Viewing life through the eyes of another

Sydney Down Under

2008-07-17T04:00:00.001-07:00

I found a nice play to stay in Sydney. It's within walking distance to the University, and the room is relatively spacious, since it was intended for two people. This means that if any of my family members or friends happen to the area, they can put up at my place at marginal cost. Now all that remains is for me to study hard and get a good degree.

It's a huge relief to find a good place, since I've already taken a look at two other places, and found them lacking. I guess that's a result of having lived in Singapore for over 15 years - you get used to seeing HDB flats all around and cannot tolerate living in other countries with housing conditions that are not as well-constructed as Singapore. Perhaps this ties in with the saying that happiness corrupts, a saying that I heard in an anime. The speaker put forward this suggestion because he believed that we humans are never satisfied. When we experience an improvement in an aspect of our lives, we feel happy but this feeling soon subsides and we want more. That is not to say that happiness is bad, just that we should never forget our roots. In the pursuit of the different stages of happiness, we should never forget our first stage.

Life is like a roller coaster. It rises and falls at different stages. No matter how high you are on that roller coaster, don't ever forget where you started, for a peak always comes before a down slope, and it is never nice to fall down when you don't expect it.

karma

2006-01-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

Well, today certainly was strange. Considering that Chinese New Year is in 2 days, I thought maybe I should have a dota game with my friends to commemorate it. So when I invited one friend for a game, he didn't want to play. So I joined my second friend's game. For some reason, the game crashed when it loaded. Nobody wanted to restart, so I chose some random games to play on Bnet. When I alt-tabbed out, I found that my first friend had hosted a game and I was 9 minutes too late to play. Two games, no play.

Of course, right now, I'm a little pissed at how circumstance has played me. As luck (or lack of it) first dealt its hand, my game had to crash. And that led to me missing out on a second game. If I had joined the first game and ended it fast, I could have joined the second game later on. A small slip led to a disaster.

I guess this is how life is. Sometimes, we are dealt a cruel hand by karma, and circumstances play us badly. It seems unfair at times, when we want something so badly, but it is given to someone else who does not have the same passion as you have for it. But that is life. Was it unfair? No. It's just that we are unlucky, that's all. In the show "The Amazing Race", this is a major factor in the final winner. Sometimes, strong teams who have led from the start end up encountering a major obstacle that they simply cannot overcome. The flight was delayed, the cards were bad, they couldn't find the needle in a haystack. Whatever it is, they missed out on the $1 000 000 cash prize by no fault of theirs. Was it unfair? No.

In a sense, I believe that Icyfate was dealt a blow far greater than a measely dota game. He was due for a major award that was supposed to be the pinnacle of his hard work. Yet, because of a miscommunication by the judges, he didn't get it. Each judge thought that the other didn't want him to receive it, when both wanted him to. But that's life. At least Icyfate can take heart that he knows he's the real recipient of the award.

So compared to Icyfate, I think my circumstances were somewhat better. However, life is unpredictable. What happens to me tomorrow, I don't know. What I know is that some things in life are uncontrollable. We can't do a thing about them. All we can do is live life to its fullest and prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

"In this world full of ups and downs, it's nice to know that there are jackalopes around." - narrator from mini-movie in front of Finding Nemo

Forgetting and juggling our lives

2006-01-12T03:50:00.000-08:00

As I browse around the blogs of my friends and their friends, I notice that many of them have stopped blogging. The very people who inspired me to start a blog have, themselves, stopped. Why did they stop? Some of them, simply do not have the time. Others, just stopped. They no longer had fun blogging and found no reason to do so. Be it too little viewership or whatever it is, they simply lost interest.

That is exactly what happens to many of us. When the latest RPG game comes out, we buy it immediately and play it 12 hours a day. After around a month of playing, we get bored with it and stop. We forget what it was that we found fun about the game in the first place. When the latest Harry Potter book is published, we queue 5 hours for it. Reading it once is not enough , and we read it five times. Soon, we get bored of it and it sits on the shelf collecting dust. When we first start school each year, we have a resolution of passing with flying colours. And so, in the first week, we study like never before and bury our noses in our books. Soon, we get tired and the motivation wears off. Soon, we are back on the game console playing games.

Many of us simply live our lives that way. We initiate projects but do not have the passion to sustain them. Just like the things that we buy and chuck aside, they accumulate over time. However, unlike the latter that can simply be thrown away, we cannot possibly throw away our memories. Every time we do not complete a project, it takes a little away from our confidence. As the years go by, we begin to associate ourselves with failure and it appears that we can never succeed anymore no matter what we try.

There is a riddle that tells about a bridge that can hold 100 kg of weight. A man, who weighs 90 kg, tries to cross the bridge. Unfortunately, he is carrying three balls that are 5 kg in weight each. Yet, he still manages to cross the bridge without harm. How? Take some time to ponder over it. The answer is below.

The answer: He juggles the balls.

Isn't that exactly what we do with our life? We juggle with the activities in our schedule, making sure to keep to it down to the minute. For the first few days or weeks, we succeed. But soon, our arms tire and we start to lose balance. Imagine what would happen to the man if he lost control of the three balls? What if that led to the loss of his own balance? Soon, he would fall off the bridge and possibly lose his life. On the other hand, another man who only carried two balls across the bridge would have a much easier time. He could carry a ball in each hand and cross the bridge as per normal. That is what we should do sometimes. We should cut back on our activities and focus on seeing them through to the best of our abilities. Yet, the man who successfully juggles three balls would have more to work with in the future. He would benefit by having three balls instead of two. Sometimes, we participate in more activities because it will help us have a better future. The extra seminar, the extra module, the extra course. All these may help us later on in life.

So what exactly should we do? Just whack it and go for it? Or should we play the safe option? Whatever you choose to do is up to you actually. Just make sure that you don't lose yourself in the process.

Wannabes

2006-01-11T04:35:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days, we three stooges teased a schoolmate about his relationship with one of the new girls in school. Recently, they became an item. In our MSN Conversations, we gossiped and laughed at all the antics of that boy, since we come from a school that was, two months ago, and all-boys school. We laughed at how he used SMS to proclaim his attraction (I'm trying to be careful with using the word "love") and how we thought it was insincere. And I was made aware of an incident in which Icyfate and his friends were watching this boy talking to his soon-to-be girlfriend. After 15 minutes of conversation and the girls went away, the boy went over to Icyfate's table to talk. All of a sudden, people came from North, South, East and West. Soon, a standing ovation followed.

All this makes me wonder about wannabes. There will always be people who are out there making all the moves. At the same time, there will always be people who do the clapping but don't take action. Now, I have no doubt that the ACS boys above who gave a standing ovation are people of action. What I doubt actually is myself. This reminds me of a scene in Serendipity, where John Cusack, the hero of the story, was talking to his best friend. His best friend, let's call him, Tom, told him that he admired John simply because he was a jackass. Tom had recently broken up with his girlfriend and was afraid of being rejected again. On the other hand, John was about to get married, but secretly yearned for a girl whom he met years ago but did not know much about. In the end, John went around the whole of London looking for her. He did not sit on his sofa and mourn his situation. He went out. He did something. He was out there being the jackass. And even if he failed, he can carry on his life with his head held high, knowing that he had done all he could to change his destiny. Of course, the movie had a happy ending and John found his soulmate who was the girl he met years ago.

It seems to me that many times, I'm too afraid to actually do anything. Every time I'm given an opportunity to shine, I reject it. I'm often afraid of failure and end up standing still because of that. On the other hand, there are people out there being the jackasses and getting things done. Now, I'm not talking about finding a girlfriend, since I'm a self-proclaimed bachelor for life. Rather, I'm talking about life in general. We should take advantage of opportunities as they come, since time and tide wait for no man. We don't know what else will come our way, so do all you can to change your life.

In my Friendster account, I described myself as a multi-millionaire wannabe. When will the word Wannabe be removed? When will it become multi-millionaire? I am here complaining about people being multi-millionaires while I am not one, but can I blame anyone else for my situation? It's not that I'm unlucky or anything. It's just that I don't take my chances. Others do. So my fellow bloggers, what are you? Are you out there doing things? Or are you mulling about your lousy situations?

I guess there is only one best way to do things. Once again, I'll paraphrase from Serendipity.

In this scene, John's best friend is carrying flowers and is about to visit his girlfriend, whom he had broken up with not too long ago.

John's best friend: How do I look?
John: Like a jackass!

And that is how we should live life. LIKE A JACKASS!!

Back again

2006-01-07T03:37:00.000-08:00

I know that pretty much nobody reads this blog, but to those of you out there, wherever you are, you may be glad to know that this blog has been revived. I don't know how long it will be alive again, but for now, I present this single post.

I have got a new motivation factor, and that is my New Year Resolution. While I was in Sydney for holiday, I rode a river cruise that went around the Sydney river. The cruise had a recorded commentary onboard that introduced the various places to us. One area that we went past was a residential zone located in front of the river. With a good view overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, those houses were EXPENSIVE! According to the commentary, each one costs at least AUS$4 million! And thus was my New Year Resolution : To own one of those houses within 30 years.

