I’ll always remember what Editor Kamei said at last year’s party, “If there’s one thing we do best, it’s that CLEO knows how to throw a party.” That can’t be more true – how else do you fill a club with 1300 screaming girls (and guys)? Today, I’ll be giving you a special peek into what went down into putting this event together.

With the CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors being one of our signature events, planning and rehearsing for the finals party started months ahead.

Rehearse, Rehearse and… rehearse!

This year, we put together a couple of performances, including an acoustic band performance, band performance and of course, the strip tease. We can’t be any more thankful to all the bachelors for taking time off their busy schedules for rehearsals every week leading up to the finals party. Here are some photos taken during their rehearsals…


If you enjoyed the band’s awesome performance that night, what you saw was the result of weeks and weeks of practice!


The acoustic band put up an amazing mash up consisting of songs from the Top 40s!


How do you get five boys to strip? By locking them up in a pink room of course! Here’s four of the striptease boys fooling around at Bobbi’s Pole Studio… Sigh, boys.

To prepare for the strip tease, the boys started working out day in and day out... So much so that one of them got so ripped, he ripped his shirt.

Proof:

For fear of my own safety, I won’t be revealing who this bachelor is… Heh.

With the weeks of planning and rehearsing, they were ready to bring the house down.

D-day

We started our day at Zouk as early as 9am on March 15.


An empty zouk... but not for long.

Soon, the boys started streaming in one by one to get their hair and make up done – all so they could look their best for you girls.


Willis and Derrick letting the makeup artists do their thing.


Wren says hi!

Before we knew it, it was time for the big show. While you were enjoying the fabulous performance put up by the boys, here’s are some never seen before photos of what went down backstage.


This is what happens when you put a big group of boys in a small enclosed area – they talk and talk and talk… and talk.


And then there’s one of the striptease boys Dickson who’s too busy doing some last minute pumping.

But, there’s always time for photos-taking!


All ready for you girls.


How could I miss out on a photo with them? ;)

It was a great night with all of you and we hope you had a blast!

The winners’ shoot

If you think this was over, not yet –next day, the winners had to wake up bright and early for their shoot. Here’s a peek at the winners!


Can’t get enough of the boys? Want more awesome photos of the boys on stage? Then you will have to grab a copy of the May issue of CLEO, out now on newsstands for our exclusive interview with the winners of the CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors 2013. See you next year!

The March issue is out and I’m getting really excited because it’s one of my favourite issue ever! Why? Because in this issue, we unveil the 50 hotties for The CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors. And what makes this year even more special and exciting is that it’s the 18^th anniversary of CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors.

Before I joined CLEO, I was always curious about the event. After all, where on earth do you even go about finding 50 hot, eligible and absolutely charming men? Well, this is my second year working on the event and I have to say that it wasn’t easy at all, but seeing the final spread was well worth all the hard work the team put in.

We started the hunt for these 50 eligible bachelors as early as in September 2012. In fact, this year, we called up and met a total of 243 guys before narrowing it to the final 50.

The final 50 are a great mix – if I may say so myself. Some of them are entrepreneurs, some are sportsmen, some are corporate yuppies and some are actors and models. But they all share one thing in common – they are fun peeps who would love to meet you! So if you are still undecided on who to cast your votes for, why not head down to Somerset313 this Saturday at 1pm and meet the boys in the flesh? Besides having a chance to get to know them better, you will also score tickets to the finals party on March 15. This year’s party is set to be bigger, better and hotter, and I hope you girls are as excited as I am. See you there!

It’s finally the long weekend! Rather than spending weekends doing the usual things (movies, dinners, gatherings etc), this weekend, I will be heading down to ION to catch the CapitaLand-National Geographic Channel “Building People” photography exhibition.

This competition sees photography enthusiasts from all over the world capture moments of interaction between people and CapitaLand properties in Singapore and abroad.

3rd prize winning entry and Best CapitaMall Photo

2nd Prize winning entry 

This year, there were more than 2000 entries from Asia Pacific countries! I can only imagine it must have been hard trying to decide on one winner among so many entries submitted.

But not to worry, Annie Griffiths, renowned National Geographic photographer, used her years of experience and expertise and picked Teo Kiat Choon from Singapore as the first prize winner. The talented photographer manage to capture a busy stream of people flowing in and out of Raffles City Singapore, except for a trishaw driver in the foreground. A perfect moment captured.

