My Grand Tour of England and Wales - Part 2 of X

Day 2 - Sherwood Forest-York (Cont'd)

After we left Jorvik, we walked around York, looking at all the charming and quaint shops - great fun, except that they all closed to early. One shop that caught Jie and Hwa's attention was "The Cat Gallery", the perfect place for cat suckers like them. I quickly tired of the place while they were looking around, and went outside, where I saw a cute terrier in a car.

Further on, we also saw:
- A branch of the so-called authentic French cafe bakery. It's really quite amazing that they've managed to infiltrate the British market - couldn't a chain from France just have come over? But at least the Delifrance in York was more authentic than the ones in Singapore and Malaysia.
- A shop which sold swords, historical figurines, guns and helmets (including a Corinthian model and a classic gladiator type) - all looking historically authentic.
- "Past Images", a shop where you and a group of friends or family can dress up in Medieval, Viking or Victorian clothing and take a picture, with an optional ghostly effect.

York's city walls were remarkably intact, but apparently this is because they were heavily restored in Victorian Times to be a tourist attraction. Despite this, I still rather liked them, not least because some parts date back to Roman times. Before heading to our Youth Hostel, we bought some strawberries, and their aroma suffused the car.

At the Youth Hostel, we found that there was Internet Access, albeit at an exorbitant price of 5 pounds an hour. It was advertised as being of ISDN speed, but in the end was slower than dialup. To add insult to injury, the terminal was crippled - it was impossible to open a new window with Ctrl+N, new windows that were opened were set to be Always On Top while Alt+Tab was disabled, so it was impossible to surf 2 sites at once, and the terminal logged you out a few seconds before the time ran out. Most irkingly, this was all provided by a cartel which also supplied internet access in the Windermere Youth Hostel.

Happily, though, this was made up for by a magic vending machine, which gave us 2 cans of Fanta Lemon for a mere 60 pence! This Hostel being a city-type, it was larger and less charming than the one we stayed in the previous night. However, I was amused by their female toilets, for the signs nailed to the doors of the toilets were intriguing - one was of a typical female figure, but another toilet had the silhouette of a woman with practically no figure, so I christened the toilets the Ladies' and the Butches' toilets respectively, and took pictures of the signs.

Day 3 - York-Edmundbyers

The next day we left York immediately, me having been dissuaded from taking in more of the city's sights in favour of sampling new tastes. Plunging into the countryside, we ended up by the side of some country road, and me and Jie were dropped off to look for the Brimham Rocks. We walked down a rocky trail, till my sister spotted a "no bicycles" sign and a narrow, barely visible trail up the hill through the undergrowth - my CSM would have been proud. She resolved to wait for Hwa while I, the intrepid explorer, proceeded to trek up the hill on my invigorating late morning hike. I've done worse in Area D, but this time I was in shorts and sandals, and so got stung by what I deduce from descriptions I've read in Enid Blyton should have been a nettle. The view from the top was rather scenic, but I noticed there was no one else there as this was probably the trail for the foolhardy who wanted to get up and close to the Brimham Rocks. As it turned out, most people parked at the dessignated car park a mile away and followed the user friendly "official" trail (which Hwa didn't get very far down, unfortunately).

After my little hike, we drove to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, "Britain's largest monastic ruin and most complete Cistercian abbey" and one of the many World Heritage Sites in the UK. A group of schoolchildren was there at the same time, and got to dress up as mini-Cistercian monks in their white robes. There was a mill at the abbey, and I got to try my hand at hand grinding grain - even after many turns, the amount of flour that came out was pathetic.

While walking through the grounds of the Abbey and Water Garden, I lost Hwa and Jie so I went to look for them. My search was in vain, even though I looked at a kiosk selling ice cream - a good bet for looking for Hwa. Not finding him there, I bought a scoop of blackcurrant ice cream and continued looking for them. A while on, though, the scoop fell to the ground due to the iniquity of the kiosk - instead of using a proper hand scoop cone, they used one for soft serve ice cream, which had a flat surface on which the ice cream rested, so using the conservative licking method of eating the ice cream (as opposed to biting it, which'd make it finish faster), ran the risk of toppling it. I was disgusted initially and started to walk off, but I was so fed up that in the end I scooped up the ice cream, used my other hand to scrape the bottom part off, put it back firmly on the cone and continued eating. In the end, I walked maybe more than 4 miles around Fountains Abbey's grounds looking for them, till I almost died, though the late summer/early autumn weather made it slightly more tolerable.

After we left Fountains, we proceeded to another abbey - Rievaulx, which was pretty much more of the same, albeit in an even more godforsaken location. After that, we went to Rievaulx Terrace and Temples, where a rich man with nothing better to do and a surfeit of money and time had built replica Tuscan and Ionian (more Doric in style despite the name, actually) temples. While we were looking around, 2 propellor driven planes zipped past - Spitfires, if my identification was correct. Maybe they belonged to some club.

On our way to the next destination, we travelled the more scenic country roads and so got to see the rolling countryside. The disadvantage was that it was slower, there were sheep on the road (we could've knocked one down and had lamb chops for dinner) and at one point we went up a slope so steep (the gradient was 1:4 I think) that the car stalled and I had to get out.

The final attraction for the day was Mount Grace Priory, "the best preserved Carthusian monastery in England." We arrived with less than half an hour to spare, so we had to do a quick run of the place. I was rather excited because they had a reconstructed Carthusian cell and herb garden, and after we left I got to scare ducks on the road (the duck video that I have mentioned in earlier posts). However, I sadly contributed to the destruction of historical property, as part of the wall crumbled on me when I was taking a photograph.

The road to our youth hostel for the night was long and treacherous, taking us into the middle of heather moorland, to the village of EdmundByers. The hostel there was perhaps the most interesting I was to see - a former inn from 1600. There was a fireplace both in the lounge and our room.

Day 4 - Lindisfarne and Alnwick

The next day we set off after I bought a mutant scone - the biggest I've ever seen - for 40p from the youth hostel, and it was great with Nutella. Our destination was Holy Island - home of Lindisfarne Abbey, where Aidan and his Ionan monks established their base after crossing from Scotland. After walking through the ruins of the Priory (which apparently may not have been established on the site of the famous Priory that Aidan established), we walked to Lindisfarne Castle. Then we left for Alnwick Castle.

Alnwick, being still lived in, had an interior pretty much like other historical houses. Nevertheless, there were nice touches - like a Simpsons chess set, table soccer and a complaint letter for visitors to fill in. They also had on display letters of appointment given to the current Duke's ancestors, and the Kings' seals were huge.

When we stopped by a petrol station later, a can of "Dandelion and Burdock" drink caught my eye and I decided to try it. It tasted like Strepsils. (So now we know what flavours are in Strepsils)

Day 5 - Hadrian's Wall-Lake District

Friday was dedicated almost exclusively to seeing sites along Hadrian's Wall. Sadly, it was less complete than I'd been led to believe - the longest surviving stretch is only about 3/4 of a mile in length, all because people have been plundering stone from it for centuries.

The first site was Corbridge Roman Site, and later we saw the Brunton Turret. My sister was intrigued after reading about the tombstone of a Roman cavalryman, Flavinus, Standard-Bearer of the Petrian Cavalry in the troop of one Candidus and we went to Hexham Abbey to have a look at it. I ventured down to the darkly lit Crypt, but unfortunately the relics of St Andrew had long since disintegrated.

At Aldi supermarket, I picked up a jar of what was advertised as "luxury chocolate hazelnut spread", only to be shocked when I discovered its dirty little secret - it contained palm oil! Nevertheless, this ersatz Nutella wasn't too bad. Later, at Chester's Roman Fort, Hwa haram-ised a cat by feeding it fat stipped from (comparatively) expensive Italian ham.

We then visited the ruins of a Temple of Mithras. To get to it, we had to walk past several menacing and malicious looking cows which were lying on the grass just beside the path we had to walk down, and be careful not to step on cow dung. At the temple, there were casts of altars, wooden posts and statue fragments which, if I hadn't known they were casts, I would've mistaken for the real thing, for they felt like stone. Sadly, much of the temple had been defaced and desecrated, most probably by Christians who thought that the Mithraic sharing of wine and bread and importance placed on sacrifice were mockeries of their faith, though these practices were probably taken from the same source. I would've liked to have visited the full-scale reconstruction at the Museum of Antiquities in Newcastle (which also sounded like it had other interesting exhibits), but there was no time.

Along many stretches of Hadrian's Wall and at the forts, there were farms with sheep. How it is acceptable to let the sheep pee and defecate on and rub against Roman ruins (the National Trust actually owns the land but rents it out to the farmers), I don't know.

At Housesteads Roman Fort, I was told that there was a half a mile walk from the road to the remains. This sounded reasonable enough - till I passed the gate and saw that it was a steep uphill path all the way, and by the time I got to the fort, I was half dead (again).

After leaving the fort, I was sidetracked by a sign for the interesting-sounding Roman Army Museum. They were screening a hilarious Roman Army Recruitment Video promoting the Roman Army like a real recruitment video, which advertised 'job security', and where they had scenes of a mother writing a letter to her soldier son, and of her going to a temple to pray for him. There was also this scene where an auxiliary was taunting a legionary by saying he was looking forward to a 25 mile route march since he had lighter armour and a lighter shield, and I got to see "Roman Soldiers" training. Other nice touches included mosaic floors for the toilets. Sadly, photography was not allowed in the museum.

