Caught sight of this new kid in town on my way home some days back. It’s pretty neat, isn’t it? Probably can’t tell much from the blurry image (the resolution of my camera phone is not THAT great yah? =P)…
So what’s new on the electronic map?
1.The stop at which the train is currently at/heading to next is indicated by a blinking red lamp.
2.The numerous lighted green ‘dots’ in the picture indicate the other stops on the line in the direction of travel.
3.On the right of the panel are 2 yellowish ‘patches’ indicating whether the door is opening on this side or the other. The lighted red lamps indicate that the door opens on the opposite side.
4.The western end of the EW line has been extended to include the 2 new westernmost stops – Pioneer and Joo Koon.
5.The respective interchanges at which you can transfer to the Circle Line are indicated with a yellow-orange label.
Quite a number of commuters were as equally intrigued by the new IS as me! Haha.
The brother finally went for his corrective surgery after waiting for so many years. The final diagnosis of his condition was “Class III malocclusion associated with maxillary hypoplasia and mandibular prognathism and deviation”. I know that’s a mouthful. Well, in layman terms, it basically means a protruding lower jaw with an inability to close the mouth properly. The brother hadn’t been able to chew properly for the past 2 years or so, and it was getting progressively worse. It started with a minor problem of being unable to close the mouth completely, and deteriorated to its current state of being unable to chew certain types of meats and vegetables. Because the growth centres in the mandibular heads have not fused, the problem was expected to get worse over time. And also because of this, the corrective operation had to be postponed till the surgeon was sure that fusion has already occurred.
The operation was going to be a major one, but the management post-operatively would be even more complicated and tiresome. We were informed that he had to rely on complete liquid diet (feeds) for at least 2 weeks post-op. And if things go well, he can then be ‘upgraded’ to an ultra-soft diet (super mashed up food) for another 4 weeks or so.
On the day of admission, we found out that there was going to be another identical operation scheduled on the same day for this other person who shares the same name as the brother’s. FYI, such operations are considered uncommon, and so to have 2 in a day is considered a lot. =P The brother tolerated the operation well, but his face was grossly swollen the very next day. He could not take anything directly from the mouth, and had to pump in liquids to the back of his throat with the help of a syringe and plastic tubing if he was thirsty or hungry.
It’s about 6 weeks post-op now. Looking back, it had been very trying not only for the brother himself, but also for the mother and I, who took turns to help him out with some of his activities of daily living. And to think I used to think ‘caregiver stress’ was something insignificant in school!
Anyway, he just had his follow-up yesterday and he finally removed the plastic retainer! He has also been given the green light to start taking soft solid food from now onwards. That means no more yucky Ensure and super-mushy porridge/Campbell’s soup! Heh.
I just realised it's been more than 2 months since I last blogged.
Well... Lots of stuff to keep myself busy with – Greenie’s wedding, the brother’s operation, (more) tuition, (more) training and SDBF 2008.
16th – 18th May: Greenie's Wedding
This was one special event where many of us 'lost' our 第一次! Not only is Greenie's wedding the first of our group, it's also the first inter-racial one that I have ever attended. And it's also my first time being the emcee for the Chinese wedding dinner! =P From the solemnization ceremony to the Chinese wedding dinner, the entire affair took two and a half days.
Day 1 (Solemnization Ceremony, MFA)
The couple... from the back
And now, from the side...
Exchanging wedding bands
The blissful couple!
Qin Qin, Spinkypinkie, Mr and Mrs Hiskandar, me!
For all Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel fans out there...
Day 2 (Malay Wedding, Chong Pang Community Club) We went down to the Malay wedding only in the late afternoon as all of us had matters to attend to in the morning. As such, we missed the first walk-in during which the couple was dressed in the traditional Malay wedding costume. =(
The wedding 'throne' from afar
Mr and Mrs Hiskandar in a more contemporary Malay costume
The couple on the 'throne'
Me, XY, Eva, Spinkypinkie, Aki, Friend
We were commenting how taxing it was to be the emcee for a Malay wedding. Not only must you double as a DJ, you must also be able to hold your notes well! =P
Front: Me Back: Aki, Spinkypinkie, the couple, XY, BeliefinLife
Day 3 (Chinese Wedding, Regent Hotel Royal Pavilion Ballroom)
This was the busiest day for the girls and guy (read: yours truly) in the group. The girls were to man the reception booth, while I would be taking on the stage during the dinner itself.
Guess how many tables of guests there were that night?
Aki and Spkinypinkie peering intently at the lists
The ladies striking one last pose before getting down to serious work!
All ready to receive the guests!
And while we were downstairs, Greenie was doing the final touch-up in the hotel room so that she would be the prettiest and the most radiant among all the people in the ballroom. =)
One last shot with Hello Kitty and Stitch before the first march-in!
The Chinese wedding dinner was almost like a secondary school-cum-JC reunion dinner. Having spent 4 years with Greenie in the same secondary school class and 2 more years in the same JC, it's no wonder that I know about 90% of all the ex-classmates whom she invited.
