The Marine

I feel like a super tank now.


Kat even said it. I'm like a freak.
My mum said I should go join some Frequet Flyers Club but for swimming for all the 'mileage' I get in the pool.
I said to Kat that I'm hardcore now. That I'm the brother of Superman. Or his son. Or something like that.


The thing is, swimming has made me stronger. Back in Australia, everytime I did the swimming carnival, I would start crying for air and a break everytime I pass the half way mark in the pool while attempting to swim breaststroke or backstroke. If I did freestyle back then, I would sink and drown somewhere past the one quarter mark. Good thing I didn't do it.
But now, I am amazingly fitter and stronger. I enjoy swimming because it's like gliding through another medium without having to cry under the pressure of your own weight. You see, that's what I realised about running while I was swimming in the pool! When I run, all my 70 odd kg is pressing itself down onto my foot and ankle. And every step is just another step of pain and agony. Whereas with swimming, all the weight is distributed in the water and I don't even feel the weight of my own body. My entire body is suspended in the water which makes everything all nice and better.

Anyway, if you're wondering why I'm making a big deal out of this again, I'm just so excited about myself. I've grown stronger so fast, and I'm just proud of what I've accomplished. These are my recordings for the number of laps I do in total, the number of laps I do without stopping, and the time taken to do them. The recordings are for the highest number during that month.

Wow, just looking at that, there is such a big improvement from February to March. I didn't realise I managed to improve like that in such a short period of time. Wonder if I can push myself a bit more... It'll be nice if I can.

But I fear that when I go into the Police, my statistics will drop dramatically and I won't be able to maintain this increase in number of laps. Of course I am aware that there will come a point where I won't be able to increase the number of laps anymore, but it's so sad to see me stop soon after improving so much.

Anyway, one thing's for sure. All this swimming has definintely made me stronger. I know I've said it like three times already, but I'm just shocked about it myself. I wonder how strong I've grown. Never tried exerting my strength on anything for a while, so I don't know. I think the opportunity will come when I'm in the Police Academy. Hopefully I'll surprise myself with whatever new abilities I have acquired. But then again, it might be the opposite. I could be disappointed with my puny strength when I'm comparing with others on the force. I guess we'll just have to wait and see then.

In the mean time, my back is killing me! I got a bit of sun burn on my back because I was swimming breaststroke most of the time and I think because I didn't stop during my 24 lap swim, that the sun got the best of me. Even though it's nice and dark now, it's nice and hot and prickly too. Yikes!

Anyway, in case you're wondering what I look like now, this is the most recent picture of me after swimming and tanning so much in the pool. As most of you can tell, I've changed a lot since the last time, and I owe it all to the swimming.

Damn I look good!

Those biceps, the chest, the face. Wow. I never knew I could look like that.
I've grown so much I've even joined the WWE and have been enlisted into the ECW roster where I've become the EWC Champion under the alias 'Bobby Lashley'. See how much you can accomplish in just 4 months!? Every night, I would fly back from the US and come back to sleep in Singapore before flying back to the US for another title defense. I'm so cool. And to imagine I can swim in between my hectic roster. I don't know how I'm gonna juggle my Police job and my wrestling career. Wow. I rock!

No no, those were all lies. That's obviously not me at all. For one, I can't even do that face. At least I don't think I can. My jaw would hurt after a few minutes of that. But it'll be nice if I had that body; but I think many people will protest against me in getting that kinda body. I think.

Which reminds me! Why is it that many girls don't like guys with tanky bodies? I don't see the problem. They claim to say that it's too 'scary'. Like yeah. That's up with that? It's like muscles. Everyone's got them. I don't see it being scary - I mean afterall, we can use it to protect you! How are we supposed to protect you girls if we don't have any muscles? Terrible! Also lemme add that girls with bulky muscles is a no go zone. No offence to girls with large muscles, but I dislike the sight of it because I don't think they go with girls. Men are supposed to have bulky muscles, not girls. It's like girls with boobs. You don't wanna see guys with man-boobs because it's just a no go zone. Simple. ><" Yuck. Anyway!

In the same way, if you don't like the idea of us getting our muscles, it's like us not allowing girls to have boobs; which may I add would be terrible. But let's not talk too much about that XP If you take away the muscle factor, what are we? The muscles are what defines us. Well, I know it does to me at least. It shows the manly side of who we are.

Of course, yeah, I'm not talking about building muscles to the point where it is simply sticking out everywhere like those bodybuilders-Mr. Universe kinda guys. They've over did it. Now that's scary and disgusting. But I'm referring to more a wrestler's body figure. I don't think they've over done it and I reckon they have a very nice muscular build (In a good sense people! In a good sense!).

Now, just looking at WWE's John Cena, I don't think he's over done it at all. As a matter of fact, he was a bodybuilder and I reckon he's got a very nice build. Not too crazy. Now is that really so scary and horrific, ladies? Wouldn't it be nice to touch those very slimy, very slippery, very large biceps that he has there? Mmmmm, biceps ...

LoL, ok, I'll stop. ahaha, but what's so bad about muscles anyway? I think it's a beautiful creation that God has created along with many great and wonderful things. Would it be bad if I was determined to get that body shape? I wouldn't mind it at all but there are so many protests against it, I really have to ask! Seriously, if there aren't any objections, I really wanna try to get it! But not unless there are a lot of objections. ><"

hehe, let's see how many ladies respond to this! XP

Frasier

Hey baby I hear the blues a'callin'

Tossed salads and scrambled eggs, quite stylish

And maybe I seem a bit confused. Yeah, maybe, but I got you pegged

But I don't know what to do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs

They're callin' again

Scrambled eggs all over my face

What is a boy to do

Frasier has left the building

[If you have not seen or have absolutely no interest in Frasier whatsoever, I suggest you leave and perhaps head down to the nearest video store to purchase the entire series of Frasier to watch. Then when you're finished with it, come find me. I want your collection. XP]

For a show that won 39 Emmy Awards, I still think they are under-appreciated for their ingenious storyline, jokes and originality. I absolutely love this show; as you may have already figured out from my very biased opinion.

I don't just love this show for a single character's influence but for the entire set up. I love everything about this show; from Kelsey Grammer's Frasier character's cocky attitude to the duct tape strapped around Martin Crane's chair. The whole set up is legendary. Not to mention the jokes they make on the show. It's not like those other sit coms where the jokes are just down right ridiculous and unoriginal. Ok fine, I'm not saying that all comedy sit coms are like that. In fact, I do admit there are a few sit coms that are quite amusing to watch - but none match up to Frasier.

If you have seen Frasier before, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. If you don't like the show, I suggest you go see a therapist cause you've got a problem.

The jokes integrated into the lines are just phenomenal. They are not those kinda jokes that the studio has to force laughter out of studio audience every time they flash the word "Laugh Now". Sure, sometimes the jokes then are funny, but not as witty and clever as the ones on Frasier. At least I don't think so. Hey! I get to burp out any opinion I want on my blog XP hehehe And that's why I don't think any other sit com is as ingeniously generated as Frasier. (One other great comedy show which comes to mind other than Frasier would have to be Whose Line IS It Anyway? Very close match up in terms of comedical amusement). Their ingenious usage of jokes during the show blows me away, which is probably why I love it so much. Several random examples of the jokes they use on the show:

Frasier: Thanks, Niles. You are a good brother and a credit to the psychiatric profession.
Niles: You're a good brother, too.

Frasier: So are you suggesting that I go along and pretend I'm enjoying myself in something that gives me no pleasure at all just to hear the words I love you?

Daphne: Why not? Women have been doing it for centuries.

[Niles on the phone with Maris (his wife) in the toilet with Frasier as they try to fix the toilet]
Niles: Well, yes, I guess can take my shirt off.
Frasier: Niles, what are you doing?
Niles: Maris seems to be getting aroused by my attempted manual labor. Maris, I'm holding some sort of a wrench.
Frasier: Oh, give me that! Maris, Niles has to go now. ... Oh, never mind what I'm wearing!

