Fulfilment

I felt a sense of fulfillment today. Twice. The first was when I felt like I've helped a friend to gain something special. The second was when my BFF said I inspired her because I was such a morning person and it takes a lot of discipline to be one.

You and I

Lady GaGa's -You and I- song is currently playing on repeat on my iPod, iPhone, iTunes, YouTube and in my head today :)

I can actually say that there's some good stuff that happened to me since the my last entry. Well, actually there's always something good that happened in between entries right? Silly me. Anyway, I got myself a new Philips 24inch LED monitor for my dual monitor setup.













It's not a difficult to setup at all. I just needed to buy an adapter for my MacBook to connect to the DVI cable from the monitor. Any TomDickHarry could do it. As for Windows laptop, you can connect straight right to your laptop without any adapters. It's definitely bigger compared to my 15inch MacBook Pro screen. The new monitor is good for watching videos and for multitasking. More workspace and more fun!

A few years ago, a friend of mine brought me to a shop that sells US military products(no guns FYI) like bag packs and few other military standard equipments. They are not cheap but I believe that they are at least long lasting and durable. I did not buy anything the first time around. The second time, I bought another friend of mine to the shop and he spotted a zip lock bag that cost $5 per piece. It was definitely expensive. Both of us bought a piece each. Why I bought it was because it felt like it was very good quality and "Tested and approved by the Navy Experimental Division Unit" as stated on the bag itself. I do cannot recall what I used it for then but I remember using it to put my books inside to keep it from getting wet and damaged(wear and tear) when I put it in my bag. It worked wonderfully! I loved it! But I lost it twice. I bought it again when I lost it the first time around. I did not buy again as I was not reading as often as I did. Since recently which I started reading again, I went back to where the shop was and found out that it had been relocated. I don't remember where it was but I could show you how to get there.














About 2 months back, somewhere along my conversation with Ray at work one day lead to the zip lock bag that I was looking for. He told me Say Qi knew where the current shop location was. I was thrilled! When I asked Say Qi, he told me that it's relocated at Little India but he couldn't remember where it is actually.

Yesterday, Say Qi and I went to Little India to search for the shop. It was not difficult to find the shop actually. It was just on opposite the road where we exited from the train station. If I had went alone before yesterday, I would not expect the shop to be there. It's not at Little India itself, it's on the same side as Sim Lim Square. I was very happy when I found the shop with Say Qi. They still sell the zip lock bag! But it comes in different sizes but it is sold in a few pieces. The one that I wanted came in 3 pieces for $12. It's cheaper per piece even though I have to buy 3. Say Qi and I bought 1 set each. Now my books are protected.

I've booked my tickets for the Broadway Musical WICKED! Yeah! I'm excited as I type this part of the entry :)

I have started running again ever since Hari Raya. I just went for a run earlier tonight and it was good. I was not going fast or going for the distance but more into enjoying the run. It probably lasted for about 30mins but I felt good. When I could not run when I got the shin splint a few months ago, it was a bitter pill to swallow but I hope this time it won't occur again. Some said that the cause of that injury was due to my shoes. Well, I got myself a new running shoe and I hope it will do me more good than harm.

I was down with a minor flu this week and I'm getting better. Earlier, when I was just browsing the channels on the TV, I saw 2 Panadol's advertisement-FluMax and SinusMax. I suppose Panadol knows that there's a lot of sick people out there and they're advertising their products at the right time. Good marketing strategy Panadol!

It's getting late. I'm off to bed now. Goodnight!

The aftermath

Yesterday's entry was really a memory bank cracker. Typing the whole experience really made me remember the times. There was so much emotion as I was typing. So much that I had to stem most of it so that I would not drag the story too long. I would not mind typing it all out but time was not on my side. I could continue like now but I already had a goal in mind to end the entry before I head to bed. I slept close to 3am.

The same morning, I had to go to work and I usually wake up at 5.30am and leave home by 6.15am when I work the morning shift. I did not wake up to my alarm at 5am and subsequent 5 minutes till 5.30am but I somehow manage to wake up by 5.30am. I was still disorientated with that few hours of sleep. I had about 40 more minutes of sleep when I boarded the bus to Seah Im and even that additional 40 minutes was insufficient. But somehow rather after I had breakfast at Seah Im, I felt much better. So I thought. I could possibly be sleeping anywhere at work if I did not find some company to talk to or something to occupy myself with. Fortunately, I stayed awake all the way at work, for real.