If you are excited to take a look at his winning shot, head down to ION Station, Basement 4 from August 17 to 21, 2012. Apart of the winning entries, there will also be more than 200 selected entries at the exhibition. Definitely an event not to be missed for photography enthusiast!

Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2012

Also, this coming September, the Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2012 will be taking place at Marina Bay Sands. So if you are wondering where you can surprise your boyfriend for a date – this is the perfect opportunity.

Apart from an exciting line-up of renown illustrators, toy designers and Japanese pop culture personalities, exclusive figurines and collectibles from The Dark Knight, Captain America: The First Avenger and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. will also be made available for sale. In fact, fans will also have the rare opportunity to meet the team of talented sculptors behind these masterpiece at the event! I'm actually pretty excited to meet Sculptor Kojun, whose works include the greatly sought-after DX Batman/ Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight Rises and Nick Fury and Thor from The Avengers. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can get an autograph! Even if you're not a fan, here’s your chance to score some brownie points with the boy so be sure to save the date!

Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2012 will take place from September 1 and 2 at Marina Bay Sands. For more information, log on to www.singaporetgcc.com.

 Have a good weekend, girls! 

Over the last few years, I realise I tend to look back upon the past more frequently than ever. I think it’s because I miss the days when life was carefree and I had more time to enjoy the simple things in life.

Recently, my dad randomly asked if I remember the first movie he brought me to. Of course I do! I remember I was so excited when he told me he was bringing me to the cinema to watch Casper the friendly ghost. To me, it was a big deal! It was my first time to the cinema and I thought it was amazing to be able to watch cartoon on such a big screen and over a packet of kacang puteh. These days, many of these old cinemas have been refurbished with modern facilities and the technology’s so advanced that we won’t settle for anything less that IMAX, 3D or Gold Class. But truth be told, even though all these facilities didn’t exist when I caught my first movie, I still went home feeling extremely satisfied and happy. Today, this remains as one of the fondest memories that I share with my dad.

Also, back at the neighbourhood where I used to stay, there were provision shops under the HDB blocks and every day, it was a treat to be able to buy a candy or a cold drink while my mother had random conversations with the aunty who owns the shop. Sometimes, the neighbours would also gather around the void deck during the evening after dinner. These days, there are lesser and lesser provision shops. We get our groceries from NTUC and modern convenient stores such as 7-eleven. Sure, it’s more comfortable shopping at these places but gone are the friendly and daily chatters we used to share with the store owners and neighbours.  

One of my favourite childhood activities was heading to the playground. Back then, playgrounds meant see-saw, swings and sand. I would bring my toy sand digger and make sand castles, sit on the swing for hours on end, play hide and seek with the neighbours until my mum had to drag me home. These days, playgrounds with sand are rare and few and I think kids prefer playing with their iPhones and computers these days than get dirty.

These memories mean a lot to me because it reminds me of why I call this place home. The sad thing is, much of my childhood have become merely memories. Most of the places I grew up at are either gone or refurbished beyond recognition. Sometimes, I fear that I will forget these warm moments in life as I grow older. Thankfully, while I was visiting the places for our Smart Report in the August issue, many of these happy memories came flooding back. Armed with nothing but a camera and a list of places to explore, it was a joy just reminiscing the good old days and learning more about the country I grew up in. So if you haven’t made plans for the weekend, why not take a walk down memory lane? We have put together a list of 47 places that are familiar but might-soon-to-be-gone (on page 121 of CLEO August issue). You will be surprise at how much fun you can have just thinking about the good old days.

We live in a day and age where we use emails and whatsapp more than we speak to people face to face. I am no exception – If I can avoid calling someone, I will. And I think the problem that arise when we do these long enough, we forget how to talk to people and in time, we lose the ability to get to know someone better and on a deeper level.

Recently, I was attending a friend’s birthday and I met this really cute looking guy. We started chatting but as the conversation went on, the silence got louder and things got more awkward as I realise that we have both ran out of things to say. This is pretty unlike me since my friends all know me as someone who’s able to make random talks with just about anyone on planet earth. And well, the thing about me is, I have very short attention span. So when the conversation was starting to run dry between Mr Cute Guy and me, I got really bored and was just trying to think of the fastest exit strategy. I kept thinking what went wrong with the conversation until I read Instant Connection on page 114 of the August issue of CLEO, I learnt that it’s not that we have nothing to say to each other but more of we simply didn’t know the right ways to go about breaking the ice and striking a conversation. For one, instead of just talking about ourselves, we could have taken more initiatives to ask questions about the other party. Now, I can’t wait to try the tips given with the next new friend I meet!

