Terrible week spent outfield for a 3-day field exercise supporting some other unit! It rained like nobody's business and everywhere was muddy. Actually I realised that I don't really mind the mosquitoes or not bathing or getting wet. It's more of the mud! Once I see a lot of mud, I get very depressed. HAHAHA. But anyway it was quite a good one, in terms of results and timings of our missions. Enjoyable too, because this is the first outfield that I cooked so much! Luncheon meat, bacon, sausages, loads of instant noodles, improvisation of "cooking oil" hahaha. Oh, I misplaced a battery! Okay it wasn't my fault, but the battery was drawn out under my name, so I will be the one that gets into trouble. But I eventually found it with one of my sergeants! My track record with signal equipment isn't very good hahaha, and someone told me the battery costed $300. BLOOIEE.

Okay this is a bit overdue, but Hillsong United's concert at Expo last Friday was awesome!! Went with Yurong and David and a lot of other familiar people so I can't exactly classify who I went with. Met Irin, who was just sitting in front of me, and Dai Xuan, who was like three seats away from me. They sang songs mostly from their newer albums, but I'm like this Hillsong junkie so I knew every song that they sang! I think that was why I really enjoyed the worship, because there's always a certain expectation of a live band when you're familiar with their music, and I think they fulfilled it flawlessly.

And today. Played Pictionary during cell group time! I'm terrible at drawing but what the heck. And ordered pizza!

I'm quite satisfied with my life right now. There's not really a need for addition or subtraction. So please do not upset my precarious balance!! =)

I had quite a strange week. Tonnes of map work that just cannot be completed because with each day, the workload piles up. Physiotherapy at Alexandra Hospital was a good experience, but 2 hours of lower back stretching actually makes you very tired! Oh. And I was involved in the murder of two rats yesterday. One drowned, while the other was squashed flat.

Tomorrow is a very busy day!! I need to go down to Immigration tomorrow to extend the validity of my passport because I'm going Thailand in September for this major exercise. I read somewhere in some army email that if the appropriate visas are not obtained in time, the person will not be allowed to board the plane or whatever. I hope I'm one of them!! Hahaha! Then I'm going to the army market since it's so near the Immigration building. Then I need to go buy stationery at a good bookstore! Then I need to go to an NTUC to buy food. Busy busy!!

Okay, so I found out some things today that should have been made known to me, but I don't know why I never knew about them until now. Don't you hate the feeling when you're kept in the dark? I don't really like it when people are planning things involving me but I don't have the slightest inkling, or they just chuck last minute responsibilities to me when it could have been possible for them to ask in advance. I mean, if it's like a surprise gift that was done without me knowing then that's really awesome, but this isn't!! Ughh. So are you going to wait until it's too late then start throwing crap at me, or am I supposed to keep finding things out myself? I'm totally disgusted.

Samantha and Celine cracks me up every Friday.

I've solved the dilemma of 80% biscuit versus 90% cream! With much wisdom from Timothy Lim. For the uninitiated, 80% biscuit refers to Meiji's Hello Panda. Their misleading picture shows the cream of each Hello Panda biscuit oozing out in thick, full force. In reality, each Hello Panda is 80% biscuit and 20% cream only! Then the 90% cream refers to Glico's Pocky biscuits because each stick is really almost all cream! On paper it seemed as if Pocky is a sure winner, but I thought Hello Panda had a redeeming grace due to the fact that they have panda prints on each biscuit! So I was pondering for quite some time, until Tim pointed out that Hello Panda is actually "80% biscuit, 15% air and 5% cream". And he said the cream in Hello Panda used to be a lot a lot more!! That did it. I've decided to go with Pocky now.

And I'm beginning to realise the amount of influence I actually have, and that if anything positive should result, it would be down to how much I am using that influence. Doesn't that make me sound like Superman or something hahahaha!! But seriously. It makes me worried, and it makes me all the desperate to do something, especially if I really seem to be that pivotal.

ISN'T THIS CUTE!!!

