Monday, June 30, 2008

3 days

Friday training:

With 6 some gang... Alvin bounced back on his bike after his knee operation...
We started from Ten Mile Junction and cycled 20km down.. passed Mandai. Upper Thomson, Lower pierce... clocked around 40km....

I tried to draft Alvin who was leading the pack at some point of time.. Managed to keep up with him. However, i drafted a little too near. I could not see the road ahead, Felt pretty afraid... After 20mins of drafting... I went back.. Din wanted to get into any accidents, to ensure that I could race Gold COast marathon successfully this Sunday...

I dropped back, and cruzzed during up slopes but whacked on flats.... managed to keep a constant pace of 33-34kmph...

Followed the front pack with Alvin, JD, Melvin and Jing ye during the route back to Bukit Panjang... it was quite dark at certain parts of the road...

Reached Bukit Panjang.. all 11 of us stopped for a drink and they had supper... I skipped it .. Din want to get fat!....

Saturday:

Open house @ Keming Pri from 8am to 3pm....
went swimming with the gang at HTA... did some stroke correction for Alber... realised how long I have not swam... have been always in the pool, coaching but not swimming...

the whole pool was ours!

Sunday:

Pearl Izumi Run series....
12km... did a easy run at Bedok ...

came back in 54min plus... got 3rd... the route was nice and smooth... just that there are a lot of stairs to climb, bridges to cross....U turns and slopes...

I won a heart rate monitor watch.. strapless!

Friday, June 27, 2008

KEMING TRACK AND FIELD-26th June 2008

These 2 days...it was exciting. It was my first time bringing my student out for the National Inter-school Track and Field Championships...

these students had only 5 sessions of training... my aim for them was... exposure and focus on the process, go through the run and finish it the best that they could have done...

In 5 sessions, there is actually a limited amount that I can actually teach them. I will have to plan out my training really well now and have a new objective and aim for next year...

it has been only the 2nd day, I hope that they enjoyed the races... Next week will be really Hectic...
Photos of 7 students who went with me this afternoon... I have a total of 30 students....It's a big group for a new CCA.... Work for quality and not only on quantity...individual photos..P4 student-Changhuiand with Dashini...with disturbance from the backand then with Ervin...handsome sand with Nurul... an Asthematic student who ran really well today.. she came in 3rd in her heat!
I am really proud of her@!When she started training, she was just a non active, not determined student which is constantly complaining about her asthma... but now, she is so different... my youngest students of the team... isn't she adorable!!! She is only primary 3! She ran in the 200m! When I see these students, I feel a sense of achievement.. At least I managed to help them to find certain meaning in life... I love them A lot!.... Most important in training is the attitude and not the fitness... with the proper attitude, fitness will rise... Keep it up !

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Singapore Flyer

Singapore Flyer...it was a sharing session with my colleagues..
it's my first time at the flyer, it was an excellent and superb trip.. photos speak more than wordssome plants that were taken there...waterfall...it's just a small little fountain...pics of the flyer... we are approaching it soon...
this is a net which we saw when we were in the flyer...
and these are the scenes which we took in the flyer..and me with karen...oh she is pregnant with her second child!....

the journey to the flyer was superb. It gave us many tips...

now let us think about some pointers...
Is Singapore a copy cat country or is it a country which brings many other fantasies of the World to us? think about FI, Integrated resort, Flyer and many more... what is your view?

BIKELABZ BBQ

went to Bike Labz bbq on Last sunday...at Pasir Ris Aloha resort...Samuel Young had a surprise birthday party! met up with my cycling coach Yew Chung and Bike Labz boss Ah Zai...

new wallet...

As I lost my wallet, I received a new one! Braun Buffel... from Jd... thanks :)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Monday-23rd June 2008

Training on Monday: Turf City

Reached there, Fab was already with coach, not to mentioned that my msges to him previously came late so we did not met up as planned for training!

At the slope, coach workout for me that day : Long run of 1.5hours... at race pace...

First 3 km at 5min per km...
Next 45mins at 4:55min per km...
Last 3 km at 4:45min per km...

I went off straight for the run. Brought along with me the NIKE PLUS watch to keep track of my pace... coach actually likes the watch because it can keep me on pace!

Went off one round at turf city and then headed straight back into the quiet area in the woods, headed for the guys at the slope, it was 15mins...

