Rag: Passion. Friendship. Triumph.

Arts Bash 2007 : ZIRKUS!

2007-08-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Heyo Raggers, how's sch been? feeling weird gg to sch w so many cars & ppl ard? feeling queer seeing fellow Raggers in non-cui clothes? starting to feel post-rag depression (PRD)? wanting deep in ur heart to have a gathering w fellow Raggers once again after Rag Day has ended? not to worry! e 1st post rag event is coming up! do buy ur tix for e upcoming arts bash on 18th aug @ DXO!!! let us all go down & support our fellow Rag dancer Guo Yao who is a pageant contestant!!! tix gg only at $14 w 2 drinks included!!! u can buy from any MC members or bash ocomm members~! let's all go man! i'll b dere!

Xin Yu

it's never going to be the end

2007-08-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

rag has ended.. school has started.. lt11, the carpark, as3 has been cleared of the rag stuffs..yet memories live on.. i woke up this morning from our rag room, came out of the room and stopped outside the door.. coz i saw nothing outside the room.. not what i would expect everyday for the last one month when i woke up... we (me, serene, applie, kenneth, guanjie) walked to lt11.. it's crowded with people.. but they are just students queueing up for coursepack.. no longer raggers who sat down and did soft tech.. and last night after coming back from dinner.. we walked past the carpark to go back to rag room.. what should be our yellow submarine is now left only with the frame.. our pathenon and palace dismantled.. i couldnt said enough of everything which i'm feeling right now.. as i read applie's msg on the yahoo group, i cried yet again..

for the past 8 months of planning, last 3 months of starting working from scratch.. last 1 month for chionging together.. it has been filled with so much memories.. the pain, the hardship, the few hours of sleep.. the jokes, the scandals, the suppers, the rollercoaster rides in lionel's car, the cans collection, the cans washing, all the birthday celebrations, all the pastries baked by our dearest juniors and jasmine.. all the origami which drove everyone crazy.. the cans bottoms which made me, kit geok and geraldine so pissed off.. the periscope box with card marche which me and serene kept doing.. nick climbing up and down the submarine and us telling him to be careful.. meichen telling us that we need to keep what we are putting up on the submarine very straight.. and us re-doing it over and over again when we think that it's not nice.. the mounting of the float for the first time.. the combined rehearsals.. the energetic dancers who always keep us motivated to finish the float as nicely as possible to match up to their dance.. kenneth nagging at us.. all the late nights talking to each other.. all the people who came down to help us.. all the seniors who came back.. all the freshies who are willing to come back.. our regular freshies (sarah, hanjing, alvin, sabrina, bernice).. the gossip gang, the 160 club, reuben's shortie song, joshua who are on the exchange programme yet came down everyday to help us... the singing at night when we wanted to chiong out the back of the palace but it ended up like us screaming lyrics out and jeremy being so gian to join us (me, michelle and serene)...

there's so much to be said.. so much in our memories.. so much we felt for.. even when the judges denied us.. even if the results failed us.. we know deep in our hearts that we have not failed ourselves.. the friendship which was forged between us.. the bond that was shared among us.. the family we had for these 3 months.. it's beyond words to express everything that i want to say about rag.. i dont know how to describe the love i have for rag, for this family who has been with me throughout this 1 month.. i'll never forget this experience.. i'll never forget everyone who has been there giving us their support.. i'll never forget the yellow submarine.. the palace, the pathenon, the clam, the treasure chest, the rocks... everything that makes up the entire arts rag..

i love rag!!! i love rag ocomm!! i love all raggers =)

Love Love,

Shu Ping

food, food, food

2007-08-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

rag day is approaching!! everyone involved in arts rag has been working very hard these few days to complete everything in the way that we want to finish. what makes all raggers happy is food!! =)

our lovely juniors have been super nice to us. they bake muffins, cupcakes and cookies for us to eat. we love all freshies so much!! (including hanjing.. so hanjing, u shud be nicer to all of us. =P)

and guanjie just baked cheesecake for us to eat... so sweet of him..

and on 31st july, FASS had orientation talks for the freshies and they had reception for the freshies in the morning. usually, schools will order too much food for the freshies, and hence, that's when raggers come in to help! =P

serene, samuel and I went down to LT12 and started to pack the food for raggers.

see this!! so much food.. just like picnic!! we ate all these for breakfast, lunch and teatime.. hahaa.. the cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake and fruit tarts are the nicest among all.. and so, raggers are super happy when all of them woke up. the three of us had a lot of fun packing the food back to as3 as well..

8 days to rag day, 7 days to end of building of float.. everyone jiayou!!

Love Love,
Shu Ping

Final Lap

2007-07-30T05:12:00.001-07:00

haha, it has been a long time since i last blogged on this blog. been so overwhelmed with all e actions happening at our rag sites aka LT11 carpark 6 & AS3 level 2 walkway. :P time really flies, soon before we know it, Rag Day will be here and Rag history will then close another chapter already. it has been really heartening to see a number of freshies coming down regularly, joining us to make our dreams come into fruition on 11th August 2007. even though it e going gets tough at times, we Raggers stood by one another all e way frm e start til now and we will cont to til e end right? i believe so. :) anyway, to all people out there reading this blog, be it freshies, seniors who've done rag before or nus students who've nvr done rag before, if you have even a tiny urge to join us do not hesitate to do so! there is not much time left for you to hesitate and consider already, before you know it, you would have lost the chance. trust me, Rag is definitely a memorable experience you wont be able to find anywhere else. let us live our passion, build and treasure friendships then bring back the triumph. WHATEVER IT TAKES! ^-^

12 Days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

supper

2007-07-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

25 July 2007

geylang + frog leg porridge + dou jiang you tiao + walking along the alley + rollercoaster ride = happy happy day

26 July 2007

supper again. teochew porridge + rollercoaster ride.. =) happy birthday to Sarah!

that's for now. more updates coming up. =) for those who are still thinking if u should come down to join us, make your first move now. make this your own unforgettable experience, and not just reading or listening to ours. =)

Love Love,

Shu Ping

rag + dinner + k-ing

2007-07-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

22 July 2007
who said that rag is all about shit work? we had our own fun as well. we went out to clementi for dinner. before that we were doing rag. kenneth, xiaoyan and serene were busily fixing the taupoline sheet so that we can have a better environment for the hard tech pple.

after a tiring day, we set off to clementi to meet jackson and the rest for dinner. we had dinner at our usual place, the coffee shop which sells gong bao chicken and claypot rice. as usual, we ordered the gong bao chicken, claypot rice, potato leaves and hotplate tofu.

see our pd helping us to scoop the claypot rice!! hahaha.. so nice!! =)

the joke of the day.. nicholas smiling to himself.. =P

after dinner, we went off to partyworld to sing!! and there's so many hidden talents around us. so many of them can sing so well!! even Kenneth sang!!! see how nice our pd is to us.. even when he dont sing often, but he knows his comm loves to sing a lot, hence, he sang with us as well. =)

as usual, the guys were laughing at the girls for being too 'zi high' and standing on the sofa, but what's wrong with being high? haha, so of course we just heck care about their teasing. =P we sang from 9pm till 1am.. after the whole thing, we took turns to take photos with jackson, who's going to US for NOC.. take care of yourself k.. =)

and after k-ing, some of us decided to walk back to sch from clementi. it's a long journey, but as usual, it's the bonding session that matters to all of us..

Love Love,

Shu Ping

garang guni 3!!

2007-07-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

21st July 2007
this is the first garang guni which i joined, though this is the third and also the last one. BUT.. it is still super fun! we did our third garang guni at toh guan rd, which is around the same area as our second garang guni. it was raining that morning. so some of us who stayed over took cab over to the destination to meet the rest. michelle's brother and his friends from srjc came to help us as well. we grouped ourselves into groups of 8 to comb each block.

see us hard at work..

of course there will be the usual cam-whoring.. =P

makan time!! yummy yum yum..

then in the afternoon, michelle's brother and his friends had to leave. so we re-grouped ourselves again and continued with the combing of blocks. this time round, we had lots and lots of fun, at least for my group which consisted of me, serene, jeremy and bryan. we decided to compete and see if it's the girls or the guys who are able to get more stuffs.

and finally at around 5 plus in the evening, we managed to comb all of the blocks that we planned to. and we went off to balestier to have our bak kut teh!! it's very nice. thank goodness that we dont have to queue for very long. all of u should go and try the bak kut teh. it's often frequented by the overseas idols who came to Singapore. we had lots of fun pointing out the idols in all the photos that were pasted around the shop.coming to rag is not all about hard tech and soft tech. it's also about the friendship that we share. all the chatting, joking around, meals together have strengthened our friendship and have made us so much closer to each other. it makes me love rag more and more, and willingly come down for rag everyday. =)

some of us after dinner

Love Love,

Shu Ping

i love rag so much!!

2007-07-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

this is the long-awaited updates from all of us..

16 July 07

haha.. i would say this day is super special.. first we had the mounting of our main float.. next we had the collection of cans which all of us, including girls, become super garang, then we had our first ever 22 pple dinner.. plus all the jokes that we had before and while we went for dinner..

the mounting of float is really very exciting for all of us.. coz finally for all of us, seniors plus freshies, we saw what we had done all these while mounted up.. though it's only the frame that was being mounted up.. it's good enough for so many of us.. and i would say it touches me a lot to see the whole mounting up.. i know it will definitely be an even touching scene when the time comes for us to mount the whole completed float with all the side props.. i'm looking forward to the day.. =)

then it's the collection of cans when most of us went to the collection centre to collect cans. what touches me that day was the scene when all of us are in the pile of cans and the freshies being so garang, picking up all the cans that we need, and them helping us to clear up all the cans at the end of the whole thing.. though they have only joined us for the few days, i'm really very proud and motivated by them and what they've done for rag.. thank you all freshies who have helped us so much throughout this whole period of time.. and thanks to all the help, we managed to get 14 bags of cans in just a few hours..

then it's the 22 pple dinner.. seriously, that's the best for the whole day.. imagine a 10-minute ride from school to the place becoming an 1-hr ride instead, and the constant calling of each other, to tell each other the driving directions.. ahaha.. lionel was the one who was familiar with where the place we want to go is, so all of us (the lorry and the van) is supposed to follow lionel's car.. guanjie (who is driving his van, with me, serene and pearl on it) decided to let samuel (driver for the lorry) to go first, so that we can look after them from the back.. then we realised that samuel dunno which is lionel's car.. then serene called xiaoyan (who was in lionel's car, together with kenneth, zac and meizhen, if i'm not wrong).. then we tried to find a place to meet up with all of them.. then u all should have heard when serene called xiaoyan, and kenneth picked up the phone.. he was like ' hello! hello! talk to me! talk to me! '.. we were laughing so much!! and finally after all the calling of each other, trying so hard to find and follow each other.. we reached our destination, Rong Guang BBQ Seafood!! it was so fun with Kenneth being the 'teacher' trying to tell us what our orders will be.. then the gai lan and guai lan joke (which xiaoyan was imitating Kenneth to be the 'teacher' teaching the word gai lan, but ivan and guanjie keep saying guai lan instead), the delicious food with all the endless jokes and laughter that we had.. the birthday celebration for sabrina and pearl.. with them having the competition to use straw to eat the cake.. i love such dinners..

i love rag more and more as days go by.. more updates about the other days coming!! =)

love love,

Shu Ping

2007-07-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

random pictures, exciting updates!

Dance practice is ever so happening! alot alot of people! its almost like an aerobic class. haha.

one bright morning at our rag site, colonies of commando ants were spotted. hence the Splash Ants Residence Scheme. Aka SARS. eh.. sounds like our Support Arts Rag Scheme huh?? (P.S step 1 and 2 shows Shu Ping waking up after ants attack, thus leading to our discovery) (Step 3 and 4 shows us taking hot water from water cooler. kena scolded by cleaning auntie la!) ( Step 5 and 8 shows us fighting ants with water!) (Step 9 shows victory by SARS team! Xiaoyan, Shu Ping, Kenneth, and me (Serene) aka photographer) whahaha.

Looks at the no. of cans we collected from recycling company and the no of cans we WASHED!!!!! (my first time. eeky i must say. but nonetheless, a fun experience. treasures for our FLOAT!)

CANS washing. the most exciting activity of rag. haha. look at our intent faces. whahaha. this time, our most disgusting patron will be tissue. yea man!

Splash Ants Residence Scheme 2! we leave no mercy with our brooms and water hoses.

1st try at Mounting of our float onto a lorry! clockwise from top left, 1)raggers doing rag cry... mmok! 2) us on the back of lorry, going for cans collection! 3) Smart Pearl choosing to sit in Guan Jie's Van. That means air con, neat hair, no dust, speed and comfort! 4) smart Hanjing, Shu Ping and Me! same choice of lorry la!

us taking pictures of ppl in the lorry from our view in the van! woo shu ping ur photographic skills rock la! haha, top right pic, xiaoyan is showing off to us the tissue she has when we gestured to her that we r feeling cool in the airconed van! can u see??

Zac in front of his pretty pretty frame! nice!

bandits or....? bryan, meiling, xinyu n samuel our driver la!

oh my god! thats damn funny!!

yea! lots of progress, but still more to come! jiayou raggers! for those who havent join us yet, join us now! its not too late to come as now is the TIME. if not now, then never!

YEA MAN!

