haha it's scary.
i clicked on Stats on my blogger's dashboard and got 29 hits yesterday at 8am. my guess is someone was really bored and read my entire history of posts OR someone was actively refreshing the page, which makes no sense. anyway, it made me explore the Stats function and i realised how random people have been reading this space. people just google a phrase and it leads to here. whether they want to visit or not, my hiding space has been discovered!! oh no.
ok whatever, i dun disclose much anyway.
cny has been pretty interesting. the atmosphere hasnt been outstanding this year, but the feel will always be there during Spring time. the songs, the decorations, the flowers, the scent, the goodies, the handshakes, the ang pows, the gatherings at the table, the loud voices, the laughter. the build up to cny was the usual chinatown visiting, the flower shopping at thomson road, the spring cleaning, the blasting of cny songs and just enjoying the mood.
did some visiting and some meet ups which were really good. everything else just faded into the background. perhaps, this just proves the point that what s most important in life is just the company of family and friends. the joy of togetherness is simply, overwhelming.
cny has been great. and i m glad it isnt just 1 day, but 15!! enjoy while you can folks!
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
crazy, crazy, crazy.
if i appear to be out of sorts this few days, forgive me. i m going a bit cranky now.
many many things going on at the same time, and i m a bit stretched at the moment. personal stuff, family stuff, ns stuff, friends stuff and just all kinds of stuff. it's good in a way such that i m training and learning to juggle and cope which i ve always had problems. i m a typical guy who cant multi task. ok i can, just that i ll be pretty stressed out. ESPECIALLY, when i lack resources to complete my taskings. i have to constantly improvise which is really tiring. you know this when i start looking around, as if looking for something i ve lost in the woods. the lack of internet in camp, the lack of a proper organiser, the lack of personnel support, the lack of another ME.
anyway, at least i feel that i m making full use of every second. perhaps, i should take a breather this week. starting from wednesday!! i need a movie soon.
it s been raining non stop for days, is mother nature going equally cranky as well?
many many things going on at the same time, and i m a bit stretched at the moment. personal stuff, family stuff, ns stuff, friends stuff and just all kinds of stuff. it's good in a way such that i m training and learning to juggle and cope which i ve always had problems. i m a typical guy who cant multi task. ok i can, just that i ll be pretty stressed out. ESPECIALLY, when i lack resources to complete my taskings. i have to constantly improvise which is really tiring. you know this when i start looking around, as if looking for something i ve lost in the woods. the lack of internet in camp, the lack of a proper organiser, the lack of personnel support, the lack of another ME.
anyway, at least i feel that i m making full use of every second. perhaps, i should take a breather this week. starting from wednesday!! i need a movie soon.
it s been raining non stop for days, is mother nature going equally cranky as well?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
behind the scenes: never seen before images
National Service. Enhanced Leadership batch, 1 year 10 months.
I've spent almost 1 year training. And it's been really eventful. But i guess it's the takeaway learning points that make this past 1 year more meaningful than i ever thought it would be. And so, i've decided to spent some time to post about how unforgetable the training phase of NS has been for me.
I enlisted on 6 February 2010 into BMTC School 3, Raven coy.
those were the days when locks were overflowing. honestly, i was just trying to save money and get a $2 haircut at tekong! there was no point shaving before going in as we dun know the standard they want. anyway, the truth is, they just wanna earn the $2 la.
ok, the last meal.
and there, we supposedly meet people from all walks of life. in fact, just to my left and right, i already knew them. there was colin from sa and sji, elian from sji, wilson from sa, leon from sa and just a hell lot of people i knew. gone were the days where we encounter ah bengs and sengs, hokkien pengs and jia kan tang atas people. everyone are of similar status.
we were very lucky to be able to book out after just 1 week due to chinese new year. i was really pushed to the limits in the first week. partly because my company, raven, was really quite xiong. i really learnt to appreciate the comfort of home since then.
after merely 1 week, i noticed changes in myself. we spent the whole day out in the sun for a week and i've become chao ta. we spent so much time doing physical activities, doing pushups for no reason, chin ups, weights and my arms just expanded naturally. we hardly have time to down our meals, sometimes just taking the food and eating on the way to the bin. i've seen food wastage at it's best. my stomach was never full and i've learnt to appreciate the food on the table, the time we have to enjoy the meal.
we hardly had time to do our own admin stuff at night. 5 min for an entire platoon of 64 men to shower in 8 cubicles. it's scary. some people just said "forget it" and just went to sleep. sleep was precious. i had to wake up early to hand wash my clothes and that was when i saw the gross side of people who actually REWEAR their used underwear. they just cant be bothered to be hygenic. sigh. at the end of each day, our bodies were aching, our hearts were aching, yearning to see our loved ones. i never failed to call home every night in bmt.
times at pasir ris interchange was memorable. dinner at white sands, then queued up for the bus to come. book outs were the most precious thing in bmt and in fact, ns. raven always book out on saturdays and book in on sundays. the 30 plus hours out was golden.
however, everything has to come to an end. no matter how tough training was, i made it.
Passing out parade aka POP after a gruelling 24km route march with probably 30kg load.
my first buddy. adriel tan. he hails from mj and applied for accoutancy at ntu. he s a smart guy. but quite blur. not blaming him since he was from squash and not a uniform group. a man u fan and a pretty skilful footballer, he's a good buddy. we had good talks and always looked out for each other. undeniably, i had to take care of him more often than not. taught him stuff i learnt from ncc, helped him with his fitness since his runnning wasnt good, always reminded him to bring his stuff, equipment check as we call it. haha he s always forgetting stuff.
in ns, i realised the importance of music. it was the only thing that i could bring into camp that's dynamic enough to remind me of the outside world. it lifts my spirits and every song associates itself with somebody.
in bmt,
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Down - Jay Sean
Officially Missing You - Tamia
Through It All - Hillsongs
bad romance was just a hit at that time. through it all reminded me of all the time in sa, chapel, and the last day in school. the other 2 were just syafiq and bing hong's favourites and they just kept singing.
as i said for the billionth time, i believe it was my section mates who got me into OCS. they thought highly of me and ranked me one of the top. my platoon sergeant didnt even know my name.
the parade square that i yearned to march on 9 months from that day.
view from the safti tower.
my buddy for Common Leadership Module aka CLM which was the first 3 weeks of OCS, was wong wei. a big muscular guy from nyjc. a hardcore canoeist, he's a soft spoken fella but loves 987fm. he's the one who got me into listening to radio everyday in camp. for him, i didn't have to take care of him much, since he was pretty independent. he's a chiongster who's always on the ball. the garang soldier who we term UP THERE. i wasnt surprised to meet people like him at ocs, in fact i thought everybody should be like him. my biggest regret was not able to take a photo with him as promised after comms parade. he went to armour while i was posted to air force. 3 weeks confined with him was pretty cool, because for once, i was the one talking more than the other party!
the pics were taken during OCS family day which was at the end of 2 weeks into ocs. we were confined for 3 weeks to supposedly adjust to the new environment.
air wing.
You Found Me - The Fray
Two Is Better Than One - Boys Like Girls
When I Look at You - Miley Cyrus
Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Parachute - Cheryl Cole
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
This Aint a Love Song - Scouting For Girls
Airplanes - B.o.B
Alenjandro - Lady Gaga
Tik Tok - Kesha
Breakeven - The Script
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
i think there are still more! but these are the songs i listened to day in day out for 7 weeks in air wing. they kept me company when i was at my utmost bored state.
my third buddy. adrian chua. 26 year old mec eng grad of ntu who signed on the new MDES scheme after completing his uni studies. he's more chinese orientated, VERY matured, does area cleaning whenever possible, believes in consistent work, believes in being selfless, sometimes even washing the entire toilet on his own (he was the toilet ic). ok when he left after 5 weeks, automatically, i took over as toilet ic and in the end, i was the one washing the toilet all by myself.
i saw myself in him. ok apart from the fact that he s more chinese and he uses vulgarities now and then. i have no idea why guys must use vulgarities in 1 out of 5 sentences they string. what effect does it pose? all i know is that it degrades you. it shows that you are not disciplined enough to control what you say, always expressing aggressiveness and anger. anyway, back to the point. he's someone i can really live with for a long long time, too bad it was only 5 weeks.
social night. i promised myself that i mustnt get someone who s attached or may have some complicated relationship out there to be my date. because i figured out it isnt nice to borrow someone's girlfriend for a night. i popped the SOS flare and hui hui saved me from confinement by asking xunqi to help out. as long as you are with me, you know you wont be starved of welfare. me being a stingy fella, i still splurged on that night and made sure everything went well. after spending so much time with a bunch of irritating males, i've learnt to appreciate the fairer sex more, and treat them better. hmm, but i dunno why my sisters still ill treat me!
after tough training, comes great rewards. the sword all officers get at RCGC.
my last buddy. koo zheng xuan. very very smart guy. gifted program since young, RI, RJ, 8As. gonna be a lawyer. talented in soccer, great artist. possesses great social skills, a quick thinker and an avid reader. i m grateful to him, for volunteering to move out of his old bunk and move with me when i had to leave zi heng. nobody else wanted me! no matter how good someone is, there are some down falls. he s still quite a mama s boy haha. very dependent, and lazy in terms of personal equipping. cant do housework for nuts, doesnt really care about cleanliness. (i had to clean the entire bunk myself!) but he takes care of me. sometimes he s like my bodyguard, standing up for me. i ll always remember the reaction he had at zoukout when i was separated from the rest. he was damn worried. i m glad someone actually cares about me. big guy tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. biggest weakness is FOOD! and i have to control him for his own good! if not, no more IPPT gold!!
commissioning parade. the birth of an officer after 9 months in the ocs womb.
the 3 weeks of rehearsals helped us achieve this standard. happy we may be, but i will always have the regret of not being able to throw the peak cap. the rain made the parade truncated and the rest was carried out in the dining hall.
I've spent almost 1 year training. And it's been really eventful. But i guess it's the takeaway learning points that make this past 1 year more meaningful than i ever thought it would be. And so, i've decided to spent some time to post about how unforgetable the training phase of NS has been for me.
I enlisted on 6 February 2010 into BMTC School 3, Raven coy.
those were the days when locks were overflowing. honestly, i was just trying to save money and get a $2 haircut at tekong! there was no point shaving before going in as we dun know the standard they want. anyway, the truth is, they just wanna earn the $2 la.
ok, the last meal.
and there, we supposedly meet people from all walks of life. in fact, just to my left and right, i already knew them. there was colin from sa and sji, elian from sji, wilson from sa, leon from sa and just a hell lot of people i knew. gone were the days where we encounter ah bengs and sengs, hokkien pengs and jia kan tang atas people. everyone are of similar status.
we were very lucky to be able to book out after just 1 week due to chinese new year. i was really pushed to the limits in the first week. partly because my company, raven, was really quite xiong. i really learnt to appreciate the comfort of home since then.
after merely 1 week, i noticed changes in myself. we spent the whole day out in the sun for a week and i've become chao ta. we spent so much time doing physical activities, doing pushups for no reason, chin ups, weights and my arms just expanded naturally. we hardly have time to down our meals, sometimes just taking the food and eating on the way to the bin. i've seen food wastage at it's best. my stomach was never full and i've learnt to appreciate the food on the table, the time we have to enjoy the meal.
we hardly had time to do our own admin stuff at night. 5 min for an entire platoon of 64 men to shower in 8 cubicles. it's scary. some people just said "forget it" and just went to sleep. sleep was precious. i had to wake up early to hand wash my clothes and that was when i saw the gross side of people who actually REWEAR their used underwear. they just cant be bothered to be hygenic. sigh. at the end of each day, our bodies were aching, our hearts were aching, yearning to see our loved ones. i never failed to call home every night in bmt.
times at pasir ris interchange was memorable. dinner at white sands, then queued up for the bus to come. book outs were the most precious thing in bmt and in fact, ns. raven always book out on saturdays and book in on sundays. the 30 plus hours out was golden.
however, everything has to come to an end. no matter how tough training was, i made it.
Passing out parade aka POP after a gruelling 24km route march with probably 30kg load.
my first buddy. adriel tan. he hails from mj and applied for accoutancy at ntu. he s a smart guy. but quite blur. not blaming him since he was from squash and not a uniform group. a man u fan and a pretty skilful footballer, he's a good buddy. we had good talks and always looked out for each other. undeniably, i had to take care of him more often than not. taught him stuff i learnt from ncc, helped him with his fitness since his runnning wasnt good, always reminded him to bring his stuff, equipment check as we call it. haha he s always forgetting stuff.
in ns, i realised the importance of music. it was the only thing that i could bring into camp that's dynamic enough to remind me of the outside world. it lifts my spirits and every song associates itself with somebody.
in bmt,
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Down - Jay Sean
Officially Missing You - Tamia
Through It All - Hillsongs
bad romance was just a hit at that time. through it all reminded me of all the time in sa, chapel, and the last day in school. the other 2 were just syafiq and bing hong's favourites and they just kept singing.
as i said for the billionth time, i believe it was my section mates who got me into OCS. they thought highly of me and ranked me one of the top. my platoon sergeant didnt even know my name.
the parade square that i yearned to march on 9 months from that day.
view from the safti tower.
my buddy for Common Leadership Module aka CLM which was the first 3 weeks of OCS, was wong wei. a big muscular guy from nyjc. a hardcore canoeist, he's a soft spoken fella but loves 987fm. he's the one who got me into listening to radio everyday in camp. for him, i didn't have to take care of him much, since he was pretty independent. he's a chiongster who's always on the ball. the garang soldier who we term UP THERE. i wasnt surprised to meet people like him at ocs, in fact i thought everybody should be like him. my biggest regret was not able to take a photo with him as promised after comms parade. he went to armour while i was posted to air force. 3 weeks confined with him was pretty cool, because for once, i was the one talking more than the other party!
the pics were taken during OCS family day which was at the end of 2 weeks into ocs. we were confined for 3 weeks to supposedly adjust to the new environment.
air wing.
