Its ugly

Right from the start, my stand has been firm. I never fancy the idea of working in the MNC. But somehow life is like a joke - the more u yearn for something, the less likely u will get it ; and the less u want something, the more likely u r goin to get it.

And yes, I did fight hard in the interview sessions to get this job, but seriously, its NO big deal. I was asked by some old BS friends for my namecards during Nale's wedding. I told them i din bring along any with me, cos i dun feel proud of my job ... and i meant it. I need the job simply for survival.

My big boss had a chat with me on 'job performances' today. She was very concerned with my progress as a new-comer and told me tat individual's advancement in the company is purely on performance-based. Seriously speaking, i really dread the idea of having to constantly work ultra hard to impress the bosses. Its like an ignorant fool riding on a merry-go-round. You spent the entire of your life chasing for something that you dun really need at the end of the day(life).

i am definitely far toooo green to talk abt promotions in my company. But i really take pity for some of my snrs, whom in my opinion, are definitely much more knowledgeable and diligent than those who got their promotions. But wat they lack is the 'visibility' and the energy to fight to impress the bosses. And tats exactly the culture here - you fight for wat u want. Its a fair game.....

Having to study almost 20 yrs, what i have been doing is not much different, yet i cant say exactly similar. I competed with my sch mates to acheive good grades of exams, esp in NUS, which works in the bell-jar curve manner. The idea of scoring is - to know what your course mates duno. Haha.

But working life is more cruel. Using others as ur stepping stone is not uncommon. Study depends v much on oneself but climbing up the corporate ladder involves much more on how u deal and handle other ppl. Sux, i really dun wanna be involved in such a game. Its ugly.

Touch up

Yesterday was the external conversion of my van. Today is the internal.

1) Bought a big flat piece of cotton-like material and pasted on the interior of my car roof. This piece of material serves dual purpose - sound proof and keeps the van cool from the scorching sun.

2) Bought a large piece of 3M-lookalike mat for my floor board. Have chosen this material over carpets and other rubber mats. Makes my partner looks more comfortable now.

3) Bought 3 x rubber mat for the boot section, to prevent my boxes from sliding all over the compartment.

0_0

Yes, i am supposed to be feeling happy over my newly transformed van. I even went down to REX to meet up with the eurovan club members for a chit chat sessions. But i got a rude shock over this first meet-up.

The first thing that caught me by surprise is that those present this evening have not gotten their rear windows installed, as they are still on negotiation terms with the workshop. It turned out the wksp they are considering currently is the same as the one i did mine. When they found out i have done my installation, they quickly went over to my car to do a very thorough inspection. And probably u might have guessed it, they started to point out the flaws and criticise on the job.

Well, its not tat i cant take criticisms, but its definitely not something i have expected on my first meet up with them. Nvtheless, they did bring up a few impt points which i thought worth my attention, but most of which i later found to be pretty redundant. For instance, they r worried that the cut metal edges of my door will be subjected to corrosion, esp if in touch with the rain. But i realise later that the cut metal edges are actually in the interior of my van, definitely not exposed to the rain. The edges are protected by a thick rubber lining, followed by the glass panel itself, and lastly by another thin rubber coating.

The club members also highlighted to me the pt that the 'window panels' business was only started earlier this yr, after LTA's approval. Hence, a lot of future issues may surface in the future. However, this wksp has been operated for the past 30 yrs, and they have been converting big vans into mini buses all the while (which means they cut windows too, except not for commerical vans like ours). But i thank the club members for highlighting their concerns, and i do understand their concerns as they need to be very careful in selecting the right wksp for their members, and fight for the best service and quality.

Before & After

Yesterday

Today

More of Glass Panels

I found a cheaper lobang today which offers me 4 panels at $600, 2 panels for $350. Thanks to the kangooclub and euroclub members who selflessly share their lobangs. I took a look at their forums and found that they do not only have weekly chit chat gatherings, but also weekly jogging sessions, blading sessions, kelong visits and several other outings from time to time. Will seriously consider exploring it.

