OMG never thought I’d see the day where I’d be writing about work hahaha. Can add more to my AudSlave blog category already wtf. Not to say I’m a slave la wtf I just created that category title as a (bad) joke wtf.
And not to say I didn’t think I wouldn’t learn anything working at Colony wtf. But I’m finding it quite interesting to see the path my learning is taking at work.
Anyway I don’t know about you but I don’t particularly wanna read about other people’s jobs HAHAHAHA *self centered. So go ahead and click the X if you gotta, but Imma write this as sort of a diary entry to myself la.
So when I first started work on Colony, my role was the conceptualization of the product itself – how we wanted it to look, the kind of facilities we wanted to include, etc. I learned a lot about design from Katrine and even Hui Wen who brainstormed with me at the beginning! I also learned about the more technical side to renovation and remodeling, and how chauvinistic (some) men in construction can be hahahaha.
Anyway with the space completed, I was supposed to move on to marketing which is what I’m used to, and I did.
But then we realized that we had something else equally as pressing that we needed to work on.
That thing is hospitality.
When we started Colony, we wanted to give people a way of working that would enable a good work life balance. So we came up with all these facilities – massage rooms, nap rooms, nursing room, kids area, pool and gym all. But we realized that all that is for nought if our service cannot make it wtf.
I happened to be talking to one of our clients, who moved to Colony from a serviced office. He said that our space is fantastic but our service wasn’t as good as his previous office. D: I probed further and to my awe, I realized that there were so many things I’d never considered. Little things that we could do that could make a client’s life easier.
And that’s why I’m forced to learn and change.
I am the most chinchai and self absorbed person I know. I literally don’t see a problem with 99% of things.
I am the kind of person who would pick up my daughter’s dropped chocolate and give it back to her to eat, ignoring her stunned disgust. If she doesn’t want it, I’ll eat it wtf. The kind of person who if they saw trash on the floor of their own house wouldn’t even give it a second thought because it’s not bothering me. Who would put on a wrinkled shirt without a second thought. Someone who if she loses things (which is nearly every day) would just calmly get a replacement. I’d already considered getting a replacement birth cert for Penny before Fatty found the original in our safe.
I am that kind of easy going, happy go lucky until borderline gross and bo chap type of person.
The challenge I now face is that to me, most things are acceptable because I am so chillax. A crack on the wall or balled up paper on the floor doesn’t bother me at all, while my mom, mother in law and Sieu Ee would go crazy wtf. Now I am forced to really think what would be acceptable or unacceptable for the standards of the hospitality we want to give our clients. And those standards are high!
So I really have to try. I’ve walked all over Colony multiple times over the past three days, looking for flaws that I’ve missed. Even so I miss things, and something only sparks in my head when I overhear someone else mention an issue. I went around the office armed with a list of companies that work out of our space. I knocked on countless office doors, went in and formally introduced myself and struck up conversations with so many people whose names I forgot in the next second. To figure out what they want, what they need, and even what they need but don’t realize yet. And taking furious notes because my mom brain is a sieve these days.
And what I’m learning these days is…
To stop procrastinating. I used to (and let’s be honest, still do) put tasks off just cos I can’t deal with the details. It’s a horrible habit please. But now if someone’s aircon isn’t working I have to get it fixed asap or else the fella will get damn angry la! Eh if it’s me I’d go find some employee just to wipe my sweat on them ok wtf.
To really focus on the small things and stop looking big picture. I find this extremely difficult because I have never been good with details. But it’s like working an unused muscle; eventually the more I practice I should get there.
To be more considerate of people. Not like I shove people out of my way when I walk wtf, but I tend not to think of other people’s needs unless they’re super IN MAH FACE. Then yea la I’d help of course. But if it’s say, your tea cup needs refilling, you fill yourself la got hands right. I also fill mine myself LOL. That’s always been my mentality but suffice to say, that doesn’t work in hospitality. So I’ve been trying to put myself more in the shoes of others to try to anticipate their needs.
It’s really damn hard la! All you detailed, teliti people – you guys are so good. I swear my brain feels like it works slower than usual when it comes to things like this. T3T But I will persevere! Because I think this is actually helping me grow, professionally and personally.
Me right now. 頑張ります. Hahaha.
MamyPoko, it has always been you.
From Day 1, even before I had my first child. MamyPoko was the first pack of diapers I bought and stored at home, waiting for the day when a Fighter would pop out and start using them. Lolol.
I don’t even remember why out of all diaper brands, I chose MamyPoko. I probably heard good things and went with it. It also probably helped that MamyPoko is from Japan and I’ve always thoroughly approved of Japanese products hehehe. And although I do use different diaper brands and found some to be really good as well, I still always fall back on MamyPoko — it is still our default diaper brand.
Photographic evidence 1. (Fighter wearing MamyPoko Extra Dry)
Photographic evidence #2 (Penny wearing also MamyPoko Extra Dry)
When MamyPoko’s Air Fit range hit Malaysian stores a couple of years ago, I immediately snapped it up. Did you know that MamyPoko Air Fit is the flagship line for MamyPoko, and won No. 1 Mom’s Preferred Choice for 3 consecutive years? Now you do hahaha.
