Rome Sweet Home

Cliche title, I know.

Anw, I'm back from Rome, Italy, just for an update. Been back for some time already but have been relatively busy since reaching home. Very busy.

In any case, apart from a few unpleasant 'surprises' it was a relatively pleasant trip. Unpleasant perhaps because we went during a time of slight political problem. There was a strike on Saturday, and the whole public transport system was down, which grounded us at the hotel. And we had a run-in with a pickpocket-thief who got away with a fair bit of money. Nothing else, thankfully..

Italy is a country with many sights, no doubt about that.. Let's see..

A typical Roman Street. The buildings don't get higher than this.

The Spanish Steps (Piazza Spagna) in Italy where 2 English poets got inspiration.

The famous Trevi Fountain. One of the countless fountains you see dotting the streets of Rome. But no doubt the most extravagant of them.

A page out of ancient Rome. The load of buildings behind,.. they're old. Really old. I think built by the Emperors (Caesars) of Ancient Rome.

And the Colloseum. Also from ancient Rome.

And all that in just one day. All walking.. OH well, it was tiring, but didnt sweat at all. Winter, you see.

To be continued...

If We Fought WWII

Part Two of Post-Exam Elation for my brother.

Another Risk Party. To explain, a Risk Party is just a sleepover where we play risk. Where "we" refers to me n my cousins (my cousins and I).


So last night, up to 4.30 am (actually this morning, now that i mention it) there was a Risk Party going on in my cousins' house. The good thing about Risk (the boardgame) is that situations that are unimaginable in the real world can actually take place. Let me explain.

We were treated to a case of the USSR and USA joining forces with one another to eliminate all the other super powers, The USSR being much richer, believe that. You see, I have to explain.

Red - Soviets
Green - Americans
Blue - Brits
Black - Nazis/ African
Yellow - China Army
Grey - I also dunno.

Anw, I was the Soviets, and I didn't make the same mistakes of my "forefathers". ALLY with the Americans! Unthinkable. But ya, i believe that we got more success, anyway..

Oh yes, i almost forgot, another unimaginable thing - there was peace in the middle east.

Of course some things go according to the real world, for example the fact that the most aggressive force in the game came from Afganistan, and that America ultimately controlled Europe, Africa, America, Australia, and 75% of South America. And USSR just took the simple Asia with its rice fields and etc. Oh, and that the Nazis started in South America (which of course is where most of them hid after the war, so its said..)

In any case, as per normal Lady Luck was sexist and favoured my sister so, needless to say, the wealth and military might of the USSR was evenly matched with the Luck of the Die of the USA. But luck wins in the end. Oh well. Close.

Now, I'm just hoping and praying I don't have to go back to camp tmr. Oh goodness, how I hope and pray. So wasted, you know.. hai..

Another last point.

I'd have to admit that sometimes my subconscious tended to believe that God was not on my side. Its easy to say that that's not true, but the subconscious part of the mind is a part that's not easily convinced. Anw, for some reason (known to me) that subconscious part suddenly, though maybe non-permanently, believes that God is on my side. And suddenly I feel happy. Even when I really really seem to have no reason to be that way.

God is Good.

The Reality of Delta X

So I now embark on a long break from work. I hope. Theoretically I have enough off-in-lieu to keep me far far away from the west side of Singapore for a long time. Ah, I see the irony that I'll be flying far far west soon afterwards.

But nevertheless if all goes well I have a long break. 2 weeks plus a little bit more, I estimate. But as we know the SAF (including here the RSAF) is forever ready and hence this 2 week long break is as easily broken as would a thread be. A thread supporting an elephant. At least I can cross my fingers and hope.

Newses, as my family often puts it:

The A levels are drawing to a close. I can actually feel the tensions and stress subside. And I'm not even the one taking the papers. For those who haven't experienced it, well.. just wait. And for those who have, I'm sure you can identify.

Secondly, my brother's O Levels are over. And we (the family) are actually treated to the sight of him going out with friends. We once suspected that these friends existed only in his mind, but now proof otherwise has arrived. He's out with friends now.

Thirdly, BREAK! Oh yeah, already mentioned it.

---

On a brighter note, I'm feeling much better from the past post. Took me long enough to realise what's wrong, but perhaps denial was at play.

My diagnosis - I can't adapt to change as well as I should be. My fault? Perhaps, but I WAS filled with mistruths and fantasies that, granted, I probably misinterpreted in my formative years.

The Romance of Things Left Unchanged, of Situations when you just happen to wish that time could stand still and change be eradicated. But Neverland is Fantasy. Fiction. Myth.

Wake up and snap back to reality; Logic says the only constant in this world is Change. And it's never been proved otherwise. I've tried to (yes laugh) represent this in an equation, but I think a graph where (dy/dx =! 0) is the best description. So let's keep it that way.

Then I think again. Are Things Left Unchanged truly romantic? I'm sure the stillness of time and lack of change would get boring. And what is romantic about boredom?? So the answer is inevitable, embrace change. Look Forward, rather than Backward. Be Optimistic, rather than Pessimistic.

The future bears many mysteries. Good ones, yes. Bad ones, yes too, and it's the bad ones that make it interesting.

We embrace our new lives and never grasp too tightly to what we once had.

I need that. God is Good.

Saturn out of Line

I think I had better get used to this "no-life" routine of mine. I'd probably have to accept that, i might as well disappear off this rock we call Earth for the next year. Ah.. Did I mention? 1 more year to ORD. But don't get me wrong. 1 more year is still shit long.

I rmb i once wrote that NS sucked the life out of you. And then I looked at it from a slightly more positive perspective - NS replaced what you used to call life. And now i look back and i accept; there's no freaking difference.

Perhaps I'd be cheerier once the A levels are over. But go sit next to someone who cares, i tell myself. Are the A levels over? (For those ignorant, the answer is No..). So for those who probably can tell that they're lucky since they're freaking busy at this period cos Ben is not the happy camper at this period, good for you. But guess what? I'm stuck with myself. Woohoo~

Unfortunately I can't leave myself to rot into a state of disrepair - I so wish i could..

Maybe its that boredom that overwhelms.

But heck, i'm not going to self diagnose myself with a mental illness. Oh wait. I already have.

I need to get rid of this tension. Somehow. Goodness.. Its not healthy.. Oh well..

On the other hand i wonder where Ben went. And i realise i keep asking myself this question. Finally, a self diagnosis. The Only Constant is Change.

Oh how i hate my inertia to it.

Plus i'm irritated with my injured toe. argh.. my last saving grace i.e. soccer out of the question? not to mention any other sport?

Perhaps as The World spins, people keep adding saving graces to their repertoire of sanctuaries. Though i keep losing these saving graces.

*I wish m = sin(Nt) would at least care to cease.*

Matrices

Ahh..Ch5 showed Matrix Revolutions.

Enlightening..

And i think i might be that one more step closer to being a Matrix Fan. But still the Force will Rule in any contest.

I still think Yoda wld whip Neo's Arse. In or Out of the Matrix. Yup.

---

I'm super busy these few days. Going upshift to the Island of Dreams (You-know-where) more often than not. Next shift is Lai's ORD shift - another ORD shift that i'm going for. i.e. Slack probably. BBQ up there perhaps.

Think today i'll sleep early. Xuejun's fault. Countless times i repeat myself. Yawn..

Oh tmr Hari Raya!! Difference for me is the holiday. At least a break. A well deserved one.

Ok night.

The Samba Song

Something has screwed with my tagboard. And i don't like it. Anw, to enhance loading of this page, i shall remove the tagboard temporarily. Till i decide i need to refurbish this page. Which is not today. Got more interesting things to do.

Fine, i'm lying.

I AM trying to learn some useless redundant skills. (note the intentional redundancy of "redundant".. cliche. i know.)

SUCH as..

Learning to write with my Left Hand.
Learning to become Left-footed.
Learning to be Brazillian
Learning to Samba.

---

ONE thing..

I've learnt that the easiest excuse for my cultural interblend (rojak, as my ex-coach once put it) is to disclaim all four races within this one simple statement explaining the inconsistencies between name, colour, language and perhaps culture.

I'm Brazillian. The Samba sort.

Until they get used to my cultural interblending that probably compares to our "multicultural" Singapore.

Learning the Samba. And for those who don't know me well enough, I'm talking about soccer.

---

Was having this discussion and i shall decide to bore the web denizens unlucky enough to type in "ultravioletlight.blogspot.com" [On a side note there's about 8 x 10^30 different possible combinations of 16-letter blog names in blogspot. Approx.]

Global Warming.

1. Get a glass.
2. Put a block of ice in it.
3. Fill to the brim with water (with the ice bobbing about)
4. Wait for the ice to melt.
5. Tell me if the water in the glass overflows (there's the comments function here...)
6. The water is not supposed to overflow anw. mathematically.
7. Which means melting ice-bergs don't change the water level.

Unless...

WE're talking about the ice chunks that are NOT floating, but resting on land. i.e. mainly in Antarctica.

THERE's a difference between fresh water and sea water when considering melting ice-bergs.

I intend to try out the salt water version. curious. very curious.

---

Going for a last minute shift. Its not as though i have a social life that'll be thoroughly affected by a last minute pawai shift.

Anw, its okay if you get off in lieu.

And i realise that i'm greedy. I like off in lieu. lots of off in lieu.

---

Went for mass yesterday at Bt Batok's St Mary of the Angels. Which is in the same vicinity as the Franciscan Friary. And the place is beautiful.

And the service sermon was quite unlike the usual weekday mass sermon. it was relatively long and insightful. maybe because i paid attention. hmmmm..

Anw, i'll be off to bed now. Lots of sleep to catch up on..

Out.

