Petrifying

News on e tv & radio told of stories tat seemed far away from home, but if we were to analyse wif a little caution, e epicentre of e quake was actualie less than 300km away from spore, a considerably near range.But blessed or u may say fortunate,or " heng ah" as the expression of many sporeans, e tiny island of ours seemed unaffected & unharmed.This ordeal suffered by our neighbouring countries made mi questioned again, so who were those idiots who complained tat spore sux & stuffs & living in spore is such a chore. Pls, anyone who still has this childish & take-it-for-granted thinking, spare a thought for those who are fighting for their lives, endangered overnite.

55 000 lives lost & millions lost their homes overnite, wat worse can this crisis get? Somehow many ppl are like,"doesnt affect mi wat, so wat?". Yes, e tsunamis may not have found their way to sporez shores, but arent those ppl in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand or Indonesia human lives oso?So they can lose their lives coz they arent living a sporean luxurious & fortunate live aniwae is tat so? Are we realie tat cold?

I was pondering over some harsh facts, tat a 8.9 scale quake can create such a devasting effects via tsunamis, wat will happen then if a 100km large meteorite were 2 land in the Pacific Ocean? Speculations of the-end-of-the-world coming true? Will we all be able 2 cast away those differences & misunderstandings, & pull ourselves 2gether 2 fight should such a dae come?I may sound like ive watched too much movies, but ask urself this, "What if?". Wat will ur ans be then?

I muz admit, when e news of the quake initially broke out, i said 2 myself on e bus" Another natural disaster, haiz." I didnt react 2 strongly coz news of bomb explosions, skirmishes in country X, typhoons & floods are like everydaes headlines. I didnt expect this quake 2 have such an enormous after effect.

I was listening 2 e radio earlier when i heard tat The Spore Red Cross Society is collecting donations 2 help aid e victims. Somehow as i had told Chang on e MSN earlier abt my $ management, tat i cant save more than $300 no matter how hard i try. This time, its true again, ive decided 2 give out some of my ERS $ & some from my job, 2 help.Little it may seem, but i want 2 do my part as a human. Ive oso ransacked my wardrobe & packed some 10 shirts 2 give 2 Red Cross.Ppl, if u r reading this blog of mine, i juz hope u will oso lend a helping hand, coz this crisis sure is our business, if u feel u r part of this planet earth.

ps:pls dun get offended if u feel like im kinda scolding u.im aiming @ some responses from some sporeans interviewed.

Old CHANG Kee

Yes, Chang, tats him, he came 2 my house or more precisely, my room 2dae. Of e X5, its only left wif him who hasnt had e privilege & honour 2 visit my room yet,until 2dae.

Though my room is only 1/5 e size of Chang & Clarez hostel, 1/4 e size of Benz & Jeremyz room respectively, & not even half of Clarez room, im still proud of it. Imagine having ur OWN SPACE finalie after 21 yrs of sleeping in parents room & putting up wif a house of 6 females.Given tis situation, u will be very elated even given 1 metre square of space.

We went 2 Queensway for some shopping, which is very common for mi as a companion, saw some nice shoes & discovered e 'secrets' 2 e sports shops over there.More precisely, 2dae we confirmed our speculation of e biz operation there.Quite interesting.

I showed him many of my stuffs, like my letters, collection of currencies, shirts & 'products', haha. Gave him a few presents b4 he left, & had a great conversation wif him 2dae aniwaez.

Perhaps b4 Ben leave for NZ, i may play host 2 X5 one dae, but they muz be prepared for some space contrains lah, & e many 'Ying Qi" in e house.

Army Camp vs SIM

Ask mi which i prefer, 4 mths ago perhaps i will choose SIM.Now, i dun think so.

I feel tat im not as happy as i was in 23SA now.Back then, everybody knew me & like it or not, they haf 2 noe mi.I felt important & had a sense of belonging.Got gd working partners & oso a challenging role 2 play.Plus i beat many in fitness & sports despite being seriously injured b4.I was proud of tat of course.

