Parents Day Celebration - Humorous Nite 2010

15 May 2010

Bought a ticket from a Toastmaster from Braddell Heights CC Mandarin Toastmasters Club few weeks back. Despite the tiresome day, I felt it was impolite to miss this event, so off I went to Telok Blangah Community Club.

I used to dislike attending dinners, especially when I don't know the people seated around me at the table. It's two hours of interaction and I'd usually run out of topics to chat about. Then we'll end up in a situation where you look at me and I look at you and we praise/criticise the chef.

Perhaps practice makes perfect. Now dinners have become a gathering of sorts.

The event was organised by Telok Blangah Community Club & Singapore-China Business Association. The programme for the night included a wine appreciation talk and humorous speeches by Toastmasters.

Aljunied GRC Zero Litter Month Launch

15 May 2010

Went for an interview for the 37th Ship for SouthEast Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) at the National Youth Council office. It was the first time the selection interview was conducted in a group interview format. Glad that the interview timing was delayed, because I got to interact with the other interviewees. It was interesting to note the diverse backgrounds of fellow interviewees - a PA Staff, a STEP volunteer, a NUS student, a freelance designer and a swimming coach.

After the interview, I dashed back to the Old Temporary Market where the Launch of the Aljunied GRC Zero Litter Month was held. This year, the launch is spearheaded by the YEC and jointly organised with Eunos Grassroots Organisations and Aljunied Town Council.

With "Green Man"

Fortunately, I had Huijing to assist in relieving my duties as Programme I/C while I was at the interview.

With Huijing and Project Superstar Finalist Ruth Chua

A colouring contest was held for children to bring across community messages to the young.

There was a special appearance by Aunty Lucy (MediaCorp Artiste Dennis Chew). Aunty Lucy went on stage to convey a message to the residents - Let's build a cleaner and safer home to live in. One of her humorous take on the issue of killer littering was that throwing litter out of your window requires one to adopt an ugly posture, in contrast to disposing it into the bin.

The Guest-of-Honour was our Adviser Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs & MP for Aljunied GRC. Aljunied Town Council Chairperson Mdm Cynthia Phua was also present at the launch.

Mr Zainul and RC members also visited residents at some of the HDB flats. They distributed door hangers to remind residents to contribute to a cleaner and safer home for everyone.

With Wen Bin from NEA

YEC with the Master of Ceremony, MediaCorp Radio LOVE FM93.3 DJ Jiahui

I was also interviewed by 稚英, a reporter and broadcaster from MediaCorp Channel 8 News on the initiatives of the YEC's Eco-Savvy Interest Group. Being effectively bilingual helps! Although I didn't watch myself on TV, my Mother and Aunt said it was quite a good coverage.

After the event, went off to Telok Blangah CC to attend a dinner....

PA YOUTHSLead Programme Launch Dinner

14 May 2010

The People's Association YOUTHSLead Programme is about introducing youths into the PA grassroots network. Eunos CC YEC was selected as one of 5 YECs to mentor a group of youths.

Here at the Launch Dinner, members of the participating YECs and PA YOUTHSLead Programme participants got to meet one another for the first time. The participants were from diverse background. Some of them are already actively volunteering in other organisations.

The Guest-of-Honour was Mr Chan Boon Fui, PA Group Director (Policy).

Participants from the previous batch of YOUTHSLead programme were present and shared their experiences. Participants get to attend courses and camps conducted by the various agencies under PA, namely, the Outward Bound Singapore, NACLI and OnePeople.SG.

Resume Writing Clinic

11 May 2010

Attended a Resume Writing Clinic session conducted by NUS Career Centre.

I always thought the best resume is the thickest resume - the more experiences you record on it, the better you look. However, this is not the case.

At the session, we were told that the ideal resume should consist only of one page. One should be selective of the experiences to list in the resume. The description of each experience should include quantifiable achievements. The use of impactful words would be useful.

The white spaces on the resume should be minimised so as to give it less boring.