Buy And Throw Away

I saw "Life!" newspaper today, and i was shocked. Because i actually bothered to read past the comics and the "television for today section". Celebrity coverage has been around for a long time. As to why, i have no idea. Personally i usually skip the mundane "this actor was seen with this actress" talk. Today, boredom just overcame me and i just glanced at it. and i really don't understand what's so interesting about celebrities' (who are just actors/singers and mere humans last i checked) lives.

Plus as far as i'm concerned these lives that they live, and especially the lives that the media coverage envision them to live, sparking rumours where rumours never existed before, are not what i'd normally consider model lives to base your lives upon. I mean, i don't know about you, but i consider the fact that their average expiry time of their marriages rivals the expiry date on fruits, perhaps.

Something like computers i guess; one's spouse is a novelty that lasts for a short while before.. Of course, we could solve that problem by not marrying in the first place. Which is commonplace too.

Oh i do envy them sometimes. Their lack of challenge in the world, a separation at the slightest of disputes. They don't have to endure the challenge of maintaining a relationship that apparently has gone sour. so they throw it away rather than attempt to make it sweet. or at least bearable.

But its a throw-away society we build today. Throw away relationships, throw away foetuses, throw away lives.

Personally i'd prefer to attempt to fix something that has gone spoilt, be it a shoe, a door or whatever. But i'm not them.

And these attitudes, embodied in the lives of others that paparrazi happily snap away at, are the lives that we wish to live - the life of a celebrity. a life just like you or me. a life, perhaps lived with an increase in wealth, but a life nonetheless.

They're actors, singers, whatever. But we're doctors, lawyers, teachers, gardeners, drivers, etc. I don't see anybody prying into our so-called mundane lives as i see in their case.

I think the most exciting thing abt show-biz is running from paparazzi and perhaps accusing them of trying to run you down.

And i think to be jealous of them is to be the most sapping-of-self-pride thing that can be done. No matter how perfect they seem, they'll be dead and buried/cremated soon enough. possibly even dead from all their "exciting" work.

And if you really feel like looking up to someone, try finding a more decent "celebrity" that you could look up to. Depending on your religion, perhaps Buddha, or Jesus, or Muhammad. I'm sure they'll be able to guide you as well as (definitely better than) any other.

I'm not sorry about this outburst. I just feel slightly sorry for those who have been made use of to make magazines richer. even if they're probably not sorry for themselves. And i'm sorry of the image some tend to portray.

New Guitar~!

Welcome back, Ben. Welcome back, Computer...

This seems to have been a really long hiatus from blogging for me. But referencing to past records/archives, there have been periods of longer-absence-from-blogger. Usually corresponding to periods of computer being unservicable.

In any case, at long last Mr. Computer (a good joke/argument on whether its Mr or Mrs Computer comes to mind) is alive and well, and hence i can provide an update. short one.

Firstly, the violin thing. There aint nobody to teach me, and i'd rather not bore my pawai-mates' ears off while they're trying to sleep work. At least in some respects i'm respectably considerate. Plus i don't like to sound like an screechy dingobird.

Secondly, i'm going to officially request to stay in TAB. which means that my days will be spent in TAB as well as my nights. Whenever i'm not on off, or in Pawai. TAB stands for Tengah Air Base, mind you. But i doubt i'd ever survive alone in Bunk in TAB, especially knowing how creepy it can get (yes it sometimes is a page out of "The Haunting"). So...

I bought a guitar to bring to TAB, which is mine and all mine i.e. i bought it with my own money. feel so accomplished. cost like $180, but i hope the quality is not severely compromised. Its a classical guitar and it'll add to my acoustic (which actually is my dad's and costs a lot more). Plus classical is a lot easier to pluck notes, which i'd like to learn how to do. So exciting. Plus shopping for the guitar yesterday was such fun too..

Especially considering who i was shopping for it with. haha..

And i learnt smthg new - there are people who can tune a guitar just by listening to it. pure hearing. What i can do maximum is give a 95% accurate tuning of the strings relative to one another. Relative tuning i.e. how each string sounds relative to the other. which i think is quite basic.

And so i was just like "wow" at the dude who tuned by mere ear-work. and i'm still like just "wow".

Also, i have decided to go play badminton again today. after a month-long injury mind you, and i am so fearful that it'll recur. hai...

oh well.. wish me luck.. haha

and good luck for all the exams to all pple taking them..~!

cheers~ n peace.

Bad Day(s)

Bloggers' Mental Block. I read a cartoon in the papers about that. Cute, definitely. And one could probably tell that I have something close to that, seeing as how I started this entry.

But I don't really have one, thats the funny part - i've got too much to say and i'm trying not to bore excessively. Side-tracking, see how i've given up CAPITALISING the 'I's which was part of my initial determination to make sure this blog entry at least will be acceptable by Cambridge. So much for THAT determination.

Anyway (see i havent abbreviated that word yet!) the fact remains that due to certain events to-be-mentioned i didnt have the time to update my blog for the better part of 2.5 weeks. Which, i'd say is a record for some time (see Archives for further details).

---

Firstly, I've passed the one-third mark of my National Service. 6 mths in the Army and another 2 in the RSAF. Prefer the last two months a lot, mind you..

Secondly I've had a few REALLY BAD days. Thank God for my Perfectly Porous Memory (PPM for short) that i have the ability to forget what exactly made those days bad. BUT on one of those "bad" days i did go out for a drink. And i got high after one glass i think, but it was effective in temporarily blank-ing the slate scarred by the bad day. My PPM did the rest of the job afterwards.

Oh the last "Bad Day" i can rmb clearly. Cos the physical effects of it i.e. a Cold, a Sore Throat and a feeling of Lethargy still linger. And because it was just yesterday.

Weeding Grass IN THE FREAKING POURING ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING RAIN. On DISGUSTINGLY SOGGY RICEFIELD LIKE GROUND. urghhhhh!!!!

and if thats not bad enough, my ONLY pants got soaked through and i had to go home all the way in the MRT train cold, in singlet and shorts. ahpek style, i was told. grrr...

And so i'm sick today. But at least, not dying of pneumonia as nafeesa suggested i might hv if i didtn watch out. but coughing like nicky (ref last post).

---

I wanted to learn the violin. ANYBODY out there willing to teach me? OR sell me a second hand violin? cos my budget of <$100 is bit hard to meet. even at sweelee's, where i went to today btw..

I hope if u want to sell your violin you at least live in the Sunniest cum Rainiest and Brightest/Whitest Island! Loads of Pawai free time (.pwi).

violin.pwi
sewing.pwi
cooking.pwi
javascript.pwi
talkingcock.pwi

ok nuffsaid. i'll do smthg i hvnt done for some time. but first, see how the grammar and punctuation and abbreviation and spelling sense has deteriorated over the past few paragraphs? cool innit?

here goes.

cheers~ n peace.

Going it MYself.

Today i'm on off. In lieu of National Day. But fair, i spend National Day at work - its still considered work - and i get to spend the feast of the Assumption of Mary at home. Fair trade, cos i'm quite glad for this welcome break.

Break not only from work, but stressful "play". Just took in the time today at home. Therapeutic. And tmr i'm ready to go upshift again! Yay! Back to my favourite Island! Wahaha..

Refreshed. Feeling Educated, Knowledgeable.

Managed to practise Javascript today; made a script to help timetable planning. The cook always gives a positive review. So i think it was a fantastic script. And i think it shows much promise to better life down at the Office.

Which makes me think. USMS (suggestions to the improvement of workers condition) at the office. There's an obligation to send in 8 per year. I hvnt had any. And now i know why.

I saw the bathroom at bunk didnt hv place to hang clothes; i bought those stick-on hooks for hanging clothes.
I saw it was troublesome to plan a shift forecast, i did the JS script to do it for those involved.

And all this in 1.5 months here.

I should be excused from USMS. I'm independent. Not that i'm too arrogant to ask for help. More that i don't like to trouble other people with something that i think i CAN do myself. Its just that as yet, i don't see any problem around the office that cannot be handled by itself. As long as the superiors give space to implement our own changes, there's no need for obligatory USMS. It just encourages dependence.

And the irony is that the ones that are too big to handle, e.g. Washing Machine on Pawai? or probably too big to handle for them, even.

Latest USMS - don't hv enough variety of vegetables brought up/ no fruits.

Freak. I really don't think of USMS. I'm more enthusiastic about learning a bit about agriculture. Vegetables can be freaking grown, for crying out loud.

---

On a brighter note, i hv no idea where last week's inspiration to write what some call a poem (which i dont see rhyming) came from. But it felt nice to let go of my Mathematical Nature and embrace a different nature. If i were more Mathematical at point of writing that perhaps it would hv sounded more like "she's perfect because she matches every single one of my criteria". which is not nearly half as romantic.

---

On an even more brighter note (yes i threw grammar out of the window along with my pink IC) i am going up to PAWAI again! yay! or have i already mentioned that?

Anw, its a weekend shift so i'm "trapped" for this weekend. Though tmr is my 5th and "provisional" shift - after tmr, if all goes well, i can stay out and finally tap into the full use of my time.

Maybe Driving? or Badminton? or Tuition to keep my mind active. So many choices..

But now, Church!!!!!!!!! Really YAYYY! waahahahaha!

OUT! =P

For Her.

My mum asked me, What do you like Most about her?

And i thought.

I KNEW i liked everything about her.

But what do i like MOST about her?

Is it her enchanting eyes, which first captured my vision?
Is it her beautiful dimpled cheeks, which first enticed me nearer?
Is it her melodious voice, which first caused my heart to sing?
Is it her lovely face, which first told me how lucky i am?

OR is it her honest, pure and loving heart that never fails to love everyone around her, and especially me?

I think its the fact that in fullfilling all the criteria above, I believe that God loves me so much to send her to me. And i'll be forever thankful to Him for that, no matter what He has in store for me.

Happy Anniversary My Darling...

