The Best of Chinese Melodies

Two working days that were full of fire.

Took bus 57 to work after having dinner at the temporary Albert Complex food centre. A short bus ride that took me around thirty minutes to reach due to traffic congestion caused by road closure for this year's Formula One Grand Prix. Guess I would only take around five to ten minutes if there isn't a congestion. the bus driver was very nice, helped to clear my doubt whether the bus is able to reach where I want to go. Was a little worried initially due to the road closure.

I reached there one hour before the reporting time. BT was already there. Shocked. Slacked a little before going out to fetch YT. My legs were so sore after working for one whole day. I was told that my jobscope for the two days was being the flowergirl. I accepted it as I can rest a little at the backstage for this jobscope.

Brought YT around and taught him the stuffs that he needs to know. Bickered a little with BT as usual. Since he called me names, I called him "Mr Bean". I can't thought of any names though. Ah Bee told me that he looked like "Mr Bean". So here's how it goes.

The event generally went on smoothly. Not much of problems. Helped with crowd clearing when doors opened. The sudden surge of a big group of elderly made the situation a little chaotic. Glad that I managed to solve it in time. I wonder what organisation they were from. All of them wore a red ribbon on their shirt.

Event started and I had to proceed to my position at the top of the house. Don't really like going up as my ankle still hurts. I prefer standing on flat ground. Stood at door four to watch the performance during my break from going on stage. Sitting at backstage was boring. No one talked to me. While waiting for their pieces, the musicians were chatting loudly at backstage, something that was never allowed by my conductor. Shocked. I saw my conductor. He didn't talk to me though he saw me. I knew he saw me. I didn't greet him though. One erhu player sat beside and played his erhu. His bow was moving about infront of me. Suddenly, I miss playing erhu. Felt my eyes a little wet; will my dream ever come true?

I find the eighth piece, "xia bei zhu qu". Nice. The encore piece was not bad too. Time for clearance after the performance ended. The debrief was the sifting out of problems. Some small arguments. It was because of this that I was able to claim for taxi fare. Weixuan attempted to help me take the autographs but she went out too late, the musicians had left. Thanks for her effort anyway.

Took cab with YT. Chatted on the trip home. Let him alighted at a bus stop near my house while I continued my trip home. Wanted to pay in NETS but the service wasn't available. Called Mum to bring some cash down.

Second day of the event, I reported around thirty minutes earlier. Left my student ez-link in my locker. I decided to save some money by walking to the MRT station, thus leaving house early. It was not a good idea to take bus too as it may cause me to be late; I had to report early for an extra event.

Relaxing pre-concert event. There wasn't much people that turned up. Guess it was due to the traffic congestion caused by the road closure? I am not sure though. Chatted a little with Anna. Watched the choirs that were performing too. Funny teachers I would say.

Had a five minutes rest before starting a second round of work. More fire this time round; a continual of the previous night's arguments. My jobscope was changed as a colleague volunteered to be the flowergirl. I was put alone at one side of the house. The rest was put to help the colleague in argument.

While putting on my walkie talkie, my right ear was blasted as BT switched my walkie talkie to maximum volume while attempted to off it. Pain. Used my left ear throughout the night. Can't hear instructions clearly though. I forgot to went out and prepare the reception. Lucky BT called me and just told me not to forget in future. I was so afraid that I would be scolded as he was rather furious due to another colleague. Thanks Anna for telling me too as I wasn't able to hear what BT said.

Drank some milo while making the drinks. Scalded my tongue a little as I wanted to finish it fast. Went back in to continue enjoying the erhu solo piece. Got to catch the fast paced part. Nice.

During intermission, I stayed at Door 4 instead of going out as there wasn't anyone helping me to guard the door. Not enough people working that day. Think some patrons laughed at me as I was ticked off by the director. My instructions was that those in the VIP row were allowed to exit from my door. This "director" wasn't from there. Stupid him. My eyes were a little wet again. But I controlled. I did not do anything wrong anyway. Told BT about this and he told me that it was alright. If there is going to be a complain, he will settle it.

I realised something about the musicians; their shoes are really shiny. Saw one part where the erhu players have to play lots of notes at high speed. Cool. Coordination of both hands are really important.

End of event, I brought an elderly down using the VIP lift. His son told him that this is the VIP lift. It's the father's fortune that he and his mother get to take this lift. Hearing that, I just smiled. That elderly was smiling quite happily.

Returning back to the house, the crowd was already cleared. I kept the stoppers and locked the doors. I pondered for some time and finally took out the courage to ask BT whether I can get the autographs. After helping me ask Shurong, I was allowed to do so. I quickly grabbed a house programme and ran out. The conductor and the zhuihu player were about to leave when I reached there. Thanks the conductor for realising that I was there and he informed the zhuihu player. He told the zhuihu player that I was their "送花使者", the messenger that delivers their flowers. Funny. I was surprised that he still remembered me. He attempted to shake hands with me on the previous night before receiving his flowers but only managed to do so as I had already stretched out my hands to give him the flowers. A little awkward I would say. But it was somehow covered. It was really lucky for me to get their signatures as I was the last one. I was afraid to ask Shurong as I am not sure what type of person she is; will she scold me?

