Money, money, money....
Its been a while since I last wrote, but not much has happened lar, except the following....
Selling the Drum
After 3 years the drum set has finally been sold, and I now have 200 bucks to spare, though its prob gonna go to covernig the fees for SMU. Talking bout the fees, Im realli pissed at the freakin pay hike, which is def uncalled for. I mean they talk about SMU offering something more and all, not dat i doubt it, but well, just hope the 6 Gs we're spending will somehow be repaid. Plus thers the 300 bucks we have to pay for oreintation, sheesh, this shit is beginning to look damn expensive, I pray and hope somehow I can find the money. I think Im gonna take up an extra tuition job, so hope to make it work from there. Btw my bro was damn cock, din reaslli help in the sale and transportation of the drum, yet when I asked him to move one cymbal CAREFULLY, he broke it. Sigh. Luckily my buyer was a damn nice guy! His house was a little messy but he made me some damn good Milo. Its all good.
Children - Our pride, or our property?
Last Friday was Hari Raya Haji, and I went to the bedok reservoir mosque nearby to perform prayers. I think all was ok, the sun was bloody hot, but it was all good. However one thing struck me before i left, and that was the sight of children beggin for money. As you can see from the pics i will attach later, a woman, together with about 6-7 children in tow, lined up in a line to ask for alms, some of the children were realli young, about 3-4 years old only. And the worse thing was dat they were made to line up and stand in the hot sun, with plastic bags in their hands, expecting to get money from a charitable stranger.
Most of the people walked away from them, since most of us have already donated to the donation tins and official personnel in the vicinity of the mosque. I was feeling rather angry at the woman, for draggin the kids to the mosque so early in the morn. Yet the kids themselves looked contented, playing amongst themselves as they waited for the cash which never realli came. Oh well, its at times like this that I feel ppl treat children like some kind of asset/cash cow, to gain more sympathy from people. Of cos its not as bad as in Indonesia and Thailand, where children are intentionally maimed/handicapped to work some "begging syndicate" . Nonetheless, children are not given the respect they deserve in instances like this. Fucked up.
Thaipusam 05
Thaipusam Ops this year was smooth flowing, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds, though of cos I couldnt help at times but cringe in pain when the devotees passed, especially those who had the spikes thru the tongue and all. Some of the Kavadis also looked super heavy, towards the end I actually saw one which was as high as the 2nd floor shophouse window. Ouch. But the whole event was colourful, and boy do Indians love their drums! Some of the beats were damn solid, and I seriously think at times that what keeps the devotees going was the beat of the drums. Hypnotic honestly. At times, the buggers even started dancing around! Ouch man.
I also stepped into Mustafa Centre for the first time in my life! Din know it was 24hrs, there were hell of a lot of thigns aronud, almost anything and everything under one roof. Now I know where to rush to if I need something urgently in the middle of the night.
So here I am, one month out of the last six has passed, and Im on leave for the whole of June. dat leaves about 4 months to ORD. I cant wait. This coming Feb is gonna be a short one I hope, culminating with the X-country at the end of the month. Lately Ive been thinkin about life after NS, man I realli hope I dont spend my money till I have none.
Why is everything about money?
Out.
What makes the world go round? You and me.
Wow, today has been an eventful day to say the least, but overall thought it has been rather disappointing. Nonetheless, its time to tell you bout my tiger cup experience.
Me and Rahul having a brilliant night!!!
Damien and Haresh concentrating, see those masks on their head? Haha
Rahul and his brilliant sign, he actually changed the sign halfway, it actually read Singapore,and not Singh! Haha I bet shebby had a field day for this match!
Ben and the crowd, superb!
Just look at the crowd here. This was what u missed!
The Kallang wave on the way to us, prob cant see though, LOL
I sold this jabroni for 30 bucks, bought it for 15! Call mr trump!
SINGAPORE!!
I was there at about 510, tog with Haresh, Damu, Ben, Rahul, and their frends, there was some fiasco involving the tickets or rather the lack of it, which eventually resulted in Ashok not going into the stadium, but well, best to not talk about it.
Even from outside, I could hear the cheering going on, and I was desperate to get inside, desperate to get a seat in the stadium, desperate to join in the cheering. I rem lining up for the tickets, only for the fuckers tot ell us thats ectioin was closed and we had to move to another que. Fucked up. I refused to give in and decided to cut in front, haha UGLY SINGAPOREAN. But a desperate one, I pushed and shoved my way thru, i must admit I felt a bit guilty but I din care.
Once we were inside began the tedious task of finding good seats, which we eventually did, in the east gallery, then we had to book seats for ppl, some of whom came late. Lesson no 1? I think in the future everybody should try tomake it in time. Kelvin, Cecil and Marie came along, and tog with Jason and Aaron's frends we were ready to rock the stadium.