At the museum, they had an "Eagle's Eye" video about the wall showing, among other things, CG reconstructed portions. However, they kept flashing back to shots of an eagle, which was dumb and extremely irritating, and the music was bland and repetitive. Later in the bookshop, I saw an extremely specialised book - "Iron for the Eagles - The Iron Industry of Roman Britain", which included forging times!

By now, it was too late, so I was unable to visit Vindolanda, which sounded very interesting. According to a New York Times article, "Vindolanda was it. The site is vast, some 15 acres, with ruins of what was a very large settlement, including well-marked temples, bathhouses and (to the unending amusement of my children) toilets designed to be used by several people at a time. There is also a reconstructed section of the wall, a Roman temple, general store and house, and well-marked excavations of the civilian settlement that grew up around the fortress, with its weavers, grocers, alehouses, cheese makers and all the rest, as well as a working excavation site. The museum is a treasure trove, with dozens of examples of rare Roman writing on thin sheets of wood (the postcards of the day), with missives from home ranging from the practical: 'New underpants and socks are on the way,' to the heart-rending: 'Farewell, brother, most dear to your Secundus.' (The British Museum has named the Vindolanda tablets it has as among its top 10 treasures.) There are also artifacts galore: tools, religious objects, cutlery, bowls, stunning pottery, including a complete green glass bottle, weights and measures, cosmetic instruments, jewelry, tombstones and yet more shoes, some with beautiful leather latticework that would make today's shoe designers blush with envy."

Interestingly, there was a Shell near Hadrian's Wall that offered amazingly cheap (for the location) petrol - 73.9p/litre.

For the last item of the day, I tried to see the 'most complete (longest surviving) stretch of Hadrian's Wall' near Birdoswald. I got as far as a mile castle before there was a steep drop through wooded terrain, so I gave up.

We then drove south to the famous Lake District, towards our Youth Hostel for the night. The Lake District indeed was beautiful, but this beauty was marred by the fact that it was raining almost continuously, where the weather had hitherto been perfect, in the short half a day that we were there, and there were very few laybys by the side of the road, so many of the spots with the best scenery went unshot.


Misc notes:

According to notes on a menu at Fountains Abbey's cafe, the widely retold tale of Marco Polo learning pasta making from the Chinese is not true. Apparently the Romans were known to have eaten pasta. So much for yet another of the urban legends propagated by the Chinese to make them feel better about themselves because of their subsequent long period of decline!

The good thing about going in late summer is that the attractions don't close as early as in winter. At the same time, I escaped the hellish heat wave - especially deadly in a country with no air cons and few fans.

My sister claims it's okay to show your bra straps in the UK because it's the local culture. Bah.

Hwa and Jie have a penchant for playing silly, petty games which waste time.

My sister seems to have latched upon a good deal - she prepares and cooks the food, and me and Hwa do everything else, like washing up and drying. Since she enjoys the former, like most females, she gets to do what she likes while getting others to do the dirty work.

There were so many nice dogs to be seen around the UK. Especially compared with the number of cats we saw.

The advantage of travelling with Jie and Hwa is that you have someone to drive the car, cook the food and do much of the planning, which saves you a great deal of hassle. This is the only way to travel!

It seemed that the roads we drove by were never dirty or strewn with leaves, even though many had trees by their side. Didn't the trees shed their leaves? If so, where did all the leaves go? A few were to be seen by the side of the road, but how did they get there if no one swept them there?

English Heritage always provides immersive audioguides which furnish you with a wealth of information. However, after a while they grate on your nerves as they're too verbose and they always insist on conjuring up some long-winded character from an earlier era to be your guide, and it becomes tiresome.

Sometimes I think it's a conspiracy. Some sites are owned by English Heritage but managed by National Trust (or vice versa). Then you find that sites near the first are managed by the other agency. So you end up having to pay ticket charges unless you're a member of both.

I wonder how they manage to come up with such glowing descriptions for various buildings and sites. After all there can only be a certain number of "best preserved", "largest" or "most spectacular" sites. Perhaps in the not too distant future, we will see a place advertised as the "best preserved 14th Century Neo-Romanesque Cathedral with an organ with the most number of pipes in England that has an extant stained glass representation of Becket's murder and was also one of the places where Charles II worshipped". Or something.

It seems people only recently have acquired a sense of history, for not too far back they were still looting old sites for their stone, lead and what not.

It isn't very nice to see historical sites that are bare of artefacts, which have all been moved to museums. The sites lose their strappings, and the artefacts their context. Nevertheless, I suppose it is necessary for conservation reasons, and to protect the items from vandalism, thieves and Mother Nature.

How come the British don't tire of Fish and Chips? Judging from the plethora of Fish and Chips shops all over the country, they must eat it very often for the shops to stay in business. Also, the British know how to make their fish extremely crispy, so why can't they do that for the chips too? Instead, the chips all come out soggy.

One day I would like to embark on a modern version of the 18th Century Grand Tour of Europe, preferably with a group of like-minded friends. I don't think I'll be able to afford it, though, so I would have to split it up into several trips. At least it is a comfort to know that British Public Transport is the most expensive and least efficient in Europe.

Why do Singaporeans always like to affect accents when talking to Caucasians? Perhaps it is a way of trying to live up to what is seen, consciously or unconsciously as higher standards. I don't deny that I am affected by it too, but I at least don't try to intensify the faux accent, and even try to restrain it.

The amount of prepared food available in British supermarkets just dazzles me when I compare it to the measly selection we have over here. But then they don't have hawker centres over there, and the only food places that open late are Chinese Takeaways. The junk food selection also compares favourably with Singapore (we have pathetically few crisp flavours), but of course it probably pales in comparison with the US.

Why do Singaporeans like to go overseas to study, but then cluster with and mix exclusively or almost exclusively with other Singaporeans, or at most, other Asians, mostly of Chinese descent? I was always under the impression that one big point about studying abroad was to get to know and interact with people from all over the world.

It seems each time I go to the UK, it becomes more and more expensive. I shudder to think how much I'd jave to pay if I went there a 4th, or even 5th time. As it stands, I'm now so poor that I'll have to eat at the cookhouse every meal and stay in camp till ORD.


Sign:

Fish and chips. A great way to give hunger a battering! They're also a great source of energy and provide valuable protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals! [Ed: RIGHT.]

TO BE CONTINUED

Oh wow. According to Friendster i have a total of 5 friends and am connected to 84 368 people through them.

Despite bemoaning his inability to deliver incisive critiques as I supposdly do, someone has recently been churning out some good analysis (and interesting information).

On Hair

Yeah, in police they allow you to keep your hair long. As in much longer than those army guys who have spikey hair for like 2 straight years? Policemen are allowed to keep it long so long as it looks neat and mantains a professional look.

Wah. So good.

On how filthy rich AC kids are

I actually felt quite sad for those girls who got tricked into coming over only to find like 50 plus over AC guys just gazing upon them as eye-candy material. Its not nice and not fair to them. Plus they get irritated when the usual slew of people try to hit on them repeatedly. I didn't have much part in any of this nonsense. Usually, I'd just lock myself and a few other guys up in brother's room and "watch and hear"the action (via Brother's security system) with the other guys as "reality tv". Laughing at the failures of guys who failed trying to hit on the girls. I'm sorry I'm so evil, but sometimes, you just need a cheap thrill to relax.

Emphasis added. They have a security system with cameras in the house?!

On. Erm. Psychology

To elaborate on the AC girl's 'security system'. This is a complex theory formulated by a bunch of 1988 ACSians who "have passed it down the generations". The quote goes:

"If you want a girl, you gotta win over her friends FIRST"
"Win her friends, win her, guaranteed".

Some 2SC1 bloke came up with it a long time ago after studying psychology, probability, human nature, social issues... etc all rolled into one. His theory has been tried and tested and still found true even in my batch.

For my ACS batch, we did alot of covert experiments in ACJC. One of them was to test this theory. Whilst I won't go into much detail the trick to winning a girl's heart to remove her security. Like if you feed a couple of guard dogs meat laced with glass, you can easily rob a house. Likewise, once you remove some girl's security apparatus, which are her friends, her close cliche of girl-friends etc and all those people that surround her into your favor. It is "jadikan makan" already.

Or as Prof. Wang would put it, "GG Liaoz". Or as another rugger would say, "So damn FF". Think. Think: What is simple is true.

These people have elevated such matters to a science. For more hot tales from the School of the Buaya and Buayee, do tune in!

And on Slavery (consider that this comes from the police side

I don't know much abou the PES I guess. But alot of AC people I know are either Clerks or in damn slack vocations! If not, they're all in OCS! Like half the guys I know are in OCS! The rest SISPEC and MP/RP. Only a few extras in Commandos, Divers, RT, Armour and GUARDS (Wah suffer sia!). Well, ARMY is just an organisation created to serve death as its master. What can I say?

The training is really tough. Even Maggie's bf (who is COMMANDO MATERIAL) is like out of course thanks to a dislocated knee. Then Sanee (Dalvir) is also O.O.A (out of action) thanks to twisting his knee very badly. Nonsense man this army. Drive recruits to the edge, make them suffer and get injured then put them through an utterly useless medical care system. HELLO SAF? No hospital gives patients THREE DRIPS for a cold! Nonsense man! Really rubbish I'd say! Please don't believe the public relations propaganda. Its laughable what they write sometimes.

What I saw was alot of my ayam sakit friends getting PES A/B like FREE ONE. Then all out of course end up clerks. Nonsense man!

