Damn...I forgot my Tuxedo.

I was invited to the "Seatrade Asia Awards" last night. Kind of like the Oscars for the Asian Shipping industry, but the people aren't as engaging. Or very articulate. Or attractive. Come to think of it, it was really a pretty sad looking crowd. That is, aside from their swanky clothes.

You see, this was a "black tie" affair. The idea is that everyone wears a tuxedo and that makes the night a more classy event. The problem is that most people in Singapore don't even have a suit, let alone a tux. It's just not the style here. It's too damn hot for a jacket, so no one bothers. If you've ever met the type of person (myself included) who works in the marine industry, the likelihood of them owning a tuxedo is pretty damn small. They've got 8 boilersuits and 3 old pairs of steel toed boots, but the number of times a tux is the proper attire during your career can most likely be counted on your thumbs.

What this means is that most people (again, myself included) just showed up in a dark suit and hoped for the best. It turns out that the number of black ties were very limited at the black tie dinner. Maybe a quarter to a third of the crowd was wearing a tux. And of course, one tool had to show up in a kilt. I don't even think it was his; it was way to small. He looked like a bearded tranny wearing half a girls school uniform he stole from somewhere.

The awards presentation couldn't have been more lame. "And now we present the award for shipyard of the year. And the winner is....Keppel Shipyard." Then some guy walks up (not in a tux) and gets his photo op holding an award and scurries back to his seat. At least hit the podium and thank God or your mom or someone for this prestigious award before you sit back down and finish your tea.

At least the food was good. That actually seems to be a theme developing here. Awkward social situations but good food. The awkward part is probably my fault though. It usually is.