Wo0ts im back from working at F1!

3 Days of strain for my feet but nevertheless a significant checkpoint of my life.
Will definitely look back on this post in the future.

I'll start with 26th Sept.

Preparation and Procedures
Met the people from TR03 working at the F1 at Cityhall approximately at 7.15am
However in the end i see only Matthew and JT loyally waiting for me.
Ok la sorry i was late for 15min. The freaking MRT stalled for dunno what reason for damn long.

Went to one of Ritz Carlton's Ballrooms to get my Security pass, Name Tag and Uniform.
Looking at my Security Pass Photo and some of the guys around me. I FREAKING regretted cutting my hair, for no one gave a damn! Zzz. That ShuShu person did not do justice by checking too. =.=

The uniform was......how to say.......
It's quite obvious they dont want us to look more presentable than the guests we're serving?
From a certain angle, we looked like students who just finished school, untucked and loitering at void decks.
From another angle, we looked like taxi drivers calling it a day.
However the female uniform made the girls look more demure. How unfair.

Ok so the process took kinda long cos..
1) We had to leave our bags at HR and go thru all that document thing.
2)We had to change into our uniforms
3) We had to settle our transport home. To note down our names in respective Bus routes and also to know what time we are working till (I worked till 1.30am)
4) For who knows WHAT reason, we actually had black long pants specially made for us. And we were supposed to change into them. (I dont know how many actually did but i did cos i thought it was compulsory.)
5) Because our own black long pants have to be kept into our bags, we went back to the HR to unlock the cage and put the pants into our bag. BUT as my bag was at the BOTTOM. They decided to put our pants into boxes with tags. -.-
6) We walked back to the Ballroom

It was a busy and crazy process but WE MADE IT. Lol. Ok after that we were split into our respective Suites. (Something like big rooms for the VIP guests to eat and watch the race) In other words..our groups. I was split awayy from the Tr03 people into my group.

My group apparently had many Tr21 Tr22 people whom i dont really know YET. And some other people from other classes. Total strangers to each other i tell you. From NP was Chilung, Amar, Xuanyi, Michelle, Renee, Jasper, Jieting and Yingsi (BS). (I didnt even know Jasper and Renee was in NP until the 2nd day =x)
And so they announced where our respective Suites are. There were Suites like Claymore 1, Cuscaden, OCBC and SingaporeGP(Organisers) etc etc. But when our group was announced it was accompanied by a round of gasps. Not hard to guess why, because it was Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes 's (Damn long name) Suite. They are the Team that League leader Lewis Hamilton belongs to. I dont really watch F1 until a few days ago where i did abit of research so i didnt really know how big a thing it was to be in Mclaren's Suite haha.

And We're OFF!

First day journey there was bad as it was apparently just DRIZZLING(What the manager said) outside. And we had to WALK to the Paddock Club (Where we're working) cos all the roads were closed.
As we stepped out from the Ballroom we were greeted pleasantly by the DRIZZLE which consists of several large drops of rain that was almost constantly falling, and EXTREMELY large drops from Trees up above. Most of us had wet hair and poka dotted uniforms when we reached.

I shall skip the journey up to the Suite because....well....what is there to happen climbing up stairs?

Briefing!
Couldnt resist taking a picture. (Which was apparently unallowed. But well..as what the manager said, they disallow it but if you manage to get one without being caught, nothing to say!)
For all 3 days i did serving and was in Group 7,(Which apparently only had me as the only new comer) and i served the middle 6 tables of the VIPs from TagHeuer, Schüco and Vodafone.
The Suite is NOT a hotel room. Quite a nice setting and really pleasantly decorated whilst keeping the Mclaren 'feel' in it. (The colour themes sort of complement the Team colours)
One of the 3 HUGE plasma flat screen TVs at the Suite. And theres that Glass Panel where the guests [And us occasionally x) ] can view the race.
I managed to sneak a shot through the Glass panel during the Formula BMW race with my phone peeking out from my pants pocket. And WOW of 7 shots i managed to catch one car!

Apparently the Singapore Grand Prix did not consist of only F1 races but also Aston Martin (Some super ex car) Races, Formula BMW races (Smaller version of F1 car), and another car race i forgot.




And this process goes on and on until dinnertime. Where an extra procedure was to offer Appetizers and desserts at the ends.

I dont want to talk about our meals. LOL. It's always bento packed lunch with weird and dry food. And almost always, the Coca Cola bottles have tough-to-open caps.

Around 5pm, was the Driver Appearance! Lewis Hamilton was ushered in with surprisingly almost no bodyguards. LOL. Everyone started rushing at him with caps for autographs and all. He talked about how he was adapting to Singapore and whether he was prepared for the Practice race later. Apparently he keeps talking abt himself still keeping to European time. Meaning he wakes up at like 4pm and sleeps at 6am or smth. Which is why he started with Good morning when the time was 5pm. Lol.

