Friends from Overseas

When we stepped into the ballroom, the atmosphere was at fever pitch. And there was nothing. The event had not started but the clappers were being used with full force. There was a lot of whistling and cheering as our enthusiastic Indian workers went up on stage excitedly to take photos with the backdrop, something for them to share with their families when they went back.

It was the first time in six years that we had a Dinner and Dance and possibly the first time that all workers were invited to attend. There was so much riding on the success of this one, and it turned out to be a huge rallying call for everyone. Getting together and having a good time, the spirit of good cheer was overwhelming. For most of us, it's something we never had the chance to experience and for quite a lot of them, it must have bordered on the uncomfortable. We had a sizable crowd of PRCs, Bangladeshis, and to a smaller extent Malaysians and Filipinos but it was the Indian crowd that brought the house down with their catcalls and passion to dance. Reminded me of the Lady Gaga concert. That's the level of intensity that we had!

I loved that they really knew how to party (and thankfully nothing got out of hand). We had F1 Grid Girls and these "Desert Rose" dancers that whipped them into a frenzy. I was impressed by how well-behaved they were and laughed when a colleague told me that their supervisors had briefed them, saying that if they "anyhow touch the girls, straightaway go jail"! They were really into the music, whether it's singing or dancing, they cheered especially loud when Shakira's Waka Waka came on. There's a common denominator in there, somewhere.

My favourite part was when the Indian guys from one of our production departments took the stage during the talent competition, dancing Michael Jackson's Dangerous. Electrifying. The smoke machine went on overdrive and the lights guy gave them dizzying flashes of white light like they were in the Thriller video! Supporters rushed to the front of the stage, whipping out their camera phones to record the spectacle and the most exciting part for me, was that the performance was really good. They went on to win the competition, with prize being an $800 cash voucher and a huge-ass, ridiculously heavy trophy.

Organising the event made me aware of how insufficient my knowledge was of them, as well as the other foreign workers that make up our company. I was also struck by how much more that I could done to reach out to them in my daily work.

No doubt there's a language barrier and for me, that's always one of the most painful challenges in communication. I'm only fluent in English. When a Chinese dude comes to the HR counter and asks for help regarding his work permit/employment pass/something something, I at such a loss that I become the one who requires help! But there was a moment last night when my colleague, amid mayhem, told me that the Indians were really good at wolf-whistling. I spotted this guy standing behind me whose whistle reverberated around the huge hall and I looked at him, a little bit in awe, while saying and gesturing to my colleague over the noise that I couldn't do that, ever. The guy smiled at me, before firing off another whistle that joined the happy cheers of the rest of them.

The Dark Knight Rises

It's all about the storytelling. It's about the narrative. For me it's never about the action, about the explosions. it's about the human aspect, the emotions, the morals, the thoughts, the conflict that happens inside. 

And The Dark Knight Rises delivered. Full of conflicted characters, their imperfections took turns in the spotlight. Portrayed by a stellar cast, you had the police inspector's story - his burden of deceiving the public about the truth about Two-Face; the junior police who came from an orphanage; Batman who was thoroughly "destroyed" and went into hiding; Catwoman and her struggle to start anew; Bane, a mercenary from a dark place with a soft spot for a kid and the kid who turned out to be much more than meets the eye. It was thrilling see their fates and destinies woven together. Their steely determination made their struggle to come up on top of each other gripping to witness.

Christopher Nolan knew what was important. This movie didn't rely on marketing like The Avengers, which turned out to be nothing more than a really cliched, Power Rangers-esque flick; or the strength of it's actors (Hello Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield). It was a solid story that pulled its weight and plenty of punches, and not just literally! 

Inception was all about a dream within a dream and TDKR is kind of like that - a story within a story. The most gripping was the "fable" of the kid escaping the prison. We are taken through it via multiple story-tellers and that leap of faith was just so vivid, so insistent that I couldn't get it out of my head. It tied up the movie really well - look forward, jump without a safety net, then only you can leave the darkness, escape, start afresh. 

Which, at the end of the movie, was exactly what happened for all the good guys. 

That NDP Spirit

So we thought to start small. We've done telematches for kids. That was fun. This time round we're trying to celebrate National Day with SPD and we came up with a simple programme - singing National Day songs. When the volunteers arrived we got off to a slow start as there weren't many people. More came and we built on their momentum. My intern joined in as well! 

There were a few good singers in the group and slowly, everyone started to find their groove. I realised that it wasn't easy for people who weren't used to singing, to sing. 

Count On Me Singapore, Stand Up for Singapore, One People One Nation One Singapore and Home. So much nostalgia and so much magic to revisit these songs. I had fun singing but more importantly, it was great to see my colleagues come together, peek out of their comfort zone, and create a special atmosphere with their voices. Amazing, amazing stuff. 

The part that was of most value to me was seeing my colleagues have a laugh at each other, breaking the ice... Having fun. 

I've always thought that internal communications meant that - building a company culture, contributing to a "family", getting to know each other, getting closer to one another. I hope that comes through in my work and all I do. 

I'm looking forward to bringing our performance to SPD and possibly, brewing a bit of magic with our company spirit and the National Day celebrations.