4 million! Since I'm 16 right now, that would leave me until age 46. Since I'm a foreigner, and will not have to do National Service, I would get my bachelor degree at age 22. A master degree at 24 if I decide to do it. And a PhD at 28 if I achieve it. Give and take a little, leaving age 30, with 16 years left. That works out to 250 000 a year, and 20 000 a month. WOW. The most plausible ways to earn that much would be to start a business, invest wisely, or become a property agent. Whichever way it is, my next two years in the IB will be crucial. I have to do well these two years and beyond in order to get my house.

Yet, in life, things are easier said than done. First week of school has gone past without me studying much. Things have to change. The time that I spend on activities that are not goal-oriented have to be cut down. I have to stop thinking up lofty ideas that are simply too complex to excecute. Imagine all those plans I had to incorporate a study of Runescape into my EE! I guess in life, we have to be practical. Yes, we all have big plans to change the world. But there is nothing wrong with little steps that will pave the way for others. The movie Prince of Egypt is fairly accurate in saying that a piece of thread so thin and fine, plays its part in the grand design (of a carpet). The rock that sits on top of the mountain face, doesn't think itself greater than the one at the base. Why should we attempt to achieve goals through lofty means when a simple way will do just as well? In workplace jargon, the way to success is to KISS, which stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Anyways, school has started, and for the first time, I see girls in the same school as me. So how exactly have the rest of us reacted? Well, I've seen some people socialize like no tomorrow. In the canteen, one boy was actually sitting with 3 girls! WOW! In a school with a boy : girl ratio of 5 : 1, that leaves us with 1/5 for each. And here we have a person having 3! Oh well, whatever floats your boat. As for me, I have almost no reaction at all. One of my friends said that he is not socializing much because he does not want to appear desperate, but for me, I don't socialize because I don't really want to right now. After all, I'm a self-proclaimed bachelor-for-life. Now, one of my juniors in SJAB said that I surely must "like" one of the girls, but he remembered that I'm a bachelor-for-life. That is almost polar opposite to someone I know, who told many people about his crush. In response to the latter, I told my friend that if I had a crush, I would hide it. One good way is to act as if I'm a bachelor-for-life! Haha. So in actual fact, do I like any of the girls or am I really a bachelor-for-life? That's for me to know and for you all to find out.

One thing that I enjoyed was watching Serendipity again. Channel 5 aired it about a week before Christmas, and it was nice to watch it again. In the movie, two people happen to meet each other by chance when they tried to buy the same pair of gloves that were the last ones available. They had a great time, but the female, decided to leave everything to chance by writing her particulars in a book and selling it to a store while asking the male to write his on a 5 dollar note before spending it. Of course, after a long wild-goose-chase and many other plot bunnies, they were finally together. Perhaps life is like that. If things are meant to be, they are simply meant to be. They will happen. But, I believe that destiny can be changed. We decide our fates. We humans are not robots after all. The difference between us and robots is in the word Willpower. Imagine a donkey equidistant between two bales of hay. If his actions are governed only by his desires and emotions, then he would remain there forever, since he cannot choose which hay to forgo. Of course, he will decide to forgo one for the other. Destiny is controlled by us. How we harness this energy called willpower determines our success in life. No matter what dreams we have, willpower will take us far and enable us to achieve them if we really want to. Dreams such as having a AUS$4 million house within 30 years...

Moving On

2005-06-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

Life in St. John is like night and day, always changing....

These are the immortal words of Arthur Nicholas, otherwise known as my elder brother. These words appeared on the final slide on the Powerpoint Presentation of the Secondary One CCA Orientation.

As I begin writing this post, I have just put up what is likely to be my very last Parade Notice as the Admin NCO (Secretary) of ACS (I) SJAB. All subsequent notices will be put up by my capable successor.

It is Tuesday night. On Friday, it will be SJAB Day. The day that all Year 4s have been waiting for. It is the benchmark of the end of our reign as the head of this magnificent UYO. Once this day is over, we are unofficially relieved of duty. It is during this day that I will lead the Corp as one of four contingent commanders, and give the command to halt after marching in. With the grace of our Almighty God, I know that the day will go without a hitch. It will be the fourth time I'm involved in SJAB Day, and my last. My first was as a member of the stationary contingent. Second and third as a member of the marching contingent. Now, my fourth is as a contingent commander.

The experience seems pretty surreal, as I look back at my years with SJAB. Really, the ups and downs as well as twists and turns have really left me at the edge of my seat. In Secondary 1, I was the usual Year 1, always known as "Arthur's brother". In Secondary 2, when Arthur was one of the only 3 Staff Sergeants, "Arthur's brother" became more widely used. At that time, I was still very quiet, doing just enough to ensure that I would never get punished, while not volunteering for anything either. It was during this time that two of the members of my year began showing plenty of initiative in volunteering as well. At the end of year 2, I was made a member of FAC. Year 3 came, and lo and behold, Zone Champions!! In June, I was ordained the post of Admin NCO in the committee, and slowly, "Arthur's brother" changed to "Johnathan". At the end of Year 3, I was made one of four Staff Sergeants. Year 4 came, and the strength of the committee was tested, as we sailed through choppy waters. The four captains of the ship argued at times, but eventually, the storm ceased. And so we arrive at where I am today, ready to leave this great ship after a journey across the vast ocean. My destination is arriving.

Looking back, I must say that St. John Ambulance Brigade has taught me a lot. I have learnt a vast array of First Aid Skills and Drill Commands, but those are only superficial compared to the life skills I have learnt. I learnt about being a leader through my experience with the Year 2s this year. Indeed, it has been eventful. Yes, we rubbed each other the wrong way when we first started. However, it was as if they decided to give me a second chance, and I decided to change my teaching methods. I have no idea what I did, but it worked. I think the Year 2s have learnt quite a lot from me, but I have learnt even more from them. I learnt that being a good leader is not synonymous to ruling with an iron fist. In actual fact, my style of leadership involved familiarity. It would be tough for me to train let's say, the Year 3s, since I am not familiar with teaching them. At the same time, I have learnt that a leader cannot always give chances. I do punish the Year 2s, but it is never for the purpose of causing pain. Instead, it is for the purpose of them remembering what they have done wrong. In my opinion, punishments that are aimed at causing pain only waste time, and cause cadets to remember the punishment but not the mistake. There's plenty more where that came from, but there would not be enough space to cover all.

Once St. John Day is over, all that is left for me will be the National First Aid Competition, then I'm done. No more. It is finished. I remember my predecessor for the position of Number 2 on the AA Team. When the competition was over, and the team was sixth, I saw that he was trying to look happy, but he was sad in actual fact. Of course, I do not know why he was sad, but I will probably be sporting the same look when the competition is over. Why? The answer is that St. John would have left my life the minute the competition ended. I hope to end on a high note, preferably with at top 3 position, or even finishing first, but still, it pains to know that something that has been a part of me for four years is going to end.

So now, as mentioned earlier, it is Tuesday night. Three more days. Three. Three more days before I pass the baton on for my successor to run on and keep the dream alive. I trust the Year 3s, and I know they will do a good job. They will run and never drop the baton, just as we Year 4s have done.

To my Year 2s, thank you for the wonderful time, and good luck carrying on with St. John. To my successor, I'm passing the baton on to you. Good luck with it, and don't drop it, which I know you won't. To all Year 3s, good luck with your reign. Enjoy it, for you will never know how much it means until you have to let go of it.

The game will never be over, because we're keeping the dream alive -- Keeping the Dream Alive by Freiheit

Thank you all the teachers-in-charge, especially Mr. Seah, who's been in charge for all four years that I have been in St. John. Thank you to all my seniors who have taught me and helped me along the way.

Indeed, many people in SJAB think that it is boring and a complete waste of time, but it is not. Trust me, because I know. It is definitely not a waste of time. At the same time, it is definitely not boring, because.................

Life in St. John is like night and day, always changing....

Another Turning Point

2005-06-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I do not own the song Time of Your Life. It is owned by Greenday

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.

Indeed, just as I had nearly come to terms with losing, life delivered yet another twist of fate that led to a complete 180. It all came in a phone call from Fate.

"We're going for the Nationals."

It was just one simple line. This was exactly what I had hoped for months ago. I remember telling Icyfate that it was possible for the winning team to forfeit their position, thus giving us a clear route to the Nationals. Of course, at that time, it did not seem possible for such a thing to occur. Yet, for some unknown reason, it did.

This event brings back to mind my wish of winning the Nationals at the start of the year. I had high hopes for the team. Icyfate, best commander (9.5/10!!!!). Me, best CPR (I hope). JL, best solo First Aider and Timer. Fate, best ambulance call. We are an all-star team!!! We still lost the Zone Competition though, and I began to think that we would not have won the Nats even if we had made it past the zone stages.

Now, we are given a second chance. It is similar to a person who had had a close encounter with death, but was given a second chance to live. What should he do then? Obviously, make the most out of his life, considering the fact that he had been given a second chance that many others did not have the luxury of. Similarly, the team was given a second chance. We had lost, but are now going to represent the Zone as champions. Losers given a second chance to compete as winners again. So what else should we do but make the most out of it and train hard to be National champions for once!

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It is definitely going to be the final chapter of competing in First Aid Competitions. There will be no more after this. Zilch. Zippo. Caput. No matter what happens in the Nationals, I will be happy with it. Although my aim is to win, I will take heart in the fact that the team was given the chance to compete and once again display our abilities. As an ACS( I ) SJAB member, my last will be the first Friday of Term 3, St. John Day. However, my swansong as an FAC member will be the Nats. It will be the final performance before we bow out, but before that, the dream is still not over. We can still live our dream. To all our supporters who will be there for our competition, I can assure you that the team will fight to our very last. We will make the best use of our second chance, learning from our mistakes and gaining new skills along the way. We will soar on wings like eagles.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Setbacks

2005-04-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's been a month since I last posted. Where have I been this past month, you may ask? The answer is that I have been doing a lot of self-thought.

