Compulsory NYE Retrospection coming up!

Well, lets see, where do I start? 2005 - come to think of it, I don't really think much of 2005 since it was just practically the same ol routine every single day. Wake up, train, lessons, eat, lessons, eat, train, eat, study, sleep. GOSH. Well it was dull, but I suppose the people around me really made my life bearable.

The arts fac people - Dav, Sam, Cher, Yif, Bea, Mel, Amanda, Chew, Vin, Mo, Henry, Shiwei
The girls team - Peishan, Mich, Cindy, Rach, Huiying, LEEPENG my beloved partner, Jasmin, Chit, Xintian, Shumin, Mindy.
AEPians - Jerome, Veli, Julie, Yenlin, Huimin, Char, Amanda Poh, Lingee, Junyi, Yuehan, Ben, Grace, Shuhui, Suzy.
Other people - Lings, Wong, Justin, Thong, Szewei, Junxu and the rest of the guys.

and Weejin.

To these people, I'm really truly eternally grateful for all of you being a part of my life. Now that 2006 signals a brand new start for all of us, I sincerely hope we won't lose touch with each other. Perhaps I'm not particularly close to most of them on my list, but these people have somehow or other made an imprint on my times in NJ.

So in retrospect, I'd say that 2005 was a good year for me in terms of forging bonds and also in terms of personal achievements. I'm glad that I'm coming out of '05 with a sense of satisfaction and no regrets. Okay maybe SOME regrets. I regret placing renewed faith in some people but getting snubbed yet again. Coughtomcough. Regret not spending enough time with some people blahblahblah but oh well it's over. Despite the sheer monotony of the whole year, I'd still maintain that monotony might be good at times - not much flux, but more stability, just my cup of tea.

As for resolutions? Lets see..

Today was great. (Sorry no photos - intended to post pics of the Chinese acrobats but I'm too lazy/tired) Sent Weejin to work, bumped into Wong, and then went to town alone for the fourth consecutive day to get Justin's belated bday present. Eh Justin, if you're reading this - I really dunno if you'll like what I chose (shared among me thong chew szewei) but that book made me think a lot, and I hope you'd like it too. Jostein Gaarder la - philosophical stuff. Plus The Invisible Man (HG Wells) was going cheap, sooo I got it too. Tell me if the latter is good kays.

Soo got home and mooched around on MSN for a while before I got a call from Weejin at 6.58pm asking me to go eat dinner. Dashed down to Raffles Place and decided to eat at Black Angus at One Fullerton. I owe him a million treats, and dinner was supposed to be on me but our bill came up to $72.05 and I only had $62 on me so he had to fork out another 10. Anyways, if you've never had Black Angus steak, you're missing out! It's one of the only places that I can order my steak medium-rare and not have to feel like a vampire with blood oozing out through the gaps of my teeth. If you ever visit the place - go for the PRIME RIB set that comes with choice of soup & side. The Steak Soup (Weejin said it was as rich and thick as drinking steak gravy) that is bloody fantastic with barley and carrots and chunks of beef, AND the garlic mashed potatoes are good too. Price is a bit hefty at $28.90 but considering that the slab was an inch thick and about 16cm wide, it's worth it.

Passed by this beautiful pub called Lash but we were damn short of cash so we couldn't pop in. Plus he was utterly zonked from work and from last night. Ended up looking at stars. Saw Orion's Belt again! Oh and I found out something really funny. WEEJIN CAN TAP DANCE WAHAHAHAHAHA. It's like telling me that Szewei can play the erhu or something! Tried to get him to strut his stuff but he suddenly turned shy. Damn. But TAP DANCING. Hyukhyuk. Anyway we were waving at the tourists on bumboats - or rather, HE was waving at the tourists - sheesh.. but it was great.

I guess this is probably the last time I'm gonna be at the Marina area for a very very long time. Can you believe it's only FOUR days away.. *heartpalpitations.

Went down to CMPB today to get my documents signed and collect my packlist. I've gotta get court shoes, a new swimsuit, a long sleeved white blouse and black skirt for booking out.. arrrgh there's so many things to do and everything has to be done before next tuesday. CRAP. But I'm really excited! There's like 9 of us and knowing that I'm one of the 9 who got shortlisted out of 30 or so applicants is an extreme honour. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that I get to keep the scholarship. Oh and I get a salary of $1866.04 every month too heheheh.

