was once a cute chubby boy back in his secondary school days. Until the day he was brought into army. His BMTC in Ninja Company (2006) and 35SCE Survey Platoon (2006-2007) brought
about a transformation (and a little quirkiness) in him. He obtained superhuman powers and is now called, the Super Pioneer! By day, he is a lazy bum who slacks around at home,
blogging and doing useless things. By night, he turns into Super Pioneer, doing the relentless works that is given to him. After the defeat of his Arch Nemesis, The Brain,
Super Pioneer Daron is moving on with his life and onto the next villian, the NUS Monster.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Rugby World Cup- The updates
"When Moses saw God for the first time, he was beating around the fire bush~"
Rev Yep Swee Bing
"I'm more than a bird, more than a plane.. I am a rugby player."
Went to Changi Airport with the intention of picking up Dad at the Arrival Hall, but wasnt able to make it as we ended slightly later in church.. So, I decided to stay with Plin and Esther. Plin had a survey to conduct for a Geography project regarding food preferences among tourist. While she was interviewing any ang moh she could find, Esther and I took our rounds in Changi Airport, going at the viewing area, and randomly going into shops and picking magazine off the shelves, only to put them back after reading. Finally, when Plin and her Pacar was done, we met up, hang around for a while and then went back. The survey turned out to be rather interesting. They had encountered many people, from a group of giggling Australian girls who stayed for a day in Singapore was ate practically nothing, to a guy claiming that Bangkok's food varsity was better, but will still vote for Singapore due to its Indian Food, to a couple who claims to have come from the "Isle of Mar...." Somewhere.. in the globe i supposed..
Anyway, back to the main topic, I'm writing this blog to give the rugby World Cup updates. Into quarterfinals are 8 teams from 4 pools. They are the All Blacks, Australian Wallabies, The South Africans, England (Oh YEA..!!!!), Fijians (The underdogs), Scots, and 2 unconfirmed lots from either the Pumas(Argentina), France or Ireland.. as of now.
It was a real disappointment Wales were not able to get into the quarter finals, since they should be the better team, but it was also because of the opportunistic Fijians that made their game possible. I would say last night's match of Fijian and Wales was one of the best games I have ever watched as both sides desperately try to win the game. For a full coverage of the match, check it up by clicking here.
As for my favorite team, England, they were fortunate they were able to be in the quarter-finals. With only the help of John Wilkinson, England faces a very tough challenge against Australia in the semi-final qualifications, Australia being a more balanced team. And based on their defeat with South Africa, England stand little chance these world class rugby players. Nevertheless.. England will prevail! Or there's always the All Blacks too at the end of the day.. haha~
Ok, the next match will be on 06 Oct, England vs Australia.. Get ready, Daron, for the Rugby World Cup 2007 is starting to reach its climax..!
Anyway, back to the main topic, I'm writing this blog to give the rugby World Cup updates. Into quarterfinals are 8 teams from 4 pools. They are the All Blacks, Australian Wallabies, The South Africans, England (Oh YEA..!!!!), Fijians (The underdogs), Scots, and 2 unconfirmed lots from either the Pumas(Argentina), France or Ireland.. as of now.
It was a real disappointment Wales were not able to get into the quarter finals, since they should be the better team, but it was also because of the opportunistic Fijians that made their game possible. I would say last night's match of Fijian and Wales was one of the best games I have ever watched as both sides desperately try to win the game. For a full coverage of the match, check it up by clicking here.
As for my favorite team, England, they were fortunate they were able to be in the quarter-finals. With only the help of John Wilkinson, England faces a very tough challenge against Australia in the semi-final qualifications, Australia being a more balanced team. And based on their defeat with South Africa, England stand little chance these world class rugby players. Nevertheless.. England will prevail! Or there's always the All Blacks too at the end of the day.. haha~
Ok, the next match will be on 06 Oct, England vs Australia.. Get ready, Daron, for the Rugby World Cup 2007 is starting to reach its climax..!
John Wilkinson - England's only hope~
It is a pity Nicky Little wont be playing for Fiji when they play against South Africa. Excellent Fly Half
"I'm more than a bird, more than a plane.. I am a rugby player."
Friday, September 28, 2007
Fright or Guts at the wheel?
"When You're Gone, but u sleep forever now.
When You're Gone, I am waiting for you..."
When You're Gone, I am waiting for you..."
~West Grand Boulevard, Waiting For You
Imagine yrself driving in this baby~ I did.My Dad is once again off on his business trip, this time at Penang from this friday till Sunday. So guess wad? He passed me his Alfa key's and asked me to drive him to the airport in the morning...
WAD? HIS ALFA ROMEO 156i? nobody touches that in the Yeo Clan other than my dad. But then again besides me, there's just my mum too, though if you ask her to drive it.. I highly doubt she'll get it back in 1 piece. This being said, I did recall driving his precious on one occasion, but that was only a short distance and pretty much a straight road back home. This however, is totally on a different scale. This is the 2nd time I'm driving Alfa and it was the longest journey I have set to drive.
