* ramblings @ 1-10 *

2008-08-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

ShoZu's one-stop social networking platform bags gold award

StarHub revenue partner ShoZu has bagged the top prize in a technology consultancy's Future Mobile Awards for a programme that enables mobile phone users to connect to multiple social networking websites at one go.

Users of the programme, also named ShoZu, are able to access more than 50 social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr with a single platform and can use it to upload pictures, videos and comments. The programme comes embedded in Motorola and Samsung handsets.

According to Juniper Research, the consultancy that gave out the awards, ShoZu had taken top spot in its mobile web 2.0 category because of its innovative concept, ease of use, pricing, customer growth, commmercial deployment and revenue generation.

"The average user is said to generate 20 network 'events' (ie content uploads or downloads) a month, with heavy users generating in excess of 100 events per month," said Juniper Research's panel judge and analyst Ian Chard. "This success demonstrates what can be achieved if users have the right tools available."

2008-08-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Formula One boss Max Moseley's court win against the News of the World, which broke the story of his so-called "Nazi orgy" - in which he was a whip-wielding, German-speaking participant - is not so much a stinging blow struck against the excesses of the gutter press, but also a small stroke for personal freedom.

The News of the World's defence of its indictment of Moseley was "public interest": that the public deserved to know and pass judgement on the bedroom antics of one of motor sport's leading lights. This the public obligingly did, calling for Moseley's resignation despite that fact that his penchant for simulated lice-checks and controversial armbands had nothing to do with his job and only circumstantial links to his family curse, it's sometime flirtation with the Third Reich.

Middle England may have paid somewhat less attention to the spanking's sheer civility. After the festivities of flagellation, Moseley and the five women who played a part in the whole camp escapade sat down to cups of tea warmed by the 25,000pound price tag on their services. It would all have remained a capitalist transaction between consenting adults if one of the women, spy-thrillingly named Woman E, had not recorded the session under dubious terms. Most tellingly, this same woman failed to testify in Moseley's lawsuit against the paper.

The failure of the News of the World's public interest defence, thus, puts paid to the idea that the public was served in this expose of Moseley's bedroom proclivities. It delinks the motorsports boss' career from his personal sexual inclinations, however exotic; it makes it clear that ill-founded ad hominem allegations of Nazism have nothing to do with how he ran F1. By distinguishing between Moseley's consensual sado-masochism and his public face, the courts have made at least one thing clear: What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom. One man's consensual sex act cannot poison the entirely separate sphere of his public life.

2008-08-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

Guys,

I'm usng this blog for an Internet media class assignment. I'll probably be messing around with it for a bit.

Do bear with me.

Rachel

2007-03-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone; my first visit here for two years!

Looks like Aik, Nyen and I are all going to become Political Science majors in NUS. I got turned off Econs by boring lectures, insufferable tutorials and the prospect of more mathematics creeping up on me.

2006-01-26T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Disturbia is Elizabeth's alter ego, who is currently very bored because school's just started and there isn't much to do, or rather there's too much energy involved in overcoming the initial inertia and getting down to reading textbooks on abnormal behaviour. It takes enough energy just waking up and going to school and seeing all the charitable faces in Social Work who are unbelievably generous with their notes and have so many cute questions about how come the world can't be saved.

Good to know that everyone's still around...Elisa's flying to New Zealand tomorrow for a holiday I think. Brave soul, laying her books down during the semester and seeking company in the pastures of sheep.

2006-01-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

actually, i'm only here because i noticed that the blog was updated yesterday. wondered who it was.

that's me in philly last november when i visited debbie. i used that for my upenn application when they asked for a picture because i was so pissed off with their questions (tell us which upenn professor you wish to work with and why etc); talk about application suicide.

is everyone clearing leave already? i know lim aik can't be because he enlisted in april but everyone else? i'm not =( i used it all last year. i'm so sad.

2006-01-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Class,

It really took me a grotesquely long time to upload a photo of any sort onto this blog. So we shall have to be content with this one for now. I'm in the midst of clearing leave before I leave the deplorable child-grabbing institution I'm in for good, so I shall have more time to update you all on the goings-on in my life. For now I'm giving tuition to keep myself occupied; it's quite bizarre, really. My student (or is there such a word as tutee) is a J1 student at ACS Int'l and he opted to take Geography and History (Papers 1 and 3, mind you) for his As. Within 2 weeks he has encountered difficulties and needs a tutor. (A word of thanks here to CPL Justin Kwek for his recommendation.) So off I go to his house armed with my French Revolution notes, intent on hammering some Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood into his skull.

So I open my file to page 1 and lo and behold, he goes "Actually I'm thinking of switching from History to Lit... do you think you can teach Lit?" (At which point I raise an eyebrow at him) After a lengthy conversation with him regarding the pros and cons of History and Literature, I actually sat down with our friend and went through a good 2 hours of Julius Caesar, which, to those uninformed, I have not actually studied in my life.

That has to be the most amazing $60 I've ever made in my life.

I shall update more over the festive season.

Cheerios,
Jerry

"You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"

2006-01-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

That's not me, but yes, I'm still alive. Incidentally our renewed activity has revived the archives, so if you have the time go get all nostalgic over Dzhyerry's hilarious posts.

From the Rue Catinat (man, it's been a long time since I've typed that),
Rachel
"This potato has a name."

2006-01-22T03:13:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh! People actually replied and soooo quickly wow!

2006-01-21T12:06:00.000-08:00

i am still here too, and here, if you want me. (and those ARE pretty fingers, whoever disturbia is!)

first experiment subject

2006-01-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

fingers
Originally uploaded by Disturbia.

I am alive, but these are not my fingers, though I wish they were.

2006-01-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

dear former inhabitants of 1-10,

in a vain attempt to revive this blog and because i am currently very bored, i shall conduct an experiment. if you happen to stumble upon this blog for some strange reason, leave a recent picture behind just to let everyone know you're still a alive and recognizable. it's a tad silly, but what the hell huh.

Cheers,

Andrew

2005-06-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is quite possibly the only thing I do to destress nowadays.

Take the quiz: "Which Random Irish Gaelic Phrase Are You? "

Pog mo thoin
Pog mo thoin - 'Kiss my ass.'You're one tough bastard, and if anyone doesn't like it, they can kiss your ass. You enjoy fighting and causing grievous bodily harm. Hey! What are you lookin' at, punk?

Take the Dead German Composer Test!

You are Louis Althusser! You tried to bring
together structuralism, Marxism, and Lacanian
psychoanalysis. Your brilliant analysis of
ideology and the state is still widely
influential. You murdered your wife, were put
in a sanitarium, and lived the last decade of
your life alone before dying in 1990.

What 20th Century Theorist are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

SOCIOLINGUISTICS: You are sociolinguistics! You
are endlessly fascinated by gender and cultural
conflicts stemming from linguistic
misunderstandings.

What's Your Linguistic Sub-Discipline?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are the 1908 Metropolitan Map! One of the
first full maps of the underground, you are a
pioneer. You are a realist and geographically
accurate, with places of interest. Sit down
and have a cup of tea, love.

Which London Underground Map Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ingmar Bergman's Death - the quintessential chess
player, taking time out during a plague.
Better start working on your opening gambit.

Which Death will you meet?
brought to you by Quizilla

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Are you funny to go?"

2005-04-27T01:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, happy birthday to my brothers three! It did get a bit crowded in the womb there, but ultimately it was all worth it.

Wretched mountaineer indeed. Frankly, Dzhyerry, if I were trapped at the top of a mountain that'd be the last thing I'd do. Just imagine the conversation in the copter:

"I say, is that black speck down there the lost mountain climber we're been searching for for ages?"

"Looks like it. Could be a dead dog, though. Let's move in for a closer look, old chap."

"Hmm, it's definitely not a dead dog, Bob. Dogs don't wear glasses."

"Right. It's human, then. What's that written on the snow next to it?"

"Can't really see in this light. R-A-C-H-...oh my God, Bob! Is that who I think it is?"

"Got to take a better look at the person first...My word! I daresay it is! Quick, old chap, we'd better bugger off!"

"And in good time too! I'd say we'd just had a narrow escape."

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I'd really like to have an ice-cream and I can't." - Ruth, on what a headless ghost would say to innocent passers-by.

2005-04-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to the terrible trio! :D

2005-04-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

No offence, Rachel, but all that photo brings to mind is a wretched mountain climber on some snow-capped peak, whose last attempt at survival was to scratch her name in the snow, and wait for that fabled rescue helicopter.

To 1WO Ronald Wee, should you ever have the wits to access my class blog: You're pretty free with my time, aren't you?

--Jerry

2005-04-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the well-wishes, Dzhyerry. I had a nice steamboat dinner (improvised, of course) on the 14th and a rather good chocolate cake. The sensation of being 20 is quite a sublime one: my arthritis acts up when the wind blows.

Haven't got all the photos from the Europe trip yet, but I do have this so far:

Yes, that's knee deep snow at the top of Cristianul Mare, a Romanian mountain near Brasov. Yes, that's my name written in that snow. Yes, that's me - with a handbag I borrowed off a friend - feeling rather pissed at having a candid shot of me taken 1. as I was lying in the snow, harming no-one; 2. suffering from severe sunburn contracted in Hungary; and 3. also suffering from wet jeans. Fun fun fun.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I think the proper collective noun for this is a 'jim-gang of jonahs'."

2005-04-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Dear 2LT Hong from the cosy building opposite me, since you have access to my class blog, some pointers from the friendly people lingering around in Khatib FCC.

1. NAPFA should be conducted in as efficient a manner as possible. Pre-enlistees do chin-ups first so that the 75% or so who fail can be ushered out the exit door ASAP. There is little or no point in letting people pass their sit-ups/sit and reach first and end up failing overall; they waste their time, we waste ours. And believe me, the guys over at Khatib FCC know a thing or two about having their time wasted.

2. Yes, pre-enlistees are technically civilians, but not having been through the horror that is NS yet, they hardly deserve to be accorded any high level of decorum or respect. Our word to them is law, and not a feeble warning like "Please speak up just a teeny weeny bit louder so we can count your sit-ups accordingly."

3. Socks should NOT be worn halfway up to your knee. Some people around think it's professional; we think it's unsightly. The FS vocation does have an image to uphold (and this coming from me, the one person whom Uncle Ronald most thinks tarnishes the reputation of KFCC), however it is not a image of pulling your socks halfway up your leg. That is for Japanese schoolgirls.

4. I know there is a certain Cat Z MSG hanging around your office who has not exactly endeared himself to the general KFCC population since last Wednesday. Try not to exhibit my class blog to him.

Many thanks,
3SG Chew Heng Hwang

Dear Class,
A belated happy birthday to Rachel! Happy grazing in those hallowed fields where Golding once trod. And to the rest of the mob, does anyone want to meet up? It's that unfortunate time of the year once again, a day where 3 deformed babies (well at least 1 of them was deformed) were born 2 decades ago into vastly different families, only for their paths to converge by some morbid stroke of luck 17 years later in some dingy cavern down Mount Sinai Road. Of course that's a cause for celebration. =]

--Jerry

2005-02-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

I hope this doesn't come too late, but good luck, Nathanyel.

You Are a Seeker Soul

You are on a quest for knowledge and life challenges.
You love to be curious and ask a ton of questions.
Since you know so much, you make for an interesting conversationalist.
Mentally alert, you can outwit almost anyone (and have fun doing it!).

