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Bust a Move |
Work your way around the club’s velvet ropes |
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I have to work this weekend
2010.08.25
18:56:48 |
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Not many people relish the idea of working on weekends, and I'm definitely one of them. I love having time alone to myself on the weekends. Not only do I get my much-needed sleep and rest, I also get time to run my errands and do some "administrative work" in my room (my wardrobe perpetually looks like a bomb blew up in there).
However, even though I'm scheduled to work this weekend and the next, I'm quite happy about it. What's up this weekend? We're having the CLEO Star roadshows at Bugis Junction!
I remember when we had it last year, and it was the first year that we changed the format - we wanted someone with more than a pretty face. I was pretty sure that no one would come in.
"Come on lah, Singapore girls are so hiao, I'm sure they won't come, especially now that they have to do more than just look pretty" I lamented to our Art Director Lin Kuan.
Boy, was I proven wrong.
We saw so many girls coming for the auditions, and I was pleasantly surprised by the talent that was out there. There was creativity, spontaneity, the ability to improvise - basically, the X-factor. I saw girls who had no hint of stage fright, singers with lungs that could rival any Singapore Idol contestant, girls who could present themselves without a single stutter, girls who could give a speech on the merits of makeup without being afraid being termed "bimbo".
These are the girls who represent what CLEO really is - a girl who's more than a pretty face. A girl who knows who she is, and what she wants, and isn't afraid to put in hard work to get it. A girl who excudes confidence without being arrogant, and a girl who is spontaneous enough to try everything once in her life, so that she can have tales for her grandchildren in future.
After that, I realised that Singapore girls do have talent - are you one of them? If yes, I'll see you this Saturday! Come by to say hi and chat with me :)
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My new love
2010.08.12
22:28:05 |
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Last weekend, I brought two Koreans and a Japanese to Butter Factory. They're all hip hop dancers, and they're in town this week to teach dance workshops.
"What do you want to drink?" I yelled over the pounding music.
"Anything! We usually drink soju and sake. What do you usually drink? We'll try it!" responds my Korean pals.
As I leaned over the counter to holler my order, I paused.
Over the years, I've fallen in love and broken up with many drinks.
I started out as the noob who asked the servers for the drinks menu when I was 18. I've had flings with the mocktails such as Pussyfoot and Snowball, and I've also had one-night-stands with the killer drinks such as the Flaming Lamborghini and Graveyard (which I've sworn never to take ever again).
When I was 20 and partying my life away at Attica and Liquid Room, I found a drink that I could date for two years - the Jagerbomb. At my alcohot tolerance peak, I could down more than 10 Jagerbombs. This drink was good - it could give me my alcohol and sugar rush and was relatively cheap (at that time when it wasn't in fashion yet).The downside of it was that because of the Redbull, I'd be hopping like the Duracell bunny upt ill 5am. Even when I reached home, I was still hopping for the rush, and could even wash my clothes by hand and hang them out to dry. After I read about how bad Redbull is for health, I broke up with Jagerbombs and Redbull immediately.
Then, I was lost. What could I drink now that I had lost my constant companion of two years? I then moved on to other drinks, hoping I'd fall in love with them, but to no avail.
The Screwdriver was the safe boy-next-door - after a while, it just gets boring, and you crave something more exciting.
The Cocksucking Cowboy was like the young boy - saccharine sweet, but doesn't quite satisfy you.
The Long Island Tea was like the bad boy - you keep wanting more, but when the kick comes, it goes straight to your head and leaves you with the worst headache the next day,
For a while, Martell Green Tea served its purpose - until the day I drank it on an empty stomach and ended up being a perpetual toilet bowl-hugger for hours.
These days, my taste of drinks seem to have gone the same way as my fashion, entertainment and men taste - to Korea.
