A mad rush!

Well.. stayed in camp yesterday though I was not P1 becos I'm super lazy to bk out and moreover was tired lah.. so ya.. watched a bit of TV in camp lah =).. at least I'm able to like catch the last episode of the 9pm show lah! so ya.. at least stay in camp got a bit of advantage!

Then it was rehearsal today at Nee Soon.. we had drills starting from 0900 and it only ended at abt 1230.. with abt 5-10 minutes intervals after every 30 mins of drills! I tell you.. though you may think its ok, but with the freaking hot weather and the scorching hot sun, at the last run, I almost wanted to fall out, becos I was starting to feel nauseous as well as have difficulty in breathing (I felt as it something is squeezing my heart, so I had hard breathing!).. so ya.. but thank goodness I didn't fall out or faint lah! The weather is tat hot loh! I'm not the only one who almost fell dead!

After came back to camp frm drill, we did all the necessary stuff and then I was back at bunk ready to bk out.. Just as we are abt to go off (after we bathe!), my officer gathered us to talk!! haix.. so at abt 0200 then I bk out loh..

Took cab home and cab was indeed hard to flag down.. no cab.. finally got 1 after 15 mins! So ya.. Then came home and bathe and followed mum in cab to go church (as I need to rush there for music practice [reached at 1520] for today's church Youth service.. so ya..)

After the practice, went BK with andrew & ash to have my lunch, and mind you, tat was 1630! So ya..

Youth service was not bad.. Sermon was interesting and funny!

After service, we went to dinner @ Meridian.. My sis came to church and we bought like 2 dishes and then we share..

These are some stupid photos which I took with my phone (Nokia 6280).. quite clear huh =)

Photo taken with my Nokia 6280.
This is Tjow making a pic face out of Alvin! So totally PIG-gy!!

Photo taken with my Nokia 6280.
This is Tjow again making a pic face out of Nat! So totally PIG-gy!!

After eating, I ranted my mounting/GOH woes to Alvin! Thanx pal for listening though I koe you very much want to go play Arcade, but you chose not to!! =)

During my dinner, my bro, Andrew, approached my sis and ask her whether is she going to Youth Camp 2006 this yr. She said no.. so then Andrew asked me, and I say, shld be.. then he juz said something.. "ok, you will be the Creative Director".. and in a flash, he was back at his seat and then he assumes I said Ok.. I was shocked lah! This is indeed a very challenging task for me, as you all koe me lah.. I'm a person of very low creativity juices! But nevertheless, I believe tat nothing is impossible, and as a challenge to myself, I decided to take up the post and try my very best to perfect this task tat is given to me.. so ya.. currently a bit stressed up over this matter, so now I'm like happily thinking (with my sister's help too lah of course!) and save the ideas in my Nokia 6280, becos I got STM mah, so if I dun write it down, I wld sure forget one! Confirm, guarantee + chop! In fact, I'm already starting to type it in MS Word, so as and when they want my ideas/proposal, I wld be ready up for it! so guess I have to use my brain now again! =)

Well, I wld not type out my woes here, becos some of it were repeated and some of it you all never heard before.. Too lazy to type out the new ones as well as dun want to bore you all the details.. too much details liaox! Anyway, all I can tell you all is tat I juz have to "lan lan suck thumb" regarding the mounting matter for my GOH Shift!.. so ya.. anyway, below is the schedule tat is given to us by my officer..

=====================================

Come 05/05/2006, this wld be my schedule for the rest of May:

MONDAYS: Mounting

TUESDAYS: Dismount.

WEDNESDAYS: Standby, but go down to mount duty from 1100-1700, but must be back in camp before 2300, becos rehearsal nxt day.

THURSDAYS: NDP Rehearsal

FRIDAYS: Standby, but go down to mount duty frm 1100-1500, but must be back in camp before 2300, becos rehearsal nxt day.

SATURDAYS: NDP Rehearsal.

SUNDAYS: Off. But P1 grp for this day muz stay in!

=====================================

After dinner, if I can, I wld join Tjow and the rest to go lounge @ Mandarin Hotel and chill out, but then tml I have to mount duty.. haix.. so ya. came home early loh.. then on my computer and I started blogging..

Ok lah.. need to sleep liaox.. so late liaox.. need to wake up 0530 to go back to camp for duty tml.. haix.. super sianx!!

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 172 DAYS to ORD!!

Tired,
<<< abriel >>>

Another day of rehearsals..

Well.. juz another day of rehearsals @ Nee Soon Camp! Today we did the 'feiu de joir' rehearsal.. it was quite an experience.. here's a short description..

We are being told last minute tat we are to attach our chrome bayonnets to our SAR21 rifles.. so ya.. so to cut the long story short, the clip on the chrome bayonnets for mine is actually loose, so a slight shake, the bayonnet wld drop.. I was hoping mind did not drop, but after a few vigorous movements of the rifle, it actually drop.. so ya.. felt bad and embarassed abt it loh.. dun koe why I felt this way, but it juz is like tat lah..

Then its time to fire the blank rounds.. and guess wat! My hand was actually shivering! I was actually afraid to fire the rounds! Ya.. I koe.. its ironic rite? But I think its more of firing with a new weapon, which I did not fire with it b4.. but after a few rounds of firing, I got the hang of it and I got more proficient in it loh! =)

Then its back at camp.. send arms and then go to Cookhouse and eat and then bathe and then, slept until we were called out loh.. Apparently, I slept quite well loh, becos yesterday nite did not have enuf sleep.. Becos yesterday nite, one of my bunk mates realise tat his boots were missing.. so my bunk mates were helping him to find.. after 15 mins of finding, they found one side of it.. the other side remains unfound until now! In the end, he loaned another side frm another guy who has the same size of boots as him.. So ya.. I didnt help to search, but then, I cldnt sleep as well, becos the light above me was on loh! So ya.. In the end, once the light was off, I cldnt sleep.. so I didnt sleep till 2340! I was on the bed since 2230, but didnt sleep till 2340! No wonder I felt so shack today lah! =)

Then, juz as we are abt to go off, my sgt called an urgent impromptu gathering to discuss something which I think its quite ridiculous.. My OC has actually asked the GOH shift to have another 6 more men (besides the normal 5-6 P1s staying over at nite!) staying overnite in camp, and in the morning, go and help in the peak hour mounting, so this means tat 11 men wld be going down tml morning to help instead of the 6 men! Then my sgt want us to volunteer ourself..

We all were like quite mad lah.. not enuf ppl in the mounting shift already and then still want the GOH shift to spare ppl for mounting the peak hours.. dun koe how the upper management think lah.. maybe they have their own reasons, but then again, GOH shift personnel are NOT 'iron' ppl loh.. we need rest to! But the good news is tat this is gonna stop somewhere middle of nxt mth or maybe tml is the one and only time we need to do it? We seriously dun koe.. it all depends on the upper management..

New ppl are coming frm PLAB FDC next wk and they promise us tat once they come, after our rehearsals, the P1 dun need to do duty frm 1400-1900 liaox.. let's see how true is tat loh =)

ok lah.. I think I've done my part of venting! Not very hot rite.. haha.. =).. I've successfully passed my anger management class!..

ok.. gtg liaox.. wont be back tml, as I need to bk in camp the next day (Sat) for rehearsals.. so ya.. maybe Sat I'll blog ya =).. So cya ard ppl..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 174 DAYS to ORD!!

GOH 4ever,
<<< abriel >>>

Just another day..

The duty tat I do during my P1 (which was yesterday) was quite shacked.. becos after our rehearsal, we reached camp at abt 1230.. and by 1345, we have to start to walk to Guardroom for P1 duty, which we wld do till 1900! Shiong loh! But thank goodness, no armed duty for us, but becos of this lack of rest, though we had no arm duty, but we are still as shacked!

This morning at 0630 went to Guardroom and do duty loh, becos P1 yesterday mahz.. but the best thing is tat for the first time in my life, there is NO fatigue work for the day, or maybe its becos I was P1 this morning, so no fatigue work.. so ya..

Anyway, I plan to take off for 14/5 (sun) becos' of Mother's Day dinner, therefore, to not make myself come back on 15/5 (mon) from 0800-1700, I need to take the day off as well.. so my balance of 2 days off (if approve 14/5 & 15/5) wld be burned loh! haix.. =(.. oh well.. these 2 days are impt so ya.. no choice lah!

Then yesterday at drill, they declared it wld be a half day rehearsal on Sat (29/4), which means tat we wld not have any mounting (our original mounting is planned on 29/4).. but becos of the upper management, they actually say since my shift can't mount on Sat (29/4), we wld mount on Sun (30/4) instead! And then we all were like WTH! But since its been passed down like tat, wat cld we do?