Khairul said that I have a complicated history with girls and it's difficult to keep track of my "diverse pursuits"!!! HAHAHAHA it's not that terrible okay!! I don't just go out there and have multiple flings with every girl I find attractive! Although I admit I have a lot of stupid moments trying to flirt. Maybe it's time I should stop telling the whole world about my eyecandies, or who I think is cute, or about some girl I knew and I met her again and she became really pretty. Then it wouldn't seem like I know five million girls whom I think are all pretty and everyone thinks I'm in love because of that.

I need to start coming to terms with whatever I'm involved in right now. Gotta be focused. People say I'm not serious like half the time and I'm always playing around. Not true okay!! I think I'm my very own self-conscious critic and I constantly question whether it's practical or will it work or how will it end up.


AAHHH!! You're making my knees go weak.

I cannot believe that someone can actually flush their pants down the toilet bowl!! HAHAHAHA! Never in my wildest imagination whatsoever, and for all the crazy stupid things I can think of doing, I wouldn't do that. How do you manage to flush your pants away. Don't they at least stay somewhere on your legs, or at least dangling on your ankles, or even at the very least it's on the floor!! Oh well never mind when I first heard it I found it extremely hilarious, such that it cheered up my mundane dreary day.

I just came to a sudden realisation that maybe I'm really very charming. Hahahaha you know how I always unabashedly proclaim that I'm the sexiest person alive?? Yeah. What if it's true!! What if I'm really attractive and the girls swarm me like I'm honey and I'm actually a very endearing guy.

Ooh whoo. =) =)

Aly & AJ's album Into The Rush turned out to be surprisingly good. It's one of those rare few albums which every song in it is nice and memorable. Okay it's all guitar-driven and it's some girly teenage pop and they like to end each song with the song's title itself, but I like it! Not since Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want have I found an album in which all the songs in it are nice. But I find it disturbing that they're both younger than me, and yet they're already writing their own songs and singing and touring the world.

Doesn't it make you feel inferior?? I mean, you know how sometimes you read magazines and newspapers, and they print out a picture of someone accompanied with Melissa, 20, Customer Service Officer, or Tom, 21, Designer?? Then you start to wonder how it would look like if it were your name instead. Somehow or rather, I think Guan You, 19, NSF doesn't have the same ring to it. Weh!! Why are there people out there who are so much more accomplished than I am, and they are not much older than me!! It makes you think twice about what you want to do with your life.

This is so sucky. =(

Crazy day today. I met Tammy for very early breakfast this morning! Woke up at 5am, then we went to Yishun to eat Macs breakfast. She left for school after that while I went back to Nee Soon Camp. It was kinda stupid, cos I found out that I had a half day off only when I reached there. So we packed up all our things, then the buses brought us back to Seletar Camp, and we left for home from there. Then I stayed at home mostly for the afternoon, but I met Sarah for dinner at Thomson Plaza! According to her, Powerpuff Girls are the result of a "failed experiment"!! But if it's failed then why are they so good at whacking all the monsters. Hahahaha! Paradoxical. Then I went back to find Tammy again to give her donuts and postcard and light sticks.

Alrighty. My blog posts make me sound like I'm dreadfully childish and immature.

Off day today, so I went out with Yurong to eat sushi at Ang Mo Kio! Hahaha I got tired of waiting for Qiling, because she's going to Germany and she's trying to save up so she's always broke. But yar anyway, sushi!! And the obsession with green peas. Yurong doesn't like green peas and broccoli and probably a million other kinds of food. Heh! Then we went to buy colouring books! Oh my gosh this is the silliest ever. Mine is a Powerpuff Girls while hers is from Precious Moments. Hahaha! Then I needed to go find my fly swatter! Goodness.

I think Miley Cyrus is very ugly! I think her mouth is very big and her eyes don't fit in proportion with her face. I don't know why so many teenagers are so crazy over her! Okay la I like her songs and I think she's an extraordinary performer for her age, but I still think she's ugly!!