Air Fit is different in that it’s made in Japan and imported directly to Malaysia. I was in a supermarket when a MamyPoko promoter girl approached me. She handed me an Air Fit diaper to test and ZOMG the softness of it!? I was sold. :X
I bought two packs and have never looked back since wtf.
Air Fit diapers are always printed with Disney’s Winnie the Pooh which is damn cute and pretty can. They come in two colors – pink and blue – so these are obviously Penny’s haha.
The inside is cottony! It’s softer than Extra Dry (blue packaging) and feels really breathable but works great to keep babies’ bottoms dry. It’s also designed with wide leg gathers (see the top of the diaper) so no gap is left behind i.e. no leakage. These gathers are also soft and comfortable enough on babies’ skin.
My kids wear these Air Fit pants to sleep (and they sleep 12 hours straight) and we don’t have a problem with leaking either. ^^
Penny showing off her Air Fit before bedtime hahaha.
Penny and her Air Fit diaper peeking out HAHAHAHA.
MamyPoko is giving away 1,000 Air Fit Love Gift Packages which include a tape/pants diaper pack and other goodies! Just like the MamyPoko Singapore Facebook page and fill in your details in the link HERE.
Promo ends 6 Sept!
This post was written in collaboration with Mamy Poko.
In my previous blog post, I mentioned that if I were to do a solo holiday, I’d go to Tokyo in a jiffy, it being a city I’m very familiar with and therefore comfortable enough to travel on my own.
So I searched Tokyo on Hotels.com. And wow the types of filters they have are mindblowing! Instead of just sorting places by stars or pricing, the website also sorts out hotels by distance and landmarks which I found pretty interesting. If you’re going to a new place, you might not know where everything is in geographical terms, so choosing a place according to landmark is genius.
Source: Hotels.com website
Here’s some of their filters.
Damn detailed can. Predictably impressed with ‘childcare’ and ‘cribs’ hahaha.
Accomodation type filter also very detailed! Cottages!? Ryokan!? Yes please.
Wah got romantic some more. *puts on sunglasses
But not golf thanks
And then I fell in love.
Source: Hotels.com website
Tokyo got this kind of hotel!? I want to redecorate my room to look like this please hahaha.
The gorgeous, gorgeous lobby.
I got really into it and decided to check out other more obscure places. Hotels.com has literally thousands of hotels listed so I thought ok I’ll challenge it hahaha. Fatty might be going with his forum mates to Bhutan next year (how cool is that!?) so I searched it up.
OH MY GOD.
I would kill to stay in a place like this!!!
Rooms are nice too. It’s described as a luxury hotel and the going price is RM2,000+. On the high side, to be honest, but I figure Bhutan probably doesn’t have a lot of supply in the way of luxury accomodation.
This hotel looks cool too. But when I saw the price tag, I nearly fainted. RM15,000 for a night! Are we buying up the whole hotel or what!? Hahahaha.
Since I was on it, I decided to get wishful and started googling for nice kid friendly hotels for our next family vacation (don’t know when).
Decided to go for the happiest place on earth hehehe. Searched for Anaheim, California.
Wow. The attention to detail is wow. I like that we put in the kids’ age for Hotels.com to filter accordingly. 🙂
This is the Anaheim Hilton, close enough to Disneyland. It’s only going for RM400+ a room I seriously feel like booking it ASAP.
Nice hotel some more for that price!
And this is the kids water play area. *hearts in eyes*
Browsing Hotels, I’m so tempted to turn this solo trip idea into an actual plan. Japan is after all one of my favorite places – if not the favorite and it would be awesome planning a trip by myself to just do what I want to do, and capture the person I am besides being a mom.
After all, planning a trip is half the fun. Maybe next year? 🙂
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So ever since I took my very first solo staycation a month or so back, I’ve been thinking – maybe I’m ready to level up and take a solo trip overseas by myself.
I don’t think I really posted any updates but remember this post? Well, one of the things I did in pursuit of happiness (or at least some peace) was one weekend when Fatty, my husband, was away for his marathon, I sent the kids to my parents’ house and checked into a hotel by myself. There, I ordered room service, went for solitary swims, slept a lot and binge watched Netflix. It was absolute bliss. Nobody yelling for Mommy. No doing what other people around me wanted. I only did what *I* wanted to do which honestly was a bit tricky cos I’ve nearly forgotten how to make decisions for myself. :X
Anyway it was just refreshing. So much so that I think I will make it a point to do solo stays or trips by myself maybe once or twice a year just to rejuvenate.
So I logged on to Hotels.com to check out hotels. And it occurred to me that for the first time in years, it was up to me to decide where I wanted to go, and how I wanted to stay.
No need to think of kid friendly places, or double beds and cribs for us and the kids or if they serve suitable meals for under 6s. Whether there is a baby pool, and so on and so forth.
