i feel like a little child again
after watching transformers.

then again, after paying S$13
i'm reminded that i'm grown up.

just came back from a 4-day summer tour to hualien in eastern taiwan and though it was somewhat boring cause we went to mainly farms and markets (it was meant to be educational -_-") it was a good thing cause it was really a time for me to know more people here. considering that i'm new, it helped definitely. back to the tour. it was a tad boring cause we spend a load of time on the bus getting from one place to another. i think the max we spent on the bus was when we were on our way back to hukou. we went through the mountains as it will supposedly shorten the journey time but in all we were in that bloddy bus for nearly 5 hours non-stop. and if not for me who asked the driver and tour guide to make a detour for myself to take a very urgent leak, the whole bus would reek of that horrid smell. not just me i soon realised, but nearly all the guys on the bus.

now, that was funny.

seeing the guys queuing up in a really long line to use the two-man-at-one-go toilet. and also taking into consideration the fact that it would take about another hour to get from the place we detoured from back to base, everybody just went down and took the leak. it was as if there was a Great Singapore Sale for male undies for male aunties then. haha.

anyway during this tour i managed to fulfill one of my desires, well at least give me a rough idea to what my actual desire will make me feel when i do achieve it. i went RAFTING! fantastic experience. rafting in the valley of a million bends, it was uber difficult to steer and move that stupid balloon-raft. but it was fun, really really fun. now i'm just fantasising about my desire to go to new zealand and do a full white water rafting down some awesome river.

anyone, care to join in?

went to many places, but one thing i noticed was wherever i went during this tour i saw the bloddy mountain. it just wouldn't disappear from my sight! from what was an awe soon became a sore, cause everywhere you go you just see that irritating green tall looking thing in front of you. and don't even think of a lovely sunset behind the mountain face, most of the time i don't even see the sun setting cause we're all sleeping on the bus. tiring journey it was.

very very tiring.

did quite a number of exhaustive activities like cockle-picking in some pond which was quite an experience. we all had to roll up our pants no matter how short they were unless you were wearing fbts but obviously nobody would be wearing those in the middle of a tour right? so we rolled it up, changed out of our shoes and into the slippers made available and into the pond we went! we had to dig into the soil to find those cockles and boy were they difficult to find! there was this rule that allowed us to bring home one full kilogram of whatever we picked BUT i'm telling you, you will never pick one full kilogram simply because there is no time, secondly there it is back-breaking and thirdly you'll just be super bored unless you are intending to major in farming or cockle-agriculture in university.

that's that.

what else did i do? hmmm. OH. we went to this lovely valley where the river flows with the colour of jade. really lovely sight that was. and coupled with the mountains, yes mountains AGAIN, it was really quite a sight. we had to walk for about 20minutes before we reached this point where we could go all the way down to the river and just walk in it. and that means, if it still hasn't hit you, take off our shoes and wade in the maximum knee-deep water. i was just thinking, if everybody takes off their shoes and stick their stinky smelly feet in the jade-blue water, will it make the water really grey with not rock sediments but rotting skin or something?

ewww. i rather not think of that.
destroys the lovely scenery.

hmmm, i think that was the really major things we went and did. i'll try to upload the pictures as soon as possible. but cause i'm using wireless, it's a bit slow and i'm really scared i lose all that i've written here. i think i'll just upload it some other time, when i'm more confident of the wireless system here.

till next time fellas,
toodles from taiwan!

PS: missing you vjchoir peeps and hotbulbs!
ALOT.

guess what? when i came to the blogger homepage, i was greeted by an all chinese page and mind you it's not just chinese, it's traditional chinese. yes you saw that right, TRADITIONAL CHINESE. thank goodness i know my way around the webpage, if not you will hear or see nothing from me for this few months or so.

have been here for about three days already and considering the fact that i arrived on a friday night and the next day was going to be a non-working day, i have been basically slacking around and sleeping in bunk not doing much but watch tv and fiddle with my laptop and oh yes, charge my handphone.

for some of you who still dunno,

i'm in taiwan now.

and you still can call me on my mobile

but its only used for emergency use.

otherwise, email me or something.

my upperstudy's going back this saturday and that means i only have this week to learn as much from him. then looking back at the schedules, we all have a summer tour in hualian, which is in taiwan if you (i'm referring to marie or mayber caroline) were just wondering, this coming week beginning from tuesday and ending on friday. and then, he leaves on saturday. which means to say i only have got tomorrow to learn from him. like wth. well done. but he's basically taught me everything already and now its just practice time!

his ending marks my beginning

but i'm rather settled down already, i mean the people here are all nice and friendly people and yea its well, nice to be here. must say its a really homely environment here. went shopping yesterday afternoon through the night and now at one of the staff's houses using the laptop. chinese speaking everywhere and you hardly hear an english word. and for those of you who think i can't speak chinese, i can hor. chinese got b4 for ao levels la. *roll eyes*

sam, you're right.

it's a load off my mind.

missing all you people back home,

really i am.

soon/ adv/ not long after the present time or the time mentioned;

within a short time.

