T-shirt Designs by Muz!

Following my suggestion to have a T-shirt design 'competition' for the MCG in my previous entry, our dear Cousin Muz had kindly came up with not 1, not 2 but FIVE designs! Talk about being ghairah and enthu! Bagus, bagus! Presenting (drum roll, please!)...the 5 designs!

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

Design 4

Design 5

So folks, let us see if there are any more designs and we shall vote in the next MCG! You can even modify Muz' designs (boleh kan kan kan?)... Let's give it up for Muz! That's the spirit bro...

Monthly Cousins Gathering...

Sukacita kami hendak mengumumkan kesudian kami untuk menjadi tuan/puan rumah untuk Perhimpunan Sepupu-sepipit Bulanan yang akan datang yakni pada bulan Mei. Antara acara-acara yang akan kami aturkan adalah...alah...leceh dah nak bebual Melayu panjang lebar... (lagipun Staypan - dari group Peterpan kot?!? - dan Glenn tak paham lah...)

Ok guys, we are volunteering to host the next Monthly Cousins Gathering at our humble abode. I am suggesting to do it either on 23rd or 24th...Because 16th is my exam lah...the weeks before that must revise mah...and 17 kita akan menonton persembahan di Esplanade... So, email me your preference please...

Same modus operandi...POTLUCK hor...Among other things lined-up...(Gua dah plan dah...tak akan melantak je!)...are as follows:-

• We'll start at about 1900hrs with makan and some short half-hour to 45mins show (maybe Peter Russell?!?!). I realised that watching a regular movie as the first order of the evening somehow kills the atmosphere...
• This will be followed by games at about 2100hrs LATEST! I remembered one of the gatherings where we started at about 2300hrs and went all the way till 0300hrs! Giler tu!
• We'll play our regular games like Pictionary Mania, Taboo, Party Scrabble and my all time favourite game with nothing to prepare and that can be played ANYWHERE...The Bear Game! (Do I hear collective sighs from Rina, Naziah and Farah!??!)... I've bought some new party games too and will be springing some SURPRISE games! We'll pit the boys against the girls ok? Nothing like good ol' gender rivalry to bring up the heat!!!
• Karaoke...We've got the set, the mikes and the songs...but BYOD (bring-your-own-disk) if you want!
• We'll also celebrate the birthdays of those born in May...if they are there of course! Macam kelakar kalau celebrate birthday orang yang tak ada kat situ...cheh...
• And of course once the crowd is there, we'll do the Group Photo thingy...macam mark attendance lah gitu...heh!

Let's hope we can get more to join us rather than just the 'regular' supporters (you know who you are!!)...ha...maybe we can make a t-shirt for the regular supporters!?!? Amacam? T-shirt design competition!!! Anyway, those who attended that day was...Faurin (of course dah...rumah diorang!), Bomars, Boya, Warnaz, Aqilah, Khairul, and the inaugural appearances of Staylie!!! Oh...ada 4 under-aged illegal 'over-stayers' in the form of Dahlia, Harith, budak bulat Adam dan budak bubbly Naila...tapi takpe...sebab itu rumah Rina, the first 2 kasi chance! Lagipun, tak nampak batang hidung diorang pun (kena stay dalam room lah tu!)...and the other 2 belum boleh jalan lagi so kira ok lah tu... Once again, one of the golden rule of our MCG is NO KIDS! (Unless the tuan rumah bo-pian tak ada alternative arrangement but this privilege only given to tuan rumah je and kids that cannot walk yet...)

So boys and girls, email me your preference...I'll contact the rest...

Another thing about Taiwan...

For first-timers to Taiwan, this squatting toilet may confound them...Which way does one face? And why? Put your answers in my shoutbox. Boboy can't answer first because he SHOULD know! C'mon boys and girls...

What a whirlwind 4 days it was!

