Nothing Stands In Our Way

End of Semester

2011-11-03T17:09:00.000+08:00

Today was a rainy day, but it's another end of the semester, which is the halfway mark of my university life. Time to start revising already.

Can't wait to go back SG too. 9 months is a long time.

About as long as being pregnant.

Just saying.

Perth Fishing

2011-10-01T20:38:00.002+08:00

Today was considerably warmer. But the forecast for the next few days are cold again.

Went fishing at Matilda Bay and caught 2 Taylors. Saw 2 dolphins and a jelly fish. The dolphins were super awesome! They were swimming quite close to shore at first, and I was out on a jetty. But as they swam closer, I walked along the boardwalk and managed to see them swim right below me! Exhilarating... xD

RSS Endurance at Fremantle, WA

2011-09-11T16:01:00.001+08:00

So I overheard at a dinner conversation last night that RSS Endurance, a Landing Ship Tank (LST) from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) had docked at Fremantle port and that they were open to visits from Singaporeans in Perth in the morning. Feeling pretty excited, I made sure not to miss the 8:30am bus and promptly arrived at the port at around 9:30am.

During the visit, I met so many people from NDU! It was really great talking to them, about NDU and about how OCS is like. I found out that most of the OCTs on the MSTD trip were regulars, and many were on scholarships, or at least intending to get one.

So after a tour of the ship, and speaking to a few people, I went to Little Creatures to get some cider, had lunch at the Japanese shop in Fremantle Markets, bought a new printer ink cartridge from office works, and then returned back to Currie.

Nice day of reminiscing the Navy days.

Hooya!

Fireworks

2011-08-13T21:52:00.000+08:00

Woot! Awesome fireworks right outside my window. Too bad I only got one photo of it. And it was a reflection of my own room. So I guess no pics again for this post.

On another note, there was a girl who told me that she would never marry a guy poorer than her. I was aghast. I would rather find someone who is hardworking, funny, loyal and dedicated, than someone who is just rich.

Mad

2011-08-03T16:30:00.000+08:00

I am seriously going crazy right now. Everything is going downhill. Stress is at peak levels.

Seems like I haven't learnt my lesson about trusting people yet.

Forums

2011-07-29T01:44:00.000+08:00

Joining a forum. Having trouble with uploading avatars. This is just to test stuff out. xD

Esperance Road Trip

2011-07-15T04:37:00.001+08:00

Road trip starts tomorrow, and this is what I have packed so far.

Which is practically nothing. Hopefully I get the chance to update this blog during the trip.

Results are out on the 18th, btw.

Just saw a huge rainbow right outside my window. So wide that I could not fit it end to end on my tiny camera. So big that my I literally have to press my nose on the window to see both ends at the same time. Here's a picture:

It's raining too...

Ouch

2011-07-10T00:06:00.000+08:00

Today, I was in a rush to go out that I accidentally scratched my heel against the metal door. It is very pain. Here are a few pictures.

I also dislocated my shoulder again while playing with the Wii. A day of misfortunes.

Meals

2011-07-04T14:14:00.000+08:00

3rd July 2pm: Cicerello's Fish and Chips.

4th July 2pm: Home-cooked tuna-mushroom aglio olio.

24-hour famine to keep my waist size.

Cold

2011-07-04T01:29:00.000+08:00

It is a very serious 2 degrees celsius now at Perth according to my Foreca desktop gadget. Thank goodness I have a heater now, but I wonder if water can really freeze if I leave it outside.

Even better if there is SNOWWWWW!!!

Winter Roadtrip

2011-06-29T23:59:00.001+08:00

Back from a 4D3N roadtrip to Kalbarri. 3 cars and 12 people departed from UWA on Sunday noon, making the 580km journey towards the north. I was in Nathan's car, which did not seem like much from the outside, but the utility is great, with the fishing pole holder and the overhead rack.

We made a few pit stops at their houses, and bought Macs for lunch.

After which, we went straight up for an 8-hour journey to the horse ranch. Along the way, there were many awesome sceneries to admire. Australia has so much open area it's super mind-boggling. I have been to many countries and all of them have heavy development on their scarce land, but the emptiness here is crazy. Miles and stretches of prairie and farmland rushed past our car all along the highway.

This picture does not look like much, but it's the best I could do in a car travelling at over 100km/h. After a couple of hours, we stopped for petrol, and I managed to snap a picture of all 3 cars together.

The start of Jeremy's food woes throughout the trip. Wingdings were not bad, but the marginal costs were more than marginal benefits.

As the sun began to set, we had to be on kangaroo watch, since they tend to hop around in the middle of the road and we were the lead car. Last year, the group hit a kangaroo during their roadtrip and had to pay quite a bit for car repairs. We saw quite a few of them, and thank goodness we did not hit any, but there was one that lay dead on the road. Arnold could not avoid it in time and ran over the body.

Eventually, we reached Big River Ranch, a farmstay with a lot of horses. When we opened the car doors upon arrival, a huge gust of wind carrying the stench of horse manure blew across and it was kinda terrible. At least I kinda got used to it after a while. On a totally unrelated note, everyone felt hungry by the time we reached the ranch, so we started cooking right away after shifting all the stuff into the rooms.

And this was my bed in the room.

Surprisingly, the rooms are pretty well-insulated, and I did not feel cold at night. Super!

Breakfast on day 2 consisted of hard-boiled eggs and bacon-mushroom on toast. Pancake was a fail.

I think day 2 was super duper fun. The weather was warm and nice. And the people were awesome. Our first stop was Nature's Window at Kalbarri's National Park.

Jeremy nearly fell off the cliff. Talk about a close shave!

So basically Nature's Window is a natural rock formation that allows one to see totally different views of nature depending on the angle you look through the hole.

Next, we wanted to go see the blue holes, but the tide wasn't right. So we went to the beach for lunch. Ham sandwich, salad and tuna. Not too filling though.

Did a bit of fishing with Nathan, and got stranded when the rest went to another beach because they forgot to return him his car key. Too bad we did not catch any fish, only a small crab. At night, we had a campfire after dinner. The warm feeling from the fire on a cold night is heavenly.

Day 3 was full of rain. We lazed around a lot, as you can see from everyone's sian expression.

So what better way to pass the time other than... playing cards! Learnt to play a new game called Saboteur, and taught everyone how to play first-grade pig. Super funny! Because a lot of people kept falling for other people's traps and had to upgrade their pig status. So that was how we spent most of day 3.

Day 4 was the last day of the roadtrip. Packed up our stuff and got ready for the road.

We tried blue holes again, but still, it eluded us. So we went further down to mushroom rock. Try to spot the kangaroo in the picture!

Band of Brothers-shot.

Pink Lakes.

Jurien Bay.

So finally we reached back at Perth, safe and sound. No kangaroo accidents. Went for a Chinese dinner to detox all the meat and oil from the barbecues we had for the past few days.

After dinner, we went for a car wash to get rid of all the dirt and grime accumulated from the trip.

Lazy!

Even a car wash looks fun.

And thus, our road trip to Kalbarri ended. Nice memories, wonderful people. At least I can say that I did some exploring in Australia instead of just cooping up in my room all the way for three years. I look forward to many more adventures here. Hooya!

1st day of winter holidays

2011-06-24T02:42:00.000+08:00

That's right, I had my last paper yesterday and it is officially the start of my school holidays. The school term begins again on the 2nd of August, which means that I have 38 days to busy myself with.

Note to self: Bring the camera to more places.
Note to self 2: Actually use the camera.

Gonna help Arnold move house later today, and there will be a road trip to look forward to on Sunday. Hopefully we don't crash into another kangaroo like they did the last time. xD

Kangaroo meat anyone?

A Fresh Start

2011-06-23T03:32:00.001+08:00

New template. New post. New everything.

Old domain.

I know I was supposed to start updating since start of first semester at UWA, but I guess I just did not get the hang of it after the first post. Haha... Alright, so this is take two of my attempt at keeping a journal to document my journey in life. I promised I will try to keep it interesting, although that will be pretty difficult since Perth is pretty boring anyway. But the plus side is, more pictures! xD

Ok, my last paper is pretty soon, and this insomnia is not helping. So I will talk a little about employment relations.

Basically, IREL1101 is about the study of the relationship between employers and employees. There are three schools of thought: Unitarist, Pluralist and Radicalist. They each believe that there are different reasons for industrial conflict, and thus, develop different approaches towards them. We study them by looking at three dimensions, namely: Economic, Social and Legal. These dimensions are something like factors that affect the employment relationship.

Yeah, I know, pretty dry right? Oh well, final paper. After that is road trip. And hopefully I get the job for UWA to call up alumni asking for donations. If not I don't know what I will do over the holidays. Freeze to death for the winter or something...

Perth, Australia

2010-09-07T22:54:00.003+08:00

It's been more than a month since i arrived, nearly 2 now. There have been ups, and downs, but it's taught me a lot about friendships, independence, and how tough uni life actually is.

Just a log of what i'm doing now:
Accounting ACCT1101
Micro Economics ECON1101
Macro Economics ECON1102
Economic and Business Statistics STAT1520

Micro Economics and Macro Economics are quite simple, and thanks to Miss Chua's awesome math, I find statistics quite a breeze... except for the non-graphing calculator part. Wah, it's such a chore to have to refer to the table.

I think accounting is the most terrible. Debits, credits, asset, liability and equity. Like wth. Thanks to elite education, I haven't been exposed to any focused area of studies, only general subjects. So having to study accounting without PoA is like... haiz...

I miss my family. I miss IP. I miss HER.

I want Katong Laksa and Bak Chor Mee.

Soooon

2010-01-07T15:01:00.002+08:00

Going to ORD soooooon! Can't wait, only a few days left!

NJC Chiobus

2009-09-20T02:59:00.001+08:00

I think I've realised why people have such a dim impression of NJC.

It all started while I was flipping through my own yearbook. As most of us know, whenever people look through yearbooks, they look for a)their own faces or b)chiobus. So I decided to take a quick glance across all the faces in my year and get a feel of what my impression of NJ is like superficially. To my horror, the numbers were too few for me to claim that NJ students are (superficially) hot!

Therefore, here are some proposals to up the cool/hip factor of NJCians, or at least what others will see in the yearbook.

1) Bi-Monthly Beauty Tips Talk

2) Hairstyling
The hair is a very important feature on a girl. Since uniforms are uniform, one of the few ways a girl can enhance her looks is by adjusting her hair, other than putting on make-up (which is illegal in school, of course). So on the actual day itself, set aside a booth or two so that the girls can get professional help, or at least help each other do up their hair a little before taking the all-important picture.

