Leaving Day After Tomorrow!!

Currently Playing: Nothing by In The School Library

OK... just HAD to sneak in 1 more entry. my word... this thing is addictive.

been 1 hectic past week... had camp at ubin, spent 2 days packing and moving out most of my stuff, met up with some impt frens and removed my little monsters from hall over the wkend, getting little sleep in the process... average is probably 5 hrs a day. wish i could spend time with other impt frens though... last nite with ally, kok and cyclist at BT prata was great... had so many laughs i dun even know wat we were talking abt.

returned the keys to hall just now... had a long lingering look at my sanctuary of 2 years... now that it hits me, kinda will miss the place. i looked at the empty room and pictured the various furniture in their usual places... some emotional attachment to the place after all. oh well... time to move on. but the bad thing abt packing up and leaving is that it makes me feel i've graduated already! hahahahah

oh abt packing up and moving out last nite... i met old-man-angry-with-his-job security guard again... in fact walked past him a few times. 1st time didn't look at him. 2nd time he pretended not to see me. 3rd time our eyes met and we stared for a glancing while. 4th time i was returning from the car after depositing little monsters and he gives me a "eh boy, where u going?" in an ah-beng fashion. imagine a old 60-70 yr old security guard acting like that! so amusing. but i didn't bother abt him and returned an equally bengish "go where? go home lah" while not slacking on walking speed. passing him and his security guard fren (superior?) the other guy remarks "finish already... pass out already..." and i walked away responding with "yah yah pass out already" didn't want to waste time talking to them. 5th time passing them they were talking, i didn't bother to stop although i did make one last disdainful eye contact at the old-man security guard.

was thinking of telling him off or complaining/commenting to hall office abt his poor attitude towards students (he's supposed to protect the premises, not act as a CSM)... but wat the heck, i'll never see him again and it's a waste of time. besides, he's not that significant... just provided me with an amusing episode... so heck it.

most impt pt in this post... i'm leaving day after tml!! finally the excitement sets in just thinking abt it!! or is it caused by my full bladder? no matter!! yesterday chal asked me if i was excited... i gave a nonchalant shrug. but todae i wake up and realise it's day after tml... so near liao!! woohoo!!! day after tml i'll be in china and thailand for a mth!! YEAH BABY!!!

still got so many things to settle before i leave... things to buy, bags to pack, ppl to spend time with, my own grooming (i BADLY, BADLY need a hair cut) extremely excited & rather stressed.

note to self: STAY CALM!! and post something when there's a chance.

Youth Expedition Project

Currently Playing: Untitled by Keane

so is it a expedition or a project? sounds kinda funny doesn't it?

anyway, rite now major issues in my head are moving out of hall and the upcoming YEP trip to Yunnan. I shall be permenantly moving out of hall tml, so this blog will be stopping for a while. i will be overseas in China from 1st june to 1st july, so this blog will be stopped for a long while. but since i won't be plugging in my comp again til after i come back from the trip and will be tired after that, most prob there will be a delay and this blog will be stopped for a longer while. so sorry dear readers, but if i get internet access in the meantime i shall post something.

sitting w/ my 1/2 packed boxes and 1/2 empty room... my predominant thot is....: I WANNA GET OUTTA HERE!!! the dust is clogging my nose, irritating my eyes and driving me crazy. shall be moving everything else tml.

another 6 days i'll be going on the longest overseas trip of my life as yet... another exciting adventure. dun really know wat to expect, but i'm keeping an open mind abt it... i wanna go there to experience the life and culture, and hopefully do some trekking, take some great photos while i'm there. the interaction and helping ppl is secondary. kind of selfish, sorta going for the wrong reasons... but i got chosen for this coz i can contribute effectively to the project... and i will. although my motivations are not the best, my efforts will always be.

so fast... dunno if i'm mentally really prepared for it... hvn't even looked at the equipment list to see if i got everything... just joining ppl in buying stuff i know i dun hv. a little apprehensive abt wat i leave behind for a mth as well.

most missed will be parents, brother, and my dear, dear frens. but i dunno if i can spend enuff time with them... i'm sometimes too busy for my family, and frens sometimes too busy for me. frens i can a bit bo chup if dun get to spend time, but family cannot. even more so when i know how fortunate i am now (see previous entry).

would like to thank the following ppl:
- parents and brother for not objecting, being supportive of me running away for 1 mth.
- cream for taking care of my little monsters for that mth.
- zz, chel, qz for studying for exams with me and making studying less boring.
- my grp of 8 frens(adsports2), for loving me so much as a fren.
- tan kuku, chalsee, and ally, for supporting this blog. will be back in july!!

Time for another Great Adventure!!!

YEP Pre Expedition Camp

Currently Playing: Everybody's Changing by Keane

On Monday-Wednesday, I went for the YEP pre exp camp which i volunteered to help organise,. even though my position is "medic" in the project.

