Slept through the whole morning and the best part of the afternoon as I sought to recuperate from a taxing week. Over the past few days I'd spent most nights working overtime.. At least someone was kind enough to grant me one day off to add to my collection.

I guess it must be some sort of record, that I actually completed the unit report over two nights (could have been quicker if some people had sent the required data earlier). Then again, there were also lots of loopholes and inaccuracies that had to be paper over. Hopefully this month's report can be done more efficiently.

The week in retrospect -

On Encrytion-gate
We got the SMC guy down to help us with our problem - and it turned out that there was no problem at all -.- It's most probably a cock-up in the system that did not yet recognize the new card-holder as legitimate.

On Meetings
The importance of a Chairman who has the power to enforce decisions and lay down the gauntlet to all is paramount in such a setting. The lack of a proper authority means that such meetings will degenerate into a 'coffee-shop' discussion of everything under the sun. It will encompass all possible topics, go off-point once in a while before someone steers it back.

Also the pitched battles that are on display every other week's nothing short of eye-opening - a microcosm of what the real working world's like.. At least I will not be surprised if such trench warfare is repeated at my workplace in the future. Alas, the result of too much inflated egos jostling for breathing space.

Just don't let it pop - It sure won't be a pretty sight. And I will not be the one to clean up the mess afterwards.

CHANGE-OF-GUARD CEREMONY @ THE ISTANA, NOVEMBER 2010
7 November 2010


The marching SPDS contingent


PLT 3 with their new PC - A refreshing presence in meetings due to a) his rank, and b) he's a regular


Marching under the glare of so many spectators in front of Orchard Central. The Traffic guy's rather cool with shades on.. Imposing.


New Guards..


And the old guards.. Executing a hormat


Maurice performing solo.. 'Look, no hands!'


The coolest thing about being in SPDS.. Is that you get to spin rifles (and indeed anything that is thin and reasonably long) and wow friends and strangers alike. Its does not warrant a skill badge for nothing..

UPCOMING

Will be enjoying a two-day work week next week as I am clearing leave for the two days before Hari Raya Haji.

And PES 2011's insanely addictive. Oh the joy of being able to stay out.. Well, at least until January. Currently I think I will not be able to clear my second window without some form of conditioning.. Anyone keen for gym? ((: Preferably without having to pay a cent :D *hints*

LASTLY,
Just want to wish all those having exams (a.k.a. the dreaded 'A's) ALL THE BEST for the upcoming papers (: It's been a week.. And am I glad not to be sitting for this year's edition after all the horror stories I'd read on Facebook..

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It was our unit's Cohesion activity after four months.. And as usual it is - (a) a movie and (b) at Shaw Organisation cineplexes. This time, the featured 'sneak preview' is RED. It opens officially in theatres on the 11th.



Even though some award winners were unable to make it for the event (which made me carry those plaques back the way I came), it was a good cohesion - albeit a more rowdy one with all the NSmen around rounding up their ICT cycle with a treat.

And a 600ml bottle of Pepsi which supposedly cost S$2.30 each. I mean, seriously?!

As for the movie itself, it did indeed live up to the acclaim it received back in the States. I mean, a hyper action-comedy movie (with Helen Mirren wielding shotguns to boot) for a bunch of deprived army guys IS the way to go.

Then again, we're heading for the theatres soon once more come the 27th for our Command Family Day. It will be held over at Suntec City instead of Bugis - BUT yes, you've guessed it right, the cinema operator over there is none other than.. Shaw Organisation.

Let's hope then we'll be watching more films of similar standard. The organisors do seem to have an impressive knack of picking the juiciest of them reels for us every time. And I will not bemoan the choice of operator if the next Cohesion is slated for the NEX.. which is a mere five-minute walk from where my humble abode

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To start things off, happy holidays to those who're reading from Singapore as its Deepavali today. Well. That's also if you're not busy mugging for the impending O's/A's/Midterms.

