The Pacifier

To be honest, I really like blogging. I don't know about you guys who are forced to read my nonsense, but I quite enjoy blogging about really silly and ridiculous stuff that really makes no sense at all. It allows me to go nuts and vent when I'm feeling disappointed or just down right unhappy. And on top of that, it allows me to share with the handful of you who are committed, to reading my blog, the things which are happening to me physically as well as mentally. More so mentally.

I realise I tend to blog more about the things which are going 'right' for me than the things which are going 'wrong'. Naturally, I'd rather not blog about them but on occasions, I will try. But rest assured, I will blog on the things which I find fun and entertaining. Simply because it'll be great for you guys to read, and a way to store 'memories' where I can go back and read some day in the future.

The NAPFA test is just a few breaths away. Unbelieveably, it's only 5 days away. 8 days ago, I was unsure if I was going to be able to complete the 2.4km run, but now, I can confidently say that I'm going to make it. For the last 8 days, I've basically been training non-stop, alternating swimming and running each night. I took Tuesday night off because I went down to my other grandma's place and it was raining the whole night. So that was the only day I didn't exercise. Regardless of how I failed to train that day, the swim last night was just as refreshing.

I managed to swim for an hour before the life guard told us that it was time to go. I went at night, around 8pm. I've chosen to go around that time because there tends to be less people around there. Especially when it's Christmas night, and everyone's gone home to be with their families.

So I've decided to go a little bit earlier because I felt like I could have gotten a few more laps in there. Now that I think about it, swimming is actually quite fun. It's one of the hardest sports because it uses most of the muscles in your body and really gets your breathing pattern to a consistent level. I'm quite sure this will be to my advantage in the NAPFA test. Tonight, I shall see. Provided it doesn't rain, I will see how my running is going.

This weekend, I'll be playing the drums for the church. I hope it'll be ok because the standard of music here is a bit higher, and playing the drums is a little bit more demanding than playing the guitar. The way you play the drums compliments the music, which means if you stuff up, everyone will know that you did it and you alone. No one else, just you.

You could say I have a lot of experience playing for church, but my drum skills, I admit I wished was a little bit better than it is now. There are so many things I still wanna master, but I can't find the time and place to do it. If I had a drum set at home, I'll play it as often as I play the clarinet. Pity I don't have one now, otherwise I'll use all my 'free time' on it.

One thing I like about the style of music here though, is that the music is nice and loud. Loud enough for the drummer to smash the drums to pieces. hehe, just the way I like it.

Billy Madison

Not really in the mood to blog about the things I've been doing because basically, I haven't been doing much during the past few days except using the internet, playing my clarinet, playing the guitar, playing PlayStation, juggling the soccer ball, swimming, running and blowing my nose. That's right. I've been sneezing the past few days and I don't know why, but I usually get all watery. (ewww) I don't think I have a cold cause it doesn't stay long. It's an on and off thing. So I don't think it is.

Since I'm not in a mood to blog on the things I've been doing, I'll blog on the things I need to do or need to hopefully get around doing. I hope to accomplish all these things during the time I am here in Australia. Some will be completed in the near future, some further down the track. Nevertheless, I hope to fulfil these 'goals' during the two years I am here.

1. Prepare for the NAPFA test and get gold for all 6 tests. The 6 tests consists of chin ups, sit ups, standing broad jump, sit and reach, shuttle run and a 2.4km run. To get gold, you must achieve a minimum of C for all test, and getting a score of at least 21.


2. Get a job. Since I'm here for another 2 months till I get into the army, I might as well get a job, earn some money, and be merry.


3. Improve my chinese and teochew. I find myself speaking a lot of mandarin here in Singapore and a little bit of teochew at home. Hopefully when I return, I should be able to converse in fluent chinese. LoL!


4. Get close to mastering the clarinet. I really want to play the saxophone, and in order to do that, I need to master my clarinet, then I can play another two instruments! Then comes the issue of money..


5. Play for the church and get better at drums and guitar. I can learn so much from the people here. Best to learn while I'm still 'young' ><"


6. Learn ballroom and maybe break dancing. As I mentioned in one of my blog posts several weeks back, I hope to learn this during my second year here. It won't be as tiring then as it will be in the first year.


7. Get 'tanked/buffed' to the point where I'm satisfied. I have a picture on how 'tanked/buffed' I wanna get, and hopefully I'll get to that point. Once I get there, it's all downhill from there, hehe. If not, I'll have to work on it when I return to Australia.


8. Get rich ... ... ... er. I'll need money before I return. I'm so glad NS pays quite well. Then I'll have a more 'flexible' budget. ^^

If I am able to accomplish most, if not all, of these things, I would be so happy in knowing that I managed to fulfil the things I set forth in completing. Let's see in the year 2008, how I'm going.

In the mean time, I plan to take each day as it comes.

HitchHiker's Guide To the Galaxy

Alrighty, since I'm so amazingly bored with so much free time, I will make a vow which I may break at any time I wish. I vow to blog as often as I can, whenever I can. I don't care how silly or ridiculous the blog may become, I'm merely helping mankind by entertaining people like me. Which means, if I'm at home at any point, with the internet up and running, I will blog. Reason being that I am getting so bored with the number of sites I'm visiting, I'm gonna help the handful of sad people who are living similar stories to mine by giving them something to read. At the same time, I will be doing good for those who are bored, so I won't have such a guilty conscious whenever I wake up in the morning thinking, "Argh! I feel so sorry for Bob. I should have blogged yesterday so he would have had something to read!"

May I make this world a better place for people like me!

With that random thought off my head, let me come back to reality.

Things happen to you when you have no one friends to talk to, and you will start to think differently like, what would happen if I poked the two legged Black Widow, cowering in the corner of my room, just a little bit harder? Or, if I could twirl my clarinet like a baton, I may be able to impress my Ziyi Zhang poster from the House of Flying Daggers.

Oh dear.

You could say that I have changed. Maybe more mentally. I think since finishing year 12, my mental stability dropped significantly. If we ranked my mental stability on a scale of one to ten, where one is poor and ten is great, I'd say my mental stability dropped from a 9 to a 2 or 3. Seriously, I've had so little mental challenges, I'm becoming one of those guys you see on TV where they are mocked and made fun of, just so that the promotional product could be exemplified. Someone could prod and ridicule me, and I wouldn't understand why. Not even if there was a large window screen placed in front of me as someone jumped out of the closet screaming, "Smile! You're on candid camera!" I still wouldn't get it.

Perhaps I should buy a maths book, just so I'd have something to do!

Ok, so mentally, maybe not so fine. But physically, I'm getting much stronger. I believe my stamina and endurance has increase quite significantly over the past few days, I'm at the point where I'm starting to believe that I should be able to accomplish anything reasonable. Just give me a few more days, and I will be there.