The above pic was sent to me by one of the workshop. The present car workshops are no longer like those typical dirty and conventional ones in the past. They have caught up with technology. I do not need to personally go down to view the workmanship, but can simply view them from photographs sent via the email. But still, i will drop by tmr at woodlands to view the workmanship myself, cos i trust nothing except for my personal judgement and experience.

The next problem is : The workshop is only open from mon to fri, 830am to 530pm. How am i gonna send my van down and collect it after the installation? Spending another $50 on taxi fares? Ouch!

- - -

Kici was asking why i wanna install glass panels onto the rear of my van. The reasons are actually answered on LTA website:

1) It helps to provide better view to the drivers, esp checking of blind spots.
2) It allows a more enjoyable and comfortable ride for rear passengers.
3) 3rd reason is from myself - It makes my van looks nicer, haha.

Just came back from Lena's wedding dinner. Managed to see MCs right from 23rd to 27th MC, with ex-VPs meeting ex-VPs, ex-DACs meeting ex-DDs, and Yinsoo meeting Yinsoo jnr aka weizhan, haha. Its so hard to organise a gathering for my ex-MCs. The wedding dinner this evening has served this purpose for us.

Back to the glass panels. I went to Sin Ming rd to view the workmanship of one of the shops. Not bad, price is reasonable. The boss has suggested me to cut 2 panels first, and he wud charge me at a discounted price if i wanna cut 2 more in the future. Set, i will be cutting 2 first.. but i havent decided when i am free to leave my van there.

2 or 4?

Great. I am now in a dilemma of whether to install 2 or 4 pieces of glass panels to the rear of my Partner. 2 pieces cost $500 while 4 pieces cost $900.

I chanced upon a kangooclub forum on the net and asked around for advices. A very kind hearted and helpful kangoo owner offered to meet me this evening to view his van at east coast park (the red one). His kangoo is really very well decorated. Besides sharing and exchanging tips on the forum, the eurovan club members actually do meet up every week at ECP for roller bladings and other sports. Cool.....

Very seldom to meet such sincere and helpful ppl nowadays, who is willing to spend his time and efforts on a stranger, without asking anything for return. I may consider joining them in future meet ups.

Back to the dilemma, 2 or 4? 2 is cheaper, but 4 u get a further discount. 4 looks more classy, but less privacy. Argh.... decide for me yeah?

4 pts

1) I spent abt 2 hrs this afternoon performing some 'wonders' on my Partner. I was trying to convert it such that the interior is now closer to that of a private car. Wanna make a guess? Anyway, its only half completed. Well, i will take some pics mabbe tmr and post them here.

2) I think Superstar Wei Lian's voice is really enchanting. Happened to hear his singings during the charity show, simply marvellous. On the other hand, the song 'Tong Hua' has been over-played over the radio recently.. and i really cant distinguish which singer sang it... as they all sound almost similar to me.. damm disgusting.

3) Thanks to Houldy who verified that the places I visited yday were indeed our Sispec torpo training groundss. From the pics i took, he could recognise some of the structures (chop plus guarantee, he claimed!), great! I guess there were much less army trainings at these places nowadays esp after Sispec has shifted to Tekong. On the other, i believe there are more visitors from the public in recent yrs.

4) I have included more links to my Singapore Nature Exploration mini gallery to the side bar of my blog. Feel free to enjoy it!

In love with the Reservoirs

This morn, i decided to set off in search of my 'dream' place which i lost 7yrs ago, after doing intensive research on maps, related websites and google earth. I used the HSBC trail from Venus park (not the metal road but a recently opened trail) where a kampung once stood. Came across a few streams and this bridge.


Travelled along Terantang Trail + SimeTrack + Golf link and came to this 2nd stream. The water is crystal clear and most likely to be drinkable.


Finally reached this super long water structure (>100 m long) which i suspect was the entry to my 'dream' place. But the drainage structure I took 7 yrs ago was like much cleaner? I took no time to climb up.


Hmm.. i could smell tat a reservoir was nearby...


And yessss!!!!! I found it! The overflow of upper pierce reservoir!!!



Superbly nice right? Though not 100% sure, but i strongly believe this was exactly the glass patch which i was once stole a nap with my buddy during our Sispec torpo in 1998. A nice place for nap + picnic + enjoy the scenery, but i wonder since how long ago did anyone last landed his foot here. Super tough place to find.