What I heard in police, during my training. Is that the Civl Defence is somehow instructed, that when there's a car/motorbike road accident. They have to save the civilian FIRST before attending to ANY personnel in ARMY uniform (even if the guy is in critical condition). Yeah! Save the civilian and trash the dogs eh? I was quite sad when I heard this. Even at hospitals where NSmen end up in. Alot of the doctors and nurses believe they they all chao keng one, and give them shabby treatment - which is why most of my rich AC friends who get injured in army INSIST on being sent to a private hospital (ah pa will pay) cos the gahmen hospitals really descriminate against NSmen. From personal experience, I think its is so damn true.

I think honestly, if there's one gahmen organisation that 18 year olds are very unhappy with. Its definitely the SAF. Silly And Foolish. Tsk. Best thing is that they block all recourse to take such issues up to Parliament, insisting only on "proper channels of feedback". I guess they're really scared if the general public find out what really happens to alot of the guys during NS.

You learn new things daily

My Grand Tour of England and Wales - Part 1 of X

Editor's Note: I took just about 300 pictures and movies on this trip, but due to the plummet in Internet Advertising in recent years, am at a loss as to where to host them, if at all. Any suggestions would be welcome - otherwise I'll just post the most exceptional ones, and use generic Internet images to illustrate the rest of my tale.

Singapore-KL-London

Nothing eventful happened, except my breaking my self-imposed restriction on wearing non-white socks with non-Army footwear, happened till KLIA where there was this whole group of chinese muslims waiting for a flight to Chengdu (presumably after returning from Mecca) - the men were in white skullcaps and had flowing beards, and the women were in white tudungs. I wonder about the significance of the white.

At Heathrow, the Immigration Officer asked me what I did back home. When I replied that I was a conscript soldier, she asked to see my return ticket. Maybe she thought I would go AWOL in Britain. Actually, that would have been a rather good idea, then I could have claimed asylum!

When I got to Jie's (my sister) apartment, I finally met the cat which they'd been raving about to me for so long - FCUK (Furry Cat United Kingdom) [Ed: These people being acronym crazy, they give an acronym to everything, even to food near expiry (RF - Rotten Food)] FCUK is actually the neighbour's cat, yet he frequents Jie's apartment because there, he gets spoilt rotten, has the run of the house and gets to bully Jie and Hwa (my brother-in-law), especially the latter, because they're suckers for pussies. He looks rather stupid, and a bit evil (as are most cats), but as cats come, is rather quite and friendly. For some reason though, Jie and Hwa insist on calling him a she, as they are entrenched in their archaic ways, not having discovered his true gender till recently.

Having learnt my lesson from my last time in London, I did not count on my naturally elevated resistance to Jet Lag but instead made minor alterations to my sleeping patterns, so I was almost not affected by it at all.

Day 1 (Monday) - London-Sherwood Forest

Since the temperature was pretty tolerable, I changed into shorts and stayed in them all the way (not the same pair, though) till the next Monday.

We left somewhat early (would've been earlier if Jie had not refused to wake up) and drove straight out of London, all the way to Northamptonshire, where the Rushton Triangular Lodge (image)was. This curious building is full of religious symbolism being, among other things, three sided (to represent the Holy Trinity) - one of those things aristocrats with too much time and money do with them.

We then proceeded to look at one of the few remaining intact Eleanor Crosses, in Geddington, I believe. After that was Tattershall Castle.

The next stop was Lincoln, where I visited the gigantic Medieval Bishops' Palace (which had a vineyard, even), then the Castle while Jie and Hwa went to the Cathedral. It having been advertised as one of the 8 original Castles built by William the Conqueror, I was disappointed when I saw that the Keep and inner buildings did not survive in any condition, and that it'd been slightly slighted by Cromwell and friends. However, I got to see their Magna Carta (together with the copy I saw in Salisbury last year and the 2 I subsequently saw in the British Library, I can now say I've seen all original copies of the 1215 version), do a Wall Walk, see a cute bust of King George III and half-kill myself climbing up the observatory with its devilish stairs which gave me trouble squeezing through - not because of my girth, but the width of my shoulders (I wonder how I managed St Paul's 2 years back) (image).

At the Magna Carta exhibit, I was disappointed that all photography and video filming was disallowed to "prevent further damage" to the document. Bah. Like my CCDs damage the vellum by absorbing mystic particles and vital energies from it, causing it to lose its integrity. There's at least some justification for banning even non-flash photography (idiots who are either unable or unwilling to disable their flashes), but video recording? It's fine if they want to earn more money from postcard sales, but they shouldn't disguise their intents by claiming that it is in the interest of preservation (as did the people running the Little Penguins' Penguin Parade near Melbourne). The document itself was rather well preserved, though not quite as legible as the Salisbury version.

The Magna Carta exhibition also made much light of the importance and significance of the Magna Carta as a key step for democracy, but as many people do with history, they forget the context and ignore the fact that the Barons were securing said rights for themselves and only themselves, and had no intention of allowing their villeins fair jury trials.

At the Castle shop, I bought a DIY "Bob the Dog" pop-out for Bob to construct when he's at Wallaby. By then though, it was past 5pm, and too late for me to look at "the finest example of 12th Century Architecture in Europe", Lincoln Cathedral, at least as a paying tourist, but not for me to sit in at Evensong.

Evensong has a lot of monotone sung statements, some of which are very long, but at least all the replies are homophonic. A lot of the songs are monophonic, and many tunes are boring, but I guess if you have a million hymns to set the tunes to, they can't all be tuneful.

After Evensong, we went to Tesco to buy dinner, and I saw that Tesco Finest stocked Chicken Chasseur! Now, some may remember this dish from the School of Military Medicine (SMM) cookhouse, when the weekly pseudo-Western meal would inevitably include Chicken Chasseur - except that eahc week, the colour of the sauce would change, as would its taste. Having been disappointed by SFI, I was excited to see *real* Chicken Chasseur, which was described as Chicken with a "white wine and tarragon sauce" - haram, which may explain why the SMM cookhouse didn't cook it authentically.

After more driving, we ended up at our accommodation for the night - the Sherwood Forest Youth Hostel. Now, having heard tales of Youth Hostels from Jie, I wasn't expecting very much, though she'd assured me that they'd improved since her days of youth when she trekked halfway across Spain on foot. To my surprise, though, I found that the place was actually rather bright, neat and clean.

For the uninitiated, I will describe some aspects of Youth Hostels briefly. Youth Hostels are charitable houses which offer cheap, yet acceptable accommodation for people of little means (eg me). You get to sleep in double bunk foam beds, and instead of bedsheets, you get this shroud which you lay on the bed and clamber into, throwing your duvet over yourself. This saves time and costs for them. Most (at least all we went to) Youth Hostels have self-catering kitchens to save you even more money.

Day 2 - Sherwood Forest-York

On Tuesday morning, Hwa and I woke up an hour or so before my sister to embark on an invigorating , nippy walk through Sherwood Forest. Being casual walkers, we selected the shortest route - the one to the Major Oak and back, and along the way we saw plenty of people walking their dogs.

The Major Oak is an 800 year old tree in the centre of Sherwood Forest. It is so old and weak now, many of its branches are propped up with supports, and it it surrounded not by soil but by an inert mulch, to prevent the soil form drying. (More Information)

After waking my sister, we headed to Bolsover Castle in Derby. While walking the ruined buildings of the hall, some bird shit splattered on my arm. At one end of the compound was an inner castle, a stylised medieval castle incorporating Renaissance ideas and ideals, so looking quite surreal. Inside, there were wall and ceiling paintings in excellent condition, though I wasn't quite fond of them because they included such classical elements as depictions of Hercules and his labours, but executed in a style not faithful to classical painting. Overall, the castle gave me the impression of being very fake - a romanticised idea of what an earlier age was like, but with a plastic feeling.

On the way to our next destination, I had a look at open strip coal mining, and it looked extremely destructive.

The next stop was Haddon Hall, near Bakewell. The owner of the house doesn't seem to take very much pride in it, considering that he lives in it, as the middle portions of all the steps are extremely worn (I even took a picture of the most worn step I've ever seen), and most surfaces are uneven and unrepaired.

After Haddon Hall we left for York. By the time we got there, it was already very late, so we only got to visit Jorvik Viking Centre, where there was a theme park-esque ride, with a gay "scientist" in a hard hat sending us on a Time Travel experience (the disadvantages of pandering to kids). As rides went, it was good, maintaining a high standard of historical accuracy while still being entertaining. To increase its immersiveness, the ride had olfactory elements which, while not uncommon on rides of this sort, was a nice touch. The bulk of the smells were the generic "Ye Olde World" type which you always get in fantasy-themed rides when you pass through habitations, sort of a romaticised version of animal dung, but at one point, there were smells of cooking - perhaps the first time I've experienced this sort of thing. All in all, the ride was nice, but I think it would be cheaper and more cost effective to have the experience without the frill of having a car you sit in, and instead walk through with an audioguide.

After the ride was an exhibition, where I finally got my hands on some Lapis Lazuli, Amber and Hematite and bought them, a reproduction Viking coin and a Viking pendant, among other things. The exhibition had some wooden and leather artefacts, which is quite rare for items of this age, and there was a form for visitors to ask questions which would be answered by some experts on their staff.

