Christmas Eve Photo

Read more...

My new office mates

Read more...

The Uncertainties of Life

I'm sure everyone has heard of the worst natural disaster in recent history. It's really sad to know that so many people died. More than 20,000 people died and the figures will definitely rise. Here, we are all living in Singapore safe and sound, sleeping our heads off when the disaster took place at 8 am. Lives gone in a blink of a second, loved ones lost before they can say good bye. Watched news on Channel 5 and listened to the survivors' encounters with real sorrow and pity for the people who perished. Maybe this is a punishment on the human race for the recent spat of terrorist activities. Terrorists killing innocent victims in Thailand, JI terrorists constantly organising bomb attacks on Western affiliations, companies and embassies in Indonesia, Muslim radicals targeting US army in Iraq and a long list continues.

Life is definitely uncertain so just enjoy life and not let anger, negative thoughts and stress deprive the happiness that we all are entitled to. What good can you achieve with constant arguments, disagreements or negativity that we habour against certain people? Nothing! Anyway stress is really harmful to our bodies as it decreases our immunity against diseases, decreases our libido, makes us more prone to acne and makes our bodies age faster. So just be happy everyday. Laughter can double the production of antibodies and make us look more radiant. I sound like a health freak don't i? Haha.... I think i sound more like a doctor :)

Speaking about laughter, I watched Kung Fu Hustle on Sun and it's really damn funny and entertaining. The show is really a blast and watching it will be a great way to de-stress. Stephen Chow is really a comedic genius. Well, also on the topic of stress, i was giving myself a lot of pressure when i was at work in Mindef today. The assignments that needed to be done, the large amount of details required to type the reports, the lack of information on how to do them had almost killed me. A part of it was because of my lack of sleep. I wasn't sleeping enough these few days because of my bad sleeping habits and this computer that tempted me to give up some of my sleeping time. Yesterday night was my cousin's wedding so i wasn't entirely at fault ;)

I haven't exercised in like 2 to 3 weeks and I'm still as slim as before, muahaha. Ya, of course i have a high metabolism since my appettite is huge. I just hoped that my work in Mindef wasn't so busy that i don't have much free time to exercise. I wonder what my uni mates would think if i told them i was from Guards while looking like a unhealthy bamboo. Well, my tan from my swimming session last time haven't faded completely yet so i guess i still look quite healthy and not too obvious that i don't exercise much nowadays. It's 12 midnight again and i haven't gone to bed, it's about time.

Read more...

Christmas!

Yesterday had a department celebration in the morning at a condo near bukit panjang plaza. Arrived there at 7.30 am to unload the props, set up the decorations, arrange the chairs and rehearse the skit before the actual celebration which starts at 9.30 am. Was very tired coz only slept 4 hours the night before. The celebration was quite well organised and it was rather enjoyable. Took some photos using my digicam too. We played some games and ate some food. There was also a christmas gift exchange and i got a gift from Daryl who bought chocolates for me. I bought Junchen a cute little egg litter bin. The event ended at 11.30 am and we spent half an hour to remove all the decorations and move all the chairs and tables back to the original positions. Went back home after that.

Met my sec sch friends at Chinatown later in the afternoon coz we wanted to go somewhere less crowded than Orchard area and they wanted to buy some cheap chinese cds. Took them to the cheap cd store and CK department store. We waited at Mac for another friend to arrive and headed to the open air hawker centre for dinner. The servings were quite small and we kind of regretted going there. Headed to check out the prices of KTV and were turned off immediately (at least $20 per person). We decided to go Orchard to play pool. Took quite a lot of photos outside PS before going monster cue at Meridien. We were quite lucky to get a table considering the amount of people there. My lack of sleep seemed to affect my superb skill that night, haha. Nevertheless, we played for 3 hours and had our countdown in the entertainment center. Left at 12.10 am to check out if there are any events or happenings outside, but all we got is childish teenagers carrying "snowflakes" and confetti spray running around and spraying innocent people. I was really pissed when someone sprayed it on the left side of my face. Was wearing contact lenses and felt kind of worried about it getting into my eyes as i was afraid it would contaminate the lenses. It was still really crowded and quite a lot of policemen were patrolling the area. Went to another open-air hawker centre beside Specialist Shopping Centre for supper. The food is really expensive there. The cheapest is $3.50 chicken rice while most are priced at $4 and above. Don't go there and waste your money people. Headed for home after that feeling really tired.

