 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Birthday Party Planning
Date: 17th June 2005
Event: My 21st Birthday Party
Outcome: Oh shit~
ya~ exactly... i guess i'm not gonna plan something this big scale for myself anymore! no more birthday parties until i'm 60!! that's when my GRANDCHILDREN will do the planning for me. haha~
but it was terrible. guess i was just so ill-experienced and dumb to do it. haiz. lessons had been learned, quite painfully and tormentingly i must say. and i have to pass this on.
Lesson 1: Choose a venue, early! And confirm you've really booked it.
many ppl had asked me why i chose Costa Sands Sentosa. well, it was a pretty long story.
actually, my first choice was the Adventure Chalet at CDANS Bukit Batok, beside Bukit Batok Driving Centre. i kind of loved that place after junyu held his birthday party there. the chalet's like a house on stilts, a unit by itself. the basement (or rather ground floor) is the place where the cooking and washing can be done. there's a big place to place the food and cake and everything. the second level is the living room with 3 bedrooms, fully facilitated with tv, air con, toilet and everything! and further more, most of my pals live in the west, it will be quite convenient for most of them. sounds perfect right?
i went down personally to book it on 2nd May, the day after labour day. the management didn't tell me it was a balloting system, and around 20th May, when i called them up, they informed me that i lost in the balloting. "huh? why is there balloting? i tot i've confirmed my booking?" "no sir, because a school wanted to use the chalets during that period of time, so we hav to forfeit your booking"
i dun noe if i shd be angry or glad that i hadn't pay for the chalet. shit.
so, get, 20th may, less than 1 month before the party, where else to book? second on my list, Aloha. i managed to call up a close teacher of mine and see if he's willing to help me book. he's ok wif it, yea! so, i went to the website, checked. shit. every chalet's booked. ARGH~! *strike one*
next on the list NSRCC. so i went to their website. WAH~ around $300 per night because of the peak period! damn it. *strike two*
chevron's never on my list. for obvious reason. but come to tink of it now, it may not seem such a bad choice compared to Costa Sands Sentosa.
Lesson 2: Reckee and check out the place before booking it!
so, oh wells, next on my list is naturally something public and famous. Costa Sands. There are three places, pasir ris, east coast and sentosa. i knew that if i had it at pasir ris, a lot of ppl will refuse to turn up (anyway, those ppl din turn up for my sentosa too, *phark*), and i really don't want it at east coast. and sentosa sounds, wow, exotic and beachy and everything. good! i shall have it there. and i checked the website, wow, the picture shows a three-storey high unit, and there's availability on the two days i wanted. great! i got my dad to approve it, and we paid there and then, right in front of the computer half an hour after choosing Costa Sands.
it's only after booking it, did i discover Costa Sands had a lot of terrible clauses, rules and regulations. no noise, no outside catering, no this no that~ wa, i wanted to cancel the booking, but i can't anymore. i've got no other choice at that moment.
and only until the day i arrived at the place did i realise, the unit's a blardy hotel room with limited space to even walk about. and the bbq area's not big enough if all the bbq pit's booked. and there's no powerpoint ANYWHERE around the public pool area and the bbq area (so the plan of providing music was totally jeopardised!).
Lesson 3: Check the caterer
dun be afraid to keep calling the caterer up to ask any questions. be friendly with them, cos they can be helpful and wud call u up to update u on the stuff. and we knew each other by single names oredi. she's amy and i'm zhang. haha~
if ur caterer's appointed by your chalet management, check if there's any hidden clause. for mine, the caterer cannot bring the food down to the pool area, cos the stupid management said that it's difficult to clean up. i tink it's because they appoint blardy lazy bastards who're jus lazy to do work. more on that later.
i learned that fact jus ONE HOUR before 6pm which was the time i announced to my frens to come. shucks! how how how~?
in the end, because i've been quite friendly all the way with the caterer, they actually allowed me to bring the food down to the bbq pit area with my own trays. in the end, because i've got limited trays, they gave me quite a number of trays for free. each cost at least $1.90 at supermarts leh. thanks a lot!
Lesson 4: Check the management to confirm your extra bookings
damn it, i hate Costa Sands Sentosa's management team. sorry, i have to digress a bit before elaborating on the actual point. on the day i checked in (16th jun), the person at the counter had already started to show me atitude.
in the end, we realised why we had to walk to a separate flight of stairs. each flight will only bring us to two units per level. and in the end, it was not the third stairs we needed to climb. it was the fourth. shit management. disgusting lazy bastard. a total disgrace to his race.
so, anyway, back to the point. i've booked a bbq pit online and paid for it oredi, so on the second day (17th, the actual day of party) around one and a half hour before 6pm, i went to the counter to check the bbq pit i was assigned.
i was damn pissed at him and jus walked off. so, remember to check everything you've booked. don't assume things. always check. shit la~ i should hav oredi checked when i checked in.
