nice day.

the one bout starting new blog soon

2007-07-16T20:13:00.000+08:00

most probably i'll be starting a new blog on my birthday..which is near the end of july..this blog i find is kinda boring..and i find it tiresome in just trying to maintain it with posts describing my everyday life.

i was figuring i'm hitting 20 soon. And to some extent, it feels kind of surreal. Ha. Since I'm leaving the '1' behind, it's good to just start afresh on the '2'.

Especially in this period of time when I've been thinking about how to make the best of my life in the months following my ord.

Bleahs..lots of thoughts accumulating over the last few weeks. Just hope I can remember them enough to put them down in words. :)

the one about exam finally over. yay.

2007-06-29T22:19:00.000+08:00

After weeks of mugging, the 2 exams have finally come to an end. Took leave the last few days to study at home. It wasn't all that efficient but at least I met my target and finished what I planned to do.

I can't recall the last time I studied so hard for an exam. I went through everything at least 4 times. Mindmaps, memorise, make some more notes, memorise again.

I suddenly want to do well. How I wish I had that back in junior college, then at least I could get another 'A' or two. Oh well..I just hope I can do well for this course.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot of my future. What I'm going to do after I ord and how I would fare in university. Some plans I intend to undertake..probably test the market with my diploma when I get it..work in a hotel or something.

Also thinking of picking up a course..anything to enrich myself..I was thinking of language courses..but if it's for the long term, I don't know if I can pull through. Recently someone invited me to learn Salsa. Oh well..something new..I was also encouraged by my mom to pick up this 'healthy social activity' =P

But I didn't agree. My schedule now doesn't allow for much flexibility. Probably during the months leading up to my uni entry.

I have to do something to help myself during this time. Keep myself busy. Stop wasting time thinking of useless stuff and ogling at cars and stop scrimping every cent. I remember my Dad told me before to care more about how to bring the dollars in.

Come to think of it..August 08 is a long long time away...It's almost at the 3/4 mark of the next year..

Wow..so many years ahead of me to conquer.

the one about being damn suay

2007-06-13T12:01:00.000+08:00

Just a short post to mark my existence.

Got my first speeding ticket a few days back. 150 bucks and 6 demerit points..oh my..It was a silly mistake on my part and kinda deserved it. =(

And I was unlucky enough to be caught by an overhead bridge camera..well from now on, it'll either be within speed limits or road hogging. Heh.

Went to grandma's house in the morning. Parked my car but didn't put coupon..went up for breakfast but had to go back to the car as I forgot to bring up some stuff..and guess who I saw? Argh....LTA parking attendant! He was punching in some numbers while standing in front of my car so I ran up to him and apologised profusely..and quickly put a coupon..

Luckily he was kind enough to let me off. Wah...have no idea why I'm so 'heng' recently..I'm figuring out if it's karma..

Oh..am leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow morning..hope I can get some good deals there..hoping to get a pair of shoes or something.. =)

the one about poc

2007-05-27T23:11:00.000+08:00

Watched Pirates of the Carribean yesterday. Yet another overated show. Draggy plot resulted in the show being too slow paced in the middle. Too much was spent tying up the knots, which was aplenty given it was the third installment of the series.

Again, trying to squeeze in too much in 1 movie, what's with these trilogies nowadays? And the final battle scene seemed only remotely exciting. I had a more vivid impression of the 2nd installment than this one. At least I could still remember some of the action sequences that took place.

I hugely believe POC's success is largely due to the stellar cast it has, but this time round, even Jack Sparrow's antics seem to have grown tired and unnecessary. All the moments of humor are far in between for this show, doing little to lift the dreary mood and pace.

I remember I dozed off in the middle of the show. I couldn't help it. 3 hours was an overkill.

It would be better if they concluded the series in the 2nd installment. I'm putting my hopes on Shrek now.

the one about nice place for dinner and some crazy ass driver

2007-05-27T21:55:00.000+08:00

wow. what a long time seems i last blogged..lotsa things i'm busy with right now. The other day last week or so I went out to celebrate another of my friend's birthday at this quaint little restaurant called Basil Alcove. It isn't exactly a restaurant but just a eating place around the street corner at Fortune Centre.

I like it because it's a great combination of ambience, great food, good price and reasonably good service too. They sell these dishes like 'duck served with red wine as sauce', '2 nicely cooked giant sausages with nice mash potato at the side', 'pork ribs with little meat but taste good' and different types of pasta. I can't really recall the names so I'm giving you the most accurate description I've got. They are served like those high class French restaurant dishes - the main item served in rather small amounts but big on garnish and presentation.

Yeah..you get the idea. Yep, those type of dishes coupled with tables dimly lighted by candles in jars. And you more or less get this atmosphere where you can tell everyone that you love them without seeming mushy.

The concept is simple and the food great. A pleasant dining experience I would not hesitate to take my loved ones to. Well..definitely be going back there again.

On to more exciting things, I met up with this guy from the forum to fix my tail lights. He's this drifter that actually represents Singapore in those drift competitions in Malaysia..D1 Grand Prix or something. So he told me about how he got started and all and also about his competitions and so on. It was really refreshing to hear something new now and then.

Later we went for a spin in his Nissan S15. Never sat in a turbocharged car before and the way he drove was really damn scary. So fast yet keeping so close to everyone else. Sometimes I felt those andrenaline rushes that I remember I left behind at the theme parks in Taiwan. Didn't want to appear wimpy so I just kept quiet and gripped on subtly to the edges of the seat, masking any potential displays of fear with 'Wow!' or 'So exciting huh...'

Well. halfway through it wasn't that scary anymore because I had this 'I'm trapped in this pseudo-rollercoaster anyway and I can't jump out so if anything happens just suck thumb' type of thinking running through my mind. And finally I could put my mind at ease when he turned into the carpark.

Ok i think i shall stop here and probably ramble on to the next post. Cheers.

the one about studies, movie outings and a mother's day gift

2007-05-10T21:56:00.000+08:00

I'm kinda happy I aced my first 2 modules. But that has put more pressure on me to perform well for the coming ones. There's always this stigma about me being an A level student so naturally I have to get A type of thing going on within me. Ok so that sentence sounded rather off, but you get the idea.

The course isn't difficult but I wouldn't say it's easy either. Everyone has their own schedule so it's hard to meet up and discuss stuff too. On the bright side, the pace of the course is right, the people are great, the campus is full of facilities I haven't discovered yet.

But what I'm not going to hide is that I'm aiming for As and only As. And I'm going to be disappointed if I don't get them.

Last Saturday was great. Went to Minds Cafe to celebrate one of my camp mates birthday. Many people went, including his school friends and his girlfriend's friends and so on. Haha, kinda like the atmosphere there and the games were fun too. Played mostly card games. It's really amazing how much fun can be derived from a stack of cards and an idea.

Pay a fixed price and play as many games as you want. A really fun and healthy way to pass time I would say.

After that, we went to watch Spideman at around midnight. I have no idea why there are so many pre-movie ads at Plaza Singapura's cinema..I forgot, was it GV? Yeah, anyway, Spiderman not suprisingly, was packed with great action and villians, with scenes of deep emotions and comic relief but I felt it didn't really measure up to the second installment.

Not too sure why. Probably it was because the second one was much more of an improvement over the first compared to the improvement they did for the third. But was there an improvement at all? Two new villians introduced over such a short span of time left little for character development. The action was hot but not sufficient for a finale. Some of them ended with an anti-climax. Just look at Venom. A classic, spectecular entrance but lousy send off. The screen time allocated to him was not justifiable given he's one of the major villians.

The comic relief scenes where Parker goes around playing this casanova/jerk was really unnecessary and seemed to be put in in an attempt to lighten the mood of the show. Rather corny and didn't do much to the show.

Ok enough of spidey, right now I'm rather baffled over what I should get for my mum for Mother's Day. I asked her directly just now. So unlike me. Haha. She said she wanted a bangle, those costume jewelry type. Hm. I figured since she loved the crystal necklace I gave her last year, means I've probably got the taste to pick out jewelry that she might like. Hah.

That means shopping on Sunday morning or noon. A bit last minute, but no choice cos' no time. Hope it isn't too expensive. I'm kinda tied up recently. :(

the one about rise in ERP charges and inconsiderate driving

2007-05-02T16:34:00.000+08:00

Today's journey home was long and dreary. Traffic flow is usually bad. But today really sucked. Literally jammed all the way from Yio Chu Kang to Hougang to Eunos to Paya Lebar. And it's a stretch with many, many traffic lights.

Don't know why there were so many cars on the road today. And all traffic lights were mostly red. It was kinda terrible. Start stop start stop. And I took one and a half hours to reach home. Like I have much of a choice. The other route home would be to travel CTE then PIE all the way to Guillemard. But that would mean extra charges which would easily total up to 4 dollars. And I just passed by 2 gantries. I can't afford to do that. It's too wasteful on a daily basis.

And like it was any better. Well at least if I could travel consistently at 60kph, I wouldn't mind paying to get home earlier and if significantly less starts and stops would mean I save the cash on the fuel, then perhaps the 4 bucks would be worth it. But no, there'll still be jams.

And the government has decided to raise the charges at 5 gantries. For what you may ask? Actually I also don't know how that's going to help. If someone has to travel the highway to get to work, he would pay no matter what, so as to reach his work on time. Take the alternative route filled with traffic junctions and you'll be worse off in the jams and waiting time that people will rather give up the cash rather than the convenience.

There's always a balance to be struck between efficiency in travelling and the charges it racks up. As if drivers love to travel under gantries for the thrill in hearing the IU beep. I'm not saying the ERP system sucks. In fact, it may be even shittier without it. I'm just questioning the effectiveness of this rise in price. Like it will deter someone who takes the CTE everyday because it's simply the most convenient way to work.

Will there be a time in the near future where drivers would have to pay 10 dollars in a single trip over the CTE..? Like that I guarantee the highways would have smooth traffic flow already. Can afford good lor, cannot then sorry you can just join everyone else that would be crawling on the normal roads. I'm not exaggerating, it might just happen in this country where every problem will be met up with a solution which either involves more laws or collecting more money. Ok like duh.

Anyways, enough of the ERP business. Me shall not interfere with the measures taken to sustain an effective and non-corrupt government. Afterall, a towkay always has to live up to his words if he promises his employees a bonus. Just as long he brings in higher revenue for his buisness. :)

I hate bad drivers who wouldn't give a damn about signalling and just cut your lane. Same goes to inconsiderate bastards who wouldn't give 2 hoots about using a moblie phone while driving. Ok, guess I've ranted rather much today.

Hmm..things coming up..probably going for pool on Friday night with some vogs people, Saturday one of my friends celebrating his bday at Minds Cafe..and yay, prolly watching Spiderman that night. Oh..next week have to send car for servicing already..

the one about msu

2007-04-22T22:05:00.000+08:00

Jessica Tan just won MSU 2007.

Wow, like it was a surprise. She's like a totally different league from the rest of the contestants and the whole contest was just a formality carried out just for the sake of it. Like seriously, did the judges actually consider giving the crown to anyone else? Ha.

It was so pretty obvious she was going to win that it almost didn't seem like a contest at all. Ok well, I do admit that I did find the top 5 girls really quite pretty. And most of the rest were just remotely attractive. Girls like Eunice and Judy (she quit apparently) and some others were probably there for comic relief, something like S-League.

On a side note, I just introduced my mum to 'The Mr Brown Show' and she kinda likes it. And I think I'll go try to study now. 2 posts in 1 day, I think I must be going crazy.

the one about clubbing and IPPT

2007-04-22T14:38:00.000+08:00

Wow..finally I've decided to place my lazy fingers on the keyboard to actually type a entry detailing the 'interesting' events of the past week, rather than scroll around lazily with my little black hip-looking mouse control which I have to curl my fingers to use.

How's that for an intro anyway, 1 long sentence of incoherent nonsense that will have nothing to do with what I'm about to blog about. I always had this problem of starting off essays back in the JC era, nothing has changed now. Cheers.

Well, I finally went for clubbing last Saturday. I say finally cos' I've been talking about doing it a long while but realised there wasn't really anyone to go with me. How sad. Well..last week was Potato's birthday so a few of us plus his sis and boyfriend went there to celebrate. MOS is pretty fine but noisy (which club isnt'? :D) and we just sat at a corner at the bottom of the stairs and drank, talked and played silly number games. Just for the record though, I didn't drink cos' I drove there. I kinda had to go back to camp the next day for duty so I had to have the benefit of travelling around easy.

We went to the R & B cage area and nodded our heads a little, in sync to the beat of course, and for me at least, no hand and leg movement cos' there wasn't any space to move anyways. I bet I was the only one 100 percent sober on the dance floor unless there was someone else who decided to be a responsible citizen too and not drink and drive or maybe there's this someone else who just wanted to look cool by pretending to drink whisky which was actually green tea. Oops.

I thought you had to get a little drunk before you could enjoy yourself on the dance floor. Apparently, I didn't need it. It was pretty fun watching everyone around you getting high while you just nodded around and pretended you were high. There was this guy/girl with short hair(?) dancing really enthusiastically with a girl who had her back facing me. She was short so she kept bumping into my jaw and kept turning around to apologise. Sorry too loud cannot hear.

But well, it was fun la. I guess all the thrill about getting high in a very crowded R & B cage is that you can do all the stupid dance moves like bobbing your head and cheer hysterically when a new beat comes on and look perfectly normal, just like everyone else.

Self consciousness sticks out like a sore thumb. Like anyone notices anyway.

MOS is rather like a huge hall with many differently themed rooms. Ok, like you need to know that. Well..we just explored the place, went back to our corner, they had a few shots of whiskey, then went back to the dance floor again. Oh, and Gayle from Singapore Idol was dancing beside me. Hur hur.

Left at 2.30am. Kinda liked the whole thing. The acoustics quite good.

Had my IPPT on Tuesday. I never loved IPPTs. Find me someone who does anyway. I always have this feeling of dread in the days leading up to D-day. And it lasts all the way up to the point when I'm at the start of the 2.4km route and someone yells go. Then it's about 11 minutes of hell for me. 11 and a half when I'm off. My long distance sucks, I know. It kinda was 11 minutes at the start of 2007 and it dropped to 11:26 this time around.

Must be the lifestyle. Ok so I got 3As and 2Cs and got a Silver. 100 bucks. Yay.

Anyway, it was interesting watching ET on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. What a classic. And if you have been an avid reader of my blog, you would notice I wasn't exactly a master of ending my posts with a nice zingy conclusion. So yeah, bye and see you soon.

the one about my grandma and the great food she cooks

2007-04-14T10:19:00.000+08:00

Just went back to my grandma's place to collect food. Kinda a custom for us now..she likes cooking food for the whole family, although she's more or less living alone now that the grandchildren have all grown up and left. So we visit at times and other times, she calls us back to collect food.

She's a great cook I can't deny. Let's see...fried rice, chicken drumlets, veggies, fish...blah blah..all home cooked goodness. She knows I like fried rice, so most of the time she cooks it for my family.

Haha..she likes to give a lot though..and we usually only finish her food only after several days. Overnight, but still tastes great. I guess it's something you call the 'home' flavour. A special taste you can't find anywhere else.

She's rather active and quick for her age. Like how I saw her bustling around the house this morning in quick steps, fetching giant plastics bags to store her fare, back to the stove to whip up more drumlets then to the table to pack the fried rice into little cardboard boxes.

Helped her with folding the flat cardboard into small boxes and cutting up those brown paper to fit into them. In all, 2 boxes of fried rice, 1 box of drumlets, 1 box of nuggets, 1 container of vegetables, a bottle of homemade chilli (oh I helped her mix the sugar with the chilli), 2 packets of glutinous rice and 3 fried fishes were packed.

And she gives us loads of snacks and drinks as well. Today she gave me 18 packets of drink, 2 sticks of mentos and 2 boxes of chicken essence. All for a family of 3.

Before leaving the house, she grabbed some ferrero rochre from the living room table and stuffed it into a tin can, before shoving it in one of the plastic bags. That's my grandma for you.