Under-the-Tree-top-walk - luckily there is no gal on the bridge






Made my way to seletar reservoir. Though its much more accessible than Upper Pierce, the scenery and atmosphere are comparable. A peaceful and relaxing afternoon to spend by the waterside. Anybody wants to join me next time?

In search of Mosquito Ring

This baby is so cute right? Hooo......

Argh, now i feel my attachment is so strong - attachment to places, rather than to people. Now, I am missing this place so much, but the problem is i duno where exactly this place is located in Singapore.

It happened in 1998 when i had my Sispec torpo somewhere in the central nature reserves. The 3-tonner we took from the camp was travelling along one of the expressways when it suddenly cut into a small dirt path (not opened to the public), travelled a bit more, before we dismounted from it. I was in my army no.4, wearing my SBO, kevalar helmet, carrying my rifle + a compass + a map miserably and loosely hang onto my side trousers pocket. The only name i can recall now was our form-up-point, called the Mosquito Ring.

The soldiers were soon dispersed and allowed to venture around the forested areas to search for checkpts. My buddy and i were lucky enough to have found our checkpts, and hence we took our leisure time to stroll around the forested grounds. We came upon a small knoll, mounted it and soon found ourselves by the side of a water body. The grass patches were around the water was so inviting that we took no time to lie flat down to take a nap. Tat must be the most peaceful and serene moments i ever had in life - probably greatly amplified due to the tiredness and fatigues i received in the super siong army training.

As we were afraid of being caught, we took the nap not more than an hr before we proceeded on with our torpoing. I did not return to the place for the rest of the mission, and i nv thought i wud get the chance to re-visit the place again. After a long 7 yrs, i suddenly feel that i miss this place a lot - but i duno where it is :(

I tried to surf the web for more info, and found out that the 'Mosquito Ring' was actually a named GPRS location in Singapore, located near the Juletong Tower (a place which i hav visited a few times recently!) I tried to use google earth to search for any possible spots, but the Central Catchment area is simply too big. I could only narrow down the possibilities by searching for dirt paths which could be potentially the one the 3-tonner took to fetch us in.

I squeezed my brain juices almost dry, and i could only come out with a few more names :
1) SAF Checkpoints : Town, Rose, Exit
2) SISPEC Ex. Gypsy
3) SISPEC Ex. Wanderer

Any ex-sispec or ocs guys out there can recall the above names? Pls kindly tell me if you know which place i was refering to. . help!

Take challenges positively

I have this christian friend whom i know from a buddhist society camp ( i know it sounds contradictory). Anyway, my focus is not abt her religious background but rather, her working style and confidence. A few of us have always taken her as our role model as she often impresses us with her views of life and ways of handling matters. I have a short chat with her lately on MSN, and she gave me this golden advice:

Take challenges positively

I was initially feeling v perplexed and sian over some work matters but upon recalling her advice, i got a sudden surge in my morale. Within a short time, i managed to come up with a mini proposal and some ideas which i will try using to solve my issues tmr. Having the right mentality is so crucial in life.

Many friends have asked me what exactly i do at work. Its hard to explain, but basically i am supporting the building of new notebooks, setting up the material structures, overseeing the launching and finally, sustaining them and ensuring their quality in the market. Most ppl wud have belittled the sustaining part, but from the business pt of view, sustaining a product shld be one of the most crucial area. This is to win the trust of customers and to continue keeping up the good name of the company brand.

I wud like to link this idea to NUSBS. As spoken to OWY over dinner jus now, i feel that sustaining and retaining the members in the society is very crucial but often neglected. Its not easy for to get new-comers to the society, despite much efforts have been done on marketing and publicity. Besides the buddhist teachings itself, i believe its the bondage, the spiritual friendship, the sense of belonging, that help to keep and retain the members in the society.

Besides myself (call me BHB or thick-skin), i have seen how a few fellow bs friends have spent efforts in extending their friendships to the members of the society - who eventually become very active and prominent members of the society. I believe we did all these not becos we wanna enlarge our society membership, neither were we hungry for helpers or supports, but all in the name of wanting more ppl to get in touch with the Dharma.

