signals and brunei

i've been posted to signals for my pro term, and from the experiences of the others, im damn lucky to be in signals. the rest are being tekanned and punished for nothing, while they're in e process of giving us self-governement. our accomodation is quite old but the toilets are new, and we have a tv (though it doesnt work well) and internet access. at least they treat us like humans. humans have dignity, animals dont.

and to brunei. im leaving for brunei tonight, and they tell us its going to be a very packed program and of course it will be tough. yup i hope its going to be not so tough cos im a slacker and i rather have it easy and fun than tough. and all that bullshit bout pride and standards, its bullshit. haha. yeah right, as though i rather go through all of it again. i dont even feel that good after tough training. yeah i feel relieved, but its so stupid to say that yeah it was good. it wasnt so dont kid yourself.

i have decided that i am not a narrator and i will not tell u the story of my life. so i've kept it short.

sayonala

im sitting here, in front of my computer, waiting for my dear friend (brother would be a more accurate description) to call me for our last meeting for a few months.

i knew nala since sec1, we were classmates and neighbours. we used to play alot together, be it soccer, dumb card games, role playing games, everything. go out and stuff. but that was it. for like 4 long years. so sad for a friendship to be this way. especially when we really spent alot of time together. its not like im a intellectual snob or something, but when i have friendships it should develop to something more, some sort of kinship. but we were just playing soccer and eating n chatting everyday.

and this sort of continued into jc, all the way thru j2 and even this year. our friendship was based on small talk and common interests. for me that was. and there were alot of niggling problems in this friendship that i couldnt stand and got pissed off at him countless times. so on e day before i enlisted, i wrote a letter to him explaining my view of our friendship, and asked my brother to pass it to him after i went in. that way we would have a natural cooling off period for him to think about it, and then we would see how our friendship would go.

and it could not have gone better. like johnny fontane, upon being reprimanded by don corleone, replied by laughing, he replied in a very positive way taht saved our friendship. and i am ever thankful for that.

today, we share alot of things. i ask him for opinions on alot of things, and he gives very good opinions, not just because he is wise, has good taste and is creative, but because he is one of those people who can understand me completely. he doesnt doubt anything i do because he knows what i am thinking and why i do it. somethings he wouldnt do it, but he knows my rationale for alot of things, and i trust him when he says yes or no. his yes or no is so important because it will be 99.9% the same answer i will give myself with the aid of hindsight. how difficult it is to have such a friend like that.

and he has loyalty. i mean yeah loyalty, u look at it like a vulgarity. no space for loyalty in today's world eh? well that makes him even better. cos nala has made space for loyalty in a world like this. he has changed alot, and now he is a person with loyalty to all his friends. he will not let you down when you need help or encouragement. i love him because he believes in me. its not that im insecure but how good is it to have a person to believe in you, and tell you "i know you can do it". its so encouraging in a discouraging world like this. he has stuck by me through thick and thin of our friendship and thick and thin of our lives. we went thru all the bad times in our relationship and that has strengthened this friendship. he also trusts me with his problems and knows that i will deliver when promised. and i love to help him because of that.

and he is totally truthful. he tells you what he feels, and what he thinks and stuff. and how nice is it to have people that are real in this fabricated world.

and he has made it big. he studies are fine, his not bad in other things in sch like sports n stuff. he excels in the army such that he's a safos, and is very determined and daring to take on the vocation commando. oh his babe is quite hot too. haha i dont know but alot of ppl say so.

he has success and potential and a bright future. and he has alot of luck. but he also has humility, optimism, and desire. and he is cool and funky and funny. and he is a good friend that i will help when called upon. because his friendship is something i treasure and he is someone i can and will need to depend on.

so adios my good friend. tonight is our last night out in a while. farewells are teary affairs, but tonight it will be a night of merry making. and we will meet again soon, and all of us will be together again. and i look forward to that day.

atten...tion!

