleague, amid mayhem, told me that the Indians were really good at wolf-whistling. I spotted this guy standing behind me whose whistle reverberated around the huge hall and I looked at him, a little bit in awe, while saying and gesturing to my colleague over the noise that I couldn't do that, ever. The guy smiled at me, before firing off another whistle that joined the happy cheers of the rest of them.

That NDP Spirit

So we thought to start small. We've done telematches for kids. That was fun. This time round we're trying to celebrate National Day with SPD and we came up with a simple programme - singing National Day songs. When the volunteers arrived we got off to a slow start as there weren't many people. More came and we built on their momentum. My intern joined in as well! 

There were a few good singers in the group and slowly, everyone started to find their groove. I realised that it wasn't easy for people who weren't used to singing, to sing. 

Count On Me Singapore, Stand Up for Singapore, One People One Nation One Singapore and Home. So much nostalgia and so much magic to revisit these songs. I had fun singing but more importantly, it was great to see my colleagues come together, peek out of their comfort zone, and create a special atmosphere with their voices. Amazing, amazing stuff. 

The part that was of most value to me was seeing my colleagues have a laugh at each other, breaking the ice... Having fun. 

I've always thought that internal communications meant that - building a company culture, contributing to a "family", getting to know each other, getting closer to one another. I hope that comes through in my work and all I do. 

I'm looking forward to bringing our performance to SPD and possibly, brewing a bit of magic with our company spirit and the National Day celebrations.

First Anniversary

It's quite a milestone, the first year in the workforce. As with most things, I went with my gut. I didn't get a lot of offers and when I got this, I accepted it readily. I didn't know that quite a few people interviewed for my position. I just thought that ti'd be fun to do communications in a steel manufacturing company.

No, but seriously. How cool is that! 

One year on I'm pleasantly surprised that despite the travel to work, which I despise, I'm quite happy working here. I can see myself staying on for awhile. I have my fingers in quite a few pies (very me). I've nice colleagues. I've had good opportunities. I learn something new all the time, interact with new people all the time. It's good fun.

That's what I think work is, I guess. I hope I'll be inspired, that I'd enjoy doing it. Every problem is just something that needs to be dealt with and not an obstacle. The tougher the job, the greater the satisfaction. I think I'm still getting the hang of that. Despite being grateful I still complain a bit at times! Need to tone that down. But so far so good.

Many good years ahead. 

Speaking for 300

I'm not a natural at public speaking.

In fact I was this awkward kid, who loved people, but was scared to talk to them.

Fast forward a couple of years, when I got to Sembawang Secondary School,  and I got the chance to be the emcee for our school's official opening. It was a grand event, one attended by our current President, Dr Tony Tan. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise as our guest-of-honour, Dr Tony Tan...," I said in my best speaking-to -important-people's voice. My English teacher was the one who picked me and she'd give me lessons on how to speak. We went into the art and science of it - pauses and intonation - speaking with feeling, with meaning and getting people's attention.

I loved it.

I was still awkward of course. I get nervous in front of a crowd. My voice was trained and if you heard me, you'd never think I was nervous, but one look at my body language you could see I was uncomfortable. Slowly, in Junior College, I sort of grew up, and started to grasp who I was and what I stood for. I became a bit more sure of myself.

Fast forward to last Thursday, when there was a town-hall meeting with the management. It was more of a gathering, with close to 300 employees in attendance and we kicked off the programme with a presentation I prepared. Needless to say it was not very well-rehearsed as I was responsible for other parts of the event. I was busy as hell. Other than scribbling a few words here and there... I really could have done more!

But you know, when the time comes, you've just got to do it! I knew some key ingredients - I had to be myself, have a personality. It's okay to be nervous, I was even comfortable enough to express it. (There was a point where I garbled "memorable" and then corrected myself before asking everyone to excuse me because I was ridiculously nervous.)It's a way of getting the audience to relate. Of course, I used my best voice, the only thing I was most confident of. I interacted with a few key people, taking them by surprise, for which I publicly apologised but it made it more entertaining and engaging. I got a few awkward moments as well (something I've never completely shaken off). For that I'm glad I have a bad memory cos I don't cringe that much when I think back at the entire experience.  The segment was the company's proudest moments and there was rather generous applause most of the time. I'm glad that the audience got it. I'm glad I had a chance to do it because the only way to get better at speaking is by doing it often.

During refreshments I went around and spoke to some familiar faces and I was really touched by their kind words. Needless to say I enjoy hearing good things about myself, but having people from interns to managers expressing similar sentiments about how they enjoyed the presentation really made everything worth it! There were warm smiles and warm handshakes all around. For me it's a huge highlight, a milestone at work and something I'd love to continue doing.

I was only half-joking when I told a colleague that this was a great way to prepare for my next job as a DJ. ;)

Gimme Something Good

NTU called me today, asking me to take part in the survey. They wanted to know if I was employed, how much I was paid, how long I took to find a job and whether my education prepared me for my job.

As I answered the questions one-by-one, I smiled. It gave me to evaluate my life as a student and my life up till this point in time. Is the nature of my work related to my degree programme? Yes. The extent your degree programme helps you to obtain your present job. A very large extent. Looking back, would you have preferred a different course of study at NTU? No. Please rate your overall experience as an undegrad in NTU. 4/5.

One chance to take one course in Uni and I chose the one that I've wanted to do all my life. Sure, it's soft-skills, mostly. But that's exactly how the survey evaluated education: the extent that NTU prepared me for written communication, oral communication, presentation skills (are you kidding me I'm in communications). Then there's ability to learn, interpersonal skills, personal effectiveness, working in groups. Of course!