I suppose the real effect from this morning lack of sleep is taking it's toll on me now. My eyes are getting very heavy and I am losing my focus on this entry. I just had a glass of coke with ice. Bad idea. I'll go have some warm water now before I go to bed.

I just re-read my 2k word count entry and I'm quite proud of myself really. I believe I missed some events and event missed out some words which made some of the sentences sound incomplete. But I realised that what I typed were actually the highlight of my experience in the first SYF. Wow..

Anyway, I told some of the guys at work about my 2k word count blog entry and they'd say that might go check it out. If you guys do read and read this post too, thanks for reading my blog. I really appreciate it. I will update more in the future. Goodnight!

2k word count

2k word count by the end of tonight.

This would probably be the longest yet until I decide to go for 3k or more. Let's begin..

Today is the 2nd day of work since I came back from reservist yesterday. I am beginning to pick up the momentum which is probably a good thing right? I was doing tower duty today with Brandon at zone 7. The sun was bright with it's rays nicely diffused by the clouds, giving it a nice warm feel and the breeze was blowing nicely that it would put a baby to sleep peacefully. Such weather is perfect to be lazing at the beach and it is quite often nowadays which makes working quite a challenge if you understand why.

The open water lifesaving competition is happening on the 24th and 25th of this month and I am competing in the board race. 1 event only and it is going to be my 1st time competing in this competition. I believe I am quite competent on the board but anything can happen on the race day itself. I was told that the heats would be on the 24th and the finals would be on the 25th. Competition will be tough. There would probably be those who competed last year and did not went up the podium and will try their luck again this year. As for me, I will try my best to reach the finals. Going up the podium would be a bonus and it is probably going to be tough but not impossible. Miracles can happen right?

Today is Teacher's Day! Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers! I just sent out SMSes to 3 of my teachers. They're Mrs Crothers, Mrs Ruth Tham and Cikgu Asnida. These 3 teachers have helped me to be a better person. Each have taught me many invaluable lessons. I never really caught what they taught me back then, but when I look back, it became so clear. Let me just tell you what each teacher has given me.

I was in the normal academic class in Commonwealth Secondary School and Mrs Crothers was my class mentor when I was in secondary 1. She's married to Mr Crothers who holds a position in the local entertainment industry. You would hear his voice on the radio and television advertisement often. I met him very few times and I do recognize his voice then over the radio and television but not now. Maybe I can guess but I am not able to predict it correctly. She taught my class English language and boy, she was very strict. She was probably the firstborn child and definitely a choleric. I definitely got a a number of scolding from her when I did not finish my homework. Even though she was strict, she was a very fun teacher. Her real influence was in her real passion - Drama.

She graduated with a degree in drama and something. I cannot recall the whole degree but drama was in there, somewhere. Her drama plays are very abstract. Nothing like the average Joe plays. She would play with heights, use different colors and uses lines that I could remember till now. I consider myself very fortunate as my batch of secondary 1 classes have drama as a lesson and have Mrs Crothers as our drama teacher. That means she was teaching us in 2 different lessons. Drama was not a CCA, Core Curriculum Activity yet then. It was still an ECA, Extra Curriculum Activity. Drama lessons were very fun! We learned the basic drama warm ups and some short skit to probably learn some acting skills. We were given a tasked to do our own play and show it to Mrs Crothers before the end of the year to be graded. Along the way during the lesson, Mrs Crothers would help us to improve our scripts and even our plays. My group play was about The Adam's family. Was it a coincidence? I don't know but I was the Frankenstein. It was probably the best role for me and I really had so much fun during that class. How many people can say that they had drama as a lesson and not a CCA?

I joined drama as an ECA. My CCA was international chess. Chess sessions were boring but it was quite relaxed. When I first joined the chess club, they had a coach and they were competing in competitions and I was not into that. I just want to lay low and it happened. The coach disappeared. I am not sure till now if he quit or was fired which left club aimless. After his unknown departure, the teacher in-charge inform us that the club will be disbanded. All of us were shocked! My 1st year was ending and we have to leave and find a new CCA? It would not be easy for most of the secondary 2 and 3 people. They would lose out on the CCA points as they would not be able to get a 75% attendance per year which some of them would depend on. In the end, the club would still run but will not recruit anymore.

