All in a Days Work

290705

Hopped down to the Singapore Expo for lunch with mum and dad, where we tried out yummy food at the Food Festival, such as the Japanese skewered meat and sushi, Singapore's famous Chilli Crab, Hong Kong Ee Fu Noodles and the Thai waterchest nut dessert.

After the hearty meal, I went on to meet my Asoc Campmates at Marche for Dinner. As facilitator Ron was not feeling well then, Weiming coordinated the meet up instead. And I had the honour of being splashed with water courtesy of their infamously pathetic counter staff (Luckily it was just a small splash. What made me MAD was that he did not apologize for having splashed water on me). Had it been one of my less patient days, I would have dragged him and marched up to the General Manager to complain. As it was, I had the Teriyaki Fish and Wedges, which was probably one of their cheaper Main Courses (Snapple for four bucks, so you go figure). And they've added a new clause which requires a minimum of ten dollars spent per card (cumulative with other cards)

After the initial formalities, we trooped over to the Cineleisure Food Court where I grabbed a 'Cool Blue; (really just Longan with some blue, sweet stuff). Actually, we were waiting for a place at Cafe Cartel, where Cheese cakes go for for 1/2 price (practically S$2.10) after 9pm. A steal! So we tried the Tiramisu, Chicago and Oreo cheesecakes, desparately trying to find space to slot them into our stomachs. :D

280705

Met up with Victor at Starbucks Coffee, Suntec City, for a small introduction session. Despite some efforts at initiation along with Gabriel, he and his friend were quite reserved, but yup, what should be expected of an initial meet up anyway? Of course, we spoke a little about the political climate and current affairs issues such as the bombings in London and Egypt before they scooted off for another appointment.

Note to self: The Mocha, kettle chips and potato salad at Starbucks are pretty good, but it should come with a sticker that screams: NOT CHEAP!

Heh.

Anyway, after the little get together, I walked around City Link Mall for a couple of hours before meeting up with fellas from my SMU Orientation Group (Ed: It's Leadership and Team Building Camp! Whatever...) for dinner at Thai Express. I guess we were enticed by the 'Buffet', which ended up really being a 'Finish up our fine spread of 20 dishes before you may order as you like' Buffet, which is really sad, because most of the fellas were full even before we finished our preassigned twenty dishes.

After dinner, we crossed over to Marina Square to catch a Movie (At a discounted rate, 'cos Xin Yu's working at Golden Village) - The Island

After watching The Island, I realized that if one dwells upon the plot and storyline, one will notice that the film deals with many current issues (I will place the onus on you to find out which scenes were represented by their corresponding issues):

1. September 11 Terrorist Attacks
2. The ethical issues of Human Cloning
3. Man's quest for longevity, at any cost
4. The prevalence of Racial Discrimination in society
5. The violent consequences that may arise from the oppression of thought (Propaganda) in societies
6. The obsession with Designer babies and Production line babies (In Vitro, X-ray gender scans, cloning)

Lifted the ban on the K Box Group and accompanied my OG to K Box Karaoke.

All in a Day's Work

260705

Lunch at Takashimaya's FoodVenture for Kids. They sold reasonably priced meals and snacks, something out of the ordinary (being smack in the centre of town).

Takashimaya's Food Court employs staggered 1 hour tea specials as a tactic to woo customers during break time. I grabbed a cup of coffee (For only 1 buck) for tea.

270705

Yao Shun invited me to join him at the Jurong East Swimming Pool, which I must admit, is HUGE!

There was a (true) Wave Pool, which had sea-worthy waves capable of nudging us onto shore. And it accompanied by a man-made rain, created a stormy atmosphere.

There was also a separate human and float slide, which I tried four times. :D The adrenaline rush that is generated is just like that of a roller coaster!

There's also a Jet Pool (Now I know where SAFRA Mount Faber got its inspiration from...) and Lazy River (which had really strong currents).

After a dip in the pool, we went on to the Jurong East Community Library, the largest library until the opening of the Central Library on the 22nd. They have an entire floor devoted to Youths (Read: COMICS!).

All in a Day's Work

250705

Came home at around 11pm, and was pretty tired already, but when I went online, Daryl, fellow "Leadership and Team Building" Campmate asked me "Where do you stay?"