Now in SIM, i feel im juz nothing, not even a qualified student.Skipped upteem lessons; 5 chapters behind IBM, 12 chapters behind maths & stats & dun noe how many chapters behind econs & soci. Haiz, wat kind of student is this? Frankly speaking, its becoz i dun haf tat sense of belonging here in SIM, tat made mi look for activities elsewhere. Call it stupidity or naiveness, tats exactly how im feeling rite now.

I no longer welcome ppl wif a smile, or initiate a conversation or not even haf tat motivation 2 do anything.LIFELESS, tat e word now.

Be it camps or YMCA outings, back 2 lessons in SIM = back 2 boredom & lifeless. Imagine having 2 go 2 a place for 3 yrs juz for e sake of listening 2 lectures & having 2 face e same old few faces almost every lesson.& all they do after lessons is go home or go home.Sianz. Not even anyone can play soccer or pool wif mi.

So pls advise mi, how can i be happier?

Family Gatherings

Auntie Helen & Family came over 2 Spore for a week on social visit, so we played host 2 them for these 2 daes. Well, will be 3 if we consider 2moro.It was a very long time since we saw them, & time realie flies, we all have grown & aged.

Ming Celine is a doctor now, while Vivian is in her 4th yr in Medicine, feel so stress talking 2 them, plus Dawn, 2nd yr in her Medicine oso. 3 future female doctors, so wat haf i been doing these yrs, huh?

Yesterdae we went 2 Uncle Lawrencez house for lunch, didnt exactly do much things, except eat & chat.(Ah bo then?)2dae e program was a little more exciting. we went 2 Sentosa for e Palawan Beach, where we played only frisbee then 2 Sakae Sushi for lunch. All our expenses 2dae were sponsered by our uncles, haha, so i did not hesitate 2 eat wat i wanted 2dae. After tat fulfilling lunch, we went over 2 their hotel for a change of clothes & washup, then headed 2 Aunty Judyz house for dinner.

Its rather rare tat our big family had gatherings like on consecutive daes, perhaps not even so during Chinese New Yr, so i was happy these 2 daes.We had joy we had fun, & we had frisbee in e sun.

Got sunburn 2dae, now face quite red & itchy, but im happy.

End of Another Camp

Phew,busy & fun 4 weeks. 4 camps, with e younger generations, wat else can I ask for?

This week i enjoyed it lesser, coz e horrendous everchanging weather caused mi 2 kena flu, & e 3 daes @ e camp waz quite unbearable.Imagine being unwell, yet e kids kept hogging u 2 play physically exhausting games with them, like shoe stepping, carry-carry,piggy-backy.Nevertheless, i stil gave in & served them, coz i can make them happy.

A few of e SMUz continued with e camp tis week, so got 2 noe them beta, & by e last dae, i could joke with them liao.Ashlyn left mi with e deepest impression, but, she got BF liao!Aiya.Ouch.They are nice ppl, so are e camp commandants David & Danny. Enjoyed working with them & picked up some pointers from them 2.

There are a few kids this week whom i muz introduce.
Ming Ren: A classic boy who hurls vulgarities & signs @ a bare age of 8.Said tat he suffered from back aches for 6 mths liao, almost got knocked down by a van, & kept complaining tat Heaven is alwaz not on his side, etc.

Nicole:8 yrs old, but fell for one of e male volunteer, but there are only 3 guys.1 is attached & e other is mi, so hes e reason for her.Everydae she will make faces @ him 2 draw his attention, gave him hand made gifts, flowers etc. But e classic sentence tat she said to him was:" I want to tear ur shirt, pull down ur pants."

Alcie:My fav so far, made e deepest impression.10 yrs old, 1st lunch, ate 6 muffins & 2 packs of rice. But still dared 2 say"i where got eat a lot" Then 2nd dae when she overheard ppl talking abt her appetite, she initially threw away e chicken wings which e other kids gave her, saying tat shes full. Then 30mins later, she came 2 us & asked for another pack of rice.When she played captainz ball, i had 2 stop e game so many times becoz of her:"Alcie, one more time u injure another person, u r out of e game" Then yesterdae we got a mini party for e volunteers, but she waz with us coz her parents were not there yet.Juz as we started but none of us went 2 take e food, she said:"How can anyone not like food?"

