I have this sudden thought. I feel so blessed. I don't know what exactly made me feel this way, but it's just a reflection in life. To be honest my life so far as been really smooth-sailing. All the way from Kindergarten to University. I have just been choosing whatever that I thought was the most sensible path to take and I never really have to fight hard for anything that I wanted. It just happens naturally. For studies, I always got my 1st choice school (although I never went to elite schools). Ngee Ann Primary, Temasek Secondary, Temasek Junior College and finally National University of Singapore. For all other aspects, it's the same. When I was younger, although my parents was super strict with me, but there was my grandparents to spoil me. When my grandparents passed on, my parents started acting like my grandparents. They became much more lenient with me, probably because I wasn't exactly a trouble-maker and they trusted me. I usually get what I wanted in terms of material stuff. Because I know my parents will just let me have what I want, plus the fact that I don't exactly have a very thick skin, I usually do not ask my parents to buy anything for me. Coz I will feel extremely guilty. I guess that's another form of parenting. Haha.

I can never understand how friends and kids today can just ask their parents to buy stuff from them so easily. I can't. Maybe it's also because I was actually brought up at my parents' and grandparents' workplace rather than at home. I knew how hard it is to earn money and how important it is to save right since I was a child, even while other kids were bugging their parents to get them their favourite toys. So I guess from young, I am exposed to the ugly side of life that kids aren't supposed to know. I don't have childhood fantasies such as Santa Claus during Christmas and whatsoever. I was brought up somehow like a true blue kampong boy. Coz I am the second child in the family, and plus my parents were always busy with work since I was young. So I was always wandering around aimlessly. If not for my grandparents I guess I would be led astray from young bah.

And another thing about my family is that my parents aren't very educated. So they didn't know much about parenting and stuff a long time ago. So they brought up me and my brother as though we were twins.(Although he's older than me by 3 years). When I was a kid, whenever me and my bro were to quarrel, in a normal family, the older kid tends to get punished 1st. But in my family, both of us would get walloped upside down inside out. Haha. They were super impartial. LOL. And when my parents realised that other kids were picking up new skills, like drawing and music, they send both of us there together, although I was only 3 years old then, while my brother was already 6. And when they hired a chinese tutor for my brother when he was in P3, they did the same for me. But I was only in P1! Haha. Sounds perfectly fair, but it's not exactly so. Haha. I seem to be always doing things at least 3 years ahead of my bro. In terms of behaviour, the same applies. I wasn't really allowed to be the kid I actually was. Haha. But I am actually not resentful of the way they brought me up. In fact I'm thankful. Although it seems that I'm forced to be a kid 3 years older than I actually am, I didn't feel unfairly treated. Since, both of us usually get exactly the same stuff, I felt quite fortunate at times too. The world is fair. Haha. (Although that's bad in a sense too. They gave us the same amount to eat too! Haha. And that resulted in me expanding in the wrong directions! ) Hahahaha. Just a side-track. Haha.

Watched 超级星光大道6, and 陈以恩sang this self-composed song - 阿嬤的白头紧。

It just all seems so familiar. So touching I must say! And I really miss my grandparents.

Haha. Ok enough of all my past. Haha.

Let me sum up my year. It's mostly about NS as it's my 2nd and final year in NS.

ROC 2009

 

Alright it was more fun they tiring. Haha. It was damn fun. Haha. =D

Army Open House 2009

Enjoyable AOH, but definitely not the rehersals. Not with "COL" Thomas running around. 

APEC 2009 - Transport Sub-committee

 

This event killed my schedule and screwed my life, with the frequent last minute call-backs. Haha. But I did enjoy it! Haha. And it's just that my OC is too nice to have any complaints. Haha. Offffff....

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009

My first marathon of my life! Tough and damn painful but thoroughly fulfilling. 42.195km

Gatherings

TJC Shooting Club

TMS ARC Peeps

BMT Zulu Coy

TMS Peeps

With things coming to a closure in 2009, I can only hope that 2010 would be a better year. Gonna countdown with my 01 peeps tonight, got TMS ARC gathering at my house tomorrow afternoon and on 2jan, poof! I'm off to Taiwan for my long-awaited ORD holiday! And after that I will start my relief teaching stint (if nothing goes wrong.. Haha) at TJC for 6 months before going NUS. Great start to the new year! Haha. Wish everyone a wonderful new year and hope that everyone's dreams and aspirations will be fulfilled in the coming year! Cheers!

Yesterday was pretty fun. Went to celebrate Li Wen's 20th birthday. I went to Bedok to meet the rest of them 1st before heading down to Ice Cream Chef at Siglap for some nicee ice cream, despite the rainy whether. Haha.

Haha. The nutty peanut butter ice-cream with loacker's damn nice! Must try! Haha.

Anyway waited for Kang Sheng, Chris and Adam to come with the birthday cake, before heading down to Timbre @ Old School. On the way up the retarded-ly long flight of stairs up to Mount Sophia, I came across this impossibly adorable lizard. Haha.

It's damn cute I must say. Haha. Anyway headed up to Old School where we had dinner. Haha. Had lots of Pizzas and sides. The food was pretty ok, but I thought that the service could be much better. Haiz.

Chilled out at there for quite some time before they decided to head down to St James to club. But yah, me and john decided to give it a go. Don't like clubbing and stuff. Haha. But anyway it was pretty fun.

6 years of friendship and counting. Haha. So nice to meet up once in a while to catch-up on life. Thinking back, I really can't remember how all of us became good friends back at TMS. Other than the fact that most of us(not all) were in the same class, and most of us went to TJC. I really can't remember. Haha. It's more like a chain linking all of us up. We are related in some way or another. Haha. Damn interesting clique. Haha. And it seems as if Li Wen's birthday becomes like a compulsory gathering day for us each year. Haha. Nice. Hope that things do stay the same many many years down the road and yupz, friends for life! =D

Oh and I happen to see wilbur on the bus on the way to Timbre. And when I got to Timbre I saw Zhi Sheng. lol. Random sightings. Haha.

Anyway Happy 20th Birthday to my cousin Wilbur too! =D

Today's a Friday but it just seems like Saturday. Maybe coz it's Christmas and everyone's on off/leave. Haha. Just went for a 10km run with my dad at ECP. Haha. The place's packed with people. All the BBQ there.. made me damn hungry when I was running. Lol. Damn random.

Finished watching IRIS and I'm moving on to find new shows to watch. These days at home, I've got nothing to do besides watching videos. Really boring. That's why I'm always at my dad's shop. Yawnz. But then again, that's quite boring too. Haha. I need to work soon!

I think I'm quite people-phobic. I don't really like being in big crowds and stuff. Makes my head spin and I get really moody. Haha.

Merry Christmas to all! =D

Yayness. My dad sponsored me a new Canon Powershot S90 camera! I think this is Canon's step back into photography at it's basics. It's low light photography quality is awesome! It's quite close to DSLR quality for low light. Haha. It's just damn cool. Haha. Damn excited to experiment with it. Haha.

Haha. I was asking him about getting a new camera and he just asked me to go ahead and buy. Neither did my mum nag! Haha. So it's awesome. I guess it must be the season of giving! Christmas! Haha. Anyway they're so nice I think I'm gonna get karma for this. Haha. Anyway went to get it from Parkway yesterday night. Bro drove me there too, coz shun bian need to buy my X'mas present for his girlfriend, and for the 3 kiddies next door. Haha. Bought them all in 1 night! Haha. Nice. Ok now I feel damn guilty whenever I spend. I shall refrain from doing so until I get my 1st paycheck. Hahaha. LOL.

