And then you walked out of my life without telling me

Went to Haw Par Villa today; not sure if I had gone there before when I was a kid. I always thought it was a mouldy and run-down place of interest marked for tearing down but hasn't been developed into something else yet because it has no value to add to. Well, if not for the 10 courts of Hell the visit might have been cut even shorter; I was pretty interested in what I would have to go through in my afterlife. Among the ghastly affairs I have to partake in would include: Digging out my heart, cutting off my tongue and if I recall correctly sawing of body into half.

Thereafter the assemblage headed off to Red Dot Design Museum to check out what kind of award-winning products advanced technology has brought us. What wow-ed me was this mini jigsaw puzzle ring, screw-less spectacles and a high-technology toilet bowl that possesses several auto-cleansing properties and a temperature-regulated seat. [Woo, "Shit just got real"]

The original plan was to proceed to Medz at Orchard Central for lunch but everyone was hungry so we settled on a close-by market/food centre. Had wanton noodles and pudding-style soya bean curd. Noodle shop is supposedly a recommendation of "成人杂志" back in 2000. That aside, I guess they are pretty good if they can stay around for more than 10 years. The soya bean curd, on the other hand, was a bit too watery. I figure it was just normal to have different stores catering to different taste-buds in this "modern soya bean curd" industry. Also, coincidentally, U Weekly did a two-page recommendation of various stalls selling soya bean curd for this week's edition. There was "老伴" from Old Airport Road, another stall from Maxwell Food Centre (which I tried, average, lady boss quite naggy), a Selegie stall at Toa Payoh and a couple others.

More dinners next week to look forward to!

Special Forces

Yes, that is the movie title. Not the most creative nor intriguing, but I had taken a special interest in warring states and conflicts of the like very recently, so I sort of watched this in a different light, like how Pakistan being a safe haven for Taliban (Taleban?) makes it difficult for ISAF soldiers and ANA to bring about permanent peace and security to Afghanistan, especially at the borders where trigger-happy Pakistani tribesmen at their observation posts threaten the lives of soldiers as much as the insurgents themselves.

Like how the most dangerous mission can simply be moving from one point to another in the dusty and mountainous regions of these two countries, where people live under the cruel sharia law and lives are lost at the blink of the eye. The Taliban rules with an iron fist and kills mercilessly. And I walked away thinking whether it was worth it. *SPOILER* Four lives in exchange for one French journalist? It's a bit like Saving Private Ryan in this sense. Except with more deaths and tragedy.

Occasional shouts of 'Welcome to Lenas!' that rang out in the restaurant sounded like 'Welcome to Venus!' to me; the server was pretty cool and fluent, the place was neat. The assemblage ordered grilled chicken pasta, bacon and mushroom baked rice, and smoked duck baked rice. Pretty alright, nothing spectacular; maybe because I wasn't ravenous! Normal prices. Water costs 30 cents.

Met with friends whom I haven't met for quite a while, hope to see them more often. Handsome Kevin lost weight, Beautiful Tanya was her usual petite self, and Indian Sarvesh was as hairy as ever. (:

Price-less movie screening

Yeah, Special.

Free screening of Mission Impossible 4!

With free cone of sweet popcorn!

This post, however, is geared towards the meal prior to the movie; Ciyi and I decided to meet for a bite and I chose Olive Vine for its value and location (Marina Square basement as the movie was at Suntec). Mr Wong chose a local fusion dish of chicken porridge in a bread bowl (ala carte price of S$7.00), not dissimilar to the "Golden Pillow" curry chicken, or clam chowder soup-in-sourdough concept. The 'cover' of the bowl is a piece of crispy yet soft garlic bread, and the thick porridge comes with a slice of hard-boiled egg. You can probably eat the bread like how you would with a fried dough fritter in the traditional Cantonese porridge.

I chose a more conventional plate of chicken steak (ala carte price of S$8.90) over a tomato-based pasta that had the options of spicy or non-spicy and three choices of meat: Chicken, pork or fish. The chicken steak, or chop, came with salad in mayonnaise dressing (nothing new there) with accompanying dry fresh lettuce, plus two large slices of good garlic bread. You can choose among pepper, mushroom and BBQ sauces to go with your chicken.