while walking in siam square in bangkok one evening, suddenly, we realised everyone wasnt moving. then slowly we realised a song was playing, and it was (we deduced) the thai national anthem. then we stopped too and stood still and sort of (not really but it seemed like) came to attention. and after it ended everyone continued with their business.

and chieh said:" wah if this happened in singapore, wonder who will bother to stop. eveyone will continue walking". that came from one of your most committed and garang nsf. good luck, singapore.

bangkok dangerous

just came back from bangkok yesterday. ah such a short trip, but it was fun nonetheless and hopefully can charge me up for a long 23 weeks! damn it man. 23 long long weeks. 23 times 7 is...161 days! my goodness man. that is so long! minus the weekends.. its 115 full days and 23 saturdays. and 22 book outs. ah i shall not think about it.

oh this is a rather boring entry. u can skip to the last para to get a summary

anyway we looked forward to this trip for very long, i think the whole of st2. and it has lived up to out expectations! taking advantage of our end of st2 block leave we left for bangkok to find... entertainment, and for one of us, a particular friend. and galvin had last min scare with his leaking lung, so he didnt book e flight til e day before the trip.

and e lucky 6 of us (galvin chieh da lan edwin and kent) left camp early (1730-1800) on 11th to pack and go airport when e rest of e wing stayed back til 9 plus. so we left on our fun trip. reached airport at 845, met up with e rest(galvin left earlier), check in and waited til last call before boarding the flight. oh. bought a carton (200 stick) of sampoerna for $19! haha. i'll buy some for you next time gab. touched down and found galvin. went hotel and slept.

for e next 2 days we ate and shopped like crazy. on the first day went to In's house for dinner (thanks!) and 5 of us squeezed into e back seat and nearly died haha. dinner was delicious. borrowed her dvd player to watch dvds bought by edwin. next day shopped too and met her and warin for lunch. we had jap food. dinner was great at some jap resturant galvin, warin and in ate at earlier. we went mad ordering. most of the shopping was done in mbk, and in siam centre. we rushed to chatuchak (dunno e spelling) on e last day for bout 2 hours. also had tuk tuk ride on second day night.

haha i will remember kents videos on his camera. edwin's fear at importing his vcds. da lan's appetite which is scary. galvins happiness after day 2 dinner hahaha. and i will remember talking with chieh, and his obsession with hot thai girls and their uni uniform.

oh a noteworthy quote from a taxi driver:"u go bank change money get alot, u come thailand u are rich man. like me, i go laos i am rich man. hahaha."

worth pondering.

ah im so tired today and i cannot remember much of the trip that is really worth talking about. i will blog bout it next time if there is. but i remember all the fun we had man. total fun. buying alot of super cheap stuff. and i will remember e 5 guys who went with me. and foxtrot1 55/04 from tst to st2. yup that's bout it.

summary: i love bangkok and enjoyed myself and want to go back again to buy more stuff and club when im 20.

the cool, the intelligent and the good looking.... lim yuda

this is about man (guy or boy don't do justice to him) who taught me to love myself for who i am, to be confident of myself, to treat people with love and respect, what is really important in life, and how to treat the less fortunate. i am sure you'll never read this blog da, but if you do i want you to know how much you mean to me, and how much i thank you for all you've done for me.

i saw him today, and this brought back memories of all the good old days. sitting in his new 200k 2 seater merc convertible cruising around town before he went to meet his gf for 20 mins didnt do much, but it reminded me of what a friend i have in him.

i first met da, lim yuda, when playing soccer against his team, where i met many others who i became very good friends with too, like his bro yuji, michael, weian, gabriel and good friends like kenny, yinzhou etc, intro-ed by my neighbour kevin. he was damn rude and abrasive back then, a total chinese high ah beng, and that was in the sch hols of 2001.

