As the title for this entry suggests, another week is down which signals a baby step closer to freedom. We've been having quite a few ORD personnel coming down to the medical centre for their FFIs (which certifies that they are fit to ORD ie the army has left them physically intact and thus will not compensate for any injuries sustained in the near future - as if they do in the first place for injuries sustained during the period of service) so it's quite tormenting to see people running amok and going "ORD loh!" Thank goodness no one streaks in the medical centre...
I'm dying to watch Brokeback Mountain but I'm too young, as viewed by the state, to handle such mature content. I'm mature enough to watch heterosexual couples exchange copious amounts of saliva on screen but not mature enough as to watch two men in heat doing likewise. The logic? Well, maybe the state thinks that I might turn to the guy sitting next to me and start imitating what I see on screen. I shall instead settle for Final Destination which is more suited for those intellectually challenged people like me, a full-time NSF.
I shall ramble on about things that happened during the course of this week.
Our former deputy prime minister S. Rajaratnam passed away this week we sent all of us into a frenzy for fear of being activated for medical cover. I'm fine with medical cover but to cover such events just doesn't feel right. I'd gladly go and pay my last respects even though I have no idea who he was, except from watching the documentary about him on Wednesday night, but please don't make me cover such events. The atmosphere is solemn and depressing and I'm not the right person to counsel others, nor handle people who faint from over-exertion. I'm not being disrespectful here to Mr. Raharatnam, I'm just expressing my views on covering funerals, especially such major events which involve major personalities.
Speaking of that documentary, it was quite interesting to see how Singapore was like before and knowing that Mr. Rajaratnam, who already had grey hair, came from an era where I was still swimming around in semen. To see a different side of some of the current ministers is also quite interesting, albeit amusing, the period when Chiam See Tong looked younger and more energetic (and perhaps sexually more active ;) ), and Yeo Cheow Tong had more hair, his pride and glory disappearing by the year most likely due more to stress than age.
You might be wondering why I'm so interested in one of Singapore's founding fathers to actually watch such a documentary. Well, I shall tell the truth. I wanted to catch ANTP which was showing after that. Bleahx.
I attempted to crack some glass cups yesterday @ KBox with Gilbert, Renhe, Nicholas and Uncle Ang but failed in my attempt. What I did find out was that I'm not as bad as some of the Singapore Idol contestants. Also worth mentioning was the MTV of Jocie Kwok (is that her name?), the one who sang bu pa bu pa. The song was about overcoming her experience in overcoming the fear of cockroaches yet despite the numerous appearances of the word cockroach, not a cockroach was in sight in the entire MTV. Hmmm...
I managed to improve upon my 2.4km timing and SBJ in this week's IPPT. I finally managed a jump of 234cm but my timing of 10:13 is still way off the 9:44 mark. At least I managed to shave another 13s off my previous mark. Running everyday and star jumps are finally paying off. Next goal - 6 pecs. I need to burn more fat!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Will you be my Valentines?
How did I spend Valentine's Day this week? Doing duty. Enough said.
In the spirit of of trying not to be seen as a desperate single I shall try to debunk the notion that being single sucks on Valentine's Day.
1. I didn't have to spend $60 on a bouquet of lilies to give to a girl unlike the rest of my army mates. $60 can buy me a very nice Topman/Zara shirt when they're on sale.
2. I didn't have to go watch some stupid movie and try to sneak my hand up on the girl sitting next to me.
3. Valentine's Day is a farce which is used by capitalists and producers to profit on the notion of love. Love in itself should not be solely based on celebrating it at a specific time of the year with over-priced flowers which eventually wilt and chocolates that make you fat.
4. Cupid doesn't exist. Only God does - He does the planning.
5. French kissing is equivalent to slurping a cup of your partner's saliva. Might as well just do that a la Fear factor style.
