Sunday, June 17, 2007

Cardiff Half Marathon

So both Lau and I have signed up for Cardiff Half Marathon. Here's my entry receipt.

------events@runnersworld.co.uk wrote:

CONGRATULATIONS - YOUR ENTRY HAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR:

EVENT DETAILS:
Cardiff Half-Marathon
14/10/2007
9:00am
Cardiff City Hall
Cardiff



Event website:
http://www.cardiffmarathon.org

Event details on Runner's World site:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/viewEvent.asp?en=37571
EVENT ORGANISER:
Race Admin
PO Box 4129
Bath

BA1 0FX
Day: 0845 308 4001
cardiffmarathon@raceahead.co.uk

Organiser's note:
Please note that race packs (incl runner number, chip, luggage tag and booklet) will be posted out in the w/c 01/10/07 Barnardo's Cymru organise the Cardiff Half Marathon. We are a children's charity working towards supporting those who are struggling to overcome the disadvantages created by poverty, abuse, family breakdown and homelessness. Barnardo's Cymru needs £9 million a year just to maintain our existing services, but we want to expand our work and reach even greater numbers of children in need. If you would like to help give a Welsh child a better future and support our charity then please donate now by clicking on the following link www.barnardos.org.uk/donate_cardiff.html?ref=070077. Thank you.

YOUR UNIQUE REFERENCE NUMBER: runn651014

You paid £24.00. Your bank statement will show a payment to runnersworld.co.uk.

More Melaka Gig's Take

From Lau's Digital Camera!



Eu-Gene with Yan


Some of Kalam's friends. (I need to get their names man! )


Ulugange with Eu-Gene


Ulugange with Lau


Guess our poster outside Melaka works. This couple saw the poster and decided to join the gig. Pretty generous donation from them too!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Sunday's Melaka Gig

Last Sunday was a BLAST! Fantastic turnout in term of people and the money raised was £297.00

Eu-gene and Lau was the camera man and video man for the evening. More foot stage for the video would be coming up shortly.

It started out with people dining at the restaurant and having a scrumptious meal by the famous ex-Melati (Soho) chef. The bakar kambing is just too hard to resist!! I hope all of them actually order for that dish! We have two rounds of full house in the dining area and rolling of inflow of alcohol for the entire four hours. We are talking about table of minimum 4! 4 -8 peoples! I was surprised of the sit-on responses.

Of course this won’t have been a success without the awesome voice of Grace, the accompanying and incredible bass by Mel, the awesome Jamaican rhythm by Gerry or of course the irreplaceable pianist Adam when it comes to Grace voice!

Feedback is that people love it! Guess just need a reason to socialize and congregate with the love for Jazz. I am slowly living up to my pseudo-passion for Jazz, no that pseudo now.

Just want to thank everyone for your generous contribution. Do Spread the love. Incredibly I have a couple of people that have approached me expressing interest in organizing any of such social events. Now that couldn't have been any better! The more the merrier!

My next event is scheduled for July. Hopefully there would be sufficient time to put everything together.

So guys keep a look out ya! Any musicians wan to sing for charity, contact me. Any event organizers want to have some cheap thrill, contact me. Any new restauranteur (focusing on South East Asia cuisine) that want more publicity, contact me. In the name of charity - Orang Utan Conservation! Just send in your comments ya!

Below is the photos we have taken. I would be tagging on Facebook, so do email me if you don't know me personally, so that I can have your name tagged. Believe me, everyone want to know who you are! Keep it rolling!



















































FAQs about Donating via PayPal on my blogsite

1. Is PayPal online credit card payment secure?
A: Yes. It is one of the most popular and safest ways to electronically send money over the Internet, including on eBay. Added security feature includes encrypted button to ensure that the amount of money you entered and other details cannot be altered by a third party.

2. Can I send money online without signing up for PayPal?
A: Yes! Just click on the "donate" button, then it would bring you to PayPal front page. Under Personal at top toolbar, click

"Send Money" - send money online.

On the Enter Details page,
  • type in my email address "jacqueline.kueh@gmail.com",
  • enter the amount you want to donate, then
  • click "Services/Others"
Follow the on-screen instructions to enter your financial details.

