Turning Into A Japanese Biker Chick..
I am currently recuperating from a looong and tiring weekend. I hosted the Yamaha Evolution 2008 event at the Mall of Asia last Thursday until Sunday. Four days of heat, sweat, motorcycles, and Japanese immersion.
Let's backtrack a little bit: Uchi, Bamboo's gorgeous booking manager, gave me a call a few weeks back and asked me if I was available to host for simple event that didn't require that much energy because it was mostly voice overs and repetitive spiels. Hmmm...the thought was very promising...voice overs for four days wasn't that bad, right? To make the long story short, I was endorsed to a guy named Jude and we closed the deal.
8:30am, Thursday, I drove to Mall of Asia so I could reach the agreed calltime of 10:00am. Traffic was frikkin bad!! I was 15minutes late. Spiels weren't ready. The parking lot set-up was not yet done. The place was full of these dreaded motorcycles. I was wearing my red, 4-inch stilettos and I had to walk a kilometer to reach the agreed meeting place. This is just great.
11:00am, the Japanese bosses called for a meeting. This is the first time that I will be working with Japanese folks so I was a little intimidated and nervous. I heard that they had very high standards and they were the most hard-working and dedicated people in the planet. That made me all the more jittery. Introductions were made, and I had the chance to meet the people that I would be working with for the next four days.
12noon. We officially opened the gates for the test ride and student riding activities. My spiels were basic and simple. All I needed to do was to invite everybody to come and visit the area and have a free test drive of the new motorcycle models. I had to say those spiels every 15 minutes (except during the student riding sessions...I once forgot that the sessions have started, next thing I knew, 4 Japanese guys shushed me...it was kinda embarrassing)
Motorcycles. They've always brought shivers down my spine. I was never a motorcycle freak. For me, owning a motorcycle was inviting danger. It was mind-boggling for me to find almost a hundred people falling in line just to test drive a motorcycle....so, just to find out why a lot of people love the thrill and the action of riding something so dangerous, I decided to give it a try. After 10 minutes of trying to keep my balance, and of mistaking the accelerator with the brakes, I decided to quit. I'll just stick to hosting.
7:00pm. We called it a day and started packing up. I decided to hang at the new Pier One By The Bay first before going home. I didn't want to get stuck in a 2-hour traffic jam so I chatted with the owners and savored some bacon asparagus (try it, it's mouth-watering!!) This branch was by far my favorite hang out place. It's right across the parking lot of the IMAX theater. Looove it!!!
I was dead tired. I thought voice overs were easy. I guess if you keep on saying the same things all over again a gazillion times a day under the frikkin heat, it really will make you tired.
Friday was easier. There were more people but we kinda got into the groove of the event so things went smoothly. I was amazed with how the Japanese worked. I had so much spare time observing the people around me and it was a really great experience for me to be working with these guys. For one, they were such neat freaks! They were so organized, and they followed the schedule by the dot. I was really impressed.
Ogura, one of the bosses was the strictest..and funniest. It was him that I was trying to impress. By the end of the day, I was learning a lot about Japanese culture.
Saturday was the day of the Bamboo concert. I was tired as hell. But it was well worth it because by this time, the people that I've worked with for 2 whole days have become my friends already. They were really cool people. To cut the long story short, I stayed til the end of the concert.
I had a mixture of emotions last Sunday as I was driving to the Mall of Asia for my last day. Part of me was relieved because it's almost over. But part of me was also sad that this was going to be the last day that I'd be seeing the people that I've grown fond of. I'm gunna miss the guys with the Japanese accent telling me "miss, pris announce da nex sessiong en ter dem to fir up registrationg forngm!" I'm gunna miss the yosi breaks and the IMAX restrooms. I'm gunna miss the motorcycles and the mishaps of the wannabe-bikers who pretend that they know how to ride a bike but end up hurting themselves and crashing the new Yamaha bikes. I'm gunna miss a particularly strange person who I grew fond of for the past four days....