And one group conversation and fifteen minutes later, Gabriel picked me up from my place and together with Linda, I found myself rushing to Somerset's Coffee Club for supper. I had a nice Peach Smoothie [!], Linda and Belinda shared a Banana Butterscotch Cheesecake [!!] (which I tried a little of) and we had a six-inch Hawaiian Pizza [!!!]. We lingered around for a couple of hours till nearly everyone was jaded (and the fountain was shut off, which created a very quiet atmosphere - Good for whispering sweet nothings but too *eerily quiet for a chat).

Gabriel, Thanks for the ride to and from Coffee Club!

All in a Day's Work

230705

Joined Sharon in the afternoon to catch the Tae Kwan Do Black Belt grading at Toa Payoh Indoor Stadium.

Before that, though, we had a little feast. :D At Fiesta Japanese Restaurant.

We had a breaded pork set lunch, complete with Miso Soup. sliced watermelon and a salad. Coupled with Simmering hot Green Tea (Free flow! Yup, a great value at 80 cents). But we splurged haplessly on the sushi on the conveyor belt to the tune of six whole plates (And Sharon attributes this to the evil tactic employed by Fiesta to prop up customer consumption.)

Anyway, we were so stuffed, we had to pack the late-meal order of two seaweed wraps to take away.

Off we went to view the Tae Kwan Do grading.

My first impression of the grading was "PWOAH!"

There were around fifty fellas taking the brown to black grading alone!

And there was a single fella taking the Dan 4 to 5 grading...

Was an eye opener to see so many Dan patterns in one day, after my retirement from the sport a decade ago.

A few things I noticed about the patterns:

3 schools have developed, namely

1) Speed
2) Strength
3) Display/ Performance

1 and 2 are traditional schools of Tae Kwan Do, but 3 is a new school that I noticed almost instantly. The practitioners are very Wayang and their strokes are both slow and robotic (Jerking, if you ask me).

There were a couple of violent sparring episodes, with a black belter ('helper') being whacked in the jaw by a testee. So much for being helpful!

And I've realized that I have to contact my previous instructor if I intend to covnert my Poom belt to black. Argh... Will need to spend more time and energy to search for him.

240705

We did our first Street sales today for the Youth For Causes Project at the Dhoby Ghaut area. In light of the NKF-SATA twin fiascos, I was pleasantly surprised that we did have quite a good show of volunteers and sales receipts.

*Special reminder: Bring Sharon's hairband on next meeting.

A Penny For Your Thoughts? I'll Give You My Two Cents Worth

London: Strike 2

Egypt: Strike 2

The twin terror attacks on the 'hub of the world' and the 'city of peace' has serious implications on security measures and the US-led effort on the war on Terror. It undermines the hard work of International Intelligence Agencies in addition to making a mockery of US boasts of having weakened the Al-Qaeda network's strike capabilities since the Afghan campaign forced Osama bin Laden into hiding.

Now remains the question of who will emerge victorious in the race against time to halt more mindless slaughter by minds far more cunning and resilent than previously anticipated.

I am certainly hoping Strike 3 will not happen in the next decade at least. Now, let moderate Muslims join hands with the rest of the world in the harsh condemnation of extremism and extermination of radical elements within and without. Only a united world can root out the deadly pranks conducted by a handful of vengeful militants.

All in a Day's Work

After a good nine-hour, mainly uninterrupted sleep, I got up refreshed, recharged and ready to go another 72 hours with minimal sleep. Of course, that said, I do not intend to come close to doing something like my marathon, over the past few days, in the near future.

Instead, I zipped straight to complete the task of adding the finishing touches to the minutes on the meeting and clarification session with Ms Maureen Fung on Wednesday, which I applaud for having resolved any miscommunications we had previously.

A Penny for Your Thoughts? I'll Give You My Two Cents Worth

Three things of public concern in the past week:

1. The TT Durai-NKF Saga
2. The London Bombings: Strike Two
3. The revaluation of the Chinese Renminbi and Malaysian Ringgit

1. TT Durai's daughter appeals to PM Lee to help restore father's honour

'SINGAPORE : The daughter of TT Durai , the former CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, has appealed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to help restore her father's honour and reputation if a review of the NKF shows there have not been any wrongdoings.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan disclosed this in Parliament on Thursday.

Mr Khaw, who was responding to points made by MPs over the two days of debate, had urged the House to also look at the issue from the perspective of Mr Durai 's family.

