Shack Syndrome

Something happened last week which reminded me of the LOG PT which most Singaporean guys did in BMT... (note: the above pic is obviously not SAF soldiers. But the LOG PT is the same though)

A typical exchange of words during participants in a Log PT are as follows:

Recruit 1(positioned right in front) : "#@($*#)@ lah!!! Can u all at the back don't chao geng leh!!! Lift the $#*@() log up can or not!!! I can't do all the work myself ok!!!"

Recruit 2 (positioned in the centre) : "(*@#)(*)@$ idiots!!! Don't think I don't know ahh!!! You guys on both ends don't act blur can or not!!! It's we in middle who's supporting the whole damn log up okie!!! Still want to #*$()@#)$ around with us!!! *)(@#)($ *()#*Q))()(Q$#"

Recruit 3 (positioned right at the back end) : *)@#($#)(@ people all of you!!! Only know how to )(Q@()$@#) complain!!! I've been doing the lifting while you guys in front @)(*#$()@) complain and chao geng all the way!!! Can you all shut the )(@#*()$*@) up and cooperate can or not?? )(@#*)($#@ sissies man!!!"

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Log PT is an excellent activity...

Just an hour of it accomplishes the following:
1) It builds up body strength and endurance,

2) It builds up team work and coordination,

3) It forces everyone to work together,

4) It forces everyone to communicate with each other,

5) It exposes every single weakness within each of us and forces people to quickly work together, rather than to blame one another.

6) There's no way that anyone could idle and get away with it because the log is simply too heavy and the pressure from others will be too great to do that.

7) It makes us all realise that all the most powerful vulgar language that we know will not help a single bit in making the task easier.

8) It forces us to realise that everyone will need to work just as hard to get the log over from one shouder, over our heads, and then down to the other shoulder.

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And what does the Shack Syndrome say?

"When a person is shack, he'll tend to think that he's the most shack person in the whole wide world."

An alternate way to put it could be:

"When you are shack from working very hard, you tend to feel that the whole world is idling and not doing their part."

The way to address the Shack Syndrome is perhaps to put them through a session of the Log PT... All forms of majestic ego and pride will have to be left behind and just work together to get the job done... And we will all leave this activity becoming stronger and fitter, and know how to work with each other...

I miss Log PT : )

Murder in Daylight

Master Choco is disgusted... big time...

The life-fountain in Simpleville was serviced a few days ago because the Red Tap, which was holistically designed with the safety of the users in mind, was spoilt... It wasn't the first time the Red Tap decided to go ka-poop... The double action safety device to dispense hot water was putting too much strain on the construction and material, and it was designed to fail...

So after a few months of malfunction, the service-man finally came to repair it...

Master Choco witnessed with his own eyes that the repairman took the entire day to change the taps into the normal, safety-less taps, the kind that we find almost everywhere... And Master Choco was quietly rejoicing for he's a firm believer that the simplest design is often the most effective and efficient design...

But lo and behold... The very next day, the taps were changed back to the original ones as shown in the picture above!!!

Daylight Murder!!!

We've made a repairman work one full day on the taps and now it's changed back to the original??? This is Criminal!!!

Master Choco is furiously disgusted... Incidentally and pathetically, he's reminded of the many things that goes on around him that went through the same treatment... So much effort and planning and designing put into place, but we often realise that we tend to have a tendency of finding solutions for problems that we create ourselves...

Another life's little irony...

Starfish Story

We are all very familiar with this famous starfish story which has been the beacon of light for a great many Jedi Knights...

Once an old man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the old man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the young person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the young person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The young person looked at the old man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the old man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

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Master Choco found an extended version recently during his course of work in Simpleville...

A young and promising lady, having heard the famous starfish story, was inspired to do the same thing by coming down to this same beach to save starfish...

She met the same young person moments after coming onto the beach...

To her surprise, the young person walked pass a starfish by his feet, but didn't do anything more than taking a look at the starfish, and walked on...

However, just after taking no more than a few steps, the young person stooped down and picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean...

The young lady was quite puzzled at the seemingly irresponsible act that the young person just committed... Wasn't this supposed to be the young person who had the right sense to know that it matters to every starfish along the way? Hadn't he inspired a great many promising young people like herself onto this beach and do this same magnanimous act? Why then had he decided to walk past that starfish and not do anything with it?

Being rightous and enthusiastic and feeling a wee bit of injustice, she decided to confront the young person...

"I'm kinda new here, but you saw that poor starfish, didn't you? Why did you give it a miss? I'll pick it up and throw it back to the ocean if you aren't going to do it..."

And without any further hesitation, she went towards the starfish which the young person missed.

As she approached that starfish, she realised that this starfish was a little different from most of the rest... It was sticking onto a flat piece of rock on the beach... In fact, it was sticking so tightly onto the rock that if she were to exert more force to peel it off, she might hurt the starfish or even kill it... The rock was too big and too entrenched into the sand that she couldn't have had the strength to unearth the rock and throw it together with the starfish back into the ocean either...

She looked up at the young person again, and saw him picking up some other starfish and throwing them into the ocean...

She went back up to him...

"So you knew that that starfish was stuck onto the rock?" she asked.

"I've been walking along this beach everday for the past 6 years... I know almost every starfish there are on this particular stretch of beach...

"There are serveral other starfish that are like that one... They are not ready to return back to the ocean yet...

But I'll come back to them when they are ready... And at the meantime, I can't just wait for any particular one to be ready and ignore those which are drying up and are ready to return to the ocean..."

What the young person didn't tell this promising young lady was that he was churning when she came to him questioningly with a look of doubt in her face... But quietly, he was hoping that this young lady would join him in his mission to save all the starfish on the beach... One at a time, not giving up on those which may not be ready at any point in time...

This is a HORSE!

Yes... I'm not kidding... This is a HORSE!