Everytime I see a caterpillar or an earthworm, or anything small that crawls, I ask a very stupid question to that creature. "Will you ever become a butterfly?"

The main activity for the week is trying to look out for Mas Selamat again. Hahaha but we're playing with mannequin heads! Okie technically speaking it's only one head. Why is her hair so short? I think it really looks quite spooky!!

This week is also a Yurong week hahahaha! Largely because I went out with her twice! Tuesday evening we went to Island Creamery for ice cream and mudpie. Then today we were at National Library, then we went down to Raffles Place for soup and hershey pie and donuts. It's Complicated!

Oho. I led worship today. Sarah created a miracle on the keyboards. Whoo! It's a personal achievement okay, because every single song had high notes that I could barely reach, and I never really sing off-pitch (although I cheated a bit hahahaha). "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe is the highest song that I've ever sung. If you go see some of their live concert videos, Bart Millard looks like he's going to explode while trying to reach the high notes!!

Shermin and I brought the little ones on a dangerous trip to Kopitiam today. I really feel very very old, like I got a very big responsibility! Anyway it was just drinks and late dinner. Then half an hour later we're back there for supper again. Then I sent Shermin home first then Tammy, cos I didn't feel like going home early.

Clarissa made me a bit emo today, although I'm pretty sure she didn't mean any bit of it. I was reminded of not just one, but two girls that had a pretty big impact in my life. The book "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks, then "Only Hope" by Mandy Moore, then all of a sudden there was a Meh Meh somewhere. Will you marry a girl even if you know she is going to pass away soon?

Here's to you:
Maybe this isn't such a big deal, but I couldn't recall another day in the past one year plus or so, when we actually really had a meaningful conversation.

And to another you:
Each time you ruffle my hair, I feel like I'm a 6-year-old or something. But I'll let you do so, even if it makes me look stupid.

VERY TIRING WEEK. I'm involved in the search for Mas Selamat! And I'm afraid I cannot say anymore except that "the SAF is supporting the SPF in the ongoing operation". Okay yesterday I went back to NJ!! College Day. My sister told me about it and I decided to go haha! Went down with Khairul, sat through the awards ceremony, went hunting through the food stalls, caught a bit of the concert. I met a lot of my juniors! Haha this is an indication of how popular I am, even after graduation two years ago.

Okay gotta go. I'm typing this using iPod Touch so it's quite a hassle.

I'm blogging this while it's still fresh in my mind. Just came back from ACJC's theatre production Pride and Prejudice, with Sherwin and Shermin. I think they did a very good job! Although it irked me that they left out some scenes entirely, and certain pivotal events were given a very superficial treatment. But other than that, it captured the liveliness and humour and brightness of the novel, and you sort of could feel that the entire crew really put in tremendous effort into the entire drama and dance. Mrs Bennet stole all the limelight from the romance hahaha. I'm glad I went. =)

Then after it ended, Sherwin wanted to go find his friend (who was involved in the acting). But we ended up waiting for nearly 45 minutes for his friend to appear, cos she turned off her phone and SHERWIN WASN'T SURE HE STILL RECOGNISED HER HAHAHAHAHA! Eventually she did turn up.

Okay. Sleepy!

Blog entry in 4 pointers! Here we go!

(1) Finished reading Pride and Prejudice, and I totally agree with Sarah that Jane Austen is a genius. It was a most delightful read, even though I took a month and a half to figure out the sophisticated language. The twists and turns of the romance story really captivated me okay!! If I were a female I would be gushing at how sweet or how charming or how tender Fitz Darcy is. But above all, I like the story because every single character in the novel has certain flaws which, no matter how strong their virtues are, always impede certain things. Everyone has inadequacies to be mocked at.

(2) Felt kinda bad that I have not been keeping up with things with friends that were once close to me. It seems that when there is no longer a commonality in the ties that bind, people naturally drift apart with time. Then they go find new friends to replace the old ones. So sad. Okay maybe I'm just jealous or melancholic.

