The Day I Talk About My Airborne Experience

I'VE FINALLY JUMPED!!!

After living through the long, harrowing waiting hours in the aircraft hanger that followed with the feeling of disappointment when our jumps were cancelled, we finally made our first jump on Thursday. A total of 4 jumps were made over Thursday and Friday. Even though it was tiring (think walking about 2km with a really heavy load), the experience was unforgettable.



The MC1-1C Parachute that our lives were hanging on. Literally. That's not me by the way. I Googled this off the net.

Before boarding the C-130 (the aircraft we used for our first 2 jumps), I had a mental picture of my legs trembling uncontrollably when I stood at the jump door. Much to my surprise, nothing of that sort happened. Instead, I just stood at the door thinking "What the hell, let's just get over with it" and pooffft!, out I went. I can proudly say that I've rode on a slipstream before, and it's pretty damn fun!

Drifting down from the sky was very different from what I thought it would be too. I never knew how quiet it was up in the skies until then. You have the whole world to yourself for about 1 minute before reality hits you. By reality hitting you I mean hitting the ground, which still hurts even though you adopt a so-called "good landing position". But it's all worth it.

Seriously, if any of you get a chance at parachuting, DO IT! It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that's worth every bit of sweat and pain.

The Day I Talk About "Never Again"

I was really looking forward to going airborne this week. Much to my disappointment, both our two jumps this week have been canceled due to terrible weather conditions on our jump days. Hopefully the weather clears up next week or we'll never get to pass out.

The celebrity that I'm giving cover treatment today is Kelly Clarkson. I realized that I've never really done an MTV review before, so I'm going to try my hand on one today. Kelly's "Never Again" has been stuck in my head for a pretty long time now. It's heavy with drums and cymbals, signaling her deeper foray into hard rock, which is her far cry from her original soulful sound. The MTV's pretty different from her previous ones, telling a really angry and somewhat confusing story.

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Kelly's basically screaming about how pissed off she is when she discovers she's being cheated on by her boyfriend/husband/"who-is-he?". Throughout the video, whenever she sings the word "face", there's a big close-up on her, guess what? Face.


"Say it right to my face!!!" face


Face. Again. "Face" should be the new "Vogue".

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In the song, she asks her supposed ex-boyfriend if it hurts to "see her face everywhere?" I'm wondering if it's because her face is so big, that's why he sees it everywhere?


Kelly says, "NEVER AGAIN WILL I KISS YOU!!!"
I'm thinking "thank God".


"Me wants eat you! YESSS! SEE MY FACE EVERYWHERE!!!"

Not sexy.

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Speaking of sexy, she does try to look sexy in a few scenes. Namely the ones where she's groping the K-Fed lookalike who's acting as her boyfriend/husband/something. One wonders why she picked someone who looked like K-fed to star in her video. Maybe it's a Britney jibe so she could go around telling her girlfriends, "Hey, everyone's like making fun of Britney and K-Fed right? I did it too! I like got this model from like somewhere and he like just totally looked like K-Fed! Like totally! Isn't it like totally like cool like?"


K-Fed.


Here's sexy.

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She's even done the whole touching-my-hair-cos-it's-oh-so-sexy move. Tyra would be so proud. I couldn't contain my excitement so I went ahead and made a .GIF of that timeless pose.


"I'm FIERCE!"

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Kelly was really all out to cash in on pop culture in this one too. Methinks that she's coveting Marcia Cross' role in Desperate Housewives. Here's why:


Bree


Bree (with awesome, shiny earrings)

Methinks she's channeling Sadako too!


One so pale should get out more.

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I'd say this video's pretty entertaining cos we get to see the many faces of Kelly (from rocker to emo to housewifey to ghostly, wow!) and watch her ridiculing herself repeatedly (think "Face"). "Never Again" certainly sends out one very clear message: Messing with Kelly (aka cheating on her) would make her face appear everywhere. So don't.


"I'll eat YOU up LICKABLE!"