For people who know me, I don’t watch a lot of television (I hope my street cred didn’t just dropped a notch!). But don’t get me wrong. I love watching Gossip Girls and I do enjoy Keeping Up with the Kardashians but recently, I tend to take most of my entertainment to the internet or more specifically,Youtube, simply because I hate channel surfing just to find something I enjoy watching. And I have to admit that I spend an unhealthy amount of time just watching the channels of my favourite Youtube artistes.

Here’re some of my favourites videos:

J Rice – Fight (A song he composed - Really talented guy!)

Boyce Avenue – Yellow

Jayesslee – Price Tag

I think Youtube is great because it provides a platform for people like me who enjoys a wider range of entertainment – be it mainstream acts or indie talents. More importantly, it provides opportunities for a nobody to become a somebody, as long as they have what it takes! If you are wondering why I’m saying this, flip to 118 of the April issue of CLEO where we investigate the rise of Youtube celebrities and why it's great that anyone can become famous. Plus, we tell you who are the up and coming sensations to look out for in 2012.

And in case you haven’t heard, a Youtube concert is coming to Singapore! It will feature some of the biggest Youtube acts such as Jason Chen, Tiffany Alvord and Joseph Vincent who each have more than 200000 subscribers to their Youtube channels.

The concert takes place on May 5, 2012 at The Coliseum Resorts World Sentosa from 7pm to 10pm.

Tickets go to sale this Friday at www.sistic.com, so act fast!

I’m a great fan of live music. If I could, I would attend all the concerts by my favourite bands and artistes! There’s just something really different about a live concert compared to rocking to music in a club or to your mp3. I love singing along during a live concert and a great crowd usually makes it so much more fun and upbeat.

Recently, I caught wind of not one, but two brand new yet really cool band that will be holding a concert in town!

Six renown chefs in Singapore will be ditching their chef jackets and knives, and leaving the comfort of the kitchens, to take on the drums, guitars and microphones to perform rock numbers from U2, White Strips, Lenny Kravitz, Hoobastank, Green Day just to name a few! Seriously, this whole idea of chefs ditching their knives and rocking it out is just too cute and amusing!

The six chefs will form two bands. The Munchies, fronted by Christian Bruhns, Executive Chef of St Regis Singapore, will be joined by joined by Dan Seagall, Executive Chef of KU DE TA Singapore and Chef Pang Kok Keong, Chef and Owner of the Sugar Daddy Group.

Personally, I’m a fan of Chef Pang’s delightful pastries and I’m still really amused at the thought of him playing the drums instead of making drool worthy pastries in the kitchen!

The other band – call Burnt Sauce – is led by Sandro Falbo, the Executive Chef of Hilton Singapore. He will be joined by joined by Reynaldo Arriola, Sous Chef of The Halia Singapore and Christopher Smith, Executive Sous Chef of the Marriot Hotel Singapore.

If you are wondering what this is all about. Not to worry, these chefs aren’t doing a permanent job switch! It’s all for a good cause. The concert will raise funds for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, a charity organisation which supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of theatre, music and the arts. 

Most of the chefs were blessed to have discovered their passion in culinary at a young age. But there are many others who aren’t as fortunate. These chefs are lending their support to the event in hope to encourage and aid these children in following their interest in the arts.

Sounds really awesome right? I’m sure it’ll be! I’ll be there and I hope to see you too!

P.S: There's booze by the way.

A collaboration between FIJI Water, Thunder Rock School and Hard Rock Cafe, FIJI Water Rockstar Chefs Charity Concert 2012 will take place at Hard Rock Cafe, Resorts World Sentosa on March 14, 2012.

For more information, check out http://www.facebook.com/FIJIRockstarChefs

Tickets are priced at $40 nett each and include a bottle of beer. Full proceeds will be donated to The Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

Tickets are available for *purchase at the following locations:

Hard Rock Café Singapore, HPL House

50 Cuscaden Road, #02/03-01 HPL House, Singapore

Tel: (65) 6235 5232

Hard Rock Café Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa

26 Sentosa Gateway, #01-209/214, The Forum, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore

Tel: (65) 6795 7454

*For off-line credit card ticket purchases, please call (65) 6235 5232.