Over the past 4-5 days, I've been alternating my exercising routine with running and swimming. One after the other, I would either run or swim. It's been good. I feel healthier, and not as guilty whenever I eat. And in just these few days, I have been able to run 2.4km in under 12 minutes. It's good. I believe I can cut a few more minutes and perhaps try increasing the distance of my run, just to be safe. Hopefully in a week's time, I will be ready. C'mon NAPFA!

Along with all this training, I've been taking this drink from MannaTech that my mum gave my bro when he was starting out in the army. It's this power drink that helps increase your stamina and endurance during your exercise. I believe it has been helping, so I'm gonna bring it to my NAPFA test, just so I'd have that little 'bit more' than my usual self. I'm not there to compete with the others in the army. I'm there to beat the required time and number.

I usually train at night because it's cooler and there's not as many people at night. I went swimming last night, and it was good. There was no one else in the pool, and I was able to swim end to end without interference from other swimmers.

Sadly, my training is at night, which means I have morning and afternoon to kill. Most of the time, my morning and afternoon consists of things which wouldn't take so long to complete. And that's why I've set forth a new chain of command. If I entertained one or two people, perhaps they will be less bored and would start blogging themselves. Then someone would read their blog and be just a little bit happier, without knowing why. This person could then go out into the streets, and give someone a smile. And like a wave on a pond, the 'happiness' spreads.

In retrospect, yes, you could say that I'm bored and dropping below the average sane person's sanity level, but still very much alive.

But it doesn't help when the hairy dolphin standing on the sidewalk across the street is talking to me.

Surviving Christmas

Actually, I had typed up a blog entry yesterday, but it was so depressing I decided not to publish it. Reason being, I was alone on Christmas Eve, with no one by my side. So basically, the blog was filled with a lot of sad stories where I chased stray cats downstairs all evening because I wanted something to hold in my arms for Christmas. Unfortunately for me, these stray cats weren't really into the Christmas spirit of things and looked dangerous enough to give me a good beating.

Anyway, I decided to call off tempts of trying to get a living creature in my arms. I just hugged my pillow. It's as good as it gets I'm afraid.

Well, I'm assuming many of you are having a wonderful Christmas with your friends and families. Sadly for the Ang boys, we haven't done anything too memorable like sitting around a fireplace, opening presents and singing joyful Christmas carols with loved ones. My brother has just gone back to his Artillery camp and I'm sitting in my room all along again, blogging. I guess it's not such a big issue. Well, for us Angs anyway. We don't really do much for Christmas. I think the gift giving 'excitement' ended a decade ago (lol, seriously, I think it's around that time). There's just too many people to give presents to, and with our already low budget, we've learnt to adopt our mum's 'teaching'. It goes something like this, "There's a time for giving, and there's a time for receiving. In our family during Christmas, it's a time to receive." haha, don't kill me mum! I've revealed our secrets.

I mean, it's perfectly understandable. Our family doesn't make a lot of money. And for us to give presents to people, it becomes finanically difficult for us. We have done it in the past. We've given presents to people and of course to ourselves. Back then, I think finanically we were much better off. But ever since we started to move, our family of 5 started to depend on a single minute salary. I'm guessing that was the main reason why we've stopped our Christmas tradition. So ever since then, we've started to go without having Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, Christmas parties, etc.

But then, Christmas always gets me thinking. We all pretty much know the meaning of Christmas and why it's important for us christians. The birth of Jesus would mean that Jesus is actually the birthday boy. What's strange is how, even though Jesus is the birthday boy, we give presents to one another. As someone anonymous in ICC quoted, "It's like going to a birthday party and exchanging presents to the guests invited, rather than the birthday boy/girl."

If that is the case, then how, or why, do we give presents to each other? Perhaps it's out of the love of Christ Jesus that we give gifts to one another. To show that I love you and I am willing to go shopping because Jesus loves you, so He will help me endure the pain of having to shop for a Christmas present for you. Or maybe it's how we give to Jesus; giving presents to someone, and in the process, receiving a gift from another. All in all, love for one another is shown.

However, I think in the midst of all this gift giving, people begin to forget this meaning of the love of Jesus that it becomes this hype where it's a time to spend money. Then of course, people begin to put Jesus aside, and people forget what Christmas is really all about.

I've never really thought about this until I realised that the gift giving has become this event where people do it for the sake of giving gifts every year.

So what is your reason for the Christmas season? I like to play it safe and not do anything at all ;p haha, jk jk

For now, I wish the reminding handful of people who still read my blog a very joyous and Merry Christmas!

And of course, an extremely exciting New Year!!!

signed,

Boaz

blogthings.com

Was bored, so I started to read my brother's archives and found this!
hehehe, if you're bored like me, go ahead and do it for yourself.

They also include different types of tests, so go have fun!

_________________________________________________

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

The Three Question Personality Test

(errrr... for those who know me, some of them aren't exactly true.. You know which ones, hehe)

_________________________________________________

Your Power Color Is Indigo

At Your Highest: You are on a fast track to success - and others believe in you. At Your Lowest: You require a lot of attention and praise. In Love: You see people as how you want them to be, not as how they are. How You're Attractive: You're dramatic flair makes others see you as mysterious and romantic. Your Eternal Question: "Does This Work Into My Future Plans?"

What's Your Power Color?

_________________________________________________

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are calm and rational. You are also giving and kind - a great friend. You are easy going and trusting. However, you are too sensible to fall for mind games.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

_________________________________________________

Your Hidden Talent

You're super sensitive and easily able to understand situations. You tend to solve complex problems in a flash, without needing a lot of facts. Decision making is easy for you. You have killer intuition. The right path is always clear, and you're a bit of a visionary.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

_________________________________________________

You Belong in the UK

Blimey! A little proper, a little saucy. You're so witty and charming... No one notices your curry breath

What English Speaking Country Are You?

_________________________________________________

Your Driving Is is: 66% Male, 34% Female

According to studies, you generally drive like a typical male. You're confident in your driving skills, and hardly any situation gets the better of you. And while you may have a few tickets under your belt, you're still a very good driver.

Do You Drive Like a Guy or a Girl?

_________________________________________________

You Are 55% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

_________________________________________________

There was one test that said I was 20% Male, 80% Female. No way was I gonna post that up! I even told myself that I wouldn't mention it on the blog.

D'oh!

Lilo And Stitch

13 days to go. 13 days till my NAPFA (physical test) test. Now that I think of it, it's really not that far away! I'm gonna try to keep a tight schedule to work on my stamina. As I have often mentioned in the past, strength will be no problem for me. So as of late, I have been doing some running and just recently, swimming. I smell like chlorine which smells like urine.

Today, I convinced myself that it was time to get off the computer seat, and out into a shopping mall where I can get myself a pair of swimming pants. It's weird because normally, I wouldn't do any form of shopping. I follow because I have to. But now, I have to do things myself.

I managed to get swimming pants and a speedo. And of course, a pair of goggles. Another weird thing today, was how I went into the 'fitting room' without anyone telling me to. hehe, yup. Normally, I wouldn't because my mum or some other relative would be paying. So I'd simply place it on my hips and assumed it fit. Most of the time, I would return back home unsatisfied because it would either be too loose or too tight. (hehehe, secrets revealed mum!)

