+ Garfios'TheBest.......Titititi Baby Shark!!

What's the banner in the sky called? GARFIOS!!! Yes yes, i just came back from Hall FOC. Did I have fun? Yes. Did I miss hall? Sadly to say,......yes. Till before I came back for FOC, I didn't really miss hall at all, hardly even thought about it. But now after the camp, I begin to miss hall, and even more.

I saw the freshies, they are pretty on. Luckily we've a few seniors who were on too, and managed to lead them, can't say so for the rest though. Didn't really participate at all, just watched them cheer and play. The purpose of me being back was to catch up with the rest of the folks in hall, to chit chat and have supper at ah fung. Did manage to have prata, but not sure why I had such a craving for it. Maybe when supper is mentioned, prata would be it, just like when you mentioned Adam, there'll be Eve.

Looking at the freshies did remind me of the good old days, when I was blur like them too. It also reminded me of how old I am and indeed how time has just fly by. Can remember me telling myself then that 4 years would pass by really quickly and I should study hard, play harder. Heh. I DID THAT! ;)

Shall get more involved in alumni in future and hopefully get to meet everyone again. By the way, my family won the Best Family award. 3 cheers for Garfios! Hip hip hooray x 3! 3 Cheers for Hall One! Hip hip hooray x 3!

+ TheNationalFlag

In celebration of our nation's 40th birthday in a couple of weeks, to be exact 9th August, I'm going to fly the S'pore flag on my blog. Just like how patriotic Singaporeans fly theirs out of their HDB flats, I hope others will join me in doing so on their blogs too.



One day, we'll be proud to wear a tee that has our flag or country's name on it, just like the way Americans wear theirs. Think this has got to do with our sense of identity and in some ways, a fashion statement for this to come true.

Click here for more information on Singapore's flag, symbols, anthem etc.

+ InMyFather'sDen

Cathay held their 70th year anniversary yesterday by giving out 2 free tickets for each cut-outs from StraitsTimes. Managed to get tickets for 2210 show, In My Father's Den, at Cineleisure. This art film from NZ is pretty slow and has good story development that keeps you guessing. There's a twist in the end which makes everyone goes "huh!". It's quite good and the picturesque landscape in the show makes you want to visit the country.



Movie rating:

+ BayBeats2005

Attended Bay Beats 2005 held at the Esplande this evening. This event was held over 3 days and it features both local and international bands. I was treated to the acoustic sounds of Copeland from US as well as local bands such as Electrico and Concave Scream. The crowd was fantastic and it's just like a concert, only that it's free.

Electrico's hits such as I Want You and Runaway were such sweet songs when played live and anything that's live is superbly great. Copeland had better stage presence compared to the rest and they definitely got the crowd going.

More concerts, more free concerts rather. Please.

watch this space for pics

+ ServingTheNation&Convocation

"WITH MY LIFE!!" that's the ending part of the pledge that we had to shout with gusto on the first day of in-process at TGC in Tuas. Yup, serving the nation as all males do in this country. It's compulsory and you're obligated to to be able to live in continous peace for the last few decades. As quoted by George Washington, " To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace" and that's what it means for our 13 year cycle in reservist.

This ICT was a refresher for all of us as we changed operations and also came under a new division. For the benefit of the girls, here is the ascending order of the size or numbers of soldiers in a group.

Section --> Platoon --> Company --> Battalion --> Brigade --> Division

This is all you need to know. :)

It was nice to meet up with old friends and catching up on one another's lives. Except for the rain that comes on and off so frequently (I'm not going to say it's like a woman's mood! HEH) that is so disruptive to our training and administration. On the good side, it provided a nice weather for us all ;)

I'm glad to clear my IPPT in camp and the constant exercises on my own paid off. One of the 4 in the whole battalion that had gold (2 ,including myself from the platoon, 1 other in the same company and the last from another company), it was quite an achievement. This means more $$$$ for the effort too to pay for the snowboarding stuff. :) x 10

Convo was on thursday, but I couldn't really be bothered with it. Took my parents down in the morning just to be seated and saw their son go up stage, shook hands, took the degree and off stage again in a few seconds. 2 guys had the loudest cheers. One whose motar board came off his head as after he shook hands and what reviewed was botak head. haha. Must be that it became loose after the lost of hair. The other guy had the loudest as he was the last one for that morning session. I wished I was the last, though for not the right reasons.

