Soccer Fever!

Bak Kia enjoying his chips

Ken, Lani aka JabuLani and me

Tricia and Chang Hu

The Cheng San crowd

After much enticement from Chang Hu I decided to join the group to watch the soccer game at Cheng San CC! I am not a football fan but after watching Japan versus Paraguay, my mindset has changed. I was not only there for the game but also for the excitement of watching it with close to 600 pax! In the end Paraguay won because of the penalty kicks. Sigh. Our hopes of having an Asian team in the finals have gone down the drain. However, Japan's defence tactic was strong. Nevertheless it was an amazing match between the two teams. We had fun watching the coaches breaking in sweat and tears. The whole crowd cheering and clapping when each team almost scored a goal during the 90minutes.

Thank you all who were there... Chang Hu for organising, Kenneth, Tricia, Bak kia, Lani, myself haha... Henry and Leslie who were there to keep for crowd control.

Cheng San Exco Retreat 2010/2011

Our facilitator Fui Long

Our workplan

Us =)

The retreat ended less than an hour ago, I am still overwhelmed with strong emotions. I do not think writing one whole essay can spell out everything that had happened between 3pm to 11.30pm. Although it is already my 5th Retreat since it started in 2005/2006, there is always something new to be learnt. New friendships forged because of our heart-to-heart listening. The attendance is great! Thank you Daryl, Shenoy (not in photo), Cheng Lin, Kenneth, Shirley, Chay Buay, Venkat, Lani, Bak Kia, Chang Hu, Esther, Fui Long and Shirley. I love you all... =) See you guys on Wed for the Installation Night!!!

Goodbye 2009/2010

The last issue for the Newsletter took quite a while to collate because of the requests for congratulatory notes and articles from current and former Presidents of Cheng San. It was well worth it because the final production looks fantastic! Thanks to Albert who has diligently formatted everything for us, Ben for taking such good photos, Guan Hau and Esther for editing.

Looking through the past blog entries certainly brought back fond memories of the time spent in and out of the club. This blog, multiply site and official website are all possible because of members who recognised the importance to reaching out to public through this medium. Thank you - Esther who founded this blog, Lani who set up the multiply photo site, Daniel kick started the website.

Visit our website to download a free copy!

June 2010 Newsletter

Annual General Meeting 25th May 2010

Incoming Exco 2010/11

Outgoing Exco... Sobs...

Smiley Tricia the Treasurer

CCMC Chairman, Henry Tan supporting the AGM

It has by far one of the most exciting AGM I have ever witness because we had 2 nominees as the elected President. Also 80% of the team is formed by brave new members. It is also a light hearted one as compared from previous ones because of fewer issues and amendments. So well done to all who has contributed in meeting the quorum and contributing your time to the club.

Gwen

VPPR

Signing out really soon...

First-Timer Evaluation Workshop

Yet another fruitful day at Cheng San Toastmasters Club. Although I have been in the club for more than 6 years, I am humbled by this experience at the First-Timers Evaluation Workshop. We never had this during "my time". And having to see the enthusiam from the members in learning a new skill is heartening. New members - Sam, Bak Kia, Venkat, Ben and Slyvia had their fair share of practising their skills. Xin Hong is an experienced member but it's also his first try at doing an evaluation. Well done to all. Many thanks to Lani, Chay Buay, Daniel and Wendy who were there to mentor the freshies. Of course, thank you to our trainer, Albert Chan for his efforts in conducting this workshop. If you have benefited from this workshop, do sign up as an evaluator for the next chapter meeting.

Gwen

VPPR

Ushering the New Year

Our Club President, Daniel Kwek has made us write down our Toastmasters resolutions for the term 2009/10. Do you still remember what they are? And have you tried your best to fulfill them?

I remember mine was to take up appointments whenever I attend club meetings and to organise at least 1 activity each month. Hmm... guilty as charged for not doing the first, however the PR team tries our best to do the latter. We look forward to planning more fun-filled and educational activities for the next 6 months before we usher in the new term.

Pulau Ubin 14th Nov 2009

"It's going to rain only at 6 O'clock!"

This was Ivana's promise as we head towards Ubin on the bumboat on a cloudy morning. My last visit to Ubin was 6 years back during my University days. Stepping on the island once again brought back sweet memories of being a student going on a treasure hunt and trying to avoid ghostly entities.

Ubin is in essence, the last village in Singapore. A peddling through the rustic roads of Ubin takes you back to Singapore in the 1960's with the simpler pleasures of life. Some viewed Ubin as a mosquitoes feasted island and its favourite delicacies were the island’s visitors. However, as we cycled towards Chek Jawa, we were greeted by military commandos and Ubin Volunteers who were preparing for the arrival of the APEC guests. The trail was peppered with unforeseen road obstacles but everyone pressed on before we stopped for some coconut drinks and to marinate ourselves with sunblock. And when we were hungry, we went to our "Kachang Puteh" Mingcai for some tidbits who also provided us with loads of entertainment along the way. Of course, how can we forget about the photo-taking whereever we went? Ben was our official photographer and did I mention he is also a potential Man-hunt model? It was a fantastic nature cycling trail as we managed to catch the mini mudcrab migrating, the Nipah also known as "Attap Chee", jelly fish and wild boars! It was indeed a very enjoyable getaway from the hustling and bustling life on mainland Singapore.

On top of our Great Singapore Nature Trail, we went on our Great Singapore Makan Trail! Alike the Taiwan food tasting entertainment television series, we took a bus from Changi Point to Geylang Lorang 35 for the 24 hours daily Bean curd store and back tracked to the famous fermented toufu at the junction of Geylang road and Katong! It was an amusing sight watching Tricia trying the toufu for the every first time and downing barley water to kill the stinky breath. To save time, we took a bus to Lorong 18 where we tried to catch a glimpse of the shady red-light district. To our surprised, we were tailed by a mentally disturbed man who wanted to befriend me! Who else was to save the day other than our President, Daniel Kwek? He walked up to the man and scared him off with a glare and a baritone voice warning him to stay away. Our hero was rewarded with a plate of spicy stingray and a delicious frog leg’s porridge as Mingcai re-enacted the whole scene telling us he was so ready to teach that senile man a lesson if Daniel has not bravely come to the rescue.

At the end of the day, Tricia was a bit toasted from the sun. Daniel became a hero. Ivana's weather forecast came true. Mingcai was the ultimate entertainment provider. Ben was our security officer making us feel safe and secure. And I felt like I have gone through an unsuccessful weight lost programme, but it felt absolutely fantastic.

Thank you Ben and Mingcai for organising this outing and making us feel so safe throughout the trip. Never forget Ben’s slogan: Your Worries are Our Concern.

More photos on chengsantmc.multiply.com

Written by Gwen