Very introspective, you can be silently critical of others.
And your quiet nature makes it difficult for people to get to know you.
You see yourself as a philosopher, and you take everything philosophically.
Your main talent is expressing and communicating ideas.

Souls you are most compatible with: Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Back to the early church. It just gets better.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"How are you going to make a sea cucumber look menacing?"
"Ah, that's the writer's craft."

2005-02-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

Dear All.

In slightly under 8 hours, I shall be on my way to India for 17 days of whole new experiences, heavy stress and interaction with rather crazy, demanding superiors.

May I return a free man.

Cheers

Nat

2005-02-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Class,
Greetings once again, and here's wishing a financially stable year of the Rooster to all of you.

Just to update you on my current situation:
The powers that be have decided to post a certain 2LT Hong Enping to oversee the conducting of IPPT at SAFRA Toa Payoh. While I conduct IPPT at Khatib Camp rather than SAFRA (which is one of our sub-units), half of the PTIs in my unit have the fortune/misfortune to be under this said officer. 2LT Hong has taken up residence in the building directly opposite mine, and as a result I see rather more of him than I would prefer to on any given day. While I do get a kick out of seeing my 2IC having to answer to this individual, I do genuinely feel alarmed when he asks us to help him out with weight/endurance training. Dear 2LT Lin Yong'en, if you are in correspondence with him, kindly inform him that some people just aren't meant to be athletic.

The first day of the New Year turned out to be fairly entertaining thanks to my ever-reliable relatives, especially my notorious bunch of nephews. Just 10 minutes into his visit, 4-year old Benedict Yang picked up my mother's electric fly swatter, turned it on and swatted his sister with it. My cousin, known to be rolling in dough, actually gave me a red packet and said, "This ang pow is for you and your sister." Outrageous, really. And to top it all off, 5-year old Noel Toh, on his walk back to the family car, dropped his trousers and brazenly relieved himself on the grass patch in front of my neighbour's house. So I guess eccentricity really runs in the family after all, eh.

Back to more pertinent subjects, is anyone intending to apply for scholarships (again) this year? Yes Comrade Ivan, I have my eye on you. I need to get some cash to finance my future exploits overseas, otherwise I will most probably be spending my undergraduate years at THAT famous prata shop with some instantly recognisable members of the class and RJC as a whole. So please inform me if you find some company just desperate to give away a scholarship to an unworthy sod.

--Jerry
"I really hate it when people don't finish their"

2005-01-28T02:51:00.000-08:00

The night before last I was unpleasantly annoyed to be greeted by the sound of certain individuals, er, coupling somewhere in the building. Not exactly surprised, because the walls here are pretty thin and you'd expect this of human beings anyway. But annoyed all the same, for three simple reasons:

1. Nature seems to time such outbursts of passion so that they erupt at precisely the moment when the more dispassionate of us are trying to sleep. Unfortunately this means that just as you're about to drop off some particularly loud exclamation jolts you back to consciousness. Annoying.

2. It isn't nice to hear. Now, if it all sounded like some groovy guitar riff or perhaps a late-night blues session, it would have been fine, in fact vaguely comforting to the ears. But to all intents and purposes it sounds like someone being strangled or drowned. Annoying annoying.

3. It's easily misinterpreted. Perhaps it's my ignorant Singaporean self speaking here, but when I first heard it I thought someone was having an asthma attack down the passage and needed help; humanitarian impulses kicked in and I almost got up to find out what the matter was. Thankfully, closer aural examination of the rhythm, volume and breathiness of the "asthma attack" set my mind arights, so I resumed trying to sleep with the blankets over my ears. Annoying annoying annoying.

I comforted myself the next morning with an extra-large bowl of Crunchy Nut Red, which is the best cereal I've ever eaten and sadly seems completely unknown to our fair Singapore shores.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"They're happily meeting in the forum, wearing togas and declining their verbs."

2005-01-13T04:12:00.000-08:00

Sold: 33 volumes of Inuyasha and 24 volumes of Naruto. Thanks, Gladys. You've made Mark very, very happy.

Back in Merrie England. You know, I've just realised that there's a characteristic Oxford smell that can't really be described. Hit me today as I was on the way to Tesco for groceries. The scent of old buildings breathing to the accompaniment of mouldering books, the river and dormant bark. Not exactly napalm in the morning, but it'll do.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

2005-01-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

For sale: 33 volumes of Inuyasha and 24 volumes of Naruto. Good condition, reasonable price. Interested parties please contact me. I can vouch for the integrity (but not the window-washing skills) of the seller.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Shouldn't you stop by the Vatican first?"
"For what? Supplies?"
--Kelvin, on the proposed 20-night spook tour of the Wild East

2005-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since you dangled the carrot, Gladys.

Your dark side is centered around Fear. There is
too many feelings are burning inside your chest
making your heart beats so hard, you feel fear
crawling under your skin, running with your
blood, possesing your soul. All you want is a
warm shoulder to lean on, a quite voice tells
you everything is going to be ok, so you
finally feel secure, safe and loved like you
always wanted to be. You will find what you
want when your feelings start to see the light.

What is the center of your dark core? (updated)
brought to you by Quizilla

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"He sounds like one of those blur blocks, one of those really gong guys."
--Mark, demonstrating that DB medics can also alliterate

2004-12-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, Dzhyerry, my condolences. I hope it didn't depress your Christmas too much. And apologies for being hair-splitting, but technically you can't get stomach ulcers on your duodenum/ileum, since those are parts of your small intestine.

Wen en's or Candice's house sounds great, or any place which has a combined asset value equivalent to the Gross National Product of Haiti.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"That's the reason why the world values physicists, chemists and biologists - and not engineers."

2004-12-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Rachel,
Unfortunately, it seems that I won't be joining you at Oxford anytime soon. How they managed to send their carefully worded rejection letter so it reached me on Christmas Eve is quite a mystery; let's just say it was ill-timed. Nevertheless the thought of joining illustrious luminaries such as Kenneth, Justin Kwek and Clarence Guo, not to mention a certain Nathanael Lin, in a Journey to the West(ern side of Singapore) is heartwarming. I can almost taste those cheesy pratas.

I'd love to have you guys over, but if I had a gathering at my house you would have to contend with my lovely relatives, whom my mother is almost certain to invite over. The menu is also almost certainly going to consist of fried vermicelli, vegetables liberally sprinkled with garlic and tasteless chicken, with perhaps unsweetened and diluted chin chow for dessert, which will probably raise stomach ulcers on your ileums and duodenums. Why not stick to the tried and tested havens of Candice and Wen'en's, if they're willing to hold some function, of course.

Ay, it's getting rather late, I'll post more another day.

--Jerry
"Even men who knock on the door of a brothel are looking for God."

2004-12-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, back. I must tell you of my Valuair saga, which ranks right next to the Heathrow airport saga in terms of sheer pathos value and number of hours spent waiting in front of a check-in counter. May I call on Boxing Day? I doubt you'd want to have your lovely family Christas disrupted by the grating sound of my voice.

No, unfortunately I haven't sailed the high seas this time, so no positive externalities for you, regrettably. Ah, if I were in the British Museum (and I wish to God I were) the Egyptian section would be the first place I'd head to: have always had a thing for the ancient Egyptians. In a perfect world I'd have been an Egyptologist, excavating sandy mounds, deciphering heiroglyphics, appearing on the Discovery Channel looking harrassed and dusty. But it's not a perfect world.

We should leave the get-together planning to Debbie and Candice, then, since they've already started: too many different planning strands and we'll be left confused and holding a ball of yarn. Dzhyerry's house for the heck of it sounds pretty dangerous: we'd have to have our cover stories, genetic codes and schizophrenia family histories at the ready. Would your mother take kindy to a recessive allele on the lambda locus, Dzhyerry?

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"This means I can wear an eye patch like one of those action Nazis in a Jack Higgins novel."

2004-12-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

Ah rachel, back finally! Interesting trip i see, i trust you are loaded with all things pirated and counterfeit, wonderful stuff i must say. The last time i was in a museum in London i didn't dare step into the Egyptian section as i feared the mummies would be following me back to the hotel.

So when's our big get together gonna be and where? I think Debbie is trying to arrange something with Candice or something. My house is always open if we lack a venue, but that would mean travelling through the dark jungles of Upper Thomson Road. Alternatively, we could go to Jerry's house just for the heck of it!

2004-12-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

"They hoard gold". Be still my beating heart.

By the way, army comrades, your charming employers should allow you to take a tour through the Forensic and Medical museum in Bangkok. There you will be able, in full graphic goriness, to see exactly what a grenade does to the human body. It might also interest you to inspect amputated limbs that have been mangled to the bone by various vehicles and a fine collection of skulls with entry and exit bullet wounds through them. It's bound to make you rethink whatever it is you're doing charging up a hill.

I'm back, for your information. Sadly enough the highlight of my trip was the Forensic Museum. Not for the faint-hearted. After wandering through all the rooms you're sure to feel ever so slightly like throwing up (they've got everything from preserved conjoined twins, mummified rape murderers and tapeworms to post-criminal-abortion foetuses, diseased livers and the head of a shooting victim suspended in formaldehyde). An experience, to say the least. I've never before seen my insides in such detail; now everytime I look at my arm I shudder to think of what it'd look like if it got run over by a car.

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four. You are the
classic warning against the threat of
totalitarianism. To you, politics and
philosophy are inseparable, auchtorities suck
and the reality might not exist outside our
imaginations.

Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"The liver is evil and must be punished."

2004-12-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Class,
Having a meal at my house is out of the question, unless you all bring along your personal factsheet/biodata/prison record so I won't have to explain to my parents all your individual life stories. And of course, not unless you feel like eating unsalted chicken, unsweetened Ribena, 5 potato chips and the like.

As for your presents, I've bought most of them already, considering that it's just two days away from Christmas. I have a feeling some people might get agitated upon seeing what I bought them, but hey, if you don't like what I gave you, just throw it away. No hard feelings. =] If you guys really want to know, my total spending amounted to less than what I earn in one day at work, which is really pathetic considering I'm an NSF.

You are a bl33ding troll! But dont worry Trolls are one of
the most frequent creatures of Scandinavian
fairy tales. They hoard gold. Trolls are very
large (around 9 feet tall) humanoids. They turn
to stone when exposed to sunlight and they
enjoy eating hobbits and dwarves. They live in
the forest and in mountains and caves to avoid
light.

What Magical Creature are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I wonder if I regenerate all my hitpoints at the beginning of each combat phase.

--Jerry

2004-12-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Question One: Forgive my ignorance, but what is a Christmas Eve church service like? Held at midnight? Communion? Dousing each other with Holy Water? Sounds interesting: perhaps, time permitting, we could do both.

Question Two: A large meal at Dzhyerry's house? Is that even possible?

Question Three: Presents from Dzhyerry? Well, since World Peace and an End to Hunger are pretty much out of the question, what may I ask for? What is your budget?

Question Four: Why are we yellow?

You are a wild, naughty little Sprite! Sprites are
Spirit faeries, their job is to change the
colour of the leaves in the fall. They are very
vain but adorable! They are fun loving
creatures who dance and sing all day. You will
often find them wearing acorn hats.

What Magical Creature are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Death, death! Where is thy sting?"