Cheers,

Serene

Rag Family Dinner

2007-07-19T08:28:00.001-07:00

Hey hey hey, I'm here to make some noise~! ;) it has been a very very very long time since i last blogged!!! haha, dun take it that nothing much has been blogged here means that nothing much has been happening or done at rag ok? u're 1000% wrong! so much has been happening at rag, tech has been making progress and dance is so chio!!! if u wan to know more, come down and see it for urself, be part of us and den feel e magic of rag which makes a lot of us come down everyday to school or even stayover in school for days! reali reali, everything is looking very hopeful and beautiful and impressive. be part of us soon if not there wont be much chance left also. why i say this leh? it is because we've only a bit more than 3 weeks before rag day 2007!!!

anyway, i log onto this blog to talk about something which i have lots of thoughts about. and it is the rag dinner that we have on Monday (16/7/07) where 22 raggers (me, Applie, Mei Chen, Serene, Nicholas, Samuel, Sabrina, Li Xin, Jing Xiong, Victor, Ivan, Guan Jie, Mei Ling, Evelyn, Xiao Yan, Jing Jun, Zaccheus, Pearl, Shu Ping, Kenneth, Lionel & Bryan) sat down on 2 big tables to have Rag family dinner!!! oh my oh my!!! sounds impressive right? sounds interesting and happening and fun right? how did we manage to complete this feat? listen on man~ ;) that day cos of can collection, we rented a lorry thus we thought of making full use of it by using it to drive Raggers out for dinner tgt. of cos not jus e lorry la, we also have guanjie's van & lionel's car!!! haha, we went to this place which lionel recommended. even though it was somewhere near school, we took a long time as e rest of us duno how to go and then we keep losing lionel zooming about in his car. :P nevertheless, we reached e place, order a lot of good food & had a very enjoyable time eating food, talking crap and laughing our hearts out.

it really feels very heart-warming. Rag like what i mentioned earlier on is more than a project, it is really like a family. we come together, with nothing tangible to bind us, but it is e fact tt all of us are willing to come tgt to achieve sth tgt tt ties us closely tgt. i duno, but whenever i tink of tt night when all of us are there eating and chatting and having e best times of our life, i feel very fortunate to be able to be part of all this, i feel very touched. it is like there are freshies, our batch people, snrs and new raggers who are nus students who've not reali done rag before. all of us, together as one big family. we dun care where we come from, we dun care who we are, we dun care if tt person is not tt likeable by others, we accept everyone for who he/she is. ppl who has nvr done rag before will nvr ever understand t feeling, i'm serious. this is a project which u have to take part in and be as heavily involved as u can afford in order to experience e magic.

Xin Yu

23 Days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

2007-07-06T11:06:00.001-07:00

Yay, Applie is here to blog again! what abouts? RAG ORIENTATION!! here's some long-winded thank you notes to those who had helped make it possible.

First of all, thank you to all the freshies who came down for Rag orientation the past week. It has been exhilarating having you guys around and we really hope to see you again for the next 6 weeks counting down to Rag. It may not be as fun as Arts Camp, nor as exciting as O week promises to be, but it is a fulfilling project that requires not just days of fun-seeking, but months of teamwork, leadership and passion. The friendships you forge extend beyond houses and OGs and the victory that we share will not be just amongst our own friends, seniors but with the entire Arts Faculty, staff and students alike. Do ask all your friends, whether or not they have attended Arts Camp before, to come down to do Rag too!!! Come 11th August, we hope that you'll be down at The Padang with us, realising the moment of glory when months of effort and struggle boil down to that single and final presentation that will make Arts proud.

Secondly, thank you to the seniors who came down to support us despite your busy schedule! You guys did a wonderful job of guiding the freshies and integrating them into the Rag family as well as giving us valuable advice on how we can improve on the project. You guys know who you are... I'm sure the freshies would have also sensed that unwavering fervour for Arts Rag that made you come down year after year. We hope that we'll be able to carry on that tradition of passion and dedication to the following generation of Raggers as well. =)

Lastly, thank you to the committee members for mentoring the freshies during Rag orientation and exposing them to the culture and tradition of Arts Rag. It has not been easy for alot of us considering that we have just returned from Arts Camp, still having the aftermath of sleep deprivation and fatigue. But you guys came down nevertheless, to introduce the freshies to Rag and raggerfying them as much as we can. It was tough, taking into account that there were only those few of us as the rest were tied down to their own commitments elsewhere but I think we managed to pull it off and left an impression on the freshies. It was heartening to see the faces from Day One returning on Day Two, Day Three and onwards. I hope that the new friendships you have forged with them will be lasting and memorable as well!!! Good job, guys and let's work together for this remaining one month, in full speed and force towards Rag Day 2007!

be-raggerfied!!

2007-07-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

my turn to blog!!! yeah!! i went back for rag on tuesday and wednesday after my work to join the orientation for the freshies.. heard that a few freshies came to join us.. a very big thank you to all who came and welcome to the RAG family! =) hope all of u will decide to stay with us throughout this long journey.

i guess i should share a bit of my feelings towards rag.. when i was asked to join rag as ocomm.. i thought to myself.. 'hmm.. i heard that rag is all about sai kang, all the shitty stuffs, labour work, long hours of working blah blah..' basically nothing much that i heard abt rag from others is positive.. then i thought to myself again.. 'what's the most important thing for me when i decide to join something?' i dont know about all of u out there who's reading this.. but to me, i've always wanted to try something new, even when i may not seem to be the most suitable person to try the activity.. and i guess many pple like me will be deciding between o week and rag, since the two projects are so close to each other in terms of dates. the deciding factor actually lies in the fact that rag is something that u'll never get to experience or rather have not experienced before in ur sch life. how many times have u been involved in such a grand-scale project, building a float from scratch or performing together with the float? how many times have u been involved in a project that will be held in Padang and is part of the national day celebrations? so i made my decision and decided to join rag instead..

everyone else told me, raggers are all crazy people.. they dont sleep much.. they practically live in school 24/7.. they do rag all the time and have no social life.. i guess what raggers have in their mind is that we are working together as a team, with the same goal in mind, wanting to complete something that has been designed by all of us.. it's just like a basketball team having the same goal to be the champion during the tournament or maybe even like a choir team who aims to get gold with honours during syf.. that's the spirit we have, that's the vision we work towards.. so the determination and spirit do not only belong to the raggers.. it's within all of us.. it's just a matter of us wanting to do it or not..

so i highly appeal to all of u out there.. whether u are an ARTS student from NUS or our incoming freshies for the new academic year.. join us in this long journey. it may be tough at times, but we are always with each other as a team.. it's ok if u are coming alone.. coz u'll find company in us.. nevermind if u have decided to join o week as councillors.. join us on days that u are free.. even when it's just one day or two.. ur help will be greatly appreciated.. come feel the rag spirit.. go through the once-in-a-lifetime experience..

--

updates on what we did.. on tuesday and wed night (when i was there.. the rest can update about the other activities done)

-eating at Botak Jones
-tech work
-'would u rather' game

-chit-chat

and now it's photos time!!

it's botak jones time!! yummy yum yum~!~

worksite where we will be mostly at

our hiding place.. the home where raggers live..

Come join us ya.. dont hesitate anymore.. try it out yourself instead of letting others decide for u.. =)

Love love,

Shuping =)

Rag Orientation~!

2007-07-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

hey hey hey, ur friendly Rag blogger is finally back~! haha, paiseh paiseh, earlier on was too caught up with doing logistics for Arts Camp after which taking time to recover from the serious lack of slp den now finally back after settling most of the jiapalang stuff that awaits me. busy busy life sia, i very busy one so bo bian ah, heez. :P (a bit de bhb here ah, paiseh~)

anyway, i'm here to update about the most happening event for Rag 2007 which is (~drumrolls~) RAG ORIENTATION! muahahaha, why do i say that it is the most happening event leh? this is because we have finally officially welcomed a lot of freshies into the big Rag family!!! a large round of applause to every single freshie who took the time & effort down to join us in this earth-shattering event man~ wooohoooo!!! haha, a bit de high ah, dun mind me. so who exactly do we have joining us? they are the lovely Gwen, niao-king Han Jing, hyper Li Xin, earlybird Sabrina, silent Li Shi, shy Xiu Fang, sporty Juli, quiet Zhimin, trackie expert Shahmir, crappy Jing Xiong, cool Alvin, mahjong queens June & Grace, muscle man Dudley, thoughtful Cheryl & girl guide Eunice.

on top of welcoming freshies into Rag, we also managed to keep to our schedule for e past few days which is a great accomplishment! e treasure box looks marvelous, e bricks are on their way out to be part of the Aztech temple, e corrugated cardboards are getting ready to create wonderful patterns on our props & e metal frame for e submarine looks geared up to be nicely decorated into sth which we will proudly call our main float!!! i shall not go too much into details because i want u all to come down and see it for urselves!!! also, despite being on schedule, we still need all e manpower we need in order for us to do more den wat we planned for which means better work at e end of eth~! therefore, come come come & join us!!! every little effort helps & every little help matters! this is also to call out to all past Raggers, now is e time for us to come tgt and make a miracle once more! hesitate no more! come down and be part of us! there is no such thing as awkwardness, discrimination, weirdness & inferiority in Rag! we are all e same, we are all an essential part of the Rag family. now is the time to answer e call~ ;)

Xin Yu & Kenneth~for the part on freshies~;)

37 Days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

2007-07-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

YES IT'S HERE!

The time of the year when freshies officially join Rag is here!

Rag orientation happens:
2-4th july (mon- wed)
11am onwards, staying overnight!
Area outside LT11!
casual attire: comfortable shirts and shorts!

You are welcomed to stay overnight with us during rag orientation. on the other hand, it is not obligatory. bring along:
3 set of clothing
3 set of undergarments
sleeping bag
stationery (pen, paper, scissors, scotchtape)
toiletries
money for food
ezlink card with encoded value of $10. we may go out together for dinner

For freshies who are unable to join us for rag orientation but who are still interested in being part of the biggest and most important freshman orientation project in whole of Arts and also NUS, you can join us anytime, anyday. We will be here everyday, building our float using paper marche, cut cans and what-nots.

We will be outside LT11, from 11am onwards. Come in casual attire like shorts and old school shirts as we will be doing manual work. :P :P

See you there! any queries do call our friendly PR team
Xiaoyan 92706851
Serene 93632762
Pearl 94746587

:) Serene

2007-06-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

haha! seems like i'm hooked on blogging~ 18th june! we had a major stayover again! this time we have lionel, reuben, kenneth, xiao huang, bryant, nicholas, serene, applie and me! we also had zac, pearl, natalie, meizhen, yuen kim, and 2 new freshies yuan ting and yun ling with us, but they did not stay with us for the night~next time muz stay k! (^_^) i was there late, so thanx pearl for the supply of information on what happened b4 i reach~

ok so apparently, i heard nat and lionel had a bet to see who can make the most perfect metal circle with the can strips, and the loser have to smell reuben's armpit! omg...and while they were doing it, nat suddenly said the one who do fastest will smell the armpit, and she proudly held up her finished circle~ blur blur...but lucky she did not have to smell the armpit after all lah~

when i reached, the scandaling began! we started pairing ppl up lah~ well, i dun think i should type the scandals here, so if u wanna know, come down and join us! so we gossiped ard while doing soft tech, and the 'heads' had a soft tech mini meeting at a corner with wenhui, who came a while after~

here i have to apologise again, coz i left sch in the evening, so whoever rmbers what happened, pls post another post to update us k!

anyway, i was back at sch at 1+am and saw bryan and nic hard at work at the hard tech site. and as usual, i scared our dear nic even when i made noise when approaching him to notify him of my existence. back at rag room, we decided to go for supper at our fav hangout fong seng! we first went down to the hard tech site to look for bryan and nic. so while we were waiting for the 2 of them to clear up and join us to go for supper, the usual guys started their daily suaning again lah! topic of the day was height, and our poor serene and applie became the victims of lionel, reuben and kenneth, who raised their hands and started 'dancing' ard them~ michelle joined us for supper too, and she too became a victim after her phone call~

the highlight of the nite was when we finished supper! ok let me tell u all the story~
as we all know, mr nic is always bullied by us coz we know his weakness. so we , as playful as ever, decided to play a trick on him again. after the meal, he went to buy drinks from 7-11 while we went to pay for supper. after paying, we saw that he was not out yet, so we all RAN to the little path leading into eusoff, where we all hid leaning against the wall, waiting for him. so mr lionel was the 1st, he saw nic walking at a very fast speed towards us. when he passed by us, lionel jump out to scare him, and guess what, he threw his plastic bag onto the floor and jumped to the side! we were all so tired from laughing lah! anyway, there was a video, so pls kenneth, upload soon! (^_^)

after that, scaring continued. and horrible me gave serene and applie a scare too when i sneak up from behind them and grabbed their hand when they were walking side by side. and as usual, the guys always manage to scare ppl at the usual hideouts. after we got back, we started telling ghost stories while continuing with the can strips. we slept at abt 5am in the end~

next morning, 19th june. we were all awoken at 9am. so tired lah! being the lazy me, i really juz wanna stay lying down. but lionel they all started the WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP chanting till we buay tahan lah! and i was almost the next jingyi lah! lucky i didn't put myself in the sleeping bag, saving myself from their evil clutches! we later went for breakfast, and in the afternoon everyone left to do their various stuff~ in the afternoon, xinyu's other bro ming lie aka xiao lie joined us in the rag room, kit geok and jackson also came to help out in soft tech while nic and bryan continue with hard tech~

ok lah, think i really cannot rmber what else we did~ anyone who rmber pls pls pls blog it! sorry if i missed out any impt pts, and apologies if i missed out anyone! my memory is really not dat good lah~ yup! so...looking forward to the next post! hopefully by someone else who can do a better job~ sounds very fun rite? come down and join us at AS3/02-13! (^_^)

