Sundown Marathon

I don't know if I can complete.

See you tomorrow morning!

A song a day 82

so tell us that we're spelling everything wrong and negroes turn a bluish-grey when they're dead that's funny cos I've just turned bright red

kill, kill, kill when everything starts to suck, drowning all your sins, well I guess that's bad luck and the fact that your race is full of shit, i got the sweets sugar but that's it

tell me what it's worth

Things I neglected which I should get back to.....

Taking photos.
Generally just having a walkabout with my camera.

Blogging.
I've been neglecting this blog. The inertia that set in after a long period of busy-ness is hard to get over. But not blogging could mean that I am spending time doing other stuff.

Clubbing.
And other shenanigans normally associated with Friday and Saturday nights. The previous Hyper gig was a let down while Steve Aoki was just too freaking pack!

I miss my car....

And I dunno if I should continue in my job.....accept promotion for another rollicking two years or move on to other pastures, potentially not greener.

banged

the whirlwind bangkok visit ended.

no, didn't eat insects. I promise I will the next time. I chickened out at the first stall and subsequently couldn't locate another (thank goodness!).

no, didn't take lots of pictures because I was just eager to relax. not too hyped about picture-taking.

no, didn't go for any Thai Girl (or is it Tiger?) show. no pingpong, coca-cola, balloon dart performance.

yes, I had birds' nest and sharks' fin. shame on me, whatever.

yes, I went to the four-face Buddha and offered incense and flowers. (is it clockwise or anti-clockwise?)

yes, I had massages which were inexpensive and so good.....

yes, I will want to go back to Thailand.

Majestic Bar

Was on my way to auntie's with her fishball meepok dry. Went past Majestic Bar.

Heard Swimming Places by Julien Jabre.

Must check the place out soon.

But being only 5 minutes away from her place, should we turn up in slippers?

Phuken' Bang Cock

If I were to look back for the last 5 months that has just passed, which is timely since it's almost the end of May 2008, I am quite certain I have chalked up enough events to feel as if it's already 2010.

Winning $$

Luck draws.

Serviced apartment.

Kuala Lumpur, Cameron and soon Bangkok.

Car. Accident.

auntie.

Got to meet up with one of the best groups of colleagues last night at Bedok 85 and thoroughly enjoyed myself with the catching up. Other than one of our comrades who was adversely affected by the ICJ hearing (Overtime!!), we celebrated "the 5th outcome" with rounds of sugarcane juice, iced milos, oyster omelettes, bbq chicken wings, ah-balling and bcm.

******

I wonder how anybody can have a firm perspective on life. Sometimes life runs counter to this perspective and everything goes awry. But somehow it will unravel itself in ways that will surprise.

Back!!!

Other than having to endure 20 minutes of Steve Aoki at ReadySetGlo, I had an otherwise sedated break.

Have some thoughts about the Sze Chuan earthquake disaster and the Irrawaddy Delta disaster. But let's skip the heavy stuff first huh?

I bought CDs!

The Counting Crows have something new out. Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.
Death Cab (drools!) have something new out too! Narrow Stairs.
Finally plonk money for Lightspeed Champion's Falling Off The Lavender Bridge.
And also.....Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth. Haha! For real!

On leave

the decommissioning ceremony is finally over....


decided to maximise the Vesak Day weekend with some rest and relaxation......

seems that alot of singaporeans have the same idea as me......

Boris for Mayor!

I was mentioning Boris Johnson in passing in January.

My hope of a brighter future for London did come true!

Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3.

- Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

This guy did promise bigger boobies for your wife and an increased chance of owning a BMW M3. Notice he said bigger boobies for wife and not a bigger/thicker/longer dick for the husband. Proof of Boris not being sexist! He has this uncanny ability to know the thoughts of the common (wo)man. More men and women, collectively, wish for bigger boobs than a bigger/thicker/longer dick. Most men think that they are adequately well-endowed and a good percentage of the womenfolk - the dishonest group, did say that it's not the size that matters but how it is use.

And reflective of his heritage (a mongrel, like London), instead of promising Aston Martins and Bentleys, he goes for thrilling quality rides like BMWs. Realist through and through. Not letting patriotism blind him to quality.

Side story: I remember a certain tipsy Colonel who made a flippant remark about size of our ships alluding to the size of the *cough cough* at a post-cocktail affair in Surabaya. He was the captain of the biggest class of ships (landing ship, tank) in the navy. I casually said that while the gunboats were small, we more than made up the lack of size with firepower. I should have stopped there. But naturally, I didn't. I continued to say that the landing ship tanks seemed to be naturally designed for loading from the stern and off-loading from the bow. That was laughed off.

