Job Briefing

My colleagues and I had a meeting with the manager the day before yesterday. The objectives was for us to come together to clear our doubts and for the management to inform us of the fire safety route. I expected a lot of people to attend but it turned out to be only about 50% of people that attended. Not bad that I do get to know new people even though there were people that I do not know that did not attend.

Thanks to Victor and Esther for carrying my heavy bag up so that I can help those that were late and need a new punch card to go up quickly. =)

Odd enough. The situation during wushu seems to happen too. Instead of guys and girls segregated, we sat segregated according to age group. =.=

Dinner was provided for us. It was a buffet style. Most of the food were spicy, thus I didn't eat a lot. A lot of my colleagues complained about the spicy food too. The spring rolls and the another fried dish were gone in a short while. Of all the food, I like the 'bo bo cha cha' most as it was very sweet! ^^ Too bad that it's a little hot, causing me not able to eat much as my colleagues were leaving. In order not to make them wait, I have to give up eating additional servings. Haha.

In my opinion, there's room for improvement for this session.

星语心乐

There were around 70% of seats filled with audience today. Got my post at the top right hand corner again. even though it was a jobscope that I had done before, I feel different. I have more confident with my job. I have better skills to deal with people.

I almost fell down when I ran down the steps to stop a patron from taking photo. Sprained my ankle a little. It hurts as my ankle haven't fully recover yet from the previous injury. That patron merely ignored me! Not once but twice! He did it on purpose. When I went to stop him, other patrons were looking at me. What Mr Raymond Huang once said was right; I am part of the show. I called my in-charge again. This patron was lucky, as the performance was towards the end, the security guard was not called up to invite him out.

Commenting on the performance. Everything seems so messy. Some of the notes were out of tune. Only the percussion piece sounds better as percussion instruments hardly can go out of tune. The loudness of each section seems not coordinated too. However, I can see the effort put in by the musicians.

Symphonie D' Harmonie Expressivo 2008

This event seems to be an unhappy event for me. There were so many things that happened that made me feel so annoyed. Inconsiderate patrons again. I keep having to run to the middle sector to stop people from breaking the house's rules. The hirers did not tell us everything too, as in what is on their mind that is going to happen.

It's a band performance with one play. The play was quite creative. Hilarous. Comments about the conductor, I think he can smile more. Some of the songs played were same as the day before. While playing the christmas song, they took out their santa's cap. Just like what the Marsiling Chinese Orchestra did the day before. I didn't see where they hid it too. Missed it as I was looking elsewhere. The musicians' uniform looks interesting. It looks like nutcrackers. It doesn't looks comfortable too. Haha.

During the encore piece, which was the christmas song, the performers went around to give out sweets to the audience! My colleague and I had our eyes and mouth wide opened with disbelief. How are we going to stop the audience from eating on the spot when there were so many audience? No choice. I can do nothing except complaining to my colleague. What an eye-opener. I shall gain more skills as I work for more events. Jiayou!! =)

Colours of Sound

I have experienced a lot of different feelings for this event. This event is a Chinese Orchestra concert performed by Marsiling Chinese Orchestra. President Nathan and his wife were the guests-of-honour for this event.

I was really surprised when I was assigned to be the VIP usher. I am of course very happy too. It's a rare chance for me to be a VIP usher and furthermore, usher the president and the first lady of Singapore. I was rather calm though. Guess it's the mixture of feelings that cause me not to feel too much of each emotions. Neutralisation? *shrugs*

My andrealine was flowing at a rather high rate when I heard that the president was at the lift. After a few seconds, I saw a guy in army uniform appear. Behind him, was the president and the first lady. I finally saw the president and the first lady in person! I didn't get to see the president while I was in NDP and now I got the chance to see both the president and the first lady. I wonder why I feel a little excited. Maybe it's the challenge of the job. Excited yet calm. Mixture of emotions. Maybe it's my clinicals training; whoever that person is, that person is just another human biologically. I felt a bit disappointed as the hirers totally ignored my presence when the guests-of-honour were making their way towards the door that I was in-charged of; they squeezed me out of the way. I thought I was in-charge of that door that the guest-of-honours were going to enter?

The performance was great. The stage was extended to house more musicians, especially the strings section. The first song to welcome the arrival of the guests-of-honour was really high-spirited. It's a percussion piece. There's only one word to describe that item; superb. For their encore piece, they played a Christmas piece. Everybody took out their santa's cap for this piece. I wonder where they hid it. Some wore it on their heads while some wear it on their instruments. Interesting.

What a pity that I could not take a picture with the guests-of-honour. Was really envy of those who were able to do so during the intermission. There was once when I walked pass the reception table, the sight of the brownies really make me drool. Haha. Well, too bad that I am not one of the VIP. Haha.

It's almost full house for this event. Busy. As the in-charge had told all of us to be more aware of our actions, I must do my job better of course. I was usually a little not confident enough to stop patrons from breaking the house's rules. I had a lot more confidence for this event. I wonder why. It seems to be the presence of the president and the first lady. Their presence have forced me out of my comfort zone and into my courage zone.

Even though the President was present, there were uncooperative patrons that were present. This was the first time that I called the in-charge for help.