It was a long conflict during the debrief. I was told off a little as I totally neglected the house while I brought the elderly to take the VIP lift. I didn't thought of that too as the instructions that I got was that I was to bring the elderly down after the event.

I wasn't able to claim my taxi fare as it was not late enough. It was however late for me. BT drove Anna and me home. Really thank him a lot as he had to go the other direction to send me home. I reached home relatively fast. Had a nice chat during the trip.

For both days, besides being tiring, I have also seen a lot as well. I was able to hear the Formula One cars zooming away while I was at the loading bay. Guess this is the nearest that I got to "interact" with this year's grand prix.

The Ancient Glory

Patrons were well-behaved for both days. Not much of running around to stop people from breaking the house rules.

First time seeing a GuQin being played live. Got to have a closer look on the second day due to change in deployment. Frankly saying, I felt something weird about the deployment for both days. It seems to be a little different as usual. Anyway, thanks Weixuan for helping me to take the autographs.

I was the flowergirl for the first day. Saw the GuQin soloist. Wanted to take picture with him initially but changed my mind. I liked the new things that were added backstage; water point and rubbish bin. Working long hours in the air-conditioned area really make my lips dry.

Second day, Jiewei and I were involved in the pre-concert talk. Quite relaxing. Had the chance to have some fun. Saw Brother's dizi instructor and said 'hi' through Uncle Jimmy walkie-talkie. No wonder I thought I saw him on stage on the previous night. Ah Bee "special appearance" made me laugh till I squat on the floor.

First time that I was placed at the reception. Got to drink some milo. Thanks to Jiewei and Ah Bee for helping me to prepare the stuffs.

Clearance time, there was one weird patron who tried to force his way through the door I am in charged of. Lucky he did not succeed. Thanks Jiewei for standing beside me for support.

I like the first music more than the rest. I do not really understand the rest though. GuQin is a nice instrument. The music played was nice, just that I do not understand. The first song was a little boring in the beginning. The middle part was the nicest. The song was about my favourite flower, plum blossom. Nice. It was my first time seeing the PianZhong being played live too. Cool.

The piece with a recital had a mystery for me to solve. One percussionist used a bow to produce some eerie sounds. I wonder how he did that though. Instruments may look simple in their appearance. They can however produce great pieces of music that provide different fantasies to the soul and mind. The art of mastering the instruments and using them to create great pieces of music is just simply wonderful.

Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served is a new online community blog that features on the customer service in Singapore. They have completed eight missions so far and need your help to complete more! Many had made their opinions on the blog and it is now your turn!

The blog is an initiative of various agencies including the Singapore Tourism Board. It is a platform for people to share their views regarding the quality of services in Singapore, hoping to show appreciation of service in Singapore by providing a common discussion ground through this blog. The blog will hopefully, at the same time, raise the overall quality of customer service in Singapore. A group of people known as "squad members" will be initiating various customer service scenarios. They would then observe how service staff react and blog about them in this platform.

Share your stories regarding Singapore's customer service at the blog now whether they are positive or negative. Feel free to read and comment on other readers' stories to gain more insight of the quality of the services in Singapore. You are welcome to suggest new missions for the service squad as well.

So, have an experience to share? Click on Singapore Customer Service .. Share Your Story to voice out now!

Popiah

I enjoy eating popiah as the combination of the fillings and the 'skin' creates a great taste. Fillings includes sliced turnip, bean sprouts, eggs, peanuts and sweet sauce. It tastes good with or without sambal chilli. Personally, I like it without any chilli.

The skin chosen to wrap up the fillings is very fine; it can gets torn easily. It is not an easy job to wrap a nice popiah. To know whether the popiah bought is fresh or not, observe the skin. If it's harden, it means that it's not that fresh anymore. Furthermore, it is recommended to consume it right after it was being bought to enjoy the best taste of the popiah!

The crispy sliced turnip with lots of bean sprouts and eggs wrapped up is my favourite. Yummy!

Ernst and Young Seminar

Faith and I were the only people who reached on time. As I am not sure what event it was and how many colleagues were going to turn up, I prepared some of the stuffs that were needed, adding on as they slowly arrive.

As the rest of the colleagues were late and patrons were about to go out of control, we did not do any routine checks. Patrons gushed in once the doors were opened. There was a jam as patrons were taking their time to choose their seats. This is a problem of free seating. I tried to ask them to move infront as there were many empty seats. Instead of listening to me, many just merely laughed at me mockingly and continue their queue to the "fengshui" seat on the slope. It looked as if I did not do as I was told by the in-charge.

Frankly saying, I am in a dilemna. I cannot shout and neither can I restrict them; it's a concert hall.

Lots of food and drinks were brought into the house. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I have "scanned" them while they were entering; I went to help out with one new colleague.