Love,
Xiao Yan

*raggerfied* (^_^)

Karang Guni 2

2007-06-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

hey hey hey, i'm here to talk about karang guni ytd!!! hahaha, i must say that this time all of us had more fun than the last time because a lot more people was able to make it down for the collection!!! what's more about it was that there was a very good mix of ppl who made it! there were freshies (bernice & natalie), rag&flag ocomm members (kit geok, pearl, xiao yan, serene, kenneth, bryan, applie, jackson, zac & samantha), mc members (reuben, jeremy & caleb) & seniors (jing yi, wen hui, jianwu, alvin & yuimin)!!! first & foremost, wld lk to say a very big word of thanks to every single person who came down to help out despite all of us having busy and tight schedules!!! ^-^ it was deeply & greatly & very much appreciated!!! (: also, it is very homely to see everyone of us come together to do something together after such a long time, the feeling is nice beyond words can describe. i think only those who came down to help would understand what i mean.

anyway back to the karang guni, i've to say we started off on a bad note because it rained!!! oh my, and somemore it was not those drizzle type ok, it is quite heavy eh. in e end i push trolley walk in e rain, got myself so drenched that bernice thought i bath before i left school. cui! anyway, due to the rain, people were late as per usual and expected @ 10am. me leaving from school with the rag people (bryan, xiao yan, serene & my bro xiao huang) was of cos late as we were all caught in e rain. by e time we reached jurong east mrt station, we met up with kit geok just nice on e platform. den we saw mei ling, bernice, zac, applie & reuben waiting for us patiently. and so e whole grp of us met up then most of e ppl went to buy their breakfast 1st while e rest of us waited at one corner of e interchange where some people is playing a family trail game. haha, den e uncle very funny cos he say we shld get tpt so tt we wont b so xiong. end up we were chatting w tt uncle & his wife plus his friend & his wife also. hah, e aunty keep saying students different thinking, can do things differently no prob one, got generation gap blah blah blah. we took bus to the blk of hdb flats where we met up w wenhui & den started collecting! (:

e collection went on qt well & successful as all of us helped one another out. even though we have to change our central collection points twice; 1st time is cos e flat not central enuff, 2nd time is cos e flat below got malay wedding. hahaha. den we realise e ppl living at jurong east very bad!!! cos they kop-ed e trolley from ntuc & giant!!! we found a lot of trolleys underneath those HDB flats, which is good for us in a way too!!! hahaha, cos in e end as we lack trolleys, we temporarily borrowed for a while also. ;) haha, so it's qt funny to see a grp of students transporting karang guni stuff on trolleys tt ppl use to buy stuff from supermarkets. hahaha :P after a while, a lot of ppl start arriving one after another, especially e lao laos!!! oh man, it is really very heartening when you see snrs coming back (alvin & jianwu) & then hugging one another (jing yi & yuimin), getting excited at seeing one another & started catching up with one another after not seeing each other for a long time. no matter how much was e collection for karang guni, i feel that we hav accomplished more great things other than raising money for charity. we have organised an activity to bring people back tgt & to me tt feeling is awesome. therefore everyone should come down for all rag & flag activities!!! ragging rocks!!! flagging rocks!!! yea yea yea! ^-^

after e 1st half of e day, we had lunch tgt under one of e hdb flats with stacks of newspapers as our temporary dining tables. haha, where else can u get to experience such unique meal times other than by joining us? even though it was only chicken rice with mineral water/pokka green tea drink, it was still an enjoyable time eating with one whole big grp of ppl. eating food & chatting happily about special incidents happening during e collection earlier on, it feels just like home surrounded by ppl who cares & matters to you. after one whole day of knocking on doors, repeating our purpose to e citizens there, collecting stuff, tying newspapers, stacking clothes, moving electrical appliances, pushing trolleys & dealing with noisy barking dogs, we decided to stop work at around 6pm when e karang guni man came and start collecting e stuff frm us. i must say tt i am very happy with e rate given by e karang guni man but seriously disappointed with e rate given by e karang guni man for electrical appliances. there was actually another so-called fake karang guni man who came earlier on to exchange newspapers and buy from us some of the electrical appliances. i really regret at e end of e day at not selling some of e stuff to him earlier on as i felt tt e characer is shady. never mind la, it is over alr, we shall learn a lesson from this karang guni & make e next & last one e best karang guni we can ever do!!! (:

at e end, me, mei ling & my bro went w e lorry to bring all e newspapers to e factory in lorry & we collected over 2 tonnes of newspwpers!!! which is one time more than e last karang guni! kudos to everyone who helped out! we owe e success of our collection to every single one of u, nth can b done if it is only me & mei ling doing it. all in all, with all the karang guni (2 of them in total), we hit our targetted amount raised!!! haa, yea yea yea! paiseh if i'm taking tis quote frm Arts Camp Red House but Rag is more like a project, more like a family.

54 Days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

2007-06-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

It was yet another friday gathering on 15th jun! we have me, hong ting, serene, xinyu, xinyu's brother jun huang aka xiao huang, kenneth and bryan stayed for the night~

i reached at abt 9am in the morning and only saw michelle in the room sleeping~ but she was soon awake and we talked for a while b4 she left~ being left alone, i continued my trimming of cans from wed while watching my fave taiwan variety shows off my laptop when meizhen and yuen kim came! and dat was really when i realise how gullible yuen kim is~ lolz!

anyway, serene, hong ting and kenneth soon arrived, wen hui too! but she and yuen kim left quite early~ and finally we have quite a no. of ppl to start our talking sessions while doing work...so there was the truth or truth session, where we asked quite a no. of jing4 bao4 qns (shh.....secret among us only~), and we had a great time laughing and also sort of get to know each other a bit better through answering the mildly-serious qns! me and hong ting were pretty noisy too with our mini ktv session...with serene as the DJ~ lolz! xinyu and xiao huang joined us in the rag room at ard 4pm if i didn't rmber wrongly~ and ya! juz to mention, the qn abt the pen and the marker was quite diaoz lor~ videos from kenneth hopefully SOON k!

anyway, serene later left to meet her fren for a while, and me, hong ting, xinyu, xiao huang and kenneth went to jurong pt LJS for dinner~ and yes, me and xiao huang played the after-meal-game of 'bursting' the straws~ (i know dat's kinda childish...haha...) after eating, we went back to clementi for a pool session! and we also played daytona~ hong ting was damn pro can! and kenneth even ask her whether she practised everyday~ the daytona session ended with me who ge kiang play daytona intermediate stage...and it was disastrous lah! everyone laughed like mad...coz i was really lousy in dat stage...swear not to play dat stage anymore b4 i learn to drive manual! haha...

anyway, we rushed off after my game to the next bus stop to catch the last bus 96 which leaves clementi interchange at 11:30pm, and we made it! super tiring can~ especially coz I CAN'T RUN! den we had some jokes on the bus which i cannot recall at the moment~ only rmber the bus was filled with our voices and laughters coz we were the only passengers on board~

we returned to rag room and saw serene there~ we continued our chit-chatting when bryan suddenly scared serene from behind the chairs! difficult to explain what happened lah, but it was really funny when serene really jumped and xinyu and kenneth who are supposed to have seen him looked really blur when bryan appeared from his hideout~ according to him, he actually stood there for 15 min and NO ONE realised~

apart from all the fun i've mentioned, i'm proud to say that we have finished making all the small seahorses, trimmed and sorted out all the cans that were cut up previously into their various colours, ways of doing some of the soft tech designs have also been learnt/finalised (e.g. origami) by meizhen, and the artist impression was also completed by our zai artist hong ting! ok back on track, ya as i was saying, we ended the day in laughter too! and it's really no control, coz we managed to keep laughing from 3am-3:30am! thanx to me and xinyu for not being able to control and stop, and also thanx to kenneth who kept imitating ppl's laughter! but i guess the funniest was the part where kenneth took the photo of us and serene lying on the floor~ omg...we were mean~~ haha!!

yup i guess this is abt how much i can recall~ surprised that it's such a long post! coz i'm not a blogger, and my memory isn't dat good...hope i got my flow of events rite! and anyone who can rmber other things juz help to add in k~ looking forward to the next bonding day! and hope the present strength will be stronger~

love,
Xiao Yan

*raggerfied* (^_^)

Rag movement from the clubroom to the rag room (AS3 02-13) & rag site (outside LT11 & car park 16)

2007-06-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

Firstly must really apologise for this super duper outdated post, been really busy for the past few days settling a lot of matters so everytime was too shagged at the end of the day to be able to blog about what has been going on at rag recently. But judging from the web counter that we put on the blog recently, it is really heart-warming, especially to me this regular rag blogger, to see that a lot of people have been reading this blog!!! Haha, it definitely serves as a very effective motivation to keep me going at blogging to keep you all readers updated about rag 2007!!! However, those that can log into this blog aka the rag ocomm members and fellow rag seniors, please do blog! It is going to be more interesting if people can read more about rag from many other people and many other perspectives/points of view rather than just keep reading what I say. It may get boring after some time! Haha, so all in all, blog for all you want! Strongly encouraged! Don’t be shy~! Yea man~

Mmm… ok. Enough of my ramblings, let’s move on to talk about rag! What happened for the past 2 weeks was mainly Project Moving-to-rag-room-and-site. We started off on Monday (28/5) morning after most people has arrived. Even though I was still having aches and sores from going HDB flats to give flyers yesterday together with Mei Ling, Titus, Reuben and Eileen, I was up and going at moving the things out of club room for rag room. We had quite a healthy strength of people who came down to help with the moving, they are Bernice our dear freshie, Geraldine, Mei Chen, Xiao Yan, Serene, Nicholas, Reuben and Bryan! Haha, something very funny to talk about now before moving on, which is actually like the highlight of the day and that is Bryan blushed! I was the first one to notice 2 red areas on his face. At first still cannot really believe what I saw but when I look closely again, it’s confirmed! Bryan blushed!!! Haha, though even up til now I have no idea why. Once I exclaimed about that, the other girls (Bernice, Geraldine & Mei Chen) immediately looked at his face which made him blush even more! Haha, we just keep making fun of him and his blushed face after that already. It was really fun moving all the things down as we took the long route, talking and joking along the way. Just quite scary when cars and buses zoom past you while you’re trying very hard to maneuver the trolley down the road from central library to AS3 where our rag room (AS3 02-13) is located at. WE FINALLY HAVE OUR RAG ROOM! WOOHOOO!!!

As there were just too many things to be moved, there was another day whereby Lionel came and initiated another wave of movement whereby we cleared all the soft tech materials from the clubroom to the rag room totally!!! Hahaha, a huge sense of achievement befalls all of us when we see the rag room ready for us to start on continue our Rag journey!!! We even draw up the calendar of events for us leading all the way til Rag Day!!! Something happen on that day though, to our poor Mei Ling. She ah, super duper blur, go and hit her big toe on the stairs then bleed a lot. Then some more when she went inside toilet to wash up she was laughing her classic loud Mei Ling laughter la! :P

Enough about soft tech, so how about the hard tech side and our dear rag site (outside LT11 car park 16)? No hurry, rag site movement which is more exciting coming up! Haha, the movement to rag site is done at the middle of night! Exciting right? Haha, those involved were me, Mei Ling, Xiao Yan, Bryan, Nicholas & Reuben. There was also Caleb who lent us his muscles! Yea!!! Another mc member who came down to help, Chuan Seng does not enjoy the exclusivity already. ;) It was also funny as we were trying out foot drills while moving stuff, a lot of us missing the days of being in uniform groups aka me, Mei Ling & Xiao Yan. (lup.. lup.. lup rite.. ) There was also once when we moved the huge frame down which was the highlight of the night! Haha, I think all of us really on super duper high mode liao lah! Why leh? It is because we move the frame ma chiam like driving lorry like that loh. We move the frame up & down when we walk over a hump a lot, exaggerating the movement so much it looks really stupid. Haha, but we have fun, of course. We also did over steering to the left and to the right, haha, basically just trying out everything that we can think of. I must say it is really very funny. Therefore, when we finally finish moving all the stuff down, all of us laugh until cui. Next up something very very very hilarious occurred! Haha, our dear Nicholas who is afraid of being alone in the dark was sitting on the trolley and playing around with it, drifting further and further away from us. Then all of a sudden, Reuben gestured to us and then all of us started running up the stairs outside LT11 all the way until we reach Coffee Club Express!!! All of us except Bryan! Haha, turn out that he did not have telepathy with us thus only tried to hide behind a pillar which was too small for him. In the end our plan was foiled despite all of us running like mad and using up all the remaining energy we have in us. Totally cui! But super duper funny! I laugh until mad!!! Hahaha. ;)
The next few days got special incidents which I will touch on. For one, the next day we have new people coming down especially to help us who are Tyler and Cindy!!! They specially came to school all the way to do Rag ok? So touched!!! Hahaha, really hope that they will drop by more often and more people will do so too!!! Because we really need as much manpower as we can lay our hands on! Every person matters! Every little help makes a difference! Every time when you help it goes a long way!!! Also, we have our Rag Ocomm meeting! Haha, whereby seniors like Lionel, Jasmine and Wen Hui joined us!!! Yea man, one big Rag family!!! Hahaha, then when we were having meeting halfway right, we heard a loud and long and scary scream!!! At first I thought someone saw something dirty la! But it turned out to be Jing Yi who cannot help suppress her surprise when she saw Wen Hui thus let out the scream. Haha, it is always good when people meet up after a long time at Rag! Haha, so come down Rag more often and soon enough you will get to see a lot of people too!!!

