My Queenstown 我爱女皇镇

My Heritage, My Community, My Aspirations

Tonight@MyQueenstown #16- Etoile vs Balestier

Posted in Tonight | Tuesday, September 21, 2010|By my queenstown

A Day in A Life of A... YOG Volunteer

Posted in A Day in a Life of A... | Monday, September 20, 2010|By my queenstown

As the Youth Olympic Games draw to a closure in August this year, many Singaporeans and foreigners alike would still have the 12-day sporting extravaganza deeply engraved in their memories. The event was said to be well-planned and received worldwide. One cannot forget the groups of people who made YOG possible, one of them being the huge pool of YOG volunteers.

Today, we shall look into a day in the life of a YOG volunteer. Evonne Tay, 30, signed up as a volunteer for the YOG in 2008. She also signed up as a volunteer in the 2009 Asean Youth Games(AYG). She was appointed as a transport team leader during the 2009 AYG. Evonne gained valuable experience in the AYG, working with other volunteers as well as logistics personnel. Eventually, as the YOG draws near in early 2010, Evonne was promoted to a Supervisor position as she had prior experience from the AYG.

Evonne

Evonne had to work from 8am to 8pm every day, from the duration of 12 August to 23 August 2010. The 12 hour shift was tiring but necessary as she had to ensure the welfare of 55 other volunteers under her charge, and also perform the daily operations that she had been tasked.

Fellow events' marshals (Evonne extreme left)

At 8am, Evonne briefed her team members about the tasks that they have to perform for the day. They were to be stationed at various checkpoints and screen the people that were to enter the sports complex. Volunteers, athletes and spectators would have been issues different passes and tickets in order for them to enter the venue.

One of the sporting venues @ Singapore Indoor Stadium

During lunchtime, Evonne had to ensure that her volunteers have collected their catered food and are well-fed. Evonne dismissed the rumor that the meals for volunteers are measly and insufficient. “From my personal experience, the meals for the volunteers are well catered for and not as bad as they said.”

Basketball Competition at Scape

In the afternoon, Evonne was back to her job of supervising the volunteers at the various checkpoints. There was a 3v3 basketball game at 2.30pm and they were to screen everyone who were to enter the compound. Evonne received a call from one of her team leaders that an athlete insisted on entering the sports complex without a proper pass. She tried to converse with the athlete but was held back because the athlete only knew how to speak French. Evonne later found out that the athlete did not have a ticket as they were all sold out on the actual day. Even as her jobscope does not require her to do so, Evonne eventually assisted the athlete in purchasing a ticket.

Warm-up basketball court

In the evening, Evonne had a gathering with her fellow volunteers as the games draw to a close. The volunteers are mostly from secondary schools and tertiary institutions. “Bonding is important as our networking do not end after the YOG, there are plenty more volunteering opportunities in the future.”

Evonne got her first volunteering experiences while she was studying in Ghim Moh secondary school. As a girl guide, she got to visit old folks' homes and help out in food distribution programmes. Currently, Evonne is involved in some assistance programmes by various organisations.

Happy @ Work

Evonne believes in helping the wider community and being happy in the process. She derives pleasure in volunteering and seeks any opportunity to learn new skills from her work. To all volunteers out there, Evonne encourages you to stick with your personal voluntary aims and never give up, even in the face of setbacks.

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Commonwealth Close Chap Lak Lao

Posted in My Father and I , Places | Sunday, September 19, 2010|By my queenstown

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TOP 10!! Happiest & Most Traditional Malays!

Posted in recent , Top 10 | Saturday, September 18, 2010|By my queenstown

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XXX Restricted Access (RA) Queenstown

Posted in About Us , recent | Thursday, September 16, 2010|By my queenstown

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Queenstown's Best of the Best - 金都卤鸭饭鸭面

Posted in Makan Shiok , recent | |By my queenstown

What makes food taste good? There's more to good tasting food than great flavours. There's more than fresh, quality ingredients or faboulous recipes. Jin Dou (Golden City) Braised Duck Rice and Noodle 金都卤鸭饭鸭面 is arguably Queenstown's best hawker dish among the numerous stalls and restaurants. There's nothing much to criticize about the tender, juicy and flavourful braised duck offered at Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre.

The delicious plate of Duck Meat!