It was a boring talk to me as I do not understand a thing. What I know was that the talk concern about the practices of a company for auditing. Some of the patrons were really interested and paid lots of attention to the speaker. They were busy taking down notes and followed closely with the slides printed for them. However, there were patrons who went there to slack. It was till the second part of the seminar that I understood why; attendance was taken. Guess they were forced to attend the talk by their respective company.

I believe those patrons were from the business sector. They looked rather professional from what they wore. However, many of them had actions were so different from their looks. Many totally doesn't respect my colleagues and I. There were not considerate enough not to block people's way by taking their time to choose their seats, crowding around one attendance sheet from different directions though there was a distinct queue, and queueing and crowding near the door just to get their hands on the attendance sheet despite I told them nicely to make way for other patrons.

The end of the seminar was another "crowding session" near the door. The hirer finally decided to give out papers for people to write down their company's name, tabulating the attendance on their own.

It was a relief when the event finally ended. As there were food left over from the intermission, I took six packets of food back home. Five packets of Old Chang Kee curry puffs and a packet of ISS's curry puffs and samosas. Food are just so unresistable.

NAFA Convocation 2009

It was supposed to be a one shift work. I only got to know that it was a two shift work till I reported for work. Got to change my plan of having lunch at Grandma's house and meeting up with Jiewei. Good part was than I was able to have lunch with my colleagues at Amoy Street, a place that I have never been to before. New knowledge and some bonding session.

It was a tiring day. Many patrons were uncooperative. Catching people taking photographs more than consumption of food and drinks. In fact, I did not catch people consuming though I saw some.

Wearing my court shoes and stood the whole day really strained my legs. I was hoping that the event will end soon. So many graduates. The lecturers were really cute. They wore their "hats" too. Some is the square-shaped one and some, the painters' type. Cool. Though it's painters' type, there is something dangling at the side just like the squared ones. Cute!

I like the pieces played by the brass ensemble. It's so nice! All the pieces before the graduates' procession, the graduates' procession, and the march in and out of the grand procession. Cool. I like the music for the march in of the grand procession the best. All the musicians were guys. I wonder where are the girls. Two graduates, one receiving his degree and one receving his diploma, were actually involved in the ensemble. What a different graduation experience for them!

The lecturer for the course in theatre did something very cute. Before presenting her students receiving their honours degree to the president of NAFA, she some sort of did some chantings to bless her students. Cool. The fun of arts in theatre studies.

Seeing the happy faces of people receiving, some thoughts came to me. This is especially the case when I see people receiving their honours degree in music. Envy.

There were a lot more graduates in the second shift than the first shift. The management seems to be a little chaotic when they realised there weren't enough seats. But it was good that they managed to get it solved fast. The procession were way smoother in the first shift. Patrons were more enthusiastic in the first shift than the second, clapping their hands along with the rhythms of the music played. Fun.

Instructions given were not very clear though. Heard that Mrs Goh was there too but there doesn't seems to be a fanfare. There was a confusion initially regarding the entrance of the guest of honour, minister for education Dr Ng Eng Heng.

Before the speeches of the president of NAFA and Dr Ng Eng Heng, the national anthem was played by the brass ensemble. There were not much people singing. The bright side of the situation was that all stood in attention. From my observation, there were a lot of Indonesians.

The best graduate that gave the valediction for the first session speaks a fluent English. His speech was funny but I didn't catch it. I was too tired to listen. He was presented with a highly regarded gift from the Embassy of Peru. It's made of solid silver. Cool. According to description, that item siginify good luck in Peru. This is really cool.

As for the best graduate that delivers the valediction speech for the second session, she was awarded with the NAFA President award. It was $3000 from the NAFA president's pocket. Nice. Quite a pity that she injured her right knee and has to limp throughout the ceremony.

It was a relief when the event finally ended. I finally get to rest my tired legs.

NDP 2009 TV Broadcast

Watched the repeat TV broadcast on Channel 5 and Channel 8. I can feel some differences though. But in any case, there is a big room for improvement.

The angles of the cameras doesn't seems to have much variations. Though there may be some nice shots, there are still a lot of nice ones neglected. I find the focus on the six musicians at one point was a little too long, taking away my chance to see the other performers dancing.

The feel of watching the parade is really different from being at the Marina Promenade itself. The atmosphere is so different. Furthermore, I can see what I want to see instead of what is chosen or decided by the cameraman.

National Day Parade 2009

Stayed overnight at Grandma's house so that I can make my hair in the morning. Grandma's skills are way better than mine. It was the final show and I want to look great. Wanted to bun up with chopsticks but failed. Asked Grandma to plait my hair with red ribbons! It was National Day and I chose red because it's national colour.

Dad used Auntie Mui's car to drive me straight to Pek Kio CC. Reached there early. Good that there were others who were earlier than me. The rest starts strolling in later on. Finishing the last few postcards that I have prepared before the rest arrived, I started giving out when most of the people have reached. Half-way through the distributing of cards, I realised that I forgot to write the date. Oops.