But something contradictory i notice over the past few yrs - while many of us were so active and busy in organising buddhist activities to bring Dharma closer to the campus community, how many of us actually have spent the equal amt of energy and drive to similarly bring Dharma closer to our own family members, friends and lecture mates? I know some of them did, but not many.

Tampines Lake

Back track a bit.. actually Sacredrose and Houldy know each other, but dun think they realise it. Well, I shall remain it as a secret for the 2 of them, wahaha.

Oh yeah, the pic above is Tampines Lake aka Tampines Quarry! The pic is not taken by me but from the fishesnpets website. I have not been to the quarry myself, although I have been reading abt it on forums. There were ppl suggesting it as a peaceful and quiet place to do a perfect sun-tanning. Most imptly, this place is highly accessible! It is separated from Bedok Reservoir just by a road - meaning its located just by the road!

The funny thing is that I have been travelling along this road for the past 1 yr when i used to work at Loyang. Nv did i realise there is this huge pool of waters by my side, as the tall grasses by the road were blocking my view. Yes, i will be visiting it real soon.

Houldy once wrote in his blog: Never come to work at HP unless you feel you can work like a BULL.

Am i right, houldy?

Yes, he is right, haha. So Sacredrose, you sure you wanna come?

Haha.. well, actually different depts and diff bosses and diff job scopes really matter a lot. And it really depends how u view the matters altogether.

I really feel myself being stretched beyond my expected limited. The incentive tat holds me back is definitely NOT the $$$, but the experience i can gain from my struggles. I am also glad that i have a lot of seniors around to provide general guidiance, although they cant really help me much in my job cos its too specific. But being specific also means tat ONLY you know the job well upside down, nobody else, not even your boss. Most imptly, it must be something transferable (to another job).

But back thinking to my pay...arggh. .its so miserable! The amt of work done doesnt match the pay i am getting!

Kelong Kelong...

I have a very fruitful day today. This morning, barry and I drove to MacRitchie for kayaking. Unfortunately, the area which we are allowed to kayak is pathetically limited. Moreover, the water didnt look very clean + the place was very crowded with many youngsters having their canoe trainings. On top of that, the place was also packed with joggers and ppl strolling by the boardwalks. Shucks, tats not wat we wanted...

In the end, we came back to Bedok Reservoir for kayaking. The place was much less crowded and the water is also clearer. In fact, we were the only 2 ppl who kayak + a few canoeists + a team of dragon boaters. V nice cooling weather + breeze + greenery + calming waters . A very good way to spend a lazy and peaceful sunday morning (minus the fact tat the kayak rental is rather steep at $15/hr).

Afternoon, I joined my colleague for our Singapore exploration. We decided to try the north-eastern coasts of Changi. Unfortunately, the heavy showers hit on us and we spent abt 1hr ++ at the famous Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple, which oversee the old cammando jetty. My colleague and I spared no time in reminscing our army days as tats exactly the jetty which we took RPL/ferry from Singapore mainland to P.Tekong.

Every saturday noon, many happy faces could be seen hopping off from the RPLs/ferries at the jetty, cos its book out time! On the contrary for Sunday evenings, the place would be filled with super low moraled recruits who would look at one another with the typical sullen and sian face. Everyone knew at heart tat once they board the RPLs at the jetty to tekong, they wud need to wait for another 1 full week b4 they could go back home again.

The next place we visited were the old colonial houses at the extreme end of Changi. We climbed up a v old but grand abandoned building which we later found out was the old commando jetty. We later moved on to the beach where a newly 2km boardwalk was erected along the coastline. The above pic was taken in a heavy rain at the Kelong Trail. Ppl must be wondering why these 2 cuckoos were walking with umbrellas under the heavy rain along the boardwalk, haha.

I am v glad the Singapore Govt is investing a lot of money to bring the nature closer to ppl. A lot of money has been spent on building boardwalks and opening up some highly inaccessible places to nature and park lovers.

