Teacher's Day!

This post is dedicated to all the Teachers out there, who have taught 99E4A.

WHY GOD CREATED TEACHERS.
When God created teachers,

He gave us special friends

To help us understand His world

And truly comprehend

The beauty and the wonder

Of everything we see,

And become a better person

With each discovery.

When God created teachers,

He gave us special guides

To show us ways in which to grow

So we can all decide

How to live and how to do

What's right instead of wrong,

To lead us so that we can lead

And learn how to be strong.
Why God created teachers,

In His wisdom and His grace,

Was to help us learn to make our world

A better, wiser place.

~Author Unknown~

***************************************************

Today i went back to MacPherson Sec to visit my dear sec 4 form teacher, Mdm Tan. It might be her final year teaching, as she might retire next year. So i wanted to make full use my free time and visit her.

The celebration started at 8am! too early for a lazy bums like me, Ibrahim and Sin Boon. We reached at 9.30. The celebration finished at 10.00. We met a lot of the other teachers also, Edzra, Mdm Chan (who said she could finally go to the swimming pool, now that Nat is not there!), and some others.

Of course, there was also Joshua's Fan Club, and Ibrahim's Fan Club. The President also posed a major obstacle. The concert however ( the last part) was great, there was a Korean Pop Dance and we got to see the teachers dancin......haha.....Mr Subra! Walau, Pro man.....phew, he was heating up the dance floor with his groovy moves!

So after, braving the paparazzi and the huge crowd that had gathered around us, we tried to reach the teachers in their office. But alas, there too we were mobbed by screaming fans from our fan clubs. My goodness, never in my whole life had i seen such an energetic, forceful crowd. They were trying to get autographs and stuff, and trying to grab us anyway they could. It was a celeb's worst nightmare!

So then we had luch at the posh, and inexpensive food court at Bugis. Narrowly escaping the press and cameras.

So then we recalled the day, and realised that the main reason we were there was beacuse of Mdm Tan, our 'Mommy'. Thank You Mdm Tan, we love you!

Captain's Log 651.45

Well, today i was irritated once again by "Those I don't want to speak off." So i spent almost all of my day on the couch. *sian* However, i did go out just now ( at night) and went to see my friend who is going to fix up my r/c car. Wohoo! finally, I'll get to play it, can't wait.

As for the Army, well, I have to go back on the 20th of September, no more extension. But the good news is I will be posting out. And getting away from that place. Finally. Freedom.

I don't write much now coz I don't do anything much except sit on my couch.*such a boring life*

Bye for now.

You have been in Singapore too long when...

36 signs you've been in Singapore too long, especially if you come from a Western country:

1. You've lost your sense of irony, sarcasm, and cynicism.

2. You don't know what's lame and what isn't anymore.

3. You think there's nothing wrong with putting chili sauce on everything you eat.

4. You wait for instructions from people in authority before doing anything. Always.

5. You join queues without knowing or caring what the queue is for.

6. You know what "queue" means!!

7. Your idea of a good night out consists of having dinner at a hawker centre, drinking beer, and then going to another hawker centre and eating again.

8. You've lost your ability to criticize people in higher positions than you, even if they're wrong.

9. You think it's okay to have only one meaningful choice on a ballot.

10. "Crossing the country" means taking the MRT tothe end of the line.

11. You have a high tolerance for nagging.

12.Most or all of these acronyms make sense to you:
NUS; NTU; ERP; SDU; PAP; MRT; LKY; GCT; PRC; TIBS; SBS; SMS; JB; JBJ; AMK; AYE; PIE; ECP; ISD; ISA; 5 C's; CPF; CHIJMES; SPG; CWO.

13. You use too many acronyms when you talk, or you create new ones.

14. You think that nothing makes a girl or guy more attractive than to dress exactly like hundreds of thousands of othe girls and guys who all dress exactly like girls and guys in malls.

15. You think that S$100,000 [= US$ 57,000] is a reasonable price for a Toyota Corolla and S$1,000,000 is a reasonable price for a bungalow, but S$5 [= US$2.85] for a plate of fried noodles is a barbarous outrage.