These kids "light up" my life? Haha.
Camps are fun, yeah.

Primary Sch Gathering. No u did not see wrongly

Dilemma dae.3 gatherings, all e same time. ODAC Nitez, Cousinz Bdae Party, Primary Sch Gathering.

Nah, give ODAC Nitez a miss, all e way 2 Changi leh, siao.Aniwaes, X5 not going, so no pt going either.

So i went to Cousinz house 1st loh, cousin mah. 1st 2 reach tere, so helped out a little. 5.45pm, 1st friend arrived, guy. 5 mins later, 2 more guys. Then 7 more guys. Haiz, wat am i doing here wif a bunch of army guys? Compare e length of our hair? Then 7pm, FINALLY, 1st gal arrived.Thanx mama.

So we had buffet dinner, which waz quite cosy & nice, cost $400, phew. Wanted 2 leave @ 7 plus, but Auntie said cutting cake soon, so waited loh. Then 60 mins later, we cut cake. I learnt something, when a person say 'soon', dun believe.

Rushed down 2 Orchard via cab, then reached Swensens & saw them finalie. Our last gathering waz last yr Sept, so a lot 2 catch up yah. Sat ard for a while b4 we decided 2 take some photos. Juz as we came out from e toilet, we saw Tay Ping Hui. My 2nd time in a week, is he following mi?

So realie lost touch wif each other so long liao, didnt even noe each otherz preferences. Took us 20 mins b4 deciding e next place 2 go, which was, erh, Pool. So exciting, hurh.

Well, i may sound like i waz indifferent 2 tis gathering, but wat 2 do, ppl who i expected 2 see didnt come, so how excited can i be. Hope e next gathering they can make it, i realie missed them, lotz.

End Of Camp & Happy 21st Ben! Yeqiang oso.

2dae is e 3rd & last dae of e Y Camp. Had great fun, though oso some frustrations, but its all part & parcel for tis nature of job. Im so glad 2 had been part of tis happy event.

Happy 21st Ben!

Though not so grand & splendid, i hope tat ur 21st bdae 'celebration' is memorable. i had great fun 2. Too bad Yoon, Jere & Angeline were not here 2 enjoz with us, but @ least we got Chin, e 'prettiest gal' in our social circle.

Like wat u said, it will be a long time we can have another gathering like tis. No, im not being sentimental here, & Chang dun u ever laugh @ my PASSION again, or i will realie fall out wif u.

Btw, 2dae is oso my Cousin, Yeqiangz 20th Bdae, hope he will enjoz his celebration tis Sat.

YMCA Children Camp

1 dae after tat tedious & life-threatening 21km run, i went for my another camp @ YMCA. Its waz all thanx to Clare & Ben tat mi & Carrie got a place, sacrifice man. BTW, e majority of e volunteers r GALS, from SMU somemore! Haha, im lucky. But not so lucky when it came 2 e kids.

I realie wonder wat parents nowadays teach 2 their kids, or wat they didnt teach. There was tis 10 yr old boy named Glen, u will neva luv him. After he came out from e toilet, he saw mi, then splashed water on mi.Immediately he kicked mi in e legs. B4 i could scold him, he ran away. Huh? Wat e hell. Neva mind, i shall not bother wif tis kid, so i went back 2 e auditorium to begin wif ice breaking games.We wanted 2 play wacko, so everyone had 2 intro. When it came 2 Glen, he stared mi @ mi in eface then shouted "Dun want!"Of course i was pissed liao, so i threatened 2 tel his mum. 1st time it worked, then 2nd time,he snobbed mi & said" wat u want?" 10 yr old? Bluff lah, he 30 yr old lah, older than mi, tats y so bold.

Somehow, 1 counsellor pulled him out of e grp & spoke 2 mi, then when he came back 5 mins later, he apologised 2 mi. Huh?! Wat a drastic change.I realie got 2 learn tis communication skill man. E games were rather interactive, & i felt like i was a nanny, took them 2 toilet, made sure they washed their hands, made sure they dun wander abt.

E aches all over my body did hindered my movements, but nevertheless, it still wont stop mi from enjoying myself in tis camp.

2moro tere will be telematch..... Hope i dun break my legs.

