Controlling the chaos within... and then some

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICHAEL CHIKLIS (Ben Grimm aka The Thing), LI LIN, YU CHANG AND RONGMING

I went for a Live The Dream recording last night, but left after the performance show cos I wasnt feeling too good. Being in an LTD studio couldnt recapture the feelings I once had when I was watching Singapore Idol or The Dance Floor (the charity events dont count). Still, I spent the next 1 hour or so wandering around aimlessly... Andrea came down at 11 pm, and I passed to her the drawing I made for her. She said, "Thank you so much, I like that drawing... thats so sweet!!" and yes my face went as red as an hongbao! But NO, I aint gonna wait for her anymore... I dont want her to get the wrong idea that Im some sort of lovesick obsessive fan who would wait for his fave artiste almost every night (no offence to u, Mr X!).

Today ah... I finished on the first half of the Applied Design assignment, and due to what I call mindblock, I am currently stuck wif the flyer part!! And to make things worse, deadline is next Monday!! ARGHHHH.... HOW??? (hmmm, machine-gun-voice didnt come today... quite surprising)

Fortunately, there was a super-long break from 11 to 1 pm (since CSM lesson had been cleared for good), so I decided to head to Tampines to meet up wif Miss X to lend her a certain DVD... she looked more beautiful than I last saw her (and Tampines happened to be the very place I met her for the first time). I succeeded in giving her yet another Taser, and she walked quite fast. I was struggling with my inner demons lest they turn me into some symbiotic beast... I cant describe the feelings I haf for her. Its just that everytime I try to talk to her, I suddenly feel very weak inside (let alone cause me to blush). The feelings aren't quite the same when I meet her (more beautiful) cousin though... and I thought that only sweet and pretty gals make me blush? Cherry aka Original Cat was probably right... my taste is indeed quite 'sui bian'. Or there's something special abt her that makes me feel this way... but i only see her like a younger sister, thats all.

So anyway I went back to Bedok to haf lunch... and headed back for PJM lesson in the Tellytubby lab. I just couldnt think of a good design for the APD flyer for Spectrum campaign, so I decided to concentrate more on the project and other stuff. I was the last one to leave at 4 pm (after MANY students left earlier), then not much was done soon after. I wasnt too surprised upon finding out the names of the classmates who got debarred from exam... at least the outcome is slightly better than the last semester. But the fact that one of the debarred students (i wont mention the name) could actually go on holiday before school vacation pisses me off greatly (WTH!!!). Im not against anyone going on holiday of course, but AT LEAST GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT!!

After dinner wif Mum outside, I watched "Stories Of Love" at 8 pm... Rebecca so adorable as the Vietnamese bride Ai Thien!! I must say her portrayal is quite convincing, esp when she spoke in Vietnamese... if I must admit, its even more convincing than Jesseca's Ruan Mian Mian role.
In just a few minutes, it's gonna be the last episode of "Girl On Girl" (sniff, Thursday nights will never be the same without the 6 gals)... I hope my fave girl Regine Tang (aka the chirpy bimbo) wins the $10K!!

Aging Mars, Youthful Venus in 8 days

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICHAEL JACKSON, CHEN HANWEI AND ANDREA FONSEKA

There is an upcoming wedding scene yet again next week... again, it involves Felicia and Tay Ping Hui at the same old CHIJMES. But I had decided not to be part of it. Reason being, I need to finish the school assignments by next week. Truth be told, I would rather spend Tuesday morning finishing the Character Design assignments than idling away at the church and doing very little there other than wait. Still, I think I may be going to CHIJMES straight after school to take a look...

Speaking abt TPH and Fel, they are featured in this week's 8 days. Due to time constraint owing to my rather heavy schoolload, I got no time to put up Threepio or Artoo or even good ol' Spidey, so here are the pics for all to see... :-)

CSS 2... joke of the year!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREAT KHALI, RYAN AND MYLENE