I may sound crazy (Crazyhorse?? duh...)... But it's just a matter of a game of definition...

We decide meanings to words... Once the wider community or all the people around starts to tell you that what you see above is a HORSE, you'll never think that it's a deer...

History has already provided this wisdom for us... I remember a chinese proverb (指鹿为马)... which literally means, "pointing to a deer but proclaiming it to be a horse".

This story came about back in ancient China, during the Qin dynasty... A powerful and power-hungry government official named 赵高, had evil intentions to oust the Emperor, 秦二世(son of 秦始皇) and take over the throne... in an attempt to test out how much power he had in the court, he played a trick with the rest...

He brought a deer into the court one day and pointed to it and proclaimed that it is a horse. The Emperor laughed at him for how could a man say that a deer is a horse? 赵高 proceeded to ask the rest of the court officials and MANY of them, for fear of him doing something nasty to them, agreed with 赵高 that the animal was indeed a HORSE... only a handful of honest and righteous officials insisted that it was a deer.

After that incident, the few officials who insisted on what they saw were sent to jail by 赵高, and this incident further consolidated his power in the court and moved him closer to oust the Emperor...

Such behaviours still permeates in modern day living... When the voices around us are powerful enough (or irritating enough for that matter), we'll believe that what they say is true (even though the truth may be far from it)...

And it makes sense to follow and conform to these voices... for you'll be deemed to be crazy or rebellious if you don't...

So... it was a HORSE that Master Choco fed back in Melbourne in 2001... no doubt about that... or was it???

Practicality vs Passion...

Practicality is buying a generic mp3 player that's functional and does its job...
Passion is having an obsession over iPods and having the perception that nothing else in the whole wide world is anywhere as good as an iPod...

Practicality is doing a thorough research and plan a travel itinerary so that the most economical and competitively priced package is found...
Passion is to travel without a fixed itinerary, and stop at any place along the main route of movement that appeals to one's taste, even though it may not be the most cost-efficient...

Practicality is to cover as much places as possible while travelling so that it seems like time is well spent and one could go back home and boast that such and such places have been covered...
Passion is to stay at a location longer than most would think necessary, and stay and watch the sky change color, watch the clouds move, watch the waves crash along the coast, wait till the sun peeps out of the clouds...

Practicality is to avoid offending and hurt other people even at the expense of hurting oneself...
Passion is to listen to one's heart...

Practicality is to remain status quo since it doesn't disturb the superficial normality, suffers less financial loss, possibility of living a comfortable life in a luxurious house, and lead a seemingly less stressful life...
Passion is jumping out of a plane, tagged onto a stranger, having the faith that the parachute which is packed by some unknown character will open when required, and just experience the freefall and thrill and exuberance...

Practicality is choosing a car with the most fuel-efficient engine, most freebies, most spacious interior and boot, and the most powerful engine that one's budget allows you to get...
Passion is choosing a car that gives you that inexplicable feeling with you look at it, and knowing that that's the one for you...

Hmmmmmm... Looks like Passion = Irrationality = Insanity...

Just perfect...

Then & Now...

Opportunity presented itself, and Master Choco found himself standing at the exact same spot in Christchurch, over the Avon River...

On the left, it was June 2000, winter...

On the right, it was November 2005, late spring...

5.5 years...

Then... Choco just began life as a Jedi apprentice... he just converted himself from the Dark Side, and was young and adventurous and was full of enthusiasm...

Now... Choco has become a Jedi Master... young at heart (hopefully), adventurous (see skydiving entry), and well, wisely enthusiastic...

In between, he has reached the 3423m Annapurna Base Camp, gone on solo travels, trained hundreds of padawans, been through ups and downs emotionally, seen Simpleville transformed from an almost dilpidated building into a spanking new headquarter, acquired a new RSP, seen his light saber change colours... and most importantly, he still believes in what he's living for...

It's a new year... who'll know what's in store 6 years later... Choco might end up going back to Christchurch's Avon River once more... whatever for, he sure hope it's for a wonderful reason...

Perception...

1. The process, act, or faculty of perceiving.
2. The effect or product of perceiving.
3. Psychology.
1. Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory.
2. The neurological processes by which such recognition and interpretation are effected.
4.
1. Insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving.
2. The capacity for such insight.

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Person A: Hey Choco!! I noticed something different about your RSP!!!

Person B: Who gave you that pair of bears?

Person C: You'll give others the perception that you are attached, you know?

Person D: You'll never able to get attached cos' you are giving people the wrong impression!

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Just 2 cute bears...

And such perceptions can run wild...

Societal norm?

Societal conditioning?

Societal stereotying?

Societal intolerance towards things other than the norm?

We are all brought up and conditioned to classify and categorise things around us quickly so as to make meaning out of everything... That's human nature... A natural need to understand... Or to be seen to understand... To make meaning out of nothing even...

7 Weddings Later...

7 weddings later... and I think I've had enough...

Been very priviledged to be asked to shoot for my close friends' weddings since 2001. And it's been 7 weddings that I've covered since...

I've just finished processing my last wedding coverage which took place in late October, and yes, I've owed the happy couple their wedding photos for nearly 2 months... I'm so ashamed of myself. The longest I've delayed the photos was 4 months. Maybe that's a reason why I should stop commiting myself to shoot weddings...

But seriously, I'm quite tired of shooting weddings. Although it's a joy to share the happiness and bring some smiles to friends with their wedding photos, I'm just beginning to feel tired of processing the sheer amount of photos, sitting in front of the computer for long hours, staring and adjusting the contrast, colours and brightness of the photos.

What's driving me on for 7 weddings has been the commitment to capture the happy and memorable moments for my good friends. I've contemplated doing this as a sideline, providing such services as a side line to earn some gear-acquisition income. But I finally figured out that I'll have absolutely no motivation to do such assignments if I don't know the wedding couple at all...