we got to know each other better when playing soccer together and we a few parties together. most of the time we meet together through yuwei. we also went out together for dinners after playing soccer, which was a major part of j1 life. we played pool quite alot too. we became much closer at the end of j1, through alot of soccer, partying, mahjong, dinners at btp, pool, shopping and our maiden party, on the 30th dec, 2002.

it is impossible to describe his character to anyone who has not experienced him, but i hope i can do him justice. even though he is very good looking, sporty and very intelligent, he is very humble. he doesnt look down on anybody and makes friends with people of all backgrounds and 'castes', if i can use that word to describe the social structure of your average jc. he is sympathetic to those less fortunate than him, and i can remember 2 incidents very clearly. once we took a cab to my place after being out late somewhere, and paid the cab driver and tipped him rather generously, and told me:" the cab driver work so hard, i spend a little more of my father's money to pay him also nvm, anyway my father has money." so true. he isnt the richest friends i know, but how many in his position would tip a cab driver? and i'v picked up this habit from him. he doesnt do it anymore because he doesnt have to the chance to, he drives.

the other incident was on the way on the mrt to town, we gave up our seat for an old lady. you might think that everyone does that, but i can assure you you are different. yuda has truly a heart of gold, he is naive and innocent, not cynical and jaded, like many out there. he views the world with the optimism and believe of a child, though he is still street wise.

he is a friend who lights up your life just with his presence. seeing him never fails to bring a smile to my face and a warm feeling to my heart. i remember at the beginning of j2 we were very close, and went out 3-4 times a week, esp after he passed driving. and it was truly a great time of my life, it may have been the best. because when he is with you, when we are always together, it seems like the sun is shining on you, and all the flowers are blooming for you, and nothing can go wrong, because you can always rely on him. then in may, he started going after this girl, and i felt very sad, suddenly a great part of my life is gone! i couldnt rely on him to go party, drink, shop, smoke, play pool, eat and stone.

and yuda is a great friend, truly. he is there when you need him most. when i was going after a girl in jc he was behind me all the way, to listen to me telling him how hard it was, and he was always there telling me i could do it, not like some msian (haha u know who u are u..). he instilled self belief and confidence in me from a long time ago, and i feel i have benefitted tremendously from my friendship with him, though i will not measure friendships from what i have taken out of it.

he is mature. he can give very good advice and he will give it to you when you need it. he has faith in friends though not blind faith. he will neve be jealous of you, rather happy for you. he is always there to lighten the mood up too, and wont get pissed when we call him ah beng. once he laugh so hard at this joke my bro told when we were high everyone else was laughing too.

gab:"what's the difference between a fly and a mosquito? a mosquito can fly but a fly cant mosquito" haha.

and he is a party monster. the amount of parties we've been to and the amounts of alcohol we've drunk, and the number of times we've got drunk.. haha anyone out there would know how much fun it is. when i hold parties at home, he always tries to help out. even when i didnt know him well he paid for meat and brought it. and he didnt accept my refund. he was always there when i needed someone to party with, or even drink beer and fall alseep at home watching vcds when everyone couldnt join us to mahjong. and he's had hsi share of flings, and chocolates. hahaha.

i remember on 2 occasions, we went up to the park above my house very late(1 or 2), and stayed for a few hours, talking, smoking and drinking. once was e day before enlistment, and we just talked about life, about intelligent things, about good times. and we went back to my place at 5 and i remember feeling very sick e next day on the ferry when he came to see me and michael off.

yuda is a hell load of fun, intelligence (got 11 pts for o's studying 2 weeks), character and personality. it was our fortune to know him for those 2 good years of fun and hardship. this entry is the tip of the iceberg of this giant of a man, though not very big, strong or tall, his personality and character stands head and shoulders above many others. though our friendship is not as strong as before because he is a very devoted bf, i cherish the times we had together, the lessons learnt and the fun enjoyed.

booking in!

ah, and now comes the worst time of a soldier's life, booking in. many people always ask ,what is the most important part of a soldiers life, and the answer is invariably booking out. and now once again i have to book in.