Attendance for the past 2 days was at its worst once again (only 8 people today???)... still I got to watch Rush Hour 3 once more (wif some help from James)... and complete a certain test for CSM (a rather tough enquiry letter).
While I dont haf anything to say abt the usual absentees, I do haf something to say abt the Campus Superstar finals!! I may not be a follower of the show at all, but I know too well that CSS had gotta be the lamest concept ever thought of in 25 years of showbiz. And the winner of CSS season 2 had gotta be the BIGGEST JOKE, in the form of a really small boy (see the irony?) named Shawn Tok. I cant believe he could actually get more votes than Benjamin... things might haf been better if Shawn didnt make it past the Revival Round. I never thought that this small kid whose vocals aren't so good can upstage the taller guys to emerge at the top; the moment Shawn survived the semi-finals, I was thinking, "Die liao, he sure going to win this, no doubt.". I am so ashamed of the results, I cant comment anymore on this. I feel its is really a big waste for the young kids to splurge their money by SMSing non-stop to vote for their faves, and then they end up paying a lot of money for their phone bills and giving more smiles to Mediacorp. It would be much better if CSS neger came back for a second season... last yr's winner Chee Yang is many times better than Shawn btw. EVEN Joakim is much better. Shawn as champion of CSS 2 is clearly the best example of an individual being chosen by popularity rather than talent.
On another note, I find it very biased that the winners for all the singing competitions (except Talentime 2000 perhaps?) are male. If the solo winners for solo or group category for "Live The Dream" are male, I think Im gonna fall off the chair...

Dedication to the leggy beauty

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VINCE MCMAHON AND DICK LEE
Start of the Virgo Star

I think I better stop making any more condemning posts on anyone right now, cos Mdm Rashidah seemed to haf discovered some of our activities outside school... I never even said anything bad abt any teacher at all!! As always, I was very disappointed wif the few 'friends' who are close to getting debarred (no mention of names)...
Two more days before Mum and Tris make their return!! In the meantime, I dedicate this song to the pretty girl I took pic wif very recently...

MAROON 5- THIS LOVE

I was so high I did not recognize
The fire burning in her eyes
The chaos that controlled my mind
Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane
Never to return again
But always in my heart

This love has taken its toll on me
She said goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore
Woahh... woahh... woahhh...

I tried my best to feed her appetite
Keep her coming every night
So hard to keep her satisfied
Kept playing love like it was just a game
Pretending to feel the same
Then turn around and leave again

This love has taken its toll on me
She said goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore
Woahhh... woahhh... woahhh...

I'll fix these broken things, repair your broken wings
And make sure everything's alright
My pressure on your hips, sinking my fingertips
Into every inch of you
Cause I know that's what you want me to do

This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And my heart is breaking in front of me
She said Goodbye too many times before
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore... (fade)

Rush Hour 3 + great success (Yoda style)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RAY PARK (DARTH MAUL), JASON LING, NAT HO, ADRIAN AND FUNAKI

'Infected' wif Yoda's speech pattern problem, I am... at least for a while. Another ordinary day in school yet again it was today... the usual absentees there were, nuff said. Boring time in project lab means that we get early dismissal at 1430 hrs, bleah. And once reached home I did, surfed the Net as usual I did, and then go ahead wif my plans to watch 881 I decided to, at Ang Mo Kio Hub nonetheless.

BUT THEN HOR, upon reaching the place at 7 pm, realized I did that the tickets for 881 were completely SOLD OUT (DAMN!!) So what I do, mmm? After eating a quick dinner at Subway, decided to watch Rush Hour 3 I did (backup plan btw), and hang around video arcade nearby the cineplex entry I did (no choice but to watch 881 another time). Amazed by two very quick teens at the street basketball arcade section I was, and even more so by one guy playing House of The Dead 4 ALONE.

So watched Rush Hour 3 I did... movie quite fast at 1 hr 30 mins. Damn chioh and innocent Su Yang is, rather frightening Genievere is wif bald head (but still HAWT), and tight + litle steamy is Jasmine in cheongsam (would be a lot better if Soo Yang were the one in cheongsam instead). Very treacherous Kenji is, and very useful George the taxi driver was (he gets to kll someone in the end!!). A lot of crude yet hilarious moments in the film there are, one of them being the scene where the French nun translates what the surviving assassin is saying for Lee and Carter to hear. Also, the part where Carter and Master Yu (as well as Instructor Mi) get into a rather complicated conversation was worth remembering. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, worth the watch!! :-)

Ended at 2130 hrs the movie did, so what I do? I decided to make my way to Mediacorp lor... initially wanted to wait at Radiogate just in case, but too creepy it was, so decided to wait at foyer I did. oh ya, before turning left, I spotted two crickets sharing a rather intimate moment on the Mediacorp signboard... so I took pic of the two 'lovebugs' lor (since they dont haf any privacy). Took pic of adorable cat, I did too. I think sweetie pie Joey Fung walked past me... must be filming for "Path Of Gold" finished rather late.

