Kan-cheong spider..

don't know why.. just felt like that the whole of monday.. was worse at night though.. my mind was on the then-impending driving test the next morning.. went for my last revision monday night... just changed the shoes i was going to drive in last week.. I used to wear my old adidas pair.. but i found it tough to get "biting point" with that one.. so i swopped it with my new Zara pair..which i got using the vouchers from the youths that I received on my birthday.. that pair's much thinner..the sole i mean.. so i prayed that God will help me get used to the new pair.. which i did fairly quickly..

I always had a problem with the circuit slopes.. so i practised that like crazy that last lesson.. previously, i didn't used to have problems with the S or crank course.. but during those last 2 lessons.. kinda screwed up a bit..striked kerb in S course.. i even knocked a pole during vertical parking.. which never happened before.. sigh.. anyway.. i was ready as i could be at the end of monday's revision..instructor wished me well and i was on my way..

7th December 2004 was always going to be a day I would never forget.. had i gone into Tekong that fateful oct 21.. i would have passed out on 7th December.. now that that wasn't going to happen.. how "coincidental" that i would be taking my TP on my supposed passing-out date! This was made more queer given i had to stop driving lessons earlier cos' i was going to go in! This is testament that God answers prayers.. according to His time. Before I was supposd to go in on 21 Oct, I prayed that God would allow me to at least pass my TP before my BMT so that I could drive on the weekends.. well it's sort of answered.. He makes all things beautiful in His time.. now the only thing left for me is.. sad to say.. go for BMT.. but we'll talk about that sometime other..

I remember when I was there on monday night.. the re-test date for Class 3 (cars lah basically..) candidates was like 7 February 2005.. the morning of my test.. it was 14 Feb..(tot to myself.. hmm.. not bad valentine's day..) after i printed my test slip.. I glanced and saw it had become 17 Feb.. (i was like..ehh dont leh..so long..) anyway.. arrived at BBDC at 0845.. warm up was 0915 and test an hour later.. by 0900.. the warmup instructor collected my booklet.. I was assigned Car 1.. hmm... so 0915 came and i went.. did the warmup all okay.. instructor told me to watch out for hazards and drive safely.. Jeremy Chng and Jeremy Tan had earlier wished me well..Chng told me to "bring back my Class 3 [license]" to camp.. i was like.. okay.. i hope so too.. came back then was told to wait at level 2.. it was an agonising 25 minutes wait before 1015..at 1005 they called us into the room to ballot for test routes.. I was assigned Test route 1.. hmm.. okay i thought.. proceeded to check what's test-route 1..and horror of horrors.. it was Teck Whye area!! I have a phobia of that place..pple tell me it's high traffic and whatever.. definitely prefer the Bukit Batok housing estates.. or so i tot..