Moreover, I also began to feel pretty callous and numb towards weddings... I think I've covered enough weddings and attended enough weddings to figure out that what goes on on that blissful day is all but another day on their long journey of a lifetime together...

Whatever vows that were made, whatever meaningful proceedings that took place, whatever games that were played, regardless of how many guys that were present to fool a blindfolded bride and choose her groom by touching his hands, whatever songs that were sung by the groom to impress the bride, whatever promises that were made on stage, whatever foolish acts that were done to show their love towards each other..... All these aren't important at all...

All these would just be a beautiful shell, witnessed by hundreds of friends and relatives (just in case things don't go too well, the couple would hesitate to do foolish things cos' there's too many people to explain to), if right down in the core of it all, the foundation on which a marriage should be built on is absent...

I've seen a handful of weddings which I could really feel very right about... I could feel and see that these couples were really made for each other... It's hard to explain, I'll know when I see one... And I'm very happy for them for they are so blessed and I really envy them...

Having said so much, I'm just but a wanna-be photographer, observing marriages through my camera viewfinder... I'm not married, and neither do I have anyone whom I can marry in mind as yet... So what do I know about marriages?

Well, at least I know I won't marry for the sake of marrying, marry because of convenience, marry because others think it's time to get married, marry to please others, marry and end up realising that the person is not right, marry because it's part of my long term plan, marry in case I can't find another better one, marry in case I get too old, marry in case I'll be lonely when I'm old...

But really, what do we all know about marriage??? There'll always be a risk... How much risk and and ultimately how much commitment am I prepared to give?

I saw this beautiful quote in a gift shop at Christchurch Cathedral (New Zealand)... "Leap, and the net will appear..."

And to take the leap, there must be faith...

Conserve What We Love

Master Choco decided to do some soul-searching alone today...

He hopped onto his Red Swift Pod and drove aimlessly and lo and behold, he found Sungei Buloh Nature Wetland Reserve, a place he had always wanted to go to but didn't manage to cos' it's too out of the way to take public transport but now that he has his RSP he finally found the place...

Minutes after stepping into the wetland, Choco regretted not lugging his weapons of choice, his EOS 20D fixed with his well-weathered 70-200mm lens... Nevertheless, he trodded on, thinking that might as well, could be a good time to really enjoy the surroundings and not get too fixated in capturing shots...

The first thing that amazed Choco was when he was crossing a bridge across a stream, he realised that the stream was full of fish!!! There were even fish that 'flew' out of the water surface even!!! Not once or twice, but all the time!!! Choco stood rooted on the bridge watching these flying fish for a good 8 mins or so...

Then came the biggest surprise... As he was walking pass a look-out point beside the stream, he saw three nature observers armed with binoculars and a mega long camera lens. One of the observer kept looking at Choco, and Choco wondered if he was making too much noise (just light foot steps) and was disturbing them.

Curiosity got to Choco and he went forward to find out what they were engrossed in...

The moment he got near them, the lady who was looking at Choco moments ago, pushed her binoculars into Choco's hands and asked him to look at the opposite bank. For some cubs...

Choco was wondering initially what cubs he was supposed to look at... It was only when he peered into the binoculars that he saw a few SEA OTTER cubs!!!!!

Choco has seen sea otters in the zoo and on TV before... but not in the wild!! And never had he thought that such creatures could be found in Singapore!!!

Then moments later, the parents of the cubs appeared as well... The few nature observers got very excited and the lady (she's a staff of the wetland reserve) told him that they usually only see a pair of otters if they appear (which isn't too often), and this is the first time they see a family of them!! A quick count and there were two adults and 4 cubs in all!!!

They saw them swim, caught fish to eat, and swam past us in the opposite bank, till they disappeared into the far end of the stream...

The staff of the reserve told Choco that he's very very lucky indeed to see a family of sea otters here, and even more so since it's the first time that he's been to the weland reserve!!!

Lucky indeed... Choco felt very excited to know that in a concrete society like S'pore, a small part of the country is being conserved in it's most natural form and wildlife are actually thriving. And what Choco felt most happy about was that everyone in the country could come and learn and appreciate nature, or whatever that's left in the country...

We conserve what we love...
We love what we are taught to love...

We have much to do to eduacate our young what to love... so that they in turn will conserve what we all love...

Master Choco will return to this beautiful wetland again... and the next time, he'll go back with his 70-200mm light-saber...

Challenge By Choice

Master Choco dropped 12,000 feet down from the sky on 30 Nov 2005 onto Middle Earth...

To be more exact, it was at Paihia, Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand...

How did it happen?

- 3 seconds... was all it took for Master Choco to notice an airfield beside the road he was driving on as he was driving into the next town... There, he saw a huge sign saying "SkyDive"... the seed was planted...

- 5 mins.... was all it took for Master Choco to make the decision at the information centre at Paihia to sign up for the jump... NZ$265!!! Oh what the heck...

- 5 mins... was all it took for the van ride from the information centre in town to the airfield again...

- 30 mins... was all it took to get briefed on the procedures, wear the jumpsuit, wear the harness, wear the sexy headgear, get on board the propeller plane...

- 15 mins... was all it took for the plane to climb steadily to 12,000 feet

- 45 seconds... was all it took for free-fall... terminal velocity was really an out of this world experience... the view of Middle Earth from this height was absolutely stunning... Fear? What fear? The feeling of awe and excitement replaced everything else...

- 3 seconds... was all it took for the yellow parachute to open at 5,000 feet...

- 8 minutes... was all it took to glide gracefully back to Middle Earth... watching Middle Earth grow nearer and larger was simply breathtaking...

- A lifetime... will be what it'll take to forget this experience...

Middle Earth, Here I Come...

In about 10 hours time, Master Choco will board the plane to Middle Earth...

