Lol. Today we had an OIP gathering thing. Cos Huanie suddenly felt like.

We planned to spend our day at sentosa, but… only 7, out of the 12 or so people expected, turned up. Huanie (late!), Trach, Anurak, Shien, Sam, Roys, and me. After going through Paul’s wheel of reasoning, all the philosophical arguments, and hard-to-understand advantages disadvantages criteria longterm shortterm impact… we decided to walk around vivo. “Come in shirt and shorts for sports!” said huanie the previous night. Woa, good foresight. Lol. Trach and I read, and others had their burgers and fries. While having breakfast at BK, we saw Mr Lim-s, teaching brothers in school. Chatted for a while, then got tickets for Cape No.7 cos shien was telling us how good it was (he heard). Then, we went to Toys-r-us lol. busied ourselves by looking at those toys, reliving childhood memories... and stuff. Didn’t stay too long.

Woo, got to the theatre. At the start of the movie, I was lost, cos of the very different plots running simultaneously. But later, the movie started to knit together and I got a clearer picture of it. Although I felt some parts weren’t very realistic, many parts, I felt, were still very honest depictions of the Taiwanese lifestyle then. Shant elaborate, go find out yourself. But generally it was still ok. Quite an interesting story and plot development. Haha, went strolling again. Some pple became hungry. Didn’t know where to eat, so went to the foodcourt. Lol, saw some cosplayers there, mostly playing Bleach characters. So it looked cool, cos they were all in their shinigami uniforms. XD

Later we went up to the top floor and was surprised to see them there too. Huanie… lol. Didn’t know what he was doing, but Anurak and I were standing behind him. A real pro. Haha, they were having some photoshoot or smthg. But we noticed they spent some time slacking too (maybe). We took a few photos, and were wandering around there, cos there were many appealing sights. (Ok, it was my first time there) Saw some (ex-)rafflesians, and the rugyby coach lol. easy to spot. Arg, then it was some exercise session, before they all went for pool, and I had to return home. Drained. A few photos:

Lol, photo with Hisagi Shuuhei!







Random photo of the shoot. Spot the characters!
Group photo! (cept sam, cos he left early)
Jim Tan signs off.
10:23 PM
Ah I got tagged by Darren! So I'll spend the next hour or so on this. Ok, what you see here are basically answers you'll get when Im tired, and feeling random:

1. What's your full name?
JIM after eating ten full bowls of rice fully, which fills me up full, making me feel like a fool full-stop.

2. Are you single?
Yep.

3. What is your favourite number(s)?
3 I think.

4. What is/are your favourite colour(s)?
Blue, white, orange.

5. Least favourite colour?
Ar… no particular.

6. What are you thinking right now?
How I’m going to complete 58 more questions.

7. Are you happy with your life right now?
Most parts.

8. What are your favourite subjects in school?
Geo-Math-RE (lol, read: geometry)

9. Do you shop at malls?
Yea.

10. Where do you wish to be right now?
Left.

11. What should you be doing now?
Chinese Assignment.

12.Do you have a crush on anyone?
Im not that fat, and I don’t go around crushing people.

13.When was the last time you bought a clothing item?
Em… cant remember.

14.What was the last thing you drank?
Saliva. I gulped some down, when I saw the number of questions.

15.Do you hate liars? Do you hate backstabbers?
YES. (I am NOT lying)

16.Can you make yourself sneeze?
Yes, with some pepper or dust. Or pepper dust. Or dust pepper.

17. Do you fall for people easily?
Em, depends. If someone close to me asks me to trip and fall, I might fall for him/her.

18.What does your last text message read?
I seriously don’t know, cos I don’t know when I’ll type my last. And I cant read the future.

19.Are you too forgiving?
Not sure.

20.How many windows are open on your computer?
5

21.Who was your last call from?
Nature.

22.What do you do with most of your time?
I use them.

23.Will you and your ex get back again?
Not that I have any.

24.Do you sleep with the tv on?
I don’t think I would like to sleep with the tv on me. Its painful.

25. Which of your close friends live the closest?
Jack, about a metre away.

26.Which item could you not live during the day?
I cant live the night during the the day. Obvious.

27.Would you share a drink with a stranger?
Eem, maybe during emergencies.

28. How was your weekend?
Ok…

29. Do you believe ex(s) can be friends?
Yea.

30. The last person you quarreled with?
Cant remember. Not a fan of quarrels.

31. The way to win your heart?
That’s assuming I’ll place it for a bet. Then, of course, you’ll hav to win.

32. What did you do last night?
Sleep…

33. Do you have the same name as one of your relatives?
Yes. Lol.

34. Are you looking for a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Im only looking for-ward, at my computer monitor.

35. One song that is meaningful to you?
RI anthem?

36. Do you twirl or scoop your spaghetti?
Depends on the hardness, thickness, length, sauce, and the position and angle of the strand on my plate.

