The guests were nice,none too overtly demanding and a pretty decent view too.The people working with me are so much nicer than the last time,at least they can speak proper English.Well,what do you expect,we're serving big shots guests who are mostly made up of non-Singaporeans.Caucasians,Europeans,Japanese,Hong Kongers,Indians and even,ehem,Indonesians.The first day of work for me,which happens to be the second day of the three day race,was quite an eye opener.Sure it was less demanding than the work cum training at Swissotel but the long hours of standing was taking it's toll on me.And the food served looked so damn awesome,it's such a pity that the most of them were left untouched and were fed basically to the rubbish bin.I can't even touch them however tempting they looked and how crappy the food were during our break times.I think I can safely say that I've became a better waiter and next up for me to be even better is to learn how to stack up plates as high as the Singapore Flyer without tilting to one side like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and of course,taking orders since the suite were provided with buffet-style food.
Work ended at 1+ and I had to quickly turn the place around back to it's spic and span state in preparation for the next day.Rushed back to the bus back to the hotel to sign out.I swear that moment alone was one of the few highlights of this race event.It felt like I was back in the Mao Zedong era and we're walking The Long March all over Chinapore though there's still some Singapore-spirit in some of them judging from the way they ran for the buses,you have to wonder why there wasn't such drama during the Great Singapore Sale.Cabbed home with one of my seniors who happens to live nearby,Mandarin Gardens to be exact,at Marine Parade so I dropped her off first.My sleep lasted 2 hours because I'm supposed to meet my suite club-mate at 8:30 am.Let's divert a bit shall we,she's still in Sec 4 and she's having her N levels.Up til now I think she's a little mad to take the job because she has 2 papers on Monday and work ended late on Sunday,but at least she's a very nice person.
The second day was more slack I guess,but even then my body was aching all over.As soon as the first guest arrived,we had to make sure that they're attended to a 6-star service treatment.Being the race day,it was no surprise that it was a full-house that day and no one's missing the action for the world because that's what they've been paying for,a whole $7000 per head to be exact just to be in that room.Of course,the room has got it's benefits.It's air-conditioned so while everyone else is battling the extremely humid weather with their sweaty shirts and armpits,they've got a far less extreme atmosphere.Also,they're treated to a wide array of expensive food and drinks catered by Fairmont.The outdoor area is partitioned off from the rest of the crowd by a barricade.The food sold to the crowds at the outside vendors were badly overpriced,hot dogs for $12 and burgers for $10(I can afford 5 McChickens and 6 Cheeseburgers with that amount).Merchandise too,it makes me wonder how much each vendor makes from a single race.But what made this race more spectacular for me was the atmosphere.It was more carnival-like than say attending a soccer match at the National Stadium,to me it doesn't feel like Singapore at all.It was that kind of English Premier League atmosphere where booze was easily available and queues for food were proper.
Here are some of the things I've learned or noticed from my work in the club suite.
1. I've learned how to serve wine,like the twisting of the bottle.
2. How much food is wasted and even though I know too much is better than too little,there's just too much food wasted.
2.5. And yet we were supposed to not waste food when there they are,the higher end people wasting food like as though Africa doesn't exist.
3. Heavy wallets equal to heavy drinkers which also equals to heavier bellies.
4. I've learned a bit of the people just by their orders and I start nicknaming them for e.g. there's this Indian boy who's around my age or maybe younger who orders Coke without ice all the time and there's a European man who orders Heineken without fail and so by the second day of work,I can pretty much know what their orders are without them literally ordering because I'll serve them before.
5. Sure the car engines are deafeningly loud,but I was prepared for it judging from how loud jamming sessions can get.
6. I could actually watch the whole 61 laps which lasts 2 hours long without feeling bored because if you get paid watching tv,who would complain right?(Not that I'm lazy but the guests were busy watching the race in the outdoor seats and the rule says that staff aren't permitted outside unless we were serving the guests drinks and yes,I clear up the empty cups of beer/wine/champagne when the guests left them on the room tables)
7. Appreciate chairs even more because there are people in the world who cannot sit or are forced to stand for such long hours that their legs hurt and their backs ache.
