72-MAN-GOH for THE PRINCE OF LIECHTENSTEIN @ THE ISTANA
3rd September 2010.

According to the MFA,

His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein of the Principality of Liechtenstein will make an official visit to Singapore from 2 to 3 September 2010 at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. This will be HSH Hereditary Prince Alois's first official visit to Singapore..

If you're curious about how the Prince looks like, here's a photo gleamed from CNA.



He's towers head and shoulders above our Prime Minister, and in fact, over our whole contingent for that matter. Comparable to our SM Goh, perhaps even taller. Quite good-looking as well.

Had a very good view though as I was in the front row.. And in a 72-man GOH the dignitaries only review the first row of guardsmen. Honoured.

Thankfully the weather was pretty cool at noon, making our lives so much easier and our lot more bearable.

For more information about bilateral links, economic and demographical ties between Liechtenstein and Singapore you can find them here.

CHANGE OF GUARD CEREMONY @ THE ISTANA, SEPT 2010

It was the first COG that my batch was tanking, well, except me and a few others. As a show of support and encouragement I undertook the trip downtown on a Sunday evening to witness it first-hand.

Here are a few photos of the proceedings (darn, Photobucket isn't loading on my laptop). There was no doubt that I was proud of my friends as they marched down Orchard Road smartly in their No. 1 uniforms with the band and SPDS performers in tow.

The rehearsals may be tough and taxing on the mind and body but I'm already looking forward to my turn next month as the rotation within my department continues. Even if I move on to my permanent posting with the coming of the new batch who are passing out tomorrow, I will most definitely petition my superiors for time off to be part of this ceremony at least once during my liability.

Think about it, just how many can actually lay claim to actually donning that ceremonial garb/olive green uniform and performing in front of both dignitaries and the public? Unless you're an Officer or SAF Band member that is. Or an MP in LECC.

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Came across this while sorting out dusty music archives from my desktop for transfer to my iTouch via an external hard-disk and a laptop.

Sourced out the MV, so that someone don't have to worry about not being able to read and process those Chinese characters on screen..

爱我的人和我爱的人
游鸿明 / 裘海正

盼不到我爱的人
我知道我愿意再等
疼不了爱我的人
片刻柔情它骗不了人
我不是无情的人
却将你伤的最深
我不忍我不能
别再认真
忘了我的人

离不开我爱的人
我知道爱需要缘分
放不下爱我的人
因为了解他多么认真
为什么最真的心
碰不到最好的人
我不问我不能
拥在怀中
直到他变冷

爱我的人为我痴心不悔
我却为我爱的人甘心一生伤悲
在乎的人始终不对
谁对谁不必虚伪
爱我的人为我付出一切
我却为我爱的人流泪狂乱心碎
爱与被爱同样受罪
为什么不懂拒绝痴情的包围

Chinese songs can be just as, if not more, meaningful than their English counterparts.. Especially sentimental ballads such as this. They still have their place in the mainstream, despite the ascendancy of punk/techno/R&B/hip-hop nowadays.
______________________________________

Am gonna be exposed to a whole range of timeless xinyao medleys tonight anyway when we return to our alma mater for a giant gathering to observe the Mid-Autumn Festival as a Hwa Chong farm-ily. Great opportunity to catch up with friends and acquaintances in our first year back as fully-fledged alumni.

And and.. I'm so gonna grab those new faculty shirts and memorabilia on sale tonight. As long as they're not too overpriced. Seems like the Student Council know how to apply demand elasticity concepts in real life as well.

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.. So as to quote from Mark, who also reminded me to wish myself in his place.

AUGUST 29

So yes, todaythat day iswas the day.

However the days leading up to this supposed significant and joyful occasion have been anything but merry. There're just so many things to ponder about, and without any affirmation whatsoever I'm left grasping at thin air, especially now that Facebook's tightened their privacy settings so much that I cannot see even wall posts of friends of friends, and also brought about by the fact that our generation have permanently encamped on Facebook instead of Blogger.

The days of online stalkers are limited..

One
The person who ostentatiously wished me ten times on MSN last year was conspicuously absent this time around.