She scary!

The Day I Talk About First Times (Part II)

The last time I had a "First Times" article was waaay back during the beginning of my Basic Medic Course. This time, it's about something slightly different. I have recently embarked on a new journey to a new camp for yet another course: the really physically demanding BAC (Basic Airborne Course).

First Time #1: Carrying A Parachute
Remember the first time you saw the Red Lions jump out of a plane thousands of feet in the air during the annual National Day Parade shows on TV and thinking "The parachutes on their backs look so cool!"? Well, that's what I thought too, until I actually had to carry one. First of all, it's nowhere as cool as the ones you've seen on TV cos it's a static jump chute (meaning that we don't actually have to yank the rip-chord off the chute when we exit the plane; the canopy is automatically deployed when we jump out). Secondly, it's less aesthetically appealing cos of its fully camouflaged prints. Lastly cos it weighs a bomb (if I'm not wrong it's more than 15kg). Talk about back-breaking weight.

First Time #2: Falling Down On Purpose
Yes, you read it right. We fall over front and back, left and right deliberately. But only during our landing drills, of course. It basically involves a series of coordinated leg and body movements that makes us fall in a given direction. This is done to equip us with the knowledge of proper landing techniques when we land in various wind conditions. Now, imagine yourself falling down with a 3kg helmet on your head. Imagine doing this fifty times and visualize the post-drill muscle aches on your neck, shoulders and butt. Ouch.

First Time #3: Calling everyone "AIRBORNE!"
This might not make sense. On the first day of the course, we were told to end our responses and verbal comments with a loud "AIRBORNE!" in order to keep our morale high and to be accustomed to shouting. Instead of pausing and then shouting the word "Airborne" like this: "YES SIR! AIRBORNE!", we shout everything together. In essence, we end up calling all of our instructors "Airborne" because our replies all sound like this: "YES SIR AIRBORNE!" "NO SIR AIRBORNE" etc. So basically all our instructors are known as "(insert rank here) Airborne". Which is quite confusing cos we hardly call out their last names and hence don't quite remember them. Can't really fault us. Heh.

The Day I Talk About Heroes

First things first: If you guys are wondering what I'm doing at home on a weekday afternoon, well, it's because I'm FINALLY ON LEAVE! But it's just for 4 days though. Still, it's better than nothing.

Today, I feel like I should pay some attention to my favourite TV show, Heroes. The first season just ended it's run on Monday night (US time
) and it was a blast! I absolutely love every episode of the show. For those of you who haven't caught up on the craze just yet, here's a quick run-down of the show and it's major characters.




The show begins with ordinary people waking up one day to discover that they have extraordinary powers. Their common antagonist is a man named Sylar, who kills people with special abilities and eats their brain in order to acquire more power. The first season revolves around the premonition of a bomb going off in New York that will decimate the people living there and how the heroes try to stop it.

Characters:

Peter Petrelli

Power absorption

Hiro Nakamura

Teleportation, space-time manipultaion

Claire Bennett

Regeneration

Nathan Petrelli

Filght

Nikki/Jeccica Sanders

Superhuman strength

Isaac Mendez

Clairvoyant visions (which he transfers into his paintings)

DL Hawkins

Intangibility

Candice Wilmer

Illusion casting. Works for The Company.

Noah Bennett

Clare's adoptice father. Works for the ever-mysterious Company.

The Day I Talk About Unforgettable Movie Kisses

I've realised that my recent blog posts have been pretty incoherent and boring, so I've decided to write on an interesting topic today: movie kisses. As you already know, sex sells. In almost every movie nowadays, there's bound to be some sex or suck-face scene just for the sake of titillating our (erotic) senses. Here's six of what I feel are the most memorable suck-face movie scenes.


#6: Great Expectations
Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ethan Hawke



What's more seductive than a kiss at a water fountain (known to most of us as "water coolers")? Gweneth Paltrow really steamed up the screens with this kiss. Very memorable kiss cos it vamped Estella up, reinventing her as more than just a woman who plays with a man's heart.




