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Well, after such a new low, there's no other way but up! hahaFriday, November 30, 2007 Today i'm just gonna post some UPdates! haha.. Don't want to keep dwelling on the unhappy moments of life. Bottomline is i can't control what people feel about me. As long as i'm happy with myself and i have a clear conscience, i believe that's good enough. Anyway, thanks to all friends who knew about it AND consoled me some way or another. UPDATES NOW!!! Well, last friday was my camp's Open house and so it was great chance to actually take pictures in camp! haha Since i still can't freely bring cameras in (must seek permission beforehand which is so leh chey), photos were not taken by me/with my camera and as a result very few photos only. Not forgetting thst most of them don't cam-whore as much as Kenny and I do. haha... But still it's good that we can finally take some photos IN CAMP since usually the "NO CAMERAS" rule is imposed very strictly. Here there are!  I look good in this picture! haha  Finally get to see my bosses and other workers in the branch right... Too bad Maxim not there... haha It was actually quite pleasant day, considering we don't have to work and i picked up some new knowledge about our medical service. Well, there were quite a number of external booths selling different things like handphones, shoes etc but the best was the SINGPOST booth. They can make personalised stamps for you! haha... They took photos for us and it was made into USABLE stamps! Cool! hahah... But of course i would never send them out la... That'll be so weird - imagine your friend's reaction... EEE! WHY HIS FACE ON THE STAMP ONE!! haha But my camera very lousy la, so i can't take a clear shot of my tiny stamps haha so can't show you! haha Ok, moving on, I'm attending the MOVING ON party at library@orchard today! haha... Well, sure to tell you what happened there tomorrow! Another chance to cam-whore with Kenny! haha... Before you all forget, the library is REALLY REALLY closing today, 30 Nov 2007! You can check out more details at the library blog here. Well for "foreign readers" who chanced upon my blog from the library's blog, you can read my "official, official" entry for the library here, titled FOOTNOTES TO FAIRYTALES. Hope there'll be a fairytale ending for the library as well! haha... For easy reference, you can check out my sidebar under "citizen blogger library@orchard entries" for the whole series of "library" entries! Alright, that's all i have for today! PS: Well, don't worry i'm feeling MUCH better already. The little black clouds have slowly faded away and i'm seeing the sunlight again. Tomorrow will be a BRIGHTER DAY! music.city.soul || 11:27 PM || 0 comments
Hello, back after the weekends!Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Well, last sat i went out with the Fengalicious bunch to watch ENCHANTED!!! haha... This year i think i've wasted ALOT of money on movies la. But that can't be helped also since i'm boring boy and there's NOTHING (i mean NOTHING - no pool, dota or sports for me pls) my friends can do with me other than watch a movie together. Which also is kinda a sad thing cause you probably won't get to talk to your friend much during the movie outing. Well, at least now i can KBOX haha... But i'm seriously kinda sick of KBOX!!! I went kboxing TWO times in 7 days you know and both times were with my office friends who mostly like CHEENA songs. So right now i'm sick of chinese songs, sick of singing kbox, sick of my colleagues' singing (haha jk) and sick - the first time i went with a slight sore throat and the second with a recovering flu, so i'm still in the midst of recovery! argh... Ok, to be fair to my office friends, the second time was MUCH funner - all the screaming to WHAT I"VE DONE by Linkin Park and IT"S MY LIFE by Bon Jovi (mostly by small boy boy Joshie nevertheless - he's crazy i tell you haha) really liven the kboxing spirit in me haha. Which is good cause I think i'm slated to go for two more kboxing sessions with my good friends! Ok, let me come back to our "wonderfully enchanted" outing. Honestly i'm so lazy of reillustrating what happened haha... PLUS i'm a bad writer so i can't describe things well. All the years of narrative writing somehow didn't sink in i guess. haha. But, don't fret! I can always count on my trustworthy Kenny to blog about it haha.. It's here so go check it out. To be nice, i shall summarize for u: 1) we watched movie 2) walked around, shopped and almost dropped (dead) 3) finally reach Esplanade for dinner at Glutton's Bay, cam-whored and had a nice pleasant chat at the roof. But i'll still show you pictures we took! haha... FYI Pictures also not mine... (but can ALSO dpd on Kenny haha)  Don't want happy ending lor! make me feel sad everytime haha...  After the movie!  