All this is Without Signing Up!!


3. What personal information does you know about me, using Paypal?
A: I have no access whatsoever to your bank account or credit card details. I do, however, ask if you would like to provide me with your mailing address to send you a personalized thank-you card for your donation. You can added details like anonymity on my blog as a donor. I will NEVER send you spam or sell or distribute your contact information.

4. Does Paypal charge you fees to receive money?
A: Yes. I am incurred a minimal charge when receiving money. For every online donation made, Paypal takes 3.9% of the total amount plus £0.20 after. For example, if you make a £20 donation via the link on this page, I would receive £19.12. If you prefer to donate by check, please email me.

More security concerns on Paypal, you can visit paypal.com.

It would be DEEPLY Appreciative if you can donate

Click the wrong button? Just go ahead and click on the "Donate" button on right.

If you have changed your mind, please do keep us (me & the Borneo Orang Utans) in mind for your future charity donation. We would be very much appreciative if you would support my conservation efforts on these endangered primates.

Hope to hear from you again. Do come regularly to visit my blog for exciting & fun social events. Maybe then you can donate to my cause, ah! ;-)

Many thanks for your time,
Jacque

Thank you very much!

Thank you for your generous donation & kind support for my cause.

Please come back to visit me on this blog for updates on my effort and eventually my experience in Sepilok, Sandakan, Malaysia from August to October 2010.

Many thanks & appreciation.

Cheers,
Jacqueline Kueh @ Jacque

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Gracey and her band

I cant say that I cant believe it is happening. It is gonna happening. No doubt about it. Grace was surprised by my disposition. She is a person with action! Now what more than I ask for? This is great! The level of commitment from her is astronomical: getting the band together, and getting them to play for charity, worked her charm on Adam for a reduced fee, while still having a full time job as a gung-ho lawyer! Of course it is not as simple as it seems. because the search for the right fit in a band can be time-consuming.

Like how Lau puts it, it is just that we have the right people in right place, talking and coming out with the brilliant ideas and everything fit rights at the right time for the right reasons.

She has put together a digest of her band and the event tomorrow.

Check it out!

Friday, June 1, 2007

Money Raised - What to do it and How it looks

I have already set up a separate account for these ££. It would be posted on this blog, so that people can keep target. I would also be publishing the generous donor (if they want) or just their contribution on the blog. Anyone that is willing to commit a sum of ££ now, is more than welcome to. I'll be updating it on the blog, at least the status of the fund raising is known.

In the next couple of weeks, I would be setting up a Paypal system here on my blog, so that it would be easier for anyone to donate.

Again, it is tough for me now, as I am not able to take corporate donation, I would only able to take all personal donations. But of course, I will try to make it as transparent as possible, so all my donors know where ££ is and what it is for.

Do feel free to comment ya. this is my first fund-raising effort, so I have much to learn too. ;)

Jungle Jam -

Now that we have all the 'marketing', 'logistics' and the 'sponsorships' (from Melaka) kinda sorted out, here's our target for this event.

Jungle Jam will be held in Melaka (restaurant at Canary Wharf), hoping to attract 100 people at the span of 4 hours (2 -6pm). We hope that from these attendees, we will get an initial donation of £5.00 into the donation, either at the entrance or me going around with the box.

Lau has discussed with Shah about the portion of the proceeds for that afternoon will go to this fund too. Shah has given his words. So PEOPLE, do get a seat and eat!! Most importantly, DRINK!! The more you drink the more you are contributing to the fund, for a greater good!!

We will still have to meet again to determine the floor layout for that day. We have determined the space for the band and open mic (somewhere middle part of the long-ish restaurant) to ensure of maximise visibility of the performers. Now we need to know how do we want to place the tables and chair and the bar, maybe an exact one at the alfreco backyard?

Our target for this event: a modest £700. Of course the more the better.

My Photo

I am sorry if I am irrecognizable on the picture, so to at least let everyone that's donating know how I look like in real life, here I am.


-smily me-

There should be more exciting photos and pictures of everyone involved upcoming ya.

