26/12/2009 X'mas Celebration

On saturday we attended an x’mas celebration at THE Seniors. It was my first time there so I didn’t really know what to expect. However, when you see party hats and a very handsome Santa Claus, you know its going to be simply awesome.

Not long after we reached, the elderly started to arrive. I sat with Kam Por, a spritely lady who was more than three times my age and yet much livelier than me. After a round of introductions, the games began, the first of which was Bingo. I started to explain to Kam Por how the game worked, but she assured me that she was very familiar with it, having played it a lot of times and even won a sack of rice previously. Of course, she added, nothing beats winning 4D. Both rounds went by and twice Kam Por was only short of one letter to win. However, she was still having fun and cheering loudly for the winners.

Next was a wrapping game where Mr Tan and Zur represented our group. Kam Por was not involved so we just sat and watched as she gave a running commentary on the finer details of gift wrapping, having also done it before at the CC.

The next game was a pass the parcel game which also didn’t require much explanation. I guess as you get older and gain more experience, nothing is new to you anymore. However, old games can still be fun, especially with gifts and forfeits. Kam Por took centre stage when Jian Hao did a dance with her as a forfeit. There was a strange sudden silence as jealously radiated from all the girls in the room, both young and old. I had to run outside on pretext of going to the toilet to escape the repressing aura. Personally, if I ever lived to be 88 and got to dance with a 20 year old girl, I would probably die happy.

Still on the same game, there was more joy in store for Kam Por as she later also won a gift. It was shaped cylindrically like a can. Its abalone, she declared. Her nearby friend chided her for being silly, but she replied that of course you have to say that your gift is great, even if it is possibly not. Her reply kind of stunned me, and my impression of her leveled up even more.

The final game was a dress up game. Kam Por gamely volunteered, and we dressed her up as one of Santa’s helpers. Because she radiates awesomeness plus our team of volunteers were really pro, our group won hands down even though the other teams had better materials.

In all, I could see that the elderly had tremendous fun and thank the organizers and everyone involved for making it happen.


Contributed by Chua Wenhao

Snippets!

Here are some of the photos from the xmas celebration! - the rest are already uploaded onto the facebook group and picassa..Just click on the links at the side! - And do help to tag the photos in the facebook group! Thanks! -



Haha..Looks like the gentlemen here dont know that they have the smallest cards on their forehead! LOL!














Game of Indian poker at Mdm Ho's house!















Wrap the present!

Look at the feast!


Our beautiful programmers!

The best smiles of the day!!

a saturday well spent- 5th Dec

Hi all!

We had an unofficial visit yesterday. Shall post what happened. Although there were only 6 of us, i still think it was fun! =D

1. Chen Hua, Pei jie and Shi tien were in a group, Rong Sheng, Ken and I in another. Then we each took 2-3 houses each. So for my group, we visited Mr Tan 61, followed by Mr Tan 62 and then Mdm Tan. =D all the tans. =D Then for the other group, they visited Mdm Lim Chuay and Mdm Ho, and Mr Chiu, which our group joined later.

2. Before we split up, we met Mdm Tan outside TSAC, and she went down to 'kiang kiang'.
Okay, so we went different ways and my group visited Mr Tan, his place looks pretty much okay, not much cleaning is needed, so it was manageable for the three of us.
I noticed that his feet seems to be not too good, not sure because of the weather which causes his skin to tear easily or what though. We did suggest to him to apply more moisturising cream, but i seriously dont think that it wil help much. maybe it takes more than external medication for the skin to heal.

3. Next we head to Mdm Tan place but no one was around. So we went to visit Mr Tan. Mr Tan was alone at home watching the repeated telecast of Jin Ma Qiang, his wife went to work. So we sat down and chat with him. First we talk about the Jin Ma Qiang awards show etc, then we move on to Mr Tan's health condition. He showed us the letter from NUH. TTSH told him that his heart seems to have expanded (before he can take an op, he has to ensure everything was okay and that includes his heart), but NUH said nth was wrong with his heart (as confirmed by the letter too) Mr Tan will be going for another medical check up this monday to check if everything is okay.

