Just a little over 40 days to the start of the 2007 F1 season

I just dropped by the F1 website and the countdown clock showed that in just another 45 days, the 2007 F1 season will commence. This year, many teams will have new drivers and some also have a whole new technical team. Tyres wise, it is an all-Bridgestone affair. This means that the field is more level in a sense where the car setup, driver skill and pit crew efficiency will be vital in determining the final result. I am excited to watch the races as I enjoy the pit stops, overtaking and qualifying rounds throughout the race.

PCK Season Finale

In just a fortnight, Singapore's favourite contractor Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd will 'close shop'. Well, the local sitcom will air its last 2 episodes 2 tuesdays from now. I recall the first season which made its debut 10 years ago. At that time, there were many other local sitcoms but none could equal the humour, wit and plot of "Under One Roof". However, as time went by, PCK slowly made its name and built up its reputation. PCK, played by Gurmit Singh, never failed to capture the audience with his classic yellow boots, debatable Singlish and authentic local essence.

10 years on, PCK will air its last episode. However, i believe that like "Under One Roof", PCK will always remain in the minds of Singaporeans. I used to think that "Under One Roof" is the benchmark of local sitcoms. However, kudos to the producers, scriptwriters and crew of PCK for making it so entertaining and interesting.

I sure will miss PCK.

Singaporean GP (to be confirmed)

Aerial view of the proposed F1 street circuit

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This is the aerial view of the proposed F1 street circuit in Singapore. If all goes well and if a decision is made by April this year, the F1 2008 season will see the Singapore GP as one of the venues for the race to the World Championship. It is scheduled to be just before the Japanese GP. I also read in the papers that F1 GP is the third most popular sporting event internationally after the World Cup Soccer followed by the Olympics. Imagine the revenue that will be generated if we have the F1 here in Singapore. The hotels and the F&B sector are not the only ones to benefit from this event. I reckon that the publicity for Singapore should we host the F1 is about the same if not bigger than the IMF-World Bank Conference held in Suntec last year. Only this time, members of the public will be able to savour and feel the closeness and the excitement when they see and hear those cars zip past our narrow and winding roads. For those who have been to Monte Carlo to witness the Monaco GP, you will know what I am talking about. So let's wait and see as only time will tell............

Gathering with old friends

We just got home from Forum Galleria where we met up with some of my old friends. How old? Well, we have known each other ranging from 19 - 26 years. Yes, since our primary and secondary school days. It was a great time catching up and best of all the ladies also had their own 'ladies talk' while the guys chatted away!

The place we had dinner was the Califonia Pizza Restaurant. Their pizza and salad rawk. Price wise it was quite reasonable. Compared to the pizza that you get from Pizza Hut or Domino's (where i worked during my varsity days in Aus), Califonia Pizza wins hands down. The desert was fabulous. Pity that i did not bring my camera else I could get some photos and perhaps post them. Will remember to bring my camera the next time.

Went to Lot 1 n bumped into a gp of familiar pple...

We went to Lot 1 in the afternoon to purchase the baby car seat from Kiddy Palace. Just as we were about to go to the Food Junction, I heard someone calling me. (pretty loud!) It was a gp of my ex-students. Well, if any of the 6 of you are reading this, you know who you are. :-) It was nice to see them outside school enjoying their weekend.

To the 6 of you: hey next time please don't call out my name so loud in public la! Very paiseh leh. Almost wanted to hide! LOL!!!! Just come and approach me can already!!!

So Angela and I went went to Kiddy Palace to find the car seat that we were deciding to buy. At first I saw another one which cost $149. So I asked the sales staff where was the one that we were looking for. At first they told me that this particular branch at CCK might not bring in the model that we wanted. Actually, the one we saw was in the Toa Payoh branch. Just as I was shifting the stuff to take a look at whatever they had, I saw it. They had the exact model which we were looking for. Thank God! At least we need not drive all the way to Toa Payoh. Checked it and it was functioning ok so we asked them to put it aside while we shopped for other stuff.