3) Sexy Pose / Exude Self-Confidence

4) SMILE!

5) Must have neh neh
Surefire way of getting a guy to say "Wah! So chio! Intro leh..." immediately. Which is a good thing of course.

It's off to Taiwan we go!

2009-09-04T07:41:00.001+08:00

Don't miss me guys!

Best Friends Forever!

2009-08-30T21:23:00.005+08:00

President Scholar

2009-08-15T16:02:00.002+08:00

Haha, the year NJ brought down the Pres Scholar board, we have someone who gets the scholarship.

Awesome.

NDP Reflections

2009-08-10T23:10:00.022+08:00

It all started with an unhappy note. From day one in NDU, we were promised to be the chosen ones to march in the Guard-of-Honour (GoH) contingent for NDP 2009. But right before setting off for Taiwan, my batch was told that we had insufficient manpower to make up the contingent itself, which meant that the bulk of the contingent would be made up by the junior batch, with only around 10 from my batch. Naturally, I wasn't chosen, and dejectedly, I condemned NDP09.

However, things looked up when near the end of Taiwan, PS Nigel asked me whether I wanted to be a GoH, and of course, I literally jumped at the opportunity (cause I was lying on the top bunk). After that, we started training by marching in the parade square, before being upgraded to a consolidated camp.

Here, we made several friends from other contingents. Who can forget the the Police, the Air Force, the Panji-panji, the Red Cross, the blank rounds pickers, and many more. It was through all these training sessions that I also got to know a few juniors better. Li Qing, a quiet guy who stands next to me in the contingent, is a reliable, friendly man who deserves my utmost respect. I think that he makes a great leader. Too bad I am not on such friendly terms with my own leaders. Haiz...

So about a few weeks into training, we had to start preparing for SAF Day Parade. I think there was more pressure for SAFDP because it's more formal and more sian because the attendees are delegates and important personnel, compared to NDP, which is for the country. At first, I was chosen to be the reserve, but then Song Yao decided to drop out because he was not feeling well, so I had to replace him instead. All in all, I felt SAFDP was a stepping stone in training for NDP.

As the big day arrived, I don't think we were nervous at all. We did so many marches that everything just happened to fall in step. There weren't any mistakes in the previews, and it was much better because it was in the evening, and therefore cooler than the afternoon training sessions.

On an unrelated note, I almost had Swine Flu from night cycling with Sharon Lourdes Paul. Found out during the first preview, and called my officer on the bus ride back to camp. Got quarantined for 1 week at home after that, and finally declared safe by the next preview.

9 August 2009 - National Day
The day started like any other. We went to draw arms, checked to make sure it was in working condition. Cleaned the bayonet a little. Commercial bus arrived and we were fetched to the F1 Pit stop. Had a long queue to go through a metal detector, and placed our rifles on the conveyor belt. Super ironic? Anyway, we took a short break, drank soya bean and ate old chang kee like nobody's business, and did a few foot drills along the road. After that, we waited again.

As H-Hour arrived, we changed up into our Number 1 uniforms, and prepared for the march-in. I think the design of the stands were pretty well thought out. We would wait below the stands, and march in from the bottom left along the road along to the famous march-in song. Did a few hormats to the panji-panji and the president. Fired the Foie-De-Joie. Sang the National Anthem and said the pledge. Then it was off we go to the city march.

Wah seriously, I forgot what's the total distance, about 3km? 4km? But it wasn't the marching that was the problem. It was the rifle. The SAR-21 is generally heavier than the AR15. And when we finished the march, including all the way back to the pit stop, the casing of colours at the SG flyer, and back to the pit stop again, my arms were super duper sore. Especially the biceps. I couldn't even bend my elbow to take off my shirt! Haha... But then, it was over. And I could not believe that it was over. On the bus back to camp, I thought about the whole NDP journey. There were ups and downs. But still, it was a precious memory for the kids and grandkids. Hooya!

National Day Celebrations

2009-08-07T21:37:00.003+08:00

I propose that the NJC NDC be considered the day when all alumni can go back and celebrate the spirit of National Day together, like what MAF is to HCJC.

This is because of the significance of NDC.

1. The word "NATIONAL".

2. It's the first council event.

3. We're the first JC in 1969.

4. It gives a reason for the alumni to go back to school.

So I hereby declare that from today forth, all NJC Alumni are invited to go back to NJC for NDC. It'll be legendary.

Soldier Morale

2009-07-26T22:10:00.005+08:00

Morale plays an important role in warfare. It boosts fighting spirit, increases adrenaline, fosters team spirit and enhances the soldier's will to fight. Ever wondered why the foreign armies always seem so happy? The reasons are as follows:

Finland Army

IDF

Japan Imperial Army

PAVN

PLA

ROC

Spanish Army

USA

How about Singapore?

You WISH! Lol... She's only from Red Cross.

Anyway, SG has a rule/law saying that women are not allowed to bear arms in the SAF. Which means they can only carry sword like her.

Wah, if I see any of them in combat ah, sure die jialat jialat one. Haha!

Axe Commercials

2009-07-24T16:04:00.003+08:00

Wow, if this could really happen, it would be totally legendary. Go check out other ad videos they have on youtube. The commercials is quite different from the kind we have here in Sg.

Happy Anniversary

2009-07-18T12:00:00.001+08:00

It was exactly one year ago when I was standing at the beach of NDU, cheering my lungs out when we secured from the legendary Hellweek. 365 days later, i'm still fairly unhappy with the place. But what to do, I gotta just suck it up.

Hooya Hellweek.

CBC IOC at TP11

2009-07-15T10:15:00.004+08:00

Bet you don't know what the title means. So basically, I was enjoying my Monday morning breakfast when I received news that we had to go stay overnight at the jungle, which really shocked me cause it was so sudden (2 hours notice). So after packing some stores, I had half an hour to throw 1.5 days of supplies into my dive bag and took a 20-minute seaboat ride to TP11, where I had to stay until Wednesday midnight.

The whole thing was so totally sian. I had to stand waist deep in the sea for so bleeding long, and my booties were so tiny that my feet were literally binded like ancient Chinese women, and the most irritating thing was the presence of sandflies swarming all over the beach. At least we had some fun trying to catch fish and finding hermit crabs, even though i almost lost my dive mask cause i accidentally dropped it into the sea and totally forgot about it. Luckily, I retraced my steps and managed to find it before the sun went down, or else gotta sign 1206.

I hate outfield. I dunno how i'm going to survive JST...

Post Number 100

2009-07-10T20:48:00.005+08:00

Since it's a momentous event, this post will be about a very special breed of men.

DIVERS vs. CDOs

I think I can count my family as having a very rare breed of men. Basically, all 3 men in the family have very different NS lives. Firstly, my dad was sent to Tekong in the 70s, and eventually signed on as an RSAF technician for a few years. Then came my turn to enter NS, when I received the letter to enlist in NDU, which kind of surprised me, together with 99.9% of the people I knew. A year later, my brother received HIS letter to enlist in CDO, which confirm stamp + chop surprised everyone 101%. Hell, maybe after my bro ORD, we can have a GOH Feu-de-joie and marchpast for own mini National Day with one-man contingents with a representative from all 3 arms of the SAF.

So what sparked off this controversial post? Of course, from this totally non-controversial video.

What makes being an NSF Diver so special?
-Hellweek.
-Drownproofing
-Sea Circuit
-Demolition Trained
-Small unit Trained (that's why inapplicable to win BCU)
-Perfect Eyesight
-Can Dive (duh!)
-Taiwan Training

Taiwan training? Why is that special? Well, for one, the waters in Taiwan is very different compared to that in Singapore, since it is freezing, has a shallower gradient, and finer sand. Is there any difference between jumping from a plane in SG and in BN? Ok, just one difference... which is the jump instructor.

What makes being an NSF Commando so special?
-Hellday
-Marksman
-IronMan (this i'm not too sure the name)
-Most recognised
-Can do static-jumps
-Team Players
-Battalion Trained (that's why they can win BCU)
-72km Route March

Many people claim that the BCU is a yardstick to measure how good an ARMY unit is. But the thing is, how can you pit a UNIT against a BATTALION? And if i'm not wrong, according to this official list, BCU cannot be applied to the RSN or RSAF in the first place, so there's no basis for comparison between NDU and CDO using the BCU reasoning. And (i think) the CDOs who take part in BCU are regulars only? Please correct me on the part if i'm wrong.

I'm not sure about this next point, but i'll put it in as a KIV. I don't know how many jumps an NSF CDO does throughout his NS liability, but NSF Divers confirm stamp + chop clock 198474783 hours of dive time throughout, whether using cylinder of CCBA. What? Static line only? PFFT!

Oh, this is a point I have to make, but I not sure whether it's a good or bad point. Divers are all seaboat/demolition/weapons/jungle/underwater trained, while CDOs are "specialised" after their BMT into whatever-specs, so the only common thing they have is the Airbourne badge? This statement is very much presumed and assumed.

Actually, one is a Navy Elite, the other's an Army Elite. All elite also what... Why not join forces to look down on others instead of one another? Lol.

My Perfect House

2009-06-21T11:44:00.005+08:00

It requires 5-rooms, and must be on the ground floor because confirm it will exceed laden weight limits.

Computer Room
F-22 Raptor-themed
Wings, nose, tailfin and glass canopy cockpit
Cockpit interior: keyboard/joystick/mouse/3-monitors
Projector below craft to simulate skies with clouds on front wall
Possible secondary seat behind pilot to allow for a WSO
Surround sound within sound-proof glass canopy
Actual flight chair + seatbelt
"Ejection Trigger" for pulling to open cockpit when exiting craft
Lots of wires/cables/electrical outlets
Lots and lots of fire extinguishers

Kitchen
Walk-in fridge filled with all kinds of drinks.
Microwave Oven/Stove/Dishwasher
Electrolux electric induction cooktop
Wide kitchen top for meal preparation

Bedroom
Minimum Queen-size bed.
2 pillows
1 bolster
1 comforter
Transformers theme bedsheet/pillowcases/blankets
Random cushions
Adjacent washroom + bathtub
Widescreen HD TV
Attached PS3 console
Built-in wardrobe

Living Room
Projector TV
Attached Wii-console
L-shaped Sofabed
Dining Table
Full-length windows to see outside
Bookshelves
Pet Corner

Estimated costs: SGD 2,000,000,000

*Dies*

Lengen... wait for it... dary!

