Swiftly Defensive

I am SWIFT...

But Defensively Swift... ;)



Attended a Suzuki Swift Defensive Driving course two Sundays ago... In a nutshell, I've learnt to be more confident about how my Swift would respond under an emergency situation, and finally learnt how to activate the ABS (anti-lock braking system)... Could save my life...

The Aussie instructor asked all the participants a question which I've quite overlooked...

"What is the most important and critical safety feature in a car?"


Answer... The DRIVER

How many car accidents out there happened as a result of malfunctioned ABS?

How many car accidents out there happened as a result of no air-bag?

How many car accidents out there happened as a result of no Electronic Power Steering?

The "How many" question list goes on...

It's the driver... It's the driver... It's the driver...

And kind of interesting perspective because it's related to my previous post too, about "It's the Photographer"...

Honesty

Someone posted a comment on one of my galleries in Pbase recently (see above):

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Lena
Nothing special. You are not real photographer. You are just button pusher. Probably your camera is better and does not fit with you.
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Wasn't really bothered by this kind soul, but what kept me wondering was what's on the mind of him/her...

Frankly, Lena has uttered a lot of truth... I'm not a REAL photographer, just a button pusher... hahaha, how true... all I did was really push the shutter button to record the shot...

I was quite amused really, that Lena actually even bothered to comment... And I guess there just could be a few possibilities...

a) Lena is a professional and REAL photographer. And if so, this really is an extremely constructive feedback for me to think about :)

b) Lena is not a REAL photographer and merely drops by randomly and happen to hantam my gallery with this comment. And if so, I should just brush this comment aside and move on...

I've seen this quote somewhere which says "a camera helps the photographer record what he sees... But the photographer must first be able to SEE..."

I like this quote a lot because I'm a believer of "a photo is only as beautiful as the photographer can see"... Being a partially geeky guy, I have GAS (gear acquiring syndrome) as well... i.e., I'm fascinated and has a tendency to acquire better and newer gear...

But these quotes as mentioned above have kept me on the ground, and I've lost quite a lot of craving to keep up with the latest and newest camera bodies out there... My current EOS 20D has been my regular workhorse for the past 4 years... 4 years in today's pace of DSLR development translate to at least 3 generations of upgrades and better cameras... But I still can't find a good reason to upgrade simply because I still can get what I want to capture with my 20D...

Anyway, I'm glad this Lena character popped into my gallery this way because it's a timely reminder of what photography means to me, as well as a reminder for me to keep 'seeing' things around me in ways that are special...

As I've done so in my reply on my gallery, thank you once again, Lena, for your (brutal) honesty... hahahah (^o^)

(btw, my button-pushing photos can be see HERE)

iWonder

A recent short conversation with a Padawan went something like this:
Me - "Hey, I think as long as you take part in this XYZ activity, you'd still qualify to attain the most prestigious and highest attainable PQR Badge..."

Padawan - "I'm not interested in these attainments and badges anymore... I just want to go through and experience as much activities there are, and learn the most out of all of them... Because at the end of our life, everything will end up in dust..."

That reply shook me...

It really did...

Because it reminded me of how I used to look at life too...

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I remembered during the time of my Jedi training, a fellow trainee asked me what do I aspire to become in my work as a Jedi... And I replied that I'm not sure... I couldn't see very far how good or bad a Jedi I could be, but deep down, I knew that the path of the Jedi is what I want to be... And I knew deep down that this is the path that I should and would tread... I don't quite care if I'd just be a basic Jedi, a Jedi's Jedi, a Jedi of all Jedis or THE JEDI... All I wanted to be was to be a Jedi to train and bring up my Padawans well... What's in a name to the Jedi anyway?

I play the guitar... I learnt it almost all by myself... Having been greatly influenced by the Great Mr A... I read up on music theory, I read on up guitar playing techniques, I listened to lots and lots of guitar music, I watched guitar videos... But I just didn't have the FORMAL training to play the gutar... And most naturally, I do not have any FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS nor CERTIFICATIONS to ascertain my ability to play the guitar... But I enjoyed it thoroughly... Learning to play the guitar opened so much possibilities for me... It gave me my much-lacking self-confidence... It gave me my much-lacking sense of achievement... And most importantly, it gave me the exposure to a wide genre of music... So qualifications/certifications or not, I enjoy what I was doing...

I enjoyed and grew the most during my 3 years university education... Those were the days which shaped so much of my world view and perceptions and thinking... And ironically, the education I received most wasn't from the books... In fact, I did not manage to attain a GOOD DEGREE that we so often see being published in the Classified sections... I remember a good friend asked me after we graduated if I have any regrets for not having spent more time in studying to as to attain the GOOD DEGREE... And I replied that I have no regrets at all, because I learnt so much more lifeskills during my 3 years there...

