The Campus Hub

What is in a name? Frankly, a lot. A name is like the title and introduction of an organisation or a person. Think Tan Ah Kow vs Andronicus Edward Zimmer. A few posts ago, I mentioned that the YAF combined with the PUNJ from ARPC would be setting up a new university outreach group. And here is its name: The Campus Hub.

The idea came from Prof Ho who said that people who will be using it in the future don't need to say, "Let's go to for Uni Fellowship." But rather, "Let's go to the Hub." At first it sounded quite ordinary but after a while it seemed the best of the other names that it might have had.

The whole plan will be unveiled to the church in less than 3 weeks time and I'm personally quite excited to see what's in store for us, the "pioneers" and for the uni members. I excited to see if it all works out just like it was supposed to. Just imagine...

Friday night and class had just ended. I gathered my best mates and we walked across the street to Plaza Singapure for dinner at Yosi. I really love their beef bowl. After having our dill, we headed over to the Hub. After last week, I was really looking forward to worship. The band was really cool and the music was awesome. All Christian rock songs that you would normally hear in a Charismatic church or on a Planetshakers album. To tell you the truth, I really didn't expect to hear these songs there 'cause I had this idea that Presbyterians were those ultra-conservative types which will only sing hymns and stuff. Guess I was wrong. Oops, it's almost 7:30. Hubbing is starting soon. Gotta d/c from the church's wireless network now. I'll blog later when I get home. Till then, may the Hub be with you.

... Yeah. Just imagine the infiite possibilities. Ok. It's my turn to d/c. Night!

A big-city California lawyer went duck hunting in rural Mississippi.
He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.
The attorney responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going into retrieve it."
The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the US and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own."
The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we do things in Mississippi. We settle small disagreements like this with the Mississippi Three-Kick Rule."
The lawyer asked, "What is this three-kick Rule?"
The farmer replied, "Well, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times, and so on, back and forth, until someone gives up."
The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the city feller. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick nearly wiped the man's nose off hisface. The barrister was flat on his belly when the farmer's third kick to a kidney nearly caused him to give up.
The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet and said, "Okay, you old coot, now it's my turn."
The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck"

Evidence provided by the reaction to hurricane Katrina has prompted a major research institution to recently announce the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium". Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half asmany peons but twice as many morons.

Framed...

framed... that was 3 LTB personnel were on thursday... all because an RP couldnt keep his cool and booked them for nothing... now these guys are facing DB as a possibility... a future runied for 3 young people...

is this world unfair? or is it just more fair to some than others?

finally some time to blog...

today started with something different... instead of going back to camp, i went to the chevrons in jurong... it was the nmtb helathy lifestyle day and we had bowling at the cathay bowl there... 2 games on nmtb... 102 on the 1st and 133 on the 2nd... really bad compared to the times in jc when we bowled about once a week... the event ended at 1 and i went to play LAN with a couple of the other guys... in all, a day well spent...

now it's time to discuss some serious stuff...

last sunday, eld ho unveiled the plans for yaf for 2006... the friday fellowship will commence in jan from next year and will involve people from both pspc and arpc... pspc will provide the infra-structure ie the church building and arpc will provide most of the manpower... every friday night will be a time of worship and bible study for the students of the unis around the area... and through that, the church wants to form what it calls a university congregation... ambitious? yeah... hope it all works out...

another week has passed and another will be starting again... starting from tomorrow, i will have 191 days of my ns liability to serve... that's approximately 6.3 months or 27 weeks away... considering all the time i wasted in there plus all the shit i've received, i deserve to get out... just counting down now...

today i was invited by one of my colleagues to attend a worship concert at the chapel of the ressurection which is located in sajc... it was a long time since i went there and so i gladly agreed...

the thing started at 730 but i only reached at 8 due to traffic... as i walked in, the band was just wrapping up the last bits of one way... and after that it was all the slow songs to get ppl into the altar-call mood... the songs chosen were really good and the band was great... i kinda went back into the worshippy mood again... it's just... sheesh... dont know how to describe it... but it was great...

we havent had that in prinsep in quite a while... actually, we never had something like that ever... a worship concert in which the member s invite their non-christian friends for a time of great music and simply worship... hmm... i wonder if prinsep (PLH, YAF, Believers etc) can pull it off.. it think it'll be great for everyone...i think doc john might be just the person who can make it all work out...

bleah... tired... need sleep... nitez~!