However, this time, I had a budget, and coming back with a pair of tight/loose swimwear would be embarrassing as I will have to return back. ><" Fortunately, none of that happened because I managed to swim in it several hours later! XD

The swim itself was not too bad. I imagined myself struggling to breathe (which happened at first, but realised I was underwater) and then collapsing to the side of the pool where the life guard still has to save me. Good thing, it wasn't so bad. I found myself doing several laps before my left arm started to ache a bit. Even with my left arm aching, I pushed myself further to complete a few more laps before it started to rain.

I don't know if I'm gonna be ready in time. 2.4km is a very long run to complete in under 10.21 minutes. The only thing that I fear during the run, is if I get a stitch while running. Once you get a stitch while running, it becomes so hard to run. The only 'cure' that I've found is to breathe-in deeper on the side of the body where the stitch is. So for example, if the stitch is on the left side, you breathe in harder whenever you land on your left foot. As for me, I have this breathing pattern whenever I run. It goes like this. Everytime my foot strikes the ground, I breathe in. So, I'd usually breathe-in twice, breathe-out twice. Breathe-in twice, breathe-out twice. With this, I managed to suppress my stitch by breathing-in harder on the side of the body where the stitch is.

It works to an extent. After that, it's all a matter of maintaining this uncomfortable position and pattern to subdue the stitch from surfacing. However, all this, is definitely so much easier said than done.

Yup, the title has little significance to this entry.

Singin' In The Rain

It may seem like I'm too busy with my life that I can't find the time to blog, but it's actually the other way round. I have plenty of time to blog but I simply can't be bothered with my already 'non-active' life style. On top of which, the internet plan that we are using expires every three days whenever we renew our online credit. So after each time we 'punch' in the code from a card we bought down at our local 7-11 (convenient store), we'd have three days (72 hours) exactly to go internet crazy. After it expires, I can only access a limited number of sites like Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN, Maple Story, etc. and of course the site where you 'punch' in the code for internet usage.

Anyway, Singapore rained for 60+ hours straight and finally stopped sometime in the morning today. It started Sunday afternoon and went on and on and on and on. The entire two and a half some odd days were dark and gloomy, which was weird, because I would find myself waking up at 9:00am, thinking it was still early.

Obviously, this made it difficult for me to train. The rain was simply too heavy for me to even consider going out. And even if it did lighten up a bit, it would pour again not long after. How irritating.

Personally, I don't like the rain. I don't like how it makes everything wet and slippery. This morning, I almost slipped. Twice! while going to my grandma's place. After the first one, I was like, "Thank you God! Thank you so much!" Cause I was on the stairs and they were really 'narrow', so if I fell there, it would have been quite painful. The second time was not so scary, but I still could have slipped.

And then, there's the smell of wetness. In Singapore, you can really smell it because the ground is mainly concrete, so all the 'evaporation' of moisture makes everything smell of water. However, what I dislike most about the rain, is the prevention of outdoor activities. Training for me is one them, but I think my dislike for rain began back in Waverley Christian College when we would usually play basketball every recess and lunchtime. It was then that I really started to dislike the rain because our basketball court would get drenched and we would not be able to play. You may be thinking, "Oh, but there are other times when you could play. Why are you 'childish' to wanna play all the time? Be more mature and stop playing games boy!"

Well, that's true. I could be more mature. But that's not the point. The point is, back in Waverley, when basketball was a real hype, I had 2 lunchtime classes each week. This meant I only had every recess (15 minutes) and 3 lunchtimes (50 minutes) to play. That's not a lot of time actually. If you've ever played a basketball match, you'd know that time goes by really quickly. So now consider a rainy day. It would mean I would only have 4 recess and 2 lunchtimes to play basketball. How terrible is that! lol

Bottom line is, I don't like rain. It's wet, it's cold, and it's watery.

Amoz tells me that I will love the rain when I get into the army. That's because in Singapore, there's a lot of lightning and thunder. So here, there's this rule where whenever there's lightning, you can't do anything outside because there's a high chance of lightning strikes.

I'll see if my love for the rain changes in a few months time. I still remember reading Amoz's blog entry about him having to build a trench outside his tent in the middle of the night because it was raining and water was flooding into his tent.

errr.... I still don't think I'll like it.

School Of Rock

Well, I did it. I went for the music practice. I was scared actually. To go to a new place which I've only been to once, for something which 'members' are usually committed to do, but now all of a sudden, I am a part of it. Somehow, I pictured myself gradually adapting to the church and eventually joining the band after 2 or 3 months, but it never occurred to me that it would happen so soon. I guess in a way, it's good. I am given a reason to return, and not feel the need to 'church hunt' as Amoz has done in the past. hehe, you could say that they are 'forced' to put up with me because their beloved pastor has been referred to me by my dad. The guy said that the only reason why I am a part of the band so quickly is because, "We know your dad."

So go me! I'm a daddy's boy!

They had a drummer for Sunday, so I was given the guitar. I'm not complaining that I got the guitar. Actually, it's quite fun to play the guitar. You can stop while the music is going (but not when you're the only one carrying the music of course lol), and no one will notice. We ended up rehearsing for 3 hours straight. At the end, there was a 5-10 minute break before we had to play through the songs again. Normally, I wouldn't have to play the guitar for so long. I don't even play the drums for that long. So ultimately, my slightly calloused fingers took a beating. I just hope that tomorrow, it won't be so painful.

Anyway, I asked what time I had to be there, and they told me 8:30am. I was kinda shocked to hear that, but I also understand why it's so early. It's just that for me, it takes approximately an hour to get to the church, which means I'd have to leave around 7:30am, just to make it in time. Well, that's what you get for serving God. lol Now, I say I won't mind. Let's just see how I'll fare tomorrow when my body is whining for rest.

Besides that, I haven't been getting up to much. I've wanted to train, but it's been raining the past few days. I really should get started again because I'm feeling quite unproductive. It's not that I don't like being unproductive, but I feel guilty for not being productive. It's my conscious that gets to me.

I contemplated training tonight, but there's a soccer game happening tonight. Live telecast from England; Charlton Vs Liverpool. So I didn't wanna train knowing that I have a time limit to quickly train, and to quickly have a shower, as I tend to sweat a lot. Not to mention the humidity here which helps me.

Currently, I'm waiting for a job which I have already applied for. My dad's old time friend has given me an application to fill out, so I'm just waiting. Waiting for any reply on whether she can give me a job or not. I don't want to work, but I need a bit of cash and I need to feel a little bit less guilty. Sitting at home all day, isn't exactly how I pictured myself wasting away. If I had a PS2 to play Fifa07, I'll be glad to stay at home. lol Just gimme food, water, and my Ipod, and I'll be happy. Oh yes ... I could picture myself going insane doing that for 2 years.

Oh dear.

