Here I am going to fire out the continued post from the previous previous post, finishing up for May.

For the reflections of my Hong Kong trip, please go to the previous post. Hong Kong was great! :)

A Busy Sunday

Yup Sunday that day was quite busy. I went to Church in the morning instead of the quieter evening service I usually go to, in order to free up time in the evening. I don�t like the 10.30am sanctuary service because it is crowded and the music isn�t that good. The evening service has this friendly unpretentious feeling. One also doesn�t have to compete for seats, and the pastors are more relaxed and well, less script-like. The 5pm also is way better in terms of the music. But recently I had to attend the morning services because I had a few things going on in the evening.

Highlighting

In the afternoon, Mum and I went to Uncle Morris (that�s how I address the hairdresser), to get a haircut. Mum wanted a haircut after all, and I went along to do what I had thought of doing for some time: highlighting my hair. I had been wondering a few months ago, what colour would I colour my hair if I would colour my hair? And Mum gave me the green light. Since I was there, I might as well get my hair trimmed too. Yes, I still have the same hairstyle I�ve been keeping for 2 years or so. I didn�t take a before/after photo, but you can see the photos of one day before and that same day �after� results on facebook.

Auntie May and Auntie Angela came to the salon to look for Mummy, trying to catch her while she was still in Singapore. Yes, the PTA gang is still going strong though the daughters have long left polkadot school. They went to Ya Kun Kaya to wait for us while we were still getting our hair done. Mum finished first and went to find them.
I must say I am very happy with my hair. Uncle Morris is very thoughtful. We chose medium copper so that it won�t be too obvious but still obvious enough. I want it to be seen (somewhat), but in formal situations, I can still pass off. He recommended that colour since I was a first timer. He says next time I can try two colours. (But then, I would have to go through treatment to condition the hair.) He also explained to me the difference between dyeing and bleaching: the former adds on colour while the other removes it. The dye contains conditioner so it is not so harmful for the hair compared to the latter which is quite harmful. The most thoughtful thing however is that he dyed the hair closest to my nape so that when my hair is tied up, one could see the colour there (underneath the ponytail), knowing that I tie up my hair during sports.

He dyed the two portions of hair next to my face to frame the face. I notice it is close to my eyes, so hopefully you�ll notice that I have brown eyes. XD (I like my brown eyes. I think they are unique. Well, not really that unique, but I�m the only one of the 4 of us children who inherited the brown eyes from my mum.)

I thanked Uncle Morris and went to find Mum and Aunties at Ya Kun where I had some rather sweet tea and French toast with Kaya. Yum.

SAF Central Band performance at Botanics

Soon after, Mum and I rushed home to pick MP and Lucky and from there rushed off to Botanical Gardens to attend Joel�s concert. He has been having a tiring schedule so (anyone) going down to support him would be an encouragement to him. When we arrived, the concert was in its first piece. We 3 settled down on a steep grass slope to the performers� left while Mum went to park the car (the car park was VERY full).

I was distracted by chatting, videoing, photographing, playing with Lucky, eating, and thinking. But I did listen to the music, though not as intently as I would usually do, and enjoyed myself very much. MP and I sang a bit for some of the songs we knew. I was quite ra-ra that evening, enthu-ly shouting �MAMBO!� for that segment of the West Side Story medley. Nice music, good company, and tasty snack, what more can I ask for?

Mum left to pick MT from church (who ask her not to wake up early and go to morning service?). MP moved down to the concrete �seats� around the lake with Lucky before Mum came so that Mum would have somewhere easy to sit. I preferred sitting on the slope because the view was better and it was more �fun�?
MT joined us at the last song before the encore item. The encore item was the boogie-ing piece from Austin Powers, the one with high pitched flutes whistling away(I don�t think they were piccolos.). We 3 got up and �boogied�, but the 2 of them were surprisingly rather un-enthu knowing that they like to dance. Maybe shy lah. MP and I sat back, and I did so in a falling motion, and landed on poor Lucky. Sorry doggie! Heheheheeahahahaa *laugh*