After dinner, we went to Esplanade for night shots! Well, moving on, I'm now thinking of what else i can do besides wasting my time everyday on Facebook and purely listening to music. Right now, i'm concentrating on finishing my other half of "Tuesdays with Morrie" haha... YES, I READ! haha.. But it's been a week and i'm JUST halfway through (re-reading again - STM remember? haha) Besides that, i'm trying to relight my passion for topics that interest me. Back in my college days, i slogged extremely hard for my General Paper, knowing that i'm lousy in english and not so much of a "arguer" (u get what i mean). I can write 6 essays during my June holidays and ask my teacher to assess them for me, and that's like 2 every week since the June holidays are around 3 weeks. I remember collecting all the newspaper articles that are useful and researching online for good sources of information just so i can produce quality essays - filled with good examples. But STILL, I ONLY MANAGED TO GET A PATHETIC B4. Even my gp teacher said B4 was not so good. Anyway (trying not to think about the ugly B4), even though it was tiring back then to research on the different topics, i actually like the process of learning about all the new knowledge i came across - things i would never have knew if i didn't do all the essays i did. And of course the sense of satisfaction i get when i complete my essay and EVEN better, the ECSTASY i feel when i get good grades for them (results mean everything to a mugger u know haha). But after graduation, i've become so uninterested in current news! To make matters worse, i'm even the VICE PRESIDENT for my CURRENT AFFAIRS CLUB la!!! OMG lor... i've degraded into an apathetic slacker! And of course, that is partly due to my dislike for reading. So since i'm STARTING to read, i hope (*fingerscrossed*) i can relight the passion for learning new knowledge! aha... OK, i'm so in the mood to publish my previous write-ups (last entry and now again...? haha) ! haha... Must be Kenny la... I know he doesn't want me to say this but two of his letters to his favourite magazine 8days got published la! And One of them is LETTER OF THE WEEK sia... Unlike me, Kenny got A2 for Gp and he's the publication's president so writing well comes naturally i think. I"m so jealous... SO to not lose out to him (haha)I SHALL DO THE SAME HERE! haha! Of course, the essay i'm going to publish (i'm sure it has some errors of some sort - argument, grammar, factual errors) is probably not even comparable to what some of you can write BUT WHO CARES!!! haha... Jk.. At least it's a piece of work i feel very satisfied with. Remember, it's JC standard. AJC standard. B4 standard. My standard. SO PLS DON"T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY ok.. haha Well so here it goes. For light-reading purposes, i chose something more interesting (but cliche ha.) So hope you enjoy reading it! haha.. RMB, don't give me marks for that ah! (i did i SO LONG ago......) ___________________________________________________________ Laughter is the best medicine. Discuss Three theories have been put forth for why we laugh. Firstly, in the incongruity theory, we laugh when logic and familiarity are replaced by things that don’t normally go together. Secondly, we laugh when we see someone’s mistakes, misfortunes or even stupidity. Thirdly, we laugh because it is a release from we tension we face in life. Laughter has been said to be a physiological response to humour. In many instances, it is claimed that laughter can relieve our health problems and reduce conflicts and hence is seen as the best medicine. However, if we delve deeper, we will find that laughter is actually only a form of temporary release and does not solve the serious health problems that we experience. Therefore, laughter is not the medicine. In Groucho Marx’s variant, "A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast". Recent medical research has increasingly confirmed the health benefits of laughter. One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter. Furthermore, a small study conducted by in Vanderbilt University found out that 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories. With a better health, it may also improve the general well-being of the person. The Laughter Clubs International is an organisation which has sprouted more than 400 affiliates in India with 50,000 members, most of whom meet in the early morning at public parks or apartment complexes for a 20-minute blend of mirthful laughter before going to work. After going through the laughter programme, members claim that it actually helps to reduce their migraine and other minor health problems. Hence, in this aspect, laughter may seem to be the best medicine. However, we must recognise that laughter alone cannot solve the serious illnesses like cancer that requires specific treatments like chemotherapy to eradicate the cancerous cells. While laughter may be able to eliminate minor health problems, laughter simply is not able to function as the best cure for serious illnesses. Yet, it does not mean that laughter is of no value when treating serious illnesses. It is claimed that optimism brought about by laughter does help in ensuring a speedy recovery. When a person’s spirits are lifted, it can improve his state of mind and thus lead to a faster recuperation. Hence, while laughter is not the best cure for health problems, it still has its significance in