The return of the crazy-imMOORtal

listen

2011-04-30T15:10:00.003+08:00

it has been a while. a long time in fact. the last post was law camp, and many a time i was tempted to post something, but i got lazy. the net effect i think is that i stop writing so much, and my standard of english has gone down the drain. with one marker commenting i need help. sadness. doesnt help much i think that i haven't been coaching so the argumentation skills are lacking. i think.

much has happened the last time, ups and downs that have kept me busy. but i think elections fever always gets me thinking and find a need to rant and write it down. it's the only time the people are 'that powerful' i think. only time that people seem to want to communicate with us. haha.

it's interesting, watching the various political parties come alive again. a hive of activity there has been, cept i havent actually seen anyone. although news are aplenty. and i find interesting the latest pap strategy - it's the same old, no change, stick to what has gotten them in power the past 50 years. upgrading, threats, great grc system that ensures the ministers keep their places, "regretting". how much will it take them, to realise that all that the people want, is this willingness to listen, to recognise that there are problems, the ground isnt as sweet as the statistics tell you and give the voters the voice that they deserve. is there a need to dangle the 'upgrading' carrot? how about beefing up your assistance scheme for people who need it? How about channeling more funds to reduce this income disparity? Yea there are more jobs than takers, but how about looking behind the numbers and identifying the quality of jobs?

sure, i think there's that concern that the bunch arent going to be that competent. drains will remain clogged, their municipal duties are not carried out effeciently, their argumentation aren't as strong. but i guess sometimes when we balance everything out and we want people to wake up their idea. maybe we know that it is time we take a leap of faith. unless we are convinced that they recognise the problems, and show that willingness to listen.

2010-06-22T00:24:00.002+08:00

i thought it's perhaps time to write something about lcamp2010, if anything to write something so years from now I can have something to look at, to remember, when i start forgetting, when i want to get in touch with how i felt immediately or in close aftermath of the camp.

already i'm starting to forget - but perhaps what I will never forget is the stress level, the smiles, the talking, the intense amount of paperwork. it's interesting really, how people have talked so much about my experience and all, but this is the first time i actually ran a camp, the first time i'm like in the chair. it's quite different i think. when youre vice you check back on everything, you don't actually face the pressure of having to make the decisions, you support more than do, and you can choose to focus on things you actually like (even though it's delegated to you but you still get to choose). in the chair, you need to be involved in everything, but then that could be because i like to be involved in everything, i want to know exactly what's going on. which doesnt bode well for my stress level i guess. haha.

well. what a journey it has been. it all started with being rejected as focc chair (haha yes i shall still harp on it), and then trying to figure out what i really wanted to do, knowing there are some things that i wanted to be involved in, but never thinking i would actually end up being the chair for the camp. and then i was asked. to join focc, but not knowing what yn wanted me to do so i settled for what i thought i have always been good at. applying to be his vice. and then people started asking me to consider being the chair for law camp. and zul reminded me that i have been vice for too long.

aside from the random moments where i felt like i was sinking, i dont think i would have settled for vice after all, although undoubtedly focc vice's of a higher rank and everything. but with lcamp it was way more awesome in terms of creative direction and all. and i guess as a sucker for work and stress, it was prob all for the best. haha yn i think at this point of time would say, "i told you so" - i rmb the teleconversation with him when yk got with jr and i complained that vices get the action and the benefits and he pointed out well i'm sure you'll have more fun with law camp. haha guess he's right.

looking at all the photos, i really miss it now. i still think of how some things didnt materialise. but am really glad with how some things turned out, and the many surprises along the way. so i guess rather than continue regretting, perhaps it would be better to remember the best of things, and move on. no one's going to remember the team that created the memories, much less the chair, but perhaps we all owe it to ourselves to remember these beautiful memories we have created for ourselves. for who are we, if not for what we have done, and what we remember?

okay enough cheesy lines - some fantastic memories, some not so fantastic but still memorable, some stressful moments

- filming. oh detective jun. what a blast it has been haha. that was one hell of a stressful 2 weeks, packing everything together post exams and filming in between 2 dry runs. but still detective jun was so fun. haha got to unleash my inner geek, be more irritating than i already am (and you wouldnt think of it as possible), write one part of the storyline, play a judge, create a story. haha if i wasnt the chair i would have joined storyline i think. and i thank kurosaki for helping me fulfill this dream. haha. oh the indulgence. and the tension on the set. but acting's always pretty fun. and detective jin was an awesome partner to work with. haha i'm sure if there was best chemistry we would have won it. haha 3rd storyline, and my favourite character so far. though i won't say it and pretend to hate it. but well, that was fun.

- night court. haha i'm going to have to watch the video again but it was quite funny creating a tense character for myself to make the already tense mood more intense. snapping at people, frowning etc. part of it was an act, part of it was just unleashing what i would have normally kept within me. but it was interesting how people reacted to it - bitching behind your backs, apologising profusely. ah and the shouting. oh dear. i think i am a bad person. i actually enjoy these!

- the tense moments. ah. unfortunately the down side of the job, although i think the sadomasochistic tendencies in me actually enjoyed that. walking around. asking for answers, looking busy. i think there was a point of time when everything was running smoothly and i felt so bored standing around eating my nasi lemak. the down side i guess is that at the actual fun moments, i couldnt enjoy them. ah like the old cliches go, you cannot have your cake and eat it.

- getting sick. horrid horrid. and then i just locked myself in my room. thinking how everything is going to end. relieved, sick, tired and sick. i think i needed that though. that quiet moment. and perhaps that would explain why i wasnt as emotional as i thought i would have been at the closing.

- ah speaking of closing then. a little bad blood here and there, people pulling out of performances (and hosting - though that was of no fault of theirs). the transport company pulling out. makes you remember why they say to always have black and white and the existence of lawyers helping to ensure world peace. i digress. but i'm truly amazed that we actually pulled it off! not much rehearsals, a lot of last minute decisions, which i had hoped need not have been made. but wow. i really wished i had more time to work on everything, but i think of all the ceremony-ish stuff i have planned. this actually came out the best. next stop. ndp. haha i jest. but i hope one day, i'll really be able to pull something like this (10 times the scale) off again. although all credit has to go to zul & james this time round.

- still on closing. i'm never going to forget how yn flashed the CV on screen. that moment where i wasnt even paying attention to his speech and instinctively turned to clap! oh boy oh boy. indulgent.

- but i really liked how the year 2s came out at the end. would have liked it done in a more orderly fashion. and give credit to everyone. till now i still regret not thanking the subcomm ics, so irks to that. but i'm going to remember the walkin and i really loved the ending. many thanks to zul & the band for agreeing to my indulgences. my speech sucked btw haha. should have prepared it better.

- and many other random memories - the knocking of doors, late night chitchat. i regret not getting to know the ogls much better though. guess everyone was always too tired and loved their og more haha.

sigh i miss it. but it's time to move on i guess. next up lsc. and i dedicate this post to yongneng, who i got to know through this camp, and had enough courage to put me in charge. and hence provided me with such fantastic memories, ahhh and power.

and also to everyone else who made law camp possible - the comm, the councillors, the ogls, focc, year 1s etc.

what an eventful semester. and i'm just pretty thankful that everything is working out fine.

rants

2010-02-16T01:34:00.002+08:00

it has been such a long time. since the last entry. so much has happened, so much has changed. It's funny. how uni's supposed to be 4 years long, but everything seems to be moving so so quickly. sometimes i wish to myself i have enough time to stop and take a deep breath. that's why we have long breaks i guess. and more sane holidays than the medicine ppl i would suppose. in that sense i am thankful for that trip on royal Caribbean - in a way, i was actually hoping that the holiday wouldnt stop. cos i really needed that break.

it hasnt been a good 2010 so far though - my team's poor performance has left me incredibly jaded. there is a need now to reevaluate my performance as a coach - and it's really pretty upsetting, to finish a one and a half year stint with nothing to show. i dont like losing, and i dont like doing something without having left an imprint in the hearts and minds of the kids, of the teams. and so i dont like the fact that i am failing. it's a terrible feeling. and then there's my own academics - as if juggling isnt enough, i cant seem to focus on my work. laww camp has been a constant source of distraction too - in a good way since i actually enjoy what i'm doing - but therein lies the problem. when i'm actually passionate about something, i end up prioritizing it first, thinking of ideas to improve it, in the middle of a case or a chapter. it's terrible. and i guess i should learn to reprioritize. move law camp to no.2 and finding a girlfriend to end my 22 years of loneliness to no.1. I jest of course. haha.

Speaking of 22, i cant believe i'm turning 22 soon! i still vividly remember my 21st birthday, and argh TIME IS RUNNING OUT, too fast too fast. i just need it to stop.

Happy cny ladies and gentlemen. with love, i'm going to have success in my studies, my various projects, love and everything else.

2009-10-10T11:55:00.002+08:00

i am surprised, to say the very least, that obama was awarded the nobel peace prize. considering we havent seen much tangible efforts coming from him, and all we have seen are promises for shift in speeches, nicely crafted speeches and tons of charisma. 9 months in the job an you get a nobel? i must say, standards have dropped (or changed however you want to put it) or he is one hell of a remarkable man. and i am just a poor judge of a person's achievements (i am after all, just a first year legal student vis-a-vis the combined age, wisdom and income of the panel - i'm not even one percent probably! i might be exaggerating but you get my point)

So speaking of legal student, i'm at week 8 already, and i thought perhaps i should talk about the BOOMS events that have happened the past few weeks. the chinese find 8 an auspicious number, i would like you to think it is why i only began to contribute an entry at this time - but it's really that i havent been finding the motivation to write an entry. after all we write and read so much, you dont want to engage in brainy activities all the time. I thought since i used the word BOOMS here i should give ris low some (albeit limited) airtime here, and my 2cents worth is that she really is this enthralling lady who has gripped the entire nation! not since erm, the nyp tammy has there been so much focus on a single lady on her video. she only need a second video, some kind of sex video to top tammy and become a national icon or something. but amazing, she has even created new words for our singlish calendar! not since phua chu kang has an individual been able to do that. i mean even professors are using her words now. if she were smarter she would probably get a trademark for the word. having not done copyright and trademarks though i do have a feeling it isnt that easy haha.

So i digress, in giving ms low a paragraph. this blog is after all ALL ABOUT ME. law school the past 8 weeks have been quite a bit of work. time seems to go so fast and you just feel kinda stressed trying to keep up with your peers, to be adequately prepared for school every week. and the assessments - they're non stop! i'm enjoying it though, just wishing at times that i could afford to put in less work and yet get decent grades. gone are the days where you could just smoke through class pretending to be well read and have everyone listen to you cos they didnt prepare at all anyway haha.

and out of this all, there have been mallal moots, which were quite an eye-opener really. that kept me busy for a while and i am amazed at what a couple of years in law school can do to these people! i would be happy just to be of their standards. but perhaps what we always see are the very best, and there are those that we do not see that we might end up as. and moots do require a lot more work, specialist knowledge and shit from the judge.

i cant think of anything else actually! haha. i probably have been more frivolous than i should have, or perhaps i really have been studying very hard. i kid. it's just that i think i take longer to do my work and end up with little time. but there were those fun moments, like going to orchard to watch nine, realising we got the time wrong then going to vivo and then finding out we got the time wrong again and then sitting down to tc for a couple of hours and then having a rejio. but we never watched nine. cos for the rejio we ended up watching the ugly truth. which was quite funny but you know as with all romantic comedies, predictable. then there was the day we went kboxing. and everyone was treated to my amazing singing. ah that's why i had to cramp everything last week for torts! haha

aside from these perhaps there was mgs u14s which i have to congratulate imran for (winning, not creating little imrans out of them all), and which i am quite relieved with at a time i was questioning (again) my capabilities as a coach. didnt think they could have done that, to surpass my target for them. but it's always good to hear good comments and have some results from all the work one has put in. then there was the series of DA thing that somehow i ended up getting involved in and all of a sudden (with the persuasion, charisma and charm of imran no doubt) i got elected into the exco. it's a lot of work i think, i'm just waiting to see how everything turns out. and hoping everything works out fine.

i think though that i am resigned to a life of no.2. the new f o c c chair was just pointing out to me how he probably got cut some slack cos of his previous positions - house capt for 6 years, head prefect, councillor etc. and i realised i am just like him, except add a vice to all of those. vice head prefect, vice capt, vice president. hell, even for psle score i had to lose to somebody, at a time when everyone was looking at me to top the school. haha. i can't figure out what's wrong - maybe i'm only good enough for number 2. which could be the case. ah perhaps this time round i'm just a lil disappointed cos i dont like losing and in previous cases i didnt apply for the top dog position, and i was happy to settle for #2. perhaps what's meant to be is meant to be. there isnt anything wrong with being #2, it just means toiling quietly behind the scenes and being unable to have final say in the direction that is set. OH WELL. we'll just wait and see how everything goes.

i miss being slack with no worries, nothing to do, and just planning holidays. but i remember those days when i couldnt wait for school to start. you cant have your cake an eat it can you? but that said, i wouldnt want to go back to camp and being a man again. there's reservice, but i think that's still slightly better than being a nsf man. haha.

at this point of time i say i dont quite know what i'm saying and i should just end here and ask you to wait for the next entry, perhaps in another 2 months haha.

1st month of uni

2009-08-24T00:28:00.003+08:00

over the past 8 years or so, the thought of quitting debating for good has crossed my mind. because after winning once, you dont want to go down. you want to keep winning or at least do well enough. for some reason or another, i keep staying, and am now kinda resigned to my absolute lack of achievements the past few years. with the most recent one known a couple of hours ago. perhaps that will happen in a couple of years time, but i am hoping meanwhile, that something good comes out of it while i am in it.

so i was reminded by nash that i havent been updating my blog, it's just that so much is happening and i havent found the time to want to write an entry. but i guess it would be good to chronicle my uni life once in a while so i dont forget the little stuff when i turn old and nostalgic haha. oh i had such grand plans, to create a new blog to mark another phase, since this obviously isnt a cray-immoortal anymore. but oh well, apt name or not, i guess i shall just make do with this for the time being. hell, most of my friends dont even blog anymore!

they say that after a certain age, time seems to fly past you. it used to be only you are having fun. but now, even as i havent had time to have fun and have spent all my time working on stuff or mugging the weeks seem to fly so quickly! Is it really the age thing? Or maybe subconsciously law school has become fun for me? haha i really doubt the latter. not that the former carries much truth though. oh well. so what happened since the last post - there was rag, and then there was school. which in essence sums up the past one month.

rag was an interesting experience, to say the very least. i know i say that about most things. but i guess when you get yourself into things you seldom go away calling it a horrible experience since you always want to tell yourself that you have made the right choice. but the thing is it really wasnt that bad and i personally am amazed at how much i could do! that i actually contributed to that mother big thing that was sewn on stitch by stitch, transported to kent ridge on the most memorable roadtrip i have ever taken (no shit, with tons of foul words and cries for help haha). I didn't actually think i would be able to contribute much to begin with, or have what it takes to commit much. but i guess army has trained me well to follow instructions and do menial stuff. never mind that other floats were very much nicer, i think once you're in something you got to give it all your support and appreciate the efforts of the team. there were of course those very snide comments being passed by people who obviously have loads of confidence in what they do (to make up for the lack of eq) to say what they did, but i guess i am pass caring and have ranted enough about it to comment further. i mean you cant expect law to have just nice people. there needs to exist some kind of balance. i'm not surprised though, since background work is always looked upon with contempt.

and it's now the 3rd week of school, and there has already been so much readings, so much work! i cant say i am having a culture shock, i'm not very surprised to be honest, but it still is one thing to hear and expect it, and another to be immersed in this workload and mugging people. but oh well, to be back in school again! it feels a little good, but still i must complain about the workload.

so i start this semester still feeling that everything that's happening to me is a lil surreal. the knocks are coming and i am getting all my insecurities, fearful that i will become mediocre, will stagnate, will lose all interest in my studies. perhaps this is just my paranoia. perhaps it isnt. only time can tell and i can only hope that time wont be my worst enemy.

2 weeks before school starts

2009-07-22T00:46:00.003+08:00

and after months of going in between working and slacking, the countdown begins. the countdown to school, where rusty boys return to the books, and attempt to pay attention, amidst the many distractions. it feels a little surreal actually. all these activities coming up. i feel a little overwhelmed, lacking the kind of energy that kept me going when i was in school. strangely enough even as i feel so busy, trying to get a grip of my days before school starts, i feel unproductive. i mean, when i take stock of what i have done at the end of the day, i cant think of myself having done anything of significant value. perhaps with some routine kicking in, it's all going to be different. in many ways i am looking forward to school, yet there is still that slight apprehension going on there - what if i fail my exams, what if this isnt my calling. hopefully, this time next year, i can write something upbeat.

so speaking of new things and being slightly overwhelmed, i am quite surprised at how ion orchard turned out. i must applaud the developers really for developing what i thought is somewhat of a world class shopping centre, comparable to those i have seen elsewhere (never mind i have never ventured out of asia pacific). i think the developers have done their homework, and after the disappointment of iluma, it is good to see this having lived up to its hype. it helps too that all my favourite stores are there and it is so near the mrt station (and my house haha). although i must say, anything from level 1 onwards is a lil scary to venture into without a backbone in your wallet.

in other news, the bombing at indo is shocking, h1n1 has made me lose more than a thousand bucks which sucks, and that goodyear is no longer ceo of temasek is kinda scoffable - although i guess when you find that someone is not your cup of tea it is better to terminate the partnership earlier. i would like to see more details unfold over the next couple of days though. transparency is always good. no more good year. and then there is that one person who has a scandal. just when school is about to start!

and on a personal front, otot was really another nostalgic trip to army! it was really quite hilarious, and though full tank was dry at times, i liked how they raised the issue of msk up - that really was reflective of the views of many singaporeans, and i thought it highlighted how (we think) the management in the defence bodies work. botak boys as a musical was hilarious, although once the focus shifted to the homosexuality theme, i thought it kinda became boring. r & g is dead was complicated, i wouldnt lie to make myself look brilliant, i kinda only got the hamlet part, and i think they were using words too big for me haha, but it was such a huge treat watching cc acting as that subversive slut haha. a platform to be yourself, with no inhibitions huh! haha he was brilliant really. along with a nice ensemble of 'ppl acting the same role' - as jonk exclaimed at the start on seeing the program haha (it wasnt, he was called alfred, as we discovered) it was fun. haha. next stop sing dollar, and given how much it costs, i really hope it's good!

2 weeks to school! i am not prepared!

2009-06-27T15:52:00.002+08:00

it is an old cliche, what do you want people to say in the papers, after your death, or at a funeral, if you never end up famous enough. the (somewhat) shocking death of mj has taken the world by storm - he will be missed, for all his eccentricity, creativity and music that remains hip, surprisingly so in this day and age where people clamour for change. and yet his songs are still well-loved 20 (or more) years later. and so we have the passing of another icon, an icon much remembered by people across generations, testament to the strong appeal of his songs. reading through all the stuff about him though, there's so much i dont know about this man, aside from all his eccentricities in his later years, and that he used to be black (who wouldnt when a drink neither black nor white is named after him) of course. and what a life he had, it makes me feel like i am wasting my time, when i should be singing and performing at the age of 5. haha of course, i dont have any talent to speak of (and not to mention am tone deaf), and i should remain an average joe, going to uni, joining the working world and be like millions of people who dream of fame and success sometimes. only sometimes. since we all know what happened to mj, and the sacrifices celebrities make.

and so back to my boring life, i feel like i am not doing anything meaningful, but i guess i have been having fun the past couple of weeks, so that's always a good thing. there were of course club med and law camp, both of which were loads of fun, especially since i went for both with some apprehension. club med because our intel suggests that it was like a resort and there werent sights to see and all - should we have just gone to sentosa, or have a staycation, which is so bloody in these days. of course the cost didnt do much to allay those concerns. it was mostly are we going to get our money worth? and then nobody bothered to tell us there was a 50% off for 2nd adult if we went in july! but we decided we had to get away and so we went to tmft with our fingers crossed, hoping it wasnt going to be a wasted trip. and it was a great vacation, we sweated it out, enjoyed the nightly entertainment, tried out the trapeze, saw jonathan on the trapeze, snorkeled. i think i wouldnt mind just checking into club med when i am rich and successful, with some spare cash and just going there to chill. when i am rich and successful i would need that dont you think. and the place is beautiful. with a couple of eyecandies which no one would mind would they haha. nothing much happened there, no scandalous getting laid stories you would hear but wild jocks going on an eurotrip, or getting drunk and dancing on the bartop, but for some reason we all needed to get away, and that was in a way perfect. i hope it wont be the last time we're travelling, perhaps the next time round backpacking and going to various sights would be ideal haha.

and after a series of camp fatigue post army, law camp was surprisingly fun! i had perhaps expected somewhat of a tighter schedule, wake up early all that stuff, but it was all about getting to know more people, with not so much as forced setting (minus the secret pal thing of course haha). night court was pretty awesome, one of the best tradition-based activities i must say. it helped too that we had proper beds to sleep on! haha. of course the people were great, and it helps that the leadership was all enthusiastic and rara. and we were all ready to talk, make conversations and all. much unlike situations where people just sat and refused to talk cos everyone was ugly. haha i jest. we all had fun, and it's always a great prelude (to school) to get to know who your batchmates are going to be. although orientation groups tend to break up without the

school's about to start, i am suffering from somewhat of a 21yo crisis i think. increasingly singers and actors are like my age, waiters and stewardesses too, i am old! even my classmates are younger than me! ah the things ns do to you.

i cant believe after 20 days, all i can come up with is an inane entry. another sign of me getting old. haha

2009-06-13T00:54:00.000+08:00

I am very pleased with my new mac.

And very much excited that in 12 hours time i am on my way for yet another holiday! hurray!

change in the country and holiday!