Did my education get me the job I want? Definitely. I was at Fernvale Gardens School this afternoon. It's a school for the intellectually disabled kids and the work they do is really inspiring. And it's part of my job to come up with activities for the volunteering sessions, making sure that it's enjoyable and fruitful for the volunteers as it is for the kids. I feel grateful to be in a position where I can make a difference. It makes me happy.

And I guess this is why my job makes me happy. I get the chance to grow at my own pace. I get to do something I like - communications. I get to go home on time! I get a lot of job satisfaction, especially since in a two-person team, I can see my every effort amplified.

It's luck that the cards fell into place. With my limited experience in life, I've played my cards right. That, and an open heart, an open mind. A bit of quiet confidence and a bit of determination.

And a whole lot of optimism.

Taking Photogaphy

So I bought a Canon EOS 600D yesterday. It wasn't for myself, but it was for the company. Which reminds me that claiming my money will be a long-drawn process.

I was excited to purchase my first DSLR! Granted, I have limited knowledge and I didn't really know what to look out for. But the feeling of splashing over a thousand dollars on something other than my laptop was incredible!

I've always had a slight interest in photography and it's nice to have a chance to actually develop it in my course of work. My friends exclaimed on facebook and asked why the camera was on company money and I replied, "As NatSteel has decided to invest in my talents as e official photographer... So that I can be a more valuable asset to the company." This is, in a way true! I'm grateful to be given the opportunity to expand my job scope and to learn a new skill.

I've had the chance to fiddle around with my bosses DSLR and had to photograph several activities. I realise that good photography is equal parts luck and equal parts skill, for me as a beginner anyway! Maybe someone with better skill could compensate when lacking in luck! I could get the sharpest image, best lighting - but if the subjects are frowning, the picture becomes crap. Other reasons for all these action / event shots to become crap - someone swinging his arm into the frame unknowingly; people moving too fast; people whose faces look strange in mid-speech. The list goes on.

I've taken 260 photos for today's CSR at the National Museum of Singapore. I know I will only have the resources ((Intranet, Bulletin, E-mail) to showcase 40 of them and I've to pick the best, which would speak more of my skill, than having quantity over quality.

Maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously! It's fun, but at the same time, it's my job.

Mixing business with pleasure.

Voice of a DJ

So I was emceeing yesterday and I was freaking nervous. I didn't know my material that well and it was the first time that I did such a ceremony. I think I've lost a bit of emceeing groove. The last time I did it was last year... for a wedding.

I'll be doing it again this Sunday... for a wedding.

Anyway I took quite a bit of time to warm up. I know that obviously I a was shaking like a leaf on stage. But I was at least more confident of how I sounded. At the end of the entire thing some of the bosses and the CEO came up and told me that I had a nice voice. I'm quite happy... maybe I'll even do some emceeing for fun in the near future!

After this stint I'm going to try to be a DJ.

Working on Work

I read yesterday that you're never as good or as bad as you think you are in your work. It's always a sine curve of ups and downs and you're usually somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately we don't always think like that and sometimes we're more emotional than we'd like to be.

I know I'm more emotional than I need to be.

So I've acted like quite the bimbo today. And then I also made a mistake that I wanted to slap myself for. Sure, it was tentative and not confirmed, but I should've prepared for it. But I didn't. So I can't wait to go to work tomorrow. So I can make it good.

It's easy to get frustrated but I think focus is the key. I just need to focus on the solution, on coming up with solutions, suggesting the solution, executing the solution. I used to find excuses or push the blame. But when it comes to work, if it doesn't work, you're supposed to make it work! Regardless! So no matter if the factors are internal or external, I've got to take it in my stride. I don't think any boss appreciates being told of the difficulties and problems and not having any solutions.

Thankfully nobody's pointing fingers yet. The easiest way to make a problem go away, is to solve it.

Fernvale Gardens School

Last Friday I was at Fernvale Gardens School for the intellectually disabled, doing CSR. It was organised by the teacher-in-charge, myself and two of my colleagues.

I used to think that CSR was more lip-service but I couldn't have been more wrong.

We spent about 2 weeks before preparing the games and getting prizes. When we went down and were given the chance to interact with the kids... it was amazing and it made everything worth it. Most importantly they had fun and really enjoyed themselves, which was something I didn't expect. My experience with kids in general is that they can be difficult, regardless, and very particular about what they like and what they don't.

I guess they had fun because the volunteers went out of their way to engage them. I thought that maybe for some it'd be their first time, and like me, maybe they'd be a bit apprehensive. But they were amazing - every bit as nurturing, helpful and fun-loving or more, than I expected them to be.

I enjoyed a great afternoon with them, my colleagues and the kids.

I realised what I wanted to see in myself and what makes me happy.

Work-Life Balance

The cycle seems kind of endless. I start the day early. I hate waking up. I hate the travelling. The work's good, surprisingly! Many things in life are about choice and this is one of those things that it'd be wise to choose wisely. The last few hours pass quicker than I imagine and before I know it, I'm out of the office. Time is spent travelling. Most of the time I meet up with awesome friends. Other times I'm teaching tuition. Very rarely, I go straight home. In fact this has possibly only happened twice!

I think I'm in need of a lot of sleep. When I finally get back home I don't even feel like doing anything. Granted, maybe I've to chill a little on my social life. But I can't even find time to do much household chores, save ironing my clothes! I wish there were more hours in a day.

This Thursday marks 1 month of starting work. I hope to get into the groove of things and not only do well in my career, but outside of that as well!