As I turned out into the small road, she was there, waiting to pass me another bottle of homemade chilli she overlooked before. So I drove back with a bottle of homemade chilli sitting in the cup holder. Cute. :D

That's still okay..for I remember in the past she would shout from the 6th floor(did she? can't remember already) and throw the stuff down from there and we'll have to be there to catch it. Other times, she would frantically ring us on the phone to tell us to wait while she sent the maid down to deliver the forgotten items. The other time this thing happened it was a cucumber. I think.

Ok, I think I'll go eat some fried rice.

the one about irritating DF commercials

2007-04-04T21:59:00.000+08:00

The other day I was at the bus stop opposite Suntec City, there was this double decker bus, the one without the top..you know, normally for the tourists..passing by at the opposite..There was this bunch of rowdy people at the top, generating quite a lot of attention.

It was not long before I discovered it was those contestants from Dance Floor. I remotely remember they did something like this for Singapore Idol before but it wasn't as irritating. Dance Floor is irritating. All the hype leading up to the competition didn't live up to the real thing. But I don't think I'm a good judge since I probably watched only about 3/4 of an episode so far. Maybe I'm simply not interested in dancing but can someone tell me if it's really as boring as it seems to me? Hm.

But the frequency and duration of commercials of replays were enough to irritate the hell out of me. The music gets on my nerves, the dances are corny and so much hype generated out of nothing at all. Yuck. I just switch channels whenever it comes on.

I really cannot think of anyone who would look at the commercial for the fifth time in a week and admire all the dance moves and think to themselves, "Wow, am so going to vote for them!" The same commercial is up for at least 1 week and if you turn on Channel 5 for one hour, you'll probably get to watch it at LEAST twice. What? Correct me if am wrong though.

So did I wave back? Yeah. A little. Just to make them feel good about themselves. I almost raised the finger. They seemed happy to wave back. Well.. good for them. Win and create a dance DVD to sell. I'm sure it'll do pretty well in Singapore. Perform at some charity shows too, generate some good karma.

Oh well. At least the $50k is something to look forward to. :D

Anyways, someone stole my Adidas sneakers from my shoe cupboard. Damn it. Shouldn't have left it outside in the first place. Grr.

the one about how small actions can create such a big impact

2007-04-03T21:55:00.000+08:00

Exams are over and I finally have some free time to catch a breather. That's the good thing about exams, the feeling of freedom right after them. Sleeping a lot lately. And rather well too, which is great.

Last night I received a call from guardroom to return to camp immediately. It was around 8 plus. Something was missing. At first it seemed like a belated April fool's joke and how I hoped it was, but it wasn't and I had to return.

It sucks cos I was on dismount yesterday, and it was kinda none of my business.

Well..can't really say much but we spent the night in camp and most part of today was dealing with the aftermath. Aftermath in the form of personal interviews and finally a group interview, which was mostly nothing to do with the loss in the first place. It was dramatic with a few tears. Startling.

The loss just sparked off a series of questions waiting to be answered, hanging around in the air for way too long, things that questioned the way things were handled and interpersonal relationships.

Well..regarding the loss..it wasn't much of carelessness. I would say it was a moment of foolishness and frustration, then negligence. We looked for it but couldn't find it cos someone else took it. Enough said. But all in all, day ended generally okay compared to the tension in the morning. Necessary punishment was meted out still and matters somewhat came to a close.

For me, it was a rather abrupt turn of events and I was rather pissed to waste my night in camp because of someone else's childishness. And I didn't even have the slightest business to do with it. Call me selfish, but that was how I felt.

Ok I'm really tired. Better get some sleep.

the one about a quite nice war movie

2007-03-24T21:58:00.000+08:00

Went to watch 300 today. Lots of violence and abs. You'll enjoy it if you love the sight of people getting decaptivated and impaled by randomly flying spears. If you have been doing crunches everyday hoping abs will appear but didn't, then don't watch cos' you might exit the theatre a very jealous person.

I'm someone who can't really take the in-your-face violence and gore in movies. But I just had to watch it. Everyone was saying how brillant it was. Well, it is. But I thought the conclusion of the war didn't really match up to the rest of the battle scenes. Could have been more...spectacular.

Go watch it though. One good war movie.

Oh and am probably watching TMNT next week. Actually I would have looked forward to it more if it was like the previous two, the ones where the turtles were played by real people in bulky suits. There's this thing between me and animated movies. :(

Should have made TMNT nc16..so I wouldn't have to put up with kids asking their accompanying parents stupid questions during the movie. Yeah. I'm the big bad guy who can't stand noisy kids in theatres.

roar.

Oh and tomorrow will be a good time to go do some car shopping at Ubi. I know I shouldn't be spending too much on the car but oh well..window shopping and car ogling would be nice too.

the one about taking exams again

2007-03-23T23:17:00.000+08:00

My dad can sing. I mean..really not bad actually. His singing class teacher picked him to sing a song at a concert a week back. His was the last performance cos apparently he was the best singer, well..according to him la..but am not doubting that.

He loves singing and is happy when he's in front of the karaoke set, doing what he does best. I'm proud of him. :D

Had my IT module exam today.Was okay overall but wasn't really sure about a couple of questions. Hadn't had a written exam in a long long while so today felt like the old JC exam times just that I wasn't wearing uniform. Exam was in the afternoon, and the morning so resembled the mornings of those days when I had my school examinations at noon.

These mornings passed really quickly and there'll be waves of panic now and then when you wonder if there's enough time left for you to memorise this and that. Don't really like that feeling.

Well. Probably relax for a day tomorrow before getting back to study for my next exam which is on next Friday.

Went to the Kallang Mac carpark to meet up with the grille guy to change my car front grille. I think it looks great now. :D Gee..don't know if I overpaid for it though. But I'll probably stop all modding for a while. I've been quite generous with my spending recently. Heh heh.

The carpark at Kallang Mac/KFC is a really hot spot for car meetups. The grille guy was there at the bi-weekly Honda Airwave meetup. Was the odd one out obviously but some of the owners came up to talk to me as they were former Vios owners themselves. Kinda interesting since they were total strangers.

Ok gotta go. Have to catch some good rest after so much mugging. :)

the one about going back to VJ

2007-03-15T00:01:00.000+08:00

Returned to VJC tonight to attend Odynite, the mini concert of the annual Hnf camp. This is the second time I have attended it since I graduated from VJ and I must say, many changes have taken place since our batch left. Imagine there are more instructors as compared to campers. I counted 9 new guys just now.

That's quite sad. It wasn't a prestigious CCA to start with. With the abolishment of the CCA point system, membership started to dwindle by the year. I didn't have a problem with a small membership, at least for my batch. At least it bonded us together. 16 instructors was a pretty decent number for the CCA, but among the rest of the CCAs, it was considered a rather small number.

No issue though. Most of my better VJ friends came from Hnf. :D

Caught up with some of the guys from my senior batch. They are always the ones to turn up. As usual, there was only about 2 people representing my batch. Attendance from the other batches were quite sad too. Everyone is probably busy with either exams or work.

Haha. And there was mass dance, as usual. Suddenly, everything seemed so awkward. I used to be quite enthusiastic about it but now I can barely remember the moves. Another obvious indication to move on in life. Heh..that was probably the last time I'm ever going to participate in a mass dance. But who knows?

Later, hanged out at KFC with my seniors and spent around an hour eating and chatting. Interesting people to talk to. Hope to hang out with them more in the future.

Ok..gtg now..I really need to be sleeping early.

the one about how i spent the weekend

2007-03-12T22:37:00.000+08:00

The first half of my weekend was quite well spent.

Met up with some of the mps for buffet lunch at Sakura International Buffet. The place offered sushi, dim sum, seafood and many different types of cakes and ice cream. There was this counter where you could order freshly cooked beef steak, chicken chop or fish dory.

Had a rather bad start. Ate 2 pieces of sushi and felt slightly filled already. But I continued eating anyway. Like duh. 24 bucks for 2 pieces of sushi ain't worth it right. Heh. Food was rather good. Kinda liked the fish dory.

Caught 'The Pursuit of Happiness' later at Cineleisure. Inspiring show I must say, with plenty of life lessons we can learn from. But it seemed longer than it actually was. Nice little heart warming show to catch though.

Later in the evening met up with Howard to catch 300. Too bad..2 of the earlier shows had sold out. Guess we'll just have to catch it some other time.

Hmm..Have to say that mahjong really pulls people together. But it doesn't really feel good if you're not one of the four. Especially bad if you were once close to them. Bah. I shouldn't really be fretting over this. These things expire when you graduate from JC, maybe secondary school.

On a side note, I feel a tad guilty that I didn't keep an eye on the monitor lizard 3 of the mps caught and now it has escaped. Feel a little bad cos' they asked me to watch out for it. Wasn't really my fault because I wasn't the one who opened a gap to feed it cheese rings...I sincerely thought that the hole was too small for the lizard to climb through. And I know nothing else that happened.

They are pretty pissed. That sounds quite ridiculous isn't it?

Ok, back to One Tree Hill..

the one about being freaking irresponsible

2007-03-07T22:57:00.000+08:00

This sucks. Couldn't hand up the marketing project because the group member who had it did not go for class today. No call, no sms.

I called her repeatedly but no one answered the phone. Until now. Still no news of her. Congrats, now we are the only group who had not handed it up yet. Have to take half day off tomorrow to get the stuff from her and then pass it to the teacher. Bad thing is I can't contact her and my sergeant told me 'no more changes' after I said I wanted a urgent half day off but would inform him if there was any changes.

So now I could be potentially wasting a precious half day off if I fail to contact her and it would be bad if I can't get it to the teacher tomorrow. Actually, she should be the one handing it in given how she played us out today but I just feel I can now trust no one but myself.

And she said I worry too much when I reminded her to compile the project properly. Damn. This is not the first time. Yesterday she missed the presentation. I saw her on msn last night and she said she was on prozac.

Thank you very much. You succeeded in pissing me off real bad. I don't know what your reasons are, but it's frustrating cos you betrayed my trust and irritated me totally by not contacting me or making yourself remotely contactable.

Totally brillant. I appreciate that you ended my day on a bad note.

the one about tremors and presentation

2007-03-06T23:20:00.000+08:00

Felt the tremors in the afternoon. Scary. Thought it was due to the massive construction going on at the bottom of the block. Dad and I rushed out of the house, just in case. We saw a few of our neighbours checking outside the house, other than that, everywhere was still quiet.

Heard on the radio on the way to class that it was the earthquakes in Indonesia. Well, I guess I'll hear more from the news.

Went to get suspensions for the car today. Haven't installed them yet. But it'll be rather low. Hope it won't have any problems with the humps and downslopes.

Class today was kinda slack. We were supposed to do our presentations for the project. Had to do an impromptu because I kinda forgot that we were supposed to present. The teacher said we did well. Thank goodness.

Ok..guess that's all for this post. I'm so sorry I bored you. :(

the one about wanting to visit school for no particular reason

2007-03-02T19:02:00.000+08:00

Couldn't sleep well in camp last night. The night's sleep could have been great. I was feeling sufficiently tired to doze off and the night wasn't really warm. But the stupid mosquitoes had to ruin it for me again.

It's rather stupid to keep blogging about mosquitoes but the situation is really quite bad there. Don't worry though, I'll keep this shit short. All I need now is a good way to keep the mosquitoes away from my face. I cover up my arms and legs and they bite my face. If they are not doing so, they are buzzing beside my ear. Like that how to sleep?? My next strategy after long 4 + sweater + fan combi will be mosquito coil. And probably a mosquito net or something similar to cover my face.

The weekend is tomorrow. Have to find something interesting and constructive to do besides going to town. Heh. It gets really boring when you are not there to watch a movie or shopping for something specific. And you just end up walking aimlessly around, throwing up random suggestions to make your Saturday slightly more fufilling.

I feel like going back to VJC. Just for the sake of it. Nothing to do there anymore. And heck, I don't even know anyone from the new batch ever since my juniors graduated. Oh, A level results out today. I guess their business in VJC is over as well.

How time flies. And what a cliche that was. But how true it is. It's been like 1 year plus since I stepped out off VJC, thinking that I'll probably have nothing to do with this school anymore. And how true it is. Can't really find any reason to go back, and any hanging around aimlessly in my ex-college without anyone I know to talk to will probably be way too weird.

Hey but on a more positive note, I guess I'll finally have a reason to go back this March. Haha..Hnf Odyssey Camp! And yeah, I guess that's about it. Heh.

the one about pesky little mosquitoes

2007-02-23T20:10:00.000+08:00

I think I'm on the brink of a fever. Head feels giddy and all. Must be eating too much new year snacks. Argh, and I have a cough too. Still have duty tomorrow, better sleep early tonight.

I hate mosquitoes. I think I must have said this before in some previous post, but thursday night in camp has been one crazy one fighting off the pests. The air conditioning was spoilt indoors, so a few of us decided to sleep out in the open.

I slept on my usual beach chair and made sure I was 90% covered, with the exception of my nose and mouth. I had enough experience to know that sleeping in a singlet and without socks will have you waking up the next day requiring a blood transplant.

Here is what I wore to sleep. Hooded sweater, boots, eye covers (to help you sleep), neck pillow. And guess what? I got bitten on my cheeks and chin.

Later I decided to move indoors, this time wearing my gym gloves to prevent hand bites. But still...bite bite bite. Help.

Ended up not sleeping properly. Damn! I think tomorrow I might just bring a sleeping bag.

Anyhows, I gotta go now. Still have to complete that question for my pesky group assignment. Date due soon. Help once more.

the one about feeling damn sleepy now

2007-02-21T22:30:00.000+08:00

Haven't blogged in about a week. Argh. So sleepy nowadays, seemed that the supposed sleeping problem I had a month or two ago just went away. Studying's quite tedious too with the looming deadline for that assignment like 2 weeks away.

Just came back from marketing lesson. The teacher's rather confusing sometimes. Doesn't help since my revision seems to have lagged behind. Really questioning my method of studying, which heavily relies on mindmaps. Slow and tedious. Damn.

Work aside, I'm really looking forward to receiving my 3 seasons of 'One Tree Hill' through the mail. Kinda miss the show since watching the first season. At least something to look forward to while I slug through my revision.

I'm freaking tired and I'm yawning throughout all this typing. The only reason keeping me awake is probably 'AI' playing ont tv. I know I'm so going to pay for the lack of sleep tomorrow but heck care, it's pretty nice to watch.

Good night everyone.

the one about a lovely valentine's

2007-02-14T23:00:00.000+08:00

Today is Valentine's day.

I don't mind not having a date. Used to it already. In fact, anything close to a date is a cause to pop the champagne. I don't see why another year of loneliness will make any difference to the last eighteen. And that's a slice of emo for you.

Evening was spent in campus and I ate my wholemeal bread breakfast for dinner during break time. Lesson ended early and I drove home in my Vios, fantasizing as usual that it was a Skyline.

Came home and ate some bak kwa, keropok and mini Cadbury chocolates. Then right now am here typing this post. I sure have a life.

The past 2 days I've been trying to keep certain things out of my head. It's bitter. Many times I wanted to confide but I just can't bring myself to. And heck, I can't even be sure whether it's true. Don't even know if I should even feel upset or not.

I wish I was honest before and all the more I wish I was honest now. I wish I could just talk it all out. Damn it.

Anyways, Happy Valentine's Day.

the one about blatant stupidity and blurness

2007-02-07T23:31:00.000+08:00

I've made scary mistakes during driving. And I mean, really scary.

Almost ran past a red light but stopped just in time. Kinda dangerous cos' the other junction had cars coming down from the highway. Why? Perhaps I was dreaming. Ok, that's kinda wtf.

Wanted to turn right into a small road. But didn't see a car coming straight my way. It was kinda fast. Again, braked in time. Heh heh.

A few days back I beat a traffic light. I don't know whether I got snapped or not. It was kinda stupid and rash on my part. Please don't learn.

One time I made a rather quick turn and almost caused an accident. What accident? Don't want to say.

But none of which is as foolish as the time I wanted to chase a Ferrari. Couldn't change lane in time and the next moment, it just disappeared.

Sorry for bothering you with my foolishness. But I think I'm learning from the lessons already. :D

the one about driving and then going up wrong highway argh

2007-01-30T23:53:00.000+08:00

Taking the wrong exit along the highway caused me to arrive in class half and hour late today. So much for leaving the house at 6.15pm and driving off 5 minutes later, leaving no room for error and no account for the peak hour traffic, expecting to reach class at 7pm.