Anyway, sieved through my photos and picked a few that I really liked. Okay, 18 isn't exactly "few", but 18/708 is. Heh. This is just Korea though.

Just came back not too long ago from today's artsfac dinner + xmas thingy. Took a whole bunch of photos, but not on my cam. Will wait for Mo, Shiwei, Cher and the rest to upload before I post it up. Anyway, today was great - what with the crazy posing for the cam, yiffy's damn funny brother who takes SO LONG to take one photo. Yeah anyway I had to lug 4 1.5 litre bottles of sprite/coke, one carton of OJ, and four cans of Red Bull (all on Henry's orders) from Aljunied to Chinese Gardens on the bloody crowded train. In the end I conceded defeat and had to ask Shiwei and Mo to come help me. Felt damn weak, then later Henry told me he carried 2 bottles of vodka & tequila and almost died, so I felt better :)

I suppose one of the topics of discussion tonight was my whole BMT thing. Dav & Amanda told their parents that Van is going BMT so tomorrow night will be spent with her watching an 11pm show. In actual fact, tomorrow night is Vin's party at Chinablack and Van isn't even going. HAHAHA. Got a lift from Dav's dad to Serangoon MRT, and when I got out of the car, I told Dav "SEE YOU TOMORROW!" hehehehe I'm damn good huh. Anyway, BMT - I'm apprehensive cos I really don't know what's in store. Oh well, but there's this little bit in me that is really really excited too. *bounce. Mixed feelings!

Hmm, my house looks like a refugee camp now, what with the renovation work in the kitchen. The drilling's driving me crazy, and everyone has their own plans so I'm stuck at home. Met Weejin this morning for breakfast before he went to work, and he JUST told me, after like sooo many days, that he left my birthday present in the plastic bag which contained the Harry Potter book he returned me during training more than a week ago. So I spent like an hour sifting through piles and piles of stuff looking for that plastic bag, and I found the most BEAUTIFUL necklace. It's my type too - chunky and huge. Absolutely gorgeous. THANK YOU FATPIG YOU'RE AMAZING. He has a tradition of giving me necklaces - two years in a row :)

Anyway, VOILA! I've been doing my photos, finally.

Well. I'm back. Actually I've been back since 5.56am but I've been lazy, exhausted and just RELIEVED to be back. Not that my trip was terrible - in fact, it was amazing - but enduring temperatures that went down to -7 degrees Celsius for 7 days is more than enough for me. I've never been more thankful that Singapore has lovely weather. We should all count ourselves lucky that we don't have to wear five layers of clothes each time we step out of the house.

Anyways, I've taken, as promised, the motherload of photos. 708, not counting the images in the Canon Powershot. Now that I'm hovering somewhere near lucidity, I'm gonna plough through them and select some to put up here, edit them and then upload. In the meantime, lets just say that I loved Korea, despite the fact that the people there shove you on the streets without saying sorry. (It's a Korean characteristic) The food was awesome (yes there's gonna be foodpics) and the best thing? All the meat was refillable. I seriously pigged out to my heart's content. Somehow, I actually find myself preferring the city to the outskirts. Granted, Nami Island and the rural areas were beautiful, but I was drawn, almost magnetised by Seoul itself. It was pulsating, hectic, but yet there seemed to have a contradictory aura of indolence, hanging in ragged wisps over the skyscrapers. A sheer conundrum, despite it seeming straightforward prima facie. Not mentioning the fact that it snowed twice while I was there, blanketing everything with a layer of pristine snowflakes. Nature at her best.

