drained...

drained...

drained...

exhaustion

Captain: Are you ready kids?
Kids: Aye Aye Captain.
Captain: I can't hear you.
Kids: Aye Aye Captain
Captain: OHHHHHHH

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!

Captain: Absorbent and yellow and pourous is he!
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!

Captain: If nautical nonsense be something you wish,
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!

Captain: Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish!
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!

Captain: Ready?
Captain and Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob SquarePants,
SpongeBob SquarePants!

Captain: SpongeBob SquarePaaaaannttss!!!
Captain: HA HA HA HA !!!!

The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
Leviticus 6:13 (KJV)

Two prawns, Tom and Christian, were swimming around in shark-infested waters discussing how difficult their lives were.

‘We never know when we’re going to get eaten,’ said Tom. ‘I wish i was a shark - then i wouldn’t have to worry.’

At that moment, a shoal of cod appeared. ‘Your wish is granted,’ they chanted and, pow, Tom turned into a great white shark. Christian, terrified of his former best friend, swam away and hid.

Months passed and life grew very lonely for Tom. Whenever he saw his old prawn friends, they swam away in fear. Christian was so upset by his oldest pal joining the enemy that he refused to leave his house.

Desperate to put things right, Tom searched everywhere for the mysterious cod. Eventually, he found them. ‘Please make me a prawn again,’ he begged. Puff - he was a shellfish once more.

With tears of joy in his little eyes, Tom swam home to Christian.

He banged on his door and said, ‘It’s me. Tom. Come out and see how I’ve changed.’

‘No,’ Christian replied. ‘I won’t be tricked into being your dinner.’

‘But that was the old me,’ implored Tom. ‘I’ve found cod. I’m a prawn again, Christian.’

- Readers Digest October 2005

yes folks

it's official

i'm staying out
meaning...
i'll be allowed to go home every evening after work and report back to camp in the morning..
yes, transportation expenses will go up for me
but well, surely there are some good points out of this
i hope the negative points won't outweigh the good
well, pray abt it ;)

what a week it has been so far
no liberties so far...
plus no upcoming liberties for the remaining week becos we were late this morning for briefing...
well well.. range range range... range lessons... range...
this whole week all i face are weapons!!!
will go crazy man!
monday also got range!!

sunday wont be in church as NDU will be involved in the children charity walk at orchard...
need to book in sat nite somemore!
cos monday morning gotto be at taka by 545am
my weekend's burnt!

meanwhile
things to accomplish this weekend
replace my laptop's hard disk,
get back my brass snare from ah pek and meetup with jon to exchange snares to try out.

argg...
computer failure is such a hassle!

A doctor says to his patient,
"I have bad news and worse news".
"Oh dear, what's the bad news?" asks the patient.
The doctor replies: "You only have 24 hours to live."
"That's terrible," said the patient.
"How can the news possibly be worse?".
The doctor replies: "I've been trying to contact you since yesterday."

By Your Grace
Darin Browne

Verse:
By grace You saw my need, Lord Jesus
You saved me from my sin
There’s nothing I could do to achieve this
And now Your spirit dwells within
By grace You taught my heart to fear You
And grace my fears relieved
By Your blood, You washed away my darkest evil
From the moment I believed

Chorus:
By Your grace You died on Calvary
By Your grace Your truth has set me free
And forever I’ll worship the one who has purchased
My life by his blood
By Your grace my life is born again
In Your love You call me more than friend
And if ever I’m weary, I know that You’re near me
And I seek Your face, by Your grace

Verse 2
Though many trials and dangers face me
By faith I’ll hold Your hand
The enemy will try to break me
But by Your grace I’ll make my stand