that's the definition as provided in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. what i find so interesting is the face that although we use this word so often since our days in primary school, i don't think we have ever realised and understood the full definition of it and for that matter, what it stands for.

i realised it

only now

with the onset of my departure and the leaving behind of loved and close ones, it's only natural for me to think about such things because really i won't see you fella until at least six months time. and that really is not a short time at all.

ah. i think i'm getting so emo right now.

it's alright, pokemon's up next.

it was a beautiful day spent
with you fellas.

will miss you guys so, so much.

the countdown has begun

and you try to remain still

yet everything refuses,

even the air denies you.

but what can you do

you need more time

soon reality kicks in

and it really ain't that complex

- yes the countdown has begun

but it begun a long time ago.

seeing you guys all again after so long
brings back all sorts of memories.
that laughter and those smiles
reminded me of days of yesteryear
and yet now that we're all grown
it still seems the same.

we have all matured into young adults
, i think, and now boast of our jobs
in offices instead of the classrooms.
nsmen return to their days in camp
and ladies, their holidaying adventures.
seems like something's changed.

this friendship built on the rocks of two years
has not shaken and i pray that it will never be.
we have so much more ahead for us to go
and it always helps to have a friend by our side.
distance doesn't matter and so does time
all we have is each other,

and i know i've got you
for me to count on.

thanks 05S43
- for everything that you have done
in me and in my life.

thanks.

my mind was all in a twirl
all thanks to you.

this may actually excite you; even encourage you, but i'm actually slimming down. yes darling you heard that right. i'm slimming down- that blubber round my waist is decreasing even as we speak although i have no idea whether that is entirely true, but nevertheless, its leaner. well at least it stopped bouncing about my belly button so that is an improvement. and what can be a better way to celebrate the joy of slimming down than to have a eight course feast in my name.

well done, darren.
all that hard work- GAH

but who cares? relatives came together to have a farewell dinner for me so i was more concerned about having a great time with my relatives than the food really. then again it cannot be considered as a farewell dinner, well at least not in totality, simply because the same people will meet again at my aunt's place this sunday to celebrate fathers' day. but nonetheless, thank God for the food.

it was just good.

the same cannot be same for the news i received this morning when i went back to the hospital to remove my stitches. i complained to the doctor regarding headaches around the errr... head, and then she started asking me whether i've been working on some projects and i said no so she said maybe it could be your wound. you see, my wound as found by her and to quote her, is "still tender" and that's a lovely sign of mild infection.

damnit-

- a syringe and a needle
with a hole.

that was the most thoughtful farewell gift they could give to a patient who had undergone more than twenty injections to his gums. but get this, it's meant to help me spray those trapped food stuck in my gums out. how innovative and thoughtful. but since mere rinsing won't help, spraying supposedly does.

and it's a fun activity
really.

on another note,
i should just focus
on the things ahead.

jennifer said it before
and she says it best.
there's no way i'm leaving
without you; staying right
where i am.
that's my stand.

darling, the question now is
what's yours?

i bet this will get all the girls talking

and comparing.

i think i'm fat.

seriously.

or at least getting fat.

see i'm so sure the girls are all wondering what in the world is this skinny fella talking about, but really i think i am getting fat. and i only started noticing it when i was walking back to my aunt's place. i lifted up my singlet and was absolutely flabbergasted to see this belly protruding out from nowhere exactly. as i had a bit to eat before i went out, i was trying to comfort myself with the thought that maybe i was just full from the meal, that's why my belly was bulging out. and so, i started hopping on my toes and lo and behold, what did you know, the belly bounced up and down with the motion.

i am right now,

so convinced i'm going fat.

but hey you listen up. i was forced! or at least, situations forced me to be fat! *Lesson #1: stop blaming your situations. but i'm not! it's the absolute truth. the last time i ran was on tuesday and that was a remarkable 7km run i did and soon two days after that was my wisdom tooth extraction otherwise known as day surgery day. extracted it out and stitched up the incisions i obviously had to rest and not overexert myself lest the stitches open up and well done darren, blood comes out and yippeee, we start the stitching all over again. dang.

and what a difference one week makes

to my once toned abs.

don't laugh. it was once toned, not hard abs as in a six-pack or eight-pack or ten-pack or twelve-pack or x-pack where x is a random integer greater than twelve. then again imagine a person with a hundred-pack, man that will be so *eyesgoblinkblink*. ewww. so i really need to run and burn off all that calories and fats and what else have i there. what a sight! i don't have to do pull ups or sit ups, i just want to run.

but i shall leave that till

my stitches are gone.

and that's NOT procrastination.

call it music therapy?

more like making me psychotic.

classical won't do.

pop won't do.

jazz won't do

and blues will surely not do.

why am i getting the chills again?

chills from yesterday blows in deep

but yet i still get the shivers today

leave me will you?

i don't want to know

anything.

not now.

it must be so hard for an adult

to see his adult child crying for comfort.

i was watching this television show and it hit me right smack there. the love of a parent is just that great, and right now i recall suelynn telling me that there would come a point in life where that thick heavy veil over our eyes now suddenly opens our soul to see the true love of a parent, and this comes after that much years in our lives.