A Thought Too Farrr

Move over Sungei Buloh.. These are REAL mangroves. Ones that have survived bullet-fire... High tide actually, the sea recedes abt 50m during low tide..

Paradise off an offshore island off the south coast of Singapore.

The heavens show their rage on the innocents down below walking along the long jetty into the open sea.. The heavens are beautiful even in anger...

---

Those are a few pictures of MY island (note the possesive element involved in saying that). Even though its far from being MY island. Far, due to an ORD date (which IS welcomed, don't worry) and a rank far below Major General (a major-general's pay is DEFINITELY most welcomed).. Civil Servants in High Places in Singapore get a lot of money.. quite surely more than other countries around us where (if) corruption is abound. More even when the total sum of earnings is considered..

(Roger Federer Beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon final)

Food for thought, its said. But its also said don't think too much.

---

I was thinking about smthg i once read in a blog. 2nd degree friend, in friendster terminology. The Hund's Rule concept applicable on SBS/TIBS/CSS etc. Every Singaporean (especially those who hv gone out as a couple, hetero or otherwise) would know how Singaporeans tend to follow the Hund's Rule when choosing seats on a bus..

(Roger Federer Beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon Final)

Note, i'm not sure as to whether i'm quoting the right rule here, its been some time since i last studied that quantum thingies.. correct me if i'm mistaken please. n show me the little thing called Evidence! muahaha.. okay i'm officialy looney!! lalala..

I'll come back to that later.. (looney-ness)

Anw, i personally find it irritating when i see one person especially on the MRT sitting in the middle of a threesome of seats. i.e. _____ (IDIOT) _____.

So i find it pretty amusing when i saw a white couple (father and little daughter) decide to educate one of the pple out there.. i.e. Father (IDIOT) Daughter.

and not hesitate to talk to one another over the (now-no-more-an-idiot)... good work. now, another 4,499,991 to go. I think i took note of my friends (who AREN't antisocial idiots..) muahhaha..

thats the word - antisocial. we tend to need that rhineland-like territory to protect us from all the other ugly and rude singaporeans. so funny wahahaha again cough cough..

---

Looney-ness - its a wonder. wonder how people survive 2 yrs of NSF life. glad i don't have to go thru it (only 1yr10mth wahahaha lame). but seriously, they shld conduct a study: brainscans wld be necessary so see WHICH part of army life shrinks your brain... BMT? SISPEC (wld explain a lot *evil grin*)? or the sheer dullness of Fatigue work (aka SaiKang).

(Roger Federer Beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon Final)

The word Almost-Sgt Raja used was "erode". which is apt. He did use the word Brainscan too.. bah..

Randomly i think i'm going to change my blogskin. boooorrrreeeeddd of it. need mi photoshop though.. urf..

and here's another few pictures..

The most Lau Jiao on the Island. Been there 9 yrs. Even longer than DB-legend A. Tan. His name is Nicky alias The Veteran alias The Legend.

And this is Nicole aka Retarded Bitch. not being vulgar. just honest. and its her fault if this blog takes time to load because her picture is so big in megabyte size for some absurd reason which i dont know nor care to know. ahh heck..

---

So listen boys and girls.. or rather just you boys out there.. when you do your NS in a couple of years time, and are rolling in the mud, doing SOC or being forced to drink tooth-paste water from your helmet, or even getting service pay, think of me. think of the time you chanced upon my blog. muahahahaha. think. (i sound like a mad scientist.. muahahaha)

(Roger Federer Beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon Final)

oh yes. it'll be appreciated if u girls could offhandedly remind your brothers whenever they get exceptionally irritating. yes..

But i'm humane. i'll tell u the secret to my 'success'..

"Arse Luck".

Out.

oh yes. and my brother wants to remind you guys that Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon Final.

Out for real.

Island History

Yay i'm so happy. Uni term is starting!

But wait. its starting without me, dammit..

oh well, i guess i hv to maximise my time spent in pawai trying to learn stuff eg. cooking, gardening, cleaning.. yawn, usual army stuff. and i realised that actually, pawai is the name of a city in india.. hope not a namesake.. it'll be quite interesting to go research one of the lesser-known islands of singapore..

there are plenty of stories eg. ancient civilisations that used to be greater than rome and an army more vicious than the mongols are there to be found/formed. and there are plenty of ancient ruins to base our claims/stories upon.

i didnt take a hike thru pawai yet, they say its 500m long.. tiny, yes.. haha..

any case i hv pics of my friends on pawai, but i hv to make sure i dont include any equipment.

hmm wonder if the tv and the monopoly set is considered among them...

---

Can't upload pics for some reason.. maybe i try later..

for now, ciao.. so busy i am.

yes, while i'm super free during work hours esp whence in pawai, i'm super busy in the rare occasion that i'm home.. though it seems that my days tend to clear up when pple cancel. hai complicated.

and ya, i'm blogging less...

out.

Tsunami Proof

I seem to hv lost the blogging impetus since joining RSAF. gradually been sapped out of me. in any case, i am forced to the upkeep of this blog for the purpose of maintaining non-hokkienised conversation.

I'm clueless as to whether hokkienism is a misnomer. there's so many dialects indistinguishable from each other in that language that i tend to be smothered in. well with the exception of the last shift - mukun can't (or at least not well) speak chinese, kong doesnt, and my fave niko doesnt.

niko is a dog, mind you. 5 month old black dog. i'm ignorant and blissfully ignorant at that regarding the 'breed' of the dog. breed? its a foreign word. Black dog. enough description. bit ugly. but adorable. hence cute, in the literal meaning.

I'd hv gotten wonderful pictures of the wonderful island i reside on for certain periods - i even brought my camera.. but as testament to my idiocy i didnt charge the batteries. but i brought my camera. good enough lah. in the words of tauhid, idea was there.

and while i was happily sitting on that peaceful rock south of the "rock" that is Singapore, an island south of Singapore, Java, was hit by two earthquakes. in relative proximity to indonesia, we are. the second quake actually caused a tidal rise of about a foot - and consider the fact that i had left the jetty minutes before the tidal rise to watch my spongebob.

two guys (kong n mukun) remained on the jetty to see the sea engulf it. (actually the wave water jus managed to cover the jetty, but i tend to exaggerate). me being 40+m (i think) above sea level happily watching an animated sponge and his good friend the starfish didnt feel a thing. but later i got glad for those 200+ steps we hv to climb - it makes the place a very safe place during global warming. or a tsunami, which probably wld be the more imminent threat.

But in any case its such a relief to be back home after 3 days on the island. even if i keep considering it a chalet resort etc. correction, anw - its a chalet resort with area cleaning. tutz..

ok gonna rest. ciao.

out.

World Cup Pneumonia

So concluded the World Cup Germany 2006 last night (early this morning, Singapore time) as Italy won the competition for the 4th time, once more amidst an issue of corruption back home. I shan't comment on Corruption in Italy lest his Excellency the Italian Ambassador posts a comment like he did in "Today" newspaper regarding a commentary about corruption in his country. I'd agree that its unfair to judge a nation by its football players.. but there's no absolving the players involved in their elaborate attempts to soil the nature of the game.

And so concludes probably a World Cup that really i could have won a LOT of money - there was a certain pattern; every team i wanted to win either played horrendously (England) or lost. Quite sad, really.. Except for a handful of matches such as Czech Republic v. USA. And public enemy no.1 (for ousting Aussieland) eventually claimed the trophy. So i could hv won a lot of money..

In any case i believe that the most interesting talking point of the game was inevitably Zinedine Zidane's 3rd extraordinary header in 2 World Cup Finals. For those who are blur, the first two won the Jules Rimet trophy for France in 1998 v. Brasil. The third, this time well placed to the chest of an Italian player, got him sent off.. For those of you who missed the action..

Followed by the Italian's (obviously) must-make-the-ref-notice reaction..

We have it all on camera film - the whole sequence - but i'm lazy to upload it. Anw, Zidane got sent off in extra time, and France went on to deservedly lose. For if Italy did knock out the valiant Aussies and the Deutschlanders, it was evident that they wanted the Jules Rimet trophy much more than the Frenchies. Perhaps bcos half the Frenchie team HAVE already lifted it before, in 1998.

And full applause to the Italian defense, and clinical though sporadic attack.

---

Anw, i watched the final on Pawai, and hence was knocked out clean the rest of today. and it was a good first shift, where i definitely had to do more than my fair share, which of course did piss me off abit.. but apart from that, its okay la. its fun to change generators and do ops checks with the Radio. That's why i'm a signaller.

And 90% of the conversation and 80% of the TV shows and 50% of the radio shows were in Chinese. which, especially the conversation bit, really got on my nerves. technically it feels that i was excluded in all sense of the word for a lot of the time, and i'd have bonded with the sea better. and it was a disappointing day this morning - being poured down by the clouds' tears. and the sky's breath. The wind was blistering cold, and the weather.. still can't recover.

But apart from that.. the nice long nap, the end of world cup, the return home from pawai, the changing into dry clothes, the nice long chat with keira, and especially keira knighley on TV two days in a row.. Enough things to be thankful of. and enough space to still wonder about one of the great mysteries of the FIFA World Cup.

Out.

to You.

I'm back, and so sorry to dampen the spirits of those who believe that there should be more productive things online with the amount of money blogger is spending on me. But i'll just sigh and carry on with my exciting life that nobody will understand.

Maybe it adds to the excitement of hoping for an exciting post everytime u happen to chance upon this site. and perhaps you'd hv been terribly disappointed unless u were a terrorist searching for where the hell the RSAF conducts live firing exercises. Which even then i don't think you'd want to know anyway.

