last night was a beautiful night with a near full moon. there was so much laughter and good wishes whizzing around the mess; the atmosphere was awesome. it was also to be my last happy hour at the mess, and it's a good thing it didn't disappoint. kelvin who was to end his tour this morning ie. as seen from yesterday, tomorrow, was obviously the main target while i, happily had both legs up on the table. well, in actual fact i was hiding from them. what a bummer. but after the whole lets-dump-kelvin-into-the-fish-pond saga, the fun didnt just stop there. oh no, there was more to come and it sure did all the way till the early dawn.

there was the drinkin. no not beer, though i had a half-yard of that (approx 2 cans), we had alcohol. i reckon we finished at least 4 - 5 full bottles of alcohol yesterday. and when i say we, i mean a group of say 8 people. did i mention we also finished whatever was left in the Other bottles. so amidst all that drinking there was also the talking which honestly was the highlight of the night. that camaraderie and the brotherhood here-- not like any girl reading this would totally connect with except for those semi-deluded, semi-insane females who chose to sign on-- was unmatched. after the bull-talking, what's a happy hour without singing. rather, shouting. but at that already about-to-go state of mind, the line that makes shouting and singing distinct from each other immediately disappears. it doesn't just slowly fade away, it just simply disappears. and i, had to make it all more fun. as soon as someone picks up the microphone to 'sing', immediately i'd concoct a potent potion for them to drink after they're done. that was equally awesome. i remember one to be half green tea, quarter kaoliang (58%), quarter absolut vodka (40%). that was awesome. and another shot to be half kaoliang (58%) and half sheridians (40%). tell me i'm an ass in the mess. HEY IT RHYMES.

didn't bother sleeping after that fiasco and went straight to the airport to send kelvin off, who was still slightly tipsy but oh well, he's got a wife. one of the many joys of marriage huh. and then, i came back and very obviously slept. fast forward time and here i am, with my understudy sitting diagonally behind me. his arrival heralds a new era, and will also quickly bid farewell to mine. YES, I'LL BE BACK IN EXACTLY ONE WEEK.

but not before i finish the alcohol left in the mess with friends so close you'd call and know them as brothers.

ah yes, the 510th entry to mark a very important announcement:

25 SEPT IS THE MAGICAL DATE

FINALLY, IT'S MY TURN TO GO HOME

i've got plans

and commitments already,

your extracted wisdom teeth

will not stop me, so come up la.

on the other hand, take your time:

come up with the load of them;

that'll leave me with the same

number of days of work, as my leave.

ie. no work.

so i got really irritated

and took the shotgun off the wall

and fired two warning shots

into His head.

i found that JOY in singing

and i honestly can't wait to come back

- however -

there are still mixed emotions though

still in caught in that limbo

there is no such thing as ugly women;

only lazy ones.

just a shoutout to all chorale people:

JIAYOUUU! :):):)

last night was the last night two great friends were going to spend at this camp; they have since gone home, in fact, on their way home now.

it all began last night with two cans of heineken and 7-up. well, 7-up was the game and heineken was... you should know better. thing was, those two cans were taken in real slowly. there was no kick; there was nothing.

and then we moved into the mess - the "entertainment hub" for our civilian-friends - and started singing. like any other military elsewhere, singing would finally make way for what is know to civilians as Shouting. so anyway, we Shouted emo farewell songs for those leaving us, and in the process of it had more cups of beer and alcohol mixed in a cup. lovely concoction eh? wrong.

just a 1cm tall cup of 58% alcohol drank dry would make any chest warm and fuzzy, and for some cause serious gastric pains. Ouch. now imagine beer with that alcohol, multiplied by say 5 cups (i can't even remember how many cups i had, there were just too many).

and then there was the guinness stout. till now i have absolutely no idea whatsoever why people like stout. there's this caramel old ancient taste that seems to come from the old dynasties of whatever civilisation, and honestly, it's just simply not nice. short of gross, but just not nice. thank goodness it was just one cup.

and then there were the competitions. one versus one, see who can finish one can of beer the fastest and the slower one will drink about half a can of the 58% alcohol. that one i was not part of.

in the end, i was feeling tipsy - which is not the same as being drunk; it is more of a really really tired feeling under a moderately sedated mind. the others, well let's just say they went completely ballistic with themselves. one peed in the drain, another took off his boxers in the fish pond, ah the list goes on. but one thing united us all last night; we all went into the fish pond, voluntarily or involuntarily we all just did.

call it camaraderie, there was just this unity we felt. remember that saying One for All, All for One? i guess that was what we felt - that drunk, no, tipsy camaraderie.

now that they're both gone, there's definitely a void emotionally and physically too. but hey, september draws nigh and soon i'll be home as well. all i wish is for this camaraderie, drunk or tipsy or not (hopefully the latter) , to be present well into the future; for it is these friendships that i take home with me and will remember always.

i havent felt that way for such a long time

untill ten o'clock last night.

