Energy Blast

It is finally OVER!

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000

It is done.. the month of all months has finally come to an end! I've done it, finally completed it.. all 3 grueling weeks in another land, all 72km of route march.. i did it.. i cant believe i managed to complete it, but i did.. it wasnt easy, nobody said it would be.. it was tough, seriously, else why would i be doing it in the first place? if its too easy, then wads the point? finally, i have earned the Red Beret!

The 3 weeks in Brunei was actually not as bad as i thought it would be.. heng, no turn outs, probably cause of the death incident of the airforce guy.. poor guy, must have pushed too hard... tragic indeed... i was kinda shocked.. it happened in the middle of one of my exercises, and so my exercise was cut short, due to the army's stand-down for a few days... conquered Biang, it actually wasnt tt tough as everyone was talking about it.. but yes, needed alot of rest.. swam across the river thrice... walked through the swamp, yucks... its like walking through thick chocolate fondue which didnt melt properly...R&R day was ok, we went to visit some museums, a mosque, and a shopping centre(comparable to tampines mall).. they're stuff there is more expensive, cause cost of living is higher.. visited the pasar malam across the street, and oh man, they sell alot of food... i couldnt resist.. chicken backside, haha, sounds disgusting, but i tried it anyway, it was good... most of their food in the pasar malam was grilled or fried food, and i was feeling adventurous, so yea.. ate chicken wings also, yeow hong bought a kebab(its not like those on satay sticks, their kebabs is in buns).. good food! flight back to singapore was at night, while waiting to board the plane, did my favorite past-time.. taking silly photos...

there are more, but waiting for shyam to send to me..

72km was tough.. but i somehow felt 35km was tougher, cause by the end of my 35, i almost couldnt walk.. but for 72, i still could walk.. probably cause i drank lots of 100+ so i wont get cramps and all... it was tiring, and tough, but i managed to pull through.. the perserverance of my company mates made me want to complete it too.. and i learnt a new interesting quote from my CSM from this walk..

"Pain tells me i'm still friggin ALIVE!!!"

cool... i like it...

so i'm finally back.. 1 whole month i've not gone to church... i miss the church...

now i must rest and recuperate, my feet is pain! haha..

But i finally got the Red Beret.. after 1 whole friggin year... it was some tough journey.. it is expensive..go to my facebook profile if u wanna see the photos.. haha...

tired man, need more sleep!

The Month of ALL Months...

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Coming all the way till here was not easy. Tough times, fun times, i've been there, done that... This June will be a month to conclude all that i have been through eversince i enlisted.

I will FINALLY be embarking on my 3 week "holiday/chalet" to Brunei next week, which will be filled with lotsa "funfilled" activities such as swamp walk, river crossing, navigation, company ops, etc... it will be tiring, no one said it wont be.. there will be times i would really wanna give up, thats only natural. I just pray i will complete this milestone of my army life without much problems, i hope the time will pass FAST. I pray i wont get foot rot, seriously... which bring me to the next milestone of my army.

My 3 weeks vacation in brunei will end on the 25 June, where my plane will touch down in Singapore darn early in the morning.. we will go home to rest for the day, and then book in that night... On the 26 June, i will be FINALLY walking my 72km, which was postphoned all cause of the nasilemak guy... Most of my seniors said they walked 35km immediately after "Ex All Out", well, i will be walking 72km almost immediately after "Ex Greenwood" i pray i dont get foot rot or any injuries during my brunei so i wont suffer too much in this route marches to conclude all route marches..I Pray i will Complete it.

27 June 2008 will be the day of the Red Beret.. I forsee that i wont be able to walk properly, drenched out of all energy..i wont even talk much.. but i will be glad its all over, all 72km of it, all 3 weeks of the brunei... which will open a new chapter in my army life, the second half of it...

Wadever it is, the Month of all Months is still only 1 month, how long can it be? soon, it will all end, it will all be over.. and there i will be on the 28 June, at home, on my bed, thinking: Its a Tough Job, indeed it was, but someone has to do it.. It was tough, but i completed all of it... It will be a "Defining Moment"

Thats it for wads gonna happen for me in June... Now for wad happened to me in May..

Had Cohesion Day last week with whole of 6 coy.. finally took a photo as a detachment, funny ones in fact.. I love funny photos, brings back alot of memories..

I had fun, though it was tiring running here and there..

Before cohesion day, we walked our 35km route march.. it was tough, had blisters even though i wore good socks.. had cramps halfway through also.. hopefully i wont kenna so much of these problems in 72km.. Only the men know the feeling...