A River Runs Through It

I know that I've been blogging a lot on the things I've been doing as of late, so I think I'll blog on stuff that is not 'action' related. Or at least try not to.

I think things have become much better now. Compared to when I first arrived, I think I've finally come to terms with how I'm gonna be here for the next 2 years, which is how I've decided that I better adapt, and adapt quickly. I guess most of the credit goes to the many types of 'training' we've accumulated over the years, moving from place to place, it's a skill now, I think. Just that this time, I'm without the family. It's the first time I've moved out away from the family, so it was a bit hard.

I seriously don't know how Amoz did it when he first moved to Australia when he was 15. No doubt, it's terrible to be the oldest. They take all the 'damage' before we younger siblings go in for the kill. But still, I didn't know that it was this tough. I really must say, I admire my brother's strength for doing this. It's understandable to hear him getting homesick while he was here.

I mean, I consider all the things that I benefit now as a result of my brother.

He goes to Australia at the age of 15 for one year, and he makes good friends both in church and in school. Not to mention how he had to stay in someone's place for over and year, and put up with relatives nagging over him or something like that. All I know, is that it wasn't pleasant.

So anyway, he made good friends in church and at school, and when I came, he introduced me to some of his friends. Soon, I was good friends with so many people, it was so much easier for me. I'm guessing that if it wasn't for him, I'd probably like just go home straight after church or youth group. Of course, I'm guessing that many of us would become friends, but it would have taken longer. It would have taken longer for me to become open, and as a result, would have been miserable for another few months. I still remember me lingering next to my brother as some of you approached me.

Now, we've both come to Singapore, and again looking back, if he wasn't for him, I would have taken a super long time at my medical test when I first came. It was because of him that I got his friend's number working at the place, that I knew where to go first. Except after that, I was on my own, which wasn't too bad I guess. He also gave me a head up on some of the stuff that they were gonna do.

Also, we've got internet at my grandma's place, and a church to return to. Both of which, I'm extremely grateful for. If I didn't have internet, I wouldn't have been able to chat to many of you back in Australia, and of course, read any incoming mails from whatever workplace. And now that I have a church to return to, I'm so much happier because it would mean I won't have to church hunt any further. I'm glad that they want me there, and it saves me the trouble of having to move anywhere.

The last thing that I guess I'm really glad about, is how I have so many people to talk to about NS. I get insight from not only my brother, but my cousin, my dad, and aunties too. Yes, my aunties are like pros when it comes to NS because of all the 'official work' that they do. But yeah, I'm more appreciative of the things that my brother has done because if he hadn't done it, I would have been worse of than I am now. You could say that I'm blessed to be the second child, but I still have a lot of sympathy for him.

Thank you bro.

Waterworld

Things have lighten up for me. All of a sudden, things for me in Singapore have become a little bit better. It's funny though. Usually when people feel sad and depressed, they'd turn to God and ask Him for an explanation. And when they're happy and joyful, they'd neglect God. Usually people are like that. Strangely, I'm quite the opposite. Whenever I'm sad and depressed, I'd neglect God a bit more than if I am happy. When I'm happy and joyful, I'll be close to God. It's weird, but that's what happens to me. I'd try not to stray from God too much, but I tend to spend more time away from Him whenever I'm sad. This is what I've just realised recently.

Anyway, now that I'm feeling a bit better, I'm stronger now. Much better than a few days ago. This is why.

Yesterday was pretty sad. I broke my record of the longest time chatting on MSN to 10 hours. From morning to night, I was online. Generally, I wouldn't be on for so long. Maybe as long at 3 or 4 hours, but not more than 6 hours. So then yesterday was pretty depressing. I didn't want to leave the computer because I really didn't have much else to do. It was raining outside; which meant I couldn't train, and if I did go venturing outside, I'd have to use money; not only for purchasing stuff but also for the transport to places. That was why I just stayed in the whole day and used the internet. During that time, I managed to talk to several people I normally wouldn't talk to, in person. It's a great thing this. MSN is probably one of the greatest inventions mankind has ever come up with. If I ever meet the guy who made this, I'll take my hat off to him. Those of you who know what I'm talking about, you should be able to understand the validness of this statement.

Also, during my time online, I managed to find out my ENTER score and I had my prayer answered. All I wanted for my ENTER was 90+ and that was what I got. I couldn't have asked for more; or maybe an even higher score :P Praise God for it though!

I stopped my MSN marathon when the time came close to 6:40pm. I had arranged with my cousin, Earl, to meet him at Jurong Point Shopping Mall. We met up and he shouted me dinner and coffee. hehe, ok for you non-aussies who don't know what 'shout' is, it means to pay for someone else. hehe, I'm still an aussie at heart (even though I'm not). lol

Anyway, we had a nice chat, and while we were talking, the guy from New Life Community Church, which was the church Amoz, his friend, and I went to last sunday, called me up and asked me to join the Music band. I was a bit bedazzled at first because firstly, I had only been there once for like 2hours which meant they barely even knew me. And to ask me to join their band and come practice with them on Saturday made me wonder if this was really happening. Secondly, they didn't know how well/badly I play, and for them to ask me to play so soon was quite shocking. I think in the midst of his introduction, he mentioned that my dad emailed them to ask me to join or something. I found it difficult to decipher what he was saying at first cause I was still trying to picture who he was. All that didn't help when the place was so noisy.

So yeah, after that phone call, Earl and I talked a bit more, and decided to leave. While I was walking back from the MRT station, I realised that I was just a bit more happy. Happy to have gone out and had a civil conversation with someone my age, and to be a part of a community, so to speak.

This morning, I decided that it was time to get out and exercise. I went to the nearby canal and found several 'facilities', like a chin up bar, sit up bar, monkey bar, etc. I went for a run, and I have to say, it was so very tiring. Maybe because 1) I haven't done any jogging in a week, 2) the atmosphere was pretty humid and hot, and 3) the place smelt of sea creatures. There were people in the canal catching things. I don't know if it was legal or not, but there was this guy in there throwing a net around, trying to catch who knows what, for these 3 old ladies. I found it hard to breathe because the air wasn't "fresh". The air was pretty bad, and I'm not talking about the sea side beach smell. I'm talking about those really stale, really disgusting sea smell from the sea creatures kinda smell. Disgusting if you ask me.

Around The World In 80 Days (Part 3)

I didn't think it would be this hard. Mentally, I was prepared to leave, but I wasn't prepared to be strong by myself. I imagined it to be a bit easier. I thought I would come here, and get enlisted in January and limp my way through the Christmas holidays. Sadly, since the announcement that I could only get enlisted in March, I went downhill from there.

My world went from bad to worse. My world came crashing down as I realised that I would be here for 2 years. I didn't know how to deal with this. So I went back, and contemplated on what I should do. And as a guy, I did some thinking by myself. As I sat in the living room area with my grandma beside me, I reflected on the situation as she told me stories about our family. I tried to pay attention to her, and responded with occasional grunting noises, but I was too distracted with the situation I was facing. Eventually, I managed to temporarily pull myself together. The only thing that kept me going was how I knew that Corliss, Sylvia and possibily the Tohs, would be at my parent's place that night, so if I called back, I wouldn't be so sad.