Did 2 more rounds and it started to get dark. As the moonlight set in, I began to feel a little more afraid.. Every 10-15 steps I took, I actually took a glance at my back. I knew that probably no once would pounce on a black and unfemaline runner like me, however, the sounds of the trees and branches moving made me worry a little!

Finally finished 3 rounds and headed back for the slope. Met up with Joe, Karthik and Fab. Thanks for waiting, guys...

anyway it was not the end of my run... it was another 15 mins to go...

The sky was dark by then. Looked at my Nike Plus watch. Realised that it was only about 1 hour and I was running at about 4:48min per km pace... Fab told me to keep running then turn back at a distance.

SO the next 15mins, I was running up and down. Up to about 100-150m ahead, then U-turned back to meet the guys, made a U-turn around them, then headed straight ahead again.

The last 3 km was ran with my running partner, Fabian ! We ran a really fast one. Supposed to be doing at only4:50mins per km... however, we were running at 4:30min per km according to NIKE plus watch..

my gosh. Is this good or bad?

Prob not that good! I am feeling the sore today....

But it was a great run indeed..

13 days to Gold Coast...feeling pretty nervous...

Friday, June 20, 2008

training on thursday... SP...

warm up... did a little static exercises

6 x 800m at 3:24min per set...

what came out in the end:
1 - 3:11min
2 - 3:18min
3 - 3:14min
4 - 3:15min
5 - 3:11min
6 - 3:14min

coach went..."you still need strength and energy for your course later! slow down!"

but I just continued... haha felt rather comfortable...

Fab was accompanying me for the first 2 sets.. then he got a sudden pain in the archiles... and so had to stop... but well.. this is the last workout he can do with me! Next week onwards, it is his time to get whacked by coach! recovery time is over for him!

I just lost my wallet today... IC, Civil service card, GNC cards, bus ex-link cards and credit cards as well as ATM cards all lost!!! haiz... got stolen in my staff room when I was having a meeting... really... just give me back the IC... I dun want the cash... you can have it.. return me the more impt things please... I still have a red packet which coach gave to me with Kenya money for good luck... and 2 lucky jades inside... please can i have it back...

haiz...Fab thanks for offering to come to school and fetch me home... I would walk home instead.. no need to trouble you.
Shu, thanks for asking whether I needed help...
Students, thanks for your understanding as I would not be able to go for the lessons...had to cancel swim classes
JD, thanks for fetching me from home for dinner later and passing me cash... thank you

I just wished time can make a U-turn!

Thursday, June 19, 2008


I have signed up for NIKE + 10k Human race... have you?

check it out at www.nikeplus.com.sg

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Friendly race with Macpherson Primary

Tuesday: 17th June 2008...

Went to recce a campsite with my Principal and my mentor.. it's for the P5 camp. wow the campsite held by Adam Khoo company is great.. more pictures so show soon.

2-4pm: Millenia Institute

Thanks to Eric Wu, coach of Macpherson Primary School Track and Field team.. we had arranged a friendly race for our kids... to get them to get prepared for their nationals coming up in july.
My kids have been training for only 5 sessions of about 2 hours each... they are really committed people... I have seen them through the whole hols.. gotten close to these students and realised the different needs of the students as well as they different strengths of them.

They are really my bunch of great kids... but always asking me to bring them to mac.. when i refused, they will in turn ask me to bring them to coffeeshop for a healthy meal and drink! I always relent!

the kids warmed up and did drills..
we had 100m, 200, 300m, 600m and 800m.
The kids did well. The outstanding one was obviously Yusuff. he is a P6 boy who is actually overaged. 13 years old. But very committed and potential. Even Eric said so.He won the 100m race and did a PB for the 800m . With only 5 sessions of training, he came in with a timing of 2:49min. This is a good result, definitely something to look forward for when I see him race during Nationals schools. He will give a good fight.

I am so proud of my long distance students. They were looking forward to race with other students in the 300m and 600m. However, Eric informed me that he do not have students available for the event that day. I had my students to race themselves and they really did so.

