CIP has never been so fun!
Monday, June 29, 2009

this post covers starting from thursday, to saturday. Gear up, this is frickin' long.


Thursday - supposedly, ETP club's BBQ at ECP.

thursday was supposed to be ETP club's BBQ. But guess what. I DIDN'T GO. Wanna know why? Its because they couldn't contact me! What a stupid cock-up. I was so pissed at myself, how I was so unreachable. It's a struggle just to make sure that I can be readily informed.

As each day goes, I'm needing a handphone more than ever.

I was actually hyped up for this BBQ with the club at ECP. I mean, I had so much fun at the Exoro games with them. Sigh, they are probably wondering if or not i'm secretly hating them now or something. My dissapearance surely would have sparked something, I mean, I gave my word. I said I would be there. It was a strong assurance which I gave. All that, just broke into a million pieces. Sigh. I don't have anyone else to blame but myself here. It's always like this. I look forward to the best, and then, after trying so hard, they couldn't contact me, and it all just gets thrown away. Makes me angry at myself, for some reason. I really feel I could have done something. Just something, so that they could just pass a simple message of where the club was meeting prior to moving into East Coast Park. Or at least, the BBQ pit number, and the time. Anything like this, it would have saved me from a awkward dissapearance at such a major social event for the club.

What a step backward.


Friday - CNB CIP day 1 @ City Hall

didn't know exactly what to expect for this, because CIP, is usually, USUALLY, retarded. I'm however pleased to announce that this is officially the easiest, most personally rewarding, AND most fun CIP i've ever done. If you simply hate CIP to the core once, i'd bet I just made your jaw hang.

Our group was stationed at City Hall. We planned to meet at Outram Park MRT station at 10.45AM. My sleeping routine during holidays are always screwed up, so I slept at 3AM the day before, and wake up at 10AM. I was so pissed at myself, that when my mum told me it was 10PM, the first thing I said was "FUCK!"

What a great start to the day. the F word, first thing out of bed.

I rushed morning chores like crazy, and was out 10:30AM. I was so worried that I was going to be keep my other groupmates, Siti, Shafiqah, and Ancherle, waiting for such a long time at the station. But alas, I reached outram park MRT station at 11.30AM, and didn't see anyone. As I was walking from the East-West line to the North-East, I noticed other students, with bags. It made me even more worried, I was obviously late for the collection.

I reached the station's exit, and looked around, and saw this dude sitting on the stairs that led up to the exit, and that was about it. No one else was at the station. Thinking that my group might have already left for the CNB building to collect the items that we were giving out already, I asked the passenger service for directions. However, as he was just about to point the direction, I heard someone shout my name.

It was Shafiqah, she was sitting behind the dude on the flight of stairs. That dude, it was Shafiqah's boyfriend. The first thing Shafiqah said to me was that Siti and Ancherle hadn't arrived yet. Say what?!

Partially relieved, and confused. I sat down on the stairs. It was pretty much small talk, waiting for them to arrive. Shafiqah mingling with her bf, naturally. She told me her bf and herself arrived at the station at 11.20AM. I was thinkin' they were there waiting since 10.50AM or something. Daaaamn!

More groups of students with bags came from the down-riding escalator to our left. We saw Jacinthe's group. Earlier on, I saw the bunch of girls from ETP club I knew. Waved to them, and they waved back. They volunteered to do this CIP? Surprising. I was tempeted to get off the stairs, to ask them if they went to yesterday's BBQ session the club had (which I didn't go to), but instead, I just laughed it all off after waving to them. Judging from the wave, i'd say that they didn't go for the BBQ session too. But I might be wrong.

Point is: WE WERE SOO TOTALLY LATE.

Shafiqah wanted to go up to the collection point in "advance", rather than insisting on waiting for the other 2 to arrive. It was logically a good idea to do so anyway, so, we did. We were the last group there, all the other bags of anti-drug campaign goodie stuff were all gone already, except for 4 bags which belonged to us. Hell, the distrubution crew were packing up to leave already. At least we came just enough to let them know our group was on its way, but we're just freakin' late. Thank god they didn't pack and go already.

I thought people would be rather hostile that we were late, I thought the distribution crew would be some kinda nothing-to-do people who came up and helped to volunteer to give out the bags, and get it over with. But I was wrong. They were being nice. Very, very nice. A girl there even figured out I was the Ramesh in our team, and cracked a joke on how calling my house made her ear painful (I have a fax machine for a house phone).