At the shop they were selling weapons, which I would have bought if I'd had more money to burn - like Damascus Sword (just a fancy name for a more well-decorated sword) for 375 pounds. I enquired as to the popularity of these weapons, and the salesgirl said that the axes were quite popular. Actually I could go to Caesar's for a sword, but their swords tend to be too ornate and more for display purposes than practical use (so to speak). If I get one, it must be an authentic one, and not one with plenty of engravings and filigree.


Misc notes:

Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, looks like a druid, what with his white cowl and beard - all he needs is leaves in his beard!

With my acquisition of a digital camera, my mother can no longer complain that I waste film taking pictures of cockroaches (read: Scenery shots, without anyone in them). As an aside, I was discussing with Ben in camp about printing digital camera images, and he claimed you needed to take 1MB sized photos to print them in 4R size to analog quality, something which I doubt. I was also decrying the tendency of Singaporeans to exclusively take shots with people in them, but we reasoned it was probably because there is little scenery in Singapore worth shooting, so people rather take people shots. I suppose it's become ingrained in most Singaporeans then, but it is truly a tragedy when people waste all their film taking dull people shots for their bodies tend to block the scenery. After all, isn't that what they came for? To take in the view, and not to boast to people that they have been there.

Though the quality of ice cream is higher in the UK (no palm oil, no thank you!), with almost every type you get being of premium quality, made with cream, double cream or clotted cream, the flavours are decidedly more limited, and largely fruit-based. Partially this is due to their not using artificial flavourings, but also it is because the British palate has not been exposed to a wide range of flavours. I wonder how successful flavours such as Green Tea would be.


Quotes:

We don't just visit houses and gardens. We only go to houses which have an interesting history, or have someone connected to them, or a cat.

Bloody aristocrats. The French did the right thing by chopping all their heads off.

TO BE CONTINUED

Gah. Somehow my Phlog got removed from here, and the last few entries I sent didn't show up.


A joke Mrs Sng told us a long time ago in History 6:

Pope vs Moshe

A long time ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave Rome.

Naturally there was a big uproar from the Jewish community. So the Pope made
a deal. He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish
community. If the Jew won, the Jews could stay. If the Pope won, the Jews
would have to leave.

The Jews realized that they had no choice. So they picked an elderly man
named Moshe to represent them. Rabbi Moshe did not speak Latin. In fact, he
knew very little, but he was a man of great faith and well respected in the
Jewish community.

The Pope agreed. What could be easier than a silent debate?

The day of the great debate came. Moshe and the Pope sat opposite each other
for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.

Moshe looked back at him and raised one finger.

The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head.

Moshe pointed to the ground where he sat.

The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine.

Moshe pulled out an apple.

The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This man is too good. The Jews can
stay."

An hour later, the cardinals gathered all around the Pope asking him what
happened.

The Pope said: "First I held up three fingers to represent the Holy Trinity.

He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one
God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show
him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and
showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the
wafer to show that God absolved us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to
remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I
do?"

Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moshe. "What happened?"
they asked.

"Well," said Moshe, "first he says to me, 'You Jews have three days to get
out of here. 'So I said to him, "'Up yours.' Then he tells me the whole city
would be cleared of Jews. So I said to him, 'Listen here, Pope, the Jews
stay right here.

"And then?" asked a woman.

"Who knows?" said Moshe. "He took out his lunch so I took out mine."

More comments on the ducks:

"hahahaha who's that?
what amazing screams

you yowled like a eunuchified mat rocker in a monastery??"

"Why did you send me screaming ducks?

Oh my god. YOu are insane."

I must find some way to post it online. Maybe I'll share it on Kazaa with some choice keywords, especially those taken from Kazaa Lite's default "banned keywords" list: r@ygold, reelkiddimov, kiddie, underage, ddoggprn, child porn, incest, sex child, preteen, pre teen, twinks, gay, 11yr, 12yr, 13yr, 14yr, 15yr, lolita

My queue is sure to be full.

Oh dear.

**SAR guy:

"btw, u are damn famous.
even my platoon medic has heard of u..
the great outspoken medic of 42sar. :)

my platoon medic is ***. dont think u know him. coz he doesnt know u..
but has heard of fellow medics at the medical centre talking about u...
about your blog etc... haha... so cool... i guess mindef reads your blog too..
must be careful with your words.. at least until u ord... :)"


People cooling off in the midst of the heatwave (NB: Not taken by me):

Trafalgar Square 15th July 2003

Paris Fountains June 2003

NB: These were not taken by me.

I had Sea Coconut Ice Cream for the first time today!


I miss my old wavs, though I never listened to them after I discovered mp3s. I'm especially fond of this (introduced by Tim in freer and happier times [both in more than one way]):

Shooter: - You're in big trouble pal, I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!
Happy Gilmore:- You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?!


The three episodes of Time Force I just watched are quite weird.

Quantum Secrets:
- Eric's Mega Battle Armour comes with Rollerblades. Wth?!
- I think it's the first time any ranger or ranger team has taken out a monster without a zord.
- Any guy who lives alone in a shoddy ghetto home who makes friends with a pre-pubescent young girl (without anyone else around), and who invites her to come over anytime she wants would most likely be viewed by society as a pedophile!

The Last Race:
- It was so obvious why they used an Asian Sales Assistant. At least they bothered to ensure consistency, but is it really so expensive to shoot a few seconds of footage of someone running into the street and bounding into a car?
- Nadira's shriek is inhuman and extremely irritating.
- The scene when Dash turned good after just a sentence by Lucas was also unbelievably bad.
- How can you become a mutant just with a dose of electricity? At least that explained why his driving suit was so grotesque and unreal. Or maybe that, like eating bananas with ketchup, is common practice in the year 3000.

Lovestruck Rangers:
- Ransik finally comes out to play!
- I wonder why the rangers stopped him from consuming his medicine. He was obviously in great pain, so it's quite sadistic to deny him his vial.
- Hilarious line - Ransik: "Ooo. Girl Power. I'm so scared."
- What a lousy monster. Why can't it cast a love spell on females too? Or maybe it only works on lesbians.

I hate the ads for Boneeto, some calcium rich milk drink, that they always show before, during and after Time Force. Does anyone really think kids give a shit about making their bones strong by drinking calcium rich drinks?

On reflection, I'm glad that the newer seasons do away with the unrealistic "teens" premise.


Why do I like Power Rangers so much? - And if it wasn't For Power Rangers I wouldn't have met My Awesome girlfriend (pinky)! - ??? Too bad he doesn't explain what he means.

Power Rangers Poetry

I'm trying to find out how Bob Manahan, aka Zordon, died in 2000. So far the best I can come up with is a testimonial by him for Strauss Heartdrops. So apparently his heart did him in. [Addendum: Apparently it's not the same person. The one I'm looking for died at the age of 43.]

Downloaded my photos and entertained some by sending them the movie of me scaring off ducks ("it worked! It's vaguely amusing. Thank you for the most amusing thing I've seen this morning. ")

Canon's Photostitch is wonderful, though there are white splotches where my shots didn't overlap properly, and I can't bear to lop off parts of my image. Perhaps time will improve my technique.

There's a picture of this red castle between Rushton Triangular Lodge and Lincoln that, for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of. Any ideas?



Update: My sister has informed me that this is Tattershall Castle

I also seem to have taken a disproportionately large numbers of photos of Fountains Abbey.

A song from each show I watched:


Bombay Dreams - Shakalaka baby

Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby

Saw your face and the damage was done
You waked a spell that took me over
A brighter bulb right out of the sun
A lotus scented supernova

Catch the rythem, jump to the beat
The nights are warm and my words are tender
Can't escape, feel the heat
Lose yourself and the sweet surrender

(Woah-oh-oh-oh)
And the planets are colliding
(Woah-oh-oh-oh)
Fantasies are flying
(Woah-oh)
Simply no denying
There you are my Bombay lover...

Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
This is how it's really meant to be
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Come and shakalaka with me
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Nothing here is ever what it seems
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Let me take you with me in my dreams

No no no no no no no no no x4

In a trance going out of my mind
You made a flame that keeps me burning
Come on baby, give me a sign
One look from you and the world stops turning

(Woah-oh-oh-oh)
Music gets exciting
(Woah-oh-oh-oh)
I need you here beside me
(Woah-oh)
I know you'll satisfy me
There you are my Bombay lover...

Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
This is how it's really meant to be
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Come and shakalaka with me
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
I just wanna love you everyday
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Promise me you'll never go away

No no no no no no no no no x4

Secret moon and enchanted dreams
Pray we share many nights like these
Million stars in the sky...

Oh oh, oh oh

Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby

You............

Ikh buri youju aana
(aaja re)
Hai bindiya puchyo jaana
(oh aaja re)
Iise qyo poy laata pobra na
(oh)
Shayee oh oh re
(na na na)
Ikh buri youju aana
(oh eh aaja)
Hai bindiya puchyo jaana ah ha ah
(haiyee haiyee)
Qyo poy laata pobra na
(Shay-oh)
Shayee oh oh re...

Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
This is how it's really meant to be
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Come and shakalaka with me
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Loving you is all I need to know
Shakalaka baby, shakalaka baby
Now you're here I'll never let you go

Mi leke jaana


Doll on a Music Box - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

TRULY
What do you see? You people gazing at me
You see a doll on a music box that’s wound by a key
How can you tell I’m under a spell I’m
Waiting for love’s first kiss.

You cannot see how much I long to be free
Turning around on this music box that’s wound by a key
Yearning. Yearning while I’m
Turning around and around


CARACTICUS
(What do you see? You people gazing at me)
Truly Scrumptious, you're truly, truly scrumptious

(You see a doll on a music box that’s wound by a key)
Scrumptious as a cherry peach par fete

(How can you tell I’m under a spell I’m)
When you’re near me it’s so delicious

(Waiting for love’s first kiss.)
Honest, Truly, you’re the answer to my wishes!

