don't be a bitch hor

Baris, sedia.

2009-09-24T16:03:35Z

It's here again, that feeling of imminent loss. This vicious cycle, I can't say I don't want it, yet I can't say I do. Just how can a job perk also be one of the drawbacks?

I miss you. So much.

chinese palmistry

2009-09-13T11:44:32Z

Egoistic, analytical, thinks too much, not too horny, pampered.

One of my trainees happens to be quite well versed in Chinese palmistry, and one night when I was talking to my section in their bunk, he came forward, asking for my left hand.

The results of his reading, I must admit, are quite accurate.

something to ponder

2009-08-29T18:00:39Z

"The betrayal you see is trivial. What is truly fearsome, is the betrayal you don't."

-Captain Aizen Sousuke, Bleach

Amazingly profound isn't it, the quotes you can get from a manga?

You're only the best I ever had, sergeant

2009-08-02T01:03:58Z

So you sailed away,
Into a grey sky morning.
Now I'm here to stay,
Love can be so boring.

Nothing's quite the same now,
I just say your name now.

But it's not so bad,
You're only the best I ever had.
You don't want me back,
You're just the best I ever had.

And it may take some time to,
Patch me up inside.
But I can't take it so i
Run away and hide.
And I may find in time that
You were always right,
You're always right.

Moments

2009-06-13T05:44:02Z

If everyday was, as good as today was
Then I can't wait till, tomorrow comes..

and it hurts with every heartbeat

2009-05-16T14:02:24Z

This is not what I think it is.

It is everything that I know it should be.

Then why?

Reason

2009-05-09T16:59:20Z

I swear you looked right through me.

uniqlo

2009-04-12T10:09:10Z

Although I think that it is rather ridiculous that Singaporeans will queue for seemingly absolutely anything, I found myself waking up earlier than usual on a Sunday morning to head down to Uniqlo at Tampines 1 and get myself a shirt or two. Lo and behold, when yours truly ascended to the second floor of Singapore's latest shopping paradise, noting that the five storey building still had a "new building" smell to it, to his dismay he saw a twenty-odd strong queue already formed outside Singapore's first outlet of Japan's cult clothing store. Time check: 10.31AM.

An analysis of the citizens of the queue yielded this: middle aged Chinese men and women, and the as expected current secondary school-tertiary institution generation. The former, many of whom looked like they should be forming a line at a temple in Chinatown, seemed content to just join the ever extending human snake, just because there was an ever extending human snake. But in their defence, I did spy an elderly couple, walking out past the teenaged ushers who were crying out "Thank you, please come again!", with a Topman/Topshop shopping bag.

To compensate for the 10 minutes of my life spent waiting in line, half an hour was devoted to flipping through the racks and hangers, dodging store assistants carting restocks of tee shirts and jeans, and making mental montages of the clothes hanging seductively from their racks, each different colour and design looking like the leaves from a tree, watered with ink from the pages of fashion magazines. Nevermind the drove outside, held back only by civility, two boys and a stretchable cloth barrier, one has to make a very informed choice about his clothes you know! Hah!

Total damage: $44.80.

Not bad for a polo shirt and a tee shirt, although I don't think I'll be able to get a good a price as that once the opening sale ends on the 19th of this month.

my paradise pet shop

2009-03-14T17:16:10Z

I really need to start dating. Preferably to braces, tanned skin, bright eyes and neatly threaded eyebrows.

dimplefreak @ 2009-02-28T23:46:00

2009-02-28T16:43:33Z

Tomorrow will be a week since Jodin's fall. I couldn't help but cry while visiting him at Mt. Pleasant Animal Hospital this afternoon. All he could do was lie down and when he wanted stand, he kept falling back down because his legs haven't healed enough to support him. He was supposed to come home today but because of a new complication, they found fluid outside his stomach, which thank God, isn't bacterial or harmful. But just the same, it isn't supposed to be there. The vet had him stay for one more night, so I'm praying very hard that he gets well enough by tomorrow.

dimplefreak @ 2009-02-22T18:41:00

2009-02-22T10:44:02Z

I'm so sorry Jodin. Please come home soon.

here we go

2009-02-22T03:13:48Z

Alrighty then, week 1 of being in MPTS has been okay. I was warned of the culture shock that I would get, but boy I never expected it to be that big of a shock. If my former PC, Warrant Koh were to describe it, I think it's safe to say it would sound something like this: "It's not a big culture shock..... It's a FUCKING big culture shock". But anyway, so far so good. Month of May please come by faster, I just realised I'm starting to spend a lot more on my cats these days. Just yesterday a trip to the vet cost a total of $60, taxi fare included. It's not that I'm complaining, but I just hope I have enough cash to cover any emergencies like yesterday's. Oh turns out Ariel was running a fever of 39.6 degrees. So for the rest of the week he's on antibiotics and some other stuff. The allowance increase after I pass out would definitely help.