However, what really makes the show really so great to watch is the secret love that Niles has for Daphne. Her character has been arranged such that she is completely oblivious to the obvious signs that Niles portrays of his affection to Daphne during their encounters on the show. It's really hilarious to watch him attempt ridiculous feats to get close to Daphne. Even if it means having to fight the need the go into Daphne's room:

Niles: Frasier how could you!? No matter how irresistable the urge to venture down that hallway; to press your face against the door, to actually feel the grain of the wood against your cheek. ... It must be fought! It must be fought!

Daphne: Oh, Dr. Crane, shame on you! You got icing up and down your sleeve.
Niles: Oh, I am a naughty boy.
Daphne: Well, a messy one, anyway.
Niles: But mostly a naughty one.

[spoiler alert! Scroll down if you haven't seen Frasier and are planning to watch it one day. But if you really can't be bothered or don't actually care what I'm talking about, by all means! Do whatever you feel like XP]

Personally, the highlight of the whole series is when Daphne discovers Nile's love for her and then there is chaos on both parties because when they both discover that they both love each other, Niles had just gotten married and Daphne was at her engagement party. On youtube, this episode can be watched here. Sadly, they leave the whole situation hanging for the next two episodes, which is in the following season, and it just so happen that they are not uploaded onto youtube. I really want to watch this episode again because they were the best! If anyone can find it, please tell me! I want it!!! It's the first two episodes of season 8. Gimme gimme gimme! XP

I guess this was the main reason why I felt this urge to finally blog about Frasier. To watch the apex of the entire series on youtube and just have it hanging like that, it doesn't settle with me. I just had to broadcast it on global network as an act of a desperate attempt to get the episodes; hoping that this might be successful.

It was a combination of me having too much time + youtube + mad love for Frasier = me blogging about Frasier. It was inevitable. It was gonna happen sooner or later. Too bad for you guys, it happened now. =P

[end of spoilers]

However, if I had to pinpoint a favourite character in Frasier, it would have to be Niles. He was such a hilarious character for his timidness and fear of conquering new things which could have made his life a lot happier during the show. Only as the series progressed did he gradually sum up the courage to attempt new things and perhaps, that was the turning point of the show for him. Nevertheless, his timidness and fear has been the source for the writers of Frasier to produce some magical comedic moments for which will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

I will share with you guys the first episode I ever saw of Frasier. It was when Niles first caught my eye while I was channel surfing one very innocent day.

I'm not entirely sure what he was doing, and the details of this episode are a bit fuzzy but I will try my best.

It was set in Frasier's apartment and Niles was ironing in the living room one afternoon all alone. Then, for some reason, which I can't seem to recall, he accidentally pricks himself on his hand and he starts bleeding. Having this low tolerance for the sight of blood, he faints at the sight of his own blood and as he does, I think he does something on Frasier's furniture that suddenly wakes him up. He tries to grab hold of whatever he had just accidentally knocked over and once again, he sees the sight of his blood and faints once more. I think he faints a couple more times before deciding to leave Frasier's apartment before causing more damage.

I apologise for the lack of details during the episode, but that is as much as I can remember. And since then, I have been hooked. The first time I saw Niles, I had to watch more of it. He was such a funny scrawny character with an over cautious hygiene habit, obviously, how could a guy like me resist a guy like that? (in a good way ^^) Every move he made, everything he did, it was hilarious. So you could say he was the one who got me interested into Frasier.

But like I said, I love the entire cast and whole set up. It's just ingenious - the way they had written everything out; the plot, the characters, the decor, it's all very unique and original. It's hard to say whether a future show will ever top the standard that Frasier has set but from the look of it, it would be unlikely that a show as good as Frasier will appear any time soon because it is simply one of a kind.

Oh yeah, did I mention I loved Frasier? (Trademark - Chariz style =D)

Are We There Yet?

Yes!

I've done it!

Sorry everyone about me bragging again, but I have to say it!

I've managed to get not only 32 laps during my swim today, but I also broke that record with another 8 more; I managed to swim 40 laps in 1 hour 5 minutes (with an additional 5 minute break in there somewhere).

Despite me shaking all over, I feel great! There's this great feeling inside me every time I accomplish something like this. There's this great feeling about myself that I don't feel so guilty for not doing nothing or for eating too much and not doing anything about the excess fats.
In a way, this is how I gather a bit of self-esteem about myself. By accomplishing something like this, which also prepares myself for the future, I find that I feel a lot better about myself. I don't feel so useless. I don't feel mindless. And I don't feel so dead.

The best part about exercising like this is the feeling afterwards. The exercising itself is the worse. I don't think many people really enjoy or really wanna do the exercising bit. It's an absolute torture to push yourself to complete the exercise. The pain and agony of struggling to breathe and to force your concentrated lactic acid muscles to push further can be excruciating. Sometimes I find it so demanding and routine-like that I start wondering why I do this for. In all honesty, I don't like to exercise. I find it a pain and very tedious to maintain. All this repetitiveness gets to me. Sadly, this has to be done if I am to remain fit so I sometimes force myself to do it. It's hard to see the results immediately, but eventually, the results will show itself sooner or later. Above all the pain, the joy and satisfaction at the end will have to do.

I think in this 'go' today in the pool, I managed to get that far because of the break I had from the pool from doing a large number of laps; especially the one I did on Monday. With that in mind, I think I will give myself a few days before I jump back into the pool - just so I can recover from whatever repercussion I encountered on my body during the swim today.


Anyway, with swimming and exercising aside, lemme talk about something else.
Lemme talk about my mum's departure. Actually, not so much my mum leaving but rather, the effects of it. The effects of what has occurred when she left with my grandma to go back to Australia.

I think I was just about to get used to the whole living alone away from the family-home situation after staying here for over 3 months, but when my mum was about to leave, I realised that I had been pampered without me knowing. I realised that my mum had been nurturing, spoiling and loving me without me even noticing until she was going to leave me for two years.

It was scary. I'll say that. Leaving my mum for a good two years till I can see her again is a scary thought; especially after having been here for a few weeks. I think the effects of her motherly comforting made me wish I wouldn't be on my own like this again. Even though I know my mum and dad are reading this, I find it hard muster up the strength to admit but we have really been loved by our parents. As strange as that might sound for me to admit this, I have to say that no matter what we've been through, they have been there for us. They've been there to help us through whatever obstacles came our way and with their experience and wisdom, we as kids take on whatever advice they give for our benefit. Sometimes we don't like what our parents are telling us and also, we don't like to tell our parents what has been happening with us because they are with us all the time. But now that I'm away from home, it becomes a little bit harder because everything they've taught in the past comes into play. Now I have to use whatever knowledge they have bestowed upon me to do what is right by myself without their watchful eye upon me.
So when we compare this with other kids around the world, there's a whole lotta difference. When I hear of things that happen else where with friends of different countries in different lives, I can't help but feel so fortunate and blessed that I am in this life and not in another.


Anyway, when my mum was gonna leave, I discovered that not only did she treat me like a spoilt child, but also I had become one myself. Having my way in most things, screaming like a little sissy girl demanding to be heard, or just wetting my pants just so I could have someone bring me to the toilet-- Well, no not really. None of those things are really real. None of them happened.
But the point is, it was great to be pampered by my mum again - for one last time for a very very long time. One 'very' for each year to go.

But that wasn't the worse part. The worse part was the thought of them going back to Australia. 'Them' being my mum and grandma together. I envied my grandma so much that I even contemplated dressing up like her so I could take her place on the plane. If I looked like her in the passport, I think I could have pulled it off. It'd be one scary lady though. Tall, firm skinned, broad shouldered, short haired, flat chested old 'lady'. Oh dear.
Anyway, what I was saying was, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if she just stayed here like usual. It's not like there's this great need for her to see Australia now.

Unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice. If I did take her place on that plane, it wouldn't have made a difference because I had to come back to do my NS. It was either sneaking on board and facing the consequences of running away from the Singaporean NS, or staying here for a good two years serving my time and not being able to leave the country. There wasn't really much else I could do. I guess I am stuck here for a very very long time.


As they were getting ready to leave, I started thinking about Australia. I started to think of the friends, the house, the cars, the air, the roads, the flies, everything. I thought about it all. That was when I began to feel sad and homesick again. To have in your head the fact that someone was going back to all that made me envious. I wanted it. I really really wanted it. One 'really' for each year to go.

