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Tag Archives: winning

5 great years of Grand Prix racing in Singapore, and 5 more to come! Yay!

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Crystal in Events, Formula 1, Life, Photography, Travel, Work

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events, F1, felipe massa, ferrari, fireworks, Marina Bay Street Circuit, night race, photography, singapore, singapore grand prix, winning, work

I woke up on race day to the awesome news that Singapore’s renewed our contract to hold the F1 race till 2017! What a reason to celebrate!

When the race first came to Singapore, I attended as a big fan, and it was a huge moment for me. In the last few years, feel like I’ve grown beyond that to become almost an ambassador for the sport – welcoming members of the media to my home race, taking them closer to the teams and the action, showing them the technology that makes things work and also getting my friends to love the sport that I find so wonderful. And you will have to agree that the race has done amazing things for Singapore to put us on the world map. My city sparkles every time the race comes to town, and I know that while we whine about the road closures and traffic, its also a really proud moment for us to see our city look so beautiful under the lights.

Amazing aerial shots taken by my colleague @liruchan of our glowing circuit. She watched the race from the 1-Altitude, clearly one of the best places for a view to take your breath away.

I always say (with plenty of conviction, too!) that I think Singapore is the best race on the calendar. Other than the fact that it’s held in my city, it really is so different from the rest, and so easy for people to enjoy. Think about most other races held on the big, famous race tracks. No one but a true race fan would make the trip out and spend a whole weekend doing nothing but watch cars zoom up and down. And as far as street circuits go, ours really is in the heart of the city. There’s plenty to see and do outside of the races, and off-track entertainment is truly second to none. It isn’t exclusive the way Monaco is, so EVERYONE can really enjoy themselves thoroughly, without having to be rich and famous. And of course, there’s the whole romance of racing under the stars. Its such a winning combination. I know for a fact that all my friends from work would never have watched a race in their lives if ours hadn’t made motorsport as accessible and appealing to the masses. Now, we’ve got a few die-hard converts that will attend the race year after year.

We normally sit at the Bay Grandstand, which I feel gives the best value for money. There’s not many places in the circuit park that places the cars against such a stunning view of the city’s waterfront, with Marina Bay Sands, the Merlion, the Fullerton Hotel and the city skyline all in the backdrop.

I must give full credit to the race organizers and volunteers, who clearly pulled out all the stops for the fifth installment. They made it bigger and better than before with the live acts, had all bases covered in terms of people moving and security, amped up the post-race festivities and fireworks, and really put an amazing human touch to things. I was handed an ice-cold isotonic beverage as I walked towards the concert stage on the track! Cherry on the cake for a strong race overall by Ferrari. The guys did well to finish where they did considering where they were during the race, especially Felipe who really clawed his way back up from the tail end.

So much to look forward to for the next few years, and already I cannot wait. But meanwhile, let’s just celebrate an epic 5 years as the host of the world’s only night race. They were totally right about it – nothing else comes close.

Thank you Singapore, for another beautiful and unforgettable race! See you next year!

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My first PRISM!

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by Crystal in Events, Work

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client, team, winning, work

After almost three years in the job, I finally attended my first industry awards dinner tonight – as a nominee, and also a winner! Yeah!

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Edelman won the award for Outstanding Overall Corporate Reputation Campaign (International) for our work on HP’s Global Influencer Summit, something that our team really slogged long and hard for. And boy was it good to hear them call our name!

I’m not gonna lie. The job I do is a tough one. Public relations is probably one of the most challenging professions out there, but I guess I’m a sucker for punishment, huh? Sometimes (like this week), I wonder how I’ve managed to hold on this long. At least in an agency, its a given that things move so blindingly fast, project after project, that you almost never really have a chance to rest, let alone celebrate at the end of a long, often exhausting journey. For someone that just cannot help doing whatever it takes, its a nice feeling, knowing that you aren’t the only one to think that you deserve to be proud of what’s been achieved at the end of it all.

Maybe this is a sign. I’ve had an unbelievably tough week – and even though I’ve booked a weekend retreat with the Edelman ladies to Phuket, I’m still almost fearful that there will be just too much to do to let myself get on that plane. But my bags are all packed and I’m adamant on going. After tonight, now more than ever, this is a break and a celebration that we all truly deserve!

I WILL get on that flight! Phuket, here I come!

Party of the year at Mosaic Dance’s first anniversary!

12 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by Crystal in Dance, Events

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dance, events, parties, winning

If anything, only because it meant so much to me in so many ways. Who’d have thought that we’d celebrate with no less than 10 kickass items, a full house bursting at the seams with over 500 people, and so much dancing that we pretty much forgot to take photos, and ended up nearly unable to stand by 2am?

Its gonna be easy to turn this into a big up for the instructors and the team behind the event, but really, Wednesday night was all about our students, and I say this loud and proud! I for one know only too well how absolutely terrifying it is to get up on stage in front of a crowd. Ask any of the guys that have had the (mis)fortune of being my partner at some point or another. Even after 6 years as a performer in a professional team, I’m still supremely freaked out each time and need all the emotional support I can get when we’re waiting backstage and I can hear the crowd outside!

I know that in rehearsal, I’m a tough customer. But firsts are a huge deal for me, and Wednesday was most definitely a night of firsts for many. Judging from the smiling faces and the avalanche of photos after, I’m pretty sure that for most of them, their first performance with us will most definitely not be their last!

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Photos courtesy of Aaron Chew and Cai Dingyan, who both somehow found time to snap these awesome shots between performing and dancing all night

Ah yes – happy faces all around. I almost felt like I could retire for the night and leave the excitement of performing to our newcomers! In fact, that’s what most of us did – vacate the packed changing room and hit the dancefloor hard. If anything, the night showed that you don’t need huge international acts to make a great party. The only thing missing really, was well, photos of the performance from our team! We worked months just trying to get that ridiculously challenging and complex shines choreography down and I really want to see it in action. With all the photographers performing in it, my fear is that it went *gasp* undocumented.

But till those are out, if they even exist at all, here’s one we did earlier, a couple of weeks before the show, taken by my lovely partner Cai Dingyan, who joined us exactly one year ago – another reason to celebrate in itself!

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And with that, let’s toast to a great year, indulge in some much needed rest, and look forward to many more rockin’ shows to come!

Reasons to cheer

India Fiesta LatinaApril 12th, 2012
Game faces on, guys!

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