:)

2008-05-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

a call for CHANGE*

moved to: www.thegreentomato-mateen.blogspot.com

2008-05-17T02:54:00.000-07:00

this place needs change.

it is boring.

moved.

-end-

2008-04-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

people, people.

are we or are we NOT going for a holiday together???

bangkok? bintan??langkawi? or HongKong???

and yes, YOU - CAROL. WE will send u off! currently, we're working very closely with secret agencies to get our needed information :) *hush hush.

2008-04-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

seriously, david cook

2008-04-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

dinner at parkviewHotel, S'pore

Happy 19th Birthday Hariz! :)

2008-04-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

"LOVE is too strong to say it too early, but too beautiful to say it too late.."

- from someone over the radio, interesting!

i have lots of things to say, it's just that it can be really hard trying to pen down all that emotions, feelings and excitement. It doesn't help that the students i'm teaching are forever keeping my mind busy thinking of how to make lessons more interesting and engaging. I think that's the beauty of relief teaching. You don't really have to bother yourself too much with admin stuff (although i'm the form teacher of 3 Opal with Suliana as my co-form teacher, which is 3E1..hahahaha!) and to a certain extent, academic performance. Hence, you have fewer responsibilities, enabling you to simply teach - making lessons fun and inspiring. However, not ALL relief teachers are enjoying the perks of relief teaching, for instance our dear Mr Ilyas, Nixon and the overly stressed but very dedicated Farid. Their time-tables are crazy relative to mine and i'm freaking GRATEFUL! hahaha. in a way, i do enjoy teaching but i think relief teaching is as far as i would go because i won't forgive myself if the students i teach fail to meet their expectations. nonetheless, relief teaching (well, at least for me was FUN!) it's just that i'm most of the time pretending to be busy and stressed-out cos everyone around me is! lol.

favourite performance - american idol.

it's seriously, gonna be a battle of the davids this time round. both of them are freaking good and seriously, no one deserves the top 2 positions besides them :) this is probably the best american idol season ever! i'm an american idol fanatic! oh, and david cook's rendition of "always be my baby" by mariah carey was awesome! and mariah carey's touch my body is addictive!

i was reading carol's blog and she posted something rather interesting: her personalised top 10 things to be done before she turns 25. and gosh, they are really coool stuff. i think having lists are fun and i've decided to have one of my own - my top 10 favourite places in Singapore (since i love this country of mine to the max! lol.)

oh, by the way i've deiberately left out the more over-rated chill out places such as esplanade's rooftop garden, marina square's open stairs,vivo city's open gallery and erm, cafe delma. yeap. so here goes:

TOP 10 favourite Hangouts!

#1 - the newly-opened Starbucks under the esplanade bridge. the view is great at night and it has a very cosy and nice feel to it. ideal for cam-whoring! you'll be able to have a view of the floating platform, the Singapore flyer as well as the surprisingly beautiful structure of the esplanade bridge. however, it can be quite hot for some strange reason. probably cos it's not really windy.

#2 - Fullerton waterboathouse roof. There's some posh dinning place on the first level, but don't worry..that's not the place. There's access to the roof from a small staircase situated just infront of the restaurant. There's really nothing much to do here, except to enjoy the view and the moment. You'll be facing the esplanade theatres with the old merlion site as well as the view of Singapore's CBD on your left, one fullerton on you right and The Fullerton Hotel itself behind you. The view is greaaaat, especially at night when it's not scorching hot! For those of you who caught The Leap Years movie, tadaaa..this place was actually featured!

#3 - the Greek Theatre of Singapore Flyer. Wonderful place to relax while allowing the jazz bands(only on weekends and friday nights) to serenade you with the coolest-relack-one-corner songs with their instruments such as the saxophone! super coool - try getting them to play imagine by john lenon and seriously it would have been a perfect night. oh, the best part is, the place is rather windy! with the singapore flyer as the background as well as funky changing coloured lights that lined the center of the outdoor theatre, it's definitely one of my favourite places to chill. oh, and if you're hungry go grab a bread biscuit (which costs only about $1.30) and probably a medium pack of cajun fries from the Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits Restaurant which is halal, surprisingly!

#4 - Ben & Jerrys at Dempsey Hill. That place is freaking freaking cool.The ambience is great. There will be someone playing the guitar at one corner, singing . I think the great part about that place is that it has that country feel to it. The place is simply, different. You got to experience it yourself :)

#5 - Siglap's Gelare. There's this particular street in siglap that has a striking resemblance to Holland Village. There's really nothing special about this particular Gelare, except that it's where guards specs would run and jog from bedok camp to that place( a good 5km) on Tuesday nights, to enjoy some delicious waffles and ice-cream. It's a nice place to simply relax and have a chat. i miss those times!

#6 - Old Merlion Site. This place, not very popular with most people has turned into a pretty park. It's the simplicity that amazes me. Once again, this place offers a great view facing the river. It makes you reflect on a lot of stuff. There's nothing fun about the place and..unless you feel like having some private, reflective moment for yourself , or you're having that feeling that the entire world is crumbling on you then probably this is the best place to go. Think of all the struggles that our early immigrants had to endure, working so blady hard on this particular river to make ends meet and you'll realise that whatever problems you had is seriously, nothing as compared to many people around the world in the past and present.

#7 - Swissotel, Equinox. The place is damn nice and you'll be just too dumb-founded to do anything else besides staring at the beautiful view of Singapore. The most common misconception about the place is that you'll have to pay a hefty sum even before you step on the 75th floor. You don't have to pay if you go before 5pm! and the best part is, you can stay there for as long as you want. So, go catch the view of our island during sunset. it's freaking nice :) However, the cost of the drinks for instance normal soft drinks and fruit juices can be a bomb! and only 21 year olds can enter! lol.

#8 - Mr Tea, a mall beside PricewaterhouseCoopers building @cross street. The tea is great and it's priced reasonably as compared to the over-rated Mr Teh Tarik stall! There's a huge variety of drinks and tea available. The place looks normal but the ceilings are quite cool because they hang a lot of inverted flowers on them and they look interesting :) oh, and don't bother going there during lunch hours, from 11-2pm weekdays cos it will take forever to get your drink!

#9 - Macritchie's River Mouth at lower mandai. The view is spectacular and awesome. However, going there can be a challenge as it requires some bashing off the normal tracks and probably only Sispec trainees would know that place as that is where we slack and rest without the warrant officers finding out!

#10 - Coffee Bean at Republic Plaza, raffles place. Have breakfast there. Sit and enjoy the view of everyone rushing to work while you enjoy your muffin and coffee, reading the morning news. It's really cool :) lol.

random.

2008-04-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

a once in a lifetime thing.

equinox cafe. -the Top floor of Swissotel Singapore, The Stamford-
veerry cooool :) thanks shaun for the "chat" as well as the treat, lol - applejuice and wedges.

it's quite(really) lame but then again, the view was suppeeeeeeerrb! (:

100% ORIGINAL

FUN-O-rama, acjc08

look at the guy trying to prevent me from taking a shot of the formula1 car. what a ____, you should have at least covered the entire car with black cloth! lol. btw, if i were to take a picture with the car, the price will be 10bucks. like, wtf. typical of acjc. but i still love ac though!

2008-04-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

just where are you??

-sighs-

2008-03-24T01:10:00.001-07:00

thaaaaank YOU!

to everyone who have made my 21st birthday surprise a meaningful one. venue didnt really matter and it was the company that made it all fun and significant. i love you guys, the videos as well as the surprise - actually, i love EVERYTHING! (: once again, thank you.

to: fahrul, hariz, shasha, daniel,my parents, all my aunts&uncles, haqiz, syahidah, sheila, luqman, danish,hafiz, dinnie, aqilah, arina and kak yan

thank you. for all the effort, decorating my place with streamers of red blue and yellow - for a very acsian theme surprise party, the cakes & brownies, the steamboat buffet, the sandwiches, the satays, the icejelly cocktails, the lovely strawberries, NEMO stuffed with 10283748kg of sweets, the taboo game, the poppers, the balloons, the horrible singing session, the video - after countless drafts to ensure that i love it (which i seriously do!), the old unglam photos, the quotes, the talk and of course, the company! thanks for doing this for me. i really do appreciate it and no amount of thank you-s or gratitude can match the weeks of careful planning and preparations (the fact that you guys didn't sleep at all the night before!) i love you guys :)

the cousins that made it all happen

the preparations - as you can see, fahrul is trying very hard to fix those streamers, while hariz, daniel and shasha were working hard to come up with the best video!

to: ilyas, este, carol, meowzhi, khai, fidah and fyedee

thank you for the beautiful theme - kisses. i love it all : the colours, the poster, the 53426272290 lips, pictures, cranberrysprite drinks, candles, door gifts, very memorable video!, the chat, the food, the chicken, the lip prints, the decor(gosh, i love them), the cool cake - it was really not that bad, carol!, the invites, the surprise, the lips collage, the cam-whoring and all the effort put in, just for me! you guys are really the best bunch of friends that i have and no one can ever replace that special place in my heart! (here is the part, where you must go: awwwwww!) lol. and if only samantha and fye was there, it would have been more memorable! but i love you guys anyway :) thank you once again!

to: alvin, ameer, john and hamizan

of tasty garnishes and sour lasagna.

thank you for making time to celebrate my birthday, especially alvin who made the extra extra effort to plan all that. the place was cool and the food was greeeat! love them. thanks for the book and that lovely card! i'm glad that we're still keeping in touch despite the fact that army is way over us now and that we're leading busy working lives! wonderful :)

to: the people(schoolmates, army buds, pwc peeeps, guards pple and friends) who wished me happy birthday on facebook and handphone via sms of course - saylin, alvin, seehong, khairul, yongthian, sgt ganesan, nicholas, jenson, samantha, richard, shawn, tee yee hui, bel, nora, lynette and nigel

thank you for wishing! and i would love to meeet you guys soooon! :)

2008-03-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

the number 1.

Like seriously, my HEART goes out to all the eldest-child in the family, including those who take up the role of one. Regardless, being the eldest is definitely not an easy task. It sucks and it sucks bad. (Well, maybe sometimes we do get to enjoy the perks but in general it sucks)

Expectations, role-models, being the-best-ever examples for those younger toads and being the sacrificial goat for almost everything that goes wrong around the house or the family for that matter can be, tiring. You fall into a deeper hole, so that they can prevent themselves from falling. You run the tougher race, so that they will not have to do it. You fight a more difficult match, so that they can have an easier one. Don’t we just LOVE our younger siblings!

It is a no wonder why it is often very hard to find the eldest coaching the younger ones. The usual reasons for that are: lacking in patience, tolerance, it is different, they are stubborn and the general mystery of why-i-can-do-it-but-you-can’t. However, why really do the eldest find it tough teaching or coaching the younger siblings? Answer: It is because, we ARE SICK of having to go through the bitter and less sweet experience as always. We want the younger generation to have a taste of how tough it is like to be US. It is not easy and very often they miss that point. Who appreciates the eldest? Who cares? Rarely anyone does.

Nonetheless, the eldest remain the eldest and hence very often we have to fulfill our obligations and responsibility. When we see something that is not right especially when they are things that we have gone through, we attempt to give them advice. But these younger toads are freaking stubborn. For some reasons, they think that they will never fall into that hole we have fallen for initially because they are way too smarter and wiser than us. Like, seriously. Grow up, and to hell with all that teenage angst and that hey-i-know-what-i-am-doing attitude.

When these toads refuse to listen to you, who gets the blame? US. Hence, like I have said earlier, being the eldest can be tough. And not anyone can be the eldest. We have been CHOSEN to perform such difficult tasks. After all, we were the first, fastest and strongest sperm to penetrate that egg and we were the, THE FIRST to make it out from the birth canal. And that speaks a lot about us.

To all the eldest-child in the family, including those who assumes the role of one, may we be granted with greater wisdom, guidance and tolerance.
To the younger toads, come on! Give your best shot.

2008-03-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

in black&white

2008-03-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

have i brought a fresh perspective?
pricewaterhouseCoopers collegues. @ the 12thfloor pantry.

2008-03-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

Reverie, ACJC Alumni Band

it was fun going back to acjc, lecture theatre! hearing the band played. i was supposed to play but err, after looking at the repertoire, i kindda back out from it.it was quite overwhelming! nonetheless, i had fun and it was a joy to hear the band once again :)

abbaGold, as secondary-schoolish that may sound is the BEST feel-good SONG ever!

doughnut Mania! -OREOlogy-Yummy!

the long wait was worthwhile.
check out the various funky and yummy doughnuts available at : j.co donuts webby.

bought for my mum's bdae :)

TRY THEM!
Donut Factory @ Raffles City and Dippin Donuts @ Vivo/CK Tangs

2008-03-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

Green or Going Green?

it comes as a no surprise that Asia is generally moving towards a greener society, with all the hype about global warming and sustainability in development being a growing concern among government bodies, big corporations(cos, they do not really have much of a choice – especially when everyone is looking at them as they have one of the biggest impact for change) and individuals who hope to see a more promising future – one that is not filled with gloomy images of animals becoming extinct, fishes suffocating along the coast, icebergs melting, hazy weathers and having that imminent feeling that the world is gonna end anytime soon.

Housing for instance is going greener. With the additions of energy saving plants, solar panels, rooftop gardens to provide a natural cooling system and many other bizarre suggestions. Impressive. Very impressive indeed. However, do these new measures meant that our houses are green? Like many other issues, some have believed that such green efforts on housing are half-hearted attempts to satisfy a government quota. Additions that are included simply serve as factors required to tick boxes – to qualify a building as a green one. Nonetheless, though it seems that we are no where near creating green buildings as compared to those in other developed nations such as the US, such baby steps and small attempts are putting us in the right direction, paving the way to new developments for a greener built industry. However, I think it is important for us to alleviate the designing of green buildings and housing (have you seen the out-of-this-world-non-matching-colour-schemes that is being painted on our HDB blocks?)IT IS OUTRAGES! We should not let the common stereotype that eco buildings are ugly and boring. We need good design looks. And I think, we have a lot to learn from countries such as United Arab Emirates, where designs, ideas as well as innovative suggestions have no limits or boundaries.

Modern Living.
well, they look okaay and normal. Nothing special - a typical HDB estate in Singapore.

All that Greenery.
Balcony fitted with gardens. Wait till all these houses become occupied with makciks and aunties, where every single corner that allows sunlight to penetrate around the house is a haven for the drying of clothes! lol.

COMPARE with this.

Curly Slabs.
Marina and Beach Towers, UAE.

Amazing! Notice how the two curly slabs are designed. The slab that is facing the sea has a more gradual transition to the coast with the additions of gardens and greenery that lined the lower part of the curved slab - the slab simply dissolves in the terraces on the sea. Just as the beach coast works like a gradient, offering a more blurry border. On the other hand the other slab that faces the marina, ends abrubtly, just as how it demonstrates a typical marina's structure with all that sharp borders.

the crisscross lines that are on the internal surfaces of the slabs are meant to emphasise its thickness. veerrry Cooool :)

2008-02-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

perfect in black

i've considered all the other options and thought about all the advantages/disadvantages, benefits and problems. and yes, i've come to a decision - the MacBook.

GO local, The Leap Years - A Must Watch!

2008-02-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

my mum was having her typical '-in 20 years time..' conversation over dinner and that set me thinking about where i could be 2 decades from now. where i would live, how my life would be, family matters, careers and etc.

and and and,

i found this while browsing through the net.

sentosa cove

this place is damn cool. i think nothing beats living at one of the condominiums or villas in sentosa cove.the environment is great and i think it's lovely! this would be my inspiration to study hard and hopefully i would be able to live there one day. it doesn't hurt to dream big! lol.

hmmm..if only i get to be part of the team that builds beautiful residential areas like this!

gosh. the one15 marina club is -speechless-

2008-02-21T04:10:00.000-08:00

YAY! SINGAPORE WON THE BID to host

the 1st Youth Olympics Games 2010! :) :)

call me crazy and i don't CARE, cos i'm damn happy that Singapore won the bid. and it's gonna be held at NUS! congratulations to everyone! the webby for Singapore's bid is http://www.singapore2010.sg/ and it is freaking cooler and funkier than moscow's webby: www.moscowyog2010.com !

loves Singapore.