We boarded the bus shortly after Anthony took our attendance and distributed the vouchers to us. As my gang of people boarded a little late, we have to stand. Some funny stuffs started here. Jiangda boarded the bus and asked me whether I wrote a postcard for him. He haven't got his as I was distributing half-way when we were told to board the bus. Felt like saying "no" but I didn't. I took the last seat left and searched for his card. Seeing what I wrote to him, he was complaining that it was very short! He said that I wrote a longer one for Chiawei and I even had one finger spacing in his postcard. Haha. Chiawei said asked me not to write in Chinese for him. I was blurred for a moment as I don't remember writing in Chinese. He then pointed to my name after I asked where is it. Dots.

Alighted at a point a little further than the usual alighting point. Didn't had the chance to take picture of the road sign. Oh well. We proceeded for the security checks. Intended to collect my milo before the check but was not able to due to the change in alighting point. Hmm. Shuting was stucked at the check for a moment due to a nail clipper. I don't see any harm in that small clipper.

We then proceeded to our area. I was so happy that there were goodie bags for us this time! There were a bag on each of the chairs. Items included honey stars, detergents, salon pas, prawn crackers and sweets. Like the honey stars and the salon pas. Putting down my bag and stuffs, I went to take Mr Bean soya milk. Yum yum. I then went to collect the cudgels with Ruiqi and Shuting. The new cudgel is nice.

Those whose costumes have problems went to queue up as usual. Nothing to do, my touring starts here. Went to collect Old Chang Kee and milo. Long queue. Glad that I managed to get what I want. Made a second trip too. Took ice cream and more Old Chang Kee. I am so happy that I got the fried prawns stick as that was what I aimed for one of the previous show and did not managed to get. Right out from the oven. Hot and nice. Going back, it was time to collect our helmets. I was so glad that we got to have new helmets! Not blurry and no weird smell. Good!

Roamed around the flyer and the Old Chang Kee and Milo area later on. I was so glad that I got to drink my fill when the second batch of milo arrived. No more long queues. I tried to study but can't managed to get anything into my brain. Exciteness and the hope to enjoy the last day of the show. Hoped to camwhore with Yaxin but we were out of ideas of what kind of pictures to take. Thank you Wenhui for helping me to keep two packets of Halls breezers for me. Cool creamy strawberry and tropical chill. Nice present.

Slacking at the flyer, we realised that there may be the uncapping ceremony. Cool! We went back for our dinner and came back after that. I ate two cups of mashed potatoes and did not touch the chickens. Hope to maintain being a vegetarian for the day. It was "Guanyin Dan". Kept the chickens for supper. So glad that it was drumstick and a part near the butt. Nice. Thanks Weiren for the second cup of mashed potatoes.

After eating, Yaxin, Xinfeng and I went to slack at flyer, waiting for the uncapping ceremony to commence. I thought that there was not going to have the ceremony there as there was the 3.2km city march past. I thought that it would take place at Suntec City and they would do the city march past to reach Marina Promenade. We had a bird's eye view of the ceremony. We went to view it from the second floor. Cool. Thanks Yaoteck for the help to call us when it was time to get changed. It feels so different to watch the ceremony from the top. Nice. I wonder how long had they been training to make the ceremony so smooth and nice. It's not easy to march so neatly. We quickly made our way back to change after receiving Yaoteck's call.

Had a quick change and went to look for Wushan for the extra tatoo that she had. Had already placed one on my right hand. It was a NDP09 merlion that Shuyan gave me while we were queueing up for security checks. Wushan helped me to put it on my left hand. Nice! I was really inexperienced in putting tatoos as it was my first time! Thank you Shuyan and Wushan! Though the tatoos were a little distorted, I was very happy!

Waiting a while at the small area outside our assembling area, we proceeded on to wait on the F1 track, the same portion as preview. Took videoes of the F-16 flypast again. Nice! It's quite relaxing to see the planes. We then proceeded on to the floating platform. Thanks to Yaxin for helping me to carry my helmet so that I can snap pictures throughout the walk.

Tried to snap some pictures but many turned out blurred. I wonder what happened to my phone. We waited at the green sector concourse before setting out for the backstage. Singing the songs as usual. Saw Gurmit Singh walking to the backstage with us. Too bad that I do not have the chance to take a picture with him. Anyway, we went a little early to the backstage. Saw Koh Cheng Mun and Kelvin Tan. Cosmetics put on by Koh cheng Mun sure was very thick. Shiny gown.

Walking towards the tent, I was so lucky to get to see a short moment of fireworks for the ending of chapter four. Nice. It was really a close "interaction" with the fireworks. Took a photo with some backstage people as requested by them before we proceeded to the stairs that leads to the backstage. Total exciteness at the backstage. Many were snapping pictures and shaking hands to wish each other good luck. And yes, we rocked on to Chapter five's music too. Did my last checks for the lights. We ran out once the door were opened. I did not run as my ankle was swollen. Walked briskly; or rather, small run.

Happy. Excited. It was national day. It was, the last show for NDP09. It was, the big day.