Say hello to the Sojubomb. Simply drop a shot of soju into a glass of beer (it has to be a 30 - 70 proportion), and you've got the smoothest-tasting glass of beer. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find soju in Singapore, and even if you did, it'll be at a marked-up price. Thankfully, I've got plenty of globetrotter friends who don't mind lugging soju back from their travels, so I've got a ready store of soju in my house. It even comes in a handy (and dare I say it, ergonomically-shaped bottle) that fits into my handbag, so I can bring it out for house parties and drinking sessions. Much love for Korea - Saranghae!
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I'm a geek and I'm proud of it
2010.08.05
01:15:41 |
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One really bad habit I have is that I'm always spending money on frivolous gadgets. I admit I'm one who's always blown away by aesthetics - my brother is just convinced that women are attracted to flashy items.
When I buy a mouse, it can't be any mouse - it has to have something different like 7 alternating LED lights or be filled with fluids and floating fishes. It doesn't matter that I already have 3 mice at home that are still in their boxes. I see, I buy.
When I buy speakers, never mind that it comes with an amplifier and gives me movie theatre sound effects - it has to look good. I'm totally in love with these Hello Kitty speakers!
I can't say no to these!
It doesn't matter that I've got more than 20 thumbdrives (yes, I'm not kidding). If i go out and I see a thumdrive that's pretty / has flashing lights / looks ridiculously cute, I'm sold. I spent more than SGD$30 on an 8GB thumbdrive in Korea. I obsessively carry around my thumbdrives "in case I need it".
just some thumbdrives that live in my handbag
I've even been tempted by a $900 39-inch television at Harvey Norman.
Today, I attended a press event. When I first got the event, I stifled a yawn. "An event about fans and vacuum cleaners? Really?" When I went there, I was surprised. The fans were so stylish that I immediately had a vision of it sitting prettily in the corner of my room.
No more accumulation of dust in the blades - just a snazzy stylish bladeless fan there. Someone stop me from blowing $399 on this Dyson table fan!
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You are what you drink
2010.07.20
19:57:18 |
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I met my secondary schoolmates over the weekend for dinner. During the course of dinner, we tried to decide what we should do after dinner.
"What about drinks?"
"Huh? But drinks are fattening... so many calories!"
"I don't want to drink, cos I have to wake up early tomorrow!"
Such is the stark contrast between our responses in 2000 and now. Back then, we'd be debating over which club to go to.
"I wanna go to Zouk!"
"Aiyer, but Zouk's drinks are not cheap. I'm on a budget leh. I don't get much pocket money from my dad."
"But Zouk has one-for-one!"
"What about Double O? The drinks are so cheap!"
Speaking of drinks, during one of my many clubbing sessions, I remember one of my friends getting so inebriated till she had to go outside Zouk to take a breather. It was then that she took it upon herself to reenact her favourite charactor - the Monkey King. She climbed the short wall just outside Zouk, hugged the tree and proceeded to try to clamber up the trunk. It took four of us to pull her down and convince her that the Zouk bouncers would permanently ban us if she wouldn't give up.
On another occasion, yet another girlfriend had had one too many drinks. It was free flow at Double O on a ladies' night, and she had just downed about 10 shots (maybe more?). As she was slumped over the edge of the sofa, I did the obligatory girlfriend thing by patting her back and asking if she was alright. She suddenly lurched towards me, and did a merlion on my jeans. What's a girlfriend to do, except to hold her hair back and continue patting her back?
On yet another memorable drinking session during my university days in Australia, my guy friends decided to be really adventurous and try absinthe during a house party. As I swirled the contents of the shot glass, I was pretty sure the alcohol was evaporating as I did so. I think it was 85 or 90 percent alcohol content. Of course, I refused to try it. Within an hour, my guy friends were doing the waltz with each other . After that, they proceeded to do a WWF Royal Rumble (aka human pile up) on the king-sized bed, which turned out to be two super-single beds pushed together. Behold, the great divide, the parting of the two beds, and the tumbling of all the boys.
