Deus vult

2009-10-30T23:21:00.001+08:00

Just a hint of where I am.

http://derricyeoh.livejournal.com

Rollercoaster endpoint

2009-03-10T13:25:00.002+08:00

On a side note, I've somehow gotten another dog ;/ My youngest sister has the penchant for picking up abandoned dogs and now we're seeing Chokoy being jealous of the attention showered upon MeiMei. (Yucks, I know)

Right now I am utterly confused at what I'll be pursuing in my future career. Life has indeed been a rollercoaster ride, which so many veers and changes in it. It's like getting off after the ride has ended and you find yourself at an ending point, different from that of the starting point. I feel kinda aimless and helpless, but the image that God is trudging ahead of me against the storm gives me much comfort.

Seek, boy.

Melosweet drama

2009-01-30T15:40:00.002+08:00

Been busy writing in my personal diary so I haven't had time for blogging, but well here's a start. Past few days have given me respite to dwell on the things that really matter. I thought about my grandpa whom I dearly miss and I regret not knowing him better when I was a young toddler. He was my favourite grandpa and I was his favourite grandson (according to my aunties).

It gave me great relief that as I dug through the photos of old to find a single old photograph of him holding my hand and cutting my birthday cake. He was never one for the photos and I was afraid that I would have been unable to find a single photograph of him with me. But God, thank you for that one photograph.

I know where you are right now and it pains me. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. But at the same time, I am reminded of what I can still do for those who are living.

Sadomasochistic

2009-01-12T17:53:00.002+08:00

"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing." -Paul

Really describes the inner turmoil that we go through when we struggle to do what is right. Seemingly oxymoronic, but so very true. And it brings to me a point, that sometimes as Christians, we might have to be a little sadomachochistic, to choose hardship over pleasure, because often the easier way out tends to be the incorrect way as well. Life is really full of such ironies because I find that when I am given time, I tend to waste time away -.-'

Been looking through Stomp to see if my picture's up there because while we were doing some ops at Toa Payoh hub, a man took a photo of my section and I, haha. No such luck yet so far, heh.

Another song that I like. ;D

And yea God, thanks man. Your great great mercy never fails. It's as unfailable as my failability, haha.

Sequel

2009-01-05T19:46:00.003+08:00

A couple of push-ups and chin-ups. Picked up from where I left off on a book and started the flexing of my fingers. I even took down Rubicante from FFIV on my DS, haha. Do hope tomorrow will be more fruitful, but let this be a start. And ima bring down my bike for a well deserved servicing.

So here's a little song that I like.

Ok, ok

2009-01-05T11:31:00.002+08:00

I'm awake now. So...yea let's get this going. Went cycling on Saturday and I kinda enjoyed it despite the quad buster ride up the spiralling slope to the top of the Marina Barrage. Probably time for me to fix up my bike, what with all the damage and all. And that costs $$. Argh.

Ok time to exercise. But I think I left my Asics in camp. Ok let's go.

Long time no see

2009-01-04T21:33:00.002+08:00

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Won't be talking about camp, because I'll be talking about the same old, same old. The New Year marks a new beginning and I haven't really set any New Year resolutions for myself, but I guess I'll take the entire day tomorrow to doing things that my laziness and procrastination has stopped me.

I find that I could be so much more. Many a times looking back at the errors of my way, the things that took unnecessary time from me, which prevented me from pursuing the things that really mattered.

It's never too late to be what you might have been.

I'll be starting my physical training from tomorrow and doing some reading. And more importantly, to rededicate my life back to God once more.

DISCIPLINE

2008-12-19T12:34:00.003+08:00

Weekends being burnt to a crisp as usual.

Everyday has sort of been a struggle for me to choose two paths, to go the extra mile and be unappreciated, or to maintain the status quo. Like polar opposites, they have been tugging at me, as with the many other struggles, like being patient or brash, humble or proud. They have only served to tell me how astounding flawed I am, as I am quickly inclined to be swayed by my fallen nature.

And I just saw this quote which kinda strikes me. "The root of achievement is discipline."

How I lack this discipline.

Chinese Democracy

2008-11-24T23:06:00.002+08:00

Chinese Democracy has finally been released. The third album released during my lifetime haha. I am reminded of the time in a music store when a guy was asking the storekeeper if he could preorder Chinese Democracy and the storekeeper just replied in a matter-of-factly way that it could be delayed again because it was supposed to be released ten years ago. Haha.

Not as good as Appetite for Destruction, but it's the hype that matters.

Meaningless

2008-11-24T01:40:00.002+08:00

Somehow I find that the richer and more prosperous a nation, the more spiritually-deadened it becomes. That in the drift between physical hardship and the pursuit of our earthly dreams, we come to this half-way house in which we are dissatisfied, but not enough to warrant any delving of the purpose of our existence. Just deep down inside, we know that there is so much more to life, but at the same time, material indicators tell us that we are satisfied, that we should be. And from this hollowed existence, we eke out a wretched livelihood of consumerism, pleasure and violence and reap it's comeuppance of misery.

That while we are able to masterfully map out a wonderful blueprint of what we will do, what we will do and what we will do here, we miss out big on the bigger picture. What if there was more to this life? Have we made plans for that? No matter how colourful out testimonials may be, how illustrious our careers and how profitable our lives, as the author of Ecclesiastes says, "Meaningless! Meaningless!" "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."

"The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both."

"Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless.""

Haba la Haba

2008-10-30T00:18:00.002+08:00

Went to watch Tommy Emmanuel with Tuan and it was definitely the most meaningful part of the day for me. Sorta changed my mind about him and I am now an official fanboy of his. Which reminds me of this group of guys who were sitting behind me, singing along with their bad singing.

It's really mind-blowing to see him play and truly I felt kinda fanboyish when getting him to autograph his new cd. But yea, his music really did uplift my spirits a lot, because before that I was complaining about feeling soul-less.

So when can I get better at guitar? Haba la Haba I guess. Little by Little.

Escrima

2008-10-23T19:25:00.002+08:00

Must say, I do miss fencing. I'll just have to find my missing fencing gear. And that heart once more.

And at that moment, I am particularly intrigued by Esau. Of how similar I actually am to this person. The same person who would sell his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup.

Nahk Nahk

2008-10-05T20:13:00.002+08:00

Ever been irritated by someone? Ever been angry at someone? Ever felt unjustly treated? Ever felt wronged? Or how about all of these at the same time? Sure you have and so have I. But God knows how we feel. And I mean it, haha.

And Tsura's leaving for 40 days of SHAPE in the Australian desert. Haha, 40 days in the desert. I know it sounds gay, but I will miss Atsushi Jr for that long period of time. I wish to reiterate that it's the longest overseas army trip that I've heard of. We'll keep you in our prayers Atsushi Jr.

Fight

2008-10-02T14:44:00.002+08:00

I've always told myself how I would better use that free time if I ever had it. Truth be told, I have had these long periods of break and it just goes to show how I would do the contrary. I would just waste them all away. And I suppose it is the irony that you make the most out of your life when you have no time.

And everyday is a battle, the "good fight" as Paul of Tarsus describes it. Battles are won and lost each day. The fight against procrastination, the struggle against selfishness, the sieging of negative emotions, the routing of despair and the triumphant entry of hope. Each day has a different victor. Selfishness may rule all for that day, and Kindness yet the other. The weariness of such a constant battle each day gives reason for giving up. But the fact that the war has already been won gives us cause to press on and not turn back. So don't give up dear friends.

One nostril at a time

2008-08-26T13:53:00.002+08:00

Been clearing through books of late and at the same time, expanding my collection haha. As of now I'm currently on The Pilgrim's Progress and it really struck me that the Bedford Tinker is really an intelligent man, able to convey complex ideas to the simple folks like me despite just attending a few years in grammar school.

And something in one of the chapters jumped at me. It was the part where our protagonist Christian is going up the Hill Difficulty and he sees Timorous and Mistrust running down the hill, fearing the lions that prowl there. And as I sometimes wonder to myself, have I been escaping, avoiding and hiding from my difficulties?

All too often, I have jumped onto the easy way out and exclaimed, "Praise God, He has given me a way out and delivered me!". Yet as I ponder about it now, it seems that with every "God-given" way out, I have become weaker in my mental disposition, as well as my faith in the Sovereign. On the contrary, with every difficult situation I come out of, I become stronger and more trustful of Providence. As such, I will gird up and be ready to enter into platoon 8 and though I may not see any benefits for me right now, time will tell. From pushing myself while climbing the endless ladder in BAPT to get a Distinction, to panting along SOC to a 8:13 timing and sprinting to a Gold in IPPT, the many physical trials have only shown me that as long as I am willing to go up the Hill Difficulty that He has set for me, He will be there, uplifting me with his strong right hand.

And hence I will breathe, through one nostril at a time, in this long run, this exhausting run, that is truly of an Olympian magnitude that we all call "Life". Let the ending of mine be as glorious then.

Sluggards

2008-08-15T10:40:00.003+08:00

Really, and I thought I was lazy, till I met those in my work place. It just injected in me a totally different perspective. While in secondary school and JC, I always saw the slacker image as being cool, doing things at the last minute and still being able to score well. (Moderately, haha) However, today here as I stand, I condemn such a thought and behaviour, for I have seen the epitome of laziness and people who seem to believe that they are never at fault, while others are always at fault. Such blindness to themselves makes me wonder how will they cope in the outside world? What will they do after the NS? What is their life all about?

Depressing as the work place may be, I'll just take it up as a challenge. After all, if I'm able to manage people here, I will definitely be able to do so outside.

My only consolation is that I'm never alone.

Psalms of rage

2008-08-08T10:47:00.001+08:00

Psalm 35

Of David.

1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.