Friday night/early morning was spent at Simpang with the Zuls, Steven and Faathimah. We came up with a few ideas for the Unit, let's hope we manage to follow through with it successfully. On another note, maybe I should drop by as soon as I can.

it's over isn't it

2009-02-15T01:42:28Z

It's kinda true, BSLC does pass by in a blink of an eye. 8 weeks of "Everyday run like dog", especially during the last week of course is finally over. I won't say I'll miss Charlie, but I definitely won't forget my time there. Booking out earlier than the rest of my section who got posted to ASLC i.e. 13 more weeks of Charlie Company + fire trench digging + Ex Crescendo + Ex Grandslam II, and seeing how morose they were at their ill fortune didn't make me feel any good. Be that some of them were fucked up in some way or another, 8 weeks with them is still 8 weeks worth remembering.

Hopefully my posting to the S.af Mil.itary P..olice Com.mand will be a good one. I've heard it'll be an experience, one that everyone has been cursing/congratulating me for getting.

re: minisce

2009-01-26T11:21:35Z

Oh wait. There was something that made me go all 'aww man what have I left behind.." on Friday when I reached home. There was a package from Temasek Polytechnic addressed to me, with my address handwritten on it. That's weird, I thought to myself. Why would mail from TP have a handwritten address? Then ta da! Inside the package was a copy of the TP Business School Open House brochure and handout! Hwee Hoon, the Overseas Community Project facilitator that I worked with for Project Jumbo last year has seen the brochures with me in them and mailed them over. How sweet!

It's hard to believe that it's been close to a year since Project Jumbo. Looking back, it was such a surreal experience, the elephants, the dung (haha), Thailand and of course, the Project Jumbo team.

I can't really put them all into proper paragraphs now so:

Walking down the dirt road to our "house" in the dark, shining our torchlights down to avoid stepping on elephant and buffalo dung
The buffet meals
Climbing up the mountain side to go up to the Haven
Ice cold lemon tea breaks while doing the daily chores
Bathing the elephants in the river! OMG that's just priceless
The great service at our hotel in Chiang Mai
Eating grilled cat fish in the wet market
Jay walking like crazy at every road
Almost getting lost when taking the public transportation home after visiting the Night Bazaar
My fisherman pants coming loose up on the overhead bridge after our trip to Tesco Lotus (Thailand's version of Giant)
50 cents public transportation
$3 breakfast of mango, papaya salad, thai desserts, PAD THAI!!!!

Gosh everytime I listen to Gan Lae Gan it brings back memories of Project Jumbo..

yup, still missing the family. Loads.

2009-01-26T10:52:37Z

It's been a crazy stay in C.harlie (and the Chocolate Factory) so far. But that's not to say that it hasn't benefited me in some areas. For the first time in my life I saw 5 points beside my 2.4km Run column. My timing: 10.18mins. 3km runs every morning must be it.

Same old same old, a trainee's life isn't all that different. Just this past Monday my section had to empty the contents of our entire personal cupboard into our duffle bags (in 5mins) because our bunk was, to put it bluntly, fucked up. If it wasn't bad enough, my duffle bag was being used as the resupply bag, so thank goodnes for the kit bag I just bought. It was big enough to fit every single piece of shit from my cupboard.

It's been fast really, soon I'll be marching to my graduation parade for the B.SL.C, two and a half weeks to be exact. After that we'll see how things go shall we.

Terribly dreary entry, I know.

braces, eyes and lips

2008-12-28T09:59:01Z

Braces are just the sexiest things ever.
I think I'll save up for them and try to fix the teeth between my canines.

On another note, going to NTUC Fairprice at Eastpoint is much sweeter now because of a certain cashier. The most beautiful eyes and lips.

yes sergeant!

2008-12-19T02:33:55Z

Ah SISPEC.

