Chasing The Dream - an interview with Tony Fernandes in The Star Malaysia

There’s some juicy stuff in there about the AirAsia/MAS reverse share swap, but the most interesting quote I got from the article was Tony commenting on why he bought the Queens Park Rangers (emphasis mine):

“I watched us lose 4-0 to Bolton. Then I bought the club. You don’t buy a club for just one season. You buy something when you see the potential for what it could be. It’s in London. It has a good fan base. It has the potential to build a great training academy. A great stadium. My whole life has been about building things. If you buy Manchester United — what are you buying? You’re buying someone else’s success. What could I do for Manchester United? At QPR, I can do loads.”

Most of you are familiar with Tony’s story (Founder of AirAsia & the Tune Group, minority race in Malaysia, huge odds against him, etc) so I won’t elaborate, but its nice to see a once underdog root for another underdog.

Tony Fernandes is rarely in Zouk, but when he was, I took a picture with him.

I’ve made about 8 major ‘investments’ in people so far over the past few years. I can say that only 3 can be considered good investments. Enough to cover the mistakes made trusting the other five, and in time, to pay off many times in the next few years. Not being a drama queen about it, its not quite a simple “these fuckers hurt my feelings kind of thing”, but these people have made me lose friends and business, and two of them left me broke for almost a year. The worst part is for those four, the betrayal was intentional and it wasn’t quite a case of just abandoning me they got what they needed, they actively sought (and probably are still seeking) to wrangle what they can away.  But that’s life.

You only attract thieves if you have treasure.

What’s interesting is that of the ones that let me down, most were already “somewhere” in their life, and skilled. And most of the ones that have not let me down, were young and inexperienced to start with, but had potential, which I was lucky enough to spot.

Investing in people isn’t quite just about money. How do you invest in someone? Spending time with them. Developing them, and accepting their weaknesses, and co-opting some of their dreams together with your own. Maybe even start a business with them, or work with them somehow and build something great together. Like how you get better returns from shares if you invest early, the same can apply to people.

I’ll write more about this soon, its actually makes for a much longer story. But meantime -

Do you think there’s anyone you should be spending more time with, that you could grow together with?

I’ve chosen 2 more to trust this year with some very big things btw. Let’s hope that works out.

Also, something else I can learn from Tony Fernandes is remembering people & faces better.

I remember there was a time when I first met and talked to him at Hannah Tan’s birthday in Mont Kiara a few years back, then later a few months later, he was giving a speech at a young entrepreneur’s conference. He remarked that I had cut my hair. How awesome is that. Tony Fernandes remembered that I used to have long hair. Wow.

Remembering faces with names is hard for me - I have many times, said to some people apologetically ‘Sorry I can’t remember your name, but we first met at X and you were wearing X”. Somehow faces just don’t ‘process’ for me. I even forgot a very hot famous local actress repeatedly, but thankfully she was sweet about it. Nowadays I make it a point to visually associate more distinctive facial traits and their placement (eg a mole, birthmark, etc) with names.

So here’s to hopefully the rest of the year spent making better judgements of people, remembering people’s names and learning Mandarin. Okay, maybe I’m too old to learn Mandarin.

First off, as of March this year…Advertlets is now 5 years old! That’s a while! Like if you take a 5 year old kid, that’s 99CM! More than half your current height (I often use this metaphor as a point to illustrate the passing of time). On a side note, when I first started Advertlets on 9th of March 2007, I was 24 years old. Now, I am still 24 years old. Isn’t that amazing?

Below: I cut my hair yeah. Like it? Also lost some weight. I’ve started on personal training…trying to up my sessions to twice a week at least but my schedule (and two bouts of falling sick) doesn’t really help. Below is me and some pretty ladies as usual at the Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Grand Final 2012.

The below picture is at the Zouk @ Sepang rave with headliner Afrojack (who did not have an Afro, or was named Jack. But he played a really good set). Also, notably, it is the first time I’ve met a girl with a Japanese name that turned out to be actually…Japanese! She’s in the picture. Can you guess who?

That’s us at the launch of Sold.my - put together with Advertlets Blogger and psychologist / emcee / model / blogger extraordinaire Choo Mei Sze. Quite happy that its a first - an event we put together not just for bloggers, but the media as well.

So well, my bestest and fattest friend Jason Ong celebrated his 22nd birthday…it was an amazing mix of bloggers and good looking people, and above all, friends. To tell the truth I really feel pressured to top it with my upcoming birthday in August.