The days of our lives

2008-07-26T09:59:00.002+08:00

So as each day passes, it's been getting better for me now. While not good, it's been getting better and so I thank God for that.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me

2008-07-23T12:41:00.002+08:00

While the 6 months of ERSC training was one of the toughest periods in my life, having passed out for close to a month, I do feel a little for the Rota 1 guys. Whether it was the trademark "You know why you cock? Cause you cock, cock, cock!" by our DRC that brings laughter whenever we bring it up, or the downright dumb answers we give to our instructors.

"What is that equipment called?"
"10 ton jack"
"Why is it called a 10 ton jack?" (Because it is able to lift up to 10 tons of weight)
"Because it weighs 10 tons"
"You bloody idiot, you go and carry it for me now"

And sometimes I do wonder. But the past is now past, and I'll just have to suck it up, stick out my chest and do things to the best of my ability.

For your love endures forever

Ever

2008-07-16T21:44:00.003+08:00

had that feeling of saying something but just don't feel like saying it? Yea. Blog again next time ;D

Our God Reigns

2008-07-08T20:09:00.002+08:00

Was listening to Delirious? on my way home and I found them to be pretty good. Was just looking at the sky with a street lamp in the foreground of my view when the song reached its climax. As Martin Smith sang "our God reigns" the dark night sky lit up from the flash of a lightning, of a silent thunder. How insignificant was the street lamp's continuous glow, so easily overshadowed by just a flash of lightning which was able to light up the night sky.

Sergeant King

2008-07-06T21:39:00.002+08:00

And today marks the official end of my one week block leave and while there are regrets for not utilizing the time well, I suppose it will serve as a good reminder to me to have a planned timetable for my day. Somehow or rather, I feel kinda excited to return back to camp(now that I'm no longer a trainee or the lowest life-form in camp) to see what's in store for me as well as to meet camp friends.

Somehow or rather I'm always happy to see the guys and the girls every weekend.

Of late my latest acquisition has brought about a renewed interest in playing music once more ;D

Central Firestation Attachment

2008-06-21T10:11:00.002+08:00

The past 24 hours spent at Central Fire Station was pretty enlightening, with station personnel doing things "station style" instead of our CDA style (which emphasizes on doing things the harder way ;/). Thankfully, my DART Sect Commander Patrick was very patient with me, even though I was blur like my usual self. That, as well as his DART style "Warm-up Exercises" was tough but I found it to be of great help.

And indeed, Central does live up to its reputation as the busiest Firestation. Felt first hand of the adrenalin rush when the fire call sounds. To suddenly awake from sleep and start running to the pumper and then getting dressed inside the pumper was really cool. It doesn't feel very good to have your sleep pattern broken every few hours for a call though.

And thank you to God for his providence, to tide me through the past 2 weeks of final exes and tests. Hurray!

LF511 responding to fire at 101, Jalan Bahar, over

2008-06-13T21:25:00.003+08:00

And my final ex is over. being the first final ex to commence on Monday, I was having trouble getting enough sleep and indeed the next day I messed up big on voice procedures and fire investigation >_< Was dying during the entire operation "Hot Blaze" due to a very very confused Staging OIC sending my section up countless times. And I'm grateful for the section that pushed me on even when I was tired and on the verge of breaking and was just crawling around, utterly exhausted with my legs barely able to support me from going up the stairs with the heavy equipment and breathing apparatus set. So yea cheers to my section who really helped me a great deal and according to the Staging OIC, "Your section very kilat". Thanks guys, I'll put my best in for your final exes as well ;D

And I dare say Monday was probably the toughest day in my entire life. Out of the 4 Sect Comms, 2 vomitted and I was the only one left barely alive. Barely.

Hurray I want to sleep.

Faust, Midas and Myself

2008-06-06T21:11:00.004+08:00

This week has been a learning experience for me. Haha with my Final Exercise being on Monday morning, operation "Hot Blaze". Haha, kinda apprehensive and excited at the same time. Sorta miss the madness of dashing about (while carrying heavy loads). Can't believe it, but it's become something that I've come to like ;D.

Just a couple of days ago, I was wondering about masks. I used to be donning a fencing mask and now, a face mask in the firefighting force. How we all wear masks for different purposes, different people and different situations. It has caused me to wonder more than ever, how true are we ever, to ourselves? Are we wearing a mask to ourself? And I am bent upon this. That I will never ever hold a grudge against anyone. I will throw out all the grudges that I have against people. Cutting out this cancerous growth upon my heart. And what peace it gives.

Switchfoot sings, "Life begins at the intersection!", but I find life to be filled with intersections instead! Haha.

Late update but

2008-05-28T10:10:00.003+08:00

YF on Saturday was interesting.

Shaun Ong talked about Psalm 3:3 that God will lift up your head, even as I pondered over this in the morning. And the past few days have been testimony to how He has done that daily. I'm quite excited as to what the future has in store for me, for there is always hope in Christ Jesus. ;D

Take a deep breath

2008-05-24T10:50:00.002+08:00

The past few days have indeed given me time for respite. Somehow I just find that this bout of illness was meant to make me stay at home for some reason that I'm unsure of. I trust that I'll be able to get back to camp in perfect timing according to God. Whatever will be will be.

And He will lift up your head.

Strict and Austere

2008-05-22T22:13:00.002+08:00

Decided to discipline myself now. And yes, my bedroom is still a mess.

-3 hour usage on computer a day (max). Gonna be tough.

-Sleep before 12

And that will be all, haha.

Not that Strict and Austere as expected but it's a change haha.

And for those reading, I wish all of you guys/girls are well yea?

Somehow, I seem to be missing my CJC friends all of a sudden. Haven't been able to talk to them much. Friendship requires effort to maintain, something that I firmly believe in.

Somehow we seem to be moving so quickly that our soul is starting to be left behind. Time to slow down the pace and chill and chat now. What say you my CG members?

I just wish that my eye would recover quickly. I need to jump into my smelly bunker gear.

0_o

2008-05-21T14:06:00.002+08:00

Swollen eyes. Pain.

The period of eye infection has given me time to spend reflecting, reading, writing and praying. Lots of stuff to do at home while I'm recovering from this bout of illness. Eyes are hurting like >_<. Have never felt such pain in my eye before, so much so that I feel nauseas and have no appetite for food. Even as I'm blogging right now, my left hand is being used to hold a piece of tissue paper to ease the photophobia of my left eye.

I will not waste the time that I have and I'll go about packing my room later and arranging my books ;D

Section 5, hang in there. I'll be coming back to do the field ex with you guys soon!! I hate being a burden to others >_<

Major Disasters

2008-05-16T21:18:00.002+08:00

Major disasters have just been pummeling humans into the ground the past 2 weeks. Burma's typhoon and then the earthquake in China. Looking at the devastation on the media truly amplified the feelings in me. Was actually feeling nonchalant about it when I heard it from my malay friend, until I saw footages of suffering on the television.

All of a sudden, I want to go for such disasters. Sorta made me more keen on going for Operation Lionheart if the opportunity ever presents itself to me.

Before I forget

2008-05-02T21:23:00.002+08:00

http://janesally.livejournal.com

For girls, please visit my enterprising classmate's website.

Sally owes me if she becomes rich through me.

Brunei King

2008-05-02T17:11:00.002+08:00

Will be off to Brunei tomorrow morning. A little sense of trepidation, being unsure of what to expect over there and all. So far from what I've heard from the sergeants and seniors, it's not gonna be fun. I'll soon find out, heh.

Welcome to the Hotel California

2008-04-25T21:16:00.005+08:00

Lol, the end of HTA. I must say, the final night was one of great fun, albeit the many transgender dressings ranging from the disgusting to the disgusting. Purple group, "Purple Carebears" came in last for almost every segment but we were somehow second last in position, needing just another 3 more points to be third. The prospect of not coming in last greatly enheartened all of us.

Return to CDA proved to be better than expected. There wasn't really much physical or dreaded BTMs which made our transition to CDA better. Although the visit to HTA made me find CDA's cutlery hygiene standards to be greatly lacking.

_____________________________________________________________________

The previous Sunday was spent wandering and wondering in Thomson Plaza. The place has changed so much, with more high-end lifestyle stores being opened. Just slowly browsing through books at Popular and Daily Gifts. Brought home a CD by Paul Baloche and a couple of books. Read a few pages here and there. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it by this Sunday, before I book in at 2000. It sorta brought back memories there, where at the KFC 5 years ago, I had a great debate with Daniel over the many issues on the divinity of Christ and God. A journey of 5 years. It's time for me to clean up my act.

_____________________________________________________________________

4 months ago, I was being grouped with people most of whom did not come from the same platoon as I was back in my 4 days of BRTC. We would become Rota 1. And I saw how God had it all laid out for me. Those whom I had earmarked as unfriendly became some of my better friends in CDA. And the "friendly" one in BRTC eventually turned out to be a constant and reassuring pain in the rear end.

I need to see a sinseh for my back and neck. (I think I hurt something ;/) And a discipline to do the things that I like and love. How weird huh?

HTA

2008-04-18T21:38:00.003+08:00

Life at HTA has been pretty awesome thus far. Nice comfortable beds, with a 10:1 human to room ration, rather than the 20:1 that Dorm 13 faces. (My dorm).

Sitting through the lectures and mingling with the other Home Team members such as the SPF (Singapore Police Force), CNB (Central Narcotics Bureau), ICA (Immigrations and Checkpoint Authority), Prison Officers and even ISD (Yes, Mas Selamat escaped) members were cool. Some lectures were insightful, others downright boring and seeming meaningless (meaningless to me). But through all of that, I've managed to glean some useful information and have as a result, come to appreciate Singapore more.

On another note, 28th ERS managed to make our presence felt with our morning 5BXes that woke the rest, as well as the thundering "LEAD WITH PRIDE, 28!" from our Keluar Baris that sort of stunned the officer who was picking on us. Food was healthy and good too, as compared to those served at CDA. Some good breakfast over there.

