July Birthday Celebration

July birthday baby is none other than Derek Teoh who turns 35 on 23rd July 2007.
Not someone who was used to having surprises sprang at him.... the Jayers once again outdid ourselves by pulling a fast one on an expecting but terribly surprise birthday boy. ( you see, we've got insider news that Birthday Boy was digging around to get news if we were planning any surprises for him as it was a SalsaJay Tradition!)

And how did we do it....? we roped in the love of his life....ahem... to jump onto the bday bandwagon with us. A simple email was blasted out to all jayers...minus, Mr. Bday boy himself, to make arrangements for the big day, and voila, our plans were in motion.

On the said night, bday boy overstayed his class time ( perhaps he is one of those few who enjoy class...hahaha). Yours truly had to draw up alternative plan quickly to get him to leave ... all the while trying to mask my busy text messaging activity as if i was chatting up some guy ( well.. it worked, didnt it?). Meanwhile, some jayers who were gathered at the pavement downstair had to endure the cold and some rain while waiting for the green light from above.

to cut the long story short... we achieved what we set out to do and that is to give derek a surprise bday ... one which he would treassure for years to come....

below is his thank you msg ~

Dear Jayers...

You guys really got me good last friday!

I guess it started when I was filling up the form for Money & You, when people like Jeamie and Michael Y were busy watching out for my IC number. Jeamie insists she knew way before then, but to quote Wilson, "I Dont Believe!"

Somehow, I knew they would be roping in Lena L for this, so I sent feelers out to her, trying to pull some guilt strings saying stuff like "If they were planning something, you would tell me right? Riiiight?" Yeah. Right.

Stellar performance from her that night! Oh, forget about trying guilt trips on this lady! Shes the master at it! At 10pm sharp, I get a call from her, telling me she is waiting "outside"... With pangs of guilt (plus some confusion... I did say I would pick her up at 10 -something- after all) I rushed out and if they didnt spring it on me at that instant, I would have been tearing down the stairs and you guys would have to eat bday cake all on your own! Oh, BTW, technically, she wasnt lying through her teeth. She was waiting "outside" after all!

As it became very obvious that I SUCK when it comes to public speaking, I want to write what I couldnt express in spoken words that night.

To the guys, BOOYAKASHA my brothers!

Rueben, thank you for taking your time to come over and make a fool of yourself along with the rest of us doing the wanking dance (wank-wank-o?) for the ladies. Thank you for not making me do it alone! Bhwa hwa hwa!

Fai, thank you for being the kind, patient (and sometimes, sick animal!) of a training assistant for me and the rest. Even in the middle of a mountain bike trail, you dont mind me going, "Fai pant..pant...pant... how does the ...pant...pant... bloody B2 ... pant ...pant... move go...pant...pant... again??"

Jacques! I remember the first time I spoke to you. I asked if you were french, and how you pronounce "Moet & Chandon"! Thank you for being an inspiration on the dance floor, with your wife. I love watching the both of you move!

Tony, you are the rock of the Intermediates. The most dedicated one, with a huge golden heart. When you first joined, I thought you were bloody lan-si and aloof! But as it turns out, you have one of the biggest kindest hearts I have ever seen. Aight bro!

Wilson, collector extraordinaire... When I heard you like japanese mechs, I thought to myself, wait till he sees my PG grade Strike Gundam model. When I actually visited your place, I malu only to show my one and only model... Another person with a huge heart...

Michael Y, fellow RC heli nut, and the final of the trio who bundled me off to singapore for that crazy impromptu trip. I love you guys.

Terence, you're the guy who indirectly brought me into SalsaJay. Indirectly, you also brought me into Money & You. Indirectly, you are therefore responsible for bringing so much into my life. Simply saying thank you doesnt seem enough. I owe you a lot...

To the wimmin, rock on, my sistas!

Joyce, the little spinner! Who finally has gotten her first pair of dancing shoes after so many years! And Pink to boot! And who also was wondering why her car started sounding like a sports car after her exhaust fell off!

Stephanie, datin, with the longest most luxuriant hair in the whole group (although for one week, there was someone with an even more ju-on - ish hair do than you in the trials class!). Love the way you laugh without restraint. Also love the fun n excitement when some poor dude ends up eating your hair after a particularly enthusiastic spin. ;)

Rachel, with the sweetest smile in the whole class. The little rocker girl. Thank you to you and steph for being the only two salsajay girls in singapore with me. Without the both of you there, I dont think I would have had even half as much fun as I did.

Arinna, Arwin and Pip (Phyp??), aka, charlies angels... the darlings of the pre-inter class. Thank you for dragging yourselfs all the way back to Salsajay just for me! I apologise for the delays, but thats Jeamies fault for letting the class keep dragging on! (Laying blame!) But seriously, I really appreciate you guys being there. Sorry for missing little Arinna...

Zai, the tall sexy goddess of the advanced class. I remember the first time I danced with you. It was the first time I danced with someone from Advanced and I was nervous as hell. However, the compliment you gave me was worth it all...

Laney, with the flawless skin and complexion. The skin on my backside oso not so nice. :P You really must share your secret with everyone...

Wee, always the quiet one, helping and buzzing in the background. You are always the one taking the cake away, cutting it up and serving it, and then cleaning up after everyone else. Thank you so much for your kind and generous efforts all the time. I really appreciate them.

Adrienne Lee Aka Adilah! I know how crazy you get at work, which made it all the more a wonder to me that you actually managed to get off early enough to come over and help surprise the absolute crap outta me! Thank you so much for the efforts... Really means a lot to me...

Jeamie Lee Aka Jamalah Aka Rotan Happy Teacher Aka Elephant-skin-on-her-feet-who-can-spin-barefoot-on-tarmac Aka Lead like Lorry! :P The woman who made it all possible. The one single common denominator we all have. Thank you for being with us all, through thick and thin, and having the patience to drill the moves through our thick skulls. I've tried teaching a few difficult students before, and can end up either wanting to kill them, or kill myself! Its a wonder you have managed to stay sane for so long. Keep up with the coffee before class (just dont get horny!) but dont overdose and ... actually, DO overdose! And reward us with more lines like "Girls! If you grip too hard, your guy wont come!"

Lastly, my dearest Lena L. Winner of this years SalsaJay Actors Award for Best Performance in "Springing a Surpise". Indirectly, its through salsajay that made us possible. If it wasnt for salsa, I wouldnt have met Jeamie. If I hadnt met Jeamie, I wouldnt have known about Money&You. If I didnt go for M&Y, I wouldnt have met you, and if I hadnt met you, I wouldnt know the happiness I now know. As you said, thank God for Precession, Love orbits and other Divine thingamies that brought us together. May this be the first of many many many birthdays that we share together.

To those who couldnt make it, I know you all tried, and I got your individual birthday wishes loud n clear! So no worries! Lena Y, Tim & Tam, Choi, Greg, Richard & Jen, Kelly, thank you for being there in spirit.

If I missed anyone out, please forgive me.

Like I said, in my pathetic attempt at a speech last friday, I have never had a group such as you peeps. Through the one thing we have in common, I found so many other things to share amongst you all. The strange thing is, that one thing was one thing I thought I would never ever get into. I never liked to dance, and always thought I had two left feet. It was with great difficulty that I was persuaded to join SalsaJay, but once I joined, there was no turning back. I love you all!

Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you ALL for a fantastic and utterly enjoyable surprise birthday party!

Love always
Derek