In Black & White

Risa loves penguins, so much so that she says if she wasn’t working in shipping, she’d have liked to become a professional penguin feeder/cuddler. “I’m a penguin fanatic. It’s not something I should tell the world, but all my friends know about it and are supportive of my sickness, especially my man.” Nonetheless, she’s enjoying her work as she says it allows her to travel to places she’s never been to and explore different cultures and cities. The downside of her work, she says, is that “shipping never sleeps”, and sometimes her evenings are dedicated to work. “No complaints, though. I knew what I was getting into, and it’s not so bad when you can pair work with beer and snacks.” Despite her consuming work schedule, Risa always makes time for the important people in her life. “My best friend is my twin sister, so I always make time for her; in fact, I think we spend too much time together,” she says. “I used to find it hard to make time for my friends but when everyone makes an effort, it’s easier to commit to meeting up once a week and when we do get together, it’s the best feeling because I have the best girlfriends in the world.” We caught Risa on one of her dress-down Fridays; when the occasion calls, such as client meetings, she’d put in a little more effort with a classy, smart dress. “I’m also a big fan of jumpsuits, and I pair them with high heels.” One of the things she doesn’t quite get are party dresses as workwear. “Some of them have holes in parts of the dress that are fairly inappropriate for work. Keep that for the weekends! Another pet peeve would be when women wear tight dresses/skirts and you can see the outline of their grandma panties. Less is definitely more at work — keep it simple.” The weekends are meant for relaxing, however. “Nothing more than a pair of shorts, a tank top, and my Converse sneakers,” she says. “If I’m not out and about getting my favourite dumplings, porridge buffets and steamboats, then I’m at home on the couch watching cooking shows with my handsome man.” Something random related to her love of food? “I can never get enough of soup and can also burp on command!”