(You cannot see how much I long to be free)
Truly Scrumptious though I may seem presumptuous

(Turning around on this music box that’s wound by a key)
Never, never ever go away!

(Yearning. Yearning.)
My heart beat so unruly, because I love you truly

(While I'm turning around and around)
Honest, Truly, I do!


Any Dream Will Do - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph
I closed my eyes, drew back the curtain
To see for certain what I thought I knew
Far far away, someone was weeping
But the world was sleeping
Any dream will do

Joseph & Children
I wore my coat, with golden lining
Bright colours shining, wonderful and new
And in the east, the dawn was breaking
And the world was waking
Any dream will do

Joseph
A crash of drums, a flash of light
My golden coat flew out of sight
The colours faded into darkness
I was left alone

Joseph & Children
May I return to the beginning
The light is dimming, and the dream is too
The world and I, we are still waiting
Still hesitating
Any dream will do

Joseph
A crash of drums, a flash of light
My golden coat flew out of sight
The colours faded into darkness
I was left alone

Joseph & Children
May I return to the beginning
The light is dimming, and the dream is too
The world and I, we are still waiting
Still hesitating
Any dream will do


I like this motto:

Seek - seek for cover
Save - save your own ass
Serve - serve and fuck off

Heh heh.

At my favourite airport now - KLIA. My favourite airline, MAS, has just delayed my already late flight from 11:40 to 12:25. I'd been reading for the past few hours (since before I got off my flight at about 7) and couldn't get to sleep, so I decided to pay RM 15 for 75 minutes of connection time at Burger King (which serves more stuff than the one in Singapore). Hell, since I'm already bankrupt, I might as well spend my last few Ringitt. Whee.

When I was getting off the plane, one airline stewardess came over to ask me how I found the book she had seen me reading, which someone I hardly knew mailed to me before I left - The Case For Christ - A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus, by Lee Strobel (I'm more than halfway through, but I don't find it very convincing. Naturally, I have been scribbling notes, which I will compose properly and share once I finish the book and my 6 pages of notes from my London trip are up - ie in a long while). A theological discussion was then launched, and she heaped the standard lines on me - nothing that I haven't heard before or haven't a counter to. And as usual she like everyone else had no answer but recourse to faith.

Hi again,

Back to cooking (therapeutic!!!); i did lunch for housemate and LTG (my lunch-time gang, all guys) minus one member who was busy plus one new member added this semester. Lunch was steamed chicken drumettes, sauteed mushrooms plus shredded cabbage (with bay leaves for flavouring) and roast chicken.

Dinner was originally for 2 housemates plus cousin; my cell group came over for a prayer meeting in the afternoon so i asked them to stay for dinner. Was planning on steak, braised pork ribs in soya sauce, and stir-fried veggies ... in the end i cut the steak into strips and stir-fried them with onions in hoisin sauce, stir-fried tsientsin cabbage and carrot batons, defrosted a chicken for doing ayam buah keluak (peranakan dish- chicken in candlenut gravy). Managed to stretch it for 7 people!

Oh no just read that and it sounded terribly boring... who would be interested in andrew's culinary adventures. But all this goes to negate the failed attempt at brownies that i baked (turned out part mushy, part rock-hard) last friday before ocf.

In a Youth Hostel in Llangollen (Wales, the land of names starting with "ll") now. My Grand Tour of England and Wales is going rather well so far. Will be back in London on Tuesday or Wednesday night, in Singapore Saturday afternoon and the Middle of Nowhere (Sungei Gedong) on Sunday night.

The Internet is actually *fast*, and cheaper than the one supplied in the 3 other Youth Hostels I've been in so far with Internet Access, as it's supplied by a different cartel.

Damn camera ran out of batteries only 4 days after a full charge, and my spare non-rechargeables coincidentally went flat too. Jiggling with my brother in law's 2 spare batteries wasn't any help, so I lost some wonderful shots of the mountains, and of me and him in the middle of a stream.

Weather so far has been great - only drizzled on one day and really rained when we passed briefly through the Lake District and yesterday, our first day in Wales. Today was bright and sunny, giving us great views of Snowdonia, with the sheer mountains of slate and green valleys. Tis the kind of terrain that puts one in the mind of Middle Earth and similar worlds, and I snapped away - 128MB doesn't look like too vast a capacity now!

Glad to see Andrew is entertaining everyone, and a roaring trade is going on in comments.

I passed my driving test - really a miracle that i did, you should have seen how i drove.

Spilt diet coke with lemon flavour over my computer keyboard last nite (reached home at 10+ and was trying to eat dinner, make a phone call, drink fluids - donated blood yesterday, write email - all before 12 so i could have a good night's rest b4 long day in uni). So the keys got stuck, then more and more of them wouldn't work, and it's practically non-functional now ... gonna have to get a new one. Well, lesson for me: stop eating at the computer! (you should see all the food that finds its way into my room)

Sydney holiday plans rapidly undergoing re-organisation due to change in circumstances.

gabriel i was wondering, are you carrying yr handphone on roaming?

No won't be posting much.

Internet at this youth hostel in York costs 5 bloody pounds an hour. And it's damn slow too.

Hi again,
Im sure gabriel will be posting v. often from england telling of the things he sees (and the things he wishes he didn't). In the meantime (i mean, while he's in the aeroplane/asleep) you'll have to put up with me....

Most of the videos available on kazaa are music videos/movies/television show episodes/anime. I couldn't find a single clip of ballroom dancing! (the nearest i could find was a clip labelled "akazukin chacha ballroom"). Im lookign for resources for ballroom dances- looking to refresh my charlestons ... anyone know where i can find video clips, music downloads to dance to, breakdown of routines? Looking in particular for lindy hop (swing dance)... also the other ones- cha-cha, salsa merengue, mambo, rhumba, samba, rock n' roll etc... And while im on the topic are there any dance studios in singapore near my area (West)/ or any that don't charge exorbitantly? The only ones i know that do lindy hop are ymca and jitterbug- both in orchard. I find that ppl who read this blog are generally a well-informed and knowledgeable bunch so if u could help me out....

I just learnt the shim sham! It's awfully cute and easy to pick up!

Taking my driving test tomorrow morning. 20 minutes of perfect driving....!!!

I'm going to sydney next week! Taking off on friday evening after class, coming back on tuesday (i have a week's holiday). Any suggestions what to do there? Suggestions i have received so far revolve around food/eating... asked my brother and he said "I can't really remember what happened when i was in sydney... did i go to this place or that.... walked a lot...." and it wasn't so long ago- just 3 years.

This will be my last post in Singapore for 2 weeks. I will spend the next 2 weeks being driven around the English Countryside looking at houses and gardens. Toodles.


It seems that this week, I was much happier and more at peace. Much of my rage and despair has morphed into pity and disgust.

Perhaps it was the 2 Medical Appointments on Monday. Perhaps they were busy preparing for the Army Half Marathon, so they couldn't bother me. Or perhaps it was the impending Overseas Leave: at 6:50am on Sunday I'll be off for 2 whole weeks, and I'll return to a week's block leave - 3 glorious weeks away from 42SAR!


The program for HQ Company obese personnel has been introduced - basically the one they planned for me, except that the "power walk" has been moved to 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And since it lasts 2 1/2 hours, allowing for the usual SAF cockups, we'll only be done at 11pm. Gee. I sure hope no one is free enough to supervise this ridiculous farce.


I was in a taxi and the radio was tuned to the BBC. How rare.

This probably breaks the record for shortest bookout post ever! Now it's back to dreary packing. Gah.


Quotes:

My girlfriend is my computer

[Me on a briefing I didn't need to go for: Why am I wasting my time here?] You already wasted 1 1/2 years of your life her... Nevermind, waste 2 1/2 years. At least you won't easte your life, like those regulars.

[On my trip] Go there [and] look at big boobs. [Someone: Most of them don't wear [a] bra]

http://selfabuse.org/

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT EVER use mayonnaise on your sandwich. It will trigger thoughts of other things which you must avoid thinking about. If you are a female, stay away from the hot dogs, carrots, cucumbers and Italian sausage! And girls, NEVER put a candle on the table and light it, pretending you have class. Candles are used for only one purpose and you know what that is!


The Christian and the Professor, a rebuttal to an old xian story

Remember the one that ends: "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain? Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain ... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain."


You Don't Love Me Anymore
by Weird Al Yankovic


We've been together for so very long
But now things are changing, oh I wonder what's wrong?
Seems you don't want me around
The passion is gone and the flame's died down

I guess I lost a little bit of self-esteem
That time that you made it with the whole hockey team
You used to think I was nice
Now you tell all your friends that I'm the Antichrist

Oh, why did you disconnect the brakes in my car?
That kind of thing is hard to ignore
Got a funny feeling you don't love me anymore

I knew that we were having problems when
You put those piranhas in my bathtub again
You're still the light of my life
Oh darling, I'm beggin', won't you put down that knife?

