G.Y. is going to be a leader of 6 men

2009-04-04T17:09:00.002+08:00

After a week of inactivity, I'm back. Well because I have forgotten to update the blog last week.

I created a facebook account. Because I had nothing much to do.

Actually I don't have much things to talk about anyway. I can surely mention my time spent in SISPEC. Like doing navigation, compass course, map test, learning signal equipment etc.

Then there is nothing much left to say. Aiya this is the life of a soldier getting a stay-in course in the army. Run everyday until your legs or lungs or heart give way. My platoon commander said, "Keep running; you're dying but not dead yet!"

To those who will be enlisted soon: try your very best, using as much determination as possible. Most of the time, you will think you can't achieve something, but the army will help(or force) you to achieve. At the end of the day, you will be the one enjoying the fruits of your achievement.

G.Y.

2009-03-21T00:43:00.003+08:00

Damn. I am sent to SISPEC. For those who don't know what SISPEC is, it stands for: Suffer In Silence Plus Extra Confinement. Worse still, I am sent to an Infantry course. Infantry is the last place I want to be in. It is boring and exhausting. Everything is by the feet, and I don't see why a person like me with a thin build, should be in Infantry. Not as if my legs are strong.

So I'm gonna be a 3rd Sergeant if I complete it successfully. What a disappointment, when I wanted to go OCS. Now, not only am I not able to go OCS, my application for Pilot vocation is also terminated. It appears to me that MINDEF has no consideration for such personal interests and the fact that I am tall enough and with perfect eyesight, did no help for me in becoming a pilot.

In other words, MINDEF somewhat smashed my dreams and aspirations. Fucked up.
As the song goes, "Oh mama can't you see, army is not the place for me..."

Sadly, MINDEF prefers scholars. People with good grades to enter OCS. Unfortunately, not of all these people possess the right attitude, the physical fitness and most importantly, leadership potential. But MINDEF seems to equate grades with leaders. So be it. I mustn't be the one who can't have the grapes, and claim the grapes are sour. Perhaps one day, grades become the primary factor while loyalty to country is secondary.

Anyway I have not been reading much newspapers. But recently I know our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew urged parents to speak mandarin at home, so that more children will be proficient in mandarin. The MM also mentioned that dialects should be dropped, since it will divert children's attention on mandarin, and dialects only allows communication within the community.
Well actually there are 2 parts to this. I applaud MM's call for mandarin to be spoken at home. At least mandarin won't be dropped entirely. He should have said this long ago though. But I wonder how many parents today can speak fluent mandarin so they become proper mandarin tutors.

As for dialects, I have a different stand from the MM. I'm not very fluent with Hokkien or Cantonese. But picking up a dialect might give support or assist in learning mandarin, or perhaps vice versa. If we want Singapore to have a strong society, built upon strong bonds within families, how then do you expect grandparents to speak to their grandchildren without the use of dialects? Of course not all grandparents can only speak dialects and nothing else. However I believe majority of grandparents or the elderly know only dialects or mandarin. Even today, I feel guilty for not being able to understand my grandmother fully, because she speaks only Hokkien, and I need my mother as a translator. Plus if Singapore is heading towards an ageing population, we will definitely need more caregivers, and more attention will be spent on the elderly. How then do we expect ourselves to communicate with the elderly without dialects? How then do we understand their needs? It will still be a long time before the elderly becomes proficient with at least English. Because that will be the time when your parents turn old.

As you might know, I have not travelled on the public transport for quite a while. So lately, I've been using the MRT like before. And I can't help to notice how, some foreigners, sadly Chinese nationals make up the bulk, seem to lack some travel-etiquette. And definitely some selfish Singaporeans have the same fault. They just seem to be oblivious to signages and yellow lines drawn on the floor. I mean, with all due respect, they have common sense don't they? Did the fact that there are yellow lines with arrows drawn at the doors, ever crossed their minds? And why do most people stand behind the yellow line, while they love to stand right in front of the door? Won't they find themselves, a little unique? Then of course, you can expect what happens when the doors open. They walk right through the crowd that is coming out. I'm of course disappointed that Singaporeans, being educated will display such behaviours. As for the foreigners, I do hope that they learn. If they truly wish to integrate into this society, there are norms and proper etiquette to abide by.
Yes, it takes 2 hands to clap. For foreigners to integrate into our society, the locals must be willing to accept them, and the foreigners themselves must make necessary changes. While I have no qualms over accepting foreigners, I find that they are not making sufficient changes. Maybe in their country, it's perfectly ok to squeeze your way through train crowds, but here in Singapore, can they please open their eyes to notice that things are different here?

G.Y.

2009-03-19T11:50:00.004+08:00

I haven't posted anything for quite some time. Reason is I'm slacking all day and night. I didn't have the mood to type and post. Haha since this is the block leave and I want to make full use of it, I intend to do nothing, just rest and recover.

Actually, I did do some stuff. Like I went for the open houses of NUS and NTU. I'm not sure which university appeals to me more. But I shall leave that to a later time, since there is no guarantee I will be accepted.

I also went to the IT Show. Nothing fanciful there. I wasn't looking for computers or laptops, so I skipped them all. I went straight for cameras instead. The show was huge, really large. So large that Mitsubishi decided to bring in refrigerators to the show. Makes no sense at all. They were showcasing some high-tech, state-of-the-art refrigerators huh?

Unfortunately at the Nikon booth, there was this salesman who couldn't resist showing off his knowledge. And he didn't like the idea of me holding a D700 for more than 30mins. So he spoke to me in a demeaning tone, like I was a complete idiot.