Returned to camp and was notified that I'm going for the PS course next year. Boohoo. 'Good' news for me but I shall take it with some pride. Anyway, it was kind of good to be back for this one week 'holiday', haha, and see you all next year.

MAKE LOVE, not war

+ SnowboardingEquipment

Was at Snowcity again. This time to take my 3rd lesson and also pay the deposit to my trip to Falls Creek. It's quite difficult to switch from toe-side to heel-side and vice-versa. Fell countless times but I'm getting the hang of it. Tried on my Globe beanie. Finally a reason to wear one and it looks good on me. heh. Definitely helps to protect my ears from the sub-zero temperatures in the chamber.

After the lesson, I tried on a 2nd hand boots and bindings. Tried on a new baggy grey ski pants and a black OEM 145cm long snowboard (shorter means better for freestyle). $$$$. I'm glad that this cool retiree is helping me out with all these, knowing that I just graduated with no income. Trying to cut costs here and there. He's going to sell me gloves and jacket too. Still need to get a fleece jacket from John Little and a snowboard bag. $$$. A pair of shades who come in handy to avoid white blindness in the snow. That's going to cost $$$$.

Think I'm not the youngest one there. There's a 14 yr old Korean boy who's a pro-snowboarder. Think I should get to know him. Time to go out and get to know more people. Joined some instructors and regulars for prata at a coffeeshop nearby. Think I'll become a regular like them soon. Can't wait for the trip! :)

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

+ WeekOfMeetUps

This is a week of meet ups.

Tuesday. Was about to go to Snowcity to snowboard in the evening when I remembered that there was some sort of outing. Messaged my IA friend and found out that it's on the same day. Decided not to go for the outing at Marche till my supervisor called!! He jokingly said I had to go back office to fix up the mess back there. Haha. He passed on the phone to another supervisor and I couldn't remember her name! How embarassing. Luckily, I was able to redeem myself when I messaged her that I know her name. haha. There were about 20 of us all, ex-students and supervisors. It was indeed a great night of catching up with everyone. Congrats to my sup who's going to be a father soon! :)

Wednesday. Met up with people from my platoon before the coming in-camp training(ICT). We met up at marina bay for steamboat. There were so few people there and wondered how these places survive during the weekdays. Wished there were more people there to share the mosquitoes with. Came to know that 2 of the men will be holding their wedding dinners on the same day after ICT while another ROM last year. Amazing that their relationship with their wives lasted almost a decade. Cool!

Thursday. Saw Fantastic 4. Still prefer Batman and Spiderman for comic action movies. There was this snowboarding scene which brings adrenaline rush to what I might expect in weeks to come. ;)

Movie rating:

+ T15 and BT

Woke up at 830am, changed, packed my trusty green Deuter RaceX II and off I went with my GT to meet my friend S at the petrol kiosk at Jalan Kayu. Took me about 20 mins to get there, and I could already feel the strain in my thighs. It's been a long time since I last cycled. We took a route that saw us through Seletar Camp, Seletar Dam, Yishun and finally to Mandai. There's this rifle range at the entrance to the Zoo, think the guys might know this. Anyway, that's where the end route of the T15 is. I haven't really taken any local bike trails before, but this 1.5km one is sure interesting. There's quite a few slopes, but it's not so technical. Down slopes are sure scary if you're going down fast, and sometimes, thoughts of flying off from the bike into the bushes crept into my mind. It would be a pretty hard fall and who knows if you might just whack into a tree. Ouch! But confidence and good control with the brakes and balance would probably ensure you're still in one piece at the end of the slope.

Soon, we reached the start of T15 and carried onto the Bukit Timah bike trail. This is my first time here, and this trail prove to be even more challenging. The 5km trail that takes us one round the area had more technical slopes which provided the adrenaline rush for an adrenaline junkie like me. Heh. It was tough but really fun. While I was cycling up this particular slope, I heard a 'thump' followed by a rustle in the grass. "Liew Lian!!!" That's what screamed in my mind as it continued to row across my path. I stopped immediately and went to pick it up. wahahah. Supposed to share this baby with S at the Visitor Center, but it couldn't be opened(had no knife, and tried opening using our weight. So I kept it in my bag and brought it home. But before that, we had chicken murtabak and boy was it delicious. *SlurpS*

The durian was fantastic! It's sweet with a tinge of bitterness and its flesh was really fresh. When I had it opened up, there's only SIX seeds! But it's good enough to let everyone at home to have a taste of it. Next time round, I should remember to bring a knife along and find more of such lovely fruits. :)