To anyone who is affected in one way or another by the recent tsumami...

Those happy memories of loved ones,
now but a whisper in a mind.

Songs of joy and laughter,
No longer fill the air.

Why did things like this happen?
We never understood.

To all those whose loved ones were lost,
I hope that you will love.

No doubt it's easier said than done,
And what could love actually do?

Love can't save a dying friend
Or bring one back from the dead.

Love can't bring back the past
Or someone who is forever lost.

So what is the purpose of love in our lives?
It is to bring everyone together.

It is to celebrate their lives instead of mourn,
It is to hold what we have closer.

It is to continue to care and share,
The memories of the ones who were lost.

It is to continue to strive and fight on,
For those who still need you.

It is to ensure and to be certain,
That those who were lost,

Never left totally,
As their testimonies and memories,

May continue to live as brightly,
In all of your hearts.

Dedicated specially to all who have lost in the wake of the earthquakes and tsunamis. May all those who are affected be richly blessed and may they recover as quickly as possible from this ordeal. God bless...

I hate being bullied!

Yes. Once again im here at the specialist mess blogging as i have nothing better to do and also because my recruits are having their afternoon siesta... Sheesh.. Folks out there pay taxes so we could indulge in leisure activities on a sunny island... Haha.. joking..

I hate being bullied. Kena COS duties on the 30th of December, which is a school off in lieu and on the second of January, which is a Sunday. SHEESH! Furthermore the new specs(5 of us) have been scheduled to do all the weekend COS duties until the next batch of specs come in. But as a new spec, it is a norm i guess. But just because the senior specs went through it, it does not mean that they have to pass down traditional "values" like these.It is a vicious cycle, but i am not complaining.I am only praying that my "time" will arrive faster. When o when??? I just only wish that there is a better system in place of it. Sigh...

On the brighter side, I am now munching hot fries amd listening to music while surfing the net. Darn. Gotta get my coke. O lovely BMTC specialist mess. A heavenly retreat for all specialists. Hahahaha.

Perhaps this is what life's all about i suppose. In all the bitterness and times of sadness, try to find the sweetness of it.

To read or not to read... That is the question

Yes life is getting good. For the instructors as well as the recruits i must say. For example i have free time to blog at the mess nightly for now. Hahahaha.

Currently the batch that we are hosting is the JC batch. A bunch of super intelligent group of guys that just gets on your nerves everyday by twisting instructions and commands given to them. Sheesh. To home in the point that we are hosting the JC batch, the army has kindly invited the promoters of newsweek and times down to Mohawk comapny today just to offer newsletters at discounted rates. Hahaha.

Of greater interest would be the response. i was apalled at the overwhelming response to the promoters. Ok, the speaker was young and pretty, but apart from that nothing much. Must be the JC students. Instead of singing up for newsletters in JC days they chose to do it in army days. Sheesh.

Which really dawns on me one important point to take note: Am i reading enough?
I am sure that my standards of English has detorriated over these past few months. Nevertheless i try to keep up with current affairs by reading papers in the company office.
Dear readers, are YOU reading enough?

Let us make an effort to improve our knowledge and at the same time improve our English by reading more. And for my special group of friends(you all know who you are)who only read Dan Brown's books(wipe those innocent 'not me' looks off your faces) or worse, dont even read at all, its time to wake up! Go read, go read, go read.

May the knowledge be with you.. Take care peeps! :)

It's almost over.... Sob...

It's almost over!!!!! Help! Christmas is almost over as soon as it came. Sheesh. Time sure flies when one is enjoying. No one ever knows how slow time passes when you are training recruits. Had a really great time today. Managed to spend some time catching up with my family. And at the same time catching up on basketball sessions with my bros. Darn. Despite all the playing in BMTC, i still lost to them. Especially my younger bro. He's getting really good. Never mind. It wont stay that way for long! Guess i gotta play more in BMTC. The slacker instructor i am.Muwahahahaha.

In less than 20 hrs yours truly would be dragging his shoes to meet his recruits back at Pasir Ris and he'll be spending another painful week in Tekong. Boring! And this is only the beginning.Wonder how will it be when BMT starts? Its exactly 1.5 years till i ord. Gosh... that seems like a gazillion years away from now. Sigh. Ok. Enough digression. Its time for the true topic of this blog...... THE POST CHRISTMAS EVALUATION EXERCISE.

Sheesh... This Christmas was an awfully quiet one for me. No countdown parties, no clubbing, no chalet celebrations, no bbqs and not even a Christmas party at my home! Hrummph. Why??? I wounldnt say that this year's Christmas was boring. It was more of a lack of punch. Furthermore, the atmosphere and mood out there seems very quiet as well. Or issit just me? Second opinions anyone???

