Lion's Trail
Published Tuesday, May 30, 2006 by Robin.Went back to camp yesterday to settle my clearance forms. Basically, it entails getting signatures from a whole bunch of people. Despite having to bribe one or two of them, the process was surprisingly smooth. It might have to do with the fact that the new CSM, Staff Maverick, demands the entire company to be at this beck and call, so a lot of the signatures that I needed were in company-line. Can see that he is quite an asshole, got to put up with his grunting just to get his signature. I mean, who in the right mind will call himself Maverick? Imagine naming your son Ninja Lim, Hero Quek or Champion Tan. Such a clown.
Got coerced into taking part in a national education tour. Essentially, the Admin Spec wanted me to go for the tour in exchange for his signature. I didn’t put up much of a resistance, partly because I had no plans for the rest of the day, partly because I would get a free ride down to the city and partly because the NE cynic in me wanted to have a good laugh.
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Meet our tour guide, Mr. Motor-Mouth. He started talking when the bus left the parade square and except for a short break on the journey to Changi, Mr. Motor-Mouth could not stop talking.At the Changi Museum, Mr. Motor-Mouth talked and talked and talked. He continued talking all the way to Waterloo Street and could not stop himself even after we got to the Singapore River. He spent 20 minutes talking about trade in the old days, industries and the commerce that went on over at the Boat Quay side of the river. He even had things to say about Feng Shui; basically, he attributed our country’s success (a point he harped on with as much zest as an NDP announcer) to the fact that the Singapore River resembles a fish. Just when we though he was done, Mr. Motor-Mouth went “And on this side of the river…” Wah Piang!
Naturally, the group of Meridian JC students who were posing in front of the Raffles statue with their teacher stole our attention.
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We went for a tour of the new Supreme Court before rounding off with a trip around the Padang. Must say that while the flying-saucer is a hideous addition to our skyline, I was impressed with the interior. Might very well be what Frank Lloyd Wright would have done, with glass (in place of wood) and a 21st century twist. I like how neat it looks. It is functional, and at the same time it conveys a modern grandeur. NE tour guides should avoid lame remarks like ‘all the glass symbolize the transparency of our justice system’. We were really quite impressed, so don’t spoil it by adding corny symbolisms.We were also alittle pissed off when we requested to explore the Court of Appeal and viewing gallery, but was turned down because Mr. Motor-Mouth says we don’t have the time. We would have had the time had he not went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on....
Postscript:
From the Supreme Court. Queen's Counsel Wong reviewing the evidence with the Prosecution's star witness.
Mobilization
Published by Robin.At 10am on Sunday morning, I received an SMS:
Fr: Mindef
This is an urgent message from MINDEF, please call 64479447 to
listen to your message. For any enquiries, please call 1800-3676767.
The SMS came right at the end of my care-group meeting, and it got the boys really excited (after all, they are not the ones being recalled). They crowded around my phone, dialed the number to access the message and put it on loudspeaker mode. I knew it was coming; the night before and on the morning itself, there were rumors of an activation and rumors of those rumors. Ironically, one of the last to report back to camp was the one who circulated the ‘insider’s info’.
Dhana, my raft commander, called a little while later and told me he intended to snatch the early bird’s special: the raft that reports back before 1130hrs gets to book out first.
Turned out to be quite an amazing race. After dilly-dallying in church for nearly an hour (you see, I’ve gotten quite used to my soon to be civilian/NSman status), getting my vaccination for the Nepal trip and saying hello to one and all, I got on to a taxi only around 11am. Then again, not that I could have helped it since so many of the taxis that passed by were carrying passengers.
On the taxi, I folded my No.4 and wore my green socks. I put on my camp pass even though camp was still some distance away. I paid the fare even before the taxi came to a stop, and then I ran, and ran, and ran. Was left beyond any doubt of how unfit I’ve become when some of the guys along the way easily outpaced me; then again, I didn’t have too much time to think about all that then.
Ran to the bunk, put on my green fatigue and ran to the auditorium even before my pants were done and the laces on my boots tied. One of my gutters was missing, so, just stuffed my pants into my socks.
Joined the queue, and scanned my card.
1128hrs
Dhana was a nervous-wreck until then. Joel, who had happily decided to take a bus from Tampines and ended up running all the way from the outer guard house clocked in at 1127.
Signed in at company-line and went to shake hands with OC.
Dhana, my raft commander, called a little while later and told me he intended to snatch the early bird’s special: the raft that reports back before 1130hrs gets to book out first.
Turned out to be quite an amazing race. After dilly-dallying in church for nearly an hour (you see, I’ve gotten quite used to my soon to be civilian/NSman status), getting my vaccination for the Nepal trip and saying hello to one and all, I got on to a taxi only around 11am. Then again, not that I could have helped it since so many of the taxis that passed by were carrying passengers.