Mon morning we met at chinatown to do a kind of amazing race game for 3 hrs. had lunch, then went to tampines to buy food, after which travelled to pulau ubin by land and sea. From the jetty, we hiked to a kampung where we spent the nite. Next day we went to the highest pt in ubin, had lunch at town and took minibuses to noordin beach. after a wet nite there we packed up and went back mainland to hv a debrief and lunch at changi village.

This little camping trip has been very significant... as a project team we really bonded roughing it out and sharing each other's life stories as part of the itinerary. we were supposed to share the significant moments in our lives with others and we all learnt everyone's past. i learnt that many had problematic childhood/families and realised i am very fortunate. i am VERY FORTUNATE. also, it gave us an opportunity to know y so-and-so sorta behaves liddat, etc. I myself rambled on abt myself quite a bit. darn... lost the piece of mahjong paper which i drew and scribbled on for thots.

other things significant to me are that the guys have realised i can cook, i am quite competent and do take my post as medic seriously, and i can be authoritative when leading. i cooked my signature kung pao chicken for the 1st dinner, french toast for 2nd breakfast, pasta n omelettes for 2nd dinner. got quite busy with ppl getting bee stings, muscle strains, stomachaches and emergency simulations. when setting up camp in the rain i kinda raised my voice a bit... but they probably also realise that i'm not too organised as well. well at least i'm making an impact... helping in this is enjoyable and beneficial.

but most imptly, we have really bonded as a team, as frens. now i hv a "brother", a buddy, a dance partner, a fellow medic, and so many other frens. so far i dun think i've pissed anyone off yet.

note to self: treat these nice ppl well!! and always remember how fortunate i am.

Not Another Call-In-&-Win Charity Show again! (as earlier promised)

Currently Playing: Unwell by Matchbox20

Newspapers report we are suffering from charity fatigue.

Not surprising when newspapers hv also reported that the number of charities just keeps growing year after year. same goes for tv charity shows and number of flag days, looks like.

chialat... at home tsc artistes bug me to dial a 1900-number while doing irrelevant stunts. out in the pavements, waiting outside just-stopped buses in interchanges, outside mrt stations, shopping malls and cineplexes... sch kids eager to get their CIP pts which will eventually give them an edge when they apply for university and get a job, thrust their rattling cans at me with a tired "would u like to donate?" NO.

To me, it's akin to begging. "selling flags?" no way that little sticker anything more than 2 cents. swindlers! touts! who wants those little stickers anyway, besides little stickerbook hobby kids? i dun want any. and more than something u want to "buy", now it's become more of a rubber stamp that says "PAID" or "Screened". something u show those pesky kids so they stop bugging u. but u still hv to show it to every kids who comes to u in eager strides.

solution? "buy" a flag from every charity once, and stick in on ur ez-link card holder. enjoying urself silly by flashing ur card like the US cop every saturday. Or, my way. "NO. NO Thanx. NOT interested. get out of my way, my train's coming. will you STOP blocking me??? *short pause* stop whimpering, dammit, and it'll stop bleeding soon enuff. ARGH MY TRAIN!!!!"

now u know y i'm late if i'm supposed to meet u.

"wasn't it last mth i saw TV ppl doing crazy stunts for money? they're doing it AGAIN?" i've lost track of wat charity of wat show since 2 yrs ago. i can't even tell the shows apart anymore, and stopped donating long ago. why?

1) these are the big charities. if they can get national TV to pursue their cause, i dun think they need much help anymore.
2) with such publicity, there'll be no lack of ppl donating. so even if i sit out there's not much difference.
3) donating money to win a car is a winning, albeit contradicting, marketing strategy for charities.
4) the shows are all alike. celebrities doing stunts and making phone dialing actions while comperes gibbering away abt how dangerous the stunt is. after the stunt is performed, concerned, panting celebrity stammers its was dangerous and he/she was scared, but altruism pull him/her thru. and of coz, more phone dialing actions. Token wimpy singing/dancing/magic items performed.
5) advertisements cajole ppl to dial to donate and WIN! without telling ppl just how much they would be "donating" for that chance to win a car. or amount donated in fine print.
6) how much of the donations wld go to gold toilet taps for the respective head honchos? will we ever know?

all this while the poorer charities hv no means to garner for funds coz they didn't hv any to begin with. and no one knows they exist, everyone's mistaken them for another of the hundreds of charities popping up every yr. is someone breeding them like rabbits?

so that's it. i keeping my money, thank you very much.

Authority Figures

Currently Playing: This is the Last Time by Keane

I was confronted by the security guard and ordered to return to my room abt 1-2 hrs ago. but first, some background.