When we arrived home, the first lot at the ground level was available! Quickly parked my car in that lot as it was more spacious for us to open the door wide and then try to mount the baby car seat just to test it out. I thought that after mounting the seat facing backwards (this is the recommended position for new born infants till they are 12 months old), the front passenger seat will be very cramped. However, it was not that bad as I pushed the seat back so that it pushes the car seat tight. Thankfully the Altis is quite spacious but then, it would have been so much better if I was driving a Camry or an MPV (Odyssey? Previa? Wish?) Haha! Well, be thankful that I have a set of wheels!!

Top 12 sellers for 2006.

Read this in the MCF or My Car Forum. It is crystal clear that Toyota is by far the top seller. No surprises for they build really good cars. What amazes me is that the Nissan Sunny lost out to the Mitsubushi Lancer by just a whisker and there are no Mercs nor BMWs among the list.

As for the big car category, the Honda Accord and Nissan Cefiro are nowhere near the success of the Toyota Camry. However, it remains to be seen if the new Accord (current model looks awful) can salvage back some sales.

Altis 10,910
Lancer 6,763
Sunny 6,646
Wish 6,628
Vios 6,442
Civic 5,239
Latio 4,472
Getz 2,972
Camry 2,689 exclude JDM 540
Verna 2,330
Picanto 2,116
Jazz 1,746 exclude Fit 1128

a very cool day....

The weather today was fantastic. Although it rained a little in the afternoon, it stopped by the time i wanted to go for a run and the best part was that it was very breezy. Just the perfect runner's dream weather to have a good run. Seems that I need to push a little harder as my timing for my 10k slackened a little. To be precise, I clocked in at exactly 60mins which is abt 5 mins slower than just before I ran the half marathon. Guess it was due to the long break that i took after the event and also the bad weather during the December holidays.

After my one and only tutorial, I had my DCE group meeting. The dynamics of the gp is simply great. Everyone is so focused on doing a good job and I could sense the enthusiasm among the 6 of us. So having different gps with my usual bunch has its advantages as well.

long day but.....

Wednesdays are my worst days. I have a 2 hr lesson in the morning before a one hour lunch break. After that, I have 4 straight hours of maths. However, despite the long day, I enjoyed the lessons today.

DLK lesson was where we had to prepare something to present to different audiences. Our gp was tasked to prepare a document where we have to address the parents that the school will be shifting to a holding location while undergoing a complete rebuild. Thankfully, I did not speak faster than Schumi's Ferarri! My gp members made sure that i did not speak too fast!

Maths lesson was spent entirely in the lab where we were introduced to many new functions and a whole new software. It never occured to me that there are some functions in MS word and MS excel which I had absolutely no idea they ever existed! So I will be fiddling with those functions as i will need to use them in my assignment.

Tomorrow's a short day. Will go for a run in the late afternoon.

Had a gd run today....

I went running with Steph n 2 of her other running kakis. We ran the 179 bus route which basically covered the perimeter of the WHOLE NIE and NTU campus. Perhaps the most difficult part was the long uphill slope. However, that is a test of one's endurance and determination. So my tuesdays will be my running days in NIE after the 1630hr lesson. My thursdays will probably be spent running around my estate. What about the weekends? I guess I could start checking out some other running areas. Will give my cousin and other marathon runners a message soon. Here's the the running events for this year!

Pre-natal class

Went for the pre-natal class earlier. Today's lesson was on the various pain relief measures and prescribed drugs during the labour process. It sounds 'worrying' especially for the many first-time parents-to-be like us. However, we strongly believe the the Lord will guide us every step of the way during the birth process.

They also took us to the nursery to view the newborn babies and how to handle them carefully. There was this baby girl who was just born yesterday and she was so adorable. (well, all babies are) We were also shown the various rooms to choose when the time comes for Angela to stay after birth. There was this suite which is the top-of-the-range in the whole hospital. It is something like a hotel suite but only smaller and the bed is the typical hospital bed. Obviously, it does not come cheap.

Looking forward to go running tomorrow with one of my course mates. Here's to the running events this year.

So anti-climax

When I was in church this morning, the weather was great. Bright sunlight, a near cloudless sky and it was a little warm too. However, at this point in time, dark clouds are lurking and it is threatening to rain. Just when I want to go running, the skies look as if they are opening up to wet the whole place. The northeast monsoon is still on but I think the wettest parts of the season might be over with the heavy downpour in Dec and the 1st few weeks of Jan. I am really looking forward to running at some other venues when the weather gets better. On a lighter note, my course mate and I will be having our weekly runs on campus every tuesday. I am really looking forward to that.