The best part of drama started when I was in secondary 2. There was some activity in the drama club but I did not attend much. I always find excuses not to attend and it was an ECA so there was not much importance.Like any other day, I was in class and doing my work as per normal. Then came a girl who went into the classroom and asked for me. I think she asked for Emmanuel too, whom was classmate of mine. We followed her as she told us to. I only knew she was my senior then and that is all. She brought us to the dance room. Outside the dance room, there were some seniors doing some stuff. I cannot recall but I know there was a big scrim. Inside the room, I saw Siva and Marc who were my classmates too, rehearsing with the other cast. All I remembered from that day was the comment by one of the senior that I was very tall and I was now a member of the drama club SYF team. That's when life in secondary school became very fun.

The title of our first SYF play was called - The Swing. We had little props but these props were probably our signature props as we used them in our future plays and the coming SYFs. They were black cubes and there were six of them. Each were similar with only one side without a panel thus it can be used as a box too. I think they lasted for 7 to 8 years or more till it gave out and broke. We used big sets instead. For the first SYF, we used a large scrim which was a very big white piece of cloth to divide the stage into 2, front and back. We used blowers, like those you would see when janitors wet the floor and use it to dry the floor, and angled them at forty five degrees up to make the confetti create a cool effect. We even use flood lights to make silhouettes on the scrim from stage back and there was the swing. The swing was an ordinary swing but one of the rope was adjusted so that it would slip when one of the cast was suppose to pull it down and fall on the floor as cued.

Practice sessions were intense! Mrs Crothers would barked at the cast for the play to be right and the backstage crew to be on cue for the sound and lighting. She was much stricter than she was in class and I was beginning to be afraid of her. She took notes during every rehearsals. She pointed out mistakes. She left no stones unturned to make the play a success. By the time we were near the competition, a lot has changed since the first script was written. There were some changes to the cast and new additions to the backstage crew. I was in the backstage crew ever since I got involved. We rehearsed more often at the school hall after school as the competition came closer. Thankfully, our school hall was air conditioned. I believed not many school halls were air conditioned at that time as far as I knew.

The SYF was held at The Chinese High School theater. We went there a few times to get familiarized with the surrounding and do all the sound and lighting check and get them right. We did a couple of full runs and we discovered that the stage was different in size. We took some measurements on the first visit and we went back to adjust our stage so as it would be similar to that at The Chinese High. A lot needed to be changed but most of it are where the cast would be at on stage due to lightings. By this time, everyone knew their role. Backstage crew would guide the cast out from the backstage and the cast would help the backstage crew to move and clear the stage as quickly as possible when our play ended for the next school to play. This was even rehearsed. Everything was rehearsed.

During break or before rehearsals would start, we would gather in our own groups and have a good laugh and enjoy each others company. There was one senior, his name was Chee Kaur and he was from NCC, whom a lot of juniors like myself like to be with because he tells a lot of jokes! Remember my classmates Siva, Marc and Emmanuel whom I mentioned earlier? They were from NCC too. NCC were their CCA and drama were an ECA for them. The seniors were also the pioneers of the drama club. They joined and created the club first when Mrs Crothers started it. What I was really proud was that even though we had our own small cliques, we all cared for one another. It was something that I really liked about the drama club.

We had the privileged to be able to stay overnight in school before the performance day. We had rehearsals till like 9pm. As soon as the last rehearsal was over, we packed all the stuff to be ready for tomorrow. I don't remember what happened that night but all I knew was that it was fun. We had some games and we had dinner together before we all rested for the night. I think Mrs Crothers went home. There was Miss Lena Ng who was a music teacher in our school. She also helped out with the backstage and the play. Miss Ng was joined us later stage during the rehearsal periods and she was with us till the end. We left school the following day when the school was gathering for the assembly. We were on our way to create history.

It was our first SYF. We were new in this competition and we did not know what to expect. Being new in this would make us the underdogs. After we unloaded our stuff from the bus and placed it at the storage area, most of us fell silent. I believe most of us were nervous. I went around to help one of the seniors check if all the items have been unloaded and accounted for. As we were cued to be the next play, Mrs Crothers gathered everyone to form a circle and hold hands. As we held the hands of the ones beside us, Mrs Crothers began prayers for us. It became a ritual for us. Before every plays, Mrs Crothers would make us stand in a circle holding hands and she will pray for us. As far as I knew, she hasn't stop doing that. After that, we made history.

We won that year the Gold award and The Play Of The Year award. The next 3 SYFs, we continued to win the gold before we got a silver. We had other productions that were not for the SYF but I sure hell had a lot of fun.

I've done it! I've done a 2k word count entry! I'm waking up later at 5 am but I'm satisfied! Goodnight!