Have you ever suffered from a setback that seems to drain you of your energy? A setback that saps all of your morale? I know I have. The setback that I am talking about is of course losing the First Aid Competition. Yes, I know that all of you are bored of me talking about it again, but what can I do? After all, FAC will always be an experience that I will never forget. Anyway, back to setbacks.

Setbacks of the same nature occur mostly during times of stress. In fact, one often sees this in the sports arena. It could be missing a key basket in basketball, having a goal disallowed in soccer, or getting a double fault in tennis. Losing balance during figure skating, missing a throw-in during rugby.............. the list is endless. After these setbacks, one often finds that he is unable to recover. It is as though he has fallen down and cannot stand up again. He just keeps falling, and falling. Soon enough, due to the added pressure to make up for the mistake, another mistake arrives to complement the first. And another. And another. And another.

During the month that I have been away, it was as though I was living in a state of denial. I knew the team had lost, but it seemed that my brain was trying to overwrite it. Many times, I went to the St. John room after school for the purpose of stoning. I went there on the pretext of cleaning the room, but it seems more like I wanted to feel the aura of the room. After all of the training sessions that I had there, I just wanted to be there again. Be there to train for a competition that would never ever come.

For now, the phase is over ( I hope ). The turning point was during two incidences that had happened on the same day. This fateful day was the day of the rugby 'B' Division Finals. I watched and cheered as the ACS ( I ) Rugby team fought their hearts out on the pitch. It is unfortunate that they did not bring back the trophy. However, when I watched the team get together for one last time, I saw that many of them had tears in their eyes. That scene touched me, as it reminded me of the day that my team lost the competition. I watched as the Rugby team got together later on to perform their last but certainly best "Haka" performance. It would be the last time that they performed that unique cheer, but I am sure that they would leave with no regrets.

The second incident was what I overheard someone say. During the match, one player had sustained a major injury, which I think was a fracture. However, when one of the members of the Champion First Aid Team went forward to treat the injury, he was at a loss as well. It reminded me that the members of my team were the true winners of the competition. Our senior, Ed, who was a Runner for the judges, told us that we lost only because of our teamwork. First-aid wise, we were definitely the top. If a real case were to happen, where some drifter suddenly fell in front of us, we would definitely administer the best treatment.

This just goes to show that setbacks will, well, set us back. However, we have to take on the mindset that the setback is not a setback but a learning experience. We have to learn not to make the same mistake again.

For now, I am no longer in a rut, but I still go to the St. John Room after school at times. But it is now that I realize the true meaning of Icyfate's words when he said, "It's okay. We will always be 1st in our hearts!"

The Aftermath

2005-03-05T23:49:00.000-08:00

One day after the competition, and life seems to be empty for me. I woke up today and just walked around, as though in a trance. There seemed to be a hole in my life, knowing that from today onwards, the team will not train anymore. I will have to adapt to a brand new schedule, one that takes away all of the trainings. I will have so much time on my hands that I will not know what to do with them.

The time that we should have spent training for the National First Aid Competition has been freed up and given back to us. I have 2 songs to present today, but I feel that I have to mention one of them now. The song was in one of my earlier entries, but I think I should elaborate more on it.

The song is "If We Hold On Together" by Diana Ross. The song was the theme song for a cartoon-movie entitled "The Land Before Time" (1998).

An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to worktogether in order to survive. --http://imdb.com

Littlefoot had lost his parents due to a great catastrophe. It could be a drought, famine or meteorite. I do not know which, since I have not watched the movie. However, Littlefoot knew that the Great Valley would be a safe place for him, and embarked on the journey to reach there, meeting friends along the way, like a triceratops, ankylorsorous and others. The group met great hardship along the way, including a T-Rex and having to cross a ravine using a thin vine for a bridge. They had to travel across a narrow pathway on a canyon and many others. The bottomline of the story is that we have to put our differences aside and work together as a team. Only then can we make it through.

In the late 80s, there were many movies of this genre, including "An American Tail", "All Dogs go to Heaven" and of course, "A Land Before Time". Anyway, that was exactly what we did during competition day. We put all of our minor conflicts aside. We forgot about how we often chided Fate for not putting in enough effort. We forgot about how I was often scolded for playing computer games when we were supposed to be training. Instead, we remembered the good times we spent together as a team. Playing soccer in Clementi Avenue 2, playing soccer in the room, sneaking away to train in the St. John HQ the day before competition. We remembered these and worked as a team.

So without further ado, I once again dedicate this song to my team.

If We Hold On Together
by Diana Ross
----------------------------
Don't lose your way
With each passing day
You've come so far
Don't throw it away (Let's not forget the time we've had, since we're always a team)
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith, hope and glory
Hold to the truth in your heart(The dream will never be over. Let's continue with the revolution)

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

Souls in the wind
Must learn how to bend (Accept all failures in our way)
Seek out a star
Hold on to the end (Never give up. Have your goals in your mind and work towards it)
Valley, mountain,
There is a fountain,
Washes our tears all away (Wipe away our tears and carry on working hard for the corps)
Words are swaying
Someone is praying
Please let us come home to stay (We will get there!)

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

When we are out there in the dark (Where we are now)
We'll dream about the sun (keep your goal in mind)
In the dark we'll feel the light
Warm our hearts everyone (Our goal will give us the motivation to carry on)

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I
---------------------------------
Enough said. No matter what happens, we are always a team. We shine like stars in the universe, sharpen one another, and soar on wings like eagles, always being the salt of the Earth. Let us never forget the times we had together, knowing always, that.....

THE BEST IS YET TO BE!!!

Results

2005-03-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today was a very interesting day to say the least. It was the day of the First Aid Competition. We assembled early at 7 pm in the St. John Room for some last minute First Aid Lessons and touching-up to our uniforms. At 10.30 am we left school for SJAB HQ in a taxi, while the AC Team took another taxi.

Once we arrived there, we waited in the corridor until it was time for us to register. Whilst waiting, we saw some of our opponents in the AA Team Competition. For one, there were our old rivals from Swiss Cottage. We somehow, by the grace of God, won last year's competition by a mere eight points, and I knew that they would be out for revenge. Later on, we also saw our biggest rivals, the St. Andrews Team. We knew that the main competition would be between them and us, but there was no form of face-off whatsoever between the two teams. We registered ourselves, and we were AA3, or AA Team Number 3. There were five teams in total, but as mentioned earlier, it would be a David-Goliath fight for the title.

We proceeded to the waiting room, and all too soon, it was time to take bearings for the competiton. In doing so, the Footdrill judge would mark us according to how neatly we dressed and overall impression. Our main rivals, were AA1, so they were marked first. Their commander shouted a loud, "Squad, sedia!!!" The team got into sedia position, and it was a perfect bang! Then, the team shouted, "Good...Morning sir!!!"

At that time, I was not surprised, since I already knew that we were up against a team that was strong in footdrill and Transportation of Casualty (TOC). For our team, our stamp was less than perfect. At the same time, when Icyfate gave the command for senang diri, the commander of AA4 shouted out at the same time, which led to me stamping late due to the mix. However, I was not worried, since our gameplan was to own the two First Aid Cases.

We went back to the waiting room, and had to stay still for around one hour, before we went to our first component, which was First Aid Short Case. The case was multiple gashes on the casualty's arms as well as bleeding on the cheek and an amputated thumb. The problem for that case was that the gloves were still in the bag in the First Aid Kit. Thus, we spent about 30 seconds putting them on, neglecting treatment. After that, I used two bandages to apply direct pressure on the casualty's arms. Then, I began looking around for the amputated thumb, and found it in the form of some plasticine on the ground. I indicated the position to Icyfate by nodding in the direction. However, since the thumb was the same colour as the floor, Icyfate ended up stepping on it. There was no choice, and Icyfate could only try to repair the damage by putting it in a plastic bag. Since both JL and I had our hands full, we were unable to secure the dressings. Therefore, Icyfate had to go around securing the bandages for us. When the case ended, we reported the case to the judge and Fate handed in the casualty report. The judge actually laughed at Fate for not filling in the last part of the report. In my opinion, that was a blatant act of narcissism by the judge. It was as though the judges were looking down on us, without considering our First Aid Knowledge. But anyway, the case was done, and we moved back to the waiting rooms.

The next component was footdrill. When we were told of the area we had, I was laughing inwardly: The place given was twice as big as what we had practised!!!! We usually practised marching within six parking lots, while we were given space from the centre of the car park to the garage area. Icyfate gave the command, "Sekuad Sedia!!!" And we stamped. Perfect bang!

"Dari kanan cepat jalan!"

"Sekuad, berhenti!" Perfect!

The subsequent commands were not exactly perfect, but we threw in everything we had. Icyfate shouted so loud that an echo could be heard from our surroundings. JL timed consistently and sharply, and even Fate stamped his hardest. When we finished our sequence, the judge said that Icyfate's voice was good, except that we could have used the space more effectively, as well as avoided taking steps to the right and left. Other than that, the judge told Icyfate that, "Your guys were good."