During the intermission, I was confused as there weren't clear instructions given. Glad that the hirer was nice enough to answer my queries and did try to understand how I feel.

After the performance was the leaving of the guests-of-honour. Security was really tight. Those body guards were so big in size. From their expression, I can see that they take their jobs very seriously. They look very stern. There's one body guard that help to bring the bouquet of flowers given to the president out of the house first. He looked really different when he smile to the hirers when he walked past.

As the president went onto the stage to take a picture with the orchestra, I think he took another route to leave the house. I ushered the first lady out only. My main job was to block patrons from coming down the stairs. While Mrs Nathan walked past me, I think she wished me 'good night'! I didn't hear clearly as she was quite soft. I didn't reply back but just smiled as I am not sure what she said. After she left, I was waiting for the president to take his leave. I feel weird as he did not appear after a while. Later then I realised that he had already left. I wonder why the in-charge didn't inform me about it. There was something that made me feel puzzled though. If the president had left, where did the body guards go after escorting the first lady to the lift?

It was rather late when I left. Tired. But I am happy. =)

Home Sweet Christmas

Only three ushers that worked for yesterday's event. Glad that there were around 30 ushers provided by the organiser to aid in the event. They really helped me a lot even though some had somehow blocked my way.

I am in-charge of the elderly and physically challenged audience. Quite liked my jobscope as I can train myself to deal with problems.

One old lady gave me a shock when I opened the doors. She grabbed my hand and gave me a handshake. What a rare case. She shook my hand and wished me "merry christmas". So nice of her. She also went around to greet other people "merry christmas". I can see the spirit of sharing her joy in her. I was really shocked as I was busy running around, making sure that things that should be done were done, when she grabbed my hand out of the blue.

I didn't push any of the wheelchair bound patrons. Glad that the ushers provided by the organiser helped me as I don't think I have the strength to push them. I don't have the skills to push a wheelchair correctly yet.

The musical was quite nice. The idea was rather good. It's about how some Singaporean dislike foreigners and how bad this attitude is. The songs were rather nice too. The voices of the singers were nice too. It's quite an enjoyable event for me as the patrons were rather cooperative.

The patrons were nice but the pastor was not. After the event, there were chocolate given out to the audience. The emcee did mention that they were going to give the audience the chocolates but there were to consume them outside the house. That pastor however did not cooperate with me. His son, who was in his arm, was consuming that chocolate inside the house. I told him nicely that he has to consume that outside but he merely ignored me, saying "I just want to makesure that everybody is leaving". =.= He then stood there and allowed his son to continue to consume that chocolate for fifthteen minutes. =.= Oh well..

After my colleague and I were dismissed, we went to join in the buffet provided, settling our lunch for the day. The caterer was from Shangri-la Hotel! Nice and tasty foods! ^^ There's pizza, spaghetti, turkey, ham, chicken, prawns, salad, chocolate fountain, fruits, fruit tarts, log cakes and many more. I became high-spirited suddenly after seeing the foods.

The ham tastes really nice. Not too fatty and it's quite chewy. The spaghetti is quite healthy as it is mushroom spaghetti. There were choices for pizzas but I chose Hawaiian as usual. The best part is the DESSERTS. This is the first time that I ate fruits dunk in chocolate fountain. Yummy! The chocolate is really rich in taste. There were vanilla and chocolate log cakes for me to choose from. I chose the chocolate log cake as my plate was full. I would have asked for one slice of each if my plate was bigger. Haha.

I ate till I am so full before taking two packs of spaghetti and headed home. The people there were packing the foods into plastic bags and were giving them out. Since they gave it to me, I just took it without hestitation.

I have enjoyed myself for this event. What a different way to spend the Christmas holiday. =)

NYAA Student Club Comissioning 2008

SHSAC's management committee was invited to attend's NYAA Student Club commissioning at Costa Sand resort at Sentosa. Since it's a rare chance to go, I decided to attend. I took leave from my training camp and went to meet the seniors at the Harbourfront MRT station where they brought me to the resort.

This is my first outing with the club and glad that the seniors gave me extra care. The nice views of Sentosa and Vivocity has awed me. In order to get to Sentosa from Vivocity, we have to take a special train at the fifth floor. The designs on the wall is quite nice. Here's a picture.



The food there was alright. Think I swallowed plastic as my fork broke. Tried to sift it out with my mouth but didn't manage to find the broken part. =s

The ceremony sure have room for improvement. The voice of the two emcees were rather soft. There were times when I do not know what was going on.

After eating and chatting, we went to take a small walk around the area and took some pictures before leaving Sentosa and head back to "mainland Singapore". Haha. I hada little peak at the 'Song of the Sea' while waiting for the train back to Vivocity. It's COOL.

We walked around the open space of Vivocity. It's really cooling. We took lots of pictures too. am a little sad that I dropped one 'diamond' from my earrings. =S

Well, for this trip, what was really enjoyable was the nice view of scenery and our constant photo-taking. Haha. I left early while the rest were still shopping in order to rush back to school in time before the security guard lock me out.

NYP Wushu Training Camp 2008

Since it's the training camp, I stayed overnight at Grandma's house on Sunday's night so that I can sleep a little more before reporting to school. But it turned out that I didn't sleep much. Think it's the excitement. Auntie Mui drove me to school early in the morning to school, so sweet. So glad that she didn't scold me for making her to turn back halfway to take things that I have missed out. Furthermore, with my 'luggage', taking a bus is not that convenient.