Yesterday afternoon was about suit making. Haha. Sooo ma fan I must say. Haha. Took close to 3 hrs doing all the choosing of materials, cuttings and measurements. Quite a nightmare. Haha. But thank goodness it's over. It's gonna be made in around 3 weeks. Then still have to go for fitting and alterations. Yawnzzz. Haha.

Anyway after that, went to meet my TMS ARC buddies at Changi Airport. Haha. Met Adeline, Jiepin, Vicki and Kelvin there. Just when I thought I was late, they were even later! Haha. But kinda expected though. Meet at 6.30pm = leave home at 6.30pm. Hahaha. Anyway we settled at HK Xin Wang Cafe for dinner. Haha. The food was pretty decent. Haha. I like the Yuan Yang. Nice. Haha. Talked lots of cock. Haha. We haven't met up since eons ago. Let me think. Maybe around one year? I just know that our gathering is always at Siglap area, which is the best to chill and relax. (and it's walking distance home. Hahahaha.) Yupz, lots to catch up on. Kel's in army le, and I'm OUT of it! Haha. LOL. Random. Really miss the times we used to train together in TMS. Damn memorable. All the Yishun Safra and Home Team NS training sessions were damn memorable. Really really miss those days. And yea, always feel damn relaxed with them. Haha. I can be myself. Yes myself. The crappy me. Haha. Love it. Anyway after dinner, I went to Tampines Mall to have coffee. Haha. Went to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Haha. Had this caramel ice coffee, which I felt was too sweet. Haha. But anyway chilled out there for quite some time.

Was quite late already, but we decided to watch a midnight movie anyway. Haha. Watched Bodyguards and Assassins at Century Square. It's a pretty good movie. It's not a movie which is depicting a story. Rather, it's about showing the spirit of the chinese in the past. About how sheer determination and belief that they are sacrificing for the sake of their child's future by raising a revolution.. A pure depiction of the strength of the human spirit. Really touching at some parts and gotta admit the Kungfu part was great too. Haha. Like Ipman and stuff. Haha. Great movie. I will really recommend it to everyone. Haha.

After that cabbed Vicki and Jiepin home before going home. Haha. Really fruitful day out, but it'd been a really long day. Haha. Don't really feel tired and everything. More gatherings please! Haha. I will be damn free till Feb next year I think. Haha. =D




















Acting tourists..















P.S.(not me) I think the H1N1 flu vaccine is a fluke. Haha. I've been sneezing and coughing ever since I took the jab. Damn it's not working. Haha.

Wednesday went back to TJC for Shooting Team gathering. Haha. Thanks Ann Yi for organising it. Haha. Somehow the people there don't seem so foreign yet. Haha. Probably quite a few of them are from TMS. Haha. Had a mini-shooting style bingo and stuff. Haha. Quite entertaining. Haha. I think we should have more of such gathering. Good to see so many batches of TJC shooters together. Haha.

There's a saying that nothing is constant; the only constant is change. Haha. But I'm sure TJC hasn't changed abit since I left the college 2 years ago. The old old buildings. And they simply repainted it. And the amazing thing is that no matter what you do to the TJC buildings, they look quite retro. Haha I guess it's the design of the buildings. Haha. They must design a new building to looks retro so as to match the 32 year old buildings of the other blocks. LOL.

I'm re-considering relief teaching. Haha. I did email my resume to some organisations to request for internships, which I think will give me better experience than just teaching. And they pay around the same. But then again, pay isn't really that much of a concern for me. If I can survive on approx $650 for the past year, I'm sure I can survive on $1000 plus provided by most temporary jobs for A levels grads like me. Haha. Just hope that I get these job/intern offers. Haha.

Went for a run in the late afternoon. It's been like 1 week plus since I last ran(that was during standard chartered..).. feels a bit weird. Ran like 15km, but it felt like forever man. Haha. Quite tiring. Haha. That's the thing about running. You must run regularly, if not, it's damn tiring de. Haha. Now must muster the energy and discipline to get my legs moving again. Haha. It's not easy keeping to my schedule of runs. Haha.

Tomorrow gotta go make my suit for my cousin's wedding le. It's in a month time. Still have to do all the alterations and stuff. So troublesome. Haha. I can't understand why some people dread traditional customary, even if it's for things that you will only get to do once in your life(hopefully). Haha. My cousin's like refusing to follow many of these traditions and it's driving his parents mad. Haha. And the wedding dinner's DAMN grand. Haha. Seriously fit for a royalty. And what the heck, he's got so many MP's and Mayors coming to his wedding. Quite ridiculous and unnecessary, but whatever lah, as long as he's fine with it. Listening to how my parents and my aunt and uncle go through the details of the wedding, it's quite mind-boggling. Haha. And I think my mum's quite a pro when it comes to this type of wedding traditions. Haha. She's like a wedding-guru. Haha. I think that's a pretty good part-time job for her once she retires with my dad in a couple of years time. Haha.  

Iris ep 19 is out already, but it's not subbed in english yet. Damn.

Have been watching IRIS recently. It's a damn addictive show man! Haha. It's a Korean drama about this organisation called IRIS whose main aim is to stop the North and South Korea from meeting and unifying. As such, they benefit from these conflicts as they deal with arms trade, etc. So much espionage and distrust involved. It's damn addictive coz I really cannot predict what's about to happen next. And sometimes I'm like torn on whether a character is good or bad. There does not seem to be a clear distinction between the 2. Damn cool. Haha. Not your typical drama storyline I must say. I can say it's the best show I've watched since 痞子英雄. So far there's only up to episode 18. Can't wait for episode 19 to be uploaded! Haha.

GOODBYE

1. Sungei Gedong Camp Pass
2. Pasir Laba Camp Pass
3. Motorisation Support Unit
   
4. 11B with the 3 retarded letters - "NSF"
5. My Green pixelated uniform/coverall/half-pouch/SAR21/M113/POL/OVM (only for 1 year though.. LOL.. ICT!)
6. 2WO Jeffery Lim (and his squeaky voice)
   
7. MWO Sathe Thas (and his nonsense)
8. CPT Albert (and his APEC!)
9. MWO Joe Tan (and his flat top hair cut and nonsense)
10. Nokia E51 WITHOUT CAMERA
11. Pasir Laba Camp/Chalet/Jail (depending on which unit you are in...)
12. Book In/Out
13. Sai Kang (including digging drains/ washing M113 and Vehicle Shed/COS/APEC/AOH/BOS/Outfields)
14. Pathetic Pay (or rather allowance)

HELLO

1. House Keys
2. Pink IC 
3. 11B with the 5 beautiful letters - "NSmen"
4. My Shirt/T-shirt/shorts/jeans
5. My Family and Life
   
6. Nokia N97 WITH CAMERA
7. BRAIN 
8. A real JOB with decent pay
9. National University of Singapore

Sad that I missed today's TMS peeps gathering and Fenny's return to Singapore. Haha. Army's screwing my life. 

But then again.. Tomorrow's THE Day! The day I've been waiting for for the last 2 years EXACTLY! Hahahahaha

2 weeks to my long awaited holiday!

I've decided to join Adidas Sundown Marathon next year, despite the pain that the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon caused me. Haha. Anyone wants to run with me?

Oh and there's upcoming TJC Shooting Team Alumni gathering this Wednesday! Haha. =D

Life's gonna get better!

Yesterday went for Zulu Platoon 4 gathering! Haha. Soooo long since I last met up with them. It's been 1 yr and 9 months since! Haha. Had the gathering at Timbre@Arts House. Quite a nice place except for that it's overly crowded. Haha. After a while we decided to change a place. Yupz so we ended up at Brewerts at Riverside Point. Nice place too. The Pizza's pretty nice. And so is the beer. Haha. I rarely drink outside of home, but the beer was quite good actually. Haha. Yupz and my face turned an instant blood red. Haha. That happens to me whenever I drink even the slightest bit of alcohol. Haha. Wonder if that's a good thing or not. Haha. Anyway had a really good catch-up session with the guys. Haha. Everyone seems the same. Haha. As crappy as ever. How nice. Hahaha. So looking forward to another gathering with our pink IC's in January!