"Ramesh, right?! Wah, call your house my ear pain!"

Laughed Out Loud. Literally. Our station master, along with a few others, mostly girls (lolwut), they were being nice.

"okay, we'll just wait", the event-in-charge, Irene Loong, said with a smile.

Shafiqah finally got word from Ancherle and Siti, they were at Outram MRT station. They arrived at the CNB building soon enough. We all signed our presence, and took our stuff. Everyone got Cardholders, but Ancherle's bag had Keychains. We mixed up the Keychains and Cardholders abit, which payed off greatly later on. Our station master, and a few others traded numbers, just in case.

We left CNB, and walked back to the station. Our station master followed us! She looked like a poly student, or so I thought. But guess what? She was from ITE too. ^_^

We were stationed at City Hall today. Shafiqah's boyfriend drove us to City Hall from Outram in...Shafiqah's car. Her car is a red Hyundai Getz, I think.

SHAFIQAH'S BOYFRIEND DRIVES LIKE A NUTCASE!
From the point we took off from the carpark, right to the end of the journey where he dropped us off, it was one hell of a crazy journey.
...
We could have died!!!1

Shafiqah! how do you even get used to his driving? I mean, he goes from zero to 80km/h in less than 5 seconds!! wtf! And no, we were NOT on a highway. I blame the automatic Hyundai car. D=

While my heart kept going into my stomach and back up again in the front seat, Ancherle, Siti, Shafiqah, and our station master (lol), sounded like they were having a roller coaster ride in the back seat. Listening to 91.3FM on the car's stereo didn't help, k?

I play racing games all the time, and while I love the thrill of speed, i'd never take it to the real road even if I ever get a car. It's kinda scary, my heart would go into my stomach again. I thought Shafaqah's boyfriend driving was kinda cool, but what the heck. I don't want to die early just because I drove like some cool kid.

Hitting 80km/h on normal roads in less than 5 seconds (isn't the limit 60?), accelerating while doing a right turn when the traffic light's right arrow has already flashed twice, and braking from 80km/h to zero less than 20 feet from the traffic lights, yeah. I'm sure Singapore's roads are safe because of drivers like this.

I've never ever felt so secure with my seatbelt on. /sarcasm

So we finally got off the car at City Hall. I was pretty shaken up, to be frank. The turns he did sent my brain's thoughts into a internal whirlwind of some sort. It was crazy. Anyway, we took our stuff, and set off.

We split up into 2 groups of people. I was with Shafiqah, and Siti + Ancherle took the other side of the road. It was our station master's suggestion, I think. Shafiqah and I started out pretty slow, and picked up over time. We ended up both on the same side of the road, Shafiqah and I were giving those cardholders at City Hall MRT station, with Ancherle and Siti just a little further down. In this time we took to pick up our pace and give those cards, Siti and Ancherle had finished their entire bags already.

There was this girl, around the same age as us, giving out fliers at around the very same spot we were giving out the cards. Not sure how it started, but Shafiqah and I ended up chatting with her. She was 17, and studied Nursing at Ngee Ann Poly. She was saying it was her holidays, and she was supposed to have a week more, but had attatchement, and needed to return to school a week earlier. She was giving out fliers, and got paid $6 per hour for it. I ended up chatting more to her than Shafiqah, because Shafiqah stationed herself a little further inwards in the station. I love it how stuff simply just start out as small talk, rather than a formal introduction. I didn't even ask her name; that's the power of small talk. It was fun, there were several instanced where we laughed at each other, when people simply just didn't take our stuff.

She: "of course you all finish faster la! giving out free stuff!"
Me: "you also giving free flyers! and, you're getting paid!"

something like that.

Shafiqah took the soft approach. She stood there, and gave out the cardholders with a extra-broad smile. I walked around outside the station, giving out. As with that girl. Sometimes, we would cross, and just exchange a few words, like "sian ar, giving out free things also people don't want".

Siti and Ancherle came over to help us. Ancherle said that giving out at her spot would be much faster, rather than giving at the station, and asked me to go there.
She was liek, "my fengshui will work, just go there, will finish all one!"

Sure, her "fengshui" did the trick. I finished faster than Shafiqah. We walked back empty handed, and I was waving my empty hands to that girl who was giving out the fliers for $6/hour.