If like me, you’re a huge fan of Hong Kong movies, don't miss CLEO’s interview with heartthrob Daniel Wu on his upcoming romantic comedy Don’t go breaking my heart.

What’s your character like in “Don’t go breaking my heart”?

I play Kevin Fong, a failing architect who fell in love with Zixin (played by Guao Yuan Yuan), who was in love with Sean Cheung (played by Louis Koo). This story revolves around the love triangle.

You play a hopeless romantic in the movie. What are your beliefs about love in reality?

I’m a simple person and I tend not to spend time doing something fancy. That is why I complement my wife Lisa so well, because she does not need me to do fancy things. She knows that I concentrate a lot on my work so sometimes, I can’t take care of her that much. After I’m done with my work, I just need to give her a call. She has been very understanding so I am lucky to have her as my wife. I love her very much.

You have starred in many movies prior to this, what would you say is the biggest challenge in filming “Don’t go breaking my heart”?

The most challenging part of this movie is I have to imitate a frog’s voice to sing the song ‘I do” for Yuan Yuan. It was very tough. I took more than a dozen takes to finish the scene. Before shooting, I had to sing it out loud to the director many times to get used to it. I had to practice lowering down my voice and making it sound like a frog’s voice. Finally, I chose to have some off-pitch effect and that was the most difficult part for me. After the shooting of the scene, I lost my voice for two days.

How was it like working with Gao Yuan Yuan and Louis Khoo?

It’s my first time working with Yuan Yuan and I am very happy about it. She is a very hard working and serious actress. I have worked with Louis Khoo many times, but many of the movies in which we worked together were police-villain or action movies. We always had to compete with each other’s intelligence and physical ability. Don’t go breaking my heart is the first romance movie that we work together - we compete for love, so it is very fresh to me.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart premieres exclusively 22^nd January on Celestial Movies, Starhub Channel 868 and SingTel Mio TV Channel 52.

P.S: Want to win a 3D2N trip to Hong Kong?  
Don’ miss out on this contest online contest that’s taking place! It’s really simple – all you need to do is answer and provide a short elaboration for one out of the two questions displayed on the website.

Besides a 3D2N getaway to Hong Kong, you could also stand a chance to win other attractive prizes. All entries have to be submitted online by 14^th February 2012.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart regional online interactive contest will run from 4^th January to 14^th February 2012 via Celestial Movies’ Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/ilikecm) and http://www.ilikecm.com.

I have spent all of my Christmas in Singapore since young so I have always wanted to know how it feels like to have a beautiful white Christmas.

Unless you are one of those lucky ones that’s going to be travelling abroad this yuletide season, it’s almost impossible to see snow in Singapore. Like you, that’s what I thought too – but 313@somerset has made my dream come true by replicating a winter landscape in the form of a snow dome complete with real snow at minus three degrees!

Amy Lim, General Manager of Lend Lease Retail Ptd Ltd shares with us more about this unique feature.

How is the snow created?

We use cold water, which undergoes some refrigeration, before it is being processed out as ground ice.

How does one gain entry into the snow dome?

For every $200 spent in a single day at 313@somerset entitles the shopper to one free pass into the dome. $400 spent in a single day will gain two passes etc. Children under 12 years old can enter for free with an adult with a valid pass. Each shopper is limited to a maximum of five passes per day.

How long can one be in the dome?

Shopper may stay up to five minutes, depending on the queue situation.

What can one do in the dome?

Shoppers get to experience true winter and also to take some photos.

The Snow Dome will be available till December 24, 2011, so make your way down to 313@somerset soon! 

Celebs may always seem glamorous and happy but some of them haven’t always cruised through life smoothly. Here are some lessons to take away from these two celebs who found the courage to move on from their abusive past.

Work on what’s important to you

We all remember Chris Brown and Rihanna’s high profile relationship slightly more than two years ago. Everyone saw them as the golden couple – until Chris Brown decided to lay his hands on her.

It would be perfectly understandable if Rihanna continue hating this man forever but fast forward to two years later, she graciously said in an interview that she has forgiven the man. "I really like the music he's putting out. I'm a fan of his stuff. I've always been a fan,” Rihanna said.

“Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I've put that behind me." She went on to explain that hating was "taking up too much" of her time. Perhaps this explains why Rihanna’s career has been getting stronger and stronger!