It was 5 and a half years ago that Master Choco first visited Middle Earth... He remembers vividly how serenely clean and beautiful the landscape was... Images of the places he visited still reside clearly in his memory down to the smallest details... It was the first time he saw snow falling quietly from the heavens... It was the first time he walked on the iceblue glacier... It was the first time he was almost tempted to do a bungee-jump...

This time round, Master Choco will stay in this wonderland for 12 solid days... Back to the land that left such a lovely impression on him...

But half of the time will be 'work'... Physical 'work'... Jedi training of sorts... Not just to learn how to wield the light saber gracefully, but also to learn dexterity and mind manipulation techinques, the trademark of powerful Jedi Knights... Not sure if Master Yoda will be there, cos' the Jedi trainers are from Middle-Earth... Master Choco is just hoping that the weather will not be too cold such that Choco will get frozen and crack into pieces...

The other half of the time is actually a black box at the moment in Master Choco's mind... Nothing's planned for... He doesn't know what's in store at the moment... He's just hoping and praying hard that Master Madcat's brilliant apparition of what our Lord might do to me at night DO NOT come true... Master Choco shall therefore sleep with the sharpest awareness of any disturbances to the Force...

May the Force be with Master Choco...

When Saying Nothing is Really Saying Something...

The Jedi Knights have been lying low and keeping silent for quite a while now...

Saying nothing need not mean that there's inactivity... Saying nothing need not mean that there's no battle... Saying nothing need not mean that we are tired and gone...

Saying nothing means we are transforming... Transforming into strategically mindful Masters... Transforming under the watchful eyes of the Lord into multi-tasking Masters who are expected to perform wonders in SimpleVille...

Master Choco is transforming... Not particularly sure of the final shape he'll take up actually... His colour of his light saber may change as well... He's not even sure if he can still wield his light saber as gracefully after the light saber has power-upped...

Nevertheless, Master Choco, as well as the other Master Jedis, know that the coming year ahead of everybody is going to be a scene that might be quite different from the past...

The Force is growing stronger... The Force is telling the Jedis that the impending war will be worth their effort... That their meaning of their very being in SimpleVille will be revealed next year...

They must stand firm and believe in the Force... They must stand tall and be unwavering and be as worthy as the lighthouse to guide the lost and misguided ships to shore safely...

Next year, the Jedis may have lesser things to voice out... But when nothing is being said, probably so much are being said...

May the Force be with them...

Out of Her Cocoon

She's now 'free'... from all the trampling and dust and dirt and noise and mess and chaos and haphazardness and inconveniences and darkness and rawness and rough edges and and and and.......

My Kitchen has now got a new look... We didn't ask if she likes it... But she can't decide for herself anyway...

To make the deal sweeter for her in lieu of the inconveniences we caused her, we gave her new granite top cabinets... we gave her new tiles on the floor... we gave her new tiles on the wall... we gave her a fresh coat of ceiling paint... we gave her a new dining table complete with 4 chairs... we gave her a new 1.8 m tall Mitsubishi refrigerator... we gave her a new 9 litres Toshiba washing machine... we gave her a new kitchen sink... we gave her a new stove...

There's a certain role that we expect Kitchen to perform now... given that she's now got a face-lift... A role that she might not have asked for... But it's definitely a role that she's expected to perform anyway...

Whatever it is, Kitchen is still the same old Kitchen to me... Face-lift or not, I don't see her differently... Face-lift or not, I know she's still the same old Kitchen... The way I know her...

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Talking about washing machines... this is (soon to be was) my 26 years old SANYO washing machine...

It's still working, mind you... Papa Choco was telling me that when he told the Courts salesperson that our old washing machine lasted us 26 years and asked if the latests technology machines can last as long, the salesperson reassuringly assured Papa Choco that these days, NOTHING is built to last that long anymore... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...

But I've been brought up to take care of things that I own... we'll do whatever that's within our means to ensure that these new sets of items in our Kitchen can last just as long as the first set that we had...

We'll take good care of Kitchen... no doubt about that...

Horny Horny...

Nothing's wrong with my RSP... Sent it to a workshop to install a pair of Stebel Magnum electric horns...

The original horn that came from the factory was a wee bit too whiny and nasal... absolutely no character at all...

Now, my RSP is capable of, as Master Madcat would put it, blowing up skirts... muahahahahah....

So if you don't want your skirt to be blown up or get a scare of your life, get out of my RSP's way... I mean business... kekek...

Insanity... Ignorance... Inhumanity...

12 Oct 2002 Bombing Site in Kuta Square
12 Oct 2002 Bombing Commemorative Site in Kuta Square
Jimbaran Beach Sunset
Kuta Beach Sunset

Master Choco and Master Madcat were in Bali in June 2004... They stayed at a hotel which was jus within 80 m of the bombing site on 12 Oct 2002... They thought that lightning wouldn't strike twice on the same spot...

But who would have guessed that they were only half correct... they were right in their judgement back then... but on 1 Oct 2005, lighting struck again...

By the same insanity...

By the same ignorance...

By the same inhumanity...

Let the 4 photos above, and all these Bali Photos , serve as a tribute to the beautiful Bali... As well as the tribute to the resilient Balinese who'll have to muster all that's pure and good in them, to overcome this disaster...

Let there be peace on Earth... Please...

Of Conversations & Reflections...

Conversation 1
Character A: Why doesn't you car have a bodykit?

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Character A: Why didn't you squeeze your agent for more freebies?

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Character A: Why didn't you ask for a multi-disc changer?

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Character A: Why is your cash rebate so little?

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...


Maybe it's because I don't know how to bargain...

Maybe it's because I don't need all those useless stuff, even though it makes us feel good knowing that we managed to make the life of another person worse off...

Maybe it's because I know what I want...

Maybe it's because I don't know what I want...

Maybe it's because I just don't care...

Maybe it's because I don't want to be like the rest...

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Conversation 2
Character B: Why don't you leave your Ville and find a better Ville elsewhere?