I know, every one's gonna say something like "Stop complaining, it's only two years", "Take it like a man you girl", "It's not very long. Just enjoy your time there and before you know it, it would be all over", "Can't you see that what you are doing is simply irritating the the hairs on the back of my neck? If we had a particle accelerator to determine the size of an electron, I still wouldn't be able to find any interest in what you're complaining about in the electron."

Hmmm, not too sure if the last one made any sense at all but anyway, I just wanna say this.
I don't care that I whining. I want to whine, and it's great. Complaining about how I long to go back is something I will do once in a while to build this great expectation for Australia when I actually do go back in two years time. Then, when I go back, I will be extremely disappointed because everything there is dry, red and very hot. As a matter of fact, I'm predicting that the whole of Australia will become a desert when I get back. Just like how Nostradamus predicted that Christ would return in 2000, I'm predicting this. What a glorious day it will be when I return.

When I step out from the Melbourne airport and into that warm dry air in February 2009, it will be one moment I will be taking in slowly with my friends beside me. That will be the day when I will be a very happy man. Provided I'm not loaded with diarrhoea and stomach pains from whatever food we ate while travelling prior to our arrival back home. Then I think I'd wanna rush back to unpack; and I don't mean the luggage.

Kung Pow: Enter The Fist

I attempted to complete a double with the swimming earlier today, but it was not to be.

Today, I couldn't even reach twenty laps. My body was still recovering from all the strains of the last swim. The main problem I experienced while I was swimming was my breathing. Somehow, I couldn't get enough air into my system; so I struggled to complete multiple laps. By the end of the 10th lap, I struggled with much difficulty.

Not having much of a choice, I decided to just take it easy and relax in the pool. Maybe help myself to a bit of tanning. I think I'm getting pretty dark now. All that swimming in the afternoon has done wonders for my skin. It feels great to not be as white as I used to be. It must be something here in Singapore. Everyone is darker here compared to people else where. Well, that's what I notice.
Besides how Amoz baked in the sun for this Commissioning Parade, I think people are generally darker around here. Especially the males. I think it's the combination of the heat and the humidity that contributes to the darkening of our skins. Just looking at my arms, I see it so much darker than when I was back in Australia. It's not a big difference, but after staring at my arms for 17 years, I can tell the difference.
It's darker, it's tanner, it's hotter, and girls love it. I think.


At the moment, there are about three weeks of freedom left. It sounds long, but I know it isn't. If there's Frasier on the tele once a week, it means only three more Frasier episodes left before I am sent into the doom of mental and physical torture. Also known as the Police Academy.
Initially, my mindset for these three weeks was to train and prepare myself. But after what happened today in the pool, I have suddenly lost this will to train as intensely. If I am unable to complete my usual twenty laps in two days, I think the training will be harder than I anticipated. My body is not ready for the training I thought I could accomplish. After all, after months of just bumming around in front of a work computer, my body is not as fit as it once was back in January when I did my NAPFA test.
I was insanely capable of doing 51 sit-ups in one minute! I can't even do that now. I can't even get anywhere near the 50 mark. I'm starting to wonder if I really did get 51 because it seems so surreal every time I try each morning. It seems so 'unrealistic' that I was able to get that score during the NAPFA test because now that I'm trying again, I don't know how I managed to pull it off. Maybe the fact that I am 6kg heavier now plays a part in my attempt now. All the flab or muscles, or whatever is in the way, is preventing me from getting the 50 sit ups.
Then again, maybe something I can't get doing alone plays a part in my attempts now - if we compared it to when I did the test that day, there were other sources of motivation. When I did it that day, there were 3 others doing it with me. If I remember correctly, during some stage of that minute, I heard the others calling out the number of sit ups they did and when I compared it with the number that I had done, I was falling behind.
That really kept me pumping. I fed on the thought of not wanting to get the lowest score and pushed myself to go up and down.

With 10 seconds left, I pushed myself even harder. The pain in my abs were excruciating but I had to push harder. Up and down, up and down, until time was up.
What I got was something I thought the other 3 guys would beat easily; but it turned out during that day, I got the highest score. I got the higest score on this test and on basically everything else. Victory was sweet.

But now, I'm beginning to question my fitness. After what I call a disappointing result in my swim today, I'm starting to wonder if I will be as fit as I want to be for the Police force.
My 'aim' for my fitness is to be as fit as I will ever be. I want to be much fitter than when I was back in school because it's time for me to grow. I want to take advantage of what they are going to teach me and put it to full use. This is so easily said than done. Anyone can say this. But what's gonna be different about this is that I really want to try. If I don't try, I will be very disappointed in myself. I have to.

This is my opportunity to learn something not everybody will have a chance to learn, and this is my chance to bulk up to the point where I'm happy.
As a kid, I've always wanted a 'tanky' body. I think this goes back way before we left for America in 1996. There was always something about it that appealed to me and since then, I've had this mindset to get that body during some stage in my life. I was determined to get it sooner or later, and it looks like my opportunity is here.
It seems like I am at that stage where my body will develop rapidly over a short period of time and on top of that, I am not really putting on weight as fat as I eat like a pig. So given that this opportunity to grow is right in front of me, I want to take hold of this and convert that into what I call muscular and height build. My mum is suggesting that I could grow another few more centimetres to hit the six foot mark. At this stage, it's possible, but I think I will need more calcium. Back in Australia, we would drink milk like water which I think played a large role in our development. Here in Singapore, there is less access to the milk because not many people drink milk here. So I think it's time for me to make that move and grab some before it's too late.

Ok ok, for those who are concerned, I am not thinking of a wrestler's body. Even though the prospect of having tanky body parts does seem quite lovely to have, I don't think it will suit me. Very few asians look 'appealing' in a tanky wrestler body. So don't worry about me going overboard. If I can't control myself from going to the gym two times a day, someone will have to take me down. Or at least try to. =P

Castaway

The afternoon was at its prime.

The sun had heated up the humid afternoon air but behind the clouds, it seemed ineffective.

I went through the gates of the stadium and found myself a locker to place my things in. My towel, wallet, keys and mobile were all placed into the small locker. Then the shirt and slippers were removed and placed into the locker as well. I slipped in some money into the coin slot and turned to key lock.

Crossing over out into the open sun, my feet felt a slight sensation of the heat from the tiled floor upon my bare feet. It didn’t really bother me. I just knew that I would cool down soon when I step into the shower.

“Ooo, new shower tap. Upgrades are nice.” The chilly underground water splashed on me as I gradually forced myself to stand completely under the shower – covering me in a refreshing awakening.

Dripping in water, I approached the pool and sat at the edge as I began to cup the pool water onto my body. The water was mildly heated to a comfortable temperature; perfect for diving in and swimming around.
I threw myself in and kicked off the wall of the pool without my goggles. Slowly rising to the surface, I emerged from the warm pool just like how the guys from Bay Watch would do. Pulling my hair back as water trickled down the smooth edges of my skin, I leaped backwards as I backstroked my way to the edge of the pool again. Surprisingly, the water was perfect. I felt like I could go on forever in this pool, so I saw to it that I would make the most of this opportunity to enjoy myself.

Diving back down under, I hovered over the pool bed for as long as my breath can allow. The clearness of the water was amazing. From where I was, I could see the end of the pool 50 metres away. I felt like a little fish innocently munching on the seaweed underwater without a care in the world what is happening up above. But unlike an innocent little fish, I was struck with his suffocating sensation within my body as I am forced to surface back into the world.
Right after that, I swam around underwater for a little while longer before deciding it was time to swim intensely. The swim to the other end of the pool was not strenuous but I stopped at the other end to do some last minute stretches.

Off I went again and in ten minutes, I was able to complete six laps with every sixth lap doing freestyle. One after another, I pushed myself to complete each lap as I conserve energy at the same time for the following lap. Managing my average time of ten minutes per every six laps, that’s roughly 0.5 metres per second. Maintaining this speed wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I was constantly fighting with myself to conserve and breathe every time I surface. Under the humid air, it did become difficult. To make things a bit more difficult, I had some sort of fluid stuck within my throat. This made breathing a bit more energy consuming because I had to gasp as much as air I can take in during those few seconds above water.

