27/09/06,In memory of..

The day marked the death of a fish of mine that has been with me for a very long time,almost 5yrs to be exact. It is none other than the sole surviving angel fish in my tank which i nicknamed 'dan2 xiao2 gui3" because of it's timidness when it comes to humans and it's bullying attitude when it comes to other fishes in the tank. Basically,i had it ever since it was still a baby. Recalling when i first bought it,it measured only about 2.5cm from head to tail and astoundingly,over the years,it had grown to almost 12cm. During the period which dan2 xiao2 gui3 has been with me,it has witnessed many changes around it,even those that had to do with my own personal life. These included several aquascape changes,the moving of house from tampines to the current one in hougang,the passage of me from singlehood,to being attached to singlehood once again as well as how i had moved on from secondary school,to junior college and finally to national service which i am now at. I used to dislike the way it bullied the other fishes,chasing them away from it's "territory" which seemed to span the entire fish tank but somehow,i had grown to repect it,as a fish that commanded respect yet at the same time,managed to weather through all the challenges if faced which included unfavourable living conditions at times. On the whole,i have seen how it has grown and how the colour on it's body has changed,from a juvenile silver colour to that of a matured golden tinge. In it's last days,it had ceased to eat and was seen struggling to keep afloat,sometimes even lying on it's side at the bottom of the tank. I then decided to catch it out of the main tank and proceeded to place it in a pail so that i could keep it under observation as well as to prevent the possibility of it dying in the main tank and having it's body eaten by other fishes. I tried to administer medication as well as vitamins in a hope that it was suffering from a disease that could be cured but i was wrong,ultimately,it was evident that it was suffering from old age and was just struggling to pass it's remaining time in this world. Ultimately,after about a week in the pail and it'd continued refusal to eat,my family and i came to a consencus that we had to put it down to remove it's suffering because if we did not do so,ultimately,it would still die of starvation which is more of a prolonged suffering. Henceforth,we caught it out and placed it in an airtight bag to quicken it's death by suffocation. It may seem to be very brutal but in weighing the amount of suffering that each choice would bring about,i'd say that suffocating it would be the more humane way of doing so. People may disagree with me but now that it is gone,what has been done has been done and afterall,in this world,in the treatment of animals and humans,there is such a thing as euthenasia and culling so why not question the world rather than question my actions?

A day spent rollerblading.

So after such a long time,i got the chance to put on a pair of rollerblades once again. This time round,the people i bladed with were Ah Long and Ric,both of whom are my colleagues at work. It was Long's idea to blade so we decided that we would try to make it a point to do so every 2nd off. Originally,we had to give today a miss as Long was unwilling to go at first,citing the long distance as a reason(he lives in Yishun and our blading location was East Coast Park). However,after much persuasion,he finally relented and both he and Ric had their first go at rollerblading. Unfortunately,we did not capture any snapshots during the 2 hours that we bladed because none of us brought our cameras out. But nonetheless,we had alot of fun,laughing at one another fall down and having several near collisions. It did not matter that we were all amateurs and that both of them had their "virgin" blading experience,we still had quite a time of our lives. As usual,there were falls but like i was saying, "no pain no gain!". At the end of the day,although they were still unable to brake or change direction,i must really applaud their progress so far for having been able to stand up and move around a little. Really look forward to the next 2nd off when we can go and blade once again. Perhaps they will be able to pick up much more this time round and who knows,someday,when the 3 of us are better at this sport,we can all own our own blades.Haha!

Does it all really matter?

To end up working in a mega company or just a normal firm,does it really matter? I guess it really boils down to the individual. Some may associate working in a big firm as a form of status. That being able to be an employee there will mean that he or she would be better off than someone working in a normal firm. But then again,i beg to differ. I believe that it is not really where a person works in that matters but rather the position he holds that truly deserves our attention. Someone can be a mere worker in a large firm but yet lose out to someone who holds a managing position in a normal firm. I do agree that there are benefits associated with working in a big firm eg. job security however one must not neglect the fact that big does not really mean better. At the end of the day,it is the job we are holding that holds the key to the equation. On top of that,we will also have to consider other factors like personal welfare which tend to be lacking in a mega firm due to the large numbers of staff which make it hard for the company to tend to the needs of every individual. Hence,on a personal note,i am open to any job oppurtunities that come my way in the future. Definately being able to work in a large firm and at the same time hold a good position would be the ideal scenario. But then again,if all these are not possible,i guess it is time i did a reality check and settle for a job in a normal firm and then work my way up from there.