You Found Me - The Fray
Two Is Better Than One - Boys Like Girls
When I Look at You - Miley Cyrus
Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Parachute - Cheryl Cole
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
This Aint a Love Song - Scouting For Girls
Airplanes - B.o.B
Alenjandro - Lady Gaga
Tik Tok - Kesha
Breakeven - The Script
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
i think there are still more! but these are the songs i listened to day in day out for 7 weeks in air wing. they kept me company when i was at my utmost bored state.
my third buddy. adrian chua. 26 year old mec eng grad of ntu who signed on the new MDES scheme after completing his uni studies. he's more chinese orientated, VERY matured, does area cleaning whenever possible, believes in consistent work, believes in being selfless, sometimes even washing the entire toilet on his own (he was the toilet ic). ok when he left after 5 weeks, automatically, i took over as toilet ic and in the end, i was the one washing the toilet all by myself.
i saw myself in him. ok apart from the fact that he s more chinese and he uses vulgarities now and then. i have no idea why guys must use vulgarities in 1 out of 5 sentences they string. what effect does it pose? all i know is that it degrades you. it shows that you are not disciplined enough to control what you say, always expressing aggressiveness and anger. anyway, back to the point. he's someone i can really live with for a long long time, too bad it was only 5 weeks.
social night. i promised myself that i mustnt get someone who s attached or may have some complicated relationship out there to be my date. because i figured out it isnt nice to borrow someone's girlfriend for a night. i popped the SOS flare and hui hui saved me from confinement by asking xunqi to help out. as long as you are with me, you know you wont be starved of welfare. me being a stingy fella, i still splurged on that night and made sure everything went well. after spending so much time with a bunch of irritating males, i've learnt to appreciate the fairer sex more, and treat them better. hmm, but i dunno why my sisters still ill treat me!
anyway, this is the part where i dun have pictures. it's just training, out in the field, where i get down and dirty. learn to roll in mud, be dirty, starve, work under fatigue and stress, and still thrive. i learnt a lot about guys. i see guys (actually only ONE fella) who are the real deal, matured, clean, hardworking, focussed, independent. and i see guys which are actually the rest, who are lazy, unhygienic, overly dependent, childish and never think. some who spend every cent in the bank acct whenever it s the 10th of the month, go clubbing, drinking, smoking, cabbing everywhere, buying branded goods, unneccessary stuff and sucking up to girls. sometimes, i m just utterly disgusted. i'm disappointed how these people who have poor knowledge, no skills, can actually get a qualification and a job and earn more than hardworking cleaners, or construction workers who actually have much more useful skills. WHY are they paid to just sit around in the office, contribute nothing, go for tea breaks, and wait to knock off at 5pm? they are more concerned about how to enjoy themselve than to build on their knowledge and skills. is this the 3rd generation?
at aftc, i had another buddy. wong zi heng. from tj and ncc sea previously, his habits are almost similar to mine. we dun believe in waiting and always report just ON time. our lights out timing always changes. and we believe in neat organisation. his stuff are always in place, as he terms SWEE SWEE. sadly, we had to split as we were posted to different weapons.
after tough training, comes great rewards. the sword all officers get at RCGC.
my last buddy. koo zheng xuan. very very smart guy. gifted program since young, RI, RJ, 8As. gonna be a lawyer. talented in soccer, great artist. possesses great social skills, a quick thinker and an avid reader. i m grateful to him, for volunteering to move out of his old bunk and move with me when i had to leave zi heng. nobody else wanted me! no matter how good someone is, there are some down falls. he s still quite a mama s boy haha. very dependent, and lazy in terms of personal equipping. cant do housework for nuts, doesnt really care about cleanliness. (i had to clean the entire bunk myself!) but he takes care of me. sometimes he s like my bodyguard, standing up for me. i ll always remember the reaction he had at zoukout when i was separated from the rest. he was damn worried. i m glad someone actually cares about me. big guy tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. biggest weakness is FOOD! and i have to control him for his own good! if not, no more IPPT gold!!
songs in aftc playing on repeat every single day:
Just the Way you Are - Bruno Mars
Animal - Neon Trees
Love the Way you Lie pt 1 and 2 - Rihanna
The Time - Black Eyed Peas
Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
Dynamite - Taio Cruz
Firework - Katy Perry
commissioning parade. the birth of an officer after 9 months in the ocs womb.
we stood firm in the storm. unwavered as the president inspected us on the ceromonial landrover you see in ndp. we did everything right despite water in our boots, the chilly wind against our skin.
the 3 weeks of rehearsals helped us achieve this standard. happy we may be, but i will always have the regret of not being able to throw the peak cap. the rain made the parade truncated and the rest was carried out in the dining hall.
my dad putting on the left empulatte - 2nd Lieutenant.
as promised, we commissioned together. ming had a torrid service term. ying lun went through shit to earn those badges and the prestigious red beret. and for myself, i cant say i went though the same amount of shit, but tough times i've never ever been through for my entire 19 years.
no school teaches better than Officer Cadet School. the life skills i've learnt can perhaps, save the rest of my life.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
dropping rain
1 more week to the day i've been training for for 9 months.
however, i'm extremely worried. i have been on the verge of falling ill since wednesday. the feeling and the symptoms. the bad throat and the occasional sneeze hint at something. if i do fall, and miss the rehearsals, that's it. there goes the event i've been looking forward to for 9 months. and so, i've been popping actifed, panadol, danzen and downing expectorant ever since. i'm not sure how these medications work, but i'm hoping that they will somehow disrupt the replication process and prevent the virus from infecting my dear cells. i have to recover by tomorrow!!!
please please please.
despite feeling shitty, i still went for my first acca lesson during the friday nights out. it was a mad rush and i only managed to attend half of it, but i think it's worth it. i learnt a lot in the hour plus. but the most crucial lesson learnt is: there is a hell lot of things out there i don't know. and that reminded me i'm no where, nobody. i have to work hard.
the next day i received news that i might not be staring at stores or vehicles afterall. instead, i'll be in charge of almost 30 men. it's kinda weird. but i guess, this is what we are trained for ultimately right. to lead, to excel, to overcome. it's time to take charge, make the decisions, instruct, do the right thing. i've learnt to take care of myself, and now, it's time to take care of others. the bar gives authority i've never dreamt of. but with great power, comes great responsibility.
had driving straight after a saturday bookout and it was good. getting used to the controls pretty well. it was my younger sister's birthday and we went to tung lok at east coast for dinner. it was extremely fulfilling since it was an ala carte buffet. the food was good and so was the environment.
everyone's growing old. i found it hard to believe that she's 17 already. and me, i'm gonna be 20. TWO ZERO. not a teen anymore. it's like, wow. 2 decades just passed like that. i'd better get things done, instead of always waiting and waiting and waiting. sometimes, certain things can't wait. and once you miss it, you can never get it back.
youth is one, no doubt.
however, i'm extremely worried. i have been on the verge of falling ill since wednesday. the feeling and the symptoms. the bad throat and the occasional sneeze hint at something. if i do fall, and miss the rehearsals, that's it. there goes the event i've been looking forward to for 9 months. and so, i've been popping actifed, panadol, danzen and downing expectorant ever since. i'm not sure how these medications work, but i'm hoping that they will somehow disrupt the replication process and prevent the virus from infecting my dear cells. i have to recover by tomorrow!!!
please please please.
despite feeling shitty, i still went for my first acca lesson during the friday nights out. it was a mad rush and i only managed to attend half of it, but i think it's worth it. i learnt a lot in the hour plus. but the most crucial lesson learnt is: there is a hell lot of things out there i don't know. and that reminded me i'm no where, nobody. i have to work hard.
the next day i received news that i might not be staring at stores or vehicles afterall. instead, i'll be in charge of almost 30 men. it's kinda weird. but i guess, this is what we are trained for ultimately right. to lead, to excel, to overcome. it's time to take charge, make the decisions, instruct, do the right thing. i've learnt to take care of myself, and now, it's time to take care of others. the bar gives authority i've never dreamt of. but with great power, comes great responsibility.
had driving straight after a saturday bookout and it was good. getting used to the controls pretty well. it was my younger sister's birthday and we went to tung lok at east coast for dinner. it was extremely fulfilling since it was an ala carte buffet. the food was good and so was the environment.
everyone's growing old. i found it hard to believe that she's 17 already. and me, i'm gonna be 20. TWO ZERO. not a teen anymore. it's like, wow. 2 decades just passed like that. i'd better get things done, instead of always waiting and waiting and waiting. sometimes, certain things can't wait. and once you miss it, you can never get it back.
youth is one, no doubt.
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 annual report
Hi all! To whoever still bothers to read this pathetic space that only update once a week.
It’s the last day of the year and so, here’s an annual end of the year ‘reflection’ again! Ok, it’s more of a summary of what happened this year, as usual. I had the idea of uploading photos to mark certain significant events, but I’m too lazy to do so and I’m kinda in a rush to get out of the house. So, here it goes, a quick one I hope.
I kick started the year with an outrageous trip to Bintan, aka the Scam Island. The nasi goreng was ultimate hilarious. I really enjoyed the trip. Just a bunch of guys, childish, yet matured enough to take care of themselves, and their brothers in arms. Somehow, i hope i can go on another trip with them. We might have changed a significant lot by the end of this year, but i think the core, the character of the person will never change. If he is funny, he is funny. If he is a leader, he will always be one. And 4 of those who went are deemed leaders of this country. These are the people i can trust my life with.
And after enough fooling around in scam island, i resided in another island for 9 weeks. The island of pulau tekong. It was tough, tougher than i thought, but i survived it and was elated during the Passing out Parade. Honoured to be in the drill squad, which came in 2nd, and as such, was in the front row of the parade. It wasn’t grand, but i guess it’s enough to mark this significant milestone of my life. Loved my section, and i’m sure my section loved me. They thought so highly of me, and i think they are the ones who got me a ticket to a ride of my lifetime. And so, i was posted to Officer Cadet School after the pop. I was all geared up and ready for the tough infantry training, the jungle confidence course in brunei, the unlimted route marches, the crazy field camps and tough mental challenges to go through. I was posted to an unusual Wing. Sierra. There were a billion regulars, mostly air force and navy sign ons. And i was kinda out of place. The 3 weeks there was quite ok, just getting used to life in Safti. However, i was tempted to sign on. I thought hard about my future during those 3 weeks, after the a level results were released. There was sort of a plan. But i consulted my parents and they said, ‘wait, don’t be hasty.’ I guess those were the wisest words i heard for a long time. I was young and naive, easily influenced, and didn’t know i was playing with probably my whole life. So i thought, yea, ok i shall listen. We’ll wait. And i waited.
On the last day in Sierra, i received the news that i was going to Air Wing. The plane has come to save my soul from torture. I was jumping for joy and telling the whole world the news. I was one lucky idiot out of how many others to be able to go to Ground Based Air Defence. And so i served my service term of 7 weeks in Air Wing OCS. I met a 26 year old uncle who talked sense and gave me precious advice. He ‘s a Mechanical Engineering grad of NTU and told me about his life, his decisions, his WRONG decisions, his regrets and mistakes. He didn’t want me to make the same mistakes and we spent one whole night talking. I probably grew 3 years older after the session. He left the Wing early since he was a non combatant and required 2 weeks less training. So i lived alone in my room for 2 weeks, settling unconventional stuff like getting a Social Night date and figuring out what to wear that won’t get me confined. The 7 weeks was bad enough with politics and stuff, i didn’t want any more crap. I realised I had so few female friends to ask and even had to turn to my motherly ‘sister’ for help. That was how desperate i was when the date drew near. And so, that s how i met a saviour in xunqi to help me out. The build up to the event was kinda hectic, but i guess everything paid off. It was expensive, but somehow worth it. Part of officership training is handling this kind of events, knowing what to do, and of course, having fun ultimately. And perhaps, it’s training to grow up, be a gentleman, and make more female friends before i start seeing guys as attractive. Social Night was a significant day of 2010.
After the 7 weeks in Safti, i left for Air Force Training Command in Paya Lebar. I can’t disclose much about training, but all i can say is that it’s tough in some ways, relax in others. 26 weeks. It wasn’t easy. But yet i pulled through again. Yes, without my knees giving way or me doing stupid things. It was a rather smooth sailing 6 months. I made a bunch of great buddies, who i believe, will be of definite help to me in future. As they call us – the scholar batch. All except me of course. The RSAF Combined Graduation Ceremony went all well, i received the sword all officers receive, got my wings to signify the Air Warfare Officer vocation, wore the No.2 ‘suit’ for the fine dining. And after all that training, i’m back in Safti, rehearsing for the finale. The commissioning parade on 15 January 2011.
That was about the entire NS life i had so far.
In between, i started to learn driving, manual, and will be taking the test on 1st March 2011. I also decided to diversify my qualifications and signed up for ACCA, of which night lessons begin next week so that i can fully utilize my time now. I guess this should be the path i’m taking afterall. Yup, it was a great year of ups and downs (as always) and this is the year i learnt the most life skills. Skills like living independently, which i m kinda loving it, social skills, time management (which still needs brushing up), DECISIVENESS which improved a lot and perhaps brotherhood..
This is the stage where i grow up, choose my path, pave it, and work towards it. I shall end this post with what i dreamt last night. It’s significant i guess, the last dream of 2010. And it woke me up at 4am, and i couldn’t sleep anymore. The details are kinda difficult to type out, but i think i can draw one conclusion from it. I think i’ve decided i should know someone better.
That’s it, folks. I don’t really like to set resolutions, so i shall keep it that way. Come what may, 2011!!
It’s the last day of the year and so, here’s an annual end of the year ‘reflection’ again! Ok, it’s more of a summary of what happened this year, as usual. I had the idea of uploading photos to mark certain significant events, but I’m too lazy to do so and I’m kinda in a rush to get out of the house. So, here it goes, a quick one I hope.
I kick started the year with an outrageous trip to Bintan, aka the Scam Island. The nasi goreng was ultimate hilarious. I really enjoyed the trip. Just a bunch of guys, childish, yet matured enough to take care of themselves, and their brothers in arms. Somehow, i hope i can go on another trip with them. We might have changed a significant lot by the end of this year, but i think the core, the character of the person will never change. If he is funny, he is funny. If he is a leader, he will always be one. And 4 of those who went are deemed leaders of this country. These are the people i can trust my life with.
And after enough fooling around in scam island, i resided in another island for 9 weeks. The island of pulau tekong. It was tough, tougher than i thought, but i survived it and was elated during the Passing out Parade. Honoured to be in the drill squad, which came in 2nd, and as such, was in the front row of the parade. It wasn’t grand, but i guess it’s enough to mark this significant milestone of my life. Loved my section, and i’m sure my section loved me. They thought so highly of me, and i think they are the ones who got me a ticket to a ride of my lifetime. And so, i was posted to Officer Cadet School after the pop. I was all geared up and ready for the tough infantry training, the jungle confidence course in brunei, the unlimted route marches, the crazy field camps and tough mental challenges to go through. I was posted to an unusual Wing. Sierra. There were a billion regulars, mostly air force and navy sign ons. And i was kinda out of place. The 3 weeks there was quite ok, just getting used to life in Safti. However, i was tempted to sign on. I thought hard about my future during those 3 weeks, after the a level results were released. There was sort of a plan. But i consulted my parents and they said, ‘wait, don’t be hasty.’ I guess those were the wisest words i heard for a long time. I was young and naive, easily influenced, and didn’t know i was playing with probably my whole life. So i thought, yea, ok i shall listen. We’ll wait. And i waited.
