Up and about...

0052hrs and still up and about?!? Yep, the family's all asleep... I've been trying to get my 'new' Lifedrive up again. Yep, got myself a refurbished one. The old one died on me a few days ago. And as Murphy always likes to pop up at the most inopportune of times, it died when I have not sync with the lappie for a few weeks! Few weeks! Duh...So all my calendar, diary, contact entries that I have entered over that period of time is gone! Takeaway from the episode...need I say more?!?

I did not get a new model of Palm or even cross over to those new fangled PDA cum phone using Microsoft's interface...I don't really like PDAs based on Microsoft's interface and I really like Palm OS' simple and easily accessible interface. Now I know how Mac users feel!

Anyway, getting back up data is always a hassle unless one backs up regularly. Which I do to the point of obsession. I have double and even triple redundancy of some of my more important data. For example, my huge digital photo collection that I started way back in 2001 and has grown to 25 GB is saved in 3 different places! One in my PC, another in a separate external hardrive and another in a 'secure' place on the internet. Talk about kiasu! Let's just say that many of the lessons concerning data was learnt the hard way. So boys and girls, ALWAYS back up your data... it's like insurance...it's a hassle and takes away resources (money for insurance and time for back-ups) but when the shit hits the fan, you'd be glad that you have done it.

Ah well, the Lifedrive's still humming away restoring my data...

In a few hours time, a lot of us will be meeting at a place that is aptly summed up in the following - "Tempat jatuh lagi dikenang, inikan pula tempat bermain..."

Can't wait to meet the whole clan there! My small suggestion for a gathering has turned out to be quite a meet-up...let's hope the weather cooperates!

Welcome to the family!

We would like to welcome Baby Noah to the family! We've just received an SMS from Ijai informing us that Bulin has given birth to Noah Copsey aka Noah bin Yusoff! Congrats guys! That's one more branch for the family tree...Moga-moga emak and bebudak dalam keadaan sihat...We'll visit you guys when we get back!

Oh..."when we get back"? Yep...we're blogging live from Impiana, Hotel & Spa situated a stone's throw away (actually 5 stones throw away!) from KLCC! Here's a 'teaser' from this morning's visit to the Skybridge of the Petronas Twin Towers. I had to get up at 0700hrs this morning to be at the queue by 0730hrs to wait for the counter that dispensed the tix to be opened at 0830hrs! But the wait was worth it! Enjoy the 'teaser'...more to come when we reach home...Insyallah...

Pertunangan Jihan & Fadil

Congrats to the both of them! Here's my first attempt at digital scrapbooking!

Welcome to the family Naila!

Bonjour Naila! Comment vas-tu? J'espere que tu vas bien...C'est moi, Oncle Omi! Félicitations! Je suis très fier de toi! Prends soin de toi! Bisous...

And so it was at 0425hrs on 13th December 2007 (Auxerre local time) was Naila born to the Ponce family! Félicitations to both parents and their little princess! I was told by her dad that she weighs 2,890g at birth. That she's adorable, in good health like her mom. Julie entered the hospital the day before at about 1600hrs. She will continue with her usual injections and will stay in the hospital until Monday morning...

Yeay! I'm finally an "Uncle"... ;)

Here are the pics of the mom and baby...

Julie & Naila...

Hmmm...looks like who ah?

Awww...so sweet...

One more branch for the family tree!!!

Oh shit I'm a butter head...come see me eat nipples!

For those who have enjoyed Girly Man (which by the way is my all time favourite!) by buffalax, here's another one...

Of Pedra Branca

Next week will kick start the round of presentations by both Singapore and Malaysia on their claims to Pedra Branca. This would no doubt be of interested to both sides of the Causeway and as Singaporeans, we should be updated and aware of the interests surrounding the issue.

Of Scrabulous, sick princesses and Hari Raya

Scrabulous

When I log on to the Internet nowadays, Facebook is one of the few sites that I visit regularly! Other than the usual keeping up with friends stuff and the few pokes I have to administer now and then, I am absolutely hooked on 'Scrabulous'! If you like Scrabble, then Scrabulous will be your cup of tea! Your opponents are like-minded people from ALL OVER THE WORLD! I've always liked playing word games, especially Scrabble ever since I was in primary school. When I was posted to a place tucked away in the jungles of Borneo many moons ago, I remembered playing it in the officers' mess until the wee hours of the morning! The person with the lowest score for the round would buy drinks/tidbits all round for the next game. That kept us going on and on and on like the Energizer Bunny!

Sick Princesses

It all began from a sore throat on my part followed by an occasional but nonetheless irritating cough. Soon my BH got it followed by my 2 princesses. This almost always happens after the Hari Raya food binge what with all the fried stuff and crackers and kuih-muih... The girls had it worse, especially the elder one. She's still coughing and had a high fever of 39.5 degrees celsius last week! She just came back from her Nyai's house and was vomitting the whole night. Funny how all thoughts of sleep and one own's comfort is forgotten once one's own is struck down with a sickness. I guess that is the human instinct of ensuring that one's own lineage is preserved. Get well soon Kakak, Ayah will take you swimming ok?

Hari Raya

I always love it when Hari Raya falls from Friday to Sunday! Friday because Saturday and Sunday are non-working days. Saturday because Sunday is a non-working days and we civil servants can claim 1 day off if a holiday falls on a Saturday. And Sunday because Monday will then be a public holiday! If Hari Raya falls on any other days, it will break the momentum of the celebrations somewhat. There's like a pause on visiting and everybody will take cue and continue with a vengeance during the weekend!

For the second time in a row, we video-conferenced with Juls and Muhd on a Hari Raya morning at Mak's. I had especially bought a webcam (never had one, didn't see the need to have one before) and had subscribed to Singtel's Broadband on Mobile service so I can video-conference on the go. We did the same thing at Nyai's and also video-conference with Bik June in the US. Talk about keeping the far close!

Salam Aidilfitri...

Well, it's the morning after the last terawih...last terawih always make me sayu...that duo qunut was a good 15 minutes! Fortunately this year, all the imams managed to maintain their composure throughout the doa qunut...Previous years, most will break up during the doa qunut and would have to take a few moments to recompose themselves...sniffles would be heard among the jemaah...

Ah...time to do a self-reflection of what we went through during Ramadhan...A brother of mine (the only brother!), penned down his thoughts of what Ramadhan means to him. It's true that as one gets older, perspectives change. Ramadhan to me means revising all the doa for terawih (once a year what, one tends to forget right?), revising all the solat sunat tied to Ramadhan. It also means a time to clean the house. This year we switched the children's and study room. We painted 2 walls with one having stripes as requested by my BH! Nicely done dear! We also started all the major shifting and cleaning way in advance. I guess my 1 week leave at the beginning of Ramadhan helped! By the second week of Ramadhan, we were more or less ready for Raya. No more rushing around the last days to Raya. I don't see the sense in staying up late into the wee hours of the morning of Raya and then having to suffer bouts of sleepiness throughout the day. No fun at all...

Ramadhan to me is also a month of self-reflection. Of reviewing my goals, mission and vision in life. It's a time to take stock of what has happened and what is to happen. A time to better oneself as a person. The litmus test of whether a Ramadhan has been carried out 'successfully' is to see whether we have become a better person after it has passed or whether we 'lapse' back to our 'old self'...