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And now... iWonder... I wonder if I have lost some of that very pure and purposeful pursuit of my passions... I have a very strong conviction, still, that there's a great difference between "Doing things right" and "Doing the right things"... The former, I feel, is almost always easier... The latter demands moral courage...

Or maybe, I'm just being ignorantly naive...

But recently, I came across a very interesting definition of what a "Mind" is...
"A mind is just a construct of a great many thoughts"

And thoughts are temporal in nature... a state of mind at any cross section in time is but a fleeting moment in the multitude of criss-crossing thoughts... And it's almost always due to all the thoughts that bring us all up and down in our roller-coaster life... And all these attachments of life, which come in the forms of attainments, achievements, ranking, and qualifications, are just part of the temporal construct of our thoughts...

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And I thank this Padawan for reminding me of this... Reminding me that life is to be lived, rather than just a pursuit of achievements or attainments...

No doubt the world we live in usually and generally do not help remind us to LIVE our lives, but I hope I could gain some assurance that such is also the temporal nature of the world we live in too...

Photos Galore

Attention one and all...

Photos of school events are now available at MY PICASA GALLERY

Events such as:


NPCC CCU Competition 2008

NPCC Cadet Leaders Camp 2008

Singapore Flyer Experience

AND

GROWTH Camp @ Gunung Panti

All future photos of school events will be posted up there... Enjoy : )

Where is the Truth?

It was once a sacred land...  A peaceful and holy land...  The rooftop of the world...

Where prayers were sent up to the heavens by the winds...  Where the people take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha...
It is a piece of high altitude land which demands the hardiest of people, the most courageous of humans and the deepest of faith, in order to survive and thrive...  Where mother nature exposes the inhabitants of this land to extremities, its people has learnt to live in moderation and practice the middle path...
Such richness in culture...  Such depth in tradition...  Tracing back to ancient history...  Its people has occupied this high altitude plateau... 

But then in the 1950s, a neighbouring land began to LIBERATE this holy land...

As far as I'm concerned, this LIBERATION is such a vulgar and dirty word...

Who on planet earth has the right to LIBERATE another civilization?

I now begin to slowly appreciate how another civilization in the Middle East develop such immense hatred towards the West... and how unfortunate it really is for humanity, for the oppressed civilization to react in such devastating manners...
And I'm very afraid that the same would happen to this sacred high land...  Their spiritual leader has inadvertently been blamed for starting all the chaos...

But in all honesty and true faith, who really is the trouble-maker here???  How could history be warped just to claim their rights to LIBERATE???  How could the stronger civilization expect the oppressed to keep still and remain oppressed???  Definitely not so considering the manner in which the LIBERATION took place!!!

Tears flowed out of my eyes uncontrollably when I stood in front of a Buddha's statue in a monastery in this holy land...  I could not explain that feeling with words comprehensively...  But I know it was a feeling that I am being completely accepted and that I have arrived at a place where somehow I belonged...

It could be some kind of a connection with my previous lives or something, because I could not otherwise felt compelled to visit this special land...

And with what's happening to this land right at this very moment, all I feel is exasperation and helplessness...  That inexplicable connection that I have for this land saddens me...  

I don't know why...  I can't explain why...

But I do understand that what I'm experiencing in this lifetime is a culmination of my previous karma...

May the strength and faith of these great people pull them through these nonsensical turn of events... And may the Truth present itself for all the see...

Turkish Little Fellas

These little fellas were supposedly from Turkey... Or rather, this Fish therapy thingy was supposedly originated from Turkey... Saw this at Kenko @ Singapore Flyer a couple of weeks back and decided to give it a try...

Very tingling, I must say... with probably a hundred of these little fellas nibbling on my legs... They're supposed to help with my blood circulation, clear away dead skin, and smoothen my skin...

Not sure if my legs became smoother as a result (the presence of my leg hair got into my way whenever I tried to feel if my skin was smoother)... But I do know these fellas seemed to savour my legs quite a great deal...



See my colleague's leg on the left? And compare that with mine... And it's not hard to see whose legs had more dead skin...



And these fellas do hands too...

Pretty fun...

Qian Hu next....

The Next Big Voice

Such a talent...

Such a big voice...

Such a joy hearing her play the guitar...

Such a joy hearing her sing...

Joanna Wang...

我只在乎你


My Favourite Things

Accountability

Once upon a time, a man named Greenfingers, was employed by a nursery owner to look after and help his orchids grow and bloom.

When Greenfingers first reported for work, he realised that the few pots of orchids were not given enough care for the past year or so, and were very much frail and almost drying out. He found out that he had a lot of work to do to re-pot the orchids and give them the right amount of sunlight. But Greenfingers was determined to give his all to ensure that the orchids under his care were well taken care of and he hoped that they would blossom into beautiful flowers.

And so he slogged for a good year... but at the same time, the nursery owner added new species and introduced new technologies with the hope of making the nursery become the most productive and most beautiful nursery in the region...

