29.8.08

255% left to go

Right now some groupmates of mine are printing out a 50% group assignment to be submitted in under an hour. Quite interesting, wonder why people like doing things so last minute. Maybe its the thrill of working till the last moment. More likely its laziness. Or its just cos ppl are not bother with producing quality. Nothing comes free and hardwork usually translates into good results (although I have been proven wrong both ways). I guess if I get a HD for this cheap module I wont really complain and just look past the issue, so see what comes.

This group had quite an interesting politics going on. On Wednesday, the main leader (a woman) confronted one of the members and asked him why he claimed that another group member did not do his work (more of a misunderstanding then the guy not really doing his work). So that was quite interesting. I am quite neutral to the particular matter, but I am kinda of support the accused guy, mainly cos he has done a better job in the project then the woman.

The woman was also quite interesting. Saying things like the guy will sabotage the project, so exclude him. I am think that is quite cock, cos he did do a better job then her in the 1st place and with so little time, keeping good quality ppl is essential. I guess instead of making assumptions in the matter, the woman should have found out the reasoning and thought about the matter objectively. And she should have put in more effort into her parts of the project. Diplomacy with a stick, thats always important.

Well, yesterday they seem to have sorted the episode for now, although the woman and the group member who 'did not do his part' left the group for like 30min, definately to discuss what to do with him. At least they have agreed to have a session next week to discuss the issue.

Well, at least this is over, still got 4 more of these project to finish. Can't wait for October.

25.8.08

Closing Hymn

(Note, A Disclaimer: this post is a copy of the one on my blog so i do apologise if it sounds too overtly Christian but it is not my intention to convert here but to eulogize...)

Long ago, before i went thru my dark period in the army, there was a time when i was a Saint...not a saint as in a godly Christian guy...but a Saint as in a son of St Andrews School (SAS)..also called the Fighting Saints, the place where boys became men, the House of St Andrews, the blue and white, the SA Commonality..n i was a very self-righteous loyalist back in those days

Of course, over the years a lot of things have changed and God has changed me also..however, the 3 men who still made the most important impact on my life remain Jesus Christ, Harry Tan and John Calvin (well my own human father also but he's different, being my dad)...

Harry Tan, our former principal before Priscilla Krempl, passed away of cancer on the 7th of August. He was never my principal, having left the year before i entered the halls of St Andrews, but he came back on and off and taught a few after-school classes in Additional Mathematics which i attended, so he was my teacher at least.I remember him being full of wisdom and insight, being fast on his feet, a real thinker and a godly man who gave fiery devotions from the pulpit at morning devotion(n i was privileged to hear just one of these when he was invited back). His most famous quote was, "if you only had 5 seconds before the examiner said 'pens down!' how would u go about solving this equation?"generations of A-maths students survived and even did well thanks to Harry.And he was an avid commentator on sports, especially rugby, which was a quaint sport in Singapore, a left-over from British days, quite unlike here in Australia where it is the contemporary secular religion..oh n those stories every National Day! (when a boxing ring was set up in the quadrangle and where the boxing club gave a display of their prowess) Those stories of how Harry used to drag boys caught in gang fights and after school scuffles into the quadrangle and have them slug it out in front of the whole school..den they'd have a taste of wat a real fight was like..every son of St Andrews aspired to be like Harry, the epitome of Christian manhood, back in the day..

and he's gone...like dat..thus ends an era of our House's history..the days that are upon us bring no end of challenge and adversity, while we must needs make do without our principal,gone on to be with our Lord in the bosom of heaven..Oh, dat one day when we have finished our journey here on Earth, we also might join in with Harry in God's presence thru Jesus..oh..dat the grief of having Harry taken from us in such manner will be comforted by the thought of the infinite joys of heaven, the least of which is to see him again..dear Saints, brothers and sisters, from Harry's example learn trust, grace and readiness...while in this tent of flesh let us never put away our hope for the Day of Redemption that is to come..

May the final word go to the last stanza of the St Andrews Hymn,

Before us and beside us,
Still holden by Thy hand,
A cloud of unseen witness,
Our elder comrades stand;
One family unbroken,
We join in one acclaim;
One heart, one voice uplifting
To glorify Thy name.

16.8.08

Re: ten years on!

thanks for bringing back the nostelgia... by the way, where are you guys now? I know jc and shamir are in australia, what about varun and tsang?

i just came back from china, was running english camps there with a missions orientation, and it was very enjoyable too. but life is such that everything is transient, including such enjoyable things, and the best we can make of these occasions are fonds memories to treasure.

