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....

Ice Skating

I went ice skating today! So ice skating isn't really that different from in-line skating. The basic moves are the same I guess, xcept that its a lot more slippery, and nobody wears guards so expect to get some bruises.... Oh and its really wet when you fall! It's like falling into a puddle of water! I've nvr had so much fun going round and round in a circle hahaha!

After skating we checked out Yann Arthus Bertrand's photographic art pieces along orchard road. Strangely enough, we noticed that some of the most colourful pictures were those of polluted waters. The world is probably better of with less colour sometimes!!

Where's My Economist?

It's Friday. Okay, not any more. My "Economist" didn't come today! I am actually having withdrawal symptoms. Can't sleep. Can't get myself to read anything else. Can't trust the regular papers....

Oh, F has finally subscribed to the "Economist"!!! Finally one more person has seen the light! As they say, Fiat Lux, let there be light (and there was light....)! That was a great dinner we had tonight F. Feels great to know I have a true friend. The food was great, but the company better!

It's 3am and I'm real tired. But I still can't sleep. I'm not sure if its the lack of my favorite periodical or the latte at 9pm. Or a combination of both for that matter.... Today was an eventful day, but tomorrow will be a more eventful one. I'll be going ice skating, followed by checking out some art installation on orchard road which everyone says is good stuff. I have only ice skated once, a long time ago. I wonder if its anything like inline skating with less friction? If it is, hell yeah, I'm gonna love it every bit!

In the papers some ppl were lamenting bout the closure of local ice skating rinks, with Fuji being the last one alive. They are trying to find investors to set up rinks so that they can organise skating courses. Take a look at the successful ice skating rinks in California and what do you see? Ice Hockey! With the growth of international schools here and more Ang Moh style education, ice hockey is the only way an ice skating rink can survive and remain profitable. and spectator ice hockey that is. One skating rink for each international school home team! I pick ACS (International) for the championship! Already some Ang Mohs play ice hockey at JEC. Now we need to expand it into a proper league. And if the local sports school and sports powerhouses such as ACS, RI, SJI, Saints etc wanna join in, that'd be even better!

Political inclination

http://imunimaginative.deviantart.com/

Democrat 92%
Anarchism 58%
Green 58%
Socialist 42%
Communism 42%
Republican 33%
Nazi 8%
Fascism 8%

So I'm a through and through democrat. 'nuff said.

Conversations

I had the most interesting conversation with the most interesting person today. And after work I had more interesting conversations with my former JC classmates! Can we ever do without interesting conversations? ;)

Cal Cafe

After a long weekend of clubbing and weddings, I finally turned on my computer and discovered Cal Cafe (calcafe.berkeley.edu). This is the ultimate "friendster" for all Cal Alumni! I've practically spent the entire holiday creating groups on this website. So far I've got:
Cal Singapore
Chi Epsilon
Tau Beta Pi
ASCE
Cal Football
Californians
Concrete Canoe
If you are a Cal Alumni and belong to one of these categories, now's the time to add yourself to the list!

You win some, you lose some

Some people have been complaining that I don't update my blog enough. Maybe it doesn't occur to them that SOME people actually have to work. Or that SOME people don't actually go shopping for good deals the whole time. Maybe it's just that SOME people don't actually have very much energy left to blog after work.....

Anyway, I finally found something that I love doing. Unfortunately, it is related to WORK! And sometimes I feel that I'm not getting enough support or appreciation for doing what I love doing at work. I guess that beats some ppl who absolutely detest their job (or is that most people, going by a recent unofficial survey?). You win some, you lose some. Dynamic equilibrium. :P

Beating the Monday Blues

My junior from Berkeley CE made this website for a new company serving Singaporean food in the Bay Area: http://www.primatasteusa.com/index.html
They do catering too. Sounds good huh? Those of you still in Bear Territory, check it out and give me some feedback. Oh, the Bears beat Washington State 42-38 (by a whisker) last weekend! Go Bears!

I have the day off today. What better way to beat the Monday blues than to go skating at East Coast Park all morning? Ok, skiing down Whistler Mountain on a Monday morning would've been better, but no prizes for guessing why that's not gonna happen anytime soon (yw, u lucky b******!).

From Marine Parade to Changi (and back) on an almost deserted asphalt path, devoid of the usual weekend chatter, I can hear the birds chirping and the waves crashing onto the shore even through the mp3s blaring in my ear! Now that's what I call music! Coupled with the 15 minute break enjoying the shoreline and cityscape from Bedok jetty, what a great way to start the week! I don't want to go back to work anymore hahaha....

Anyway, I'm learning to skate backwards. I know the basic strokes already, but I think there are more advanced strokes to master, because I'm still going too slow to be on the path, and I can't see where I'm going.... So if anyone's got some tips, please holler out in the comments section!

I've been tagged

Tagging is supposed to be 1 list 5 items. I don't know how it evolved to this.

