Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Scream


It was about 10pm, when a knock sounded through the door. I was preoccupied with reading online tech blogs, so I didn't pay much attention. When I turned my head later to check what my brother (he's the only other person at home at that time) wanted, I got quite a shock.


I Know What You Did Last Night

Ah, I nearly pissed my panshot him a blank look and went back to my reading. Apparently he bought some toys from his honeymoon (which includes a pair of masks and a remote-controlled helicopter). Hope he doesn't give my folks a heart attack when they come home later =P

With a twist, I'll be back at Pulau Tekong (for the next 3 days). The unit that I'm attached to from now till late September deals in rather restricted/classified activities, so I won't be discussing much on the current phase of my NS life.

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 11:09 PM

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Skin Deep


They say, beauty is only skin deep. For humans, probably so, but for every other thing, beauty is just a stick-on away. Check out the new look of my toys.


My iPod is Almost Frenzy


PSP? Just Simply Green

I soooo dig skins. Do you?

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 9:24 PM

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Monday, July 23, 2007

The Wedding Book


Bro's wedding has been concluded, and even as I type, he's enjoying his tropical honeymoon with his wife. The day started early (not for me though), and I got out of bed only minutes before the wedding entourage arrived. It was a typical and traditional tea ceremony. The afternoon was spent resting before going to the Raffles Country Club (the same place Mab threw her dinner at). Clichéd, but time really flies, especially so when you look back.

The solemnisation was held several hours before the dinner, and it was a quiet affair that was opened only to invited guests. The officer who presided over the solemnisation was a fairly eloquent and pleasant man from the ministry. It was rather unique as both the bride and groom took turns to deliver a personal speech to each other before putting on the ring for their partner.


A Solemn Affair


With A Twist


Parents & Children

So began the arrival of guests (mostly late as usual). When most of the guests were seated, the traditional arrival of the bride & groom followed, and the food was served. Managed to catch one picture of the bride as they walked past for the cake cutting and champagne pouring.


All Candid


Untitled

It was pretty much of a conventional Chinese wedding injected with some entertainment provided by Sis & Donald. You pretty much would know how it went generally. Some other miscellaneous pictures that I took:


Wedding Favour


Candle Holder


Appetising Starter

For most who don't know, I'm officially out of Tekong. It fills me with disappointment to say that my high expectations of myself have been let down. I am now awaiting to undergo training as a service medic. Before you congratulate/envy me for getting one of the slackest vocations, just know that I am not a malingering soldier. As such, I do not find it one bit humouring to be congratulated on this. I'm left with one last chance to pursue my ambition. My last desperate attempt.

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 9:51 PM

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

When Enough Doesn't Seem Enough


Ah back from my late night supper with Wilson and Andy. Last night also happened to be my brother's wedding dinner, so by my standards I'm pretty tired but something worth mentioning (in my opinion) is keeping me up at this hour...

Blogs, arguably one of the best innovations of the twentieth century, but only made popular in the past few years (mainly due to controversial posts). Be it commercial, non-profit organisations, or personal blogs, I believe that the authors have a certain level of influence towards the public (or end-users who visit their blogs). As as the Spiderman quote goes; With great power comes great responsibility.

If you're following, do take a look at the two below posts by Singapore's most well-known (and also controversial) blogger, Xiaxue:

Top Seven Most Disgusting Bloggers (In the Singapore blogosphere)

Creating the Top 7 disgusting bloggers blog

Blogs are akin to journals, but unlike its more intimate counterpart; the diary, blogs are open to the public. You can write about sensitive things in diaries and not worry about others knowing it because if they do get a chance to peep at your diary, it is already an intrusion of privacy. Blogs however (and obviously) are different. You can't write about how you plan to murder or bomb up a place without getting into trouble these days. For the sad people who post racist comments, they have already paid dearly for their wrongs.

In my opionion, Steven Lim's way of retaliating isn't a wise move. Besides being ignoble and low-class, it shows his maturity level as an individual. One may argue that his actions are instinctive, as Xiaxue's prior post was bound to draw fire. I'd slam Xiaxue's sensibility and character, but it's not like she has an amicable character to begin with.

Yes, her blog is personal. She has the absolute freedom of discussing anything (legal) she likes or abhors. However her choice of language and topics at (most) times, are horribly obtuse. Some people keep quiet despite having a certain level of dislike towards others, which can be observed as being politically correct, or hypocritical, depending on an individual's perception. Others openly slam the actions or character of their target, which again can be perceived as either being outspoken, or being tactless.

To play nice or not, it is up to every individual to decide. Looks like other than dengue fever and the influx of HIV infections, retardedirresponsible bloggers are among the focal problems that Singapore faces. I strongly believe that blogs serve a better purpose than to show the author's ugly side.

On a side note, Celeste Chen looks familiar. If she's from Christ Church Secondary School, then I think that I've seen her before - on the road side. She isn't exactly beautiful, but of course she's not ugly. Like they say, 路边的野花...

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 5:35 AM

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

PSP & Skins...


What's the deal with PSP? Firstly, the PSP Slim has been revealed, which expectedly follows its earlier precedents (PS1 and PS2). More importantly, I've got myself a PSP. Pretty unexpected actually, but based on my current condition, I guess my reason for buying one is justified. I'm officially out of action (training actually) due to a shin injury.

12 weeks of excuse from all forms of physical training also mean that I'm WASTING my time in Tekong, sitting in an air-conditioned office, talking to the commanders, playing chess, reading newspapers or trying to stay awake. I was initially very depressed over it, but I got over it and it doesn't seem that bad now. I will have to go for a recourse, which still promises me the hopes of getting into OCS which is one step closer to my goals. With so much free time on hand, I picked up a PSP for myself.

