Bulging Eyes and Ringing Ears

Yeah of course the photo bomb

I've been researching a certain type of television program for the past week to see how they measure up to my latest concept,  and my eyes and ears are beginning to rebel from overexposure to media.  I'm sure if anyone saw me, all they'd think is, "huh, lucky for some, surfing shows daily."  Well believe me, most times it's not, especially if you see how much drivel is out there masquerading itself as a show.  (Now you understand why my kids try not to go to the movies with me, they usually shush me as I mutter a stream of comments under my breath ...)

So when the ladies organised a get together for Wednesday night, it was with a resounding yes that I agreed to go.  Suffice to say I've not gone out to clubs/bars/watering holes, whatever you want to call them, in quite a while so it was interesting to discover this new place called Elysium in town. Situated atop one of the business towers in town, it was relatively easy and painless to get there (yes this all really counts OK!) The lovely hostess guided me to the lift that whisked me up to the 31st floor, where the friendly waiters showed me to a lovely terrace overlooking the Kuala Lumpur Skyline.  It had just finished raining so the evening was cool and balmy.  I was introduced to everyone as there were fresh new faces there, one of the other reasons I went.

Great View

The young helpful young waiter efficiently went through a list of cocktails especially prepared for ladies night.  Unfortunately though, his accent was so thick I kept saying " sorry, could you repeat that " and leaned closer to hear him.  He sort of rolled his eyes and produced the menu for me to read for myself ... Oh you mean "urban legend" I said.  He gave me that look, you know the one, we've all done it before the "that's what I said" look.  Oooo kayy then.

biggest plate of nachos ever!

Back to the Ladies, so we have a former COO of radio broadcasting, 1 producer, 1 zero waste campaigner,  1 marketing and promotions whiz , 1 traffic news presenter and a high flyer from a major research company.  As you can imagine the conversation was eclectic and ranged from trips to the south and north pole to chasing escaping pets on a beach!  One thing we all had in common, we were all tired of the  chauvinistic behaviour still rampant in our  respective industries even though we've moved into the 21st century (I guess the burning of bras was not enough to break the glass celing!) and that feminism was more about equality, not who's better.  The conversation came to a head when we discussed how we could collectively begin to create a network of women to set up a form of "old boys club" in order to help each other move up the ladder.  I'm sure you understand exactly what I mean.  It was also refreshing to go out and have a lively and entertaining discussion, as opposed to being bored out of your mind with the company, conversation, place, time...zzzzz.

Pro back lighting yall he he he

As the night wound down,  the DJ started ramping it up, (must say really good choice of tunes from the lady jock).  We said our farewells.   A few of the girls had already agreed to meet up separately  for potential collaborations.  I'd say that was well and truly worth the night out.

And the best part?  We'll be meeting up again soon.  Right I have to get cracking, only two more days to our Scandelabra Showcase, now that Lisa is well and up and about, it's full steam ahead!  Look forward to seeing you there!  Keep those e mails coming in and thank you again for your subscription.

The last word

I've been under the weather lately, a really bad viral attack had me home bound for a couple of weeks and slowly the pain in receding. So while I had time on my hands I went through the admin side of the social media sites and that's checking the comments, responding to them, tidying up the written content , you know what I mean! It's a virtual way of cleaning house without the physical side of it!!

I came across a couple of negative remarks and comments on my social media platforms, some from friends and some from strangers.  So I thought to myself how do other people deal with negativism ?  ~"the practice of being or tendency to be negative or skeptical in attitude while failing to offer positive suggestions or views.".
We're no stranger to this, you could be a student, or climbing up the corporate ladder, a housewife, a multimillionaire and everyone bar none will have experienced this.  The funny thing about us human beings is that we could receive 20 wonderful comments about our work/product/result and get 1 negative one, and which one do you remember?  The negative one!  ( this is the link for 7 strategies for Dealing with Negative People )

Sometimes it's better to switch off!

When we  were on radio  I swear my former CEO said " just remember there are a lot Psychos out there, don't take anything personally!".   We had our share of  irate callers believe me,  and some did attack  us personally. We were advised not to engage if it was personal and just report the call .  Same with being on Television, when the comments were constructive,  we'd write back and if they were negative we'd just delete it and let it go.