At 2250 hrs, Andrea Fonseka finally arrived!! Felt supershy I did, as always (due to my HUGE weakness wif beautiful gals)... but of course i did tell Andrea who i was, then she shook my hand happily and said, "Oh hi, nice to meet u!". Then took pic wif the very cute and pretty Andrea i did, and signed her autograph on the FHM booklet she did, just before hopping into a cab... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Andrea is so tall man... feel like a dwarf next to her I do (she stands at 1.78 m leh!!). See her again next week I will, cos very important stuff I haf for her!!

Oh ya on the way to the bus stop at around 11 pm, I noticed that the crickets are STILL in their compromising position!! They must haf been stuck that way before I arrived, I guess (poor things)... too much testosterone perhaps?Muahahaha...

Sleepless yet delighted,

Tanat (great success!!)

Everybody repeat after me... w-w-w-w...

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! :-o

Miss Lu on 8 days once more! (blushes)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHEN LIPING, CIPTO, BRENDA AND JACINTHA

Today quite screwed up man... I woke up late and had to rush to school before 0930 hrs. I knew I missed out on PE, but thank goodness Mdm Banou wasnt mad at me. AT LEAST I got attend most of her lessons rite, unlike some people who live very far and yet purposely MIA every Monday and Tuesday. And thus Im not gonna bother helping Mr HP anymore since he is unable to improve himself.

Thinking of an original storyline for the final Character Design assignment was never an easy thing to do, cos u haf to use quite a lot of creativity to do so. And it is even harder to think up of names for the main characters. But I think I can come up wif a good story for the 3 characters for now... if I can finalise on the 3 characters' names that is. In the meantime, half the class got chased out from the classroom cos they weren't wearing school uniforms. Suddenly, the entire class seemed rather quiet without people like Mr ZK or Miss A around...

Ok ok, enough of all those complaints abt school attendance and whatnots. What truly brightened up my day was the fact that Rui En is on the cover of 8 days once more!!! I quickly SMSed Steph abt it, and she started jumping like a little gal!! Wahahaha... so high was I, I decided to use some creativty for the photos!! :-)

I HAVE to watch 881 by tomorrow... otherwise i will confirm go crazy. But Im still not sure whether to wait for a certain beauty outside Radiogate later at night...

SAF ranks part 4: Officer ranks

Boo hoo, Honor and Passion is finishing tonight... how i wished 4 weeks hadnt passed so quickly. 20 episodes is never enough leh... I can't wait to see the quadruple wedding scene at CHIJMES and try to spot myself on TV. It's been 3 months since the filming... wonder how it turns out. I remembered blushing like an ang pow after waving to Rui En, Felicia and Rebecca...

As Honor and Passion comes to an close in a few hours from now, I will close the chapter on SAF ranks with the list of Officer Ranks, from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant General.

OFFICER RANKS

SECOND LIEUTENANT
Second Lieutenant (2LT) is usually the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces. In most cases, newly commissioned officers do not remain at the rank for long before being promoted. Officers commissioned from the ranks may miss out the rank altogether.

(FIRST) LIEUTENANT
The senior grade of Lieutenant (LTA) is known as First Lieutenant in the United States, and as Lieutenant in the United Kingdom and the rest of the English-speaking world.
The Lieutenant was once the second officer in an infantry company or cavalry troop. The Captain was the company or troop commander and the third officer had a variety of titles, hence the difference in modern day rank titles. Some countries used First Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant for the two junior officers; some used Lieutenant and Senior Lieutenant; some used Lieutenant and Sub-Lieutenant; some (such as Britain) used Lieutenant and Ensign (infantry) or Cornet (cavalry). When the latter ranks were changed to Second Lieutenant, the senior rank remained as Lieutenant.