A friend of mine tagged me in this quiz recently. Haven't been asked to do such things for quite some time already, and I might have already done this before. Then again, the fog of time does indeed alter some aspects of my thinking towards certain issues.. - so here goes.
______________________________

RULES: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 100 Truths about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

(To do this, go to �notes� under tabs on your profile page, copy and paste this note, erase my answers and enter your own, tag people in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

WHAT WAS YOUR:

1. Last beverage:
Erm. Some milkshake thingy from McCafe.

2. Last phone call:
A proper phone call? Someone lor some time ago. :D

3. Last text message:
From my AO who's stuck in camp as the DO on a public holiday.
AND THOSE WHOM I'D MSGED RGDING THE SOCIAL NETWORK BETTER REPLY ASAP.
If not LCP AARON is going to recommend charge to his boss. Ok, my boss bigger but whatever.
That's all (:

4. Last song you listened to:
I'm Yours by Jason Mraz - Playing on the radio now..

5. Last time you cried:
Good question. I can't really recall now.

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice:
Nope

7. Been cheated on:
Eh.. No idea. LOL

8. Kissed someone & regretted it:
Never to the first. SO by cause-and-effect (A favourite WITS term), ditto the latter.

9. Lost someone special:
Mm. Almost lost someone when that person turned the air-conditioning down and froze our friendship (It seems).

10. Been depressed:
Sensitive question. Though you'll probably know better than me on this count.

11. Been drunk and threw up:
Nope. I control my liquor well.
Been drinking and conked out - YES.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLOURS:

12. Orange
13. Violet
14. Pink

THOSE ARE NICE COLOURS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT/ IN CONTEXT.
No such thing as gay / girly and all for me. Each of these colours meant something actually..

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2010)

15. Made a new friend:
Definitely. Like, in the army, who hasn't?

16. Fallen out of love:
Hm. Hm. YES. A love that kinda like never ignited in the first place due to circumstances.

17. Laughed until you cried:
Can't remember. Maybe?

18. Met someone who changed you:
Don't think so. If you've said the year 2009 then YES.

19. Found out who your true friends were:
HAHA. Time-tested question, this. Indeed..

20. Found out someone was talking about you:
DUHHHH. ITS THE BLOODY ARMY LOL.

21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list:
Never had the chance to D:

22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life:
MANY if not the majority. Ok they all mean the bloody same thing.

23. How many kids do you want to have:
THREE lor. Must heed the call of the nation and have more children.

24. Do you have any pets:
Nope, and never will.

25. Do you want to change your name:
To what?

26. What did you do for your last birthday:
Can't remember yo? Oh.. Classmates lor (: Since some people don't want to go out with me lol.

27. What time did you wake up today:
0730 hrs. LOL. That's after sleeping at nine the previous night.

28. What were you doing at midnight last night:
As mentioned.

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for:
Something that seems rather unlikely to happen. Thought you should be forewarned.
*******

30. Last time you saw your mother:
-.-

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life:
Like, be more decisive w/regards to that issue?

32. What are you listening to right now:
Why the same question? Now.. A new Owl City single (:

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom:
Surprisingly no? Even if its the cartoon character, no as well.

34. What's getting on your nerves right now:
Don't ask, don't tell. And I don't mean that U.S. Army policy.

35. Most visited webpage:
What else? THAT social network.

36. Whats your real name:
Like duh? You can find that out so easily no?

37. Nicknames:
NO IDEA :D
I'm not a stalker yo.

38. Relationship Status:
Hm. CONFUSED heh.

39. Zodiac sign:
Baaaaaa..

40. Male or female?
The former, make no mistake.

41. Primary?
Some school in the Potong Pasir area.

42. Secondary?
Some school in Clementi

43. College?
Some institution at Bukit Timah that's going to have a MRT station named after its founder yay.

44. Hair colour:
Army where can dye hair one.

45. Long or short:
What do you think?

46. Height:
172-ish

47. Do you have a crush on someone?
Sensitive question. Of course la duhhhhhh.

48. What do you like about yourself?
For me to know and for you to find out.

49. Piercings:
Nope. Not my cup of tea

50. Tattoos:
I would not be in my job if I had any.

51. Righty or lefty:
Right handers ftw.

FIRSTS :

52. First surgery:
Never gone under the knife. Thankfully.
I only get knifed by people. Ok, its almost always that same person.

53. First piercing:
Nope. Earrings not really my type.

54. First best friend:
Never had one as in the always go out that type. A lot of great friends and close friends though. Don't really like the term 'best'. Like very exclusive no?

