Postings...Again

K told me and O that we would be posted out today. However, it turned out that it was K that is posting out today!

Hey! I felt a bit cheated. I thought that K was jealous that me and O were going to be posted out. This brought him to telling us that we were posted out soon. However, after thinking for awhile, I guess K deserved his posting after all. He was in the unit for about 4 or 5 months as a OOC (Out of course). I guess it's about time that he deserved his postings.

For the rest of the day I felt sad as O and I will miss K. And since he's gone, we will be doing more work. Sad...very sad.

However, at the end of the day, our seniors told us that we may be posted out tomorrow. Worse comes to worse...it'll be the end of this week. Should I be happy?

Well...I am not really sure. After spending about a month in this unit, I grew to like the people here as they are friendly. We all are like family...helping each other out. I guess I will miss these guys if I am really posted out.

Well...I guess I will take things one at a time for now.

Tags: National Service, Singapore

Cloud Watching

I am not that good in painting but this is another of my attempts in painting.
This picture is done using paint and pencil. Neat huh?

Tags: Others

Unfair Treatment

I have a fellow friend who works in the same place as me. His name is O (Obviously it's not his real name). Well you see...in the place where we work. O and me are the only two new day-staff (meaning that we work from 8 am to 5 pm). There's another day-staff, K, but he came in much earlier than O and me.

The problem is that O is not a normal guy. He's ab-normal in the sense that he does things slower, slow thinking, forgetful, gullible and blur. He has a low IQ. You can say that he exhibits some characteristics of a Down Syndrome victim. Hence he was "marked" by our seniors. So whenever we are asked to do things he would end up finishing last. So among the three days-staff, O would always be picked-on. Sad.

For example, when taking orders in the morning, O may forget some of the orders placed. Then when the food arrived, some seniors ended with no food. As they say, a hungry man is an angry man, how true it is.

On another occasion, when we were grooming dogs, O's dog was checked by the IC (in-charge) before putting the dog back into it's kennel. However, his dog was always not properly groomed at every check by the IC. So he ended up as the last guy. The IC was angry again and shouted and scolded him. In the end, the IC asked him to clean the drains.

O was also confined for doing his job badly. He was asked to clean the kitchen sink. When the IC checked, he found rice and strands of noodles on it. In the end O was confined.

O asked me a few times...

"I know I am blur but I really tried my best in the things that they ask me to do."

All I can do is just console him and comfort him.

Personally I think that one shouldn't be ill-treated just because he is handicapped (handicapped in the sense that he is not as bright and quick in actions as a normal person). I really don't know. But from what I see and hear, he is facing a tough life.

For me, I do the job that they give me. If it's done correctly, there won't be any scolding. But if there are mistakes, I will get scolded...but not as bad as O as O has been "marked" already because of his "blur-ness".

Then there's this IC whose name is L (a different IC from the one mentioned before). He really gave demeaning remarks and held sarcastic conversations with him. An example would be this...

"Hey O! I heard you got a PhD right?" (smiling as he talked)

"Erm...no. The PhD I had was a poly-halfway-dropout" (looking down to the floor as he talked)

"So you want me to call you doctor? Haha."

"Er...don't need"

"Why not we have some intellectual discussions about the solar system. Wait...do you know what a solar system is?" (still smiling)

"Er...yah...it's something about the planets and sun..."

"Good. At least you know some stuff."

And this was not the only time. In the place where we worked, only a handful of us came from JCs (Junior Colleges). L was one of them who came from JC. He is supposed to be educated and cultured. He is not suppose to take advantage of those who are of a low education (like O) and bully them (oooo...how my blood boils).

All I can say is that it's unfair. O is receiving unfair treatment...and I can't really do anything about it as O and me are new in this place. The authorities have also "marked" him so complaining to them would be fruitless.

I guess I will just have to continue to listen to his cries and complains and encourage him.

O...just hang on man...all of these will soon be over.

Tags: National Service, Singapore

Today's Outing

I received a SMS earlier today from my BMT (Basic Military Training) buddy, YX. Basically it's about an outing for our platoon at Somerset MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Station at around 7.30 pm. We will have a dinner together before catching a movie.

So I went enthusiastically...hoping to see how my friends are doing. However when I reached there...I saw none of them. A few minutes later I received a SMS saying that it was postponed.

