Heritage Race 2011

Fun was the last thing on my mind when Uncle PY approached me a couple of Sundays ago to join the Heritage Race. For one, work was the first thing that came to my mind when I was asked, since I sometimes need to spend weekends doing submissions/speeches/events/MRs. Two, past church activities I attended is a tad (no offense indeed) cheesy, and I wasn't sure if I am game for another one. But I signed up eventually, mainly to do my part to support what the church organised since response was not enthusiastic despite the publicity.

God must have known that I had my doubts, and He is determined to prove me wrong. From the start of the race to the finishing point, I sensed the amount of effort and sincerity the organising committee had put in to organise the whole race. There were some hiccups on the ground, of course, like any other events would have, but the overall running of the race was smooth. I was especially impressed with the two-way communication element throughout the race, with regular facebook and SMS updates, and the attentiveness to our needs as particants, with a professional mobile massaging team and a buffet spread waiting for us when we reached the ending point. There was clearly a lot of thought process that went on behind the scenes, and it was much appreciated by the participants.

Saying a word of thanks to the organising team for their efforts is a given. Beyond that, I want to say that the race has motivated me to want to contribute more - to be part of the community that helps bring people even closer to God and other another through different platforms. I am pretty sure that in the process, I will also be greatly encouraged and strengthened in faith.

Feeling better

The three things I remembered about yesterday were:

1) My new shoes broke. First it was the sole, then it was the strap. Luckily I had a spare pair of shoes in the office.

2) Lunch with A at the fish and chips place, and the crash course on buying HDB flats and using (or rather the locking in of) CPF monies. And then it was a heated debate on gay rights. Yes, he emphasised that he is not gay.

3) Drinks with YC in the evening @ Majestic Bar. 2.5 martinis later, I found myself getting really sleepy. I recalled going to Vivo to collect my camera, discovering that the service centre was closed, taking a bus, reaching home, collapsing on the sofa, waking up 3 hours later, washing up, and went right back to sleep. Hmmm... the fact that I remembered all these meant that I was not drunk. Was thinking of sms-ing YC to make sure that he got home safely as well (since he had 3.5 martinis!), butI decided that I shan't insult his level of alcohol tolerance.

Woke up before the alarm clock rang this morning. Went to look at some gowns with Sis and settled the Dec trip train tickets with Mr. Jang at STA.

And then it was flag day! Stood for 3.5 hours near Lavendar MRT under the hot sun and kept bugging people "Hi, would you like to donate to the elderly and people with special needs please?" The cute thing was, even the elderly donated although a few murmured "I also elderly!" or "I also need help." Sis got a couple of nasty ones who snapped "Asked LKY's son to donate lah!!!" or "I lost all my money already lah! STILL ask me to donate!!!??" Anyway, we managed to get a decent amount at the end of the day (at least both Sis and my bags weighed sufficiently heavy). The bad thing was, we got a parking summon for not putting enough coupons. Argh.

Dinner was then once again home cooked fried rice. It was actually a strategic move because I need to set a trap for Mr. Jang to come so that I can outsource my data entry work to him. Hee.

On this last day of my life, I feel extremely exhausted from having participated in the flag day but am glad that I did a small part for the needy. Am also very grateful towards the people who made me feel that they are always there for me. Thanks.