On the last day in Sierra, i received the news that i was going to Air Wing. The plane has come to save my soul from torture. I was jumping for joy and telling the whole world the news. I was one lucky idiot out of how many others to be able to go to Ground Based Air Defence. And so i served my service term of 7 weeks in Air Wing OCS. I met a 26 year old uncle who talked sense and gave me precious advice. He ‘s a Mechanical Engineering grad of NTU and told me about his life, his decisions, his WRONG decisions, his regrets and mistakes. He didn’t want me to make the same mistakes and we spent one whole night talking. I probably grew 3 years older after the session. He left the Wing early since he was a non combatant and required 2 weeks less training. So i lived alone in my room for 2 weeks, settling unconventional stuff like getting a Social Night date and figuring out what to wear that won’t get me confined. The 7 weeks was bad enough with politics and stuff, i didn’t want any more crap. I realised I had so few female friends to ask and even had to turn to my motherly ‘sister’ for help. That was how desperate i was when the date drew near. And so, that s how i met a saviour in xunqi to help me out. The build up to the event was kinda hectic, but i guess everything paid off. It was expensive, but somehow worth it. Part of officership training is handling this kind of events, knowing what to do, and of course, having fun ultimately. And perhaps, it’s training to grow up, be a gentleman, and make more female friends before i start seeing guys as attractive. Social Night was a significant day of 2010.
After the 7 weeks in Safti, i left for Air Force Training Command in Paya Lebar. I can’t disclose much about training, but all i can say is that it’s tough in some ways, relax in others. 26 weeks. It wasn’t easy. But yet i pulled through again. Yes, without my knees giving way or me doing stupid things. It was a rather smooth sailing 6 months. I made a bunch of great buddies, who i believe, will be of definite help to me in future. As they call us – the scholar batch. All except me of course. The RSAF Combined Graduation Ceremony went all well, i received the sword all officers receive, got my wings to signify the Air Warfare Officer vocation, wore the No.2 ‘suit’ for the fine dining. And after all that training, i’m back in Safti, rehearsing for the finale. The commissioning parade on 15 January 2011.
That was about the entire NS life i had so far.
In between, i started to learn driving, manual, and will be taking the test on 1st March 2011. I also decided to diversify my qualifications and signed up for ACCA, of which night lessons begin next week so that i can fully utilize my time now. I guess this should be the path i’m taking afterall. Yup, it was a great year of ups and downs (as always) and this is the year i learnt the most life skills. Skills like living independently, which i m kinda loving it, social skills, time management (which still needs brushing up), DECISIVENESS which improved a lot and perhaps brotherhood..
This is the stage where i grow up, choose my path, pave it, and work towards it. I shall end this post with what i dreamt last night. It’s significant i guess, the last dream of 2010. And it woke me up at 4am, and i couldn’t sleep anymore. The details are kinda difficult to type out, but i think i can draw one conclusion from it. I think i’ve decided i should know someone better.
That’s it, folks. I don’t really like to set resolutions, so i shall keep it that way. Come what may, 2011!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
a mini holiday
well, i had a pretty good break i guess. it aint the best but i somehow made full use of the 2 day leave and the stay out. family chalet at aranda was not bad overall. the chalet wasnt good as i thought. it s quite old actually and has the ... chalet smell. the musky smell. anyway i went prawning in hope of putting my newly acquired skills to good use and to bring some more food to the dinner table, ok bbq pit in this case. but i failed miserably. i caught NONE. at 6pm in the evening, where the owner only releases 20kg of prawns in total two times a day, it s quite an expected outcome. which brings me to a point in business. it s really quite smart, but unethical to me. things like buffet, and prawning, or even those machines with psps, ipods amd handphones danglin at the arcades. it s a sure win. they get to control the medium. for buffets, just slow the serving process, take forever to serve and throw in the time limit, no matter how big the stomach is, it cant be filled. prawning, just have rods dipped in an empty pond! and the machines, it s programmed such that no one ever wins.
ok anyway, back to the chalet, had a fulfilling bbq without prawns, and we went for late night bowling till 1am. slept for a while before booking in. skip the boring parts. ok went back to the chalet after book out and had a simple dinner at the food court. played some mahjong before hitting the sacks earlier. went back to aftc for the last time to move our stuff to safti once more. i ll miss the place. it has been a brilliant 6 months spent at paya lebar. life was good. i m one lucky fella to be posted there for training, and to have spent it with great people and inspiring leaders.
safti. sweet old safti. memories rushed back the moment we hit the gates. i m sure i ll be black by the end of 3 weeks. evident by some sun burn after just one drill session. it s quite fun though. booked out early and met lois for movie at jp since it s her territory. i would say it s worth the money. quite a good movie.
driving today, and i mastered the highest level of the art of solitude by strolling down town all by myself. just walked and walked around orchard, mingling within the crowds, observing the changes, soaking the christmas atmosphere and just people watched. of course it would have been nice to have friends there, but i just didnt know who to ask. and so, i just had dinner and went back. it s not that sad as it seems. it s just a phase of life, where you just think.. and that s all you can do.
ok anyway, back to the chalet, had a fulfilling bbq without prawns, and we went for late night bowling till 1am. slept for a while before booking in. skip the boring parts. ok went back to the chalet after book out and had a simple dinner at the food court. played some mahjong before hitting the sacks earlier. went back to aftc for the last time to move our stuff to safti once more. i ll miss the place. it has been a brilliant 6 months spent at paya lebar. life was good. i m one lucky fella to be posted there for training, and to have spent it with great people and inspiring leaders.
safti. sweet old safti. memories rushed back the moment we hit the gates. i m sure i ll be black by the end of 3 weeks. evident by some sun burn after just one drill session. it s quite fun though. booked out early and met lois for movie at jp since it s her territory. i would say it s worth the money. quite a good movie.
driving today, and i mastered the highest level of the art of solitude by strolling down town all by myself. just walked and walked around orchard, mingling within the crowds, observing the changes, soaking the christmas atmosphere and just people watched. of course it would have been nice to have friends there, but i just didnt know who to ask. and so, i just had dinner and went back. it s not that sad as it seems. it s just a phase of life, where you just think.. and that s all you can do.
Monday, December 20, 2010
sword for life, wings to fly.
and we spent the entire week preparing for this. the graduation ceromony.
it was apparently quite a big event, considering the number of HEADS who actually bothered to attend. i was pretty amused. yep anyway i have to admit everything went very well and the organisation was really good. i received my sword at last! not to forget, the wings too! after the 26 weeks of training, it finally ended with this to mark it. but somehow i didnt really feel that ecstatic. it s like, oh ok, yea it s here. perhaps the build up to this wasnt that intense. we had so much freedom, so much time out, and even stay out. i guess this just shows how much these things are compared to time spent with my family and friends. however, i could see how proud my parents were when i received the sword. they must be thinking, yea this fella finally got something right after getting everything else wrong for 19 years. hahah. anyways, after the ceromony was fine dining which was labelled 'uncomfortable dining' by the guy sitting beside me. i m fine with fine dining. i m fine as long as the food is nice. and damn, it was great. soup was creamy, appetiser appetising, bread free flow, tenderloin brilliantly tender and pan fried. even the spirit was well mixed, ok minus the pot wine, everything was great. after the formal stuff, there was some sabo game which i shallnt disclose anything here.
sat morning was cage! played pretty well and that s all that matters since my main dudes were mostly missing. it s so difficult to organise when everyone s schedule clashes. lunch at koufu leisure park and then went for lesson and home. sun, i finally cleared up my army stuff. and played mahjong which i technically won $120, but the new rule was to divide by 10. so, i won 12 bucks. great. squeezed in time to watch despicable me on mio. yep it was quite good, but kinda like ratatouile. too similar plot.
today, i m at home thanks to the need to clear leave. and i dedicated my entire day to family. which was kinda weird. because, i ended up going to karaoke with them. hahaha. and it s not teo heng or kbox. it s civil service club! tried to get teo heng but no space, tried kbox but too ex. the club was pathetic, but cheap! $7 per hour for a room that can hold 10 people. just that it s like some nightclub type except that it s all the uncles and aunties trying to practise for Golden Hour (is that the ch8 programme?) or is it golden years. ah whatever. it s quite hilarious. teo heng s still cheaper though, since they stupidly forced us to order $3 cokes and $5 fruits. went for dinner at some tim sum place around farrer park. quite fulfilling. ok i guess thats it. MORE family time tml, at the chalet. till then, tata!
it was apparently quite a big event, considering the number of HEADS who actually bothered to attend. i was pretty amused. yep anyway i have to admit everything went very well and the organisation was really good. i received my sword at last! not to forget, the wings too! after the 26 weeks of training, it finally ended with this to mark it. but somehow i didnt really feel that ecstatic. it s like, oh ok, yea it s here. perhaps the build up to this wasnt that intense. we had so much freedom, so much time out, and even stay out. i guess this just shows how much these things are compared to time spent with my family and friends. however, i could see how proud my parents were when i received the sword. they must be thinking, yea this fella finally got something right after getting everything else wrong for 19 years. hahah. anyways, after the ceromony was fine dining which was labelled 'uncomfortable dining' by the guy sitting beside me. i m fine with fine dining. i m fine as long as the food is nice. and damn, it was great. soup was creamy, appetiser appetising, bread free flow, tenderloin brilliantly tender and pan fried. even the spirit was well mixed, ok minus the pot wine, everything was great. after the formal stuff, there was some sabo game which i shallnt disclose anything here.
sat morning was cage! played pretty well and that s all that matters since my main dudes were mostly missing. it s so difficult to organise when everyone s schedule clashes. lunch at koufu leisure park and then went for lesson and home. sun, i finally cleared up my army stuff. and played mahjong which i technically won $120, but the new rule was to divide by 10. so, i won 12 bucks. great. squeezed in time to watch despicable me on mio. yep it was quite good, but kinda like ratatouile. too similar plot.
today, i m at home thanks to the need to clear leave. and i dedicated my entire day to family. which was kinda weird. because, i ended up going to karaoke with them. hahaha. and it s not teo heng or kbox. it s civil service club! tried to get teo heng but no space, tried kbox but too ex. the club was pathetic, but cheap! $7 per hour for a room that can hold 10 people. just that it s like some nightclub type except that it s all the uncles and aunties trying to practise for Golden Hour (is that the ch8 programme?) or is it golden years. ah whatever. it s quite hilarious. teo heng s still cheaper though, since they stupidly forced us to order $3 cokes and $5 fruits. went for dinner at some tim sum place around farrer park. quite fulfilling. ok i guess thats it. MORE family time tml, at the chalet. till then, tata!
Monday, December 13, 2010
packed like sardines
it was non stop action since book out. but i guess it s called making full use of time.
booked out and went for driving which i m quite pleased with the progress. rushed down immediately to city hall to have dinner at the garlic restaurant once again to celebrate pam s birthday. stayed till quite late and as usual had to run for the last bus.
recharged till late morning to settle some admin stuff which failed. now i gotta do it again. anyway, met huihui for a rather impromptu lunch, which was rather awesome. indulgence once in a long while. sushi tei rocks socks.
flew back home to drop my stuff, got changed, and flew back down to town, vivo to meet up with the guys for zoukout10. it wasnt THAT good. as an early bird, we went in quite early to queue for free drinks (for singtel users only) and got just a liiiiiilllllllllll tipsy. but we realised it was too early. and before the real thing started we were all totally sober. yep that was basically what happened. because nothing happens when you aint high. ok at least that s for me. 8 cups wasnt enough. and we didnt open the bottle that one guy brought.
but the music at the retro arena was not bad. at least recognisable. other than that, not my cup of tea. it was like l4d fighting zombies, getting swallowed in the crowd. so we left after finding one another AFTER getting separated in the crowd. walked all the way out to vivocity and took a cab home.
slept till 2pm and watched a mio movie before packing up and visit ngee ann poly to help my dad with some of his work. and a nice rewarding dinner at sizzler toa payoh hub. it was damn worth it. salad bar buffet. i m never going to jack s after the sizzler session.
yep so that s about it. booked in and that concluded a great weekend.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
social creatures
the freedom we have now is unbelievable. and it s just a preview of what is to come. now i understand the rationale of having the tough training, the picky system to choose the right people to take up these roles. there will be no more cats to chase the rats. the rats are trusted to do the right thing all the time. to have the discipline that was instilled and carry on upholding it.
the distinct line between trainees and instructors have been fading at an astonishing rapid rate. somehow, we are more like friends than colleagues. the transition is difficult for me, but i guess i ll have to pick up some skills to deal with that. i aint no natural.
we had late night sarpino s pizza on thursday, a crazy kampung fight, an early bookout for prata breakfast outside our 'beloved' nee soon, and a hell of a time at bottle tree park yet again. this time it wasnt prawns, it was WAR. paint war! haha it was fun, but PAINtFUL. i sustained some battle scars being a hero who charged to the frontline of exchanging fire. the paintball may be small, but it caused some serious bruising. there was blood too. but i guess it was all worth it in the spirit of fun and competiveness.
next up was LAN, just outside our future 'beloved' chong pang. it was amazingly fun, considering i m no LAN fella. it has been a long time since i touched l4d2. and it felt good to be actually one of the better ones at it that day.
after 2 hours, it was food yet again! xiao long bao buffet at crystal jade holland village once more. the good stuff came too slow! i was almost filled by the steamboat by the time our full orders came. but it was a good meal nonetheless. the end of course cohesion was a success overall.
as i was heading home at tampines interchange, i was stopped by one of those surveyors with a pen and stack of papers. being in a good mood and had lots of time to waste, i decided to listen to what she had to say. somehow, the statement made by the famous tangs plaza underpass busker struck me. he said something like this "i hope singaporeans will slow down their pace and listen." of course he was referring to his music, but i thought yea, maybe i should just slow down and see what this people want. i totally understand the sucky feeling of having millions of people zoom past you while you are trying to your job. (FLAG DAY)
so anyway, she was introducing some savings scheme for students and NSFs to save 3% of their monthly income, instead of the usual 0.01% interest when thrown into the bank. she said she would earn $0.50 if i filled the particulars form, and $1 if i followed her to her booth to collect some brochures. ok, so i being a nice soul that day, decided to help out. instead, another guy appeared at the so called 'booth' which was just an empty mcdonald s table and started to display the usual salesman behaviour - build rapport by talking about similar experiences like NS and uni, then display some professional knowledge and persuasive skills.