And I particularly like this quote about the LibDems.

"The Lib Dems are not just empty. They are a void within a vacuum surrounded by a vast inanition."

Void = vacuum = inanition. neat

Randy Pausch

I decided to go onto youtube and watch him.

I have not finished.....about a third through.

But this bit made so much sense:

..........when you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up. And that’s a lesson that stuck with me my whole life. Is that when you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.

I no longer care.

The Credits

If you did stay until the credits have completed for Iron Man, like what auntie and I did, you'd see Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D - nerds, ring a bell?). It's the version from Ultimate Nick Fury. Mr Jackson plays General Nick Fury....the comic was drawn in his likeness, with his permission!

Anyway, if you've watched the movie, you should be expecting it (well, maybe) if you recognise the mouthful spewed out by the agent who was so eager to debrief Tony Starks and trying his best to arrange for an appointment with Pepper Potts. In the movie, SHIELD stood for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Engagement and Logistics Division. Click above link if you are interested in the meaning of SHIELD in the Marvel world.

Oh, and I think Stan Lee enjoyed this cameo a lot.

This is a "Scheduled" post

As above.

Yayness.

Iron Man

It's weird.

Tony Stark aka Iron Man had a "I shouldn't be alive" event and after that, he decided to become a superhero. He told Pepper Potts that he felt that he had to do it. Like it was what he was meant for.

What happens if you had had a "I shouldn't be alive" event but after that, you continue to be who you were?

Should you be happy that you were never wrong in your choice of being "yourself" or be a little bit disappointed that this "you" is all you're ever going to be?

Irony? Man......

May Day

Lazy morning.

It's almost noon actually. Did some work that I have brought back from base. All legal of course. It's just the emcee script.

Been busy with the Decommissioning Ceremony for the first ships in Singapore to be armed with missiles. And during this period of preparation, I came across many people and records of the past glories.

I realised that we aren't very good at remembering our past.

Because in the midst of our struggle that we call "the daily grind", we no longer sip our coffees, instead we gulp it down. The taste don't matter. It's the caffeine we need. We no longer share stories or talk to people. Instead we read newspapers and hear about celebrity gossips.

There is this STM tugmaster that I have known by face for years. I came to know that his surname was Mr Lau recently. He told me he was around in STM since 1972, which was when the first of the two Sea Wolf class missile gunboats arrived in Singapore from Germany. Like the successors, our stealth frigates, the idea that technology had to be transferred was apparent way back in 1968 when the government decided to procure the gunboats. The first two missile gunboats were from Germany while the remaining four were made locally.

He was describing to me how he was involved in the ships when he was just a wee lad 20 years of age. Now at the age of 56, he was still with STM. Things had come a complete circle for him. Just like how he was involved in the project to operationalise the ships 36 years ago, he told me, he is again involved with the missile gunboats. But this time, in the project to decommission the ships.

All the while, we were aboard Sea Hawk, awaiting for the tugs to bring her alongside to the West Pier. The location of her Decommissioning Ceremony.

Fanfare was reserved for births and commencements. Confetti raining down to the cheers of a jubliant crowd. You won't find fanfare in a Decommissioning Ceremony. The dignified ceremony has an air of sobriety. A heavy blanket of sombreness that will be punctuated by the lonesome blares of a bugle, sounding out the military retreat.

Before embarking, he was telling me that the ships were not in a bad shape at all. The engines were still capable of reaching speeds in excess of 30 knots (1700rpms) albeit with major overhaul. Compared to our counterparts in the region, it's more than just respectable. It's a miracle. The reliability of these grand dames can be higher than alot of her younger comrades. The hull was still intact although the lack of sailing activity meant that barnacles showed more apparently than metal. Twigs from forsaken nests fall unceremoniously on the bridge-wings. Within the superstructure, the air smelt heavy of bare metal and disuse.

Just before coming alongside, he said way back then he had to work barefoot while preparing the ships for operational service so as to minimise damage to the deckwork. And after office hours, non-military personnel at the yard were not allowed to step aboard. This was because the ships were the first in the region to be equipped with over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles. This was all very hush hush, wink wink, "circle of trust" thing back then.

"It's a pity to see them go" said Mr Lau, just before he disembarked.

There was nary a tinge of sadness nor a hanging tear that needed to be swipe away. Both of us knew these ships weren't the first to go. Neither will they be the last. In the continual effort to be world-class, transformation, as if it were a choice, meant a detachment from the past. And that which is no longer relevant.