Firsthand Xmas Caroling 2010

gasp.

 realised how slow i update my blog when the newest entry i post is something about christmas when it's already the new year!

but i must say that the xmas caroling was definitely one of the best ways to end my 2010.

it was that night that i realised a little can go a long way at impacting people's lives.

all of us carolers came together for one night of singing at the wards and we certainly did such a fantastic job that so many of the patients simply teared as we sang the slower christmas numbers.

"Merry Christmas with Love" by Clay Aiken was especially meaningful with its heartwrenching lyrics.

She leaned with her head on the window
Watching evergreen bend in the snow
Remembering Christmas the way it had been
So many seasons ago.

When children would reach for their stockings
And open the presents they found
The lights on the tree would shine bright in their eyes
Reflecting the love all around.

This year there's no one to open the gifts
No reason for trimming the tree
And just as a tear made it's way to the floor
She heard voices outside start to sing.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love.

Carolers sang as she opened the door
Faces of friends in the crowd
And all of the shadows of lonely reminders
Driven away by the sound.

Now the heart that for years had been silent
Was suddenly filled with a song
As she clung to their hands like a child in the night
She found her self singing along.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love

i was also given the chance to sing solo for Slient Night and to start off for the song "Mary's Boy Child". i believe that God gave me this opportunity to let me realise my potential. there was this tiny incident that night that i'll probably remember for a while is when this old lady requested us to sing a chinese song... As the only song which contained chinese lyrics was "Silent Night", we decided to dedicate the song to her. As i came in with my solo part, she said "Hao Ting (chinese for nice to listen)" and told one of the volunteers to clap together with her after my solo part even though the song had barely started, haha. perhaps it may sound all stuck up and boastful but do not misunderstand, i'm not trying to praise myself here but i guess it is always a nice feeling to be recognized for something (perhaps the only thing) that i think i am good at. it reaffirmed my love for singing and ultimately, i'm just glad that we were able to reach out to others with our voices. this would never have been possible with just me alone.

it was most certainly a group effort and we would also never have managed to bring the warmth and cheer of xmas without our 2 guitarists, Karen and Andy! Thank you guys!

In addition to singing, we also gave out blankets and refreshments as a christmas gifts to the patients. Ginny and Jack even dressed up as our very own Santa and Santarina!

what an awesome night!

after singing carols that night, it kinda sparked a desire in me...

i'm not so sure if i am cut out for it yet...

but i do hope to give it a try...

i hope to give children church BV a try...

i know it'd probably be a bit tough considering the number of good singers in chc.

but if i never give it a try, i would never know where i stand right?

as you can see, black was the theme for that night because we all had to don an alphabet each. together we formed the words "Merry Xmas". the letters were glow in the dark :)

pretty cool stuff.

trying out my new lens :)

NIKKOR LENS AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f 1.8G!!

yay! thanks so much for the lens! it really does improve the quality of my dslr shots compared to my kit lenses. below are just a few random shots taken using the new lens!

Now all i need is my d5000 and my pics will come off looking super pro! haha.



Karen's 21st birthday!!

Candlelight service

jojo!! my coolest ex hall roomie!

YP, me & jojo!

my favourite time of the year is coming. can't wait for christmas!

Lilian's birthday!

she truly is a role model to me in terms of her love for God and how optimistic she is no matter what the circumstances. thank you lilian for being such a wonderful connect group leader!

YP & lilian

Lilian and i :)

liupeng's wife, char, myrna, kydia, ger & lilian.

with jirong.

and of course not forgetting to take a shot with...lilian's bf, YH!

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS 2010!

we managed to get in at half the original rate - 33bucks! All thanks to Alvin!

it was almost entirely a cashless day for all of us as we had retail & food vouchers.

tons of it.

felt so darn happy to not be spending a single cent especially in such an expensive place.

posing with a courtesan.

KUNGFU PANDA! we were so excited over the panda that we grabbed the poor guy a tad too hard, with me tugging onto his arm like my life depended on it. the staff, in fear that we would cause physical injury to the poor panda, immediately shouted "please don't hurt the panda!". hurhur.

with mr frankenstein!

the show tunes boys. dancing to the beat of the music. we were completely mesmerised by the blondehead, with his charisma and 100watt smile. and so needless to say, we had to stalk them to get a pic together. haha.

the memorabilia store was selling all kinds of quirky, cool stuff like this hat from some cartoon, can't put my finger on which cartoon it was though.

haha, i like the hat, makes my brain look HHHUUUGE.

posing with charlie chaplin :)

and marilyn monroe, apparantly a fatter version of the late sex bomb.

once again, terrorising the mascots by grabbing onto their stilts. lol.

"the accelerator ride" - aka the classis teacup rides in amusement parks. it wasn't fun at all, slower than the average teacup rides cause you can't manually spin the pods around.

the revenge of the mummy. we took the indoor roller coaster twice cause it was the only fun ride. even so, not much kick to it though.

the group of us then took a group shot in front of the far far away castle.

watching shrek 4d - one of the more fun stuff at USS!

loved it especially when the donkey sneezes and water comes spraying into your face, as though his boogie got all over ya. haha.

complimentary ben & jerry's ice cream for all of us!

princess fiioooona was just too gorgeous!!

to rate the best rides in USS (in no particular order):

1. Revenge of the mummy (indoor roller coaster)

2. Shrek 4d Adventure

3. Steven Speilberg's "Lights,camera, action"

4. Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure

VOYAGE DE LA VIE!

we then went to catch the circus cum musical feat. jonanthan leong at resort world. again, it was free and we got front row seats! how awesome is that! thanks so much for the free tics!!!

the musical was good, it's different from the typical cirque de soleil in the aspect that it incorporates more asian themes (e.g. japanese soldiers, lion dance, more asian settings) and though the acrobat was not as fantastic as cirque de soleil, they had one very crucial performer - the rubber boy. it was friggin scary to see the stick thin contortionist twisting his body, legs, hands in all kinds of positions you never knew a human body could do. it was really quite a freaky sight and i had to close my eyes at certain parts when it just felt too disgusting to watch. for example, he could twist his body such that his legs are facing upwards and his upper body facing downwards....wth....throughout the 5minutes act, a persistent thought kept nudging my conscience...where was this guy's spine??!!! and i mean literally.

another good thing was that they had incorporated a singaporean singer into the show and he performed 3 solos. voice quality was superb and this show was also much more interactive with the performers climbing over the seats of the audiences!