Oh, applied for my university already, will probably know whether i'm accepted after i come back from brunei..

Something i found on youtube. brings back lots of memories to when i played the game a few years back... i have no idea wad the music means though..

Ok this is one of my fav songs from One Republic.. in fact, my nick now actually came from this song.. i cant find their music video for this, but i found one which is the FF8 version.. good enough...

One Republic - Prodigal(FF8 Version)

Ok, tts it for now!

Say All I Need

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:37:00 +0000

My 72km route march has been postphoned! argh! means my red beret postphoned..sian..

72 postphoned cause we're on for Ops VL again.. soo... 35km pushed back, i did not do it last week.. will be doing it in 2 weeks time.. doing 12km FM this coming week..

Ops starting again, meaning i will not be able to come out on most weekends.. schedule will be hectic, irregular.. but nvm.. hopefully the nasilemak guy will be caught soon...

I'm in a shopping mood! haha.. bought 2 shirts last week from Zara.. and finally bought a bag i have been eyeing on for quite some time from Projectshop Blood bros..

Had BS outing yesterday.. it was actually an outing to find BS materials, we decided to do Isiah.. interesting, but seems tough.. we had lunch at this ramen shop at tiong bahru plaza, man, the soup was HOT! went to SKs bookshop to get the BS materials.. after tt went to town with dora and cindy to shop! haha.. nice day.. i miss those days..

Argh, havent applied for Uni yet! hopefully i find the time this coming week, if i can book out on weekdays.. haha!

I like this song from One Republic.. very unique! in fact, i like most of their songs! cool.. Enjoy! Have a great week ahead!

One Republic - Say (All I Need)

The Month of Walking

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:18:00 +0000

May has finally come. Well, i forsee this May is gonna be somewhat interesting, painful, happy at the end.. As you can see, i have declared this specific month the Month of Walking.. For me, and for those in training together with me, will probably understand why.. Theres gonna be some loooong route marches this month.. like say next Friday, i'm gonna walk my 35km route march... dunno whether we're gonna do the 12km fast march, hopefully not though.. By the end of this month, to be exact- 29 May, i'm finally gonna walk my 72km route march. And the next day- 30 May, i'm gonna be presented my the Red Beret.. Hopefully everything goes well! The Red Beret is definitely something to look forward to, It will finally conclude the 11 Months of training eversince i enlisted, it will be like a Grand Finale of my training, den i will proceed on to Operations.. I pray i can sustain, i pray i wont fall out, i pray i wont quit!

Yesterday went out with my det mates to Vivo City, had lunch at this hong kong cafe, den walked around, watched "Iron Man"

It was interesting, always like watching those sophisticated kind of stuff, and once again, i was attracted to the shiny stuff.. worth watching, though i expected more action.. but worth watching..

Oh, back to the hong kong cafe, Matthew ordered this drink, he actually wanted it cold, but in the end, there wasnt any cold version of it, so it came hot.. it was the Milk with an egg in it.. Yucks! haha...

Hopefully there will be more of these outings..

Ok, need to go cut hair, cause theres a parade tomorrow, and i dont wanna risk any of my weekends! haha.. ciao!

Lulu & Ronan Keating - We've Got Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:23:00 +0000

Ok, this will be a fast one cause gotta prepare to go to camp soon..

The past week felt long, yet went past quite fast, i dunno how to explain it.. perhaps its cos of the field camp from monday to wednesday.. field camp was quite tough this time, probably cos alot of walking with fbo.. and everyone steps into a drain with the water about knee level on the very first day, and got wet feet for the rest of the field camp.. sian, but anyways, it ended..

Did a combat jump on friday, which concluded my mod 2 of BAC.. therefore, i am fully BAC trained.. i love jumping out of chinooks.. the jump on friday however, wasnt so good, maybe cause the wind was quite strong.. i fumbled.. but hey, i'm still here, thank God i didnt get injured! haha..

i hope this coming week will pass fast.. labour day is this week, so i am expecting it to past fast.. wow, May is coming, therefore 72km is coming very soon, the countdown is starting, countdown not to ORD, but to get the red beret.. i really hope and pray i have the endurance and strength for 72km, i pray i can and i will complete it without much difficulties, and injuries..i need motivation! Pray for me!

Ok, gotta go start preparing now..

Ronan Keating - Life is a Rollercoaster

Dead Fantasy

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:19:00 +0000

Once again, time passes so past.. April passed by me so fast! Very soon, May is gonna come, and by the end of May, i'm gonna walk my 72km route march! Woooo....