Met up with Liyuan and Daryl today to watch Ocean's 12 at Choa Chu Kang. Daryl came around 15 minutes late for the movie (serves him right for being "time-conscious") but we went into the theatre first and passed the ticket to him when he arrived. The sound system there was bad and a wind sound was constantly coming out from the speakers. Almost fell asleep during the beginning of the movie. Had nothing to do in CCK after the movie and everyone left for home. Went Orchard again in the evening to watch Nobody Knows with my best friend. The movie is really good and i even teared during the heartwrenching moments. By the way, the 14 year old boy who acted in that movie won Best Actor for Cannes Film Festival this year, defeating reigning champ Tony Leung. Everyone should watch that movie. Definitely one of my best movies this year. Went Mac for supper, missed the last train back home and took a night rider instead.

Read more...

2nd, 3rd & 4th Day in Mindef

2nd day in Mindef was especially awful for me coz i was bombarded with tons of things to do from my mem. I had to do computer reports of all sorts, file documents for many regulars and photostat many pieces of paper. The computer reports were the worst as i don't really know what she asked me to do and had to ask many times before knowing exactly what she wanted. The correct template had to be fished out from thousands of documents in the different computer drives. Extracting info from the case file was really quite hard too. We had to flip through many pages before finding a small part of what we needed to type in the report. After that, we still have to make some Christmas props. I was totally stressed out and demoralised after being bombarded with many things that i have little knowledge of doing. I was thinking about life back in 3 Guards when all we did was eat, sleep and watch tv during the battalion lull period. We did not have to pay for our meals, have a comfortable bed to lie on, can play my gameboy freely, can play my music whenever i want and do not have to waste money on transport costs. I did overtime until 6 pm that day coz of the amount of work piled on our shoulders. I headed to Causeway point to buy a Christmas gift for our department's Christmas celebration on Fri. We will be going to an officer's condo near Mindef to have a celebration. A skit will be performed, some games will be organised and refreshments will be provided. But the bad thing is that we have to reach there at 7.30 am, that means i have to wake up at 6.20 am, sian. Have been really lacking sleep these few days, always sleep on the bus until someone wakes me up.

3rd day in Mindef is rather enjoyable coz my mem was clearing leave and not around. I completed the reports mem had assigned me to do the day before in the morning and was doing them in peace which is the more efficient way for me. Got nothing much to do after that and approached Benjamin, my department's most hardworking NSF for work to do. He had to do so many things that i think 3 people would be the more appropriate number to finish his load of work. I was happily sorting a thick pile of documents waiting to be filed to the various personal files. I completed them within quite a short time and demanded more work from Ben. He was really thankful for my help and i was really happy to be useful in my new environment. I mainly did filing and paperwork which are much easily to do than the computer reports. Sent some emails for him too. Went back on time on Wed at 5.30 sharp finally after 2 days of overtime. Was watching Amazing Race at night and did not have time to write all these.

4th day in Mindef was less stressful although my mem was not on leave today. She was bombarding work to me as usual but i have a much clearer picture of what she wanted. A busier day compared to yesterday but my stress has gone down to tolerable levels. Had to despatch some files to Chief of Army office and G2 army, went to a building 500m away get my SAF card password for my computer account, typed many reports and did some filing. I do not like to stay in the office for a long period of time so did not mind going to different places. Although i have many things to do, i was more at ease with the office system and have a clearer picture of what to expect. My mem is a really nice woman although her instructions are always unclear and likes to ask people to help her do work. We were laughing uncontrollably after i misspelled a superior's name to be Pow, instead of Pao and imagined her as a Prisoner Of War. Lian Guo was on MC today and was not able to share my workload, but i was perfectly fine with it. Had a huge list of things to do next Monday too. Went off slightly late today and met my JC friends at night for some late Christmas shopping. We spent most of the time talking instead of genuinely looking for gifts. Walking along the extremely packed Orchard road did not help our progress too. We left at around 11 pm and my good friend Derrick sent me home. CTE was jammed for a short while. I'm gonna be extremely tired next day. Have to wake up at 6.20 am when it's close to 2 am now.