Staying in the same place for 4 yrs, i've seen these jagas come and go... I appreciated their presence, coz in the 1st 2 yrs here there were chinaman orgies and masked perverted running around the hall. grew chummy with 2 of them, the guy in yr 2 and yr 3. Recently there was some reshuffling and the usual jovial malay dude got replaced with a sullen malay uncle.

Out of habit, coming back late at nite i'd pass the guard table and try to make eye contact, smile and say hi. but soon i gave up trying coz this sullen guy either never made eye contact or didn't bother to respond. never saw him talking to residents, and in the end i just didn't bother to look at him altogether.

So back to the very recent past, i was watching band of brothers (1am on channel 5, tuesdays) when at abt 1.45am sullen uncle walks past without stopping and mumbles something at me, showing a 'V' sign with his fingers. it took me a while to figure out he was telling me to switch off the tv at 2am.

This might have been a very reasonable request, if not for 3 issues:
1) BoB was only going to end at 2.15am.
2) I had the volume low enough not to disturb anyone, just enough for me to hear.
3) It being the holidays, i doubt there was anyone in hall for me to disturb on a tuesday nite anyway. besides, if u're staying in hall on a tuesday nite in the holidays, chances are u're not going to sleep til 3am.

So i continued watching.

Punctually, sullen uncle shows up at 2am and tells me i have to leave coz everything was supposed to be swtiched off at 2am. He adds that I shd hv been in my room from midnite coz all activities are to be stopped at 11.30pm, as written in the "standing orders". Of coz not in such proper english.

Really? Half amused, I remarked that this was a hall and not a military camp. He told me if i didn't believe it, i could go look at the notice board, where the "standing orders" were. As BoB was starting, i decided to sit down and enjoy the show. he asked me if i was yr 1. to shut him up i said yes, following which he told me to ask the yr 2s and 3s abt the standing orders, which apparently was something they knew very well. "you don't believe me ah, boy?" was something he repeated at least 3 times. u're rite, i don't. even if it was true, i don't care coz i know i'm not disturbing anyone.

Anyway, itried to appease him by telling him nicely my show will end at 2.15am, after which i would switch off everything. he told me something to the effect of i'd better do it, coz he could just switch off everything as he liked. that i hv no doubt, but most prob i wld just switch everything back on again. he ended his show of bravado by telling me the hall counsellor was a woman (dunno which he's talking abt, the head hall counsellor is a man btw) and would come and check. if she found the lights still on at 2am, she would give sullen uncle trouble. as he turned round, he added if he got into trouble, he would make sure i got into trouble.

Was that supposed to be a threat? now really amused, i smiled. he saw me smiling and got more dissatisfied. he came back to me asking me for my student card. i said i didn't hv it so he asked me for my room number. i gave him a bogus one and watched the rest of the show in peace. after the show, i went up not looking his way and closed my door, which has remained since.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of a sullen uncle dissatisfied with his mundane job and misguided by the fact he has some form of power, i'm just the sort of guy who avoids unnecessary confrontation. for his sake as well.

His position is already compromised coz he didn't enforce his "authority", "gave chance" in a grudging manner and threw up an empty threat. classic hallmarks of someone who trying to act that he has authority. i know; i've been there before.

Don't forget, this is hall... the security guards role is just that. to provide security for residents, and since they're there, switch off the lights. no authority over resident unless someone complains/pao tos. but if he did switch off my TV, i'd complain to the hall office. oh no, not abt the TV incident, but just casually remark this security guard doesn't seem too frenly... and i've never seen him walking on my corridor on patrol once. (this is true)

So if he does find me and realise i gave him a bogus room number and wants my student card? hahaha like i'll give it to him. it's my property, wat if he doesn't give it back? unnecessary inconvenience. nice try, but no. my name is written quite clearly on the door, he could use that. if he steps into my room to grab my card? that's trespassing. these security guards aren't allowed in our rooms unless campus security or hall office is with them. if he grabs me to get my card or my attention? that's criminal force isn't it? oh man. i am so evil. since young i've never liked authority unless i AM the authority. esp despise those who think they have some and bully others.

Brings to mind another incident in malaysia, the recent angsi trip. before the shopping ctr next to the bus interchange opened, we went and asked the old malay security guard if we could go in and wait for the breakfast stalls to open. he gave the green light and we all went in, heading for the toilets and sinks by the tables to wash up. some of us sat and chatted, while an indian security guard positioned by the toilets and lifts eyed us from time to time. i was the last to use the sinks by the tables, when he decided to show some authority.

