This song needs more views man.

Aya&Bambi are the dancers in this video. I'm quite entranced by their style~ old vogue and a lil jap geisha vibe in it.

First heard about them while watching this video below on Facebook.




The first minute. Just. Wow.

So damn on point at every beat. Like how is that even possible.
I would love to say that I love both of them, but the one on the left is better. She is so in-sync and that look on her face... intense. I believe that's Aya. So cool.

I did a little google search after I found out about them and guess what? They're engaged to one another. Yes, they're lesbians. Not very surprising though... no wonder they make such a duo and are so in-sync with one another. Even though I think Aya's better, this kinda dance style.. I think you can't just watch one person do it. It's the fact that both of them are so on point together that makes it mesmerising to watch. And you can't have white people do this dance. It just has to be Asian lololol. Deathly stare, with our so called slanty, slitty eyes that Westerners believe we have. We do it best lah, no one can take that away. And no one can dispute that silky black straight hair. That hairdo. They pull it off, only the both of them can make that hair cool.

Every time I watch dance, it makes me wanna pick up dancing again. It was my CCA in primary school and it was practically my life then too - took part in SYF twice (pri 3 & 5). Then there was a celebratory school drama performance, which needed dancers as well when I was pri 6. First time in EPPS. My mom dissuaded me to take part in that one coz it was PSLE year but I really loved performing so.. no one could tell me what not to do lawl. At the same time, when I look at dance, I feel like I'm too old to pick it up again. Like no energy. No agility. And no memory power for the steps involved. And counting. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Fun though once you get the choreography right. But I think when I was young, dance was merely about executing the moves and making sure the blocking was right. Blocking was such a pain for the choreographer coz kids, we don't understand why spacing is so important. Till we watch it as a member of the audience and realise why it is. Now, when I watch good dancers, I feel like knowing how to groove to the beat spontaneously with the choreography is also important? I think that's why sometimes watching Americans dance can be so entertaining cos they're really groovin' it out man. No inhibitions whatsoever. Whereas over here... dancing can be a little too static and slightly uncool hahahaha.

That's why I'd love to pick it up again because it'll make you so comfortable with your own body... Right now, I think I'll just look damn awkward dancing. And my stature, a bit too tall, the CG is off bahahaha. So much confidence needed!!

Went back to Mediacorp today to audition for an upcoming Channel 5 drama series.

Remember that piece of "exciting" news I wanted to share with y'all?? Well... the piece of news is... I'm currently working as a part-time waitress at PODI @ Raffles City!!!!!!!! It's the restaurant beside the fountain at the basement. I've worked for two days already and I love it!!!!!!!

Initially, I was really sad with my life coz I've always always ALWAYS wanted to be a waitress and when I realised I might not be able to do it because well, I'm gonna be a graduate. And what do graduates do? Well, they find permanent full-time jobs. So I thought I'd never get to be a waitress..... So this time. To get the opportunity to be a waitress.... my once-in-a-lifetime dream has been fulfilled~~~~~ off the bucket list~~~ throw confetti somebody~

PODI is a sister branch of Cedele. You know how I only have one-and-a-half months to do stuff before I head off to Myanmar? I was thinking of working and I thought of signing a contract with a production house to while my time away and pick up/improve some production skills. But ah, they don't want me coz of my short time frame. So. I decided to do waitressing. Yet, who'd want me eh? Was thinking of working nearby at White Sands since it's opening soon again after renovations and my mom casually asked me to work at Cedele. I've always loved Cedele and its food and its healthy eating vision. I called its HQ one day to express my interest. They said White Sands' branch would only be open in September, and that's not possible for me. They asked if I was interested to work in their other branches. I thought alright, why not. Told me to head down to HQ the week after and I got posted to Raffles City's branch. Right away, I signed their contract and was given their uniform. I got PODI's uniform, thinking oh, I'm going to the Cedele branch at Raffles City. Actually, turns out it's their sister branch. I've never eaten at PODI before but ah well, why not.

I walked into the store and I absolutely love the floor concept - so spacious, beside the fountain and I enjoy walking, pacing around.

I sound like I've worked there for at least a week already but actually I only started work a few days ago. (which explains my lag in blog posts hahaha sorrehhh) My first day was in fact, just 2 days ago on Friday. Luckily, it wasn't a busy day with customers so I got a good first day learning and it was funnnn. So fun! Taking orders, serving food, clearing tables. All in quick time. Best of all, I get to interact with people and customers. Oh, I met the loveliest old couple from New Zealand - where I spent my 6-months exchange - and naturally, I had to strike a conversation with them. They were amazing. I told them of my adventurous hikes and memories of their beautiful country, while they told me about why they went to London and made a stopover at Singapore as they were making their way home. Argh, I love them. I also love it when customers (especially families with lil kids) smile when their food comes along coz the presentation of the food looks so damn good and leave feeling satisfied. What joy :')

Also, my colleagues... day one, I could tell they'd be a good and fun bunch to work with. My Filipina associate manager and Malaysian kitchen cooks are just the friendliest bunch. Never made me feel like I was new. My fellow Singaporean colleagues were also awesome, guiding me along, telling me what I was doing wrong and correcting my mistakes every now and then.

As you can tell, I had an awesome first day of work.