At each ‘pit-stop’ after I had exerted myself to dash across by freestyle, I could feel the heat screaming to escape my body. If I stood above the water, the heat upon my skin could grow quite unpleasant. I felt just like a car that had just overheated and was in need of something refreshing to get rid of the heat. Maybe smothering my naked body with chocolate flavoured ice-cream would have done the trick. Then again, I could catch hypothermia from the immediate change of temperature.
The heat in me was just like standing out in the open sun as the light shines upon your exposed skin - heating it to a point where it becomes uncomfortable. Eventually, the heat from the sun will become irritating as your body captures the heat into your body; and that was how it was like.

Also, on top of the warm humid air, the blood pumping hard in my body from all the swimming made it even warmer because just like exercising out of the water, perspiration takes place to cool the body down. Fortunately for me, I was in a pool which meant lots of water. This allowed me to get as hot as I wanted without worrying about getting drenched too much from my own sweat. If I did get this hot out somewhere else, I might get as wet as I was in the pool because I would get soaked in my own sweat. I’m being serious. I can get so wet my shirt would seem like it was being washed in the laundry.
With the heat surging through my body, the most logical thing to do was to just dive under.

Placing every part of my body except my head underwater, it became better. The coolness of the water removed most of the heat from my body until I started to get worried that I would sleep under the conditions.
I picked myself back up and placed the goggles over my head. Taking a strong breath, I kicked back into the pool, repeating the whole process for another few more times.

Thirty five minutes into the process, I had completed my usual number of laps of twenty. It felt good. I felt good. It was warm, but to know that I was able to complete twenty laps in thirty five minutes with one or two minute breaks in between, I felt good.
My back and chest was feeling pretty warm at that stage, so I quickly took a big breath and dived back underwater, sitting upon the pool floor.

After emerging for another breath, I went back in and laid upon the pool floor facing up the pool watching my air bubbles float to the top in succession. It was great to be able to enjoy this again. My only concern at that time was the water pressure on my ears. I felt the compression of the water on my ears and it was quite obvious that there was a bit of pressure on it. I’m not sure if it was safe to remain underwater for a very long time, so I decided to stop after returning back into the pool bed a few more times.

There was a figure in my head that I wish I could accomplish while in the pool. That number was something I had wanted to do because imagine the bragging rights! How wonderful! It was a very difficult number to reach, but accomplishable the very least.
Without much contemplation, I slipped my goggles back on and leaped off the wall of the pool to begin my journey. One wall after another, I kicked off each end two times before telling myself to stop for a while. In those four laps, I had actually wondered what it would be like doing freestyle laps throughout my swim because there were people next to me who were able to do them one after another. I thought to myself since they were able to do them, I’m sure I could too. Sadly, after the first lap had tired me out by the end of the first 50 metres, I decided to switch back to my usual breaststroke. After another two more laps, I reconsidered doing freestyle again and leaped off the wall in search for two freestyle laps but it was not to be. I had to stop. I was left tired by the 24th lap.

Determined to reach ‘that number’, I fought fatigue to recover as I soon stood again to swim once more.

“Another 6 laps in a row and you’re almost there. Not hard at all. I’ve done it 3 times already; easy.”

That was my mindset. Complete five laps doing breaststroke then finish the last one with freestyle. From there, it shouldn’t be hard.

Off I went.

First lap – No problem. I can do it.

Second lap – I can do it.

Third lap – Oh crap, only the third lap. I’m not even half way!

Fourth lap – What!? Only the fourth!?

Fifth lap – Argh! I still have the freestyle lap after this! I’m gonna die.

Sixth lap – I’m gonna die.

By the end, I was so proud of myself. I managed to get another six laps from out of nothing. I stood at the end of the pool, submerged with only my head exposed above thinking, ‘Wow. Thirty is a nice number. Three-zero. It’s nice. … … but not as nice as thirty two.’

That was the number I wanted to hit. Thirty two. 32 laps was my goal. Those two numbers together means a lot to me. Not because I like the number 32 but rather thirty two would be a very nice number to brag about. ahahaha!

So for the sake of bragging rights, I had to get it. I had to get another two more laps. By then, my body had taken a good beating and at this stage, I was fearful that my body might cramp up or fail on me from some freak incident. However, that was not gonna stop me. I wanted another two. It wasn’t too hard. I knew I could do it.
There I went. Leaping off the wall of the pool for the second last time, I ‘fished’ my way underwater for as long as I could until emerging from under the water and crashing above the surface again. The thoughts that ran through my head went along the lines of, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to blog about me suffering some freak accident and retelling the story of how ridiculous I was to push myself so much to have my body swim another 2 more laps? I think it would be a great blog story to tell about me experiencing some insane accident in the pool but do I really want that?” I mean it was possible. I could have over exerted myself during this swim because I hadn’t swim since the Batam retreat, so to swim a record beating 30 laps was something my body could crash under; yet alone 32. I dunno, would it be more interesting to blog about me managing thirty two laps or would it be more interesting to blog about me overdoing it and having some horrific accident in a public pool. I’ll leave it to you guys. But this was what happened.

A lot of things filled my head as I did my final two laps. I didn’t want to break down in the pool. That was the last thing I wanted. There was a chance that it could happen. Of course there was a possibility that I could overdo it. So I was a bit cautious and made sure I didn’t over exert myself.
At the end of the first lap, I kicked the wall one last time – knowing that this was gonna be the last lap. Stroke after stroke, kick after kick, I got nearer and nearer to the end. It was only a matter of time now. My exhausted body pushed on. It pushed on until I couldn’t push on any further. But I couldn’t stop now. I had to finish it. I kept on pushing myself to swim until I approached the final ten metres when I decided to finish it off with the butterfly stroke.

Tired and exhausted, I pushed. I lifted my arms up above the water before allowing them to crash powerfully back into the liquid medium. One after another, I got closer and closer.
Creating a big scene with all the splashing, I proudly crashed right into the pool wall.

It was finished.

All the pushing, all the exertion, all the determination to do the 32 laps pulled through. I have finally broken my record for the number of laps. It was great. My body felt worked. It felt used. It felt abused.

I leaned against the wall to catch my breath, and as I did, there to my right was a family of five. The father was swimming across my lane as his two older kids swam behind him. The older girl swam well with their Styrofoam board but the younger brother was lingering along the edge of the pool on the Styrofoam board. He approached me and as he did, he asked me, “Excuse please.” Politely, I pushed off the wall, away from the direction of the young boy. I watched them swim by as they reminded me of us as kids when we would be taken to the pool with our inflated floats wrapped around our arms with me wearing them underwear swimming trunks. Those were the days. (FYI, I wear speedo-pants under my swimming pants, so don’t start thinking about me wearing any underwear speedos while I swim now! ><”)

When they had passed, I jumped onto the edge of the pool to drip off any excess pool water. After that, I got up and walked to the shower at the pool. The water from the shower was especially chilly this time but it served well as I cooled down from all the warmth in my body. Scrubbing as much chlorine water as I can, I walked away satisfied. My body had a newly formed shaped. As I walked towards my locker, the shadow of my tired body painted itself onto the tiles of the complex floor. However, I was proud to see the imminent shape of my triangular shaped body as I made my way to my locker. I felt tired but stronger at the same time. My shoulders, my arms, my body, all felt stronger. It was a very good workout.

And to imagine I managed all that without any girls around. Try imagining what I can do if there were girls there. XP

Does 50 sound good?

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

I guess I'm back to my old ways again.

I couldn't really muster up anything 'interesting' to really blog about. Nothing really struck my head the moment I saw the empty blogging space. I guess I'm back to the point where I will have to squeeze whatever 'something good to blog about' fluids I have in my brains to produce a blog entry for you guys to read. So I ask you guys to bear with me for the next few weeks as I live through the same old repetitive routine until I get into the PA. Also, I believe once I'm in the PA, I won't be able to blog as often anymore - seeing that I will be 'confined' for a few weeks when I first go in, I won't be blogging till I return back to the civilian world that I will be called to protect.

