Week 3, Saturday, 28th Aug 2010.
"07 family feast @ PS's."
Week 3, Sunday, 29th Aug 2010.
"And Gthui flies!"
人生是黑白的.
7:14 PM <3
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Youth Olympic Games 2010.
I'm definitely not a mouthpiece for the gahmen, but from a spectator's point of view, I must say it's been quite a perfect PR event. At least from the eyes of an outsider, it was quite well-run, save for little inevitable hiccups. Probably to the gahmen, the more important thing, is to leave the foreigners with good impression. I think they scored well on that. But the lack of attention from the international media, is something that probably backfired.
I realised I did cross path with YOG in more ways than an average non-volunteer Singaporean.
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6th August: NUS Rag day cum Olympic Torch Arrival Celebrations. The torch arrived in Singapore after having city celebrations in one country in each Continent. We celebrated the torch's arrival in Singapore at NUS, along with the President, amidst fanfare and fireworks. For the first time, I witnessed the Olympic flame that had come all the way from the birthplace of The Olympics.
8th August: Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame (JYOF). A torch relay around the country saw it passing by in front of my home. The week-long torch relay did create publicity and hype somewhat, though school students were more engaged. People say the students were 'forced' to watch, but I dare say most of them enjoyed the noise and buzz. Ok, at least I know I would be excited by the hype, if I am still an MOE student.
14th August: I watched the Opening Ceremony. It was spectacular, and I must say a very good show was being put up. I loved the many series of fireworks, and the lighting of the Tornado Cauldron. Among the audience, I saw some expats working here. I heard MANY of them giving positive reviews of it while waiting to leave the seats. One of them even told us "I am so proud of ourselves.". When we looked at that German guy in a weird way, he replied that he "pays taxes here too", and so was proud of the country. I was quite 'wow'-ed.
15th August: I visited the YOG exhibition at Suntec, and saw many of the previous torches used in the Summer Olympics. As the international torch relay had been stopped after Beijing 2008, with Singapore 2010 as an exception since it was inaugural, there probably might not be any more Olympic torches anymore. I was glad to have caught the exhibition and saw them all up close, including the Singapore 2010 YOG medals.
15th ~ 26th August: I stayed tuned to the TV every late afternoon and evening, to catch Live Olympic action. Among the events I watched, were Swimming, Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Diving, Taekwondo, Weighlifting and Volleyball. Among the 7 medals that Singapore won, I watched the process of winning 2 of them Live on TV (the Silver medal from Swimming; and a Bronze from Taekwondo) and 1 at the competition venue (the Silver medal from Table Tennis).
23rd August: Not wanting to miss the chance of watching Live Olympic action in front of my very eyes, I decided to spend a day at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to watch Table Tennis. We've got more than we expected--not only witnessing Singapore getting a Silver and getting an autograph+group photo with the Silver medallist Isabelle, we also experienced the anxiety and hopes of a host country audience crowd, genuinely cheering for its own athletes. That's priceless and once-in-a-lifetime.
25th August: Watching the competition Live, was addictive, it proved. We entered Singapore Indoor Stadium yet again, to catch the Mixed Team events for Table Tennis. The Singapore Team couldn't advance into the semi-finals, but we did witness some world-class table tennis skills being put into play.
And my YOG experience ended without getting a good closure--I missed out on getting tickets for the Closing Ceremony, which I watched at home.
What I've gained throughout these Games, is not just the pretty Dove toys from the goodie bags in the Opening Ceremony; not just the commemorative VISA cards that comes with the purchase of any event tickets; nor the commemorative pretty YOG stamps that cousin bought me; nor the hundreds of photos I snapped during Opening or the Table Tennis matches. The best, was the involvement (though not as a volunteer) in a host country, that I could tell the generations to come.
人生是黑白的.
2:35 AM <3
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"GROUP PHOTO with our upcoming Olympian, Isabelle Li, who won a SILVER MEDAL from Table Tennis Girls' Singles at the Youth Olympic Games 2010." 
"Received pretty commemorative YOG stamps from Cousin. Reminded me of my collection of First Day Covers many years ago."
"Our paddlers faced an unhill task against Top seeded Japan's duo, and crashed out in the quarterfinals of the Mixed Team Event. YOG 2010."
"晴天、雨天，傻傻分不清楚。
"Very happy people at NUS Aikido Introductory Class. Another ECC (EnginCampComm) new experience."
"07 family feast @ PS's."
"And Gthui flies!"