New Year with Baohui

1 January 2009

Chatted with Hock Rong until he gave up at 11am. Mr Yap and my Uncle saw us and thought we woke so early.

There was a National Geographic outlet and we took a tour around. A group of people were looking at a glass-walled freezer. I thought someone would want to enter it and experience Atlantic atmosphere but no one did.

Baohui tried to search for the book, Twilight, but didn't manage to find it in the bookstore. I wonder if the movie is really that fantastic.

In the evening, we went to Hougang Mall to develop some photographs. On the way back on bus, I spotted something strange...

There was a spelling error on the banner! Christmas was spelt as Christams. Thinking positively, it is a good decision not to waste resources to reprint the banner.

New Year Countdown @ East Coast

31 December 2008

Zone 3 RC members had a mini steamboat gathering to celebrate the arrival of 2009. I helped in the preparation of food and enjoyed doing so. Some residents were singing karaoke at the same time.

I managed to install the RC printer machine to the computer successfully. That sprung an interest to pack up the RC office. As we were doing so, we found some shirts that were issued years ago and no one knew about their existence (except the issuer).

My family joined in thereafter and Lin Qiang had his share before he left to stay out for the night.

When my parents returned home, I proceeded to Zone 2 to join in their BBQ countdown party, before venturing off to East Coast.

When 2009 arrived, I witnessed the shooting of distress signals of the ships lining the East Coast of Singapore. The park was crowded. The pub nearby provided great beats and the led the countdown yelling.

Later, went to Mac with Wei Kiat and Hock Rong to play Monopoly, and were told board games were not allowed in the fast food restaurant.

The 2 Places I Dread the Most

30 December 2008

There are 2 places which I hate going to. They are the Airport and the Hospital. And I went to one of them today.

I have sent quite a handful of people away from the Airport ever since my Secondary schooldays. The transparent glass that divides the leavers and the stayers leaves the only communication channel open between tearful eyes and moving lips.

Likewise, trips to hospitals can never be a good thing. When visiting patients, the pain they are suffering makes one feel for them, but no matter how much empathy you have, you can't reveal them. I always had to put on a trembling smile and forcing back tears in order to worry others. The sight of other patients also injects some uneasiness into one.

In the evening, I went to Kg Chai Chee CC for the speechcraft competition. I was quite contented with my photo of the CC, which was used as the background for the certificates. Was the photographer for the event and enjoyed using the camera as a weapon to yield in smiling faces and nervous stares.

After Toastmasters, went jogging with Hock Rong round the Bedok Reservoir and enjoyed the oily Chicken Chop at the coffeeshop for supper...

Eunos Emergency Preparedness Day 2008

28 December 2008

It was tough getting out of bed. The fever bug had just left my body, having sucked away part of my soul.

At the market, Yap surprised me when he said that he would be sponsoring the fruits instead of consigning them to the youth group. Thanks to Yap! If you are staying in Eunos, do check his fruits stall located somewhere between MacDonald's and KFC. He only sells fresh fruits in the morning.

Eunos CC was already crowded with people when I arrived. The immense effort in putting up this great show by a small group of us payed off. I was the photographer for the event and managed to capture the many happy smiling faces of the participants.

At 12pm, I left for the Emergency Preparedness Day. After eating the lunch provided for by the SCDF, CERT members as well Zone 3 RC members gathered to do a final rehearsal of the emergency exercise.

My role was a CERT (Community Emergency Rescue Team) leader conducting a routine patrol in the area. I would spot smoke gushing out from a unit at Blk 622 and order my team members to evacuate the residents. Wei Kiat would make announcements through the loudhailer to request for residents to evacuate. I called for the police and fire brigade and they arrived at the scene. After briefing them about the situation, they moved in to conduct the rescue. At the same time, the Combined Platform Ladder of the fire engine would be used to rescue victims from the 6th storey. To end the drill, grassroots leaders would fall in alongside SCDF and await for further commands.

I am not good in acting in front of a big crowd, so I was quite stressed after the rehearsal. As the "main lead", the whole show would fail if I committed some silly mistakes. Luckily it turned out well and thanks to Hock Rong for the photo moment.

Wei Kiat was beginning to fall sick as well. As the most outstanding youth in Eunos, he had certainly contributed a lot to this event.

The SLC students and some of the YEC members chilled over the buffet dinner, before going back to rest.

Hock Rong called and woke me after a 4-hour nap. We met for a while to discuss the year plan for 2009...