2008-02-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

driving away from the wreck of the day

love doesnt hurt, so i know i'm not falling in love,

but i'm just falling into pieces

if this is giving up, then i am giving up

givin up

2008-02-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

i'm obviously bored.

and Google Earth 3D is freaking cool that i decided to check out where i work! :)

2008-02-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

february babies!

happy birthday este :)

it's about time you grow up. lol.

she has always wanted us - her 'closest friends' to celebrate her birthday at some fancy hotel or glamourous restaurants. however, we decided to give her a slight variation from what she wanted, but nonetheless one that was more memorable, fun and definitely out of this world.

the ORDERS BRIEF/GROUPINGS AND TASKINGS/ALLOCATION OF TASKS - army style. hehehe. semangat gileeer!

venue: este's HDB carpark roof

All dressed up for her party, she came in a dress complete with everything from high heels to panty hoses! it was a classic moment.

we had fun, especially planning for the event and playing that pig-nified game.

NEXT.

happy birthday meowZhi :)

my trumpet buddy

carol decided to plan a puzzle game for mz's 21st to allow her to exercise some parts of her brain and because its really cool, i decided to join in since i was free. the puzzles were created for mz to guess where she was gonna go as part of her 21st journey birthday. the puzzles that carol had created had a theme that echoed the journey of their friendship, right from the first day they became close friends. it was really lovely for carol to have planned such stuff. we went from one place to another, solving quizes and clues from poems. it was a fresh idea, and definitely cool!

A MUST see movie, well i think it is - The Leap Years, based on the story written by local writer Katherine Lim, starring Wong Li Lin

bye.

2008-02-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

Turning 21.
It is interesting how almost everyone everywhere is making quite a big hoo-haa over the fact that they will be turning 21. What is it about being 21 that makes it so uniquely different from other years, say 16? 12? Or even 19? The answer is simple- Adulthood. (but then again, people also make a big deal about their every other birthdays..so, it's quite a wonder). Whatever it is, more often than not, we get too caught up with our very own MEGA & to-be-remembered-for birthday parties and bashes that we forget the real and true meaning to be 21. It is not just about organizing something over the top or something sweet or something simple to remember that very day you turn a year older as you usher in adulthood. It is more. It calls for a personal reflection to see how far you have come and how much further are you able to go in that promising future. What is being 21 to you khai?

Whatever it is, I wish you the very best!

happy twentyFirst :)

2008-01-24T05:47:00.000-08:00

these are the reasons for why i'm inspired:

the MarinaBay Sands, Singapore.

the Burj Al Arab, Dubai. The world's only seven star hotel and by far the tallest standing. It was built to resemble a sail of a dhow, a type of arabian vessel.

beijing National Stadium nicknamed the "Bird Nest" because of its nest-like skeletal structure

the Dubai Towers, Dubai. The design of the towers represent the movement of candlelight

Marina Bay Bridge, Singapore. claimed to be the world’s first double helix structure bridge.

vivocity. inspired by the waves that can be seen at the harbour front. really????

the Renaissance, Dubai. A piece of big slab.

the Esplanade. a local favourite, performing arts venue

2008-01-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

crappy people.
definitely a pain in the ass.

2008-01-17T03:42:00.000-08:00

crush-the-office.
there you go again :)

i didn't recall the heat that came along with the tie back in school

work is great. though it can be boring at times and probably sometimes stressful.

CALLOVERS are nightmares.

it's stressful,

waste a lot of saliva,

green pen?red pen?blue pen?

symbols. o/s ^ # ?

cash flows, net assets, total assets, cash equity, liabilities...

called by & called to

no mistakes.

argh. callovers.

dread them.

Nonetheless, it's enjoyable :)

learnt a lot of things with regards to accountancy, plus the experience of working in the CBD area

crunch and lunch time = chaos + tables,"chopped"by working professionals.

it was damn embarassing.

and people are really crazy!

but i still love my job, though the peak period is yet to come.

to john, who's currently working in an accountancy firm at suntec,

to alvin, who's working at WDA - workforcedevelopmentagency

&& to yangjie who's at greatworldcity

LET us all meet up for LUNCH!! :)

it will be fun.

2008-01-13T02:21:00.000-08:00

jeremy's 21.

happy birthday :)

it was great since it has been a very long time since i last saw my classmates!

at the airport, 6am on saturday.

good luck & farewell, SAMMY :)

enjoy yourself in boston, smartypants!

2008-01-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

acs forever.

i got this from facebook and i thought it was HILARIOUS!

You know you're from ACJC when..

- You have the hottest guys/girls in town

- Almost half of your friends speak Chinese worse than AngMo

- You have to deal with such a thing called "swim pe"

- Your pants is hanging on to your butt like it's holding on to dear life

- Your skirt is a mini-skirt... Plus your shirt is never tucked in but you pretend it is

- It takes you 18 years to realize the majority listen to Chinese music

- From time to time you get a sense that any good address should end with the phrase "The Best is Yet to Be"

- You and your friends go crazy when a turtle car scoots into view.

- You have a principal say "DONCH" all the time.... Lim H.... S...n.

- You start running out of class once your friends start singing "Happy Birthday", then you find yourself in the pool naked after they catch you

- You feel like telling Gurmit to shove the $10 (fine for stepping on the track) up his ass.

- You think Jimmy Tong is a hero.

- Potential councilors campaign by promising to ensure that there will be a constant supply of toilet paper in the girl’s toilet

- You HAVE to alter your skirt, or you're not cool and people laugh at you.

- When other people give you funny looks when you say the coolest place is the void deck.

- You call the stands, the bleachers.

- When u ignore the rumors about the western stall auntie refrying her soggy fries in yesterdays' already black oil and queue up anyway cause its the shortest queue in the canteen.

- You understand what's Wan Way and Lenn Way's Link

- You meet your friends at the Smiley to go to Holland V for Haagen-Dazs

- you don't have to retake Chinese OR Malay even if you got less than A2

- I can ask you if she's really the RJC prom queen and you know exactly who I'm talking about

- When you rejoice and jump up and down in LT4 after receiving a C6 for Chinese or any other mother tongue, shouting "thank you Lord!" and see people running towards you with congratulatory hugs

- When you start lining up for the free parent-cooked/ Mrs.Tan-cooked dinners at 5.30 during exam periods

- Red, Blue and Gold start becoming your favourite colors

- When you actually miss chapel, and When you actually expect to hear Majulah Singapura every morning in perfect acapella harmony.

- No, it's not a $10 fine for walking on the track anymore. by (2003/2004) it was RUN TEN ROUNDS around the track. A group of guys from my batch actually had to, in full school uniform.

- When you just have to study in school during exams even though it's damn noisy and you have to shove your iPod into your ears all the time.

- You think that your school uniform is cooler with the shirt than the yellow PE T-shirt.

- You know that "mass pe" is just a cover for "mass suicide".

- You know the "ham-sum" joke.

- You know you're from ACJC when you hear "Mass PE" and cower in fear ;)

- When u don't bat an eyelid when people call you snob or rich kid...

- When you think a 4-minute cab ride to Holland Village is perfectly acceptable and commonly practised!

- You have climbed down the side of the school near the canteen, through the fence behind the tennis courts or conned the guard with fake mc 'cause you're late

- You never wish to trade your time there for anything else! You shudder to think that you could have been at any other junior college!

- When you clamour for all the school-based shirts (the AC shirt, the polo, the house shirts, the CCA shirts) but they're all sold out way too fast. :(

- You leave a mountain of Hacks or Haribo sweet wrappers at the back of every Lecture Theatre you enter..

- You know where the Champions Table is

- When its the best 3 years of your life...

- You wanted a pink slip to zhao class... or was it the blue slip?

- You just can't stop drinking Milo!

- You have to take GP tests after being given tonnes of newspaper articles to read and mug... though we had often made use of "peer marking" to help ourselves to pass w/o reading a single shread of news.

- We have our prelims scheduled extremely early compared to the rest of the other JCs.. AUGUST?!?!

- You have to hide/run away from Bangla workers instead of teachers in an attempt to 'pontang' school

- You're in town with your classmates "selling FUN-O-RAMA tickets in our secondary schools"

- You don't mind being seen in Orchard Road with your school uniform - its the coolest in Singapore after all.

- The words "Raffles", "RJ", "RI", or anything of the sort, are either preceded, or followed, (or even both), by several expletives in a variety of languages and dialects.

- You start your morning with the words "Mari kita, 1, 2 sing..."

- You remember the school dogs named "Milo, Horlicks, Teh, Kopi, Cookies & Cream".. Heard that they got cooked and eaten by the Bangladesh workers????? :(

- Your English Literature teacher makes you and the whole class scream "PENNNNNNNNISSSSSS" at the top of your voice (Volpone)

- You enter through the front gate, wave a merry goodbye to doting parents, and scoot out of the back gate on your way to bum at Orchard the likes. Lessons, assembly etc all bypassed (applies to the pre-renovated building batch)

- You find that you own more than one of the following ACJC apparel or accessories: T-shirt, windbreaker, sweater, socks, towel, file, pencil, post-it notes, car windscreen shades, umbrella, (the list goes on...)

- You’re always hounded by current students to purchase Fun-O-Rama tickets; and then spend them on the previously mentioned items above...

- When you call the short bearded cleaner MARIO, and the Security Guard SADDAM.- B-efore Saddam, the previous Security Guard was called LUIGI.

- You know that a SCone is not a fruitcake

- When the name Goh Tiong Gee (sp?) rings a bell...

- You're actually proud of your uniform (esp in comparison to some who had to wear green flaire skirts even in JC)

- When you know where the hocks, ruggers, swimmers and other cca tables are.

- When you understand what the word "candeck" means.

- When you certainly don't drive Mers on a lease

2008-01-08T09:55:00.001-08:00

ilyas: "..you KNOW whaaat???.."

my goodness.i found this somewhere in my hard drive and i believe i've taken it from este eons ago, i think! hehs. ilyas..dear ilyas, pantat! when are we gonna hang out like in the past?? hmmm..really miss those bubble tea trips! now that you have someone else in your life, nyehehehe..hanging out with you seems almost impossible, if not REAAALLY impossible.

i miss the old you laa idiot!
hurry up ORD. army is like SO - something of the past! hehs :)

really random but definitely bored to the max.
i miss the ARMY. -crazy-

my super-duper semangat days

my rare opportunities days

my slacking-and-NOT keeping my bunk clean days

my cheongsua days

my ever-so-challenging men!

my parade days

as you can see, i'm reaaally bored and awfully BROKE.

god, help me! :)

2008-01-05T00:46:00.000-08:00

the new and the old.
and so, 2008 is here. 2007 was a great year with many wonderful memories and experiences :) i had alot of fun and totally enjoyed myself for most parts of the yr. it was certainly better than 2006. i read my 07 new year entry and i'm rather satisfied for accomplishing most of the things that i've set out for that year. the only thing that i didn't accomplish was to be able to drive. damn :( hence, being able to drive would be my priority this year.

just a random thought, i think i've quite poor reflexes. lol. reaaaaallly random.

2008.

get that driving license!

read more books

get a good head start in school and do well :)

learn something new

attempt to be self-sufficient - lol, that would be quite a task!

do things that will strengthen my faith

be a better person

be fitter!

make more new friends

have more fun moments with family/friends

improving in every way possible!

and more importantly, enjoy every single day of the year :)

2007-12-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

of games&fun

it' amazing how similar your friends' character are towards life and games, casual games like monopoly.
it's really amazing.

este being the competitive one - overly competitive. she always wanted to be the first for everything, and yes..everything. ilyas being always the one who would take a step back everytime and analyse how others are playing, manipulating others whenever there was an opportunity - to get fidah to sell her properties to him! khai, as usual backing out the entire competition altogether due to excessive pressure, hence she was the banker. fidah, the really slow and steady one, but at the same time never making it easy for anyone else - buying every single property that she lands on, hence making it almost impossible for anyone else to buy houses. fye! who obviously needs some luck on the dice. he's forever many steps back and i doubt he got any thing more than 7 when his dice was rolled, hence loosing advantage on the advancement of his game. i guess, luck wasn't on his side and it came as not of a surprise that he was the first to be declared bankrupt when he landed on my property! muahahaha. me? well, as usual, i do not really know what i want from the game, what houses to get, what property to buy..it just comes. when the feeling comes, then the buying do.

we had a good laugh, especially when someone blurted out that we played like we were malays - malays in monopoly.

we had fun. and i enjoyed it :)

2007-12-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

everything in moderation
all the boredom is seriously, kiling me and i mean it, in literal sense.
i completely lost track of the day, date and even time! i'm at the moment living a life devoid of purpose - wait a minute, what kind of life is without purpose? yeah, exactly. welcome to my oh-so-boring life. you get the point. i feel like crap and it isn't fun.

i think i'm a workaholic. yes, i think i am. damn it.
i love my work, my job - well, not just the army but the entire idea of work - its never ending schedules, long "things to do" lists, late nights due to work related matters and that stressful environment. gosh, i miss them.

why can't i have a more gradual transition to this seriously-nothing-to-do period. damn. this truly suck. it was just 2 weeks ago, when my life kindda had a different form. 0530: wake up,0545: breakfast at the cookhouse which was like 7262416km away,0615: area cleaning, 0700: prepare for lesson, read notes and get all changed up, 0730: reporting of strength,0745: the start of the first lesson, 1000: canteen break! 1030: the start of the second lesson, 1130: break for lunch,1300: commencement of field training & practical, 1530: preparation for physical training and runs,1630: commencement of runs&pt, 1800: dinner, 1900: wash up, 2100: orders for next day's mission, 2130: preparation of orders, map planning, loading of stores,0015: prepare to sleep, while at the same time complain on how busy and tiring the entire day have been, 0030: officially and finally, sleeping. then, 0530: wake up...and it goes on and on..

now. wake up at god knows what time, 10,9,11,1300,1500??! breakfast? - probably too late and even if i do wake up early, i have to hunt for food and usually which is ironically rarely since i don't wake up early most of the time, there's not much of a choice except for : ellen degenerous, oprah,friends! or the repeat of ugly betty. those are my breakfast. then, for lunch, i have to walk like 540metres to lot1 shoppers mall. and yes, 540m - that's how bored i was, i even calculated the distance from my house to lot1 shoppers mall via google earth! the time is now 3pm? what will i be doing? hmmm, on my couch watching grey's anatomy, from one episode to the other, loosing track of time. and eventually, i will come to dinner. after dinner? more grey's anatomy! watching grey's anatomy was probably the best thing that happens everyday. bored. crap. suck.

that's my current state of life.
nonetheless, i know that in time to come - sometime in the next few years or months, i will begin to miss this so-called life, where there are NO tasks, NO tests/exams to study for, NO deadlines to meet, NO things to do list, and basically NOthing to worry about. Should i be appreciative and simply savour this moment? i dunno. but i think, for what's worth - its definitely a great break, while bearing in mind that always, everything in moderation is certainly the best. and this is definitely not moderation.

the struggle it takes to be human.