well this book in won't be so bad, cos im booking out on wednesday, and most of this book in is just a 23k route march. and it'll be e last time my platoon n wing will be together, before we break up for pro-term. oh and i'll be getting my 3rd bar.

book in is always like this. its a storm of emmotions before going in. like how terrible i feel, i dont want to go back in to train, there's so much i want to do out here, im leaving alot of comforts out here. i always miss the bed, the hot shower, the computer and the food. so i hate booking in and i dont think the situation will improve.

but after booking in it seems a little better. seeing all my comrades in the corridor, and seeing my buddy in the bunk, its doesnt seem so bad after all. its quite fun sharing what happened over the week end and talking bout how much fun we've had. i think this book in will be even mroe fun as we talk about how much fun we're going to have in bangkok. u see my life is all about fun, how dumb do i look like now.

and it was like that in bmt, even in school. i hated sundays. because of mondays. i always felt unaccomplished on sundays and had sunday blues because monday was school again. and last time the feeling of being sent to pasir ris bus interchange was terrible man. and there is so much uneasiness in one before booking in, because all is left behind, and i am back to being s8523978c oct tan aik hwee daniel. loss all my individuality. how terrible.

i shall soon start my preparation of booking in, lest i am late for book in. and i shall wait for wednesday, where i can be human once more.

Prom King Lim Wei An

i shall take a leaf out of my brother's blog and do friend introductions. the first is mr lim wei an, best looking guy of rjc, senior batch of 2003. the true prom king, he has no competion based on looks, personlality or character. how is lost is a mystery to me. if you need to know how good he he looks please feel free to view his pictures here. haha im doing free advertisments for him.

anyway i met him through neighbour kevin lee, who introduced me to a whole group of great if not perfect friends. we started off knowing each other through playing soccer together when our teams merged. and i was in his class for 2 weeks, since he was a good friend's good friend i decided to tag along with him. and he brought me along to my first party ar pinkk which fucking sucked.

and thus began a great friendship. if i had no other friends in the world, if i was all alone, having weian as a friend or the memory of our friendship would be enough to pull me true. ok i admit maybe i was exaggerating a little, but i feel our friendship is great, and it is only the start of great times together.

we spent alot of time together in school, sometimes stitting together in lectures, eating together when meeting in canteen, going home together and training in the soccer team together. haha i think its my fault that weian had to join soccer and suffer in the rj soccer team where team spirit, esprit de corp and team work are myths and legends, and the reigning themes were me myself and i. neither of us got into the first team in year 2 but got into the reserves, and im not sure if it was lack of talent, skipping too many trainings, not being given enough chances or just bias that neither of us made it to the first team. not that im bitter, but i just wonder why, and what if.

but our soccer life was not in school, no no no! how can anyone's life be in school man? (except for dear president lun and dave hahahahaha) our soccer life was outside. where we trained and played matches for our team which still has no name and no jersey til this day because we can't decide. (astrohigh? haha no) and through playing outside i was convinced of weian's talent i asked him to give up his bright future in and not so bright sport (kidding) fencing and to come over to the sport of the masses- soccer. and the sad story related above happened. we played many matches, some memorable, some not so.

weian has a real wicked shot, for his tooth pick legs (haha kidding again) he has burst his fair share of goal nets. i liked to play him left wing, where in one match he cut in twice to score 2 super long range goals that in the end gave us a draw we definately didnt deserve haha. but he and my bro gabriel tan aik hoong are the ba kwas of our team! they are soft and always get pushed around (haha am i kidding? haha relax!!). but the nice and mild mannered weian seldom gets into fights unlike other pairs of brothers. heh but when he's pissed he's pissed so still dont mess with da man.

we played alot of soccer in ri too on the astroturf and yeah a few of us always like to group together: the yck gang consisting of me, gab, an, nala n hoon and a few others sometimes. then we would go j8 or s11 to eat lunch. actually most of the time me gab nala n weian would eat breakfast. hoon will always be late! haha. then we would stone at j8 and watch movie or go my house and play nala's dreamcast or watch tv or do dunno what. oh yeah we would go orchard to for our favourite activity...