Read more...

1st day in Mindef

Ok, first day going Mindef and felt like lost sheep among many crabs, haha. Woke up so early today at 6.30 am. The whole area is very big and contains at least 3 camps. We have to take a mini-bus from the main guard room to another guard room and were wandering around some buildings before we found Mindef building. Asked some people where Joint Manpower Department is and were wandering around basement 1 before we found people from the department. We were all slightly nervous when we found out that we will be separated to different sub departments in JMPD. An attractive woman was introducing us to the department and describing the jobscope to us. Everyone in the department is really nice and friendly to us. Luckily, most of us are in the same office although separated into different sub departments. Me and Lian Guo received our 1st task, which is cutting a star and sticking cotton wool on a cardboard wing as some Christmas props. Finished them in a jiffy and went for tea-break which is between 10 to 11 am. Met up with David in the canteen and he was going for a department cohesion later in the day. The canteen is huge with 2 levels and have around 16 stalls which sells rather cheap. Had a tou suan for 80 cents. After that, i was basically staring into blank space, disturbing Daryl with some stationery and reading the news on the intranet. Time passes really slowly when there is absolutely nothing to do. Found some Landy photos and some sexy girls' photos in someone's account. There happens to be a number of encrypted folders containing photos which me and Daryl suspects to be p*rn. Junchen is rather busy during that time coz he was tasked to prepare a conference room for a meeting and had to be the kopi boy. Lunchtime is between 1 to 2 pm and we headed back to the huge canteen again. The bad thing about going canteen is the trouble of going to another building and getting past the security gates. Afternoon was rather busy coz we had to transfer 3 cupboards full of files to another room. We made 3 staffs for the Christmas props using newspapers after that. Left for home at around 5.45 pm. Slept in the bus until people woke me up when i should be getting down the bus at the interchange.

Read more...

2 movies in 1 day again

Wore contact lenses the 1st time going out. Eyes felt uncomfortable constantly. Went out with my female friend whom i haven't met up for quite some time. Watched Alexander together and spent around 3 hours in the cold theatre. Later went to walk walk and have some desserts at Cafe Cartel, one of my favourite restaurants. She is having dinner at home and i sent her to Somerset mrt before joining up with my sec sch friends who are already at orchard. Had dinner, played pool and watched Phantom of the Opera late at night. Was a bit tired coz slept quite late yesterday as usual. The cast in the musical sang extremely well and i really admire and envy their voices. They are simply talented. Eyes felt more and more uncomfortable coz i wore it for more than 12 hours today. Took the night rider home coz sadly my sec sch friends don't have cars, unlike my jc friends. Really tired from the lack of sleep and discomfort from wearing contacts. Must be the brand of my contacts not very good i guess. That's why it's quite cheap. My sec sch friend recommends Basch & Lomb and Focus contact lenses which he claims are better than most other brands. Feeling really tired but still spent some time to write movie reviews and this post. Gonna zzzzzz very soon.

Read more...

Tired, more tired and tirednessss

Booked in yesterday night to help out in the arrival of the 12 mono-intake 3 guards guys. Couldn't really sleep in camp coz during the days of leave got quite a lot of sleep, haha. Have to wake up 5.45 am today to eat breakfast and get ready by 6.30 am. Tired lar, but last time eating 3 guards cookhouse food so nvm lar. Last time dunno why so many people complain 3 guards cookhouse food bad, actually i think not bad already lor, many other camps are worse except for SAFTI lar, of course. One of my friends even got food poisoning in Chong Pang camp from SFI cookhouse, luckily we NTUC ones.

Time to do our jobs, we were in charge of marshalling vehicles that came in between the time frame of 7.30 am to 11 am. It's quite slack lar, point here point here and ask them to go to a training shed for security check. But after that, we have to empty jerry cans and consodilate white tape which were both used for demarcating parking lots. Not very xiong either but sometimes the sun was scorching and we perspired quite a lot. Too long didn't do physical activities already so body not very accustomed to physical exhaustion.