Over-confidence on my part.

Luckily didn't miss out much since he was finishing up some content from the last chapter, which I've some sorta covered on my own. Better leave home earlier next time.

Speaking of driving, I used to have feelings of insecurity whenever I'm in the passenger seat and the driver is speeding. Speeding as in like above 80km/h. Ok, that might not be speeding to some, but I did have slight andrenaline rushes now and then and minor waves of panic whenever I sense the surroundings whirling past me next to the passenger window.

In the driver's seat, 80km/h seems slow and you just want to go faster. Heh heh. Ok ok I'm a really safe driver really. Never go above 100km/h. :D

Anyway, life has been rather dull in camp. Well, not that I want anything interesting or vaguely exciting to happen though. I would just like to sit down, study, doze off, wake up, have lunch and watch the more garang soldiers catch big fishes in the giant longkang nearby. Really really kampongish lifestyle depending how you look at it.

Being feeling very sleepy lately. Probably because of all the driving, cannot sleep on the way to camp like before. But then again, I get more sleep cos' I can now step out of the house much later.

So I guess it's the concentration I put on the road and on my books that have made me so tired lately. Ok then, speaking of which, I think I should get some sleep soon.

Good night!

the one about wasted efforts

2007-01-25T19:59:00.000+08:00

No use washing car for the next 10 months. Each time I drive into and out of camp, confirm will have mud at the side skirts. Tried washing today before I left camp, thought it was rather clean. Then as I got ready to leave camp, it started raining.

Now come back, the car is dirty as ever because the rain droplets leave stains and as usual, there is mud on the side skirts and doors.

Damn leh. Everytime wash car must rain. Rain still nevermind. Must be those light showers which stop after a while but sufficient enough to leave water marks on your car. Like mocking me for my efforts like that.

Don't wash also cannot. It's damn dirty. Frustrating.

Maybe if that guy called Rain left Singapore then it would not rain as frequently. Ok lame.

the one about mugging and feeling very sleepy

2007-01-23T23:23:00.000+08:00

1676. Car plate number. Sunday 4D starter prize.

If you buy $2, you would have won $500. I didn't buy. My dad and my grandma did. Heh. Ok actually I did buy, but that was 2 weeks ago. Damn. Ok, so I actually brought them luck.

Been feeling very sleepy recently and I keep dozing off during study. Argh. Kinda behind time in my revision. Nope exams not up yet, but I'm taking a more 'consistent study' approach. Hope my mugging does help. Good thing is tomorrow's marketing lesson is postponed and today's IT one was spent doing up web pages as a group. Yay, more time to catch up!

Driving to camp lets me wake up at about 620am, which is cool because I get more sleep. But I should really cut down on the late nights though..my eyes are closing as I'm typing this..

Hm. I don't really like sleeping early. Quite weird. Probably cos' if I sleep too early I'll end up waking up in the middle of the night or something and I also think I'm more of a 'night' person, so I usually don't sleep before 12. But it's more of a habit than anything else perhaps.

I'm tired really and I should go sleep. Ok bye now.

the one about starting the diploma

2007-01-19T18:24:00.000+08:00

Wow. I haven't blogged in 2 weeks already. Pretty busy with other stuff I should say. Or rather distracted. Maybe I'm just lazy.

Diploma course had already started. And I've attended about 4 lessons in total so far. Suddenly, I feel like I'm back in school again. The MDIS campus at Stirling Road is like some college, students moving up and down the corridors, the canteen, the blocks named after great personalities I don't really know. I figure they were most probably the ones who came up with those crazy mathematical and physics formulas.

Lessons are 3 hours long, which ain't very long if you are paying attention. I do, most of the time. But sometimes I do lose focus. But then again, there's like this break in between so it's kinda okay afterall.

The 2 modules am taking now are I.T and marketing and I'm wondering if making little mind maps after every lesson is going to help. The last time I did this was my A Level economics mugging. Got a B for that, so maybe mind maps don't really help much afterall. Heh.

Lessons are moderately interesting. Still reasonably entertaining but then again, they are lecturers not clowns. :D

Aiming to do well for this course, cause I think I didnt' do too well back in college. Really could have put in more effort. Well...life's like that. Always full of regrets.

Kinda running outta things to blog about. So until next time, bye!

the one about turn offs

2007-01-06T10:55:00.000+08:00

Today is the 6 Jan. I remember approximately 1 year ago, I was blogging about entering the army. What a year it has been ain't it?

I'm not going to say how time flew. Cos it didn't. Hm. Under a year until I leave that forsaken place.

Yesterday was the unit anniversary. We headed down to SAFRA Yishun for some activites. In general, it was quite boring. But I believe most of these sorta SAF activites are. Not much of a concrete plan.

Wandered around looking at people bowl, play arcade games and and...hm. I participated in water sports with 9 other people from my company. Their idea of water sports: Wear a number 4 shirt, turn 10 rounds in the water and head across the breadth of the pool and pass the shirt on to the next person, where he can continue turning 10 rounds and then..uh..you know..

10 people, 5 on each side, 1 over-sized shirt, great fun. I was glad they took out the spoon/ping pong ball concept and the balloon blowing bullshit. Actually the spoon broke in the 1st round, that's why.

Other vaguely interesting water sports included captain's ball and monkey. Heh heh.

On an exciting note, me and a few others sneaked in (accidentally?) on a SAFRA club tour for some poly students. This got us into a spa, where we had to keep real quiet. After that, we got bored and went out. Not a bad cheap thrill though.

I ate 5 fish balls, 5 mini bean paste buns and 2 cupcakes.

Unit anniversary dinner was held at a ulu restaurant at the top of a multi storey carpark in Chinatown. Food was average so I didn't understand the choice of location. Special guests included Eileen Wee, Maia Lee, some reality show reject and 2 getai singers. Dinner ended at 11pm.

On the way back home near my block, there was this girl in front of me who suddenly stopped in her tracks to pat a black stray cat. As if I wasn't grossed out enough, she adjusted her hair using the same hand 30 seconds later. And that was pretty much the highlight of the evening.

Mum's blasting Cai Chun Jia music on the stereo as I'm blogging, and that irritates me cos' I don't like that boring shu nu. What's worse is that she's looping 1 song, the sunrise song, the song they used to advertise rice. Yah. That one. That leaves me no choice but to blast Aerosmith, Evanescence, Justin Timberlake and X Japan on my computer, seemingly to no avail.

Ok bye!

the one about sitting banana boat

2006-12-30T10:33:00.000+08:00

Wow. It has indeed been sometime since I last blogged. Hm. Life's pretty normal, can't expect much excitement from a full time NSF. Especially one with not much of a life. :)

Last Friday, our company had this christmas event at SAF Yatch Club. Supposed to be a get-together for the few platoons. Rather boring at first, played some games which vaguely resembled what I would normally play at first day orientations. eg. Dog and Bone.

Later when things started picking up, the few of us went to sit 'Banana Boat'. It is called that because it's like this giant float which is long and yellow and looks like a banana. Yeah, so we're supposed to sit on it with a power boat pulling us using a cable.

The boat drags us at high speeds. So it's supposed to be exciting. Yah actually it is. Quite fun. The thing is, aside from the andrenaline rush and all, we were supposed to try to keep the boat from capsizing, which was rather difficult. We sorta got used to all the falling and climbing back up again.

On to other stuff, I've finally decided to take up a Diploma in Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Management. What a mouthful. And yes, it's not a degree. Decided that it was way too expensive ($27k) and not worth the additional benefits it might bring. I might also have to defer the course when I enter NUS and complete it during my term breaks.

Hm. Expect to finish it by the time I ORD. Hope it helps.

Bye, see you soon.

the one about a rainy yet pleasant day

2006-12-19T22:21:00.000+08:00

Today's a rainy day. As usual. Met up with Yunqi for lunch. Went to Billy Bombers at the Heeren. Billy Bombers is a cute little american restaurant with a very retro setting.

Had the club sandwich which made me really full. Chicken and bacon in between some soft, weird-looking bread, with thick chunks of potatoes they call fries. Heheh. The sandwich was okay but the fries was rather tasteless and filled me up really quickly. Yunqi had some long sandwich filled with melted cheese and beef pieces (i think it's beef). Reminded me of BK's Mushroom Swiss and a bit of Roti John. Again accompanied by tasteless fries.

Salads had this strong flavour which I suspect came from the pickles. Not nice.

I thought I wouldn't feel so full since it was a sandwich. But anyways, you should drop by if you're looking for a refreshing change from other western restaurants.

Shopped around a bit but was generally stuck at several places due to the heavy rain.

Haha..guess what, when I went home, I realised my mom's friends had come over for karaoke session. The moment I entered the house, it only took one auntie to tell everyone I was back and soon enough, one by one came over to ask me to eat this, eat that. One auntie wrap the popiah for me then another unwrap one otah for me. (Both were homemade, btw)

Hurhur. I wouldn't mind if I hadn't had the sandwich earlier but at that time, I was still feeling quite full. Let me count...okay, in order not to appear rude, I consumed..1 popiah, 1 soon kueh, 2 otahs, 1 durian puff and 2 durian tarts. Yay, I feel so loved. What a pleasant excuse to overeat!

Actually, wanted to talk about their singing. But on second thought, nevermind.

Hm. Okay right now, my parents are singing karaoke, which is quite bad, cos it's like 11pm. And I can't listen to my songs on the computer while the speakers are blaring in the background. Grr. Okay, time to go. Bye.

the one about my weekend which was rather ok

2006-12-17T23:19:00.000+08:00

Hello. I hope you had a nice weekend. I did. Looking back at the last post, I was quite surprised I actually put up such a long argument against a fool, where I could have just replaced it with 2 words.

Dad wants to buy me a watch this Christmas. Haha. Kinda like the DKNY one I saw earlier. Probably look around more before coming to a decision.

Yesterday's HnF PPC was quite boring. It started in the afternoon but I went at around 6pm. Ended up eating 2 slices of pizza and a piece of bread. Talked a little then proceeded home. It was rather uneventful but I enjoyed driving along East Coast nonetheless.

Later that night, met up with Howard at KFC to grab a bite. I kinda like the chicken from KFC. It's sinful but still something I indulge in once in a while. Free flow of drinks too. :D

Today was quite boring. Lazed around, watching television, reading newspapers, playing soccer on the comp. Had quite a good nap in the afternoon. And speaking of sleep, I've been sleeping quite well lately. That's something new and I'm quite happy. :)

On leave Monday and Tuesday and am looking for hang out buddies. Anyone. No one is usually free on weekdays so I'm not keeping my hopes too high. Yeah. But a break from camp is vital no matter what.

Ok. Time to sleep. I apologise if details from my boring life bored you too much. Anyhows, have a great week ahead!

the one about finally having someone flame me. ouch.

2006-12-14T12:52:00.000+08:00

hello everyone, it is very seldom that anyone actually tags on my blog. And no matter how pathetic it seems to be, I am often quite delighted when visitors and good friends drop by to say hi. But given my visitor count, I don't really expect many taggers anyways.

So imagine how refreshing and interesting it is when one day, some mysterious visitor who decides to name himself after a number, drops by and decides to make an announcement on my status in life. I happen to be seriously running out of topics to write here and I quickly pounced on this timely intervention to cook up a post.

Mr 15 claimed that I was trying to climb up to elite status because I was aiming for a second degree. Er. You didn't define the boundaries of an elite and what it stood for so I really don't know how to rebutt you. If you want to flame people anonymously, please at least do so more clearly because I don't know who you are so I really cannot clarify with you I'm sorry.

If you mean elite as rich and high class, then you obviously don't make sense as getting a 2nd degree doesn't necessarily turn you in that direction. If you mean elite in education status, then it'll start to make a little more sense but still, in today's context, a 2nd degree just makes you a wee bit more marketable and credible in future, and you will not be 'educationally elite' just because you hold 2 papers instead of 1.

So you said too, that since I admitted I was average, I should stick to being average all my life because no amount of education will help me raise myself up from mediocrity. I don't know how you came to that conclusion. Probably you've worked with me before and deemed me as a hopeless fool who always tried to break higher ground but to no avail. Speaking of which, you really don't know me do you?

Or maybe it's something you've frequently experienced, you yourself trying to break out of that 'average' mould but couldn't, so you came up with a sweeping conclusion that all human beings, once fallen into place in society, cannot progress upward. That's pretty much hogwash and it's sounds so ridiculous I can't bother elaborating further. If that's the case, I appreciate you sharing your life thesis with me but I'll just listen to it for entertainment sake.

Don't worry, if you work hard enough, I'm sure you'll be above average someday.

And I didn't say how average I was did I? All I did was say that I was average but I didn't say how average I was. Hm. I'm quite worried that Mr 15 might be some 'elite' member of society trying to protect the sacred realm from low lifers like yours truly. But I don't think he knows how average I am unless he has worked with me before. Because 'average' is the term I gave myself based on my own perception about how I can't measure up to the people around me and there's no clear indication of how 'average' I am really am.

Maybe you are a scholar with 4as and 2ds, with that I am rather impressed with your level of understanding of the world around you and your low eq. Or you could be some random who went keyboard-happy for the moment, which simply means that I've wasted some precious time responding to nonsense.

Wait long long also cannot? Assuming all your theories about me are correct, then this might be the only flaw. Of course I'm not going to sit back and wait. Then of course, long long also cannot. If you want to improve, then you've got to work for it duh. And of course, I have the ability to do so. =)

Just for the record, you visited my blog at 10:11am and left your imprint at 10:14am today. 3 minutes to read my previous post and come up with such an indepth conclusion about my social status that even I, have frequently questioned myself over.

Good job. Oh and you shouldn't use computers belonging to the army to serve internet. I heard they keep tabs.

the one about taking a step further

2006-12-12T22:26:00.000+08:00

Decisions Decisions Decisions.

Being contemplating on taking up either a diploma or degree in the next year or so before I ord. Initially I thought of taking up a diploma because I thought a 2 or 3 year degree wasn't possible to complete before I entered NUS. But after some research, studying for a degree at this point of time didn't seem very out of reach at all.

Everything just needed a little adjusting.

Have been seeking opinion from various sources. Friends, family and the really really friendly vice dean of the business school. I got a wide range of opinion and ideas and it was fun going through all of it. Today I went down to MDIS again to find out more. Everything seemed all the more plausible.

My mum told me recently 'nowsaday 1 degree where got enough, need at least 2'. So I figure since I was going to take another one beside the NUS one, why not now. since i'm like so damn free. haha.

What my mum said is true. I'm going after the degree so I can stand out and be more credible in future.

Most importantly, it's because I'm sick of being average.

the one about good food

2006-12-04T22:03:00.000+08:00

Food from Thai Express. Great place.

Beancurd with chilli and ground nuts, soft shell crab, avocado milkshake and green curry chicken. I love the first two. Green curry is great too though it's a little too salty. Avocado milkshake tasted rather unique. Not sweet and quite refreshing. Will be back there someday.

Anyway, life seems so much more convenient when you can drive around. And I'm already getting quite lazy to take public transport. Always looking for opportunities to drive Dad's car. Recently, have been driving my parents around and I haven't taken a bus in ages.

Ok..am getting rather sleepy now after so many rounds of soccer on the comp. Probably going to listen to some music then go sleep. Bye.

the one about 2nd day of driving around

2006-11-25T23:20:00.000+08:00

Took the car for a spin today. Yet again. Of course, Dad was with me. He wanted to make sure I could drive safely and confidently before he let me drive on my own.

Went up the PIE today, on to Toa Payoh past Grandma's house. Later, went to fetch Mum from some church at Bayshore Road.

It's really special and interesting to fetch my parents around. For so many years, I've always taken the back seat with both my parents at the front and my Dad driving. Now, I feel proud to be able to drive them around while they can relax as passengers.

Have duty tomorrow. Going to drive there with Dad giving me directions. Then I'll drop there and cycle in while Dad drives home cos he needs the car at night.

Ok, have to sleep soon. Goodbye!

the one about passing my driving

2006-11-24T20:07:00.000+08:00

After 31 lessons, 2 stressful tests and 52 demerit points later, I can gladly say that I am able to drive officially. Woohoo!

