my 21st
Please tell me that 21st Happy Birthday does not sound weird, if not that means Prima Deli screwed up my 21st birthday cake. FML. But heck it, the cake is awesome anyway.
The top of the cake is a spread of Belgium chocolate, followed by layers of rich chocolate mousse and ending with a chocolate waffle base, with little chocolate crunchy bits in the middle. Absolutely fab!
Thank you everyone for wishes and gifts! Great year ahead too!
Labels: Celebrations, Family, Yummy
a taste of navy
Labels: Nature, Travel Log, Yummy
Excerpt from my Diary
7th August 2009
... Setting sail was an emotional bit for me. It was quite a sad departure. I wonder why I am here, why am I so foolish to volunteer myself. Is there no turning back? Even as I write this, my heart is a little sore ...
8th August 2009
... things have been pretty smooth .... Got familiar with the inside of the ship, thus reducing chances of getting lost to 0% ...
9th August 2009
... Happy National Day people! ... I have finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie, bloody sad tale with an abrupt ending. Started for One More Day ... Time 2347hrs ...
10th August 2009
... reaching Muara, Brunei in one day's time ...
11th August 2009
... How far would you go to be truly yourself, without letting what others think of you to stop you? ... Drank, red as a beet ...
12th August 2009
... Shore leave ... How much would you help someone? What are you willing to sacrifice? Time? Pride? Diginity? Freedom? I did all the above for someone I barely knew for a week ...
13th August 2009
... Cocktail was fun ... had a great chat with wife of the Deputy Head Commissioner of Singapore ...
14th August 2009
... Adventure Training at Temburong ... Got wet in the boots ... massage at night .. my very first experience ... It's a nice feeling to talk to strangers at times ...
15th August 2009
... Left Muara around 9-ish ... 26NM away ...
16th August 2009
... Live firing ...
17th August 2009
... 11th day of sailing ... received a challenge ... hopefully I wont let the instructors down ...
18th August 2009
... alongside Singapore in an hour ... 2000hrs
19th August 2009
... Left Singapore at 1700hrs, will reach Danang, Vietnam in a couple of days ... Fell in the toilet, left ass cheek hurts like crap ...
20th August 2009
... Stay up till 1-ish to chat ...
21th August 2009
... Once again, I care too much about what people think of me, how they view me ... I am letting comments get to me ... Where's lunch? I am starving ...
22th August 2009
... Cake for nightsnack, how awesome is that? ... I am alone in the bunk again ...
25th August 2009
... Saw Vietnam from afar ...
26th August 2009
... Coconut, Big C, Long walks, Lotteria, Lousy Massage, Seafood dinner by China Beach ...
1st September 2009
... Sea state 3 ... A little trouble walking, all the rolling makes it a little hard to get some shut eye. Oh and not to forget, peeing needs a higher level of concentration now. A little balancing act to prevent spraying all over the place ...
2-4 September 2009
... Pomelo buffet ... Watched alot alot alot alot of movies ...
5th Sepetember 2009
... Ocean Awareness Day ... Good entertainment, good laugh ... Watching Captain Planet does bring out the little kid in you ... Watched Sharkwaters too ...
6th September 2009
... Munching on cornflakes while I am writing this ... Sick of Bubur Hitam as night snack ... Helped with marking of the taskbooks. Learnt how to "play" with knight.
9th September 2009
... Politics day ... I caused his job, his misery. But I do not know if he is fine with it, or still blames me ...
10 September 2009
... Shore leave .. Holland Bakery -> chocolate banana bread, sedap~ Will be buying more the next few days ...
11th September 2009
... 1 year to ORD! ... Sushi Teh for lunch ...
12 September 2009
... American Grill for lunch .. Really yummy .. uCool for massage and then Shuang for massage .. Met XiaoYun, really chatty lady .. Ate A&W ...
13th September 2009
... Shopping spree for me ... Return to Shuang at Galaxy Mall for massage ...
and that's when I stopped updating my little diary. Photos would be up "shortly", have yet to get the drive to sort them out and whatnot.
Labels: Random, Thoughts, Travel Log
when im gone
Yup, so the day is finally here. It seems like only yesterday when I volunteered for this assignment. Some of you may already know, but for those whom are still clueless, let me share with you then.
I have volunteered myself for overseas coverage with the cadets from the Navy, meaning to say, I will be responsible for maintaining their fitness aboard the ship for the upcoming 6 weeks.
6 weeks may be short to some, may be long to some, but someone still has to do it. It will be a totally new challenge for me. Firstly, being in a total new environment, I am not close to anyone aboard the ship yet, so hopefully these 6 weeks I make some progress, else I would be a loner.
Secondly, the ground. I have never conducted lessons aboard a ship, where coming up with exercises requires the need to consider the space, the cadet's morale, the sea's state and many other factors.
Thirdly, I would be away from home for the longest time till date. Truthfully, I am a little excited yet afraid. What if I let the team down? What if I let the Fitness family down?
Packing are already more or less done, I am left with the ironing of my uniform which till today has yet to have a nametag. Logistics are abit screwed, I am getting a nametag that is close to my name, I repeat not my name, not a nickname but something close to my name. What gives?
I have geared up for the lonely days ahead with the tips from my seniors. Since I will be free most of the time except in the mornings and evenings, I would have to seek out my own form of entertainment.
iTouch would be there to save the day I hope, along with a couple(by couple, I mean 4) books which I am gonna take my time to read them instead of the usual speed I go at.
I would probably draw up my own training programme during the first week after accessing the conditions there. Bearing in mind, small space leads to running in circles equals boring.
Things that I probably miss during these 6 weeks would probably be:
#1: Food
What else but food? The only thing I probably wake up for everyday. I have heard that the meals on the ship are great, but nothing beats our oily hawkerfare from the neighbourhood.
