Labels: Class outing
Posted at 7:39 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Reunion dinner Posted at 3:12 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Chingay Posted at 9:32 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Reunion dinner Posted at 10:24 PM,
Labels: Birthday Posted at 9:06 PM,
Labels: RSP Posted at 7:57 PM,
Labels: Scouts Posted at 2:17 PM,
Labels: Awards Posted at 9:18 PM,
Posted at 3:54 PM,
For Grading: Reunion dinner - 2
There's really only one word describing today's food: Ambrosial.
It simply means food that is extremely delicious, or another meaning would be that something that is so wonderful that it simply is worthy of the gods. Both are equally apt, as you'll find out later.
Seriously, today's food was fantastic. Actually, the title above that says Reunion "Dinner" is somewhat of a misnomer. Because we were actually quite busy on Saturday night, we decided to have a Reunion lunch. Of course, it wasn't any less tasty than it would have been.
As you can see from the image above, my family went to this place called Peach Garden at OCBC towers. It's some bank building *roll eyes* located near the Asian Civilizations Museum and Fullerton Hotel. The restaurant is really high up and when you're standing in the elevator your ears start to pop.
So yeah, enough of the photos, you must be wondering what we ate. Well, before that, let me introduce the surroundings. Obviously, when something's on the 33rd floor you expect it to have a view of some kind. Normally, we'd have a special room all to ourselves with a telescope in it, but unfortunately the restaurant management obviously needs to make money so they converted the special room into a mass seating area. We got a smaller room, but hey, it's a ROOM.
Yeah. So you must really be wondering what I ate already. You know, I've probably been spamming photos more than anything, so I'll post a photo of the menu!
As you can see, they specially create a menu for you when you order so it's easier than scanning an intensive menu and not remembering what you're going to eat after you've placed your order.
Okay, now on to the food. As you know, the Chinese always eat something called "Yu Sheng" for Chinese New Year, which is basically some thinly sliced carrots and assorted vegetables and whatnot, mixed with many ingredients such as a special sauce and some nuts. This particular variation of ours also had some abalone and salmon mixed in, and basically the legend or story goes that the higher you toss it while mixing, the better your fortune would be. Of course, this results in everyone trying to toss it higher and higher and in the end the whole table gets messed up. As you can see they were tossing so quickly that it was hard to take a photo in the first place.
We have to chant some "prosperous" words and since my cousin's mandarin standard is roughly the same as mine, we both just said some vague stuff and the best part was when we looked at each other and we were like, "Let's just say "random Chinese phrase!" because we don't know anything else!". Literally, that's what we said. :)
After that came the Chicken(Peking Duck for the elders), which was largely delicious and would have been as uneventful as any other dish except for the fact that my cousin Andrew just stole an entire drumstick for himself and it was seriously funny watching him relish(or was it ravage) the drumstick. The chicken was actually quite tender, as in the "Melt in your mouth" tender, it was also very full of juice, and yeah. I think you get what I mean by now.
Andrew's already in Primary One this year, but lamentably he's still quite childish. One of the highlights of the meal was when he came up with this sentence: "Yoda didn't have a lightsaber because Yoda was a puppet until he changed into a computer". Seriously. I have NO idea what he was talking about.
Moving on, next was the shark's fin. Now normally shark's fin is something that's quite colorless and all, however this one was orange-ish because of the fish roe they put inside. It was quite fishy somehow, so I and my cousin Kevin spammed soy sauce. Other than the fishy taste it was actually quite tasty and the consistency and texture was remarkable. It's kind of an insult to the chef, I know, but I don't think he would prefer that I threw it away! Maybe it was just our taste buds, because when I looked at everyone else it was possible to see that they all relished it.
There were other dishes such as the fish and the fried rice which were equally tasty but by that time I was almost gorged full and basically I was too lazy to take photos, but I assure you that the dishes were of the same standard and consistency throughout. The desert was a coconut with jelly and the juice inside. Of course, cold deserts are always one of the best and it was a satisfying conclusion to the meal.
So yeah, it was really a great time to catch up with family again, and seriously a private room helps a lot because the place was actually quite crowded. The food was also pristine and really fantastic. There was a lot of effort put into the dishes and the presentation. You might think I'm dressing it up just because of the atmosphere and all, but they actually carve the Peking duck in front of you and you can see the skill required. Also, all the staff also wear Qipaos(Chinese traditional dress) or designer suits.
Back to the point about family discussion, I was talking to Kevin about how hard it was to cope with siblings and he commented that actually I was quite lucky with no siblings. Also, we were discussing how RI(Raffles Institution) makes psychology a compulsory subject for its students and so it was a really enlightening conversation. We discussed the different subject combinations and how the learning environment was different in each school, but in the end we agreed that we were genuinely enjoying our stay in our respective schools.
Not only is Chinese New Year a great time for get-togethers, you also learn a little about things going on around you like for example the example above, and you also get to reminisce a little. I and my cousin used to play Pokemon cards together a lot but we grew out of it and he passed his cards on down to his brother. Of course, being the evil brother he is, he passed the fake cards down to his brother xD
After lunch, we went for a stroll around the scenic area at the Singapore River. Just outside the OCBC towers, there was this interesting sculpture. Of course, my two young cousins had anything but fine art on their minds. Rather, they were more interested in the water flowing around it...
See the wet footprints? That's because Jennifer(That's my cousin by the way) stepped into the water and then ran up and down the pathway. I guess she had a lot of fun...although in this photo she looks rather scared of the sculpture, I have no idea why. In the background, you can see Andrew frolicking in the meadows(A concrete one, by the way).
All in all, it was a rather exciting day where I could bond and meet up with my family again, and also learn a little more about each other's likes and dislikes and of course more about their personality itself. I suppose the fellowship is one of the key components that make up a celebration, isn't it? It isn't really about the treats or even the red packets. It's about family and the conviviality of it all. Everything else is just an outlet to augment the true spirit of togetherness.