However, the place was lacking of a heater for the showers so it was quite a nightmare to shower at 10pm. Yet somehow there appears to be a lesson to be learnt from this. When confronted with an obstacle, the fight or flight instinct kicks in. Some may choose not to shower, while others rush into the cascading cold water, bursting with expletives. I take a few moments every time before I shower to focus before screaming like a wuss when the cold water pours down. Which exemplifies the saying, that "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the knowledge that there is something more important than fear". Such as cleanliness.

Managed to talk to some of the 29th ERS, fresh into their first week. Already there are people being admitted to hospital for heatstrokes, fainting etc. Just like what happened to the 28th 3 months ago, of people fainting during every training session. It's hard for me to do anything for them, knowing that they would have to go through all that tough training that we went through. All the best 29th, and I am eager to see the changes in them, 3 months later.

LPG Fire next week. Darn.

Dead birds

2008-04-05T13:40:00.005+08:00

I had wanted to blog last week, but bad time management took over. Coming home on a Saturday morning, I saw a dead bird just outside my window. In all likelihood, it must have flew and thinking of resting in my room, crashed and died. It strikes me with a sense of deja vu, when many years ago, first moving into my current house, I remember seeing a brightly coloured humming bird dead in the same position, with my window sporting a crack. This time, a Cuckoo Bird died. How often do we get to see a Cuckoo Bird in Singapore, I have no idea but it was my first time seeing one up close and it was dead.

It is a strange feeling to have something dead close to you. Just days ago, I saw a pair of wings, probably belonging to a pigeon before it was removed. Chancing upon it rather accidentally, the image remained in my mind. A pair of wings, laid out on the grass like an angel's wings, lacking a body, with a piece of bone just peeking out from the feathers. The odd thing was that I found it rather disturbing. Having been exposed to violence of all sorts in the cinemas, as well as the SCDF force-feeding us gruesome pictures of RTA accidents, fall from heights, brains splattered, skulls cracked open, faces being disfigured till you could barely make out the eye sockets, bones jutting out of elbows, intestines poking out of their bellies, you name it, we've seen it. Perhaps it's the shocking serenity of it that frightens me.

On a more cheerful note, we are now officially the senior ERS. Looking at the junior 29th batch brings back the nostalgic moments in my mind. The march from BRTC to CDA on our fourth day of enlistment, where the fogging had obscured our vision of CDA and upon going through it and crossing the boundaries of the BRTC into CDA, we were pumped a hundred push-ups.

More would come, and as these 29th finish their week 0 training, I wonder how many more would OOC once they start donning bunker gears and doing drills. I remember people fainting and collapsing unto the ground right in front of me, where fainting was commonplace in every BTM training. Now entering my 13th week, I don't regret the decision to continue in this course. I've always been trying to gain more experiences in life and my days in the ERS would qualify as one of the many stories that I have hoarded over the years, to be shared in the future with younger ones. ;D

The inverted chevrons may look cool, but they're merely to encourage us. That our rank is still in the process of being increased. ;D Notice the faded colour of the old epaulette.

And to the God who answers all prayers, thanks for being there for me. Can't wait for the other 3 months to be over. I need better time management.

Everything happens for a reason.

2008-03-29T08:34:00.003+08:00

Totally exhausted from being Rota 1's IC, what with this week being a busy one, with CD Skills Competition, Flashover and the unpredictable timetable this week, with events being added or changed at the last moment. And yea, hearing some people call me a good ic has been really encouraging.

I get treated like a king by my parents and aunt whenever I book out. My aunt would rush to make my favourite ginko and barley dessert and my parents would get nice food for me and my dad would always beam at me whenever I whined to him of the hard trainings that I went through. So undeserving of the love showered upon me and it only makes me wonder if mortal parents could give me such love, what more my Father in heaven.

11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.^[a]'

22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Book-in

2008-03-23T18:39:00.003+08:00

HRCT, FSA, IPPT, SOC, Flashover. All crammed up next week and I've been chosen to become IC for that week. I wonder how it would all turn out. For me to know and you to find out, kekeke. (insert Ah Lian smiley).

Saturday's celebration was pretty interesting. Missed out on the great food because there wasn't enough to go around. Shepherd's pie >_< Cleaning up after the celebration was humorous enough though. To see a few NS guys sitting around a tiny spot, scraping off spots of candle wax from the carpets with fingernails, toothpicks, basin scrubs and spray can caps sorta invokes a feeling of "patheticness"(the word doesn't exist) haha.

"Just a few more weeks and you'll pass out, Sergeant rank,". That sentence by Sgt Francis has stayed in my mind, deep booming voice and all, keeping me amused. 14 more weeks to go, heh.

And so we won

2008-03-22T13:49:00.002+08:00

28th ERS> BOC> FFC A > FFC B

Finally found the time during Good Friday to kick-start my guitar learning once more. If not for the lack of free time due to NS, I guess I wouldn't have been trying to cram activities to make the most of the day.

Good Friday this year has held a rather special significance to me, in that it reminded me of my very weaknesses and iniquities and the need for forgiveness as well as to forgive. That in the Christian life, you never arrive. The Pharisees and Jesus' disciples sought after a set of requirements from Him, in that they might fulfill and hence gain a sense of satisfaction. I guess that's how we behave sometimes, that just because we appear holier than others, not robbing or murdering and having even donated to charities at times , we have arrived. But we are never able to arrive, our little misdeeds, like foxes, ruin the vineyards all the same as an elephant would trample over it.

And that is the beauty of Good Friday, that in Christ Jesus we are made perfect, in spite of our many flaws, despite what we have done.

14 days later,

2008-03-15T10:22:00.003+08:00

I'm here to blog. Past 2 weeks of ERS training have been pretty ok, although my eye infection has now switched to the left eye. Apparently the doctor said that some dirt went into my eye during training or something, although I can't remember from which training. Pain and irritation from it is kinda distracting, although not entirely debilitating.

Going through all the training thus far has made me realize the need to become even fitter, since most of the tasks are extremely laborious, and often at times while lugging heavy suction hoses around, I wonder if a Bangladeshi worker would have been more apt for the job. With the entire saturday for myself, I'm not entirely sure what to do with it, although I'm considering cycling once more and touching my lousy guitar again. I think I'll try to spend some time with God.

HTA and Brunei OBS, just a few weeks away.

10 hrs of weekends begins now

2008-03-01T06:05:00.002+08:00

Blogging before I report in for my guard duty.
Having to do a 24hr shift Saturday guard duty after having completing one on Thursday and then having our book-in time slashed from 10pm to 6pm(Due to a section trying to escape punishment) certainly sucks.

Medical week has been pretty good, learning life-saving skills such as CPR and how to use the AED. Sometimes I wonder if Ah Lum's nephew could have been saved if someone had the appropriate skills to resuscitate him. Knowledge of that incident has sorta caused me to take the lessons rather seriously because it concerns a human life itself.

I'll update more once I'm back, because I have got to be rushing off now.

The truth is boring

2008-02-15T20:40:00.003+08:00

When it can be so simple. I guess perhaps that is why some people find it tough accepting the truth, that it can be so easy, so simple, go great and so good at the same time.

This week of training was kinda tough for me. Breathing Apparatus Proficiency Test was indeed the toughest thing I've experienced thus far. Shall not go into it further, since I'll probably be explaining to all those that I'm seeing in real life. The struggles with breathing properly and doing physically and mentally draining tasks. With people from the other Rota (Rota 2) vomiting and some pulling off their masks after the first task should be a measure of the difficulty.

And I should be doing my reading. Almost clearing a book, with a couple of others at their halfway points, haha. I've hardly enough time to do proper readings in the camp, or even practice my harmonica. Sigh, time management's of the essence. On a more cheerful note, I have a pretty good disposable income now ;D (600 from CNY collections and another 600++ from my NS pay;D) Gonna get some clothes, pay up my debts and see what else I can do with my money, heh.

The dust settles.

2008-02-08T23:38:00.000+08:00

After the flurry of visitations, the dust settles and we start counting our revenue. I had a pretty decent collection and I'm finally able to repay my debtors.

As an aside, I just wish to point out the fact that money indeed does corrupt. A prime example would probably be Jack Neo. I can still vividly remember his ground-breaking movie that projected him to fame, "Money Not Enough". It was daring, fresh, humourous and interesting. Yet as we slowly observe his later works, we see a slide. A slide to complacency, from half-baked movie ideas to the downright lousy. I would list lousy films as those that are rushed out for the New Year, such as "I Do, I Do" and now the recent Ah Long movie. To make up for the bad content, the producers capitalize upon the timing of the Chinese New Year in order to reap big, unsubstantiated revenue. For those who do BNW, he sort of reminds me of Bernard Marx. A rebel at first, but now blends into the crowd as he become comfortable. We see that in his political slant, where his movies are now becoming more supportive of government policies. Haha, just some verbal diarrhea.

Been cycling for the past 2 days. Met up with Huang, Daniel Loke, Mella and Tsura to eat on Thursday( eat x2 for Mella) and just talk at some fitness station at the garden. Then Atsushi came along, doing gymnastics and extreme physical exercises, so much so that he wowed the 3 noobs who were trying to do some pullups in preparation for NS.

Cycled again on Fri with Loel trying to seek new sights but alas due to time constraints, the epic journey to East Coast Park from Upper Thomson failed and we had to turn back. Hoping to try again later today (Which is Sat). All I need are some khakis to help tank the cars for me.

Zhao Cai Jing Bao

2008-02-06T23:29:00.000+08:00

I'm so glad CNY is here. To the many Chinese who would wish they weren't Chinese, being a Chinese has its perks.