After he left and the horde of autograph hungry guests were satiated with his signature.(Which made me laugh because they were SO happy clutching the autographed cap which had a few roughly sketched circles. Obviously not the real signature) i had to arrange back the randomly pushed chairs during the rushing.

Around dinner time, (I'm only mentioning key parts cos most of the time it was a repetition of my work) came a familiar face. First i was shocked by his height but later i knew who he was. It was the local actor Tay Ping Hui. He sat at the Tagheuer table cos apparently i think he advertise for them i think.

My FIRST words with a Celebrity which had a REPLY (Which is the requirement to call it a successful communication, as learnt in Bcomm -.-)

Me: Good evening Sir what would you like to have to drink?
Him: Ermm I'll have a Diet Coke please. Thank you

THERE! LOLL first words with a celebrity. LOL ok im overreacting. Would be nicer if it was a female celebrity though...

And the practice session started soon after. There were two practice sessions. And Lewis Hamilton came in 1st for the first one and 2nd for the next. Whenever he clocks the best timing the whole room will cheer like as if they were the ones who clocked the timing. (It was only until the 2nd day when i realise that they were competing based on Timings of Best laps instead of overtaking and stuff) And i think everyone knows this but the F1 Cars are FREAKING LOUD. The roar of their engines can like take our appetite away when we're having dinner. But in turn, it really gets the excitement on and Adrenaline rushing to your head when u're watching the race. Good thing our Suite is quite Sound proof from the exterior so the Engine's roar became a meow.(Ok not funny)

The track looks so much nicer at night

So..after that was supper time for the guests and at around 12.30am almost all of the new comer girls left for home while we guys had to stay till 1.30am to clear up and turnover for the next day.
OH. And seriously. ALOT OF FOOD WAS WASTED. Whole TRAYS of Pasta, Bowls of soups and plates of desserts etc. All THROWN without hestitation or remorse into the mouth of the bin. The total amount of food wastage for these 3 days can feed an entire African village for at least a few months to a year ok. We managed to 'rescue' some of these food by storing them into our stomachs though...consider it a job well done ^^

After work we went back to Ritz to change and wait for our transport. Tampines's van came first because apparently the driver was smart enough to do a detour from Nicoll Highway and enter. The other vans for the other routes were stuck at security gantries. Really ironic to see those who left work at 12.30 still waiting for their vans. While i was released at 1.30 and we dont have to wait so long and still earn money.

2nd Day

On the way to Ritz Carlton, saw Amar on the way at CityLink too. We were rushed off to change and everything when we reached cos apparently we're almost late 0.o. Today was more organised and we finished changing and everything in a record 10 mins.

Nothing much happened on the 2nd day i guess. (For xuanyi, the aircon was better and she wasnt sick with red nose purple nails and lips o.0 ) Only that there was the Qualifying race for F1. Was kinda disappointing for Mclaren cos Lewis Hamilton finished like 10th or smth. Meaning he starts the REAL race like from the 10th pole postition. I dont think many know what i mean actually. LOL. The final race is not according to timing anymore but who crosses the finishing line . But their position to start in the qualifying race decides which position they start during the final race.

And thanks to Chilung. I sneaked two siewmais into my stomach from the buffet counter. HAHA. Junjie kept sneaking food for himself too. And kept reporting to me what he has eaten -.- And there was this guy from Tagheuer who thanked me for taking care of his nephew and niece yesterday. Apparently. All i did was to look at them. =.=

And there was this guy who was so demanding. Lime juice without sugar. Apparently all the lime juices were pre made with sugar syrup already. But he insisted. So i got the Captain to settle it x) Then eat ice cream. Also DEMAND that i show him all the flavours. zzz.

And also, another incident. I was serving drinks at the entrance with another waitress beside me. Apparently she was carrying cocktails with a heavier glass so i offered to exchange my tray with her so i asked her to go to a side with a table to exchange. For goodness what reason she didnt hear and shoved the tray near my tray and knocked my tray over on myself. Already drenched in cranberry and lime, a Captain came over and asked me if im ok and how come i drop. What made me shocked was the girl said i tilted over myself. And after that. She didnt even say sorry at all. I mean. It's not like im petty or what but. I wasted 30mins waiting for a person to bring another set of uniform from Ritz for me to change, looked like an idiot standing in the pantry with everyone wondering if i split drinks on someone. And u kept walking past avioding my glance without saying a word. Quite hard to take right...Ok dont disagree with me because everyone likes to disagree with me for fun. LOL

Transport home was kinda screwed up today. We had to like gather and walk to Suntec City to take the bus as they cant come in to the hotel along the circuit. Sooooo we spent damn long waiting at the security bay. And at 12am we wished Chilung happy birthday. Kinda ironic to have work on the same day as his birthday. In the end he made a choice to not come. LOL. He spent damn long on the phone while waiting for the bus too. Must be talking to girlfriend. Haha that's what we guessed. And his classmates kept making fun of him. And i also found out Renee is 23 x) (ermm..bullshit) Lol....and i really should have taken 3rd language. HAI. At least if i cant find a job i can be a translator or smth. Ok that's wishful thinking. Journey to Suntec was full of crap as usual. Can be expected with JT Lum and Chiayin in the background x) [Peace peace] I guess Matthew had OT so i didnt see him at the 1.30 transport.

