[off to sea games]
tomorrow will be my last day in singapore... last day of this week that is... i know many of rockson's fans are hoping that i disappear forever...

because i will be flying to philippines, all expenses paid, to lead a team singapore supporter group with two other volunteer leaders.... though i'll be gone for three days i'll definitely miss singapore... i'll have my own local mobile line there so don't panic when i don't receive your phone calls on my singapore line...

but don't worry, it will be a very short trip... so catch me and the team singapore cheer team at manilla.... so far, i have no idea what sports i'll be supporting as the schedule will be made known there... but i'm betting that our team will be catching the swimming action...

so there you go....

sports rocks!!! i'll keep the fighting spirit, national pride and teamwork alive...

[singapore river regatta]
the singapore river was transformed into a myraid of colours on sunday.... it was not the singapore river raft race, but a race with dragons, during the 23rd singapore river regatta....

more than 15 dragon boats of different colours bobbed in the river while paddles filled the streets among the tall buldings and cafes along boat quay...



the event attracted tourists from all over the world, with participants from australia and germany.... a boost to tourism? definitely.... i'd say...



most teams were also decked in colourful outfits in red, yellow, green and blue... even mayors amy khor and teo ho pin joined in the race among the community development councils...

[live broadcast from dxo]
okay.. i was not paying attention at the young pap 19th anniversary bash... cause i was outside at "the nest" chilling under the stars... and so, when dr vivian, who is the chairman of young pap, walked past, i was caught unaware...

and so, the cameras snapped as he went round shaking hands with those present...

prior to his arrival, close to 300 young pap guests and members were grooving to the various "live" performances... and others were trying out the sumptious food and free flow of soft drinks...



when it was time for the arrival of the guest-of-honour to arrive, people squeezed to the front for a better view... dr vivian even teased the audience by saying this of the impending elections: "i won't tell you the exact date but i can tell that it will happen after this party." well said... his remarks drew loads of laughter and applause...

the performances were pretty hip, showcasing the vibrancy of the young pap.... from traditional dances to hip hop dances.... all in all, it was a great party under the stars....

and towards the end, everyone flocked to the dance floor to strut their dance moves...

[training at nacli]
haven't been able to blog for the last few days because i was on a training course...

because the course was a stay-in one, at the national community leaders institute, there were no internet facilities and even no tv... so i was pretty deprived for the past few days...



however, what i liked about that place was the view from my room... it was great and the view of the sea was spectacular...



during the week-long induction program, the inductees managed to learn more about the people's association and its functions... plus, we were given a tour to various pa facilities...

at the changi sea sports club, most of us also tried our hand at kayaking... some for the first time...

[thailand here i come]
i guess it's about time to blog about my thailand trip that was ages ago...

it's a steal to travel with finnair because it is so cheap... i paid about 270 plus for my plane ticket and accomodation for a four day three night bangkok trip...



and for the few days ben, eugene and i were there, we dined at restaurants everyday... it is so cheap...

i guess the only part was paying the goods and services tax (known as vat) in thailand... it is 7 percent compared to the 5 percent in singapore... so singaporeans should not complain...

and every morning, we would walk from our hotel, known as mandarin (okay, not as classy as the one in singapore), down this road pass the university and then to mbk and siam square!!!



with shopping a stone's throw away, free daily breakfast and a nice hotel to stay in, what more can one desire? and my famous quote: the view from my room was spectacular.... not again....



and so, that probably sums up the four days in bangkok... and, no, we were not naughty boys because we didn't check out any happening night entertainment spots... next time perhaps...

[young pap bash]
i will be going for the young pap bash next saturday... i tell you, these guys are hip man... it's gonna be held at dxo...

and it would be a great party!!



and most probably i'll be joining the team too....

[emcee gitters]
it's my fourth emcee gig and though i am quite pro at doing this, i'm still getting gittery...

because it is the first time i will be speaking mandarin "live"!! and lest you think it is part of the speak mandarin campaign, i tell you, it is not...

so for the past few days, i have been reading the script and even roped in my colleague, who's super good in chinese to help out in pronouncing the words....



i should be fully prepared for the evnt this sunday hopefully....