and it really is so true.

how many of you, and i am referring to you young adolescents, really do understand your parents' love for you? there is no politically correct answer for this really because if you say you do, then what have you done all year to show your gratefulness; and if you say you haven't, i cannot blame you because i was once like that. you see our parents don't owe us anything when actually in fact they did us a huge favour in having us conceived and born into the world. mind you, i'm not saying your judgement of the world doesn't matter, but let's leave it there for now and i promise you i will come to it later. but just consider this for a moment, they don't owe us anything but yet their deeds say an entirely different story.

thank you.

it hurts our parents so much when they see just that one tear not just on our face, but really when they see it in us. you may not realise but when we are upset we would naturally display these nuances in our behaviour and what you may also not realise is that your parents can see it. they've been with you all your lives, how can they not know you as you?

we have done so much damage

but yet they ask for no compensation

but only for your companionship

and more importantly

your wings of love.

love you always
dad and mum.

surgery- ah.

i woke up with all in my mouth

but sent to bed with 4 less.

.

today's the big day. left for alexandra hospital for my wisdom tooth extraction surgery which lasted about forty minutes and the effects of it is just, quote daniel, indescribable. i wasn't supposed to remove all of my wisdom tooth at one shot, at least it wasn't recorded in the surgery schedules. but here's the deal presented:

pluck four today,

come back next thurs to remove stitches,

and i should be all recovered by then.

on top of that,

my embarkation leave starts on that friday.

so as you can see, if i could remove all at one shot and still be able to enjoy, and i chose this word with much consideration, enjoy my embarkation leave, why not? at the expense of this uber stinging discomfort at the back of my jaw. contrary to popular belief, the after effects of the surgery is really not painful. its a, as i mentioned, stinging discomfort at the back of your jaw. and if i may add, it's a very stinging discomfort. so far, i've only experienced pain once since the surgery and that was only because i wanted to spit the phlegm out. phlegm? or so i thought.

you see, when blood dries in your mouth

it doesn't just cackle and dry up

like your facial skin after bursting your pimple.

it becomes jelly-like

and when a lot of it comes together

you won't be penalised if you really thought it was

phlegm.

there was pain for two reasons i concur. one, i couldn't and as of now still cannot, open my mouth to that choral "ah" shape but to spit it out, i had to. but the jelly-like substance refused to come out. well at least half of it refused. you see, half of it was stuck to the wound. so i had this blood red jelly-like gel leaving my mouth, like it was a banner across blocks and i believe the domestic helper was absolutely freaked out. i asked her if she had removed her wisdom tooth, her response? -simply speechless. she just stood there and stared into the humid air and just was stunned. well, i cannot blame her. if it were me, i would be screaming around the house, waving my arms in the air is much horror but not before i cover my innocent eyes at the sight of that red thing dripping out.

two, remember that jelly like substance and how it was attached to my wound? well i tried to pull it out, without realising that it was glued to my wound. i merely though it was stuck at the back of my throat. so as i said, i pulled it out. it refused to come out so i could only cut that substance into half with my fingers and just resign to doing my time with this argh.

i learnt from that.

havent had a bite since lunch and don't think i will until breakfast tomorrow. that is if i can even open my mouth. then again, i have to eat. gah. i should have just checked myself into the hospital and ask to be put on the drip or even have that tube inserted into my stomach. wait. that will be even more painful, no no no. cannot.

but there are things to look forward to.

i really am looking forward to a meal with you, definitely; with my lovely family and that includes the older folks; with beautiful choir people like sam and marie who really are not helping in the current unemployment rate- really if the united nations were to take out current unemployment rate today, boy oh boy, you two contributed to it; maybe you can put it down in your resume?; with my cell group and division people; and juniors; and 4b; and 43 and other random people. yay.

.
all these, just at the price of
these days of a very stinging discomfort
at the back of your jaw.

i'm proud of you,

darren.

somehow although tomorrow's my wisdom tooth surgery i feel this sense of peace inside; not exactly freaking out or screaming my blasted head off unlike the promos last year. what a difference a year makes. not going to preach or what but really i think it's God.

maybe it's the music.

i'm just so into the blues now. listening to lovely ladies singing the blues and jazz somehow has this beautiful enchanting effect. i'm pretty sure jiejun's raising her eyebrows now. just had that random imagination. and so with all these mellow singing, my mind's running wild again and bringing me back to those memories again. focus on the present boy, that was that.

it's over.

well i've got tomorrow to look forward to.

goodness, i'm actually looking forward to having my hard-grown wisdom tooth extracted and cut out. i'm thinking, since i mentioned jiejun just now, i should mention marie as well. well, just wondering- marie would probably exclaim

"if they remove my wisdom tooth,

i'll be less clever right?"

spot on.

bimbo.

grateful for the experience

never disappointed, not now

/ ? /

wondering how it would differ

the past present and what is to come

/ ? / ? /

keep that trust

and sustain that faith

i'm sure i'm not wrong.

i'm definitely not wrong.

anything
whatever

whatever