Image courtesy of Bryan and his damn cool DSLR. Haha. 

Yesterday was quite a hectic day. Woke up early (or should I say earlier than usual.. coz I'm so used to waking up at noon=D), coz I needed to report to camp to get a letter of appreciation and a small medallion for my APEC contributions. Haha. Went all the way to Sembawang Camp to get it. It was damn retarded. We waited like 4 hours for it. Yes, that's how efficient they are. What the heck. Anyway, my whole day was gone because of that. Yawnz. Alright had a small buffet dinner there that was nothing to wow about, then went home. A long trip indeed. It takes like an hour and a half to reach there, just the same amount of time I need to go back to Pasir Laba Camp. LOL.

Anyway, the moment I got back home, I received a random call from Adeline. Yes. I haven't seen her in ages. Haha. Probably after my A's bah. Haha. Adeline, Jiepin and Cherie were nearby, so yupz, just went out again to meet them. Haha. It's been so long since I last met up with them as a group. Haha. My TMS Air Rifle buddies. Haha. They were having a drink at this bar called Georges at Siglap, but I actually didn't know where it was! I've been living in Siglap for the past 20 years of my life and I was actually clueless about where it was. Haha. Anyway had a chat with them. It was damn hilarious. We keep insisting Adeline was half-drunk. LOL. There's sooo much to catch up on. Haha. Gathering anyone?

After sending them off, I got a call from my long time friend. He needed to print some pre-NS medical checklist for his medical checkup the following day. Yupz, so he came over pretty late to get his stuff done. Haha. Great friend, since primary 1 to be exact. Haha. But I just couldn't help feeling old (although we are of the same age). He's enlisting next June, while I'm ORD-ing this coming Monday. Hmm.. then again, I couldn't help but tease him. LOL. It's just me.

To think about it, time has really passed really fast! 2 years ago, at this time of the year, I've just completed my A's and preparing to enlist. And the strange thing's that it seems like just yesterday! I can still vividly remember the very day I enlisted. It was damn emo. Haha. Going to Tekong with my Dad and Bro. Then meeting this entire group of bunkmates of which I don't know a single one of them. (and coincidentally none of them were from tjc.. LOL) I can still remember all the tekan-ing, route march, horrible SFI food, PT sessions.. At that time, we seem to hope that everything could pass more quickly as it was torturous. But now, thinking back, they seem like precious memories more than torture. Yupz, my BMT bunkmates were a great bunch of people. I guess the harder the training we grow through together, the closer we get. Haha. Yupz. Great companionship indeed.

I think the sudden recent talks with my old friends is bringing back great memories. It seems like the 2 years in NS was a dream and I'm fast waking up from it. To be exact, in another 3 more days. Haha.

P.S. Oh I finally got my H1N1 flu jab. Haha. Totally random. 

Got a few photos from the Standard Chartered Singapore marathon website..

East Coast Park. The place my legs started to cramp. =(

Floating platform area. The last (but very long) stretch.. around 2km. Extremely painful experience.

It's finally over. Haha. The feelings shiok. Haha.

Wah now I know why some people feel that a Marathon is something that they will do at most ONCE in their life and never again. It's darn painful to finish the 42.195km. my legs cramped up at the 23km mark. Damn sad lah. I was like limping away. But thank goodness for the heat rub, that I could recover a bit and managed to run finish. Thought that my time was pretty decent, but could have been much better if not for the irritating cramps. Haha. Think I will try again for the adidas sundown marathon next year. =D

Yesterday was my bro's birthday. He didn't celebrate out coz today's his final exams so have to cheong. Haha. So me and his girlfriend planned a surprise for him. Haha. Nice. She popped by my house at night to give him a last minute surprise! Haha. So 体贴. Hope that's a morale booster for his final paper today. Haha.

Standard Chartered Marathon's this sunday! Hope I don't die! Hahaha.

Oh and I'm more or less done revising the Pure Maths part of H2 Maths. Haha. Well done to me.=D

And yes. 12 more days to ORD! Like finally...

Oh but did I mention I STILL have to go back camp for a day to collect my APEC medallion? YawnzZZ.. Non-stop last minute call-ups.

Life's great other than being absolutely boring. Haha.

The songs I love the most. =D

收藏 - 萧敬腾


王妃 - 萧敬腾


新不了情 - 萧敬腾（翻唱， 原唱：萬芳）


倒带 - 萧敬腾 （翻唱， 原唱：蔡依林）


神秘嘉宾 - 林宥嘉


伯乐 - 林宥嘉


说谎 - 林宥嘉


同感身受 - 林宥嘉


崇拜 - 梁静茹


丝路 - 梁静茹


属于 - 梁静茹


如果没有 - 梁静茹


All from my 3 favourite singers - 萧敬腾, 林宥嘉, 梁静茹. Enjoy!

YAY. I have finally confirmed my post ORD holiday! Yesterday went down to pay the down payment to confirm the tour. Haha. So happy. Going Taiwan on 2 Jan 2010. Going for a 7 days trip, so returning on 8 Jan 2010. Haha. Sad that we couldn't get the tour that leaves on 29 Dec 2009; it would be nice to enter a New Year in another country, but never mind bahz. It's perfectly ok. The most important thing is we are going! Haha.

Oh Thurs went back to PLC to collect the remaining of my stuff. Packed up my stuff and shun bian go use the gym. Haha. It's Hari Raya Haji eve, so camp's practically empty. Haha. Nice. I didn't know I still had so many things left in my cupboard. LOL. Lucky my bro just finished his exams at nearby NTU, so yupz, ask him drive me home. Haha. Dropped Keng Siang off at Kembangan too. Haha. The plight of living in the east, only because they post you to a camp in the far west. Haha.

Things i still have to do next week.. Collect my passport. Haha. The queue at the ICA was impossibly long. It's crazy. Haha. Also have to send the letter to make my NUS matriculation card. Yes, I have to do my ORD quiz. Heard it's crazily long. So yes, I'm still avoiding it. Haha. And most importantly, I have to run! Haha. Standard Chartered Marathon is just next week! Scary. Hope I don't die then. Haha. Must train more to get my body used to the physical stress level.Haha.

Ok so that's all for now. =D

P.S. HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY BERNARD! =D

This is what a primary 2 kid told his mum...
Kid: Mum, I've got something to tell you. But please don't be surprised ok? (Gives the impish smile)
Mum: What Yang Yang (the kid's nickname)?
Kid: The teacher say I did very well already. She say the test very difficult so I'm considered above average already. (Gives the proud look)
Mum: Yang Yang I'm getting lost. Are you talking about your test? How much did you get?
Kid: Yes yes. I think I did very well already! (Gives the serious look)
Mum: Yang Yang stop being so naggy. So how much did you get?
Kid passes his mum the a set of maths test paper.
Mum: WHAT?! 8/20 for a P2 test???
Kid: (Gives the shocked face) Mum, it's the teacher's fault! She told me I can skip a few topics! Then at last all I don't know how to do.. But those I studied I got correct leh! (Gives the proud look again)
Mum: (Looks just stunned and loss for words..)