Me: Question to salesman - Why D300 can have 12.3 megapixels and D700, being a better camera, has only 12.1megapixels?
Salesman: D700 is full-frame. You know what is full-frame or not?
Me: Yes. A 36mm by 24mm sensor
Salesman: Ah, so how will the picture be?
Me: Maybe better
Salesman: MAYBE only ah?? You go back read your book first.

And so I walked off. The reason I said: Maybe was because you can't be sure of everything. It's quite apparent that salesman did not take GP, that being too absolute is not always a good thing. To a large extent, I know, D700 full frame gives many advantages over cropped sensor cameras. However, it is impossible for a D700 to triumph over cropped sensor cameras on every single aspect. And salesmen tend to use such absolute stands, in order to woo customers.
I'm not showing off my GP is good. I did not get an A for GP, in fact I got a C. But this is somewhat simple logic. Frankly, my mood was good that day, or else I would have replied the salesman with : Fuck you, understand?

I didn't take many pictures recently, partly due to the poor weather. And now I'm considering on whether to purchase a new lens. I'm proud to say I have not spent a single cent from my NS allowance. LOL.

G.Y.

2009-03-08T11:42:00.002+08:00

My results are screwed up. They suck so much that it is very difficult for me to come to terms with it.
I've got ABBCC.
Too few As and too many Cs. It has happened during O levels and now it has happened again - my results have disappointed me and I feel shortchanged because of the effort I have put in.

Sad to say many slackers scored better than me. Nevertheless these are my scores and this is reality but definitely not a reflection of my true capabilities. Damn.

Like most other people, I'm considering on which course to take. The difference is, I'm not spoilt for choice like others. My choice is actually quite limited, perhaps due to my interests being too specific.

Anyway, I shan't dwell on that. A-level is over and done with and I understand that my results are that bad if I compare with some other people. But heck, why compare with poorer scores to console yourself?

BMT is coming to an end. To be precise, 3 more days to Graduation Parade. And from then on, I will be a Private, no more a Recruit. So life now is much more relaxed and it's time to say goodbye to commanders whom I dislike. Great! But of course there is no guarantee that I will meet better commanders in my next phase of training. Also, I will be parting with friends that I have known for 9weeks. There is no guarantee I will be in company of good friends once I leave P.Tekong.

I believe humans are instinctively resistant to change. What for change when you're comfortable with life? But I have no control over this change and I can only hope the change is a pleasant one.

G.Y.

2009-03-01T13:18:00.003+08:00

"Bobo shooter" and "bobo thrower" are the keyphrases of the week.

Actually I heard I'm not supposed to share military secrets or anything I've done in camp, to outsiders. That means speaking, writing or posting online is not allowed. As such, I went home this weekend with nothing to say to my parents.

But heck, perhaps I misintepreted the rule. Anyway I had Guard duty for Sunday. Guard duty is actually a regimental duty, but for my case, I lost a small brush, so the duty was given to me as a punishment. Damn it. The brush can be bought outside. Anyway upon completion of the duty, one may apply for a vocation in Guards unit. Lol. No I was kidding, Guard duty is quite crappy. I worked for 2 hours and was given 4hours rest. This is 1 cycle that has to be repeated 4 times throughout the 24hours duty. I was a prowler which means I walked around the camp for 2 hours. At least being a prowler keeps me awake as compared to sentries who will stand at their position for 2 hours. Suay ah...

Anyway after I have finished my 24hours, I didn't get much rest, and was sent to the live range for live firing test. This is a very bad combination because you can't afford to lose concentration while shooting. Given that I was tired, sleep is what I needed most. So it was quite tough to keep myself alert. In any case, live firing is freaking shiok. Finally I get to shoot the SAR21 with live bullets. If I'm not wrong, my score is 28/32. Good enough to be a marksman =) but the score is not confirmed. Initially I was afraid of misfires. 1 misfire and you can be charged and subsequently sent to detention barracks. But thankfully, there are sufficient safety measures to ensure you do not misfire, that is if you follow the safety measures carefully.

Then the rest of the week was quite crappy. After live firing, of course there will be a major clean-up of the rifle. Therefore, hours will be spent scrubbing parts of the rifle, so things that were in black will turn silver. On Thursday and Friday, I had to swim and crawl in wet mud. Then Saturday was the day for throwing a live grenade. This is usually done once in a lifetime. So better treasure the experience.
And for the first time, the commander begs his recruits to treasure life, and for goodness sake, please throw the grenade properly. No one wants to die. In other words, a recruit has the power to determine the fate of himself and his commander. It is a nice feeling, really.

I have more or less said the stuffs that I did in the week. It is somewhat exciting, definitely less physically demanding. 7 weeks have gone. I'm left with 2 weeks worth of BMT. I'll soon be leaving Pulau Tekong. And frankly, Tekong isn't a hellish place, although the treatment of recruits can sometimes be harsh. Still, being recruits have certain advantages. For example, punishments tend to be less severe, and recruits have less responsibilities. But of course, Tekong isn't a holiday resort.

G.Y.

2009-02-15T01:04:00.003+08:00

My first post for February! Wahaha I just received my salary.

Actually there is nothing much to say. Same old boring and tiring army stuff, like IPPT, AGR, SOC, BCCT... Except for a 6D5N Field Camp and another 3D2N outfield for Sitest.

In outfield, there are many disciplines to observe. That is in addition to the basic discipline that is already imposed in the army. Like we can't open a naked flame, can't use torchlights to recreate Deepavali, we got to keep trash with us and do our business at the selected latrine point. Worse of all, we have to apply camo cream everyday.

Since in outfield there is no bathing, except for powder bath, our faces are always with camo cream and the camo dissolves in sweat. The thing is we sweat all the time. And so we have to touch up the camo periodically. Over the days, our faces are covered with layers of camo.
It doesn't really matter if you stink. Because everyone else stinks. And if you smell differently, something is wrong with you.