They were not afraid to fall or fail. They just wanted to complete it with a good timing. I am really very proud of them. Especially proud of Ervin. Every training he comes, he will stop running halfway and give up the training. But for the race, he actually finished it and came in right behind the girls. It was no big deal to me coming in slow, what's most important for my students is the sheer determination to finish the race in the best performance that you can have for the day.

and they did it. They did not win ALL the race, just several of them but i was really happy that they had successfully finished the whole race. Some had even ran extra distance to motivate the other runners. Yusoff for example, tried to jog a 600m round the track to motivate the younger long distance runners to finish the race. Hakim for example, did a 200m even after he had finished a 100m and 300m. Jagan went on to complete a 200m extra just to challenge himself.

Congrats to Keming Trackies, you made yourself proud, you made me proud.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

second avenue-coaching

second avenue... a place where I am coaching ... a house with its own swimming pool and its own gym! and the maids with their own private room, computer and tv...!

anlene orchard mile

Sunday. Anlene Orchard mile. at Dohby Ghaut... i think the only race I have taken part as a team with my sister so far...

anyway this race was sponsored by my sunglasses sponsor... SMITH... i gave them 7 names... and my sponsor was running in the same team as me...4 of the girls belong to RedXtreme... and Smith was kind enough to put the team name as Smith-redxtreme... I dun see a prob with this because I felt it was very nice of them! and i appreciate their kind gesture...

anlene orchard mile is a 1.6km event. the last time i ran a 1.6km it was in primary school! i wished that the dot between the 1 and 6 could have been removed to form 16km instead! ahah...

anyway I did ok.. timing of 6min 19 seconds i think... i still cannot forget the feeling i had with running without air most of the time... its so different in the marathon and a mile race...

I got second in the age group.. I could say that I was lucky... and Smith won first in the corporate event and Smith-redxtreme won 3rd for the corporate event.. That was a surprise..
my sister was so happy! never in her life had she gotten first for a race... she was in my team! I FELT PROUD OF HER...she was just a mere 20 seconds behind me!

photos before race
receiving prizesis and me...too tired for a nice pic!

and here's the prize we won! each person a pair of sunglasses... you can choose either reactor max or the factor max... i choose a red reactor max and my sister choose a black one...and I love the reactor max version... and i bought a VTI version for JD... and he was surprised and happy !

anyway i got a info from a coach that this particular coach whom i mentioned in my previous posts... dwelling on my races... has come to complain that why was i racing under smith and why was the team name called redxtreme...

i really wonder.. do they have something better to do than bother about things that are not under their call? can they just keep quiet and accept defeat.

it is much most irritating that everybody wants a piece of you or find fault with you when you are excelling... coach guy told me that... and i agreed...

anyway after anlene mile.. we went to find Fab and the boys at ST mary's church..they had taken part in a race.. 50km road relay with each person running 5km..and they won! the boys are awesome!both team won!



Saturday

last sat... woke up at 530am...

CCAB track. with FABian Williams, my nicest training partner cum bro...
he helped to me draft up a plan for my run.. supposed to be a 2.5our run at the suggested spped by coach... Fab had helped me to write down all the 1km timings i must hit... all the way to 31km! haaha... and supposed to be all done on the track!

He helped me to track my per km timing and had to run across the field to pass me water once i reached the 5km mark... and continued... i thought i could finish till 2.5 hour... but i was wrong...
badly ...

I hit the 9km mark and felt really tight in the chest... I told Fab that I could do one more km... I din want to waste my body forcing myself to do a undesired speed... and so i stopped at the 10km... all on target... but choose to give up after 10km...

body has not been responding for 3 weeks... have stopped training... i felt really demoralised... and fab had to comfort me... felt like crying... it was only a 2.5 hours run! and i could not finish it... I dun blame it on the weather, i dun blame it on the climate.. i dun blame it on the boring rounds ard the track.. i blame it on myself... for not taking care of myself.... for falling sick at the wrong time...

Is gold coast marathon going to be done with a PB? i really wonder now... can i even complete it successfully?

its a question to be answered on the 6th july 2008

after that we went to Adam market for breakfast which i did not finish... went to coach's house for woking workout...

the best part of today was...

coach commented that my one legged hops had a tremendous improvement and he was surprised

Saturday, June 14, 2008

updates

thursday:

training at SP ...supposed to do 5 sets of 1km with 2min rest... supposed to do at 4:15min...

it was SUPPOSED to be an easy workout...