On that note, let me take this opportunity to wish you guys Happy CNY :D
Sunday, January 25, 2009
For Grading: Chingay Practice Session.
Today, I went for the Chingay Practice Session at the People's Association building at Kallang. Now if you're asking what's Chingay all about, basically it's like a festival with float processions held somewhere during new year. Originally it was only for foreigners but in recent years they have opened it up to the general public.
Now my role was to be situated at the grandstand and give out gifts and goodie bags to the guests seated directly above the VIPs. Now, you may be thinking "Wow cool you get to be near the president, ministers and all the other important people!"Well, the bad news is, you have to sing some S club 7 song(Reach for the sky) while you're at it! Not so enviable now, right?
Before I jump the gun any further, let me take this opportunity to just start from the beginning. Now, a minimum of two volunteers were supposed to attend the briefing, but due to unforseen circumstances I ended up going alone. So sad.
Some photos of us looking stunned. There were some administrative problems so we ended up waiting there for what felt like over an hour before things started.
This is the inside of the auditorium. In the auditorium, we were supposed to practice the abovementioned themesong and also we were briefed on what it was all about. In brief, the Victorians were part of the Heart contingent and we were supposed to give out gifts. The song practice session was really funny because we were made to do funny vocal exercises and the lyrics sounded like they were written by a six year old. The lyrics were really puerile and they went like:
"And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true"
Amazing. They also got the cub scouts to sing and dance, and some of them in particular looked very enthusiastic and indefatigable.
So after our briefing dinner was provided. It was actually quite okay with a variety of "dishes " such as wonton, some fish fillet, satay chicken and vegetables. Although some people were saying it was worse than army food...which to me isn't really saying a lot because army food is supposed to be of a rather acceptable standard now anyway.
Eventually we started to sort of rehearse our roles, so the float naturally floated(pun intended) past us, and we had to sing the cheesy theme song while the people tailgating the float had to dance along to High School Musical.
Just some photos of our amazing float. Here's a video to prove exactly what I mean. It's actually quite colorful and all, and it's actually quite intimidating.
Oh and by the way, did you guys ever see a float reversing before? It's really kind of interesting because it's hard to imagine such a gargantuan thing actually being able to go backwards. It was going backwards because we ran though the procedure twice so it was like rewinding a video several times. Bet you guys have never seen this before!
So all in all, it was a rather interesting rehearsal, but it was boring at the start because I don't think you would really enjoy singing lyrics like those. Also, we went home at 8.30pm, but it could have been a lot later without the intervention of Mr Tan who was there actually... I mean 2 hours of just singing that song can really numb your senses. But it is a good experience, and I don't regret coming for the practice even though no one from the class did. We formed a sort of MRT gang and we just sort of clicked, bound together by our one true purpose. To get home unscathed, to emerge alive through the hustle and bustle of the streets of Geylang.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Not for Grading: Reunion Dinner ONE
It was a rather enjoyable day today, and as you can guess from the title of this post, today I had the annual reunion dinner with my father's side of the family. That's why it's called Reunion Dinner ONE. I'm expecting a second one next week.
My father's side of the family are devout vegetarians, so unsurprisingly, with the recent economic downturn and all, we went for a vegetarian buffet! Now you may be wondering, if the daily queue at the vegetarian store in school is anything to go by, WHO in the right frame of mind would go for a vegetarian buffet? Well, it was with trepidation that I stepped into the restaurant, although my impressions would soon change, as you can find out later =D
A picture of the facade of the restaurant. It was actually quite pleasant, and I think that assuaged the culture shock I got at the idea of a vegetarian buffet.
When I went in, I was actually very surprised at the number of people seated comfortably, and I was soon to discover for myself the reason. When I was at the buffet table, I was instantly surprised at the large variety of dishes that they served, and some of them looked just as tasty, or even more appetizing then their meaty counterparts. For example, the Siew Mai(A yellow dumpling) was very juicy, and the difference in taste was very subtle. There was also a very aromatic Chicken rice, various dumplings, a pot pie, and other exciting dishes.
As you know, it's quite awkward to be standing in the middle of a crowd and trying to snap a few photographs with everyone bustling around you trying to pick the choicest food. So I apologize if any of the photos are substandard( excuses, excuses =D)
So anyway, I found myself having a whole different idea of vegetarian food. Actually the chief dislike I have of vegetarian food is the concept of mock meat. I honestly feel that vegetarian food is actually quite well off without the gluten mockery of meat. Back to the topic, as you probably can tell from this paragraph, I'm quite an avid fan of meat, but in the comfortable settings and wide variety of food, I felt equally at home as I would have felt at any other buffet.
Oh, did I mention that I had this gigantic ulcer? Well of course those who've had ulcers at some point in their lives(I think everyone would have at least one) would know how unbearable the pain can be at times, especially when you have one located right at your gums and your teeth grind against the ulcer all the time when you're chewing. As you can probably tell, it hurt a lot. Surprisingly though, the food was actually good enough to make me forget the ulcer. For which the food would have to be IMMENSLY tasty in order to achieve that.
Of course, all this talk might make me sound gluttony, after all, the real point of the reunion dinner is to catch up with family. My uncle was also very animated when he saw us coming up with unusual combinations of food, such as putting ice cream into a cup of coke to get Do-It-Yourself coke float! Everyone was also laughing heartily at each other's jokes and enjoying the food, and so with everyone else in the restaurant doing the same, it was a great place to be in with the lively atmosphere. So yeah, I caught up with some cousins of mine, said hi to my grandmother, and best of all, received my red packets xD Only joking, I'm not that much of a money face.
Back to buffet, it was actually quite crowded, so I regularly had people bumping into me as they tried to get to their seats with their plates full of food. Of course, no one in their right minds would actually volunteer to get blessed with plates full of sauce and noodles and God knows what else, so I respectfully gave way, although sometimes my courtesy was returned with people stepping on my foot as they walked past. I was actually quite tempted to comment on their bodily proportions, but then I decided, well, maybe not. After all, I didn't want the mood to get spoilt.