waited in the room for a while more..then my tester came.. his name was Soon i think..no not Teng Soon.. 1st to leave! something going on with the number 1 today.. after my warmup earlier.. my car was parked in lot 11..so as i made my way down to the car.. i glanced at my watch.. was 1020.. tot to myself.. someone out there's praying for me.. put my bag in the backseat and the tester and i got in and he said.. turn left.. I was like.. huh? so fast.. didn't say it lah of course..did my "acting".. adjusted the mirrors.. its all about acting lah driving.. just to show.. think i took too long.. he went "Turn Left" again.. okay lor.. signal left check left.. go..engaged 2nd gear before the bend.. was getting ready for him to hit the dashboard..that would have meant Emergency brake or e-brake..didn't happen.. turn right at 4.. into S course.. kinda made a mistake there.. crossed the centre line.. then hesistated cos there was a car coming... negotitated the S course well... as well as the vertical parking.. then went up slope to do umm.. slope.. thank God that was okay.. remember mumbling a quick prayer under my breath.. as soon as i released my handbrake he was like "ok turn left.. no. 9 directional change.." did that okay too.. then did my last circuit requirement.. parellel parking..remember thinking to myself..i have 6 items to do in circuit.. .."ehh how many i do already ah?".. did the parellel parking.. almost done when the tester said.. "okay move out".. I blur then.."huh move out?" "yeah".. okay lor he call me move i move lor.. then he said "no. 50 turn right out of circuit" as i tot to myself.."ehh got do anything wrong meh?" Friends once told me that testers either mark when you a make a mistake or they mark at the end of it all.. after the circuit.. i didn't see him marking.. so that was good.. decided to be unconcerned by his actions.. but instead to concentrate on my own perfomance. I was surprisingly calm during the test..God's wonderous ways again.. so i went out of circuit.. was glad that i didn't have to turn right out of circuit.. that would have been tough.. think i did the road okay.. changed lanes pretty fast.. this bike gave way to me.. think he saw i was on test..Had earlier prayed for good road conditions.. amazing how God works.. Towards the end.. as i realised i was on my way back.. I became more relaxed.. that also meant i lost a bit of concentration.. wanted to change gear never clutch in.. but think tester didn't see that.. made a u-turn.. and headed back to BBDC.. upon turning onto the stretch of road leading to BBDC.. Tester went " turn right.. back to office.." that kinda calmed me down.. but also made a mental note to not mess up on the home stretch.. stopped the car in front of the centre..before i had stopped.. the tester had already opened the door and was halfway out of the car.. hmm.. so eager to go out.. is it fail already? in total he marked my paper 4 times.. which means that had anyone been an 8 point penalty.. i would have a good chance of failing.. tot to myself..done my best.. cant change anything now..went into his office at level 2.. sat down.. heard my verdict.. "Bukit Batok area lane change abruptly, parallel parking turn steering on the spot.." he then proceeded to write the points.. tried to sneak a peek but his hands were strategically placed to cover my result.. he handed me my test slip... Was 1st to leave and1st to return.. and I was surprised, shocked and definitely over-the-moon when I saw that i was 1st in my group to pass! No. of points = 8, Result = passed.. couldn't stop smiling to myself after that..gave thanks for my result..then proceed to make my license..

Whew.. what a day... went back to camp and Jeremy Chng grinned when he saw me..how? he asked.. passed.. i replied.. "alright man! Congratulations..." who says that clerks dont have the same kind of camaraderie soldiers have in the field? he and i havd become closer cos' of work.. in fact all the NSFs have.. save for some.. after all.. we're in a war ourselves.. *grin*...

so that was that.. relived that I would not have to wait till Feb... drove home that night.. father picked me from Jurong Point.. and have been doing so since.. parking's a problem without the poles.. but i'm getting there..

That night.. Singapore came back to draw 1-1 with Vietnam.. nearly winning even.. tonight they face Indonesia.... i hope we win.. i'm a die-hard S'pore football fan.. regardless of what pple say.. still have that "Singapore Die-Hard fans" striped polo tee Uncle Tong gave me during the Malaysia Cup days..

I'm a sentimentalist. don't like to throw stuff that have special meaning to me.. that's why my room's a mess..

Dennis is enlisting this week.. he got his posting recently only.. cos he was pending medical status.. they decided not to downgrade him.. he decided to go in and be downgraded..

Diana's working now.. my hardworking better half.. she said she was to work till 12 plus tonight.. which kinda hurts me..not cos we cant meet.. but cos she's gotta work till so late.. otherwise she can't go on the cell group retreat tomorrow..am proud of her commitment to completing a task when she is umm.. tasked with one.. we're sending Qiming off as well.. he's going overseas.. to Tekong tomorrow.. Dennis' is the day after...

btw.. thinking of getting the motorola e398 phone.. but its camera phone..so sigh.. like the "hello moto" phrase as well...

Off for a good time at tanjong puteri golf resort..

Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in september
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

Why why tell me why?

I dont understand the way people do things..