...shopping! haha not all time fav but close. we would scour all the shops for the best bargain and the best fabrics and cuts. man it was fun hitting town and going to all the sales. but while i would save for a few dear pieces, dear weian kept spending and spending on alot of things. he has many many bags, some impulse buys like sweaters, quite a few jeans pants shirts and tees. ok he didnt buy so many things but i like jacking him for it.

and then there was clubbing. im not part of the royal family, so im not a cool clubbing king. but we did go, and when we did it was hell of fun man. we went so many times, most of the time just with da (yuda), but sometimes there was ji (yuji), michael, yuwei, nala, even sim (alex) and mun. but he did miss out on some super fun nights like mahalo (haha you will never see yuda like that again!) and others due to malaysia and sickness! lame. and when i saw him at lush, i never knew he was capable of such things. (haha kidding for the 4th time!) don't worry i wont tell what happened that night to anyone! and why oh why didnt you join us in malaysia! it was so much fun with sim n joe, u should have been there too man!

and we held our parties. first there was 8, then 7, then yr end there was 3. but the few of us will hold a big one to come back soon man! watch out spore! yeah wont touch on holding parties so much but it was tough work and some nights we had problems paying the bill. and house parties! haha that drunk boy. once he and hon downed like 10 vodka shots ina row after some severe drinking for the whole night. then he lost it man. he did a rainbow kick and promptly fell to the floor. he said lets play mahjong and flipped my whole table over. then i sent him to my room but he came down again to the tv room and puked all over the carpet. disgusting. haha. and that was not the only time.

and some of last year and this year we kept going eating and drinking. fav spots were le chateau, newton, and this year post bar. and not forgetting all the food outlets in town that were not spared, especially crystal jade haha.

and visiting you and gab in melbourne was sweet man. im coming soon again! but dunno when. and yeah i dunno if i really wanna go there and study, but if i go we'll have a ball of a time man haha.

and now with my entry coming out in dribs and drabs and i think i cannot think of anything else we did (but we did alot more just that i am sleepy), i better end it off before it gets too lousy. dear weian, please stay cool and funky and happening! dont mix with too much bad company, study hard, take care of your health (kidney liver and lungs) and i will see ya soon man!

of dogs and bitches

today i was reading some people's frienster testimonials because i had nothing to do. and lo and behold i came across this very intellectual activity: bitching! man, i think its a real cool activity, because people were testimonial-ing each other to this extent: "hey man thanks for being there when i needed someone to bitch with!", "i'll always remember the great times we had bitching together!", "my best bitching partner!". i mean what the fuck.

"Great men discuss ideas, not so great men events and the least of men people." -some quote im not sure i got it exactly right but the essence is there. and i forgot who i got it from. damn.

yeah i discuss people too, i must declare. so no one will say im a hypocrite. hey man but its not a badge i'll wear on my number 1 man. the bitching badge. prouder of it than jcc or airborne. really what the fuck man. everyone bitches to a certain extent, maybe there are a few that dont. but please why are you so proud of it? its so fucking ugly that you can be proud of such an unintellectual activity that doesnt do any good to you as a person. venting anger to your friends helps relieves stress and u share your burdens with them, and maybe gossip is permissible for entertainment value, but only maybe and only in miniscule amounts.

but copious amounts of bitching? please spare me. if you do it and you're proud of it, good for you but please keep it to yourself, like you keep you'll keep your smoking and drug habits from your parents. and please pray hard for your immotal souls. its not like many of you D&Bs out there are much better than those you assail with your caustic and acerbic language. there are many mirror shops out there, please get yourself a good one.

