[click to enlarge]
[pix from river island magazine]
On the other side of the country, some uni students are sitting for their final exam. And today I am quite delighted to be given the role as a Chief Invigilator for some papers at my college. I've been invigilating for quite sometime before - both as normal invigilator that fades behind the scene, or as Chief which I'm always happy to do. So many times. Countless. I dunno what kind of perception the students have when they see me on the center stage, handling huge numbers of people that can always create havoc no matter what during the exam period. Or to be heading other senior invigilators, coz to their eyes I'm just a young bloke who's look doesn't differ from them. Many times I do get that statement "are you a Final Year student?" which kinda flattering (I'm not even joking). When I told 'em, I work here - you can see how big shocking eyes with jaw-dropping look they gave me then. It's funny.
I also remember I've created quite a 'news' after the incident I caught people cheating in the exam. Not once, but many times. I dunno what's my secret to be honest, but my guts always tell me something when I saw students who try to sneak in notes or piece of paper into their pocket. There's one time I caught a student who brought a chunk of note into the exam hall - and I saw him copying what not which he slipped under the answer script. And busted! He's been barred for two semesters due to that. All because I caught him so.
I think because of that the exam unit made me the Chief Invigilator. Coz I can smell the dirt. There're too many 'method' of cheating which is too vast to mention. From having the classic one like sneaking in notes or pieces of paper into the pocket or shoes, to putting them into the toilet bowl or behind the cistern; inside the pen or behind the calculator, to having a small bluetooth earpiece which is too tiny for the eyes to see that can connect them straightaway into another lifeline somewhere out there (and that's why handphones are prohibitted in the hall nowadays!). Too many. I think if I go on, I might write a book on how to cheat in the exam! And that's why by having a mind of a criminal made you a good 'preventor'. But one thing that I wish - can't they just write all the notes in their mind instead? =)
So, today for a role as Chief Invigilator I decided to 'perk' up my style and stand out instead of blending in to the background. The main objective: my style must be 'hot' enough so that the students can be distracted by it. Not too hot otherwise I fell into the 'tacky' category, rather it's something subtle. Like a suit coz so far no invigilator would wear one. Yet alone a skinny suit like what I'm wearing today.
And that's what I'm wearing - the skinny suit by River Island in micro-check pattern, combined it with the 'dark nude' slimfit shirt by Asos and a black tie by Red Herring @ Debenhams. Kinda similar to the one I wear in previous Convo rehearsal event before. Simple. But because of the very form-fitting that you can actually see every curves on my body (though I don't have many curves btw!), that's why I think it stands out. Do anybody here wear anything close to it? No. And I think the students are gonna be distracted by my suit. And eventually cannot answer the exam questions, perhaps. Kinda diabolical, right? Lol.
So, does my devilicious attempt work? Sort of. Yes, it's kinda flattering when I see those student's eyes are more towards me rather than on their exam scripts. Especially those gorgeous looking one, coz the nerds are too busy with their work. And it's kinda weird too when their eyes are also following me when I moved around. Too much, too much... I think. Ahaks! And did my diabolical point to make them cannot answer the exam question works too? Maybe, coz I see some of them only did two questions, when they're supposed to be answering five. Well, it's not my fault coz the subject IS hard, you know. Ha! :)
The Chief ... on the way to the exam hall.
The Chief... on duty.
The Zara perforated oxford. This is not the shoes I'm wearing today.
This is what I wear previously...
For the C.I job, I pair the ensemble with my Hugo Boss boots,
to give more elongation on the legs. :)
Trend is the same thing. A trend is considered to have its longevity when it appears season after season. Be it for autumn/winter or even spring/summer - longevity is surpassed with flying colors if a trend become seasonless. You can wear it then, and you can also wear it later regardless of what kind of weather you're in. One perfect example that saw a great survival out there in the 'wild' world of fashion is leopard print. If you happen to read my previous post, it seems that leopard print is becoming a fad in clothing as well as accessories not just for current FW2010 like what Gucci and Kenzo did, but it also gonna be a big thing next SS2011. Yet, wait a minute, it's even appears last SS2010 as well! Perfect longevity, huh?
When I crack open my wardrobe the other day to do my bit of reorganizing, I can't believe I do have some leopard print tops in my collection. Heaven knows how many clothes I really have that most of the time I've lost track when did I bought them. One of them is this 'typical' leopard print shirt by Upper @ Topman. I still remember to write something about it in my BigFatSnoop before, but never thought it ended up in my shopping bag. I swore to never gonna buy it since the fit is too slimming (too much hugging!). But somehow, somewhat it looks great and I just found it in my clothes box that's recently arrived from London.