Then worse still.. my officer told us tat my shift wld be mounting on the long wkend wk (which is those public holiday kind, which means the regulars in the base have 3 days weekend! and tat is super long lah!).. so for this, my shift have to do duties on alternate days, which actually means tat we do not have our off at all! Moreover, my officer has the upper management information tat if we have rehearsals on Saturday, then our Mondays for the following wk wld be our 'off' unless we have really urgent on or we P1 on tat day, so if so, then we juz have to take it.. no replacement!
So now, the problem is tat becos we got rehearsals on Saturday, so does this mean tat Mondays we wld burn our off and mount duty instead? And pls loh! I dun think this wld only stretch on May.. it wld be till GOH is over loh! Then worse still.. my officer said tat, since we off on Monday, therefore after NDP, we wld forfeit the compulsory off tat the EXCO of NDP 2006 gave us.. so ya.. I feel this isn't fair..

Heard frm my sgts tat my officer is in the talks with my OC regarding this matter and see whether May mounting schedule can change.. so ya.. I'm keeping my fingers cross for this! =X

So yesterday I was super angry lah! But thank God tat I can confine all these rants and rant it all 1 shot to Sidney.. so tats why I said he's my bro in camp mah! Sidney, thanx 4 hearing my rant! After ranting, I felt much better liaox.. thanx =)

ok lah.. gtg and buy dinner liaox! Chicken foldover frm Mac for dinner! Yehz! =).. always wanted to try but no chance.. haix..

Gtg and bk in camp later for rehearsal today.. tonite is gonna be a cold nite! Cover urself in thick blanket ya =).. Ciaoz..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 175 DAYS to ORD!!

I'm lovin it,
<<< abriel >>>

// Updates //

Somehow this blogger webbie a bit of the jam.. so ya.. Im saving this as a draft and after which, when blogger works fine, I'll publish it loh!

Anyway, this shld be a short update.. Today at camp was ok.. quite tired as usual!

Then came home.. checked a bit of email.. surf friendster for a while and realise tat actually I actually seen some long lost friends! Man.. But then, friendster a bit of the problem.. so ya.. as usual, can't surf.. so ya.. totally horrible! So ya.. This means tat the nxt time I login to internet, I have more things to do liaox.. haix..

Ok lah.. gtg liaox.. going back to camp later.. tml have rehearsal and tml P1.. haix.. so ya.. anyway, gtg liaox.. cya on wed/thurs when I'm online ya =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 177 DAYS to ORD!!

Cya ppl,
<<< abriel >>>

// Updates //

This is taken with my Nokia 6280 phone!

Well.. yes! I didnt drink coffee.. instead I drank tea.. in fact, my mum and dad drank tea too!
Juz to introduce you to the drinks (frm L-R):
Ice Zen Tea (Tall Size), Mango Frappucino (Grande Size), Ice Earl Grey Tea with Vanilla Syrup (Grande Size).

I drank Mango Frappucino. Not too bad actually.. It is actually black Tazo tea and combine with mango bits and blend together with ice cubes.. and together, they form an icy and refreshing drink with a tangy taste! Not a bad choice actually! Will recommend to those who in need of a refreshing drink during the hot weather in Singapore nowadays!

My dad drank the ice earl grey tea with vanilla syrup. He is like me liaox.. being influenced by Tjow.. becos apparently ice earl grey tea with vanilla syrup is tjow's fave drink at starbucks.. so ya..



Then went for some retail therapy.. bought a black linen pants from Giordano (it was on a $10 off bottom promotion! So instead of $43, I paid $33).. you all may wonder how come the sudden buying of black pants.. well.. its becos of I'm playing for Mother Day's Service @ Church, and its a combined service.. so to play, have dress code.. its a black bottom so ya.. Anyway, its a good investment as well.. becos after I ORD, I definately sure have a lot of chance to play in combine prac, so to cater for such occasions, better to get a pants now loh! Tops I have a lot.. but for the Mother's Day service, I plan to wear a shirt which I have not wore for a long time!



Went to Modesto's Restaurant to reserve a place for Mother's Day Dinner happening on 14/5.. its a treat to my mum mah.. Mother's Day mah! So ya.. Thank goodness they receive advance booking, becos its like 3 wks more to Mother's Day.. they muz have thought I was kan cheong or sumthing, but I dun care! I juz do my own things loh! =)

After which, went to Tanglin Mall and had dinner.. after which, came home by bus loh.. super shack liaox..

Ok.. gtg liaox.. bathing now and go back camp tml.. haix.. sianx..

Shacked,
<<< abriel >>>

Tired..

Yes! Tired is the word to describe me right now! Due to the shortage of manpower (becos quite a number of ppl have taken the half day off, so they only do duty from 0900-1500, the rest of the day, we the remaining guys have to do so loh!), each of us were tasked at least 8 hrs.. However, the 8 hrs were not easy, becos its most night duties! Night duties is actually one of the worst duties tat you can do during your RP life, but I guess this is inevitable! So ya..

Anyway, for me, my duty was 8.5 hrs. Initially, I had 10.5 hrs duty (becos only had Table and Toranto duty mah), however, there was a slight change; I was detailed in the end a gate duty, and the other of my duties remained as status quo, and my duty detailing was cut down by 2 hrs! However, you may think its easy, but actually its quite shack, becos after coming back from Toranto duty (I shack lah! But ok lah! The others also suffereing as well.. I may be considered as a lucky fellow who actually had a Table duty lah!)

Though the hours are long, my duty was enjoyable, becos of the ppl I do duty with lah! At least when we do gate or Toranto, we can talk abt some subjects, which actually help to 'spice up' my duty and as well, prevent each other frm sleeping! Becos we RPs koe tat if we dun talk during duty, there is a very high chance (especially during the wee hrs of the morning) tat we wld start to doze off; and if you dose off and kenna caught, tats it! You wld 'tio 1x jialat jialat' (a slang used in the army to denote tat you wld be subject to the harshest disciplinary action!)

Anyway, yesterday's duty at Toranto was interesting, becos the person I did duty with was also frm Temasek Polytechnic (TP); so we practically spend the whole 3.5 hrs chatting abt our past study life at TP lah! It was so fun and memorable lah! At tat moment, I wished I was back in the poly days again! Haix.. those were the days!

Now as I'm writing this blogpost, my eyes are super tired lah! Too tried already, but then muz persevere, becos going out with family later in the day lah! =) Going out means my weekly dose of Starbucks Coffee is on! Yeh! Oh.. I'm craving for caffeine now!

Ok.. gtg liaox..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 178 DAYS to ORD!!

Starbucks Coffee Addict,
<<< abriel >>>

A Quick Update...

Well.. this shld be fast, becos' I want to sleep liaox! Got mounting tml.. so ya..

Anyway, today at bunk was quite a horrible experience.. here's a brief update..

Morning went for Squadron Run.. I tell you.. this is one of those runs which I find it super fast and tiring! Even my RSM (who is 49 yrs old) also say so.. you all koe why? Its becos of my 44 yr old CO! He said it wld be a slow run, but in the end, he ran so super fast tat almost everyone cldnt catch up with him! Even a former guardsman run until he like choke/vomited! Tats how fast my CO can run! But then, I manage to persevere and run finish the run.. It was super tiring lah! Everyone was like complaining!

Then suddenly Sgt Zhiwen (whom the spec I respected most!) came in and told us tat our PC told us to help the P1 to do duty from 1500-1645! My bunk ppl (who was my P1 group lah!) was like super angry lah! Becos last time when we did like the same (ie, do P1 duty frm 1300-1900 with a 2 hr break in between), NOT a SINGLE P1 ppl help us loh!! Anyway, we angry also no use.. becos still have to go down guardroom and help! So ya.. haix..

When we are in guardroom, at last, the sgt plan and there is a table duty.. so becos they koe I complained abt it, thanx to my P1 grp, tat they let me do table duty, whereas they do those 'under the hot sun duty'.. thanx ah! You all are the best! But then again, they all been approved of half day tml, and I'm all alone.. so ya.. Guess this balances it all lah! =)

And yes.. finally after much conflict and debating, my officer got it once and for all, tat he resolved the 'off' issue.. Initially, he agreed tat if we take half day off on wkends, the nxt day dun need to come back.. so initially, I wanted to take with my grp on 22/4 and 29/4.. but then, too many ppl take.. so I changed it to 6/5 and 13/5. But then after today, my officer said tat if we were to take, we muz take a FULL day, and he can 'close 1 eye' not coming back the nxt day.. so ya.. so now, I decide to take on 13/5 as a full day, becos I realise tat its Mother's Day Service in church and also, I'm on essential setup duty on the day! So juz hope tat my officer wld approve it loh! =)

Came home with Mingjun, becos he took the same bus as me.. Initially wanted to stop over at AMK to get Double Fillet-O-Fish meal frm MacDonalds (been craving for it for days!).. and at last today can satisfy the craving.. but somehow when I eat it, it is not as nice as last time! Dun koe why.. maybe I was too full, becos prior to tat, I ate quite a bit at my Squadron's Happy Hour! So ya..

Watched TV till 2200, and almost wanted to sleep liaox.. but I still perservere and on the computer and blog.. so ya.. Going to sleep liaox.. super tired.. mounting tml.. sianx!

Got to run and catch my much needed rest! Cya soon =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 180 DAYS to ORD!!

Shacked GOH Personnel,
<<< abriel >>>

Updates..