After the concert was over, we took Lucky on a walk one round the horseshoe loop to the other side of the stage where Joel was loading the truck. Joel told me he had seen me dance crazy until I fall. I�m champion. (haha ;D ) We all took a photo including the furry friend.
I was really happy at the end of the day. To make me even more happy, there was fish head noodles at home for dinner! Woohoo!
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That Sunday was Aldersgate Sunday. It was also Ascension Sunday, the Sunday closest to the day when Jesus ascended to heaven, according to the Christian calendar. The Methodists find Aldersgate Sunday important because on that Sunday, John Wesley, one of the founders of the denomination, was at Aldersgate (a place, and hence the name) when a famous Christian scholar Martin Luther�s certain document was being read out at that small group gathering Wesley didn�t want to attend initially, when Wesley realised that the truth and promises are God are for all people, including him. You know, sometimes when there is a speech or public and they say �you�, you think it�s for the general public but well, not directly you. But here, it IS so, God loves YOU, God saved YOU, God will never leave YOU nor abandon YOU. I want to claim these truths too and so that every part of me feels and agrees and believes and is rooted in the truth. It�s like believing in yourself, never doubting. I want the assurance of such a knowing.

Mei Poh�s Graduation

On the 26th May 2009 Tuesday morning, I woke up at an unusually early 6.30am in the morning. The last time I did so was when I had to go to school (or was it a late 7am?). I had my outfit planned and approved and modified the night before. (The first choice was not approved by my parents, saying it was ugly or looked like Mr. Bean (really, how does it look like Mr. Bean�s?)), and so did MP. We had our breakfast, and got on our way to Singapore Polytechnic�s Convention Centre. Gate 7 was specially opened for this occasion. Mum managed to get a ticket as a guest of SP, and Mei Poh managed to get two additional tickets from a friend whose parents could not make it. So Mama, Ye Ye, Daddy and I went. The poly restricted the distribution to 2 tickets per student and denied requests for extras as had been planned earlier because of the unforeseen A(H1N1) influenza (then still called Swine Flu). KM had been dressed in the morning � we found him in the living room already dressed up � thinking that he was going to the graduation ceremony too.

Mum dropped us off while she went to park her car. We were there early. We had our seats and I listened to some music to while away the time. MP was excited and went on her way. She chatted here and there. Mum�s former office colleague was there too, surprisingly. If I am not wrong, her nephew received an award, and she was his guest along with his mother. I hadn�t seen her for years. I also managed to catch the attention of my dear friend Michelle, who was my classmate in Primary 1 and Secondary 2 (gee I sound so formal here).

MP was the last one to go on stage that ceremony. She was an award recipient because of her jing cai grades. Furthermore, she�s the course medallist, meaning she topped her course. She was supposed to give the speech but blamed me for depriving her of sleep and therefore stumbling during the rehearsal etc., which led to the change in presenter. But she no longer has to worry about the political tweaking of the script any longer. She became backup speaker still.

Later I managed to find Michelle and gave her a hug and congratulated her. We took photos together. Mich wanted to find MP but the phone calls were to no avail � as expected of MP. Mich is already working and has no plans to further her education, so this graduation ceremony is very important as it would be her only one, as is the case for many of the graduands that day. Aren�t they happy with their gowns? :D

Later I found MP. We had a special air-con room for the award recipients� guests for the reception. Daddy didn�t want to eat that for lunch and instead took us but MP to RSYC nearby for a yummy lunch. I�m happy, I can�t complain since Daddy�s paying.
XF, my cousin later graduated at the evening ceremony.

Excited Happy MP has downloaded the webcast of the ceremony and spliced out portions of which she has uploaded onto facebook. Very happy, no?
In the afternoon, after lunch at home, our family including grandparents and dog went to Serangoon Broadway to do the photoshoot as well as return the gown. They have discounted packages for graduating students. The ladies at the place found Lucky very cute.

Mum insisted I do makeup so I did the absolute bare minimum � a light layer of foundation to tone down the redness and concealer for that red pimple on the forehead. I don�t like makeup because I don�t like the feeling on the skin. It�s not war paint you know, and I think I would look funny in it, especially given my dressing. I just don�t like it. So feminine. So girly. It�s like not being me. (Well, I would put on makeup if i really really really wanted to dress up, like i did for prom night � which turned out to be disaster considering some ppl aren�t experts, and I DID NOT put it on myself. The other case would be if i were on stage performing, as i did during school musical.) Plus, the woman who asked me if I wanted to put makeup, the one who would be doing the makeup, looked a bit scary with that makeup and hair. :|

The first photo was for all the family members, including Lucky who had a small table to sit on. The stools were adjustable height, adjusted by rotating the seat up and down the screw. They also used black wooden little platforms to stand on to make some people taller � ha ha, not me. The studio used a really old cartridge camera. SO COOL! They still use cartridge camera because they say the DSLRs cannot give the same quality as the old cameras. The photographer was a bit rough, using un-gently nudging/turning people to positions, including my grandfather, moving hands, and grabbing and pulling pushing the diffused lights. Yeye wasn�t comfortable because he was sitting in a position that was �so unnatural!� The photographer had a tambourine to catch Lucky�s attention to take the photos.

