[beautiful]
the scenery is still as beautiful in seletar....

[red hot charity]
the annual president's star charity is here again!! beaming 'live' on channel 5 on 12 september, this year's show has the president himself participating in one item...

however mediacorp has reamained mum on how involved he would be...

but on thing for sure.... this year's participating artistes are a far cry from the previous big names like fann and zoe.... fann's probably shooting a movie while zoe is pregnant...

perhaps the only interest to watch the show is to see how newbies like felicia chin, cheryl chin, huang shi yu, ng hui and dai qian yun bring in the dough for charity...

[lad outing]
some past and present lad specialists of 39 roamed the streets of boat quay last night.... the guys, elvin leng, david, leow, teo and me met up for a chat and to catch up with zhihao as he will be heading to the US on 12 september....

ironically, we had dinner at 39 boat quay which is a place famous for its kebabs at less than ten dollars... just the right price that nsfs can afford...

after dinner, we walked to chijmes to catch the blackburn vs man u match... while the rest watched, i sat at the table with my back facing the projector screen...

when the match ended, we headed to raffles city... and decided to take some photos...



and since no one wanted to approach anyone for their assistance, i decided to snap some shots by holding my camera high up in the air... (notice that someone is misssing)



thereafter, we all parted ways and went home...

[who says i'm a media whore]
although i'm appearing in 8 days again this week, it does not mean that i'm a thick-skinned media whore...

firstly, the letter sent to 8 days that was published was done just for fun... and i never expected it to be published...

secondly, as one of the lucky 100 to attend the photgraphy session, i guess it was just sheer luck... and the photograph that they published this week was just an impromptu thing... not planned at all...

how did that happen?

i first took a photo with ng hui and apparently, we all have a free print so i went to the instant print centre to get it printed...

then i decided to catch ng hui again and asked her to autograph the photo... and it so happened that the photographer asked me to pose with her and snapped a quick picture... no one knew that photog was from 8 days as there were so many photogs around!!

so you can't blame me...

[before the big show]
the first rehearsal for the oc evening was held yesterday at my unit's mph....

kindof a short and simple program:

video presentation
bodybuilding demo
nutrition talk
quiz
oc handing over ceremony
dinner

wondering why there are so many health activities? because the theme is healthy lifestyle... and my fellow emcee robin and i will probably wear some sporty attire for that night...

[a word of thanks]
that's the title of the 12 minute video that will be screened on 30 aug during my oc evening...

5 days of shooting, 2 days of editing and one night of not sleeping!!! i and zhenwei actually spent the night from 10pm to 5am cutting and adding in the music... it's gonna be power packed man!!

finally the culmination hard work can be seen...

this is how the title screen of the video looks like...



and the skyline of 39sce...



well, i gotta go prepare myself and sleep early so that i can concentrate during the rehearsal tomorrow....

[arty farty]
was at the esplanade yesterday and chilled out at california bistro... and i must say the iced chocolate there is simply fantastic... it's sweet and creamy and topped with a scoop of ice cream... best of all it costs only five bucks!!



apart from that, i also saw a new model of one of my fave cars!!!



and i also managed to take some photos of the artwork there...



kindof tired but it was worth the effort....

[growing up]
as a young boy, i used to play around this road with all my friendly neighbours... now all of them have moved liao...



and new houses sprout up too...



just shows how time changes things...

[stunt bikers]
watched the twins effect 2 at plaza singapura yesterday afternoon and was treated to a stunt bike demo.... not that it was extraordinary since i get to see them perform all the time while i was in poly tagging along with the bikers...

but was surprised to see jeremy chin in action....



and it's not easy to do this stunt which requires the biker to manouver the bike and let it fly over the people underneath... what a feat indeed!

[countdown to ord]
almost four months to ord and not more than 55 working days to go!!!

and my ord board in my bunk is getting more and more colourful... take a peek below...

[reading material]
day two of filming was great... everything went pretty smoothly and i did not run out of batteries today...

once all this filming and editing is done, i shall start going through my graduation project material and start on my project which is about the proliferation of freesheets in singapore... and hence that causes my room to be piled up with newspapers!!!

[cameras rolling tomorrow]
yup... the cameras will start to roll tomorrow for the next two weeks as i begin shooting my tribute video for my oc...

loads of people to interview and loads of photographs and videos to shoot...

this web has been pretty hot with loads of people leaving comments... and i guess it's good cause people are actually reading... haha... i thought no one really bothered to read my blog but the results prove otherwise... anyway, keep those comments coming as i continue to shoot more photos to improve...

going back to camp liao and there's lots of pollution these days i must say...

[shooting a celebrity]
what were you thinking?! of course it's not that thing you're thinking of...

in fact, it is far more interesting and action packed than that...

i signed up for the 8 days/i weekly photography seminar and was one of the lucky 100 who attended... together with mediacorp artiste ng hui in tow...

the photogs, steve zhu and simon sim who were there shared tips on indoor and outdoor photography...



now before you say that i'm lucky, take a look at this first but please don't get jealous and beat me up when you see me on the streets on my next assignment...



and finally, here's the evidence that i did learn something from the seminar...

[project x]
will be very busy for the next few weeks....

firstly, i would be shooting a video in camp as a tribute to my oc who is leaving at the end of the month... work on the script has already started... i already have a brief idea of how its gonna look like liao...

and i'm also the entertainment oic for the oc evening on 30 august... meaning to say that i would be emcee again... cool... and my co-emcee robin and i have already spent half a day writing the script...

then i'll also have to go source for a huge thank you or farewell card to present to him on that day...

secondly, i will take over from my boss as wits co-ordinator for the time being as he is in hospital for an operation... as there will be a meeting with co on 20 august, i have to make sure all teams have contributed and have projects to present....

just wish that i can get a best wits project award and my best soldier award soon so i can clear my leave in peace!!