does it satisfy you to see us scramble,

you pervert.

one call was all it took, no.

one word was all you said

and the world started revolving around you.

it's perfectly fine if the first was a mistake

but it's totally Not fine

when you say yes after that

and no, barely half a day later.

what?

you were distracted;

you had too much things to settle;

you were thinking of more important things;

oh yes, all of the above are true -

your lil' game avatar failed to gain a new level.

drats.

don't, even try to give me that bull.

ntu gets to host the youth olympians,

so take that, nus!

smu- i'm sorry but you weren't even in it from the start.

childish comparison game.

but hey, it's fun.
LOL

you ask me who do i
say that you are, and i

say that you are the Christ,

Son of the Living God.

blow wind blow

what many recall it to be a childish game

is now a medium turning full strength typhoon

about to toy with anybody that crosses her path.

we always say mother nature is angry.

but is she by nature, just a violent drunkard mother?

.

even so, none of us want to leave her side.

no one wants mars or venus taking custody of us;

we'd rather remain beaten and battered.

after all, the wind can only blow on and

soon this will all pass.

okay, i think i should elaborate on my previous entry; partly because i was uber tired and fatigued from yesterday's work and could only manage to write that puny condensed entry with the mangled remains of my brain.

it started with a 4km run in the morning right afetr i woke up that left not just me, but everybody tired and sluggish. giving everybody only 45mins to bathe and have breakfast was uncomfortably impossible and that obviously made the entire situation worse. we were the living dead in green. and then the arrows started coming in.

there was to be a conference later that day- mind you, that conference is apparrently one with the highest protocol, other than the presenters the members were of a rank of at least a major- and our camp had to present some projects taht we were working on. i was arrowed to come up with a presentation slide, Just the slides. and so i did, within half an hour; cause remember, i was tired Already. and then the vetting of the slides started and the person who was supposed to present it couldn't explain it properly, so i guessed i just added in a few words here and there to explain in greater detail - i honestly think the idea is a good one and didn't want it to go down the drain just because the bars and crabs didn't have a clear picture about it - and then, the nonsense happened. base commander asked me to present this particular project at the conference that day. imagine my expression: STUN.

butterflies in my stomach throughout the journey to the meeting venue but i thought, what the heck. just get it over and done with. and so i did. it went well, so well that the project was apporved almost immediately albeit some questions here and there. but we did well. good. so then we were supposed to return back to base camp at 1700h and then the next nonsense happened. base comd asked me to send the rest back to camp, then go to his house to pick up his wife and then send her back down to meeting place. apparently there was an impromptu dinner for them. crap.

so i did just that. by the time i got back to camp it was already 1915h and i was already fatigued. another trip down would honestly kill whatever energy i have left. but what to do? i couldn't deviate this arrow and soon found myself back in the very same city i was in 4hours earlier. i only left the city at 2200h and reached back to camp at 2330h.

a quick bath and a quick check on the inbox and then a quick short puny entry of the entire day's work forced me to go to bed at 0000h. and then i had to wake up at 0350h to go to the airport.

so here i am at the airport writing this seemingly elaborate description of what exactly happened yesterday. i'm still tired and sleepy; nothing much has changed physically since yesterday. but i think i'm quite satisfied.

what a day.

completed a presentation within thirty minutes

presented at the highest local conference

been to taipei twice and back

and i'm supposed to be up at 0350h tomorrow.

screw it.

4D3N of travelling has resulted in sore feet, aching limbs and many happy memories. uhhuh, DUDES I'M BACK! a brief outline of where i went: kenting, kaoshioung, tainan, jianhushan theme park, and other small crappy places which i do suppose were meant to kill time. pictures would be duly uploaded and tagged on facebook soon, so keep a look out for it!

lots of time were spent on travelling

zooming through the head and reality.

i used you to get to my dreams

but you brought me to unreal fantasies.

after months of preparation, Finally the anniversary is over. *sigh of relief* honestly, so much work has been put in in the preparation and all that absolute nonsense, not to mention all the crap our ears had to endure during those hour long meetings which at the start didn't settle anything, rest is what we really need now. and it's apt that the upper management is giving us a half day off tomorrow. awesome or not, that's not the point. the point is, ANNIVERSARY IS OVER. and sleep is my best friend.

well done darren.

you did well.

if only love can be told

from blowing leaves

and autumn-gold wind.

That feeling's starting to creep in

and i'm not entertaining it;

hoping, just hoping that like the wind,

it's just a passing thing.

dinner with singapore in taiwan was lovely.

it was heartening

it was encouraging

i think it was plain awesome.

ah, soon that day will come when

dinner with singapore will be a daily affair.

jeremy said, "safety seminar changed to two o' clock."

i heard it as, "please send some apples to my block."

i guess some things Just don't change

women can parade their underwear in the presence of men.

but men cannot, at least in the eyes of this organisation.

that proves that men can be marginalised too.

BUT i guess we never lose out, OOPS.