Lieutenant may also appear as part of a title used in various other organizations with a codified command structure. It often designates someone who is "second-in-command," and as such, may precede the name of the rank directly above it.

CAPTAIN
In military circles, the rank of Captain (CPT) has two different meanings:
Captain (naval)- a naval rank with a NATO rank code of OF-5.
Captain (army/air force)- an army or air force rank with a NATO rank code of OF-2.
Captain, as an army rank, has existed since as early as the Roman Empire, and perhaps even before. Translated as "Head Man", a Captain was most often in charge of a company or column of soldiers.

MAJOR
Major (MAJ) is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. Moreover, Major frequently denotes a mid-level command status officer (immediately superior to the rank of Captain and immediately subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel), however in some armies major is essentially a senior NCO (non-commissioned officer), a usage derived from "sergeant-major".
In most comparative military scales a Major is ranked as a "Level 4" (O-4) officer although some systems (among them the NATO rank codes) list a Major as a Level 3.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine corps and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a Major and below a Colonel.

COLONEL
Colonel (COL) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. The rank of Colonel is one of the oldest in existence, dating as far back as the time of the Roman Empire, and it is also used in some police departments.

BRIGADIER GENERAL/ REAR ADMIRAL (ONE STAR)
Brigadier General (BG) is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually just above colonel and just below major general. The naval equivalent is often commodore or rear admiral, but this depends on the rank system of the navy in question.

MAJOR GENERAL/ REAR ADMIRAL (TWO STAR)
Major General (MG) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer normally subordinate to a Lieutenant General and senior to a Brigadier General.

REAR ADMIRAL

Rear admiral (RADM) is a naval commissioned officer rank that is usually two-star rank ranking below Vice Admiral. It originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. Each Naval Squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head, who would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice, or vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval assault.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL/ VICE ADMIRAL
Lieutenant General (LG) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.
A Lieutenant General normally ranks immediately below a General and above a Major General. The term Major General is a shortened version of the previous term Sergeant Major General, which was in turn subordinate to Lieutenant General, which is why a Lieutenant General outranks a Major General whereas a Major is senior to a Lieutenant.
In many countries, a rank of Corps General has replaced the earlier rank of Lieutenant-General (e.g. France). However, for convenience, this is often translated into English as Lieutenant General.
Vice Admiral (VADM) is a naval commissioned officer rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. A Vice Admiral is typically senior to a Rear admiral and junior to an Admiral.

Unbelievable scenes and sending off

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HONG JUNYANG, BEN AFFLECK AND EDWARD NORTON

Yesterday was quite an interesting day to say the least. For Applied Design lesson... not much people came today as always. Miss R and Mr SH reached school very very late as always, among a few others. During Character Design lesson, most of the classmates started watching this movie titled "Jackass 2", a certain 'reality show' that featured a group of jackasses attempting to do several lame stunts and disgusting feats that no sane mind would dare do. Most of the stints were so disturbing, I guess it's best not to elaborate on the worst ones at all...
Mr HP, Mr HK and Mr ZK reached school during lunch break, and obviously I was damn pissed!! Then PJM lesson started at around 1230 hrs, and the class continued watching "Jackass 2" in the Project lab. The second assignment was completed rather easily (but not without tons of brain-racking). At around 1445 hrs, the discipline master "Mr Sideburnless" (forgot his surname) went inside to look for a certain jackass who lied that he was an "ITE Tampines Campus student"... that was none other than Mr ZK. He kena marked for not wearing school uniform and for having long hair. Likewise, Mr HK kena marked for wearing slippers and a jacket (wif no uniform either!!). I found it waaaay too ironic for Mr HP, a total jackass who had been going MIA almost every Monday and Tuesday, to speak up on behalf of Mr ZK by persuading Mr Sideburnless to give the Anakin Skywalker wannabe a chance. Still I think that those guys are really irresponsible, and if they're not careful, they might end up like Mr D in no time.
I reached home at 5 pm, got changed and went off to Changi Airport wif Mum, Tris and Wendy (meoww). Having check-in early, the four of us went to Fish n Co for dinner (being caught in a rather unexpected birthday bash for a toddler). Then we went to the viewing mall at around 1930 hrs... where we saw an Elvis impersonator dancing and crooning Elvis' greatest hits. It was then that I realized what day it was... the 30th anniversary of Elvis' demise!! Wow, how time flies... then Mum and Tris entered the departure hall at 8 pm... me and Wendy headed for the bus terminal, waiting for our respective buses, which came a few seconds apart.
And so begins the start of a totally different week... my first time being at home alone, something that I had not experienced since 2 years back (when parents went for a certain Bible camp for 3 days, and Tris was in USA).

