[of missed calls and new messages]
just a few hours of not bringing my handphone and i'm blasted with 15 new messages and 27 missed calls!

and just a few days of not checking mail i get 15 new email!! this is so crazy.... living in this day and age do we have to be contactable all the time? well at least for standby ops...

since the start of the asian aerospace, even technicians have to be on standby in case of any terrorist threats....

[50 on 50]
while sp celebrates its jubilee year in 2004, ephraim celebrates one more year to ORD today!!!

what a blast!

[greed]
man is full of greed... greedy by nature we succumb to it at some point or other in our lives...

really don't understand why money is such an evil thing... everything in this world is about money... i just want to lead a peaceful and carefree life..... with someone i like on the beach...

[total defence day]
15 february was total defence day.... and today during our co parade, we were reminded that prevention is better than cure.... which leads me to the point of waiting for things to happen...

Recently lots of bad stuff has been going on. Though the going has been tough for the Government, this series of events has certainly shed more light on what goes on behind the scenes.

Not too long ago, we read about fish tank oxygen motors exploding killing expensive fish which wasn’t that bad.

Then after the spate of Sars, there were some serious safety lapses which were unveiled in microbiology laboratories that conducts research on dangerous viruses. But it was only when a researcher caught the Sars virus did the lapses in our labs’ safety measures come to light.

And recently, the death of an NSman shed some light on unauthorised training methods that were dangerous and could have been used for some time unknown to everyone. Only when a young man died then did Singaporeans have a glimpse of what was going on in the military camps.

Which leads me to an important straight-in-the-face question. Why did these events happen in the first place? Why did we have to wait for such events to happen then react to them? Why weren’t there any preventive measures taken before the fateful event happens?

I know that no one expected these to happen. But there could have been safety checks and inspections inherent to make sure that everything is in order. It would not have cost too much time and effort just to implement these checks too.

I just can't understand why we have to wait for things to happen then we take action. Why do we have to let people get hurt then say sorry? Why didn't we prevent them from happening in the first place? Why live to regret?

Dr Tan Chong Kee, a member of the Remaking Singapore committee said: “We don’t question safety measures because we are not experts in that area. We’re all trained from young not to question but to obey. We assume that if it comes from the authorities it has to be right.”

Are we taking it for granted that life is such a smooth ride? If that is the kind of thinking that we have, I beg to differ. Life is short and anything can happen anytime.

At least we don’t just stand there and point fingers. At least we are taking extra time to review what has happened recently and made decisive steps to put the things that have gone wrong right. Then again, some things can be brought back to life. But at least we are making an effort to learn from our mistakes. And it is this that really matters.

[a new milestone]
my 61th article was published in the february issue of fullStoP... can you believe it?

even i myself can't believe it man....

the last week has been so busy, i haven't had time to blog...

i'm still left with one story for april issue of fullStoP and that will be a profile story... i think profile stories are a challange to write as you have to make your subject interesting... events can be made interesting by not focusing on the event itself...

something i learnt at sp's 50th anniversary's official launch.... everyone has his/her own skills and abilities... those that could dance, danced, those that could host, hosted, those who could sing, sang, those who could usher, ushered..... and most importantly, those that could report, reported and those that could shoot, shot.... and i tell you it was fun but tiring...

on the 13th of february, i had to go to camp, sit for an exam, interview the president and stand throughout the night.... and i only had my dinner after the shoot was wrapped up....

valentine's day was spent in camp.... had a delicious dinner of chicken chop and fish and chip courtesy of camp mate lau kee hoe... and the explosion and fire at tuas in the morning had almost the whole camp on standby... it was a really memorable day spent with fun loving camp mates... and i didn't sleep till 1 plus watching some chinese movie...

sunday was nondescript.... just went to suntec to catch a hilarious movie... and no i have not watched famed movie irreversible yet...

just hope i can send in my photos of the STEP programme and exclusive pics of the president in time for publication.... and sigh, my pda is down....

perhaps shall spend sometime enjoying the food in geylang recommended by a driver.... lessons begin this week too... and exams are long time gone.... guess this is all part and parcel of work... really in need of a break - a holiday perhaps...

cheers to every sp-ian on a succesful show.... i lived to tell the tale!!