2004-12-22T04:10:00.000-08:00

hello everyone..

just a word from the chronically-oppressed. it's been awfully long since any activity's been seen over here...in any case, yeah, i'm still around and the oppression hasn't just got the better of me just yet. it's just 31 days and counting to commissioning right now, and i just can't wait to get back to ocs to breathe the tuas air and soak in the regal atmosphere of safti all over again.

to andrew: hope your 'interview' went well mate. i think you'll like it in ocs, though it largely depends on which wing you get posted to. still, that diver's badge of yours coupled with your character and...stature...is sure to win respect. haha!

to aik: man, i hear you blokes are off to jcc barely 3 weeks after delta and foxtrot come back. take care in the jungles of temburong man...and don't forget! don't sleep across the ridgelines or any paths in the jungle! haha. don't worry man your turn will come soon. haha.

to everyone else: yup it'd be nice to see everyone again, though my schedule's horribly packed all the way to 23 jan (oh that glorious day!) and most probably after, so if you all are planning a ging-bang, please let me know and i'll try to make it..haha =)

2004-12-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

Ah jerry, don't be happy for me too soon. With my rotten luck, getting into OCS would come as quite a surprise.

With regards to new year's eve, what i meant was us all going to church together so at least someone would recognise you, and perhaps we might be able to coax Kenneth-poke-poke-Tan to come along. It ain't the most exciting of things but at least it's good for the soul.

With regards to presents, why don't you invite us over to your dwelling and conjure up a sumptuous platter with your hoard of money?

Andrew

2004-12-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Andrew,
Don't mock poor Scrooge, he does possess some endearing characteristics after all.

My heartiest congratulations on getting the chance to go to OCS! NDU officers rank up there with commando officers in my opinion, although I must say that being a trainee for 2 years isn't exactly my idea of a good life. Well, just go there and lead, excel, overcome and whatever else they might enjoy doing, and when you finally become an instructor, do bring your recruits down to Khatib Camp to use the gym or enjoy the scenery of the SOC ground.

Church is good, but people in my church have a tendency to give me that unfamiliar look when I pass them. The church elder who taught me during catechism class once asked me if I was a newcomer. So I'd prefer the company of associates who are more likely to remember my name.

Hey don't forget to tell me what you guys want for Christmas! Gifts from me, after all, are quite a rarity.

--Jerry

2004-12-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since my last post so here's one from me:

Innocent until proven guilty eh? With the current state of my intelligence i'd just stare blankly at the sentence and wish a hole would open up under me and consume me so i won't have to write about it. So good for you, Jerry, for managing to squeeze out two whole pages!

How about church on new year's eve? Just in case the world should suddenly decide to end, i normally go to church for service on new year's eve. Well, it may not be as exciting as clubbing but hey, it's free.

Ah rachel, so you're in Thailand after all, that explains the mysterious dial tone that seems to go on and on and on whenever i try to call.

In a peculiar twist of events, i'm off for an OCS interview on Monday. What manner of power put me in this position has left me scratching my head with a very puzzled expression on my face. With my lousy military performance and crap academic results, it's a wonder i actually ended up top 20 in my class. 20th position to be more exact (quite shocking i must say, i was thinking somewhere along the lines of 72nd place). Let's just hope i fool them on Monday, get the job and put myself through another 9 months of being a trainee. And if all things fail, aside from being sorely disappointed, i'll have the freedom to learn how to operate an automobile, learn to speak Malay and perhaps help some people---all of which would be highly improbable events as a trainee. So here i go with my bag of tricks!

Andrew

"What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will,'' said Scrooge indignantly, ``every idiot who goes about with ``Merry Christmas'' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!'' "

2004-12-17T05:07:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, Dzhyerry, but just the thought of you and your quiz result sends shivers down my spine. "Reynolds" will never mean the same again.

Frankly, I have no idea what I'd do at a foam party. Apart from consuming a large volume of alcohol, sitting around talking cock and biting my fingernails, there's nothing I envision myself doing. In fact, all the abovementioned activites could be undertaken at any location, with or without foam. Somehow the subtle joys of gyrating in a puddle of hyped-up whitish air don't appeal to me.

I'll be back either on the 22nd or the 23rd, my parents can't seem to make their mind up (sorry, Xin Hui, you know the Thailand flight fiasco that threw a spanner into the plans). Candice and I have discussed possible outing options and she's very much in favour of clubbing. I would be more than amused to spend New Year's Eve experiencing my first Singapore club.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Sir, you have just redefined the meaning of fucked up."

2004-12-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Somehow the previous post didn't come out right. Never mind. As I was saying, since I have had all the time in the world to indulge in my parsimony, I've saved up quite a large crock of gold for the year (probably larger than Ivan/Kenneth's pay, heh). Therefore since I have the resources to buy you guys presents for once, why don't you all tell me what presents you would like for Christmas, as well as your suggestions as to what presents I should get the rest of the class for Christmas.

Rachel and Ivan, do keep me informed on when you are free, as well as where you would like to go to celebrate such a momentous occasion. Kenneth, please contribute your two cents' worth as well, though 'foam party with Tham Li Jing and fellow ruggers' doesn't exactly rank very high on my list of holiday activities =P

--Jerry

2004-12-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

You have the Reynolds girl look. Reynolds girls had
the typical British beauty. The eighteenth
century British portrait painters would have
been attracted by your brilliant complexion and
your classical features. Sir Joshua Reynolds
loved to paint girls like you in white dresses
with blue satin sashes. Reynolds and other
portrait painters of his time also portrayed
blue eyed, dark-haired girls, and golden-haired
ones too, plus the occasional red-head. The
following painters would have painted you; Sir
Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence.

'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by

2004-12-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

Go out at night? Ah, Ivan, you've just set my pulse racing. Of course one should go out at night: as that most amusing Camden T-shirt said, "I don't do daylight".

Just watched Blade Trinity. It was, well, entertaining. But I'll never look at a Pomeranian (the dog, not the German) in the same way again.

Off to Thailand till the 22nd. Naturally, it was my parents' idea, but I shall tag along. Patience, friends, patience. If that is to be my own virtue I shall cultivate it to its breaking point.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"You mean you actually like Cole Porter?"

2004-12-15T04:16:00.000-08:00

ah, welcome back to Singapore, Rachel.

Ah, Jerry. New Years' Eve, you say? What rotten luck. On that day I have to go and accompany the Chief of Army to the other units with rotten luck who are keeping vigilant on that day.

Ah, maybe we could go out at night.

2004-12-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

You have the Rossetti girl look. You are the kind
of girl pre-Raphaelite painters admired; tall,
slender, and fair as a lily flower. The
pre-Raphaelite girl had dramatic beauty; long
neck, large soulful eyes, full shapely mouth
and masses of wavy hair. The pre-Raphaelites
painted girls like this, they showed them in
dramatic situations dressed as famous
characters in legends, plays and poetry. The
favourite colours of the artists were russet,
green and gold. The following artists would
have loved to paint you; Holman Hunt, John
Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones, William
Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Since Gladys insisted. But trust me, this is a rather inaccurate result.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to London."

2004-12-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

Indeed, Dzhyerry, I should have known. I smelt the presence of a female somewhere in there.

Yours truly is indeed free on New Year's Eve, as long as my two impressive volumes of the Cambridge Ancient History and the New Handbook of Political Science have given out by then. Ah, what exquisite pain is work.

Innocent until proven guilty. Well, Dzhyerry, I wish you all the best in your application and look forward to greeting you, a young starry-eyed green fresher, as a jaded, dissipated and generally inebriated finalist. Woot.

I don't want to be home.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I know that my Redeemer liveth."

2004-12-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

Rachel: Masochistic, yes. But a female was involved. Quite a long story, let's not air it in a public place. And as for getting Purvis a present, I doubt I share your unflinching generosity there. =]

Anyway, I just sat for the Oxford Admission Test (Law) today, which essentially consisted of 8 passages containing 3 MCQ questions each, thus making for terribly arduous reading, as well as a short essay section (pick one out of six). Having only been given 40 minutes for the essay, I decided that substance was of higher importance than length and thus churned out a measly 2 sides, which is, well, a very mean number indeed considering what we used to do a year or so back. I even managed to quote Old Willy himself -- "All friends shall taste the wages of their virtue, and all foes the cup of their deserving." The essay title was "Innocent until proven guilty. Why?" Why indeed. I hope that whichever unfortunate soul marks my script will be impressed by my scrawlings, however that will probably not be the case and I will have to settle for the greener pastures of the somewhat impressively ranked NUS and the Cheese Prata Shop near Kenneth's Hundred-Acre Woods.

If anyone is free on New Year's Eve, do tell me as it happens to be my off-day. It would be cathartic to spend the last day of such a memorable year in the company of ghouls and grunts running amok on my computer screen.

--Jerry

2004-12-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

Dzhyerry, please answer this question for me: is marathon running masochist, or is it masochist? Anyway, I'm happily in Cuifen's room now, so greetings from York! York's a great place, I managed to find both a great book for Mr Purvis and the most hilariously named streets ever. Not to mention the sheer religious experience of York Minster.

I can't exactly promise you intellectual conversation (accounts of rabidly drunk Balliol blokes chanting lampoons at Trinity hardly constitute intellectual conversation) but if you do want to meet up, you're always welcome. Candice wants to arrange a class get-together, so rest assured we're working hard on that front.

Personally, I shall be back in Singapore at 8am on the 11th of December, otherwise known as next Saturday. That's less than a week's time, so see you 'round.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Was it a violent crime?"

2004-12-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Class,
Haven't been posting in a while, due to the influence of such illustrious compatriots such as Kenneth Tan and Celestine Lau, who have been entertaining me nightly with hero-killing exploits, escaping from masses of undead fiends, saving the world before bedtime etc. Anyway life in Khatib FCC, while largely sedentary, often throws up unsavoury morsels along my path in the form of pompous superiors who insist on making my associates and I perform the most menial of tasks (Jerry go clean the windows, Jerry go sweep the standing broad jump mat, Jerry please clear the shit-clogged toilet bowl and so on). We treat each other with mutual condescension, because they think I don't do the buff-Neanderthal PTI image any favours, and naturally because I have a bad impression of people who couldn't recognise a grammar mistake if it was floating in their soup. (They seriously think that Oxford is a printing shop for dictionaries.) It's a pretty vicious cycle, and I'm glad I have similarly unbecoming PTIs around the camp to band together and plot revolution with.

Went to run the marathon today in one of my fits of madness. The start point was at the Esplanade, and considering that the route took me back there after 14 km, I expected that I could perhaps take a rest after 28 km if my limbs were aching. Indeed my limbs were aching after 22 km, however to my great dismay the 28 km point was over the hills and far away in East Coast, and finding myself in such unfamiliar terrain, the only way to get back was to finish the run, which I did in most injurious fashion, breaking a toenail and quite possibly wearing out both knee ligaments for good. I will be at home for the next three days hopefully, nursing my wounds and trying to bend my knees without feeling excruciating pain. Anyone interested in running next year?

Christmas is just round the corner... if Rachel, Candice and Debbie are coming back for the holidays, perhaps we could have a get-together? I am sorely in need of intellectual stimulation.

--Jerry
"Jerry, please clean my posterior for me."

2004-11-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

welsh:
1. To swindle a person by not paying a debt or wager.
2. To fail to fulfill an obligation.