It started off rather quitely, but everything changed when Indra scored that beauty of a goal. Talk about a stiff grounder! The goal was class and I remember the pure delirium, the rush of blood, the unbelievable noise! It was amazin, I couldnt stop huggin my frends.
Thereafter we started our normal cheers for Agu, Itimi, Mani, the Ole oles, the "always cheating" cheer, haha, it was great even if most of the time it was just the group of 20 of us. After Agu scored again closer tot he break, we celebated like no tomorrow, I couldnt believe that we were 4 goals up in total.
The rest of thematch was ok, cant think of what hasnt been said, so i wont. My only disappoinment? the prize presentation.
I cant believe they put up boards which din allow the rest of the fans see the trophy being lifted by Singapore. That was a freaking travesty. nonetheless, I enjoyed the game, had a nice plate of mee goreng therafter, and even managed to cath a train and a bus to go back home.
One unforgettable moment stands out though, that was the moment when I looked at Haresh straight in the eye, after the final whistle blew, strained my ear and caught strians of "we are the champions" from the south stand. I immediately shouted it out really loud, and even though it was only me at first, the whole section of the crowd caught on, and it was absolutely beautiful. I actually started something!
In 1999, on that fateful night, when Man U came from behind to win the European Cup in the last minute of extra time, as me and my dad hugged each other at 5 in the morn, I thought that there could be no finer moment.
Today i realised, even if man u were to win the european cup, or england the world cup, both would not even match up to my own country doing it. The tiger cup is but a small step, I hope one day, as Singapore stands on the verge of the world cup, with the 2nd leg of the qualifier at home, I would have a chance to be there.
Phil's Departure
Today phil packed up his stuff and left for the next office, cos another ASP will be sitting behind me. Somehow i wanted to help him move the stuff, but I just couldnt accept it, and just continueed doing my work as if nothing major was happening around me. As i stared at the bare table at 7 pm, I realised that it has been a hell of a road that Ive taken with phil. All the basketball 1 on 1s, all the volleyball duels, all the singing and jamming to linkin park, they were but memories.... Sigh. Not dat i mind sitting with ASPs or something, but things will just never be the same, its like a premature nightmare. Yikes. talking bout this makes me sad.
Nonetheless, tom Phil is chioing to go see basketball at Fengshan, so at least theres something to watch. Only thing is, when we return from lunch, we wont be going to the same room anymore. I now realli feel like an estranged member of the unit, forced to graze in a different pasture from the rest of the flock.
Price Hike
Today SMU announced it will be raising fees by 15 fuckin percent to about 6500 a year, more than any other local u. bloody hell, so looks like I have to save a bit more. I had to cancel my ps2 plans cos of this, so itbetter be worth it. i dont know why ppl there think money grows on trees. Id rather they stay in the current campus and charge less.
Tomorrow is another day, fight on.
Out.
Here we are,at the crossroads once again
I think ppl have stopped updating their blogs, most of em, wif the excpetion of ppl like hannah, pri and my brom have stopped indefinitely. Worst was damu who cancelled his blog, sigh....it was damn funny man.
Singapore Soccer
Somtimes i think to myself, why do i always wanna win? Am i the only one who wants to win, and cannot stand losing? Then i began to realise that there are prob many more ppl somewhat like me around, judging by the srowd on sunday. BTW the tickets for the match, all 55 000 have been sold out in about a day, wow, thats faster than national day, and u even have to buy these tics, plus they dont have any goody bags and shit. Suddenly everybody is a lions fan, suddenly everybody wants a piece of the action. I ask myself, if the scoreline was 3-1 in Indonesia's figure would we do the same? If this was just a friendly would we do the same? Somehow the glaring fact that the chances of lifting the trophy is very very high has contributed to the large crowd. At least dats wat i think. Not dat its a bad thing, i mean when was the last time the stadium was filled? Not even when man u came to play was the stadium filled this much. But i hope to get an early seat to enjoy it wif the rest of SIngapore. But well, goes to show, we Singaporeans, sing when were winning. Im not that bad after all rite?
From bad to worse
Lately Ive been sleeping at 2 in the morn and waking up at 830, eventually reaching the office at about 910. Crap, sometimes i feel cock for waking up so late and taking so long to get to the office. And the thing is i always have to rush thru the gates to make sure im not spotted. Thank god my supervisors (if thers one good thing about them) are rather flexible about this. Phew. But well i feel realli guilty about it nonetheless. My resolution is to start coming on time. Just 3 more months till the replacement comes.
