Singaporean happenings at SXSW
Last month, while preparing for SXSW, I blogged about how I was thinking of locating the other two participants with the last name “Tan”. Then we could have a clan gathering.
Last Friday, I met Wilson (who is one of the Tans) through a mutual friend. I completed the circle at Break Bread with Brad when I bumped into Sarah. I immediately asked her, “Is your surname Tan”? She said yes, I pulled Wilson over, and we took this photo during Break Bread.
Naturally, as all of us originate from Singapore, we discovered we had mutual friends. However I’m the only one working and living in Singapore. Wilson took us to a good Italian restaurant for lunch, then across the street for a tub of gelato.
We met up again to attend at the SXSW Web Awards this evening. We cheered for Jonathan Yuen, a Malaysian who works at Kinetic, Singapore’s premier interactive agency. He won the award for best Personal Portfolio. However, he was too busy at work back in Singapore to receive the award here in Austin. As I’ve mentioned to Americans I’ve met so far, it can take nearly a day of travelling to get here.
It was an anticlimax to see a total stranger claim his prize on his behalf, especially when he and the host, Ze Frank, couldn’t pronounce Jonathan’s surname properly and thought it was funny. FYI, “Yuen” sounds a bit like the Japanese “yen”. It’s NOT pronounced as “Yew-een”.
I shot videos and we took some photos as well… they’ll be uploaded in time. The internet connection in the hotel is a bit erratic sometimes.