16. You believe that not being able to get decent roti prata outside Singapore is enough to keep the best and the brightest people from leaving.

17. You see nothing wrong with forming committees of select elite people to deliberate and study ways to stimulate creativity and spontaneity.

18. You justify every argument with the phrase "in order for us to be competitive in the 21st century."

19. You think everything should be "topped up."

20. You see nothing unusual about an organization of trade unions spending more time owning and operating supermarkets, parks, drugstores, amusement nightclubs, and financial services than planning the next strike.

21. You believe that a lack of land is enough justification for the goverment to do what it wants.

22. You wear winter clothes indoors and summer clothes outdoors.

23. Durian and belachan no longer stink to you.

24. You like to have fun, but not too much fun, since you need to correctly gauge the amount of fun necessary to achieve the optimal result. Any more fun that that would bring shame to your family and your country.

25. You're not confused by a street naming system that locates streets like Clementi Road, Clementi Street, Clementi Crescent, Clementi Lane, Clementi Drive, Clementi Way, and Clementi Avenues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 all within walking distance of each other.

26. You get irritated if you don't see a sign telling you how long your wait's going to be for a bus, a train, or the expressway to take you where you want to go.

27. You're certain that Holland Village is for hippie bohemian artist types and not for overpaid yuppies.

28. When you cross the border into Malaysia, you automatically and deeply fear for your life and your wallet. Especially your wallet!!

29. No matter what you're doing at the moment, you'd rather be shopping.

30. No matter how miserable you may be here, you thank God you're not in Indonesia.

31. You're impressed by high-rise apartment buildings with actual lobbies instead of bare exposed pillars on the ground floor [such as are found in much government-built housing].
32. You forgot what chewing gum tastes like.

33. You're sure that the best way to change social behaviour is through consistent and comprehensive government-sponsored campaigns that permeate as many aspects of daily life as possible. And when they don't work, you never speak of them again.

34. You agree that what the government thinks of your personal habits and lifestyle should determine whether you get a condo and how much you pay for it.

35. You've become a fan of either Arsenal, Manchester United, or Liverpool when you barely knew what soccer was before you came to Singapore. And you don't care that none of these teams are Singaporean!

36. You think a bus is incomplete without a TV.

(taken from here, who took it from here.)

NATIONAL DAY RALLY - part 2

FIVE DAY WORK WEEK! WOHOO! A welcome change in work policies. A very smart move by the PM. This would definitely encourage Singaporeans to have more family bonding (and have more babies on friday night). Allowing them to work hard and yet be able to play hard!
However, this must not cause us to LIVE our weeksdays in the office and forget our families. I also hope that they don't say that NSF's still have to work on Saturday. For those with the 8 to 5 job at least.

Kudos to the new government. God must guide it.

NATIONAL DAY RALLY

Today was (is) PM's Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech. I admire his ambitions for the country, most of which are notably regardin the youth of Singapore. I agree with most of his policies except the China policy. I don't want to comment on that, those thoughts might be viewed politically incorrect.
He did however talk about the Singapore education system, citing that some parents even send their Kindergarten Kids to remedial class! An act unheard of in other countries only in KIASU SINGAPORE! Walau! He did discourage this pressure in kids, telling parents to allow their children to grow up normally and develop at their own time. Which i applaud. Let kids take their own time to bloom. Don't pressure them.
He also presented a new modular system to for mother tounge, which i think will help students cope better. And most importantly put less pressure on them.
I really hope our new PM will do good job (directed by YHWH).

Captain's Log 123.456

WOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Finnaly one year has passed since I entered the organisation called the SAF. It's the one year anniversary of my enlistment, I STILL HAVE 1 YR and 4MTS to go, so for all of you who haven't enlisted yet....HAHA so long suckers! ORD OH! soon....

Captain's Log 999.153

TODAY IS A SUCKY DAY...