The past week felt long, training days always feel long anyway... did ippt again on friday, and tried doing it without drinking red bull! haha.. felt a little more tired when running.. and i dont think its psychology, i now believe red bull really helps a little..

Will have to adapt to a few changes the next few weeks, new RSM, new CSM.. hopefully my new CSM will be good.. i felt that the outgoing CSM was quite good, very patient with us.. its quite sad that he is leaving.. oh wells.. thats life! gotta adapt to it fast!

lotsa field camps coming up soon.. in fact, going on a field camp tomorrow! oh man.. camo cream again! sian!

My sister showed me 2 youtube videos yesterday and it was really darn friggin cool! i loved it! brings back memories when i was playing FFX and FFX-2.. Heres the videos anyway, if u do wanna see them.. they are for "Final Fantasy" and "Dead or Alive" lovers btw, they call it "Dead Fantasy"

Dead Fantasy 1

Dead Fantasy 2

I hope they will come up with more! They really should make a game comprising all the characters from final fantasy, maybe street fighter style! Maybe a fighting game like this video.. they i will definately buy it! of course it will be better if they include all the guy characters instead of just the female characters.

Oh, i visited a friends blog and saw this youtube video, its hilarious! haha.. a nice musical in the public!

Haha.. i gotta have more of these funny videos man.. if you guys have any funny videos, please please please give me the link!

Alright, no music video this week, cause these interesting videos should be enough! haha!

Pray for me that this week passes fast, my field camp ends fast and safe.
Pray that my upcoming fast marches and 35km and 72km route marches will past fast, that i will endure through all of them, that i will not get injured, that i wont get too many blisters! haha.. Thanks alot and God Bless all of you!

Shalom,
Alexander

A Long Week...

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:37:00 +0000

The past week felt long.. real long.. only booked out yesterday afternoon. So training officially restarted, did rappelling and water crossing this week. Rappelling was quite fun, missed the chance to do the australian rappelling cos it rained. We also had the chance to experience roping, that was quite fun too! Good thing about my vocation is that the things you do makes you feel like you're in an adventure camp. We get to experience airborne, rappelling, etc... its definitely an exciting vocation! Water crossing was also ok, only that we need to wash all our stuff (fieldpack, lbv, etc...). An eventful week nonetheless!

Coming up soon(very soon) are lots of fieldcamps, route marches, fast marches... And the day of my Red Beret is coming very soon.. i really really seriously hope everything goes well, that i wont fall out halfway, that i will complete the entire 72km... Pray for me!

Sister came back from the USA and bought me a cardigan, something i've been looking for.. now i must find something to match it with, and find the right occassion to wear it! haha.. I've been in the mood to buy clothing.. i wanna SHOP!!! somehow i feel addicted to shopping, haha!

Woke up with a sore throat this morning, lots of phlegm.. i think i'm getting a flu..

I wanna go for a holiday overseas! Hong Kong, USA, Australia, anywhere i can shop and eat! haha! I wanna travel!

I want a Camera.. wonder which camera is good, and of course affordable...

Oh, The Simpsons just started on TV, gonna watch it! haha! bye!

One Republic - Mercy

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:11:00 +0000

Training's gonna resume this week after close to a month's "rest" from training. The feeling of resuming training kinda sucks, but it has to be done.. resuming training means, more route marches, fast marches, field camps, etc... well, what doesnt kill you makes you stronger! haha..

Gonna have Rappelling this week, wish me luck! haha.. hope its gonna be fun!

Just 2 more months till i get the red beret, i must hang in there! i must walk that 72km route march.. i MUST endure!

I am in the mood for shopping! haha.. i wanna buy a bag from project shop blood bros, and a pair of sandals from maybe beetle bug..

Recently heard this song and liked it alot.. This is the Grey's Anatomy version btw, cause i like Grey's Anatomy.. duh.. haha!

The Fray - How to Save a Life (Grey's Anatomy)

Makes Me Wonder...

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:09:00 +0000

I wish every week was like this, needing only to book in on monday, den i'll have extra time at home, can sleep an extra night in my nice, cozy, comfy bed..

went to the education fair at suntec last week, happy to see a few familiar faces! its still hard to decide wad i wanna study there.. i am now looking between UWA and Monash.. hmm.. tough choice..

I really wonder whether the nasi lemak guy will be caught? is he dead already? has he already escaped our country? is he really still alive? question marks all over.. Are we searching in vain? When will we stop the search? will we be able to catch him? hmm..... i hope he will be caught soon, so the tiresome search will be all over...

i need a tan. seriously...

oh, did i say before? i went to the airshow with bev, jon and justin? took very few photos though, only justin brought a cam.. and i din have a chance to take a photo with bev..