Mobilisation....

For those of you who may have watched TV earlier in the afternoon (after 2pm) you would have seen four mobilisation code names being flashed on your screens. Well, my unit was one of them. In fact, we all knew beforehand that this weekend will be 'disrupted' so all of us were anticipating the call or SMS. As it is confidential, I cannot reveal what we did but basically, four hours were wasted. It could have been done quickly but as I have posted before, the way things are being done, some things never change.

Appt later, CG potbless after that, possible mobilisation tmw...

I had a great time last night with 3 other ex-uni friends. We had a great dinner at Waraku Marina Square. Besides catching up, we talked about our current status in this stage of our lives. It is great to be able to meet up with old friends and look back in retrospect of our time spent in Australia. Back then, everyone of us were still single albeit some who were attached. Fast forward till today, many of us have already settled down. Some have even started a family. Time flies. (another way of saying that we have aged....haha)

Got our appointment with our gynae later. After that, our CG will be having a potbless at T&J's place. It will be a fabulous time of fellowship. Afterall, the purpose of the CG is to be part of a community. So for 2 nights in a row, I have been eating a lot. I guess I will have to go for a good run tomorrow evening. I just hope that the mobilisation tomorrow will be a quick one. Just wait for the call/sms, head back to camp, log in our attendance and then fall out.

The new Ferrari F2007

The article below was adapted from the F1 website. At this point in time, there is less than 60 days to the debut of the 2007 F1 season. This is getting really exciting....

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Ferrari reveal innovative F2007
14 January 2007

Ferrari have unveiled the machine with which they hope to win the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. The F2007, which will piloted by Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, was previewed to the press on Sunday afternoon.The F2007, the 53rd single-seater built by Ferrari specifically to compete in the championship, has been significantly modified over its predecessor, the 248 F1. Its design was revised to accommodate new front suspension, which Ferrari say represents a “major conceptual innovation”, mainly in terms of aerodynamics. The shape of the car’s side-pods and their openings have also been changed in conjunction with modifications to the cooling system, the radiator exits on the upper part of the bodywork, and a substantially different engine air intake.The car has a longer wheelbase than its predecessor, while the rear is much narrower, taking advantage of a more sculpted shape to its gearbox housing, which is again made from carbon fibre. The gearbox itself, still mounted longitudinally, is fitted with an innovative quick-shift system (seven speeds plus reverse). The rear suspension is similar to that on the 248 F1, but Ferrari are planning a significant development programme in this area as the team’s understanding of Bridgestone’s 2007 tyres increases. The car’s front and rear aerodynamic configuration is also expected to change considerably before the start of the season. The position of the rear view mirrors remains unchanged from the 2006 car, as does the exhaust system.In accordance with new regulations that come into force this year, the basic structure of the car’s 056 engine remains the same as that homologated at the end of last season, with minor modifications to optimize it to the new 19,000 rpm rev limit. The engine continues as a load bearing member and is again mounted longitudinally. The F2007 is just under 10 kilograms heavier than its predecessor, due the introduction of more stringent front and rear crash tests and the addition of a composite material structure to provide lateral protection to the sides of the driver’s cockpit.The car is expected to get its test debut at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit on Monday, with Felipe Massa at the wheel.

F1 in Sg? Almost there....

Haha, 2nd post for today. Got this from the Straits Times about F1 coming to Sg...ooolala....U can be sure that i will surely be there to watch the action...n hear the roar of the 2.4L V8s....

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F1 in Singapore: Almost there By Julian Lim - 17 Jan, 2007 AsiaOne