This happened just after dinner when my neighbour came over to my house for a chat. Although my neighbour kid failed the test, no one actually scolded him. Instead we were so amused by him! Haha. I don't know what will happen back home, but I could confidently conclude that this kiddo neighbour of mine is far from stupid. Haha. What's wrong with the kids nowadays? They are so adorably fluent in their speech. It's damn funny I must say. Hahahaha. When I was a kid I never ever thought that I could say something like this to my mum. This was probably because one, I didn't fail any test until I was in secondary school, and two, my mum was super strict then. It was like in a communist state - restriction of speech. Hahaha. Thinking bad, I really thought that my mum was pretty harsh then, but looking from a parent's perspective, I thought that it should be the right thing to do. Hahaha. I still can't stop smiling whenever I thought of my kiddo neighbour's facial experession. Hahahahaha.

The weather these days in most unpredictable. It seems like there's no fixed weather pattern; it rains when it wants to, and it gets extremely hot when you least want it. Lol. Alright, because of the erratic weather conditions, I have to always be on standby to go for a run. Haha. Yesterday was just like that. It started raining at 1pm, and it seems as if the rain will just continue through dinner. But it suddenly stopped at 4.30pm. Perfect! Haha. I immediately changed out and went running. Haha. Was rushing for time so ran only 10km. Nice.. so this week I have done 2 runs le.. 10km and 15km. Now for a long one over the weekend and that would suffice. Haha.

Went over to my maternal grandparents house for dinner. It was my grandpa's birthday. Yupz, so once again, it was a feast. Thank god I lost those excess calories before dinner. Haha.

Anyway, uni peeps having their exams soon (or rather, already!). So good luck peeps!=D

新专辑 - 新人大对抗！

这些新人可说真会选日子出新专辑啊。 萧敬腾， 林宥嘉与卢广仲都同时出了新专辑。 萧敬腾可赞了， 在刚举办的新加坡金曲奖得到了最佳演绎男歌手与最受欢迎男歌手奖！恭喜恭喜了！卢广仲也不差呀，在台湾的金曲奖当中得到了最佳新人奖与最佳作曲人奖。看起来林宥嘉的战绩可没那么辉煌了， 但奇怪的是我却觉得林宥嘉的专辑最耐听，百听不腻。萧敬腾的却是越听越好听。卢广仲的专辑是好听，但听了不就觉得有点腻了。 嗨... 这次遭了，又得花钱去购买这些专辑了。好期待！


















萧敬腾 - 爱的时刻自选辑

林宥嘉 - 感官/世界 

卢广仲 - 七天 

I guess running's good because of the seclusion. It really gives me time and space to relax and think about things. Yupz. I guess I'm someone that needs a lot of space alone.

Gosh. I finally forced myself to go for a run today. Haha. I usually do 3 to 4 runs a week, but after the New Balance Real Run and because of the gloomy (a.k.a. sleep-inducing) weather, I have been missing my runs. Haha. Anyway did a 10km run today. Shorter than intended though, coz of the stupid weather - it rained after 10km. So I stopped right there. Haha. Anyway it feels pretty good. Haha.

Ok I'm broke. Haha. Bought a N97 for myself yesterday. Yes it cost me a bomb man! Haha. But what the heck. It's about time I pamper myself again. Haha. Just one month and 2 days to my collection of my pink IC. Haha. Civilian conversion course costs a bomb indeed. Haha. But it's worth it. Haha.

Sat went to celebrate Yan Shan's birthday. Haha. Met up with Bernard and Qi Hui much earlier in the day to scout for her present, but as per normal, we took a million years to decide on anything. But first, lunch! Haha. Decided on Manhattan Fish Market at Iluma. The seafood platter was ok, but the most important thing was the prawns! Haha. Flaming Prawns leh! Haha. The actually use this mini-flaming device to burn the sauce on the grilled prawns! Haha. That was damn cool. Haha. But I felt that the sauce was too salty and sweet, but Qi Hui thought otherwise and cleaned it up! Haha. Oh the fried mushrooms are a waste of money. So not worth it. Haha. After lunch, we realised that we still haven't bought any present yet, so on we went, looking and looking. Oh me and bernard unanimously agreed that we hated Bugis Street coz it's really over-congested. Very bad shopping experience. Haha.

Instead of buying the gift, I ended up buying more stuff for myself! Haha. Bought myself a new book, wallet and CD! Haha. Oh damn I overspent. Haha. Anyway yupz, managed to find some gifts after looking for many many hours. After that met up with Vincent and Yan Shan before heading to Sakae Teppanyaki in Bugis Junction for dinner. Haha. The food was pretty good. Haha. They used LOTS of garlic! Lol. Hahaha. Super random. Was super full lah (partly due to the late and super duper filling lunch! Haha). After that went over to Iluma for dessert. Haha. Nice. After that went home le. Damn tired.

Yesterday morning had the New Balance Real Run. Haha. Ran the 15 km one. Met up with Chok Kee, Wei Chong for the run. But when we reached the starting point, we met up with Kheng Lim, Eugene Wong and Robin. Haha. Oh and I saw Yau Long and Wen Tao half way through the race too. Haha. Anyway, I did in it in 1hr 19min. Haha. Nice. Although the weather was excruciatingly hot and with the highly irritating beach run and with super heavy traffic. Haha. Though that was pretty good for me. Haha. Now for the Standard Chartered Marathon in December. Haha. I really can't understand why I paid to make myself suffer more. Wah my legs kinda ache now. Damn I shouldn't have sprint at the end. Haha. =X

Got another last minute call back last night. Apec thingy again. Damn this thing's screwing up my life.

But the good thing's that I get off for it (not that I need anymore of it), and I don't have to go back camp, which is so damn far away. Haha. Always look on the bright side of life. =D

Today's really impromptu. Haha. Sebastian just called me in the afternoon and there I was rushing back to camp. LOL. It's ridiculous. Worst than reservist call back. Anyway booked in all the way to Glochester Camp (Hub HQ) just for a photo shoot. Yawnz. Damn it takes like 1.5hrs to get there just for a 30min photoshoot. Haiz. Think it's ridiculous. And what's more, I'm on off. Haiz. I'm so gonna claim back that half day. Haha! Oh man! I sound so cheapskate! Haha. Anyway not that I really care, I'm gonna ORD soon! 5 more weeks to go, and 4 days in camp left (I think.. Although it may be less than that. Haha )

Damn sian these days. Keep raining, so can't go for running. Haiz. All the staying indoor is making me very lethargic the entire day. Oh and the TV's turning me into a couch potato. Haiz. Got to go out and get some fresh air soon.

I realised how much my maths standard has dropped! Haha. Took quite some time to do my JC TYS. Haiz. Got to buck up. Haha.

Today I overslept! Haha. Supposed to go for the NUS talk for returning NSmen, but I kinda overslept. Lol. Coz I slept only at 4am. LOL. Anyway so sorry to Zhi Xuan and Ji Xiang. Haha. Pang-sehed them. Haiz. Heard it was quite useless since I can't do the modules I need during special semester. Also, it clashes with Orientation. Haha. So yupz, I'm going to give it a miss and continue with teaching all the way to June bah. Haha.

Anyway going to APEC rehearsal later. Sian lah so late at night (or rather early in the morning). Haha. But yupz, I'm getting offs for this, so i will do it anyway. Haha.

I'm back to mugging! Haha. Finished inequalities today. Haha. Pretty easy yah. I need to be 100% sure of the stuff before I can teach right? Haha.=D

I woke up so damn early today coz of driving lessons. Damn sian. Slept at 3am, woke up at 8am. That's bad. Isn't civilian conversion course supposed to have more sleeping time? Oh and I'm sick of driving lessons already. Haha. Time to give myself a break. haha.

I think my 2IC's quite dumb (it's a fact though.. but he's pretty nice=D). I need to book in tonight coz of APEC. Then book out tomorrow night. Then book in again on thursday night. Then book out on Friday afternoon. This is retarded. I've been Sathe'd man! Haha.