Getting the old habit of Chervolet Aveo out of the system was difficult. First of all, Alfa is shaped differently from Chervolet, so making Alfa travel in the middle of the road took a while of getting used to. My dad nearly ate his tongue up when I nearly took out his left side window when i got a little too close to the comfort of one of the cars beside mine. But I said "Relax~" The next thing about the car was that it was super sensitive on the road. Stepping a little on e accelerator would mean pumping lots of power to the car itself. With the lazy foot from Chervolet, I wasnt able to regulate my speed the way I want it to be. Most of the time I jumped from gear 1 to gear 3 in 2 seconds. Yep, it's an auto car, but yet it still functions like a manual one. Later, when we neared the airport, I sorta turned slightly late at a turn, making my Dad do the amazing somersault in a circus act. But I said "Relax~" I stopped relaxing after he told me that I was actually brushing his tyres on the drain holes near the road. For those newbie drivers out there, it means I was super close the kerb.
Alfa Romeo 156i is a good car to have. I mean, it can easily impress any chick out there with its sleek looks and mean speed. It has lots of cool gadgets in the car, like control panels on ur steering wheel and even alarm systems to alert you when your car faces a problem. I have no idea how many of such "girls" my Dad may have drove around with, but pass it to his son, and his car will be fully utilised for such occasions. :D
So.. you peeps may be wondering what kind of cars I would like to drive.. So here's a top 5 list of what Darren would love to drive..! Not arranged in any order, and im not a car expert.. so haha~ give me advice on my selection..!
1.Peugeot 307CC 2. Audi TT Coupe 3. Subaru Imprezza WRX 4. Lexus IS08 5. Alfa Romeo 159
WAD? HIS ALFA ROMEO 156i? nobody touches that in the Yeo Clan other than my dad. But then again besides me, there's just my mum too, though if you ask her to drive it.. I highly doubt she'll get it back in 1 piece. This being said, I did recall driving his precious on one occasion, but that was only a short distance and pretty much a straight road back home. This however, is totally on a different scale. This is the 2nd time I'm driving Alfa and it was the longest journey I have set to drive.
Getting the old habit of Chervolet Aveo out of the system was difficult. First of all, Alfa is shaped differently from Chervolet, so making Alfa travel in the middle of the road took a while of getting used to. My dad nearly ate his tongue up when I nearly took out his left side window when i got a little too close to the comfort of one of the cars beside mine. But I said "Relax~" The next thing about the car was that it was super sensitive on the road. Stepping a little on e accelerator would mean pumping lots of power to the car itself. With the lazy foot from Chervolet, I wasnt able to regulate my speed the way I want it to be. Most of the time I jumped from gear 1 to gear 3 in 2 seconds. Yep, it's an auto car, but yet it still functions like a manual one. Later, when we neared the airport, I sorta turned slightly late at a turn, making my Dad do the amazing somersault in a circus act. But I said "Relax~" I stopped relaxing after he told me that I was actually brushing his tyres on the drain holes near the road. For those newbie drivers out there, it means I was super close the kerb.
Alfa Romeo 156i is a good car to have. I mean, it can easily impress any chick out there with its sleek looks and mean speed. It has lots of cool gadgets in the car, like control panels on ur steering wheel and even alarm systems to alert you when your car faces a problem. I have no idea how many of such "girls" my Dad may have drove around with, but pass it to his son, and his car will be fully utilised for such occasions. :D
So.. you peeps may be wondering what kind of cars I would like to drive.. So here's a top 5 list of what Darren would love to drive..! Not arranged in any order, and im not a car expert.. so haha~ give me advice on my selection..!
1.Peugeot 307CC 2. Audi TT Coupe 3. Subaru Imprezza WRX 4. Lexus IS08 5. Alfa Romeo 159
But before I even dream about owning such cars, if I cant even have a sturdy job, then I guess it will be good to get a suzuki swift, left alone a bicycle.. haha!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
+=Tribute to the cutes=+
Cute is his name.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Lunch at Manhattan Fish Market
"You could have stunned someone.. How could you miss all of them?!?"
~Mantou, a random guy in a DOTA game.
Well, apparently I was using SK...
The Birthday Girl~~~
Well, apparently I was using SK...
The Birthday Girl~~~We celebrated Jessica's birthday at the central, with the intention of eating at the famous ramen restaurant down at Clarke Quay The Central Level 4, but since it was too crowded, we decided to eat at Manhattan Fish Market instead. Up to date, I would say this would be my 3rd time eating at the same restaurant. The first two were with the secondary sch gang and the AJC 05/04 class peeps. Both of them were at Plaza Sing. It's the church peeps' turn now, consisting of Zh, Andreas, Joshua, me, Fel, Plin, Jeslyn, Eil, Anon Apple and Jessica.
The 1 thing I liked about this outlet was that there wasnt much people, hence not much of a wait. Unlike the one at Plaza Sing, getting a table of 2 would mean waiting for at least 15 minutes. Imagine if it was the 10 of us..! So we went about ordering the food.. Zh and I had the Seafood Giant Platter. Although it explicitedly state that it was meant for 2-3 ppl, we wanted to believe that it was meant for 2 ppl only. After all, we're from the SAF and we can easily make up 4 people. Half an hour later, Zh gave up the battle while I struggled with the last bits of whatever fries and rices was left. Well, at least the fried dory fish, shitake mushrooms, calamari rings and giant prawns were all eaten up..!
Later, we decided to further punish ourselves by going to Liang Court to eat the Japanese ice-cream. I chose a Yuzu (i tink its orange peel) Sorbet while Zh had a Rum and Raisin, which was much better than my selection. Along the way, we bumped into Clinton. Strange thing was that he did mentioned that he was going to join us, but when we found him, he was with his group of JC frens. So ya.. hmm.. caught ya, Clinton.