Beijing, on the other hand, was totally different. I was almost repulsed by both the rural areas and the city. Perhaps it was that unyielding shroud of fog that made the villages look barren and pall-like. Perhaps it was because it was winter, that's why the leafless trees seemed like gnarled hands, looming over the titchy shacks and shanties that peasants call home, ready to engulf the frail structures in their vice-like grip. I don't know. Even the actual city itself had too many neon lights for its own good - making it look terribly sleazy, like the whole city had been turned into an oversized nightclub. However, the itinerary made my stopover there worthwhile. The Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, Tiananmen Square.. it's amazing that both countries I visited have such legacies and hold vaults of rich culture hidden beneath the snake we term industrialisation. 4338 years for Korea and about 5000 for China. It's a shame that Beijing, being an area with such rich culture, can be home to some of the most awfully barbaric and uncivilised citizens.

Honestly, the people in Beijing.. have no manners at all. NONE. It makes me wonder how on earth they're gonna host the 2008 Olympics. Perhaps I'm making a very sweeping statement, but I'm not faulting them for being rude, for it's their culture. But it makes me wonder, is it that difficult to get me a spoon when I want one? Now tell me, would you walk up to a table of strangers and just grab a napkin - OUR NAPKIN MIND YOU - off their tabletop when the people are all still sitting there? Whatever happened to COURTESY? My dad got fed up and went to open their drawers to get a spoon for himself. Plus, they yell at each other in the shopping malls like they're the only ones in the damn place. Ohmygoodness. Don't even get me started about Air China and their stewards. Owing to the amount of public scrutiny that blogs are getting these days, I should think it prudent to hold my tongue or face a lawsuit from Air China, especially since I know that this blog gets a substantial amount of traffic each day.

Right, visuals of my trip coming up soonish, and I think it's about time to tell everyone interested that I've got the SAF Provisional Scholarship and I'll be in BMT from 3rd Jan. Whee. I think. Plus I need to collect my EAGLES money, cut my hair, collect my uniform. AAARRRGG.

EDIT: NO PHOTOS TODAY COS I BUSIED MYSELF MAKING A NEW TEMPLATE (: BUT MAYYYBE IF I'M IN THE MOOD I'LL RUSH THE EDITING TONIGHT HEH.

Celebrated my belated birthday with my family at Grand Copthorne Waterfront today. It was a relatively cheap buffet at $38++, compared to like, Oriental and Shangri-La, but the food didn't disappoint.

AAARGH! THANK YOU ALL OF YOU FOR TODAY!! I'm really damn touched by all the effort you guys put in for the Botanic Gardens thingy. Initially, wasn't really hyped up by my birthday but I must say you people really made me a happy sunshiney girl :) Yeah, the night before, I was still nonchalantly watching my DVDs and I practically forgot about the birthday till Thong msged at midnight sharp. (Yes, so punctual huh?) Followed by Ginana, James, Shiyin, Ben, Dad, Mom, Lingypoo, Tom, Huimin. Of course how could I forget, Terri, Dav, Bea, Mel, Yif, Henry, Mo, Sam for the celebration :) Plus weejinnn for the dinner treat!

Apart from all that, the gifts really touched me too, but just seeing all of you put in the effort was gratifying enough. Thanks also to Justin, Szewei, Thong for chipping in with Terri for the bag! Speaking of Terri, ya thanks jiejie for everything today. When we took 51 from Alexandra Hospital, I didn't know that the bus ride would take THAT long but I'm just glad that we had the time to catch up.. seems like ages since we last spent that long together ya. Am very amused by your tales of childhood. Be careful of the toilet bowls, and I'll need you to look out for cars for me again in the future :P

FINALLY 18, and lovin it so far!

My medical was ok. Pes A for everything except that I have to get a letter from my surgeon telling them my condition when I was hospitalised in April. Sigh. So so uncertain.

OH, went to watch Perhaps Love. The CHINESE show. It was fantastic, really. Till now I have a very bittersweet aftertaste of that movie. It's one of those poignant movies that really draw you in and captures you, losing you in every segment of the dialogue, every emotion displayed by the characters. It was innocent yet tainted, simple yet enigmatic. I left the theatre in a contemplative mood, and realised that the movie was not just 'another tissue-worthy tear jerker' but it was so much more. Something like a labyrinth that you cannot help but delve deeper into its core albeit the fact that the further you proceed, the harder it is to escape. I intend to watch it again. Really. It was that riveting, that poignant.

Hmm, leaving for Korea soon. I can't wait. Will return with the MOTHERLOAD of photographs, I swear.