55. First sport you joined:
Hm. Never joined a sports CCA.

56. First vacation:
Can't recall. Is FANTASY ISLAND counted?

58. First pair of trainers:
HAHAHA. NO IDEA.

RIGHT NOW:

59. Eating:
TOO FULL from lunch.

60. Drinking:
Nothing now. Probably beer later to celebrate Deepavali. Ok I'm kidding about the latter.

61. I'm about to:
Finish this thing.

62. Listening to:
The radio.
THE STEREOPHONICS with 'Have A Nice Day'

63. Waiting for:
This thing to end. Its getting rather draggy...

YOUR FUTURE :

64. Want kids?:
65. Get Married?:
Yes to both. Alright this saves time.

66. Career?
What do you think? LOL.

WHICH IS BETTER :

67. Lips or eyes:
68. Hugs or kisses:
ALL :D I'm greedy.

69. Shorter or taller:
A bit shorter'll make a good picture-perfect moment.

70. Older or Younger:
Around there can already.

71. Romantic or spontaneous:
72. Nice stomach or nice arms:
73. Sensitive or loud:
I'll see how things go.

74. Hook-up or relationship:
Do I look like I'm going to have an ONS?

75. Trouble maker or hesitant:
No punks, and no dalliers thank you.

HAVE YOU EVER :

76. Kissed a stranger:
77. Drank hard liquor:
78. Lost glasses/contacts:
79. Sex on first date:
80. Broken someone's heart:
82. Been arrested:
83. Turned someone down:
84. Cried when someone died:
NO to ALL.

85. Fallen for a friend?
HMMMMM. (:

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself:
87. Miracles:
88. Love at first sight:
89. Heaven:
YES. (:

90. Santa Claus:
NO duhh this is so rhetorical.

91. Kiss on the first date:
That'll be cool (:

92. Angels:
YES (: You lor :D

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time:
95. Did you sing today?
96. Ever cheated on somebody?
NO. And where's question 93.

97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?
A long long way.

98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, when would it be?
Hm. The day(s) I had those long conversations with you.

99. Are you afraid of falling in love?
The process is already fraught with difficulties. Just try lor.

100. Posting this as 100 truths?
NOPE I end the chain right here.

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So let the carnage begin (literally). And we shall be nice and wind the clock back for everyone's sake.

72 MAN GUARD-OF-HONOUR FOR THE PRESIDENT OF PANAMA @ THE ISTANA
18th October 2010


No, please don't go asking him how Scofield and co. managed to break out from prison

My last parade for a long long while (though I did not know it then) proved to be the most taxing physically and mentally.

High humidity and temperatures in the morning, before something apparently happened and the sun had given way to low-hanging grey clouds and wild gales as the parade took place.

Was glad that the rehearsal ended before I tell the person beside me to watch out. My vision was getting all screwed up just as the all-too-familiar spinning sensation was beginning to hit home hard.

And something real bad happened during our stint in the Istana that morning. That really left a sour taste in everyone's mouths.

19th October

I took off on that day (finally clearing the last of my NDP off.. Or so I thought) and was just stirring from my sleep when I got stunned by a double whammy of missed phone calls and messages.

And as feared, I made my way back to camp in the afternoon for an interview with CO, his intention being to prep me before the official switch in platoons the following day.

So here goes the brief - Mine's a job with high expectations not only with regards to reports and also on-the-ground information. Must be able to write, edit, formulate, critique facts and put stats into context. And also be able to hit the ground running and go for ops to keep myself updated.

I guess its going to really test the strength of the network I had set up in the unit with people of different platoons. And I sort of welcome the challenge of doing paperwork and shooting emails all over the place - people like Aaron's already in the mix for the past eight months or so..

Abrupt timing? I guess so. Just as I was preparing for super-November with so many parades lined up - with two 72 man, one COG with rehearsals et al in the first two weeks alone.

20th October

Had only five effective days to learn everything before my upper study goes ORD and enjoy the good civilian life (it seems).

Stayed back for dinner with AO, who was an ex-HC guy as well. Guess we managed to talk like schoolmates outside work and the huge difference in rank.