One of the more interesting highlights was the spoon which I got for my ice cream. It was bent and it was actually quite funny trying to eat ice cream with a L-shaped spoon.
The meal was actually quite filling, as you know gluten is very filling, so after about an hour or so of eating we were quite ready to go.
And so the reunion dinner was actually quite an exposure. It was also a great time to meet up with family. I mean, isn't the family spirit one of the intrinsic aspects of a celebration? Maybe I wasn't able to highlight the family spirit so much, I mean it's something you can only really experience for yourself, don't you agree? Of course, I've tried to the best of my ability, so let's just all soak in the experience of the new year and get into the festive mood(and food!).
One thing I'm sure of, I'm joining the vegetarian queue =D I'm still a carnivore though, so don't worry!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
For Grading: A VERY special day
On the 12th of January, it was a very special day for me. Of course, it's not the day I got married, but it's close enough.
MY BIRTHDAY!
Yeah. I'm a good year older now, and probably a good year wiser. On second thoughts, maybe not. So anyway, 12th of January was an ordinary school day, so that part isn't really something you'd want to look at. It's the part in the evening that's exciting.
My family and I have a proclivity for Japanese or Chinese food, so today, we decided to go to Bugis Junction to eat at Ministry of Food @ My Izakaya (MOF). It's mainly mainstream Japanese food, with sushi, ramen, udon, bento boxes and the like.
Before that, I went to Converse and bought myself a T-shirt. I had $20 worth of vouchers from my last trip there, and since they were going to expire soon, it was naturally a perfect way to spend them.
I'm not going to reveal what it looks like just yet, so that my readers will gladly read on about my day until the end. Alternatively, you could always just scroll down to the bottom, but what would be the fun in that?
Back to MOF, well I had something called Tan-Tan ramen. Sounds like sir, don't you think :D Just joking. It's basically a spicy ramen with some kind of meat inside, I can't really remember. I think it was either chicken or pork. Pardon the horrible memory :X
Yeah. As you can see the broth's kind of oily and all, but it was really delicious and actually quite light, and the spiciness of the broth added the "zing" to the otherwise pretty prosaic noodles. I then ordered this ice cream desert called "Kakigori". It's Japanese crushed ice, much like ice kachang except that there's only one variety of topping you can pick. I chose mango. The very unique thing is that they come with small bottle of sauce which you can just put onto your Kakigori in case you find it too bland for your liking. Of course, the sauce is really sweet and so you are advised to use with caution.
There's a small piece of paper behind the bottle of sauce, basically what that is is a little explanatory note, which I think is one of the finer points of MOF, and really an indication of the kind of unparagoned service they provide. It explains what Kakigori actually is, and what the sauce is, in case you didn't know.
So after that I went home to a surprise: The mango cake that my mom had bought earlier :D
As you might already know, I'm so crazy about mango that if you notice my ice cream was mango too XD
All in all, it was a rather enjoyable 14th birthday, with a nice meal with my family. I think what really matters is that you're with your family, because that's what makes a birthday so special. I don't think you would enjoy your birthdays the same if you had to buy the slice of cake on your own, squat in a corner and sing "happy birthday to me!"
So yeah, I guess I do have a lot of things to do now, so I'll just end off with a picture of the converse tee that you've all been waiting for!
Friday, January 16, 2009
For Grading: RSP Orientation
Today was a rather interesting day, which was the Regional Studies Program(RSP) orientation for the new secondary one students. Of course, we the pioneer batch didn't get one because well...we were the pioneer batch! And though we didn't really feel it, it's sort of a duty for the initiated to induct the uninitiated. Although there are many methods, like dunking people into the Eco Pond, we decided to do it the civilized way, after all, we're all gentlemen.
So it was up to us to make sure that the new Secondary one students had a more special introduction than us. We planned a very special lineup, starting with a little tour of the RSP room and the little "garden" outside on the balcony, and ending with Amazing Race: RSP version. I'll elaborate on that a little later, but for now, I'll put up some pictures of the tour.
I was in charge of the spice smelling station during the Amazing Race, so at the start I figured I'd contribute to the instruments introduction, seeing as I had a rough idea of how to play both sets of instruments, the Gamelan and the Arrumba respectively.
A picture of the Secondary One Students with me laughing heartily in the background, at what I can't remember.
Just a small picture of the garden in case anyone is interested.
So basically, since I had some free time before my job started with the Amazing Race, I decided I'd give Daniel Kong a helping hand in introducing the instruments. The Secondary Ones were very responsive, albeit a little cheeky. They gamely volunteered to try out some of the instruments and all in all I felt that "WOW" factor.
I'm really sorry, but I didn't take a photo of the spice smelling station. Basically, the game worked this way: I showed them 3 spices, and I asked them to smell them and I told them the name of it. Then I blind folded them and gave them the spice to smell and subsequently name. It was quite interesting to note that some of the secondary one students have really keen noses!
There were a whole lot of other stations including Bola Bekel(A version of five stones with seashells), Sepak Takraw, Gasing, Chapteh(Traditional games), Naming the instruments, Naming the plants(The garden DID come in handy!) and the Secondary One students really enjoyed it.
The day ended with the grand finale, the pièce de résistance . Ze xuan singing Bengawan Solo!
Let's watch a clip of Ze xuan serenading us with his Baritone voice!
Wasn't that just amazing? That smooth voice really launches you into the song and you inevitably find yourself cheering and applauding every time he gives you an opportunity to!
Honestly, humor aside(I thought that Ze Xuan put in his 100%), it's really laudable that everyone was willing to put up a good show just to tell the Secondary Ones that, hey, "RSP is FUN!". On hindsight, pulling this whole day into perspective, I think that honestly, it was a really incredible introduction to everything RSP related, and in a certain sense, the Victorian Spirit, how everyone is willing to contribute in their best capacity to make the whole event a gigantic success.