But with the added demands on the need to care for more species, and to cope with learning the newer ways of growing plants and flowers, all the other helpers employed by the nursery owner found that they had more and more tasks and plots of plants and flowers to tend over.

There's only so much they could do... weeds started to grow at corners over-looked... time were taken away from these helpers in coping with new changes...

By the end of the year, Greenfingers realised that despite his orchids which he had diligently tend over had blossomed nicely and beautifully, he couldn't say the same about all the other plants and flowers in the nursery... One look across the entire nursery, the sight was kind of messy and disorganised...

So Greenfingers began to wonder if he should be happy that his orchids finally managed to grow beautifully, or be disappointed that the nursery as a whole has not been well tended over...

Greenfingers also began to reflect in what other ways he could have helped get the whole nursery back in order again...

Patience...

Pretty darn long...

Time, that is...

Since my last post here...

Wonder if anyone's still bothered to come here...

Been occupied...

Occupied...

Much occupied...

Being occupied is good...

Being occupied in the right way, is more important though...

Very eventful, last couple of months...

Learnt a lot about myself... about my health... about my deep-self...

Realised that I've lots to learn... lots to unlearn...

Dizzying, at times...

Ecstatic, at others...

Time flies... is never enough still...

Yet... even as time flies so quickly... quicker than I'd like it to be, I realised I still need to learn more about the virtue of being patient...

Patient with myself...

Patient with others close to me...

Patient with others' words...

Patient with others' actions...

Patient with things I do not see...

Patient with words I do not hear...

Patient with everything that I do not yet understand...

Patient with myself learning ever so slowly to understand...

And the greatest virtue that I also need to acquire, is none other than be thankful to people around me who have been patient with me, while I learn to be patient...

And be hopeful that their patience do not end... Just like I've not given up on learning to be patient...

Getting Close...

Just when I though that there's only so much joy I could explore to derive from the kinds of photography that I've been engaging in, in came the world of macro photography...


Only the sharpest of eyes would see the beauty of all things so close, yet so small... Easy to miss... Easy to take for granted...


Although it has taken me oh so long to discover the beauty so near me, I'm so glad that I've done so...


No doubt there's this regret that I should have made this discovery much earlier...


No doubt life often has its very unique and inexplicable way of unveiling itself...


All I know is that I've taken that first step to our lookout-point... "go as far as you can, and you'll always see further from there"... and I do know from deep within that I have found something very special... Something that I'll treasure and sustain for a lifetime...

Running into the Starry Night

So glad that I finished the 15km REAL Run yesterday...

And after the race, I can somewhat appreciate why it's called the REAL Run... Runway, road, trail and beach... all the "run-able" tracks were covered in this race...

To be honest, I was quite worried before the run... Since the last 12 km S'pore Bay Run in Aug, I really attempted to condition myself (after numerous reminders by my close friend too) by going for long runs to Bishan Park... I didn't want to end up collapsing from the rigorous heart activity...

But having completed it, there was an immense sense of satisfaction... Running is an 'out of my comfort zone' activity... I've always felt that human beings were not designed to run (otherwise why do we have to design shoes to protect our feet and knees from the impact?)... All along the race, I kept having to push myself and encourage myself not to stop... I could run slowly... I could walk briskly... But giving up was not an option...

And along this race, I also found myself running somewhere at the 2nd third of the entire pack of thousands of runners... There are those who are capable and fit and they are well way in front of me... and there's also those who are way behind me as well, running their own race...

And I come to some kind of realisation that in life, there's always a place for all of us... I need not be the fastest runner all the time... I need not feel bad about not being the better runners out there... I'm already out of my comfort zone, pushing my bodily limits, sun-tanning myself evenly under the morning sun, risking further wear & tear of my leg joints, trying my best to finish a long race... And I want to enjoy it, and affirm myself that I can accomplish something that I've never been good at doing...

I know that I will get there, no matter what... I may not be running at the pace that some may deem acceptable... I may be less fit than those in my age group... But I don't really think I mind that at all...

Having completed 4 long runs this year has allowed me to benchmark myself against the really ardent and serious runners... I know my fitness level will never get me anywhere near them... But the good thing about joining such races is that they gave me good motivations to complete these ridiculous distances which I'd never convince myself of completing all by myself...

And I think this 'benchmarking' that I've learnt from my running can also be applied in my area of work... It's not all about achieving achieving achieving the best the best the best results all the time... It's all about giving giving giving our best our best our best that really matters... We may never be comparable with the absolute best out there... But if we are all willing to step out of our comfort zones and push ourselves, we will achieve something that we may not have believed we ever could...

Yes... for the most part of my under 2 hours run yesterday, my mind was preoccupied with processing such thoughts... Something similar from meditation , I suppose... And also to distract myself from focusing too much on the discomfort...