"Finish? So fast??"

Ancherle eventually told that girl to do some "fengshui", too. But she said there were other people giving out fliers stationed there already.

Siti arranged the cardholders in a fan in her hands (just like how you would hold poker cards in a fan), to make it look fancier, so that more people would take it. Thing is, Shafiqah was still with her soft approach. Smiling, and stretching out her hand to give the cardholders. Well, she had her nice smile to help her, I guess.

After we were done, our station master came over, checked on us, and we were ready to leave. Shafiqah's boyfriend was coming to pick her up, so she didn't follow us. Siti, Acnherle and me went to Somerset. Siti wanted to eat at Pastamania!™, so we went to Cinelesure at somerset. Ancherle got tempted, and ordered some for herself.

took some pictures.



...I got no idea what made me smile like that, and neither do I know what i'm looking at. Picture courtesy of Siti's pprz (tm).

I got this fruit smoothe for $3 outside the mall. It was a promotion, so why the hell not. Mmmm-Mmm.

Okay, what else. Oh, Ancherle wanted to go to Kinokunia to get something, so we went there. I baaaaawed about how Louis Vuitton sucked.

While Ancherle was going to make her purchase, she said she was short of 20cents. I was going to take my wallet out, and it was then I realised my wallet was missing! I got all paranoid, only to figure it was in my left pocket. I must have been still paranoid from shouting "FUCK!" at 10AM while getting out of bed.

Anyway, I got a nice, yellow notebook at Kino. ^_^ Ancherle likes yellow. I don't like it very much, to be honest. It was the color of my PE-shirt in CCKSS.

We had time on our hands to burn, so we just sat on a ledge outside of Takashimaya S.C. Talked about a whole lot of random crappy and pointless stuff, but it was fun. Ancherle spotted gays! (omglol) I cracked bald jokes (which failed).

Was just burned time, till our asses hurt. As night approached, music started coming from somewhere. Initially, I thought it was coming from Takashimaya S.C, but no. It was from a old man and woman playing live nearby. It was so good, I was really convinced the music was coming from the mall. But yeah, the old woman and man made a pretty good team. They were pro.

Walked further down, and hit ION orchard. Of course, it isn't opened yet. I read on the My Paper forums that, with the opening of ION orchard, orchard road would be officially over-retailed. I totally agree, all the malls there have the same thing over and over. I mean, remember me baaawing about Louis Vuitton at takashimaya? yeah, they're opening another Louis Vuitton at ION orchanrd. These two malls are side-by-side, mind you. How so very clever. But, architectually, ION orchard is the best looking and most attractive mall yet. It has these pretty lights running on the curved surface of the mall, followed by a mega-huge screen. It's pretty.

Went back to the MRT station, where the three of us took the North-South line back home. It was pretty quiet. Ancherle alighted at Yishun, Siti alighted at Admiralty to take a bus to her home at Woodlands, and I alighted at Chua Chu Kang, and took the painful 975 bus home.


Saturday - CNB CIP day 2 @ Tampines

today started at 2PM, so we decided to meet up at 1.45PM. I woke on time, but slacked. I reached Outram Park MRT at around 2.30PM. They saw me the instant I came up the escalator. My brother took my expensive shirt I wanted to wear, so I was forced to wear a crappy shirt, which is getting small and old, and looks like my dad's.

We signed our names, and this time, we were forced to split into 2. I was with Siti, and Ancherle was with Shafiqah. I and Siti would be at Tampines 1, and Ancherle and Shafiqah would be at Century Square. Reason? The mall's security didn't want random people going around giving random stuff to random people in random places in their mall. So we couldn't swap locations this time round, even if we wanted to. We were designated.

Shafiqah's boyfriend was with her today, too. Yep, he drove us to Tampines. This time, he used his own car, a manual Chevrolet Optra. I had a feeling today's ride was going to be worse than yesterday's, but the manual car just couldn't jump off the line like an auto car. You know, auto cars, you just hit the pedal and it just goes. Manual can't do that, so it was less extreme today, I guess. hahaha noob manual. Damn, screw squeezing in the back seat. I've had enough of that in my dad's van already. >_>

Siti works at Seoul Garden at Tampines mall. We were giving out the cardholders at a traffic light near the MRT station. I thought it would take us a long time, but Siti gave a whole bunch to her manager, I gave a whole bunch to a guy who said was from CNB previously, and wanted to help us give out to his collegues. Another woman admitted to me she took drugs after seeing we were giving out anti-drug campaign stuff, and the old woman and small kids took more than 1 cardholder everytime. Some took, 2, 4, some 12, and some even an entire bundle. We were on fyah! I struggled to give the rather large group of people that has gathered around me (yaytraffic light crossing). It was almost overwhelming, but Siti came back soon enough.