It just shows very plainly, that anyone can plan something that everyone enjoys as long as you believe in your cause and you put in your 110% :D
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Not for Grading:The first scout meeting
It was a rather interesting day today, reason being it was the first scout meeting of the year with the confirmed secondary one students who were interested to join scouts. There was quite a large number for a first meeting with about 13 attendees, as compared to my year's 7. Almost a 100% increase, which I guess is quite a good piece of news for Arrow Scout Troop =D
The two new arrivals to my patrol(A group of 8, in my case), Washington, were called Yip Ming and Jerald. They were from Tao Nan School. They were quite enthusiastic and eager to learn and generally I felt that they were quite a great pair of juniors...although a bit perverse, if I may call it that. Let's just leave things as they are. It can get quite disgusting. Anyhow, other than that everything was just fine.
Jerald
Yip Ming
So today we started off with physical training(PT) where we ran from School to Bedok Jetty and back. The Secondary 1 scouts were actually quite good at running and about 5 of them were leading the pack at the front. Of course, I'm not a bad runner myself( Wipe that smirk off your face :) ) and so I was running with them. Surprisingly, I wasn't as tired as I was before whenever we ran this route. I still relish the memories where everyone would start cursing the PT-in-charge whenever he took a right turn out of the school onto the zebra crossing to run down East Coast Park =D
After that was a rather fun game at the parade square called "Assassination All Stars". Basically it was a game where you had to capture the other patrol's "staff" at their base and carry it back to yours. You carried your scarf in your pocket, and if the opposing team managed to pull out your scarf you were "killed". You would then have to go back to your base and then you could go out again. As you know, scouts wear scarves as part of their uniform. So it was really a game of "Get the staff but don't get killed while you're at it". It could get pretty rough, with torn pants and minor bruises being the norm. I myself got some minor scratches because of the hard concrete floor and the nature of the game, but I guess it was pretty worth it, with the learning objectives being strategic thinking and teamwork.
After that we had our various lectures and tests for the different components on our Scout Standard. The Scout Standard is the most basic progress badge for scouts. It requires a certain proficiency in First aid, Knots, Foot drill, Map work, National loyalty and other aspects.
As a group of the Secondary 1 scouts, including myself, had already passed, we were tasked to build a rope ladder using the knots we already knew. It was also actually partially due to a talkative scout mate, Fabian, who suggested to the scout leader that we build a ladder. As such, we had a 10 minute limit, and for any knots tied wrongly or for any extra time we took, we were given 10 push ups for each "offense".
We had tied one knot at the top of the ladder wrongly, and we were also late by a minute. As such, we had to do 20 push ups. However, it was quite fun as we obviously enjoyed ourselves. It was a practical application for the knots we had already learnt, and besides, you do have to know how to tie the knots in a practical setting, rather than just knowing how to tie them without a clue as to their real use.
After building the ladder, we were made to play a game of soccer, albeit twisted almost beyond recognition. We were playing on all fours on the extremely rough ground and our goal posts were improvised with shoes and the monkey bars already there. It was also pretty easy to get tackled as we were all on our hands.
All in all, I felt that it was a rather interesting scout meeting and that it was a good introduction to scouting for the new Secondary 1 recruits. They witnessed the scouting spirit for themselves when they saw us doing the Arrow Yell, and in some sense they also saw the Victorian Spirit. There was plenty of opportunity for interaction, and I also learnt that even though in theory, some things might be easy, but in real life, it could be vastly different. It's one thing to learn textbook knowledge, but a different thing altogether to put it in practice.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Not for Grading: Edusave award.
Today was a rather interesting day. It was the day where I went to the Bedok Community Center to receive my Edusave Scholarship. It's a cash award given out to encourage the top 10% of each school's cohort to continue to strive for better results and also to keep up the effort.
When I arrived, I hardly saw anyone I knew, surprisingly. I think it's because most Victorians stay around the Marine Parade area and not Bedok. When I was in primary school, I thought it was natural not to know anyone since my school was located in Tampines. It was unsettling because I predicted that with no one I knew, it would be a long and ardous journey... filled with waiting.
We were supposed to report at 7pm, while the ceremony would start at 7.45pm. Of course, you might be asking yourself, "What exactly did you do for almost an hour?". The more seasoned people were reading books, obviously used to the monotonous atmosphere. This being only my first receiving it, I wasn't as "experienced" and I could only stare at my hand phone and play with my games or send messages to my friends.
Before that though, there was something very interesting that happened. The letter with information I received indicated that my seat was A 00 49. However, I was looking around for it and I simply couldn't find it. Of course it was very embarrassing, especially when it appears that you cannot read the numbers on the seats. Eventually, someone on duty informed me that my seat was changed to C 00 49. Needless to say I was quite angry at being made a fool for nothing :(
A rather blurry photo of the stage.
Eventually, it was my turn to go up and receive my award. One of the things which could be improved, I felt, was the fact that no one really knew what to do. Do you bow towards the audience or don't you? For me I just decided, oh well, since everyone was bowing I'll just follow suit. I went up, shook the Guest of Honour's hand(Mr S. Jayakumar), went down, all in a matter of 10 seconds. It was a rather short lived moment of glory, but I guess it was good enough.
So yeah. It was a rather interesting process at the beginning, but towards the end it got rather boring as there were over 200 receipients. With the ardous droning of the emcee it was a bit too much to bear, asnd especially since he had already mispronounced my name at the beginning, it was bit hard to get endeared to his voice. When they finally announced that we could go home, I quickly put my certificate into my bag and rushed home. :D
Moral of the story: Always pack a book when you know something's going to be long and boring. Since everyone's crazy about twilight now, maybe picking it up isn't a bad choice. :) It's not really a moral per se, but considering that it was just one long award ceremony I think it's not so bad to be able to pick something out from it.