37.Do you drink milk straight from the carton?
Usually no.

38. How long is your hair?
Eight letters long, with some space in between.

39. Do you like Batman?
No. I prefer Goodman.

40. Who was the last person who told you they love you?
I think it was some person from Thailand, during OIP.

41. When was the last time you sang out loud?
Now, after I read this question, and couldn’t recall the last time.

42. What did you have for breakfast?
Kitkat, in under a second. Have a break, fast.

43. Is your birthday on a holiday?
No, its after the longest one.

44. Can you cook?
Yea, some basic stuff.

45. Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
From some mall.

46. What was the reason for the last trouble you were in?
Cant recall the last trouble.

47. Which do you wear more- sweats or jeans?
Jeans most probably.

48. When is your birthday?
15 years and 10 months ago.

49.Do you swear alot?
Nope.

50. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Er, when I was 10 or so, I mistook beer for apple juice.

51. Do you have any regrets?
Yea.

52. Who would you like to see now?
Em… Jack.

53. Has the cops ever been to your house?
Yea I think, for those surveys.

54. Are you a social or antisocial person?
Not sure, depends on the environment.

55. Who are your best friends? Are you still friends with them?
The people. Depends on who.

56. Ever been in love?
Er.

57. Ever had braces?
Nope.

58. What do you wear to bed?
Shirt. Shorts. Sharts. Sherts. Shurts.

59. Who was the last person who disappointed you?
Ar… myself I guess.

60. Do you trust people?
Depends on who.

61. Who was the first person you talked to today?
Dad.

62. Who was the first person who texted you today?
Math teacher.

63. What was the first thing you did today?
Er, open my eyelids, but theoretically speaking, at 12.01am, I was about to sleep.

64. 10 people to tag
Anyone, who wants to play tag. “Tag! Your IT!”

Oh yea, as for OIP, its too long for me to blog in details. so I'll only continue blogging about it when I feel like. but feel free to ask me if you're curious! =D
Jim Tan signs off.
11:44 PM
Day 3
The third was mostly learning about Thai culture. We took these EFVs (Emission free vehicles) to another side of the campus and entered this large room. There, the university pple from the day before, taught us A LOT about Thailand in general and Thai culture. Thai royalties, Thai government, how to do the ‘wai’, what not to do, some simple Thai words… the list goes on. Then we got to make our own Kratongs! (rafts in English) for the Loy Kratong Festival (Floating raft festival, I think). It was really cool how they make the kratongs, with different plant parts. Banana trunk for base, leaves for sides and structure, flowers to decorate… So, Yongsak and I completed our Kratong after a long time, which seemed impossible at the start. Determination paid off. X) Following that, there was some competition. Prizes were given to pple with the most beautiful Kratongs, most popular Kratongs, most environmental Kratongs and one more, but my memory fails me. Arg. Doesn’t matter, cos I didn’t win any. Lol.

Although the whole morning and afternoon had been quite boring, the night was fun. Seriously. After dinner, we all got to the lake in front of the university to celebrate Loy Kratong Festival. We tried lotsa great food, released our Kratongs on the lake, wishing upon them as they floated away, and played with fireworks! The fireworks were absolutely cool. Apart from the lame-y sparklers, there were sticks which you hold and they shot fireworks out, bolo-like things which you spin and fling into the air and sparks start shooting out from it… there are lotsa different types. Later, we also played with the ‘hot-air lanterns’. :D

After all that, we had some meeting which lasted quite long, before we all dropped asleep.


Here is where we had all the lessons on Thai culture and funny activities
These are 2 of the teachers who taught us. The one on the left is dam funny. XD
 The Kratong me and Yongsak made!











The popularity judging...

















Random shot, when we were having some time to rest.





Us releasing the 'hot-air lantern' into the sky! (hey, it works, k?)
Jim Tan signs off.
9:53 PM
Omg. Im back from Chiangrai, but some things are still bothering me. Among others, one would be that I terribly miss everyone I’ve met on the trip. My RI friends, the Thai buddies, the teachers and staff that have taken great care of all of us, even strangers on the street. Argh, the trip was too short. Second would be me being ignorant of everything in Singapore. After being seperated from Singapore, I spent a lot of time reading newspapers and watching tv to get myself back here, mentally. Another would be that I do not know how Im going to blog about my adventure. I’ll try anyway. =p

Some information: Chiangrai is in Northern Thailand, and when we were there, the weather was cold (smthg like Genting), probably because its in the highlands, and further up the equator. The time is one hour before Singapore's. We were there from the 10th - 21st Nov, on our school's overseas immersion programme (oip).

Day 1
Ok, on the first day, we gathered at the airport at about 5 in the morning. I was 2nd to reach, and had to wait quite long… so I decided to use the time, looking at Singapore, which I wont be able for some time. Lol. After chatting, completing all the admin stuff, and having a little breakfast, we entered the departure hall. One of our two teachers-in-charge, Mr Chang also went to buy some bag that costed about $1800. LOL. then he was like, “Why did I buy this before even going on the trip?! Now I have to bring it there and back.” Haha, think before you spend.


