I refuse to title this with a cliche "POP" wordplay

I refuse to give in to the temptation to title this post like everyone else, POP this or POP that. All the low-level wordplay is beyond me, bah!

Nonetheless, I'm still going to blog about my recent graduation parade. After all, it marks the end of our 24km march and on a larger scale, our basic military training.

I still remember giving my mom a 5minute crash course on DSLR operation right before leaving the house to book in one last time, and it brings a smile to my face when I find a few underexposed photos taken at home while i was gone...

Still, she did remember to bring the camera to the parade and I'm thankful for that!

The 24km route march almost took my life, or at least i felt that way. The first 12 kilometers were pretty fine, considering the fact that we've been "condi+*&^%$#@$%^&*(*&^%$#&*(*&^%#@#$" haha! Still, what followed was a series of grueling walks on rocky paths, muddy puddles and vegetation that swing back in your face. To top it up, 2 of the 3 remaining legs started right when I felt my bladder filling... Hmmm... Poor time management? Maybe. Lousy bladder? Maybe. Simply suay? Could be...

Stupid things happened, such as walking so fast we had to stop cuz others couldn't catch up and holding my pee so hard i couldn't go fast lest i pee in my pants.

Nonetheless, I am proud to say that I have completed the torturous route march, a 'rite of passage' of every National Service Enlistee, the first step we all young singaporean males take towards reality... That our NS life has only begun!

The Parade was great, a proud moment not only for me, but rather my mom... The funniest moment came when the announcer invited them to come over and put on our jockey caps(accent it please~) and my mom just kept on snapping away on the camera (she doesn't understand english). Immediately after seeing other parents walking over, she just sprinted over, snapping along the way... -.-"

still remember what someone said...

"Bruce, is that your mom? damn kiasu leh!"

here're some photos which my mom took

Marching in


Kekanan Lurus (form up based on the right?) command... I have no idea why the audience clapped to this...


Marching by, though I'm not in the shot but I thought that my mom took a pretty nice shot doncha think?


Mom took this before putting my cap on


Mom says I look badass in this...


Of all moments, Mom had to take this while I had my eyes closed... she even missed the cap throwing part!

Coming Back Home

Six days and five nights, out in the wild. Out there in a place where mozzies, sandflies and things I don't know the name of bite. Out there in a place where everyone gets so tired, they can't be bothered to maintain their false fronts. Out there in a place where you experience heat rash for the first time.

It is a chargeable offence to disclose information about the military, so I will stop at the non-details.

Some time into our outfield training, we were given letters that our parents and loved ones have written. They contained words of encouragement, others had something more. One thing for sure was that they made everyone cry.

Of course, not everyone's parents wrote. My parents were one of them, not because they don't love me, but because they don't see the need and neither do I.

送信者 My Silent Kao Pei

My relationship with my parents is very special. We love each other, but we never say it out. They were rarely at home, always out there busy making ends meet (back then when gambling was our business, life was much more relaxed). The only times I'd see my parents are in the morning, when I decide to eat at the place my mom works at, or at night when dad comes home late.

Nevertheless, I try to spend as much time as possible with my parents whenever they are free. When they need something done, I'd try my best to do it for them, never to disappoint. Their expectations of me were simple too - So long as I'm happy, it's fine.

I think that it is through these little actions that a lot about our parent-child love is expressed. Things like my dad enjoying a few pints of ice cold tiger at night when I return home. Or when my mother decides to stay up late just so that she can help me was the mud off all my clothes and bags even when I've insisted on doing it myself.

I suppose they're never going to read this post, but I'm going to say it anyways. Thanks Mom and Dad! I LOVE YOU!

Haha I'm gonna go puke now. Ciao!

Like Father, Like Son

8(?) weeks into National Service and I have reverted back to my secondary 3 body! With luck, I'd be at my best by POP.

Last week, I decided to take a mugshot with a newly purchased ring flash adaptor (google: o-flash), but didn't have the time to process the photos. Didn't get to that til this morning.

Halfway through the work, my mom came in and said "you know, now that you're skinnier, you really look a lot like your father."

I didn't believe her at first, so I flipped through the old family album. Came across this really old photo of my dad in his 20's. I'd rather let the photo do the talking.


Thanks dad, for letting me know that in 20 odd years time, I'm most likely going to be bald at the front haha!
Back when I was younger (and rounder), the relatives would always say that I look like my father. I would think that it was because the 2 of us were round faced. Guess I was wrong?

The One Watch

Booked out on saturday. Woke up the next morning only to hear my mom saying

"You wanna buy a watch right? Come, I bring you go see my friend, got discount one!"

So off we rode to find the one watch! It's durable, it's 100m waterproof, It's battery operated! It's a Seiko Calibre 7T94 watch (is this how i'm supposed to name it?)

The search for the one watch

2 Watches in half a year, all broke with water leakages.

I'm now stuck with a free watch redeemed from Baron's strong brew. Nice watch, but I sense a breakage sometime soon...

And thus I've begun searching! A watch that can withstand a slobberknocker, as well as water. Who knows? I might need this kind of durability 10 years down the road on the job?

Of course, it's gotta look good too!

any suggestions?

Pink is My Favourite Colour

As of now, my I have only one colour in mind - pink.

Although I am wearing green, deep down inside is still pink, much like the flesh in my body.

But if my country needs me to defend her! Then I shall put on my green colours with pride and honour!

H.P.V = Hot day + Photographs + VodaVoda?

I haven't been to Haw Par Villa in a very long while already... Last time I went was more than a decade ago, and apparently I got frightened after the boat took a nose dive down this steep slope!

So I decided to go again, this time with 2 of my friends, one of whom I've never seen in about 3 years already haha.

The entrance sure hasn't change, but that's as far as I remember the place. I can't even remember if there used to be any other entrances to the place. During the 90's, this place was renovated and refurbished into an amusement park by the name of 'Dragon World'. Needless to say, who would want to 'have fun' at a place that has already been plagued with images of death and suffering?

It's also interesting to note the different names this place took since it's construction in 1937. It started off with 'Tiger Balm Gardens', which was the most obvious choice since the brothers that constructed the place were developers of Tiger Balm, an effective ointment that I myself use for mozzie bites, aches and such. In 1979, the place was sold to the Singapore Tourism Board, who then renamed the place to Haw Par Villa in 1985 before reopening the place in 1990 as 'dragon world'. This would shock you a lil' but they used to charge SGD16 just to get in!

That's all for history! Once we set foot on HPV, everyone started snapping away - Me and Wei Choon with our DSLRs and Gladys with her cute lil' T77.

The place is so quiet and remote that even bees decided to build a nest inside one of the decorations!

Don't know why, but when I was taking this shot, I felt a sense of uneasiness. It was as if there were people looking at me...

We spent about a dollar to enter the 10 chambers of hell. In earlier days, parents would bring their children here to see the kind of punishments people would get for doing wrong, some of them included things like having your innards dug out (cheating in exam) as well as dismemberment (plotting murder).

For a $1 entry, the place was reasonably entertaining. Taking pictures inside the place was a pain though; the place was coloured only by ambient light and using any form of flash would give you a brown picture everywhere!

We then headed out of hell and towards more gut pleasing attractions such as:

A misplaced statue of liberty


A very disturbing set of figures


Last but not least, a very scary looking bird thing


That's all, until next time :)