(3) Went for a medical appointment at Alexandra Hospital for the dull pain in my lower back. The specialist listened to my symptoms, tested my limb reflexes, and came to the suggested conclusion that I have a ligament sprain. Okay. It's like 4 months so far and it's still hurting occasionally.

(4) Led a new cell group!! With Shermin as co-leader, for Samantha, Celine and Jewell. Age gap and gender gap, because I'm older by seven years and they're all girls! Nuts. I never imagined myself still in such situations at my age. But it was a nice conclusion for my week, because they are so lively and random in their conversation topics. =)

Boat/Clarke Quay with Tammy today! She had to take some photos about historical or cultural conservation for some school project, and so we were off. Walked a lot everywhere, talked a lot of nonsensical crap, tried to pose with trishaws, then she complained the entire day that I was very fierce, and she ate ice cream which dribbled everywhere onto her hands.

Some pictures below. Disclaimer: that Ignis shirt I was wearing is my sister's! The rest are on Facebook, or you can click here.

Definitely, Maybe today with Khairul at Plaza Singapura today! Hahaha I renewed my fondness for Abigail Breslin after watching her for the first time in Little Miss Sunshine. After watching that, I felt a strong desire to want to fall in love again. HAHAHA oh my goodness I sound so sappy and bimbotic. But yeah, I should have gone and watched it with some girl instead of Khairul. It seems more appropriate and more romantic. It's okay though, cos we went to Fish & Co for late lunch after the movie and consequently ate all the prawns and calamari and fish and I felt so bloated.

I think it's very difficult to find someone who would complement your character in as many aspects as possible, and still try and make him/her love and accept you. Haiyoo. Why is it that there aren't any girls who would come up to me and say mushy things to me??

Anyway, I'm quite happy now, as opposed to earlier in the week when I felt so tired of things. Wonderful.

According to Blogger, this is my 600th post. Another milestone.

Anyway, today was quite a crazy day. Led worship with Ming Hui and Tammy by my side only! You know something, what they say about stage fright doesn't really go away with experience. Occasionally I'm still struck with nervous attacks and stiff hands. But today's worship was cool. Then my cell group and Sarah's decided to combine just for this night. Largely because I'm going to take a huge step of faith by assisting Shermin in the leading of her cell group. I don't care what everyone tells me, and I don't care how daunting that is! I'm going to trust God for the best.

Oh. This is slightly belated, but Planetshakers concert was awesome. Tim Hughes looks fat in person hahahaha but he sings great.

Why is it that descriptions of animal reproduction always have them "mating for copulation", instead of the simpler term "having sex"? I mean, isn't it both the same? It's always the same few scientific phrases like "mating", "insemination of sperm", "copulation", and I think people who aren't astute enough wouldn't know what is going on. If that isn't vague enough, these reports often shy away from naming the actual genitalia of the animals by distracting you with equally useless information. You will know more instead, of the excellent choreography of mating dances, of lengthy and elaborate courtship process, of calls and whistles to attract mates, of unknown anatomical parts like claspers and pectoral fins and whatnot that aids in mating, blah blah blah.

My point is, why go to so much trouble just to complicate everything up? If the elephants are bonking each other and humping and squealing and huffing and puffing, then tell it as it is! If it involves the male's penis and the female's vagina and the insertion and the subsequent ejaculation, then say it! Do you know that this is not always the case? Sometimes there is no sex involved because the male stores his sperm somewhere and the female goes and gets it, or sometimes both the male and female don't have genitals and all they have to do is to pass the sperm through some opening in their bodies, or sometimes the males has two penises, or the female has a pseudo penis, or the male has a retractable swiveling penis! This is the kind of stuff that I want to know instead of just a broad description of "mating for copulation".

And, why bother hushing up the entire sexual act? There are some magazines who describe in every vivid vitality of what happens during the mating dance, but there is no mention anywhere of the sex that they were dancing for. What nonsense is this?! You assume that the whole point of animal reproduction focuses on the end-point itself, but what I am interested to know is how they do it. Human sex is very easy. Just Google something like "sex positions" and they'll teach you how to be flexible like a gymnast and still have sex with your partner. But it's not the same with animals! How do small birds have sex? How do giraffes have sex? How do turtles mount each other with two huge shells? How do snakes do it without limbs? How do porcupines do it without stabbing each other to death?