2009-06-14T00:13:00.003+08:00

This commercial is super awesome.

I couldn't stop laughing even after the advert was over... I think this ad would make it into the legen- i hope you're not lactose intolerant because what's coming next is... dary charts!

How I Met Your Mother

2009-06-05T20:51:00.002+08:00

The show is just terribly hilarious, and I think it may even be better than the best-selling serial FRIENDS.

Protect the Sharks

2009-06-01T19:56:00.001+08:00

Interesting.

Plans Ahead

2009-05-29T21:01:00.004+08:00

Just received my rejection letter from NUS (again) and I have mixed feelings about it. I can't say i'm disappointed because I've received the letter before and half-expected this kind of outcome in the first place. However, I'm not too happy about it either because if I could get into NUS, it would mean cheaper school/lodging fees and I can still have fun with the SG people (such as SOS). Sigh... What a dilemma.

Somebody, anybody... Just tell me what I should do!

I feel so confused.

Navy GOH

2009-05-18T11:07:00.002+08:00

I'm finally in... Never thought this day would come.

Back in SG!

2009-04-29T19:10:00.004+08:00

Hooray, after 2 and a half weeks overseas, i'm finally home. This trip to Taiwan (Tw) had been a really incredible experience. Since I can't say anything about what happens in camp, I'm reduced to talking about liberties and R&R, which was quite awesome anyway.

One of the best things that happened was that I got to spend my birthday in Tw, and on a liberty too! We went to lots of places in Kaohsiung, took the MRT around, and when the day was over, yanzhi and gang even bought me a bday cake! Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, be it over facebook, sms, mail or verbally! It really helped me get through the one-and-only tekan session we had after we went back to camp because of some minor screw-up.

R&R was pretty fun, went to quite a few scenic places, even though it started to rain on one of the days, which kinda messed up the trip to the amusement park. Visited part of a Great Wall of Taiwan, which apparently protected one of the oldest towns of Tw.

So nice...

End of Exercise

2009-04-21T19:24:00.003+08:00

Like, finally! No more doing world war 2 stuff. The first week of Taiwan (Tw) has been pretty good, considering that we had plenty of liberty and until now, I only did 1 day dive and 1 night dive. Celebrated my birthday at liberty on Sunday, but in the end, someone left his bag at a LAN shop and had to take a taxi back to get it. As a result, we got our first hammering session in Tw, on my birthday!

Anyway, thanks to all who wished me happy birthday both by SMS, facebook, or by mail. It really made my day, as it helped me get through the tekkan-session.

So now, here I am, at a LAN centre within the camp, sipping on honey milk tea and hoping that the following week will be smooth-sailing. Can't wait to see everyone back in SG soon. xD

Pictures will definitely be posted up soon. I promise.

Off to Taiwan!

2009-04-11T07:51:00.001+08:00

I'll be back with loads of pictures and battle stories. xD

Races

2009-03-29T17:00:00.002+08:00

Life is just like a race. You reach the end, and there's always people ahead of you, or you could have ran it better. Sometimes, you have to rerun the race, and yet, it never ends. Races, one after another.

16-18 March
Packing for Taiwan. Crammed too many items into too few containers. Lots of manual labour and trying to run around hiding from it. Had a lot of liberties, so I just went out to Sun Plaza and chill at TCC while reading library books. DC comics are really interesting! Especially the Justice League or Superman series. Anyway, i'm getting sick of drinking mocha all the time at coffee joints. Lattes are too creamy, while blacks are too bitter. Shall try something new during the next liberty.

19 March
Took public transport to Nee Soon medical centre because there was no tonner indented. Our batch had to do a dental checkup for FFI to get our dive allowance, so we had to change our passes at the main gate and walk all the way into the camp to the medical centre. Was one of the first to be checked, and then left to go back to camp with Sir Tuck by bus again. Pretty slack day, so we had liberty that night. Went to Causeway Point to watch Race to Witch Mountain and it was surprisingly pretty good! I would definitely recommend it to everyone. The cast was not bad, including people like Anasophia Robb from Bridge to Terabithia, Alexander Ludwig from The Dark is Rising, Carla Gugino from Night at the Museum and of course, Dwayne "the rock" Johnson. Awesome show, wonderful cast, a definite must-watch.

20 March
Was supposed to have IPPT today, but it got postponed. Did riot control practice again. Went for toastmasters for a while, before rushing to Yida's place for YPPAE BBQ. Met Yili and JX and stayed until nearly midnight. Yili managed to catch the last train home, but JX had to catch a cab instead. I managed to take the last bus. Phew.

21 March
MAHJONG competition! Went for ZHCC grassroots mahjong cohesion competition. Managed to get 3rd... from the last. Not bad, I must say, although I was in the negatives, because I was the youngest and technically, the most inexperienced. The winner was some old guy from the senior citizens band group. Looks like I have a long way to go before becoming a Mahjong God like Stephen Chow.

22 March
Totally crazy day of sports. Went to CCAB at 9am to play SoS, stuff like basketball, soccer, running and frisbee. Had lunch at Prince for student price, before going to Toa Payoh Swimming Complex to swim laps and blow bubble rings at swimmers like Reggie above me. Took a shower and we went to play Billiards nearby. Rushed to Bishan to play Touch Rug with PC Chris at Bishan Park. Changed into my hellweek shirt and decided to go home first before going to camp. After putting on my earphones and entering the MRT, I overheard a group of girls, who must have spotted the NDU logo on my hellweek shirt, talking about divers and commandos. I was about to join in the conversation but unfortunately, they got off at the next stop. Sad...

23 March
Riot control practice, I was reserve. Pretty good deal.

24-26 March
Lifeguard course. Learned stuff like how to defend ourselves from the struggling victim in the water and how to tow them back to shore. The trick is for the victim to take a deep breath and hold it there, while keeping the body as straight and streamlined as possible so that the rescuer can do his job much more easily. Passed the test on the last day, with the trainer as the victim. They really don't give mercy, with the victim struggling while I kept trying to call him to relax. Then just as I was about to reach the shore, another trainer came and started pulling the victim in the other direction as I struggled to reach for the side of the pool. Damn shag...

25 March
Wednesday Liberty night. Rushed to Causeway Point to get a flower for Dawn's dance performance at UCC. Then rushed to NUS UCC to get a ticket for the performance. Unfortunately, I alighted 3 stops too early and had to run up and down a hill to get to the UCC. Ended up queueing quite far back for the tickets, and still didn't get the tickets in the end. Hui Qian and her mum then joined me to wait outside the dance studio while we asked Dawn how-now-brown-cow. So in the end, Dawn managed to get her friend Bridget to pass us extra tickets to get in. Wow, Dawn can really dance, even though it was only for 2 out of 9127469 performances. So nice. Waited for her to come out after the whole thing was over, and passed her the flower. Had a little chat before going back to camp. One of the best liberties ever.

27 March
IPPT. Potential diver's gold, but lost. At least it was not in vain. Riot control test postponed. Collected my no3 from the laundromat after very early book out.

28 March
Morning SoS at NJC. Alex went to CCAB instead, lol. Went for lunch at this Pepperoni Pizza place behind school after that. Went to Sui Hang's house to hang out and watch TV, before going back to school for NJ Alumni AGM. Waited for Faisal to end his LS meeting and rushed to ZHCC for YEC meeting. There's going to be a RC-helicopter club soon. So exciting...

29 March
Went to sweep grave this morning. Nothing much happened after that. My life is dull... Sigh.

Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī

2009-03-13T19:24:00.008+08:00

That's right, I came, I used the SAW and I conquered. Many might believe that the SAW stands for Semi-Automatic Weapon, but it's definitely not. It is rightfully called the Squad/Section Automatic Weapon, and the locally-produced SAW is also known as the Ultimax 100. I don't know about you but to me, the name more likely suggests a type of bra for top-heavy women. Anyway, did you know that one of the first SAWs was the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), used during WW2 by the Allies. Although it had limited ammo capacity, it was capable of firing accurately as a form of suppressive fire because of its bipod stand.

I kinda misplaced my baton in my cabin when we had training today. Just a reminder to everyone out there in peaceful, serene Singapore, that batons are ILLEGAL in Singapore, not even the possession of one. We keep watching riots overseas on tv and laughing at riot police holding shields and pushing back crowds and wondering why they are so lousy. Let me tell you that it's no joke being there, carrying the friggin heavy long-shield and looking fierce and withstanding the pressure of rioters rushing and throwing their bodies at your shield-wall, which may collapse or even break any time. Here's a picture, but of course, we are much neater than this...

Went for NUS open house with FF, Louis and YB on Saturday. Really hope I can get into a local course. Watched a band performance by Mae Yue and then went for lunch with Adrianni at Subway. Visited FF's room and it doesn't look very spacious, just a single room with a bed, table and wardrobe. $75 a week equates to $15 per school-day. Well, I guess we'll have to see whether I can even get into NUS first or not...

After the open house, we went to the IT fair to check out the latest gizmos and gadgets. Louis had to get a memory stick for his ultra-cool new hot-red PSP. Walked around and picked up leaflets about the latest laptops from HP/Compaq. Sigh, I can't wait for next year when I go to uni before purchasing my first ever personal laptop. It'll be uber cool! Of course, there'll be a budget of around $1200-$1500, which won't get me a very high-end laptop, but I guess it'll be enough to get me a decent-looking one for projects and special games. Sigh, I'll just have to wait for next year's IT fair...

Week in Short

2009-03-09T16:32:00.010+08:00

M203 range on Monday. Had a blast of a time. The last time we went to Pasir Lebar Range, there was a 2km jog in because of the restriction of buses into the range part of the camp, but this time, we had a tonner to fetch us all the way in. 3 shots altogether in one go. And we managed to secure by lunchtime, pretty fast!

The next day, Jethro and I were requested to do a write up for a couple of ORD seniors. The target was 500 words, but I only managed to muster 300+, and Jethro did 600+. Seems like my way with words is going down the drain... But not like it was very good in the first place. Overheard a cohesion activity for UDG to watch a movie and in the end, went to The Cathay on Wednesday to watch Push. Pretty boring show, but quite intriguing too. It's like, a movie version of Heroes, and Dakota Fanning is becoming a really good actress...