Marathon:The Aftermath

Woke up @ 4am, e earliest ever in life. Usually if i had 2 wake up tis early, i will 4go sleep. But for 2dae, sleep is very important. So Changz dad picked mi up @ Anchorpt & we set off 4 Esplanade.

Though we were early, we had 2 find e gathering area & deposit our bags, so when we settled down 2 do warm ups, it waz close to 6am. We did 'some' stretchings & went 2 e starting line.Flagged off @ 6.30am & we aimed 2 complete e race in 1hr 45mins. Frankly speaking, 21km waz really a challenge for mi coz i had only trained for 11km & 15km.As for Chang, he looked more prepared than i waz.

Initially, our pace waz still ok until Chang realised tat we were behind time @ we e 5km mark, we started picking up a little speed.I think i realie not as fit as Chang liao lah, i couldnt keep up wif him & started having stitches. For his & my benefits, i asked him to run his own pace w/o mi.

I struggled till e 12km mark then did e stitches left mi, but i was quite shagged liao. @ e 17km, i got cramps.I regretted not stretching enough & not training sufficient b4 2dae. I waz so frustrated @ not being able to run constantly thru out e run, & 1st time in my life i felt tat im a lousy runner.Everything simply juz didnt work out well for mi.

So tere waz Chang @ e finish line, completed e race much faster than i did, so his prophecy did came true. I haf to beat him in next yrz marathon liao.

Aches haf set in, now i fear e sight of stairs. No running for 1 mth for now.

XMas Party

I waz @ e YMCA Xmas party @ Y Hub 2dae, with Clarence & Ben. We aimed to bring some joy to e children from low income families & e kids from DSA. I bet we did it, though not too fanciful.

Ben & I were in charge of a station, manning e game Spiral Tit-Tac-Toe, while Clare waz in charge of miniature bowling. Initially, my station waz not patronised by any kids, so Ben played some songs on his guitar. A few mins later, a few were attracted to e room.

I admit its a rather challenging game, but once u noe e rule of e game, u will luv it. A few 'regular' kids kept on returning coz they say its easy to win prizes from tis station, coz they undermined e game. So we wanted to teach them not 2 be 2 cocky & arrogant, we played wif them. One Malay boy waz like had 6 prizes on his table intially, but after Clare & Ben played him, he lost 4 prizes.So i said," i think u shd leave e room, otherwise all ur prizes will be gone." E next thing he did was" Ah, dun play already".

So e 3 hrs passed & e volunteers cleared e place. E previously clean & beautiful Y Hub became like a cinema, strewn with thrash all over. Neva mind lah, @ least we had great fun 2dae. I waz glad Clare & Ben volunteered their precious time 2dae 2 give 2 e children, though short but meaningful.

Young Again

I feel young & rejuvenated again.

The camp waz great, felt it waz a mystery b4 attending it, but on e dae itself, i waz glad.It waz like e Orientation back in JJC again, where i played e role of an OGL. Haha, except tat tis camp we had a great age difference lah. There were pretty gals of course, heh heh heh. Future investments.

Team 5, & they named themselves Spirit.Phew, they were so much identical to my OG Water back then, so full of energy & noise, & of course, a gd leader, heh heh.The games were interestin, & by rite i shdnt be too focused on their games, but i simply couldnt help it. Each game, i alwaz tried to derive e max fun i could get. Tats where e students saw my energy & zest. U noe wat, most of them thought i was 25 & above. 1 guy even said i looked like 40. OMG! I so old lookin meh?

As usual, Ngiap will alwaz find time for Ghost Stories, & there waz tis grp who waz so engrossed, they will pester mi whenever theres a break. But i enjoyed it of course.Apart from fun, i learnt a lot of skills. Personality profiling skills & of course, planning skills. My time wasnt wasted, it was gd investment.

Paid to have fun & feel young, & learnt life skills, i truly tan teo.Moreover, ive made quite a few young friends oso, waiting for e gatherin to come. Haha. Be it a YMCA camp or a student leadership camp, i definitely had enjoyed them greatly.

If Only I Could Turn Back Time
If Only I Could Say What I Still Hide