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Character B: The early bird catches it's worm, you know? The earlier you leave your Ville, the better...

Choco: ... ... ... ... ... ... ...


Maybe it's because I feel that there's still work to be done in my Ville...

Maybe it's because I still have much to learn in this little Ville of mine...

Maybe it's because I like my Ville...

Maybe it's because I know what I want...

Maybe it's because I don't know what I want...

Maybe it's because I just don't care...

Maybe it's because I don't want to be like the rest...

But the main reason is because... I'M NOT A BIRD!

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Reflections
I've been driving for the past 6 days... Steep learning curve for me... But at least I'm still alive, and other road users are still alive too... A few nasty glares, a few unfriendly horns... but by and large, I've become more confident on the roads...

On one of the few journeys that I had to make on the expressways, I realised that even though the traffic may be very heavy, as long as all the cars are moving and are traveling in the same direction and no drivers changes lanes or make exits, I could still travel in a fairly fast speed...

I realised that life is as such as well... In order to get what we want in our own respective lives, as long as we are not too different from the rest, follow the crowd, be like the rest, do what's expected of you, follow tradition, follow usual practices, follow usual conventions, follow even though you may not know where you are heading, the life of many many people can in fact be very easy and smooth sailing...

The Galactic Chief announced yesterday that we must allow more variation in teaching our young Padewans... We must allow them to persue their passion... We must allow them to be developed in their strengths... We need not conform and follow old rules which dictates over every and any individual...

It's time to be different... It's time to be different from others... It'll soon be alright to do things differently as long as our objectives are met...

Our "expressways" may soon turn chaotic because we may be seeing drivers heading in all directions... Directions that these drivers want to go...

But despite the chaos, people may soon get more fulfilment... Fulfilment from being able to go where they want...

But are we ready for such mindset change? Tradition, culture, societal perceptions, societal acceptance, are all extremely powerful forces... Choco will melt and boil and evaporate against such forces... As long as such forces (regardless of how long they've been held true) are still in places, resistance may be futile...

How do we change the perceptions from these forces? The guardians of such forces will protect their peaceful sanctuary till they vanish from all the planes of the galaxy... We might need half a generation more to fully embrace the notion of being different...

But alas, is life all about understanding how civilisation functions? Is life all about meeting expectations? Is life all about racing till the end of time?

What about love and passion and living life to the fullest? How about less judgement, and more embracing of life?

Such are questions that the latest Galactic Master Scheme released yesterday may not address... For that matter, such are questions that any Master Schemes (be it divine or mortal) do not address, unless we understand what we are living for...

Live life... Love life...

Swift My Way Home (^-^)

And so it is...

My Red Swift Pod has finally arrived...

Went all the way to Bukit Batok Crescent to collect it at 10.15 am... and when Agent S drove me into the car park, I saw my RSP waiting there for me...

Routine checks, passing of keys, signing of documents, etc, and off I went... to an "Auto-R-Us" nearby... CH came to see my RSP too, and we went shopping at Auto-R-Us...

Didn't buy much, other than car shampoo, a set of cheapo sports pedals and a waterproof tray for my mini boot... Accessories are in abundance but keep cool I shall, for not deep is my wallet...

After leaving Auto-R-Us, I went on a mini scavenger hunt of roads (cos' I'm never familiar with roads names that starts with mountains)...

And so it is, whatever complimentary fuel that came with my RSP were soon used up... Went to inject a full tank, and drove around for another 50 km or so, just to get the kick of it...

Hmmmm... I realise driving around is kinda fun... Especially when I'm alone, with the music blasted loudly (I think I might have burst the poor paper cone speakers... time to hunt around for ICE)... It's kinda therapeutic...

If only fuel price were lower, I would make it a new mini past-time, driving around quiet roads... But alas, Katrina came at a wrong time and foiled my plans... Shall shelf that thought when fuel prices drop further (if ever)...

Anyway, I think that the above pictures were horribly taken... Next thing to do will be finding a secluded spot and take brochure-like photos of my RSP... Will have to jio my uni/photography/car buddy, CH, for a photo shoot soon... He's got a new Honda Jazz recently as well...

Okie, the number plate is there for all to see... Go do some four-digit charity this weekend... If the number strikes, don't forget to call me out for a drink...

She's Coming Out of the Dark...

My Kitchen's finally showing signs that she's coming out of the dark today...

For so long now, I've trampled over her when she's in a mess... But now that she's recovering, and for that matter, in the miraculous hands of her Creator, she's going to evolve and metamorphosise to become even more beautiful than she was before, I'm beginning to feel that I'll have no more role in this anymore...

The Kitchen has never been my territory... and now that she's coming around, I feel like I shall take a back seat and let who she deserves more to own her...

We've not asked her if she likes this metamorphosis or not... but relatives and friends and neighbours who visit has nothing but praises about how nice and grand it will be and so on...

So perhaps she will be happy... that she's got a facelift... a facelift into something that I can hardly recognise...

She doesn't have a choice over how she'll look on the outside... But I know that deep down, she's the same old Kitchen...

Sheares Bridge Run

Made myself wake up at an unearthly time of 0550 hrs this morning... For the SAFRA Sheares Bridge Run... Meeting six other Masters at City Hall MRT Station at 0630 hrs...

Very reluctantly, pealed myself out of bed... Reached AMK MRT at 0618 hrs... Train cabins were surprisingly packed for a Sunday morning... On closer look, there were quite a few in running gear and some army boys... So we were all heading for the same thing...

We got to find out that the run was actually 6.9 km, instead of the 6 km which we were made to believe when we signed up... Grhhh...

Anyway, I intended to just take it slow and easy and not push myself too hard for the run... so I started off just jogging slowly, letting those who were more hurried for time to overtake me...

It's been a while since I ran such a distance... Almost 4 months, I think... But I guess slow and steady helped me last the entire run...