Lesson 5: You'll be depressed on the day of the party, especially just before the start of it
on the week of the party, i kept receiving random smses and calls telling me they could not turn up. because of the randomness of the smses, i was still able to reply and try to persuade them to come, telling them it's possible to still come after OT and everything, and that it's ok esp when they told me quite early.
on the day itself, i woke up wif oredi 4 unread sms-es on my handphone. 3 out of 4 were messages that said they could not come. and it's always standard "sorry, i don't think i'll be able to turn up later for your birthday. but still, enjoy the party! Happy Birthday!" notice there's no reason given? yup... that's the frustrating part. i still can reply to each of these sms-es in the morning, but later into the day, the frequency of these sms-es became more. in the end, 75% of the messages and calls were from those who wanted to tell me they've decided not to come; 25% of them were from those who didn't know how to come. those who're coming and know the way, wouldn't call or sms. to the 75% of the messages i jus felt so tired asking each of them for the reason, and hope to persuade them. so my replies were initially "har? how come? aiya! why like that? try to come kay? i really hope to see you" --> then become --> "why cannot come?" --> then become --> "__" nothing, i din bother to reply liao.
and, i planned my party to be a very poolside loungy feeling to it, with music and balloons and candles on very nice candle holders. gone, all gone. the plan's totally ruined. furthermore, the catering's giving me a headache (how to bring down the food? will the ppl feel weird in the caterer's place? shud i set up the bbq before or after the buffet?)
expect it! anticipate it! you'll be damned troubled, worried, and depressed.
until the first guest arrives...
Event: My 21st Birthday Party
Outcome: Oh shit~
ya~ exactly... i guess i'm not gonna plan something this big scale for myself anymore! no more birthday parties until i'm 60!! that's when my GRANDCHILDREN will do the planning for me. haha~
but it was terrible. guess i was just so ill-experienced and dumb to do it. haiz. lessons had been learned, quite painfully and tormentingly i must say. and i have to pass this on.
Lesson 1: Choose a venue, early! And confirm you've really booked it.
many ppl had asked me why i chose Costa Sands Sentosa. well, it was a pretty long story.
actually, my first choice was the Adventure Chalet at CDANS Bukit Batok, beside Bukit Batok Driving Centre. i kind of loved that place after junyu held his birthday party there. the chalet's like a house on stilts, a unit by itself. the basement (or rather ground floor) is the place where the cooking and washing can be done. there's a big place to place the food and cake and everything. the second level is the living room with 3 bedrooms, fully facilitated with tv, air con, toilet and everything! and further more, most of my pals live in the west, it will be quite convenient for most of them. sounds perfect right?
i went down personally to book it on 2nd May, the day after labour day. the management didn't tell me it was a balloting system, and around 20th May, when i called them up, they informed me that i lost in the balloting. "huh? why is there balloting? i tot i've confirmed my booking?" "no sir, because a school wanted to use the chalets during that period of time, so we hav to forfeit your booking"
i dun noe if i shd be angry or glad that i hadn't pay for the chalet. shit.
so, get, 20th may, less than 1 month before the party, where else to book? second on my list, Aloha. i managed to call up a close teacher of mine and see if he's willing to help me book. he's ok wif it, yea! so, i went to the website, checked. shit. every chalet's booked. ARGH~! *strike one*
next on the list NSRCC. so i went to their website. WAH~ around $300 per night because of the peak period! damn it. *strike two*
chevron's never on my list. for obvious reason. but come to tink of it now, it may not seem such a bad choice compared to Costa Sands Sentosa.
Lesson 2: Reckee and check out the place before booking it!
so, oh wells, next on my list is naturally something public and famous. Costa Sands. There are three places, pasir ris, east coast and sentosa. i knew that if i had it at pasir ris, a lot of ppl will refuse to turn up (anyway, those ppl din turn up for my sentosa too, *phark*), and i really don't want it at east coast. and sentosa sounds, wow, exotic and beachy and everything. good! i shall have it there. and i checked the website, wow, the picture shows a three-storey high unit, and there's availability on the two days i wanted. great! i got my dad to approve it, and we paid there and then, right in front of the computer half an hour after choosing Costa Sands.
it's only after booking it, did i discover Costa Sands had a lot of terrible clauses, rules and regulations. no noise, no outside catering, no this no that~ wa, i wanted to cancel the booking, but i can't anymore. i've got no other choice at that moment.
and only until the day i arrived at the place did i realise, the unit's a blardy hotel room with limited space to even walk about. and the bbq area's not big enough if all the bbq pit's booked. and there's no powerpoint ANYWHERE around the public pool area and the bbq area (so the plan of providing music was totally jeopardised!).
Lesson 3: Check the caterer
dun be afraid to keep calling the caterer up to ask any questions. be friendly with them, cos they can be helpful and wud call u up to update u on the stuff. and we knew each other by single names oredi. she's amy and i'm zhang. haha~
if ur caterer's appointed by your chalet management, check if there's any hidden clause. for mine, the caterer cannot bring the food down to the pool area, cos the stupid management said that it's difficult to clean up. i tink it's because they appoint blardy lazy bastards who're jus lazy to do work. more on that later.
i learned that fact jus ONE HOUR before 6pm which was the time i announced to my frens to come. shucks! how how how~?
in the end, because i've been quite friendly all the way with the caterer, they actually allowed me to bring the food down to the bbq pit area with my own trays. in the end, because i've got limited trays, they gave me quite a number of trays for free. each cost at least $1.90 at supermarts leh. thanks a lot!