Mother's Day @ Marina Bay Sands

9 May 2010

I brought my Mother to the Marina Bay Sands on Mother's Day.

The newly constructed Circle Line really helped shorten commuting time. With the MacPherson station up and running, residents of Bedok Reservoir could avoid the packed cabins of the East-West Line to travel to town.

We took a stroll down from Esplanade and crossed the Helix Bridge. On the floor were the letters A, T, C & G which represent the different chemical constituents of the DNA. A small segment of the Bridge was not open yet, due to ongoing constructions at MBS.

Singaporeans travelling on the CTE will not miss the iconic skyscrapers of the Marina Bay Sands. I must say the Singapore Flyer and the MBS make the CTE the most enjoying ride.

The feeling is so much different when you are up close to this construction marvel. Here lies the next buzz for Singapore.

The casino was very crowded, even though there were no long queues. Boutique shops were everywhere within the shopping mall. Guess we came too early, because only a few shops were ready for business.

Many curious Singaporeans, like us, also found our way into the hotel.

99 Day Countdown to SYOG 2010

7 May 2010

Sent Brother off to the airport, where he'll be leaving for his military training in Taiwan. At the airport, bumped into MediaCorp Artiste Moses Lim. He is a very friendly and approachable person.

Then, I brought Mother to *scape where the 99-day countdown party for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (SYOG) was held.

There was a fashion show of the uniform attire for the volunteers and staff. The two adorable mascots, Lyo and Merly, were also interacting with the crowd.

Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, addressed the audience and did the symbolic cancellation of day 99 on a mega calendar. In his speech, he traced back how Singaporeans were in tears of joy when the International Olympic Council declared Singapore to be the host for the first-ever Youth Olympic Games.

PM Lee also led the pledge for SYOG volunteers to commit themselves to excellence for SYOG.

Asian Idol & Singapore Idol Hady Mirza also presented some songs to the energetic crowd.

National Achievers Congress 2010

27 - 29 April 2010

The National Achievers Congress is an annual event where prominent speakers gather to deliver their secrets to success with participants. It was held at Expo this year. (Read National Achievers Congress 2007)

This year, the speakers included Robert G Allen, Spike Humer, Loral Langemeier, Christopher Howard, John P. Coutis, Tom Hua, Greg Secker and Jordan Belfort.

Other than sharing their experiences, the speakers would also promote their follow-up courses, with prices ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

The timing was a little bad for me, given that it's on my exam dates. Nevertheless, I managed to attend the talk given by Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister. He shared some of his candid experiences during his political term, but fall short of discussing politics. I was told the NAC held in Malaysia had protesters right outside of the hotel where he was delivering his speech. Security is so tight that no photography was allowed.

The NAC is a good-to-attend for some dosage of motivation and inspiration. Some speakers clearly provided useful ideas, while some were more concerned with attracting potential mentees to their follow-up courses.

Toastmasters International D80 Division L International Speech & Table Topics Contest

24 April 2010

The contest was held at Chua Chu Kang Community Club. CCK CC has one of the most unique design. It has something that looks like an observation tower. On the outside, it looks futuristic!

All the best speakers from the various Areas exude their charm and wit in presenting their best self on stage.

The Guest-of-Honour is Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong.

After the contest, Area L1 had our meeting where we elected our Area Governor for the new term.

80区域国际讲演会L2分区备稿暨即席演讲比赛

14 April 2010

今天是父亲过世的一周年。早上到了丰永大骨灰甕壁龕室那儿祭拜了父亲。发现时间就这么快地过去了，但思念父亲的心始终还是如一年前一般。

傍晚时分，赴了林明娟总监的邀请，到友诺士民众俱乐部的讲堂出席了一年一度的80区域国际讲演会L2分区备稿暨即席演讲比赛，担任比赛的计分员。

最令人难忘的演讲是关于“面子”的。一个人的面子不管有多大，一旦做出违背道德的事，面子就会消失。

华语的奥妙如其深厚。。。