One thing I look forward during Ramadhan is berbuka puasa. It's not so much the eating and drinking that I look forward to but the time spent with family at specific times everyday. It's important to have this time where we can sit down as a family to just enjoy each other's company and talk about the day's events.

Ramadhan is also a time for me to 'push' myself. To prove to myself that I can do all the 'normal' things that I do during other months. I did my runs just as in other months. I read more because of the 1 hour 'saved' during lunch!

So, while we are busy preparing for Hari Raya, let's just take a moment to reflect on how we have conducted ourselves during Ramadhan and doa that we will have another chance to do it again and do it better next year...Insyallah...

Oh...Selamat Hari Raya to one and all...Maaf Zahir dan Batin...

To be in his shoes...

And so the first Malay has blasted into space...To be in his shoes...As the earth 'falls' away, as the stars shine brighter, as the greatness of Allah is seen from afar...to be in his shoes...

A lot has been said about Dr Sheikh Muszaphar. But my topic is about the other person...Faiz...I can just imagine what he was thinking as the Soyuz floats away from the gravitational pull of Mother Earth. I have been in his shoes...Preparing for a mission, going through all the lessons, through all the practicals, through all the 'hardships', through all the medicals with countless needles poking into you, having all your vitals checked, having your teeth x-rayed (just in case you are burned beyond recognition and all they have is your teeth...comforting thought!)...Going through all this knowing that you will NEVER have a chance to up (never mind that the Malaysian PM said that he will be the next person to go up) if all goes according to plan. I wonder if throughout his training he may have had a whisper of a thought and had hoped that the primary candidate could not make it due to whatever reason...I have been there as a 'back-up' or reserve before...ah...such is life...

Dead link...

Hmmm...since the link to the Berita Harian article (from the post on 12 Sep 2007) is no longer active, I've decided to add this instead. BTW, it's Harsh and not Jarsh and Heru and not Herm!

Some sites...

Occasionally, I find sites that are worth sharing...The following are two which I came across while watching Click on BBC World...

1. Girl Solo in Arabia

This is a personal blog by Carolyn Mcintyre. It is really nicely written and well worth a look, especially if you are interested in arab culture or planning to travel to the region.

The opening page is a world map illustrating Carolyn's route through the Arab countries, starting from North Africa to the Middle East to the Arabian peninsula to Asia.

You can start exploring by clicking one of the dots on the map and jumping to the city you want to read about. Often the entries are complemented by photographs not only of famous landmarks but more specific things to reflect the culture of a country, like a wedding or traditional dressing gown.

Carolyn started her journey in 2006. Her mission is to do the same journey that the famous Islamic scholar Ibn Batuta did over 680 years ago. The journals are easy to read and full of information.

It is very easy to find your way around the site which is always good. One criticism though - I don't like the way the links on the left hand side go on and on, even though there is nothing left in the main section.

2. Readymech

If you like origami, the art of paper folding, this is a site you might enjoy.

Readymech is one the projects a group of designer from Denver are running. All you do is click on one of the very colourful robots that are on there in PDF format, print it out and fold on dotted lines. You can either use glue or doublesided tape to stick the sides together.

Of course the art of origami usually is more complicated than that, and doesn't come with the dotted lines for you to fold at.

The start of a new beginning...

My journey that is the 38th Command and Staff Course is over. It has been a hectic nine months of lectures, discussions, plenaries, presentations, burning the midnight oil and time away from loved ones...I have gained much and discovered insights about myself which I had not known before. From Clausewitz to Krulak, from the deserts of Iraq to the vast span of the Pacific Ocean, from case studies on the National Library to case studies on East Timor, I have certainly grown in knowledge and hopefully, wisdom. More than anything, it was a journey of discovery. A journey of pushing one's limits. I have gained many friends and have grown close to a few. I won't forget those who have helped me go the extra mile, helped me when the assignments started piling up, pushed me along when time was tight. Who could forget all the colourful characters that is the 38th CSC...

Here's an article from Berita Harian published today...

An Infantryman's Adieu

This poem is dedicated to my mates in Syndicate 3...

To friendships forged
To memories cherished
To sufferings endured
To dreams fulfilled

To those who were with me right from the start
It was an honour serving together
Side by side

To those who have helped me go the extra mile
I’ll treasure it forever
Most certainly with a smile!

To those who I did not have the privilege of knowing better
I’m sure our paths will cross again
Sooner or later

As I end another chapter of my life
And start a new beginning
I know that the fire of Syndicate 3
Will keep on burning
I know that the light of Syndicate 3
Will keep on shining

As I start a new journey
And bid farewell to everybody
I’ll remember that wherever I may be
I was once & will always be
A part of Syndicate 3 – of the 38th CSC!

Last presentation of the course

I'm sitting down entering this on my phone as i listen to the last presentation of the 38th Command and Staff College of which i was the first presenter! It's over... Tonight's our Graduation Ball... Next week is a whole lot activities for the end of course admin..

You are what you speaketh...

The latest edition of the English@Work newsletter is here. I especially like the 'Sounding Right' segment. For past issues, click here. Read on and you might find many nuggets of information.

Frustration...

Frustration is when you've spent more than 2 hours in the dead of the night looking for the 'perfect' soundtrack for a study visit video that you were asked to make and then when it was time to play it for an audience, the sound didn't come out right because the laptop playing it was not hooked up to the sound system...instead the laptop's puny speakers were magnified by using only the lectern microphone which, predictably, produced crappy sound! Aaaaaarrgghhhh!!!

Note to self: Next time, hook up the system YOURSELF instead of depending on the speaker, who's probably nervous like hell about the entire presentation...don't leave things to chance!

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

A staff from the Regional Delegation of the ICRC in Kuala Lumpur came down to give us a lecture on the ICRC. He shed a lot of light on what the ICRC does. Being a neutral, independent and humanitarian organisation, they work in situations of armed conflict. Their international mandate is to promote the Laws of Armed Conflict. They are a part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (But they are NOT the Red Cross / Red Crescent Societies. These guys operate in natural disaster situations). The ICRC has 3 roles mainly in the provision of assistance and protection of conflict victims, as the guardians of international humanitarian law and the official recognition of National Societies (i.e. Red Cross / Red Crescent). These guys are all over the world whenever there is armed conflict. Among other things that struck me was what he said about the Red Cross / Red Crescent. The purpose of the symbol of the Red Cross / Red Crescent is the protection of the military's medical services during armed conflict. The symbol is then adopted by each countries' Naitonal Societies for their medical services...

The Final Inspection

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

MAJ Harsh Vardhan Singh, Indian Army
38th Command and Staff Course
Singapore Command and Staff College

Focus on the family...

It's 0236hrs on a Thursday morning and I'm already up! Why? Cause I slept at 2130hrs!!! Why? Cause Mars & me fell asleep at about the same time while putting the girls to sleep! Usually one of us would wake the other up after both the girls have gone to sleep but it seems that we KO-ed! Maybe it was because of our evening run we had earlier but I'll touch on that later. We're at the stage where we're 'training' the girls to sleep in their own room. Inadvertently, both would end up on our bed sometime in the middle of the night! Usually the younger princess would stumble into our bed and 'claim' her 'rightful' corner! Her sister, discovering that there's no one around, would follow soon after, claiming that, "There's no one with me..."! Well, for tonight, we had planned to let the girls sleep on our bed first (they always seem to fall asleep there faster!) and then carry (me lor!) them to their bed... I was woken up by Lisha's tossing and turning as she tends to have very vivid dreams coupled with the fact that she is an 'active sleeper'! I woke up with her foot in my face!!!