Anw i believe i'll be uncontactible over the next few days - i'm going over to the island. where its rumoured to have a monopoly set, mahjong set, risk set and others.. true, but read the fine print. nobody wants to play. bishk!

its almost as bad as giving u a hell lot of money and no time to use it. i.e. OCS. hurhur. whatever.

anw it never fails to amaze me how skillfull experienced cabbies are at their profession. did you KNOW that they have a computer map on their little screen?? soo cool.. did you KNOW that one day before the diesel prices skyrocketted i wanted to be a cabbie? oh wait. it was before it became known to me that a cabbie's job is the most lethal job (survey done in NYC). even surpassing the more obvious job of soldier. hmmm..

i guess gang member doesn't count.

or race car driver.

whatever.

Anw i think the computer map is probably a waste of money for experienced cabbies. and an insult to their abilities. they don't need it. it'll probably be better used to let their sons see where AMK ave 10 is. My fake address is there, btw. complete with a block number...

I'm gg back to what i used to be - a book worm. i guess those who know me wld probably question that statement, but rest assured, i was an avid reader before. besides, u'd probably hv only known me earliest sec1, which is 6 yrs after i read my last book regularly. strangely, sec1 happens to also be 6 yrs after i kicked my first football. coincidence?

On another note, i did try to convert to "Notepad". disaster, i think.. too personal. too hateful, too cynical of this crazy world we live in. i like myself in this civic-controlled environment that is blogger. u'd like me here better too..

i hate you, world. u're cruel and selfish. why do i seek to please u? why? - 010706

I still wonder. Why?

out.

Swansong?

I'm sorry that i've bored the living hell out of most pple that read my blog. Thank you naf for making that known to me - though i probably always knew.

It also makes me understand just how boring my life must be to an outsider. but seriously, rest assured - my life is not boring to me. so needn't pity the fact that i'm living a life that might seem extremely boring to you.

Which makes me think. a lot of pple's lives are completely boring to others. at least to me. which makes me wonder what purpose a blog serves. what's the difference between a blog and "Notepad"?

Out.

Extension

I still don't understand what ISN'T fascinating about seeing F-16's taking off when i look out of my window. and roaming around in a control tower. or walking across the runway etc. No matter what u guys say, i still think i've got the most fascinating job of them all. i mean.. its such a fascinating job that one of the sergeants has actually considered (and suggested to the relevant authorities) extending his ORD date. yes. EXTENDING.

of course, i reacted as most pple wld - "insane!" i yelled. this reaction is a result of BMT. but then i considered.. its not a bad idea. good job, relaxing enough, peaceful on islands, and, well.. decent pay. plus we don't hv to go outside to look for a job to occupy us while we wait for NUS.

Probably that last paragraph - last two, infact - has probably got some of ur jaws to drop. especially if ur a guy. girls jus dont get ns. and fighter jets. and etc. but thats a fact of life. was reading smthg by neil humphreys abt NSmen. smthg so true, abt how i tired my sister and brother and whoever was watching Black Hawk Down with my meagre knowledge of M-16s. (which i'll gladly announce that i hvnt seen in AGES).

Now i hv to do some research abt F-16 fighter jets and F-5 fighter jets. how to differentiate them. and its so troublesome cos i cant bring any "bytes" into the army computer. no idea why. why i can't bring bytes FROM my com, i understand. but INTO the com? viruses? hmmm...

I mistakenly went down to play soccer. attempt to at least. i decided i'm not gg to try out for the FSS team. need to buy boots. geez. unless i bring my first (and only) pair of boots. which are ancient. and by ancient i mean older than me. think how old that is in footballboots-years..

So excited abt tmr. why? i shan't say. not here at least. hurhur. okay i feel dirty. gg to bathe for the next hour or so. exaggeration no doubt. okay. ciao

out.

Beret

I realised that i definitely would not be able to rmb all the significant events of the past week, seeing as how many significant events occur during the course of one week in the RSAF. yes i'm so proud to say those four letters. even though i'm still like the smallest thing (private) that could ever don the RSAF No.3 uniform (which i'm so happy to announce that i was issued today). i will take a photo in that No.3 Uniform and paste it up here one day, but not now, cos i left the uniform in camp.

Which brings me to my next point, or rather, probably ur next question - "What the hell am i doing at home?". Its a good question. They give me night's out, and i choose to come all the way back home, foregoing the free dinner laid out so graciously at the cookhouse. crazy? nah.. my mom laid out a wonderful free dinner for me at home too. so voila i'm here visiting my home; and having to start making my way back to TAB at 2145. respectable 3 hrs back at home - computer, guitar, tuition room.. etc..

Anw, i digress. i was on the subject of uniforms, and i'm so glad to say that i've achieved my objective in the army. explanation: in BMT, i decided that my goal in the army would be to...

GET A BERET!!!

Wooo i'm so happy i got a beret! And after struggling to put it on for the rest of the day (after 1500hrs) i finally came to this. (see above picture).

Well, they say the Beret needs seasoning, so well. and the colour.. don't ask me, i also don't know. it says greyish blue, but it looks more like greenish blue-ish grey. either way the colour is cool. goes well with anything. yep. unlike the mismatched red or overmatched green.

Anw, another significant event was that yet again i've evaded IPPT test. make no mistake, IPPT is what i dislike most abt army. cos IPPT is a test where we actually hv to work. grrr... work and stress about passing simultaneously. ohh i so wish i pass it. albeit a month-long hiatus from physical training.. oh well. back to camp now then.. sleepy~

out.

The Sadist

I nvr thought it'll ever come to this. but;

HURRAY! SCHOOL STARTS TMR!!!

okay i'm being a terrible sadist, but reason being this is the first time this day doesnt affect me whatsoever. and i didnt even realise the significance of today as the last day of the pseudo freedom for school kids around singapore till i perused blogs of some of them school kids. i.e. my sister. and suddenly it hit me.

that being said, i still hv to book in tmr morning early at 7.45 am; probably will make my way to TAB say, ten hours earlier. to make way for time to get lost in the maze of roads there. actually there's only one long deserted road there. bit scary. it may not exactly cut through the cemeteries of Lim Chu Kang, but goes thru the equally scary zone of army and police camps. look left, look right, you would see the keat hong, police academy and other camps. and every time i pass the police academy i just suddenly rmb the show of a couple of decades ago (Geez.. i'm so old) called Police Academy. and thinking of all the weirdos inside the show Police Academy and realise that Chua Chu Kang Rd's very own police academy is probably likewise dominated by that sort.

---

and i miss pulau kawai again. i mean pawai. i wonder what "pawai" means in malay.. one day i'll make a note to check up on it. i wonder if would they call pawai an island in western countries ? i mean, its tiny.

and singapore has this unnatural habit of naming things bigger than they really are. i mean, MOUNT Faber is not even a hill, let alone a mountain. and here i was growing up believing that this great ridge that we have is comparable to Mt Everest and co.

that being said, i suddenly rmb that Alcatraz, which i believe to be similar in size to pawai -maybe Alcatraz is a bit smaller - is called a Rock more than its called an Island. and London is still called a city even though its way bigger than Singapore the Country.

maybe its because we asians are smaller than our western counterparts. which would explain why no asian team is in the second round of the FIFA world cup. unless u count the socceroos from down under. who AREN'T asian. though they're beginning to believe they are. (next time out they want to join the Asian group of qualifiers).

Anw, since they're our closest neighbours (yes, tts the sorry state) i'll support the socceroos. yay! good for them. maybe one more round before the real big guns start to take over. i.e. the Brasil's and the Deutschlanders. And yay harry kewell and yay Liverpool.

After all the exercise of the past few days, i'm just very glad of this welcome rest. and one more week in camp; hopefully its a fruitful one.

And i'd better give a very overdue wish to all.

Happy Holidays!!

Yes.

I'm such a sadist.

out.

Pawaii Kawaii

I think i should really not blog abt everything i want to blog about. its getting stressful when everything starts to pile up; and if i really were to release all that i want to say on this blog it would be a really really long entry that none of you would be able to finish. on the other hand, shld i issue a challenge?

anw this dilemma of long entries is a result of the fact that i've been super busy the past few days. plus there was smthg last time that i wanted to say. abt the fox and the sour grapes. which i really believe that pple dont give enough credit to the wise old fox for being able to think rationally to remain happy. i mean, so he can't get the grapes. then he reasons to himself perhaps there's a reason for him not to get the grapes. a bigger reason than himself. so basically why do we say "fox and sour grapes" in such a negative tone? the fox is wise.. wise enough to see the "bigger reason in life" that many of us fail to see..

so don't use the phrase in a negative sense. capisce? haha.. okaaay..

in any case today was the RCC (Regina Coeli Choir) concert. the peeris-influence on the RCC is relatively high - jackie n jon esp.. and it has what every S'goon district choir has to have - a nerva ambassador [my choir has TWO nerva's.. think abt it]. anw RCC has 3 peeris's, even more than any one SFX choir - 7am has 2 (including me); 9am has 2. then again, 9am has gomez's as well.. but well.. bit further in the relations line. anw the concert was great.. and i think that what i saw is the face of catholicism in the future - esp with all the youth groups springing up, even in SFX church - the cell-group phenomenon, aided by a strong music ministry. its quite exciting to live on this verge of smthg so new and exciting; we seem to be following the footsteps of our Christian brethren, and i believe definitely its a good thing. oh well.

i wonder how gd a peeris-choir wld be. definitely we'll leech on our more accomplished cousins. haha.. i'm glad to be from such a musical family; though sometimes i wish i wasnt because its really hard to be anybody other than a miniscule pawn - i always get the feeling that the age gap of 7 yrs between me and jackie is to blame for the fact that i believe that i'm still quite small (young) there. and it won't change. plus i believe anthony will experience the same thing. oh well..

---

yesterday was pawai maintenance day - we had to go there to pluck grass from the courts. in case anybody doesnt noe, i'll repeat myself. again. my platoon (flight) is in charge of pulau pawai which is a live firing area for the RSAF. i'll include a picture from google earth; i hope it isn't "wrong" in any way.