2009-05-27T23:40:00.003+08:00

people call for change all the time, often have some preconceived notion of what it should be like, but often not in the position to put in place any changes. and so when the people in charge promise change, we kinda look forward to it, but when it didnt come out the way we expected of it, we sometimes are unsure what to make of it. i am referring to the latest increment of the minimum number of opposition members of parliament. and while i was looking forward to political changes the president suggested, this kinda just fell right through. because make no mistake, i am all in support for opposition representation, i believe it is important for there to be checks and balances in parliament, but i also want these people to be democratically elected into parliament - and not have the best losers, or people who have been rejected by the electorate sit there and just make noise. hell, they dont even have voting powers. i am not saying that the ncmps we have had of late are jokers, but increasing it to 9, what are they thinking? it seems to me i am going to hear a lot more of the same 'best of 2 worlds' argument that i heard the last elections (yes i might not have been old enough to vote, but old enough to remember), that you should vote for the pap candidate because in any case the opposition member can be a ncmp, but once the pap dude is out, he's out, he will never be a ncmp.

i dont think it's about having a minimum number of opp representation. above all, the change we need in our political system is something that allows us to have more access to information. political debates, easy availability of political discussion and information, single member wards, smaller grcs, equal access to facilities and information to all parties in an election and fair reporting by the media. so while i applaud the moves to increase the number of smcs, and the apparent decision to downsize grcs (but not necessarily make that mandatory), i think having more ncmps isnt the way to way, goes against what a democracy is really about, and think any opposition mp would still have more moral authority if he were voted in by the people, and goes into parliament a winner. we dont want a contrived parliament, i want to be in a position such that my vote will go some way in ensuring the loser stays out of the way.

so politics aside, let's talk about my long overdue entry on my HOLIDAY! haha, the change in environment was in some ways an eye-opener. it always feels good to take a look at the lifestyles of people in other country, and see what people have always been talking about. what i didnt like though was how everything was so rushed, how it wasnt a relaxing holiday, as i feel a dream vacation should be. but hey you cant have the best of both worlds, to shop and relax. it was after all 5 days, and we had to do all we could - 3 destinations, 5 days - and had to take advantage of the cheaper stuff they had! didnt manage to buy as many things as i should or could have, but oh well. nothing quite exciting took place, but still it was great in many ways, to be able to visit 3 regions, and check out some tourist destinations. the venetian and sands at macau were cool - gave me an idea of what the irs would turn out to be like, of course it helped that the toilets were REALLY clean and had golden taps haha, and that i won an itsy bitsy amount of money; stuff were considerably cheaper than that of singapore - esp in shenzhen (although we kinda had to be on our guard at all times to ensure the money given to us wasnt fake so that was somewhat of a turnoff); hongkong had really good food - and awfully yummy dimsum and roast goose; going through immigration everyday really sucked. i would say even though the food in hongkong was great, i actually enjoyed shenzhen more - helped that the tourguide was good, and the stuff there were waaaay cheaper, there was a cool exhibition, and the window of the world place was great to photowhore. my only regret- that i didnt buy enough stuff there when they were already so cheap! i was trying to check out the market rate, but really my time there was too short.

other turn-offs: hardselling where those jade, chinese medicine people follow you around and obviously dont really like you but hope you will buy things from them anyway. it's terrible, sometimes i do enjoy time to myself and look at things you are selling though i clearly cannot afford them! i would like it without pressure from you okay. thankfully we got out of the palm reading, chinese medicine examination thing - often much heard about from friends who have visited china - in part due to the agressive nature of my dad that instils fear in even the most aggressive of salespeople. haha. the other turn-off was the swine flu, which already hit hk when we went there, so it was a lil scary as that is one thing you can hardly control - i mean you never know if the person in the lift has swine flu, and the next thing you know the whole hotel gets quarantined.

speaking of swine flu, nav had such a close encounter! freaky, i mean what are the odds! singapore reports its first case, shit, that is one change i really wouldnt want.

of storms, sex, mas and pandemics

2009-05-10T21:14:00.003+08:00

i dont quite understand why there have been so many thunderstorms the past few nights. its like a date the skies have with us every night, when most of us are asleep. and the thing is the lightning and (consequently) thunder come every 2 seconds. so disruptive to my oh all so important sleep. is there a special reason for this, or is the world coming to an end.

speaking of storms, there seems to be another storm of controversy the past couple of weeks over sexuality education. in all honesty i highly doubt people know all about sex from schools to begin with, it should not be that big a deal. yet of course there is this whole idea of the duties of schools and all. like what happens when the parents dont discuss it. that's where the internet comes in i guess. and i think more than just schools, a person's perceptions or the birds and the bees are formed by his environment - of course schools being part of environment, but its really more than that. come to think of it, when i was in school, all the sex education came in the form of biology, and it really was very technical, nothing much about homosexuality - actually nothing at all, anal sex or pre-marital sex. what i remember were things like:
"sex, which hole to put it in, is a matter of trial and error"
"so if you find a cure for aids, you will be very rich. but cannot ah, encourage men to be promiscuous" i think this is where a judgement on promiscuity is made
"boys i dont know what you are doing at the back, but it is very wrong" this was in reference to different groups of boys at different points of time at different classes and definitely heard more than once, and i suppose this is where a judgement on homosexuality is made - that it is very wrong. which is like a far cry from making it neutral, so i think moe doesnt have to worry.

6 years of biology, and this is what i think they taught me. in fact they even made the sex module in sec 2 ilearning - like what the hell is that!

and of course our dear friend msk has been caught, though still detained in msia. and at this point of time i really am not interested whether he was caught in shorts or boxers. or whether you think msia did a good job. or if you think the threat of terrorism is very real. i think we deserve more information. like when was it that he fled singapore, when did they discover he was in skudai, what was he planning. i am surprised though, that no one has asked for a thorough investigation of the coast guard, or whoever were on duty at where he fled. yet. firstly i think they mostly are nsfs from my batch to begin with so it doesnt quite matter if they demand for some sackings. but if i were a person involved, i would be curious to know if he did indeed flee under my watch. that is of course secondary. the point is, with the entire nation actively somewhat involved and scrutinising the actions, fearing for their safety in fact, they need more information. cos we are all suckers for scandals, and we hate just hearing part one of the story. of the fugitive.

i was just reading an article about how a full blown pandemic is going to affect countries all over the world, and then it struck me - how easy it is for terrorists to create turmoil within a country. they after all have a group of people ready to die for the cause. they just need to find something so dangerous, so infectious to ruin a country. first infect the whole flight, then everyone in the airport, then go to an extremely crowded place. overnight your country does not even know what has hit them. and then they come out and say "you are being punished for your sins. repent now. denounce capitalism bla bla bla" kinda like thio su mien's article on how sars is a punishment for singapore legalising abortion. (http://wayangparty.com/?p=8978) hospitals will be overcrowded, doctors are needed, and it could be a disease that will affect generations. scary.

in a way we are lucky thus far, we have what it takes to fight h1n1, though everyone is saying how it is too early to say. i think though the real test comes when it hits the 3rd world, which does not have the capability or resources. will other countries help, or they will just shut their borders to people from this countries. let them rot since i dont quite depend on these countries. i am not saying i want this to happen, but i think if it does, i will be waiting to see how the rest of the world reacts.

the way we are surrounded with storms lately, you cant help but think if this is the end of the world indeed.

2009-05-03T15:18:00.002+08:00

You have to commend josie & 'her sisters' (i would have called them new guard, but given the recent change in leadership, i think it is misleading to call them such) for actively trying to create change when they feel that something that represents them is doing what they feel is wrong. Yet while such bravery is commendable, i think that it should have been done with more transparency, with more dialogue, rather than a blatant hijack of an organisation, eventually resorting to lies, a lack of cooperation with the former leaders. i mean yes you were voted in, but how can you even call it democratic when it was obvious you were holding back your views. and how about the supposed communication breakdown between you and supporters of the old guard in the exco. or the sacking of a former nmp? how much of our views are coloured by the media i dont quite know - but they kinda dug their own grave with their lack of transparency and professionalism. i mean their anti-homosexual views are one thing, but i think most of those who turned up were upset that they have been vague and their actions were brimming with hostility. although fine, the supporters of the old guard were hardly civil or respectful. which was somewhat disappointing, but not surprising. they were angry.

oh well, whatever the case might be, a much needed dramatic episode required to show that singaporeans will stand up for what they believe in when their rights are seen to be compromised, has finally ended, with aware returning to the hands of the old guard, as perceived by most of us. what's next then? i think while the supposed good that has come out of this is that more people are now aware of aware (pardon the pun), it could mean more funding with the wider net of volunteers/supporters that they now have, more manpower, and more attention on it. but that is always a double-edged sword, since they now need to think of more ways to engage the 3000 new members that they have, and not squander this latest media limelight on them. of course, more scrutiny will also mean increased pressure for them to perform, always a good thing for the public, but not necessarily so for those who are working behind the scenes, but at a pace that will never quite satisfy the public.

i am also interested to see how josie and her sisters will move on from here? set up another organisation? or actively involve themselves in aware's projects, to prove they arent quite the power hungry, homophobic hijackers that we have painted them out to be. and are seriously active feminists who fight for women's rights and all.

i guess we are all entitled to our own views, pro or anti homosexuality, or believe whatever our religion preaches, but at the end of the day, we need to agree to disagree, to respect one another's view points, and learn never to impose our views, our religions on one another. if anything, this episode has shown us that. and that there are enough singaporeans who are anything but apathetic.

2009-04-25T21:04:00.002+08:00

Milestones and birthdays. Without which a date will just be another day, another mundane day which we fill with our work, our daily routine. The question then we always ask ourselves is how are we going to celebrate, or to commemorate it, and finally end up exposing ourselves to much work and worries.

Yesterday's celebration told me a few things. 1. my fears/anxieties as indicated in the previous post were almost quite unfounded. 2. i have a lot to be thankful for 3. it reminded me why i wanted this in the first place.

having planned stuff for people for the longest time - from house meetings to class outings to ord functions, i have a tendency to constantly put the target audience ahead of anyone else. i want them to walk away with the best memories, to have all the fun they can have. and in that respect i hope that even if this celebration is for me, about me, they all walk away having had a great time, whether it is the food or being able to catch up with many friends. i still dont know how many people come out of political correctness and how many people came for me. but you know what? it doesnt matter anymore, because those who mattered i know, came for me in any case. (:

and the way the whole thing turned out, it far exceeded what i had expected it to be. it reminded me why i wanted this in the first place - to celebrate my birthday amidst incessant chatter, with my family and my friends. and while i didnt get to really sit down and talk to lots of people, i am truly glad that they all came down (dressed up!), interacted with one another and enjoyed the buffet spread. I especially liked how zul tied everything together before the cake-cutting and all - never mind it was last minute, and started off as a remark which he readily acted upon in his usual settle everything in 10 minutes style. it was great, and even if not to you, was awfully heartwarming and touching at times for me.

it was tiring though, trying to get people to reply, deciding on the guest-list, finding a place, ensuring that whatever is negotiated is committed to us, responding to queries, but there's so much to be thankful for. while having a party wasnt because i wanted to collect presents, it is always nice, i admit, to have presents, and thank you so much for the array of presents! how to tell when it's 21 years you are celebrating and that 21 is old? the grown up nature of the presents! haha. from the fashionable to the practical, i loved them all - thank you so much, it is clear that you all put much thought into them and i hope you guys didnt have to spend so much (although from the looks of it it was quite a sum). more that i have to be thankful for is your presence, which really made me happy, and highlighted to me my anxieties really were unfounded, as nash predicted in his card.

thank you too to zul for coordinating the whole cakecutting thing, to the many photographers who ensure that i walk away with many ways to remember that fantastic night - jingsong, james, eugene, my sister, navjote, berwin (and many others not in my line of vision or i forgot), and to those who gave heartwarming off-the-cuff speeches - edwin, navjote, ccc and zul and to those who took the special effort to dressed according to the theme! and of course, like i said, to my parents for everything.

i have so much to say at this point of time, after last night's late night conversation about aware, singapore politics and global affairs, but this post shall be about my birthday and you, and we shall leave those for another time. it was an awesome birthday, i am sorry for the guys who felt that there was an absolute lack of 'female presence', but they're mostly overseas so oh well.

it is my best birthday celebration ever, mainly because it is the first time i had so many friends from various groups come together and join me in this. (although this kind of things cannot be done too often or is seriously over indulgent and extravagant) thank you to all who turned up and most of all because i dont often find an opportunity to say things like that - thank you a whole lot for the past few years, whenever you first got to know me, and heres hoping that we will all make that special effort to meet up, to always be there for one another in the next many many years.
whatever it is, i hope if you went you had fun

2009-04-19T15:40:00.002+08:00

for some reason i havent been very motivated in planning my own birthday party. at certain points of time i ask myself what's the point, or is there even such a need. but as with all things, once you choose to embark on something, you can hardly turn back. but what is it for really? to prove to yourself that you have made many friends the past 21 years? to get people to celebrate your successes achieved in the past 21 years? or is it just an excuse to get people to meet up, people who might otherwise feel that there isnt a reason to meet up in other circumstances. Perhaps it is the act of finally planning something for myself, and wanting to celebrate it with people who you think mean something to you, in your life, in one way or another.

And that's when all the insecurities set in and you think about your relationships with the people around you - people who you havent met in a year - what do they mean to you, people who you havent had contact with in a year - what do you mean to them. Are you just a weirdo who thinks you are a friend but to them they think, seriously what friends? And then there're those you dont quite care about and wonder if you should invite them out of political correctness, otherwise they might feel upset. but i think it could be us overrating ourselves. who are we to be capable of making someone feel upset? Ah, birthday parties, like human relationships are complicating.

Well humans are complicating people themselves. The aware saga has highlighted to us as much. And while the picture is still at best fuzzy, i think it rude and suspicious how a group of people choose to infiltrate the ruling body of a group and seek to do an overhaul of the values system. If this is a group that has achieved international standing, why are the new rulers choosing to hide themselves behind a veil of secrecy, mystery and supposed righteousness and democracy. i mean from what it seems they look like christian fundamentalists who seek to change the values of a group that they might feel to go against the proper rights of the women that should be championed. and they think that an inner voice has bestowed upon them the duty to infiltrate this group and change the world. if they have what it takes, they ought to set up their own group and promote their own set of values and even challenge that of aware. yet it is fuzzy and perhaps unfair to question their motivations when they havent exactly espoused on their stand. yet you cant blame the media since they are the ones who reject the opportunity to explain themselves. i never expected this issue to escalate into such a huge one such that it has been dominating the prime section of the papers daily, but it perhaps highlights how much aware has done since it had been established, that people actually know about it and are concerned about how it will evolve with the 'infiltration' of the old guard.

a month vacation beckons me, i ought to find something interesting or maybe meaningful to do.

2009-04-05T13:24:00.002+08:00

i was just wondering, that if one day, you just leave the country, go on a backpacking trip for a year, without telling anyone, except maybe your family, how many people would notice? How many people would wonder if you are still alive and maybe you know call your house to find out?

because the way i see it, facebook has become such a prevalent thing that we seem to know everything via facebook and it has come to a point at which we begin to take a proper sit down, meeting up, the cursory how's life on msn for granted. and the fact that of course facebook helps fill up the gaps of knowledge of your friend, or pseudo friend, all you need to do is just meet up once or twice a year. and still remain pseudo friends.

so the question is, if a person is shut off from facebook, msn and everything. will you pick up your phone and find out how he is doing?

2009-04-01T19:19:00.002+08:00

what the latest cabinet reshuffle mean:
1. wong is not promoted, and expected to retire the next elections. esp since the msk episode is expected to be a huge issue at bishan toa payoh next elections. just as the opposition readies themselves and starts preparing their offensive material, they will realise, to their horror on nomination day, that the minister in charge of the grc is going to retire! ah the prime minister is trying to be sneaky.
2. less office space for the ministers in pmo. which is probably an incentive for people the likes of limhweehwa to spend more time at the other ministries she is 2ic for, and limsweesay to spend more time at ntuc.

one question though - why is it our defence minister who is promoted over the foreign affairs minister. interestingly mfa was touted to be the pm when our current sm took over as pm then.

random thoughts. there's nothing much going on in my life right now, except for debates. and it is annoying how i am not doing well in it. is it bad luck, or not enough time, or that i am just not good enough. whatever the case is sometimes it sucks so much cos i hate losing. and it sucks to the degree that i have considered quitting and finding an internship or something. but oh well, money remains an incentive, and the fact this can be pocket money in uni is also another huge incentive. unfortunately my record at this point of time isnt too fantastic.

so what else has happened. ntu dcs, where i had hoped to better my showing 4 years ago, unfortunately with stiffer competition and harder draws it was not to be, but at the very least we broke. then i appeared on tv again. haha. that was quite exciting. unfortunately i had to speak chinese and i didnt even get to see it since it came out in the 6.30 news and not the 10pm news. -.- apparently it is the first thing they shelved once other more important news came in. HMPH. and in between theres my 5th jgs that i participated in. which was bittersweet, stressful and interesting. haha. how weird for the grand finals to fall on my birthday.

speaking of which there's my birthday to kinda plan for. and i dont quite know what to do!

2009-03-17T23:51:00.002+08:00

it was such a crazy week, and in many ways, i am quite thankful for the break this week. the week didnt turn out the way i hoped it would, but oh well, what matters i guess is how we fought it. there was the 'epic battle', so called not because of the prowess of both schools, but because everyone's hoping for the all-time biggest upset by the underdogs and hence 'doing the whole world a favour' - no doubt somewhat slumdog millionaire-ish. but the 'epic battle' between the 2 schools didnt have the surprise results or upset that everyone was hoping for, but i guess that's the way it is. to be in this field. someone has to lose each time, although i hope that at the end, there will be more wins than losses. well although my team did give ri a run for their money, and had high scories AND it was ri that kicked my team out, so there is some bittersweet in it. nevertheless, as a senior says it "it would have been great to kick your alma mater's ass from time to time".

then there was dcs, which was in some ways fun yet stressful. a learning experience of sorts, though sometimes the waiting times were hinging on the unbearable. nevertheless, debating competitively is always fun, especially with so many pro ppl out there waiting to kick your ass. i cant help but feel that i am stagnating though, that people around me are improving so much - even younger ones. and i am at the same level that i was a couple of years back. i mean rustiness as an excuse can be used for just that long, after some time you realise it isnt that you are rusty, it is that you neither have the diligence or the talent. but i guess it has always been established since my days in ri that i am a decent and mediocre debater, not a shining star, not indispensable.

so i am just hoping that i am a better coach than a debater, and regardless of what i can keep staying in this circuit for as long as i want, until i decide to stop.

2009-02-28T00:47:00.001+08:00

i'm so tired. and i would have rather done without all the drama.

and i really need some kind of relaxation process, a sleep, a spa, a full body massage maybe.

2009-02-06T00:12:00.002+08:00

it has been such a long time - a month to be exact, the longest period of time without an entry on this blog i think - but hey compared to many of my friends i think i am doing better. haha.

finally, i am done with all my editing and it is going to be quite exciting tomorrow i should think. i do hope the kids put up a good fight (and win, though we always say that's inconsequential and i know a lot of ppl think the odds are stacked against us) - everyone worked hard, and i guess put in their all and it all begins in 18 hours time. i had no idea it was going to be so tiring. but oh well, who said it is easy to coach or to make money for all the matter. and it's just round one. it has been a learning experience of sorts though so oh well.

on another note, the budget's been really interesting lately. and i think the policies to try to retain jobs are great and support the tapping into the reserves - but not enough policies are being instituted to help those who have already been retrenched or will still be retrenched anyway. and not enough is being done to further stimulate domestic demand and attempt to reduce the rich-poor gap. and it seems to me they missed the point when the opposition member pointed out very rightly how it might not be effective and asked for more direct measures - it was interesting how the members chose to overlook whatever he was trying to say but rather were more concerned with shooting his point down - to the extent of misrepresenting him - rather than to look into ways to address his concern. but i think the most outrageous is the reply to calls to make the process the president takes to unlock "the second key" more transparent. and the finance minister called the concern irrelevant because it is necessary for us to have to "trust the people in charge". HELLO?! are we not in a democracy where checks and balances and transparency are required. so what happens if one day you have a corrupt government and the president is just another rubber stamp. without the clear mechanisms in place how can we EVER trust the people in charge? while i am not saying the current government is screwed up, we should never disregard that one day the people in charge might not be as trustworthy as the current government thinks it is and we should never ignore the propensity for abuse. outrageous i say, that the best you can come up with problems with your process, is we have to "trust whoever is in charge". not wayang, you say, when it seems you are guilty of it by putting in place the very short timeframe required for the president to give his approval and close to no details for the general public. and it seems to me it is wayang on your part to say the president holds the second key.

just a rant, i guess, amidst the supposed festivities. which i thought has been pretty muted thus far. i used to love cny every year, but somehow the feeling's a little different this year. maybe it's cos i always welcomed it for the break. the past 2 years esp with army and all and previously cos you start school after a 2 month break and you are just finding it difficult to cope after such a long hiatus, so it is always a welcome breather. but now while i am working, it feels very much the same. but still there is something about cny that i quite like, and however muted it might be it will always be something i kinda look forward to.

i hope this compensates the lack of entries in the past month. jgs tomorrow. i still cannot believe i am back in the circuit. wow.

2009-01-05T01:23:00.003+08:00

i cannot believe that as fate would have it, the first case i am prepping for has something to do with the bio lessons that i never paid attention to. i remember a 4 mark question related to the motion coming out in our prelims. and i got a 1 for that.

well i learnt my lesson and made notes as part of my preparation for As, at least they are coming in handy now. though a little irrelevant and insufficient in some areas. oh well.

i am a little lost, a little messed up, but like everything i guess i will find my way. eventually. and i hope it would be up.

2009-01-01T23:59:00.001+08:00

happy new year ladies and gentlemen. (a continuation from the previous entry to bring in the new year)

2009 will bring in new challenges for me i guess. with my nsf chapter closed, it's about opening another one as I embark on work and uni life. which will be interesting, no doubt and all about knowing new people, studying, reading, writing and learning. which was essentially how i spent my first day of 2009 (minus the knowing new people part). and work starts 2mr! i am grateful for an opportunity to coach, but at the same i am a little nervous since this is kinda the first time i am doing it on a professional basis and all. i hope everything turns out well, and if anything at all i will have the strength to overcome whatever comes my way.

2009 i think will be a year full of unexpected turns of events, where more friends leave this country to pursue their studies and for me a year i hope where i can find some kind of breakthrough in my work, studies and life. and i hope as well to continue to be in touch with all the friends made over the past few years - which will be difficult, but we always try. but most importantly, i guess will be my hope to have happiness and great health and of course, world peace (: bimbotic i know, but hey, ever applicable.

Here's wishing everyone a great year ahead.