Phew, so this is all that has happened. No matter how fun or how much I describe what we do, it is always the best to come down and experience all this for yourself!!! Really really!!! No matter who you are, be it freshies, fellow Raggers or seniors, all of us are equal & the same before Rag! Come down and be part of us! I’m sure it’ll be an experience you won’t regret undergoing! Just open up your mind & you’ll see how Rag can make a difference to your life. :D

Xin Yu *-*

64 days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

8/6/07 funny staying overnight

2007-06-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

;p 8/6/07 is frame day!!! today, i went to rag room after my work and reached around 4pm. there was Reuben, Xiaoyan, pearl, yuen kim (who just came back) and also Bernice, freshie, and also Natalie, pearl's fren who came to join us for rag! :p kenneth who had diarrhoea earlier in e morning also managed to join for for this funny day!

today is funny day! we had a great laugh as we chat while we were cutting magazine pages n cardboards. we also had a great time getting to know our new frens Natalie. :p we were also suaning each other on all aspects of things, like "potentials" and "seahorses" and "reuben"! haha! one of our theories is that eligibe ppl are all short! no more shuai guys!

next, the submarine frame came! we all came down from rag room to meet Nicholas and Samantha and met Zac and Bryan at carpark where they were conscientiously doing hard tech! the guys tgt brought down the heavy frame which weigh like 120kg according to Samantha! some of us for the first time also get to be in touch with hard tech which we normally dont see. Natalie who has artistic talent also gave some suggestions for the float! it was all very nice n fun!

after that, it began to drizzle so we went back up to rag room. we continued to do more cutting of cardboard. natalie had to leave soon and kenneth, our GENTLEMAN PD sent her all the way lo! he was going to show her where e atm is but in the end he waited with her for cab till dinner time! *woohoo* haha. we even called natalie and ask her abt it. hahaha!

we decided to go clementi after decided gg to fong seng and after decided going to clementi.. erh.. the point is we took really long to decide. when we reached, hong ting joined us for dinner! we had a good dinner! and we talked abt some scandal regarding hong ting too! haha. we were talking abt arts camp when we talked abt night venture and then we started talking abt ghosts n scary stuff n the dark! SOME of us got quite scared and we keep teasing them: like Nick n Bernice!

soon we returned home to Rag room! on our way home, reuben kept scaring bernice n nick n in the process, scared me too! in e end, i dont even dare to go toilet can?! but we also keep laughing cos it was all in good spirit. we decided to watch HORROR shows overnight! in the end, those who stayed overnight were : Reuben, Kenneth, Mei chen, Xiaoyan, hong ting, Nick, Yuen kim and me!

1st show we watched was quite scary, its the "Haunted School". then during the break the girls accompanied each other n we all went toilet tgt! Poor nick had no one to accompany him then we kept laughing at him and tell him to join e girls instead. 2nd show we watched is "Haunted House"! it's SUPPOSED to be a horror show but turned out the movie n actor was so funny that it felt like a comedy! all of us began to laugh n laugh esp Nick who became near hysterical! hahaha!

we laughed ourselves crazy when nick laughed at e movie till he cried. i think we were really high. then we did a tickling test and found out that nicholas is scared of tickling. we started chasing him ard n run after him till he hid in the corners. his response was so big its HILARIOUS! especially when xiaoyan n kenneth attacked nicholas. he had the "cockroach" posture and looked as if he's raped. haha. we even recorded a video of it all! :p :p *link up soon from kenneth!

it was a very funny overnight. the laughing was non-stop n at everything. in e end we laughed til we became 6pack. :D i think the rag comm is really close n very friendly n true ppl. thats why we can click with almost every1 n get along so well! no matter whether u r a senior, a fellow arts student, a current ragger, or a new freshie, if u want to join us, dont hesitate anymore.. for friendship is so precious n Can be found here. :) im glad i came today.

Serene

2007-05-25T11:04:00.001-07:00

Weee, i'm back! Your friendly DPD Dance!! First of all, thanks to Xinyu for being so hardworking in updating this blog. =) OH yea, Blogger does Autosave now, so no more worries about losing entries that we've typed for so long to disconnections and screw-ups from Blogger. hehe.

Today's car wash was fun, even though i didn't stay for the second shift and didn't wash more than 3 cars. hehe. But the weather was great (great as in... for washing cars and drying off excess water but apparently, it also gave Samantha, Kenneth, Meiling, Xinyu, Xiaoyan and others sunburn!) and I certainly had alot of fun scrubbing windscreens, comparing car models, trying to guess what is the gender of the car owner by judging the way they park their car... Hope all you guys did too! It was all for a good cause and we certainly have more people to thank, other than the Rag and Flag committee. So this goes out to the Arts Camp people who came down to help, seniors and those who came specially to support our Flag cause (you know who you are!!). THANK YOU!!!!! *beams*

Good news too! Amidst scrambling to refill water buckets, mixing car shampoo and soliciting drivers for us to wash their cars, we managed to find a kind-hearted uncle who happened to be clearing rubbish from AS7... but those rubbish were treasure to us because they're all shredded paper!! Wonderful for paper marche!!! So we "por-ed" the uncle to give us those bags, and mind you, there were 3 big bags of it, which he kindly did and even offered us a namecard for us to contact should he be collecting these wastepapers around Arts faculty next week! Turns out that he's from a recycling company and he'll be coming down every single day to do so!!!

If you guys haven't noticed... we only have 10 weeks left to Rag Day and if you think there's still alot of time, think again!!!!! We have a mega-huge goal to complete this year and I'm sure all of us are pinning our dreams and hopes on the completion and success of this project so let's work hard and work fast together alright??? In order to achieve that, I appeal to all you Raggers to come down and take part in the effort. We really do need alot of manpower to process the materials needed for Soft Tech. But of course, other than doing paper marche, painting corrugated cardboard, we'll be sharing the hottest celebrity gossip, funniest jokes, latest fashion tips, coolest gadgets too. It'll be a wonderful chance to get to know more about your fellow Raggers, just like how I got to know so many wonderful people who have poured their heart and soul into Rag. So I hope to see you guys around soon okay??

Loves,
Applie

Great leaps forward in soft tech~!

2007-05-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Hey hey hey, I must say over the weekend and the past 2 days, rag has made great improvements in terms of soft tech and hard tech but especially and tremendously so for soft tech because we've come up w ways to do up parts of our main side props like how to do the shape and how to make the texture etc after much experimentation!!! oh man, u all should really come down and witness for urself how wonderful e feeling is upon coming up w e new ways of doing soft tech, it is just like discovering a big box full of treasures under the sea!!! oh my oh my, and this also means that we're starting mass production of things soon! like cutting newspaper into tiny pieces so that they can be mashed up for usage. all these mass production stuff is very therepeutic one! if u're stressed over sth or troubled over stuff, come down and cut newspaper (plus talking crap and laughing at jokes) with us~! (:

77 days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

Car Wash (25/5/07)

2007-05-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

hey peeps, after our western expedition, the next upcoming activity is car wash 1!!! we'll be doing it this coming Friday (25/5/07) from 9am til 4pm. those who are interested in doing your part for rag & flag day 2007 do come down ya? there're 2 shifts: 9am-12noon & 1pm-4pm. you can choose to wash whole day or take either shift. for more details and other confirmation, do contact Serene @ 93632762 or Xiao Yan @ 92706851 latest by Wednesday (23/5/07) 2359. Thanks lots & hope to cya on friday!~ ^-^

Western Expedition (17/5/07)

2007-05-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

I finally manage to overcome my inertia for blogging after e previous incident where whatever I’ve been blogging about for the past few hours are gone just because I pressed on the wrong button before I copy and paste it on Microsoft yet again! I shall learn my lesson from now on and blog 1st in MWord before transferring everything into blogger.com for publish. Why do I take so long to blog and also for what reason it took me so long to start writing about the expedition leh? It is because there’re just so many things to talk about and to be put down on words so that those who can’t make it down with us can still know what went on and be part of this journey still without feeling left out. This is something that I feel strongly about therefore I’m still blogging here no matter whatever that has happened earlier on.

The expedition started when those who can make it down for it have reached clubroom. Upon reaching, all of us were being allocated to our respective groups/teams which we’ll follow through and be with throughout the whole expedition. There were all in all 3 different groups. The 1st group (team A) is led by Jack together with Zac, Nicholas & Bryan whose objective is to go around in e lorry to collect sponsored goods & buy logistical materials for rag. The 2nd group (team 2A) & 3rd group (team 2B) led by Jackson together with me, Xiao Yan plus Michelle & Mei Ling together with Kenneth, Reuben plus Mei Chen respectively; whose objective is to go around in Jack’s van w Aaron as driver to collect raw & recycled materials FOC. Must thank Aaron for taking time off his wedding preparations to help be our driver for the day and also sacrificing his sleeping time to wake up early & collect e lorry!!! Must also thank Jack for lending us his van if not we won’t have enough transport vehicles to complete whatever plans we have in mind! Anyway, after being allocated into e diff groups, Kenneth started briefing us about what we will be doing for e whole day, e programmes for the day which is fully packed to e brim I must say~! Lo and behold, not soon after, we set off for our 1st rag 2007 expedition!!! Wooohooo~

Team A went off with their lorry to go do their own stuff whereas Team 2A and 2B squeezed ourselves into the van and set off on our own mini expedition. Haha, to have memories of this wonderful activity, we started taking pictures of one another at the moment when we board on the van loh! Hahaha, even though e back of e van a bit de stuffy but we enjoyed ourselves along e way with our little chit-chats & jokes. At Clementi, Team 2B alighted whereas Team 2A where I belong to proceeded to Commonwealth for our collection. The people from the other teams update what you all did ok? I only know what my team did mah, so I can only blog about what we do loh, e rest depends on u all liao. And so we went to Commonwealth which is an old neighbourhood, the flats and surrounding so different from the ones I’ve been used to in Clementi, Yishun and a lot of other places. Maybe because it is quite old, therefore the whole area seems quite far off from the bustling city life we’re used to everyday. We hit on the shophouses as soon as we bid sayonara to Aaron and I must say we were very lucky as we got a lot of cardboards and egg trays just after 2-3 blocks of shophouses! Haha, there was even once when Michelle went to a shop to ask for egg trays as we peeked in and saw from their back door tons of them! When she came back out, we almost couldn’t see her as she was practically blocked off by the whole stack of egg trays she carried out. Can you just imagine? Too bad at the moment I forgot to take picture! Wasted sia. When our trolley was full, it was near lunchtime already so we decided to take our lunch at a coffeeshop located amongst old HDB flats, while waiting for Aaron to drive the van to us then we can unload and Charlie Mike (continue mission :P) I think Jackson is the most happy of the 4 of us to be eating there as there is a female helper whom he finds her very cute. Haha, then it so happens that the other 3 of us ordered from the stall that the girl helps out in, so she came to our table 3 times in total. Jackson must be in heaven. ;) after our meal, we chatted a while about drama serials which almost bore Jackson to death (got dai4 gou1) before Aaron arrived.

And so, after uploading the treasures that we found, Xiao Yan went in the van back to school with Aaron to help him unload whereas the remaining 3 of us went around scouting for recycled materials again. Not soon after, the sky started turning very dark thus we made a move to Jackson’s place where me and Michelle got a pleasant surprise! Haha, it was because we got a lot of useful stuff from Jackson’s house! All thanks to Jackson’s mum, quoting from Michelle, “we can just build a rag float in Jackson’s house loh” I don’t know how true is it because I was waiting below the HDB flat looking after the stuff we collected while Jackson and Michelle went upstairs to take all the things. While I was waiting, it started raining cats & dogs! So even after they finished bringing all the stuff down, we were stuck at the HDB area there for 2 whole hours before we moved everything up to the van again to go back to school. It was really sianz when we waited for the rain to stop. Haha, so sianz that Jackson & Michelle started examining letter boxes. :P

After coming back to school, we continue on the second part of material collection mission. This time round, there were lesser people as some have to leave, have other things on etc. we even have a change of driver to Paul! Haha, he finally managed to join us after completing his preparations for FASS Day. Thanks lots Paul~! This time round we went to Holland Village to scout for materials, with Jackson giving directions for the way whereas the rest of us (me, Xiao Yan, Michelle, Kenneth & Reuben) entertained ourselves. The things found at Holland Village wasn’t a lot but it was enough thus we moved on to Ikea to look at stuff and materials and enquire about cardboard too. The journey on the van to Ikea that evening is one that I will not forget in the near future lah! Goodness gracious, all of us sitting at the back was laughing so hard at mostly Reuben’s jokes that our stomach hurt. Especially when he tried to imitate the different nationalities way of speech, made me and Xiao Yan laugh so hard that our bladder cannot tahan and we have to chiong to the toilet when we alighted from the van at Ikea. Paul and Jackson were in the front seat so they couldn’t really catch what we laughing about and keep saying we must be mad already. Hahaha. Anyway at Ikea, for the 1st time I knew that there is a section that sells slightly defect goods at cheaper prices. There was this rocking chair that Jackson really likes and selling only at $25. He had wanted to buy it back but he didn’t, then in the end when we reached the cashier area we saw it being purchased by someone else already. Fast right? There was also this rocking sofa at the section which all of us upon experimenting on it loves it, especially Xiao Yan who said it will be great to sit cross-legged on it and mug for examinations or just read a novel. You feel like you’re on clouds just sitting on it loh, so shiok! After which, we proceeded to Alexandra Food Centre to have our dinner as some of us got budget constraints thus giving the famous Ikea meatballs a miss! Before I forgot, Jackson and Paul were wearing couple shirts and they even held hands when crossing the traffic light!!! Eeeeek!!! Hahaha, all just for the fun of it, no serious business. :P

I must say that day was not really a day for Michelle because she keeps having some sort of accidents here and there. 1st it was a trip on the stairs in Ikea, then it was a fall on stairs again on our way to AFC. The 2nd one was worse as she cut her toe and her flip-flop cui! So we started operation save-michelle’s-flip flop. As Reuben has had prior personal experience in dealing with it, we followed his instructions and went shopping in a stationary shop to buy small pins to repair the slippers. Then we went on to have our sumptuous dinner at AFC where there is a lot of good food! Reuben was kind enough to treat everyone of us a cup of sugarcane drink oh!!! Thanks Reuben~! On the way back, the laughing and jokes continue as per usual. Our poor stomach, haha. Upon reaching back school we started unloading stuff and packing up our fruits of labor for the day, there were so many of them! So exciting!!! Then we started can-washing!!! As for the can-washing this time round, it was much cleaner and nicer smelling as compared to the previous one I did last year. Throughout the whole thing, there was one episode that made all of us laughed like mad but it was at e expense of Nicholas. As Nicholas is very scared of the dark, when he went into one of the cubicles to relieve himself, all of us switched off the lights and left the toilet as quiet as possible. Even though a lot of us were having difficulty controlling our laughter, we managed to evacuate the place still. Then when Nicholas is done, he practically chiong-ed out of the toilet at neck-breaking speed la! At 1st most of us thought that he ran out to chase us but it turned out that he was so scared thus he ran out of the toilet. Oh man, the rest of us laughed until really really really cannot make it!!!