2007-12-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

apprehensive.

the ceremony of the Elevens.
you know what, it's not fun. not fun at all! the past week has been, err..super duper boring. spending almost everyday bumming around the house, watching every single show on cable, sleeping, more sleeping and even more sleeping! it was definitely the worst week ever..
i was clearing up my stuff, and found my sec 2 literature book, the Giver. I used to dread reading that book in the past, hence i never really did well for my lit papers! but amazingly, due to extreme boredom, i decided to read that book once again to relive my 'not so glorifying literature days' back in dunearn..and my goodness, i was actually hooked! i completed the book in 2 days and i must say, it seems way more interesting than it used to be in the past and ironically, i enjoyed it. perhaps, that was the best thing that happened last week, besides being able to watch, david tutera's party planners on travel&living and grey's anatomy on dvd.

a black&white affair
i was surfing the net for something interesting to do and i happen to come across a great idea! let's plan and throw a party! okaaay, crazy right. but no! i think it will be fun :) - black&white affair, winterwonderland and retro themes just to name a few. there are currently so many ideas at the back of my mind and i'm so excited. but then again, in reality, we all know how such a task is almost impossible to accomplish. nonetheless, i feel it's still a great idea!

cha!cha!cha!
beautyworld, the musical. i wanna go catch it! a local production that is widely recognised as one of Singapore's first and most successful, home grown musicals. having performed internationally on world renowned stages such as in Chicago & Japan, this production is definitely worth catching!

just received this photo, courtesy of the 62ndCSM course

2007-12-18T03:14:00.000-08:00

from GREEN to PINK*

it definitely feels great to be back as a civilian once again, officially! the transition to civilian life was definitely easy, well..except the fact that i have been waking up spontaneously at 0545am sharply the past few days. but, i'm very sure that will die off very soon. hehs. so, NS has been great. i enjoyed every moment of it and yes, i am very thankful for all the exposure that i was given by my superior commanders and i'm very glad that i've tasted almost every part of the specialist's pie. moving on, to cope with my daily expenditures, which can be quite costly especially with the recent hike of cab fares by like 187862%, i've decided just like every other individual of my age to work and earn some money! hence, come this january, i will be working at pricewaterhouseCoopers. yes, it sounds pretty alien to me at first, until khairul told me to wiki that company. apparently, its one of the 4 big accounting firms, alongside with ernst&young, deloitte and kpmg (which btw, still does sound alien to me) that offer professional services to companies worldwide in terms of tax, assurance, accounting and consulting. rank no 58 in the list of Fortune's Magazine's 100 best companies to work for this year, it was a no wonder that khairul wanted to work there in the future. but seriously, prior to this i have no knowledge of that company at all.

the place, situated somewhere near rafflesplace is really cool and is somehow very scary. it's like a totally new world. i was quite shocked when i went there for an interview. and because of that shocking experience, i don't even dare wear my jeans and polo tee ever again to that place! nonetheless, the interview went well and to sum things up, my role in the company is simple: just be an assistant to the auditor. do what he tells me to do and i'll be fine, well..that was what the human resource manager told me and of course, she warned me of how devilish and demanding these people can be. i'm expected to work over time, if required! i am so looking forward to start work! the pay however is hmmm quite small, relative to relief teaching where you get to earn 73263562 times more. but it's okay, as long as it's for the experience to realise how not so much of a bed of roses the working life can be.

to fuzion, when can we meet up? my camera is dying to be filled with stupid, cranky, crazy and idiotic faces of you guys. can you hear that? it's calling out: camwhores!camwhores!camwhores! hahaha.

good day.
oh, *my pink ic laa.

2007-11-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

ORD parade: great people from charlie coy, jinwei and charles. good luck for the job that both of you are doing!

the handful of NSFs in the csm course

i've yet to meet any of my fuzion friends lately. haha, probably one of the longest duration of not meeting up. but it's okay, since everyone have their own lives to attend to. i guess, this is all about the transition to adulthood where meeting up with old friends are just as difficult as getting to know new ones. as i began to realise this phenomenon happening, i guess it's all about being independent after all. i couldn't have imagine what would have happen to me if i was overly dependent on my close friends. i'm pretty sure life would be miserable.hahaha. yeap, but i think this space in time, would allow us to find out who actually we are by moving out from our own comfort zones, meeting with new people, having new set of friends and doing things that would simply remind us of what we had missed in the past for being so close to each other. at least in the next 10 yrs or so, looking back in retrospect about our youths, we wouldn't have regretted for having only a handful of great, close friends.

i'm appreciating my life now and i think it's great :)

the heart has its reasons, that reason knows nothing of.
ord loh!, well in 3 weeks :)

2007-10-26T19:24:00.001-07:00

the people that mattered.

jalan raye with dunearnites

more photos to be uploaded. do be patient :)

2007-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

commanders cohesion :)

the cycling team.

this is where we got lost. trying to orientate ourselves to the terrain

just beside the ketam quarry

having a picnic on the board walks at chek jawa. its on high tide, hence you can't see the corals!

ORD LOH!

Just as i have expected, the feeling of ord-ing is supeerrb! finally, its gonna be my turn to shout: ORD LOH! I didnt really go to camp the entire of last week, officially. Now that i'm undergoing the CCC- nah, its not the commandos conversion course, but rather CIVILIAN conversion course..i have the luxury of experiencing a specialist greatest dream which is to have.. NO men, NO Csm, NO bunk and NO duties!

thanks to the clearing of offs and leaves, the commanders group decided to go for some adventurous trip to ubin, well to experience nature again but this time in berms and t-shirts. it was fun though i thought it was kindda of dangerous and physically demanding. an activity equivalent to our 12km route march! Mansfield and Tee had their fair share of wounds after falling from their bikes for a total of five times! next time, we have to bring the first aid box along. We explored the entire island beginning with chek jawa on the eastern shore. Sadly, we came at the wrong time, it was on high tide..hence no corals or beautiful sea creatures could be seen :( nonetheless, we had a lot of fun especially on the western biking trail which had a warning sign that said: this cycling route is not for first-timers. but we went anyway. at the end of it all, we were pretty shagged out that we slept on bus 2 that brought us all the way to bugis junction from changi village, where we caught a lame-ass show: balls of fury.

ops order brief: the battalion mission..terrain, enemy course of action, intent..

the very helpful information board. showing us all the roads. but can you spot the problem?

all tracks in the jungle ARE THE SAME!

ONE of the more interesting bike trails

the warning

ahh!finally, a place to get cold drinks!

some of the injuries

pitt stop at chammar hut, where we we overlooking malaysia

2007-10-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

eid Mubarak! :)

selamat hari raya, to all my muslim friends. lol. hyper-high mood now. i was just reading my previous post, and my goodness i thought it was freaking random and 'emo' laa. anyway, hari raya was celebrated with much joy this year, especially when my first day of raya lasted for more than anybody else..(only my relatives, este and her sis knew about this!) its damn embarrasing. but it was still fun. interesting to have an unconventional raya this yr.

my dad had to fly off to New York for some work trip on the fifth day of raya and i bet he's enjoying all the business class treatment now. damn envious. but life here still have to go on :) because my dad is leaving, he decided to bring along his laptop with him. and that laptop happens to be the ONLY medium for me to work on my magazine.

if not for suhaila, i would have a lot of problems finishing my work. thanks a gazzilion! Okay laa, my thanks also extends to my other friends and cousins who offered me their lap tops. thank YOU :)

my ord magazine, otherwise known as the photo journal is almost ready after much difficulties. finally, i can think about something else. Oh, also met up with the fellow commanders to celebrate tee's birthday at this place. talked a lot of shit and stuff and met with some of the aslc people..and gerald was there too. apparently, he has surpassed all of our expectations of him becoming a pilot. now that he has survived the course that has the highest rate of attrition, he's on his way to captain-hood, well maybe still a long way..but yeah eventually he will be a captain whom i have to salute! very excited for next monday's swim and run as well as tuesday's cycling trip with the commanders to pulau ubin. finally doing something to improve my fitness so that i can survive the csm course come the begining of next month.

jalan raya for dunearn and acsians will be next weekend. and it would definitely be interesting because it has been eons since i last converse with them. looking forward to it too :)

2007-10-12T02:10:00.000-07:00

is this how it should be?
as everything is slowly coming to an end with ramadhan ending officially today, ops bacinet standing down next tuesday, ord in no time, 12th mono photo magazine finally almost completion and bla bla bla, i'm quite surprised at how my feelings are right now. By right, this was supposed to be my happiest period of the year. However, by left..it's not happening so. firstly, my hari raya prep truly suck big time - i'm so not in the mood for the festive celebration. the feeling is just not there. and to make it worse, i think i'm falling sick. yes. what the crap. and my mum's obsession with the house cleanliness can at times be rather irritating. but its okay, she does it every year. i dont understand why she must make herself freaking busy this period of the year, just chill and relax ah.

heck.i cant go on. i have a lot to blog about but i'm just not in the mood.
bad day, i supposed. ironically.

2007-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

this blog is almost dead! thanks to my busy schedules.

anyhow, the past week has been hectic with preparations for the NS40 commemorative dinner interaction with the minister, collecting photos for the ord magazine as well as sorting out company line management issues especially when my csm had to answer to a higher calling at sispec as a company warrant officer. as hectic as it may be, i still managed to squeeze some time for my probably almost forgotten friends, otherwise known as the fuzion. so yeap, managed to break fast together with them at hjh maimunah's restaurant while at the same time celebrate ilyas's twenteen birthday with a cute little brownie cheesecake from one of the bakeries at taka. after the long dinner, we decided to take a stroll down geylang serai to experience, well..the spirit of hari raya but it turned out really nasty. firstly, the crowd made it almost impossible to walk in between the stalls and to make it worse, the weather was freaking humid and warm. being very 'garang' people, we decided to seek salvage at the nearest coffee house - the coffeebean@s'pore post to chill out. nonetheless, it was fuuunn! though i hope that we could have more of such gatherings, i doubt it will happen..well, at least for the next few months :(

professional camwhores! fidah, myself, ilyas, este, khai and fye!

i thought this picture reminded me a lot of the last supper shot!

happy birthday ilyas! here we see ilyas posing for that million dollar AC smile :)

all taken on the over head bridge at geylang serai

i also went to meet up with my fellow ac trumpeters at holland village's swensens just to catch up on things. everyone was there except for boris and johnathan as they were on holidays overseas. and i have to give a big thank you to daryl who treated us ice-cream for his birthday! happy twenty-one birthday daryl! :)

a reunion! j2,j3,j4 and j5 batch

today was finally the day where i got to meet the other 10 aspiring and promising NSFs(or so that was how they introduced us) who are going to engage the prime minister for the NS40 dinner. It was cool and fun! especially when you put people who are eloquent and vocal in expressing their views from all sorts of vocation together in an area. we simply connect! it was cool because we share this common idea that despite our view on how things may not be as ideal or as smooth sailing as we thought NS would be, we seek pleasure in experiencing the finer things that the organisation could offer. to a great extent, we felt that NS has been a rewarding, if not an enriching experience. i finally do not feel that i'm all alone in this whole positive-NS-experience shit. cool! :)

looking forward for thursday : NS40 commemoration dinner!

2007-09-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

rambles.
okay. this is seriously not the feeling that i expected after atec. things are very much still the same. and it just gets worst! why can't we be like other batches, where they could ORD in peace, without having to go through ops bacinet and all those time-consuming courses. 3 months to ORD : half of sept going for POI courses, while the other half is dedicated to teaching the men what we have learnt, 1 month of ops duty at exxonmobile in october and another month for much suffering at ASTW for CSM course. what the hell. life couldn't have been any easier for me.

i still have 10days of leave to clear and i'm really curious how they are going to schedule them for me. screw them lar. everything is just lip service. promise here and promise there..i'll see about that..don't worry, i will sort it out. if you can't, just say so.

but whatever it is, i'm gonna carry out my own personal operation : OPs orange pegasus.
profile of ops: to do whatever it takes to get my driving license!
the DDAYHHOUR is by the end of this year.

heck laa. i'm in a lalala mood.
ramble.ramble.ramble.

damn envious of gerald!flying off to aussie, earning big bucks, an officer to be, great prospects and blaa laa la. why? heck la. mat. make the best of the situation while you still can :)

2007-09-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

alan and i, all set and ready to go!

army daze:junglehat funso..say it with me: ORD LOH! my days in 1GDS are numbered, finally.

atec is officially over.great news! results of the battalion will be out next thursday :) in a nutshell, i have truly enjoyed the entire exercise though i suffered tremendously during the first mission with all that load (which still does cause strains and aches to my shoulders till this very day!) and the long distance of marching. but overall, i thought it was an interesting exercise. everyone was on their toes giving their best and to sum things up, i was glad to be part of this mono, and battalion that comprises a great mix of individuals and leaders. here are some of the pics.

the command group

at the declaration of exercise cut(endex!)

with CSM and PC

recce of objective at a high feature in limchukang with alan,andy and cpt paul

on the whole, i have truly enjoyed myself

2007-08-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

ATEC IS FINALLY HERE!

alright..been pretty busy lately due to the preparations for atec stage 2, hence the social vacation. anyway, here's the letter that i wrote to the company in the hope that they will be more motivated than ever(not that they are not..) to give their best in the coming days.

Hi guys!
Don’t worry, I’m still fighting atec! It’s just that after reading Luke’s letter to the company, I feel inspired to write something for the company to give my five cents worth of what I think atec is all about for all of us. I wanted to express this vocally to everyone but I supposed most of you wouldn’t be very keen in listening as resting time seems more appealing than anything else. Whatever it is, I hope this note would spur and motivate you guys to give your best for the coming atec :)

Atec to me is of course a chance for us to show those dudes up there of our worth, so that they know people down here are working their ass off each day.hehs.but ultimately, I feel that it is all about the celebration of our journey thus far. Being total strangers right from the start, we are now working together for a common cause. It wasn’t easy especially with our differing backgrounds. But nonetheless, we have overcome all possible barriers and we have come this far as friends and comrades in arms. Browsing through your photos that have been compiled since your PTP days for the battalion video presentation have truly moved me. It made me realize how much all of us have transformed since our botak, chao recruit days. I don’t have to be in first year to find out if your initial days were memorable, the photos had spoken for itself.

People come and go but for what is left in this company are the better if not the best ones. Being the smallest company around (though sometimes I wonder if we’re the smallest functioning company in the SAF), it’s a wonder how we could still pull through the major exercises such as voyager,greyhawk,seahawk and lancer successfully. Hence, it speaks volumes of the strength and the quality of the men here in our company. CSM asked me last Friday while OC was giving his terrain familiarization brief to all the commanders if I think we will all do good for the coming atec. I told him straight in the face that I think we won’t do good for atec because I simply know we will all do GREAT for it! That is how much faith I have for this company to perform excellently or this coming exercise. We are as great as we want it to be! Of course it will not be an easy task but as the cliché saying goes: as the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

To the section comds, I can’t believe that we have come to this point of our lives here in 1gds. Remember those horrible moments in GCC when Gawain had to carry his cupboard while running around this very parade square that we fall in every morning for first parade.Haha! Those moments are classic!

When I passed out from sispec,just like most of us maybe with the exception of Hao Wei who is “SIAO ON”, I never imagined myself being in an active unit leading a section of 6 men(although now I’m only technically leading 3 men!), training with them for major exercises, staying up late to complete the terrain doctrine, kena screwed by you know who because of our lacking in pride for the things that we do, signing extras and a lot of other things. But like they say, you can never know what you’re capable of doing until you have no other choice. However, life here has been a bittersweet experience. We may have our tough days but we also have days that were enjoyable. It has been fun and interesting. Those will be moments that I will cherish when I leave this battalion. Like I have said this before, lets work together, motivating each other when times are difficult (which I believe would be so in the next few days) and finish this well on a high note. Let this atec be a celebration of our friendship and how much we have transformed for the better over the months here in bravo :)

To the regulars(Andy,Eric,Anthony,OC,CSM,PCs and PSs), I have come to feel very fortunate to be working hand in hand with you guys who have been very patient in tolerating our nonsense, listening to our grievances, for imparting with us with invaluable skills and knowledge in things that we never get to learn in sispec – how to survive well in unit. You guys have been generous in sharing your experiences with us, for without them I’m pretty sure our lives here wouldn’t have been this enriching. You guys have not just been a great mentor but a friend to all of us. Kudos! You have all earned my respect for your dedication :)

To platoon 6, let’s show the umpires one more time what we’re capable of doing. We may be the smallest in strength but we’re definitely not the weakest. To my section, I thank you guys,especially safiee, my 2ic for being very patient with my expectations and making my life easier than it could have been. (can someone please translate this to zhou lin) Let’s push on and work our ass off one more time. Chee Loong, please make sure that you can provide suppressive fire for all of us, especially PC. Let’s not allow PC to die once again at the objective! Haha.

In conclusion, bravo let us all give our best for what is worth. I believe we can do it and I know WE CAN. Bravo Hoo-Ha? HOO-HA!

“I gotta run! Deepan, lets do the sand Model!”

2SG Matin

2007-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

all the offs are now OVER!

endless march.tactical night walk.12km prep march.sop discussions! ahh.NO!

I'M so gonna dread the training in preparation for atec stage2. i dont wanna fight atec :( boos. the thought of it simply sucks. but whatever it is, i will be freakin happy on the 31st august. ahaha! the end of the much anticipated atec. hehs.

i just don't understand why is everyone so serious in a casual shot! take the chill pills man! :)

on the side note, i think the past week has been not too bad :) celebrated my bro's and cousin's birthday, meeting up with este&ilyas for our first inaugural supper, went to sentosa for games with the other commanders and yes, to top everything else, my favourite - guard duty. wth.

birthday boys! the one in white - my bro (top) and the one in red - my most inquisitive&naughty cousin (below)

hanging out with ilyas and este has always been fun. especially when we discuss about things in general. its funny how your friends can formulate very crazy theories about some things that i shall not discuss here :) hehs. oh yes, we met khairul and shaun who were there at al-ameen for SMU's orientation activity. they're freakin enthusiastic laa! wearin their orientation tees and all. wonder how i'll be like next yr.

this was taken at 2330hrs. our first inaugural supper trip. what's up with ilyas's expression??

hmmm..what were you guys thinking? nonetheless, i felt like a lamp post! freakin extra. its like as though the picture could have survived with me being cropped up. hehs.