Spent an entire day yesterday doing my holiday itinerary. It's the 1st time in my life I read so much chinese in a single day. *applauds*. Hope it turns out fine.

Today I was too lazy to run. So decided to give it a miss. Now I feel bad. Haha. Nvm tomorrow still can go gym in camp. Haha.

I'm tired...

I think I'm growing really old. Haha. Ok this is just a random thought that crossed my mind. Just came back from my maternal grandma's birthday celebration. Yupz, the food's great. But talking to my cousins, hear them chat about PSLE, O levels, blah blah blah... These issues suddenly sounded so foreign to me. But then again, these things took place quite some time away for me. Haha. I can't help but feel that this is the effect that time has on one's mind. We tend to forget things so easily. Haiz. Seeing my baby cousins, I can't help but feel OLD. Haha. OH NO. Haha. Oh and I realise that my cousins from my mum's side are pretty much on a different wavelength as me n my bro. Haha. It's weird talking to them. Not weird as in weird. But rather, we talk about totally different topics, so to communicate, I actually have to constantly think and think. Like they chat about poly and I will go ... *Blank* Haha. Quite tiring. The feelings quite different from talking to my cousins from my dad's side. Haha. Probably because my paternal cousins and me lead very similar lives, whether is education, play, and the place we live. Haha. We're all from JC's and all around the same age. Haha. So that makes communication so much easier. Haha. And we grew up playing together because we lived just next door! Haha. Those were the really fun days, where we could just call each other down to play every single day. Haha. Although we are no longer neighbours, we still live very near each other. Haha. So yeps, that's the reason why I'm always more at ease with my paternal cousins. Oh and I forgot. All of us are guys and yes, there are only 5 of us. So yupz, extra close. Haha.

Yesterday went out with 01 peeps. Haha. Yes! My holiday plans are well on track. Haha. Just nice that Suntec was having some travel fair, and the staff of ASA travel gave us quite a number of tips on backpacking and stuff. Haha. It's so cool. And how about New Year in Taipei! Wahahaha. So excited just by the thought of it. Haha. And yes there's more people going.. Wahaha. So far the head count's at 7. Haha. I want my holiday! Hahah

Haha. Today's a nice day! Haha. 1st was my relief teaching application. Mr Cecil Ang replied me and confirmed my place in TJC for relief teaching from feb to june 2010. Haha. Oh yes! I'm EMPLOYED! Haha. But the pretty sad thing is that I won't be teaching chem. Will be teaching H2 maths to the year 1s. Haha. But I'm alright coz math's cool with me too. Haha. Time to start reading up my math. Haha. It should be fun! =D

Next was my driving. The instructor said I only need 4 more circuit lessons before I'm ready for the test le! Haha. That's damn fast. It's only my 9th lesson. =D Alright, but the bad news is I still won't be getting my driving license that soon. Booked my test date tentatively on 29th jan 2010. I can't believe it. There's so many people in Singapore learning how to drive! Which is the cause for the extremely long queue for the TP test. Haha. Ok whatever. I just need my driving license before school reopens in August 2010. Haha. =D

Have been very disciplined these days, probably due to not having much to do. Haha. Have been diligently keeping to my running schedule of 3 times a week.. and at least 50km/week. Haha. It's about getting used to it. Haha. Now I think my body is very used to running distances of up to 21km. Haha. Don't really feel as terrible as before. Haha. Anyway that's a good sign. Haha. =D

I'm beginning to really appreciate the feeling of being a civilian! =D

Tiring but fun day. Haha. Afternoon went to Velocity @ Novena to collect my race pack for the new balance real run. Met Chok Kee to collect together. Haha. Haven't been there for ages, but the place is still so.. boring? Haha. Seriously. There's really nothing there. A few sports concept stores, california fitness, a mini-MPH.. that's about it. Haha. Anyway, went to shop around with chok anyway, coz I don't exactly come to Novena very often. Haha. After that went Tiong Bahru to meet Vincent and Bernard for dinner. Haha. Yes, I didn't want to go to town area, so vincent suggested Tiong Bahru Plaza. Excellent. Haha. Coz there's like nothing there too! Haha. No nice makan places. Yupz, so instead, we took a train down to Vivocity. Haha. By then, we were so hungry that we could swallow a cow! Haha. So went to scout for buffet restaurants. Haha. Yumz. Narrowed down to 2 choices.. Carnivore and Tajimaya Yakiniku Shabuya. Initially also wanted that Chinese Mala Steamboat restaurant, but there isn't any seats left. Haha. So In the end we settled for Tajimaya Yakiniku Shabuya. Haha. The place's damn nice, and the food was good too. Haha. Pretty satisfying. Haha. Haven't eaten such good meals in quite a while, so yea, it was great. Haha. After that went to shop around before going for dessert at Bakerzin. Haha. They were having this 50% discount on blueberry cheesecake. Haha. Yupz, so we had cheesecake and coffee. Haha. Love it. There's this thing about eating out. Haha. The ambiance's great. Plus eating with fun people. Haha. Great fun and laughter. Haha. Yupz, overall had a really good day out. Just that it was exhausting. Carried soo much stuff that I bought in my bag, plus a huge Osram circular light bulb that my dad asked me to buy. Haha. =D







Oh and damn I should get a camera phone soon too! Today was my most horrible experience on the MRT. It probably just shows how inconsiderate my commuters are today, and how they take many things for granted. Haiz. Was pretty mad at 1st, but to thing of it, no point getting my mood down because of it. Damn it I should have Stomped them!

P.S. Today, we took special attention to Bernard's extra small eyes. Look at all his pics. Haha. His eyes are realllyyyyyyy small. He always looks like he's closing his eyes! HAha.

Ran my longest ever distance today. 30km! Haha. Ok I'm now 3/4 there for my marathon. Woah and the feeling's great. Haha. Now my whole body's aching. I don't know why but yes, I ran till my arm almost got cramped. Haha. Anyway today's weather was nice so yes, ran abit further.

Alright then there's driving. I'm beginning to dread driving lessons. Haha. Actually I enjoy driving, whether a commercial car or my ULTRA. Haha. It's great. But the lessons are quite boring. Haha. So structured and restricted. Hmm.. just now me lah. But thank goodness my instructor today was pretty chatty. Haha. So great. And he happens to be my bro's instructor a couple of years back too. Haha. So qiao lah. Anyway nowadays I really have to drag myself to lessons. Yawnzzz.

Oh and NUS has sent an email over, saying that there's this briefing for engineering, business and computing students on 30 October. It's for those who already got a place reserved and is matriculating in 2010. So that's me. Haha. Yupz, it's supposed to be on administrative issues and about the special term. Haha. Sounds sian. But think I'm gonna sign up for the special term to lessen my workload when uni starts. =D

Oh and Now got to think about relief teaching le. John reminded me about it and yea, me, john and yewei want to go back tj as relief teachers. Haha. Quite a joke to have the 3 of us as teachers. But what the heck. I think it would be interesting. Going back tj next week or so to verify our certs and ask for vacancies. Haha. Hmm. Maybe I should ask Mrs Lim first. Just in case there isn't any vacancy left. *Choy!* Hahaha.

Anyway so that's about it for now. =D

Went to Kusu Island this morning for some praying with my family. Haha. Has been like 2 years since I last went there. The last time I went over, it was still from Sentosa Ferry Terminal, but now, it has shifted to Marina South Pier. Pretty nice pier, however, the ticketing service is horrible. They were super late lah! Haha. We were supposed to take the 9am ferry, but the ticketing people only arrived at like 8.45am. Haha. Damn late. Anyway we got tricked into getting onto the ferry that goes to both St John's island and Kusu Island. The trip was damn long. Haha. Anyway throughout the trip I was entertained by a pair of young kiddies on the ferry. Haha. They are damn cute lah. Damn I should have taken a photo with them. Haha. Lol. I sound like a pedophile. Haha. Anyway, yupz, pretty nice trip.