New discoveries and more boredom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KEESENG AND GRACIA

Yesterday was another mediocre day in school as usual... I managed to finish the APD assignment on newsletter, and went to Bras Basah to print the documents after school. But Color Doc was closed, so I decided to try my luck elsewhere... on the way out of Bras Basah Complex, there was one guy who waved at me... MELVIN from M n S??? I was surprised that he recognised me first!! :-O I thought abt going to the printing outlet at Sunshine Plaza, til I noticed a certain Ling Images shop just opposite Bugis Junction. I started to blush as the thin and sweet gal named Pei En spoke in her gentle, cutesy voice (she looked a bit like Miss April). If I had known earlier, I should haf requested to print both documents at A4 size!! DOH!!!! Anyway, I continued blushed after retrieving the files, and then saw Bus 7 as I got out of the palce... and quickly rushed to the bus stop!! Whew, managed to catch it in the nick of time... work from 5 to 10 pm (wif more blushing upon serving several mei nus, heh).
Today super dull xiah... so few people turned up for Applied Design lesson as always. And then Mr Mansor's lesson from 11 to 2 pm kena cancelled, so the lunch break was slightly longer than usual. Fortunately, Miss Ain's lesson started rather early at 1245 hrs (in the Tellytubby lab), so no need to take a nap. As usual, there were usual absentees (whom I shall not name), and when the clock struck 1530 hrs, I left the lab in a hurry, in case a 'certain monkey' pounce at me and do some funny action.
Arghhhh.... tomorrow Mum and Bro will be flying off to Thailand, and I will be all alone for the upcoming week!! Dunno how Im gonna cope in solitude and take care of myself...

Irritation and boredom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KENNY TANG, SZELI AND HALLE BERRY


Wah piang, I (along wif few other classmates) had no idea that there was no PE at all... and I had no idea that Mr Z would pester me continuously during the one hour prior to the next lesson. To think he would take his own studies for granted when he didnt come for quite a lot of days, esp after a third warning letter!! It would be a lot better if Mr Z got rid of his 'Anakin Skywalker' hairstyle for good...
Not much done during Miss April's lesson... just starting out on caricature. Unsurprisingly, Mr H didnt turn up for lesson yet again (tho Miss R's appearance after another lengthy absense did piss me off a little). Sometimes too few lessons on Tuesdays may not work too well...
The DVDs for 300, TMNT and Bridge To Terabithia are out already, and that must mean... the Spider-Man 3 DVD may be out by end of this month or early next month!! Woo hoo, cant wait to buy it... not sure whether to buy Ghost Rider and TMNT DVDs or not.

Fed up wif school attendance

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EELYN, EILANIA AND ARIEL GOH

Seriously, I am quite fed up with the attitudes of many classmates... Miss April's lesson starts at 10 am and some of them prefer to eat in the canteen first, while others prefer to play CS in the Project lab (the few of us who attended Friday's lesson were dismissed early)... to make things worse, most of them already got warning letters for poor attendance xiah. And Mr H is still absent from school yet again... I noticed that he is absent EVERY MONDAY AND TUESDAY!! And he had missed nearly all of the Character Design lessons as a result!!
I seriously wonder if this is the kind of studying environment I want, or even the 'kind of life' I want... out of abt 22 students, only a handful of them are willing to study, while the rest prefer to dwell in their own misery. Sigh, when will they ever come to their senses?
Due to the conflicting issues of the Star Wars Monopoly game in commemorance of the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise, I have decided to transfer the details in a separate blog... do click on this link: http://starwarsrandomarchives.blogspot.com/

SAF ranks part 3: Warrant Officer ranks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO IAN McDIARMID (PALPATINE), JONATHAN COACHMAN AND GAVIN

Honor and Passion got a very high viewership rating with over 66000 viewers for the first week, and slightlym more for the second week!! And now I focus on Part 3 of the SAF ranks...