#5: Batman & Robin
Starring: George Clooney, Chris O'Donell, Uma Thurman



It was dissed by the fanboys and agreeably the worst portrayal of the Gotham Dark Knigh and his amazing sidekicks. Critics called it "Trashy movie", "Disgrace of the Batman franchise" and such. Personally, I agree. If not for the comical reinterpretation of Poison Ivy, the villian with the poisonous kiss (played by Uma Thurman), I doubt anyone would even remember it. I thought the "death" kisses in the movie were really funny (in a weird way), that's why it got on this list.




#4: X-Men 3
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry



This picture makes me wanna say "Phoenix and Wolverine sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Well, aren't they? Sad that he killed her at the end of the movie. They looked pretty good together.




#3: Brokeback Mountain
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger



It was Hollywood's first über hyped up gay movie with an Asian director. Hyped up as it was, I didn't think it was as great as many people said it was. To each his own eh? It got on this list plainly because of the hype.




#2: Spiderman
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst



The ever cult favourite kiss got #2 on my list because it was one of a kind. Seriously, in which other movie did the male lead kiss the female lead hanging upside down from the ceiling (other than the lame "Epic Movie"-type ripoffs, of course)? I'd say it's definitely one of the most unforgettable kissing scenes ever.



And now it's time to reveal who's at the top spot...










In 5,

















4,














3,
















2,















1...






















#1: Titanic
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet



Absolutely classic. Who can ever beat the "Jack, I'm flying!!!" scene from the movie that propelled Kate and Leo into superstardom? My favourite suck-face scene of all time.

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And that's all for tonight. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Gotta head back to camp tomorrow morning for fire piquet duty. Sigh. That's NS life for you. :(

The Day I Watched Spiderman3 And Talk About Random Stuff

Spiderman 3 was definitely not a disappointment. On the contrary, it's my favourite Spiderman movie yet (that's if there's even going to be a fourth one). I was apprehensive before seeing it because I thought, Venom, Sandman and Goblin Jr in one film? How on Earth Will Sam Raimi pull it off?

But he did. And he did it really well. *applauds*

My only complaint? Not enough Gwen Stacy. WE WANT MORE OF THE HOT BLONDE!!!

On to music... I CAN'T STAND MY DAD CRITIQUING MY TASTE IN MUSIC ANYMORE!!!!! Like seriously. Seriously. Be thankful that your Dads aren't as musically inclined as mine (well, if they are then you'll probably understand how I feel). Here are some of his comments on some of the artistes I listen to:

On Jennifer Hudson (yes I bought the Dreamgirls soundtrack):
"Why do you like to listen to people shouting? This is not called singing. It's shouting, and it's irritating."

On Beyoncé:
"Her voice is so shrill! It's giving me headaches. I'd rather listen to Jennifer Hudson." (Major irony here)

On Justin Timberlake:
"He's white right? Why is he singing like a black?" (It's called personal style, old man)

On Joss Stone:
"Why do you always listen to black music? Always screaming and shouting and yelling. Why can't you listen to more classical pieces? What? She's white?! " (So?)

On Christina Aguilera:
"Another white who sings like a black. Always scream scream scream." (WTF?? SO??)

On 孙燕姿:
"What's so nice about people mumbling?"

And those are just a few examples. I have no idea why he insists on criticizing the music I listen to. I mean, I don't put down his Mozart or Haydn (I love them too by the way) but everyone has his freedom when it comes to their choice of music, right? Eeeayargh... If there's anyone who's irritating, it's him.

Oh yes, one more thing. The friggin en bloc. It's getting on my nerves big time. First, some of our money-faced neighbours decided to pull in developers, then they sign the agreement to sell our estate even though my family (and some other families) didn't want to, and they won. Fine by me. It's not like we really have a choice (thanks to the stupid law). Now, they want US to chip in for the lawyer fees for the successful transaction of the en bloc as well. You know what? I say SCREW YOU. I'd buy all of you muthafuckers freakin' size 50 dildos and you guys can go to your new houses with your new, stinkin' money and SCREW YOURSELVES WITH IT. Haven't they heard of something called "back off"?