Saturday, yesterday however, was wayyyyy harder coz business was a lot faster. And I tasted firsthand the pace of the job - how I had to multi-task like siao, remember my orders, remember which table/customers made the order, remember who wanted a refill of water, remember THE DAMN MENU (AND WHAT THE FOOD WAS). I had to do all these because many customers would be calling for me at the same time.

This was just the second day of the job. And on that day, I had to handle difficult customers. Complained about cleanliness, standards. It was also then when I made the first major mistake with a customer yesterday. I believe I was the one who took her order and forgot to key it in to the system so she and her boyfriend had to wait forever for her meal to arrive. She almost wanted to leave but I took the responsibility to quell her anger and appease her to stay. After a while, she took her bag and was about to leave again coz her food still took too long to come. But she saw the food arriving and sat back down. I knew it was my fault for her bad dining experience, so I decided to not let anyone else serve her and take it upon myself. By the time she was done, I approached with the bill and apologised to her severely. I also decided to tell her I was new on the job. She couldn't look me in the eye and her boyfriend just silently nodded. Yikes.

I knew in my head, I just made one unhappy customer leave and never come back. Eeeek. Dunno if I'll get fired for this but all I know is that I've learnt from this experience and I'll do my freakin best to always improve and get better at it. I'm sure I made many other customers happy. I love it when I make them smile and laugh. It absolutely makes my day knowing that I made their day : )

During the closing of the restaurant, I had to mop the floors of the restaurant. That one, I didn't expect to do. But none too hard since I've experience at where else but ma cosy cribbbb.

Well I must say, just these 2 days of working at PODI has taught me to salute good and efficient waitresses. My respect for them has gone up a mile-high. It truly has.

I used to think I could do better than all the waitresses I've encountered (hahahah), and I personally wanted to do my part in raising Singapore's service standards. Ambitious only hor. After everyone spoke about how it's the foreigners that are doing their jobs properly, which I wouldn't deny coz the Filipinos should be saluted for their impeccable service standards.

Now I can sorta understand why people may not be happy being waitresses and our service standards are rated as low. Perhaps it is because of the demands of the job that the public doesn't usually see? And maybe waitresses are just not held in high regard in our society? Unlike other countries, the service industry is not a respectable job industry here. An indicator could be that we don't have a tipping culture. I don't really know yet. I guess working on the job for the next few weeks will give me a better insight.

I still think it is possible to serve others in the friendliest and best, in our own ways. Going the extra mile. And being courteous. Is can one. I'm sure Singaporeans will be able to improve on service standards in time to come if we all just have mutual respect for our own fellow human beings - as customers and servers.

As for myself, I just gotta get the hang of doing the basic legwork before I can become the become the best I can be ; ) I know it's a bit late at my age to be doing a part-time job, especially as a waitress and everyone's telling me how it's a difficult job, but I still wanna do it! I am in fact, the oldest part-timer bahahah. All the jc and poly kids are surprised when I tell them I'm just done with Uni and turning 23 this year. They're so nice and I've been telling those I just met that Uni is gonna be so fun~~~


COME VISIT GUYS!!! I'd be so happy to see my friends :') It's at the basement, you can't miss it coz you just have to go down the escalator next to Starbucks, turn left and THERE IT IS.

I will be so freakin happy to serve you. I will give you extra service hahaha sounds so sleazy wink wink. So yes, PLEASE COME VISIT. I'll be in this Thursday and Sunday evening, as well as Friday and Saturday morning & afternoon. Come in for tea! Their cakes are good. Haven't really tried the rest of the menu but presentation is awesome.

Come June, I'll be there even more often coz boss says so~
Don't worry about my SG Grad Trippin', I'm still very onz about it and will make time for exploring. More posts to come ; )

My prettaye frend hellluuuu Huiquan!

Met her yesterday with the intention of exploring abandoned Neo Tiew estate. But.. guess what. I was tired so we met up at Kovan instead for dinner hahahaha. Direct bus straight to the heartland.

We will definitely explore somewhere together next week.

---

Today, a special guest of honour came along with me on my third day of my graduation trip.

Drum rolls pleaseeee....


Ok I'm gonna save you the lame agony. He is none other than.... my old dad! The first man I've ever loved :')

He knew I was going on this grand excursion around Singapore and the first one to get excited about it. Every time, he'd be asking where I'm going and giving extra tips and trix about the places and what I can do etc. etc. so funny.

Today he took leave just to head out with me! Although I never express gratitude in front of my parents, I hope they know that I'm always touched by these gestures. As typical Asians, we don't show or express our appreciation freely. But I tell ya, deep deep deeeeep down, we all know how much we care for one another. Well, at least I hope they DO realise that I do care. tho i can be the brattiest kid in the house bahahahaha.


Grad Trip Day 3 - Hay's Dairies Goat Farm > Drove around Kranji > Sugei Buloh Wetland Reserve

My dad was like my personal tour guide as he drove around Kranji, telling me things about what he used to do when he was younger at Kranji etc. Sometimes I forget my parents were once young and fit and have done way more fun things in life than we might have.

Tasted Goat's Milk after many many manyyy years. I remember drinking goat's milk a long time ago and I thought it had a funny taste to it coz well, goats have this strong pungent smell. I dunno why. It's like the cows ain't no smellin' like that man, but goats? Fooyoooooh. They need some of that Chanel 101 bruh. I guess that's why a lot of people can't stand the taste of mutton. Apparently though, goat's milk is way healthier and leaner than cow's milk. Wonder why. I mean they're all cattle to me, but God decides to make one milk better than the other.

