Had lunch with Tim at Tony Romas. Very good bread. I think we ordered too much - half an onion loaf, appetizer sampler and a half slab each. The ranch style beans are nice, I shall order them next time.
He got:
1. A pink elephant pencil sharpener cum paper shredder
2. 3 scented candles
3. A fridge magnet, I think it says - "The only thing better than a good friend is a good friend with chocolate"
We walked down to Paragon for a small scoop of New Zealand's Natural each after that, and one of the available 'boosters' was:
"Spirulina
One of the nature's richest sources of phenylalanine! Effectively suppresses appetite and boosts energy levels!"
I think that's what they spike our water with...
And I saw Shuyu and her friend at Wheelock Place.
Monday, December 17, 2001
Sunday, December 16, 2001
This is irritating. I search "listen to the music" on audiogalaxy, and ignoring all the Doobie Brothers stuff, I found one "choir - Listen to the music.mp3". I play it and it turns out to be, wah, "Raffles Voices and RGS - Listen to the Music". The one in which I'm singing, and Jonathan (I think) is doing the solo. Gah. !@#$%^&*()
More mysteries: Why does everyone sound like each other when they shout out "lup, lup, lup wrought lup" (or however you spell the mangled way the pronounce "left, left, left right left".
Will I be punished if I don't (heh heh) shine my boots? I'm gonna bring 2 copies of The Economist along so I can keep up with Current Affairs and keep my mind alive.
Restored Post
I swear - the water they give us is spiked. My appetite has gone down somewhat. At least they haven't started the water indoctrination yet - saying the 7 Core Values of the SAF before drinking up during Water parades.
I went to Takashimaya with Geraldine to buy Christmas gifts for a few people (eh heh), but she rejected my ideas for a gift for the VJ lucky draw and presents for Yunxin (hehe). It's disgusting - Haagen Dazs (can't be bothered with the umlauts, and not that I was in the mood for any due to the spiked water) is now $3.90 a scoop - daylight robbery! (Clarification: I didn't buy any. I prefer Ben & Jerry's, which unfortunately still has no scoop shops in Singapore)
More mysteries: Why does everyone sound like each other when they shout out "lup, lup, lup wrought lup" (or however you spell the mangled way the pronounce "left, left, left right left".
Will I be punished if I don't (heh heh) shine my boots? I'm gonna bring 2 copies of The Economist along so I can keep up with Current Affairs and keep my mind alive.
Restored Post
I swear - the water they give us is spiked. My appetite has gone down somewhat. At least they haven't started the water indoctrination yet - saying the 7 Core Values of the SAF before drinking up during Water parades.
I went to Takashimaya with Geraldine to buy Christmas gifts for a few people (eh heh), but she rejected my ideas for a gift for the VJ lucky draw and presents for Yunxin (hehe). It's disgusting - Haagen Dazs (can't be bothered with the umlauts, and not that I was in the mood for any due to the spiked water) is now $3.90 a scoop - daylight robbery! (Clarification: I didn't buy any. I prefer Ben & Jerry's, which unfortunately still has no scoop shops in Singapore)
wheee... selamat hari raya! just got up after a 14h sleep
i think the 2 day holiday from ns is really good.... sheesh i pity those other ppl who have the full 2-weekend = 3 week confinement...
overall... id say ns is extremely tiring and physically intensive, but other than that nothing much...
after all the shouting everyday (seems like a lot of ppl dont bother shouting timing much), my voice needs some rest too...
so far, the worst thing is the run.. =( the "very slow pace" was faster than my 2.4 speed... not to say i passed my 2.4, but yah... they ran 2+ km at that speed and i couldnt take it...
we had a 3+h drill session in hot hot sun on friday... was so tired before that, and was even worse after...
seems like every morning, we get more tired... my first night was pretty good.. woke up a few times, but other than that it was restful...
2nd night i didnt wake up at all, but felt slightly tired..
3rd night i woke up once at 4+, but felt real tired...
the interesting thing is that on the fourth morning, every1 had alarms set at 5, but we all decided to just switch them off after they rang and wallow a while longer in bed..
argh, water parades... they say the mess mug is 500ml, but i think its 1l... holding the stupid thing with ur arms parallel to the ground is terrible... my arms kept shaking until water would spill at times... i remember on the first night, i spilled some, so it was below some stupid line, and i had to drink all the water (almost 1l), then fill up another half to drink. i _very_ nearly vomitted right there... quite a few ppl did actually... at least now i can drink 1 mug and fill full, but can drink at least...
i think the water parades r slightly wrong... instead of drinking so much 7 times a day... drinking slightly less but more often, maybe 500ml 20 times a day would be more effective... many times after the water parade id still be very thirsty, but my stomach would already be full from water...
yesterday was good.. we practically had the whole day to idle our time and do admin stuff, pack our cupboards, bags etc... i polished my boots for 2+h, and my boots are the shiniest in the platoon.. and id say the company as well =)
my sergeants r ok i guess... as long as u do wat they want and stuff, which is the whole point of ptp/bmt anyway...