Whilst at the train platform this evening I had a conversation with Judy and we somehow touched on this bugbear of mine. I mentioned that the full swing of university life meant that some just have no time for old friend(s) any longer, instead prioritizing most of their time on their newly found OG/course/school/hall/faculty mates (You name it).

And she was like..
"Haven't you always been the lowest priority on that list all this while?"

So I reckoned that since there are many names on that nominal roll now, it seemed that there's just no time left for me anymore since I'm so down that pecking order.

She nodded her head in agreement.

Two
I finally saw KH again ever since our Sentosa gathering in June. She's now happily staying in on campus with the advent of the semester, experiencing cookhouse food and all (: Apparently all those newly-released civilians sound like they're still serving in the Army with the words and phrases they use around the residences.

Anyway, I heard someone note that "Engineering guys all cannot make it one" while on the bus. Hm.. ^^

Three
ESFJs need plenty of affirmation. Fact.
So.. yeah.

Four
One year ago I couldn't have envisaged my 18th ending in such a manner. Sure I rode my luck in army with the postings and all, and worked hard enough to secure at least a hundred bucks for IPPT. I completed my 'A' levels and got back the results (they weren't outstanding, but enough for me to be accepted into a local university). I miraculously did wonders for that interview which I was totally unprepared for, and scribbled down some thoughts for an essay that somehow withstood scrutiny by the adjudicators.

However it was out-of-camp events that did it for me though.

I find it so ironic that in the past month KH exceeded her SMS limit by two times while I barely used a quarter of my allocation. I should just swap my NSF plan for her corporate plan. How fortunes change so dramatically in just 365 days.

I used to be the one raking up insane phone bills. Not any longer though
And its all too mind-boggling still

Five

It's just a roadshow.. Not the actual thing relax.. Tell Green Day that 'September has not ended yet' and they can sleep in peace.

It was great meeting them again - them being Jontay, Louis, Woon, KH, Aaron, Linyi, William, Hu, sY and Silu - over at Holland Village for lunch at Everything With Fries. Food's great and the banter's exceptional. A pity that Tian^2's overseas now pursuing further studies in the Land of Austerity, Fairness and Big Society Thanks guys though for the watch, with a shout-out especially to Jontay who took the trouble to source for it downtown despite his hectic army schedule. 多谢你们了!

After a good lunch (of which I was the last to finish.. again; I'm even slower than Silu who ordered some ten minutes after me) we hopped on a double-decked bus 7 which brought us all the way to PS. How long has it been since we last took a bus together and disturb every single commuter with our chat? Of course there were people of all races around us.. Not just a solitary Malay lady..

Six
Last but not least.. I want to thank the so so many people for wishing me in one form or another

SMS -
Cynthia, Amelia, Josie, Joel

Facebook
Justin, Quinza, Val, Weiqi, Bernice, Yichao, Eliza, Hongguang, Huiyao, Zongxian, Meiling, Sylvia, Ziyan, Sharon, Shimin, Luther, Mr Pang, Jiaying, Cindy (Hwach), Kerong, Jasper, Marcus, Shenwen, Shuyi, Alex (NH), Xiaoting, Jewel, Edlind, Amelia (twice on FB), Aaron, Angella, Bina, Charmaine (NHSB), Emerson, Weilin (CPS), Melody, Wayne, Ting, Yankai, Mariko (W279,515 days), Yonglin, Riduan, Hianchong, Sean, Soonsiang, Bojie, Zhikai, Zijing, Richard, Ianson, Akram, Greg (SAFMPC)

MSN
Mark

S6A
Jontay, Louis, Woon, KH, Aaron, Linyi, William, Hu, sY, Silu, Jontan, Judy for the outing and gifts

Also..
All in Plt 3 who wished me in the Platoon Office on Monday (before resuming their DVD/PS2..) and also elsewhere in camp.
And all those who did Guard Duty with me on Monday the 30th, incl. Jon Mark (GC) :D

Seven
I apologise for the messiness of six and also for posting this seven days late. My post was really in sixes and sevens during this period of time. My apologies to those whom I might have left out above as well..