2007-07-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

drum rolls*...

REEEEEEEEDCOOOOOOON 1 - atec stage 1

the week apparently had to start on sunday, 6pm when everyone from the battalion had to book in to prep ourselves for atec stage 1 come the next day. it came as a shocking surprise that there was a major change in the stations that almost every individual was supposed to do on stage 1. but after some last minute trainings on sunday night, we managed to pull through and guess wad we got?! REDCON 1! all the hard work was paid off :) here are the pics!

the power of mud! look at my staff aids..the objective blown up :)

right after the results were announced and CO, rewarding us for our tremendous effort in stage 1 by declaring OFF!, my CSM decided to treat us to dinner at seoulgarden, tampines mall - which was btw, deepan's inaugural trip there. it just makes me wonder what has he been doing the past 20 yrs of his life!

farewell, gerald! you lucky ass. hehs. anw, goodluck for ur training in airforce school and mmmmm, lets just hope you won't fail the course just too soon, otherwise they'll send you back to 1guards to fight atec stage 2! hahaha. i still owe you 5 bucks!hehs :) wad's $5 as compared to your $1970 oct pay rite??

a baking attempt that turned out rather successful at issac's. it was fun figuring out which powder to use. was it baking soda or powder?haha. whatever it was, the cookies turned out the way we wanted it to be! maybe there wasnt sufficient chocolate chips, right samantha? who insisted chocolate chips for almost very batch of cookies that we were baking! funfunfun :)

ndp07,marinabay was GREeeeeat! the view was spectacular and the show was beyond words! and the theme was cool, something different from the typical showcasing of singapore's history shit..very very creative and colourful. the atmosphere was just right! breathtaking! thanks fye for the tix :) one of them below is supposed to be fyedee. hehs!

fun! fusion, it has been way too long :(

happy racialharmonyday everyone!

2007-07-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

the past.

after reading este's blog, i thought it would be great if i fish out some of the more memorable photos that i've taken thus far. i'm sure it would be a great way to remind myself of how much fun we used to have in the past before we lead this separate, own world lives that are packed with work and hectic schedules. whatever it is, here are my favourite shots!

the pictureperfect photo that was taken on the afternoon just prior to my brunei departure. it was the second day of hariraya, hence the baju kurung on este..it was great that my closest friends came to see me just before i leave for brunei.. awww.how sweet! yeap and thanks to su and este for buying me my fav chocolate eclair from delifrance :)

it was cool hanging out with the men during the brunei's R&R, which was supposed to mean rest and relax but ended up as regret and remorse going to either the mosques,malls or museums(3Ms)

oh yes..it just shows how much i miss hanging out with you gal! where the #$%$# are you?!hehs.pardon me for the language. its thanks to the army :) drop me a mail.

yes! this picture is one of the best shots from the mrt series. the colour is just right! picture was taken on the first saturday that i returned to singapore and it was that period of time when vivo just opened its doors to singaporeans.

yet another camwhoring session at vivo! i think what este said on her blog was true..somehow it seems, i have quite a number of shots of azad trying to get very close with me or anything to that extent.ewwww.but i miss your mat jokes azad! and of course, este and me doing our fav shot at thai express while waiting for our food :)

of course you inspire us ilyas! this was taken on our journey back home from cycling at east coast park-one of the many healthy lifestyle activities that we attempted in 2007.

look at how energetic we were at the start line of our cycling attempt!

they never fail to make me feel very old! yes, my cousins who forced me to hang out with them at minds cafe for a cousins' night's out. but it was fun still, although i had to book in that very night :)

see, i told you. once again we were proving to the govt that youths still do make use of the nation's nature reserves. our inaugural trip from macritchie to bukit timah! probably our last.hehs. and yeap, what you see there is the famous sispec checkpoint - EXIT!

how pathetic we looked when it rained.hehs. here's este and ilyas grabbing a bite of bread after we found a shelter at some unknown area.kesian eh..

looking great while half way of our journey.here's a pic taken by a tourist while at the ranger tower. this was the place where we got ourselves the map that would aid us in making our way to bukit timah..this was where we put our navigation skills to the test :) no amount of rain could stop us! well, then again maybe the monkeys could.hahaha.

one of sc8's gatherings. as usual, it will never be the entire class. held at manhatten fish market. qianqi was only there for a brief 20mins before she had to make her way to the airport to send her dad off to china for some business trip. este wasnt there cos she had the 6234272th wedding to attend but su did drop by for like 5 minutes just to take a few pictures because she was having dinner with her family at pizza hut within the same vicinity! that's 2sc8/05 for you.

this picture was taken during my first lesson of playing tai-tee. we hijacked a room during the band chalet so that we could have a more fun time for ourselves as the party outside stinks big time!hahaha, here's este, amirah, myself, ilyas and fye. wonder where my bro was..oh yar of course i remember now..he was with youknowwho.

one of the many trumpet gatherings. great juniors! and boris was there.oops, face covered! :) he shared with us his experiences and views on studying overseas.truly enriching! my bro wasn't there because he had a bigger task to do - convincing my parents to get him a new pair of shoes for school. what an ass! but yeap, i sometimes do that too.hehs.

meeting up with old friends at settlers cafe,clarkquay.had a lot of fun, especially when ilyas behaved dramatically while playing jenga! hahaha. that was the day when i had to attend the NTU concert at vch to support tee - only to see him playing the triangle! wth. i left shortly after intermission. you should know why!hehs.

este's birthday at breeks. as usual, she was an hour and a half late. the day when este was feeling rather pissed with some individuals! oh yes, i had an eye infection on that day too, hence the specs.

when 2LT Lynn shouted : ord-loh! our last picture with him. probably one of the very few pictures that you'll see my ps and pc together.hahahaa.btw, ps stands for platoon sergeant while pc stands for platoon commander.

ah. this was went jeff actually picked all of us up with his car to have breakfast at botanical gardens :) this was when jeff, then an enthusiastic recruit, hence the cap, was freaking semangat to get into OCS!

yeap, that's me trying very hard to read out the flight manifest for chinook during exe.voyager!

pictures taken at esplanade. having the over-rated chocolate fondue with family and relatives.

the day when we had an unexpected turn of events. a cool day. met up with a lot of people.among them were hafiz,meowzhi,samantha and akbar. there you have it, once again me and este doing that fav shot.

dunearnites unite! let's show them all our pride!

victory, victory's on our side, we're dunearn dynamites. let's do it.the dunearn way..

soaring scoring everyday. yeah right, mrs seah. we kind of miss you.hahaha.

see how focused i am during missions! i can even give a smile to the camera. hehe. shortly after this picture was taken, i think i was screwed by the astw instructors for not being serious!

once again, the section gathering. this time with everyone from daryl all the way to what's that guy's name again? erm, my bro's junior laa. oh yes. only boris wasnt there. even dr lee was present!

the batch that actually practiced daryl's musical theorem - when its written piano, only 1 person will play. don't waste energy! let's have slack-tionals instead!

the night that we watched separate performances but within the same vicinity - esplanade. well, according to samantha and carol, ilyas cried during the show, phantom of the opera. why am i not surprised!

another picture perfect shot! thanks to my camera. hahaha :) fun!

astw graduation. freaking happy to leave the place after much suffering for 7 weeks!

the rare moment when everyone in fusion could hang out together. it was fun doing what we do best - camwhoring! oh, este's distracting red hair.
obviously, a failed attempt to do that natural-laughing-acjc-smiley shot!

the trip to pulau sudong via the fecp or is it fcep. whatever laa..some kind of boat. everyone actually fell asleep except for me. was it that boring?!

the random picnic trip at pasir ris with sam, viv, carol, ilyas and este. it was fun!

the platoon cohesion last monday at eastcoast beach. these are the people who make my life more challenging than ever! Look at khalis tits! my goodness, he seriously needs an operation to get all that fats out!

bowling at chevrons during bsm's compulsory happy hour with the bravo specs- gerald, jason, mansfield, alvin, xuguang, hongwei and tee. it was a hell lot of fun. okaay, i seriously suck at bowling!

our latest hobby. starbucking! este's new found career.hafidz, we should hang out again soon :) hehs.

i think that's all for now. school pictures will be up soon but i guess these photos are my favourite so far this yr!

2007-06-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

caramelmochafrappe

drizzles of choc and caramel.

superb.

yesterday was like my 3287927262th trip to vivo! i can almost memorise where all the stores are, thanks to tee and gerald.we were practically fast marching from one point to another just to look at the bestest deals around for clothes! hahahah.yup, when you put matin and gerald together, nothing could deter us from draining our atm accounts. tsktsk.that's bad, really bad..but in the end, we didn't get ourselves anything as we were seriously running low on cash and gerald had to save up for the aces 1206 that he had lost during exe.seahawk. to make ourselves feel better, we went starbucking at rafflescity, where i ordered what este had recommended - caramelmochafrappe,3 pumps of caramel and 3 pumps of mocha with drizzles of chocolate and caramel.suuuupppeeerrbb! :)

seahawk was very shagg-ening.if there's ever such a word. it was crazy.with 2 dawn attacks and an immediate transition to defence, it was a no wonder that many fainted during movement phase and was sent to seek medical attention at the nearest hospital. nonetheless, i thought the exercise was good, well at least better than the previous one although i almost died bashing through the thick vegetation of limchukang up 106 ramp. it somehow reminded me of brunei! yeap, it was that bad.

oh, i forgot to mention that i actually met gerald's friend, yvonne who happens to think that i looked very familiar. after much probing, guess wad? she was my primary school classmate. she went to every single dunearn band concert because she was supporting for alina. what a small world! she used to be the shortest in class and was always right under the teacher's nose. and of course, i had to ask her the million dollar question, does she know ilyas? and she said: of course! he was the one who loves to tell stories right? hahahahha. some things never change.

current read.

i find myself waiting crazily for something to happen.

2007-06-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

you're cool! in need of a fresh start it has been a long time since i last met hafidz. and yesterday's sudden change of events turned out rather fun at the expense of our dear friend, azad. my apologies! next time we'll hang out as a class, hopefully.hehs. it was great somehow. we went to have dinner at the original ayam penyet restaurant, or so it claims its the original, but what the heck, we couldn't be bothered anyway. food was spicy, not to mention the topics that we talked about were also almost equivalent to the food that we ate. hahaha. it was refreshing to meet those toads after a bad week at work! then, we went to starbucks to chill out before we got chased away since the cafe was closing. it's just like good OLD times :) thanks guys.

thanks for replying :)

2007-05-31T00:10:00.000-07:00

makes me WONDER

after results of drill comp-with hao wei, gerald and deepan

the past few weeks have been pretty busy with preparations for the CGO change of command, atec stage 1, clearing of acct/icct, company cohesion activities, drill competition and the list just goes on and on and on.. it disturbs me whenever i see individuals who do not even want to DO the bare minimal for something that was his choice in the first place. the attitude of certain individuals in camp just pisses me off. i just feel that there's no good working environment in camp. if working life is gonna be this shitty, i can only imagine what kind of life i would be leading in the near future.

the pool tournament that i was trashed horribly!

night safari random family trip!

drill competition was a great experience! with only 3 practices, we were utterly shocked with the results. achieving 2nd place just behind 1ADF who practically won everything that the Guards formation organises was wonderful! drills - a term that many would hate. okay, lets just face it, its firstly boring, streneous, somewhat ridiculous and at most times pointless to the eyes of any NSF who dread serving the nation. but i think otherwise! i'm crazy right? i know people like ilyas and my men would be noding their heads vigourously upon seeing this. but really, its quite..enjoyable minus the beret tan lines, freaking hot weather and scoldings on the parade ground. the typical ten year series answer for why drill is important is of course it instills discipline and such discipline if possesed by an individual would follow him through when he goes out in the field and yadaa yadaa yadaa..but i view it as an art. its truly an amazing sight to view many people doing one syncronised movement when the command is given and that is why every year many singaporeans would do everything possible to earn themselves that seat for national day parade.

met up with cikgu and her cool kids in acj

ooh, last saturday we were so-called 'invited' to watch the preview or pranonton of ACJC's malay drama production - Merdeka! directed by sani hussein. for myself and ilyas, trying to understand what the entire drama was about was quite a challenge as it was quite abstract and it was not the typical, predictable or as laila would describe it as 'cheesy' drama that certain junior colleges would put up. maybe..at times predictable and cheesy dramas would be great for individuals who have not been in touch with the malay arts scene for a long long time! i was surprised by the crew's effort in hiding all the 10 extension cords, wires and cables in a proper way. haha. i still remember clearly when i was in-charge of the technical stuff as part of the crew for the production of madame butterfly in j2. it was nasty! everything that we used was uncalled for in the 'technical' world. using primarily masking tapes, cable ties and other stuff that you would expect to see from popular bookstore, it was amazing that the lights, wires and many drapes of black cloth remained intact throughout the entire show! from an outsider's point of view it would look very perfect but when you take a closer look backstage, you wouldn't want to even sit in the theatre of the performance for safety reasons! nonetheless, i thought the drama production Merdeka! was not too bad. if they listen to ilyas's pedas comments on the cast, which sani hussein the director apparently agreed with, they would be so much better. overall, i'm glad that acjc students and teachers continue this tradition of upholding the malay arts scene in the school before all the orang puteh pantat hitam 'malays' destroy everything that has got to do with kemelayuaan altogether.

the new skin was supposed to be a temporary one as i kind of got bored with the previous one but i was quite satisfied at the end product as it looks not too bad! hahaha. i'm still trying to figure out how the heck to put background music! yes. this is how savy i am with technology. anw, here's wishing a Happy Vesak day to anyone who's celebrating it :)

2007-05-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

beach slaking!

anw, i did try to upload the beach shots but it takes like forever to complete it. so, heck it! i guess some other time :) oh, yes este..i hope this will make you smile after an entire day of trying to figure out how to use that stupid adobe photoshop program. i know what you feel! its freaking frustrating. its the best that i could come up with as i'm actually rushing for time to book in! damn.

2007-05-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

firstly...