Lucky was scared by the sudden flashing of lights, like lightning, so he kept looking to hide his face in MP and MT, turning away from the camera. We later removed him from the picture and took photos without him. We could see Lucky hiding underneath the seat we tethered him to when the flashes went off. After several flashes, he got used to the flashing and probably understood there was nothing to fear about it. So during his photo with MP, he didn�t cower. Oh yes, during those photos I was behind the camera swinging his leash, calling him in a high-pitched voice, using the tambourine to attract his attention and Mum said I looked silly and that she should have taken a photo of me doing that. Haha :)

That evening, I skipped fencing and went out for a special dinner with our family to Asia Grand Restaurant. It used to be located at Hotel Asia, which has closed, and now moved to Odeon towers, were Supperclub is located as well (judging from the direction signs I saw). I saw the lobsters in the fish tanks near the entrance were HUGE. HUGE. HUGE.

Those in Daddy�s car were already seated at the table in a private room. Mum left later because she was having a meeting, and MP, Kevin and I sat in Mum�s car. The food was yummy. It was also the only time our family ate together the entire time mum was back in Sg. (I wore the same outfit the entire day. I was quite happy at the end of the day to change out of it and wash up. Oh, do you notice my highlighted hair in the photos? XD) Yes Mich, on CNY next year, I shall visit you and see your all-red-head!
I am very proud of MP. This was her day. She achieved more than I could ever achieve, and fulfilled my late grandmother�s wish which was �kao di yi ming!�, her wish for me which I don�t think I�ll be ever able to achieve. Will I have such a celebration like MP I don�t know. I don�t want to stress my grandparents in the photo studio again. Mum insists I take a studio photo like she did when she graduated. It was a happy time for her family because she and her elder brother, my uncle, graduated in the same year. The photograph even included her grandmother � whom obviously I never knew. Mum insists I take a solo portrait when I graduate. The rest, I think, I would do at botanical gardens or the beach or some picturesque outdoor place, and at home. Daylight looks beautiful on people and things, better than artificial light.

Congratulations MP, and all my friends who graduated from poly.

�Epic Fail/Mega Fail� outing

27th May 2009, Flo organised a fencing outing to Decoda�s cafe at Balmoral. I�ve never been there before � in fact I had never heard of it. Decoda�s is something like Minds Cafe. Flo was excited and so were most of the rest of us. (I walked there from home � it took me 20 minutes). When I got there I saw all of them coming up the escalator from the basement � the cafe there was closed on Wednesdays. So since there were no other entertainment within walking distance, we took a bus, planning to go to dhoby ghaut to watch a movie. However, Scotts road was quite jammed, even at Newton Circus, so we alighted at Lido. Later from the windows above from the building we saw that it was only Scotts road that was jammed because of one lane closed for construction of Ion orchard; orchard road wasn�t jammed. -_-"

We bought tickets for the 4pm show of Angels and Demons (yes, some of you are checking your eyes now) and waited for Freddy who was taking a taxi from SGH.
During the movie we shared a big tub of popcorn (I didn�t realise it would be that big). Nevikorn is cute!

The show was �clean� as said so in the media � they had removed the anti-Christian elements found in the book and revised and edited the movie a lot of times till it received clearance from the Vatican. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. The effects were good, the storyline was exciting especially with the twist, but it was obvious who could be the bad guys judging from the way the attention was given to characters and how the characters were portrayed � but the twist was really good.

After the movie Flo left, and the rest of us went to taka for dinner at the food basement. YJ asked Ivan for his opinion on Singapore�s politics, and wanted an answer from the political science student. We all listened to the 20minute or so lecture, understanding everything (or most of, in my case, since there are some theories I haven�t fully grasped yet, since I am no political science student), intrigued. Yes I agree with his views. Yes, I support PAP. Yes, we are a socialism country, not a full-democratic country. The Singaporean political system is not one that gives you, it provides the means for you to achieve what you want, like wealth and higher education; it is neither a nanny state nor a welfare one. A lot of brain food and new insight/or a refreshing if I have heard it before.