On the taxi, I folded my No.4 and wore my green socks. I put on my camp pass even though camp was still some distance away. I paid the fare even before the taxi came to a stop, and then I ran, and ran, and ran. Was left beyond any doubt of how unfit I’ve become when some of the guys along the way easily outpaced me; then again, I didn’t have too much time to think about all that then.
Ran to the bunk, put on my green fatigue and ran to the auditorium even before my pants were done and the laces on my boots tied. One of my gutters was missing, so, just stuffed my pants into my socks.
Joined the queue, and scanned my card.
1128hrs
Dhana was a nervous-wreck until then. Joel, who had happily decided to take a bus from Tampines and ended up running all the way from the outer guard house clocked in at 1127.
Signed in at company-line and went to shake hands with OC.
Free Trade
Published Wednesday, May 24, 2006 by Robin.From Economic Sophism by Frederic Bastiat
From the Manufacturers of Candles, Tapers, Lanterns, Candlesticks, Street Lamps, Snuffers, and Extinguishers and from the Producers of Oil, Tallow, Resin, Alcohol, and Generally of Everything Connected with Lighting to the Honorable Members of the Chamber of Deputies.
Gentlemen,
We are suffering from the ruinous competition of a foreign rival who apparently works under conditions so far superior to our own for the production of light, that he is flooding the domestic market with it at an incredibly low price…. This rival… is none other than the sun….
We ask you to be so good as to pass a law requiring the closing of all windows, dormers, skylights, inside and outside shutters, curtains, casements, bull’s-eyes, deadlights and blinds; in short, all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures….
If you shut off as much as possible all access to natural light and thereby create a need for artificial light, what industry in France will not ultimately be encouraged? ...
Bastiat also sarcastically suggested that France double its need for jobs by chopping off everyone's right hand.
Saccharine-sweet
Published by Robin.Been struggling since yesterday with this book I bought recently. Trying really hard to grasp the author’s arguments and his very academic sense of humor. I’m not halfway through, but I’ve already skipped chapters and I’m about to give up. Affirms what Khoon Kiat said, 2 years in NS left us incapable of coherent thought.
This is distressing since school is about 2 months away. I need to feel smart.
It is embarrassing that I sometimes read saccharine-sweet to pander my intellectual vanity. Once your window opens to the pink, a voyeuristic curiosity compels you to pore through the entries. Law undergraduate by day and by her computer one part art patron, two parts princess, two parts goddess, four parts Sylvia Plath, five parts Paris Hilton, and seven parts Hello Kitty. In twenty years, this blog may well be the online version of Prestige or Singapore Tatlers. Inside you will find exclusive scoops on her legal battles against Paragon, Daniel Yam, Adonis Beauty, Reds Hairdressing as well as Toni & Guy. An expert on the fine prints of discount vouchers and retail membership, she is truly in a class of her own in the fields of litigation and corporate law. In it, you will also find the evolution of modern legalese: “fantabulous”, “*sob~”, “muacks”, “raaaaaar”, “sugarlinks” and “bestie”. Indeed, Pink is the new Black.
*Sob*, I’m feeling extremely dumb.
This is distressing since school is about 2 months away. I need to feel smart.
It is embarrassing that I sometimes read saccharine-sweet to pander my intellectual vanity. Once your window opens to the pink, a voyeuristic curiosity compels you to pore through the entries. Law undergraduate by day and by her computer one part art patron, two parts princess, two parts goddess, four parts Sylvia Plath, five parts Paris Hilton, and seven parts Hello Kitty. In twenty years, this blog may well be the online version of Prestige or Singapore Tatlers. Inside you will find exclusive scoops on her legal battles against Paragon, Daniel Yam, Adonis Beauty, Reds Hairdressing as well as Toni & Guy. An expert on the fine prints of discount vouchers and retail membership, she is truly in a class of her own in the fields of litigation and corporate law. In it, you will also find the evolution of modern legalese: “fantabulous”, “*sob~”, “muacks”, “raaaaaar”, “sugarlinks” and “bestie”. Indeed, Pink is the new Black.
*Sob*, I’m feeling extremely dumb.
Enrollment Paperwork
Published Thursday, May 18, 2006 by Robin.
Spent the day working through all the enrollment paperwork, but have yet to finish most of it. My table is covered with forms: Housing Application & License Agreement, Meal Plan Enrollment Form, Parent Information Form, ID Card Application, PlaidCa$h Enrollment Application, College Credit Advisement Form, Interfaith Council Card, Medical History Report, Admissions Research Questionnaire, etc, etc.The campus doesn’t look very big but it seems that they’ve got a lot of halls and apartments. Need to find out more about the housing options, I don’t intend to gomez those forms and end up living in some construction site.