Well ppl! Finally after days of waiting, I finally got my POSB Debit ATM Go! Card.. I initially wanted to go to the branch near my house, but juz realised tat the branch is closed for renovation.. so therefore, no choice but have to go to AMK Central branch! So ya.. The queue was long and I waited 1 hr for it to be my turn and be served by the bank teller!

Ppl, if you are interested in the POSB Go! Debit ATM Card, kindly click here. But pls note tat this card CANNOT be used for online transcations. Only the POSB Mastercard Debit can do so.. so ya.. Read the link (above) for details lah!

Anyway, yesterday P1 duty I'm super angry abt it lah! Becos not only we were at guardroom duty frm 1300-1900 (with a 2 hr break in between of 1500-1700, but I didnt and cant sleep!), but its more like exchanging my duty WITHOUT the Guard Commander's knowledge! Initially, the Guard Commander's order for my duty frm 1700-1900 is table duty, but then when I reach table, one of the men pyed frm the sgt's desk tat I was to do gate duty, whilst the table duty was to be done by the gate guy! I tell you! I felt like scolding vulgarities over the pyset liaox at tat time! I'm super angry! I was thinking to myself, "am I so good to be bullied?".. I wanted to like make a fuss leh! Actually I can stay at table do duty! The fellow can juz change with other ppl, but its a matter of whether he want to or not! Haix.. Am super angry at tat time loh! After which, I then question the Guard Commander how come my duty change until like tat.. he said he dun koe as well, but at least he said "Thanx for helping!".. at least after tat, I felt not so angry liaox!

Dinner yesterday was edible lah, so didnt spend money on Specialist Mess food.. Slept early becos super tired, becos the same morning, I woke up at 0545 to help in the 100% incoming check! As usual, I'm like kenna aim by my OC; kenna scolded by him lah, becos of a very minor mistake we did! Haix.. the worse thing is he scold me in front of an NS officer! I was like WTH! Haix.. Scold then scold lah! I dun give a shit abt it liaox! But trust me tat I was really super mad for close to an hour lah!!

Anyway, today's drill at Nee Soon was ok lah! As usual loh.. learn 1 step more, as in the "Feu De Joir" drill.. we learn as a contingent liaox! Yeh! But as usual, we need more improvement loh!! =).. Then, its being made more enjoyable, becos get to catch up again with Zijing loh! =)

Ok lah.. gtg liaox! Watching quite a lot of TV tonite! And yes! finally I get to sleep on my bed tonite after like 5 days of not sleeping at home! =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 181 DAYS to ORD!!

Love the POSB Go! Card,
<<< abriel >>>

Updates

Sunday (16/4/2006)

Well as usual, was late meeting Nat & Andrew @ Somerset MRT. Man.. I need to be punctual next time =)..
Anyway, I was super hungry at first so I bought some fishballs and sotong head from Old Chang Kee. Then MRT came.. so can't eat.. At Somerset MRT when I met them, I felt bad, so I offered them. Andrew didnt want.. Then I offered Nat.. Andrew then interupted and said: "he can't eat!".. I then replied "oh ya".. Nat then said: " fishball not fried!".. I was like WTH! haha.. Super funny guy!! Of course, he ate a fishball lah! I not tat bad wat! =)

Then they gave me a nickname called, "A-blur", all becos I tot Nat's mum office (which is in Newton) is at Somerset! Man! How blur can I be rite =)

Lunch at my pastor's hse (whose wife is the NEW NKF CEO!) was quite ok.. too healthy for my liking.. ha.. but I like the chicken and the tofu salad though! =).. The tofu salad made by my pastor's wife was fantastic! As usual, Nat & Andrew didnt eat any becos they hated veges.. haix.. wat a pity!

After the lunch, Ash, Andrew, Nat & me went to PS to watch "Firewall".. All thanx to me, I booked online for the tickets, juz in case.. so ya.. not too bad a show.. agree tat the show was a bit slow paced, but glad tat there was an ending to the show! Unlike some shows which you have to guess the ending yourself, this has quite a cliche ending.. but ya.. not too bad I suppose! If you are fan of Harrison Ford, you shld watch this, becos his acting in this show is quite good! =)

Met Tjow @ Funan for dinner.. Tjow actually "tua" all of us (only Nat, Andrew & myself) tat he was still at home.. when we first heard tathe was still at home, we were shocked of course lah! we wanted to play tjow back, but he was too smart to be "tua-ed" (if there was such a word!) by us!

Tjow complained he wasnt spending enuf though he had bought like a Chinese software at Challenger.. then Andrew hinted to him wat he juz told us at Challenger loh!.. Tjow caught the hint and he actually paid for our dinner at Sakae Sushi! Thanx Tjow =).. Man.. Sakae Sushi was quite a horror.. its the first time I've seen ppl eat so many plates of Salmon & Unagi sushi! I was like the only one who like stayed out of it (except to eat 1 pc of salmon sushi!).. U shld have see how Andrew gobbled his unagi sushi and tjow gobbled down his salmon sushi! Nat & I were happily enjoying our roes (the fish roe sushi tat is!).. we both are a fan of roes! *high five*

Finished dinner.. walked a bit and then I rushed home to collect my things.. had a quick bath.. and off I left hse within 30 mins of my arrival at home!

Took a cab frm AMK and I tell you.. it was a lady driver! She drive so slow lah! In the end, my cab fare was like $6.20 (the usual was abt $5.50 - $5.80)..

Went back bunk and wash up and slept for the nite! Real shacked!!

Monday (17/4/2006)

Supposed to wake up like 0600.. but becos of my alarm setting was wrong and everyone was too shacked to wake up, in the end, I was the first to wake up at 0624. At first, I saw my watch like 0624.. I thought I saw wrongly.. so I on my handphone to check.. and true enuf it was 0624. I immediately jumped off my bed and wake the rest up becos apparently, we muz like fall in at 0645 to draw our SAR21.. so muz finish breakfast by tat time.. becos the admin sgt in S3 branch (who indented the bus) told my sgt tat 0700 bus come.. so ya.. but in the end, until 0715 bus not here.. so my sgt called tat S3 branch sgt, and he said he bluffed my sgt.. its actually bus coming at 0745! Fwah! I tell you.. tat feeling wasnt good lah! Imagine we waited so long for the bus!

Wat's worse is tat the bus came late! So ya.. had to like wait again.. When we reached there, it was the usual drills.. Learn the "Fue Di Joir" drill with the SAR21.. It was tough.. sometimes, I got so shack, that I kenna mixed up the "Fue Di Joir" drill with the "Hormat" drill.. of course, kenna scolded by the RSMs when they see me doing this! Cannot blame me wat! I was blur!

Anyway, before we left, we did an initial contingent sizing.. and never did I expect I was so near to my sec sch friend, Zijing, who was also in Tengnah GOH.. so ya.. In actual fact, I'm standing beside him in the contingent lah! So happy! At least I get to talk to him =).. So its really a chance to catch up as he said!

Went back to bunk and then slept for a while before we bk out for the day and bk in 2300 on the same nite for drill tml (18/4)..

Tuesday (18/4/2006)

Woke up this morning again with my watch but this time it didnt ring, becos I realised this time the setting of the timing has gone haywired again.. didnt set properly.. I actually set it to 6.00pm rather than 6.00am..

Then went for drill at nee soon camp.. super near! As usual, between the 4 airbases, we were the nearest to nee soon camp but then the latest! Ha.. guess Sembawang standard is like this =)..

During the drill break, manage to talk to Zijing (who was standing beside me) for a bit lah.. so ya..

Then afternoon before I went for lunch at cookhouse, I've got news tat I've got to go to Guardroom to clear some stuff as well as to book in tonite at 2300 becos' tml morning got to help in the 100% incoming check!

I was like really mad up there already! Can't the mounting shift as well as the P1 for today go down and help? Do they really need the whole GOH shift to go down? Like tat you muz why ask GOH shift to do the 100% incoming check.. isn't tat better? I was like argghh.. right up there already! Going to explode anytime!!
At first, I tot my sgt never speak up to my RSM abt this matter.. but my RSM said my GOH shift have to go down and help out in the 100% incoming check tml, becos not enuf ppl.. so no choice.. have to do wat my RSM said loh! Haix..

So ya.. then came home by cab.. wanted to go to the POSB Bank near my place but once I reached there, I realised tat it was under renovation.. so ya.. came back home..

On my computer and started this blog and at the same time, had my dinner! so ya..

Then on MSN, I chatted with a few ppl.. Zijing (who is in Tengnah as an RP), KC and Sidney!

Oh.. this is for Sidney! Congrats on ur IPPT Gold! Dun worry abt wat other ppl say ya! As long as you did ur best and you never cheat, tat shld be all right! No need to get upset abt wat other ppl say loh! You have my 100% support and congrats ya =).. so where's my treat? =P.. ha..