Thursday and Friday were Singapore Biathlon SaiGang. Went all over Singapore with Johnson Lo and a few seniors to collect stuff such a cones and timers and fetching them to East Coast by tonner. After biathlon trial on Friday, the trainers suddenly said that they needed a few sentries because we would be leaving the crates of H2O and logistics under a shelter and of course, someone had to take care of it. I volunteered for the 7:30-9:30pm slot and went for dinner with SJ Zhang before my shift started. Had a good talk with him and he even treated me to satay! Haha, what a nice guy.

Woke up at 4am on Saturday morning to prepare to go back to ECP again and waited at Petir LRT station to fetch a few guys and as usual, BS Ho was late. Managed to get to ECP in less that half an hour and went to a Mcdonalds Drive-thru for breakfast. The biathlon went pretty smoothly, I was a road marshal, and there was a slight drizzle halfway that drenched us. The first female out of the water was this teenager who looked absolutely stunning, and from research, she's Christel Fung from RJC. Apparently, she was last year's defending champion, but ended up somewhere in the top 10 only for this year. The incident that made me not very happy was that the last starting detail was at 8:45am, but there's this guy who completed the thing only at 11am, leaving the road marshals standing around like goons waiting for him to finish the biathlon while everyone else was leaving already. After the Biathlon, went for lunch with Devin at Bedok and had a chat with him about NDU and stuff.

At night, I joined Yeujia, Ding Xiang and Jing Yong to catch a YPPAE performance. Quite interesting, and there were definitely a few young talents who could be trained to become the likes of Xiao Jun and Wei Neng. Went backstage after the show to take a few pictures, help the crew and lament on how the cast never stays back to assist the crew in taking apart the very stage they are acting on anymore.

Sunday was a pretty boring day. Went to play touch rug with PC Chris at Bishan Park again and ended up ruining my red nike soccer boots. Washed up after that and went to DY Yong Hou's condo to celebrate PS Nigel's birthday. Anthony fetched me home when the celebrations were over and we had to get out of the expressway just to send Nic to his house. Anyway, happy birthday Nigel!

edit: I was browsing around the internet when i saw this site. You simply have to look at the caption below the picture. Hilarious!

sad

2009-03-08T09:06:00.004+08:00

How suay can I ever be? So many chances, but none of them taken...

No NDP
No OCS
No CDG
No money
No grades
No local uni

sucks balls.

Also, someone wrote this entry and i find it really sad. Reasons she doesn't like NJC, and they include stuff like being in lignum and being a mugger/old school. I find it distressing that students are saying stuff like that because I don't want NJ to have this permanent label or have poor house spirit. Sigh, I wish I can do something about it...

Navy Diver Video

2009-02-28T21:23:00.005+08:00

I know that SG has OSA and stuff so here's a video-series of what Aust does for its UDT. Pretty much the same in concept, so here's the link.

AU navy divers

On a lighter note, here's a funny picture of field signals...

KO Island

2009-02-07T22:14:00.001+08:00

Very good book. Worth a read by all NS guys. Pretty inspiring...

Oh, and i just realised i don't have a decent self-portrait of myself. How pathetic.

Surprise?

2009-02-06T19:10:00.002+08:00

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice, for you. However, this offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- Anyon can comment, whether I actually know you personally or not (if I don't, you'll just get something random I make!)
- It'll be done this year. no guarantees when, it will be a total surprise!
- You have no clue what it's going to be. (just very crazy stuff is your great guarantee. or maybe not.)
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
- Since I'm going to make physical things, I'm going to have to post it to you, so
- put your address in the comment. Don't worry, comments will be screened!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to repost this, and repost right away. We can all make stuff and make someone's day a little bit brighter! ♥ Or if you don't have a blog, the onus is on you to do something nice and random for someone else you know!

In the spirit of CNY

2009-02-01T13:58:00.003+08:00

i really really times infinity wanna learn to play the dizi. childhood dream since p4when i joined chinese orchestra, but ended up with the very useless skill of playing the xylophone instead. very similar to the pretty useless skill of playing the piano. so now i'm looking for a dizi teacher, preferably the one who taught at hpps co and leaves right beside my block, but apparently, he's been MIA for quite some time now, so i dunno if he's even alive. then there's another problem of getting the dizi, which i don't want to rush into in case my lips are really not suited for playing the instrument, which was the reason why they told me I couldn't play the instrument in the first place in p4. so if anyone knows any dizi master who is willing to teach me and stays in the west, PLS TELL ME!!! many thx.

MTV

2009-01-28T16:53:00.004+08:00

is pretty interesting!

I didn't know Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends' MTV is about soldier's fighting a war... When the girl starts crying halfway, I thought he was having an affair or something, haha!

Then right after that was this song!

More soldiers! haha... what a day...

NS is for everyone

2009-01-24T15:50:00.003+08:00

NS is a crime. NS is a must for all, NS waste of time.

My last reason for staying in NDU is gone. Someone, ANYONE, get me outta here.

Pray for CDG

2009-01-12T10:26:00.010+08:00

The official secrets act makes it such a hassle to maintain a blog. Basically you can't talk about training and ops, which makes up more than half the day, and we basically rest/sleep/eat chow the rest of the time, five days a week. This leaves only weekend stuff to talk about. However, while we are spending our weekends, we have to wait until the weekend to be over before we can blog in retrospect, in which, since it is already the end of the weekend, we'll already be back in camp. Therefore, the only time we can blog about this week, is next week, when we have mostly forgotten about the events that happened.

Which is kinda the point now, cause I can't remember much of the past week, not navy-related yet worth talking about.

Juniors hellweek. Pretty boring, once again I don't think I am at liberty to discuss what happened, although I must say it was definitely toned down compared to mine. But terrible things happened in camp this week, and I totally want to get out of there. The only person I can trust now is Devin but it's still very difficult to survive in a company of madness. I guess when war comes, he'll be the only person i'm willing to fight with, an Army of Two. All the rest can shut up and go and die. Posting on 190109. Pray for me to get into CDG.

Have you ever wondered why life is the way it is? Why you are you, and not him? Why am I here, thinking this very thought, living this pathetic life, instead of merry-making in Jamaica? Sometimes I just wish I could run away from it all, or even stand up for myself, instead of being pushed over all the time. I think it must have been because of the incident at the end of Sec 1, when I punched someone and got retained as a councillor-in-training. Made me regret my actions totally and I swore to keep my emotions in check from that day onwards. From then on, I could never lay a finger on anyone, running away instead in times of trouble, and being called all kinds of names. Just recently, I got slapped in the head and insulted by this group of people, and I got mad, very mad. My anger knew no bounds and I really wanted to kill everyone around me on the spot, or at least incapacitate them. But the sec 1 incident came to mind, so I ran away, booking out for liberty immediately in a bid to forget the incident.

I called an instructor to talk about my problems, but all they could do was look out for me when they were around. They talked to the group of people who bullied me, but now they look at me like I was ratting them out. I think this is a problem with schooling attitudes. Since young, i've been told not to take on bullies myself, and go complain to the teacher instead. But for others it may be different (such as poly/ite ppl), that they try to solve the problem themselves, resulting in a superiority complex, survival of the fittest, kill or be killed thing. These people push their weight around to make others feel inferior, and by using the excuse that "batch boys don't bao-tou to instructors", they instil fear into people like me who have no one to depend on to cope with the bullies.

Most people may see me as a happy-go-lucky person, I laugh when you laugh, and I offer a shoulder when you cry. In times of trouble, just smile and don't let the trouble bother you. But sometimes, people ask me, why i'm still smiling when i'm in dire straits? My reply? Cause I don't want other people to see my suffering, I want them to see my good side, the happy side, and hopefully they'll be happy too. I cry only when i'm alone, so no one can see me all upset and stuff. I guess i'm a person who keeps giving, my happiness, my time, my efforts for other people, having little to myself. Need a favour? Sure! I find it difficult to say no to people! "ok, i'll go help you buy coffee." or "fine, i'll bring cup noodles for you". But sometimes, I just want to have something for myself! And whenever I do that, all the names start coming out, including "selfish b******" or even "company-f*er". And that's not all! Most of the time I ask others for favours, they laugh it away or reject me totally, saying that I never help them before and it's my job anyway. Like totally wtf.

Here's a vow to myself: From today onwards, I will NEVER, EVER do anyone in my batch favours again. Every man for himself. F*** hellweek camaraderie.

Devin's the only exception to this vow. And a select few if i'm in the mood.

10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin

2009-01-02T20:29:00.004+08:00

Effortlessly true, courtesy of MSN health.

1. They don't diet.
2. They keep track of their weight.
3. They exercise regularly.
4. They don't solve problems with food.
5. They stop eating when they're full.
6. They don't surround themselves with temptation (food).
7. They allow themselves treats.
8. They eat breakfast.
9. They move, stand and fidget more.
10. They dont skip meals.

hmmm, no wonder i'm so thin. I've got 1,3,4,5,6,8,9,10.
For those who wanna get some weight loss, here are 11 small tips by MSN Health again.

1. Blot off oil before consumption.
2. Drink more milk.
3. Buy cut veggies to snack on.
4. Drink more cold water.
5. Use smaller dishes for smaller servings.
6. Dilute juices with water for less calories.
7. Make your drinks count, choose fruit juice over diet coke.
8. Have a power-snack prepared at all times.
9. Think about eating, only when you're eating, nothing else.
10. Stop mindless snacking, chew strong-flavoured gum.
11. Tighten your belt, literally.

Hope this entry had been useful!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T20:57:00.006+08:00

In retrospect, 2008 was a terrible year. It consisted mainly of Relief Teaching, NDU, HELLWEEK and maple. Being a trainee is a horrible experience, hopefully I won't get to relive it again. Welcome 2009 and another year of NDU!

Gonna tag this to the side as a reminder - Resolutions of 2009:
1- Save SGD$20k (donations welcome)
2- Bring JX home
3- Start weekend tuition service with >3 students
4- Maintain diver's gold
5- Get driver's license

311208: Last day of 2008. Very busy day, hellday equivalent. In short, Lan session-High class coffee drinking-Breeks dinner-Reggie house-Risk-Countdown-Poker-Crash the bed-Breakfast-Sembawang-Meet JX-YES Man-Vivo-Home.

Pictures!

Goodbye 2008, Welcome 2009!

Booooring

2008-12-29T16:27:00.005+08:00

I feel like i'm just rotting away at home this block leave. Not in the mood to celebrate christmas or new year, but still managed to do quite a few things, although most of my time was spent on maple/facebook/blog-surfing/o-game/RA3. Oh no, i'm getting really anti-social...