Anw, its quite cool, seriously.. i wont give a zoom in picture of my island, but its the middle one. and if u see properly, u can see my little bungalow-resort-chalet on top of a hill with 200+ long steps up. hai.. thats the onli problem with the place, with the exception of the overwhelming population of mozzies.

But seriously i'm so glad of this "vocation". not because its a slack non-physically-challenging vocation, but because there's a certain romance of the sea which captivates me. i always thought it was smthg that everybody shared, but in a short survey (i asked one other person) i realised that isnt true. in any case, its true for me; and the fact that i look around my bungalow-resort-chalet and i can see the sea on all sides; and the fact that i see the sun rise and set over the sea jus adds to that wonderful feelign of anticipation i hv abt gg to the island. that island, i mean..

i suddenly rmbed some show abt "gg to the island". the show is "the island" i beleive. and its so different.

Anw, lets hope the island doesnt let me down.

gtg.. ciao~ out.

F.S.S. - T.A.B.

I'll make this short since my time on the computer is limited by sleepy time (tmr bookin time is 0800hrs) and sis-off-the-com time (exceptionally late, as usual).

~*~

Anw, to those who don't already know, i've finally spent a day at tengah air base, which is really in the tengah (middle) of nowhere. So exciting.. seriously. and so officially i'm not in the Army anymore, even though i'm in that no.4 uniform (green sh*t).

To those who want to know my schedule as to know when i'm free or if i hv weekends off etc:

My job in the army is to maintain an offshore island used for (R)SAF training purposes (i'm still not used to putting the 'R' in front of the SAF). ANw, so i'm basically there 4 days at a time, taking either a weekday shift or a weekend shift. weekday shift is mon-thurs; weekend shift is thurs-mon. if i'm not on shift, i'll follow a regular working week. with the exception for the fact that i may hv off days here and there due to the fact that i hv to work on an offshore island. Seriously, the security on Tengah Air Base, henceforth referred to as TAB, is quite scary - they even had a x-ray lehh!!

i very scared sekali i say smthg i not supposed to say.. but i doubt i'd even be told anything of that sort.

Due to time restraints, only what i need to say has been said. actually i wanted to make a heartfelt dedication to my former platoon, but i'll do that next time - they deserve it. As well as a complaint at the overuse and misuse of the phrase "fox and the sour grapes". I really dont understand why pple seem to think that the fox was wrong to do what he did.. anw, more next time. gtg already. must sleep!

G'nite.

Out.

Happy Fathers' Day

How fast this day has passed - after coming back from church (special mass for deb's church camp) and i looked at my wonderful watch and it was already 5.30pm.. where the heck did my day go? then i rmbed...

I was attempting to stay up late last night. then i changed my mind - i began attempting to stay up. but at 4am this morning i realised the magnitude of the task i set myself, and fell asleep without much trouble. and so naturally i woke up at 1145 and had breakfast at 1200, went to chruch at 1330, had lunch at 1500, watched abit of tv before looking at my watch at 1730. oh well..

i hv to go back to camp tonight, probably my last night there - oso the last night i'd be seeing my platoon; and i believe that they warrant a fine entry here @UVLight.com. some day lah.. haha..

i can feel smthg different abt me this afternoon - church camp mass.. suddenly alot of memories came flooding back to me.. my own church camp, when i found my way back to God and the Church. and i remembered smthg that i told myself ages ago (5 yrs ago).. The reading was about the Transfiguration, about the apostles who saw the Transfiguration (the full revealing of the divinity of Christ) and how those same apostles hid in their upper room for fear of men after the Crucifixion from lack of faith. they saw it with their own eyes, they felt it with their own hearts, yet they didnt believe anw..

i couldnt believe i'd ever doubt the existence and love of God. and here i was five years later, doing just that - not doubting His existence.. but moreso his Love. and i'm very glad that i went for this church camp mass that brought me back in time to my pre-confirmation days. even had this fleeting thought that the pure white cassock looked good on Fr Gerrard. and wondering if i'd ever look as good in it..

then i held myself back and told myself i'm jumping too fast.

Anw the best i can do for now is be a good person and be caring towards everyone. even those i dont like. its hard, but i'd better get to do it.. i guess i'd feel loads better if i do that rather than what my previous entry suggested..

~*~

I would like to wish all fathers out there a happy Fathers' Day, as today is Fathers' Day. I wont dedicate anything on my blog to my Dad, cos i noe that he'll nvr see it anyway; he's not the internet savvy type. anw perhaps in some sorts this blog entry was dedicated to my Heavenly Father. And how appropriate is it that its Fathers' Day.

Utopia

I know i was tortured for 1.5hrs, standing (perfectly) still under the sweltering heat. well not really sweltering, but bad enough standing 1.5hrs in SBO and with a blinking scarf around the neck...

but the good news - its over! no more NDP.

Then i got some horrid (potentially) news.. tengah air base contingent is oso in NDP.. praying hard now..

And one more parade - supposedly a Change-Of-Command parade - but i'm jus going to take it as a thank-you parade to us, 20/05 platoon, who were ironically referred to as permstaff of SI by the emcee of the parade.. ironic considering the fact that immediately after the parade we'll be leaving that god-forsaken place. and all single-fingered salutes will be welcome.

so i came to this conclusion - we're parade veterans. i think the frequency of us (20/05) in parades is really one of the highest of all NSFs..

no, parade specialists. normal specialists hv their rank insignia on their sleeve; but ours is up our sleeves on our sunburnt skin. the national flag of red-and-white imprinted/tatooed on their forearms..

and i've fallen into a saddened state. again; typical of me on saturdays/fridays. for some reason. sundays, after church i'm pretty much rejuvenated and rearing to go, but its these saturdays and fridays. and i believe i talk too much. SAF shld consider reducing my security clearance. its not a matter of trust; its jus diplomacy. its my fundemental flaw, to be diplomatic and promote world peace, at least in the tiny little world around me.

i used to be relatively good at it. u hear what u need to hear. u don't hear what u shldn't hear. if u hear too much of what i hear, and u'll probably wage wars against others.

its this that's wrong in 20/05 even. there's so much bad-mouthing and talking-behind-backs that i can't stand it. maybe its the influence of fana and khairul against this; perhaps their fervour in putting it down, that i can't stand it. i'd jus be frank. frankness won't win u friends. maybe tactful frankness wld, but i'm still learning.

yes, i've changed. do i like it? not really, but i could learn to. quite fed up of this good-boy-nice-to-everyone image. only problem is whether i'll overcook it and become this evil-boy-nice-to-nobody. doubt so, but its a possibility.

but really, i wonder if there is such a world where everybody can live together without squabbling over differences. and then i answer myself - its so freaking impossible unless everybody has been zerorized (in signal terms, this refers to being reset to a blank slate). so theologically if heaven was this utopia of peace, we'd all have to be zerorized?

and yes i've had these images of the perfect world. and i'm not lying, or exaggerating when i say i saw no human beings, with their materialism and greed and suffering. again, i think i'm really beginning to sound like ms trunchbull and her "perfect school is one where there is no children", from matilda by roald dahl... oh well.. can't wait for church tmr.

out.

CzechMate

oh sorrows.. i can't believe that my holiday, so graciously given by the ISM, henceforth to be referred to as The Boss, has ended so early.

Anw, i'm still thrilled with the fact that the past few mornings i've been sleeping arnd 1-2 and waking up arnd 10-11. obviously watching the world cup. and i realised that while i've usually been an england supporter due to liverpool influence, my other team that i always tend to support is still arnd. and even better, i believe. as far as i'm concerned, the best team of euro 2004- the czech republic. and i hv adopted a new and atypical (among singaporeans) favourite.

All around pple support england. even those who can't stand conforming to the crowd tend to support holland. i guess to be a true non-conformist one must support a certain Togo or something.

But still, Czech Republic. nvm i think u can jus go read up on a world cup update on any of the thousands of blogs/websites all around bearing the same news, and often the same perspectives too. i shan't be the conformist that i tend to be and turn my blog into a hapless worldcup blog. tut tut tut..

Anw czech republic ground out the biggest win of this tournament, 3-0. definitely flowing football in all respects. beautiful, but too bad i didnt hv anybody awake to share my awe with. (it was the midnight game).

though again one can argue abt conformism being a paradox of itself.

~*~

Watched cars yesterday, and, unlike in x-men, i wasn't fool again to leave the cinema before the credits were over. and i was laughing n laughing during the credits and wondering why they hv to do this.. and then, of course.. they want to make pple watch the credits so pple wld see their names! but then, i think i'm wrong in that respect. surely it wldnt matter whether or not we see names or not - a name is just a name if we don't know the person. eg. we might hv heard of arthur ashe (a tennis arena is named after him) but i doubt many wld hv ever seen him play. i mean many of my generation (the BLOGeneration).

ah heck i'm gg to play my computer game again. and i missed breakfast today. so hungry.. grrr... oh well.. ta..

and i won't play minesweeper today.. because..


yes, i won.
out.

Premature Fare Well

i wld hv written this in present tense.. but the lag is a result of me being unable to use the com yesterday. and anw i had no reason to - world cup has started!

But its far cry from what its been made out to be. of the matches i watched, first match was a show of defensive haplessness (no exaggeration) and the second, a show of offensive haplessness.