Mandy Chan celebrated her birthday too! Honestly it always makes me happy when our bloggers hang out on their own accord, not cause they are forced to And, low or high traffic blogger, everyone’s mostly nice to each other, and I’ve seen quite a few genuine friendships (and relationships) develop. Say no to elitist blogger cliques!

There was the Johnnie Walker parties. Good as usual - how could it be anything otherwise? Advertlets Blogger Audreypuiyan won the grand prize, so we got to party in style, and she got to meet Jensen Button on stage too

On the work side, notably this month I was happy to be part of two things :

- The Cradle Coach & Grow program as a mentor/advisor with MATRADE and Cradle. Imagine meeting 10 clients in 1 whole day, finding out what they do, and advising them on how social media can help their business. It was an exhausting experience, but a fulfilling one.

- Speaking on social media at a private conference on brand building. It’s been a while since I’ve done some public speaking, good to know I’m not rusty!

Oh, and there’s one blog post that is no longer here btw. It wasn’t removed because it wasn’t true. Every word was. One word - mercy. That, and the hope that some people can actually change, once they’ve learnt there are some things they can’t get away with.

Lastly, here’s something random. When was the last time you saw something which was both racist AND adorable? And before you say anything, its okay for me to post this because I’m Chinese, and I admit, we eat anything, seriously.

Toodles, peoples! The next blog post will hopefully be here in 1-2 days. There are hundreds of you that come here each day to see old content purely through the fact that my site is well SEO-ed, but I hope to give you new content regularly, because that’s the whole point of blogging la. Isn’t it ironic that as the founder of a blogging company, my work barely leaves me time to blog?

You can encourage me with comments on this blog post, or seductive private messages to my social network accounts urging me to reveal more of my mystique.

You’ll also find a statement from Donovan Chan here.

http://www.facebook.com/DonovanSTChan/posts/320265454694669

Feel free to vote - it’s not the best one there, but hopefully good enough to make it to Galeri Petronas perhaps?

To vote, go to this Facebook App, and Look for Josh under the Gallery > Search > Professional Category.

Some of the highlights:
1:37 – Real passengers reacting, and of course, a Bollywood song
2:31 – Good impression of visitors from China…the clothing is spot on
3:11 – And I thought they were just makciks watching the proceedings, then they start dancing!
3:49 –The stewardesses’ trolley dance
5:56 - The Argentinian visitor really makes the video! “Does that happen all the time here?”

I did a search around, and was pleasantly surprised to find a behind the scenes blog post from Denna Ahmad (Advertlets Blogger, woot!) - Apparently she’s really a stewardess with Malaysia Airlines. You can read her posts here and here.

Coordination wise, it was pretty elaborate than your usual flash mob as there were several different scenes. Judging from the behind the scenes, there were 2 weeks of rehearsals, choreography and vocal training….and even midnight rehearsals at the airport itself. The talents in the video consist of professional dancers, first timers, as well as MAS cabin crew.

And if you’re curious to know the perspective from the performers angle…From Denna’s blog –

“By the time we came out for our 2nd and last performances,the arrival hall was even more packed than before.Strangers,families and friends have been surrounding the area to sing and dance along with all of us since they’ve enjoyed themselves doing it during the 1st round.We couldn’t be happier seeing all those people being supportive towards what we were doing rather than seeing us as fools who ’syok sendiri’ dancing and singing in the middle of an unknown crowd.”

A picture of not all of the 200+ people in the flashmob, but close enough! As of right now the video has 824,000+ views and a 94.45% approval rating (by likes/dislikes) on Youtube, so that’s a pretty impressive feat. Congratulations to MAS and Malaysia for an international quality flashmob!

Perhaps you could win something out of it other than comments and likes on Facebook from your friends….

Have you heard of the Petronas CNY Photography Competition? You could win
First prize is RM2000, second prize is RM1000, and there are 5 consolation prizes - but there are 7 categories, so there’s a good chance of winning if you’ve got a few great photos. As you can be kiasu and submit in a few categories (most people would qualify for most categories, except for the ‘Petronas Employees’ category)

Joining is simple - it took me less than 5 minutes! Of course you have to have the photo to submit la.

Head over to the Facebook app here. Let me know if you’ve joined with a comment, I’ll love to see your entry!

I know it looks like 3 January, but the print faded, its actually 13 January

I first heard of Foster The People before all of you did, before they were played on Fly FM. So when I found out that they were coming down, I was pretty excited! Here are some of the very ’semangat’ fans who were there that I snapped! (Scroll to the bottom of this post for video)

It was a concert of an hour and a half. Set list included almost all the songs off their debut album of ‘Torches’, as well as a cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”.