The PSP Slim is approximately 2/3 the weight and 4/5 the thickness of the current PSP, which to me doesn't make much of a difference. The other notable changes are:
Decreased power draw (depletes lesser battery)
New remote jack
Video output to display gameplay, movies, and photos to a TV
Built in memory doubled from 32 meg to 64 meg

I should have probably waited for the Slim to be released before buying it, but it's scheduled to be launched in September. I'm gonna be awfully bored if I wait till then, and I'm not a very patient person either. Here are some pictures of the PSP Slim taken from GameSpot:


Contrast


Available in 3 different colours

I've realised that for once, my iPod does not have a skin. This has prompted me to browse through the online gallery and make a purchase for both my nano and PSP. I haven't decided which ones to get, but here are my shortlisted selections:


Almost Frenzy


Amoebic


Believe


Fantasy Blue


Ghostdog


Stripes


Moo Moo Print


Energy Blossom


Neo Green


Pure Energy


Simply Green


Zen

My favourites are Almost Frenzy, Believe, Cowprint, and Simply Green. In case you're interested too, you can purchase skins at iStyles. Get your friends to make a bulk purchase to save on shipping fees! iStyles also stock on skins for other devices like DS Lite, iPhone, Laptops, PS2, PS3, Wii, and many more. Now I sound like their sales promoter, don't I?

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 1:21 PM

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Saturday, July 07, 2007

The First 21 Days of NSLife

14th June (Thursday)

First day of enlistment was quite a breeze. Settled some administrative stuff and got shaved. I'm now a sadproud baldie. I didn't eat much in the afternoon meal, not knowing that there would be no dinner. That made me one bald and hungry Bean that's craving for KFC. KFC KFC KFC.



15th June (Friday)

For every girl who has loved and left you, there are at least 10 other people who love you and won't leave you.
Something meaningful that I've picked up from the Orientation Officer (a.k.a OO) during his lecture on handling relationships while serving the Nation. I tend to fall asleep during lectures and this bad habit is really hard to kick.

Spent the afternoon securing the camou net to my helmet which made me work out a sweat. Other than that, there hasn't been much intensive training yet, so that leaves the recruits time to mingle around. It seems that my bunk has its fair share of 'colourful' people...



16th June (Saturday)

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. How true. I forgot to bring my 11B along for breakfast. Thanks to my bunk buddies, I didn't have to go hungry.

Been thinking 'bout this for a while. I'm not here just to survive BMT - I want to excel. Each time I look at the plaques in the canteen, I feel the desire to leave my name on those very walls - as a best recruit. Can I make it?



17th June (Sunday)

It's been a pretty taxing day. Had physical training as well as long hours of footdrill. The lectures provided a breather, but it's also a fight for me to stay awake.



18th June (Monday)

Today marks the start of our chin-up regime. I'm aiming for at least a silver, if not a gold for my IPPT. My Standing Broad Jump (SBJ) is a problem though. My company got vaccinated against typhoid, tetanus, and polio in the afternoon. Both my arms still ache a lil from the jabs.



19th June (Tuesday)

Slept through the insurance talk by Aviva. Nevertheless I took up a policy with them - not blindly though. Even before the talk I had already decided to take up the policy.



20th June (Wednesday)

As the days go by, the training intensifies, and every single muscle in me starts to ache. During our first route march, we sang songs to keep our morale high. Some songs reminded me of the people close to me. Guess who I thought of, to keep me going.



21st June (Thursday)

Most of my platoon mates were sweating it out, while I was among the ranks of the recruits with medical statuses. My body temperature climbed from 37.5ºC to 38.2ºC. If my temperature doesn't subside by the next morning, I'll be on the next ferry home. That might not seem to bad, since I get to see her. But I'd miss out on a lot of training and not know what's going on.



24th June (Sunday)

The past few days of being on Attend B (status) have been relaxing, but somewhat slow. While the medically fit recruits are having training, we are sweeping leaves off the ground. Most of the recruits on status are generally low on morale due to the menial tasks, on top of not being able to participate in the activities. I'm managing fine though. If I'm not able to remain self-motivated, how will I be able to motivate others?

The skies of Tekong are starry and beautiful at night. Pity that we'll never be able to be under this same sky though.



27th June (Wednesday)

Been having bad dreams of late...

Anyway, 1 more day to book out!



4th July (Wednesday)

Ran 3km during last night's training, went on a 4km route march with my Full Battle Order on this morning, followed by a 2.4km run test in the evening. I completed everything, but hurt my left knee badly. The Medical Officer (a.k.a MO) diagnosed my pain as a strain, since I didn't fall or knock into any objects. He's probably right, but it's a really bad strain 'cos I can barely walk without any help.



7th July (Saturday)

Of the 21 days so far in Tekong, I was on status for 10 days. I know it makes me seem like a fucking chao keng, but I didn't want it this way! I aced my First Aid/Evac Test as well as the Rifle Technical Handling Test, which is of some consolation to me.

We booked out early on Friday, which meant a long weekend! I didn't tell Christie 'bout it so that I could give her a surprise =P Went to do some shopping for supplies in the afternoon. When I got home, my Mom insisted that I visit the osteopath. Hence I got a bandaged knee now. My next few days are probably gonna be spent at nowhere else but home. How interesting.

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Penning my heartfelt thoughts at 1:52 AM

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