Zhongxi and Kenneth
Iggy, Wayne and Wee Meng
Spinkypinkie, XY and BeliefinLife (again)
Kang Liang and Aki
Kang Liang, Shi Yan and Qin Qin
While the guests were happily tucking into the dishes, the couple went up to change into their 2nd set of wedding costumes for the night to get ready for my most-feared event of the night – the toasting ceremony. For most weddings, I usually would just mouth the word 'YAM' without producing any sound while the people around me scream their lungs out for all they want. But this time round, since I'm the one leading, I have no choice but to shout like crazy into the microphone. =P
The 2nd march-in
The newly-weds doing the cross-toast
The relatives and friends are all on stage, ready for the toasting!
While the couple went round to take pictures with the various guests, we also took a few more group photos to commemorate the event.
One last shot before we adjourned to somewhere else for more drinks, while the couple spent their precious wedding night together. 春宵一刻值千金哦!
It's been a long time since so many of us last got together. Even so, not everyone in the group turned up that night. I guess that's part and parcel of growing up. Priorities change along the way, it can't be helped. I just hope the group can remain like this for a few more decades to come.
At last. Went down for the first training session this morning after all the contemplation for the past few weeks. Today was a joint training with the guys from HDB, since our coach couldn't make it. There were also 3 others from NHG who joined us. And one of them is a girl! Hehe.
Anyhow, I finally got to learn the proper technique of the sport today! I always thought it was very simple, but apparently it's not. Haha. Despite the 2-hour session, I'm still not doing certain motions correctly. =( But I guess it comes with practice ba... Otherwise, it's really quite fun and shiok to get drenched in seawater (and sweat), especially when the weather is so hot nowadays. It feels so much cooler when you're constantly splashed with water, even though the sun may be blazing right above your head. Heh.
I'm as red as a lobster now, all thanks to the sun damage on the exposed areas. And on top of that, I sustained a nasty abrasion on my right buttock crease. *Ouch*
One thing I learnt today, is to not judge the strength and endurance of a person based on his age and external appearance alone. I think I'm one of the youngest over there, but I'm also one of the earliest to 'die'. -_- The mean age of the HDB people may be between late thirties and forties, but they can last so much longer than me! Hopefully with more practice, my endurance can become better. Looking forward to the next training! =)
I realise I had forgotten entirely to post an entry about my experience at 抢摊大行动, until I was clearing the pictures from my handphone.
If any of you reading this has been following the show religiously, you might have caught me in a scene or two (one of my friends did SMS me after one of the episodes haha). I was down at the 试吃大会 for 3 of the stalls that they 'saved' (the Japanese food stall in Bedok, the muffin stall in Tanjong Pagar and the barbecued seafood stall in Tampines). All in all, it was quite a memorable experience to taste the food (post-抢救) and give my comments. Hehe.
钟琴 and 权怡凤 are seriously 2 nutty hosts who know how to warm up the audience. Anyhow, I was interviewed by the 2 of them during the filming for one of the stalls, but that segment wasn't aired. -_- But it feels good to hear them saying I speak 标准华语! Lol. They thought I was a part-time DJ or 新闻主播. How I wished I really was with Y.E.S. 93.3 la...
Anyhow, in case you feel hungry, here are the addresses of the 3 stalls: 1) Japanese food: Blk 16 Bedok South Road #01-195 2) Muffins: Amoy Street Food Centre #02-134 3) BBQ seafood: Blk 137 Tampines St 11 #01-26
Happened to see this pamphlet while I was at Vivocity just now... I don't think I'd know any of the juniors there anymore, but seeing the words "Symphony of Voices" still brings back fond memories... =)
P.S. Notice the lone male alto/soprano. Hehe. Leave a comment
I have a friend who teaches GP at one of the more renowned JCs in Singapore. We were having dinner together a few days back when she recounted a particular conversation among a group of teachers that she overheard in school.
The results for the 2007 A Level examinations were released on Friday afternoon. Her school did well overall (as usual), but for GP, 13 of last year's cohort did not make it. That was a significant number, considering her school typically has been achieving 100% pass in GP for the past years. And furthermore, these students were the very first batch in the integrated programme. i.e. They do not possess any O Level certification.
Upon knowledge of the results, some of the other GP tutors around her commented, "I hope they are not from my class!" She was shocked and disgusted with them when she heard the remarks they made. What made her so disappointed with the school was not the poor performance of the 13 students, but the irresponsible response from her fellow colleagues.
Did they even consider how the 13 students would feel? Have the students just become "another batch" of the many that they have educated? Is performance bonus everything?
I am very sure that comment wouldn't be my first response to the piece of news.
This is a very old Chinese song, previously sung by 叶欢. Got to hear the song over the radio twice this week, the first time by the original singer herself, and the second time by Z Chen. Aren't the lyrics sweet? I wish I wish...
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