Fab and me started training at 530pm.. sun still up...

I finished 4 sets struggling... first time i felt i could not finish the last set... Fab was pushing me along.. but i just could not breathe... The cough and Phelgm was arranging themselves along my throat. It made a blockage.

I had to stop after 4th set... could not do the 5th set. Felt super demoralised. But what to do? Sick for more than 2 weeks.

Morale of the story: Cough takes a long time to heal.... you can't push your body when it is not responding. It will only show you :revenge, Stop training....

After that went to NCAP course with Fab and then we went to his RedXtreme BBQ at Tanah Merah. Bought lots of food for the kids... I even peeled all the rambutans for the kids... while Fab was briefing them!.... these kids are really adorable!

Junko is officially in RedXtreme now. Feel happy for her now. She sees herself improving and striving for the better. She has made new friends. And for the first time in her life, she is given a t-shirt with a club's name... she was so proud of it.

and I am so proud of her. work hard girl.

Friday:

slept till 12pm... woke up, coaching at the Linear from 2-3pm, then at Second avenue from 3.30pm to 6pm and then walked to HCJC for another 2 hours session till 830pm...

was so tired... met Fab for dinner and viewing of shoes at Vivocity... had to view shoes for my track and field students... went home...


Saturday:

meeting the usual training partner Fabian Williams at 530a.m. to go CCAB for a 2.5 hours run.. dunno how i am going to go thru it... but i will try... 2.5hours on the track... its going to be super boring man... but I got the Ultra Marathon Champion there to run 1 hour with me and the last 1/2 hour with me after his coaching.... way to go bro... thanks!

sleeping time...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

NIKE + HUMAN RACE 10k

I would like to bring to you an upcoming race...NIKE will sponsoring this race... its gonna be a run and exciting race!

One Day, One Million Runners, 25 cities, 25 Top musical acts - Join us in the world's largest race!

On 31st August, 2008

You'll be making history.

One million runners, 25 cities, 10K. Join The Nike+ Human Race, the world's biggest one day running event.

There are two ways to run...

1. Run with us in Singapore

2. Run where you are with Nike+ sportkit or Nike+ sportband

As part of the Nike+ Human Race 10K, runners will be able to run for a cause to help support and give back to the global community.

These organizations will receive proceeds from the race!

The Nike+ Human Race 10K Singapore will be held in the city centre, with mini concerts along the race route and a music festival at the end of the race that will be staged by local and international artists and bands to help inspire you to log 10Ks you'll never forget. Some of the bands playing includes - The Great Spy Experiment, Plain Sunset, Wicked Aura Batucada and DJ Ko Flow just to name a few.


Categories

• School Team Challenge Cat. A (Secondary + Junior Colleges)

• School Team Challenge Cat. B (ITE + Polytechnic + Universities)

• Men's & Women's Under 24

• Men's & Women's Open category


Entry Fee

• S$25 (under 24 as of 1st September 2008), S$45 (open category) *7% GST applies.

• Runners will receive a Nike Race tee with pre-printed number bib + other goodies

• Virtual runners have the option to buy a Nike Race tee with pre-printed number bib as well at S$35 * 7% GST applies.

Only participants will be allowed to to attend the grand finale at the Padang!


Register now on www.nikeplus.com.sg


For more information on the Nike+ Human Race 10K, please log on to www.nikeplus.com.sg

my letter to the City duathlon organiser... and their reply...

MY EMAIL TO THE ORGANISERS

Dear Organisers of City Duathlon 2008,

I am writing in with regards to feedback I have for the city duathlon which was held last Sunday.

At the race start, we, the participants were not briefed on the race route, number of laps to complete for each leg, U-turn points which were very important and other relevant details. This was very crucial to everybody as we participants are usually briefed before the race. At the start point, it was announced that the race will commence in 15 mins. Many competitors made their way out to have a drink or do their active stretching. We did not expect that within a minute, it started to announce "the race is starting in 10,9,8,...." we were all taken aback.

The running route was supposed to be 2 loops of 5km. When I was approaching the esplanade link bridge and was asked to make a turn down, I saw the marshalls not able to control the human traffic. Runners were taking short cut, some were asking the marshalls exactly where is the running route leading to. The first round was completed with not much of obstruction.