But well.. its still the preliminary rounds and i can't care too much.

still all the world cup action can't take the attention away from NDP rehearsal. the penultimate one. (and i pray very hard that is true). there was perfect weather for parades - the Cat 1 thunderstorm arrived soon after us. and the sun indulged the clouds with all its extravagant glory, leaving us mere light. but alas, as a little one (ZhangQY) once said, perfection is imperfect so we can't hope for perfection. As perfect as the sky was for parade was as imperfect the ground was - soaked, and i wonder if highbury (the home of the gunners, where we had our previous parade rehearsals) or anfield would ever enjoy such pitch condition.

so everytime we go pom-pom; pom-pom; POM-POM-POM! and stamp(squish) our feets an inch into the sludge that we're marching in, the mud and water tends to splash up; sometimes up to 3 feet into the air. we might even expect parabola of mud-travel to pass over the head of a platoon mate (ZhangQY).

and if ur still scratching ur head over his logic of "perfection is imperfect", stop. u might eventually bleed to death.

~*~

Yes, if u've noticed, this is already like the second last week at stagmont camp (and in the army). soon i'll be off 7 bus stops further from home, in the abyss of singapore that is the west. and so i realise that while i tend to call everyplace i "stay" at, be it Marine Parade (VJC), Ang Mo Kio (AndSS), or plainly S'goon (HoMe), i've nvr even bothered to wonder if The West would ever reach that intimate relationship in my heart - it'll nvr be "home". It must be the homeliness of the army. and yes, that was sarcasm.

i've already been picturing an emotional farewell to stagmont camp with a single-fingered salute pointed straight at the heart of the place.

to no individual in particular, no worries; its to the general concept of the army. seeing how much time i waste in army i keep thinking if perhap it would be better if they work us a tad harder and release us a lot earlier. that way we do the same amt of work in total; but we're released to serve our country academically and financially earlier. see my logic?

But since they don't want to let us serve our country in more productive ways, i'll just enjoy my stay - i've already diminished the army's fabled lack of privacy; bunk 1.4 stands proudly in the corner of bunk 1; away from the chinese serials and meaningless (foreign to me) banter. Its my less sociable self in that bunk 1.4, quietly reading my book [by the way, i finished frederick forsyth's ICON - super cool] or attempting to learn malayalam.

~*~

Today's been more uneventful. Spent a good deal of today playing computer. till its scary.. but my brother's not at home, and its so quiet without him. even though with him its relatively quiet these days with him burying his head in his relentless mugging.

Okay i think its enough. let me just go and enjoy today - statistics hv shown that i've been a lot more happy than average over the past 10 months; smthg i do wish to continue. duh, everybody longs to be happy. except those self-sadistic pple out there who jus find that being miserable is fun. yes, i'm quite sure they exist; perhaps i was once like that. hahaha..

And also, as of 7jun, i'm abt a quarter way thru NS. more than a quarter in fact. soon. 513 to go...

Out.

Kallang Whimper

As i stare around the National Stadium, even with all its seats empty, i can feel a whiff of the aura that perhaps once surrounded those players who once donned the national colour playing here.. suddenly i imagine myself as one of those players; thousands of pple cheering, the stadium red, as a wave, the Kallang Wave, goes around the stadium. And suddenly i appreciate, even without ever experiencing it either from the stands or the pitch, the Kallang Roar..

Even the whiff i experience is enough to let me forget the blazing sun overhead, the barking parade RSM, the in-an-extremely-vulgar-mood ISM (institute sergeant major), and the general feeling of dissent throughout the SI students.

But i'm glad i am able to stand in the middle of the Kallang Stadium in all its (local) grandeur before it is torn down.

*~*

I think they're taking their own sweet time dismissing us. They are leading us around the Nat'l Stadium like they're wondering how to keep us occupied. All the aura of first being in the middle of the Nat'l Stadium has worn off, and now i'm just dying to get on the bus and get back home. Where's the Bus??

Ahh.. finally.. AirCon!!! and the blazing heat has had its negative effect on us. i think all the chinese are sunburnt. i'm just burnt. no, charred. but at least i'm not made into sum of my friends - there shoulders are white, their forearms, red. White and Red. The contrast is REALLY evident.. me, on the other hand, light brown and dark brown; not so evident..

Need to get sunblock. We had earlier told the bus driver on the journey to the stadium that he's allowed to go slowly on the trip TO the stadium, but on the return trip there'll be no allowance for that. And he's complying..

And its a great time to sleep; and dream of karaoke later in the day, and probably missing my 7am mass the next day. Where i will sing n sing n sing n yay.. maybe i'll sing josh groban and try to do the best i can. maybe i'll sing to make sum1 cry too.. but i think for reasons different from if they cry to josh groban's rendition of "you raise me up".

maybe i'll miss england's 6-0 demolition of jamaica.. (in a mystical voice) yes, i see the future.. muahahaah.. riiightt.

ok out.

AirForce - Above All

X-men fever runs riot now.. i've begun (as when jedi fever hit a couple of months back) to imagine myself with superpowers - thats normal, it nvr hurts to dream. i think.. Today they allowed us a night's out (which is why i'm back home on a friday night). The catch is, of course, that we hv to book in before 0730, which is quite taxing on the Singapore Transportation system as they hv to run early in the morning.. hmm..

so the drivers hv to go to work early, and thus they leave their spouses earlier, so we hv less kids, and so we'll hv the case of an ageing population which means that there will be less productivity and hence there will be economic slowdown, and eventually our neighbouring countries wld become economically stronger than us and hence the SAF will begin to get worried and hence further economic failings and then we'll all DIE!!! (takes a deep breath...)

Ok.

i think i'l book in tonight. which would mean very very soon. grrr... at least a little while at home la. i think keira is coming home soon, but i'm not sure when.. and that 10-sec phone call didnt help.. which is really why an indian can nvr survive in japan. its a culture shock.

i've realised that i'm not so bored this week - there's always smthg to do.. watching chinese ch8 serials etc. i think it slightly beats ultimate boredom. thank God for subtitles.. but still i think eventually it gets lame and boring - if u watch enough of it. then there's chess, chinese chess, etc.. and of course an attempt to learn a new language. and its fearsome how bunkbest can learn languages (i.e. malay language) at the speed he jus picked it up.

Nvm. i hv 30days.

and i'm getting quite fed up of telling pple that Malayalam is a language. cos it is.

and singapore idol fever is trying to hit the pple.. i think abt 37.2 degrees of fever.. but still i can say that already we hv more talent being showcased in this initial 7 pple than the whole lot last season. i think lah.. i think the mop-head rocks..

in the words of my sister, "twohill for president".

Anw i think my Singapore Idle platoon had to put up a wayang today as we were checked by higher authorities.. hai.. so we had to wake up and even switch of the TV!! argh.. but anw i can't wait to get out of this platoon and into tengah air base.. (if that's where i'm going..) at least then i can hv saturdays. and a normal life, at least.. and perhaps pple wld be more disciplined. hm.. i guess its not discipline in question, but self-discipline - discipline without authority. i acknowledge some of army policies are idiotic and jus blody well for show, but at least basic hygienic discipline...

oh well.. waiting for saturday to be over. and waiting for 19 june.

i am so tempted to make another day-counter to the 19th of june. but i think it takes up a fair bit of space. anw i'm so glad i'll be through with the army cum 1906. and yes. i am THROUGH WITH THE ARMY CUM 19 JUN.

gg airforce mah.. =)

out.

(i wonder how commands are given in america.. definitely no ke-belakang pusing's etc..)
[and fredriech forsyth is a damn cool writer.. man...]

X3

i spent the day trying to figure out how i can combat boredom in camp. i figured the fundemental problem with camp. n camp tv - no disney ch, no espn, no nickelodeon.. argh.. now i realise how dependant i am on these channels.. esp since ch5 decided against showing nice programmes..

apart from that i also watched x3. it was nice, but i was like.. NOOO half the time.. or "that didnt happen in Evolution did it?"... its a wonder how many different storylines can be created from a single set of characters.. tonight i'm booking in; the same routine of grey's anatomy plus sleep.. but i so wish i could go to changi airport tonight.. but i think its a biiit hard la.

hai..

hope i wont be too bored next few days. esp with keira (not her real name. i think.. =P) in japan n all.. oh well.. time for dinner.. ciao..

out.

Spectacle

I've finally felt the extreme boredom that makes me understand why its said that boredom can kill you. On friday. I was bored of playing chess bored of reading bored of watching tv (there was nthg on anyway) bored of sleeping and yes, even bored of being bored.

So i gathered that i needed human n verbal communication, which can sometimes be very hard to achieve in a bunk where pple mainly are sleeping. even if they're awake i think there's some sort of a language barrier.. hmm.. but they were sleepign anyway.

But after the night i got bored (frustrated, maybe) with human interaction. n i slipped again into the state of sec-sch "i-hate-the-world-as-much-as-it-hates-me" mood. not the mood to do a useless redundant (yes the word redundant is redundant) parade rehearsal. think i'd better thank pte chia next to me for a spectacular performance that kept the probing eyes of ISM and RSM and all the SMs away from me. and yes, i AM sarcastic w.r.t. "spectacular"..

Not really, mb.. spectacular means a spectacle innit?

hmm...

anw lucky i snapped out of it with thanks a-many to my dear. =)

---

i cantored the responsorial psalm again - think i was prreeetttyyy nervous; considering the fact that i was given the task with a split second notice last week. but i think was quite smooth sailing..

and the sky's so dark n cloudy and miserable. again. good weather for a parade rehearsal.

ciao. out.

Pick Me!

I've decided against re-designing a template for this blog - this goes quite well in turqouise. And it's quite peaceful. Ahhh... Maybe next time if I was give free time with a computer that has internet capabilities and equipped with photoshop.

Anyway I'm home as i was given half day off - for helping/volunteering to help with the red cross home. I still have no idea what prompted me to shoot my hand up when volunteers were being called - it's not a usual habit of mine... perhaps because i'm a bit on the impersonal side, for some reason.. Anyway I was quite happy that by singing/trying to sing and play guitar for them they got quite happy, especially at my turn-John-Denver*-in-his-grave rendition of "Country Roads". But heck, its like almost the only song i can play by heart (try to play) with a guitar. Yet, it remains my opinion that these folks love country music. Still, it WOULD hv been quite cool and easier if they had offered me a piano/keyboard/organ to play...