You know, I even think it's kinda cute the way
You poison my coffee just a little each day
I still remember the way that you laughed
When you pushed me down that elevator shaft

Oh, if you don't mind me asking, what's this poisonous cobra
Doing in my underwear drawer?
Sometime I get to thinking you don't love me any more

You slammed my face down on the barbecue grill
Now my scars are all healing, but my heart never will
You set my house on fire
You pulled out my chest hairs with an old pair of pliers

Oh, you think that I'm ugly and you say that I'm cheap
You shaved off my eyebrows while I was asleep
You drilled a hole in my head
Then you dumped me in a drainage ditch and left me for dead

Oh, you know this really isn't like you at all
You never acted this way before
Honey, something tells me you don't love me any more, oh no no
Got a funny feeling you don't love me anymore

(approximately 10 minutes and 2 seconds of silence)

(some loud and spontaneous noises)


"pirates of the caribbean is set in the 1670s-1690s for one pretty obvious reason... the obvious reason is that they had the balls to attack port royale
there was a fucking full naval ssquadron there by the 1690s"

!@#$%^&*()


Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

(...)

A Singapore Story

'Mr Tan runs a business selling plastic toys. He hired managers Chan and Dick to help run the company. The production line has five workers: Ah Beng, Ah Seng, Ah Huat, Muthu and Ali.

As the CEO, Mr Tan pays himself a million dollars a year. His justification is: "without a good leader, the business will not be successful; and you won't get a good leader if you're unwilling to pay for one." Mr Tan has never worked in another company before.

Chan had won a government scholarship twenty years ago while Dick is an expatriate from America. Mr Tan thinks very highly of them and pays them each half-a-million dollars a year.

As an expatriate, Dick also gets housing, transport and relocation allowances amounting to a quarter of a million dollars a year.

The production workers each gets $1,500 a month with $300 going towards a retirement gratuity that the company would match dollar-for-dollar.

The business hasn't been going too well. In fact, business has been downright awful for the last few years. Consumers seem to prefer the cheaper plastic toys from companies across the street.

Mr Tan is furious. "These consumers are a bunch of idiots," he said, "don't they know that the companies across the street are not managed by talents like Chan, Dick and myself?"

Mr Tan has always been deeply impressed by Chan and Dick. Chan has the remarkable ability to use words like "synergy" and "paradigm shift" in every sentence. And Dick? Dick is white. ..'


Medieval: Total War:

"The princess is usually your best bet to getting an alliance or cease fire with a nation. This option is not always available since princesses are randomly created by your married king. It is also important to note that any muslim nation will not produce any princesses ever."

Hahaha.

Anyhow, after reading up on strategy it will be "time to play properly".

Tweaked the opacity. Now it should be much more readable for IE users, but with the hint of a gradient still there.

Now you can see my phlog on the right! I wonder if the number of recent posts displayed is limited. Guess I'll get my reply from tech support next week.


For some reason, my comp got screwed up again and refused to boot. Random bashing with the WinXP CD seemed to work though. I wonder why it keeps spoiling after I bring it back from the shop *suspicious*

"Times are bad, so some dishonest shops try to generate more business for themselves"


How come Chinese vegetarian food practically revolves around mock meat, yet Western vegetarian food makes almost no attempt to replicate the texture and taste of meat?

Some people just can't bear to give up meat I guess.


Xteq X-Setup:

"Windows includes a "feature" (?) that lets you blue-screen (crash) the OS simply by holding the right CTRL key and pressing the "Scroll Lock" key twice.

After activating this option, reboot your system. Then hold the right CTRL key and press the "Scroll Lock" key twice.

Windows will react with a nice MANUALLY_INITIATED_CRASH (0xE2) blue-screen...

Enjoy!"

?!

I'm currently waiting a hellishly long time at Chan Brothers to collect my Great British Heritage Pass. I tried looking at their website using the notebooks provided, but it's quite dull, so. I notice that someone added Sammyboy to the Favourites. Hah!

Tried to tweak my blog template so IE users don't freak out. Found the problem, but posted the wrong template so I screwed it up. Will fix it later.

w00tz! Nice funky features from Blogger Pro have been incorporated into normal Blogger (and the former closed down).


Bah. Was forced to stay back for 5BX, then set my alarm for the wrong time and missed it.

How to assassinate a third world despot with only a butt plug and a litre of raspberry coulis - This is so outrageous, it *has* to be a joke.

Was Sigmund Freud a quack?


More rave reviews:

"As for GSSQ. I don't know him personally. I just read on his blog alot. Love his writing. Its the honest, reflective, analytical writing with all the complexities of English. Even by reading it, I can say that the comprehension level required is very deep. Besides, I seem to share similar viewpoints on him on various political issues, exception being religion. =)

I ended up on his site after a bunch of ACJC boys told me that "there's an rjc guy who comments on his blog about girls who zaogeng in his school". Not a bad introduction indeed. Do a search on "Zao Geng" on google and his site will be amongst the top 10 I think! I think he remarked on his blog as well that "people who search for zao geng on google somehow always end up on my site" In the end, his site is more on funny musings and rantings than on such perverted stuff. =)

Ah, memories of the old canteen..."

I still don't know why I always get sex-related search referrals. But then it seems everyone does.

Does the old canteen bit have anything to do with zaogeng-ing? Haha.


Open Source Community Developing Their Own Viruses

'Helsinki, Finland - Open source developers plan to challenge Microsoft's dominance in the world of viruses by developing their own through the Open Virus Project (OVP), and unlike proprietary Microsoft viruses, the open source versions will infect across all platforms.

Heading the development of the OVP is Jukka Koskelin. He explained, "We took a look at the virus marketspace and realized that Microsoft has over a 95% share of all viruses developed. I don't think the Linux community can be taken seriously if we don't increase our share in that area."

"The viruses we're developing will work cross-platform unlike Microsoft viruses which only work on Windows systems. There are ports to Linux, *BSD, Solaris, and yes, even Windows. We should have a Mac port in a couple of months," Koskelin continued'

It seems that I regularly run into the problem of offending people with what I publish on this humble blog.

Now, I don't post material for the sake of causing offence - my criteria are interest, meaning and significance. Any offence caused is purely peripheral.

Anyhow, anything can offend anyone. Whatever your beliefs, there will always be someone offended by them. For example, if my life revolves around sacrificing lame, green furred kids (the goats, not the children) in bloody, cruel rituals lit by the light of the waxing moon, I'm sure that most people will find that reprehensible. Even though this is what my life revolves around, not many would accept that I could take grievous offence from people merely discussing why they thought my beliefs and practice wrong (if most people in the world thought this way, then Comparative Theology, or even normal theology would be dead, the field of religion sterile and stagnating and the world an alotgether less lively place). Just as most think bloody animal sacrifice is wrong and take offence at it, when I read about how all of us are under a death sentence (nay, worse) for something we didn't do, I take grievous offence, yet I do not raise a hue and cry, but just share my thoughts on why we aren't condemned.

Nobody is forcing anyone to read the conceivably controversial and offensive material posted here (just like no one forces the "moral majority" to watch pornographic movies, but that is another rant altogether), and nothing (well, almost nothing) is directed at specific people. Reactions depend on the individual - your mileage may vary. If you find some paragraphs making you collapse in apoplexy, you are most welcome to skip them, or just give this URL a miss. A suitable analogy might be a girl meeting her friends for lunch, but before that, they are attending a talk by a conservative group which goes on about how foot binding is right and proper, and how females should be circumcised to stop them being over-sexed and unclean. If the girl insists on attending the talk despite cautions from her friends, then she has no right to rail at them. They may not share beliefs, but they can still remain good friends.

Case in point: The discussion that was underway at http://www.therandomwalk.com/archives/000031.html.


I think I am becoming more and more incoherent as the days pass.

YAILR (Yet Another Incoherent Long Rant):

As if I needed any further pressure, they are now threatening me with withdrawal of my nights off and long weekends (though I haven't had any of the latter for a long time) if I don't lose their 10kg in 5 weeks. Now, BMT's target was 1kg/week and with some effort, I hit 1.5kg/week. So that is why I do not believe 2kg/week is feasible (and neither does everyone else, most of whom suggested I try Marie France for those results). Not unless I go on a hunger strike.

Many know that negative motivation is much less likely to succeed than positive motivation, and brings a whole raft of unintended consequences too. You can lead a horse to water, but if you force it to drink it will drown. Since they persist in giving me 2kg to work towards, I shall not work especially hard towards it, and if they're going to whack me no matter what I do, I might as well not do anything for them - even the threat of death cannot make people achieve the impossible. Also, with the time they want me to spend exercising, I wonder where I will find energy and time to do my work. Perhaps I should relinquish my appointment and revocate.

Someone formulated a theory which might give an insight into why I am feeling so distressed. Others don't mind physical exertions much, and can just "go and train". Thus, they don't see why it upsets me so much, and can tell me to "just train lah, what's so difficult". However, I have an intense, pathological aversion to it. Indeed, on reflection, I realise that after physical exertion, I always feel like I've been raped. I'm supposed to, and have been advised to learn to enjoy exercise and work towards the goals set out for me. However, if I can condition myself to accept what every grain in my body rebels against (though some may say the same of my and Neverending Slavery), what else can I force myself to accept by morphing my personality? High treason towards "my" country (even though currently I have no great love for it)? Wanton killing, rape and looting? Religious fundamentalism? Heartless terrorism? Megalomania?

They won't let me go even for 6 months, after hounding me for 14. If 42 loves me so much, and wants me to do exactly the same thing their men do, and enjoy the same "privileges", maybe I should try to get attached back there and laugh as I sting them, before I am promptly murdered by all the regulars.