Though my ankle was in pain, I managed to finish all the moves. Forced myself to. My cudgel unbelievably broke into two after the "dian gun". Shocked. Tried to do the moves and fix it back at the same time. For a moment I lose my confidence and did one of the moves wrongly. A mistake that I have never made before. The cudgel wasn't able to be tighten no matter how I tried. Oh well. Not too bad that it was near the end of the routine alraedy. I was a little scared that my partner would hit my head if the cudgel gave way again.

The flag routine was alright. Used a little more force than usual. I have done my best to keep the spin with the beats. It annoyed me when my flag was collided with others' flags. It was not once, but a few times. I kept my hand raised for the last pose though I felt scared. The sparks were really near. Glad that the sparks went off before hitting me. Phew.

I quickly picked up the helmet and cudgel behind me. Tried to ran to take my helmet and cudgel. A boy came along and took it. Oh well. Tried to ran out of the platform but wasn't able to so I did a brisk walk. There was a sudden steeping of the slope that I have to do a heavier "landing". Pain. After leaving the platform, I was relieved and limped my way back to the small corridor under the blue sector.

We waited a while before proceeding to gate 6. I could feel everybody's enthusiasm. Took a cup of water from the water point. Drank a little before walking to gate 6. Took pictures of the small planes that were part of the decorations on the ceiling. Some ushers disturbed me. What I heard was a girl saying in a squeezy voice "you very bad leh". Turning around I saw a group of ushers walking beside me and laughed. That guy in blue shirt must have done something. Well, it was not a big issue as I managed to get the picture I wanted since Preview. That girl then proceeded to ask me what I worked as. Weird question. Finding her question weird and she somehow looked familiar, I asked whether she was an usher last year. Yes, she was. She found me familiar too. Mystery solved.

Waited at gate 6 for a moment before we made our exit. Did not manage to spot my primary school classmate. Oh well. We collected some part poppers while we were waiting. Took seven in total. After making sure that all of us had the poppers, Guangyao coach showed us how many he took; it was a pocketful! Haha.

Upon getting the cue, we made our exit. Singing the theme song as usual. Highed. Did not manage to get my favourite MA16 spot, I was glad that I at least got the front row. Easier for my auntie to look for me. I was blurred with what the person in-charge of our finale moves was doing. His tempo and rythms sure was weird. Took a peep at the fireworks at times from the side of my eyes. Promised William that I will be "good" as it's not nice to turn my head to see the fireworks.

I took the pledge with pride. I sang the national anthem with pride. I am simply proud to be a Singaporean. Finishing of the fireworks, I pulled two poppers. Pulled three more after the declaration of the party time! Pulled the sixth popper for the Martial House people after shouting "Martial House rocks!". Tried to pull the last one for the audience but the string broke without the stuffs popping out. Oh well.

Shaked along to the music. Had some fun while I was waiting for Auntie Mui to leave the gallery. Many were running around in a "too-too train". Martial House had our own "train" soon. It was an express train! So fast! We were like running than small jog. There was then the running in between the giant puppets. A post-NDP physical training? We stopped after one round. Wanted to stop even if the others doesn't too as my leg was really painful. Continued rocking to the music. Saw Wenhui alone so I grabbed her to take a picture with a giant puppet together. Asked a guy nearby to help. His skills were so great that I took the lower half body of the giant puppet. I wanted the head. Oh well. Thanked him anyway. Having a picture is better than none.

It was time for the montage specially made for us. Sat down and watched. Nice music and it was really a good job done. It would be nicer if more pictures of Martial House were put up. Some Dikir Barat people took our cudgels and kept knocking on the floor along with the music. Noisy. Oh well. Ignored them. I was really annoyed me when one of the cudgel flew and hit me. Why me?

I went off to call Auntie Mui after the montage was shown. The audience was almost cleared and there wasn't any phone calls from her. Called for some time and she did not pick up her phone. Called home to check with Auntie Peng. When Auntie Mui finally picked up her phone, I was totally disappointed when she told me that she left the promenade already. Glad that Nicholas called me a while later, cheering me up a little. He was along the Singapore River and hoped for a free ride. Haha!

The committe celebrated with champagne and cake. Performers were guided to leave group by group after the birthday song and the speech. Limped my way back to the F1 pit. Many performers left at the same time and there were times that I felt that I had lost the other Chapter 6 people.

Reaching the pit, I quickly changed out and get ready to follow the group back to Pek Kio CC. I stuffed everything into the plastic bag given instead of placing it nicely in the costume bag. Asked Guangyao whether I can bring back the helmet for souvenir. Took back after he said "okay". Quite a pity that it was not the helmet that I used. Well, it's alright as it's just a helmet.

Shuting took the bus back to Pek Kio CC too. I stared out of the window the way back to Pek Kio CC. The bus driver took a different route to avoid the traffic jam as instructed by Guangyao. Thanks Shuting for helping me to check the last row of seats.