If I could, I'd put a curse on them. I am that evil. So don't try me.

And that's it for today's post about random stuff.

The Day We Had Our Class Gathering (Sort Of)

Here's Shaun. And he's baaaack! And because of that, he deserves cover treatment in today's post!



NS hasn't changed him at all, has it?

It was nice going out with some of my ex-classmates on Saturday at VivoCity. Didn't do much, just sat around and chit-chatted. Felt just like old times.


Esther, Yuxi & Marilyn


Shaun & Marilyn


Shaun & Sean

PS: Shaun finally has a Friendster account! Add him here.

Didn't manage to get photos of Mervy, Jianxuan, Kitson and Cassandra. Hmmmm.

The Day I Talk About En Bloc's And Collective Sales

My home has been successfully sold as a collective whole. Yes, my family has joined the ranks of so many others who have fallen victim to the "en bloc" fever that has recently swept across the country.

Here's what happened to us: We have been forced to sell our house due to the fact that more than 80% of our neighbours have signed an agreement to developers for the collective sale of our condominium. Even though we're not making a loss financially (they're paying us just the right amount that covers the cost of our house when we bought it), we aren't benefiting either. The only ones who are benefiting are the selfish assholes I have for neighbours who actively sought out developers to sell our place to so as to make fast kaching!

Most of them got their houses at low prices (during the off-peak property prices period), so it's obvious that their happy bout it! As for the rest of us, we have to start looking for houses.

The government seriously needs to amend the en bloc law, cos people are suffering. Urgh...

The Day I Talk About First Times

There are many defining moments, commonly known as "the first time", in our lives. Today, I shall share the several "first times" I've experienced during my Basic Medic Course.

First Time #1: Poking A Needle
I know what you're thinking, you sick freaks. By poking I meant doing the IV infusion pracise. It's really quite an experience, cos for most (or maybe all) of us, it's the first time we actually penetrate somebody else's skin with a needle. I trembled a little when I did it, but whattheheck eh? There's only 1 word to describe the feeling: sibeh-song! *sinister laughter*

First Time #2: Getting Poked By An Unprofessional
The reverse is true when I got poked by my buddy. Twice. It's times like this when you remember the sacred words "do unto others what you want others to do unto you". You lie on the floor grimacing inwardly (cos of the incredibly huge egos that all men possess) and silently regret the hurt you've caused your buddy while you were doing the poking. But it's nonetheless an unforgettable first time.

First Time #3: Making Out With A Dummy
It happened during our CPR lesson-cum-test. We had to learn how to perform proper CPR on manakins (yes it's spelled this way) posing as unconscious casualties and infants. The seductive allure of "making out" with a hot, passed-out stranger by the act of CPR (courtesy of Pam Anderson on one of the ancient Baywatch episodes) is rudely replaced by the knowledge that an unconscious person probably won't taste nice nor be able to french-kiss. Blowing into a rubber face and checking for the rise and fall of a rubber chest completely blew my mind.

I suppose I'd have more first times in time to come, so stay tuned!

The Day We Celebrate Good Friday

Today, Christians around the world remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us as we celebrate Good Friday. It is a day that is spent in reflection and prayer. Even though we know that Jesus will "die" today and "come back" on Sunday, we follow these rituals to find relevance of spirituality in our lives. Very often, we are caught up with our responsibilities and are only driven by our materialistic wants, so much so that we forget about God and what he has done for us. So today, we take a break from our normal routine and devote some time to spirituality.

I'm a firm believer of faith because in so many junctures of my life thus far, my belief in God has pulled me through my ups and downs.

So this Sunday (especially for all Christians), remember that Easter is not only about chocolate eggs and bunnies. It's also about Christ and our salvation due to his sacrifice. Don't ever forget that.