Another lamentable fact about this Christmas for me.. THE LACK OF CHRISTMAS FOOD!!!!! Where is the shepard's pie? The roast turkey? The smoked ham? The Christmas log cake and the pudding???I hope ur reading this dad.. Haha..

The general Christmas equation: Lack of Christmas food + Lack of Christmas atmosphere = Quiet Christmas

"Where are you Christmas? Why cant i find you?"

Bah.. Im just feeling cranky as its going to be book in soon. Dang.. Hope you people have a better Christmas than me! Haha. Have a lovely boxing day people!

Hohohoho... Tis the season to be jolly....

Merry Christmas to all! Its Christmas eve and i'm here at home blogging. Hahaha. Enjoyed myself immensely today. For the first time in 3 weeks i had an experience of Christmas shopping! Headed down to Parco as soon as i booked out to buy super last-second presents for my whole family. Some things never change dont they? I am only always perpetually continually consistent in getting things done only in the final moments.

But what i find strikingly absent this Christmas is the glaring lack of Santa Clauses in the malls. As i thronged Parco today with other fellow hundreds of eleventh hour shoppers, i sadly did not see a single Santa Clause ambushing kids with their bagful of candies. Whatever happened to the spirit of giving??? Where is the distinct eternally embraced low-pitched sound of "Ho Ho Ho"?
Perhaps we Singaporeans are living a perfectly healthy lifestyle now. But there are always pillows and cushions that can be used as a substitute for bellies right?

Then again, Christmas is not just about shopping and Santa Clauses. To me it is more about looking back at all the things that God has given you and taking this special few days to appreciate and thank the people who have made a difference in your life through a tangible manner. Christmas is also a time for me to look back at all the things that when by through the year. Be it good or bad, be thankful that God has brought you through it. While looking at the events that flew past this year, it is also imperative that we try to draw lessons from all the events that impacted our lives this year.

Christmas is indeed all about giving and sharing. What better way to let your loved ones know that you still care for them then to suprise them with armloads of presents on Christmas day? To all dear readers, it's Christmas. Let the ones you love know that you still love them. Do not assume that they know. If it's one thing i've learnt this year upon enlistment is the dangers of assumptions. Now is the time, and probably the last time this year, to do something if you have not done anything for your loved ones at all.

Therefore i urged all of you, my friends, my bothers and sisters, my fellow countrymen, my dear readers, GIVE ME ALL YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!!!! Haha. Just joking. Ps. "But i dun mind if you all really do".

Ok. I've blogged my Christmas eve peace. Its time to crank up the radio and soak in all the Christmas carols while hiding presents for your loved ones under the Christmas tree. Eat drink and be merry people! And may all your Christmases be white.

Bunch of monkeys... The zookeeper i am... But its just getting started...

Hahaha... I feel like a zookeeper. Reason? This new batch of recruits are a bunch of monkeys! Highly mischievious and frustratingly irritating. Kind da makes you wanna waste them. But incidentally like all monkeys, they are highly intelligent too. Most of them came from the top 5 jcs. Impressive academic profiles, stupefying knowledge and most annoying of all, amazing gift of gab. You can tell them a million and 1 times not to do a thing and they will still do it.

Sheesh. Many a times the sgts juz wanna blow up and unleash upon them all our fury. But they are still under protection. So our powers are limited for now. But aside from their slightly nonchalent disregard to advice and ocassional blatant disrespect to higher orders, they are a fun bunch of people to be with. Sometimes you just do not know whether to laugh at them or to scold them. They can be smart, and yet amazingly blur. But like all recruits in MOHAWK, i am sure they will be super kilat soldiers one day. We will make sure of that.

Ok. About me now. The past 2 weeks were rather hectic. This is because most of us get by with around 4 hours of sleep daily. Not only does our work ends late, we also have to take turns to prowl the recruits bunks to ensure that they are able to sleep well for at least their first 2 weeks.
As instructors, it is hard to keep ourselves fit as we do not take part in the training enough. There must always be more instructors to supervise than to take part. I am getting fatter for sure. so that is good in a sense right? Hahaha.

Anyway, the rewards are high too despite the amount of sacrifiction done. At the end of a hard day's work you can proudly say things like "Yes! My recruit can tie his own laces now!"
Indeed, there is no greater reward than a recruit coming up to you to thank you for making a difference in his life. For the first time, there is a meaning and a more tangible sense of accomplishment in what i ever did since enlistment.

I am beginning to enjoy the fast paced and yet fulfilling vocation. To teach all i know! That's what i am to do. It is just getting started.....

Hahahaha... Must be you know...

