What a day…
A day that came and went like a flash.
A day I will always remember.
21 Oct 2005- SRA Day.
Fact is, it wasn’t the first time I’m attending an awards ceremony.
However, I received some not so subtle hints prior to the show- that I might get something. And when you get that sort of news, your hopes would obviously be raised. And oh! It would be damn disappointing if the news wasn’t true.
Prior to the washing up and making up, I tried to iron the blazer. I conveniently left the thing in the carrier for the past few days, and it was no surprise the blazer came out seriously crumpled. Tried ironing it but failed miserably. Gave up after five minutes and began practicing my bestest smile, cos I had to make an unplanned detour to Zara.
There, I met the very-young-but-very-professional-guy again. He agreed to steam my blazer. Thank you so very much. (Guys: Remember, it’s Zara @ Liat Towers ok?)
Arrived “fashionably just on time” for the Dinner at Shangri La five minutes before the Opening. Plenty of “Hello” handshakes and “Good Luck” hugs all around.
2040 hrs “。。。。入围933最受欢迎DJ。。。 ”
With Kelly beside him, Junyang opened the envelope and said“噢！我以前有听他早上的节目。。。是个男生！” That’s when I thought the winner would be Chongqing cos he was “以前”and I am “现在”。。。
Then hor, Kelly and Junyang called out my name. Huh?
Liyi grabbed my hand with the widest grin on her face. And I was going “是我啊？！他叫我啊？”
Trust me, the feeling was sooo surreal.
The standing up… then making sure it’s me…. And walking up while waving a Thank You to the English DJs who were cheering on the other side of the aisle… And finally receiving the award and making the speech…It was so UNBELIEVABLE.Here’s a vague repeat:
“Hi… Erm, I’m so confused I can’t decide whether to speak in English or Mandarin, so I think I will do both,
Erm. (There I go again. Erm and Erm and Erm) I would like to thank my bosses. For letting me pursue my dreams in Radio. For paying me to do what I like. And for allowing me to come to work in shorts and slippers. I promise to wear nicer slippers from now on ok.
还有谢谢所有投票的朋友。谢谢你们！
谢谢933的同事。我知道我们不只是同事。谢谢你们的爱。
我知道今晚的成绩会让很多人很惊讶。我也是。不过我会继续加油。。。希望下次能更有信心，更有勇气，更从容地来领这个奖。
谢谢大家”
Immediately after stepping off the stage, I was pulled out of the ballroom.. My appetizer was thus left neglected. Eh.. I very hungry leh…
I was thrown into a whirlpool of interviews.
~TV News, Radio News, Print… Wah.
~So many people giving me directions on where to stand and when to look at the cameras. Wah.
When I finally sat down, I realised a good 40 minutes had passed. Friends who had other friends in the ballroom that night had already began to flood me with congratulatory SMSes.
Before I could finish replying them all, I went up on stage again. This time, to receive the Best Radio Show Award for Lingzhi’s Music Diary…
As the cameras converged once again, I was busy whispering “Eh! Not me! Not me!”
“Hi, Lingzhi can’t attend the dinner tonight. I’m Lingzhi’s partner and this is Lingzhi’s best friend.”
Rebecca (958 Programme Director cum Lingzhi’s bestest friend) began reading a long list of names. That was very very long. Almost 3/4 of a A4 sheet; font size 8. Wah biang.
When I thought I could finally sit down to enjoy the good food and reply my SMSes, I found the battery dying on me. Argh. Anyway, I was soon interrupted with the presentation of the Friendliest DJs Awards.
Here’s the funny bit. I was dragged backstage to do the translation. They printed the award titles and recipient names in English but needed Mandarin translations for the award presenter.
And so, I gladly ripped open the envelopes and had a sneak preview.
As the nominees waited, I smugly told everyone I knew the results. “Neh neh neh neh neh. I know and I’m not telling! ” 
A couple of minutes later, I headed over to hug Mary… Before the presenter finished reading her name. A bit too fast lah. Hahaha.
By then, I had given up on the dinner. The food was good of course. But it’s not enjoyable when you get up every 15 minutes and prance around. Yes, I was prancing around when Yongmei, Jingyun, Jianbin Da-ge received their awards. And I was even cheering for the winners from the Malay and Indian stations.
Cruz : “Yeah! _______!_______! (Insert name the award presenter calls out)”
People at my table: “You know her meh?”
Cruz : “Dunno.”
When I did that a second time, they were asking, “So this one, you know lah?”
“Also dunno.”
Mary: “He’s just trying to be friendly so that he can grab this Friendliest title back next year lah.”
Hahahaha!