It's funny how as a kid, everything seemed so fascinating and huge. But now, everything's not as. I guess a change in perspectives comes with age.






- Pictures of our walk around Sungei Buloh.

Yes, it was a walk, not even a trek or hike. It was that laidback. It was just one round around the wetlands. Humid after the rain and quite a fair bit of mozzies. But my dad entertained as he talked and talked about what it was like when he brought my bro and I around when we were kids. How fascinated we were when he took a magnifying glass out that one time and with the sun rays, burnt leaves. We started using the lens to burn every single thing in our way hahahaha ants, leaves whatever. A lot of things are hazy in my recollection but that memory didn't seem too unfamiliar.

It was a nice hour-long walk with my dad. It isn't the migratory bird season right now so we couldn't see many birds. We did spot many spiders along the way though and at least one iguana/monitor lizard/ whatever you call it, can't really tell the diff haha.

I must admit though that I wasn't super impressed with Sungei Buloh. Wasn't much to see, and it was just a short little round the island trail. Maybe it's coz I'm an adult. Saw many primary school kids over there who were getting themselves educated about the wetlands.

Nevertheless, it was good father-daughter bonding : ) Helps that there's a car. I mean... Pasir ris to Kranji is no joke yo.


Tomorrow? Sunset way with Sarah and Bus rides with Taahiraaaaa booyaaa. It's gonna be a grad trip to remember ; )

First person to spot the airplane wins all my possessions when I turn 30 (which may not be much ha. ha.)


Anyway, HOW GORGEOUS IS THIS????



This is the Changi Coastal Park Connector and I swear to God.... it was G for Gorgeous.

I was so happy I had to take a picture right here with Shreeya.



Love this picture of Shreeya btw.

Today is Day 2 of my Grad Trip series. I met Shreeya at Tampines Sunplaza Park at 10am for Shreeya to rent a bike. It's just a 7 minute bike ride from my home, it's that near. Was supposed to meet at 9am but thank god Shreeya decided to change it to 10, otherwise we'd be cycling in the RAIN. I hate the rain, really. It dampens every mood possible. Or exacerbates it, like if I'm angry I'd just be angrier hahaha.

Bike rentals don't come cheap I realised... 3 hours = $12. Every subsequent hour is $3. Whole day rental is $35. I didn't dare to ask Shreeya how much it cost after we were done by 5pm yikes. Well, I could do the math but ignorance is sometimes bliss.

So anyway, we cycled by the Eastern Coastal Loop through park connectors starting from Tampines > Bedok Reservoir > Siglap (which we kinda got lost at) > East Coast Park > Coastal (most beautiful f my life) > Airport Runway (AH!!) > Changi Beach > Loyang > Pasir Ris 


And as you've already seen above...

The Coastal Park Connector was seriously one of the beautifulest places I've ever been in Singapore. It's strange how I live in the East, yet have never explored this part of my crib until today.

The trees, the waters, the tranquility, it really was surreal. I couldn't stop verbally raving about it while I was there.


Pleaseee tell me how beautiful is this???
That was an angler btw.


We then made our way to the Airport Runway. Shreeya's been wanting to explore it for quite some time.



As we made our way there, we were greeted by an expanse of rolling clouds... It's amazing. I forgot I was in Singapore. I remember how I'd always tell myself to look out far and wide when I'm overseas because over here I'd be blocked by HDB all over. But at the runway today, the sky was immensely beautiful and stretched out far and beyond with white fluffy clouds specked all over. I get dreamy when I see rows and rows of clouds...

I kept telling myself, "take it all in right at this moment. take it all in."



The roughly 3km-long stretch of road beside the airport's runway.

It was so cool to see so many planes take off! Shreeya kept saying, "oh another one is gonna take off!!" and I'd be like dude, there's one every minute HAHA. But we were excited to see those planes. It truly is the closest we've ever been without being inside the plane or behind some glass wall at the Airport haha.

The runway was going on and on forever but Shreeya and I had loads to talk about, like how her Dad used to work at the airport and how I've a friend who's crazy about take-off and landing. How nice that we got to talk about these things.

See the boy cycling in the photo above?

He and his friend kept stopping intermittently just to watch the planes take off. It was kinda endearing for some reason...


Sadly, and very very sadly, we won't get a chance to ride along this stretch of road soon.

Why?



See those tiny construction tractors?

They're making way for Changi Airport's brand-new Terminal 4. I just went to google - it's scheduled to open its doors to passengers in 2017. So. We'd have about a year or so before this place be done up. And there will be runway no more.

Sigh. As much as I am proud of my country's economic expansions, which I am mostly supportive of, it's these places and memories that hold meaning to its people. To take them away can be quite... mm what word to use? Well, sad. It's just sad.


Not long after we reached Changi Beach, I was surprised..



TO SEE THIS!!!!!





Is this Bali? Is that Mount Fuji??




WHAT THE HELLLLL... I'd never imagined this to be Singapore!!!!

I'd been to Changi Beach when I was younger, and I certainly don't remember the beach looking this gorgeous what the heck?! Once again, incredibly clean blue waters. White sand. Nice trees. Doesn't this all sound like a beach holiday back at Bali in the summer of '69???

Wake up! Coz this is SG.

I went craaaazy here.



Had to snap a fo-tohhh. I dunno what Shreeya was lookin at or doing bahaha.

