WE SEE, WE SOAR, WE CONQUER… …

http

It has been quite awhile since the canoe team of year
2001-2002 met up for a gathering. well, all of us have many commitments
and schedule to follow. Hence, seldom do we have the time to catch up
with one another. Therefore, i decided to "try’ my luck (sent out
e-mail, gave phone calls) to invite my team mates for a steamboat
session which was held last Sunday. To my "surprise", the responses
were really good. 95% turned up for this gathering (usually i give a
30%). (*^.^*) It was really a pleasant sight to see all my fellow team
mates sitting down together , cracking jokes and catching up with one
another. After the last piece of cooked crabstick was taken up, we took
a couple of group photos and decided to take a long "team" stroll back
to the MRT station. I took   stroll compared to the rest. Well,
observing from the rear does make me think of "those" 
good old days where the team used to walk after each training session at Kallang Basin.
Almost coming to 11.30pm, OSIM = Oh S*it, It’s Monday, all of us have to embark on our respective "journey" and I’m sure we will meet up again soon.

A SRCT’01-02  June Holiday KL trip, anyone ??? (*^.^*)

Hi everyone,

It has been quite awhile since my last blog entry. Currently, I’m taking up a part time job at Millenia Walk Shopping Mall, as sale retail in a particular Travel Luggage Concept Shop on the first level (^.^).

Coming to the 2nd month, i have managed to get a glimpse of the concept of retailing. Most importantly, i have learnt to communicate more efficiently with many people  from all woks of life. I have also gained new knowledge about my products, i.e. Luggage and Travel accessories etc. (Never  would i know  them well  if i’m not involved in this line.) Purchasing and dealing with stocks are some of the things being taught and practice. This job helps me to brush up my computer typing skill and to use IT means to faciliate with the administrative matters in an organized and efficient mannner. Effective communication and "customer-come-first" mentality were some of the skills that i have "picked up" along the way.

All of us face challenges everyday. As for me, my "everyday" challenge is to meet the needs of my customers. I ought to know their needs and to gather feedbacks in order to serve them better.
I shall end off with a thought to ponder:" Every experience is a learning experience; a learnt experience is for us to unlearn and relearn it."

Ps: 4 more months to "appreciate" this job!!! (*^.^*)

Cheers.

Regards,
Christopher.

It has been quite awhile since my last entry to the blog.

Time flies, almost coming to 2th week after my ORD. Returned from a 3D2N M’sia trip with my mum and aunt. We stayed in our relative house, went to different places to visit relatives, tried new food and entered new shopping centres around their areas. It was definitely a fruitful trip.
Perhaps i have stepped into the "real" adult phase, this 3D2N i have learnt valuable lessons from my relatives:- their parenting experiences , cousins’ education or new food outlets etc !!! As they were chatting, observing them would "initate" my thinking cap to be put on.

I‘ve got to look for temp job to "brighten" up my holiday before the school semester starts next August.

Just recovered from my sore throat and repaid my "sleeping debt" for the last 2 days. Together with a group of new friends, we faciliated  in a 3D2N Nanhua P6 camp ‘05 held in Labrador campsite (an old school) as camp instructors.
Although the weather was rainy, however, it happened mostly in the nights. We had fun and joy in the hot morning sun. I enjoyed myself very much.

    
I was really grateful and fortunate to have these new friends: from left; Sendra,Sheila, Evelyn,William, Bernie as my colleagues(the 6 of us took charge 1 section about 70 pupils), we named ourselves as the ASTERISKS.
Got to know these P6 pupils. They were from my group. They named themselves , "no name"… interesting huh??? :)                           <—————

Team bonding games and other physical games were part of the fun times that the pupils had. Their laughters, the curiousity and the "interesting questions" from them really ————>     spurred our instructors on.   <—————-

Cheers after cheers by the rest of the sections… Well, I must  prepare more  powerful and unique cheers the next time round. Well, a sea of blue as you could have observed, "One school, One spirit" has been shown here.
————>   
Asterisks oii, Asterisks oii, Asterisks x3 sat sat oii……….

Despite a 3D2N camp, but the learning curve was fruitful for me.
#3 things that i learnt  & i’ll like to share with my fellow readers…

1. We must be adaptable to the new environment and people. We ought to  apply new methods and plans to meet up with new situations and challenges.

2. One action will result in many reactions. An unplan is sometimes better than a plan!!!

3. A good rest will help you in a long run.

All the best to the rest of the camp instructors. May we see each other again!!!

Ps: All the best in your studies, my fellow "Asterisks" camp instructors.

