IMPACT Social - 21st June

Well... I'm back again... with an army of photos!


Fear the awesome power of pixels and flashy camera lights! >:D


Anyway, I had something on before so I wasn't able to get any photos of the sports part. D: The following photos you'll be seeing are after the Fathers' Day thing we had planned.


It went something like this:
1. Kenneth and Edrik were playing the guitar and singing their dedicated song (You Raise Me Up).
2. We decided to do that tacky wave-your-arms thingy. People took out their handphones too.
3. Everyone started singing... sorta...
4. San San took out sparklers and we panicked when we couldn't light the stuff up due to the matches breaking.
5. San San and the girls used the barbeque pit to light up the sparklers.
6. Chaos (with Edrik and Kenneth still singing)


It's a pity I didn't remember to take out my camera amidst panicking in the chaos. :D


Then came the part where we were doing the honouring and telling uncle Ronald (and other leaders in our church) how much he (they) meant to us.


There was San San, Debbie and a few other people and Tingwei...

We didn't succeed in making him cry. D:<

Then uncle Ronald went up and gave an inspirational speech (sort of) and we were listening...



Everyone went off to do their own thing after that. :P

Ashley, playing with her chopsticks.

This ride, is the MOST awesome ride EVER. It induces the feeling of wanting to puke after you've spun around at high speeds non-stop 10 times in a row. :D

We had fun spinning the girls (and some of the guys around) and hearing them screech in terror. Stephanie didn't seem to be affected though. :(

We also "modified" it so that it'd be a spanking machine. Each time a guy spun past us on that spinning thing (now known as the Romantic Ride of Puking/Doom), we'd hit him on the butt. XD

Jeremy received the brunt of that. Poor guy... *innocent smile*

Ray, running around and hugging people's thighs. :)

This is what happens when you spin around on the Romantic Ride of Puking/Doom for too long. :D (Well okay... I on't think he stayed on that for too long... but... >:})

Pastor Simon on one of those spinning things... was very tempting to start spinning it non-stop. :P

And well, that ends my commentatory. :)

~Heian Edenwood

Thinking Outside the Box

You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading.

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus, you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind, and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams."

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious studentand had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked ifthe last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor, "in your careers,you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The mantook her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only myclothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water infront of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down thetable. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, was one quarter, two dimes and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz whowas suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right way?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Making a Good Argument

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT claim to be all authority in the Dos and Don'ts of debating. Feel free to disagree with me.

People have often wondered why I don't reply to them when it comes to a debate or why I take such a long time. Not debating properly and flinging in personal opinions (carelessly without backing anything up) is a pet peeve of mine.

It's one thing to CREATE A TOPIC and place in your opinions to create something for discussion and it's another to post a reply containing your OWN opinions (which are subjective) and insisting that you're right all the way without backing it up with facts or statistics.

Creating a Good and Solid Argument

A debate is something that is structured and it is an intellectual discussion of perspectives. It is a discussion to push your opinion across and to convince someone to see why you see things the way they are.

A debate is not a battlefield where you bomb people around and expect them to accept your ideas immediately.

So what makes a good argument?

1. Proper grammar and spelling
2. Structure
3. Refreshing Perspectives
4. Language skills - slightly different from grammar and spelling
5. Statistics, reasoning, explanation, stories, etc.
6. Proper tone
7. Consistency
8. Tactfulness

What DOESN'T make a good argument?

1. Contradictions in your own statements
2. Babbling
3. Sweeping statements
4. SMS Language
5. Arrogance
6. Forcing opinions onto others
7. An instructional session

Well, I'm going into detail about this now...

What makes a good argument?

(I) Proper grammar and spelling

A debate is pretty much COMMUNICATING and CONVINCING your opponent to see things in/from your perspective. While language and bombastic vocabularly is not necessary, proper grammar and, in the case of something typed or written, spelling is important.

Whether you like it or not, whether your point is valid or not, poor grammar and spelling tend to make your argument less credible. It simply gives the reader/listener an impression that you haven't thought through your point carefully.

(II) Structure

Everything needs a beginning, body and end. It gives a sense of form and direction and makes it easier for the receipient to follow and process whatever is given. This is not a set formula but merely a general rule of thumb. There ARE exceptions.

Anyway, back to the topic, jumping all over the place is NOT going to help your case. The receipient will eventually (soon) give up and not bother even listening, much less consider, your opinions.

(III) Refreshing Perspectives

For the love of all things good - don't give contrived opinions.

One example: All games are bad 'cuz the suxxors! Dey oso cosed the mess shoooooootingzzzzz in americaz!

First of all: Been there, done that. An opinion like THAT is contrived and has been argued to death.

Secondly, such a narrow perspective takes away from your credibility. Using the above example, ALL games are classified as violent and eventually cause murder.

This statement, in itself, is utterly ridiculous. Games do NOT just encompass fighting and murder and rape. I can easily render that statement invalid by asking this: Does Harvest Moon (also a video game) cause violence?

A refreshing perspective easily lends you more credibility and gives you an upper hand if you can back it up. One obvious reason is that it throws the opponent off because they weren't expecting such a reasoning or new view.

(IV) Language skills - slightly different from grammar and spelling

Language skills are basically how you communicate your ideas in a way that is interesting and not as if you're just reciting a memorized script. It's really all about speaking skills here.

It's not entirely necessary but you know something's wrong if everyone's turning glassy-eyed when you speak.

Some of the techniques used are things like sarcasm, irony and unusual phrasing.

(V) Statistics, reasoning, explanation, stories, etc.

Heard of the statement, "Numbers don't lie"? Statistics, while not always reliable, add an element of credibility to you as it shows effort in research and some level of knowledge on the given matter.

Things like reasoning, explanation and stories merely make the point easier to understand. Don't overdo this.

(VI) Proper tone

Seriously. I don't think I need to actually elaborate on this point. It's simply like this: Between a flippant and serious tone - Who's going to be taken more seriously?

On a added note, a pompous tone, when applied in the right situation, can be highly intimidating to the opponent and give a 'Wow' factor to you. Just don't overdo this. It can get quite annoying and come across as arogance instead.

(VII) Consistency

I agree with this statement because it is valid yet I don't agree with it because it is invalid.

...

I don't know what point I'm trying to drive at. Now state something to decrease my credibility. :)

(VIII) Tactfulness

General rule of thumb: Never talk about religion, politics or someone else's mum unless they're the point of debate.

What makes a BAD argument?

(I) Contradictions in your own statements

I agree with this statement because it is valid yet I don't agree with it because it is invalid.

...

I don't know what point I'm trying to drive at. Now state something to decrease my credibility. :)

(II) Babbling

Driving at the same point multiple times at a go becomes EXTREMELY droll. Don't OVER-explain something or drift on into something unrelated to the topic.

Stay focused on the task and topic at hand.

(III) Sweeping statements

"All guys hate cooking." "All girls hate gaming."

Uhh hello? I'm a guy and I like cooking. I know girls in my Games Design course who are obsessed with games.

(IV) SMS Language

Nh.. Srsly. im sr ppl wl tk ths srsly. im ptty sr ts ez 2 ndrstand 2 n e ht of a dbt. :)

(V) Arrogance

As you may have noticed, my abrasive tone is starting to get on the nerves of some people. :) Now imagine if the judges felt that way about you. :)

(VI) Forcing opinions onto others

Simply this logic: At what point of logic and authority do you have to claim that you have greater and absolute knowledge compared to me?

(VII) An instructional session

Again, a debate is to CONVINCE a person. Not an instructional session on how they should lead their life.