No more not-ready photos!
It also occurred to me that I’ve forgotten what I myself want when I travel. To me, half the fun of travel is planning because as you plan your itinerary and place to stay, you’re already halfway there and you’re just living in anticipation of the actual trip.
So in an attempt to rediscover myself wtf, here’s a list of things I must have in a hotel.
- It must be 4 star at least! Not about being atas (i.e. high class) but I’m very particular about this because…. one time I went to NYC on a whim, and just walked into the cheapest hotel I could find on Times Square, which has all time won the Fourfeetnine personal award for Worst Hotel I’ve Ever Stayed In. Ended up getting my first ever UTI from that horrible hotel because the bathroom was filthy. T_T Then a year later I found out that hotel was voted worst hotel in the USA and had the most murder cases and dead bodies found there. T____T
2. It must have decent shampoo, conditioner and hair dryer. HAHAHAHA. Sounds damn diva right! But I’m too lazy to lug shampoo and conditioner bottles around and god knows, my hair needs conditioner. So I really appreciate a hotel that supplies quality hair products that actually work. Hairdryers are important too – none of that namby pamby hair dryers that feel like someone breathing on your head. I demand real dryers with power!
3. Crisp white sheets and feather pillow. Okay la yea this is diva for sure hahaha but I feel like a proper hotel experience must come with fresh white sheets (preferably made from Egyptian cotton)
4. Free bottles of water or free access to water. Some hotels are just annoying – providing like two bottles of water and then forcing you to boil water or drink their mini bar Evian. But to be fair I haven’t noticed this in recent hotels so maybe the trend is changing.
Okay the above list is actually quite nitpicky la hahaha. But we all have requirements when it comes to choosing a place to stay when we travel, and the beauty of Hotels.com is that while it has thousands of choices on the website, it also provides so many detailed filters to sort out exactly what you’re looking for.
For example, I was thinking if I do a solo trip, it would be to Tokyo hehe. Since I’m so familiar with the city, I feel comfortable and safe enough to go by myself and I can go shop as much as I want without fearing Fatty will get bored. Plus if I go eat alone, nobody will judge cos a lot of salarymen eat by themselves too lolol.
What are your quirky travel habits?
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So Fighter turned four last Saturday.
Seriously four years!? Lemme count my white hairs. Okay still zero phew wtf.
Anyway this blog post is about his birthday party.
We’ve actually never did a proper big birthday bash after his first birthday, to which we invited like ALL our friends and family lol. Here’s a recap wtf.
1st birthday! Party theme was the Beatles because Jude. ^^
Also I think this was the day after I found out I was pregnant with Penny and was still in shock wtf.
2nd birthday. Haven’t recovered from the first so just anyhow brought cupcakes to school for him and called it a day lolol.
Third birthday I decided to celebrate it at an underprivileged kids’ home. Ordered cake, party packs and Happy Meals and we had a party!
For his fourth birthday, I decided to finally do a proper party for him and his friends because (a) he’s finally old enough to appreciate what’s happening and (b) he finally has friends WTF.
(hahahahahah cos when he was younger friends didn’t seem to matter as much as now ma. last time Chase was the only friend he needed wtf)
So two weeks before his birthday, I got to planning. It was easy to pick a venue this time because Colony!
I already knew what theme I was going to do – Psy and KPop. (earlier in the year, a strong contender for party theme was Ben & Holly but it petered out wtf) Fighter is a huge Psy fan and has been listening to – and dancing to – his songs for … I think got one year already? And recently he’s branched out a bit beyond Psy to other KPop acts like Girls Generation, Hyuna and even MC Mong wtf. So this KPop theme was a no-brainer la.
I designed an invitation – in shades of blue, Fighter’s favorite color (or so he says wtf) and a mustache on it because of Gentleman, a Psy song and also what Fighter calls Psy – and sent it to his classmates’ moms. Everyone responded very enthusiastically to the theme, I suspect because we’re all sick of Batman and Star Wars and Frozen parties hahahaha.
Asked the Competitive Aunties for baker recommendations and Hui Wen responded…. saying Soiree Lab wanted to help me style the party!!! Maybe they have no faith in my skillz wtf. She and Teeny basically took over all the pretty things for me – decor, cake, and even party pack bags. All I had to do was fill the party packs, invite the people and order food.
Let the photos do the talking!
I went to Colony two hours before to set up with Soiree Lab. Meanwhile, Fatty and Grandma were busy prepping this critter and his sister for his big party.
I picked out this shirt and pants for him to wear before I left. He was sooo excited about it! Although two days before, he asked me for an Iron Man party WTF. I pretended I didn’t hear.
This was what greeted Fatty and my parents and the critters when they arrived!
Fighter went crazy! He shouted, “Gentleman!” then spying his name, “Jude!!!”
And when he saw this display his eyes popped out and he shouted again, “Gentleman! Korean words!”
Hahahahahaha as if Korean words is a holy miracle like that hahahahaha.