The last 900m really reminded me of the last lap for the SOC (Standard Obstacle Course)... Almost there, but never reaching there kind of feeling... Once I turned into the road beside the Padang, I tried to open up my strides and I did overtake some Army boys who are much younger and supposedly fitter than me... But 900m was no joke... I slowed down again after reaching the last 600 m mark... Finishing point was still not quite there...

BUT... I'm 'Most Spontaneous' Master, remember? I have the ability to rise to the occasion... With about 200 m left to go, I somehow managed to summon untapped energy within me, and did a sprint towards the i-gantry... I was overtaking the rest like a hot blade cutting through butter...

I reached the end point at 0840 hrs... Flag off was shortly after 0800 hrs... hmmmm, I used to take slightly over 30 mins for 6 km... But hey, I've aged alright... Just pick any guy my age with similar work habits and I'm quite confident I can beat them flat...

I was the 2nd to return among the 7 Masters today... All Masters returned safe and sound and still able to walk properly... After collecting our well-deserved goodie bag (consisting some wonderfully useless stuff which were stuffed in there by the sponsors just for the sake of advertising) and a nameless certificate, we headed to Techno Geek City for a little washup and breakfast...

Masters disbanded at 1015 hrs... returning to their respective Motherships to recover quickly to get themselves ready for the start of a brand new final term tomorrow... Not a very nice thought... But haiz.... life goes on...

Tiles Up

Update on the metamorphosis of my kitchen...

Tiles on one side of the wall are up... Electrical wirings are ripped out of their housing and are dangling precariously down from the edges of the walls... There's also a water pipe hanging diagonally across the kitchen overhead... Quite a sight...

I've gone into hibernation in my room the past few days, but next week, my room will be in upheavel too... The electrical guys will be invading my only room of tranquility to run the wires to install more power points in my room (to support my growing gadgets such as audio amplifier, guitar amplifier, TV, DVD player, SCV cable box, camera drybox, laptop, numerous chargers, aircon)...

I found out to my horror that on two of the days next week, we'll have no power! They were kind enough to connect a light bulb in each of the rooms to assure and remind us that we need not set fire in the house to keep warm and have light...

I always know that modern people have already become slaves to technology... But I don't need to be reminded of that! I NEED electricity!!!

I think I shall just remain in Simpleville to enjoy the aircon and utilise the power for as late as I can on the days that are going to be powerless at home... Well, at least as late as the two gracious and kind Guradians of the Ville allow me to...

Not an easy week ahead... not easy indeed... Grhhhhhh

Swift Arrival (^-^)

And so it is...

Agent S called me today, informing me that my Red Swift Pod should be ready for collection next Saturday!

Earlier than I expected... but I'm not complaining...

A whole range of poison is awaiting to tempt me... Solar film, amplifier, component speakers, bodykits, sports pedals...

Everything in its time... everything in its time...

And so it is... my movement and arrival time should become 'swifter'... Or perhaps, because I no longer will cause anymore delays to my fellow Jedis' movements, it is THEIR arrivals which would become 'swifter'... kekekek...

I think I can hear lots of sighs of relieve from my fellow Jedis... ;p

Metamorphosis Too...

Metamorphosis seems like a favourite catch-word recently... The Dictionary.com defines it as:

1. A transformation, as by magic or sorcery.
2. A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.
3. Biology. A change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog.
4. Pathology. A usually degenerative change in the structure of a particular body tissue.

My kitchen is currently undergoing metamorphosis when I returned home today...


It's a transformation which brought about much inconvenience to all of us at home... Most specifically, my parents... They worked themselves tired the last few days taping cardboards and protective layerings on the living room floor, bedroom doors etc to prevent damage to be done when the workers bring in all the sand, cement, hacking equipment etc to tear the kitchen down, and finally, intall brand new cabinets and washing sink etc in the next 3 weeks...

I'm most ashamed to admit that I've no part to play in all these...

I've no idea how the new kitchen would look like... I've been keeping myself busy at work, and I return home late almost everyday... And I know I should be the last person at home to complain about the inconvenience...

I'm looking forward to the completion of the new kitchen... I wonder what kind of metamorphosis it'll go through...

You Can Bank On Them...

Today marks the start of COE bidding for this month... I'll know by Wednesday night if my car dealer is successful in their bidding...

In anticipation of the mega major cash outflow that'll follow, Master Choco obediently went to the Uh-Oh-Bank to close his fixed deposit accounts and transfer those cash to the People-Owned-Savings-Bank...

Scene in Uh-Oh-Bank
Choco : I'd like to close four of my fixed deposit accounts...

Female Bank-Officer : Four!?! Oh... can I have your IC please?

Choco : I'm sorry, I only brought my Driving License along. Is that alright?

Female Bank-Officer : Driving License? I need your IC... Because I need to see your address!

Choco : Ermm... But my Driving License has my NRIC no... do you think you can check my particulars from your computers?

Female Bank-Officer : But you want to close accounts. So I need your IC...

Choco : So is there any way out? I have accounts with your bank... you just probably need my NRIC no. right?

Female Bank-Officer : Let me make a call first...
(She called someone.. mumbled in Mandrin, presumably to her superior to seek clearance... Once she hung up her phone, she proceeded to clatter her keyboard and started to process my request of closing my FD accounts, without uttering a word to me.)

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My gosh... my life savings are deposited in your bank and this is how I was treated... Given that I've decided to withdraw a hefty sum out of the bank (just so that I can pay off my car downpayment), doesn't mean that I'm ending my banking relationship with Uh-Oh-Bank right?


Scene in People-Owned-Savings-Bank
Mega long queue on a Monday afternoon... Master Choco was sweating profusely due to long walk from Uh-Oh-Bank to current location... Perhaps carrying his life-saving in the form of a cheaque in his wallet freaked him out a bit too... Master Choco is an ultra unsophisticated and uncultured man who's greatest single purchase thus far in his not-so-young life is his camera... Quite a pathetic thought, so let's just move on...