That was it. Having screwed up Short Case we wanted to make up for it in footdrill, and we did it! So it was back to the waiting room for us.

The next component was First Aid Long Case. That was the big one. Worth 50% of the total score. Probably the deciding factor. We entered the case knowing that we had to impress. And so we did, treating all the injuries as best as we could. When we had finished, the judge said, "Luckily they saved the best for the last," and "this must be some high ranking team." (Of course we're high-ranking. 3 SSGTs and 1 SGT)

We knew we had done it. We had impressed. Even the casualty told me, "Thank You" when we cut case. After completing the casualty report, I showed my team-mates the two thumbs up symbol. All that we had to do was keep up with other teams for TOC and we should win, and we went back to the waiting room with high spirits.

TOC came, and we treated the casualty for spinal injury. This casualty was quite heavy, so we substituted Fate, since he himself had a back injury. We completed the case reasonably fast, except for a few minor mistakes, and were confident of a win. I was quite sure that we would win because of our Long Case marks.

We went back to the waiting room for some time before the results were out. The AC Team results were out first. Top in TOC, AC4! That was the ACS (I) Team! Top in footdrill, another team. Top in long case, AC4! Top in short case, another team. Best leader, another team. Overall champions, AC4!!!! One was in the bag, it was time for another.

Next were the AA Team results. Top in TOC, AA1. Top in Footdrill, AA1. Top in long case, AA...............1????? The minute I saw that, I know it was all lost. I muttered, "Cannot already" under my breath.

We saw the overall results. We had lost to AA1 in every component! We came in second place. We went up to receive our award, and walked back, dejected. I was still doing fine with the loss, but I heard JL sniffling a little. Hearing him sniffle made tears rush to my eyes. My actions not only affected myself, but my team as well. As the team gathered together to pray, JL and I broke down. It was over. We had lost. As far as I know, we have the most knowledge in First Aid, yet we lost. We were like an Ace Four of a Kind, only that we met a 5-6-7-8-9 Straight Flush.

Of course, one cannot possibly win everything in life. Life is unfair, even though we work hard for something, it does not mean that we will win. I talked to Edward later, and he told me that we scored lower in long case only because the other team had more teamwork. Every time one member asked for help, another would respond immediately. For us, we impressed with our First Aid knowledge and skills, but lacked teamwork. Oh well, at least the AC Team won, and we will win the Nationals through them. Even if we cannot participate in the Nationals, at least we can experience it throught the AC Team.

Anyway, to my team-mates, I cannot be more proud of any of you. Icyfate, who shouted his lungs out and got a 9.5 for leadership in drill. JL, who timed well and handled the other casualty as well as the casualty for short case. Fate, who gave a perfect ambulance call and stamped hard during footdrill. PKL, who substituted Fate for TOC. God, who was always our sixth member. We have done our best as a team.

We showed the ACSian spirit of never giving up even though the situation looked bleak, and held our ground even though we knew that it was going to be a David and Goliath encounter. We upped our footdrill from a usual 32/50 to a 43/50 for the competition, and displayed all the knightly values that form the shield of the ACS crest.

To all the cadets who came to support us for the competition, I would like to thank all of you for your support. I hope this clears up all misconceptions that you have about your NCOs. We are not some sadistic monsters who are out to pump you just because the wind is blowing. We are just like you. We feel pain like you do. We bleed like you do. Like you, we smile when we win, and cry when we lose. I hope that you are proud of your fellow cadets who brought back the title in the AC Category.

"If we hold on together,
I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever,
Where clouds roll by.
For you, and I."

We did not begin the revolution, since it was started by Ming Jie Sir, and Edward Sir. What we did was to continue the revolution, passing the torch on to our juniors who will carry on the revolution. Though we end our journey here for now, ACS(I) SJAB will carry on its endeavour to be an FAC powerhouse in Singapore just as in the late 80s and early 90s. Knowing always that........

THE BEST IS YET TO BE!!!!

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The hopes we had were much too high
Way out of reach but we have to try

No need to hide no need to run
'Cause all the answers come one by one

The game will never be over
Because we're keeping the dream alive
--------------------------------------
-- Extract from Keeping the Dream Alive by Freiheit

Short entry

2005-03-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

Gosh, how fast time flies when you want it to crawl slowly. On the other hand, a watched pot never boils, and time seems to fly when you don't want it to. I remember when I was writing the previous blog entry. That was about two, three days ago? Now, the competition is only two days away, and tomorrow will be our final training session before the competition. This is a far cry from what happened last time, when my team-mates were laughing when Icyfate and I were worried that we would only have nine training sessions left. How would we react after our last training session? I think we would be happy, yet contemplative. We would be thinking of all the trainings that we used to have, spending half of our trainings playing computer or playing soccer.

The joke of the day has to be when a member of the AC Team actually said, "What? You mean First Aid Comp is only two days away? Oh no!"

Oh well. What can I say? Fate has fallen sick. This situation is especially unfortunate for us, since most of our trainings have been carried out with Fate as our team member, and we may be forced to use our reserve. Of course, I have faith in all of the team members. Whether it be Fate or PKL, our reserve, taking part, I know that they will do a good job. I used to joke that we will win because Fate is on our side. Or should I say, we have triple fate: Fate, Icyfate and Fieryfate. However, none of us will want to joke about it right now, of course. Now, this is a short entry, because Icyfate is chasing me to sleep by 10 pm, so I will do so right now.

Before I leave, I would like to dedicate this song to my team. Guys, I know that all of you are familiar with this song, so just listen to it and sing along to the background music.

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Disclaimer: I don't own this song!

DIANA ROSS LYRICS
IF WE HOLD ON TOGETHER LYRICS

Don't lose your way
With each passing day
You'vee come so far
Don't throw it away
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith, hope & glory
Hold to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and i

Souls in the wind
Must learn how to bend
Seek out a star
Hold on to the end
Valley, mountain
There is a fountain
Washes our tears all away
Words are swaying
Somebody is praying
Please let us come home to stay

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and i

When we are out there in the dark
We'll dream about the sun
In the dark we'll feel the light
Warm our hearts, everyone

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
As high as souls can fly
The clouds roll by
For you and i

Teamwork

2005-03-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

Today, after Founder's Day, I sat down to play Taiti with other SJAB members. We were playing, until one player, who was not very familiar with the game, said, "Oh, I can put any five cards?"

The reply was, "Of course not! It has to be related in some way!"

Now, that had me thinking, since the sets of cards in the game are ranked according to their relations with each other, rather than the individual cards. Of course, the individual cards will come into play should there be a tie in the relations of the cards to each other. What do I mean by this? Instead of using Taiti, I shall use Poker, since it contains more sets, and is similar to Taiti.

The various suits of the cards represent the goals of each card, just as countries have their own flags. The numbers on the cards represent the abilities of the cards. In Poker, the highest card is an Ace. The set of highest value is the Royal Flush. In it, the cards are a 10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit. This is the optimal combination a team. The cards in the Royal Flush have the same suit, which means that they have similar goals, and they have the highest values of the suit, which means that they have great abilities as well. A team that has great abilities and teamwork. What could be better?

Ace/King:
In this set, there must be an ace and a king. Two members out of the five have great abilities, but the cards may not be of the same suit. This set is the lowest, since a team with ability is better than a team without.

One pair:
In this set, there has to be two cards that are similar. Notice that a pair of twos, the lowest cards, can overcome an ace and a king, the highest cards. This is because the two twos can suppport each other. If one falls, the other can pick him up. Just as the Bible says that if a single person can set flight a thousand birds, two can set flight ten thousand.

Two pair:
Wonderful! We actually have two pairs that are similar to each other! The only problem is that these two pairs are not working with each other, and are only loyal to their partners. This is of course better than a single pair though.

Three of a kind:
Three cards that are similar to each other. Now, we have three cards that are similar to each other. This shows that three people who have the same target would work better than two pairs of two who work for different goals. Thus, teamwork is more important than numbers; quality is better than quantity.

Straight:
These cards are all consecutive. They do have slight similarities with each other, but not total. Now, this shows that it would be better for five people to work for the approximate same goal than to have three high-abilitied people working together. After all, there is strength in numbers.

Flush:
Now we're talking! Five cards of the same suit. All five cards are working for the same goal! Notice that in this case, the values on the cards do not have to tally. They do not have to be very high either. This shows that it does not matter how far apart the abilities of the people are, as long as they work for the same goal.

Full House:
Three of the same number, with another two. This is similar to two pairs, except that the final card has decided to join with one of the two pairs to make three of a kind. What this shows is that one person who changes his mindset can make the team more powerful. From two pairs, we now get a full house.

Straight Flush:
The cards all have the same goal, since all of them have the same suit. They are not totally similar though, since their values are different. Actually, it would be good for them to be different, since a team where all the members are exactly the same would be like a team of robots, having no mind of its own.

Royal Flush:
It is a type of straight flush, except that the cards are the highest possible. As mentioned earlier, nothing beats teamwork and ability combined.

Now, what am I trying to say here? Of course, teamwork is important. A team of two people who are united in heart will perform far better than a single person of high ability. So, my fellow bloggers, if you are ever in a team, make sure that you have the same goals as your team, because only then can the team succeed.