So that night, I called back, and to my delight, I was able to talk to the two girls. After that, I felt much better and a bit more happy. I ended the night with a bit of tele and I went to bed at 9:30pm.

I told my grandma that I would follow her to the market to buy some food for breakfast. I woke up at 6am that morning, and we left at 7am. I had decided that I wanted to eat some Carrot Cake because I haven't had it in a while. For those of you who don't know what Carrot Cake looks like, it looks like this.

I had the white one because it has eggs and are usually crispy.
So when we got to the stall, there was this line of 5 or 6 people. Generally, when there's a line, it means the food is good and people are willing to wait in line for the food. And usually in Singapore, the stalls have really fast service cause they need to be fast to accomodate the large number of customers. So we decided to join the group of 'suckers' to have our Carrot Cake. Unfortunately, it took us more than 45minutes to get our food. Was it worth it? Well, considering I haven't had Carrot Cake in over a year, I guess it was ok. Nice to have it in my stomach again. lol

After my breakfast, I packed my stuff and took a cab to my other grandma's place. It was the first time I took a taxi myself. Usually it's with my mum, dad, auntie or grandma. So you could say that it was another step of independence when I took that cab.
When I got off, I met Amoz and we went up to the house. I unpacked my stuff and soon got bored. I then took out the PlayStation and started playing a bit. After that, I helped wheel my grandma to the dialysis centre. For the rest of the day, I just spent most of it on the internet, trying to come to my senses about this Singapore situation.


Sunday morning, I met Amoz at Tiong Bahru MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Station. We met there at 9:30am and were on our way to Aljunied, which was where the church was located. There, we met up with one of Amoz's friend from his BMT (Basic Military Training) batch and went to church together. The service was very different to what I have been used to for the past year. In a way, it was good to be back in the presence of God among people on fire again; but I must say, it's gonna take a bit of getting use to again. Just gimme time.
That night, I went out at 12am to look for a coffee shop that had the English Premier League on the tele. My dad told me that the shop next to my grandma's dialysis centre has an all day-all night coffee shop, so I went there. However, when I got there, the tele was not on, and the place was also packed, so I didn't wanna create a scene, telling them that, "I wanna watch soccer on the tele, so can you please turn it on for me and by the way, I need a table and chair to sit on. Also, bring me a cup of coffee and don't be stingy with the sugar."
In the end, I wondered around a bit through the cool night in my sleeveless shirt and finally found this closed coffee shop with a plasma tv suspended on a pillar. The match ended at 1:50am, and I went home and slept.



The past few days for me have been hellish. I haven't been sleeping much, and I've never been so depressed. I've really tried to be positive about the situation, but I think it's going to take time. Time to get over Australia, and time to make friends. In the mean time, I'm trying to live through each day on the internet, talking to whoever comes online. At the moment, my dad is trying to find me a job so I'm just waiting.
During this waiting period, it's bad in the sense that I have so much time to myself to think. And everytime I do, I think about the wonderful memories of the past, and how I'll never be able to have them again for a very long time. Everytime I look back, it hurts. There's this pain in my chest that hurts when I recall the house in Geelong, the church, the people, the close friends, the life. It was a bad idea to look at the photos. It was a bad idea to think.

Around The World In 80 Days (Part 2)

I was given the aisle seat as she had the window seat; which meant I had to get up whenever she wanted to go to the toilet. Of course being the gentleman as I am, I graciously stood up and waited, as she took her feminine time in the lavatory. I waited because the toilet was directly behind our row, so you could say I had the advantage. I could easily just get up and lock myself in the toilet at any time I wanted.

Somehow, the flight didn't take as long as it seemed. Maybe because I was prepared, or maybe because I was older and could size up the long journey without complaining too much, or maybe I was tired along the way; seeing that I haven't slept much in the past few days, or maybe, just maybe, it was the girl in my row that kept me going. I had to be strong, and seem like I am able to handle a measly 8 hours of flight without groaning too much. Through it all, it was fun flying alone again. The only person you had to care for, is yourself. But of course, it would be nice to fly with someone else, just to keep you company. Then again, the girl in my row was company enough, if you know what I'm saying. ;)

I accompanied the girl all the way to the exit gate. Even though my luggage came first, I, being the gentleman that I naturally am, hehe, waited till she collected her luggage. I even offered my services in picking up her luggage, but she viciously refused me! She was like, "If you continue to follow me, I'll scream at the top of my lungs and hope the cops will take you down! ..... Ok, I've got my bag, let's go." lol, obviously none of that happened. She simply said she could handle it herself. As soon as she collected her single luggage, we went off. We said goodbye and went our separate ways.

My auntie and grandma from my mother side picked me up at the airport. They couldn't find me at first, and realised that I was already out and standing behind them. They said they couldn't recognise that it was me because of my short hair. I don't blame them. I myself don't recognise myself in the mirror with my short hair. When I greeted them, it was 11:30pm, Singapore time. Which meant it was 2:30am in Australia. I was sorta drowsy but after exerting a reasonable amount of strength on my luggage and posing, I was half awake, but at the same time, half asleep.

We arrived back to their place at 12:00am to which I was then shown to my room where I dumped my luggage, and washed up for the night. I crashed into bed at 1:20am and slept till 7:00am that morning. I woke up and prepared to leave for my medical test. Basically this test determines if you're fit for the full Military Training. If you get A or B, you're capable to take on the full training. If you get C, you get a lighter training course. And of course if you get D or E, you basically fail and they'll give you a desk job.

When Amoz did it, he went there at 8am and came out at 3pm. That's around 7 hours. I was ready to spend the same amount of time there, but to my delight, I was in and out in 4 hours. It was also good that Amoz's friend showed me where to go first. He brought me to the building, and accompanied me to the "Overseas" department. From there, I was on my own. It was there that the lady said that she'll enlist me in March. I was kinda worried that she would just slot me into March, so I asked her if there was an earlier date of enlistment. She said that the next earliest date was in fact that very day. The 8th of December was the starting date for the next earliest batch. Which meant that I went all the way here only to be told that I couldn't even have the slightest chance of getting in till March. I thought that there was an opening in January but there was no such thing. So now I've got plenty of time to spend with myself.

Anyway, they took our photograph with the army shirt, and asked us to move off to the medical centre. There, we had to go through a series of tests. The test were blood, urine, eye, hearing, dental, heart, x-ray, and just some physical measurements. I noticed that I got 'A' for everything, but during the final medical test, they determined that because I had a bit of 'flatfoot', I was given a 'B'. Just on the spot, they gave me a 'B' for one little thing. Disappointing.

After the physical check-up, they did a mental check-up, to see if you're 'sane' enough to be in the army. Basically it was a series of questions that involved funny shadings and shapes, mathematics (which I sorta struggled with because I was tired and hadn't done any mental work for a while), and just a whole bunch of reaction tests. It took an hour or so to complete, which to my delight, was 12:05pm.

