The Part about Sucky Assignments at Work

130041JAN2007LT

I so hate being involved in the Small Tankers Evaluation study i'm doing. For once I wish that this project doesn't see the light of day and that the big boss in Sweden doesn't order the ships down to our playground. I really dun care if they dun make money over here. Let them stay in their northern palaces. These 2 are ice classed, better there than here. Saves me the agravation too.

Change after change, voyage calculations-one after another. Think the ShipNet system hates me for re-calculating those bloddy CPP/Chems/Palm Oil simulations. Well I hate 'em too. Exasperatingly & irritatingly slow. Bugger, hope to hell that WPB doesn' ask too many questions.

FUCK... i wish i was concentrating on the MR fleet instead of these 3 ships. Alot more to learn and then i'm still stuck with this evaluation. Bro already giving me chance- just hope he understands and realises that I wanna help him out and the rest of the team-instead of being cooped by my MKT/WPB for this stupid study. IMHO, should have asked professionals to do the reseach insteadof me. Wads a industry greenhorn got to learn here? Very boh liao...

Well, hopefully I can look forward to the trip to Norway. 1st time travelling by myself (Biz Class!!!) and looking fwd to meet the ppl I've been working with albeit corresponding via email and phone and yahoo. Hope to learn more about the industry and esp the chartering research part. Now that one I'm interested in. For the trip, have already bought (& claimed) about SGD$500 bucks worth of winter clothing. Got a double layer jacket for -20 degrees weather and a nice black trenchcoat plus winter pants and thermals. I ain't a fashionista, but i think i'll look good in them - LOL.

The Part about The New Year of 2007

081450JAN2007LT

Hi All, Happy New Year 2007!! Here's wishing one and all a better year ahead.

Had a nice X'mas...plus all the nice presents and all the CLUBBING!!! Yeah...lots of it...at a single go within a span of 3 weeks! Started on X'mas Day..then New Year's then last Sat and Yesterdae...

Drunk lots of alchohol and got my groove groovin... Alchohol nearly KOed me last nite (Sunday) though. Drunk too fast and too much. Fortunately I had activated my Zen mode (yes...in the middle of the Club- St James Power House BTW) while the music was blaring and allowed the alchohol to mellow out in my bloodstream. Was back to normal within 30 mins and boogeying my butt thru the rest of the nite. Fortunately-have taken the day off today to clear my body of the alchohol...

2006 was a a good year. Alot of learning, learning on the job etc and other lessons in life. Now that I've taken care of my career (in a way) its time now to focus on myself. With being 'selfless' for sometime now, guess that being selfish for a short time/bits here and there is owed to myself to balance my life. Hope that all reading will understand.

To my friends reading this...u know who u are. Its also time to say thanks for being there for me. My ex SJAB kids, clubbing kakis, close friends and SJAB colleagues and now even my working colleagues and aquaitances - thank you all for the lessons and music. We've been thru some rough times, some angry, some happy and sad. Thanks for loving me all the same.

The Part about Chilling Out...

281222NOV2006LT

fabulous...3 days of blessed peace. with 'Allo-Allo', 'Babylon 5' 5th Season of course...

just rest..away from all noise...away from work...relax..

The Part about Green Tea Ice Cream

202327AUG2006LT

My sin has been found out...only Haagen-Dazs is able to steal me away...

Norain has her Ben & Jerry's...I have my Green Tea Haagen Dazs thank you very much. Strong Japanese Oo-cha flavour. Sweet mixed with a tang of bitter aftertaste. No other greentea flavoured ice creas is comparable...not Gelare's not even Shangri-La hotel's !

Already have I finished one tub on my own during a few occasions. Next I'll think i'll experiment the other flavours... I know that their strawberry is not too sweet and it has a natural flavour to it. Or maybe go for killer chocolate??? hmmz

Oh heck...b-dae is coming...think i'll snog onto a few tubs for breakfast, lunchie & dindin. To heck wif the diet plan for the one dae...i know fa'sure i'm entitled to sinning it out...

The Part about Letting Go

131305JULY2006LT

Letting go of SJAB-I've finally resigned my posts of NHQ CPBS Controller & NHQ Development (CPBS) Committee Secretary. Will be resigning from my position as Dy Zone Youth Affairs as well. I will be for purposes...a officer without duties and portfolio...