At the same time, I ranted my mounting woes to Sidney telling him how's the feeling of being in GOH Shift! Everyone in the flight is like kept bullying us lah; as in giving us verbal insults, etc.. But Sidney managed to clear the air and comforted me with his kind words! Thanks ah bro! =)

I also ranted my woes to Zijing and I'm glad tat I'm not the only one who experience this.. he also did.. so ya.. at least someone experience it too lah =).. Besides ranting, I also chat with him other stuff.. so ya.. =).. its quite enjoyable to chat with him though!

Ok lah.. I've got to end this blog and then surf other stuff before I bk in later.. Sianz ah! Oh ppl! I'm on P1 duty tml so wont be bking out.. so ya.. Thurs evening then I come home.. so ya.. I'll cya then ya =)

Oh! today is EXACTLY 6 mths more to my ORD date! Yeh!!

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 183 DAYS to ORD!!

GOH Shift good anot?,
<<< abriel >>>

Weekend Escapades..

Yesterday's church was ok.. I think it was more of a gathering of friends, as I have not seen them for like close to 2 wks! Gosh! Can't imagine not seeing them for 2 mths when NDP GOH Rehearsals become more xiong in May/June 2006.

Anyway, enuf of sad things.. Yesterday dinner at Cuppage, though food was not the best, but the fellowship is lah! =)

Andrew was not there to join us for fellowship becos he had something on.. but Nat & Ash was there.. as usual, our gang (Ash, Nat, Jon, Hannah) was eating.. we had so much fun laughing and stuff..

I think our laughter in the foodcourt was the loudest lah! We were actually playing some jokes on Hannah after our dinner.. we made her say some words which were actually clean but in actual fact, its a bit vulgar! Well.. juz for fun, we made her say "700" and "super white" in Mandarin.. and whenever she said it, we wld juz laugh! Nat & I was like laughing till our tears came out and our stomach ached! I think we laughed until we had digested the food lah!

Then at one time, Hannah got confused with the words, "insomnia" and "amnesia". She tot "amnesia" was "imsomnia".. Here's wat happened:

She was reciting some Shakespear's poem and Ash & I was like acting sleepy and dozing off.. Then as Hannah finishes the poem, Jon Gouw asked: "Can we tape you"?
We were like confused!
Jon Gouw then answered: "To cure imsomnia".
We all laughed!
Hannah then answered: "Imsomnia = Memory loss rite?"
We all laughed again!
Hannah then said: "oops! Tat is amnesia!".
We all kept laughing lah!

Man.. yesterday was one nite which I really laughed and laughed!!

Ok lah.. gtg liaox.. Later gonna go to my pastor's hse for Easter Lunch followed by watching a movie with my bros (Ash, Nat & Andrew). We'll watching Firewall.. hope its nice though! So ya..

Ciaox ppl and I'll cya on Tues online! Mon & Tues have rehearsals, so dun think I'll be home by then =).. so ya..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 185 DAYS to ORD!!

Movie buff,
<<< abriel >>>

Updates..

13/04/06 (Thursday)

Well.. the drill on Thursday was quite slack.. no drill but got mental torture or shld I say stress; this is becos I had technical handling test on the SAR21 rifle which we wld be handling for 2 parades; NDP 2006 & SAF Day. As usual, due to my mind being "rusty" for dun koe how many thousand years liaox, therefore, there is a slight difficulty in asking me to remember things, but thank goodness, everything was a OK and everyone passed the technical handling test! =).. so now my shift is able to handle another weapon! Yeah!!

Came back to camp and serve my P1. As usual, the P1 for tat day have to do P1 duty. So my P1 grp went down to do duty and when we do so, we were shocked, in a sense tat the guard commander told us tat one of the P1 guys have to do gate duty from 1700-2100. Then its either one of my friends or me. My friend helped to speak up tat this is too much becos we have rehearsal in the morning and then we still had to do duty till 2100. Then my P1 sgt, 3SG Zhiwen, said never mind, just do until 1700. So we did our duty till 1700, but wat we didn't know is tat he helped us to do the P1 duty frm 1900-2100. When I heard tat he is doing duty frm 1900-2100, my repsect for him immediately gone up 100%. You may ask why the sudden raise in my respect level for him; this is becos this is the FIRST time (during my 13 mths in my base) I've seen any P1 sgt helped his men to do a P1 duty. Usually, the P1 sgt sgt wld accompany his P1 guys down, but they juz sit in the Ops Room and juz talk or do some really minor stuff. However, for Sgt Zhiwen, he is really TOTALLY different!
Sgt Zhiwen, if you are reading this, this is wat I want to say to you: "You have earn my utmost respect!"

Bought dinner from SDpecialist Mess becos dinner was relaly horrible! So ya. After duty, went up to bunk, bathe and then ate dinner. Watched a bit of TV and off I go to dreamland!

14/04/06 (Friday)

Initially, I was detailed to go to Toranto Gate for guty. However, I told the Guard Commander for yesterday's duty saying tat I juz went to Toranto Gate for my last duty, so I asked whether is it possible to change! He agreed. So I internal swop duty with another guy and initially he didnt want to but dun koe how come there is a sudden change in decision. So ya.. So in the end, my duty actually was only 4 hrs Main Gate (from 2100-0100), but then in between the timings, not as much rest time as you all think! I actually had quite a number of fatigue work to be done (YES! Fatigue work on duty! Usually this doesn't happen, but dun koe how come my officer want it to be done! Can't he juz ask the P1 force for trat day to help do it? Haix..)

Anyway, the main fatigue work which I did was to clear watever rubbish (eg: can, algae and other stuff) tat the inconsiderate ppl throw into the water barricade. In the end, I spend like close to 20 mins juz to clear 1 stupid barricade! These ppl ah.. haix.. but wats comforting to note tat the Guard Commander for the day (which is another sgt of course, whose name was 3SG Wenjie) actually helped in the fatigue work, despite the rain. Both of us were like soaking in the rain and clearing the stuff.. Of course, it was disgusting but wat to do? In the end, I cleared the stuff with him and another guy lah! One of the supposedly to do guys actually didnt wake up and do becos he overslept, despite me waking him up before I left to do the duty. So ya.
So wat I want to say to 3SG Wenjie if you are reading this, tat you have also earn my respect!

This is wat the sgts shld do; help his men to do some minor stuff or occasionally, help his men to do duty or ration, and NOT like some sgts who juz sit there and order ppl around and expect work to be done, when in their eyes, there is not enuf manpower and he is aware of it! So ya. I'm very fortunate to have the specs tat I have in my GOH Shift. They are really good sgts. Not only us say tat the GOH sgts very good. Even the other shifts (who are not in GOH) actually praised my shift's sgts saying tat among all the shifts, the GOH shift sgts are actually the best becos they really take care of their men (which is us) very well, be it welfare or helping them in their daily work (be it duty or fatigue work!).

15/04/06 (Saturday)

Duty this morning was a bit xiong. Firstbly becos after 5 hrs of undisturbed sleep (ie, frm 0100-0500), I had to do flag raising. Just as I wa splanning to wake up at 0800 to do up the floor (becos I'm the floor IC), one of the sgt woke me up at 0650 and told me tat I have to do Table duty frm 0700 till dismounting.

Of course, I had mixed feelings; I was happy becos I get to do table duty (I dun koe why I juz like to do table duty! My friend said I shld juz sign on S1 branch, which is a branch in army who is in charge of admin matters!) and also somewhat skip from doing the "floor", becos I dun really like to clear up the toilet! Ha. But the sad thing was I can't really sleep another hour. So ya.. guess we can't have the best of both worlds, can't we?

Anyway, juz as I happy-go-lucky and thought everything was fine and dandy, my sgt pyed over and said I was to clear the table duty site rubbish as there is no floor IC. I was like WTH! But anyway, since they are so good, I will be like "ok ok lah!".. My philosophy is simple; if you are good to me, I wld do likewise as wekk! But thank goodness there is my assistant, Weiming. I asked him to help me with my floor and he did lah! So ya. All thanks to him or else, you wld see me slog my guts out! =)

After dismounted frm duty, went home and share cab with Boon Sen, becos not very early liaox. Ate lunch and watched a bit of taped programmes, before I'm here and now in front of the com blogging loh!

Having a long weekend this week, but the sad thing is tat I have to go back to camp tml nite (Sun 16/04) becos I gor rejearsal on Mon (17/04).. haix.. But better than nothing lah.. got quite a long weekend. Good enuf lohz! =)

Ok lah.. enuf of crap.. need to bathe and go to church. Yippie! This is actually a miracle! I was not supposed to go to church today becos of duty, but becos of some changes in rehearsal schedules, I'm ahppy to announce tat today I wld be able to go to church! Yippie! =).. Shall blog more either tonite or tml abt my weekend happenings lah! =)

Got to run..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 186 DAYS to ORD!!

Weekend here I come,
<<< abriel >>>

Rehearsals!

Well.. didnt bk out yesterday becos I didnt find any pt to bk out, becos had to be at camp 2230 the same nite.. so in the end, I went out with some of my bunk friends to Northpoint to spend our nite away.. We went to and fro by cab (becos 4 ppl share so cheaper!).. Had BK for dinner and then we walk walk the area.. We went to Arcade to pass our time loh.. you may ask wat time? We aim to only come back camp after 8pm, so as to miss the $1 peak hour surcharge.. cheapo rite? hahaha.. btw, if u did not know, the $1 peak hour surcharge applies at the time of boarding frm 5pm-8pm frm mon-sat.

