What a Weekend!
Started off Sat with my maiden golf assignment at Seletar Country Club armed with the advice of my editor- 'When you get there and meet the GM, tell him you're a virgin when it comes to golf, and he will help you...'
Felt a little outta place initially, but the GM's hospitality was excellent! Got all the info I needed, plus he sent one of his assistants to show me around the club's facilities- even extended an open invitation for me to return for a round of golf anytime! Well, I'm more interested in getting a tour of the beautiful 18-hole course though.
Went back to office, then out to the Devils Bar to do an EPL Blackout story. Was standing by should there be no live coverage due to the saga between ESPN and StarHub.
Made friends with the owner Dennis Foo, and had a fantastic time in a Man U establishment for once (free F & B plus the delight of seeing Blackburn take the lead!). Yet another place which extended an open invitation for me to return for more free rounds of food & drink- man, I'm starting to enjoy the perks of the job!
Had to rush to ECP by 9am on Sun to cover the Singapore Triathlon, and it was a wonderful experience. The PR agency handling the event was a joy to work with- providing all the info b4 hand, efficient in arranging interviews, and offering yummy F & B too!
T-shirts for Christ! Lelong Lelong!
Check
these cool designs... mebbe we could print them and sell in Singapore to raise funds for mission trip? Anyone, any ideas?!
yeah baby!
so am I!
definitely!
His Grace for the Mission
Life at the Sports desk is full of surprises- some pleasant, others untimely & stressful!
Was expecting a quiet day at work last fri- when suddenly the bombshell was dropped- get local reactions ahead of Jiawei's semi-final... ASAP cos we were closing the pages at 11pm instead of 1am. Siao man... giving me such late notice?!
1. Needed a
photo of a family planning to watch the game on Sat- who??? Everyone seems shy or unavailable.
2. Needed
comments- that was the easier part, but still tricky.
Thank God they tasked the most senior reporter to help me out- how much help was he gonna provide? Colleagues told me not to count on his input, but little did they know that I knew his daughter from my London days, so she told her dad not to leave me to die, and that was the first battle won, glory hallelujah! It happened without a word from me - she just happened to chanced upon my name at home, asked if that was the 'alfoo' she knew, and told him to help me..
Second fight: getting the photo
Made abt 8 phone calls to source for a family to no avail. Then a burst of sudden inspiration hit me- why dun I get this bowler's family whom i'm gonna interview later that evening? that was divinely orchestrated cos I've been putting off that interview for the entire week. Not easy as well- had to persuade the picture desk into giving me a photographer with insufficient notice.
Final battle: Getting kopitiam comments
Wah lau eh... this has got to be the hardest. Went around Toa Payoh Lorong 1 trying to find a kopitiam towkay or assistant to say they were gonna show the match, and that they hope it'll attract the crowds and boost business etc.
Jia lat man... at first I thought the 'first buy drink, then ask' trick would work, but no one knew or wanted to say anything.
Went back to office, asked around for kopitiam namecards- finally got 2. Called one up and the owner said he had quit, tried another and got a rude assistant unwilling to divulge her boss's hp number who eventually hung up on me...
With my editor breathing down my neck for the article, I got really exasperated. Then I decided to call the rude person up again- this time going for the sweet-talk approach...
Dialogue in Mandarin
Me: Hello, I'm the guy from the Straits Times calling again... need your boss's hp number for this story we're doing.
Her: Cannot give lar, he's coming in an hr's time- u call back later.
Me: pls, I need it asap... *getting desperate*
Her: Cannot give...
Me: U give me his number- I guarantee tm his business will be good!
Her: *long pause*... okie lar... it's blah blah...
Me: *phew* *dun have to try the 'flattering' approach...*
Game, set & match!
Al-hambra- Simply enchanting!
Alhambra- isn't she chio?!
Early Newsroom Memoirs
Phew! First week with my big boss at work is over and I'm still alive and kicking- Praise God!
My boss has a very unorthodox way of teaching me, ahem, the finer points of journalism. Take the conversation below for example...
Me (looking a little sheepish): Errr boss, u still want me to chase this story abt blah blah blah...
Boss: Yeah, when u have stuff like that, u do it as soon as possible, u dun have to wait...
Boss: It's just like when u are chasing a gal. If u like her, u take her into bed first, then talk later...
Me: ...
Colleague overhearing conversation and trying to be funny: Hey boss, what u teaching Alvin ah?
Boss: Aiyah, this bugger studied in London, I'm sure he already knows all these...
Me: ...
Boss leaves the newsroom...
IDOL FEVER!!!
Given all the recent hype surrounding Singapore Idol, I figured it's abt time I released proof of my secret appearance at the finals of the original Pop Idol... too bad Simon didn't pick me lar... hehe 
Olympic dreams
Just witnessed Jiawei's 4-1 quarter-final demolition of China's no. 2 seed Wang Nan, and was thoroughly impressed by how she has come of age since Sydney 2000, where she failed to convert 4 match points against the same opponent. At times, she made the defending champion look like an amateur school gal...
Com'on gal! Another victory against the grunting North Korean (can't decide whether that person's a guy or gal) and a new chapter in our sports history will be written. Continue to pray hard and trust God!
Then u can retire with ur S$500,000 or S$1,000,000, marry Ronald Susilo, and live happily ever after in a posh condo.
Also, pls tell all the other athletes in Athens to spread the word back in their respective countries of the moolah they stand to earn by coming here, getting citizenship and gunning for the medal in Beijing 2008! It's crazy to think that we are offering the highest reward in the WORLD for an Olympic medal... now don't we deserve a medal for that accolade?
Haha, mebbe these will be the words I'll greet her with when she returns back home (pls come back at a godly hour... *fingers crossed*). That's after getting a photo with her...heh.