Hahahahaha... Yes. Firstly i would like to thank Miss Long for helping me with the addition of the tag board. Pretty impressive i must say. Hmmm.... Must be you know... Never fail to find any available option to get more stuff from me. Haha. The wish list i think i shall ignore for a while. Maybe a longer while? Hahahaha.. But really. Good job. If i strike it big one day i shall hire you as my i.t consultant. Hahaha.. Joking.
Ps. Nice cat pic. At least you did not put a dog in its place.

By the way how are you people? Hope you all are doing fine. Busy working i suppose. Do not forget my christmas prezzies. Earn so much money. Should be able to spare some for a treasured friend like me right? :P
Will be booking out in a couple of days. Hahahaha... Christmas is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man i just cant wait for Christmas. Finally.. The greatest holiday among all holidays within the longest holiday of the year is coming!!!!!
Roast turkey... Sliced seasoned ham... Mudpies... Ox tail stew... Shepard's Pie...
If you sssssssmmmmeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.........................

WAHAHAHAHA! MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS!

THEY are HERE!!!!!

Yes. I’m home again. Got half a day off from my OC. Haha. But gotta book in by tonight. Sian. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my half day of just shopping and eating at Suntec city and Marina shopping centre. Gosh, it sure feels so good just to be able to soak up the Christmas atmosphere. Walking leisurely, listening to Christmas carols, being greeted by sales assistants with their ever so cute santa clause hat, shopping for Christmas prezzies…. Sigh. I miss my carefree Christmas days.

And yes! The DAY is here!!!!!! I will be taking my first batch of recruits tomorrow. THEY are HERE!!!!!!!! Really excited. Will they be a nice bunch of obedient recruits, a bunch of jokers, or a bunch of little devils? Haha, I cant wait to to find out. Yes! Yours truly will be having the honour of showing the parents, the SISTERS and especially the GIRLFRIENDS of the recruits around. Got appointed as bus tour ic. Heh heh heh. Got a script to digest by tonight so as to introduce to them the many facilities of BMTC.

“On your right ladies and gentlemen is the famous SOC grounds. This is where your sons will risk their lives, their limbs and their flesh in order to run the course under a stipulated time.”

“On your left is the beautiful parade square where your sons will spend countless hours under the hot sun learning drills. This will also be the very place where your sons will do countless push ups on the scorching grounds and burn their palms in the process as they incur the wrath of their instructors.”

"This is their beautifully barracks and their comfy spring beds where your sons will be crying softly alone at night and where they will be cleaning up like slaves. Notice how shiny the old concrete floor is. This was courtesy of the last batch of recruits that suffered here. Rest assured that we will ENSURE that your sons will outdo the previous batch."

"Over here we have the beautifully and windy costal route around the 2 schools where your sons will wear their legs out by running kilometres after kilometres of endurance running. Do not worry dear parents. Our friendly instructors will be there to guide your sons and train them to do better."

“And yes dear parents, please come and patronize our wide range of food at the canteen where your sons would probably never have a chance to patronize unless they are superbly well behaved and if they beg their instructors for canteen breaks nicely.”

Haha. Of course I will not say that. But then in life, how many people actually know the truth about everything? Oh well. No wonder they say life is a journey of discovery eh?

Incidentally, today is World’s Best Friends day. Didn’t even know it existed. Got an sms form my friend saying that i am still appreciated. Cool huh? Where are the rest of you people!? But dun you think we should have more of these days??? Haha. To all my friends and those who have left anything at all in my 19 years of memory, I say a big thank you! No words would be adequate enough to describe how you people have played a part in my life I guess. Hope we can all catch up soon ya? Will you people have a blessed Christmas and lotsa presents!
Ps. Dont forget my prezzies k? (Do not forget!! You have been reminded!!!)

And that goes for you too dear. Thanks for always being there. The sun and moon of my life. Hope you had a fruitful choir practice. Must take good care of yourself ok?

Sheesh. Time to book in le. Till i see you people again! Merry Christmas!!!! HOHOHO!!!!

Oh what a way to start the week ahead...

Its sunday night and book in blues are fast approaching. Heh heh. Thankfully i have asked for permission to book in tomorrow morning instead of tonight. Every minute spent outside to me is a good minute spent indeed. Tonight the unseen forces of book-in blues are terribly strong. Arrgh. I can feel the invisible weight of checking in back to Pulau Tekong weighing me down. Nooooooooo!!!!!! Give me back my weekend!

All right. Enough grousing about my impending fate. But yours truly indeed feel a bit down today. Maybe its because that i will only be able to book out on Christmas Eve after this book in, maybe its because that dear XinYi is not here to send me away, maybe its because my intake of recruits come on December 10, or maybe its because i have lots of weekend COS and guard coms to do? Problems problems problems.