I know You place Your angels ‘round me
In everything I do
And as I commit myself to walk in Your ways
Your grace will see me through

had a mini celebration of sorts with my family and relatives...
it's good to see so many of them especially becos i haven't seen most of them for a long time..
didn't had much chance to visit during the chinese new year period as i was busy with training... and the hols was short

anyway, some of the highlights for sunday evening:
jabez!
some of you from wac might have seen him before when my aunt was still attending wac... way before i came to wac
i've yet to see him since he was a baby
and now he's such an active little kid!!
sooo cute man!!
i'll definitely upload pics some time soon, as dear is holding on to the camera at the moment

got some rather interesting gifts
my 2nd aunt gave me a cocoa cream of sorts for skin.. it smells like chocolate!!
can u imagine smearing chocolate on your skin? well.. i've yet to try.. i will tell you guys what it's like when i do try it.. haha!
my cousins bought me ck eternity and an electronic oral b toothbrush!
i've been using it for the past 2 days and it's really wierd feeling... i think it's going to make me lazy to brush!
i hope my teeth are clean.. er... i think as least they look clean..

oh yes.. not forgetting.. the nice little hug i got from jabez!!!

k la.. nothing much at the moment..
been some time since i blogged...
now waiting for night dive so nothing to do in the mess so i thought i would blog some updates..
alright.. that's all for now
time to prep gears for night dive!!

All I Want Is You
Henry Seeley

Verse 1:
I’ve waited all my life to be here face to face
I never knew that I could feel this kind of grace
The way You show me that Your love has washed me clean
Could never be erased, It lives inside of me

PreChorus:
Take me to that secret place
Where I can only see Your face
And nothing else will ever feel this way
You take away my guilty stains
The things I’ve done that I can't change
Its only by the power of Your name

Chorus:
I stand here in this place, see the glory on Your face
Taken by the wonder of Your name
I’m desperate for Your touch, never needed it so much
‘Cause all I want is You

Verse 2:
When all the things around me have fallen to the ground
I’m always thankful for the love in You I've found

Bridge:
All I want is You, All I want is You

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses.
He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed.
The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency services.

He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?"
The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy.
I can help.
First, let's make sure he's dead."

There is a silence, then a shot is heard.

Back on the phone, the hunter says, "OK, now what?"

after last week's bowling with revolutionaries
i've decided to put my SAFRA and CHEVRONS card in my wallet
although that means my wallet will be a little bulky

but well...
seems there's quite a number of membership discounts/ privileges
till i ORD that is...

so
next time if i'm around these places, remind me to use them!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me introduce a fast and effective way of slimming.
You no longer have to worry abt side effects of medication,
nor unable to hold back the craving of your favorite food

Diet of porridge and soft bread for 3 meals over a span of 10 days
impossible? won't be able to withstand the temptation of that gelare waffle or that seoul garden buffet?
But think,

lose 3kg in 10 days!! **


To know how,
please make an appointment with your friendly neighbourhood dentist today!

**for wisdom teeth holders only

As i do not have a digital cam, this is the closest picture i can find off the net that resembles the condition of my face now

i'm beginning to be familiar with the taste of blood

the pain was horrible this afternoon..
it affected not just my gums alone but threw in headache as a free gift
it took me 3 hours for the painkillers to work

painkillers, u better do your job before i flush u down the toilet bowl!!!!!!!!

churning out songs.. praise God!
like this new one.. funny chords.. interesting sound :)

---

The Highest Name

Give me boldness
Give me fire
Give me passion
To know Christ

Give me hunger
Give me desire
To follow Jesus
Never deny


I will not be ashamed
to proclaim His name
Declare His name


Jesus
The highest name to be praised
You have defeated death

Jesus
The glorious name to be praised
We give you praise
We give you praise

Forever and ever

I can't run away from you
Jesus, I’ll seek after you
I can't hide away from you
Jesus, you're my keeper, my refuge