Yah, I was like "OMG"!

If you really think about it, not everyone is going to like what you do and or even you personally, that's part of the tapistry of life, so many different types of people, likes and dislikes are so diverse, and there's bound to be people who won't get on.  Here's the link  How to deal with negative comments on social media

Well for me I break it down into two categories, constructive criticism and personal attacks.  I've learned to not react immediately, I take a deep breath and step back, think about it and if it's worth my effort , to respond diplomatically,  and if it's just utter tripe.... I just let it go and chalk it down to "pot shots from the cheap seats"!  (see even you smiled)  or I call my bestie  and have a rant, get  it out of my system and carry on.  There is more to life than allowing negative thoughts and words from others to impact you and your lifestyle,  like that sale you just signed off on, or the new app you designed or the dinner party you're throwing , you get my drift.  So sally forth, and let the positive rule the way!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for subscribing to my vlogs, much appreciated!

Hey Boss

In my last blog I touched on a few different avenues one could explore whilst waiting for that "job" that you want to land, or if you're still figuring out weather you want to continue being an employee or an employer.  It's a huge undertaking and does require much pondering and I am the queen of over thinking everything except when it comes to doing something I feel passionate about, like this blog :-) 

My partner Stacey and I when we owned VirgoModels

So I was thinking to myself how the young guns are really moving ahead and striving in today's world with their start ups and businesses that seem to just hit it off from the get go,  and then I had to kick myself mentally (lets face it, trying to kick yourself physically is kinda weird and most people would assume you've left your straight jacket hanging around somewhere....)   because I remembered hey I did exactly the same thing too when I was a young gun.    I had my own business by the age of 31.   I had a successful modeling agency , and  following through  that I also had a successful management company that managed the upcoming artist who are all now pretty established...

One of the Bands I managed under G.O Management

I realised being envious was silly, so I quickly shoved that thought  into a deep dark and very dank corner and then began to ponder on some reasons concerning "making it on your own" .  The question is whether or not you are ready to head out on an adventure that  only you can chart.  You have to  decide if you're happy with the so called "security" of being salaried (and lets face it no one is safe no matter how high up the ladder you are, not trying to scare anyone or anything.. just saying) or be the Boss of your own Business. 

I wont say I'm an expert in this, all I'm giving you is my experiences of starting up my own companies, and if it helps, then I've done what I set out to do! There are several things you need to consider.   

Firstly what do you want to do, what do you really love to do?  These are important questions as you will discover you spend more than 80% of your time working (I think we should have 3 day weekends! but hey that's just me!)  Is it something that you're really passionate about?  Have you discussed this with your close group of friends?  Are they supportive or do they think it's the worst idea ever?  Do you have a mentor?  Can you go to them and outline what you intend to do?  I must say I'm a very stubborn person and once I decide to do something, "you can't "  is not in my vocabulary.  That helped a lot in keeping my focus on getting my businesses up and going. Of course I discussed it with a few friends and got them to help me with cash flow projections, 3 to 5 year P&L plans and that dreaded word.. yes.. accounts.. yuck!, to all the accountants out there, we love you, please don't ever change !

Now if you've decided to take the plunge ,  (please don't blame your shampoo for hair loss, it's the stress...) then the first thing you need to do is , set up a company.  In M'sia you have two choices, you can either open up as a sdn bhd (limited co)  or as a sole proprietor.   It all  really depends on the kind of structure that you want for your company and what suits you best.  Sdn Bhds's will obviously cost you more, so ensure you have at least $5K set aside to cover all the different fees when Incorporating a company , this includes secretarial fees, stamping fees and if you buy a shelf company and want to have the name changed.  Pick your company sec carefully, they will be with you for a while, ask friends about theirs or for recommendations. 

If you are opting for a Sdn Bhd then make sure you nominate the other director/s with care, as they have to sign off on all the docs including co cheques.  Now if it's only you running the company and you don't need loans, grants and restructuring every few years it's ok to use family members or friends you trust, I did that, but as we grew, I was advised to bring on shareholders and directors with hefty track records, it would make applications for funds in what ever form much much easier. I now have 2 Directors and 3 shareholders on board who kick butt bebeh!    