And sometimes you find disappointment in the most unlikely places.

So I scrubbed and cleaned the porch with my mom before washing the car with her. If memory serves me right, the last time I did so was when I was in K2, wiping the television with a wet cloth. Almost got electrocuted until my mom pulled me away and gave me a spanking that would have put the electrocution to shame.

I've gotta start managing my finances now. Gonna buy a better guitar only when I've become more proficient at it and meanwhile, that would free up some funds for other stuff.

How do you kill one which has no life?

2008-02-02T10:05:00.000+08:00

The thing about NS is that you basically have no life until you bookout. Been a pretty interesting week for me as I got to use some rescue equipments. Serving as an NS man in SCDF hasn't gotten me to love Singapore more, but rather I begin to love God more.

The days before I entered NS had been kinda stale for my spiritual life, as I wasn't really able to put into practice Christian principles and values since I was always hanging out with friends who were easy to get along with. In NS, there will be people whom you find it hard to get along with, as well as situations and circumstances that you are not used to handling. It may sound wussy, but whenever I'm undergoing physically strenuous tasks (such as doing push-ups in full bunker gear), God would step in and makes things easier for me, just so long as I remember to cry out for help from Him.

Friday's message on commitment over contribution sort of revealed something which I had been thinking about years ago. Of that full commitment, rather than the half-past six that we're giving.

Been reading books at night now too; they're a good source of entertainment and enrichment. Can't say the same for my harmonica though, hardly have enough time for it. And speaking of which, I haven't touched my guitar for a month. Gotta manage my time better now yea, since I have so little of it now.

28th Emergency Response Specialist

2008-01-27T00:27:00.002+08:00

I'm sorry, but since NS has become a part of my life, I shall just blog a little about it. From what I gather from my NS friends, it seems that ERS training is rather tough for the 28th, but you feel better after going through it. Good pay and an exciting frontline vocation.

Meeting all the NS guys for TM412 was pretty cool. Wasn't too shocking or anything, since we've been looking at botak heads for such a long time in camp. Was just cool to be the CG with the most number of NS botak heads.

So much to say, but just want to sum up that God has been great to me in times of hardship. It gives me strength to just remember all the instances where He had helped me to tide through rough times. I may not have seen it back then, but looking back I begin to see what He has done. And then I sort of realized why lit writers have often placed such a heavy emphasis on memory, such as in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. It is a source of strength and encouragement.

When facing future times of uncertainty, or present times of misery, the previous times have always provided me with the fact that God has always been faithful to me. (Wah, sounds quite cheem)

19th on the 19th

2008-01-20T09:26:00.000+08:00

Thanks to all those well-wishers on my 19th Birthday. Received some messages from primary school mates that I've not met or seen for ages too, haha.

Yea to my CG peeps, I really enjoyed the harmonica starter kit haha, although I can't say the same for the "exquisite" cake. Heh, I'll begin learning the harmonica.

The first 8 days of my life at SCDF camp was pretty much hell. Wasn't so much the training, but the illness that was killing me. Had diarrhea, fever, flu and sore throat. Was dying from just doing 20 push ups and on Wednesday, which was the killer day, I could visually see the pain that my body was going through. There was like some veins on my abs and on the sides, which was pretty freaky. I'm pretty sure those were not the result of training, as I've been through tougher. However, thank God for slowly healing me through the process and on Friday I was pretty hyped because I had renewed strength and was able to keep running and doing proper exercises.

I guess it's only through such hardships that I was able to really appreciate David's psalms.

Anyway I guess I'll have to juggle my own personal time with practicing both the guitar and harmonica, heh.

NS

2008-01-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

Last time I'll be blogging before going to NS. Real man do not waver in the face of fear, although they do feel slightly nervous. They do not scream like pork pies when they have their hands crushed by someone else's.

Been watching Click 5's Jenny video. I don't know, but it was something I wanted to do before I entered NS. And I'm no fan of Click 5 ;/

Thank God my parents were surprisingly happy even when I cycled back. Told them how much I appreciated their concern for me and it was really a miracle that they didn't even scold me or anything, considering how close I was to an argument with my mom on the phone. I even asked my mom why she didn't scold me or anything, but she just smiled. I guess it's probably because I'm going in tomorrow but still, thank God for not letting a quarrel happen or anything. I actually felt more guilty without the scolding, heh.

So I'll see you peeps in a bit yea :D

Short hair, no hair

2008-01-07T01:01:00.000+08:00

Started off the day by waking up late at like 10.30. Left my handphone downstairs to charge and so my alarm was kinda useless. Anyway, met up with the guys and girls to go to beach road to buy army stuff. It was pretty cool, was like the first time we had so many girls together with us. So Kelvin brought us around to buy noob army stuff and such. I didn't need to buy much, since there's like no outfield in SCDF. Then the guys bought cheap 13 dollar Casio watches that started breaking apart within a few hours.

So after that, I went home with Daniel Lum to get some money for a haircut (No more long locks kids, it's gone) to shorten it and to get used to shorter hair. Missed lots of train stations and had to turn back, wasting some time. Then we had some chicken rice at Wee Nam Kee before chionging for the bus. Gave him a set of CJ pt kit to keep, because I have lots, and I like giving CJ shirts and pants away. Then we tried to sneak out to cycle to Yishun, but got busted by my mom and so we got a lift there. Yea, and I felt a little guilty disobeying my mom with regards to cycling and always making her worry, but I have to let her know that I can take care of myself.

Yea and so Daniel Lum, Tsura and I went to get our hair cut and now all of us look weird and gay. Then we met up with those who went to play soccer and had prata and such near my house before inevitably, crashing at my house. Wedgies, bolsters and lousy guitar playing. Then after they left, I accompanied Jerick home and we rode near to Bishan Park condo before we parted ways and I went home.

It was quite interesting to see my dog greet me from behind the glass door. Would have expected it to bark at me, since I looked like any other Bangla in the darkness, but apparently it was able recognize me from a couple of metres away. What more in darkness and separated by a glass door. Now it's sleeping at the bottom of the steps. Time for me to hit the sofa too.

Crash, Smash, Bang, Pain

2008-01-03T11:13:00.000+08:00

Hah, my maid just told me how my mom freaked out when she saw the large bag of mentos that Sarah's dad won. CG time at Cheryl's house was pretty fun, played some soccer, captain's ball and payday.

And so I bought a bike, 2008 GT Avalanche 3.0. Thrashed the bike on the very same day by going through the manly trail devised by Ming Tuan. Only fun highlight was probably trudging through the mud in the dark next to some Malaysian train track (Not MRT) in darkness. The rest was just a pretty long road cycling, where in the course of it all, I smashed into a bus stop, fell in a drain, scraped a Malay and a young school girl with my handle bar, fell off my bike while trying to stop, crushed my pelvis countless of times, skidded off the path, got cut by branches, smacked by branches in the face, scraped open my elbow and bruised my arms, knees and everything else. I'm also ashamed to say that I used up all my 9 lives, with several cars being pissed with me.

Of course, kudos to the people who were cycling with me, for they saved my skin countless times. Something else for me to practice. Of course, I can't neglect touching my guitar, gotta keep grinding.

Lots of marks on my body now, but chicks dig scars, no?

Overrated

2008-01-01T12:36:00.000+08:00

Some of you might hear me throw this word around all the time. But look around, and you'll find things that are overrated. The holidays after the As, for example. I had mentally prepared myself for disappointment, but it turned out to be pretty good for me, haha. But for some others, it wasn't all that fun and games that they had come to expect.

Such was the New Year's eve that we spent at Daniel Chia's giant mansion. Yoda was a cute little golden carpet running around. Can't tell you what illegal stuff Daniel Chia has in his house, but think of an ironic cross between Steve Irwin and The Animal Poacher. It's a love-hate relationship, haha.

Yea and while trying out his bike, his pedal came off and Hamsome, Joel and I tried to fix it back by searching for nuts and bolts and then hammering it back. After hammering it in, we found that it not hammered in 180 degrees to the other pedal and we had to force it out and then hammer it back in again. Destroyed a wasp nest on his bike, aligned chains etc. Grease monkey for a day.

Watched some pirated vcds and we went to the park to play with sparklers. And it was overrated, haha. All 4 rockets failed, just slowly burning up. The 4 packs of sparklers used to make Ming Tuan's candy rocket provided 1 sec of enjoyment when it glowed brightly before fizzling out like the rest. However, the merry go-round thingy was pretty fun, and people were hanging on for dear life, heh.

Thank God that my parents didn't cane me upside down for staying over. Dad was pretty cool with it, haha. What they don't know is that I'm going out again later today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after the day after tomorrow...

"Manly Hardcore" cycling tomorrow and "Cool-down" on Friday. Gonna have to make sure the girls don't pangseh again, maybe threaten to beat up their younger brothers or something, haha.

Kopi-O

2007-12-31T11:49:00.001+08:00

Liz Chay's dad's treat turned out to be a bane :( I can't sleep now after drinking that black black kopi-o.

I hate the airport

2007-12-31T09:28:00.000+08:00

It's been proven; staying over at the airport is not fun. You're dirty, you're getting hypothermia as you slowly drift into sleep and there's nothing much to do. Yea and time really flies, Liz Chay is already back in Singapore and her hair looks different. Probably due to a lack of hair-dressers in L.A huh.

The day before today, (Yesterday in other words) was more fun though. There was Street E and I paired up with Julius and both of us were pretty hum. But we still whacked and yea, through the little things we do, it'll hopefully be amplified by God yea.

Walked around with Sarah, Tuan and Julius mindlessly and Msian and I bought a book each at MPH. Got my hands on John Milton and of course I'm kinda excited to read the epic, Paradise Lost.

