Mug Parade (warning: strong language)

After reading xin's blog about how she made her pens fall in, i remember this incident which happened during my formative years in The Organisation...

Basic NCO Course Camp back then at the Tuas makeshift campsite. Back then, all of us were issued with a green mug (SAF type). On one of the nights the guys in my tent could not sleep and were just chatting ... and that annoyed some of the instructors. The next we knew...

Instructor(I): "ok, all of you take your mug, come out and fall in."

The first thought that came to my mind was... siao liao... sure kanna tekan liao..

I: "ok, want you all to fall in your mugs... in ranks of three..."

the instructors happened to be having a drink of Sarsi (in one of those 1.5l bottles)...

I: "ok this Sarsi bottle your I/C..."

I: "okay, ready? Skuad.. sedi-A!" .. and we had to lift the mugs up and drive it into the ground together! Then the instructor marched around the mugs and even knocked them down ... and we had to 'move' the mugs according to what they were supposed to be doing... until one of my fellow trainees let out a "kan nee na beh!"

I: "who scolded KNNB? Ok... nevermind... the IC sweat... sweat into the 'NNB Ka Cheng'!"

at that i was like 'sir, really ah?' then i unscrewed the Sarsi bottle and poured into each of the mugs... so they allowed us to take a drink... haha... still remember it to this day very comical... the instructors even called it "The Sarsi Advertisment" after that...

The end is in sight

tomorrow... one more paper.... then... after that.. that's it. ORD LOH!

just as well it's on the last day of the month.

Condolences

On Sunday, a group of 4 teenagers were swept away by strong currents. 3 of them were rescued while a search was still ongoing for the fourth one.

I just read the news today that the body of Debra Koh, a student at Hillgrove Secondary was found yesterday. Although I do not know her personally, the fact that she's from Hillgrove - the school which I help with their NPCC Unit - and my cousins' school - kind of resonated with me. There will definitely be people I know who are close to her... and who are affected by this incident.

Words itself cannot bring forth my feelings about this tragic incident. I just want to convey my deepest sympathy and condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.

--

Same go out to the families and friends of the 2 boys who were lost at Pasir Ris a few weeks ago, too. May they rest in peace.

--

"A Shared Tear

As the sun goes down, we realize
that another day is coming to an end.
We feel for your family and close friends
at the loss of your loved one.

We wish you the peace and assurance
that the reasons are there.
There may be beyond our understanding
at this time, but they do exist

We pray you are comforted during this
time of grief, through your friends and family.

We just want you to know, that
our thoughts and prayers are with you."

a moment's pause to reflect

My heartfelt condolences to the families of the 33 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. This random, senseless act of violence which should never have taken place has snuffed out 33 lives. My thoughts prayers are with the families of the victims - from the young college freshman to the professor in his 70s.

May the Lord God watch over them in this tough time. My prayers are especially for the family of Seung-Hui Cho... as they must be reeling from the shock now, that one of their own flesh and blood has committed this atrocity... and that there will not be reprisals against them, nor the Asian American community at large.

God Bless America.

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On Raffles Hall JCRC Elections

The elections are over and done with and most of us are back to our books, mugging for the exams. As it's an individual nomination, we've had a President and Vice-President from both 'teams'. Good or bad, for the time being it's too early to say - but I hope that both are able to have a good working relationship in time to come.

After the exams the potential secretaries will have three months to think and mull it over. I will categorically state at this point that i am considering it, but at this point it is too early to say anything.

At this point I must express my thanks to Junda, Kah Yat and Ying Ting for having the courage to put themselves forward and stand for this election. Especially for Ying Ting whom, knowing it'll be an uphill battle, still stood forward. Even despite people posting disparaging comments on his tag-board (under the mask of anonymity). This resident has the passion for hall, just needs a bit more time and experience, do not be disheartened... I'll be looking forward to seeing him run again next year, or even later this year for one of the secretaries.

Likewise for Junda and Kah Yat who have also stepped forward and put themselves up for election. Hope you are not disheartened by this result... Both have passion for hall and hope they will also continue to contribute to hall as one of the secretaries.

Finally for the successful candidates, Keith and Fu Qi. Having known Keith for quite while (and more or less know Fu Qi, being in her block) I hope to have a good working relationship with both of them in time to come, in whichever capacity I finally assume.

Will take some time to think of some stuff for hall and etc... but that can wait. Now, time to 'clutch in' and shift to the next higher gear ... for exams. I have twelve days left. Supposed to be in fifth gear now but I am still somewhere below there. But I'm not so concerned about the outcome, just going to do the best I know how to, and trust God above all else.

The Two Organisations Meet

Today was The Other Organisation's Annual Event preview and they approached The Organisation for first aid coverage. By sheer coincidence it was my school which sent ppl to help... and requested for officers to help too. After some hesitation I stepped forward...