Not to forget, a lot can be learned from a game of Taiti =P

Countdown to Competition: 3 Days (Excluding Today)

Hmm.. I don't know what title to put either >.<

2005-02-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

Six more days. Six. Six more days, and the nerves are beginning to show. During training, we become stressed out like bears with sore heads. When one of us fails to perform well, it gets our backs up, and conflict arises faster than you can say "touche". We blame each other for the mistakes that we make, and we end up achieving nothing.

Now, what happens when mistakes are made? In a company, it is obvious. The person gets fired. However, the FAC is not a company. Rather, it is more like a partnership between four people. In fact, it is a partnership that is prestigious and in a way, elite, since entrance into the partnership is very difficult to come by. Once accepted into the partnership, every single member is expected to do everything he can to improve his skills and ultimately, win the championship trophy. But what happens when one member decides not to put in effort? The question can be answered even by a person who was born yesterday : The other members will get mad.

This was exactly what has been happening. The original Fate has been deemed as not putting in 100% into training, and that has caused the rest of us to become agitated. Of course, Fate has his reasons. Fate says that he intentionally been acting slack in order to remain calm during the competiton. According to him, if we were to be too committed during training, we would become stressed during the competition and making mistakes. However, the rest of us still became mad, since the competition is only six days away. It is drawing ever slowly nearer to us.

Perhaps we should be more understanding with Fate. After all, we are friends outside the competition as well. Way before the team was formed, the three "Fate"s would hold conversations together as "The Three Stooges", and we would trash talk away late into the night. We would make the conversation resemble a real television talkshow, with phrases like, "Wow!!!! Viewers out there, are you listening to this???" and "Thank you for tuning in to another episode of 'The Three Stooges', and see you tomorrow!!!" The three of us (especially me) would crack jokes that were so lame they would make the most serious person cringe. An example is like this:
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Fate: Who has the room key?
Me: I have the KEYboard.
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Fate: I finished my homework liao. Whoopie!!!
Me: Whoopie cushion.
Icyfate: ................
Fate: >.<
Me: Whoopie Goldberg.
-------------------------------

We even coined new phrases among ourselves. I used a signing off word : Cheers! I used to end all of my conversations with that single word. Icyfate would always begin his conversations by saying, "yo", whereby I would always answer , "Yoyo" , "Yoda" , "Yoga", "Yodel", "Yonder" and you get what I mean. I coined the phrase "^__^O (Sweat drop)" and "*Falls over anime-style", whenever something unexpected happens.

Those were the times. The good times.

Now, the three of us are in the FAC, and we form three out of the five members. We had a lot of fun together as friends and fellow team-mates, and I'm sure we will continue to do so. In fact, that is one reason why I do not wish to lose. It is scary when I look at it. On one hand, if we win, we go on to the Nationals. Maybe win it and move on to the Singapore-Malaysia competition. Maybe win it and move on to the Singapore-Australia competition. On the other hand, we lose it and we're finished. The team breaks apart, and from the on, we'll have nothing more to do with each other. I do not want to lose because I have enjoyed the time that I have spent with the team, and I never want it to end.

While writing this entry, I read a blog in which the writer has just lost a big match to a rival school. As I read her blog, I can visualise myself in that situation. Of course, I'll probably react differently on the outside, but it will be the same on the inside. The sad thing is that the team that works well together may not win. Our team has gone through a lot together, but that does not mean that we will win -- nothing can assure us of victory.

As I think about what will happen when we win, I can picture myself raising my arms in victory, turning to Icyfate and saying an emotional, "We did it!" Before giving him a high five. But if I lose, I will bow my head in defeat, not wanting to look at the sad faces of my team-mates, knowing that it was partly my fault. My fault for not putting in more effort during the competition.

Now, all that I can do is wait. Wait till the six days are over, and go for the title of Zone Champions. Fight tooth and nail during the competition. Leave HQ after the competition and go to Bugis Seoul Garden as Zone Champions. That is all I can do, but at the back of my mind, there always will be the lingering fear of losing.
-------------------------------------------------------
To the author of the blog I read (You know who you are)(In case you don't, your name starts with C), I dedicate this song.
-------------------------------------------------------
Climb Every Mountain

Disclaimer: I don't own this song, so don't sue me.

Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every highway,
Anywhere you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream

Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every highway,
Anywhere you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life,
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.

A**hole Taiti

2005-02-24T03:44:00.000-08:00

Today, during FAC training, the team played a**hole taiti. Since there were five of us, ordinary taiti would not be feasable, since two players would end up with one extra card each. In order to liven up things, we decided to play a**hole taiti. These are the new rules that are added to ordinary taiti:

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Five different roles -- King, Queen, Commoner, Courtesan, A**hole.

At the start of the game, each person chooses one role. Before each round, the courtesan gives the best card that he has to the queen, while the queen gives his worst card to the courtesan. The king gives his 2 worst cards to the a**hole, while the a**hole gives his 2 best cards to the king. After all the trades, the a**hole takes the last two remaining cards on the table. After one player finishes his cards, the next player sets down his card, and play goes on until one player is left. Each player takes his new role according to whoever finishes first.
-------------------------------------------------------------

When you look at the rules, it seems to be a case of the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. It is very likely that the commoner, courtesan and a**hole will be trapped in their places and never become king or queen. This is because the king and queen will siphon away their best cards and leave them with their worst cards.

However, this is not so when the game is actually played. Your position in the game does not have any pattern whatsoever. Often, a player who starts out at the bottom will eventually rise up the ranks and become king, provided that many games are played. Of course, the king still holds the advantage, and according to the rules of probability, the king is most likely to remain as king for the next round. However, there is always one round in which the king receives cards that are so difficult to play that he ends up giving up his position. My friend, Fate, even dropped from king to a**hole in a single round! On the other hand, Icyfate once got a quadruple promotion from a**hole to queen!

So what am I saying here? Once again, I am talking about the FAC. Yeah yeah, I can hear all of you "falling over anime-style" as you read, but never mind, for I am a trained First Aider. Anyway, what I am saying is that no wonder how skilled you are, nothing is for sure. If you compare our team to our opponents, on paper, we would beat them hook, line and sinker. However, that is not for sure. Of course, I am not saying that we will definitely lose, but what I am implying is that no matter how good we are, we still have to keep training hard. Yes, the current team is definitely better than last year's team, but either way, we still have to train. No matter how good we are, there is no such thing as a perfect team, although we will continuously strive to be the best that we can be.

So right now, the competition is just around the corner. However, we still have to proceed with training that is more vigorous than usual. So all of you who are reading this, please keep us in your prayers. Pray for Icyfate, Fieryfate, Fate and JL.

FYI, I ended the last round as king, after starting the round as commoner.

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Competition countdown: 9 days

Nirvana

2005-02-23T03:02:00.000-08:00

Nirvana. That is a higher state of consciousness that is similar to getting on a "high" after taking drugs. In this state, we supposedly feel no pain or sadness, feeling instead, happiness. We feel as though the whole meaning of life has been unlocked, and we sort of become "all-knowing". It is similar to going into a trance, and we cannot necessarily control our actions, yet at the same time, we can.

Why am I suddenly talking about Nirvana? The answer is because I felt as though I reached that state today. What happened was that the AA Team was doing footdrill during First Aid Training. We did the first few commands very well, with perfect stamping on our turning and "tiga langkah". What I did during those commands was to look at the stamping leg of the person next to me and co-ordinate my leg accordingly. However, the minute we began marching, I seemed to go into the state of... you guessed it, NIRVANA!!!

During that time, my mind was somewhere else, as though I had an out-of-body experience. My arms swung involuntarily, and I excecuted all the commands with ease, as though I were not controlling my body. For some reason, 90% of our stamping was co-ordinated, which is much better than our trainings. I was able to perform my footdrill subconsciously. This is similar to certain fighting techniques like drunken boxing, where everything relies on your subconscious, and you do things out of reflex. Many fighting styles say that using your subconscious to fight is the highest level of fighting, and the person usually wins.

Think about it. What if we can get into this stage of Nirvana as and when we want to? When there's a boring lesson, just get into the stage of Nirvana and sleep with your eyes open. At the end of the lesson, you can leave the classroom refreshed, yet knowing all that the teacher has taught. How about letting your whole life be Nirvana? Then you live like a robot or computer program, letting your subconscious live your life, like the matrix. But then again, life will be very boring, will it not?

So, my fellow bloggers. Let's find our centres.

"Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within
Once you find your center
You are sure to win" -- I'll Make A Man Out of You from Mulan Soundtrack

What happened later on was that the team did a second drill sequence. This time, we started badly, much worse than the first one. And this time, I could not get into the stage of Nirvana. So I guess confidence is important. If the team starts well and I get my confidence up, maybe I can reach Nirvana. So I hope that I can reach this stage during the competition, and we'll get 50/50 for drill:)

Competition countdown: 10 Days

Reach

2005-02-21T00:28:00.000-08:00

One event that senior Ed had planned for the FAC Team was a dinner in Seoul Garden. The original plan was that, the night before competition, the AC and AA Teams would gather together for dinner with Ed and his friends. However, the team decided against it, for fear of getting sore throats and staying up too late due to the adrenaline rush, thus leaving us too pooped for the competition. A few days ago, I brought up the matter during one of our training sessions, and Icyfate suggested that we went after the competition. My reply was that we would go if we won, since we would probably be on a high. If we lost, we should not go, as all of our morale would have been sapped. However, Icyfate said that if we win, we go. We lose, we also go. Having nothing to say, I decided to say nothing. (A/N: I wonder if that made sense =P)

Anyway, we had hit a wall for our training for some time. Our drill standard was becoming way below par, and we had encountered a case that we failed twice before barely passing. That brought our morale to an all-time low. For that case, even the AC Team did better than us! That day's training shattered our confidence, and we were engulfed in a blanket of self-doubt for the rest of the training.