The bus dropped me at the park. Cos i guess it was easier for the rest of the people too. And as i walked across the park, I saw a gang like loitering at the playground nearby. And a police car parked not far away. As i walked past the police car the policeman came out and asked to see my I/C. I was really puzzled at that moment cos it was really obvious they were catching loiterers but slacked in the car and approached ME instead of the gang when i walked past. I showed him my I/C and explained i just finished work at F1. He let me go. I think they are afraid to approach the gang, then pick on a small fry like me with no backup zzzz. Cmon you guys have guns and gangs in Singapore dont have ranged weopons. -.-

Went back home, bathed, stoned awhile, and fell into deep sleep.

3rd and final day of F1

Last day of working at the World's FIRST ever night race. Had to change shoes cos my first one's base is kinda in a bad condition and makes my feet feel damn pain

Heard alot of nice comments about Singapore from the commentators and reports the whole day. I guess it'll really boost Singapore's vistor rates. And i like one comment by the Godfather of Formula 1 racing Bernie Ecclestone that says that it has eliminated a common misconception that Singapore is like Malaysia Indonesia or Thailand. Definitely true! (Haha dont ask why)
This is what we saw when we came to work. Haha the hospitality team was playing Wii tennis on the BIG screen HAHA.

Last day was quite exciting. And Lewis Hamilton made a second appearance in the VIP club. And explained why he got 10th for the Qualifying round. Apparently it had smth to do with the tyres. (Theres two types. Super soft and soft)

About an hour before the final race started, guests started pouring in. And in the midst of the rushing and serving Jieting told me that the Taiwanese celebrity Xiao S and some famous Korean guy was in the room. Super shocked. Then after than, Amar came over and told me Miss Universe and Miss Japan was there. They are freaking tall ok. And yar..of course..pretty. The next question on my mind was.... How'd the hell i didnt see them coming in?

The race was really really super exciting. Most of the staff werent even paying attention to the guests anymore cos apparently they didnt need anything either. Everyone was rather engrossed. There were cheers when Lewis Hamiliton overtook all the way to 3rd, and gasps followed by cheers when Massa's car had a major screw up in the pit lane. He left when the fuel tube wasnt detached, resulting in his crew almost dragged along with him, and the tube being stuck in the wheel. As many screw ups surfaced in the race, a lucky Alonso climbed all the way from 15th to the 1st. And i heard he was still complaining the day before that It was Impossible for him to win. And that his team was incompetent. How ironic. And at the FINAL 4 Laps. Kimi Raikkonen crashed into the barriers. Everyone was shocked. Lol it's quite sad for ferrari cos both their cars are like hopeless already. Massa was trailing behind the leader by like 35 seconds.

So....Alonso won. But if Lewis Hamilton won. We wouldnt have to go home already. Cos it's like...Party is gonna be long. hahaa. At the end...it was camwhoring time! (And of course..we DID clear up quite alot.) Took a whole lot of pictures. I dont have all the picture though. And the individual pics i took with my fellow waiters and waitresses look weird so im not gonna post them but keep as fond memories... HAHA. Here are some, but not all of them

One of the F1 cars parked at the Pit Stop.
Xuanyi Renee Michelle.Germaine(Gen's sister) Stella Renee and 3/4 of Xuanyi.
Amar! And his series of 'emo shots'.This one is damn cool haha.
Jasper!
Funny guy haha!
Okay our attire super dont fit standing on the stage. Look so slack rite? This is the full uniform for the guys. AND THATS HOW SHORT MY HAIR IS.

Mini model of the F1 Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes Car! It's super detailed right down to the seat belts and steering wheel.

And then it was the end of the day and everyone bid farewell and had some sort of a debrief session by Amos.
Group picture with TR03! I dont know where is the one with Mclaren. Will post it up soon.!

I would like to say it has really been great working at the F1 with my fellow waiters and waitresses. We are proud to call ourselves the Mclarens HAHA. Really great team and nice people. Hope to meet up again sometime. (Its funny how we crazily bonded ONLY during the last day)



Quotes

" and then i am the stupidest. duno how to carry n clear plates. have to see how Edison does it. den i learn from him. slowly, i learnt. great experience. Great role model"

-Hateprawnsandjapan