Then we went to Loke's house to gather before going to the airport and it was pretty fun and enlightening for me. Saw Edmund, Daniel, Mella and Ming Tuan play the guitar and was inspired to train hardcore. Desperately tried to harmonize with impromptu tunes as the pros played and came up with a little bluesy tune so it was pretty cool. Like how you get to be more creative when playing with others and it was an experience. And Mella taught me to play the all-time fav metal riff, "IRON MAN" haha.

So yea, because of that, I'm gonna go grind again.

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again.

2007-12-29T12:31:00.000+08:00

I can finally understand how it is like to regain the vision that had been lost, when things become clearer and you are able to see reality as it is.

Thanks mom, hehe.

Past few days have just been going back to review my eye and stuff and dripping so much eyedrops on my eyes that I can even taste it in my throat and at the back of my mouth, bleah.

Looking forward to the fierce cycling trip.

Miracle of Christmas

2007-12-26T22:57:00.000+08:00

The thing about Christmas is that everyone celebrates it. Just on Monday my family threw a Christmas party (aka food fest), inviting both my paternal and maternal relatives. Lots of buzz around in the house, with my paternal aunts coming over to tell me stories of how my Dad once caned them for killing his pet bird. Then family politics took over, with my paternal aunts asking me which side of the family I was closer to(A question that they made a point of asking every time I see them) and then the inevitable question of my rebonded hair popped up. So all of them took turns touching my hair.

There was Christmas tree in one corner, flashing lights and presents under it all. So I decided to just go upstairs and to hide in my parents' room. Then I found my dad hiding there as well, away from his younger siblings. So I asked him with a smirk, "Why aren't you mingling with your younger brothers and sisters?", because I knew that both of us couldn't really get along with his siblings. He replied, "I'm their elder brother, you're their nephew so you should be the one going down there socializing with them". It made sense but we still decided to hide upstairs.

So the next morning, I asked my mom why she celebrates Christmas every year even though she isn't a Christian. Then she told me that she doesn't celebrate Christmas, but rather, the holiday itself.

That was in contrast to what happened in Church the next day. I woke up early to attend the Christmas service and I had lots of fun with the CG guys over at Jerick's house throwing his underwear all over the place and then watching F-grade zombie flicks like Resident Evil 3. Exercised my slicing skills on the roasted beef. It tasted ok, but bore a lingering taste like that of pig liver, haha.

What's after the theme parks?

2007-12-24T09:03:00.000+08:00

I guess life is like a theme park, and like Dave's song, we often do not see what's beyond this noisy affair.

Like a little girl, we're amazed at the lights, sounds and smells of the theme park. There's so much fun to be had, so much food, so many rides. Life keeps us occupied with many things. School, work, commitments, jobs etc.

The girl doesn't want to leave the theme park; there's so much fun here. We don't want to think about life after the theme park and in a sense, we don't want to know what's there, in store of us beyond this normalcy of life. The girl believed that she would be able to live in this theme park forever. Having tasted all kinds of food, taken all sorts of rides, theme park life soon loses its appeal. Beyond all the blaring noise, the little girl sees the theme park laden with garbage. It's dirty. She sees people getting off their rides, throwing up all over the floor. They've been taking so many rides that they've gotten sick. It is a crappy place after all. The little girl knows she's been in this theme park for too long; she's been feeling nauseas and ill. The crowds obstruct her view as they continue to move on from one spot to another, like a rat race. She can't find a way out. In desperation, the little girl cries out for her Daddy. Who else could she turn to? She sits on the dank floor of the theme park, sobbing uncontrollably. Then, she feels someone strong lift her up. She opens her eyes for a moment and spots the familiar face of her father. Her father pats her clean and gently puts her on his strong shoulders. On top of his shoulder, she got a better view of the theme park.

"Dear girl," asked the father, "Would you like to go home now?"

The girl says nothing, only nods her head. The father smiles and holding onto her tightly, walks out of the theme park with the little girl.

The clock goes tickety tock tick tock.

2007-12-23T21:10:00.001+08:00

Been chionging everyday since my time is gonna be up soon. Spamming pull-ups now since I realized that after months from not training, I could still do like 6, which was very encouraging so I decided to chiong it up. Spamming guitar practice too. Those Blink 182 songs will come in handy soon, haha.

And I have this weird diarrhoea that makes me feel shitty. Maybe not so weird after all. Gonna go run after I don't feel weird any more and hopefully I don't lose weight from it all. Think I'm gonna go for Lasik soon though. But I look like an Ah Beng without my specs. We'll see how it goes ;/

Genting

2007-12-22T00:16:00.000+08:00

The food was expensive and sucky, I couldn't speak Malay, most of us (including myself) had tummy aches, some of the rides took us close to an hour and a half in queue time, and in exchange for that, we had 30 seconds of fun.

But it was still great fun for me, as I really enjoyed the experience with the CG peeps. Returned to Singapore with a hoarse throat from screaming half my head off while taking the thrill rides. There was an irritating Malaysian clown(I hate clowns) who spoke Malaysian-accented Mandarin and went around hugging Daniel Loke and Edmund. Shared a room with Edmund, Jerick and Joel and on the last night, with Daniel Lum as well. Woke up with a stiff neck the next morning. And of course, singing in the room with Edmund playing the guitar was fun and funny too, as we didn't know all of the lyrics, we had to hum through some parts.

Then there was Kelvin, the camera king. Apparently we discovered he has a gift; the ability to detect the slightest camera rustle and then to quickly strike a pose for the "candid" shot. Haha.

I'll update more once I can recall, and in the meanwhile some videos, courtesy of Marcus Goh.

Taupok attempt on Kelvin goes wrong and I ended up getting ganged, haha.

The right arm isn't right

2007-12-16T17:55:00.000+08:00

It doesn't feel right. After 2 days of continuous long distance cycling, the right arm's been working up. Think I injured some muscle in my hand, probably from gripping the handlebar too tightly such that it's kinda numb -.-'. Anyway, going off to Malaysia on Tuesday with the CG peeps and I hope we have fun in that short period of time.

S21 carnival yesterday was interesting, with a couple of us walking away with soft toys. Thought I wouldn't have been able to win anything, but I walked away with a weird mouse soft toy from a kiddie fishing competition, heh.

Skilling up the guitar and playing punk rock is actually kinda fun, haha. We'll see how the remaining holidays go. Looking forward to Christmas. ;D

To be in this world, but not of.

2007-12-14T17:20:00.000+08:00

Been doing night cycling and it's pretty cool and exciting. Almost got killed thrice yesterday when I crossed the road just as the traffic light turned green and had to sprint across the vehicles.

Cycled from Bishan to Orchard and then to Sentosa. Was quite a killer, with my left shoulder being numb from carrying my bag and hands being weak.

Gay Music

2007-12-05T00:30:00.000+08:00

I'm ashamed, but I think it's quite catchy.

Guan Hong's going in on Thursday. And I just realized church camp is this Friday. Haha cool lah.

Mobile blogger

2007-12-01T01:04:00.000+08:00

Ah this is cool, managed to blog through my phone. Prom was pretty cool and stuff, although there were only like 4 guys in our class, haha.

And as with all holidays, I can already feel it flying and zooming past. Gotta start rationing my time I suppose. So here it goes;

-Swimming (Much better alternative to training or hitting the gyms, since I don't get bored or feel tired that easily in the water while doing laps, it means I get to work out more + tan) Preferably in the morning when the sun is bright, scorching and hot.
-Drawing (Once I get my hands on some good pencils)
-Guitar practice (At least an hour a day)
-Penning a story. (Need to get down to this)

And the remainder of the time is spent having fun with God, friends, family. Stay overs like nothing, PS2ing like nothing. Need a PSP.

Some pictures from the prom which I stole.

Justin, my fencing team comrade. We'll pwn those noobs ;D

Gay that can't be photographed.

Class pic without Sarah.

Mr Alfred Pang (My other-worldly Lit teacher) + Sam

Sam, Xavier and Mrs Fiona Koh (My International History teacher) And next to her, is her favourite student who is always skipping History.

Indon Dog Heiru

Dalcock the Monfortian, haha. Normally he isn't so gay, but I dont' know why he's like that when he's next to me.

Anne and Ming who had been selected for Best Dressed, haha.

On another note, this is Marcus Goh at the extreme right, in Finland.

Ah

2007-12-01T01:01:00.001+08:00

Testing.

running like a dog

2007-11-22T01:23:00.000+08:00

back from 8 rounds. 1 round more than yesterday but it seemed much easier today than yesterday. Sweating a lot more now though. Looking forward to swimming tomorrow before starting to study lit.

And my left arm is puny, it's like it's gimped or something. Need more left arm strength. Would be useful for fretting on a guitar, but nothing to fret about I suppose.

Once again, Daniel Loke has sent me his latest musical recording. Needs to be highlighted to see the missing texts.

11/22/2007	12:08:01 AM	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	meh	haha
11/22/2007	12:08:12 AM			you gotta love urself if u can ever love me sends standing alone demo.mp3
11/22/2007	12:08:15 AM	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	meh	freakin awesome
11/22/2007	12:08:51 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	yours? -.-'
11/22/2007	12:09:11 AM	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	meh	what do u think
11/22/2007	12:09:16 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	-.-'
11/22/2007	12:09:20 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	it says demo so it's yours
11/22/2007	12:09:25 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	not because u said it's awesome

After listening, I had some positive critiques to the aspiring artist.

11/22/2007	12:21:34 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	your vocals background
11/22/2007	12:21:36 AM	meh	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	like a bangla
11/22/2007	12:21:48 AM	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	meh	wher got
11/22/2007	12:21:51 AM	you gotta love urself if u can ever love me	meh	ok what

Then there was this video Ming Tuan showed me, of an Ang Moh being gangbanged(As little Kenneth puts it) by Singaporeans. Apparently he had hit 2 Ah Lians and this turned the crowd against him. Kinda sympathized with the ang moh, but then again not knowing the full matter, we can't be sure who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ug2cBISwg

Excerpts "I boy, you beat me lah". "This is Singapore, you think where, your country ah?"