Someday I’ll meet you face to face
Forever and ever, never depart from you
Someday I'll see you face to face
Forever and ever with you,
Forever and ever with you

i miss u dear!
boo! :P

i woke up this morning at around 6am

the typhoon has hit this area as forecast
don't worry, i'm in one piece, grounded indoors
thank God our area is the least affected
but just looking out of the window already made me wonder what the worst hit area might be like

this was the sight as i look towards the habour this morning:
the calm waters are rippling like a wave pool
bear in mind, it's the habour
the rain is either at 45 degrees angle if not a few instances near parallel to the ground
trees are swaying here and there
i stood at the balcony and left seconds later
didn't want to stay long
it's cold, with irregular blasts of wind

last nite was the first nite i actually opened up my blanket and covered myself from head to toe

all china airlines flights are grounded at the moment
same for railways


now now
and to think, this area is one of the least affected
pray for taiwan this sabbath morning


and that hopefully our flight wont have to delay another few days




i miss home
i want to go home =(

thinking that this overseas trip will be one that's bearable, maybe enjoyable
and a much needed refresh

boy m i wrong

passed my seaboat test on monday,
leaving for overseas ex. this friday till 3rd Oct
blood test on 4th Oct, extracting my 4 teeth on 11th Oct

meanwhile, take care guys and gals

i'll be back

last thursday or friday, i finally pulled my lazy self to medical centre and managed to get a referal to national dental centre with regards to my wisdom tooth extraction
surprisingly, i was given a appointment date on 30 aug tues(i've thought that it will be a long wait)
got my off pass, my 1st ever appointment since enlistment, and made my way down to outram where my platoon mates are practising their sea boat handling
the waiting time to see the dentist was short and i had an xray to see the condition of my teeth
it was disgusting to see one of my wisdom teeth being almost horizontal and pushing on my other molars, while the other has pushed out some gum
both from the lower jaw
the upper ones grew out fine but the dentist suggested pulling them out as i would have no use for them and they are hard to maintain
so there, 2 due for surgery, 2 for normal extraction
the whole surgery cost will cose abt 650 plus, close to 700
but i wont need to pay much (just for some medication), as SAF covers the cost

upon leaving the place, i paid $32 for the consultation and xray, which initially cost $100 plus (goodness! 1st appointment already $100 plus)
daryl was right abt 11B being a discount card

11 Oct - 9am will be the day of surgery
i'll be on GA (unconscious) cos i m extracting 4 and i hate the feeling on 10 plus jabs in my mouth
i had like 4 jabs when one of my baby teeth refuse to make way when i was in primary school, and it was no fun, my lips felt like taiwan sausages then, and half my mouth felt like stuffed with a tennis ball

4 teeth at one go, prob 8 to 9 days of MC
but just got wind that my block leave is on 13th -_-"
and i dont want to push back because it will be too near to my birthday, and i can't see myself having soy sauce porridge on my 21st bday
and then there's christmas, and then probably brunei trip

well, think it's long overdue, these just got to go
wisdom teeth, you are such a pain in the a**!

The "F"

Count the number of F's in the following text:



FINISHED FILES ARE THE
RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS















Managed it?















Scroll down only after you have counted them!















OK?















How many ?















Three ?















Wrong, there are six -- not kidding!



Read again !



FINISHED FILES ARE THE
RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS



The reasoning is further down...















The brain cannot process the word "OF".



Incredible or what?



Anyone who counts all six F's on the first go is a genius. Three is normal

NDP 2005 came to an end yesterday
it was fantastic
all the hard work for the past half a year
all the ice water, lousy ration, wang wang pao pao guo dong, dino craze crackers (cheese!!!), chocolate waffles, fake oreos, cans of 100 plus, nivea whitening cream, salon pas muscle spray, connetos, milo truck, kfc, pizzahut and last but not least, the mini foldable chair
not forgetting the scoldings, sweat, people fainting, people skiving, being paranoid that our white uniform may become dirty