ok, best of luck to those entering the full confinement period =)
oh, im in -edited away for privacy-
living on the 5th floor is SICK. i run up and down all the flights of stairs 10-20 times a day... and its really sick.
i think the 2 day holiday from ns is really good.... sheesh i pity those other ppl who have the full 2-weekend = 3 week confinement...
overall... id say ns is extremely tiring and physically intensive, but other than that nothing much...
after all the shouting everyday (seems like a lot of ppl dont bother shouting timing much), my voice needs some rest too...
so far, the worst thing is the run.. =( the "very slow pace" was faster than my 2.4 speed... not to say i passed my 2.4, but yah... they ran 2+ km at that speed and i couldnt take it...
we had a 3+h drill session in hot hot sun on friday... was so tired before that, and was even worse after...
seems like every morning, we get more tired... my first night was pretty good.. woke up a few times, but other than that it was restful...
2nd night i didnt wake up at all, but felt slightly tired..
3rd night i woke up once at 4+, but felt real tired...
the interesting thing is that on the fourth morning, every1 had alarms set at 5, but we all decided to just switch them off after they rang and wallow a while longer in bed..
argh, water parades... they say the mess mug is 500ml, but i think its 1l... holding the stupid thing with ur arms parallel to the ground is terrible... my arms kept shaking until water would spill at times... i remember on the first night, i spilled some, so it was below some stupid line, and i had to drink all the water (almost 1l), then fill up another half to drink. i _very_ nearly vomitted right there... quite a few ppl did actually... at least now i can drink 1 mug and fill full, but can drink at least...
i think the water parades r slightly wrong... instead of drinking so much 7 times a day... drinking slightly less but more often, maybe 500ml 20 times a day would be more effective... many times after the water parade id still be very thirsty, but my stomach would already be full from water...
yesterday was good.. we practically had the whole day to idle our time and do admin stuff, pack our cupboards, bags etc... i polished my boots for 2+h, and my boots are the shiniest in the platoon.. and id say the company as well =)
my sergeants r ok i guess... as long as u do wat they want and stuff, which is the whole point of ptp/bmt anyway...
ok, best of luck to those entering the full confinement period =)
oh, im in -edited away for privacy-
living on the 5th floor is SICK. i run up and down all the flights of stairs 10-20 times a day... and its really sick.
Yo
Shall keep this brief and uncharacteristically monosyllabic(okay, I just contradicted myself there). Am communicating this way because i'm not sure if you're reading your ICQ messages anymore.
I see you've had a lot of fascinating experiences defending your home and country and being a Better Man. I highly recommend the poem Dead Man's Dump by Isaac Rosenberg for some perspective on the glory and honour of your current situation(barring the mutilated corpses.. for now). A soundbite:
The air is loud with death,
The dark air spurts with fire,
The explosions ceaseless are.
Timelessly now, some minutes past,
These dead strode time with vigorous life,
Till the shrapnel called 'An end!'
But not to all. In bleeding pangs
Some borne on stretchers dreamed of home,
Dear things, war-blotted from their hearts.
Anyway, I have am now past the phase of my life in the Antipodes, and am heading back to more humid concrete pastures. Mine paterfamilias are in town, which is irritating but a necessary evil to be endured, and I have friends and loose ends to tie up. Also am in the midst of repackaging my life for transport elsewhere(which accounts for my disappearance over the last fortnight, coupled with a brief respite travelling in the mountains). I shall be back in touch with the usual lengthy rants in time, after I've settled down, rebuilt my librarium, and plugged myself back into the Internet. Give our few mutual acquaintances my regards, and remember, "if you have to go, go as Mr. Underhill".
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
Shall keep this brief and uncharacteristically monosyllabic(okay, I just contradicted myself there). Am communicating this way because i'm not sure if you're reading your ICQ messages anymore.
I see you've had a lot of fascinating experiences defending your home and country and being a Better Man. I highly recommend the poem Dead Man's Dump by Isaac Rosenberg for some perspective on the glory and honour of your current situation(barring the mutilated corpses.. for now). A soundbite:
The air is loud with death,
The dark air spurts with fire,
The explosions ceaseless are.
Timelessly now, some minutes past,
These dead strode time with vigorous life,
Till the shrapnel called 'An end!'
But not to all. In bleeding pangs
Some borne on stretchers dreamed of home,
Dear things, war-blotted from their hearts.
Anyway, I have am now past the phase of my life in the Antipodes, and am heading back to more humid concrete pastures. Mine paterfamilias are in town, which is irritating but a necessary evil to be endured, and I have friends and loose ends to tie up. Also am in the midst of repackaging my life for transport elsewhere(which accounts for my disappearance over the last fortnight, coupled with a brief respite travelling in the mountains). I shall be back in touch with the usual lengthy rants in time, after I've settled down, rebuilt my librarium, and plugged myself back into the Internet. Give our few mutual acquaintances my regards, and remember, "if you have to go, go as Mr. Underhill".
Si vis pacem, para bellum.