Anglo-Chinese Junior College band, GOLD WITH HONOURS!

congratulations :) supporting the juniors all the way!i'm damn proud of you guys! see tee yi hui, i told you acj will get the HONOURS.

oh, anyway good improvement for your juniors, getting GOLD this yr with symphonic overture! hehs.

and so, it has come to this. a realisation that i do not face any major problems or even any problems for that matter.probably the only problem that i'm facing now is the problem that i do not have any problems! all this while, when my friends pointed out to me that i have been living in this 'bubble' free from any problems or complications, i was in a state of denial. i didnt believe them at all. but as reality sinks in, i began to realise that this so called problem-free lifestyle is in fact truly happening and the unfortunate part is, its taking its toll on me. for some strange reason, i think i am loosing the ability to feel for things. basically, i'm turning into this emotionless piece of shit. its bad. really.

but.honestly, i kindda feel great living in this so-called 'bubble'. there's really no major worries and i thank Him for blessing this life of mine.

but but but...no worries. matin will not turn into an emotionless piece of robot because i have been doing a lot of thinking and reflections lately (even to the extent of reading this book entitled: the plain truth of things, role of values in a complex world!) to find my way back to things.

csm: a man-eating world out there!

this is indeed a complex world. everyone is unique and different in many ways. with that,i respect such differences and i hence i accept my friends for who they are. You may be a pain in the ass, weird, very abstract in your thoughts, expressive in nature, irritating in character, weak, hypocritical, a misfit, attention seeking or just a plain bitch but it is still perfectly fine with me because i look at you from a better perspective. nobody is a perfect friend or person. everyone has weaknesses, a side in them that everyone will hate. but so what? isn't it all about befriending an imperfect friend, perfectly.

just to let you know, i'm not taking sides but i'm rather disappointed at the resolution of this entire episode. for everything else, i have no comments.

to other stuff, i had a hectic week in camp but it was fun especially when i get to experience how the guards formation is amphibious in its operations! it was fuuuunnn!there was actually a split second in time where the thought of signing on went through my mind, thanks to my pc! but hahaha, don't worry laa. i won't do it. i just want to achieve an enriching life in national service, nothing more than that :)

commanders in arms!hehs:)

I've been living with a shadow overhead

I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed

I've been lonely for so long

Trapped in the past

I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away

Just in case I ever need them again someday

I've been setting aside time

To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can't make it through without a way back into love

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine

I've been searching but i just don't see the signs

I know that it's out there

There's got to be something for my soul somewhere

I've been looking for someone to shed some light

Not somebody just to get me through the night

I could use some direction

And I'm open to your suggestions

music&lyrics:way back into love

2007-05-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

good luck juniors! go acjc band :)

music lives only when notes fly off the page

and soar into glorious notes

play music, from the heart..and more importantly enjoy and believe the music that you're playing! all of us are behind you every step of the way..

with best of luck and love.go trumpets!! show the judges what great things we've got all these years! to god be the glory, for the best is yet to be!

anglo-chinese junior college concert band, ________________.

you guys are already winners in the seniors eyes :)

2007-05-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

fusion,finally!

it has been eons ago since we last met up as a complete group. there will definitely be someone who's not free! but somehow, last monday's out-of-a-sudden, unexpected plan actually came to reality when everyone was able meet up for dinner at newton :) hence, we seized the opportunity to do what we do best, cam-whoring! hehs. it was ffffuuuunnnn!

then. how will our lives be in a few more years to come?

now. oh no! the big 2-0 is here.

spot the difference! clue: red.
for one thing that has yet to change, the smiles :)

we have indeed come a long way with our humble beginnings at macs! ahahaha.

i was browsing through my past photos and my goodness, i just found out that there are like 19862463743562 photos of me, este, ilyas and fyedee! here are just some of them :)

just plain hilarious!

2007-04-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

GUARDS, always ready, Ready to Strike!

I think one of the best things about blogs are its archives! It was really fun and interesting reading about my thoughts, feelings and experiences at various points in my life. It somehow brings you back to how you were months ago, awaiting for answers to questions, approvals to plans and of course results to our actions. The archives also show how my opinion and sentiments about certain individuals and issues changed over time. A great way to take a walk down memory lane!

The past 2 weeks have been crazy. Crazy, not in the usual fun way that I always relate it to but rather its literal meaning. Being in the 2NTM force for the nation is bad enough. All the preparations, inspections, standing orders shit, planning room transformations and the hassle of going for turnouts at weird unpredictable timings are enough to make one go bonkers! I just do not understand how people in the ADF and Commandos can do it all at a more frequent rate. 2 weeks of no civilian life, confined within the concertina wires that surrounds the company line and worst of all – facing my men, colleagues and superiors every second of the day just brings me a step closer to insanity. Luckily it is all over now! yay :) but, just as I thought things were about to get better, the very day that we hand over our duties, we were making our way to lim chu kang training area where we had a section proficiency field camp. Wth! Night navigation was one of component trainings. I had to lead my 5 men under my charge from the poyang range in the south of lim chu kang all the way to one of the training sheds near butterfly knoll in the north of the training area, bypassing the Chinese and Muslim cemetery. Firstly, I was already quite stressed out because I have 5 men with me who happens to just follow me bah-loong-loong (a term in the army that meant aimlessly) without aiding me in any way except complaining and asking me demoralizing questions like: Sgt, where are you taking us to? How much more do we have to walk? Are we in the right direction? Here got so many mosquitoes! Hurry bring us to the end point sgt! So, yeah. It was tough and the fact that I had to by pass the cemetery made it freakier. Hahaha. But it was a great experience! Not every day you get to do such dreaded things, nonetheless you would only want to do it once and never again. I rather mug on topics relating to probability at pioneer mall!

More shit are gonna flow in for me come the day SPIDERMAN 3 premiers in Singapore because I will be promoted to 2SG! Hahaha. There are a lot of mixed feelings with regards to this promotion. Of course, promotions are great but it is the responsibilities that could kill you. More work will come, expectations to perform will be higher and punishments given will be graver! Only time will tell how I will live up to the rank. It is all about, giving your best and expecting nothing in return right? Just persevere :)

2007-04-15T03:45:00.000-07:00

gatherings!

it' always fun to meet up with people from school :) thank you juniors and sc8ters! hope to see you guys soon, but not too soon laa. let me miss you guys! ahahaha. good luck for the coming syf and continue this section bbq/steamboat tradition to future generations and batches of acj trumpeters :)

2NTM alert red! here i come, the country's 1st line of people to be activated in case any emergency pops up! hope nothing pops up. - keeping fingers crossed- won't be seeing anyone in the civilian world for a good 2 wks. its time to save money! ahahah. ilyas! one last bubble tea :)

2007-04-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Yay to unit life?
the transition back to unit life was definitely a tough one especially when it comes to communicating to the men. i had to personally make the transition of tone to how i would convey my instructions to the men. It's not easy at all.

during PS course : Guys! It's 0545hrs now. Let's all go for breakfast and fall in.
trainees' reply : No problem. Roger that.

in unit : Bravo company!! its 0615hrs now! i want everybody down for breakfast now! Come down or i'll confine you this weekend! (the screamings will continue for another good 15 mins before the majority of them starts to form up at the parade square)
men reply : Sgt, you wake us late whaat. Early in the morning shout shout for #$%$%! Sgt, anyway some of them cannot go for breakfast because they got stomachache, headache, faceache and leg cramp.

Sometimes i really do wonder our roles as their commanders. Are we supposed to wake every single one up? if that's the case, then i won't wake up unless my csm wakes me up. And for that matter, shouldnt the chief of army play a part in waking up the officers as well? it's simply ridiculous.

Well, there were not many changes except maybe now the walls look better with fresh paint but other than that, there aren't any drastic changes. The men are still the same, always living up to my notion that they're making the specialists' lives living hell. They are still very reluctant to go for breakfast, always trying to come up with "real" reasons for not participating in any trainings, trying their luck to smoke the commanders and of course, jumping at any opportunity to sleep during office hours. I just don't understand them.

Sometimes, i really wish the men could be more understanding and serious to us especially when we attempt to knock some sense into them with all the pep and motivation talks. They're simply not inspired and it is really sad when i see my superiors attempting to do it. Tremendous amount of effort was put in and we really do mean well but these toads couldn't be bothered at all and what they are only concern with are offs, leaves, book outs, slacking, keng-ing and nights offs. They can only be motivated by carrots hence speaking volumes of their character.

Sighs. COS duty on Good Friday tmr :( Somebody save me!

2007-04-02T02:26:00.000-07:00

yet another cam-whoring session!
it was certainly a night where we took our turns in appreciating the arts at the esplanade by watching andrew lioyd webber's most successful musical, the phantom of the opera and treating our ears to the pleasant sound of acjc concert band. you guys played well :)

dr lee: it just gets better each year, thanks to you guys(senior batches of acjc band)..

trust me, we were pretty drained out after all the shots! hahaha :) but it was funfunfun with carol,samantha,meowzhi,fyedee and ilyas!

2007-03-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

absolute experience.

A course like no other. It offers an ever-changing mosaic of stressful battle landscapes and fascinating contrasts. Of character and value. Of beliefs and teachings. Of principles and direction. And of experiences so uniquely enriching and profound.

yay! its over. back to unit life :)

2007-03-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

i'm living with a shadow overhead

sleeping with a cloud above my bed

i've been lonely for so long

trapped in the past, i just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away

Just in case I ever need `em again someday

I've been setting aside time

To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

I've been looking for somene to shed some light

Not somebody just to get me through the night

I could use some direction

And I'm open to your suggestions

i need an inspiration rather than just another negotiation

And I tried and tried.

To say whats on my mind.You should have known.Now I'm done believing you.You don't know what I'm feeling.I'm more than what, you made of me.I followed the voice you gave to me.But now I gotta find, my own..you should have listened

astw coursemates with charles, kenneth and jinwei

2007-02-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

it was totally unplanned! where there's shit, there are flies - fyedee

we were supposed to meet up for li-ner(lunch cum dinner) at manhatten fish market around 3pm but then again its matin-este-ilyas-fyedee's meet up, when were we ever punctual? in the end we only started eating at 5pm! thats punctuality for you. after that, we found out that the acband juniors were having a birthday celebration for hafiz at secret recipe which was within the same vicinity-plaza singapura. so yeah, us being us, we went to check them out. afterall they were just 2 floors down. happy 19th birthday hafiz! may this be a better year for you in all aspects :)

then we decided to chill out at ben and jerry's for ice-cream. the place was initially really empty.there wasn't anyone at all. so, we decided to play a number of card games to keep ourselves entertained but after half an hour, we were surprised to see an overwhelming crowd forming in ben and jerry's. and guess what event was gonna take place there? band performances organised by NUS science society! totally unplanned and it was definitely a worthwhile book out :)

chinese new yr was alright. spent most of my time with family. the remaining time was spent guarding the bedok camp, safeguarding my dear guards camp on behalf of all the other chinese. my dad organised a bbq for fun which took place at the humble, tembusu park! hehs. it was great meeting and talking crap with my cousins. we should have more of such gatherings!

also went to treat my relatives fondue@esplanade, only to realise that they do not except Nets! hehs. so my dad had to pay first but i did return him the money okaay! so it was still my treat :) hehs.

i can't seem to get buttons-from pussycatdolls out of my mind! hahaha.

2007-02-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

botanicalgardensbreeksdinner

2007-02-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Exercise voyager was certainly memorable. I was actually caught on camera for being really pissed while setting up the millionth roll of concertina wires! Bloody hell. But overall it was great. An eye-opener to this entire military war-gaming thingy. I think it all makes more sense now. The bigger picture is more complete. And of course Guards trashed the enemies.muahahahaha! Except maybe for one of the attacks where the tanks refuse to explode as we do not have the test set for the law tubes which made Cpt Paul really pissed off! Hahaha. It was damn funny how he actually went all the way to the battlefront to ask those tankies what we could do to kill them! There were many firsts for me. Being able to experience the different modes of transport – chinooks for insertion, recce jeep for patrol as well as the carrier boat as part of the movement phase. Looking forward to ATEC.

Este's so-called surprise dinner turns out to be really SURPRISING in the end. But it was fun still. You should have seen how Este was damn disappointed when we told her that we only bought for her a small pathetic card. She was so trying to put that fake miss universe but well-maintained smile. Eventually, we revealed her actual gift which had a catch to it. She had to consume it within the next half an hour otherwise it would melt and be wasted. So, she had no choice but to share the tub of ice cream that we had carefully chosen the flavours (which were our individual favorites by the way). This is to teach her the lesson of sharing on her twentieth birthday! Muahahahah. *Evil laughs. Jokes aside, Happy Birthday Este. Grow up and start being punctual.hehe. and and, it can't be help that some people are just out to make your life more "interesting". Just ignore and laugh over their efforts for credit :)

Farewell fuyee!
Here's wishing you all the best as you enter a new environment as part of your academic pursuit. Don't worry too much ah! I'm sure you'll do well like you have always done so in the past :) CSM has always been singing praises about how capable and responsible you are.hahaha. There was one occasion while I was doing work for encik, and he came up to me and said: I think what fuyee said was true, never prove your worth. Otherwise, you'll be the victim of being arrowed! I guess if you survived him, you would be able to survive everything on this planet!

I should have went to the steamboat/bbq lunch last sat with you guys but it was thanks to my eye infection that made it seemingly impossible to go out.damn. Anyway, thanks for being a great mentor/upper-study. You and Nicholas made my transition to unit life smoother. And if not for you guys, there is a big possibility of me signing tones of extra duties. You taught me well and I'm sure people in Melbourne would be fortunate to have you around. Keep in touch :) I'll try to send you your favourite SAF night snacks via mail! Hehe. Stay hip and funky. Farewell smarty pants.

2007-01-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

cool slides!

2007-01-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Ukranianrhapsody.choraleandshakerdance.symphonicoverture.lionking.piratesofthecaribbean.

prague1968.slava.slavonicmarch.phantomoftheopera.October...

The fun of playing music with the ac/dunearn band
I miss those days, playing all the various parts be it challenging or easy. I truly enjoyed every moment of music making with the seniors, juniors and those in my batch. It was truly a great experience. Although the process may be stressful and more often than not challenging - especially when it comes to meeting dr lee's standards of intonation and musicality, its amazing how one can still enjoy playing his parts at the end of the day.

Some of the memorable songs...

I will never forget musicforprague1968 for its complicated rhythms and randomness. It never fails to make my heart beat faster and put my sweat glands to work!
Then there was phantom of the opera. A beautiful arrangement! Although, I may have screwed up my solo (hehehe), but that song was fanta-bulous. Truly enjoyed every part :)
And of course JX sax solo for symphonic overture. Speechless.
Ghost train and Godzilla eats Las Vegas. Fun and cool pieces!

I miss those good old days.

funfunfun moments
at settler's cafe with issac,meijuan,jilyan,carol,samantha,vivian and ilyas

Happiness is not simply the absence of despair,
It is an affirmative state in which our lives have both meaning and pleasure..

2007-01-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

Giving your best without expecting anything in return
Sometimes, its just about hearing - thanks and it can be pleasing to the ears. It gives that sense of satisfaction after putting in a lot of effort into the things that you do. Some people are simply oblivious to the amount of effort that has been put in to accomplishing some stuff. And every time this happens, I just feel like quitting, shutting down and have that heck-care-cum-whatever attitude. But I cant. I cant bring myself to do it. To let disasters unfold before me is simply impossible. I guess I will just have to give my best and swallow the rest of the shit down my throat unwillingly.

If you think, Im fine with you pushing all the work to me then youre wrong.
If you think, Im capable of doing everything under the sun, then I can only hope youre right
If you think, I enjoy your company then think again.
If you think, Im fine with the comments that you make about me then you must be really naive
If you think, I have no problems of my own then you must be either ignorant or Helen Keller
If you think, I love being where I am now then you should really go and check how high is your level of insanity
If you think, Im earning a lot every month and that I should not have any financial difficulties then you should go and see the world
If you think, you can make me hate my friends then youre gonna need a lot of luck
If you think, that Im such an on-the-ball person then it just shows how bloody slack you are
If you think, Im a happy-happy kind of a person then I really hope youre right.
If you think, Im willing to accept my work being done by others then you so do not understand me
If you think, I enjoy going out with the same group of people again and again then you may be wrong.
If you think, I dont care what people comment about me then you must not be human.
If you think, Im fond of you then youre right
If you think, Im willing to forgive and forget the things that you have done to me then youre right
If you think, I dont deserve to be where I am now then we should switch places and see how you would cope
If you think, I dont give a damn about you when I dont reply your messages then you are so wrong
If you think, I talk a lot because I love to then you truly do not understand the art of distracting oneself from his problems and to never let him have a second to ponder about it
If you think, I miss you then yes I do.
If you think, Im in need of your presence and guidance then youre right
If you think, I am willing to tell you everything that I want to then Im afraid I have yet to find the courage to do so
If you think, youre the closest friend whom I can confide in anytime then yes, jackpot
If you think, I like the way you do things then it doesnt matter at all
If you think, I can never be better than you then bring it on
If you think, I enjoy answering your calls then yes but only at times when its appropriate and when Im free
If you think, Im so dumb to not be able to detect that youre lying to me then you should go and jump down from the 2nd storey
If you think, I like working under you, then think again
If you think, I like not looking at you for at least a day then yes!

At the end of the day, its ilyas comments, este daily routine calls, my parents telling me where they are and what theyre doing on the phone, private night prayers, tolerating with gawain crappy-ness, arguing with zhonghong/deepan, talking about our bosses and eating a bowl of maggi noodles that makes my day better before I go to sleep each night.

2006-12-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

the meaning to this : damn.

betrayal

power

backstabbing

competition

struggle

love

its sounds all too familiar! hehs.but nah, its actually the words found on the trailer of

the Curse of the Golden Flower! the movie was fanatabulous:) i had a hard time convincing people

to watch the show but eventually it was hafiz and jilyan who agreed to watch it with me!hahaha.

i'm not sure bout you guys but i love all these epic shit shows. its just damn cool. and its a sad thing that malays only have like one movie thus far that flaunts the rich culture of our past.