WARRANT OFFICER RANKSThe rank insignia for officers and warrant officers are worn on the shoulder boards with the appropriate background (green for Army, black for Navy, blue for Air Force, camouflage, etc.).
SECOND WARRANT OFFICER
Second Warrant Officer (2WO) is the most junior of the Warrant Officers. Second Warrant Officers are promoted from Master Sergeant after graduation from Joint Warrant Officer Course at SAF Warrant Officer School at Pasir Laba Camp. Previously, Staff Sergeants were allowed to attend this course and skip the rank of Master Sergeant but this is no longer possible.
Second Warrant Officers can take up many billets in command, staff, and instructional settings. They may be appointed Regimental Sergeant Major or Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant of battalion-sized unit. They may also work in staff positions at brigade-sized units.
Being highly experienced with tactics, weapons, and equipment, they usually will undergo at least one tour as an instructor in various training schools. In this regard, they often have more practical experience than the junior officers in command of them.

FIRST WARRANT OFFICER
First Warrant Officers may be given appointments such as Battalion Regimental Sergeant Major. They may serve tours as instructors, or on various staffs. As comparatively senior warrant officers, they may be given appointments normally given to commissioned officers at such as Quartermaster at non-combat units or platoon commander at training units.

MASTER WARRANT OFFICER
Master Warrant Officers (MWO) often hold senior leadership roles. The School Sergeant Major of Officer Cadet School is a Master Warrant Officer. He is in charge of the discipline of more than 800 officer cadets, in addition to the Specialists and more junior Warrant Officers there.


SENIOR WARRANT OFFICER
Senior Warrant Officer (SWO) is the highest Warrant Officer rank in the SAF. The service and formation Regimental Sergeant Majors are all Senior Warrant Officers. Many Senior Warrant Officers remain in SAF Warrant Officer School to train and groom Master Sergeants to be good Warrant Officers.

Post-NDP shocker!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PUSHYA AND MINGYU

As u may haf guessed, I didnt go to the National Day Parade at Marina Bay last night... I wouldnt really want to stay out so late in the midst of many people. I personally feel that it's better for me (and family) to watch the parade at home... the only parades I had been to are the ones in 1994 and 1998. My right knee which had been slightly bummed since Tuesday had somehow gotten better... and I'm still trying to figure out why.

Today's attendance was the WORST of all... ONLY 7 in attendance?!?! Looks like majority of the class (most of them are Malay some more!!) actually declare 10th August a 'self-imposed public holiday'... TERRIBLE!! Even after Mr D had been terminated for good, another Ponteng Menace is gonna be kicked out very soon... a certain Miss R (I want her to be FIRED!!). And Mr H who keeps going MIA reached school VERY VERY LATE again (as usual!)... and to make things worse, HE TRIED TO CALL ME BY HANDPHONE!!! Why should I even bother to help him when he can't help himself? No use telling him to wake up early or come to school on time when he refuses to change... so i purposely refused to answer his call and lied to him that my phone went flat (which is quite true, to a certain extent). Mr H may haf gained some fame as a member of SFB, but to me he's just as incorrigible as the other students who frequently absentee themselves. This is me being frank and honest.
With so few people present, we were all dismissed from school rather early at 1445 hrs... I went to the pasar malam at Hougang South to buy a few more stuff (since the stalls are gonna close this Sunday). Back at home, I managed to clear tons of old magazines... whew!! Now i got more room for new issues...

Mediocre National day celebration in school... AND THEN SOME

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
7th Aug- TWYLA LAI AND VANNESS WU
8th Aug- CLARENCE AND SHARON NEO

Yestrday started off in quite a crazy way... much better than last yr if i must admit.

0815- Morning assembly. It purposely started a little later to help the latecomers gather at the courtyard and avoid getting marked '0'. Then again... there's always the latecomers.

0830- Gather at the school hall. Lucky it's not at the auditorium cos the AV system there is TERRIBLE. The first item was a multi-racial dance involving 2 Chinese beauties, 2 Malay dancersand 1 Indian dancer. Lots of props used.