It seems that what I've been missing for the past 3 weeks while overseas was almost made up for in the last four days since I came back! Let me see...Since I came back, I:-

1. Had pizza at, where else...Pizza Hut. With the family. New location at Lot 1. That dinner lasted 2 hours!
2. Had dinner at Secret Recipe with the family. At IMM. First time we've eaten at Secret Recipe at IMM.
3. Had dinner at Mad Jacks along Bt Timah with the family. This has become our favourite haunt whenever we feel hunger pangs between Orchard Road and home!
4. Had my regular 3 kosong, 1 egg (prata lah!) which I could not get in Taiwan! The only prata-like food in Taiwan was served in the ubiquitous 'Ninja' van that also served wild boar meat! Tak payah ler...
5. Had my regular mochacinno at McCafe at United Square.
6. Had our regular breakfast at McDonald's at Lot 1.
7. Had lunch at Sakura International Buffet with the wife's side of the family. The one near Masjid Tentera. That one I belanja the whole lot as it was my MIL's birthday. The girls gave her birthday cards, we gave her our latest family studio shot and Mars gave her a bag. It was either the Harrod's or LeSportSac one...me not sure which one!
8. Attended our first Monthly Cousins Gathering (in a long while!) at Faurin's with the wife. It has been a while since we've had one and you can tell from the atmosphere that IT HAS BEEN A WHILE!!! There was a whole bunch of food from 'Curry-in-a-bun' sponsored by yours truly, fried chicken, murtabak, popiah basah, pizza, fruit salad and ice-cream.
9. Attended a Man U vs Chelsea get-together at Nya'i Bik As house where once again there was food glorious food. Mak said that there'll be 'rojak keling' (I know that sounds so politically incorrect but that's how it's always been called!). But of course there was much much more than that - fried mushrooms, nasi lemak, fried chicken, fruit cocktail, etc...
10. Attended my last lecture for the semester. My very animated lecturer summarised the works of Mary Shelly, Turgenev, Byron and the Women Poets of the Romantic period. I was left in a dizzy...
11. Attended my first piano lesson in 2 months!!! Those fingers were sure creaky! The parents and younger students (average age about 8-10 I think!) waiting outside must have been surprised hearing such halting play from a grown man when I finally finished my lesson. Learning to play the piano at my age sure is a humbling experience!
12. Brought the family to feed the fish, tortoises, birds and ducks at Symphony Lake in Botanical Gardens. This was one of the list of places my 2 girls have listed down as places they WOULD like me to bring them to. It rained when we reached there and we took cover at a small shelter overlooking the lake. It was kinda nice feeding the fish and tortoise with rain pitter-pattering. The girls enjoyed themselves thoroughly...
13. Went swimming at the pool below with the family. It has been a while. Kakak was like fish to water. It was simply wonderful as I watched her dived deep into the deep end of the pool - the stillness and 'blue-ness' of the water surrounding her as bubble trails floated upward seemed almost poetic...Adik took a while to warm up to the pool. But once she was OK, there was no stopping her! The wife was deeply embarrassed when I came up below her and lifted her up on my shoulders! The pool echoed with her protests and my cackling laughter!
14. Went for a much needed spa session with the wife. We came a bit late so no hydrobath for us (crystals...we needed the crystals!) and the facial therapist girl was on off. So only massage then...As usual, the wife said I snored but this time not so loud!
15. Watched 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' with the girls. Made popcorn for them. It was afternoon at the movies for us! Sweet...
16. Sent the wife's Nokia E65 for repair (LCD screen not working). A new one would cost about $500 without plan. So at about $60 for the repair, it was worth it!
17. Sent my battle-scarred, well-worn, beat-up Nikon D70 for a much needed R&R&R - Repair, Restoration and Replacement! There was something wrong with ON/OFF switch and the CF-card base was faulty. Total cost was $250. There was also something wrong with the locking mechanism of the VR lens that caused it to slide down by itself if carried in a certain angle but at $180 for the repair and because it does not affect the quality of the pictures taken, I decided to give it a pass.
18. Collected my newly tailored No.5 uniform from Javini's. I've been chosen as the ADC to the President for the 6th year and apparently the material for the No.5 has been changed and hence the need to re-tailor.
19. Exchanged the spoilt Walter for the spiffy new Walter! This one was done at Times Centre near Paya Lebar. Walter is one of the main products of the Child's First Library we recently bought for our girls as an 'investment' and also in a bid to put them ahead of the rat race at an early age! (Hah!) Poor Walter could only say "Hi! My name is Walter!" and that's it! His scanner didn't work anymore and thus he had to be exchanged!
20. Bought a new GPS car mount for my trusty 60CSx...the old one was lost somewhere in the mountains of Southern Taiwan...dang!
21. Bought some 'nice' clothings for the wife online...funny how so little material can cost so much...ahem...!
22. Bought "My Sister' Keeper" by Jodi Picoult at Kinokuniya.
23. Bought the girls new shoes. In anticipation of our trip Down Under in 2 months time. So that they will have time to be 'broken' in...
24. Bought myself new pants from Columbia. Ever since my first pair, I've grown to love it's comfort and ease of use...pants with no need for ironing! Can be worn for trekking or shopping! Cool...
25. Bought myself new cardigans. To wear during cold lectures, movies and Aussieland!
26. Bought 'couple' watches for the wife and I. From Solvil et Titus. I just love the classic advertisements on TV. (Hey! Ads work after all!). I'm not really a watch person but the last time I bought a watch was 2 years ago and even then it was for training...so it was high time for a new timepiece for the both of us...
27. Bought the wife this...but a purple one, of course...