and of cos, the part of the parade i enjoyed the most..
not the parade itself
well, i m not saying the parade isn't good, it's great!
just that, marching down city hall is the best part!!!
although it's a long way back to beach road camp, marching down city hall (yes, that stretch of road in front of cathedral), to raffles hottle and finally back to camp, it's an unforgettable experience
firstly, we'll never get another chance where the roads are closed specially for us on several sats, plus actual day, to the dismay of many taxi drivers, just to M-A-R-C-H
flanked by our warrant officers, MSD officers, and of cos led by our 2 contigent commanders, who are both commissioned officers from my unit

okok, here's really the best part
>> singing <<
singing our hearts out, the songs that we "croon" during our training days, the songs which accompanied us thru hellweek, and the songs which sets us apart from our army counterparts
of cos, the commandos have their songs too
(ah yes, the air force do sing too but they were pretty drowned out i guess.. haha)
and there, what do u see?
2 contigents singing at the top of their voices, trying to outshine each other
it was like going to war, all charged up!
the sides of the road are crowded with bypassers and tourists,
and i believe, the family and friends of many of the GOH participants were also present
camera flashes, and occassionally at a corner, we have people waving at us, and even showing an appreciative applause, or just cheering us on "well done guys!"
and the part where the girls from the NDP floats scream, and the entire contigents' march time go haywire.. that was hilarious man!

although everytime we returned to beach road camp with our right arms on the verge of a serious cramp from craddling our rifles, plus sweat soaked singlets and uniforms, it was still fantastic
i just felt really glad we didn't let our trainers down, and spirits were all high whenever we board the chartered bus back to unit

i really can't fully describe to you this experience
and i may have missed out some stuffs, but all these made up the bits and pieces of my NDP experience as a navy guard of honor, representing not just the navy formation, but also naval diving unit

although it was really tiring, hard work, plus lots of sacrifices,
but really, money cannot buy this experience!
and i really thank God for this opportunity to celebrate the nation's 40th birthday!

let's see
1) RSN Day 2005 GOH
2) Late President Wee's funeral GOH representative
3) SAF Day 2005 GOH
4) NDP 2005 GOH

last one to go for this year:
5) 01 Sep - President swearing in @ istana

not sure whether will be selected to go, but likely
well, shall see how it goes bah =)
will keep this site posted if i get new pics!

the only pathetic small picture i've got so far of myself (seen here with daryl on the right) from the NDP rehearsals and shows so far

courtesy of loi's 1 mega pixel 7610

haha..
my mum would like to go NDP combine rehearsal should i be able to get tix

she mentioned it's been close to 30 years since she last saw a NDP parade live, her first time then

well... hopefully the committee approve and give us participants a couple!
come on.. it's just the rehearsal, we're not asking for actual day tickets! ;-)

i will be moving to OPs side tmr

Underwater Demolition Group

sounds impressive huh?
but well... not sure what kind of deals to expect over there
life as a trainee is over and a new phase begins as an ops diver

Lord, i pray that you'll continue to guide me as i continue to look to you as i face new challenges ahead, let not my passion and service to you dim in any ways! Amen!

last nite was horrible

i got a call at home from tekong at around 1130pm
it was leong's company orderly sergeant(COS), who asked if he is at home
he mentioned that he has yet to book in, and couldn't reach him via his mobile phone

i asked him to hold on for a minute and double checked
went to his room, not around
went to ask my mum, she mentioned that leong left house at around 6pm plus
i got back to the COS and asked for his contact no. so tat in a event if leong happens to come back, i'll get back to him straight away

after putting down the phone
i begin to feel uneasy
asked my mum if leong was alright before he left the house, any unusual behavior
my mum said he was alright, and that he was still whining abt having to lug a few bag fulls of stuff back to camp, which his company has required them to purchase
i could tell my mum was worried but she remained calm

my mind began to think of all the possibilities
it was hard not to think of nasty ones
look at the time, it's almost midnight!
i thot:
if he was invovled in a car accident, most likely the police or hospital would have called
furthermore, he was in army uniform and definitely carrying his 11B(army I.C.)
i quickly dismissed the thot of an accident, leong is pretty street smart
but again, accidents can happen to anyone