Fernando Alonso brakes late to overtake Ralf Schumacher at the Fullerton hairpin, Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen thunder down the St Andrew's straight at 300km/hr. Is this for real?
Maybe.
If one of two local magnates manages to wrangle his way to a deal with the powers that be, a warm-up, pre-cursor race to full-blown F1 madness could be coming to Singapore as early as August this year, if preliminary reports are to believed.
Property tycoon, Mr Ong Beng Seng and SUTL Group's managing director, Mr Arthur Tay, are engaged in a race of their own to win a contract with Formula One Management, as well as convince the local authorities of their plans.
Insiders have Mr Ong as the odds-on favourite based on his connections with F1 mogul, Bernie Ecclestone.
Leading F1 circuit designer, Mr Hermann Tilke, has already made the trip to Singapore to draft out what the eventual course could look like. According to reports in The Straits Times, the 51-year-old German promises "high speeds, tight cornering, and an exciting spectacle for spectators and drivers alike."
His design portfolio boasts the likes of the F1 speedways in Malaysia (Sepang International Circuit), Bahrain (Bahrain International Circuit), China (Shanghai International Circuit) and Turkey (Istanbul Park). Come 2010, it will also include South Korea's new circuit.
The concept of Formula 1 street racing brings to mind the scenic, but narrow Monaco course which measures 3.34km, shorter than the proposed 5km circuit Mr Tilke would like for Singapore.
When asked for a comparison between Monaco and the possible Singapore circuit, The Straits Times quoted Mr Tilke as saying that Singapore's would be a more "modern" course, but cautioned against further comparisons as "it's not fair to compare circuits because each race has its own character and personality."
And another possible "Uniquely Singapore" element to the race to be found nowhere else on the F1 calendar: Night racing
This would reduce the need for traffic disruptions within the vicinity of the circuit (i.e. the Central Business District). Better alert the traffic wardens though, lest they book any of the F1 drivers for bus lane infringements.
Other potential race highlights
- Start and finish lines on a floating platform to be constucted at Marina Bay, which will also house the pit lanes and race paddock
- Long, four-lane straight leading into a two-lane hairpin at the end of Esplanade Bridge.
- Raffles Avenue four-lane straight measuring 700 metres, which will allow cars to go beyond 300km/hr
- Local landmarks that could feature in the course include the Esplanade, Merlion, Padang, Raffles Hotel, and Suntec Convention Centre, the Fountain of Wealth, and Raffles Hotel
- VIP suites located at the Swissotel and other hotels along the race strip, affording commanding aerial views to those with deep pockets on race day.

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IPA lesson

We had our IPA lesson today and it felt as if i was back in my early days learning the english language all over again. It dawned upon me that Singlish has actually distorted the actual standard english in the way certain words are being pronounced. I think many of us felt as if we were learning a completely foreign language! However, it was pretty interesting especially when we had to decipher the symbols to form the words. English is quite a completed language afterall.

The muffin that Jasmine (Aaron's gf) made were simply fantastic. I had one for breakfast and my oh my....it simply rawks! Angela tried one and she found it pretty delactable. I do enjoy eating but never did i have any interest in cooking or baking. During my uni days in Aus, I learnt to cook simple meals to feed myself and whenever i called home, i would ask my mum or domestic helper how to prepare simple dishes. Well, i managed to survive the four years abroad.

Mr Men and Little Miss series

I am sure that many of you know, heard of and read the Mr Men and Little Miss series. Written by Roger H ( i can't remember how to spell his surname), he began life as a copywriter. When he had children, he wanted to spend time with his kids by reading to them. Children's books were not that easy to find in those days. So he thought to himself," Children's books must be easy to read with a nice picture on every page and not have too many words. " So he first thought of how Mr Tickle would look like. Someone who had long arms who finds delight tickling others. As such, Mr Tickle was 'born' and soon after many other characters followed such as: Mr Slow, Mr Rush, Mr Clever, Mr Tall ....... A decade later, he started the Little Miss series. So we hear of Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Scatterbrain......

I grew up reading those books and i must confess that even until today, I still enjoy reading them! Perhaps those would be good stuff to start reading to Esther? My course mates too know of these books and when i brought such a book (compliation of numerous Mr Men and Little Miss stories) to class as part of my module requirements, they simple enjoyed the retrospect moment of re-visiting these characters once again. Needless to say, we all had a good laugh too reading the funny stories and appreciating the pictures as well. We are still a young at heart bunch of student teachers!

Lesson 1 of the pre natal class

We went for our first lesson of the pre-natal class this evening. There were many other couples (first time parents to be like us) who attended as well. We found it very beneficial and the following lessons will also show us some finer details of caring for the child, the birth process and some stress relieve tips and exercises. I salute all mothers who have to go through the pregnancy stage and it is really tough. So to all fathers out there, we guys do play a very important supportive role.

