Secret War Journal[27 November 2012]
-->"
Untitled"
2 weeks ago
Shed light upon visions
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Secret War Journal[18 November 2012]
One of the funny thing about myself is that... I have a low memory lifespan. Many times had I mentioned that the reason I am blogging here is to record the events of my life so that I would remember the proceedings and also my feelings and thoughts then. Thus, I actually thought I posted this already but apparently not since I just got reminded about it recently.
To be frank, I am not really sure if I told anyone yet, hahas. For I know, I may just complete this post, only to realise I had typed this before. (Now, wouldn't that suck? Hahas)
Before I ended up in this current branch of the military, I had a vision seemingly foretelling me what would be my posting.
In the vision, I was a hunter but not an ordinary hunter like those portrayed in historic times.
The hunter/I was hunting with a bow (longbow? I cannot really tell since the vision did not focus greatly on the bow, rather the action.) that allowed one to shoot from great distances, different from historic hunting which only involves closer combat, even with bows. I am not sure what the prey was but I knew it was a high-value target, one to last me for days.
With that, the vision abruptly ended. You may think it may not mean much but it means something, for me. Visions are not exactly hard to come by but they are not frequent. Thus far, each tries to bring across a message. Though some helped me in how I lived my life, I admit that I could had done better if I had interpreted the meaning of the vision or did not misinterpret the vision.
At this point, you are probably wondering what am I trying to say. To this vision, I interpreted as being a sniper, since I was killing from afar.
A few weeks back, I thought I interpreted it correctly since I was selected for a sniper selection interview. At the back of my mind then, after hearing what's in store for me as a sniper, I knew I was not ready to be a sniper. At that point, the vision did not make sense to me. Was its purpose to foretell that I would be interviewed for selection as a sniper or did it mean something else totally?
I do not really know at that moment, thus I took a leap of fate and let God decide. I tend to do that when I do not understand the vision bestowed upon me is trying to tell me.
As fate has it, I was not going to be a sniper. Thus was my interpretation wrong. (No worries, I am sorta got used to it...)
The message that the vision was trying to relay was, I would kill from afar. Apparently (from how I understand it now, of course, I could be wrong... again), in historic times, the technology involved to portray a clearer message is not yet discovered, thus it had to improvise with arrows and bows (please don't ask me why, I do not know the mechanics of visions, yet).
In the end, I am now an artillery gunner. (Though I may not admit it freely, I am happy that I am part of the gunner family, compared to others)
Funny how visions play on our minds, huh? They let you peek but never the whole package. Devious little things, but I welcome them. :P
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn
To be frank, I am not really sure if I told anyone yet, hahas. For I know, I may just complete this post, only to realise I had typed this before. (Now, wouldn't that suck? Hahas)
Before I ended up in this current branch of the military, I had a vision seemingly foretelling me what would be my posting.
In the vision, I was a hunter but not an ordinary hunter like those portrayed in historic times.
The hunter/I was hunting with a bow (longbow? I cannot really tell since the vision did not focus greatly on the bow, rather the action.) that allowed one to shoot from great distances, different from historic hunting which only involves closer combat, even with bows. I am not sure what the prey was but I knew it was a high-value target, one to last me for days.
With that, the vision abruptly ended. You may think it may not mean much but it means something, for me. Visions are not exactly hard to come by but they are not frequent. Thus far, each tries to bring across a message. Though some helped me in how I lived my life, I admit that I could had done better if I had interpreted the meaning of the vision or did not misinterpret the vision.
At this point, you are probably wondering what am I trying to say. To this vision, I interpreted as being a sniper, since I was killing from afar.
A few weeks back, I thought I interpreted it correctly since I was selected for a sniper selection interview. At the back of my mind then, after hearing what's in store for me as a sniper, I knew I was not ready to be a sniper. At that point, the vision did not make sense to me. Was its purpose to foretell that I would be interviewed for selection as a sniper or did it mean something else totally?
I do not really know at that moment, thus I took a leap of fate and let God decide. I tend to do that when I do not understand the vision bestowed upon me is trying to tell me.
