The Birth of my Scout Name

A Scout name is a name bestowed to a Scout by his Scout Master/ Leader in recognition to his service and contribution to the troop or the community at large. Scout names can be inferred from animals, objects or nature, and the name that is given often represents the characteristics of the individual.

There are many variation of Scout names. They can be of a single word like 'Dragonheart' (Chief Commissioner of The Singapore Scout Association); two words often with an adjective description like 'Glowing Light' (National Training Commissioner of The Singapore Scout Association); and often with Native Red Indian influence.

On 7 May 2011, during one of our usual Griffin leaders outing/ meal, I was finally bestowed my Scout name after a long wait since I started Scouting almost 17 years back. But it was worth the wait. Considering the rest of the gang having animal-related Scout name, I began to wonder what will be mine. Finally at the end of our lunch on polling day, my leader/ trainer, Zaiphizat Putra revealed my Scout name. And I was in for a surprise, a good one.

53 days of SSEAYP

25th October to 16th December 2010

Tokyo, Japan; Port Klang, Malaysia; 

Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; 

Singapore and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Here it is finally... the freaking 53 days trip that I slogged so hard for. Never had to do so much for just a trip overseas... I'm definitely not going to recount every single day of the trip because that would be insane. I'm just going to be lazy and do it the easier way out - by category. So here goes!

Off to Thailand again!

15th October to 21st October 2010

Bangkok & Petchaburi, Thailand

As a promise made long time ago, I just had to visit my adopted family yearly no matter what stands in my way. Plus I was asked to help my sisters to run their Scouts of the World Award (SWA) Discovery workshop. How can I not go with these two valid reasons...

So eventually I managed to squeeze out a week from SSEAYP (again...) and had to make sure that I could return just in time to pack my stuff for the 53 days of SSEAYP. And so off I went with a Scout friend of mine for another week of fun in Thailand and a break from SSEAYP.

SSEAYP Pre Departure

July to October 2010

It's been a long long time since I last updated this blog. No thanks to SSEAYP. Plus I doubt I want to keep updating after every SSEAYP activity so I decided that I'll do it all in one shot when I return. Finally have the motivation to sit down and go through all the photos, select a freaking small number out of perhaps a thousand over photos, photoshop them, upload them etc. You get the drift. But nevertheless, here it is.

By the time you get to the end of this post, I would have lost about 8kg. Yes... that's the effect SSEAYP had on me. Not sure whether it is the busy schedule, extra stuff to handle or what.

Anyway here's what had been going on in my life from July till Oct. (Apologies for turning away any appointments/ meetings/ gatherings... I'm back and I promise to make it up.)

Too much? Too fast? Too late?

This probably is my first official rambling on this blog. Just had a chat with an Aussie friend over wall exchanges and suddenly had so much things through my head, that I just had to let it run.

Turning 28 soon makes me wonder have I really done what I set out to do in life? Or have I done too much? Or have I just tried to race with time and did it too fast, missing out all the joys in life? Or it's just simply too late to look back and regret, which is the very first thing I told myself not too when I left my job 15 months ago.

Project Sikkim featured on Discovery Channel Magazine

Exactly eight months ago, I led a team of Singapore Rovers along with two Maldives Rovers to Sikkim, India on a Youth Expedition Project. This project was the 3rd Scouts of the World Voluntary Service project under the Singapore Base. We were there to help improve the studying conditions of two schools in two areas high up in the mountainous regions. You can read more about the expedition here.

Clementi District Games Day

17th July 2010

Clementi Town Secondary School

It's been a while since I last attended any district events. If I do not attend this one, I'm sure my District Commissioner (DC) would have something to say. Especially when I have missed the past two district meetings because of other engagements. Haha! Furthermore it's held back at my alma mater.

Reaching there was a difficult task cause it was raining and my bed was so comfortable... but eventually I got my lazy butt out of bed and cabbed down. Thankfully Iris bought extra breakfast so I didn't need to drag my lazy butt out of school to buy it. I definitely got more energetic after the food. A fine pack of hot coffee would make my day but anymore complains, probably Iris will nag at me.

Fun with Jeff and Reefs at SSA

15th July 2010

The Singapore Scout Association

I missed the first introductory session as I was still in Terengganu releasing turtle hatchlings, but without fail, attended the one next one that Jeff presented about our reefs. Unfortunately I'm unable to attend the rest as all my SSEAYP trainings also fall on Thursday nights... 

NatureScouter lands on Terumbu Pempang Tengah!

15th July 2010 

Terumbu Pempang Tengah, Singapore

You would probably be thinking where the hell that is or what the hell it is. The name itself is quite a mouthful. It is one of three submerged reefs close to each other. 'Tengah' means middle in Malay and of course the reef sits right in the middle of the other two.

NatureScouter hits Cyrene!

14th July 2010

Cyrene Reef, Singapore

I miss those days whereby I would religiously hit the shores every month during the intertidal period, be it ungodly hours of 3 a.m. or 7p.m. Unfortunately after I left my permanent job, I actually got even busier with life and it's such irony... Upon returning from Project Orion, I was checking through my emails and saw 'Cyrene' in one of the headings. Without any hesitation, I checked whether was there any slots left. Sadly it was full but dear Ria always have a way to make me happy. She hooked me up for a guiding trip for staff from Jurong Town Council (JTC) and I took it up immediately. It was surprising refreshing to go on field trip again in the wee hours of the morning.

The Adventures of Project Orion II

26th June to 10th July 2010

Setiu, Terengganu, Malaysia

Oh boy... this is gonna be a long post... so be prepared...

Within two weeks and I was back in Kampung Mangkok. This time with eight other members. Preparation for the project had been somewhat chaotic and yet things always worked out eventually. The first problem actually happened the day before the project even started...