Shirt - Upper @ Topman
Jacket - River Island
Jeans - Uniqlo
Another piece of leopard is this V-neck sweater by Zara. I love the color which is quite subdued and not too flashy as the previous one. I call it urban leopard due to its grey color. (You got snow leopard in white, so why not urban leopard in grey, right? Ha!). It's very light and the fit is awesome. I think if people might be 'threatened' by the print, I might also tone it down by wearing a blazer in similar hues as well. :)
So. Do I see longevity in leopard print? Absolutely yes.
Leopard print sweater - Zara
Wool blazer - River Island
Jeans - Uniqlo
Grey suede bag - Jimmy Choo for H&M
I'm always a big fan of River Island's suits coz, other than Zara, I think they are the winner on the highstreet when it comes to tailoring. Especially when it involves mod design in skinny or slim fit, slimmer lapels and one button fastening; RI do it well. Talking about this jazzy suit, the fabric is linen-viscose mix - making it much versatile and seasonless coz the fabric won't heat you up if you wanna wear it during summer. Kinda seasonless, huh? I think the suit has a great fit coz from the pix it looks like a similar design as my skinny fleck one that I wore during the emcee event. Brilliant.
It's time to shine...
Alas, the day of the big event has finally arrived. I woke up quite early that day so that I won't be missing the event that I'm hosting. Otherwise it'll be a disaster if the emcee himself is not present!
The theme of the day? Again... solemn, sombre, chic. Black and white as similar to the full-dress rehearsal day, but the only difference is the shirt I'm wearing. Also from Zara, the white shirt has wider-gap, micro stripes and black edge collar. When I paired it with the black tie (from the previous day), it look somewhat the tie is being worn on the outer side of the shirt, which I think looks cooler and very much visible in front of the camera. Yes, different from a typical 'solemn' clothing which the event is associated with.
So, what kind of event that I'm hosting? It's the convocation ceremony. Everything that happens during the event is very ceremonious, full of protocol... from start to finish. From the procession entering the hall by the graduates, the academic members and the stage party (no, they're not the people who're having a party on the stage - rather, they're the VIPs); to the scroll giving ceremony and the closing - everything has their own protocol. Very tedious. Only people who has the patience can really stand doing this kind of event.
That morning I arrived slightly late to the venue. Well, not really late coz the event is supposed to start at 8.30 am. So, I'm in the Green Room exactly at 8.00, trying to get a breakfast. Once arrived there, I didn't see anyone's around except two ladies who are the accompanying persons for the Press. It was then i had a conversation:
Then both of them start chatting something, out of disbelief I guess, knowing of who I am. Is that the first time I got those comment? Nope. Is that the first time someone look very much in disbelieve when I told my age? Nope. And that's why somehow I think my younger looking outlook got me quite a trouble. Trouble of getting people to trust me since they think I'm not up to the experince. Sigh...Well, they've gotta look at my CV instead to see how much have I accomplished these years in my working life. Too much for a young guy.
Anyway, I suddenly got a call. "Doc, where are you? We're waiting for you. The event is about to start!" - without them knowing that I was actually just one floor below the rostrum where I'm having my brekkie.
"Isn't it at 8.30 am?" I replied. "No. it's 8.15!". Why... and it's already 8.10. Yikes! I rushed upstairs... but in full composure so that nobody could see that I'm actually in rush. From afar I could see someone has filled my place at the rostrum - a replacement in case of my abscence. When I'm already arrived, together with my Burberry tote in hand, I can see the faces turn in relief. Relieve that The Voice has finally arrived! Hey, who said I'm late?! Ha!
Before I made my first announcement to the audience, I took a snap of the hall. It's not lots of people coz the procession is starting in about 10 minutes time. I can say that this is the only pix from my side and from my camera.
Why is that? Coz I have to follow the rules of the event - Please refrain from taking photographs throughout the ceremony - by which I read out to the audience in the opening lines. It's in the script. Cannot take photographs, you ask? I also question the rule to the organizer, which I think is very silly. This is a special event. One of a lifetime for most of the audience. A convocation ceremony that marks the 'success' of the graduates. Come on..let their family took as many photographs as they want! But with one rule. No flash - just as what London Underground told the commuters too - for the sake of safety & health in case people with seizure present in the audience. We don't want flashing bulbs cause unwanted incidents to them, right?