I would like to wish a belated "Welcome to the Club" greeting to Roy on the occasion of the birth of Emma Joy. Check out the link to his blog on the right and discover how exuberant a father he is! Reading his blog brings back sweet memories of the times when our two princesses where just born... And looking at them now, life just seemed to whizz by... That is why it is important to savour every moment with the people you love, at every stage in their lives. Every stage in a child's life brings with it different opportunities and challenges. And while many may be reluctant to go on to the next stage, life will tumble along head-on nevertheless. And I find it strange that the most important job in the world does not require 'accreditation'! One needs years of schooling to become a teacher, doctor, engineer but to be a parent, one just needs to be able to produce an offspring! Whatever happens after that is left to one's own devices. I believe that even with a basic understanding of parenting skills coupled with some knowledge about child development, one would be on one's way to be a better parent. But I believe that this is not enough in this fast-paced and ever changing world. That is why it is important for us parents to keep up with the times and be updated with current teachings about child development, parenting, etc. Parenting based on "my parents did that to me too and I seemed to turn out fine" strategy and instincts can only bring one so far. With information so readily available from so many sources, it would a shame if one does not improve oneself. Parenting is too important to be left to chance!

In that light, Mars and me are currently enrolled in a "Parenting with Confidence" workshop conducted by Focus on the Family. I like these kind of workshops. They give me an opportunity to keep up with the latest, to find out more, to discuss, to share, to get to know other parents and discover that we are not alone in facing our challenges in bringing up kids. It is also a golden opportunity for some "us" time with Mars. And for the kids to spend time with their grandparents. So it's a win-win situation for all! And it's $80 well spent methinks! For those who say that there's no time, that it's too far away and that it's too draining after a hard day's work, well, "where there's a will, there's a way" is my response... I find these workshops invigorating and inspiring... Anyway, I've added more links to Family sites that I constantly check and get updated on...

One of the goals I have set for myself as part of the workshop is to spend more quality time with my two princesses... That sounds like cliche but it's a reality we have to face in our struggle to balance work and family life. And our 'homework' is to do something that we have never done with our kids before...hmmm...what could that be? Climb trees maybe?! Play in the rain? Paint our faces? Draw together? Act their favourite fairy tale? Treasure hunt? Catch butterflies? The possibilities are endless once you put your mind to it!

Lessons ended early today (1700hrs) so on the way back I called Mars to get the kids ready for cycling! By 1800hrs we were at the basement unlocking the girls' bicycles. Our SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in this case is that I will bring the girls cycling around our place while Mars hits the gym for a go at the threadmill. Then we will switch over. For today, from 1800hrs to 1845hrs, I managed to bring the girls for a round around our place. Then we hit the playground where I showed them the intricacies of the 'monkey swing'! Then we played hopscotch. You should see Lisha trying to balance on one leg and twisting and turning away! It was precious! And we managed to play 4 rounds of hide-and-seek! Oh, and I still got my 5km run (to psyche up for the 21km Army Half Marathon this Sunday...see you there at the startline Fauzi and Glen) at the threadmill after changing over with Mars... Next major run for me after the AHM is the Singapore Marathon on 2 December... Care to join me anyone?

Leaving on a jet plane...

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."...

And so here I am in Changi Airport Terminal 2 using one of the many free internet terminals. I'm taking the 1005hrs flight from Singapore to Hanoi on SQ196. It will be the second time in 2 weeks that I'm flying, the last being exactly one week ago at exactly the same time to Jakarta and Bandung (hmmm, I'll put up the posts on those when I have the time ya?). These 2 trips are part of our study trips for the course. The other group has been to Malaysia and is already in Beijing, China now.

If I can find internet cafes in Hanoi, I'll continue my travel blog...till then au revoir to the cyberworld!

441 on Classic...

I didn't wanna post it you know...but Juls did it first...so here it is! And oooh...I'm beginning to see a few familiar names up in the High Scores list especially under the Classic Map (since all of us have 'decided' to play on Classic Map so that we have a common reference point for bragging rights!)! Well done Chris and Kamel...I'll beat you guys yet!

Here's what I got with Nukes and Tazers...Tazers to slow them down and Nukes to take 'em out.

Draft is finally out...

Yep...it's 0348hrs on a Saturday morning...and my draft is finally done...finished! I've just sent it to my supervisor at 0342hrs just now! Yes...yes...yes...now life can get back to normal...Let's wait and see what his comments are...

I'm Simpsonised!

Contrary to what StimGam portrayed me as on the banner of his blog, I think I look more like this...right? Check out his banner for other 'characters'! Quite a good resemblence!

On the 'Onslaught' front...the 'disease' has spread far and wide! I counted at least 20 people 'trying' out the game 'in between' lectures...ehem! During lunch, many small groups were seen discussing strategies on the best 'combos' to use to defeat the 'Onslaught'! There's a talk going around that it may soon be the 'official' game of 38th CSC! Some suggested that by Monday morning, those involved are to show a screen capture of the highest score from now till then. Winner gets the 'pot'! Currently the honour goes to Bernard Ng with 200 + waves on the Classic map and counting...

And on the CRP front...I'm happy to say that I'm halfway there! 'There' being the 5000 word mark. Actually it's not so much the word count but the flow of ideas and one's own thoughts about the topic at hand. I WILL FINISH BY TOMORROW! Then it's back to 'Onslaught'!!!

An Onslaught of Essays!

Oh man StimGam! Dammit...dammit...he has spread the Onslaught disease to me! It was an innocent MSN message that said "Check out this game" and I was hooked! Now Jefri knows why I was 'disengaged' from the JPP discussion!!! Hey, I was maintaing 'listerning watch' ok! Then Chris saw the game and next day he told me, "Dammit Shah...why did you introduce the game to me!?!?"...Next to be hooked was our resident fighter pilot. I guess the only time he displayed that much concentration is when he is in the cockpit of his F-16! The three of us were discussing strategies to overcome the onslaught as we made our way to a Japanese restaurant @ Jurong West Sport Complex for lunch! And when I got back to attend the country brief, I saw Simon, Robin and Choon Keong playing the game in the audit!!! Talk about spreading the disease! And all this in the middle of a hectic period when the rest (including myself of course) are rushing our Commandant's Research Paper (5000 words baby!) before flying off to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and China around the National Day week. We don't want to be lugging our laptops overseas to do the CRP now do we?!?! Dammit...dammit StimGam...now I know why there's a tagline on the Onslaught website saying "You wanted to get anything done today?"!!! You have been warned...Once you click on the link and unless you are not human, you will be hooked!!!

July 2007 Monthly Cousins Gathering

And so we trooped to Annaz's @ Woodlands last Saturday for our Monthly Cousins Gathering. There were 20 of us there! The gathering is getting bigger. We would like to welcome Faizal & Widdi to their first ever gathering! As usual, it was potluck. Our kind hosts provided the drinks (hot & cold!) and ice-cream floats. We brought along 2 pieces of pound cakes with some chips. Rina brought indo-mi goreng (the 'base' food) and pieces of chicken that was sinfully nice! Glynn brought along home-made quiche (it was delicious Glen!). There were also doughnuts and jelly. All in all, the food was much less than what was brought for the previous gathering. I guess we learnt our lesson not to bring too much food. Suffice to say, we finished them in good time. We made time to catch up and talked about what has been happening in our lives. That is the main objective of these gatherings. To get away from our kids, to chill and just to chat. While we finished our dinner and caught up with each other, I started off with our 'favourite' 'Stories' 'game'...Those not familiar were initiated to the inner-workings of the game. Essentially, each person is to come up with a sentence to continue on the sentence from the previous person. Hence, one has no idea of the bigger story but only that of the previous person. It's great fun when everybody has written their part and for the story to be read out. Nine out of ten times the story will be hilarious. Maybe I'll publish our collective 'masterpiece' here one day!