But at least I go out quite often!
241208: Start of block leave. Was taking MRT on my way to a class outing when vicky sms-ed saying that it was cancelled. damn -_-". So i alighted at TP for a quick lunch at BK before taking a bus home. But then, I was crossing the overhead bridge when I saw a TIBS bus coming, so I ran and caught it, thinking that it was my bus. When it went into the expressway, I thought that it has to be the correct bus already. But then, it took a different turn out of the expressway towards Bukit Batok instead of Bukit Panjang, so I decided to stay on the bus and see where it will take me. So the bus went past CCK, and I alighted to take the LRT home, just in time for dinner. In the end, felt so tired that I went to bed early instead of celebrating Xmas. zzz...

251208: Merry Christmas everyone! As usual, slacked off the entire morning in front of the monitor. Felt quite sian when I received a message from Tin Ho, asking if I wanted to go to Cyberdome for LAN. More computers, more games! So I took a bus down, found out that Orchard Road was closed and my bus had to go one big round to Plaza Sing and I gotta walk backwards from there. People who went were Tin Ho, Ghanesh, James, Pok and Tim. So we started playing this new game called Left 4 Dead. It's pretty good, about 4 survivors of a zombie invasion. Can be played as human or zombie. After a few hours of mindless fun, we went to Carl's Jr at Plaza Sing for dinner, finally getting to spend my SAFRA $5 voucher on Chilli Cheese Fries. Went home after that, tired again and slept the rest of christmas. zzz...

261208: Went for maple event at suntec with Nat Hong. Got some free stuff, bought some @-cash, then went for a quick lunch before going home. Maple-d the rest of the day to get my pig/ice-chair. ;P

271208: Busy day. Had an EMB presentation ceremony event at Zhenghua CC before rushing down to Orchard for a TCHS GEP dinner outing. Ate at a Chinese buffet restaurant opposite Borders. Geordie Ting, who would be late, went to Int'l Plaza instead at Tiong Bahru, so he took MRT back to Orchard to meet us. Really interesting to meet up with all the guys again, including teacher Maumu, although he didn't really teach me. Went to Blym's house after that to play PS3 overnight. Games like Bad Company and Warhawk and Mirror's Edge. Awesome stuff. And everything's original too! Which means around $1000+ for his entire gaming console. Woah!

2812808: Didn't do much. Stayed at home watching TV and playing computer games after staying at Blym's house. Slept early again cause I pulled another all-nighter playing PS3. zzz...

291208: Tidied up my table after 6 years of procrastination. I always dread it because once people see my empty table, they are sure to put something on it and leave it there, like piano books and assorted pieces of paper. Threw away lots of old notes, memories of CHS and NJC. Anyway, going to M'sia tomorrow, back on NYE. If it's too late I think I might miss the IP dinner that was postponed from Christmas Eve. Sad...

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T23:25:00.001+08:00

to everyone out there...

Exercise Blue Water

2008-12-18T18:54:00.003+08:00

8 hours of preparation. 3 minutes of firefight.

1 hour. 17,300 rounds. 20 serviceable rifles.

I think I easily fired at least a 1000 rounds in that hour. And we threw smoke grenades until the place looked like Genting on a cold morning. But I now have as many pimples on my face as the number of fingers I have. Gross...

At least there's class chalet to look forward to! Can't wait! xD

Camo-Creme Brulee

2008-12-12T23:25:00.003+08:00

i absoutely loathe camo creme. it gives plenty of pimples... having an outbreak now so i'm shunning all of civilisation until it clears, which should be after final mission. hope i'll be PL or at least an APL, cause it's quite a lost cause for most of my section (and i'm seriously not trying to brag here or anything.)

oh, and i was having dinner outside just now, and i saw this guy with boils all over his head. yes, head. not just the face. i lost my appetite and couldn't take another bite, nearly felt like puking too... gross. hope these kind of stuff won't happen to me.

C&C RA3

2008-12-08T02:30:00.003+08:00

YES! I finally completed all the missions in RA3! I must admit it was WAYYYYYYY harder than RA2... The girls of RA3 are all too hot! Haha. I keep looking forward to all the videos in between each mission. Then there's all the cameo appearances which were really quite hilarious. The guy from the hotel in Home Alone 2, the sorceress from The Scorpion King and even David Haselhoff who was acting as the next US president! RA3 is pretty good, i must say. Out of 5 stars, i'll give it a 6.

On a sidenote, my trainee phase will end in 2 weeks! And after that it will be a well deserved break all the way until the next year. What better way to celebrate than to attend a class chalet/IP barbecue? But the thing is, on the day itself, I also have 1) McRitchie Treetop Walk, 2) YEC christmas party, 3) Promised to repaint my aunt's backyard and 4) Zhenghua Tree-Planting Day the next day. I'm so dead...

Lan Training

2008-11-23T07:21:00.003+08:00

I remember how when i was in TCHS canoeing and we would make jokes like going for 'LAN' training by running a few rounds around CS_mansion or DE_dust. Well, the land phase in ndu has its ups and downs. Fast march is the down, weapon handling + a lot of rest time (around 1 evolution per day) is the better part.

Going tekong for topo probably next week. Hope i wont get lost...

Passing Out

2008-11-08T00:15:00.003+08:00

Finally got my Diving Badge!!! So happy! And the jump from Terror Tower wasn't so terrifying after all. Just look straight. Keep my mind blank. And launch into nothingness...

Splash.

Happy day!

Can't wait for LCT to start. Can't wait to get into CDG. Can't wait to ORD. Just wanna get out of here. Sigh...

4 more days and we'll be through

2008-11-01T21:27:00.001+08:00

Getting the badge soon... Can't wait!!!

Tonsilitis

2008-10-26T22:53:00.004+08:00

241008
Very crazy day. I had a sore throat the entire week so I went to report sick in the morning. However, those who reported sick or failed evolutions this week had to stay another night and book out on Saturday morning instead. So, unfortunately, I resigned to fate that I would book out late even though I didn't miss any evolution or get any status. While the group of us had night snack, some suggested calling the CSM to ask if we could play soccer that night. Since no one dared to call him, I bravely volunteered. When my CSM picked up the phone and I identified myself, the first thing he said was, "Huh? Woon Jeck? How come you haven't book out?"

My heart skipped a beat.

After a brief exchange of words, my CSM said I could go home tonight, albeit 2 hours after the first group left. But it was a relief to me, because then I would not have to break my record of never having a late bookout before. Until now, I still feel so 'heng' that I called my CSM. Hooya Staff Koh!

251008
Watched Money No Enought 2 for the first time and Speed Racer for the fourth time today during a movie marathon at Zhenghua CC. Omg... MNE2 is a very very cruel movie. Made me cry at the ending part when "the very sad thing" happened. But it's a an excellent wake up call to all sons and daughters to look after their parents when they're old. I have always been troubled by this too. As the eldest in the family, most of the responsibility would fall on me to take care of my parents when they grow old. And I recently got a taste of what it's like, almost exactly the same as what happened in the movie.

My grandmother cam over to my house for a visit before going off for an event at 8pm. So while I was in the study room using the computer, she was in the living room watching a chinese drama serial. Suddenly, she comes into the room and asks me what time is the event. I replied that it was 8pm. After 15 minutes, she comes back in and asks the same question again. This happened for about 4 to 5 times. Very saddening...

For Speed Racer, I still find the racing scenes as exciting as ever. Totally loved the show.

261008
Went to Toa Payoh to pass some stuff to JX today. Hope she likes it. Spent some time walking around TP and bought this rather cool polo tee for $16. Gonna wear it for book in tomorrow. Anyway, note to self: Remember to cross the road to take 966 from JX house next time, or else the journey will be an hour longer.

Watching HSM3 and checking out RA3 tomorrow. Exciting!

Busy x 3

2008-10-19T00:04:00.004+08:00

121008: Zhenghua Community Day
PM Lee came to Zhenghua constituency to take a look around. There was this really grand ceremony at Senja Grand and the military band from West View Secondary was really really cool. Then, there was a flag-off by the PM for the residents to start a short walk to Greenridge Shopping Centre for the second segment of the celebrations. And guess what, I was tasked to take over the flag from the PM and lead the walk to the shopping centre. How cool is that! So the last part of the PM visit was a dialogue with him at Zhenghua Community Centre. After the dialogue, my constituency MP introduced me to PM Lee and we chatted a bit about NDU and life in NS... And in the end, I got his autograph on my "Grassroot Leader" lanyard. Quite a interesting day eh!

181008:
Went back to NJ today for Open Day. Pretty pathetic. The goodie bag was practically empty. And the crowd? What crowd? So I arrived at around noon, and saw Sam Ng and Marianne. Had a bit of lunch with them at the western food stall. Then went to play a little touch rug, frisbee and softball. A piece of advice: Never ever step on the synthetic field barefoot. Now Sam Ng has blisters and I have an abrasion from sliding on the field after a victory touchdown. xD Kinda bullied the ruggers a bit... Sorry! Then after that I went to the drama booth at the empty hall, throwing the void into sharper focus. So in the end went home at around 3pm, but overslept (as usual!) on my way home, so I went straight to my aunt's house for dinner.

Over the week, i've been practicing a lot of CCBA diving, which is creating lots of pimples and ulcers everywhere. :(:(:(

Going for another IDP function tomorrow again with Louis. Gonna apply for Business in the Australian Unis. It's free anyway... Wish me luck in getting successful applications!

Stuck

2008-10-05T16:20:00.005+08:00

This totally stinks. Every weekend I book out, all I do is wait to book in again. Which is very, very boring indeed. Especially sitting in front of the computer/TV thinking of something to do. Nothing exciting ever happens around here. :(

Movies i've bought recently:
Kung Fu Dunk
Flyboys
Speed Racer

Games i've played recently:
Red Alert 2
MapleStory
Kongregate.com

Unis i've applied to:
Bachelor of Arts at Monash University
Bachelor of Arts at Australian National University
Bachelor of Econs at University of Western Australia

Unis i'm applying to:
Bachelor of Business Administration at National University of Singapore
Bachelor of Business Administration at Nanyang Technological University
Bachelor of Business Administration at Singapore Management University

Stuff I want to do before 311208:
Convert my Diving License
Get a hobby
Go to Zouk at least once
Become an elite frogman of the navy

To the MSD

2008-10-03T21:55:00.005+08:00

I am positively sure that I am fully aware of consequences of writing about NS life, but the last thing I need is having "advisers" tagging my board every month telling me to keep things to myself. Come on, not like i'm writing much about the "secret training" we are having right. I feel there's absolutely nothing wrong talking about how many pushups we do, or how hellweek turned out to be like, or how a scuba set works. What IS wrong, however, is talking about perhaps missions or types of weaponry or intel that we get (even if we DO get any).