On to some frivolity, the name of the company! Heh, for some this doesn't matter, for me, it's part of branding.  My company is named after my 3 kids so it's called Cleiden  (Christopher, Leilani and Ayden)  a girlfriend of mine came up with that (more heads together, more ideas!) here's my link Cleiden Management Productions

The logo is a Maori fish hook aka "hei matau" which represents strength, good luck and safe travel across water (as a producer and creator of shows there is a lot of travelling!). Your company sec will give you a list of names already incorporated if you want a shelf company, from there if you want the name changed make sure you give your co sec at least 3 choices.  

Hosting a TV show with Color Me Badd

Ok so now you've got your company sec,  incorporated a company, have a list of names you'd like to change it to and picked your director.  It gets better .. now you need to get an accountant on board as well as a company auditor.  Yes apart from co sec fees you have to pay quarterly, you have the auditors yearly fees for audit and tax and your best friend and somewhat huge pain in the derriere the accountant. Try to have your accountant do the books regularly either weekly or fortnightly depending on your turnover, or like me you'll be huffing and grumbling from all the questions and deep file searches for that one flipping receipt that they don't have! 

I know it all seems much, especially since you're also expected to attend Company Director courses, GST courses etc to ensure you know what you're doing, BUT if you've got the determination to get your product off the ground, this is only a small blip on that road to your new adventure, and hey if I can do it, so can you. I'll catch you all again next week, I've uploaded my first vlog for this Blog, and hopefully the new design for my blog will be ready in the next few days, hope you like it!  Drop me a line, daphnenasir@yahoo.co.uk anytime, love to hear from you! 

So What NOW? part 1

Ahhh this post has been a long time coming, you know , you say  "I'll do it next weekend, when I've more time to spare and in a better frame of mind', well guess what, it's not the weekend, I am in a better frame of mind and I'm no longer on air! WHY you ask, lemmie fill you in.

My partner Bel on the breakfast show, which is from 6 am to 10 am weekdays on CapitalFm, and I were sorting out our holidays, we have to schedule them so at least one of us is anchoring the show with whomever that fills in.  Bel's going before me as she's got "stuff" to do overseas, so after another intense show also due to the fact that we're still under sweeps, (sweeps are the surveys done to the radio stations to see how they are performing in all categories including against each other)  we trundle down to HR to fill out our leave application.   We bump into our Station Manager who's beginning to look like a Mexican jumping bean with all the meetings she's been hopping in and out of.

"Hey Ladies" she says, "we've got an emergency meeting this afternoon, please make sure you are there, no excuses".   Bel and I look at each other and groan, we were hoping to bugger off home right quick to decompress, both of us at the end of our tethers and ready to burn out from the grueling and intense schedule .  "Ok bawse, " I retort, " I hope it's good news".  She gives us a sheepish look and says " it's about the finances",  I give her a sharp  "I hope they arent' thinking of reducing the salaries, coz it's going to be mutiny on the bounty " .  She says " well you guys will find out at the meeting".

Forward to the meeting, we're all seated around the conference table, throwing remarks at each other, taking the mickey , it's a women's station, we can get down and dirty and no one takes offence, we're essentially sisters in the hood .  Our COO walks in and without much preamble says, "the board of directors had an emergency meeting last night and have decided to shut down the station, so as of 30th Sept, the station will run on automation"... clang goes my jaw on the table, Bel's lost it, everyone is stunned and the tears are glistening on a lot of the faces around me.  Well now, that just about gives us two weeks to pack up and go... charming.

We had worked public holidays,  worked ourselves to the bone to push the station forward to make it even more successful, worked without producers, proper budgets and publicity and now this.. whoaaa.  For those who didn't smoke or drink, this was one day when all that went out the window.

Our COO invited us all out  that evening, all the announcers drifted in eventually. Though it was a sombre night, we still managed to have a few laughs.  My COO or should I say former COO,  looks at me and says "Thanks Daph, for coming on board, and I truly appreciate all that you have done to turn the station around"  I said " I did it for you Kudsia, you inspired me to come back, you wanted to make it for women, by women and that was the hook, and I'm glad I took the time out to do so, it was quite the roller coaster ride!"  She looks at me and says "lets talk some more later ok"  sure, everyone wanted a bit of her time, she was making herself available to all the announcers to discuss what was on their mind.