Their enthusiasm scares me. Driven relentlessly, I feel like a pack animal. I wonder where from comes their almost-religious zeal, and why they find such glee in tormenting me. No quarter is being given me, and the mental barrier I have erected to keep myself sane gets chipped ever so slightly with each day. Instead of becoming stronger and more confident, I feel I'm becoming weaker, more insecure, and breaking down more. I can but hope that the curse of my gender will be mostly lifted soon, and that the 13 years after that will speed by before I am fully free.

Someone advised me not to do anything to get blacklisted for university or when I go out and work, since supposedly confidential SAF records are available for all and sundry to flip through (though I have doubts about that - maybe it's just an urban legend spread by the SAF to stop people faking depression). But then, it's better to be blacklisted than end up broken, crazy or dead.

Some advise me to change my mindset - since I'm already stuck in hell, I should try to be as happy as I can be, since I can't change it. If everyone had that sort of thinking, though, women still would not have the vote, apartheid would still be practised in South Africa and most colonies would not be independent. If this sort of thinking is so laudable then, POWs should all betray their countries and spill the beans to make their lives easier, since they are stuck in the enemy's jails already and should make the best of it. Child prostitutes should try to enjoy their work, as should child soldiers.

In the middle of the week, I was unfortunate enough to have to go for a 16km route march, albeit without a BCS bag or a fieldpack. Before the route march, all the senior officers came to talk to me. I think by now, I've heard so many motivational talks that I'm semi-immune to them already, not that they ever had much effect on me due to my unwillingness to engage in self-deception. Of course, there was some sense in their words, but there is more than one way to look at the world, and much of it was rhetoric. The first 4km of the march was done at an unearthly pace - brisk walking, I swear. Thus, near the 8km mark, after I'd been pulled and dragged along for a great distance, I fell. After recovery, when I finally reached the 8km mark, my CO promised that if I completed the next 4km I wouldn't need to do the last 4km: otherwise, I'd have to march again on Friday. So in the end, I managed to complete 12km by the skin of my teeth (the RT we had that morning did not help) - proof that positive motivation works much better than negative (see above). Except that at the end I was shouted at, collapsed again and this time broke down in front of 100-200 people. It was probably the longest, most severe breakdown so far (including BMT). I think if this goes on, my screws are going to be loosened. I just want to go somewhere where all the bad people can't hurt me anymore.

I wonder what will come of all this. I still have some way to go before I practice Satyagraha successfully.

"Eat well, keep fit, die anyway"


CCO does bunk cleaning a grand total of once a month (sometimes less). Still, their bunk is not noticeably dirtier than ours. Ditto for the toilets, staircases and all around the HQ Armour building's 4th and 5th storeys. Moral of the story: Daily meticulous area cleaning is useless and just another means of repression.

People keep asking me how to downgrade. My response: If I knew I wouldn't still be around!


NKF just gave out some donation cards. This time, in addition to flaunting their wealth with a nicely designed card, they have given out a VCD bemoaning the plight of kidney patients! That they actually have the money to cut a VCD should be an alarming sign. I wonder why they don't just direct their efforts to *helping* the kidney patients, rather than chasing donations in a never-ending cycle. Why, next year we'll probably see a TV show by the NKF to try to coerce people to part with even more money. Oh wait, we had that already. What's next? A feature film? A "Kidney Disease" monument, made of burnished gold?

I've little energy, desire and mood to do socio-political commentary nowadays. That's a bad portent.

It's odd, really. Some people complain I'm too cynical and negative, while others say I'm too idealistic.

Everyone likes my new phone cover, and they all say it's chio and "doesn't look like a Nokia" except Geraldine, who thinks it's "hideous". But then I think her tastes are the pits too, so :) The cover isn't that well made, though - the shiny metal at the back turned out to be a sticker which wasn't stuck on properly, so I removed it, and one part of the plastic in front popped out when I dropped it (though it was easily fixed). You get what you pay for, I guess.

Apparently the irritatig Jay Chou song with chanting in the background is called "yi3 fu4 zhi1 ming2" (the name of the father?).

The CDs I got at Jurong East could be read by my CDRW drive since, as Xephyris says, "DVD lenses are weaker". In the end, though, the only thing that could install was Europa Universalis: Crown of the North. Bloody pasar malam con artists. In the end I went somewhere where the discs were cheaper, and so far they all work!


Notes on Pirates of the Carribean:

Keira Knightley doesn't look 18. She's really, erm, grown a lot since Bend It Like Beckham, too. She seems to have some magical skills in the show - while she normally wears nighties, at some points where they'd be inconvenient, lo and behold, she's dressed in pajama bottoms (did those even exist for women at that time?)

Johnny Depp looks like a drug addict. And as all the reviews say, he's wonderful in his role.

A band played Arne's "Rule Britannia" at one point. This song was composed in 1740, and I'd imagine took a while to gain popularity. However, I'm not an expert at identifying the time periods Men-O-War and swords of forged steel come from just from their appearance. The phrase "Davy Jones' Locker" was also used at some points. Apparently the first literary reference to this phrase occured in 1751, in Tobias Smollet's The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. So that further narrows down the time frame. My gut feeling, though, is that the movie is set before 1740, since by that time piracy in the Caribbean was on the decline (but then they *did* say Jack Sparrow was one of the last pirate captains. Or something).

It's not often that you see bullets whizzing through the air in films. At most you just hear them. So seeing them fly was quite interesting. As were the shade-moonlight skeleton-human transitions, which were very fluid.

Lastly, how the hell is this based on the Disney ride of the same name? Though it's been 9 years since I was on it (maybe even 16), so maybe I missed something.


Quotes:

[On everyone ganging up to gang bang me] Wah lau, Gabriel, you're like the number 1 enemy in our unit.

[On my troubles] You can go and kill yourself. We'll build a statue of you... Your arm outstretched, and an eagle on your hand. Before enlistment, people will go there and pray... "Don't let me go [to] NS, don't let me go [to] NS..." Then the eagle will shit on them.

Enciks usually have the opinion of wanting everyone to die. (attitude)

Then I shall tell them I'm sick (Sikh)

Hello!
Just wanted to say that i still exist (hello penny if you're reading this! heehee ... i think it's so funny to communicate by blog to ppl like u in melbourne. I have a joke! Why did the heart suffering from dextrocardia cross the road? To get to the other side! Hahaha ... okay not so funny. Are there any other ocfers reading this? or did you all get put off by the joke? penny how did you find my blog?)

I finished my essay on alzheimer's disease on wednesday! If you want to read it i'll send you a copy. I really enjoyed doing this assignment... and the second half is quite readable too... no jargon. (the first half is scientific jargon abt brains)

What else is there to say about me .... Hello to anyone else reading this. Hello hello hello! I was voting for the new uni student union, and in exchange i got a $8 food voucher, two badges, and a bouncy ball! One of the badges says "Kiss my ass: i voted International Alliance" oh well ... the other one's funny too... it says "Independent. Apolitical. For our union. Student-driven. Need we say more? IA". Can u imagine a political party claiming to be apolitical?

I finally bought hummous from vic market today... can't wait to try it! fresh hummous!! And swords (discount wine shop) was open as well... but i didn't buy anything from there. Ooh i miss dance! and i miss the dancers! For melbourne uni OCF's 13th anniversary a couple of fridays ago 8 of us put on 2 dance items- a jive and a hip-hop self-choreographed and nite after nite we were laughing at one another and cracking up.... there's a video as well and it's hilarious

Mensa International - Mensa Workout - From a page Moses sent me. Apparently the next testing date is next Saturday. "Your score was 21 out of 30. That is a very good score, you would have a good chance of passing the Mensa test." - Bah. I wonder what the point of joining is, anyway.

The Gender Genie - Paste samples of writing in and by analysing keywords, it will predict (with a supposed 80% accuracy) what gender the author is.

When Will You Die? - "The World's Most Reliable Death Calculator"

Not all POWs survive - "A forwarded email, about a sergeant who was essentially killed during the Singapore Armed Forces POW training course"


The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment

The infamous 1971 experiment. Reading through the commentary by Philip G. Zimbardo, I am struck by how much the observations and findings apply to Neverending Slavery (to use Chinx's term), and BMT in particular:

1. Consider the psychological consequences of... shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go through an experience like this?

The process of having one's head shaved, which takes place in most prisons as well as in the military, is designed in part to minimize each person's individuality, since some people express their individuality through hair style or length. It is also a way of getting people to begin complying with the arbitrary, coercive rules of the institution.

2. The guards were given no specific training on how to be guards. Instead they were free, within limits, to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order in the prison and to command the respect of the prisoners. The guards made up their own set of rules

I don't think those of non-enlistee rank are given much specific training on how to control their men.

3. At 2:30 A.M. the prisoners were rudely awakened from sleep by blasting whistles... these events provided a regular occasion for the guards to exercise control over the prisoners.

Push-ups were a common form of physical punishment imposed by the guards to punish infractions of the rules or displays of improper attitudes toward the guards or institution. When we saw the guards demand push-ups from the prisoners, we initially thought this was an inappropriate kind of punishment for a prison -- a rather juvenile and minimal form of punishment. However, we later learned that push-ups were often used as a form of punishment in Nazi concentration camps

At first push-ups were not a very aversive form of punishment, but they became more so as the study wore on. Why the change?