Freedom does taste good-not doing anything, not having people depend on you al the time anymore and not having to argue with stupid silly old farts. Waste of my efforts, waste of my time arguing over issues which matter greatly but they seem to take their time to wait and wait and wait. Their reasons being political, petty ans self-serving. Well i've had enough of this organisation. It seems it doesn't value our efforts as volunteers...

Bro heading to Oz: he's flown off to further his education. maybe him not being in Singapore will hit me later. i have a feeling it will. I usually dun miss ppl, but I think i will for him.

Marcus is one of the rare persons who will really listen without judging. Well not all the times...but we've been each other's Aunt Aggy for quite a stretch of time...he's not actually my blood bro, but although that being said, there is an underlining connection we have.

Being telepathic on a certain degree-thinking of the same thoughts...suddenly humming the same song etc... The only other person who is so connected to me would be my real bro Shaun.
I think him not being here will definately hit me sooner or later...and there might be no one to turn to...

The Part Me trying to Update this blog...

181227JUNE2006LT

finally, i get a saturday all to myself. no SJAB, no work threatening to drop onto my head and no worries about the exams.

workwise: things are going well. doing my best to avoid getting swarmped with work and settling issues fast. hopefully i can keep the pace up and not let anyone down. now shifting focus from operations to chartering and market evaluation...

SJAB's Chief Commissioner Badge Presentation Ceremony is coming up soon. have spent time organinising the event with my fellow officers and hopefully-all will go well. 250 prize recipients will be attending and phew thankfully its just a simple event.

am trying my best NOT to do this: falling in love with love itself. meaning the in love with the idea of falling in love. confusing-? should be...ought to be. oh i so hate this part of myself... sets me thinking that everything will be alright...then BOOM...it all turns out wrong. i hate myself for feeling this way...sometimes i think...why i even bother - sigh...

The Part about Living Life as it Is

151042APR2006LT

its funny how things all change so fast. one moment i was unemplyed, the next, swamped with work at my 1st permanent job. i've been gainfully employed as a trainee operations specialist in a swedish/norwegian oil tanker management company. prospects are good as the company is making waves in the CPP sector of the oil tanker market. there is so much to learn and do while managing those ships. i'm glad i've had a chance at doing one of the dream jobs i've long wanted. there is a long way more on the journey, this road i'm taking...but i'm glad i took it. gives me a sense of purpose now, other than moping around and feeling hopeless and feeling sorry for myself. and on top of that the perks and remuneration is somewhat better then what my poly classmates/ns batchmates are currently receiving. the tradeoff is that the work is almost 24/7, meaning having to keep tabs on the ships eveyday and the long hours during the weekdays. thankfully i can log on from home to access the company emails during the weekends, and spending half an hour isn't that bad either.

i've left clementi town. i finally did it. i'm wasn't that happy when i did so but i've been wanting to let go for so long now. i used to be unable to do so without a guilty conscience-leaving the kids to their fate etc., but friends have told me, if iwasn't able to take care of myself now, when will i start to? when i'm one foot into the grave perhaps? they were right in a way, i was being used and thrown aside like tissue paper. my junior volunteers all felt the same way-they saw how the school treated me and thus, as a result, did not want to volunteer like i did.

this 'letting go' has been somewhat of a bittersweet release for me. but i've begun to savour it. savour it and embraced it like a long lost lover-the freedom which i yearned for, without the incessant need to take care of a bunch of ungrateful teenagers, have finally intoxicated me. i felt a great burden finally lifted of my shoulders at long last. now at sjab nhq, the work being offered there is less taxing and i'm working with a bunch of dedicated, committed, like-minded fellow volunteers...not teachers, not cadets, but my fellow volunteer officers. the good thing is that we're all tuned to the same frequency and thats doing something for the benefit of the whole brigade in general.

The Part about....Multiple Parts....

071836JAN2006ZT

I've officially ORDed from NS on 22nd December 2005. Funny though, doesn't make much of a difference. Everyone keeps saying that MINDEF gave me back my freedom as a Chrismas present, but I'd beg to differ. Soon, I'll be working and then I'll cry my 'loss' of freedom due to work.