June 10 Gig - Jungle Jam

Of course other than the write-up, I got done with the flyer too.

Continuation of 'A fortiori'

After much coxing from Lau, I finally got done with the short write-up on this volunteering program. I have to say, as little as it may seem to Lau, he is a great motivator in this whole process. I was able to find all reasons to push it back, but he was always there to just cox me a lil by lil, saying that it is a dry run, it is gonna be easy. I was expecting too much from myself, but his persuasion made me realized that baby steps is all you need sometime. Lesson we learned in our life.

Back to A Fortiori - here's the write-up


Perhaps innate charge to return to nature fuels my passion for conservation.

Among my closer friends in Singapore, some would be tired of hearing of my inspiration to volunteer, but just couldn’t find any programs to partake in. Then I decided to go for soul search, something that I would be able to just wake up and do it, and do not have any worldly excuse to stop me from accomplishing it. A fortiori, to make a fruitful life out of what I have now.

Teaching Nepalian children at the foothill of Himalaya, volunteering at Acheh tsunami site or mosquitoes-fretted rural towns to work with village kids on their English or conservatory with Orang Asli. Neither piques my fancy. The list went on.

Then I realized if I were to give my time to betterment of the world, why not something for my own country? Charity begins from home! After a long search, the resonating theme was always monkeys or primates, the animals that share the same with the “Homo” as us, yet we can be so different. I just enjoy watching documentary on them: how scientists are always seeking for deeper understanding of these once-our-ancestors, how the pseudo-humans act so much like us, but not exactly us. It fascinates me to see how pristine and pure their behaviour and love are.

There was how my journey with the monkeys started. Google led me to Travellers Worldwide – Orang Utan project at Sepilok. My Sabah network didn’t quite do me any good as Sepilok is very strict about how their volunteers getting in; even WWF Sabah has no pull power through it. I can only get in through Travellers WW, charging £2,900 for this popular program. A year of exploration in Singapore only deepens my passion and makes me search more about this volunteering in Sepilok. It seems incapable to raise SGD9,000. Only when I came to London, the passion slowly re-ignited, after putting some thoughts in it coupled with my resolution of the year: running a marathon! But I was determined to make it happens. As insecure as I was financially, I put down £190.00 of deposit to secure a place in September 2008, the closest date I can get, a month upon reaching England. I know if I don’t take that plunge, I would only be always talking about it, like in Singapore.

Of course, at any fund-raising activities, all you have are tumbling blocks. But I have an angel, Sie Lau, all thanks to Eugene Toh for the introduction. One night of drinking led to great pool of ideas. My initial New York Marathon plan was proved to be too exorbitant as a good platform for fund-raising. So that plan was dropped. Cardiff Half Marathon and Flora London marathon seem more modest in comparison and possibly a more sensible choice as a fund-raising platform. Alongside, Lau and Grace (another wonderful person I met) came out with a splendid idea of open mic with fund-raising initiative at Melaka, which is a newly established Malaysian/Indonesian restaurant at Canary Wharf. Rumour has it that the cook couldn’t be much better than the one with a Michelin star.

Jungle Jam at Melaka was then conceived! People, there is no better time to get to know some of the most talented artists in their own rights coming together to perform under one roof, while ushering with some tantalizing Malaysian food and drinks. Don’t deprive your innate quench for hedoism of life. Plus it is a good excuse to do some charity for Orang Utan Conservation!

Venue: Melaka
27 Ropemaker's Field, off Narrow Street, London E14 8BX
Nearest DLR station; WestFerry
Date: June 10, 2007
Time: 2 – 6 pm


About Sepilok Orang Utan Volunteering Program:
The fund raised would enable me to participate in the project. The fund covers for the adoption of 2 baby orang utans, maintenance of the husbandry of the sanctuary. That accounts for 85% of the amount paid, while the remaining amount would be for my modest lodging and food during the two months I am there volunteering. From my part, I am basically taking two months out of my PhD program to serve the program: taking care of orang utans and their daily cleaning in the sanctuary, habitat surveying for possible rehabilitation of the primates to the wild again and any chores needed from the research group in Sepilok.