2008-12-31T15:16:00.005+08:00

Previous years have often been remembered for just one key event that rocked the world. 1997 was marked with the financial crisis; 2001 for the 9-11 attacks; 2003 for sars. 2008, unfortunately, would be remembered for many events - from the escape of mas selamat, to the election of obama, to the tainted milk incident, to the many feats of the athletes at 2008 beijing olympics, to the catastrophic degree of disasters the likes of sichuan earthquake and cyclone nargais, to the terrorist attack at taj hotel, to the political turmoil in thailand, to the global economic crisis that gripped us for months and followed us into the new year. of course there were many more events - some with more lasting impacts, some issues came, were discussed, and then were swept aside.

so that was 2008, a history-making, significant year that saw many changes in the global arena while i was in the army. and army wasnt that bad i guess, now that i am out of it. for me personally, there wasnt much in 2008 that struck me as a significant milestone or breakthrough for me, and most of the pretty memorable things were those tough times i had to go thru in the army. If 2007 was about learning, surviving, getting fit and learning new things; i must say 2008 is about applying what i have learnt, while going back to my roots of performing, the arts and debating and being with my friends. so out of army, 2008 was great for all the outings with jj, singapore debate open, jcdcs, taiwan and just slacking. and getting to know my debate juniors too.

it has been an interesting year. but ready or not, 2009, here i come.

2008-12-20T22:36:00.003+08:00

it was a debating comeback of sorts. having not debated for like what - 3 YEARS?! yet it wasnt a 'comeback' that i would have liked, if results were to speak for themselves. at the end of this whole thing perhaps i feel that i havent developed as much as i would have liked and i feel old, tired, not as effective, not as analytical, and not as sharp or composed. i cant help but wonder though if i have lost it, or i have never had it in the first place. or could it be that increased involvement in adjudication have made me more critical of debaters, including myself.

i dont know. but it was a new format and being a technical speaker myself, i have never expected to have been bogged down by so many technical issues due to the nature of the competition. yet for all that it's worth, it was an interesting experience, and we did learn from every debate. after all it is a first debating bp style and 2, debating against overseas universities and all these bp pros. i can only hope to come back stronger and perhaps be ready for unis debate. or i might as well not join them. haha.

so many stories about the debates; i am just too tired to repeat them. but yea thanks imran for being a great teammate - all the feeding of information to a partner as ill-informed as i am haha. and thanks too turbs and jit for coming down at the ungodly hour of 845 just to watch us face our old foes. haha.

2008-12-13T00:47:00.002+08:00

so the dont forget the lyrics episode came out and i think the camera loves me cos it kept doing closeups of the few of us. haha ok shameless. and kidding. thankfully it wasnt as embarrassing as i thought it would be and it is actually quite fun to spot people on tv. of course the real star of the show is still sj. and for all that's worth i think he did a great job and all so yay!

there are times these couple of weeks when i feel aimless. it is supposed to be a break, a vacation but something in me keeps telling me i need to doing something, i just cant put my finger to it. maybe it's the voices or the scoldings. perhaps i need more structure in my life. and more legitimate reasons to go out. (versus spending money)

oh well i know though in the end i would be complaining i am so busy i want a break, but i guess that's why we are humans. haha

on another note the rest ord today. congratulations to them for this day you have all been waiting for!

2008-12-04T23:06:00.002+08:00

so yes i am am back from my trip to taiwan. actually that was 2 days ago, but with ample rest required and stuff to settle, and recorded shows to catch up on, i decided that a blog entry could wait.

and so yes, after thousands of miles covered, a thousand photos taken and many hours spent on the road, i am back from an 8-day trip to taiwan. it was interesting and fun, although a tad tiring and that's what i absolutely hate about packaged tours. the long hours spent on the roads and the lack of time to cover a place with detail. yet within these 8 days so many things have happened in the world - obama unveiled some of the key appointment holders in his team; the mumbai attacks which i came to know of very briefly while channel surfing in the hotel room; and the senseless airport blockade that inconvenienced many and crippled thailand's reputation and its economy. thank goodness they vacated the premises and i just hope they have enough sense to stop whatever they are doing these supposed patriots and realise what they are doing to the country. i do get a little of whatever they are doing though, they have a cause to fight for and sometimes they fight for it whatever the cost. part of me tells me though that there are many selfish reasons for their actions - mainly to further their own political ambitions, although who am i to comment since i havent been following the situation that closely and that is mostly thailand's domestic politics, until they decided to blockade the airport and bring international scrutiny on the country. maybe that's what they wanted all along. 2 years already, and still such a mess.

so back to my trip, which i felt was quite a fruitful and enjoyable one, every overseas trip should be i guess, given my infrequent overseas trips, so this wasnt very much different, it was an eye opener in some ways and i liked how the taiwanese authorities tied in many aspects of taiwanese culture into an experience for tourists. there was of course the scenic views, the rich aborigine culture, the night markets and the various local products like jade, marble, pearl powder, lingzhi, tea etc. everything fits in so nicely and they have the support of the government so that makes it a cool experience for people who visit the various places. i am actually interested to see how singapore compares as a tourist destination after this trip, and maybe one day i shall just join a 3d2n tour of the country and see if i go to any factory outlets and how they introduce the country to visitors. it probably is going to be many commercialized places - loads of shopping and at most a visit to the zoo and perhaps botanical gardens and the orchid farm. oh and some photo taking with the merlion haha. some talking about the history of singapore on a trip to the museum and the merlion but perhaps that's it. very uncool. not a lot to say about the country's culture myths and legends. unlike taiwan which talked about chiang kai shek and his son who developed the country, their beliefs, how it was like and how they were rescued by lingzhi or deer foetus and what not. haha

so there would be many things i would remember from this trip - the not so pleasant being the long hours in the bus and the early mornings that remind me of army days and reveille timings; the lack of shopping; some bad embarrassing moments at factory outlets; the spoiling of my camera but thank goodness that was fixed and the rest nice moments or simplymemorable ones being the food (which i bought a lot of and ate a lot of - esp the muazhi and the various balls SLURP); the night markets; the cheap clothes (a lot of which i didnt buy due to my stalling); the hot springs (and the soaking in it in the nude); the pretty sceneries; the photo whoring (esp at those sites they use for filming - ah the fantasies we have to be in a tv series); the stories; the rich culture; the nice people who would talk to you, smile at you and welcome you; the farm resort, and esp the windows which seem to be a mirror but not really a mirror and people can actually see what you are doing inside your room but thank goodness i found out in time haha; the temples; the museum (esp the white cabbage jade); the centre of traditional arts; the aborigine costume that i tried on for fun; the bullet train; the train; the mountains; the deer foetus; the random yilu hokkien cartoon on the bus and have i mentioned food already? nevermind, that's worth mentioning again and the bad thing is many of the nice ones couldnt be brought back to the country. roar. the meals some were great and some were below average but there were some memorable ones, esp the one at this wujiao sampan rest cos everything from the interior design to the food to the cutlery were just so impressively unique.

there are some things that i dont enjoy and these could be cos it was a package tour and we wanted to explore the whole of taiwan in a limited period of time. and while there is some fun in travelling with friends and doing sight seeing yourself, there are benefits in a package tour, including not having to worry about accomodation, meals and itinery or getting lost once you get started. so all in all, it was quite an introduction to taiwan, although the next time i return to visit, it will be free and easy where i can shop all i want and visit the places i like and spend more time there.

i cant wait for my next overseas vacation, but meanwhile i suppose i have to get down to looking for a job and saving for uni and for my next vacation, hopefully with friends.

2008-11-25T11:30:00.000+08:00

holiday now! hurray. dont miss me too much.

2008-11-23T18:24:00.002+08:00

so it has been two weeks since i left the service, and i have been indulging and doing some random stuff. Just started writing as i try to earn some pocket money - and it is seriously POCKET money and i am astounded at what ns has done to my writing. I now take too long and the points don't just flow out as easily anymore. which sucks and i think i need to find my mojo back before school starts.

so singapore's facing a recession and i cant find a job either. actually i havent been looking seriously; since something in me tells me to just slow down and slack and have fun; while another part of me is pushing me to find some purpose this break, and to find something to work for. purpose reminds me of avenue q, which was lots of fun, though a little pointless and with random songs about homosexuality, porn and all. nevertheless i enjoyed it and thought the acting was fantastic. after all everyone needs some random fun in their lives. haha.

so there's the recession, and i am wondering why the govt is taking so much time to take some action, to stimulate the economy. more surprisingly the prime minister hasnt been very visible, leaving his finance minister and union chief to lead the charge. not their style really, since i recall in previous financial crisises and the sars crisis the prime minister held a huge press conference every week with the ministers to discuss new policies to help the people and resolve the crisis. this time singapore was slow in reacting, in initiating summits and i wonder if it is because they just werent prepared for it cos they din see it coming.

and i find it funny too how in the middle of all this, the government chooses to talk about governance and how singapore is not ready for a non-chinese prime minister. ironic, given that the govt preaches meritocracy and yet hasnt exactly been practising what it preaches in equal opportunities to all races, to all genders. and i dont really think it is a matter of singaporeans not prepared. the government just isnt setting the right direction. while i accept that given 2 candidates of equal talents, people are going to vote in the one they can identify with, and race could play a part; however if there is truly an outstanding candidate who stands out from his peers and is of pm calibre, why not? the govt belittles its citizens really, thinking of us as racist, unintelligent individuals who need to be mollycoddled into making the right choice. it could be that they lost touch of the ground or are delusional because the day race does not become an issue, there is no basis for grcs.

oh well, just some random thoughts. watched quantam of solace, high school musical and body of lies recently. which are of totally different genre and i thought they were all pretty likable. though not too fantastic. am quite looking forward to the new wave of movies coming up.

on another note, holiday next week! yays.

2008-11-11T23:16:00.003+08:00

In a very warped way, i think i am going to miss national service. Warped because ord has been something that I have looked forward to the past 1 year 10 months, and i had never wanted to be part of the army anyway. and national service is something almost everyone wants to get out of. but it is no surprise i think, to feel the way i do - a sense of happiness, and yet a tinge of sadness, knowing that i will miss the place, my bunk and most of all, the people. while i am glad there's no more marching, singing from point to point, saikang, parades, burnt weekends, restriction of movement, a regimental, restricted life, corporal punishment (honestly now i know how this term came about haha); there is that sense of attachment when you have slept in that place for such a long time, with the same people for such a long time and worked and fought hard with the same bunch of people. while there were many tough moments, while there were time i was filled with hate, dread and even despair, there were also many times that i enjoyed myself and i can safely say i will walk away with pleasant memories of my time at 39sce.

i never thought this day would come but yet again i couldnt imagine myself a soldier 2 years ago either. neither did many of my classmates. and friends. i thought soldiering was never in my dna and dreaded the day when i would have to surrender my pink ic and suffer under the cruel hands of sadistic commanders. but as the day came near, and i realised there was nothing that i could do to get out of all the tough training i convinced myself to follow the most cliched and common of advice i have been getting - to go in with a positive attitude. and so in trying to pyscho myself i went in with 2 goals - to get fit and make more friends. i found out later those 2 arent really difficult when you have sadistic commanders. the link being sadistic commanders make you train hard and then force people who didnt have anything in common to have something common to bitch about - evil commanders and how we would like to kill them and how they suck as leaders. oh how we bitched haha.

it wasnt just keeping fit and making friends though. national service was an important thing - we were defending our country and our presence played a key role in stopping would be aggressors from attacking us. if that's the case i am happy to have played a part and to have contributed. but above all i thought that ns in and of itself has taught me loads. not the really tangible and useful stuff like driving or technical repair bla bla bla but lifeskills perhaps that could have been taught elsewhere but the regimentation and the authoritarian regime an army requires hits home the message harder. there is still that tinge of regret for not having made it to ocs, but my time as a man hasnt taught me nothing about leadership. it made me understand better the idea of "to be a good leader, one must first be a good follower". and having worked as a man with fellow pioneers, my ns experience has opened my eyes to different styles of leadership and made me ask myself what i would do in their positions. it has forced me to learn to be patient, to accept how certain things cannot be changed, which is especially applicable in this country and as i always tell my platoon mates, to suck it up and deal with it. but amidst all, you learn to not lose yourself and stand up for what you truly believe it and fight for your welfare and that of others.

2 years ago, my teachers gave me the advice of making the best out of my 2 years in ns and i am glad i have consistently tried my best and received an affirmation from my bosses and peers, if the transcript is to be of any indication. i can only hope i have made a difference to those around me. and while we are going to meet up from time to time, like yearly gatherings, things arent going to be the same again and i can only hope that our friendships forged can withstand the test of time.

so here it is, another chapter coming to a close. i will probably never forget the activation at the cookhouse, the sitting down staring at the equipment for 16 hours, the standby area at the parade square, the waiting, the "down and hold it there", the half squats, the runs, the parades, the kiwing sessions, the mopp 4, the cs pallets "that we eat for breakfast", the horrible breakfasts (speaking of which), the mph ridden with birdshit; oir duty; and many more; but i will also walk away with the pleasant memories of ord fxn, hosting the rsmcoa and oc coc, drinking at gL, plt cohesions, incessant chattering into the night, stripping kenneth, kboxing, running the one marathon and half marathons, boardgames and the fun and laughter that bravo and platoon 5 brings.

i am experienceing the usual emptiness that comes to me whenever something big comes to an end. it's normal i suppose, and unless you have had a very bad experience, i think everyone will or has experienced a bittersweet ord. but that's life for you, and like everything else, we learn to move on.

whatever the case may be, i think it is going to be exciting, what life brings us next. moving forward, i am looking forward to it with some apprehension, and much excitement.

2008-11-05T18:23:00.002+08:00

so for the first time i watched the us presidential elections results come out live, and with friends to boot, so that's pretty exciting. haha. i suppose it was enlightening as we discussed how the entire electoral system works, and it was to say the very least, rather interesting though somewhat complicating. well i wasnt surprised by the results though, but am quite surprised at the way the public just believes in projections by a news network, albeit a rather reliable one. still, it would have made more sense for an official announcement to be made by officials before all the celebrations and conceding. i suppose though that's the difference between us asians and westernerns - had anyone celebrated based on projections in singapore, it would have been considered presumptous and haolian.

so yes obama won, but i do think he has a really difficult job ahead of him - as if the cleaning up of the iraq and afghanistan wars wasnt bad enough, america and the rest of the world slipped into global recession - and as time noted, he is the first president to be elected since ww2 without peace or prosperity in the country. i dont think he is going to be governing a polarised america though, if the results are of any indication, after all it was much worse in the primaries. but he is going to be governing people who are living in bad times. people who are going to be impatient and wants to see the man they vote in produce results fast. if anything, he ran a good campaign, has charisma, speaks well and memorises well, as seen in the excellent eye contact in his speeches, haha, so one can only hope he doesnt end up as a man who is all talk and no action, or a herbert hoover and is able to live up to his promises. ah promises, the easiest to be made but hardest to keep. well for a start he has consistently been able to surround himself with really brilliant people to make up for his somewhat lack of experience, so i suppose we should just wait and see. it will be fairly clear i think after a year or so, to see what kind of president he is.

it's interesting though, how he has received support from people all over the world. for a long time i havent seen anyone like that, able to garner the support of billions around the world through charisma and speech. is it the perceived ability? and do people around the world even know his ideologies and policies? has race even been a factor in this elections?

oh well, human nature - the way people act, the way people believe in others, and the way people think is always going to be a mystery to us.

so yes i ord in 6 days time. it is exciting, and i never thought that this day would come. i would have loved staying in camp to soak in the nostalgia and have fun with my bunkmates; unfortunately the stupid coc and its rehearsals just ruined all the potential fun we could have in my final days in 39. there's nothing i can do about it, except for the usual rather apt adage of "ll suck thum". haha

6 days. before i officially become unemployed.

2008-10-24T23:22:00.002+08:00

it's ironic i think, that it is the start of my clearing leave that i have become so busy - helping out at my parents' coy, which takes up my days; doing the ord video, which has been taking up my nights. it's crazy, and sometimes i dont quite mind being able to stone in bunk and wait for things to happen, ie sleep eat or talk. and that explains the lack of entries in the past couple of weeks - loads of work, that is quite taxing on my poor soul. ord function is next week already, and the first draft of the video is finally done, with a few changes to be made here and there. i am, to say the very least, relieved for i had doubts at my ability to complete it. so with something tangible now at least it is one less burden - since this is in some ways my very first video. i think it's going to be scary to have so many people judge your work. and i am hoping that whatever it is, they treat it as a walk down memory lane and dont expect some glitzy affair that will bedazzle them. haha i am using the sarah palin approach, trying to reduce everyone's expectations so just by having a decent work it will be considered a success. haha.

really though i suppose when it comes down to tribute or farewell videos no one really cares about who does it. they're just looking for pictures of themselves in the video. haha. and laughing at their friends. whatever, i just hope that people enjoy themselves at the end of the day. or night.

so its kinda old, although never talked about in this blog - the news that ri & rj are merging. have been hearing about it from the staff, but i guess its official now. and as usual, the student population are up in arms over this executive decision made. some things never change - students petition, ask to speak to senior members of the staff. and i know for one that the staff will stick to their position although attempting to be diplomatic in their approach. it's always the case. some things dont change haha. as i have been through in my time. gawd, i feel old. i guess their concerns are valid though - over the years rj has established a seperate identity of its own and while i am sure old boys enjoyed their time in ri, their experience in rj was a totally different one. not to say that it's bad, just different; with the way they function, and the presence of the opposite sex. and of course the dilution of traditonal practices practised in ri. it took them more than 25 years to create an identity that has its roots in ri, but yet still a unique one and i am curious to see how the 2 schools are going to forge a new identity together. because so much of the rafflesian experience is about the identity and experience, i hate to see them all go down the drain for a "new age", "new generation", and "changing times". but since i have no idea how things are going to be like, i guess i am not in the position to say much. i just hope they call the principal of the merged school "headmistress" and retain the gowns and staff possession, which awed me till the day i graduated. i am so old-fashioned. haha.

had the best teppanyaki i have ever had. and i now understand what they mean when they say great service. the service was great, the food was great, and the conversation (with the chef) was great, it gives you a happy feeling as you leave the restaurant. haha. and happy birthday mum!

oh yea there was platoon chalet too. it was quite good fun and i cooked, like really cooked (though it was instant - but i had to fry stuff so there was timing and oil and splatter required!) for the first time. that was the highlight i guess, and learning mahjong, and winning a dollar just cos i missed it as i was trying to "invest" my winnings to win more money. guess beginners' luck only gets you so far. haha. oh well chalet wasnt the 'must look forward' thing in my calendar, but things didnt go quite badly or too boring, so yay. haha

and there are so many movies there i have been wanting to watch roar! but my to do list keeps increasing its irksome.

2008-10-13T20:45:00.002+08:00

i believe in cycles.karmic cycles, of the idea of impermanence, that what goes around comes around, that what goes up must come back down. so yes i believe that a business cycle is always ineveitable, and am not surprised by the recent financial crisis. and since i have not been able to fully grasp the concepts of this crisis and the gravity of it, i am actually thankful that it happened now, and for very selfish reasons. for i believe that this crash of sorts would happen sooner or later, and it is good (for me) that it is happening as i am about to embark on my further studies, not when i am about to enter the job market. i dont see the nation gripped by this crisis though, perhaps because they, like me, have still been unable to fully see for themselves the gravity of the crisis, and would hope that they would never see the light of it anyway, like earthquakes and tsunamis would so choose to give singapore a miss. of course this will not be the only financial crisis happening in my lifetime, and one can only hope that with each crisis, the government, regulators and the people learn and come the next gloom, the impact is lessened.

heard a disturbing piece of news recently about a november-january marriage between an ex school teacher and a guy our age. i thought these only happened in drama and taiwan, but i guess i was wrong. haha. but it was the gossip of yesterday so yea haha.

watched house bunny which is another fun show, though similar in style to legally blonde, which was no surprise since the writers were the same. it was interesting, with the usual lesson to be learnt; not fantastic, but a cool movie to watch just for laughs.

i am still doing my video, and it is all a tedious tiresome process and i am just not confident of my newly picked up skills, if i can call them that since they were generally self-taught. well i just hope expectations are low, and the whole thing is just a reminiscence of their times here, rather than them hoping to see a snazzy display of video editing skills. haha.

2008-10-04T23:01:00.003+08:00

a lot has happened the past couple of weeks, with the financial crisis and the bailout plan finally being passed. then f1 came and left, and while i wont say i am a convert, i must say this f1 thing is really rather exciting, and has gotten me a little interested in f1. and i got to see a little action while they were testing the cars and tracks in the day! so yay. i do think it is quite wise of them to bring f1 to singapore and set it against a backdrop of the city skyline. it was truly beautiful and a wise way to market singapore. i had not expected for this f1 to be overwhelmingly successful, kinda underestimated the good it would do until i saw it for myself, but what can i say, it's this singaporean brand of efficiency that has blended in its kiasuism and the importance of face to them. anw this is so passe, since it last happened a week ago, so i move on.

visited ri recently, and while some things have changed, its good to see that certain members of the staff havent. its cool that we could still find so many things to talk and laugh about, and they always found something special about our batch. detractors might say they were being patronising. but i doubt. it is always good to go back and see people who have become some sort of an old friend, to remember what it was once like for us.

started on my french lessons today, which didnt go all that bad. but i do take on this new language with much apprehension, since the previous outing with a new subject was a total disaster. well i hope it goes well, and maybe it will be of some use to me in the future. meanwhile i guess i will just take one step at a time and put in some effort into mastering this language. and perhaps i will do better than when i tried to pick up jap.

lost my wallet for the first time in many years, and that really irritated me cos i discovered the loss like a minute from when i left the cubicle and when i returned it was no longer there. stupid bastard i hope he loses loads of money in the stock market for taking things that arent his. argh.

so chang, suhas and snee have all left for uk. o well i am going to miss them.