Report at the meeting area and got my leg a cut before the camp start. =.= I didn't see that there is something protruding out of the "table" and was a little engrossed with talking to XinXin. Clumsy me.

The camp started with the briefing of what is going to happen; the camp will end at the second day's 9pm. We then proceed with some stretching that was a lot more than what we usually do for normal training. After the stretching was lunch and some goal setting. It was then followed by water games. Glad that I managed to finish everything in my box of rice.

We were split into 5 groups for the water games. But due to some reason, my group, group number five, was splited up to join the other four groups. It's a four-group dog-and-bone. The "bone" was the water bombs. I am number six in my group. Was kept being called out initially because Ziwei coach was both number one and number six. People just wanted to sabo him. Haha. I ran out and ran back as I knew that I will get hit. I was just not fast enough to get the "bombs". The only time that I got the "bomb" was the last call of people whereby those who were not wet had to run out. I got the "bomb", but didn't hit anyone in time and everyone who ran out, ran back. Ziwei coach then run out to pick up something. I thought that he was just picking up the rubbish. Never did I realise that there was a "bomb" not exploded. He then threw it at me! =.= I of course, threw the "bomb" that was left on my hand. My aiming has never been good. But, at least I tried. Guess what? The "bomb" hit Ziwei coach! Woohoo~ Some were saying that I am "神射手". Lol!

It's the "bombing" of the losing team for the dog-and-bone game after the game. Ziwei coach's group lost. The rest were given a chance to throw a "bomb" at them. Well, not being honest kids, almost all of us threw more than one. Haha! My aim was of course the coach because he was the one who "bombed" me first. Lol. After that "punishment" of the losing team, it's the "freestyle bombing". I saved quite a number of bombs but were confiscated by Ziwei coach in the end. I do not know who to throw as I don't dislike anyone. I wanted to save the bombs first. I ran away and I can't believe that Ziwei coach actually ran after me for the "bombs". =.= All the December babies were to stand in the middle and get "bombed". I couldn't believe myself as I saved the "bombs" to be "bombed" at me. =.= Well, Weimun turned out to be the target agreed upon by the "bombers". Lol.

End of the game session, I went to take a quick bathe before heading off to Sentosa for NYAA's commissioning. So nice that everyone said goodbye to me before I left. =)I reached back to school by around 10.15pm to 10.30pm. Saw the rest were practising and I joined them. Started with practising with Ruiqi at the playground. Later then practise till 12am outside the room that we were supposed to sleep in. I am practising my "gong li quan" and "xuan zi" as I missed the former one due to the Sentosa trip and it's a rare chance to practise the jumpby the window. I practised till my legs were so painful that I can't practise anymore. We then went to the playground again to do some star gazing. Liyan accompanied Ruiqi to bathe while I explained some astrology to Daobin who joined us at a later time. I then went back at around 12.50am to change my pants before sleeping. It's a total new experience for me to practise till so late. Dared not to leave the camp area as I was afraid to be scolded initially. Was really happy that I can do some star-gazing. ^^

As I didn't bring my sleeping bag, I used my bag as the pillow. The floor was freezing cold. I woke up at around 2am due to the chilling cold. Went outside to take a walk and tried to sleep a little at the "tables". It's also cold outside but not that cold. I didn't really sleep as I was afraid that I would be scolded. I went back to the room at around 4am as I was scared that seniors would spot me. Thanks to my brother's hoodie that I can survive the cold.

I woke up at 6am by someone's alarm. Heard that the physical training (PT) would be at 6.30am so we all woke up early. In the end, it dragged for around one hour before the PT started.

I lost counts of the rounds that I have ran. I was the first few running initially as I was slow in running. I ended up being the last one to reach the ending point. On the bright side, I ran continously. It's some stretching after the run. My knee hurts after doing the pumping as the track is very rough. It still hurts even after I reached home.

After PT was breakfast. We were suppose to prepare out own breakfast this time round. We were told to bring utensils, mug and plate. What were provided for us were the square breads, peanut butter and nutella. My eyes lighten up when I knew that nutella was provided. I simply loves chocolate. Furthermore, I don't really like peanuts. I wonder how I am going to have my breakfast if there was just peanut butter. Besides from food, we were provided with milo powder and hot water. So happy that it was milo instead of other drinks. Haha. Chocolate again. ^^

After breakfast was a short break before training. I went to practise my "xuan zi" as usual. So glad that there was a break. Guess I would just vomit if the there wasn't a break. Ziwei coach came to call Ruiqi and I when the training was about to start in a funny way. "上课咯..". Lol. We did some warm-up and stretching as usual. What came next was "鲤鱼打顶". It's a stun that it's not as easy as it seems to be. I hurt my injured ankle for uncountable times. Haiz..

Lunch time! My box of rice was a lot more than others. Why? Almost half of Ruiqi's rice "migrated" to my box of rice. Haha. I did my best to eat almost everything but there was still some that I threw away as I can't squeeze in anymore.