Broken Shreeya.
Was tryna do a panorama and I dunno how it turned out like this.
I'm a techno-diot. Tech idiot.



The cycling path we were on.
This was the quietest spot at Changi Beach coz of its inaccessibility by car.
So if you wanna get here, well I suppose the best way is... You just RIDEEEEE (feat. Lana Del Rey)
Or you could walk from the busier area, which is quite a distance. But on bike, it's a breeze.

Also on the bike, time... flies.

I remember we stopped at 12pm when we were at East Coast Park to have lunch. Started again at 1 plus. The next thing I knew, it was 3.30pm. Then 4.30pm. And by 5 plus, I was back home.

The entire day just flew by like that. It was awesome that I had company and someone whom I could share (scenic) views and (political, cultural, social) views with as we cycled haha.

I'm liking this. I'm liking this a lot.

I told my parents, I feel like a retiree. Youngest retiree ever and I wish this could last forever... just exploring places, having a good time with friends and not having a single care or worry in life~ Wow, I could have a load of that ; )

While cycling, I remembered there was a Coastal Settlement cafe nearby. I should try that some time eh?


p/s When I came home, my dad told me that the Sook Ching massacre had occurred on that stretch of beach at Changi that I was raving about. Well, it certainly added a whole lot of depth and history to that place. 66 Chinese men killed by the Japanese during WWII.

@Southern Ridges (Kent Ridge & Telok Blangah Hill & Mount Faber)
@Vivocity & Keppel Bay Island & Labrador Park

I met Jasmine at Kent Ridge Park yesterday. She lost her way and I lost my way but we eventually found each other HAHAHA.

So we started at Kent Ridge Park. We had great weather at 9 before it started to pour at 12 and drizzle the entire day afterwards. Made our way to Telok Blangah, walked via Alexandra Link Bridge to Mount Faber, Henderson Waves.

It then started to pour again so we sought shelter at Vivocity. Window shopped despite being smelly and all. Then off to Labrador Park we went.

All the time from morning till the end of our trek, we kept seeing this!




That's Reflections behind us, the luxury waterfront condominium at Keppel Bay.

All throughout our hike, we saw it. At Henderson Waves, we saw it. At the top of Mount Faber, we saw it. WE KEPT SEEING IT THROUGHOUT THE DAY. I dunno why I never noticed it before.. maybe coz I always thought it was office space. But, when I was told people actually LIVED in them, I was just like, what the... heck man.... Surely nobody can live in that STUNNING 21ST ARCHITECTURAL THING!??!

And when Jasmine suggested walking into Keppel Island, I was like, oh ok, yeah why not. Then Jasmine retracted and went against it coz we weren't dressed appropriately. I was like ah, who cares let's just go! Not knowing that I'D BE GREETED BY REFLEXXXIONSSS ONCE AGAIN. RIGHT IN MY FACE. Full view.

I swear to god.... KEPPEL ISLAND WAS OOZING WITH EXUBERANCE AND OVERINDULGENCE OHKAY.

I'm such a sucky blogger coz I didn't take a photo of it but wtf when I saw Reflections right ahead of me with the many yachts floating and the Carribean apartments lined up alongside it... I was gobsmacked I tell you. Like GOB BLOODDYY SMACKEDDD.

It's just... unbelievable. And Jasmine and I kept talking about how we cannot imagine how people can be living in such apartments blahblahblah. Like the whole place was just screaming out loud I.AM.WEALTHY.WHILE YOU PEASANTS ARE STINKIN UP MY PRIME LAND. GET OFF. OTHERWISE MOW MY LAWN. OR IN THIS CASE. DRIVE MY YACHT. THEN AGAIN. YOU'RE FILTHYING MY BEAUTIFUL YACHT SO. WHY DON'T YOU JUST F OFF ONCE AGAIN.

We even saw an ah beng yacht that was called "Chiobu". Like the yacht was called chiobu. It literally had its name printed in Comic Sans Bold on the rear of the yacht. Wahlau, I'm judging you leh wealthy ah beng! Right down to the choice of font.

Jasmine wanted to pee at one point (not coz it was a reaction from seeing the exuberant lifestyle of these crazy ass rich people) The Marina was close by but we were damn paiseh to walk inside. Then a service staff there was like, "nvm, just walk inside. it's at the lobby it's ok!"

Damn, we felt like peasants I tell ya. Hahahhaaha.

But we ain't daunted. One day we'd be partying it up right there. Hahaha nah, just kidddinnn. I've never had the desire to live in or own any of those things. I'd feel more like I'm staying at a hotel more than anything.

Anyway, after that we continued our walk to Labrador Park where we got lost for a good 15 minutes just tryna find our way to the sea hahah.

And that was that! I had such a.. SUCH A GOOD TREK WITH JASMINE.

I enjoyed catching up with her for the entire 8 hours just talking, walking, snacking and laughing our ass off at the random crap we came up with. We kept lamenting about how it's so tough these days to be doing such things anymore. Catch ups with friends these days are always just a meal somewhere. It was fun indeed. Tiring after walking for hours on end and I had a good sleep after : )

My grad trip just started on a high thanks to Jasmine Wasmeen.

Up next?

Tomorrow's cycling from Pasir ris to Changi Beach with Shreeya my ex-CNA colleague who'd strut down the catwalk at Mediacorp with me and laugh our heads off making others at their desks turn. We run the world at Channel NewsAsia hahahaha. Awesome times.