Strangely enough, I'm not too sure whether this is some sort of coincidence or anything of that sort, but as of late, I have been noticing a lot of police vehicles every time I am near or on a road. From the top of my head, I am able to recall at least half a dozen incidences where I have either seen a police car, police jeep, police bus or of course, police officers. I don't remember seeing so many in such a short period of time before in my life. Maybe because in the past I might have been oblivious to their presence but I don't think that is the case. I mean, how can one miss a rolling vehicle with funny red and blue lights on the hood of the vehicle as it strolls past you right before your very eyes? I know when there's a police car flying past me when I see one.
So I'm not too sure what you would call this. Coincidence? Maybe. But every time I see one of these representatives of the law, I always start thinking about how in a very short time, I will become one of those people. I will be in one of those things. How I will have to start arresting random drug dealers, prostitutes, law breaking civilians, elevator peeing boys and boy is it gonna be sweet. Not literally of course. Literally would be bitter; but then again, I'd rather not know if I'm right or not =P (If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, best if we kept it that way)

Along with having thoughts about joining the police force, I have to admit that there were times when the thought of breaking the law did come to my head. haha, ridiculous but true. Hear me out for a second.
There were times when the thought of just breaking the law by creating a major scene so the cops can come and arrest me did cross my mind. I'm not sure why I would do something as stupid and absurd as that. Maybe because I want to see what it would be like if I had a close personal encounter with the law just before I go in. I wonder what they would do to me if they found out that I did something stupid like skinny dipping in the middle of the Singapore River as one section of the police force had to come in and retrieve me while I swam around like a terrified fish.

But more realistically, I have thought about jumping in one of those Police vehicles and taking off. How cool would a police chase be when I'm the one running away in a police car! That would be one interesting breaking news report I reckon!

"A 17 year old boy is running wild in a Police Unit through the busy streets of Orchard Road and has been on the run since 10am this morning. The boy is reported to be pending enlistment for the Home Police Academy next April but now, this boy's future doesn't seem so bright after all after ironically stealing a getaway police car!"

Errr... actually, I don't wanna do that. I'll probably freak out before I can even open the police door to get in. I'd rather be a good boy and get into the PA 'clean'.

Anyway, there's nothing to worry about. You don't have to start worrying about me doing something out of this world like taking my police-issued hand pistol and charging into the airport onto an airplane, demanding that the pilot takes me back to Australia. No no. I wouldn't do that. I'll probably just ask the pilot to leave the plane as I fly it myself. Now that is a possible probability.


In all honesty, I've never really considered joining the police force. There was only one time (which I mentioned in the past) that I briefly considered joining the force, but never seriously considered before. So when I heard that I was gonna be in the PA, my whole world became confused. There were thoughts like 'what? me?', 'why choose me?', 'was it something I said?', 'why did I have to get gold on my NAPFA test?', 'should I have gotten something lower?'. I really didn't actually want the police force. My mind was completely set on the army. I was so ready to go to Pulau Tekong for my torturous training sessions with loudspeaker-mouth instructors. I was all ready to put on those black boots and helmet as I run through the jungle in search for our target point. My brothers' stories of where he would dig holes all night long without sleep was all in the back of my head. Having accepted the fact I will be treated as a worthless piece of poo, I was ready. I had already prepared for the worse.

But when the lady said the words, "You will be enlisted into the Police Academy," my world was completely shaken. Those few eight words completely rocked my world. But now, it will be sooooo cool! It's way better than the army!

Not only will I be able to (hopefully) bulk up, but I will also be able to get an insight of how law enforcement works and how the whole system within those police walls operates! Plus, I will be learning some form of Karate; something Amoz and I wanted to learn at one stage because we had simply watched too many clips of the Karate Kid.
However, my mum has warned me to protect myself spiritually as some of these training has some spiritual background to the acts involved. I will be aware and cautious of what I do. I only hope that the Lord will give me the courage and alertness to stand up against what is wrong; if of course there are any cases when it is blatantly obvious that it is against the word or will of God.

Nevertheless, it will be so cool to learn a bit of Karate. I wonder if they would teach us those kinda Karate seen on television. I know those on television are really over the top, but maybe something similar to that. That would be so cool! hehe

Also, something that I've been thinking lately - and because I'm not in the PA yet - is the thought of having a chance to get into the SWAT team. Not too sure if they will allow NS men to get in but anyway, I love the prospect of raiding random locations in black suits holding very cool sophisticated weapons with cool hand signals. lol I asked my auntie about her thoughts about me getting into the SWAT team and she said, "Oooo, very cool. But you have to be all rounded in all areas of combat, shooting, etc." ^^ But I still think it's very cool! hehe (I feel like a sissy giggling school girl right about now =S)

Anyway, all this talk about getting into the police force is getting very exciting. I only have another 3 weeks of freedom to enjoy; so on top of sleeping late and waking up late, I'm gonna take advantage of this flexibility to train a bit more now. However, I have to admit that I hate running. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. The worse part about running is having to push yourself so much more after your body tells you that you should really be letting me rest now. That is the most irritating part! Argh! And that's why I love swimming. I don't feel much of this pain when I swim. Maybe because not all the weight is on my feet and lower part of my body.

Well, either way, I will have to run sooner or later; although, I would prefer later but sooner will have to be the way to go.

The Gods Must Be Crazy

The trip to Batam was more of a retreat with the family kinda trip. Not too much to 'report' on so I won't say too much about it because there isn't really much to be said about it.

I mean it was nice to just get away from the craziness of living in Singapore and life, and just enjoy the calm relaxing atmosphere of Indonesia. But when I was at the hotel, there really wasn't all that much to do because the hotel was basically situated in the middle of who knows where, and all the 'facilities' we could use were the pool and the beach (besides the pool table which I'm pretty sure you would have to pay for). So we ended up just staying in our room playing the board game, Risk. Yup, just my mum, Amoz and I. It was fun. We haven't really done any of that in a while because we all seem to be leaving the house and we are really getting too occupied doing our own stuff. So heading out to the middle of no where did us some good.

Looking back at our family history, I think we've had many more experiences as a family than many other families out there. Now, I don't want to brag or anything, because I know that not many people are as blessed as our family and I really don't mean to brag or anything. But I just want to point out that our family has gone through a lot in life, and even though we are still very 'young', there is still so much in life that we can still experience on top of what we've gone through already. I think compared with many other kids (now, once again, I don't want to brag. I just want to make a point), we have been exposed to a whole lot more and have experienced many things which many kids/people wouldn't be able to experience till much later in life, if not, at all.

The most memorable and life changing (and also traumatising) experience would probably be our stay in Myanmar for half a decade. I believe that was the turning point in our very young juvenile lives. It taught us a lot about values in life as we can't complain about what we do have because what we do have is so much better compared to what the other people of Myanmar do have. This experience is something that cannot be taken away from us and cannot be given to someone else unless they go through the experience themselves. Something I will cherish and hold dearly for as long as I live.

I can strongly say that it has changed the way that we thought because it has given us a wider view of the world that there are places where people are extremely poor and poverty reigns in the country. This was one of the reasons why our family has learnt to be content with whatever we have and not get too greedy with what you cannot have. Also, we have been able to work through difficult times together because as a family, that's where comfort comes. There were many times in Myanmar when there would be power-outages in our house. Most of the time, they were at night, so we would have to venture out into the dark rainy night to check the live power lines to see if the rain had knocked out our power supply. Thankfully, we had many Burmese workers who would help us get the power back by knocking the exposed live wires to get it connected again. Even though they did most of the work, we helped wherever we could.

This was an experience I do not regret and would never reverse to take back because it has been a wonderful experience growing up as foreigners with our parents who always managed to keep us safe. Our dad would usually bring us to the arcade once a week to keep us merry and joyful during our stay there in Myanmar.