Anyway, went to Cold Storage supermarket to buy some instant noodles b4 I went back to camp lah.. so bk in at abt 2030 (with cab of course) and then went back bunk.. ate a bit of supper.. bathe and then sleep lohz!!

This morning woke up at 0630 for getting ready to go for GOH rehearsals at Changi Air Base.

Rehearsals was ok.. but I guess the most happy thing of my drill today is seeing my sec sch friend, Zijing, who is in Tengnah! Its a long time since we chatted lah! Wanted to chat with him today at drill, but cldnt find the opportunity to.. even when I am free (ie, not talking to my friends), he's toking to his friends.. so didnt want to disturb him loh!! Man.. think we have a lot to catch up loh =).. but nvm.. who koes after sizing, both of our position wld be close to each other (becos both of us is abt the same height), and then we can chat until we dun want to chat.. ha.. so hope this can be the case lah!!

Today's rehearsals is actually quite different.. becos this yr's NDP and SAF Day, we wld be using SAR21 Rifle.. so the drill and standards are different.. but becos today we have not had the SAR21 yet, therefore, we use our M16 Rifle for the familiarisation!! It is quite difficult in the sense tat the rifle is longer and ilghter than the SAR21.. so again, we need to really get used to SAR21 when we are issued our SAR21 tml!!

Tml suppose to have rehearsal as well, but then tml we have to go for SAR21 Technical Handling Test (which is a MUST, becos its a SAF Rule tat to handle another type of weapon; be it to fire or to handle, we have to go for the test and pass it!! So ya.. so handle another weapon is not as easy as u think loh! Not like u want to anyhow play play another weapon also can.. so ya..

Ok lah.. gtg liaox.. surf a bit more and then have dinner! Bking in like at 2230 tonite.. For dinner, mum cooking bak ku teh!! =)

Hving P1 tml and Friday doing duty.. so I think I will blog on Saturday!! So till then, cya!! =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 189 DAYS to ORD!!

Rehearsals, rehearsals and more rehearsals,
<<< abriel >>>

Updates..

Well.. if you readers had read my blogpost yesterday, u wld have noticed tat I have a number of spelling errors or something tat doesnt make any sense. This is becos I was half asleep whilst typing the blog!! Yes! I was tat sleepy! So now its more or less being updated liaox, so read it lah.. it shld sound logical liaox! =)

Anyway, today went to camp with like "half dead eyes".. ha.. In the morning, we had this ongoing project discussion for my squadron's upcoming roadshow.. And this is like every standby day we do.. sianx ah.. Machiam like doing my poly's FYP!! Haix..

Went to eat breakfast after tat.. was told by my sgt tat we had fatigue work but only start at 1330, but in the end, it started at 1300! It was impromptu lah!! When we went there, we then koe tat we had to clean up the WHOLE guardroom.. Make every area spick and span!! And this is indeed a very difficult task! Another guy and me was assigned 2 rooms (which were air-conditioned).. Even though both are in close environment, but then again, there are surprisingly dust balls and they are not those small ones loh.. its those thick and big ones! Cleaned also the window frame slots MANUALLY and it was somewhat dust and sand free! Spend 15 mins juz to clean the stupid frame slots!! I was thinking tat a building inspection is coming up in my camp again, so tats why there is this mass cleaning thing.. but when I ask Sidney, he said "no".. so guess my OC wants my shift to do something during our standby! He didn't want us to juz rest in bunk.. haix.. wat to do? I have a super garang OC! haix..

Came home.. share cab with boon sen.. he lah.. kept psycho me to take cab! Anyway, it was like going to rain.. so muz as well.. but in the end, it did not rain.. haix..

Watched taped programme.. had dinner and then on computer and do my usual stuff.. Then at nite, help my dad settle some internet banking issue and then back to my own stuff loh.. watched a bit of the 9pm show before coming back to com and blog and stuff..

Oh.. ate a lot of things during the 9pm hour! I ate 6 pcs of D24 Durian Puffs (*gulpz* but yummy!!) bought frm Emicakes! My dad bought it!!.. Abt 1/4 bag of Sea Salt & Vinegar Kettle Potato chips (compliments of Carlise) and a bowl of green bean soup dessert made by my mum!

Then back to com and blog loh.. help my church friend in her project work (haix.. wonder wat the sch teach these kids! The topic given to her is like machiam like some marketing project!).. Man! I need to rack my brains! Haix.. Brain rusty loh! Out of 4 suggestions, she has already had 3! So thank goodness the 4th one I gave her, it was of some use and she never tot of it! So I guess my mind is still working after all huh? =)

ok lah.. gtg liaox.. tml got the stupid flight run conducted by my OC.. I simply dun understand why only when GOH shift (which is my shift) is on standby, we will have flight run? Dun other shift need to keep fit too? Why muz GOH be the only one tat need to do the flight run? Becos its like sway sway when we standby, always have flight run.. the other shift standby dun have such things! So I was thinking, since GOH always run, shldnt it be called GOH Shift run rather than flight run? haix.. Or is GOH shift tat sway? I dun koe.. I juz dun understand why! Can someone explain to me? arghh.. juz thinking of it makes me angry lah..

People, I got bad news.. I may not be home/online until Saturday morning.. becos its either like if I had rehearsals/mounting the next day, then most probably I wld need to bk in the day before at 2230! Anyway, here is my schedule for this wk..

Tuesday (11/4) - Standby (but depending on the rehearsal timing on wed (12/4), may have to bk in 2230!

Wednesday (12/4) - GOH Rehearsal.

Thursday (13/4) - GOH Rehearsal.

Friday (14/4) - Mounting.

Saturday (15/4) - Dismounting.

Sunday (16/4) - Off.

ok lah.. really need to go log off and sleep liaox! =).. oh.. btw, as I blog this blogpost, I'm listening to Yes 93.3FM and they are playing a lot of those Campus Superstar competition songs! Yeh!! =).. so happy!! =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 191 DAYS to ORD!!

Complain king,
<<< abriel >>>

Boosting Singapore's Economy!

Well.. you all have heard wat the term, "boosting Singapore's economy" means.. For those of you who do not koe, it simply means shopping! Yes ppl! I have indulged again!! So ya.. Here's the breakdown of things..

Dismounted duty today.. Duty was not too bad.. It was tiring but enjoyable, simply becos' I get to do duty with my P1 group (ie, my P1 group all stay in Main Guardroom).. It was fun! Tiring is becos though my duty was only 8 hrs (but most of them got 6 hr duty! I was quite sway in a sense lah!), but it was Toranto Guardroom duty which I can't sleep well! So ya.. I had also a dismounting duty but thank goodness it was Table duty.. so I practically settle all the admin issues for my shift before they dismount and also clear up the place a bit! Gosh! It was like a total junk when I step into the place lah.. but after 15 mins of self-initiated cleaning, it certainly looks much better and neater.. Had a lot of satisfaction lah =)

The PC tat mounted duty with us was none other than my ex-PC, 2LT Ivan.. whom we believe tat his last duty was today before he cleared leave and ORD! So ya.. we gave him a "present" lah after we dismounted.. it was certainly great fun and during the process, laughter were much generated! So fun.. *sadist mode suddenly on!*

Anyway, when I was off duty yesterday nite, my bro, Andrew, msg me whether I wanted to go out and accompany him in buying his entire wardrobe (which consists of jeans, bag, shoes and shirt!).. 1 each!! I agreed immediately lah, becos dun u all koe I LOVE shopping? Even if its juz for advice, how fun izzit to see ppl actually heed ur advice and be known as the shopping and fashion consultant/guru! Ha.. =P.. I certainly enjoyed it.. do you?

Anyway, after dismounting frm duty today, came home.. had a quick lunch, bathe and then I was out of the hse and proceed to Far East to meet my bro, Andrew.. I actually told him 2 hrs earlier, tat we shld push back the mtg time to another 30 mins.. but in the end, I was late for 15 mins, becos last minute had a bad stomachache!

Met up with Andrew and we proceeded our shopping journey with the shopping for Andrew's shoes and jeans.. Cldnt find suitable shoes nor jeans.. We were at Level 1 of Far East and then Andrew told me tat there is this dessert which ppl queue up juz to eat it.. and its called "Fried Mars Bars".

To test out my Nokia 6280's 2 megapixel camera, I decided to whip it out and take a photo of this particular dessert called, "Fried Mars Bars". The photo quality not bad huh? All thanx to my bro, Andrew, who actually volunteered his hand to be taken photo of, as there is simply no stand for me to take photo loh! Anyway, this is bought frm a shop called "Chicky" which is actually a british food take-away shop! In other words, the things they serve there are all London-based! So ya.. So you can say this is an English dessert lah!