Read: Various forms of punishment (including knocking it down) and silly regimental stuff

4. The next day, we held a visiting hour for parents and friends. We were worried that when the parents saw the state of our jail, they might insist on taking their sons home. To counter this, we manipulated both the situation and the visitors by making the prison environment seem pleasant and benign. We washed, shaved, and groomed the prisoners, had them clean and polish their cells, fed them a big dinner, played music on the intercom, and even had an attractive former Stanford cheerleader, Susie Phillips, greet the visitors at our registration desk.

When the dozen or so visitors came, full of good humor at what seemed to be a novel, fun experience, we systematically brought their behavior under situational control. They had to register, were made to wait half an hour, were told that only two visitors could see any one prisoner, were limited to only ten minutes of visiting time, and had to be under the surveillance of a guard during the visit. Before any parents could enter the visiting area, they also had to discuss their son's case with the Warden. Of course, parents complained about these arbitrary rules, but remarkably, they complied with them. And so they, too, became bit players in our prison drama, being good middle-class adults.

Some of the parents got upset when they saw how fatigued and distressed their son was. But their reaction was to work within the system to appeal privately to the Superintendent to make conditions better for their boy. When one mother told me she had never seen her son looking so bad, I responded by shifting the blame from the situation to her son. "What's the matter with your boy? Doesn't he sleep well?" Then I asked the father, "Don't you think your boy can handle this?"

He bristled, "Of course he can -- he's a real tough kid, a leader." Turning to the mother, he said, "Come on Honey, we've wasted enough time already." And to me, "See you again at the next visiting time."

Parents' Visiting Day in BMT, and other displays to the public!

5. [We felt] considerable frustration and feelings of dissonance over the effort we had put in to no avail. Someone was going to pay for this.

The guards again escalated very noticeably their level of harassment, increasing the humiliation they made the prisoners suffer, forcing them to do menial, repetitive work such as cleaning out toilet bowls with their bare hands. The guards had prisoners do push-ups, jumping jacks, whatever the guards could think up, and they increased the length of the counts to several hours each.

6. There were three types of guards. First, there were tough but fair guards who followed prison rules. Second, there were "good guys" who did little favors for the prisoners and never punished them. And finally, about a third of the guards were hostile, arbitrary, and inventive in their forms of prisoner humiliation. These guards appeared to thoroughly enjoy the power they wielded, yet none of our preliminary personality tests were able to predict this behavior. The only link between personality and prison behavior was a finding that prisoners with a high degree of authoritarianism endured our authoritarian prison environment longer than did other prisoners.

7. Prisoner #416 coped by going on a hunger strike to force his release. After several unsuccessful attempts to get #416 to eat, the guards threw him into solitary confinement for three hours, even though their own rules stated that one hour was the limit. Still, #416 refused.

At this point #416 should have been a hero to the other prisoners. But instead, the others saw him as a troublemaker.


Which Backstreet Boy Is Gay?

We are, on fire,
we have, desires,
but one, is that way,
one backstreet boy is gay.
But we dont want to be mean,
since now he's a queen,
dont ask please,
"which backstreet boy is gay?"

Tell me who! Aint sayin that its AJ
Tell me who! Aint sayin that its Howie
Tell me who! I never wanna hear you say:
"Which backstreet boy is gay?"

Now I can see him, he's in womens clothes,
but he dont need an IUD, yeah,
He likes Village People,
he's playin croquet,
his dog is a pekinese.
He is on fire,
his back, prespires,
Wont say, wont say, wont say, WHOS GAY!
He's always sayin: Aint nuthin but a butt-ache,
aint nuthin but a fruitcake,
I never want to hear you say, which one of us is gay?

Tell me who! Aint sayin that its Brian
Tell me who! Aint sayin Nick or Kevin
Tell me who! He's bakin' up a soufflè

Which Backstreet Boy is gay?

Ok, we're all gay.

- by Mikeboyslim

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

http://www.littlespeck.com/region/CForeign-Jp-030817.htm

School uniforms
Japanese girls love them
Singapore students can't wait to shed this manifestation of conformity but in Japan, it's the opposite. Todd Zaun. AWSJ.
Aug 17, 2003

TOKYO - Browsing in the trendy 109 department store in Tokyo, 16-year-olds Sumie Tanaka and Saki Sanao are wearing what look like typical Japanese school uniforms: white blouses, navy-blue pleated miniskirts, knee-high socks and matching penny loafers.

But the outfits aren't the teenagers' real school uniforms. They are uniform-like clothes that the two girls from the Tokyo suburb of Saitama have specifically picked out to wear on their shopping trip.

"Everyone is wearing uniforms," says Ms. Tanaka. "They're cute and easy to coordinate."

Once seen as a symbol of conformity and oppression, the school uniform has over the past two years become ultrachic among young Japanese girls.

Many are wearing uniforms, or clothes that look like uniforms, on weekends and after school. Some girls wear uniforms even though their schools have no dress code.

Ozakishoji Co., a uniform maker in western Japan, is seeing stronger-than-expected sales despite a shrinking population of students.

Suddenly, it is incredibly hip to be a high-school girl.

After years of riding the cutting edge of Japan's fickle fashion waves, schoolgirls are seen as the ultimate arbiters of what is cool, and their tastes are monitored by everyone from fashion designers to electronic companies.

Schoolgirls were behind the rise of pop icons like Hello Kitty, and were early and enthusiastic users of e-mail messaging over cellphones.

In the matter of school uniforms, they dream of staying just as they are.

"They know they're under a spotlight," says Yasuko Nakamura, who studies high-school students at Boom Planning Co., a marketing consulting company.

"They cherish their three years in high-school and want others to know" they are students, she says.

The uniform-as-fashion trend hasn't caught on with high-school boys, who aren't caught on with high-school boys, who aren't considered trendsetters.

The uniform's popularity may also be a sign of anxiety about growing up. Japan's long economic slump has severely constrained career opportunities for the young, especially for women.

Uniform Code

Eighteen-year-old Eri Ishida, a student at Chiba Keizai High School east of Tokyo, says she dreads the day she will no longer be able to put on her navy-blue miniskirt, white blouse and burgundy bow.

"When I think that this is my last chance to wear a school uniform, I want to say in school longer," says Ms. Ishida, who plans to study fashion design after she graduates next March.

Matter of Choice

Uniforms weren't always so cool. Decades ago, the school uniform was widely reviled as the most visible symbol of the strict control schools exercised over students.

In addition to imposing inflexible dress codes, many schools forbid students to wear makeup and jewelry.

In the 1970s and 1980s, some students fought, without much effect, to shed their uniforms.

Mikiko Morimoto, now 28, gained national attention in1988 when she refused to wear a uniform to her junior high school in the western city of Takatsuki. "I thought it was important to show I had an identity of my own," she says.

Ms. Morimoto, who now studies physics at a university in western Japan, is bewildered by the sudden popularity of uniforms.

But she says there is a big difference between being forced to wear a uniform and wearing on voluntarily. "If they're wearing uniforms because they want to, what's wrong with that?" she says.

Meanwhile, schools have loosened or eliminated dress codes in an effort to attract students, as Japan's aging society has led to fewer children.

Some tried to update their image by hiring famous Japanese designers to create more fashionable uniforms, with shorter skirts and colorful bows.

Tatsuo Inamasu, a sociology professor at Hosei University, says some students may be embracing the discipline associated with uniforms as backlash against the loosening of school rules.

"They believe it's cool to control themselves to a certain degree by wearing uniforms at a time when you see so much freedom," he says.

Black Market

Of course, that doesn't mean the girls want to dress exactly alike.

In fact, more girls are putting together their own unique uniform ensembles. That is creating a black market in used uniforms.

Many schoolgirls barter with their friends at other schools for skirts, scarves and blouses. Others raid the closets of older sisters or cousins.

To expand her collection, 16-year-old Mina Ozawa recently sneaked into a used uniform sale at a friend's school to shop for skirts and bows. Such sales aren't officially open to outside students.

"I don't care where it comes from, as long as it has a cute pattern or nice color," she says.

One of the most coveted uniform designs is the traditional sailor suit, which features a dark blue skirt, a white blouse that resembles a navy uniform, and a colored kerchief.

Tokyo Jogakkan high school, where female students have worn this style for 70 years, now asks its graduating seniors to refrain from selling their uniforms to students from other schools, according to Masao Maruyama, the school's vice principal.

Tokyo Jogakkan students must also identify themselves when buying uniforms at the two campus shops.

The school implemented the ID check after teens from another school posed as Tokyo Jogakkan students to buy the school's silk kerchiefs - and later sold them on an Internet auction.

The quest for uniforms baffle school administrators, who are struggling to create a curriculum that fosters greater creativity.

"This trend is not good in the sense that [students] may lose some of their own personality," says Hiroshi Oguri, the principal of Tokyo 's Shinjuku high school.

His school has a designated blazer, although students don't have to wear it. But up to 60% of them wear it on any given day.

Still, girls like Sumie Tanaka and Saki Sanao, the pair from Saitama, say they see plenty of leeway to express their individuality through uniforms.

In addition to their miniskirts and white tops, Ms. Tanaka wears a big, burgurdy-colored bow that she chose herself.

Ms. Sanao's white shirt is actually her father's old dress shirt, which gives her uniform a baggy, grunge look.

The outfits, they say, are a world apart from their real school uniforms - knee-length, plaid skirt an feminine blouse - which they tucked away in their school bags during their Tokyo to shopping trip.
The real school uniforms, says Ms. Tanaka, "aren't as cool." ENDS.

(This article: "High-school confidential: Japanese girls in uniforms aren't necessarily students" was published in Asian Wall Street Journal on Aug 5, 2003.)