Been for a few job interviews already. Previously I'd screwed up my 1st 2 interviews, realising that I should be marketing and 'selling' myself, I bucked up and got myself placed for a few more interviews, even to firms which were not hiring at the moment. One was however, willing to create a post for me-so thus, perhaps I scored on that point. However, the drive to excel and find that dream 1st job has drained. Though I've been lucky to garner a few, it seems that for some reason, I'm starting to get depressed...again...perhaps my self esteem and confidence took a nose dive then I've posted applications and emails to at least 80+ companies and only a few were willing to interview me. A few were decent to at least reply my email saying that they had
no vacancies. It irks me to find that certain companies are just downright rude and aren't being civil.

Christmas & New Year has come and past. While I'm writing this, I certainly feel consigned to my fate. I'm certainly loved and blessed to have my family and a few friends (old and relatively new) , namely, Justin, Norain, Marcus, Simon, Siti, Cliff, Colin, who have given me so much encouragement. If you guys are reading this, I just wanna say thanks for lifting me up. =) Esp, Justin & Norain, we had a great time on that 1st day Monday of the new year.

SJAB wise, I've handed my appointment of Corps Officer in Charge to one of my 2 teachers in CTSS. Think she'll do a great job with all the assistacne from the kids. I've done my part for the past 7 years? (1999 to 2005) and its time for a change in leadership. I can't remain relevant to the kids anymore since I can't be present at their instructional meetings most of the time and thus have relagated myself as the unit advisor. I've however, expanded my unofficial portfolio at NHQ, with me and Colin processing the entire Brigade's CPBS. A feat to accomplish considering we have to takre care of our careers, own units anf the Zone. Hopefully, we'll get more help soon.

The Part about Defending yourself from what people say behind your back....

041602DEC2005ZT

...by refuting their claims with good work and silencing your critics. Who am i referring to? Well, these people are senior officers from the Brigade at HQ level. My gawd, these people are a disgrace to the SJAB uniform and unfit to be officers. Bunch of misfit psyched-up hussies. Their only claim to fame is their tongue wagging and boot licking.

I was hoping that I would not be dragged into too much politics but its time to defend myself and those no-deserving of their claims. I would comment on this-they choose their enemies poorly by having me and my mentors, and colleagues as their enemies... God, whom is omipotent and merciful, won't save them... For sake of explanation: lets call them the Sissy Bas (a him)& Nosey Bit (a her). Bloody matching pair i'd call them..should have married each other instead...

We've been carrying out the successful re-vamped system of invigilating, marking and processing of the Knowledge of The Order of St John Exam (KSJ for short). Cadets in SJAB need to pass this exam and obtain a badge under the Cadet Proficiency Badge Scheme. In order to get acheivement badges such as the Commissioner (3 CCA points in their sch report) or Chief Commissioner Badge (5 CCA points), they would be requried to pass the KSJ exam and get the KSJ badge.

What took the previous Development (CPBS) committee under Sissy Bas with assistance of Nosey Bit, did was nothing much. They LENGHTHEND processing time not only for the KSJ badges, but all the badges under the CPBS. we've cajoled, complained, but nothing was done. In the end, all the development officers from all the zones, juz sat with our hands under our collective arse till the situation got better. Due to something classified that occured involving one of my closest friend, both Sissy Bas and Nosey Bit resigned in protest. In retrospect, I'm thinking that our Committee chairman (a level headed senior officer) strategised by not doing anything so they'd 'make noise and resigned anyway. He then reformed the new committee and luckily for us, our cadets and the teachers we interact with, things got back to normal and now processes are done in a flexible and efficient manner. the KSJ exam was an example of how effective the new committee was handling things..

For the KSJ exam, we invigilated the cadets coming for the exam, marked their answer scripts, processed the results by tabulating on MS Excel, (absentees, failures and those who passed) and issuing certificate numbers to successful candidates so that the respective zone officers can print out certs and present it to them. we did all this in ONE OR TWO days... the max time to close out processing done for that ONE slot of the exam was ONE WEEK. the previous management took SIX TO EIGHT months for that ONE SLOT. amazing isn't it? can u imagine my poor friend chasing and howling after them for the results of an exam slot conducted months before?

now the two of them (Sissy & Nosey) have begun saying that since we've not done our job by saying that since they did not see us when we were at NHQ, they presumed that we were holding back on our work. Very fortunately, we've got proof of our work accomplished and this proof has even reached the eyes and ears of the big boss, the Chief Commissioner. Heh~ one day..i shall stroll up to them and mention our accomplishments right in their hard-arsed faces...

its people like Sissy Bas and Nosey Bit that kinda put me off from volunteering much. I do enjoy my work in SJAB. Its rewarding, fulfilling and your get a sense of pride as the work your doing is benefitting others. Sissy and Nosey apparently forget that ultimately they serve society on a macro-viewed whole. They prefered to get promoted and win awards. I'd laff like silly at them to think if anyone would want to promote them. I fantasized that the Big Boss might wanna casually persuade them to "retire".. heh~ that to me will be satisfaction guaranteed.