One thing for sure, the video poster was named "princessmichie". Singaporean princess, ah. Ah lianz.

1am running

2007-11-21T00:55:00.000+08:00

I think I'm gonna go for a run soon. Without socks. And I hope no dogs will chase after me. Will have to leave the automatic gate open because I don't know the password for it ;/ So if i come home from the run and someone has entered my house during that period, I'm in for some desperate and dire hand to hand melee combat. Haha, so exciting.

Warm up time.

www.freerice.com

2007-11-20T14:57:00.000+08:00

Guys if you are bored, why not improve your vocabulary? You get to feed starving people as well. Pretty fun for those who are bored and wish to do something meaningful for a change.

hemidemisemiquaver means:
sixty-fourth note
pituitary gland
disbelief
chore

;/

For those who are curious, it's the sixty-fourth note.

Been listening to RHCP more and more. Stadium Arcadium in my opinion is quite a good album. All of the songs are good.

After practicing a bit more, I think I'll burst out of the house and buy some books and stuff. I want to swim.

Kick your ass

2007-11-20T01:57:00.000+08:00

was how I decided to live my day. After lazing till around 3 in front of the com, I decided I had better get to doing stuff that I want to do and not let laziness, a folding of the arms get to me.

Ironic how after having an abundance of time, I'm just lazy to even get to doing the things I want. Like what Oscar Wilde has similarly said, there are 2 tragedies in life. One is not getting the things you want, and the other is getting the things that you want. How true.

So I went to reignite my passion of reading, which my mom had cultivated only in me and not my other 2 sisters. Of interest to me right now is probably John Bunyan's "A Pilgrim's Progress". I remembered a time when I borrowed books from the library on animals and kept reading about them. Or the times that I spent my mom's money buying loads of books which didn't come cheap either. It was a reading for this fun of knowing things. I wish I could be like that once more. A price to pay I suppose for being so jaded, a "been there, done that" attitude. I want to be able to be constantly amazed and not be "Uhhhhhh yea, so?". What a great price I have paid for shedding out of my childhood, tempered by that of realities, I suppose we all have become jaded in a way or another. Like how animals always looked so cute, colorful and friendly in pop-up books, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Childhood vs Reality.

Painful process of growing up I suppose.

And predicting boring days in the holidays, I shall embark upon my hobo quest. 3 days on the streets of Singapore, just traveling to wherever the road brings us to. We complain about how Singapore is boring and small, but how many of us have truly seen every part of Singapore? Simple, great enjoyment this is. To breathe in the cold air of Singapore at 3am while walking along the quiet roads chatting with friends and taking in the scenery. Alas, that would be great.

Almost over,

2007-11-19T12:13:00.000+08:00

but it feels like it's over, haha. Been playing so much these couple of days. Ah... haha.

After having lost 2 phones in a week, I've finally gotten my new phone, hurray! So all of you who are bursting with excitement to read my handcrafted smses, sms away.

Simple Hospitality

2007-11-11T14:53:00.000+08:00

Many times as guests in other people's houses, I find that we may often take the host's hospitality for granted and this thought just popped up in my mind, since I've been spending days at other people's home more often than at my own. (Tsura, Daniel, Jerick, Marcus, Ming Tuan, Ronald)

For example, I still have Tsura and Marcus' shorts from a long time ago with me, as well as Tsura's shirt. Kept forgetting to bring it even though I laid it out on my table.

And I am grateful for the times they have allowed me to stay over and enjoy myself at their homes.

Sometimes we do it so often such that we lose that glazing of "foreigness", that we become so familiar with it that we begin to make demands upon the hosts for our own comfort.

Terribly sick now, but I know that it will be fine.

4 continous days of examinations and it'll be overz

2007-11-11T01:54:00.001+08:00

Then one on 26 and it is truly done. 1 month to do my stuff. church camp/hobo-quest/guitar-power leveling/learn malay/write my dystopian novel/drawing/swimming/running/weighting/fattening/buy psp/malaysia trip/and exploring God/buy zai bike/

Throat hurts and I'm sick like a stray dog. Jehovah Rophe.

Someone just beat the crap out of me

2007-11-07T09:26:00.000+08:00

while I was sleeping. And it has been happening for weeks. Always woke up with my body aching despite hours (Like 12++) of sleep. So apparently this morning, someone had punched me on my right eye, stomped me on my lower back and given a kick to the sides just for good measure. Ouch. Pouch.

Run run run

2007-11-04T22:03:00.000+08:00

Exams have been going bad for me but it's not over.

Keep on going till the end.

Had a sudden urge to run late at night so I went out to run around my neighbourhood. Was probably the first time in my JC life that I had ran on my own accord. The wind was cold on the skin and I didn't like it. The running experience was crappy too, the heart was weak and I was on auto-spit to spit out the phlegm that was being expelled from my lungs. But it was pretty surprising to find that I ran rather quickly and my body was sweating well. It felt good after the run.

Gonna go find something to eat now, hungrish.

Yudhoyono

2007-10-30T00:49:00.000+08:00

He released some songs.

-Give your best, not for yourself or for anyone else. But for God.

So quickly, GP is tomorrow. Haha. I do hope i can start waking up early now.

Dreams

2007-10-25T00:13:00.000+08:00

Had two different dreams today in quick succession. All of which I was relieved to find that it wasn't true.

Now I know what's been lurking at the back of my mind.

Eeih?

2007-10-23T23:23:00.000+08:00

Eeih, how to do this maths question ah?

And A levels are coming ;D 7 Days and counting.

"I wanna be like a Superman," blasted into my ears and it kinda caught my mood for the moment. The Kinks always have this sense of humour in their songs, which I dig, like how chics dig firemen.

After the A levels, I'm going to write a Dystopian novel based upon my own vision, of people being judged by their innate talent. So remind me to do so if I ever forget. (No humor.)

My fear of A levels coming has turned laconic ;D Feeling all badass, like the Spartans in 300. Like the scene when the Persians asked them to lay down their arms, they replied "Come and take them." As well the memorable part when the Persian ambassador is lambasting about how if they won the battle, they would take the Spartan women, children and aged as slaves, to which this Spartan replied "If,".

Had a good walk in the rain at 12.30pm, with Joul and Jerick, from Ang Mo Kio to Bishan train station. Kinda refreshing, and it spawned this master plan of what we should do after A levels. LIVING ON THE STREETS FOR 3 DAYS, w00t. ;D How cool is that lah, like a real survivor.

Damn cool.

So Genting trip with the Cat High boys and churchies after A levels. Malaysia sucks, but when going with friends, it sucks lesser.

Pearl Jam is cool too.

guanhong

2007-10-14T22:05:00.000+08:00

Why can't I... says:
derric
Why can't I... says:
i put our calss photo
Why can't I... says:
in my room
Why can't I... says:
so i everyday see ur happy face
Why can't I... says:
i see sam's retarded face
Why can't I... says:
ian's depressed face
Why can't I... says:
bryan's hoprny face
Why can't I... says:
and my handsome face
meh says:
lol

haha guanhong. Saturday's street soccer ripped another chunk of my skin and there's a nice plaster on it now.

Had a nice chat with Mund Mund and I guess it made me feel better. ;D

Like a thief in the night,

2007-10-12T22:27:00.000+08:00

the Malay dude stole my handphone while I was at the AMK lib studying. And it was all because we wanted to check Mella's enlistment date (18 dec for him) and so we left the table to the computer which was around 10 metres away. We had 3 SAJC girls studying at the table in front of ours and a CCTV above them, but it didn't stop the Malay fella who took my handphone. Apparently the SA girls followed him, but he gave them the slip. Embarrassing thing was that when they told me about it while I was searching for my phone, I was rather impulsive and said rather loudly in the library that I would beat up the fella before proceeding to crack my knuckles and start looking around. -.-'

Then called the police and they sent this Chinese policeman who spoke extremely quickly in Mandarin but we soon started joking around and such. He was a pretty friendly guy who explained lots of our queries, such as Mella's dumb question on whether he would be imprisoned if he started a racial commotion (duh ;/). any rapes, murders etc. Had a really nice time talking with him and saw him do some quirky stuff such as taking a photo of the table where I left my phone, which was apparently the crime scene itself, before he proceeded to take the photograph of AMK Lib building. Through him, we found out lots of stuff, such as the AMK Lib being a hotspot for such crimes. As put by him, "Zhe ke niao(bird) di fang mei chi zhong de". There you have it, Ang Mo Kio the slums. Then the SA girls helped to be his witnesses and all, and was a pretty cool experience to see how the police worked.

And so, thank you Sgt Cheong Kwok Leong(Zhang Guo Liang) for being so helpful in our questions and funny. Haha. Pretty cool experience.

A levels looming yea. Like a thief in the night, it would seize upon us. But not if I count down ;D

Uhw Wah

2007-10-06T10:38:00.000+08:00

Uhw Wah....emo ah.

Extremely great fun with the class during grad day rushing around doing stuff and all, taking pictures etc. Then Botak Jones and all in the crappy hot and humid weather. After eating all that food, then we had to rush to have steamboat with PAE 1T03, where there was Harry and his stories haha.

Slacking at the Singapore River stoning and relaxing. Felt pretty good over there. Seemed so surreal, like A levels were over.

Grad Day tmr

2007-10-05T00:59:00.001+08:00

So it'll be Graduation Day tomorrow. A time for J1s to worship the J2s and to pay their respects to us.