I hope you'reg etting jealous of my awesome grad trip so far hahahaha oh wait, it's just DAY ONE. MORE TO COME. I'll try to take more pictures. I mean, that's what we're supposed to do as tourists eh?

Hahahahah, shucks good old times.

Three important ingredients for any overseas trip for me:

NATURE, CULTURE, AND FOOOOD.


Since I've sorta done food exploring before (and practically lavish in local delights every day), I really want to explore Nature this time round. And just a little bit of culture. (culture stuff is a bit expensive ah. maybe for retirement when i am old and slow and have loadsa money to splash. besides, ive explored most of the free museums already!)

SO, my crazy whacko brain came up with a plan to go exploring hiking places like...
- The Southern Ridges (Kent Ridge, Telok Blangah, Mount Faber) -- Which I'm gonna do today.
- Green Corridor
- Pulau Ubin
- Sungei Buloh
- Seletar Reservoir (all together stretches the Lower & Upper Pierce as well) -- heading with my dad.
- Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Cycling from Pasir Ris (hometown babeh) to Changi Beach -- I haven't done it before despite living in Pasir Ris all my life!!!


I realised I wanted to do all these things. But... I didn't want to do it all by myself. Yes of course I can, but it is gonna be BAWWRINGGG as hell especially if I'm gonna have to do ALL of em alone. That's freakin crazy, I'd be bored and sad to death. No one to enjoy the fantastic beauty of nature around me.

I posted on Facebook just hours ago to see if anyone's interested in going on my Graduation Trip with me.




I knowww!! So many people responded and liked my post :') Shows their support and how much people actually do love our sunny island Singapore and would love to go exploring too!!!

Check out the comments:





I thought only a handful of people would private message me but I am so happy with the response. It's overwhelming. I can't wait to catch up with everyone because of this and I'M ABSOLUTE BALLS EXCITED. Shari and Vivien, two friends I haven't met in a while... It's gonna be fun : )

And so many other comments above that I can't possibly screenshot... So much hype and excitement I can't wait!

I will see this through and I will plan this and make it happen.

I only hope I have time to do all of it and squeeze all my friends in! I also have a piece of exciting news to announce (well it's exciting to me, probably not for you hahahaha) so wait up ; )

If you're interested to join me on my grad trip.... just holler. Tagboard or Ask.Fm (which is silent as HELL. Yall funny ah, ask me put up but never use tsk tsk). I mean, it could be awkward meeting strangers but as long as you don't murder, I'm sure, it'll be fine.


My crowdsourcing plan on Facebook worked because after I did, my friends messaged me on Whatsapp. And guess what? What I presumed would be a solo hike to the Southern Ridges has become a DUO HIKE. Yayyy Jasmine will be joining me today and I'm not gonna be alone yeeeheeee! I'll get to talk to someone :')

Even something as last minute as this can actually happen what in God's Name, Hallelujah. Hahaha I'm not Christian but ya know when you needa praise da lord, you just gotta praise da lord. A-men.

So yeah, I'm happy and excited as hell. It's 1:16am. Gotta have a good night's rest for today's SOUTHERN RIDGES. CIAO CIAO YALL.

I was just telling a friend today (happy birthday May btw!!! : D) that... I used to not understand how couples can break up. After all the happy times, aren't those moments strong enough to sustain a relationship? To pull through difficult waters?

Doesn't it look so legit and cool!??!

I mean yeah, it actually IS legit right? Amelia did this poster up recently for our FYP documentary and when I saw it I was like fooyooooh. So real gurl.

I love this picture still. The light and composition is perfect and it's true how the light shines so goldenly at 5-6pm at Ang mo kio where our boy profile lives.

Seeing this film poster also reminds me of how I never thought I'd do a documentary when I first entered wkwsci. I'd just admire works by seniors when I was a freshie but it never crossed my mind that I'd be one of those broadcast kids who'd produce something like this. It's for real. And a bit unimaginable.

That's why I'd always say, that I grew up while I was in wkwsci. This FYP is like the icing on the cake after the foundations have been built throughout my 4 years. Many more cakes to bake before I can start a bakery and a franchise. What a huge stepping stone this has been.

I've come out of this Final Year Project experience with 3 learning points.


1) Being brave when faced with uncertainty

- I've learnt to take risks, be ready for uncertainties and face challenges. That statement sounded hella PR. But it is my exact sentiment. Remember how I lamented in a blog post how lost I felt when our initial profile pulled out of our documentary? You can read it again here.

I was frustrated, lost, mentally exhausted that I even started to question my faith (which is.. well, you gotta find that post i typed) haha. It was that insane. It was the first time I ever felt that lost. If you ask me, FYP was one of the toughest things I ever did in Uni but it's one of those tough hurdles that I came out of, feeling like a champion. Not everything I'd feel that way. Go-Far was tough but I didn't quite necessarily come out feeling the same way. But FYP... it's a whole new dimension. Such a rollercoaster ride.

It has certainly made me less fearful of what is out there. Philosophically and pragmatically. I seriously feel like I'm ready to take on anything. Because of what I've overcome.

And not only that.


2) Having faith in the people you work with.

