my army friend typed this:

...to conduct random checks at regular intervals...

lol.

you know those nodders on the mrt trains? yup, the very ones that have bloodshot eyes and somehow find the rhythmic sound of the train so relaxing that they immediately fall under its charms. the very folks that you hate to have to sit beside when the sedative effect starts taking place and they start nodding all over the place (and all over the poor people flanking them as well).

dont you just hate them all? especially so if they start nodding off in your direction. its fine if they wanna nod off in other directions and hey its damn funny, you've gotta admit that right? but when they start coming your way, its a whole different story. its especially irritating if they dont get up and regain some sort of consciousness after the very first jerk and continue their descent onto your well positioned shoulders. and when the buffoon finally lands, it suddenly becomes your problem. the tables are so swiftly turned that most of the time you have no time to react and you become the object of humour on the most embarrassing ride you've ever taken.

do you wake the ass up? do you hope he wakes himself up soon? do you nudge? do you pat? do you resist the temptation to slap? questions questions questions... the bottom line is it's irritating as hell, as i'm sure many of you will have to agree.

with that said and done, maybe these poor folks are just a tired lot, after a really bad day at work or school or prison or where ever the hell it is they come from looking so shagged. maybe they mean no harm and are really apologetic about the whole thing. they're just tired. and besides how many actually fall asleep on other people's shoulders? most usually just do the nodding off bit a lot and it stops there. no actually landing on the runway, if you know what i mean. maybe we should be more understanding eh?

nodders all over the world will appreciate this gesture. i know i will...

'this is the era of specialization. a shameful time to be alive'.


stephen king's the langoliers

'the opinions you avowed were rational but the ardour of your imagination was apparent, and what ardent imagination ever was contented to trust with plain reasoning, or to the evidence of the senses? it may not willingly confine itself to the dull truths of this earth, but, eager to expand its faculties, to fill its capacity, and to experience its own peculiar delights, soars after new wonders into a world of its own'


ann radcliffe's the italian

i was at popular yesterday purchasing a blank cd for some army matters. after paying for the above mentioned product, i lingered around the store, looking at some books, games and whatever it is that they sell for the sole purpose of killing time. it just so happened that i was carrying with me my usual big black nike bag and i was rummaging through the contents searching for army camp pass. unfortunately, i looked rather suspicious, searching through my bag and hanging aroung the store for a really long time. at least i did to one particular woman that worked there.

it started with the one too many eye-to-eyes; whenever i looked up there she was, eyeing me, just watching while falsely busying herself with some shit or another. she started to tail me around the shop. everwhere i went she moved with me, carrying a book or something that she seemed totally involved in shelving.

it was so stupid and quite ridiculous to think that i was being tailed for suspicion for shoplifting that i almost burst out laughing. sure i've shoplifted before, but hey, almost getting caught for something which you totally didnt do is just funny. its like a situation where you cant wait to say i-told-you-so. but it this case, i took my time. i gave her a run for her money.

i purposely walked up and down the shop so many times that i'm sure she almost wanted to give up or approach me. i also increased the number of times i rummaged through my stuff. at the same time, i picked up books and stationery while going through my stuff to make it seem like i was trying to steal the items. i also started to look really nervous and all that.

it was a riot.

this charade carried on for about a good 20 minutes and that lady (god bless her suspicious soul) didnt take her eyes off me. i finally decided to give her a break and went through the usual scanners flanking the exits. obviously, nothing sounded and i walked through it without any hassle or fuss and on my face, a nonchalant expression.

after exiting, i turned back to look at her (for she followed me to the exit waiting for the scanners to go off so that the bitch could pounce) and she had an expression i will not soon forget. she was bitching about wasting her time to one of the other collegues, crestfallen and all. and you know what i did?

i smiled.

booking back into camp later today. hope this week goes by fast. its the last hectic week for this month. that means its the last time this week that my weekend gets shortened. i hate it when i dont get the full weekends off because of some army thing. it's like being violated. those two days are like a weekly fix for this junkie and if i dont get it, the withdrawal symptoms kick in.

like i said it is the last one this month and well, i just have to suck it up and go through it i guess. besides, what choice do i have really?

okay. i hate it when this happens. my perfectly typed post has just been erased. this is stupid. why isnt there like a recovery system? no matter, i shall give you a condensed version.

saturday:
received sinda academic excellence award. travelled all the way to nyp for a plaque and a cert. appreciate acknowlegement but cash would have made trip worthwhile. after that went to singapore recreation club to prep for army half marathon. was part of camera crew so had to run around taking pics with stupid not working knee. in pain.

sunday:
ahm finished at 12 ish. went to library and realised that i was too tired to do much. took cab home. didnt want to pass out on the way to bugis junction. slept like a log.

monday: went to borders with kit. bought books *que 'duh'*. ate at fish and co and had dessert at n.y.d.c.

hate summary on blogs. life seems boring and cut up. but tired. lazy. maybe tomorrow.