After that went Vivocity to have lunch and yea got my parents to buy me and bro a pair of havanas each. Nice. Haha. Shopped for a while before heading home. Haha. Nice day. Now I need my sleep. Slept like 4 hrs yesterday only.. Yawnzzz

Yeah. 孙自佑 won 超级星光大道5! Haha

But kinda expected. Haha. But I like. =D

Yay! My 表哥 is getting married! And me, my bro, and my 2 堂哥堂弟 to be his 兄弟团！ Haahaha. This is soooo gonna be fun fun fun. Haha. To think about it he's only 5 years older then me. Haha. Time really flies. Still can remember just not long ago that he flew over to UK to study law. Haha. And now he's back, career on track and ready to get married! Haha. Heard my 大嫂 is a PhD student somemore. Ok that's besides the point. Haha. Anyway wish them the best. Really looking forward to it. HAHA.

I went on facebook today and i saw THIS!


Temasek Secondary School Mass Display item at the 2002 National Day Parade! OMG. THIS is classic. The old Maestan nagging days. Haha. Oh and I flunk my exams coz I was soo tired after the rehearsals that I just went home and sleep. Haha. Anyway, this brings back good old memories.. Enjoy!

Ok monday night went to NTU with my bunkmates to watch 徐佳莹 live. Haha. She's the winner of the 3rd season of the Taiwanese talent show 超级星光大道 and damn she was good. Haha. Never really understood why she won then, but listening to her performance live.. *gasps!* How can such a powerful voice come out of someone so small and petite? Haha. Anyway it was great. Oh thanks sebastian for the tix. Haha. Oh I forgot to mention, I(or rather We) saw ROY TAN! Hahaha. My dear platoon sergent eons ago. Haha. He's still as weird. Lol. After that booked into camp coz I need to go for my Dental FFI at SAFTI yesterday morning. I'm telling you, SAFTI is damn visitor unfriendly. Haha. The stoopid medical and dental centre is a good 20 minutes walk from the gate! Oh my god. This is so unlike Pasir Laba, whose medical centre is just at the gate. LOL. Anyway the checkup took like.. 10 seconds? Haha. My teeth are perfectly fine and fit for ORD. Perfect. But the walk's terrible. The 7 of us walked a total of 40 minutes just for a 10 second checkup. Super efficient indeed. Anyway I booked out yesterday evening. Going back to camp on friday for my ORD FFI. Haha. This time at PLC medical centre. Thank god I don't have to go back SAFTI again. Oh and I've maintained my record. The only time I've visited the medical centre is during my Blood test and FFI. Haha. I've never ever reported sick. Haha. They should give me a prize for it. Haha. Saving tax payers money. =D

Oh and my tummy has been giving me problems since yesterday. LOL. Now I feel terrible. And my parents ban me from running until I'm fine again. lol. I should be happy. Haha. More time to rest. =X

Now that my off is officially on the way (a.k.a. I'm only going back to camp one day a week! Haha.), time to undergo some civilian conversion programme. Haha. First up, my phone! Haha. I want my camera phone back! Haha. Alright have been scouting for new phones. And I've narrowed dowbn my choices to these few:

1) Nokia X6 (upcoming)

Some of the main features are:
- Touch screen
- 5.0MP camera
- 32 GB internal memory
- 8.5hrs talk time
- Good music playback
- runs on nokia series 60 platform
- Price : TBA

2) Nokia E72


Some of the main features are:
- Qwerty keyboard (no touch screen! I still love my keypad. Haha.)
- 5.0MP camera
- Push mail ( Somehow, I need to use my email ever so often. So yupz, this is extra helpful)
- 250MB internal memory
- 12.5hr talk time
- runs on Nokia series 60 platform
- Price: TBA

3) Samsung Omnia II

Some of the main features:
- Touch screen
- 5.0 MP camera
- Runs on windows mobile
- 8GB internal memory (expandable with up to 32 GB micro SD)
- 10 hr talk time
- Price: $498 w/contract (and i reckon the price w/o contract to be around $800)

Yupz so that's about it. The 3 phones I'm considering. Haha. If I were to stick to my norm, I would probably get the E72 or X6 since I've been using nokia all my life. Haha. But the price is also important. Haha. Most probably I'm buying the phone without contract, so yea the price would be quite terrifying. Haha. Alright. I shall ask around more about these phones before deciding what to buy. Haha. No rush. But I want it so badly. Haha.

Alright next up in the agenda. Jobs. Haha. I've written up my CV and sent it to various organisations in search for a job/internship. Haha. They include:
- PSC internship programme
- NEW programme(a.k.a. National Environmental Agency)
- ExxonMobil HR
- Shell HR
- Jotun Paints HR
Surprisingly, all were super efficient and have replied to me. Unfortunately, Shell and Exxon only accept undergraduate interns. Haha. So too bad. Then PSC, NEW and Jotun all have replied favourably to my request. Haha. I'm trying to see if I can go for all 3.. good for experience. Haha. the 2 internships do not coincide so that's good. Haha. But unfortunately, the pay or allowance is quite bad. (a.k.a. worst then my NS pay) Haha. But then again, I'm there for the experience, so the pay isn't really that important. The Jotun paints one pays much better then the other 2, but its a full time job till june and I can't do any other internships on top of that. Yupz. So thats the down side of things. Alright, there's always one other job I can fall back on if every other job opportunity falls through - relief teaching. Haha. John, yewei and vincent is also interested in teaching. Haha. Mainly because it pays well and the environment is so familiar and good. Haha. I kinda like the TJC culture and life there. Haha. So I have absolutely no qualms about it.

Third on the agenda is a mp3 player. Haha. Or rather, it's more of whether I want to get an Ipod Touch or not. Haha. The 32GB Ipod Touch sooo nice and the price is really attractive. The 32 GB would be put to good use since my iTunes is getting really full. Haha.

It's priced at $468 for a 32 GB model and $648 for a 64 GB model. Haha. Very much more affordable than previously. Haha. So it's really attractive~

Alright, there's more. I have to discipline myself to run regularly. Haha. I've got 2 upcoming runs. First up would be the New Balance Real run. It's a 15km cross terrain run that's on the 8 november 2009. Haha. That run should be pretty ok since I've covered distances much longer than that. But the scary thing is the 700m beach run. Running on sand is indeed a nightmare. But cross terrain running should be fine, since I've ran at Pasir Laba outfield road sooo many times le. Haha. Alright then after that is the Standard Chartered Marathon. That's a challenge man. 42km. I havent run any distance near that yet. At the moment, the longest distance I've completed is 21km, and I've did it twice. Both under 2 hrs. Haha. So it should be good. Haha. Now to go for longer distances. Haha. Anyone interested in running with me near the East area please contact me. Haha. I'm running every alternate day, so yea.