improving one’s health status. Besides improving one’s health, laughter also helps people to relieve their mental stress. By laughing, people seem to forget about their problems momentarily. After the September 11 incident, it was reported that TV ratings for situational comedies (or "sitcom" in short") such as Friends went up significantly. This showed that laughter may provide people with a form of temporary release and prevent them from developing depression. Hence, laughter may seem to be the best medicine to reduce one’s mental stress. However, this form of release is confined only to the short term. In the long term, laughter may not act as a cure but rather an ephemeral escape from one’s problems. Laughter in such an instance will only make the person avoid the realities of life and sooner or later, he may even be more disappointed since the problems may have aggravated. Hence, laughter would not be the best medicine. Instead, it would be better for one to face the music and concentrate on one’s problems and tackle them directly. In addition to relieving stress, laughter can also act as a good way to resolve conflicts and reduce tension. When we laugh, we tend to signal our desire to be part of the group, that we are comfortable with one another and that we can be open and free. This can improve the status of a person since he is seen as a friendly person. In embarrassing or threatening situations, laughter may seem like the best medicine as it can be a way of breaking the ice, effecting conciliation or deflecting anger. This could effectively help to resolve most arguments easily. Hence, laughter may seem to be the best medicine when dealing with threatening situations. However, laughter may be deemed inappropriate in formal discussions and meeting where a certain degree of solemnity needs to be observed. This is because serious decisions and discussions are being made and laughter would certainly not be the best way to enliven the mood. The person may be taken to be less serious about the work and this may put the person in the negative light. Hence, while laughter may be a good way to reduce tension, discretion needs to be practised as it may be inappropriate in formal events. Therefore, laughter is not the best medicine. In an ordinary day, laughter is called upon constantly. Friends, colleagues and family members invoke it to relieve stress while those in authority use it to reduce tension. Laughter may also have a positive effect on an individual’s health. However, we must also recognise that laughter is only a temporary release and is not the answer to the major illnesses we face. It may even be unsuitable during formal discussions. Thus, laughter is not the best medicine. We need to understand that while laughter is a good way to solve problems, we still need to face the realities of life when dealing with our problems. music.city.soul || 9:19 PM || 0 comments
Today's entry is actually a re-post. Last week when i went out with Maxim to Toa Payoh, we came across this christian shop and they were selling those inspirational bookmarks outside their stores which the both of us stopped to have a look. Well, while glacing through some of the bookmarks, i suddenly recalled something that happened to me back in 2004.Saturday, November 24, 2007 It is still a simple but touching moment to me till now. Anyway, after it happened to me, it somehow happened that i needed to do a speech assignment for English. And yes, that was the only that i felt strongly about at that point of time and i'm glad i chose to write about it - and not some boring and meaningless stuff. Well, i guess it touched my teacher the same way it did for me and my assignment was considered one of the best in the class. It came as a shocker to me back then because 1) i wasn't good at english - managing around a just pass C6 and mediocre B4, 2) i wasn't a particularly good student, at least during english since i like to speak singlish. Let me illustrate how shock i was. My teacher actually asked those who did well on the assignment to stand up. When she called "Joel", i wasn't like affected or anything because i automatically assumed she was calling the other Joel in my class who was more "englishly"-inclined. haha... Well, the other Joel also didn't stand and the other classmates muttered "which Joel?", which at that time i was still very sure it couldn't be me. I think my teacher heard them and thus, she said "Joel, SIM". HUH................ was my reaction, with my eyes wide open and mouth agape. I was too surprised (like my other classmates as well) that i somehow didn't want to stand up, thinking that this must all be some prank. But no, I was the "chosen one" haha. When she returned the assignment to me, her comments were "Simple but poignant". What i'm glad is that it was something that was totally right from my heart and i was credited for it. It's always great to know that people like you the way you(or at least my work) are. Well, below is the speech i wrote. Has anything similar happened to you before? (do share with me in "comments"!) Speech Good morning, Mrs. Yeo and fellow classmates, Today