That night, I had a long MSN Messenger session with Icyfate. We both were beginning to doubt our abilities, and somehow, we knew that the other's hesitancy could prove fatal. For some reason, we did not know it ourselves. So the conversation went on, and we tried to encourage each other. At the end of the conversation, we ended up calmer than before. However, the most important realisation in my case was near the last few lines. Icyfate was doubting his leadership, and I was trying to let him see my perspective, that he was a good leader.

The conversation went on, and at one point in time, I wrote, "Of course, the team will go full steam ahead during the competition. But if we do lose, which we will not, I have no regrets having you as my number 1."

After some thought, I decided to add in another line:

"And neither should you."

It was when I typed these magical words, that it actually dawned on me. Win or lose, I would have no regrets. The journey has been an interesting one, full of twists and turns. It was like a roller coaster ride. Even if we were to lose, so be it. The team was formed together. We trained together. And we will win/lose as one.

I remember hearing these wise words from a soccer advertisement on television:

"Back in those days, we lose, we cry. We win, we also cry. That is passion."

Indeed, that IS passion. So I now find myself myself agreeing with Icyfate's words. The earlier entry that I had written will be considered irrelevant and obsolete. If we were to lose, I still don't know what I will do. But if I do feel sad about it, I will still smile through the tears, remembering the great training sessions that we shared as a team.

"If we win, we go. If we lose, we also go."

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This song is dedicated to both the AC and AA Teams from ACS (I) SJAB. Competition is in 13 days' time, so let's Reach for the Stars!!!

Disclaimer: This song belongs to S-Club 7, not me.

When the world, leaves you feeling blue
You can count on me, I will be there for you
When it seems, all you hopes and dreams
Are a million miles away, I will re-assure you

We've got to all stick together
Good friends, there for each other
Never ever forget that
I've got you and you've got me, so

Reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true

There's a place waiting just for you
Is a special place where your dreams all come true
Fly away swim, the ocean sea
Drive that open road, leave the past behind you
Don't stop gotta keep moving
Your hopes have gotta keep building
Never ever forget that
I've got you and you've got me, so

Reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true

Don't believe in all that you've been told
The sky's the limit you can reach your goal
No-one knows just what the future holds
There ain't nothing you can't be
There's a whole world at your feet
I said reach

Climb every mountain (reach)
Reach for the moon (reach)
Follow that rainbow
And your dreams will all come true

Reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true
Reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true
Reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher (fade to finish)

Pictures

2005-02-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

Recently, there has been a mini-craze in SJAB -- photo taking. We take pics of the committee members standing together, or funny pics of ourselves. I especially like one pic -- one that shows me kissing the CPR dummy :p Was the dummy a good kisser? I dare not delve into that ^__^O

When our senior was asked why he wanted to take so many pics, he told us that the pics would be valuable to us when we graduate. How true. As the saying goes, "A picture tells a thousand words." Some of us keep diaries to remember the days that we go through. The ups and downs. After all, life is like a box of chocolates. You don't know what you will get next. Unlike a roller coaster, you can't see what's ahead of you. For all you know, you may encounter something strange or great. As a great man once said, "A short pen is better than a long memory." When you try to remember things, you may end up forgetting them. But words written down will never disappear. However, I have my own quote. "A small camera is better than a large piece of paper."

Why are memories so important to us? That is because our lives are important to us. Every single thing we do is significant, though some, more than the rest. One reason is to show off of course. That is why we take pictures with the President, or while holding trophies and awards. However, some pictures are taken purely for the purpose of memories. Pictures that are taken with friends, in funny positions, and during happy times fall under that category. Let's take a moment to think about our lives. How many events do we wish we had pictures about, but failed to take them? Whenever we are down and out, we can always look at pictures of our happy times, and we can become happy again. We rush through life like a bullet train, and seldom have time to smell the flowers and take in the finer points of life. In the end, when we are old and have gone through the most exciting parts of our life, we are too fragile to enjoy life.

So, my fellow bloggers, let's slow down a little. Stop rushing through life as though it were something that we hated to do. After all, we only have one life to live. Let's tae time to enjoy this privilege that all inanimate objects like tables and chairs do not have. Take pictures of your happy times, with your friends and family. As I said earlier, a picture tells a thousand words. A picture a day keeps the frowns away.

P.S: The picture of me kissing the CPR dummy will be up on the SJAB website soon!!!

Now, I have two songs which I feel are appropriate for this.
Disclaimer: I do not own these songs, so please don't sue me!!

-------------------------------------------------------------
A Hundred Years by Five for Fighting

I’m fifteen for a moment.
Caught in between ten and twenty
and I’m just dreaming,
counting the ways to where you are.

I’m twenty-two for a moment
and she feels better than ever
and we’re on fire,
making our way back from Mars.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you.
Time to buy and time to lose.
Fifteen.
There’s never a wish better than this,
When you only got a hundred years to live.

I’m thirty-three for a moment.
I’m still the man,
but you see I’m a they.
A kid on the way, babe.
A family on my mind.

I’m forty-five for a moment.
The sea is high
and I’m heading into a crisis,
chasing the years of my life.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you.
Time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star.
Fifteen, I’m alright with you.
Fifteen.
There’s never a wish better than this,
When you only got a hundred years to live.

How the time goes by.
Suddenly, you’re wise.
Another blink of an eye, sixty-seven is gone.
The sun is getting high.
We’re moving on…

I’m nintey-nine for a moment.
Dying for just another moment
and I’m just dreaming,
counting the ways to where you are.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you.
Twenty-Two, I feel her, too.
Thirty-Three, you’re on your way.
Every day’s a new day…

Fifteen, there’s still time for you.
Time to buy and time to choose.
Hey, fifteen.
There’s never a wish better than this,
when you only got a hundred years to live.

------------------------------------------------
Graduation by Vitamin C

And so we talked all night about the rest of our
lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming
back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different
track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have
another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without
sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real cool
Stay at home talking on the telephone with me
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

1 - As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in
school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can we ever find a job that won't interfere with
a tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

Repeat 1

La, la, la, laà
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, laà
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about
now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us
'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

Repeat 1 (3x)
------------------------------------------------

Goals

2005-02-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

We go through life like an arrow flying through the air -- homing in on our target. At the beginning of its flight, the arrow flies straight and true. However, as the arrow carries on with its flight, it gets subjected to external factors like the wind. This causes the arrow to veer off its originally-intended flight path. Sometimes, the arrow can be like a guided missile, and fly back on its original route. At other times, the arrow is too influenced by those external influences, and is unable to recover, causing it to miss its target.

Now, what does this have to do with our lives? Just take a moment to think, and visualise ourselves as the arrow. We start out with a goal, be it short-term or long-term. When we first start out, we dream about the benefits of achieving our goal. This brings us the determination to work towards our goal. We get automatic motivation, and we start out at lightspeed, breaking all barriers and surpassing all of our original plans. This brings us a confidence boost, and we feel happy with ourselves.

However, the inevitable soon happens. Our schedule begins to catch up with us, and we find that we are up to our necks in other urgent matters. Our lives become too busy for our liking, and whatever goals we have set are slowly eroded away from our minds. We forget about the goal, and soon visualise new goals for ourselves, which ends up becoming caught in the same vicious cycle.

As the wind blows on the arrow, outside influences affect us tremendously. Our family and friends turn into critics, telling us the flaws in our plans and all the different methods of failing. We become discouraged and the fire that initially consumed us begins to extinguish. Eventually, we end up missing the target.

Of course, some of us are like guided missiles. We can keep our focus on our goal and outcome, using them to nourish us and guide us each and every day. No matter how the wind howls, the self-guided system in the missile manages to guide the missile back to its goal.

Most of us are like arrows. We allow external forces to affect us greatly, and often lose the inspiration to follow through with our aims. When this happens, we have to focus on our outcome and draw inspiration from it. When we do this, we are actually installing a self-guided system in our minds. Only then, can we actually succeed in our plans and hit the target like William Tell shot an arrow into the apple above his son's head.

Life

2005-02-14T00:03:00.000-08:00

In your opinion, what is the main purpose of life? I came across this question on one of Quizilla's quizzes.

- I don't know. I am not sure I belong here.

-love and relationships

-work, power and money

-laughter and play

-adrenaline, thrills and challenges

-experiencing all of life's physical pleasures

-peace and harmony

-that is personal

When I first came across this question, I was stunned. What answer should I give? First of all, I'm quite a cold person. I prefer to keep my hands to myself, rather than accepting other people. For example, let's say if I happen to walk past a friend along the corridor in school, I prefer to walk past him instead of waving a simple "Hello" or a friendly smile. That is the way I have grown up. My family just does not do things like that. In fact, if you have seen my elder brother, you would have laughed at his antics. Whenever he sees his friend, be it in school or outside, he always finds a safe place to hide. For example, there was once when my aunt sent him to school, and he saw his friend in the spaceframe in ACS (I). What most rational people would do was to say "hi". What I would do was look the other way. What he did was to tell my aunt to take a detour down to the carpark before dropping him off. That way, he could avoid his friend. So as you can see, my whole family grew up that way.