He said Mr Durai 's daughter, a junior college student who is mature for her age, had emailed the Prime Minister.

Saying she was adversely affected by the fiasco, she wrote: "Since I was young, my father had very little time to spend with us. I always asked myself why my father had no time for us. Were we less important to him than his patients? Was his work more important than us?"

And she went on to ask Mr Lee, "After the review by the new board, you will help him to restore his reputation and honour, if no wrong doings were found?"

Mr Khaw said Mr Durai 's achievements for the NKF were real and significant.

But ego and arrogance could have gone to his head, leading to poor judgement and insensitivity.

Mr Khaw cautioned, "I think there are lessons for us here. No matter how great our achievements are, we live for others. Look at the late Mr Hon Sui Sen. There was no ego in the man. He completely personified humility.

"Likewise the late President Wee Kim Wee and hence the huge outpouring of emotions at his funeral. President S.R. Nathan is another such humble man who has done great for society, but remains his past self."

Mr Khaw also had a word of caution for other players in the NKF saga.

He said, "I scanned through the local media today. I could not help noticing the different spin The Straits Times put to the MPs' speeches yesterday, compared to all the other local media, like TODAY and ZaoBao. Let us hope arrogance has not also gone to the head of the victor in the court case." '- CNA/de

2. Man shot dead in London subway station: police

'LONDON : Police shot and killed a man at an Underground subway station in south London on Friday, police said, amid television news reports that he was a would-be suicide bomber.

"We can confirm that just after 10am (0900 GMT) armed officers entered Stockwell Tube station," a police spokesman said. "A man was challenged by officers and subsequently shot...He was pronounced dead at the scene."

Sky News television reported earlier that the shot man was "a suspected suicide bomber", a day after an apparent failed attempt to carry out a new wave of bombings on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus.

Stockwell is one stop south of Oval station, one of three Underground stops that were, together with a double-decker bus, the scenes of apparent would-be suicide attacks on Thursday. '

3. Most Singaporeans say ringgit revaluation will not affect visits to Malaysia

'Most Singaporeans say the revaluation of the Malaysian ringgit will not affect their visits to Malaysia.

But its impact is already being felt by moneychangers and some heading across the Causeway.

On Friday, all eyes were on the currency exchange rates on the board - especially the Malaysian ringgit.

In one morning, 45 year-old moneychanger Abdul Haleem handled more than 50 enquiries on the ringgit's exchange rate.

He said: "No one's changing, they're just asking the rate. Just small transactions, not big transactions about 100 or 200 dollars only."

Another money changer Mohamed said: "This is the first time, never happened before. People don't understand when we tell them, they don't believe, they don't buy...they go check and come back and buy from us."

But the revaluation of the ringgit has not deterred some holidaymakers.

"Once we are in a holiday mood, we just spend, spend, spend," said one Singaporean.

"That doesn't affect us as our trip's already planned for and the Singapore dollar is still strong against the ringgit," said another.'

---

Something else off the 'Net

Microsoft names next Windows version 'Vista'

'WASHINGTON : Microsoft Corp. on Friday said the next version of its operating system used on most personal computers around the world will be called "Windows Vista."

The world's biggest software company stopped short of providing a launch date for the new version of Windows.

The first overhaul of the dominant computer operating system since Windows XP five years ago, is expected to reach consumers sometime next year.

Microsoft, which developed the software under the codename "Longhorn," expects to make the test version available to developers and tech professionals by August 3, it said in a statement.

The new software is expected to sport a new graphical interface, giving it a new look and feel, and enhanced security and communications features.

"It introduces clear ways to organize and use information the way you want to use it," Microsoft said on its Web page for the new system.

"It seamlessly connects you to information, people, and devices that help you get the most out of life."

The operating system, used on around 90 percent of personal computers, accounts for around a third of Microsoft's revenue.'

- AFP /ls

All in a Day's Work

200705

My day started with a three hour power nap (Woke up at six to prepare for the meeting with Ms Fung). Over breakfast at McDonald's with Sharon and Yilinn, we tried out my Tablet PC's wi-fi connection.

We then crossed over to join Erica at the FSC meeting room. Ms Fung was surprisingly early, so we proceeded to do our presentation and clarification session with her. In a nut shell, the meeting was very fruitful, and cleared up any miscommunications that had existed previously. Ms Fung was very forthcoming with her suggestions and assistance, which injected positive energy as a whole to the team. Whee!

