the fall

since everyone's doing it... heck i've no more time anyway...
 facts about me...

1. i'm almost a national day baby
2. my favourite colour depends on my mood and its seems blue most of the time.
3. live with my parent and 2 brothers
4. wanna go italy someday
5. im fascinated by fire
6. i'm not a pryomaniac
7. loves animals in general
8. im 1.75m
9. the guy in the picture is me
10. im slow
11. i need help but i dont ask
12 i used to pick up only one kind of sport and commit to it
13 it was dragonboat
14 i have very bad time management
15 im trying to improve on that
16 i havent been to a gym since i join nafa
17 actually i havent work out for 10 months already
18 when i help someone, i can be reluctant but i put effort in it.
19 i hope to be able to multitask better, cos im still bad at it
20 i wished i had more time to do anything and everything
21 i wished i can kick some bad habits
22 i realise its easier said than done
23 im constantly trying to adapt
24 im a part-time introvert
25 im not very confident with myself half the time
26 i can be selfish when it comes to food
27 but if i share my food, that person means something to me
28 i dont like to be sick because i hate feeling weak
29 i guess im late again...
30 why is it that everyone else can produce their 30 blogpost and not me? i was told to do quantity over quality, but even my quality is not here. you'd probably think i only have myself to say sorry to... i still want to apologise for not being able to produce the 30 as required... even if this matters to nobody else but me.
i'm sorry.

cheers that toast

why do people toast their drinks? 

it can seen on any special occasions, most commonly weddings still. but it is the same as 'cheers'?

apparently not... even though both involves clicking of glasses, and i didn't really know the difference. just saying the sentence made me realise its not the same. toast is an expression of honour and goodwill, it usually comes with a speech of congratulation, good wishes and remembrance. that is why it's only mention on more important occasions. like... the best-man is gonna make a toast for the new couple, long live or all the best to somebody/something. whereas 'cheersing' someone, is a way of greeting, saying thanks and welcome. it's uses is more of gratitude and acknowledgement. like... thanks for that, nice to meet you or we are finally at our holiday! cheers! anyway, the picture is taken during a farewell gathering for a friend going abroad. we made a toast for him, but we said 'cheers'. any other day before this, it wouldn't sound wrong to me. i wonder does anybody else 'cheers' like we did.

things you can do with broomsticks

there's something about the ending off a shift that is so mystical, it lifts our spirit up like magic. before ending the 24 hour duty off, we are needed to give our station a clean-up as handing over procedure to the next rotation. usually this is the time we are really happy that we try to do it very quickly, but it doesn't mean we can leave immediately. we still need to wait for the inspection to clear, and we leave at the instructed timing. so what do we do in the mean time? magic... posing for magic at least. there was this social network trend  which is to sit on a broom and fly. there's countless times that we goof around outside our orders and duties, but i thought this was a nicely taken hogwarts inspired shot.

roses are red... so is my baju

it was that time of the year again, though it's not related to me directly. went to Paya Lebar to shop for baju kurong with my extended family, and shopped for one myself. we plan to visit my god-sis at her parents' house and we decided to get the same colour theme which is red, favourite colour... like chinese new year as well, it's loaded with treats and snacks that is sure to keep the mouth busy other than talking. i wasted no time from that too. before the visit when i was about leave my house, my dad thought i was going for prayers. for some reasons i don't understand, he kept thinking i might be seeing a malay girl. but really i just have a multi-racial collective of good friends.

The mask in front of the face

Here's a picture of the LF crew doing an exercise at the fire post, that is conducted after night lecture. yes we do have night lectures to keep our mind active, and knowledge of rescue procedures "updated". (speaking of which, i think i'm quite "rusty" now). The exercise requires us to don our training chemical agent suits, with helmet and masks. the actual suits are saved for the real thing. we do series of sets of things like push ups, sit ups etc. this process is to train us to acclimatize to the suit for a set period like we would if there was an incident. the mask is to further hone us in performing tasks in extreme breathing conditions. if you wonder where all the calories from the donuts go... well... 

The Reason

Ok here's the reason why I'm so interested in Italy... Ok not the full reason but this game was the first step. The protagnist is a man in the present time named Desmond, being abducted away by an organization built by the Templars, tricked into thinking they are good and that he's helping them for a great cause. The story depicts that technology is so advance that it can access the memory of ancestors through DNA with a chair-like machine. Desmond's ancestor was a nobleman from Florence during the Renaissance period named Ezio, who discover the family's heritage of assassins and became one upon vengeance. The unjust hanging of Ezio's father and 2 brothers had driven a vendetta in him. A case of bad blood which would later unfold more twisted truths and secrets behind not just the killing of his family, secrets the organization are looking for. the game revolves around Florence, Tuscany and Venice. The sequels moved toward Rome and the middle east.