Goosebumps
Today i got a mail from SMU asking me to come for matriculation, and suddenly im peeing in my pants. Shit, as much as I hate NS, suddenly all the "looking forward to uni' crap is going down the toilet bowl. I guess as i mentioned to dawn earlier, i just hate new people, new environments, having to start new friendships, having to give new impressions, having to fit in. crap, now im feeling even worse. And wats more they want me to pay 300 bucks, like money s flowing out of my ears or somethin. Where am i gonnna dig up that crap?? Sigh, suddenly university life isnt such a nice pasture to head to after all.
1 1/2 months to X-country. Last Kopek.
Out.
Ain't Nothing But a Heartache
Looking Back
As I sit here, under the comfort of my orange study light, i look back at the past week. It was hell of a hectic one, and I just wanna say thanx to my Ops Units mates, who helped me thru it. ALl of us are realli hoping to catch the match on Sunday. i satyed backtill one on thrusday and friday,even escaped workto go for a quick tuition before heading back to station. I rem being so tired, i simply gave Amira some work and closed my eyes as i rested my head on the table. sigh, felt real guilty. Then saturday was equally hectic. Tuition at 9. Work from 11-4. Soccer at 5. Thank god i had time to catch the match, despite feeling crappy for abandoning mymates at work. But i guess i just needed the break.
Today was initially chaotic to begin with, didnt have a nice time at all. Was upset, stressed at times. but i glad managed to pull thru. I think at the end of the day, which im sure phil and ah vin will agree, this Ops,no matter how stressful it was realli pushed us all. And despite all the fatigue and shit we felt, i felt that we became better ppl and learnt so much, instead of the normal shit that happens. Al because OOP,that stupid son of a bitch isnt around. Im so happy.Really the past month has been great without him, and today i think all three NSFs proved our worth. Even though maybe nobody saw it, i recognise it in myself and more imptly the other two NS guys beside me. Wat would Ops unit do without us? haha.
Stubborn Adults
I swear as adults get older, they became more stubborn. Today i treid to release the men into their buses sector by sector, only to see them rush to the buses the moment i said "Sector 1, Sector 1, only. Only. Please proceed to your buses." Wateva. haha, but well, i think it was a good learning experience. I swear though, sometimes i hate the fact that someday i might just or prob turn into them. LOL
Maju
Maju is seeing a change with Mini's indefinite hiatus. Damu immediately got going getting Ben into the organinsing committee. And i think we're gonna see something pro-active soon. we played inthe rain this week, and most of the time i was sliding and slipping around. Haha. But i loved it! Soccer come rain or shine.
How many times has this happened to you?
how many times have u been in the situation where two guys u noe are planning to go out, and they talk about it, and then realsie u r around, ask u along? Haha, not dat it hasnt to me. I rem getting ready to get a lif from Damu after maju, and he was talking to Haresh bout going to watch movie. Then Haresh wanted to talk tome and he asked me if i wanted to come. Initially i said i was busy. then i asked him "Seriously, i noe your asking cos im aorund, and you wouldnt have done so if i wasnt right? "....Predictably , Haresh agreed. Not dat im angry or anything, nothgin like dat realli, just dat i realised not many ppl would have asked that question no matter how glaring it may be....Sometimes we humans are just too diplomatic, if dat is what u can call it. Then again, if someone were to ask it and get angry over the expected answer, then he's a bloody cock.
this wek is time to catch up on everything i missed, all the returns, sending stuff to PHQ. Yikes, wats even worse is OOP, motherfucker, is back in town. Oh well, here's to surviving.
Out.
Oh what a night!
Wow... what a night today was, I'm tired, and my voice is gone, but I'm realli over the moon cos of today's match, when Singapore beat Myanmar 4-2 and 8-5 on aggregate. the match was marred by some shit though, but i'll say that for later.
i woke up at 2 today, tired from the past few sleepless nights i had. It was raining, and raining, and raining. Wasnt the torrential kinda rain, but the bothersome drizzling one , which you noe will last for like forever. Oh well. i decided to go for tuition, only to arrive at an empty huse, due to some miscomm, luckily enough my dad, hitched me a ride there and back, so it wasn't much trouble. Thanks ba.It was still raining when i left home for the stadium, met up with Cecil, and headed for the stadium. i came well prep, bringing mats, newspaper and plastic bags, to keep mine and cecil's ass dry. The match started well enough, amazingly, as luck would have it, the heavens dried up, and it stopped raining. The stadium was quite filled up, and the atmosphere was crisp. Somehow, as the rain stopped falling for the first time in about 10 hours, i felt it might be Singapore's day...
