Welcome To The Lost City Of Atlantis
On 6 October at 6pm, curious onlookers witnessed the transformation of Marina Bay Sands into The Lost City of Atlantis. Balloons in the shape of sea-creatures danced at the entrance, welcoming guests. Initially there was just a trickle, the occasional stingray, the odd sea princess. Within the hour, over a thousand employees of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital came streaming in for our annual dinner & dance.
Sea What We Wore
While I had toyed with the idea of coming in a mermaid’s bikini, I realized that ship had sailed. Nautical jokes aside, I figured I would be truer to form dressed Mummy Shark Doo Doo. Little M5 came as a little mermaid, though not specifically THE Little Mermaid. We oohed at the physiotherapists who came coordinated as a table of jellyfish. Then we aahed at the ladies from IVF team, who shimmered as mermaids. Our CEO, Prof Alex, was dressed as a gaily painted squid. The Chairman of the Division of Medicine, Dr Yoke Hwee came as a pretty pirate. In this photo, we pose as a shark about to eat a pirate who’s catching a mermaid. I randomly notice there is an AED in our background and am very pleased At The Heart of The Matter.
A Wave Of Emotion Swept Over Us
Although we spend more time with one another than with our own spouses, we don’t know that much about our colleagues. However that night, doctors, nurses, radiographers, technicians and secretaries from both the Women’s & Children’s Towers partied together. To our delight, our children played with one another too, sharing their toys and treats.
Many of us spent the evening dashing about, spotting colleagues excitedly. Not everyone dressed for The Lost City Of Atlantis, but it was lovely to see them out of scrubs. We posed for silly selfies, finding and adding one another on social media as friends, in the spirit of camaraderie. One of the busiest people that evening was the Head of the Children’s Emergency, Dr Khai Pin. He had dyed his hair silver and brought a giant inflatable shark. You could track his movements as he floated the shark throughout the ballroom all night, assiduously greeting guests on other tables. His effort made everyone feel special.
Dinner And Dance
Well, it ain’t a Dance without some dancing, so the Lost City of Atlantis committee planned for the annual best-dressed competition to have two components. After scouts scoured the ballroom to find the top ten best dressed guests, they sent them for a dance competition onstage. Now, I’ll go straight to the remarkable ending, which is that I went home with the Best Dressed Female dance-off prize. But I’ll have to let you in on a little secret.
The Secret Of The Lost City Of Atlantis
I confess: I wasn’t meant to be a finalist. When the scouts approached my table, they had actually meant to invite Dr Khai Pin onstage. Khai was too gentlemanly to go up because wanted others to have a shot at the prize. Consequently, he beseeched the scout to have me take his place instead. Disappointed, the scout politely passed me a slip of paper for me to scribble my name and department down for the emcee. Unbeknownst to Khai, I had secretly put his name down too.
Presently, when the confused emcee announced both our names, we dragged little M5 along to go up together for fun. The emcee was clearly tickled by our motley crew of Daddy Shark, Mummy Shark and A (not THE) Little Mermaid. In fact, while the other teams competed over a medley of pop songs, he asked us to dance to Baby Shark Doo Doo. Remember, we had neither intentionally coordinated our outfits, nor rehearsed together before. But we were so proud to represent the Children’s Emergency that we three danced our hearts out. Coincidentally, the first runners-up were also from our department. Our friends and even the other contestants, roared in support.
And that’s how the Children’s Emergency teams won the dance-off: With love from family and friends.