If you're afraid of ants or insects, then all I can say is good luck to you. Field camp isn't a picnic on grass. It is more of rolling on the sand. I have no qualms over sitting on soil. But it is kind of heart aching to dirty my clothes. Eventually the green uniform will turn yellowish-brown. The uniform is almost always wet with sweat, so dry uniforms don't really matter. Frankly I got used to the sand and I liked it. I felt weird when I sat on concrete floors after the field camp has ended.

Of course there are punishments, and it tends to be more harsh. Nice things like jumping jacks, crunches and pumpings with endless count of 4. It is a terrible feeling when you're punished. Especially when the fault doesn't lie with you, but the trouble was caused by some other cocksters. Oh heck la, 1 for all, all for 1, just keep kissing the ground and get over and done with.

Despite the tougher, and sometimes, more frequent punishments, I liked field camp for there was more autonomy and freedom. Really, there wasn't really a fixed timing for meals. And I recall having lots of free time, especially from the evening onwards. I spent hours chatting and sat around with friends for dinner. Oh yes, speaking of meals, we ate combat rations. Most say the rations were utterly disgusting. Somehow I found them nice. Maybe I'm just more tolerant :D

In field camp, we sleep on soil, without roof. So it can get really cold in the night. And of course we got no blankets. There is really no solution for that - just live with it and watch the stars.

Sitest is roughly the same as field camp, since it is outdoors in the field. Luckily there was no need for camo. What a big relieve. Sitest is where external assessors will assess your capabilities to be a leader. See how fit are you to enter command school. Over the period of 2 days, we did 12 missions. Those missions are team-building based. Thus if your detail consists of useful and motivated people, then you will feel good working togehter and complete the missions. Completing missions is not a necessity, but it is of course good to complete and boost team morale.

I have less than a month of BMT to finish. I think I have gone through some of the tougher ones. Up ahead will be things like IPPT and SOC. The SOC really disappoints me. I managed to finish all stations when I wore only helmet and boots. But when I added the LBV and rifle, I struggled at many stations. Damn!

As always, book out day is what I forward to. Having confined last week, due to my rifle being stolen, book out is a sweet moment. In fact, everything little thing, no matter how simple, becomes very significant and important. I treasure them all. It is not that I'm deprived in camp. But army life tends to be so monotonous as we do physical and mental training every time. Surely no one can't wait to get back in camp?

G.Y.

2009-01-25T17:23:00.003+08:00

To everyone out there:

HAPPY CHINESE NIU YEAR!

新年快乐！万事如意！恭喜发财！

HUAT AH! 发发发，发啊！

G.Y.

2009-01-24T23:45:00.004+08:00

Haha yeah baby! I'm back at home!

In Pulau Tekong, I picked up new words that made my vocabulary richer. I managed to eat and drink fast. PT and exercises are boring. Drills are a waste of time. Basically going to the Army makes you stupid.

I'm serious. Being a recruit, you don't have to think. All you need to do, is obey orders from your superiors. The activities and actions in the day are planned by the commanders. As a result, you hardly have to use your brain.

Then isn't it ironic than the SAF wants every soldier to be a: Thinking Soldier? Not only I became stupid, I was detached from the outside world as I had no newspaper to read. So in essence, I have got nothing to think about. So how can I be a Thinking Soldier?

G.Y.

2009-01-09T07:00:00.002+08:00

Ok guys, I'm leaving for Pulau Tekong. Returning probably before CNY.

May the force be with me. Bye.

G.Y.

2009-01-08T16:33:00.005+08:00

I'm packing my bag now. Got nothing much to say. I mean when I was young, I feared NS. Yes, there are occasional accidents and deaths, but now I see it as a way of life. Nothing really to fear and nothing really exciting to expect. Well I guess if I prepare myself for the worse, everything there will appear good.

The government wants me, in fact it wants all fit males. Having lived for 18yrs, the time has come to serve the nation and waste my youth. Enlistment is just 15hrs away.

Anyway I just photoshopped some pictures again. Really I've got nothing better to do.

This is an emergency stairs that I have not seen anyone used before:

Random flower in MacRitchie Reservoir. I didn't crop because I want the messy background:

Somebody's pet dog:

A dog can be a bolster too:

What friendliness. I can tell you after I shot this, the brown dog got fed up and started barking at the white one. Scared the hell out of the curious white dog:

Ok I'm seriously bored. So I tried some effects on a dull photo:

G.Y.

2009-01-07T12:44:00.005+08:00

Hmm I'm going to leave for Tekong. And... oh yes Jin is leaving tomorrow. See you soon! Life goes on, and earth continues to spin.

Anyway, last night I chose to play Yuri's Revenge, since I might not have the opportunity to do so anymore. I played as France and used the map: Bay of Pigs. I tried the match for 3 times before getting it right as I aborted the mission twice.

Here's my stunning defense line:

It is not impenetratable actually. If you have a large force, you can test my defence head-on. Otherwise, you can try crippling my power supply and the defense line will break pretty quickly. But since I've got money, I can quickly bring in more Prism Tanks and Battle Fortresses as well. XD

And this morning, I came across this cartoon. It's a good joke about Canon if you can understand it. I'm sure all Canon users understand it. Too bad the company chose to invoke tensions between the rich users and the not-so-rich users.

Courtesy of http://blog.beetlebum.de

G.Y.

2009-01-05T22:41:00.005+08:00

Are you interested in learning how to cook?

Or want a new twist to those boring ah-maish cooking programmes on TV?

Let 2 pretty girls and 1 short Auntie show you how:

LOL. Seriously, watch the start of each show. Damn joke.