I also managed to sell off my club membership. Finally, after some months of waiting, one of my church friends (Edward) managed to find a buyer and we sold both our single membership to this guy who purchased a family membership. It was about 1.5 years ago that the dumb club management changed the buy back rules as there were many who wanted to sell. Thankfully, Edward came to know this buyer and he told me about it. So 3 months ago in early November, we did all the paperwork and waited for the process to go through. And it did. Basically the proceeds will all go towards paying off the car loan, road tax and insurance renewal plus other stuff....

Pre-natal class

Starting tomorrow, we will be attending a pre-natal class. Basically it is for parents who are expecting their first child. It covers simple exercises and some caring tips for newborn infants. This course is especially helpful for first time parents like us. I must say that I am a little anxious on how to care for our daughter. However, as we spoke to some of our friends who attended the course, it is very helpful as it really prepares us when the baby comes along. One very important fact is: parenting is a two person role. Many think that only mothers should go for such courses but the fathers are just as essential. Am I excited? Anxious? Stressed? For whatever thoughts and feelings that I may have or will have, I believe that parenting is a wonderful priviledge. There are no off days, no pay, not much rest especially when baby wakes up in the middle of the night for feeding and it is 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. As such, I pray that the Lord will guide, protect, bless and teach us in this long but fruitful journey ahead.

When Esther is born, I will definitely post some (maybe many??) photos of her and us for all you readers to enjoy. Needless to say, I will also post about what we will be up to. Life after the birth of a child will be so different. Whatever time that we have will be spent looking after and bonding with her.

Week 2 starts tomorrow.

Finally i see some sunlight....

I am so glad that I saw some sunlight today. It was so wonderful that I managed to go running earlier and the coolness made it even more enjoyable. However there were still puddles of water along the pavement so I had to make slight detours onto the road albeit carefully. Ran past the sites where landslides were reported. I thought to myself: if landslides in Sg are so prevalent especially during the rainy season what about countries such as M'sia where landslides are pretty common. There was even a case which occurred many years ago where a landslide happened exactly where there was a condominium built causing it to collapse. I cannot recall the fatality rate but that incident sure made headlines. It was found out that corruption was the main factor during the construction process thereby leading to the tragedy.

If the weather starts to improve which will be soon, I will start my running routine. As I intend to participate in more events this year (besides the Sheares Bridge Run and StanChart Sg Marathon), adequate training is essential. I will also try out new running routes. One of which will be running from my home to NIE which is 10km. So if I want to practise for a half marathon, I can run to NIE and back! My cousin will be showing me the route from Sembawang Park to Orchid Country Club and also the Sentosa trail. Sounds exciting eh? Care to join in anyone?

End of 1st wk

At the end of week 1, I find that the workload is already flowing in fast. Readings, tutorials, reflections and other stuff are starting to stream in. And since most of my friends are in different groups, it is not easy to have lunch together. However, on fridays that is possible, as we are in the same group for only one miserable module! As usual, it is a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone.

The afternoon rain (and it is still pouring by the way) really came at a bad timing especially when I was about to leave school. To start it, I did not have an umbrella. Thankfully Dora had one and since it was a small one, i borrowed hers to get to the car and then drive it nearer so that i can then use the bigger one to supplement. The most important thing is to keep my laptop carrying case dry even if it is waterproof. On our way out to Jln Bahar, there was a small flood so I had to cross it slowly(thankfully, it was low enough for my car to pass).

We will have our first CG tonight. There will be new faces together with familiar ones. Guess it will be a great time to get together again. I really look forward to CG meetings as it is a time to come together after a week's work. Besides the fellowship, the prayers and worship time really eddify one another.

So this weekend will be spent going through the week's work and also preparing for the next.

LCD Flat Screen

My in-laws just purchased a 40-inch Sony LCD flat screen TV. They got it at a year end promotion from Best Denki. Seems that the price of such tvs have been falling. The image and sound quality is simply fantastic. My 34inch CRT (still the conventional type lah ok) pales in comparison. Dropped by my grandma's house and she also got one! Apparently my uncle got a new one for her as her old one finally decided to retire after many years.