so how bout upgrading yourself, making yourself a better person? then maybe you won't feel so bitter, and wont feel the need to build yourself up by tearing others down. and coffee houses and nice chil out resturants and bars are for friends to meet, people to chill and slack jack relax, they are for the pensive to find inspiration, the tired to renew their reserves and the tourists and tired shoppers to take a break. such unnecessary and disgraceful noise and behaviour only pollutes the atmospshere, and one only notices the black dot on a piece of pure white paper, and the drop of black oil in a glass of clear water.

thank you for being considerate and for keeping your bitching to yourself. we hope you have a nice day.

friendship is everthing

what is friendship then? the dictionary description doesnt do justice to this institution. it is described as the keeping and having or friends, or the relationship between 2 people who are friends. i prefer this description:

"Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than government. It is almost the equal of family." -Don Corleone

in this age of opportunities and with the explosion of communications, it is so easy to know people and to keep up with them, as well as to connect one friend to another, the essence of friendship has been lost. we are left with a corrupted, distorted and inferior perception of friendship from what it was, and what it could be for us.

apart from enjoying the joys and perils of life with us, helping us through tough times and sharing great moments, friends are an extension of our family. if family is unfamiliar with each other, and do not share experiences, then far can the thickness of blood bring the family? even the thickest of blood cannot bring the most unfamiliar of strangers together. or if together, not far.

with every moment in life be it enjoyment or suffering, or with every thought or experience shared and related, when smiling at joy shared or cringing at pain, we become a part of each other. when friends share emmotions or understand each others thinking and understanding we are aware of how human we are. how our friends feel, think and relate to other human beings. such awareness will bring tenderness to the relationship, because you understand that they are just like you, and you will be forgiving to them, will learn how to accomodate them, and you will love them for being unique as you are.

but then what is a friend? how does he conduct himself? all he needs is to proclaim his friendship, nothing more. but a proclaimation of friendship is not empty words, a hollow promise. it is much more. he must be available when called upon. even more, he must always be around, in presence or in spirit. friends have a duty to maintain the friendship. they should regularly check up on one another, as regularly as time permits and closeness deems. a friend must support, but he must criticise. it is his duty to build his friend, and defend him and his reputation, for if your friend is down, and he is infamous and notorious, you will not get away from all this. you are dragged down by association. but do it not for yourself, but because u cannot allow people to think badly of your friend, and because you cannot allow him to fall, or his character and personality to decay.

so it is not simple being a friend, frienships are not cheap, bought with hi-s, bye-s and other inconsequetial things. friendship is an institution to be upheld and respected, similar to marriage. it is a commitment not to be taken lightly. and if taken rightly, friendship will add untold richness to life, and bring unlimited benefits. but that isnt the most important thing, is it?

we are friends...

today i went to church, something i havent done in ages. i don't know why i havent went in ages, i think it was cos i couldnt wake up, and i just had 2 weekends burnt. everyone went today. im not sure why but from a attendance of 4 last week to a full attendance this week, it's very suprising. saw some people i havent seen in ages. saw candace, deborah, stephanie, ghim(!), darius huanjin... and i got to talk to marcus tung properly, outside camp, away from personnel on excuse brain and excuse intelligence status. sometimes i think its true when they say when u are in green or with the helmet u cannot think. or be intellectual. i can't hold decent conversations with so many of them only interested in chionging and girls in fhm.

and i met up with the old gang. so happy to see hon again. his hair is quite nice now, after looking like a cock for very long. but he really looks like a HK gangster now. he can act as sha3 qiang2 (stupid keong) in internal affairs. saw dave n jyek, aik, cheek, lun and mun. all who i havent seen for a long time. there was nala but i like see him every week. the gang i hung out with in rj alot. at dinner it was me dave hon aik lun and nala. all except nala used to go out for dinner many times on fridays in j1. we would wait for each other's cca's to end and meet before going to holland v to eat. soccer is e most slack so we'll end first. then hon's rugby will end. and we'll bathe while waiting for e rest. aik's odac ended next. and then council. we had to wait quite long on a few occasions for them. usually they would take half or an hour longer, but sometimes dave would come out telling us lun said go first cos stupid council exco would be meeting up til later. then we would eat at swensens, billy bombers or e mexican resturant. eat n slack n talk cock.