4. Then we went back to Mdm Tan's place. Yuan lai she went to have lunch with her daughter. We helped to wipe the doors and windows. Before doing that , we took down her laundry from the bamboo holder. Then following which, we sat down and help her with her HDB letters and others. GOOD NEWS! Mdm Tan is able to continue staying at her flat for another two more years! yays! she received the letter of renewal of rent lease and now the ownership is transferred to her name now! yipppy! we were very blur.
a. First we saw $65 on the receipt, but we do not know why. Debates occured that it may be application or renewal fee plus 1 month's rent (stated on another letter that it is $26 per month). then we guess maybe it was rent paid off for the past few months before the renewal starts on 31st jan 2010. lol. then..........
yuan lai...... there were prints : 012010-032010 (omg faint, the 3 of us 'eyes paste stamps', we missed that out. =D
b. The second funny incident. She gave us the tv license bill and we read it. We find it funny why do she have to pay since she doesnt have tv at home. And it was stated, if overdue payment, the fee is almost double/more than double. Then i noted! that the name of addressee and address was diff! went to d.check the unit no. Yah, wrong unit no, wrong blk, wrong person! then we quickly clarify that it was the wrong letter, not meant for her. and that how she gotten hold of the letter. Another yuan lai again... ISH HER SON!! OMG! YUAN LAI mdm tan got 2 sons staying the next blk. Then she asked us to check if the payment is made, cause she entrusted someone to pay for her and she wants to d.check. So we told her that it aint possible to check since it is only a bill asking for payment. omg! once again we are wrong. She said by right there should be indication, then I thought of my usual phone bills, where they will tear away the bottom and the com will print the ref code and details. So yah! once again! yuan lai there is blue wordings printed. hahas! eyes paste stamp part 2.
these are so funny! ahash! then later we gtg, so we helped her to hang her clothes back. Ken did that, and Mdm tan rejected, saying no need to hang back, and he said nevermind, i can do it etc. And Rong Sheng commented that he can one, very good at doing this etc. So Mdm Tan heard it and say, good ah, this kind of boy is what girls should fine etcetc.. lol. marketing him. Hahas, I think Mdm Tan very fun, everytime we are there, we wont be worried that there aint topics to talk about. (:

5. Then we head to Mdm Chow Moi's place and check if she is around. But we knocked the door and nth happen, then we saw those flyers (3 flyers) at her doorstep, and we wonder if she went on a trip or ... you know.. bad news kind=s. We tried knockign many times but didnt work, so we thought of going down to check if the windows are open or shut etc. So we went to meet the other group at Mr Chiu's place and we tried the cd that Rong Sheng burnt for Mr chiu. But couldnt be used for normal cd player due to wrong format used. Then we played some songs and Mr chiu sang some, and we had the usual debates about some volunteers having generational gap. like how come some volunteers listen to such old songs, but the others dont when we are almost the same age. this kind of debate always forever funny. Cause we tend to deny we are old or that the songs we listened to are very old. =D

6. Left Mr Chiu for him to have his lunch and listen to his huang jin nian hua 4. And we try our luck at Mdm Chow Moi's place. This tiem she opened the door! omg! ahhas! she was at home all along youknow.... and she was..... PEOPLE WATCHING! LOL! i didnt know seniors also like people-watching, thought it only applies to youngsters lol. And she was standing by the window. And before we left, we discussed and decided to walk the area where she can see us. And when we walked out, she waved to us frantically from above. LOL! Mdm Chow Moi is super cheerful, hearty, funny and cute! lol! her laughter is contagious! =D

7. this ended our unofficial visit. (: And we went to the usual lao di fang for lunch. Shi tien had to leave early. It was already 1.50pm when we left and took a lift down, and Shi Tien had tuition at 2.30and he havent had lunch!! omg! but thank you for staying till the end of the visit. ((:
Then we sat down for lunch, nan de can have all of us sitting in one round table. just nice. And we chatted, about Peijie's temp jobs, and Chen Hua's career path etc. So funny. and also a good time for bonding and interaction among the volunteers. =)

I really did enjoy myself yesterday's morning. And I went home with a happy mind and attitude, and was able to go home, enjoy tv and nua (finally, since usually i had to rush to tuition)! i watched a movie/film on Vasantham Central somemore! Very nice show! woots! (: some indie film/movie are really very nice!! really! their story plot and their dancing and their casts are really good. (= hee hee. okay i shall end off my long post.

A saturday well spent ! (: TAKE CARE EVERYONE! AND ENJOY YR HOLIDAYS! SEE U ALL AT T.H.E. SENIORS!!!!!

cheers,
margaret~

visit - 7th Nov

HI EVERYONE! (:

Just do a sweet and simple one. Will do a long one when I get lots of feel and alot of ideas to share. =D

1. Yes, I miss the start of the session cause I was still in the middle of the expressway. Trying to get out of the jam. Yes, I do need a morning call or something. I am always late. Lai chuang is bad. Late friday nights are bad too. =X But I will try my very best to get rid of the bad bad habit. =(

2. So I went over straight to Mr Tan's (Blk 61) place. Thinking of doing some household, but the enthu volunteers done the job! =D So Rong Sheng and I sat there talking to Mr Tan.