After the meeting, we trooped down to Waterways Watch Society to help out in their beach clean-up activity for Primary School children. Yilinn (AKA "Ms Teo") conducted the lesson for the kids, while the rest of us supervised their clean up efforts at the beach.

After being dismissed by Ms Teo, I rushed back home to prepare for Julia's Birthday gathering at Zouk.

I still hold firm my belief that clubbing

-spoils the ears (loud music)
-spoils the lungs (passive smoking)
-spoils the heart (fast music)
-spoils the kidneys and liver (the Drinks)
-spoils the piggy bank (with the exorbitant entrance fees)

Birthday girl Julia was konked out before the hour was up, having succumbed to the lethal combination of Screwdriver, Long Island, Lamborghini and Graveyard (She claimed to having no knowledge of having drunk the Graveyard thing though, so). Linda, too, was over and out with a third of the Screwdriver and some Long Island. Gabriel was tipsy after his share of the Lamborghini and Graveyard. Even clubbing-regular Daryl was not spared; He claimed to be a little 'light headed' after the round of drinks. The girls were dragged to the safety of their homes when they were done in by the alcohol.

Of course newbie me was also not spared.

The jug of Long Island was very strong (and very pricey too, at 60 bucks a jug :( ), much stronger than the one I tried with Junfa earlier on in the year. It was very lethal, the Long Island... Was topsy turvy and couldn't walk upright so had to be helped to a high chair by a bouncer to chill first.

The Long Island was concocted by a female bartender, which might explain why it was so lethal:

-It must have been mixed in accordance to the recipe (unlike the guys, whom I suspect might skive on the vodka
-she was very conscientious. In my own words: "gosh, she looked so meticulous! Like titration or something". Really.

210705

You wouldn't believe this, but I slowly made my way from Zouk to Pasir Ris in the morning to meet up with Azrul for breakfast.

Lunch with Jian Ming and Zi Rong. We had Chicken Rice today, and I'm glad there are still coffeeshops near my place that have not succumbed to modern-day hyper inflation. Yet. Yup, 2 bucks for a good ol' plate of roasted chicken rice. And it was with a rather generous serving of chicken meat and achar.

Yup, wetried the Pearl Milk Tea at the confectionary opposite McDonald's - our usual Bubble Tea haunt. Yup, free pearls! Whee...

Presentation: 18/25
Taste: 22/25
Service: 15 /20
Value for Money: 18/20
Queue: 8/10

Smooth and Yummy! 81%

After lunch, I rushed down to Orchard to shop for Erica's birthday present, along with Yilinn and Huimin. We found her a nice rotating photo frame at Books Kinokuniya.

All in a Day's Work

Why on earth am I blogging at such an ungodly hour?

Went down just after lunch to collect my Fujitsu Tablet PC T4010, which was probably one-odd week overdue. Feeling more poor than excited now, so if you would like to, please donate a USB 2.0 hub or some useful accessories that Fujitsu might have forgotten to throw in.

The sprawling SMU city campus is awesome! It's not very big in any case, but it's connected by an underground mall! So that we can avoid the rain while shuttling between lessons, or pop by a shop to pick up a cappachino or a pair of slacks. Evil!

When I was crossing the road, I noticed a young lady using her sweater to shelter herself from the rain, so I offered to shelter her to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. It turned out to be a rewarding experience. Haha... got to chat with her and liven up the mood of things (hey, what else can you do on a rainy day?) Yup, she's an insurance agent currently studying part time and working full time with AIA and was rushing off to Newton and so was unprepared for the rain.

Arranged to meet Zi Rong and Jian Ming for dinner at Heartland Mall. We ended up eating at KFC. Shared a buddy meal with buddy Jian Ming. :D haha... why else do you think they coined such a name? R-i-ght. At ten bucks for two pieces of chicken, a chicken taco wrap, two drinks and four regular sides, I think they might have overpriced it a little. Eight dollars for the package both sounds good and affordable. Remember MacDonald's $2 promotions in the past where they just showed how two golden coins can buy a burger. KFC can try something similar: How about the buddy meal for 8 bucks, with (specifically) two golden coins change if you pay with a ten-dollar bill. It catches on, and has the added bonus of splitting the cost evenly between buddies (A buck each). Just a thought.