We finished in record time, i'm sure. It was like, 15 mins? we get 4 hours of CIP for giving out stuff for 15 mins? EPIC


god. I love tampines.

Siti called up Ancherle and Shafiqah, and we went over to century square to help them out. They finished shortly after. We called up our station master to come down and check, and he was rather surprised. We were "dismissed" a little later, after taking some pictures.

Shafiqah's boyfriend arrived (pro!). Took the train to Pasir Ris, where her boyfriend asked if I had been clubbing before(!?). I said I was underaged. I dunno, her bf seemed like a nice guy to me. Siti, however, thinks otherwise.

Reached Pasir Ris together after that, and met up with Alicia's group. They finished shortly after, too. Our station master has here at Pasir Ris. We took pictures together as 2 groups, with Xin Hui, Alicia, Yen Chee, and our group (serious lack of guys all in all). Our station master then treated all of us to a drink at SweetTalk. Nice dude, he was from SIM. He also treated us to doughnuts at Doughnut Empire. Nice dude.

More pictures at SweetTalk, and then Alicia's group left. Siti, Ancherle, and I, together with our station master, we continued munching on doughnuts from doughnut empire, and have small talk. It was fun. Our station master soon needed to go check on the group at Bedok, where Jacinthe and Divina were stationed. Bye-bye, nice dude!

It was back to the three of us. We ate chicken rice at white sands, with Ancherle being my proud sponsor (thank you!!!). Not only was it back to the three of us, it was back to Tampines. hahaha. Tampines is Siti's territory, as she said. She works there, goes there all the time. It was now, when I would discover Tampines 1 looked so huge from the outside, it was actually one of the most crammed mall i've ever been to. Tampines Mall was more croweded. As they say, old is gold.

Oh, and Japan's no. 1 casual wear brand, Uni Qlo, which opened it's first outlet here at Tampines 1, yeah. It sucks. The prices sucked.

Tampines is yet another example of an over-retailed area. It has 3 malls, Century Square, Tampines Mall, and Tampines 1. The laughable thing is that, i'm the these 3 malls, put together, still won't be able to beat the size of the new Jurong Point extention. Just, so over-retailed.

Uni Qlo is opening at ION orchard, too. Poor over-retailed areas.

Walked around the malls, went past where Siti works, Seoul Garden (damn, the smell!), and then went to the arcade. lol. Ancherle played the para-para agian -_-. A whole lot of other crap, and we left the arcade too. I was mostly bored during this time, I don't like arcades very much, to be honest. Especially when you're not playing anything, LOL.

I guess it was time to leave for home, Ancherle wanted to burn time until 7.00PM. It was around 7.30PM, we split ways at Tampines MRT. Siti and Ancherle took buses home. This is where Siti works, so she had a direct bus home. I guess buses from there could go back to Yishun, too. I could have taken 67 all the way back to Chua Chu Kang, but I hate the bus. I've taken 67 to bedok before, and i've had enough!

So, after a goodbye (sad), I took the train from Tampines, all the way back to Boon Lay (what the heck). I didn't even get a seat on the train until after Jurong East. Got off at Boon Lay, took a painful 172, and transferred near a cemetery to a bangla-infested painful 975. Screw living in Lim Chu Kang. Alas, I reached home. It was 9.45PM. Wow, and we left Tampines at 7.30PM. I took more than 2 hours on the journy getting back to home. What the fuck, seriously.

Still, I had so much fun these 2 days. I can't thank you guys enough! yes, you guys, Siti, Ancherle, Shafiqah, and everyone else involved.

3 words: you guys rock!

I still remember how uncertain things were on my first day of school. I'm just so glad I found and got to know such nice people from my class. It's been a discoverey, i've discovered a whole new side to the people in my class, which is beautiful. It just isn't the same as school. Thank you guys so muchhh, you're all awesome fun! <3

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