I've also had my fair share of alcohol-induced madness. Just earlier this year, I foolishly downed a flaming lamborghini on a Friday night and suffered from alcohol amnesia. I remember Serene coming up to me on Monday saying "Hey Cheryl, thanks for signing us into Velvet on Friday!"
"Huh?? Did I even step into Velvet?!"
"Yeah you did! And you wouldn't stop cursing the dude who bought you the flaming!"
Man. I'm so glad I have an auto-pilot mode for times when I'm intoxicated. It can be a good thing, cos I can always make my way home in one piece. On the other hand, it can work against me. Kamei has commented that she's never seen me look drunk, and I'm always fully functional. This always results in people piling me with more drinks. Gah.
I have a love-hate relationship with alcoholic drinks. On one hand, it really takes the edge off a really stressful week / month. On the other hand, it really loosens all your inhibitions and gives you the license to behave somewhat badly. I'm just glad that I've learnt when to stop, and what not to take. What about you? What are some of your crazy drinking memories?
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The First Time
2010.07.07
21:06:40 |
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As I was on the bus going home last night, I saw a whole bunch of people alighting at the bus stop outside Zouk, and it got me thinking about the time when I actually made the effort to take public transport to club. (These days, it's either the cab-way or no way). It also reminded me of the very first time I went clubbing.
Back then, a bunch of girlfriends and I decided that we should head to Zouk for our virgin clubbing experience. It was a colossal plan (of sorts). We planned it for Dec 15 (cos Jolyn was the last one to turn 18, and that was on Dec 14). Another girlfriend, Josephine, had a free 2D1N stay at Grand Copthorne Waterfront, so we decided to make it a girls' slumber party / crazy night out.
We checked in at 2pm with our bags filled with makeup stolen from our mothers / sisters, heels borrowed from our friends and clothes newly-purchased for this momentous event.
Back then, streetdirectory.com or gothere.sg weren't created yet, and we weren't the most street-savvy, so we decided to try to find out where Zouk was, before actually heading down. (you know, do a site recce. we felt so proud of ourselves).
At 6pm, we gathered at the hotel lobby and crowded around the concierge.
"Excuse me, can you tell us how to get to Zouk from here? Which bus should we take?"
"No need to take bus, ma'am. You can walk there," said the concierge with a polite smile.
"Oh, how should we walk there? How far is it?"
"Just go out, turn right, and walk down the road ma'am," continued the concierge, with a slightly forced polite smile.
"Huh? But how far do we have to walk? Are there any landmarks? Do you have a map?"
"Don't worry ma'am, you won't miss it," concluded the concierge. I think he was trying really hard to conceal his smirk.
So we walked out of the lobby, turned right, and voila. There. was. Zouk.
Boy, did we feel silly. Our site recce lasted a grand total of one minute.
But I must say that it was a memorable night, and over my next few blog entries, I'll continue to relive it, cos it'll be too much injustice if I were to condense it in one writeup.
How about you? What are some things that you remember from your first time clubbing?
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The Card
2010.06.25
00:05:38 |
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During my recent vacation in Seoul, I visited the clubbing stretch in Hongdae. My Korean friend very kindly offered to drive me there and told me that the best time to reach would be at 1am. When we finally found a parking spot, and got out of the car, I was amazed at the number of people queueing to get into the clubs, despite the unusually cold Spring temperature of 10 degrees Celsius.
"Don't you guys have something like a VIP queue or a members-only queue?" I asked, chattering slightly.
Perhaps it was the cold (he was only wearing a tee and jeans), or maybe he'd never heard of such a concept, or maybe it was because he was schooled in the US, but all I got in return was a blank stare.
He hustled me towards the end of the long snaking queue, and in the time it took for us to get into the club, I explained to him the concept of the membership card in Singapore. "So this card is like an all-access pass? You don't even have to pay to get into the club? For yourself and your friends?" He was amazed.