I also learnt how important it is to trust your own teammates, your own friends. Trust is so important and I realised I underestimated some of my friends' abilities and coming out of this FYP, I've come to respect my friends' skills and capabilities a whole lot more. To trust and listen to their judgments. There are always different perspectives. Some you agree, some you don't. But I've found out how important it is to always hear out others' ideas and to give it a good thought, no matter how contrary they are to your own. Their ideas may go against the grain of what you'd usually do or think about. And I've come to value that. That's what a team is for. Tough at the beginning because of the differences in ideas but it is how you see the value in these differences and try to work something out that's meaningful.

It's important to hear out the devil's advocate. I thought Amelia was that devil's advocate and I thank her for that because it allowed for fine-tuning of ideas and ensuring that a plan is well thought out. At the start I was like what the heck man, we were clashing a lot in terms of ideas. I'd say something but she'd think about it and think against it. I would think why not? This is one of those moments when I had to take a step back. Time that I hear what the others have to say, go home, give a good thought. The next day, we congregate once again. And talk about it.


3) It's all about Communication, Communication, Communication.

That's what they all say. And it's true! It's the fundamental basis of all working projects.

We are all communication students, but that doesn't make us experts at communicating in practical, daily life. This project taught me the importance of it. And how miscommunication can be the bane of every working group's existence. I have seen that during internship and I cannot stress how important communication is.

There are two types of it, as a speaker. One is communicating your ideas properly and logically. The second is about sensing the emotional climate of discussions. The first is verbal while the second is non-verbal.

For the latter, I remember one time when I told my group I felt like crying because I couldn't sense what they were thinking and how they were thinking because there'd be moments of long, long, longggg silence during discussions and I was getting frustrated every time because we couldn't solve something before moving on to other things. Whenever I posed a question that needed solutions, I would be met with empty silence. Sometimes they were so long that I couldn't take it. I would give my opinions and suggestions but the others were shut. It made me worry and I wondered if they had confidence in a project that we were all working hard on. I needed a vote of confidence but I couldn't sense it. I knew they were thinking while keeping quiet. But they were not talking and I was going crazy. So I had to keep questioning them and asking them, "What are you thinking?". It got to a point when I told them, I can't read you and I had a moment of outburst that I needed to know what they were thinking because it felt like we were stalling every time we were trying to think of a solution. What's worse was that I thought they had stopped thinking of a solution and moved on, while I was still stuck at the same problem and it frustrated me. It was one of those moments when walls started to break down and we communicated. I found out from their perspective that it takes time for them to analyse and think before they speak. It seemed as if they had moved on because they hadn't spoken. They had in fact, left it to ponder about it for later. All the time I had misread that. They also found out that I was someone who needed to tackle the issue at hand and that the silences were making me uncomfortable. Turned out that I was the only one feeling the discomfort. I was the only one stuck in the same spot.

It's one of those moments of realisation when it hits you that hey, nobody is right or wrong. We just had different perspectives and now that we understand how the other functions, the team can get going again.

We came out of that discussion with a few solutions. I understood what their long long silences were, so I would give them time to think and if a solution wasn't presented, another time to talk about it could be a better time. They also told me that whenever I felt like I needed answers, I should persist by asking them how they were thinking and that would serve as a cue that I need to be let in on some of their thoughts that were still under-construction mid-way. At least satisfy my need for some form of confidence.

It was quite revelatory in a sense that I learnt how to manage different working styles and conflicts. It was just simply a matter of different ways of working and communicating. I've found out earlier on during Go-Far that it takes time to understand a team mate and how he or she functions. But through this project, I've found out you can never fully understand someone by a certain time. It's a continual process, like every relationship. I have to manage and find out as we go on, and that's how it works. Constantly understanding and adjusting to each other's differences.

With that said, after so many discussions to and fro during FYP, I've learnt one of my weaknesses and that is communicating my ideas effectively. Seeing from the earlier conflict, my friends are good at analytically thinking through an idea and thus whenever they spoke, they spoke clearly. While I, whatever that came to my head I would say without much careful planning. I've come to realise I need to learn how to speak concisely and clearly by organising my thoughts clearly and quickly. It's so so so important and it's a skill I've yet to master. Something I need to learn from my friends. It helps with persuading others with your ideas and simply, letting others understand your point of view. That is the fundamental need for communicating clearly. For others to understand you, you need to speak clearly. Otherwise problems surface and I've noticed it's always about how you communicate and bring across your ideas. If you can't articulate well enough, people will never GET you. You'd think it's their problem when it actually is... yours. And that sucks.


So, the basis of a working group is... That's right, communication. As humans, we are interdependent and we must learn to work with one another. So to communicate, that's the most important thing ever.

People need to understand why people like US, study COMMUNICATION. It's not a lame major alright. A skill often overlooked.

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Other than the work of the FYP itself, I have had an emotional connection with our boy profile. You must be interested in his story and who he is.

The title of our documentary is 'Away from Ayah'. Ayah means 'Father' in Malay and our profile's father was recently incarcerated early this year.

His sister calls him by a nickname, Ipin, and that's how we address him in the documentary so as not to reveal his identity. We can't reveal his identity as a deal we made with the organisation who helped us with finding a story to film. We cannot thank them enough for making our docu work. That was one of the turning points in our FYP. Otherwise we'd still be left stranded.

We were introduced to Ipin and his family. He was surprisingly not shy at all, very chatty and I think that was the reason why we were introduced to document him in the first place.

Filming him was quite easy. Super cooperative, which is unusual for a boy his age - He's 12 y/o.

It was difficult interviewing him however, because he started shutting off emotionally when probed about his dad and stuff like that. It was difficult for him. And it was difficult for me. You can read in my earlier post about interviewing him on his thoughts about his father and my moral dilemma as a documentarian here.