I decided to divert the whole lot of us away from the fastest route and bring them to the memorable sight for all SAF personnels. Ah, the good old memories of NDP kite flying, how we would walk on the same bridge to hang around at Liang Court for just 15 minutes, like we were so desperate for something that we could find in Seletar Camp. So anyway, Anon Apple wanted to know what so significant about the bridge that I wanted to show them.. Well.. I decided to tell her my version of what the ORD bridge was all about..
" This bridge is to commemorate the very 1st batch of SAF soldiers Singapore has to offer. You see, traditionally, the soldiers will perform a march past over the bridge. Standing on 1 side were the regulars. On the other side were the parents of the soldiers.. So once the soldiers crossed over the bridge, they would have ORD-ed, hence the bridge was named the ORD bridge..."
Well, the bridge was actually built by an architect by the name of George Ord, but let the imagination of an ORD personnel tickle your mind. Happy 19th Birthday, Jessica..! And yes.. we're both 19 for this short period of time... :D
The Catch is Plentiful~
The ORD Bridge~
Group Photo~(Fel left earlier)
The 1 thing I liked about this outlet was that there wasnt much people, hence not much of a wait. Unlike the one at Plaza Sing, getting a table of 2 would mean waiting for at least 15 minutes. Imagine if it was the 10 of us..! So we went about ordering the food.. Zh and I had the Seafood Giant Platter. Although it explicitedly state that it was meant for 2-3 ppl, we wanted to believe that it was meant for 2 ppl only. After all, we're from the SAF and we can easily make up 4 people. Half an hour later, Zh gave up the battle while I struggled with the last bits of whatever fries and rices was left. Well, at least the fried dory fish, shitake mushrooms, calamari rings and giant prawns were all eaten up..!
Later, we decided to further punish ourselves by going to Liang Court to eat the Japanese ice-cream. I chose a Yuzu (i tink its orange peel) Sorbet while Zh had a Rum and Raisin, which was much better than my selection. Along the way, we bumped into Clinton. Strange thing was that he did mentioned that he was going to join us, but when we found him, he was with his group of JC frens. So ya.. hmm.. caught ya, Clinton.
I decided to divert the whole lot of us away from the fastest route and bring them to the memorable sight for all SAF personnels. Ah, the good old memories of NDP kite flying, how we would walk on the same bridge to hang around at Liang Court for just 15 minutes, like we were so desperate for something that we could find in Seletar Camp. So anyway, Anon Apple wanted to know what so significant about the bridge that I wanted to show them.. Well.. I decided to tell her my version of what the ORD bridge was all about..
" This bridge is to commemorate the very 1st batch of SAF soldiers Singapore has to offer. You see, traditionally, the soldiers will perform a march past over the bridge. Standing on 1 side were the regulars. On the other side were the parents of the soldiers.. So once the soldiers crossed over the bridge, they would have ORD-ed, hence the bridge was named the ORD bridge..."
Well, the bridge was actually built by an architect by the name of George Ord, but let the imagination of an ORD personnel tickle your mind. Happy 19th Birthday, Jessica..! And yes.. we're both 19 for this short period of time... :D
The Catch is Plentiful~
The ORD Bridge~
Group Photo~(Fel left earlier)
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Desaru, the next church camp in 2008?
"Why is that on TV and in magazines.. Love is fun and... is gleaming with the colours of happiness.
My love is.. Why is it so heavy and unpleasant?
What exactly should I pray for?
God.
What is it that I want to do?
How do I find it?
When I find it, will I become stronger?
Even when she's crying so much.. What I felt was just endless. It was strength."
My love is.. Why is it so heavy and unpleasant?
What exactly should I pray for?
God.
What is it that I want to do?
How do I find it?
When I find it, will I become stronger?
Even when she's crying so much.. What I felt was just endless. It was strength."
~Honey and Clover
For $80 a night at a place like this, its kinda nice~
For $80 a night at a place like this, its kinda nice~ There's something wrong if zh had to remind me to bring my passport.. I mean, I can't be that bad right? Okay, maybe I did forget to bring his bible cover for the past 2 weeks, but surely i wont forget about my passport, right? Well, taking his advice, I did put it in my shorts pocket though. The next morning, Aunt Sally reminded me about the passport as well.
The Church Recee Team, comprising of Pastor Alvin, Aunt Irene, Aunt Sally and myself set out to survey the grounds of Pulai Desaru, a beach resort lying at the Pacific Ocean. It will be something new from the regular Pulai Springs we always go to for our Church Camp. I personally invite the change of venue, and thats probably why I chose to organise the next Church Camp. haha~ I didnt know Pastor was taking this seriously. I would say he delegated everything for me to settle, of course with the help of Aunt Sally and Aunt Jenny on the admin side of things. I, like to look it at the sunny side of things~
Okay, the place was fantastic..! We took a ferry down (Remember Penguin? haha~) to Malaysia and a 1/2 coach ride to the place itself. My first impression of the place was that it was very spacious, very cooling from the heat and very serene. The rooms were pretty huge itself, probably being able to squeeze the whole gang of YAF-ers in the same room. Facilities, though limited, was vast; there was a swimming pool, spa, gym, pool table, volleyball court, football field, kayaking, fruit farming.. etc. The conference room was big enough and the place was seemingly well-run. Pulai Desaru was starting to become a very feastible option for our next church camp.