Ms Wong is seemingly nice one-on-one with you.. yet she does ridiculous things like tell on us to the ISM when she could have just gently reminded us of mistakes made.. for example, the non-submission of off-in-lieu dates.. Why do you wanna jeopardise your relationship with your clerks? Yes, this is the army, rank counts and with an order from you comes compliance on our part. But is this what workin in the Army is all about? Are you unable to motivate your subordinates to work apart from regimentation? If so, i think such people have failed as supposed leaders. Why could MWO Tan lead in a special, "I'm-in-it-with-you" way and others can't?

If you think people are people and can never change, you are wrong. CI was a real ass in the past. Everyone knows that. Everyone feels that. You can't deny the truth. But look at him in recent weeks, he's changed for the better! I won't say a lot, but at least he makes the effort to improve the relationship btw himself and the NSFs! How many of you saw him going up to Jeremy and congratulate Jeremy on a job well done for the recent Stocktake Exercise? I did.. And I was glad that happned.. Even Jeremy, long-time championer of the "Hate CI" campaign confessed to me that CI has changed. Sigh.. It pisses people off when you are 2 faced.. Agree? Agreed. Don't be fake, don't double-cross us. I wonder if such individuals have considered whether they would like their own children to be treated this way when they enter the Army of the workforce.

I want to talk about a certain couple in church. They feel that their daughter is in bad company by mixing around with the youths girls in church. They feel that going out to the movies during the holidays is bad, because there's a lot of filthy stuff going on out there. Agreed. But everywhere you go today you face such corrupted stuff.. So are you going to lock your daughter up in the room all day? She did well for her exams.. why not let her out to relax with her friends.. she topped the group of church youths her age during last year's PSLE.. wasn't good enough for you.. She did well again this year.. not good enough for you.. what is? Please don't criticise and judge the youth girls just by reading their blogs. Come out of your shell and talk about it.. If you are not happy with the way things are run in church, voice it out.. aren't we supposed to correct one another.. you think the way you bring up your kid is good.. sure I don't know what it means to bring up a kid.. but i jolly well know better than you about the traps the world lay for teenagers these days..

You think there's no life change in activities that the youth girls participate in? How about the church retreat that your daughter's group is having now? Even with topics like "Loving and living with your parents" and "Assurance of salvation" you feel that there won't be life change. Is it an issue of no life change? Or are you just afraid that the youths and the young adults leaders will tell your daughter how to love and live with unlovable and un-livable parents like both of you.

I think both of you are myopic in your view of things that happen. Why else would the Christmas outreach be the way it is? One domineering young adult, seven other followers.. you are the freaking leader.. take charge or something..

You talk about leaving this church and stuff like that.. you'd be no different than those who have left church before you just because they themselves couldn't come to terms with their own shortfalls and wrongdoings in the presence of their peers.

Seriously, I think your surname tells me a lot about you. Chickenshit.

And what does my counsellor say to all these? You will never understand why people do things the way they do. The choices, the decisions, the actions.. Don't be bothered about them.. Do things that are required of you and no one would have a chance to say anything about you.

On a more cheerful note, I am into coloured bracelets these days.. I recently got one yellow one with the words "Live Strong" on them, from the Lance Armstrong foundation in support of cancer patients.. Just saw 2 more that i want..Pink for breast cancer and Blue for leukemia.. anyone wanna split the cost for a pack of ten?

"Where is the love?"

2 days back.. at work.. was one of the worst in my 16 months at SAFWOS.. and its no thanks to certain individuals from HQ SWI. That day, the HQ SWI daily attendance book went missing.. and with it all records of attendance for SWI NSFs.. naturally the ISM was furious.. thanks in large part to tell-tale individuals. So we were served a big rollicking during that evening's roll call. ISM continued talking and talking and talking and talking when I had my second last driving lesson scheduled for 1910 hrs at Bukit Batok Driving Centre. When he was done, he asked Ms Wong, Asst Admin Officer, HQ SWI, whether she had anything to add. She reminded all to go through our emails and do a survey of the ferry service that operates between camp and Jurong Point.. after that, the ISM continued talking. When he was done the second time, he asked her whether she had anything to add.. She then half-asked/half-accused us why didn't we get back to our respective chief clerks for the off-in-lieus given for Christmas and New Year's Day. When the ISM heard that, he lost himself again..big fat scolding.. before telling us to give the dates by noon the next day. Then he continued talking somemore, and then feeding on his own anger, decided that all of us couldn't go home till we gave our dates to our chief clerks..