Today's race was a wonderful experience. Despite coming away with seven huge blisters (of which one is RED), I really really enjoyed every stroke during that 22km. I have this trend of starting badly in any long-d event, be it rowing or running. When I row, I need at least 30 minutes for my muscles to warm up, and it meant that at the start, I was really lagging. So many boats overtook me, but I don't know why, I just didn't panic but kept focusing on maintaining my form - a strategy I learnt during my swimming days. Reach, lock, pull, rotate, kick was all that was on my mind and gradually, the gaps closed. I overtook this other girl in a T1 who had previously streaked by me, and she decided to ride my wash. I didn't want to struggle to break away from her as yet, so I just feebly tried to zigzag to get her off, but I couldn't. She stuck to me for more than 2km. Then Mr Yong rowed past and told me to be patient and "see you at the finish line". So after a while, I started to pick up pace and that T1 disappeared pretty quickly and I overtook quite a few more eventually.

All in all, I'm very satisfied. Everything went smoothly and despite seriously lacking in training I think I rowed my best and that's all that matters. Surprisingly, Mr Yong was damn encouraging.. and he kept praising my form and telling me to keep it up and towards the end, he was rowing next to me, and really it did help me finish strong. I need to burst those blisters soon.

Oh, England is drawn in Group B. Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden. It's relatively easy compared to Group C honestly. Sven, you're one lucky manager. I'll be watching Groups A & E too. Germany and Czech Rep. PLEASE PLEASE DADDY, GO GERMANY NEXT YEAR. So I can tag along and watch the world cup!!!

Hmm, the scholarship person called me back for a medical tomorrow, but it doesn't mean anything is decided yet. I'm still not very confident since I think I totally bombed the interview, and despite being called back for a medical (which is supposed to be good news), my fears aren't really allayed yet. Hope it all goes ok, though I AM a little doubtful. Sigh.

Thanks for the dinner today Dav. I really really love all of you. Dav, Sam, Mel, Henry, Chewy, and the rest - Mo, Vin, Yif, Bea, Amanda, Cher, Shiwei. YAY. This friendship is really really dear to me, and it's about the only thing other than the team and the AEP gang that I'll miss in NJ. It suddenly struck me that our lives have just begun to evolve and unfold like a little budding flower. How the inevitable fact is that we're gonna all go our separate ways soon, and how there won't be the same little comfort zone that I always shrink into. Everyone, everything will change. Most of them are going abroad, I'm still hesitant. The guys will be in NS.. things are gonna be so so so different.

I'm gonna miss the lunch breaks, the free periods, the sudden declarations of "I WANT TO EAT ICE CREAM. NOW!". Barley with more barley (Dav). "I want a pau!" (Sam). Yongtaufoo. The birthday celebrations in the canteen, though I've never had one in the canteen cos the date's really off. GOSH. It's so sad ):

Nostalgia and reminiscence aside, got a msg from Constance telling me that Yong changed the lineup and I'll be rowing T1 instead tomorrow for Ubin. AUUUGHH. I don't know if that's good or not. I'm kinda scared I'll get lost tomorrow cos T1 girls is the slowest craft and I don't want to be left straggling and get all disoriented cos everywhere is just trees, water, sky. "In the empty immensity of earth, sky and water" - I quoth Conrad in Heart of Darkness. I'm gonna be so alone in that boat. It's a fight against the elements, a battle against myself, my OWN heart of darkness. But I love a challenge, so, game on. I've prepared the anti-sun equipment too, except for sunblock cos I've run out. Yes, GAME ON, Van, GAME ON.

See? George Best must be turning in his grave. Man U lost to Benfica. Which means they're out, and they don't even qualify for the Uefa Cup. HELLO. Look where complacency gets you? Mwaahhaaha. Who to blame? It was the previous four Rs - Rooney, Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, now reduced to three with Keane's sacking. But now? Is everything gonna be shifted to Ferdinand? Or should the entire team, including Ol Fergie himself take some flak? HAHA all I can say is, I'm finding it very funny since Liverpool are sitting pretty atop their Champions League group.