As fate has it, I was not going to be a sniper. Thus was my interpretation wrong. (No worries, I am sorta got used to it...)
The message that the vision was trying to relay was, I would kill from afar. Apparently (from how I understand it now, of course, I could be wrong... again), in historic times, the technology involved to portray a clearer message is not yet discovered, thus it had to improvise with arrows and bows (please don't ask me why, I do not know the mechanics of visions, yet).
In the end, I am now an artillery gunner. (Though I may not admit it freely, I am happy that I am part of the gunner family, compared to others)
Funny how visions play on our minds, huh? They let you peek but never the whole package. Devious little things, but I welcome them. :P
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn
TIme phase
Friday, November 23, 2012
Secret War Journal[23 November 2012]
Much has changed.
In the span of one hour, much change had occurred.
Returning from darkness, objects were moved from its original locations, (according to my knowledge, one hour ago), in an empty house apart from myself.
Furnitures are moved, items brought from one place to another.
No one entered nor exit the house. I was the only person in the house.
It certainly felt like a closed room mystery.
Another shift in the world lines and I had not even resolved all the conflicts in the previous one.
Guess God had decided I am needed more in this current world I am now in. I would need to find out what changed here, what are the differences between this world and the former.
At least the changes are less subtle then the last time, huh? Small comfort.
I felt the all-too-familiar headache when such incidents occur.
Much has changed.
In the span of one hour, much change had occurred.
Returning from darkness, objects were moved from its original locations, (according to my knowledge, one hour ago), in an empty house apart from myself.
Furnitures are moved, items brought from one place to another.
No one entered nor exit the house. I was the only person in the house.
It certainly felt like a closed room mystery.
Another shift in the world lines and I had not even resolved all the conflicts in the previous one.
Guess God had decided I am needed more in this current world I am now in. I would need to find out what changed here, what are the differences between this world and the former.
At least the changes are less subtle then the last time, huh? Small comfort.
I felt the all-too-familiar headache when such incidents occur.
Roti Prata House
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Secret War Journal[9 November 2012]
What better to celebrate the end of a short outfield exercise with a eat-out together with your section mates? :)
I would say the pratas are really crispy, as advertised. Hahas!
The price for the normal roti prata - Plain and Egg are average though their speciality pratas are really costly. I tried one, the Chicken Floss Prata and it cost $4. T.T
In fact, I find the cost not exactly justified. It is funny when my friends can buy so many more pieces yet still paid less than me. Hahas!
Still, it was a nice supper with my section mates. :)
"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." - Yogi Berra
What better to celebrate the end of a short outfield exercise with a eat-out together with your section mates? :)
The price for the normal roti prata - Plain and Egg are average though their speciality pratas are really costly. I tried one, the Chicken Floss Prata and it cost $4. T.T
In fact, I find the cost not exactly justified. It is funny when my friends can buy so many more pieces yet still paid less than me. Hahas!
Still, it was a nice supper with my section mates. :)
"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." - Yogi Berra
Artillery Specialist Course Wishlist
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Secret War Journal[October 2012 - December 2012]
I finally thought up of some things to aim for during this course. :P
I finally thought up of some things to aim for during this course. :P
- Survive
Pass IPPT/ Obtain Silver for IPPTPass SOCPass General Knowledge TestGet posted into a good unit
Skyfall
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Secret War Journal[10 November 2012]
This movie outing was organised quite in a rush. The original plan was to watch last week when it supposedly premièred. However, as my grandmother had been admitted to a hospital, I had to cancel the outing to visit my grandmother.
As a result, I postponed the movie outing to this Saturday. As a consequence, Marcus was not able to make it. Keller had returned to Singapore but he is busy on that day as well. (Awww....)
In addition, I just had a short field camp during the weekdays. I was not able to finalise the details until the day itself as I was close to being knocked out on Friday night.
That was evident by the fact that I missed my stop twice in the train because I fell asleep, causing me to detour twice. Finally, I blocked people from entering the bus because I was first in line and I fell asleep.
Hahas, embarrassing moments of my life. :P
One aspect of the movie that I really liked was the way the scriptwriter kept emphasising the theme - Skyfall. From the beginning to the end of the movie, there were many references to the theme. It serves to tell the audience why the movie was named so.