So Master Choco joined the long queue and halfway through the line, an old Ah Mah joined the queue behind him,,, Master Choco, trying to behave in a socially acceptable manner, placed himself a body apart from a female customer in front of him... But who's to know that the old Ah Mah quietly but surely, side-stepped Master Choco and slipped herself nonchalently into this one body width gap, right in front of Master Choco!!!!

What the heck?!?!?! It's like daylight robbery! Master Choco felt like his right was taken away right under his nose!

He had two options: (i) tell the old Ah Mah politely that she has jumped queue, (ii) make a fuss of it and tell her off (cos' she was trying to do the same to the customer in front of her again)

But experience has taught Master Choco that either options will end up the same... That Master Choco will be seen as the ungentlemenly and ungracious idiot who kicked a fuss with an old lady...

Thus Master Choco took the third option... suffer in silence...

But on hindsight, Master Choco suddenly realised something... He has jumped the queue on someone as well... He has also tried to take away what's 'supposed' to 'belong' to someone else... He's like the old Ah Mah, robbed someone of their rights...

What goes around, comes around... Perhaps the old Ah Mah was there to give Master Choco a life lesson: Never get in the way of old women. It's futile to kick a fuss with them because they'll have their way anyway... Just take a step back and swollow the bitter medicine... Usually, they mean well...

Master Choco is hoping that he's interpreting it all correctly... ??!?!?!?

Most Spontaneous?

Master Chocoindryice has been voted "Most Spontaneous" by the Simpleville Padewan population...

However, Master Choco is in doubt whether the padewans understood the meaning of 'spontaneous'...

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According to the dictionary, SPONTANEOUS means:
1) Happening or arising without apparent external cause; self-generated.
2) Arising from a natural inclination or impulse and not from external incitement or constraint.
3) Unconstrained and unstudied in manner or behavior.
4) Growing without cultivation or human labor.

Hmmm... something's telling Master Choco that the padewans are trying to signal to him that he is 'UNPREDICTABLE'... Better not mess with Choco because, like a scorpion sting, he'll attack on impulse in an unconstrained and uncultured manner... Muahahahahah...

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Master Choco managed to interrogate a young Padewan by the name of Nituba-Comilletite and asked her in what ways were Master Choco 'spontaneous'...

She replied: "Because Master Choco always seems to be able to rise to the occassion in many of the things that he does, even when given short time to prepare..."

Hmmm... PLAM (prepare little, achieve more) perhaps? Muahahahahah

Balancing Point = Breaking Point

Very cool video...

Reminds us of how much of life is all about BALANCING... Before all that is beautiful and wonderful collaspes into ruins...

How temporal all things are... How thin the breaking point is...
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/864/

WAYANG

I realised that we don't need to wait till the Hungry Ghost Festival every year to see wayangs...

We get to see them everyday...

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Scene 1
Human nature abhors work... so to avoid being arrowed more work to do, we begin to act busy in front of the computers...

That's WAYANG...

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Scene 2
Humans are basically lemmings... it's difficult and is often futile to go against the current... there are many different sub-currents in the society... some strong, some not so strong, some currents were there all these while but nobody questions why they are there or are still valid, some currents seems strong and never ceasing and humans have decided to stop going against it since who knows when and the stupid thing is that the current might have ceased but humans still think that it hasn't and therefore don't have the courage to go back upstream...

And in order not to look stupid or offensive going upstream, we WAYANG...

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Scene 3
Sometimes it's funny how humans are not allowed to be happy...

In a work place, when u were allocated lesser work to do, it's sometimes not advisable to show too much happiness because some people may become envious and get offended, and in time to come, u'll be arrowed more work to do... especially work that others do not wish to do...

In personal lives, we sometimes wish to pursue things that we are happy doing for the rest of our lives... but if that's not what the others perceive as alright, they'll make a great hoo-ha over it until u succumb to their craziness...

When the human resolution is not strong enough, we WAYANG our way through just so as to gain some peace of mind (which the others will claim that u gained the peace because you've done the right thing by conforming to common belief)

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Scene 4
This will be a definite paradox...

Sometimes, we are also not allowed to display dissatisfaction, displeasure, suffering, pain or hurt... We will not be seen as 'right' because the others sometimes are not too receptive to us showing such feelings because they too are going through some form of dissatisfaction, displeasure, suffering, pain or hurt... So how could we be released from dissatisfaction, displeasure, suffering, pain or hurt when they are not...

So we learn to WAYANG and appear quite satisfied, pleased, not displaying any suffering, pain or hurt...

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Scene 4
It's interesting how, in the name of Accountability and Professionalism, which are highly regarded in order to portray good intentions and cooperativeness and to appear to be task-focused, we begin to do acts that we grumble over, but yet end up doing...

When we realised that we are rewarded for performing such tasks which we don't quite believe in, we begin to believe that maybe what we were asked to do were worth doing...

That's the final and complete transition into WAYANGism...

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Maybe that's the way it will be... maybe that's the way it should be in order to appear normal in our society... It's normal to wayang... and whoever does it well, gets on well...

It's not easy to tell if it's a good or bad thing to do, because reality is definitely perceived by the 'filters' that we are brought up to carry in our heads... maybe that's the reason we humans PERCEIVE ourselves to be superior beings because we are able to PERCEIVE a certain kind of reality that we choose to PERCEIVE...

Perception vs Deception... such a bloody fine line...

Had Fun?!?!

First working day after an eventful week... Such were some conversations exchanged...

Character A : So did you had fun?

Character B : So did you have a relaxing time?

Character C : Oh, it doesn't sound that bad...

Character D : Welcome back to the real world...

Chocoindryice : ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

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I guess that's human nature... personal problems and sufferings will always be worse than others'... when someone says how bad their situation is, it's not unusual to respond by saying "I've seen worse"...