The food came piping hot and we dined quickly because it was pretty good (and we were running late for the movie). You can add S$2.00 for a large cup of beverage: Coffee, tea, lemon tea and something else; or upgrade your meal to a deluxe set meal with S$4.00, which offers a beverage and a dessert of the day. Ciyi thought the lemon tea (which he requested to be ice-less) was sufficiently strong but the dessert of the day (slice of carrot cake) was not big. I, on the other hand, ordered a big slice of tiramisu for S$4.90, WHICH WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN VILLA DI PARMA'S S$12.90 BULLSHIT.

We are constantly warming up to each other

And yet the sad, unfortunate reality is that we took such a long time to learn how to tolerate each other. Understanding is still a great distance away, and acceptance occurs in a parallel universe.

We also give each other the cold shoulder at times, gossip and make jokes at the expense of each other. Other times, we are keeping to ourselves, absorbed in our little pizza boxes and sharing links across the Wifi instead of conversing across the room.

Constantly making effort to fit in; to be friendly; to be included, at my own expense and inconvenience, but still to end up like an uninvolved passerby, sticking out like a sore thumb. And so I believe this is the right moment to move on.

Needed some spare fabric

Bought so many of these during BMT eMart breaks.
Now can only wear in bunk.
Don't want to wear also, so ugly.

Long Dinner

Have you ever had chinese food at a chinese restaurant that served better western fare than its chinese counterpart? If you consider Xin Wang (HK) Cafe to be a chinese restaurant, then I just did. Up till tonight I have had the opportunity to try its black pepper chicken chop with spaghetti, baked rice with fish and hot coconut. All of the above-mentioned dishes were fine; well, maybe the hot coconut was a tad expensive at $7.50.

My opinion of Xin Wang changed today when I tried the self-proclaimed famous Mongkok porridge (congee, actually): Century egg with tender meat (皮蛋瘦肉粥). The porridge came in a pot, served on a china plate, but the Mongkok-ness stops here. In it were three or four quarters of egg, with a few slices of hard pork, swimming in less-than-delicious porridge. For $7.50++ the portion or taste just couldn't make it. The chicken porridge/chicken rice/dessert stall at AMK Central hawker centre serves better chicken porridge at approximately $3.50 in a more generous portion with an additional fried dough fritter.

The Chocolate Apple Sensation (velvety chocolate cake served with two sour strawberries, 1x scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream) at Cafe Cartel is pretty chocolatey and there is the 50% discount for after-9pm desserts. The apple was hidden well and the dessert was much more chocolate than apple. Still, I don't have much affection for apples and like the dessert the way it is.

Was a pretty long affair and reached home at 0030.

In a turn of events

Just had a worse-than-expected lunch: Pizza and tiramisu from Villa Di Parma. Felt like a wasteful spend of $29.70. After many rave reviews on the net and HungryGoWhere, I thought about having lunch/dinner with some friends over there. But prior to that I decided to try a dish or two from its menu. I chose the Pizza E Pepperoni because I liked Pepperoni Pizzas (and some of the other pizzas were hard to pronounce) and tiramisu. I bought takeaway since I was alone at home.

When I opened the box in excitement, my jaw dropped.

With my finger for size comparison. Ignore the missing slices; I was ravenous.

Okay... I didn't ask what size the pizza will come in.. But the box made it look even smaller.

Not the sturdiest of pizzas. Also, large contrast to reviews that said "lots of mozzarella!"

After heating it up in the oven I sandwiched two slices together and ate them as one. More satisfying this way. Also, it might be due to the fact that it had turned cold, or that I heated it up in the oven; the thin, hard base tasted like those of instant pizzas you get at the supermarket.

I don't really know what should real tiramisu taste like, but this one doesn't taste like any tiramisu I have eaten before. It tasted like cake with lots of cream.

But still, maybe the Kensington Park Road-located restaurant isn't meant to cater to audiences like me, so the taste is not the most agreeable. Pizza Hut/Sarpino's any day.

In contrary to reviewers, a smile was too much for the staff to offer, but maybe it was because I only spent a measly 30 bucks.

I'm coming home

My three bunk-mates have quickly evacuated their high-quality pods in camp to expend their leave. I am leave-less and lonely, looking forward to free meals three times per day and a swim or two on a precious sunny day. Of late, my transport expenses have soared, due to the fact that I have been making daily commutes to and fro home, in a bid to escape the monotony which presents itself from 1800 hours to the time when I finally call it a day.