I want a Camera, i NEED a Camera. Seriously...

Went for Easter Service today, sermon was good! Some verses really comforted me, strengthened my faith. one verse is 1 Corinthians 15:55

"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

Den i went on to read 3 verses later, which is so comforting, and something i wanna remember alot, to encourage myself, and to also remind others, especially some of my friends who are losing faith.

1 Corinthians 15:58
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Anyways, i hope and pray that this coming week will once again be a good week!

i so love Maroon 5...

Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder

The Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:30:00 +0000

The weekend was good, fruitful, relaxing... watched 2 movies, The Waterhorse, and The Leap Years.. Both were good shows i think, worth watching.. i liked Leap years better though, although its one of those lovey dovey shows i dont usually watch.. but i was kinda attracted by the trailer they keep on showing on the television, so i decided to watch. Definately NOT a disappointment. They used alot of Corrine May songs too! haha.. Li Lin was looking great as usual..

Went to Grammaphone and bought a few CDs i have been wanting to buy:
- One Republic
- "Drastic Fantastic" by KT Tunstall
- "Songs about Jane" by Maroon 5
- Rihanna (you know, the one who sang the Umbrella song..)

Anyway, once again, yet another week of army life awaits me, hopefully this week will be peaceful, fun, so time in army will pass faster.. Oh, and i still have yet to figure out wad i wanna study for my university, i dunno where to study either.. oh well.. hopefully i can figure it out soon..

Hope this week will pass fast..

Finally, a song i like.. "Apologise" from One Republic

Enjoy!

Timbaland feat. One Republic - Apologize

Such A Chore

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:50:00 +0000

Going back to camp every Sunday evening has always felt like such a chore.. It just feels so, discouraging, you know that your weekend is so over, and your only hope is that the next weekend comes fast. Yes, in army, weekends are probably so so so precious to us guys, they are like public holidays.. the feeling of weekends are not the same as while you were studying in poly..

So, that being said, i guess you will understand why my every post will be filled with neverending rants and complaints...

The next 2 weeks are gonna be... TOUGH! I really hope and pray i have enough endurance to make it through..

The past week was ok, only i made a darn stupid mistake and now i have to pay for it, thank God the price to pay is not so much.. I cant believe i made that mistake, i cant believe i was so forgetful.. Wad i did wrong, i dont think i'll post it here, not safe to post it here anyway..

Anyway, i havent really posted about CNY.. This year, CNY passed quite fast.. i enjoyed the few days of holiday, the visiting, the open house at home, i look forward to these things every year.. except this year, it was probably more precious to me..

May i get the red beret fast! May i end my army soon!

I still dunno wad to study, which uni to go to.. its hard to think wad i wanna study..

oh wells...

Argh!! i'm gonna book in soon.. sian sian sian... outfield tmr..

Tiring!

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:30:00 +0000

Tiring! and yet time flies by so slowly.. if only i can make the Good times fly by more slowly and make the times with more Hardship pass by faster.. Camp has been "ok" so far, still bearable.. the tempo is picking up fast.. things are gonna be darn difficult soon.. there are many things on my mind i wanna say, but i dont think i will be able to write it all down here..

Firstly, i dont like going outfield.. haha.. and i am in a vocation which requires us to go outfield ALOT! haha.. i really mean ALOT...

Second, i dont like route marches, and (as far is i know) i am in a vocation which probably requires us to walk the longest, the furthest...

I really dunno whether i can stay in my vocation or be kicked out.. A few weeks ago, i had ideas of just giving up.. cause it takes another 5-6 months of HARD training to win the reward, and i didnt know whether it was worth it.. talked to some friends about it, and finally decided that i will push on through the hardship! decided that i wouldnt quit on my own accord, but if they kick me out of it, so be it.. i dont think i'll have any regrets.. but if i gave up myself, i'll probably have regrets in the future..

One of the officers told us something which i really think is true, and i decided to use it as my pet phrase from now on to motivate myself in training..

"Its NOT whether you Can or Cannot, its whether you WANT or DONT WANT.."

Oh well, enough about army.. I havent bought my CNY clothes! i only have 2 more weekends to shop! HOW?!?

I need to at least get 2 sets of clothes and shoes.. i wanna get jeans too.. A few places i thought of buying from is Zara, Takashimaya, Topman and New Urban Male.. Any other ideas anyone? i might get shoes from Converse..

This year i'm thinking of getting clothes more interesting, more fashionable instead of the semi-formal kinda shirts.. ideas???

hope i get let of early on friday this week.. haha.. fat hope..