After dinner, we walked around Heartland Mall in search of a reasonable USB 2.0 Hub. Anybody who does not need his/her USB hub can toss it my way. Would be very much appreciated.

A Warcraft III Battlechest is going for $74.50 at Comics Connections, up from $65 three months ago and $50 when Loren bought his half a year ago. I suspect DOTA has a role in the recent price spike. Oh well...

Bubble Tea resurgence! - Okay, so it's just a recent rekindling of interest in bubble tea (Thanks to Zi Rong, who got the ball rolling). Today's choice outlet is the Co Co Bubble Tea outlet at Hougang Heartland Mall. There is a good variety of drinks here as well, but for additional toppings (such as pearl, or the 'bubble' in 'bubble tea'), it would set one back thirty cents. It's complimentary at the Bubble Tea shop in Serangoon Central. Anyway, I tried a 'Black Crystal Milk Tea', half disappointed that they didn't serve up cappuchino Milk Teas, but was delighted when it turned out to be Coffee Milk Tea, and that the mysterious 'Black Crystals' were caffeine-infused pieces of agar-agar!

Presentation: 18/25
Taste: 17/25
Service: 15 /20
Value for Money: 15/20
Queue: 8/10

A feasible alternative to the average Kopitiam's kopi-bing. 73%

Preparing for the all-important meeting and clarification session at AWWA at eleven. This will test the mettle of our team. Do keep you fingers crossed for us!

All in a Day's Work

Had the McChicken Extra Value Meal with Zi Rong and Loren at the MacDonald's (Serangoon Central branch). At 5 bucks for the EVM and 2 bucks for the McChicken Burger, Loren reckoned it'd be more cost efficient if we had bought two EVMs and a burger.

Guess who I met at the Serangoon NEL Station again? Huiling! She's leaving for Shanghai on the 3rd of August for an internship with HP there. Woo... everyone's moving forward! That's great news for our A4 class... The world is our playground!

Popped by the YMCA in the evening to hear more about the Y Club, an up and coming CCA in SMU. Mr Dexter Tai was there as usual, as well as Mr Albert Ching. But I didn't sign up for the club due to the necessity for club members to be affiliated with the YMCA directly.

All in a Day's Work

150705

We had our AWesome SMU volunteers come down to Jalan Besar Towner RC for a little get together session, and I must admit that the turnout was very disheartening. Yilinn ended up speaking quite a bit, even though she had just undergone Dental Surgery that very morning for wisdom tooth extraction. Woo, yup, but the volunteers were enthusiastic and we achieved our goal of introducing our project to the volunteers. It was a very frank and fruitful two-way conversation between us and the volunteers, so I think it was a success in some ways. :)

160705

Met up with Yao Shun at Toa Payoh to catch Weizhang's performance at the Indoor Stadium. The SOKA Youth Peace Culture Festival 2005 was a rather good performance, as it tapped into manpower from all the various departments in the organization, including the Chinese Orchestra, Choir, Gymnastics, Student, Lower and Upper Primary departments.

And guess what? When an announcement was made to invite someone on stage to give the opening address, you should have been there to catch my gaping, wide-eyed face, as I stared in disbelief when the lady seated to the left of me, across the aisle, rose to take her place at the microphone. Yup, we were seated in the VIP box (though not accorded VIP seats). :) It turned out to be an energy-packed performance, complete with human pyramids and marching bands.

Yock Song's leaving for Perth on his well deserved vacation on the 22nd. Sounds like fun Down Under! Whee...

All in a Day's Work

3D/2N CIRCLE Experience

Day 1
120705

Slept at three in the morning (Was packing my bag the whole night), woke up three hours later to wash up.

Was at SMU rather early as dad gave me a lift there. And so we waited till around nine before setting off by coach. In the mean time, Chin Wan and Julia did an informal introduction, as they were not present during the pre-camp meet up the previous Sunday.

The journey to the Chinese Gardens was plagued by a terrible traffic jam, which worsened as we approached Clementi. And this was in the direction away from town!

Anyway, it started to pour as we entered the Chinese Gardens (What a ceremonious welcome indeed), so we settled down to some ice-breakers.

Just before lunch, we had to come up with a name for our Group as well as paint our Group's flag. Being wary of mosquitoes in the Park and Woodlands over the next few days, we brain stormed for creative names and ideas, such as 43ers and 4-3-2-1, but eventually decided on SWAT (It's both cool as well as graphic, as in fly-swatter, you know?). Oh, and we also came up with our Group's cheer.