we talked about our life in rj. about what happened, what was funny, what mattered. who pissed us off, and who backstabbed us. u could say we bitched, but we were telling each other what happened to us, and by letting out our feeling we felt better, a burden lifted. sometimes advice was given, sometimes nothing was said- it was not required. at times i was really pissed off when i heard some of their experiences, and in my anger i vowed to whack the guy up, but i never did, society taught me well.

it was days like these that i treasure. time spent with friends is so important. how can you be happy alone? it is so hard to be happy alone! happiness is to be shared. and problems too. with so many heads and hearts dealing with the same problems, it was easier to deal with the problem.

we laughed. laughed at jokes or each other. we laughed at hon alot! haha. because there was so much to laugh at him about. malaysia, rugby, his crushes, and his intelligence. much of what we laughed at wasnt true, but it was funny because it wasnt true.

and we loved getting lun into difficult situations. made him jay walk. i held him and dragged him across the road and we took a picture. made him pose with fhm. and we did the 'raffles' cheer damn loudly and made ahell lot of noise and lun would say 'look there's somebody in the house' and he'll be damn scared. what childish and innocent fun, and i believe we havent grown up since then. i had alot of fun putting hon's phone and wallet on the conveyor belt at the buffet resturant today and the embarrassed hon had to get his phone and wallet back from the ladies at the next table. haha that was so fun.

we enjoy life. we like having fun. we can laugh at others and ourselves. life is not a joke, but we know how to take it easy. we know when to laugh, but know when to be serious. we help each other emmotionally, and physically sometimes. we take knifes out of each others backs, and we plate each other with armour, arm each other with swords. because that's what friends are for, lest what can we face the world with? we were good friends, are good friends, and will be good friends, forever and ever more.

f wing social night

last night was our social night at pine tree club. i went with neighbour xiaoling! hey xiaoling thanks for coming man! thanks for being a friend and always being there when i need you (esp going zouk when you are sleeping at 12+ in the morning haha). picked her n her friend amanda (yukai's date) up at NUS because yukai couldnt make it. i was late(!) man and had to hurry the taxi driver. anyway we reached the club rather early and i had to do my job as receptionist. anyway amanda was a deadringer for kirsten dunst!

anyway. sat at e table with cheek, chieh, da lan and kaywee and their dates. poor galvin was seated at the rea and luckily he managed to move. he should have been seated with us! but i screwed up the seating man. sorry pal. cheek, chieh, da lan and galvin have been my closest friends in the course so far. yup, so i was quite happy i could spend one of the last nights in ST2 with them. and kay wee has been around since ST2 and i have gotten to know him quite well.

dinner fucking sucked. could be worse but i paid $50. for aircon and carpet. we had a better breakfast the next day at the hawker centre. it was quite a boring evening, with entertainment coming in the form of couple games, our platoon singing when you say nothing at all, individual performances by some p2 guys and a private karoake session. ji1 dan4 wang2 (egg wang) zhenxian bagged the social night king with his stupendous acting (he wasnt acting much i think).

kay wee was best knowledge(cock up?) but worse still the p1 best cadet was fucked up. how could that lazy low lying selfish dumb fuck win it. should have been some one who wactually did work n contributed, like cheek and chieh. life is unfair.

at the end of the evening some guys came over to my place (cheek, galvin, chieh, kent, remy, kay wee) and we talked abit then watched gang of ny and fell asleep. next morning we had breakfast at the hawker centre and gourged on great food that cost 10 times cheaper!!

