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try this :
| 1993 | LIM BOON HUA | 01:29:34 | 01:41:08 | 2884 |
First run i did by myself – the running kakis have gone china.Timing has improved from Sundown, but not improvement from past runs!
June has seen me getting bz with GComm stuff.
Since the first 1 or 2 meetings last year, there was much nothing for me and Linda to do as Sandy had co-ordinated the accommodation stuff directly with the hostel, and with Gracie. The admin part of the accommodation essentialy can be done by 1 person (but very siong if the person is holding a job).
And then came the news that she was preggy and subsequently we (me and linda) were activated. What i did not expect was the amount of work that goes into org this conference. Sandy is really good. She’s so organised and ensured that the handover was thorough and she had it all typed/printed/filed properly in hard and soft copies. And she worked till a day before her labour.
The last few weeks of G Comm saw me on my excel sheet everday, trying to update the flight details of the participants, email them and ans their queries.
I felt like in the “customer service ” line, and learnt how to negotiate, be patient.
It is really not a simple conference to manage, considering pple in the comm are all volunteers.
Stansfield is a really no frills hostel. No frills, no nothing. We had to get toiletries, breakfast take away boxes …. towels.
when they (hostel) had said “yes” before, they may not deliver as promised. They simply do not have the manpower..
Recalling an incident -
Hostel – “we ran out of the info sheet” (for participants)
me – “can zap?”
Hostel – “our photocopy machine cannot zap double sided”
me – no choice, hand delivered the info sheets down
On the whole the staff there have tried to accommodate to our requests, but really, as the saying goes, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”. Dont expect much.
this experience was also very enriching as i realised i am amongst the hundreds of Missionaries who gave their lives to serve cross cultually. On hindsight, i felt priviledged that i could serve them/ assisted them. I see elderly missionaries and still actively serving. I see those who trusted God for finances to come here. and those who could not afford to have the whole family come down.
I think we( the church) did our best to provide what we could within our means and ensured that they have a good experience.
Women 10KM
Total Participants in this Category: 4264
12022
Lim Boon Hua 01:37:28
0-5km
00:45:55
Valarie turns 6 today. She’s in K2 and in no time, gg to Pri 1. her 2 front teeth are dropping and she looking forward to it.
shes loves all things pink, and that includes melody, winx club…..
“it’s my birthday today” so “i”….. (she can be very “ye man”)
and very cute too.
val: “do u know.. what does ‘thunder’ wear?”
us : hmmmm?
val “thunderwear!”
Val and melody cake
Went on a watch spree today. Actually since yesterday – since MS already got me 2 watches from the sale.
Total damage – 3 Skagen watches for about $270, and 2 chunky swatch-look alike watch @ $29 each.
been looking ard for an alternative watch to office. but the sale tempted me to get 3 instead.
And got my colleague’s fare well gift – same as one i bought – see pic.
the past week saw me mattress hunting.
fri – went IMM with celeste. my faithful n patient shopping mate. was advised not to get first. check out.
Sunday – went with dad to Furniture Mall. decided on Max coil for him and got a bed for both of us. I wasnt convinced to buy the same mattress for myself. but father was satifsied. He’s btw, the simplest man i have come across.
**Wrong decision to get a bed (for myself) before getting mattress.
Monday – out shopping with my other shopping mate, Meishan. Saw a few mattresses at Robinson but not satisfied.
Tues- determined to settle my own mattress since by then, i sort of know what i want. & since bed is coming, i shud get a new mattress asap i thot.. Got conned by the king koil website online that says there’s a shop at united square. a wasted trip to united square except that i was nearby (websites cannot be trusted!). proceed to Taka with cel and decided on a King Koil. very expensive, beyond my budget but i think i’m going to love it.
satisfied with aunty (promoter) and the fact they allow instalment payment.
finally…….
a friend say i can have sweet dreams now.
now i can tell u everything about mattresses and what is unique about each brand. ask me. 
the bug has stayed with me since for over a week and finally, it’s bidding good bye. the nose is still a little stuffy but i can do without the meds already.
want to get on with “normal” life asap..
a couple of late nights last week led to the flu that now wouldnt seem to go away..
on sunday morning, decided to see the doc or i think the flu meds (off the rack) is probably not go get me well with new symptoms of cough.
so i did and rest at home on Sunday after service.
Today (mon) was expecting myself to get better.
this is the problem with flu – the medication causes drowsiness. u cant take and go to work. i went to work with a stuffy nose but decided better for me to be home instead. i better get well or i will have to postpone my hostel stay this week.
i googled on the medication given and wondered if they only treat cough and phlemgh but not flu. went to the clinic downstairs to ask..
“Not so fast. You only saw the doctor yesterday” “Yes Fedac fights flu and cough” ” You want to take antibiotics ? (no, i dont want)”. i think the nurses were flabbergasted with me.
i figured to really get well, i need the whole week off to just zzz (after medicine).
how possible is that..
was quite an unexpected experience. As my cousin puts it, eventful.
i decided to go for 2 reasons -
i. accompany my parents, be around
ii. see china
And the experience turned out to be expectedly heartwarming.
what i enjoyed about the trip was simple. sitting around with relatives for meals. this is something we couldnt have done in singapore. catching up with my cousins/ aunties. walking around the shopping street near the hotel.
there were 2 big groups in the tour group. our family and associates (friends, relative of relatives) which made up about 20-ish pax, 2/3 of the whole tour group. iwas (lol) the youngest.
everyone had an agenda to swatow (beyond the tour).
primarily we are all teochews and going back to a teochew city meant alot to some of my uncles and aunties. They feel comfortable being around with “our kind”. from young to old, people speak teochew instead of pu tong hua. i’m glad (for once) that i can speak the dialect (at least the basic coversations) and u feel “one of them”.
seeking our roots. i din know much about my family’s past. i guess i din bother to find out much given my parents dont really talk about it. we had a “tan qing” day. half my family booked van to find our relatives in 揭阳省，白石村。a village 2 hours away from 汕头。while the otherhalf booked a van to tour shantou city.
by chance (God’s will), we found our relatives and it was a dramatic, fruitful day. we ate with them, had tea with them, went house visiting and visited the ”tombs” of my ancestors and my grandfather. They welcomed us with fire crackers, and whipped up eggs for everyone (like some tradition?). Grandfather had a family in China and it seems we had lost touch with them, especially since my grandmother passed away. When i first saw my uncle i immediately thot of my grandfather because he really resembled him. And he is at age 88. still going strong and already has a great-grand child. He din speak much but apparently he remembered my uncles, and my father. The old grannies talked about my grandma’s visit to swatow 30 years ago. How long ago!
People were respectful and polite. It seeemed the adults just suddenly appeared at the house, or at lunch to meet us. (normal life stopped because u have guests from Singapore!). At the end of the day i still din know who’s who. but i can sense they were glad to meet us. By China’s standard, i think they are generally ok. Not rich but each had their house, jobs. Very hospitable and warm. We Singaporeans cannot match their hospitality. One reason is because we no longer lived in Kampungs like they do.
The day ended with much nostalgia. I now know i do have “immediate” realatives in China,and the 50ish year old aunty has to address me as “Aunt” because of my 辈分. Even though we don’t know when we’ll ever meet again, the visit meant alot, i guess to both sides. Perhaps our visit was the “highlight” of the week/ month for them.
All in all, it’s more just than a sight seeing trip. :>