Lesson 4: Check the management to confirm your extra bookings
damn it, i hate Costa Sands Sentosa's management team. sorry, i have to digress a bit before elaborating on the actual point. on the day i checked in (16th jun), the person at the counter had already started to show me atitude.
| Guy: (threw the key with the room number 0213 written on it) Me: (took the key, read the number) so, my room's 0213? Guy: (looked at me in awe and disgust) yes, it's 0213. Me: (felt weird wif the look on his face) oh. right. Fren: Where's 0213? Me: (to Guy) er, how do i go to my room? Guy: (was looking at some records and din bother to look up) godownthestairsandproceedtothethirdstaircasedengoup Me: (blink, not sure if Guy was actually talking to me) har? sorry? Guy: (looked up wif fiery eyes) YOU SEE THAT STAIRCASE BEHIND YOU! GO DOWN THERE, OK? GO DOWN, DOWN! THEN WALK! YOU KNOW, WALK? WALK THIRD STAIRCASE! Me: Third staircase? (tinking how come i can't just walk all the way and not go down at all, but heck) (to fren) nvm, let's go, if we get lost i'll come back. |
in the end, we realised why we had to walk to a separate flight of stairs. each flight will only bring us to two units per level. and in the end, it was not the third stairs we needed to climb. it was the fourth. shit management. disgusting lazy bastard. a total disgrace to his race.
so, anyway, back to the point. i've booked a bbq pit online and paid for it oredi, so on the second day (17th, the actual day of party) around one and a half hour before 6pm, i went to the counter to check the bbq pit i was assigned.
| Me: sorry, what is the bbq pit i'm assigned to? Guy: (looked at me and in a very buay siong manner, opened the record book, as if it was very tiring to do so) what's your room number? Me: zero two one three Guy: (looked at record) . . . Guy: (still looking at record) . . . Guy: (decided to look up at me) you din book a pit. Me: what? (starting to get pissed) can you say that again? Guy: it's $15 to book one on the spot. Me: i've booked online! Guy: (passed the record to me) your room number's not here. if you wan, i hav to just give you the one at the kampong huts. Me: Kampong huts? i'm living in the chalet units! Guy: But it's fully booked, you can see for yourself, right? Me: (damn angry, but din raise voice. voice is soft and dangerously menacing) hullo, look. i've booked online, paid thru credit card, and expect a bbq pit to be booked for me automatically. and furthermore, i specified very specifically that i wanted it today. not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. you get that? and i'm expecting a large group of ppl, and you don't expect them to be running to and fro from the chalet to the bbq pit rite? r u sure you want me to kick a big fuss out of this manner? Guy: (twitched mouth and stared at the records again) . . . Guy: (still staring at records) Me: (drumming my fingers on the counter) . . . Me: Yes? Guy: (took liquid paper, and a piece of paper. wrote a '2' on the paper and threw it on the counter. din say anything.) Me: What's this? Guy: Your bbq pit number! Me: So, what about the guy who booked it? Guy: Change loh. what can i do? |
i was damn pissed at him and jus walked off. so, remember to check everything you've booked. don't assume things. always check. shit la~ i should hav oredi checked when i checked in.
Lesson 5: You'll be depressed on the day of the party, especially just before the start of it
on the week of the party, i kept receiving random smses and calls telling me they could not turn up. because of the randomness of the smses, i was still able to reply and try to persuade them to come, telling them it's possible to still come after OT and everything, and that it's ok esp when they told me quite early.
on the day itself, i woke up wif oredi 4 unread sms-es on my handphone. 3 out of 4 were messages that said they could not come. and it's always standard "sorry, i don't think i'll be able to turn up later for your birthday. but still, enjoy the party! Happy Birthday!" notice there's no reason given? yup... that's the frustrating part. i still can reply to each of these sms-es in the morning, but later into the day, the frequency of these sms-es became more. in the end, 75% of the messages and calls were from those who wanted to tell me they've decided not to come; 25% of them were from those who didn't know how to come. those who're coming and know the way, wouldn't call or sms. to the 75% of the messages i jus felt so tired asking each of them for the reason, and hope to persuade them. so my replies were initially "har? how come? aiya! why like that? try to come kay? i really hope to see you" --> then become --> "why cannot come?" --> then become --> "__" nothing, i din bother to reply liao.
and, i planned my party to be a very poolside loungy feeling to it, with music and balloons and candles on very nice candle holders. gone, all gone. the plan's totally ruined. furthermore, the catering's giving me a headache (how to bring down the food? will the ppl feel weird in the caterer's place? shud i set up the bbq before or after the buffet?)
expect it! anticipate it! you'll be damned troubled, worried, and depressed.
until the first guest arrives...