The most annoying thing about the whole race which had me disqualified was when we were approaching the "so-called U-turn point" which non of the runners actually had an idea where it was located, we were asked to run straight back into the transition area. The first pack of runners, the leading pack all ran straight in. The U-turn sign was no where to be seen. I followed the leaders right in. As all of us approached the start point, I saw the BIKE OUT sign. That moment, i was totally confused. WE asked the marshall stationed at the BIKE OUT sign for directions, some answered they do not know. Some asked us to go right into the transition area and run out through the "RUN OUT" sign. We head straight in and ran out through the RUN OUT area. However, we were very shocked to see that when we exited the RUN OUT area and ran all the way out, we were already overtaken by the slower runners behind. We were held back much further and at that moment we realised that we had taken a much longer route. It was very much annoying that runners like us had ran out hearts out for the first 5km and had to accept that we were forced to run an extra distance and wasted precious time due to the management's negligance. It is very annoying.

The top leaders were all disqualified as they ran right into the transition area, not knowing that they had passed by the U-turn point. The marshalls said nothing and there was nobody leading the runners to U-turn . I am talking about the front leaders and us runners who were in the front pack and racing for positions on the podium.

While I was running my second 5km loop, I knew that I had already lost out as I could see people who were jogging really slowly, in front of me! this refers that the faster runners had already whisked their way through and are much more in front of me.

At the bike leg, I did not have the mood to bike. The other annoying and frustrating thing was that the bike leg was supposed to be 40km but turned out to be only 22km! All the cyclists on the bike leg were confused on whether to believe the marshalls to cycle only 5 loops or to complete 7-8loops. Scenes of cyclists discussing these things could be seen through the bike leg. You could hear people saying "just loop 5 rounds, and go back.. should be only 22km"... others were saying "maybe we should just loop 8 rounds since each round is only 4 km!"... the situation was very confusing. The route was so packed. There was no room for cyclist to pass one another. The faster cyclists had to constantly shout "coming right!" it was not normal for a cyclist to shout such things every 2-3 seconds!

After finishing the 5 loops of the bike, I headed straight back . I had totally NO mood to complete the last running lap. I stopped at the bike out area and pushed my bike away. It was totally demoralising and I was so frustrated, I just gave up the race and walked off. It was just not the right time to race in such an event.

I got to realised that the team i was representing, BIKE LABZ had 2 teams disqualified. Their relay runners who were the top 2 persons for the 10km first leg run encountered the same as me. They were led the wrong way and ran straight into the bike transition area. And because of this, the 2 teams were disqualified. The other team they sent for the shorter relay also encountered problems. The runner who was supposed to run the first leg of the 2.5km had no idea where the 2.5km U-turn point was! He asked every marshall he saw along the way and non of them knew where it was, in the end he ran all the way to the PADANG! can you imagine how much extra distance he had actually clocked! Lucky for him, he was a faster runner, even with the extra distance, he still came back first.

It was very very very disheartening to see so many people affected by the race. We went there to race, to enjoy as well as to try and win. However, the bulk majority of us who were racing in the leading pack were either disqualified or led the wrong way. The lady who was leading all the way, Dinah, from the National Triathlon Team had to loop 7 rounds of the bike leg instead of 5 laps and in the end, lost her position. All of us who were running and leading in the front pack all dropped behind not because of our lack in strength or fitness, but due to obstacles that occurred during the race.

Many of us have planned not to race this event ever again. We expect an explanation from the organiser. There are many issues to be explained.


Thank you very much.

Tan Sok Hue Sumiko


their reply TO MY EMAIL after 3 days..

Dear Sumiko,

Firstly, we apologise for the late response to your letter.

We thank you for your valuable feedback and sincerely apologise for the inconveniences caused to you during the race. We duly acknowledge your comments and sentiments, and promise to work towards improving the areas pointed out in your letter, in order to prevent similar experiences from occurring again for future events.

Please find attached a copy of the Race Director’s review, which was posted on the official event website on Monday, 9 June 2008. We hope the review will be able to offer further insight in addressing your queries and concerns.

Further, we endeavour to provide a more specific explaination to you in the next week. We thank you for your patience and kind understanding on this.