i was getting more and more worried by the minute
picked up the phone almost every other minute to try to get thru to leong but his hp was still off
picked up the phone and called one of leong's closer church friends and asked if he contacted her in the past few hours
decided against the idea of calling up more people to avoid creating a panic wave
furthermore i don't know much of leong's friends, other than those he hang out with in church

every minute i was constantly praying

when i heard the front door click open at around 1145pm, i moved forward to check if it's him,
but well, it's my dad coming back from work
didn't tell him as didn't want another person in the family to get worried

finally,
at 12am, i called back to his camp and asked for the COS

me: hi, may i speak to the company COS?
COS: yes, speaking
me: i'm calling regarding my brother, Liow Liang Fa. u called abt half an hour ago mentioning that he was AWOL
COS: of ya, he's fine. We made a mistake, he did book in
me: oh, okok. Thanks alot!

i felt so relieved when i heard that last statement he made that i didnt bother to lecture him abt the anxiety he has caused my family just becos of a mistake
my mum and i felt that he should have at least be responsible as a COS to call back to tell us leong's fine

but well,
NSF sergeants, would most of them bother that much?

anyway, the main thing is my brother's fine..
received a sms in the morning from him asking what happened
guess this incident is not going to help the image of SISPEC, which my brother has already been quite grumpy abt the way some of the sergeants work inside

just pray that he will get used to the training there,
it's too early to judge, this will be just the 2nd week he's there
and who knows, if his performance is good, which i believe he can, he will be in OCS in a month or 2 :)

this incident also made me realised how much my family matters to me
also really got me praying for my dad's salvation
pray that one day he will come to realise that the only way of life, is no other than Jesus!

passed out from 24th batch combat diver course on thurs

that means

i m fully contactable once again...
as in
i m allowed to bring hp into camp once again
but somehow
hp feels so foreign to me
well..
that's what 10 months of "without-hp-on-typical-weekdays" does to u

anyway
feel free to drop me a sms or miss call
u no longer have to wait till the weekend before i revert back to u

hello world once again!!

sore throat

arg...
can't understand how i even managed to fall sick
i drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water every night before i slp (even when water parades are not conducted)
i take the chinese medicine, ban3 lan2 gen1 and chuan1 bei4 fen3, which my mum gave me to prevent myself from getting flu, cold
i watch my diet and make sure i eat fruits over my meals in camp

how come i still get sore throat???

the only reasons i can think of are
the weather's hot!
diving with lar 5 rebreather makes your body heaty! (that's what instructors say)
not enough slp (whenever there's parades, i wake up at 430am to draw rifle)

haiya!!!!

at least, it's not as serious as what many of my batch boys are facing
one has ulcers on his lips, another on his tongue, a few coughing out green slime like some lung cancer stricken ah peks

well well
thanks to mummy i m on my road to recovery
somehow maybe i'm beginning to trust chinese medicine more
though they taste funny
haha

okok
back to camp in an hour's time
glad to have this monday half day off
catch up some slp!

finally

divers' gold!
managed to clock 8m58s for my 2.4 run

thank God for that!!!!!!

no longer worried that I won't get to pass out!
more importantly, no longer worried that I'll have to miss sunday's services because of remedia training..

THANK GOD FOR THAT!!!!!!

good to be at home on a tuesday morning
was involved in the GOH for president wee's funeral at mandai 2 weeks back, thus booked out last night, after my first night dive in the open sea, for my off day
will be booking in later 930pm

so many things in my mind these few weeks
which i felt certain that the Lord has placed in my heart
about my ministry, about the passion the Lord has placed in me since i was a youth
NS is no excuse..
i've left the worship ministry under the care of Marcus, and with a mindset that i will return full force after i've passed out from my combat diver course
but apparently, things don't really turn out the way i'd have expected
passing out date was postponed from april to may, to june and the latest, even a possibility of early july, plus involvment in the NDP this year, and unable to achieve 9m14s for my 2.4km run, my weekends are burnt for rehearsals and remedial training..
it suddenly seem that i've even lesser time during weekends, much less weekdays
lesser time for my family, friends, ivy, and coming to church would probably be even more precious to me ever