We had a small break again. I studied a little as I as too full to practise. The next activity was the distributing of Christmas gifts. Those who can win Ziwei coach and Guangyao coach can get to choose their desired presents. I didn't as I can't make a decision of which present I want and I do not know how to play the game mentioned by Guangyao coach. Did a random pick of number. I got number 23. Guess what? I was over the moon when I open up my gift. I know it was rude of me to open up after I got it. But I really can't resist my temptation after a while. I was pressing my present, trying to guess what's in it. I had a feeling that it's chocolate. It turned out to be dark chocolate!! Whee~ I was laughing like mad. Guangyao coach then threw the broken candy cane as me while I wasn't paying attention. the reason was that he said that whoever got hit by that particular candy cane have to perform an item. I didn't perform in the end. Haha. Besides from the gifts that we have, everyone was given 2 candy canes each.

We then proceed to the basketball court to play basketball. I was one of the few girls who chose to play basketball. The rest went to pactise their "gong li quan" at the other side with Jeremy guiding. The sun was really hot at that time. Some sun-tanning in action. I played the second half for the four versus four. The first half was three versus three. The game just started for a while and I had to leave the court as I was injured. The ball hit my chin so hard that it somehow stressed the left side of my cheek. The stress was on the joint that control the movement of my jaw. It was so painful that I can't continue the game even though I wanted to. So, I asked Daobin to replace me. I was holding the ball initially. Dropped it as my left jaw was too painful. I went to rest in the shade and was really disappointed that I can't play. What a rare chance for me to play basketball and it just slipped away.. =\

Played some scissors, paper, stone game after that. My group won. The July to December babies. The losing team had to do "鸭子拳" as punishment. They were led by Ziwei coach. Haha. "Tie gao yao" was the next game. Cooperated with Liyan to sabo Pearlyn to be the catcher. I did my best to play both games as I really wanted to play and I do not want to be left out. Had some problems running due to the pain and the hot sun. Glad that I managed. Haha.

Went back to the camp area for a break before training for "gong li quan" starts. I didn't enter the air-conditioned room as I was not feeling well. Don't want to make things worse by entering after being under the burning sun. Xinxin helped to spray some 'Salonpas' on my area of pain. So useful, that 'Salonpas' was the christmas gift she just received. As the area of pain is near my eyes, I slept outside the air-conditioned room with Shuting and Xinxin's accompaniment. The reason was that I can't open my eyes or the 'Salonpas' may enter and cause irritation to my eyes.

Did some warm-up before starting "gong li quan". The stretching of the neck did trigger the pain for a moment. Ziwei coach asked me to take a rest instead of training but I insisted, promising that I will inform him if I don't feel well. I really don't want to fall too far behind as I had missed a lot on the first day.

While waiting for the rest to end the training session together, I practised my "xuan zi" again. This time with some tips from Kunming, someone who was the same batch as Ziwei and Jingfu coach while in NYP. I kept jumping even though my sole hurts as the training has ended and I have plenty of time to rest till the next training. There will be no trainings for the next two weeks due to the eves of holidays.

I went to take a bath before having dinner. Extra vegetables were given in a plastic bag and was passed around for whoever that want extras. I took the carrots that were available. As my jaw hurts, I wasn't able to eat normally. My chewing was super slow. The rest had finished half of their food while I only had my third spoon of rice. =.= Jiangda suddenly gave me one box of rice for the vegetarian out of the blue, making me puzzled for a moment. He mistook that I didn't eat my rice due to the spicy meat. Haha. Thanks for the concern anyway. =D I seemed to got some attention later on, so embarassing. Thanks Shiping and Pearlyn for their concern too. =D

I am tired of the slow chewing that I stopped eating when the feedback session starts. Took that two boxes of rice home to finish it slowly.

As it was rather late, Auntie Mui didn't fetch me home. I took bus with Kennard and Liping home with my bulky "luggage", attracting attention of other passengers. Lol.

The training was not too vigorously for me and glad that there were sufficient breaks in between for the slow-learner me to do some self-practice. The food definitely have a big room for improvement. For the interaction part, I just hope that there are more games, which can at the same time serve as a break from training. The girls and guys kept sitting in distinct groups..

Even though I am tired, I have enjoyed myself in this camp. =)

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I woke up in the morning with Auntie Mui's loud greeting of 'happy birthday' to make "tang yuan" yesterday as Grandma decided to do offerings a day earlier. It's "dong zhi" today. Making "tang yuan" sure is fun. The "tang yuan" made by me looks like chocolate. Here's a picture of it.



Making it round is not that easy and neither is it that hard. Watched a TV programme on "tang yuan" on Monday and learned a little technique to make it round. Haha.

I then ate lunch and watched my favourite show, "The New Adventures of Robinhood" while waiting Grandma to cook the "tang yuan". I like drinking the soup because it's really sweet. It's the coconut sugar that made the soup taste so sweet.



That is the picture of the nice bowl of "tang yuan" that I ate after the offerings. Umm-mm.