Episode: 这就是爱台湾啦！

Episode: 天妇罗 (Japanese food)

The 我变，我变，我变变变series

Episode: 一颗大白菜

Episode: 一颗花生

And Specially for Weixian,
Episode: 蛋炒饭 (Stir-fried Rice)

Hope you had enough and had fun. LOL

G.Y.

2009-01-05T14:33:00.005+08:00

Ok as promised, here are some of the photos I took on Friday evening. I think I somehow like strong black & white.

So here is a series of children, in black&white.

*Don't blame me if the pictures don't look good. Blame it on blogger or photobucket. They degrade the pictures when I upload them.*

School is just so boring. Have you felt the outside world being so colourful so interesting as compared to your classroom? Saw this girl as I walked past a primary school. Added some noise to the picture(maybe not enough):

Isn't riding on a toy car supposed to be fun? Well not exactly true for this boy:

Ok for the last 2: which one should I keep? The cropped version or uncropped?

Your mind is weak, I can feel it:

Wanna hear your comments on tagboard! :)

G.Y.

2009-01-04T17:48:00.002+08:00

I've just updated this blog to Version 1.0.2!

See on your left, there is a newly added: Labels column. For easier navigation in this blog.

G.Y.

2009-01-03T17:43:00.006+08:00

This morning, I went to MacRitchie reservoir again, to run. I saw runners from Swift Atheletic Association and they simply blazed past me. Sian..
Since today is Saturday, I had expected the area to be crowded by members of the public. However, I was surprised to see so many students. Raffles (JC and Institution), SJI, HC, RV, ACJC, CJC, PJC, and even AJC! Of course there were lots of pretty girls to look at, especially at the canoeing site XD. But as experience has taught me: when it comes to AJCians, with the distinctive, bright yellow&blue coloured PE shirts, I shouldn't bother to lift an eyelid...

Anyway I was reading the Straits Times just now and I should highlight this article: "The dead are pawns in politics," by Gwynne Dyer on page A20.
I couldn't agree with it more.

The Israelis have always been locked in a conflict with Palestinians and also the Arabs in the region. You can also see it as a constant fight by the Arabs to drive the Jews away. Such conflicts have been occuring since the Jewish state was created in 1948.

News of such conflicts, like the latest one, between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has raised international concern, but only to a small bit, with the exception of the Muslims. But there are limited ways in which outsiders can intervene. Most countries go for the near-useless method of "urging all parties to restrain and end the violence immediately." Sounds familiar? Nations of the UN Security Council might intervene to broker a peace accord. And the last option, which I believe, no country with the right mind will use, is to send in a peacekeeping force, or even send an army in to fight the Israelis.

I'm not very surprised or shocked when I heard of Israeli conflicts. It is like yet another. Yes, people do die, families destroyed, houses flatten. But what else can be done? Most of the Israelis and Palestinians are chasing after a dream, which I believe will never be fulfilled, in the near future, at least.

The Palestinians hope to destroy Israel completely. Add to the fact that the Hamas in the Gaza Strip is nothing more than a terrorist organsiation, headed by a bunch of crazy barbarians, chanting for an elusive goal. I'm sorry if I sound harsh. But what more can you say when this latest conflict that started in December 2008, it was the Hamas that pressed the trigger first? They fired rockets into Israel when the peace treaty expired. Surely the Hamas knew the Israelis would respond. In other words, they asked for it. Until now, Hamas chooses to be defiant and claims that this resistance must not stop.

And obviously you can't elimate a nation using rockets and mortars. When your enemy is well-trained and extremely well-equipped with high tech weapons. Mind you, these high tech weapons are meant to reduce errors of friendly fire and reduce civillian casualties. But as far as the Arabs can see, it is the worst possible form of oppression from the Jewish state in using advanced weapons against the innocent, the women, the children and their guerilla fighters.
It is indeed confusing. Imagine you're an Israeli solider on foot in the Gaza Strip with orders to kill Hamas soldiers on sight. Afterall, if you don't kill them, they will kill you. But who is Hamas? Will anyone wear a tag saying: I am from Hamas? Is that man in suit a suicide bomber? Could that old lady at the corner be a rocket launcher? Or is that kid throwing stones at you, demanding you to get out of Gaza, from Hamas?

And what's the Israeli dream? They hope the Palestinians and Hizbollah in Lebanon won't disturb them with attacks. This seems to be a relatively simple hope, but when you're confronting barbarians and fanatics, it becomes an order that might just be too tall to reach. Do you think you can sit down peacefully and talk with barbarians to reach a longlasting ceasefire agreement? Quite unlikely. The barbarians are far too eager in drawing their weapons for a fight. And in fights, certainly Israel won't lose. It will hold it's ground steady and eventually reach a status quo. However this does not mean the Jewish state was won. As seen from past conflicts, Israel has failed to stamp out Hizbollah and Hamas entirely. Within months after an end of a conflict, a new one will start.

In fact, the fanatic and mindless Palestinians would love to see Israel fight them. Like Gwynne has mentioned, the dead are pawns. For each person killed, Hamas and Hizbollah grows stronger, with more supporters. Israel can conducted targeted airstrikes to assasinate high ranking leaders of Hamas and Hizbollah, crippling their operations for a moment, but soon a new figure emerges to take the position. As this cycle continues, conflicts with Israel will not likely to end in the near future.

This is a major problem in fighting terrorists. Often their power to influence the minds of people is the root of the problem. Such wars are unlikely to be settled using military might, but with brainwashes or mind control or better influences. If the Palestinians truly want peace, they should resort to logic and not feelings. They must condemn Hamas to reduce it's influence. Hamas and its fantastical and unattainable ideals. Fatah in the West Bank is doing pretty well. Palestinians from Gaza should take a leaf from those in the West Bank.