Walked to my bus-stop together with Shuting, parting at the overhead bridge as usual. Managed to walk a little properly but it still hurts. Glad that my bus came once I reached there. It was so packed that I have to stand near the door. It was a little dramatic that I have to put the helmet and my bag of costume on the floor beside the bus driver to dig out my ez-link. Quite nice of the bus-driver to trust me, kept the bus moving and did not stare at me to dig out my card. It was so dramatic till I finally got myself a seat. I used so much strength to keep myself balanced when the bus made a long sharp turn at one point.

It was a relief after reaching home and unpacked my bag. NDP 2009 is over. No more hectic trainings. No more frustrations with the helmets. I want to thank everyone who have made this journey a memorable one for me.

NDP09 rocks!

NDP 2009 Preview

Dad ended work early so he decided to drive me to Pek Kio CC directly. So sweet. I can save some walking distance and bus fare. I don't have to squeeze in the squeezy train too! Happy!

Upon reaching the seats at the basketball court, "suanning" session by Haojun commences. Got on the bus a moment after Shuting and Kenny arrived. Took a picture in the moving bus again.

Seeing the milo van when the bus reached the pit area made me feel elated. There wasn't much people queuing though. There were a lot of security check stations. I regretted not taking a cup of milo first before going for the security checks. Long queue and going in and out of the pit area was made troublesome by the checks.

The smell of the hairspray made me felt uncomfortable again. Accompanied Yaxin to queue up for her costume to be mend. Slow. Finally I couldn't wait anymore, I went out for a walk first. Took a stick of fried fishball from Old Chang Kee. Wanted the stick of fried 'balls" with carrots, corns and peas inside. didn't manage to get it again. My luck. A group of people from the hand signers cut my queue a while after I joined the long queue. Yes, a group, not one or two. Can't believe it. They kept looking at me and communicate in hand-signs, what can I deduce from that? They just got their food and came right in front of me again. How nice. It really irks me that they kept gossiping about others, totally feeling alright for cutting my queue. They at times communicates verbally too.

I asked for one more stick to take back from the Old Chang Kee uncle but he say people are complaining about them in the internet so he can't. Oh well. Went to collect the milo later on. Long queue again. When I finally got my milo, I was very glad. It was finishing. I have to go from my queue line to the other queue. Lucky me managed to get two cups. It was like a drama. I bit my fishball stick in my mouth and held the two cups with both hands. It was really dramatic when I went for the security checks. Though I had finished my cup of milo and only left one cup, I still felt dramatic. Yaxin was really happy that I got one cup of milo for her.

Spent time fixing the helmets after Yaxin got her costume fixed. All the helmets were spoilt and I have no choice but to take it and fix it on my own. Fixed the helmets till dinner time. How 'great'. After all my hard work, I finally got that pile of things that does not look like a helmet into a helmet. Since all the helmets were spoilt, why can't the idea of having it be removed? I am really sick and tired of that helmet. Those protruding metal pieces will cut our beautiful faces. Those loose wirings may cause us to experience electric shock at any time. Furthermore, we could not see properly and even breathe freely.

Guangyao totally gave me a fright when he came over and asked Yaxin and me to collect out dinners before it was taken away with the loud hailer. I almost jumped while sitting down. I was still fixing my helmet when my dinner was sitting right in front of me. Glad that I had enough time to eat in the end. It was my first time using the silicon glue to fix stuffs. Almost burnt my hand but lucky did not happen in the end.

I quickly grabbed my white t-shirt and shorts. Went to the carpark near flyer to consume my dinner with Yaxin. No exhausted gas and it was windy. What a nice environment. Went to change after eating. Realised that there seemed to be the uncapping ceremony. Slacked around the flyer, waiting to see if there was the ceremony. Walked around the area to see what are the shops there. There is a very cute shop! Teddy bears! Saw the flight simulator too. Cool. I really hope I can try it somehow. Had a close look at the fishes that eats the dead skin of the feet. They are so tiny! Cool.

Wanted to watch the ceremony at second floor, taking pictures and videoes from a different view. Went down to watch as time seemed to be getting near the moment for us to get ready. Ran back to change into the costume after taking videoes of the main part of the ceremony. I stood really near this time to watch the ceremony. Cool. From where I stood, I was able to see the routine for the 3 main flags. Wow! Not blocked by any other marching contigents. A guy was really bad. He purposely keep walking to and fro right infront of me while I took the video. A lady who wanted to cross walked behind me after realising that I was videoing. Exploitation of power? Wearing a NDP pass doesn't mean much. And yes, he wasn't walking around to do his job, he was merely watching.

I was doing a final check for the lights of my costume and the helmet. My lights did not light up! It did light up but it didn't hold. Went to the tailor for help but the queue was rather long. Pondering here and there, I somehow found out where the problem lies. To test my hypothesis, I asked for a small length of black tape from the tailor. I wrapped the circuit connection tightly. Testing my lights again. Yes, they lit up! I was over the moon.