I'm glad that even as I'm back home, there are people whom I can share memories of similar extents of fondness with. though each of us try to find our own path through life, we are still able to take the time to reminiese the past whenever events trigger the flashbacks.

Well, such is life, and lets make the most of it... I remember a time when life beyond secondary school was an abstract notion, I never even pondered the question of whether we would still remain in touch and if we would still be friends, but now I find it easier to extrapolate the situation to the rest of our lives... can see us wrinkled and white haired, attending each others funerals... hm... wonder which of us would go first.

Now as I start upon my chosen way,
In all I do, my thoughts, my work, my play,
Grant as I promise, courage new for me
To be the best, the best that I can be.


anyway, just so that i do not end the entry on the warped note, wanna ask who is/would be in singapore and can meet up before I return in October?

14.8.08

One Day

They need to stop calling themselves Worker's Party and change their name to the Labour Party of Singapore again or Singapore Labour..a bit more polishing and maybe a Kevin Rudd like character to run as PM and best of luck at the next General Elections..you noe whom to vote yeah? Lightning bolt la then..

12.8.08

10 years on!

Oh man! has it been that long already? I feel old!

I really do miss those days in SAS. Scouts was my life in those days and looking back, I, like Chua wish I had done things better. But I guess I should just leave the past and press on for the best possible future ya?

To Chua: I'm sure we'll all be just as friendly 10 years down the road la. There's not many opportunities to create new friendships that could possibly be as close as the frens you make in Secondary school right?

As for NDP, I remember the KFC and pizza hut and all the cool gifts we got. Back then, I thought that was the highlight of the show for me. But now, I realise the memory lives on even with the freebies long gone. Of course, when I watch the PAP banners in NDP, my mind is filled with disgust! We've matured somewhat!

10.8.08

Re-Reply: 10 years to this day

Can't remember who was the head of state for that parade, it was SR's first? What I remember about the parade itself was observing Lam (diagonally infront of me) look up at the planes flying past. Alot of toe wriggling and alot of free food during the trainings. Early teenagers wont work for peanuts, but they work well for free pizza hut or KFC meals. Throw in the bonus can drinks and black jelly and they are highly motivated to stand still for one hour.

To more important matters, I considered the training for the parades we did (Gab did one, Chua none [not leaving out you guys ;)]} the starting point of our friendship. Not that we did not know each other in sec 1s, remember comparing which patrol had to do the most push-ups (clement always had plenty to give), but the footdrill trainings was THE FIRST event to bond us together. Of course AFGMs, PLTC, Orientation Camps, RTC, PLCs and dealing with the ah-beng scouts one batch lower provided the problems that required us working together and thus a strong level of trust was formed as we tackled these problems together. Thats how I look at it and I think its about right...

10 Years On

Time moves onward as we all know full well..10 years is a long time to recall..i wish i'd done things better and more boldly..n i feel thankful that some of the frens i was with 10 years ago are still with mi today..of course, we've all changed in our own ways..some things dun of course, like Varun and his wisecracks that never fail to get under my skin..

i've found it much harder to make frens as i get older..n i find i need human beings less than when i did at 14..in fact, going my own way seems to be preferrable to doing wat the crowd does..n sometimes i feel nostalgic for those naive, innocent days in SAS..

10 years time i do hope that we'll all be equally close n frenli..den again, who knows?

9.8.08

Reply: 10 years to this day

I remember trying to turn my head but not look like i was turning my head to see Nathan as he drove in his car just behind our contingent... we were in the back end of all the contingents i remember.. and we were the last few years to have our own Scout contingent.. and not have it mixed up with the guides...

if i remember correctly...

and all that free food....

:) Good old days... just before my life too a drastic change.... so i guess i'm coming to the first decade of a new me...

10 years to this day

Was watching the NDP parade just now and was thinking about what some of us were doing 10 years ago. Long way since then...

Been very busy recently, this sem has so many projects. I guess tests/exams are better than having much assignments as they take up alot of time. One of my assignments seems fun, writing about a leader and his/her style. The business plan assignment has good practical value and hence I see it as a positive exercise. Got another 2 about integrating theory with the real world, finished one, got one more. A real chore, cheap assignments...

Oh well, I guess once this month is over, will be less taxing in sch, 3 assignments and 2 tests will be down and my sats will free up. Will have 3 more assignments to complete, but I think it will be relatively more free. But going to have more exercising to do in Sep with RT and cycling training coming up, so that will be taking alot of my energy (at least not mental energy, :)).

5.8.08

Small but Tough

i like commercials with a dark twist