Still, maybe i'll try to volunteer more - think its actually quite fun. think la..

Anw i think it definitely beats Singapore Idol (not that I feel the need to join that craze), as I think its nicer to sing for pple who'd appreciate it.

---

But tonight still have to book in again, 2230. But still enough time to go for church (Ascension Day) and still relax quite comfortably - and its only today that I realise that Ascension is unique to Catholics.. hmmm.. Or maybe its just that some Christian Churches don't celebrate it. hmm.. correct me if I need to be corrected, please..

---

To continue on my reading cum learn malayalam spree, to keep my mind active so as to ensure it doesn't rot in these few days of freedom. weeks, rather. I've finished Sue Townsend's No.10 and I agree with the critic's view that its definitely her best novel since adrian mole. Innit jus saying that well, it still can't be compared to adrian mole?? which is true lah. Still i think its an overly political book - British shouldn't complain about their government before looking at others'. I'm sure all forms of government have too many flaws. And I still believe that uncontrolled democracy is anarchy. And Anarchy is True "power-to-the-people". And that people should nvr be trusted to hv power.

And yes. Stop trying to figure out my political ideology.

And don't bother asking me why I agree with Singapore's political system, or why I would enjoy living in a sub-totalitarian state. Its Healthy.

And please don't accuse me of improper and excessive use of the word "And" to begin sentences. I'm feeling particularly rebellious today, and rebelling against the laws of grammar is probably the wisest means of rebelling one could do working in the Singapore Armed Forces. Or in Singapore for that matter.

---

Malayalam-learning is well, reasonably disastrous. The book sucks. Either that or its impossible/ unheard of to learn your true Mother Tongue from a book.

But i still maintain the book sucks. It can hardly serve to teach me, with rudimentary-squared knowledge of the language; how in all that's good can it help teach Malayalam through English to AngMoh-ly educated ones?

And furthermore how is it humanly** possible to learn the language in 30 days? True, reasonably enough, they offer a glossary of 900 words. For those not so mathematically inclined, that's 30 words per day (and that's reasonable). But I'm definitely sure there's more than 900 words in the language.

So perhaps more accurately it's possible to learn 900-words of the language in 30 days, rather than learn the language in thirty days..

Or learn N% of the language in 30 days (where N is the frequency percentage the words come out in everyday speech). Aye, that would sell.

Ok i should stop wasting my precious free time blogging. Out!

*John Denver is the singer for the song Country Roads. He's also famous for many many more songs. All country.

**'Human' is used figuratively. While acknowledge that there are some homosapiens who CAN learn a language in 30days, these I seldom refer to as "human". They have some divine gift bestowed upon them that others don't. *Cough*Y.T.H.*Cough*

May I Be Bold Enough

No. This is not me eating humble pie and succumbing to the ignomity of accepting someone else's design for MY blog. This is me seeing the urgent need to let this blog be seen/read by those out there who insist on this wonderful tool that is Mozilla Firefox. Me, not knowing too much about this marvellous tool that apparently surpasses IE severely, thus had to rely on someone else's design while i adapt to this new revelation that MY previous template could not be read properly by M.F. (see tagboard for details). Sorry for any inconveniences caused.

On the other hand, I'm sure I'd be up and ready with a new and "bold" design by next week. I will use my endless free time (that comes to an end this mid-June) to attempt to try to change the layout of MY blog. Note the assertiveness of my claim on MY blog; which is directly related to my resilience in accepting another's artwork to frame.

I have to admit, I hate, loathe, absolutely despise this new system of weekends that I'm getting - my weekend comprises Sunday and Monday. Good? (refer to previous posts) now to add to that.

In the past - Sunday is Family Day. Saturday is Friends/GF Day. Quite good, actually; going out on a Saturday doesn't feel so bad, Sunday - well, quite blue day. So it's good to stay home on Sunday.

But now, both Sunday and Saturday compress into ONE day. Both family and friends, exception sally (not her real name...), work on Monday, as is with most Singaporeans. Quite stressful. Why can't those little brats in the Uniformed Groups in the Parade still have exams on?? Then at least rehearsals would end earlier and yay.. that's marvellous news!!!

Grr.. And i've realised the true wayang-ness of a Parade. The word itself is a give-away. Parade = Show. Show = Wayang.. No wonder the SAF takes such pride in the NDP.. grr.. National Day Wayang..

Of all the idiocies (don even noe if there's such a word) of carrying a rifle incapable of despatching a bullet and show it off proudly in front of Mr President. Who doesn't look as though he cares... grr.. I'm sorry. Maybe its a wayang (show) of troops discipline. Again i guffaw. Discipline! HAHAHA!!!

This show with Pte A. Chia next to me - more famous by his success as D-coy Worst Recruit. Sorry, normally I don't talk behind backs. but i think i'll make an exception as i think it won't make a difference whatsoever to him.

Anyway, I think i'll go off now. Been thinking of the past alot recently. all the way back from sec 2... a bit of flashbacks here and there.. ahh yes.

OK. Camp is beckoning. (and grey's anatomy). Ciao, @UVLight.com

Today's Mind Game

I'm booking in tonight. not tomorrow. fancy allowing us to book in on tues morn BEFORE 0730. grr...

anw, i'm appreciative of the holiday.. though a bit tired of badminton, after two consecutive days of playing it. and now i wonder.. am i in NDP.

Do u like being kept in the dark, SAF? cos i don't.. hmph..

And no. I don't like surprises. unless they're welcome ones..

which makes me think... if i want to be happy, i shld always think completely negatively abt any uncertainty.. so any 'surprises' wld be welcome ones.. hmm food for thought.. on the other hand, i can't make plans more than 3 days in advance which SO cramps my style.. nvm.. onli 540 days left of my sentence, excluding my clearing of leave..

Anw, mondays off is quite a good deal lah.. except it jus turns out that i'm in no mood for gg out, as was the case on sundays.. but maybe its jus bcos today is the end of a long weekend, so growing accustomed to civi life has made me realise how sad military life is. but well.. i'll soon forget the wonders of civi life. maybe it wld help if there was a RISK tm game to help me out.. hehe.. or chess. that helps too..

And i've got to teach some chess.. wld be fun. except perhaps chess is best picked up by an adaptive mind watching and playing and learning. i still rmb my first chinese chess games, when i was thrashed by haynes.. jus because i was fascinated by the iron cannon.. (which is NOT the most powerful piece..)

smthg like sacrificing my castle to kill a bishop in int'l chess..

wonder.. if all the names of pieces in chess were modernized, what wld their names be? i mean, whoever sends bishops or queens to fight in a war? (btw, do u, like me, get this picture of Queen Elizabeth with sword in hand cheonging into the battlefield?)

guess chinese chess, ironically, is more modern. at least they hv cars (meant to be chariots, i think) and cannons. and at LEAST the army is ruled by a General rather than a King..

mb a modern chess game shld be rank-based..













Or mb unit-based..














Either way, it's at least more modern than queen elizabeth marching into battle with the bishop.. backed up by knights like sir alex ferguson and sir bobby robson..

Okay. u can see that i'm uber bored. why else?

out. cya next week.

NDP Rehearsal

NDP rehearsal: 3 hrs of baking under the sun. did not happen >> si awan was gracious, and offered to take the full brunt of the sang mentari.

got quite a shock - entered the camp where the rehearsal was held; saw the words

WELCOME TO THE HOME OF THE GUNNERS..

and well, i was thinking i'm in Highbury.. yay! (then, of course i woke up and realised its just an artillery unit camp..; and that arsenal don't play at highbury no more..)

anw rehearsal was as long and draggy as it could get, but at least, we had one think in mind - BOOK OUT!!!

thank God for BookOut.. and monday off!

but then, the rehearsal was interrupted by Cat 1 lightning storm. oh well.. and its really quite nice to see how we go from a whole bunch of blur cocks to a contingent worthy of NDP. which i'm beginning to suspect that logically theres a very high chance of me actually participating in.. which is OKAAAY lah..

---

Anw, i took my first neo-card today - with WZ.. i think they're so much more worth it than neoprints. my poor old ancient neoprint, all faded and pasted sumwhere.. does that serve the purpose of the neoprint of remembrance, and preservance?

oh i so miss my AMK and the north (mi fam used to go Yishun)... the south east doesnt appeal, the west's onli charm used to be its isolation, and now with my base at cck, that isolation and mystery surrounding it is gone..

i've visited these places over the past few weeks, and realise what attracts me to them is the memories i hv stored like datachips lying all over the place. even when they change/renovate.. its stored beneath.. which, i guess, is why u can't change ur hometown..

ahh.. wonder what nostalgia is.. is it.. an acknowledgement of change, and acceptance that the past won't come back? but then whats there to be sad abt that? that the past is dead? which means nostalgia is a feeling of sadness caused by loss..

was watching homevideos dating back from ages ago.. realised the benp of old.. the little boy climbing up x-mas trees and building sandcastles.. he's gone.. forever.. and his little irritating brother who nvr failed to annoy him in the past - he's gone too.. well, not fully lah.. =) its a change for the better.. but still we feel nostalgic.. why?

wonder if my children wld be anything like me..

man i'm so hungry.. even after eating two lunches.. the later one being at 3pm. i'm so gonna get gastric again - curse of switching from army life to civilian life on a weekly basis.. grr..

oh well.. LG, life's good, Lieutenant General.. blabbering liao

Ok. out..

oh yes. good luck to my first love of my life - Liverpool F.C... FA Cup...

Test your Limits

I just realised how plain my blog looks with all its purple and especially if the pictures don't load, as so often the case, apparently.. maybe its jus my refusal to accept sum1 else's blog template. or my attempt to test the limits of photoshop. and dreamweaver.. hurhur.. whatever..