I guess the only setback was the food. It took long and was average. Can't blame the staffs as well, since they were fasting and have to agonise themselves by cooking food on an empty stomach.
As I went back to Singapore at 2pm(it was after all just a recee, so we see see then leave), I noticed the island at the opposite of the Straits.It happened to be.. Pulau Tekong..! Ahh.. the good old days of BMT and chionging through the oil palm plantations. And now, the man is about to ORD! When I thought about this, I remembered what JJ told me the last time we met up?
"Do you know why I like the word 'Record'? It's because when I ask a recruit to spell the word out, he would go 'R-E-C-' then I would say 'ya, that will make you a chao recruit, but as for me, I would have O-R-D!!!'" :D
Really nice beach they got here.. Super clean~
Spacious rooms~ I like~
Pulau Tekong at the background and the ORD personnel~
The Church Recee Team, comprising of Pastor Alvin, Aunt Irene, Aunt Sally and myself set out to survey the grounds of Pulai Desaru, a beach resort lying at the Pacific Ocean. It will be something new from the regular Pulai Springs we always go to for our Church Camp. I personally invite the change of venue, and thats probably why I chose to organise the next Church Camp. haha~ I didnt know Pastor was taking this seriously. I would say he delegated everything for me to settle, of course with the help of Aunt Sally and Aunt Jenny on the admin side of things. I, like to look it at the sunny side of things~
Okay, the place was fantastic..! We took a ferry down (Remember Penguin? haha~) to Malaysia and a 1/2 coach ride to the place itself. My first impression of the place was that it was very spacious, very cooling from the heat and very serene. The rooms were pretty huge itself, probably being able to squeeze the whole gang of YAF-ers in the same room. Facilities, though limited, was vast; there was a swimming pool, spa, gym, pool table, volleyball court, football field, kayaking, fruit farming.. etc. The conference room was big enough and the place was seemingly well-run. Pulai Desaru was starting to become a very feastible option for our next church camp.
I guess the only setback was the food. It took long and was average. Can't blame the staffs as well, since they were fasting and have to agonise themselves by cooking food on an empty stomach.
As I went back to Singapore at 2pm(it was after all just a recee, so we see see then leave), I noticed the island at the opposite of the Straits.It happened to be.. Pulau Tekong..! Ahh.. the good old days of BMT and chionging through the oil palm plantations. And now, the man is about to ORD! When I thought about this, I remembered what JJ told me the last time we met up?
"Do you know why I like the word 'Record'? It's because when I ask a recruit to spell the word out, he would go 'R-E-C-' then I would say 'ya, that will make you a chao recruit, but as for me, I would have O-R-D!!!'" :D
Really nice beach they got here.. Super clean~
Spacious rooms~ I like~
Pulau Tekong at the background and the ORD personnel~
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
an evening of Ratatouille~
"Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide."
~Remy
Talk about a movie marathon... Just yesterday, the platoonmates and i; comprising YongTeng, Yap, Chai Lai and Tumbi, watched a night movie, Rogue Assassin. Pretty confusing towards the end, but YongTeng sorta set things out for me after the movie. And today, it was Ratatouille with Pearlyn. Heard it was a movie not be missed, with many people rating it as pretty original, so I thought, why not?
Picked Pearlyn at her place and we headed down to Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre. Of all places, I needed to get a thumbdrive for my PS and there wasn't a Challenger together with a cinema other than Vivocity and Tiong Bahru, so i picked the latter in the end. Remembered the last and only time I was at Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre was to get a new debit card (which I had lost at the start of this year, sadly)... Pearlyn seems to have a better picture of the area since her Dad picks her up at that place for a few occasions. So ya, I let her do the navigating.
Anyway, we had promptly reached the place, bought the tickets and the thumbdrive and still had about an hour in our hands.. I wouldnt say Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre was the ideal place to shop, but we took our rounds around each level, got ourselves a cup of BubbleTea. The show started at 6.50pm and after that, I sent her back home. Could see that it was fruitful trip down to the cinema. And to think that all of this was planned at the night before. haha~
Overall, the show was pretty good.. Totally agree with my sources that the plot was original. Goodness, Disney can't desert Pixar..! Those peeps sure know how to write and direct a good movie, making u in love with the characters. I kinda like the Ego part, when he first tasted Ratatouille. It was super anime style, but yea.. for a cynical guy to have such a childhood, I couldn't help but laugh my heart out..! Of cuz there were many other parts to the show as well, but if i were to say everything, i would go on for days and the spoilers arent fun for those who have not watched the show :P
Well, its true that "Anyone can cook" like what Gusteau said, even a rat.. (okay, maybe im exaggerating)When i thought about it, I thought about my friend JJ (yo, if ure reading this, yea, im talking about u). He's a guy whose passion is cooking, and we are his guinea pigs. Still can remember the time he wanted to cook for us.. Came over to his place and drank some eggish soup kinda thing.. Okay, its appearance wasn't that appealing, but the taste was great. He does Brownies too, though he has yet to perfect its taste. I guess what he does best though is creating cocktails. And he would let me try some of his creations..many of them sweet and bitter at the same time, with a tangy taste of lemon towards the end. And we have yet to drink the bottle of Baileys I bought from the DFS..