Boboy had brought along a video clip of the guys from the 'Upside Down Show'...Those guys are tireless! I got tired just from watching them! Although I can't say much of the show I did enjoy the last part just before the credits.

Then came the Game part...It always fell on me to start the games...I don't mind and in fact relish in it but it's an art to judge when the rest are ready to start playing! Usually by the time we start the games, it will be something like 2300hrs! But we started at about 2100hrs that day. We started off with Taboo...Hohum...as usual, the gender that talks the most won...again...No guessing who huh?!?! Next, I pulled a fast one on the gang by introducing a new game called Um or Uh! It's basically a game of 'public speaking' and since anecdotal evidence points to people dying rather than give a presentation, I didn't really tell anyone about the game beforehand! It was hilarious as we pick out the topics for the other team (it was guys vs gals as usual) to talk about. It was great fun seeing the gang fumble and try to 'bluff' their way through the topic at hand. 30 seconds never felt so long huh guys!?!? As it happened, my future sister-in-law picked a topic on "Sex"!!! Her parting words were "Come November, I wish to have great sex!"...Oh boy! Oh Boy indeed...Pun intended! As it turned out, the gang gamely played the game and I think everyone did well! Kudos guys! Should have more of that huh?

I wanted to play Pictionary Mania next but one thing lead to another and we ended up watching some crap show by some WWE star who went around hooking up people with a chain and hook...literally! How we ended up watching that show I don't know but it was a classic case of the 'Abilene Paradox', a concept I was introduced to in the course of my work. We played traditional Scrabble while some watched the show though...It's been a long time since I played Scrabble and it brought back memories of the times when I used to play it non-stop from 2000hrs till 0400hrs for a few weeks when I was posted to Temburong, Brunei waaaaaaay back in 1994! After winning the first game, it looks like I have not lost the 'touch'! Must play more!

Next, we watched "Music & Lyrics" while some played Carrom...By this time (it was about 2359hrs methinks), some of us had already turned to 'zombies'! It was about 0300hrs when we finally bade goodnight (good morning?!?) to our kind hosts and made our collective journey back home...We gave a ride to Muz, Faurin to Carl and Tit to Nurul...

As always, it was great fun...good food, good company...always looking forward to the next one! We're having a Simpsons Movie night sometime next week...All are supposed to wear either yellow or some Simpsons t-shirt! That should be fun! Oh ya, enjoy the first ever (at long last!) photo taken of EVERYONE who was there that night...

Keeping the Peace...

While the military is traditionally the instrument of policy for governments to extend their will onto other governments, more and more it is being used for other purposes. Chief amongst them is Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) or Peace Support Operations (PSO). Singapore has contributed to a significant number of them over the years. A lot of my friends have been involved in PSOs and PKOs in countries from Africa to East Timor. I myself have not been involved in any directly but have been put on standby and gone for training for a few. The office in the UN that is responsible for these missions is the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. I would be honoured to be given a chance to don a blue beret and participate in one of these missions... A chance to help others, a chance to improve lives...for the betterment of humankind!

The ultimate symbol of sacrifice...

"I dedicate my LIFE to Singapore..."

This is the phrase that EVERY recruit utters on his first day as a soldier as part of the SAF Pledge led by his Commanding Officer, this is the phrase that every officer cadet says as he stands proudly on the hollowed grounds of the SAFTI Parade Square before he is officially commissioned as an SAF Officer by the Reviewing Officer and this is the phrase that EVERY SOLDIER says every year on SAF Day on 1st July.

The military profession is unique in that it calls for unlimited liability upon its members - that when called upon, we will give up our lives for our country. I am reminded of the seriousness of what we do when we had a talk with the Head of Army Musuem a few days ago. The ID tag or "dog-tag" as it is more commonly known is given to recruits upon enlistment. It is the ONLY item that we have that is useful only upon the death of its owner. It has no other purpose other than to identify who the owner was. All other equipment given to us are gainfully used except for the ID tag which just hangs around our necks or kept safely somewhere. We do not use it to identify ourselves because we have our 11B or the military IC for it. If it is to be used, it is only used upon the death of its owner. Since there always two tags, 1 is taken by the medic and the other one attached to the owner so as to identify him...

So, there...for those who have it, think about it the next time you see your ID tags. It is the one thing that you have that you hope will not EVER be utilised...

The rat race begins...

It is but a fact of life that in Singapore, parents take the education of their children seriously, very seriously. In fact so seriously that they are willing to 'sacrifice' 40 hours of their lives so that their precious ones have a fighting chance in Phase 2B and not the 'dreaded' Phase 2C! Those of you who have 'been there, done that' would know what I am talking about...Yep...My BH and I have officially become 'members' of a certain primary school's Parents' Association! "I cannot believe it....!", as a certain character in the Little Einsteins likes to intone when something truly out of the norm happens!

We received a flyer from the FD's school saying that a certain primary school was having an open house last Saturday. Although it's a year away before the FD has to register for Primary 1, hey, what the heck...it's never too early to conduct a bit of recce! So the four of us trooped down to the school on a hot sultry morning. Personally, it's been a long time since I have gone into a primary school and I was amazed at the transformation it has undergone! Suffice to say that they were a far cry from the one I used to go to... We explored some of the classrooms and stalls that were set-up by the students, teachers, staff and parent volunteers. I came away thoroughly impressed with what the school has to offer. On the way out, we passed by the registration counter and gave it only a cursory glance since it wasn't our FD's turn to register yet. Upon further enquiry however, we realised that it was the last day for parents to register to be parent volunteers to be eligible for next year's registration! A full one year before actual registration..."Oh, it's not as bad now", said the admin staff who attended to us, "Last time, it used to be 2 years! Now, as long as you have clocked 40 hours, you are eligible for Phase 2B...But it does not mean that your child will be guaranteed a place in this school! If there are more applications for Phase 2B than there are places, then we will have to ballot. Of course, parents who live within 1km of the school gets a higher priority that those who live between the 1 to 2km radius...". Thus we were 'inducted' into a group of about 60 parents who actively give their services ranging from routine weekly reading programmes, counselling to adhoc events like class outings...Hmmm...maybe I can put my photography skills to good use! Oh...of course there are other 'collateral' benefits of joining as a parent volunteer beside the main obvious one...We get to meet other 'like-minded' parents, we get to extend our circle of friends, we get to see at first hand how the school is run, we get to talk to students who are studying there to find out what the school is REALLY like and we get to be involved! In the end, I guess it is a win-win situation for all involved!

Hmmm, there is that other school open house this weekend...another 40 hours of 'volunteering' perhaps?!?!