And probably sitting down with your family and sharing your day's happenings over the meal. Boy, would I miss the nonsense and laughters.
1 packet of HongKong noodles, 1 packet of Kway Tiao, 1 bowl of Ban Mian, 1 packet of Fishball noodles, 2 packets of Fried Carrot Cake and 1 packet of Nasi Lemak.
7 servings of food for a family 4, too much? Nah, easily handled by my family.
#2: Friends
Although I meet up with my friends due to individual's schedule, still being in the company of them once in awhile is awesome.
Guys, do take care of yourselves man. Those working, work hard, those studying, study hard.
#3: Random Runs/Races
It's kinda odd, a year ago, friends have invited me to join them for fun runs and races. This would be my typical reaction:
"Siao, pay money go suffer, nothing better to do ah?"
"You got too much money to spend right? Give me some la!"
But now things have changed. Since I will be on board the ship for 6 weeks, I would be missing a couple of events, and sadly to say, their event singlet are awesome! Damn, this isnt fair.
#4: Family
Like duh, nuff said, this is obvious enough right? Hope all of them will be fine when Im gone.
Alright, rolling out people! Will update if I get the chance(internet on board ship, 2 computers to 171 people) If not, 6 weeks later peeps!
p/s pardon the alignment, I always have issues with that.
Labels: Family, Random, Yummy
cold wind
Better update before procastination sets in again, my days are numbered. As in days with access to internet or other what nots. Will be stepping out of my comfort zone in a couple of days, 11 to be exact.
Breakfast at Ghim Moh with family, was pretty surprised with the crowd. The difference between the human traffic in 24 hours is quite vast. It's like bustling city to ghost town.
Anyway, its a short write up, just not wanting to be accused of being lazy.
Labels: Day Out, Family, Yummy
The Return
Hello world! Im back once again after a long break from blogging. Things have not changed much from where I left off I suppose?
But here's a quick update on my national service. Officially passed out as a Fitness Specialist or popularly known as PTIs. A couple of photos on that very day.
I shall skip right to the placing of the ranks by our loved ones to save you some time eh? And that's my mother! The stupid thing was, it was placed on a Friday and the very next Monday, we were scheduled for a kit exchange, meaning to say, collection of the new digital camo uniforms, waste my money on sewing the miscellaneous stuff.
BSLC/Course Buddy/Working Colleagues Wayne and I. The world is darn small. We met back in Charlie Company during our days as SCT, going through BSLC. We werent very close then.
Then we got posted to 91st BFSC together, ending up in the same section. And upon request, we were bunk buddies. And blah blah blah, going through all the training and all the "heart to heart" talks at night, somehow we got closer.
The funny thing is, we realised that we were connected in many different ways. Such as his poly best friend is my primary school's best friend. And he knows a couple of my secondary school friends, freaking eh?
Passing out, I thought I would never see him again, but alas, we are now posted to OCS to spend the remaining of our national service together.
Our log display, which took us a couple of rehearsals to get it well done.
Issuing out of the certificates and other credentials, getting congratulated by all the instructors.
You know, this photo? It can be used if lets say I died in a motorcycle accident or such, the newspaper can crop out my face and post it on the front page.
Managed to take a photo with Charlie's CSM, probably one of the nicest guy you have ever seen around. Alot of respect for him.
And last but not least, my bunk, which has served me well for the 13 weeks of training.
Looking back, when I first enlisted, I very much wanted to be one of the elites of the Army, OCS. However, due to certain factors, I did not make it, partly fitness I guess? When I knew I was going to be a sergeant, I thought for sure I would just be another typical "Tekong" sergeant.
Field camps, weapon handling, shell scrape, camo and routes marches, not that I mind though. However, things took a change after going for the interview, although then I was not very keen on getting into the course. I mean, you cannot really blame me, I was struggling to pass IPPT, had never clear swing trainer and cannot run for nuts.
When I received my posting, my future seemed really bleak then, I was prepared to OOC. On the other hand, I did not want to let my loved ones that, which was what kept me going throughout the course I guess.
There are times I teared, stare silently into space, had problems sleeping, were times I feared about not being able to make it. But alas, I made it.
National service a waste of time? Nah, character building. These are things you would look back and smile. Things that you will treasure much. These are things that make you grow.
Labels: Family, Thoughts
save the earth
I see that the government efforts in promoting
Saving Gaia is slowly taking it's effect on people. Basically, the whole "event" is to reduce waste, save energy and cherish resources all in hope of saving Earth and being environmental friendly.
This includes switching off lights when not in use, reduce-recycle-reuse and all the go-green stuffs you have been taught since primary school.
But some people have taken it to a whole new level. Check this out, I stubbled across this urinal at some hotel(which is relatively posh) over the weekend.
Reducing waste, checked.
Reusing waste, checked.
Recycling waste, checked.
How cool is that? An unwanted piece of orange now acts as a air refreshner to remove the ordour from the toilet. Very orange-ginal eh?
Come on people, lets work towards Saving Gaia and help our home, Earth =)
Labels: LOL
#4: Family
BSLC/Course Buddy/Working Colleagues Wayne and I. The world is darn small. We met back in Charlie Company during our days as SCT, going through BSLC. We werent very close then.
Our log display, which took us a couple of rehearsals to get it well done.
Issuing out of the certificates and other credentials, getting congratulated by all the instructors.
You know, this photo? It can be used if lets say I died in a motorcycle accident or such, the newspaper can crop out my face and post it on the front page.
Managed to take a photo with Charlie's CSM, probably one of the nicest guy you have ever seen around. Alot of respect for him.
And last but not least, my bunk, which has served me well for the 13 weeks of training.