Do I go through life looking for adrenaline or challenges? The answer would be negative. Take a look at my father, I bet he has never been on a rollercoaster that flips you upside-down before!! (At least I have, I rode on the Corkscrew in Sea World, Australia) As I have mentioned in my earlier blog, my life is a boring one. I hardly do anything interesting in my life. And experiencing life's physical pleasures? Boy, I don't dare delve into that =P

Peace and harmony. Well, that's possible, since I hate to have conflicts with other people unless I really have to. But is the main aim of my life to be a peace-maker like those pageants in which the contestants say the cliched line, "I wish for world peace!!!"? No. My aim in life is not to promote peace and harmony. It could be one of my aims, but probably not my main.

That leaves the last option. "Work, power and money." Of course, I don't want to choose this option. After all, it is sad for a person to aim for these three things alone. This person would live a miserable life, working for selfish gains alone. I remember meeting a 19-year-old Singaporean girl on Runescape. I remember telling her my father's philosophy for life. My father told me that I had to aim to be the best in whatever I did. He told me that in life, there is only a Number 1, no such thing as finishing second place. When a client is looking for a supplier, he would automatically look for the best there is. Nobody would look at the one who was second best. Even if the second best did win some business deals, it would only be small deals, as the big ones would have been taken by the one who was the best. Only the one in first place would be remembered. Nobody will ever be remembered for being second.

However, her reply was simple.

"Do you want to be remembered." That was another question that stumped me. Why should I be remembered? Is it a great need for me to leave my footprints in the history of mankind? Must I stand out from the rest? These are good questions for us to ask ourselves.

In short, I answered that question any old how, since I myself do not know the answer. The closest answer, sadly, is that I live for "Work, power and money." However, I find that I do not wish to put that down as an answer. In other words, I do not want to aim for that, and that that may not be the real answer. Anyway, my fellow bloggers, what's your aim in life? For me, I still do not know the answer, but how about you?

Weirdo!!

2005-02-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

What in the world is so weird about a "two thumbs up" smiley? It just so happened that I placed a comment on a fellow blogger's tagboard, and for some reason, it has been considered "weird". Oh well, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my opinion, the smiley is only a smiley, but my friend told me that it was very sarcastic.

^__^O (Sweat drop)

Anyway, as I was saying, different people view things differently. My usual dress code resembles that of a typical nerd. Thick spectacles with lenses that contain a degree of 600+. School trousers that are worn high above the hip. School shirt properly tucked in on all sides. Last but not least, the very object that has made me famous among the St. John community -- my yellow Skippy Peanut Butter bag, worn not at waist level but on shoulder level. =p My friend, also in St. John, told me that one of his friends from the NCO Camp, told him that she had seen his "nerdy" ACS (I) friend who was carrying a Skippy bag >.<

Many of my friends have told me to change the bag into one that is not as conspicuous. Yellow. Look around this island called Lion City and try looking for a yellow bag. Not faded yellow or pumpkin yellow. Just bright yellow. Find it, and there's a high chance that it's me, especially on a Saturday:) You know how the saying goes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Actually, it is broken, because one of the zippers was broken >.<) Maybe I should get Skippy to pay me for the free advertising =P

Moving on, if you look at what most teens wear when they are not schooling, you'll find that their shirts are usually white or black in colour. Not me, I wear other colours like green or blue or whatever. Even when I go out, my trousers are still worn high above the hip, and my shirt is still neatly tucked in. Why? Maybe it is a family tradition. My three brothers also dress exactly like me, and when we go out together during weekends, it's like a gathering of nerds :D

Now, after all of that ranting? You may be asking me what is the purpose of me saying all these. I'm just saying that we should venture to be different at times. The original purpose of wearing low jeans, messing up your hair, wearing colours like black and all, is to look different. Since the Generation Y tend to dress in the opposite way, wearing dull colours, and having a more conservative look, the Generation X try to be different. However, if everyone on the street is dressing like that, the new "normal" look becomes what was originally known as different. Now, by trying to be different, you look normal. And by trying to be normal, you look different. I know that I am not making sense here, but why try to conform or stand out? Instead of gauging ourselves by the standards of others, why don't we gauge ourselves by our own standards? So what if people laugh at us? What's important is what we perceive of ourselves.

As Rene Descartes said, "Cognito Ergo Sum" or "I think therefore I am". Philosophically, what Descartes means is that he knows he exists because he thinks. However, we can look at it from a different perspective -- we are whatever we think we are. If we tell ourselves that we are clever, handsome, strong, brave or any other macho phrase, then we are. Who is to tell me that I am stupid, ugly, weak, cowardly or anything else? So long as I believe in myself and my own ability, as well as believe that I possess whatever traits mentioned above, then who in the world can stop me?

So my fellow bloggers, rather than doing our best to conform to the masses, let's frolic in our own individuality, like boring, weird me. By the way, I agree with my friends that I am weird, nerdy and all, but it's not that I'm trying to be different. I just like being that way :D Hooray for me!

(And I guess my Skippy bag is here to stay)

Inspiration

2005-02-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

The FAC is coming, slowly but surely. In fact, it has been moved forward by one week!!!! It's now on 5 Mar 2005. ^__^o Gosh, everything's coming so fast!!! It is during times like this when inspiration is needed. I remember last year, during the Zone First Aid Competition, all the teams had to wait in the waiting room for a long time. We waited there for about an hour in between each component of the competition. After each component, we were very nervous, and that made me worried that we would end up forgetting all of our First Aid Knowledge, thus causing us to lose the competition. In order to relieve ourselves of that nervousness, I sang some songs under my breath. Some of those songs were songs that the team was familiar with, like "Be Thou My Vision". Now, I can still remember the lyrics to the song.

It seems that when we are in circumstances that we are unfamiliar with and have never encountered before, we turn back to whatever we are familiar with. All that we know of can actually calm us down. A crying infant can stop bawling the minute he hears his mother's voice. This is because he/she is familiar with the sound that he/she heard while in his/her mother's womb. Anyway, as a form of inspiration, I present a song that inspires me at times:)

Disclaimer: I do not own this song, so please don't sue me!!!

I want to be the very best, like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause
I'll travel across the land, searching far and wide
Each Pokemon to understand, the power that's inside

Pokemon, Gotta Catch 'em All!
It's you and me. I know it's my destiny
Pokemon,
Oh you're my best friend, in a world we must defend
Pokemon, Gotta Catch 'em All!
A heart so true, our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I'll teach you
Pokemon!!!
Gotta catchem all, gotta catchem all,
Pokemon!

Every journey along the way, with courage I will face.
I will battle every day, to claim my rightful place.
Come with me, the time is right, 'cause there's no better team.
Hand in hand we'll win the fight, it's always been our dream.

Pokemon, Gotta Catch 'em All!
It's you and me. I know it's my destiny
Pokemon,
Oh you're my best friend, in a world we must defend
Pokemon, Gotta Catch 'em All!
A heart so true, our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I'll teach you
Pokemon!!!
Gotta catchem all, gotta catchem all,
Pokemon!

--------------------------------------------------

The very first theme song to the famous cartoon, Pokemon. You may say it's childish, but if you read the song, you'll realise the significance of it. We all have dreams. We have goals and aims in life. However, what differentiatesdiferent people is how they work for them.

The 1st stanza shows one's dreams. What he wants to be. But what strikes me is the second stanza. Why? The answer is because this stanza shows teamwork. It shows that we cannot necessarily achieve our aim by ourselves. This is where we find friends and work as a team. As the Bible says, one person can set flight 1000 birds, while two will be able to set flight 10 000. Of course, we can't possibly trust everyone, as many people in the world are snakes in the grass. On the other hand, becoming a team is necessary at times. Let's take the First Aid Competition Team. As one person, I would not have learnt as much as I know today. Working as a team has also led me on a road of personal growth. I know it is a cliche, but I have learnt more not only about my team-mates, but about myself as well. No doubt, there is bound to be tension between the best of friends at times, but it is just like training your muscles. You feel a little discomfort because you hate being angry with your friend. However, when you do decide to patch up, it grows stronger than before.

Yes, I know you are all bored of me talking about the FAC, but our team is going to face our biggest challenge since we were formed. We will face other teams in the competition. This will be when all that we've gone through will be put the test. The team that works with each other the best will win. If I am asked whether I would make any changes to the current team, I would definitely say no. If we win the Zone Competition, we would compete in the National First Aid Competition. We would also be able to qualify for the Singapore-Malaysia Competiton, since one of the criteria is to win a First Aid Competition. Of the team, I am the only one who qualifies so far, since this is my second year competing, and I have already won once. My seniors are saying that if they require more people to join their team, Icyfate and I would be invited. However, I would rather compete with my current team. If we win this competition, and all of us agree to compete in the Singapore-Malaysia Competition, I would definitely go.

Anyway, after a very out-of-point post, I just want to say that man is not an island. Sometimes, we have to work with others, and who knows, we may come out of it better, knowing more about our team-mates, and ourselves.

Disclaimer: I don't own this song either. Hi-5 owns it, and yes, I do watch that show. (What? Just because I'll be 16 soon means I cannot watch it? What you want a piece of me? Huh? Huh?)
-----------------------------------------------

Spread a bit of loving around,
'Cos there's nothing like the friends you have found.
Through thick and thin your friends will bring,
A love we all can share.