What best describes NSFs

We are the UNFORTUNATE
and UNDERPAID
led by the UNQULIFIED
to do the UNNECESSARY
for the UNGRATEFUL...

Yup... that pretty much sums it all up...

Messing up...

I've so totally messed up my life... I messed up school-life... I messed up church-life... I messed up my work-life... How I wish I could just push the 'reset' button and make it all go away... I wouldn't mind starting it all over again... I wish I could start all over again...

Thanks to all those who sent their birthday wishes... They're really treasured and cherished...

it's thursday... the week's gonna be over... and the musical is coming... just cant wait for it... been hooked to this new game called navy field...

A sad sad life...

Now is the time when I blog what I really feel about the things that go on around me.

Basically I've been feeling down and out the past few months if not the past 2 years. Ever since I enlisted into the god-forsaken SAF, my social life has taken a nose-dive... A nose-dive to hell to be precise.

Leaving school at the end of 2003 would mean that I would see my classmates very little and conscription made it even worse. However, we would still meet up occasionally for get-togethers. But the real, hard, cold truth hit me in the last outing. The last outing for me that is. In July, an outing for Albert was organised on a Sunday and the plan was to have dinner and a few drinks after that. The time spent was great. But the things was that I was not invited. Or at least not invited originally. Why do I say so? That afternoon I received a message from Razif asking me if I was going for the outing that night. It was an outing which I never knew of at that time. I eventually went uninvited.

A few weeks later, I message Shahin to ask if he was watching the EPL kick off that evening. His reply was that he was going out with friends and they were better company than the TV and soccer. Fair enough. A short while later, Razif messages me telling me that he would not be going for an outing that night and asking if I was. Oh what horror... My friend of 2 years in JC treating me as though I am not a member of the class I cherished. He used "friends" and not "S41" or "the class". I was extremely disappointed.

They never tell me anything nowadays. Everytime I read about an outing in Razif's blog, I feel so unwanted. I look back at my previous posts and wonder why I kept saying that my times with the class were moments to be cherished and embraces. But now the bitter truth has emerged. I have never been wanted. I have never fit in. Once I wrote that time spent with the class was priceless. I take it back. I take it all back.

I've always had character flaws with sometimes offend people. I've been told many times by others that I should change. I was also told that if I have to change for people to accept me, those people are not my friends. I don't know what to do.

I've been sufering in silence and today is the day I let it all out. I feel jealous of those who are always contacted. I feel disappointment with those who never bothered to call. I feel so alone...

Joke of the Day

A Chinese tourist visits America and goes to a local bank to change his Ren Min Bi (RMB) for US$. The teller gives him a good rate and th Chinese man leaves happily.

A few weeks later, the tourist once again visits America and the bank. He was about to change his RMB once again but this time, the rate was lower. He demanded to know why he was getting a lower rate than before but his English was not that good. So after a while of explaination, the teller finally said, 'Fluctuations!'

At that, the Chinese man saw red and left the bank in a huff. Just as he was about to step out, He turned around and shouted, 'Fluc chu Americans too!'

First Premiership weekend over... Man U wins... Pool drew... Arsenal and Chelsea were just lucky... Charlton were stunning...

The Retreat

The retreat was a blast. Held over 2 days, the YAF had a great time of fun, games and fellowship. I missed most of the 1st day as I was in camp doing an operation in the morning. However, I managed to make it for the afernoon's games and the barbecue in the evening.