I walked back and had Prawn Noodle. Hmmmm, yum yum. After I had finished my lunch, I walked over to the bus terminal to top up my bus card. I haven't used it in one and a half years, so I was pretty pleased that it still worked. hehe

As I walked home, it came to me, that this was it. This was gonna be my life for the next 2 years. From then on, I was never the same..

To Be Continued...

Around The World In 80 Days (Part 1)

I managed to type up two blog posts yesterday on my auntie's laptop while I was sitting alone with nothing to do. But after 'allowing the storm to pass,' I've decided not to post it. This is the reason why.

Yesterday, I was all depressed and lonely, so I took out a lot of my frustration and agitation on that blog post, which is why I don't wanna post it. I was pretty much sad that I was in Singapore and that I'll never see so many of my friends for a long time. I wasn't in a very happy mood. That was, until I called back home. It was so very nice to be able to call home. And to top it all off, I was so happy that Corliss and Sylvia was at my place. After talking to my parents, Chariz, and the two girls, I felt much better. It was really nice to hear their voices agian. I felt for that moment that I was at home for once. That I was with them for that brief period. It was very nice. I know you girls will be reading this, so I wanna thank you for the lovely chat :) I'm better now.

I think.

Anyway, I don't want to say too much about what has happened to me mentally, so I think I'll just blog on my journey here. But before I do, I'll say this. I remembered that Uncle Wesley blogged on his tendancy to view everything he did as a photograph. Like everything he does, he tries to find a 'good' angle to take a photograph. If you know what I'm talking about, I've recently caught myself doing the same thing. Or something like that; this time, it's with blogging. Everything I see, everything I do, I'm thinking of ways to blog on it. In a way, it's unhealthy because I can't enjoy the moment, but rather, my mind is constantly thinking of ways to blog on all the things I do. It's bad cause I wanna enjoy the things I do just as it is! So I've been trying to 'cut' down on what I view everyday as "something to blog about". In the mean time, I'll blog on what I should blog about; my journey here.

__________________

On the final day in Australia, dad woke me up as arranged at 6:30am to watch the Champions League; it was Man Utd v Benfica. After that, did some last minute file transferring on the computer and had breakfast at the same time. As soon as I finished, I quickly went on the PS2 to enjoy some last minute Fifa07 action. I had to swiftly complete what was left of the season, which meant skipping through many matches just to finish up. I played the last match in the ECC Finals, which ended 5-2 against Ajax. It was a thrilling victory. The match was at 2-2 for some time, until I finished them off with my 'skills'.

So after that, had lunch, and jumped on the computer to talk to some people for one last time. It's funny how there were so many things I did in Australia for the 'last time'. Like how I showered for the last time, drove for the last time, jogged for the last time, played for the last time, hugged for the last time, saw you for the last time. It all happened so quickly.

Saying goodbye to everyone, I decided to multi-task and pack all the left overs laying around in my room, like my soccer ball, documents, cosmetics, etc. I managed to pull everything I needed in time to leave at 3:15pm as planned. The flight was at 6:40pm, so I had a bit of time to spare. When we were going to the airport, there was heavy traffic on the highway. Everyone was moving at 20km/hr. Trucks, 4WDs, mini Getzs, everyone, all moving slowly...

In the end, there was no commotion. We simply crawled through the highway and gradually accelerated to 100km/hr again. It was not long after that we reached the airport at 5pm. The check-in line was really long. That was because I was kinda late. 2 hours till take off is not too good. My sis, mum and I stood in the line as we eventually reached the counter in 30 minutes. The lady then told me that I had to go to the boarding gate now. But my dad was like, "Nah, don't worry. Let's go buy some food first." We got a Bacon Deluxe at Hungry Jacks so that I could have something to eat as I am waiting to board. Unfortunately, I never really got the chance to eat. When I got to the boarding gate, I managed to make some final phone calls which meant by the time I finished, it was time to board.

I walked up to the boarding gate, and into the tube. Following the large crowd into the plane, I carried my two hand-carry luggage. As I approached the plane, I showed the stewardess my boarding pass and she directed me to the aisle I needed to take. I waddled my way to my seat, and when I got there, it was then that I realised, I was gonna be in the same row as this young lady which looked nice enough to try to act all cool. Sadly, my short hair gave me a disadvantage as I couldn't fling my hair as those cool people in movies do when they realise that they're in love. Anyway, I sat down, and tried to make it seem like I knew what I was doing. There and then, I discovered that this is all a part of growing up. Trying to make it look like I know what I'm doing when trying to impress girls. Watch out ladies! Here I come!

Oh boy.

To Be Continued...

The Lakehouse

This will be my final blog post from Australia. I have less than 6 hours left in Australia, and I have to say, I am a bit scared to go now. Time went by so quickly! I can't believe it's almost over! I'm recalling the time when I was in Myanmar and we were leaving the country for good. I was saying goodbye to our 3 good little dogs, the people, and the buildings. I'm serious. I was saying goodbye to the moldy green buildings. They were all very old and very disgusting. "Goodbye filthy things!" And I never saw one again..

Now, it's different. This time, I feel reluctant to go. The things I've grown to love in this country, I will have to leave. One thing I will miss dearly, is the cold. This morning, I woke up, and it was nice and cold. I took my blankets and pillow into the living room, and watched Man Utd and Benfica battle for 1st place in their Champions League group. It was nice to be under my covers. Something I won't really enjoy in Singapore :( Oh well, there will be different 'happiness' there..

Before I leave, I'll just say one thing. I've been in Australia for the past 3 years, and it has grown to become my home. It's where I grew up from a small adolescent child, into a bigger wiser person, not only in the world but also in God. And even though I may be gone for 2 years, I will always remember how lovely this place has been, and how much I've taken out of this place (and I don't just mean the amount of water I helped waste). I think I'll change again in 2 years. It's a very long time, and lots will happen. I know will be become stronger, more independent, more mature, and probably more patient. And also at the same time, I will become more asian, more rude, more arrogant, and probably more down-right irritating to talk to. All in the name of love.

This is me, signing out from Australia, till 2 years in the year 2009.

Boaz

Bend It Like Beckham

So basically, yesterday was my birthday. It was cool. Or hot. One of those.
We planned to spend the entire day with Tim and Corliss in the city which was really fun! In all, the entire day because a new record for me.

Never before had I spent so much money for my enjoyment, but I think I deserved it. After a year of intensed studying and having just a few hours with Tim and Corliss, I think it was worth it.

Coming back, we caught the last bus from the city to Grovedale which didn't exactly stop near my place. It ridiculous. Why do people stop working so early here in Australia? I was telling Tim and Corliss, "It's 6pm, I'm hungry and there's no food stalls open! See, if asians ran this place, it wouldn't close till late! Silly people." And the last bus we caught was at 7:35pm! grrrr

Anyway, I was asking the bus driver how close he gets to Grovedale, and he told me that his last stop is at Deakin University; which is approximately 10-15mins drive from my place. However, he graciously told us that we'll go as far as Waurn Ponds Shopping centre for us. That's around 5-10mins from my place. How kind, I thought!