Looking at the cake in awe.
And yes, he’s wearing a blue Psy jacket from Gangnam Style. Hui Wen found a blue kids’ blazer and stitched it up to really resemble Psy’s. When he saw it and we put it on for him, I think he went to heaven.
The birthday cake. The figurine on top is Psy-ghter lolol. And the signs on it (and on the backdrop) say things like “Fighter Oppa” and “Happy birthday” and “Sarangheyo” hahaha or so I’m told wtf.
Cookies and cupcakes!
Personalized party packs! Hui Wen painstakingly cut the hair and glasses and stuck them on the paper bags. :O Different shaped sunnies for the boys and girls.
Also personalized water bottles with Psyghter and Jude on them.
They also made these fan signs but we forgot to use them wtf.
An extremely happy Psyghter.
And his sister hahaha.
Shiok with his Gangnam Style jacket.
Psyghter eating these great egg tarts I accidentally found in Petaling Street. Story later.
Party in full swing!
Rented a bouncy castle which was one of the best investments. Kids loved it and it was in use non stop.
Okay since the food table is in this pic (on the right) lemme story you about the food. So basically due to some er mistakes of mine that I shall not mention, on the day before the party, I ended up with no catering WTF. I was on Petaling Street to get some stuff for the party when I found out and I stoned there for five minutes wtf.
Luckily I happened to be parked in front of a store selling egg tarts and other Asian pastries so I bought a bunch. Then I was planning to order some Korean fried chicken and cook Korean instant noodles and be done with it hahaha.
But! Hui Wen who’s good friend owns Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory, a fried chicken restaurant from Seoul in Pavilion, got Chir Chir to sponsor our party! So means we were set! I’d never tried Chir Chir before so it was quite a good opportunity too.
Their Honey Butter Chicken is their specialty and really good!
But Spicy Chicken has my heart wtf.
Their food was really good I’m so glad we got them for the party. <3 Thank you Chir Chir!!!
Javier came in theme too!
With our mommy gang – Aud Lim, Juvyn, Sieu Ee and Chileng.
Oh yea I also hired a clown! Maybe not so much a clown than a balloon artist who also organized and ran games for the kids.
Instead of the usual clown outfit *fear* I told him to come dressed as Psy to fit the theme.
When he arrived (in sunglasses and a black leather jacket wtf a bit out la but passable), I told Fighter that this was Psy.
Fighter’s eyes widened and then he frowned. “Mommy. I thought Psy got white skin?”
Cos the clown is Indian shit me la hahahahahahaha.
The clown overheard and gave this cover line, “Uhhh uhhh. Because Malaysia is very hot. So I got burnt.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH WTF.
But clearly this was enough for a newly minted four year old, because Fighter turned to me, eyes shining, and said, “Wow Mommy. Psy really came to my party.”
T___________T I don’t know whether to laugh at the adorableness of it or cry out of guilt for bluffing my son wtf.
Tanned Psy gave him a balloon gun which he was very pleased with.
Class photo with Tanned Psy and class teachers.
It was all chaos after that. What did I expect with a party full of preschoolers hahahaha.
Until the bouncy castle also nearly deflate WTF. Kids went wild bouncing in there and wrestling omg.
One of the games was the kids had to mummify their partner with toilet paper. Here’s Chase and Fighter attacking Chase’s dad hahaha.
And this is the resulting mess wtf. Luckily the next game is who can pick up the most toilet paper lolol.
Another game was the kids had to feed the adults a milk bottle of juice hahaha. Here’s birthday boy and his partner.
And me and a Mochi. Drinking from a milk bottle is hard -_- I have newfound respect for the critters wtf.
Hahahah I love this photo actually. Lay See and Javier intently working on their bottle. Sieu Ee and Kay also damn intense.
But those two at the bottom? These two damn kiasu hahahaha. I think they won.
The kids waiting while another game was being set up.
Oh just a picture of my very cute baby.
Fighter eating with one of his friends Kyra whom he mentions like all the time lol.
Family photo + cut cake time!
Group shot with all the school mommies! We’ve really watched each other’s children grow up. :’)
Penny with Baby Whisperer Chileng. All babies love Chileng! Even lansi babies like Penny wtf. Although CCL why your balloon looks so obscene HAHAHAHA.
My feet propped up after the party was over. I wasn’t even wearing heels and my feet were aching like a mofo omg. All that running around and staying on my feet and making sure everything and everyone was okay.
But would I do it all over again? Hell yes.
To see this little boy light up with joy at the sight of his idol, to hear his favorite songs blast over the sound system. To see him so excited when he sees his friends and teachers. To see him stand tough in the bouncy castle even and play hard with his friends – when he used to shy away from slightly rough behavior – even that touched me hahaha.