Ok I've been watching lots of drama serials these days. Probably due to the extreme boredom in camp and at home. Haha. I've completed watching 痞子英雄, featuring 仔仔 and 赵又廷，which is damn nice. Haha. Quite a good detective show. It's about 2 police agents that are totally different in terms of personality and they are put together in a team. Haha. Quite cool and I think it's quite worth watching. Haha. And now I'm currently watching 幸福又安康, featuring 陈桥恩 and 蓝正龙. Seems like a really interesting show about a chinese herbal medicine tycoon, and how his daughter, son-in-law and grandsons want him dead, just to inherit is assets. And there's the tycoon's first love's granddaughter who's coming into the picture to inherit the assets. Haha. The plots seems good and in Taiwan, it's the top-rated chinese drama. Haha. so yupz, really addicted to it le. Oh and there's 超级星光大道5 grand finale coming up next week le. Haha. Really looking forward to it, although the winner seems quite obvious to me now. 孙自佑 seems like a sure win, due to his excellent vocals and drama background. Haha. And and there's also 李杰宇 who seems to have a pretty good chance too. Haha. Ok that brings me to my point. The level of competition in Singapore idol is soooo much higher than that in the taiwanese version 超级星光大道, but where's the standard? Many of the Taiwanese do not speak English too often and as a result, their pronunciation of the languange is poorer too. However, when I hear them sing even English songs, they sound better than many of the Singapore idol finalist (no malice intended). I've put up a video of 孙自佑 singing Jason Mraz's I'm Yours. Oh the video is actually part of the latest episode. Haha. The team is like theatrics and plays. Pretty interesting and entertaining, so please enjoy!



Ok another thing. I've started to read up on a few Chemical engineering modules already. Thanks Yanshan for the notes! Haha. The principles of chemical engineering (CN1111) seems alright. Not too difficult. But it's all PHYSICS! Haha. Lots and lots of formula and stuff. Haha. But still much easier than I had earlier expected. Haha. Many people have been saying how life-less chemical engineering students are due to the extra hard syllabus and heavy workload. Haha. From what I see so far, things are going better than expected, so pray for the best. I heard from Wentao that I can actually do advance placement exams at NUS even before entering uni to clear a couple of simpler modules like basic chemistry and biology. Haha. It would be a really good idea to do so as my course would be really taxing (double degree) and that I want to do an SEP, so I've gotta cram more modules per semester so as not to extend my course of study to more than 5 years. Haha. So I'm gonna check it out and if it's ok then why not? Haha.

Ok so thats about it for now. Pretty long and time consuming post. Haha. So till whenever I feel like blogging again, cya!

Have been a well spent day today. Haha. Afternoon went for driving.. then went for a good 21km run at the park connector. Ran from East Coast all the way to End of Bedok Reservoir, before returning back again. Damn nice run coz the scenery isn't repetitive like in the gym. Haha. Felt damn refreshed after the run man. Haha. No I'm not joking. It's real. Should try. Haha. After that went for a meal with my secondary school friends. Haha. Ate at this new Italian restaurant at Bedok Central coz Blk 85 hawker centre never open. Haha. It's going through some sort of renovation and stuff I guess. Haha. The food was pretty ok. Haha. And the place's nice. Haha. Yea. Then went for more desert at the central hawker centre. Haha. The watermelon bowl's DAMN COOL. Haha. I never knew there was such a thing sia. Haha. Anway really good. Haha. Always feel very comfortable going out with them. Haha. Loads of laughter and fun. Haha. It just feels great. FULLY satisfied. Yes I'm really full thanks to john and his black hole stomach. Haha.

Oh and 糖醋-排骨-饭！Haha. Damn retarded-ly funny. Haha.

Oh and Brownies will never be the same again. Anything --> 亮晶晶 --> Brownies. Oh no she's gonna kill me if she ever sees this. LOL.

Yes AOH is finally over. Haha. Ok the actual event was actually quite nice other than some incidents. Anyway AOH was a great success. Ferried over 4000 civilians for the combat ride. Haha. To think about it it's quite a achievement. Haha. Ok the vehicles are more or less sent back to 40SAR, so yea, it's almost the end of my NSF life. To think about it, time passed really fast. Anyways, I'm going to go for my 1-day-work-week from October 1st onwards. Haha. Isn't it great? Haha. Just can't wait.

My 2 years of commitment to the nation is more or less done. So the next phase of my life - or rather back to my original life. I'm going to spam my driving lessons to get my driving license ASAP. My motivation has arrived so yea, gonna work hard for it. After which I should start to think of my 7 free months after I ORD, and before my studies begin. Relief teaching? Perhaps coz of the good pay. Internships? I'm definitely thinking about it. Good for my CV. Tuition? Why not? Flexible working hours and good pay. The important think is to spend my 7 months meaningfully. Haha. Oh and not forgetting enjoying myself. Haha. Yes I need to have fun, free from the loads of crap from the army. Oh yes. Oh life's gonna be great.

Oh and getting into shape for my maiden marathon - the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. Got to run more. Have been pretty lazy these days. So far I've clocked up to 21km le. So yea, my training is well on the way. Haha.

Have been preparing my CV too. It's well about time I do some tidying of my achievements and stuff over my 12 years of formal education so far. Haha. And my notes n stuff, there's so much to tidy up. It's like as if after my A's, I left earth to go to a foreign land called the Army, and I'm gonna return back to earth soon, with everything still left in tact from 2 yrs ago. Haha. Really interesting. Haha. Alright whatever.

I'm just gonna enjoy my free and easy life before going back to the structured and busy studying days. Haha. So that's all for now. Will blog when I feel like it again! =D

Just came back from dinner with my family. Yupz was my birthday yesterday and I was stuck in camp all day. So yea, celebrated my belated birthday today. Ate at this Chinese restaurant in Bedok. It was kinda casual, but the food was great. Haha. Really enjoyed it. Haha. Anyway a big thanks to all you guys for your well-wishes! Really appreciate them.

Oh yes that brings me back to my birthday itself. I almost spent my entire birthday WAITING! That just shows how efficient the organising committee is. I wouldn't have mind it at all if my day was spent working. But WTH. It was spent waiting. And getting nagged at. Terrible. Yesterday was just terrible. Anyway, booked out late and went to makan with my bunk mates before going home.

Today was supposed to have my driving lesson, but because of some unforseen circumstances, the driving centre canceled my lesson last minute. So yea, was free for the entire afternoon. Haha. Niceee.. Oh my computer is finally back from the dead! Fantastic. Spent my entire afternoon restoring the stuff back into my PC. Haha. It's tough man. But yea, almost everything's up except for my songs. Haiz. Think it's time to get a portable hard disk to store and backup my stuff. All this restoring is hard work! Haha.

Have been watching 超级星光大道.. 真得越来越精彩了!现在正在播一对一PK 赛。 新加坡也有代表.. 陈迪雅，黄智阳与蔡艾嘉。还有PK选手倪安东... 还有新光5班的孙自佑，杨俊文... 超好听。真的建议大家去欣赏！

Ok back to my life. Army Open House rehearsals have been alright, if not for some people who know nuts about M_ _ _(numbers) but keep trying to correct(Or not.. I doubt..) us. And they can't provide us with the basic stuff and everything.. Only knowing how to complain and not appreciate our help. Oh and there's the M_ _ (rank) T_O_M_S (name) how's the most irritating of the lot. Ok whatever lah. Not gonna divulge too much information on my blog lest I get scrutinised for revealing too much classified information and by-passing the chain of command.(It doesn't matter though. Our feedback is never ever heard anyway.) All I can say is that I joined AOH hoping that it will be a good experience, but what I got is shit. I don't really mind burning weekends and working while others are resting.. doing all the maintenance and stuff.. but sometimes, all we need is a little appreciation bah. Ok whatever.

Eventful week. Or rather weeks. I can forsee more nonsense coming. We will see bah..