(For those not 'inducted' to my blog, BH means Better Half, FD means First Daughter and SD, although not mentioned here, would obviously mean Second Daughter. For those not familiar with the Internet and other 'unwritten' rules on blogging, one should not give away one's names, schools, etc, etc...there ARE many weird characters floating around in cyberspace with extra time on their hands...Also, once you publish something in your blog, it NEVER gets deleted...even if you have deleted it from your site...even if your site closes down...even if your computer crashes! Because somewhere out there, there are always sites that trawls the cyberspace and records EVERYTHING that has ever been published...so for those who like to pour their hearts out in cyberspace...remember, it may come back to haunt you YEARS later! Like when your future boss googles your name to check on you...I may sound a bit like an alarmist but that's the fact guys and gals...so be careful what you publish...)

A flurry of blogs...

Upon the 'request' of Moe, I've added the link to his blog and a few other blogs of my younger cousins. Funny how now you tend to know more about people from their blogs than thru the 'traditional' way of getting to know them...Anyway, I enjoy reading all your blogs guys...Brings back memories to my *ahem* younger days *ahem*... the highs and lows of a teenager's life, new discoveries, new revelations, the hollowness of separation from a loved one, the yearnings and hopes... So keep them blogs updated ok?

It's 0230hrs already...

I bet at least 4 people are not getting a good night's sleep because in a couple of hours' time, they are gonna be presenting their plans to a few big guns. And it will invariably decide their fates...

Anyway, it's been a hectic 2 days of exercise so far. I bet it beat last year's record of going back at 2230hrs...huh! what's 2230hrs...that's early for us...wait till you try 0111hrs!! Anyway, the kind air boys and gals did a nice thing for us 'ground guys' yesterday and continued the tradition from previous batches. Thanx guys! And thank you to Cookie for personally cutting the chocolate and durian cakes for us...

Anyway, just happened to be browsing through a few of my regular blog sites...I'm talking about Boboy, Julie, Rina & of course my BH...Boboy would go for days without updating his site but once he updates, it would be a deluge...Rina would always have some quirky stories about her kids and Julie...well, just wish she would update hers more often...

Kinda cute reading Boboy's remarks on who to invite for his wedding...well bro, just remember that all of us have circles of friends and we tend to invite those in the inner circle first before moving 'outwards'. And surprise, surprise...marriage is about a lot of give and take...usually for the guys, it's a lot of giving!!!

Was quite impressed reading Rina's 'report' on the flash card thingy... It's not easy being a parent in a stressful environment such as Singapore. I know it's a cliche but what I have learnt so far is that parenting requires passion and commitment... The passion to always try new things and the commitment to see it through, just like what Rina has done with the flash card. We may want our kids to do many things, accomplish lots of goals but if we are not focused, all these would come to nought. It's just like what I've learnt in defence...if we try to defend everywhere, we will be weak everywhere... Goal setting and visualising one's desired outcome REALLY helps one to focus on one's goals. And remember, goals should be S.M.A.R.T i.e. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. For example, I want to lose 3kg by 1st August 2007. It is specific, measurable (3kg as opposed to "I want to lose weight"), attainable and realistic (3kg in 3 months as opposed to 3kg in 1 week!) and timely. Most of what we fail to achieve in life is for the lack of setting a goal...

Oh Maldives…

We're back from Maldives...it was what those who have been there have said it would be...and then some. Here are just some of the hundreds of photos we took of that Paradise on Earth.

Below is a little dedication to a place we have fallen in love with...here's an ode to the Maldives...

Oh Maldives!
You of sun-kissed beaches
Of amazing sunsets and breathtaking sunrise
Of crystal clear waters and deep blue skies
From beautiful coral reefs to smiling sunburnt faces
Your wonders are endless, your beauty boundless
You enthralled us with those that roam your lagoons and bays
From playful dolphins, to reef sharks and bright speckled rays

Oh Maldives!
You – a paradise on Earth
Your allure and your mystery
Beckons those from afar to your beauty
Though just once we've been to you
Thoroughly smitten we are through and through
Though we have long left your warm embrace
We'll surely be back again – we're just counting down the days!

Happy Birthday Darling...

Still...

Of Hari 'Nam, CRP Week, Julie's Baby & Water Babies!

Picked up Fahmi from his office on the way to solat today...The usual solat gang ain't here cause they are back home! Yep...Jef's back in Brunei with his wife and 2 kids and a half (have a nice one dude!), Heru's back in Bandung, Minhaz's going back to his embassy, Hisham should already be in PD! Enjoy yourselves brothers!

Fahmi remarked to me as I was sending him back after solat. "Kau tahu tak? Kitorang Singapore je cakap besok hari (meaning tomorrow, since today is Friday), hari enam?!"
"Whaddya mean?", I asked, curious...
"Aku cakap dengan orang Indonesia, Malaysia & Brunei semua ketawakan sey...!", he continued.
"Only we Singaporeans call Saturday, Hari Enam other than the common 'Hari Sabtu' while the rest of the region just calls it 'Hari Sabtu'!", he further explained.
"Ah ah eh...tak ye jugak!", I agreed, "Furthermore, Saturday is the only day we call Hari Enam, the rest of the days we call them by their 'proper' names like Hari Isnin, Hari Rabu, etc. Tak pun kita panggil Hari Satu, Hari Dua, Hari Tiga!!", I remarked, enlightened!

Whaddya know...you do learn something new every day...It'll be interesting to find out why this is so...

Next week is the much awaited CRP (Commandant's Research Paper) Week...From what I've gathered from reliable sources, these 'research' would be conducted in various places all over the world like Brunei, Bandung, Phuket, Bangkok, Australia, Singapore and oh...Maldives!!! Oh well...happy researching you guys!

Oooo...she has finally made it official...my sister is finally P R E G N A N T!!! My girls are gonna get a cousin! Here's the pics of the scans (lifted from Julie's site!).

Our plans for visiting her in France at the end of the year is getting more and more concrete! It got a further boost when yesterday Usop (aka Glen), made known the fact that his parents have a 'chalet' in the French Alps and he invited us to come over!!! More reason to visit France! Oui!

Vesak Day yesterday was a hive of activity...The day started off with breakfast at Al-Azhar with the 'usual suspects' (as Rina would call them...us...!)...Glen, Lynn, Rina and Fauzi were already there when the four of us trooped in on a hot, hot, day that just begged for a rain. After various combinations of indian fare which included prata kosong, prata 'yegg', thosai, thosai rocket, nasi lemak and iced milo we left for town. Rina & Fauzi had other plans while we sent Glen and the visibly pregnant Lynn (makin tembam orang tu!) to Suntec as they bravely attempted to purchase a printer at PC Show 07. I shuddered to think of the crowd there and my fears were confirmed when we saw long lines of vehicles heading into Suntec! The crowd inside, Glen later told me, was worse! We dropped the both of them at Prince (you know, which one right, the one with Sofra Restaurant). We went to get some snorkelling stuff like aqua boots and snorkels & masks from Lucky Plaza and then went back home. Lynn and Glen had already reached our place! They had apparently given up trying to get any decent shopping done and came away with nothing! The thing about these computer shows that takes place every school holidays is that you go and 'recce' the first day and then once you have confirmed what you wanna get, get it the last day! Preferably the last few hours before closing time on Sunday! Oh...and DON'T bring kids! It's madness there...It seems like the WHOLE Southeast Asia goes there...not only Singaporeans! I once took half-and-hour just to cross the OVERHEAD bridge outside Suntec when I parked at the ESPLANADE! Giler kan?