Took part in night ops with my (ex)-platoon over at Samuel's. The only problem is that we did not visit him but the cluster next to his. So yeah, could not see a classmate yet again. (The guys went to visit sY on the 26th.. I was in the office already by then >.<)

21st October

More of the same.. Guard duty in the evening - my last for the foreseeable future as well. Kind of celebrated by trying to take out the prowling device.. >.<

22nd October

Platoon 3 cohesion at Marina Superbowl. Did not bowl a good game but the atmosphere was good - although someone forgot to turn down the volume mixer for our side. A group of teenage girls screaming and squealing proved to be more irritating than us though.

24th October

Four Birthdays Together on a Private Yacht

Nuff said. Makes me feel like renting my own yacht for my 21st.

Then again, it costs like upwards of $1500. So it shall just remain a pipe dream, just like almost everything else.

25-26 October

Time seems to crawl to a halt when you're in the office..

Talk about the second coming of the haze. Someone's been felling and burning all those trees over the other side of the Straits recently.

27 October

Got called to join L for Neptune that evening. And as usual, it turned out to be anything but dull.

Managed to catch 'Paranormal Activity 2' at Downtown East - which was like only the 4th horror flick I'd watched in my life. The main selling point of the film's probably its realism though, much like The Blair Witch Project

The rest of the afternoon included shopping at Tampines IKEA and sharing a plate of cheese fries at Changi Village's 'Botak Jones' outlet in addition to all ghost stories we shared in the car after the movie.

And we could even play Monopoly Deal in the car over in the heart of William's workplace. Too bad he was on off that particular day. Shucks.

28th October

Appointed the POC for the bus log sheets as well for the unit. Responsibilities stacking up now.

29th October

We were one of the few left on a chilly Friday afternoon when almost everyone, bar CO, was on some sort of off. Am now tasked to prepare a report on all parades and ceremonies done by the Command as well. Well well well.. Talk about MP being multi-purpose. My job's the true epitome of that very term.

30 October

What a dull weekend (again)..
On another note, its only 9 days to the A's and most of the guys have received their enlistment letters. Deja vu, non?

***
And what of this?

1913 (BST): GOALFLASH Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham (Nani)

Man Utd goal: Erm, what on earth? First Nani thinks he should have a penalty after going down under Younes Kaboul's challenge - not given - and then, when Heurelho Gomes puts the ball down for what he thinks is a free-kick, Nani taps the ball into the empty net. Spurs are livid - and the linesman looks to agree with them - but referee Mark Clattenburg over-rules his assistant and the goal stands.

The easiest goal one can ever score.. Surely..

Happy Halloween, people.
Please don't overdo the scaring and report back to work/school on Monday in one piece with a still-sane mind. :D

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I guess I really owe an update to all my readers, especially the u/m personnel..



Thank you so much for your constant support

Its already past midnight and I quote -
TMR IS FRIDAYYYYY :D :D :D

I shall do a proper update once I have the time tomorrow. And that's provided if I am able to resist the gnawing urge to smack the U.S. as Napoleon in Civ V.

On a side note, 'Paranormal Activity 2' is quite a good show, especially if you have friends who are horror-phobic. (: Quite funny.. :D

Finally the weekends are here.. It would be rather depressing (to put it mildly) if I have to spend it alone. Sucks to be me when things do not go the way you want them to. Time and distance do indeed manage to pull us further apart it seems. An inconvenient truth of sorts.

Oh man how I increasingly hate Facebook's privacy settings nowadays.
It makes an active account look pretty dormant when viewed by others.

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Finally.. An extended conversation online. Felt much happier (and relieved) at the moment.

Its midway through October already. Yes, 23 more days til the A's (according to Valerie's interactive countdown clock on MSN..). Time does indeed fly, and emosong had not tagged for nearly 4 mths since I last had.. an emo song on this site.

Just came back from running and leaving my mark on the road after I tripped over some stupid kerb. Nevertheless, it feels good being able to get some mileage in after missing so many CPFAs the past two weeks.

Went bowling at Tampines SAFRA on Monday ostentatiously to clock some time on the lanes in preparation for cohesion this coming Friday (See, no need go to work again).