So he drove to Deakin, and there was this one other guy. I think he didn't wanna go to Deakin cause he slept throughout the ride. The bus driver called out that this was gonna be the last stop. I think the guy was unsure where he was and needed directions to where he needed to go. The bus driver and the guy started talking and soon came to terms and had him dropped off just down the street from Deakin. After he went off, the bus driver asked us where we wanted to go.

I told him that anywhere along Pioneer Rd will do, seeing that this was not his usual bus route. Then he asked me exactly where I wanted to go.

I replied, "Well, just along Pioneer Rd and Torquay Rd."

He then said, "I'll take you there! Actually, I'm not supposed to do this but I will."

It was really nice of him to do that. I couldn't thank him enough for his willingness to drive us completely off his route. Wonder if he does it often. God bless him.

The time was 8:15pm when we arrived back at my place. The sun was still bright, and we went in for a quick refreshment; seeing that we've been eating and drinking unhealthy things the whole day.

After that, Chariz decided that she wanted to go out cycling. It was unexpected really; even after a day's worth of walking. However, they wanted to ride, so I decided to go jogging with them. I wasn't and still am not a hundred percent. I still had a small cough but I thought I was strong enough to go jogging. In all, I almost killed myself trying to jog the distance which is probably because of two reasons. I was sick and am still not fit enough. Just not good enough. It means, more exercise, and more jogging. I've also decided to do a bit of swimming when I get to Singapore. That should build my muscular endurance. Plus, it's hot there. hehe

I have one day left in Australia. I have to use this time to prepare, enjoy, breathe and play fifa. Go me! Thou shall not be disturbed.

Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit

It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow, so I think I better blog now.

I know that I've been blogging a lot these past few days. But they have to be done. I have so many things planned, if I don't blog while I get the chance, I'm gonna have a headache trying to blog on them all. So I think I better blog now. You guys can take your time and read them whenever you have the time. I just hope you enjoy it! =)

Just came back from Christian College's Awards Night that went for 2hrs and 45mins. Shorter than I anticipated. I expected the worse of 3-4hrs. haha, 4hours for the extreme worse. That's because people kept on telling me that it goes on "forever". In a way, my very long anticipated made the 2hrs and 45mins seem short.

Also, because I was told I'll be getting an award, I didn't have to sit on the same seat for the whole night. When it was time for the year 12s to accept their award, I was the first to lead the group. The first person to accept their award for the entire year 12. Good? I don't think so. I figured that if you go first, you'll only receive the minimum number of subjects in the award, ie. 1. So when I got up there, it was very discouraging. I came all this way, from Melbourne, into Geelong to do my final year of school, just to walk on stage, and receive an award for one subject. Obviously, I couldn't just toss in the towel on stage and just walk away. I had to go through it, even though I was the first one to go. I guess one award is still better than nothing. Just go get it boy!

I then asked my friend behind me, "If we are the first few, it must mean that we're the dumb ones huh? Only getting 1 award."

He replied, "The ones in the back usually get more than one subject per award. However, they can call our names again for the second award."

I doubted the chances of me getting a second award. If they are giving me one award, what are the chances of them giving me another. I didn't think my chances of getting another award looked pretty.

The Year 12 Co-ordinator soon read, "Receiving the award for one subject... Boaz Ang" I really thought I had done better than that. I thought I had worked hard enough to receive more at least another one. I was bedazzled that all my hard work was credited towards only one subject.

As I received my award, I walked across the stage and as I approached the end of the stage where I was suppose to stand, I read the subject which I had received an award for. To my shock and amazement, it read, "Mathematical Methods". To imagine that out of all the subjects I did, I'd get an award for Methods, when I barely paid attention to the guy. I didn't know what to think of it.

Prior to our receiving of our awards, we were told to stand on stage until all the awards were given out. So one after another, the line began to build. Soon, the whole stage was filled with year 12s lined up in 2 lines. I stood at the end, just contemplating what I had done wrong. Why I had only been able to grab the Maths Methods award and not any others.

Then, they started announcing the next award. It went "For outstanding application and effort in one subject..... ...... in two subjects..... ...... in three subjects..... Boaz Ang." I can say that at that very moment, my heart stopped beating for a second because I didn't see that coming. I was thrilled it was not over! Suddenly I remembered all the hard work that I did, and that it was not all for the recognition that I did well in Methods only. Joy!

I maneuvered my way through the gaps of line, and made my way to the front of the stage. I walked confidently, trying to see who I was suppose to receive my award from. I shook the Principal's hand firmly as I always do, and rejoined the line. I was ecstatic. I read the award, and it read, "Chemistry, Physics and Specialist Maths". I was happy. The only thing that could have made me even happier was to receive the Award for best student in any of the subjects that I did, but it was not to be. Nevertheless, I was glad that I managed to receive an award for all the subjects I did, except english :P which I am not ashamed of.

It's over. School at Christian College is finished. I am no longer a student of the school. If I happen to rock up on the campus ground, I'll be an outsider. A visitor. An unwanted.

Cool.

Pokemon

haha, I can say right here, right now, that I don't watch pokemon anymore. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it (from my point of view), but it's just that I don't watch the shows anymore. It was a part of my life in the past that I cannot change, and I don't wish to change. If I did, I wouldn't have done these drawings for all my readers to enjoy. I do hope that none of these drawings will be misused in any way. They are for private purposes and I hope no one will use it without my permission. Even though they aren't overly good, I still like my rights as being the sole owner :)

With that off my shoulder, I can tell you that I did these drawings when I was 11 or 12. I was really into pokemon and had this sticker book that contained colours of the pokemon. That was where I got the details for the drawings but I did not (and I'm 100% sure) that I did not trace them. I only observed the pictures and drew it myself. Also, all the pokemon pictures on the stickers were adjusted so that all the pokemon were roughly the same size. With that, you can see that some of my pokemon were larger than others. This was because some of them were much easier to draw (at the time) if I had them at a smaller size than if they were large. The other reason was so that I could fit one or two more pokemon into the page.

Anyway, without further ado, here they are.

Into The Blue (Part 2)

Saturday morning, and it was the day for crabbing/beaching. I felt much much better. My muscles were not aching, and all I had that day was a bit of running nose and a slight cough. Good day for the beach. The beach was fun.
Initially, the meeting time was supposed to be 9:30am. But the mothers complained, so we all went at 10:30am. We ended up getting there late at 10:45am, so we were expecting the Tehs to be there, seeing that the Toh's were following us. Strangely, they weren't! They finally came at 11:15am. tsk tsk tsk, in my books, that's unacceptable. 45 minutes late. hehe
Anyway, while we waited, Tim, Tiff and I just started with a bit of kicking around with the soccer ball. It was good. The weather was nice with very little wind. Not long after, our foot started to turn red from kicking the coarse sand stuck on the ball. When the Teh's finally came, the parents started their crabbing session.
We just left the parents doing their sitting around with the crab nets as we just went off into the other side of the beach. The walk was approximately 200-300m, so it was a nice stroll under the warm sun. They wanted to find some crabs to catch. We ended up finding 2 baby crabs and other miscellaneous sea creatures like puny starfishes and some weird clam-sucky thingy. Not exactly sure what it was. It was quite fun actually. It was nice to just hang out with a bunch of kids and do really childish things for once. None of this "I'm old and mature, so I have to be all serious and orderly" business. It was great. And nothing beats spending this time with great friends. Friends are good.