One last photo:
I censored the amount just in case people start thinking I'm rich and all. XD
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hello world xD. This is the blog's testing post. all the REAL action is at: www.longyetshort.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Labels: Class outing
Posted at 7:39 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Reunion dinner Posted at 3:12 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Chingay Posted at 9:32 PM,
Labels: chinese new year, Reunion dinner Posted at 10:24 PM,
Labels: Birthday Posted at 9:06 PM,
Labels: RSP Posted at 7:57 PM,
Labels: Scouts Posted at 2:17 PM,
Labels: Awards Posted at 9:18 PM,
Posted at 3:54 PM,
For Grading: Reunion dinner - 2
There's really only one word describing today's food: Ambrosial.
It simply means food that is extremely delicious, or another meaning would be that something that is so wonderful that it simply is worthy of the gods. Both are equally apt, as you'll find out later.
Seriously, today's food was fantastic. Actually, the title above that says Reunion "Dinner" is somewhat of a misnomer. Because we were actually quite busy on Saturday night, we decided to have a Reunion lunch. Of course, it wasn't any less tasty than it would have been.
As you can see from the image above, my family went to this place called Peach Garden at OCBC towers. It's some bank building *roll eyes* located near the Asian Civilizations Museum and Fullerton Hotel. The restaurant is really high up and when you're standing in the elevator your ears start to pop.
So yeah, enough of the photos, you must be wondering what we ate. Well, before that, let me introduce the surroundings. Obviously, when something's on the 33rd floor you expect it to have a view of some kind. Normally, we'd have a special room all to ourselves with a telescope in it, but unfortunately the restaurant management obviously needs to make money so they converted the special room into a mass seating area. We got a smaller room, but hey, it's a ROOM.
Yeah. So you must really be wondering what I ate already. You know, I've probably been spamming photos more than anything, so I'll post a photo of the menu!
As you can see, they specially create a menu for you when you order so it's easier than scanning an intensive menu and not remembering what you're going to eat after you've placed your order.
Okay, now on to the food. As you know, the Chinese always eat something called "Yu Sheng" for Chinese New Year, which is basically some thinly sliced carrots and assorted vegetables and whatnot, mixed with many ingredients such as a special sauce and some nuts. This particular variation of ours also had some abalone and salmon mixed in, and basically the legend or story goes that the higher you toss it while mixing, the better your fortune would be. Of course, this results in everyone trying to toss it higher and higher and in the end the whole table gets messed up. As you can see they were tossing so quickly that it was hard to take a photo in the first place.
We have to chant some "prosperous" words and since my cousin's mandarin standard is roughly the same as mine, we both just said some vague stuff and the best part was when we looked at each other and we were like, "Let's just say "random Chinese phrase!" because we don't know anything else!". Literally, that's what we said. :)
After that came the Chicken(Peking Duck for the elders), which was largely delicious and would have been as uneventful as any other dish except for the fact that my cousin Andrew just stole an entire drumstick for himself and it was seriously funny watching him relish(or was it ravage) the drumstick. The chicken was actually quite tender, as in the "Melt in your mouth" tender, it was also very full of juice, and yeah. I think you get what I mean by now.
Andrew's already in Primary One this year, but lamentably he's still quite childish. One of the highlights of the meal was when he came up with this sentence: "Yoda didn't have a lightsaber because Yoda was a puppet until he changed into a computer". Seriously. I have NO idea what he was talking about.
Moving on, next was the shark's fin. Now normally shark's fin is something that's quite colorless and all, however this one was orange-ish because of the fish roe they put inside. It was quite fishy somehow, so I and my cousin Kevin spammed soy sauce. Other than the fishy taste it was actually quite tasty and the consistency and texture was remarkable. It's kind of an insult to the chef, I know, but I don't think he would prefer that I threw it away! Maybe it was just our taste buds, because when I looked at everyone else it was possible to see that they all relished it.
There were other dishes such as the fish and the fried rice which were equally tasty but by that time I was almost gorged full and basically I was too lazy to take photos, but I assure you that the dishes were of the same standard and consistency throughout. The desert was a coconut with jelly and the juice inside. Of course, cold deserts are always one of the best and it was a satisfying conclusion to the meal.
So yeah, it was really a great time to catch up with family again, and seriously a private room helps a lot because the place was actually quite crowded. The food was also pristine and really fantastic. There was a lot of effort put into the dishes and the presentation. You might think I'm dressing it up just because of the atmosphere and all, but they actually carve the Peking duck in front of you and you can see the skill required. Also, all the staff also wear Qipaos(Chinese traditional dress) or designer suits.
Back to the point about family discussion, I was talking to Kevin about how hard it was to cope with siblings and he commented that actually I was quite lucky with no siblings. Also, we were discussing how RI(Raffles Institution) makes psychology a compulsory subject for its students and so it was a really enlightening conversation. We discussed the different subject combinations and how the learning environment was different in each school, but in the end we agreed that we were genuinely enjoying our stay in our respective schools.
Not only is Chinese New Year a great time for get-togethers, you also learn a little about things going on around you like for example the example above, and you also get to reminisce a little. I and my cousin used to play Pokemon cards together a lot but we grew out of it and he passed his cards on down to his brother. Of course, being the evil brother he is, he passed the fake cards down to his brother xD
After lunch, we went for a stroll around the scenic area at the Singapore River. Just outside the OCBC towers, there was this interesting sculpture. Of course, my two young cousins had anything but fine art on their minds. Rather, they were more interested in the water flowing around it...
See the wet footprints? That's because Jennifer(That's my cousin by the way) stepped into the water and then ran up and down the pathway. I guess she had a lot of fun...although in this photo she looks rather scared of the sculpture, I have no idea why. In the background, you can see Andrew frolicking in the meadows(A concrete one, by the way).
All in all, it was a rather exciting day where I could bond and meet up with my family again, and also learn a little more about each other's likes and dislikes and of course more about their personality itself. I suppose the fellowship is one of the key components that make up a celebration, isn't it? It isn't really about the treats or even the red packets. It's about family and the conviviality of it all. Everything else is just an outlet to augment the true spirit of togetherness.