I’m so glad I decided to do this party and that I chose this theme. And that Soiree Lab did such a great job! It really made his whole day. T3T
Dear Fighter,
You are now four years old. You are an extremely precocious little boy. You are so attuned to people’s feelings, seeking them out if you think they’ve been hurt or pushed aside. You speak like a lawyer sometimes, coming up with hilarious but always possible excuses to explain yourself. You love your sister and always share with her and look out for her even though she doesn’t do the same for you. You are friendly to everyone, stopping to say hi and talk to even strangers. I think your EQ must be super high cos you sense what other people are feeling and adapt to them.
The past four years with you have been a blast.
I love you,
Mommy.
OMG I am so behind on my blog posts. T______T ButI got good excuse mmkay. That’s cos Colony‘s launch party happened the last two weeks!
So the last you heard, we were slaving away at getting Colony up and running before our launch date. Cos our launch party was also scheduled at the end of last month, we had to finish up all works AND plan a party at the same time. Some more both are under my scope wtf. Cos I was always in charge of design and renovation, I guess my role can be product development la lolol. And cos of my advertising background I’m also suddenly in charge or PR and marketing (and PR events).
So in addition to scuttling around to put the finishing touches on Colony and clean up, I also had to order food and drinks, invite guests, plan the agenda, decorate the place, prepare goodie bags as a way to thank guests, hire emcee, photographer, videographer, and hope everyone has fun wtf.
But I had a looooot of awesome nice wonderful capable help. So this post is to recap the launch and to thank the amazing people who really made it happen.
Photo spam ahead!
Not the launch but one of our first guests at Colony hahaha. Fighter and his best friend strolling the Corridor of Power wtf.
See this area? It’s part of the main event space, but the ceilings are low cos there are offices above it. So we thought of creating a space that was more chill and cosy. The tricky bit is how to make it chill and comfy and cosy yet also retain the luxury and classiness of the rest of Colony.
As part of the event space, I knew we would also have to move out the furniture here pretty often to make space for events so I asked our ID for light, movable beanbags and cushions.
She delivered beyond my expectations! It’s my favorite area in the whole of Colony. And the best part is that a day before the event, this space was completely bare wtf. We had ordered the furniture but Maybank were using the space for their Go Ahead Challenge until the day before. So on the morning of the launch, Katrine the ID straight moved everything in wtf. *slow ovation
Our invitation said 5 pm onwards but the place started filling up at 4 pm (to my horror cos we were still rushing around, arranging things). It turned out a lot of people just wanted to skip the jam and came earlier hahaha but I was very touched that they went to this much effort to attend. Thank you everyone!
Oh and this pretty sign? Done by one of my best friends Hui Wen and her sister Teeny who have just launched Soiree Lab, an event styling business and they did such an amazing job. T3T
More on them later.
Here’s Fatty striding around Colony like er… the boss wtf. And yea this is our black and white marble corridor that everyone loves.
Anyway see the glass windows down both sides of the corridor? They’re all private offices, some of which are still available for rent. *ahem.
When we were planning the styling of the event, we didn’t wanna overdo it cos what we wanted was for people to really focus on our space rather than the decor. So we decided to style all the rooms along this corridor, in different themes that Soiree Lab came up with. So people could get a sense of what could be done with an office at Colony, and it would also present a view of different companies that could have a space here!
One of my favorites – the girly fashion room. For a fashion or retail compnay hehehe. Maybe I’ll do a separate blog post on these rooms cos there’s so many!
Our front cafe space filling up with guests! On the left are our cafe operators – Espresso Lab for coffee and beverages, and Bold Grains for cake and food.
Speaking of food, here are some of the canapes Bold Grains served up!
Table styled by Soiree Lab. <3
Soiree Lab also helped me get additional desserts and pastries to further zhng the table lolol. They were going for a rustic, muted glam look so they chose these aptly colored praline tarts.
Cheese tarts. When Hui Wen was ordering the pastries I was like, want meh so many can finish meh? Conveniently forgetting I’m the only weirdo who hates dessert hahahaha. But I think they were a hit and they really put the finishing touches on our buffet spread!
Marbled Colony cupcakes. <3
Drink station! Raspberry soda from Espresso Lab, and ok need to say a big thank you to Heineken and Strongbow who supplied the beer and cider respectively!
Kepoh chi peering into the styled offices lolol.
How could we not have our biggest work event ever and not have the critters there right!? Hehe here they are clutching their cheese tarts. A second after this Penny dropped her tart and cried wtf.
(and I clearly never iron my pants.)
(also clearly color blind cos the theme is gold & black and when I got dressed my closet area is yellow light so I thought my pants were gold hahahahaha)
Everyone looking so well dressed <3
Careen was our host! When I was thinking of emcees, I didn’t want anyone but her *hearts in eyes* and she did such an amazing job on such short notice!
Here’s Fatty giving his passionate speech wtf.
Aerial view.
PR shot of Fatty on the rooftop of our building wtf.
Place really filling up! Really very touched so many people came for us. <3
#INFLUENCER Arnold Loh and girl whose name I did not catch but who came dressed so fitting to the theme!