But of course, the greatest motivation of all that really made the difference in yesterday's race was really the fact that I know deep down in my heart, that there is someone who's waiting for me right at the end, waiting for me to finish my run safely... I also know deep down that there is someone there who wouldn't be judging me on how well or how badly I've done for my race... It was this assurance which gave me the strength and determination to finish this run... This run into the Starry Night...

旅行的意义

在 Youtube 找到了陈绮祯的吉他版“旅行的意义”。。。 不必看见面孔。。。 一把好的歌喉就以足够。。。

旅行的意义。。。 旅行到底有什么意义？ 旅行就只是到处走走看看吗？

我上一趟出国到柬埔寨的吴哥窟时，在吴哥窟的最顶端， 在吴哥窟最壮观的顶端，我听到了一位旅客上气不接下气地说：“上了也不是白上，还不是得再爬下去！”

的确。。。如果上去的目的只是因为别人都上去了。。。 如果上去的原因只是因为都到这儿了，不如就跟着上去。。。 那么到那儿旅行都只是“还得回去”的。。。

每一位到了旅行景点看到的一景一物都可以一样。。。 但是，每一个人的心境却是不一样的。。。 就是这不一样的心境判辩了旅行的意义。。。

那我本身旅行的意义又是什么呢？

心。。。

从心出发。。。

目的地很妙的竟然也是。。。 心

这是一种很难言语的心态。。。 一种我非常享受的心态。。。 摄影常常能让我的心能够看得见。。。 摄影也早已经成为了我的心的窗口。。。

我一直以为旅行的意义是一个很个人的意义。。。 不过，我可能已经确定了这意义也可以和心爱的人共同分享的。。。

Run for your LIFE...

April 2007 - Mizuno Mt Faber 10 km Run

July 2007- Saucony 10 km Run (East Coast)

August 2007 - Singapore Bay 12 km Run

October 2007 - New Balance 15 km Real Run (Changi Airport)

Never in my life had I believed that I could complete such distances in running... Let alone doing 4 such runs in a year...

Even during the phase in my life when I was fittest (NS days and Uni days), the max I ran were 5 km... I've always felt that running is a very boring and time consuming activity... You are left on your own (mentally at least), and it's mind over body after a certain distance...

But as I age (gracefully, mind you), somehow, that mental toughness grew and compensated for my fast diminishing fitness... I now know that as long as I run at a moderately comfortable pace, I can just go on and on, notwithstanding the usual tightness of thigh and calf muscles and knee pains... On such runs now, I often find myself being able to talk to myself and process thoughts as I run and I realised time passes pretty easily and my mind won't be preoccupied with feeling tired or thoughts of stopping and giving up the run...

On my own, I also realised that I don't usually have the motivation to complete long distances... I've tried running from my place near the AMK MRT down to Bishan Park, make a complete loop round both of the Bishan Parks, then run back home... But that's about the furtherest I'd go and that's merely 8 km thereabout...

But on such mass races, the act of running with thousands of strangers, and knowing that I won't be the last, somehow spur me on and make me just keep going and going and going... Initially, I kind of feel lousy when the super fit female competitors speed pass me... But now, I respect and acknowledge them as capable competitors, and I also now learnt to take it in my stride and enjoy admiring their super well-toned legs as well... And talking about legs, I believe I've seen enough well-toned legs, males and females alike, from such races that I can quite confidently differentiate long distance runners from all other wannabes... I'd like to believe that I used to have a pair of such legs when I was at the prime of my fiteness, but now, I can only admire others and aspire quietly to maintain a fit and healthy pair of legs myself...

The last race for this year for me would be the New Balance Real Run... 15 km over road and some sandy beach... A distance I've never conquered... And for the first time, I'm a bit more worried about my fitness and condition in completing this race... It's a personal challange... Completetion would be an achievement for me... Timing is secondary for me, as with all other races... I've never been a competitive person all my life anyway... I've always thought that there's simply too many rat races all over, but the thing is, I'm NOT A RAT! Simply can't be bothered about any perceived competitions anywhere...

Life is to be enjoyed and lived meaningfully... Life is Beautiful enough to live it to the fullest... And on long races, I envision myself to be running on my Life journey... Every step towards the destination, is always one step nearer... And even upon reaching the destination, Life still goes on, another destination awaits, loved ones await as well... And that's the wonder in Life... overcoming oneself, sharing life with loved ones meaninfully and peacefully...

Kinda Freaky...

I just don't feel quite comfortable at all with this strange phenomenon...

For the past few months, the above photo I took off the car reflection of myself when I was in New Zealand North Island, Dargaville, has been the highest hit photo on my pbase photo gallery...

Freaky, in fact... and I completely do not understand who or where or how there're people in the world-wide-web who got to know of this photo!!!

And why me??? Or why this photo? You can't see my face... You can't see the interior of the car too clearly... You can't see much landscape of the quiet Dargaville either...