Picture of the band shortly before they left the stage. Pic from Sony Music Malaysia's Facebook.

The crowd was pretty well behaved generally, but lead singer Mark Foster did stop the concert for a while to tell the audience to not push the people in front and to give them some space, saying that ”it’s all fun and games till somebody dies”. Yes, he really said that. The guy has stage presence - in between and during songs, he would spread his arms like a Christ figure, climbing on the speakers at the end, banging on the cymbals with his own drumstick (yes, even though he’s not the drummer).

You’re probably wondering - are they good live? Yes - drumming is top notch, keyboards were on, guitar solos sounded perfect, and Mark Foster’s distinctive semi-falsetto voice was spot on. Good bass from the sound system, though it was a bit hard to hear some of the subtler synth notes.

On a side note, I am very sure two people particularly enjoyed themselves. One of them was someone I couldn’t spot, but I could smell, who was smoking weed. Not that I know the smell of weed, someone else pointed that out to me  And there was the aunty next to me with her kids, who was texting her husband that she was at some ‘young people foster band’. She was dancing along happily to the music though. Crowd was a mix of hipsters (not that many though, dissapointingly, I was hoping to get some dress up ideas), parents with their children, international school kids and a few people that looked like they would be more at home at the Ella/Awie concert that was happening across town.

Here’s “Don’t Stop” (I always thought that this would have made a stronger second single than Helena Beat though):

Their cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”

Here’s a video I shot of the epic ending they had with ‘Pumped Up Kicks’. They had a very nice intro, and later in the song, even incorporated the dance/dubstep remix of ‘Pumped Up Kicks’

(Skip to 4:22 for the song, the intro is rather long but I felt it worked very well at the venue. Also, sorry about my finger.)

All in all this was a very good concert - definitely one of the best I’ve been to ever (the other would be We Are Scientists gig in Zouk many years back). This is one of the rare occasions where I didn’t wait for free tickets, as I really wanted to catch them - I did actually purchase my tickets at RM188 each (bought them in December last year). It was great to be able to sing along to all their songs - while I do go for lots of concerts, there are few bands that I listen to really constantly (like, every month) like Foster The People.

However I feel really bad for those that did not buy the VIP tickets - the hall was too narrow and there wasn’t enough stage elevation to be able to see the band, instead they would have to settle for just a relatively small video screen. While the sound system was really good, and I like the fact that it was air conditioned, there really should have been a better choice of venue.

UPDATE! I found out the name of the song that was played solo by Mark Foster on piano/keyboard only - It’s called Ruby, and you can view it here below:

Trivia: The band was originally called “Foster And The People”, but fans kept mispronouncing it so they adopted the name “Foster The People”, also because it was the meaning of ‘taking care of the people’.

Needless to say, the campaign drew a huge success and saw a 400% surge in enrolment. The Internet quiz contest was officially launched on 6^th October. 1, 200 registrations later, and one Mohd. Shabiy Nukhari, a business and management student, emerged victorious. His outstanding entry reads: “When I finish my studies, I want to get more experience about my career and also practice what I study at this institution. After that, I want to have my own business.”

The best part, he says? Is that the personality test provides accurate matches to which career best suits the individual making it a pre-requisite for any fresh school leaver still undecided on which Yellow Brick Road to follow.

First phase: complete!

For the handful of you who missed out on the opportunity, fret not. Phase two of “Discover U”: initializes! Back by popular demand, is the online quiz contest – and this time, entries will be accepted all the way up till 30 March 2012. Here you are; another shot at winning yourself (or a loved one) an iPad 2! All you need to get cracking in on is a creative slogan entry besides participating in the “Discover U Course Personality Quiz” online, of course.

Oh, yeah and just FYI; enrolling early with KLMU has its perks. Namely, scholarships worth RM 1,000. See, with KLMU’s “Discover U” campaign, everybody’s a winner – regardless of whether or not you choose to take part in the contest. Head on over to www.discoveru.com.my right now or simply SMS KLMU DBG <space> NAME <space> STATE to 36600 for more information.

Ideally, everyone would like to be in a proper relationship with one partner, and settle down. But not everyone has the luxury of letting that happen. And it is illogical to wait and do nothing before you meet that person. The best thing to do as a man is to prepare yourself career wise - because as much as you’ll like to think that money doesn’t matter to your dream girl, it does.