It was a mistake to wear the uniform of The Organisation there... because my friends from The Other Organisation recognised me and were pretty surprised. I had half a mind to pretend to be my twin brother but decided against it, after all same name tag? I should have just worn a neutral T shirt (like a normal white polo tee) then at least, ppl from either Organisation will have felt that I was there on the premise of their Organisation. Now the people from The Other Organisation all know about it, and they also probably know that I did not grow up in The Other Organisation... anyway

I had a short chat with a few of my friends from The Other Organisation today and found that currently, they are experiencing a bit of disarray due to some movement at 'the top'. I have not been involved in The Other Organisation HQ activities for very long (after SYFOC), moreover that was the period that I was reappointed to a more active position in The Organisation...

So now, what done is done, I wore the uniform of The Organisation at an event of The Other Organisation. Pretty much takes the cake eh? But I guess most of my friends from either Organisation are pretty cool about it. It's just that I would have preferred not to let the cat out of the bag, but anyway..:D

I still wonder in the end if I will continue long in The Other Organisation as it seems that there are a lot of changes taking place now. But anyway, The Organisation also experiencing a lot of changes... haiz... Guess I just continue what I am doing and concentrate on what is important for me now...

On a totally unrelated note, UniSIM currently has courses for working adults, where they can just take additional courses in their spare time to upgrade themselves towards a degree. I wonder if it would be possible for me to enroll in UniSIM after i graduate, and work on a Masters or even a PhD 'own time, own target'?

After all i really admire those who go back to university when they are already in their middle age, to study alongside people young enough to be their children. They really embody the spirit of 'huo dao lao, xue dao lao' (Chinese translation: Lifelong learning.)

I have a list of courses in mind which I hope to attend to upgrade my knowledge, some pertaining to my training in The Organisation. Time now does not permit, and I regret not making use of my time serving The Nation to take these courses... but anyway, it's never too late to start planning. Anyway, my time serving The Nation has brought to me some intanglible benefits, not to mention a few relevant courses.

Raffles Hall JCRC Elections

And so it's the time of the year again when we elect the next batch of leaders for our hall. And this time round, the positions are contested, which means that residents will get the chance to vote...

Wasp nest!

Of late I've been wondering why dead caterpillars have been showing up at my doorstep. Today I found out why. There was a brownish looking mound on top of my door frame and it turned out that it was indeed a wasp nest. The dead caterpillars was a result of it. I only realised it when I came back after lesson and saw to my chagrin an adult wasp on top of it.

A quick call to Siew Teng was the result and he came down, efficient as he is, to take a look at it. A few hours later one of the cleaner (the very nice uncle) came to remove it. After removing he told me he saw a few 'green worms' inside and I finally realised the source of all these caterpillars! :P

Just Follow Law?

Taken off a comment on a blog somewhere...

The one thing that the sucky NUS engineering education really drove into my head is that anything is legit to achieve your target. Following the rules is just NOT emphasized or properly rewarded. Mostly, honest folks who follow arbitary rules are made to feel like idiots.

'Re-engineering' term papers, rehashing lab reports etc, these are common practices in a mad schedule. You think the deans list people and 2nd uppers aren't doing it?

It is a sad revelation rather than a heartening englightenment. Yet it is something most wonderfully relevant in the dog eat dog world. There is no black and white, only greys.

Real people in the real world will 'cheat the system' as much as they can get away with. On one end of the scale, there are jaywalkers. On the other, there are lawyers, accountants and politicians.

Well said! I couldn't agree more.

To quote Fann Wong's character (as in the 'rehashed' one) in the movie Just Follow Law, 'it's not about whether we can do or cannot do... it's about whether we DARE to do or not'

But that was a pointed jibe against the red tape in the civil service which I experienced for 2 1/2 years.

How about in NUS?

Copying lab reports (a.k.a. borrowing senior's/friends' lab reports 'for reference')? It's obvious that most lab reports are just a rehash of some great(^n) grand senior's lab report done in 1996... even the errors are still there and best of all the TA failed to spot it...

Other stuff like cheating in those 'held-in-the-LT-tests?' and the one which takes the cake which is 'increasing the size of the real estate on the helpsheets via post-it notes'.

Seems to me that it's the other facs like FASS or Law which are anal about plagiarism. As for Engin, there's nothing much to plagiarise (though it bemused me that one of the examples in the 'plagiarism video' from the 'authorities' was that of copying a lab report. But the student in the 'example' was really asking for it by copying the VALUES, my goodness... everyone knows that different specimens have different parameters...)

Sounds pretty much like SAF Rule No.8: "Do what you want... Just Don't Get Caught"