Apart from the blood and gore, the story has good plot and it's based off actual historical figures. Good entertainment and history lessons all in one game.

one island, 2 worlds' difference

On my first visit to Legoland, I was surprised by how they actually built more stuff about Singapore than other places. this picture show some of the locales in Singapore which most should find familiar, the Singapore Flyer, the city areas, the Singapore River and the Keppel Harbour at the back. they had some more Singapore related stuff on the other side, but I couldn't capture all in one picture. it's interesting and funny at the same time, i actually find it contradicting to the actual condition in Singapore. though they got the structures correct, it seems way too peaceful compared to the reality, I'm almost envious. how so?? just look at the traffic and the Lego people. if only Singapore isn't as hectic as this, they probably got this part right too.

silent night

In the fire stations, we have a "guardhouse" known as the sentry post, the one in our station is only a little bigger than a telephone booth. The sentry duties are divided among NSF fire fighters for day and night, each last up to 2 hours. The main job is to operate the gates and recording visits mostly, and if there's a call the fire fighter must already have his equipments on standby. I usually leave mine on the appliance, so when i open the gates i can just wait for the vehicle to pick me up from here. on some nights, it can be really quiet like the picture, had to make friend with a baby lizard to keep myself awake.

set rain to the fire

Before that start of every shift, we need to warm-up all our appliances to make sure it's in working order. on this particular morning was kinda different as you can see... why would anyone try to warm up the equipments in the rain and taking pictures while at it??? well... it wasn't raining, there's actually a new pump ladder in the house, and we were getting to know more about the new fire truck. The new fire truck has got a new remote controlled jet monitor mounted on it, which it can rotate 360 degrees, its jet reaching a maximum length of 60m (up to 8+ storeys), and it can switch between spray and jet. in the picture is the spray mode, which look like its raining when its not.

one couple 2 wedding

This is a picture of me attending a wedding of my god-sister. the god-sister thing is actually unofficial, but we went through alot of s*** back in the sales line, we took care of one another among our working crew and i knew her for about 5 years now. it was her most important day, and im honoured to be there for her. The wedding wasn't like the usual malay wedding because my "god- bro in law" over here is not a malay guy. so actually the wedding span for 2 days to cater to both sides of the family(because the extended family from her side stretches quite far). i really admire the courage of my "bro in law" because he has to convert to marry my god-sister, because i know not many guys are willing to go that far. but i guess that also means that she really found someone who loves her. im so glad for them.

whose idea was this???

on certain shifts as the LF crew (previously mentioned), we go out for hydrant testing to check on the physical condition and the pressure. A fire hydrant is usually located behind the HDB buildings for most neighbourhood areas, and its usually on the grass patch or the near the bushes and plants. but this... this is probably the most flawed, worst chosen location to place a fire hydrant ever. it could have been there first before the carpark was built. either way... someone has been a real 'genius'. problem for this is that if there's a fire on either of these 2 blocks, it will be too hard to access this particular hydrant and we'll end up using another hydrant which is hundreds metres away. also, the water and hoses would either cause damage or smudge the residents cars which causes unwanted and unnecessary complains. for the same reason we couldn't test this hydrant.

night outing of doom...

On a particular night during august, went out with a few buddies for a drink. Ok many drinks... went to town first for the so called "warm-up" while waiting for another friend. When he arrived, we head over to Clarke Quay for part 2. The outing was a mini gathering and catching up, plus a certain occasion. It was my birthday... so the guys was out to destroy me with "birthday drinks". I might be exaggerating, but that's how I've celebrating my birthdays in recent years that I'm almost fearing it now. Though I survived, I can't remember the place any more. The bar/pub had a huge menu of cocktails, hard liqueur and mostly shots. they also had some of them on the table, 'wheel of fortune' style.

Though it was just 2D images, it manage to make us want to try something from the table. I guessed it saves the hassle, from asking for the menu again and the extra delay when you can just point and there... Or it could have been used for games for higher stakes, whereby one spins a bottle or something of a pointer, where it lands means you're getting that drink. Either way it worked like some sorcery... it was creatively designed but wicked...