This morning could probably be the most tense morning in my entire life. Everything went fine during warm up. But on the actual test, I totally screwed up my circuit because I striked the kerb while doing crank course.

Crank course??! Supposedly my most confident circuit item and I go hit the kerb while negotiating the bend. Probably the nerves. But that folly added a hefty 10 points to the demerit count. Ouch!

Needless to say, that strike pretty much knocked off a huge deal of morale for my outside courses. Luckily, I didn't make much mistakes outside.

The tester seemed to be in a bad mood today, giving me 'the face' wherever I hesitated too much at a turning point or junction. At one point, he kinda shouted at me. But he was on the forgiving side. And that's good.

Dad accompanied me to drive around the area that afternoon. Went up the ECP, past VJC, under the overhead bridge I used to jog on, then on to the Parkway Parade area and several other nearby neighbourhoods.

Still have to get used to parking without the poles. Of course, a more sure way of getting your car in the lot is to carry 4 poles in your boot everywhere you drive, so you can do it the 'driving centre style'. But it attracts lots of attention I don't want. Inconvenient too. Bah.

In the evening, I drove my parents to Marine Parade for dinner and back. Haha..so surreal. Am proud to be driving my parents around too.

Next on the agenda: study the road directory.

the one about driving test 2

2006-11-23T21:13:00.000+08:00

Driving test tomorrow. Feeling rather calm now. Can't say that I may feel the same way tomorrow morning.

Because this means a lot to me and I can't imagine waiting another 2 months for a retest. I give myself stress easily. And that desire to achieve what I want badly and the worry of not reaching it really puts me at my wit's end sometimes.

I'm afraid of failing. That's quite bad. Because there's a saying that goes something like failure being one of the crucial stepping stones towards success. Bah. I think the last 19 years of my life wasn't all that successful and the thought of just being average kills.

I need to get that drive. Not only for tomorrow.

the one about dad giving me haircut

2006-11-16T21:46:00.000+08:00

Have been worrying about my driving test recently. It's like next Friday. I really can't bear the thought of having to wait another 2 months or so for the next one.

I don't know why but my parallel parking still sucks. Can't seem to park the vehicle straight in the lot. Most of the time it's fine but other times it's just...And I sometimes don't know which way the car is slanting to, so I sorta screw it up when told to adjust my vehicle to a straight position.

Driving on the roads should be fine. Technically. Just hope that surrounding traffic don't mess up my chances of passing. Grr. Let's just pray for smooth traffic.

Anyways, Dad just trimmed my hair again. He's good. Have I told you before that he picked up this skill when he was in the army? And that he has been saving his big family loads of cash - that could have otherwise went to the barber - during chinese new year in his younger days.

He still uses the little tool which you have to keep compressing in order to make those little trims..you know, to 'slope' the hair at the back. The cute little tool that gives out the 'tick tick' sound.

No barber in Singapore seems to use that anymore. Even the old barber shops have 'upgraded' to the bulky, electric ones.

My dad is rather good given he's not a professional. And he does save me my 10 bucks that I would have given to the barber.

Ok, gotta go now. Play some computer games or something.

the one about live firing and great ice cream

2006-11-10T18:57:00.000+08:00

Hello, haven't updated in quite a while. Life's boring but quite peaceful.

I passed ATP with an average score of 18/28. That's quite shitty actually, but it was quite tough to get. Zeroing seemed to indicate my aiming was fine. However, when it came to actual practice, I was firing everywhere else but the target. I was quite pressured because I might actually fail and come back for the reshoot.

No one wants to fail. Duh. Especially not in this case. I don't want to wake up at 4am and return home at 2am the next day. That's really crazy.

Anyways, I started to get used to all the shooting and began identifying my mistakes. Luckily, I managed to score like..11/16 for my day shoot, so I only had to hit 3/12 targets at night to pass. Haha..on the bright side, I'm like 4 hits away from marksman.

Away from army life, I finally went to eat at Ben & Jerry's. After like a few months of passing by the cafe, glancing at the prices and then turning away in disbelief, I actually sat down with my friend to consume their really expensive ice cream.

We had the mix and match thingey, which meant we could have 3 flavours. Strawberry Shortcake, Cookie Dough something and some rich chocolate ice cream with pieces of dark chocolate shaped like fishes. Could have taken a picture of the ice cream but I forgot. Argh!

I must say, great quality ice cream with lots of fillings and rainbow colours are worth splurging on. Top it up with adorable names and you have customers streaming in regardless of the hefty price tag.

Go with a friend or some buddies. Ice cream tastes better that way. :)

Ok. Gotta got now...simply because I've run out of stuff to blog about. Haha, but I'll be back wiht more words and pictures as soon as I get some inspiration, probably after I hang out in town. Hopefully soon.

the one about upcoming tests

2006-10-28T19:32:00.000+08:00

I'm getting quite paranoid over my driving. Haven't driven in over a month after I flunked my first attempt. Starting again next week and the thought of forgetting everything just freaks me out, though I know I only need a few minutes at the wheel to get my skills back to the way they were before. Next test is on 24 Nov and now that I mentioned, it's kinda near.

And I really don't want to fail again. The thought of having to wait a few more months again is killing. And what's with everyone passing on their first attempt. Am taking autocar somemore. I could write 'useless' on my forehead and no one would point it out to me.

ATP is coming up soon. Haven't fired a gun in ages and I hope I pass it on first attempt so I don't have to go for the re-shoot.

On a side note, I want to go NYDC to eat cakes and brownies. The other time I went with my friends but I didn't eat cos' I wasn't really hungry. Here's a picture of the sweet junk they sell there.

Looks the same huh. Both cost about 21 bucks. Very expensive, but everyone still visits. The next time I go there and really eat something, I must find out if it's really the quality of the food or what, cos' the waiters there give off a really snobbish vibe. At least for the suntec outlet.

Ok gotta run. Probably catch a DVD or something. :P

the one about movies i've watched recently (spoilers)

2006-10-28T18:23:00.000+08:00

My under-used brain and big heart has been nagging me to do something constructive with all the free time in my hands. So I watched 3 movies in 3 different locations, in about 5 days or so.

Death Note, The Prestige and D.O.A.

Death Note was highly intelligent because 2 clever people were plotting against each other. And of course, it seemed even deeper for someone quite dense. Took me quite some time for me to figure out the plot and how I should probably adopt the 'L' diet. A bag of chips (maybe 20) a day keeps the fat away. WOoo.

The Prestige seemed quite witty too..again it's about 2 dudes going against each other, in the form of magic. I realise the plot is about 2 magicians trying to outdo each other, bordering on the brink of fantasy, and how they always try to sabo one another. I fell asleep for about 5 minutes cos' the show was getting too complex and woke up when they were doing the 'bird' trick. Quite gross.

It's again quite funny how Hollywood tries to use 'Superman' theory in their movies, knowing it's really quite impossible in real life. They need to realise how wearing fake beard doesn't make you look like another person.

I could run down the streets in pink underwear and not be afraid cos' no one would recognise me, not before I remove my glasses and comb my hair backwards. Bugis would never be safe again.

D.O.A was irritatingly corny at times. Corny because the bad guy wears chunky shades and suddenly morphs into 'Bad guy with shades and can fight cos of shades'. Irritating because I have to add 2 full stops in 3 letters as I type D.O.A. Ok 3. The show also expects us to believe that civilisation exists in places above the clouds, where people dress like its summer all year round. And that you have to parachute to get to earth. Dude, I wonder how they got all those shit up there in the first place.

And does Devon Aoki look really strange, or is it just me? Other than that, the actresses still not too bad, other than the acting.

Oh! And 'Click' is out on DVD. I seldom get shows unless I really like it. I know it's got a bad rating somewhere at one point of time but I kinda like it. =)

the one about things that are dear to me

2006-10-24T22:52:00.000+08:00

Pictures of the house I love, the good old CCA days I treasure, one of my favourite past times and a scene from one of the movies that I have watched a dozen times and will probably continue doing so.

And I promise more pictures now that my phone has a reasonably good camera.

the one about some army thoughts

2006-10-24T21:41:00.000+08:00

Something happened on Friday that changed a great deal of things in camp. For the worse. A thing of surprise, something that undermined trust, integrity and raised all sorts of standards and questions.

Elaboration isn't really necessary here and it just made me question my own integrity and worth.

And yes, I hate speaking to my relatives sometimes. Just today, the first thing they saw me was to ask about my army life. First they ask me what camp I am at, then ask me my rank or why the hell am 'so not-tanned'. Am I a admin clerk, they ask awkwardly.

Then I tell them am not a sergeant or an officer and they give me one face. Then I tell them I'm an mp then they start going on and on about how fucking slack it is. Thank you don't need to remind me your welcome.

Ok. I admit at the point of my BMT, I wasn't up to standard to make it to OCS or SISPEC.

Oh my god, all that honour and prestige I missed out on. The Ouch! Help! training I could have endured to get a bar printed on my shoulder so I can go around with my remaining year in NS walking around coolly, knowing everyone will look at me and go, "Wow, he's been through 9 months of hell. We will respect him."

Then Mr 2LT will go around with the "I'm the elite, respect me" attitude and that face every father mother son would love to stick his size 10 into. That's right, 1 bar, I have 1 V and a semi-circle and proud of it. I am a corporal and a military police man and I live with it. Loving it.

Yes, a tinge of sour grapeness exists. But I won't regret that I never made it there. And I'm not against OCS or SISPEC or what shit. But I just hate it when people think that getting your ass knocked in out right left center up down for 9 months or so means everything. And the simple assumption most people have that not making it to command school just simply means you can only take orders and you are not elite.

I'll never forget how before, during and after my BMT, people ask me if I'm trying hard to go command school or if I got in. One particular sms I received after I passed out was cute and simple. It stated that 3 letters, OCS, a question mark and a smiley. I sent back.

'No. Military Police. :)'

I think it was in the middle of a movie.

Looking back, I can't imagine myself as an officer right now. Because simply, it doesn't seem to be me. It's just strange. You don't understand. I'm not rationalising, but I'm quite comfortable with where I am now.

I pity all those people who think being in command school is everything and it's the measure of how man you are. Cos simply, it's not. At least that's not how I measure myself as a person.

I don't see how black bars on your shoulders will give you more depth than someone who has just seashells on his arms. And I hope people around me realise that too.

Gosh I can't believe I'm actually talking about this even after 10 months in the army.

the one about some resolutions

2006-10-19T22:28:00.000+08:00

At least there's something to look forward to every night. I never thought I would be so interested in keeping up with televison dramas. Yeah, I can't take my eyes off One Tree Hill.

One of the best shows I've watched in a while. Gives me a fuzzy feeling every episode. It's so..engaging and sometimes touching and the girls are cute, especially Peyton. Seriously considering to buy the DVD series.

Recently, I've told myself certain things that I would definitely want to accomplish in the future. I think of my future a lot. What I'm going to do, going to be..

For one, I'm definitely going to earn as much money as possible. Some people think it's superficial to say that shit. And they give shit logic claims like money-is-not-really-important-as-long-as-you-are-happy type of hippie explanation. Get real. Whatever they say, cash is what makes the world go round. And really, people around care mostly about how much money you own.

For two, I'm going to keep myself as fit, healthy and well-groomed as possible. I don't want to wake up one morning and the first thing I see is my beer belly peering from under my blanket. Or struggle to pull myself in front of the mirror where I see a pale, chubby face staring back at me, with the double chin pretty obvious. Argh, and that bad hair. And the doc I've to see later regarding my cholesterol level. That isn't going to happen.

For three, I'm going to do my best to create and maintain as happy a family as possible. Money is important yes, but not at the expense of family. How many times have you heard people regretting at their deathbed of how they didn't spend enough time with their loved ones? Nope. Have a happy and bonded family is the basis for everything to build on. I guess it's the most meaningful thing in life but of course people don't realise it. I'm going to make that effort because it's worth it.

Just...spend more time with your loved ones.

the one about ezylink card kena confiscated

2006-10-08T17:20:00.000+08:00

Ok, I heard that it's true. For me, I got my ez-link card confiscated once by HOD PE, the irritatingly sharp and loud Y H Tan. He sneaked up from behind during assembly and demanded for my ezy-link card and also asked me to see him later.

Why? Long hair inappropriate for school.

the one about some random thrill

2006-10-08T17:17:00.000+08:00

'What" will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Probably after a vicious lightsaber battle. I always knew I wielded the red double-bladed one like Darth Maul. And who's the Lollypop Kids anyways? Probably some last minute replacements for the guys of High 5 should any of them dance, fall and break their ankle.

That's quite gay.

the one about a very sleepy week

2006-10-08T16:19:00.000+08:00

This week has been tiring. More mentally tiring than anything else. I had no duty until Saturday, which meant I had to work office hours from Monday to Friday and then do the Saturday duty that everyone doesn't like to do.

Office hours means I have to get up at 5 something am then take the bus all the way to my camp where I reach at 715am and then cycle in. The morning bus rides are damn irritating. If I catch the earliest 70 bus, I will reach the 103 bus stop at 6.30am, too late for the early 103 bus. And have to wait about 20 + minutes for the next one.

If I hop on the later-by-20 minutes 70 bus, I'll reach the 103 bus stop at near to 7am and it depends much on luck whether I can catch the 650am bus. Otherwise, I'll be reaching camp very on time, with no space in between.

Yep. The waking up part kills. Really. Because you work until about 530pm and then you take the dreaded bus home again, this time sharing bus space with much much more commuters and because it's the peak hour, traffic is heavy.

You get home finally, feeling all tired and frustrated. And you miss half of the 7pm show on Channel 8. Because I reach home that late, I always try to squeeze in as much activites as possible before I sleep. But that extends to a late 1230am or so.

Don't ask me why I don't sleep early like 10pm. It's crazy. I reach home and only have less than 3 hours of free time. I really don't like the idea of having my hours in a day managed by something like NS. And so, I almost always try to do more of the stuff I want to do in that little frame of time.

So the whole week has been rushing here and there, feeling sleepy most of the time and then Friday, I had to go down to HQ to jog 4.5km. Well, could say my stamina has improved quite a bit. Haha...to think that back in JC, 4.8km seemed a huge distance. Now it seems so short..Yeah, that's a great thing. :D

My sergeant has asked me to participate in some sort of triathlon with him and some of my fellow colleagues (Colleagues reduce the army factor a bit.). I'm still unsure about it because I have never done something like this before. But it's always good to try. Nothing is being confirmed yet though.

Ok..think I've gotta go now. I've been wanting to rant badly about this week since like mid week or so and here's it. I'll probably catch the 3 episodes of Prison Break I've taped and probably Tomb Raider later. Ciao.

the one about smelly people

2006-10-02T21:56:00.000+08:00

I hate smelly people.

Smelly people give me the impression of laziness and bad hygiene. I know people who stink everytime I see them. I don't know how, probably they didn't bathe or what. And that's crap. And if it's time to change your clothes because it stinks, you better damn hell go change a new set.

I can still put up with smokers whenever they enter a confined space with aircon. They still stink up the place with tobacco and I feel like kicking them but what to do, I don't want to inflict pain on someone who has already ruined his/her life by smoking.

What I cannot stand is people who smell stale and simply, stinky. The smell of dried sweat - salty and musty. I hate them. What makes things worse is that they smell like that all day. I don't know anyone can ever accomplish that feat. Because no matter how much you stink, you can't stink 24/7...

Or even first thing in the morning, just tells me that you're too lazy to bathe.

I once had to endure my smelly senior in the confines of a already dusty and musty room. I went out the door for a minute and came back to be assaulted by the said smell. And it was so pungent it stinked up the whole damn room. I had to plant my face in front of the fan, hoping the fan would blow the stench away from my nose or something. Didn't help much.

The shirt he changed into probably wasn't washed for days. Fat, lazy, smelly arsehole.

Just today, someone totally smelly just brushed past me on the bus. And I was totally disgusted because he looked quite dirty as well. Gross. I think I have to go disinfect my arm or something before any brocolli starts to grow.

Please, if you want to stand behind/infront/left/right of me or any where within 4 metres of me during row call or something, please please spray some deodorant. Or if you can't be bothered, you could spread some mixture of cat shit and mud all over you and you probably smell better.