[my 50 minutes of nervousness]
since entering the army, i seldom take tests with seriousness...

and so, when i had to take my final theory test today, i had butterflies in my stomach...

the driving centres are no so advanced... instead of the optical answer sheet style (like primary school exam type), they have computerised tests these days... you just have to login with a password and tap the screens with the correct answers and submit for the results... and now, they even have animations to explain the situation and illustrate the question for you... now that's technology for you...

so i sat through the 50 minutes ploughing through the questions one by one and checking them again... and then halfway, most of the people left their seats with the word 'passed' on their screens...

i regained my composure... focused on the task before me with thoughts running through my mind... i thought to myself: "i'd never want to read the theory book again"

so i went through the last few questions... slow and steady... and finally plucked up my courage when i reached the final question... it was time.. time to press the 'submit' button... time to submit to fate... "do or die" i thought...

it's the only way to find out if what i studied paid off...

i clicked...

and...

the final word i saw was....

PASSED...

and yes, i am super happy now... and ready to embark on my next step...

[kena shot]
i guess it is no harm using singlish here as it is my blog... repeat after me..

m-y b-l-o-g...

so yah... i went to the hanging gardens and i kena shot...

though the photo is a bit blur, i guess it is easy to spot a pair of white nike dunks on the floor... hahaha...

[lao jiu]
was at the new drama centre today and i caught the musical lao jiu...

the drama centre is huge and is located at the new national library... and boy, the seats are good.. i was at the third row... and you guessed it, free tickets again....



the story is about gao kia who is the ninth born in a family of daughters... and when he is born, he brings joy to the failmy and is even given the chance to persue further studies on a scholarship...

the events take a twist as he leaves the examination hall halfway during the last day and does not head home... this leaves his family worried and upset...

gao kia wants to fulfil his dreams instead of being a scholar... he finds refuge up a hill and confides in his shifu who is also his father's good friend...



and gao kia's dream is to learn from his shifu the art of puppetry... so it is no wonder the musical makes use of shadow puppets and even huge puppets in some acts...

the songs are upbeat and touching with hilarious elements thrown in.... a great watch for the weekend...

[drunk]
how do you know if christmas is near?

just take a walk down town to find out...



it was just a saturday stroll down orchard road to the grand opening of the balcony... thanks to an ingenious gabriel and his bro, i got to go to one of the hottest hangout places in town...

with cool food, cool drinks and relaxing atmosphere, what else can one ask for?



but of course too much of drinks is not really good for health....

[don't play play]
instead of studying for my final theory test next week, i am reading tomorrow.sg and saw an entry that was on straits times sports reporter alvin's blog...

so i dived in and took the plunge to find out how much my blog is worth... and boy, i am surprised...

My blog is worth $15,242.58.
How much is your blog worth?

[sea games flag presentation]
attending today's flag presentation really made me look up to broadcast journalists... okay.. i respect all journalists (just in case alvin is reading this)...

imagine you are doing your interviews around 8pm and you have to rush the story out in time for the 10pm news... boy... you got to be really fast.. and that is pretty why i respect them...

so back to the topic... the flooding of novena square... not with water but with athletes and coaches... close to 300 of them, to be exact, will be competing in the 23rd sea games...



in a short ceremony after president of singapore national olympic council addressed the crowd and gave his well wishes to the singapore contingent, chief-de-mission oon jin teik (who is also chief executive officer of singapore sports council) handed the singapore flag to bowler remy ong - the flag bearer at the sea games...



this was followed by the singing of the national anthem and the preview of kit chan's song "live our dreams" describing happiness, harmony and proud victorious moments... how apt...

thereafter, various media personnel hunted down athletes for interviews for print, tv and radio... and just beside the wushu contingent was this channel 8 journalist doing his piece-to-camera for the 10pm news... and it is not easy... i think he repeated his lines more than 10 times in front of the camera and was probably feeling the pressure as it was already close to 8pm...



and when i watched the news at 10pm i see his story describing the colour and mood of the ceremony... super duper professional..

all this can be summed up with one word... challenging...

yup... and because team singapore is sponsoring me part of the travel cost, i'll be heading to manilla for the sea games! now i just have to plan my schedule and apply for leave...