For the next two and a half weeks, Bel and I had to pretend to our audience on air  all was ok, we had to ensure the show was still on point, to not slip up, it was  hard, we couldn't  tell our regular contributors why we were not having them on the show, we couldn't  accept any more invitations to interview, we were not really answering our company e mails, so when the final day came and we were given the green light to say farewell on air, it was a lump in your throat, eyes glazed with tears, trembly and wobbly lower lip emotional moment.  We had established so many regular callers, contributors, NGO's , amazing people who were pushing boundaries for women, enriching our lives as women.  Bel was leaving on the same day, and we clung to each other, "gonna miss you mate" we both said at the same time. We had created such a strong bond, I feel we'll always have that special connection.

I kept waking up at 5 am in the morning for the next few days after our final day on air,  freaking out I was late for work, only to realise I didn't have to wake up!  I sat around watching my kids, reading facebook posts, scrolling through twitter and prepping for my trip to Hong Kong.  I had  previously booked and sorted my vacation to my hometown of Hong Kong for my school reunion, on one hand I was really looking forward to it, and on the other obviously I was concerned as I was now out of a job.  I spoke to my mother that evening and she said "Go Daph, enjoy yourself, relax, be with those who know you and I'm sure you'll figure out what you're gong to do next"   I also spoke to my school chum Annie as we're still close and she said the same, my other bestie said "go bonkers in Honkers!" 

As the days got closer to the big reunion date in Hong Kong,  everyone started to post frantically on our reunion wall on Facebook, I forgot about the sting of being made redundant, .... well I told myself here's to the next adventure,  Hong Kong here I come!  (you'll have to read the next blog for that little nugget!)

On the Air

I've been spending most of my weekends catching up with sleep lately as I've been "pulled" back to radio and been lassoed into the prime time slot in the morning from 6am to 10am for the #Capitalbreakfast show on #Capitalfm_my.  This means a 4.30 am wake up call from Mondays to Fridays, so I kissed the remnants of my social life away and knuckled down to a new job, in the new year.  I am also lucky enough to have a  tremendous co host on the show, the universe is certainly showering her blessings down upon me for 2015

So far it's been a great year, yes there were some major disappointments, some setbacks , some frustration regarding The Art of Living Show, but I've got to look at the positive side of it and that is, I've done what I set out to do,which was to convert my web site into an ITV portal, tested it and tested it until we got the streaming right for all systems, and then I let go of the reigns and delegated the task of Sales and Marketing to outside parties.  How they will fare with bringing in our developers ?? I don't know but I'm hoping with all the material they've been given (as we've got so much footage and the many many links to our shows) and a history of being a successful lifestyle program, it will be a doddle for them to sign on property developers and lifestyle merchants alike.

What's the property market going to be like this year?  Well it's been slowing down to almost a grinding halt, we have a lot of high end properties that need to be pushed out, The Art of Living Show's ITV portal is the perfect platform for developers to show case their product as it gets to be seen worldwide, need I say more?

As for me and my little ventures, I've got something else up my sleeve.. oh yes, when have I ever sat still?   I had a big pow wow with the shareholders yesterday,  they believe I'm ahead of my time as most people have not grasped the context of ITV portal here  and the reception has been "lukewarm" so to speak, but overseas in the UK and US,  it's the way to go, what I've created here is a concept that has taken the market by storm, so with that information in hand, I
shall begin making my way into the second concept I'd like to launch.

Keep your eye on this blog, you never know when I'm going to post something juicy!!  Till then have a successful, joyful, happy and loving 2015!

Dx

O X doo

Ahh the Bash on Friday.. welll ... sigh.. I think there was definitely very much of too muchness if you know what I mean! You don't? Ok well here goes...

I had three men with me, Carl, Ian my gay friend whom I asked first and his partner Rick (Rick is a very colonial Englishman.. who happens to know my dad.. imagine a very plummy voice, velvet dinner jacket and that's Rick).

The hosts really threw on a show for the party, they had dancers decked out in glittery outfits and feathers dancing on stage in the theme colour of the party which was.. uh.. PINK AND BLACK.., they had the Emcee's (whom were both former Miss Malaysia's .. ah.. well the recent ones...heh) get driven to the stage on two massive Harley's. They had men on stilts walking around and entertaining the guests, they had two stages on either side of the ballroom with bands playing and flanked on either sides of the walls were different food stations for the guests. So there was a vast variety of food. Champagne was in your face as well as some of the people.