We finished everything by 12 noon and were allowed to book out. Tons of stuff in my cupboard are waiting to be packed and i spent about 45 mins to clear all my stuff. I had already asked my mom to fetch me so that i won't be dragging 40kg of assorted items on the bus and mrt. Liyuan came back to take the rest of his stuff too coz he is going Mindef after all. Felt quite happy for him of course, luckily i helped him to ask encik about the situation. I tugged at the fully packed luggage duffer bag, carried my squeezed-to-the-brim civi bag, the old duffer bag containing my field pack and sbo, and 2 plastic bags with a bolster and a giant spiderman poster which Jian yu lovingly gave me, hehe. Whenever i passed someone, they asked me whether i was gonna ORD coz of the amount of things i was carrying. Even my mom was shocked. I was sweating from head to toe after dragging them from SP coy to outside the guardroom. I was so damn tired that i threw them all on the ground upon reaching the car. Daryl and Liyuan hitched a free ride home too and the car was fully laden with bags, bags and more bags.

We went for lunch at Bedok before going back though. Quite nice of my mom to treat them although i expected it lar, haha. After that, we went back to the ultra squeezed car and had an uncomfortable ride home. As expected, i was able to sleep on the front passenger seat despite the huge bag stacked on my lap. Too tired lar, cannot help it. After sending Liyuan and Daryl home, me and my mom went to our new house which is very close to Daryl's private estate. Bought lunch for dad who is working at the new house. I suddenly remembered that i left my beret and jungle hat in camp. Went back home after that.

After dragging the stuff back to my flat, i was freaking tired but managed to pack 75% of them although my room is still quite messy. Had a shower and went to read my daily dosage of Straits Times. Went to sleep after about 15 mins.

Read more...

Contact Lenses

Went to collect my contact lenses and specs today but my specs was not ready yet. Tried putting contacts for the first time in my life today. I took quite some time to put the contacts onto my eyeballs. Learnt how to use both my hands to force open the eyelid so that the cornea is fully exposed, then put the contact lense on top of it. It's really hard in the beginning. My eyes would flinch everytime the side of the lense touched them. It took some time before getting used to the discomfort of touching my eyeballs. Both my eyes were red and teary from the practice. When i finally got both contacts on my eyes, the feeling is a bit uncomfortable and if i kept blinking, the discomfort will stay there. The discomfort does subside after a short while but a small amount still lingers. Time to practice removing the contacts. Firstly, i have to force open my eyelids wide open again and use my thumb and the 1st finger to squeeze the sides of my cornea to remove the contacts. It was hard, using one finger to put the contacts on is bad enough, now i have to use 2 fingers. Nevertheless, i tried and tried and my eyes became sore and teary. Success came after around 15 tries. I heaved a sigh of relief to get those things off my poor eyes. Time for second practice to confirm my ability of wearing contacts. I put them on in less than 3 tries. Quite pleased with my new-found ability, i become more confident and took the contacts off successfully at the 1st attempt. I guess it just comes naturally with enough practice and correct technique. Next up is cleaning and handling the contacts properly. A multi-purpose solution is provided to clean them. Putting the contacts on the tip of my finger, i have to rub it on palm of my hand damped with the solution. After that, rinsing the contacts with the solution is essential before putting them in a small container. Cleaning the contacts is necessary after every use to prevent protein, dirt and bacteria accumulation on the lenses. We are also advised not to wear them for more than 12 hours everyday or wear them while sleeping.

Read more...

TV Shows

Just watched the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu, final episode of America's Next Top Model and 2nd last episode of My Mighty In-Laws. Sianz, don't have much shows to watch next week liao. The 1 million dollar winner of this season's Survivor is a cunning, hypocritical liar who lied and sneaked his way to the top. Those who were honest and have stronger moral values were defeated by the lying and conniving people. Some people were willing to do anything for 1 million. I wonder if i were in their positions, would i lie blatantly and conspire against the people who have trust in me. Probably not, i don't lie very well i think, haha... But it just stirs my emotions coz the winner is not someone you can respect or look up to and yet be the ultimate winner. It's just not very healthy for kids to watch, the conspiracies, the backstabbing and the numerous lies do not serve them much educational values.