2008-09-19T21:27:00.003+08:00

it's exciting, i am at my 50 days to ord mark. and with just 20 or so working days left to go. i think there are some things and people that i am going to miss. but i am nonetheless kinda glad and relieved to get away from such regimentation and sometimes weird or seemingly unnecessary orders.

nothing much has happened since the last entry - which is quite some time, but one can change the fact that i lead a boring enough life. watched mama mia though; and due to some circumstances, ended up watching twice. which i didnt quite mind because it was really great fun. despite another review with a totally unwarranted 2 stars rating for mama mia by the straits times. i personally think of that as quite ridiculous for i feel mama mia deserved way more than that. i mean some parts were choppy and pierce brosnan cannot sing but hey, it brought smiles and laughs and this is the ultimate feel-good movie of the year. i have never felt so happy watching a movie in a long time; and then there was that urge to want to sing along in the movie, which to the relief of other movie goers, i didnt. above all that, meryl streep was brilliant, and i think her acting is really damn good. and i am now an abba fan. haha.

something in me tells me that i am watching too much tv and spending too much time on the computer when i should be more interested in the affairs of the world. i suppose there is the need to get the reading mojo back and be really wise and smart when it comes to current affairs. should come in handy one day. but meanwhile let me get back to friends.

2008-08-30T23:38:00.002+08:00

it befuddles me how anyone can give one star or even one and a half stars in his/her review for a movie, because it seems to be the trend for many movie reviews these days. it seems to me that they are trying to prove something, that they are intellectuals and mass, commercialized movies dont appeal to them. which really shouldnt be the way since they are writing the reviews for a mass audience, to help the readers decide if a movie is worth watching. while the number of stars given is obviously based on the writer's opinion, there really is something wrong when the newspapers hire reviewers who have difficulty connecting with the readers. so yes, the clone wars werent particularly spectacular or impressive, but i thought it was good enough and didnt warrant the one star given by many critics. and i am not even a star wars fan. well it helped that i watched it for free, but there was really some storyline going on there, and it was coherent enough to follow. the animation could have been more, well, animated, as the characters seemed a little limited in their expressions and thus the movie wasnt as interesting as it could have been. other than that it was okay, and apparently that is the sentiment of most who watched the show as well.

forgetting sarah marshall was well, forgettable. a romantic comedy injected with sexual content and male nudity. had expected it to be funnier in the dialogue, but in the end they had to depend on slapstick humour and the acting of the actors to pull through. an ok show, but nothing memorable overall.

so the table tennis saga, as the media calls it, has come to a close. and it's good and even brave of lee bee wah to step forward and apologise. wasnt surprising though, very typical of the current government to take swift action before the opposition steps in to capitalise on the entire action. i can just imagine the exchanges between the parties involved.
lhl: "bw, what the hell were you thinking!"
bw: "i... i..."
lhl: "i dont want to talk to you. you have talked too much already. go talk to bala, and get instructions from him"
haha ok. it all stems down to one thing, talking too much, to the wrong person, at the wrong time, so they use the cause - talk - to resolve the entire issue. but trust netizens to attack a person on a personal level when such a fiasco breaks out. it happened to wee siew khim, and it happened to lee bee wah too. like i wrote previously, it boils down to inexperience, and one can only hope she grew out of it stronger. it seems to me the past week was tougher on her than it was for her when she fought in the previous GE. haha.

due to some circumstances and a certain person, i was forced to read some previous entries from years ago and it surprised me how much i have changed in my writing style. it used to be so ... kiddish, unsure, messy and sometimes absolutely boring; and while it isnt perfect or very mature and interesting now, i am glad that my writing has improved over the years. there's maturation and a difference, and that could be due to a change of lifestyle that widens the scope of what can be written. regardless, there's an increase in standard, in my eyes, and that makes me happy.

sore

2008-08-24T16:14:00.003+08:00

i am a little sore from the fact that i will not be getting an extra off day for the run - but that's the way life is - if you dont meet the mark, you wont be given the stated incentive. it's like the monetary reward for an olympics medal really. no medal, no money. even if you have entered the semi finals. haha so be it, i had thought it was a sure-get incentive, but perhaps this is a little reminder to always factor in the worse and not be overconfident. well it is over, that's good, and it should be my last long distance run in a while. kinda disappointed by the organisation of the whole thing - muddy grounds, lack of proper bag deposit or 'bag-leaving' area, and the horrible horrible engineers avenue where most people started to die. it was quite bad really and the 'quality project by singapore combat engineers' tag was misleading and embarrassing, given the engineers singlet i was wearing. but maybe its just me and i am looking for an excuse to explain my poor running form. indulge me. it wasnt that bad a run at the start, actually i was enjoying myself in the first half of the run, but my legs just cramped up after that. another reminder to stretch well before running. still there's that lil tinge of sense of achievement for having completed my 2nd half marathon. never mind it was a worse timing. haha. yes low fitness standards i know.

so lee bee wah is in the news again, she seems so eager to make the news every day, with her powers, her actions, her words. and she has recently sacked that anthony manager which is ridiculous really, at this time. never mind she hasnt credited the coaches or the manager or the behind the scenes people, she shouldnt be making light of their contributions and sacking them as the table tennis fraternity is celebrating! i mean in the first place, she is new to her job, she should spend more time learning about them and the culture before doing things like that. 2ndly it seems a little unilateral if you ask me. didnt know a table tennis president has such huge powers. 3rdly, why is she doing this in the middle of the olympics! they have just finished their competition, give them a break and stop showing your bosses you are uber on the ball, going to beijing to work and not to enjoy and hence they have spent well on the ticket they have bought for you. and lastly her reason of "wanting to let her new team choose a new management" is utter bullocks. by the same extension, if a new principal is appointed by the board, he should come in to a school with all the staff fired so he gets to choose the new people he is working with. oh those staff fired can reapply if they are keen.

yet i am not in the sporting fraternity, so what do i know and who am i to say anything.

have to book in at 6 later. which absolutely absolutely sucks. and i am very sore from all the running.

2008-08-23T11:34:00.002+08:00

i am inclined to complain and whine a lot at this point of time. just 18 hours of camp for this entire week! in and out, in and out, and without the luxury of sleeping on my own bed, in my own room. my life sucks. on the bright side, there's just 79 more days to go, which translates to just 40 working days thereabout, so that at least is something to look forward to. yay.

so the world doesnt stop for you even though you are closeted in the confines of s a f camp. the table tennis team lost to china last sunday, which has become old news now that lijiawei lost to guo yue - a conspiracy they say, to make wangnan win just so that guo yue will face jiawei in the bronze play off and have a higher chance of winning that match, ensuring a clean sweep of the table tennis singles medals -, pm delivered his national day rally and now everyone is talking about having about having babies.

i think singaporeans do not give their fellow singaporeans enough credit. to them those carrying the singapore flag are always never good enough, and always subject them to some rather harsh criticism. it was the case when hady won asian idol - he won it by pure luck (not that i thought hady was ever very good), and while the local press hasnt harped on this, many are saying how singapore got its silver medal through luck too, through unforced errors by the koreans, more than real tenacity and skills on the part of singaporeans. the thing is, it takes a certain level of skills to get to where they really are, and rather then harp on what they did not do, why not focus on what they did. to win. and even if they lost, should we still not appreciate their hard work? isnt that the case when we compete and want people to appreciate our hard work. there's really more of "they are just not good enough" more than "we tried our best".

and then there's this whole idea about foreign talent and that the silver doesnt really belong to us. which i dont agree with really, because this is what singapore has always been about, an island with different ethnic groups because of the immigrants she attracted on her founding and has continued to do so until today. so as long as such atheletes made a choice to don the singapore colours because they were attracted by something in this country and as long as they believe in what they can do for this country, then i think it is time we stop treating them as second class citizens. of course they could just be mercenaries, wanting money and leaving once the money is made, or they just wanted a world stage to showcase their skills and singapore being this desperate country willing to pay for what they are asking is a convenient ground for them. but i think we need to learn to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe in them.

still on the olympics, i think lee bee wah as stta president is crass and has embarrassed herself and this country with her "rage" as she puts it herself. either she is new to the job or just trying to show off. i mean couldnt she have waited until everything was over to "blow her top", couldnt she have been more calm rather than consistently affect the morale of the coaches. and couldnt she do this internally and discuss it with the rest of her management rather then come across as being as a tyrant who talks about what she wants. gosh.

ok i am making a lot of assertions and all but whatever.

there wasnt really any shocking revelation in pm's speech. except for the whole protests being legalised at speakers' corner! wow. haha. that was a surprising move, but it would be interesting to see if the masses actually take to that idea. then of course there were the new incentives for more babies to be born. those who just had kids are probably pulling their hair out now. i think in the future for anyone who wants kids, have them after the ndp rally to be extra sure no new incentives come up within months or even weeks after your child is born and after you had one, have the next after 3-4 years because that's when the govt decides the babies STILL arent enough and there's a huge need to increase the incentives. see that way you ensure your maximise the amount of incentives received as you have kids.

o well, there's ahm tomorrow, and running just becomes so boring after some time.

singapore spirit

2008-08-15T23:20:00.004+08:00

i have been feeling rather patriotic of late, possibly due to the nation's birthday having just past and the ndp organisers did a great job of injecting the singapore spirit into me; or maybe cos the table tennis team won singapore the 1st medal in eons, and somehow your hope and belief in the country is restored - which is a little bullshit really, my belief in this country has never been gone! hrm, ok, haha.

so congratulations to the singapore team for doing a fantastic job today against korea. watched bits and pieces of it (and quite chunky bits at that), and it was pretty exciting - notwithstanding the fact that i play a terrible game of table tennis and dont know much about it. but it was really quite entertaining, thrilling, and adrenaline-filled - the skoreans were great opponents, and i thought any side could have won, but i guess ultimately it was the singapore side that prevailed. i can imagine the headlines already and what they're to say - all that stuff about almost losing, but singapore never gave up, were persistent in their goals, focused and then ultimately prevailed, epitomising the much talked about singapore spirit that's apparently what this year's ndp is all about. in fact i think pm lee is going to talk about this in his ndp rally. except no one's going to listen since the table tennis finals will be held over the same timeslot, on another channel. ah i feel for him. see what a wrong choice of dates can do to you.

hrm first medal in 48 years. exciting. although i feel sad for that wang yuegu who lost all 3 sets in her singles and hence that singles wasnt quite talked about in the news or featured in the highlights. for all the matter, be featured in the interviews. ah the reality of life. like how you are ugly or "not cute enough" you cant be featured in the opening ceremony of the olympics. still i wonder if critisms would be as rampant if say london did it.

do you btw watch the highlights of olympics everyday on 5? gosh, jade seah is really quite bad at this. makes the whole thing look like an amateur school production.

in line with this whole singapore thing (ignore the fact that the ttb semis were held today), watched money no enough 2 (finally) yesterday, which honestly wasnt as bad as the critics had dumbed it out to be. i mean its true the characters could have been better fleshed out, and certain issues were thrown in for the sake of being mentioned (think f1, written in with no actual value to the show) and there were exaggerations or crass jokes that werent funny at all, but i thought neo still did a great job in putting across the views of the man in the street in a light hearted manner, which is obviously what he has been known to be doing for the past ten years. to begin with, he had never set out to direct and script an arthouse film and had intended to create a movie that would strike a chord with the masses and he did just that. i liked the drama in the show actually, although some i know didnt like it. i mean, the stars of the show were surprisingly the eldest son and his mother - i liked the part he had to send his mum to the old folks home and how she died and the flashbacks. quite touching.

as for the jokes, some jokes were funny - the whole erp thing, parking lady incident, coupon with 85 holes etc; some werent and too dependent on the not very natural cgi while some seemed to be better off as emcee jokes. haha. oh and i hated, absolutely hated the product placements. they didnt even fit into the movie well.

all in all it wasnt all that bad. not too dry, it was entertaining at the very least, and i didnt think it is worse than the first movie. yet again i was only ten then so i doubt i can remember all THAT much. but even then, it is not deserving of the one and a half star.

and then 2mr it's back to camp, to serve the mother of all patriotic acts. national service. except the difference this time round is for this you dont have much of a choice. haha

i can sense jonk telling me now biasness towards local acts is not an act of patriotism.

2008-08-11T00:32:00.003+08:00

i was tempted to blog a couple of times since the last entry, but somehow they didnt materialise, obviously. have been spending the weekend sick, which totally sucks, and i guess the only highlight in this somewhat long break is the alumni gathering at the hml - i know the LIBRARY?! but since we havent been there in ages, it is somewhat cool to have it there and see how things have changed - for starters hullett's desk AND picture are gone, but other than that things havent changed much. physically. cant say the same for other things though, i think that things in school are changing way too fast. and that's the way education policies are, to keep pace with the ever changing challenges in society. ri and rj are merging next year, which should be interesting, but it's funny how things are going back how they were in the 1980s - well, just an observation.

all in all, it was great fun, seeing people you dont really know but kinda share some kind of bond together; or perhaps being able to meet up with people you know alright, but always needed an excuse to catch up with. it's a case of i have always wanted to know how soandso is doing, but we havent been close, so it would be weird for me to just call him and talk to him.

have been treated to some visual spectacles lately - the bj olympics & spore's ndp, and as usual, the fireworks were great treats. although there's nothing like watching them live, which gives one a huge sense of liberation and fascination.

have just finished jodi picoult's the pact, which was a decent read, although i did find it a little boring - the usual picoult fare that has somekind of big hullaballu happening at the beginning to shatter people's perfect lives and lead people finding out more about themselves and their relationships with their loved ones. then it would snowball into a trial, where we will see a twist! nevertheless, like i said, it was a decent read, as it reminds us of how we can never know a person "so well", as we often say of or to a good friend, even if that person is someone you love deeply or grew up with; aside from ideas of marriage, legal system and change.

watched journey to the centre of the earth on tues thanks to sj, and i must say it was a short movie, which meant they could tighten the plot to make it fast-paced. it was also very predictable, and a tad fake, so it didnt appeal to the intellectual side of me. haha but it was great entertainment nevertheless. and i liked how they tied in jules verne's book into the modern context. so yea, a 3-star movie i guess. haha.

and hurray i have just started watching season 4 of grey's - a pity addison left cos i really liked her. and of course burke. but generally i though it has been great thus far, esp how they open and close the shows.

Forgive & forget. That's what they say. It's good advice, but it's not very practical. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt them back. When someone wrongs us, we want to be right. Without forgiveness, old scores are never settled and old wounds never heal. And the most we can hope for is that one day we'll be lucky enough to forget.

it's from ep 4 i think i cant remember. and i like it, reminds me of the moor hse play in sec 4. the whole if you cannot forgive, forget.

i think i am beyond caring now, at least i hope that i dont care at all, it is the best way to move forward.

change

2008-07-29T16:18:00.003+08:00

a long break once in a while is a good thing. ok who am i kidding, LONG BREAKS are VERY GOOD things. haha. and while you use such opportunities to meet up, to catch a movie and to work out, it also allows you to sit back, ponder and maybe even appreciate the things and people around you. so while walking home and to various places last week, it strucked me that so much around me has changed. the 2 oldest shops near the mrt station has been replaced by branches of big companies, losing the human, neighbourly touch that endears to the people in the neighbourhood; en route to bishan gym - taking a route that i have not used in 3 years, i found the Macs that we spent in before and into 3rd lang lessons (so we could be late) no longer there. the forest that used to be opposite the estate which my house rests in is replaced by rjc. and of course even what's within rjc keeps changing. then there are those you lose contact with, even though they could be really close to you in school. times change, people change, they move on, the world around you keeps moving even if you want it to be at a standstill. perhaps once in a while, we ought to stop and decide what we can continue to hold on to, what we have to keep pace with, what we have to let go.

in the same vein (of change), how much do people change? what forces a person to change? could it be circumstances, time or the people around them? or could it be you that have changed? yet perhaps through it all no one has changed, for it has always been there, it's just that it has always been a blind spot but one day they see the light. haha. i guess sometimes we are all too stubborn to acknowledge our own faults and choose to convince ourselves otherwise. or are just to blind to see how we are wrong. or maybe some have been in relationships clouded with euphemisms. i suppose we all need a reality check once in a while from the people around us, to ensure that communication lines are often kept open so people can tell you in your face. maybe once in a while you should go to someone who hasnt been talking to you and accost him and ask "do you have a problem with me?". (berwin would say yes, you splash water when you wash your face haha.) or if he suddenly stops talking to you, you accost him and assert "i KNOW you have a problem with me. now spill." haha. but seriously i think the hardest is always getting the courage to start such confrontations. which i admit i dont have.

ok just thoughts swimming through my mind these days with all the runs and walks home to avoid crowds and rising transportation fees.

watched the dark knight on friday, which i really liked. and that's saying a lot given that i am not that huge a superhero movie fan. i liked especially how the director tied in human psyche and hope, and even some indirect take on the real world, with all the talk of anarchy and total chaos. it helped too that it was fast paced, which made a really long movie enjoyable (besides the bugging need to piss) and the movie was helmed by great names that translated into fantastic acting. and i know samjo doubts my take on acting, haha but honestly i doubt anyone would discredit heath ledger's psychotic potrayal of the joker. despite the 2 twists, the movie all in all was somewhat predictable and a little unrealistic. but HEY it's a movie, and a superhero movie at that. so yea. haha.

ah it has been a great break. and i think we need more of such breaks. to you know, refresh ourselves from time to time.

2008-07-18T23:19:00.002+08:00

It is not easy when we draw flak for something that we have been working hard for, for something that is, clichedly, the fruits of our labour. but for something as intangible as a performance / show, that's the only way one gets his report card, to know what went wrong and ultimately learn from it. so while the rsm coa hasnt been an overwhelming success, as we had hoped it would have been, it was, to say the very least a huge learning experience, something that i appreciate to be given the chance to do in the army. after all, how often is it for a lowly person in the army to be involved in something like this in a huge way, and not you know be a marshaller or waiter or something like that. haha. ah POWER. ok kidding. although i am sure some would assert i am not. ANW, i do get it, the draggy part, the unfunny parts, and the excessive dialogue that failed to involve the audience more. it's always with the benefit of hindsight that gives you the wisdom to learn from such honest (hopefully) feedback that i had the benefit of receiving. so we can only get better!it's good too that the external guests enjoyed themselves quite a bit. from what we heard. although that's not accurate cos guests tend to filter their remarks. but overall, accurate or not, i think the entire team did a great job. (haha although who am i to say this)

there's something in me that enjoy working on these kind of stuff. i guess it's something that adds colour to your life, in school or in the army, and also becomes something that stretches your limit and constantly surprises you. so yes this time round, while it has been rather tiring and time-consuming and at certain times frustrating and exasperating in dealings with people, it was all in all, something that i enjoyed, although i think i am not suppose to publicise this fact because of the warped human psyche that just because you enjoy something, the utility gained from that enjoyment is enough compensation for your time consumed. so NO days off for you or any other incentives whatsoever! haha.

much drama has happened in recent weeks, and let's just say that while at first it was just irritating, it escalated into something pissyfying, then exasperating and frustrating, then disappointing, and even amusing at times. ok escalated isnt exactly the right word to use since i dont see an increase in emotions here, but you get my point. over time, you think a person would know you well enough to not make a judgement of you over something you said, but you're wrong. you think because someone knows you well enough, he would be honest with you, but you're wrong. and you think you know a person well enough to think the best of him, but you're wrong. and then above all, there are those whom you think you know well enough and would know you well enough, but they choose to judge you without hearing both sides of the story. and that is just. disappointing.

in normal circumstances, if a friend were to bitch to me about a similar situation, i would say, go talk to him about him, and it can only strenthen your relationship with a person. but i guess, it's often easier said than done. perhaps from the onset it has always been a misunderstanding, but it could have been due to my faults to. it could just be a passing phase. or it would stay and we would all pretend. ah the pretense always. the facade always.

oh well. watched red cliff today, which is my first movie in a long time. and i thought it was actually quite good. i mean i do get how people are complaining that it shouldnt be broken into 2 parts, and how certain parts are draggy, but the acting was pretty good and the movie was fast paced enough for me. takeshi was quite funny as zhugeliang and ling chiling was like there for the sex and that's about it. haha. ok wait i am supposed to say just the nice stuff. all in all i quite enjoyed it, especially the fighting and war scenes. and i would definitely catch the 2nd instalment. and i dont actually enjoy war shows ok haha. i guess it's just cos i dig all these ancienty ancienty war shows then the ww2 battle kind they enjoy filming, perhaps out of some kind of nationalistic fervour.

more work next week. sucks.

2008-06-28T22:59:00.002+08:00

i am having mixed feelings about this new project i am undertaking.

i mean on one hand it is fun, challenging, interesting and makes the day go by faster (not to mention allow you to escape some work that you dont feel like doing). Yet on the other, there is this fear in me that somehow, it wont go as well as we had hoped, as we would have expected, like so many other things that have happened to me. that it isnt what people expect it to be, that they arent ready or wouldnt like what we have prepared.

and i think i am rubbing people the wrong way this couple of weeks.

oh well, i suppose it's how it always goes when you embark on a project, when you work with a different team of people. sparks will fly and i hope things go well - 2 more weeks, and that's all we have.

watched deception on tuesday, thanks to samjo. i didnt quite like it though, the acting wasnt fantastic, maggie q appeared for no more than 5 minutes, 1 hour into the show, there were loopholes in the script and it was pretty slow, with not enough action. it started promisingly enough, but after half hour or so, it just didnt work out for me.

another long week ahead. sucks.

2008-06-21T15:12:00.002+08:00

it's crazy how lta is once again increasing erp prices. i mean, just because singaporeans are not physically protesting against (because they do not want to get into trouble with the law) such ridiculous and constant rise in prices to "control car usage" does not mean they can keep doing it.

whatever it is, watched kung fu panda (finally) and caught the much-awaited belgian class enemy, as part of my participation in singapore arts feste. haha

class enemy was quite an experience. i mean it was bosnian and we thought it would be great to watch something different. but the fact it was bosnian meant that i was concentrating on the subtitles and couldnt quite focus on the acting. which, was incidentally pretty good. it was a forgettable play, though pretty intense, physical and somewhat interesting. it was ok, though i had a feeling some of them didnt quite like it. ok next stop, singapore theatre festival!

kung fu panda was pretty good. well it helped that they had big actors helm the show. while i liked the story and the graphics, i thought they should have put in more effort in the characterisation of the furious 5. they seemed to be one-dimensional, and only capable of making a few expressions. they were there, but somewhat characterless. aside from that, the entire production was pretty well done, and it is definitely a show worth watching.

there was a bio/chem/powder scare at an industrial estate yesterday and it is super ridiculous how they allow cameras to be in the incident site. i mean they werent even in any protective gear, which meant that their safety wasnt looked into at all. i mean they shouldnt even allow any of the media to be in the incident site. and even if it has been cleared for the media to enter the area, why are the responders in protective gear if the photographers are within 100m proximity WITHOUT protection. it is damn weird i tell you. it just makes no sense.

anyway, today's trip to holland v has been fun. my first time at settlers' too and the ambience wasnt as great as i thought it would have been. nevertheless, it's the company that matters and maybe the next time we make our way there, we could explore the newer, more different games.

going back to camp. which has always been very much of a chore.