I am going to share with you one of the most significant events that had happened to me. To start off, I am certain that most of you love to receive gifts on your birthday or Valentines Day. But what if you receive a surprise gift? And I don’t mean those prank “gifts” you probably got from your friends. I am referring to the sincere gifts given to you for a special purpose. Fortunately, I received one such gift from my friend two weeks back. Two weeks ago, I was cooped up in my room, doing my daily homework and rushing to study for one of my tests. As you know, studying can be a very boring chore. In addition, I was feeling really lethargic after a hard day’s work. Suddenly, my father came into my room, with a small brown package in his hand. “This is for you. Mei San told me to pass it to you,” he mumbled as he handed over the package to me. Mei San is one of my father’s friends who I got to know quite well. She often chats with me through my hand phone and asks about my well-being. I was in a state of shock when I reached my hand out to take the package. It was not my birthday so it could not possibly be a birthday gift. Neither was there any occasion around the corner for her to send me presents. Quickly, I unwrapped the package and I found about ten bookmarks in it. On each bookmark, there was an inspirational quote from the popular book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul. From that moment, I knew her purpose of giving me this gift. She knew that I was rather worn-out because of my studies and wanted to encourage me to push on and relax at the same time. As I read the bookmarks, I felt really touched. She had lightened up my day and made me feel vibrant all of a sudden. I thought that was the most touching thing someone has done to me. Although it was not an extravagant or branded stuff, her sincerity and thoughtfulness were worth more than millions. It was invaluable and I would never trade anything for that. I do not know if you have similar experiences as I do but I hope that from what I have told you, you will to treasure your friendships better and care for somebody. Before I finish, I just want you to know that no matter how abandoned or alone you feel at times, somewhere, somehow, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone. Thank you very much. P.s: Not in touch with the person anymore. But i still REALLY appreciate this act of concern that i will always remember. music.city.soul || 12:08 AM || 0 comments
Today's post is actually supposed to be published long ago, say... about a week ago? But that time i just published my library entry and i wanted to go some time before i begin posting my own stuff again so i decided to postpone this entry. And yes, i did forgot about it - typical ditzy syndrome. haha...Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Anyway, two saturdays ago, i meet with Kenny, Fengie and new friend (clap clap) Gracie! Oh, side tracking here... I give most of my friends nickname here just in case they don't like their real name to be used. But Kenny is Kenneth la haha... Well, continuing, we met at Sembawang and took a bus all the way to Beach Road la!!! Crazy man! If there's one thing i dread, it's long bus rides! We took like almost an hour plus to get there lor... But instead of a boring bus ride, it was really fun! I swear talking to these three friends makes my mouth tired from all the laughing and non-stop chatting. haha. Too bad Gracie had to leave half-way to meet her client (she sells clothes! cool~~) because the bus ride was freaking long la!  Totally random la! Gracie took it on the bus... But for a picture of me looking kinda stupid, it looks alright! haha... Well, we stopped at beach road NOT to buy army stuff but to eat GREAT FOOD! hahaa... It's at the GOLDEN MILE FOOD CENTRE and i've heard/read abit about the chocalte fondue that Kenny and Fengie has been talking about and kinda wanna try it haha.. And i tell you it's GOOD! Nice... we totally finished all the chocalate, leaving a bit for Gracie who couldn;t be there to taste it for herself. (what a pity Gracie...) Pure delight i say... Makes me happy after eating it :)   Alright after that, we went to bugis to shop shop shop! Me and Kenny actually just accompanied the two gals as they shopped since there is SO FEW SHOPS SELLING MALE CLOTHES!!!! haha... But at least the gals bought something so it wasn't a wasted trip after that. haha.. OH! i did bought sth! I saw this Transformer shirt and it looks kinda cool so i bought it. 15 dollars only le... but i think it's a bit too small la... should have gotten the bigger one Fengie said. NVM. That leaves Kenny the only one leaving empty-handed there. haha. Well, all the food and shopping wasn't actually the point of that day's outing. It was to WATCH LICENSE TO WED!!! haha.. haha. I've wanted to watch that show ever since it came out since it stars my favourite darling, MANDY!!! And at my house leh! That's because we couldn't watch it at Kenny's house, the self-claimed fortress, my house was the obvious choice due to it's convenient location haha.. Sadly, the movie wasn't THAT nice la... But mandy's still the best and she looks stunning in a wedding dress! After the movie, we decided to take pictures and the three continued to admire my room haha. Kenneth kinda likes my room because it's small but well-equipped with Cable tv, hi-fi set, tv and laptop haha. Small and cosy i say! haha... Although my room can be quite hot and noisy at times, i still love it (if not i wouldn;t be staying in my room for most of the time haha). Well, enough said! Pictures pictures!!!  