Well you may ask how much does such a TV cost? I made a quick calcuation and it can purchase abt 133 tins of milk powder or abt 130 packs of diapers or 16 baby car seats....n the list goes on.... Now tt my daughter is arriving, whatever that i use as a benchmark will be baby stuff. I used to think twice or thrice before committing to making a purchase but now I have to think ten times over before i shld or shld not buy.

Supposed 2b on MC today but....

I was supposed to stay home and have a good rest today as I was given a day's MC after vising the doctor yesterday. However, I felt better so I went to school. In fact, I was prepared to ask my tutor for early release in the event that i felt unwell. Thankfully, I managed to pull through the whole day and since I do not have classes tomorrow, I can stay home and have a good rest. Another reason is because, should I miss classes with a valid reason, it is very troublesome to have to explain and do all the necessary stuff so since i was up to it, i just endured and attended my classes.

I really enjoyed the CS Maths module today. It was very interesting and it shows us the way to teach the module effectively to our students. The maths lab had so much resouces to enable us to conduct the lesson in such a way that students can see and grasp the concept.

Wednesdays are my most hectic days as I only have an hour's break after my morning class to have my lunch before having a 4 hour class after that. I must say that wednesdays are my "marathon" days for this semester.

Went to c doc

Since Sat night, my tension headache has been bugging me. It is that kind of throbbing pain at a certain part of your head and i can certainly say this is a horrible feeling. I thought that painkillers could do the trick but it did not. I went to see the doctor earlier and he prescribed some stronger painkillers for me. His advice was for me to stay home and have a good rest tomorrow. However, he told me that if I do feel better tomorrow, I can go to school. I hope that I am able to go as the lessons tomorrow are quite essential.

The rain earlier today cooled the environment. Thankfully it stopped when I was leaving school because I do not like the idea of having to dash to the car holding an umbrella (which i hardly use by the way) and having to close it before shutting the door. In fact, depending on the rain, umbrellas do not really help much if the rain is heavy with awind is blowing.

I enjoyed the english lesson today. Our tutor is one who is really knowledgable and he is able to explain the rationale behind the tasks which we have to undertake. Next week in class, we will do a story telling as if we are in a lower primary class. I will probably bring my huge "Mr Men & Little Miss" story book. Exciting eh?

Hectic Semester Ahead

On my way to sch this morning, i encountered heavy traffic starting from the Jurong West flyover which is even before the intersection with KJE. There was a long line of cars at the Jln Bahar exit which was my route. When i turned into the car park (it was only 0805hrs) it was aldy half full. Think i may have to leave the house a little earlier tmw. A few minutes makes the difference between getting a free car park lot or having to park in a paid area.

This semester will be a hectic one. Compared to last sem, my modules this time round are more demanding n time-consuming. For a start, my lessons r pretty much packed together (which is gd acutally) but the content of each module is much more in depth. However, though challenging, i sense that my coming modules wld be more fulfilling as it wld be directly related to what i m going to teach in the near future.

First thing we did was to compare our timetables. Frantically trying to find common slots, we lamented abt the mismatches in the way tt it was being planned. However, we have ONE miserable module tt many of us will be together which is the communication skills. (So much for communicating with one another)

The weather today is wonderful. Bright n sunny (warm also) with hardly any dark clouds, this is a great way to start the semester. Hopefully it does not get too hot. Heard in the news abt some countries who shld be experiencing winter are having summer-like temperatures of 22deg. Many attribute it to global warming. Think more must be done to protect the environment.

Fell sick....

Ytd after the "Day of Prayer" held in church, i felt quite lousy. Not spiritually but physically. In fact, i was not feeling well when we left the house. BUt i decided to go nonetheless. At BP plaza, i felt lyk puking n my stomach was churning. We then decided to head home n moreover i felt the runs coming.

The moment we got home, i made a dash for the washroom. Think it cld have been stg tt i ate wrongly. Also felt a fever coming n i had a splitting headache. Swallowed 2 painkillers n went to lie down. Still felt pretty lousy until ard 9 when i had to eat stg. Thankfully i did not throw up after tt.

Due to ytd's episode, i stayed home the whole day. Did not even go to church. Thankfully i m better now. Dun want to fall ill even before i start school which is tmw. At least i only have one class tt starts at 0830 this semester. N most of my friends n my classes r in different gps. *sigh*

My 'new' SAF # 4.....