After the cans, there were still some time so we were wondering if we should rest or Charlie Mike. There were reasons for both actions but after diplomatic voting, the majority wanted to go Charlie Mike to collect more materials so they went. I didn’t tag along so one of you who went please update us! It sounded happening from the way I heard them describe after they came back late night. Then all of us went over to Eusoff Hall to bath after which those tired konk-ed off which includes me, Zac & Mei Chen and the rest either played mahjong (Kenneth, Jackson, Xiao Yan & Jack) or watched from the side (Bryan) or did own stuff (Nicholas). We all agree during the AAR that such an expedition should be done more than once so there will definitely be a second time as it is really fun, exciting, happening, interesting and highly beneficial to bonding within the raggers! So for those who feel really gian after reading this super duper long blog entry, look out for the next one and make sure you join us ok? This is because only you stand to lose out when you don’t join us~! ;) Rag Really Rocks~

79 days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

again!

2007-05-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

I blogged painstakingly for hours on everything about the expedition... den it din publish... everything's lost.. i really.. argh.. i'm not gg to do it again so soon.. sry!!! someone else can blog bout it in e meantime.

mich's first post! (the process of the RAG banner)

2007-05-16T06:04:00.000-07:00

hey everyone!
i am blogging for the first ever time on rag blog! hahaha! i am going to blog about our rag banner today!
anyway, kenneth asked me about a few months back to come up with a design for the RAG banner. so i started sketching on paper trying to figure out where to place the words and what colour to make the words stand out as vibrantly as possible. after kenneth and xin yu approved the pencil sketching, i transferred the sketch to photoshop, figuring out the font and making sure the colours didn't clash.

and then finally, on the first day of RAG (i.e last tuesday), we finally made a computer printout into reality. first, i sketched it out on the cloth (which applie bought!) with chalk. had to keep stamping out the chalk because i kept making mistakes!! bahh. after the sketching, we started painting the white base coat.
can you see the especially chalky part on 'passion'? i had to redraw that 4 times before we got what we wanted!

after the white basecoat, we added colours onto it and the finished product looks like this now! pretty right? at the moment, the banner is hanging along the AS6 walkway but once we move over, we are going to hang it up high so that everyone can see it and will know where we are. So if you can't find us, just look out for this banner, don't say we didn't help you! :)

passion, friendship, truimph
let's be RAGgerfied!

Rag on the go~! (85 days & counting)

2007-05-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Hey people out there!!! Rag is going out of the school for the first & maybe only time this year~! It will be tmr, 17/5 (Thur) from 9am onwards. We will first meet in school and then go on an island-wide expedition to collect sponsor goods, "borrow" materials from companies and outside, collect cans & last but not least savour good food around Singapore for our meal times!!! all thanks to Jackson, Jack & Kenneth who planned out the routes to be undertaken. It will definitely be a day of fun and laughter so do not hesitate to join us if you're free for e day! It'll be a pity to miss such a good chance to come together and do Rag in a manner diff from the usual style! There'll also be stayover after the whole day where we'll have special programmes not to be disclosed as yet. ssshhh.. it's a secret! come & join us if u wan to know~! what you need to do is just to get in touch with either of our PR personnel, Serene @ 93632762 or Xiaoyan @ 92706851! do not be late if not we'll just leave without you~ :P

85 days to Rag & Flag Day 2007~!

87 days & counting

2007-05-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

hey ppl, so so so sry for being late in updating! a lot of ppl say they'll blog but til now no one has done so as yet, guess it's up to me to go on and cont telling everyone who reads this blog about what we've been doing! ;) hope my accounts were reali helpful in giving u all a picture on what rag has been and will be ya? (:

anyway, on friday (11/5), it was a very fruitful day because we manage to finish quite a bit of stuff on both the hard tech & soft tech. we had e usual ppl: applie, xiaoyan, bryan, jackson, nicholas, michelle & also serene who din hav to work tt morning! oh ya, special mention chuan seng who came down & did his part for rag!!! hope to see more mc members coming down to help out at rag oh~! ;) for soft tech side, what we managed to complete is all e cans!!! we are done with the initial processing of all the cans that we'd collected so far! haha, jus looking at all e cut cans & all of us who had done cutting cant help but feel a great sense of achievement! i must say i'm especially proud of all e guys who took up e challenge of cutting cans aka kenneth, bryan and jackson! towards e end, after much practice and experimenting, their cut cans were just as good as any of us gals! something about cutting of cans which left me super duper traumatised! i was happily cutting open e top of one can of soya bean drink when a whiff of weird smell hit me and den wat greeted my eyes still can make my goosebumps all rise up now. i saw small white baby maggots crawling inside!!! oh my goodness, i was so affected that i could not take it cutting any more of the cans as i'm reali very much disgusted. it jus feels so creepy and revolting! oh man, i'd rather go wash e cans frm rubbish dump last yr la. at least i din have to witness those insects. yucks.. applie also felt e way i did too!!! oh man...

next to hard tech, we started building e frames of our main side props proper! haha, tt's when all e sawing takes place! woohooo~ can see all e guys sweating it out as they work their muscles sawing thru metals!!! hard on u all le, but tis is only e start oh! hang in dere~ hahaha, hard tech is hard to do but it is fun and shiok when u sweat it out! hahaha, also managed to catch on camera the weird positions when guys tend to be in when they're doing hard tech stuff (check out kenneth and jackson in photobucket man~) shall not elaborate too much because like what ppl always like to say, a picture says a thousand words! hahaha. after everything, at night, those that were remaining michelle, mei ling, jackson, xiaoyan & chuan seng went to our fav kopitiam in clementi to eat e claypot rice and gong bao chicken~! i think that e stall vendors are super familiar with us especially jackson alr, who is ma chiam their spokesperson lidat.

over e weekend, some of us were busy with other commitments whereas our dear pd kenneth went shopping for rag materials, must work OT sia. then on Monday (14/5), we embark on our 2nd week of Rag. we had a new ragger with us today & her name is hui yun (or hwee hoon)! so glad to have new people joining us on this Rag journey! it definitely spurs us on to see new ppl coming down and do rag tgt w us!!! (: really hope to see her ard in rag more often oh~ today there were other people who joined us like mei chen, guan jie, reuben & zac! for soft tech, we moved on from can cutting to plastic bottle cutting! for hard tech, they continued on with e main frames. we also had our 3rd ocomm meeting at 5pm! as a lot of people are either working or overseas, the attendance not that ideal but we have sham, reuben, jack & aaron joining us! the day ended with dinner at fong seng, haha, i tink it has been some time since any of e raggers last dined tgt at fong seng as all of us more or less mentally rejects e idea or dining at there ba, hahaha. sian diao alr i guess. ;) jus started counting down to rag day & realises that we're actuali not left w much time til Rag Day!!! time is def a luxury in Rag & any manpower is greatly & deeply appreciated! if u do want to be part of us, join us soon so tt u can get e most and e best out of this wonderful journey~!

2nd day of rag~!

2007-05-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

after one day of rest, rag is back again~! this time round, we got new people who joined us and also some people who did not join us because of some reasons. for those who made it down today, they were mei chen, mei ling, rachel, shu ping, bryan, xiaoyan, jackson, lionel & chuan seng!!! thanks for coming down for rag! haha, i think everyday i'll just keep saying thanks to new and old people because i'm really grateful to the fact that you all are willing to put aside your free time to join us on this journey to fulfil a dream in our hearts. it may seem tedious and hard at times but the end results is definitely worth it so do hang in there together with all of us!!!

basically it was a day of can cutting and trimming! even though it may sound mundane, we sure have our own share of fun when a competition to see who cut finish the most number of cans within the shortest time is organised on the spot. i also cant say anything much as i wasn't really around so hope those that were do blog about it and tell us how it was ya? the cans were processed so quickly that almost all the cans which we have started collected months ago have been cut & trimmed! fast right? also other than the cans, we also have progress from the hard tech side as we're going to have a huge side prop in the form of a temple!!! the 2nd day, more people stayed back thus we managed to all go out and have dinner! not only do we have rag familt lunch but rag family dinner too!!! hahaha, for the photos just check out http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/artsrag2007/1st%20day%20of%20rag/2nd%20day%20of%20rag/

do pardon me if this entry is short and rushed. but i'm sure others will chop in with their own share of account for the day, thus do blog about it ya? (: let's make this place more homely, friendly and interesting! ^-^ everyone continue jiayou-ing for rag!!! together we can realise our dreams no matter how far it may seem! ;)

1st day of rag

2007-05-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

ytd was the very 1st day of rag!!! after 1 mth of stopping work due to exams, rag is back!!! wooohoooo!!! haha, it was indeed a fulfilling and fun day indeed, from the start all e way til e end. before i go on to talk about what are the many things that we did, shall say a big word of thanks to those who made it down for the 1st day: bryan, xiaoyan, pearl, kitgeok, qianyu, jackson, michelle, lionel and serene!!! thank you so much for joining me, kenneth, nicholas and applie at the very start of our long rag journey!!! it was really very much appreciated, really hope that all of you enjoyed the very 1st day of rag as much as we did!

we started the whole rag journey on a bright and beautiful tuesday 8/5 at 9am! as per usual, there were ppl who came late but we still managed to start not soon after 9am with the pd meeting! haha, kenneth's speech was inspiring i've to say, thou some may say it's cliche but these small little and seemingly unimportant things are actuali very crucial. for those who missed it, i tink when u all come down for rag can jus ask kenneth to repeat. haha, i'm sure he'll b more den happy to do it de. :P after e short briefing, all of us den made our way to e rag hse! 1st taking e A2 bus which we hav to run to catch early morning. den walking in frm e pgp terminal all e way til we reach e rag hse, which took us about 20 min.

upon reaching e hse, we started off by tearing down door nailed to our very own rag storage space. and after the wood was taken off, those of us who haven been to e rag hse all peeked in to tk a look at e room that is musty and humid. while nicholas, bryan, kenneth and me sort out what is being needed for us to do what we want for the folllowing week, the rest hanged around and talked and laughed and joked and explored the rag hse. there was even once when an uncle came out of the hse next to rag hse and fed e pigeons there! haha, interesting sights u'll get to witness in rag hse. another thing that i must say: the rag hse is full of termites!!! oh man, and they infiltrate basically everything that is made up of paper or cardboard! making nests in a lot of our boxes!!! they even went inside our cans la! haha, at 1st applie din believe it and went to shake one can. not long after we heard her shriek and a can hitting the ground as termites really fell out of the can she was holding. it's e 1st time i ever saw so so so much termites before! it's lk they're white in colour and moving about, don't really look as friendly as black ants to me. *shivers* nicholas and bryan also started work right on the spot by making a trolley to transport all the stuff back to arts club room. haha, but along the way the wheels came loose, diaognz. :P

after closing up e door, we made our way back to arts fac on foot. oh man, it was seriously a good workout and i think it is a good exercise for a long time for most of us. hahaha. ;) upon reaching back, we started bringing all the bottles to the toilet for washing and then sunning them along the corridor. lionel cleaned bottles for the 1st time!! and he was so hardworking as to use soap so the bottles were super clean! haha. anyway, sometimes nus students really don't understand where they look when they walk around as they can still kick our bottles! argh... after the bottles were cleaned, we moved on to the cutting of cans! all e past memories of last yr's rag jus came flooding to me and other raggers who did can cutting last yr. cut until hand numb, pain and full of wounds... but it was fun nevertheless as we struggled with the cans, laugh at each other when we cut until cui and then getting concerned about one another when we hear 'ouch'.. with the music from handphones like mine and xiaoyan, it was work and fun at the same time. must also thank kit geok who conscientiously went to and fro toilet to clean up those cans that were still not clean inside. then there were the guys who are kenneth and bryan who came over to help cut cans also. even though they "injured" quite a few cans, they learnt fast and we must applaud them for their effort! (: haha, really looking forward to can collection~! *gives an evil grin* cos it's an experience of a lifetime you wont want to miss.