***

the family holiday trip to Kl-genting wasnt such a bad thing. had tonnes of fun. and no, i wasnt affected

by the floods at all. although we kind of saw the floods happening at the side of the north-south expressway.

luckily for us, the expressways was built on higher ground! kl was basically filled with singaporeans. and its the same.

nothing has changed at all. and hence i concluded that i shall never ever go there for a holiday ever again because

it gets kindda boring!

oh yeah, met up with the acband people for the chalet and boy, i felt ancient with all those junior band members. it just daunts on me that i'm turning 20 and i'm already a j4! hahaha. i somehow landed up in a room with estee,fyedee and ilyas playing bridge.but it was fun still :)

oh, also met up with the acjc trumpet section for a bbq once again. the tradition of this section bbq seem to have surpass our expectation when we first organised it when we were in j1! its great to see everyone.boris was back from london for a break(gave us a lot of insight to studying in UK and boy i hope i can have a chance to go there for an exchange or something when i'm in uni. it was very motivating!),jiawei who just became a chao recruit!,johnathan still in ocs now in his planning and management phase,este who's waiting anxiously for the next sem break(although she has yet to start sch for the new sem!),gen still trying to find a job while waiting for results to be out, viv alr found herself a job by giving sectionals to jwss band members,david awaiting for ns, daryl who's happily ord-ing and of course the juniors preparing to start a brand new year filled with stress leading to the A'levels.good luck to everyone :)

spent the last day of 2006 with my family celebrating hari raya aidil adha and watching the fireworks display from marinasouth to usher in the new yr. the view was spectacular!

2006glad it's over.

it has been a rather hectic yr and things just keep coming and coming.

a yr that was filled with much unexpected moments. and there were even instances that i wished i could be teleported to 2007. if there was a yr that i was given a chance to relive again, 2006 would definitely not be the choice. but i was glad and proud of some things that happened in that yr. overall, i'm glad that i survived 2006.

2007

i wanna improve myself in every area possible!

get my driving license.hehs

perform well in ex.voyager and atec

read more books!

have more fun with friends/family

learn something new!

do things that will strengthen my faith

be a better person

go for breakfast at the cookhouse at a higher frequency!hehs.

save money! but must get an ipod.hahaha

and more importantly, enjoy every single day :)

to my frens,

i can only hope for things to get better for everyone in 2007

2006-12-18T06:11:00.000-08:00

quote of the wk;

"..the secret of success is sincerity -

once you can fake that, you've got it made."

jean giraudoux,1882-1944,french playwright

and to ilyas, you sure get that right!hehs.

merry advance christmas to all of you :)

here's the link to my pics,este.see you guys soon!kudos.

www.picasaweb.google.com/mohammadmatinmohdari/yr2006

2006-12-17T05:17:00.000-08:00

its not exercise greyhawk,voyager,warrior or even nomad but its..
exe. no turning back
macritchie to bukit timah

fun is defined by the company

2006-12-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

when in doubt mumble,

when in trouble delegate and

when in charge, ponder

james boren

i kindda see myself most of the time delegating!hahaha.

i think i can consider myself as well as the other three toads-este,su and ilyas, ambassadors of the healthy living campaign! once again, we see ourselves donning our sports gear, all set and ready for another fun and crazy yet streneous activity.

Exe. 'no turning back', macritchie to bukit timah nature reserve :)

when you put four crazy idiots together, no amount of rain,mud and distance could deter us from accomplishing our mission. maybe with the exception of dogs and monkeys!

so yeah, we spend our sunday going for a nature walk from macritchie to bukit timah

it was hell lot of a fun! i managed to make them bash through a small part of the forest to see how a sispec navex checkpoint looked liked and brought them to the mouth of the reservoir, which had a spectacular view for us to do some cam-whoring! hahaha.funfunfun :)

2006-12-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

funfunfun. in every sense of the word
yes, yes ilyas.you're right. i would take forever to upload my pics!hahaha.but it couldnt be help.i'm too busy with my Ns stuff and duties. i tried okaay, sending este the pics that night but hahahah i fell asleep while typing! whatever it is, in a nutshell the past 2 weeks have been fun hangin out with friends and family :)

persadaSENI @ ESPLANADE

went for the PGL musical, which was awesome.

from the cast to the props. the settings and the creative alternatives to scenes from the actual movie

my goodness, im truly proud of the production

we need more of such plays,tiara jacquelinas and epic movies which flaunts the rich culture of malays!

the show was full house of course and everyone, from the pakciks and makciks to the young kids,

were all dressed up for the occasion

met a few of the celebrities, khairudin and sharon just to name a few

and thats only because i do not know the names of the rest!hahaha.

managed to get a pic with sharon.hahaha.she looks cool :)

oh! went to see fidah dance at one of the outdoor stages of esplanade

journeytotheEAST

i do not know why, but este suddenly had to come up with the crazy idea of cycling

and yeah, so i had to drag ilyas along but it was great fun! especially after the cycling where we went to walk all the way to parkway parade for dinner and eunos mrt subsequently. took loads of pics

and yeah i'm pressured to post them online because i took the most pics! hahaha

cousins hangout

you may think that this has got to be the lamest thing on earth but yeah thats just how me and my cousins are :)

they had to plan this outing the very next day just after i went cycling and i was freaking tired! sooo, i actually smoked out in the morning part.off my phone and remained uncontactable for the entire morning! so that i do not have to go escapethemepark!hahahaha.basically i was too tired lar.hope u guys understand.

after that we went to eat at far east and then proceed to mindscafe at boat quay!

had a lot of fun :) we were practically shouting and screaming our hearts out at that cafe while playing their cool games.

i can only imagine how chaotic it would be if i went there with my friends!

a must-go destination. mindsCafe@boatquay

2006-11-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

no. i just can't miss this chance.
i just can't.
i really wanna go. and yes i'm going
despite the bad restricted view seats, the high probability of me going alone and my busy work schedule.i dont care! i'm going.
$30.saturdaynight.esplanadetheatre.
anyone interested?

2006-11-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

so take a look at me now

'cause there's just an empty space

phillcollins.mariahcarey

*

ns entry alert.
warning: this may bore you but i dont care i need my space to just get things out of my mind.

and so, it has begun.extras,guard duties,scolding sessions,mass signing of the informal punishment book for sgts and all the other shit work. they are all coming one after another like as though this entire series of the worst-is-yet-to-come episode is well orchestrated and well planned by HIM-encik/csm.

every single minute i spend in the company line is dreadful. i hate it. its taking a toll on me. and it gets prety frustrating. i work my ass off to really do a good job but its always a question of, if is it good enough? go to hell laa. the worst part is getting punished for things that isnt my fault. its ridiculous.just plain ridiculous.
and some people can just smoke their way through admist all this shit that is going around.
talk about pride of specialists? my foot okay. from the way YOU treat us, its as good as i'm just a normal men wearing a uniform that bears the rank of a 3rd sgt. in fact i think my men is having a better time than me. they have me to turn to. who do we as specialist have to turn to? you? of course no! at the end of the day, if we ever raise any concerns to you, it will ultimately be our fault.its always ours.never yours. is it that hard to simply admit that it is your fault?

whats your fettish with inspections and standardisation? its ridiculous!

what i need is just a day for myself. a day free from worries.
fuyee, only you would understand the fate of bravo specs.
it is bad. no wonder you ran every night around camp just to get yourself out from all the hype that is happening in the company line. and i would do just that.

now, i cant even watch my Puterigunungledang musical.wth.so yeah, su its off.
thanks ah.you've just made my life livinghell.

i did COS duty on a saturday. it was pretty hectic in the morning when all the big shots were around but it gets better when all of them leaves. you'll get to just sit at the stone table looking at planes landing.enjoying the breeze, hearing music from the radio and just relax.ah, relax-a term that is hard to come by as a bravo spec. it was not too bad. although it was a saturday that could have been spend better with family/friends, i did enjoy myself doing COS all alone in the company line :)

to my friends having exams, gd luck.
i noe you would rather switch places with me and deal with all this shit than studying and feeling the pressure of doing well.
but trust me all things, good or bad will come to an end.hang in there :)
how long can the darkest or stressful 2 weeks be? its still 2 weeks, so hang in there.

*

'Cause I'm the one that loves you lately.

You and me, we got this great thing.

We're the only one's that around,

We're the only one's that around this Babylon.

I hope you find whatever you've been lookin' for.

Just remember where you're from and who you are, '

Cause there's a thousand lights that'll make you feel brand new,

But if you ever lose your way,

I'll leave one on for you.

So, come back and you sit down. Relax.

Everything's to see that you've come a long, long way,

And it's the place that you should be.

danielpowter.loveyoulately

2006-11-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones,

as the wind blows out the candle and fans the bonfire :)

francois,Duc de La Rochefoucauld

the heart has its reasons, that reason knows nothing of.

2006-11-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

crazy moments at vivocity with su,este,azad&ilyas :)

2006-11-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

you guys make my day :) me,ilyas,fyedee,sue and este :)

2006-11-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

cam-whoring is definitely FUN!

2006-11-12T03:21:00.000-08:00

2006-11-12T03:17:00.000-08:00

touchdown! i couldnt have been any happier :)

2006-11-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

bye bye temburong.mt biang and lakiun camp :) yayness!

individuals that just make my day everyday.yah,i'm sure!

a survivor!

Glad to be finally back home :) the past few weeks have been the worst yet memorable and great experience for me.there were definitely defining moments in that densely vegetated forest! there were times when i was desperately craving for the SAF dog biscuits! can u believe it? it was that bad.its definitely something that i will never ever forget and i hope to never re-experience it again!

R&R,which was supposed to be rest and relax eventually turned to remorse and regret upon reaching the oh-so-vibrant capital.brunei was B-O-R-I-N-G.they only had 0ne, i repeat ONE mac in the entire country! and that mac wasnt even spectacular or huge. i bet the mac at bukit gombak was larger than it! and and they couldnt have gotten more creative with the name of their biggest shopping centre in the capital(which was not even huge at all, i think lot one was larger! my gdness.)- the mall.wow! how cool.ahahaha.so yeap, enough bout brunei.glad to be back!

***

always a step back
dont think i'm ready yet.

life can only be understood backwards and can only be lived forwards. :)

***

one day hari-raya was fun still.met up with everyone:) it is always cool to see how much ur relatives and cousins have grown.hahaha.i'm speaking like as though i'm, ancient! day2 was a rather fun day with my closest buddies and friends :) really appreciated them coming to my place just to have a cam-whoring session before i leave for brunei.thanks alot guys!

2006-10-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

let me try to squeeze in some time to blog!hehs

this past week have been really hectic with camp/bruneitrip and home-hariraya prep.i dont even have time to breathe!hahaha.busybusybusy.and and because of that i missed my dunearn besties outing last night with samcarolfyedeeilyas.damn should have just heck care about all the other stuff that im busy with and just spend quality time with my long time friends. looking at the pics on fyedee's blog just make me green with envy for not being there! actually i feel quite bad bout it lar.there have been many instances whereby they invited and ask me out but i couldnt make it due to my other unworthy obligations.hahaha.tonight's j1j2j3 band iftar is another outing that im not able to go due to my home's annual spring cleaning that will take place 8pm sharp to the next day around 3am if everything goes on fine based on my experience for the past decade.and guess who's incharge? my mum! so i cant say no or she'll nag nag and nag till hariraya.hahahah.i'll make sure my bro suffers together with me!muahahaha.anw,enjoy buke-ing together guys at far east right? and send my regards to the rest :)

i just realise something. i'm not gonna meet a lot of people for a long time! thanks to the hectic schedule leading to ex Lancer in Brunei.and there are so much stuff that i wanna do including meeting my friends.this truly sucks! so, i just feel like giving personal messages to them just before i set off for brunei next week:)

ilyas: you are like the only constant in my life! no matter how busy or how tired i am, i dont think we have ever missed any bubble tea trips to Lot 1(dont forget about tonight's one ar!).hahahaha. now that you have a blog, you have another alternative in expressing ur views and sarcasm, besides the usual sms-es or phone calls! and and for your range, dont worry lar. im sure its due to the weapon.lets just keep it that way, when one can't dance, its due to the floor shaking uncontrollably! ahahaha :) now that you are trying to get back the primary school hairstyle, i suggest you better stop and save the world from more eye irritation looking at you! the haze is bad enough.hahaha. nonetheless, selamat hari raya aidilfitri and maaf zahir dan batin. this hari raya would definitely be different. i dont think we would even have any jalan raye unless you guys can plan one when i get back on the 12nov.hahaha. if there is, you must take loads of pictures.try to stay hip and cool!hahaha, just joking lar.but seriously selamat hariraya and have fun :) i'll try to get some plants back from brunei!hahaha.

fyedee: hey!my cool cousin/friend! l'm not even sure if im gonna jalanraye with datuk's side. but whatever it is, im sure you do not have any mood for raye thanks to the A'levels.anw, really wanted to wish you all the best for the Alevels.im sure your hard work will pay off.just dont give up.this is the final stretch then in a few years time we could study together again in nus with ilyas, carol sam and the rest.i'm sure its gonna be fun:) really regretted not going for the outing yesterday! whatever it is, i dont have to worry so much cos cos i noe that we can always plan another fun outing another time. last week's guy's out in town was really cool. miss having conversations with all my close friends like those we had eons ago, during our kental-an days in dunearn.hahaha.well, things have changed and we kindda of lead different lives now and it would be hard to spend quality time with everyone. well, at least we could try doing so in future! here goes: selamat hariraya!maaf zahir dan batin.amidst all the conversations, be it sarcastic or not, hurtful or joyful, pleasant or unpleasant, deep in my heart i know that we care for all of our friends and thats the only reason why we do that. thats the only thing that have kept our friendships-fuzion,sclub,sclubminusone and bandkampongs-close and tight. and i believe it would continue to be so in yrs to come.

fidah: hey!my fun math tuition and study mate at woodlandslibrary. i'm truly glad that you're now doing well in school and having fun! i feel bad for not being able to meet up with you despite the many occasions that you have initiated! everyone is so busy and that the time is always not right. blame it on the SAF! damn ns!hahaha. never mind about that but i truly appreciate your views on my designs.hahaha, anyway just to inform you, my poster/banner won the first prize!hahaha.great great:) i doubt i will be able to meet you anytime soon just to have chats session over drinks but i promise once i get back from brunei, i'll make sure i make time to hang out with you guys :) so yeah, just wanted to wish you selamat hariraya.maaf zahir dan batin!enjoy yourselves and send my regards to ur family.i'm sure now your bro will look soo cute wearing the bajukurung!erms, the youngest one i mean! hahaha. the other one is like beanstalk!he's damn tall ah. must tell me what he eats cos i dont think im still growing! shit.

khai: heycool cikgu! hahaha..really glad to have met you at westmall.wait wait..hmmmm.i doubt you would be reading this. but nonetheless, just wanted to wish you selamat hari raya! hope to meet you soon. i'll send an sms to you! hahahaha. contingency plan!

suhaila/sue/su: my very insightful friend who looks at this world at a totally different angle!hahahah. never fails to inspire me to do some soul searching on my part. you're like my easy-to-access ahmad deedad.hehs. i still do not noe when i can meet you to pass you ur bsb cds as well as ur taiwan gift! they are seriously collecting dust on my shelf!!hahahah.but at least its not lost with my mess!hahaha. never mind lar, i think i'll pass you after brunei when i can pass you the brunei souveniers as well.hehehe.hmm, of course i'll never forget about you and your views on not having a relationship, adopting and matters of the heart.hahaha.ur views are seriously interesting! but whatever it is, if you plan to get married to the rich tengku-s of the brunei palace, just tell me as i will be visiting them soon and i could give them ur number.i'm sure they'll be interested, especially now.. with ur cool,kickass funky hairstyle! i can give you their autographs.unless of course you already have someone in mind!hehs.anw, jokes aside, just wanted to wish you selamat hariraya.maaf zahir batin. of course i noe i haven been the perfect friend that would say everything nice and great about everything. but its only because im being frank and i rather be comfortable with those around me and not be someone else. hence thats the reason for me apologising if i have said anything that have in one way or another hurt or affected you. i admit doing so, in fact, it has been on too many occasions that i couldnt remember!hahahah.so yeap.enjoy this yr's hari raya with family/friends.gd luck in ur coming exams after raya and send my regards to your family :) meet ya soon!

