Cruz

It was probably a slow news day, or I wouldn’t have landed on Page 2 of Shin Min on Friday. Weiqiang, the reporter asked if I will be getting a new car to rid the the bad luck. I can’t. I placed a miserable downpayment in Dec 2005, and I have a hefty loan to pay off. Unless someone is gullible kind enough to give me an endorsement or something.

This article was also reproduced on China Press, as alerted by a Malaysian listener- in case you want to read the text which came from this blog entry.

And oh, I really need some new photos.

Voting for the Most Popular DJ Award concluded on Sunday. Thank you very much for your SMSes. Another round of polling has begun.＊怎么那么多奖项要投啊？烦死人了！＊ Hahaha.

www.cruzteng.com is in the running for Best Radio Personality Blog Award, a new category in Singapore Radio Awards 2010.

Do I have to provide any compelling reasons for you to vote for this blog which has been entertaining you (and perhaps inviting controversy along the way) since 2004? Not necessary right? Don’t be loh soh and go vote now. *Fist to chest* Feel free to look through the other nominated blogs. Just remember to vote for www.cruzteng.com at the end of the day. *Fist to chest again*.

For those of you who found your way here via the official site, the text below is dedicated to you.

Hi, I’m Cruz Teng. I usually sleep past midnight, but get up by 5.45am to do the morning show on Y.E.S. 93.3FM, Singapore’s number one radio station. I celebrated my 30th birthday last September, which in itself is a huge miracle- considering the number of mishaps I’ve encountered. The most memorable saga involved falling into a drain.

Because of my work, I’ve had the chance to travel quite a bit, and my Macbook (with an internet connection) has become the most important thing after my passport, when I’m away. Finally, when I say I’m effectively bilingual, I mean that I can speak a language that’s decent enough for broadcast, and be able to break into unpublishable language when I’m off work.

A(nother) blog award nomination has never crossed my mind, I write primarily for my listeners and readers in Singapore. Hence, an international (and perhaps non Chinese) audience might not be able to appreciate the the colloquial language and other local slangs. Nonetheless, I would really appreciate your support.

For those of you who find this familiar: Ya lah, ya lah. I lifted the paragraphs from an entry written last year. The strangers who are here for the first time won’t know, so don’t pick on this.

Oh, and this reminds me of something. :: WOOHOO:: by Cruz Teng lost to A Jolly Affair by Joanne Peh last year. It would be great if this blog can finally win something. You know what I mean?

Multiple entries are accepted. It means that you can repeatedly (and blindly) vote for me till 2359 hrs, 7 March.

Thank you!

A summary of the CNY celebrations. The usual reunion dinner with the family and several gatherings with friends. The lo hei and the feasting. Oh, I kept to my 5 pieces of bak kwa quota! And it was a good thing I didn’t set a limit to my intake of pineapple tarts and other assorted goodies. YUM!

A man riding a motorcycle with his right hand (and holding a cigarette with his left) hit my rear at a zebra crossing last Thursday. I didn’t stop abruptly. He came crashing five seconds after I had stopped. And because it was the first time that my 4.5 year old car took a bashing from behind, it took me another few seconds to realise, “What’s that sound? Oh! Accident!”. A real himbo moment there.

I alighted to find the uncle in his 60s sitting on the ground. The first thing I did was to ask if he was all right. He apologised profusely and asked if he needed to pay for anything. “Oh ya hor! I haven’t looked at my poor car!”. Another himbo moment. Hahha.

There were some scratches on the bumper. Simple paintwork will do, I think. Considering his age, I decided not to badger him over a couple of bucks and went off after he maintained that he didn’t require any medical attention. My friends kept telling me that he could be some well to do guy riding a lao pok motorbike to conceal his wealth. Whatever. I might have tekan-ed someone younger, but I just thought it was bad karma to traumatize an old man who had just fallen off his bike.

Well, it was one accident when I drafted the entry last night. It’s now one accident after another.

I was driving to the office at 6+ this morning when I heard a loud thud on my right rear. I was on the move, so I was obviously looking ahead then. I peered at the mirror and didn’t see anything. “Probably a stone.” I discovered later that there was a huge dent. I suspect the idiotic driver in the next lane bumped into me or something. Damnit.

Nine days into the New Year, and I have developed a slight phobia. Maybe I should stop driving and hire a chauffeur.

Went to Resorts World Sentosa twice last week. For Stef’s concert on Tuesday, and to the casino on Thursday.

I listened to the radio on 14/2 with much amusement. They interviewed the casino’s first patrons, and it was no surprise that the soundbytes came from a group of senior citizens. “没有啦，没有啦。小赌而已啦。我去云顶去到怕了咯。今天就来这里咯。没有啦，没有啦，小赌而已。” The other one was classic, “没有啦，没有啦。我的家人很迟才睡醒的。我就白天来咯。晚上回去吃饭刚刚好。没有啦，小赌而已。”

Notice the similarity? “没有啦，没有啦” －－没有什么？You rush to the casino on its opening day (and the first day of the CNY) and you actually expect people to believe that you are not hard core? Hohoho. Why can’t they admit that they like to gamble? Gambling is not a problem, but denial is. And denial is usually step one to problem gambling.