The barbecue was awesome as it had the most glorious spread that I have ever seen at a barbecue. Sambal stingray, satay and crayfish were on the menu. But the most interesting 'dish' was the bacon-wrapped banana which, as the name has it, banana that is wrapped with bacon and barbecued.

Normally at any other barbecue I have been to, there will always be tons of food that is left unconsumed. But this time, the food that we got was just the right amount. Well, there is a first for everything.

At the barbecue, there were at least 30 people who attended but by 11, all the 'buay steady' people, ie. those with kids and those who are just 'buay steady', filed out and only about 12 of us were left to spend the night in Yew Kee's condo apartment. And the night was cold because there were not enough beds and blankets for everyone. I ended up on the couch in the living room right under the air-conditioner. And sleeping there was a back-straining experience. I woke up to a aching back due to the awkward posture that I slept in.

The next morning, Bee Kiat, Ben and I got up early to get breakfast for the whole group. We ended up buying Roti Prata from a nearby shop. There was a short worship session and a talk after that. By 1030, it was officially break-camp time but all of us did not want to move so we stayed for lunch and finally left at 2.

By the way, for the retreat, Bee Kiat rented a hybrid Honda Civic for transportation purposes. The cas was super high-tech in that it uses a EZ-Link card to unlock the doors and a PIN number to start the engine. Fuel consumption was very low as it used both batteries and petrol to run at the same time. I managed to take the car on the road for 5 times, clocking over 100km.

The retreat was a blast.

Side-note: I'm watching the News. They just interviewed a socail worker called Jolovan Wham. What kind of name is that? Interesting. I wonder what is his chinese name.

Inertia. A real killer. So I appeal to all of you, it is time to move on.

How the SAF works...

Celebrating the nation's 40th preview...

Today is the day when I attended the National Day preview at the Padang.

Initailly, I was supposed to go back to work on some last minute job in CNB at 3pm. But after some negotiations and deal-making with Thomas, I managed to persuade him to replace me so that I could go for the preview.

I met my aunt at her house and from there, she drove the both of us to the Golden Shoe Carpark in town and parked the car there. We then took a walk in a slight drizzle down to the Padang. But the Cavenagh Bridge was only for Yellow and Blue sector ticket holders only. We Green sector ticket holders had to go to the other end of the Padang. The SRC end. And since roads like Connaught Drive were closed to all types of traffic, we had to take the long way around. Going round the Fullerton Hotel, we crossed the Esplanade bridge and walked to the Esplanade to use the toilet. From there we walked through an underpass and finally emerged at the wet and soggy Padang. Total time walking: 30 minutes. On a normal day, a walk to the Padang from Raffles Place would take less than 10 minutes.

And so we queued to get in and absorbed more rain during the wait. When we finally got to our seats, we found them wet. And to make things worse, the seats were those which have rounded bottoms and hence, catchment areas. Luckily the pack provided a poncho which I used to cover the seat and prevent me from absorbing more water. And the wait began. The pre-parade finally started at 5:20. I won't bore you with the details of the parade but here are a few comments.

One of the Regimental Colour-bearers fell flat and face down just before the arrival of the GOH, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi. Medics who were on-hand took over 5 minutes to discover that he had fallen as the other contingents were blocking their view. To simulate the arrivals of the MPs, MM, SM and PM, stand-ins were used. And they did the job very well, waving to the crowd as the real ones would. Normally, these VIPs would draw respect. Today, the stand-ins drew laughs from the spectators. The aerial display was much better than the prevoius years' as it featured more aircraft rather than just the 'normal' F-16s and A-4s. The mobile column was rather good, featuring over 200 vehicles from the SAF, SPF and SCDF. The rest of the parade was quite 'standard'.