During the time, I didn't realise that he was in fact doing it for us because all I wanted to do was to have fun. We would go to the arcade, play a few rounds of Dance Dance Revolution, Time Crisis, Shoot Flying Discs, then, after getting bored with 'kiddy' games, we would head off to join our dad at the Caribbean Roulette where we would gamble with our tokens. The tokens there were really cheap, so we were allowed to 'gamble' there, but our dad continuously reminded us that this was purely for amusement only because the odds are always against you. You may win once or twice, but sooner or later, you'll lose them all. So every time we played games like that where a bit of gambling was involved, it was just for fun. Nothing serious. Just for the thrill of winning once in a while. Of course there were times when we would go crazy and bet everything we had, but it was just for the sake of amusement.

Overall, it was heaps of fun. Sometimes we would win heaps and decide that it would be time to go home with our winnings. Then next week, we would lose them all. All for fun.

Anyway, our mum later told us that our dad brought us to the arcade week after week because he wanted us to be happy there. We would go to an arcade then eat at a restaurant afterwards. That was just his way of showing us how much he loved us and how much he wanted us to be happy in Myanmar because we were kids. Kids who could easily make his life a living nightmare because if all three of us decided to rebel, it would make him go crazy; especially how he was in the ministry. But now, having been told from our mum that he did it for us, I can't help but feel loved. Thanks dad.

However, I believe it was God who really contained our 'kiddy madness' which could have exploded at any time. It was God who prevented us going crazy which would probably give our parents a mega-headache because on top of ministering to the people, they have to tend to us as well. So with God helping our parents, we didn't drive them up the wall all that much; I hope. Even though I remember some terrible stories when we were in horrible trouble with our parents (but they weren't really serious problems like us taking drugs, or smoking or anything terrible like that), I think God really changed us to be more aware of what is happening with our parents and that we should all look out for each other. If a member of the family is busy, we shouldn't create more problems for them and should try to solve it ourselves.

Our parents were the core to our sanity back in Myanmar. Without them, we wouldn't have been as sheltered - even though technically speaking, we were being exposed to the life in Myanmar. Our first school in Myanmar was a school our mum worked in, so she could tend to us at any time. But our second school was an International school and it was there that we were exposed even more. I'd say 98% of the students. Oh, let's just make it 99% of the students there were Burmese, so you could say we were basically going to a public school. There, we were exposed to much more, and there, we were under fire for being the 'outsider'. I know I was.

I had so many encounters there as being the odd one out. The classmates and even the teachers made fun of me during some stage of my stay there. It got pretty depressing for me at one stage. Let's just say that I didn't handle it very well.

Out of all the friends there, 1 or 2 of them would look out for me. But with the others, they would tease and make fun at me. There wasn't really much I could do about it because I was part of the minority (being the only foreigner for a long most of the time), and if I did anything wrong, the whole school would be against me! So it was there that I learnt to keep my mouth shut when not needed.

And yeah, for the record (I dunno if I have posted this before but I'll just do it anyway), out of all my years of schooling, I have been to a total of 7 schools from Kindergarten (not including Nursery) to Year 12. Try imagining 7 'first days' of school. The 7 days of my life where I suffered. By the 7th one, I was still suffering! Not so much as the last 6, but it was still something I don't like doing because it sucks! Sorry guys from Christian College, but I still don't like moving to new schools. I wouldn't wanna do it again, so I'm so glad it's all over. Let's not talk about uni.

Anyway, with all my blabbing about Myanmar and life experiences and stuff, what I wanted to say about this trip was that when we were travelling from the ferry to the hotel and back, just looking out from the car into the countryside, it had jolted some memories about Myanmar again. Everything about the villages there especially. It was almost a replica of life back in Myanmar. The cars, the people, the shops, the ground.

Travelling those few kilometres was like travelling a few years back in time. There is such a huge difference in development with Singapore compared to Indonesia. In all fairness, this was not the capital city of Indonesia, so of course places like these will not be as well developed as the capital, but in contrast to the development of Singapore, the differences are vast. That really makes me grateful for what Singapore has to offer. The beautiful nature of having easy access to the bus and train here in Singapore is something I must not take for granted because in Indonesia, if we got lost there, I don't think I would live. Quite literally; I would probably die!

The hotel was practically in the middle of no where! The nearest 'developed' city centre is probably 50km away. And to get there, you would have to track some really dusty deserted country roads. Not the best place to get lost.

So when I got back to Singapore, seeing those painted dark roads with bright green trees in between the lanes really made me feel glad that I live in a city like this and not somewhere else. Something I hope I won't take granted for a long time to come.

Dudly Do-Right

Work is over, and now... ... ... FREEDOM!!! Whoo!!!

It's just like VCE, except better. Or worse; seeing that now I don't get any money anymore. Nevertheless, whooo!!!

It's all over, and now, I am able to take a breather before my NS. In the mean time, I will blog about some random stuff from the cruise, the days back in Singapore after the cruise and several comments about the days while I was in Singapore after the cruise. But first, I wanna blog about work.

Now that it's all finally over, I can say that I reckon I did a good job. I worked hard, I played hard. I think I deserve this break because running like a headless chicken every morning can get tiring; especially for a wee li'l boy like me who doesn't like to experience the working life just yet.
Overall, the experience has been interesting. I had a taste of the working life, and boy does it suck. I'm so glad I'm not there long term because seeing all the work that is involved and the deadlines that you have to meet, I don't think I would last very long. The amount of stress that it caused me during my time there, I don't think it was worth it. Pimples started erupting in places I didn't know they could appear as they grew to this ultra-powerful breathing volcano-sized disaster that spewed toxic venom all over my face, forcing me to take drastic measures to protect my dignity as an available man.

In all honesty, since I started working, I've never experienced such an outburst of pimples in my life. I guess it's the combination of the already humid atmosphere and the amount of stress I receive from the office that I had so many pimples displaying itself all over. Now now, I'm not saying that my face was completely red with nothing but zits everywhere. That's just too much!I'd rather wear a paper bag over my head and have holes cut out for my eyes and mouth. It wasn't too horrendous, but it was the most I've ever had at one time. Both in size and number.

Anyway, since I got such a huge number of complaints/squeaking(lol) the last time I described the beauty of having pimples, I think I shall refrain from discussing it further and return to my talk about work.

I dunno if it's legal or anything, but I took some photos of my work desk both for my memory and for this blog for all to see. Now that I'm finished working, they can't hunt me down and fire me. But then again, they do have my address and they could come and find me if they found out I posted pictures of my work desk. How would they find out? I dunno, someone reading this blog maybe? lol Uh oh. In any case, I don't care. I'm posting it. Not unless someone strongly suggests I take them down.

So, here it is. My work desk.

This photo was taken right in the corner at the entrance of the photocopy 'room' (so to speak). As you can see, my boss' computer is directly behind mine and I've left my computer screen on my blog homepage. And what a beautiful page it is.

The whole office is basically that messy and also, it is really crammed. There's hardly any room to walk and if you see someone coming your way, someone has to give way in order to cross paths.

Behind that wall next to my computer is the rest of the department. It's this large area with 15(from memory) other work desks all crammed together - so we're all one big happy family. The head of department sometimes sits behind 'the wall'.

Now you guys can understand why every time I go to work and I'm doing something other than work, I have to be very alert to quickly Alt + Tab the screen to something else that looks work related. It's annoying because since the photocopier is in the little room next to me, there are a lot of people that walk in and out of that room every few hours. There are times when people would walk in and out every few minutes. It doesn't sound too bad but it can get annoying after a while. Sometimes I'm Alt + Tabbing almost every few seconds to make it seem like I'm really busy when in fact, I wasn't. =P

Well, there you guys go. A look into my first ever full time job that I dreadfully hated. Yet, I managed to get through 2 months of it. There were so many times when I wished I could quit, but thanks to some people, I was able to pull it off and still remain sane. Seriously, I think I could be a lot worse if people didn't give me the sound advice and encouragement I got while at I was working. I could have died! jk jk.

Alright, time for something different. The cruise!

This is the second embarrassing moment when I got told off for using the camera. I don't know why I couldn't use it, but anyway, this was what happened.

During the final day of the cruise, while I was wandering around the ship to take some last round photos, I came across the casino on board the ship called, "Oasis".