Anyway, I'm slathering on aloe vera gel like there's no tomorrow because I'm horribly baked, roasted, sizzled by the sun at Ubin. Fried canoeists, crispy or original? Plus I have my interview tomorrow. I don't want to end up having the interview panel thinking that a lobster just crawled into the room. So I have to wear long sleeves. Something I totally ABHOR. Stupid sleeves. They're such a nuisance. Rowed with Michelle today! Long time since we partnered.. think it's been more than a year! But Pasir Ris sea sports club is SO out of the way. Only one bus goes there and it's at half-hour intervals. So He Who Must Not Be Named (HWMNBN) and I decided to cab down to the station when the bus left before we could get it. HWMNBN is an idiot who keeps insulting and annoying me.

Oh, Junxu says that I shouldn't say that he asked me to put his photo on my blog. Must make it seem like I put it there on my own free will. So, people, I put his photo there on my own free will ok? Remember your moisturiser, Junxu. Sun was terrible. *grin.

Had my interview dry run with the Air Force Recruitment Officer today. I was bombarded with question after question. Like, "How do you feel about the 2nd Gulf War when the US deposed Saddam Hussein?" and "Should RSAF troops training in Taiwan withdraw if China decides to launch an attack?". Easy ones were like "How do you feel about the death penalty?" and "How would you combat terrorism?" Urggg. At least I feel more prepared for Friday's crunchtime.

Thankfully there's another Ubin trial tomorrow. OR ELSE I'LL DIE.

....... OKAY I came online with lotsa stuff to say, then suddenly I'm at a loss. It's all Szewei's fault.

On request from Junxu. EH YOU'RE FEATURED ON MY BLOG!!!
(look at Szewei in the bg. retard!)

Chew jiejie (: So guniang!

Our day!

LANA CAKEEEE (:

Peishan is damn strong.

Huiying, the paedophile and the old man lover.

AGAIN

They forced us into this pose...

Music thingy

Open iTunes/iPod, Windows Media Player, or WinAmp to answer the following. Go to your library.
Answer, no matter how embarrasing it is.

How many songs: 1134

Sort by song title
First Song: 2+2=5, Radiohead
Last Song: Zui Hou De Zhan Yi, Jay Chou

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: Parachutes - Coldplay (0:46)
Longest Song: Sfven-g-englar - Sigur Ros (10:04)

Sort by album:
First Album: 'Decade' Disc 2 - Neil Young
Last Album: Yoko - Beulah

Top Five Most Played Songs:
1) Something Good - Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer
2) All My Life - KC&Jojo
3) Other Side - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
4) God-Shaped Hole - Plumb
5) If Only - Goldfinger

First song that comes up on Shuffle: Magic Hours - Explosions in the Sky

Search ....
"sex", how many songs come up? ZERO. Yes, I'm innocent like that.
"death", 23
"love", 71
"you", 166

Right. So that was a preview into how boring van's life is now. Hmm. Today's IJ lunch with Mr Ng was SUPER FUNNY. Laughed till my sides ached. Halfway through Vin called and told me some stuff that really really affected me, but I managed to push it to the back of my mind. I hate how some people are so cowardly, how they just avoid all the problems and seek escapism. Asswipes.

Anyway, I was really thinking after talking to Squishy, like how really we're kinda alike, but yet really really different. In his own words, he's "passive" but I'm rather "impulsive" and "rash". Yet I think Squishy's one of the few guys that I actually feel I can really talk to without having to endure mindless lameshitness and nonsense-spewing. I think it's the same with many of my close friends too, not just Squishy. (EH I'M COMPLIMENTING YOU OK, SQUISH.) Ya, look at Dav. She's this insane shopaholic but I'm the one who's really tight with my allowance. Yet we're so damn close and not to mention, similar. Also, there's people like.. Chew, Vin... many many more. It's so weird..

Shant talk about training today. I'm kinda infuriated. Looking forward to tomorrow with the girls :)

Prom was ok. Not exceptional, but it was great seeing everyone so dressed up. Went to buy Thong's present with He Who Must Not Be Named (No, not voldermort) before the whole thing, and that ass made me wait for half an hour before re-routing me to Swissotel straight, and then sauntering in like some bigshot. BOO YOU AND YOUR PARANOIA.