Went shopping at Orchard with Jiewei after that as I was feeling a little bored and was craving for my favourite pop-doh's donuts. Thank you Jiewei for the donuts! ^^ She insisted on buying the donuts for me so I let her pay in the end. So paisei. =3

There were lots of activities taking place at Orchard as it'sthe Christmas season. We saw people dressed up in costumes and groups of people carolling along the streets. There were one group of guys who were dressed up in the ancient Britain's armour that marched from Plaza SIngapura to Ngee Ann City. They were holding advertisements banners and were giving out flyers. Cool. They reminded us of the show that is going to be shown on TV tonight, the 黄金甲. Haha. There were also performing groups that performed along the streets. Korean, Japanese, Malaysians and many more. Lots of people are crowding around, grabbing a chance to take a picture with those people who are in the nice costumes.

Besides from the activities that light up my eyes, the beautiful decorations has also made my eyes light up. This is the first time that I went out celebrating my birthday with a friend. Here are the pictures!



This is so-call the 'entrance' that greets people who are entering Orchard road through vechicles.





The christmas tree and mistletoe is decorated with sweet looking candies. I really feel like plucking them out and eat it. Haha.



Besides from mouth-drooling christmas tree, there are also other types of christmas tree that are quite creative. Here is one that is made up of teddy bears! So cute! ^^

I would like to thank my family for the well wishes and presents! Thank you Jiewei for accompanying me out and wished me in four different ways. Lol! Thank you Fadhil, Grace, Parvin, Xiuhui, Shaun, Serene, Joycelyn, and Asyiqin for the wishes too! ^^

CMC Markets Seminar - trading

Finally an event that I am able to work for December. The number of people that turned up for this event is quite little. Maybe it's due to the wet weather and last minute booking by the organiser.

Even though there were lesser patrons today, there were relatively more nasty patrons. I was standing at the other end of the house and I can hear one patron using a harsh tone to talk to my in-charge.

There were however also nice patrons too. I really thank them for their cooperation.

As for the talk, it's another "alien" seminar to me. I do not understand what is going on. I was losing my energy as the talk went on even though I was doing nothing much. I was bored. I had also spotted many patrons falling asleep too! Haha.

There weren't much interaction with the patrons today. I really prefer haveing more interactions with them. I am not sure about the night shift as I only worked for the noon shift.

Banana Pan

I was browsing throught for something to eat when I came across this bread. From the name of the bread, it can be easily guessed that the filling inside is banana paste. However, that is only one of the fillings. There are also red bean paste in the fillings. The sweetness suits people like me who have a sweet tooth. The red bean paste and the banana paste blends really well.

The bread is not very thick. It is also rather soft. This has made the tasting of the fillings easier. Do be careful while taking the bread as it may be squashed or torn if too much force is used.

The Butterfly Lovers Legacy

I worked two days for this event. Glad that I got different jobscopes for two days. The violinist is really superb. I can see that she was very engross in the concerto that she was performing. The whole event was very creative! The performers actually walked around the audience seats to provide a new musical experience. I can see that the audeince were awed by the performances.

I didn't watch the whole performance on the first day as I was one of the "flower girl". My job was to present bouquets of flowers to the composer for the first item and the violinist for the last item. My friend who was also a "flower girl" was very nervous at the backstage while I feel rather relaxed. I start to feel nervous as I was pushed out onto the stage! The original cue was for me to wait. But there was some last minute changes that the "flowers presentation" in-charge had to push me onto the stage. Lucky that I get to manage everything well.

Another reason that caused me to miss out some of the performance was that I had to walk one big round before reaching my assigned position as it's not nice to walk infront of the audience. It's a total new experience for me though. Even though it's the same old position that I have been assigned for a few events, the something new forme to learn is to take the special route.

I was assigned to help in the autograph session after presenting the flowers to the violinist, missing the live performance of the encore piece. Got to hear outside the house as there are speakers around. I still prefer listening to music pieces live. I get to listen to the music pieces while I was at the backstage too. But it was also through the speakers.

After the people attending the autograph session has left, I was so happy that I got to have a chance to take a picture with the violinist! =D

I tried to get the VIP's autograph on the second day but too bad that I can't find any house menu left. Well, at least I got to take a picture with the violinist on the first day.

I watched most of the performance on the second day. Missed out a little bit as I had to go to somewhere quiet in order to listen to the instructions given.

Most of the patrons were nice except for a few. The charm of this performance is so great that it's almost full house for both days. There are even extra seats added on the second day. The crowd was so overwhelming that I was almost flattened by them while they were entering the house. I was constantly being pushed around during the autograph session.

For this event, I finally got my chance to direct patrons in-house and trip tickets on both days respectively. This is my first event of a musical concert after joining the organisation and I really enjoy it. =)

Yum Cha

After the lecture at school, the class have to proceed to the centre for radiation protection for a visit. There is a two and a half hour break for the class to have lunch and go over the the centre. I went to yum-cha at Chinatown with 6 of my classmates for lunch. Didn't really chose to go there, just followed my classmates. Haha.

The music there is alright. Neither do I like it nor do I detest it. Chinese classicals were played but not all are played Chinese instruments. It would be a lot nicer if the music were genuine Chinese classical music pieces.

We are first served with tea. One of my classmate ordered "kou-po". The taste is quite good. It smells nice too. According to that classmate, it is the mixture of chrysanthemum with another type of tea.



While we were deciding what to order, the waitress push a cart with some mini egg tarts and mini Char Siew rolls to our table and ask us what we want.



Here are some some pictures of the food that I have ate.