Picked Pearlyn at her place and we headed down to Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre. Of all places, I needed to get a thumbdrive for my PS and there wasn't a Challenger together with a cinema other than Vivocity and Tiong Bahru, so i picked the latter in the end. Remembered the last and only time I was at Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre was to get a new debit card (which I had lost at the start of this year, sadly)... Pearlyn seems to have a better picture of the area since her Dad picks her up at that place for a few occasions. So ya, I let her do the navigating.
Anyway, we had promptly reached the place, bought the tickets and the thumbdrive and still had about an hour in our hands.. I wouldnt say Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre was the ideal place to shop, but we took our rounds around each level, got ourselves a cup of BubbleTea. The show started at 6.50pm and after that, I sent her back home. Could see that it was fruitful trip down to the cinema. And to think that all of this was planned at the night before. haha~
Overall, the show was pretty good.. Totally agree with my sources that the plot was original. Goodness, Disney can't desert Pixar..! Those peeps sure know how to write and direct a good movie, making u in love with the characters. I kinda like the Ego part, when he first tasted Ratatouille. It was super anime style, but yea.. for a cynical guy to have such a childhood, I couldn't help but laugh my heart out..! Of cuz there were many other parts to the show as well, but if i were to say everything, i would go on for days and the spoilers arent fun for those who have not watched the show :P
Well, its true that "Anyone can cook" like what Gusteau said, even a rat.. (okay, maybe im exaggerating)When i thought about it, I thought about my friend JJ (yo, if ure reading this, yea, im talking about u). He's a guy whose passion is cooking, and we are his guinea pigs. Still can remember the time he wanted to cook for us.. Came over to his place and drank some eggish soup kinda thing.. Okay, its appearance wasn't that appealing, but the taste was great. He does Brownies too, though he has yet to perfect its taste. I guess what he does best though is creating cocktails. And he would let me try some of his creations..many of them sweet and bitter at the same time, with a tangy taste of lemon towards the end. And we have yet to drink the bottle of Baileys I bought from the DFS..
In case you're wondering, this is RATATOUILLE!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday night at Serene Centre
"Write your good things on stone. Write your bad things on sand."
~Zoe saying something random
the place where eating ice-cream is no longer sinful...
Zoe and I decided to meet up tonight with the intention of watching movie (No Reservation) at first, only ended up having dinner instead as reviews from my friends indicate that the show wasn't really good. There were a few places in mind, but I wanted to go to the Adam Rd region, as it had been a while since my last visit, and I know of someone who is an ice-cream fan.
It was a good thing I drove, cause the distance between Bedok and Adam Rd can be quite far, and it was already 7.30pm by the time we reach there. Just when I was about to turn into the carpark of Adam Rd Food Centre, something wasn't right about the place. It was too empty for comfort. I mean, Prawn Mee and Nasi Lemak are supposed to be the crowd-magnets to this place, but there were hardly any cars in the area. Then, to my horror and my miscalculated suay-ness, Adam Road Hawker Centre was closed for spring cleaning just on the day itself. (Really.. talk about being suay)
We ended eating at a French Cafe at Serene Centre in the end.
Ahh.. Serene Centre.. How it brings back memories of the days when I was in SA 1st 3 months, or even earlier when the scouts would eat at its MacDonald after St. Margaret's campfire event. But if there is anything that is of significances in Serene Centre, it would be the ice-cream shop, Island Creamery. I remembered my 1st experience when Zhihong and Felicia brought me to the shop. It was from that day on that this shop will be one of my favourite hot spots.
When ordering the French dinner, the manager of the cafe, a French, came out to greet me. Immediately, he gave me a violent reaction by slamming his hand on the counter. I was more shocked than amused when he started yapping about the English.(Coincidentally i was wearing an England Rugby Polo) I guess the French did, do and will hate the English and their fans, regardless of where you come from.
After that, we moved over to Island Creamery. Today's ice-cream selection was pretty good. I selected the Blackforest and Very Berry while Zoe chose Tiger Sorbet(been waiting for this for a long time) and Teh Tarik. It was amazing how 2 ice-cream fanatics can chomp down 4 scoops in 15 mins and go for another 2 more (we chose Pulat Hitam and Strawberry Sorbet), but the richness of the ice-cream was simply irresistible. It was then when we talked over ice-cream.
We ended slightly early cause Zoe had to be back home. Overall, the outing was pretty good.. It was just a pity Adam Rd Hawker Centre was not available. Perhaps the next time round, i'll invite another gal friend down for dinner.
the place where eating ice-cream is no longer sinful...It was a good thing I drove, cause the distance between Bedok and Adam Rd can be quite far, and it was already 7.30pm by the time we reach there. Just when I was about to turn into the carpark of Adam Rd Food Centre, something wasn't right about the place. It was too empty for comfort. I mean, Prawn Mee and Nasi Lemak are supposed to be the crowd-magnets to this place, but there were hardly any cars in the area. Then, to my horror and my miscalculated suay-ness, Adam Road Hawker Centre was closed for spring cleaning just on the day itself. (Really.. talk about being suay)
We ended eating at a French Cafe at Serene Centre in the end.
Ahh.. Serene Centre.. How it brings back memories of the days when I was in SA 1st 3 months, or even earlier when the scouts would eat at its MacDonald after St. Margaret's campfire event. But if there is anything that is of significances in Serene Centre, it would be the ice-cream shop, Island Creamery. I remembered my 1st experience when Zhihong and Felicia brought me to the shop. It was from that day on that this shop will be one of my favourite hot spots.