I love to watch my Mighty In-laws coz it's so funny. Zoe Tay's performance is absolutely one of her career's best. The suppporting cast is highly talented also. Dunno whether the next 9 pm show will be nice or not. Currently following Amazing Race as well. More interested in reality shows i guess.

Went ktv again today. Was freezing cold inside the small room. Spent a lot of money in Chinatown today. Bought Christmas cards, hair shaver, body foam, facial wash, cd storage slips, etc. Gonna spend another 100+ bucks coz i'm collecting my contact lenses and specs tmr. For people who are gonna get new specs or lenses, go Optical 88 coz their Christmas promotion very cheap. Sianz......need to save more money. I want money money money.

Read more...

Cars.....

Slept most of the day today. Went out until quite late on sat. Sang ktv in the morning, played pool in the afternoon, went holland v for dinner, went toa payoh for movie National Treasure and finally went Chomp Chomp for supper. That's why i love going out with my jc classmates. Quite a lot of them have cars! Always got people to fetch me home after midnight. Make me so envious sometimes. Go anywhere in Singapore very convenient. Recently the price of cars have fallen quite a lot but COE have risen a bit. Sianz.....if only i have the money and class 3 licence. Contemplating whether should take school or private for driving lessons. Should be private lar, wanna save more money. Dunno whether Bk Batok or SSDC better driving school also. Most of my classmates who went SSDC passed the 1st time they took the test. But next time going Mindef so maybe Bk Batok might be a better option coz can go there for lessons after work. No way i'm going Ubi man, so far from my house and traffic there so bad. My sis only passed the 4th time she took the practical driving test there.

Wanna ask my dad to buy a car after i get a licence so that my sis and i could share. But we are at different universities, so not very good. Should be driving on alternate days then. But recently my dad doesn't earn much money lar, so dunno whether can afford another car or not. I don't mind a second hand car as long as it's in good condition. Got so many car models also dunno what to decide if next time gonna buy one. Honda Jazz and Fit, Mitsubishi Colt, Nissan March, Hyundai Getz and Matrix, etc. It will be quite cool to drive a car around in campus, can make more friends also. But if staying in hostel next time then maybe owning a car might not be that useful. See in the future how lar, maybe next time my friends scared to sit in my car coz i fall asleep easily. Haha........

Been reading Classified in Straits Times lately, looking for any high paying jobs. Gonna ORD soon mah, should be claring leave in Feb next year and having a 5 month break before Uni and should be finding my 1st job. Hope that it pays well lor. But dunno whether people will hire me or not coz i don't have any prior job experience. Hoping to find a job that is not too sian, not have too long working hours, got nice colleagues and superiors, interesting jobscope and most importantly good pay. I quite demanding right? Actually not really lar, as long as pay good, i can neglect everything else. I actually quite eager to go out and work instead of settling for my meagre sum of NS pay.

Life after NS will be challenging nevertheless but it will be another chapter in our lives and the experience that we gain will definitely be fruitful.

Read more...

Mindef

Been quite busy doing other things lately so ok, back to writing my online diary. Today just found out that the 5 of us going Mindef on 20th Dec. I was like huh? It went one big round and we going to Mindef after so many speculations and such a long wait. I don't really mind staying in 3 Guards though. I tend to be wary of new environments and would be rather happy to continue doing things that we are so used to doing. The rest are overjoyed of course, but i was actually having mixed feelings. As a more emotional person, i of course felt attached to the people in 3 Guards, my platoon mates in RP platoon, cannot see them next time in camp anymore. But life goes on mah, we all still gonna ord soon in a few months time. Ok, 20th onwards gonna have new superiors, new jobscope, new environment and new colleagues. Heard from some people in RP platoon that David said it's really shiok at Mindef coz nothing much to do. Well, this might just be the preparation for me to enter the workforce from the time period between ORD and entering university. Got tons of stuff still in my cupboard waiting to be shifted out.