Sure, this kind of thing is a breach of language decorum anywhere, and it wouldn't be nice if all wildlife literature were to be termed pornography. But I believe that if you don't give it credit where it is due, then why bother writing about animals in the first place? How the hell am I supposed to know what the sexual intercourse process is like if you describe everything in broad terms? It's like sexual education, because you don't assume that a little girl knows all about sex unless you tell her that somewhere along the way, another boy is going to come and stick something into her. And then again, that's just the technicalities of it. What about all the kinky stuff, like kissing and foreplay and oral sex and touching and feeling and whatever? Who's going to teach that little girl all these things unless she goes and read some steamy romance novel. It's the same with animals. Is it rough, wild sex? Does the male just hump-and-go, or do they both have a little cuddling after sex? Do they bite each other's nipples or something? How long does it last? Will they mate for life after that, or does the female go around looking for more sex partners?

I'm sorry if this blog post might seem sacrilegious and taboo and vulgar, but I think that it's an insult to my knowledge if I'm reading up about a certain species of animal, and I don't know how they have sex. Why is it that there are so many mediums about human sex that are readily available, but there's comparatively little about animal sex? Don't give me bullshit like human beings are the only creatures that truly have sex have pleasure instead of just mere reproduction. If we were indeed sentient creatures enough to know that sex can be pleasurable, then shouldn't we ought to document these forgotten aspects of the wildlife kingdom to satisfy our capability and capacity to think?

Finally got round to getting a new watch today! Was at Tampines Mall with Khairul, when I chanced upon the same Swatch watch that I first saw with Tammy about a month ago. So after much hesitation and deliberation, I decided to buy it for $79, which is quite a major purchase considering that it's been quite some time I bought something this expensive. But it's funky!! Khairul said it'll sure attract cute chicks, so I trust his word on that. According to the receipt the watch is "Alien Baby", and it was quite funny because it doesn't have a needle that tells the seconds, so we had to wait like 2 minutes to see if the minute-hand was moving hahahahahaha.


This is a photo which I forgot totally that it exists, until Yurong showed it to me and I was asking "IS THAT ME?" because I really don't remember taking it.

For once, very literally and very realistically speaking, I'M VERY GLAD TO BE ALIVE. I got into a car accident yesterday night! I wanted to get back to camp from home, and I wasn't really in a hurry but I decided to take a taxi instead. Then at the small tunnel along CTE that leads into TPE, the taxi driver decided to speed up to try and overtake this other taxi in the other lane for no apparent reason. The speed limit was supposed to be 50km/h, but the driver went up to 80-going-90!! Then all of a sudden, at a quite sharp bend, he just lost control and the taxi swerved across the lane and smashed straight into the tunnel wall! The remarkable thing was that I just so happened to be wearing my seat belts. Normally I wouldn't bother, but yesterday night the seat belts saved my life. Anyway, the taxi had quite a big dent in the front right part, but otherwise it was still in a good driving condition. Then the taxi uncle lost his spectacles in the collision. It just got lost somewhere, then he checked to see if I was alright before dropping me off at the next nearest bus-stop and without charging me for the ride. And all I've got is a slightly bruised back from the impact. 80km/h smack into the wall! So, please do buckle up the next time you're in a vehicle.

"...there seem to be very few, in the style of Novel, that you can read with safety, and yet fewer that you can read with advantage. - What shall we say of certain books, which we are assured (for we have not read them) are in their nature so shameful, in their tendency so pestiferous, and contain such rank treason against the royalty of Virtue, such horrible violation of all decorum, that she who can bear to peruse them must in her soul be a prostitute, let her reputation in life be what it will. But can it be true - say, ye chaste stars, that with innumerable eyes inspect the midnight behaviour of mortals - can it be true, that any young woman, pretending to decency, should endure for a moment to look on this infernal brood of futility and lewdness?"