carol: hi drliew. you are one of those that i will always laugh recalling the kind of questions that you asked me at one point in time. "matin ar, do you noe where the flies fly to when it rains?" "do you knoe what happens when you die? i think ah when i die, i envision myself in a place where there are many escalators leading to the respective gods and i wont have any designated to me cos i dunno who i wanna follow now!"hahaha. whatever it is, it has always been cool hanging out with you especially when you start giving ur theories on how the world works with issues touching on the topic of friends.another one of my insightful friends! really blessed to have you guys around :) i still remember the first time i actually worked with you.hahaha. my balls were shrinking with fears!hahaha.pardon me for the crude ns language.haha.but yeah, it has been fun ever since.see ya around soon!

samantha: smarty pants, now with a so much cooler hairstyle! really miss talking to you. the last time i met you was when i uttered like a sentence to you in nus!hahaha.soo, must meet up soon!ok ok i noe its my fault that i wasnt present for yesternight's outing. i'll try to make it up some time soon:) update ur blog and i hope the haze isnt bothering you too much cos from ur entries you seemed really really concerned over the haze clouding our nation!hahaha :) stay hip and funky with lots of pizzas and cheese!hahahahaha.

shasha,cousin: gd luck for ur A'levels!study hard ar.hehehe.this yr its ur turn!muahahahaha.ok lar, im not that evil! seriously continue to push on and dont give up! you have reached the final league.give your best shot! i hope you have sufficient rest despite ur hectic study schedule! i hope i could still recognise you at nenek's place when you arrive and not mistaken you for some walking zombie in tudong or a giant panda with baju kurung!hahaha.see ya on tues :)

este: i hope things have been going on fine for you. im glad that you are really enjoying yourself in nus. campus life is truly interesting huh.cant wait to enter! whatever it is i hope you'll continue to have an enriching life there.im not sure why but i kind of find it hard to say anything to you now. it just seems so weird. there seems to be this uncomfortable barrier.im not sure why but i dunno lar, maybe its just me.anyway, i hope we could meet up despite our busy schedules, just to have a chat with ilyas,su,fyedee and the rest.i'm sure there's alot to talk about.anyway, just wanna wish you selamat hariraya aidilfitri! maaf zahir dan batin. yes i noe i've been an idiotic friend, giving you sarcastic msgs early in the morning and comments on the phone! hahaha.but please give me credit for the sarcastic sms-es.its not easy being sarcastic on text messages!heheh, jokes aside. i really really would like to apologise if i have ever,(which i believe is most of the time) said or do anything that may have hurt or affected you in one way or another. sometimes right, we pass certain comments not because we feel good or find pleasure in doing so. its because we are just looking out for one another.lets put it as all of us do really care for one another and that we try our best to help out one another as and when we can to the best of our ability. i'm seriously glad with the relationship that we-you,me,ilyas,fyedee,sam,carol,sue,khai,fidah and the rest- have all this while. i hope it will continue for yrs to come:) anyway, yeah selamat hariraya once again. gd luck for your incoming exams next month.send my regards to ur family and ur cute little bro :) must show me his pic with baju kurung!hahaha

this has been a super duper long entry!hahaha.its not like everyday that i could give all my friends a card with my personal messages for them!this seems to be a better alternative. a cheaper one too! now..dont give me that now-you-are-earning-a-sergeant's-pay-and-that-you-should-be-better-off-than-me look! i'm budget alright!hahaha

i hope you noe where i am coming from.

2006-10-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

its time for some ART appreciation!

its like 9am on a thursday, a weird and rare occasion for me to blog as i would be stuck in camp, either doing stand-bys or duties in the company line. nonetheless, the point is I AM AT HOME NOW! hahaha but not for long. i came back this morning cos my officers wanted me to grab hold the soft copies of the safety poster and banner that i've made to send it for battallion competition. can you believe it? in the army, creativity and artwork still counts! sooo, here is a peek at my poster and banner. i hope that they will be winning pieces!hahha, (i put in alot of effort okay!) maybe one day, the army would use these safety posters instead of the usual, boring, squarish ones!hahahaha :)

presenting the poster and banner of the day! hahaha*drum rolls*

(above) dehydration, a very important health hazard that many do not seem to take seriously! observe ur urine!

(above) resting is essential in our lives.train hard and rest hard! sleeping for seven hours a day (not more ar!) would optimise ur performance for the day :)

2006-10-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

trip to GeylangSerai Bazaar at 0130hrs!

it was filled with much fun, but not forgetting that almost all of my cousins' eyes were practically trying their best to keep it open! it was of course my idea,haha.they were all already very tired but i just had to drag all of them there as i wanted to get a bite of the dengdeng-a malay, halal version of bak kwa! its not everyday that i can eat such stuff ookay.. and the past week have been very tiring and hectic back in camp, thanks to the intense training programme to prep us for exercise LANCER in brunei which is gonna take place 2 days after Hari Raya.how much worst can it get right?

above are snapshots of dengdeng, my relatives trying to put on a smile!(which i can see them putting some effort!), my uncles and dad posing infront of their cars and of course the road sign that says Geylang Rd, as an evidence of me being there!

yesterday, i was supposed to meet up a couple of group of people but..sadly it didnt happen, not because i didnt want to but circumstances just didnt allow me to do so. sorry guys! here's a brief plan of what was supposed to happen yesterday..

supposed to have met at 6pm, somerset mrt station for a class gathering cum dinner with hafidz(who planned it btw),qianqi,taufiq,azad,jacq,jo and the rest but i couldnt as i had to go over to my grandmother's place for dinner.

supposed to have met 5d, ilyas and hafiz for desserts and ice-cream after breaking fast at 9pm but the plan was cancelled when hafiz had to celebrate someone's birthday(i wonder whose!hehehe), ilyas had to return back to camp for duty and 5d had to watch a movie with his friends.

supposed to have tagged along with su and este for break fast somewhere, which i totally regretted not going as they went to pizza hut! aargh.i guess maybe next time..

whatever it is, i really miss hanging out with my friends :) i still have to pass su her bsb cds as well as the gift that i bought for her from taiwan and and i still gotta meet up with fusion to catch up on how they have been doing so far and i gotta meet este and ilyas for any latest gossip or sensational news!hahahaha. so many things to do and too little time. 1guards have been tiring me and taking too much time from me!

if you guys are reading this, plan something ok! i'll have a block leave a wk before raya, so maybe we could go out :)

oh oh oh.before i forget. go check out ilyas's blog! at orangecrumblepie.blogspot.com
it's a miracle that he had managed to handle all the html crap to come up with a decent blog, which will not be very decent in the forseeable future, due to the predictable gossips and bitchyness that is to come in a different format(not from his mouth but in his sentences!) can't wait for it. its definitely gonna be interesting :)

2006-10-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

finally, i've the time to make changes to my blogskin.was rather bored at the previous layout. i was actually experimenting with the html thingy, which i'm not very comfortable with btw. but somehow along the way i was too caught up with other things that i totally forgot that i had a blog! whatever it is, yes i'm back with this new, fresh and very very simple layout.

ilyas was mentioning to me that my entries were mostly bout ns, which is oh-so-boring! i've noted it and will try but no promises though to keep the entries on my national service to the minimum.hahaha. i have to put this on the record, that ilyas is actually one person in this world that i will take his critics and comments like seriously.my, you'll never know what he could do to you if you go against him! trust me, you'll never wanna know. oh btw, ilyas just joined the 19 year old club after years and years of living in his own world believing that he's only 13 and that mariah carey will come knocking at his door one day to sing the song, without you. maybe that was why he didn't want to celebrate his 19th birthday with a bash as it would be a slap on his face with a big signboard that says: REALITY CHECK!YOU'RE GETTING OLDER.GROW UP!

nonetheless, i had to drag him out to at least have a talk, not because i want to, but because i had nothing better to do!hahaha.soo, i dragged carol along too to make it more interesting. we were hanging out at starbucks.talk bout school, ns(not again), friends(hehe,some issues!),future plans, views on life and yeah basically about everything! after that we headed to the nearest food court to get whatever food that we have been craving before the act of fasting actually begins the next day. above are the pictures. happy birthday ilyas :)

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do and nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
whatever.screw this.

2006-09-02T01:23:00.000-07:00

the different side.

i have always wanted to do something,
something that would make a difference to people's lives.

right from the begining, i've always dedicated my services to lead my peers, juniors and friends. leadership has always been something very close to my heart. i dunno why but i just feel like doing it as and when i feel that i should stand up and just speak up for the rest. there are things in this world which i hate and these are the very things that make me wanna do something to change it. i do not like the idea of letting the shit flow around. even if it doesn't concern me anymore, we should always spare a thought for those coming after us. my passion for leadership continued to my days in the army. i've always been positive about changing and making a difference to the lives of others. its not about pride or glory. i just wanna see things change.

"why aren't you guys smiling anymore? we must look forward to each day with full of enthusiasm! smile more and be happy!.." 2WO teo.PC of golf coy

entering sispec, at pasir laba was of course and eye opener to my weakness and strengths. i learnt a lot from the warrent officers there-2WO teo, 1WO chew and sgt salman just to name a few. they made me motivated to do more than just the ordinary. these individuals make me aspire to be an extraordinary commander. their passion and motivation simply impressed me.

but now, things seem to have changed. i'm not the motivated person anymore. i do not know where have all my aspiration to lead my men gone to. as the task of doing so daunts on me, it feels almost impossible. with many of my peers now trying their best to get out from this route, i do not really have many people to share my sentiments with. every night before i go to sleep, i ask myself if i am ready to lead these men. my answer has been a NO ever since i spent my days in the bunks of 1st guards.

"..why me?why of all people its me? THEY have many other suitable candidates for this position, but why me? why must THEY always send me to places where i do not want to be in?.."

i talked to my parents about this over the phone last week and i immediately broke down in tears. never in my life have i felt this low in morale before. simply put in words, i've reached my bottom rock.

days later, i felt that there's no point in just being disappointed and unhappy about it. its about facing my fears and focusing on my strengths.
fears of not being able to earn the respect of the men
fears of not being able to change their lives for the better
fears of not being able to be there for them when they need me

it's only today that i realise, it doesn't matter whatever the reason why i'm here.He and They must have their reasons for doing so but more importantly, i'm here for a purpose, for better or for worst i have to face it and not let my men down. i'm not going to follow how those commanders that have come before me have led their men.this is me.i'll do it my way, my style.

to each individual is his own way and style.
insyallah, with strength, wisdom and guidance from Him, i'll be able to succeed.

thanks :)

2006-08-27T03:49:00.000-07:00

this is the moment.
the graduation parade finale

2006-08-27T03:34:00.000-07:00

all geared up to be a 3rd sgt!
the cool/crap/talking cock guys of my section - john,clement,ameer,bob,me,gabs,hamizan and iman
my close ones.
the mats of echo 1 - ali,hamizan and iman

the graduation parade finale.
a dedication to those who have helped transformed me to what i am now

I've never been the one to raise my hand,
That was not me and now that's who I am
Because of you I am standing tall,

My heart is full of endless gratitude,
You were the one,
the one to guide me through,
Now I can see and I believe it's only just beginning

This what we dream about but the only question with me now
Is do I make you proud
Stronger than I've ever been NOW
Never been afraid of standing out
But do I make you proud

I guess I've learned, to question is to grow
That you still have faith, is all I need to know
I've learned to love, myself in spite of me
And I've learned to walk, the road that I believe

Everybody needs to rise up
Everybody needs to be loved,
to be loved

This what we dream about
but the only question with me now
Is do I make you proud

Stronger than I've ever been NOW
Never been afraid of standing out
But do I make you proud

tailor hicks :)

2006-08-27T02:33:00.000-07:00

taiwan-oh-taiwan!
of course, i wasn't excited at all initially about going to taiwan since i already have a rough idea of how tough the training and terrain would be. the feeling that i got at the airport before leaving singapore was basically a 'sian' one, very different from the sentiments that i had before going to china and switzerland with the school band. i went there with much hesitation. if given a choice, i would rather slack in singapore!ahaha, yeah that's the true feelings of every full time national servicemen! upon reaching, i was utterly shocked by the mountains that stood before me. the weather didn't helped at all. it was freakin hot! and at that point in time, i knew the next 19 days would be a hell lot of an experience.

true enough, we climbed mountains after mountains, walked over a distance of more that 30km in 3 days in full gear, slept in orange plantations for 8 days, fed mosquitoes and more mosquitoes, crossed rivers after rivers, not bathing(eww!), got drenched by the rain almost every night, suffered with the extreme heat in the day, fight objectives after objectives and ate the oh-so-delicious combat rations almost every single day. it was tough. but but..fun and interesting at times.nonetheless, i would never never ever want to relive that experience again!

it's amazing how we motivated ourselves throughout the entire exercise our in the field.some of us choose to do a countdown while others talk about what they plan to do the first thing they reach home. some simply chose to sleep through it whenever they can. others make themselves happy by heating their combat rations by laying it on the ground using the heat from the sun and then eating it using a fork, imagining that they are somewhere else. yes yes it may sound very trivial but we find joy in it! i happen to be the one that initiated it! ahaha.

so what did i do to make myself survive the full 8 days outfield without any form of comfort?

i made a shopping list for my trip to taipei city!
i heat up my rations using the heat from the sun
i cooked my own version of maggi noodles
i wrote about what happen every single day in my notebook
i plucked longans and oranges!(oops, i hope my officers aren't reading this)
i enjoyed the night view with all the stars
i brushed my teeth!
i draw
i cut orange leaves into very tiny pieces and burn them, thus releasing a nice orange smell
i draw on stones that i found
i stole my friend's milo packet!ehehe.
i said my prayers.

that was how i managed to survive in the dense forest of Taiwan.
we had a fun time. a lot of stories to tell. we did things that would made us laugh when we talk about it in future. my relationships with my friends and buddies - iman,john,roy,wenfu,ryan,ameer,hamizan,gabs,clement,bob,ali and many more became stronger and it made me freaking sad that we will be going our separate ways after the new posting is out.

but life has to go on.
we'll meet up in uni!
3rd Sgt matin is coming ur way :) haha

2006-07-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

"..accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it.Reminisce about it, but don't live in it.Learn from it but don't punish yourself about it or continually regretting it.Don't get stuck in it.Move on."

and so, i managed to completely personalize my album.was rather proud at the end product!hehe.anw, also managed to collect my official A'level cert.wasn't my best performance but it was a learning experience.nonetheless, it would definitely be a morale booster for me to perform better in nus :) with the compilation of all the memories i had in acj, i can finally say that i am proud to be part of the institution that is strong in values as well as school spirit. i had a kick-ass fun time in acj. that marks the end.but the begining of a new journey, for life is not a destination but a journey :)

happy advance national day to everyone and..taiwan here i come!

2006-07-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

the straitskitchen experience
it was good, great and fanta-bulous! although the food served were normal singaporean cuisine but it was all about the ambience and presentation.the place was great.the concept was superb :) it was a great experience! nonetheless, i was rather disappointed that i couldnt try all the dishes due to my stomach capacity.hehe.but i was truly impressed with everything.every part of the restaurant was carefully crafted to make it looked uniquely singapore. i was rather proud that they managed to paint a very good image of the singapore food culture.now i sound like a singapore tourism board spokeperson!hahaha.but its really great. -hints to ..aiyar, you all know who you are! a must must go destination, once i return from taiwan!!-

2006-07-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

the straitskitchen experience. it was fanta-bulous!

2006-07-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

memories: if i could, then i would..

2006-07-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

is it that normal for the rich to flaunt and brag about their lifestyle while the less rich ones boast about how much more independent they are than the rest, having put through many difficult moments in life leaving them with not much of a choice to not lead a comfortable and convenient life?

well, at least that was what i've noticed thus far.

i just do not understand why. why? why do they have to do it and irritate each other out?

is it that difficult to understand that everyone lead lives that are different from one another. we come from various backgrounds and its only natural that most of us see our lives differently. coming from a rich background or a poor one does not matter to me. its about character and attitude.

the reason why i'm actually bothered by all this is due to the new set of friends or people that i'm exposed to now. it can be really irritating. and that is why at times, i just couldnt be bothered and simply keep quiet. my tolerance level has increased significantly. being in this new place, make me a much more reserved person. its really hard to express things to them. they do not seem to understand. everyone has a very complex way of thinking. its just hard. its freaking hard to make friends with them. they do not treat life easily. i just do not know why.

life should be carefree. yes at times it may be hard but that does not mean that you have to show people how much you are suffering because it does not bring much help except gaining sympathy from those around you. i dunno but i feel kind of caught in the middle with all of them. its close to impossible to talk freely because all of them are very sensitive to minor things. everything that i say have to be carefully thought over. it truly sucks.

the other issue that i'm really irritated and bothered with are their views on relationships. after looking at the ac yearbook and looking at the people that i have interacted with, they were seriously shocked that i was not attached to anyone. i told them that relationships are not just about, wow-you look so hot and i wanna be with you, kind of thing.apparently most of them are like that. and and they love commenting on every girl that they see, thus comparing their taste. so much for not judging the book by its cover. it is bad.

basically. the company of friends that i have now kind of sucks. but whatever la. the bottom line is to just be ignorant and sit back, appreciating the fact that you are not like them.