The Day Nothing Became Something Became Anything

Sometimes I just seem to do the weirdest things to hurt myself. Like that one time I deliberately walked into a lamp-post just to get a feel of how it was like to hit my face onto cold hard steel. I guess that I may have a very dominant masochistic personality. Either that or I'm completely insane. But that's not exactly the point of my entry today.

Today, I want to talk about the inherently vulgar four-letter word which can make or break all the lonely souls out there: l-o-v-e. Yes, it's the time of the year again when foolish people fall in love and get their hearts broken, be it by someone new or by someone they'd least expect. Forget all the "power of love" and the "love will keep us together"; it's all bullshit.

Here's what love really is. It's physical attraction with a dash of lust, a pinch of blindness, stirred within a concoction of confusion and never-ending doubts. That's love. And that's why love is very dangerous. Take it the right way and you'll live long enough to feel the pleasures it can bring; Take it the wrong way and you're on a one way trip to your personal hell.

I'm in hell right now, and it isn't exactly bright and cheery down here.

The Day I Pass Out From BMT

I know this sounds cliché, but I'm going to say it anyway: Time passes really quickly. BMT's finally over, and I'm finally no longer a friggin' recruit! WOOHOO!

We just had our 24km route march today (which was surprisingly manageable) right before our passing out parade (POP). Tiring as it was, today was the best day of my BMT experience. Here are some photos of our happy moments. More on my Flickr.



My detachment sergeant, Sgt Rishi.



Some of my platoon mates.



More platoon mates...



With my mummy!


The following photos are never-been-released shots. Enjoy:



Doing push-ups during the Detachment Challenge. Spot me!



Helping my buddy during the Detachment Challenge. Spotted me?


That's all for today. Gotta go to bed. Too tired. Will blog more soon...

The Day I Share My Botak Photos

Like I promised, here are the photos! More on my Flickr!


This is how I look like all prepped up in my uniform. I hate these hideous specs...



With my Grandma



From left:
Tammi, me, Jiapei, Meifeng, Anita



At Fish & Co. yesterday celebrating Anita's birthday.



Having dessert at Secret Recipe, Plaza Singapura. Anita should really join Miss Singapore Universe!

The Day I Went To The A&E

The Chinese New Year hasn't been kind to me. I've been coughing for a long time (more than a month, definitely), but it took a turn for the worst yesterday when I began running a fever. Freaking out (together with my parents, who freaked out more), I went to the Mt Alvernia Hospital A&E for an emergency check-up. Let's just say that I'm extremely grateful for antibiotics right now.

On a lighter note, I was visited by Anita, Meifeng, Jiapei, Tammi and Shaun yesterday after I got home from the hospital. It's really nice to meet up with old friends again (Anita looks stunning! I think teaching is really doing something for her).

I've got 2 days MC, so I'll only be booking in tomorrow night. Gotta go take my medication now. Sigh. I hate being sick...

The Day After Field Camp

I'm finally back!!! And I managed to survive the 8 days in Tekong! :)

It's nice to be back home typing on my computer. After "suffering" the lack of amenities and luxuries, I've come to really appreciate what I have more than ever. I'm enjoying every moment I spend doing things I usually take for granted. In other words, I'm a changed man. Heh heh.

Just got back from a wild night of partying with Tammi, Jiapei and Ker Min. It felt sooooooooo good to be free again. Anyway, in case I forget, here's wishing everyone a very fruitful and prosperous Chinese New Year!

PS: Photos will be up soon k. I promise.

The Day I Injured My Knee

Busted my knee during the 12km route march yesterday so I went to see the sinseh today. Thank God the swelling stopped.

I'm damn careless...

The Day After My 2 Week Confinement

I'm BAAACK!

Can't believe that I survived the first two weeks of BMT. It's been pretty fun getting to train and know new people. Shall upload my (almost) bald photos soon!

I've never loved my room as much as I'm loving it now. Army really changes your perspective of civilian life.