I admit that I'm biased towards Israel. But I don't want to see a conflict fought by an organisation that has absolute no regards for human life. Hamas knew firing rockets isn't a long term solution, and Israel will kill more. More Palestinians to be exact. Effectively isn't Hamas using the lives of their fellow Palestinians to achieve the unacheivable? Whatever for? Can't they get along with the Israelis?

Oh yes 1 more thing:
It is understandable that Arabs and Muslims become angry when Israel starts a fight with Palestinians or any of their neighbours. Then again, the Muslims in Singapore seem unmoved. Perhaps Muslims here are educated and are discerning enough to take an appropriate. Or I may be wrong. But what truly amuses me is the reaction from Indonesians and Malaysians Muslims. Often they will take to the streets, holding banners and chanting slogans like: Israelis are murderers etc..
To me, they seem as though they feel neglected. Being at one corner of the world, far away from the Middle East, they want their voices heard. Well actually, if the Indonesians and Malaysian Muslims are really that free and have got nothing to do, why not go to Gaza and fight with the Palestinians? Since they are so moved and sympathetic to the plight of Gazans, just go there and help them out. What's the use in having a loud voice when it is the action that counts?

G.Y.

2009-01-02T23:51:00.003+08:00

Hmm there seems to be something wrong with Blogger.

Well anyway, yesterday I went around looking for a new non-camera phone. No I'm not talking about those ancient phones without camera. I'm looking for a whole new one. Usually those no-nonsense business phones come without a camera.

I saw the Nokia E51 at Singtel HelloShop. It costs $188, and the trade-in price of E51 now, is a mere $100. Which is to say, if I buy the E51 now, I would lost $88 on the moment transaction is made. What a stupid idea. Daylight robbery....

I also spoke to this guy at the neighbour phone shop, and he said my handphone, the SonyEricssion W910i has tonnes of problems and so the trade-in price is low. Depending on the condition of my phone. Sigh....

I'm not sure if I should jump ship and get phones of other brands. This damned W910i has caused me to visit the SonyEricsson Service Centre for 4 times. And actually the phone is still displaying problems now. It restarts itself automatically, without warning. That is why I want to get rid of it. I'm so used to SonyEricsson SMS keystrokes. Although I can adapt, but I've always found the T9 method of SonyEricsson phones to be the fastest and smartest. Nokia is downright dumb.

I also went to clean my teeth yesterday. As far as I could see, there were some stubborn stains on my teeth. However the dentist saw a hole through one of my tooth. So it had to be patched up and stop the infection within the tooth. The whole process took less than an hour, but cost me $150. It's good to be a dentist. Consider Dentistry.

As for today, I went downstairs in the evening to take some pictures. I think...I've got some nice catches. Will be uploading soon :D

G.Y.

2009-01-01T00:01:00.004+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY 2009! HUAT HUAT HUAT AH!

What's my new year resolution? A damn old and stupid question. But if would to answer it, I would say: Grow fitter and convince people to buy me a D3x. XD

Well looking back at 2008, it hasn't been a good year.
Let me try recalling major events. In no particular order.

- Singapore lost Mas Selamat, as he escaped from Whitley Detention Centre. Sparking an island-wide hunt.

- Singapore wins an Olympic Medal in 48 years. A Silver medal from Table Tennis. Now that coach Liu Guo Dong is gone, we might not win anymore. Screw you Lee Bee Hwa!

- Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac went into finanial difficulties. Lehmann Brothers collapsed. AIG asked for a bailout. And as you know, this triggered a worldwide financial crisis, that we're now suffering. Damn.

- Category A COE (for cars below 1600cc) dropped to the lowest price in history: $2.

- Singapore Flyer came to a standstill. Passengers trapped for 6hrs. Investigation is in progress.

- Singapore hosted its first street F1 race. At the same time, it's the world's first F1 Night Race.

- First ever Black America president: Barack Obama.

- Chinese dairy products tainted with Melamine.

- China hosted it's first Olympic Games. The Opening Ceremony was on 8th August 2008.

- Chinese Sichuan earthquake causing massive devastation.

- 6 new ERP gantries in Singapore

- New uniform issued to NSmen.

- Singapore's first terror victim overeseas: Lo Hwei Yen. Dead in Mumbai.

- Ma Ying Jiu wins presidency in Taiwan. Putting the KuoMinTang back into power.

- Ex-Taiwanese president Chen Shui-Bian charged for graft and corruption.

- Thailand changed it's Prime Minister for the 3rd time in 2008. First, Samak, then Somchai, now Abhisit.

- Nikon D3, D300, AF-S 14-24 F2.8, AF-S 24-70 F2.8 had a clean sweep for TIPA and EISA awards.

- Marina Barrage construction completes.

- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah decides to step down in 2009.

- Johor Bahru's new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex turns fully operational. Known as Kompleks Sultan Iskandar.

- Singaporean Ang Heng Soon flew to Vietnam, using his son's passort accidentally.

- Israel begins an All-Out-War in the Gaza strip.

- Apple iPhone and iPhone 3G launched by Singtel in Singapore.

- Toyota making first operational losses in 70years.

- Singapore opens KPE (Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway)

- Iceland becomes bankrupt. UN's Human Development Index (HDI) puts Iceland last in the list.

- Michael Phelps wins all 8 swimming events at the Olympics 2008. Usain Bolt sets new world record.

Lastly and most importantly, I bought a Nikon D70 and Nikkor AF 70-300mm F4-5.6D ED lens. :D

Will 2009 be a good year? I don't think so. I reckon it will be a tough for us all.

G.Y.

2008-12-31T19:26:00.008+08:00

Hmm I don't feel good now. Feel a little bit sick and sleep. Damn. After so much exercises, making myself fitter, I'm now sick?! And it is definitely not a good time now to get sick, when I'm supposed to report to Tekong in 9 days' time.