2008-06-13T00:59:00.002+08:00

i was recently told to read entry on the blog of a friend, which was apparently, in a way, addressed to me, in reference to something i had done a long time ago. and i had initially wanted to reply on his chatbox (whatever you call that thing), but decided to post the reply here instead due to the word limit imposed. it's not that i have loads to say, just that i hate word limits. haha.

------

so yes, it wasnt a very recent entry but it i havent been following your blog very closely and hence this explains the not-so-immediate reply on my part. not that you were expecting one (i think) from the way you wrote it, but i thought i owe you one since you took the effort to write a rather long entry about the entire issue.

anyway, you were right in saying that i never understood the true impact of my actions. all along, i have come to believe that everytime i do things like these, people around me would take what i say with a pinch of salt and choose to look at things objectively. and i have never bothered to really think about the repercussions, assuming that everyone would understand that it's a joke and everything would die down after some time. everytime you told me or tried to tell me about the emotional roller-coaster and social suicide you had to go through, i brushed it away or ignored it, choosing to believe that i know better - that you were simply guilt-tripping me and exaggerating the entire situation.

i have come to realise, with the enlightenment of your entry that i was wrong, and people arent as i make them out to be.

on hindsight, you probably werent the only one who was affected by things i said or told people over the years. but those were immature years that i would like to think i have grown out of and drawn lessons from. so thank you - for clearing the air, for the entry, for sharing, letting me learn and above all, remaining a friend over the years.

and to you i offer my sincerest apologies, that i hope arent too late, for starting the whole thing in the first place. peace out.

P.S. N, i didnt really talk about the 'thing' or name you, because i'm not sure if you want to keep the entire thing to your blog only.

2008-06-09T18:25:00.002+08:00

if everyweek were a 2 day work week, i wouldnt mind signing on. haha. i say that because i am pretty confident that it wouldnt happen anyway. oh well, life's good this two weeks, with the mid year coy block leave. which means shopping (so girl i know), stoning, sleeping in, meeting up with friends etc. it's things like these that put you in a better mood after all the mundane stuff going on.

chocolate buffet was good. there were many firsts in there, the first time actually eating the much heard about chocolate buffet, the first time vising fullerton (so noob yes i know, i am embarrassed to say this but i guess there's a need for honest reporting haha), the first time i took like 100 photos over ONE meal, the first time having JUST chocolaty stuff for dinner. but above all, it's always the company that rocks. and it was a good 'meal'. although i dont suppose i would indulge myself in a similar buffet for a while - because after some time, you get kinda sick of the chocolates. desserts i suppose are meant to be enjoyed, not eaten for the sake of eating to make it worth your money. it's the singaporean instinct that never goes away wherever you are. so thank you shihern, foo, weili, gy, james for a great night, which had us acting / being high on chocolates halfway and maybe horny since chocolates are supposed to be an aphrodisiac anyway. ok random comment.

i like fullerton hotel, and one day i hope i can own a hotel like that. it's difficult, and my detractors will say it's impossible. but hey.

we saw gurmit yesterday! and the funny thing was he was sitting in front of us at billy bombers yesterday, we never noticed him until we were in the midst of talking about mediacorp artistes (in not very good terms). ie bitching. we decided against asking to take a photo with him, cos that might just give him the opportunity to give us a piece of his mind for bitching about his friends. haha luckily we werent talking about him. haha.

the oxford dudes are coming back soon. hurray. there's work 2mr, but on the bright side, it's a 2 day work week!

2008-05-30T23:16:00.003+08:00

much as i enjoy emceeing, i have always taken all these jobs with apprehension. because emceeing can go both ways, unless one opts to take the conventional boring route. i mean, for most who seek to entertain, there is the basic risk of offending people in the course of cracking a joke, there is the risk as well of people lacking a sense of humour in the crowd. of course there is always the risk of no one understanding you and connecting with you - which in my opinion is the biggest failure of any host.

so it surprised me when i found myself enjoying the process of emceeing the post parade segment of oc coc on monday. it was like something of a release i think, saying things you have never dared or had the chance to say, performing after such a long time. but ironically enough the thing that i enjoyed most was the very thing i was complaining about just a week ago - the lack of details, which really was due to how there were no details existent in the first place! and that meant i was given room to explore how i wanted to do it, together with marcus of course, and i think for the first time really there was true ownership in what i'm doing in the ar my, for the first time i felt a true sense of achievement for something i did in the ar my as we closed the evening. it was much fun - in fact the most fun show i have hosted thus far. it was really a one hour stand-up comedy show by marcus and me. and i guess that's the difference between this show and previous ones that i have hosted. we werent just facilitating a program that others came to watch, we were being watched by others for one full hour! so there was that pressure to balance everything, to create an one-hour show. well it helped that the audience was absolutely give-face and nice in their comments, so that was an ego-booster since i always think i am boring (although those comments could be meant for marcus only) and hence that helped make the process so much more enjoyable haha. everyone loves to here praise being heaped upon them. haha. oh i love the applause and the roars of laughter. HAHA. such a whore, i am. but yea, i am quite glad that i was asked to do it and marcus is great to work with. haha.

the problem now is the when your service is free you kinda become in demand. which is fine since it can be potentially interesting, challenging and fun (and adds some spice to my n s). but there's that added pressure of trying to live up to expectations, and overexposure, which i have seen backfire a number of times. and of course we cant reuse the jokes and ideas. oh well. we will see how everything goes.

watched sex and the city. which did live up to its name of being huge on fashion. it was enjoyable i guess but i thought everything's a little predictable, but i guess they didnt quite want to disappoint the staunch satc fans. thought they focused a tad too much on carrie and should have explored more of the emotional distress faced by the women. but hey it's told from carrie's perspective. and if i were to tell a story from my perspective i would put the focus on me too. HAHA. but o well, it was pretty slick and fast. and so watch it for an enjoyable evening, when you don't really want to think too much IN the movie.

i havent been reading much, indulging instead in mindless 8 days magazines and not-so-mindless papers. though the pm/mm vs sdp defamation suit is pretty interesting to follow i think i should be reading more and really sleeping less.
though the way things seem to be, these wont be the way in the coming months.
it's going to be 'fast and furious'.

2008-05-09T22:47:00.002+08:00

so it has been some time since the last entry which happens to be on my birthday! i mean quite a lot of stuff have happened - in work, not so much in my life, haha how sad is this. the much dreaded e-tep has come and gone - it wasnt THAT bad, quite an experience in some random weird sick way; and the much dreaded involvement in the parade today has also come and gone. i still dont get why parades are necessary anyway, i mean no one (nsf at least) really likes being involved anyway, they involve a huge amount of manpower and given how they are almost the same time after time, lose their novelty. once you have watched one. and the long rehearsals and dirty uniform! ok maybe i am no officer, so i cant see the rationale; but i am sure there is one, at least i hope that there still is. so i am a little incapable of seeing things the military way. and no one really looks at you in a parade anyway. it's like you're there as some kind of pretty backdrop (or maybe not if you're ugly), filling up the numbers.

so right, the blog set up by navjote for himself, ajit, imran, suhas and myself has been revived, so i thought i should just do my part in promoting it. it's quite irreverently funny and random so yea: http://no-matches-found.blogspot.com/

watched 2 movies in the past couple of weeks - harold and kumar: escape from guantanamo bay; and over her dead body. both comedies - the first was somewhat political and funny so i quite like it. it was somewhat exaggerated yes, and the romantic plot they tried to weave into the movie was somewhat predictable and cliche, but overall it was alright. over her dead body was an average movie that is reminiscent of channel 5's maggi and me. hot ghost who roams earth because she needs to accomplish some task but is visible only to one human being. eva longoria was adopting her desperate housewives persona, so there wasnt much breakthrough in her acting. jason biggs was easily the best actor in the movie, with his great comic timing - perhaps, his time with american pie served him well. script was so-so and i thought they should have showed more of eva longoria's character both emotionally and physically. it was in general an ok movie as well.

on another note, i, out of pure randomness, watched my finals debate video the other day. and read old entries on this blog. (yea call it nostalgia) and i was really quite bad. how depressing. maybe it's with maturation over time, or maybe it's cos i have judged more debates, i have begun to see more clearly what is expected of me as a debater - i think. perhaps they're right when they say what really matters at the end of the day is your confidence. haha. it had served me well then. haha. thank goodness i didnt go flip through my old photos or i would have gone into depression. haha.

o wells, i have finally passed the 200 day mark to my ord! wow.

2008-04-24T23:55:00.002+08:00

so i am now one fifth of a century old. and the day passed without much fanfare, with some incidents here and there no doubt - some happy, some irritating, but yea it's the time of the year again to remind you that you're older, supposedly more mature and hopefully wiser. of course there's also the receiving of well-wishes and presents and the random counting of people who wished you happy birthday (and didnt) and hoping that you would remember theirs. haha. of course it is the time of your life when you ponder your very existence as well.

i however shall stop short of doing that. and am just pretty glad with all the well-wishes. from the army coy, from jc, from sec school, on facebook whichever. it does feel remotely good to be remembered. and to be reminded of what others remember you as. haha. and today i found out that i aint very well-liked. haha. my platoon in their gift to me, called me a control freak. and the present from 'the others' (so named cos those who got the prezzie was predominantly from other platoons) had notes like "i dont like you", "you're mean", "you're irritating some times". haha. APPARENTLY it's in jest. BUT HRM maybe i should take it seriously and do some self-reflections. haha.

BUT anyway to those who got me gifts - jonk, suhas, chang, platoon 5, kengfoo, calvin, zhenghan, berwin, ernest, jordan, andrew, weili, james, marcus, chinhan. thanks a lot. really appreciate them (: and to those who sent messages. thanks too (:

i wanted to write something about the govt's response to the escape of msk. but it's late. and the aggressiveness i possessed yesterday in discussing with friends about it is no longer there. so another time perhaps. or perhaps not at all. haha.

watched street kings. which had average performances from keanu reaves and chris evans, and a rather outstanding one from forest whitaker - though i felt it was a tad similar to his role in the last king of scotland. i thought it had a message simple enough - that what you see may not be what you get, and everything perhaps happens for a reason and what's important is that you uphold yourself with integrity. liked the twists in the story and though some said it was a lil cliched, i kind of like it, thought it was pretty good.

it's now 12.33 and that means, i suppose, that my birthday has ended. i'm officially more than 20 years of age! i am ready for the world. haha. for more brickbats that come my way.

2008-04-13T00:32:00.002+08:00

i am in a phase where i feel like i am not doing anything useful in my life, that i am wasting the 2 years away. mr pc calls it emptiness. i am inclined to agree. i mean, so much for carpe diem , for making the best of your ns life and to pick up something new. it's not like i didnt try. but i think after some time, you just get jaded, disillusioned, and realise, understand that you are not in any position to be the change, to do good. maybe it's that there are peers ahead of you, in a better position to do things. maybe it's the lack of a love life. maybe after trying for so long to get gold for ippt and almost killing yourself in the process, and then missing the mark by 4 seconds, you are just tired. maybe you're just sore.

alan tells me it's a phase. perhaps it is and after some time that emptiness will be filled by many activities. so right now i have finished the editorial production of a book - it's a book my dad published really and which i am helping out so you can buy a copy. it's really cheap! haha. AND it has already been published so that's pretty exciting. and i have also joined the adjudicating staff for this year's jc debate nationals. which i have found to be rather self-gratifying actually. to finally be in a position to help others improve themselves, to actually contribute to something i actually enjoy. call me weird, power-hungry, whatever, but that's the way things are i guess. it's deprivation from having a choice i think. i am thinking of picking up a new language and driving, but i think i'm a lil scared of failing, and i am very much a procrastinator.

i received 3 birthday presents already! so hurray. and thanks chang, suhas, jonk and my grandma for those wonderful presents.

dinner today with sj, alan, jonk and zee was good, and incredibly funny. apparently we have a name now and given the things that we were discussing, you would have thought we were drunk.

i think i am way too tired. too much thinking for the first time in the past year. must be. which explains why i am typing paragraphs with few sentences.

but i shall end of with some quotes of the week:
"we eat c_ p_____s for breakfast"
"YOU GUYS DONT HAVE SHOWER DOORS! YOU MEAN YOU HAVE BEEN BATHING WITHOUT TOILET DOORS FOR THE pAST ONE AND A HALF YEAR. HOW DID YOU SURVIVE" gasps, hands on face. in absolute shoc
"Arent you a little old for this"
"We shld all go bintan since we all have the bods. or the breasts" the word we was in reference to guys.
"waste my time. nabei."
"publications and porn"

ok without the context they all seem a little weird, maybe even unfunny. but whatever, deal with it.

2008-04-05T22:18:00.002+08:00

next week i am going to be forced to cry and i am not looking forward to it.

haha. that sounds like such a suicidal, emo, pyschic, attention-grabbing opening line. but it's true! it wont be emo or suicidal though, just bloody irritating. and it isnt exactly crying - since that has to involve some semblance of emotions, it's mostly just tearing. which sucks.

was sick the most part of last week, and reported sick for the first time in the year. should have done so earlier, but i guess it's always in me to put off reporting sick. o wells. and watched charlie bartlett, which i thought could do better in the script department. it was loads of potential to be more smartass, fast paced and wittier but that just didnt happen and the movie ended up being normal, and not very funny. the start too was a little dry and slow, which had me checking the watch a couple of times. it was however something light and simple for us all to digest, after some serious training. and i guess there is a charlie bartlett in us all, waiting and wanting to be all important, and useful to people around us, and mostly wanting to fit in.

what was more interesting or perhaps exciting in a very warped way is how the rest of the night turned out. it didnt occur to us orchard belonged to the cbd area and we were trying to get a cab at around grange road and no cab wanted to stop for us! how rude. it lends credit to the "you dont see it when you need it most and you see loads of it when you least need it" rep that taxis have. i mean we were even chasing cabs with the green sign and they told us crap like "sorry tampines" or "sorry on call" - if you are on call why dont you just put the bloody on call sign! wat an idiot. but anyway, half an hour later we decided to join a cab queue. and then we ended up late. thankfully there werent any seeming repercussions. i will never go to orchard for a night out again.

and i still cant bowl too - as established at zul's birthday celebration. i THINK there's a slight improvement. but otherwise, i still suck. well, it's a sport, so no surprises there.

on birthdays - it's about 20 days to my birthday! so hurray. people have been asking me what i want and it's always so difficult to answer that, so here's some sort of a wishlist - dvds: prison break, office, scrubs; belt; clothes: berms, shirts, polos whatever, i dont have that good a taste anyway (window shopping yesterday was quite funny, in a everything also "very nice" by gy kind of way - and it was a good way to lose those calories from the buffet); books. but anyway i figured these arent exactly very cheap or very precise so really anything would do (although this could mean weird presents or freebies haha) , even a card or something.

i was thinking the other day, and i think i am terrible at maintaining relationships.

and there's something about the past couple of weeks, that put me in a blogging mood. but i cannot put my finger to it. maybe it's the return of suhas and chang.

2008-03-30T13:25:00.002+08:00

it's finally the end of the month - well technically tomorrow is, which is a relief - cos the first half came and went pretty fast which led me to remark "how quickly is the month of march going", only to take it back as i saw the second half crawling. and yet, not so much of a relief because with the end of march comes the month of april, which, as i see from the scedule, equates to more training, and other random stuff that i have conveniently chosen to forget. at this point of time. although my birthday is in april, and so are many of my friends. that i suppose shall make the month of april more bright and cheerful.

while on duty yesterday, i finished season 3 of grey's and so i am happy. haha. i like grey's; and if not for the writers' strike, season 4 would have been almost completed / is completing and i would be happily watching episodes of it. it didnt occur to me how long ago the strike has been if i hadnt checked out the abc website. it's addictive i think, the way the show opens especially, makes you ponder about the many things you overlook in life, and see how things are intertwined, that "there's no black and white in relationships with people around you, just a grey area". and i like too how they write the stories based on the different themes and link those lessons to medicine, reminding us all how the workplace can be a learning ground for lessons in life. if i hadnt known better (and assuming perfect a level results), i would have gone into medicine. haha. u would actually have thought there's actually so much drama going on in a hospital.

it's quite funny how recently we have been harping on the entire idea of friends vs acquaintances. but it does make you ponder when an acquaintance becomes a friend, and are they bound by some kind of code that makes them 'your person'. and what happens if you decide to make a person your friend but all along the person treats you as a mere acquaintance, a colleague. even so is your relationship to be clouded with euphemisms? why doesnt anyone just say - hold you are not my friend so stop bothering me. maybe cos acquaintances become friends the moment one takes an initiative to confide in the other and the other confides back. HRM so the person they confide in just listen first cos he/she thinks he/she wants to be your friend. so if you dont confide, does that mean you have no friends? ok i am rambling. this is so weird.

it has been a tiring, six-day week and already i cant stand 5 day weeks, much less a 6 day one so the week sucks.

2008-03-22T14:44:00.002+08:00

ah samjo, arent you glad that your feedback created an improvement in this blog. haha. since i always complain that a certain organisation takes eons to act on feedback, i think i ought to walk the talk and not be like the things we complain about. haha.

i love long weekends. i think that's really what keeps us sane when you are very much restrained in your actions, when you are stuck in a place with a spoilt antenna and when what you do is mostly at the whims and fancies of other weird individuals. generally it's only when they have no whims or fancies that you can do what you want. even then you arent exactly spoilt for choice. in essence, we all treasure our freedom. but when you're in a place for too long, perhaps you learn to deal with it.

so i went to rj/ri on thursday. it was very random really. we chose to met up at this place opposite rj, and since i lived at the other opposite side of rj, i had to cut through rj to reach the eatery. so rather then just cut through rj, nav & i decided to explore the place. it has changed, and it hasnt changed. everything was still there, but there were additions to the compound - additions which make the place more, homely and pretty i suppose. it's like the things we fought for when we were around - a student lounge, more sheltered walkways, more decorations to inject more life in the school. you wonder if you helped make the difference, or it was always supposed to be, just that they never had the funds. ri has become more classy too, moving away from the grand, homely and somewhat vintage feel it always used to give me, it has become very much more modern-looking. how come the senior block is housing sec 2 kids though? haha. and it's sad, cos the debaters didnt win the nationals last year, and hence they dont have a large picture honouring them at the cca block. ah come to think of it, not a single batch won after us.

it's always good to be back. i havent been back for a year actually. and it's always nice to return to see how things around you have changed, perhaps a reminder to us all that even as we hold on to the many memories and lessons we take away, we have to move on.

what's good about this long break is that i get to meet up with my old friends so hurray. and chang & suhas are both coming back so double hurray. although they are coming back at a horrid month, with all the duties and things going on in april and what not. so bleargh.

the most recent movie i caught was step up 2 the streets. which we saw on the opening day and really liked. i dont get why people were dissing it because while the plot is predictable, and acting not all that fantastic, it's a dance movie for goodness sake. and if you want a great script and great acting, go watch juno or something. so we liked the fast pace of the movie and the many dance sequences that they lined up. yes the rain, stereo in car, sudden appearance of torches and sudden vast improvement in dance skills is a little hard to believe and not enough for us to think that we too can be excellent dancers in a couple of months, but the dance sequences were enough to make us go wow.

ah i am credited in a book that is going to be published, and although i dont have the best of army life as we all established yesterday, all is well.

it's zul's birthday today, so happy birthday to him. though i suspect he doesnt come here anymore.

2008-03-09T19:07:00.002+08:00

i am quite amused by the way malaysian elections are turning out. on one hand the chinese and indians are pissed of with you because now they are feeling WAY too marginalised and you obviously are pretending to be oblivious to the ground sentiments (or are really oblivious) which results in many unexpected losses. on the other hand, perhaps the malays are feeling that they arent looked after enough. whoa, you sure cant please everyone.

on the local front, there is a terrorist on the loose. terrible really. but i guess it is always easy for us to judge others - you ignore how a lighthouse has led many ships to their destination but are quick to blame it the one time it fails to do so. that's the way things are i guess. people are calling for the heads of those in the home team. and it isnt surprising at all, they are threatened and inconvenienced by his escape. and i am disappointed that the local press has failed to talk about the bad press singapore has received in other countries - apparently we did receive very bad press.

watched the diving bell and the butterfly, as well as the waterhorse last week. since i am in a rush now, reviews another time. but generally, i liked the diving bell and the butterfly - it was emotional and the acting was simply fantastic. never mind it was in french. waterhorse was ok, a little predictable though i though. and a tad kiddish.

i have a new mp3 player & speakers & books from kino! yay. on the bad side though, they cost money - so thank god for pay day tomorrow. booking in tonight. which always suck. but life goes on.