So we scurried.. went to choose dates.. got mine settled.. we were ready to go home when he saw that my chief clerk hadn't used a proper nominal roll. So he flipped again.. then told us to call him when we really done.. helped my chief clerk settled the nominal roll as it would have been tomorrow had she done it alone.. Finally done.. ISM summoned both chief clerks into his office. But they were just taking their time. Janet (SAFWOS) and Mdm Soh (SWI).. so i hurried them.. but Mdm Soh said, "No.. have to wait for Ms Wong." I was pissed.. i remember ISM clearly asking for them both not a third person! What to do what to do what to do? So they went in. time check:1820 hrs..

The NSFs spent the time they were in there, looking for the missing book. ISM gave another speech inside.. and it was 1900 hrs by the time anyone appeared from that door. We were all getting ready to fall in when I turned around to see Mdm Soh lying on the floor. Apparently, she had slipped and fallen down, busting some part of her mouth in the process. (Shall keep my thoughts on the fall to myself..) People were commenting, "See lah, ISM hold us back.." and spewing unprintable phrases.. When we were finally dismissed, it was 1910 hrs.. so i had to rush.. glad that Jarrod was heading for the same place and his parents were here to drive us there..

Driving was okay initially.. I negotiated the circuit requirements fairly well.. but i had problems on the road.. not enough acceleration it seems.. this problem stemming from when I first started learning and always stalled the Honda.. anyway.. hope tpo have it settled before tuesday.. not pleased with my performance.. i went to see if i could book the next session.. not available.. so i booked friday's afternoon slot.. Thank God that he removed my diarrhoea symptoms during the drive.. and also motion sickness and nauseousness, which came from playing Medal of Honour.. promised myself never to play that game again..

that Lana cake..

above: Diana and I and the lopsided cake.

This is the picture of the superb cake.. at the birthday dinner with my family, Uncle Tong's family and Diana..

Not a girl, not yet a woman..

hmm.. a weird title..(which i initially forgot.. this title came from another inspiring toilet moment.. thank God for reminding me later on cos' I forgot about it..again.) but thought that's how I saw myself the morning of 25th November.. and (well not the girl and woman part lah of course) Twas' about 10 plus in the morning.. enjoyed the sleep-in I had because of the birthday off given by my unit. Grandmother came in to wish me.. said a few words which without doubt will not be lost on me before handing me a red packet.. Mother came in afterwards as I was reading the papers to pray for me.

Got changed shortly after to go for lunch with life-long neighbours, Terry and Dennis.. Went to Sakae Sushi at HarbourFront.. it's amazing how that place has changed since.. remember we used to go there when we were younger for Mc's, Starbucks or Wywy Wonderspace.. we had a good time at Sakae's.. went to Mc for desserts..bossini for Terry's stuff (ah-hem).. before shooting some balls at the arcade's pool tables.. spent quite a long time there.. Terry's hooked on virtua tennis.. while Dennis and I were just contented with Photohunt and some Daytona 2. This arcade sucks.. no daytona 1.. that's better.. When we were about to leave.. Diana popped up.. Twas' supposed to be a surprise.. She'd ganged up with them to appear after we were done.. I had been under the impression that she was at work all along!! And to think she smsed me when we were at Mc's.. asking me what I was doing.. Sneaky.