6. Who needs a girl when I surrounded by guys 24/7 in the army?
7. I need to concentrate on my exercise regime. Dating a girl can come later.
8. Too many girls like me - I can't satisfy everyone so to prevent WWIII, I chose to give an excuse.
9. People in the army shouldn't date girls. They only add to the current misery that plagues us.
10. Valentine's is just an excuse for sex.
I'm a sad person. Bleahx.
Anyway, my legs are giving way. I'm running at a much faster speed now and the gold target isn't very far away. I am indeed pleased with the fact that the results are showing so I'm one step closer to my goal!
Weekend is almost gone. That sucks.
Anyway, bon voyage to those going to india and to Jared who's headed to Brunei!
In the spirit of of trying not to be seen as a desperate single I shall try to debunk the notion that being single sucks on Valentine's Day.
1. I didn't have to spend $60 on a bouquet of lilies to give to a girl unlike the rest of my army mates. $60 can buy me a very nice Topman/Zara shirt when they're on sale.
2. I didn't have to go watch some stupid movie and try to sneak my hand up on the girl sitting next to me.
3. Valentine's Day is a farce which is used by capitalists and producers to profit on the notion of love. Love in itself should not be solely based on celebrating it at a specific time of the year with over-priced flowers which eventually wilt and chocolates that make you fat.
4. Cupid doesn't exist. Only God does - He does the planning.
5. French kissing is equivalent to slurping a cup of your partner's saliva. Might as well just do that a la Fear factor style.
6. Who needs a girl when I surrounded by guys 24/7 in the army?
7. I need to concentrate on my exercise regime. Dating a girl can come later.
8. Too many girls like me - I can't satisfy everyone so to prevent WWIII, I chose to give an excuse.
9. People in the army shouldn't date girls. They only add to the current misery that plagues us.
10. Valentine's is just an excuse for sex.
I'm a sad person. Bleahx.
Anyway, my legs are giving way. I'm running at a much faster speed now and the gold target isn't very far away. I am indeed pleased with the fact that the results are showing so I'm one step closer to my goal!
Weekend is almost gone. That sucks.
Anyway, bon voyage to those going to india and to Jared who's headed to Brunei!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Fitness Craze
A get-in-shape craze has swept through the medical centre in Keat Hong camp, which is part of the grand masterplan of my MO to see half of the medical platoon get an IPPT gold. Some may question his motives that he's doing it for personal glory BUT, the fact is, having a platoon full of physically fit soldiers will give us more bargaining rights for offs and early releases, silencing our critics and most importantly seal the mouths of our CO and CSM. So, apart from the $200 which we will get, MO has rolled out a slew of incentives which include 2 days off and no weekend duties for one month, and personally, the chance to get an IPPT gold once in lifetime.
I'm not complaining; in fact, I'm really into it, partly because I want the cash and the extra days off and also because I want to achieve the lofty target of beefing up and seeing those undersea six pecs arise from the depths of the ocean. There might have been a tsunami of fats but hopefully, it will subside to reveal what lies beneath. Haha.
The O-level results were out yesterday and my sister was one of those hopefuls keeping their fingers crossed. With the usual top schools like RI and RGS out of the picture, I was expecting her to do better but alas, it wasn't so. Okay, she produced an average score but definitely not what I expected. Unfortunately, a promise IS a promise.
I like the ending of the article on the O-level results in today's ST. It goes like this, "And of the 2005 batch, only one student in Singapore, from Cedar Girls' School, scored 10 A1s. In the 2004 batch, there were 21 - with 20 from Raffles." Am I over-sensitive or am I sensing a tinge of elitism here? I wonder if the reporter was trying to indicate that there is a huge gap in standards between the top and the average schools. Hmmm...
It's quite weird to see neighbourhood schools suddenly appear in the papers. On the contrary to previous years, it was usually Raffles (ah, my dear alma mater) which dominated the headlines. So, with the intake of the first batch of students in the IP who skip the O-levels, the top part of the bell curve is removed, which means less competition from the top schools, and more opportunities for others to shine. Yet is this the case?