So by all means, let me rant about NS life can? This is like, one of the few outlets I can use to talk freely about NS without girls feeling bored or sounding too elitist (hmmmm, sounds familiar?).

Oh, and I hate LAR-V.

:(

Council Outing + F1

2008-09-28T08:18:00.003+08:00

I miss NJC. xD

Uni of West Aust?

2008-09-21T00:17:00.003+08:00

Got Bachelor of Econs from UWA too... ANU just received my application yesterday. But ultimately the best should be NUS right? I'll just have to put all my uni entries on hold for now so I can reapply for NUS next year.

On to NS stuff, i'll be going for a 30m depth dive next week. Sounds scary, wonder what i'll see. And i hope we dont screw up again, like everytime we go outstation. Come back from the dive and get tekkan like shit, i'm sick and tired of it. Makes me wanna OOC. And trainee phase isn't ending soon enough, mid-december.

I suddenly don't feel so patriotic after all. :(

Monash?

2008-09-12T19:58:00.004+08:00

Got full offer from Monash, but the fees are absurdly high. Just the first year alone, tuition fees are 19.4k and living expenses are near 20k! I gotta start saving now if NS alone is going to fund half of these study fees... Darn, if only NUS would have accepted me, then I wouldn't have to bother so much about these money matters. :(

Sakuranbo - Otsuka Ai

2008-09-07T13:56:00.001+08:00

I'm sorry.

Diving

2008-08-31T23:00:00.004+08:00

So much to say, so little time. Since the last entry, i have done quite a bit of pool diving, with all the emergency drills and in-water proficiency to get us competent in saving ourselves in case of trouble out in the sea. We'll begin our sea dives on tuesday, and the Leaders have been complaining about all the sea bugs that bite everytime they do sea dives. Must be quite an experience, wonder how it's like.

Anyway, 2.4km run achieved at 9:04 minutes. Awesome!

Uneventful Day

2008-08-05T23:10:00.004+08:00

Very addictive game.

Not for the feint-hearted. What I have been doing for the past 16 hours...

SG Flyer

2008-08-03T20:21:00.008+08:00

It does sound like a form of advertisement rather than a tourist attraction, doesn't it... Well, my family being the typical family that simply HAS to get on every single STB attraction managed to secure tickets aboard the Singapore Flyer (SF) and promptly brought 60-odd residents and friends around to take it. Mind you, that's 2 busloads of people, for a family outing. Wow. So off we went, departing on our coach towards the Singapore River.

As I got off the bus an hour later at boat quay, i saw the SF way across the river, near the Marina Barrage area. Huh? I immediately assumed that the physically inept tour group was going to do a route march down the river, across the bridge outside the fullerton, and down the esplanade. However, a short distance later, I was stunned that I had to take a boat down the Singapore River. Like, that's another waste of a Singaporean's hard-earned money! Mind you, i'm not against boating down the Singapore River, but these kind of stuff were meant to boost the tourism economy, not contribute to an internal circular flow of income! Anyway, got a few pictures here while I was lazing around on the boat:

The lousy boat.

The Singapore Flyer in the distance.

So eventually we turned around at the merlion area (another STB creation, when's it gonna end!) and headed back to board the coach again. This time, we finally made it to the SF and proceeded to get into the capsule:

Quite cool lar, just a 30-minute eagle's panoramic view of Singapore. But for now, all you see are flocks of cranes on one side.

And tiny buildings on the other side, too far to truly appreciate.

My house makes a better scenic spot compared to this, despite the pale comparison in height. We can see fireworks in Malaysia and Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill, and all the way down the south into the CBD area. And it's totally free too! Totally waste of time and money travelling all the way there to look at stuff like this:

If I were to rate it from 1 to 10, i'd give it a... 0!

For now.

NDP 08 (Preview)

2008-08-02T23:10:00.006+08:00

Found out that I had tickets to attend NDP preview today. Rather interesting show, but very lousy goodie bag. Took quite a bit of pictures. Here's a few:
Me and Pok before the show started. Flying naval divers. Apache Pilot - Still my dream vocation NDP 09 will be my turn to be a Guard-Of-Honour.

Quite tired now though. Will be going to take the Singapore Flyer tomorrow. Another day spent outside again...

Tired.

2008-07-26T23:18:00.003+08:00

Feels like hellweek all over again. But the trouble is, this time it's voluntary.

Sigh.

Instructor Puy: The guy who rocks my world.

HELLWEEK-ER!

2008-07-19T08:29:00.043+08:00

Finally, got through the hardest hurdle of NDU... Full of blisters and open wounds on my feet from running around in sand-filled, waterlogged boots that are meant to keep water out instead. There were all the ups and downs throughout hellweek, times when we were all fired-up, times when morale was not so good, but we did it as a crew. Let me try to remember what happened.

Booked in on Sunday morning. Had pizza lunch/dinner. Prepared all the gear and dressed up in long 4 with boots. Slept in the evening, and there was a quick rain at night. I think that's why they started hellweek at around 1 plus instead of midnight. Then all hell broke loose. It started with a thunderflash, followed by 1 GPMG and several SAW gunfire. Instructors were banging on the door and blowing whistles and shouting like there's no tomorrow. We were quickly ushered out to the parade square and instructors were still shooting blanks and spraying water from hoses everywhere and blowing their whistles and shouting "Are you lost?!?" and "Where's your buddy?" Smoke grenades were strewn everywhere, and in the midst of the confusion, we were supposed to muster and give a headcount. I think that took about 3 or 4 hours. Then we carried our boat to the field, where the fun began.

My memories are fuzzy after that, and since I could not tell the time, most of the following events are in no particular order.

Around the world: We had to head-carry our boats to certain locations and the first to find all the clues and places could secure early.

Boat Paddling: Similar to sea swim, we paddle our boat to the buoy and back. First few teams secure. The rest have to get punished in the sand.

Change Parade: Long 4, wetsuit, alternate. It's terrible, the feeling of wet boots, socks, and sandy uniforms. Sembawang sand is super coarse and rough, and the abrasion from multiple change parades is super irritating. Wet boots is the reason for the gigantic blisters on my feet.

Boat PT: These include standing boat pushups, boat situps, boat touch the fence and come back, boat carry, and many more. The boat that lasts the longest, or runs the fastest, secures.

Chow Run: Before every meal, we had to run a few rounds around the parade square, depending on the lead instructor's mood. Sounds easy? Not quite, if you have to do it with a boat on your head, bow to stern between boats. My least liked Hellweek activity.

Cold Treatment: Icy waters in boats or tubs. Sit in it with only tights on while saying your name rank ic address, countdown 60 seconds, then submerge underwater for 5 seconds. After that we had to stand in between two giant fans blowing at our naked bodies. Oh, did I mention that this was done in the middle of the night? Super, duper cold.

Paddle Run: Boat members have to be linked via the boat paddles and run endlessly around the parade square at night. Slow teams will get full jerry cans or tires to slow them down even more. I am glad my boat managed to secure first for this evolution, and got a 15 minute rest.

Pool Activities: Different strokes, survival swim, caterpillar swim, relays. Boats that win can secure, losers get punishments like bear crawl around the pool.

Sea Circuit: Sea Obstacle Course. Finning, roping, crossing, climbing, jumping and running. Standard stuff.

Sea Swim: 2km, finning as a boat all the way to the buoy and back. Standard stuff.

Whistle Drill: Imagine the widest field imaginable, and imagine instructors standing at each corner holding a whistle. One instructor starts blowing the whistle, and we had to leopard crawl to that instructor and touch his feet. First few get to secure. The instructor will then point at another instructor standing across the field to blow his whistle, and we have to try our best
to crawl as fast as possible to him to secure. Very exhausting, especially with all the mimosas around. Night version: instructors will shine a torchlight, and we had to stop moving if it is pointing at us.

I think that's most of the evolutions. Mealtimes were pretty funny. I was drinking hot milo for breakfast and accidentally spilt some on my pants. Haha. But those who really fall asleep and were caught had to balance a cup on their heads, or stand up and point at the fan. Funny. What happens after every meal is not so funny. All of us had to squeeze into 2 tiny toilets, I always stayed in the slightly bigger one. So for 15 minutes after every meal, we had to empty our bladders and bowels within that small window period. ALL of us. There's no room to close the cubicle doors, so you have to shit in full view of everyone. If we were not urgent, we could use the time to nap. Some people were sleeping with their mouth open beside the urinal, while someone else was peeing. Super gross!

I can remember when we secured, we just finished a boat paddling session, and the CO was on shore. We did a bit of sandstorm, and the CO gave a little speech. And we finally secured! We brought the boats back, washed up and changed into dry clothes, and went to the hall to sleep for a few hours. In the evening, we woke up and went back to our bunks to prepare for book out at "hellgate", where the parents were waiting. Reached home, took a picture of my blister, surfed the internet a little, then went to sleep.

Combat Diving Phase, HERE I COME!

HELLWEEK!!!

2008-07-13T05:41:00.002+08:00

This is it! Wish me luck! xD

I'll be back with hellweek adventures next week, so watch this space guys!

Hendon Camp?

2008-07-11T22:43:00.001+08:00

Well, my brother just received a letter to go for Commando Vocational Assessment.

Wow.

2 elite forces personnel in a family...

2 more weeks and we'll be through

2008-07-04T23:11:00.003+08:00

Within 10 days, it will be the start of hellweek, which is 5 x HellDay. Being the ultimate NS experience, I seriously don't look forward to it. 5 days of little sleep, non-stop physical training and lots of Chow Run (cries!), just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine.

14 July is THE day of all days.

So if you're reading this, start sending me well-wishes now! The encouragement is greatly needed to help me get through these 5 days of HELL.

Thanks!

HellDay Approaches...

2008-06-29T08:05:00.000+08:00

And i'm scared of it for now. Although on hindsight i'm sure i'll eventually see it as just-another-one-of-those-days... Hope i survive this small step towards HellWeek!