Jungles of Mandai and Taiwan, here I come!

almost time

2008-11-23T06:16:02Z

Seventeen more days to my POP. Two and a half more weeks. I'm left with SOC, 16km and 24km route march. Can't say that I'm not happy that this phase of my NS life will be coming to an end soon, yet I can't say that I am happy. I'll miss my company and everyone in it. I'm not one to make friends easily so another round of "Hi, I'm Azrul, you are?" at wherever I'm headed to after BMT is not something I'm looking forward to. As to where I hope I'm going to after BMT, I'm not even sure what I want. OCS or SISPEC? Nine months or six? They've been saying not to compare the two in terms of experience because its as fair as comparing an apple to an orange, but all I can think about is the duration of the training..

Then there's the issue of block leave. I hear because of some shit that instead of one week or two, block leave has now been cut to a few days! So since I POP on Wed 10 Dec, I'll have to report the following Monday, 15th Dec. WTF. I just hope its some dreadfully inaccurate rumour and that block leave is at least a week long, or two weeks as Wei Loong said.

Well, book-in timing is 1740hr today. Major activities this week are the 16km route march and SOC. Thank god I passed my IPPT so I won't have to retake it tomorrow. Drill Competition is this coming Thursday if I'm not wrong, or is it the week after this? Drill training has been tough and frustrating, who the hell does rifle drills with a sling and delayed timing?! Hopefully another Friday book out this week!

"regulate your breathing!"

2008-11-07T12:50:02Z

I think I may have done what I previously thought was impossible. We had IPPT this morning and I gave it my best shot. Well it wasn't good enough for a pass, but from my scores, I think I did a not bad job!

Sit Ups - 46

Chin Ups - 5 (Just one damned chin up away from a Pass!!)

Shuttle Run - 10.1s

Standing Broad Jump - 225cm (Quite okay la, considering I usually jump between 210 to 216)

2.4km Run - I'm quite proud of this!! For my first IPPT I clocked 14min+ with a thigh injury, for the second IPPT I clocked 12min flat, for this IPPT, even though we don't know our timings yet, I asked this guy who was timing himself and came in after me, he clocked 10.45mins!! Which means I have a timing of rougly below 10.45mins! Gosh. Oh and Wei Loong, you crazy bastard! First in your Company for the 2.4km run right!?

chalet chalet chalet

2008-11-02T08:14:44Z

Advanced notice!

Mark 11th and 12th December on your calendars. PRSS NPCC Chalet Gathering at Costa Sands Pasir Ris. Cadets and NPCC Alumni on the 11th, Area 9 Instructors on the 12th. Booking has been made, so we can't change the dates anymore yeah. More details will be out soon.

thank you

2008-11-01T15:49:14Z

SIT Test was okay I guess, but the point of this entry is not that. It about the fact that I got through the 12km route march without much problems! Before the route march when we were resting in our bunks I sms-ed Weslie to let him know that I was very scared about the route march. 12km is no joke man. It equates to 30 rounds around a stadium track! 30 rounds carrying a load of around 10kg.

I confess, I cried during the 8km march to my field camp the 2 weeks ago. I didn't pack my bag properly and it ended up being slightly lopsided, which shifted most of the weight to my right shoulder. I was in pain due to the uneven weight distribution, I was in dread because of the horror stories I've heard about field camp and I was in shame, because through the first 4km I started praying to God to help me get through the march and field camp, and I for those who know me, you know that I'm far from being in the list of nominees for Most Pious 20 Year Old Singaporean. The pain seemed never ending and soon enough the Nile burst its banks. I'm very sure some people saw me crying, but thankfully I wasn't having the sniffles. It was just tears coming up and out, mixing with my perspiration.

I didn't take the often heard advice of singing when you're doing route marches seriously before then. I thought, why shout yourself hoarse when you can take a chill pill and fight the pain quietly in your mind? But after the 12km march, I realised that the singing IS the pill. It takes your mind off the pain and the distance.

So right now, what awaits in BMT is my Live Range, where I'll be doing my best to ~~book out early~~ get Marksman, and Grenade Throwing. IPPT is this coming Friday, I'm amazed I clocked 12mins for my previous 2.4km run and thats without pushing myself too hard even! Chin ups and SBJ are still worrisome though. But as it is now, I can do 4 chin ups, an improvement from 1 a month ago. Oh and time to start polishing my parade boots, Drill Squad training starting soon!!

huh?