2008-02-27T18:09:00.002+08:00

it was a rather interesting coy cohesion i would say. some enjoyed themselves - cos they drank and loved drinking. ppl like me dont get to see ppl drunk and then take care of them. which was in itself somewhat interesting to. and added up to the night being a rather emotional one. somewhat shocking too. cos innocent me has never seen anyone truly THAT drunk due to hard liquor. until today i still dont quite get why people want to drink or want to get drunk. oh well, freedom of choice. but whatever the case is, it would be one chalet that i would remember. given how tame the others are in comparison now. haha.

and oh! i picked up a new game called stress, and though i am still not very good at it i am improving. they tell me they played this since PRIMARY SCHOOL. like how come i never knew about all these. haha.

watched juno last week, which i really liked. i mean after a series of somewhat average, 3-stars movies, it was refreshing to see a nice movie that didnt quite play on the cliche of teenage pregnancies. i mean there was this part about one of the soon-to-be adoptive fathers divorcing his wife halfway through the show that was left hanging. but otherwise, it was a great script that didnt quite lean on the basic idea of girl gets knocked up, turns overly mature and an emotional wreck the very next day; and one that didnt emphasize too much on the stigmatization against young girls who get pregnant. i think that would have been a very singaporean film or channel 8 drama. all in all i feel that the script painted a very real picture of an independent girl who got knocked up and while was worried, disturbed and slightly emotional over it, was brave enough to face up to the consequences of it all - like how an independent, strong-willed teenage would i suppose? i also really liked the dialogue - really smart and witty. which all adds up to a well-deserved oscars for best screenplay. this, coupled with fantastic acting from both the main and supporting cast made the movie a good catch.

this rather long break has come at a good time given i am really unfit and suffering from the aftereffects of unfit boy going through rigorous training. haha. and my sister returns to australia tomorrow so =(

2008-02-17T19:39:00.003+08:00

there only seems to be a piece of news that people talk about these days - the sex scandal that has apparently rocked this continent. i dont see what's the big deal really. people are calling him pervertic, sick and all. chances are these people are happily downloading the pictures by the hundreds.

anyway, i digress. just finished reading jodi picoult's 19 minutes and the scary thing about the book is that i can actually empathise with all 3 groups that picoult seeks to represent: the killer - the one who gets poked fun at for being slightly different; the one who puts on layers and layers of mask to fit in; the one who laughs at others, who pokes fun at others because when others laugh at someone else, they stop laughing at you. perhaps at the end of the day, we are primates. and it is in us all to do what we believe will help us survive. what's also scary, is that there is yet again another shooting in us and once again, the shooter killed himself and has to let the media piece together a spectacular story that they want us to believe. or they feel will make them the most money.

ok enough of this attempt at an intellectual entry. cny break was great hurray. big sis came back with 30kg worth of food - i think she's crazy but i am not complaining haha. it's good to have her back i suppose haha. although the house is undoubtedly noisier now. had friends over during the cny break and am shocked to have found out that the new r j principal had plans to remove all the school crests from the college. like EXCUSE ME? thank goodness the staff had enough sense to veto her decision. what was that woman thinking? - it's a school not a culture? of course this is what THEY told me and couldnt be unreliable, but we are all suckers for sensational stories that allow us to cry foul, arent we?

the past week was tiring though. i hate running but i keep doing it. haha. and i am enjoying grey's anatomy more and more (ok this has no link with the week being tiring - just though no details had to be given wrt to a tiring week haha). although i suspect it is making me more drama cos i really like the dialogue. haha.

since it is still within the 15 days of cny. happy cny ladies and gentlemen. and a belated valentine's day.

2008-02-01T23:08:00.000+08:00

ah it has been a long long time. a couple of weeks really which ended up being some kind of movie fiesta during the random couple of hours we are spared in between activities - bookout before dinner or nights out. was somewhat disappointed by the movies, had expected much more but as usual was provided with excellent company. haha.

le grand chef was somewhat interesting (in a korean+palace them way), but had a rather thin/predictable plot. the girls behind me were sobbing at a scene, and somehow i found that funnier. interesting i suppose because this is my first korean movie haha - it has never been my kind of thing but i liked how they did the dishes. haha.

i had expected more from 27 dresses too. i mean ok fine i went into it not knowing exactly what to expect and what the show is about (except that it's about some perpetual bridesmaid thing) but the publicity for the show was pretty good so it ended up as something that i wanted to watch. hence when kf and zh asked me i was like ok great. in the end it proved to be rather predictable, like all other chick flicks. it was a lil funny i guess, i especially liked the quick comebacks. but in the end i guess, what do you expect from a romantic comedy?

i really liked kite runner - as in the book. so i was really looking forward to the release of the movie, esp given how the reviews for the movie were not that bad. it was lauded for giving it a natural touch and for the excellent acting. but somehow despite the natural touch, i wasnt really convinced by the acting, especially from the supporting cast. i suppose the problem with movies based on books is that the makers of the movie tend to cut out parts they consider unimportant. and unfortunately for the kite runner, that didnt quite work for me because many of the parts they decided to cut out were rather important and in fact very interesting to me. in fact i found it weird that they decided to cut out the really really emotive parts in fact. which ended up making the entire movie a lil messy and choppy. but i thought it was a good choice of location - the scenery was good and so were the kite-flying scenes! most upsetting especially was the lack of "for you a thousand times over" JUST TWO! not enough not enough. i mean that's my favourite line from the book! but overall i guess it's ok, i mean it's an alright-ok movie generally. it's just that i have read the book and enjoyed the book more.

cny dinner today was somewhat interesting, at least it was an opportunity to unwind. although the food sucked. and variety was somewhat lacking. but i like the atmosphere cos everyone was like happy and high. haha. even diamond challenge this morning wasnt toooo bad. haha.but yea the drinking game was quite funnily interesting, so was camwhoring and i still hate beer and cannot drink.

o yes and happy birthday mr calvin tay.

cny's coming soon and i really want the long break.

2008-01-11T23:58:00.000+08:00

a year ago, that's how this whole thing started. wow time flies. well not really, haha given how long it took for this day to come.

nothing significant, just a date to remember. 300+ more days - that will be the day to look forward to and remember.

2008-01-01T00:59:00.000+08:00

happy new year ladies and gentlemen. perhaps it is at the time of the year that we make resolutions (that half the population on this planet - or perhaps even more - doesnt keep anyway), make wishes and simply hope for the best. but given how the start of a year marks the end of another, i guess countdowns have always put me in a pensive mood, reflecting on how the year has been. and i must say it turned out ok, given how the impending enlistment was a dampener to my new year's day last year. but ultimately it turned out ok. i mean, n s still sucks but through it all i have learnt quite a bit, somewhat pushed myself, become fitter and would like to think have looked better haha and most importantly, took away some pretty good memories and made some pretty good friends. cliche as it is, it was a year filled with ups and downs, but i SURVIVED! i am pleased as well that i managed to keep in contact with quite a number of individuals - although it could have been better i suppose.

ANYWAY, i have decided to come out with a list of 16 (yea a random number) of the most memorable events (happy, sad, irritated, or just plain memorable) that happened to me in 2007 - it was something i came up with during a marshalling duty while waiting for the stupid run -which started only an hour later- to start some time ago and was awfully bored and was thus typing it into my phone haha. SHHHH. then subsequently added to it to make it the current list of 20! in no order whatsoever:

1. my birthday party! haha what a huge surprise that was - until like 3 hours before the party when snee spilt the beans - and i had to act surprised when i arrived. it was cool and surprising and touching that navjote had planned it for me. but what's even more memorable was how much of a jerk i was before the thing. due to the admissions exams the next day and all haha.

2. collection of a level results. bad just bad. i mean, yea they arent exactly BAD results, but they fell short of expectations so it was just sad. i remember clearly the moment when i took my results slip and couldnt first believe the b3 for gp and then the grades for the other 2 subjects. and i remember too the state of shock, anger and sadness that i was in before subsequently going with suhas for a semi-binging session at nydc.

3. trip to sydney. was a later addition. and thankful to ex-pc for that opportunity really. cos even though i went with some apprehension, it turned out really really well and still recall it with many fond memories. there was thomas, those drinking sessions and r&r which was really good. and the DIARY haha. of course there were the irritating and lethargic flies (not my words) and training, which in all honesty was moderate lah. like what i always tell people who ask me about it, the best thing that has happened to me in n s.

4. running, just running. it's amazing i think. the total distance i covered in my 18 years before i enlisted probably does not even add up to the distance i covered for my stan chart trg! i have always hated running, and i still do, but it is the only thing i can still do ok with more training - unlike all other sports that i still suck at haha. i think i just shocked myself that i took part in ahm & stan chart - and all the more so since i wasnt exactly forced to take part in stan chart marathon. WELL the timing's not everything haha.

5. pillowman. first actual play. damn good. and i totally enjoyed myself for that.

6. getting into law school. imagine reading articles about stiff competition for uni places and it being reported that the cut off for law is 3 As. so when you are given a second chance you are even more determined to prove yourself. it was quite a hassle from the beginning - the extra essays and personal portfolio but i guess they all paid off. and i actually enjoyed the interview process! haha. yea i was really quite happy when i got it. well perhaps ays is right, birthday wishes do work after all.

7. ndp support. the fireworks were cool and memorable. but hrm other than that all the saikang and all made me feel so er useful and waiterish and now capable of serving water quickly.

8. soldier of the month for the month of august. i was pretty amused by it actually. a year ago i would never have thought that i would have gotten it but i like the sensation of winning (something good) and having something to put by my bed haha. i mean there're souvenirs leh how can it not be memorable haha.

9. tekong. tekong was weird, just weird. i never liked the ferry trip there. hated all the pt, and i was toilet ic summore haha. i remembered being like totally possessive of the toilet it's quite funny. then there're the stupid queues at the toilet all the time, senseless punishments that were even worse than my course, having to cut botak like every month, failing ippt, consistently not being able to climb up the stupid low rope. zul popping over from v coy. those phonecalls to different people every night. the 5 minute phone calls! haha. the 'suicide' after a levels!

10. stand-by area at the parade square. urgh, that's just painful. come to think of it though, it is probably one of those whack them into shape initiations. nevertheless i will never forget the running back and forth, packing everything into the duffel and dashing down the stairs. how could i forget? i have unmatching sandals to remind me of it.

11. trying to pick up games. i never bothered i guess but the plt has been kind enough to be patient with me so just learn i guess. although calvin's right in saying "i thought you were a sportsman, but when i saw you play i realised you have no ball sense" haha. the second part. o well, learning can be fun. sometimes. though somewhat humiliating. haha. learnt cludedo and all sorts of weird games too haha. that we only played like a week for each only though haha.

12. roaming the streets at midnight. haha. that was samjo's sleepover. i remember all the photowhoring and the particular one outside the istana when the camera turned to face us. that was pretty scary. haha. it was also the first time we queued for doughnuts! haha.

13. zul's bday party. that one was pretty queer. din really know the people there to begin with. though truth or dare was er pretty revealing haha.

14. people starting school! it's weird to see people all starting school and you dont actually exercise your brain cells. not in their way anyway. and then they all disappear, flying off to various places or are all too busy for you hurhur. but yea there were still quite a few opportunities to meet up and those were always good (:

15. cruise! ok i talked about it in the last entry and since it warranted one entry and lasted 5 days, i think it does count as a memorable time.

16. (thereby making the total number to be 16 because it happened most recently and is the latest addon) sharapova vs chetvatadze. i still think they're very mean to chetvatadze (i hope i spelt it correctly), promoting the whole thing as "maria sharapova live". i mean like the chetvatadze is world no. 6! but it was a great match. i dont even watch tennis, so it was an experience learning all the rules and watching some pretty great strokes. and the players of course haha. thanks sj for the tix!

so there, 16 of the most memorable events in 2008 - i am sure there're more, a chunk of which are from the institution called the army, but i suppose things like lessons learnt etc etc etc should be left for a more significant date like ONE YEAR SOLDIER hurhur. which is coming real soon. and which marks a rise in pay haha.

so what's there to look forward to in 2008? liheng asked me this question yesterday and for now though there really isnt much to look forward to, there is above all - ORD! and that's enough isnt it? haha

o well, it doesnt matter i guess, because as we take things as they come, we will constantly be surprised and surprise others. for after all, a new year is just another day, and we are only stopping to remind ourselves of the things to come and things we have done because we want to.

and today my leave ends.

2007-12-29T22:02:00.000+08:00

what a while it has been! am back from the high seas - ok that was a couple of days back yes - and that was pretty interesting. ok i mean sure it could be a little boring in the day, but one must appreciate liberation when given the privilege. what i really mean is, i dont want to go back to camp.

ok so it was ok. i mean it fits the bill as to what a cruise is all about - food. and there were lots of food, quite a bit of interesting variety - the meat i tell you is fantastic and i think i have become a carnivore. the service is really good as well, so much so that the waiter became my friend and i got him to sign the christmas menu and give it to me hurhur. so that makes dining on the cruise even a more enjoyable experience. other than that, i really liked the las vegas style of entertainment on board. great voice and great dancing generally. ashley from you think you can dance is a cruise dancer now! haha. i liked the concept generally. and the humour of the invited entertainers. and i think the cruise director is pretty good. so yes generally though i fell sick on christmas day and i didnt enjoy phuket or penang, the food and night entertainments were enough to keep me content. and the entire cruise trip was a major camwhoring session as well haha.

o besides that, have been meeting up with many people who just came back - it's good to have them back (: but one has already left and the rest are all going to disappear soon enough :( whatever the case is everyone's doing fine so that's good and keeping in touch and catching up is always good.

maria sharapova 2mr! haha so weird i have never been to a tennis match before and here i am invited to one -thanks sj- how strangely exciting haha.

the new year is coming and i shall have a year-end post soon enough.

and i say it again. i dont want to go back.

2007-12-20T23:03:00.000+08:00

holiday! off to the high seas - back on 26. hurray.

2007-12-06T23:17:00.000+08:00

ok details of 42.195km(i stand corrected). it was terrible, much worse towards the end, and the after effects very much worse. my timing was bad as well. like REALLY REALLY BAD. but nvm, as many individuals have told me, at least i have completed it. ROAR.

it's pretty interesting, the next day, when i saw people limping - one outside the bank, and i predicted that he was a representative of the bank sent in response to Stan Chart's friendly gesture to invite other banks; and the other outside the clinic - he was wearing the finisher t-shirt.

whatever the case is, it was really quite an EXPERIENCE, although i strongly doubt that i would do it again. if anything would probably be half marathon only haha. although that too, is troublesome and possibly problematic. but i suppose we will take it as it comes.

everyone's in the holiday/leave mood, so nothing's much happening. bbq was pretty fun, in a food-stealing/sneaking, cooking way. and everyone's coming back for holiday so yay.

and i am going on holiday too yay. i need it.

2007-12-02T21:53:00.001+08:00

i completed the stan chart 42.197 (is it) km run and i feel like dying now.

2007-11-30T22:34:00.000+08:00

the past 7 days have been pretty good - of course that said, we assume life in camp will always be considered normal or bad, never good and hence never worth mentioning. pillowman last saturday night was nothing short of spectacular. great acting, good use of images and above all an excellent script that was provocative and asked many questions. what's the duty of a story-teller? - if someone kills after reading your book, is it the fault of you, the storyteller? if you are suffering now and on the verge of committing suicide and have the ability to turn back the clock, would you turn it and kill yourself so you wouldnt have to live through the suffering? What happens when you place the law in your hands? i liked it, it was a good bargain really; didnt feel like 3 hours at all and a good start in my bid to be more cultured amidst the seemingly uninspiring duty to the nation. of course the company was good and it's good to keep up with them all.

a pretty interesting way of celebrating the unit's anniversary it was, to go to wild wild wet. like i said anywhere out of camp is cool. and given my you noe conservative nature haha i havent been to www before so it was pretty ok, quite fun, and interesting. though the rides were not many. and i BROKE my specs. terrible. they're only slightly more than a year old! but that's fine cos i got new specs at quite a bargain. and a ltc fetched me out of camp when i went back to get my black specs! how very nice of him. it has restored my faith of the higher higher hq. just a little. haha.

sitex was fine. usual promotions. and i do need a new comp. i hope my dad doesnt take too long to consider the offers. roar.

42km in 2 days. just what have i gotten myself into. the timing doesnt quite matter, i just hope i have the endurance and the willpower to complete it. a first time.

2007-11-23T23:25:00.000+08:00

the kite runner is a fantastic book. there's something about hosseini that draws the reader into the book and brings him into a totally separate world, and make you feel like you have known the characters for ages. that makes you feel for them; that leaves you asking for more. Written in a most touching, engaging and captivating fashion, Hosseini brings us into the world of culture-bound Afghanistan and forces us to ask ourselves many tough but pertintent questions pertaining to our past mistakes, willingness to make sacrifices, our relationships with people around us and what our friends really mean to us. o well, its a really good book so you should go read it if you havent. hosseini is like one of my favourite authors now.

the past week hasnt exactly been hell, although it was hrm different but boring and tiring. stayed at shangrila and read like more than 3 books to kill the boredom, of course amidst protecting important personnel. haha omg i make myself sound so righteous. but yea. nicholas spark's the notebook's pretty touching. i thought the guy - noah, i think, is pretty sweet but unlike edwin i cant appreciate the true feelings of the book because ... well because ... haha nvm. and james patterson's beach road was pretty interesting - especially given the twist in the end that was unexpected. though i had expected A twist because of the dumb reviews in front. i find that pretty dumb really, placing comments that talk about the SPECTACULAR twist and hence making everyone EXPECT a twist. o please. this book holds special meaning to me cos i specially went to get it for my last day of duty haha. i think if i did these kind of duties for the entire month, maybe i would get a little reading badge they used to give out in my p school for being an avid reader haha.

my weekends for the next 3 weeks are destroyed. but as usual its for the greater good.

and its stan chart 42km NEXT WEEK. omg ggxx.

and pillowman 2mr. exciting. (:

2007-11-11T20:51:00.000+08:00

i was on my way home today and i saw this dude entering a cab. he was clad in no.4 uniform, jockey cap and was carrying his field pack. a recruit no doubt.

i am so glad i no longer have to do that.

1 year later, on this day, i would be a free man.

2007-11-10T20:30:00.000+08:00

yes yes i am back from a very exciting trip to sydney and i enjoyed myself quite a bit. so yea. it now seems to be a distant memory, and i suppose we all have to move on. o well.

it might have become a distant memory now but i kept a diary! ok it was more of a blog since it was more or less made public reading material in the bunk. and i am glad calvin started it cos it is useful in helping us remember, in providing us with something to do in the most boring of circumstances. but i guess i shant divulge the details of the diary here, henceforth decreasing the value of it. haha. but yea you can still borrow it from me to read it. but i figured making it too accessible will reduce the mystery value of it and hence reduce its interesting value. haha "the easier it is to get something, the less you will want it". ah i have learnt well haha.

but anw i was googling about my trip and realised basic details about the exercise i went for can be found online. so sexciting. it's a new lingo i found today, and omg now i feel ancient.

back to the trip. it's the best thing that has happened to me in ns, thoroughly enjoyed myself and if you're a girl and are asking yourself why i seem to have it the easiest compared to other trainees who have just been to say taiwan, well maybe it's because they have been exaggerating the amount of hardships they went through to impress upon you they are a tough man who had gone through some rather tough times. haha omg how bitchy of me.

most memorable would definitely be my time at the slab. well for starters i got drunk (and it was my first time haha), and it was pretty fun until i started puking and imposed on my more sober teammates. i still hate beer, and i am not very different drunk, perhaps only a little more expressive and very much louder, if that's even possible, but it's fun cos of the things other drunk people say. make that other drunk person. and if you are still alert enough to get what's happening and remember the stuff the next them. but the australian dude i got to know remembers me as the guy who cant drink and kept asking me drink subsequent times he met me haha how embarassing.

loved the food, enjoyed the r&r, loved the laundry system, and you should check out facebook for the photos.

so it's back to singapore - real work again, real life. for the record, it wasnt all play there, all i am saying is that minus the flies and the days of training, it was a worthwile trip and the weather made trg more bearable - when we disregarded the flies.

my comp is spoilt and i am not happy.

2007-10-26T23:28:00.000+08:00

aha i am taking advantage of the free internet at the airport and in less than an hour i would be leaving! i guess it's pretty exciting - a trip to the outback, so let's see how that goes. although yes i have not much of an idea what to expect.

james says hi

benny says no thank you "i am not one of those thank you person"

edwin is on the phone. (and its not who we all think he/she is)

ps sends his love. he thinks that the belts are where we should be gathered.

we now understand the importance of saying hi/good evening at the check-in counter.

the intercom thingy is pretty cool. ok i never quite knew that thing existed. good training for my lawyerhood.

benny is surfing hentai (he claims he isnt)

pc now thinks we are saded cos only 2 came to send us off haha.

edwin just took a photo of himself

i have ran out of things to say. and you probably dont noe what this is all about.

bye - and enjoy the absence of noise around you.

2007-10-26T17:52:00.000+08:00

aha i am leaving for the outback for 10 days. so hopefully everything goes fine, and it will be an interesting, fun and memorable enough experience.

farewell and dont miss me too much. although it's the usual line i havent used for a while - enjoy the silence when i am gone. (:

2007-10-07T10:25:00.000+08:00

ok my life totally sucks right now because i lose a weekend day every 3 weeks - or perhaps even less if i am going to do orderly duty - like for this month. so there for the next one year that will be the kind of life i will be leading. 6 days work week every 3 weeks.

of course to keep my morale up i shall tell myself that standby isnt all that bad. i mean like i am helping to defend this nation, protecting my loved ones when something happens. i mean dont we always just wait for things to happen. is that not our job? of course that's the politically correct answer. the no so politically correct answer is that after you get past the couple of hours of checks you get to watch your movie and read your book - which puts my movie tally this week to 4 and allowing me to keep to my goal of reading a book a week.

On books - jodi picoult's sister's keeper is an incredibly good read. but maybe that's cos i am a sucker for emo reads. but what's really cool about the book is it's surprising - though sad - ending, and the many subplots which makes the entire reading experience a worthwhile one. what i really liked was how she managed to weave the whole debate on the ethical implications of 'designer babies' into the book. i actually wrote a book review after that cos i was so inspired haha but i dont know where i left it haha. i also read empress orchid that for some reason has become the most read book in the platoon - i dont noe why they were so interested in it, maybe it's cos of the angpao cover or maybe they like me, enjoy reading about china's imperial background - which is why i bought it in the first place. but really, her writing style wasnt anything impressive though it does allow us a glimpse of the forbidden city in its full glory and brings to light the many struggles for power in the palace. perhaps what's interesting about it was how it portrayed the empress dowager tzu hsi in an incredibly sympathetic light, showing us how she really is just a victim of circumstances. the last book - sons of fortune too was not anything interesting, since it was merely bringing us through the lives of 2 individuals and hence was trying to be as realistic as possible. but that said looking at how these books always portray their lawyers to be - the excellent, witty and sharp lawyers. i cant help but think i am going to be at best a mediocre lawyer cos when i read the statements they make, it doesnt seem like i can make those statements as well.

HRM. i dont noe what i got myself into when i signed up for stan chart 42km. the trg starts 2mr. BUT i have always intended to just walk the 42km! why am i going to be trained for that. roar.

ok i am leaving for aust on 26 oct probably, to be back on 5 nov!