Why why why why why why why why?

Very puzzling...

Very puzzling indeed...

AJC Wanton Mee!!!

And it's finally found!!!

Our famous AJC wanton mee!!!

Now located at ABC Brickworks Market!!! Thanks to http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/

I don't think I've tasted any better tasting wanton mee since I left AJC!!!

Everybody must try must try must try okie? : )

What They Taught Me...

Last Friday, at the East Coast Park, near carpark E2, this group of beautiful people taught me some valuable lessons...

- that there's happiness to be found in every corner of the world...

- that with a sincere and open heart, your care, concern and love can be passed on to others...

- that there are people out there who would truly appreciate simple gestures and actions that we do...

- that there's no point in mulling and sulking over unhappy pasts and start appreciating that there's beautiful people such as these, who bring so much joy and laughter to a group of elderlies...

To the 8 beautiful boys and girls, I sincerely salute all of you, for sharing a small part of your life with the elderlies... I could see in their eyes how touched and happy they really are after spending these beautiful times with you guys and gals... And I am touched and am proud of all of you...

Thank you for brightening up my day as well... You have shown me, and many many others who might have chosen to believe that the end has befallen on them, that with a beautiful and simple heart, joy can be passed around and can be felt...

You all have certainly inspired me... :)

恋爱症候群

我想全世界歌词最长的歌绝对是黄舒骏的“恋爱症候群”。。。

第一次接触这首歌是在我初级学院第一年时，听到六弦琴学会学长自弹自唱的。对于一位吉他初学者来说，甚至是任何一个人，能听到某人能把这首歌一字不漏的唱完，且能将吉他和弦弹得完整的，绝对是一种赞叹与佩服。

所以我也誓言要学会自弹自唱这首将近千字，即幽默，且深情的歌。。。真的好不容易啊！ 我还记得真正完整的表演完这首歌是在我念大学第三年时，在一个宿舍歌咏组的表演上呈现的。当时我的吉他根基也相当的稳健了。所以自弹自唱不是问题。。。

黄舒骏也是另一位让我非常崇拜的创作人。。。他的写词技巧与深入性非常据有特色。。。也是才子型的一位创作人。。。

重新再看了一看“恋爱症候群”的歌词，不禁又有一番新的体会。。。

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“恋爱症候群”
关于恋爱症候群的发生原因　 至今仍然是最大一个谜
不管性别年龄职业体重学历长相和血型　 没有一个人可以免疫
有些专家学者研究后相信　 恋爱是内分泌失调所引起
却有别人认为恋爱属于滤过性病毒　 像感冒无药可救但会自动痊愈
不管你同不同意　 自古到今许多例子证明
恋爱不但是一种病态　 它还可能是一种变态

一般发病后的初期反应 会开始改变一些生活习性
洗澡洗得特别干净　 刷牙刷得特别用力　 半夜突然爬起来弹钢琴
有人每天站在阳台对路人傻笑　 有人突然疯疯癫癫　突然很安静
有人一脸痴呆　对着镜子咬着指甲打喷嚏　 有人对着小狗骂三字经
女人突然改变发型　 男人开始每天练着哑铃
食欲不振歇斯底里四肢萎缩 神经过敏发抖抽筋都出现在这时期

随着病情越来越变本加厉　 人会变得格外敏感勇敢和恶心
写的说的唱的都像天才诗人一般才华洋溢　 愈肉麻愈觉得有趣
有人恋爱之后每天躲在厕所哭泣　 有人开记者会宣布恋爱的消息
有人总是喜欢两个人躲在黑漆漆的地方　 像做了不可告人的事情
每天忙着找人算命　 挖空心思改变自己　 配合对方的习性
把每天都当作纪念日　 把自己当作纪念品

每天漫无目的的腻在一起　 言不及意也觉得好有趣
走着坐着躺着趴着都形影不离　 像是两人三脚又像连体婴
心里想的只有爱你爱你爱你爱你　 也不管家里米缸有没有米
也不管路上有人示威抗议　只管爱你
心里想的只有爱你爱你爱你爱你　 也不管海峡两岸统一问题
也不管衣索匹亚多少难民　只管爱你

经过一段轰轰烈烈热恋时期　 不久就会开始渐渐痊愈
两人开始互相厌倦　 互相攻击对方缺点　 所有甜蜜都随风而去
然后开始从错觉和误解中清醒　 惊讶自己为何如此不聪明
为了爱情不管一切　 不顾父母朋友姐妹兄弟　 开始感到后悔不已
然后开始感到疲惫 沉闷气喘心悸牙痛头痛梦呓
然后是精神不济瞳孔放大 脾气暴燥四肢麻痹　 终于受不了要分离

虽然结果颇令人伤心　 了解之后也没什么了不起
爱情终究是握不住的云　 只是我想要告诉你 哦......
在我落寞的岁月里　 你的温柔解脱我的孤寂
带给我深深的狂喜　 如此颤动着我的心灵
轻轻诉说爱你爱你爱你爱你　 不管是黑夜或是黎明
不管是梦中或是清醒　深深爱你
我要对你说爱你爱你爱你爱你　 不管是黑夜或是黎明
不管是梦中或是清醒　深深爱你
多么幸福　让我遇见你　
呜......

