bottle tree park outing

after reading the next few posts by lm.. here's some add-ons to one of the latest outings which i think q lot of volunteers missed during the near exam time... (dun have many photos thou.. as i was too bz looking at the shuai ges and mei nus... and the nice scenary!)


btw a bit more about bottle tree park. it got its name as there are a few trees shaped like bottle. yup.. its q cute.. can try to grow using cola bottle too.


anyw, thanks to SIA's generous sponsering... the residents got lots of nice game prizes (etc biscuit q high class one which i was v tempted to kope) and a GREAT variety of goodies (popcorn, beans soup, ice cream, candy floss and kuehs from bengawan solo)

i was upstair slacking and eating.. (and taking this pic)






i really liked this station because the residents are allowed to draw whatever they like on the blank glass up to their own creativity. so the glasses (eh.. correct rite) are unique. sadly, i dun think it can be used unless u want ur drink to be water color..

after many stations (with more gifts and prizes), time for dinner..



gathering for dinner

residents are seated according to the where we come from... so our table was




haha.. i think the SIA people really took great care of the volunteers.. with their excellent service (so we no need to do anything) and free flow of food..


we were kinda free to eat and chit chat ard.. so i took this pic to pass time..



close up pic of a mango pudding

okie.. that was inspired by lm's scotch tape photo in her earlier post

back to something more relevant..

SIA's people spend great amt of effort to make this outing a success.



SIA's shuai ges and mei nus

they were acting as pirates (mayb tired of aeroplane.. so wanna be pirates for a change) of the carribean and later went downstage to interact with the residents.. i can see that some of them although 1st time interacting with our residents, enjoy themselves alot as well!

finally, to end the night with a...



group photo

TAKING.. haha..


-sh

It's been awhile

Indeed, it's certainly been awhile since some of us (*cough* well, myself, at least) have been to MINDS, due to exam season and all. Upon returning for a regular visit, I was introduced to the changes in the programmes.

For the first half, the residents made handicraft, namely adorable little pouches of potpourri. These were intended for the upcoming Christmas celebrations, as presents for volunteers. (I'm not spoiling any surprises here, am I? Well, uh... I'm not, right?)

However, unlike previously, when each resident would make an entire piece of handicraft himself/herself, the residents are now grouped, and each group specialises in one part of the production process, similar to a factory assembly line. (Maybe it's just the time of year, but somehow, this evokes an image of Santa's toy factory, in my mind, at least...)

As the programmers explained, by allowing the residents to specialise in a particular step of the process, the residents will be able to hone a particular skill via repeated practice. Such mastering of a skill may come in useful to help them seek employment.

Well, the final product was certainly something to be proud of! Kudos to our residents!



During the second half, I followed the Red and Blue groups that day for some healthy competition in the form of Captain's Ball. However, it was Captain's Ball with an interesting little twist, as the residents were only allowed to move sideways (think of crabs), but not forwards or backwards.

The residents visibly enjoyed themselves while getting a healthy dose of exercise. It was also a good activity for inculcating a sense of teamwork, sportsmanship, and the ability to follow instructions.

Kudos, as always (though perhaps not mentioned quite enough), to the programmers. May the residents continue to learn useful new skills while still having fun!

~li ming

"V" is for "volunteer"

Last Friday, there was an outing for volunteers. It started with a cycling session at East Coast Park. (Um... this volunteer was not there, though, please forgive the absence of pictures and "scoop" with regard to that part of the outing.)

After that, the volunteers had lunch at the Cineleisure, followed by a healthy round of karaoke to vent their post-exam stress.

"W" is for "welcome".

"A" is for "ambience".

(Well, a piece of tape on a broken table corner doesn't really count as "ambience", I guess... but it is rather... curious. Some of us were wondering how this... feat had been accomplished.)

"G" is for "girls".

(And uh... "G" is also for "guys".)




"S" is for "singing"!

("S" is for "sad"? YY looks a bit sad... maybe the song was too moving.)

("S" is for "songbird". Elicia delivered some really good performances. *applause*)

"S" is for "spider".

"S" is for "self-portrait"? (Kidding... don't kill me...)

"S" is for "scary"...

We were joined by more volunteers after the karaoke session, and we headed to... uh... an empty, isolated space between two shops in a mall (also known as a corridor) for a rather novel "picnic" take-away dinner.

After that, the volunteers went for a stroll, to look at the Christmas lights along Orchard Road.

It was a fun, stress-relieving outing. Many thanks to the organisers!

~li ming

(P.S: Sorry if you were there, but your picture is missing, I've already added quite a number of pictures to this post... Nevertheless, feel free to view all pictures at the Picasa account.)

Farm fun

Greetings! Um... I know there are earlier, highly-entertaining posts on the farm visit... but I just wanted to supplement the posts with... advertisements. Muahahaha...

When you think of goats, what comes to mind?

Horns? Hooves? "Mehhh"?
Correct! But now, you can add something else to the list -- goat's milk!

Endorsed by our very own Vice President, YC!

*I'm serious, he was going on and on about goat's milk, I swear!*

Get your goat's milk today!

Butterhead Juice

The Drink for Real Men
*cough*



Got a cold? Try fragrant herbs!

One sniff will cure your sniffles!

*Disclaimer: The above advertisements were posted in the name of good old fun. The person who posted the advertisements takes no responsibility for... uh... any bad stuff that might happen as a result of taking them seriously.*

~li ming

Flights of fancy

(Psst... the previous two posts are hilarious must-reads! Kudos to WC!)

And now... on to my (possibly less-interesting and certainly long overdue) post.

A couple of months ago, we welcomed a group of SIA employees (and some of their family members), who joined us for a regular visit.


Yes, I really do have a thing for photographing people's backs.

Well, I'm sure you've heard the expression, "the world is your oyster"? Allow me to introduce you to its less-well-known cousin, "the road is our blackboard". Never heard of it, you say? Well... it's kind of shy and likes to keep a low profile.

Above are pictures from the Arts and Crafts station on that day. Vandalism, you say? No, I'm appalled that you'd think that! It's road art, make no mistake...

Hmm... self-portrait? (Okay... calm down WC, I'm kidding...)

We had some really interesting and enjoyable games that day, like this one:

What's the resident holding? A little orange piece of card-thingy? Well, technically, yes...

... but uh... more accurately, it's a little orange piece of card-thingy that fits together with other little orange pieces of card-thingies to make...

... a heart! How sweet! "Unbreak my heart..." (Really old song by Toni Braxton... sorry, it just popped up in my head.)

We also got to re-live our old schoolyard days with a little hopscotch:

A spoonful of sugar helps the medecine go down... And a spoonful of ping pong has everyone looking down... Here's Pass the Ping Pong:





More innovations involving the infamous ping pong:

"Zis is our inveeention... Zis vill reeevolutionise the vay ve transport ping pongs! Wahahahaha..."

Yes, yes... revolutionise the way we transport ping pongs...

The visit was concluded with a nice buffet, sponsored by the equally nice people from SIA. Many thanks!

It was a highly enjoyable visit for all, and we had great fun hosting our visitors from SIA.

~li ming