Daniel and Fadza (without Vivy) (and Brian and Kittie at the back lol)
Espresso Lab owner Joshua and Sara of Bold Grains!
L-R: Teeny, Hui Wen, Bobo, Sieu Ee and Ally.
Minus Bobo plus the only other friend I have who’s also named Audrey hahaha.
Dianna and Linda very serious!
Wah my mouth so big why do I bother having cheeks WTF.
Linda and Kai Siew <3
David with my daughter hahaha she very layan him normally she’s super lansi! Apparently she was ordering him about some more.
Our team of interior designers of Hoe & Yin! Katrine, Jason and Jocelyn.
And one more with the Colony family.
Clockwise from top left: Victoria, Jocelyn (from H&Y), Nick, Song, Jason (H&Y), Joshua, Suet Li, Ji Mun, Aarie, Fatty and me wtf, Elvina and Nitaya.
Oh and all these photos? Taken by official photographer Kehrol (who’s an old friend all the way from US college days) and her friends from 90K who did videography for us!
Taken after the party was over and we can all relax hahaha.
Anyway like I said, I really couldn’t have pulled off this launch party without the amazing people we worked with. Here’s a shoutout to them because they really deserve the credit.
Soiree Lab – for being our eye for beauty and the talent behind the party. For conceptualizing and creating all the gorgeous offices, for conceptualizing our goodie bags, for styling the food and drinks tables so beautifully.
Espressolab – for providing the yummy soda of which I had a lot lolol. Of course we had to get our beverages from you!
Bold Grains – our in house cafe operator who served up canapes that not only looked good but tasted great, I heard people gushing over them!
Careen – for agreeing to host our party at such short notice and for less than what you’re really worth. You did such a flawless job!
Carol Yong Photography and 90K Studio – for being so on the ball and capturing such perfect moments among our friends and guests.
Hoe & Yin Design Studio – without whom we wouldn’t have this party at all wtf. They were the force behind what Colony is today, and worked unflaggingly to produce what I unabashedly think is the most beautiful coworking space in Malaysia.
All our guests, our family members and friends – you were the people we wanted to celebrate with. Thank you for being there!
The media and influencers – Sad that we didn’t manage to get photos of every single one of you! Some of you are our friends, some we’ve never met before. Nevertheless you guys took the time to attend and for that I am so so appreciative. Thank you for your support and I’m glad that I met so many awesome friendly people.
The Colony family – what would we have done without you guys!? You guys worked late nights to set up and prepare, took on menial jobs just to ensure the event is a success. Everyone chipped in wholeheartedly, organizing the logistics of the event, running tours, and even making the effort to go down on the road to greet guests. You guys are the backbone of Colony.
This is the story of last weekend.
Fighter has been in Chiltern House – a bilingual preschool – for two years, and for kindergarten I’d actually planned to send him to a fully Mandarin school. Cos I’m a complete ‘banana’ so I’m already not much help wtf. I want him to be exposed to Mandarin from an early age so it’s hopefully easier for him to absorb.
I’m not gonna say which school this is (but some of you may already probably guess) but Registration Day was on Saturday, 8 am onwards.
The catch is that we heard there was only 50 or so spots available for the morning session. I definitely didn’t want the afternoon slot and the morning confirm more popular anyway!
Being kiasu, Sieu Ee and I decided we’d go earlier, like at 5 am wtf. Doesn’t matter if people call us kiasu no way was I gonna spend the next two years of my life ferrying Penny to school in the morning, THEN driving Fighter to his school in the afternoon. I might as well become an Uber driver then if Imma spend so much time on the road.
So on Friday night, I joked to Fatty that maybe I should just wear normal clothes to sleep and just wake up and go. I climbed into bed at 9.30 pm, and carefully set my alarm. And I went to sleep.
Somehow, through the dredges of sleep I heard it. My phone buzzing. Shot wide awake and snatched my phone off the nightstand, convinced I’d overslept and it was morning and I’d be driving a Sunlight cab next year wtf.
It was Sieu Ee. She said, “I think you better come to school ASAP.” Another mom had called her and told her to get her butt over as soon as possible and to call me too.
It was 1.15 am in the morning. Remember, registration starts at 8 am. At 1.15 am, there were already 20 people lining up outside the school gate WTF.
Jumped out of bed and made it to the school gates at 1.45 am.
Behold! The sight that greeted me wtf. The fella at the head of the line is actually a friend. I think he was enjoying himself thoroughly, smugly pointing people to the back of the line wtf.
With my everything buddy. Thank god she called and woke me up T3T Even saved a spot next to her what would I do without you wtf.
Here’s the line snaking behind us after maybe an hour. We even brought stools and provisions so we just sat there watching other parents pull up in their various cars, get out and walk briskly toward the line of us, suppressed panic on their faces lolol.
I brought Ikea stools only but other dads brought proper foldable camping chairs ok hahahahaha. And even mosquito coil HAHAHAHAHA. I’m made of 200% mosquito bait so the dad was nice enough to bring one over for me.