When ordering the French dinner, the manager of the cafe, a French, came out to greet me. Immediately, he gave me a violent reaction by slamming his hand on the counter. I was more shocked than amused when he started yapping about the English.(Coincidentally i was wearing an England Rugby Polo) I guess the French did, do and will hate the English and their fans, regardless of where you come from.
After that, we moved over to Island Creamery. Today's ice-cream selection was pretty good. I selected the Blackforest and Very Berry while Zoe chose Tiger Sorbet(been waiting for this for a long time) and Teh Tarik. It was amazing how 2 ice-cream fanatics can chomp down 4 scoops in 15 mins and go for another 2 more (we chose Pulat Hitam and Strawberry Sorbet), but the richness of the ice-cream was simply irresistible. It was then when we talked over ice-cream.
We ended slightly early cause Zoe had to be back home. Overall, the outing was pretty good.. It was just a pity Adam Rd Hawker Centre was not available. Perhaps the next time round, i'll invite another gal friend down for dinner.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Homosexual Debate 2007
If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you; I'll be waiting
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you; I'll be waiting
Time after time
~Time After Time, Quietdrive
Rest assured, the pose is only for profession sake
Rest assured, the pose is only for profession sakeThe heat escalated in the arena as 2 teams battled against each other at 8pm. The Oppositions, who did their presentation unprepared, and the propositions, who did their presentation unwillingly. And this was their topic.
"Homosexuality should be decriminalised and received by Christians in Singapore. Do you Agree?"
Our very 1st YAF meeting began once Caleb started the ball rolling for the opposition side. Besides him, the other representatives in his team include Eileen, Jessica and Zhihong. On the Proposition side, it was Pearlyn, Jeff, Clinton and myself. Unlike the other team, we had prepared our stuff about a week ago. The ironic truth behind this was that we only started preparing our speech after hearing that the Opposition were doing so, and it was only later that we have found out they didnt do so till on the very day itself.
I fared relatively okay when it came to my turn. Based on past experience, the involuntary stage fright would seep into my body, causing me to unnecessarily panic and tremble. It started off as what I feared most, but experience have also taught me that to counter fear was to face fear in the face, and that was when I started to make the passion in me burn stronger. Using anger to counter fear was my only tactic. It worked, the point was brought across, but Pearlyn probably had a scare of her life(So fierce!)..! I guess you can say I was over-passionate. Lol...
Nevertheless, both parties presented their cases quite well, evenly matching up in argument. It was not a moment of tension; there were the casual exclamations, the occasional teases from Jeff and a engaging gathering among the YAFers and the adults.
At the end of day, we shook on it and were glad that the endless nights of preparing the scripts are finally over. We had fun and yet gained a lot from this debate. Will there be a future debate? My take would be, definitely.
As what MM Lee Kuan Yew says best, "It's just a matter of time"
Cheers~
Refreshments and a hungry Daron
The man in the house... 2nd speaker talking about benefits
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
a mad obsession with a peanut-shaped ball
This fire takes me higher, a bit of desire I just can't deny.
Oh won't You come a little bit closer and be mine?
Two Thumbs up for England's New Rugby Design!
Oh won't You come a little bit closer and be mine?
-The Great Spy Experiment
Two Thumbs up for England's New Rugby Design!You may think its Soccer, like the EPL or the S.league, or you may think its Basketball, like NBA
, or a game that consists of a ball and a club, like Golf or baseball. But for a ball to be shaped as a peanut, I have no idea why a game of Rugby sends my adrenaline pumping away.
When I watch a match being played, be it the Americans or the Scottish, the scrums they do, the tackles they pull off, the number of tactical touchdown they did or just pure bashing through to the finish line, I can't help but respond to the game
"Come on!! Get the damn ball!!!!"
"You're nearly there!!!"
"Arrghhh!!!! How could you lose possession? You're so close to the touchdown point!!!"
And the enthusiasm continues. I guess the difference rugby makes from the rest of the game is the amount of body contact the players have with each other. It is quite admirable to see some of the strongest people on Earth not to be brought down on the ground even with 3-4 men grabbing you. Just looking at the soccer wussy fall on the ground with a tap on their feet is enough to give rugby credential why IT IS THE ULTIMATE GAME OF TACTICS AND ENDURANCE.
Yes, the Rugby World Cup is finally here after its 4 years cycle, and England won the the World Cup in 2003. It was also the start of a great love relationship between me and Rugby. And to prove my love for the sport, I have gotten myself the English rugby polo tee in Thailand~ Oh yea~ looking good~~
Australia looked like they had a good start, and though I have not a chance to look at my favourite team (England) play yet, I can't wait for their match with South Africa, happening on 14 September..! It is going to be a very great challenge for England, as South Africa makes a very formidable opponent to play with, as they are World Cup material. It is still early to predict who will be the winner of this match, but either teams needs to win this to get a spot in the finals. My bet is on England. After all, I'm an England Rugby Fan and they will pick a good fight to stay as Champions!! All the way ENGLAND!!!
To end it, here are some funny rugby commericals ive picked up from..yea, u guess it, YOUTUBE~ enjoy;)
You will probably be seeing this in your dreams if you're crazy about rugby..
Super hilarious!!!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Twistee Guy
He is one of the 12 who went to Thailand.He is a high-ranking officer.
Yet he laughs.
He talks to the specialists.
He talks to the men.
He talks about his experience.
He talks about crops.
He talks about ice-cream and soya-bean milk.
He talks about resorts.