Anyway, here are some of the not-so-good shots from Sungei Buloh.

First, some Biology:

Little Egret in flight:

Sunbathing Monitor Lizard:

If you're serious about bird photography, you must have stuff like these:

G.Y.

2008-12-30T19:58:00.008+08:00

I'm pretty done with my bird photos. I can post them now. There are still some left, but I shall reserve them for the next post. In the meanwhile, enjoy :D.

Grey Heron. Too much foilage for my liking. Damn I should get a longer lens!

Little Egret:

A Great Egret and a Little Egret:

Pacific Golden Plovers:

Not sure if you can, but spot the odd bird in the picture XD:

A fed-up Mynah outside my house:

G.Y.

2008-12-29T15:08:00.006+08:00

I just did some minor renovation works to the blog. The blog now look wider, in preparation for my jiao photos. Jiao is a Hokkien word for Bird(s).

But of course I would have to do some editing to my bird photos before I can post them. So hang on and wait. Akan Datang. By the way the photos are taken during my trip to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve last Saturday.
Seriously, you guys should make your way there and see the real wildlife in action. I bet it is the tourist attraction site with the cheapest entrance fee.
$1 for Adults.
$0.50 for Senior Citizens/Students.

For now, I shall talk about service quality in Singapore. I just read about a customer's bad experience at a particular shop in Funan IT mall, which sells photographic equipment. It is not the first time I have read negative comments about that shop and I would urge people to refrain from visiting it. For all shopper's convenience, the shop is Bally Photo Electronics, #02-03B.

This post is not about a complaint, rather I question whether if service standards in Singapore has improved and if there is anything we can do, to put a stop to poor service, bad sales tactics and cheating. The talk on service quality appears on the papers on a regular basis, but poor service is still evident, if not rampant. Bally is just one of the many shops that I have heard of and come across.

The push for better service has been ongoing for a couple of years. Many campaigns have been launched. So many that I've forgotten their names. The most recent one, I believe, is the Singapore Service Star, launched by Singapore Tourism Board. You would be able to see their advertisments on TV. It is a label and sticker given to retailers with good service. Today major shops/companies/retailers have indeed improved their service quality. More effort is put into training their staff and there is more emphasis on meeting customers' needs, as well as giving a good general shopping experience to customers.

While there is no fixed way of rating service quality, it can be easily felt by the customers. From what I have felt, branded retailers and departmental stores have made the largest improvement. Places such as Courts, Metro, John Little, Cold Storage, McDonalds were able to give me satisfactory service quality. Most restaurants also tend to give good service. Some retailers have gone the extra mile to provide a more comfortable shopping experience. Ikea, for instance, has made shopping easier, by providing lifts and ramps for the physically disabled. Maps and signboards can be found everywhere to help you navigate through the mall. Better still, Ikea has set aside some space as playground for kids, so that their parents could shop, while the kids are looked after by Ikea staff. This I believe, is part of a movement by the government to urge business to become Pro-Family Businesses.

However, the majority of retailers/companies/entreprises in Singapore, are Small & Medium sized Entreprises, or SMEs. Those retailers I have mentioned above, are large sized corporations. Unfortunately, SMEs on the other hand, have made little, or no improvement to their service standards. This is surprising as SMEs have few staff to control and training schemes should have been easily conducted for the entire company. Given the small size of SMEs, staff management would been simpler and moving the company forward as whole, towards better service quality, would have been far easier than large, sluggish corporations.

That being said, there is of course a limit to how much SMEs can do self-improvement, as they might not have enough funding. You wouldn't expect the staff in stationary shop under your HDB block to wear uniforms. Or having staff to enquire if you need any help as you search for your stationary, like in a pharmacy. These implementations are obviously not feasible for small entreprises, but it can be done for slightly larger, medium sized companies. But a simple smile and courteous staff would be good. Honest and tolerant salespersons would be very much appreciated. Having knowledgable salespersons would also count under good service, since the salesperson can give accurate advice to clueless customers. These things are not difficult to achieve, for all companies, regardless of their size.

And not forgetting cheating, pressurising and hardsell tactics. These acts are highly undesirable and must be eradicated. Consumers have CASE to rely on, but it is hardly effective. Most people don't bother to report citing lack of time, troublesome, and lack of action even when cases are reported. Recently, there was an incident written on the papers, where a guy bought something at $X. Then he realised at some other shops, he could buy the same thing, at a price cheaper than $X by a few hundred. Feeling that he was cheated, he went to CASE. CASE replied him saying that the 'cheating' was not founded, because $X is lower than the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) set by the manufacturer.

As you can see, the guy is not being cheated, because he did get a discount, since $X is lower than RRP. Hence there is a limit to how much CASE can do. Consumers themselves MUST do their homework prior to purchase. If a shop charges you $1 below RRP, or even at RRP, cheating is not established. The guy didn't do his homework in finding the shop with the cheapest price and best deals, and so he has only own himself to be blamed.

What I propose, is a grading/ranking/rating scheme of all shops throughout Singapore. The National Environment Agency (NEA) did a pretty good job in ranking the hygiene standards of all food outlets using stickers, carrying letters A B C D E. With A being the cleanest of the lot. I think we should adopt this scheme in rating the service quality and honesty of retailers. Slap on a fine if the shop refuses to publicly display the stickers. In this way, consumers readily know which shop to visit, and which not to. Besides, we are praising shops with excellent service standards, and at the same time, punishing, through humiliation, of shops that consistently provide poor service or even cheat consumers. A fall in sales, since consumers won't enter the shop, will be an adequate wake up call to improve service quality or face closure.