---

The SWAT Cheer (In Hokkien)

Ecstasy wa boh jia
CID wa boi kia
SWAT! kia si nang!

(Translated version)
Ecstasy, I don't eat
CID, I'm not afraid
SWAT! Now, that's frightening!

---

--Lunch--

Fried Fish Fillet
Stir-fried cabbage
Fried Toufu
White Rice

We enjoyed our lunch raffia- (Derived from the African Raphia ruffia palm tree) style, that is, we were bound at the wrists.

After lunch, the weather cleared up abit, so we proceeded to engage in our water activities.

I had the opportunity to Canoe first with Xin Yu, who was able to control our little vessel skillfully in the water. Incidentally, she was a canoeist previously.

We came in first (Out of four teams) in River Rafting, with the least raffia string used and for submitting the banana in the best condition. As a reward, we were given two bunches of bananas (I suspect they were leftovers from lunch. Oh well...). We also had to do a forfeit (Hey, I thought only losing teams would do a forfeit!): The Banana Dance (See lyrics below)!

---

The Banana Song

Bananas of the world unite!

Peel banana
Peel, Peel banana

Chop banana
Chop, Chop banana

Fry banana
Fry, Fry banana

---

The weather took a turn for the worse, and as such, we did not get to try out Dragon Boating and Bridge Building.

We ajourned for dinner after playing "Helium Cane" and "Human Scrabble".

--Dinner--

Chicken Drumstick
Bok Choy
Fried Omelette
Chilli Rice

After dinner, we were briefed on the Night Walk at the Japanese Gardens. Ghost stories galore! Anyway, it was pitch dark by the time it was our turn to do the walk. And the facilitators took it upon themselves to scare the living daylights out of us freshies, but we were well prepared for that. Ho ho... Probably the only complaint was that one of the checkpoints was not lit, and the marker was slightly off the intended location, so we spent the better half of our walk searching for it.

Day 2
130705

We were fortunate to have been allow to sleep in the Pavillon, as our campsite was washed out by the rain.

--Breakfast--

Fried Mee
(It's quite like the SFI one, but slightly better)

The Circuit

We did activities such as transferring water from one point to the other using only plastic cups supported by our teeth and mouth, toe tower, where we had to use out feet to form a tower (We formed one that was 1.8 metres high), the rice game (We didn't get to execute the whole plan, though), the sponge game (which saw our whole group nearly picking 'ankles' for part of body to be tied, giving us a marked disadvantage during the game such that we had to rotate two pairs who had 'wrists' and 'elbows' quite frequently. Ha), the Wheelbarrow game as well as a 360 revolution game (Where we had to do a forward roll without touching the ground).

--Lunch--

Chicken Wing
Bagadel
Coconut rice

Route March. Yup, you've heard it right. We're going on a route march today. To SDANs Adventure Camp. Whee... Basically, we went from Checkpoint to Checkpoint while going on a Scavanger Hunt concurrently. And we ended up running towards the second half of the journey.

And for our hard work [we came in fifth (There was a mistake prior to this which ranked us sixth, before time advantage deduction)], we were given Menu B for dinner. Along with 4 Mess tins, solid fuel and some seasoning. We had to come up with a dish or two for a gourmet food competition, and so we had Gourmet chef Gabriel to do the cooking. He did a marvellous job at cooking and the presentation, but we lost out (I presume) due to the small serving (It's gourmet crusine what!)

Of course, while the scouts were starting the fire and the chefs were busy going about creating their feast fit for kings, the rest of us huddled around a second camp fire that was set up to cook FOOD for the army of starving mercenaries. And cook up a storm we did! Chef apprentice Azrul made dry mee, sardine noodles, seafood noodles, curry chicken as well as egg noodles for the lot. Response from the mercenaries was swift. They gobbled down serving after serving of noodles, such that Azrul was swamped by requests and was only able to relinquish his duties and break for his own dinner an hour and two restarted fires later. By the time I got to work, though, hunger was no longer an issue, and my curry mushroom noodles went somewhat untouched (but that meant I had more to myself. Ha!).

The mobile bath stalls are definitely better than the Public bathing facilities! (Hint to NParks: Sort out your pathetic, trickling shower heads!)