For someone who goes to the clubs as often as I do, the membership card is a massive moolah saver. Just imagine, in a month, if i have to pay for entry every time I enter the club, it'll be $25 x 8 = $200. Add on the money spent on drinks, supper and the cab rides, and it'll snowball into a whopping amount.
I'm always stumped whenever I'm asked, "How did you get that membership? Help me get leh..." It's not that I don't want to answer. I just can't, cos there's no specific method to go about this.
Of course, for certain clubs, sure, you can simply fork out a lump sum to get that membership. Easy peasy. The tougher cookies are those that only offer membership cards. There's no hard and fast rule to getting a membership card at these places. Heard of the phrase "Seen and be seen?" It really helps if you are a regular at the nightspot. Let's face facts - why would they offer you a membership card if you only turn up once in 6 months? It is a business after all, and the more often you patronise the place, the higher your tendency to spend money, and therefore contribute to the club's revenue.
Another way to getting that exclusive membership is getting to know the people who work there. When i say "getting to know", it doesn't mean just a hi-bye everytime you see the bouncer. These staff have seen a lot in their line of work, and they can always tell if someone is being friendly just to worm their way into a membership. To me, if you're going to get to know a person, put in some effort. Get to know the person like he/she's your real friend. This person isn't just your way to that piece of plastic - he/she's an actual human being who works in a crazy environment and has to deal with all sorts of people who are usually inebriated or rowdy.
Even if you may not get that membership card in the end, you'll definitely end up with a new friend, and you could just get into the club for free without that card. Now who says you can't leave home without the Card?
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Surviving that big night out
2010.06.17
02:02:59 |
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Hey girls! It’s finally Friday, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got a whole bunch of activities already planned. (Hey, a real CLEO girl works hard and plays hard)
My weekend officially starts tonight, cos I’m going to head over to Zouk to attend a media event,. After that, I’m heading to Overeasy to stuff my face on my favourite all-day breakfast eggs skillet, and then head upstairs to Butter Factory to catch up with some girlfriends. I might even head backto Zouk after that to meet my university friends. Tomorrow night, I’m planning to attend another house party, and I’ve also got to meet a girlfriend who’s flown in from the UK. That’s just a typical weekend for me.
Whenever I stroll in on Monday and recount my weekend, the rest of the CLEO girls are always perplexed as to how I always manage to fit so many things into my weekend. Even Kamei, my party wingman (or woman), will make a face and say “I really don’t know how you do it, Cheryl!”
As Debs will always say (especially when she’s chasing us for overdue articles), it’s all about prioritising. It’s about knowing what, when and how to do something.
Here are some of my personal party tips:
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If your friends are always chronically late like mine, head home to rest first. Simply lying on the bed and closing my eyes for 30 minutes helps recharge my batteries for the long night ahead.
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Always take a bath or shower, cos it refreshes you and washes away the day’s grime and sweat. This also gives you an excuse to re-do your makeup. Trust me, once you’ve applied the makeup, it will be an incentive to head out of the house.
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Blast some awesome dance music or club remixes when you’re dressing up, cos it really gets you in the mood to do some booty shakin’.
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When you’re heading to the club, get a girlfriend to pick you up from your house or vice versa. This way, you can’t bail cos then you’ll feel bad about ditching your friend.
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Have a good meal, but don’t eat till you’re too full. This way, you can pad your stomach from the effects of the alcohol, and you'll also be spared from food coma.
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Take it easy with the drinks. Downing shots or martinis isn’t going to get your energy level up that fast, but it will fill up your bladder pretty quickly. And we all know that once you’ve had your First Pee, you’ll be hitting the ladies pretty often.
Of course, the usual clubbing mantras - wearing comfy shoes and having good company - also apply. However, some of my girlfriends can last till 7am! I haven't quite attained that standard yet, so I usually bail on them by 3 to 4am.
If you've got some secret tips to how I can last the night (and stop my friends from boo-ing me when I leave), let me know?
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