Who wanna go shopping next week?

Finished reading my "Darth Bane - Path of Destruction" novel, interesting, waiting for the second book to be out in singapore.. Second book is "Darth Bane - Rule of Two"

AHH! this coming week another field camp.. sian sian sian.. oh well.. like they say: SUCK IT UP!

haha

Book in time is getting earlier and earlier, book out time is getting later and later..

ok, i need to go pack my stuff now..

Shalom!

2008

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Yet another year has come to pass. 2007 was a fine year, It was a year of "excitement", mainly cause i entered into the army. When i look back at when i entered the army, i realised that time passes so quickly, it has already been 6 months, 2 parts of army life has passed.. Now its time for the third part of army..

Will be joining the batallion tmr morning, wonder how life will be there.. well, i'll be finding out soon, and you'll probably be reading my whining here..

i'm still pondering on wad to study for my university.. econs? banking and finance? tourism? hospitality? i really dont know.. i'm looking more toward UWA, University of Western Australia..

Hope this year will be a fun, exciting, fast year.. i just wanna end my NS soon.. haha!

Ronan Keating - Lovin Each Day

Holidays over!

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:49:00 +0000

Good times always seem to pass by real fast.. My 1 week block leave is over just by the blink of an eye! It was a good time to just relax from all army stuff, meeting up with friends, slacking at home, shopping for presents for christmas, window shopping around town.. i just love doing these, it just relaxes my mind.. well, it has been 6 months into the army now, another 9 months to go.. My next phase is where the REAL training really starts.. i really hope and pray i can cope up with it..tough training on the way.. Anyway, Christmas was normal, thank God i didnt need to do guard duty on christmas eve! haha.. had another day of leave today, and it was good too, slacked at home! Gonna go back to camp soon though.. graduation from CDO-TI this saturday, where i'll up a rank..

Another good thing about holidays is that i eat and eat, especially during Christmas and CNY.. During Christmas, i love to have my Ham and turkey! haha... i cant go without ham, i will probably whine and whine.. Well, CNY is coming, i think i'll put on more weight, but its ok.. i think i'll burn it off quite fast..

I'm almost halfway through my star wars book! haha.. its quite cool actually, i'm suprised i can read it tt fast.. normally, i would just give up reading any novel at this point in time.. so u can see how interesting this star wars novel is! haha!

Ok, time to go!

Random

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:17:00 +0000

The first few days of my week's holiday has been boring.. stayed at home yesterday, listening to music, packing my room desk, chatting with ppl online, and reading a book i bought on sunday! haha.. something unbelievable, i'm actually reading a novel.. Its the Star Wars, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

Just completed the first 2 chapters, and its really quite interesting.. cool!

going out later with jon for some shopping! haha.. and tomorrow, gonna catch the "Warlords" with shyam and the guys, looks like a darn good show..

gotta start my Christmas shopping man.. i need ideas!

Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:03:00 +0000

Yay! finally, a week's holiday is here! The past 3 months of vocation training has been.. fun.. airborne, boatman, demo.. like some one said, "airphibious bomberman!" learnt alot of stuff over 3 months.. now the vocational training has come to an end, and the 1 week break is well deserved! haha... after this week will be Christmas, den i will be promoted, den new year will come, only then, will "all hell break loose".. haha.. cause will be posted to join the rest of the battalion.

well, i guess i'll just enjoy these 1 to 2 weeks.. PTP batch came in yesterday.. poor thing.. oh well, i was once like them, can understand how they are feeling.. come to think of it, time passes fast.. as of yesterday, i have completed 6 months of army! 25% completed.. another 75%..

This coming week, i wanna go christmas shopping, i wanna watch movie, go sentosa!

ahh.. i think the mozzies love me alot.. they bit me alot last night at the live firing range.. they came like a plague.. on my right hand, i got about 6 bites, on my left hand, i got 5 bites.. guess my blood is just tooo sweet! hahhaa..

KT Tunstall - Other Side Of The World

Over the sea and far away
She's waiting like an Iceberg
Waiting to change,
But she's cold inside
She wants to be like
the water,

All the muscles tighten in her face
Buries her soul in one embrace
They're one and the same
Just like water

Then the fire fades away
But most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world
to me

On comes the panic light
Holding on with fingers
and feelings alike
But the time has come
To move along

Then the fire fades away
But most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world

Can you help me?
Can you let me go
And can you still love me
When you can't see me anymore

Then the fire fades away
most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world
Ohh.... the other side of the world
You're.... the other side of the world
To me.