When you want to tell your neighbours not to mess with you, you display your weapons and use them as a deterrent. This is what I believe the parade at the Padang is. The fly-past of Chinooks, Super Pumas, C-130s, Fokker 50s, E-2Cs, F-16s, KC-135Rs and F-5Es show the might of the RSAF. The rolling past of SM-1 tanks, Bionix IFVs, Bronco ATVs and Primus 155mm SPHs display the strength of the Army. Too bad the Navy could not sail their Frigates into the Singapore River. Now, that would be quite a sight. Deterrents, whether directed as a show of strenth to possibly hostile nations or to potential terrorists that may target our shores, have worked rather well at least till now. I wonder if a nation which recently purchased nearly 100 T-90 Main Battle Tanks would be afraid of our 300+ SM-1 Light Tanks.

A birthday celebration with a political agenda.

The Bullies

This has been a really bad week. And it started last week. Last Thursday to be exact.

NMTB celebrated Racial Harmony Day with a gathering at HQ NMTB last Thursday. All NMTB staff were invited but as I had detail that day, I did not go. So Alan and Thomas went instead. There, they talked to my OC and discussed if we could meet him some day and bring the problems we had with our supervisor forward. He was rather willing and said that he knew stuff was going on in Changi but he was just waiting for someone to step out and say something so that he could take action. The die was cast.

The next week, we met him in Changi on Tuesday. The dialogue was strictly between us STOs and him, the OC. We asked questions about offs and leave. But whatever we asked and questioned, he always had an answer. And his answers were not to our benefit. His answers were rigged. This was confirmed when we asked questions backed with statistics and he could not answer them, sometimes giving ridiculous explainations. And so the meeting concluded with us receiving nothing of worth. The wost was yet to be.

After coming down from the conference room, a transport supervisor informed us that before the meeting, my supervisor and the OC had a private talk and the transport supervisor overheard them discussing tactics on how to answer the questions that we could potentially raise and how to twist policies to their favour and to our disadvantage. That was it.

The very next day, a new rule was passed that in the future, no off will be given to personnel who do not pass their IPPT. Yes, some units practice that but it is a complete contradiction to the definition that the OC gave of off which is actually rest time. Should the new rule be implemented, it would mean that even if we perform an overnight loading operation, there would be no rest the next day before we carry out other details and increasing the risk of accidents occuring.

And it is because of this that I have come to the conclusion that NSFs are targets and that regulars are those which prey on the NSF targets. Not all regulars are like that, but it is unfortunate that my unit is full of them. Back-stabbing bastards like the OC and dogs like my supervisor. Should we take further action? It may cause more rules to be implemented but will it be worth it? Will my CO take action? Will the OC bastard us again by sucking up to the CO?

There are now three options. First, to face reality and live on. Second, to bring this matter to a higher level and fight again. Or thirdly, to try to get down-graded and get posted out. I'm currently considering choice number 3 and I might just do it.

and she's gone... gone again... another 2,400 miles away...

i just got home from work... bazooka loading this morning... we had to get to camp at like 7 and since there were no buses at that time, i had to persuade my dad to let me take his percious merc to work on my own...

so after quite some debating, he reluctantly handed me the key... i fetched alan and soh on my way there and ended up 45 mins early... so we had breakfast in camp before the loading commenced... everything went smoothly... even boss seemed quite calm although we complained to oc about him the previous day... so as we would say, "chop chop" done... by 830 it was complete and we were dismissed...

since the car had some space, i managed to pack in patrick and lta soh cos they were going the same was as i... fetched all of them to sengkang and i went home... so now i'm contemplating and planning today's activities for myself... bleah...

and here i am in camp, blogging while the rest of my mates are playing chinese chess and just waiting for a chance to get their hands on the computer...

well, after going to bed at 230 last night, i woke up at 515 to get to work... bad combination... today i was really cranky and got pissed at every little thing... bleah... i'm still pissed...

early detail tomorrow so that's why i gotta stay in... probably another us carrier coming in early... they really should get thier own force protection detail instead of having to rely on us...

ok... better hand over the com to the rest of them... night...