AUGUST IS THE TIME OF THE YEAR 2010!

Spent a long but gratifying day out of the house today.

I woke up early in the morning for my FIRST driving lesson! Reached Bukit Gombak at 9.30am and waited for my instructor to come. Since it was raining, he came to the waiting area to shelter me to his car! He is a really AWESOME instructor! He is humorous and fast! One hour into the lesson (introduction of the car and gears...), he asked me to go to the driver's seat and we were ready to go. "Are we driving on the real road now?!" I exclaimed. He replied," If not? You're already done with the basics." OMGG! That was the part I was not looking forward at all! DRIVING ON THE ROAD!! After stepping on the accelerator(with the PARKING on gear) and attempting to move the needle to 1500 on the echo meter, I lifted the handbrake, released the foot brake and we were ready to go! Seriously, reaching 1500 was not an easy feat. When i first stepped the accelerator, the needle went up to 3000, and the engine went VRRRRROOOOOOOMMMMM!

On the road, Mr Tan helped me with my steering and braking. Oh boy, I was so freaked out when we reached the main road that i screamed! Seriously, IT WAS FREAKY! Mr Tan kept asking me to keep my eyes on the road and stop freaking out. He also said,"车子是我的，我都不怕，你怕什么？“ Yea, it made sense, I tried to relax, and kept my eyes on the road. So, Mr Tan became the road watcher while I had to step on the accelerator and brake pedals as and when I was required. At the end of the lesson, Mr Tan made me park the car and I had to engage the reverse gear.. OMO! Not another freak out point. But all i had to do was hold on to the steering wheel, let go of my feet and let the car move, while Mr Tan turned the steering wheel and parked the car! AMAZING!!!!!!

And so, MY FIRST DRIVING LESSON!!!!(:

I went home after that. I had decided to watch some dramas before going for the YOG at 4-ish.. To my surprise, Peishi was at home when she was supposed to have a facial appointment at 10am. Then I realized mummy postponed it to 1pm so that I could go to.. Oh well, we went for facial after lunch........

At 5 plus close to 6, we reached Marina Bay Floating Platform. It was a long way to the light green zone (where our seats were), as they blocked the walkway starting from Marina Square. The event was not starting till 7.30pm. So we watched 'Devil Wears Prada' on Peishi's iPod while waiting. Yanling was at the light blue sector! She bought drinks and snacks for me cos we didn't dare to bring any snacks in, in case they threw all away like what they did during the SYF marching band competition. Anyway, the event was OKAY! Much better than what I had expected, but there were still issues. Let me list them out for you.


Issues
1) The 'cheerleaders' that were supposed to lead the individual 'sections' were DEAD! Yes i know, this is quite embarrassing for you given that you are alone and it is only a rehearsal.. BUT!!! show that you are enthusiastic about it! Stop pulling your jackets although I understand that it is quite stupid for you guys to be wearing jackets and jumping around. YET, the audience at the light green sector certainly had quite a treat watching one of the 'cheerleaders' jumping and dancing around. Yes, perhaps embarrassing, but it certainly eased the tension around and made the atmosphere exciting! (kudos to you!)

2) WHY DO WE NOT HAVE GIFT PACKS?? So what if it is just a rehearsal? We should have gift packs just like NDP! It is funny when you hear the hosts saying," Ok guys, please reach into your gift pack and take out the Singapore flag and wave it in the air!!!!!" Then, "guys, you can just wave your hands in the air!!!!!" -.-!!!! SERIOUSLY! It wouldn't hurt just to prepare more bags for us right? Furthermore, it is an international thingy! If you can spend so much money on the props and everything else, would it hurt to spend more on giving us gift packs? (i'm not whining or criticizing. I just find it really weird. People looking around asking about the gift packs but to no avail)

3) Some 'chapters' were not really following the theme.. I shan't elaborate further.. You should watch it yourself.

4) Cultural heritage, yes! Multi racial, yes! But I don't really understand the selection of certain songs.. Malay, ok. Indian, ok. Chinese, 客人来，看爸爸，爸爸不在家... huh??? what has this got to do with tradition? or singapore?

5) I was so shocked when people started leaving during the welcoming of individual flags from various countries (A-Z). But it would be considerate for people to sit back and wait till the announcement was over. It was quite an embarrassment to see people leaving in BUNCHES and clogging the exits! certainly IRRITABLE!

6) Yes, as i repeat, it is a rehearsal, but should they treat it more seriously? I was having fun but not much much due to some circumstances..

Kudos
1) The fireworks were awesome!

2) The entry of the performers was awesome!

3) It was certainly one of a kind. Although it cannot be compared with the Beijing Olympics in 2008, it was worth watching!

4) While watching, I felt a sense of pride to be a Singaporean. Not because we won the bid to host the Youth Olympic Games, but we managed to show the world what Singapore can do, even if we are "invisible" on the world map! The impressive display and stage glamour was FORMIDABLE!

If one day someone were to ask me what Singapore is like, my answer would be:

- SMALL YET FORMIDABLE
- THE FIRST COUNTRY WHICH HOSTED THE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES.

I believe most of them will know what Singapore is after the Youth Olympic Games!

Singapore is a young country but she has courage and perseverance that keeps her going! Dreams are wild and plentiful for Singapore!

5) Cultural heritage was brought in and it made Singaporeans feel like they belong. CERTAINLY AMAZING!

6) Display band was good and perfect!


Besides the Youth Olympic Games, there is National Day on the 9th August! AUGUST IS AN AWESOME MONTH WHEN SINGAPORE GOES INTERNATIONAL! AND BLASTS HER WAY THROUGH WITH AMAZING PERFORMANCES, AMAZING 'SIZE', AND AMAZING FIREWORKS AND DISPLAY!!!

I have ran out of things to type.. I am just too tired! Can't remember everything! I will update again when I remember more details later in the day.

I am going to spend today and Monday with my family! Busy schedule in AUGUST!

* An interesting fact about August 2010:
5 Sundays, 5 Mondays, 5 Tuesdays!!!



FORMIDABLE DAY!