Of course walking in with Carl, caused a stir, a good looking actor with cheek bones so sharp you could cut glass on them, a cheeky smile and roving eyes that got tongues a wagging, some old gossips came up to us and said, "is this your boyfriend?" I look to Carl with an amused smile (we were actually very good friends, and have been from the first time we met which was on a shoot I had booked him for, a few years back ) and say,
" Are you my boyfriend?" and Carl, who's eyes have stopped roving and were now locked and loaded on an exotic asian actress behind old trout face who posed the question, just says "yess.." (he goes into acting mode when not paying attention) and the gossips go all twittery and do the 'oh how wonderful' bit as I look at Carl and hiss
"why the hell did you say that..?"
He's Like "What? What?.. "I didn't hear you?"
I said,"yeah I know, cause you've just said you're my boyfriend and that's going spread faster than a bush fire in OZ mate...." geezzz.

The night carries on, I catch up with my old radio colleague , we're cackling away, watching in amusement as Carl flits about, comes back and forth, for a drink and a taste of the food. Singers, composers , you name it, all the industry people are there, I end up at the island bar in the ballroom with Ian, Carl and lan's girl pal Jacqs.

Carl and I are having a conversation about our future and where we're heading as he props himself at the bar and I lean on him , I'm telling him about my intention to go to NZ and he's asking me why, (geezz everyone does, it's always WHY NZ? why not OZ?) so I'm explaining,
when he says, "well D, I'm Australian, you can always marry me, the process takes a year and it will help you get into NZ without a hitch"
I'm looking at Carl.. "seriously mate....."
and he's like " no, I mean it, I can help... plus you're easy on the eye.. we'd have fun together." I roll my eyes, however, as we're having this discussion, Rick, who's been evesdripping, gets the wrong end of the stick because he hears the "Marry me" bit and all gaydom breaks loose..

Just imagine me standing in a black cocktail dress, glass of champers in hand, Carl sitting on a bar stool, talking to me and Rick leaning over to Carl and running his hands through Carl's hair and saying "ARE YOU SURE YOU"RE NOT GAY??? because I think you are, and I need to know these things if you're going to marry D, as I know D's dad very well.. you have no idea who he is... " Carl looks at me, I'm grinning and I think payback time!! Rick's all ready to speed dial Dad up, Ian at this point is muttering in my ear ... ( "says he the one night stand that never left!" ) I cover my mouth as I choke down the laughter!  I watch Carl act his way out of this little pickle!... he's good... very good... but that doesn't mean he's off the hook!

Ian has had enough and says "come on, come back to my place we can drink there and have a chat." So that is what we did, and after Carl and Jacqui left , I stayed on and chatted into the wee hours of the morning with Ian about matters of the heart, mind and soul. If only he was straight, I'd marry him in a heart beat... now how many times have you heard a straight woman say that about a gay man??? ... thought so...
... Dx

I do this for you my friend

To say that I have a small hangover would be quite an understatement... who needs to do damage with wine in France when one can do it here very easily...aspirins I love you, you are my bestest friends.. hic.. ooppss..
Well I knew my FORMER best friend Gina would bunk out on me last night. Since Louis is in Italy, one would think she'd be partying like before, but no..

So I rock into the Hilton hotel and the valet tells me the doo is on the 6th floor in the ballroom .. I'm double checking OK, as I'm on my own, don't want to walk into someones wedding and have to sit with some strange folk eating some exotic 6 course meal just to be polite!
Anyway I head up and get stuck in the lift with not one .. oh no.. that would have been too kind, but about 8 very very and very (did I say very?) smelly sweaty people, even my perfume couldn't overpower the reek of b.o.(what is it with the no showering after walking around in the heat and sweating like a horse deal?) They're  asking me "omm were is der pardy?" "we would like to come as well" .. I'm doing a Mr bean impersonation in the lift and looking at the numbers on the panel holding my breath, trying not to look like I understand engrrisshh!

