Lunch at Equinox

So.. we did not get it. We did not even win our category. That honour goes to a SMU team made up of freshies. Well, I am not taking any shine off their glory, they probably put in their fair share of hard work and effort, but I am sure having a professor mentor does help.

On hindsight, I guess it was a fair result. I mean, this is a team of 3 friends who are totally diversified in their courses and even schools, without help from any faculty, participating in a marketing case for the first time, which coincidentally, is a field none of us is in. Its not too bad, isnt it? Self-justification.. A loss is a loss eh? There isnt any sympathy to be gained by crying over spilled milk.

Rushed down after my papers in the morning which ended at 1130, so you can imagine the mad rush to reach in time for lunch at 12 at Equinox. Unsurprisingly, I arrived late at 1220. And i discovered that my teammates had left me to sit alone at another table with strangers! Well i guess they had to fill up the other table. Besides, being the only 2 guys at that table meant it was an easy choice between waiting for me, or sitting with the opposite gender of our age group. Wise choice dudes, I can only lament at the circumstances which led to my late attendance. Damn! I should have screwed the market research paper to reach on time eh?! Nah, I am just kidding.

And so, I was left with a whole bunch of Mastercard senior execs, one of whom was the VP for communications, Mastercard Worldwide, who happened to be one of our judges for the Finals, some bigshot from Wiley, an NUS marketing prof (who ill elaborate further later) and lastly, the winner of the women's category, who's a NUS University Scholar Programme double degree dean lister who's about to go Wharton for a year of exchange. In short, I am like a tropical fish in a sea of sharks, totally out of place.

Well, I have been to a number of business networking sessions and power lunches before, so I guess I am not a total stranger to such a setting where you have to make small talk with execs, many of whom you cant even pronounce their names.. But this totally takes the cake. The topics with which they converse in, the pseudo smiles and fake expressions.

Com' on, you are telling me Ratatouille is a great movie? That the animation for the Bee Movie and Shrek are fantastic? Yes i totally agree that the animation and artwork were indeed marvellous, but I highly doubt if the few who commented actually watched them. Oh such superficial comments, and this, is supposed to be The Business World! I am starting to doubt if this is really my future.

But well, I have gotta admit that I am impressed with the ability to generate topics out of nothing! And mind you, these are the people whose fart probably scares the hell out of their entire down chain.. They are well read, or at least, appear to be.. And coupled with the ability to talk total bullshit in a 'business-like' manner, makes it for an totally 'interesting' observation during lunch.

As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch, two-timing between those small-talks and observing those idyllic clouds outside the window. The view from the 69th level demands attention! And while i was day-dreaming about the weather phenomenon that Fion had told me about, wondering if I had the fortune to catch it firsthand.. I realised a potentially interesting topic that had been brewing. They are now on the topic of exchange programmes. And true enough, some fella then asked me if NTU has similar exchange programmes, (such engaging qns of high intellect) and I replied well yeah, of course, I am sure all 3 universities here have it.

Dr NUS Marketing strikes.. (imagine a detestable tai-tai here) Rolling her eyes and fiddling with her big-arse diamond ring, she exclaims..

"Well its not just annny exchange programmes, Its the Quall-lity of the programmes"

I was about to retort, "yeah well, isnt that similar to the Quality of the faculty?" When someone realised the potential minefield and deftly switched topics.. ( There is a consensus that NUS business faculty is under-performing in recent years relative to its cousins in NTU or SMU)

WHAT A BIA-TCH!

And then she goes on to comment on students losing their writing abilities, insisting that she still demand her students to write in prose.. yada yada

I was itching to take her on, whats up with her smart-ass remarks?! But it was a wrong situation in the wrong context. Unlike some, Yours truly, though just an undergrad, had the BRAINS to think before shooting off.

Bad results, mediocre food and "excellent" company amongst the elites.. It was the most expensive disgusting lunch I have ever had.

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