This is the fisrt "dim sum" that I ate. it's call the "ha gao". The fillings is basically made up of prawns. This "ha gao" contains two tiny prawns inside. The prawns taste fresh and chewy. Yum-yum. One classmate tried throwing it onto her plate and it did not smash. The quality of this "ha gao" is quite high. Haha.



This si the fried "ha gao". Not really different from the "ha gao" just that it is fried. The mayonnaise for us to dip have some fruits included. Interesting.



This is the prawn "chee cheong fan". Two tiny prawns are wrapped up in the middle of the "chee cheong fan" just like the "ha gao". I have also ate the roasted pork "chee cheong fan". Didn't took a picture of it because I thought it was the same as the prawn "chee cheong fan" initially. Both taste quite good. But I prefer theone filled the chewy with prawns.



This carrot cake taste very different from what I usually eat. The taste is marvellous. As I only took a little, I can't really describe a lot about it. Took very little cos there is only one to be shared among seven people. Not bad that I got to taste everything ordered except the porridge.



This is the "shui jing bao" or "crystal pau" that looks a lot like the China "tang bao" that is basically a bun that is filled with meat and soup. Wanting to see what is inside the bun, I took a small bite that the soup spilled out! It really taste like the "tang bao". Haha. Feel a little wasted as some of the soup spilled on the table. The skin is not really that tasty. Maybe it is due to that I didn't eat it while it was still hot. The meat and the soup is really sweet. *Slurps*



These are the "siew mai". The one on the right is seldom found at other places. They are the same as the one on the left just that there are some vegetables added. The meat is neither "over-smashed" nor "under-smashed".



The last "dim sum" that I ate was this. I do not know the name. It's fried and what's inside are yam. It looks quite like the China's national stadium, "bird nest". Haha.

There is something cute on the table too. Forgot to take a picture of it. It is something that one press to call the waiter or waitress. Quite interesting. This trip has allowed me to gain new experiences as this is the first time that I went to a restaurant for lunch. This is also the first time that I went to a restaurant with my classmates instead of my family.

We split the cost and it turned out to be cheaper than the buffet rate. What really matters is that all of us got to have enough to eat till we are full at a relatively affordable price. =)

琵琶独奏 - 十面埋伏

刘德海是著名的琵琶大师. 玩琵琶大概已有60多年了吧. 曾经在新加坡大会堂看过他现场的演出. 他的技术确实非常高. 从这个视屏,虽然有一些噪音和干扰,大家能看得出他对琵琶的热诚和投入. 我相信大家对他所演奏的曲目,十面埋伏,并非陌生. 敬请欣赏!


视屏来源: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAEakqIc1NM

Man vs. Machine

This is the event that made me sacrifice my job to give out funpacks on the first NE show. Chose to attend this event as I feel that it's a good chance for the NYP wushu people to bond. I have gained myself a little knowledge on how a show is being produced. I have also learned that there is a place call Pek Kio Community Club (CC). Haha. Heard that this place used to be Dewu's headquarter and Shifu's house is just right opposite this CC.

Commenting on the show, I feel that the male representative from the machine-made dumpling is kind in his words. The lady-boss of the hand-made dumpling is a little too proud. But her dumplings are comparatively tastier as there is a little mixture of fat meat. The machine-made dumpling contains a little too much pepper. Even though my part was cut off, I am glad that I got to take a picture with the host. The experience is of course what is most important.

Rushed like mad to the Marina Promenade after the event. Thanks to Edward for helping me to bring back the uniform so that I can attend my NE show hands-free. Thanks for making a special trip to pass it back to me on Monday too.

As I have not bought my uniform at the time of filming, I borrowed it from a wushu mate who is not attending this event. Thanks to her that I can attend this event and of course, not forgetting another wushu mate who helped me to borrowed the uniform. Some of the people are curious about who is the person that I borrowed the uniform from. Well, it's a secret. =)

Anyway, for this event, I didn't have my lunch as I want to reach the clubroom in time. Seniors will be bringing us to the CC as we do not know where is the place. I ate two dumplings from each from the both the blue and red plate. Four dumplings with no water that last me till I reach Marina Promenade. I rocks.

By the way, the dumpling here refers "jiao zi" (饺子), not "zong zi" (粽子). Ths joke made by Jiangda is still hilarious: Eating dumpling (zongzi) on mid-autumn festival; 中秋节吃粽子. Haha!

Third Wushu Performance

I reached the clubroom early yesterday as I have no lessons. Crapped and chatted with my fellow mates. Didn't do much warm-up though. Only did some while waiting for our turn to perform at the "backstage". It's the lunchtime performance again.

Jiangda didn't lead us for the mass routine today. Liyan did the leading instead. Was feeling quite calm for the performance initially. My face "changed colour" after the performance start. The reason is that I can't hear Liyan's command. It's alright when I was facing her. As I was the first person from the right, my back will be facing her for some part of the performance. Everybody seems to be doing our own routine. Haha. Well, being the first time leading, she did quite good already.

There is something that I can't really get it. The space in between Tham Liping and I seems to be getting closer and closer no matter how much I adjust. Odd.

Some new "actions" were added for the photo-shoot. I know I did very badly as I am not familiar with the "actions".