Phew! I think as the lift doors open, I step out and flee!  I try to saunter in to the function room gracefully, I'm wearing a bright fuchsia dress with soft pink flowers on it and beading, it's cut pretty ... well.. low.. so I've got to stand straight.. in case .. you know what( overexposed cleavage .. not a pretty sight) .. anyway..So I'm sauntering in and girls at the reception table are looking at me with those polite glazed over looks
"and you are?" asks the petite door girl
Deep breath, very low voice " I'm D x "..
"oh".. quick scurrying.. and I get tagged.. with a paper band around my wrist that says VIP.. what? what? viper in progress? very iggy pop??

So I head to the entrance and the photographer is clicking away at a couple and I'm told to wait.  You know when you do that one two step to try to move forward and you have to step back coz of on coming traffic?? That was me and I wasn't line dancing!  So anyway photographer finishes and I'm about to step in and she 's looking at me with this question mark on her face. I put her out of her misery "it's OK, no need for pics, I'm on my own, I'll just go straight in .." jeez... ya think being single is akin to being a leper nowdays!

I slowly walk through looking for my old class mate who was the co organiser of this event. What a former hot shot Lawyer who was also titled , is doing in Events now is totally beyond me, but I'm sure I'll get an explanation eventually.
There is no one I recognise, I keep on walking till I get to the bar at the end of the room and at the last island table is Wanda, an editor of a new and upcoming magazine, she's standing there with her girlfriend and giving me a cheesy grin. "Hey!" "Where HAVE you been?" Wanda was one of the regulars at Bar Blond when I used to go there for drinks with the girls or for the Blond Idol nights. I air kiss her cheeks and say " I've given up going out for lent" She introduces me to her girlfriend, I notice they're both wearing the same necklaces.. how cute..

I turn to get a drink off the waiter's tray and Stephan rolls up to me with his usual cheeky smile. Stephan is a journalist as well, whom I've known since my radio days, he used to write articles about us when we were in the biz.. "D, since you're in the line of work and all that, do you have any MTV post party passes?"
"Pardon?" I say
"post party passes? " he says again. (Try saying post party passes really fast 10 times..)
........
I look at Steven and say "why would you think I'd have any and , who'd want to go?"
"I would" Stephan says..
Sigh, he's still so Billboard's Hot 10 Hits. Anyway, it's the usual move and schmooze, and I'm standing at the table thinking,if it wasn't for my ol school chum, I'd be at home, online to Ana, having a cackle. I'm supposed to have given up smoking but I really need a fag now and I'm talking the smoking kind.. .  Wanda goes off with her girl friend and says she'll be back, and for me to not go inside the main ball room without her.   OooK. I'm the rock that everyone clings too today...
Stephan says he'll be back in a sec, he's decided to hang around me tonight as I'm on my own... repeat line.. I'm the rock they everyone is clinging to today...

The moment they step away, a load of Singaporeans come up to the table I'm standing at, I mean out of the dozens of tables around the foyer of the ballroom, WHY my table?? And have you noticed how utterly utterly DISGUSTINGLY HORRIBLE the Singaporean accent is? (I have nothing against them.. realllyyyyy  *innocent look*)   AND boy are they LOUD!! after talking over me and around me one of them says, "sorry ah, if we're a bit loud" Well , not one to mince with my words, I say " Yes , a BIT loud" sarcastically.   I think he gets miffed at the "ice out" from me and steps away. . I text Stephan and say "get your butt back here, I will not deal with dickheads alone"

He's back in 2 mins and says "c'mon lets schmooze around," it's amazing the things one sees when one is out. Who's going out with whom, who's having an affair with whom, who's got TERRIBLE taste in clothes, who wears TOO little.( why do we waste so much time doing all this?? aAgood DVD at home would have been so much more pleasant  or throwing peanuts at the tv whilst watching the Kardashians!) I'm grinning away and doing the "hello dahhhlinkk, how are youuuu," bit and finally spot my ol school chum, she's got a walkie talkie in one hand, a pda in the other and a frown on her forehead.
"HEY! " "WOMAN"! I shout at her, her eyes open wide and she grins at me and mouths "I'll be with you in a sec!"