We set out relatively early this time. Didn't assemble at the road as the barriers for the F1 race was set up. Waited at the other stretch of the road. Cool! The reason was that, I got to have a clearer view of the F-16s flypast! Woohoo! There were lots of police officers assembling there waiting for instructions too. There was a very weird truck. Guess it was the office for the officers. We continued out march to the floating platform after the fly-past. I was so happy that I kept laughing.

I brought a bottle of water along. The walk sure makes us all thirsty. I believe that the water point will be removed by the time we reach there. Shared among a few people. I wonder why can't the water point be there for performers so that we can keep ourselves in the best condition for the performance. Those police cars along the road that we took to reach the floating platform were releasing so many exhausted gas that I almost suffocated walking pass there. Sensitive nose.

We reached the floating platform earlier than usual. Waited a little longer than usual. Looked around to find my primary school classmate but didn't managed to.

Off we set off for the backstage after the wait. Shiny audience. Quiet audience. Singing along with the music as usual. Was swaying and 'shaking' my body with the music for Chapter 5. Sent a message to Nicholas that my item was next.

Putting on my helmet, we ran out once the gate was opened. Not a very clear vision. Blurry. Three person in front of me almost got their alignment wrong. Was a little shocked initially as I thought I was wrong. Lucky all was solved in time. Heard someone from the audience screamed when we were about to start our routine.

Finishing the routine, I face the falling sparks bravely. It still feels scary. Running out, I ran to take my cudgel and helmet after taking Shuyan's as no one helped to take mine. Weird. Using my finger to held on to the helmets and cudgels, I felt fingers were almost breaking. Can't hold the cudgel properly and almost hit the other people walking to exit through F1. Lucky Shuyan helped me to take one helmet in time.

We waited at the corridor for a moment before proceeding to Gate 6. Took a cup of water from the water point and strolled my way to Gate 6. It was the search for the rubbish bin later on. Saw one army guy that looked like my primary school classmate but not sure whether it's him or not. Made our exit for the finale after we got the cue. Nice fireworks.

Waited for the crowd to clear after the show. Nicholas took some time to find me due to the large flow of crowd. Can't believed that he thought I was a general initially. Squeezing through the crowds back to the stage area near green sector, he finally found me.

Funny things happened when we wanted to take a picture. His camera doesn't seemed to work. But when Nicholas tried to take a picture for me, his camera worked perfectly alright miraculously. My conclusion here, his camera doesn't like him. Haha.

We chatted quite a while till almost all the people has left the promenade. Complained a lot about that helmet. I was so happy that he gave me his funpack even though it was not the colour that I was aiming for.

Sat at the steps to wait for our turn to leave the promenade after Nicholas left. Exploring what I have got sure entertained me for a moment. We finally got the cue for us to leave and head back to the pit area.

upon reaching the pit area, we were told to queue up to receive out funpacks. Happy! I quickly put my stuffs aside and joined in the queue. Wanted to get the light blue bag but it was not available. There were only four colours for us to choose; dark green, yellow, pink and dark blue. As four of these colours were what I hope to get too, it took me a moment to settle on a dark blue bag. Went to change out after grabbing my stuffs.

Changing halfway, I hear Guangyao shouting that those who were taking bus back to Pek Kio have to leave. Shocked! I quickly stuffed my belongings into my bag and ran. I managed to catch up with the people. The bus were already waiting while we reached. Great, no more long waiting time.

It was a little dramatic for me to carry two funpacks, my costume and my heavy bag. Borading my bus home, I took two seats. I wasn't able to sit comfortably with all that stuffs that I had.

It was a relief when I finally reached home. My shoulders were aching due to the heavy stuffs.

NDP 2009 NE Show 3

Some disappointment I must say. I wonder why. Not feeling really well physically and mentally.

Reached the F1 pit after taking the shuttle bus from Pek Kio CC. Took a picture while the bus was moving and I actually managed to capture what I want in the center of the picture. Cool. First time ever.

The milo truck wasn't there when we alight the bus. Saw Old Chang Kee. Their business have not start yet and there were lots of people queuing up already. After putting down our bags, those whose costumes have problem went to queue up for "doctor consultation" while the rest went to walk around. My first station after running to the toilet, Old Chang Kee! Took curry puffs as usual. Queued again as I wanted to taste the fried dumplings. Out of stock. Queued again after a while, out of stock again. Saw others managed to get it but I can't. My luck. No milo. But there's ice cream. Took a strawberry flavoured cone. It was half-melted even though the person distributing placed it in the icebox. Hmm.

Tried to sit down and study but I can't. The smell of the hairsprays triggered my migraine. Went to accompany Yaxin at the long queue. We went around to take food as usual. Mr Bean soya milk is yummy. While chatting, while I was eating my hard texture sotong stick, a guy came to collect our signatures for a magazine that all performers are going to receive. We signed our names with creativity! Yaxin, Yaoteck and I posed for a photo while two photographers came along to snap pictures. A boy behind us was laughing very loudly. Later then I found out that Yaoteck placed a twist on Yaxin and my head. Haha. It's kind of weird to take that picture with my half-eaten sotong stick.