He talks about sites.
He has been to every site.
He knows how to go to every site.
He knows how to go everywhere.
He knows Thai.
He likes to wave at Thais.
He likes to wave at women.
He likes to wave at little kids.
He likes people.
He does his famous twistee to people.
He likes animals.
He goes Moo.
He goes Baa.
He is always on the go.
He made me go to K-town.
He treated us dinner in K-town.
He is not distracted by the loves in K-town.
He is loved.
He is LTC Mike.
And he is garang..!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
= Thailand Claymore Recee =
"Waa.. Si Bei Jammed liao"
-1SG Ronny
Shiau Kien must be thinking "Ohshit... Why did I bump into you guys?!?"
-1SG Ronny
Shiau Kien must be thinking "Ohshit... Why did I bump into you guys?!?"The task dawned among me and Daniel when my PS first selected us to go for the commander's recee from 3rd Sept to 8th Sept. Oh how the days flew by! Preparations were done as early as 2 weeks before the recee, such as familiarisation myself to Thailand and store preparation. Since it was our 1st overseas recee (including PS), we were all stumped as to what we were supposed to bring, so we decided not to 2nd guess the commanders and literally brought the whole office to Thailand. And then 3rd September came and a group of 9 individuals set off to Thailand, Bangkok Airport.
Once we touched down, we were greeted with the camp peeps at SaiYok Camp. We left the airport shortly and took a longer bus trip(plane=3hrs;bus=5hours!) down to the Training Camp. Now the norm was to sleep in longhouses, sharing common bathrooms and carrying endless amounts of stores for following days in camp. On this situation, with 2 3crabs and 4 2crabs, we were treated to one of SaiYok's untouchables: The Guesthouse. The exclusive features of their rooms were the carpeted floors, electric heaters, fridge and the best of them all: Air-con. Sadly, we weren't able to enjoy the full facilities the room had to offer us, cause we were off to prepare the recee stores for the next day. This means collecting stores, sticking 7 sets of 4 pieces maps, telqing them and plotting out the routes our land rovers would be travelling. No joke? You bet. We slept at 3am tat night before waking up at 7am for the recee proper.
Day 1 recee was pretty chaotic if you were to ask me. We didnt noe what to expect, we were not organised in our job roles, and we were heavily pressured by the ppl above. There were times we got lost (partly the map's fault too) and there were times we couldnt do what we were set out to do. Anger flew and misunderstandings were created. We ended our day at the canteen in Saiyok Camp drowning our sorrows over the yummy TomYam Soup, Fried Calamari, Kangkong and sweet and sour pork.
Day 2 was a little less frustrating. We were able to recognise our roles better, know the routes better, and eat better..!(Yummy Western Breakfast set in the morning) It was a reliving factor for us as well, since COS and the 2 towers had to go back in the afternoon. We were given a breather at the end of the day when we were offered to go down to K-town(Kanachanburi) to jalan-jalan. It took plenty of convincing (even Ltc Mike had to persuade me) to go to K-town. Eventually i did. We had a great dinner of Thai-chicken rice and thai crispy pancake dessert. Then, we entered a genuine fish tank. Girls seated nicely in a row with number tags facing you, waiting to be selected so that they can give you a "sensual" massage, and you can give them 1500baht. There were, of course, e more experience ones, but they were going at 2000baht and 2500baht. Well, i wasnt really intending to do anything in that place, so the whole group left the place and ended up at a 250baht massage palour further down the street. 1 hour and no strings attached, figuratively and literally. :X
Day 3 was to cover up e stuff we have left out on day 1 and also to find long forgotten sites hidden in clutches of evil Thai farmers who are after SAF's money, who are after our parent's money. haha~ Sadly, out of the 5 sites we bashed through, only 1 was really deemed fit to be used. Quoted from LTC Mike himself,
"I think we should provide the Plant PC more challenge. If there are too many sites that are set out for you, then we wouldnt be simulating real battle situation"
You can imagine how much trouble the Plant PC is in for... We ended our recee expedition at 1530hrs, covering more than 100km of route and more than 30 sites.
The last day of our recee before our flight back was spent going to Bangkok and R&Ring. Journey there was bad, hence living up to its reputation of being the place with the worst traffic. But the shopping was fantastic, living up to its reputation of being the place with the cheapest goods. Went over to MBK centre, and it was so big that you really couldnt even see the end of the shopping centre. SO IT WAS A SUPER-COINCIDENCE THAT WE BUMPED INTO 3SG SHIAU KIEN WHO HAPPENED TO BE THERE ON HOLIDAY, and boy was he stunned to see us..! Lol.. had a good laugh, the next thing you noe, he disappeared.. (Really, it was too crowded)At the end of the day, i ended with a hot shower, some time to draw and a heavier luggage full of shopping in it..
My take at the end of my recee trip? Definitely xiong, but enjoyed it towards the end. But it isnt over until the Commander Armceg demands, and im left with a !@#$% Claymore report to struggle with.. but hey? Look on e sunny side of things man!!
Recee Team : Real Men Doing Real Work
The last day of our recee before our flight back was spent going to Bangkok and R&Ring. Journey there was bad, hence living up to its reputation of being the place with the worst traffic. But the shopping was fantastic, living up to its reputation of being the place with the cheapest goods. Went over to MBK centre, and it was so big that you really couldnt even see the end of the shopping centre. SO IT WAS A SUPER-COINCIDENCE THAT WE BUMPED INTO 3SG SHIAU KIEN WHO HAPPENED TO BE THERE ON HOLIDAY, and boy was he stunned to see us..! Lol.. had a good laugh, the next thing you noe, he disappeared.. (Really, it was too crowded)At the end of the day, i ended with a hot shower, some time to draw and a heavier luggage full of shopping in it..