You fat and smelly bustard. Gross.

the one about pesky agents

2006-10-01T17:27:00.000+08:00

Was about to nap when this AIA person called me on my handphone, wanting to sell some plan. How typical. I remember I was stopped by some AIA person a week ago along Orchard Road.

Apparently, she got my number through one of my army friends who bought some plan from her. Don't know if it's true, but damn, if she was willing to say who, I will personally go and deball him. That's one of the worst things you could do to a friend and possibly the worst shit in the world you could do with your friend's handphone number.

Anyway, I realised people from AIA, well, probably all insurance companies, try to build up some rapport with you before they start promoting their junk. Both I encountered started talking about my NS life. Yeah, bullshit, you don't have to remind me of my lame NS job. And I'm quite sick in explaining that I don't belong to any of the Provost companies. I'm posted out to some shitty, classified place and you don't have to remind me either.

And you called me at a wayyy wrong time. I was really about to doze off and then my handphone rang. And you didn't even ask me if it was a right time to call. I would have told you to shut up and move on.

Waste my phone bill...Spoil my nap...And now I can't sleep so I'm back blogging.

Don't ever let me find out who that stupid guy is.

the one about blogging without thinking first

2006-10-01T15:20:00.000+08:00

Hey there. Changed my handphone finally. Got a Motorola V3X. Great phone, lotsa functions, superb colour. And I got it at a bargain.

And I just realised I can surf the internet on my phone. The next time I might just start blogging from there. :D

I'm sleepy right now but there's lots of things I'm dying to blog about but I don't know where to start. I don't think many people read this blog and I sometimes blog like no one else is reading but deep down inside I know sometimes, that what I write does affect the relationships around me.

I still write. Cos' blogging is the most convenient way of jotting down my thoughts and feelings. To put them in a more organised form. An extension of my mind. And almost always, I feel more at ease after I write.

I'm tired. And there's this haze smell around. Just now, I looked up at the city skyline and was quite surprised to see it so grey. The haze seems to be back. And that smell. Makes your nose wrinkle slightly. But I kinda like it.

I think I'll go take a nap or something.

the one about serious thoughts in the night

2006-09-25T22:46:00.000+08:00

Hey. Finally back to work after a considerable break. I'm starting to like the camp. I believe I've said this before somewhere but I still think my camp is a haven for meditation. I could open a spa there and actually earn money.

Nights are still eerie though, cos' most parts of the camp are still pretty dark and they'll probably stay that way even long after I leave. Having done most of the 3am and 5am shifts, I've gotten to enjoy the pleasant night breeze and the extraordinary peacefulness while I ponder on stuff.

That time is a perfect time to think seriously, think deeply and think silly.

Anyway, I sent an sms to a particular someone at 3 something am last night after my prowl, went to sleep and dreamt about her taking a long time to reply and me still waiting for her message. Then I woke up at 5am and thought about the dream a little and then went to sleep, again dreaming the same thing.

Yeah, the dream came true for most part of today. The wait was painfully wonderful. :)

Sunshine.

the one about me being so sleepy now

2006-09-23T22:47:00.000+08:00

Today's my mom's birthday. I bought her a pearl and crystal necklace for about 80 dollars. I think it'll look good on her. Congratulations to me, I've once again broken my personal best for the amount of money spent on a gift for another individual. The last time I remembered, the record was about 40 dollars.

Feeling damn tired recently. Must be the flickering from the computer screen. That Star Wars game is damn addictive. I should stop playing it at night. It's making my mind so active I stone for half an hour or more in the dark before actually getting some shut-eye. Then I suffer in the morning when my rather obedient biological clock jolts me up at 8am.

And damn it my eyes are so freakin' sensitive to light. Everytime I go out in the day, I end up squinting my eyes like 90 percent of the time. Even now when I'm staring at this stupid white background of blogspot I'm squinting. For the sake of healthy eyesight, they should just ban webpages with bright and glaring backgrounds.

Anyways, I'm starting to love those polo tees from Lacoste. Arh, the cutting is neat and it's available in so many colours. Probably get one more in the future. And that perfume too. Damn, I sound bimbotic. And pretty pink.

And I just came back from Jumbo seafood restaurant with my family, smelling pretty much like the Black Pepper Crab I had earlier. I like the beancurd they made.

the one about yet another incoherent chapter of my life

2006-09-18T22:32:00.000+08:00

It's this time of the day and this time of the week again when enough thoughts have accumulated so I could jot down yet another incoherent post about my life. Which probably doesn't affect you, the readers, the number I suspect being less than 5.

Recently, I've started on playing my guitar again. Figured that a piece of fine wood worth 300 bucks can do more than fill up extra cupboard space. Decided not to attend guitar lessons like before as I don't think I can commit given the irregularity of my duty schedule.

So I decide to learn what I can from the internet. Ok, I think I'm learning rather fast. But quality wise, I'm not sure if it sounds pleasant or not. Bah.

And I always imagined singing and playing the guitar to the girl I adore/my future girlfriend or something because I think, however old fashioned it may be, it's kinda romantic. kinda.

It's old fashioned for a reason. That means it's tried and proven. I say it's time to take it to a new level.

Anyways, I think I'm one of the most boring guys on the planet. I'm so boring I bore myself until I get sleepy. Mostly in front of girls. My mind just blanks out and all the topics vanish, leaving me to deal with the awkward silence I'm oh-so-familiar with. Sometimes I wonder how the girls think. They must be thinking about the number of sins they had accumulated in their past life to be there enduring the overpowering boredom of Mr I-am-so-deep-in-thought-so-I-am-silent.

Have a real bad feeling I'll qualify for SDU's golden membership someday. Given the rate I'm going, I can't imagine myself actually going after a girl, saying all those stuff. You know.

And the stupid script writers for those Korean dramas should be sued until they no money eat kimchee. All bluff. Where got so easy get the girl one? No! I also demand a valid explanation from my parents. I watched 4 episodes of 'Love Story in Harvard' but I don't see myself becoming the male protaganist. Double no!

On a side note, I think chocolate is the best thing that ever happened to mankind. And I happen to believe that ' Tears ' by X Japan is a fabulous song. It's one of the songs for ' Windstruck ', again one of my favourite shows.

Ok, nothing else. See you again.

the one about certain army stuff

2006-09-15T20:17:00.000+08:00

Driving test is on the coming Monday. Sometimes I wonder if over practising is good for you. Hope everything will turn up fine. Wait for my good news.

Anyway, I got the opportunity to escort a whole lot of colonels around camp today and the presence was quite overwhelming. One of them spoke to me. Well, that goes down as one of the very few high points in my NS life. :)

Just yesterday, as I was waking up from my little nap on the plastic beach chair by the window, I was greeted by the '1 message received' signal on my phone. Being the anti-social little prick that I am, that meant a lot.

I'm a simple and rather happy person actually. Other than messages from other guys or persistent phone companies, I welcome the rest.

Well, you could have said that particular sms broke my day. A good guy friend from OCS messaged me to 'update' me on his achievements in camp. I didn't respond to him and I didn't want to blog about it either. But I found it unnecessary and irritating, even bordering on the edge of plain arrogance.

Really I don't care whether your 32k is over or how you 'braved through it all' with a runny nose. Telling me about your perfect score for range and attaining some sort of CBS badge was redundant too. According to him, those are proud achievements but sadly, he's down for attn C for the first time (wow) because, apparently, he 'braved through it all'.

So much for sharing your joy. That was a perfect ego trip for you but at the expense of me feeling kind of useless in the army.

I know I have a dream vocation, literally. But you didn't have to remind me, thank you very much.

I know we are quite good friends but I had to say something about it. But I doubt you'll be reading this anyways.

On a side note, my PC say I 'jia kan tang'. Supposedly very 'ang mo'. Do I really generate that 'ang mo' vibe? Haha.

the one about my funny little camp

2006-09-12T20:44:00.000+08:00

My camp is a funny place.

It could possibly be a map in an RPG, with lots of crevices to explore, drains to hide in, plenty of useless items to collect and most of all, too much redundant space to roam about. And of course, you could level up by smacking the toads or twisting the slithery necks of black cobra snakes which I have yet to encounter.

Maybe the occasional crab you could hop on to get that bonus, while crafting equipment using the piles of dried leaves and twigs.

The camp diva, Michelle, is a real spoilt chick who craves for all the attention and fondling she could possibly receive. I try my best not to let her down, just that her fur gets stuck in my fingers and I'm afraid I catch some strange disease.

Michelle also happens to be a furry, white cat, possibly the only female presence in the camp. I hope. I always feed her cat food during my prowling and she possibly has a crush on me.

Yay, finally! At the receiving end of a crush. ouch.

Despite being an ideal location for long-hour meditation, my camp is also a training ground for all commando-mosquito wannabes, with or without potential.

Lousy ones sneak up behind your elbow. Garang ones attack your pinky.

I'm at 'Mosquito Slaying Skill' Level 1, which involves me standing in a mosquito-infested area, waiting for mosquitoes to come up and bite me. Then I surprise them and flatten them with my palm. My seniors are at like, Level 57 now, where heightened vision and reflexes acquired from long term exposure to blood suckers enable them to squish mini flying objects within 1.5m of them using just 1 hand. Amazing.

I hope I didn't compromise national security with the above information.

the one about my A level cert

2006-08-31T19:20:00.000+08:00

10 simple, inexpensive and apparently useful things you could do with a A level cert (laminated):

1) Useful, water-proof cover to keep your head dry during a downpour

2) Produces good wind when used to fan oneself during a hot day

3) Cut up soft vegetables or tofu when a knife is not present

4) Highly satisfying when used to scratch a mosquito bite due to the hard, rounded corners

5) Makes a perfect ruler

6) As a temporary cover you could place on dirty hawker centre seats

7) Highly bendable so you could twist it into a cylinder shape for fun, haha

8) Great replacement for those colourful, plastic frisbees though it can't spin as well

9) As the piece of plastic under your plate during meals

10) Novelty mousepad

Ok. I was really bored. Anyways, I finally got down to VJC to collect my cert. It was supposed to be collected a loooong time back but I kept forgetting. Haha. Ever had the thought that collecting your A level cert officially was like getting closure to your life in the college? I kinda felt that way after I left with the cert.

Bah, only a little.

Ok, have a nice day.

the one about AHM

2006-08-31T17:17:00.000+08:00

Hello.

Finally the Army Half Marathon is over. 21km across various locations such as Suntec City, Nicoll Highway, Shears Bridge, Bencoolen, Orchard Road and the Supreme Court. Ha, I was mostly concentrating on the running. Well, at least for the first 14km of the marathon.

12km wasn't too much of a problem. But later everything started going downhill from there.

I realised I still had tons of breath but my legs were giving way. And it's really kinda demoralising when you pass a check point and some road sign signals that you have 8km more to trudge through.

Haha. And both my legs officially became too-cramped-to-run at the 18km mark. And I had not much choice but to walk most of it. Damn.

Oh well. My timing wasn't anything spectecular. But at least I got a medal for completing.

the one about inspirational ramblings

2006-08-23T17:27:00.000+08:00

I like the feeling of waking up on a week day afternoon and just sitting there, waiting for dinner. Well, okay, I was joking. The feeling of having nothing officially to do is actually liberating and leaves me with much choice to do what I really want.

What I really feel like doing on a lazy little week day like this where everyone else is getting on with their own lives in the army or in the university really isn't much. I just read a little. And then spend the time in front of the computer playing or blogging. Probably just flick on the DVD recorder to watch re-runs of LOTR or something.

I actually have the option of going town every other day or simply the 'hang out' places. But I reserve them for weekends with people who are free. And that beats going on this lazy little week day afternoon like this where the shop keepers in Hereen are probably swatting mosquitoes.

So I just stay home and appreciate my current life. A life which is kinda like me standing by the side of a highway watching the rest of my friends driving by along with the never-ending, vicious flow of traffic. I could turn around and enjoy the splendid scenery behind me while enjoying the breeze brushing against my cheeks. And is that my friend waving to me from behind the window?

Kinda weird analogy, but the idea is there.

Vicious eh? The system that is. Everyone's getting on with their lives, mostly in the university. But one seriously suspects if they are there by choice or lack thereof.

And I consider myself rather lucky to be able to get this 'free' time so I could sit back and think, reflect and decide what I want in life. While sipping coffee and watching my uni friends struggle with school life. Muahaha.

Kidding. Actually I'm looking forward to uni life. Still beats this forsaken place. Ok, bye!

the one about old school rock on SI

2006-08-16T21:10:00.000+08:00

Just caught Singapore Idol on TV. Received several surprises here and there.

Hady, Matilda and Jasmine picked really old school rock songs. The 2 Bon Jovi songs came as a huge surprise because, really, I never really expected anyone to rock to those 2 oldies anymore. But they were great, doing justice to the songs. They were the bigger hits of Bon Jovi and terribly difficult to sing. But they pulled it off well and I respect their ability. :D

Haha. And Jasmine picked one of my favourite rock songs. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses. When I heard her song choice, I was like, what the... And I secretly prayed she wouldn't imitate the singing style of Axl Rose. Well, kinda like the way she sang it. Added her own touch to it, which was cool.

I think she did some research on Rose. Either that or she's a fan like me. That bandana. It's so Axl Rose. And there were some little actions in her performance that reminded me of Axl Rose. Go watch the music video of 'Sweet Child O' Mine' on Youtube. There are...similarities. :P

Had a feeling Joakim wanted to be eliminated. What a huge disparity in standards. Well..It's pretty obvious he'll be kicked out.

Unless deaf and shallow school girls keep voting for him.

the one about biking into camp

2006-08-10T21:27:00.000+08:00

Finally got my bicycle to camp. Now don't need to rely on Mr Tony to send me into camp.

Dad and I spent half and hour on National Day night trying to shuff the bicycle into the passenger seat. Managed to do so after removing the front tyre and placing the frame vertically upright, wasting much cloth in the process trying to cushion the leather seats from the metal.

So we set up the bicycle outside camp this morning. It's great. Bike and all. It's really refreshing to cycle in the morning, with the breeze in your face. Helps you think better. :)

This morning was chilly. Like air-con. It's a aspiring little morning, mostly because my parents send me to camp. More of these would be pretty.

Anyway, today something happened that made me question my ability to control my emotions. I couldn't believe I actually behaved that way until after a while. gosh.

Oh. Singapore Idol. Rahima got voted off. Amazing. See what rumours and jealously can do to one's prospects. And how raw emotion can't hide denial. Go ahead and cry, Joakim.

Moron Paul survived yet again. My mom is now using him as an example of how one should speak clearly and properly. Wow, I think I shall make an effort to do so now. I never expected it to be so irritating.

Can't sing. Can't speak. Ugly.

I can't believe those blind, deaf and tasteless Singaporean teenage girls are actually pouring in money to vote for him. Dude, he seems popular because his only fan base is the people who scream the most and the loudest.

Oh my god.

the one about wannabes

2006-08-04T13:58:00.000+08:00

heys. Just watch Singapore Idol the other day and the more I watch it, the more I am convinced that Singaporean voters are mostly deaf.

Dude, I know image plays a big role other than singing. But can someone explain the immense popularity of wannabes like Paul and Joakim?

Week after week, Paul goes out there to ruin a beautiful song using the same formula. And 'High Five' fans and blind/deaf teenage girls just start voting for him. Unique and cool huh? How bout abnormal and ugly?

Popular rock song + Average voice + Emo hairstyle + Swing of Emo hairstyle = Votes

Trust me. It's a load of bull shit and simply does not work after 1 feeble attempt. It's a pity how the songs he chose are all such wonderful pieces of art. And he doesn't give 2 hoots about throwing them down the dustbin.

At least Joakim has a weak excuse to still be in the competition, and that is because he's good looking. Supposedly. Paul Twohil has like, nothing.

I hated the way Newpaper described Paul as an emo-rocker. Cos' he's a disgrace to anything rock. But I suggest he keep the hair that way. With that type of face, seeing half is already traumatising enough.

Ok buhbye. I hope Jasmine doesn't get too angry. :D

Joking.

the one about a simple update

2006-07-31T19:37:00.000+08:00

hihi. just a slight update of my life.