After all, many consumers, local and abroad, have commented that they hope to see clear and understandable ranking of service standards. This gives consumers more knowledge and more power in making stand on poor service quality. Currently, there are far too many schemes or campaigns promoting good service, leaving consumers confused. While some shoppers don't even know they exist. Plus, the current schemes only serve to highlight and praise the good ones, and do nothing against the bad ones. Thus I call for a standardised rating system, based on feedback by consumers, to really push for service excellence in Singapore.

G.Y.

2008-12-27T20:48:00.005+08:00

It is quite amazing to see so many tourists come to Singapore each year. I have no idea why Singapore is so attractive to visitors. And some have come to this island for many times.
We know Singapore lacks resources and the cost of living is high here. Which means the cost of touring Singapore would be high as well. Compared to our neighbouring countries, we are a very expensive place to visit.

For example, a night at some old hotel in the East Coast area (I don't want to state the name) costs around SGD240. With the same money, you could be staying in some Business Suite rooms in KL. Nasi Lemak + Iced Lemon Tea in Sungei Buloh cafeteria will set you back by SGD6.90. Yes Sungei Buloh is a tourist attraction site and we would expected hyper-inflated prices there. But even under same circumstances in Malaysia, I don't believe a meal will cost SGD6.90.

Costs aside, Singapore has few attractions to offer. We may call the island a shopping paradise, but I personally think the range of goods available here is actually quite limited. Plus, shopping may not be on everybody's mind. Being a shopping paradise will only appeal to the shopaholics. I'm not one of those people. What about wildlife and nature sites? In Singapore, there aren't many and we can, at most, boast that we have the world's one and only Night Safari (and it's actually nothing compared to Kenyan savannas). We also don't have nice beaches with nice waves for surfers.

So the question is what makes Singapore that attractive to tourists? I'm not try degrade Singapore's image to outsiders. But seriously our neighbouring countries can offer much more and much cheaper than what's available here. Frankly, does anyone has any idea wby tourists want to come to Singapore?

G.Y.

2008-12-26T23:57:00.005+08:00

I did another round of screening and filtering of photos taken during Let's Take A Walk 2008.

You see the fun part of photography, is well, taking photos. The fun comes when you consider your options to get the right exposure. When you think of framing your picture. When you choose the best angle. When you try your best to make each photo tell a story. When you are in the heat of the moment and just want to capture that precious scene. And in all these, you show your artistic flair.

To fire flash or not?
What aperture to use?
What shutter speed to use?
Will I suffer from handshake blur?

And what is the torturous part? It is when you screen through your photos. When start to comparing your shots to keep only the best, and delete the rest. I have to remind myself with," quality, not quantity."

After an hour or so of filtering and screening, your eyes get tired, you become dizzy and you start to be sloppy. You begin to be less aware of differences in sharpness, differences in colours, differences in expressions of people..... the list goes on.

On some days, if you're lucky, you get more 'keepers.' Which means you delete less and keep most of your pics. If everything is going against you, and you screwed it all up, most likely you would end with probably 5% of total shots.

That is why I've learnt not to shoot pictures like a machine gun. Take some time. Relax a bit. After all the more you shoot, the more you have to filter. Tedious job. So even if the high end cameras these days boast 11frames per sec burst speed, I would use it only if absolutely necessary.

Anyway, I played with photoshop again and I did some processing. Tell me which suits you most.

Here's the coloured version:

Here's the B&W version:

Here's the same B&W version, but darker:

G.Y.

2008-12-26T15:46:00.003+08:00

It's boxing day!

Santa didn't seem to drop by my house. Sian. I was expecting some presents in gold-coloured box. XD

Well anyway I went out early this morning to MacRitchie reservoir for a run with my friend. The weather was perfect, except for some slight drizzle and the wind was chilling. Nevertheless I managed to stretch thoroughly. Wanted to run 4.8km but I think the route we took was shorter, around 3.6km

These days there isn't much opportunity for me to shoot. Even as I bring my D70 around, there isn't really anything eye-catching for me to capture. Seriously the landscape in Singapore is boring.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Sungei Buloh in the morning? Maybe there has got birds to catch.

G.Y.

2008-12-25T00:04:00.004+08:00

To:
Small friends,
Big friends,
That uncle downstairs,
That auntie downstairs,
Ah Mahs,
Ah Gongs,
Neighbours,
Neighbours' pets,
Photographers,
Nikonians,

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HUAT AH!

Jingle Pau..
Jingle Pau..
Jingle Char Siew Pau..
Lian Yoong Pau..
Tau Sar Pau..
Siew Mai, Lo Mai Kai..

Hey!
Sing along!

To further spread this celebratory message:
祝你圣诞节快乐！
Selamat Hari Kristmas!

G.Y

2008-12-24T13:28:00.005+08:00

I don't have much feelings for Christmas. Isn't it just another day?

I mean I don't see the point in eating turkey and drinking wine. And the point about giving gifts is just too superficial. Presents can be given at any time of the year and not restricted to Christmas. So why is Christmas that special?

I find this atmosphere or culture or mood of giving presents, originating from a consumerist attitude, fuelled by advertisments and sales and promotions from various stores. The shopping malls would love to have people coming in to buy buy buy.

So as you can see, with this current global recession, people are cutting back and spending less. In my view, it just goes to show people buy for the sake of buying and consuming. Not so much for the spirit and essence of Christmas, if there is any in the first place.

G.Y.

2008-12-23T17:18:00.003+08:00

My DESIRES. list is now becoming a Christmas wish list. Hehe XD
Yea well I know it's kinda long, but this gives people choices...

G.Y.

2008-12-22T17:30:00.007+08:00

2 days of photographing drained me flat. I'm still tired now, despite having an 11 hour sleep. From 1am to 12pm today. I feel very lethargic.