I’m not going to deny the fact that I’m a casual gambler and that I went to the casino last week. However, I’m not going to talk about the casino visit on air, and I’ve already declined two interview requests from the print media on this. It’s a form of entertainment, and it’s also a vice. Yes, I did it, but there is no need to harp on this via public platforms. Especially when I have some impressionable young ones reading my blog and listening to my show.

To the guys who are going, good luck and HUAT AH! Let’s all play responsibly and not turn into problem gamblers.

“My friend asks if you’re single. She wants to know you.”

I heard this line not once, not twice, but three times during the CNY period. Woah. When did it become fashionable to go out with a piece of lard? Hahahha. Raised my brows three times because my friends went on to say that the ladies were highly eligible, in terms of looks and careers. Wah. 那她们为什么要委屈自己呢? :p

趕在春節假期之前拍了這組電視和平面廣告。拍攝前一天，約了HYJ到ION，她負責挑，我負責穿。二十分鐘內掃了一件夾克、兩雙鞋子、一條牛仔褲以及一條皮帶。另外再找兩件T恤竟然花了四十分鐘。為了廣告而買的？不完全是－也為過年。呵呵。

廣告三月份出街。

Nearly forgot about this until someone asked over a round of blackjack, “How huh? Can retain your title or not?” I shrugged and grinned, “How to win if all of you are busy with CNY visiting and gambling and doing everything else except SMSing?”

The next person who got a King and an Ace exclaimed, “Ok, ok. The winnings from this round will go into the voting”. That’s $4 in total. Which works out to be 13 SMSes. Not bad at all. Hahaha.

Polling for Most Popular Radio Personality will end this Sunday. If you’ve got some extra angpow money, or won some over mahjong/private card games/at the casino, or/and if you simply love me to death because of some unfathomable reason(s), now’s the time to whip out your mobile phones.

SMS: MP [space] 64 [space] Name [space] NRIC to 72346. Each SMS costs $0.30. The system only accepts votes from post paid Singapore SIM cards. My friends, listeners and readers overseas are therefore exempted from this extortion exercise.

Thanks much!

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很开心。大年初三开唱，亲戚朋友同在一起。嗯，顺便把男友的家人从国外请来。过年嘛！就是大团圆！

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很开心。他们说，你在春节做什么，下来一整年都如此。人家重金礼聘让我成为第一个在新场地办演唱会的中文歌手，哇噻，简直就寓意着我会在虎年大发特发！

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很开心。因为有那些陪了我这么多年的小朋友。他们已经看了此次巡回的台北、新加坡和香港站了。他们居然还在大年初三付了百多块钱看这次的“半场演唱会”。

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很生气。演出前的两个星期才开始售票，人家要大扫除、办年货，怎么来得及买票呢？票房不佳，根本就不是我的错。我可是红遍全亚洲的天后级人马，好不好？

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很生气。主办单位要送票就算了，有必要搞到全世界在演出前三个小时统统上网说他们拿到赠票吗？我可是红遍全亚洲的天后级人马，好不好？

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很生气。演出前五分钟，让“山顶的朋友”一窝蜂冲倒台前的位子。你知道有多难看吗？我可是红遍全亚洲的天后级人马，好不好？

如果我是孙燕姿，答案是… … 我会很生气。我才不承认这是一场“演唱会”。我就是要在台上说，这是一场歌友会。

我不是孙燕姿。如有雷同，实属巧合。

城中一家中菜館推出麻將muffin，商家為電台送來了好幾盒。

Picture by JT

有同事高喊：發了！這就是新年第一個十三么！

完美主意兼極度挑剔的丁志勇卻大叫：詐糊！九索應該是紅色和綠色的！六索才是全綠的！哈哈哈。

祝各位在新的一年 百事可樂 千事順心 萬事如意。尤其在麻將桌上如魚得水，要萬子有萬子，想索子得索子，求筒子獲筒子。恭喜發財！

(안녕히 가세요 = Goodbye. Got that via Google Translate. Hope it’s correct.)


At about 4.55pm today (12/2/2010), Liyi will bid farewell to her listeners who’ve accompanied her on a breathtaking journey in Radio since 1997. Relinquishing her role as Y.E.S. 93.3FM Assistant Programme Director, she will be taking on a teaching gig at Ngee Ann Polytechnic from March.

Liyi was my first partner for the evening show, when I turned full time in 2002. Subsequently, we spent one and a half years in the mornings, before pairing up for the chart show in 2005. We’ve hosted countless events, including Singapore Hit Awards, and it was the two of us who initiated the radio drama revival in 2007.

While it may seem callous to repeatedly declare that I’m not at all upset about her departure, it’s prudent to remind one and all that radio broadcasting- especially for frontliners, hasn’t been and will not be a lifelong career. There’s an expiry date for every single one of us. So I’m glad that Liyi is leaving on a high note.

She is regarded by many in the industry, as the prime choice for media conferences and of course, Korean events. While we won’t hear her on air, I’m guessing she won’t disappear from the scene totally. She has plans to go into writing- for periodicals in the short run, and then working towards a second travelogue later on.

My sincere wishes for a colleague and friend, who’s about to embark on an exciting and fulfilling chapter of her life.

No teary farewells, for I’m certain you will enjoy yourself tremendously. Take care!