Then we all boarded the plane! Our plane was quite good, with broad walkways, good service and interactive systems to have fun with. So, throughout the journey, I was listening to music, chatting or sleeping. We reached Bangkok airport and went for some food and shopping. It was another plane ride to Chiangrai.


When we reached, uncertainty shrouded us as we got out of the airport. Then we saw a group of smiling faces (with bodies. lol). Our Thai buddies!!! They helped us with our luggage, and went around looking for their buddies. I met my buddy Yongsak (or Kong as I learnt later), and we sat beside each other on the coach to Mae Fah Luang university. After introduction and stuff, I couldn’t resist looking outside the moving coach. The scenes were so different from Singapore that I was drawn to finding out more. i think I caught lotsa details. O.O


Unpacked our stuff in the room, which was fine. and… argh. I cant remember.
–checks itenary-
Oh yea, we had some ice breakers and went for dinner. Dinner was some nice Singapore stlye food. Suited everyone’s tastebuds. Later there was some mass convo, and some pple went camwhoring . Then we all went to wash up and slept for the night. At a place that none of us were familiar with. (even the Thais, it was their first time there)


At the Bangkok Airport






On the plane









Me and Yongsak's room!


Where we have our meals. Yes, there is a nice lake beside it.









Gathering at night













Day 2
Woke up with a weird feeling. Cos I reached for the snooze button on my alarm clock and didn’t feel anything. My eyes opened and yep, I was in the hostel room. Woke my buddy up, and washed up. Our room was one of the few/only that had faulty heaters, so I had to shower in freezing cold water. X( After that, we had breakfast. [Ok, this is too slow moving.] We went for an opening ceremony at the university which was the formal welcome. Had a tour around the university, which was really nice. Much better then universities in Singapore I reckon. Big campus, lush green fields, many huge lakes, spacious interiors… ok, you get it.

Then we went to some provincial administrator place to visit some mayor like person and some officials. Followed by lunch at this resort-like place (the most luxurious meal of the trip). After lunch was touring at many famous tourist attractions like Wat Rong Kun, which is the white temple, and the King Meng Rai Statue. After dinner back at the university, there was some welcoming party by the university pple. Lol, I missed half of it cos I went back to the room to get some stuff. Oh well.



Morning chat after breakfast




At the formal opening ceremony
The huge garden in the university




The lake in front of the university
A Chinese memorial hall place we visited







The White temple place (this is only one of the white buildings)

There seems to be some gold ones too








A drink they gave us, with lotsa funny pple on the sides.
















I shall stop here, and maybe continue next time. Arg too tired.



Jim Tan signs off.
11:25 PM
Yesterday was cool, but also tiring. Jack, I and all the humans club pple went to suntec convention hall for the clean and green schools’ carnival. Reached there 8 in the morning, and started with the final touching up (lol), setting up, sorting of equipment and duties. haha, its been a long time since everyone came together to do something big. Our booth was situated at a position which allowed us to get suanned quite easily. argh, the MERIT. after we got the booth ready, I went with sngzheng and martin to get food, since everyone was hungry. lol. bought some bread and oreos.

after a while, the primary school green game started so I ran around to help, while taking care of the booth. Wargh, was really tiring. but I thoroughly enjoyed it. it was fun bringing the pple into our booth and telling them bout stuff. I just felt it was really nice to attend to pple who came to our booth. :D Many of them were also very friendly. haha, this year I cross visited many other booths, and learnt some very interesting stuff. Later, I also helped out with the secondary school section, and was impressed by their skills. I have so much to learn… Then I continued with the manning of booth. After some time, I reached quite a bad state, cos I was really too tired, so I decided to walk around the hall to listen and learn. some of us also tried hide-n-seek. lol. and of course, I gained more knowledge in the process. Also, I got the chance to amuse myself with the performances put up. Songs, dances, fashion shows and more... all revolving around the environment. Haha, I also met some familiar faces. some actually required me to dig into the depths of my memory, and came much of a surprise. xD I wanna say THANKYOU to everyone whom I met there, for making my day!

Sadly, I couldn’t make it there today, cos of RE presentation practice and overseas trip training… oh well, these are of greatgreat importance as well.

RE presentation practise was useful. Shayne’s first practise with us. lol. Thanks for the comments and suggestion! And the trip training was all about bonding, dancing, singing, preparing and admin stuff. it was cool seeing everyone dance to the moves our group choreographed. although it isn’t like perfect or amazing, it was still effort put in. haha, im glad everyone appreciated it too. It was really good job, guys! Strive on!

Oh Im going to have so much fun in Thailand! XD
Jim Tan signs off.
6:02 PM