一人一半，感情不散

Definitely two of my favourite songs of the moment...

881 啊 摇 啊 摇 啊。。。 881 啊 摇 啊 摇 啊 (Chant in Hokkien to make sense of it... )

一人一半


代替

夜的眩晕

夜的眩晕

词曲：梁文福

你说夜有万颗眼睛，我说何如你的晶莹。
只有在你梦里，才看见自己。
你说夜有千种声音，我只听到你，
你的手指在轻诉温柔言语。

望着你仿佛在梦里，闭上双眼又看见了你。
灼热的唇，锁上今夜于短短一瞬。
层层夜浪经已掀起，淹没了我淹没了你。
又是沉醉，又是沉回，在静静的汹涌里。

纵然夜有万颗眼睛，任他千种声音，
又是沉醉，又是沉回，在静静的汹涌里。

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

又是一首梁文福的歌。。。
又是一首我非常喜欢的歌。。。
一首柔美且深情的歌。。。

夜。。。 尤其是在满天布满星星的夜，就很容易想起这首歌。。。

“夜有万颗眼睛。。。何如你的晶莹
夜有千种声音。。。 我只听到你”

真佩服梁文福写词的功力。。。 就这几行字，道尽心底的感觉。。。

夜。。。 当然没有万颗眼睛。。。
夜。。。 当然也不会发出任何声音。。。
所以看到眼睛的，听到声音的。。。 必然是思念人的心。。。

所以， 我喜欢这首歌。。。
所以， 我为这首歌编了一段眩晕的吉他和弦。。。

你愿意听吗？

天冷就回来

终于。。。 我一直都很欣赏的本地作家与创作家，梁文福，他的数几十首新谣创作，现在已被呈现于一出舞台剧《天冷就回来>...

今天... 有幸与友人观赏这部剧... 心中不禁涌出了许多极深的感触...

梁文福的作品,我可说是非常熟悉... 在我年少时期, 他的歌曲陪伴了我蛮长的一段时间... 从喜欢,到渐渐的深入欣赏,甚至是崇拜... 佩服他那非常带有文学色彩, 却又能够以简单的字句, 描绘出极生动及感人的情绪... 我的华文根基也是因为读了他的词及散文而打下的...

今天... 再度重温梁文福的词曲创作... 不仅再度的重温当年的情绪... 也重新更深入的体会他词句里所包含的感情... 他的词曲,在这舞台剧里,被赋予了新的画面... 新的画面也为我带来了新的感动...

"天冷就回来"... 五个简单的字。。。 但字里所包含的意义却是如此的深不可测。。。 舞台剧到了第二幕的开场时，当演员唱出了这首歌时，我的眼泪不禁的掉了下来。。。 那感动的降临是如此的迅速， 降临得如此毫无防备。。。

“从前对着收音机学唱旧的歌
我问妈妈为什么伤心像快乐
妈妈笑着说她也不懂得
我想出去走一走哦妈妈点点头
天冷你就回来别在风中徘徊
哦妈妈眼里有明白还有一丝无奈
天冷我想回家童年已经不在
昨天的雨点撒下来那滋味叫作爱
呜~别在风中徘徊呜~天冷就回来

渐渐对着收音机学唱新的歌
我问朋友为什么做梦也快乐
朋友笑说他从不相信梦
我想出去走一走哦朋友点点头
天冷你就回来别在风中徘徊
朋友的眼里有明白还有一份期待
天冷我想回家年少已经不在
今天的雨点撒下来那滋味就是爱

现在对着收音机听自己唱的歌
我的他问为什么幸福不快乐
我微笑着说我也不懂得
他想出去走一走我对他点点头
天冷你就回来别在风中徘徊
我猜我眼里有明白还有一丝无奈
天冷他没回家我仍然在等待
明天的雨点撒下来那滋味就是爱
呜~别在风中徘徊呜~天冷就回来“




第二及三段歌词深深的打动了我。。。

我们都是怕冷的人。。。
天冷了。。。
我想回来了。。。
天冷了。。。
雨点撒下来了。。。
你也该回来了吧？

Simplicity...

Just 10 mins drive from Simpleville... Yet seldom thought of dropping by... Couldn't help but feel as if I'm back in Middle Earth this evening...

Simply simple... That's how life should be lived... Simple joy, simple relationships, simple peace, simple aspirations...

Simply perfect...

Retail Therapy - Men's Poison...