Anyway. The photos below are the one that I took it from various people in my Facebook. It's the whole procession. Pretty cool to watch from their point of view. Especially when my pix exist in some frames that shows the location where me and my emcee partner standing by the main stage.
yours truly is standing in front, at the rostrum. the taller one in suit. :)
it's daunting to sit right in front of the audience. yet, I love when one of them did said
"your shoes looks awesome!"
What can I say about emceeing and talking in front of about 2500 people in the hall? Awesome. The adrenaline, the exposure, the vulnerability, the feel.I It's everything. I think being an emcee is not about having a good voice, but the most important is the guts. Having the guts to stand and talk in front of thousands, which many feels quite a daunting experience. Some people will freeze to death. Some will shiver which can be heard even in their voice when they speak. Or see how the pen shakes when he/she holding it! Yet for me, I love public speaking. I love working in front of the camera. In front of people. That's what I've been doing all these while. So, there's no weird feeling anymore including this event. The more people, the better it is! Coz I can't see the faces of the audience individually - they're all look like a bunch of flowers that spread all over the hall! =)
Would I continue to be an emcee? Only time will tell. But I want a bigger challenge. Bigger audience. Someone suggested me to go for tv. Be a newsreader. Someone once even told me,"Zamri, if you're in KL right now, TV3 might have snap you!". For real? I dunno about that, but why not give it a try. You only live once, so you've gotta grab everything that comes by. In the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy whatever I'm doing. When and how am I gonna do tv... just watch this space! :)
The theme of the day is 'urban steel'. What is so steel about it? The suit that I'm wearing is a bit shiny when hit by the light. And it's grey, that's why i cat it steel (steel greay, get it?). the suit is from River Island, with a slight glimmer if I may say. But not as shiny as the suit that David Beckham wears in the Yahoo! advert. I love the one button that give that mod feel and contour the waistline pretty well.
To streamline with the grey theme, I paired the suit with a hi-sheen grey slimfit shirt from Zara and a slim tie in horizontal grey/black mini stripes from Burton. Again, it's all highstreet at their best. Just to inject a bit of designer, I went a bit classic with a pair of dip-dyed grey leather brogues from Paul Smith.
The grey theme really proven a hit that day since other people in the hall like it as well. And the best thing, I got to walk on the red carpet again. But, erm... nope; there's no flashing bulbs around - otherwise I may end up in someone else's blog! (Haha, I wish!)
The next day - Day 5.
One of the big day, since it's the full-dress rehearsal for the event. I dunno why they called it full-dress rehearsal. What... are the previous days everyone has been 'partially dressed'? Or naked? Erm.. I don't think so. But anyway, the full-dress rehearsal is the time when the mock-up of the real event will be done with all the procession and people wearing the costume or special robe for the big day. And it's the day when the choir group, the orchestra and the live band will come together doing all their musical stuff.
Since it was the 'full-dress' day, I decided to wear something typically formal and sombre so that it'll mirrored on what I'm gonna wear on the real 'solemn' day too. The theme is 'edgy chic'. Why chic? To me anything that is black and white is considered chic. Very simple and classic, very Parisian colors... that's why it's chic. And edgy?
Well, the suit is all typical black, one-button slimfit suit (also from River Island). The shirt (from Zara) however has a bit of twist to it. The base is white, but it has a double collar - black under white. To add to that, at the back it has a black 'backbone' and black hems on the cuffs as well - creating an overall edgy feel to otherwise plain white shirt. At times when the event went for a break, I tried to take off my blazer, so that people really can see how interesting the shirt is. And yup, from the surprised faces of the onlookers, I think they do agree that the shirt is quite special!
Oh, the plain black tie is from Red Herring @ Debenhams; while the shoes that I wore that day really is the major talking point coz it's not the kind that people there usually or ever wear. It's the Kenneth Cole black patent boots which heels is slightly higher. I heards some buzzing around, but the comment that I got from a friend is only that "bro, your shoes is so damn shiny!!"... rather than it's a high heels. Ahaks!
Anyway, i love my 'black tie event' outfit that day. Very Dolce & Gabbana? Ha! ... I wish. But that doesn't stop those choir groups to ogle everytime they went on a break! Lol! =)