Drown-proofed

2008-06-21T12:50:00.001+08:00

Well, i officially am impossible to drown now... The whole process was really tiring, and scary, with the possibility of giving up running through my mind the whole time i was in the water. And it took me more than 10 minutes longer than anyone else to pass the test, particularly because i was too tired and terrified to complete the tasks. Nonetheless, i did it, yay me!

In other news, i just missed IPPT diver's gold by a mere 6 seconds!
The criteria is:
SBJ - 243cm
Shuttle Run - 10.1secs
Sit-Ups - 43
Chin-Ups - 12
2.4km Run - 9:14mins

in which i ran 9:20 for 2.4km last week. Just push myself a little harder tomorrow and my diver's gold will be in the bag.

AND i must say that the water along Sembawang shores is the grossest thing ever on Earth. Mike Rowe should come over to our sea circuit route and do his Dirty Jobs documentary on being a NDU trainee. Just last week, there was a carcass of a dog lying on the beach, its eyes bulging and its body stiff with rigor mortis. Then there are all these possibilities of getting stung by jellyfish when its in season. My instructor ever had a friend who got a jellyfish wrapped over his head. Terrifying.

Equally terrifying is jumping off the tower into the sea while doing the sea circuit. I have acrophobia and its really scary just standing up there and looking down into the sea where i have to jump into. The first time i did it, the instructor had to calm me down for a minute or two before i mastered the strength (and will) to make the jump.

Instructor: Ready?
WJ: Ready!
Instructor: Ready?
WJ: Ready!
Instructor: GO!
WJ: Go! HOOYAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

Totally crazy, dude...

2 deaths 2 days

2008-06-15T14:25:00.000+08:00

Which resulted in another 2 days of Safety Time Out. Slacked in cabin, listened to iPod and ate lots of snacks. We are so going to die next week after 4 days of non-activity. Anyway, had a lot of fun yesterday out at plaza sing. Met eirene to get yida's birthday present, in which we got a cookbook for him. Then met BBPS friends for dinner at naked fish shoppe, which was really crowded and we had to wait more than an hour for a place. We caught up on where we'll be going and as the only NS boy, things were really dry for me, haha.

I guess what they say is true, men who have gone through NS will just keep talking about it...

Frogman song

2008-05-31T23:15:00.002+08:00

We the frogmen of the navy
demolition trained
rough and rugged bunch of warriors
there's nothing we can't do

We can beat the whole of air force
and the army too
cause we the frogmen of the navy
hooya, for us we go deep!

Real cool huh?

Cause we are FROGMEN!

2008-05-30T21:45:00.004+08:00

Left toe right toe keep up the tempo
Left toe right toe weyo weyo ah
Here we go again
Same old shit again
Up and down this avenue
Few more days and will be through
Wello wello wello wello wello wah-ha
Wello wello wello wello wello hooya
29! Hooya!
29! Hooya!
29! HOOYA!

Back from confinement. Finally passed out from BMT and into Class 2 of becoming a naval diver, receiving my blue beret and fins. Darn cool.
But i'm absolutely terrified of the process of becoming a naval diver. There are videos like this which seems to demoralise me a lot. Even the mock boat PT today was a real killer, had a little difficulty in breathing after running around with the boat and then doing some boat push-ups.
Terribly crazy, so much so that OOC looks like a really tempting option.

Sigh.

Field Camp

2008-05-17T14:45:00.004+08:00

Lost 3kg over this week at field camp. And lost every single privilege a naval diver can have because of a company f-er who screwed up big time just a few seconds before we secured from field camp. Totally sucks...

So i'll be confined next weekend, gotta bring lots of snacks and a really thick book.

Sigh.

Seeing this every weekend makes me even more depressed...

Hey senior!

2008-05-09T21:48:00.002+08:00

Wow, interesting to find that seniors come to my blog...

Well, since i can't talk about training, i'll talk about college day! Which was pretty boring, although met quite a few people i've never met for a very long time... Hope we'll get together again soon.

Other than that, field camp coming up. Wish me luck! And pray that there won't be too much rain...

Attend C!

2008-05-03T14:44:00.002+08:00

Yup, the past 3 days have been attend C for me. It all started a few weeks ago, when I found it difficult to even swallow my saliva. Then, on Wednesday, I felt a little headache and eventually caught a fever, which I got an Attend C status for at NUH. However, I was only issued 60 pills of panadol (yes, i'm opening my own pharmacy now) and 2 bottles of cough mixture (drowsy), to be taken when necessary.

When I reported back to camp after Labour Day (that's how terrible NS is), the headache continued, while my attend C status had finished, so i went to the medical centre at camp once again and found out that I had tonsilitis! Although it is already recovering now, the fact that I did not take antibiotics resulted in a viral infection, which resulted in my fever and eventually, the splitting headaches.

Wow.

And to quote my MO: To think that public doctors say that MOs are not as competent.

So in the end, here I am, eating 3 pills, 1 lozenges and drinking cough mixture. And sleeping a lot too. Sigh...

FOUR!

2008-04-19T20:15:00.000+08:00

That's the number of birthday cakes I had.

And the number of weeks I have endured in NDU. Can't wait for POP.

But that means that i'll be going into PCP after that. Sigh...

Week 3

2008-04-12T08:59:00.003+08:00

Hey army, Bag-packing army,
Pick up your bags and follow me,
Cause we are the sons of NDU.

Hey air force, low-flying air force,
Pick up your wings and follow me,
Cause we are the sons of NDU.

Hey marine corps, bullet-sponge marine corps,
Pick up your shits and follow me,
Cause we are the sons of NDU.

Hey NAVY, world's finest NAVY,
Put on your slacks and follow me,
Cause WE ARE THE SONS OF NDU!

Sorry guys, no image-capturing devices are allowed in camp, so this blog will be photo-lacking for the moment. Well, sometimes I really regret getting into NDU. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the place isn't nice or anything, but this wasn't what I expected my NS experience to be like. Around the same time last year, I had been thinking of serving as a regular soldier at Tekong, get placed into OCS/SISPEC, and pass out as part of the army.

My life now can't be any more different.

As an elite frogman (or better known as a tadpole for now), I'm not training in Tekong, there is is no chance of getting into Sispec, little chance to get in OCS, and now part of the Navy instead of the army.
Sigh. And to make matters worse, the mosquito netting at my cabin just came lose, so the commando mosquitoes are infiltrating my cabin now.

Dangabit.

Liberty!

2008-04-06T13:29:00.003+08:00

1234,4321
Everywhere we go
People want to know
Who we are, where we come from
So we tell them
We are the divers
Mighty mighty divers
When we get to heaven
St. Peter's gotta say
How you get to heaven
How you earn your pay
So I replied with a little bit of anger
I earn my pay as a naval diver
Hey, what you say now
Naval divers on the way now

We had liberty on Wednesday night, which meant that we could go out of camp for a couple of hours to relax. Still had my sore throat/cough, so didn't really get to enjoy it much. Went to Sun Plaza with a few other people, sat around and chit-chat. Then hurried our way back to camp for another day of training.

Oh, and someone brought a handphone into camp when it was banned for this week because someone else brought a camera handphone into camp last week. Smart.

This weekend was kind of uneventful. Went to my grandma's house for dinner yesterday, booking in in smart 4 attire later. Sigh, another 5 days and it'll be through. Can't wait...

Confinement Week

2008-03-29T09:02:00.003+08:00

Up in the sub sixty feet below
Scuba to the top and we're ready to go
Side-stroke back-stroke to the shore
Lock and loaded we are ready for war.

Woah, the past week of confinement in NDU was totally undescribable. Every day, we have to jog 735 metres from the ship to the cookhouse for meals. Then there is the 100BX. And weights training. And swimming. And running.

It's totally crazy.

First Book-Out

2008-03-21T10:33:00.001+08:00

My bunkmates and I have officially declared today as Super-Good Friday.

12 more hours!

2008-03-18T19:46:00.000+08:00

This is it... THE BIG ONE!

Wish me luck!

NUS Open House

2008-03-16T08:23:00.001+08:00

To be honest, NUS isn't that bad a school... It will definitely be my local choice of university. Preferably Arts and Social Science, or if possible, Business School. And there's also the dream of studying overseas (if possible), at anywhere...

Oh, and i met she-who-cannot-be-named... haha... yay!

But the next 2 days will be killer. I will have to:
1. Pack my bag for NDU.
2. Complete scholarship apps.
3. Complete uni apps.

Die...

Cause I said so

2008-03-12T23:42:00.000+08:00

Instructions:Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all.

1. Have you given your first kiss away?
No.
2. If you were to be stranded on a desert island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you? Why?
Tim-Cause with the training in NS he can help us survive
Basil-Cause he is t3h pro
Coco-For pure entertainment purpose
3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Any top university
4. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
To wake up
5. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?
No. Cause I seldom notice
6. What are you afraid to lose the most now?
My life
7. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
Donate it to Save-The-WJ Fund
8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yes
9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Michelle: Studious
Nice
Funny
10.What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Must meet my standard
11. Which type of person do you hate the most?
Irresponsible, rude & well, the whole package of nastiness
12. What is your ambition?
Pilot Chong
13. If you have faults, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
Point it out
14. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
Life itself
15. Are you a shopaholic or not?
No
16. Find a word to describe the person who tagged you.
Michelle-Literary
17. If you have a chance. Which part of your character you would like to change?
Laziness
18. What makes you different?
i AM different
19. Any weird habits or quirks?
Raising an eyebrow at people
20. Do you like... cheese?
Chesdale, NO. pizza/pasta, YES.

I tag... Everyone who reads my blog

Nervous? Excited? ARGH!

2008-03-07T01:56:00.003+08:00

Mixed emotions about getting back results. The long wait for it kinda numbs the feelings I have as I get back my results. Dunno how i'll feel AFTER getting back the results too. Happy? Sad? I don't even know what kind of grades I'm expecting too.
GP: A
History: D
Economics: D
Literature: D
Mathematics: A
At most I sign on as a pilot. Well, we'll see about it in a few hours time. Tally ho!

Two can play the game

2008-03-06T21:48:00.001+08:00

200 WORDS

I totally pwnz j00...

Sin For The Win

2008-03-06T00:09:00.004+08:00

Hooray. After gruelling training, I finally have an assassin. Yay...

