SJ has made it big!

My NUSSU Union Camp "Pyron" groupmate is now a famous singer! See page 11 of the Life section in today's papers for more info on Kaira Gong! Best of luck SJ!

Words of inspiration

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord
Where there is doubt, true faith in you

O Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul!

California

Colombia Supremo (from TCC) is the best thing to have on a cold rainy Wednesday evening! One whiff of that strong aroma and I'm already on a high before I start tasting it.... SH says that 80% (or was it 90%?) of taste comes from smell, and I think I understand why......

The associate director of international relations at Cal was in town specially to meet up with some local alumni, and I had the priviledge of having dinner with her and S at Oscar's. I had the Carbonara Fettucini, and it was so good! It reminded me of the Macaroni Grill in El Cerrito (the last meal I had at the Macaroni Grill was with Mary, Anne and Dave, and I so miss y'all! I promise I will be in SoCal for the wedding!). We had a pretty good discussion 'bout the Cal alumni in Singapore, and plans for possibly reviving the official society as it once was. The associate director (or was it the university?) picked up the tab, and in return S and I pretty much pledged to do whatever we can for the alumni in Singapore! Days at Cal were some of the best moments of my life....

Somebody happened to suggest that we invite the Stanfurd alumni to some of our events. This is all I got to say:

So then its.... Up with the Blue and Gold
Down with the RED!
California's out for the victory
We'll drop our battle axe on StanfUrd's head (Chop!)
When we meet her our team will surely beat her!
Down on the StanfUrd farm there'll be no sound
When our Oski rips through the air
Like our friend Mister Jonah StanfUrd's team will be found
In the tummy of the Golden Bear!

Belgian Ciney

YW is back in town! And I thought he was gone for the rest of the year, what a pleasant surprise! YW, Z and I had some pretty good Lebanese cuisine (over some cheers to Rafik Harriri!) at this place called Kazbar which is located at Far East Square. We actually had this "private room" which had curtains all around it, cool!

After dinner we headed to Ooster's for some Belgian Ciney. The Belgian Ciney is a new brew that just arrived in Singapore yesterday, and we were like the 4th (or so) group of people to try it! That stuff was sooooo good! It really was so so gooood!!!!

YX, it was a nice chat we had over coffee and all, hopefully we'll get to finish the coffee next time ;) !
RT, hope u didnt have to OT too much at AMK!

One of my frens was pretty upset today. All I have to say is LiveStrong, be yourself and don't worry bout what others think, the best is yet to be!

Hartman

That reminds me, I once had 2 packets of Hartman solution squeezed into me in Thailand after a military exercise. Trust me, you don't EVER want to have 2 packets of Hartman squeezed into you! Because after that, you CAN'T STOP GOING TO THE BATHROOM!!!!

Seek, Save and Serve

One of my friends is a firefighter. He always complained how tough his job was, and how it didn't appear to be as rewarding as he expected it to be. Just a day or 2 ago however, there was a car crash on the AYE. His team was activated, they rushed to the scene and saved a life. Now he says that having saved a life makes the job that much more worth it! It started to get me thinking 'bout my own "life and death" experiences.....

I was once a young medic of the field, sworn to seek, save and serve my fellow soldiers. I received a distress call from the middle of the Brunei jungle about a fallen comrade. Since I was the nearest medic, I immediately rushed to the scene with an evacuation party. We bashed through thick undergrowth and undulating terrain for more than an hour before reaching the casualty. The casualty was comatose, and there was already a doctor with him. Together, we squeezed every packet (and I mean squeeze EVERY packet) of Hartman I had into him, but we failed to revive him. Time was running out, and the young doctor was panicking, I could see he was about to cry. And that totally freaked me out.... The stretcher party didn't seem to care much 'bout this guy; they were laughing and joking away. There was no way we could get the casualty out the way we came in because nightfall would come in less than an hour. Once its nightfall in Brunei, you can't see, so this guy would essentially be a gone case 'cos he wouldn't have lasted the night without medical treatment.....

We picked up the stretcher and walked in a general direction. Miraculously, less than 10 minutes before sundown we heard shouts. Somebody had found a way out to the main road, and there was a vehicle nearby. If we had been 10 minutes too late, that would have been it.... That night I didn't speak a word. I couldnt even reply when barked at by my Encik (or Sergeant Major for u non-military folks) aka Mad Dog. I had lost my voice till I was sure this guy was alive.....

That was 6 years ago. Though the guy I saved never was very grateful, that event changed my outlook on life. 6 years is a long time, and I thought I'd forget about it, but the look on his comatose face and the "about to cry" look on the doctor's face still lingers on....

To those of you who's daily work involves saving (or attempting to save) lives, I salute you. Though the career may not always appear to be as rewarding or respectable as you expect, do not give up. There is no greater honor than to seek, save and serve.....

Looks

How do you rate someone's looks on a scale of 1 to 10? Beauty is subjective.... Would a curvaceous buxom babe be 10? Fiona would certainly qualify. What about the cute innocent girl look? Or does it have to be a blonde? Kahlen from America's Top Model would fit the blonde category perfectly....

Beauty is subjective and I guess society's norms only work to a certain extent for me. On a scale of 1 - 10 a buxom chick or an innocent looking cutie may rate close to 10, but someone who brings a smile to your face everytime you see her would truly tip the scale.... That magical number 11 I would like to meet....