There...squeezed as much as I could in these 4 short days...Of course, it could not make up for the time I've been away from the family. Thank you dear wife for doing all that you did while I was away - keeping our girls safe, warm and happy, keeping our home safe and sound and looking after yourself well...I HEART YOU!

Things you may not know about Taiwan

1. It's a left-hand drive country so look the correct way before you cross the street!
   
2. They're big on re-cycling. By default, they won't give you plastic bags to put your stuff in after you shop. You gotta pay for your plastic bags. Even in McDonald's, one has to separate one's trash...
3. You can find 7-11 stores at almost every street corner. Even in 'ulu' places...It's like the land of 7-11s...
4. They don't do breakfast at McDonald's :(... no hotcakes, no muffins...just the lunch menu throughout.
5. They don't serve chilli sauce at fast food restaurants. When one asked for chilli sauce, the closest they could muster up was chilli powder!
6. There's no time difference between Taiwan and Singapore.
7. There's a lone 'halal' stall selling kebab out of the hundreds of stalls in the night markets of Kaohsiung.
8. If you are hoping to have something decent to eat at Kaohsiung International Airport before your flight out...you'll be out of luck!
9. Even if you have the right of way, YOU DON'T! When you are walking along the streets and see the sign "Pedestrians Have the Right of Way", don't believe it! It's a trick!
10. Motorcycles outnumber cars 10 to 1!
11. Most motorcyclists wear something to cover their noses and mouths as they zoom along the polluted streets. These pieces of clothes can be quite fashionable and comes in a myriad of colours. Their effectiveness to protect against pollutants is questionable however.

Pounding the streets of Kaohsiung

I'm now sitting on the junction of Jianguo 2nd Road and Fusing Road just outside a 7-11. This stretch of road in Kaohsiung is famous for its IT shops. It's a bit like Sim Lim Square and Funan Centre but the shops are not under one roof. Been walking here since 10 plus this morning with Chris and Chung Wai. Nothing much here really that you can't find back in Singapore. And I suspect the price is slightly higher too. We're going to a mall after this. Still have about a thousand plus NT to blow before the flight this evening.

The Spirit of ATEC...

