I had a surprisingly good week, despite the business. The VP Retreat was a great success, at least from the positive feedback given from both Supts and VPs who took part in it. It was interesting cos we had 4 different speakers; from Richard Eu, the CEO of Eu Yan Sang, Mr Liak, CEO of Alexander Hospital, James Heng, founder of the Duck Tours and DHL Balloon and Dennis Foo, CEO of St James Power Station. I thought I was going to be bored by the speakers but they were really insightful. What struck me about these men were they are really successful but you could sense the humility in them, they are really passionate about what they are doing and they believe in their craft, they are risk takers and are really forward looking.

Like Mr Dennis Foo. You know how he's always in the newspapers, for being at this party and that party and I've always had the impression that he is a really snobby guy. So the day before the retreat, Chairman of the VP Retreat Com and myself made an appointment to meet him just to brief him about our theme and discuss with him his speech for the VPs. We were supposed to meet him at his office at 6pm but cos of some accident on the road, we were late by 20 mins! Imaginelah. We took almost 3 months before we got to get an appointment with him and we were late. Panic man. I thought we were screwed and he was going to be a bitch to us. But he was not. So pleasant, humble and accommodating. I liked him at first meeting. :)

When we went to St James Power Station, we were all treated like royalty. We were given a talk by him, then he brought the group on a tour around St James itself. We got free drinks and all. After that, a group of Ps, VPs and myself stayed on and he gave us the best seat in the house and whatever we ordered was on the house. Absolute generosity.

So I did a lot of firsts during this retreat.

1. I got to listen to 4 important people talk about their road to success. Learnt so much from them. I know, I'm a geek at heart.

2. I took the Duck Tour, you know, the one that goes on land and in water. Interesting experience.

The whole group, on our way to the Duck Tour. That's me and Mark above, we are both in the committee. And the picture directly above are of my Supts. Nice people.

3. I took the DHL Balloon which went up to 150 metres high into the sky. Very unpleasant experience. I've taken a hot air balloon in Turkey, which was way higher, but that was really nice though...Don't know why this one was so unpleasant.

The view from the top. Beautiful.

Mdm Maureen Lee, Principal of Kranji Sec, also in the committee with me. Nice lady.

4. I went down to St James Power Station and as I've said earlier, it was nice being treated as a VIP. It's a really nice place. 9 different rooms to hang out in. I liked the Bellini Room where they played jazz, swing music and the roon with the Salsa music. Nice.

Mrs Ngiam, Principal of Princess Elizabeth Primary, Chairman of the Committee. A lot of energy.

Some of the other Ps and VPs who stayed on the night. :)

5. I spent the night at Copthorne King's in the same room with my Supt, and she was dressed in pyjamas. Hahahaha..Never in my whole life did I think in my whole career I would be in the same room, sleeping with a Supt. Much less in her pyjamas.

6. I taught yoga to the whole group of VPs, Ps, Supts and DD in the morning before breakfast. And they said I was really professional. Hahahahaha....It was interesting. Enjoyed teaching the group. I can see myself in another career....

It was great fun. Though it was tiring, the planning, work involved, I had such a fun time. My biggest take away from this?

To strive for perfection, but at the same time, celebrate every little success that you get cos those small steps will eventually lead you to that perfection. Insightful eh?

Me, Wan Ping, Rodney and Mark in my room. I had great fun with all of them. :)

The boys and me. Love both of them. Will miss them when we go back to schools next year.

Then, on Fri night, I met Maya for coffee at Causeway Point. It was so nice to meet her again after such a long time. We talked, and bitched, and ate, and drank, and laughed....:)

There was one thing that she said which struck me.

Going off to study for a whole year is a very unnerving thought. I'll be all alone in a foreign land, with no friends or family. I shared with her about how scared I was and how I'm worried about Dev and me when we are apart for such a long period of time. And she told me that I need that 1 year to find myself, and realise that I will be fine being on my own. That stuck with me till now cos I think I need that time apart for both Dev and me to be sure of our relationship and where each other stands.

Thanks Maya. I had great fun. And of course, being the camera whores that we both are, we took photos though we were only at Causeway Point. :)

This is Maya.

Both of us at Delifrance. :)

Enjoy your weekend people. Another long week next week.