IMF/WB meetings 2006 in Singapore

It was an honour for me to be a part of the IMF/WB meetings in Singapore held between the 10th till the 20th of September 2006. Never mind the long hours that i had to commit,the severe lack of sleep that i had to endure or even the fact that i had to remain in camp for the entire period away from family pending deployment,the entire duty had been an experience that i would never forget. Not many people would have had the chance to go through what i did during these 10days,let alone be where the action was. Despite the fatigue,what i felt was a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment,especially knowing that i was part of the force which ensured security for the delegates during the entire meeting period. It was a pity though that the IMF and WB committee did not appreciate the effort that the government as well as police force had put in to ensure their safety and had instead repeatedly hit out at us for our tough stance on outdoor protests as well as the initial barring of 27 CSOs from entering the country citing security reasons. They had stated that our republic had gone back on our word by disallowing outdoor demonstrations as well as blacklisting potential trouble makers and preventing them from entering our country. Never did they for once appreciate what we had done for them. By beefing up security and not bowing to international pressure,we had even gone the extra mile by putting in contingency plans so that the meetings would run smoothly without disruptions caused by the infiltration of terrorists and violent protesters. They stressed the importance of engaging the CSOs and allowing them to protest to give them a chance to express their views but they have never stopped for once to consider the dire consequences if Singapore relaxed it's laws. By then,i would not be so sure that the meetings would be able to run so smoothly and on top of that,i believe that the peace and security that we are enjoying now would no longer be in place. Perhaps now that the meetings have come to a close,the IMF and WB authorities should then take a moment and reflect upon their views,if choosing Singapore as the meeting venue was a right choice. As for me,i have the memories to take home with me and at the same time,i take pride in the knowledge that i had done my job to the best of my abilities.

Update on 20/09/06

Here are some updates of my fish tank. I did some rearranging since the last update. The plants have also grown alot ever since. I will be doing some maintenance work after this so in the meantime,enjoy=).

"I AM SAM"

taken from: http://www.iamsammovie.com/

The cast:
Sean Penn , Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine

The story:
Sam Dawson is a mentally-challenged father raising his daughter Lucy with the help of an extraordinary group of friends. As Lucy turns seven and begins to intellectually surpass her father, their close bond is threatened when their situation comes under the scrutiny of a social worker who wants Lucy placed in foster care. Faced with a seemingly unwinnable case, Sam vows to fight the legal system and forms an unlikely alliance with Rita Harrison, a high-powered, self-absorbed attorney who initially takes his case pro bona as a challenge from her colleagues. On the surface the two couldn't be further apart, but in reality they are subtly similar. Sam's compulsive nature is mirrored in Rita's more socially acceptable obsessive-compulsive nature. Together they struggle to convince the system that Sam deserves to get his daughter back and, in the process, fuse a bond that results in a unique testament to the power of unconditional love.

taken from:
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1807634444

Lesson learnt:
Although i missed out on the beginning part of the show,from the storyline,i gathered that the show revolves around the power of a father's love. It touches upon how despite his mental inadequacy,he still tries to fulfil his duty as a father. Although mentally challenged, Sam went about trying to prove to the court that he was able to take custody of his daughter Lucy. Throughout the show,we saw how the prosecution tried to discredit Sam's ability to look after his beloved daughter by playing up facts like his inability to provide the right environment for his daughter to grow up in as well as to show that as Lucy ages,in time to come,her intellectual capability would soon surpass that of her father's. To overthrow the prosecution's challenges,Sam took up several jobs and even went to the extent of memorising the "model" answers to would-be questions that they would ask in a bid to discredit him. From all these,we can see his resolve in wanting to keep Lucy by his side. The show really went all the way out to show viewers how strong a bond between father and daughter can be. The touching parts of the show occured towards the end when Lucy took to the witness stand and was grilled over the entire matter. Seeing how tormented she was over the questions posed to her,Sam repeatedly requested that the questioning ceased in a bid to protect the well being of his daughter.Along the way,he was advised by many people to give up the fight but the determination of both father and daughter to remain together really touched those involved and in the end,Sam was awarded joint custody of his daughter together with the help of a foster parent. My words alone cannot fully describe the messages that the show is trying to convey but upon watching it,one would be able to realise how powerful a father's love can be and how despite trying times,the bond between father and child would still remain unbroken. It does not take logical thinking for a father to love his child and as seen from the show,even a mentally challenged person can love his own child just as much or even more than what a normal person can. This goes to show the spiritual aspect of a parent's love,that it is not cultivated but rather occurs naturally. That it is something which can never be taught but rather something which comes about with the birth of a child.

The road ahead..