I didn't have any thoughts about taking any pictures of the casino because I didn't think it was all that interesting to take pictures of the casino; just like how I don't think it'll be all that interesting if I took photos of the library on board. I mean after all, it was just a whole bunch of Jackpot machines with several tables of Blackjack, Poker and Backgammon going on.

But this time, I thought to myself, "Ahhh, I might as well. Also, with all these people coming out, I think it would look funny to see all the people who all suddenly lost all their money as we are approaching Singapore. hehe"

So I turned on the camera, and took 3 to 4 photos of the entrance.

Just as I finished snapping pictures of the entrance, I noticed that there was this guy waving at me. He was dressed in a white shirt with a dark coloured tie. As my eyes focused on the guy waving at me, I realised that he was actually a security guard.

I didn't realise that I had taken this photo of the security guard until later when we were about to have our lunch at the Pavilion. I thought it was so funny how I managed to take a picture of the guy waving me away.

Seriously, is there a problem with me taking a picture of the entrance of the casino? Even if I had zoomed my camera into the casino and had taken pictures of the stuff inside, what is the harm in that? I don't see what is the problem. It's not like I want to produce landscape photos of the casino's jackpots to have sold on the street. Who would? I don't see what is the problem. Can someone tell me? I'm confused.

Anyway, onto something completely different that happened after the cruise. This happened on a MRT train while I was on the way somewhere I can't remember where I was going. While I stood in a very crowded train, this lady, and her partner, backed up close against my arm as my hand was placed in my pocket. What surprised me about this was that her open handbag was brushing up against my forearm. I could easily see all her stuff in there. C'mon, even though Singapore is safe, it doesn't mean you should be doing things like this. Just because I don't steal doesn't mean you should leave your PSP hanging out of your backpack. Just because I don't steal doesn't mean you should have your money flashing from your pocket.

I dunno. Should I be angry at them or should I have sympathy for people who can be so stupidly stupid to have their valuables flashing at strangers on board public transportation. Either way, they suck. Have some brains and make sure it's all secure. That's why they have zips on handbags. And even if they have a zip, they should always be zipped up with the end of the zip placed somewhere they can monitor.

We were having a discussion one day at church about how mindless people can be when it comes to safety and security here in Singapore. Someone at church was commenting about how people can be so senseless as to have their front doors unlocked when they go out. Sometimes even with little children inside. They would think it's so safe around Singapore that they could do that.

I think I'm starting to feel this desire for personal safety and security now, now that I'm gonna be going into the police force soon. Maybe I should think of a corny phrase to follow like, "Play safe to be safe," or "If you can't remember if you locked your front door, go home and check."

Yeah.... I think I better not follow some corny phrases and just be myself. Less damage to me and society.

Enough of that, just one more thing before I finish.

Chariz has been asking me why I asked her to appear offline for a little while as I did this. I didn't realise this until several months ago when I thought I was seeing doubles on my MSN screen.

I'm not sure if many of you have this on your MSN list, but I'm pretty certain this is pretty rare. What you see below has not been altered. The only changes that I made was the blurring out of the other MSN contacts.

I thought it was pretty cool and had to take a picture of it. I mean how often do you have two Boazs and two Wes' (what is the plural of Wes!? =S ) on your MSN contact list? According to the other Boaz, he says he knows 2 other Boazs now. One being me, and the other another guy who he knows personally. I believe his Boaz friend is also an asian. w00t!

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that little bit of ranting. Might be going out of Singapore on Thursday so I will hope to bring back some more photos and stories to tell. If Amoz is able to renew his passport (which expired long ago and he didn't realise about it till just today), we shall be heading off to the northern tip of Indonesia called Batam.

The NeverEnding Story

Yesterday was a really long long day for me.

I was out from 6am to 10pm with activites running non-stop. Now, I'm beat. My throat is sore, and my eyes are heavy. Sadly, when I went for Amoz's Commissioning Parade dinner yesterday, I couldn't really enjoy the night. I wanted to, but as the night prolonged, I grew tired. I'll tell the story as we go along.


The day began with me waking up at 6am to prepare for a morning swim. I haven't swam in 9 days since the cruise. So I thought it was about time that I went.
I got changed, drank my 'power drink' (not really a power drink, but it helps with the endurance. I think it allows better circulation of the oxygen my blood or something. I'm just guessing), did my stretches, did my sit-ups and left for the pool.
I knew I wasn't gonna be able to reach my usual 20 laps this time because I haven't same in 9 days and I didn't have the time to do them. But I did my best and ended up doing 16 before having to leave at 7:05am.
For breakfast, I got myself some prawn noodles from a stall near the place I stay. Actually, I find that I am just too lazy to go to some far away hawker centre to buy some food to eat; especially when I'm just buying food for myself. As long as it's edible, and not some 'spare parts', including all the many disgusting abnormalties like insects, etc. I'll eat it. Fortunately for me, there are 2 nearby hawker centres, so I have a bit of variety when it comes to eating in. =D

Anyway, after breakie, I had a shower, changed, and headed off to work.

After sitting on the train for 20 minutes, I got off at the train station where I'd usually get off to transit to catch the bus. When I did get off the train, I saw my bus approaching the bus stop. Seeing that I just got off the train, and was looking at the bus from above, I knew there was no chance I could get onto that bus in time. Which meant I had to wait another 10 more minutes for the next bus, thus making me late for work.

"Oh well, it's Saturday. Everybody's late."

When I got to work, I coincidentally met my boss at the escalators. She didn't see me, so I called out "Let's go! Let's go!" It took a few seconds before she turned around to see that the person calling out was me.

"Oi! How come you're late?" she asked me. I should have given her a 'yeah..... right' look but that would have been way too rude for me.

"I went swimming this morning," I replied her.

At work, I was working moderately hard. I was trying to finish whatever leftover work I have left to make my next few days a bit easier to handle. At the same time, I couldn't be bothered hiding my MSN screen and left it on whenever my boss walked by. I even walked away from my computer screen a few times leaving it on because I just couldn't be bothered hiding it on a Saturday morning. Nevertheless, I worked hard too, so they couldn't tell me not to use it when I was still working as well. XP

Work finished at 1pm. I quite literally rushed down the 6 story office, and decided to grab 2 curry puffs and a sotong (squid) stick for lunch. Then, I went off to the taxi stand to go to church.

At church, I quickly ate my 'lunch' as we started practicing at 1:30pm. This was gonna be the fastest band practice in history for the church because I told them I had to leave at 3:30pm for Amoz's Commissioning Parade. We finished at 3:25pm and when we did, I rushed off for Amoz's parade. Also, while we were practicing, my throat started to get a bit dry and sore from the curry puff I had for 'lunch'. I was kinda expecting it to get dry and sore because every time I had any sort of curry puff when I came here, it always got dry and sore. And I don't know why! While eating and after eating, I would drown myself with plenty of water, yet it never seems to work. Maybe I'm allergic. lol

Anyway, my relatives were all breathing down my neck about not finishing my church practice in time because it usually finishes around 4pm and the parade was supposed to start at 5:15pm. (The parade location was on one side of Singapore and the church was at the other) So they were nagging at me about getting the church to let me out earlier, or else ask someone else to play instead. So they planned to finish at 3:30pm, but when I left the church at that time, we were there one and a half hours too early. ><" All that rushing for nothing. Oh well, too late now.

The parade started around 5:30pm. It started out with a whole group of marching musicians marching out to get a rhythm going. As they came 'out', the others (being the entire officer cadets who were gonna graduate) followed in their robot (quoted from my grandma) marching style. Then they aligned themselves in front of us. For a more detailed description of my brother's commissioning parade, visit his blog here.

The entire parade ran for about 2 hours as it finished at 7:30pm. I managed to get quite a number of photos, so check out my brother's blog album if you wanna see them.

After the parade, we were invited to have dinner with my brother. He was allowed to choose 2 persons to follow him for the dinner - so my mum and I went.