I can roughly guess how they did this! They first cut up the Mars bars into pieces and then, its coated with tapoica flour and rolled until like a ball, and deep fried in hot oil! We've got a choice as to whether we want Vanilla/Chocolate ice cream to go with it.. And my bro, Andrew, and my taste were exactly the same! We both ordered vanilla ice cream.. oh.. did I mention tat it is drizzled with a generous serving of hershey's chocolate syrup? Yummy but sinful!
*Nat, if you are reading this, Andrew told me all abt you being not able to indulge in such sinful food for a long time, since u are in kayaking! =P

Only found his bag which is quite nice and has a reasonable price too ($25.90).. so ya.. 'Zinc' brand lah! What do you expect? =)...

Then we went into another shop and then the salesperson was too comfort for a liking. She kept like persuading Andrew to buy the jeans.. At first she was very enthu, but after a while, Andrew was a bit fussy.. so I think she got a bit lazy, and juz threw him one lah.. and then he started to try and he didnt like it; which I dun also ! And ppl, the jeans are like the one tat he liked among the rest was $89.. but then after trying, he didnt like it! So I told him tat he can come out a bit more (in terms of cash!) and he can get a Levi's instead! He agreed too!

Our last resort was at Levi's @ Isetan. I told wat Andrew wanted and true enuf, he got wat he wanted! Thank goodness! And of course, it was somewhat under my influence tat he bought a Levi's lah! =0)

Proceeded to Starbucks for tea break.. WTH! Starbucks didnt have my rhumba frap; their reason was "new drink coming up!" So I didnt drink coffee.. I drank Venti sized "Earl Grey with vanila syrup".. not bad I muz say!

Then we continued our joruney, becos Andrew cld not decide on which shoe to buy.. so ya..

Then we proceeded to Cineleisure to see see look look.. then I remember a shop called "NewUrbanMale.com"..

oh man! I always wanted one NewUrbanMale.com tee! Though expensive, but depend on different series (tat is updated almost every mth!) mah!.. Most of the words printed on the tshirts are very provocative! What I bought was one of the decent ones liaox.. So see the pic on the left for more info lah =).. btw, New Urban Male (NUM)costs me $39.90 (a bit expensive but worth it loh!).. So I manage to buy it to satisfy my urge =).. so ya.. so now I so happy tat I got a NUM T-shirt liaox! Pls. do not see the person wearing tat shirt! Tat perosn is NOT me! I dun have such big muscles! Ha.. Anyway, how do u all find the Tshirt? Tell me abt it in my Shoutbox ya =)

Then after I bought the NUM Tshirt, I went over to HMV and got myself a "Essential Kenny G CD!".. Always wanted to get since its out, therefore, I decide to buy it lah! =D.. Its a superb CD loh!! =)..

If you like Kenny G, go get it frm HMV @ $24.95! So ya.. All other music stores tat I frequent are all out of stock.. only HMV is strong loh!

Well.. came home today and do the necessary stuff b4 I blogged..

Now need to sleep liaox, becos going back to camp later so ya.. Sianz..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 192 DAYS to ORD!!

The shopping guru,
<<< abriel >>>

It is so hard...

Now I koe why I feel the way I'm feeling this whole day! In the afternoon/evening, I actually considered whether shld I attend cell tonite.. Thoughts have been placed in my head, telling me tat lazy to wake up so early in the morning, accompany my friends in camp.. I tell you.. I almost wanted to give in to the thoughts being placed in my head by the Evil One..

When I came home and cell started, I played the piano and then the worship was Spirit-led. The song that really touched me the most was "All We Like Sheep".. The lyrics are as follows:

All we like sheep have gone astray
Each of us turning our own separate way
We have all sinned and fallen short of Your glory
But Your glory is what we desire to see
And in Your presence is where we long to be

O Lord show us
Your mercy and grace
Take us to Your holy place
Forgive our sin and heal our land
We long to live in Your presence
Once again

Then Carlise prayed and she talked about being hurt and stuff! And it somehow struck a chord in me lah. Was blogging earlier abt tat guy which hurt me and I didn't forgive.. So the Holy Spirit actually worked within me and convicted me to forgive tat guy! Its hard but then, somehow I juz submitted this whole issue to the Holy Spirit and it didnt hurt as much liaox! Before I went offline for cell, I also ask my bro, Andrew, to advice me on the issue. However, guess God wants to be first, so he asked the Holy Spirit to reply me loh! =)

Then Carlise was also advicing and telling me tat its a matter of time tat I wld be a Worship Leader in OCC Youth and she also told me tat being a worship leader muz be Spirit-led and not for juz our own or the congregation's pleasure; it is NOT a concert!! There are many a thousand things tat she has told me but I 'm lazy to blog it down =P.. But it was certainly very shocking tat God has given me such a message for being a future worship leader! At this time of writing this blogpost, I'm still fumbled by the fact tat God has given me such a message!

However, with my Short Term Memory (STM), I wld sure forget about what Carlise has said but I'm sure when the time comes, it will naturally come back to me.. so neverhteless, thank you Carlise for the Word! You are greatly appreciated =)

And becos of this, again, it has reminded me of my past dream, where a few mths after I've dreamt tat dream, the role of being a worship leader was then being assigned to me; which was quite shocking at first! So I guess once the dream appears again, God would be trying to tell me something thru the dream! So ya.. so have to wait till then loh!! But it wld definately be very exciting to see what happens if tat dream comes back to me again!

So ya.. to prevent me frm forgetting what are my thoughts abt this whole cell session tonite, I actually write this blogpost on paper during cell facilitation. I got STM! What to do? haix..

God in whom I trust,
<<< abriel >>>

I'm back!

Well.. a quick update before I log off for cell later at my hse..

Today did not do P1, becos the guy whom I did P1 for last tues, do for me today.. so ya..

Today did the usual stuff at camp loh.. At first I thought I can skip fatigue work, but never did I expect tat I actually have to do it somehow.. haix.. so ya..

Most of the time today in my bunk, I was alone.. becos its either they are mounting/dismounting/P1 which went down for duty.. so had a lot of alone time in bunk.. And as usual, besides the usual undisturbed rest I have, I've been feeling a sense of loneliness.. I dun koe why.. But I think its becos of my usual clique (which happens to be my P1 grp too!) is not here.. Usually in bunk, I wld take them for 'granted' but when they are not here, I feel this sense of loneliness..

Not only today do I feel this way!! The past P1 grp which I was in was also like tat.. I seemed to be ok with them, but actually, I can't really click well and was juz like going with the flow.. Unlike with my grp, I can speak and express myself more with my P1 grp.. If u notice me carefully, if you put me with another P1 grp, u wld see me like a bit quiet and like draw myself a line between the ppl in the grp and myself.. but when its my P1 grp, you wld see a different ME!

And of course, as days goes by in GOH Shift, I can start to see those who really have a attitude which I didnt like and also, I start to see the true colours of some ppl which I did not see in the past! Man.. this is scary! As much as possible, I wld try to stay away frm these ppl becos if I associate with them any further, I tell you, I wld like 'blow up' one day and start scolding ppl! I dun want to do tat!! Tat wld be an ugly sight!

In fact, in my mind now, I can immediately think of a person's name who really has an attitude problem (will not disclose his name as usual!), but his actions/attitude towards the shift and to some ppl is really bad! Of course, I wld try as much as not to think or care abt it, but then again, who doesn't remembers bad things? Its very hard to forgive ya koe, becos he is starting to hurt me emotionally (I dun koe whether did he koe abt this or did he meant it as a joke? If its suppose to be a joke, I'm quite sure its without him knowing! and with a sharp tongue like his, I'm sure he did it on purpose! I remember when I did gate duty with him last wk, the whole 4 hrs of duty was quite quiet!! I think if u add up to our conversations, it wld only amt to 5 mins!)

When I first saw the detailing tat my duty was with him, I was like thinking to myself, 'die die.. sure nothing to talk!'.. but I decide to banish tat thought and give it a try.. now ah (after doing duty with him last wk), I really think tat there is nothing between us to talk.. becos' even if I try to initate the talking, he wld sometimes juz brush me off or juz keep quiet.. like tat I koe he not interested! And also, sometimes I wld not want to talk to him, becos if he does not feel like talking and I talk to him, watever I talk, he wld like "shoot" back at me, and then as a result, say some hurting words.. so I'm really worried one day if I really cannot take it, wat will happen between him and me? Will we quarrel? Will we fight? Arghh.. dun want to think of the future! Juz hope my sgt doesn't put us together again during duty.. *keeping my fingers cross*..

Anyway, enuf abt him liaox!!

Its weird lah! I suddenly feel so good after blogging abt this!! I think I vented my anger lahx on this blog! So ya.. Guess this helps! =).. now dun feel so bad and angry liaox! Before I blog abt this, I was like super angry and was finding someone to tell it with! So ya.. Now, I tell it to you readers (who koes how many ppl rite now is reading my blog! haha..), I feel so much better! =)

Actually didnt want to come home today but then my aunty is coming to my hse for dinner tonite, so at least have to show face a bit lah, becos she seldom visits my hse mah..