other than cutting cans, we also did the decorating of the rag photos to be sold. actually only 3 people who did it who are qian yu, pearl and pearl's friend natalie! haha, i must say that their artistic flair far exceeds mine and i feel so inferior after seeing the collages that they decorated loh. so chio and arty sia! haha. we also did the rag banner painting! (: our own very dear rag banner!!! designed by michelle!!! haha, i must say that the rag banner looks great! the colour combination along with the orientation of words just go along nicely.

not forgetting the tech side which is doing up a side prop! haha, actually only nicholas and bryan doing most of the time as the rest of us are busy with all the other stuff mentioned earlier. hard on them le, but we managed to get the metal frame up! great job guys!!! ^-^ oh ya, we also had a big rag family lunch!!! hahaha, thanks to kenneth and jackson who went over to engineering canteen to help us da bao. before that we wanted to eat together so waited for kenneth who disappeared. at 1st we thought he went toilet but it turned out that he went specially to the chuan stall to help bryan da bao his lunch. welfare to the max! so sweet neh!!! hahaha, even though we waited until stomach grumbling, we din really complained much as all of us wanted to eat lunch tgt as a family. it was a really nice feeling. sitting down eating and chatting at the same time, enjoying the company of fellow raggers.

after lunch we continued doing the things and must specially mention serene who made an effort to join us do rag for the 1st day even though it was only for a few hours! she came after something at around 4pm and has to leave at 6pm bcos of tuition. reali, during tis long rag journey, even if u cant b ard most of e time w us, so long as u feel for rag & has e heart for rag thus make an effort to join us, it is more than enough. therefore, do not be put away by the fact that u do not reali know much ppl, cannot reali commit long hours or did not join us right from e start as all these do not matter at all. come down and experience the wonders of rag for urself. reali reali. we also hope to see more snrs and past yr raggers ya? like rachel who came down and gave us moral support. every single person, every single effort makes a huge difference, do not belittle it ya? there will be rag again on this coming thursday(10/5) aka tmr at 9am onwards thus do join us if u can!!! we will be at arts club room for the time being. welcomed to stayover til friday(11/5) where there's rag at 9am onwards also if u want! hope to cya all ard~! (: so long as u're willing to open up to us, work alongside and have fun with us, i'm sure u'll have a fun experience like we did.

lastly, for the photos taken from the 1st day of rag, you can visit the following url: http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/artsrag2007/1st%20day%20of%20rag/?start=all
enjoy~! ;)

Rag rag rag!!!

2007-05-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

hey hey hey raggers, rag will officially start on the 8th May Tuesday at 9am! for more details, keep checking this place! (:

Raggers Jia You~!

2007-04-19T01:45:00.000-07:00

hey all, it is almost reaching the end of the reading week and the final exams will be hitting all of us real soon!!! *shivers* hope everyone is doing fine with their revision because i am not. no matter what, con't to work hard, mug hard and don't give up as there's still time!!! jia you jia you jia you!!! in the meantime, must take care of your health also. eat proper meals, eat healthily with fruits every meal, drink ample water and get sufficient sleep!!! if not fall sick then can't perform during exams then very cui right? all the best of luck & take care til we next meet! ^-^

Xin Yu (:

2007-04-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

HEY ALL!!! My first post for this blog! Haha. Why am I blogging? Because today, 2 girls have signed up to become dancers! Yay, let's welcome Nadine and Dora to the big family of Raggers! Hope that we'll work together to make this Ragging experience a meaningful and fulfilling one ya?

Nadine had asked me if dance rehearsals are going to be on a daily basis, as printed on the flyer. Haha. I need you guys to help me assure people that it's only going to be twice/thrice a week (weekends are totally untouched!) okay? But it's so nice to know that despite such scary catchphrases (I remember one line for the techies... "cutting cans and cutting our hands"), people are still interested to do their part for Arts. And of course, credit must also go to all who had made this possible... taking time off to man the publicity booth despite it being the mugging period. I'm sure the Arts population has gotten the chance to know more about Rag but we still have a long way to go in getting passionate and committed people to work with us.

I'm also really heartened to see that the Rag team getting to know each other better during such opportunities and I must say that it's very crucial to lay the foundation for team spirit and strong friendships from an early stage because we'll be sticking hip-to-hip, head-to-head cutting cans, sawing metal for the next 3 months. So three cheers for Friendship!!! One more week before the exams commence so do work hard everybody!!! Will look forward to ragging once the dreaded papers are over and done with.

XOXOXO
-Applie

Be Raggerfied Finale!!!

2007-04-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

haha, sorry for this late post! i was hoping that someone will blog this time round instead of me again and again but i figured that no one is going to do so thus i shall be the blogger again! hahaha, i don't mind la, just complaining a bit because got test tomorrow but it's ok because rag is more important! (actually is don't feel like studying. :P) also, i am glad to be of service by informing fellow raggers of all the things that is happening in rag now! (:

going on to the finale of be raggerfied 2007, the attendance rocks!!! hahaha, oh man, when all of us set off from school to clementi for the rag dinner right, it was one whole gang of us la! i met friends on the way who told me that we looked impressive, one whole big group of us going out to have dinner together!!! haha, before i start going on about the dinner, want to thank every single ragger who made the effort to be there! they are, kenneth our dear pd, applie our dear dance dpd, nicholas our dear tech dpd, shu ping our dear treasurer, kit geok our dear secretary, serene and yuen kim our dear pr i/cs, mei ling our dear welfare i/c, jackson our dear marketing i/c, michelle our dear fop chairwoman, jack our dear logistics i/c and last but not least jasmine our dear rag snr representative! ;) thank you every single one of you for being in this part of the memory of Rag 2007!!! ^-^ rag would be nothing without all of you! every single person counts!

so, all of us left from the clubroom at around 6.30pm for the bus-stop. thank goodness the bus was empty if not all of us cant squeeze up the bus then very sad liao. yep yep, all of us were chatting happily to one another on the bus journey to our eating place. when the bus reached right, the bus uncle dunno y super impatient because he keep wanting to close the door when some of us have not alighted loh. diaognz. when we reached the claypot coffeeshop, the whole gang of us waited for the table to be set up because there was simply too many of us thus need special arrangements, heez. after seating down, both father and son (jack & jackson :P) took over the responsibility of ordering food and drinks for all of us. haha, jack did not know the english translations of the dishes thus jackson took over and wrote weird initials instead, haha. i think the coffeeshop ppl all know jackson very well already loh, given the fact that he forever always bring people there to eat one, hahah.

after ordering, all of us started talking crap, i also forgot what crap liao. just know it's funny crap because i only remember all of us laughing a lot. haha, i think for this particular dinner, other than eating, the other thing that we did most is laughing. the whole atmosphere at the dining table is very heart-warming, fun and amicable, i believe that all of us enjoy ourselves totally throughout the dinner. then the dishes start coming one after another with the vegetables first. chilly kangkong and potato leaves. yummy yum yum! even though they were spicy, it was fried so nicely that the taste is bagus! haha, then kenneth start going on about why he don't see the reason behind ordering vegetables as he feels that they are the same as the leaves on the trees. -_-" haha, raggers, our dear pd is a hardcore carnivore! haha, jasmine got a video of this as evidence! next up is the most delicious dish on earth, kong bao chicken!!! omg! eat already can fly one! haha, don't believe can just go and try urself or ask those that went! haha, definitely worth the price loh! haha, we even had a kong bao chicken gang aka michelle, serene, shu ping, kit geok and yuen kim because they finished their whole plate in record speed even before the claypot rice came! hahaha. then not soon after the tofu came still steaming and bubbling!!! oh man, the prawn in the tofu is god send! so yummy and chewy!!! so so so fresh!!! wooohoooo! haha, we were waiting and waiting and waiting before the most awaited rice came!

3 claypot rice!!! haha, jackson and kenneth started serving all of us by taking up the initiative to prepare the rice by firstly removing the meat and stuff on top, then add soya sauce and oil and finally stir and mix!!! hahaha, very funny because for jackson, he did not add enough soya sauce thus the taste not enough; for kenneth is the other way round, he added so much soya sauce the rice was evidently much darker than that of jackson's. haha, but all the rice in the end still tasted great!!! haha, in the meantime, jasmine used her camera to take down all this memorable moments and a lot of the photos come out really funny. mei ling tried to shun from photos but failed most of the time, hehez. :P applie even got hurt and thought that mei ling don't like her that's why dowan take pic tgt w her, haha. to see them for yourself, you can go to the following url,
http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t61/artsrag2007/9%20april%202007%20dinner/ we also ordered soups!!! the soups there are also nice because they really use a lot of good ingredients! sssslllluurrrpppp. ;)

the whole dinner took us around one hour and all of us really had our fill! nicholas joined us late but he was in time because we still kept quite a portion of food for him and we also couldn't finish all of them ourselves despite all of us going more than one round. oh ya, jackson treated all of us drinks! thanks jackson! next time shall be pd kenneth's turn already! all in all, every single one of us present have enjoyed ourselves thoroughly i believe because it has been for me! this year's rag will be a happy rag i believe, there may be ups and downs, ins and outs but we can overcome them all as long as we stand by each other! for now, all raggers work hard and mug hard and jia you for the finals ya? we can do it! let's chiong now and then we can have more fun and bond more together after exams at rag! rmb that 1st day of rag (7th May 2007 Monday) will be banner painting and k-ing session oh!!!!!! hope this will be able to serve as a motivation for some of you to study for exams!!! haha, gambate!!! next rag gathering those that never come for this one must be present k? don't miss out the fun anymore! (: cya and take care and if during exams feel like letting off steam or what just blog here!!! this space belongs to all of us! don't be shy k? ;)

Be Raggerfied Part 2

2007-04-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

think all the pressure and stress from all the deadlines of projects, essays and reports are taking a toll on fellow Raggers, judging from the attendance we see during Raggerfying events. but it's ok because there will be a lot more such chances for us to come together and bond in future especially after our final exams!!! however before we start hitting the books, cooping ourselves in our room or in library mugging hard for all the cursed modules which we have to do well in, there is the finale to Be Raggerfied 2007!!! it will be this coming Monday (9/4)! pls pls pls keep the day free or best make time for it ya? know everyone's busy with a lot of things, all of us are ya? let's just hope that all of us can treasure this last chance for us Raggers to come together, bond and have fun ya? for those that have valid reason for not joining us, do not feel bad or sad because sure there'll be more such chances in future when Rag starts de! as for the rest, if ur reason for not turning up is becos u nd to study, pls reconsider ok? a few hrs off ur books wont kill rite? ok enough of nagging, let's see what we've done for part 2!

before we start on what we wanted to complete for second part of Be-Raggerfied, there was something comical that took place spontaneously. as our dpd tech nicholas have been going around getting people to be shocked by his electrified bubble gum, e guys (lionel, kenneth & caleb) decided to teach him a lesson in clubroom. they started off by asking nicholas to surrender all his handphone gadgets plus knives and finally his bubble gum. after which they held him hostage on e black sofa nearest to e fridge in clubroom by pinning him down. then they started e gruelling process of trying to let nicholas have a taste of his own medicine by shocking him with the bubble gum. e whole process is super duper funny and we even have a video of it in jasmine's camera! haha, it was real hilarious as e gals (shu ping, xin yu, michelle & wynne) all hid in e office for fear of overreaction by nicholas while laughing like mad as we watched on in glee. in e end lionel had to sacrifice his finger to make e thing work & e expression on nicholas' face after e shock was classic! hahaha.

after which e whole gang of us (kenneth, nicholas, shu ping, xin yu & michelle) armed ourselves with plastic gloves and black trash bags and started off for engine fac. we were reali scouting thru e rubbish bins and recycling collection points in e engine fac and even at bus-stops too! haha, bet those ppl in e bus-stop waiting for bus must b wondering wat e hell we're doing loh. haha, even thou it was not sth glorious or confortable to do, it was undeniable that we had fun! along the way, mei chen, guan jie and mei ling joined us too!!! after a while, we got inside info via caleb tt src may hav materials we want thus we went there & found treasure! hahaha, initially we were wondering how to carry them back to e arts fac but guan guan came to e rescue!!! hahaha, w guan guan's van, we managed to transport our fruits of labor for e night back to e clubroom!!! guan guan u rock!!! ^-^ also, mei ling cut her hair!!! wooohooo!!! look different but it was a good change cos look pretty pretty!!! ;)

upon reaching back arts fac, we started the can & bottle cleaning & drying in e toilets! wah... e smell is really sth u'll rmb for life & e washing part is def 1 thing u wont want to do rite after e meal cos cfm plus chop for those w weak stomach will throw up & waste food de. but, it is still not able to b compared to what some of us went thru last yr during Rag loh. haha, some form of practice/recce 1st b4 e actual thing!!! anyway, many hands do wonders thus we manage to complete eth ard 9pm! we managed to collect a lot of plastic bottles this time round! also got a piece of tampolin sheet! hahaha, Be-Raggerfied Part 2, success!!! :) let's hope e finale of Be-Raggerfied will be full of fun and laughter and memorable events that can be blogged here next time~! :)) everyone rmb our date for e coming Monday ok? cya & tk care in e meantime!