Eight
19 = 20 minus 1.

My last teenage year.

Huge expectations on my part. I really want to get through this the best I can. Doing well in army, not signing any extras, covering my ass and so on.

Also.. I hope not to lose any friends due to Uni and all.
Sure, go fly with your new-found other halves if need be BUT DON'T EVER LOSE MY CONTACT AND FORGET TO INVITE ME FOR YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION AND HOUSEWARMING

Nine
Its nearing 0200 hrs on the 8th day of the 19th year of my life. And I've a 10km run later in five-odd hours. Cue to turn in..

All the best to all NTU freshmen who are starting their first day of school, and NUS freshies who are in their 6th week already. Fast eh?

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The days get longer and longer..
And seemingly meaningless to boot.

I stayed overnight at the workplace over the past two nights.
The first was inevitable, I had duties to fulfill.
However the second was voluntary..
There seemed to me more things to do in camp..
Like camping at the mess surfing the net til about 1am.

People are so so busy nowadays.
School, tuition, homework, camps and the like
New people, a fresh environment and new social connections farmed.

As much as I wanted to put hand to phone.
I feared that someone's chain of thoughts would be disturbed
And do more harm than good (besides getting disconnected without a single word exchanged)

It's been one week since.

I'm sorry, please do not bother me k?
I don't deserve anyone's sympathy

It probably can be rephrased as - "I have others to look out for me, for me to chat to, and to help me. You're not wanted anymore. So, please bugger off and do not ever disturb me from now."

When 'anyone' just implies 'you'.

Maybe the true intention's not that extreme. Yet it is pretty telling when one gets hung up on, ignored and (maybe) blocked somewhere when the other party's seemingly enjoying the perks of friendships with others on the very same platforms and in person. Yay.

Perhaps that was just a charade after all? A false facade for a confused and frustrated soul. Yay. And I can't do anything about it. I'm just a powerless bystander now that I've been cut off from your confidence.

It sucks when things boil down to this.

Does that mean that all the hours, minutes and seconds spent over so many months were worthless in the end? The joy, satisfaction and motivation were all.. temporary, a fleeting dream, planted in my head?

I thought I've had a lifelong friend
A would-be pillar of strength and courage
And then you left without a single word.

It seemed as if someone had holed the bottom of my heart, and that it is now sinking in a blaze of despair, confusion and misery.

Bet some people're just sitting back and laughing at this predicament now. Understandable, as they'd amassed much of what I'd lost. An instance of baton passing and the dawn of an 'era' of sorts - in a macabre way. Whee.

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On the weekday immediately after my birthday I was penciled in to perform overnight guard duty under one of the wisest, yet 'up-there' training warrants around. The catch, I was the desk i/c all night (: Besides helping out with pass exchange, chit-chatting with the guard commanders and guardroom personnel I did not have to rush down whenever there was a turn-out.

So hm.. that's my present from the armed forces?

Just dismounted and as I did not have to be in the Change-of-Guard contingent slated for this Sunday I'm spending much of my free time up in the mess listening to the band tuning and warming up. Met Jontay downstairs just now and we were both reminiscing about those days in band

Had been penning a rather long post about the significance of Sunday.. but as it's stored in my laptop and.. I've been in camp since Monday it's erm, understandably delayed >.<

Finished 8km in about 48 mins yesterday despite much time spent walking.. Anw.. if you believe that proportionality applies to this sort of thing I'm currently on track to meet the 10km-in-1hr target that is the norm around here.

Anyways, here's a huge thank you and shout out to all those who wished me and went out with me on Sunday. Especially the only two people who did so via both FB and SMS Hahaha.

Nineteen already?
Not old ok, someone seven months older lor. Tsk. Case of pot calling kettle black sia.

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In retrospect, why are we always complaining about our lot in life whilst leading a self-centered life when there are people like Liu Wei out there who rose beyond circumstances that would have impeded most of us to achieve his dreams, not to mention bringing true joy and inspiration to everyone who hears him play.