A lot of people have asked us, "How is he like?". How is he REALLY like?

Amelia and I were talking about this, and we realised what people were actually trying to find out. Is he a naughty kid? Usually children of incarcerated parents - we'd see them as naughty kids because they haven't had the nurturance of parental love. The Chinese call it, 没有家教。His elder sister takes care of him and his younger sister. Mom doesn't come home and dad is in prison.

Let me just say that, Ipin is a very good, kind and clever boy. I'm not saying this because I'm biased after working with him. In fact, I had the same pre-conceived notion of kids who haven't had the care and love of parents, as many others. "Oh they must be so naughty, noisy and well, naughty." Noisy, yes coz well they're kids. Naughty? I really have to say no to that. I want to at least debunk that stereotype.

I am now a volunteer and I see him every week for an hour and a half to keep him company and be a friend to him. He does household chores at home every single day and fetches his sister from school back to their home by foot every single day. No bus, just walking. It takes about 40 minutes in total to and fro.

When I first knew that, I had respect for this kid. Who would do that as an elder brother? Not many boys I tell ya.




That's him waiting for his younger sister at school. She's 8.

I've had the privilege to walk with him to school to fetch his sister every time I meet him. It's been this way the past month. And I would carry her school bag for her, otherwise he'd usually do on his own.

What's funny is how people and other parents would always stare at us because it's so unusual for a Chinese girl to be talking to these 2 young Malay kids as if they were my own. They must've thought I was a young mother but then again, no. So they're conflicted whenever they see me. Maybe some dangerous stranger befriending them.

What I love about these walks is how they would tell me random things about their lives. Especially Ipin. He'd tell me random stuff - sometimes I get zoned out coz they're stuff about Transformers and Avengers. Boy stuff. Other times, he'd tell me about what his friends say, what he thinks. When LKY died, it was fascinating to hear how much he knew about "Mr Lee Kuan Yew". "Mr Lee Kuan Yew this, Mr Lee Kuan Yew that." The facts were all right. He knew them all. He even quoted what LKY said, "I've built this city from mudflats to become what it is today - A Metropolis". Wow, when he told me that, I was stunned. Well maybe kids these days are getting smarter, but the fact that he takes interest in Singapore history and could tell me about the Brits and the Japanese... I don't think any 12 year old would be able to tell me about that.

He doesn't do well at school though - fails every subject literally, except Math, which he proclaims proudly is his best and favourite subject. He even won Best-in-Progress in class for it. It's quite worrying, especially since he's taking his PSLE this year. If you say that the stereotype of these kids is that they're not smart, you might see it that way academically. But in other ways, truly, he is a smart kid. Very understanding, knowledgeable and curious about the world. Once again, not every kid is like that. And I wish that society based intelligence not on grades. This way, maybe teachers would start treating every kid the same way and in turn, would give equal attention to kids who are floundering and blossoming academically. I believe teachers have their inherent biases...


I remember once when I asked him, "What if I lose your Transformers toy? Will you be angry with me?"
He said: "No."
I said, "But why? It's your favourite toy. Why won't you be angry with me? I lost it leh. Your ABSOLUTE favourite toy."
He said: "It's okay. I won't be angry. I'll just go and find it."

That made my heart shatter a million god damned pieces.

I'd imagine him to scold me, hate me and scream at me. But he said this with so much confidence and honesty, and I believed him.

His younger sister and him bicker a lot though. He'd annoy his sister and she'd say she hates him. Oh younger sisters... I bet I was the same when I was younger. I've had to quell their fights so many times. Ok, actually I don't. I just leave them alone and they get better. all. the. time. Just kid fights really.

I told them yesterday when I met them while they were playing and screaming at the playground, "you know.. actually y'all will miss each other when you don't have the other. actually you will miss his fun and you will miss her fun. if you all don't have each other, you will be sad one...."

I read their faces and I'm sure they knew I was right because they went silent but were happy.

The younger sister is quite spoilt, as all younger sisters are, but she can be such a darling. Unlike Ipin, she would ask me about me, wanted to find out about me. She's asked about my scars on my knees twice, mainly coz they look gruesome but she'd ask "What happened?" She would ask for my name and address me by my full name, Si Hui, while Ipin just calls me Sue coz I said it's easier that way. She held my hand yesterday for a reason I forgot. I think it was after Ipin tried to scare her and do some crazy thing that stupid elder brothers do.

Girls are always darlings. Sweet by nature.

They're both good kids. Who happen to grow up in difficult and different circumstances. They're still young and have so much to learn, and I only hope that they'd grow up well. I respect their elder sister for taking care of them. I feel like I'm quite kawan-kawan with the family already.

What saddens me is that I'll have to leave them momentarily for the few months that I'll be in Myanmar. By the time I come back, that relationship built over the past month and month ahead might crumble. I'm not awkward with them and they're not awkward with me anymore, and it saddens me that I'll have to be away for that amount of time. I don't want to give the impression that I'm like everyone else, who leaves them as and when they want to. I want to be a constant~

At the same time, I have the confidence that the relationship has been built strong enough so much so that it'll be just the same when I return. I intend to write them letters while I'm away.

I know what will be different when I come back though. No more walks to school with him because his sister will be old enough to walk home herself. And he'll be in Secondary One. He's gonna be this older boy who might be different altogether and perhaps a changed person when I return.