dentist 1: you have something stuck between your teeth.
dentist 2: where?
dentist 1: your maxilliary lateral incisor


job perks.

anarchy; that's the word that graced today's straits times. katrina danced her dance and now, the historic city is in chaos.

people are looting, gangs are talking over, child molestation, rape cases, beating in the streets, dead left to rot with the living, deplorable living conditions, lack of food and water, insufficient medicines for the sick and junkies breaking into hospitals to get their fix. to think that about a week ago the city was great, full of life and filled with tourists and people enjoying themselves with the renowned jazz and seafood. its just an awakening of sorts.

we would expect a super-power like america to deal with the problem efficiently and get everyone to safety swiftly. we would expect all this mess to be handled in an orderly fashion. after all, america did respond almost immediately when the tsunami hit last boxing day, so we wouldnt be unreasonable in stating that she should be prepared for something like this happening on her own turf. but why the delay? people have been cramped up in the superbowl for almost a week now and the conditions have been deteriorating ever since. necessities have not been provided for and the people in the police force are giving up. even the mayor is 'pissed' and i dont blame him for lashing out at washington.

it just goes to show that even a super-power is not as super as we think now is it? bush should really cut down on his holiday time. also, this is a frightening display of how the mesh of social stability is so quickly destroyed once one is not prepared to deal with any crisis that may come along. at one moment we live in what may seem to be a socially coherant society. where we have roles to play and we play it well. a place where we think that we can handle almost anything that comes our way because we think that we have a strong and capable government on our side, with the resources to help us and take us through everything. even when we know that there are things that go on in our society that is less that what we deem as moral (drugs and prostituition and what not), we do not have to think about it simply because it does not concern us at all and we choose not to be a part of it. but the strange thing is is that we are not even aware that this structure exists because we are just plain human beings and we have an awful tendency to take things for granted.

however, it is when calamity strikes and this network unwinds because of under-preparation to deal with the situation, fear, uncertainty and all things human nature, we finally see how important that network was, how we are really dependant on structure and the prementioned mesh. we are suddenly everywhere and nowhere; forced to deal with things that we do not usually have to handle. forced to see death in its blatant glory, forced to mingle with violence and to interact with junkies. we are put into a situation where things fall apart fast and there is nothing that one person can do about it. all we can do is learn to live with what we have, not because we are resillient, but because we have to, until help arrives and transports us to a temporary asylum, allowing us to reconstruct the social mesh that we are so used to living in.

scary isnt it, the fragility of society and how just one factor can cause so much harm? be thankful for what you have and i do hope that all those affected by katrina (that bitch) will be alright in the end.

i am so fuckin' frustrated at people who always critisize other people's blogs. i mean who the hell do you think you are!?

it's my blog and i'm gonna do whatever i want with it. i'm not gonna please you just because you're unhappy about something i blogged or about a picture i put up and i sure as hell wont change any of it or apologise just because you asked me to. a blog is something personal. how is anyone suppose to be personal and themself if people keep asking them to change stuff in it or to blog about what they prefer to be blogged about. if a subject offends you on a particlular blog, dont rant on it immediately. i mean c'mon its just one post in like a probable hundred. if it continues to offend you, just bugger off. you dont have to read the stuff on it you know. if it's not your cup of tea, empty the cup.

its really simple you know. there is no need for verbal diatribe. its fucking stupid.

steve's blog is all about sex. but does anyone give him a piece of thier mind about his actions with other women? about his lecherous lifestyle? no and thats because we enjoy it. fine, so steve gets the green light. the sarong party girl's blog is all about her sexual adventures as well. there are people that say that she should just fess' up as the crazed wannabe they think she is and others who just rant about her at the comment area but that is severly outweighed by the book offers that she has recived and the popularity that the newspapers have graced her with. to sum it up, she's good and people enjoy it, slut or not.

so why all the hoo-ha when someone just talks about themselves in one of their own blog posts? about their looks, weight, their wants. they are immediately deemed selfish by comparison with the current world's situation. its fucked up.

a blog is also someplace where we can find out what other people do or think about or feel. it may not be on similar events but hey, we're all humans and at one point of our lives or another we can probably relate to what the blogger is blogging about. this unstructured diversity is unique. can you imagine every blogger in the world blogging about the same issue? it would be bloody boring and that would definitely something to rant about.

bottom line: my blog, my rules. dont like it? move on out.

started off the first day of september bright and early, well not exactly. how bright is it at 5:45 right?

by 6:20, i was all ready to head on down to town to recce the c.b.d. area for the run on the 11th. after some snapping and illegally entering the spa area at swissotel (which was bloody brilliant i tell you! fantastic!) to snap some more photos, we were told that we had the rest of the day off.

there's nothing better than hearing the phrases 'day off' or 'night off'. went to marche's with some of my army buddies and then headed for home. bumped into daph at the mrt station and made plans to meet her later today.

aaahhh. life is good when i'm out.