Apparently it is something like a tradition in my unit that a photo competition is held whenever we train overseas. And this time round it was no difference... The top 3 prizes worth a total of NT$2500 was kindly sponsored by my Chief. The theme for the competition was "Spirit of ATEC". A few of us got down to 'business' trying to capture the said spirit. I had a friendly rivalry with my Chief (who was also in the competition!) on who would win the competition. Apparently, he won it last year. Obviously, the judges won't be him lah! It was my Commander and the Dy Chief... Anyway, from what I gathered, the winning entry last year showed ATECians (people from ATEC lah!) laughing. Apparently, the judges last year decided that it aptly captured the spirit of ATEC. Hmmm...I was tempted to go along the same path but after some reflection decided to do something different. In the end, I had five entries which I considered to be quite ok. The following are 3 of the five. For security reasons (ahem...) I can't show the other two but I'll explain them shortly.

Circle of Trust

From diverse backgrounds we come together for a common goal,

with rich experiences we bear,

we share a common thread in the tapestry that is ATEC.

Always there with a helping hand...
Through the tough times we go through
We help each other discover our limits
Through the tough paces we put units through
We help them discover their boundaries...

He ain't heavy, he's my brother
Just like a flock of birds,
We tap on each other to lift ourselves up.

The 4th picture one showed 3 ATECians having a good laugh and the expressions on their faces showed pure joy. These 4 pictures shared a common thread in that they showed ATECians.

The 5th and final picture was different. It showed the unit that went through ATEC. The scene I captured showed 3 soldiers in action - one 'injured' officer was lying down, his right leg suffering 'severe bleeding' from the enemy 'artillery fire' that rained down just minutes before, his faithful signaller, lightly injured but still manning the radio and calling for help lying down just beside him and a third solider, an anti-tank gunner lugging a MATADOR running past them towards the direction of the 'enemy'. I captured the running soldier while panning my camera so that I got him clearly while the background was blurred. This was done to show the urgency of the situation. I entitled the picture “Fallen - A fallen comrade, a radioman calling for help, an anti-tank gunner rushing forward to take out the enemy – ATEC pushes units to their limits and lets them discover how tough they are...”. This was the photo I submitted for the competition.

The results were announced after we conducted our own debrief, 1 day before going for R&R. The Chairman showed all the photos that did not win and then came to the top three...Mine wasn’t one of those that was shown earlier so I knew I had a chance. I forgot what the third place photo was but the second one was similar to my “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’ photo! I knew then that I had clinched first prize! The judges liked the senses of urgency and mission that my entry had depicted. So there, my first ever win in a photo competition, albeit a small one...

50 more days to Sundown...

According to my Polar RS200 watch, it is 50 more days to the inaugural Sundown Marathon. I have been training hard with a group of umpires who have registered to run for the marathon. It'll be my first ever marathon and my aim is completion rather than competition! I've been running almost every day since I came with the advance party nearly 10 days ago. I ran 8km yesterday evening and will try to clock 12km later in the evening. The SDM (SunDown Marathon) runners went for a group run this morning, peeling off from the rest at the 2km turning point. We ran up the new road behind our camp, offering a very scenic view of the countryside and the imposing mountains to the east. We did 2mins hard and 1min slow all the way back to camp. It was to let us have a feeling of what it will feel like at the 30km mark, said our resident UFO who became our defacto 'coach'! We ended off by doing some dynamic lunges and other exercises which emphasised the thighs. By the third exercise, my legs felt like jelly! There's more, the UFO said! Let's go to the gym to trains our arms! By the end of this morning's session, my gluteaus maximus was thoroughly maxed out!!! I'm still feeling the effect in my thighs now! Oh well, more to come... Oh yah, was chased by about 4 dogs this morning as we were running thru the village! It was quite a site seeing grown men trying to out-scare the dogs! If only I had a camera with me then! But then again, I was busy running away from the dogs too! One of the 'hazards' of running here, I guess!