I'll miss these moments. But I'll cherish them while they last in the meantime.


These are just some of the experiences I've gotten out of FYP and I treasure all of them very much. It's quite crazy just looking back on all the things that have happened. How much I've learnt from the people around me - my team mates and children I've made friends with. Everyone I've come to know and everything that has happened to me, serendipitous or otherwise, have taught me so much. So cheesy, yet true.

I have just spent 3 hours writing up this post. I'm tired. But hey look, I'm keeping up with my posts ; )

Hi, I've told myself that I should aim to try to blog every two days. I realise one tends to slack off after at least three days and it's hard to get back to the routine. Very much like exercise... you tell yourself the day after tomorrow, but that day never comes hahaha.

Coz words don't flow naturally once I procrastinate blog posts. Like right now, do you know what I'm actually doing? I'm typing something, and then I'm backspacing coz I'm thinking, "oh I'm supposed to talk about this today" but that detracts from my spontaneity in writing. And to make it worse, I'd think oh, I'm also supposed to talk about __ & ___ (eg. spain post) and then I'd realise omg I've a backlog of posts to do and how am I ever gonna get down to it. So I never do.

Also, I'm the sort of person who likes to talk about things in "real-time". If it happened that day, it's optimum that I blog that very day as well because feelings and emotions tend to pass quickly and memories should be logged in while they're still fresh. (unless something untoward happens, then yes let me sober up before I can talk about it) I am also a very spontaneous person. If it doesn't come naturally, it'll be awkward for me. I dunno bout you, but I think I've been blogging kinda awkwardly the past weeks.

My posts tend to become less personal when I overthink what I'm supposed to talk about in a particular post. Loses a bit of touch.

THEREFORE, I promise myself, every two days I'd post something. After all the broken promises I've given to you guys like how I need to post about Spain and yadee dah dah dah. It never happens because I'd be so overwhelmed by other stuff I'm supposed to talk about as well. The End Goal is never near.

So, bit by bit I'm gonna feed you with posts. Bit by bit I tell ya. I will finish all the posts I've been wanting to blog about.

Another reason why I want to keep up with my posts is also because after watching a ted talk, it spoke about how it's important to journal your thoughts down every day. It helps with retrospection and introspection.

Here it is,




Hahahahahahahhahh shit I just went to my search history to find the video and crap, the title. Thanks a lot ted, you read my mind. So bloody apt to what I'm talking about. I seriously forgot what the title was, I just knew that it was something I told myself I should try doing, not knowing that the entire talk is about stopping procrastination. Dayum.

It's a sign hahaha. Time to blog more often. Feed you guys more often, and feed my soul more often.

Since I'm done with school, I really have no freakin excuse to not blog. Besides, I think no company wants to hire someone like me who only has time till end June. That's less than 2 months to work temporary. I needa find ad-hoc stuff to earn some moolah. Lobangs please.

Just in case I really have nothing to do and nobody wants to spend time with me, I just went to AMK Library to borrow books to read and keep my mind occupied. Crime-fiction (my fav genre *wink), war novel (my 2nd fav genre *double wink) and a book on Singapore short essays called "Durians are not the only fruit" - It won a cultural medallion award so why not. I picked it up while browsing through a travelling exhibition called, "WE: Defining stories". SG50 is seriously roping in some kickass heritage stuff.

Oh could I just say that I visited the National Musuem last Friday to have a look at the LKY exhibition. I teared upon seeing the flag that draped over his casket. All throughout his state funeral, I never once wept. But this time. For a reason unbeknownst even to myself, I teared at the museum. Perhaps it felt quite tangible, the closest I could ever feel. I don't know... He passed away quite a while already but it got to me. I still feel a sense of loss.

Quite a teeny exhibition, have a look at it while you can nevertheless.


Alright, STARTING TODAY, I WILL BLOG MORE. I'm thinking of revamping my stale blog skin as well. And Chickenbackside really? How highschool is that hahahahahah. Also the side bar >> I don't think people really wanna read posts on prom and stuff already right? Bygones ago man.

Wanna see room-tour-guide-me guide you around my hall room? Always wanted to see where I stayed the past few months in Pulau NTU?

THEN WATCH THIS hahaha. It ends abruptly coz my phone has no memory space. It's always lacking in space.

Also, you'll get to hear ma beautiful deep nasal voice ; ) I always thought I sounded deep but I kinda like it coz it gives meh - a u t h o r i t y - BOOM.

I decided to do one because well, I want to remember how my room looks like. And also, since I did one as a freshie in Year 1 at Hall 3, I thought why not make one last one to wrap it all up eh? I was hesitating doing one coz I feel like I've grown too old and I think I'm too mature now (HAHA) to be doing such lame-ass vids.

Then again, we're all secretly kids. And my priority is still to remember good ol'times.

Below is a room tour aka roommate lovin' (bashin') that I did 3 years ago hahahahahah, goodness this is so embarrassing. With braces, long hair and thinner hahahah. I think I was pretty damn thin 3 years ago. Also, bitchier in this video. No lah, I'm not bitchy lah. Just bashin' my lovely freshie roommate poh ling hahaha. Who asked her to leave me all alone in that room that night cheh.





By the way, am tryna get used to zero school and stuff. I keep thinking I've stuff to do, when fact is, I DON'T! I'm freeeee but I'm not used to this freeeeedom. Crazy ah!