But no elderly person living alone should be helpless when something happens.
By Kwok Kar Peng
DYING alone.
The thought of this happening to actress Rui En used to petrify her.
Ironically, it was a meeting with two elderly people who live alone that helped her get over that fear.
“After today, I realise there’s nothing much to be afraid of. It’s all a matter of perspective. As one elderly woman put it, it’ll happen sooner or later, so why worry now?†said Rui En, 30.
The actress, famous for her roles in TV dramas By My Side and Happy Family, met the two senior citizens when she visited the Lions Befrienders (Mei Ling) Seniors Activity Centre.
The visit was at The New Paper’s invitation as part of Project Helping Hands.
There, she sang songs, did a funny chicken dance and played games like Bingo with 40 seniors, most of whom live alone in rented one-room flats in the Mei Ling Street HDB estate.
She also prepared goodie bags containing rice, biscuits, drink sachets and Brand’s essence of chicken for each of the seniors. Ten members of her fan club RBKD also came along as volunteers.
One person who helped change her perception of growing old alone was Madam Chan Yit Yoong, 84.
The sprightly woman has been living on her own for the last nine years after her husband died in 2000.
She has an adopted daughter who visits her once or twice a month in her rented flat in Mei Ling Street.
Madam Chan may be alone, but she is far from being lonely.
She said she goes to the activity centre every day to eat, exercise, watch TV and play games with the other elderly residents and volunteers in the neighbourhood.
Despite the real danger of her falling sick at home with no one to render help, she told Rui En that she isn’t scared of dying alone.
“I’m so old already, something will happen to me someday, so there’s no need to be afraid,†the senior said.
Inevitable
What she said affected Rui En greatly.
She said: “The thought (of dying alone) isn’t that scary after today because I cannot prevent it from happening.â€
Rui En also met another lively senior, Mr Tan Ah Kaw, who is also known as the Handyman of Mei Ling Street.
When we visited Mr Tan, 80, his small flat was crammed with light bulbs, telephone cords and boxes of knick knacks.
He told us those were not junk. They are still in working condition and he hopes to give them on to people in the estate who might need them.
Though he has a wife, two kids and grandchildren living elsewhere on the island, he said he prefers to live in the flat which he’s called home for 29 years.
He shares the flat with a distant relative and visits his family once a month as he finds travelling a hassle.
“I told my wife and kids, ‘What do I do when you go out to work? I don’t want to stay home to watch the flat,’†he said.
“I would rather help my friends here buy their food, run errands, change their light bulbs or fix their faulty plumbing.
“I miss my wife, but I have no choice. I like it here where I have friends. Some people may win the lottery but I think I have everything already. I’m very satisfied.â€
The optimism shared by Mr Tan and Madam Chan surprised Rui En, who was impressed by their independence.
But as mobile as the two of them are now, the danger of an elderly person falling or getting sick at home with no one noticing is very real.
Though there are no official statistics to show how many elderly people die alone at home.
Past media reports indicate that there were at least seven cases of people whose decomposing bodies were found days after their deaths in 2009 and 2008. At least 45 elderly people died alone in their homes in 2007.
While Madam Tan appeared nonchalant about dying alone, she admitted that she would be very sad if it had happened to one of her friends.
Said Rui En: “Wherever possible, no elderly person should be left alone. I live with my 82-year-old grandmother and I cannot imagine leaving her to die alone…
“If you put yourself in that situation, anybody will be scared. That sense of hopelessness and desperation (waiting for help to come) is something people should not experience.
“But with motion sensors installed in their home, this can be prevented.â€
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in EN, RBKD, The New Paper.
Join 15,000 Serangoon residents in ushering in 2011 at Serangoon Swing 2011.
The Countdown Party, “One Serangoon, One Family”, is guaranteed to be an evening of family-oriented fun, games and musical entertainment featuring fellow residents, local celebrities and artistes. Best of all, residents can celebrate the New Year and bond with each other right at their doorstep.
What’s more, residents will get a chance to party away with Mediacorp artistes – Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Elvin Ng, Hady Mirza, Sylvia Ratonel, Ebi Shankara, Mark Lee and Henry Thia! There will also be performances by Serangoon’s very own talent. Dick Yip & the Garden Ministrels, who will kick off the night of entertainment.
Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, will grace the event along with Advisers from the Aljunied GRC, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Mr George Yeo, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang and Madam Cynthia Phua.
Come on down to Serangoon Garden Circus on 31 December 2010 from 6pm to 1am for a night of fun-filled entertainment. Admission is free.
Source: PA
Categorised in EN, Serangoon Swing 2011.
SERANGOON grassroots leaders are pulling out all the stops to make sure that their New Year countdown party is the one event not to be missed on the last night of this year.
On Friday, popular local artists such as Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Mark Lee and Henry Thia, and Singapore Idol Hady Mirza, will lend their star power to Serangoon Swing 2011.
Along with host celebrities Michelle Chong, Moses Lim and Justin Mission, they will kick off seven hours of song, dance and celebration from 6pm at the Serangoon Garden Circus, where a stage is being erected. To top it off, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will join the star-studded event and ring in the New Year with residents.
Source: Straits Times
Categorised in EN, Serangoon Swing 2011, The Straits Times.
Caldecott Hill’s ice princess plays an aggrieved daughter-in-law in her next role
Her last role was a badass-kicking police office Hu Xiaoman in Unriddle. Come next year, not only will you see Rui En as a girly girl in A Tale of 2 Cities, this versatile actress will also play the role of an aggrieved daughter-in-law in The In-Laws.