2007-09-30T16:40:00.000+08:00

ok it has been a long long time since the last update, but there wasnt much to be written anyway. most of my close friends have already left the country, so its a whole series goodbyes the past couples of week. saddening i guess and i wld miss them but i guess that's the way of life.

Army's been the usual. nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary. except i received news that i would be going to australia at the end of oct. so that's pretty cool. other than that, i have begun playing different kinds of boardgames haha - games i have never played before not because they are anything out of the ordinary, but really because of my somewhat deprived childhood as far as these games are concerned haha. AND i have begun playing badminton. but as like all other sports that i have tried my hand at, i suck at it too haha.

has it ever occured to you that everytime someone asks you how army is, or if you are a girl, when you ask how army is, the reply would go along the lines of "ok lor", "the usual". it's unlikely that anyone would go into the details of what they have been doing, what secrets they have been exposed to. of course the army big guns would be relieved to hear that. but what does this tell us? that we no longer are capable of describing what we go through because we have been desensitized? Or that we have become trained into believing that no one is interested to listen to what we have to say anyway? Or is it simply because when you go through the motions you are unlikely to remember a thing? ah yes just a random observation that kang made yesterday when he asked me how's life and i replied - the usual haha.

you know, sometimes i miss the days where i would be running around the school compounds busy contacting individuals to come up with a school event. or looking forward to upcoming plays/concerts where i would be spotting my friends. hmmm. i miss school. or rather the kind of things a school provide.

i think this countdown application on facebook is pretty cool. i have 407 days to ord. haha.

2007-09-02T00:08:00.000+08:00

thank you very much 5111 (though i wish you could identify yourself in a more -identifiable- manner) for that most entertaining, informative piece of information in the most recent entry. had wanted to read that email for sometime, cept that i was too lazy to actually search for it haha.

i was actually kinda surprised to read that email and find myself being able to agree with him on many points. surprised because being the judgemental person that i am, i had thought that the writer was an euf. you know, officer, powerful person's son and all. heck care about the men, etc. but he was spot-on on many issues that he raised and perhaps the decision to punish him in jumping the chain of command rule was a little regrettable, no matter how lenient it is. not that rules should be bent for individuals, dependent on background, but perhaps such rules are a tad unnecessary.

ok nothing's up with my life actually, ok perhaps i ran ahm. kinda walking a couple of km really. 21km never felt this long before - ok partly cos i ended up injured halfway. and as J puts it, "i have never explored singapore in this way before". got a finisher medal too! and haha so cool i have never ever gotten a medal remotely related to sports - finisher or position wise haha. though ok lah finished worse than expected. yes thanks snee for your support haha.

and got my soldier of the month award too haha how cool. though august has alr ended so i can no longer cut queue at the cookhouse.

and finally i just got a sony cybershot how cool is that haha

2007-08-20T18:01:00.000+08:00

so as quickly as it came, the long weekend has ended. although yes i am rather proud of myself for having completed 2 books, met up with a no. of ppl, although i am red from the sentosa sun today. and no i wasnt awol or anything, it's just that they have been kind enough to encourage bonding within the platoon outside camp during trg hours. we should have more of this. haha.

skinwalkers however totally sucked. the plot sucked. the shooting sucks. even the violence which it got a rating for wasnt very impressive. and yes i fell asleep. basically it's about werewolves, which werent quite scary, just ugly haha. and it's all about the protection of this 13 year old guy who can remove the curse of the werewolves. cept some werewolves dont think being werewolves a curse. and so it's just a lot of chasing, catching up and one by one the good & bad guys die. boring.

i'm satisfied however with the 2 books i have completed this week - thousand splendid suns and haha ok a little late the deathly hallows. cos fine i am a cheapskate and i borrowed it so i had to wait. just a question. how does the book qualify as a kids' book if an average 10 year old kid doesnt understand many of the words that rowling uses. you cannot deny however that she writes rather descriptively, and i cant actually comment on any twists given the numerous spoilers i have been exposed to. but yes i thought that the book was satisfactory, though confusing at times which results in one having to re-read certain parts again. yet again, maybe it's cos i aint too smart and my memory is failing so i cant quite remember the intricate details of the previous books and thus do not quite appreciate rowling's ability to tie up the loose ends from previous books in this - something that many have lauded. the book picked up pace in the second half, which worked for me and given how this book is meant to tie up the loose ends, i would like to see how they are going to make it into a movie and what they are going to cut out.

thousand splendid suns is one of my all-time favourite. maybe it's cos i have been reading too many trashy books lately so i tend to get impressed easily. but it's truly a gripping story that tells the tales of 2 ladies suffering in silence in a country wrought with war, violence, discrimination. but above all it is a touching tale of love, and how love can triumph over all sufferings. haha i sound like dumbledore. and i dont think i am doing justice to the book and its author. so yea you should just read it.

on a random note, why is dumbledore named dumbledore. i mean did she like try to show some irony, how he is so wise and yet stuck with a dumb to his name?

ok whatever, another week of army. then army half marathon on sunday. roar.

2007-08-12T19:11:00.000+08:00

ok yes this blog is rather dead, i have lost all moolah to want to blog, i dont know why. maybe it's cos my life is boring and unexciting. maybe it's cos i have been way too tired lately. maybe it's because i have been to happening and so dont have time to stay at home to blog. that of course is a blatant lie haha.

ok as usual life is still pretty mundane, although i have now established myself as a comedian in my camp, not that i wanted to but we din really have a choice. and i am soldier of the month for august i think. or july i dunno. which i found really quite funny because like it's me. and i am no soldier. but cool i shall congratulate myself, maybe i should sign on since it is an affirmation of my soldiering capabilities haha.

yes ndp is over, i shall wish my sister a belated birthday here. and ndp was really quite cool cos i got to people watch and see my future bosses/colleagues walk past me and dao me despite me saying hi and all to them. and like realise that i actually noe many kids of impt people that i never knew were, well kids of impt people. ndp was quite an experience i guess, it was my first being so near vvips haha. as for the parade, i din get to watch it, so i was being high to the music that i could hear. although i did get to watch the full fireworks thanks to my nice commanders (who wanted to watch it themselves anw) and i managed to film the complete fireworks show and hence m proud of myself. they are very high-inducing haha. and coming up would be a series of saikang for the nation. so erm YEA.

ytd sleepover was pretty interesting and pretty coool, although SOMEBODY refuses to share anything hmph. we were like camwhoring wanderers of the night, but yes it is always good to catch up with everyone. so many girls are like starting school and going overseas, so it sucks that there is so little time that is given to us to catch up with them before they fly away and make angmoh friends and before long forget all about us haha.

sigh another week of tiring activities i suppose. i have never felt so tired last week before roar.

2007-07-25T23:34:00.000+08:00

ok life's pretty mundane these days so there isnt much to be said. except i recently, for the first time got a status to excuse me from running! haha so exciting i have never been excused before.

ndp is coming up and a photographer told me they change the fireworks every week! haha. so that would provide something new to look forward to each week.

i am on leave 2mr so that's a hurrah.

and i am quite amused by the latest army offering by ch8 because in trying to make the whole show more real, and hence getting the officers in the show to speak like well officers, and the men in the show to be all submissive, sian, despo and chauvinistic, it makes the show more unreal then it already is. but yes the fact that i am amused by the army scenes make it good entertainment material, so much so i would only want to watch the army scenes. i mean felicia chin doing the "i cant hear you" just seems so -.-

i think i am getting stupider, lazier and clumsier by the day. which is really really terrible.

2007-07-08T23:42:00.000+08:00

ah yes. social order has been partly restored since i last got my sundays back. saturdays are still spent at ndp. with greater responsibilities and more scoldings. which totally sucks.

it's great meeting up with people. until it dawns upon you how out of touch you are with their lives, with what's going on around you. and them. so yes since the last entry, i met up with zul & chang, at this extremely weird cafe that was pink but cheap - and bought the game which i thought was hilarious, but otherwise useless cos it wouldnt work for me; there was ndp combined rehearsal 2 which i got tickets for and which totally sucked because they shortchanged us of the fireworks - cos too much was used for cr1 apparently (the fireworks at cr3 however was spectacular - it dawned upon me that i have never seen fireworks that close before, and the formation, the designs were extremely pretty - yes when you though fireworks only came in different designs. i hope i get to bring my camera next time!); found out that suhas has received his pink ic and is partaking in the inbreeding programmes of ______; had lunch with 'my singh friend' (as my pc noted when he saw me haha); had a sortof gathering cum farewell lunch for dani and found wheelock place to be da place for ex rj dudes haha. then yes lunch with zul today. ah social order is more or less in place.

but yes i think i am a boring lunch companion because i always never fail to complain about how i am the lowest ranking rear echelon dude around and how we get pushed around all the time. i guess it's just how stupid, incapable people piss you off. and you may work under them, so what does that say about you.

that you are very tolerant.

but whatever lah. i think i am just a very angry person. haha

but yes i am very pleased that i have completed shopping for bday presents for most people. and proud of my choice of gifts. haha excitations.

2007-06-25T23:20:00.000+08:00

confinement sucks confinement sucks. but it's ok i have paid my dues so now i have my sundays back.

this year's ndp is pretty sleek in my opinion, something different, and somewhat made more interesting by the waterfront - and how they use the water to create a more creative display of the a r m y's capabilities. what i like most, is without a doubt the fireworks right at the end, which is damn nice, although it could just be that i am watching it live and hence they seem so much prettier than those on tv.

having been pushed around from one holding area to another, and eventually to marina promenade, i find it a really good place to emo, to think and ponder about the meaning of life and your future and bring your other half. i like that place. i mean after you take away the anger off them for pushing you around and making it seem like they dont have room for you and hence throw you to a corner of the holding areas, without chairs, and a proper shelter (i was later told the shelter is actually in the form of sheares bridge over our head), you realise that place is actually qte scenic and quiet, great place to relax or even have your dinner (which i did).

the reason why ppl prefer saturdays off rather than off in lieus on weekdays, is because no one seems free on weekdays. but hurrah zul & ays are free 2mr.

haha i find this rather amusing, of what i just heard about s d u sponsoring l a w camp.

2007-06-21T20:40:00.000+08:00

2day is an off day and any off day is a good day.

i am officially a bobo shooter. and confinements are a bloody waste of time and so do not make sense to me. i wouldnt have minded but the person in the office doesnt like making new friends and prefers to sleep. which is fine with me.

shrek 3 was ok. not very spectacular and in a way rather forgettable, but ok for 7 bucks and good for laughs i suppose. and entertainment (: and the company was great as usual.

my favourite quote of the week: "at least you call us gentlemen. he calls us f***ing hell"

bk to camp in er ... ok soon.

2007-06-15T23:17:00.000+08:00

i swear the army intends to ruin my already-almost-non-existent social life by making me stay in on SUNDAYS. TWO SUNDAYS.

for some mistake that i have -apparently- committed.

ndp duty again 2mr. and i find it extremely funny how we were asked to stop serving at the vip lounge cos we are not supposed to be servants, only to serve. haha.

i am not making sense am i?

2007-06-10T13:00:00.001+08:00

so everytime something ends, you look forward to a new beginning; a hope that things get better, things you have hated doing will cease to exist.

yet my platoon is not very hopeful. although helping out in ndp seems to us to be a good break. however much it is sk to the max.

it is really the lesser of the 2 evils. aint something you necessarily enjoy doing, but in a way it is a good break from facing the ugly looking buildings and regimentation. OK honestly, i am only complaining because of the long hours on a glorious SATURDAY. BUT serving people and being a waiter to the bigwigs of the a r m y can actually be quite fun, given how we have free flow of the food there and i have mastered the art of using the espresso machine haha. and we actually have off in lieus. and i work at an air-conditioned place. only on saturdays. haha.

i think i am going to get fat. and cannot do chinups next tuesday when i get back to camp.

talking about being fat, my fat percentage is 8.1%! hahas. ok random.

i have also learnt that s a f bigwigs are caffeine addicts.

ok so it will be ndp 3 times a week till this whole thing ends. and i have finally passed out of course successfully (:, so my pay will be upped! hurrah hurrah.

ok sentio is fine. though republic poly is like at the corner of this country and cab fares r not cheap. i am however quite amused by the emo dances the alumni put up. well i shouldnt be. but i am. but yea it was rather -emotional-.

2007-06-02T11:35:00.000+08:00

it's another week till i pass out of course. and next week is going to be a long and tiring week with exercise cf coming up. i hope i hope i hope i wont be activated. under the scrutiny of the lao jiaos, it's going to be nerve-wrecking.

i wonder how post-course is going to be like. will it be pure bliss? or will a leopard not change its spots? will we continue to be tekaned like we have been thus far?

enough. all that is confirmed is that i am going to burn most of my saturdays being a -waiter- at ndp rehearsals.

ok s m u gave me law, which i suppose is a kind of assurance at the very least, to know that they saw something in me, enough to want to give me law after many many people rejected it. but yet again, it could be luck. just luck. like many other things that have happened to me.

and haha i got facebook after many requests to do so. i still dont see how it appeals to people, and how it is as fantastic as some people tout it to be, but maybe after a couple of weeks, i will be able to tell.

rightos. there has been a hoo-ha over the lack of spaces in universities, and for the past couple of weeks the spotlight has been on the tertiary scene of singapore. in a way, i m just lucky i got grades good enough to get me into 'my university of choice'. in a way at least. but convenient and coincidental isnt it - every time when the 'dragon batch' goes through something major - posting, exams etc, the whole idea of this dragon baby boom seems such a convenient excuse and reason for anything. perhaps 10 years down the road, u get complaints that there arent enough hotels or restaurants. because most of the dragon batch is getting married. and the top hotels have all been booked.

2007-05-27T18:09:00.001+08:00

it has been a long time since there has been an entry. and i suppose lots of stuff have happened - both to me and to the people around me. ok lots of stuff is probably an exaggeration. but some stuff is bound to have happened. like knowing you cant drive to save your life, like getting silver for ippt (which is like a HUGE thing for someone like me), like realising you can suddenly do 12 pull-ups haha.

in a way life is getting better because i am going to pass out soon (: and they are nicer to us, though i aint sure it's because we are getting better, knowing our stuff or they are just getting sian and tired. or maybe it dawned onto them that we could screw up our 'missions'. on purpose. and as we all know, it's a TEAM. haha.

ok. enough about the army. before i get charged or something.

weekends have been pretty interesting, with more people able to make time these few weeks haha. and i guess it's pretty interesting to see who gets what scholarships, who is going where and so on and so forth. u have suhas the dpp that strikes fear in us lawyers haha. asp imran who gets the guys to suhas. a couple of dozens of lawyers like ays, me, audris, er many others who enter the courtroom to see and fight suhas. navjote the civil servant who maybe helps the govt decide who to sue. dnet the businesswoman who decides she wants nothing of this legal bull. and jonathan kang the astar scientist. then there are also the many aspiring enginners of all fields living with me in my bunk. who also want nothing of this legal bull.

haha. ok of course i m crapping. a little. i mean it's what 6, 8 years before we actually begin to map out our careers and anything can happen in these years. mncs buy your bond, you decide you have enough of this legal bull and this country, you erm elope, you have an overwhelming sense of public service and (god forbids) sign on, you -touchwood- fail your exams, you change your mind and apply for another university/course in the next 2 years for the guys. yes. the future is a mystery. ane we cannot truly assure ourselves of what it can bring. then i guess there are many others who have no idea as of now what they want to do, post rejection, or perhaps they havent even applied for a uni yet.

ok enough crap for this entry. gotta book in in 2 hours =(. but aint that bad cos it is driving again from mon to wed. yet no one likes to book in anw. do you?

2007-05-13T16:39:00.000+08:00

aha i GOT INTO LAW SCHOOL. which is really a huge thing for me i suppose given my not too good results. so hurrah. things are looking up i suppose and it has been a good week. loads of admin time, just received my pay + BACKPAY woohoo and ippt trial went well.

ok so i will go take law in 2 years time, unless, as i told ays,i spend my free time reading up and get sick of law, or ns happens to make me become so awfully sick of this country.

ok ippt is 2mr, i hope i get my silver! and next week will b tough, according to the specs. sigh.

alright. it's mother's day today. here's wishing all mummies a happiest mother's day. (:

2007-05-01T10:56:00.000+08:00

the past one week seems surreal - to an extent. and i dont really mean what has had happened in the army. i mean everything there's so predictable. unless you count the pc not punishing us after standby bed as something surreal. or perhaps me being able to finish fifth in the plt for the 8km run despite clocking a time of 51 minutes as surreal. more of unbelievable really. or a reflection of the existence of very unfit personnel in my plt. haha. o well nothing's going on in camp. i am sure no one is keen to noe anw. haha.

but yea. the phonecall on thurs - tt was totally unbelievable. i mean after that news article on saturday? i mean after reading it i have kinda given up hope already. but yea i am truly lucky i suppose and i hope that the luck doesnt run out. the interview went fine. they were all pretty nice and all, though perhaps fiery and quick at certain points of time, and hopefully i handled the questions well. (: What truly befuddles me though is how when any person finds out you are a debater, they arent really interested in how you have matured, what you have learnt, how much you have won, but they are most interested in what you think of uwc winning local schools in the arena. 2 interviews. 2 same qns. cld u believe it? they led to different further sub questions, but tt's not the pt. haha.

whatever the case is, i hope that the luck keeps coming and i do get in. (: Cos the written paper wasnt spectacular for me.

and then there was the surprise party that navjote planned that left me feeling like the biggest jerk in town. i mean my birthday's over, i hadnt expected it and i was under impression that i was only meeting nav for dinner that day! and yea it caused him a HUGE load of trouble i suppose and i am very very SORRY nav. It turned out REAL well in the end and though i wasnt surprised at your house, i was definitely in shock when snee told me on the phone. it was truly, truly, truly a very nice gesture and i m very touched (: So thanks a million for the party, definitely one that i will never forget. and now ajit has to send me the photos!

Thank you very much as well to those who turned up, to those who wanted to but didnt in the end due to me being a jerk haha. And the great, interesting, lovely presents that you gave me. thanks so much. and the food & cake was great too! haha.

i have never had a surprise birthday party before so last sat was truly a shock (in a good way) haha. AND to think i almost/kinda screwed it up.

Yes it's may day today, so hurrah.

2007-04-24T23:40:00.000+08:00

it doesnt feel very special, turning 19. but i guess it's not everyday u turn 19. and have the day off. most ppl are away at field camp so it's not weird i suppose that most greetings/well wishes are from females. thank you very much all of u -males & females- for remembering my bday despite the fact that we havent met up in ages =)

i need to sleep soon or i will fall asleep during the lectures tomorrow. the skyline at this years ndp location is wonderful, today's parade boring. (the link is that the parade was held at this years ndp location). and the waiting time is a true reflection of what they call "rush to wait, wait to rush" but like i told jon, a welcome distraction in the middle of the course"

ah back to camp 2mr. sigh.

2007-04-20T20:54:00.000+08:00

it was a pretty decent week. in fact i doubt i should complain about it because the past 5 days have been quite an experience to say the very least, and trg has been kind to me. (minus the aches and pain on my back and legs)

pt no longer seems such a chore. the s t f was irritating but it was that that earned me my extra half day off =D =D learning of equipment allows me to make more sense of trg now. in some ways i would very much prefer being where i am now as compared to those suffering at command school. of course some can accuse me of being sour grapes. haha. but seriously, though a part of me did want to go command sch, a part of me tells me i perhaps aint cut out for it. and this is much better.

loads of ppl arent around. the ocs dudes r mostly confined from this sunday or rather, since last night - at least quite a number of my friends in ocs are. navjote is recovering from his knee op and i hope he is recovering fast and furiously. so yea, weekends r mostly pretty quiet now.

and i get the entire day off on my bday! ok not because it's my bday but it's because it's the formation's anniversary and so we get to get the day off! though we still need to attend the parade at night. STILL i get to book out on monday night and any hours away from camp are good hours. haha. and only book back in on wed morning! but i guess in a way this year's birthday will be pretty quiet, with everyone away at camp/at work. well u get something, u dont get some other things. still that's better than nothing.

interview ytd was ok (i think & hope at least), though the news article earlier ytd din exactly bring me good news. on the bright side i got into my backup backup so yea. once again u get something, u dont get others. o well. suck it up man.

4 hours to go before i head back to camp for 24 hours. shouldnt b so bad this time round. i think.

2007-04-15T00:59:00.000+08:00

it's absolutely ridiculous ...
- the things they did the past one week
- that you write an appraisal 3 weeks into ur trg

so it has been a horrible week, and all the more so because i found what the punitive action they made us do counter-productive, unnecessary, unreasonable and ridiculous. and i m pretty darn pissed that my personal belongings bag got lost as a result.

it was an otherwise pretty interesting week cos we got to try a lot of stuff out, definitely better than attending lectures, i thought, but maybe after some time we will see about that.

ah n s totally saps my energy away. i am too tired to go out or anything like that. i just want to stay at home now. roar.

on another note, i have my safra card! ok i m not sure what perks i will get as a result but i do noe i get cheaper movie tix on weekends so hurrah for that.

i also have a new hairstyle now. haha. tt sounds so bimbotic.

i have to start reading. and be intellectual. or risk not getting into any university.

2007-04-07T21:12:00.000+08:00

Freedom Writers was much better than what i had expected given the less than stellar reviews that it received. But I found it pretty inspirational and touching. I would have been motivated to be a teacher given how the movie shows that the role a teacher plays in the lives of others can be huge, even live changing perhaps. but i guess i wont have that kind of energy, and singapore's social landscape just doesnt actually have the need and environment to allow for it. still i thought it was a pretty good movie, and it's actually based on a true incident.

i guess behind every smile, every garang individual, there is a story.

and in helping others make sense of their lives, we make sense of ours.

i am glad i chose that over mr bean's holiday. haha. has been a while since i watched an inspirational movie. i mean 300 was somewhat inspirational, but i din need more patriotism, be garang for your country shit at this point of time. haha.

training has been fine. at least i am making progress in my ippt hoho. and passing all my tests. i just wished they din make us wake up at insanely early hours. -.-

The good thing is that i am slowly adjusting to unit life and getting along fine with my platoon mates. so yups all has been good. though i still look forward to weekends haha. and i have a gut feeling that my final pc will be someone i will noe pretty well. which will b pretty interesting haha.

happy bday wudani. and dnet yap whose bday is 2mr.