I went to watch the Village ( which was intriguingly great ), and my camp personnel called my house looking for me...which was !(($&(*^$&). My fault though, should have planned a contingency...damn!

So most of the day was spoilt, thanks to certain people in my camp, Whom i dont (want) to speak of.

Shit man.

Here's my newly modified desktop Windows XP

Rock of Enlightement - Resolving Conflicts in 9 Steps

1. KEEP YOUR VOICE LOW/NORMAL.

• A high pitch voice or volume while talking tends to provoke feelings
• You can control yourself more
• You can say more

2. BEWARE OF MANIPULATION.

Avoid these tactics:

• Threatening
• Beating or hurting self
• Attempting suicide
• Crying as a weapon
• Silence

3. DO NOT TALK ABOUT PAST PROBLEMS.

• Do not 'collect' problems (Eph 4:27)
• Remember to forget (Prov 10:12, 17:9, 1 Pet 4:8)

4. ATTACK THE PROBLEM, INSTEAD OF THE PERSON.

• Do not attack his/her physical appearance.
• Do not bring in others, unless they are the source or part of the problem
• Do not put a label on the other person

5. REMEMBER THESE 3 POWERS:

THE POWER OF WORDS (Prov 18:21)

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS (Matt 18:21-35)

THE POWER OF YIELDING YOUR RIGHTS (PHIL 2:5-11)

6. IF YOU ARE WRONG, ADMIT IT; IF YOU ARE RIGHT, SHUT UP.

7. LOOK AT THE NEEDS OF THE OTHER PERSON, AND YOU WILL HAVE COMPASSION.

8. FIND THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM AND DEAL WITH IT.

9. WHEN A CONFLICT IS RESOLVED, PRAY TOGETHER TO SEAL IT BEFORE GOD

ADVICE FROM PAS. SUKIRNO...

REMEMBER THAT WE DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH TIME WE HAVE....READ STORY BELOW

There was a missionary, just about to preach in a big meeting away from home, when his wife called the office of the church he was in. Now, beacuse he was in the middle of the worship service, he got a bit irritated that his wife called at this time. Answering fhe call, he realised that his wife was crying and saying,"Dear, the faucet is broken, the water is leaking and there is no food to cook; I don't know what to do!". At this, the preacher got very angry, "Why did you call me at this time! I have to preach in 10 minutes and you called to tell me this?", he shouted,"Just go and fix it yourself!". Then he slammed down the phone. He promply returned to the worship service and continued worshipping. Then he heard a voice saying,"Go and apologise to you wife and resolve the problem."He replied," OK Lord I'll do it after the service." But then the voice said again, "Go and apologise to your wife now, and resolve the problem." Again he procrastinated, and again the voice said, "Go and apologise to your wife now, and resolve the problem." So finally he obeyed. He sent a message to worship leader to extend the worship for another few minutes, as he went to the church office to call his wife. " I'm sorry honey, about the way I acted just now, I was just in a rush and didn't think," he apologised, " If you look in the phonebook, there's a plumber's number, he's my friend and he'll help you out. As for the food, maybe you could just go to the supermarket and get some stuff to cook." She replied, " It's ok dear, I forgive you. I was just on my way to the supermarket to get some food." So he said goodbye and returned to preach in the service. As his wife was on her way to the supermarket, she was hit by a truck. She died instanly. Don't let your conflicts be unresolved, always fix them as soon as you can and forgive that person. How would you feel if someone left this world without you settling things with them...

Rev. Sukirno Tarjadi

Captain's Log 194.5115 - A Beachy Day

Sun, Sand and Sea...3 words that would bring a sigh of relief to most Singaporeans in this concrete utopia/jungle/hutan/forest/rows of tall grey things. The only place to find such a haven ( a clean one ) is Sentosa, our wonderful Island's playground.

Taking into account that we were going on a saturday, my youth group decided to meet at 9am, which ended up being 10 am, due to some members having problems with the volume of thier alarm clocks. Nonetheless, the show had to go on. Eventually reaching the targetted Tanjong Beach, we set up camp and claimed the area for God and country! ( ok too dramatic).

The soccer ball and the volleyball immediately appeared and the group was thrown into a game of Bola Racun (poison ball). Which was enjoyed thoroughly by both the youths and those trying to be youths...

Lunch was served and more games played until the sun began to set upon that enjoyable and marvelous Saturday. Although i could not do much ( ok all i did was sit there on my little white chair watching the little white bikinis.....i mean jeans and t-shirts, playing in the water), i did thouroughly enjoy my time out of the house...finally

Wish someone had brought a digicam instead of a normal one, THANKS TO MY SISTER!

At the end we ended up losing 2 of our youngest members, through some kind of government oversight, and were guided along a MILE LONG PATH, by an unqulaified tour guide, resulting in a LONG detour.

But in the end, everyone made it home. safe and sound, asleep on thier beds.

Captain's Log 3147.112

Party people, It's Friday....afternoon ( crap! )

What am I doin at home? lazing around. But earning money mind you. It going to be 2 months since my operation, and its still painful, especially when i try to run, maybe it needs longer to heal. How long? HOW THE HECK WOULD I KNOW? But i wouldn't mind it to take a YEAR! ( he he he)

I bought 2 more aircraft models that day (miniature hobby @ Marina Square was having a sale...39% off...couldn't resist) a F117 Nighthawk and an A-10, both 1/72, my collection scale. Yesterday i bought one more display case for my Nissan Calsonic Skyline GTR R34.

I feel like i'm spending too much money....am I? Probably, so I should stop. AND START SPENDING ON MY R/C TAMIYA!!!!! muahaaahahhahhahha.....

Can't wait to see fer fer on sunday. miss her a lot. min and cher and yd and nat and bra and WP and SB and ST too. Maybe it's just because i have too much time. But that's good as least I won't go insane. So....nat if you're reading this, please come back soon. we miss *cough cough* you

That's all folks ( aiya, it's too short ) I must get the habit of writing (typing) down my thoughts more frequently.....

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Millie, my three year old daughter, had found a candy bar and was covered with chocolate when she woke me one morning. "Are you eating chocolate at this hour?" I asked her.
"No, Dad," she replied. "I'm just making the edges smaller with my teeth." - CHRIS DEVRIES
####

A woman had a dream. God appeared to her and said, "I'm going to grant you another 40 years, 8 months and 22 days of life." Well, she woke up and she was too excited. And she thought, If that's going to happen, I'm going to get a little bit of work done.
So if you could nip it or tuck it, push it or pull it, she had it done. And, man, she was looking too good. So she decided she was going to take herself out for a night on the town. She was downtown walking across the street and a car ran a red light.
Bam! Hit her and killed her dead.
She woke up in heaven and said, "Now, God, I don't understand this. You said you were going to grant me another 40 years, 8 months and 22 days of life, and here I am standing before you. What's up with that?"
God looked at her and said, "I didn't recognise you." - TERRI ARNETT

LOTR ( slightly condensed )

Rock of Enlightenment - NDP 2004

They came, they danced, they blundered. Well ok, not all of them...here's the list of blunders captured by our nations trained camera professionals ( a BIG thanks for spotting these priceless boo boos!)

1) Missed the HOLE - During one of the salutes by the flag party ( I cant remember whether it was to President Nathan or the national anthem), one of the flag bearers ( closest to the camera ) missed the holder for the flag pole on his belt. Only one thought ran through my mind : "YOU ARE SO DEAD!" and "There goes your rank!"

2) Furry Bird - One of the performances required large props painted to look peacock feathers...the commentator thought otherwise....Peacock fur?!! Which planet is he from?!!! obviously one which has hairy fowl. Furry birds? What next? Scaly homosapiens? Sheesh! Which primary school is he from?

3) Sporty Singapore - Well I knew that our sports minister was gunning for the 2010 world cup ( which he pushed to a later date...hmmm I wonder why?), but I didn't think they would take it this far in promoting sports! FOR GOD's sake....live sports demos National Day Parade item? Don't these kids get bored of it in school? I see, they think that the rest of Singapore just came out from the cave...suaku! So they had to teach everyone how to play soccer, basketball and capteh on LIVE National TV......so sad.

4) Balls! - During the sport session (once again). Our wonderful commentator, God bless his kind soul, almost said a BIG boo boo. When the organisers released huge baloons shaped like Balls. Yes Balls! You read right, soccer balls, rugby balls, basketballs and so and so forth, he was lucky not to say anything further...thank God. Otherwise, someone would have been fired and another someone would have to step down or something along those lines..

5) Win the World Cup? - One of the video shows showcased young Singaporeans vocalizing their dreams, although admirable, and cute....the hint of a pre-written script was substantially evident. Especially when two kids screeeeaaaaammmed the fact (dream) that they wanted win the world cup.

6) Zzzzzzzz - Describe this year's performance items in one letter? I just did. I think more effort could have been put in to actually come up with something INTERESTING! For the love of God, come up with another song. Are we seriously running out of creative talent in the music industry? Instead of looking for people who can sing in Singapore Idol ( next topic itching for disscussion ), look for someone who can write songs....Aren't we all getting a bit bored of Home?

Someone please save us from this Audio Catastrophe....

More in the days to come.

Rock of Enlightenment

Today, the day before N.E.R.D. ( Nationally Everyone has to hang a flag, or you wont get a Reasonable upgrading to your HDB block Day)

The Singapore government is very particular about the way other Asian countries view our national day celebrations. They furiously aspire to make every national day celebration better than those in all the other countries. Not that its bad, but somehow this year's 'More Extravagant, More Spectacular' parade has a very eerie, " I've seen this somewhere before!" feeling...... Wait just a dog gone minute! This was last year's show! *slaps forehead*

It seems that the organisers for the parade can't seem to come up with more artistic, clever, cool, ingenious, innovative and original ideas for a national day parade. The only thing we poor unpropitious souls, who could never get tickets to the NDP, are forced to watch every year are grown men hurling themselves off oversized lamposts, tiny ants ( viewed from the now extinct Starhub airship) marching around a green patch, then huge opulent and ritzy coloured pieces of fabric covering the now vacated green patch. All this followed by tens and hundreds of hobbits ( okay aldolescent looking kids and aduts ) running around in exuberant ornate costumes. To top it off, a un-coordinated diplay of fireworks ( the Singapore Fireworks Festival was 1,000,000,000,000,000.......ok you get the picture, times better )

I could go on and on about the inadequacy and insufficient creativity of the parade organisers, but I'm afraid it would only fall on deaf ears. So let the parade be the parade.

Me and My Bro...Hamster 

Dear - Cher 

Dearie - Min 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Fireworks Festival 2004 

Yours Truly, Captain Skywalker
life\

Captain's Log 1193.567

To start this blog I would like to update the ardent reader about the recent affairs in my life.

Work
Currently in National Service, well not actually ( i'm lazing at home, recovering from an ACL reconstruction ). Soon i will be downgraded to pes C ( office jobs ). I pray to God everyday for an 8 to 5 posting.

Love
I am currently single but unavilable ( too bad ) wanting to enjoy my youth as much as i can before i am immortalised on a purple ez-link card, and people start giving me seats on the MRT. Before i have three legs instead of two ( ok four!), and kids start calling me, apek! ( old man in hokkien ).

Familia
My family is sticking together like hot glue from a glue gun, like sardines in a can, like lizards to a wall, like bubblegum to your shoe ( oops i might be arrested for that! ), like body oudour...........ok i think you get the picture....

zzzzzzzz getting sleepy now......continue *yawn* soon......
Logging out...

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

From today, my life will be immortalized on a server. Somewhere in this big wide world, as a journal, of both life and spirit. A memory bank of thoughts, miracles, blessings...and hurts, fears and doubts.

A life less ordinary...for an ordinary man.