All Aboard!

All aboard! Cause I'll be on board the Fuji Maru from 25th Oct to 16th Dec 2010.

Source

Revisiting Project Orion's Homeground

7th to 8th June 2010

Setiu, Terengganu, Malaysia

It's been almost a year since Project Orion was born. Project Orion started out as a mock proposal from the 3rd Scouts of the World Award (SWA) Discovery workshop, and who expected it to become the most successful project achieving press features in both Terengganu and Singapore newspapers, reputable recognition from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)- Malaysia and also a long-term partnership with both the villagers of Kampung Mangkok and WWF - Malaysia.

Other than the main focus of sea turtle conservation work, Project Orion also serves the community as we strongly believe that people's lifes are often intertwined with their environment. By supporting the community through outreach, education and assistance, the environment will also gain. 

This year is the 100th year of Scouting in Singapore and Project Orion will be playing its contribution by returning back to its homeground once again. Watch out! Project Orion II is ready to rock the shores of Setiu again!

One Year Anniversary of the New Chapter

31st May 2010 marks exactly a year since I left my full-time job as the Education and Public Relations Officer at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. Not that I hate the job, but rather I'm a sucker for freedom and adventure and travel. Since it's an old story of why I left my job, I will let the 'Historical Rambling' tab above tell the story.

I was counting down about a week or so back for this day, but lost track of it. It smacked me right in my head today while catching up with my ex-colleagues at the Museum after I did the guiding session. It is rather unbelievable even to myself that I survived a year without a full-time job. Very much thanks to the Museum, Jurong Birdpark and Singapore Zoo that hires me on a free-lance assignment basis. But of course, the pay can't be compared. On a good month, I may get close to half of my previous pay, but more often than not - just a quarter of it. So yes, I'm looking for more assignments related to those jobs above. Do let me know if you have any contacts.

TUNZA Vol. 8.1: Avatar: Reaching The Heart (The Biodiversity Issue!)

Tunza Vol. 8.1: Avatar: Reaching The Heart
“We should not be afraid to fight for what we believe is right”

The previous issue of TUNZA had a portion of it dedicated to biodiversity issues, but this issue is the real deal. With a great cover and great content, it's a definitely must read. Well at least for the biodiversity geeks.

Karen Eng, staff editor of Tunza magazine, one day wrote a facebook message to her regular contributors and ask what we think about Avatar and how it relates to our environment. Having seen the movie which left me quite a deep impression, I wrote my thoughts about it and sent to her (which I apparently forgot all about it, till she reminded me that I wrote something else for her after the turtle article).

TUNZA Article - International Year of Biodiversity

Tunza Vol.7 No.3: Tunza 2009 Youth Conferences
What we want from Copenhagen

2010 - International Year of Biodiversity

The year 2010 has been officially declared as the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. Do join in the celebration for the International Year of Biodiversity on facebook. There is also another facebook page for celebrating Singapore's rich biodiversity, where you can find constant updates of news and articles of our natural heritage.

In preparation for the year, Karen Eng, staff editor of Tunza magazine called out for biodiversity-related articles. Previously I've written for Karen about Earth Hour back in 2008 and so with the call for articles, I once again wrote for her, making use of the recent sea turtle project - Project Orion.

Youth Expedition Project Publicity Video

This video was created together with YEP Journal Vol 1 for the corporate sector event in 2007. I was asked to assist in the filming, and I was asked to do quite a lot of funny things. And the result, even more interesting! Watch it and you will understand. I'm still a little weirded out by the video till today whenever they show it during YEP events.

Please note that the video is all right reserved by the Youth Expedition Project, National Youth Council, Singapore.

Rovers out with Team Seagrass!

28th March 2010

Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin, Singapore

I've been with Team Seagrass (TSG) since it started 3 years ago. Team Seagrass is part of the Seagrass Watch, an international organisation based in Australia. It was formed in 1998 and is the largest scientific, non-destructive, seagrass assessment and monitoring program in the world. 

I was speaking to a dear friend of mine, Ria Tan, who has been supporting TSG since it's formation stage, about the possibility of getting Rover Scouts involved. She was more than glad to allow them in (But of course they have to go through the standard interview process. Haha..). In fact, this is not the first time Ria has been roped into my evil splendid scheme of getting Scouts to invade appreciate Mother Nature. I've a feeling that whenever she sees my name appearing on her mobile when there is a text message or call or even through emails, she knows that I'm up to no good. Hahaha...

Earth Hour Singapore 2010

27th March 2010

Esplanade Park, Singapore

As the story told in another post of mine, I got Scouts involved in Earth Hour somehow. This year once again, I received a call from Carine Seror (Director, Corporate Responsibility & Earth Hour Project Manager, WWF Singapore) and asked whether are we interested in the partnership again. I didn't even hesitate and said, "Hell yea!" (well... not really but I did say yes.). And that's how the Singapore Scout Association became a supporting partner of Earth Hour Singapore for the second year running since Singapore officially observed Earth Hour in 2009.

Ups and Downs of Life

15th March 2010 to 18th March 2010

Manila, Philippines

Well, it's about time. Many of you wouldn't have known about this trip as I have only told a few. Secretly went in and out of Singapore for that few days.

Some time back, the Asia-Pacific Regional (APR) Scout Office in Manila opened up a position for a Development Support Officer. The position consists of a dual scope - regional role of assisting with the development of regional National Scout Organisations (NSOs) and international role of overseeing the environmental programme globally (which was decentralised from Geneva's main office). I got to know about the job through Syd Castillo, Rod Abson (who previously was the unit manager for the environmental programme) and a few others. With their encouragement, I eventually applied for the job and to my surprise I got short-listed. This was why I made the trip to Philippines for the interview.