You can tell the popularity of 金都卤鸭饭鸭面 by the long queue, especially during the weekends. The soup of the braised duck noodle is flavourful with its slight herbal taste and the chilli is a perfect condiment for the duck rice or the braised duck. Some braised duck meat can be tough and chewy whereas others may taste "foul" because of insufficient marinating or "overcooking." The braised duck meat, dipped in herbal soy sauce, has a palatable mixed of herbs and freshness without being too salty.

The Popular Braised Duck Stall at Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre

Mr and Mrs Wang have served Margaret Drive residents for the past 30 years. Opened from 9.30am-5pm on weekdays and 9.30am-3pm on weekends, they prepared the tasty herbal soup themselves by mixing the different spices such as chives and garlic together. The braised duck sauce was re-boiled for several times so that the soup is consistent and the duck meat will be flavourful. When asked about the tender duck meat, she explained that experience is crucial in the preparation.

Mr Wang-the cook and owner

There are few stalls in Queenstown which makes our team eager to return for another serving. 金都卤鸭饭鸭面 is one of them. Besides the palatable meat which makes you feel like visiting "paradise," the familiarity and sincerity is another draw which makes us bewildered and regretful at the prospect of the owners retiring next February. Hopefully, hopefully....

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$#@^@#& Who Says We Hate Foreigners?

Posted in News in the Dump , recent | Wednesday, September 15, 2010|By my queenstown

Many websites have mentioned about foreigners and their negative impact on Singapore's society. Foreigners are portrayed to be "disruptive," "irritating" and "destroying" the fabric of our nation. These websites claimed that foreigners took the jobs of Singaporeans and deprived Singaporeans of having a HDB flat because they drove the prices sky high! Are these claims justified? Or Are these websites accurate in portrayed what ordinary people feel about foreigners? Let MyQueenstown Team find out more about our residents' thoughts about foreigners today!

Singapore's population has reached 5.08million. Overcrowding in trains, insufficient places in schools and high prices of public housing were some of the "perceived" concerns by the policymakers and some of these messages were publicised by online blogs and other media platforms. In order to verify these statements, MyQueenstown Team spent 6 hours in various districts in Queenstown, including rental flats, to find out the exact impact of foreigners to ordinary residents.

One of them is Mohammed Ali, a Singaporean who works in Queenstown. He thinks that foreigners contribute to Singapore's economic growth and competition for jobs is great for Singaporeans and lowly educated workers. This is because the presence of foreigners motivate him to work harder. While he finds that the prices of public housing in Singapore has rocketed in the past few months, he finds the new housing policy will be effective to curb speculators. He believes lower income Singaporeans will have the opportunity to purchase their own houses when the prices fall.

Mohammad Ali

Mr Fong, 71, is a retiree with a son who works abroad. Like Mohammad Ali, Mr Fong is impressed with the new housing policy because it can dissuade investors from profiteering from speculation. Comparing foreign labour to Singaporeans, he finds foreign workers in the construction sector more hardworking and they are needed to do manual labour! With regards to Singaporeans who blamed foreigners for "stealing their jobs," he urges Singaporeans to strive hard for their ambitions and not be deterred by competition.

Phillip and Irene are young couples living in Queenstown. They appreciate the policies which differentiate citizens from Permanent Residents because they make the PRs choose whether to be Singapore citizen or give up PR so that they cannot enjoy both country's benefits and would be more loyal to Singapore if they choose to stay in Singapore. They do not find foreign workers a problem but express slight concerns on the possibility of the reduction of housing loan on the lower income families.

Sandeep

Likewise, Sandeep, a resident in Tanglin Halt, feels that foreigners are essential for economic growth and higher wages. However, he expressed his concerns on the transport system which is getting more crowded. He hopes that more can be done to alleviate the crowd in the buses and trains!

From the interviews above and other intermittent response, it appears that Queenstown residents do welcome the presence of foreigners and appreciate their contributions to our community and society! While there are some unhappiness among certain groups towards the management of the foreigners, we can conclude that Singaporeans and Queenstown residents welcome them with open arms!

It is unfortunate that there are some articles circulating online without credible basis and response on the actual situation on the ground. Well, for readers of this article, you can always choose whether to accept the arguments put forth by certain publications without credible interviews or believe in this article with pictures of the interviewees =)

Phew!

Who to blame for these problems? Read On!

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Other Recent Articles

Tonight@MyQueenstown #16- Etoile vs Balestier

A Day in A Life of A... YOG Volunteer

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TOP 10!! Happiest & Most Traditional Malays!

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Queenstown's Best of the Best - 金都卤鸭饭鸭面

$#@^@#& Who Says We Hate Foreigners?

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