He loudly asked me wat we were doing here. i explained nicely the guy up in front let us in. he then had an outburst shouting the guy was old and didn't know anything; that we were not allowed inside here; and we should not be doing any disgusting stuff at the sinks near the tables. well since he found brushing of teeth and washing of face disgusting, no way i was going near him. i turned and continued cleaning up in nonchalance, and this guy skulked back to by the toilets repeating that we were not allowed in there. of coz, we ignored him and he did nothing. did not enforce "authority", and "gave chance" in a grudging manner. he didn't bother us after that as well.

i guess they wanted to show some authority after being blatantly ignored... but the show of bravado just made it worse. even if the ignoring part wasn't on purpose before, now it was.

no i'm not finished... this brings to mind something else. not necessarily related.

It seems that we bloggers have a new bane... some chairman of some govt body has decided to take it upon himself to rid s'pore of irresponsible blogging. he has publicly announced something to the effect of using weapons of mass destruction on anyone who belittled his govt body or himself. that's y i'm being careful here... i do not want to fall victim to his signature finishing move, which incidently is the same of another guy with the same famous surname... but that guy i respect a lot. this guy? i dunno.

for some reason his name keeps popping up in cases when a govt body does something bad to some rich studying guy who has run away and/or made some noise. this guy has also publicly announced he thinks better of young foreigners and young local girls over young local guys. (to work in the orgn he heads lah, wat u thinking)

sure his orgn does good work for the country... but it gets kind of old to see his name popping up in controversial news reports. he makes himself the face of the orgn, like a civil service Trump. wat will happen when he leaves? but more imptly, why? is he chasing controversy to shine more light on his orgn? or on himself? or is he just enjoying hunting down rich studying guys? i dunno... u decide for urself. one thing's for sure, i dun wanna work in his orgn. scary.

i'm not trying to influence anyone, but come on, it's just a blog... some guy's ramblings. ppl with intelligence would see blogs as just an opinion, not necessarily an educated one. so take stuff with a pinch of salt, and lighten up.

note to self: no names! and continue laughing at jagas with high self-importance.

My (Hopefully) Last School Holidays!

Too tired, busy to play anything.

These holidays will be busy busy busy... just the way i like them. but of coz that means i will be here less often. just the 1st monday and i feel tired already. here's a rough guide to my next 3 months (for my reference as well):

9-15 May: FYP interim report / YEP Medic Course / YEP meetings (2) / Mothers' Day Dinner / Fren's Wedding Dinner.

16-22 May: FYP Interim report / YEP Meetings (4) / YEP Shopping for Med Supplies / YEP Children's Home Visit / Campus Interviews (not sure if going) / Dinner w best buddies

23-29 May: YEP Pre-Exp Camp / Moving out of Hall Officially / More YEP meetings forseen

30-31 May: YEP Final briefing / YEP Packing

1 -19 Jun: YEP programme proper

20 - 27 Jun: Getting lost in the wild in China! hopefully can go trekking (by myself?)

28 Jun - 1 Jul: Hanging out in Bangkok

2 - 20+ Jul: Doing FYP in SG

That's it.... got ppl come into my room tok cock and irritate me liao. gotta entertain her...

note to self: don't burn out!

Last Man Standing

Currently Not Playing Anything.

Last exam for this sem in another 7 hrs... and i'm probably the only guy left... almost all my frens finished earlier than me... this wouldn't be so depressing if not for the nearly empty library (no chairs full of chinabags anymore!) and the empty canteen... at its peak i made up 16.67% of its entire population.

library..... almost empty
tutorial rooms... vacant
canteen in late afternoon... sparse
canteen at dinner.... quiet
canteen at midnite... empty
hall... now... silent
preparation for tml's paper.... unfinished
state of mind... finished

note to self: go to sleep.

I am a Published Online Writer!

Currently Playing: Boondock Saints Theme by the Boondock Saints

My victory song! hahhah yes dear readers... you have not made the wrong choice by stumbling onto this blog... the author has had a piece of work published online! it is now entombed in cyberspace at a satirical, (very) Singaporean website as of 1st May 2005.

I am now a published writer!! WOOHOO!!! one small step towards my writing/phototaking/violin-playing/travelling/farm-boy/waiter/no-commitments dream!! WOOHOO!!!!!

*the audience groans in loathing at the estatic typer of a puny article bouncing around the room in glee*

OK OK... 1 hr after reading my work on the web, i have significantly calmed down (gleefully). true, it is just 1 puny article in a world of a gazillion trillion words... but to me, it is one of life's little accomplishments... like my 1st self-tied shoelaces(7yrs old), the 1st time i successfully used chopsticks(8yrs old), my 1st sports medal (15yrs old), the 1st time i washed my own clothes (20yrs old), the 1st (and only) time i cooked for my parents (21yrs old), etc etc....

Obviously, this blog is helping me with writing skills by providing me an avenue and an audience to practise. Therefore, my dear readers, you deserve some credit too. ok not that much, but still, some. well, here's to more to come, accomplishments large and small. cheers! (apple juice w aloe vera bits *glug glug glug*)

note to self: let this be one small, beginning step...