Gotta go nurse my flu now. *cough-cough* It sucks to fall sick in camp. Trust me.

The Day Before The Day That Will Change My Life

I'm enlisting tomorrow.

It's beginning to sink in, but it's still kinda surreal. I can't explain how odd it feels like. Seems like just yesterday when I was just talking about enlistment and now, I'm actually going to be enlisted.

There seems to be these two opposing forces churning in my tummy. One's telling me that everything is going to be fine, while the other is pessimistic, whispering words of doubt into my mind's ears. I know that this must sound really emo, but that's how I feel right now.

Let's just pray that I'll not die for starters.

Till next time, goodbye.

The Day Of My Return

I'm back and unpacked!

Now I gotta start packing for NS. Hmmm.

The Day I Talk About Food In America

If there ever was a country where you could get a large variety of food choices, it's America. And I'm a really lucky boy cos I've been able to try many different types of food since I got here. Today's blog entry is hence dedicated my gastronomic adventures.

There's a popular misconception that authentic Asian food and cooking materials are hard to come by in the US. For the record, I've been to 3 different Chinese supermarkets here which consist of mainly imported food-stuff from China and Taiwan. Maybe there really wasn't much of these stuff 10 years ago, but there are plenty now.

And the most memorable restaurant I've been to for Asian food has to be the Jazz Cat Café. They served mini hot-pot's (aka shabu-shabu)!


Imagine this: You're freezing on a cold winter's night. Then, your friends decide to invite you for a meal at a cozy little café that serves one of your favourite dishes that is completely appropriate for a night like that. That was how I felt when I got there.

There's also something that's really common here which we hardly see in Singapore, and that's Mexican food. Although I'm not a huge fan of black beans, I sure am in love with nachos and burritos! Here's something I had at Baja Fresh:


Filled with tender, juicy beef slices, fresh tomatoes, gravy and served toasted with melted mozzarella cheese, this burrito is heavenly. They even provide you with a side of nachos and fresh veggies topped with cream cheese. Looking at it already makes my mouth water.

We also visited some of the more well-known restaurants, one of which being Bubbe Gump Shrimp Co., which was inspired by the Academy Award-winning movie, Forrest Gump. Those who are allergic to prawns (like my dear Aunt Stephanie), be warned.


Scampi Sautéed in Garlic & Butter on Fettucine


Shrimp Bucket

To match the theme of the movie, the management even came up with this:


Not the two smiling giddiots, silly. The sign saying "Run, Forrest, Run".

The other well known establishment that I visited was Pink's Hot Dogs.



Being the pig that I am, I had 2 hotdogs. The first one I had was the Guadalajara Dog:


I'm guessing it was a Mexican inspired thing. The sausage was juicy (cos it's home-made), and it was matched perfectly with tangy tomatoes and light cream cheese. Mmmmm...

My second one was their signature Chilli Dog:


If you still remember what the "Coney Dog" at the now-defunct A&W tasted like, well, it tasted almost like that. But better.The topping is more like ground beef in gravy than chilli. To be honest, I didn't even taste any chilli! Nevertheless, it was yummy.

There were also some cute finds at Disneyland. Like this really ginormous turkey drumstick:


Doesn't look big to you?

Here's yours truly trying to get a bite:


My jaw hurt k.

I also got a taste of Mickey!


Ok I'm lame la I know.

If it wasn't winter, I'm sure many people would have flooded Baskin & Robbins. It wasn't too bad.


Strawberry and Vanilla

I'm pretty sure most of us are avid chocolate fans, be it openly or secretly. Either way, none of us can resist the temptation of the chocolate world's crème de la crème, GODIVA. There's a huge variety of Godiva's products, from their best-selling bite-sized chocolates to cocoa powder.

Guess what I had?


I got a GODIVA Dark Chocolate Chocolixir!

I really can't describe how great it is. You have to try it to know what I mean.

And that's it for my special entry about food. More to come soon!