The last thing you want to do is miss out on the chance that you could have met your dream girl, but missed out she could not trust in your stability. Please take in the following information:

• The poverty line is RM3000 for the urban poor. Yes, this means that if your household income is below RM3000, you are considered poor.  “If you have three children and your household income is RM3,000 or below, you’re almost at the poverty line,” Would you expect your wife to be able to work fulltime AND raise your child?
• It costs RM1 million to raise a child from birth to 18 years old. Yes, even if you send them to government school.
• A ‘proper’ wedding is at least RM30-50K, including the hotel, arrangements, photographer & videographer, etc.
• A condo in PJ above 1000sq feet would cost you at least RM200K
• From 2005 until 2010, the average inflation rate in Malaysia was 2.77 percent.
• Petrol price in the year 2000: RM1.20. Petrol price in the year 2011: RM2.80

You know how Destiny’s Child had that song, ‘Independent Women’ about how they could afford to buy their own things? Look for one of their earlier singles, ‘Bills Bills Bills’ where they sing about looking for a man that could pay their telephone, credit card & automobile bills. Ironically, putting the two songs together, they still expect their man to pay for necessities, while the money that they make for themselves goes towards luxuries. A man’s job is to provide, and as much as gender roles have progressed, this won’t change in the years to come.

Of course, money is important, but the key thing here is the minimum effective - it’s not always the guy with the most money that will “win” the heart of a fair maiden, however there is a certain standard.

Most hot girls would have between 4-8 guys chasing them at any given time. She will probably say no, they are just friends. But you know that guy friend that’s been by her side, the one she tells her problems to, fetching her around, and tells everyone that they are friends, nothing going on between them…you know that guy friend is suddenly gonna be jealous when she gets serious with one of the guys that she goes out with.

Anyway, let’s say there are 6 guys chasing after the girl. One of them is you. For the purposes of this, let’s say you are (or aim to be) Guy C

• Guy A: RM2,000 a month income, handsome, charming drives kapchai.
• Guy B: RM6,000 a month income, damn handsome, damn charming,  drives Perodua
• Guy C: RM8,000 a month income, average looking, moderately charming, drives Honda
• Guy D: RM15,000 a month income, good looking, moderately charming, drives BMW.
• Guy E: RM20,000 a month income, okay looking, moderately charming, drives Mercedes
• Guy F: RM100,000 a month income, obese, ugly, not charming but sincere, drives Bentley (actually driver drives it for him).

Looking at this chart: It’s not necessarily the guy with the highest income will win. Or the most handsome one. (Given that personality is very subjective)

The minimum effective in this case is probably, RM6,000. Which puts Guy C in a good position to win, competing against guy B & D. Guys A, E & F are not necessarily in the race for various factors.

Essentially, personality, charm & sincerity count, but to put it in a certain way, you must have this much (a minimum effective) to play (or be in the running).

I expect some protests from the girls reading this…but before that, let me ask you two questions:

• Have you ever went out with a guy who didn’t have a car? When was the last time?
• Second, if you answered the first one with ‘yes, or recently’ - if you have before, why are you no longer with him?

My point exactly.

Anyway.

With that in mind, you guys reading this - choose a decent career that’s likely to give you a salary of RM6000 at least by the time you are 35.

• If your colleagues have had only one pay increase in 4-6 years and you don’t see yourself being the exception, maybe you should leave.
• Creative fields such as marketing, graphic arts, events, etc require less of a degree and more of a portfolio and practical experience.
• If you lack leadership & speaking skills, but can spend a lot of time and effort on things, consider a professional job like engineering, auditing, etc.
• The less people that can do your job, the more likely you are able to charge more for the work you do. For example, there’s was this guy that went around the world putting out oil fires (like when an oil pump catches fire). If you don’t remember your Science classes, oil floats on water - thereby it is hard to extinguish oil fires with water. You can imagine that he would make a lot of money, given that he is the only one, or 1 out of probably 20 people in the world that would know how to.
• My point from the bullet above? Choose a job that doesn’t have TOO many people doing it already if you can. Or one where you think you can be in the top 20% in the field. While you’re still young.
• There’s also a saying that goes it takes 1000 hours of practice to be an expert in something…so consider that before you consider switching fields too often.

Good luck. May you be able to afford your dream girl when you find her.