How meek can humans be when we tend to feel that the world revolves around oneself...

Perhaps my photos didn't do justice to the sights and experiences we went through in Ban Nam Kem... Perhaps I've hid the sufferings underneath each of the faces... Perhaps I need to show more...

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Yan Yao Temple

This temple in Ban Nam Kem became the centre of media attention during the peak of the Tsunami. This very ground we stood on laid up to 6000 dead and decomposed bodies waiting to be recognised via DNA testings. The stench from the dead bodies were so bad that it could even be smelt from 800 m away... 60 cm of the ground was removed and replaced after all the bodies were removed as the Thais wanted to 'restore' the purity of the temple ground.

Fun? I was almost in tears...

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Containers at Bang Man Ruan

Within these containers, housed 404 unclaimed and unidentified bodies. They are kept at -10 degree celcius. The total dead bodies unclaimed from here, Phuket and Krabi amount to 2255 as of 24th Aug 2005. It's been 8 months, and bodies are left unclaimed...

Fun? I was almost in tears...

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Blue Boat in Ban Nam Kem

This blue boat has become somewhat a tourist attraction since 26th Dec 2004. This very spot is 1 km away from the coast!!! The depth of water required for bouancy is 3-5 metres. This is 1 km away from the coast... I don't need to further explain how much water rushed up shore to Ban Nam Kem...

Fun? Try telling this to the owner who was on the rooftop taking cover when this blue boat came to a halt just centimetres away from his house...

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Pai San, our beloved driver

Pai San was our "Soong tell" driver. Very friendly and fatherly figure. We got to know that he lost both his children (10 yr old son, and 18 yr old daughter) in the Tsunami. And he was driving us all around this trip learning more about the Tsunami. It might have opened up his wounds again, visiting these places...

On our way back to Phuket on Day 4, he stopped by his house. He went in and brought some photos out to show us. They were photos of his children when they were younger. And then he showed us a few printouts on A4 size papers. They were the pictures of the decomposed bodies of his two children when he went to claim their bodies...

I was in tears... I had to put on my shades to hide my tears...

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How do I express my emotions and feelings? Do photos do enough justice to the sufferings? Maybe, to some extent... But what you do not see, you do not feel...

I am truly humbled...

Zero Sum Game Part III

Came back from the Project Hope Spirit & Renewal at Khao Lak, Thailand yesterday.

What a trip...

Realised the magnitude of the destruction...

Saw the faces behind the disaster...

Learnt that the rebuilding of HARDware is the easy part... rebuilding of HEARTware is the difficult part...

I might have found the purpose of my being...

I might have found the reasons why I was 'sent' on this trip:
- to gain experience in conducting a Service Learning trip,
- to learn the importance of sustaining a humanitarian project,

Ironically, it's yet another zero-sum game, I realise... Khao Lak would not have received so much help in terms of financial, logistics and infra-structure, had it not have lost everything from the Tsunami...

In some weird way, I have lost something close to my heart, albeit gaining so much from the trip...

Maybe that's the way the maker of life wants it to be... maybe it's just meant to be...

(photo galleries of Proj HSR is at http://www.pbase.com/jiawang/proj_hsr )

Akan Datang

Welcome to the club, Master Kungfu Hamster said to me last week...

Welcome to the 'poor man's' club, CH my uni buddy said to me last night...

Well well well... and so I did... subjecting myself to slavery for the next 7 years...

Well, to prepare myself for a SWIFT arrival, I civically signed up for a driving refresher course, so that my 10 years of wheel-lessness doesn't make me a target for abuse by road users such as MadCat... kekek...

Well, lesson one went well today... covered lots of lost ground... Ubi, Hougang, TPE, PIE, Changi Airport, ECP, Eunos, Woodlands, Mandai, BKE... Realised I didn't lose much of touch... Cruising was smooth, overtaking was civilised, changing lane was sleek, U-turn was quite ok... Generally, I thought I was quite a un-intimidating driver...

Well, I was quite tired today, so I almost dozed off while driving along stretches of the light traffic expressways... But everything was under control... no need for alarm...

Well done, I thought... 10 years of inactivity, and I didn't cause any damage on the roads... not bad... Tomorrow will be the challenging final lesson... PARKING!!! But steady poon pee pee... I think I can pick it up again real fast... No sweat... And furthermore, my Swift is petite... any slots lobang hole gaps oso can go in one... No fear...

Well well well... if things goes well, by end September, I shall have to cut down on my photography gear acquisitions, and sob sob, moderate my travelling ambitions too...

Welcome to the Club...

Deja Vu?

A Conversation in my Medical Centre some 12 years ago...

Senior Medic: Choco is new, inexperienced, and I don't really like him... Send him to the battery line and be a battery medic. HQ got enough medics already...

My Helpful Senior: But Choco is very hardworking. He is genuinely serious about his duties and is proficient in medical knowledge. I think he should stay in HQ.

Dr Barry, my Medical Officer: Choco can assist me. He's good. Let him stay in HQ.

Senior Medic: ....... ....... ....... Hmmm (sneering and thinking)... Then I'll give him a hard time in HQ...

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Index

- Senior Medic => a regular soldier medic who is trained in military medicine. The only regular soldier in every medical centre. Usually bossy in nature and not well-liked.

- Battery => a group of artillery gunners in a battalion. The equivalent of a platoon in an infantry unit.

- HQ medic => a medic who is deployed in the headquarters of the battalion. He'll work very closely with the Medical Officer and other HQ medics to perform more sophisticated field medical treatment or operations and are usually better in skills and knowledge.

- Medical Officer => the highest ranking NSF in the SAF. Usually does not have a good working relationship with Senior Medics simply because he is not a regular.

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Strangely, I wonder if I'm beginning to have a feeling of Deja Vu...

: (