Are you sure you need a textbook for that, Wen en?

Anyway, more seriously, I'd be more than happy to lend you whatever Welsh stuff I have. My vocabulary is currently limited to such banalities as "Dw i ddim yn bwy yng Nghaerdidd" and "Mae hi'n fyfyrwraig", though I must admit that the joys of speaking with no English vowels at all are rather sublime.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"What's this about knowing how to play a game before you play it? It's overrated."

2004-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

hey rachel! cuifen tells me you're learning welsh! ahhhh i wanna learn welsh! lend me your textbook when you come back please!

2004-10-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

what ho...

dearest rachel, tis wonderful that you are having a ball of the time in oxford; boy do you deserve it, and purvis was right in saying you'll be just dandy there. or something like that.

argh. how the army has rotted my mind away. and reduced me into a withered, dithering mess of a has-been. or perhaps, never was? anyway, tis the time of the year again when one starts thinking about one's future and contemplating if one should do anything about it, yet, i'm displaying a horrific sense of academic inertia here, and one wonders if one will ever get down to doing anything vaguely serious about it. argh. sometimes i wonder if it's all worth it; going thru 285 days of crap and nonsense when one could be 'working' from 8-5 blowing one's horn. in air-conditioned comfort, too. bleagh.

do hope the rest of you are doing well; seems like the only vague interaction i have with the class is when i bump into jerry in the muslim cookhouse when he's taking fat, overweight reservists for ippt. and i shudder to think that in 20 years' time i'll probably be that shape and weight struggling to be even vaguely fit. urgh.

i detest the army, and especially so artillery. "mere prattle without practice," if there ever was a more accurate statement to describe it. one's frustrations and disgust are simply to deep to put into words. i always knew i would say this one day, and here i am saying it: i miss school, despite all the pains and trauma it brought me; at least at the end of the day, regardless of which school i was in, there was always the band room to run to where me horn would be waiting for me, stolid and stoic, and the remainder of a bad day or week could be washed away in a matter of hours. alas, alack, such a luxury is not open to me now, and indeed, i find myself wondering if i will ever step onto stage again.

91 more days to commissioning. an eternity to happiness.

having run out of gas,

nat.

"If i ever became a Christian, my first prayer would be, 'please make people who can count.'"
--Lim Yau

2004-10-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Wen en,

Rest assured I shall not be bearing any additional burdens over the course of these three years. For one, I do not feel an affinity for any of the men here. For another, they gave everyone free condoms in their fresher's packs, which I have sitting around my room somewhere. So relax, I won't be passing on my defective genes.

Yes, I'm coming back in December, December 11 to be exact. I'll be staying for a pretty long time. Not sure if I'll be seeing Candice, she's all of at least two hours away.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Nix on the loud noise!"

2004-10-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

hey rachel! please try not to have a baby even with the attraction of all these carriers of intelligent genes around you. hah oh i wish i were in university heaven as well! are you coming back for christmas? are you meeting candice? if you are, please say hi for me.

wen en

2004-10-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

Heaven.

I'm in heaven.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I can't do anything other than physics."

2004-09-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

dearest jerry,

i do believe your condition is called The Warts, having just come to experience them myself after going around in soaking wet boots for close to 15 hours from thursday to friday.

anyway, these are momentous times indeed, times when i start to rethink and reconsider my academic options (or lack thereof), what with september coming to a close and people flying off and what not. so, having been snapped out of my academic inertia, i've decided to stop trying to think like a soldier, and perhaps more like a rational human being.

anyhow, this was the week i came dangerously close to snapping, dangerously close to calling it quits against the titanic struggle against bureaucracy, compartmentalisation, mindless regimentation, irrationality and everything else that is the giant ancient behemoth others generally call mindef, or more accurately, the army. sometimes i wonder if it's all worth it. but thankfully, to keep my sanity, i've begun to keep a journal of sorts (shock and horror) -and-, more importantly, restarted practising for the first time since...last december? something like that. with luck i'll be back on the stage late next january. it's so interesting to see how quickly one's mindset and attitude can change, just because one was so hopelessly blinded by baseless optimism.

so....to all of you currently not struggling against the laws of physics and meteorology and gravity and not struggling against mathematics and calculations and who are instead broadening your horizons in a school that is more focused on your learning than it is on things like how many pullups you can do, cheers!

nat

2004-09-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Dzhyerry, I thank you heartily for your most appetising description of your foot. The sublime thought of wearing the same pair of socks for one week notwithstanding, it has quite put me off eating mushrooms for the rest of the month.

As for the UCAS form, you should have given me a call before filling it up. Having been there, done that and whatnot, I'm more than willing to help you through the intricacies of bureaucracy. But I do hope you've managed to complete it sucessfully.

Brother Kenneth, are you still sending me your personal statement? If you did, I fear it may have been rejected by my email account, since I'm running dangerously near the space limit.

Last week I just got my first phone call from prison. Thanks for the nice description of the orange bars, Mark. I hope the medicine distribution went smoothly.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"He's invited several generals, so it's going to be a starry starry night."

2004-09-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Class,
Ah, I have just discovered that I can blog on my 500 mHz computer upstairs! That means that I can finally make a return to blogging. To the uninformed, my main computer was hit by a very nasty Trojan horse, which essentially meant that some replicating Greek kilobytes pillaged and razed the inside of my computer to the ground, ensuring that Internet Explorer took an eternity to load...

Anyway, these are tempestuous times, dearly beloved. I have been posted to Khatib Fitness Conditioning Centre, otherwise known as KFCC, as an instructor in charge of training reservists to pass their Individual Physical Proficiency Test. Lovely working hours of 2 to 10 pm daily, with my off-day on Friday, but that's another story for another day...

Basically my work schedule means that I have copious amounts of free time in the morning, and I have been hard at work trying to complete my UCAS form to please my parents. I never really knew what UCAS stood for, having been deemed too stupid to get a form this time last year ("Only the best need apply! If your name is Raaachel or Li Shaengwooo...), and I'm inclined to believe, after my relatively fruitless exertions at completing their form, that it stands for 'U Can't Apply with Simplicity'. They gave a sample copy of the page where you have to fill in your qualifications/exam results, choosing an example of a student from the hallowed halls of CHIJTP, no less, and I was copying down the format on my application form merrily, small type and all, when I noted this small line in the "How to Apply" booklet that read "For paper application forms, please fill this section in BLOCK CAPITALS." All fine and dandy...Rachel and Candice, I sincerely don't know where you found the resilience and willpower to complete the application last year.

Rachel, it may interest you to know that to add to my list of disturbing bodily growths, I have recently developed a fungoid growth on the bottom of my right foot, presumably from wearing the same pair of socks for one week while training. This growth basically consists of small, red and itchy patches which leads to the peeling of skin. Seeing the condition of my limb immediately brought to mind these immortal lines from Sylvia Plath's "Mushrooms": "We shall by morning / Inherit the earth./ Our foot's in the door." If anyone wants some dead skin for a souvenir, feel free to ask.

Will post more once I hand up my application form...

--Jerry

2004-08-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

Come now, Nathanyel. Doing a comparative study of Singapore and Brunei is hardly going to set those country-loving juices flowing.

And yes, many hearty handshakes to comrade Dzhyerry. Comrade, please try to return me my History S notes, because I'm beginning to feel a gaping hole in my life without them. Or something like that.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Whatever may be happening today, peace is the meaning of tomorrow."

2004-08-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

what ho me hearties..

i've just returned from the wonderful kingdom of brunei darussalam. somehow, that spelling looks wrong. anyway, regarding this year's national day rally: like rachel, i don't usually watch the rally. oftentimes, i hardly even bother to read about it properly, until this year, that is. when we were stuck in brunei, we suddenly heard that our dearest PM has suddenly announced a 5-day working week for all civil servants (ie ME!!), and lo and behold, there was a sudden rush for the newspaper with the best design in asia-pacific, to see with our own eyes if what had been rumoured was true. so, hallejulah, i may get consistent saturdays free, though whether this will apply to schools remains to be seen. heh.

and to address another issue, if any of you are having problems feeling even vaguely patriotic, i suggest a lovely two week trip to the lovely jungle of temburong, negera brunei darussalam, where you will encounter the following:

- a distinct lack of food
- a plentiful supply of insects, such as mosquitoes, chicadas (drat. was that spelt right?), and a million species of beetles and other assorted six-legged creatures that i've never seen/heard of before
- extreme heat and humidity
- rugged, mountainous terrain
- sudden torrential downpours that can turn a dry river bed into a flooded plain
- and assorted other surprises that await you in brunei, the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures.

Following which, as and when (or rather, if) you make it back to lovely, unique singapore, the moment that Boeing touches down at Changi, you will feel such an overpowering love (or, lust) for your country that you will never, never want to leave the comforts of Home again. hurrah. and on your return, you will face blessedly ignorant friends (or, perhaps more accurately, acquaintances) who will greet you with phrases like "oh well, it's for the better", not unlike some who go something like "haha how cute" when you push your exposed forehead into corners of lockers. now you know why we wear helmets. should make them compulsory in schools; lockers are a safety hazard.

and in conclusion, may i be the first to offer my congratulations to 3SG H H Chew, on the completion of his course. may i just offer humbly a request for him to be merciful and sympathetic to his trainees who are not as...uhh...physically endowed as he.

cheers,

nat

2004-08-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

Meine Damen und Herren, Ladies and Gentlemen, I admit it. The times they are a changin'. I got meself a blog.

You may, if you wish, visit it at http://gorkaya.twoday.net. I may not update it often until October. But it's there, if you wish to see it.

Unfortunately it's pretty drab, being set up by someone who doesn't know HTML from the end of my sock, but hey, let's not gripe.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Master, have you been in love?"
"Sure, many times: Aristotle, Virgil, Ovid..."

2004-08-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

"White-haired Lee"? Where does that come from?

I must admit to not bothering to listen to the National Day Rally. Everyone says it was a good speech, and I'll be happy for that. But I'd rather see things happening than listen to someone talk in three languages for hours.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Woman! That red, relaxed, that reckless woman!"

2004-08-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

The speech by white-hair Lee today was impressive. Our PM sure did his homework.

2004-08-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

It's interesting that with all the national education waffle and propaganda it's hard to make the average citizen batter an eyelid, but all you need is a sporting competition to bring a country together. As I watched the table tennis tournament, I sure wanted Singapore to win eventhough the match could be seen as more China vs N. Korea and eventhough i have no interest whatsoever in table tennis. International sporting events are like wars on a more drastically civil scale, they help in the slow release of tensions between countries because my runner can run faster than yours so boohoo to you; alternatively, they can work in the opposite direction but either way, they do gather the country behind the flag.

2004-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

True, Ivan, I rank on the apathetic shade of the spectrum, but unlike you I can feel no patriotism whatsoever. Not even during National Day.

And speaking of patriotism and the state, I've been working my way through the politics reading list. Finished Aristotle's The Politics and am halfway through Rousseau's The Social Contract. The more you read about things like that, the more you feel depressed about Singapore. Are we approximates to Aristotle's aristocracy of virtue, or just an oligarchy? Is our stability a manifestation of an achievement of the Platonic ideal? Can we really say that this government acts according to the general will, or has the dearth of the education of citizens caused the general will to become weak and subsumed by the particular will? Ah, I'm being screwed up. Politics is bad for your mental health.