On Tuesday we all stayed in for the Kazakhstan parade the next morning; and then again that night after coming back from night ops. The ops itself was pretty interesting..

Came back to camp on Friday for guard duty.. Which by circumstance started at noon and with a DO who is super f***ed up. It was all rosy until the DOs swapped duties. Anw now I have another off in the bank to claim as Friday was supposed to be an off for all of us.

Alright, enough of the mundane stuff.

Anw new game to recommend on iTouch/iPhone..




Images taken from Wirebot

The whole platoon's whiling away excess time by playing this insanely addictive game. If you'd jailbroken your iDevice then good for you, you save US$ 0.99. Well done!

Going back soon to prepare for the President of Panama's arrival at the Istana tomorrow morning. And then I'm on OFF on Tuesday! Who's free ((:

*Looks at someone carrying a proverbial knife always* ^^

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CHANGE OF GUARD CEREMONY @ THE ISTANA, OCT 2010
10th October 2010

My first, and possibly last COG as a guardsman on show along Orchard Road on a buzzing Sunday evening.

The crowd was rather huge, maybe a bit less than the Sept turnout but it was still substantial nonetheless. Wondered if of my friends actually went for it? LZ was there.. And I doubt he was alone.. All I got was a cold shoulder when I attempted finding out. It's rather disconcerting, that.

I guess theoretically, at least, I could have seen more people if I was in the New Guards, then again though without specs it's practically impossible for me to see much other than the guy in front of me.









72-MAN GUARD-OF-HONOUR FOR THE PM OF KAZAKHSTAN @ THE ISTANA
13th October 2010

Some were commenting that he looked like Borat o.O



And that's all parade-wise for the past week. My apologies for the lack of updates due to me having to stay-in on quite a number of days.

Thanks for keeping the faith.

Am going to try out the Nike+iPod App (I have no idea how it actually works) now. Need to shed those calories man - The one big disadvantage with staying out's actually the fact that you gain weight very easily.. =/ So don't always say we have it easy-going all the time. Haha.

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I guess I thought you'd be here forever
Another illusion I chose to create
You don't know what you got until it's gone
And I found out just a little too late

I was acting as if you were lucky to have me
Doin' you a favor I hardly knew you were there
But then you were gone and it all was wrong
Had no idea how much I cared

Now being without you
Takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it
But I don't want to

Being without you
Is all a big mistake
Instead of getting easier
It's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to you babe
You're a hard habit to break

You found someone else you had every reason
You know I can't blame you for runnin' to him
Two people together but living alone
I was spreading my love too thin

After all of these years
I'm still tryin' to shake it
Doin' much better they say that it just takes time
But deep in the night it's an endless flight
I can't get ya out of my mind

Hard Habit to Break - Chicago from the album Chicago 17, 1984

I think I'm increasingly running out of things to post.

From the lengthy posts waxing lyrical of the most mundane things in my life to this: A mere sentence or two, with a few emoticons just for kicks. I guess my writing style (or degradation) has really boiled down to one simple thing - My mood..

It'd not been a great month, despite being blessed with such a nice, comfortable job (although it does admittedly comes with inept colleagues, obtuse superiors and the x-inefficiencies they seem to like embroiling us in), I'd been having some difficulty swallowing the hard truth - that people do move on, and they're not necessarily inclined to bring you along for the trip.

From once a day, to once in two, to now - once in five days. I guess that just reflects reality - that even though one's almost always online everyday or so, this is just not as high a priority as it used to be. A crowding-out effect brought about by new injects into one's increasingly hectic and chaotic life - a far cry from those relatively simple, idyllic and tranquil days.

The optimist thinks that things could have been different if I had the luxury of two extra months after the end of school. Yet the pessimist counters that with all the excess baggage one was carrying from the past it would have been difficult to make significant inroads enough to alter fate.

Here we go. The tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the new millennium. 10.10.10. And I can mark it by not screwing up during COG later in the day. In front of no one I know - I mean, even my class' not going - what are the odds that others will?

Exactly 14 months or more of harsh cathartic conditions ahead. Things can never be the same again. It's not up to me now. Then again, it was never my call from the beginning.

The optimist me'd planted it all in my mind.

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