On that note, let me take this opportunity to wish you guys Happy CNY :D
Sunday, January 25, 2009
For Grading: Chingay Practice Session.
Today, I went for the Chingay Practice Session at the People's Association building at Kallang. Now if you're asking what's Chingay all about, basically it's like a festival with float processions held somewhere during new year. Originally it was only for foreigners but in recent years they have opened it up to the general public.
Now my role was to be situated at the grandstand and give out gifts and goodie bags to the guests seated directly above the VIPs. Now, you may be thinking "Wow cool you get to be near the president, ministers and all the other important people!"Well, the bad news is, you have to sing some S club 7 song(Reach for the sky) while you're at it! Not so enviable now, right?
Before I jump the gun any further, let me take this opportunity to just start from the beginning. Now, a minimum of two volunteers were supposed to attend the briefing, but due to unforseen circumstances I ended up going alone. So sad.
Some photos of us looking stunned. There were some administrative problems so we ended up waiting there for what felt like over an hour before things started.
This is the inside of the auditorium. In the auditorium, we were supposed to practice the abovementioned themesong and also we were briefed on what it was all about. In brief, the Victorians were part of the Heart contingent and we were supposed to give out gifts. The song practice session was really funny because we were made to do funny vocal exercises and the lyrics sounded like they were written by a six year old. The lyrics were really puerile and they went like:
"And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true"
Amazing. They also got the cub scouts to sing and dance, and some of them in particular looked very enthusiastic and indefatigable.
So after our briefing dinner was provided. It was actually quite okay with a variety of "dishes " such as wonton, some fish fillet, satay chicken and vegetables. Although some people were saying it was worse than army food...which to me isn't really saying a lot because army food is supposed to be of a rather acceptable standard now anyway.
Eventually we started to sort of rehearse our roles, so the float naturally floated(pun intended) past us, and we had to sing the cheesy theme song while the people tailgating the float had to dance along to High School Musical.
Just some photos of our amazing float. Here's a video to prove exactly what I mean. It's actually quite colorful and all, and it's actually quite intimidating.
Oh and by the way, did you guys ever see a float reversing before? It's really kind of interesting because it's hard to imagine such a gargantuan thing actually being able to go backwards. It was going backwards because we ran though the procedure twice so it was like rewinding a video several times. Bet you guys have never seen this before!
So all in all, it was a rather interesting rehearsal, but it was boring at the start because I don't think you would really enjoy singing lyrics like those. Also, we went home at 8.30pm, but it could have been a lot later without the intervention of Mr Tan who was there actually... I mean 2 hours of just singing that song can really numb your senses. But it is a good experience, and I don't regret coming for the practice even though no one from the class did. We formed a sort of MRT gang and we just sort of clicked, bound together by our one true purpose. To get home unscathed, to emerge alive through the hustle and bustle of the streets of Geylang.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Not for Grading: Reunion Dinner ONE
It was a rather enjoyable day today, and as you can guess from the title of this post, today I had the annual reunion dinner with my father's side of the family. That's why it's called Reunion Dinner ONE. I'm expecting a second one next week.
My father's side of the family are devout vegetarians, so unsurprisingly, with the recent economic downturn and all, we went for a vegetarian buffet! Now you may be wondering, if the daily queue at the vegetarian store in school is anything to go by, WHO in the right frame of mind would go for a vegetarian buffet? Well, it was with trepidation that I stepped into the restaurant, although my impressions would soon change, as you can find out later =D
A picture of the facade of the restaurant. It was actually quite pleasant, and I think that assuaged the culture shock I got at the idea of a vegetarian buffet.
When I went in, I was actually very surprised at the number of people seated comfortably, and I was soon to discover for myself the reason. When I was at the buffet table, I was instantly surprised at the large variety of dishes that they served, and some of them looked just as tasty, or even more appetizing then their meaty counterparts. For example, the Siew Mai(A yellow dumpling) was very juicy, and the difference in taste was very subtle. There was also a very aromatic Chicken rice, various dumplings, a pot pie, and other exciting dishes.
As you know, it's quite awkward to be standing in the middle of a crowd and trying to snap a few photographs with everyone bustling around you trying to pick the choicest food. So I apologize if any of the photos are substandard( excuses, excuses =D)
So anyway, I found myself having a whole different idea of vegetarian food. Actually the chief dislike I have of vegetarian food is the concept of mock meat. I honestly feel that vegetarian food is actually quite well off without the gluten mockery of meat. Back to the topic, as you probably can tell from this paragraph, I'm quite an avid fan of meat, but in the comfortable settings and wide variety of food, I felt equally at home as I would have felt at any other buffet.
Oh, did I mention that I had this gigantic ulcer? Well of course those who've had ulcers at some point in their lives(I think everyone would have at least one) would know how unbearable the pain can be at times, especially when you have one located right at your gums and your teeth grind against the ulcer all the time when you're chewing. As you can probably tell, it hurt a lot. Surprisingly though, the food was actually good enough to make me forget the ulcer. For which the food would have to be IMMENSLY tasty in order to achieve that.
Of course, all this talk might make me sound gluttony, after all, the real point of the reunion dinner is to catch up with family. My uncle was also very animated when he saw us coming up with unusual combinations of food, such as putting ice cream into a cup of coke to get Do-It-Yourself coke float! Everyone was also laughing heartily at each other's jokes and enjoying the food, and so with everyone else in the restaurant doing the same, it was a great place to be in with the lively atmosphere. So yeah, I caught up with some cousins of mine, said hi to my grandmother, and best of all, received my red packets xD Only joking, I'm not that much of a money face.
Back to buffet, it was actually quite crowded, so I regularly had people bumping into me as they tried to get to their seats with their plates full of food. Of course, no one in their right minds would actually volunteer to get blessed with plates full of sauce and noodles and God knows what else, so I respectfully gave way, although sometimes my courtesy was returned with people stepping on my foot as they walked past. I was actually quite tempted to comment on their bodily proportions, but then I decided, well, maybe not. After all, I didn't want the mood to get spoilt.