At 4 am they opened the gates wtf. The teachers ushered us into the carpark to continue waiting. Took a pic of the poor saps behind me hahaha. It turned out I was number 20 – not too bad!
The whole process was extremely well organized and orderly I was even more impressed with the school. The teachers were so cheerful and warm too despite it being 4 am and that they were surrounded by crazed kiasu parents.
Luckily we came prepared WTF. Sieu Ee the queen of planning, brought a whole Ikea shopping bag of snacks – cup noodles, chips, nuts, chocolate, packet drinks and even bottled drinks WTF. I only brought a powerbank, stools and flasks of hot water for us to make noodles.
I also brought along my makeup bag because priorities.
Anyway stupid Sieu Ee took this photo of me making noodles hahahaha. Mamee Cup naturally because we scared Mamee royalty got spies around watching us wtf. As soon as I poured the water in, the smell soared up in the carpark and the man behind me even gave me a thumbs up sign wtf hahahahaha. #solidarity
To cut a long story short, I waited more than 6 hours in line to register my son for kindergarten and to pay the deposit. I stayed up the whole night – something I haven’t done since college – and I didn’t even get concert tickets at the end lol.
If you’re wondering why the fuss for just kindergarten. Well it’s a very reputable school with limited slots. Also a few early bird parents who went, snapped photos while waiting in line, sparking everyone else’s kiasu-ness, and creating a frenzy to go sit outside the school gates and wait. The teachers said apparently this is the worst year in the history of school. :X And this stampede involved a lot of Chiltern parents so now we have a reputation for crazy wtf.
We heard a carload of parents were heading to go wait at the school too, and they came into a police road block LOL. Police stopped them and asked where they were heading this time of night. The parents answered, to register for a school lolol lamest answer ever please.
And the police said, “oh *insert school name* ah? Last year also like this.” *waves them off*
Hahahahahaha like this also can!
I’m laughing in most photos cos it’s so ridiculous! David came with Sieu Ee but kept retreating to the car to nap. People were watching Korean dramas on their phones while they waited. One mom apparently was pissed nobody called her early enough so when she got in she glared angrily at everyone ahead of her. Hahaha.
Definitely an adventure to tell people at parties la hahaha. Even if I did miss a whole night of sleep and am still recuperating. There must be a better way to do this because parents are just going to go earlier and earlier! The first parent actually started camping out at 3.30 pm the day before WTF. When it’s Penny’s turn in two years how!?
I feel so gross that I’m so kiasu also ok hahahaha. The teacher I worked with for the registration, when told I’d waited since 1 am, told me I was very noble to do this for my son. No lo! I’m doing it so I don’t have to be 24/7 chauffeur next year lolol she’s damn positive ok.
Whatever it is, I got the slot I wanted #kiasu #maximumauntie. My kids’ schedules are aligned wtf.
Hello!
I haven’t blogged in more than a week and it’s all because of Colony T____T Pang sai also no time wtf what more blog. (Luckily I got diarrhea cos that way it’s faster WTF)
We are officially launching next week so things have been crazy. Our ID team and contractors and workers also been working at breakneck speed and even working through weekends. I can’t tell you how grateful and touched I am to have these people on our team. *tears
We had sooo many problems some more! Cannot say too much la but we had to deal with some very difficult people (and even some misogyny and ageism wtf) – some reasonable and some unreasonable. But I guess I learned quite a lot – about handling people and about just a whole new field so I’m good. ^^
Anyway we’re at the end now. Just cleaning up, decorating and styling, and picking up loose ends. Here’s some in progress photos to show you guys.
The view from our coworking space.
Colleagues assembling the toy kitchen for the kids’ play area hahaahah.
Break: Mommy busy Penny also busy. She damn funny nowadays cos she keeps grabbing my laptop and phone and telling me, “I do work.”
When I went to choose lighting for the place.
Spray painting the counters for the cafe area.
Staining the timber floors. I never knew staining was so labor intensive and manual.
Eh why this pic so blur. *can’t be bothered to change it
With my boss wtf.
Signs are up!
Hahaha this was sent over my Katrine when we were planning the pictures to put up. You can totally tell we like hipster animals.
Fruition.
I was so happy when I found this picture online! It’s a map of the Spanish colonies hahaha geddit geddit.
Doors to the phone booths installed.
Another photo Katrine sent. I ended up choosing this table light hybrid for the breastfeeding room. ^^
The first customers at our kids area already wrecking the place lolol. Got in and instantly started fighting over toys FML.
Took our families – both Tiahs and Oois – to visit Colony today! Ooi side of the family here (Fatty had to rush to a meeting)
Damn menyampah hahaha.
Aih. I’ve been really busy so most afternoons I’ve been at the office, leaving this girl and her brother at home with the nannies. Penny is always super happy to see me even if I’ve only gone to the toilet for five minutes so I didn’t think too much about how she always greets me with a run and a hug when I come home.