Of cos until the Myanmarese scored thru a speculative whack of the ball. Lionel Lewis did not manage to get a hand to it. 1-0. The rest of the match saw Itimi Dickson running his ass off. The crowd was getting better by the minute, though a bit agitated we could not break thru a mediocre myanmar defence. Went it 1-0 down, but still level.
The second half started and Singapore was starting to play like crap. Myanmar began pushing forward, and scored again, thru a deflected shot, which literally trickled into goal. Yikes. 2-0, and the myanmarese were in the driving seat for the finals. Their fans were fantastic, I'll give em dat, simply fanatic.
Then Singapore pulled one back! YEs! Tampines player Alam Shah with a header from my man-of-the-match Goh Tat Chuan. We were back in it, and the crowd was realli starting to pick up. Me and the guys were cheering our asses off. I swear btw ri and the vj guys, the ri guys are fuckin spontaneous.
Then came the turning point in the match when SIngapore were awarded a penalty. In the fiasco that followed, two Myanmar players were sent off, one for teh foul itself, and the other one for kicking mud into the linesman's eyes. WTF!! The fans also got restless, and a few myanmarese actually jumped onto the pitch level, and got his fucked up junta ass whacked by the Cisco police officer. The officer kept pummeling him with his baton. Brilliant shit.
Anyways the anxiety in the penalty prob got to indra Shahdan,who skewed it wide? Can u imagine? I was shocked, thouht the match would be over. myanmar now had 8 man only, and they actually finished the 90 min, 2-1 ahead.
Into extra time it went, and Myanmar were struggling. To cut a long story short, Myanmar was overrun, and got whacked with 3 goasl from Alam Shah and Agu Casmir. We were estatic. We started an ole cheer when the lions passed the ball around, just like in EpL, and the whole stadium caught on! We also started a cheer for Agu, whcih well not most wanted to follow, haha cos it prob sounded like the racist shit in spain. Anyways miniutes before the end, somebody ont he pitch actually threw a drink a mani, who was seperating yet another fracas. How outrageous was dat! These myanmarese were disgraceful, as pri put it, and in the last part of the game, the whole subs benched rushed off onto the pitch to confront our player. By this time, a group of skinheads had actually run towards the Myanmarese crowd, and the cisso police were dping a reasonable
job at keeping them apart. As usual they were Malays, why Malays? cos only this race is bloody stupid enough to do such a thing.
ANyways the match ended with both players exchanging handshakes. The crowd had gotten out of control, and i called Ops room for some help. I actually called Phil to ask him to help and he could actually have the cheek to ask me " Serious or not?" Wateva, hoped the flying dustbin and the SOC arrving would help to support my "serious-or-not" claim. Anyways i was glad i called lar, the ambulance were outside, and GL NPC pumped in about 3
cars. Saw Simon there, chia lat everytime team delta kena this kinda shit.
Anyways it was hell of an eventful match, and im glad we won. Im even gladder got to watch it with Cecil. And damu, booker, haresh,kel and ben were there too. RI rules honestly. Im lookin fwd to the next match, realli hope i can make it.
Out.
P.S. Cecil may be going overseas. This sux, first mel, now him. i hope Uni doesnt go for exchange, if she can help it.
Evrybody's going places. But me.
And i won't look down...
60 hours of work.
7 hours of sleep.
Somehow, despite all this, I'm still wide awake awaiting the Man U game. I'm too lazy to organise my points toay so let me just let go....
The tsunami crisis is huge, i cant believe how bad things are, especially in Aceh, where bodies prob outnumber those living... I feel so fortunate for everything here, and being at the contact centre at ICA has not made me any blinder to the realities of this crisis. I spent my time at the command post today reading thru articles on the internet station to make sure i was au fait with the whole issue, especially the numbers dead. I feel really sad when i pas by the relatives at the holding area, guilt even, for walking around, feeling ok when they feel sad. Oh well, today i saw an old couple waiting, and i wondered how it would feel to know nothing bout your Next of Kin....Work is tough, but thinkin bout doing my best for the ppl whose suffering my fatigue can never compare to,is enough to keep me going.
Friends
This goes out to Cecil, Rif, Puv and Jon. YEst was the 7th year we've had our new year gathering, and it was the most challenging yet. The rain came not once, twice, but three times, wetting our tent and all, destroying our barbeque, but ultimately, what got us thru was our frendship. I will never forget me, puv, rif and cecil standing around the pit, shielding the bbq from the rain, and cooking the food under that little roof/groundsheet. Cold we were, but we never budged, insisting instead to not spoil the day. And even though ihad to rush of for work at 2 am, I had a great time. Somehow, its things like this, that assures me i still have friends in this world. 364 more days to the next one.
Out.