My take at the end of my recee trip? Definitely xiong, but enjoyed it towards the end. But it isnt over until the Commander Armceg demands, and im left with a !@#$% Claymore report to struggle with.. but hey? Look on e sunny side of things man!!
Recee Team : Real Men Doing Real Work
Departure hall in Bangkok AirportDue to the nature of the recee, i cant show you anymore photos.. Sorry guys~!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Army Open House 2007
" This battle is in the air
I'm looking upwards
Where are the angels?
I'm not in my home"
-The White Stripes,
St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)
I'm looking upwards
Where are the angels?
I'm not in my home"
-The White Stripes,
St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)
Had a hotdog bun for breakfast and a plate of hongkong mee an hour later for lunch. I was kinda in a hurry. I was preparing myself for the trip down to Pasir Laba Camp for this year's annual Army Open House, not that i am a total military nut, rather i wanted to meet up with JJ and see how he was faring over there. I drove down to NUS to pick up Plin, who I managed to psyche cos walking around there alone was pretty boring. Whatsmore, it was pretty retarded for a NSF wanting to go back to camp, unless he has someone he can share his knowledge with. We later parked e car at Jurong Camp 1 and took a shuttle bus service down to the camp premises.
Overall, the place was pretty impressive. There was a grand entrance for visitors, and big massive tents set up for the occasion. You could see the distant form of an apache Helicopter and the Leopard Tank at the corners of the exhibition. The first thing we did was to meet JJ, who was hiding in the Battle Room. Apparently, I caught him at a bad time. Well, it was a Saturday after all, and there was a healthy swell to the crowd, so it was no wonder as to why he was so busy. But we exchanged greetings and he gave out free badges (and more badges later) to us. The badges were pretty unique and it is definitely a souvenir worth keeping.
We later moved on to the exhibition proper. It was pretty much the standard stuff you see back in camp, rifles, guns, armywear etc, but it was thrilling to Plin.. I guess not many people are really fortunate to stand beside a real operational tank or chinook, and it was cool to actually take pictures and photos of these army vehicles. After all, doing so in army means going to DB.
We made our rounds at the Mortal Combat area and watched people fired laser bullets at each other while I recalled my account of firing the actual weapons to Plin. The rest of the whole open house was pretty much.. nothing.. it was kinda disappointing not to be able to participate in any of the rides, shootings and stuff. We weren't able to watch the live show at the parade square as they were 1/2 hour late. And finally, the weather couldn't have agreed more when it started pouring as well.
Overall, this open house didnt really met my expectation. It could be due to the insufficient time we had to spend. However, I could see that Plin did enjoyed herself back there, so okay, I had no verbal complains as well. :) And there were freebies, great photoshots, (and some not so photogenics one as well~ {most of it came from me}), a car to drive us to and fro, and the sun who later decided to pop out again.. :D
Oh yea, Ive bumped into YiXiang while on the way to the Family World. Looked like he got arrowed to do some army open house SK as well.. Heard that Jonathan is doing pretty well in Melbourne studying his Law course over there.
Chinook.. Pretty sight!
Posing for Sergeant Rocky
Sitting on the Bionix II tank~~~
Overall, the place was pretty impressive. There was a grand entrance for visitors, and big massive tents set up for the occasion. You could see the distant form of an apache Helicopter and the Leopard Tank at the corners of the exhibition. The first thing we did was to meet JJ, who was hiding in the Battle Room. Apparently, I caught him at a bad time. Well, it was a Saturday after all, and there was a healthy swell to the crowd, so it was no wonder as to why he was so busy. But we exchanged greetings and he gave out free badges (and more badges later) to us. The badges were pretty unique and it is definitely a souvenir worth keeping.
We later moved on to the exhibition proper. It was pretty much the standard stuff you see back in camp, rifles, guns, armywear etc, but it was thrilling to Plin.. I guess not many people are really fortunate to stand beside a real operational tank or chinook, and it was cool to actually take pictures and photos of these army vehicles. After all, doing so in army means going to DB.
We made our rounds at the Mortal Combat area and watched people fired laser bullets at each other while I recalled my account of firing the actual weapons to Plin. The rest of the whole open house was pretty much.. nothing.. it was kinda disappointing not to be able to participate in any of the rides, shootings and stuff. We weren't able to watch the live show at the parade square as they were 1/2 hour late. And finally, the weather couldn't have agreed more when it started pouring as well.
Overall, this open house didnt really met my expectation. It could be due to the insufficient time we had to spend. However, I could see that Plin did enjoyed herself back there, so okay, I had no verbal complains as well. :) And there were freebies, great photoshots, (and some not so photogenics one as well~ {most of it came from me}), a car to drive us to and fro, and the sun who later decided to pop out again.. :D
Oh yea, Ive bumped into YiXiang while on the way to the Family World. Looked like he got arrowed to do some army open house SK as well.. Heard that Jonathan is doing pretty well in Melbourne studying his Law course over there.
Chinook.. Pretty sight!
Posing for Sergeant Rocky
Sitting on the Bionix II tank~~~