7 things that scare me:
the "lady dressed in white" on the jacob's ladder
seeing someone die and not being able to help (came close once)
high ski jump
to stop believing in a better tomorrow
being struck by lightning (had a few close shaves last month!)
being hit on by a gay who wont back off
getting stuck in a toilet cubicle (it did happen before, i almost had to break down the door to get out)
7 things i like the most:
skiing
skiing
skiing
skiing
skiing
skiing
skiing black diamond (advanced only)....
7 important things in my room:
me
bed
alarm clock (tho i still can never wake up in time for work)
radio
mobile phone
fan
window view of the sea
7 random facts about me:
sociable
like to ski (if u havent already noticed)
likes to listen to some S.H.E. (hahaha)
enjoys clubbing (but not paying for it)
listening to 9.33fm right now
will take skating if i can't ski
would love to find an "S" (you probably wont know what the hell i'm talking bout here)
7 things i plan to do before i die:
win the nobel prize (yah right)
make a billion dollars
be the next Warren Buffet
have kids
get married (ok this is not in the right order but i'm too lazy to rearrange)
travel across the world
the great american road trip (all 52 states, ok by boat to hawaii and alaska)
7 things i can do:
reading
writing
'rithmetic
skate backwards (kinda learned the proper technique only today)
ski ski ski!!! (black diamond, no moguls please....)
love
get a conversation going
7 things i can't do:
snowboard
hockey stop
backflip
run a marathon
high ski jump
360 spin on skates
moguls (arghhh, my biggest disappointment)
7 things i say the most:
Whack first talk later!
Then how? (only at work)
**** must advise (you probably won't get this either hahahaha)
man
wah lau
don't pray pray!
I need a raise.....
7 celeb crushes:
(no real crushes but fav celebs i guess)
Fiona Xie
Helen Hunt
Nicole Kidman
Stefanie Sun
Monica Belucci
Athena Chu
Warrent Buffet (He's my idol!!!!)
7 people who could do this:
The next 7 ppl who read this, you're tagged! make sure you fill up all the lists! :P

carpe diem

I've been attending a customer interaction course the last 2 days, which would explain why you haven't been seeing me in the office (except after 5). Oh and I got the best trainee award! I haven't had any awards in the last 2 years, so I guess this is a happy occasion. As Forrest Gump says, "Life's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!" So, in the words of inspiration from the Dead Poet's Society, we've got to Carpe Diem (seize the day)!

I'll be in chinatown for Oktoberfest this saturday night, if anyone's interested in joining me for a pint or 2 drop me an sms. It'll be a little hot compared to Munchen but I guess we'll still feel the atmosphere. Which reminds me right now of the best foreign film I've watched in the past year, a German movie called "Das Wonder Von Bern". A lot of Germans think I'm mistaken for a swiss movie cos Bern is in Switzerland and the swiss speak German too! But trust me, it's a German movie. Who came up with this term "foreign film" anyway? Every movie we have here is really a "foreign film" from the US or HK or something yah? It was probably the Hollywood chaps who came up with that term. We can come up with something better.

Back to Munchen. A lesser known gem of Munchen that is not Oktoberfest, or that shopping district, or its churches, is the Munich Museum of Science and Technology. I can't describe it, and we chanced upon it accidentally. I read bout it in some travel guidebook, and i suggested we check it out tho it was only 2 hrs before closing. But I can tell you, that museum is absolutely amazing. You can't even imagine what I'm talking about. You would need 2 WEEKS to see and appreciate the whole place!!! Now that's what I call a real science museum!

Build your house on a rock!

Don't build your house on a sandy land
Don't build it too near the shore
Though it might look kinda nice
But you gotta build it twice
Oh you gotta build your house again!

You gotta build your house on a rock!
A firm foundation on a solid spot
Though the storms may come and go
But the peace of God you will know!

superplasticizer

I added another wikipedia entry. Boy, am I addicted to wikipedia or what?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superplasticizer

Pozzolanic ash

I'm trying to expand the "stub" in wikipedia for "pozzolanic ash" into a full article, so all you civil engineers out there please contribute!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozzolanic_ash

The most bizzare incident....

I witnessed the most bizarre incident on the bus today. Just one stop away from Tiong Bahru MRT station, 2 young kids and 4 middle-aged adults (parents, aunt and uncle I presume) got up the bus. One of the young kids was just over the 0.9m mark, and did not have a concession pass, so I suppose the driver asked his parents to pay the full fare. The mum was not too happy, and expressed her displeasure at the driver. What followed was the most bizarre thing....
The aunt suddenly started swearing hokkien vulgarities at the driver! And boy, not only was she shouting very loudly (the whole bus could hear), but the vocabulary she was using (which cannot be repeated here) was pretty intense! And she didn't stop till she got off at the MRT station. That middle-aged lady was insulting the Indian driver's parents and all, with language that I thought I would only hear in an army camp! And in front of their kids and all the other kids/office workers/ students etc on the bus too! Everyone was just staring at them the whole time!
So much for the ugly Singaporean.....