Alright I'm back. Haha. First thing's first. I've just started learning to drive. Had my first lesson in the evening. Haha. It was great. I'm taking the slacker route by taking automatic transmission. Haha. I'm not going to even think of learning manual coz it's a total waste of time. Haha. And in Singapore, I don't think you can find any cars with only manual transmission, other then the few sports cars around that I would never buy (or maybe never ever afford one.. They are ridiculously expensive!) Anyways drove from bedok to tampines on my first lesson! Kewl. I guess driving my ULTRA really helps. Haha. =D Looking forward to more driving lessons. Wee~

Anyway just signed up for the Standard Chartered Marathon in december. 42.125km is no joke. But I guess it just takes training to be able to clock that distance. Have been running quite abit late, preparing for army half marathon in like 2 weeks. Just did my best 15km run at PLC on friday with a time of 1h13min. Haha. I can do it. Haha. Alright I'm still an amateur in running, but I will still try my best. Haha. The satisfaction gained from running is just great. Oh and I retarded-ly went to sun-tann in camp, and because of that my poor skin is beginning to peel now. Lol. All the COC and AOH rehersals under the scorching sun has gave my an "excellent" smart 4 tann.. and its's.. ok nvm. Haha.

The thought of going for an overseas education is tempting me again. I haven't given up my place at Imperial yet.. and now I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge. Yes I've to think about school fees again. The costs really differs by quite a bit. Studying in Singapore would set me back by around S$32,000 for my course. I probably would get 2 degrees in 5 years. In the UK, it would cost me S$25,000... a YEAR! So thats S$100,000 in school fees in 4 years. But then again, I would get a direct masters of engineering. Hmm.. very tempting right. No until I add in the cost of living. Haha. The total adds up to ard S$150,000. Yes thats the price of a Mercedes C Class! Terrible. Haiz. Dilemma again. But if I can even get into Cambridge, I will really consider it man. Really tempting. Lets just wait and see bahz.

It's August already! Yay! Lol.. random=D

It's been like a month and a half since I last blogged. Life's fine. I've finally booked my BTT. Going for it next week. Haha. Yes finally. I dragged my feet a long time over this. Lol. In camp, I've been kept occupied with Chief Armour Officer COC Parade, and now Army Open House rehersals. Haha. Having things to keep me occupied makes time seem to pass much faster. Oh yes, with my nearly 30 days of off/leave, I have like only 3.5 months to ORD. Haha. Thats damn fast. Haha. I just love the 3 letters! Haha.

Anyway have been running quite a lot these days. I have been clocking on average 30km a week. Plus minus due to the amount of work I've got in camp. Preparing for AHM followed by my maiden marathon, the standard chartered marathon in december! Hahaha. Really looking forward to it. Running just gives me a sense of achievement. Haha.

Oh my computer has died! Yes. It died on me! Haha. Damn sian. So that's why I'm online less often these days. What to do. Don't know whether to buy new laptop or desktop, and not sure if it's the right time to buy. Haiz. But for now I would just survive on my bro's laptop. Haha. And perfect time, coz my bro's serving his reservice now, and right after that, he's going to Australia to meet his girlfriend. Haha. The laptop's mine! (... for now.. lol)

Oh booked out early coz going for unit cohesion at the Chevrons tmr. Damn sian coz it's at Jurong East. Haiz. What to do. But another night at home, and that's always a good thing. Haha. Ok that's all for now. =D

Another month has passed. Haha. Life's been pretty ok. Another month closer to my ORD! Haha. That's the most motivating thing in life now bahz. Haha. Alright. Oh I'm finally CPL PS TAN! Haha. Yes finally. They refuse to let us take IPPT at the 1 yr mark. So ended up dragging for a long time. Haha. ATP's done too. Didn't get marksman. But oh well, haha.. It's ok. Oh and finally done sending my vehicle to preservation le. It's a traumatising experience. Weeks of breaking track, due to the very very limited manpower. And the washing, greasing and everything. Pretty hard work. Oh and not to mention, the statements and settling of OVM. More than glad that everything's almost done. Oh and I guess hard work brings out the ugliest side of people. There's the "stand there looking at the sky and I don't feel guilty even if the whole world is working" look, the "I'm supposed to book in at 8am so if 8am then start work, then I should just excuse myself even if I reach early" attitude. Oh there's also the "I tell you straight in the face that I will report sick tomorrow even if I'm not sick coz I don't wanna work.. and you can do absolutely nothing about it" attitude. In NS, it's really discouraging even if you try to do your best, coz no one else gives a damn. People there tend to be fake to some extent, and weirder to a much greater extent. Some times you wonder how these people will survive in the corporate world that's waiting for them, and it makes you worry for your future. Imagaine if your colleagues are all like that. If working in NS for 2 years is bad enough, imagine many more years in the working world. Gosh. This is depressing. Was talking to a friend about it. It's sad. It's quite a common phenomena, no matter what level of management you're at in NS. It just proves my belief that signing on is simply not my cup of tea. And I've made the right choice.

But then again, on the positive side, it can't get any worst than that.

Hmm.. what else.. Oh yes, Went night cycling for the 1st time. Haha. With TMS people. It was a damn tiring day sia. Went for 10km run with my dad in the evening, before going for like an almost 40km cycle. Haha. But it was great fun though. Haha. Haven't gone out with them for quite some time le. It's really fortunate to still be in contact with friends many years after graduation. Haha. Oh and the youtiao and soy bean milk at geylang is pretty good! Haha. Great.



Oh and regular meet-ups with JC peeps. Haha. I'm so sorry for yesterday! Pangseh-ed ya guys! Was damn tired and wanted to book my driving. But something unfortunate happened. Oh wells. Wasted trip. And you guys never tell me you all going shukodu! If not I would have flew there! Haha. Hmm.. Now I'm hungry! Haha. Lets organise another foody outing! Haha. I so crave for good food! =X


Just went Parkway to get CD's. Bought Tank's new album 第三回合，and Rainie's album 半熟宣言. Bought the latter since it was on discount and quite worth it. Haha. Both albums are great, especially Tank's 全世界都停电， Rainie's 带我走 and 冷战. Haha. Niceeee. Tank has been MIA for quite some time due to health problems and stuff, but this album's quite worth the wait. Oh and Rainie's move away from her cutie-pie image and moving on to a more mature lady is indeed encouraging with improved vocals and style. Niceee. Haha.

Oh from the crowd at Parkway, I really can't see that Singaporeans are badly hit by the economic crisis. And so much for the H1N1 swine flu. What the hell. Haha. Crowd plus confined space equates to excellent proliferation and infection of viruses. Haha. But whether there's the swine flu pandemic or not, I hate crowds. Oh well.

Oh and the Black forest ice blended coffee from The Coffee Bean tastes absolutely weird. Haha. Still prefer my white chocolate ice blended coffee. LOL. Ok totally random. Haha.


Tank's 第三回合


Rainie's 半熟宣言

Ok nowadays training for Army Half Marathon (AHM). Haha. Have been trying to diligently run regularly. Started off this week with 7km runs on Tues and Thurs, followed by 10km run on Sat. Haha. Really tiring sia. But I guess it's a dream I really want to accomplish, to run a full marathon preferably by next year. Haha. Really shagged out. Haha. The initial stage of running is tough, but around midway through, it gets really mechanical and that's when it gets easier. Haha.

Oh and sadly I didn't get either the Firefly or NUS scholarship. Sad lah. But what I guess it's just too bad. Haha. Didnt get apply for the others because I feel that the job commitment attached to it is more important. I don't wanna get bonded to something that I don't like, or at least don't see myself working as in the future. Haha. Nothing much to get upset about. NUS is more than fine with me. Haha. Oh and I can still support myself coz it's local studies. So I'm really fine with it.

Wanna start planning on my ORD holiday soon. Haha. The economy's pretty bad, so I guess travelling wouldn't cost as much as before. Perfect. Haha. Taiwan? HK? Korea? All's great. Haha. Start planning! Haha. Oh and gotta start revising some of my work soon. If not how am I supposed to do relief teaching after I ORD? Haha. Things will only get better. I hope. Haha.

Alright, so much for now.

Oh and Happy 20th Birthday Betsy!