8. The beautiful Singapore skyline backdrop at night never looked better and it might never be.
9. How much a 7000 bucks mineral water and sparkling water taste like.(They taste just like tap water or ice mountain water just that it's packaged neatly in expensive glass bottles and has the word Made In Italy on it)
10. Satay never tasted so good on an angry growling stomach.(The guests had to leave early because their buses back to St Regis Hotel has arrived and they can't spend very much time on their supper.As soon as the last guest left,I was all over the satay)
Sure I didn't get tips like how some of the people working in other suites received but I felt that I was the luckiest person on earth because I get to be in the same room as the people who spent all of $7000 and yet I got paid.Wait a minute,I think they get paid too for being there because if I were estimate their monthly pay and I divide them by (31 days X 24 hours X 60 minutes X 60 seconds) they'll probably earn more than me per second as compared to my hourly wages.But what I got was an experience of a lifetime that cannot be fully defined in words.The pictures taken by me certainly does no justice to the amount of fun I had working my lazy bum for 2 days straight but I might as well just let you guys have a rough sketch of what I went through.
This was how it looked under the grandstand.
The first aid balloon light.I think it makes a pretty good SavingSomeone display picture just that I've to edit out the extra things at the bottom right.
This was how close I was to the Ferrari Pit.
The Singapore Flyer and if you look at the bottom left of the picture,you can see the podium for the top 3 drivers.
Standing tall.
It looked like it was going to rain,I think it would've been more exciting if it did.
DHL balloon.
Ryan's future job,besides modelling for Kfc.
And Ryan's future lens.
The lonely guy looking at Renault Pit before the race.
Police Coast Guard.
I like to see the reflections of things on water.
Fernando Alonso at the Pit.
Robert Kubica at the Pit.
Can you see the car?
Again.
Again??
The Singapore Flyer after the race.
I like playing with the brightness.
That's how bright the lights used for the tracks are.
After the race.
I guess after this,I expect to see some reports on newspapers mentioning drivers speeding along the tracks used in the race because they were inspired.And all this talk about a Singaporean actually driving an F1 car is nothing but a dream that the media is building just to give faith to the people living here that we've got hope from some extra-terrestials.Just look at the speed limit imposed on highways,the only racing king we'll ever discover here in Singapore are those in arcades.And we all know that arcades are conquered by those ah bengs and ah lians who owns Guitar Freaks,Drum Mania and Dance,Dance Revolution but can do nothing close with the real instruments.Now those are dreaming,literally.Anyway,back to the F1 topics,it's such a pity for Ferrari.Congratulations to Fernando Alonso for being the first driver to emerge first in Singapore's and the world's virgin night race.Of course,the real winners are Lewis Hamilton and Singapore itself for putting our name in good spotlight.
We're driving crazy 8s round the track...
These lights and numbers are a bright sign
Smoke-filled casinos
But what do we know, we'll take a chance
Looking for cheap thrills and fast rides
Spin till we're dizzy
The gamble, the sleep and now we dance
We stumble up and down the concrete
Led by distraction, the empty attraction leads us blind
Never intending for the complete
Like shadows and alleyways
The unknown continues biding time
We're chasing heaven as it fades into black
Can't get it back, no, we can't get it back
It's like we're running crazy 8s round the track
Can't wait to come back, can't wait to come back
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We sleep for dreaming and away it goes)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(And let you feel it as my heart explodes)
We sit and drink up on the cop car
Playing illegally
The boredom or fantasy, we're done
I've never ever loved you so hard
But is that reality?
We can't face the battle in the dark
We're chasing heaven as it fades into black
Can't get it back, no, we can't get it back
It's like we're running crazy 8s round the track
Can't wait to come back, can't wait to come back
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We sleep for dreaming and away it goes)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(And let you feel it as my heart explodes)
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We sleep for dreaming and away it goes)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(And let you feel it as my heart explodes)
We sit, we think, and we figure out just right where to start
As these waters rush together
We keep ripping them apart
Is this truth, is this real, is there something more to feel?
Do we change the sensation on blind appeal?
Have we now reached the end just to find the beginning again?
Stay with me tonight?
(We sleep for dreaming and away it goes)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(And let you feel it as my heart explodes)
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We sleep for dreaming and away it goes)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(And let you feel it as my heart explodes)
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We're chasing heaven as it fades into black)
And I'll make you believe one last time
(It's like we're running crazy track round the track)
Could you stay with me tonight?
(We're chasing heaven as it fades into black)
And I'll make you believe one last time...
Crazy 8s by Mae.