*Cue all the “so how did you turn out like that” comments*

Anyway - Honestly, my dad advised me against it. Namely because, to become a doctor isn’t easy - you have to spend roughly 8 years preparing before you can actually practice. 5 years learning (longer if you decide to specialize), and 3 years serving the government (unless you’ve served abroad for 10 years). You’ll have to relocate to serve even if you have a family - which is why I was born in Kota Bahru, Kelantan. Not to mention all the lifestyle sacrifices you have to make - can’t be treating patients with a hangover from partying the night before right? Something that I definitely can’t do, with the life I live.

Anyway, most of the children ended up following in our mothers footsteps, and ended up pursuing communications related degrees & careers. He’ll still like one of us to have an accounting degree though (none of us do). Sorry Dad.

On a brighter note, I did learn how to maybe one day save a life, and if I didn’t pursue this line of work, you wouldn’t be reading this now, would you?

So recently me & Advertlets Bloggers went down to MAHSA University College as part of a project to learn about Basic Life Support (CPR), and also to find out more about the courses offered. Check out this video, edited by none other than yours truly:

FYI: The girl hosting the first part of the video (interviewing Careen) is Nadia, and she’s actually a medical student. And Melanie Hwa who hosted the second part of the video (interviewing Andrew from MAHSA) actually originally intended to study medicine.

Here are the bloggers that attended all in one photo!

Here’s the basics of CPR, for your information:

Assessment & Activation

If you should find anyone collapsed, you should check responsiveness by tapping on their shoulders and shouting, “Are you alright?”. Well, if that person did not response, he should be dead unconscious, so shout for help, call 911. And then comes #a. Airway.

#a. Airway.

Make sure that the airway of the person is not blocked, back by placing one hand on their forehead and 2 fingers of the other hand on the bottom of the chin and tilt their head back slightly. Then lean over and put ear close to victim’s mouth. Check for chest movement/ breathing sound/ breath on cheek. If there’s no breathing signs, open airway and provide rescue breathing. Yes, this is the romantic part.

#b. Breathing.

Using the thumb and forefinger of your hand, pinch the victim’s nose shut. Be on your knees, shoulder apart and keep your other hand under the person’s chin, lifting it up. As you keep an airtight seal with your mouth on the victim’s mouth, give 2 full breaths. See the chest of the victim rising as you exhale.

#c. Circulation.

After giving 2 full breaths, find the person’s carotid artery pulse to see if the heart is still beating. The carotid artery pulse is beside the person’s Adam’s apple. If there isn’t any pulse, then you will have to provide artificial circulation, that is to give external chest compression. Find the notch where the bottom rims of the two halves of the rib cages meet in the middle of the chest(in layman’s term, the middle line between two nipples). Then put the heel of one hand on the sternum next to the fingers that found the notch. Put one hand on top of the hand that’s in position. Keep fingers off chest wall to avoid injuries. It will be easier to do this if you interlock your fingers. Make sure that you keep your arms straight and locked throughout 50 intervals of relaxation and compression. The proper rate of chest compression would be 50 to every 2 breaths.

Now that you know some of the basics of First Aid, let’s tell you more about MAHSA!

MAHSA University College offers the following courses:

• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Physiotherapy
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Sciences
• Environmental Health
• Postgraduate Studies Centre

Some of you may have gotten the impression that is a government college. It’s not! It’s a private college. They wouldn’t have such a nice Facebook page if they were a government college. Some interesting things - the Dentistry course is mainly taken by Malaysian Chinese students (I wonder why). There’s quite a bit of diversity -  for example, they have the MAHSA Chinese Language Society (recently organized a mooncake festival gathering), MAHSA University International Students &  the MAHSA Punjabi Students & even the MAHSA Alumni society.

I figure the place seems pretty fun, and the students do love their college - check this pic to the right from the recent Mooncake festival organized by the Chinese Language Society.

Also, check out the MAHSA Operations blog - written by Andrew of MAHSA - it’s surprisingly personal, gives an insight into what it takes to run the place and the culture in MAHSA and isn’t about hard-selling the place.

From here: MAHSA University College Facebook Page

What sets Mahsa University College apart from the rest is that it emphasizes on hands-on clinica training for its students, even during their first year!Mahsa also collaborates with various foreign universities such as The University of Northumbria (UK), Liverpool John Moores University (UK) and many others.

It also owns its very own Community Clinics and collaborates closely with Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.You can find out more info at www.mahsa.edu.my

It’s also located conveniently - they have two campuses, one in Jalan Universiti (that’s near Jaya One), and the other one in Pusat Bandar Damansara (near HELP College). So it’s great if you don’t wait to study all the way in Kuala Lumpur or Bukit Jalil or god forbid, OUT OF THE KLANG VALLEY.

