The Day I Dialled "Triple Nine"

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Today, the Japanese delegates were supposed to visit my office and this really got me panicky... weeks of planning now come down to these two hours and I just prayed and prayed everything will turn out well... In the end, I would say that everything went relatively well... in fact better than I expected and now that everything is over, it is really a relief...

"Teamwork 3" by jf

It All "Clicked Together"
It's amazing how everything just clicked together and even though some things did go wrong, I am just amazed how things just eventually worked out. Like those award ceremony, now is my "thanksgiving" time... I thank God for:

• sufficient rest; I just don't ever seem to get enough rest and have to struggle with getting up every morning... interestingly though, I woke up at 4am this morning and felt like I have slept for a whole day. What is more surprising is that I am on time for work today!
  
• friend who blessed me with breakfast; I am thankful to EM who called me in the morning to ask if I wanted breakfast. Yum yum... got my egg mcmuffin
• colleagues who are quick to help;I am grateful for colleagues who responds so quickly when needed and helped make today's visit a success.
  
• I thank PL, MN, CT, AH and PM from my department who helped me with setting up the AV equipment and also prepared and distributed the PR materials to the delegates, who promptly helped to get drinks for the delegates when prompted by my boss and helped with getting the plaque done up.
  
• I thank my boss, despite being a head of department herself, took up the task of inviting the other head of departments to gather to welcome the delegates
  
• I also thank PM who helped me with welcoming the delegates and entertaining them and
  
• SH from another department who helped me with the seating and rushed up with me to the 3rd floor to get chairs when my boss prompted me that there weren't enough chairs.
  
• Not forgetting IP and YF who stayed around to help with photography and
  
• all others who helped to make the delegates feel at home, ushering them and patiently waited for the delegates to return from group photography before starting on the morning tea
• AS who kindly loaned me some DV tapes and PL for willingly taking up the task to help capture video footage of the visit from the very beginning to the very end
• FL who helped to coordinate refreshments for the delegates
• and finally all the officers and head of departments who really helped facilitate the sessions and played host to the delegates

Looking at the list, many of the things have not been planned for (despite my "font size 8 programme plan") but I am really just amazed how everything just gelled together and everyone chipped in to make the visit successful... Thank God!

Uninvited Guest
Today, there was a bit of "drama" and I have come to realized I am such a horrible brother. It was mid afternoon in one of my organization's centres and just as the bus pulled into the centre with the delegates and I was getting ready to welcome them, my sister called me on the phone... she told me that she is outside our house and she is stuck not knowing what to do; she is on her way out but there is a small snake on our door handle so she could not go back into the house nor lock the door... I remember telling her that I need to go because the delegates were alighting and I was like the only one there to welcome them... wrong move... when I eventually called back a few minutes later, I realized that my sis was upset and was sobbing; feeling lost with no one at home and no neighbours around to help.

She eventually got one of her friends who agreed to come down all the way from Bugis (wow, actually quite impressed with this friend of hers... I am not sure if I would do the same if my friend was in a similar situation). Anyway, decided to do a little "damage control" and excused myself from the delegates (hope the centre manager don't think I went to "eat snake") and continued to stay on the phone with my sister. Later, after struggling for a while with who to call, decided to try calling 999 to get the police to "arrest" the snake (since I did not have the number to the nearest neighborhood police post) and surprisingly, they agreed to despatch officers to help. Anyway, am glad all ended well but still could not believe I did that to my sister... sighhh... horrible!!

Anyway, my sister just told me that the snake is dead... apparently, seems like one of the officers panicked and stepped on it so maybe that dealt it the fatal blow... even though I did loathe the snake (even though it was a small one) for putting my sister through the ordeal, I can't help feel bad for the snake for dying such a horrible death... but one thing remains a mystery... how did the snake get to my house? Live in a flat on the higher floors so how did it ever get up to where my flat is? hmmm...

My sister also later related to me how comical the whole incident is... apparently, the police were getting ready to come and handle a large snake, so I was told they appeared with big tools to catch snake so when they arrived, they did not see the snake and kept asking my sis where the snake was... then later, they smsed my sis and told her that "they are sorry to inform that the snake is dead" haha...