2006-07-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

woohoo! im finally back, achieving to a small extent, civillian status. the past 2wks have been madness! i couldn't believe it but but i managed to complete my combat skills badge course! it was really challenging especially the long endless route march, oklar not endless but rather over a distance of 32km which had to be done in 6hrs. marching with a load of at least 13kg excluding the rifle was really not a joke. the feeling sucks especially when you reach the 8km mark because that is when the temptation to fall out is the highest. you know that once you have passed the 8km mark, there would be no turning back as it is really not worth it. it was truly a test of mental strength. the route march was made "interesting" with the inclusion of river crossing to make our bodies totally drenched and hence hurting the blisters that you have at the 19km mark. to end it all, we were required to go for a rifle range test immediately after we reached the end point. with 10 live rounds given, we had to hit at least a minimum score of 6 to pass. i tot i would fail the final test as i was seriously suffering from aches and stiffness on my shoulders. but, i told myself to just heck it. if its meant to be then its meant to be. thank God, i managed to hit 9 shots. it was greatness.

congratulations to fyedee! for passing his driving test! now i have a friend who drives a car and another who drives a 5 tonner plus a land rover.ahahaha. for fyedee, your next step should be getting a car! hahaha. that would make our lives more convenient.

just before i go for taiwan, i tot i should treat my family to dinner, since now i'm earning slightly more,hehe.so, if everything goes well, insyallah it would be at straitskitchen next sat. its not everyday that i have the opportunity to treat people..so i guess now is a good time to do so :)

quite excited for next week cos i'll be taking the helicopter for exercise Grandslam2! not sure if we're taking the apache or chinnup(not really sure of the spelling!ahaha) but i hope the weather would be fine so that we will not miss that opportunity. oh yar yar..since fyedee's b'day is next week, i suggest friends, we should organise something. and and if we are budget which is most likely the case, we could make him treat us! hehe. nonetheless, looking forward to meeting everyone even if it has to resort to eating at al-amin hawker centre!

i wanna watch lindsay lohan! Just my luck. but from the looks of it, i have to wait for the release of the vcd since none of my friends are actually fans of lindsay lohan.most of them prefer hilary duff, which i think is so crappy. hahaha

2006-06-25T02:28:00.000-07:00

i think i'm lacking of people whom i can relate to in the army
its true when they say that no one can be as close as ur friends in school. its just so hard to express what you feel to new people because you'll never know what kind of person they are. and and it sucks because especially in a place where you are deprived of life, freedom and all the good civilian stuff, you are in NEED of people whom you can confide in. sighs,sighs and more sighs.

oh btw, *drum rolls*
CONGRATULATIONS! to acjc band. You guys deserve it! after all that hard work and effort put in :) i'm darn proud of you guys. welcome back!

i guess being the only child isn't such a bad thing. for the psat few days i've been the only one at home with my parents. with my brothers off to scouts camp and sydney for competition, its really great having the whole house to myself! the feeling of being the only child kind of rocks for at least a short period of time but then again, it could get pretty lonely. oh oh yes, i've got myself a new digital camera! (oklar, it's not my money but rather my parents.but i plan to pay half though,hehe). shall rephrase this: my family has a new camera! hahaha. i tot the camera was worth the buy! here's the picture:

isn't it cool? ahahaha

went out with my classmates yesterday. met azad, shaar, charles, jeremy, edwin, este, liyanna, adlinna, jacq, lawrence and joanna.it was fun hangin out with them, talking bout school life and how we have been doing thus far. should have more of such gatherings! -hints to fusion, carol and samantha!-hahaha

got to go for now. will be yet another long 2 weeks being confined in camp. -sighs-

here's something which i read:

parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. they move on. they move away. the moments that used to define them-a mother's approval, a father's nod-are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. it is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

mitch albom

2006-06-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

a random pic of me, fidah, ilyas,este,khai and fyedee

2006-06-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

the big relief. 09:47
ok, here's the thing. i never imagined myself passing soc in bmt or in bslc, sispec, wad more in aslc. but i've no freaking idea how the heck i did it, i managed to pass it last wednesday! i'll remember that day for the rest of my life.ahaha.the moment i reached the end point, i fell on my knees. while running, i felt like dying!can u believe it?? hahaha.seriously, i do not know what kept me running all the way to the end. perhaps its due to the early book out on saturday and the fact that it would be my last run down for at least these few months. its really thanks to my peers who made me pace their speed and my section instructor who told me to run like a dog and to not worry about fainting at the end as the medic wld be there to help!ahaha thanks guys! and of course to Him for granting me strength every step of the way :) yay! i'm on my way to sergeanthood!

and so the postings for those who just passed out from bmt are out! guess wad ilyas got? of all things in the world, a driver. its really ridiculous. i thought he deserves something better having passed IPPT, coming from a leadership batch and having a pes A status. but whatever lar..everything is so unpredictable. nonetheless, i think ilyas is somehow glad that he could throw away almost everything from the irritating sbo to the stinking helmet. oh yar and he didn't have to worry about putting on that oh-so-famous army facial cream, camo cream. btw, i heard azad is also a driver! ahaha.
to the rest, i wish u guys luck and hope that u guys enjoy where you guys are posted to.to mark, see you in sispec!
and to taufiq, enjoy urself in scdf! talking bout passing out from tekong, here's pics from my graduation

i kindda miss my bslc mates.
sheng quan,boon keng,john, richard, jee siang, jinxiang, yifei, sex bomb, kenneth,jie wei, qian wei, dingwen, terence, eng yeow, melvin..and more. i hope they are enjoying themselves in their new postings and that we get to meet up some day. btw for ur information, we live by the principle of welfare is the new warfare! ahahaha. thats wad golf coy had taught us.hahaha.

standardisation has a limit.
i see no point if we emphasize too much on standardisation that we actually compromise the efficiency of the platoon. standardisation is crappy. it sucks as its pointless. it only serve to make it look more organised but so what? i just can't stand commanders who are really rigid in their thinking. come on lar, policemen no longer wear shorts and the army is no longer ruled by the way it was used to. so wake up ur idea. the reason why some things never change is due to certain individuals who do not accept it due to their extremely big egos.

everyone is going for holidays! *sighs. este and sue are like enjoying themselves in malaysia and ac band is leaving for australia in 2 days..everyone is going away!! but not too bad, i'll be going to taiwan in 3 wks. however, i can somehow predict how tough the training wld be thanks to my commando platoon commander. i bet he'll make us arti drill for at least 2 km. 9 days of hell and i'm off to enjoy the rest of taiwan! my platoon commando is seriously mad. he makes us memorise 6 whole paragraphs describing the purpose and meaning to leadership. and one of his favourite paragraphs is:

leadership is the hallmark of my leadership.
i'll place my mission of paramount importance
and will not rest until my mission is completed.

isn't that a typical commandos' mentality? once a commando always a commando! ahaha. yeap, but i guess its all going to help us become better leaders! take it positively matin. for every step that u take is a step closer to the end :)

2006-05-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

now, i finally got it! oh this is just to test if the picture comes out. btw, i love this pic with carol, dom, sam, fyedee, este and err..ilyas's half face!esplanade muse concert 06.oh, i miss hangging out with all of them! erm, ilyas pic was kindda cut, sorry!ahahaha

2006-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

everything is moving very fast!
the big A'levels
prom at ritz
the dreaded enlistment to the army
all the shit stuff in tekong
devastation of A'levels results
passing out from that island of suffering
entering the most welfare sispec company, Golf coy
more trainings that i never wish to do again
ntu and nus acceptance letter
accepting nus
passing out from bslc
entering Echo coy
and the list goes on and on and on..

i miss acband.i miss the crappy stuff we do in school.i miss hagging out with my classmates.i miss my friends! i miss school.i miss playing the trumpet.i miss sitting down at the bleachers thinking about the tonnes of chapters and topics to study.i miss being a student.i miss reading lecture notes.i miss all that shit stuff that i experience the last 2 years. argh! i miss everything..

i guess if i tell the j2s this year about how much i miss school, they would really think i'm crazy. but seriously, i do miss it. life now kindda suck without school. its weird because when i was in school, i've always wanted to get out of it and just be free, not thinking about anything, not being stressed up and not being bothered by tests or exams. but now that every element of school life has been stripped from me, i feel empty and that there is really no more purpose. i lead day to day, hoping that the day would end and the weekend would come. there is really nothing to look forward to. and being in the army makes it worst. when in camp i lead my day by the activities that i'll be doing. when i wake up in the morning, the next thing on my mind is to sleep at night. that's all. that's how pathetic my life is now. it has degenerated into a life empty of meaning and purpose.

so, to make myself feel better, i always scan through the pictures in my computer to remind myself of the kind of life that i used to lead in the past. stressful as it may be, but it's definitely much more fun and interesting than it is now. so, here's a portfolio of some of the things that i went through the past years! (actually i thought the pictures should be accompanied by a powerpoint song,ahahaha, so as to create that "memories flashback" mood, but unfortunately, i do not know how to insert a song into my blog.wadever.)

ok, wait a minute. the pictures aren't coming out.argh! maybe next time when i've figured it out. *sighs*

2006-05-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

and so the long awaited movie, the davinci code.
it was greeeeeeeat! went with este and sue to the theatre at tiong bahru plaza. i knew the movie would be fun to watch and what better way to watch it with este and sue. it was always fun to discuss with them about religion. we seem to have the right frequencies when issues relating to religion were brought up.ahaha. frankly speaking, i was rather skeptical about how the movie would turn out as i've heard from reviews that the movie didn't do justice to the book(as usual). but after watching it,i thought it was worth every cent. though critics may have pointed out that the tremendous amount of facts and information were overwhelming, i thought the entire movie made the picture even more complete for the book itself. it was really good. should go check it out. yes, many may have debunked the book as one that is not supported by facts and that the author himself dan brown has written the book in such a way that it has blurred the distinction between fact and fiction, that the facts told were not true and bla bla. but i guess dan brown's objective for his book was to ultimately question about things that you will never try questioning. the story that was written may or may not be true, but it made many pause for a second, for a moment in time to ponder and reason out why some things are the way they are. however ultimately, as what robert langdon had said, its about what you believe in. you decide.
army stuff,boring stuff.
exercise grandslam was really a test of patience.
it really sucks especially when its in tekong. the only good thing that happened throughout the exercise was that it didn't rain. my morale was really way below the usual zero mark after each mission. to make matters worst, you have to put up with the naggings of the commanders as well as the disgusting combat rations and not forgetting the smell of the solid fuel that had diffused through the food and tissue packs in the accesories bag.i only survived on biscuits and whatever that was sweet for energy. by the third day, my body was so shagged out that i find sleeping for five seconds heavenly. oh yar, btw sleeping was kept to the minimum as they wanted us to remain one-third awake for the entire two nights to look out for enemy forces. like wad the crap, even the enemies would be tired.
be grateful
at lunch, my fren was complaining about how he already felt so full while halfway eating the 2 piece kfc chicken meal and that he definitely can't finish it. i told him to close his eyes and imagine that he's in tekong and right in front of him was the combat rations. guess wad he did immediately after he opened his eyes: he gobbled up his food and finished eveything in less than a minute.

if only the world could take the words of all miss universe winners seriously, "..we want world peace, we want world peace!", there won't be disputes, there won't be wars, there won't be a need to have military defence, there won't be national service and more importantly there won't be the enlistment act!argh.

wo pu yao tang ping.

wo yao hui jia!

this is what my chinese army buddies taught me to say when i wake up every morning at 0520hrs. the translated version:

i don't want to be in the army

i want to go home!

ocs is what i want!

Official Civillian Status! ahaha.

moving on, money.money.money.

the temptations of spending. why is it virtually impossible to save. i just can't bring myself to do it. i just can't. i need to do something about this. this situation is really getting out of control. think of a plan matin! think.think.think.actually, after pondering about it for 3 seconds, i realise that its all about resisting! something i'm really bad in.

girls.gals.

a friend of mine told me that the army has made him go bonkers. whenever he walked around in public, he finds that all the girls that he sees are super hot, drop dead gorgeous and to die for! as a matter of fact, i have to agree with him. everyone i see now seems to look better for some strange reason. it must be due to the high exposure of guys in the army. even sue and este, the people whom i always hang out with, i think they have changed a lot. i'm not sure if its just me or wad..but i find people around me are evolving at an alarming rate! oh no, this is bad. the army has affected me in every way possible!

2006-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

all things happen for a reason.
as i reflect about my life, i began to realise one thing: all things do happen for a reason. every failure, success, sadness, joy and anger has its reasons. its all part of the big picture. it's very much like art. we lead our lives each day by the picture that He wants us to be. every colour and every stroke that He makes with the brush is to create this final masterpiece. the perfect masterpiece of every individual. he knows for what is best for the picture. He truly knows. the picture that He's painting might not be what we want but that's only because we do not understand His idea of a perfect piece. we just need to have faith and trust that all this is for the best of our lives.

but what if i'm destined to fail, but what if i'm bound to lead a miserable life? but what if my picture is an ugly one. why bother about trying. its all about fate and destiny. i shouldn't even have given my best. what i do would only result in more disappointment. why? why must it be me? why can't i have a better life?

leaving everything to fate is just like saying you do not want your picture to be painted. and that means a chance of not leading the perfect life. every picture that is to be painted is carefully done to make it a perfect one. the problem for most of us is that we are unable to appreciate it. we want our lives to be smooth sailing,filled with joy and to be perfect in our eyes but perfection is subjective. so is happiness. we decide for ourselves wheather or not we want to be happy with our lives. it's about seeing the glass half full or half empty. its all in the mind. we decide.

the picture to be painted is perfect, no matter how we perceived it because we do not comprehend His plan. every individual is perfect in his own way. we are in no position to comment on how perfect our lives are as we truly do not know what is real perfection. only He does. we just have to trust and appreciate it.

treat failures, downfalls, setbacks and other negative things that have happened to us as life lessons for learning and improvement.and yes, its true there's always a blessing in disguise. just wait patiently for it will come. if you think there's always a mountain higher, bear in mind that there's always a mountain or a hill lower. be grateful and appreciative of where we are.

to the person close to my heart that i look up and respect to,
i understand that this must be the toughest period of your life.you have worked so hard in the hope that everything would turn out well. you did everything possible to make ends meet, to make things better for everyone, to improve the lives of others.yes you have.

however,disappointments after disappointments. but despair not. have faith in Him and trust that all this happen for a reason. it's a test. it truly is. tough times do not last but tough men do.

"...help us to be wise

and guide us with Your grace

in times when we don't know..."

you have my prayers. insyAllah everything would be fine.

2006-05-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

the things people do
hmmm, this is a great song for reflections. it makes you ponder on the things that you might have done to others. things that might have hurt them.

When I was 7
They said I was strange
I noticed that my eyes and hair weren't the same
I asked my parents if I was OK
They said you're more beautiful
And that's the way they show that they wish
They had your smile
So my confidence was up for a while
I got real comfortable with my own style
I knew that they were only jealous cos

People are all the same
And we only get judged by what we do
Personality reflects name
And if I'm ugly then
So are you
So are you

There was a time when I felt like I cared
That I was shorter than everyone there
People made me feel like life was unfair
And I did things that made me ashamed
Cos I didn't know my body would change
I grew taller than them in more ways
But there will always be the one who will say
Something bad to make them feel great

Everybody talks bad about somebody
And never realises how it affects somebody
And you bet it won't be forgotten
Envy is the only thing it could be

ugly, sugarbabes

a good reflection of ourselves