after trying to retort their scheme by pointing out that 3% is too little, and i could get way higher interests with my assets by other means of investment, he came up with some lame counter that i can put in lesser money with them. then i rebutted with 'what s the point in putting in so little to collect probably just $20 after 1 whole year which i might spend in a single meal??'
their jaws just dropped.
apparently, i wasnt that stupid as i looked. i asked them twice about their company but they kept shunning telling more about it.
but i didnt have enough just yet. i shot back at them with a last question. why are they targeting students and NSFs despite knowing their disposable income is so little? some hardly have $10 to save, and the amount of effort to get the large number of kids to make up for one rich working adult who can contribute so much more is tremendous.
the guy who claims he was from NBS said with an unconvincing smile that the company s aim is to help the target group. i ended the conversation with,"dun kid me, i study economics too, and i know that all commercial companies have the primary objective of making profits." and i stood up, offered a handshake and walked off. the feeling was awesomeeee.
it was obvious that they cant convince the working adults to put their money with this minnow company who might be just starting up and now they are targeting adolescents who can be easily conned into signing 25 year contracts and freezing their assets when they could be used for a better return.
from that moment, i realised the immense importance of education and financial literacy, which i guess might well be my route in future.
yesterday. driving, which went very smoothly. i m pleased with my learning pace. fighting out on the main roads was thrilling but i m glad i managed well.
headed down to 15 minutes Cafe at Lasalle College for dinner with ying, reub, shawn, tong, jer, his gf and friend. it was supposed to be a celebration for his birthday coming up next week. the place was nice but a lil too cold. jackston joined later and met up with ivan for another session of INTENSE l4d2. once again, i returned to become the noob of the group, but didnt play that badly. improving! great time spent, but ended at 1plus only to catch the night owl for an hour s ride home alone.
men - social creatures. how would i thrive without these people around me? really appreciate the company of these wonderful people in my life. even though some people simply love teasing me for apparently no reason at all. hahah. good try dudes, but nope, not true. :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
it ain't over yet
the final outfield is done.
it wasnt as intensive. i can back it up with stats and data. the previous one i lost 3kg, but i only lost 1kg this time round. ok cut the boring stuff, i embarked on an amazing journey to gain back all the weight i lost and it started right after book out on friday.
aunt's birthday at imperial palace at tampines1. ok the usual stuff, but food never tasted so good after a week of abstinence.
sat was my ftt alas. yea passed with flying colours. but long way to pass the practical. went back to do admin stuff, catch up with amazing race and got changed for another wedding. another cousin wedding at marriot hotel. and guess what. the entire 10 course meal was the same as what i ate 24 hours before that. it s scary. and this time, i m eating for 3 pax portion since my table has only 8 people. at the end of it, i was sure i gained the 1kg lost PLUS gst, service charge, extra service charge, extra extra service charge etc. as for the wedding dinner, the whole thing was kinda well planned. it was contemporary, the food was good, the speeches were engaging, the entertainment was excellent. live acoustic trio performance. the guitarist is imba. ok maybe coz he has a good guitar, but he s familiar with the tabs like the back of his hand. great stuff.
anyways, was deadbeat and just died on the bed without even changing out. woke up to the charms of the morning sun rays and did more admin stuff before going out to watch harry potter. like finally. the build up to it was kinda complicated, but oh well, i think i made the best choice.
the feeling of just snuggling into a warm jacket, while roaming about the cold mall, drizzling on the outside, and buzzing with people on the inside, is just great. throw in the hot coffee and some snacks, i just went wow. had a nice jap dinner after that and just booked in. it was still a brilliant weekend, but it could have been better. it was close.
should be a short and good week coming up. good luck to those having exams!
crap, i miss tau huey and croissants.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
sweet freedom
hah. it was a week to dream for.
put it in nicer terms it s called rest and recovery, or as some of my friends would say, body maintenance. hahah. ok i didnt quite rest since i sustained yet ANOTHER injury.
warmed up for cage on monday night and had cage on tuesday which we could only reach the finals but could not win it. i cant believe it. the team s really strong but we couldnt create enough and contain all their attacks. i tried my best but i was covering too much all by myself. glad that i did my part for all the defensive work, the initialization for attacks and a thumping penalty in off the post. had a great time, but screwed my right hamstring after all the work.
and so i was limping for the rest of the week. wednesday off, friday drove.
saturday was a pretty productive day. some how, i felt all happy and chirpy to wake up at 9 and left for town alone with no friends to meet, only to settle my personal stuff. it s nice because you have all the freedom in the world. i guess this is just what i need before going through another round of crap coming up this week.
been stocking up my cells with nutrients over the weekend. meaning eating like no tomorrow because i know i m gonna lose yet ANOTHER 3KG in a week like the previous time out in the field. peeps, i found the fastest and healthiest way to lose weight, just visit the wilderness.
put it in nicer terms it s called rest and recovery, or as some of my friends would say, body maintenance. hahah. ok i didnt quite rest since i sustained yet ANOTHER injury.
warmed up for cage on monday night and had cage on tuesday which we could only reach the finals but could not win it. i cant believe it. the team s really strong but we couldnt create enough and contain all their attacks. i tried my best but i was covering too much all by myself. glad that i did my part for all the defensive work, the initialization for attacks and a thumping penalty in off the post. had a great time, but screwed my right hamstring after all the work.
and so i was limping for the rest of the week. wednesday off, friday drove.
saturday was a pretty productive day. some how, i felt all happy and chirpy to wake up at 9 and left for town alone with no friends to meet, only to settle my personal stuff. it s nice because you have all the freedom in the world. i guess this is just what i need before going through another round of crap coming up this week.
been stocking up my cells with nutrients over the weekend. meaning eating like no tomorrow because i know i m gonna lose yet ANOTHER 3KG in a week like the previous time out in the field. peeps, i found the fastest and healthiest way to lose weight, just visit the wilderness.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
appreciate
Hello world, i did survive the week in the end. It was really a hell of a week. Never in my life i felt so exhausted and still kept going and going. The basic instinct and nature of a human being was actually forgotten. Food and rest were of my last priority for me and the groups i took charge. And they understood and followed my lead to get things done first.
We just kept moving, it was mission after mission. I probably slept 5 hours for 5 days, and ate portions that i would usually eat for a single day only. However, all these would not be a problem on a normal day when you just sit around doing nothing. The activities kept us moving nonstop, some were even as intensive as running a marathon, some even worse. Pee was always yellow since we were always sweating, yes, sweating like a dog. Our bodies were pushed to the limits, no rest, no recovery, we kept going and going. Fatigue level rocketed sky high as each second passed. It was to the extent where you can sleep standing upright. I didn’t feel human for 5 days.
When it finally ended, we went back to greet surprises but little did i expect surprises to be as surprising as the initial surprise. Oh anyway we survived and went back for a shower. The clean cool water streamed through your hair, down the camou-ed face and the worn out body driving the dirt down the drain. It was refreshing, it reminded me how it feels to be alive, to be sanitised. It’s these little things that we take for granted every day. Sleep, food, sanitisation.
As i was walking home dressed in my uniform, with the bulky black bag of muddy clothes on my shoulder, i walked past the playground i ve been walking pass for almost all my life. The laughter and screaming of little kids enjoying their selves , the sound of the ball ramming against the void deck walls and the chirps of the birds which were bidding goodbye to the dimming sunrays. Upon hearing those, i just smiled to myself and the line came to my mind: “children having fun, while we are holding guns.” I thought, perhaps, what we are doing is indeed for a greater cause, indeed worth it afterall.
I dropped my bag got changed and went for a great dinner with my family at the airport. The ambience, the food, the company, just reminded me of the times i had when i was a kid, running to the viewing gallery to see the big planes and sitting on ronald’s lap eating my Happy Meal. But that day, i strolled to the same place, with hands in my pockets and just looked on. I didn’t even glance at the planes on the other side of the glass, but i found myself sitting down on a platform, not on ronald’s lap, simply admiring my mum’s eyes, my dad’s inquisitiveness, my sisters’ liveliness. And i wondered, how things have changed, how far i’ve come. More importantly, what’s closest to my heart.
It’s amazing how tough times make you appreciate these little things, especially your loved ones and the memories that have passed and will never come back. Cherish the present ones and enjoy every moment in the future. When i finally do find the other half who i can spend the rest of my life with, who i can join the Amazing Race with, who i can lay down my life for, i know i will give nothing less than what she deserves.
We just kept moving, it was mission after mission. I probably slept 5 hours for 5 days, and ate portions that i would usually eat for a single day only. However, all these would not be a problem on a normal day when you just sit around doing nothing. The activities kept us moving nonstop, some were even as intensive as running a marathon, some even worse. Pee was always yellow since we were always sweating, yes, sweating like a dog. Our bodies were pushed to the limits, no rest, no recovery, we kept going and going. Fatigue level rocketed sky high as each second passed. It was to the extent where you can sleep standing upright. I didn’t feel human for 5 days.
When it finally ended, we went back to greet surprises but little did i expect surprises to be as surprising as the initial surprise. Oh anyway we survived and went back for a shower. The clean cool water streamed through your hair, down the camou-ed face and the worn out body driving the dirt down the drain. It was refreshing, it reminded me how it feels to be alive, to be sanitised. It’s these little things that we take for granted every day. Sleep, food, sanitisation.
As i was walking home dressed in my uniform, with the bulky black bag of muddy clothes on my shoulder, i walked past the playground i ve been walking pass for almost all my life. The laughter and screaming of little kids enjoying their selves , the sound of the ball ramming against the void deck walls and the chirps of the birds which were bidding goodbye to the dimming sunrays. Upon hearing those, i just smiled to myself and the line came to my mind: “children having fun, while we are holding guns.” I thought, perhaps, what we are doing is indeed for a greater cause, indeed worth it afterall.
I dropped my bag got changed and went for a great dinner with my family at the airport. The ambience, the food, the company, just reminded me of the times i had when i was a kid, running to the viewing gallery to see the big planes and sitting on ronald’s lap eating my Happy Meal. But that day, i strolled to the same place, with hands in my pockets and just looked on. I didn’t even glance at the planes on the other side of the glass, but i found myself sitting down on a platform, not on ronald’s lap, simply admiring my mum’s eyes, my dad’s inquisitiveness, my sisters’ liveliness. And i wondered, how things have changed, how far i’ve come. More importantly, what’s closest to my heart.
It’s amazing how tough times make you appreciate these little things, especially your loved ones and the memories that have passed and will never come back. Cherish the present ones and enjoy every moment in the future. When i finally do find the other half who i can spend the rest of my life with, who i can join the Amazing Race with, who i can lay down my life for, i know i will give nothing less than what she deserves.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
class
past 2 weeks, or rather weekends have been good. the weekdays were tiring. it s so difficult to be the one organizing everyone when the egoes are so high. everyone s a leader in their own way, that s the reason why they are there. it s tough, but i managed to pull through my term and i think i did reasonably well. it was tiring and stressful at times but that s part and parcel of the 9 months i guess.
last weekend was unexpectedly fun. i expected it to be kinda mundane and considering i just had a long tiring week.. but somehow the company was good. it s really important to have the balance in a group. just like a football team. you must have different types of players to make the team tick. there must be a willing goalkeeper, a hardcore centreback, a destroyer midfielder, a creative attacking spark, a touchline hugging winger, an out and out striker. and of course a captain, a leader to make them work altogether.
back to the topic, the reason why cliques can stay together is because either everyone in the group is goddamn similar, or everyone have totally different personalities. someone has to be the crazy one to suggest ideas, someone has to be there to take the lead and enforce it usually by joining in first, and someone has to be the joker to make retarded but hilarious comments and actions. however, someone has to be the coolheaded one and make sure things go smoothly, steering the group clear of potential danger and take care of them when situations do finally arise.
it s amazing how everything falls into place nicely without the members noticing, until you sit back and analyze why things happen the way it is. and i m glad i m in such a group.
there s another group i have which i know is there, it still exists, just that i ve been neglecting for so long. everyone s really so damn busy, i cant do much now. but i do have plans. everything will be just the way it was.
this weekend, a movie and class gathering. the movie was brilliant, not the inception brilliant, but good enough after resident evil. class gathering, felt bad to arrive so late. missed out on the interaction part. it was not bad actually, the food was about right, attendance was more than expected and the host IS someone i have utmost respect and fondness of. one of the best in his line around, and a very good man. sometimes you wonder, why is he still single??
haha i guess i have a lot to rant today. it s a day of opinion, a day of words (perhaps after a week of words since i had to talk so much, there s this momentum kept going).
next week will be the week of truth. the test. dirty, smelly, uncomfortable, minimal rest, minimal food, stressed out, exhausted, pushed beyond limits, heat rash, mosquitoes, sandflies, scorching heat, freezing storms, interrogation after interrogation ... everything you can think of. all packaged into a nice parcel to be opened by us next week. i will push till my mind blanks out, till my eyes see nothing but pitch black, till my limbs cramp up, my knees scream for mercy. that s the extent i ll go, just to get pass next week, and EARN the bar come january.
falling once was painful enough, i cant afford to fall once more. pray that i do survive to tell you about the experience.
it s all in the mind.
like a fool.
last weekend was unexpectedly fun. i expected it to be kinda mundane and considering i just had a long tiring week.. but somehow the company was good. it s really important to have the balance in a group. just like a football team. you must have different types of players to make the team tick. there must be a willing goalkeeper, a hardcore centreback, a destroyer midfielder, a creative attacking spark, a touchline hugging winger, an out and out striker. and of course a captain, a leader to make them work altogether.
back to the topic, the reason why cliques can stay together is because either everyone in the group is goddamn similar, or everyone have totally different personalities. someone has to be the crazy one to suggest ideas, someone has to be there to take the lead and enforce it usually by joining in first, and someone has to be the joker to make retarded but hilarious comments and actions. however, someone has to be the coolheaded one and make sure things go smoothly, steering the group clear of potential danger and take care of them when situations do finally arise.
it s amazing how everything falls into place nicely without the members noticing, until you sit back and analyze why things happen the way it is. and i m glad i m in such a group.
there s another group i have which i know is there, it still exists, just that i ve been neglecting for so long. everyone s really so damn busy, i cant do much now. but i do have plans. everything will be just the way it was.
this weekend, a movie and class gathering. the movie was brilliant, not the inception brilliant, but good enough after resident evil. class gathering, felt bad to arrive so late. missed out on the interaction part. it was not bad actually, the food was about right, attendance was more than expected and the host IS someone i have utmost respect and fondness of. one of the best in his line around, and a very good man. sometimes you wonder, why is he still single??
haha i guess i have a lot to rant today. it s a day of opinion, a day of words (perhaps after a week of words since i had to talk so much, there s this momentum kept going).
next week will be the week of truth. the test. dirty, smelly, uncomfortable, minimal rest, minimal food, stressed out, exhausted, pushed beyond limits, heat rash, mosquitoes, sandflies, scorching heat, freezing storms, interrogation after interrogation ... everything you can think of. all packaged into a nice parcel to be opened by us next week. i will push till my mind blanks out, till my eyes see nothing but pitch black, till my limbs cramp up, my knees scream for mercy. that s the extent i ll go, just to get pass next week, and EARN the bar come january.
falling once was painful enough, i cant afford to fall once more. pray that i do survive to tell you about the experience.
it s all in the mind.
like a fool.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
physical vs mental
hmm ok.
pretty straightforward weekend.
had driving lesson on friday after bookout, cousin s wedding on saturday at hilton hotel. doubled up as the reception fella at the lobby and a photographer. pretty busy but felt that at least i was useful. spent my entire sunday settling admin stuff and studying for a theory test that went ok i guess.
i m finally done destroying my knees! completed the final test for soc with a respectable timing of 7.59. and now after physical, it s back to studying.. everything must be shoved into the space between my eyebrow and hairline. great.
pretty straightforward weekend.
had driving lesson on friday after bookout, cousin s wedding on saturday at hilton hotel. doubled up as the reception fella at the lobby and a photographer. pretty busy but felt that at least i was useful. spent my entire sunday settling admin stuff and studying for a theory test that went ok i guess.
i m finally done destroying my knees! completed the final test for soc with a respectable timing of 7.59. and now after physical, it s back to studying.. everything must be shoved into the space between my eyebrow and hairline. great.
