Alternate CV
Favourite blue blouse I went to many countries with. While holidaying in China, my paternal grandma bought it in a town where this traditional motif was printed on many things.
Some life experiences fondly recalled
I was an avid party organizer till teenagehood. My friend Desiree and I often put together reunions and themed parties, e.g. elderly theme - dress up as old people, eat "old people food", play bingo, read wills aloud.
When I was 20 I worked a summer at Six Flags The Great Escape (Queensbury, upstate NY) alongside locals and international college students. In an eccentric universe, I manned the go-karts and spent time under the sun futilely shouting at violent American teenage boys to slow their go-karts down, almost losing my life once due to riders' disregard for safety. I also manned the bungee trampoline, and enjoyed encouraging toddlers to bounce while their parents took photos.
I practiced Southeast Asian martial arts for three years as a young adult, then eventually realised I never enjoy taking people down. I then discovered parkour/art du deplacement. Contrary to media portrayals, it can be a safe sort of group experience. It has been, for me, a bodily liberation through disciplined training and improvised play. Although I rarely practice these days, that experience had a profound effect on me.
While in university I interned six months at The New Paper, Singapore’s tabloid. I would go around the country (which really is only a 45 minute drive from one end to another at most) with 10kg/22lbs of top end Canon equipment, photographing everything from celebrities to exposed scams, impassioned feminist conference, advertorials and death incidents. I was once told to head to the beaches on a sultry weekday to hopefully get a photo of someone in a thong for a weekend feature on obscene beachwear. Incidentally, I spotted such a person but didn't take a photo. I sat at the beach staring at the sea, feeling depressed. I went back and lied that I found nothing.
My first and only proper long-term job was working a year and nine months at the National Arts Council (Singapore), where I was immersed in bureaucracy and managed the national elderly arts programme. I was much repulsed by the endless use of corporate terms in emails and discussions (such as low-hanging fruit and strategic thrusts), so I amassed a list of them, which I used to write a very long love poem. I consider my greatest achievement in the organisation to be reading the poem to everyone at the Christmas party in my red and white polkadotted pyjamas, and getting emails after that from people who liked it.
I've had the fortune to travel to many countries. I am always dreaming of going somewhere, living on the road.
Other things I've done
foraged in the tropical jungle behind my house
cooked 15 dishes for 100 people with a friend
worked as a server in an Italian restaurant; as an artist liaison for a circusy group; as a tv documentary researcher; for a crowdfunding platform advising people on their projects; in a natural foods company; as a summer substitute plant waterer
had gastric ulcers and recovered from them
written two eulogies
given full body nude massages
driven on both sides of the road
Significant bits of education
Theatre Studies and Drama as an 'A' Level subject in Victoria Junior College, with Mr Lofthouse, back when VJC was the only place offering it; many will attest this was, for them, also a legendary experience. One thing that happened was discovering The Beatles and everything that came with that.
During my largely placid time at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, I was brought alive and benefitted greatly from photojournalism class with Tay Kay Chin, documentary class with Nikki Draper, and finding a lifelong pal in Amanda Lee Koe, with whom I made Post-Love.
Languages spoken
First language: English
First and a half language: Mandarin
Quite fluent: French (DELF B1)
Basic (in descending order): Hokkien, Hindi, Spanish, Japanese
Smattering of: Malay
Some life experiences fondly recalled
I was an avid party organizer till teenagehood. My friend Desiree and I often put together reunions and themed parties, e.g. elderly theme - dress up as old people, eat "old people food", play bingo, read wills aloud.
When I was 20 I worked a summer at Six Flags The Great Escape (Queensbury, upstate NY) alongside locals and international college students. In an eccentric universe, I manned the go-karts and spent time under the sun futilely shouting at violent American teenage boys to slow their go-karts down, almost losing my life once due to riders' disregard for safety. I also manned the bungee trampoline, and enjoyed encouraging toddlers to bounce while their parents took photos.
I practiced Southeast Asian martial arts for three years as a young adult, then eventually realised I never enjoy taking people down. I then discovered parkour/art du deplacement. Contrary to media portrayals, it can be a safe sort of group experience. It has been, for me, a bodily liberation through disciplined training and improvised play. Although I rarely practice these days, that experience had a profound effect on me.
While in university I interned six months at The New Paper, Singapore’s tabloid. I would go around the country (which really is only a 45 minute drive from one end to another at most) with 10kg/22lbs of top end Canon equipment, photographing everything from celebrities to exposed scams, impassioned feminist conference, advertorials and death incidents. I was once told to head to the beaches on a sultry weekday to hopefully get a photo of someone in a thong for a weekend feature on obscene beachwear. Incidentally, I spotted such a person but didn't take a photo. I sat at the beach staring at the sea, feeling depressed. I went back and lied that I found nothing.
My first and only proper long-term job was working a year and nine months at the National Arts Council (Singapore), where I was immersed in bureaucracy and managed the national elderly arts programme. I was much repulsed by the endless use of corporate terms in emails and discussions (such as low-hanging fruit and strategic thrusts), so I amassed a list of them, which I used to write a very long love poem. I consider my greatest achievement in the organisation to be reading the poem to everyone at the Christmas party in my red and white polkadotted pyjamas, and getting emails after that from people who liked it.
I've had the fortune to travel to many countries. I am always dreaming of going somewhere, living on the road.
Other things I've done
foraged in the tropical jungle behind my house
cooked 15 dishes for 100 people with a friend
worked as a server in an Italian restaurant; as an artist liaison for a circusy group; as a tv documentary researcher; for a crowdfunding platform advising people on their projects; in a natural foods company; as a summer substitute plant waterer
had gastric ulcers and recovered from them
written two eulogies
given full body nude massages
driven on both sides of the road
Significant bits of education
Theatre Studies and Drama as an 'A' Level subject in Victoria Junior College, with Mr Lofthouse, back when VJC was the only place offering it; many will attest this was, for them, also a legendary experience. One thing that happened was discovering The Beatles and everything that came with that.
During my largely placid time at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, I was brought alive and benefitted greatly from photojournalism class with Tay Kay Chin, documentary class with Nikki Draper, and finding a lifelong pal in Amanda Lee Koe, with whom I made Post-Love.
Languages spoken
First language: English
First and a half language: Mandarin
Quite fluent: French (DELF B1)
Basic (in descending order): Hokkien, Hindi, Spanish, Japanese
Smattering of: Malay