Yes, I can see that volunteers are making use of what was taught in the workshop, and here goes. RS took a big TTSH's bag of medicine and started to go through them. So we check with Mr Tan what the medicine were. For the medicine that can be eaten on a regular basis, which includes the calcium supplements and tablets to increase the red blood cells. and we describe in a cute manner. layman terms.. This is 'good for blood', and this is 'good for the bones'. . So we encourage him to take the medicine regularly and got him to tell us whether he know when and what to take. (:

Later the rest join us and Mr Tan share with us some historical knowledge on WW2.

3. Next we went to Mdm Tan's place. However, we got emergency calls from Zhenxiu (ZX, Huiting and Yew Chin, 3 girls have to clean up Mdm Chow Moi's place) so RS and I went over since we did not get to do any cleaning just now, now is our turn. ((:

4. reach there. help to sweep the floor. Throughout the time there, I think darn funny. I think Huiting is like 'quarreling' with Mdm Chow Moi.

HT: 'No you rfloor very dirty. See so many ants'

Mdm CM: 'No larrr, not dirty abit only. No ants, abit only.'

HT: 'Norrr you see! So dirty!' (pointing to the pile of dust and rubbish I swept =D)

Mdm CM: 'No larr no!' (Denying the pile of rubbish and dust I swept up to her feet) =D

So funny. Huiting is gg to scream anytime. =D So cute to see them communicating that way. CAUSE BECAUSE OF THE TALK ETC, I SEE MDM CHOW MOI LAUGHING AND SMILING ((:

When huiting was trying to make use of what she learnt in class, and check the fridge for leftover food and check her medication, whether Mdm Chow Moi knows what to eat etc. and she keep repeating too. =D repeating! so here then RS is complaining.. =D

RS: 'Wah, you kapoh!'

HT: 'Mdm Chow Moi, scold him, help me scold him, he scold me'

After some time... Mdm Chow Moi finally get what both of them were saying...

Mdm CM: 'Hey, how can you scold her kapoh, no one like that say people kapoh one larrr...'

LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH! MDM CHOW MOI IS SOOOO CUTE WHEN SHE LAUGH! heee!

I can see that it is a simple conversation, but she is totally enjoying it! And that is what I love to see! ((:

5. Followed by debriefing session and lunch at the hawker centre, the usual thing to do but a good time to catch up with each other and know each other! ((: This is what I feel. So we must mixed around and get to chat with each other during lunch. hee.

Last but not least,

Sorry that I was late! I will try to kick away the bad habit. =X

Thank you for applying what you guys learn in the workshop! (:

Thank you Pei jie and Rong sheng for looking for the lyrics and songs for Mr Chiu.

Thank you everyone! jiayou for exams! Mug hard and we shall see each other after exams! and we shall have outings for the volunteers! yays!

Many thanks,

Margaret~

ps: I shall blog the next time I thought of more things to share with all.

Last Visit of the Semester!

Hello all! It’s me!

This shall be my 2nd time blogging! =D

I realized the 1st time I blogged was around this time too! Therefore, I’ve scheduled my post to be exactly the same date as last year! Maybe I should be an annual blogger. Wahaha…

Seriously, I was so lost in almost everything I was doing today! Maybe I’m always so blur… =X

After my super confused attempt of splitting the volunteers into 3 groups & sending them off to visit the respective elderly, my group went over to knock on Kam Por’s door. We were surprised that she said there was no need for us to visit her because our facilitators of the visit, Yew Chin & Jia Ming, had asked her before that & she said okay. Anyway she said her son was coming to visit her, so she didn’t need us to help her clean her house.

So we went to visit Mdm Lim Chuay instead. As usual, she was very cheerful! She actually remembered me after seeing me in my TOUCH shirt. At first, she didn’t want us to help her with any cleaning and only want us to chat with her. However, we told her that we would only be visiting again 1 month later, which is in December due to our exams, she let us help her clean her windows and chairs for her.

During our cleaning, Mdm Lim Chuay keep insisting us to grab a can drink for working so hard. At one point of time, she even wanted to open the can drink for us! She’s so nice!

