Cool On The Exterior, Warm Within
Live from Suntec!
Saturday, September 16, 2006 @ 11:57 AM
We are now right smack in the middle of the event. I've been with the TV crew, going in and out of Suntec, from the hotels to Raffles City and back. I have never seen so many international delegations and media in one place before; all the assortments of skin colours, like a box of multi-spectrum chocolates. We've lost track of time here and I was surprised when told that today's a weekend.
-_-"
Yesterday was a dark and gloomy day, because of the incessant rain. It was freezingly cold the entire day. Us folks look forward to the refreshments in the media centre provided twice a day, coz hard work makes people hungry. Heh. It's a long walk to get food and the nearest snack centre charges at US$ pricing. But the best part is, there are sales in the vicinity! And a lack of a shopping crowd to jostle with. Now, if only we had time to shop at leisure...
We had a media reception on thursday night at MOS, complete with snake charmers, fortune tellers and exotic dancers. Met my ex-boss there, coz its a SPH event and many others. The highlight of the night for me was the photo booth. My colleague and I were posing for a picture together on the red couches when we noticed this smiling ang moh couple watching us. So we smiled back and the man requested for a picture with us. Nothing wrong with that, just that it felt really weird. He sat in between us and placed his arms around our shoulders firmly. Like really gripping your shoulders, so we were kinda pressed against his side. We were aghast when we saw the pic, coz we looked like SPGs. Sigh. Later on, we found out that he was from Israel.
That wasn't the most terrifying incident of the day. I went to inform these two dark-skinned reporters (probably from Africa or somewhere close) on transport arrangements back to their hotels after the event. This was what was exchanged, after delivering the relevant information:
Tall, black guy: So what's your name?
Me: Lijin. It's a chinese name.
Tall, black guy: Nice name for a nice lady!
Me: .... *smiles awkwardly*
Me: (to keep the conversation going) So are you guys enjoying yourselves?
Tall, black guy: Yes, but we are lonely. *smirks*
Short, black guy: When can you bring us around?
Me: Actually, we have an information desk in the media centre that arranges tours for tourists. (Then I went on to elaborate on the tours available...)
Tall, black guy: But why would we need to approach the desk when you can bring us around?
Me: ... ....
Now I have a phobia of dark-skinned guys... and they are everywhere.