In many ways, this is truly a action-packed movie. More of explain less, more action formula, I would say. I would say the formula for this plot because the plot is not hard for the audience to understand why certain things happen in such a manner. Thus, there was no need for the characters to explain, which would make the movie quite dull indeed.
Removing the lengthy explanations, all that is left would be pure action sequences where you get to see the main character constantly running into obstacles and overcoming them.
Quite surprisingly, this movie deviated from the normal James Bond formula. I must admit that I entered the Cinema expecting a female sidekick/lover shooting with James Bond. All I got was quite different from my expectations. A brief moment with a female character with a random embrace and kiss with virtually no character development. I guess it was their way of saying, "Hey, the usual features of a James Bond movie is still present!" but I am not buying it when the female character felt like an afterthought.
The movie also paid homage to some past James Bond movies which I find was not too bad but certainly not a plot device to be used in future James Bond movie any longer since the effect would be lost.
Finally, what I liked best about the movie was their witty responses which brought smiles to the audience, if not laughter (I am sure)!
This movie outing was organised quite in a rush. The original plan was to watch last week when it supposedly premièred. However, as my grandmother had been admitted to a hospital, I had to cancel the outing to visit my grandmother.
As a result, I postponed the movie outing to this Saturday. As a consequence, Marcus was not able to make it. Keller had returned to Singapore but he is busy on that day as well. (Awww....)
In addition, I just had a short field camp during the weekdays. I was not able to finalise the details until the day itself as I was close to being knocked out on Friday night.
That was evident by the fact that I missed my stop twice in the train because I fell asleep, causing me to detour twice. Finally, I blocked people from entering the bus because I was first in line and I fell asleep.
Hahas, embarrassing moments of my life. :P
In many ways, this is truly a action-packed movie. More of explain less, more action formula, I would say. I would say the formula for this plot because the plot is not hard for the audience to understand why certain things happen in such a manner. Thus, there was no need for the characters to explain, which would make the movie quite dull indeed.
Removing the lengthy explanations, all that is left would be pure action sequences where you get to see the main character constantly running into obstacles and overcoming them.
Quite surprisingly, this movie deviated from the normal James Bond formula. I must admit that I entered the Cinema expecting a female sidekick/lover shooting with James Bond. All I got was quite different from my expectations. A brief moment with a female character with a random embrace and kiss with virtually no character development. I guess it was their way of saying, "Hey, the usual features of a James Bond movie is still present!" but I am not buying it when the female character felt like an afterthought.
The movie also paid homage to some past James Bond movies which I find was not too bad but certainly not a plot device to be used in future James Bond movie any longer since the effect would be lost.
Finally, what I liked best about the movie was their witty responses which brought smiles to the audience, if not laughter (I am sure)!
The less we get together
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Secret War Journal[11 November 2012]
Published on Nov 11, 2012
-- ST ILLUSTRATION: ADAM LEE
In my phone, there is a long-running Whatsapp group chat titled "Sunday woohoo". I created it on April 30 to organise a meeting with a group of friends the following week. The actual meeting transpired a month later, and it wasn't on a Sunday.
More than half a year later, this group chat still exists. It is a way for six people who used to work in the same office to keep in touch. Two of them have since quit the company - one left to pursue a law degree and another to work in the civil service. One friend who is still working as a journalist is now on no-pay leave to spend time with her baby.
"Sunday woohoo" is our own social network. As a place to share news and bad puns, it is on fire. Sometimes, when I am busy conducting an interview or having a meeting, my phone can buzz needily and non-stop against my thigh. When I finally check the overheated phone, there would be a ridiculous number of messages from my friends discussing crucial, earth- shattering issues, such as whether someone looks like a tranny and how to get better skin.
But truth be told, the vast majority of the messages are actually attempts by us to find a day in which we are all free to meet up.
There are thousands of reasons tripping up our group date. Babysitting difficulties. Holidays. The flu. Unpredictable schedules in the office that end anytime from 7pm to midnight.