How to make a guy's blog equally or more popular than a girl's

2008-03-05T08:01:00.000+08:00

It seems like everyone's blogs are really long and make you want to read on. I doubt mine is like that, but hey, if I don't believe it, who will? So I must tell myself: My blog is REALLY INTERESTING! There's this blog that argues why girls' blogs are more popular than guys here. It's hilarious.

But have you ever thought, what will then make a Singaporean guy blog more interesting instead?

1. The guy has to look good
Equally important to guys, being good-looking is a drawing factor to girls too. While most girls would also say "personality", looks are usually equally important, which leads to the second point.

2. The guy has to upload pictures
This way, the guy can flaunt his good-lookingness. Or in the absence of it, he can flaunt his buddy's good-lookingess. However, the second part is quite rare because guys either have a huge ego, or they just want to kill each other. Or they don't have a camera in the first place. Therefore, this limits most pictures to those taken from the internet, and resulting in the rise in piracy because most of us don't acknowledge our sources like good PW students.

Similarly, a careful cost-benefit analysis of the situation also tells us that it's a lot easier to put up pictures instead of writing what you want to say down. As a saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. Being more techno-savvy, guys SHOULD also find it easier to just take pictures and posting it. This is because according to scientific research, girls are better in the arts (such as writing and drawing) while guys are better in the science (such as bio and physics and chem).

I know some girls who think that the only way to troubleshoot their computer problems (hardware or software) is via the millionaire method: Calling A Friend. This friend, invariably, proves to be male. These girls do not think to Google, or to at least find out more information about the specific problem on their own.

Therefore, guys should take the smarter route, I must admit, like the girls.

3. The guy has to post about everything but himself
Other than the profiles tab, everything else must NOT be about the guy himself. This is because narcissistic guys turn girls off. Please note that this is different from showing self-confidence, which attracts girls instead. Take for example a case study where a guy talks about work:

Bad example: Today i went to work, then i drank 10 cups of coffee, finished 30 assignments, and went for 70 meetings. Then i went home to blog.

Good example: Today, my boss screwed me at work. My boss is a female. And she looks like this.

Also, spot the gay in my workplace.

4. The guy has to blog often
This is imperative to keeping the readers craving for more. Especially female readers who are blog-surfing and looking out for cute guys. However, only one post a day is enough. When people go to blogs, they are interested in finding out more about the person, and how interesting their day was. Not how uninteresting your past few days were.

For the lengthy writers, save many drafts, and post them once a day in case of rainy weather such as having writer's block. This helps to ensure that you maintain your once-a-day post count.

For those mentally incapable of sustaining a thought for more than 2 seconds, i'd recommend blog surfing and copy-paste interesting stuff that you read. Alternatively, keeping your audience entertained with a Youtube video is an equally good choice.

5. The guy has to get a nehnehpok.
Case Closed.

Mas Selamat is caught?

2008-03-04T20:14:00.015+08:00

Apparently so, but it isn't reported in any news yet... So perhaps my undercover agents have the ability of foresight, haha!

Anyway, tagged by Debbie, which I failed to see the last time I went to her blog. Paiseh!

5 things found in your bag:
Camera
iPod
Jacket
Purple Water Bottle
Pencil Case

5 favourite things in your room:
Bed
Table
Chair
Radio
Wardrobe

5 things you have always wanted to do:
Fly an aeroplane
Finish the entire One Piece series
Learn how to drive
Assemble my own flight simulator
Become famous

5 things you are currently into:
Flying
Diving
Teaching
Chinese Duet Songs
Being bored to death......

5 people to tag:
1. Eirene
2. Osala
3. sam
4. lexin
5. leona

On to other news:
81 WORDS
I totally pwnz Sam Eng.

Results

2008-03-03T09:55:00.000+08:00

results out this friday, 7march at 2.30pm.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/332549/1/.html

Can die one...

Pang-seh-ed

2008-03-02T23:09:00.002+08:00

Zzzzz, the feeling totally sucks.

But on to brighter news: Went to Toa Payoh today to have dinner with eirene and her family. Found her studying at macs and waited for her sis and mum to come, before going to the Kopitiam to eat lor. Her sister damn funny, whole time glued to the TV hanging on the pillar in front of her. Had a bit of noodle and popiah, then went to Popular to buy pens for her GP paper tomorrow.

That's all. Sad right?

Anyway, GOOD LUCK FOR GP TOMORROW!

Students are stupid, throw rocks at them

2008-03-01T01:39:00.004+08:00

There was a newspaper article about how a relief teacher blogged about the atrocities his students wrote and got sacked. I shall now declare an indemnity that the following paragraphs in this entry is "purely fictional" and any similarity to any person, living or dead, is "purely coincidental".

So while teaching at a really nice primary school today,

Student A: Cher! I put on my headphones already. How come no sound come out?
Me: That's cause you forgot to plug it in, you silly goose.

Me: How do you move 3 toothpicks so the fish faces the other way round?
Student B: Cher! I can move 4 toothpicks or not?
Student C: No lar, even easier, move the whiteboard upside down can already!

Me: Ok class, who knows the answer to question 3b?
Student D: 10!
Me: Ok 10, can you tell me the answer?

Ok, Ghanesh K just came online! Tally ho! I'm off to have a chat with him to see how's he surviving in NS... Will report back soon!

Ok, other than than the fun-packed morning with the "Harvard-Prone" Primary School students, I then went to fetch Eirene from CJC before rushing to Vivo to catch Valentia's graduation show. Waited a bit for her CCA to end, then took a bus to Toa Payoh and then took a train down to Harbourfront.

Pretty as ever.

So we kinda hung around for a while, had dinner at LJS, then looked at the exhibits again. Then went home lor.

So we bounced a little on the MRT before sending her home. Quite a nice day spent with her. Ok, not just "quite", but a jolly good day. xD

Oh, and thanks for the gift!

Busy busy as a bumblebee

2008-02-26T23:38:00.003+08:00

There's something wierdly wrong with hotmail. I can't access the website and MSN messenger is down... Sigh...

Anyway, got a call at 8.15am today from Zhenghua Secondary School. They claimed that they had called me the previous afternoon asking me to teach today, in which THEY SO DID NOT!!! So I threw on my working clothes, brushed my teeth, and dashed to the office at 8:20am. Administered a few tests, babysit a few classes, and had really no choice but to be "fierce" to one of the classes. I think my nice guy reputation has been ruined by that class lar, but really, no choice, or else they really take too much advantage already...

So after school, rushed over to Henry Park Primary School to sign some forms I forgot the last time I went, and then rushed to Suntec City to find Coco and Rachel at the Duck Tours and Hippo Tours place. Wah, it's really cool to work as a tour guide lar! With extensive knowledge earned from the various field trips in Primary School GEP Social Studies (Thanks Mr Yip and Ms Loh!), I'm sure I can share lots of interesting tidbits of Singapore with the tourists.

Anyway, sat the Hippo Tours bus with Rachel and Coco as the tour guides, listening to their Ang Moh accent throughout the way. Rachel alighted early at the Esplanade to meet a friend, so Coco took over and we alighted at Tangs to have dinner at Food Republic. Had a wonderful chat with her... It's been a long time since I met up with someone just for a good long talk lor. So after that went to Starbucks to grab coffee and talk a lot more about school and life after that and stuff...

Sigh, I'm feeling terrified right now.
1) A' Level Results
2) RSAF Pilot Vocational Assessment
3) NDU BMT
4) Reaching 3rd Job before NS.

The Meaning of Dreams

2008-02-25T22:45:00.001+08:00

There's this corny joke:

A wife once told her husband that she dreamt that she received a diamond earring on the night of the eve of their wedding anniversary. She asked her husband what he thought it meant, and he simply replied that she'll know that very night. Excited, the wife then proceeded to prepare a sumptuous candlelight dinner for the husband. With loving eyes, the husband took out a box and presented it to the wife, claiming that it was her wedding anniversary present. When she opened the box, she discovered the present was actually a book titled "The Meaning of Dreams".

Ok, too corny... -____-"

So I was taking this afternoon nap, and I made this crazy dream that I was late for enlistment. Scared me like shit, and I just woke up. Then my mum walked into the room with the phone, saying that someone from RSAF called me, asking me to go for Pilot Test at RSAF career centre.

I'm gonna become a pilot. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Call me crazy...

2008-02-25T00:12:00.006+08:00

I actually MISS school. Ever since the concept of school was drilled into me, I have wished for the day I could graduate so I could enjoy life, start working, earn money, and die happy.

Now, only after graduation do I realise the best years of my life were in NJC. Irregardless of whatever incidents that happen, for better or for worse, it groomed me to become the leader, gentleman and scholar of tomorrow.

(in memory order)

Tim: I'm terribly sorry for throwing the dustbin at you in IP1. Although we didn't get off to a good start, you're still one of the best friends I ever had. I knew that I could always trust you and never hesitated to confide my deepest darkest inner secrets in you. I can still remember our SPIRE project that was a total flop, but somehow, we managed to pull through. Chinese lessons with you was terribly fun too, and we were one of the lousiest in the class, but unfortunately, you chose to drop to normal chinese, leaving me to persevere alone. Even after going to mainstream, i'm glad that it only bound us closer together instead of drifting apart. I'll never forget the study sessions in the library, the M:TG sessions in Serene Centre Macs, the pre-prom shopping session, and ultimately, our friendship.

Louis: Hey dude, I only got to know you better during our Air Rifle days. Even in class, when you were seperated from me by Nina in IP1, you were really quiet and the only sounds that came out of you were squeals and Andre poked you from the other side. I'm glad that after so many years in IP, you have broken out of your shell and become rather outspoken and unhesitant to voice yourself now. I can still remember the day when you went to the staircase between the IP2s and IP1s to confess your love for a certain someone downstairs, then you ask me to guard the stairs some more so no one will find the two of you. Haha! Must remember to invite me to your wedding ok? Then the fancy lads will be your best men. Either that or we'll just crash it anyway! Also, i'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding we had, I was stupid and stubborn, and thanks to you, i've learnt my lesson. Thanks for always being there for me!

Basil: My Air Rifle JVC, you were my ultimate idol. I have absolutely no idea how you could stay playful, stay studious, stay friendly, stay positive, stay focused and stay committed altogether throughout the past 4 years in NJC. You never hesitate to help a friend in need, and were always there for your teammates through thick and thin. One thing i'll never understand though, is what you see in the Mixed Veg Stall. I still think it sucks... (Except for the soup) xD

Ok it's late now gotta log off mum's complaining gdnite! If you want to see my comments about you just tag the board. cya!