Have fun in Brunei, Nathanyel. Bring home some oil for all of us. And are you really sure about signing on?

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my plea and kept this board alive. We shall prevail and break the notion that class blogs go extinct in the end!

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"A jazz singer - singing to his God."

2004-08-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

Still alive and kicking :)

Thanks for the regular posts Rachel, rest assured that some of us are still reading the blog. Nat, you serious about signing on? I couldn't tell from your post if you wanted to change things or got disheartened in OCS.

2004-08-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well, in response to Rachel's plea for help..heh.

Anyway, in approximately 28 1/2 hours i shall be off to the wonderful sultanate of brunei for about ten days, getting wet, hot, and most probably, lost, in the virgin jungle of temburong. Oh well...i've certainly been hearing alot about the inams (or issit imams? think its the former...) there, but i guess i can only tell you all about it when i come back..if i come back.

In other news, some of you may have heard that i was considering signing on, perhaps attracted (or seduced, rather) by the glitz and glamour, so to speak, of ocs, about how the army is a learning organisation, part of the 3-G saf blahblahblah. sad to say, or perhaps more accurately, fortunately, these dreams have been wonderfully shot down during my first week in the sch of artillery. i'm just amazed how pple can be so...so...i suppose the only word i can think of is 'stiff' and unreasonable. i mean, does it make sense to any of you to continue doing rather pointless stuff simply because previous generations have suffered through it? already i've been labelled (i think) as a trouble-maker, slacker, perhaps, blahblahblah cos of my rather...uhm...radical views. well actually they're not that radical cos most of the cadets feel the same way, just that i tend to be a bit more out-spoken. oh well, doesn't bother me that much, both the labelling and the mentality there. as the phrase goes, been there, done that. and after brunei, i can safely complete the phrase and add 'and got the lousy t-shirt' to the end of that.

but aside from these, its pretty interesting how i remember weird quotes in army. ok this may sound rather vindictive, but today the words of the great GB Shaw kept echoing in my head: those who can, do; those who can't, teach. haha.

but anyway, i end with this rather lengthy phrase from Leon Uris' Trinity: "We live with a number of rooms inside us. The best room is open to the family and friends and we show our finest face in it. Another room is more private, the bedroom, and very few are allowed in. There is another room where we allow no on in...not even our wives and children, for it is a room of the most intimate thoughts we keep unshared. There is one more room, so hidden away that we don't even enter it ourselves. Within we lock all the mysteries we cannont solve and all the pains and sorrows we wish to forget."

I'll hear from you all once i get back from brunei, yeah? have fun in wonderful urban singapore, pple.

nat

2004-08-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, being apathetic is different from being rebellious.

And yeah, I only feel patriotic when a) it's National Day b) when Singaporeans do well in Olympics c) Malaysia (or any other country) makes noise about us.

see you all at the T'ang embassy.

2004-08-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

I say, Ivan, unfortunately I am a member of the Rage Against the Singapore Machine Anonymous. Actually, make that the Rage Against the Singapore Machine Not-So-Anonymous, since I've just come out of the closet about it.

For some odd reason I feel perfectly incapable of patriotism. Because there's very little worth being patriotic about.

On a side note: nobody ever posts here any more, apart from yours truly. Could I have some help here? Because if this is going to be a one-woman prop-up act, our poor blog is going to die a natural death.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I really like the sound of the word 'Ombudsman'."

2004-08-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am sport for the Gods. Oh, how ridiculous I am! Hahaha!

Sorry. Little did Greene know that when he wrote himself into Maurice Bendrix, he wrote an inept 19-year-old girl into it too. Yours truly is not as eloquent, not as deft, perhaps; but oh, I have as much capacity to be damned as you have of damning me!

Oh God, I'm too tired to play anymore. Deal straight with me. I have not the art to navigate through the metaphysical waters or the theological skies. Give me answers and I can give myself peace.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Invisible dogs named Spider have great horror potential."

2004-08-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Would be much appreciated, Jerry. Thank you.

Yes, I'm still on for Fahrenheit 911. Saturday night, then?

Ivan

2004-08-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Best of luck with your 5 weeks, Dzhyerry. By the way, I recently discovered a personal site by someone else called Rachel Lin, at the sublime url of www.rachellin.com. Life just got a bit more existentially confusing.

Ivan, still game for Fahrenheit 911?

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Defend me from my friends; I can defend myself from my enemies."

2004-07-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Ivan,
Book 4 of the Fabled Lands, 'The Plains of Howling Darkness' (which is an apt description of life in my current state) is currently sitting pretty in my study. I'd be glad to give it to you as a belated birthday present, not to mention as a token of appreciation for loaning me your fabled helmet, which has been a great help to me. Most unfortunately, references such as 'Turn to Page 55 in Into The Underworld' won't make much sense since you have explicitly stated on your blog that the rest of the series isn't coming out... and who wants to go to the Underworld anyway.

To the rest of the class, if I ever manage to complete the remaining 5 weeks of the course, I shall ask all of you out for a good celebration.

Endure and Excel!

--Jerry

2004-07-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov. After extensive searching, I've come to know that Fahrenheit 911 will open here on the 5th of August. This is, of course, unsubstantiated, but an August date seems to be pretty certain.

If you're still interested, we could try to turn this into a class thing. What say you?

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I shall be whiskey tango foxtrotting across the mosh pit of stupidity."

2004-07-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

"When i get to heaven, to St Peter i will say, just a seal reporting, i've done my time in hell"

And so it shall be, in a few hours time, that i shall descend from my cabin to the darkest depths, never to see the nice sponge bed or a clean toilet for another week or so. It was good knowing you friends.

Do take a minute or two to say a prayer for me, i will be needing it.

Andrew

2004-07-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Some poems are too smart.

Just to help Rachel out in the posting here... when is Fahrenheit ever going to come to Singapore? I wanna watch!

Learning journey anyone?

2004-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

In memorandum of Dzherry's "Shit" poem. This is the one I was telling you about. Taken from New Scientist's The Last Word page, in response to the question "Why does human excrement smell so badly?" Contributed by Mark Gilkey of Palo Alto.

Why your Offal Smells Awful

Your body ejects poisons and things it won't need,
And these are the things on which you mustn't feed.

If your offal smelt tasty, like fresh cherry pie,
Then you might eat it, and then you would die.

If your offal smells so bad that you kick it off your plate,
You then may survive and may procreate.

If ever an animal found its waste in good taste,
Evolution has cured that condition post-haste.

Wisdom, ain't it?

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"It simulates fighting in a car scrapyard."

2004-07-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

YOU ARE CHAMOMILE

What herb are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Your soul is OPEN-MINDED. Although you do have
strong opinions and make decisions, you never
make them without thinking first of not only
everything that is, but those that may not be
as well. People trust that you'll willingly
hear them out and understand when they tell you
something, and you are well-liked for it. You
are often the mediator in disputes and your
desire to do what is right overcomes all else.
You are an understanding and admirable soul.

What Is Your Soul's Trait?
brought to you by Quizilla

Speaking of open-mindedness, I'm very tempted to take Andryuzha's suggestion and call up one of those New Paper ads. They earn something like $1000 a week, which is far more than I can say for myself.

In related news, I have just left the SPH fold, though only temporarily. Freedom now reigns in this life. Accordingly, this rite of passage has been marked by adding more pieces of metal to my body, which I will be delighted to display to appropriate individuals. For the time being, bending is a bit of a problem.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"The man to love and the time for loving rarely coincide."

2004-07-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, I remember now. The dress I'm so in love with was at Valentino.

Straw poll: would I be prosecuted if I walked into Valentino, put the dress on, took a photo of it with my handphone and sent it to the tailor's? Or if I just saved the picture on my computer to tickle human vanity?

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"At the next left turn, turn right."

2004-07-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

You are a WRCL--Wacky Rational Constructive Leader. This makes you a golden god. People gravitate to you, and you make them feel good. You are smart, charismatic, and interesting. You may be too sensitive to others reactions, especially criticism. Your self-opinion and mood depends greatly on those around you.

You think fast and have a smart mouth, is a hoot to your friends and razorwire to your enemies. You hold a grudge like a brass ring. You crackle.

Although you have a leader's personality, you often choose not to lead, as leaders stray too far from their audience. You probably weren't very popular in high school--the joke's on them!

You may be a rock star.

Oh ho ho.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"When I yawn, I'll cover with my tudung."

2004-07-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite verses in the Bible involves an injunction to observe the flowers in the field. God, it says, clothes these blossoms in robes richer than all that ever adorned Solomon. Well, I trust that He will provide; but sometimes it's diverting to look at what Solomon wore, at the same time.

Yesterday afternoon, during my walk with Gladys, I was suddenly struck by the fact that I'd never been into any of the shops in Paragon, since my purse is light. So we made our first foray into the land of the rich, and all I can say is, it's a double-edged sword.

Not to say, of course, that nothing caught my eye. The loveliest pair of boots I'd ever seen in real life (that is, not on a computer screen) turned up in Escada. And I had my first black dress frenzy in a long time at another boutique, which had a name I can't recall offhand. Trying it on made me feel like a million dollars, no pun please; and that's something that hasn't happened in years.

But all these manifestations of wealth left me somehow empty. The boots cost over $600, the dress, $8000; I couldn't help thinking that it all could have been made for less, and the balance used for something more enriching. The dress-which I must admit I am in love with-could be tailored for $200 or less. Heavy doors and prim salespeople blur into impermanence and the view out of those plate-glass storefronts disappeared behind the inspection of price tags.

I would gladly sacrifice the $7800 to see the sunset from Notre Dame, and meditate on those flowers.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"A kitten is a symbol of fluffiness."-Matthew Lin, on the cultural symbolism invested in animals

2004-06-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

Introverted (I) 83.33% Extroverted (E) 16.67%
Imaginative (N) 60.98% Realistic (S) 39.02%
Intellectual (T) 66.67% Emotional (F) 33.33%
Easygoing (P) 55.88% Organized (J) 44.12%

Your type is: INTP

You are an Architect, possible professions include - strategic planning, writer, staff development, lawyer, architect, software designer, financial analyst, college professor, photographer, logician, artist, systems analyst, neurologist, physicist, psychologist, research/development specialist, computer programmer, data base manager, chemist, biologist, investigator.

Take Free Career Inventory Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

This is actually rather accurate, I must say. To be frank the profession of physicist has always been appealing; if not for the rather dismal grade at the O-Levels I might have found joy not in poetry and historical musings, but the chaos of quantum mechanics and relativity.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I need to buy a soul."

2004-06-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Paul!

Your Paul McCartney!
Your friendly and a talented musician and very cute! your solo work was amazing and you were always the great songwriter!

Which Beatle are you? (pics)

2004-06-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake)

You're Elle Driver! Sly and evil, you can manipulate people in order to get whatever you want. You're usually alone, but that's the way you like it. You hate having others nearby to order you around (unless it's Bill, of course... but even then you're still hesitant).

Kill Bill: Which Deadly Viper Assassin Are You? (Vol. II spoilers... results with pics)

I knew it. Always thought the tune she was whistling was most addictive. Also, she's half blind, which is rather apt.