I wished I could have enjoyed the night and dinner a whole lot better than I actually did, but by the time it was time for dinner, I was tired. My throat had gotten much worse, and my body was aching. The entire day had drained me out. But it was nice to see my brother's camp because I will never get a chance to stay there. I was quite surprised that it was quite large. The facilities looked quite well maintained, and everything looked very orderly. Very good for an army camp. lol

The night finally ended when the VIP, who I think was the Minister of Health, decided to leave the dinner. When we finished clapping for his departure, everyone dispersed and everyone went their separate ways. By that time, it was 10pm and I was so very exhausted. I just wanted to go back and sleep.

From the Cook House, we went to Amoz's wing to pick up his stuff. I helped him carry some of his stuff, and when he grabbed everything he needed to grab, we called a cab and went back home.

When I got back, I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and by 10:30pm, I was in bed. The next morning, I woke up at 6:30am for church.

Timeline

Today marks the day when I first arrived in Singapore 3 months ago.

Whenever people reflect on things like this, they'd usually say, "Wow, time flies so quickly! I can't believe it has been this quick!"

But as for me, I'd have to say the opposite. Time seem to be moving quite slowly. I mean 3 months. That's not very long compared to 2 years. Two years is twenty four months. That would mean I still have twenty one months to go! Three months is not very long when you look at it that way, but I won't.

I must look at it with a positive point of view. So let's see, what has happened during these 3 months here in Singapore. There were a lot of things that happened during that time.

• I've finally got a general idea of the places in Singapore. Even though I mainly travel in the west coast region, I still have a rough idea of where places are in Singapore. I have say this because even though Singapore is only an island, it's taken me 17 years to figure out where most of the things are in this little island called Singapore. So I guess now, it's not too bad. If someone overseas asked me about something in Singapore, chances are I'll have a rough idea of where that place is. And if I've been there, the conversation would be a lot better if I could at least say something about it than say what I would usually say in the past and that's, "errmm, I haven't stayed in Singapore long, so I don't really know." I mean it is after all, my home country. My roots. My background. About time I figured it out.


• My chinese and teochew has significantly improved since coming here. Generally at the homes I stay in, I would converse with my grandmas in chinese, but now, I'm starting to talk with my mum's mum in teochew because she would be able to teach and correct me if I got it wrong. Since we left for Australia, I have hardly used my chinese so it was a bit rusty when I came back. The chinese is coming back and I'm starting to learn more words too. And if I could learn this much in 3 months, I reckon I will be able to speak considerably fluent by the time I return back to Australia. Hopefully both chinese and teochew.


• I started working to make some good pocket money. This is my first 'official' full-time job. Not my first taste at working life, but it is the first time I have had to work 9am to 6:30pm. I guess getting my first job in Singapore isn't exactly the best place to get one. The hours are long, and the pay is not as high. Nevertheless, it's my first job.


• Staying here has taught me more about myself. I never realised how much I've grown on an independent level over a short period of time. I mean looking at what I've been doing, I never thought I could do these things without complaining too much. For example, I started to swim at 6:30am. I've never done such a thing before in my life. Then after swimming, I would head off to work for a long day. Yet, I find myself content with the temporary situation and I haven't complained all that much. If I could picture myself doing this a few years back, my guess is that I would be complaining all the way until the end of time. But now, I guess it was the right time to leave home and become more independent and it all worked out fine.


• Lastly, I came here with a purpose. That purpose was to complete my National Service without looking back too much as I go get it over and done with. The day I arrived here in Singapore, everything seemed too surreal. I couldn't comprehend the fact that I would be staying here for 2 years. After staying in Australia for 3 years, I had this connection with the country and the people back there that I found it really difficult to let that go for 2 years. Fortunately, the internet was accessible during most of that time when I first arrived and I was able to, with the help of many wonderful friends back in Australia, ease into this life style. It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. The first month was the most difficult, with Christmas and everything, it was hard. That Christmas night, I spent it in a swimming pool all alone. I don't regret spending it there because it was nice to just be alone for a while and just have some time to recap on what has been going on. I remember looking up to the dark starless cloudy sky and just wishing I could be back in Australia to enjoy a starry night sky once more. Even seeing the moon would be just as satisfying. That night, I killed the night away in the pool until the life guard told me that it was time to go. Then later on in January, I did the NAPFA and got the result I was praying for. Getting gold on the test was the first greatest thing I experienced since coming here. Getting the sheet of paper that read 'Gold' was something I had longed for because it meant I would be going back 2 months earlier. Who would have thought that that might have had a play in me getting into the Police Academy. And now looking back at all these things that has happened with the NS situation, I can't help but be amazed by what has transpired during these 3 months.

I never really complained or whined too much when I was told that I will have to go back to Singapore to complete my NS. Unlike when we were first told that we were going to move to Geelong, Singapore I didn't have much of a choice so I tried not to think too much about it. All I had in my mind was to just enjoy the time I had left in Australia and don't do anything silly. After all, there wouldn't be any point complaining because my parents wouldn't be able to do anything about the fact that I am a Singaporean who needs to fulfill his national duties. I guess saying nothing about it and just bottling every unhappiness by having the mindset of getting it over and done with was the best way to go. I figured that aggravating the situation would only make everything worse.

Also since coming here, I have learnt a lot of things about myself and other people that I didn't know about. I covered a little bit about this above but what I didn't mention was that there were things about me that I didn't know about - like how I am able to chat on MSN 10 hours straight without going blind from all the radiation from the laptop screen. I didn't think I could do that! lol I also learnt that 9.5 hours of computer a day at work can pretty much make my eyes go all blurry from all the tears in my eyes. Not from the radiation from the computer but from all the weeping for having to work. I didn't think I would do that!

But seriously, since moving, I've learnt a bit about myself but more about the people that I call friends. True friends are the ones who will stick by you no matter what happens. They will find a way to get to you to make sure you are alive and well. And when I came here, all my true friends showed themselves and only stood to encourage me. These are the friends that I must not lose! I only hope I can repay the favour when it is their turn to go do something like this. God bless them for being the great and wonderful friends that they are. ^^

Anyway, when I first came here to Singapore, I was a little bit worried that I would have to 'church hunt' for a place to go to every Sunday. So I was praying about having a place to return to without hunting 'too much' for a 'comfortable' church. Prayers were answered and it was even better than having to 'hunt'! The first church I went to became my church immediately. In case some of you don't know what happened, this is what happened.

The first Sunday I arrived in Singapore, I followed my brother to the church he has decided to stay with. During that day, I was doing my best to observe the church and it just so happen that during that Sunday, they didn't want any other instruments besides the guitar, piano and saxophone. That meant on that Sunday, I saw the drum set empty without anybody playing it.

I guess you could say it was 'a sign'. But what really got me to return, was when they asked me to play the following week. Not drums, but guitar. [The full story here] So I went, and I did it. Then they asked me back the following week. Then week after week, I kept going back and now, I'm happy. The people there are great. The spiritual atmosphere is refreshing. And the music is a lot more satisfying in the sense that there is unity in the music. Plus, since playing for the church, I've learnt so much more about playing for the church band. I hope to improve a whole lot more before I go back. That should be wonderful! XD Hopefully I can go back with this and help the people in whatever way I can. =)

On a completely different note, I have to point out that since I came here in December, I have not fallen sick! Normally in Australia, I would fall sick every few months! And here I am, 3 months in and I'm still going strong. I think the main reason is that I have been drinking so much more water now. Especially in the office (since I still wanna kill time with toilet breaks), I drink close to 10 cups of water a day. My system is pretty well flushed out. Back in Australia, I would drink milk and soft drinks. I would only drink water if I felt thristy but usually, I would drink soft drinks for 'enjoyment'. I'm so glad I haven't fallen sick yet. The greatest feeling ever! ^^
Kids! Don't try that at home!

Overall, I think these 3 months has been a complete turn-a-round for me. I've finally accepted that I will be here for a while and decided to make it easier on myself by trying to look at things with a more positive attitude. So far so good. The next step now, is the Police Academy and I think that will be a whole new ball game. One thing's for sure though. There will be a lot of Malays in the Police Academy so I will have to use my 'experience' in the minority to make the experience easier to handle. This is where all past 'training' with travelling around to different cultures and situations will come in handy. Stories that will be told in another 3 months time. And when I do reach that 6 months mark, it would mean I am one-quarter of the way there. One-quarter of two years. Surely then will time be flying!