For me, I take it that my service to the brigade benefits our cadets around the island-as they enjoy their time with the brigade and earn as much CPBS as they go. Earning even a Commissioner badge was something I took for granted when I was a cadet. I hope that no other cadet this day and age would make the same mistake i made.

To those two arrogant up-tights, my message to them is this:

--You've chosen your enemy most poorly and unwisely.
--You were not wise to get me involved in a war which I wanted no part of. Now that you have chosen me as your nemesis-you are now fair game to me.
--Since vampires don't enter homes uninvited...you've just invited me in...

The Part about Me on a Job hunt & others....

041752DEC2005ZT

i've started looking for a job. hopefully i'll be in a ship management company doing fleet operations or ending up as a shipbroker. two cool jobs with a reasonable starting salary-heh~..juz hoping i'll get one...

been sending out tons of resumes with cover emails...but only 2 fish bit the line so far:

...the 1st one is a bunker (marine fuel) company offering a position of operations executive. it started out pretty fast...responded to their ad they posted on a online-job listing site, which i found on a day off (monday morning) with my resume. then got a call from the HR manager asking for an interview on the same day in the afternoon. went for the interview, thought i did badly-only to find out a few hours later that i was requested to go for a 2nd interview the following tuesdae! woah fast! so i'm waiting for the reply now. its been two weeks and i can't help feeling anxious waiting. Friends tell me its natural that companies take 2 weeks to reply as they might be considering other candidates as well.

...the 2nd one is gonna be a phone interview...2mr in fact..with a shipbroking company. the guy who called me sounds scandinavian and very drawl...

surprisingly, my godbro's mom is with a maritime company-i'm counting my blessings and hope that i get the company email soon, so that i can start with the email frenzy again...

heh~wish me luck peeps.

The Part about Daylight...

161908OCT2005ZT

Sometimes while playing in the sun we come accross life's challenges. In these challenges we are confronted and blinded by falsehood, lies and deceit. As such there will be time for us to reflect on ourselves, give points to ponder. It is during these times perhaps we embrace the darkness, as somehow the dark calls to us. It comforts us..gives us shelter against the glaring light and in darkness, revelations and truths-no matter how painful are also made known to us.

Delerium's song called Daylight, epitomizes of such thought. In this new age: we have to give allowances to hear darkness's side of the story for the light may not be as what it seems...

"Daylight" From Delerium's album Poem, melody by Delerium, Lyrics by Matthew Sweet.

If you can believe you're turning on a world that broke your mind

then I can do something for you even though you're lost in time

You won't have to be my heaven, I won't have to be your friend

For daylight, (Daylight) comes every time, it's coming

Daylight, (Daylight) it goes away again now

Don't let go don't let go of your heart (x4)

(When you feel the time has come, everything you wanted

When you feel the time has come, I'm everything you've ever wanted)

Feel like your skin is burning one, into many drops of rain

But it's doing nothing to me, drowning in a sea of pain

You won't have to be my heaven. I won't have to be your friend.

For daylight (Daylight), comes every time, it's coming

Daylight (Daylight), it goes away again now

Don't (Don't) let go of your heart

(Of your heart) (x3)

Don't (Don't), you know who you are

Don't (Don't) let go (Daylight)

Don't (Don't) let go of your heart

Don't (Don't) let go (of your heart) (Daylight)

Don't (Don't) let go of your heart

(of your heart)

The Part about Hailing...