Rushed to class after the performance. Glad that I didn't miss out a lot as the lecturer was showing the class a video.

赛马 - 二胡独奏

This musician is one of the few famous erhu players. Her gestures and how she brings herself out sure is good.

In this video, she plays this music piece a little differently from the original piece. Maybe she played this song standing that's why. All the notes are distinct and the "legatos" are very nice. A wave can almost be felt. There isn't any distinct break in the music even when she changes the direction of the bow too. Enjoy~


Source of video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ApA6J5DC1s

Second Wushu Performance

I missed some tutorial and lecture for yesterday's performance. Missed the lecture as the performance was an hour later than last week's performance. Generally it's alright. Bun up my hair with a chopstick and it didn't drop. Guess my skill has improved. =D Chose the chopstick for the sake of my commissioning ball that would be held later in the day.

Serene didn't perform and helped us to take video. Feel that our timing is not very coordinated. Was quite surprise to find out that we actually did the routine relatively fast. I don't feel that the speed was very fast while performing. There was one part where I lost my balance. =S Must improve, must improve! Guess I can see my mistakes more clearly in that video. I definitely need to bend my knee more.

I do not know how my ankle got injured, I was limping my way back to the clubroom after the performance. Thank you liping and zongming for the concern. =)

I wasn't that nervous this time round. Maybe my mind was on the commissioning ball and lecture. Was a little scare that I may forget the steps as I wasn't thinking about the routine but some other things. Haha. I did some warm up with Shuting while waiting. Helped liping to revise the routine too as she was not that sure of her steps.

Glad that I managed to get everything done despite of my hungry stomach and tight timings. Jiayou jiayou!

SHS Commissioning Ball

Pretty pretty!

I am now officially part of SHS Academic Club's Management Committee for the academic year 2008-2009! The event went on very smoothly. All thanks to the out-going committee for putting in so much effort and for taking such good care for us the in-coming committee. I really love the music pieces chosen for this event.

All the people involved in preparing this event have to wear elegantly. In order to match my white shoes with orange stripes, I chose a white dress with a orange "belt". I some sort of design this outfit for the sake of my shoes. The belt is actually just a long piece of orange cloth that I tie around my waist. Quite nice though. A pity that Auntie Peng can't manage to find my orange earrings. I wore another pair of earrings instead. I have also used a white chopstick that matches my dress to bun up my hair. I wore the pink pendant that Grandma gave it to me too! I think I am having some self-indulgence. Haha.

I wonder how I injured my ankle after wushu's performance for the lunchtime concert earlier in the day. Had some problem walking around. My adrenaline flow had somehow eased the pain as the guests start to arrive. I am really glad that Cher, and Zhao Liping from wushu, came to gave me support. =D

I am of course clumsy as usual. Despite being dressed elegantly for the event, I earned myself a bruise by hitting a bench. I have also dirtied my shoes with fruit punch when I wanted to get a drink for Cher and I. Lucky that the fruit punch didn't dirty my white dress. Phew.

I didn't took much pictures due to time constraint as I was late for training. After eating two samosas and chatted with Cher, I quickly rush off to the sports hall with my 3 big bags of shoes, clothes and atlas. Thanks to Garyson and Xinxin that I managed to take everything home after the training.

I have enjoyed myself a lot today. I think maybe it's due to the fact that I don't usually pamper myself by putting so much effort with my clothings.

Thank you friends, seniors and teachers for the well wishes and support! =D

Carlsberg - Part of the Game

Carlsberg Brewery has launched a football web-tv channel partofthegame.tv recently with 5 channels showing all aspects about football from the classic football matches to life as a fan. Be sure not to miss the video clips about football funnies and rituals from the Football Magic channel. Click on the image below for more details.

First Wushu Performance

This is my first performance and it was held at school's atrium. The team was performing for the lunch time concert. Our item is after the solo belly dancing and dance by the dance company.

I wasn't very nervous but more excited instead before the performance. It was stepping onto the performing area that I start to feel a little nervous. The reason was that the music played was rather loud. Listening to instructions from the lead may be a problem. I was scare that my timing would be different from the others too. Glad that I managed to perform smoothly. Space was also a problem though. Lucky that my position was at the side, so that I have more chance to shift and get myself more space.

Eric coach wanted to appoint a timer to lead the mass routine display but did not get it done in the end. Jiangda volunteered to lead us. Glad that he chose a speed that suits us. Phew. Poor him was panting as he performed continously; leading us after his own routines.

There wasn't much audiences on that day though. Maybe it's an advantage for the first-timers.

Lucky that I do not have any lessons before the performance. Managed to eat something but I still became hungry at a later time. Glad that I did not miss any lessons on that day. I am glad that I was in time for my two hour lecture after the performance too.

Jiayou everyone!! =D

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Durian Puff

This durian puff is really tasty. The durian paste is quite rich in taste and the crust is not too bland. Both the paste and crust just blends in well. Yum yum. The main thing is that there is sufficient durian paste in the crust and it doesn't make the crust goes soggy. The sweetness of the paste is just nice too.

This can be found at one of the Toa Payoh's bakery. 5 for $2. Quite an affordable price.

Kathina Day 2008

This year's event was a little different from the event of the past few years.