Focus on something more meaningful

Growing up hasn’t always been easy for Christina Aguilera. She went through a difficult childhood witness a lot of pushing, fighting and quarrelling in her family. For a child, that could possibly be the worst feeling knowing that you aren’t even safe in a place you call home.

In an interview, she said, “Growing up I did not feel safe. Feeling powerless is the worst feeling in the world. I turned to singing as an outlet. The pain at home is where my love for music came from."

She has openly spoke of her abusive father on numerous occasions, and her experience even went on to become inspiration of her songs such as I’m OK and Oh mother. "It's therapeutic for me to talk about it. It gives me a reason to understand why I went through what I did."

More importantly, not only through music, Christina focused much of her career on philanthropy work such as human rights, domestic abuse and she is also an UN ambassador for the World Food Programme. I would that that by using her own unhappy experience as a reminder and channeling her energy into helping others has enable her to heal and move on easier from her sad past.

Most people say it’s easier to forgive and forget than to bear a grudge. I beg to differ – it takes a lot of conscious effort and a big heart to move on from someone who has done you wrong. But once you are able to do that, that’s when you know for sure that you’re the bigger person. So don’t let an unhappy past get you down, focus on the now. Think about what’s important to you and what's more meaningful in life and give yourself a shot at happiness.

Chinese New Year used to be simply an invitation to indulge in awesome food and collect as many red packets as possible. But when I turned 16, the occasion bears a totally different meaning. There was an added pressure with every trip to the relatives’ homes as they would drop comments such as “Oh, you have become skinnier, never eat ah?” and on some other years, it could be a “You seem to put on some weight!”

I knew there was no basis to what they were saying since my weight never really fluctuated that extremely. But somehow I took it for real and for a long while, nothing about my body seemed right. I was always either too skinny or too chubby.

This, coupled with the fact that some friends would constantly make fun of my height made me feel even more down. Some of them would pass remarks such as “That dress is too long for you!” They might not have thought much of it and might have seen it as a joke, but it hurt at that point in time as I was already struggling to come to terms with my image in the mirror.

Well, since young, I was always the “smallest” kid in class. I would be placed right in front of the teachers and I suppose no one really took notice of me since I used to be really quiet. I guess my low self-esteem made me shy away from as many things as possible. 

Thankfully, as I got older, I learnt that it’s tiring having to constantly live up to people’s expectations. So what if I’m not of a certain size or shape? Who set these standards anyway? And why should any of these stop me from living life to the fullest?

No one should be able to get you down except yourself.

Too fat, too short, too skinny, too tall – these so-called standards don’t define who you are as an individual. We are all special in our own rights and we should celebrate our differences. The world would be extremely boring if everyone were to be the same!

I no longer have an issue with how I look. I am happy because I am healthy and I don’t let silly thoughts stop me from doing anything I set out to achieve. More importantly, I know that all of my biggest achievements have nothing to do with how I look.

You see, when you are constantly depressed about your own body, you stop yourself from being the best that you can be. Obsessing over so-called flaws masks your ability to see the good and unique aspect in yourself. As a result, you stop believing that you can find success in whatever you want to do.

Starting from today, I hope you remember this: the sky’s the limit if you stop focusing on the negative and look on the bright side. So forget about being "perfect". Instead, be happy that there's no one like you.

“There’s nothing to do in Singapore!”

Well, I’m pretty sure this has been said over a million times whenever you try to plan a date with your boyfriend. It’s always the same “Shall we meet for lunch, catch a movie then maybe go for supper?” drill. During the honeymoon stage of your relationship, you probably don’t really care what you’re doing since both of you are busy getting lost in each other’s eyes.

But for couples who have been together since forever – and plan to be together forever – it’s always good to inject some variety and excitement into your relationship once in awhile.

So today, I’m going to share two activities for you to try with your man over the weekend! And don’t worry, they are not going to burst a huge hole in the pocket!

A blast from the past

It’s boring to head to the movies theatre every single week, I know. But if you have a chance to experience a drive-in movie, just like the kind of dates mum and dad use to go on, why not? In Singapore, www.moviemob.sg, organises free outdoor movies screenings. If you drive, all you have to do is grab some popcorns, find a parking lot and enjoy the movie under the moonlight. And even if you don’t have a car, just grab a picnic mat and a portable radio! Just imagine how romantic it would be to have your own little space, being able to bring any kinds of food you want, and basking under the moonlight over a good movie…

Or you could... cook up a storm!