110103OCT2005ZT

ye gods...the MINISTRY OF SOUND!!!

all HAIL the ministry of SOUND>.....

started last year....sheesh...and I did not know I had it in me...!!! Zipping thru some clubs last year (in the Tanjong Pagar area..hehe) I danced, swayed, hipped to the dance beats of house genre of dance music....

and I though i could only dance to Irish music...

soon enough, i was introduced to the annual 2005 album released by the Ministry of Sound (MOS) ...a god sent organization to relieve our

1) boredom of going back to the same clubs and hearing the same dance pieces over and over and over and over and over again for the past few weeks..

2) in the case where by we were broke and unable to pay the entrance fee into the clubs... me and me mates would juz 'borrow' a friend's house/room/basement/etc..., plug in a stereo set, insert the MOS cd...buy cheap booze, and presto! instant clubbing...

and i'd just bought the Dance Nation album released by MOS and a irish songbook album by the Corrs..both bought me weak at the knees with all the dancing...

on one of the MOS's Cds is a remix track of Sarah Vaughan's "Fever".....damned hot here it is in me room now.............

oohh...ugh...ahh....

The Part about being Conjured into Delerium...

031006SEPT2005ZT

woah...i've spent a motherload on money these past few months due to being 'drugged' by super music. It all started when i bought a chill out in ibiza 3 album. most of you reading this know i have a 'thing' for chill-out/ambient music. Whereupon i heard a track called Silence and it was from a group or artiste called Delerium. The track featured Sarah McLachlan whom some of you out there may or may not know...Delerium is actually a duo consisting of Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb. Fulber eventually spinned off from Deleriium to set up his own solo project called Conjure One-but more on that a little later.

anyway...when I heard Silence then i knew that it was simply a mindblowing track. Silence was pure aural genius. simply breathtakingly beautiful and haunting. I kept listening to it when i was in Brunei on my 2nd detachment. When I came back, I chanced upon the 'Best Of Delerium' album-which was essentially the best music/tracks/songs which Delerium thought they had written/composed. Somehow or rather fate led me to it. Since I bought that album and assimilated it to my MP3 player, I searched out for the remaining earlier albums and bought them since that day. Semantic Spaces, Karma, Chimera and Poem. Geniuses created these beautiful haunting ethereal pieces of heaven. All with just the right amount of middle eastern percussion, gregorian chants, and electro-pop-ambinet-chill out constructions. (not all in the the same amounts). I jus realised that I'd been ignoring my other MP3s!

I've enquired other ppl about it and apparently obody around here listens or heards of Delerium before! Except of course save perhaps the Lush 99.5 crew to some extent. The only other person who may have heard about it was my cousin Sharon, who shares a similar music interests as I do. Oh BTW, for those of you who enjoyed Canto alla Vita in Josh Groban's (which he sang with The Corrs [my all time fave irish group] ) album-u might find it interesting to note that Rhys Fulber did the producing for that track...

Conjure one is Fulber's attempt to write songs similar to those he had done for Delerium in the albums of Poem and Chimera. The initial album is great too..though maybe not with the lush ethereal sounds...but the definate eletronica groove worthy of being savoured in a wine bar or with a cup of earl grey on a sunset beach front is still evident.

The Part about being Roped in...

201240AUG2005ZT

for a parade...and I have to say that--I HATE PARADES..unless of course i'm the parade director/coordinator...

yeah well..roped in to be a member of the supporting contingent in the RSAF Day Parade. Supposedly its out Air Force's 37th Birthday...and we're ALL carrying the M16 rifles...thank god...non of that SAR 21 crap for me thank you very much... Its actually an overhyped technological piece of sh*t.

right...CT is organising her 25th anniversary celebrations..her biggie birthdae. i'm already envisioning a sweet secrets chocolate royal b-dae cake...HUGE one...to be cut..by yours truly on the nite itself...sighz..

but of course, its pipe dream till me and the team assemble everything together..i want it to be a painless affair..for the organisers...but we're gonna FORCE ppl to dress up properly for the event. no jeans or ties or polo tees pls...we're gonna be telling the guests..else ya get ur sweet arse booted out of CT's prison gates by our 'bouncers'. hehe

The Part about saying Goodbye to a beloved friend

131412JUL2005ZT

Yes, i've been back in Singapore since 2nd June. 'Fans' of my blog appareantly have missed me and are calling for me t write again and so I shall.