2004-06-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all...i know i haven't been posting for eternity, but here i am. and in case certain pti's/army news writers/naval divers/sph scholars/rich daughters with nothing better to do (ok sorry i withdraw that) are wondering what i'm doing at home, i've been ravaged by fever since sunday afternoon. so anyway, here's sth lighthearted, which i think some of you may have seen before, from Nicholas Kristof's blog at the NYTimes:

Here’s an outtake from my Iraq war poetry contest, from Marcus:
How many members of the Bush Administration does it take to change a light bulb? Six:

One to deny the light bulb needs to be changed.
One to blame former President Clinton for the condition of the light bulb.
One to prepare to invade a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs.
One to attack the patriotism of anyone who questions changing the light bulb.
One to pay Halliburton a million dollars for the new light bulb.
One to dress President Bush in an electrician's uniform
and photograph him
changing the light bulb.

Cheers (but feeling distinctly uncheerful)

nat

2004-06-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Being an account of the weekend when the fabric of space-time was ripped

Now, having experienced the caprice of the 156 all too often, I'm familiar with how the fabric of space-time can be stretched, compressed, decompressed and twisted. The most renowned physicists have yet to come up with an explanation for this, but the events of 11-12 June will provide them with much food for thought.

First, there was the swinging Count Basie band on Friday, which was a sight--and sound--to behold, but knowing Xin Hui and I, we stumbled into the wrong stall and had to trip out during a pause in the programme to find our seats.

Second, after much wandering through the Esplanade, we bumped into Wen en and Shawn Poon, who invited us to eat most peculiarly named pralines with them.

Third, after the insanity at Man Brenner, Xin Hui walked straight into Tse Yin's older brother.

Fourth, as we were in the taxi going back, a black car ploughed straight into out vehicle, causing us to have to switch to a nice yellow-top.

12 June was a bit more sedate.

First, fencing was a bit of a mayhem, in which we established the 5-1 club and allow Xin Hui, Joanna and Jonathan to keep their shoes.

Second, we narrowly missed being unforgivably late for Othello by a whisker. This involved running like mad from various cars to the Victoria Theatre.

Third, we encountered a whole truckload of familiar faces, ffrom Tse Yang to Jireh to Nicola to Tse Yin's older brother (again).

Fourth, we wandered around a deserted shopping mall looking for an ATM. Sublime.

A most exhausting weekend. I think I need to take an extended breather...but not before we put those foils and helmets to good use, Xin Hui.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I don't discriminate. I hate everybody."

2004-06-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

You're a VAMPIRE Goth! You saw all those vampire
movies one too many times. Tell me you don't
have fang implants!

What kind of GOTH are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

No, I do not have fang implants, and I'm slightly insulted by this result. But heck.

2004-05-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ah, finally there's some sign of life here. Time for the occasional roll-call.

To Xin Hui: Neither you nor Tse Yin is to give up. We will see how it plays. As the Dresden Dolls song goes, "I'd rather be a bitch..."

To Tse Yin: Don't you even think of doing it. When you're done with your reflections and rationalisations in the middle of the primary forest, you'll realise that you've got style enough for others to be capable of cramping it. Never let them.

To Jasmine: Bitte sag' mir, wenn der Horst endlich zurueck ist. Gefiel ihm die Porno-version deiner Anruf? Wir muessen uns noch mal treffen, hoffentlich mit dem Wittmeyer...ich vermisse ihn sehr. Ich brauche immer ein starkes Getraenk; willst du auch eins?

To Nicole: Tried looking for you on Sunday, but unfortunately I missed you. I promise I'll try my best to get back to you again, at least before the 4th of June. Stupid computer viruses. What shall we do to commemorate that occasion? And try not to do it with depression; sometimes, as I told you, I think that way out was the best for him.

To Joanna: I'm so sorry for being resistant to what you know is best for me. Thinking may not be the answer, yes, but how can I plunge into things without ironing out all the creases? One day this lost sheep will find its way back to the fold, I promise you; there has never been a day in which I've never believed. But till then it's still searching for its shepherd's voice.

To Gladys: Yes, I've been late again. Looks like the very system I suggested has broken down, and it's my fault. But I have a treat for your eyes in the installment that will, rest assured, be forthcoming as soon as is humanly possible. I hope everything is all right with you--anxiously awaiting the result.

To Mark: Say, I'll try to get Grace to see if she's free enough to take us sailing one of these days. She might be too busy studying, but certainly a day off the books will do her good. And you'll be able to save us in case either of us drowns or something. Just bring along your portable drip.

To all: You've probably never heard of Manuel Puig. I hadn't until I read his Heartbreak Tango. One of the most pathos-filled, saddening but ultimately tender texts I've ever laid eyes on. Now, onto Carson McCullers, which will drive the last nail into the coffin and leave me in a blue funk for the rest of my breathing days.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Cynicism is my whisky, and I've had a few."

2004-05-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, i'm still alive. Yes, last night was indeed fun, there is a certain sense of liberty and freedom with a car, going wherever you want to go, unhindered by bus services stopping and inconvenient locations like the top of a hill. As i was saying, we should go to the Night Safari the next time round, then we can go for Chong Pang nasi lemak which is just nearby and there's Sembawang beach which i have grown too accustomed to, Seletar reservoir, and hey, there's always my house. Great being out with you guys!

2004-05-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

midnight madness

hello darls, thanks for a lovely night out on saturday! wish the rest could've been with us. and stinky ol' nat: it's been forever since i've seen you. we must have another get together soon.

aik, kenneth, candice, drew and deb at the tip of mount faber. can you see the extra head next to andrew's??

more pics can be found here

2004-05-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Va-Va-Voom! You're inner Bombshell is Mae West.
You've definitly got a lot of wit, a lot of
smarts, and you know how to use people to your
advantage. Ever heard the phrase "doesn't
take any crap from anybody"? Well that's
you! Just like Mae you never want to settle
down, and can't imagine being with just one man
for the rest of your life. You don't care about
conventions and have no filter from your brain
to you mouth. Check out the movie "She
Done Him Wrong" to see your inner
bombshell in all her voluptuous glory!

Who is your inner bombshell?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hahahahaha! Well, there you have it, Gladys!

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Sometimes I'm good, but when I'm bad I'm even better."

2004-05-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, I see Xin Hui's back in form.

You're blood. You're all over the place, but you
definitely keep things moving. You're thick,
but sweet. You enjoy others' physical pain.
And you keep coming back until you finally
clot. Some people faint when they see you.

Which bodily discharge are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Postatem obscuri lateris nescitis.
"You do not know the power of the Dark
Side." There are two possibilities: you
are a Star Wars geek, or you are unreasoningly
scary.

Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are a MASTER of the English language!

While your English is not exactly perfect,
you are still more grammatically correct than
just about every American. Still, there is
always room for improvement...

How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I hate grammar.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Du hast deiner Mutter die Wahrheit gesagt?"

2004-05-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Rachel is the #79 most common female name.
0.242% of females in the US are named Rachel.
Around 308550 US females are named Rachel!
source namestatistics.com

And to add insult to injury,

Lin is the #1447 most common last name.
0.009% of last names in the US are Lin.
Around 22500 US last names are Lin!
source namestatistics.com

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Money can't give you everything. That's where credit cards come in."

2004-05-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

And, since we live in a disclosure-based corporate regime:

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME
1 - Ghosts.
2 - Racist attacks.
3 - Homicidal maniacs.

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND
1 - America.
2 - Why Smrt had to make those stupid Mrt broadcasts.
3 - God.

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN
1 - Russian.
2 - The violin, properly.
3 - Fencing.

THREE THINGS I AM WEARING RIGHT NOW
1 - My characteristic chipped glasses.
2 - A black shirt.
3 - THAT pair of grey pants.

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK
1 - The computer.
2 - A pencil.
3 - A USA Today crossword.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1 - Become a UN aid worker.
2 - Learn languages.
3 - Sing in a jazz bar.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY
1 - Introverted.
2 - Reflective.
3 - Rather odd.

THREE BAD THINGS ABOUT MY PERSONALITY
1 - I'm inauthentic.
2 - Sometimes I wonder if I really have any emotions at all.
3 - Depression.

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1 - Indonesian Chinese.
2 - China Chinese.
3 - Malaysian Chinese.

THREE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY BODY
1 - Tongue. It can twist all around, thanks to a trick Xin Hui taught.
2 - Hair colour.
3 - Back.

THREE THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT MY BODY
1 - Eyes. Because I can't see out of them.
2 - Spine. Because it was defective.
3 - Teeth. They're out of alignment, though Nicholas is still the master of anti-orthodontics.

THREE THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU
I'd rather they remained unknown.

THREE THINGS I SAY THE MOST
1 - "How amusing."
2 - "Sigh."
3 - "This is Rachel from the Straits Times."

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO
1 - Germany.
2 - Russia.
3 - Brazil.

THREE NAMES THAT YOU GO BY
1 - Rachel.
2 - Yuexin, but that's only with Chinese teachers.
3 - Biao Mei. Thank you, Mark.

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE OR HAD
1 - Natasha
2 - Vera Zasulich
3 - The Vodka Vixen

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"I'm bored."

2004-05-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

Jerry made me.

YOUR NAME
(1) Lin Yuexin, Rachel
(2) If you had been born a member of the opposite sex, what would your name have been? My parents, being superstitious, refused to name the baby until it actually emerged from the womb, whereupon there was no mistaking its gender. But if you ask me, it might have been Richard.
(3) Would you name a child of yours after you? There'd be no child of mine.
(4) If you had to switch first names with a friend of yours, who would you switch with? Haha, Jerry. I hope that wouldn't be a mutual swap. I think I'd switch with Duana, since her name means "little dark one".
(5) What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name? I get called Rachel Lim a lot, because hanyu pinyin seems to confuse people.
(6) If you were to become famous, would you drop your last name (like Madonna, Cher, Roseanne)? No, Rachel alone sounds common.

DEEP THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
(7) Do you believe in the traditional view of Heaven and Hell? Sorry, I'm stupid, what is the traditional view?
(8) Do you think God has a gender? No.
(9) Do you think science counteracts religion? No, I think science enhances religion.
(10) Do you believe in organized religion? Depends.
(11) Where do you think we go when we die? Into a smokestack.
(12) Do you feel a little funny thinking about the questions in this section? No, is it supposed to make me ill?

HUMOR
(13) How easy is it to make you laugh? Depends.
(14) What person you know makes you laugh the most? Jerry and Kenneth combined.
(15) Do you laugh at jokes you know you shouldn't? All the time.
(16) Do you tell jokes you know you shouldn't? This usually happens at "Corny Jokes Hour", which is around 2am.
(17) What words instantly make you laugh or at least smile? "Go hang yourself".
(18) What do you think is the funniest thing you've ever said or written? Not sure, but the most recent one was "Democracy, Christianity and MacDonald's."

MUSIC
(19) Do you ever dance to music when nobody's watching? Yes.
(20) What is/are the worst song(s) you have ever heard? Too many to list them all here.
(21) What song(s) do you wish you could understand a little better? Not at the moment.
(22) What song(s) are constantly in your head? Once again, too many to be listed.
(23) What song(s) do you think describe your personality best? Hofnarr by Keimzeit
(24) If you were to serenade the object of your affections, which song(s) would you use? So Nice.
(25) If the object of your affections were to serenade you, what song(s) would you hope he or she used? Hmm, I'm not sure. Something nu-metal, perhaps?