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

Yours sincerely
Raymond Sia
(Sent on behalf of Organiser)


Race Director's Review ON THE WEBSITE:

Dear race participants,
Thank you for participating in the SAAB City Duathlon. As a Triathlete myself, I
understand the amount of training and effort you take to prepare for a race and salute
you for your spirit. It is our goal to provide you with the best possible race experience
in spite of whatever challenges that come our way.

As the Race Director, I'm concerned about some of the feedback gathered after the
event and regret to learn about the inconvenience or confusion incurred during the
race. As such, I'll like to give my unreserved apology and provide you with a review
for your understanding.

Shorter Bike Route
The original bike route for the full Duathlon (40km) and half Duathlon (20km)
required participants to complete 5 loops and 2 loops respectively. However, we
discovered discrepancies at the bike route junction between Marina Boulevard and
Marina Mall (Please refer to Bike Route Map). Despite deploying 4 marshals, who
had effectively directed the earlier Junior Duathlon and Half Duathlon (16-19 yrs)
category races, we experienced difficulties in the later categories.

Our review showed that due to the affected route being only partially closed to
support continual operation of the Marina Pier, the gaps between cones used to
barricade the junction allowed the lead pack of the 4th Wave to miss their left turn
towards Marina Mall and go straight ahead towards Marina Pier.

This resulted in numerous cyclists following the lead pack and as it was deemed too
dangerous to redirect the cyclists and unfair to disqualify the many cyclists who had
missed their checkpoint in Marina Mall, a judgement call was made to stay with this
"modified" route which resulted in a shortened bike route.

To support this decision, we briefed the marshals to provide the consistent message
that cyclists were to only complete 5 loops and 2 loops.

Through our efforts, we are glad to announce no cyclist went through the planned
8km loop which provided some level of consistency. For the full Duathlon a total of
80.25% of the participants managed to complete the race based on the 5 laps (22km)
which we subsequently adopted as the official bike distance. In the Corporate Relay a
total of 93.46% of the participants managed to complete the race based on the 2 laps
(10km) which we again adopted as the official bike distance.

In the evaluation of our race management, we would like to apologize and highlight
areas where we were deficient:

• Failure to anticipate the route challenges as a result of heavy construction
work in the area.
• Failure to anticipate over a hundred construction workers breaching our bike
route on their way to work.
• Ineffective marshalling
• Inadequate route signage

To ensure that such incidents do not occur again, we also commit ourselves to these
improvements:
• More prominent road signages
• Effective marshalling
• Greater clarity in lap count
• Greater clarity in E-briefing as well as the route map
• More in depth engagement of other stakeholder in the area
• Review on the usage of Marina Bay area as a venue for future races until
construction is nearing completion

On another note, may I take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors for their kind
support. To all the volunteers who made the effort to support the race, thank you very
much. Without your support such mass participation events would not be possible.
Once again, we thank you for taking part in the SAAB City Duathlon, and sincerely
apologise for all inconvenience caused during the event. Your feedback is important
to us, and we hope that you give us the opportunity to deliver an improved race in the
future. .

Yours Sincerely
COL LAM SHIU TONG
Race Director

LET'S JUST FORGIVE AND FORGET... MOVE ON... ITS JUST ANOTHER UNLUCKY RACE...

WEIPING and SUNNY wedding

wedding day... weiping and Sunny...saturday 7th June 2008

I was the Jie Mei.. helping out with things like receiving of bride, planning of games, hotel stuff, emcee and things here and there that required me to be in-charge of. I was working closely with the guy co-ordinator.

the night before that, I was busy with a lady Corliss, another Jie Mei whom i only known a week before.. we were preparing our 5 stations test for the groom the next day...

The place where they received the bride was at a condo and not at a HDB... hence we had to be very careful of what we planned. We could not have the groom and his brothers to stand along the tiny corridor and play all the games... there was no grills for the usual receiving bride situation...

we made cards! marked stations!

Station 1:before he could enter the building, he needed a card to tap.... and the card was in our hands! We tied an apple with a roll of string and attached it to a bamboo stick. We then asked the groom to choose two good friends to place the bamboo sticks on their shoulders. The groom had to LIMBO ROCK to bite of two mouthfuls of the apple without using his hands...

Initially, the groom had difficulties... but then the brothers were smart too.. one brother used his head and had the apple to out place between the head and the Weiping-the groom's head... and easily, the apple was bitten!

we tapped the card and made our way up...