The drop in the COE prices is very ridiculous lately. My brother, dad and even my mum, were encouraging me to change to a new car (cos they feel my partner is still afterall, a van + i paid almost the same amt of road tax, insurance and exactly the same carpark costs minus the fuel prices diff). I went to some car showrooms today to take a walk. And WOWs! I got a shock of my life seeing how low the car prices are:

1) Toyota Vios costs only $49,888 now whereas it cost 63K during the time when i bought my Partner.

2) Toyota Altis is only $58, 500, and my bro paid 74K for it when he bought in mid 2004.

3) Nissan Latio is priced at $58, 500, more than 12K cheaper than when it was just launched early this yr.

4) The winner goes to............ Nissan Sunny! Priced at $47,500!!! This car used to cost $110,000 in 2000, dropped to $80K in 2003 , $60K in 2004 , $55K early this yr and finally to the current price. And its a fully japan-made car, unlike the Toyotas and some Hondas.

But am i going to spend on a new car? Well, i admit i did harbour such a thot (if not i wudnt visit the car showrooms today). After some financial calculations, I realised i only need to spend abt $100 more per mth compared to now to change to a new car, but.......... i am going to suffer a huge loss of 18K for my Partner. I take a good look at my partner. Its still new, it meets my purpose ... why do i wanna change it anyway? The thought of buying a new car was instantly killed, for now.

But i couldnt quite tahan a msn conversation i had with a friend (who once had a craving of buying a car) jus now:

om: Hey the car prices are v low now, the xxx cost $xxx, yyy cost only $yyy!!! R u considering?
zc: Nope. I dun think u shld buy, u gonna suffer a huge loss for ur old car!
om: U buy a new car cheap, u r expected to sell ur old car cheap wat... where got ppl buy car earn $ one?
zc: Then where does ur savings come into pic?
om: Well, the amt of 'loss' suffered for changing a car is always there, but the amt of money u pay every mth for a new car is significantly much lower than before, understand?
zc: You are WRONG! I feel if u take taxi everyday u will save more, why bother to buy a car?

This was the trigger pt....damm..

om: Well if tats the case, why did u always ask me to go pick u up from ur home whenever we go for supper or meet ups? Why did u always lobang my car home from sch last time?
zc: cos i wanna spend constructive time chatting with u mah...... . (super lame)
zc: okie la, go buy la, hurry hurry!!! (siao ah, i nv commit so easily one okie?)
zc: as long as u r happy... everyone has his own preference and choose his own lifestyle
om: of cos... agree agree... respect each other and make sure we dun try to control other ppl's life can liao, isnt it? (i said this to suan him for the loss of his gf. She left him cos she complained he has been trying to control and change her life too much).

Sounds v bitchy? Haha. . i think i am going to blog more like xiaxxxe which is definitely something i dun want. This friend is actually v much like me.. we have v limited mudita for others.

I am currently feeling very perplexed with my 60++ work mails, left uncleared cos i didnt go to work today. I am quite amazed tat i actually have the energy to write and comment abt bs last nite -something which i havent done so for so long, cos i have no time and no energy for it.

Anyway, lets put away the work issue and pen down something interesting for me today. I didnt report to work, not becos i took leave, but becos i have to attend my company orientation round 2 program. Its a full day program where all new hires (those hired within last 3-5mths) from various depts would gather for fun + interaction + food + some further info loading sessions. And the day began like this:

1) There were 9 tables of seats available and i chose table 6. And out of so many tables, this Guy A chose to join me at my table. I found him v familiar looking, but later concluded tat he merely looks like my neighbour

2)We did a v brief short self-intro, and didnt talk much later. The facilitator soon took over the session and re-arrange our sittings. We were arrange to diff tables.

3) Lunch time came and we had random sittings. Coincidentally, we happened to sit on the same table again. This time, we chatted more, and we realised both of us stay in bedok and came from the same primary school (but diff batches).

4) Guy A told my colleague tat there s actually a private shuttle svc tat ferries ppl from bedok to our company premise. My colleague was interested in the svc, and planned to get the ferry svc contact number from him after the orientation session.

5) Orientation program ended, and all of us went home on separate ways. My colleague SMSed later in the evening if i remembered Guy A' s name, as she has forgotten to ask him for the contact info. I told her i only remember his name as "Michael", but probably could trace his full name from the mass mail which was sent out for this orientation prog.