Anyway, we waited for Rina and her family to come before we went for a swim. It had just finished raining and the weather was a bit cool...I had just bought an Aquapac bag for Mars' digital camera and tested it out. Here are the pics!

Of Chelet, Heroes and Vesak Day

Well, Game One just ended. My HQ breathe a sigh of relief and a round of 'Banzai' was heard across the darkened parade square as we gladly handed over our stuff to the incoming HQ. Tomorrow's our turn to be the Executing Units and OPFOR...things should look pretty interesting from the other side of the 'curtain'. I grew a bit pensive as I reflected upon the enormity of what we are doing. Our jubilation at capturing our objectives was tempered by a big, fat red 'X' over a company of mechanised infantry to indicate the loss of that company to hostile fire. My DS pointed out that in an actual situation, 133 funerals will be held at the void decks of HDB blocks across the island...And as operations got underway, constant reports were streaming in from the fighting at CHELET with the number of KIAs and WIAs. And as I received those reports, I took a moment to reflect what it would mean in 'real' life...One KIA meant a wife whose husband will never again walk through the front door and kissing her, one KIA meant a girl whose father will never again lift her up and hugging her with all his might, one KIA meant a mother whose son will never again kiss her hand when they meet...Some of the skills I train to the greatest of proficiency I hope that I will NEVER have to use ...that is the irony in what I do...

On a lighter note, my entire syndicate is getting hooked on "HEROES". Although Season One had just ended in the States, some of those who only heard of the buzz lately are watching them, thanks in part to the culture of 'sharing' we have in the syndicate...ahem...I would rank 'HEROES' the same as 'PRISON BREAK' which just ended Season 2...So, Jefri...I know you're reading this...GO WATCH IT!

Vesak Day is around the corner and although we would have prefered a Friday 'off' or 'self-study' day to further lengthen our much needed one-week break next week, the powers-that-be have decided that Friday will be our After-Action-Review. Oh well...gotta make the best use of Thursday to spend time with the girls...maybe we'll swim in the morning...The First Daughter is already swimming without her floaties! And she loves jumping off the deep end of the pool and swimming back to the side and doing it all over again! Her weekly swimming lessons have certainly shown results! Or maybe it's the 'pulau' blood in her! Even the Second Daughter does not hesistate to put on her floaties and swims around without insisting that we follow her every move. But of course, underlying all this is the fact that no matter how good our kids are at swimming, we must NOT take things for granted and take our eyes off them even for a minute... Well, we've almost achieved one of the essential skills in life in the form of swimming...On to cycling next...Nothing like scrapping one's knees to build character!!!

Talk is Gold

I'm at one of my usual hangouts while waiting for the First Daughter to finish her morning ballet class. Long John Silver's is definitely not as crowded as McDonald's on a weekend morning and I come here for its huge bread. Furthermore, Wi-fi access in ALL McDonald's restaurants are temporarily down so it does not really have an edge over LJS now! I checked with one of the managers in McDonald's yesterday at Funan and she said that they are currently upgrading their network and it will last until June.

Anyway, back to my story. I'm sitting near the entrance and to my left are a mother and her son, enjoying their breakfast. And throughout their entire breakfast, there was something missing…yep…they did not say a single word…OK, maybe I'm exaggerating…they did say SOME words but mostly mono-syllabic ones and even then it was only after they had finished eating. And after they had finished eating…guess what…the boy, oh I say he's about pre-teen, whipped out his PS2 started banging away at its pad. His mom gave a cursory interest and then whipped out her Handphone to SMS! I mean, c'mon, they are just sitting face to face…and no real conversation was going on. I'm not one to judge people and I try not to jump the Ladder of Inference but sometimes one can't just help it. Anyway, I try to draw lessons from events that occur around me and I remind myself of the following:-

I. Spending quality time with your kids beats spending quantity. I mean, what's the use of facing your kids for like 2-3 hours but you are not interacting with them?

2. I will NOT give my daughters any handheld gaming devices to shut them up. These 'quick fixes' are only for the short term. And these things dull the mind. And knowing how kids are fascinated with technology and all the bells and whistles it provides, they will get hooked on them! In any case, I take cognizance to the fact that everything must be done in moderation.

3. Keeping your kids meaningfully engaged and occupied is a challenge. But it is something we as parents must always strive to do. I always ask myself why we do the things that we do with the kids. Is it to raise their confidence, is it to train their discipline or is it to raise their social confidence? Keep asking these questions and more and one will find that spending time with the kids more enjoyable and something to look forward to.

From Samar to Amirah

It was decided to hold our next Syndicate makan at Amirah’s Grill. Coincidentally, it is just opposite Samar along Bussorah Street! So this is gonna be more like a restaurant and food review. There are two Amirah’s Grill around that area, the older one being along Pahang Street. It was a cool Tuesday night as we trooped into the quaintly decorated double-storey restaurant at about 1930hrs. Leonard and Gabriel were already there. I had the good fortune to get a parking space right IN FRONT of the restaurant! The rest of the guys were still finding places to park. We were led to the 2nd floor and were seated on a row of chairs. Although much smaller than Samar’s 2nd floor, it was just a tastefully decorated and the ambience was just right for an evening of fun, laughter, catching up and camaraderie. There were 2 cozy corners that can sit about 10 persons each just like Samar’s. There were 2 groups of sofas with one having a television set! We looked through the menu as Lit Lam, Roy, Mei Kheng came in. We were later joined by Kamel, Kenny, Jason, William, Jefri and Chris. Only Sean and Willy can’t make it. There was a good spread of food. From the ‘relatively’ cheap $7.90 fish and chips to Turkish kebabs to $20 butter prawns which had the Navy guys licking their chops! To top that off, there was an option for a set meal at $20 each which included soup, pita and dips (hummus and one more that I can’t remember), a main dish and ice-cream/caramel!! Being typical Singaporeans, the 12 of us obviously went for the $20 set meal! The drinks came soon after we had ordered our meals, unlike Samar’s which took ½ for every request! And they were cheaper too! And came in pots…unlike Samar’s! The 2 dips with baskets of pita and bread soon followed. The dips were nice and had a tangy taste to it and were given in generous amounts. Before we had time to finish them, the main course came! I ordered beef steak (well done, that’s how I liked it), while the rest ordered mostly lamb chops and seafood platter. The 2 accompanying slices of potatoes were crisply done…nice! The steak was delicious and I finished every bit of it! I preferred it to be a bit more well done though. Kamel (our resident fighter pilot), offered me a piece of lamb chop just as I was starting to feel bloated…well, who was I to see good food wasted. We carried on talking for another half hour after the food was finished. Roy picked up the tab (from our Crab Kill bounty but that’s another story!) and we left soon after. A simple evening dinner with good friends…In summary, I would return to Amirah again one day (they even have International Buffet at $9.90+! from 1200hrs to 1600hrs every day!), for its ambience, fast service, good and cheap food…

The day after...

I'm at my usual spot @ McCafe United Square. Drinking my normal mocha latte...With a New York cheesecake...The sign at the counter states that the "Wi-Fi access is temporarily unavailable in this restaurant"...but I was fortunate enough that United Square has its own high-speed wireless broadband internet access...Gotta fetch the First Daughter in 7 minutes time so I'll make this quick...

The Samar Gathering came and gone. It was a huge success! 23 people came include the "budak"...("Oi! I'm not a budak lah...you are the budak!")...2 surprises were sprang and I can safely say that those at the receiving end of the surprises were caught off-guard...