[i did it]
yes i did... i interviewed the president of the republic of singapore, his excellency mr s r nathan!!!

too lost for words.... kindof loved the 50th anniversary mtv though....

[when the time comes]
phyllis quek plays a tenacious TV news reporter eager for her biggest break in this four parter drama serial....

remember me saying that mediacorp came down to my camp to film a serial... this is it...

filmed with the assistance of mindef, this channel 8 series enacts the terrifying scenario of a terrorist attack, should one occur in singapore.

however, going back to the topic of reporters, i wonder why most are just searching for their big break or scoop... am i'm no different either... i remember burning a lot of weekends attending the ndp rehearsals last year just to get my ndp scoop.... but i just need to work towards getting that big break now....

other junior reporters have been given the chance to appear in sp's ads and magazine covers... and perhaps when i get the chance, i will possibly consider that MY big break...

for now, i'll just have to sit back, relax and just wait.... wonder for how long....

[five reasons you are excited to meet the president]
you go for the president's visit even though you have an exam on that day.

you keep reading through the standupper script making sure every word is suitable.

you apply leave two weeks before the event.

you start wearing what you are supposed to be wearing on that day now.

you mark that day on the calender months before the actual date is announced.

[exam fever]
gosh... time passes so fast and i have already completed one semester of my advanced diploma course.... good news but exams are just next week!! it's actually tomorrow!! i'd better go revise my stuff man.....

[thanks]
did you ever encounter cases when even before you write articles people ask them to email you the article? cause a lot of people have asked me for my articles.....

then they will give me their namecard and i will give them mine... and after sending them my article, they will thank me.... haha....

point is now i don't have a namecard... but still there are people giving me their namecards asking me to email them my articles... now how cool is that??

just see below...

Hi Ephraim,
Thanks for your help. Will look forward to a favorable reply from you. Have a good day.
Best Regards,
Cindy Foo
Marketing Assistant

Thanks Ephraim.
I hope you did have a good time on that day too.
Regards
June
Community Resource Dept
Community Chest

hey thanks aLot man.. interesting articLe there..
Peace
Trase

Ephraim,
Just got the photos late. These are from Sat only. Sun's will reach us later.
Meanwhile, am enclosing 2 shots of SP's 2nd place winning team from Sat's launch.
All the best on the SP newsletter.
Cheers,
Audrey

[tribute to drivers]
most drivers are simply very nice people.... cause i work with them almost everyday....

early morning after my roll call duties and after breakfast, they will go down to the block where all hq personnel sleep to sweep the carpark.... they will rid the whole area of fallen brown leaves....

then sometimes, they are the ones who bring me out camp to do stuff....

i really wonder sometimes..... what would happen one day if there are no drivers around....

who will do area cleaning? who will bring me out of camp for fun?

these are great people... and i salute you guys.....

[pondering]
imagine a lovely setting by the beach.... the sun shines... waves lapping at the shores.... you are lying sipping a glass of tequila sunrise..... but the one you love is not with you....

hmmm.... this is how i feel when listening to wang lee hom's latest album.... the song ni bu zai is soooper nice....

[growth]
when you have been in an organisation for so many years, you want growth....

look at mediacorp artiste chen huihui who recently resigned from the company to join rival company mediaworks.....

she is one of the that almost everyone has something complimentary to say about her acting skills... even the most celebrated of actors will feel like they are not going anywhere at times.... and two months before her mediacorp contract ended in december, huihui decided to leave..... it was not a matter of getting only supporting actress roles in her 16-year acting career reported the new paper....

in an interview with the new paper she said: 'when i started out, my acting teacher said with my looks, i can do only supporting roles.'

'i accepted that fact a long time ago!'

when she finally won a star awards trophy in 2002 playing a spastic woman in the wing of desire, her peers gave her a standing ovation....

'it was a very touching moment,' she recalled....

she left mediacorp because she thought she had done all she could for the company...

[press past]
look at the number of passes i have gotten in the previous years..... some are actually quite cool ya know..... hope to get my new fullStoP press pass complete with name card for the president's visit..... by the way, one of the passes below was designed by me... can you guess which?