In The In-Laws, Rui En plays a girl-next-door character, who is down-to-earth and has a passion for recycling. She plays an onscreen couple with Pierre Png and her character will constantly be in oppression because of her controlling mother-in-law and a scheming sister-in-law.
“My character in this drama is very different from the one in A Tale of 2 Cities. I was a princess girl in that one; unruly, willful with a penchant for dressing up. I don’t like to dress up. I wasn’t used to the nail polish to the high heels. This is a girl-next-door character, so it has a more casual style,” said Rui En at the photo shoot for The In-Laws.
Her character in The In-Laws might be closer to Rui En’s style, but the actress said that it was a challenge to interpret the character’s personality in the story.
“My previous roles often fight back when messed with or fight for something they want. However, this character is bullied right from the start and she tolerates it completely. My previous characters were more independent and assertive,” replied the 29-year-old.
Rui En admitted it was a “new experience for her to be given an aggrieved and pitiful role” and that she watched Taiwanese drama Love and Korean drama A Wife’s Temptation for acting tips.
“I set very high standards for myself in every drama I do. I would write a few pages of my character’s background, for example, her tribulations when she was a child,” said Rui En, who always treated the roles she played seriously.
A year ago, Rui En spent a very meaningful Christmas, by volunteering at a children’s home.
“Those children are usually very lonely. It’s meaningful to them when outsiders visit them during Christmas,” reminisced the actress.
This year, Rui En was roped in for an ad against drunk-driving and had the chance to show off her singing chops.
The actress also expressed that she usually does not receive many Christmas presents, nor has she received any special ones. However, Rui En does have something she wants, and that is to “rest at home alone”.
Despite having a heavy schedule now, Rui En said that she would have time to rest very soon.
Would the actress follow in Felicia Chin’s footsteps, taking a temporary break from showbiz or be like Jesseca Liu, signing onto another management company?
“I’m not someone who thinks too much. I do what I love doing, I’m hardly ambitious. I only know I love acting,” said Rui En.
This year, the 29-year-old actress was involved in three different productions, namely Happy Family, With You and Unriddle; all of which garnered good ratings. Does she hope to clinch something at the Star Awards next year?
“I didn’t think so much. That includes Star Awards. I never had expectations. I’m satisfied as long as the ratings are good and feedback from the viewers is good. I wouldn’t ask for anything more, since I’m already doing what I like best,” replied Rui En.
Source: Xinmsn
Categorised in EN, The In-Laws 麻婆斗妇, xinmsn.
By Alvina Soh
SINGAPORE : MediaCorp’s entertainment-and-lifestyle magazine 8 Days is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a photo exhibition and auction.
The event is being held at Nex, the mall in Serangoon Central.
If you have always wanted some of those fancy photos from 8 Days to grace your walls, now is your chance.
More than 200 of the shots from over 20 years of the publication’s history are now up for auction.
Proceeds will go to the Rainbow Centre Yishun Park School, MediaCorp’s adopted charity.
The exhibition cum auction is on till December 31.
Source: channelnewsasia.com
Categorised in 8 DAYS, channelnewsasia.com, EN.
Just before the year ends, let me present to you some upcoming drama teasers with footages revealed for the very first time (not even on TV yet)!
Let’s get very romantic and very comedy in February’s ’A Tale of 2 Cities ä¹åœ¨åŒåŸŽâ€™ with Rui En ç‘žæ©, Joanne Peh 白薇秀, Pierre Png 方展å‘, Zhang Zhen Huan å¼ æŒ¯å¯°, Zhu Mi Mi 朱咪咪, Zhang Yao Dong å¼ è€€æ ‹, Yao Wen Long 姚玟隆 and introducing newly signed Taiwanese Kate Phang æ–°ç¾çº¦çš„å°æ¹¾å¦¹å¦¹åºžè•¾é¦¨:
Source: BaguaTV
Categorised in A Tale of 2 Cities ä¹åœ¨åŒåŸŽ, BaguaTV / Bagua8, EN.
Female celebs rock out in masculine frocks on the red carpet
23 December 2010
MAN up.
That’s what some foreign female celebrities seem to be doing as they ditch feminine frocks in favour of men’s suits on the red carpet.
Actresses such as Leighton Meester, Olivia Wilde, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Alba and Winona Ryder, and supermodels including Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn have been showing off their edgier side since last month.
Meester and Moss, for example, have gone the whole hog, teaming their suits with skinny ties.
Local TV actresses Rui En, Jeanette Aw and Jacelyn Tay have also opted for variations of this androgynous look.
But they are a minority among Singapore women who prefer safe sartorial choices.
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in EN, The New Paper.
Anti-Drink Driving Campaign 2010
It All Slips Away, performed by Rui En
Places you’ve been
People you love
It’s unforgiving
To choose to lose it all
The life that you wished for
The joy you will feel
It all slips away
It all slips away
Categorised in Advertisement, EN.
Filming has wrapped and I have just 2-3 weeks break before starting the new show. Right now I’m wound so tightly and have no idea how to unwind my mind.
Next year will be the year I learn how to pace myself. And how to Just. Breathe. (BTW some of the info you guys got about next yr is not right)
Part 2 of “Things I’m Loving Now”
Modern Family – HILARIOUS. I adore Phil, Gloria and the gay couple.
Japanese film Confessions was amazing. I’m so proud that Asian cinema is starting to catch up and even surpass Hollywood.
Dying, dying, dying to catch Black Swan.
BTW, for my birthday next year, I’m serious about not wanting a single gift or card. Instead, I would rather you make those things or put that effort into volunteering even if it’s for one day. How happy would those things make a lonely child?
And, yes indeed, he is still the object of my obsession
Categorised in Bridge, EN, RBKD.