Saturday: Jumping Jacks

This was planned by Y2. His idea. On Saturday morning, we met at Bedok MRT station. I overestimated my time and arrived early. Now I know it takes one hour to travel to Bedok; not 1.5 hours. Conveniently for Jason, he stayed one MRT stop away � finally, something convenient for him. 4 of us: Yj, Jason, Celeste and I met first; Freddy joined us later. He had to turn back when he was in the taxi because he forgot either his socks or his shoes; then his family was going to the food expo so he hitched a ride. The 4 of first went to Macs, where Celeste showed us her special way of eating hashbrowns (which doesn�t taste that bad actually ^^ ). We then walked over and found the place and waited there for Freddy as the rain came and gone (ah yes, Freddy helped us avoid the rain).

When the sun was out, we rented the jumping jacks. One leg�s jumping jack is about 3kg � quite heavy. Fortunately for us, there was a promotion that allowed us to have a free lesson (instead of having to pay to learn how to use it). Within 10 minutes or more, all of us were up and about.

So we set off. At the start, we were hugging onto lampposts and trees to rest and regain our balance. Later on we became more familiar with the movements and didn�t need to hug that many poles nor trees. I was champion and fell down twice: first at the grass clearing when I stepped on uneven ground, then later at the open air convenience store where I missed a step. Freddy fell once when he stepped on a leaf. The rest didn�t fall. See, it�s quite safe. We were taught how to fall, and we had protective gear on. I fell because I was too adventurous, climbing that step, walking here and there. Heehee. Photos and videos from that day are up on facebook already. 2 hours in that thing was rather tiring. It�s the most tiring 100m to walk. It�s more tiring than walking normally.

I gave Yj and Freddy new names, or we gave, or they gave: Y1 (Freddy) and Y2 (Yj). Both of them have the same Chinese name. Both are from armour in the army too. So together, they are the Ybananas, after the Bananas in Pyjamas. Heehee.

We went to Parkway Parade cos I was looking for food, but didn�t get any in the end. We were tired and I wasn�t that hungry. Jason and Celeste left first. Y2 was getting a lift from Y1 and hence waited with him. I went to buy a guitar pick and capo first, and watched the children at Z-fencing a bit first before leaving for home. (ooo, i found a fast way to get home: 966). It was a fun day. :) Oh yes, I found out from my Hong Kong trip which I just returned from recently (24th June) that they use it at Stitch�s Hanging Loose parade at HK Disneyland. I think Y2 will want the mobility in the jumping jacks (which he is a fan of) that the dancers have. (They danced in it, with one �leg� on the ground and jumping � just see it in my video on facebook.) cool.

Global Day of Prayer

Sunday. Mum flew off back to Beijing that day. Daddy brought KM, MT and I off first, intending to drop off MT and I at expo, while Mummy was still meeting someone at home. Initially we used Mum�s car because it has a bigger boot, but Daddy sensed there was something wrong with the accelerator transmission � it was rather unresponsive. I thought it was just me when I drove the night before, when I had to take off my thick soled shoe and drive barefoot because I wasn�t feeling anything. Daddy immediately made his way back home and changed to his car.
MT and I reached expo early. We weren�t sure if we had gone to the right place because there weren�t obvious signs nor banners to the place. Later we decided we had found the right place, and Yh found us. We went in first (after the doors opened late) and MF arrived just before the event started. It was weird. I see those kids smaller than me. Yes, they are youth, 13 years old, averaging 15 or 16 years old. I am, what, nearly 20 then, I feel young, yet I am �old�? It�s a weird age to be at. (Anyway, MT says she can�t believe I�m 20, and thinks I�m more like 18 XD .)

The music was loud, there was lights, singing, rock music, impressive graphics screened � I do wonder if New Creation Church or City Harvest is like that ALL THE TIME. I would not be used to it, since I�m more accustomed to a quieter church, nothing flashy, nothing possibly pretentious. No glitz, no eye-catching stuff, no �show�. Hence I go for the not-crowded 5pm evening service at my church. I feel �it�s good to be home� that kind of feeling of relaxed and comfortable familiarity when I�m there.

Surprise surprise, Priscilla Lily Samuel, the girl who led Saints For Christ one year under me, and the daughter of the guest of honour for my college day, was one of the singers.

After the event, we went to have dinner at Crystal Jade la mian at Bugis. I caught up with my dear classmates MF and Yh, and found out and reminisced. Things like Jason giving up the soccer ball when I was charging for it at PE lesson, some memories I did not capture but they did, and though I couldn�t recall it, I could certainly imagine myself in that scene. It was nice catching up with them. Hahaha :)

Woo hoo, I reached the end for May�s posts. Still got some for June, and for my Hong Kong trip. What a backlog.