6) Unfortunately, I have deleted the mass mail but suddenly remembered tat i have printed a hard copy of it and left it in my bag. I took out the mail, and started searching for the name "Michael" in the recipient lists. As the mailing list was pretty long, I took some time to identify his full name.

7) It took me quite a while before this full name striked my memory bell. ALAS! This guy was a childhood acquaintance of mine. We met each other when our families happened to join the same tour grp to Cameron Highlands.... 20 years ago!!!!! Although we did continue to see each other subqly as we were in the same primary sch, we didnt communicate much. I could remember his name NOT becos it is unique. In fact, its a v common chinese name but when read out together with his extraordinary surname, we made a joke out of it during the tour.

I reflected the incidents that happened today, and wonder how karmic links work for people. If he hasnt joined the same table as me early in the morning, if we havent chatted further during lunch, if he nv mentioned abt the shuttle service, if my colleague wasnt interested in it, if my colleague didnt forget to get his contact number, if i didnt print out the hard copy email, I would have easily bypass and forget this person after today. And I wud nv be able to identify him as a childhood aquaintance since we didnt work in the same company premise.

Frankly speaking, I duno how karmic links work, but i m sure its an interesting encounter for myself. I may consider acknowledging him by dropping him an email on monday.

You care?

I did so much things today tat I could hardly pen them down.

1) Took a new route to work but ended up paying ERP twice
2) Ventured deep down into the hidden WWII bunkers on Kent Ridge (behind the now modern looking Uni Hall)
3) Quarreled on phone again abt work, wat else?
4) Had a nice dinner with OWY and CK at Arts canteen
5) Attended the NUSBS Forum and have a great time helping the jnrs tpt back the stuffs to YIH

Was very upset the once well camouflaged WWII bunkers on Kent Ridge were now pretty much exposed. My last visit to this place was in 2001 and the place was still pretty untouched. Now, the natural green surrounding the place showed signs of human destructions. Although the place is already fenced up, somehow, i managed to climb my way down the steep kent ridge slopes to reach it. Today, under the broad day light, i found out there were even more hidden bunkers down the slopes of kent ridge. Quite a contrasting view to the modernised looking University Hall and Ext A hostel.

Was having a chat with Fenny on our way home, when she asked my opinion on the trend of NUSBS. Frankly speaking, I think the objectives of the society has taken a great change in recent yrs. When i was a freshie in NUSBS, it was greatly emphasized by the leaders then that NUSBS is NOT supposed to be mistakened as a buddhist sch/org that teaches Dharma to the campus community. Instead, it's primary role is to act as a link or bridge between the campus community and the Dharma. I was not around then, but i heard the primary focus of NUSBS then were the Chinese and English Dharma camps, Dharma talks and weekly faculty DC. Other than tat, its mostly thru the fellowship built up in the society, tat members introduce to one another on any available external Buddhist courses like the ones at Mahaprajna and SBF.

Some yrs back, NUSBS was flourishing and was at its peak. The leaders soon found out that they have enough resources to organise Dharma courses on our own ie. Basic Buddhism Course + Meditation Course, bringing buddhism even closer to the campus. Gradually, I realise that the objectives of NUSBS has sinced shifted from acting as a link to become a campus society who offer buddhism teachings to the campus community. It is not necc a bad shift, but definitely NOT under circumstances when resources (manpower) are no longer easily available.

Instead, I wud rather BS goes back to the olden days, when the leaders effectively tap on the available external resources to bring Dharma to the campus community. Eg1. Without the link made by Peifen, there wudnt be so many members getting to know Sayalay Dipankara and participating in the annual meditation retreat. I am sure many members have benefitted from this link. Eg2. With Vincent's link with Sagaramudra Society, several members got the chance to under take the 3 refuges and 5 precepts + benefitted from the various Dharma classes/talks organised by Hai Yin. Not forgetting the link with NDR, where Ven Kaizhao effectively motivates many many more members in the Dharma.

I have not spoken my thoughts on BS for a long time, cos what i feel or say may not be necc true and applicable. Probably wat i wrote now is jus for myself, haha... anyone bothers?