Be-Raggerfied Part 1

2007-03-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

hey hey hey, hope everyone is doing fine during this hectic period of deadline chasing and report/paper submitting! yesterday was our very 1st part of be-raggerfied!!! and we welcome one new comm member who is Yuen Kim, she will be part of the admin team doing PR! for yesterday, due to the timing, a lot of people could not make it down so in the end it was more of like a pd and dpds project instead of e whole comm. however, it is ok because there're def more chances for us to come together to do Rag one! What we did was to wash up all the cans and bottles in the clubroom, pack up all the cardboards nicely, collect empty A4 boxes from the Central Library Photocopy Room & lastly dropping by our very dear Rag house to keep the cans and bottles. It definitely feels good to be back doing rag stuff again after such a long time! haha, looking forward to more of such activities to come oh! hoping that next time will have improvements & we'll get to see more of each other and get to know more of each other! Raggers jia you!!!

Supporting-Arts-Rag Scheme (SARS)

2007-03-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

hey ppl, e newly found SARS is celebrating it's 1st birthday~! ;) haha, BUT this year slightly got some difference and the name has been slightly changed to suit the objective of the project this time round. from saving to supporting~! sth like a continuation from last yr!!! anyway, it will be from 20/3-22/3 (tue-thur) from 10am-5pm. what we will be doing this time around is adopt-a-tool and photo collage sale~!!! haha, for more details, drop by the booth just outside arts club room & there'll be raggers to tell you more on how you can help out with Arts Rag 2007~ ^0^

Xin Yu

Yahoo groups

2007-03-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Raggers,

While you are at your work and life around school and home, juz a gentle reminder here, do check up the yahoo groups regularly, and if you have not post up your timetables, plz plz go and do it soooooooooonnnnnnnnnn. Better still, do it nowww. Thanks guys, cheers!

Kenneth ;)

Best wishes for you assignments

2007-03-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Raggers, how are you guys coping with those freaking assignments piling in? Hope you all are still surviving eh, haha, have to tahannn!! Coz we are going to need each other alooot for Rag k, All the best for your upcoming deadlines, and for those who have already completed your assignments, hope you did them well. Raggers Jiayou!!!

Kenneth ;)

SARS

2007-03-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

hey people, next week will be the annual Saving-Arts-Rag Scheme (SARS). it will be from 20/3-22/3 (tue-thur). do check it out & ask your friends along also ok? we're trying to get as much donations from the general arts population as possible if not budget will sure bust de. let's all make it a successful one ok? i will be doing updates here about what we're doing so do let as much fellow raggers as possible know about this blog. and also other fellow arts students who are interested in rag ya? ^-^

Xin Yu (:

Rag 2007

2007-03-09T01:33:00.000-08:00

Rag is back once more!!! It is a Freshmen Orientation Programme that not only involves freshmen actively but also seniors as well! For the unique experience which you will not be able to experience anywhere else, for the passion, triumph and friendship, rag is definitely something you will live to regret if you give it a miss. especially if you are someone who loves building and sees relationships plus friendships bond very seriously. For more details, do not hesitate to contact Serene, our Personal Relations Executive, at 93632762. (: or me at 97823579!

Xin Yu
DPD Admin
Rag 2007

Lionel's last Blog for Rag 06

2007-03-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank all for making ARTS RAG 06 such a memorable and touching journey. We have gone through so much and sacrificed many things to come to where we are today... We are raggers of arts, regardless of being a senior or a junior, and i hope that all of you have had a wonderful journey as i did.

Saving Arts Rag Scheme is therefore officially a success, because i know that those raggers of 2006 would be there still to carry on what we have left behind. Building upon the strong foundation that we have create, and ready to embark on another year of Arts Rag. It was really really really heartening to read mails from raggers, whom only joined us for a month, that they truely been raggerfied. I have been through a time when Arts Rag was at its lowest. Now, i can proudly say that those times are far behind us. With our visions united, Arts would make a name for itself on Rag Day in the near future.

I always hear that it takes years to build up Rag, to become champions. I never believe in it. We pushed the limits and became champions in the eyes of others within a year. Even though there was no recognition by the judges, even though there was no physical object to mark our victory, i believe that our Rag proved to others that it doesnt take years to win. Of course, i hope that this also serves as a reminder to us. We should never look down on others as they, too, may just become winners. Just remember that you should always be proud of your float as in your eyes, it is always a winner, a champion float.

Dragon Rag was always remembered as the Rag that won. However, I believe that more people would remember our Rag much much more, for whatever reason it may be - the year which we worked the hardest, the year which we were robbed, the best float ever made, the best support ever given to do rag. To me, it doesn't matter... What truly matters, is that i remember the people who walked this journey with me, may it be for 8 months or 1 day. That is what i remember this Casino Rag for. It was because of the people which made this rag a success, not the float that we made, nor the dance that we presented...

Thus, let me say thank you to all again. For all those who had sweat, bled, cried, worked, donated, sacrificed, believed, cheered for Arts Rag 2006, my heart goes all out to you. Thank you.

Lionel
DPD Tech Arts Rag 2006

Lionel's 1st Blog.

2007-03-09T01:31:00.000-08:00

Well..., I have never written a blog before and i thot that i never will. Hahaha... How wrong i am to assume that i will be different but i guess not. =P

Hmmm... Currently ARTS RAG 06 has been going very smoothly. I am extremely glad that things are happening as it should (of cos there are some minor issues to settle). Jingyi, with the help of advisors, is doing a fabulous job of leading us. This year's rag has been getting positive remarks from others but it is also thanks to the past years that we are able to learn from and build a strong foundation. It is really difficult to describe this feeling now but i can feel everyone's belief in us.

Basically, I really hope that the rag comm be one big happy family (notice the term "family", has more sense of belonging i feel) and that we would work hard to achieve what we want. Things may not always turn out good but dun hesitate yah, call for help and i will be there (many others will be there for you too). We have the ability to excel, so why not?
I always ask myself whether in the long run i will be satisfied. I always ask myself if all this effort is worthwhile...

And i think these questions can only be answered by myself. I hope everyone asks themselves these too. and of cos, i hope all of you find the answers to yr questions.
Well, i just found another reason to do rag... have you?

Lionel

wake me up before you go go

2007-03-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could.

Do not go where the path may lead,
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
A blaze of glory that accentuates the meaning of life.
A life worth living a destiny fulfilled.

Rag may be the name for cloth and
Flag may symbolise the solidarity of a nation
But for those touched by its soul
Etched is a fire in the belly
A spirit beyond description a passion overwhelming.
A soulful of emotions that weaves the fabric of our bond.
Faith Hope Love Joy Passion Friendship Triumph.
A linguistic miracle that describes
A multitude of emotion
A mosaic of remembrance
A plethora of worth.

It is about the late nights of paper maiche
or the endless sawing
the blisters from dancing
the sticky chewy glue
the monotony of screwing(dont be cheeky)
and going nuts with the bolts
The tiny little sequins
ever hard to sew
The square lashings
and the rattan shaping
The supper from fong seng
and the soccer at forum
The difficulty of cutting
cardboard with scissors
and the headaches of mounting

As you walk past these hallowed halls
after 12 years of formal education
come to a magical world
where impossible is nothing
and imagination is only limited by the bounds of your creativity
Be the person you were born to be

Imagine this on 6 august when the contingent
shouts in triumph of victory
would u want to be just cheering on the stands
or would u want to stand tall in the arena
summoning the strength of heroes
standing on the shoulder of giants

remember again
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

Why Join Rag?
Cos just like loreal youre WORTH it.
Get Raggerfied Now.
Great Things Await Thee.

The Goal

2007-03-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

I want to look at the faces of all those around me, look past all the dirt, sweat, and grime, and see faces full of hope, of dogged perseverance, of wanting to do all it takes to get the job done.

I want to revel in the ties of brotherhood and friendship, ties stronger than those forged out of blood.

I want the freshmen, and first-time raggers like myself, to know what lies ahead, a journey of great difficulty, of struggle, an odyssey of sorts. The journey will not be easy, but it is worth the effort, once you stand back and see how 3 months of seemingly endless toil and hard work have paid off, resulting in something we can be proud of, something that everybody in the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences can be proud of.

I want all of us to stand together hand in hand, techies and dancers, raggers and non-raggers, to stand together as one, unwavering in our support and dedication, never questioning why we go through so much pain and suffering.

I want to feel the pride that comes with building everything from scratch, the pride that comes with all that precious sweat and blood you have poured into the effort, and when it all comes to a final glorious climax on 6 August, how all of us will feel the joy of having all our plans, efforts and sacrifices come to fruition.

I want the non-raggers to understand that Rag is not so much just another project, but a symbol, a symbol of bonds forged in blood, sweat, toil and tears, that it is these bonds that go one step beyond what camps and orientations establish. For while the latter lay out the foundations for beautiful and wonderful friendships, it is events like Rag that truly solidify them, where the ethereal become corporeal.

It is all too easy to think back on the glory years of Dragon Rag, to reminesce and recall that year of pride. But alas, the world moves on, and so must we. Be not the dragon, that archaic symbol of great antiquity, greedily hoarding treasures and hiding in dark caverns. Instead, be the phoenix, that emblem of rebirth and renewal, ever seeking the sun, always letting its splendour be shown for all to see.

I want to feel the surge of passion, of endless dedication, of never giving up even when the journey seems long and winding.

I want to bask in the glory as our arrival is announced, hearing the rapturous applause and thunderous cheers of our fellow Arts & Social Sciences students.

I want to feel the rush of elation when we are proclaimed triumphant.

I want all of these, and so much more. What about you?

RAG. Passion. Friendship. Triumph.

02 Kent Ridge Road: Nature Haven

2007-03-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Now that the clean-up is more or less done, it's time for your resident Nature-lover to give a short summary of what raggers can expect to see and hear in and around the house. Given all the vegetation we've got around here, it's no surprise that there are quite a few birds that we don't get to see everyday; certainly more than just your usual mynahs, crows, pigeons and sparrows.

Of course, one has to contend with the insects (Aargh...) Oh well, now that the washing out of decomposing cockroach fragments is done, and hopefully the scale of the mosquito assaults should lessen by now, here's hoping we'll get fewer visits from all the miscellaneous 6-legged things...

But first, a quick look at who has been creating so much misery for us during the clean-up...

(Note: All photos uploaded were not taken by me, but were instead downloaded off Google Images.)

CLEAN-UP: 26-27 May 2005

American cockroach Periplaneta americana... I am so bloody sick and tired of washing out all the dead cockroach bits... At least it seems there aren't many cockroaches around the place now.

The German cockroach Blatella germanica. The other common cockroach species - This small species is actually much more common than the American cockroach, simply because its much smaller size means that infestations go undetected far longer than those of the American cockroach.

Interestingly, both species of cockroach have been wrongly named - the American cockroach did not originate from America, and the German cockroach did not come from Germany. Instead, both species are thought to have originated from Africa, and followed humans as they travelled, eventually becoming the cosmopolitan species they are today.

Household casebearer moth - caterpillars of this nondescript little moth species construct little shelters out of dirt and detritus.

The spider responsible for most of the spider webs and shrivelled-up spider corpses in the corners... the pale daddylonglegs spider Smeringopus pallidus.

Another common household spider, that often spins its little webs in corners and on ceilings - Oecobius concinnus.

If you've noticed, the walls and windows of the house were literally plastered with mud dauber wasp nests; these solitary wasps make little nests out of mud, capture and sting spiders, place them in the nests, and then seal them in alive - a fresh supply of food for the young when they hatch.

Another variation on the shape of nest constructed by mud dauber wasps (probably a different species from the first).

The black wasp that was buzzing around the house on the 1st day and scaring all the girls was probably a mud dauber wasp. And not to worry, mud dauber wasps and potter wasps don't sting people. Now if you see any hornets or bees around, that's a different matter...

Equally common inside the house are the nests of the potter wasps; these use live caterpillars instead of spiders. Either way, imagine being captured by a wasp, stung and paralysed, and then sealed inside a little chamber waiting for the wasp grub to hatch and eat you alive... *shudder*

And let's not forget all the geckos running all over the walls and ceilings... (and leaving all that lizard shit inside the house) Sad to say that geckos living in and around houses don't have the nice colourful patterns of their forest-living counterparts.

Spiny-tailed gecko Hemidactylus frenatus - I still remember all the lizard shit that was on the walls and windows... Not to mention the couple of shrivelled-up lizard carcasses in the cupboards and bathrooms. The spines on the tail distinguish this gecko from other species.

Indo-Pacific gecko Hemidactylus garnotii. Another common household species, the spines on the tail of this species are not as obvious as those of the spiny-tailed gecko. Interestingly, this is an all-female species; all individuals of the species are female, and they reproduce asexually (i.e. they don't have sex at all - quite a sad life if you ask me ).

Four-clawed gecko Gehyra mutilata - another one of the common household gecko species. You can tell this species apart by its flatter tail, and that it has only 4 claws on its feet (as compared to 5 claws on the common house gecko). Individuals in households often appear to be completely pink or even translucent.

Flat-tailed gecko Cosymbotus platyurus. A slightly less common species, this one has the flattest tail of all. Also has more distinctive colour patterns than the other species, which are commonly just a shade of light brown or pink.

Of course, one cannot forget the resident of the garage, which we discovered (and evicted) on 27 May... Warning: Kids, don't try catching snakes with your bare hands unless you're 100% sure that the species in question is completely harmless.

Common wolf snake Lycodon capucinus - Wah lau eh, what an adventure it was catching one of these guys in the garage. (Don't worry guys, it's non-venomous and completely harmless - it feeds mostly on geckos and frogs. Too bad, if you want something to deal with rats, you'll need either cobras or pythons)

UPDATE:

Well, we evicted a snake, and now the garage has a new occupant. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the newest inhabitant of the garage:

Domestic huntsman spider Heteropoda venatoria. This huge spider is actually quite harmless, and does a good job of feeding on cockroaches. In any case, be careful when moving stuff around inside the garage; seeing a spider this size scurrying out from behind the planks can probably give you a heart attack.