i've come to realise
time is not in my hands
no matter how carefully i may plan

it's may already
half a year just whizzed past
and there's still much to accomplish for the worship ministry this year
i somehow got a feeling from the start when i enlist that things would go somewhat "stagnant" during this period but after thinking thru, i don't think this is exactly how God would have wanted me to balance my commitment in church during my NS

don't think God would want us to be an "ox bow lake"
when He himself has wanted us to be like a flowing river

it's hard at times
looking at manpower, looking at how people's commitment may have shifted
yes, i'm sure worship can still be powerful even with just a keyboard or a guitar, or even no instruments
but no, the worship ministry isn't about musicians,
it's about the very people of this ministry, as likewise for other ministries as well
i think back on how much i've connected with many of the people
i tried to blame it on time
but really, it boils down to how much i really want to offer my life to God

i believe God didn't place visions and plans in my mind for nothing
things to see His ministry prosper
plans to see His worship ministers grow
plans to see you and me,
be it playing our instruments or lifting our voices,
praising and worshipping him... rejoicing not because of the wonderful "feeling" while we sing,
but so thankful of this life that He has blessed us with
to understand the value of such a blessing,
that we may in turn have such a desire to share this blessing to others,
to pre believers, to encourage the body, to build the church

yes, i'm sure there will be difficulties along the way
such as for now, time may seem even lesser for me to be involved in my ministries
but what would keep me going is that i wouldn't want to miss out what He has planned for our church, WAC,
for this ministry

If i may ask of you, any brothers and sisters who may be reading this entry
please pray alongside with me
i really believe there's so much potential in the people of this ministry
potential not just focusing on musicality,
but a cohesiveness, a bonding, that we can have in Him
it can be more than a gathering of musicians who are passionate to play unto the Lord
it can become a group where we desire to even bless and encourage each other, be there for each other...
that disappointments may be healed,
where we can become a group where we can learn from each other
to be friends, not co-musicians
to let go of our gifts and let the Spirit lead us to cross boundaries we've never been to before..

i'm worried at times, that i may not be able to handle it
would need more wisdom in balancing my time
but i pray that my heart, not just from my lips, that i really would believe that nothing is impossible for God as i take this step of obedience
pray that my heart will be still enough to hear the clear directions from God
and hearts be opened and excited, looking forward together

and this flame in us,
not extinguished
but fanned into a blazing fire

in Jesus name I ask this,
Amen

feeling God gently tugging at my heart

things to do
with the little time i have
decisions to make
promises to keep

if God, You may
open my eyes again
to be of clear vision of the path You have planned for me to take

was thinking just a few weeks back how much better my NDU days will soon become in a month or 2
was initially told that we will pass out from the course in early may
plus, got wind that i've got quite a high chance to get into CDG (8 to 5pm, dun need to stay in.. woo hoo!)

but well...

course extended to june due to RSN Day, SAF Day and the big NDP at padang this year
yep.. Guards of Honor aka GOH contigent
10 of us from 24th batch are involved in the RSN and SAF Day GOH, while the rest of the class will be in supporting contigent
the entire class will be involved in NDP 05 GOH contigent
the tailor came down last week to take our measurements for the no. 1 uniform
also spent the last 2 days trying on the beak cap and white leather shoes

already spent 2 afternoons doing rifle drills

busy busy busy

what's more...
i might be on course again after this current course
Petty Officer Diving Course
well... not confirmed yet but well.. gotta be mentally prepared


well... what abt some good news
1) finally allowed a different hairdo, yep, no more crew cut
2) diving is fun, but military diving so many rules to follow
3) i'm starting to get backpay $$$.. haha

kk... that's all for updates this week i guess ;)