The fact that I have not been posting as due to several reasons:

1) multiple times I fell sick
2) busy work with SJAB/CTSS & Zone Nine
3) Drawdown of the UH1H aircraft from RSAF service

Yes the venerable UH1H helicopter has flown their last flight on 11th July 2005 at around 1500 hours. Guest of honour was our Chief of Air Force himself. For weeks since my return to Singapore, we've been preparing for the day. Decorating the hangars, sprucing up the UH fleet making sure that all of them are flight capable for the final day.

I performed by last Before-flight airframe serviving on aircraft 260-which had taken BG Charles Sih (Chief of Staff-Air Staff) and marshalled aircraft 254 flown by LTC Sunny Yun (our ex Commanding Officer) & CPT W Wong.

Last night was the commemorative dinner which we saw videos which highlighted the UH & SQN's acheivement both. Some former and present members of the UH1H community did not leave without a dried eye. Mine included. Though the time I've spent working on her was short-but it was well worth it. I've learnt alot, forged new friendhips with both from the squadron and the supporting UH-ALS community as well.

I'll miss the Hueys but embrace the incoming Apaches left to fill the void. Soon 120SQN will belong to another new era of a 3G fighting helicopter force. The time is now for them to make history their way.

The Part about servinga 2nd Deteachment in Brunei

071455MAY2005ZT

'well u got urself into this mess in the 1st place.' said my brother Shaun. Truth was i was told to do so (read: forced/co-erced) as part of quote" serving your duty to the country' unquote.

i really miss Singapore now...my family (in a way-well i dun miss my family's hysterics), my friends back home, my 'children' (sic: not) my clubbing nites (hehe) and bed!!!! i so miss my bed and bolster and pillows...sleeping in the bunk give sme a headache everytime i wake up in da morning.

since our arrival here to the sultanate, a 'series of unfortunate events' took place. cos someone in my bunk watched Lemony Smicket's A series of Unfortunate Events starring Jim Carrey i think. anyhow i for one am not the type who goes believing in superstition...(most of the time anyway) but seeing how watching this movie is somewhat taboo...

our own version of unfrotunate events were actually some technical failures on the aircraft-which left alot of ppl in the detachment groaning and moaning...heck u dun hear of the pilots and aircrew complaining do ya???

sighz....a few more weeks....

The Part about Gastro-Orgasmic Experiences...

Such experiences are to be savoured for a lifetime...

on monday nite, my grandma treated me and my 4 other cousins (incl my brother) to dinner at a restaurant..
specifically the Bar & Billard Room at Raffles Hotel. it was simply wow...artwork appetizers..super deeee-lish main courses and ooohhh death by chocolate deserts...such a perfect buffet....sighz..pity it all had to end

i'd never had such a fantastic meal in all my life...imagine having a fresh scallop served wif a lite cream sauce in a tequila shot glass, smoked felt salmon wrapped with caviar ARGH!.....such dreams are made up of good food....heheh

and today..i was invited to a wine tasting session organised by Lush 99.5FM. I dragged my godbro Marcus along for the event. Your wondering how i was lucky enough to be invited? well i'm an avid listener of the station (they play stuff ur average singaporean would ignore...nu jazz, bossa nova, lounge, chill out music) and they asked listeners to SMS to them for an invitation to the session.

anyway i've learnt that wines DO NOT have to be orthodoxically paired (ie: seafood with white wine and red meat with red wine) You can actually mix wines and food as long as u like both the food and wine your serving. however the only thing you have to bear in mind is the taste of the food. Food alters the taste of wine..not the other way round as many people think. So the different types of wine actually taste different because the taste of the food (sweet, sour, bitter, salt and spice) alters the wine... therefore...taste the wine before u consume your meal and when u take a bite of your food. you would be able to notice a difference....

The Part where I decide...

which Gundam Seed Mobile Suit i should wear for the day...

ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam


Which Gundam Seed Gundam are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Part about Eternal Sailing

271735MAR2005ZT

another reason to sail
is to leave the land's salt for the sea's
to leave the damned dirt of the country side
for the freedom of the breeze

tarry no longer, for the horizon awaits
tarry no longer lest daybreak awaits,
leave while darkness hangs
where sun and moon would dwell and meet
and sail upon Admiral Weather's eyes

for i leave not only my country of birth
for i also i leave behind
my beloved family
my dearest of friends
and unrequited love
that left me by

let no sail be torn usunder,
let the ocean's salt smart my heart
ignoring my heathen cries of lost love
let it cleanse my soul, spirit
renew my dreams and hopes

or let it cast my soul and body into the dark blue yonder
let my spirit burn and be torn apart
for the ocean shall claim me as its beloved
for time eternal shall forsake
forevermore
my claim on my heart

The Brunei Detachment Posts

for your reading pleasure...all recorded since day one...