9 weeks to go before i clear leave, 18 more weeks to ord!!!

[another snake]
caught another snake on wednesday... but this time it's not a baby cobra but a baby python.... it's nice and cute and brown in colour and is shiny with a rainbow of colours under the sun!!

of course, no matter how much i describe to you, it is better to see for yourself...

actually i wanted to keep it as a pet but after thinking of the time that i have to spend to maintain and feed it, i decided to give it to jonathan...

and it is now in his house...

[happy birthday singapore]
as singapore celebrates it's 39th birthday today, let us take a historical look and the meaning behind our national anthem and pledge...

the national anthem was written in the wake of nationalism during 1956-57. its composer, the late encik zubir said, had written it on the basis of two words, "majulah singapura" which means "onward singapore". it was launched on 3 december 1959 together with the national flag and the state crest, at the installation of the new head of state, the yang di-pertuan negara. upon singapore's independence in 1965, "majulah singapura" was adopted as the republic's national anthem.

so what does our national anthem really mean?

come, fellow singaporeans
let us progress towards happiness together
may our noble aspiration bring
singapore success

come, let us unite
in a new spirit
let our voices soar as one
onward Singapore
onward Singapore

our pledge was initially penned by mr s rajaratnam in 1966 and was written against the backdrop of racial riots in the 1950s and 1960s. mr rajaratnam revealed that the dream was about building "a singapore we are proud of". he believed that language, race and religion were divisive factors, but the pledge emphasises that these differences can be overcome if Singaporeans cared enough about their country. the draft text was handed to the then prime minister mr lee kuan yew, who polished the text before submitting it to the cabinet.

so there you go... and one point that shows that singapore still remains racially harmonious today - our president is indian, our prime minister is chinese and our speaker of parliament is malay!!

[just two short years]
two years ago
it seemed so far
our dream was formed
we shed our sweat

two years later
it just felt so near
our dream came true
we shed a tear

finally, fullstop is two!!! young you are with the force...


our first issue - limited edition, only five in singapore!!

[home is where the heart is]
national day spirit is in the air....

and today, while i sneakily ventured into a hotel's swimming pool and from there i could see three brave souls gearing up for the nation's birthday by flying our flag...



not only were the fireman patriots hard at work... our heartlanders had done their part too...



all just to mark our 39th year of independence...

this is home truely, where i know is must be...

[letter to 8 days]
i sent a letter to 8 days this week just to test test and see if it'll be published...

this is what i wrote:

Dear 8 days,

Every year during August, i would not only look forward to the National Day Parade, but also wait in anticipation for your Special National Day back-to-back edition with i-weekly. Not only does it provide me colourful photos and writeups with what to expect at this year's parade, it also features lovely celebs at picturesque locations. The wonderful Singaporean theme together with the blend of red and white colours used in the special edition really brings out the mood every national day. It just makes me feel so Singaporean when I mull over the glossy pages! Thanks for adding colour to our nation's birthday! I'll look forward to next year's issue. Keep up the good work once again.



Your avid national day fan,
Ephraim Loy

[all gone and done with]
the last straw of exams is finally over... just yesterday i was doing this... all through the night...



and decided whip out my camera and do this...



and this...



the world of ephraim at night rocks!!! see, it's not untidy zhi rui...

[whichceleblivesnearme.com]
after reading wendy's version of wholivesnearme.com, i decided that maybe i should set up whichceleblivesnearme.com...

we will invite all local celebs to key in their home addresses and bingo!! we can chat with them, add them, email them and even bump into them...

ephraim: "eh, you also live here meh?"
fann: "yup yup.. you didn't know?"
ephraim: ???

why do we have to go to a wholivesnearme.com website to look for people to befriend? i'd rather stake out downstairs and ogle and then make friends... more fun right??

except that i do not live near fann... haha...

or if you live in sin ming you can go pop by nicholas lee's place...

or drop by nanxing's place at fulton...

or have coffee at christopher lee's place at marymount road...

or have fun at zoe's place in bukit timah...

or at fann's place at upper thomson...

oops... hope they don't find out that you don't live there...

or just tell them that you visited whichceleblivesnearme.com... haha...

[a revolution]
spent the whole night thinking of a revolution....



not to overthrow anybody but myself... and through the night i came up with this superb layout!!! cool huh? flood me with your comments man....

[qi li xiang]
jay's fifth album comes with the music video of the song qi li xiang which was shot in takasaki city in gunma, japan, and features romantic poem-like scenery. in another video, the injury of cease-fire, jay plays the narrator and military official which was artistically filmed as a war epic in vladivostok, russia.



set to be launched on august 3, the king of asian pop has done it yet again keeping fans like me excited...

blending rock ballad with oriental flavour, leading track qi li xiang carries poetic lyrics by jay's best production partner fang wen shan....

[it's august]
boy boy boy... how time flies... in another 18 days i will reach my two year ns mark!!!

but i'll be super happy once i finish my final exams... then i can concentrate on fullstop...

upcoming targets:
national skills competition - 28 aug
sp's first glider competition - 11 sep
sp's 50th anniversary dinner - 2 oct

proposed stories:
reporter trains together with canoe polo team
reporter checks out the women's dragon boat team

hopefully my boss is reading... then he can arrow me to go for the above...

haha... just kidding...

must go study liao... enjoy...