Me presenting Kenneth with MY AWARD??? hahha...  there's sth kinda wrong abt this photo 1 - i look like a mermaid 2- kenny looks like he's doing business (haha) 3 - fengie is seriously EMO 4 - Gracie and her weird pose!  If the previous is kinda wrong, this is SERIOUSLY WRONG!!! What is Fengie doing! Touching my ... *GASPS*!!! (jk only... i wont allow her to *erh hem* my bum ok... and Fengie not so TI KO also haha)  It's another day of fun and laughter! WE HAVE TO MEET UP SOON!!! music.city.soul || 10:23 PM || 0 comments
If there's one source of sore throat, i swear it's gotta be KBOX!!! hahah...Sunday, November 18, 2007 Even for a self-professed music addict, i'm embarrassed to say i've never been to kbox before! But after yesterday's visit there, i'm glad to say it's been a pretty enjoyable experience. AND I"M PLANNING TO GO THERE FOR AT LEAST TWO MORE TIMES this year! i'm so excited because i'll be going with my bestest friends and i'm sure it'll be even more fun! haha... Anyway, pictures of my first KBOX experience! haha     Well, there are actually things i found out from my maiden visit to KBOX. 1) I know quite a number of SING-ALONG chinese songs despite listening ONLY to english music! 2) Chinese songs are so easy to learn. The choruses, especially, are easy to pick up. 3) I can sing MOST OF THE SONGS, which means i kinda hog the microphone haha! 4) I actually dare to sing infront of people. 5) I still can reach VERY high notes for my age. haha 6) I'm not a very good singer. - Well, i must be rusty after NO CHOIR practices for two years. haha   With regards to point 3, the reason why i said it is because all along i thought i'm the type that can SING AND DANCE so actively in my own room (locked-up of course) but don't even try to sing when i'm outside. Guess i was wrong! haha... Even though i was in choir during my secondary school days, i never got to like singing around people because i was so self-conscious of myself. I wasn't that well-liked in school and wearing an over-sized ORH-BIT (out of fashion) blazer doesn;t actually help a lot. I get ridiculed quite a number of times and i supposed i got stereotyped as the TYPICAL CHOIR BOY (and i became it). I hated to be on stage and i hate it most when i have to do all the totally "girlified" actions. I just hate to be the centre of attention (and i still do for the matter of fact). Right now, when i think back, the only good things that i got out of choir was the passion for music, and two best friends. But i guess that's good enough! haha... Ok, that's it for now. I'm so looking forward to the next KBOX session! haah music.city.soul || 8:41 PM || 0 comments
I have to be brutally honest here. I think i'm the only one out of the 8 bloggers who actually doesn't like to read. (I believe i'll be hearing cries of regret from the organisers very soon... "What! You're writing about a library AND YOU DON"T LIKE TO READ?!" haha)Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Seems like the greatest insult doesn't it? haha.. Well, i REALLY can't read. I only managed to read three copies of Newsweek magazine i subscribed to this year (and i didn't finish reading them) and the rest - about 20copies - are thrown anyhow on my table and i don't know if i will ever read them. haha... Not that i'm illiterate (obviously if not why would i be writing all this), but i just can't read books. I just have super duper short term memory. That is why most of the time i consider myself ditzy haha. It's like i'll forget what's going on in the first line when i'm at the 23rd line. And i think in most books, the 23rd line (not that i count) is probably not even the third paragraph yet. This year alone, i've read 3 books in total. But not THREE WHOLE BOOKS. It's half of book A, one third of book B, one tenth of book C and one sixth of book D sort of thing haha. Ya, now you see how pathetic i am at reading haha. I guess the only exception is my junior college lecture notes. That one i can read and read! (shucks mugger spirit alert!) But of course, lecture notes are different from books. I usually just memorise everything (that i can), so in fact, i'm not really "reading". Suppose i'm too trained to memorise everything i read for some examinable purposes that i simply can't read for the sake of pure pleasure. haiz... But even with that said, i still love to go to the library. After all, it supports my "book-worm" look right? Haha. No, honestly, i like the serenity and peace that the library provides. Well, then what seems to set library@orchard apart from the others? Personally, there are quite a number of reasons why i like to visit the orchard library compared to the other libraries.