Because we have an ill-advised "leave no man behind" policy, our rendezvous keeps getting pushed back, receding further and further into the distant future till I'm certain we'll probably meet in the afterlife. Even then, that's not for sure. Some of us may be in heaven and some in hell.
Just as I was starting to forget how my friends' faces look like, we made a ruthless decision: We named a day to meet. Those who can't make it will just have to miss it.
It sounds cruel but it was necessary. The co-ordination attempts were getting preposterous. More than 50 messages will go by, waiting for non-respondents to reply and accumulating more reasons why so-and-so can't do this date. And we still would not have come to a decision.
Gone were the days when we were younger, single, slogging away at the office and leaving together at the end of the day, cursing at the night sky. Yes, our lives were an unhealthy cycle of co-dependence. We probably should have met other people. We were losers. But meeting up was easy, and we met regularly and at short notice.
Now, because life has taken us to different places, scheduling has become like pulling teeth. Harder, actually. Because for our group of friends, fate will have it that when the dentist can make it, the nurse isn't around.
Eventually, four of us made it to dinner on Monday. Like shipwreck survivors, we washed up at our usual haunt, dazed, blinking, surprised to see one another.
We ordered the same food and our old, familiar drink: a bottle of merlot from a company called Fishbone. I always found it a terrible name for a wine, foreboding terrible things happening to your throat. Just one step below Razor Blade or Glass.
The catching up began. The new mother refused to drink the Fishbone. We were almost hurt, like someone has rejected old clothes we didn't want anyway.
"I rarely get to drink because I'm breastfeeding," she explained apologetically. "I'm dying for a glass of white."
I nodded in an understanding manner, until she went on about how she can eat five or six meals a day without putting on weight.
We toasted our meeting, a glass of sauvignon blanc clinking against two glasses of Fishbone clinking against... a mug of latte.
The law student grimaced. "I need to study, I can't drink," he said, adding that he is engaged in competitive mugging with his younger schoolmates. In which case, I thought, your drink is too weakly caffeinated.
About one hour in, one of us stood up to leave. A church event. "I'll be done in an hour, Whatsapp if you guys are still hanging out," he said.
The survivors clung on a little longer, sharing more stories from our vast expanse of time apart. This must be what long-lost siblings feel like when they are reconciled.
I regaled them with my recent trip to London and Edinburgh. "On the way back, a woman next to me puked and passed out on the plane. For a while, I had to sit on the folding chairs meant for the crew. Facing everyone else. When I went back to my seat, the air stewardess gave me a gigantic mask. For the last five hours of the ride, I didn't sleep..."
"I've got to go study," the law student said.
"...I simply breathed into the mask and created condensation against my face."
I yawned into my elbow. "Okay. You're right. Let's go. I'm jetlagged."
We left at 9.30pm. I showered and went straight to bed. The next day, my phone was alive with hope, crammed with messages of how nice it was to finally catch up.
"Maybe we should fix a date every month to meet up," said one of the absentees. "Like the 15th."
"Like Taoist rites?" I typed.
"How about this Friday?" she said.
"Oh, I've got a family dinner.
"I need to study."
"I've got to review a play."
chiahta@sph.com.sg
facebook.com/chiahta
How true is that?
Storm of Sand
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Secret War Journal[3 November 2012]
Today, I just attended a gathering with my army friends that I had made during my initial enlistment period.
I think it had been close to 4 months since I last met some of them. I would say that apart from the length of their hair, they hardly changed. Hahas!
Even though not all of us could make it for the gathering, there was still a good number of us who managed to make it. (Cannot blame anyone since it is truly very difficult to get everyone to be present for such a big number of people. I feel your pain, organiser!)
St. Games
For this cohesion gathering, we came to a video game cafe named St. Games @ the Cathay.
To be frank with you guys, this is my first time coming to this Cafe. My initial thoughts when I first reached the place was that the cafe looked as though it did not have enough space. In the past, you would not had required a lot of space to set up a cafe that allows customers to play video games. You probably just need to get a decent monitor and a couch for them to sit comfortably in.
Now, times had changed. Consoles now possess motion gaming capabilities. Technologies such as Xbox Kinect and Wii means that players need more space for us to move about. Thus, we certainly need more room for console gaming.
