I guess today’s lesson of electronics is one of the most messiest. But otherwise one of the most fullfilling as we actually get to tinkle with integrated circuits (ICs) on the breadboard (aka circuit board) & get them to work & function as we want them to be..whee! Buttons, switches, leds, lcds… So we are not far of into building our own gaming computer out of some wires, logic gates, some cardboard, glue & a cat… hehheh, but otherwise a major step towards our knowledge in electronics. Our teacher, Mr “ah kao” gave quite a few obvious hints on whats coming out for our upcoming semester test, such as this practical. Better revise more on this chapter & stuffs. Aim to score a distinctions dudes! ahahaha “all your marks are belong to me!” wahhaha *lightning strikes in background*

Track training today focuses mainly onto categorising us into our running specialties, namely on the long-distance runners. We got on a rather relaxing 5×1000m run with short rest between, much better than last tuesday’s 10×400m @ no more than 1:40 per 400m. We were pretty much scattered by last tueday’s training, furthermore if it weren’t for coach to keep roaring into campus today with his bright yellow Mitsubishi EVO & eating a packed KFC meal in front of us while training.. argh! tempations! He is not much the fat blob over there at the stadium, but he pointed out quite a few potential runners for 1500m, 4×400m & so on after heartily observing us doing our lap runs together with his Zinger burger. He saw in me being a long distance runner, able to go easily for 10,000m events without a hitch. Ok, but does this means I have to run more?

Oh yea, there are lot of events coming up for the year heres some of them:

SouthWest CDC Biathlon (2 more days)
West coast Youth Challenge Run
New Balance Realrun (Sentosa)

Hello CCA points!

I’ve always wanted to type in a entry closing my period served in the army with a concluding post of my time there. Finally found the time to get this done.

Overall, alot of people always enter the army feeling down of tough times ahead & so. But personally, the army is actually not as bad as it is thought to be by many, including me. I expected super ultra training the moment I stepped into BMT. But instead, training is rather managable, way below the “super ultra training I’ve expected” You can say I was “happy disappointed” as I was actually prepared for a “hell week” or such. As the SAF practice progressive training, yes training actually gets harder as you progress, but so as your fitness so its a very smooth transition to greater intensity training & before you know it you can run 1/2 marathon non-stop, take part in relays or easily get 10mins+- for a 2.4km run. Things I’ve never thought I could do before I’ve enlisted. Further training went on to prep me for my military profession which includes 40-60km foot topographic missions in full battle order, back-to-back reconnaissance missions lasting one full week (allowing us to effectively lose about 3-5kg at the end of the day.. whee!).

It is also in the army where we cultivate habits we never thought any civilized person out there would do like sitting, flopping or lying on the dirt to relax, bashing through forests without hesitation, eat, sleep or do our business in the jungle, despite being sweat soaked to the underwear & beyond, with camo all over. Even in the dirtiest, stinkiest sweatiest conditions, we can just fall asleep instantly in the wilderness on command, its a way of life- army life.

Though many asked me about staying/signing on in the army, maybe I would only even consider if I am an officer, where pay is a very attractive thing. Otherwise as a specialist, I find not point besides able to earn approx $2.1k basic starting pay with free medical & food provided, not to mention for a trooper. Furthermore my area of expertise & comparative advantage in terms of skills I can contribute to society lies outside the barbed-wire laid fences of the army. Such as the market for designing & engineering where more opportunities & challenges lie.

Recalling my relatively short 2years 4mths in the army, heres a quite detailed list I’ve compiled on my service to the nation. Memories, memories…

“Check below link for a complete list of my personal memorable events, achievements & stuffs in the army.
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Whee! Heres the juice:

Hi All!
Thanks for your participation! Just a gentle reminder…

Date: 2nd of July 2005 (Saturday)
ReportingTime: 9.00am
Venue: Singapore Polytechnic Swimming Pool
Registration Fee: $5
Contact Person: Amelia 96864138/ Liza 94761462

Things to bring:
- Swimming Attire
- Running Attire
- Sports Shoes
- Sunblock (optional)
- Extra clothing
- Toiletries
- Indemnity Forms
- Registration fee $5
- And a Smile

Just pop by our registration booth on Saturday!
For those who are under 21 years, please remember to bring the indeminty form with your parent’s signature.