[whirlwind day]
sometimes you can tell what kind of day i've had by looking at my desk...

good day - nothing on the desk
busy day - super messy

now you decide based on what you see...

[just another day]
it's just another day in my office... i actually did some personalisation of my area or "cubical"... i'll post some pictures in due course...

work's pretty normal today, smooth sailing... though there were lots of phone calls and lots of work to catch up (i was off the whole of last week)...

and no, there's no news of the impending elections... just hope that it'll be over and done with as soon as possible... because an election (which will happen anytime soon) would mean a lot of extra work... but it'll be fun i guess...

the next few weeks, however, would be breathless... got a theatre play to attend, an induction camp, a few short courses, a team singapore event, sea games (maybe) and the list goes on and on and on...

i've also got invites to young PAP's anniversary bash at dxo... and boy, i am sure looking forward to that!

i think the last few months have really been meaningful... i've had lots of opportunities to do what i like to do... to find out what i like and dislike... to get involved in events and grassroots work.... and they all went well... i am older... i've moved on and i think i am more sensible now (hopefully) but i'll not forget my roots...

wo zhang da le.... haha... it's been a long 23 years full of ups and downs... a rollercoaster ride...

[at the cathedral]
was at st andrew's cathedral for a special church service today...

and the shutterbug instinct in me got to work... my split personality you might call it...

though i don't know the history of the cathedral, i must say the design is pretty unique... and its exterior is very well painted...



when blended with the blue sky, it makes it look so grand and beautiful... just like the chapel i can picture in the da vinci code...



the interior is splendid too... the sun shines through the stained glass making a colourful kaleidoscope effect...



and of course, the post reception was stunning... they had mini paus of different colours - pink, green, orange, white, purple - and i had fun trying one by one... now my face looks like a pau man...

and the night scenery there is very romantic....

[northeast is clean and green]
to celebrate the launch of the clean and green week this year, the organisers decided to make a splash... literally...

the location itself contained lots of water: the bedok reservoir...

and to up the grandeur, those present included ministers, a celeb, grassroots leaders, members of public... it can be considered one of the most glamourous national events with the highest number of luminaries (apart from our ndp)....



and those present had loads of fun with a superb demo of the water activities like kayaking, dragon boat and even wakeboarding...



the launch was hearlded by our prime minister, foreign misister george yeo, water and resources minister yaccob ibrahim, mayors zainal and amy khor, minister of state for transport lim hwee hwa and mp of tampines grc mah bow tan.... and all of them arrived on board a boat across the river...



taufik also serenaded the audience with his green dream and his song 'i dream'....

[4.11.2005]
i attempted to create a photolog of today.... and i came up with this...



and this...



but that was all i managed to capture...

most of today was spent eating and shopping...

the first stop was at a sushi outlet at cathay cineleisure....

thereafter... i was down orchard road...

and that was how i spent my birthday... boring right... haha...

[one year older]
in about five minutes, i'll be 23 years old...

and my three wishes for the new year:
1. friends and family members to stay healthy...
2. to be a better person with a brighter future...
3. to be happy...



it was pre-celebrations today.... and hopefully more tomorrow...

happy birthday ephraim!! xing ku le yi nian.... with more good years to come...

[what to blog and what not]
back to the serious stuff...

many people have been asking what they can or cannot blog... in the course of my research for a story, i've compiled some tips from lawyers...

for example, if you are a doctor.... patients' information is confidential so one should not divulge or post such infomation on one's bolg (no offence doctors)....

likewise, if you are a CEO of a listed company, you should not discuss sensitive information about the company and any takeover bids... else, you may be charged for insider trading...

pretty common sense i must say...

but if not for the three racist bloggers, most would not have heard of the word 'sedition'...