Clearing leave from next mon to thur. Friday will be going back camp for the last time to help out in the welcoming of the new SUAY 3 Guards 12th mono-intake people. Maybe i'll be a bastard and tell them i'll gonna ORD soon and they are gonna suffer for 2 more years, hahahaha..... joking only lar.

Today went back camp to do area cleaning. Swept up so much dust in the unused 4th level bunks of SP coy. Cleared piles of empty shampoo and body foam bottles, and lots of wet, dirty underwear from the most sickening level 3 main toilet, eeeeuuuuu......... Tried to ask Encik why Liyuan not going Mindef anymore. Felt quite bad for Liyuan coz just because of his condition, why is he rejected a place in Mindef? Paul is taking over Liyuan's place. Don't know why Encik did not put Liyuan in the list since he was chosen so long ago. He already very suay to get spontaneous neumotherax which caused him to be hospitalised more than 2 weeks and now he is not going Mindef. Before he was hospitalised, the scout platoon was still together, now, all of us have been separated in RP, GCC and Mindef. It's just quite a lot of changes in Nov and Dec. Did not really have the chance to talk to the whole platoon before that coz was doing ops bacinet in sembawang wharves while most of the rest were in changi airport. I wonder what the GCC guys are doing since GCC is over liao.

Went out with 4 other army mates yesterday to watch Blade: Trinity. Ok only lar, Blade 2 was much better. This movie is just trashy entertainment. Went to have dinner at Cavana which offered very cheap set meals at only the price of $5.50 which includes soup and drink. Cheaper than fast food and still got giant plasma tv showing Christina Aguilera's concert. Going to sing KTV tmr morning. Training my voice to be a future Singapore Idol, haha........no lar. Meeting my JC mates for dinner later in the day. Probably go watch a movie after that.

Downloaded a lot of MP3 lately, downloaded Usher's Bilboard winning album, Confessions, Destiny's Child new album, Destiny Fulfilled, Eminem's Encore and U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Haven't had the chance to listen to all of them yet. Currently downloading Mayday's critically acclaimed latest album. I'm a big pirate, haha.......

Ok lar, wrote so much liao. My body quite tired coz today woke up quite early to do area cleaning. Zzzzzz............

Read more...

Quizzzz

Cb major - life is full of complications,
commitments and organization. You love to make
sure everything is just perfect, but sometimes
this can cause you to fall over your own feet.
A slightly unsociable key: why Cb major when
you could be the identical B major? It has less
accidentals.


what key signature are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Read more...

My 1st Post!!!

hehe..... my 1st post leh, ok nothing. Just read my army mate jian yu's blog and was inspired and thus created this virgin blog.......ooooooo......... clearing leave from this wed to next tue, or rather asked to clear leave for this period of time

Not going Mindef anymore lor, actually i don't feel anything. Kind of expected it already, so late and no news. Actually should be us one, but that CO LTC Tay Boon Kai brought the guys he knew to mindef with him instead of the 5 of us chosen by Encik. I wanna complain but over already so no choice lar.

Just took my advance theory driving test today! Wasted my money on the e-trial thingy. Shouldn't have spent money on it. Quite stupid lar, the e-trial only got 2 questions similar to the actual test, not really useful. The actual test quite easy lar, i only confirm got 1 question wrong. Guys, for e-brake do you need to brake hard? if your answer is yes, then you are WRONG, haha.... nvm, same as me. You should not brake too hard so as to prevent the wheels from locking. The rest of the questions should be correct lar. Thinking of when to book the practical lessons, wait til the results come out 1st lor.

When i was going back home from bedok interchange, i took 168 and this bus was so rocky, i think there was some tyre problem but the driver kept on going. When it was going after a certain speed, the bus would bounce up and down like going through an extremely uneven road. But i slept somehow during the journey home. I just like taking buses coz they are more comfortable than mrt for me.

Wondering how to spend my time during the leave days, go sing ktv (My latest craze), definitely going to watch movies, hang out at Orchard road, and probably swim if the weather is good. Going to watch Blade: Trinity on thur with some army mates. Hope that it'll be as good as Blade 2.

Time check: 01.25 am Feeling quite tired but as an owl, i'm used to the tiredness lah. I think i'll explore the functions etc, quite interesting.

Read more...