Monday, October 18, 2010
personal taste
ok, it s another post of "How I Spent My Weekend".
i didnt do much this week but somehow i felt that it was quite well spent. went for a relaxing ramen meal at Central with 2 of my closer coursemates right after bookout. we roamed about the clarke quay after that and finally settled for some kungfu bubble tea. it was a really relaxed and carefree stroll with my buddies.
spent my saturday continuing watching personal taste which i finally finished! it s one of the few dramas that i would actually watch and commend. good plot, but a little too drama. the ost is really good though. kinda hooked onto it. it s amazing how someone can change so much under the influence of someone else.
went for supper with 5 other guys and my instructor at bedok 85. it was kinda gay but ultimately it turned out quite well. chill out session, didnt regret going even though so many pang sehed. HOWEVER, i m really getting too lazy. i m eating too much and working out too little. i always want to go run or swim but my legs are screaming. sustained a new injury on the left hip flexors, and i cant seem to do any exercise. walking is already a problem. seriously, at this rate i ll end the course in a wheel chair.
went shopping with family on sun! retail therapy as people call it. even though i ll always look at the price tag before picking the item up to have a closer look, when i have an objective in mind, i ll usually complete it without hesistating when i m locked on one. i guess that s the good thing about me. i get the therapy, without busting the budget! times are bad y'know. times are ALWAYS bad (fyi hahaha)
yea that was about it, booked in early to watch liverpool lose again. i ve got nothing to say man.. it s gonna be an eventful weekend coming up, so something to look forward to!
hope you guys are doing fine, whoever reads this.
i didnt do much this week but somehow i felt that it was quite well spent. went for a relaxing ramen meal at Central with 2 of my closer coursemates right after bookout. we roamed about the clarke quay after that and finally settled for some kungfu bubble tea. it was a really relaxed and carefree stroll with my buddies.
spent my saturday continuing watching personal taste which i finally finished! it s one of the few dramas that i would actually watch and commend. good plot, but a little too drama. the ost is really good though. kinda hooked onto it. it s amazing how someone can change so much under the influence of someone else.
went for supper with 5 other guys and my instructor at bedok 85. it was kinda gay but ultimately it turned out quite well. chill out session, didnt regret going even though so many pang sehed. HOWEVER, i m really getting too lazy. i m eating too much and working out too little. i always want to go run or swim but my legs are screaming. sustained a new injury on the left hip flexors, and i cant seem to do any exercise. walking is already a problem. seriously, at this rate i ll end the course in a wheel chair.
went shopping with family on sun! retail therapy as people call it. even though i ll always look at the price tag before picking the item up to have a closer look, when i have an objective in mind, i ll usually complete it without hesistating when i m locked on one. i guess that s the good thing about me. i get the therapy, without busting the budget! times are bad y'know. times are ALWAYS bad (fyi hahaha)
yea that was about it, booked in early to watch liverpool lose again. i ve got nothing to say man.. it s gonna be an eventful weekend coming up, so something to look forward to!
hope you guys are doing fine, whoever reads this.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
alive for a life.
it was a very tiring week. a week where i pushed myself to the limits, and beyond. i was on the verge of going down, but the only thing that prevented me from doing so was my mind. i knew i could not go down, i was almost there, and i just fought it. the sense of accomplishment was enormous. i knew for once, i did well. :)
i broke another barrier on friday. pushed till i could push no more. and the end result was worth smiling for. something i ve never achieved and i finally gotten it, the feeling was good. of course i cant just stop there, i have to better it next week.
rewards always come. sometimes you ve gotta seek them yourself. but somehow the weekend fell into place really nicely. we had another course cohesion, went for a movie after a long while - legend of the fist. good action, good company, and good popcorn! shaw s popcorn s still the most worthwhile. had a great steamboat dinner around bugis area before having frolick at tampines1. great day.
saturday was .. better. haha. ultimately, it s time spent with the closer people that seem more golden. subway lunch, teo heng, pasta mania dinner and some extras were excellent. i was dead tired at the end of the day, actually forgot that i had badminton early that morning. totally glad i organised this session.
paid off my fatigue debt on a sunday morning and woke up to a sumptous homecooked lunch followed by watching the addictive korean drama. it s really quite sweet. the type where you can go aww for some scenes.. and damn! when the bad characters plot evil deeds. hahaha. yea but the girl s actions and behaviour are really sweet.
it s been a wonderful week. cant ask for more. :D
i broke another barrier on friday. pushed till i could push no more. and the end result was worth smiling for. something i ve never achieved and i finally gotten it, the feeling was good. of course i cant just stop there, i have to better it next week.
rewards always come. sometimes you ve gotta seek them yourself. but somehow the weekend fell into place really nicely. we had another course cohesion, went for a movie after a long while - legend of the fist. good action, good company, and good popcorn! shaw s popcorn s still the most worthwhile. had a great steamboat dinner around bugis area before having frolick at tampines1. great day.
saturday was .. better. haha. ultimately, it s time spent with the closer people that seem more golden. subway lunch, teo heng, pasta mania dinner and some extras were excellent. i was dead tired at the end of the day, actually forgot that i had badminton early that morning. totally glad i organised this session.
paid off my fatigue debt on a sunday morning and woke up to a sumptous homecooked lunch followed by watching the addictive korean drama. it s really quite sweet. the type where you can go aww for some scenes.. and damn! when the bad characters plot evil deeds. hahaha. yea but the girl s actions and behaviour are really sweet.
it s been a wonderful week. cant ask for more. :D
Sunday, October 03, 2010
life? get one.
basically, i have no life at the moment.
i spend my weekends
1) swimming
2) gyming
3) eating
4) sleeping
5) reading
6) watching tv
i cant believe i m actually following the korean drama on saturday nights.
i spend my weekends
1) swimming
2) gyming
3) eating
4) sleeping
5) reading
6) watching tv
i cant believe i m actually following the korean drama on saturday nights.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
chi, makan, devour and savour
i returned to camp with a fitness level equivalent to zero and jumped into an intensive activity almost immediately last week. almost died. but i didnt, and survived to go prawning aka catch prawns using a rod and bait at bottletree for mid course cohesion. can you believe it? we are half way there, HALF WAY. and the training s ending in just a few weeks, meaning the tests naturally come. anyways, prawning wasnt easy and it took an expert to come and teach us a few tips for us to catch on a consistent basis. before that, i was practically prawn feeding with the bait.
but after hooking them up, i felt sorry for them. we, humans, are banking on the lack of intelligence of animals for food. it s the cunning and merciless nature of us, to trick them, to tempt them, and to play with them. it s soooo sinful. when i pulled the prawns out, i saw them struggling, so alive, and i had to remove the hook, which often still has the bait on it. they didnt even get a last meal! how sad.
and worse, we pierce a satay stick right through them when they are still alive and kicking, and then throw them on the smoking bbq pit! burnt alive. so much for wanting to eat fresh seafood. and i had my retribution the next day - diarrhoea the whole day.
the highlight was suppose to be up next. carnivore at chijmes. really nice place, chijmes i mean. felt like a mini victorian village where people just drink and make merry behind stoned walls. great ambience. the food at carnivore was not bad too, but 45 bucks might be quite overpriced. ok maybe becuase i had too many prawns before that and didnt have much space for more meat. however, the grilled meat were skillfully cooked and seasoned, served hot and in right proportions. we were quite neglected since we were sitting inside. the meat were flying about in the open outside. it was good nevertheless.
left slightly earlier to meet up with family at city square farrer park where they had putien buffet dinner to celebrate my dad s birthday. was too stuffed to stuff more. couldnt even down a slice of cake when we got home.
spent the whole saturday diarrhoea-ing, but still managed to squeeze some time out to gym in a bid to get my fitness back. sunday was just slacking at home watching the phillipine drama series! lol. it was like 4 hours?? had dinner, booked in early and missed THE MATCH. liverpool lost but at least with dignity. my blood s always red. the free spirited and devil-free shade of red.
YNWA.
but after hooking them up, i felt sorry for them. we, humans, are banking on the lack of intelligence of animals for food. it s the cunning and merciless nature of us, to trick them, to tempt them, and to play with them. it s soooo sinful. when i pulled the prawns out, i saw them struggling, so alive, and i had to remove the hook, which often still has the bait on it. they didnt even get a last meal! how sad.
and worse, we pierce a satay stick right through them when they are still alive and kicking, and then throw them on the smoking bbq pit! burnt alive. so much for wanting to eat fresh seafood. and i had my retribution the next day - diarrhoea the whole day.
the highlight was suppose to be up next. carnivore at chijmes. really nice place, chijmes i mean. felt like a mini victorian village where people just drink and make merry behind stoned walls. great ambience. the food at carnivore was not bad too, but 45 bucks might be quite overpriced. ok maybe becuase i had too many prawns before that and didnt have much space for more meat. however, the grilled meat were skillfully cooked and seasoned, served hot and in right proportions. we were quite neglected since we were sitting inside. the meat were flying about in the open outside. it was good nevertheless.
left slightly earlier to meet up with family at city square farrer park where they had putien buffet dinner to celebrate my dad s birthday. was too stuffed to stuff more. couldnt even down a slice of cake when we got home.
spent the whole saturday diarrhoea-ing, but still managed to squeeze some time out to gym in a bid to get my fitness back. sunday was just slacking at home watching the phillipine drama series! lol. it was like 4 hours?? had dinner, booked in early and missed THE MATCH. liverpool lost but at least with dignity. my blood s always red. the free spirited and devil-free shade of red.
YNWA.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
SICK
it was a short week last week since it was family day last thursday, we were allowed to book out on a wednesday, and go to the zoo on thursday. i guess the pics on fb are self explanatory. it was quite interesting to visit the zoo after 10 donkey years. yea the last time i went there was to do my Young Zoologist Badge, like WOW ttm. anyway, the zoo s still the zoo, and i agree it s kinda gay to be looking at animals with a bunch of guys who would only think of ways to disturb the poor animals, or crack a joke out of anything. we would spend 1 minute at each attraction and walk away almost immediately. hahaha. guys are just guys.
i started to feel the symptoms that day and i knew i was going down. it s always the same, sore throat, the occasional and untimely sneeze and slight cough. you can feel it. and it sucks.
but i managed to hold it off for awhile, actually managed to have lunch with lois, gab, pin, ho and teo. burger at cine before resident evil late in the afternoon. it was quite bad. it gave me a prison break feel with wentworth miller in it, but damn fake. the calefares always die. how sad man. bumped into dr. jerome and caught up with him. could smell the freedom just by talking to him. the difference between someone deferring and someone in the thick of sewage.
broke up after the movie and had dinner with gab at hot tomatoes which is still reasonable in my opinion. bumped into ian chai who s gonna pop on the floating platform. and then went to walk walk, "retail therapy". nothing much.
saturday.. oh couldnt take it when i woke up. just went straight to polyclinic and i was excused from army half marathon. crap, missed such a big event. took the medicine, almost died on the bed, before waking up feeling kinda ok to go for class gathering at ms ye s house. queued for hokkien mee at bedok corner but was not complaining since i knew that was the norm, and arrived quite late. the atmosphere was quite dead and i couldnt add more life since i was already dying. i guess too many were absent. finally touched mahjong after quite some time but there wasnt much incentive to play properly (since no money involved!). just kept blocking.
otherwise, it was somewhat nice to see the class after quite some time and that night seemed a tad too short.
sunday, virus hit full blast and i just lay dead. went to doc for mc and he wanted to jab me since i was burning. 38.7. and i spent the next 2 days suffering in the spikes of the merciless virus. how to go back training like that??
found 2 pics in my phone. it was hui hui s birthday celeb at swensons.
pictures will be quite rare from now. gone were the days..
the gaze.
i started to feel the symptoms that day and i knew i was going down. it s always the same, sore throat, the occasional and untimely sneeze and slight cough. you can feel it. and it sucks.
but i managed to hold it off for awhile, actually managed to have lunch with lois, gab, pin, ho and teo. burger at cine before resident evil late in the afternoon. it was quite bad. it gave me a prison break feel with wentworth miller in it, but damn fake. the calefares always die. how sad man. bumped into dr. jerome and caught up with him. could smell the freedom just by talking to him. the difference between someone deferring and someone in the thick of sewage.
broke up after the movie and had dinner with gab at hot tomatoes which is still reasonable in my opinion. bumped into ian chai who s gonna pop on the floating platform. and then went to walk walk, "retail therapy". nothing much.