2008-10-27T07:19:08Z

So field camp was okay, the days passed really fast. First we were learning some (I'm not sure I can write about it eh) stuff then we were testing it, then we were being tested on it! Okay that was a horrible summary of the six days but damn it my hands are hurting from digging my shell scrape (all by myself I shall proudly add!) and I can't clench my fists properly right now even. We cried on the fourth day of field camp, halfway through digging our shell scrapes because we got something totally unexpected from the Company. Best not to go into details just in case.

Anyway, one incident that still makes me wonder is when I was halfway digging my shell scrape, feeling like it was the most insane thing to be doing on a Thursday morning, in the middle of a jungle, when my Company 2IC and Platoon Sergeant came along to my shell scrape. After a while, the Coy 2IC said, "Azrul, we have faith in you."

Cryptic, no?

pre field camp

2008-10-19T01:30:27Z

This coming Tuesday is my field camp and everyone has their own horror stories about their own. Can't help but feel a bit scared myself, considering that even my SecComm said he cried during his field camp. Even after visiting the army shop at Tampines I still feel a bit uneasy. Stupid me forgot to bring back the book in which I wrote the field camp pack items. I've more or less packed it a few days ago, but I just know I might be missing something. Gonna go and call one of my section mates to confirm with them some stuff.

Had lunch with Weslie yesterday at 18 Chefs at Eastpoint, where he told me that the shellscrape with me inside has to only be flush with the landscape. So hopefully I won't have to dig that deep (and encounter no roots, stones, or worse, a former shit pit!). The best line yesterday was Weslie's reply to my, "After finish digging can help other people right?" to which he replied, "Only if you can help yourself first." Wahhhhhh pressure pressure.

So last night I was in a shopping mood and somehow or rather I found myself at Wisma Atria at 8pm with my sister, looking for a nice straw hat. But since a straw hat doesn't really feature much in any Fall/Winter line, none of the shops were selling it anymore. I was tempted to get a hoodie from Topman but decided against it even though it was 30% off. Instead the sister and I went over to The Body Shop where we ended up first getting a bottle of White Musk for Men perfume and White Musk home fragrance oil to reach $50 in the receipt (it was the second last day of this promotion where if you buy $50 worth of product you'll get a $10 voucher, and since the perfume was just a few bucks away from $50, I thought what the hell and decided to get the home fragrance oil). At the counter, the $10 one year membership with the 10% discount was just too alluring so that was that. So after discounting the perfume and oil, the receipt didn't total to $50 so we topped it up with a shower puff thingy and when they asked if we wanted to redeem the voucher now, we ended up up getting a shower gel and topping up a few more bucks. I swear The Body Shop made a killing with us yesterday.

Tomorrow is week 6 of my BMT, so its 7 more weeks to go!

~~Week 1~~
~~Week 2~~
~~Week 3~~
~~Week 4~~
~~Week 5~~
Week 6 - Field Camp

The last major event is Live Range in the coming weeks, so good luck to me with that!

family

2008-10-05T07:09:19Z

I miss my family so much during camp, that I decided to send our Genting trip photos for printing so that I can paste a few of them in my locker. I know that I'm a homely kind of person, but I never thought I was this homely! During the confinement period, I got a lot of well wishes from family and friends, but the one that almost brought a tear to my eyes was when Cik Yot (Pijul's mother) smsed me saying that Pijul wants her to tell me that he misses me a lot and that he can't wait for me to come back. She also told me that on the first day, as they were leaving Tekong, Pijul was walking behind my mother and the others. When my mother saw that he was crying, she and my sister started crying too! Oh man.. Weekly bookouts are very much treasured and I make myself feel better by looking at things in different ways. I mean, take the foreign workers we take for granted. They don't get to see their families for years at times, while I get to see mine once a week! If I start thinking about how long BMT is, I remember that it was just like yesterday that I was doing my internship at Norton Rose (Asia) exactly a year ago or that Project Jumbo is slightly more than half a year old already. God I miss my family a lot, I can't say that enough.

39.7

2008-09-28T11:12:13Z

After refusing my mother's urging to go to the hospital the whole of yesterday, things took a turn for the worse at night. My temperature spiked up to 39.7 at its highest and after panadol it only went down to 38.6. So at midnight my mother finally managed to drag me to Changi General Hospital where they did an x-ray on me and found out that I had pneumonia. Damn shocked I tell you. This is the worst health scare I've ever had. Right now I'm on the hospital panadol to bring down the fever (I'm hovering around 37.1 now), cough and sore throat medicine and 5 days of antibiotics.