So again my lunch becomes my breakfast. And I have steamed buns 包 and 汤圆.
I think I should go read newspapers to kill time.

Anyway, I took some photos I've taken during the walk, and did Black&White processing using Photoshop. I was trying to achieve high contrast b&w. Let me know how you think :D

Not sure if you can still see the full EXIF.
Both shot using Nikon D70 + Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 at ISO500. Flash not fired.

2008-12-21T16:00:00.005+08:00

I'm back! Where was I? I was all over the island of Singapore. To be exact, the central and eastern side of the island.

Today marks the successful completion of Let's Take A Walk 2008 by Raleigh Society, and MINDS as the Co-Beneficiary.
Let's Take A Walk, or LTAW for short, is a charity walk to raise funds and participants will attempt to complete the route they signed up for. There are 3 routes avaialble.
Jalan Walk - 10km
Power Walk - 50km
Extreme Walk - 100km

So naturally the participants of the 100km walk started first, at 8am yesterday at MINDS Margret Drive HQ, while walkers of the 50km walk started 8pm last night at Tampines Stadium. Then this morning, 8am, participants of Jalan Walk flagged off at East Coast Park BigSplash. Did you see any of our walkers?

I was there to take photos. I volunteered as a photographer, but luckily I'm not the only one. Phew~ Come to think of it, I didn't have anything to receive. I'm no longer an AJC student and so CIP hours mean nothing to me. Also, I'm no paid for covering the events. It was purely based on my interest. I worked from 7am to 11pm yesterday. This morning 7am I'm back there again, and left at 2.30pm.

I'm at home now and tired, but definitely not as bad as what the walkers have experienced. Yesterday I walked a section with some of the walkers, it was round 13.1km long, under the big hot afternoon sun. But my job was to take photographs, which meant I carried all my equipment with me for the walk. And for your information, they are not light. I finished the section in about 2hr50mins.
But well, the walk is not a competition, it's more of a personal challenge. There is no time limit, you do own time own target. If you want to cheat and take taxi then watch movie, no one will be stopping you.

So being a volunteer, I think I should be feeling spiritually satisfied. I hope I improved my skills. That's it. Ok la, I did get some goodies - I had free meals, water, an Old Change Kee curry puff from Ms Casey Goh and a LTAW T-shirt for free...

Some of the walkers are serious and trained walkers. They walk at some amazing speeds. Some are runners who have taken part in Marathons like Real Run, Standard Chartered etc, and signed up to walk for fun. There is also a group of walkers who have no experience, did no preparation and just participated anyway.
Another interesting sight would be the support teams. As there are checkpoints along the route, some support teams, comprising of family members of friends, would bring food, soup, aerobics mat etc and camp at the checkpoint to greet the walkers. Other supporting members chose to walk a portion of the route with the walkers, for example the last 20km etc.

It is a real surprise that some 872 people signed up. The registration period, I heard, was closed earlier than planned, due to the overwhelming response. The organisers have too few manpower and logistics equipment to cope. You have to pay to participate, and it's not exactly cheap, although the money goes to the beneficiaries. It's $60 for both 50km and 100km walk. $25 for 10km. You have nothing much to gain except for a certificate of completion. You make yourself sweat, tired, suffer from blisters, injuries and strain. Yet so many people still took part. One word to describe my feeling towards the walkers - repsect.

I think this walk is a biennial event. Anybody interested to join? I might try the 50km or 100km. Woot! But I think I'll still be in the army. I would plenty of opportunity to walk.

G.Y.

2008-12-19T23:00:00.001+08:00

Woke up at 10am today, by my trusty radio-alarm clock. Instead of hearing crisp, clear sounds of 987FM, I heard some gibberish garbish crap. Aarggh!

Some joker turned the tuning dial and I was no longer tuned to exact 98.70FM. Damn analogue stuff. If it was digital, tuning would have been a breeze.

Anyway if you know me well, I don't usually wake at such early hours. It is because I have to go to the zoo. I have a card that admits 4 people, so I got 3 friends to come along.

Of course I brought my D70 with 70-300D ED lens along. But today is a cloudy day, and I reached the zoo only at 2pm, so lighting is not on my side. I've got the SB600 but it's far from perfect with it's small guidenumber. I just made do with what I can. I'll be uploading some pictures soon, after I've done some filtering.

The zoo is a very nice place, especially with frequent breeze from the Mandai Lake. It has undergone some renovation and revamping. So the zoo really looks fresh and new. Check out this new place at the north of the zoo, called Rainforest KidzWorld. You get your swimsuit ready too. XD Even if you're not a kid, like I'm not, that place has KFC and lots of children playing around. Kinda like a happy place. It feels like some theme park. If you're a paedophile, it's a place you shouldn't miss.

Speaking of KFC, it is place where bad chicken smell good. I'm not sure if KFC actually says they use the freshest ingredients, but if you look carefully, the bones of the chickens usually look black and sometimes red due to the blood. Black coloured bones is the sign of not-so-fresh chicken. Coupled with oily fatty fried food, eating at KFC is an ultimate indulgence that would cost you your health. Think twice before you enter that restaurant. And somehow, it has this unmistakable smell that puts me off, because it stinks.

Luckily I have just bathed. Or else I would stink too. There are a couple of exhibits in the zoo that really stink. Top on the list would be the Asian Small Clawed Otters. Never go near it, unless you wear a gas mask. :D But the otters are definitely cute. I took me some 5mins to get accustomed to the smell and after that, everything smelt nice. LOL.

G.Y.

2008-12-19T22:41:00.001+08:00

THIS BLOG IS OFFICIALLY OPENED!

I'm popping a bottle of wine for myself. Hooray!

If you're thinking how do I look like, well here's a clue:

Thanks for the visit. Do come back often!