One of the more interesting highlights was the spoon which I got for my ice cream. It was bent and it was actually quite funny trying to eat ice cream with a L-shaped spoon.
The meal was actually quite filling, as you know gluten is very filling, so after about an hour or so of eating we were quite ready to go.
And so the reunion dinner was actually quite an exposure. It was also a great time to meet up with family. I mean, isn't the family spirit one of the intrinsic aspects of a celebration? Maybe I wasn't able to highlight the family spirit so much, I mean it's something you can only really experience for yourself, don't you agree? Of course, I've tried to the best of my ability, so let's just all soak in the experience of the new year and get into the festive mood(and food!).
One thing I'm sure of, I'm joining the vegetarian queue =D I'm still a carnivore though, so don't worry!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
For Grading: A VERY special day
On the 12th of January, it was a very special day for me. Of course, it's not the day I got married, but it's close enough.
MY BIRTHDAY!
Yeah. I'm a good year older now, and probably a good year wiser. On second thoughts, maybe not. So anyway, 12th of January was an ordinary school day, so that part isn't really something you'd want to look at. It's the part in the evening that's exciting.
My family and I have a proclivity for Japanese or Chinese food, so today, we decided to go to Bugis Junction to eat at Ministry of Food @ My Izakaya (MOF). It's mainly mainstream Japanese food, with sushi, ramen, udon, bento boxes and the like.
Before that, I went to Converse and bought myself a T-shirt. I had $20 worth of vouchers from my last trip there, and since they were going to expire soon, it was naturally a perfect way to spend them.
I'm not going to reveal what it looks like just yet, so that my readers will gladly read on about my day until the end. Alternatively, you could always just scroll down to the bottom, but what would be the fun in that?
Back to MOF, well I had something called Tan-Tan ramen. Sounds like sir, don't you think :D Just joking. It's basically a spicy ramen with some kind of meat inside, I can't really remember. I think it was either chicken or pork. Pardon the horrible memory :X
Yeah. As you can see the broth's kind of oily and all, but it was really delicious and actually quite light, and the spiciness of the broth added the "zing" to the otherwise pretty prosaic noodles. I then ordered this ice cream desert called "Kakigori". It's Japanese crushed ice, much like ice kachang except that there's only one variety of topping you can pick. I chose mango. The very unique thing is that they come with small bottle of sauce which you can just put onto your Kakigori in case you find it too bland for your liking. Of course, the sauce is really sweet and so you are advised to use with caution.
There's a small piece of paper behind the bottle of sauce, basically what that is is a little explanatory note, which I think is one of the finer points of MOF, and really an indication of the kind of unparagoned service they provide. It explains what Kakigori actually is, and what the sauce is, in case you didn't know.
So after that I went home to a surprise: The mango cake that my mom had bought earlier :D
As you might already know, I'm so crazy about mango that if you notice my ice cream was mango too XD
All in all, it was a rather enjoyable 14th birthday, with a nice meal with my family. I think what really matters is that you're with your family, because that's what makes a birthday so special. I don't think you would enjoy your birthdays the same if you had to buy the slice of cake on your own, squat in a corner and sing "happy birthday to me!"
So yeah, I guess I do have a lot of things to do now, so I'll just end off with a picture of the converse tee that you've all been waiting for!
Friday, January 16, 2009
For Grading: RSP Orientation
Today was a rather interesting day, which was the Regional Studies Program(RSP) orientation for the new secondary one students. Of course, we the pioneer batch didn't get one because well...we were the pioneer batch! And though we didn't really feel it, it's sort of a duty for the initiated to induct the uninitiated. Although there are many methods, like dunking people into the Eco Pond, we decided to do it the civilized way, after all, we're all gentlemen.
So it was up to us to make sure that the new Secondary one students had a more special introduction than us. We planned a very special lineup, starting with a little tour of the RSP room and the little "garden" outside on the balcony, and ending with Amazing Race: RSP version. I'll elaborate on that a little later, but for now, I'll put up some pictures of the tour.
I was in charge of the spice smelling station during the Amazing Race, so at the start I figured I'd contribute to the instruments introduction, seeing as I had a rough idea of how to play both sets of instruments, the Gamelan and the Arrumba respectively.
A picture of the Secondary One Students with me laughing heartily in the background, at what I can't remember.
Just a small picture of the garden in case anyone is interested.
So basically, since I had some free time before my job started with the Amazing Race, I decided I'd give Daniel Kong a helping hand in introducing the instruments. The Secondary Ones were very responsive, albeit a little cheeky. They gamely volunteered to try out some of the instruments and all in all I felt that "WOW" factor.
I'm really sorry, but I didn't take a photo of the spice smelling station. Basically, the game worked this way: I showed them 3 spices, and I asked them to smell them and I told them the name of it. Then I blind folded them and gave them the spice to smell and subsequently name. It was quite interesting to note that some of the secondary one students have really keen noses!
There were a whole lot of other stations including Bola Bekel(A version of five stones with seashells), Sepak Takraw, Gasing, Chapteh(Traditional games), Naming the instruments, Naming the plants(The garden DID come in handy!) and the Secondary One students really enjoyed it.
The day ended with the grand finale, the pièce de résistance . Ze xuan singing Bengawan Solo!
Let's watch a clip of Ze xuan serenading us with his Baritone voice!
Wasn't that just amazing? That smooth voice really launches you into the song and you inevitably find yourself cheering and applauding every time he gives you an opportunity to!
Honestly, humor aside(I thought that Ze Xuan put in his 100%), it's really laudable that everyone was willing to put up a good show just to tell the Secondary Ones that, hey, "RSP is FUN!". On hindsight, pulling this whole day into perspective, I think that honestly, it was a really incredible introduction to everything RSP related, and in a certain sense, the Victorian Spirit, how everyone is willing to contribute in their best capacity to make the whole event a gigantic success.