saturday.. oh couldnt take it when i woke up. just went straight to polyclinic and i was excused from army half marathon. crap, missed such a big event. took the medicine, almost died on the bed, before waking up feeling kinda ok to go for class gathering at ms ye s house. queued for hokkien mee at bedok corner but was not complaining since i knew that was the norm, and arrived quite late. the atmosphere was quite dead and i couldnt add more life since i was already dying. i guess too many were absent. finally touched mahjong after quite some time but there wasnt much incentive to play properly (since no money involved!). just kept blocking.
otherwise, it was somewhat nice to see the class after quite some time and that night seemed a tad too short.
sunday, virus hit full blast and i just lay dead. went to doc for mc and he wanted to jab me since i was burning. 38.7. and i spent the next 2 days suffering in the spikes of the merciless virus. how to go back training like that??
found 2 pics in my phone. it was hui hui s birthday celeb at swensons.
pictures will be quite rare from now. gone were the days..
the gaze.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
a beautiful mess
i've been eating a lot. a lot. a hell lot.
had a xiao long bao buffet last week after bookout with my coursemates and instructors. partly to celebrate eugene's birthday and partly as a cohesion. it was quite a good session, and we ate till we almost exploded. i probably downed 30 baskets of xlb s all by myself in just over an hour, not to forget there was still the steamboat. crystal jade will close down if people like me patronise daily man. went back only to drop dead on my bed yet again. it s just the friday norm, after soc in the morning and another physically demanding thing in the afternoon.
went for a swim on sun followed by another buffet at sakura downtown east before booking in right away. the quality wasnt there, and the singaporean spirit was clearly portrayed there and then. i m never going back there again, especially since with the same cost, i can go for a hotel buffet. which i think, it ll be quite some time before i get the craving again. totally stuffed after last week.
this week, fri, aunt treated to imperial palace at tampines1. she ordered something like a 12 course meal, even better than a wedding dinner. the food was good but it was like another grenade in my stomach.
ah take a break from food, took my btt (FINALLY) on sat after waiting for like 3 months? passed it and i m gonna wait for another 3 months just to take ftt. crazy crazy wait.
headed down to city hall to meet up with ying lun, guan ming and jackston to jalan jalan before walking in circles trying to find raffles place. there s so many new things popping out in town and i had no clue until yesterday. it was an eye opener. suddenly singapore seem so big! ended up at raffles place and met up with reuben and his friends and went to marina promontory for Chunk Fest 2010. quite disappointed because 1. it s not free. 2. there was no atmosphere. 3. i spent $9 for 2 scoops when i could have bought a whole tub with that money. damn.
cruised around before finally deciding to eat at plaza sing, manhattan fish market. going to ps brought back many good memories. 1 year ago i was probably there for a movie, eating the indonesian food at the food court or bolognaise at pasta mania in sa uniform. anw, went home earlier since the rest were going for a party and i wasnt invited... :( haha jk jk, was quite tired after waking up early. usually sat is a day to sleep in and just rot at home, ok to recover from the whole week.
today, went for a swim again at civil service club changi and had a good and reasonable meal at the restaurant there before booking in. that s about it, life s been pretty much slow pace. it must speed up!!!
short week coming up!
had a xiao long bao buffet last week after bookout with my coursemates and instructors. partly to celebrate eugene's birthday and partly as a cohesion. it was quite a good session, and we ate till we almost exploded. i probably downed 30 baskets of xlb s all by myself in just over an hour, not to forget there was still the steamboat. crystal jade will close down if people like me patronise daily man. went back only to drop dead on my bed yet again. it s just the friday norm, after soc in the morning and another physically demanding thing in the afternoon.
went for a swim on sun followed by another buffet at sakura downtown east before booking in right away. the quality wasnt there, and the singaporean spirit was clearly portrayed there and then. i m never going back there again, especially since with the same cost, i can go for a hotel buffet. which i think, it ll be quite some time before i get the craving again. totally stuffed after last week.
this week, fri, aunt treated to imperial palace at tampines1. she ordered something like a 12 course meal, even better than a wedding dinner. the food was good but it was like another grenade in my stomach.
ah take a break from food, took my btt (FINALLY) on sat after waiting for like 3 months? passed it and i m gonna wait for another 3 months just to take ftt. crazy crazy wait.
headed down to city hall to meet up with ying lun, guan ming and jackston to jalan jalan before walking in circles trying to find raffles place. there s so many new things popping out in town and i had no clue until yesterday. it was an eye opener. suddenly singapore seem so big! ended up at raffles place and met up with reuben and his friends and went to marina promontory for Chunk Fest 2010. quite disappointed because 1. it s not free. 2. there was no atmosphere. 3. i spent $9 for 2 scoops when i could have bought a whole tub with that money. damn.
cruised around before finally deciding to eat at plaza sing, manhattan fish market. going to ps brought back many good memories. 1 year ago i was probably there for a movie, eating the indonesian food at the food court or bolognaise at pasta mania in sa uniform. anw, went home earlier since the rest were going for a party and i wasnt invited... :( haha jk jk, was quite tired after waking up early. usually sat is a day to sleep in and just rot at home, ok to recover from the whole week.
today, went for a swim again at civil service club changi and had a good and reasonable meal at the restaurant there before booking in. that s about it, life s been pretty much slow pace. it must speed up!!!
short week coming up!
Monday, August 23, 2010
a mountain
mixed. i dunno whether to be happy or sad.
i returned to the arms of my loved ones last friday, feeling the warmth and togetherness, especially a dinner right after bookout at IKEA. it s always IKEA. i sat at the dining table, sometimes feeling like as if there s so much to say but in the end realising there s nothing to say.
after pondering on it for some time, i think i know what i wanted to say, now that i m typing this not from home. here it goes: i just wanna say i love all of them and am very grateful for everything they have done for me, being always there for me. even though every week i go home to be a nuisance to everyone (hahaha) the activities and events will always be build with respect to my schedule. today, i walk up the stairs, look down the corridor and feel this sense of emptiness. it s so quiet and eerie, with the occasional rain drop, the cool breeze blowing. i am reminded who are the ones that are ranked number 1 in my heart and it is in these times that they come to my mind first.
i slacked for the whole saturday, parking in front of the tv to watch the YOG and then decided to go for a swim. my dad offered to sent me to safra just as i was getting ready to take public transport. this is the time when the sound effect comes in : awwwwww.......
haha, but seriously, i m thankful for such great parents. my dad who drops all his work to send me back to camp and my mum who ll always prepare my book in stuff before anything else if i need and to my sisters who just irritate me all day long, asking me to spend money on them. yea i will, eventually, just not unnecessary money.
i feel sorry, and upset with myself. for not studying hard enough for the test today even though i spent the whole sunday on it, and for not really understanding my friends, exactly how they feel or what they are thinking. i simply assumed everyone s busy with their lives and we should just take a break. but when in fact, i have friends who are dying of boredom and loneliness, to revive that sense of belonging once more, to bring back the good old times. i am grateful for such friends. you know who you are. i ll make things happen, dun worry.
maybe life aint that bad afterall. sometimes, you just gotta push yourself harder, for the sake of a better tomorrow.
i returned to the arms of my loved ones last friday, feeling the warmth and togetherness, especially a dinner right after bookout at IKEA. it s always IKEA. i sat at the dining table, sometimes feeling like as if there s so much to say but in the end realising there s nothing to say.
after pondering on it for some time, i think i know what i wanted to say, now that i m typing this not from home. here it goes: i just wanna say i love all of them and am very grateful for everything they have done for me, being always there for me. even though every week i go home to be a nuisance to everyone (hahaha) the activities and events will always be build with respect to my schedule. today, i walk up the stairs, look down the corridor and feel this sense of emptiness. it s so quiet and eerie, with the occasional rain drop, the cool breeze blowing. i am reminded who are the ones that are ranked number 1 in my heart and it is in these times that they come to my mind first.
i slacked for the whole saturday, parking in front of the tv to watch the YOG and then decided to go for a swim. my dad offered to sent me to safra just as i was getting ready to take public transport. this is the time when the sound effect comes in : awwwwww.......
haha, but seriously, i m thankful for such great parents. my dad who drops all his work to send me back to camp and my mum who ll always prepare my book in stuff before anything else if i need and to my sisters who just irritate me all day long, asking me to spend money on them. yea i will, eventually, just not unnecessary money.
i feel sorry, and upset with myself. for not studying hard enough for the test today even though i spent the whole sunday on it, and for not really understanding my friends, exactly how they feel or what they are thinking. i simply assumed everyone s busy with their lives and we should just take a break. but when in fact, i have friends who are dying of boredom and loneliness, to revive that sense of belonging once more, to bring back the good old times. i am grateful for such friends. you know who you are. i ll make things happen, dun worry.
maybe life aint that bad afterall. sometimes, you just gotta push yourself harder, for the sake of a better tomorrow.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
hi, i'm bored, and very boring.
interesting week. tough but rewarding.
training was good, apart from some side effects. and my liver worked hard on thurs.
anyways, met up with the usual peeps on fri immediately after bookout to shop for yong pin s present. thanks to the mad rush to get out, i was in uniform and my phone was dying. before i manage to read the sms from huihui, it conked out. and so, i was stranded in raffles city, LOST once again. ah ok here s an interesting story:
i remember when i was about 5 or 6, i was lost there too. as a really kaypoh kid, i was looking at some kiddy performance schedule and when i turned back, everyone disappeared!! i remained calm and searched level 1 and b1 but couldnt find the adults. then i started to panic and the sour sour taste (yknow the taste prior to crying) started to overwhelm me. but as a good kid, i always had one 10cent coin and one 20cent coin in my little pocket and my aunt made sure we remembered all the crucial numbers, like 999, 995, the home number and her hp number. so i went to the nearest payphone to try and make a call. BUT i was too short!! i had to jump and hit the handset down before i can make a call. yep and i managed to get though and waited at the same place where they lost me. i think i cried like a baby when i met them again! hahaha! that s lost and found case 1.
now, fast forward probably 14 years, i was lost again, in the same place. no form of communication tool. not a single 10cent or 20cent coin. not a single PHONE NUMBER i can remember! hahahaha. i was dead. at least the sour sour taste wasnt there. luckily for me, my phone was good enough to let me switch it on and glance at huihui s number which i chanted for the next 15 minutes, just to embed it in my memory. i tried all the free hotel phones, but obviously cant. went to the swissotel and fairmount concierge but they were too busy with yog to care about me. so i went to raffles city concierge and asked politely for usage of their phone. yep and i was found again! lost and found case 2.
that was a bit of drama. but it s good, it makes you feel alive. situations, problems and more importantly, find the damn solution.
ok, and we travelled to marina for dinner at Changing Appetite which i had a really well prepared creamy sphagghetti with chicken and mushroom. it s like heaven after 11 hellish meals. enjoyed the time walking about, sitting at starbucks, playing some lame game and a late journey home.
had a FANTASTIC 12 hour sleep. it s the type of sleep you wake up and feel like doing a triatholon. nah but everywhere was still quite sore. watched 2 movies in the afternoon before going down to vivo to meet up for yong pin s birthday. decided on King Louis. nice place. good ambience, good food, and good price. the package was the real deal man. but the extra beer killed it off. $10 bucks extra!!! but in the end, i guess it was all worth it. brilliant night. moved to tiong bahru to present the present and finally went home again to catch chelsea thrash west brom 6-0.
badminton today, washed the car, and simply slacked. i need this rest for another hectic week coming up. ok that s about it. tata!
training was good, apart from some side effects. and my liver worked hard on thurs.
anyways, met up with the usual peeps on fri immediately after bookout to shop for yong pin s present. thanks to the mad rush to get out, i was in uniform and my phone was dying. before i manage to read the sms from huihui, it conked out. and so, i was stranded in raffles city, LOST once again. ah ok here s an interesting story:
i remember when i was about 5 or 6, i was lost there too. as a really kaypoh kid, i was looking at some kiddy performance schedule and when i turned back, everyone disappeared!! i remained calm and searched level 1 and b1 but couldnt find the adults. then i started to panic and the sour sour taste (yknow the taste prior to crying) started to overwhelm me. but as a good kid, i always had one 10cent coin and one 20cent coin in my little pocket and my aunt made sure we remembered all the crucial numbers, like 999, 995, the home number and her hp number. so i went to the nearest payphone to try and make a call. BUT i was too short!! i had to jump and hit the handset down before i can make a call. yep and i managed to get though and waited at the same place where they lost me. i think i cried like a baby when i met them again! hahaha! that s lost and found case 1.
now, fast forward probably 14 years, i was lost again, in the same place. no form of communication tool. not a single 10cent or 20cent coin. not a single PHONE NUMBER i can remember! hahahaha. i was dead. at least the sour sour taste wasnt there. luckily for me, my phone was good enough to let me switch it on and glance at huihui s number which i chanted for the next 15 minutes, just to embed it in my memory. i tried all the free hotel phones, but obviously cant. went to the swissotel and fairmount concierge but they were too busy with yog to care about me. so i went to raffles city concierge and asked politely for usage of their phone. yep and i was found again! lost and found case 2.
that was a bit of drama. but it s good, it makes you feel alive. situations, problems and more importantly, find the damn solution.
ok, and we travelled to marina for dinner at Changing Appetite which i had a really well prepared creamy sphagghetti with chicken and mushroom. it s like heaven after 11 hellish meals. enjoyed the time walking about, sitting at starbucks, playing some lame game and a late journey home.
had a FANTASTIC 12 hour sleep. it s the type of sleep you wake up and feel like doing a triatholon. nah but everywhere was still quite sore. watched 2 movies in the afternoon before going down to vivo to meet up for yong pin s birthday. decided on King Louis. nice place. good ambience, good food, and good price. the package was the real deal man. but the extra beer killed it off. $10 bucks extra!!! but in the end, i guess it was all worth it. brilliant night. moved to tiong bahru to present the present and finally went home again to catch chelsea thrash west brom 6-0.
badminton today, washed the car, and simply slacked. i need this rest for another hectic week coming up. ok that s about it. tata!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
galore
hello world! i cant remember where i stopped. i just know it was long long ago. but there s nothing much to update anyway. was quite busy for last weekend, studying for tests, doing admin stuff etc. oh oh, yea, i did went out. had a great buffet at Marriot Hotel i think after bookout on 30th. the quality of the food was good but not much variety. but still good overall!
there was a live range held over the following week and i couldnt get what i wanted. stupid mistakes cost you dearly. haiya, so i guess i was quite emo for that period. yea, but i think i ve gotten over it. thursday was half day! went home straight and headed down to vivo with family. nah, i didnt had buffet, but dinner was as good as buffet. indulged in the flavours of sinagpore at food republic. chicken wing, satay, beef hor fun, popiah, hokkien mee, char kway teow, ice kachang etc. just ate till perchar! never knew i missed singapore food that much even though i never left! went window shopping with the females as usual and my mum will try to teach me fashion. which always fail miserably. i m just a simple person trying to lead a simple life man!