#04-13

my cabin for the past half a year or more since BMT started
facing the parade square, the toilet right at my door step
i don't even need an alarm clock in the mornings most of the time, cos the sound of the "early birds" flushing the toilet or the sound of half awake zombies dragging their slippers would wake me up

the place we look forward most after our trips to mandai, soiling the floor with mud packed SBOs, fieldpacks, and our wet combat boots
dirty no. 4 uniforms and PT rigs stacked up in one pile ready for the washer

the place with our unoccupied "guest bed", which we somehow feel that it's cursed as so far the 3 occupants of the bed has either OOC and undergone some operations
kelvin sleeping on the floor, beds, playing his nintendo DS till he earned names such as "sleeping buddha", "games buddha" and my cabin being teased as a temple
me sleeping under the bed to avoid being caught sleeping during office hours where we were supposed to "wait for further instructions"

the place where we sat around spreading peanut butter on our loaves of NTUC bread, gobbling down junk food, sampling un-used combat ration

the place where we sat in the dark, kelvin and steven brought cigarettes for the very first time into the camp and smoke in the cabin while awaiting hell week to break out
the sound of thunder flash, GPMGs, assault rifles woke me up with a shock as i wave goodbye to my cabin for 5 days

...

as the BMT, entire 25th batch, have enlisted yesterday, we were told to move out
now staying on instructors' level, #03-02
kelvin has moved to UDG block and steven to another room on the same level with me

so much memories of this cabin

goodbye #04-13
we will miss u

in less than 20 hours i will be back in camp
preparing my uniform and SBO for sunday's land demolition at SAFTI
why?
of all days... sunday!

this week has been relaxing
ample time to rest my swollen feet
went to see the MO on tuesday and he gave... painkillers
i was like... O_O!!!
hellweek over already u still give me painkillers
is there any other medicine in the dispensary??
but well... the swelling did go down naturally i guess.. haha :P

"heaven week" is over and 25th batch PTP will be enlisting coming friday
somehow everyone is feeling quite excited that we are no longer the "lowest life-form" in the entire NDU... i wonder why..
will be cool though...
and we are warned not to scare them off by revealing the details of what we went thru during hellweek.. ;)

Hellweeker

hellweek came to a close yesterday morning
5 days of non stop training with only 1 hour of sleep for only 2 nites, making that 2 hrs

resting at home on this sunday morning with swollen, blistered feet
walking like snail pace
seems like there's too much water soaked into my body these 5 days
i can't really remember moments where i m completely dry other than during the first few meals

there's really too much in my mind to write at the moment
prob my brain is still trying to recover.. haha

thank God for my boat instructors/safety covers who were there to whack as well as encourage me to press on
of course, there's vince, who would pop by to convey messages from ivy, as well as engouraging me to go on
thanks bro, for the sweets which i have no idea who popped them into my mouth, or what kind of sweets were they

really thank God for His hand, literally, which guided n sustained me thru these few days

oh ya, another happy thing for this weekend
my bandwidth is back, maxonline 1500
i m going wireless! just waiting for my laptop to be back
celine,don't worry abt rushing, take yr time and all the best for this sem as it comes to a close okie? =)

ok, that's all for now,
waiting for lunch
will share with you guys more abt hellweek in my next post or when i see you guys

Hooya Class 24!

teambuilding week aka hellweek starts tomorrow anytime after dark

feeling slightly nervous, yet looking forward to it

many have said it's a time where every individual shows his "true colors", character

pray that in the midst of stress and weariness, i'd still be able to shine for Him

here
my cabin mates, boat mates, swim buddy, oreo buddies(there's 3 cookies in each pack of oreo)
steven, kelvin, myself
courtesy of amos who illegally brought a camera into the cinema for navy movie event of the year at cineleisure

err... ignore that finger at the back...

things are getting tougher and tougher

training is tiring.. understatement



mon

boat PT and short distance paddling

still wasn't tat xiong



tues

sea swim, 47m plus... failed

guess kelvin and myself were still recovering from the dreaded flu



wed

was O_O!!