We came back, and met up with Chariz. She had to do her violin exam in the morning, so she came later with my mum. We quickly had lunch, and we decided to cross over to this island opposite to where we had decided to dump our stuff. It looked really nice and flat with lots of sand everywhere. We had to cross over using this one lane bridge over the water. It took about 4-5minutes to get across, and when we did, it was so full-on windy! It didn't look windy at all from where we were. It looked so calm, but when we went there, it was so strong, my slippers/thongs were flying off the ground! Sadly, our plans to play beach soccer there didn't happen, so we had to go back. Pity though..
When we got back, we set up the goals and started playing. It was Tim, Tiff, Corliss and Thomas on one team, and Chariz, Sylvia and myself on the other. We played for an hour or so, and it was irritating. The ball kept going into the water, so we had to jump into the warm water and come out into the cold air. haha, and when people did go into the water, someone would usually shout, "Bay Watch"!!! lol, and when they did, the person getting the ball would usually do some 'sexy' movement. Well, sometimes they would. lol. I know I didn't.. hehe, I reckon I looked 'sexy' enough without the extra effort.
And getting out didn't help when it was considerably windy. On top of that, I still had my cold. So whenever I had to jump into the water, I was concerned about my cold. I had to go in a few times. That made me quite cold throughout the whole 'match', which we won (hehe, I'd like to think so). But the match kinda ended when people started mucking around with each other and sand, as I kicked the ball so poorly, it curved right into the sea. Unfortunately, no one dared to jump in and save it, so it ended up drifting away about 4-5 metres away. By then, Tim had to swim and retrieve it. I really wanted to get in but I think I went in enough to catch another cold. Good thing Tim was there. He did the BayWatch and removed his top for some rescuing action.

The wind started to pick up after the match. We were cold, so Tim and I decided that we'd build a sand wall to block the wind. We managed to do it, and quickly gained the interest of Chariz and Sylvia. They wanted to have a seat in the wall, so they helped us build it. We finished it, but Emily told me later that it looked like a grave with 4 pairs of legs sticking out from a whole. It was good for the first few mintues. But with the wind blowing so strongly, it started to blow the dry sand off the surface of the beach and into our eyes. It was bad. My eye turned red that night and lasted for 3 days.

Around 4:30pm-5pm, Tim, Tiff, Corliss and myself decided to go for a final walk down the beach. The walk down the beach turned into a walk up a cliff, up the cliff some more and down to the other side of the beach where the waves were absolutely beautiful. Tracking back a bit, when we went up the cliff and up the cliff some more; we stood at the top of the cliff and were almost blown away, literally. The wind (and beauty) was so strong, it was awesome! It felt like I was gonna fly away. Good thing I'm weighing a good 64kg, so I was being held down good :) On top of all this, the wind was cold! We weren't really wearing much. I was wearing a singlet and a jumper with shorts. With my cold, it wasn't too good. It's was breath taking, but cold too. After that, we walked down to the other side of the beach. There the horizon was endless and you could see the waves rapidly coming in one after another. We sat on the warm sand and admired the beauty of the scenery.
We walked back, and had dinner at the Teh's place. It was there that I realised it was my birthday in a few days time. Uncle Edward said, "The birthday boy should eat more chicken." And I was like, "Who's the birthday boy?"

At the end of the day, the parents had used 4 crab nets and had caught 0 crabs. And to think this was the 'legal' period to use nets.

Into The Blue (Part 1)

It's been a while since I've last blogged. Simply because I've been busy with all the things mentioned in the previous blog post, and that I've fallen ill again. I'll blog about it as I go along, but also, I kinda forgot that my birthday was coming up ;p To be honest, I was trying to suppress the 'happiness' (so to speak) of becoming one year older. lol, it seems like I'm at the age where I don't like to get older: and at a tender age of 16. (Yes, I'm still in denial that I'm not turning 17 yet.) It was touching, people bought cakes and presents (which were very very nice), when I myself forgot all about it.
I think, on top of that, the fact that I'm leaving so soon after my birthday, kinda takes away the joy of becoming older. The truth is, I'm scared. Scared and sad that I have to leave everything all over again for another world I'd rather leave for a one or two week holiday. I mean, Singapore is nice. It really is. But I've been away for so long, I merely see it as a holiday location, and not a 'home'. Sad to say, but it's how I view it. Perhaps in two years time, I'll view it differently. The strange thing is, I view Australia my 'home' because it's where I feel very comfortable in. Back in Myanmar, it wasn't very comfortable. Despite the numerous chauffeurs, servants, gardeners, etc. I can't really see how I to be comfortable when the electricity suddenly goes out while I'm playing my PlayStation while I sit in the dark living room as I hear the clocks ticking and the mosquitoes buzzing towards me. errr, no thanks.
Actually, I can't be certain where my earthly home is at the moment. Now that I'm older, and becoming more aware of the environment, I have to consider where I'm most happy. Personally, after living in countries like Singapore, America, Myanmar and Australia, I can say that I don't really like a country with a hot climate. It's not like I can't adapt or anything. As a matter of fact, I adapt quite quickly. However, due to my wonderful genetic configuration, I tend to sweat quite easily in considerable quantities. Fortunately, Victoria only reaches 40+°C once every few months, so it's not too bad.


Anyway, enough of all that. Time to recap on what I did during the past few days. Usually, I like to blog a before and after post on the things I wanna do. This is because I like to have a 'plan' on what I'm gonna be doing. Also, by blogging it, I get to lay it out before me to read it too! So it's all good. In a few months time, I won't have time to do a double recap, so just bear with me for now.
Friday, I wasn't feeling very good at all. My muscles were aching quite bad. You know when you have a fever or some sort, and your muscles become achy and sensitive? It was like that but the strange thing is that I don't think I got a fever. So it was weird. Basically, I just slept on the couch with a movie or two on the tele. I wanted to recover so bad, so I could go rollerblading. Unfortunately, I couldn't recover fast enough for rollerblading, but I went anyway. However, I didn't skate at all, so I just sat there and watched them. The main reason why I went was because my days in Australia were numbered, and going to this event would allow me to see my friends one more time. While I was there, my back started to ache pretty bad. The large muscle along the spine started to ache, and boy did it ache hard. I did my best to try to hold down the pain but it was nice to finally sleep that night.

To Be Continued...