__iaaaa__ii|
__iaaaa__ii|
iiii____iiiiii.

So I went and had my dinner myself at Yoshinoya. Then I went to Times Bookshop and bought a great book titled "Quantum Physics: A Beginner's Guide To The Subatomic World". With that I went home.

So how much did I spend today?

Transport: $3.83
Book: $15.75
Yoshinoya: $5.40
Honey with lemon drink: $1.00
Total: $25.98

Wow...that's quite a lot for me. Maybe I should have just eaten fried rice instead.

Tags: Friends, Others

How Am I Now?

Hm...it's been quite sometime since I have last blogged. Well...I guess it's due to my NS (National Service). Most of my time is spent in camp. Luckily I get to stay-out...meaning that I can go home :)

So how's life man?

Fine I guess. So far so good especially in my new workplace (well it's not really new as I came a month ago). But I guess I am used to it already. Met new friends (including one gay who seems to be interested in me...I am straight by the way). Gained new skills (like scrubbing the kennel walls; grooming dogs; technique on digging dog waste; communicating with dogs...etc).

Now I am still waiting for my PES (Physical Employment Status) as the MO (Medical Officer) told me that I would be downgraded due to my asthma. Well...I don't know if that's good or bad but I will just accept whatever status that they will give me.

How's your personal life?

Personal life? As in girlfriend kind of personal life? Well...sad to say that I am still single...lol. Who would be interested in a dog handler? My girl-friends are all in university studying and getting a degree while my boy-friends are all like me in NS...except for a few who are foreigners.

How about the guy who is interested in you that you mentioned just now?

HIM? Oh man...that guy just keeps bothering me. I told him many times no...no...no but he still wouldn't listen. I am straight for goodness sake! I told him that and he said, "Well people change you know." Then I was like -_-...
Do you have any advice for me on how to shake this guy off?

Erm...tell him that you have a girlfriend?

I told him that already (even though I don't have one) and guess what he said? He said, "Hey! I don't mind sharing you know." Arghh!!

Sorry...I can't help you. Relax man...

Yah I know.

Do you still keep in contact with your friends in JC (Junior College)?

Sadly...no. I do miss them though. Especially my classmates and band friends. I even missed my class outings and band concerts because of my NS...tough life man. Hope that they are all doing well especially the juniors who are facing their A Levels this year. All the best guys.

Is there anything particular that you miss from JC life?

Hm...yeah. The band practices and my class environment.

Band practices was fun especially when you have a fun-loving section - the Percussion Section. At times there were funny moments like lame jokes by lame people. But there were times when we were serious too such as the time when we were practicing for our SYF (Singapore Youth Festival) competition. It was tough but nevertheless memorable.

My class was fun and unique. Fun in the sense that lameness is accepted and practiced by many. Unique in the sense that we were made up of all sorts of people. From lamers to walking dictionaries and even a business man! Well...those were the times. Then there was studying time in the library where I would tell lame jokes and make people laugh. It was fun telling lame jokes even though it meant warnings from the librarian.

Ok...looks like I will ask until here for now. It was nice interviewing you :)

Huh? Was this an interview? I thought it was only me typing.

(Theme from the Twilight Zone starts to play as everything fades off)

Tags: Others

Long Four In Public

"Never wear your long four (army uniform) in public. Why? Because if you make any mistake, they will report you to your unit and you will get tekan (punished)."

This was the advice I had when I was in BMT (Basic Military Training). It was given by one of the officers. He gave an example of how a recruit was sitting and sleeping in MRT when in front of him was a pregnant lady. That recruit was suay (unlucky) enough as he was in his long four. Then one evil guy decided to use his (maybe her) handphone camera and took a picture of it...sent it to BMTC (Basic Military Training Centre)...and the poor recruit was tekan-ed. In case you don't know, our long four has our names on it...that was how BMTC was able to find the recruit. The poor recruit was really sleeping and not pretending like many others in the same MRT.

Anyway...my point is never wear your long four out in public as not only will you be checked upon by the public...but you will meet some scenarios which...how should I say...erm...is unpleasant.

For example, today I was in the bus going back home. I was wearing my long four then. At first everything was fine and normal. I scanned my EZ-Link Card...went to the back...and stood just like any normal passenger would do. After a few stops, when I went to the back of the bus, there was this lady (mind you...a lady...someone who does not need to serve NS) who covered her nose!! WHOA!! Am I that bad? I know I work hard and sweat a lot and may not be that pleasant to the nose but you don't need to do this in front of me. And she was the only one in the WHOLE bus who did that. Hey lady...I am serving NS okay...protecting the nation and your neighbourhood and house. It's not like I want to stand beside you and tekan your nose. The other commuters did not cover their nose or turn their faces away from me or start to foam at their mouth or die. I was so offended by her actions.