morning, we went for 4 super huge rounds

each round consist of one huge round around the INTO side, outside my camp, then round to the 1st transport carpark then back into NDu for 1 or 2 mini rounds

running back into camp often gives us the impression the running is going to end.. but it didn't

msg jimmy even deliberately let us overheard that the run is ending after the 2nd round...



that was seriously the longest run i've runned in my entire life so far

60 mins non-stop at a constant pace covering roughly 10km

it was really mental

i lost count of the no. of praise n worship songs i tried to hum in my head to keep me going

thank God He sustained me thru



my entire PT shirt was drenched after the run that when i wringe it, it can actually fill about 2 cups!

had abrasion between my both thighs

after the run, as usual, push ups, static PT



after lunch, went for 2km boat paddling

wasn't easy, it required lots of teamwork.. and my boat lacked it

we were yelling at each other

and my boat came in 2nd last, out of 11 boats

had to do boat push ups, which is the entire boat crew lift the boat above our heads, with our arms extended..

upon each whistle, we will lower our arms, allowing the bottom of the boat to touch our heads then extend our arms up again.. and that is 1 count

boat march 2 rounds around the parade square to signify the end of the boat paddling session

i was really quite burnt out

thank God, staff Ong allowed us 9pm lights off for an early night rest



thurs

sea circuit

thank God the sea was calm although the tide was low.. i managed to pass sea circuit for the first time

17m44s

was really relieved i didn't have to do a 2nd time, as i did last week when those who failed were required to go for 2nd round

we lined up and cheered on the others who were doing for 2nd time

the overall turn out was pretty good, quite a number of us passed sea circuit for the 1st time

what made the deal better was that those who passed were allowed to return to the cabin to rest before lunch

that 1h 30m was so precious



after lunch it was boat paddling again!

this time "pace to be a winner"

1st boat will secure and rest while the others will race again

i think my boat rowed about 6km

we finally secured as the 3rd last boat out of 8 boats

i was totally exhausted

then as usual boat march, singing songs non stop as we march

everyone around the unit were peaking along the corridor to see what's the commotion about

3 and a half rounds

i figured we will be doing more and more rounds in time to come



fri

which is today, was a relax day

2 talks and area cleaning

thank God for the much needed rest



physical phase

so much emphasis on health,fitness and teamwork

i've been down with a bad bout of flu for the past 3 weeks

although almost fully recovered, i made my way to a nearby clinic to get more antibiotics to get my body tuned back

the medicine in SAF obviously doesn't help much





4 weeks to "Hell Week"

Lord, please give me strength & wisdom

mua-ji



a popular pasar malam finger bite

this sticky gooey dough being cut into small pieces

dipped into blended peanuts and sugar

put it in this small square transparent plastic container

2 toothpicks stubbed into one of those gooey dough

and ready to serve



as it is introduced to us by staff koh

the NDU version

went for 7.5km run last week after recovering from flu

obviously it wasn't such a great idea

i ended up the last few of the lot

couldn't catch up

at the ending point of the run, the slow runners all dropped into pumping position and bear crawl all the way to STC, right in front of the gate leading to the beach

my head was throbbing mad from the run

in the same position, we were hosed from head to toe, drenching our no. 4 camo pants, PT shirt and shoes



dropped for a few counts, then instructions came to roll in the sand by the beach

there we go, 20 over drenched guys with sand from head to toe

headed back to the gate, in the same pumping position, we were hosed again

took the chance to take a few sips of water

then dropped for another few counts, before we were told to get wet...again...but in the sea

the whole lot of us headed for the beach and dived straight into the water

where most of the sand is washed out, but there's still some stuck on the body

running in drenched sandy clothes is quite uncomfortable

joined back the class where we did 500+ pushups



this treatment is aka "wet & sandy"

where we look like a life size mua-ji