Felt like rewarding myself for working hard making a living... Went out on a retail therapy trip today... And burnt some cash on a couple of items...


Finally, after many years of making do with a cheap and serve-its-purpose SLIK tripod, I bit the bullet and went ahead with a set of Manfrotto tripod and ballhead... Long-term investment, I tell myself...

Will it make me a better photographer?

Nahhh... I doubt so...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's a few other items that's calling out for me, urging me to own them... in no order of priority (I'd love to have all of them if cash is of no concern), these are:

1) The iPhone

Won't arrive on S'pore shores till next year...

Would it make me a more organised and well connected and cool person?

Nahhh... I doubt so...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2) The Canon EOS 1D MKIII

The ultimate body that I could dream of owning at present...

Would it make me a better photographer?

Nahhh... I doubt so...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3) The Taylor GA 8 or Martin D28



Would these make me a better guitarist?

Nahhh... I doubt so...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4) The MINI Cooper


My dream car...

Would it make me a better driver?

Nahhh... I doubt so...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5) The new iMac


My dream machine to organise and edit my digital photos...

Would it make me a more organised person and a better photographer?

Nahhh... I doubt so too...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a whole load of paradoxes... For the many WANTS of a man basically doesn't necessary make him better off... Well, maybe not directly anyway...

All the above items don't seem to give me any further edge in what I could possibly do... Probably more convenient... Probably they merely make me feel that I'm much better than I actually am...

But even so, if there's really such a thing as a self-actualising prophecy, then there's no harm in owning them and thinking that I'm better off and then in turn really perform in a better off fashion...

What a whole load of self-justifying expensive crap ;)

Where's the FIREWORKS??!!!

Heard that there's going to be a final NDP rehearsal yesterday, so rushed down to my shooting spot at 7.30pm to have a shooting rehearsal myself before the actual day...

Parked my car by the roadside... walked double-quick time... leapt over the Kallang River railing... hurried along the river to the river mouth... under the Sheares Bridge... hit the spot... set up my tripod... set up camera... aimed and composed... did a few test shoots... and waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

7.50pm...

7.55pm...

8.00pm...

8.05pm...

8.10pm...

8.15pm... National Anthemn...

But where's the fireworks???

Finally dawned upon me that this last rehearsal wasn't a preview rehearsal... No fireworks... It was a standby rehearsal date to have a final run-through to iron out the kinks...

Felt silly and disappointed about the rush to make this trip... Learnt some lessons as well:

Not all NDP rehearsals will have fireworks...

Just like
Not all people who are nice to you will not harm you...

Just like
Not all people who are mean to you will not be nice to you afterall...

Just like
Not all people who appears strong on the outside will not succumb to pressure and stress...

Just like
Not all dogs who barks will ever set its teeth on you (deja vu ehh, Madcat?)...

Just like
Not all schools who has not won any accolades or awards are not capable of producing youths with character...

Just like
Not all photographers who has all the wonderful gear that money can buy will ever produce breathtaking photos...

But at least I do know for sure that there'll be fireworks on 9th August 2007... I have faith that the SAF and pyrotechnics team will not mess it all up ;)

Unexpected Safe Sanctuary

Was churning a lot this morning... Over a case which amplified the weaknesses of every one involved, Padawans and Jedi Knights alike...

The feeling was bad... Felt so down... Over my abilities, over my inabilities...

Had to attend a briefing at NCSS in the morning as well, and throughout the journey to and fro, my mind was preoccupied with what had happened... Felt as if I was sinking and sinking and sinking...

Then, on my way back, for some reasons or other, my thought suddenly took an unexpected turn... I remembered I was trying find some source of confidence or a sense of security to calm myself down... Then amazingly, memories of my NS days in the 20SA Medical Centre came flashing back... ... ...

Lee and I were the only two medics who were posted to 20SA from my batch of Combat Medics... We found out that there was a shortage of medics in the unit for the past 1 year before we were posted... So we were kind of a relief to the manpower constraints there...

We also found out that we were greatly anticipated as all the medics there were to ROD in a years' time and should there be no medics to be posted and understudy, there'll be a major problem of handing and taking over of duties for the proper functioning of the medical centre...

And since there's only two of us, and since it was to be another 1 more year before another batch of medics were to be posted, all my seniors were eager to hand over their duties to the two of us...

Basically, that meant that the Admin I/C, Medical Board I/C, Medical Store I/C, Batallion Casualty Station Store I/C, Treatment Room I/C, MO Personal Assistant duties would fall onto the two of us... And that's only the HQ medics' duties... There still the Battery-line medic duties not covered...

Then there was our Senior Medic (the only regular soldier, and our boss of the Medical Centre)... He was a very difficult man to please... His train of thought and logic is something that none of us could comprehend... His eccentricities were our constant source of agony, frustration, hopelessness and despair... His concept of fairness was something that made us all wonder if we had all owed him something in our previous lives...