Day 3
140705

Creature comforts! Oh well, we slept in nicely pitched tents out in the field, so it wasn't too bad. Ha ha... Hao Yi complained that he was sleeping on a nail, which explains why he looked rather puffy in the morning (Besides the fact that he tucked in at three in the morning... :P)

--Breakfast--
Omelette
Ikan Bilis and Peanuts
Nasi Lemak

After breakfast, we played "Perfect Square", an ACTIVITY where we were supposed to be blindfolded, arrange ourselves in a specified order, and then form a square (or in our case, a rectangle) in that order, without so much as to whisper a word. Then came the surprise. We were separated from each other, and so had to find a way to link up the others. And the rope... was nothing thicker than a raffia string, which was why we were unable to locate it using our 'kicking' method. Oh well...

After successfully completing the task, we set off to try out another camp-favourite (-must-have, I must say): Spider Web! We tried to get through many times, but thanks to integrity, failed to get more than three members across at any one attempt. :P However, it was due to the group's perseverence that we tried again and again, and in the face of adversity, did not succumb to failure as easily. It was a case of enthusiasm building upon enthusiasm, I must say, that kept the team going.

--Lunch--
Fishball
Hokkien Mee

After lunch, we were supposed to do a confidence game, ala OBS, but a sudden heavy downpour forced us to retreat to the sheltered Basketball court, where we played our game of 'Tiu Tiu Tiu' and 'Cowboy'. :P

Instead, we did a trust fall activity when the weather cleared up.

The end all game, the finale, was Human Chariots (A water bomb activity). We had to hoist our targetboard at least one metre above the ground, and being the medic, I piggy backed Shili, and we advanced alongside Lionel's group to assault the common enemy - Section 3...

First blood was drawn when Our forces struck an enemy target from a distance. After the initial artillery bombardment, we did a flank attack on the enemy, attempting to do a sweeping movement and encircle them.

Deep into enemy territory, we were ambushed by a phantom army (Their flagbearer[target board] had been decimated by the combined attack) and our buddy group was wiped out. We reorganized and mounted a counter attack on the renegades, bringing down another in the process.

When the dust settled, all that remained were three Section 4 groups and a single Section 3 one. It was a no brainer. We jointly took out the Section 3 group before turning against our former allies. As I withdrew behind our three-men deep ring barricade, assassins sneaked up upon me. And that was when Azrul stepped in, and ala Lord of the Rings["You shall not pass!"-Gandalf the Grey, Fellowship of the Rings], he made a stand against the sneaky bombers, stopping two blasts that would have shattered my skull. A third, also from a phantom bomber, grazed my left hip (To which I still bear the scars of war till date), barely missing the princess that I was protecting.

We emerged victorious. The last remaining chariot in the land. And peace reigned. Okay, at least we could go home. Camp was over at last. After 3 gruelling days and 2 long nights, we have survived SMU's Leadership and Team Building Camp 2005.

Kudos to the facilitators who spent many a sleepless night worrying about our safety, and for being our guinea pigs in trying out the stations before we did.

All in a Day's Work

Just came back from my introductory WaterWays Watch Society Boat patrol. It was a rather good experience, coupled with chairman Eugene's generous lunch contribution. :P Am looking forward to the first bicycle patrol and the camp at the end of the year. Oh, and you get to come REAL close to the Merlion. Heh... It's amazing how much trash the Singapore River can take, but then again, it was exceptionally dirty today due to the downpour yesterday afternoon, which washed out the waste to the Lifeline of Singapore.

Chlorine Gas Leak ["54 hurt in chlorine gas leak at Safra Club" The Sunday Times, July 10, 2005, Page 3]

Wah, a tear gas attack on SAFRA? Not exactly. Apparently, the contractor 'accidentally poured bleach into a drum filled with hydrochloric acid'. Phew, it could have been me, as I was there just the previous week with Yao Shun. My heart goes out to the affected victims of the harrowing episode.

Now I know why so many Singaporean Muslims wear the Tudung, which is not an indigenous Southeast Asian religious attire, but that of many madrasahs.

There was a little discussion on Zouk and clubbing just now (as we were on our way to lunch). My two cents worth? It spoils your lungs, liver and kidneys. 'Nuff said.

Will be away for the 3D/2N SMU CIRCLE Experience from tomorrow till Thursday.