Oh...I will include more later but I would like to thank all those who made time to come and enjoy each other's company...I would like to thank Boboy and Yati for collecting the 3 ice-cream cakes from Swensen's Bugis Junction, I would like to thank Rina for making the initial booking and inviting the rest, I would like to thank the other 5 dads who were there to lend support to the first suprise! And I would like to thank all those who I'm sure were cringing when I announced the start of the "Bear Game" but were obliged to play because they can't really run anyway, and they played anyway. And last but certainly not the least, I would like to thank my BH for being there and for being such a wonderful mother to our two princesses...Maldives here we come!

Samar Surprise...

Well, tonight's the night...there'll be more than a few surprises for the guests...last count is 26! Will update tomorrow!!!

Anzac Day

We celebrated Anzac Day today at the staff college with our brothers, John (from Australia) and Brendan (from New Zealand). They presented a short segment on what Anzac Day means to them. ANZAC (Australia & New Zealand Army Corp) Day is commemorated in Australia and New Zealand every year on 25th April to remember those who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

I had the privilege of attending an Anzac Day event in 1998 when I was on an exchange programme to Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. It was a dawn service and we stood at the Parade Square in RMC while the emcee read the names of all the graduands from RMC who had sacrificed their lives in the service of their country. It was followed by a procession in town by veterans from past wars that Australia had participated in.

Now, as it was then, I can see what an emotional and moving experience it was for those involved. During John and Brendan's presentation, I was deeply moved when I read a short poem by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's first president who, as commander of the 19th Division, led an Ottoman regiment in defence against the Allies. It honours the heroism and sacrifice of both the Anzac and Turkish troops who took part in the campaign. Written in 1934, it was Ataturk's tribute to those Anzacs who did not return from Gallipoli.

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.

Therefore rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us

where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours...

You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries

wipe away your tears;

your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land.

They have become our sons as well.

Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah...We're as a family are very grateful to the Almighty...We wish that everything will go along as planned...Insya Allah...

Of Bears, Werewolves and Apple Crumble!

I'm SO should be doing my 3,000 word essay (almost 60% done) for my Conventional Warfare Studies paper due this Friday but there are more important things in life...like giving an update on last Friday first ever Cousins Monthly Gathering (CMG) to be held at someone's home!!!

Unlike our normal outings, we decided to gather at Rina's house last Friday for the CMG...It was to be an adults only event...no kids allowed...so those with kids in tow had to find 'creative' ways to temporarily 'dispose' of the young 'uns! This is where a healthy, harmonious and happy relationship with one's parents and parents-in-law comes in useful!

It was at about 2000hrs that the first batch of cuzzies reached Faurin's homely home (oh...most couples try cute combinations with their names...some work well like Fauzi + Rina = Faurin, Farah + Shafiq = Farafiq...even Azhar + Wan = Azwan sounds nice even if I don't actually see them using it...so would Anwar + Naziah = Annaz...but some shouldn't even try...like Boboy + Yati = Boti or worse...Boya!!!) Anyway, my BH and me fetched Boya and Annaz and the 6 of us reached Faurin's place with our contributions. I had earlier called for pizzas from Pizza Hut (4 boxes), Boya bought otak2 (I wonder how it got its name?!?) and Annaz + Farafiq brought bee hoon goreng and popcorn. Farafiq was supposed to come but unfortunately couldn't find a creative enough solution for their son! (Read: didn't manage to convince their parents/parents-in-law to look after their 'oh-so-chubby-I-wanna-pinch-his-cheeks' son). Having not had dinner...and lunch, I proceeded to give the spread of food a once over and then some...Adil and Lin (hmmm...what's her full name?) came a while later and brought some cookies (I had milk with these later on!). By then, we were already watching "Tenacious D" which I had gotten from *ahem* reliable sources...

I was the self-appointed GameMaster for the night and had prepared some games which I had thoroughly researched from the internet and also tested out during our last picnic during CNY (THAT is another story in itself!). We had also bought some party games from Toys R Us the previous week namely Party Scrabble and Pictionary Mania and were raring to try them out...It was already about 2200hrs but Lynn & Glen (whom we all lovingly call 'Usop') arrived a bit later with their chocolate fountain, marshmallow and apple crumble! They had like 3 big bags full of their stuff!!! Oh...of course not forgetting the drinks, ice-cream and Relaxed Chicken (ayam lepak) that the hosts prepared...Tanti came later as she had to give tuition in Sengkang! Way to go Tanti, no matter how late...no matter how far, she was there to be with us! (Hint, hint...;) So the 13 of us dutifully indulged in a night of fun, food and fantastic games!

Oh the games...well, we started at...get this...2330hrs! That's 11.30pm for you folks who have difficulty reading 24 hours time and need to do conversion! When normal human beings are starting to turn in, we started our games!!! A few other games were brought along by the rest...I saw Cluedo, Monopoly and Twister...In any case, we played Pictionary Mania first. For those who have played the 'normal' Pictionary, this is like 6 times better (as there are 6 different categories or types of play)!!! It was guys against gals and thru a sheer stroke of luck (as the planets were fully aligned with the moon) and because we let the gals have it their way so as not to discourage them from playing these games in the future, WE LET THE GALS WIN ;) We played 1 round and then we started another game...This was variously known as Assassin, The Murder, etc...but it essentially calls for people to find out who the 'murderer' that keeps 'murdering' people is. The group sits in circle and cards are passed around. Getting the card that is designated as the murder card would mean that the person is the murderer. All he/she has to do is to wink and 5 secs later, the 'winkee' (as opposed to the winker) falls to the ground dead! The rest tries to spot the winking in progress and votes the guy out...It was supposed to be a fun game but there was one thing that we had wrongly assumed...THAT EVERYONE CAN WINK! A wink is different from a blink...Blinking rapidly is NOT winking...Only those who were there knew who that person is! Hint: She moulds the future of our nation!!!

So we moved on to the next game. It was simply called 'The Bear' game! This was a game I saw a group of instructors from Hotel Wing (I was from Charlie Wing OCS and my sister company or wing is Hotel Wing) playing in Starbucks in an unnamed country after our end-of-frame dinner last year. I had always wanted to try it out with the cuzzies and had asked one of the ex-instructors to explain to me the intricacies of the game. So there and then, at 30 minutes after midnight (!), he was explaining to me about the Bears, Guru, Healers and Humans! As I understand from him, this game is the current rage in OCS. It's good as a time-filler. This game has the 3Cs in it! You try to CONVINCE people who you are, if not you CONFUSE them...if all else fails, you CON them! It was quite addictive and we played till 0400hrs!!! I had only 1 hour sleep the previous day...plus a short 2 hour nap in the evening after I had gotten back from work so all-in-all I had like 3 hours sleep in 48 hours!!! Anyway, Boboy and me decided to sent Tanti, Yati and Lin back home...I was zonked out and told Tanti to drive back to her place. Then, fighting the Z monster, we sent Yati and then Lin back to Tampines...then it was back to Rina's house to fetch my BH. We sent Boboy back and crawled into bed at exactly 0600hrs in the morning!!! It was tiring but fun, fun, fun...we'd do it again in a heartbeat...April is coming...Palm Gardens anyone!?!? This time we will start the games early!

(For a description of "The Bear Game" in its entirety, look at the post below. Thanx to LTA(NS)Faizal for your initial input and follow-up comments!)