Back as a trainee, I called home everyday and returned home if the nights-off timing allowed it. I relished the opportunity to spend time at the place where I truly believe to be home. It was a refuge from the training.

I have dropped those habits now, though I make more frequent trips back, made possible by my current appointment - when I'm busy, I really can't make space for anything else in a day; when I'm resting, I have a lot of time. But the routine has changed. I step into home not feeling the original sense of euphoria, kick off my shoes and put down my stores. I look around: Dad is sleeping, and Mum sometimes too, on the sofa, and my sister is living her life out in front of the monitor. I greet the people who are awake, take a breather at my desk and write down my expenses for the day. The shower follows, after which I quickly retreat to my room and live the two hours or so in front of my LCD screen. Sometimes there is delicious home-cooked dinner, but it doesn't matter, for I have started to prefer junk food.

Using the better amenities at home has become the reason for going home. The much higher download and upload speeds, the bandwidth that you didn't have to share with anyone else, save for a sibling, and a hot shower. And being away from the prying eyes of nosy neighbours, too, though that transformed into the prying eyes of a mother trying hard to become a part of her children's world.

I've never been much bothered about personal privacy, especially not at home, but for some reason, part of me has recently started crying out for that small space, specially for at home, at least when I'm cooped up in my bedroom. A safe haven for me to accomplish missions and side quests, without anyone asking probing questions about what I've been up to.

And of course, there are the strained relationships that I don't think anyone has noticed. I feel that my normal working-class family is slowly turning dysfunctional. Not in a very serious and lethal manner, but in a way that makes me feel that each of us is no longer assuming the role of a proper family member. The father figure is no longer present to me, and the mother seemed to have been trapped in the past. The sibling follows a dull and certainly unhealthy routine. I myself outgrew the waistline of a pair of trousers I bought more than a year ago. The family takes less pleasure in conversation and are either sleeping or not really saying much.

I catch myself looking forward excessively to gatherings with friends on weekends, just to get away from both camp and home. It is quite distressing, sometimes.

Interesting

Dug up some rather interesting articles resting amongst notes that I have recently discarded carelessly. Pretty good reads.

Another random piece of writing:

    I remember, when I first got my hands on my uniform, I was churning with excitement. I put it on using the buttons from the school uniform (because the original buttons were not yet issued) and examined myself in the mirror. No clothes have yet given me as much pleasure wearing them.


    I struggled to shine my boots the night before my first activity to no avail. I must admit I was irritated and afraid on the day itself, because my uniform was not up to standard.


    That was almost three years ago. Now, here I was, never more unwillingly so, leaving an organisation that had given me the opportunities to shine, of which I never grasp properly and I know that I am walking away with lots of regrets. How I wish to backtrack to where I had been, lost as a cadet, a rookie NCO, to learn everything right from the start.

    It is a terrible feeling to live with the fact that I have let down my teammates when they voted me into the campcraft team. It is pure anguish that I have lost the last chance to prove my worth as part of Rifle Team just simply because of a sudden uprising in emotions. It is saddening to realise that I have not been at the helm of leadership in any project. It is sickening to understand that I have adopted the incorrect attitude at the turn of many events and made so many mistakes.

    Nobody else knows how we feel when we pull and tighten ropes. Nobody can savour our experience as burns, blisters and calluses sprout across our palms and we nearly land the parang on our wrists as we chop wood. We had once radiated efficiency; at the space between the two lecture theatres, the parade square, the  field, and the logshed.

--§--

Had an enjoyable afternoon at Chef Daniel's at the top floor of Iluma the ghost mall. The shopping mall is undergoing a major face-lift so hopefully it emerges as a more sustainable entertainment complex. On the other hand, I liked the serenity, a far cry from the hustle and bustle right outside its walls. Prices are reasonable and service is good. But the company is the best. :)

'Turbulence Training'

I felt inspired to blog after visiting thelilaclegacy (Simple Stories on my sidebar). [=>If you didn't know, the photo on top changes every time you click it.]