All in a Day's Work

Something about the Kodak Shop near my place. After shifting from their old location when Fairprice took over, I noticed that the quality of service has gone down the drain. It is no longer so personalised a service, and the staff have become more cocky [Ed: I shall call them TCS for The Cocky Staff].

First hint of cockiness: This is the first time at the outlet that I have been asked to operate the photocopy machine myself. And this was with an attitude "You can operate the photocopy machine yourself, you know? Self Service."(Translated from mandarin) Never mind that. The machine was set to a certain A4 mode, so I simply placed my book on the copier and pressed 'copy'. To my horror, the page came out distorted (It copied two thirds of one page and a quarter of the other). This was when TCS came over and told me sternly, that "This is the wrong mode!" Oh, right... as if I was trained in the use of the photocopy machine. Besides, TCS did not do a check prior to allowing me to photocopy my stuff.

Anyway, when it was time to pay up, TCS told me that each copy was 10 cents, which is an outrageous price to pay for a normal B&W photocopy. Even the Fujifilm outlet at the other end of Serangoon Central offers 'ROYAL WHITE' paper printing at the same price. And she said the price was "clearly stated outside (On the glass panel)" when I reeled in shock. In bewilderment, I went to take a look at the price for myself, and lo and behold, there was no mention of the B&W photocopying cost!

Oh well, a bad experience is a bad experience. 'Nuff said.

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On a side note, we sent Sean off at the airport today. He's leaving for ANU where he'll spend the next three to four years stuffing himself with Fish N Chips and OZ culture. G'luck, matey! So our class was out in force (The largest group outing I have seen in YEARS! Caleb, Ivan, Shih Ling, Rui Yi, Xue Lun, Cindy and May May turned up to send our dear Sean off.)

All in a Day's Work

The matriculation exercise at SMU upped its tempo, as nearly two-thirds of Freshmen (as of Friday) are expected to turn up today or tomorrow. Am still busy with preparation for the session on the 7th as well as the current recruitment of Volunteer Managers, Logisticians and Volunteers.

On a side note, I have placed an order for my Fujitsu Tablet PC, which should be ready for collection this Friday or Saturday. In addition, I have signed myself up for SMUve, the Business and Accountancy Camps as well as several Community Outreach Programmes (Which I have put under kiv).

All in a Day's Work

It was more like a Pasar Malam to the curious passer-by. Food stalls, Crafts stalls and the touting of wares.

But the Mon Tong Durian (Golden Pillow Durian) clearly defined the all-too-familiar annual event at the Royal Thai Embassy this afternoon. I must congratulate the Embassy for taking the effort to organise an Open House to introduce Thailand and bring Thai culture to our doorsteps.

So besides the Mon Tong durian (My first time trying it, it was a little on the bland side, but was very creamy), Thai coconuts (and incredibly reasonable chocolate cone ice creams going for a buck a pop), Tom Yum kuay teow, Thai otak-otak (You get the picture), and even a sauna-bath canvas (as if it's not hot enough in the city-state already!) going for S$175.

What is a Mon Tong Durian?

"Thai durians are noted for their subtle flavour and smooth texture, often winning over gourmets who have failed to respond in other countries where the fruit grows. Three of the most popular varieties (and there are several dozen to choose from) are cha ni, kan yao, and, perhaps the most prized of all, mon thong."

Click here to find out more about Tropical Thai fruits!

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020705

Went to Choa Chu Kang Swimming Pool with Yao Shun. There's a Wave Pool there (and another one at Jurong East and Wild Wild Wet) which operates on an hourly basis. At two bucks per entry for adults on a weekend, it's nearly twice the admission price of the one at Serangoon, but with the added facilities (such as a large water slide and a mini-waterfall at the end of the 0.6 metre pool.

Yao Shun said that the wave pool at Jurong is worth renting an inflatable, but not this one. Anyway, the pool was incredibly packed (with at least three swimming classes going on concurrently while the remaining fifty-odd leisure swimmers struggle to make the most out of the cramped confines. The presence of such a large crowd made the water evidently murky (And salty, according to yao Shun). We found a very good spot to sun tan - The round pool just beside the olympic-sized pool has the best exposure to the elements, with the added bonus of allowing just about anyone to be seated comfortably in it.

Advice: Go on weekdays, and during office hours, as it is cheaper, and you have the whole pool to yourself (well, nearly).