;)

Botak Jones with the class tomorrow (hopefully ;D)

Here's a double chin to the bah-bah and chubby girls of my class ;))

Classfriends

2007-10-03T23:47:00.000+08:00

I feel kinda sad that it's only when A levels are nearing us, that the class has only really started to be close to each other. Will truly miss the class guys and girls(bitches ;/)

Been a fun time, but all I wished was that we had more time to know each other better, less work and examinations.

One month more now and it's cool that I've just accidentally stumbled upon someone willing to motivate me to study, haha.

10hrs. Son of a ;/

Timbuk2

2007-10-02T00:31:00.000+08:00

All of a sudden I've gotten this fascination with Timbuk2 bags and such. It's something with it's famed indestructibility and sense of humour.

Excerpt from their website regarding product warranty.

"We stand behind the legendary quality of all of our bags and accessories. But we also stand behind the beautiful unpredictability of life."

Haha.

wallachia

2007-09-29T02:06:00.000+08:00

Been thinking of getting a nice bike. Wish it was like in Pokemon when you had a "BICYCLE VOUCHER" and this bike shop dude just gives you one for free. Darn. Probably get one entry level one which costs around 500++ not including the zhngings. Cycling across Singapore would be cool.

Wanted to do some practice but fell asleep and as usual my mom and sister had to wake me up for dinner.

Gonna have to try to force myself to sleep by 12 each night. That would be cool.

Looking for a new bag and wallet mmm. Got something in mind ;D

They call me Speedy.

2007-09-27T21:29:00.000+08:00

It was a couple of years ago and I happened to recall it just now. It was 3 year ago back at Presbyterian High where the church held its Sports Extreme. We were sec 4 then and I remember of the all Cat High team we had for the captain's ball competition.

I was in the toilet with Ming Tuan (I remember him because I peeped at him while he was peepeeing and let's just say I saw something only his future wife should be allowed to see.) and there was the IJC team there changing as well. One of their team members, a rather fat and round guy with thick, black rimmed glasses caught my eye. Not just because he was changing but because he said something that truly affected me for the rest of my life.

He said, "You know what they call me?" To which his team members looked at him inquisitively, waiting for the earth shattering answer. He looked around, nodding his head with a relative amount of satisfaction.

"They call me Speedy."

His team mates nodded and acknowledged that fact, while I almost burst out laughing. Fat Boy, Speedy?

pfft. That was what I thought, until our team faced off with them in the first round.

When the game started, we began our offensive and back then Mella was still able to run and the 2 of us went through their defense like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds, Ming Tuan (Malaysian Tuan) caught our ball and the we saw a knowing look in the team's eyes, that the game was going to be a cakewalk. 1-0, 1 to the CHS boys. But alas, the day was not to be ours. The IJC team went into full gear and tore through us, scoring succession of goals, one after another. They were unstoppable. Our game was falling apart. In desperation, we threw everything we had, but we could not stop the famed "Speedy". The game ended 1-5. We were devastated. We had been owned.

"Speedy" was not to be underestimated. While not as fast as his esteemed title would allow him to be, his F=MA (Sec sch physics) was unstoppable, largely due to his M, which gave rise to a huge F and he bulldozed through us and the other IJC players were basketballers who towered over us.

Speedy continued to go through the matches and their team became the top team. An image remained clearly in my mind, of that of Matthew (Marcus' younger brother) who had the ball doing two huge steps, taking off on his third and crashing into a stationary Speedy. The result was unexpected. Speedy did not move a single inch while Matthew stumbled from the impact and fell to the ground. To fully understand what Speedy had endured, we need to know that Matthew was a jumper from Cat High track(now in the Sports School) but his A(Acceleration) element in the F=MA equation was outgunned by the M(Mass) element of Speedy's God-given constitution.

With nothing to do with the epic tale that I have just wrote about, prelims was kinda an awakening for me. That it is time to start studying, that there is hope, that prelims is also a chance for you to get lots of free foolscap paper.

So I hope the weather's fine everyone. Time to consolidate my history notes and to begin my reading of Lit notes. :)

Boys and Girls

2007-09-24T22:49:00.000+08:00

do not be discouraged if you haven't been doing well or expected.

Always better to make mistakes now than in A levels yea ;D

For the papers that I've managed to pass, I guess it can only be attributed to divine intervention because what I did was only pittance as compared to others who have worked harder than me and not pass or gotten their desired grade. Really grateful and appreciative of my grades when you look at what's been going around. It may not be much, but it's something for me. And for that, thank you God for being so kind.

So everyone if you haven't been doing well, keep trying. There'll be a breakthrough.

2007-09-22T00:39:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday to Ronald Goh Zi Rui, Mandi and Amelia. Birthdayful month today, haha (The word doesn't exist.)

And the weekends will pass so quickly, mark my words ;(

Organized practice is freaking boring, but productive I must say.

I wanna wake up early and have a nice MacDonald's Breakfast.

Ohki

2007-09-21T00:56:00.000+08:00

All of us are bound together by our human weakness.

History international was really quite a surprising result for me. I scraped a D, my second pass in my 2 years of JC life for international history. (The other was during J1 promos). Quite encouraging and I hope I don't get discouraged by my other results. Being listed for ICU resuscitation seems pretty cool too, haha.

Haven't been doing any productive work today at all, slept from 4-10 which was an accident. Just lying down and thinking about stuff and when my mom woke me up, I thought I was late for school, haha. But time really passes quickly, especially so when A levels are looming. Someone seems to have hit the fast forward button.

Haven't touched my axe (note, l33t guitar speech meaning a guitar) for some time now so I'll chug in some time with it, then dance around the house at 3am and try to read some notes.

I'd hope to see results for whatever I put my heart into, a little at a time I guess.

"Perfect practice makes perfect"-Someone whom I don't remember but I believe it holds relevant for a lot of things in life.

Perhaps one day, I can be as good as him.

2007-09-21T00:33:00.000+08:00

Sunday entry.

Woke up late today due to some interrupted sleep by my dog. Apparently some pesky cat snuck into my house and it was barking non-stop. Bad thing was that I was sleeping near it and the darn cat came in a couple of times every few hours. Which resulted in me waking up every few hours. Argh. Darn cat.

Went over to Daniel's house to study and saw Uncle Alick, Aunty Tong Wah, Grace, Hannah and Benjamin again. Big family.

Then went to Botanic Gardens to watch the NAFA (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts) Orchestra Concert. Saw Feiyang over there, and I must say it was a pretty good even though it was pouring and two girls on my right and I seemed to be the only ones without umbrellas. Small crowd, but the response was pretty enthusiastic. I don't think the average Singaporean would get past the conductor's accent but they clapped anyhow ;D

Pardon the moving about and the occasional appearance of my fingers, was trying to wipe the rain off my phone. Pretty heavy drizzle. English rain ;/

Then went to Thomson Plaza, spent my time browsing books at Popular. I wouldn't mind working there, they have some pretty interesting books. Come to think of it, Borders and Kinokuniya seems like a better option now.

Grabbed a few copies of Eric Clapton, Kenny G and Michael Jackson's (Yes, him ;/) albums. Too lazy to download ;/

Bought Bengawam Solo mooncakes for my mom, mee siam and dim sum for the family. Busted all my remaining cash. Ah well.

"...with the heart of a gypsy and the discipline of a soldier." -Beethoven. I guess I'll apply that to all aspects of my life. Promised to study, so I'll do so, even though it's unproductive etc, I'll trudge through it.

CCB

2007-09-15T02:14:00.000+08:00

Before anyone starts gasping at such a rude and vulgar looking acronym, allow me to explain what it means.

Cunning Chinese Businessman.

That is what I can surmise of the Chinese race. Cunning and devious businessmen who do not allow ethical barriers to hold them back from reaping supernormal profits. (Buns with cardboard fillings? Who can be that creative besides the CHINESE? Excessive lead levels in children toys? Who can be that generous with lead besides the CHINESE? ;D)

What causes me to come to such a conclusion? Well, for one, SOUTH EAST ASIAN HISTORY A LEVEL MODULE.

Although prelims are over, I'll have to regurgitate some of these info for the benefit of you guys ;D

One of the key factors for the growth of SEA's economy was the role played by the immigrants (Mostly by the Chinese, with Indians contributing to a smaller extent.)

-Apparently, the World Bank estimates that the yearly economic output by SEA Chinese are at 500 billion US dollars. Mind boggling figures.

-The 500 largest firms in SEA are owned by the SEA Chinese.

What else can we derive from this, but the fact that being Chinese basically means you have a knack for doing business.

It's like playing some game where you have to choose a character and each character has some special attributes and weaknesses.

Chinese (Chow Mian a& Kung Bao Chicken)
-All profits gained increased by 20%
-Slitty eyes allow only for limited vision
-Perfect pitch (Check it out on wikipedia. It claims that Chinese have the best pitch, with the largest proportion of people with perfect pitch, due the tonal nature of Mandarin.)

So after reading through all these materials, I've decided to be an enterprising Chinese businessman and to get in touch with my roots.

Often I realize that many Chinese Singaporeans shun their heritage, finding it a disgrace to speak Mandarin. The Chinese civilization is one that is really amazing, in terms of art, music and best of all, military strategies and warfare. No one has truly been able to conquer China, with the Manchurians and Mongols simply being overthrown and then assimilated. Hitler and Napoleon used the Chinese's Sun Tzu art of war as well as military classics from China.

Was doing a simple search regarding Chinese surnames when I stumbled upon something interesting.

"From xing: These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family, with collateral lineages taking their own shi. Of the six or so common xing, only Jiang (姜) and Yao (姚) have survived as frequently occurring surnames."

Cool huh, being a 姚 ;D

So for all of you who wish to be part of this royal lineage, we can start a family together or something. (Only females may need to apply. Trannies are not welcomed.)

On another note, getting my Ipod since music and videos are taking too much space on my com.
Yanni is pretty cool.

