If you haven't recognised, it's HuiHui and I at CampLions (: An attempt to do a K with our fingers since we were from Kassapa! I haven't got my hands on the group pictures from ZhengYu/ Pearly/ Alvin/ Zeming/ ShiXiong etc though :x Send me if you see me online!

National Youth Assembly
Awesome, I am in the same District Council and Kendra's cousin (with a cool name -- hwachong)! Icebreakers, Scenerio-based discussions, Presentations, Discussions over lunch and I left. Why Why Why? Fret not, I am going back tomorrow :D

It's interesting to find familiar faces around, like RachOon, MChia, Kendra, Yutian, JiaQuan, ErJia, Utba.. and certainly fun to meet new people in the group who have been welcoming and friendly. Tomorrow's going to be a long day though, and hopefully it'll be fulfilling [seeing that I am missing all the fun run sun in Sentosa, it had better be good:]

PCShow
Be prepared to battle your way through the crowd right through CityLink. It wouldn't help you seem any smarter or taller to wear heels. Apparently, I only learnt this after being there for two consecutive days, once with Joey and another with Marc. Dad got me a laptop, following the death of my tablet. Although it wasn't the one I wanted but I suppose it's fine and functional, seeing that the functions are way better than the one I chose. Yeah, I would have wanted one with loud colours like limegreen or purple but let conventions convey it beauty and uses for once (:

FOURNINE
Awesome, meeting up much more with effect tomorrow evening:D
I quote Damien, "why didn't we get these parties too?"
I bought something retarded, Ryl agreed. It's all right, let's see what's going to happen tomorrow :D Yes, I need to mug apart from party and camp! Ryl we are going to be uni roomies and have a massive food storage cupboard in our room! so mug hard for now, though I haven't started yet.

FLAG DAY WITH YMCA

Hougang MRT 830am on a midweek morning certainly felt different from days Alethea and I grabbed cans and zoomed to catch 151 to TohYiDrive Market for FlagDay, followed by relaxing pig out/ mug hard sessions at Ale's house. But that morning, I woke up with one thought in mind -- Let's do our part, while hours can be better spent mugging, a few dollars might not be sufficient for a cool meal, it makes a difference to the people who are on the receiving end. No matter how small, it's an effort that we put in and something minimal we can do for the beneficiaries we're serving (e.g. APSN MINDS etc)

Dragged myself out of bed and I was indeed glad to see the usual smiley faces and my ever-encouraging buddy (who went all out to get donations from bus uncles at the interchange haha). It was tiring but it was fulfilling, just like the whirf of happiness you get when you think you're doing something meaningful. While there were a number of encouraging donors, smiley passerbys, there were this handful who were more than just plain irritating and spoilt a large part of my day.

The common ones are as usual, the people who make a massively obvious detour on seeing you holding that metal tin because neither do they want to put 10cents in nor do they feel like saying no politely or rejecting you with a smile. Really, I won't bite (: Talking about gracious society, I was just telling Joey that maybe it's just a few people who perform ungracious acts and cause the entire nation to be labelled as "uncultured", as seen from a ST article that charm brought to class. However, on second thought it may not be the case. Even though others may be championing for a cause that you can't reconcile with, you don't really have to shun them. There's always the courteous and polite manner around things (:

Firstly, there was this lady who upon understanding the VWOs we are serving, actually asked for avenues to reach out to them. It's really heartening to rope in more people to care for others in this timeless dimension. Kudos to you my friend, I hope you find joy in serving others.

Now to the second lady, you really got me thinking. She dropped 30cents into my tin and I thanked her. She then questioned if the funds raised would be channeled to christian causes; I explained that it goes to VWOs to serve their needs etc, rather than going into a church. More questions followed and the final two statements as follows:

Lady: Do funds go to Buddhist organisations?

Me: ... ?? ... (I was wearing a YMCA shirt, nevertheless explains VWO thing again)

Lady: So it doesn't fund Buddhism? Good. I am a christian & am not going to donate to any Buddhists

Me: I am a buddhist but I am doing this for the people out there who needs these funds.

I was honestly really sad. Not so much because I am a buddhist, but more for the people that aren't receiving on the other end because of such perceived differences. There are Christians out there who are very very nice friends, compassionate, generous in giving for the betterment of mankind, genuine. However, this lady totally struck me as one without the intrinsic nature of humans to empathize with others predicament. Think about it, all religions teach us to do good and to help those around us, how much do we really practise what's being taught? Are we not going to give food to a starving person, give a penny to the poor man entrenched in poverty, light a smile on little children's faces.. are we not going to do all these just because they do not share our beliefs?

I don't know about you, you don't have to agree with me, but this is something I can't bring myself to do. My personal take: Serve the people you need to. 30cents, not even enough to ride on the bus with a student concession card. Just give it to those who need it, no matter who they are(as long as we can afford it). She's definitely not typical of everyone out there, so let betterment of humanity be a cause we serve. Despite religious differences, before we talk about harmony, something small like this is certainly within our capacity. We don't have to give up our beliefs(and shouldn't rather) but there are too moments that we shouldn't be that calculative either. In that much we receive each week, this is the time to give.

Anyway I was quite glad still, that the day did not conclude too badly. While a million people have been asking why I am doing YCon, let me just answer this once and for all: When I befriend my beneficiaries, their background isn't of my concern. What's most important to me is that my time spent with them can at least be a ripple to push them a step ahead in the right direction. It has certainly the least bit to do with religious faith, regarding it as a separate matter. I know this idea is damn hard to reconcile with, it's okay(I won't blame you even if you call me a hypocrite, but at least that's what I feel). I think it has come this far and that's all that matters. Next week is YCamp and I'll be attached to Bishan Home. I hope it'll work out well (: