Where is the love?

Hey...its the eve of new year, just thought i share with you something really meaningful(well, to me at least). Just hoping you will appreciate it, in the wake of a tragedy that has shaken the world.

Understanding my preference of songs, rap has never been a genre of music that tickled my fancy...but this particular song(that i am gonna share) has really meaningful lyrics that struck a chord within me. As the year comes to a close, this song is somewhat a closure for me as i seek to reflect the times gone by(both happy and sad)...

This is an unabridged version of "Where is the love" by Black Eye Peas...

================================

What's wrong with the world mama?
People living like aint got no mamas
I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma
Overseas yeah we tryin to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin
In the USA the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And if you hatin you're bound to get irate
Yeah madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all

Chorus:
People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(where is the lovex3)(the love2x)

It just ain't the same all ways have changed
New days are strange is the world the insane?
If love and peace so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations dropping bombs
Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones
With ongoing suffering
As the youth die young
So ask yourself is the loving really strong?
So I can ask myself really what is going wrong
With this world that we living in
People keep on giving in
Makin wrong decisions
Only visions of them livin and
Not respecting each other
Deny thy brother
The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover
The truth is kept secret
Swept under the rug
If you never know truth
Then you never know love
Where's the love y'all?(I don't know)
Where's the truth y'all?(I don't know)
Where's the love y'all?

Chorus:
People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father father father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(where is the lovex3)(the lovex2)

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm getting older y'all people get colder
Most of us only care about money makin
Selfishness got us followin the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema
Whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down
It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under
I gotta keep my faith alive, until love is found

Chorus:
People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(fade)

=================================

Do take a moment to ponder, reflect and pray..as the year comes to an end.
What a year it has been...just pray that things will look up.

A sunnier 2005 to all, yar?

to mum with love...

Being careful in spending is a virtue. But pampering oneself to better one's quality of life: priceless. And so the story goes....

Today, went with mum to town. We had lunch at the Chatterbox coffeehouse at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel. There, we ordered 2 sets of their famed Chatterbox Chicken rice and a platter of bean sprout with salted fish as a side. Each of the chicken rice set cost a whopping SGD 22. The total bill came up to about SGD 60 for a meal of 2. The lunch was a post-Christmas treat from mum to me (and to date, its the most expensive lunch treat from mum). The dining experience was perfect. We were ushered to a table with a view of the sidewalk, which incidentally was also the quietest corner of the coffeehouse. There was a cosy vibe which made for a pleasant dining experience. Besides the ambience, the food was also worth the money spent. The chicken(breastmeat) which was deboned, was both moist and succulent leaving a nice texture on my palate. The chicken rice was fragrant and the vegetable soup with bean curd cubes was good. The condiments consisting of three separate types of sauces: black sauce, ginger sauce and chili sauce are all home-made and provided a great melange of flavours which tickled my taste bud. My mum told me that she used to frequent the place when she was working near by; some 20 years ago! She even told me, how she would mix the 3 types of sauces together to get a marvelous dip for the chicken. It was a homecoming of sorts for her, and it had indeed been my pleasure being of company to her.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing window shopping at the likes of Paragon, Takashimaya and Tangs. We also managed to squeeze some time in for some ice-cream at Swenson's; Crown Prince Hotel. Then, it was home sweet home.

What a day it had been...now, time to hit the gym...

Ad infinitum...

An Ode to friendship...

A day passes,
The sun sets into beautiful light
The night heralds peace,
Enveloped in ashen darkness
The moon renders a
Hearty, effervescent glow
The stars with their halo
Struck a melodious chord
Memories aplenty
Bright hope for tomorrow
When the music fades
You know i'm here

=======================================
circa. 08:30 - 15:30

yawn...rise and shine. stretch. wash up. briefly..got daily fix of news. packed stuff for outing. changed clothes. took bus, train to yishun. met alan. hungry. stomach growled. breakfast at macs. big breakfast...good. leisurely walk. yishun safra. swim. sun behind clouds. frigid air. nice weather. walked to mrt station. said goodbye. train to city hall...

circa. 15:30 - 1800

bras besah complex. popular. read books by jung, popper, smith. basheer books. cool. nice, nifty books on design. raffles city. mph. met alfie. the marketplace. hungry. bought a bratwurst sausage and bacon sausage roll. Walked around...

circa. 18:30 - ZZZ

met the folks. funan it mall. dinner. city link. strawberry banana smoothie, cheesecake, chocolate truffle cake. good night. home sweet home. ZzZz

The day the earth wobbled...

One fateful morning off the coast of Banda Aceh; Indonesia
7.30 am 261204

Earthquake

Where it happened?
I read that the magnitude of the undersea earthquake that happened off the coast of Aceh; Indonesia, registered 9.0 on the Richter scale. The epicentre of the quake is a few hundred metres off the coast of Bandar Aceh; capital of Ache.

How it happened?
The Eurasian plate subdued or overlapped the Indo-Australian plate, causing it to sink about 30 m beneath the crust. The extent of the quake stretched for 1000 km; this is one of the longest and most extensive in recent times. Impact was so severe, it caused the earth to wobble on its axis and forever changed the map of Asia. Some islands in the Indian ocean have risen about 20 m higher, and the Northern tip of Sumatra have risen by about 30 m.


The result of an earthquake = a Tsunami
When the Indo-Australian plate went under the Eurasian plate, it caused water in the sea to rise to a massive height upon displacement. The water returned to the ocean with great impact, causing a rippling effect which extended outwards into the far reaches of the Indian ocean; hitting countries like Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Maldives, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Closer to home, the North-western States of Malaysia; Penang and Perlis were hit and also popular tourist hotspots like Phi Phi and Phuket. Damaged and losses in Sri Lanka and indian states; such as Tamil Nadu are by far the most devastating. These regions are one of the lowest lying regions on Earth, just a couple of meters above sea level. That together with mostly low rised structures made it difficult for people to escape to higher ground. Hence, the exceptionally high death toll.


What should have been done...
The countries worst hit by the tsunami; India and Sri Lanka did not have any tsunami warning system. Neither were they part of a global network of 26 countries in the Pacific rim which are part of the NOAA; an agency in Hawaii which sent out tsunami warnings to member countries. Singapore and Thailand are part of this membership. Unfortunately, the buoys with sensors capable of detecting wave activity was not available in Phuket, Krabi and the surrounding tourist locales. Therefore, people there were not informed early about the onslaught of the tsunami.

============================================
an unabridged statement of what i said in the msn to Eugene this morning...

“man-made terror is borne out of things that could have been prevented; if only there was more love amongst people; more understanding towards culture, race n religion etc...fighting might be prevented....this is unlike a natural disaster which is totally unpredictable...hence we should devote more time, effort n money to fine-tune or come up with ways to lessen its impact...basically, had we been more peaceful earthlings...our energy would be more focused on mother nature instead of weeding out those terrorists today.”

sad but true...food for thought, yar?

The City never sleeps...

A montage of lights and colour...

On sunday nite...took this pic in my dad's car on our way back home from shopping at Suntec City. This picture actually has the 'Lau Pa Sat' food centre in the background, above it looms the skyscrapers of the CBD. There were many fast moving vehicles on the road that give rise to this illuminating effect.

I have not already taken any picture on the Christmas light-up at Orchard road(still have another week plus, before they take down the lighting). I guess this could be a pretty reasonable substitute of sorts. As it is, the picture turned out better than i had imagined it to be. The bright lights have a beckoning effect. I was attracted to the sheer moment of intense illumination of city lights, just like moths are attracted to light. Hence, i felt compelled to whip out my camera to snap this memorable moment in time.

From this picture, a sense of nostalgia overcame me. It reminded me of how much of a progressive change did Singapore undergo and how it continues to progress at full throttle(with all things being equal). This progress is an endless continuum which time and space will dictate, how much of an extent and to what type of an extent in which will Singapore metamorphorsise. There is much latent potential for change, not just in the architectural landscape- tangible, but also the intangible aspects; such as mindset, social and cultural norms.

Christmas Special

Part Uno: A new Chrismassy mornin'

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

251204 08:30
Woke up to a bright new morning...air so fresh! Turned on my computer and started blog. Stomach growled. Hungry. Went to cook myself a bowl of instant noodle. Cracked an egg inside for a protein boost. Went back to computer. Now feeling lethargic. An urge to start sweating it out. Did push-ups. Don't recall how many. But it felt plenty. Feeling revitalised now. I wil face my day with renewed strength. Today is going to be a great day. Much to see. Much to do. Will let you know in due time. For now, will go prep myself up for a great chrismassy Christmas ahead.

Part Deux: An evening with the folks

251204 18:00
Evening. Pasir Ris. Family gathering. Nice seeing relatives i have not seen in ages. Had a good time catching up with them. Food was fantastic. Loved the Sheperd's pie. Took some photos for the album. Everyone look really bright, cheery and radiant, must be the good food and company. Managed to do quite a bit of catching up. So pleased with myself. Left with a pleasant and hearty feel. Will do more catching up during the next family gathering; Chinese new year. Till then...

251204 21:00
Later in the evening. East Coast Park. Gathering with the folks. Chatted with Alfie, bert and adrian. Had some cakes and wine. Gift exchange. I got a plastic teddy bear. Cute. Photo-taking. What a big group. Everyone squeezed. Then the cam snapped. Idle around. More chatting. We parted ways. Car ride home. Pleasant. Will see them all on New year's eve for a countdown. Till then...

261204 01:12
HAPPY BOXING DAY!

The prezzie i want!

Presenting..the all new oktomat


OVERVIEW
Size: 4.25" x 3" x 1.25" (11cm x 7.5cm x 3.2cm)
Weight: 0.2kg
Film Type: 35mm (Negative, Slide, and B&W)
Lenses: 8 individual units
Serial Exposure time: Approx. total 2.5 seconds for all lenses to fire
Lens Aperture: f/8Approx.
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
Processing: Standard 35mm processing at any lab

FEATURES
1. 8-Lens - one push of the shutter button releases all 8 lenses, in turn, over 2.5 seconds.

2. Collapsable ViewfinderWant to shoot from the eyeball - just raise the nifty little viewfinder for a first-person view of what your Oktomat sees. Note: if this doesn't appear too precise - you're right, it isn't!

3. Fixed Speed And Aperture
No focusing, no fiddling, no worries - just fire your Oktomat in full sunlight or SLIGHTLY overcast conditions (with fast film) and your images will be absolutely brilliant.

Part Deux: A go getting holiday season

Part Deux

Merry Christmas to one and all. Its been a great night out to church. So fun-filled, i could relive it any moment. But all good things must come to an end. No encore, life goes on. It was great. Food, atmosphere, company, games, carols, message, play and all. Am tired of experiencing Christmas as an economic entity, take a walk down Orchard, you will understand. Finally tonight, got to experience first-hand the real reason for the season. So moved by it, i was brought almost to the brink of tears. The message was poignant. I hope people understood. I guess it is only through faith and by faith. God loves you!

Tis' the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la la la la la
Now we're singing Yuletide carols
Fa la la la la la la la la

Elephant enclosure

Elephants? I don't see 'em

*Gajah is malay for elephant

Peek-a-boo

Thumb's, 'peek-a-booin'..

Yes, that's thumb (Swissotel the stamford) being partially concealed by its lesser cousins

Supermodel Cat moss

Hey sweetie, here's lookin' at ya

Flamboyant!

MCIA building..screams FLAM!

hmm....flamboyant, slutty, wicked, decadent, Andy Warhol....

that's the feeling i get whenever i look at the various hues painted on the windows of the MCIA building.

Hmm...which one should i take?

Traffic stopping?

Traffic stopping?...it says GO

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition...

SOHO Central

Central...a happening place

SOHO Central as it is known, is a hip, uber chic, ultra modern condominuim project that is targeted at yuppies.

Tis' the season to be jolly

Tis' the season to be jolly

Look at those two madcapped...erm, i mean cap wearing strangers walking along the broad-walk.

One giant step forward

Taking a leap forward

Lone ranger

Lone ranger

This intersection is so darn empty...to where did everyone else go? This intersection is just outside of the MCIA building. Normally, a very busy intersection, it was especially empty at that point in time when i triggered off...

Alien 4?

Alien 4? quick...somebody get Sigouney Weaver here, now!

Its so strange that both me and Eugene were drawn towards it....it sure looks hypnotically disturbing...and there's this uncanny resemblance to something out of an Alien movie.

What the heck does it say?

What the heck does it say?

Some chinese calligraphic work at the end of the MCIA building lobby. EuGene is a straight A's student, but i do not know about his chinese though...he is seen standing infront of the calligraphic work.

A lomo special: For the Lomomaniac

Lomomaniac; Gene and his actionsampler lomo..say cheese!

To add on... about the photo developing shop which Gene and i visited earlier that sells lomographs.

On display, i saw the following lomographs and in addition, their retail price:

• colorsplash camera, SGD 127
• colorsplash flash, SGD 61
• actionsampler, SGD 63
• actionsampler flash, SGD 102
• lomo kompact automat, SGD 305
• Frogeye (underwater lomo) SGD 127
• POP 9, SGD 87
• Cybersampler, SGD 63
• New: Oktomat (8 lens), SGD 70
• Holga 35 MF/AFX

editor's note: the shop is so old school and its patronised mainly by prosumers(professional photogs; as they are known), they might give digicammers the snub. Ha...

Hmmm....

Hmmm....

The lobby area of the MCIA (Ministry of communications, information and the arts) building.
Enclosed behind the acrylic panels are art pieces and old literature.

Part Uno: A go getting holiday season

Part Uno:

This afternoon has indeed been a really fun time. Booked out of camp this morning and came home for awhile before heading to City hall to meet my buddy, EuGene. As always, we were both armed with our cameras. We met up at Peninsular Plaza where he went to develop some film. There, i discovered that the shop actually sells quite a decent range of Lomographs. The following were what i saw on display; an underwater lomograph, the lomo with 4 sequences and there's even one with 8 sequences, there is also the holga and some other really funky looking lomos that come with flash.

For quite sometime now, the lomo bug has been a pretty latent interest inside me. This happened after i picked up digital photography (about 1.5 years now) that lomography has actually taken a back seat. Now, i am ever more inspired to take it up, after learning that Gene has one (he brought it out today)! Besides that, i believe that with a lomo i could better express myself in a more fun and unconventional manner. Not to mention being kept on tenterhooks -not knowing what to expect as there's no previewing; unlike my digicam...the element of anticipation/surprise is present. These are things a digicam could not help me achieve, in all its conventionality. The lomo that Gene has is a really funky looking model; one which takes 4 sequence shots and it looks like a toy. That's how cute a lomo can get, yar? Soon enough, i might just make my way down to that shop and purchase a lomo for myself. Its not really expensive, the range of lomos they sell retail from about SGD 70 TO SGD 180.

Once we were done at the shop, we adjourned to BK to fill our now famished souls. Ordered one Alaskan salmon burger set. The salmon patty tasted pretty good and its flavour was complemented with a light touch of tatar sauce. Delicious. After having our fill, we made our way around the Hill street area to start our shutterbugging session (pics available). But, before that we actually went back to the photo-developing shop to have a roll of film fixed into the lomo. We also learn from the lady boss that the lomo Gene has, is pretty fragile; do handle with care, yar?!
There you go Gene's lomo and my Olympus digicam...

The above pictures are what transpired of the session we had today...

To many more trigger happy moments!

Forever friends

Last night, had dinner with my child-hood gal pals; Joanna and Lorraine. We did dinner at Lips the cafe on the 5th level of Cineleisure. Dinner and the company was great. I had a plate of yummylicious mushroom and bacon linguini in rich cream sauce. It was delicious. The cream sauce was fantastic- consistency was there and the serving portion was generous to say the least. At the end of dinner, i was bloated with contentment.

In between dinner, we had a time of endless banter of random things from reminiscing about our last clubbing experience at Shanghai Sally's to the memorable jazz experience at Harry's Bar and of course the sinful traipse to the Fullerton Hotel for a chocolate buffet. Besides all that, we also talked about how we should spend more quality time together; like an idyllic day at a private swimming pool; courtesy of Joanna and maybe more clubbing together in the not so distant future.

At present, i am busy with national service and the gals with their university life. Both of them talked about their heavy workload and how rediculous professors can be when it comes to lecture time; well, i must say, they do have their fair share of lecturers from hell. Just like i have my share of incompetent and retarded commanders from camp.

In any case, it was a great night out-the maddening traffic downtown notwithstanding, i truly appreciated their inviting me out to dinner. It is such things that i truly treasure, the company and all...

A toast to our friendship, yar?

I am playing Santa

Today, went to town with mum to shop for prezzies for my relatives. This is the first time i actually do Christmas shopping with mum. Normally, she does it alone. Hence, this year the 'burden' of hunting high and low for those ever elusive gifts is shared between the both of us. Well, not quite actually, since this year my mum has me with her, thus shopping for the prezzies wasn't too much of a headache. Two heads are better than one, yar?... I gave my suggestions to her and she either go with it or suggested something else, in any case, there was compromise. Therefore, the experience of looking for the gifts wasn't all too daunting. What's more, this year the shopping for gifts was done at the Forum Shopping Mall where there wasn't too much of a crowd. I guess the crowd was mainly concentrated in the heart of Orchard- where bigger departmental stores can be found, such as the likes of Tangs, Isetan, Centre point etc. Hence, the whole experience of trawling the mall was better without the crowds, yar? I mean who can stand the crowd, i for one am xenophobic not to mention claustrophobic. Therefore, the only time i am at crowded places is when i go clubbing, but that's another story. ;)

Anyway, we got most of the prezzies from two places...Life bookstore; a place which sells Christian literature and paraphernalia, and the seemingly ubiquitous; Toy's R Us.

Merry Christmas to one and all....have a jolly good time, yar?

Cityscape escapade

Capital Tower with an efferverscent glow!

After dinner at the Beach road market food centre last night, my friend and i took a leisurely drive around the city centre; Shenton way, Tanjong Pagar, China Town etc.

On one of our stops...Capital Tower; featured above standing at 254m tall, is Singapore's 4th tallest skyscraper. I took this picture from Ann Siang Hill where i got a relatively good vantage point. Here, i managed to capture the efferverscence of the building which looks truly resplendent. The efferverscent effect was complemented by the glow of office lights. The composition of the picture however wasn't so inspiring, as the building in the right foreground took away some of the attention from the tower that was supposed to be the sole subject of this picture. But still, the grandeur and character of Capital Tower standing tall and stoically rooted, managed to capture my imagination.

A poetic homage to Capital Tower

Cheers to your birth,
You strong and faithful son of the soil
A holder of truth and might,
Shielding us mere mortals
From the punishing elements
Of Gaia.

Tall and stoic you stand
So firmly rooted you are
Even the west winds
Are no match for you
No soul on a flight
Will ever miss you...

My first GRAIN!

My first GRAIN mag!

Yes! ladies n gentlemen...as promised, the #1 GRAIN issue and also my very first GRAIN mag :)
History in the making, yar?

Anyway, there's the suave looking asian male with an orange tinted goatee and orange dyed hair with the 'i'm asian' placard. Ain't he proud to be an asian? such an affirmation of who i am, yar?...a cosmopolitant asian boy stuck in the concrete jungle of this place i call home....drips of irony! Cosmopolitant, yet this place doesn't really or truly celebrate diversity. Should i uproot?
I will not...at least not in the forseeable future. Just hoping that mindsets will change and more bureaucratic red tape can be cut!

Freedom limited by resposibility is the guiding maxim in my journey through this urban landscape that is Singapore.

So abstract?!...I don't know!

So abstract?!...i don't know!

Yeah...this picture was taken at the Ministry of communication, information and the arts (MCIA). I snapped this shot impromtu...it turns out quite nice...don't you think so? That's gene in front of the sculpture. He must be pondering about what message the artist is trying to convey through that sculpture. Well, beats me.....

P.U.B.I.C...now i know my A.B.C...no, err my pubic region. Thanks teacher!

yap...that's EuGene my good ol' jolly ol' pal (been my great pal since, pre-university seminar days in 2002)....he's trying hard to teach, while i was quite a handful all the way thru' 'English class'....as if i don't know my A.B.Cs...

Me and my GRAIN

an idyllic sunday afternoon

This picture was taken at the Funan mall macdonald's.

yup!...that's me there...looking serenly calm and composed. I am reading the GRAIN mag which gene purchased for $3. The one on the table...i got for free has a sauve looking guy holding up a 'i'm asian' placard. Unfortunately, its not very clear though....no worries yar, i shall have it magnified!

I like stuffing things down throats...

yes....this is also taken at the substation...

For your information, this ruffian of a dog (doberman, to be exact) died one terrible death when it choked on that slpinter of a wood which i shaft down its throat....i didn't mean to kill it though...well, accidents do happen when one gets naughty.

Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong, WILL go wrong. Go figure!

Nice try bud...harder next time

This was taken at the Substation exhibition room....

My first black n white photo!

'Thumb' peering out from behind durian

This picture...courtesy of Eugene...is so beautiful (anyway, gene thought it sucks! but, i found it beautiful..the attraction of opposites, yar?)

...Thumb is sooooo cute...durian is covering it today! Normally, thumb is quite an exhibitionist...in all its full glory!

Thumb...will you marry durian?! U guys make a perfect pair with her shielding your nether regions!

The Swissotel the Stamford is herein referred to affectionately as 'Thumb' and the Esplanade as 'durian'.

Previous pics of Thumb shows it standing tall amongst low rise architecture, but in this pic it is partially covered by Durian. So lovely aren't they, as a couple?

A shutterbug's trail....

Today is a happening day of sorts. Plenty of things; well, images to be exact have simply transpired out of my fulfilling a little obsession that is 'shutterbugging' just about anything and everything.

Eugene accompanied me...or is it the other way around..anyway, we both had a wonderful time exploring the flea market at Clark Quay; replete with old odds and ends, books, clothes, toys, trinkets...well, you name it they probably have it there. And of course i did not miss the chance of getting away with a few shots of the place.

Incidentally, we happened to chance upon a booth selling back dated issues of GRAIN magazine. Grain magazine is a magazine by shutterbugs for shutterbugs. It is based in Singapore and it showcases local talent in the photo-imaging industry and of course, also gives a chance to would-be potential contributers such as yours truly. The person manning the booth was so impressed with my photograhpic enthusiasm that he gave me a copy of the first issue of GRAIN for free. Even though, 3 backdated issues were supposed to go for $10. Eugene wasn't as lucky though, he had to pay $3 for a copy, but he was given a chance to choose another for free. Incidentally, a new issue retails at $6. I guess it was not so much the money but an investment that is truly worthy as it helps us fulfill the need to express ourselves through the images we capture digitally; on my Olympus digicam and Eugene's Canon SLR. Incidentally, such images do more than just serve as memories of our exploits but also seek to create a fabric of reconciliation with both the real world and imagined. Evitably, we both went off feeling inspired when we were told by the man at the booth that as photographic amateurs, we could send in pictures we take, for consideration by the editorial team of GRAIN magazine. This would surely satiate my hunger for having my passion being made tangible in the form of pictures published in a magazine. Besides taking numerous pictures of a certain recurring theme, i could also fulfill my desire for writing in the form of captions or sub-texts to accompany the images i capture on my digital companion. A photojournalist in the making, yar?...

Friends will know i have a penchant for slinging my little companion around my wrist or sometimes have it placed inside a carrier. In case you are already wondering, that lil' companion in question is my Olympus c450 digital camera. It was a Christmas gift from mum and dad last year. It was purchased during Comex '03. It is this lil' companion that follows me whenever i am outside of home or even out of the country. It is a trusty lil' fellow who never fails to excite me.

The following pictures shown above, are what transpired during our day out to the flea market, the Ministry of communications, information and the arts (MCIA), Hill street and Armenian street.

Boys night out...

Remember the dinner; potluck, i was to have at a friend's place? Well, it was last night in the heartlands of an estate in the central eastern part of Singapore. The evening passed slowly with me and alfie waiting for friends to arrive. He picked me up at Queensway where i was earlier in the day with parents. We studied the map before coming out with the best route to the abovementioned heartlandish estate. When one of my buddies called, we told him to carry on without us as we thought we would not be able to meet the timing, alas, we reached the place earlier then expected. All were supposed to meet at an MRT station control. But when we got there, only K and M were there, some others were still not there yet. We waited and soon all those who were supposed to arrive came. We made our way to the central to get more food stuff, even though some have actually came prepared with home-cooked food. Alfie prepared mashed potatoe with diced turkey, which i was to realise later on that it tasted great; in fact it was one of the more popular dishes. K came prepared with home-cooked tempura. It was good too!

Everyone, met downstairs at e void-deck before making our way up to S place. It was really cosy at his place. Walls in the living area were painted an orange hue, and he up the ante on the cosiness factor by placing candles at strategic locales in the house. Everyone got busy the moment we set foot into the house. Some helped the host with the preparation of the food while others formed little cliques of their own and started chatting away. When preparation was done, no one took the initiative to proceed with the food, till the kind host started the ball rolling by passing out the plates and utensils asking people to eat. Well, K was the first one in followed by me and alfie, soon all others made their way to the 'potluck' table.

In between, we were served ice cubes with either a reddish or orangy hue to it. I learnt that the cubes are actually squares of frozen fruit punch and vodka. How creative! Well, the cubes were nice and very much a thirst quencher. I am so inspired. In fact, some others were also inspired to repeat the popularity of the 'vodka cubes', I call it. Well, we might do just that for the up-coming Christmas party by the beach. wink*

After dinner, we had a screening of 'Formular 17'. The movie is a Taiwanese production. A really cute movie with lots of eye candy! It maked everyone in the room feel 17 once again...well, those were the days when people fall so easily in love; puppy love or crushes as we know of it to be. But sometimes things get out of hand and you get more than what you bargained for only to end up in unhappiness. Well, the movie had us all in stitches and i believe some of them were so adoring that cutie on the google box. Nice movie with quite a predictable plot and lots of comedic twists. Its a feel good movie and something i can so relate to....but that was when i was all 17; a couple of years back! *wink* I particularly enjoyed the theme song...but ain't no idea who sang it.

Well, all good things must come to an end...the revelry ended with us going to a bohemia in the east...somewhat less commercialised than holland v for coffee. Chatted and laughed and of course plan for the Christmas party till it was time for Coffee bean to close.

The night ended... happy dreams and sweet memories...

Hoola moola

A day passes, nothing really eventful but still worth recording...

As usual i have to tell some people who don't already know that ns men these days are having a better time. Not that i am complaining, you know 5 day work week...i say, what more can we ask for?! Booked out of camp in the evening and waited for pal to arrive...its been a wet and balmy week since i came back from thailand. So much of rain has fallen in recent weeks that its probably what thailand gets in many months. Its just slightly north of the equator, yet vastly different in terms of weather conditions from here, i.e; humid here, arid there.

Had dinner at Hans @ Marina Square with alfie. Service was much to be desired of really!...food was aggreeable to pay credit to the chef, however, the vegetables (cabbage, diced carrots and peas) that came with my plate of Roasted chicken and ham was kinda tainted by the taste of chemicals. Urgh!

Walked around Raffles city after dinner. Accompanied alfie to shop around for a gift exchange to be held on Christmas eve with his buddies. Visited many shops; Ig's Heaven @ city link mall, Precious Thots and Card's n Such at Raffles city to name a few, but found nothing that was neutral: as in something that either a guy or gal could receive. Most of the things we found were too pretty and too cutesy for a guy (think pink and furry)! However, we thought that items at Ig's were pretty neutral yet functional.

-Turkey...expensive yet we could not get the appropriate size for a group of ten. Just to give you a better picture, a turkey weighing 5.5kg actually costs SGD 110. My friend also considered getting ham; preferably the honey glazed type, but it was too big. All these for his Christmas eve party @ Swissotel the Stamford.

More friends arrived and we adjourned to Jason's market place; my favourite place (all the great assortment of wine and cheese) !...My another fren is actually deciding to prepare tempura for a dinner we are having tomorrow: potluck, yar?...hmm...wonder how it will taste like...anyway, i will give ya my verdict after dinner tomorrow. Its afterall his first time. Once done with groceries, we headed to O'Briens sandwich place at city link mall. There we decided to have Chicken n Bacon tripledecker but the lady behind the counter confused our order and we ended up paying a dollar more for the 'special' Chicken n Bacon tripledecker. Inside it, there are strips of bacon n chicken pieces and generous servings of romaine lettuce coupled with melted cheese with a slice of toast in between 2 outer slices of wholemeal bread.

I thought it was good even though i could not really taste the melted cheese. Perhaps, had we order the normal Chicken n Bacon (w/o cheese and toast) which incidentally is chef recommended, we might have enjoyed it all the same. To go with the sandwich, i shared a cup of Raspberry smoothie with alfie. Snapped a couple of shots; courtesy of my friend, before it was seperate ways for each of us.

Till then folks...oh yes, we did have some pictures taken...will post them here soon enough when i have gotten hold of them. Nothing really much, just some candid shots. :)

National Treasures, anyone?

Watched National Treasures last night and i thought it rocks! A lister, Nicholas Cage's deft acting coupled with on-screen chemistry with his co-stars and a fantastic plot filled with many interesting turns all made for a great movie. I thought the movie was 'picture-perfect'.

Well, to think i almost gave the movie a miss...reasons why, it stars Nicholas Cage (not particularly a fan of his; except for his showing in Con-Air and now National Treasures)...hence, i had expected some mindless action-packed stunts which will go nowhere. Boy, how wrong i was.

I must say that its another Nicholas Cage movie that made me sit up; even though i was initially dismissive of his movies. This drips of irony i know, but I have come to an understanding that mindless action is not always synonymous to Nicholas Cage's movies and that his acting is worth every diamente on a Miss Universe crown. Opps...i digress, this movie; National Treasures was worth my every penny. Not just the wonderful casting, but the great backdrop of American history in which the movie was based on did the trick. I was kept at the edge of my seat. The plot was improbable, everytime you tought something was unveild, but alas it was not meant to be and the goose-chase just continued. History buffs will love it...well, i did!

Platform(backdrop) on which the story was based on....
Its about the signing of the declaration of independence by the founding fathers comprising 9 free-masons. Free-masonry was a cult(no, not the type that worships satan), but a community of a select group of gentlemen who have certain strong beliefs and have also adopted some really strange practices. The community reeks of male-chauvanism, but thats another story.

The actors delivered their lines with a certain pristine quality; almost too perfect. The on-screen chemistry between him and his co-stars (hot-babe Dr Abigail Chase(Diane Kruger) and his cutesy side-kick Riley;Sean Bean) were wonderful. The action was good; somewhat restrained and seamless, its not the crazy mindless type of action/violence you get in other shows.

I give it 4/5 kisses!

If you like National Treasure, the following films may interest you
•
Goldeneye
•
Catch Me If You Can
•
Apollo 13
•
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
•
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Self-less or fool-hardy?

I just received a call from my platoon commander (hereafter referred to as pc, regarding a training aid i am tasked to do for some WITS project on his behalf. Firstly, let me provide some background information. What started as something as simple as touching up an already pleasant looking training aid, erupted into something where the pc subtlely demanded more and more from me. As it is, i am in no way obligated to do this so called WITS project for him, it is afterall, his own work! But the current situation in my platoon is as such, most of the men are soon- to- be ord personnel hence, they really cannot be bothered to embark on such things. Which means i am left with no choice but to help him. I am doing this only out of sympathy thinking that he is truly busy and therefore needs help. However, its tragic to say the least that my sympathy was unfounded and that this 'slacker' of a pc actually isn't really busy because he still has time for games(my mum provided me another perspective, maybe he really is busy and simply just needs and outlet to 'destress'). Sadly, it took me so long to understand this when some nice friends of mine have told me the pc is just simply taking advantage of my goodwill towards him. He told me the reason why he always calls me (suddenly, i feel like an asset!) its because he thinks i am reliable and can be counted upon to do his work and that i am also merticulous in what i do, hence, i make the perfect candidate. That is only half the story...maybe, he says all that in the hope that i will be moved to help him or he probably truly thinks that of me that's why he keeps getting me to work for him. In any case, i do not need people to validate me.

Anyway, as i have said before that no one else can be bothered to help him. Even if he asked, they would probably give him the snub. This is evident when we were up in Thailand when the men just simply ignored my pc's commands( but they acquiese anyway, probably out of fear of being charged for insubordination). However, i must admit that at times; especially on the battleground; when he needs to coordinate matters, he is genuinely busy. Otherwise, he is just plain lazy (maybe yes, maybe no). Being 'lazy' is one thing, what i cannot take lying down is the fact that he expects so much of my help that he resorted to keeping my off on hold," the work done must be up to expectation, otherwise your off will be pending," to quote him. Gasp... like where the heck is this coming from, as it is i am in no way indebted to you or am obligated to do your work yet you exact such demands on me. Not even considering the countless number of times i have helped cover his ass by helping him with his work, like; helping him with his maps, maps, maps and more maps( incidentally, i am known as PCPA by many because i can always be seen around my platoon commander, no not to carry his balls but to help him with his work) and the training aid. I guess i have said enough...i have tried to be as objective as possible, however, some things just don't warrant that. But i need to (or people should try to) understand matters.

In life, i have learnt to give people the benefit of the doubt and not be too quick to judge. I should thank my mum for instilling such values in me. All too often people are too quick to pass sentence on someone too soon, without truly making the effort to understand why people do what they do. There is a lesson to be learnt.

Incidentally, why the platoon thinks my PC is screwed up is because they think he is not competent; evident from the many exercises that we had where he screwed things up, either he miscululated something or he 'hollanded'. Their opinion of him is made worst when they thought of him as a lazy bum. The bad opinion of him was further compounded in his leadership during the recently concluded exercise we had in Thailand. I still thinks he has his reasons. And i will dissect matters to give all a better understanding of my pc's performance as an officer.

Some background information on my pc....
A poly grad who enlisted in the later half of last year and after BMT made it to OCS. He probably prove his mettle; otherwise i do not possibly think he would have made it to OCS. After 5 months at OCS, he entered the School of Combat Engineers (soce). And he only signed on as a regular after he was comissioned as a full-fledged second lieutanent. This could be a classic case of being cash-strapped, hence the person signs on to alleviate the burdens on his houshold. Ths SAF pays well!

Incompetency aside, like i have said, he probably have reasons for screwing things up...like during the time we had our exercise up in the man-forsaken regions of thailand; so pristine and untouched(kanchanaburi), where half the time i could tell he was not concentrating on matters; hence, the screw ups. This is because of some malaria pill incident which i shan't divulge as investigations are still under way. What about the other times in Singapore when he has no compelling reasons for screwing things up like 'hollanding'* so many times. One might say that is probably atrributable to plain incompetency on his part; but maybe things are not that simple. What thoughts you wish to engender is up to you...well, by now i guess you can tell i am not quite the cynic.

Time and again i have helped my pc with or without rewards; such as a day off. I don't believe in asking for such things, but he promises such rewards anyway. People have said i am foolish to be doing so much work for him. Yes, its a thankless job but i do get something in return too. Some even tell me to stop helping him altogether. But do i really have a choice? Maybe, maybe not. Not when he sits me down comfortably in his office and literally pleads me to help him with his work, i simply just can't turn him down. It is unlike me to not help someone; even when everyone thinks he is simply not worthy of any help, but do these people give a damn? No!...they think only for themselves and they simply do not comprehend the full gravitas of the situation. Even though, i do sometimes share the same sentiments as my fellow peers with regards to my pc's leadership and incompetency, still i think sometimes he genuinely needs help. This is especially after knowing where he is coming from. Not one who turns someone else down so easily, i offer to help...........Anyway, he is my pc after all, when i have long ord-ed i will still be his friend...probably would go clubbing with him one of these days...

Self-less or fool-hardy? You, go figure!

My parting statement shall go something like this....

what that appears on the surface is only skin-deep, only superficial...understanding someone; going the extra mile will do wonders in making the world a better place. There will be more happiness around. Go spread the cheer! Thinking about that...maybe, i should go visit HAPPY...its been a while now. :)

Night's off

hullo mr blog, i am currently on Night's off....

Here's a status report of how my day at camp was spent from 8:00 am this morning till the time i left camp for night's off at 6:00pm.

Life's pretty mundane, my morning was spent lazing around on my bed(gee, i suddenly feel like a cheshire cat..meow!) doing random stuff like planning my leave; as i am going to ord in a couple of months time and reading a book on digital photography; yes, i am trying to equip myself with a better knowledge on handling a digital camera and things related to it. I foresee more of such a lifestyle in the weeks and even months ahead. Really, now that we are done with our final and major exercise; where we were evaluated on our engineer skills and competency, life is going to be pretty slack(yes! i have cleared my soc and ippt). In fact, this will surely bode well for me as it means having more time to do my stuff; like upgrade my 'mental hardware'. However, this would not always be the case, especially if you have an annoying platoon commander who says he trusts you with his work and thinks you are very meticulous, hence, suitable to help him with his work (such a lazy bum, yar?). With that being said, i am thereby effectively entrusted with everything. Personally, i have been too obliging, always agreeing to help without giving much thought (self-less? *wink, no fool-hardy, i tell ya). I am now beginning to feel that i am being taken advantage off. But really, at this juncture if you are in my shoe you will somehow be helping that PC of mine because, there is no running away from him. Everytime when there is something that needs to be done, he will surely look for me. I have become his PA (personal assistant) of sorts. This is a position that no one coverts. Even though at the end of the day, or even before i start doing work for him; he actually tells me that if the job is done up to expectation; i would surely be duly rewarded. Well, i am not counting on that. I will just do what i have to do and hope he does not bother me ever again. Of course not, i can count on him to call me down to his office just so he can entrust more things to me. Argh!...i am burnt out from helping him so much all these time. Give me a break will ya? On a consolatary note, i am going to ord or at least start clearing leave soon. That means he won't be able to hound me for long. This i say, good luck to the next person; it surely isn't nice being in my shoe. Its a thankless job i tell you. its even worst than doing stores; because once done, you will get rest at the end of the day but not in the case of helping him. I live in fear, not knowing when he will call me down again. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he does not.

In the afternoon, we attended some AAR (after action review) for the exercise that recently concluded in thailand. Boring stuff. Following which the OC talked to us about when is the time allocated to us to start clearing leave. Good stuff.

Went for dinner than it was time to book out for night's off.

Now in the evening....
just got home from camp. took bus 193 from outside of my camp to the boon lay bus interchange. Walked to the bus 178 bus stand, and waited there for like 10 minutes before boarding the bus for home. Journey home was for about 10 minutes. On the way home, i thought about what i had said over the phone to my dearie. There was just too much unhappiness on my part as i thought i did not express myself coherently while telling dearie about stuff pertaining to leave clearance. I must admit i was not too clear headed at that juncture due to all the shouting and screaming from irritating imbeciles in my section coupled with the incessant drilling coming from above my bunk; due to some renovation works being carried out on the toilets. Dearie listened patiently to me but i was just too caught up in trying to explain the details that i completely missed the point. I just wanted to win. What is there to win or lose? Bottom-line is, I just wanted to be on top of things and unfortunately this characteristic does not bode well for me. The moment things said by another party does not seem to coincide with my explanation, i do get pretty agitated. Bad mentality on my part. From today on, i resolve to be more patient and not get too angry with myself even if i do not express my thoughts in the way i think i should. And if someone can do a better job in explaining or interprating what i said, i should be more thankful and less vindictive.

Cheers to a better year ahead. Life is inevitably filled with many an undulating terrain, one may trip and even fall. however, one must not be afraid to pick himself up and continue walking the journey. Its never a be-all end-all. Life goes on. And i am glad it does! This just means i have yet another opportunity to be a better person.

12 days to Christmas!

I am the tallest

tallest..


Singapore's 10 tallest skyscrapers:1. REPUBLIC PLAZA 280m/919f, 66 stories, 1995

2. UNITED OVERSEAS BANK PLAZA ONE 280m/919f, 66 stories, 1992

3. OUB CENTRE 280m/919f, 63 stories, 1986

4. CAPITAL TOWER 254m/833f, 52 stories, 2000

5. TEMASEK TOWER 235m/770f, 52 stories, 1986

6. SWISSÔTEL THE STAMFORD SINGAPORE 226m/741f, 73 stories, 1986

7. MILLENIA TOWER 218m/715f, 41 stories, 1996

8. OCBC CENTRE 201m/659f, 52 stories, 1976

9. INTERNATIONAL PLAZA 190m/624f, 50 stories, 1976

10. SINGAPORE LAND TOWER 190m/623f, 48 stories, 1980