I'm back to work now. But somehow, my four-day experience will remain in my brain for a looong time. Motorcycles don't make me queasy anymore. They give me a sense of euphoria. Because every time I see one now, I will forever remember the people and the experience of last weekend. =)
P.S. ---> I've created new memories with my favorite Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha. *wink*
Let's backtrack a little bit: Uchi, Bamboo's gorgeous booking manager, gave me a call a few weeks back and asked me if I was available to host for simple event that didn't require that much energy because it was mostly voice overs and repetitive spiels. Hmmm...the thought was very promising...voice overs for four days wasn't that bad, right? To make the long story short, I was endorsed to a guy named Jude and we closed the deal.
8:30am, Thursday, I drove to Mall of Asia so I could reach the agreed calltime of 10:00am. Traffic was frikkin bad!! I was 15minutes late. Spiels weren't ready. The parking lot set-up was not yet done. The place was full of these dreaded motorcycles. I was wearing my red, 4-inch stilettos and I had to walk a kilometer to reach the agreed meeting place. This is just great.
11:00am, the Japanese bosses called for a meeting. This is the first time that I will be working with Japanese folks so I was a little intimidated and nervous. I heard that they had very high standards and they were the most hard-working and dedicated people in the planet. That made me all the more jittery. Introductions were made, and I had the chance to meet the people that I would be working with for the next four days.
12noon. We officially opened the gates for the test ride and student riding activities. My spiels were basic and simple. All I needed to do was to invite everybody to come and visit the area and have a free test drive of the new motorcycle models. I had to say those spiels every 15 minutes (except during the student riding sessions...I once forgot that the sessions have started, next thing I knew, 4 Japanese guys shushed me...it was kinda embarrassing)Motorcycles. They've always brought shivers down my spine. I was never a motorcycle freak. For me, owning a motorcycle was inviting danger. It was mind-boggling for me to find almost a hundred people falling in line just to test drive a motorcycle....so, just to find out why a lot of people love the thrill and the action of riding something so dangerous, I decided to give it a try. After 10 minutes of trying to keep my balance, and of mistaking the accelerator with the brakes, I decided to quit. I'll just stick to hosting.
7:00pm. We called it a day and started packing up. I decided to hang at the new Pier One By The Bay first before going home. I didn't want to get stuck in a 2-hour traffic jam so I chatted with the owners and savored some bacon asparagus (try it, it's mouth-watering!!) This branch was by far my favorite hang out place. It's right across the parking lot of the IMAX theater. Looove it!!!I was dead tired. I thought voice overs were easy. I guess if you keep on saying the same things all over again a gazillion times a day under the frikkin heat, it really will make you tired.
Friday was easier. There were more people but we kinda got into the groove of the event so things went smoothly. I was amazed with how the Japanese worked. I had so much spare time observing the people around me and it was a really great experience for me to be working with these guys. For one, they were such neat freaks! They were so organized, and they followed the schedule by the dot. I was really impressed.
Ogura, one of the bosses was the strictest..and funniest. It was him that I was trying to impress. By the end of the day, I was learning a lot about Japanese culture.
Saturday was the day of the Bamboo concert. I was tired as hell. But it was well worth it because by this time, the people that I've worked with for 2 whole days have become my friends already. They were really cool people. To cut the long story short, I stayed til the end of the concert.
I had a mixture of emotions last Sunday as I was driving to the Mall of Asia for my last day. Part of me was relieved because it's almost over. But part of me was also sad that this was going to be the last day that I'd be seeing the people that I've grown fond of. I'm gunna miss the guys with the Japanese accent telling me "miss, pris announce da nex sessiong en ter dem to fir up registrationg forngm!" I'm gunna miss the yosi breaks and the IMAX restrooms. I'm gunna miss the motorcycles and the mishaps of the wannabe-bikers who pretend that they know how to ride a bike but end up hurting themselves and crashing the new Yamaha bikes. I'm gunna miss a particularly strange person who I grew fond of for the past four days....I'm back to work now. But somehow, my four-day experience will remain in my brain for a looong time. Motorcycles don't make me queasy anymore. They give me a sense of euphoria. Because every time I see one now, I will forever remember the people and the experience of last weekend. =)
P.S. ---> I've created new memories with my favorite Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha. *wink*
posted by kat's corner at 3:28 PM
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