To think that i would be spending the couple of weeks prior to my favourite holiday of the year ranting down recruits necks and doing sai kang. No wonder sergeants are so cranky when you see them for the first time. Because they have to be confined with their recruits whenever there is an intake. Why why why? I should be soaking up the christmas atmosphere in Orchard Road instead. I heard that it is already fabulously decorated. Dang.

Went out with my gang of brudders today. Had Fish and Co at Tamp mall. Man, i just miss restaurant food. Seems like they are not much better off than i am either. Weasel has lots of sai kang to do as a newly promoted sergeant in armour camp. Happy cleaning up your 84mm dude! Siong. Cheer is going crazy too, pulling his hair out as he juggles volumes of vehicle indention forms and handle tough requests from many big shots. Keep up the good work transport spec to be! Lastly, Yeow our champion recce man has ICCT (intermediate close combat training) coming up this week! Hahahaha!!!!!! Good luck to you champ!

The bottom line is that thousands of other poor men like us are spending our precious youth defending our nation. Yes, there are rounds to be fired, sai kangs to be done, training to be given or received, indention forms to be filled, and even weekends to be burnt. Indeed whenever i am outside enjoying civillian life on weekends, i cant help wondering which unfortunate fellow NSF is guarding Pulau Tekong or SAF ferry terminal. Way to go to all NSF like me! Up lah you people!

Perhaps the toughest form of SAF training is the instilling of discipline. When the top pushes the button, you just have to move. No questions asked. Freedom has now become an intangible part of my life. The unsaid creed in SAF goes "Booking out is a privilege, not an entitlement". When you have it, use it and use it good. Serious. Booking out is probably the only thing any NSF in the army looks forward to. When a recruit is punished through corporal punishments, ie. push-ups or lotsa saikang, there is little impact felt. But confine him or give him a weekend guard duty, he can almost cry that's for sure. (Ahem, i am speaking from experience of course)

Yes i have learnt to appreciate the things i have better ever since i was enlisted. You cannot have everything or perhaps even anything forever. Whatever that's lost may not always be found again. Hope all you fellas out there do not take things(me?:p) for granted too. Heh heh. Time is of essence as long as you are not in camp. Take care fellas, I will not be gone totally. Thank God for the invention of the cell phone!!! Do msg me and keep me updated of things ok? 3 weeks is definitely not a short period of time.

Take care and till we meet again to celebrate Christmas! I love all of you ppl!
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.................)

A girl to remember...

I will always remember,
The very first day when i saw you
A quiet and cheery girl by the corner of the classroom
Never thought that i would have the honour of knowing you

A class outing was all we needed
Shared a cab home as it would happen
Didnt talk much but neither did i
Didnt know how close we were together then

The taxi stopped and i paid the fare
Whoa, you stayed less than 400m from where i did
But between us there was an incalculable distance
And it was to be closed in the months to come

Its all your fault that i failed physics!
Your smses were bothering me in class
Nevertheless it made me smile and laugh
I will never forget you i told myself

First 3 months in JC flew by
My O levels were totally horrid and grave
When you told me you were staying in TPJC
My gosh, i thought i'd never see you again

But a friend at that time you were indeed!
You stood by my side as i pondered my future
Fortunately i remained in TPJC
Though in arts at least i see you daily

We went out almost weekly
A fun person to be with that is definitely surely
I love the way you smile and laugh
Worries and woes you could truly blow away

Im a lucky duck! I tell myself daily
30th of March 2002, you agreed!
I had the honour of being your first boyfriend
Sunbeams and rainbows were all i saw that day

But the storms and blizzards did not fade
Strifes and disagreements too soon came
When there were times i was down and out
You took my hand and brought me out

A levels soon came and im forced to study
I sucked at maths but you never gave up
"Aiyoh, please say you know how to do your differentiation!"
If i said i didnt you would only teach again

True enough i flunked my maths
I've let your efforts down i always felt
To top it all you didnt do as well as you possibly could
The hours you tutored me could indeed have been better used

Still you did not forsake me
Sometimes i wished i had not taken up so much of your time
But there was never once you blamed me
And i love you for that, sheesh useless me

To army and beyond i soon had to go
I was sad and uncertain to leave you behind
But stood behind me indeed you did
You alone gave me something to look forward to at each bookout

Through BMTC and SISPEC i sailed past
You were with me from dawn to dusk
I cant thank God enough for ever knowing you
How did someone like me ended up with an angel?

I cant thank you too enough i love you dear
You were always on my mind i swear you were
Its incredible and bizarre i often wonder
How you made me feel so joyous i can never answer

I love you dear.