LED ZEP

2007-09-13T00:19:00.001+08:00

Latest News: Led Zeppelin reunion is up and coming. MUADABIDIB!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6990704.stm

PEW PEW PEW

And it's a wrap!

2007-09-12T23:51:00.001+08:00

Hello amigoes, where are your burritoes?

And I have a nice break till Monday ;D

To all my friends, I promise you guys that Derric will study. I'll make sure of it. Caning him if necessary.

And this happy image to brighten up your dreary lives.

How thoughtful if I may add ;D The guy takes some pill to stop himself from spreading this disease to his girlfriend. Something about it strikes a chord of irony. Just something I picked up from a guitar magazine at Ang Mo Kio library. I guess this is what they mean by finding unexpected fun in the library.

WARNING: THE IMAGE BELOW REQUIRES PARENTAL CONSENT OR THE COMPANY OF A GUARDIAN. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED.

Thank you Daniel for accommodating Kenneth (Sec 2 Kid ;/), Justin and I in your room, although Justin and I nearly got pierced by those stilty beach beds or whatever those are, haha.
As well as your underwear which kept me company and gave me good luck for my exams by wearing it. It may not look very nice, but it sure is comfortable. Just a day inside the life of Daniel Loke Wei Ren.

I'll spend every bit of this holiday to its fullest extent because I know that sooner than I expect it, it would all be gone. I'm keeping my eyes wide open to make sure time doesn't just skip a few hours when I'm not looking.

93

2007-09-11T18:19:00.000+08:00

With today being September 11, I guess things have passed so quickly. We see how things have managed to change in our generation, with the invasion of Iraq and the entire world's new found threat of Islamic terrorists.

Yet it seemed kinda coincidental that just a few days after I wrote the entry on courage, I managed to catch a documentary detailing that of Flight 93; the only hijacked plane that did not hit its target due to the courageous passengers aboard.

Of human beauty that only shines through it's adversities. That perhaps war in its violence and bloodshed, can actually be beautiful. That the world that we know of today was born of blood, sweat and tears. Like the dumb kid whose name I forgot in Transformers, "No sacrifice, no victory". But at what price? "At any cost" comes to our minds. That for what they hold close to their hearts, normally peace loving and rational man would be willing to shed away that disposition and inflict pain and death upon another man.

It all seems kinda morbid, but we are a violent human race after all.

And economics today was a killer, but I never gave up writing, choosing to go down in a blaze of glory (blades of glory? ;/), kicking, screaming, scratching and biting.

And I'll have some stuff to post about the Saturday stay-over at Daniel Loke's house. WAHAHHA

HELLO JUSTIN WIE.

2007-09-06T15:39:00.000+08:00

Pavarotti died at the age of 71 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer and Federer pwned Roddick 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.

It's sad to know an opera legend has faded into the pages of modern history. I remember only vaguely watching his concerts on TV and back then I was still a kid and didn't know how to appreciate his opera singing. I doubt that I would even know how to appreciate him. But somehow his death, has caused me to take an interest in his works. Maybe it's because his entire singing career was close to twice of my current lifespan, or just a simple notion of the significance he has played in my life, no matter how diminutive or small.

Speaking of which, I've gotten a little too comfortable with my holiday mood.

Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzaro.

MY ROOM!!!!111

2007-09-05T16:30:00.000+08:00

is smaller than my house's toilet. I just realized that I've gotten the smallest room in the entire household. I'VE BEEN TRICKED FOR SO MANY YEARS LAH.

This sudden realization only dawned upon me when I went to my toilet and decided to lie in the bath tub and as I looked around, it was very much more spacious than my room. ;/

And of course, being the kind not willing to watch injustice go by without any action, I complained to my mom. I'll get to move down to sleep in the study room, which crammed with 4 tables, 2 chairs, a treadmill, boxing bag and 4 years of catholic high schoolwork and notes, as well as my ah lian sister's 4 years worth of notes and undone assessment books and story books, numerous of her bags and a shelf, IS STILL BIGGER THAN MY ROOM!!1111

My mom promised to clear out the study room and make it my NEW BIG BEDROOM (Since the family has no habit of using the study room.) after my A levels. Already thinking of designs for my new bedroom. Throw the treadmill into my parents' room, my sisters' (2 of them ;/) bags and notes and UNDONE assessment books to the Rag and Bone man. (Garung Guni Uncle) KEEP the unread story books bought by her, (Except those with pink cover pages and sparkling titles) and read them. (Dan Brown, etc etc)

And I tired sleeping on the floor with my dog. Without a blanket and just some flat cushions as pillows, my muscles and bones ached.

This is Chokoy my dog. I do not ill-treat or abuse it, I feed it good dog food (it rhymes!) and has a name better than Ming Tuan. (I named it) It knows a couple of tricks, but it has a tendency to poop and pee on the marble floor and that's why we only let it out at night.

And my feet after a day at sentosa.

Notice the red and white part.

The road away from school always looks so good.

THIS IS SPARTA!!!!11111

2007-09-04T16:49:00.000+08:00

I don't know. Watching 300 again on my computer, brings to mind the many forms of bravery, courage and recklessness.

I remember the time when we snuck in to watch 300 (It was M18) and we had to put on a brave front to deter the usher from asking us for our ICs. Wahaha ;D

What truly is courage? It seems to only come alive when man is faced with his greatest peril, and truly then are we at our noblest. To do what is right regardless of whatever the circumstances may dictate.

Let us have courage my friends.

Sentosa

2007-09-02T00:39:00.000+08:00

is overrated.

Day began with some Thai beef noodles we had. Tsura and Edmund had bought the same thing as me but I decided to add one scoop of sour chilli and two scoops of chilli padi powder and the result was a swollen lip and a torturous enjoyment of my noodles. The price you pay for having to eat like a man.

So after that I decided to go to the washroom to rinse my mouth and I saw this old Indian man approach the basin to the right of me. Instead of washing his hands in the basin, he cupped the water from the running tap and brought it to his body. And as I was rinsing my mouth I turned and saw that he was actually washing his -.-'. The image has been seared into my mind. The price you pay for using a public washroom (besides the 10 cents).

One thing about Palawan (Padawan- Noob Jedi = Noob beach) was that it was dirty, from the sea to the beach itself. Chicken bones in the sand and the likes and murky water, polluted with what Kelvin claims to be "human waste".

But it was pretty fun for us there, where we were the champion poison ball/dodge ball team thanks to some strategizing by Kelvin. My tail bone hurts from having to do instant drops to avoid balls hurled at me. Overall it was pretty fun and even Mella the backache boy surprised me by watching my back and catching a ball that was hurled from behind me.

Then I injured my the toe next to my big toe (don't know what's that called. anyone can enlighten me ;D). Apparently while trying to stop the soccer ball, the ball rammed my toe upwards and now the bone hurts.

Subway for dinner and only Justin, Kelvin, Edmund and I were real men, finishing the foot long.

Then we went to Daniel Loke's house to chill, watch transformers (the series), Bourne Ultimatum and to cane his youngest brother Benjamin.

2007-08-31T22:49:00.000+08:00

As everyone seems to be ranting about their prelims...

And I hope the weather is fine.

2007-08-27T17:51:00.000+08:00

Couldn't help but find it kinda funny at the way he phrased it, like it was some kind of good news, haha.

Happy beltaed birthday Liz Chay. I know you are not aware of this blog, but thanks for doing all the work for us all the time, such as opening your house for us to study, baking stuff for us to eat and doing all the CG work, the latest being the CG flag. Thanks a lot ;D

And we did a long recorded birthday message which was kinda funny. Will upload when I get the file.

And yea, just took my first prelims examination today. Let the onslaught begin.

Got my sister to buy my planet waves guitar cable back home and hopefully my little squier 51 would sound better ;D

GP TOMORROW =D

Tired.

2007-08-21T00:05:00.000+08:00

Prelims are coming. And I'm tired. Kinda excited to get my maths result back and see how I've fared. Maths, my favourite subject.

Probably gonna do some update with pictures later, but in the mean time feast your eyes on Daniel Loke at his "concert" that we went for some time back.

I wonder why he refuses to wear the bright yellow shirt I bought for him many moons ago.

Lots of people having their birthdays in August.

Rennie's landing

2007-08-14T00:59:00.001+08:00

Muadabidib.

Everyone seems to be owning me and scolding me to get me to study. (Classmates to parents) Muadabidib.

Slither by Velvet Revolver. Kept watching it, I don't know whether for the music or for the feminine actions by Scott Weiland. (the ghey-looking singer) Surprisingly, he isn't gay but is actually married to a model and has two kids. The gays really do get all the girls. Damn.

Was just looking at some members from Guns and Roses and Velvet Revolver when I came to the conclusion that Izzy Stradlin is the coolest looking, with his Gypsy-styled kind of look as opposed to Slash's Bangladeshi worker look. Izzy's also the only one who has a wife, a dog and not do drugs. (anymore)

On another note, the walk to Novena everyday is starting to become more like Wemmick's Walworth.

School Nat Day Celebrations

2007-08-11T12:18:00.000+08:00

We witness the Oedipus Complex. (Thank you Mr Pang for telling us about it.)

For those who don't know what that is,

The Oedipus complex is a concept within psychoanalytic theory referring to a stage of psychosexual development where a child of either gender regards the parent of the same gender as an adversary, and competitor, for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite gender. The name derives from the Greek myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly kills his father, Laius, and marries his mother, Jocasta.

And while green is good for the eyes, it is not pleasing on the eyes at all.

Taller than the rest by a head! Haha but that was because they were all bending forward. And I need to learn how to smile. Hello ex-1t03.

National Day

2007-08-09T21:32:00.000+08:00

Oh yea and I forgot that today's national day. What a bummer.