MOVIES
(26) What movie(s) do you love that nobody else seems to? None.
(27)Do you agree with the idea that sequels are always worse than the original? Lord of the Rings wasn't bad.
(28) Who's your favorite Star Wars character? Han Solo.
(29) What kind of movie do you think there should be more of? Movies like Next Stop Wonderland.
(30) What movie(s) do you simply not understand the appeal of? Movies like Troy.

FOOD
(31) When eating, are you more concerned with taste or healthiness? Depends.
(32) What's your favorite kind of cheese? Brie.
(33) What do you think your answer to the previous question reveals about your personality? That I'm French. Haw.
(34) If you knew exactly what went into Chinese food, hamburger meat, etc., would you still eat it? I'm Chinese. Of course I'd still eat it.
(35) Do you ever feel guilty eating meat? No. In fact, it gives me this mind-boggling adrenaline rush as I contemplate how that hapless critter was chopped up, blood spurting from every artery.

COMPUTERS
(36) Mac or PC? Mac.
(37) How much do you actually care about the inner workings of your computer, as long as it works? Not much.
(38) Do you ever begin preferring IMs to other forms of conversation? No.
(39) Do you find you're different talking through IMs than face-to-face or on the telephone? No.
(40) Have you ever bid on something on eBay and regretted it later? I stay away from eBay.

THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
(41) Have you ever wished you could experience being the other gender? No.
(42) What do you love most about the other gender? Their sense of humour, which is of a often nicer breed than females'.
(43) What do you dislike most about the other gender? Their need to prove they have balls.
(44) What do you understand least about the other gender? The way they can do such stupid things and avoid getting killed.

CELEBRITIES
(45) Do you sometimes see a movie or watch a show just because a good-looking celebrity is in it? No.
(46) What celebrity's autograph do you want? They're all dead.
(47) Have people ever said you looked like a celebrity, and if so, who? No, unless you count Seabiscuit. Thanks, Jerry.
(48) If there was to be a movie about you, who do you think should play you? Nobody. There'd never be a movie about me.
(49) Does it ever annoy you when you know someone is a celebrity but you can't remember why? No, I don't really care about celebrities.
(50) If you could enter any celebrity's mind like in "Being John Malkovich", whose would you enter? I'm not a celebrity, Jerry. And inside my mind is the last place you'd want to be. As for myself, I don't care.
(51) Do you want to be John Malkovich? No.

NUMBERS
(52) Do you laugh when you hear or read the number 69? That's juvenile.
(53) Were you lying about your answer to the previous question? No.
(54) Do you actually know your Social Security Number? Don't have one.
(55) Do you actually know your IP address? No.
(56) Do you know what an IP address is? Yes.
(57) Do you know the four-character extension on your ZIP code? Don't have one.
(58) Ever thought there were too many numbers floating around in our lives? No. They're an unavoidable part of modern living.
(59) Does your head begin to hurt when you think of infinity, imaginary numbers, irrational numbers, etc.? No, it actually entertains me.
(60) What do you think of pi? I think that's an irrational question.

LOVE, SEX AND ALL THAT
(61) Did you get a little frightened or uncomfortable seeing this as a section title? No, it made me wonder what "all that" meant.
(62) If someone you had no interest in dating expressed interest in dating you, how would you feel? Amused.
(63) Do you prefer getting to know someone first before dating them or going in "blind"? I've had experiences of both, believe it or not, and since the latter ended in disaster and humiliation for him, well, the answer's pretty obvious.
(64) Could you carry on a relationship with someone with the same first name as a family member? Not if it's "Matthew".
(65) Have you ever wished it was more "socially acceptable" for a girl to ask a guy out? I don't care.
(66) What's your opinion on sex without emotional commitment? Stupid.
(67) Have you ever been romantically attracted to someone physically unattractive? Well, considering that he's nothing but worm and bones now, I'd have to say yes.
(68) Do you think the opposite sex finds you good-looking? No.
(69) Would you be willing to give up sex in exchange for an emotional commitment you knew would last? Naturally.
(70) Do you think the number of the last question was a coincidence? That's really juvenile.

POSSESSIONS
(71) What is your favorite possession? My sense of humour.
(72) What physical, tangible possession do you want most? A horse.
(73) How badly do you want it? Not really.
(74) Have you ever seen 'The Exorcist'? No.
(75) How long did it take you to understand why the last question is in this section? Five nanoseconds. Sigh.

HOLIDAYS
(76) Does Christmas music too far away from Christmas annoy you? No, some Christmas music is nice.
(77) How old do you think you will be before you stop liking getting older? 19.
(78) What was the best Halloween costume you ever had? My face.
(79) What was the worst Halloween costume you ever had? My face. It depends how you look at it (the question, not the face).
(80) What holiday do you think has still managed to retain its original meaning? The holiday that we got in RGS whenever the Sec Fours got their O-Levels.

MEMORIES
(82) How good is your short-term memory? Atrocious.
(83) How good is your long-term memory? It all depends.
(84) What is your earliest memory? Playing with my grandmother.
(85) What is your happiest memory (other than recieving this survey)? Getting the German Ambassador's Cup and kicking that fella's ass.
(86) What is your strangest memory? My entire life.
(87) What song, movie, etc. do you wish you could memorize? None.

TEARS
(88) What movie makes/made you cry? Never cried at movies.
(89) What book makes/made you cry? Never cried reading.
(90) What song makes/made you cry? Never cried listening to music, either.
(91) What makes/made you laugh so hard you cry/cried? Never cried laughing. I think you catch my drift.

THREE TRULY RANDOM QUESTIONS
(92) Would you like to be cloned? Never.
(93) Do you wish you could be alive when the world was ending, just to experience it? I'd like to be dead.
(94) Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango? No.

THIS SURVEY
(95) Do you think that one hundred and one questions is too long? No.
(96) Do you think the one hundred interesting questions actually were interesting? No, but I'm bored.
(97) Are you sorry you began filling it out? It's a late day for regrets, eh?
(98) What question do you wish it had asked? Why is the guy who formulated this survey such a moron?
(99) How would you have answered it? Eloquently.

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
(100) When was the last time you let the people you love know you love them? I never tell anyone I love them, not even my family, thank you very much.
(101) What do you want the people who are reading this survey to know? That I'm using the office computer to do this.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Personally I'm the kind of person who..."

2004-05-16T03:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Class,
The new blogger layout is irritating.

Anyway, the questionnaire on Ivan's blog looks sufficiently interesting for me to give it a try. Since I shall be disappearing into the depths of the Faraway Wood tomorrow for yet another punitive exercise, this may be my last post for some time. Perhaps a 'Touch Point', dear Ivan -- but nevertheless one that I hold dear, my last portal to those halcyon days of missed buses and proper syntax. Green-black-white may have been traded for green-black, but those tricolour days still linger fondly in the memory.

YOUR NAME (1) Jeremiah Chew Heng Hwang, with many variants depending on who you are
(2) If you had been born a member of the opposite sex, what would your name have been? Certainly not Geri. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I might have been called Chew Heng Ern.
(3) Would you name a child of yours after you? No, how stupid is that.
(4) If you had to switch first names with a friend of yours, who would you switch with? That's a toughie. Rachel perhaps.
(5) What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name? Jeremy, Jem, Jelly, Jerk-Off
(6) If you were to become famous, would you drop your last name (like Madonna, Cher, Roseanne)? Somehow Jeremiah Chew Heng doesn't sound too appealing to me.

DEEP THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
(7) Do you believe in the traditional view of Heaven and Hell? Yes.
(8) Do you think God has a gender? No.
(9) Do you think science counteracts religion? No, I think they're compatible.
(10) Do you believe in organized religion? Depends which one you're talking about
(11) Where do you think we go when we die? I'm sure of where I'm going, not too sure about some other people though =P
(12) Do you feel a little funny thinking about the questions in this section? No, I feel a big funny.

HUMOR (13) How easy is it to make you laugh? Very, for most of the time. It all depends on whether I'm laughing at you or with you.
(14) What person you know makes you laugh the most? Kenneth used to make me laugh a lot, although I doubt it was deliberate
(15) Do you laugh at jokes you know you shouldn't? Certainly.
(16) Do you tell jokes you know you shouldn't? Hardly ever.
(17) What words instantly make you laugh or at least smile? "bleeding"
(18) What do you think is the funniest thing you've ever said or written? I think the first time I predicted the passage of the 156 bus comes quite close
MUSIC
(19) Do you ever dance to music when nobody's watching? No. For that matter, I don't dance to music when people are watching either.
(20) What is/are the worst song(s) you have ever heard? The SISPEC school song
(21) What song(s) do you wish you could understand a little better? 3 Days' Grace -- I Hate Everything About You
(22) What song(s) are constantly in your head? Testify To Love -- Avalon
(23) What song(s) do you think describe your personality best? She F***ing Hates Me
(24) If you were to serenade the object of your affections, which song(s) would you use? Serenade -- Rupert Everett and Colin Firth
(25) If the object of your affections were to serenade you, what song(s) would you hope he or she used? Any boyband song would do...

MOVIES
(26) What movie(s) do you love that nobody else seems to? The Four Feathers
(27)Do you agree with the idea that sequels are always worse than the original? Yea
(28) Who's your favorite Star Wars character? Chewbacca
(29) What kind of movie do you think there should be more of? Movies concerning down-and-out individuals
(30) What movie(s) do you simply not understand the appeal of? Bollywood films, the type with coconut trees

FOOD
(31) When eating, are you more concerned with taste or healthiness? Taste
(32) What's your favorite kind of cheese? Mozzarella
(33) What do you think your answer to the previous question reveals about your personality? Nothing whatsoever.
(34) If you knew exactly what went into Chinese food, hamburger meat, etc., would you still eat it? Yea, I guess
(35) Do you ever feel guilty eating meat? Yea when I killed my ex and ate her left arm... other than that, not really

COMPUTERS
(36) Mac or PC? PC
(37) How much do you actually care about the inner workings of your computer, as long as it works? Not much, the truth be told
(38) Do you ever begin preferring IMs to other forms of conversation? Certainly.
(39) Do you find you're different talking through IMs than face-to-face or on the telephone? Certainly, a thousand times more eloquent and charming, as everyone who reads this blog very well knows.
(40) Have you ever bid on something on eBay and regretted it later? No.

THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
(41) Have you ever wished you could experience being the other gender? Oh, you'll be surprised.
(42) What do you love most about the other gender? Eh... I remember I used to like the scent of shampoo on females.
(43) What do you dislike most about the other gender? Their capricious nature.
(44) What do you understand least about the other gender? Their taste in males.

CELEBRITIES
(45) Do you sometimes see a movie or watch a show just because a good-looking celebrity is in it? No.
(46) What celebrity's autograph do you want? Marco di Vaio!
(47) Have people ever said you looked like a celebrity, and if so, who? Quasimodo?
(48) If there was to be a movie about you, who do you think should play you? Kenneth Tan.
(49) Does it ever annoy you when you know someone is a celebrity but you can't remember why? What an odd question. Certainly haven't thought of that before.
(50) If you could enter any celebrity's mind like in "Being John Malkovich", whose would you enter? Rachel "Zarathustra" Lin.
(51) Do you want to be John Malkovich? Who the hell is that.