Who cares if you can’t even fry a proper egg? You can still go for a cooking class together and have fun bonding over good food and wine. I have been dying to sign up for cooking classes ever since I heard how much fun it is. And the good thing about such classes is that there’re no planning required on your side, so it’s totally fuss free. All you have to do is pick a class that you’re keen in (be it cupcakes decoration, cake baking or even learning how to make fish and chips or Cajun chicken), register for it and turn up on the day itself.

Think about it, you get to pick up cooking skills, have fun and you don’t even have to clean up the kitchen after that! I’m thinking of signing up for the “Cooking with alcohol” class. Just looking at the menu is enough to make me drool! Check out the classes at www.cookyn-with-mervyn.com, they have different themes/classes every month so you can be sure to find something you both like. Prices start from about $45/pax.

If you need more ideas on what to do this month, why not flip to page 194 of the September issue of CLEO to check out the event calendar? I’m sure both you and your boyfriend will be able to find something up your alley.

You see, here’s the thing, a lot of couples tend to stop being creative and romantic after they have been together for a period of time. But I believe that one should never get too comfortable in a relationship – always make it a point to inject variety and fun. All it takes is a little effort to keep the flame alive. So do you know of any interesting activities to do on our island? Don’t forget to share with me!  

You have the same degree, the same qualifications, equally good work attitude, so why is he paid higher?

 (Image credits to: cartoonstock.com)

It’s a harsh reality but gender inequality is still very prevalent in the work force. One clear example would be the salary difference. Men have consistently been paid higher than women, regardless of qualifications. According to a report in 2010 on labour force in Singapore, on average men earn SGD $2,920 monthly while women earn on average SGD$2,500. (http://www.mom.gov.sg/statistics-publications/national-labour-market-information/publications/pages/report-labour-force-2010.aspx). Money aside, women are also constantly judged for their capabilities too.

I consider myself lucky – I work in an environment where it’s somewhat 90% female and 10% male so I have never felt this gender inequality. But most women aren’t as fortunate because some industries are known to be traditionally male-dominated. Take our story It’s (not) a man’s world (page 100) and the female prison wardens in Working behind bars (page 114) in the September issue for instance, the women we spoke to might be successful and established in their own career now, but they didn’t had it easy when they first started out.

One of them even shared of how her subordinates didn't respect her all all and “they would doubt (her) capabilities simply because (she's) a woman”. This really struck me hard because of how unfair and difficult it can be for some of us.

Well, here’s the thing, gender equality isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight just because we demand for it. And it isn’t something that we can achieve simply on our own. But what we can do is to actively close the gap by proving our worth and earning the respect of the men in the workplace.

So while I might not be working in a male-dominated industry right now, here’s what I have learnt back in university when I had to lead to group of men.

1. Be brave enough to make unpopular decisions

We have been said to be wishy-washy and unable to make up our minds – don’t let this happen in the workplace. The last thing you want is to doubt your own judgement and have them doubting your capabilities too.

So don’t be afraid to make decisions if you have assessed the situation and believe that it’s the best possible option available. Let the outcome speak for itself. A good leader is someone who dares to make the right decision even when everyone else lacks the foresight to.

2. Keep your emotions at bay

We have been told that we are emotional beings and men are objective-driven. This doesn't have to be true in the workplace. The stress might be getting to you or you might be feeling upset after a bad day at work, but never ever let your emotions get the better of you at the workplace. The last thing you want is to let the men in your workplace see you crying or crumbling under pressure – you lose credibility and you end up portraying yourself as a weak damsel in distress. Keep your emotions in check and leave all the tears and frustrations at home. Looking like you have it under control all the time makes it easy to gain the respect and trust of the boys.

On a separate note, a friend was asking me if she should be worried about getting together with a guy who’s earning lesser than her and is at a lower work position than her.  She’s been in a dilemma for quite a well because she was afraid that this would pose a problem should they get into a relationship.

Well, her concerns are valid but I don’t think she should deny herself of a potentially great relationship simply because she’s earning more. If a guy let his ego get in the way and can’t handle the fact that you’re more capable than him, he’s probably not so much of a catch either. Go for someone who celebrates your achievement and instead of being daunted, find someone who would see your success as a motivation to improve himself.

So, have you ever encountered unfair gender treatment at work? Share your experience with me by leaving a comment!