The fitness test badge. Silver only la


The unit badge a.k.a 'mooncake'


My name tag n vocation badge (signals)


My 'new' #4 uniform

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I went to collect my SAF #4 which i sent for sewing. As they have 'revised' the uniform, the previous camo name tag wld have to be replaced with the new kaki background. The "Singapore" tag wld now be on the left side. It was said tt when SAF troops go overseas for training, it was not very easily identified by foreign troops so tt is y the Sg tag was being introduced. Then on the right collar, the vocation (area of specialisation) badge is being shown. Arty, armour, signals (which is mine btw), commando.....


On the right side is the unit badge. It is so huge n many call it the 'mooncake'! The fitness test badge is on the left side. Well only those who attain gold n silver have it. Haha, i got a silver which does not have the star on top! Well, to attain the gold means tt my 2.4 run must be below 10.15min! As for the rest of the static stations, i can get at least 4 pts for each of them but then the hurdle is the 2.4 run!! However, there is a monetary incentive for the gold which is $400! Silver award gets you half tt amount.

timetable's out

I got my timetable already. From the looks of it, i m quite glad tt i do not have huge gaps in between lessons like the ones i had last semester. However, i only have a one hr break on wed in bet lessons. Seems tt this sem will be very challenging. Looking fwd to starting sch on mon. In fact, Aaron asked if our gp wanted to have a gathering just before sch starts but it seems tt everyone is so busy with their own stuff.

Then when we compared our timetables, we found tt only for one module we r going to be in the same class. Rest of the others we r in different gps. So it seems tt last sem it was quite coincidental. But this wld be a gd chance to work with others.

Seeing cars at BMS

I went to Borneo Motors Sg (Agent for Toyota & Lexus Cars) this morning as CK (my bro) had to send his car for routine svcing. I parked at a lot by the roadside to wait for him n in that 20 min or so, many other Toyotas were turning into the svc ctr as well. Besides the Altises, there were Vios, Picnics, Camrys, Crowns n of course the various Lexus models. I saw two units of the latest model LS460 turning in as well. Wooo....nice!!!! It looks really huge too. Howover i noticed tt there not many Lexus tt r black in colour. Maybe black is not a fav colour? Or perhaps my timing was not right?

Just talked to my bro n my nephew is ok already. He went for the follow up appt n the doctor has given the all clear. Thank God!

I went back to sch to help out today as some of the newly posted in staff were on course. In all i looked after 3 different classes across 3 levels. By n large the students were still in their 'vacation' mood n most of them were chatting abt what they did over the holidays. Besides doing some admin stuff with them, i had to also reinforce basic discipline n some common rules as i cld see that the 6 wk year end hols did quite a bit of damage to their discipline.

My nephew fell sick over the new year hols. My brother told me tt the little one had a very high fever n almost went into a fit. Thankfully after sending him into A&E at NUH, he was discharged a couple of hours later. Thank God!

longggggg weekend ends...

The long weekend has just ended n it is back to work tmw. School will re-open n a new year, a new term begins. Needless to say, new challenges face the students. For those who will start life in a new school, i wish u all the very best n may it signal the start of a new chapter in your schooling life. For those who r having their crucial exams this year (PSLE, O levels, A levels....) work hard, study hard n devote more ( i said more, not all) time twds ur studies. It pays to scarifice a little now n enjoy later. Bitter sweet.....

Take this opportunity to make plenty of new friends. This is very helpful as the networking will come in very helpful in the years to come. That reminds me tt my friendship with 3 of my ex-ACSians has just crossed the 25yr mark with another 2 crossing the 18yr mark. It is amazing tt we have been friends for so long. U guys r a fantastic bunch. The class of 4B6'91 at ACS BR.

Happy New Year to one an all

Here are some photos of our 'unique n healthy' BBQ on 30Dec.

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Happy New Year everyone. Got up at abt 5.30am this morning to attend the dawn prayer in church. It was indeed wonderful tt many turned up bright n early on the first day of the new year to seek the Lord n His direction. Had a hearty breakfast after that at an old n run-down coffee shop along Upp Bt Timah Rd. The reason is that the Kopitiam next to our church will undergo a major renovation with effect from tmw till just b4 CNY. Thankfully it is a public holiday tmw as it was Hari Raya Haji on sunday.