After the cleaning, we talked to her for awhile. Before we left, I told her not to miss us, and she laughed! Haha…

After that, we went to visit Mdm Chow Moi. Okay, I was complaining throughout the whole visit. Oops! But that was because my group only had 4 girls – Huiting, Yew Chin, Jia Ming and me! And Jia Ming had to leave halfway while we were visiting Mdm Chow Moi. The guys insisted it was me who arranged all the guys to be in the other 2 groups. I did, because I thought Mr Tan’s house always need much cleaning, and there was some changes in between. But I didn’t expect those who came later all went to join the other 2 groups except our group! Haha…

And there was this “bomb” which I didn’t expect! Usually Mdm Chow Moi didn’t want us to clean her house and insists that it is enough that we sit down & chat with her. But during this visit, when Huiting asked her, surprisingly she was willing to give in & let us clean her windows! It was a cumulative effect of not letting us clean her house you know! When we cleaned her windows, it was like springcleaning! Mdm Chow Moi was still insisting that they were not dirty, but they were, EXTREMELY! When I took off her piece of cloth that she used it to block the sunlight going through the window, it was super dusty! It was really SUPER DUSTY, and she still insisted it was not! But she let us wash it in the end.

After Jia Ming had to leave, we had to call for reinforcement. Margaret & Rong Sheng came to help us. Mdm Chow Moi still insisted her house was not dirty, but there was dirt when Margaret swept the floor. In the end, Margaret mopped the floor for her as well. Most of us were done more or less & sat down to chat with Mdm Chow Moi, while Margaret was still mopping the floor. Rong Sheng was very evil, because he kept calling Margaret, “Maria.” Haha…

It was very hilarious to listen to Huiting talk to Mdm Chow Moi. As Mdm Chow Moi is hard of hearing, we have to talk very loudly to her. Huiting was very naggy & the way she talked to Mdm Chow Moi was almost like arguing with her! So it was really very funny listening to both of them! At times, Mdm Chow Moi was just laughing at Huiting. Haha… We had a great time laughing. But it is good because Huiting is applying what she had learnt from the workshop. Haha…

After the visit, we had our usual debrief. We had an introduction of our committee! I seriously think they are more enthusiastic than me & have been doing a great job in their own roles even though they are new! Thanks for everything! =D

Anyway, I’m really very sorry about the miscommunication and missed out visiting the Chinese-speaking Mr Tan! =( I really feel bad about it. Thanks for those who went up to apologize to him while the other few of us went to visit Mr Chiu to pass him the lyrics that Peijie had compiled for him.

I think I’ll miss T.H.E. Seniors very much! I won’t be able to pay a visit until 26/12/2009 as I’ll be having a course on the next official visit on 12/12/2009. And my last exam paper will fall on 05/12/2009 if we’re going to have an unofficial visit. So sad can! That’s like 1 ½ months for me later! T.T

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone good luck for their upcoming exams! =P Jiayou Jiayou!

Zhenxiu =P

MAF behind the scene

hello guys. my turn to blog. well. seems like everyone loves to blog about the event. OKAY. i'll do smth different....BEHIND THE SCENE!


okay. as you can see. the 2 hot babes there are the programmers of the day!





We met for the first time. and spent the night
together.... planning the event. *shy*




After much thinking... we finally came up with a proper plan.



So we started the day with the most popular game 'BINGO!'.. we tried to be a little creative by changing the name to 'TOUCH'... and we never expect to translate touch into chinese. so... dont blame huiting for translating it into 'QUI AI' .

(it should be 'CHU AI' by the way)


The celebration continued with our ball ball forfeit or reward game and pictionary (well. pictionary wasnt quite successful)...






NEVERTHELESS. our participants (ah gong ah mah) are still very happy! =D



I dont really know how to blog. so yea. not much info i can write. SORRY!

oh yea. guys. pls provide feedback for the event. so we can improve on future activities. thks!





..................
Wynne! =)
A+ artwork.

MId Autumn Pics!

Here are some of the photos that were taken on 24/10/09

(looks like Mdm Ho is enjoying the massage given by her 'godson' Chen Hua!)












(Rong Sheng helping Mr Tan in the game of Bingo)



















(Mdm Tan 喜怒哀乐 - 喜)















(Mdm Tan 喜怒哀乐 - 怒 - why do she seem like she is still smiling?)










Special Thanks to the programmers Hui Ting and Wynne and most importantly those who have participated in it! - rest of the pictures will soon be subsequently uploaded to the picture album..do check it out!



-ken-