Things are pretty normal. Just that prowling does get quite mentally and physically shagging at night. I can be wide awake at home watching DVDs at 1am. But when it's time to prowl at 1am, my body will start coming up with stupid excuses and all kinds of potential excuses to skip prowling.

Bah. But it gets done anyway. So the camp is safe. :D

Anyways, talked to my good jc friend recently and realised she and I used to be in neighbouring primary schools, like next door to each other. Apparently, we took the same school bus home everyday, probably like for most of my lower primary life.

How cool. She's the best friend of the plump girl I quarrelled with once in the bus. The plump girl is from my kindergarten. Both went to VJC. :P

It's like, I was flipping through year book one fine day. And I saw this girl which looked vaguely similar to the childhood plump girl. And her name seemed to be the same as what I somehow remembered of the plump girl. Hahah..ok...in the end, she turned out to be the plump girl.

Well well. I shan't refer to her as the plump girl already. Cos' I think she's quite pretty now.

Ok...so I watched 'Nacho Libre' over the weekend. Kinda like Jack Black. What a comedian. He doesn't really need to say anything to be funny. I like the retro feel of the whole show. Resembles Italy or Mexico or some country..but should be Mexico cos' the story line is Mexican style wrestling.

I like the song that played several times throughout the show too. Kinda cute.

As a wrestling fan, I could probably relate more to the show. But it's maybe because of this that I found the wrestling scenes rather simple and not looked into. It's a comedy yes. But more action and better moves could be used. It's Mexican wrestling!

If you are looking for something light hearted and crappy, go watch it. But don't watch it on a weekend. It's certainly not worth your $9.50. :(

the one about the day's evening

2006-07-26T23:30:00.000+08:00

Went out with my parents to Taka's Pepper Lunch for dinner. Meant to celebrate my birthday. Oh well. I guess they would like this type of hot plate things with lotsa beansprouts and carrots, so I took them there.

Anyway, when we just arrived at Orchard, mum was approached by this surveyor and well, was asked to do a survey about travelling. Turns out they were from some travel agency and a scratch-and-win was offered as well.

Mum won something and later Dad scratched-and-won the top prize supposedly. Some trip to somewhere. I couldn't be bothered with what was going on anyway. They were asked to attend this stupid talk at some place nearby about travel tours and such. Then they can take the vouchers or something.

Turned out to be some travel club and apparently they started bull-shitting a lot, according to my mum. I was suspicious right from the start because this whole shit sounded like a stupid scam to me. Ok, so in the end, they got the vouchers.

Didn't know much cos' I really couldn't be bothered that something that stupid had to come and ruin my birthday evening.

They attended the meaningless talk for about 2 hours or so, leaving me walking aimlessly around town for that same amount of time. If you know me well enough, you would know that I really hate wandering aimlessly around by myself. It's really quite pathetic.

Especially when they didn't particularly get anything out of it except for some shopping vouchers. I would rather have gone home early than waste my time bumming around Orchard. And you are hearing this from someone who really loves to go out. Because tonight was really really boring.

I told my mum my birthday was pathetic. She told me I couldn't really say that cos' they had already spent a huge amount on clothes for me, and that the dinner was by right, supposed to be paid by me.

Oh well. Thanks for missing the whole point totally. It's like someone throwing a watermelon towards your face but missed you wide. And you didn't even bother to dodge. Fuck that.

What a pleasant day. :D

the one about today

2006-07-26T16:44:00.000+08:00

Ah. Sorry for smearing the emo for the previous posts. I badly needed someone to talk to but I couldn't find anyone. So I decided to talk to my blog. Just like some of you might like talking to your pet dog. It just sits there staring at you but you can be guaranteed that there'll be no stupid opinions.

I'm quite glad that I could express myself in words. It's a form of release. Better than feeling cooped up and frustrated because a listening ear isn't by your side.

Not that I wanted to put down those 2 entries. It wasn't meant for anyone. Just for me to feel better. But right now, I wonder the magnitude of impact that those words have caused. I'm not sure either.

Today's a pretty special day. Many people don't seem to know. Yes. It's rather saddening.

Today's my birthday.

I don't expect too many people to remember the 26th July. Because I haven't been remembering too many birthdays either. Not a single friend from school remembered. But the initial numbers were pathetic in the first place too.

Out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps. Bah.

Ever spent time and effort searching, not thinking much about budget like you always do, for a perfect present for someone? You wait. And on your birthday you don't even receive as much as an sms from the person wishing you a happy birthday.

Sad? How about the same situation taking place for 2 years. 2 rounds of birthdays.

Just tells you so blatantly how much you mean to that person. So blatant it hurts.

I got a birthday off today. That's good. An off isn't bad at all. Gives me so much time to spend on reading magazines, watching wrestling vcds and playing old computer games. All by myself. Lots of time to think stupid things too. And stupid thoughts just lead to stupid posts like these.

I always secretly envy how some people spend their birthdays. With friends making such a big issue out of it. Presents, cake and all. Then they all celebrate and sing cheesy birthday songs in the canteen so the whole school can hear. And you can see the lucky peep lugging a plastic bag full of presents, and a shiny balloon at the end of a nylon string tied to the handle of the bag.

Or how everyone would hang out. Just to celebrate his or her birthday.

The best I've got from my friends is a card signed by everyone and an Oasis CD. Not that I'm complaining. I love the surprise. And I still love you guys. But how I wish I could have one of those rowdy birthdays as well.

Gotta go. My parents are taking me out to dinner. The highlight of today. :)

the one about mushy emo stuff

2006-07-26T00:31:00.000+08:00

Hello blog. I felt like talking to you tonight.

I was just wondering today if I had done enough to be able to justify the non-chalance I've been receiving. All the weird thoughts and bloody imagination that drive me wild, worry after doubt.

Maybe everything was just a big story cooked up by thinking too much. I came up with the entire show, starred in it, directed it as I went along, tried to make it better, and later see the supposed story crumble before me as my paranoid mind once again, drives me into a series of lows.

You could say it was a sappy, unromantic love story. But even then, the female lead doesn't even have the slightest clue she's in the script.

And once again, the whole question I've been trying to answer presently is whether I had done enough. Enough to get the point across. Did I?

It'll be pretty crucial to answer that question eh. If not how will I be able to tell what she's feeling.

This really sucks. It's so much easier not to think about it at all. Well. Suppressing is easy. Really. Much easier than I thought.

I. Probably am just a insignificant figment of her life, which is by itself, already brimming with so much hope, potential, happiness and fufillment.

Blemish. Where do I stand?

Incoherent post. Some parts I'm not even sure. It's sad. I really didn't like typing this post at the start of such a day.

A day like today. :)

the one about a tangled mass of feelings

2006-07-23T10:42:00.000+08:00

i am usually happy. not today. esp not a few moments ago.

it's that feeling again. i so haven't felt in a long long while. well, i wouldn't have liked saying that. this time it's stronger i suppose.

forgive me but I don' think i'm going to make much sense to most of you reading. which i suppose is less than 10. being stuck here on a sunday morning with no one in particular to tlak to and to share your feelings is really feeling like poo.

I noe this stupid post is emo n can be found on a regular blog out there go google it or sth. but I don liek to keep this bottled up so i just put in on this blog.

i like you. can't u see. i don know how you feel. blah. it sucks. its' freaking tiring. status quo is harmless. and anything more may be disastrous to the friendship. its confusing if i should do or say anything more.

sth waiting for your replies cna be killing. wondering how you would feel or take it at the end of the line. it really sucks.

i don knoe how you feel about me. that sucks too. and i 'm not sure if feeling the way i do now and feeling more and more will do me any good. or if you feel status quo all d way, and i'm just falling into this spiralling web of like.

guess i'm just this loser hoping for too mcuh.

you are so preoccupied with ur life i feel quite bad interrupting it so often. ur life's good. it's packed and fufilling. not like me. nothing much to my name. just slacking away in a certain part of this land reading, eating and sleeping. i've never accomplished much in m life. and sth i feel that i'm chasing something impossible to reach.

and i saw something just now that i'm not sure if i'm ever supposed to feel sad about it. cos' i simply might be thinking too much again. that imagination. and fuck, it's coimng from the computer screen, dude. its a blog fer goodness sake.

who am i to you. i'm jus the regular guy fren perhaps. nothing. argh. someone hoping for too much. yet nothin to prove.

ignorance kills. cos the truth behind how exactly you think is really biting me on the flesh. hard. it sends me into this messy myraid of freaking shapes and colours. confusing. abeit a faulty kaleidoscope. fuck that anyway.

yes. jealousy. i. suppose. but yet again ignorance blinds me. how am suposed to know if how i feel is actually justified. or whether i'm feeling like that cos of the situation i'm making up in my very mind. ignorance.

my mind is quite blank now. so messy that it's as good as empty. i'm trying to type it all off but i'm just failing. it's cool. at least i got some of it off my mind. but there's still this ball of messy feelings inside me that i could feel probing at the center of my chest. and the blank mind is seemingly suppresing it. so i can't put it in order. and process em slowly in my mind. it's just. a blurry tangled mass.

deep down. i guess im just a regular guy fren. right? i wouldn't noe. if i don ask. and i'm afraid to do so.

no one to share it with. so i share it with my blog. maybe it could get to someone. but probably she wouldn't think much of it anyway.

am not trying to pass on any stupid hidden message or what. i'm just venting it all out in words because there's no one to hear me. and even it is. it's so so difficult to put it. it seems long-winded this stuff. but it's barely 30% of how i feel. the rest i don't know how to express.

like the way i say it on my blog. at least it gave me some form of expression. flat black words on a flat screen. no doubt. but it helps.

good old blog.

i love you.

the one about strange little wild animals

2006-07-17T10:54:00.000+08:00

The other Thursday when I was on duty, I spotted a crab lingering near the trash outside the guardroom. Small but exhibited vicious behaviour. Ha.

My staff sergeant caught an eel-like creature from whoknowswhere and placed it in a red pail next to the water cooler. Right now as I'm blogging, the eel should still be stoning inside the pail.

At my other duty area, I spotted a cute squirrel scurrying along the top of the fence and disappear behind the corner.

Talk about the environment I work in. I feel more like a park ranger than anything else.

the one about world cup (part 2)

2006-07-09T22:47:00.000+08:00

Ok let's see.

The World Cup Finals are like later. And I'm not really hyped up or getting emo ripping my hair out or anything. Or doing shit like colouring my face or some weird stuff like that.

Well, I ain't really crazy about soccer in the first place. And this World Cup just simply means that there are less people in town fighting with me over discounts in the Singapore Sale. Ok, a small part of that was bullshit but you get the point. The idea is there.

In fact I was never a fan of soccer. I would be better off just catching goal replays on the evening news. I can never understand what the hell is an offside and people just look bewildered when I ask them like I should know already duh.

I never owned a soccer jersey and will never want to own one. Unless it's free. Even then, I wouldn't wear it to save my life because wearing soccer jerseys out is so fucking cheesy and I can't explain why. Oh boy, it does make a BIG fashion statement though. WOW.

On a fairer note, soccer does have its exciting moments though. I can't deny. And the World Cup does work its magic in some ways. Am I catching the Finals later?

Hell yeah.

God give me strength to actually last through the match. Well so I can tell people I at least managed to watch one match of this World Cup in its entirety. Please.

I tried to watch the 2 semis on Channel 5, telling myself to pull through, but all I managed is to fail miserably. Drifting in and out of sleep, I think I watched a grand total of slightly less than 30 minutes of football...for both of the matches.

For the Italy/Germany match, I woke up at about 520am ready to go to camp. I was like..ok they are still playing. Extra time seemed to be almost over and I thought maybe if I bathe fast enough I can still catch the penalties before I leave the house. After that, I come out of the loo to see Ballack crying on international television. Oh ok.

After all that drifting in and out of sleep and trying badly and futilely to stay awake, I miss the climax because I went to use the loo for slightly more than 5 minutes. Amazing timing.

Oh yah. Another testament to the sheer influence and inspiration of the World Cup. My parents actually asked me if I was watching the finals later. Woohoo, sensational!

I hope Italy wins. Because I feel I can connect more with Italy's captain, who is about my height.

the one about world cup (part 1)

2006-07-09T21:30:00.000+08:00

World Cup. Wow.

So I should be camping around the television huh. Slumped in that sofa that I would call my bed, my dining table, my pee point and my shit point. Slumped at a certain angle such that my eyes are just peering slightly over the rows and columns of Pringles and Coke bottles, upright or lying on the side, so I can catch all the action about men and balls.

It's the a.m hour and the lights in the living room are switched off, the only lights and sounds blaring from the telly. It's France vs Brazil. And Zidane's head is really bright. You squince at the ray of light that seems to have momentarily blinded you. Then Ronaldo bounces along.

ouch.

You doze off. Then awake with a start, not wanting to miss a single beat of the match. NO, you tell yourself. I've made it halfway through. It's just another half hour or so before I can go back to sleep and then wake up 24 hours later to catch the next match. I won't....give...uppp..

I....must........perservere.......

You start encouraging yourself with the will of a BMT recruit wanting to make it to OCS. You last through the match and then promptly doze off on the sofa, leaving the TV blaring anyway. Hope I can wake up in time for the next match.

Leave the lunch and dinner on the table, mum. I'll skip breakfast, then eat everything on the table while I watch teevee. I see that my hotmail account has this big number next to the 'inbox' icon while my handphone has this strange-looking '100 messages received' signal on the screen. And I have no idea why the digits are like, increasing. huh?

Bah. Don't really care. Teknologi nowsaday. =(

I peer up from the sofa and realise I'm slouching low enough such that I can see the silhouette of my belly striking a brillant arc across the teevee screen. That reminds me. Gotta ring up Mac to order fish fillet. Got discount I think. Meanwhile I'll just go sleep or something.

I shan't go out with anyone. I won't log on to msn. I shall refrain from playing dota. I have already broken up with my girlfriend. The World Cup. Nothing shall stop me and her from being together. NOTHING. It's my life. Well, at least for the month. I don't care if army charges me for awol or desertion or if my employer sacks me or what. I don't fucking care.

When I run out of cash for Pringles, I think I can sell this sofa on eBay. Afterall, it has become unique with that giant depression shaped like a human frame permanently imprinted on top. I heard exquisite art pieces fetch a good price nowadays.

Not forgetting however, that there are already a huge number of similar art pieces on sale in the market. :O

the one about my parents and korean shows

2006-07-08T16:56:00.000+08:00

A conversation about a korean drama between my parents and I.

Dad: You should watch this show (Lovers in Harvard).
Me: For what??
Dad: Then you will be like that male lead eventually. When you watch him for a while, you will soon start to be like him! Like a gentleman!
Me: Ahaha!!
Mum: You know he's a top lawyer in Harvard!
Me: But it's just a show! OMG.
Mum: Yah..But still shows that there are very clever people around like him.
Me: orh.

That's my parents. Funny people. By the way, my dad said the same thing for Winter Sonata. And they are encouraging me to watch that too.

the one about my deceased mp3

2006-07-08T16:04:00.000+08:00

My beloved mp3 player died out on me. A few weeks back. But I only took it to see the doc like 2 days ago. Because finally I'm stuck on a dismount day with nothing in particular I want to do and with all my friends either in camp or working.

Headed down to the Creative Store down at Marina Square. Oh yah, by the way, it's a Creative Zen Micro that's about a year old.

I don't know what happened but it all started when the on/off switch suddenly decided not to function. Okay. Still can manage. I just had to to take out the battery and put it back again to flick it on. And when I wanted to turn it off, I simply press 'pause' and wait for it to shut down automatically.

Genius. =)

Then one day a few weeks back, I was feeling bored at the driving centre and I put my mp3 on random play mode. It was at this christmas song 'Joy To The World'.

Yeah yeah, I admit I have a self-compiled christmas song folder.

Ok. So I never did listen to that song. But now that I eventually did, the whole machine just damn hanged. And then it remained that way. I took out the battery and put it back but the player just couldn't start. Argh. That track must have been corrupted. Given there were about a thousand songs in it, I guess I was pretty unlucky.

So I was at the Creative counter. And the not-so-friendly counter lady said she had to format the player. I didn't mind. As long as she (the mp3) turns out fine. Then later she told me formatting wouldn't help and said the entire thing was spoilt. I'm sad. Partly because the very last song I heard on it wasn't a GNR song. =(

And I had to pay $138.80 for a 1-to-1 exchange. For the same model.