Rantings

Despite having passed our IPPTs, my colleague and I decided to carry on with our weekly jogging sessions:

- to keep fit
- to continue to lose weight
- to aim better 2.4km timing
- to constantly go for more IPPTs so tat we can clear the one on jul 06.

NUS SRC track was so crowded and full of vibrance. I am glad that the students are enjoying their campus life.

Was reading the SPI ghost forum when someone mentioned abt the old Tekong Camp I. He wrote:

I was a recruit in Tekong, Camp 1 Echo Company back in 1997. It was only a short distance from Charlie Company. I never really seen the door, cos I did not dare to and my policy at that time was to mind my own business, and just endure that three months. And I did not know of the three door bunk at that time. But well, I enjoyed my time there, the beautiful sunset, the comaradarie, the home-sickness, the Echo dog, the good memories. It was hard going through it, but now that it has long passed, I am filled with memories never to be forgotten.

Coincidentally, I was from the same BMT batch as this person since Echo company (the one i was in too) was only restarted in late 1997. And I share exactly the same sentiments as him - Tekong will always be one of the most memorable place in my heart - the beautiful sunset, the comaradarie, the home-sickness, the Echo dogs......

The feeling of home-sickness was the most overwhelming, especially when looking across the tekong field, admiring the Singapore mainland, which is beautifully lighted with building lights and street lamps. It was the first time i realised and appreciated how lovely my home, singapore, was.

I guess the experiences by old Tekong camp 1 recruits would be v different from the newer soldiers. The long wooden bunk, lousy squeakly metal beds, super thin sponge mattress, tall rusty metal cupboards, dirty & rough-surfaced floor, not forgetting the horrible army cooked food (SUX) + having to march to cookhouse with our left hand holding on to our mess tray, fork, spoon and mugs + having to wash them with pathetic bar soaps and rotten sponges + clearing the rubbish and waste foods at the cookhouse after meals.

Recruits starting from 1998 no longer experience the above. They started to have nice tall beds, king coil mattress, wooden cupboards with personal compartments, catered food where they din even need to wash their own plates after use, minus the irritating mess trays, fork, spoon from their cupboards during stand-by-bed. They can even walk around in their bunks bare-footed as if its their own home....

And guess wat.. . i last heard soldiers nowadays do not need to do area cleaning, as all these r done by outside contractors!!! Alamak, I wonder if youngsters nowadays still fold their blankets and make their own beds after waking up. I seriously doubt so... pathetic... sighz.

Peeking The Peak

Who? - Jane

Where? - The Peak

Do What? - Peeking at The Peak

Sometimes i wonder why the great differences in ppl's lives. Some ppl are jus so freaking rich, living in mansions while others are homeless, suffering from natural calamities.

Why are we working so hard? To earn money? To earn for what? To hope to get a better life? But do we get a better life? No? Why not? Cos we are working so hard? So why continue to do so? Why? Why? Why?

Out again..

Places I visited yday:

1) Lower Pierce Reservoir boardwalks
2) Sungei Khatib Bongsu
3) Punggol Beach


Entering the forested area with excitment

Breath-taking scenery of the nature

My friend having a great time taking photo shoots around

Nice invigorating air in after a heavy shower in the morning


The last fishing farm/kampung in Singapore (i dun mean artificial fish farms)

The owner of the farm is very friendly - typical kampung style.




Need i say more? Sunset at Punggol beach is splendid (Jane, UK is right!)

Finally!

Finally finally finally finally finally finally............ i passed my IPPT this evening!

I know probably to many guys out there, passing IPPT is no big deal. But for someone who was never really very fit, it wasnt easy for me. Although I didnt face much problems clearing my IPPT when i was younger, the problem came after i had my surgery in 1999.

Prior to 2005, my last taken IPPT was in 1998, which was 7 yrs from now. In other words, I have not taken IPPT for the past 7 yrs. I regretted that throughout these 7 yrs, i have nv really put in effort in building up my physical fitness. Tat explains the struggle now.