The sootng stick was really hard. It took me some time to finish eating due to the extra effort needed to chew the food. Herchuan said that I really ate very long. People around me were guessing that the sotong stick was not fresh anymore; it was heated up for a second time.

After a while, I went out to walk around. The smell of the hairspray was really strong. I still can smell it though I was a distance away. Went to flyer for a walk. Guess my nose was really sensitive. Others were telling me that they were not able to smell it. Went to take a walk at the mini garden at flyer with Yaxin. Nice! Nice flowers, nice fishes, nice waterfall. We took lots of pictures. Fun!

Went back for dinner before heading back to flyer again. Xinfeng tried to ask for some medicated oil from the first aid tent for me. A little shocked as she brought me there without me knowing what was going on. Thank you for trying to help though.

We then went to flyer together with Yaxin. The toilet sure is a conducive environment. Answered my long nature call upon reaching there. We then took some nice pictures with the drawings opposite the lifts and the Orang Utan outside one of the office. The close observation of the flyer is really cool. Water was dripping down the capsules. Wondered why initially. Mystery solved after William told me that it was caused by the air-con. The water almost dripped on me at times. Wow. I hope that I can have a chance to take a ride in the flyer one day.

We slacked at the chairs after snapping pictures. We were waiting for the uncapping ceremony. A closer look this time. The ceremony was a little delayed. We were called to go off to change while I was videoing halfway. Oh man! I was about to witness the gist of the ceremony and I was called to go off. Oh well. Anyway, the feeling of having a close look was really different. Hope I can see it again for the next show, the whole ceremony.

Ran to the toilet back and forth to change. First time wearing a thinner shirt and shorts. Not so hot though. Waited at the road as usual. I got my camera ready to take nice video of the F-16s flypast. Taking a nice video is not easy at all. Seeing the planes sure brighten up my spirit a little.

Marched to the floating platform. Wanted to grab a drink there but the table was kept. Heard the person in-charge for the previous show was scolded for not keeping the table. Heard that his duty was to give water to a certain time only. Wonder where I can get water if I am thristy again.

Looking at the audience from the walkway, they doesn't seems to be as noisy as the first two shows. Haojun was commenting that the lights were a lot lesser. Seeing people dancing in the grids, I noticed that the first row of grids were closed. I wonder why. Went to the tent as usual. There was a guy taking video of us. Haha. Cool. Went to the backstage and "highed" with the music for the previous item. I am still reluctant to put on that helmet. My head was still pain.

Ran out when the doors were opened. Only heard some screams instead of cheer like the previous shows. Tried to boost some strength by reminding myself that my family was out there supporting me at the blue sector. I am still not happy with the helmet. Difficulty in breathing. I wondered where my family was sitting. After the performance, I ran out, looking around blue sector, hoping to see them. While running, My cudgel trapped in one of the holes on the stage. Pulled it out quickly with lots of strength and ran out quickly. Saw the signal for the next item was already orange light; I must leave the stage fast.

Finally we got to have a rest at the corridor between gate 1 and exit F1. I was sweating! A little more wet than the previous shows. Glad that Shuting brought tissue. Thank you! We started walking towards gate 6 after resting for a while.

While getting ready for our exit for the finale, lots of golden "construction workers" were clapping and shouting with high spirits behind us. Cool. Didn't turn my head to see the fireworks while the national anthem was played. Only turned my head after that. I still like the fireworks display, especially the heart-shaped fireworks. Nice.

We were asked to watch the playback of our performance in the "eye" while the crowd was being cleared. The people that were usually took over by the simulators were here. Spice girls, the pipa player and other singers. Gurmit Singh and another emcee actually performed in the item before my item. Wow. While we were watching happily, anticipating the next item which was ours to be shown, they cut off the playback! Oh man! How great was that.

I was a little disappointed that my family were not able to come and find me. Sockhui wasn't able to come too. Heard that it was too crowded. Hmm.

We waited for our turn to be dismissed after that. Heard Mayflower Secondary School to be called out. Guess they are performing this year again. But I did not get to see which of the group is them. A little shocked. But it did proved that what I heard at NE show 2 was not wrong; I did hear my secondary school being called out.

Bored while waiting, there was a "fight" going on between Ruiqi and Herchuan. Joined in for a while later on. I keep pulling Herchuan's watch and shoe lace. I think he was really "pekchek". Tired me tried to doze a little.

Walking back, I got "suanned" as usual. Said "I hate Haojun" and Haojun replied "take a number. Alvin was saying that this was what happened during NE 2 at the same spot. Lol. Deejavu?

Changing out after reaching the pit area, Jessen helped us to take the Sunshine breads. Chocolate flavour. Thank you!

I took the bus back to Pek Kio CC as usual. Walked all the way to the other end of the pit area again. Saw one army guy wearing the Singapore team Martial House t-shirt. Shocked? Some people were shocked. Don't think the coached know that person. Finally our bust came after some waiting. Tired me tried to sleep on the bus but the ventilation was really bad. My head was so pain that I feel like jumping out of the bus. It was a relief after the bus finally reached Pek Kio CC.