2007-04-01T01:25:00.000+08:00

because big brother's watching i cant really say much about my new unit life (and at this point of time i hear the non-ns personnel heaving a sigh of relief now that they r relieved from the mundane ns stories from me). so this is just an entry informing everyone that i get to book out on weekends and am still surviving.

how very unfortunate i am in a stay-in unit and am embarking on an eleven week course. from the sound of it pt is going to be pretty shiong and i am going to be exposed to some forms of trainings I have never been exposed to before but the good thing is no more route marches, field camps etc since we dont deal with conventional warfare - hell we dont even deal with wars actually. That's as much as i am allowed to say i think and on the bright side i think i would actually enjoy certain parts of the job from how the officers make it sound. assuming i pass the course and get to wear the badge. you know how i always screw up my ippt. and well u noe how the big brother works though, psychoing you to give ur best shot by making you sing songs and through their many words of wisdom.

i am still in the midst of applying for my universities. i wonder how everyone else is doing. the stay out ppl seem to b living a rather slack life. and apparently those learning to become my superiors are having a rather good life as well.

and it's the month of april already. and i dont have any inspiration to blog about other stuff. roar.

2007-03-25T11:53:00.000+08:00

I just realised that this entire block leave, i didnt take a single photo with my camera. And today i feel sick again.

but it's fine. class dinner was qte good, a good ole catch up session that would have been even better if more ppl were there. And we did hear some pretty interesting stories - from the girls no doubt, since they insist that we men bore them with our n s stories. not that i deny. and i conclude that vil'age or restaurants with similar concepts are good places for get-togethers because it removes the complications of change, service charge, gst etc. we shld hv a proper one with more ppl soon. which will be difficult considering how most of the guys (as miss yap would point out) made it to o c s and they will be confined for 3 weeks. hur hur.

zul's party was an erm eye-opening experience, to say the very least haha. he is going to kill me for saying that but nvm. assuming the chem bio radio substances dont kill me first. but yea, he's 19 and old and i hope kamal shah you like the present we got you! haha. as ays put it, we braved through storms to choose it for you. haha. use it wisely and use it well. haha. so that's how i spent the end of my block leave - today's a rest day haha. and when i went home the gate was locked. but mummy rocks so yay.

on a random note, i turn 19 in a month too! haha.

it's back to serving the nation again tomorrow. a time to make new friends again. actually tt's the only thing abt n s.

i havent had anything intellectual to add in a while. and i still dont.

2007-03-23T21:21:00.000+08:00

amidst all the excitement of the ns posting, I spent the day sick and sleeping half the time and feel qte bad for pangsehing the 2a ppl again. roar. i hope they had fun.

block leave has otherwise been rather fulfilling cos i got to meet up with almost everyone i had intended to meet up with. it's refreshing really and i dont want block leave to end.

on the bright side my posting din say tt i m expected to stay in. so there's a possibility i get to go home daily! i hope lah i hope. although combat engineers all this kind of shit sure a lot of field camp.

on the bright side jon said i might just be sent to plan ndp since sce is normally in charge of that. and since ndp takes 2 years to plan, maybe i can spend the whole 2 years planning it! wooooot. i hope lah.

ok i m really a chemical biological radiological engineer pioneer haha. according to jon anw haha. er i dunno how it's like. i hope tt it is interesting, fun too (all according to how I define it), at the very least.

it's kamal shah's bday today! so happy bday to him (:

2007-03-14T22:47:00.000+08:00

POP LOH!

Honestly i don't really care about POP but welcome the block leave absolutely. However, since I am actually not as cold-blooded as some people think i am, i WILL miss life at tekong somewhat - more of the people than anything else really and am pretty sure that when i get posted to another unit/school, i will, without a doubt, miss life at tekong.

Anyway, being in w coy has made me objective minded - like the OC - so in this end of course review, i am truly glad to have met my objectives when i entered bmt - to make more friends and to become fitter. while ippt proved to be a disappointment, the improved results in other aspects of the test make me think tt at this point of time i am indeed fitter. either that or the army has made me deluded. but i guess in some way army has changed me for the worse or for the better. for i m now a trainnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnned soldier! as for friends, i am glad to have been in wcoypl3 which is made up of a bunch of very nice ppl though whether we will subsequently keep in touch still has to be seen.

i am truly thankful to have been in wcoypl3 i suppose and while 9 weeks seemed to be long, draggy and unbearable at certain points of time - like the confinement periods, i guess the weeks did fly past pretty quickly, to come to think of it. there were times it was absolutely tiring, but we did have fun and hear some great stories of which i will not bother boring you with. of course certain incidents made this experience all the more memorable - what with the commanders sneaking up to our bunks in the middle of the night and the suicide case during the point of time of which i was pl i/c.

ok fine i will not ramble. my luck has been fluctuating really. i was first made a reserve guard personnel then made the actual guard duty person and then relieved of my duties. so there. and what a way to start my block leave! i cannot speak, i cannot eat. BLEARGH. and suffering from the flu. how very unfortunate to only get it now or i could have attend c. now yea sure i can attend c - except tt means i hv to cancel plans! roar. and i hope that i can tahan the pain my wisdom tooth is causing me before i get it extracted when i go to unit so i can have days off. haha. i m at this point of time surviving on painkillers, hopefully i do not become too dependent on them. and hopefully the gums, the immune system, my nasal system, everything gets better!

but i m still very proud of my 100% attendance in the whole of bmt. yay!!! and hopefully my block leave gets more interesting. and i dont care which unit i get posted to for now. now it's time for me to rest.

ok i dont noe what else to say. hopefully things get better overall.

2007-03-03T00:10:00.000+08:00

it's funny how things turn out in the end. terribly. i guess it's when you realise all your contributions, all your other awards count for nothing when you screw things up. Because remember the times they told you that CCAs remain important? Yes, that was based on the fundamental assumption (and now proven to be flawed) that you WOULD get your 4 As. That you WOULD get that damn A1.

so life sucks. i guess you cant be lucky all the time. but life goes on and as i promised sg mk, i WILL book in on sunday.

i suppose it's now time to straighten out my thoughts, decide where i want to go from here, desperately beef up my personal portfolio, beg for recommendations to justify those freaking Bs. On the bright side, I have 2 years to do that.

And if i dont succeed. Maybe i can sign on with the army. Since it's the only place that doesnt require me to speak proper english.

Congratulations to everyone else. really.

2007-02-25T15:13:00.000+08:00

aha i just finished my commander appraisal which is such a silly thing to have to do on ur bookout. just my luck.

drama feste this year is pretty good. and in keeping things simple i am truly glad for mt this year. come to think of it it is certainly qte a breakthrough for isaac and my first time seeing auyong act - if he even acted for that role. haha. just kidding. o well auyong certainly won himself many fans this drama feste. girls whispering about him to one another. hrm he certainly will not be a sterile single for long. unless he sticks to his "not one of his priorities" thing again.

anw i digress. congrats mt. certainly a good job. and was wholly entertained haha. though my program last year was definitely and wayyyyyyy prettier haha.

the lt was hot and generally all 5 houses had put up credible performances - never seen in the army haha and i particularly enjoyed bw's play too. they all proved to be thought-provoking in a way as well but sometimes a tad too draggy or depressing.

it does feel good to go back to rj. in a weird way. reminds you of what you are missing out. o well will be back next fri i guess. tt means it's only a 4 day week next week hurrah! am hoping next friday will be a happy day for me. am hoping that all the poor results last year will disappear and be replaced by a fantastic, perfect set of results that I want to see on my cert.

i hope. i hope. but there's nothing to be done now is there? just wait and see. sigh.
good luck ladies & gentlemen.

sit test was ok. not spectacular and as usual didnt prove to be indispensable or outstanding and still am unable to make up my mind if i want to join ocs. but it was fine. i mean i survived. haha. but what truly matters is that there will not be combat rations and sleeping in the basha for the next 1 month at the very least so hurrah. AND EVEN MORE SO 3 MORE WEEKS TO POP! it's not really POP that matters to me actually but really the block leave haha.

booking in in less than 5 hours. rah. and yes yes i will call more ppl.

i want bakkwa. and satay.

2007-02-19T23:40:00.000+08:00

I AM SO ILL-INFORMED OF MANY MANY PIECES OF NEWS. terrible. the things ns does to you.

haha we seem more effecient this year and hence the 2nd day of cny is more free so this is actually the first time i cld invite frens over on the 2nd day of cny. a move that extends beyond races and something that would receive praise from the prime minister.

speaking of prime minister ... never mind.

it's good it's good that i finally am able to catch up with qte a no. of ppl today and though it wasnt all that interesting because it is after all my home i'm just glad that we got to just sit and talk and find out what everyone is doing with their own lives. of course, for the guys it's comparing who have more retarded platoonmates or commanders. m too lazy to put up the photo haha.

i dont want the break to end! i dont want to go back to camp! o well.

and apparently a level results are going to be released earlier than my unreliable sources said they would be. according to the ppl who consider themselves more reliable.

and i watched my first movie since my enlistment date! haha. just follow law is an ok movie i suppose. nothing spectacular if you have already watched most of jack neo's films. He did redefine fann wong's acting and i thought some digs at the govt's level of bureaucracy was pretty smart. The way he intertwined basic values that we often take for granted was also pretty responsible of him as a movie maker. but overall, not the best movie he has made. standard jack movie. but for a deprived person like me, i cant say i didnt enjoy it.

i am totally incapable of constructing a proper blog entry. this is terrible as well.

2007-02-18T23:38:00.000+08:00

happy cny ladies and gentlemen.

i have never looked forward to cny so much before. yes i cld do with this break.

but i am very much alive and doing well. although ns is something i wld rather do without.

o well a lvl results r to b released on 2 march. hopefully results will be good. like srsly.

and i have nothing else to write abt.

may this year of the pig bring in happiness, prosperity, great health and wisdom to all.

i want longer and more breaks.

2007-01-27T23:42:00.000+08:00

aha i am back in mainland singapore. back to civilisation.

am at this point of time too tired to write much about my 2 weeks at tekong, but anw i m surviving. quite well in fact. and very weirdly am finding all sorts of things exciting and interesting haha.

yet again, it's the adjustment period so we will see how it goes!

the down side of everything is that i do miss loads of ppl. and loads of stuff like my bed, computer, tv, aircon. but overall it truly is better than expected.

weekends however have never been so precious to me before. and after all my attempts to hide the fact tt i was once from a uniformed group, i m actually finding it rather easy to fit into ns life cos of np. hrm it's weird how all these pieces take a while to fit in.

and i m very proud of the fact that i have survived the 2 weeks without falling out or being on status.

so 7 more weeks till the end of bmt. and i m a good soldier (: and my section + platoon + company have all been kind to me. so tt's excellent too.

although i will trade my no. 4 for my books anytime.

2007-01-11T23:52:00.000+08:00

aha a last post before i go in. in 14 and a half hours I will be on my way to Tekong to learn new things, to undergo the quintessential Singaporean Guy experience. Hopefully it will be an interesting one and I get to make many many friends there.

Don't miss me too much! (: but yea i will miss ALL of you.

I am going in with mixed feelings really, but ANW, national duty calls!

Recruit GJY reporting.

At your service, m'ams and sirs.

2007-01-09T23:11:00.000+08:00

Damn if the arena existed 3 years ago, I could have been on it. haha. but anw i m sorely dissappointed by the arena - at least based on (probably) the one and only episode i would be watching. i thought that ri's loss was purely due to a lack of strategy on their part, for they did not take the side of the opposition to their advantage and proven their case more cohesively. ri's performance wasnt impressive unfortunately and they focused on the nitty gritty rather than the big picture. and sadly they werent adapting to the format of the competition for them to be more aggressive and stylish! with usual styles of debating focussing on the technical side of things much more than the entertainment value, perhaps ri should have taken this opportunity to have fun being more funny than they would otherwise have in other competitions. o well have much to say but perhaps considering what i was like their age, perhaps i am thinking too much of what i would be doing now. rather than what i would have been doing aat 15. o well about time debates are televised again but i dont really like the format of scores cos it makes debating sound individualised than really, a team sport. as imran puts it, they have bastardized debating.

but o well a different format of debating that you have to work with.

the enlistment date draws nearer so =( but past few days i guess have been good cos in the past one week i have almost seen/caught up with most of the people that i would want to meet up with so that's good haha. yea the only good thing about onite was the chance to see many many members of the oteam that i havent managed to see since prom, or maybe even when school closed. so tt's good. and although house comm dinner was kinda short, it's still good to get to see most of them that night (:. O well house comm does hold many memories and i do hope they all liked the card, which is probably the last card i would be doing for quite some time, 11th card i have done - excluding the 3w bookmark and one of my favourites haha.

the only complete house comm 'photo'. haha.

and i am almost ready for ns! Just hair and fitness level to be settled now. but fitness no hope alr so am preparing to be slower than others. like what's new haha. army shopping was interesting to say the very least - i hv no idea y aysuria found it so funny though. and my new black specs, despite making me look weird, have allowed me entry into the black specs club. haha. good lunch too ytd haha. thanks chang and congrats on entering oxford haha (though this is pretty late)!

zul shaved his hair off after that

lunch + movie today was good. and thank you snee for the wonderful christmas present. and can anyone guess what the 4 letters mean? haha. guess it right and i will treat you to a drink!

haha. and kangs too thank u for the prezzie haha. confessions of pain is an ok movie i suppose. predictable plotline, i managed to conclude the whole story halfway thru and the acting wasnt as spectacular as i had hoped it would be. direction i thought however was above average, and the way they pieced everything together was somewhat interesting. i liked the way they told the story, but not the story. a satisfactory movie overall, but not the best i have watched the entire year. but had a good time today, though as usual i was late haha.

more than dread really, i am approaching ns with more apprehension than fear, with some tinge of excitement. it's going to be extended atc as lawrence puts it, but its more of the unknown than i am apprehensive about. it's a certainty i suppose. so rather than convince myself i am going to spend the worse 1 year 10 months of my life, why not just say it will be an interesting 1 year 10 months of my life. and the countdown will begin soon haha.

2007-01-05T23:25:00.000+08:00

Hrm on the 3rd day of school i decide to make my way to school and it does feel good cos u get to meet up with ppl whom you have never seen since prom so it's really really fun to catch up with them! rachel still thinks i am a pain in the ass and y2k still loves our class! unfortunately these are the only teachers that I managed to catch up with in rj but nvm cos all the great company there, ri, everywhere more than made up for it.

went to ri to to pay my respects to the teachers who say that i'm always too busy to entertain them and are ready to bring bgr in. but as i always say, i'm clean (: (tt's not to say relationships are dirty, but that's how the teachers put it haha) but anw it always does feel good to catch up with teachers you have worked with, or who have taught you, and i'm sure samjo & nash wld agree. so much so that we spent like 4 hours speaking to what 3-4 teachers? haha. quality conversations as samjo calls them.

going back to school today was somewhat of a bittersweet experience for me and i mean i m so happy to catch up with ppl i had meant to catch up with for some time and it also brings back many many fond memories i had - especially with ms grace putting up the collage that i did (which was my first and the worse) especially walking past the places that i spent a lot of time at - yea those were great times. But with great times, there are as many bad times, not-so-fond memories that I choose not to want to remember and still return to haunt me anw. and regrets that i have had. and certain things that i shouldnt have done. or should have done but didnt. cos looking bad certain experiences were utterly childish - all the politicking for example; some looked utterly bullshit, like i was telling mrs ng today all those psls trying to look fierce with their young charges. utter bullshit. i mean psls r just what 3 years older and they are bossing ppl around, while they will b going to b bossed around a few more times. haha and i was bossing ppl around then too. some things cld hv been done differently and all.

o well. today's 'experience' puts me in a nostalgic mood. haha. to think i'm still thinking about school. that's alr over. but my life is ruined because of some upsetting news haha. actually i cannot actually be bothered. unless he decides to screw my life up. haha.

a random entry. about an interesting day at a place where i used to get kinda bored of.

2007-01-04T00:44:00.000+08:00

i am devastated because i m nowhere to be found in the grad night dvd. now no one will remember me. haha.

goodbye 2006 hello 2007

2007-01-02T22:13:00.000+08:00

it feels a little weird to not have to attend school tomorrow. and the only reason why i am complaining is because not going to school = less chance to hear the latest gossips. haha jk. but o well i m kinda missing school already (and at this point of time i hear all the SIAO!) hrm maybe if i can find enough ppl i will go crash orientation - just not 2mr haha not in the mood man. unfortunately most girls are also working so that also eliminates many fellow potential crashers.

so anw, it's the new year already and i suppose there's a need for a post to round up 2006 and bring in the new year. this is however and unfortunately an extremely late entry and definitely not a good start to the new year. BUT life goes on. and here's a late entry as a form of catharsis for 2006, and perhaps a welcome to 2007.

But what a way to bring in the new year! Bombs at Bangkok, leading to me feeling relieved that i actually returned to Singapore on the 29th rather than say 1st Jan. And on the 2nd day of the new year you get a plane crash in indo. and of course, as dennet puts it, i -or we- have to pay ADULT FARE!!! definitely not the best way to bring in the new year, but i suppose tt's how life's like, unpredictable and not always pleasant. many times not within our control.

anw it was an interesting way to start off the year, for i remembered how 2 years back was starting the year with a gathering/party of past and present debaters. what with prank calls and a little dunking. ah we were kids then haha. and this time round it's class chalet, which also remains interesting, given how it started with dennet screaming at me upon my arrival cos i wasnt picking up my phone -.- very scary this person. ok tt's also cos i was 2 hours late. but ANW, the class then decided to walk to chenwei's house (which was half an hour walk away) and the very person who suggested walking ended up getting her princess treatment as she was being pushed around in a trolley instead. Like so:

THIS earned us many stares from members of the public.

anw class chalet was really the class at an old flat haha. with a stopby at chenwei's house to play pool. and i have no idea why junyi playing pool is so fascinating. do you? anw didnt sleep over but we had class bbq the next day. which was supposed to go from 2 to 7 but we got sianed of it. anw tt's in a nutshell how i spent my first 2 days of the new year, pretty interesting overall. but somehow 3w outside the class (or lt as amy didnt hesitate to add) doesnt seem like 3w. just somewhat different. not necessarily more boring. but. yea you get what i mean. haha.

a pity not everyone cld turn up. with many calling in sick. but it's fun overall (: and many thanks to audris for the initiative.

2006 generally ended somewhat explosively, and i shall not bother to go into the details. It also ended with me feeling extremely bloated thanks to a buffet haha. and as usual the last day is always family day so overall it was ok. the 2nd last day was spent with debate alumni, filled with army stories that were highly interesting but i believe to be the kind that many have warned girlfriends to tolerate haha. of course however, suhas is a master storyteller with fascinating tales to tell (and spin) and we remain engaged as he tells his tales from ns. what with a psychotic individual, lazy individuals, vulgar officers and all. the highlight however was not anything but the supreme president's entrance. which came with a "Wow you guys need to learn how to dress up man". Yes. we were in slippers, shirt and all and he was ready for prom. haha. but he was dressed well. haha.

so anw on 2006. it was overall a somewhat mild year. not many surprises, given that i had anticipated a lot of the things, though it's not to say that it was any less interesting than previous years, or any less tough than previous years. For A levels was not very easy, but the toughness level was as expected, and hence accounting for the ability to survive. For perhaps because 2005 was an emotional roller coaster -given the stress of competitions, having to deal with many failures, having to cope with horrid academic results; 2005 somehow made 2006 seem much milder in comparison. Maybe it was from 2005 that I managed to grow stronger, to move forward despite challenges, and perhaps 2005 was indeed a blessing a disguise.

o wells. so 2006 had relatively fewer bumps or perhaps there were qte a few but these bumps were bumps that I managed to overcome faster and more easily. it's like how immunisation works you noe - development of memory cells for a quicker and faster response (OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST TYPED IT!). anw the absence of competitive debating did decrease the fun quotient but i m not that fantastic to begin with. anw the emceeing assignments were all pretty fun and all and had in a way made up for it. had a great birthday too, yes i wont forget that haha. and the plaque award was a pleasant surprise cos i was readying myself to not b awarded be it.

of course there were some shockers/disappointments. screwed up gp results for prelims, the housecomm-council merger -- ultimate screw-up and the most aggressive debate i have been part of,drama feste - rather bittersweet if u were to ask me. some other things happened of course but i shall not talk about them cos i m losing momentum as i blog haha.

but i suppose everything in 2006 was gearing towards As - at least for me and i was throughout the year extremely worried about surviving all the academic stuff. but once again, at the end of the day (or year in this case) as the always say, it's the memories that you carry with you, the lessons that you learn that remains most valuable to you. and for that i guess i m thankful to loads and loads of ppl, for all the great times, wise words, friendship etc.

omg i sound so girl here but yea i guess 2006 wldnt hv been the way it was without navjote, suhas, ajit, imran, zul, ays, snee, samjo, alan, jonk, ccc, nash, kangs, dnet, chenwei, nadjad, amy, the rest of the class, house comm ppl, the younger debaters and many more i suppose. so thanks a lot guys. and i wonder how many ppl here will remain in touch in the next 10, 20 years. perhaps just a few. perhaps all. perhaps none. whatever the case is, i suppose if we try hard enough we will. the problem with me is that i never try hard enough.

in a way 2006 was also made more significant by the fact that that's when our jc life ends and 2 years just seems so short for you to perhaps ensure that friendships made then gets sustained. it seems too short to have learnt enough stuff to get into the real world. i dont mean i intend to go to a centralised institute or something. but i suppose you do get what i mean.

o well hopefully 2007 will bring in some pleasant surprises, though very soon i am going to enlist and i guess what suhas said is very right, to take everything with a positive attitude and more importantly, make friends regardless of their backgrounds. so yups, perhaps more than just becoming a man in the next 2 years, hopefully the new year brings in new friendships forged. and great a level results. i m still very very scared about it but i suppose at this point of time nothing's really within my control. NS is to be expected for this new year, but i hv no idea what is to be expected of NS. so m just hoping for the best! (:

this is a very bad entry to close 2006 and open 2007, but urgh, i hv become a totally horrible writer.

here's wishing all you peeps best wishes for the new year. expect the unexpected.

auspicium melioris aevi. haha.

2007-01-01T11:58:00.000+08:00

happy new year ladies and gentlemen.

more about last year and what to expect in this year after the break.

it's 2007.