But i am glad my passing today was not a marginal one. In fact, my timing was good enough for me to pass under the Cat X criteria, even though i am already in Cat Y. It may not be a splendid timing, but i aim to work hard and further push down my timing to 11 min for the 2.4km run.

If u r wondering what is this funny background song, its the theme song for this v big HK serial 'Jin Zhi Yu Nie". Recently, I have been fascinated by this HK drama, which featured on the ugliness and selfishness of human beings in the Forbidden City. The show was nothing but all abt how the concubines and consorts pit against one another, either just for survival or personal greed to climb up the imperial ranks . This drama kinda coincide with my sudden interest in Chinese history, which include studying the different Dynasties and lives of a few famous Chinese historical icons.

Work is piling up more than ever. Is it really a trend in the modern society that Pay is getting lesser, but work is getting more each day?

\_o_/

Its such an irony. All of us started off as strangers, and most of us were low moraled. We loathed each and every of our meeting sessions. After 2 mths, we have become a very closely knitted and bonded grp.

We laughed, sweat and suffered together. We see ourselves improving weeks after weeks. Our common topics were at abundance - complain abt work, fitness, money, petrol price, cars etc. We were so used to seeing one another every other few days tat we soon begin to take it for granted. But we realised that this evening will be the last session for everyone. I admit that although we chatted like old time friends, i hardly know any of their names.

I used to think that i have good listening ears and give v good advices. And now, i feel very embarassed tat i actually harboured such a thought in the past. I think i pretty sux at giving ppl advices or even comments. Nowadays, whenever ppl seek my opinion or advices, i tend to give them very crappy replies. I am afraid of saying the wrong things, and resulting them in making the wrong decisions. I have become more paranoid.

So to all those frens who have seeked my opinions on watever issues, pls pardon me for giving non-constructive replies.

Credit Card Woeees~~

There are indeed some very powerful web tools nowadays. Firstly, I have 2 web services (intro by Jane) that could help me detect the visitors to my blog. Of cos the names of the ppl will not be shown, but the IP address, Countries and name of the companies/institutes will be shown. Majority of my readers come from NTU, NUS and i also have visitors from a Taiwan firm? Haha.

Next, friendster has a new service that will help u detect who are the ppl who have viewed your profile. From the list of viewers I have, i saw one familiar name/face. Arghhhh........... thot the next victim shld be zeathereal or even gabriel already!? Dun laff dun laff. .. most of u shld know who i am refering to already - Joking la..

Yday, I received my credut card Statement of Account in horror. It was written that I have not completely cleared my bills for the prev month and hence, i was charged an interest rate of $50++ for this month. The funny thing is that I have applied for GIRO to auto pay for my balance every mth.

I called up XXX Bank and found out that GIRO has only helped me pay $50 of my bill last month, meaning i still owe XXX Bank $800++ which resulted in the interest charges of $50++. And this XXX Bank officer told me it was my instruction to them to keep my GIRO deduction limit at $50.

@^&^&^#*)@$*(@! CRAZY! Why wud i set such a stupid rule to myself? I called up my personal bank (the one which i use to pay XXX Bank by GIRO) to confirm that i didnt set this rule to restrict my payment to $50. Yeah, I did not set it! Immediately, I called back XXX Bank hotline to tell them abt it. The officers were quite useless.. they told me to write a letter to some dept and explain the situation. I was told that they have no email feedback sys.

But am i going to waste my pen, paper, envelop and stamp on such a silly mistake made by them? I searched the web and found out there's a channel that i could write to them. My initial mail was drafted very nicely and politely, requesting them to investigate the matter, and ask if they could waive off my $50++ interest charge. Upon 2nd thought, I felt i was so silly. I changed the tone of my email, and this time, i insisted that they have made the mistake and demanded them to pay me back the $50++ charges. They replied me today with an apology and told me they have waived off the charges.

I have to thank my Big Big Boss who once criticised tat the way i wrote my email. She thot my writing style was too soft and wud never get the other parties to work. Of cos, such an approach applies to only specific situations. Anyway, I couldnt help but think tat the mistake made by XXX bank was not genuine, but jus an underhand method to 'earn' the money of its customers. Afterall, thats how they earn money, by giving u credits and earning the interests u pay them. So gotta be careful..