I am nearing my NS-ORD date which falls on the 10th of November at 2359hrs. Calculating the number of leaves i will be clearing,it will put my last day at work on around the 18th of October. Thereafter,i can sort of consider myself as having riverted back to my civilian status although it only takes effect after my actual ORD date. Looking back,serving in the force for close to 2 yrs has really allowed me to gain valuable experiences. But then again,the road i have been travelling on during my NS stint is about to come to an end. Looking ahead,i see yet another path i have to take. One that will truly decides my future. What course in university am i going to study and thereafter,what type of job am i going to undertake? Seems a little far fetched but then again,it is never too late to plan ahead. As for post ORD,i plan to take up a short term job to gain some experience in the working society while at the same time,to earn some extra cash. WIth less than 2 mths to go,it is time to be forward looking,time to start plotting for the future.

02/09/06-The event i have been waiting for

Yes! It is finally here! The RSAF open house which occurs only once every 2 years. This year marks the 41st anniversary which the RSAF has been defending Singapore's skies. The open house not only gives the public a chance to view the air force's arsenal. It also serves as a platform for the air force to showcase it's transformation from a 2nd generation air force to that of a 3rd generation one. The main attraction during the open house was the aerial display that saw fighter planes whizzing past in the skies above. At the same time,there were also free fall displays by the SAF commandos as well as simulated combined attacks involving both land and air units. The aerial display was really an eye opener to many as they got the chance to witness what a small country's air force like Singapore's has to offer. As for me,i just found the show entertaining,nothing amazing about it as i've been following the RSAF's developments with much eager anticipation. One fine example is Singapore's decision to purchase F15SGs from USA which will be replacing the retired A4SU skyhawks. Another would be Singapore's interest in the JSF F35 programme.I am sure all these may sound like some foreign language to many of you but well,if u get it then good for you...If u don't then here are a few shots of me taken during the open house.As usual,i am not photogenic,so dun puke while viewing the pics,look away from the com screen once in awhile to relieve any uneasiness that it will cause u.Haha!

01/09/06- An incident at home

It's the 2nd of sept today and this is what happened yesterday.....

At the dinner table yesterday,i had an argument with my brother because today,my family was supposed to go to the air force open house together but he had insisted that he would not be going as he had wanted to play computer. Apparently,he had stated that if the family went to the open house in the morning,he would go. But if we were to go in the afternoon around 3pm which we had earlier planned,he would give it a miss. You guys may think that there is no point in me getting angry and that i should let him do as he wished.(stay at home and play computer) Thing is,i was irritated by the fact that he put his priority upon computer games rather than spending time with his family. It was not as though we did not allow him to play the computer. I Infact,he has the whole day to do so. All we are asking for is that since it is a weekend,why not spend some time with the family. He just kept insisting that he wants to stay at home no matter what. I then told him that if he wanted to stay at home,it was fine with me. But i would bring the computer cables along with me to the open house so that he would not be able to operate them. He then cut in and said that if i did so,do not expect to see him at home when we came home later at night. He said that he has the money and there was more than just 2 computers in the whole of singapore.I took it that he would go to a lan shop and play if we deprived him of the chance to play the computer. I then told him that it was fine with me if he wanted to do so and he could also go and do anything for all i care. He then shot back and me and commented that since when have i become the head of the house.
I was really very pissed off by the fact that not only did he want things to go by his way only,he also had no respect for me as an elder brother. I questioned my mother about the reasons why he became like that. I was disappointed in the fact that they had always let him have things his way till the extent that if he wants things to go a particular way,then he must have it that way. He no longer considers the consequences of his actions and from what i observed, he does not even show respect to me or my parents.There are times when we try to talk to him and he does not even acknowledge our presence.But i was the most disappointed with the fact that he prioritised computer games over family,being able to play computer games for 5-6hrs straight at a time.

After sometime,i managed to cool down and while he was still in his room playing computer games(as usual),i went to have a talk with my mother about the matter. I shared my views with her and told her that i was concerned with the way that he was behaving.I told her that the rate at which he is playing is alarming. It is like his whole world revolves around computer games and nothing else,that he can just shut the rest of the world out. I told her that things were getting out of hand and perhaps she or my father could talk to him about the matter. She told me that she would try to but other than that,she would only hope that someday he can outgrow it all and change. I then told her that most of the time,a person would change only when some things happened in life. I was afraid that by then it would be too late. I was afraid that by shutting everything out and focusing only upon his computer games and his internet gaming friends,he has neglected the fact that family ties are the most important and that we are the people that he can trust the most in the world. I was also afraid that he would just keep things all to himself and even if something happened to him, we as his family members also would have no clue about it. Seems to me that after cooling down and thinking things through,my anger has turned into more of a concern. I have told him numerous times that he could talk to any of us if he has any problems and that he should always put family first before anything. Everytime,he would appear as though he understood what i meant but things would just be the same. As for now,i think i can just only hope he would change someday...change before he becomes too distant from the family and starts becoming bad.And guess what,he just turned on the computer to play games again...sigh..