Reached the temple to have some food for breakfast after offering joss sticks to the Buddhas. The breakfast today was of a little more variety. There were beancurd, soya milk, "youtiao" and red bean soup. All are quite tasty though. The beancurd is not too smashed and the red bean soup is not too thick. I don't usually like to take red bean soup due to the presence of "sand". There isn't much "sand" in this red bean soup though. Nice Nice. Here's a picture!



After eating is going around to kowtow to the Buddhas. It was to be done before eating breakfast initially. As I need to answer a very urgent nature's call, I have to do that after breakfast as it was the time to eat after I answered the "call". Haha. This is the first time that I use the toilet there.

It was then followed by the mass chantings. I can't hear many of the terms clearly as the loud speaker was quite soft today. After the first part of the chantings was the presentation of the "kasa" to the monks. I didn't manage to take the pictures of the special packages. Those are the relatively more expensive ones. After that was the continuation of some chantings. The emcee said that we have to put our right hand on the shoulder of someone else. This is the first time that I attend the celebration with this additional "programme". The emcee said that this is called the "transferring of merits". I don't get what this mean though. Anyway, after this programme, the whole session was ended with the spraying of the holy water.

While waiting for the holy water to be sprayed, I heard clappings and beats of drum. My eyes lit up immediately. The Thailand workers has arrived! Haha! I laughed till some people are looking at me. There were not as much workers that turned up today though. These Thailand workers would come to the temple with a "money tree", sing and clap while walking three rounds around the temple. The first time that I saw this was done with very high-spirits as compared to this year's. Still quite fun la. I really hope that I can join them. Haha. Here's the person carrying the "money tree" around.



The "tree" is quite tall. It looks heavy though. Those people behind were part of the Thailand workers team. The drummer was behind. His drum was actually the plastic container of the paint. Haha. Creative.

It's lunchtime after we got sprayed by the holy water and the chantings were finished. It's vegetarian. Not much variety as compared to the past few years though. I didn't ate much of the "main course" as I don't have an appetite. Ate two tasty "Ang Ku Kuehs" though. Quite sweet, suits people like me who have a sweet tooth.

Gracefields Kindergarden Graduation Concert

Replace another colleague again. Got a last minute call yesterday and I was so happy that I got to work today. There was two shifts but I only did the afternoon shift.

The concert began with a prayer recited by a "father". I was a little surprised by that. The performance was alright. There were nice choreographed dances too. I was looking forward to the "kungfu" item. The children didn't perform real martial arts but just some martial-arts-like dancing. Not bad though. It's more of tae-kwan-do's style than Chinese martial arts even though they wore the Chinese martial arts' costume. Just feel that the music used for this item doesn't have much creativity. The Taiwan's minority group dance was nice too. The children followed the tempo rather closely. Here is a picture of the "kungfu dance". I missed taking the picture of them posing which they did the splits.



I got the same old position again. Bored. Was hoping to try new positions though. Anyway, there were two guys who were quite odd. They hid behind and play games. Spoke quite loudly though. Overall, the patrons were comparatively cooperative than last week's event. There were relatively lesser people today though. The reason is that there were two shifts I think.

What I would like to add on is that the emcee's English is really powerful. I really admire that. She did really well in controlling the crowd.

I think I am getting use to this job as I am not that tired today. Just a little hungry. Haha. It may also be the short working hours that's why I am not that tired. The temperature there today was quite cold. One colleague fell sick after the noon shift though. Hope that he will get well soon! =)

PAP Kindergarden Graduation

I wasn't on duty initially. Got a last minute call from a colleague for replacement and I agreed to help.

I was prepared to face a challenging job for this event. Was thinking about the dealing with the children was going to be the challenging part. But it turned out to be the adults. It's really dramatic. Fierce and troublesome adults. I don't think it's right not to respect my group of people just because it's the big day of their child. Have they ever thought of what message are they bringing across to their child?

The performance was alright. The choreography for some items are quite creative. Glad that I have some nice music to keep me entertained. Was a little stressed with my sore throat and constant ringing of phone. As the music was very loud, listening to instructions clearly was a little tough though.

Here is a picture of one of the high-spirited item. The makeup done for the kids are quite nice.



Even though it was a short event, I was very tired as my legs were so painful in those court shoes.

CMC Market Seminar

It was my first day of work and it was such a long day for me. I had to stand for around 6 hours for this event. It's always tiring on the first day though. Wearing the court shoes sure strain my legs a lot more. I wasn't feeling really well too and did not have any courage to socialise. I was the only girl on duty for that day!

I was really blur and made a lot of mistakes on the first day. Lucky that I got a nice in-charge who did gave me extra care. There are times that I feel really awkward as I do not know what to do. Glad that the in-charge did rotate positions so that each of the members of the groups get to rest for a while. =D

As I had to stand at my assigned position alone, I try to listen to the talk for self-entertainment. The talk was boring as it was full of terms that I do not understand. The talk was basically about buying and selling stocks. I saw some people attending the talk falling asleep though. There are also some people who left halfway. Heard my colleagues say that the speaker was relatively good as compared to those of the few previous talks.

Most of the patrons on that day were quite nice and cooperative. As I wasn't feeling well, I was neither excited nor nervous. My experience for that day is quite good I must say. I am really glad that I didn't get myself into any trouble.