No I won't. Might as well get a new one. :D

Anyway, I was attacked mercilessly by mosquitoes at camp last night. Well, I hope they were mosquitoes. Not bed bugs..eek. But now there's these mosquito bites on my arms and legs so I figure I was indeed attacked by mosquitoes.

Well, unless you tell me there are other insect bites that resemble mosquito bites.

the one about a near-incident

2006-07-04T20:11:00.000+08:00

Last night during prowling, we realized that the lights in the sentry box were switched on. It scared the shit out of us. We were kinda freaked out so we headed back to the guardroom and missed a checkpoint.

After discussing with the corporals, we came to the conclusion that we actually forgot to switch off the lights earlier in the evening. Argh. Relieved but I felt that anything more would still add a dash of colour to my otherwise drab routine army life.

not forgetting the content it would give me to impress girls.

Oh on a side note, I just recieved news that I got a half day off because I went to perform.

irritating spongebob laughter:
BaHAHahAH...(x100)

the one about my peformance

2006-07-02T18:25:00.000+08:00

What a good experience to perform in front of such a crowd. That evening was painfully long as I waited for a few good hours before really getting up there to perform. The rehearsals were nerve wrecking enough since I didn't really know anyone there.

Haha. Things lightened up a little after I started talking to a few of them, who looked really nervous too. Anyway, I wasn't going to let anxiety eat me. I wanted to put up a good show. I knew it was the only way if I wanted people to listen.

Performance was fine at the beginning. Mananged to calm down quite a bit before I actually took the stage. And I swear the microphone was so loud that I didn't even have to put in much effort to be heard over the sound system. Well. It was good initially.

Then the end of the song where the last chorus was was the loud part. I had converted the track from mp3 format so it was full of distortion too. So basically the music consumed my voice near the end. argh.

It's fun to perform. How I wish I had more chances to do that.

My platoon commander smsed me saying I sang really well. I really hope she meant it. :D

Ok ok..back to the dull life comprising of reading, catching guppies and ogling at monitor lizards. I think it'll be quite a while before the next high point comes along.

the one about some stuff etc

2006-06-27T20:27:00.000+08:00

hello. just here to tell you more about the spate of events that happened over the last few days of my boring life.

Finally made my first clubbing trip down at Ministry of Sound. Wanted to sneak into Dbl O, Hong Ming's favourite club. We got checked and couldn't get in. Must be above 21. Hong Ming say it's suay because he wasn't checked before.

Maybe cos I still look young.

My first clubbing experience was..well...acceptable. It's pretty dark in there and there plenty of pyrotechnics, loud music and happy people drinking vodka.

I personally think dancing is pretty strange. In a clubbing situation that is. People just go dance floor and move about, some awkwardly. It just seems so...weird. Strangely, it looks pretty okay on the telly.

I was a complete noob there, and ended up watching Germany vs Sweden world cup match. Then just sat around and drink the free house drink. Nothing much. I wouldn't say it's a good place to chill since it's so noisy.

Oh yeap. Sunday I went to Beach Road to sew the remaining name tags on my No. 4s. After that as I was leaving the place, I walked past a barber shop. I caught sight of a beautiful Guns N' Roses poster.

I turned back and asked the malay barber uncle to sell to me. He said cannot. Apparently, his brother bought it in Thailand. Damn. Anyway I ended up cutting hair at the shop, since my next destination was the barber at Marine Parade, so I figured I would just settle it there and then.

I want that poster. Can't find any GNR posters in Singapore already. If you know, please tell me. Meanwhile, I don't mind the GNR T-shirt selling at HMV Suntec. My birthday is coming. Uh-hum..

HuH? I'm not hinting anything what. Why you look at me like that.

Anyway, I'm pretty nervous now, since tomorrow I'll be singing in front of a live audience of about 700, which I believe 3/4 of them will be too busy consuming part of a SAF budget menu, while the other 1/4 will be too drunk to figure why the fuck I am on stage holding a mike with music in the background. The former group will probably think I'm part of the background music.

Either way, I hope I don't fade into the background and become trailer trash of 'GSMB IDOL', which I swear sounds so corny that they wouldn't serve anything with maize in the fear any diner would collapse as a result of fits.

Ok bullshit.

Meanwhile, I am still busy choosing my attire for tomorrow, which will be the biggest performance of my life. So far.

the one about an impending competition

2006-06-20T22:58:00.000+08:00

eh lo.

It's freaking nerve-wrecking. Will be performing next week in front of my unit. It's some singing competition that I somehow volunteered for without knowing anything before hand. I just know they wanted some representative from the company.

So I agreed. On the basis that I will regret if I didn't.

Finally decided to sing 'You and Me' by Lifehouse. It's simple and easy to sing. It isn't too fast or too slow, so it wouldn't cause the audience to doze off or break into fits. It has a nice melody to it. But according to my mum, it doesn't seem to have any climax or point which showcases any vocal ability.

Will be singing to the mp3 track with the singer's voice removed by some cok programme called Nero. It's cok cos' it causes the music to become quite airy with some echoes. Nevermind, can sing can liao.

Dad says it's a challenging song to sing. Mum says my singing still can.

Ok do my best. Shall sing to win. Sick of being stuck in the middle already.

It was always that way.

the one about great food!

2006-06-18T11:56:00.000+08:00

The seafood platter for 2 at Manhattan Fish Market was great stuff. Baked rice, dory fish, prawns, chips, fried oysters (i think) and a generous serving of calamari. $29.90.

I forgot the actual name to the dish.

Really really reminds me of Fish and Co. But personally, the seafood platter at Manhattan's tastes much better and looks more appetizing too. Go try it.

I ran 10 click on Friday. Got a lousy tming of 54 minutes or so. The fat burned was also put back in because I ate seafood platter and KFC on the same evening.

I actually fucking stuffed myself with food.

haha.

the one about fishing

2006-06-15T20:21:00.000+08:00

Today in camp, as we were sick of reading, me, clement and lau went to catch guppies in the various mysterious water bodies situated around the compound.

Armed with a dirty little fish tank and a green scoop, we proceeded from one water body to another. We caught several little orange fishes, some ordinary guppies, a developing tadpole, a mini shrimp and some water insects. We later put them in the fish tank in the mess.

:D

Feeling envious already?

On a side note, I met my secondary school discipline master at the hawker center today. He was surprised to see me and we chatted about my vocation, my choice of course in what university..blah blah. He told me how important language was when in came to doing business overseas. He mentioned a certain senior I had who was in MP too.

But apparently he graduated in 1990 so I couldn't possibly know him anyway. :P

Speaking to him made me realise that I am on my way to forgetting how to speak Mandarin. I forgot how to say 'NUS', forgot how to say 'Business Admin', forgot how to put in words that I was working mounting/dismounting.

Bah. It was great to see him again, although my encounters with him back then weren't exactly that pleasant.

the one about someone

2006-06-08T22:54:00.000+08:00

It's disappointing when you know a person for so long yet you can't communicate. Too many chances, too much effort and I still can't figure the reason for the existence of that invisible barrier.

It's saddening. How nice it would be to find a confidante in you. A listener. A sharer. Someone I feel comfortable with.

But no. It doesn't exist. I don't know why too. Probably it's the little thing they call chemistry. But how can it affect that much? It's strange. I don't know why either.

I would do anything to salvage the situation. Just to make things better. So that I could at least talk to you like my best pal.

Make you laugh or something.

Hahaha. :D

the one about many thoughts

2006-06-08T21:33:00.000+08:00

Travelling to and fro between home and camp is a freaking big turn off.

It's fine when the roads aren't too congested. But during peak hours, the buses are so crowded and they move so slowly that sometimes you just want to stay in.

Other than that, it feels great to be home.

I just caught Singapore Idol on tv. Yay! Jasmine got in! Sometimes I see her on television and it's just so surreal to imagine that I was once in the same CCA camp group as her in JC1. Well, she didn't stay in HnF and she left for table tennis soon after. Yeah, but she's a great gal.

Remember to vote for her.

On a side note, you know the cd advertisement for 'BIGGER', that disc with all the popular hits and also the one which has the giant burger on the cover?

My dad saw it and asked me whether I wanted to buy and share. As in....not the cd! The burger! He obviously thought it was some KFC or Mac ad. Haha, that's my dad!

Anyway...in a time of mp3s, who's goin to buy CDs like those anyway? To me, these compilation type CDs are just low budget productions thrown out into the market by over-zealous music companies trying to make a quick buck from angsty and emo youngsters who think they can attain instant coolness just by purchasing that piece of trash. :D

Now wasn't that a long sentence. A sweeping statement too.

Anyway, you know the whiney, over-rated Daniel Powter(?) song that they like to play when some poor soul gets run over by some judges in Singapore Idol trailer trash? The one they blast in the background when some idol hopeful gets booted?

Yeah! You're right! The song that has to do with losing. Yes that one.

It sucks. :p

Hope i didn't insult anyone's taste. Heeheehee.

the one about creepy crawlies

2006-06-04T22:48:00.000+08:00

hello everyone!

Life's pretty peaceful and relaxed right now with my mount/dismount/stand-by schedule. The only tough times on my job is probably waking up at 3am and walking around in the dark with my sbo and rifle for about half and hour or so then going back to sleep for an hour then waking up at 5am and walking around...and so on.

It's a good time to catch up with neglected forms of nature like frogs in the ditch and sounds of insects around the bushes. Well. At least it isn't too quiet around. Oh, I have yet to spot the supposed King Cobras though.

Working around here has also brought me closer to creepy crawlies. Just the other night I was sleeping in the mess, when I heard a thud next to me. I woke up to see a giant beetle right beside me on the pillow.

I was like...damn..shoud I like continue sleeping or what? But heck I just flicked it off and it landed somewhere and made quite a loud sound. If it landed anywhere westward, I could have woken up to some freshly-squeezed beetle juice.

On that particular night, I was also stung over and over by mosquitoes. I was wearing my singlet and ended up stuffing my arm into my backpack which I initially used as a bolster.

I also had this freaky encounter with ants.

At the sentry post, I went to sit at a corner of the cabin and started reading. I felt my back started to itch a little and sat up to discover that I've been resting on a wall teaming with ants.

ARGGH!

The whole day I felt itchy, like there's ants crawling over me. Yeek!

Other than that, life's pretty enriching over there. All I can do there is read, read, read, play some chess, and read again. Haha!

Ok. Gotta go now. BYE!

the one about Xmen 3

2006-05-28T19:23:00.000+08:00

spoilers ahead.

I watched Xmen 3 the other day and it was great. I love the cartoon series and the one thing I hoped for when I watched the film was it to be as close to the comic as possible.

Well, not bad. At least it got me excited. But I'm still waiting for Hugh Jackman to put on yellow spandex. Then that'll be hot. :D

Hm. The film's action was really engaging and there were so many new mutants appearing. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, thin ones. Including a random who could regenerate his limbs every time they got chopped off.

Still quite disappointed over Angel's screen time. A really cool mutant who got the privilege of opening the show. I think it was one of the first scenes which he appeared in. I think his total screen time was sad.

Cyclops was quite pathetic though, having gotten wasted in the 1st half hour of the show. Together with Angel, he proves that having big exposure on movie posters doesn't mean getting big time on the screen itself.

As in all Hollywood films, they had to make the chinese dude look weird. At first I thought he was Spyke, but later some dude came on screen..and that was Spyke, fighting with Wolverine. Good stuff. Haha...the chinese dude wasn't really good looking in the first place and they had to make things worse. :p

The other few random mutants worth mentioning are Juggernaut and the Sonicwave guy who looks like a transvestite. Oh wait, I'm sorry. Sonicwave guy is actually a girl with a gay face. Hehe. Was trying to figure out what gender he/she belonged to until I figured guys couldn't have pectorals of such shape.

I think Shadowcat is kinda cute and Rouge has a really round face.

I was also traumatised when Magneto lost his powers.

Anyway, go catch it. It's hot stuff.

the one about random ramblings

2006-05-24T21:36:00.000+08:00

The long bus rides home from camp every other day give me the opportunity to just sit there and indulge myself in reading, something I haven't done in a long while.

It's also pretty nice to just sit there and think.

I see many people getting off from work and taking the bus ride home, probably it's one of their free days so they might be going to a pub or something. I don't know. It's none of my business either.

They look like they can't wait to get home. Me either. They work their balls off at their office or something. They look shagged.

I just can't help but think of society. The people working their asses off for the 3000 bucks a month. Working for short term goals, long term goals. A new car, that branded jacket, petrol bills, that report due next monday, the installments for the plasma tv.

These teeny weeny things that seem almost mandatory and it comes across as automatic, instinctive, duh, a must-do, a part of life.

So much so that most of us neglect the big picture. No one bothers to take a step back and think, what is it that they actually seek for in life. Never ending materialistic wants I guess?

That's why people start regretting late in lives, after realising that they have slogged for a good part of their existence, yet they end up wondering what in the world they were working for anyway.

Is it the Orchard Road Condo I'm still paying up for?

I'm happy. Or am I not? I think I am. Afterall, I should be. I worked hard for all I have now.

I'm hypocritical. I'll be like that one day, immersed in the money spinning world that I had to enter in the first place. For survival. Because I just have to.

In the society, conformity rules anyway.

I wonder what I would regret later in life. But I have my apartment, my car and my pension. I think I am quite satisfied.

the one about camo prints

2006-05-23T22:06:00.000+08:00

Noticed the latest trend in the streets nowadays?

If you've been observant enough. Camo prints. Yes.

Just a few days ago, I went to Parkway for dinner with my parents and I just happily counted the number of people wearing camo printed bottoms. I also don't know why I started. I just did.

I counted 10. Probably more. Or probably less if I counted twice.

I so want to punch them. Haha. But it's fashion right? And in fashion, anything seems to go. But they give me the feeling that they are blinding following each other.

I don't think camo prints are cool. I wouldn't want to be seen in camo print berms at Orchard on a weekend when I've been donning camo prints from head to toe from Monday to Friday. The last thing I want to do is to remind myself of my 1 year 10 months predicament.

Also, some camo berms I spotted look suspiciously like the shorter version of the SAF No.4 pants and it looks like it's been cut from the original. It's a no-no to do that. So much for looking 'cool'.

I've spotted aunties and teenage girls in camo print but I figure they probably don't understand army anguish. And proceed to celebrate it by wearing camo print around town.

Young guys who haven't been to army but start wearing camo prints should get a medal for 'Outstanding Patriotism' and should enlist early because simply, army needs people like them. But I think they'll probably throw away their camo berms and curse silently after they really enlist.

Oh ok. Guess I gotta go now. I still have a bus to catch tomorrow. Ciao.

the one about my posting

2006-05-20T16:45:00.000+08:00

Finally passed out from MP basic course on the 18th May. What a journey it has been, but an enjoyable and enriching one no doubt! The sergeants and all my friends there have been wonderful and I really miss em. Argh. I'm starting to love my camp and they decide to sent me away to guard some place. 13 of us.

Far far away.

It's kampong-like and pretty run down.

And that's all I can tell you about the place. :)

All the best of luck to my sergeants in their future endeavours. And to all my section mates:

wilson: good luck in guarding hq
js, ben, terence: db is a good place, handle detainees properly
kamsir, lance: drive the bikes carefully
mr ng: don't let the dogs get you
chris, kw and yl: catch all the awolees

And with benedict and bing chen working with me for the rest of my ns life, it should be good.

the one about a big thrash bag

2006-05-14T10:14:00.000+08:00

harlo! I escaped guard duty once more, but that's a pretty long story and I shan't elaborate too much on it. Let's just say it has got to do with a huge stackpile of black notepads and lines not drawn with ruler.

But I'll be booking in later at 7.30pm, not the usual 9.30pm. =D

I was pretty unlucky when I booked out on Thursday night. I'm passing out this coming Thursday so I stuffed most of my items into a huge paperbag to take home. The items raftly consisted of 1 set of uniform, a lunch box with lotsa field craft nonsense in it, a pair of shoes, about 5 books, a mess mug with a soap box in it, 1 or 2 admin shirts and one green towel.