Friends can brighten up your day.
Through good and bad they'll always stay.
A friend in need, a friend indeed.
A friend through all the years.

Anytime, anywhere,
When you need a friend then I'll be there ... oh,
Anytime, anywhere, 'cos we're friends.(repeats one more time)

Bring a little love to my heart,
'Cos friends are never far apart,
And I can say that you will stay,
My friend for ever more.

Friends for ever and ever and ever.
Friends for ever and ever more.

Anytime, anywhere,
When you need a friend then I'll be there ... oh,
Anytime, anywhere, 'cos we're friends.(repeats one more time)

Ooh, ooh ooh ohh,
'Cos we're friends,
Ooh, ooh ooh ooh,
'Cos we're friends,
Ooh, ooh ooh ooh,
'Cos we're friends,
Ooh, ooh ooh ooh.

Composer: Chris Harriott
Lyrics: Nathan Foley, Tim Harding

Passion

2005-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, training starts again in the FAC. It is supposed to be a school holiday tomorrow, but we are still going to train. Right now, we have a new target, which is to win the First Aid Competition by a landslide victory of 20 points. Of course, a victory of 20 points would be sweet, but for me, even 1 point is good enough. Paraphrasing from the emperor in the movie "Mulan", "A single grain can tip the scale. One point can be the difference between victory and defeat."

Last year, our seniors, the AA Team, won the competition by a slim margin of 2 points. Now, if I'm asked, would I be happier winning by 1 point, or 20 points, the answer is obvious. 20 points. Why would a big margin be good? Obviously, winning by a big margin would not allow any of our opposition to switch the tables by launching an appeal. A big victory would also be easier on our minds, since we know that we won by a real victory, rather than win by luck.

The question here is whether we would still carry on training even if by some divine method, we are able to reaffirm that we will win the competition. Will we continue to train even if we know we will win? Now, this brings us to another question. What is the purpose of competing? Are we competing for the sake of competing? Or are we competing for the purpose of knowledge?

I remember watching an episode of "America's Next Top Model", (What? Just because I'm a boy means I can't watch this kind of rubbish? =p) and in that episode, one of the competitors was eliminated because the judges felt that she was in the competition only because of her competitive nature, and not because she had a passion for modelling. So the question for us, is what exactly is the purpose for our competiting? Why do we carry on doing the same thing day after day, week after week? Are we aiming for something that is advantageous to ourselves? Is it to get a special promotion to that managerial post that you want? Or is it becaus you have a passion for it?

I remember the Leadership Development Programme (LDP) Camp, in which the instructors told us that whatever we did, they would still get paid. It was up to us whether we wanted to learn or not. Of course, the instructors did do as much as they could to help us and teach us, because they had a passion for it. I'm not perfect either. I'm definitely guilty of whatever I have mentioned above. The sad thing is that in this world, passion has no meaning. What matters most is results, not your opinion of things. However, imagine what it would be like if all of us could be like those instructors. Things would get done efficiently, and we would not complain so much about having to do work, since we enjoy doing it.

After all this roundabout talk, I guess we should do our best to be passionate about whatever we do. Put our shoulders to the wheel and push with all our might. Only then, can we actually find satisfaction in what we do.

A/N: How did I suddenly end here? I don't know. I was just ranting random things, and I ended here I guess =P

FAC

2005-02-08T03:39:00.000-08:00

Now, this is a topic that is very close to my heart. You can say that I am a boring boy who has no life, since I seldom go out by myself. Every week, after St. John Parade or St. John FAC training, I go straight home. I don't watch movies, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke. Boring perhaps. My friends say that I have no life, since half my time is spent on St. John and other related issues. But that precisely is the fact : St. John is my life.

I joined St. John mainly because my brother was in the Organization in school before I joined, so I decided to join him in St. John (SJAB). Of course, I had to show some standard since my brother holds a high position. However, when I joined the FAC, it all changed. That was when I began writing my own story and leaving my own set of footprints as an SJAB cadet.

Let's start with a story about what happened since I joined the FAC. Last year, I was one of six cadets who were chosen to take part in the FAC. We started training in November under the venerable leadership of our senior Ed. We trained like mad, but not all of us. Out of the six, only three of us were really dedicated to the team. We trained hard together until the second week of December. January came, and we trained twice a week. Once every Saturday during St. John Parade and once on Monday. However, on Mondays, we were lazy and ended up playing computer games. Competition arrived in March, and our chances of winning were slim, approximately 30%. I really wanted to put on a good showing, but everything went wrong. I made plenty of errors, but my team-mates didn't. The irony is that I was supposed to be one of the best in the team. By the way, our team was AC1. (Ambulance Cadet 1)

The results came out.

In third place: AC....3!

At this point, my team-mates and I were telling each other, 2nd is good enough. At least we aren't last. (There were only 3 AC teams)

In second place: AC....2!

My heart leapt with joy, as I looked at my team-mates open-mouthed. We had won! Against all odds, we had succeeded. Our celebration, if you could call it one, was a far cry from the other teams. The teams who participated in the NA(Nursing Adult) competition cheered and screamed like mad hyenas even when they were announced third, while we, champions, made no sound at all. Of course, it is not in the nature of boys to show emotion, but I'm sure that I saw MJ giving a rare smile. A big one for that matter. However, for the Ambulance Adult team, our school also emerged Champions. And King Ed screamed in a pitch that could reach that of an Alto.

One year later, things changed. Our original team, made of PKL, LW, JLA and me, were split up. I moved on to the AA team (Ambulance Adult). PKL, the leader, injured his knee and could not take part. LW, being one year younger than us, remained with the AC team, but he was now the leader. JLA quit.

Now, this is where Icyfate comes in. He was brought in and took the position of leader. JLU replaced LW and BT replaced JLA. So new team: Icyfate, me, JLU, BT.

Things started well, we trained together, and much more intensively than last year. We even trained four times a week at times, compared to a maximum of two last year. Now, we are only one month away from the competition, but things have taken a turn for the worst. I told my team-mates that, one week before the competition, we would train every day. To say that their reaction was bad was a big understatement. Only Icyfate, being the leader, agreed with that. The other two were absolutely pissed with me. So I asked them whether they wanted to win or not. Seriously wanted to win or not. BT said he did not really care. JLU said half yes, half no. Yes because he wanted to win. No because he was afraid of the training that we would undergo should we win the Zone Com and move on to the National First Aid Competition.

Why am I so "on" about the competition? There's a rational explanation for that. Compare this to an investment. When you invest small, if you win, you win small. If you lose, you lose small. When you invest big, if you win, you win big. If you lose, you lose big. Last year, I invested small. We didn't train much, which was why we didn't celebrate much when we won, since we had no emotional attachment. But this time, I invested big. The team trained twice as hard as last year. I put in twice as much of time and effort. Another difference is that, this year, I know that we have a good chance of winning, despite our opponents being a stronger team. This time, if we win, I'll scream my heart out. I will cherish that moment forever, since this will be the last time I'll participate. If the team wants to go LAN gaming, I'll join them. Watch a movie, I'll join them as well. Play LAN for 3 hours straight, go ahead. I'll join. But if I lose, I don't know what I'll do. I'll probably just go home. If I win, I'll be awake the whole night and smile in my sleep. If I lose, maybe I'll cry myself to sleep.

I remember talking to my friend about this. He asked me why the team trains so much. I told him that the Corp won a Gold Award for CAA in 2004 partly because we won both competitions. If we had lost, we would have been downgraded to a Silver. My friend replied, "You mean everyone got a Gold because four people worked very hard???"

Of course, that's not true. Everyone chipped in a little. After all, we would not have got a Gold if we won the competition alone and did not do anything else.

But that still does not answer the question : Why am I so "on" about SJAB?

The answer is simple, and I have already said it before, but I'll say it again : St. John IS my life.

Yablog

2005-02-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Everyone, take a look at the title: Yablog.

Yablog is short for "Yet Another Blog". Hmm, how many blogs do I have? One, two, three...I don't know, I guess it's a lot. For some reason, nobody ever leaves comments on my blogs!!! Boo hoo hoo :'(. Maybe I should add a shoutbox. But I don't know how. Oh well, everyone here who knows how, please just comment and tell me how!!!!

Anyway, enough of ranting. I've done so much of that in my two other blogs. So what interesting event happened today? Well, today is Chinese New Year!!!!! Woo-hoo!! (Starts dancing around and singing, "He xin nian, zhu xin nian, xin nian a, lian nian lian...") Sorry, a little high on sugar right now >.<

Tonight, for our reunion dinner, my family ordered some food from some restaurant and "da bao" it home. After that, we may go to Chinatown and walk around. Oh yeah, my uncle's here in Singapore from Jakarta, but that's not for celebrating CNY. He's here for a holiday -.-"

My other nicknames online are Takblok/Chrasner on fanfiction.net (I'm a fanfiction writer, yay!!), as well as Amblica/Amwick on Runescape. My main, Amblica is lvl 71!!! All right, all right, I'll stop boasting.

My email is mypersonalemailaddressis@yahoo.com Email me, I am so bored!!!! i__i

I'll add my second post soon, which will be about the First Aid Competition. All of you, please go and see my good friend and First Aid Com (FAC) team-mate's blog: icyfate.blogspot.com

ChEeRs FoR nOw!!!!