More paperwork coming up next week as I go back to camp to settle my clearance form. Sigh, a total of 25 signatures to collect. From OC to Recall NCO, to PC, PS, CSM, Ops Spec, Armourer… . Very long list.
Anyway, here’s a link to a page by the Elections Department, containing some specimen forms and certificates required to run in our presidential and parliamentary elections. They don’t include the application forms required to apply for those certificates.
Another link. From a talkingcock.com website: NUS to Launch Minor in Form Filling for Political Science Majors
It began because it is difficult to say goodbye.
Published Wednesday, May 17, 2006 by Robin.In 1984, George Orwell wrote:
For whom, it suddenly occurred to him to wonder, was he writing this diary? For the future, for the unborn. … For the first time the magnitude of what he had undertaken came home to him. How could you communicate with the future? It was of its nature impossible. Either the future would resemble the present, in which case it would not listen to him: or it would be different from it, and his predicament would be meaningless.
It felt weird when I went back to camp last Sunday and Eugene said that this might be the very last time I’ll be sleeping on the bed above his. It felt weird when Yirong wished me all the best and asked for my ORD treat. And it felt weird when ZhaoKai asked about my college and career plans. Each time, I added that I’ll be back in camp before and on May 30.
One countdown reaches its finishing while the end looms for another countdown; but this time I’ll be leaving a lot more behind. I’ve always wanted to go overseas for university but it was only when my first acceptance letter came in that the weight of leaving Singapore for 4 years or more sunk in. It feels weird because whenever the committee makes plans for the Young Adults Ministry, they talk about me as if I come along with an expiry date.
Transmissions is for friends and the people who have been part of my life.
Transmissions started because it is difficult to say goodbye.
One countdown reaches its finishing while the end looms for another countdown; but this time I’ll be leaving a lot more behind. I’ve always wanted to go overseas for university but it was only when my first acceptance letter came in that the weight of leaving Singapore for 4 years or more sunk in. It feels weird because whenever the committee makes plans for the Young Adults Ministry, they talk about me as if I come along with an expiry date.
Transmissions is for friends and the people who have been part of my life.
Transmissions started because it is difficult to say goodbye.
First Post
Published Monday, May 15, 2006 by Robin.
Was at the old parliament house two nights ago to catch Tan PinPin’s Singapore Gaga. What better way to begin Transmissions than with a post about the movie.Singapore Gaga is essentially a very sincere presentation/montage of the different frequencies that fill our aural landscape.
The idea of transmitting and frequency is most literal in the vignette where a few uncles and aunties were making news broadcasts in various dialects from a lonely recording room (Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka and Hockchew). They are the last of their kind, transmitting the remnant voices which have been given a concessionary existence after the Speak Mandarin Campaign wiped out dialects from the mainstream media. There is a refreshing quality to hearing the news (in this case, Father Kang has been made to serve time) read in standard/polished dialect; a heartland sing-songy eloquence, elocutionary in a clannish way. Ever wondered why they’ve always fielded a Teochew candidate to face Low Thia Khiang in Hougang? Or why Hole-Gang doesn’t go down as well as Aw-Gung?
The movie engages us by re-tuning our sensory receivers to the frequencies that we had chosen to ignore and now subconsciously reject. Like the Ah-pek busker stomping his clogs and playing the harmonica at Raffles Place station, and the wheelchair-bound hawker’s ‘one dollar, one dollar’ tissue paper ditty. (The latter is a Christian. She sings hymns too, ‘Jesus songs’.)
For better or for worse, our sensory receivers have been tuned by society and the Establishment. James Gomez, Strong Mandate, First World Government just to cite a few examples of this tuning. Yet that Singaporean-ness, still speaks to us. The scene where Khoo Swee Chiow scaled the inflatable Mt Everest *goodness* amid cheering from an entire stadium seems strangely alienating. For all the conditioning by the Establishment on the foreign talent policy and what it means to be Singaporean, the song in the next scene strikes a cord immediately. It goes:
Wasted days and wasted nights
I have left for you behind
For you don’t belong to me
Your heart belongs to somebody else
Why should I keep loving you
When I know that you’re not true
And why should I call your name
When you’re to blame for making me blue
The film has no narration, but the director’s point is clear. When one of the dialect newscasters was asked if anyone listens to his broadcasts, he said "It is a privilege to read in a dialect few speak anymore, we are the last generation and I will continue to do it until they ask me to stop". It is difficult not to sense the dignation with which each of these voices transmits their frequencies, yet in their own ways each of them is still yearning for acceptance into our receiver range.