1) It is a great place to escape from the noise (similar to what i just mentioned about peace and serenity). We're talking about Orchard here hello... The place where every twenty metres you walk you most probably will get approached by some irritating people who wants to either conduct a survey with you or simply wants you to buy something. Let's not forget the noise pollution from the traffic and the buzz of the crowd. It can get pretty annoying after some time i must say. And whenever i feel that way, there's always the library to turn to! haha... Being located on the top (or one of the top) floors, it's slightly isolated from the busier shops at Takashimaya and therefore it's more quiet there. Furthermore, it's the best place to rest after a long walk. You can rest peacefully on the seats available before going for another round of shopping/window-shopping. 3) The library is just a very convenient place to meet. In the heart of Orchard Road! haha There's are only a few people i know who actually doesn't know where the orchard library is (very sua gu right? - even i know lor). Plus there's shelter all the way from orchard mrt - can go there rain or shine! Yups, as you can see Library@Orchard is indeed a great place! (ah yoyo, if close le how??? haha) Ok, enough talking about the library! Let's look at some pictures for a change...  There you go! Pictures of library workers in action! Actually i wanted to take a picture of a library assistant but when i was there, all the library assistants very shy! haha... Anyway, do you know why i'm using the word "library assistants" and not "librarians"(the term i suppose most people commonly know)? Actually, it was until the briefing for this activity that i knew the difference! Well, to be more exact, i didn't know there was even a term "library assistant" at all! I guess even if i've heard of it, i would have assumed that the two terms meant the same thing! haha... (if i'm the ONLY ONE in SINGAPORE that doesn't know about this difference, please tell me!) Well, if you did not know, librarians are not the ones we see doing all the shelving of books and pushing the trolleys of books around the library. Those are the library assistants! Oh my, how underappreciated they must feel! haha. 1) Collection - managing the branch's collections, promoting the collection through displays Hmm... now that we're on the topic of library assistants, let me tell you about my personal library experience. Actually, during my December holidays (when i was in my first year of college), my friend and i decided to earn as much Community Involvement Programme (CIP) hours as we can. And yes, we went to sign up as helpers in the library. Well, those were the days when i was less proud of what i did - everything i did seem to must have a materialistic reason, either to make my testimonial appear nicer or to make my results better. (If you have the same thinking as me back then, please change!) Nevertheless, even if my fundamental motive was a wrong one, i still took back a meaningful community involvement experience and of course new found respect and understanding for workers in the library - more specifically the library assistants. The reason why we chose to volunteer at the library was quite pragmatic - everyone was saying the job was SO SIMPLE AND YOU GET TO BE UNDER AIRCON. HOW HARD CAN IT GET RIGHT??? HA HA HA. They guessed wrong alright! I remembered developing headaches whenever i was doing shelving and carrying all the books around for long hours can really give you muscle aches ok... (but i also admit i have weak arms la. haha). But fortunately, the job scope is pretty routine. Like shelving books into the right shelves and arranging the books neatly and tidily. This is pretty easy although sometimes trying to find the shelves can be quite an irritating process (think Woodlands library).Well, the good thing about orchard library is that there aren't actually many shelves. Or maybe it's just very organised haha. Oh also, you can arrange all but one section of books neatly. That's the baby books section which fortunately library@orchard doesn't have haha. THEY ARE FOREVER MESSY NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU PACK IT. All these babies ah... Naughty Naughty!!! haha (Eh... But the babies don't take the books what, it's the parents! Hmm.....) But then again, there are always people returning books and therefore, the work was non-stop. The slower you do your job, the more books there are to shelve! For most of the time, i volunteered for one whole day, stopping only for lunch, and it's really exhausting. So now that the library is closing, all the library assistants can finally have a well deserved break! haha *suddenly link to retrenchment* Opps... that's not really a good thing right... Well, since it was so tiring and mundane (no offence), my friend and i would always find ways to slack. We can sit down and shelve books one you know! haha. When the "real" library assistant comes by we'll just say the shelf too low la... cannot reach, bad for our backs. haha! In addition, whenever i pass by sections where the books are topics of my interest (music!), i would always stop and take my own....sweet.....time....to....read before resuming work haha. (PLEASE DON"T FOLLOW ME OK - i'm just saying this to sound more politically correct hah) Oh ya, if you're a book lover, the good thing about volunteering in the library is you get advance access to books! haha My friend managed to borrow a number of her Garfield comic books because of that! No wonder i always can't seem to get my "Tuesdays with Morrie" ah...
It's actually a very interesting and nice experience for me. Because i volunteered for a comparatively long period from 4th November to 22 December 05 (haha... i very LI HAI right...), i got to know some of the library workers better than most student volunteers would. Most of them are really friendly, sharing food with us when my friend and i were hungry and showing similar concern to us in many different small ways. Kudos to them!!! haha. But realised i used the word "MOST OF THEM" in the previous line? That's because I'm bearing a small grudge. My friend and i would volunteer on the same day and work for the same number of hours. However, when we got our individual certificates of appreciation for our super long volunteer period, the total time i served was 31:10 hours, about THREE FREAKING HOURS short compared to my friend! (my friend was unwilling to give me the exact time cause she was afraid that i would get her into trouble some sort. Well, i tried to threaten her by saying i'm release her FULL NAME on my blog but to no use - nobody gives in to me one... haiz haha) What are the librarians doing!!! Argh.............................. Well of course i'm JUST joking... We are human after all, we make errors. Besides now my attitude has changed, i'm happy enough to have left with a memorable volunteer experience and well, a pretty good certificate of appreciation from the library. haha. Enough said about my own experience and back to library@orchard! Anyway, i searched high and low (figuratively) for great paintings and my TOP 3 (sorry, no prizes haha) are:
And the winner is *drum roll*............................................