However, I don't feel particularly thoughtful or inspired right now, so I will just post whatever pops into mind along the way... You might be wondering what does 'turbulence training' mean. I got this term from one of my friends in FT (foreign talent??) and it was his plan to live a healthier life and become fitter. He was on the chubby side and was hoping to melt some of that fat and clear his second-year IPPT with flying colours. Unfortunately for him, his plan fell flat a month after announcing his proposed diet of wheat biscuits and six small meals per day. He has been back to canteen food and other junk since then.

Similarly for me, I am embarking on phase one of this training, which should involve the limiting of leisure usage of the Internet and generally the computer to a minimal amount of time per day, eating less and exercising more. Of course, the limitation of computer usage will only be in place outside of camp. How long can I last? One of the forceful measures I will be putting in place is free parental control software. And I will be embarking on another unnamed project online that ought to keep my attention.

However, this is not to say I will stop going out for food and whatnot; it just means I will snack less in between meals. I am most definitely looking forward to meet-ups, especially after March. Found this. Hope to check this out soon. Am hungry!

I may not be brave

But I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
:)

The latest troubles

Suddenly, I was a dad. My kid expected me to be home at 5pm, but he called and started yelling and crying because I wasn't at home. It was only 3pm.

I was out having fun and having some drinks, then he called. My mood sank immediately. Am I not allowed to have fun outside of the house, moreover at an agreed timing? And of course, I knew I did not father the child for I was a virgin.

~

I was trying to shoot down the infantrymen who kept springing up. They were crazy enough to spring up at a place where armoured vehicles were aplenty and shooting everywhere. I was ferried by an unknown vehicle and gunning them down by too much firepower from a mounted heavy machine gun. Then suddenly, the predator became the prey.

I was pursued by a swift light armour vehicle which just wouldn't give up. I ran through my escape route three times or more before I escaped on the top of a speeding OUV, clinging to the rack for dear life and being carried through the underneath of a huge metal structure, fearing that my fingers would be cut off any moment by the metal parts sticking out.

Relax, it was just one of the latest many escapades I was having while sprawled unconscious on my bed, whether in camp or at home.

~

A sunny side up for you and me~

(Click to visit source of picture)

May the sky quit reflecting my mood

Hey, Blogger actually lets me copy and paste images. I was thinking of migrating to my abandoned Wordpress site.

He's looking at you from every angle.

These recurring nightmares

Running through tight corners and narrow passageways, I turn back to see how much my pursuers have gained on me. I felt excitement and tension course through me when I saw they had narrowly missed me. I leaped onto an ascending escalator, only to leap off two seconds later onto a descending one in the opposite direction. They cursed and swore, trying to close up the increased distance my two-second decision had bought me.

I kept turning back, fearing for my life. Then they started drawing weapons. A red two-inch plastic ball whizzed out of the gigantic red barrel. The gun looked a lot like a bicycle horn. I tried to avoid it, but another one came buzzing out of nowhere and the first ammunition hit me. The large wave of apprehension which rushed through my upper torso vanished as soon as it came when I realised that that was no penetration. The vibrating round had simply made contact and bounced off lightly. Feeling relieved I took off towards an exit sign and locked myself inside a toilet the size of a janitor's cupboard at the side of a deserted passageway.

My relief was short-lived, for before I could catch my breath someone started hammering the door from outside. I could see the man trying to open the door through the slit between the door and door frame. I scrambled for a weapon, anything, and suddenly something burst into my subconscious - water! My frenzied hands found a hose on the floor and I turned on the tap and opened the door at the same time, spraying a weak jet of water at the mercenary outside. Strangely it worked, and I ran out back into the building.

I had shaken off most off my pursuers, and only one female adversary remained. We were in a stalemate on an isolated sun deck of sorts. There were staircases running down at both the extreme ends of the sun deck, but they were connected by a corridor. There was only one way out, and she was there. We looked into each other's eyes. She was poised, ready to strike, at the foot of the stairs. I was tensed, my legs shaking slightly, ready to give the burst of power I need to get away from her. I moved. Sprinting across the sun deck, I suddenly realised she wasn't following. Shit! She knew I was counting on her to give chase, so I could get her away from the exit. I stopped, coming back the way I have come. True enough, she was still waiting there.