NUMBERS
(52) Do you laugh when you hear or read the number 69? Only when I saw it on some guy's IPPT tag.
(53) Were you lying about your answer to the previous question? No.
(54) Do you actually know your Social Security Number? IC number, yes.
(55) Do you actually know your IP address? No.
(56) Do you know what an IP address is? Yes.
(57) Do you know the four-character extension on your ZIP code? N/A
(58) Ever thought there were too many numbers floating around in our lives? Certainly.
(59) Does your head begin to hurt when you think of infinity, imaginary numbers, irrational numbers, etc.? Yea, during a trip to Pizza Hut, I once got very puzzled thinking about how the universe could extend infinitely, and wondering when the start of time was, as Rachel and Kenneth will testify
(60) What do you think of pi? I'll pretend I didn't hear that.

LOVE, SEX AND ALL THAT
(61) Did you get a little frightened or uncomfortable seeing this as a section title? Scintillated, perhaps
(62) If someone you had no interest in dating expressed interest in dating you, how would you feel? Ambivalent. Not that it hasn't happened before.
(63) Do you prefer getting to know someone first before dating them or going in "blind"? The former.
(64) Could you carry on a relationship with someone with the same first name as a family member? Yea, why not.
(65) Have you ever wished it was more "socially acceptable" for a girl to ask a guy out? Yes!!
(66) What's your opinion on sex without emotional commitment? Not good.
(67) Have you ever been romantically attracted to someone physically unattractive? Yea, then again, love is blind isn't it, and I'm terribly myopic
(68) Do you think the opposite sex finds you good-looking? For the absolute majority, no.
(69) Would you be willing to give up sex in exchange for an emotional commitment you knew would last? Why not.
(70) Do you think the number of the last question was a coincidence? No, it was obviously preplanned.
POSSESSIONS
(71) What is your favorite possession? CM 03/04 cd
(72) What physical, tangible possession do you want most? A soccer ball
(73) How badly do you want it? Not that urgently.
(74) Have you ever seen 'The Exorcist'? No.
(75) How long did it take you to understand why the last question is in this section? I'm clueless.
HOLIDAYS
(76) Does Christmas music too far away from Christmas annoy you? Certainly. Jingles at Christmas time annoy me too, come to think of it.
(77) How old do you think you will be before you stop liking getting older? 69? haha
(78) What was the best Halloween costume you ever had? Never had one.
(79) What was the worst Halloween costume you ever had? Ditto.
(80) What holiday do you think has still managed to retain its original meaning? Chinese New Year
MEMORIES (82) How good is your short-term memory? Average
(83) How good is your long-term memory? For some irrelevant bits of information, surprisingly good.
(84) What is your earliest memory? Attaching myself to the uterine lining
(85) What is your happiest memory (other than recieving this survey)? Having a good shit in the toilet yesterday when I was feeling really urgent
(86) What is your strangest memory? Dennis Phua? Don't really know.
(87) What song, movie, etc. do you wish you could memorize? None at this point of time

TEARS
(88) What movie makes/made you cry? Murder By Numbers. A truly bad show.
(89) What book makes/made you cry? The Bible. A truly good book.
(90) What song makes/made you cry? Westlife -- Loneliness Knows Me By Name
(91) What makes/made you laugh so hard you cry/cried? Watching Isaac Chua play Heroes IV occasionally

THREE TRULY RANDOM QUESTIONS (92) Would you like to be cloned? No.... one of me in this world is enough...
(93) Do you wish you could be alive when the world was ending, just to experience it? I doubt it would be a pleasant experience.
(94) Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me?

THIS SURVEY
(95) Do you think that one hundred and one questions is too long? Yes
(96) Do you think the one hundred interesting questions actually were interesting? Some(97) Are you sorry you began filling it out? I'm beginning to
(98) What question do you wish it had asked? Would you like to skip to question 100?
(99) How would you have answered it? Yes.
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
(100) When was the last time you let the people you love know you love them? I don't think they know.
(101) What do you want the people who are reading this survey to know? That I'm going back to camp in 1.5 hours. Till next time,

--Jerry

2004-05-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

I've just gone through a pretty out-of-point overnight assignment on the RSS Resolution, which held a military exercise in which almost everything is classified. So I've just written for them a nice, inferior article along the lines of "some people did some things some where."

To use a common Army cliche, this blog has become one of our class's "Touch Points"... we drift away, brush against each other's lives here or somewhere else, and leave again.
The updates may be few, but become even more valuable.

2004-05-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

You're an Angst writer!

What kind of writer are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

That is, if I can write at all.

2004-05-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

After a long respite from the hallowed halls of the internet, I finally re-emerge from my seclusion to post here.

First, a note to Jasmine. Despite the fact that I knew almost nobody at your birthday party, it was still a wonderful occasion; not least because of the liberal bottle of wine you poured out for me. I shall not forget the hysterical individuals there, from "Biggest Ding-Dong in the World" Wayne to "Reading in the Womb" Audrey to "Kiss the Floor" Priscilla. Here's to more moaning about Horst, more laughing fits and more memories of Germany. I shall never eat corn in the same way again.

Second, I have finally received my corset and skirt, much to my delight. Former is black satin, most wonderous cut and with laces in front and back; latter is black PVC with nice ruffles which can can almost see your reflection in. There are few more sublime pleasures in life than lacing yourself up and looking vaguely Victorian. Now all I need are some high boots and a dog-whip. Hoopla to Gallery Serpentine.

Third, to Tse Yin and Xin Hui: I have decided to bleed myself of this. To open a vein and see the crimson ebb away. To be as smooth and hard as glass again.

Fourth, I have decided that I'd rather have a horse than a man. While Dzhyerry might find that self-explanatory, here are the top five reasons why:

1. Horses are taller, more handsome and more intelligent than most males I know, even when the four-legged individual has either only one eye or rather psychopathic mis-equinic tendencies.

2. Horses are satisfied with a pat on the neck and several handfuls of carrots. You can control them by pulling at reins, talking, clicking your tongue etc. Men, on the other hand, are rarely satisfied with anything, and I doubt they can be controlled by saying, "Walk on!"

3. You don't need to dress skimpily to attract a horse. On the contrary, you get to don a very nice white kit, riding boots and a stupid hat which is either too big or too small.

4. Horses may shit all over the place, but they have no qualms about stepping into it, which is probably one of the least hypocritical acts in the world I've ever seen.

5. You can ride horses. They have nice rhythm.

So, before I start sounding inadvertently indecent, I shall retreat once more into the curtains and make my adieux.

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Wir koennen jetzt ins Boom-Boom Room."

2004-04-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

on class get-togethers and perspectives.

i have to say: IT WAS NOT MY FAULT! IT WAS LIM AIK!! *points*

okay, so it was partly me. i apologise for the big mess up. we'll have another on the may day weekend, promise. meet-ups are awfully tiresome to arrange these days, what with you boys getting confined and girls being tied up with work and family obligations and all that. it's not easy at all trying to get everybody together at the same time and at the same place. can somebody pleeeeeeeeease take over?

on a less whiney note, i wanted to do a post today on perspectives. as you know, in the course of my work with The Exclamation Mark! these days, i have to meet and interview alot of people. and there is a particular individual i've become acquainted with recently who really struck me. let's call him mr hand.

mr hand is our age, and right about the time we were taking our A levels, he was taking his Os for the second time - and he failed it. when i asked him, you know, what do you want to do in life, what do you want to become and where do you see yourself doing in 10 years time, all he does is shrug and say i don't know. and suddenly i think of all our friends, all success-hungry, scholarship-craving kids going to our oxfords and harvards, penns and lse-s, while some people don't even have an O level cert! how freaky is that! and what a sheltered a life we lead!

maybe it's just me, but i've never really stepped out of this spoilt, privileged jc-kid circle of people who know what they want and have the means to get it. suddenly everything falls into perspective - something i think our crazy school environment needs - whats one less A or a lack of an S paper? what's a scholarship foregone, or a test unpassed?

so i offer this badly articulated anecdote (i have lost the writing bug! all i do at The Exclamation Mark! is regurgitate) as a form of consolation or encouragement in light of the upcoming scholarship/university rejection/acceptance period: not being the best doesn't mean that we should stop being thankful for where we are today. not alot of people are so lucky.

2004-04-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

Being an account of Rachel's 19th birthday festivities

It's not so bad; it's only the best I ever had.

So eighteen of my years on earth have sailed away into a grey-sky morning. Thanks to my dysfunctional crew of trouble-makers, however, the smell or mortality has been considerably dampened by the fragrance of roses. I now have two henna tattoos to show for it, as well as an absence of eyebrows.

A heartfelt bow to Joanna, who humoured me at lunch, mesmerised me with her tale of the odd brown creature and sent me into convulsions with Jeremy Brett's charming "on with the motley" face. I still can't believe that vampire thing.

An amused grin to Deborah, who had the longsuffering patience to wait for hours at Far East, tolerated our antics in all the different tattoo parlours, went to the Chair of Pain first and ate only one prawn. Looking at you looking at me eating them: hilarious.

A rallying-cry of "spud!" to Tse Yin, who gamely agreed to be wrapped up in toilet paper when the theme was still on, acted as the somewhat faulty voice of reason in our chaos and kindly paid for everything, even the Chair of Pain. Good luck with R.

A right-nostril adjustment to Xin Hui, who made all the arrangements, gave me the most wonderful presents (the hat is hanging from my ceiling light even as I type) and ended up with the most henna of all of us. I shall pop by to visit your infirmary soon.

A wave of the hand to Xin Hui's family, who did all the cooking and vanished behind the arras by the time we got there to eat it. Especially Xin Hui's grandmother, and she knows why.

And last but assuredly not least, a delighted lick of the lips to the 13 prawns, which sacrificed their lives for a good cause. Their collective cholesterol might just kill me, but let it not be said that the cause of death was "assam-prawn eating".

So now may we all join hands and sing from that hallowed Dresden Dolls song? "Coin operated boy..."

From the Rue Catinat,
Rachel
"Why has the banter stopped?"

2004-04-18T02:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Class,
The weekly bitch post is in session.

While I was initially delighted at having been assigned the apparently more sedentary task of cleaning the instructors' smoking corner, my joy was short-lived. The smoking corner is approximately a 5m x 5m space on the 2nd floor where the sergeants and officers can go to have their daily nicotine fix. Having swept the floor, cleared the dustbin and polished the notice board in 15 minutes, I was ready for stand-by area -- or so I thought. I went to relieve myself in a nearby cubicle for 5 minutes, and shortly after I came back the platoon sergeant came along to check the cleanliness of the surroundings. Lo and behold, there were cigarette butts in the dustbin and cigarette ash on the floor, for some ill-timed addict had decided to have a quickie while I was in the toilet; and as a result I was berated by a very uptight platoon sergeant. Truly an Augean task, to all intents and purposes.

This post shall end here, in the interest of having an afternoon nap.

--Jerry
"Don't talk to your lanpah, it won't talk back to you." -- Physical Training Instructor Lester Peh to a reclining soldier

2004-04-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

yeah, I empathise. But SISPEC has a big, big advantage over OCS... it's like shorter by half.

And if you get posted after that to a favourable base, you can bring in your PS2 and play Winning Eleven the whole day. At least that's what my sergeants at BMT were doing.

We have a new assistant editor in Army News, freshly come from OCS. Unfortunately he has still within him his "garang" spirit from OCS, and finds the civilian setting of MINDEF uncomfortable. I find that an interesting mentality.