I woke up this morning with a text message from my best friend saying,

“Oh man, I hate my job. I’m doing the same old routine every single day and I don’t get any satisfaction from it. I can’t wait for the weekends.”

Well, I’m not sure how many of you out there feels the same, but I really feel for her.

Back in my university days, I used to take on part time jobs which I didn’t like just for the sake of extra pocket money. It was a chore having to pull myself out from bed every morning and counting down to the end of work.

But it was also from these experiences that I realise how important it is to be passionate about what you’re doing instead of just working for the sake of it. So one morning, I woke up and decided that if I was going to be working for the rest of my life, I want to make sure that it’s in a job I love. And that was when I decided that I wanted to intern with CLEO because I wanted to know if the magazine industry’s right for me.

It turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made so far.

I’ll admit it though – being an intern wasn’t the easiest and most glamorous job around. On some days, I would be running mundane errands the entire day, carrying bags of stuff from place to place or calling people up to get information.

But there were also days where I get to attend interesting events, go for food tastings and help out at photoshoots! However, what I really loved most about my interning days was how I got the chance to learn more about the magazine industry by observing what the CLEO girls had to do everyday and also taking the chance to hone my writing by taking in pointers from the writers themselves!

So of course I was elated when I was offered the position of Editorial Assistant when my internship ended! I took it up without hesitation and I never looked back.

Everyday at CLEO is different – I love the vibrant and dynamic working environment, I love the fun and crazy colleagues that I work with, I love meeting new people and working on interesting stories every month, not forgetting the numerous perks such as free invites to awesome events and all the latest beauty products!

Sure, there are times when I feel that I could never meet any deadlines and my list of to-do things is never ending, but at the end of the day, I know my passion can help me overcome any challenges ahead.

Life is too short to be wasted on doing things you don’t love. For me, I know I wouldn’t trade working in CLEO for anything else.

P.S: If you think you have what it takes to be an intern at CLEO, drop me an email at cleo@acpmagazines.com.sg with your resume now!

I hate to say this, but with the increasing number of foreigners coming to live and work in Singapore, sometimes it really seem easier to date an expat than a Singaporean. And seems like most people agree with me! Take a look at this survey conducted by the Association of Dating Agencies and Matchmakers (Singapore): As many as seven in ten Singaporeans are open to dating a foreigner. This figure is a 20% increase compared to last year, and I believe it’s largely due to the increase number of expats, too.

Unfortunately, I fall into the remaining three out of ten as I don’t think I will ever date an expat.

Simply because:

Reason #1: I will not be their priority

Think about it – expats gave up their family, friends, pets (if any) and in short, their life in an environment they are so familiar with to live in another country just so to build their career. Their priority would be to establish their career. This is why I suspect a serious relationship is hardly on the back of their mind. Sadly, this means that even if you were to be dating an expat, you would probably take a backseat when it comes to his job. That would probably translate to lesser time spent together. And, which girl wouldn’t want more time with their man? But of course, please do understand that I’m making a very general assumption.

Reason #2: There’s a lack of security

Similarly, they have left behind their life when they chose to work in another country. Here in Singapore, probably no one knew who they were before. It’s so easy to assume a whole new identity by leaving your past behind entirely. For me, I would not feel secure when I don’t know what his past was really like, the kind of place he lived in and how his friends are like. The sense of connection isn’t as strong as compared to dating a Singaporean man since I grew up in pretty much similar environment. Also, coupled with the fact that this isn’t his home and it’s probably only a transition phase for him. Would he be willing to stay here for good to build a relationship with you? This is probably a major issue that will surface at one point of your relationship. I’m not saying that he won’t, Matthew, one of the expat we interviewed, got a PR just to marry the girl of his dreams! As Matthew’s relationship with his wife demonstrates, the good thing about dating an expat would be the wealth of endless topic that you two would exchange, considering that he probably came from a country with a very different culture compared to Singapore. His story was one of the most heartwarming love story I know. (Flip to page 102 of the August issue of CLEO now to know about the great things he has to say about Singaporean women!)

Having said that, at the end of the day, I do believe strongly that being in a relationship has nothing to do with the race, age or the country he came from. It’s about how well you can connect with him and how much you enjoy his company. You know your man’s a keeper if you’re still very much in love with him even when you’ve already known him inside out. Dating an expat would definitely have its own unique sets of challenges, but so does every other relationship. But surely it can all be worked out if he’s really your Mr Right.