Stepping into my bunk yesterday.
Felt a sense of loneliness, no longer can i hear the laughters, see the actions from my bunk mates that we used to have.
Things were untouched,  the table where cash flows in and out  was still in its position/direction.
Time has changed where i could only see a few in camp, most are taking leaves and offs. Moods are high because the time has come , the time where all of us are looking forward to : ORD ….

2 and 1/4 years coming near…. Friendships that i have made, the sweet memories that i have gained will definitately spur my next stage of  life.

ORD241105

Coming to the end of the month of August. In a week’s time, i will be boarding on an airplane to Thailand . Not for a holiday but for an army exercise, "EX. CLAYMORE". Together with my comet platoon mates, we will be staying there for the next 4 weeks. Well, my first overseas exercise (excluding those that i’d in P.Tekong, over a sea right?!?) lolz. Hope everything goes well and smooth for the trainings and the summary exercise. 

On the other hand, this trip would be kinda special and significant for me. A 21st Birthday on a foreign land, in the forest. Or perhaps, on that day, i would be protecting  myself with the SAF insect repellent, looking at the moonlight, eating a packet of "delicious" combat ration and serving myself with a packet of SAF dessert. Lolz. What to do?!? This is the life of a NSF.
Serving the nation, Forsake your own personal interest..

Take care. We shall see each other in a month’s time: 26th Sept. ; )

"Happy Advance 21st Birthday to me…." chorus(x3)

Yesterday, spent my saturday afternooon in a mountain climbing in Kota Tinggi, organised by Mr. Allen of Team Spreo A.L.T(www.teamspreo.com). Together with a group of 8 others, we took a total of 4 hours to "conquer" Gunung Panti ( 3 x the height of Bukit Timah Hill). The weather was cooling with slight drizzling.              ——–>
It was a different experience for me which i had earlier this year.
Anyway, this is the Mountain that we had conquered yesterday. This photo was taken in the van (9 men seats)that we took. The background shows the peak of Gunung Panti, approx 600m above sea level. What a spectacular sight                            ——–>

After a 2hours ride from M’sia custom, the van stopped at the main road, we walked along the mud path, towards Gunung Panti. The mud path was approx 500m. Thanks to Mr.Allen, the insect repellent protected me for awhile.

Able to spot a durian on the tree in this picture…? There were huts, abandoned houses, plantations found as we walked along the path. We also found rambutans and tasty berries plants. I had a rambutan and three berries. Delicious!!!

About 15 mins walk, we reached the first water obstacle. It is a water stream, the water came from higher level. The water was cold and clear. "Voda Voda!!!" Lolz..
The guys helped the ladies during the water cross.
                          20 mins journey later, we reached the 1st checkpoint (CP1), where we had our water break.
After another 30 mins climbing, we reached CP2, the route became tougher, we had to observe the ground, new fallen tree logs and especially leeches. They must be in hunger. There were other trekkers too. We saw a total of 4 groups for this trip. One of which would be having an overnight camp at the peak of Gunung Panti.
Yup, we reached the "interesting" part of the climb, a unique nature landscape, a 30m vertical climb to the peak of Gunung Panti. The
atmosphere became cooler. According to Mr. Allen, it was about 18-20 degree celcius. We had a 10 mins water break and a "warm up" session for the climb. This picture seems ironic, going up or coming down…? You analyse  : )                                       ———–>                                                                                    
Finally…. Finally…. We came to the peak of Gunung Panti, approx 600m above sea level. There were 2 other groups on the peak as well. 1 from m’sia, the other was from S’pore. Surprisingly, this S’pore group looked clean and afresh. Whereas, we looked wet and muddy. Later , we found out that there were another trekking route that leads tot the peak as well (eventually, all had  to experience the 30m vertical climb). I was told that it came from the east direction, 6km, gentler slope compared to ours.
We had our lunch at the peak, the air was misty, most of us sat down, whilst a few decided to take some pictures of the surrounding.  This picture described  how misty the air, approx 600m above sea level, the mist blends well with the moving clouds. Nice!!!