21

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:02:00 +0000

I simply love the end of every year! the end of every year usually means holidays, festive seasons, my birthday!, and a new year coming, which means chinese new year is coming. i love these holidays!

went out with cell mates to celebrate my 21st birthday at hog's breath chijmes last night, it was good! had a fun time fellowshipping with them.. daniel and kris came along too! dinner was good! and we took photos! lots! haha.. too bad dora wasnt there.. aww.. cindy said that 3 of us(eugene, cindy and myself) should take photo and she go home and photoshop dora's face inside! haha.. i enjoyed myself! we also went to gelare to have a drink after that..

Food with Attitude! haha.. i like it...

Group Photo! they complained that my eyes kept closing when taking photos this night.. think i'm just tired after a day's training...

"and the prize goes to..." haha.. thanks for the present guys!

Its beginning to look a little like Christmas! the tree look nice, so we decided to take a photo of it.. it was inside chijmes...

Another Christmas Tree! i love Christmas trees.. they remind me of Christmas! duh...

Jumping for joy shouting: "Christmas is here!".. or so i wished!

Jeanne and I! haha.. the street lights seemed cool, so wanted to take a photo of it.. ah alright, its just an excuse to take more photos! LOL!

Alright, now to photoshop dora into the picture.. haha, we're the photo addicts!

Thats all for now.. booking in to camp tmr nite cause had live firing on saturday.. at least they refunded us a day.. haha!

Alright, now for another of my favourites.. fitting for this day! Enjoy!

Corrinne May - The Birthday Song

Sian!

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:43:00 +0000

hai... fist they decreased our block leave from 4 days to 2 days, den they cancelled our block leave totally and pushed it all the way to december.. then now they take away my christmas eve.. i wonder if they will even take away the block leave in december.. hai.. gotta get used to it man..

anyways, just came back from family dinner at shangrila hotel.. had dinner at "the line" a buffet.. celebrating my birthday! haha.. which is next week.. celebrating it so early cause my sister is going to perth next week.. food was nice.. but i'm damn bloated now.. haha.. eat too much!

ok, gonna log off soon! need to book in tonight!.. sian..

Life's like that!

oh well...

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:46:00 +0000

Hey, i am back.. but only for a short while.. supposed to have 2 days of block leave from thursday till friday this week, but in the end, the block leave has been shifted forward to december.. weird management, but oh well, what the heck.. when it comes to SAF, expect the unexpected! they love to throw stunts on you..

oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...oh well...

Alexander

Band of Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:28:00 +0000

Firstly, i just created a Facebook account a few days ago.. please add me if you have an account too.. haha.. Facebook is quite complicating i guess, so many applications.. it is interesting to just look through some applications, but i think after a while, i might get tired of it.. Perhaps i am still more used to friendster.. but nevertheless, i will still use both friendster and facebook..

Started watching the "Band of Brothers".. There are a total of 10 episodes, and i have watched 4 already.. its a good show! like sam told me, i would be able to relate to alot of wad they do.. like the contact drills, and especially becoming a paratrooper, attaining the silver wings...Although a gruesome show, it teaches alot.. Soldiers who go to war must have lots and lots and lots of courage.. i mean, seriously, who isnt scared of war? letting your guard down for a second might kill you, or worse, paralize you..

Well, the past week went past quite fast, perhaps cause of the deepavali holiday on thursday.. This coming week will again be another fast one cause i end my course on wednesday, then my block leave for 2 days will start, from thursday till sunday.. Having a practical test tmr, pray that i will pass it, cause i havent been quite steady in my handling the boat.. pray that i will be confident, and remember and perform all the steps i need to do..

I've been trying to find this song from the movie "The Devil wears Prada", and finally i found the song.. love the song, i might just buy the album.. Great voice! Enjoy!

Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:47:00 +0000

This week was fun, but tiring.. riding the boat through the sea is fun, learning how to do the small bits of practical things such as parking the small boat, going up the beach, anchoring and securing is kinda "leh ceh".. and carrying the boat and preparing all the equipment is darn tiring.. haha..

went to vivo city today with family for lunch.. had hairy crabs, yum yum.. went to walk around vivo with sis after tt.. wanted to shop for clothes, but couldnt find anything that nice.. this weekend is kinda boring actually.. I NEED MORE EXCITEMENT!!! i wanna shop more.. i wanna go for holiday overseas! i wanna watch movie! i know i dont like sand, but somehow i have this urge to go sentosa beach to have fun!

hmm... nth much to say today..