Shortly after Lee and I were posted, a few of my seniors came to me to warn me that for some incomprehensible reasons, our Senior Medic didn't quite like me... And he intended to throw me to the Battery-line and bunk in with the Gunners...

And that was a scary outcome... Because I wasn't quite ready to live with a whole Battery of rough and tough Gunners... Life would be miserable, I thought...

But goodness gracious... my Medical Officer (the doctor) wanted me to stick around in the Medical Centre to be his Personal Assistant... I was quite sure that his decision pissed the Senior Medic off quite a bit... though the Senior Medic is a regular soldier, the MO is higher ranking than the Senior Medic...

So my life in 20SA revolved around the Medical Centre... because there's only the two of us new to the Medical Centre, quite naturally, we were initiated into every aspects of the centre... For the sake of fairness and accountability, all these duties were split between the two of us... I took up the Medical Board, Medical Store, Batallion Casualty Station Store, MO Personal Assistant, and part of the Treatment Room duties...

So how were all these related to how I was feeling this morning?

I gradually realised that it was during these period of 1 year that I was groomed and taken care of by my seniors... they were the ones who look out for me and showed me all the ropes in managing the centre's duties and most importantly, how to manage our Senior Medic...

I could still fondly recall all those times where Big Chang would go though the Medical Board cases with me at night so that I could handle them myself... where Chris would pull me into his very organised Battalion Casualty Station store to show me how to pack, stack and identify hundreds of medical items stored in the numberous BCS boxes... where Ong would teach me how to operate and maintain every Treatment Room equipment (and also how to do anything we want, as long as we don't get caught)... and Leong who'd always say "Lai lai lai... come to my storeroom to do stock-taking for me..."... where Willie who'd teach me, albeit reluctanly, what he knew about being an MO's Personal Assistant...

These amazing seniors, upon looking back, were there for me and looked out for me and it was those days that I really didn't feel afraid at all of the daunting tasks and duties that fell upon me because I knew that they'd be there... If not for them, Lee and I would never had been able to manage the Medical Centre during the couple of months after they all RODed and before the new batch of medics were posted to our unit...

These memories and experiences were the source of security and confidence that I was craving for this morning... There was this temporal feeling of helplessness, insecurity and vulnerability this morning due to things which happened these couple of days... But a wave of calmness set upon me after I recalled all these wonderful moments when I was just a 19 year old youth...

And I'm thankful for these experiences that I had... they were experiences which toughened and strengthened my resolve... they were experiences which has moulded my sense of purpose...

And it's been a very long while since I've even thought about those days... It's amazing how these memories came flashing back when I really needed a booster from somewhere...

And I now wonder if I could still find a way to keep in touch with any of them...

This is the SPOT

This is it...

The SPOT...

To get my 2007 NDP fireworks...

From here... I would only be able to shoot the fireworks... Perhaps the flypast too... But nothing more... Not the actions on the bay...

But that's the price to pay to get a different perspective...

CARE

These couple of weeks, this word "CARE" keeps ringing in my ears...

CARE (Caring Actions in Response to Emergencies) Officer => a new hat I'm wearing now...

CARE Bear => A good friend says I'm like "Do-Your-Best Bear" of the Care Bears... So I did a research on the characteristics of Do-Your-Best Bear:

Do-Your-Best Bear is a Care Bear who dreams big and never gives up. Like his name says, he helps others put their best into everything they do. He's an upbeat bear who's always ready to say, "Great job!" His "aim high" attitude shows in his tummy symbol—a beautiful kite.

Caring Mission: Helps people be the best they can.
Symbol: Do-Your-Best Bear's colorful kite symbol reminds every one that the sky's the limit when you give your best.
Personality: Energetic and confident.
Character Quirk: No matter how hard he tries, he's the only Care Bear who can't fly a kite.
Color: Light green.
Best Friend: Champ Bear
Relationship Challenge: He wishes Wish Bear would wish less and try harder. Wish Bear wishes Do-Your-Best Bear would relax more.
Motto: You feel your best when you do your best!

Hmmm... this shall be my personal mascot to motivate myself to be more like him... :)

"It's Time to Let You Go"

I thought I could control myself... never expected it to be so emotional... but all thanks to Mingli's photo montage, which ended with "It's time to let you go..." The moment I repeated those words, tears began to fall...

This is the 4th batch of cadets whom I've seen through their 4 years with the unit... The feeling every time is similar... I foolishly thought that I could suppress my emotions this time round... But alas, they decided to have a more intimate gathering after the POP Parade in the AVA room...

I used to feel that shedding of tears is a sign of breaking down, a sign of weakness...

But I finally understood that it could also be a sign of being human...

To my beloved Sec 4 NCOs, THIS is dedicated to you :) Thank you for bringing me so much joy...