The Bear Game

Objective of the game
The objective of the game is to kill/vote off the other Species. This game is about convincing, confusing and ‘conning’ people!

Species
There are two species: Humans and Bears.
• Humans
o Guru
 Knows at least 1 bear

o Healer
 Knows that only he is the healer
 Ability to heal anyone including himself during the sleep session

o Normal humans
 The default species

• Bears
o Can kill humans

Narrator
• The Narrator is neither Human or Bear and is neutral
• Acts as the game-master
• Controls the flow of the game

Game Sessions
There are 3 sessions to the game
• The Choosing Session
• The Voting Session (Day)
• The Sleep Session (Night)

The Choosing Session
This is where the Narrator chooses the Bears, Guru and Healer. This Session is only held in the beginning of the game. There should not be any conversation during this part of the game.
• All players sit in a circle
• Narrator tells everyone to ‘sleep’ (close their eyes)
• He chooses the players by tapping them in the following order:-

o Bears
 Once tapped, Narrator tells the Bears to open their eyes.
 Once the Bears have identified each other, Narrator tells them to close their eyes.

o Guru
 Next, the Narrator tells the Guru to open his eyes.
 Then the Narrator points out at least one Bear to the Guru.
 Then the Narrator tells the Guru to close his eyes.

o Healer
 Lastly, the Narrator tells the Healer to open his eyes.
 Then the Healer is told to close his eyes.

• Once all this has been carried out, Narrator then tells everyone to open their eyes.

The 1st Voting Session
This is the session where there is conversation and voting is carried out. The objective of this session is for the entire group to vote someone off.
• Once everyone has opened their eyes, the process of voting off someone starts.
• Once someone has been voted off, the Narrator instructs the group to go to ‘sleep’ (close their eyes)

• Questions
o Is the person who is voted off still in play? Does he open his eyes and just observe?
 The person voted off will not play anymore and he become the ghost and observes the rest of the games. He will not be allowed to talk and share his points during the game anymore.

o Who starts talking first?
 Anyone. Usually the bear will either try to stir shit or keep quiet or keep a look out for the guru. The guru may speak first and tell everyone who is the bear, however he will be in danger during the sleep. However if the guru can convince others that he is the real guru, the healer can try to heal him during the sleep.

o How long should this session last?
 It depends. When the game seems to be going nowhere, the narrator will start pointing and people and ask everyone to vote once. Point those whose name is being mention during the voting.

o And how is the voting off decided? By majority?
 Yes whoever has the most number of votes will be taken out.

o Does everyone talk in turn or all at the same time?
 All at the same time. But let’s say everyone try to kill off Ali, the narrator should let Ali say his final words. This may change everyone mind.

o What’s the role of the Narrator in this Session? Does he play an active role or he just observes?
 He is the neutral guy in the game. He just observes but when the game drags too long during the votes, he will step in. See 3rd point above.

The Sleep Session
This is where the bears get to kill off a human being.
• Once everyone has gone to sleep, the Narrator tells the Bears to open their eyes.
• The Bears then decide who they want to kill. They point out the person they have decided to kill off to the Narrator by pointing out the person. There should not be any conversation so as not to give away their identities. All communications is by hand-signals.
• The Bears may choose not to kill off anyone.
• Once the Bears have decided who they want to kill, the Narrator tells them to sleep.
• Next, the Narrator tells the Healer to open his eyes.
• The Healer then proceeds to heal someone including himself. The healer can only heal one person. So he may try to heal himself all the times if he wants so as to stay in the game longer.
• Even when the healer was voted off during the day, the narrator will still say “Healer wake up, healer choose who to heal and healer sleep.” This is done so that no one will know that the healer has been voted off. The actual healer who has been killed will just observe.
• Once he has done this, he closes his eyes.

The 2nd Voting Session
• The Narrator tells everyone to open their eyes.
• If the Healer managed to ‘heal’ the person that the Bears have decided to kill or if the Bears have decided not to kill anyone during the Sleep Session, the Narrator reports that no one has been killed.
• If the Healer did not manage to heal the correct person, the person who the Bears have killed the previous round will be told that he has been killed. This person is then out of the game.
• The game then continues with the voting off of the next person. Play then continues as explained earlier.

Status Report
The Narrator gives a Status Report to everyone during the 3rd round.
• This happens after the 3rd sleep, once everyone wakes up
• Thereafter the Status Report is carried out after the 6th, 9th and so on.

End of Play
• Humans win if all the Bears have been voted off.
• Usually we need at least 2 humans to kill off the bear, therefore once only 1 human remains, the bear will automatically win.

Strategy
• Bears
o Bears may choose not to kill off any humans in the Sleep Session
 This can be effective if he knows that he managed to kill the actual healer, then he can tell everyone that he is the healer. During the sleep, the bear will not kill anyone. Therefore no one dies this time, so he will convince everyone that he is the healer and that he managed to heal himself because the bear try to kill him. Once he managed to convince everyone that he is the healer, the bear will be the wolf in sheep clothing. He can happily acts as a fake healer and kill off more humans.
o If the Guru points out that he is the bear, he can also push back the blame to guru and say he is the actual guru and the real guru is the bear.

• Guru
o The Guru may not want to reveal himself too early in the game
o The Guru is like the trump card of the humans
o Because he knows at least one Bear, his job is to observe for signs of the other Bears
o He does this by observing how other players vote
o Because Bears tend to support each other (but may not always be the case if the Bears want to throw players’ suspicions off) during voting off so as to kill off as many Humans as possible, this may be something to look out for

• Healer
o Just keep quiet first. Can try to heal himself first for the first round and observes. However, if everyone tries to vote for him during the voting, he will have to tell everyone that he is the healer.

• Humans
o These players don’t know any better and may just vote other players off randomly
o As a guide, a Human does not want to vote off another Human.
o Those smarter humans will be able to guess who the bear is.

Things to note
• General
o There must not be talking during the Sleep Sessions.

• Narrator
o When first choosing the players, it is important that the players chosen know their roles. The best way is to maintain eye contact with the chosen players.
o During the Sleep Sessions, it is important for the Narrator to keep asking the Healer to heal, even if the healer has been killed! The Healer, if he is already dead, does not have to do anything. The healing has no effect at all if the healer is dead. This is more to give the illusion that the Healer is still alive and to keep the rest guessing!

Questions & Queries
• Out of all the sessions we played yesterday, 6 or 7 rounds I think, the Humans only won once (the last game)!!! Is this common?
o Meaning the bears are very smart. You can try telling the guru 2 out of the 3 bear if you want. But when this happen, the bear will be in danger. Or you can tell the guru (if he is still alive, by tapping his shoulder) the 2nd bear during the 3rd sleep.

• There was a tendency for all not to talk during the Voting Session. How to get people to talk?
o You can try pointing at someone and ask “anyone think he is the bear” Then maybe they will start talking.

• What are the other strategies for Humans and Bears?
o The best strategy for the humans is to observe and find the bear. Try killing off suspicious character first. Bear can try to convince everyone that he is the guru or healer.

• Can the players who are voted off or killed reveal themselves?
o Once you are dead, you will be the ghost. So just observe the game. You cannot vote anymore. You will be pissed when you actually realized who the real bear is.

The Final Inspection

This poem was composed by my good friend from the Indian Army who has seen action in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Final Inspection

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

(With permission from MAJ Harsh V Singh)