Guarding the Carpark with BBQ

27 December 2008

Popped two painkiller pills at 1am and returned to sleep. Fortunately, I recovered a great deal upon waking up at noon.

At 2pm, Hock Rong and I attended the BNSS SLC meeting. The students were very energetic and carried out the meeting in a very smooth fashion. They had decided to name their forum as "Stress in School: To Benefit or To Get Rid".

Some of the students accompanied us to conduct our final round of publicity for Sunday's event. I guess it was a good learning experience for the students that went around with us. Especially Annie who initially was shy but later managed to sell 3 tickets to a household.

Hock Rong treated all to dinner. I felt sick and ate some porridge. Zone 3 RC members would be guarding the carpark at night, so I went home and enjoyed a long nap.

At 10pm, I went to Zone 2 RC to check out the burglary that had happened, before joining my RC members at the barbeque pit. Drank a can of beer after knowing that it could remove heat from the body. There was a wide variety of BBQ food but I restricted my intake due to my condition. Other Zone RC members joined us too. If not for the wonderful barbeque session, the nightwatching of the carpark would be dreadful.

Wei Kiat brought along his Disney-themed Monopoly. Lewis, Hock Rong, Wei Kiat and I played the game until I was bankrupted at about 3am...

Returning the Favour

26 December 2008

We were almost late. I guess all of us were really exhausted the day before. Despite being late for work, Hock Rong came and bid farewell to the Hong Kong exchange delegates. Was surprised when George and Jonathan presented their gifts to me.

A gift from Jonathan (pen from Shirley)

From George

& A Christmas Card!

Off we went via a taxi to Royal Plaza on Scotts, where they will be checking into. We reached just in time. It is a very posh hotel. After sending them up to their rooms, I bid my farewell to them.

After settling the programme sheets for Toastmasters speechcraft competition, I met up with Wei Kiat at the CC to sell the Eunos Healthy Lifestyle Day tickets to the residents at 5pm. I felt bad that Hock Rong had sacrificed his off days to help me accompany my Hong Kong delegates, so it is time to return the favour by ensuring a good turnout at the Sunday event.

At the CC, met Mr Singh and followed him to put up the banner for the Eunos Emergency Preparedness Day. The designated carpark had already been cordoned.

Every door-to-door ticket selling is a different experience. Today, I chatted with a resident who was surprised to see a RC member promoting grassroots activities. She had been staying here for a while but was not informed of any activities. I spoke with her child and also promoted the Youth Group.

At 8.30pm, I chaired the meeting for the Healthy Lifestyle Day until Hock Rong returned from a dinner. The big day is coming... At the end of the meeting, I was already feeling unwell. Had some porridge at the Kopitiam and adjourned early at 11pm. True enough, I would later wake at 1am with a fever...

Christmas with Hong Kong Exchange Delegates

25 December 2008

If not for my parents, the snoozling alarm would never wake me up this morning. At 8am, I checked with Jonathan if he wanted to join us but he declined as he still needs some rest. Lin Qiang was sleeping, so he could take care of Jonathan. Hock Rong was the man of the match - he had drank alcohol before the night cycling, and while we slept, he uploaded photos to FaceBook!

My parents ordered the traditional breakfast set at the Kopitiam, and it didn't miss George's snaps. The Christmas Party that we were attending was organised by Eunos Zone 3 RC. The bus ferried us to MusicPoint @ SAFRA Tampines.

Hock Rong and I had planned to sing at the event. We had even selected our songs and it was a pity that they were not in the list. Nevertheless, we sang 孤单北半球 and 痴心绝对. Being my first time singing to a crowd onstage, I can still remember the trembling of my whole jaw muscles.

Not used to the short span of sleep, George was seen dozing off from time to time during the event. When we returned home, I brought Jonathan for lunch at Prata shop while George and HR took their naps.

I could sense that George is a nature guy, so we headed to the Southern Ridges. And indeed, George brightened up a lot. There was a plant that reacted to music and we were all absorbed into it.

After hiking for a distance more than 7km, through HortPark, Alexandra Arch, Forest Trail, Henderson Waves, Mount Faber Park and Marang Trail, we finally visited Vivocity!

There we enjoyed free delicious Beard Papa cream puffs, thanks to Hock Rong's connections. For dinner, we settled at Seah Im Food Centre.

Looking forward to visiting them in Hong Kong in February 2009!

Photo Credits: George Chan