anyway it was an ok night, enjoyed the company of my great friends and my hotel delta xiaoling! haha thanks for coming and sorry im not a good date. viewing the videos was not easy, it brought back many memories and i felt sad to be leaving (hopefully) this bunch of people, some not so great but a few really great ones. it was an honour being cheek's buddy and having him as 2IC. i will never forget the fun times with ah phua (galvin) in camp at zouk and spending $60 at newton and not being able to finish the food. How can one forget da lan's rum n raisin ice cream, and laughing at this established albeit slow basketball athelete? and laughing and making fun of chieh, my BUDDY, talking bout everything under the sun, and having to explaing my view of life and things to him? and i felt very happy he understood me quite well, not many people can. now that ST2 is soon over, i hope we enjoy our trip to bangkok(chieh, da lan, edwin, kent). hope ah phua can come along, that his lung will heal, if not this trip is fucking wasted! haha no la but a large part will be.

i had great experiences these 3 terms, with those mentioned above and with others like my other buddies kent alias ah hoei, kenny and manfred a.k.a. peter pan. will not forget all of them. also i cant forget the others who suffered with me under superman, edwin, zhenxian, samson, dehan, zhifa and junren. all that pain only brought us closer together man guys, and proved that no fucker can break a good team. yup so dont forget me, cos i wont forget you guys! and the nights at jurong point, in fucking tekong, mandai and marsiling, sleeping in training sheds, sleeping in classrooms, lecture rooms, terrain rooms, ma, exam hall, i wont forget the terrible meals we endured, the unreasonable fuckers we dealt with, and the fun we had jacking off each other, and none of us can forget 2WO Razali. and i wont forget this social night, on 060804, its always hard to say goodbye.

life

i love life. i cannot understand how anyone can hate life, and worse still, not want to carry on with life. life is so beautiful. and life is so precious. life brings so much joy. life gives us so many experiences. and so much pleasure. who doesnt enjoy a glass of cold water, fresh air when panting, a good joke, sleep, the cool breeze, shooting life rounds... and pain? what is pleasure without pain? and pain brings back many memories, some fond, and some not so fond. pain enhances pleasure, like a rich man is even richer if he has endured poverty before.

cheek told me once outfield, that the saf pays its soldiers very well. upon returning to camp and taking a bath and sleeping on a spring mattress with a roof and fan above your head, you feel like a million bucks. and we laughed at this thought outfield, to get away from the exhaustion and pain. and upon reaching home with a hot shower, your own bed and aircon, u feel even better.

life thus is an experience that everyone should enjoy, even if he hates the current circumstances in which he is in. why do you hate life. i love life at every moment. even if im unhappy. because i have learnt from my experiences that u only treasure life when it is a memory. the cliche phrase the grass is always greener applies to every situation we are in. i only appreciate the situation i am in after i am out of it.

i was always in a hurry to grow up. i still am in a hurry to grow up. i want freedom, i don't like wearing green, i want a cheque book, i want a credit card, i want a job.. but i dont want to grow up so fast either. i look back at the times when life was so carefree, and there wasnt a single thing worth worrying about. why are u in a hurry to grow up? in perspective, all troubles seem so small, yet all the pleasures and good memories remain forever etched in our hearts, and we want to relive them again and again and again. so i have made a decision to not hate life, and deal with the situation i am in as i would want myself to whne looking back in future. hindsight is a very useful friend who is never there till its too late. i cant afford to rely on hindsight to live my life.

love life. i never know what what will happen next. i dont know where lightning will strike, when my car will get hit, when i'll die, or when my friends will perish. i treasure every moment in life, because i can never live it again.

first post

i don't know why i am starting a blog. maybe its because some good friends i know have blogs, and it is a good way to record things that have happened, or is it to share what has happened to me with friends who i dont see everyday. anyway if you're reading this now it means im happy with my first few posts and didnt delete it, which was what happened to my last one a few years ago. no one even knew about it. and i realised im only able to blog once a week, which means it'll be very fragmented picture of my life, a weekly summary. anyway here goes...