At about 1330hrs, we decided to make our way down to the mountain. Mr. Allen gave me a chance to lead the group back to the foot of the mountain. I was rather excited. The experience was different from the topography exercise i had in BMT during my NSF 2 years ago. It started to rain , however due to the thick canopy layer, we were covered by the layer. The tracks were slippery for most of us. Therefore, we decided to descend at a slower rate. I had a leg cramp during 3/4 of the decend journey. Luckily, it was ok after a 5min rest, nothing serious. We continued. After many left turns, right turns, we found ourselves crossing the water obstacles again, saw the huts and plantations again. After 2 and 1/4 hours, we ‘found’ ourselves at the main road again.   
The van came at about 1615hrs, we were tired but happy after the completing the
climb.Before we disembarked from Gunung Panti to Kota Tinggi Holiday Resort for washing up, everyone had a pack of cool, refreshing isotonic drink that Mr. Allen had prepared for us.                                                                                                    
About a 10 mins van ride, we reached the Kota Tinggi Holiday Resort. As we were walking along the carpark, we saw many S’pore cars,. There were many visitors. This picture shows the waterfall we found. What a nice scene… People are able to play and wet themselves. There were also canteen, snacks and sournveir shops found. We cleaned ourselves at the toilets. Meanwhile      
some of us went to explore the rest of the place and took pictures. I bought myself a decorative sournveir.                       
Sunset came. We were at a Fishermen Village (kelong), where we had our sea food feast. Compared to the last seafood feast i had for the 1st trip, the amount of seafood we had for this trip was larger. We had egg omelettes, chilli kanggong, crabs, prawns, gonggong, lala and groupe. They were cooked in different local styles. I had 2 bowls of rice, and had a large stomach after the feast. Lolz.
<—– The aftermath of seafood feast, a rewarding dinner after the climb of Gunung Panti. At around 2000hours, we set off back to S’pore. The traffic was not as heavy as what we expected, however, cars travelled into M’sia were packed at the custom. How luck we were!!! Together with Mr. Allen, we took  no.168 bus from Woodland Bus interchange.  We had a chat along the way, exchanged ideas and views.                                       Home Sweet Home

Well, have you ever thought of any songs  that  project certain past images, i.e memories??? 
Hmm, shall share with you 3 songs titles (i had so far) and perhaps some fond "memories" about each of these songs…

1. ‘Truly madly deeply’ -by Savage Garden. This is one of my favourite song which i listen to on my way to camp, which spur my past memories the most…I could still remember the song was played in the fisherman village, Pasir Ris beach a few years ago,that very day, that very time… when the cold breeze blowed….

2. ‘Di yi chi’ -by Guang Liang. This is the second song which will cause increment to my "memory power". Especially, when the song is played (shuffled mode) when i’m walking on this particular 300m pathway near Pasir Ris Bus interchange… could still remember a song sung on phone by someone long years ago…:0)

3.‘Shen Bian’ -by Xu Shao Yang. Well, this particular song kinda hard to describe… well, i believe the lyrics of this song struck me whenever it is played, the lyrics are really meaningful despite the fact that it was sung by a Chinese artiste. Moreover, the song motivated me,

"sometimes when one tries hard, the end result might not be what one expected…

sometimes no matter how hard one tries, given that he has no fate, end result = no result…

Therefore, a sound will be produced when two hands clap together…"

I believe some of you have songs that write your "memories or stories" as well. If you have the chance, try looking for these 3 songs… might spur yours… :0)

Yesterday, we( dar,ed,ted,will,min, mi) managed to catch the last bus (no.197) back home …
It was quite a memorable  JB trip we had  since the  March ‘05. A total of 6 went for the trip, althought 2 came after lunch time… Despite of the heavy downpour in the morning, we still managed to meet up at Bugis MRT station control by 1030hrs. Paid for our bus-fare, and boarded the Express Bus towards S’pore custom…

Along the journey, we had a rather funny ordeal. There was this young lady with a group (thinks she’s a s’porean) whom approached us for a pen to fill up her custom form… Then she came again , this time asking queries on how to fill up the particulars for the form… So, the 4 of us were rather "amazed" by her action … Therefore, we lent her one of ours for her reference… But i could observe her smile after she received the reference form… Hmm, was she playing a game with her friends or was she really not sure of the filling up of the form…? *funny*

Well, thought we could reach M’sia earlier since we departed S’pore earlier, but it took us almost 1hr 15mins for a queue to have our passports stamped. During the queue, we  had to entertain myself by setting short-term goals i.e phases for our queue:  checkpoint 1 , 2 , 3 etc… *lolz*
Finally, we came in M’sia… hurray ?

Since it was almost lunch time, so we decided to look for  "makan"  after an hour of shopping at city square. we managed to find a "bah tuk tei" shop ( 200m away fom the exit of M’sia custom) where we had  our lunch… The medicinal herb soup was really nice and tasty. I almost had a hard time falling asleep this morning. *lolz*…

After which , we continued with our shopping spree and "sightseeing", whlist waiting for dar and ted to arrive M’sia. Perhaps it was due to the money currency exchange, the stuff were rather cheaper than we see normally, hence we can buy the like-stuff with ease…

There came dar and ted at around 1600hrs. We had planned to meet at City Square’s Starbuck because autoroam service was not available at the moment… … …