The main doors open for the show, you got your usual gyrating girls in little wee shorts and boob tubes with lit torches and what not.  Yeah, yeah I'm thinking, whoopdee doo, and start heading to the island table closest to the bar with Stephan and Wanda, who've found me along the way, and park myself there for the rest of the night, well for the next hour and half anyway.

While the show is going on, I'm getting texts from Sam who is Gina's golfing buddy
" Oi D, get your fat ass down here, we've got drinks at the bar" He's at Zee bar one floor down with James who's also a golfing buddy but also Gina's and my lawyer.
I text back " Is Gina there?"
Sam replies " Louis calling her house phone to check on her eh"
which means NO! he he he, ah women... what can I say.

People are coming up to greet me, I think I must have used most of my tube of lip gloss from all the cheeks I kissed, some man of unknown origins walks past me and says "you must go and thank your parents for your features... " HUH? what was that all about? My butt gets patted and I turn around and it's Jingles, a musician friend of mine from London, his lovely black hair in tiny plats,
"oi oi", I say,
"D, corr you look gorgeous luv, where's Gina? "
I say "At home in bed man, she's getting lazy about going out"
He says "yeah, did she tell you I bumped into her and her man"
we both roll our eyes and he dashes off to play the next set on stage.

My old school chum comes over eventually, as she was the only reason I came to this do, and introduced me to her husband, and family members and then dragged over some other old school chums and there was much hugging and squeals of delight and catching up going on ( I was in an all girls school prior to leaving my country)

I realised it was time to go when one of the ministers with his very 'horrible head rug' was standing very close by.   I was eventually introduced to him " Yes yes he says, "we've met many times, but I'm afraid to come and say hello with all your boyfriends around" and holds his hands up and pretends to tremble. " Oh ha ha ha" I laugh politely, and pinch my girlfriend for introducing him, yes I've met him twice before, under official circumstances, in his office, and NOT at social gatherings..
I turn to Stephan to tell him I'm going, and he says "relax D, stay just a little longer please, the music is getting good" Stephen has, for most of the night, been trying to find some girl I introduced him to, whom he has endearingly referred to as "the big kajongas girl" I can't remember who she is. and in between his search he's been bopping around me! Sigh, "OK" just a bit, as I have to go downstairs to meet some friends"

More of my girlfriends are standing around me, and as I look around to catch a waiter when I lock eyes with this very cute Chinese guy, who grins at me, umm.. I smile back... OK.. I always get confused when Chinese guys do this to me as I always think I must be the last person in the world they'd be attracted to, as my features are the polar opposite of theirs. I get my drink, more introductions, clinking of glasses and as I look up,  cute oriental guy is looking at me from his table, he's got a lovely Armani suit on, open crisp cotton white shirt and obviously weight lifts.  He still smiling at me, I'm intrigued, then he , get this, he crooks his finger at me to beckon me over! I turn around grab my bag, say goodbye to all at the table, tell them to say goodbye to Stephan as he's off again, and zoom out of the ballroom quick to Zee bar.
HE HE HE escape! I mean, hello, crook your finger at ME???? uh huh.my mother taught my brothers more manners than that thank goodness..

I head in to Zee bar looking for the culprits who sent me such rude texts,  and find Sam and James at the usual corner of the bar we stand at,  they are with two really cute bubbly girls.  James asks me what I want to drink, and I say water, he looks at me and says "D, I said a DRINK!!"
Ok ok, I tell him red wine, I get both, water and red wine, I drink the water down as I've got to drive home and don't want to be tiddled driving.

Sam's got some friends at the bar as well, one of them has got Sam's shirt sleeve stuffed in his mouth as he's staring at me, James looks at him, rolls his eyes and says to me, "here D, let me introduce you to Ben" I laugh and say hello, and then James introduced me to the rest of them, they turn out to be the devil incarnate, as I'm trying to sober up they're trying to get me more drinks! We're all giggling about Gina and her self imposed exile from the club. The guys are dancing with their girlies on the dance floor, then they're swinging me around on the dance floor, and after the second glass of wine that has been pressed into my hand, James says 'c'mon lets go", as it's getting late and some guys are paying me unwanted attention. I get home in one piece, James calls to check if I've made in back OK, and I crash out thinking I always have a much better time with my mates just having a few and a laugh, now I know why I don't want to go out to rara doos anymore.. IT"S TIRING!!! Dx