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That's my own painting! haha... I'M THAT BIASED!!! :~ (me sticking out my tongue haha). Ok, to be fair, if i really had to make a choice (really hard, cause OBVIOUSLY no painting came close to MINE!), i might have to choose the angel one. I think the person painted it very well and it looks really elegant! Too bad my friend Maxim spoilt it abit when he did his painting haha... he tried to salvage it but i think it became worse! Nevertheless i still think it's beautiful! haha By the way, the librarian hasn't been able to find my painting! Maybe i should just organise a "spot-the-mandy-moore-painting contest"! Winner gets.... a sticker of mandy moore? haha (pls dun take this seriously.. i dun have mandy's stickers and i sure dunno where to find them haha) Anyway, it seems as though i've been really happy this whole time isn't it? All the haha's and !!!'s must be making you think whether i'm really sad about the closure of the library. Thing is, i don't like to see it as a "goodbye" but more of an "end of a chapter" - which means i still feel very KE SI that library@orchard is closing down. I do admit that what i feel cannot be equivalent to those frequent visitors of the library, but i must say i can roughly understand how it feels. The library was the first place where i started to learn how to use a computer. Back then, primary school children don't use computers as much as the kids today alright! Plus, i had very little chance to use my house computer with my brothers hogging it and i didn't really know how to use it cause nobody taught me (sob sob). I remember doing all the primary school mini-projects with my friends in the library, running around ecstatically when we finally found some good books for our projects and then gathering around a computer to work on it. Back then, computer stand were much more limited so being able to use one was a BIG DEAL. So i grab hold of whatever chance there was to explore the computer and although i'm still generally clueless about computer stuff, i have to thank the library for providing such facilities - imagine how useful it would be for people with no computers at home? Furthermore, before i really got to know the Internet well (i have to say i was so outdated in secondary one), i had to do this literature project on tigers. When most of my classmates merely "yahoo-ed" and got all the information they needed through the world wide web, i was caught in my own web, clueless and confused on what to do and how to do it. I had no access to my home computer AND i had no help from my brothers or friends (they all assumed i knew)! Because i felt so lost, i plucked up the courage to tell my literature teacher about it. After I told her i have no access to computers and i don't really know how to use the internet, she advised me to go to the library. I thought that wasn't much help back then but in retrospect, that was really a good advice! I went to the school library, tried to use the internet but failed miserably and guess what! I used the prehistoric method of using an encyclopedia! And yes, because of that i managed to finish my assignment and if i didn't remember wrongly, i scored fairly well (to me it was great already considering the source from which i worked from). So you see, the library (whatever and wherever it is) holds an important place in my heart. I will always remember that it helped me take those crucial baby steps during my developmental learning phase. Well, it has been a WONDERFUL time blogging and i have to sadly say I'M COMING TO THE END!!! Before i go, let's take a look once again at the original library@orchard and reminisce all the special moments we had there before it really disappears... *sob sob*. Hereby i dedicate this entry to all you people out there who:
Left your marks,
Had your favourite reading spot there
Found your favourite book or had a favourite section there and
Anyone who shared some fond memories there
And remember, IT ALL HAPPENED WHERE THE ORIGINAL LIBRARY@ORCHARD USED TO BE!
music.city.soul || 8:51 PM || 4 comments
Before i post my "official" entry (REALLY SOON, expect by wed/thurs), i wanna send my thank-you's to all those who helped me along the way! The title is super fitting cause i usually can;t express myself well when i get emotional haha! Well, whatever feelings you get from reading it, multiply it by 10 times and that should be it!Monday, November 5, 2007 Here you go, THANK YOU: 1) Library@Orchard For erm... Closing down? *tight-slapping myself* JOKING! haha. Well, thank you for the opportunity. I'm sure i would be wasting myself doing nothing if not for this! 2) Jillian the Librarian Wow, you're the wackiest librarian i've known! I thought they were all some OLD NERDS, unseen and unheard! haha... At least you changed my opinion of librarians haha... Now i think librarians are cool ok! Where's your recruitment website ah....... haha Well thanks for being so helpful in answering my questions swiftly and sufficiently and of course entertaining us (i know part of your job also haha. BUT JOB WELL DONE!) when Kenny, Fengie and i came for our information-gathering. BIG 10Q 2 U!!! 3) Ivan, Jillian's boss Thank you for spotting me! haha... I was pleasantly surprised to see your comment - my picture was just a simple random thing! i'm sure you have a lot of passion for the library to do so many things for it. haha. Thanks for the very motivating comments, they really made me feel so good about doing this for the library. Well, really thanks for recommending me to attend the briefing! 4) Kenneth MY NEW BEST FRIEND!!! haha... It's been so great having you as a buddy during this blogger thing. Thanks for the company, jokes and whatever not! Without you i don't think i would attend the briefing too! 5) Other citizen bloggers It was really nice meeting you guys! Hopefully we can keep in contact after this activity! Who knows maybe we'll be called back for some interview twenty years later for doing this! haha 6) Anyone who read my blog because of all this 7) Friends around me who were supportive and encouraging towards me for doing this. I'm so touched by all your comments and all this time. They really motivated me to write so much better than i ever would be able to! Special thanks to Ronald & Diwei! Ron: This is for you!