142245FEB2005ZT <Brunei>>

well, I’m finally here. In Brunei. Gosh. After a butt (read: economy class syndrome class) painful ride on a C130 Hercules turboprop diva queen of an aircraft. We landed at Brunei International airport.- which also serves as the country’s airbase. Trust me when I say that it’s really a pain in the ass ride. 3 solid hours in the air-no friendly hostesses, no in-flight movie-how’s a new age guy going to live???

Anyway, Brunei as a country reminds me of Malaysia yet with a Singaporean twist. How come? Let me indulge in the explanation. The roads, the places to eat, all remind me of my previous Johor Bahru/Bangkok trips. Yet the shopping complexes may not be much in terms of content, BUT they all have a certain shop that springs out like moss from undergrowth. It happens to be, you’ve guessed it! It’s the ye old VCD/DVD shoppes!!! Dear heaven, piracy heaven should be crowned upon Brunei, not sedate Singapore. The fake stuff even looks real and somemore, they sell it all like nobody’s business! Copies and copies of the stuff are all prominently displayed on the shopping aisle in such stores, which happens to be no less of 6 such stores per shopping centre. Somehow or rather I think that the authorities turn a blind eye on such ‘legitimate’ businesses. Heck how should I care how the Sultan of Brunei runs his country.

The Chinese community here in Brunei remind of Chinese Malaysians. It so thickly accented till you can’t hear much about their pronunciation. But I’ve learned that speaking Cantonese helps. So I guess I’d better be re-learning my Cantonese…

151423FEB2005ZT <>
what’s there not to like about serving a detachment in Brunei? Good food (well, only my 1^st lunch here so far…) not too bad accommodations, a so-so level of entertainment here (lots of VCDs and DVDs-pirated ones as mentioned in my previous entry in ALL the rooms.) No pubs, no bars, no alcohol, no females around the neighbourhood. But lots of peace and quiet, nice jogging places, maybe a nice gym too-which I have yet to visit. But the heat, now that’s THE main issue. Its no wonder that during my aircraft servicing, I’ve obtained a lot of ‘help’. Now I know why. the aluminium of the aircraft structure warms up particularly fast here, thus frying an egg on the vertical fin of the UH1H should be a relative snap…

We do our work here in only 2 or 3 places. Basically it depends where our aircraft are. The first spot is Jalan Aman Camp which we share with the HQ Lancer people. Their the guys who organise the training here for the army personnel eg OCS. The 2^nd spot which is BIA (where we landed) is where we do out guard duty and keep a few other aircraft. The 3^rd is Lakiun Camp, deep in the Bruneian jungle of Temburing, which is now not usually used-unless in extenuating circumstances. The Bruneian heats drives people indoors. That includes me that so much so that I’ve head bumped onto one of the aircraft’s starboard elevator with a slamming broadside. I guess its heaven’s way of welcoming me to this part of the world with an initiation…

161530FEB2005ZT <>

once again I’m slotted for guard duty, this time in Brunei-not in Jalan Aman Camp or JAC as its known, but in BIA or our detachment office in Brunei International Airport. It happens to be a stone’s throw away from Royal Brunei Air Force’s hangar as well.

Its another bloody hot day again. Being roasted and toasted is part and parcel of work here or should I say life here. Its good weather to work on a tan but not without sunblock. I’d have to be careful and not go without drinking water.

191214FEB2005ZT <^st weekend>>

hmm, woke up at 11am to the startling realisation that its my 1^st day off here. No work today. The other guys in the detachment or det as its more commonly known, are planning swimming-yah and me without my swimming trunks, damn! Oh well, gotta settle a little laundry, finish part of my assignment, and play a little game on my colleague’s PS 2 hehehe…

committed a little faux pas yesterday. Won’t get into the details much due to the confidentiality of the matter, but it was a gentle nudge in the ribs for me. The other guys were ok with it-thankfully and didn’t make such a big fuss over it.