If there should be any queries, please feel free to contact any of the above contact persons.

Cheers,
Amelia

See you there folks!

I have always longed to run a company on my own, maybe its the desire I have in my blood to be a boss of my own. So after some long homework, gone down to the ACRA at international plaza in the morning to do some enquires, consulting & preprep work for my registration & administration for the design company I am starting, called DESIGNO SHINGJI. The person who attended to me seemed suprised though- a 21 year old in front of her with high hopes to set up & run a company, contray to the usual crowd of business people she would usually see aged 30+ to middle aged people do. The company name is derived out of my middle name Shing Ji, from my full name Chng Shing Ji, Shaun. This company aims to focus on 3 main things: innovation, design & engineering (INDENEERING, pronounced in-de-neering, you can call such design engineers “indees” a suspected derived “callsign”) in creating design on one of a kind industrial product designs from the mouse you are holding in your hand right now, to the cars we drive in the future. Till I finally get the rest of registration done up & the business finally running, its still pretty much a one man army now as things are still starting up so till I get myself known & get more cilents, then thats where the fun part starts, expanding!

Met Cous Gordon at around 6.30pm at Shawhouse Jade, its one of the few hangouts outskirt of town where we are sure to get movie tickets for the hottest blockbusters no matter what the occasion. I remembered catching LOTR on opening day here with the theater only 2/3 filled there while all cinemas along Orchard are like full-house for all time slots till the following day. For dinner, we doggie bagged subway-wiches which we smuggled into the cinema to eat. Overall, this movie I guess compliments all the other batman movies & fills the gap by focusing on the birth of Batman, just like SW, Episode III. I think this is one of the best Batman movies ever made to date. Not a bad show overall (& I think it can even provide good competition head on with Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds) no wonder its like No 1 in the US & SG box office for about a week now. All in hand, I just wanna drive home the tumbler vehicle… & like jump from to roof to roof on our HDB flats… vroom, vroom.

Hung out for some coffee at the nearby Bugis coffee shops before taking 197 home around 11pm+. Amazingly is the number of new steamboat stalls along the beach road area, maybe should drop by there to try someday to try.

If I am not wrong, Initial-D opens today islandwide, you definitely can’t miss it with the trailers running on loops on TV mobile, sure bores anyone to death on the bus. But I haven’t caught Batman begins yet!

Busy busy busy, though mid-week (or kinda) I guess the highlight of this week is struggling with some indigestion from the buffet last weekend… strange never had this indigestion feeling before, maybe the food there is bad or something.. yuck! Even during training, I can feel my stomach growling at almost every other step on my runs… Mmmm gassy! Not to mention releasing enough methane gas over the past few days to sustain maybe a small BBQ or sort. Its just whoa… long! ahem… for the record dudes! But otherwise to the benefit of others, its amazingly, odorless.

Dad & Sheena kinda got some stomach discomfort too or sort, so its official that the bug was caught from a dinner we had together or sort, with all possibilities pointing towards garden hotel’s buffet. Mum was rather helpful at recommending indigestion tablets for us to try on top of charcoal & whatsoever “diarrhea” medication. Being a rather solid veteran with indigestion tables herself, she always up promoting its effectiveness. Then she would go on hagging about intestine problems, vitagen & IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) in Singapore, stuffs I think, she read up recently from the latest issue of Straits Time- Mind Your Body. Despite this, my other personal feat for the week is that of catching up & going for makeup lessons I’ve missed last week at school, while I am on leave for ORD clearance at camp. Feels suxxy getting up earlier than the rest, to slave additional hours in the lab before lectures or tutorials…

I’ve got homework to do!! argh!! time, precious must not argh! wasste… Personally sundays are actually my untouchable days, otherwise a “family day”. A day spent relaxing by the pool, clocking my new competitive swim time & to catch up with unfinished work if needed or just relax on lazy afternoon in time for the work day tomorrow…

Line up of activities for the week:
Friday: Meetup, dinner & movie (maybe batman returns) with cous gordon, sure friday.. ok, subs on for dinner then. Eat fresh!
Saturday: Track & Field gathering at Sentosa, so its maybe lunch with mum & gang, then poof! to Sentosa for the afternoon, hope it would be sunny! whee Beach Volley! Frisbee! Kayaking!
Sunday: (TBC) Dom wanted to watch Initial-D, then maybe lunch/dinner thereafter so I guess sunday may be free for it, furthermore I still own him money for cine tiks from the last meet, so hes more of less up my neck on this. This one would be free for him, ahem I mean on me!