That was not all. When I took the elevator to my house. This 40-something man who took the same elevator asked me in Chinese, "Did you take part in yesterday's National Day Parade?" Huh? Wearing a long four does not mean that I am part of the parade...lol. I told him no.

So morale of the story is never wear your long four in public, especially the day after National Day.

Note: I don't really blame that lady in the bus as I know I stink...it's just her actions that I can't stand.

Tags: National Service, Singapore

National Day 2005

National Day 2005

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Tags: Singapore

Stealth - Fear The Sky

I was searching for information on this movie Stealth when I chanced upon this website (www.popsci.com).

Here is an extract of it:

There are three reasons why filmmakers distort science and technology: 1) to make things look cooler, 2) to make a story work, and 3) because they have no clue what they’re talking about, and they’ve chosen to ignore the advice (or pleas) of the film’s consultants. Although Stealth, a hypersonically paced Top Gun update about an unmanned air combat vehicle (UCAV) gone amok, gets correct some of the futuristic air-combat technology it depicts, much of it is dead wrong, and the film commits all three of the aforementioned sins. Set in the near future, Stealth follows three young Navy pilots played by Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx who are, evidently, the only pilots capable of handling the Navy’s newest weapon: the ultrafast, ultra-deadly, ultra-sleek Talon fighter jet. The fourth star is Extreme Deep Invader, or EDI, a fully autonomous UCAV. As EDI returns from its first mission, things go downhill fast. It gets blasted by a lightening bolt, which rewires its artificial intelligence, contained in a very cool-looking but highly unlikely glowing sphere inside the cockpit. (Cockpit in an unmanned vehicle? We’ll get to that in a minute.) Now the vehicle suddenly has an alarming propensity to play indie-rock bootlegs illegally pirated from the Internet. Yes, moviegoers, the plane has turned evil so evil that it illegally downloads music.

I won’t bother with that particular idiocy; there are plenty of other ways to complain about the science and technology depicted in this movie. While its basic premise a future Air Force equipped abundantly with autonomous aircraft is absolutely true, the various deviations from valid military air-combat future trajectories are rampant. In no particular order:

• The title: The movie is called Stealth, but there’s virtually no discussion of anything remotely stealth-related. This despite the fact that stealth both visual stealth, to conceal aircraft against a variety of backgrounds, and radar stealth, to hide them from missile batteries and other aircraft will be a vital part of most combat-aircraft designs in the future. In fact, the Soviet-era fighter jets sent up to intercept EDI and co. as they streak across Eurasia have no trouble at all finding them and getting a few good shots in before, predictably, they’re waxed by the high-tech adversaries.

• The Talon’s cockpits are excessively complex. Lucas, Foxx and Biel are surrounded by hundreds of switches, lights and controls in giant, sprawling instrument panels. In reality, fighter-jet cockpits are getting simpler and simpler. Modern aircraft, both civilian and military, are increasingly using LCD screens that selectively display information they need, but only when they need it. Most controls are multifunction and located on the joystick. (See sin #1 above.)

• Speaking of cockpits, why does EDI have one? No UCAV in test now or being planned in the future has a place for someone to sit. The reason EDI has one, of course, is so that later in the film, Lucas can climb aboard and save the world. (See sin #2.)

• The airplanes fly at hypersonic velocities, which is fine at high altitudes. But they also fly obscenely fast through mountain canyons and 20 feet off the ground. No human pilot, now or in the future, could withstand the G-forces that the Talon pilots are subjected to as they make hard lefts and rights at more than 1,000 knots. Nor could they actually do any of the flying at those speeds and altitudes only a computer could steer that quickly through the mountains. (See sin #3.)

There are some more points which the author touched on. You can go to the website and read it up.

Thinking of watching this cool movie soon even though it may not really be scientifically accurate.

Tags: Movies

School Of Rock 2005

Guess what? My percussion friend from CSS (Commonwealth Secondary School), Rossalina Nasir, got second prize!! Congrats to her group - Audio Break'Out.

Who says that Commonwealth percussionists are lousy?

Tags: Friends