I ran back to the other staircase, then came back again. She was still there. I ran back and stopped halfway, trying to give her the impression that I was really going to the other staircase and thus taking more time than usual. Then I threw caution to the winds and sprinted back. She had taken the bait and was running back up the corridor to corner me. I threw myself out of the exit and sprinted across a deserted HDB estate. My excitement grew with each leap and bound as I observed my surroundings. The female had lost sight of me, and there were no other pursuers around.

I was transported back into the building. Three adversaries were onto me. I was panting heavily. There was really no way out now. I ran towards a door. The sign on top of the door said "Love Hotels". Before I could think of what that meant, I had already burst through the door into a long, narrow passageway. The passageway was lined with what looked like a never-ending series of front-opening washing machines. Panicking, I opened the door of the fourth washing machine and stepped inside, hurriedly closing it behind me. There was a circular piece of glass molded into the door, frosted so that you can only see blurred outlines of the other washing machines outside. My pursuers have disappeared, momentarily, I found out later. I took this while to catch my breath and look around.

My heart skipped a beat when I made a startling discovery; some of the other washing machines were filled with couples inside, making out. When the sound of my heartbeat and breathing slowly died away, I could also hear muffled moans. Then the realisation of what "Love Hotels" meant hit me. These were not washing machines.

I heard the pounding of footsteps. My pursuers had found my trace. I turned my face towards the inside of the "washing machine" and mimicked the motions and sounds of the other "washing machines".

I breathed a sigh of relief when they finally left the passageway.

吃月饼，杀鞑子，音为爱

此刻难以入寝，并不因为睡了一整天而精神饱满；则是刚看了泰语片《SuckSeed》(谐音"succeed")，觉得女主角甜美无比，竟无法入眠。无聊间在网上找寻周杰伦周董的旧歌，阅读金庸的《倚天屠龙记》，顺便查阅关于文言文，月饼，明教等互不相干的资料。


有时俗事缠身，心事甚多，积得胸口窒息、气血翻腾，想要找人谈话散心。
有时却颇为感慨，觉得这一切也没什么，诉苦反而显得懦弱了。

“君子素其位而行，不愿乎其外。素富贵行乎富贵，素贫贱行乎贫贱”
“投身岩下铜鸟居，须是还他大丈夫；拾得营谋谁可得，通行天地此人无。”


www.ilovenattasha.com

It's going to be a long week

I have been craving for sushi, particularly Tamago Sushi! The buffet at Sakura with Team Huat and that at Sakae with 05/10 FT changed my life forever. I believe that up till that dinner at Sakura I have only nibbled a piece of sushi, found that I didn't like the sour taste, and forever swore off it.

Feeling adventurous and hungry I took a piece of each sushi on display and thereafter the place of contemporary sushi in my heart changed. I know I should not indulge in such high-calorie food, and especially not at buffets, but how can I resist?!

Fatboy am I

Having a sudden interest in getting off my couch at home, I started hunting for places of interest and good eating places online. Alas, all I could come up with are the ArtScience Museum (to see Dali and van Gogh), tcc the connoisseur concerto - The Gallery (to have a cuppa while looking at fairytale-inspired art), Singapore Art Museum (to see established Singaporean ink artist Tan Oe Pang, Singapore Street Festival, MINT Museum of Toys and the turtle sanctuary at Chinese Garden.

Nobody was interested. Haha!

On a happier note, I went out with JQ and weijie to have buffets, and it's pretty insane that I had so many buffets in such a short period of time. Just 27th june I had Sakae with 05/10 FT. Then I had Nihon Mura (good!) instead of Tarafuku which was the original plan (goddamn crowded) with JQ on monday, and yesterday was Momiji with weijie (sucks! poor variety, un-tasty).

Taking on a more depressive tune, I have also largely overspent for this month.

On a not-so-depressive note, I have converted my 1,3,5 Life Run to 2,3,4,5,6,7 Life Run. Jogging slowly I took my time looking at pretty schoolgirls and office ladies. Awesome.

Time for a sweet morning drink!

with pride They lead

The specialist cadets of 07/11 Professional Term (the obsolete 58th 'ASLC') did their final specialist roar and tossed their berets at Leaders Square, Pasir Laba Camp tonight.

I am glad that I was helping with live feed and most of the time I was closer to the graduates than anyone of the audience. Looking at what both the trainees of Golf Foundation and Juliet Professional Terms have become, I suddenly felt that I have done something right..