So ya.. then now I blog loh!! so ya.. Listening to some really nice mp3s..

ok lah.. need to go offline soon liaox.. if u are fortunate enuf, u wld see me login after cell loh.. but dun koe I'll be able to have the strength to go online or not lah.. so ya.. =)

Again, I'm Campus Superstar crazy.. haha.. I'm a fanatic!! =)

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 194 DAYS to ORD!!

Mandopop rox,
<<< abriel >>>

Updates..

Well ppl.. I'm back! Well, as usual, quite a fair bit to blog.. so juz relax to the music whilst u read ya..

04/04/06 (Tuesday)

Was supposed to like not bk out, but then this shift mate of mine called me up like 2200 on mon (03/04) and asked me whether I cld like take over his P1 for the next day (04/04- Tuesday), becos he is sick and needs to report sick the next day. When I first heard tat, I was like quite stun in the beginning.. I was thinking to myself, "why inform me now? Cant he like did it earlier in the day or sumthing?".. I actually did not mind doing P1 on that day, becos I dun bk out mah.. but then, wat really blew me off was the last minute thingy lah! Of course, I wld have a much higher say as to whether I want to take up the offer.. However, thank God I was kind enough to do so.. But then again, I ask him to confirm with the sgt as to whether do I really need to take over the P1, or else, suddenly they tell me say dun need and then I do, then they tell me tat I did for nothing and the person cannot replace me.. like tat, I like do for free loh.. like this cannot lah!! Not say I very fussy or anything.. its juz ethics issue.. so ya..

Anyway, I ask the person to get back to me as soon as he called the sgt.. However, I wait and wait and wait.. and still did not get any reply.. so I juz take it as I do not need to do P1..

Then juz tat morning (tues 4/4), I received an SMS frm him tat he wanted me to do P1.. I was like WTH! I immediately called him back to clarify.. After much asking, he told me said tat the sgt never said anything but he volunteered to exchange P1.. I was like again WTH! Gosh! How stupid can these ppl be? Pardon me for my language in this blog becos am quite "hot" abt blogging this P1! Anyway, so ya.. My sgt never say anything abt replacing and he and his big mouth offer.. haix.. so do I have a choice? Apparently no.. then I ask him to call sgt immediately to ask him whether I still need to do P1 after he sent the SMS.. To cut the long story short, I actually helped him to call sgt becos he said he will call later and other stuff after he got his status frm the polyclinic tat very morning.... Gosh! He made me wait.. I was so impatient tat I offered to help call my sgt for him.. My sgt after confirm the person's status, then told me tat I was P1.. So I have no choice but to help do the P1.

Then its like the mounting strength for tat day is not enuf.. so guess wat! My WHOLE shift has to go down and help in staggered timings.. haix.. then becos I kenna P1 for tt day, have to go down and help mount frm 1700-1900.. and becos its my ex-PC, given his character and being so long in his shift, I roughly wld guess tat he wld practice contingency drills with us.. true enuf, at 1830, he started his normal contingency drill routine.. haix.. no choice but to carry out the drill.. SIANX!!

Initially, I tot tat the P1 I did was good becos dun need to attend CO Parade the nxt day (wed - 05/04), but then my ex PC said he dun need us.. he wld let the sgt do the duty.. I was like shocked for a moment.. how come suddenly so good? But even though its good, its not a good idea for the P1 ppl, becos its like have to go back bunk at abt 1930 and then kiwi boots and take out the smartest 4 (and iron if necessary!).. so its like after mount duty and run drill, we still need to do all these stuff.. haix.. super SIANX!!

05/04/06 (Wednesday)

So this very day, we attend CO Parade first and then we mounted duty.. CO Parade was kinda long.. My CO had a lot to say so ya.. had to stand for quite long loh.. but then we ppl of GOH used to it liaox.. so ya..

But wat shocked me was tat my CO said he understands the low manning power down at guardroom, but he and his management are trying to do something abt it (we can dream on abt having new ppl becos they are all posted out to other airbases already.. so no more for us!).. so in the meantime, he request the understanding and cooperation frm us.. So like this, wat can we do? We cant complain or anything like tat.. complain also no use.. my CO is the biggest boss ard in my squadron.. what can we do? N.O.T.H.I.N.G!! Nothing!! So we juz have to bare with it until the new batch of ppl come to help mount duty in Sept.. but by the time they come, I shld be almost trying to clear leave liaox and get ready to ORD.. haix.. Thank goodness I'm in GOH Shift, or else, I wld juz die lah in shift work! =D

Duty was all rite.. Had more than enuf rest.. all thanx to the sgt who planned my detailing.. but I'm worried for my nxt detailing though.. dun koe how it wld be like! Well.. I juz have to wait and see loh!!

My worst time of my duty was actually the dinner part! I got nearly knocked down by the day driver becos of some miscommunication (I think!). Tats not the worst! I
actually toppled 15 pkts of dinner when unloading off the rover at guardroom! What happen was it was raining heavily.. so naturally I wld try to make myself less wet as possible! But then, the first box I took off the rover was ok becos it has lesser bxes of rations.. the nxt box I took has a full box of rations.. so ya.. Then the lighter box I took out liaox.. only left the heavier box.. but sumhow I like lose balance.. manage to stable myself but the dinner box cannot make it.. I actually toppled it.. so dinner actually started to fall out.. I was like cursing and swearing at tat moment lah.. I felt like a complete idiot at tat moment! Went to restroom and took out the necessary stuff and clear.. Of course, one of my fellow RPs, Thinesh, help me to pick up the toppled dinner.. thanx ah Thinni! =).. my sgt also helped me, in a sense tat both of us were like clearing up the mess under the heavy rain.. so in the end, I was soaking wet frm head to toe.. After I cleared up the mess, I went to do duty at Main Gate (which I was 40 mins late, becos I need to sent dinner mahz.. Duty starts at 1700, but at cookhouse, 1700 then they start packing.. so after I clear up and everything and took over, it is abt 1740 liaox.. so ya.. Of course, with my wet clothing, I was expecting to like catch a cold but until now (ie, the time when I write my blog), I'm still as fit as a bull! =)

06/04/06 (Thursday)

Just before dismounting, my sgt told me tat we need as a big grp to be involved in my squadron roadshow nxt mth.. so we have to do some presentation work.. and I heard frm my officer tat my CO wants it to be impressive! Such high expectations huh? I dun even koe whether can we lift up to his expectations? After cannot meet, sure kenna scolding.. haix.. so I sometimes wonder are we juz needed to do our duty (which is to ensure the security of the base) or do we need to do other fatigue stuff like presentation? haix.. wat is the world coming to? Why muz we guys multitask like nobody's business? haix.. Guess its our national duty to perform 2 yrs of national service.. so whether this 2 yrs wld be lucky or really horrible, it all depends on ur unit but more importantly, ourselves! If we are not happy, no matter how good or welfare the unit is, we wld still not be happy! *profound huh!*

Came home today with Nasi Padang for lunch.. It was fantastic I tell you! Its been a long while since I ate Malay food! Halal food rox man! ha =)

Watched the taped program (Campus Superstar Appreciation and Thanksgiving show!.. If you did not koe, I'm actually a Campus Superstar fan! So u betcha ur every dollar tat I caught all episodes of Campus Superstar! If I cld not watch it, I wld tape it! So ya.. And becos of Campus Superstar, my love for Mandopop has returned! In fact, I'm planning to buy one of the Mandopop CDs soon! See how my budget lah!..) slept for abt 2 hrs for afternoon nap before proceeding to Toa Payoh to run some errands and also when I go there, how cld I forget the rojak? So ya.. bought and ate it for dinner! Super shiok!

Passed by Giordano.. tempted to buy a Polo Tshirt.. but then decided not to loh.. quite ex.. $26 before 15% discount (I member mah, so got 15% discount!).. anyway, shall think abt it loh.. now, I'm also like want to buy a 512mb MiniSD card for my Nokia 6280.. but see how lah.. I want to weigh my priorities.. Maybe when my payday comes, I wld buy a Pony sneakers first (always wanted to have one! It only costs $50, compare to Converse which can easily costs up to $80-$90).. so ya.. see how lah..

Came home, ate dinner and watch a bit of TV, b4 again to computer and blog, back-up stuff on CDs and then configure and play ard with my Nokia 6280 for quite a while.. now, its more or less ok liaox!

As to tml whether I'm coming home, I dun koe.. so ya.. so if u see me online, then I'm at home loh.. and whether I blog is another matter! Ha.. see if I lazy or not loh!

Ok lah.. its late liaox.. oopss.. now is like 1230 liaox.. need to sleep.. waking up in 5 hrs time to go back to camp.. haix..

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 195 DAYS to ORD!!

Campus Superstar rox,
<<< abriel >>>

Dream fulfilled!

Well.. this is a blog of a few days, so naturally it wld be quite long.. so bare with me ya? =)

Saturday (01/04/06)

Went to church loh after I blogged my last update.. Had lunch before going of course. Reached church and had music practioce (Carlise led worship). Youth service was not bad. Worship was definately Spirit led. The congregation was amazing. Suddenly those ppl which you see tat dun come so often to church, suddenly appeared in Service. Hmm.. wonder whether s it becos of Tjow's birthday so tats why they appear? Hmm..