-Extract from James' Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women.


Okay, not taking into consideration that this is extremely chauvinistic, it actually is quite funny in a damning way. This was an 18th century English text targeted at women for a more feminine behaviour in accordance to the societal background of that time period. I'm not trying to repress the feminist movement or anything, but I just think that even till today, women are still judged by certain society notions and are still expected to subscribe to a mannerism that is remarkably favourable for men. That said, if every girl who enjoys reading is seen as a prostitute, then I wouldn't be surprised if prostitution were to be the single trade that accounts for excellent economy.

CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School's funfair yesterday was quite funky. I went down with Tim in the afternoon after lunch with Khairul at City Hall. It started raining when we reached there, but it wasn't too bad. Met David and Yurong and Joel, but they left shortly after. So what Tim and I depended upon was Rui Jun's consistent issuance of funfair coupons. Hahaha oh yeah Debra and Coleman joined us at intermittent periods too. But mostly, I was alone with Tim. Follow the story thus far? Yeah we ate, drank, played rip-off games like sliding cups and shooting and stacking up cans and fishing. We won some brown bears, some purple cow, and a lot of car shades thingy which Tim says is going into the corps van. Hahaha! I met my sister somewhere along the way too. And I met Dora Tan too. Then at 5pm, Coleman, me, Tim, Rui Jun and Debra all went to watch the cheer-leading. They had some funny Guinness World Record attempt for most number of people running a relay in 24 hours.

Funfairs allow me to indulge in my frivolous mood. SNGS is a nice school with nice people too.

Out of absolutely nowhere, I suddenly find myself having to make decisions regarding church ministries again! Here's the lowdown: Ben just asked if I would like to consider giving messages on Friday nights like once a month, then Cheryl messaged me to inform me that I've been nominated for worship leading roughly once a month too. And my reaction is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! because I wasn't anticipating this at all. Right now my current personal stance is that I'll only help out if needed, or I'll volunteer as long as my schedule (what with army) permits. But to ask me to commit to regular things like these is a bit out of the blue. Not that I'm saying I want to shirk all responsibilities or I don't view myself involved in such leadership roles just because I'm in army or anything else. I just feel that it might be more sincere if you take time out and talk to me nicely in person, instead of plonking my name straight into the schedules. And no this is not an attack on Ben or Cheryl either, cos they're nice people and to be fair, it still required a decision on my part before this is instituted.

Yurong thinks one good performance is all it takes for people to come swooping down and asking you to help with this or that. And she sort of said to view this as a "privilege". But I think somewhere along the way, there's quite a huge blur between what is considered honourary and what is considered a necessity. I think that if you show promise in something, it is not quintessentially compulsory for you to develop it into a talent; but rather, you should always have the choice to either pursue it part-time or full-time.

Thunderstorms are expected at most areas of Singapore in the late afternoon. There's a strange sense of foreboding when you see a lightning bolt strike from the sky, and the anticipation of the thunder that precedes after. It is especially so when the lightning strike is extremely close to your area, unlike hearing distant thunder and going "oh, it's going to rain".

I'm supposed to be on standby to go on boat patrol for Mas Selamat this whole week, but they relaxed it a bit so that I can get out of camp for a while, but I must still get back in time if there is an activation. Honestly, I really think he's no longer in Singapore already. I chanced upon this article in Channel News Asia's website, and this guy thinks that it's quite implausible for him to be still hiding in the forests. "What has he been living on? Coconuts?" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Oh. Try saying this tongue twister: Ned Nott was shot and Sam Shott was not. So it is better to be Shott than Nott. Some say Nott was not shot, but Shott swears he shot Nott. Either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot, or Nott was shot. But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott himself, then Shott would be shot and Nott would not. However, the shot Shott shot shot not Shott but Nott. It's not easy to say who was shot and who was not, but we know who was Shott and who was Nott.