A closer view of this huge spider. Now THAT is a big spider. This species does not spin a web, but instead wanders around, stalking large insects and even tiny geckos.

It is easy to spot where lawn wolf spiders (Hippasa holmerae) make their homes - in the morning, their webs, which are spun close to the ground among the grass blades (the better to catch ground-living insects like crickets and grasshoppers), shimmer with droplets of dew. At the Rag house itself, these are especially obvious in the grass that covers the hillside, as well as in the grassy patch behind the kitchen.

DRAIN CLEANING: 31 MAY 2005

I don't know if any of you recall how filthy and clogged up the drains were, and I finally decided to clean them out one Tuesday afternoon. What ensued was a whole lot of backbreaking work and plenty of hopping around trying to avoid all the ant nests and centipedes.

The drains were clogged with dead leaves, sand, soil, and goodness knows what else; in short, an entire ecosystem had sprung up inside the drains, not a good idea considering that this could also become a mosquito breeding haven should any water get trapped in there.

I haven't been able to positively identify all the different ant colonies I disturbed when clearing out the drains (but the bites of some of those species really really hurt), but there were at least 4 different species that called the drains their home. I suggest that we lay out ant bait just in case, and before they invade the house.

But these guys left a very lasting impression:

Weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina - weaver ant, fire ant, kerengga... whatever you call them, the bites and stings of these ants are %$#&@^ painful! (Another reason to not run around barefoot outside; there's a colony or 2 just outside the house) As far as I know, the colony rules the little pathway that connects the main path and the back door, and I think the same colony also uses the drain along that stretch as its own little highway. I believe it's a good idea when I suggest that people refrain from running around barefoot, especially around that area.

And apart from all the ants, I managed to disturb a dozen or so of these little beasties (Do you need any more convincing as to why running around barefoot is not a good idea??!):

CENTIPEDES!

I could identify at least 2 different species...

Geophilomorph centipede - These small tiny centipedes (the longest one I saw was 3 cm long) should be quite harmless... I had lots of fun catching them and throwing these to the weaver ants hahaha...

However, while geophilomorph centipedes are pretty innocuous (haven't tried catching one with my bare hands though), I cannot guarantee the same for the other species of centipede I spotted running from the drains as I was clearing them...

Scolopendra centipede - Goodness knows how many I evicted from the drains, and those were the small ones. These species of centipedes can grow up to 30 cm in length! Singapore is home to 2 species of these large centipedes - Scolopendra morsitans and Scolopendra subspinipes.

Of course, not everything that scuttled and crawled in the drains were as bothersome as the ants and centipedes... Others just served to illustrate how bloody clogged-up and sediment-filled the drains were.

Woodlice - Do you all remember your primary school science textbooks, talking about woodlice as creatures of the leaf litter community? I frightened a whole lot of these little guys when clearing the drains. Friggin' leaf litter community, alright. Probably kept all those ants and centipedes well-fed until I came along and washed them all away.

You know you have a drainage problem when you actually have earthworms living in the soil that's accumulated inside the drains. The largest one I found was almost the length (but thankfully not the diameter) of my little finger. Oh, and by the way, Jianwu is afraid of earthworms.

While clearing out the drains, I discovered a giant snail slowly crawling beside the drain. I dropped it into the drain, and watched it merrily get carried off in the current. However, there was one point when the drain ran underground, and the snail did not emerge with the flow on the other side. Only after Gerri and I had cleared out a substantial amount of the silt that had built up within did the snail pop out, and by then I guess it had drowned. Oops. My bad.

African giant snail Achatina fulica - another foreign species introduced into Singapore. Don't worry, that's not my hand. And say, anyone craving for escargot over at the house...

Every time I go to the house and see how nice and clean and dirt-free the drains are, I feel damn proud of our achievement and how we cleaned out the entire drainage system in a single day. (PLEASE help keep our drains clean!)

While working on the float, you might be harassed by honeybees:

Eastern honeybee Apis cerana - Don't ask me why, but honeybees love to buzz around the dustbin, as well as the tap outside the house. They also like to attack people, probably to gather salt and nutrients from our sweat. They appear harmless, but don't go and ji seow them lah.

On the first day, we spotted another inhabitant of the drainage system, one that I hope does not discover all the food we have in the house:

Common rat Rattus norvegicus - One of these popped its head out of the sewer the other day... they'd better not invade the house. (Of course, it could have been any one of the many local rat species, perhaps Rattus tanezumi, Rattus exulans, Rattus tiomanicus, or Rattus annandalei; no matter what, they're all rats)

AVIFAUNA

Of course, there's so much more to the wildlife of 02 Kent Ridge Road than your usual bugs and insects, reptiles, and vermin. We've got birds! And so many different kinds too! =D

Of course, there are your usual common everyday birds, such as:

Javan myna Acridotheres javanicus - Singapore's most common bird, this immigrant from (where else?) Java is all too common.

House crow Corvus splendens - Yet another common bird... Introduced from India, they finally became established in Singapore around World War II. And now they're one of the most common birds you can find around, perhaps to the detriment of some of the native bird species. You ought to watch these in the evening, when they fly in to roost with the cockatoos... Black crows and white cockatoos, and both equally noisy. Or when they're roosting, and suddenly all the crows in the trees fly off for some unknown reason. Dozens of crows flying all over the place; anyone watched Alfed Hitchcock's The Birds?

Feral pigeon Columba livia - Hope they don't crap too much around the house... Pigeon shit is green. Absolutely disgusting...

Apart from the usual boring old birds, the Rag House has also been visited by a few other species of birds, not as common as the boring ol' mynahs, crows and pigeons, but not as rare as they may appear to be. You just need to keep your eyes (and ears) open:

House swift Apus affinis. Easily mistaken for a swallow (although swallows and swifts are not closely related), this bird spends most of its life on the wing. Another bird that has adapted well to urban life, building its little nests in buildings and other manmade structures.

House swifts sometimes gather in large flocks, especially before dusk.

Asian glossy starling Aplonis panayensis - This bird is closely related to the mynas, but slightly less common. The glossy dark green plumage and the red eyes are especially distinctive.

Olive-backed sunbird Nectarinia jugularis - Another pretty common local bird, they're damn hard to spot, since they're so damn tiny and they fly so fast.

Asian koel Eudynamys scolopacea. This is the bird responsible for that maddening call one often hears in the early morning or at dusk. Actually a species of cuckoo, it's a nest parasite of crows. Not to be confused with the Asian glossy starling or crows. This individual is a male.

The colouration of the female koel is markedly different from that of the male.

The koel once wasn't so common in Singapore; it used to be that the majority of koels in
Singapore were once migrants, and only a few koels were resident and bred here. However, it is very likely that due to the great increase in the introduced house crow population, numbers of resident koel have also risen, and thus this bird has become a much more common component of our avifauna.

Like many other members of the cuckoo family, the koel is a brood parasite - it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, in this case, the koel specialises in the house crow and the large-billed crow. The eggs of the koel are even patterned such that they resemble the eggs of its host species. When the koel chick hatches, it competes with the crow nestlings for food, and may even push the crow eggs or nestlings out of the nest. This results in the crow foster parents feeding just one sole surviving chick - the koel chick itself.

Collared kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris - Singapore's most common kingfisher, often found far from water, since they eat lots of other things besides fish... One of these was sitting in a tree just outside the living room laughing away one day... wonder what the Hell was so funny?

White-throated kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis. Another common local kingfisher, this species, like the collared kingfisher, is often found far from water, feeding on large insects, lizards, frogs and even smaller birds.

Black-naped oriole Oriolus chinensis - Just look out for the bright flash of yellow flying amongst the green. Very easy to spot when they fly out in the open across the road.

Pink-necked green pigeon Treron vernans - One of our native pigeon species, which feeds mainly on fruit. Actually quite common, but rarely seen.

Common flameback Dinopium javanense - Singapore's most common woodpecker species. The bright red crest of the male is unmistakeable.

Yellow-vented bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier - One of the more common native birds of Singapore, I think there's a nest or 2 somewhere near the house.

Yellow-bellied prinia Prinia flaviventer. This little bird is yet another common species that is not often seen.

As dusk falls, you might spot a stocky bird suddenly explode from the leaf litter and undergrowth and fly off. Don't be startled - it's just a large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus). While nightjars chase insects in the air at night, by day they hide on the ground. The camouflage of this nightjar as it sits among leaf litter is superb.

And of course, there are the extremely rare gems, the birds that you almost never see your entire life until you come to 02 Kent Ridge Road... true, some of these birds are not natives, but introduced or the descendants of escaped pets, but still, spotting one of these is pretty notable.

White-crested laughingthrush Garrulax leucolophus - Another introduced species that has established itself in the parks and gardens around Kent Ridge.

Large-billed crow Corvus macrorhynchos. The original native crow of Singapore. This species, while never common to begin with, has been displaced by the recently introduced house crow. Note the completely black colouration and relatively larger bill. Also, it is larger than the house crow, and much more solitary; this crow is always seen alone or in small groups, and never forms large flocks like those of the House crow.

Oriental magpie-robin Copsychus saularis - Formerly Singapore's most common bird, now very rare due to illegal capture for the songbird trade. The pair we spotted from the porch were probably escapees.

White-bellied sea eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster - Haven't managed to see this one at the house yet, but I have heard them nearby. Listen up for the crows and cockatoos; if they're raising a ruckus, an eagle should be flying close by.

Yellow-crested cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea - The most conspicuous immigrant and now well-established resident of Kent Ridge, this Indonesian bird is popular in the pet trade. The sight of 6 or so cockatoos flying directly overhead is breathtaking - don't miss them when you're at the house. Usually, you'll hear their raucous screeching long before you hear them.

Apart from the birds, we do have a couple of mammals to look out for.

Plantain squirrel Callosciurus notatus - The most common local squirrel species, I've lost count of the number of squirrels I've spotted scurrying about the vegetation fringing the roads en route to the house.

And here's an interesting snippet: Along the stretch just before KE VII Hall, right beside the road, I discovered this dead squirrel, which looked like it had slipped, fallen out of the tree, and bashed its head on a rock when it fell. Ouch... Life is cruel to the careless and unwary.

And after a hard day's work, as evening falls, as day gives way to night, you're likely to encounter these guys flying around:

Lesser Asian house bat Scotophilus kuhlii - As dusk falls, or as the whole bunch of Raggers walk down the road towards Fong Seng, you'll probably encounter these fluttering around, chasing insects, especially on cool nights after rain, when all the flying ants and termites are out in full force... watch your head, and enjoy the show.

Of course, this is but a tiny fraction of what one may discover living in and around the house; this post will be updated as time passes, and as new and exciting discoveries are made. But whenever you're at the house, do take time to enjoy and relax, and be grateful for the delightful change in scenery... A nature lover like me certainly appreciates the difference. Just hope the mosquitoes stop harassing us though... =P

"...We live by faith and not by sight..."

2007-03-08T23:14:00.000-08:00

Just completed a 3-day conference and within the span of 3 days I've learnt a lot of thing. But frist, I just want to tell Jianwu, Jasmine, Alvin, Geraldine and the rest of the Rag people that, "Hey! I love you guys!" :)

I believe that Rag is going to be great this year. Many lives are going to be touched and changed. I can see transformation taking place during this orientation. In the semesters to come, arts club will go onto another level. We will go on to another level. NUS will go on to another.
I am excited.

I hope you guys are excited too! Lets be excited all the time ya! Arts camp is coming around the corner. Lets be excited in arts camp. Lets be excited about rag. Lets be excited about flag. Lets be excited about all the fop projects!

Excitement is very important, because it will mark the level of success of the projects. The more excited we are, the more excited the freshmen will be and the better they will enjoy the orientation. No no I am not asking for substanceless hype. I am asking for excitement in the things we do, so that while delivering the wonderful things to the freshmen, we can go up one level with the excitement.

We play a crucial role in the freshmen's lives. Orientation will be the first thing about NUS that these freshmen see. I am sure we want them to start their university lives will a bang. I am sure we want to see them developing an affinity for NUS even before they start attending classes.
I know there will be times when we will feel dejected. But let us have faith in our vision. Faith is what will keep us commited to our vision. Commitment is a mark of character. Let us cross each obstacles with excitement and smiles on our faces.

We are leaders ya? Let us do what leaders must do.

Lead.

"Whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." - Philippians 4:8

luv, Keyou

an Inspiring quote

2007-03-08T23:13:00.000-08:00

“Rag was never about the float or side props or costumes nor measurable by the number of challenge shields or awards won. All these tangible things paled in comparison to the people that I've grown to know and love in the process, and those bonds I've been building all this while but not see. There was already a best float in my heart when I did Rag in year 1 , and it simply continued to be grander and more beautiful everytime I did Rag again. Indeed, all Raggers have floats of their own in their hearts. To those whom I shared similar floats with, be it for once, twice or four times: 'One Rag To Rule Them All, For In The Process, We Bind'”

- Haoran, Rag 2004 Project Director

Coming Soon to a venue near you!

2007-03-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

Be a part of the Production Team! Call Wan-Tsin now!

Intrigued?

2007-03-08T23:09:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned.. =)

Arts Raggers 2005!

2007-03-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

Have a passion for people? Have a knack for design? Like being involved in building structures? Then we want YOU! Join us to make this year's Arts Rag the best and biggest in the competition!

We are gonna win! Come be a part of it!