I was at the MRT station when I realised that my paper bag had already a few holes by the side, seemingly caused by the fact that the bag was simply TOO packed. By the time I boarded the train, the bag was threatening to split at the sides and was one end was held by just a few cm of paper.

No choice but to borrow a garbage bag from my friend. Ok ok..don't ask why my friend had a garbage bag with him. Army guys bring all sorts of weird stuff to and fro from camp.

Ok, so I dumped the whole bag into that garbage bag and tried to wrap it around. Initially it still looked compact until the whole paper bag gave way and the garbage bag started to become freakin bulky.

Fark spider.

So I had to take a train ride from Jurong East to Aljunied with a big black bulky bag of bull clutched between my arms. I should have hidden then behind me when I was standing up. But somehow I went to sit down and put it on my lap.

And damn I sure attracted attention. It wasn't nice. The train was packed. Very packed. I was very paiseh.

Hahah..luckily my dad picked me up at Aljunied. So I didn't have to lug that thing home myself.

the one about important pple in lorries

2006-05-07T15:04:00.000+08:00

Haha, so I didn't get guard duty. But that just confirms my slot for next week. And it's the last weekend for guard duty. POP in sight!

After breakfast at a nearby hawker centre today, my parents and I turned into a side road and caught sight of those PAP rally lorries heading in our direction. Mr SM Goh was in it and he was waving to everyone in sight, which wasn't much people since it was still rather early.

My parents waved to him and he waved back, but I thought waving at high profile political figures in lorries was kinda cheesy and a little too surreal. I mean, I just had my meal and then walk out to see our senior minister waving to us. :D

I wondered if he still remembered me, since I was carried by him once many many many years back at some function which was open to the public.

And wow, some other dude on the vehicle actually knew my dad. No, not the driver.

Hmm. Gotta go now. Cya next week!

the one about volunteering for guard duty

2006-04-30T22:53:00.000+08:00

Me: Er..sergeant..is it possible to change slots for guard duty over the long weekend? Like Saturday change to Monday..if I happen to tio this week?

Sarg: (eyes widen) NO! cannot change.

Me: (eyes widen with innocence) hah..really ah?

Sarg: If you got any appointment over the weekend then you go write on that piece of paper, then you won't kena.

Me: (looking suspicious) No la. It's a personal appointment.

Sarg: Must be going out with girlfriend right??

Me: (mumbling) I have no girlf....

Sarg: Then it's not then what..? You go write your reason then I consider.

Me: Er..nevermind la. It's nothing.

Sarg: Eh? You haven't done guard duty meh?

Me: er..haven't.

Sarg: What did you get for IPPT?

Me: Pass.

Sarg: You commit any minor offences in the first few weeks?

Me: (proudly announces) No, I did not commit any offences.

Sarg: (looks puzzled) Then I couldn't have missed you out!

Proceeds to look at the right hand pocket of my smart 4 and scribbles down my initials on a piece of paper.

I think I'm doing guard duty next week.

the one about a beautiful moment

2006-04-30T01:15:00.000+08:00

Resting in a training shed surrounded by long grass and small clumps of vegetation. The tops of it meeting the drifting clouds and nothing else. The air is fresh. The surroundings are quiet and everyone is resting. The light drizzle falling from the slightly clear sky recovering from the storm that just took place. A random radio station decides to play 'What A Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. The radio set is small and it sits humbly atop one of the wooden benches, making its presence felt in the most subtle ways. For the next 3 minutes or so, silence prevails and music takes over the reigns of serenity. And the cold wind blows.

A beautiful afternoon at Tekong. Wonderful indeed.

the one about sandbags and rations

2006-04-22T21:41:00.000+08:00

Who would have thought filling sandbags could be so tough? Other than causing your delicate hands to become irritatingly dry and forcing your well-manicured fingernails to eat sand, it just makes you shag. Sand doesn't exactly taste that good either. Sandbags aren't really heavy, they are fucking heavy.

Suck thumb lor. Trainees don't fill, ask sergeant help you fill ha. Afterall, only 470 sandbags. And then we'll go Tekong to fill the rest. Cos basically we ran out of sand. :(

Preparation for our field camp is tough, probably going to be tougher than the field camp itself. And I'm expected not to sleep over the 3 days. Wonderful. What a brillant opportunity to slim down.

Military law lessons are pretty dry. Section blah blah...penal code blah..Well, thank goodness I didn't apply for Law in university. Not that I can get in anyway.

On a brighter note, I received new recipes for my combat rations. Finally, after doses and doses of curry chicken noodle and supposedly different recipes of rice with chicken(different names, different colour, but seem to use the same ingredients), I finally get to try something new like Oregano Chicken Frank Pasta.

Wow.

That's probably the only reason why I'll look forward to field camp.

By the way, I'm still wondering how come I always end up eating some combination of rice and chicken back in BMT.

the one about book in then book out again

2006-04-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

hell-o. it's strange to be squeze a treegar of a old gun in mornin and then here am me typing this entry to you. me don't know, but sargent let we booked out in afternoon just now. i am very happy to be home.

i had to book in tommorow in a early mornin. all i has to say to you is that, don't care how short the time we spents out of camp, it still do wondurs to us saicologikal well bean. anyways, i sure is happy to be home to talk to every body

i love my camp. i love the enviroment. i don't care what people say that we is slack. i like it and i'm sure is proud to b in provost. thankyew.

i hope you forgoes the grammers and wocab error, becos my english is no really good la.

oky. i hope you get what i sayin.-

the one about eating and reading a lot

2006-04-14T08:31:00.000+08:00

ah, it's been a long time since I last blogged..2 weeks? Well..the reason being I was busy getting a life last weekend. I watched 'Terminator 1' on DVD, caught the recorded episodes of American Idol, watched more tv and in the process fall asleep on the sofa.

I also went out to replenish my diminishing supplies of snacks which I religiously stock up in my bunk cupboard every week or so. And I bring various issues of Readers' Digest, story books and self help to camp to add to my cupboard library that is quite popular with my bunk mates.

I didn't really bother to read anything before I entered my new camp and it's quite funny why I start to read again. Probably because there's nothing much to do down here..

mp3 players are banned and the 4 computers in the lounge are usually occupied rather inconsiderately by certain trainees who use them to watch video clips...for quite a long period of time whatsoever, with no consideration of the peeps behind waiting.

So I guess trainees..for my bunk at least spend their free time eating and reading, eating and reading. How intellectual. Like I said before, it must be something in the food.

Well...okay..finally a book out that I can tell my friends 'see you!' instead of 'see you tomorrow!' when I leave the camp. It's good to be able to spend 2 nights at home. :D

the one about a long long week...

2006-04-01T21:13:00.000+08:00

Good week at Provost...just that time really crawls over there. Guess it must be those lectures and tests.

5BX is quite hiong over there..on some days it's 3 x 5BX, including 10 rounds around the parade square. Sometimes we don't run, but that's just to save energy for the 4.8km unit life run later in the morning.

There's lotsa stuff to do during our free time. You could hang out in the lounge using internet or playing table tennis or just slacking and watching television.

My bunk mates all seem to love reading. Some read Newsweek, others some science magazine. I bring Reader's Digest, Men's Health and 'The 5 people you meet in heaven' by Mitch Albom and they borrow and read them too.

It's rather interesting to see everyone at their beds reading one thing or another and it's strange how we don't see that often in bmt. It must something in the food.

Anyway, we went for some Topo exercise at some cemetry today. I must say using the compass to find directions is actually rather interesting. There's another one on Tuesday, think it's at night. Haha..fun!

Ok, good night everyone while I go sort myself out.

the one about nothing really

2006-03-26T19:33:00.000+08:00

Did I hear wrongly? Were hints dropped? Is it as bad as I think?

Booking in later. Not the best of moods. Confused like hell. Don't know what to do next.

Bye.

the one about past week in provost

2006-03-26T00:04:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back after 1 week with the military police. And I must say, it was mentally tiring.

The MP basic course is made up mostly of lectures..and lots of running. It's like going back to junior college but at least what I learn here I definitely will be applying in the very near future.

Can't really elaborate on what we learn cos' I'm not supposed to but it's rather interesting and fresh. Luckily, all the commanders are very good jokers and public speakers and every lecture is like a stand-up comedy performance.

The culture here is mainly discipline and trainees spend their free time kiwiing boots and ironing uniform collars, apart from slacking in the lounge.

I really look forward to the end of the course then after that, I'll probably be out there dealing with real crooks and such. Haha! Well okay, I'm really sleepy now and ought to get some sleep. See you guys soon!

the one about going back to camp

2006-03-19T17:57:00.000+08:00

Oh hi everyone. I was walking down the Orchard MRT underpass yesterday when I saw those moving posters showing army soldiers in battle order, chiong suaing in the jungle.

Then it dawned on me that it'll most possibly not happen to me anymore. Hello? MP? Why on earth do you need a military policeman flanking in the jungle?

Not that I'm complaining. Deep down inside, I know I certainly wouldn't miss stuff like field camp or route marches, though they gave me some rather interesting memories back in BMT.

Who would have thought that so called informal interview could do so much to my given vocation?

And anyway, I would like to congratulate most of my friends on making it to command school. It makes me feel a little sad that everyone is going there and I'm not. It also makes me question how the hell did I screw up my BMT. ;D

For the record, I didn't particularly want to go to command school. But part of me wanted to.

Well, okay..at least I'm feeling quite good now. Heard quite a lot about Provost and it'll probably be fun (I hope). Haha! Well, will update you on what's like to be in MP hopefully by the coming weekend...if I do get to book out on Friday.

The camp is at Yew Tee area..and I'll probably have lots of fun taking MRT from one end of Singapore to another. Ok, see you!

the one about the past week

2006-03-18T00:21:00.000+08:00

It has been a busy week but fufilling no doubt.

It's fun catching movies with my friends and just chilling out and it's good to note that I've caught 4 movies since my POP. 'Munich' with my platoon mates, 'Underworld: Evolution' with HnF peeps, 'V' with Candice and then 'Underworld:Evolution' again with Howard.

It's also nice to note that I dozed off while watching 3 of them.

No, the movies were fine. It was me. I was just sleepy. 'Munich' is one of those shows which just confuses me so much but in the end of it you still tell yourself, 'Hey, the show's pretty cool, wasn't it?'..Kinda belong to the 'Ocean's 12' kinda show.

'Underworld' was just rather gory here and there and I didn't know how long I slept until I watched it again. Prolly dozed off for a couple of seconds. :D

I think I slept the most in 'V for Vendetta'..I vaguely remember that there was lots of talking in the middle and I didn't sleep much...so..I think I missed quite a chunk of it. But I did wake up in time for the ending part though, despite being in a loss of what the hell just happened.

And I stayed over in school from Monday to Wednesday for HnF Odyssey Camp. It's pretty cool to return as a grand senior and observe coolly from the back while your grand juniors are getting screwed by the juniors.

Apart from that, we just pigged out on chips and played basketball. :)

Of course, I got my posting today. Hm. Provost. Military Police.

Ok. At least it sounds cool.

the one about passing out!

2006-03-09T19:08:00.000+08:00

Yay! I finally passed out of BMT!

Wanted to blog last week, but hadn't had the time. You really can't find time when you book out on a Sunday morning and have to book back in at night. The 24km route march that Saturday was particularly shagging too and I spent most of the time sleeping at home.

That day I booked out at 6am and reached home at 9am. I started from Pasir Ris down the East-West line, dozing off halfway and ended up at Commonwealth when I was supposed to alight at Kallang.

Anyway, the past week was packed with area cleaning, stand by beds and graduation parade rehearsals. I also got past my last SOC, though I still failed miserably, having yet to conquer, of all things - the monkey bar.

It's weird how you start to question the existence of a childhood at a post-puberty age of 18.

POP was fine. Well at least our parade commander didn't screw up that badly. But he'll probably be hentakakiing in his ranks for a while for what he missed. The refreshments were world class. :D

Block leave is short and I gotta cram my driving, my applications for university and catching up with pals in a little over a week.

See you guys soon!

the one about field camp

2006-02-19T15:24:00.000+08:00

The past weeks have been a blast where everything important about BMT took place. Live range, field camp and the live grenade throw, packed into a small time frame of raftly 14 days.

The infamous field camp was okay..well..I survived without falling out at least. The environment was harsh especially in the 1st 2 days and as our platoon commander did predict, we really did feel like shit.

Day 1
Had a 8km route march from camp to somewhere in the northwest of Tekong with full battle order and the field pack had to weigh down my shoulders so much. It was mentally straining and people started falling out all over the place. It was not long after we reached the camp site when it started to rain heavily. The condition of the camp wasn't great either. Hilly area, heavy rain, extreme mud conditions and my basha all the way in, it was hell.

Day 2
It fucking rained again. This time it was heavier than day 1. The mud became softer and thicker. It was like waddling around in a swamp.

Day 3
Lost and recovered ET spade. Thought it was okay until we got punished quite interestingly at the new campsite. Interesting in the form of 30m leopard crawls, push ups, sit ups and jumping jacks(a lot).

Day 4
Supposed to have technical break in the afternoon. Company level tekan in the morning, supposedly to make our break more deserving. Running around campsite with rifles over head is no joke. I did push ups till my arms became wobbly.

Day 5
Nothing much. Did the usual fire movement and formations and stuff. Sergeant Major brought his lap top and set up this giant screen and we watched a movie. It's that Korean war show, 'Brotherhood'. Talk about welfare.

Day 6
Unique day, since it's not everyday you get to dig holes in the ground to sleep in. Especially special since that day was Valentine's day.

Day 7
Had the Battle Innoculation Course as a finale for field camp. Leopard crawling with live rounds firing above. Didn't require much brains or guts. Just plain brawn.

We also had our combat rations for meals, other than the last few days when we had fresh cooked food sent to us. Combat rations taste good at first but it just plain sucks at the end. At this moment, it's just puke inducing. Some of the more notorious ones are 'Curry Chicken Noodles' and 'Creamy Corn'.

We had our own accessory packs too. A typical pack includes a drink(ribena, nescafe), plain biscuits, fruit bars, more biscuits. If you're lucky, you'll get Oreo, Tuna can, M & M's and all sorts of snacks.

It just all boils down to paying taxes.

the one about feeling like shit

2006-02-05T16:52:00.000+08:00

Right now, I'm feeling damn sian. Because I'm like returning back to camp in a few hours and won't be out till 2 weeks later. No, I'm not looking forward to field camp thank you and life's bad right now.

I hate returning to camp. It's always the same old feeling. You feel wasted and dreadful. Looking back at the Nov/Dec 05 holidays, oh man, it's just..surreal..I can't imagine freedom right now. It seems heavenly. :D

It was not until I enlisted when I realised how important my parents are to me. I call them almost every night from camp, simply relieved to hear their voice over the phone. Weekend bookouts are great but on the day of book in, you don't have mood for much, even when the book in time is in the evening.

I'm starting to question my mental strength. Is it really that weak? Will training be tough for the rest of my NS? If I'm going to feel the way I'm feeling now for the rest of NS, I don't know how much I can take.

Yet another substance-less, boring rant. Thank goodness.

Tell me life's going to be better.

the one about life so far

2006-01-28T21:19:00.000+08:00

I'm getting used to all the crap in the army..the last minute change of plans, the big rush up and down 4 storeys everyday, the marching, the pumping and all the things they throw at you in a attempt to make you crumble.

Above it all, there are the pleasant moments like the anticipation of hearing your parents' voice over the phone after a bad day, or the movie screenings now and then in the LT. I've watched 3 shows in 3 weeks, for the record.

We're treated really well in some cases, such as food. I know I've said it before and I just have to bring it up again. They feed you so well and so much it's suspicious.

During night snack the other day, most of us didn't bring us mess mugs. Sergeant made us run back to our bunks to take even though some of us decided not to drink the milo. Sorta like forcing us to take night snack. Eat or die! Muahaha.

And each of us was given 2 mandarin oranges and 2 chocolates in an angbao for CNY. There were CNY goodies after night snack too.

Life in the army is manageable. I just hoped there were faster people who could actually put in effort so they would stop sabo-ing the entire platoon or company. It's irritating like constipation.

Army has changed my perspectives definitely. I never treasured time and family so much. I feel really grateful to be back in main island. :D