Looking back, I didn’t say it won’t be fun, but it is packed! Busy busy busy…

Haha yea, its a universal celebration. Its amazing how my parents can think of such ingenious ideas such as squeezing in all our celebration events into one, at the same time, (I think) having an excuse not to have so many dinner celebrations. The dinner was at our “lao di fang” (old place) as mum suggested, Garden hotel – a place where my mum once worked as a teenager. Its still around & she met some of her old friends, who are still amazingly still working there like for 2 over decades since mum left the place. Old times, old friends, new catching up.

As we expected mum kept bragging about the times she worked here on this ancient land, which department/area she worked, how the building was improved/ extended/ renovation/ reworked till its present state. Blah blah blah. The food there is not bad, with free flow of lobsters & white wine. If you are a person who loves lobster or can’t get enough of tempura, this place is for you. The buffet has an international spread, with a relatively large spread including a steamboat section, very value for money!

The funny thing is their “payment on seating policy” – strange for the waiter kindly approach you suddenly with the bill, then its like: “umm I didn’t call for the check sir…” as I thought. But its their restaurant policy, asking you to foot the bill once you’ve seated. Ummm as I thought: are you all still gonna provide service once we paid? & so as they did… Moreover, their desserts rock! & I simply love their cream puffs, not to mention the choco coated ones, yummy! even the self help ice-kacang & ice cream are good. The only thing that needs improving is maybe the need to isolate the food to an area as food serving areas are actually like spaced out on a 50 square meter area, walking from area to area for different cusines. The Jap & local cusines are located near the lobby, while the western, seafood & desserts in the coffee house & BBQ food by the pool side. All over the place! But its good for digestion anyway.. walk walk. Its a good dinner for 3 events. Till then lets not give mum & dad another chance to hold such mega-all-in-wonder events again. Its just too convenient!

And there I was, driving off to camp after school, drivin’ off to camp after school – one last time! Whee, can’t believe the day had finally arrived when I get to officially be out of the army. Haha bye bye guys, bye Sungei Gudong camp, bye armour, for now… Mmm cos once armour always armour? ATW, you all had been a nice bunch. Especially on my last few walks around company line where everybody, all the troopers & officers alike, pounced up upon seeing me on me: SERGEANT Shaun!! ORD loh! thanking me & wishing me all the best for my ORD while some actually queued up to shake my hand, as NSFs one last time. The feeling is so unreal, but otherwise, actually real. While I didn’t walk out of camp after my admin clearance, as I drove into camp, I can just imagine shouting out & punching fists in the air once people step out of camp gate this very last day of service. After showing our newly posted camp MPs & RPs our new Pink ICs upon exit that is! ORD Loh!

And so this marks a new phrase of life for me, & new challenges lie ahead. Many asked me what are my plans ahead, I will always bleakly reply, “carry on studying loh.” But I guess that pretty vague as most of you regular readers here would know that I am actually schooling in Singapore Poly presently, doing my diploma in Mechanical engineering, something I would want to do in University as well. While being unable enter local universities to do my degree, (which I am actually supposed to do but set back due to my lousy grades at “A” levels). I however, got accepted in various universities overseas, such as Monash & RMIT universities in Australia, I guess the education system there is not very result orientated, which I prefer, not like the drone muggers -attack of the study clones in Singapore. But as it turned out to be, neither me, nor my family can afford the annual $25000 fee for 5 years on a engineering-design double degree program, not to mention the same 4 years for a single engineering degree. Yes I am aware of study loans, but looking on a broader picture, I do not want to tie my parents in on a debt. Furthermore if so, I would wish to repay parents the school fees after my degree, knowing that is actually too far fetched & expensive for me, its not worth even considering. My plan is to study 2 1/2 years for my diploma on a scholarship & enter NUS to further my engineering profession. Though lengthy, its the best I make of currently & is the most cost effective choice, as fees are not only subsided, but overflowed with bonuses by possible scholarships. Oh well, till then I guess I would end today’s entry here, dinner’s arriving heard mum got an ostrich surprise… Mmm