In addition, players are no longer satisfied with normal screen size. If I were to pay to play console games outside (rather than playing at home), I would expect the screen size to be much larger to improve my gaming experience. Sadly, I found the screen sizes in the cafe quite average, nothing special. It is not small, I would say it is decent but definitely not a plus point for gamers to come play instead of playing at home with their friends.
Another point to note would be the high charges for the usage of the cafe which one of my friend pointed out that it was not really value-for-money for short periods of gameplay. I cannot disagree on that.
In its defense, I really like their free flow of a great variety of drinks. :)
--
Just Dance 4
One of the new games I played there was Just Dance 4! It is a Xbox Kinect game which support 4 players.
Comparing to Dance Central, I would say it supports more players? (I don't know about Dance Central 3 because I had not played that yet, hahas!) That is a plus point for Just Dance 4 because it is a in better footing for party games where 4 of us could play together in a dancing battle.
However, I soon realised thata lot of space is really required for a great gaming experience. For such a game, the room we were in was actually considered relatively small. (Dang, Kinect just have to need so much space!) There were moments when not all of us could be identified in the game as there was insufficient space for all of us to stand in. Not to mention the hilarious moments when some of us swooped places in the game as they detected erroneously that the original player 2 was player 3 and vice versa. This could be a technical limitation of the Kinect though, not the game I believe.
Just Dance 4 lost in terms of its graphics. It is just too 2D (I believe it was the intention but sometimes I cannot stand it, hahas!) Dance Central's graphics are much pleasing to the eye, I would dare say.
"Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
After having fun playing in St. Games, the original plan to have dinner with them. However, I just found out that my grandmother had been admitted to a hospital. As a result, I left early to visit my grandmother.
As far as I know, she is still there but she is doing fine.
"Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." - Don Marquis
Today, I just attended a gathering with my army friends that I had made during my initial enlistment period.
St. Games
To be frank with you guys, this is my first time coming to this Cafe. My initial thoughts when I first reached the place was that the cafe looked as though it did not have enough space. In the past, you would not had required a lot of space to set up a cafe that allows customers to play video games. You probably just need to get a decent monitor and a couch for them to sit comfortably in.
Now, times had changed. Consoles now possess motion gaming capabilities. Technologies such as Xbox Kinect and Wii means that players need more space for us to move about. Thus, we certainly need more room for console gaming.
In addition, players are no longer satisfied with normal screen size. If I were to pay to play console games outside (rather than playing at home), I would expect the screen size to be much larger to improve my gaming experience. Sadly, I found the screen sizes in the cafe quite average, nothing special. It is not small, I would say it is decent but definitely not a plus point for gamers to come play instead of playing at home with their friends.
Another point to note would be the high charges for the usage of the cafe which one of my friend pointed out that it was not really value-for-money for short periods of gameplay. I cannot disagree on that.
In its defense, I really like their free flow of a great variety of drinks. :)
--
Just Dance 4
Comparing to Dance Central, I would say it supports more players? (I don't know about Dance Central 3 because I had not played that yet, hahas!) That is a plus point for Just Dance 4 because it is a in better footing for party games where 4 of us could play together in a dancing battle.
However, I soon realised thata lot of space is really required for a great gaming experience. For such a game, the room we were in was actually considered relatively small. (Dang, Kinect just have to need so much space!) There were moments when not all of us could be identified in the game as there was insufficient space for all of us to stand in. Not to mention the hilarious moments when some of us swooped places in the game as they detected erroneously that the original player 2 was player 3 and vice versa. This could be a technical limitation of the Kinect though, not the game I believe.
Just Dance 4 lost in terms of its graphics. It is just too 2D (I believe it was the intention but sometimes I cannot stand it, hahas!) Dance Central's graphics are much pleasing to the eye, I would dare say.
"Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
After having fun playing in St. Games, the original plan to have dinner with them. However, I just found out that my grandmother had been admitted to a hospital. As a result, I left early to visit my grandmother.
As far as I know, she is still there but she is doing fine.
"Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." - Don Marquis
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