212230FEB2005ZT <^nd Monday in Brunei>>

Its official!!! It’s the 2nd Monday in Brunei. Counting down to the days left before boarding another C130 for another butt painful ride heading home. 15 more days. 15 more days of boredom, eating, slacking off, doing my exam. Doing some simple household chores like sweeping, the pots and pans, laundry takes up a wee little time but that’s it! Heaven’s its perpetually boring here!!! The majority of my time is spent on the laptop finishing up the Star Trek Fleet Command 3 or Red Alert 2 or watching VCDs/DVDs. Good to star catching up on movies I’ve missed but ARGH!!! The idleness is driving me nuts.

I’d do my shopping with my fellow virgin det mates Elijah and Sheng Jie maybe tomorrow or on Wednesday. Who knows. Bottom line is I HAVE TO get a few more VCDs/DVDs. I’ll WILL get ‘The Last Samurai’ and maybe Pirates of the Carribean, Star Wars Esp 2, and I’ll see if I can find any Babylon 5 stuff. Or maybe an el cheapo CD-ROM game. So bored here that I miss home a little now and my friends all in SG, my kids in SJAB CTSS, parents, younger brother and all plus clubbing with my god bro Marcus and hanging out till late.

271654FEB2005ZT <^nd Sunday…>>

…here in boring, hot, humid, Brunei. Went out to do a little shopping today this morning-the 2^nd time I’ve left the camp for leisure. Bought a book here at a ‘popular’ like bookstore. I can tell you something, it ain’t no borders. Pricy too. Got that as my 1^st souvenir here. The second one was an Evian mineral water bottle. Not the usual run-of-the-mill type. This one’s shaped like an ice sculptured mountain. Its not even bottle shaped!! If it were smaller, it would look like some designer perfume bottle. Very chio!!! A colleague told me that if it were sold in Singapore, might be high priced. This two purchases were, safe to say, made out of pure self indulgence.

I’m still doing my exam, typing it. Feeling lazy all the while and suddenly tired too.

282218FEB2005ZT <>

I’d finally had the drive to finish the 2^nd last question of my exam paper today. And it was sure satisfying as well. The burst-drive came from my phonecall to my mom to ask of my brother’s O level results. He performed magnificently! A1 for English…(see ang moh runs in the family)… A2 for Accounts, B3 for com-science and other subjects which enabled him to get an aggregate of 12 points! How come? Should have been at least 14 points (which includes the 1 CCA point). Because of the fact that he achieved A1, the system deducted 2 points to effect a better entry for poly or JC.

I’m super proud of him. I only managed 20 points and less 2 for CCA which was 18 to get into poly and I only had a B3 for English back then plus my only distinction was for pure history with an A2. He had me and my parents worried that he wasn’t putting in effort and spent his time ‘worshipping computers’. Now he has a broader choice on where and what to study in poly. It’ll be either mass comm. or IT security. I’m sure all 5 polytechnics which offer both courses will be eager to accept him as a student with talent. My brother is one guy who works and perseveres and I guess I can take a lesson from him in that case.

021352MAR2005ZT <>

Which is a pretty cool anime cartoon spanning three seasons. The show is essentially showcases mechanised robots piloted by individuals-The Gundam genre started from ages back and features different aspects and different plots, different circumstances and different realities. But all the shows feature the ‘GUNDAM’ robots as the feature. In the ‘Seed’ variant, human kind has experimented with genetic manipulation. The enhanced humans are called co-ordinators and established themselves very well but faced prejudice by the naturals. Thus they established themselves in outerspace in space colonies. Details from this point onwards are sketchy as the VCD series I watched here in Brunei was in Japanese and with subtitles in Chinese (which I cannot read so I could only watch and guess what was going on. Singapore broadcasted the English variant but I only caught a few episode here and there and didn’t get the gist of it thus losing interest. However, I’m gonna get the English variant on VCD as a collection.

062202MAR2005ZT <>

My 3^rd and final guard duty at BIA-and its on a sunday. Going home on Tuesday. We had a change of Detachment Commander and the changeover was held in a nice cosy little hotel food was ok, wasn’t expecting it to be that good. The following day HQ Lancer celebrated its 21^st anniversary to which the detachment was invited. Somewhat fun having to get into the swimming pool for games like I did. Hilariously funny to see some of the pilots and our colleagues ‘kena’.