(fyi that's his OWN SELF-PENNED POEM!) 7) Mandy Moore Let me quote myself from a previous entry: " If she didn't exist, i won't have liked her, then i won't have painted that pic on the wall of the library, and i won't have put it up on my blog and my blog won't have gotten commented by someone from NLB who invited me to the briefing! haha! OMG, i love mandy moore MORE now haha!" BIGGEST THANK YOU TO YOU!!! hahah!
Simply, Joel music.city.soul || 10:59 PM || 1 comments
Yupz, this is part 2 of my day out yesterday!Sunday, November 4, 2007 As part of my job as a "citizen-blogger", i decided to go down to the orchard library with Kenneth and Fengie (as mentioned in Part 1) to gather some information and take pictures! Because i don't wanna make another trip just to take pictures, hardworking me even took down what pictures i needed to take before coming le! But Kenny better! He brought his reporter essentials - notebook, pen, camera whatever not! haha. Can't blame him, it's in him. Fyi, he was my college publication's president (WOO~~ but no one read one haha!)
Notice that recently my blog is more colourful? haha.. Well, i used to be very shy (less confident la) and so i hate to take pictures. Then recently i realised i have SO LITTLE pictures of myself and all the experiences i've been through! I thought that was so pathetic - like the 19 years so far has been empty (well i know my life is quite empty but not THAT empty ok.) Thereafter, i had the urge to get a camera (gift from my uncle! Tks!) for me to capture photo memories of everything i've been through from now on! Moreover, i went on a "photo hunt" for class photos, family photos and neoprints and realised - fortunately - there are still quite a number of pictures with me in it. Whew... The only sad thing? It's mostly group shots and very few personal shots with individual friends. Well, i shall not be camera shy anymore! I want to die with nice and fun photo memories to leave behind haha.. (I think better to tell u guys before all my friends think i'm fake and AA now)
  With the pass, no need to peep into the room anymore!!! haha After that, we went to take the photos we needed! I must say i feel like some stalker taking photos of others without them knowing haha!   Oh let me show you some interesting places in the library itself!   The first picture like RUNWAY right!!! Tyra can totally strut her thang on it! haha!!! Maybe one day they'll conduct a catwalk at a library! haha... Eh... but nobody will watch the models, everyone's engrossed in their own book lor.. ONLY PEOPLE LIKE ME WILL WATCH! haha The second picture is the waterfall feature at the library, just beside the cafeteria. Actually it's quite nice but my photog skills suck so come out so ordinary. I think Kenny has a better picture of it but that's his photo so i cannot take. haha. Maybe i shall STEAL it and post my entry before him! I also know what he's gonna write - let me tell you!!! ;) MUAHAHAHA i'm so evil!!! (Kenneth joking only ah... better say this if not he come to my house with butcher knife! haha) Thereafter, Kenneth wanted to interview (so official!!!) a staff and so Jillian called on one of the staff officers (if i'm not wrong). Fengie and me just sit beside and watch haha. Kenneth like reporter lidat you know haha... For me, my "official" entry is slightly more personal so including such interviews a little weird. hha. Plus i can't steal Kenneth's idea AGAIN right?   See so hardworking! (acting only i think haha)   LO BO PEOPLE do nothing but look nice!haha When we were in the meeting room, we saw something exciting! haha  New Police Story 2? hahahaha... So scary man! haha... Reminds me of some Jackie Chan movie with the superstunts haha Well, i really had a fun time just taking photos and exploring the library thoroughly. (can ask me whether got dirty little secrets haha!) Thanks to Jillian and the very kind staff officer who were so generous to give us some of their time! (but they can slack for a few minutes le! haha jk) Not forgetting Fengie who helped kenny and me take photo! hahah Also, now that i've gathered all the photos i need and wrote almost everything i wanted to say, i think i will definitely be posting my entry on the library next week! Look forward to it k! music.city.soul || 3:13 PM || 3 comments |
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