After service, sang Birthday Song for the April babies (Ryan, Yap & Tjow). As usual, ate the Oreo ice cream birthday cake bought by Joyce. It was sinful but yummy! Thank you Joyce.

Went to Marche, Heeren to celebrate Tjow's bday. Waited for abt 20 mins before we were seated becos of the large group of us (20 to be exact!) and the Saturday dinner crowd. So whilst waiting, I talk to Rachel (Nat's sis) and realised tat she is also participating in this yr's NDP Parade in the Girls' Bridage Contingent. So ya.. Guess I wld see some familar faces this yr! Last yr was Xinyi & Josh Gouw.. This yr is Rachel. How exciting. Ha..

Once we are seated, I went to order food and ate the usual; Rosti with Garlic Pork Sausage & Ginger Beer. Coincidentally, Alvin also ate the same thing and we both agreed tat this is our standard menu when come to Marche..

Carlise ordered half pork knuckle and I muz say tat thought it is super fatty and sinful, but its superbly delicious. The skin of the pork knuckle is crispy on the outside whilst the meat underneath the skin remains moist and flavourful. Man! I'm drooling already! It is complimented with a serving of Pickled Salad (commonly known as Archa) to give tat not-so-jalat feel. YOu shld try it someday!

Wanted to eat dessert but then when I saw the price, it is super expensive. 1 scoop of ice cream can cost u $3.00! Expensive rite?

After almost everyone is done with the meal, the ppl in Marche brought out another cake to celebrate Tjow's birthday (but of course this cake was bought by us lah!). Of course, it is a norm to sing the birthday song, and nevertheless, we did. Under someone's suggestion, we sang the birthday song real loud and I really mean loud.. Can see Tjow super embarassed loh! After the whole thing, Ryan did a funny thing with Tjow's hands. Ryan practically raised Tjow's hands like a monkey lah! Well.. see below for the video to see wat I mean..



Its super funny lah! An oh.. the best thing? After we finished singing the song, some ppl in Marche actually cheered with wolf whistles lah!! So sporting hor.. but Tjow muz be feeling super embarassed on the other hand. Ha.. After which, he told me tat he knows how I felt last wk when they celebrated my birthday at Starbucks. But thank goodness tat Starbucks is in a small scale whereas Marche is big. Ha.. =)

Went home quite early becos thinking tat I got duty the next day, have to go home and rest early lah! Took the train with Nat & his sis, Rachel to Somerset before changing to NEL @ Douby Ghaut; all under the request of Nat lah! So ya.. we chatted along the way, but the goodbye was a bit hard. Becos of my GOH shift doing duty on Saturday, therefore for the rest of Saturdays in April, I wont be attending church. So naturally, I wld miss all my friends (esp my brothers: Nat, Ash & Andrew). At Marche, everyone (esp. Ash) was like "ok.. cya nxt wk".. Then I had to tell him tat I wld not be in church for the rest of April. I told him tat I felt quite sad actually, and he was so sweet. He said not necessary in church we can meet up. We cld meet like outside on weekdays. Thanx bro! Your tots are much appreciated! =)

Anyway, by the time I reached home, its abt 2300 liaox.. So actually not much of a difference rite? Bathe and then sleep!

Sunday (02/04/06)

Woke up this morning at 0530 as usual. Had breakfast and then left home.. As usual, I reached my camp gate at abt 0700 and had to walk up abt 2 km to my bunk.. So I took a slow walk and my phone was playing the International Channel 96.3FM, so the songs are like those New Age & jazz, but it was very soothing.. And as I heard the music, tots of missing my brothers in church and not seeing them for 3 wks, juz aches my heart lah! I dun koe whether are we really tat close bonding already or am I juz really sensitive and exuberate a type of meotion? I really dun koe.. But I guess I'm bvery sensitive in my feelings and emotions.. So ya..

Duty was all right on this day in camp (wat cld be happening with 2LT Sean mounted with us rite?).. Initially had a very shiong duty (which states tat at 2100, I dun need to sleep liaox) becos 7 ppl were either leave/off, so naturally with so many ppl taking leave/off, we will suffer becos of the shortage of manpower. But then thankfully enuf, my sgt actually forgot to include 1 more person in the detailing, so therefore, tat reduces some hrs frm us lah! Thank God! So in the end, my duty was cut down by 2 hrs and I had a reasonable time of sleeping, though the timing of sleep is horrible but compare with the previous, the changed one is much much better!

Had drill at abt 1930.. It was a surprise lah! Did 2 times somemore! The first time we did we were like not really sure, so actually we were laughing at some parts.. But the second time we did, we were garang! So ya..

Monday (03/04/06)

After dismounting, went to Ang Mo Kio and cut hair for Wednesday's CO Parade.. haix.. if there was no Parade on Wednesday, then I wld only cut when I got my pay. But anyway, after cut hair, I went home and then bathe and had lunch. After tat proceed over to M1 Shop (at bus).. After which, went to Bugis Junction to get my new dream phone, Nokia 6280! Man! Wasn't tat exciting? I've been thiking of it all wkend (during and off duty)! I even called M1 Shop daily to check the stockes, so as to ensure tat I get my dream phone on Monday.

When I reached there, the freebies that initially they told me the souvenirs of an NS-men were presnt! So to cut the long story short, the freebies are a bluetooth headset and a Sansobnite duffel bag/$60 Samsonite voucher!

Everywhere I went, I was happily looking and admire my Nokia 6280.. so ya.. and also configure a few stuff before charging it.. so ya..

Ok lah.. I'm super sleepy liaox.. Im now like typing uttering nonsense.. so ya..

I better end my blog now.. super tired and eyes closing..

Oh.. not bkin out tml becos Wednesday mounting.. so ya.. so guess I'll cya guys abt in 2 days time -:)

Oh.. for photos of celebration, pls go to Photo Gallery > Church (OCC/HCC/GJ) Events > Tjow's 28th Birthday Celebration Photos

** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 198 DAYS to ORD!!

Ciaoz,
<<< abriel >>>

April's Fool!

Hey ppl.. Do you believe it? I juz had my FIRST April's Food joke being played on me.. ONLINE somemore.. All thanx to my bro, Andrew, and the oh so lovely, Xinyi! Gosh! They made this whole episode sound so real! This was really unexpected! I was thinking last nite before 12 midnight tat I muz be very weary of pranks being played at Youth today.. becos confirm ppl wld trick me since its April's Fools! And I was like really didnt think of it until this morning.. Bro bro, juz u wait!! *evil grinz*

Anyway, juz a brief account of how both of them trick me..

Andrew & Xinyi added me into their grp MSN conversation chat.. and the story goes tat Andrew told me tat Xinyi was in hospital and in a critical condition somemore.. so the conversation went on, and at times, I was a bit "zhei ah" (which means very sarcastic, which I didnt think so btw!), in saying tat Xinyi wld be feeling like a queen since she wld be served everything on the hospital bed! But its true.. tats wat a lot of ppl tell me when they are in hospitals! So I was right actually loh! =)

Xinyi made it even more real tat she called me to hold while she's having her medicine and she said the medicine was horrible and stuff.. She also said she's called her mum and she was worried sick! And you can see how real was tat?

As Xinyi was about to log off, Andrew & Xinyi wished me "Happy April's Fool"!! I was stunned at first becos thought they wished me out of courtesy.. then I blur blur still say "like tat, I muz be weary of Andrew when I'm at church today, becos I dun koe wat tricks he has up to his sleeves!".. so ya.. later then I realised tat it was a April Fool's joke! Gosh! See how innocent am I to get tricked? =)

After tat, I asked Andrew how long did they plan for this.. and Andrew told me tat its 3 minutes before they started the conversation.

Well.. nevertheless, thanx 4 putting a smile on my face this morning! Though it was a bit cruel, but then again, I still appreciate it!

So for you readers out there, HAPPY APRIL'S FOOLS! Be weary! Be very weary.. hahax..

Just for laughs, see this.. confirm guarantee very funny.. =).. I laugh until I stomachpain! So ya.. view this..



** I'm still counting down the days LEFT to serve.. its 200 DAYS to ORD!!

An innocent kid,
<<< abriel >>>



*Gosh.. in today's Straits Times, I saw one incredible deal of my dream phone, Nokia 6280! It has dropped its price tremendously (after trade in my Nokia 6230, I only pay $338 instead of the hefty price of $598 when I asked last week!) and the trade in category for another shop is even more attractive! Man.. I think I wld get tempted to change my phone very soon, becos' I'm afraid tat the promotion wld be gone after nxt wk lah! So now I'm at the crossroads! Do you all think its a good offer to take up or shld I juz wait somemore for the price to drop? Becos for a fact, I think M1's trend is always dropping price each wk.. so how?.. anyway, you readers out there, above is the pic for my dream phone, Nokia 6280.. drool ppl.. drool.. haha.. Click here for features..