I've begun to wonder how come the clouds seem to like me (accept for yesterday's rehearsal..). when i'm out in the open, the rain seems to subside a little. and then the full force of the rain's fury is felt when i'm comfortably under shelter eating my lunch/dinner.. i'm not complaining..

its a good thing that bk-in time today is 23oo. i'd shudder to think of even wanting to rush to camp - duh.. who wants to? mb zhangqy.. hehe.. anw i'm so glad for slacking at home and so glad of the public holiday that's today. and so sad that today is the last public holiday for the next couple of months.. :(

As a civil servant/slave i've begun to appreciate public holidays so much more - last time the impact of public holidays was diminished by the great massive chunk known as school holidays.. now all i look forward to are clear-leave holidays.. which, let me tell u faithful readers, is in abt 500+ days time.. interesting note: its been 125 days since i enlisted.

Don't worry i'm not an idiot who keeps counting the days. i'm an idiot who uses microsoft excel. hurhur..

and i jus had a nice short conversation in bahasa melayu just now.. quite refreshing to hear that language and speak it.. yes, even my jaw dropped when i saw myself typing those words. but yeah.. i guess i spent too much time agonising on how much i hated studying it - but in studying it obviously i got better; and thus now i can reap the benefits of actually being able to speak the language, albeit very stop-start, especially now.

---

Is YOUR Faith a 2000-yr-old fraud?

i AM making a mountain out of a molehill, arent i? Nah.. i doubt it..

out.

To Saturdays, with Love..

I take it back. Why? Why keep me at SI? Why get me to participate in the parade REHEARSALS??!?!?!?! at least since i'm bloody burning my scalp and skin and head and toe and arse under the freaking blazing sun, since i'm barbeque-ing myself on SATURDAYS, since i'm doing odd-jobs at the Institute, at least let me be recognised. at least motivate me to perform. at least put me in NDP after forcing me to bake in the rehearsals.

No. i'm not complaining that i want to be in NDP. i'm complaining over the fact that i'm in the blinking rehearsals to form a blinking ZERO.. (i use the word blinking here bcos its my grandpa's word to curse... in a way lah..)

Grr.. i wonder why.. why do parade rehearsal always hv to be on cloudless days. i wonder.. does the SAF have some super advanced weather-prediction system that can pin-point the day and time of rainy weather so that they avoid scheduling parade rehearsals on that day? and here i am baking.. a la P-O-P rehearsals.. with a slight difference - at least i was taking part in POP parade, unlike NDP, which i'm "filling up the blanks for the rehearsal".

OK i shan't complain no more. complaints are made by pple who refuse to think rationally. well, most of the time in S'pore lah.. on the brighter side, i'm getting Monday(s) off in lieu of the Saturdays half-day lost..

Benefits of Mondays rather than Saturdays:

1. Movie prices are cheaper
2. Pool Prices are cheaper
3. Badminton court booking prices are cheaper

Disadvantages of Mondays rather than Saturdays:

1. Nobody's free on Mondays apart from the jobless..

3-to-1.. so, shldnt complain lah.. =P

---

Anw, my new life as a SaiKang operator, quite okay la.. there's plenty of saikang in SI, i realise.. enough to keep me occupied. but still, its freer than i expected NS to be. well, mb thats why i'm getting cockroach's pay - even cockroaches don't sit playing chinese chess while the rest of his bunkmates are sleeping conducting body maintenance..

enough abt SI..

where am i other than SI.. hmm.. nights out... hmm.. my bunkmates normally make plans that exclude my interests. this time i paid them back, unfortunately. this time, everybody DIDN'T go to play DOTA. and i, anticipating they wld, went out with cm n naf (which of course i dont regret lah..).. anw its quite ironic lah..

anw i realised that khatib is far from chuachukang. 23 mins to be exact. but worth it lah.. wonder if i'd hv any more nights out n visit khatib anymore =D.

Ok out.. (too much said on @UVlight - the Log Book)

Alone Time

After weeks (ok, days) of anticipation, i've finally gotten my posting. n it is to the last possible place that any of us could hv ever imagined. Signal Institute. Albeit a temporary posting. but still, this serves as a reminder that anything can happen. now a weird question.. am i happy abt this? definitely a yeah..

i know there'll be pple who condemn this as a serious waste of 1 month - and i would completely agree - but rather than curse this waste of time, i've decided to embrace it. surely hundreds would want this benefits that the 73 of us are going to be doing. Saikang, they say.. but just how much Saikang CAN there be at Signal Institute? let alone divided by 73 pple... must jus continue to learn new stuff and continue on my quest to acquire new skills and knowledge.. hurhur.. a neverending crusade.

anw the as usual there's this post-polling day conspiracist theories and unfortunate 'exile'. somewhat it really reminds me of Survivor. with the whole james gomez saga..
i think honestly i can't tell a gov't how to run a country, but in the spirit of democracy one really shldnt try to shake the trust of pple.. especially up here in aljunied, where first of all THEY won with only 53%.. think its always better to play the good guy, even if one needs to make "unpractical" decisions.

Anw this is how i'm enjoying my end-of-course half-day off (hopefully, free; but then read the previous post - i'm a cynic of the word 'free').. think a whole bunch of them went to play DOTA. again.. wonder whats in it. and dont say "u need to play it to see the beauty of it" cos i've played it and there's no fun in it.

they went to play yesterday again - night's out - but then as usual my interest is definitely not there.. so i decided to go walking arnd chuachukang again (like i did last time). but then my plans were interrupted by shaneet who went to eat at the coffeeshop. n i complied, jus hoping that the cigarettes and lighters would not come out till i'm out of smoke-range. and the hopes were fullfilled lah..

then went to try to see pple making out - yeah completely bo liao.. but well.. yeah, there wasnt much to do anw.. and not much to see anyway for that matter.. shame..

but today i came home alone. mb i'm too much of a loner nowadays.. or mb its jus contradicting interests with the rest of my platoon mates.. and what's scary is i'm beginning to enjoy alone-time.. i mean, thankfully sang mentari (mr. sun) wasnt shining so brightly, or rather, si awan (the clouds) was taking his full impact. so the walk back was pleasant. and cheaper. and lunch was during the walk. so basically i saved time and money. hurhur.. yes i'm proud of it.

think currently i seem to be freer than most pple. including non-NS pple. which is quite amazing.. then since i don't seem to hv the same out-of-camp interests (DOTA and smoking) as the rest of my platoonmates, i always thought it wld be a good time to catch up with old friends.. but then, old frens, i forgot definitely hv a life too.. so that would mean that i'm stuck with my books. which, mind you, i've begun to enjoy reading..

Reading a Catholic book now.. most of the things i know already, which is why i doubt i'd ever need to go further to find a Truth.. but i think its because i hvnt embraced just how beautiful and amazing those things can be that i don't enjoy gg to mass etc. technically i DO enjoy gg to mass and everything - i don't go because i HAVE to..

somehow i was daydreaming jus now..

What is Right and what is Wrong? by human perception, that line between Right and Wrong can definitely move over time, because i believe that anything that is done by someone can be justified, at least by that someone. and just who is to say that his method of justification is morally Right or Wrong? when the line between Right and Wrong can be argued with.

Definitely there'll be a time, soon maybe, that even something that WAS so obviously Wrong, such as suicide, would be considered Right. because that line dividing Right and Wrong has shifted. perhaps even a literary text, or Law, would not be able to contain this dividing line - Laws are made to be bent and misinterpreted etc.. and the Church believes that THEY set that line between Right and Wrong, infallibly so, invariably claiming that either the Church is correct, or they're diabolical, as the book mentioned.

obviously there are certain authors and gnostic believers who know that conspiracy theories supporting the Church being diabolical would make them money.. and so it has. even to the extent of a movie showing...

so well, thats the way the world turns.. hv to live with it, for now.. hai..

okay out.

SAFRA

guess who won the elections? think no point trying to guess la.. quite obvious. well my constituency was close fight- 1 in 2 pple (arnd there) voted for the PAP.. think ultimately they won 53%-47%.. think its the closest fight over all the GRCs.. see the other places mainly is 60+% to 30+%.. oh well..

---

Anw politics aside, i'm so erm.. worried?.. getting new posting tmr.. urgh.. and then sum more got "super tough area cleaning" coming complete with the promise of push-ups.. grr.. but as a signallers or rather, unit man, i shouldnt complain as i should think of the command-school personnel. hurhur..

but i'm very curious as to where i'm going to be posted to. true, i've been given some sort of assurance that it wont be bedok (Guards) but still.. i'm hoping its somewhere near home. chuachukang's not bad, seriously.. tengah air base? tts really good. serangoon? shan't dare to hope. logically, i've spent 9 weeks in the far-east (tekong), 8 weeks in the west (cck) so where is my next posting.. shudder.. ah heck..

And i jus visited SAFRA Toa Payoh just now.., checked out the place.. and well, it seems to be a good place to play badminton. though a bad place to swim, but neednt worry, toapayoh swimming complex is just next door. and i also got my 'free' mp3 player to add to my 'free' ipod. in both cases the word 'free' is in inverted commas as of course, as a true cynic of the word 'free' i dont believe anything here is free. i paid $90 for the lucky draw coupon that saw me get the 'free' ipod (that, mind u doesnt even work..) and spend goodness knows how much on SAFRA membership for 7 yrs to get the 'free' mp3 player.

oh well, on a positive note, that means i can enjoy more music and learning more songs.. =)

---

oh and i so dont dare go near my desk - its become my brother's store table.. urgh.. and i can't stand mess..

p.s. any badminton enthusiast interested in playing? got bad memories of trying to organise and end up playing with myself. or my brother..

ok. out.