Union

Silver Wings

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:06:00 +0000

The photo my sis took of my silver wings.. cool eh? The past week has been quite relaxed.. i realised we havent done exercise for more than a month.. havent ran in a long time man.. boatman course started, the past week has been all lectures, and the coming 2 to 3 weeks will be all out in the sea.. i foresee myself all shagged out everyday.. haha!

Cousin Nelson just got married today.. went to their tea ceremony yesterday.. i like going for wedding dinners/lunches.. ok, not just cos of the food, its just nice seeing ppl get married... u just feel happy for them..

everytime ppl ask me wad am i gonna do for my birthday this year, i say i dont feel like doing anything big.. and they get shocked.. cos its my 21st birthday this year, and ppl would usually expect u to have a big celebration on ur 21st.. haha.. yes, i do love parties, i do love company, but somehow i find it very "leh che" to invite so many ppl, den u have to plan the party, alot of time needed.. den furthermore, i'm currently in NS, also difficult to plan a party, u'll never know when u're gonna need to stay in over the weekend.. and i also dont really like the idea of getting those big sabo, u know, like those they throw u into the pool? or how they try to take off ur shirt and throw flour and water and paint on u.. or how they dress a guy up as a girl.. i find that disturbing...

I guess i'll just settle for dinner with friends, or something.. i will be content..

i think its time to meet up with old friends, spend more time with new friends and so on.. hopefully this Christmas holiday will be a good time for that..

I've been craving to watch movies, but there arent any nice movies out these few weeks i think.. i watched the chinese movie - "Brothers" last week with my sis.. it was an interesting movie, but the ending was so sad.. its one of those movies with morals you're supposed to think about at the end.. i think i'm gonna start investing in some drama serials like "Band of Brothers" or something.. i've been wanting to watch that, although its abit gruesome at some parts..

hai.. tmr have test... it seems that this boatman course i am in now has many tests.. everyweek have 1 or 2 tests..

gotta book in later soon.. sian sian sian..

One of my favourite songs from my favourite group..

The Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:10:00 +0000

Yay!!! I'm Alive! haha.. whew! The jump was thrilling, exciting, just like a rollercoaster ride! Well, jumping out of a plane or a helicopter is not something i would normally want to do.. but i did it! 3 times in a week.. Thank God the parachute deployed! The whole experience is good, i would say, the experience of a lifetime.. Well, lemme recall the whole experience.. boarding the plane was nerve wrecking, especially the first time, i really didnt know wad to expect, i didnt know whether i would actually jump out of the plane.. when the plane took off, i had a smile on my face, others would not know whether i was relaxed or nervous, but suddenly i told those around me, "lets sing a song!" haha.. i started singing the army marching songs.. "Jumpmaster say, Go stand by the door! DZ never looked so small, so small before.. Here we go-oooooo", and "If my mane doesnt open wide, i have another one by my side".. It really helped prepared me, and definately together with my frequent prayers to God to give me faith, bravery and courage to take that jump out of the plane, to remember all that i have learnt and apply it, and land safely without getting injured, and not colliding with anyone in midair(something that would be disastrous).. When came the time to jump out, i heeded the advice of my SOTAC OC and shout for whatever equipment check or shouting "RIGHT LEFT RIGHT LEFT!" moving toward the door, it helped! then when the time came for me to jump, i jumped out, IT WAS FUN! especially when u see those before you jumping out, you suddenly feel patriotic and remember the command and conquer games where u send in paratroopers, and just want to jump out! haha..in flight, you dont have much time to think, u only have 45 secs before you land.. so you must steer fast.. the landing is the part where i fear most! u come crashing down.. and if you are not careful, if you do look at the ground, u WILL get injured!

Well, this coming week, i have another 2 more jumps and i will be done with airborne course! this time, i will have to jump with combat equipment.. meaning i will be heavier, meaning i will come crashing down faster! haha.. scary.. pray for me!

This weekend was good! not because bible study was cancelled, but cause i finally went out to town to shop! its been long since i went shopping! love the feeling... went out with my sis on saturday afternoon.. had lunch at paragon bakersinn, their food is good! then went on to buy some stuff.. we also went to hmv heeren, increased my music cd collection.. bought the black eyed peas - elephunk, ronan keating 10 years of hits, and corrine may's new CD called "beautiful seed" i think.. i've decided not to download music, thats why now i am buying the CDs.. It the whole "Say No to Piracy" thing, it appeals to me.. I also bought a belt from NUM! nice.. Interestingly, the guy there was quite helpful.. until he tried to make me buy the berms also! haha.. he said if i buy it, i would be the second one to buy it.. haha! but nah.. i dont need a pair of berms now.. maybe next time.. i wanna get their shirts! their designs are so nice! i've always wanted to own a NUM shirt.. and maybe when i do own one, i would get their berms too.. their shirts really look good with the berms..