Lunch in Heng Chun

I'm now at 32 Simply Cafe somewhere in Heng Chun Town having lunch...alone! This is the third time that I've been to this place for lunch since it's the only one that I discovered selling fries and bread! The owner recognised me and the last time I was here, he pointed to his router when he saw me taking out my LifeDrive with the keyboard! So that's how I'm 'filing' this entry now! Just finished a thick slice of garlic toast. The thickness is twice that of a normal bread! Now munching toasted cheese sandwich while drinking chocolate milkshake. Awaiting my fries! Had a busy morning of recce. Going back camp after this. Since the mainbody arrived, I've been waking up everyday at 0515hrs for morning PT! 0515hrs! Macam waktu training as an officer cadet pulak! By about 0530hrs, the sky is already getting bright. (Ah...my fries just came...) Waking up so early is no problem after a while. It's all about getting used to it. Of course, one has got to be sleeping by about 2200hrs to get the requisite 7 hours of sleep! Ah...the toasted cheese sandwich is very delicious! They've even put in some corn to make it sweet. The fries came with tomato sauce. They don't do chilli sauce here in Taiwan! When asked for chilli, they will give chilli flakes! Note to self: Stock up on McDonald's chilli sauce before coming here again! Back to waking up at 0515hrs. We will start off with some light warm-up followed by a run. Running here in the morning is wonderful. The air is fresh and crispy. We are, after all, near the sea. We ran 4km the day before and up the slopes yesterday. We will end off by doing some static exercises conducted by our resident UFO (!) or Unit Fitness Officer. We do the usual ones like push-ups, sit-ups, alternate sit-ups and leg raises, some with strange-sounding names like 'Chase the Rabbit' and 'Good Morning Darling' (which involves lying down on one's back, raising the legs about 6 inches off the ground and closing and spreading them repeatedly!!!).

For you a thousand times over...

It has been a while since I’ve picked up a good read. A really good read. I’ve stopped reading novels for quite a while preferring instead to read more ‘practical’ stuff like magazines, newspapers, reports, self-help books, parenting books, books on photography, the like. I’ve always had this guilt when I read a novel thinking that I could have spent my time reading something more ‘useful’! Because once I pick up a good novel, I would not put it down until I’ve finished reading it!! Like the current one I’m reading – “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. I bought it on a whim actually. My BH gave me a reading list she came up with and one of the books she wanted was “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by the same author. And while browsing for it, I came across his first book, “The Kite Runner”. I’ve heard about the movie and decided to have a go at the novel since I’ll be travelling a lot and could fill my time with a novel. On the way to Taiwan, the in-flight entertainment system listed “The Kite Runner” as one of the movies for viewing. I was tempted to watch it as I have already started reading the first 50 pages of the book and knew that it would be a good movie but I resisted. Watching the movie first would spoil the beauty of the discovering the written words. Would spoil how the story flows from page to page, would spoil the mental picture that unfolds as one reads the story. (WARNING! Spoiler ahead). And I did not regret the decision for the book is one of the best reads I’ve had in a long while. I cried at the part when Hassan ‘kissed the baby’s lifeless face’ after ‘Farzana gave birth to a stillborn baby girl’ and ‘buried her in the backyard, near the sweetbrier bushes’. Cried at the part when the Taliban took Hassan ‘to the street...and order him to kneel...and shot him in the back of the head’, when ‘Farzana came screaming and attacked them...shot her too.’ I always love a good cry whether watching a movie or reading a book. I forgot the last time I cried when reading a novel. When you read a novel such as “The Kite Runner” you grow close to the main characters and identify with them. You lose yourself in the novel and lose track of the time. You are torn between wanting to finish the novel to find out what happens in the end and from wanting to prolong the read so that you have something to look forward to...It’s like once you have finished the book, you leave the world that you have known, the characters that you have identified with. I’m in the last 100 pages of the book and although I want to find out what happens in the end, I also do not want it to finish too fast... Go have a read, you won’t regret it...