anyways, the walkabout was good, even though i spent most of the times in tangs, f21, topshop, those shops that sell heels higher than ice kachang and many more. was dead tired and conked out on the way home. spent saturday and sunday with family. sunday playing badminton as usual and ran to Giant from the CC for lunch and stank up the whole place doing grocery shopping. went back, mahjong with granny and watched something decent on tv. it was about sun wukong speaking english.
yep, but monday was the fun day. met up with huihui for lunch and then lois to sing song, relieve stress. it was quite impromptu but some things dun need much planning. just go with the flow and everything will turn out great. and so, went in sian again, but at least it s a short week!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
rough and tough
past week wasnt smooth sailing. but pretty eventful.
we started a new phase. and the real thing started. but before that, i couldnt resist playing street during one of the nights and got whacked in the face by an arm while defending a shot. some part of my tongue was bitten off.
woke up the next day with a bad sore throat. so my entire mouth was killing me. but i still went gyming and resulted in soreness in every inch of muscle. the chin up regime started and my arms were about to explode. but then came the freak incident bayonet to stab my dear right palm 2cm deep. perhaps even deeper. no stitches required since the palm auto closes when left on its own. and so, i became a left hander since that day.
yep that just added to my list of injuries sustained over my very loooongg 19years. i m not careless, i m just plain stupid.
booked out and watched sorcerer's apprentice. it was an okay movie, the only thing that left an impact was the onerepublic song. secrets. i m hooked to it.
met up with reuben and gang after that at tcc clarke quay to chit chat till they chased us out close to 1am. it was not bad a ketchup session. had to take the nightrider home though. banged my head continuously on the window and seat until everyone behind me was laughing like mad. was dead tired that day. reached home close to 3 and slept till 2 the next day.
slacked at home till at night and went out for inception with ying and gang. brilliant show. no wonder it s movie of the year contender. managed to catch the last train home.
today, suppose to have a table outing but only 5 could go. in the end the 4 of us guys went to taka to walk and wisma to sit at starbucks. ok la, it was still not bad. the place brought back many good memories. and i had espresso frap finally in like 2 years! but that just reminded me how much i ve splurged for the past few days. still gotta pay for things in camp! going broke.
that s about it, gotta book in soon..
we started a new phase. and the real thing started. but before that, i couldnt resist playing street during one of the nights and got whacked in the face by an arm while defending a shot. some part of my tongue was bitten off.
woke up the next day with a bad sore throat. so my entire mouth was killing me. but i still went gyming and resulted in soreness in every inch of muscle. the chin up regime started and my arms were about to explode. but then came the freak incident bayonet to stab my dear right palm 2cm deep. perhaps even deeper. no stitches required since the palm auto closes when left on its own. and so, i became a left hander since that day.
yep that just added to my list of injuries sustained over my very loooongg 19years. i m not careless, i m just plain stupid.
booked out and watched sorcerer's apprentice. it was an okay movie, the only thing that left an impact was the onerepublic song. secrets. i m hooked to it.
met up with reuben and gang after that at tcc clarke quay to chit chat till they chased us out close to 1am. it was not bad a ketchup session. had to take the nightrider home though. banged my head continuously on the window and seat until everyone behind me was laughing like mad. was dead tired that day. reached home close to 3 and slept till 2 the next day.
slacked at home till at night and went out for inception with ying and gang. brilliant show. no wonder it s movie of the year contender. managed to catch the last train home.
today, suppose to have a table outing but only 5 could go. in the end the 4 of us guys went to taka to walk and wisma to sit at starbucks. ok la, it was still not bad. the place brought back many good memories. and i had espresso frap finally in like 2 years! but that just reminded me how much i ve splurged for the past few days. still gotta pay for things in camp! going broke.
that s about it, gotta book in soon..
Sunday, July 18, 2010
good week
feeling a lot better over the past week.
actually, i looked back at the previous post and i cant justify what i posted. i cant remember why i was THAT sad or emo. maybe it was the early book in that caused the sian-ess and the feeling was exaggerated. yea i was unhappy about some stuff last week, dun ask me what because i cant put it into words.
anyways, i m happy this week because my effort paid off for ippt. havent ran for about a month and took an ippt. the result was - cannot jump, cannot run. trained hard for the next ippt and retained my gold and ahem some incentives. :D
had a good nights out on wednesday, accompanying my family.
the feeling of going shopping right after booking out on friday is awesome. not so much about the shopping, but just going out to walk, see and feel the world, and with having good company for dinner and just talking. it s nice.
and singing songs on saturday! celebrated huihui s birthday, with her not knowing it, since she ll never agree to it. songs, they facilitate the release of perhaps tension, or unhappiness within and bring fun and laughter when it s sung in a funny way. hahah especially when you cant really sing. laughing at yourself, laughing at your friend or just laughing at laughter. it s pure joy. dinner and had an interesting chat after that. it s seriously becoming a habit man. haha. good fun good company.
and doing stupid things at the garden festival at suntec on sunday with family was somehow becoming quite hard to come by. it was quite tiring to pose at every flower and leaf and cover 2 levels of plants! conked out on the way home. but it was fun to be someone not really yourself around people you know too well. you just do and say stupid things and the reaction will be totally unexpected.
ok i think i shall stop here and go to sleep soon!
till next week, tata.
actually, i looked back at the previous post and i cant justify what i posted. i cant remember why i was THAT sad or emo. maybe it was the early book in that caused the sian-ess and the feeling was exaggerated. yea i was unhappy about some stuff last week, dun ask me what because i cant put it into words.
anyways, i m happy this week because my effort paid off for ippt. havent ran for about a month and took an ippt. the result was - cannot jump, cannot run. trained hard for the next ippt and retained my gold and ahem some incentives. :D
had a good nights out on wednesday, accompanying my family.
the feeling of going shopping right after booking out on friday is awesome. not so much about the shopping, but just going out to walk, see and feel the world, and with having good company for dinner and just talking. it s nice.
and singing songs on saturday! celebrated huihui s birthday, with her not knowing it, since she ll never agree to it. songs, they facilitate the release of perhaps tension, or unhappiness within and bring fun and laughter when it s sung in a funny way. hahah especially when you cant really sing. laughing at yourself, laughing at your friend or just laughing at laughter. it s pure joy. dinner and had an interesting chat after that. it s seriously becoming a habit man. haha. good fun good company.
and doing stupid things at the garden festival at suntec on sunday with family was somehow becoming quite hard to come by. it was quite tiring to pose at every flower and leaf and cover 2 levels of plants! conked out on the way home. but it was fun to be someone not really yourself around people you know too well. you just do and say stupid things and the reaction will be totally unexpected.
ok i think i shall stop here and go to sleep soon!
till next week, tata.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
stress
can you imagine, despite putting in the effort, failure still haunts you, as if it's fate.
can you imagine, every action you make, every word you speak, someone s scrutinizing, waiting to pounce.
can you imagine, living in a world that offers no room for error.
how would you feel?
anyways, i had fish and co and marche this weekend as input, but not much output. that means i m gonna die on wednesday. how to run??
sent sam off at the airport on sat. sincerely hope she does well in aussie!
that s about it.
i don't feel right.
can you imagine, every action you make, every word you speak, someone s scrutinizing, waiting to pounce.
can you imagine, living in a world that offers no room for error.
how would you feel?
anyways, i had fish and co and marche this weekend as input, but not much output. that means i m gonna die on wednesday. how to run??
sent sam off at the airport on sat. sincerely hope she does well in aussie!
that s about it.
i don't feel right.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
thurs, fri, sat, sun
nothing much happened for the rest of the days. but still, the holiday is passable. speaking of holidays, i happen to flip through the forum that day and some mother was complaining about the schools eating up the school holidays. she even threw in the definition of holiday to argue. and if all goes well, i think she ll win. why didnt she start fighting a few years earlier man.
anyways, back to my mundane life. i watched ANOTHER movie on thurs. ip man 3. it wasnt as good as the first 2 but ok, good to watch. i cant believe they reused the same actor for a different role. that s damn cheapskate.
fri. oh it was supposed to be a family day. there was some plans to bbq but in the end NATO. (no action talk only) so we ended up visiting Marina Bay Sands. to be honest, the place is quite impressive. the architecture and the view. it gained some plus points whenever a cool breeze blew, coz it rained that morning. but many shops aint opened yet. all big names. just walked around, checked out the toilet at Paiza, the hotel. yea not bad. haha.
oh there s the YOG park also. they are doing some preparation for the opening ceromony i guess. and just across, they are preparing the road for the F1 coming up. singapore s damn busy.
anyways, we went back to marina square for dinner. so to make up for the failed bbq, we had yuki yaki. it was quite enjoyable for once. started inventing new dishes with whatever was provided. and of course, stomach was filled to the brim. shopped around for furniture and groceries at curry4 after that. it was quite a good day.
saturday. spent the whole day packing my stuff, getting ready to move house. from jurong, to paya lebar. the things are getting more and more. last time it was only BMT stuff. now there s BMT + OCS stuff. then next time, i will have BMT + OCS + AFTC stuff to bring home and to probably chong pang camp.
and i finally went to exercise! damn lazy. swam at safra for about an hour, felt good.
ok i m finally finally finally starting to learn a new skill, procrastinate too much. and IT is fun. but need lots of practise. till next week, tata.
anyways, back to my mundane life. i watched ANOTHER movie on thurs. ip man 3. it wasnt as good as the first 2 but ok, good to watch. i cant believe they reused the same actor for a different role. that s damn cheapskate.
fri. oh it was supposed to be a family day. there was some plans to bbq but in the end NATO. (no action talk only) so we ended up visiting Marina Bay Sands. to be honest, the place is quite impressive. the architecture and the view. it gained some plus points whenever a cool breeze blew, coz it rained that morning. but many shops aint opened yet. all big names. just walked around, checked out the toilet at Paiza, the hotel. yea not bad. haha.
oh there s the YOG park also. they are doing some preparation for the opening ceromony i guess. and just across, they are preparing the road for the F1 coming up. singapore s damn busy.
anyways, we went back to marina square for dinner. so to make up for the failed bbq, we had yuki yaki. it was quite enjoyable for once. started inventing new dishes with whatever was provided. and of course, stomach was filled to the brim. shopped around for furniture and groceries at curry4 after that. it was quite a good day.
saturday. spent the whole day packing my stuff, getting ready to move house. from jurong, to paya lebar. the things are getting more and more. last time it was only BMT stuff. now there s BMT + OCS stuff. then next time, i will have BMT + OCS + AFTC stuff to bring home and to probably chong pang camp.
and i finally went to exercise! damn lazy. swam at safra for about an hour, felt good.
ok i m finally finally finally starting to learn a new skill, procrastinate too much. and IT is fun. but need lots of practise. till next week, tata.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
an almost perfect day
who cares about monday and tuesday when you ve got wednesday!
seriously, i cant remember what happened on monday and tuesday if you ask me now. yea, right now. ok lemme think.
oooo kkk.
monday. met up with huihui at changi international airport for mcdonald s breakfast at 10plus. then sam joined. and gabriel joined. then logs joined from a silkair plane. so the mainpoint was my SPINACH, which never came. instead, we had chicken and very nice mash potatoes and fries. quite a worthy trade. yep so anw, babarella came back with lots of mosquito bites which was kinda expected, slightly worse than coming back from pulau ubin aka the mosquito and sanflies breeding island. after much scratching, we packed her in a taxi and splitted up.
met up with family at a really weird place. farrer park city square. never been there before. but it s really nice and spacious with big name shops that sadly no one frequents. it would be a good hangout to be honest. had pizza for dinner and i actually bought a pair of jeans. it s like a miracle. a new piece of clothing that doesnt originate from SAF hanging in my closet in this period. wow.
tuesday. oh. aunt treated swensons and haagen daz. i was stuffed. should seriously start exercising man.
wednesday. aha. brilliant day. the reason why i m typing at this time, because i dun wanna forget this feeling and exactly what i thought.
collected certs back in sa. felt a little nostalgia. ok not that i had a lot of happy memories in school, but when i saw the pitch, i recalled how i was strutting during the track + sc vs teachers match. how the sun was setting at that moment, giving the oranje hue. and the red track that i ran like a dog 3 times a week. check the ground and you can find my sweat still there. the blue basketball court, the place we played our class captain ball. the canteen where i gobbled my favourite chicken rice and BANANA MILK. aww. the lecture theatres. damn, i kinda miss the bio lectures. the cc where i slept like crazy. hahaha. oh the TOILET! where i spend much of the time standing in front of the fan because it s only fan that can be fixed!
haiya, but you go back, think of all the great times, only to receive something that doesnt make you feel great. i dunno how to put it. but unfortunately, even if i turn back time 1 year ago, i would still do the same, because i ve done my best in the time i had. j1 killed everything. that s the reason why i keep telling my juniors to go study whenever i see them. especially ryan. i must save private ryan!
back to reality. and some fun. we migrated to marina square kbox to relive an illegal session 2 years ago, about the same time. it was fun. even though i cant sing. i managed to make some noises that some how resembled some music, i hope. hah! yea gotta agree with gay, it was abit too short.
travelled back to tampines to watch TWO movies in a row at gv with aunt and sis. TOY STORY 3. the front was kinda slow, but everything fell nicely in the end. it s worthy of probably a 4.5 star. there was this particular scene when the boy finally decided to give away his toys. and i had to hold back some tears then - because i understood how he felt. i can decide to act MAN and laugh it off but learning to confront the feeling requires some real courage. it s about how you become attached to the items that helped you grow up, spend your precious childhood, and how you finally outgrow them. we were all kids. we played with toys, ran around the house like no one s business, role played and rolled all over the floor, and i have to say i had fun doing those lame stuff and i loved my toys. it was the only time of carefree and letting loose.
there was this point the boy made that struck me: the toys, they will always be there for you.
it s not all about the toys. it s about how WE should be like the toys, how we should be there for one another in times of need and be the pillar or crying shoulder for the people around you. especially since now we (ok maybe just me) i dun talk to toys anymore, i talk to people. i dunno about you, but i had a reasonably good childhood, so i felt it.
next up was KARATE KID. 2 hour 20 min. worth it. a good ending, but it was all expected. perhaps the way the good guy won was eye catching, and that s why it s good. hahah but it kinda got me a little hyped up to do some BCCT aka basic close combat training. i was looking forward to Intermediate CCT in army ocs but now... air force. nope. anyway the movie was cool.