Next week gonna have a dental appointment on saturday morning, hope it wont be painful.. cousin's wedding is next week too! haha! cool..

i realised i have really really once again been neglecting alot of friends.. bad feeling whenever i reflect over it... in camp, when we have nights out, when bunk mates ask me out, i always dont wanna go cause i would be so tired and i want an early night's rest so the next morning i will be able to concentrate on the training and not feel so sleepy the next morning.. i think they might be tired of asking me already.. maybe when the next day's training is not so tiring, i will ask them out.. last week i missed my ex-class's bbq chalet! i miss bbqs.. i miss the times in poly where we would have chalets in downtown east.. they were fun! i couldnt go last week cause i had to accompany my grandma at home.. she injured her leg, now shes better.. so sorry to TB06 that i couldnt join y'all.. i'm waiting for our Christmas gathering! hopefully i can make it this time.. Yeewei is so nice, shes taking so much effort to plan gatherings..

I havent decided where i wanna study, and what i wanna study.. most probably going to study in perth.. i'm thinking between business, tourism or hospitality, and i'm looking at UWA.. who wants to study there also, maybe can apply with me.. haha... i'm still open for other choices, still deciding what course to study and where... will monash be a better choice? hmm.. (in deep thought...)

ok, i gotta go prepared myself now for booking in.. Yet another week of military life.. i dont love it, i dont dread it.. i just want to get it over and done with.. i wanna earn that red beret with respect..

Silver Wings upon my chest...

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:00:00 +0000

The past few weeks has been rather "relaxed" as compared to my days in bmt.. i'll say comparable to my ptp days.. Well, for a start, let me first say that i managed to complete the 24km route march without getting abrasions, and without wanting to give up.. it was quite an enjoyable "walk", with all of us shouting our voices singing while walking, running past traffic junctions as if charging for the enemy shouting "ahhh...".. it was fun, and the day ended with my POP ceremony, and i was officially a "private". i got my jungle hat, its nice...

The block leave for us was only 4 days as compared to those in tekong where they have like more than a week? well, i wont complain tt much anyway, cause i know we had other benefits through our bmt..

The week after we came back from our block leave, we had other programmes.. we had to go to tekong to learn navigations.. i dont really like going to tekong.. it reminds me of the 8 days field camp.. of course this time its not difficult.. the rest of the week was slack, we just did saikang in camp, we slacked off in our bunks and packed our bags to prepare to transfer to another camp.. The following week on wednesday was when we left for another camp for our airborne course..

Yes, i have started my airborne course, and it is tiring.. very tiring.. right now, my body is aching.. The very thought about myself jumping out of a plane is simply thrillingly uncomfortable...i mean, who is not scared? everyone would be.. but it must be done nonetheless... well, as they say "For Honour and Glory"

About to book into camp soon.. This will be another tiring week, hopefully i'll be able to do all the drills without any problems..i pray i wont get sick, pray i wont get injured, pray i wont ache so much, pray i'll pass the airborne course...

God Loves You...

noreply@blogger.com (- xander -) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:46:00 +0000

Alright.. so i know i havent been updating this blog for some time now.. hmm.. last time i updated it was when PTP was coming to an end, that was like, 2 months ago or so.. Now, thats long! time passes fast.. indeed it does.. now BMT is coming to and end.. in about 2 week's time..

The past 2 months was indeed interesting, especially when it came to the peak of my BMT about 3 weeks ago, when i was having my 8-days field camp.. the 8-days field camp in tekong was tough i must say, but manageable.. It was not something i would volunteer to sign up willingly such as DNA camp and iDARE camp in my poly days.. those were the fun days, and i miss them.. in this field camp, i set the personal record of not bathing for 6 days, and not shitting for 7 days! imagine that.. It felt weird not to shit for 7 days.. like, am i human or what? haha.. lotsa things to say for field camp, but i wont write it here.. Well, the summary of it all is, i realised what a comfortable life i have at home.. even my bunk felt so good! seriously..

I finally passed my IPPT and SOC! got a silver for IPPT! Now i have to worry about my Basic Airbourne Course Selection Test.. failed the trial test.. And hopefully, they put me in a vocation i like.. and no, i am not aiming to go to the leader course..

and hopefully i can sustain for the route march just before the POP in 2 weeks time..

ok, gotta go now.. booking in today..