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As the title implies, here goes. I do feel that he's a far better writer and thinker than I ever was, or will be, and it's a pity that he's not active in the blogosphere any longer. What a loss indeed for all of us.

This was written on 4/07/2008, entitled "Of Scandals & Love(?)". Enjoy, or critique.

Of scandals...
Two people, a boy and a girl, are good friends. They can confide in each other, but that does not mean that they were meant to be a couple. Along comes a random person, who observes their close relationship, and a spark is all it takes to start a raging fire of rumours. Sounds familiar? This seemingly innocent act by our random person is "just in the name of fun" but the potential consequences can be disastrous. While both the boy and girl might be open and ignore the rumours, all it takes is for one of them to start feeling pressured or embarrassed and their relationship is on a one way trip to destruction. (Well maybe not a one way trip, just like going down a waterfall, it's almost impossible to get back to the top).

A perfectly harmless friendship is so easily shattered by heavy blows to either or both persons because of the rumours...

Of love(?)...
What is love? More often than not, we use the word so offhandedly without really understanding our own feelings toward another. From my observer's point of view, there are people in our class who claim to like someone. But should we let such feelings, which we ourselves aren't very sure of, affect our school life? Remember our first CT period - love should not be harmful. It should therefore not occupy our minds at every moment that we breathe, and neither should it ruin our friendships with others. I can't claim to know about love, but I strongly believe that we should not treat the one we claim to love (for this purpose I shall use the word 'crush' instead) as our possession. When one's crush is friendly with another of the opposite sex, do we have the right to feel jealous, or get angry at the "intrusive" person? How should one react when one's crush has a crush on another?

I for one definitely do not have the answers to such questions. However, my humble opinion is this: love is not made to order. Cliche though it may sound, I firmly believe that we cannot make decisions for others, let alone one's crush. Rather, instead of being negative, we should be more positive. If one truly likes someone, one should want that special someone to be happy, rather than direct that special someone to make one happy. Also, by "professing one's love", it might again ruin a perfectly harmless friendship. Therefore, rather than being outright and brash, I believe that one should just care for that special someone from a distance, helping that someone in our own little ways. Besides, for all we know, that special someone is just a passing thing, we cannot know for sure who awaits us in our future.

This post was written on 070408, and caused quite a big hoo-hah over in class at that moment in time as it was a pretty well-timed post (and it was anonymous to boot). I remember that we were all speculating about the author's identity in the computer room during one of our Project Work lessons, and our then Civics Tutor Ms Ong accurately pointed him out from our midst after a glance at the original post.

It's wonderfully funny on hindsight, yet considering the circumstances that prevailed back then, it was all so different altogether.

I still maintain that the post (and the timing of its publication) was in-part inspired by my antics at that point in time. Haha. Yeah, those were the not-so-grown-up days indeed. Nonetheless, it makes for good reading even today and I'm sure you'll invariantly think about your own love-hate (literally) experiences after this.

He celebrated his birthday just over two weeks ago, when he had just returned from an overseas vacation in the jungle over at Brunei. He's been a great asset to our class and a wonderfully gifted friend to have. I'm indeed honoured to have been in the same class as him over my past two years in college.

And how I miss school still. If you want to read more where that came from, look no further than here.

I'm super bloody anxious about you, and I hope that you don't interpret it negatively.. Just how long will this last? I miss those free-wheeling days already. Lonely lonely nights by the com is not the thing I stay out for. The true joy of being able to stay out is..

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I need to improve on my communication skills, nuff said.

I still can't imagine how stupid I sound rambling on and on during conversations over the phone. Hais. Guess its something inbuilt in me - the fear of letting a chat go cold interspersed with intermittent pauses.

I'm never going to get far in life without knowing how to communicate with others. Its something I'd got to hone by the time I enter U, for then it would be a very different ballgame altogether. People who can tolerate such nonsense (actually I think they getting ready to kill me if they actually could) will be in terribly short supply indeed.

Anyways, I need to be cheerful nowadays. And know what and how to pass on ideas or comments to others.

I don't want another early morning 220810 to happen again. Nor an early morning 240810.

Maybe I'm intimidated by the person on the other end of the line. Hm..

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