If I could choose where I was born

Just a random thought...

Awhile ago, was talking to one of my friend about how Singapore has been more and more crowded, and there's nothing much we can do about it. That's when I started the topic... if we can choose where we were born instead of Singapore, where would it be???

Well...

And I would wanna be a farm-boy who won't ever worry about going hungry, rising prices and rush hour. anyway I'm digressing... ok sorry.

Why? though I'm not an expert in the language or history for the matter, I've always been intrigued by anything Italian. Firstly, the food... ahhh yes! pastas and pizzas with a fair dose of cheese and wine. although I don't get to have Italian cuisine very often, I can't seem to say no to it... ever. One thing about Italian cooks is that they take the the quality of the ingredients very seriously, and it pretty much decides if they're going to cook something or not. Sadly I have not tried authentic Italian cuisine. but someday I will! someday... 

secondly, their buildings! odd... and yes, their architectural styles has been marvelled at for centuries, namely the Renaissance movement. Call it weird, I have this goal of wanting to climb one of their buildings before I die.

I could be wrong but I really think life would be much simple than in Singapore...

here, lemme end it off with a picture of a Tuscan farm.

http://www.beachcomberpete.com/travelogue/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Rolling-Hills-and-Tuscany-Vineyard-San-Gimignano-Italy.jpg

back in the days when i was serving my national service as a fire fighter, we had vehicles that we call appliances, every personnel is assigned to their appliances respectively as turnouts. so, for this particular shift me and my fellow firemen were turning out as LFAV(Light fire attack vehicle), we are known as LF crew for short. this turnout has got 4 crew members which consist of a section commander(sergeant), a pump operator/driver, and 2 fire fighters. on the way to the firepost, we came across what seemed like a distress. whereby an auntie was picking up fallen items and limping her way to the side of the road. as it turns out, she had tripped and fell while crossing the road. we responded to the situation to see if she's ok. 

 so we helped her to move away from the road for safety, gathered her stuff and checked on her condition. i remembered she said she felt that her leg was kinda weird and a little painful, and her head's dizzy from the heat. My SC checked on her feet, and called for an ambulance for her. The sun was up and she was sitting on the ground in a bit of a awkward position, might have been a back problem i guessed. So while waiting, i and my other fire fighter was thinking how to make things slightly better for her. As the sun was still shining and that little shade didn't helped, we came out with the idea of shading her with her umbrella. Then i took out our rescue toolbox for her to sit, which i thought can keep her slightly elevated to ease up on her back and feet condition. After awhile the ambulance came and even though she wasn't smiling(probably cos of the pain of her feet), she showed gratitude thanking us all the way into the ambulance. although we are not suppose to take pictures during operations/calls, in fact we actually need to prevent the public from taking pictures too. but i thought this is something nice to share about, not about being heroes, more of helping another when they need it. i feel that this is a picture worth keeping for me, as it can serve as a reminder of what we do.

You know what some research that went viral, saying people who takes pictures of their food and post it on social media, are potentially insane. Well... I don't usually do it but I guess that there will be times where people just can't resist snapping a few pics of your favourite food. Yes, as you can see it's pizza! who doesn't love pizza right? anyway, it was a birthday celebration held at Spizza(an Italian restaurant), but it wasn't my birthday though. So the place's got a promotion going on, which is splitting the flavours on a huge pizza at a price(I can't remember the price any more). we ordered 2 huge ones and this picture shows only the one closer to me, it was half mushroom/ham and half rucola salad/ham. they smelled so delicious I couldn't keep my hands off(my hand photo-bombing the pic). Something interesting about Spizza is that they named their pizzas according to girls names, specifically Italian girls if I'm not wrong. So this one is Isabella and Pamela, the other one is Olivia and Juliana. They're so beautiful... we ate them all.

Last Christmas, me and my friends had a gathering/reunion at Marina Bay Sands. One of my friends had gotten a room, for us to just hang out and chill. It may sound random that we decided to choose MBS as our meet-up venue, as it could've been expensive. Apparently his dad's got a membership or a point collection system thing, and he had more than enough points, that's why we got the room for free. So, we got our beers, drinks and stuff. But the hotel room's fridge is small and filled with the non-complimentary drinks, and we've got no icebox. so we decided to use the bathtub as our replacement icebox. I like the idea of how we reacted to the situation, and I still think it was a quite creative solution.