In retrospect, the absence of the "better" students just creates an illusion that neighbourhood schools are doing better. Yes, they are doing well but in nominal terms, not real terms. To understand the previous statement, one has to look at how the grades are determined. The process works like this: MOE receives all the scores for a specific subject and ranks them. Then, cutoff points are determined, for eg. the top 15% will get an A1, next 15% an A2 and so on. In short, it depends on how well you fared relative to the entire cohort which took that O-level subject. So, this year's top student may have topped her cohort but in actual fact, did not do as well in terms of her actual score.
I know I'm sounding a little elitist here but that's just my opinion. I feel that it is wrong to cast this illusionary blanket of success on those who did well in this year's O-levels, which might result in complacency in JC. However, as I've learnt in RJC from the teachers, 'O-levels are your glory days. You may been the top student there but the A-levels is a completely different ball game. You may be able to finish studying for your O-levels in 2 months, but you need 2 years for your As.' May this be a fair warning to the new J1s.
Enough of my commentary. Currently working on a script for Christmas. It's going to be a huge project, but it's size has not yet been determined. Still contemplating on whether I'll be able to afford the time to handle a huge project. The script is enough to kill me already and I have no prior experience in directing or producing a musical. How?
Sigh.
I'm not complaining; in fact, I'm really into it, partly because I want the cash and the extra days off and also because I want to achieve the lofty target of beefing up and seeing those undersea six pecs arise from the depths of the ocean. There might have been a tsunami of fats but hopefully, it will subside to reveal what lies beneath. Haha.
The O-level results were out yesterday and my sister was one of those hopefuls keeping their fingers crossed. With the usual top schools like RI and RGS out of the picture, I was expecting her to do better but alas, it wasn't so. Okay, she produced an average score but definitely not what I expected. Unfortunately, a promise IS a promise.
I like the ending of the article on the O-level results in today's ST. It goes like this, "And of the 2005 batch, only one student in Singapore, from Cedar Girls' School, scored 10 A1s. In the 2004 batch, there were 21 - with 20 from Raffles." Am I over-sensitive or am I sensing a tinge of elitism here? I wonder if the reporter was trying to indicate that there is a huge gap in standards between the top and the average schools. Hmmm...
It's quite weird to see neighbourhood schools suddenly appear in the papers. On the contrary to previous years, it was usually Raffles (ah, my dear alma mater) which dominated the headlines. So, with the intake of the first batch of students in the IP who skip the O-levels, the top part of the bell curve is removed, which means less competition from the top schools, and more opportunities for others to shine. Yet is this the case?
In retrospect, the absence of the "better" students just creates an illusion that neighbourhood schools are doing better. Yes, they are doing well but in nominal terms, not real terms. To understand the previous statement, one has to look at how the grades are determined. The process works like this: MOE receives all the scores for a specific subject and ranks them. Then, cutoff points are determined, for eg. the top 15% will get an A1, next 15% an A2 and so on. In short, it depends on how well you fared relative to the entire cohort which took that O-level subject. So, this year's top student may have topped her cohort but in actual fact, did not do as well in terms of her actual score.
I know I'm sounding a little elitist here but that's just my opinion. I feel that it is wrong to cast this illusionary blanket of success on those who did well in this year's O-levels, which might result in complacency in JC. However, as I've learnt in RJC from the teachers, 'O-levels are your glory days. You may been the top student there but the A-levels is a completely different ball game. You may be able to finish studying for your O-levels in 2 months, but you need 2 years for your As.' May this be a fair warning to the new J1s.
Enough of my commentary. Currently working on a script for Christmas. It's going to be a huge project, but it's size has not yet been determined. Still contemplating on whether I'll be able to afford the time to handle a huge project. The script is enough to kill me already and I have no prior experience in directing or producing a musical. How?
Sigh.
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