I didn’t realize how much she missed me until when I was feeding her dinner and she laid her head on the nearest body part she could reach – my knee – and just stayed there, chewing her food. T________T
Just a little bit more Baby. Then Mommy will come home.
Hired our new security guard wtf.
Anyway we are actually still looking for more interns! So I can go home earlier to my critters please lolol. Minimum three months preferable.
If you’re interested, hit me up! Audrey @ colony.work
Can’t wait to show you guys the full full final product!!!!
The door tore open with a bang. A second later, small, quick footsteps pattered across our bedroom carpet.
If my eyes were open, I’d have rolled them. But they were shut, glued together with sleep. Which I didn’t have enough of cos I had insomnia again the night before. T____T Instead, I just pulled the covers over my head, praying that they wouldn’t see me, and cursing Fatty for bringing the kids in so early to wake me.
No point wtf. Under the comforter, I felt the bed sink in two spots as two critters clambered on to the mattress, chanting “Mommymommymommymommy”. One made herself comfortable on my bladder, making me feel like peeing the bed. The other one settled on my right arm, numbing it.
The comforter over my head whipped open and two critters cheered as though they’d found some buried treasure. Fighter was the one sitting on my arm and he’d pulled open the comforter.
He informed me, “Mommy, it’s morning. Time to wake up.”
And then he lowered his head and planted a kiss on my forehead.
“I kiss you. Like the prince and princess in my iPad. The princess hurt her finger then she sleep and the prince kissed her and she woke up. So you can wake up now.”
Was there ever a more adorable alarm clock!? T______T All annoyance vanished. I cracked open an eye and pulled both him and Penny in for a snuggle.
Later on, Fatty told me what really happened that morning. Fatty wakes up earlier than me on most weekends and he normally tries to keep the kids away from our bedroom so I catch a couple more hours of sleep.
So apparently they were hanging out in my brother in law’s side of the apartment when Fighter suddenly piped up. “Daddy, can I go take my (toy) sheep? It’s at the other side.” (referring to our side of the apartment.)
Fatty unsuspectingly said sure and opened the door leading to our side of the apartment. Immediately, both critters jumped up and dashed through the door, hollering, “MOMMY! I SEE MOMMY!”
Fatty kena tag team conned HAHAHAHAHA. Critters 1, Daddy 0.
He sprinted after them, but they were already halfway up the stairs and banging on my room door. Lolol.
And you know what happens after that.
I’m blogging this so that…. on days where I feel I’ve had enough, I will remember today and remember what makes it all worth it.
With my loves the other day at lunch. <3
So if you’ve been reading my blog since before the beginning of time, you’d probably be well versed in my hair woes. T_____T
My hair has always been straight, fine and limp. Then you know my penchant for coloring my hair right. I color it nearly every month and although Hikky gives me beautiful color and she takes care and treats my hair very well, the chemical treatments definitely take a toll la. So my hair is also quite weakened now and frizzy. :X
And worse, sometimes I kena dandruff!!! Or dry scalp or something la I don’t know. But sometimes when I reach up and scratch my head, snow falls. FML.
At the same time, I also have oily scalp. Scalp, y u troll me!? Suddenly dry suddenly oily wtf. I normally combat this by switching shampoos regularly cos somehow product seems to build up less in my hair and I get more volume.
So hello, new shampoo and new conditioner.
It’s my first time trying out this brand! Botanist is an award winning shampoo and treatment range from Japan and is available in all Sephora outlets in Malaysia! I love the packaging already *hearts in eyes*
! No wonder the packaging so cute and minimalist. <3
It’s ingredients also can say minimalist with 90% consisting of water and natural plant derived ingredients. For example, the shampoo is silicone, sulfate, and paraben free. Also, vegetable extracts are selected to bring back the natural hair elasticity, and refresh and cleanse the scalp.
So if you’ve got dry and itchy scalp, or dandruff (like me aughhhh)
Or a smelly head (like Penny HAHAHA she super poor thing when she sweats her head becomes so smelly I want to faint)….
Give Botanist a try ^^
(HAHAHAHA I am aware this pic is super corny! But I ran out of ideas hahahah.)
Anyway I gave it a try. The apple scent is actually quite heavy but after the first whiff I didn’t really smell it anymore. The shampoo, being made of more natural ingredients, didn’t lather as easily as I’m used to but it gets the job done la hahaha.
The treatment is really good! I expected it to not be as ‘effective’ so I pumped a lot into my palm. I really didn’t need so much cos it smoothened my hair like crazy! I hardly needed to drag it through my hair.
Hair after wash. 🙂
In a nutshell, Botanist is not one of those high tech shampoo and treatment ranges that promise like…miracles. Hahaha. But it’s a decent, clean, light product that does what it’s supposed to effectively – clean my hair and leave it soft and smooth and feeling fresh. ^^
Botanist retails for RM78 each at all Sephora Malaysia stores and Sephora Malaysia Online. Comes with a gift with purchase while stocks last!
More info available here at Botanist Official.
This post was written in collaboration with Botanist.
Made with . All rights Reserved. Colony.