It just shows very plainly, that anyone can plan something that everyone enjoys as long as you believe in your cause and you put in your 110% :D
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Not for Grading:The first scout meeting
It was a rather interesting day today, reason being it was the first scout meeting of the year with the confirmed secondary one students who were interested to join scouts. There was quite a large number for a first meeting with about 13 attendees, as compared to my year's 7. Almost a 100% increase, which I guess is quite a good piece of news for Arrow Scout Troop =D
The two new arrivals to my patrol(A group of 8, in my case), Washington, were called Yip Ming and Jerald. They were from Tao Nan School. They were quite enthusiastic and eager to learn and generally I felt that they were quite a great pair of juniors...although a bit perverse, if I may call it that. Let's just leave things as they are. It can get quite disgusting. Anyhow, other than that everything was just fine.
Jerald
Yip Ming
So today we started off with physical training(PT) where we ran from School to Bedok Jetty and back. The Secondary 1 scouts were actually quite good at running and about 5 of them were leading the pack at the front. Of course, I'm not a bad runner myself( Wipe that smirk off your face :) ) and so I was running with them. Surprisingly, I wasn't as tired as I was before whenever we ran this route. I still relish the memories where everyone would start cursing the PT-in-charge whenever he took a right turn out of the school onto the zebra crossing to run down East Coast Park =D
After that was a rather fun game at the parade square called "Assassination All Stars". Basically it was a game where you had to capture the other patrol's "staff" at their base and carry it back to yours. You carried your scarf in your pocket, and if the opposing team managed to pull out your scarf you were "killed". You would then have to go back to your base and then you could go out again. As you know, scouts wear scarves as part of their uniform. So it was really a game of "Get the staff but don't get killed while you're at it". It could get pretty rough, with torn pants and minor bruises being the norm. I myself got some minor scratches because of the hard concrete floor and the nature of the game, but I guess it was pretty worth it, with the learning objectives being strategic thinking and teamwork.
After that we had our various lectures and tests for the different components on our Scout Standard. The Scout Standard is the most basic progress badge for scouts. It requires a certain proficiency in First aid, Knots, Foot drill, Map work, National loyalty and other aspects.
As a group of the Secondary 1 scouts, including myself, had already passed, we were tasked to build a rope ladder using the knots we already knew. It was also actually partially due to a talkative scout mate, Fabian, who suggested to the scout leader that we build a ladder. As such, we had a 10 minute limit, and for any knots tied wrongly or for any extra time we took, we were given 10 push ups for each "offense".
We had tied one knot at the top of the ladder wrongly, and we were also late by a minute. As such, we had to do 20 push ups. However, it was quite fun as we obviously enjoyed ourselves. It was a practical application for the knots we had already learnt, and besides, you do have to know how to tie the knots in a practical setting, rather than just knowing how to tie them without a clue as to their real use.
After building the ladder, we were made to play a game of soccer, albeit twisted almost beyond recognition. We were playing on all fours on the extremely rough ground and our goal posts were improvised with shoes and the monkey bars already there. It was also pretty easy to get tackled as we were all on our hands.
All in all, I felt that it was a rather interesting scout meeting and that it was a good introduction to scouting for the new Secondary 1 recruits. They witnessed the scouting spirit for themselves when they saw us doing the Arrow Yell, and in some sense they also saw the Victorian Spirit. There was plenty of opportunity for interaction, and I also learnt that even though in theory, some things might be easy, but in real life, it could be vastly different. It's one thing to learn textbook knowledge, but a different thing altogether to put it in practice.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Not for Grading: Edusave award.
Today was a rather interesting day. It was the day where I went to the Bedok Community Center to receive my Edusave Scholarship. It's a cash award given out to encourage the top 10% of each school's cohort to continue to strive for better results and also to keep up the effort.
When I arrived, I hardly saw anyone I knew, surprisingly. I think it's because most Victorians stay around the Marine Parade area and not Bedok. When I was in primary school, I thought it was natural not to know anyone since my school was located in Tampines. It was unsettling because I predicted that with no one I knew, it would be a long and ardous journey... filled with waiting.
We were supposed to report at 7pm, while the ceremony would start at 7.45pm. Of course, you might be asking yourself, "What exactly did you do for almost an hour?". The more seasoned people were reading books, obviously used to the monotonous atmosphere. This being only my first receiving it, I wasn't as "experienced" and I could only stare at my hand phone and play with my games or send messages to my friends.
Before that though, there was something very interesting that happened. The letter with information I received indicated that my seat was A 00 49. However, I was looking around for it and I simply couldn't find it. Of course it was very embarrassing, especially when it appears that you cannot read the numbers on the seats. Eventually, someone on duty informed me that my seat was changed to C 00 49. Needless to say I was quite angry at being made a fool for nothing :(
A rather blurry photo of the stage.
Eventually, it was my turn to go up and receive my award. One of the things which could be improved, I felt, was the fact that no one really knew what to do. Do you bow towards the audience or don't you? For me I just decided, oh well, since everyone was bowing I'll just follow suit. I went up, shook the Guest of Honour's hand(Mr S. Jayakumar), went down, all in a matter of 10 seconds. It was a rather short lived moment of glory, but I guess it was good enough.
So yeah. It was a rather interesting process at the beginning, but towards the end it got rather boring as there were over 200 receipients. With the ardous droning of the emcee it was a bit too much to bear, asnd especially since he had already mispronounced my name at the beginning, it was bit hard to get endeared to his voice. When they finally announced that we could go home, I quickly put my certificate into my bag and rushed home. :D
Moral of the story: Always pack a book when you know something's going to be long and boring. Since everyone's crazy about twilight now, maybe picking it up isn't a bad choice. :) It's not really a moral per se, but considering that it was just one long award ceremony I think it's not so bad to be able to pick something out from it.
One last photo:
I censored the amount just in case people start thinking I'm rich and all. XD
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hello world xD. This is the blog's testing post. all the REAL action is at: www.longyetshort.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