Headed to Bengawan Solo with her to buy birthday cakes for Melvin and Valerie.. and headed home..We went to Valerie's place after that.. Was raining so couldn't have the buffet at the open-air bbq pit.. we placed it at the nearby shelter.. people trickled in.. Was a surprise Jeremy and Co. came.. tot they couldn't make it.. had a great time chatting during dinner with my peers.. played charades after that.. Thanks goes to Chee Fei and Boon Hock who planned it.. Cut the birthday cake.. was kinda embarrassing.. with John making me use my mouth to remove the candles from the cake.. I liked my chocolate cake from Lana cake shop.. think my family finished 4 boxes of that delicious cake in 2 weeks.. hehe.. and so like it always happens at birthday parties.. we were led to be thrown into the pool.. I was expecting it already.. Sneaky Diana v2 nonchalanty asked me for my handphone to call home (that is normal.. my hp plan allows more airtime as compared to hers..) so gullible me handed my hp to the big bad wolf.. after awhile.. i touched the left pocket of my berms and it was then that i realised why my hp was taken away from me.. but aiyah.. couldn't get it back liao.. so as they plotted to throw us into the pool.. i had some sneaky thoughts of my own.. already led to the poolside.. I heard Melvin and Valerie being pushed down.. so i let of Jonathan's and Nathanael's (2 young boys who volunteered to lead me) hands.. that was actually a mistake.. because after that it was my turn.. so as they started pushing and as i continuted to struggle..I grabbed one of them (whom i later found out that it was Andrew) and dragged him down with me.. think I nearly died when I went in.. struggled for breath.. Andrew later said that he was "ready" to go in anyway.. which was cool and what I think should be the attitude if you're part of such games..

Went up to change and headed home.. too tired already... I was on off the next day anyway.. so i got to sleep in again.. pig.

A big thank you to all for coming and remembering.. to the youth girls for the decorations.. my family and Diana, who planned everything despite work and church commitments.

That night, Annabel had a lil argument with the folks about sending her to school the next day.. i tot of giving her some money to take a cab the next day cos' i know it sucks to go to school on your own... yet i know by giving her money, i would be spoiling her.. teaching her to be lazy.. so i held back.. decided not to give her money.. to me that was love. Holding back something you would like your loved one to have, because by giving it to them, it wouldn't do them any good in the long term..

Sometime afterwards..I was supposed to set up my care group's blog.. but I forgot.. Thankfully, God reminded me.. watched "Goodbye Lenin" as well in the time since i last put out an entry here..

I have also been tuning in to WKRZ 91.3.. its some techno/dance station.. official radio station of Singapore Bengs.. What i like about it is the night dedications.. where Bengs alike call in to leave minute long dedications to their babies/girlfriends/darlings/honeys/whatever.. u should tune in..its super funny.. have already recommended it to my care group members..

I was at Suntec City last Sunday after church with my family. After dinner as I stepped out of the restaurant, I saw this laser dedication at Suntec's Fountain of dunno what..

From: Rei
To: (Can't remember who)
Msg: Just want to wish you a Happy Birthday! Hope you are surprised and had a great time today.. There will be one more surprise later on! Just want you to know that Mashi Maro love Ms Piggy 4eva..

Wha.. disgusting leh i tell you.. I laughed like crazy the moment i saw that.. where got pple say this kind of thing in public one? not to flattering to call your girlfriend Ms piggy rite? Wonder whether that was the surprise that was coming.. hehe.. *puke*

Have been doing some logo designs for the merger of 9 Division and HQ Infantry.. as well as some logos for HQ SWI.. here are some nicer ones..


My immediate superior, MWO Tan is posting out.. that's good for him and bad for us.. he's been getting a whole truckload of work.. its bad for us cos' he kinda shields us and relates to us not as a demanding superior, instead as a friend, who listens and understands our problems. Kudos to you, Sir. You've earned the respect of many NSFs before and definitely mine. I think the fact that the new NSFs from HQ SWI, who just arrived, appreciate and recognise how nice Warrant Tan is, is of great testament to Warrant Tan's approach to work.

So long, farewell Sir. And as you would always say, Sup Soup Soondamani!