Lastly, this is for you Dad. From your only useless son

Image from dissasociatedpress.com

Here’s solutions to some common problems that most people may face now that they have to deal with the ‘crisis’ of the new Facebook layout. Your first thoughts of seeing the new layout were probably:

• Hey, the Facebook bar stays fixed! (Cool!)
• Er, where are the friends I care about? (They’re there, but hidden)
• Argh, wtf! (You have my sympathies)
• How do I change the Facebook layout back to how it used to be? (And now you can…at least partially. Read on!)

Here are solutions to some common problems…

“I see only recent stories, and not top stories”

Solution: Ever since the layout redesign, Facebook needs to start ‘learning’ again who is relevant to you. Use the arrow on the top left of each post in your news feed to mark interesting posts as ‘Top Stories’. Facebook will then show you more of those types of stories.

“I see mainly acquaintances in my feed, and less of people I’m interested in/close to”

Solution: Organize your close friends into ‘Lists’. From the main page, use the Lists feature (it’s on the bottom left of your tabs, below Pages & Groups). Click more, then make Lists to add in your friends (eg college mates, close friends, ex-girlfriends, hot chicks you met in clubs etc). That way you can keep track of friends by group.

“That real time feed keeps moving. It’s annoying!”

Solution: Resize your window horizontally. It will disappear. Or hide the chat sidebar (it’s the button on the bottom right of your screen)

“I find the constant changes stressful! Why can’t things stay the way they are?”

Solution: Try not to worry so much, because change is inevitable, and its best to choose to deal with change positively and resourcefully. Taking control will be your gain, getting angry will be your loss.
This was written by me. Please credit http://www.josh.my or @joshlim on Twitter when sharing. Thanks!

Sample the happeningness of the previous Johnnie Walker parties -

Passion for Fashion at Bakita, sponsored by Johnnie Walker.

Johnnie Walker Jet Black in Singapore earlier this year.

Johnnie Walker Black Circuit Lounge in Malaysia:

Okay now to answer some questions…

1. JOHNNIE WALKER_® is the global partner of Formula One™ team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes™ since 2005, who was the 2009 Formula One™ SINGTEL Singapore Grand Prix night race winner and which team did he drive for?
   According to Wikipedia -  The race was won by McLaren-Mercedes driver and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

1. The Johnnie Walker_® JET BLACK race party is the most talked about party of the Singapore Night Race, featuring a stellar line up of the world’s best DJ’s, stunning interactive party experiences, and stylish JOHNNIE WALKER_® cocktails. Tell us in 50 words or less why we should send you and a friend an exclusive invitation to the party and include 3 or more hi quality pictures of your version of a perfect JOHNNIE WALKER_® race party to win yourself 2 passes each to both exclusive events.

   I should be sent to the party because…I’m a loyal Johnnie Walker drinker. And…so far I’ve been to all the Johnnie Walker parties so far…which makes you think:
   Is it a happening Johnnie Walker party because Josh Lim is there, or is Josh Lim there because its a happening Johnnie Walker party?
   (Just bring me there, and you’ll never need to find out!

My perfect Johnnie Walker race party has…

Bloggers+Friends!

Because there’s something particularly noteworthy about being able to party it up, have drinks AND still be able to photograph and write about it later.
And over the years, I’ve really grown to love the overlap between bloggers + friends that I have. It’s special how I can work AND party with people that are helping me fuel my dreams with Advertlets, and to know that they are having fun and gaining something along the way too.

(Also, whenever I’m out at any party, someone inevitably asks me  ’Where are your bloggers?’, regardless of which party I go to, so its kind of expected that they are there…)

Ladies!

They say that without women, all the money in the world would have no meaning. I agree.

And of course,
Johnnie Walker!

Whether on the rocks, or mixed with green tea (my personal favourite), or any of the special cocktails that you’ll find at Johnnie Walker events…its the smooth taste that keeps you walking and partying all night. The third anniversary of Advertlets was celebrated with the opening of an ultra premium Johnnie Walker blue label btw

(Presented here by the lovely Daphne Iking, back at the Johnnie Walker Black Circuit Lounge party in 2010)

Lastly, I’m writing this cause I love Johnnie Walker and all the party experiences they’ve given me before - in fact I don’t even need to write this as Advertlets is organizing the contest and I’ll be going to the party anyway, but I decided to write it cause I love Johnnie Woot!