yep that s it. a day of entertainment. brilliant day. this is block leave. :D
seriously, i cant remember what happened on monday and tuesday if you ask me now. yea, right now. ok lemme think.
oooo kkk.
monday. met up with huihui at changi international airport for mcdonald s breakfast at 10plus. then sam joined. and gabriel joined. then logs joined from a silkair plane. so the mainpoint was my SPINACH, which never came. instead, we had chicken and very nice mash potatoes and fries. quite a worthy trade. yep so anw, babarella came back with lots of mosquito bites which was kinda expected, slightly worse than coming back from pulau ubin aka the mosquito and sanflies breeding island. after much scratching, we packed her in a taxi and splitted up.
met up with family at a really weird place. farrer park city square. never been there before. but it s really nice and spacious with big name shops that sadly no one frequents. it would be a good hangout to be honest. had pizza for dinner and i actually bought a pair of jeans. it s like a miracle. a new piece of clothing that doesnt originate from SAF hanging in my closet in this period. wow.
tuesday. oh. aunt treated swensons and haagen daz. i was stuffed. should seriously start exercising man.
wednesday. aha. brilliant day. the reason why i m typing at this time, because i dun wanna forget this feeling and exactly what i thought.
collected certs back in sa. felt a little nostalgia. ok not that i had a lot of happy memories in school, but when i saw the pitch, i recalled how i was strutting during the track + sc vs teachers match. how the sun was setting at that moment, giving the oranje hue. and the red track that i ran like a dog 3 times a week. check the ground and you can find my sweat still there. the blue basketball court, the place we played our class captain ball. the canteen where i gobbled my favourite chicken rice and BANANA MILK. aww. the lecture theatres. damn, i kinda miss the bio lectures. the cc where i slept like crazy. hahaha. oh the TOILET! where i spend much of the time standing in front of the fan because it s only fan that can be fixed!
haiya, but you go back, think of all the great times, only to receive something that doesnt make you feel great. i dunno how to put it. but unfortunately, even if i turn back time 1 year ago, i would still do the same, because i ve done my best in the time i had. j1 killed everything. that s the reason why i keep telling my juniors to go study whenever i see them. especially ryan. i must save private ryan!
back to reality. and some fun. we migrated to marina square kbox to relive an illegal session 2 years ago, about the same time. it was fun. even though i cant sing. i managed to make some noises that some how resembled some music, i hope. hah! yea gotta agree with gay, it was abit too short.
travelled back to tampines to watch TWO movies in a row at gv with aunt and sis. TOY STORY 3. the front was kinda slow, but everything fell nicely in the end. it s worthy of probably a 4.5 star. there was this particular scene when the boy finally decided to give away his toys. and i had to hold back some tears then - because i understood how he felt. i can decide to act MAN and laugh it off but learning to confront the feeling requires some real courage. it s about how you become attached to the items that helped you grow up, spend your precious childhood, and how you finally outgrow them. we were all kids. we played with toys, ran around the house like no one s business, role played and rolled all over the floor, and i have to say i had fun doing those lame stuff and i loved my toys. it was the only time of carefree and letting loose.
there was this point the boy made that struck me: the toys, they will always be there for you.
it s not all about the toys. it s about how WE should be like the toys, how we should be there for one another in times of need and be the pillar or crying shoulder for the people around you. especially since now we (ok maybe just me) i dun talk to toys anymore, i talk to people. i dunno about you, but i had a reasonably good childhood, so i felt it.
next up was KARATE KID. 2 hour 20 min. worth it. a good ending, but it was all expected. perhaps the way the good guy won was eye catching, and that s why it s good. hahah but it kinda got me a little hyped up to do some BCCT aka basic close combat training. i was looking forward to Intermediate CCT in army ocs but now... air force. nope. anyway the movie was cool.
yep that s it. a day of entertainment. brilliant day. this is block leave. :D
Sunday, June 20, 2010
a chapter concluded.
there goes another phase. i ve completed somewhat, another bmt.
here s the breakdown:
6 feb 10 +
9 weeks bmt in tekong
1 week block leave
19 april 10 +
2 weeks clm in safti ocs
7 weeks afst in safti ocs
1 week block leave
soon to come:
28 june 10 +
26 weeks afpt in aftc
3 weeks joint term in safti ocs
= COMMISSIONING
ok, that s being positive, and STILL assuming, my knee doesnt give way, i dun do stupid things, and i dun have baygon sprayed all over me.
looking back, it has been 20 weeks in NS! that s an astonishing approximate 5 months. i dunno whether i can declare "time flew" because it didnt quite fly by THAT quickly. it required some amount of praying that the day ends faster, some gritting of the teeth, some trembling of the limbs and quite a significant amount of merrymaking. hahaha. it has been significant.
the last week in safti was er... erm... not so challenging. social night on friday and it was okay. rounded up the term with the closer friends i made in afst, which werent that many, but i m prepared to form some covalent bonds with the gbad guys.
all i m doing now is slacking. so, ask me out next week, before i start to rot at home!
enjoy life people!
here s the breakdown:
6 feb 10 +
9 weeks bmt in tekong
1 week block leave
19 april 10 +
2 weeks clm in safti ocs
7 weeks afst in safti ocs
1 week block leave
soon to come:
28 june 10 +
26 weeks afpt in aftc
3 weeks joint term in safti ocs
= COMMISSIONING
ok, that s being positive, and STILL assuming, my knee doesnt give way, i dun do stupid things, and i dun have baygon sprayed all over me.
looking back, it has been 20 weeks in NS! that s an astonishing approximate 5 months. i dunno whether i can declare "time flew" because it didnt quite fly by THAT quickly. it required some amount of praying that the day ends faster, some gritting of the teeth, some trembling of the limbs and quite a significant amount of merrymaking. hahaha. it has been significant.
the last week in safti was er... erm... not so challenging. social night on friday and it was okay. rounded up the term with the closer friends i made in afst, which werent that many, but i m prepared to form some covalent bonds with the gbad guys.
all i m doing now is slacking. so, ask me out next week, before i start to rot at home!
enjoy life people!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
a real weekend. for once.
thanks all for the birthday wishes! appreciate every single one of them.
one year older now. and i guess i m on the steeper part of the exponential learning curve. been gaining some vital life lessons for the past year. chionging hard for A s, chionging hard for the soccer ball, chionging up the hill with my rifle and my buddy. basically chionging. learnt a lot for the 4 months in NS now. mainly learning to be independent, dealing with people of different social backgrounds and sucking my thumb. real hard.
worked hard during the weekdays and had a well deserved break over the weekend. booked out on friday after scrubbing the toilet bowl as usual, and had a boomz buffet dinner at The Line, Shangri la, with the first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup screening while i chomp away in a brilliant setting. That s life man.
And i had a nice undisrupted sleep on my comfortable bed with the air con blowing that night. When i woke up, i had no homework! Spent the whole day storming down orchard area. i had a good time actually. even though it was quite tiring.
sunday was just as good. nice sleep, good family breakfast and lunch, then had a karaoke session with the guitar and piano, laughed at Babarela on xinmsn and packed up to head to jurong for sakae dinner. and finally here i am, contented with a full stomach, mentally recharged, physically rested, ready to sprint the last stretch, the last week in safti.
life, oh life.
one year older now. and i guess i m on the steeper part of the exponential learning curve. been gaining some vital life lessons for the past year. chionging hard for A s, chionging hard for the soccer ball, chionging up the hill with my rifle and my buddy. basically chionging. learnt a lot for the 4 months in NS now. mainly learning to be independent, dealing with people of different social backgrounds and sucking my thumb. real hard.
worked hard during the weekdays and had a well deserved break over the weekend. booked out on friday after scrubbing the toilet bowl as usual, and had a boomz buffet dinner at The Line, Shangri la, with the first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup screening while i chomp away in a brilliant setting. That s life man.
And i had a nice undisrupted sleep on my comfortable bed with the air con blowing that night. When i woke up, i had no homework! Spent the whole day storming down orchard area. i had a good time actually. even though it was quite tiring.
sunday was just as good. nice sleep, good family breakfast and lunch, then had a karaoke session with the guitar and piano, laughed at Babarela on xinmsn and packed up to head to jurong for sakae dinner. and finally here i am, contented with a full stomach, mentally recharged, physically rested, ready to sprint the last stretch, the last week in safti.
life, oh life.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
all alone
i have been typing for the whole day now, so i think i shall keep this short to spare my eyes from further damage done by the computer monitor.
the past week seemed damn long.
my buddy left. we had a long heart to heart talk on the last night and i realised the best thing that happened to me since the start of air force service term was to have him as a room mate. we are somewhat similar in many ways, the only difference lies in that he has a hell lot more life experience and made decisions that i have to make soon. being at the cross roads of life, it is fortunate for me to have some valuable advice thrown down by a senior. it was a good night.
i met another good fella on friday. he was another senior. and the tips and preview he gave gave me some mental preparation for what to come. it isnt gonna be easy but still it wouldnt be as depressing as what the army guys are going through. they seem so... sad. even if they dun manage to pull through, they have already earned my respect. just compare to some others.. i can only sigh.
celebrated my birthday which still has a countdown on everyday s newspapers (there is only one countdown at the moment) on saturday with gay, ape and 2 nineteen year olds. haha we are really running out of ideas. but it was something new in a way. i was dead tired yesterday so pardon my lethargy and sianess. thanks peeps for everything.
the PROJECT. chionged till 3am yesterday but i still couldnt complete. fell asleep while doing it. seriously exhausted. finally completed it about an hour ago.
checked my knee. it should be fine. i just need to do a Jamie Carragher for the moment. Capello just have to come at the right moment.
i still havent found a solution to the problem for next friday. and i have to find soon. real soon.
everyday, there s this feeling. i cant really describe. it s a mixture of wanting to cry, wanting to shout, wanting to grab something but there s nothing to grab, wanting to swallow something sweet but the taste s only sour. It s just so damn complex is frustrating.
just sigh.
the past week seemed damn long.
my buddy left. we had a long heart to heart talk on the last night and i realised the best thing that happened to me since the start of air force service term was to have him as a room mate. we are somewhat similar in many ways, the only difference lies in that he has a hell lot more life experience and made decisions that i have to make soon. being at the cross roads of life, it is fortunate for me to have some valuable advice thrown down by a senior. it was a good night.
i met another good fella on friday. he was another senior. and the tips and preview he gave gave me some mental preparation for what to come. it isnt gonna be easy but still it wouldnt be as depressing as what the army guys are going through. they seem so... sad. even if they dun manage to pull through, they have already earned my respect. just compare to some others.. i can only sigh.
celebrated my birthday which still has a countdown on everyday s newspapers (there is only one countdown at the moment) on saturday with gay, ape and 2 nineteen year olds. haha we are really running out of ideas. but it was something new in a way. i was dead tired yesterday so pardon my lethargy and sianess. thanks peeps for everything.
the PROJECT. chionged till 3am yesterday but i still couldnt complete. fell asleep while doing it. seriously exhausted. finally completed it about an hour ago.
checked my knee. it should be fine. i just need to do a Jamie Carragher for the moment. Capello just have to come at the right moment.
i still havent found a solution to the problem for next friday. and i have to find soon. real soon.
everyday, there s this feeling. i cant really describe. it s a mixture of wanting to cry, wanting to shout, wanting to grab something but there s nothing to grab, wanting to swallow something sweet but the taste s only sour. It s just so damn complex is frustrating.
just sigh.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pitstop
Short book out. Had fun yesterday at Pitstop, Clarke Quay to celebrate logs birthday. Havent felt so let loose and liberal for a long time now. I simply enjoyed the session. Nothing else to say but looking forward to the long weekend! It's quite a physically demanding week coming up but..
let's go!
let's go!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
week 4 and counting
i was back at pulau ubin for three days to donate blood. it was a tiring continuous session. but nothing compared to what my friends in green are going through, or gonna go through. anyways, i gotta make some plans soon. everyone else is.
finally had a decent weekend. went to town yesterday to meet friends. caught FeMan II at the Cathay with yinglun, jeremy + gf, and reuben. had a brilliant ketchup session with them. after ying lun s sharing, i m grateful for what i m given. not taking anything for granted.
that s about it i guess. oh yea, visited the doc just now to get some medicine. no way i m gonna miss lectures. it s like back to studying all over again.
life s good.
thank you.
hope everyone else s doing fine.
let s goooo! another week!
finally had a decent weekend. went to town yesterday to meet friends. caught FeMan II at the Cathay with yinglun, jeremy + gf, and reuben. had a brilliant ketchup session with them. after ying lun s sharing, i m grateful for what i m given. not taking anything for granted.
that s about it i guess. oh yea, visited the doc just now to get some medicine. no way i m gonna miss lectures. it s like back to studying all over again.
life s good.
thank you.
hope everyone else s doing fine.
let s goooo! another week!
Saturday, May 08, 2010
chapter II
hello world. i survived 3 weeks.
i cant say much about what went on for the past 3 weeks. but i can say that i m no more green. but now blue. ok maybe i m still partially green in some sense, but i m officially and technically blue from now onwards.
i m halting here for a while.
because i have to think before typing.
ok.
learnt quite a bit so far. missed life on the outside, missed people, thought about stuff and went through some tough times. both physically and mentally. but more of mental. for once, i had to pause, take out a book and a pen, list out problems and come up with solutions. and everyday i attempt to apply them.
it s a new dimension of challenge. trapped within a boundary of unfamiliar scenarios, feeling uncomfortable. but it s a stage of becoming independent and facing the real world. the artificial environment created for me since i was born has finally collapsed. there s no longer maternal wings to hide beneath, no longer filtering walls of separation, no longer shields of steel to take the blows. i stand alone.
a new chapter has begun.
but you'll never walk alone.
i cant say much about what went on for the past 3 weeks. but i can say that i m no more green. but now blue. ok maybe i m still partially green in some sense, but i m officially and technically blue from now onwards.
i m halting here for a while.
because i have to think before typing.
ok.
learnt quite a bit so far. missed life on the outside, missed people, thought about stuff and went through some tough times. both physically and mentally. but more of mental. for once, i had to pause, take out a book and a pen, list out problems and come up with solutions. and everyday i attempt to apply them.
it s a new dimension of challenge. trapped within a boundary of unfamiliar scenarios, feeling uncomfortable. but it s a stage of becoming independent and facing the real world. the artificial environment created for me since i was born has finally collapsed. there s no longer maternal wings to hide beneath, no longer filtering walls of separation, no longer shields of steel to take the blows. i stand alone.
a new chapter has begun.
but you'll never walk alone.
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