Second station: Sour Sweet Bitter and Spicy!Corliss pouring the stuff the night before

we had 8 cups of drinks... 2 cups of each taste...

sour: Lemon water plus sour plums plus super sour sweets...
sweet: prune juice plus sweets... (easiest one)
bitter: very bitter herbal tea plus numerous slices bittergourds
spicy: numerous sliced chilli padi mixed with coke

they had to finish all the drinks... and they were not in small cups!the picture above is after they have finished the drink.. we were not that mean to ask them to finish up the stuff inside...

Third station: they entered the house... but was refused to enter the room by us!
groom had to sing the bride's fav childhood song! and he sang really nice... then we tekan them again... asked all the brothers to dance behind.. they willingly did so.. we were so amazed by the enthusiasm... some really danced like kids!!!

fourth station: Weiping tried to dash for the door with the key but then he realised it was the wrong one.... we had hidden the key in the house.. they were supposed to look for it!

they could not find...and we asked them for an ang bao... for a clue.. yeah they gave generously.... and found it at the pack of the wedding portrait on the wall...

last station: Finding the hands

Weiping was blindfolded and then led into the room...he was given about 5 hands to touch... and he had to determine which hands was his bride! he touched my hand for the longest time till I said heh, enough le, move on k...

he was wondering whether my hand or the other hand given was the bride's hand!.... in the hand he was pretty smart.... his wife's hand has very short nails... and painted nail polish... that he all knew about it!off we went to the groom's house!along the way, we realised that the bride's skirt had a prob.. inner layer which was supposed to make the dress fluffy was torn.. and the wire was jutting out... The spare one that the bride actually prepared was not that nice... and so i started my hands... I sewed back the skirt inner layer!... it was enough to make her last for the whole night.... I cannot forget how humid was the room i was sewing in. But when I think of the bride and how happy she would be to be able to look pretty... I could not care much more.. the skirt was in time for her tea ceremony !
this was the picture taken after the sewing was completed!!as the tea ceremony was going on, the sisters and brothers were busy talking...and taking pictures...and we went back to the condo... the bride had to change...we busy counting money!Jiayin and Corlisslook at the different currency notes!!! they tried to trick us into taken rupiah also! and they gave us 8 US dollars... everything we took!

and we went to the hotel...sheraton towers... and look at the scene inside the ballroom.. I was testing my mike when I took these pictures... SO NICE! this is what the tables look like....and it was lunch time, not dinner...they ordered black tables with rainbow lights....the front table was the VIP table...here on the stage, I took pictures of the champagne wine bottlesand we took more pics... i changed out of my white dress and put on a black one.. here I am with the 2 ladies.. they were helping at the reception table... while i was busy attending to the guests, helping the bride as an escort and also doing my emcee job... finally have some time for some food.. we had eaten anything except for 4 glutinous rice balls the whole day! jiayin and her bf... I say he looks like the actor Edison...we played a game with the newly wed couple...

we asked the groom to stand 10metres away from the stage. every step he takes closer to the stage, he has to name a quality that he loves of his wife...

there was one that nearly moved the bride to tears... he said in chinese
" sometimes, she makes me crazily angry, but i dunno why, i still love her very much".... wow.. applause from the audience was very loud!

i guess this is love...

pictures taken after the lunch...and i took pictures with the bride... i was very tired... and the bride was even more tired... i literally lean onto her...finally i accomplished my task... i knew this couple only 1 year ago... thru JD... and JD was not present at this wedding because he had to be brother at another friend's wedding... hence, I volunteered to help out... as a gesture to the couple that though their close friend, JD could not come, at least he sent a efficient representative to help out! (that was what JD said!)...

but nevertheless, I got to know new friends... Corliss and Jiayin.. and met nice people like Adrain and twin brothers Guo Wei and Guo Bao....

but i pitied the groom... non of his brothers could help him to drink the cups of alcohol.. and in the end, he got alcohol poisoning after we left the hotel... heard that the bride had to send him to hospital because he was constantly vomitting.. and found out that his stomach lining was burnt by the alcohol... he drank all the wines toasted to him without getting help because all his brothers had to drive home with their family in the car after the wedding...

he had forgotten to get a brother that can drink for him!!~