0915- Next item was a hip-hop item... this one was the worst hip-hop act I've ever seen. Almost all the 4 dancers seem rather half-hearted during the 5 min-plus item, as in they did not seem to put enough effort in their dance at all... and they actually walked off the stage before the music even came to a proper end! BIG THUMBS DOWN... I wont be surprised if they tried to take part in The Dance Floor.

0930- Kimberly gets up on stage to sing two songs, Whitney Houston's "I'm Saving All My Love For You" and Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This". Both songs were much better than last yr's sound system boo-boo... tho I couldnt help but feel that Kim seemed to be screaming thru the last few mins of the first song. Other than that, great job. :-)

0950- The Capoeira Dance. While 3 members play the various instruments, the other 4 members show an amazing display of capoeira kicks and turns. It wasnt as boring as I thot it to be... even if some of the members had lack of sleep. An idea for my upocming Character Design assignment perhaps?

1010- mini-play by 4 members of Music and Drama Company. Something to do wif a Singaporean girl named Eileen who has to work with a Chinese local and an Indian local on some project... while the 2 foreign students speak wif accents, Eileen speaks in Singlish, and obviously the 2 gals cant understand what she is saying. Super funny :-p

1030- Rock concert by some 'gay' band known as "Second Man Gang". Three of the members were dressed like women!! The music was too loud and the lead vocalist took off his dress after the first item. If Venom were present at that time, he sure will lose his powers upon being exposed to this deafening music... of all items, why end off the celebration wif a 40 min long rock performance again?!? It just kills the mood of celebrating National Day... luckily, most of the students headed for the canteen after the first item...

1100-1200- Slack time in the canteen. I was rather pissed (and unsurprised) to see a certain 'refugee' finally make his return after nearly 3 weeks of AWOL. Now I see his true colors... he had no wish to continue studying anymore, and his attitude was really TERRIBLE!! And from what I noticed, he was heading straight to the teachers' staffroom to sign an attrition form...

1200- 1500- Lessons as usual!!! Argghhhh... and we all thot things would be better if it were half-day instead! Lucky it was only Project Managemnt, so lots of Internet time, hehe. And my knee is still hurting like mad... (groan)

Readers, u may cringe at the ending remark here, but my dissent towards that ignorant Mr D remains intact, and that's a fact. With that, I got TWO WORDS... no wait, make that FOUR WORDS, for former student Danial... YOU REALLY SUCK BIGTIME

Simpsons Movie really funny!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEIHUI, DAPHNE YUN AND CALVEN NG

I went to watch The Simpsons movie ytd at Bugis Junction right after school ytd... VERY VERY FUNNY!! So full of DOH! I couldnt stop laughing after finding out the identity of the President in da movie... a former Mr Universe-cum-actor-cum-Governor who speaks wif a montonous Austrian accent, is more dim-witted than Homer Simpson and also extremely gullible! Lol there was also the shaman known as the BOOB LADY!! Most importantly, the movie focuses on the Simpsons trying to patch up their lives and saving the town they grew up in.

I rate this 4 out of 5 stars... worth the time and money!! Crude, lame and entertaining! :-D

SAF ranks part 2: Specialist ranks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JANICE, DAVE AND KAILING

SPECIALIST RANKS
Specialists wear their rank insignia on right and left sleeves. The top of their rank insignia should be 10 cm below the top of the sleeve, aligned to the crease.

THIRD SERGEANT
Third Sergeants are the most junior of Specialists, ranking above Corporals, who, in the SAF, are not considered Specialists and do not have command authority. In combat units, Third Sergeants are usually section commanders working directly under supervision of a commissioned officer. With experience and good performance, they may be appointed Platoon Sergeants.
Third Sergeants in the Singapore Armed Forces also hold other positions, usually commanding a group of man. For example Transport Supervisors or more commonly known as the MT (Mechanised Transport) Section Commanders. There are 3SGs holding the position of the Company Quartermaster Sergeant.

SECOND SERGEANT
Second Sergeants are more senior than Third Sergeants, but less senior than First Sergeants. In combat units, Second Sergeants often hold the appointment of Platoon Sergeant. They are often given instructional billets as well.

FIRST SERGEANTS
First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff Sergeants. In combat units, First Sergeants are often given the responsibility for independently-operating detachments of support weapons. They are often given instructional billets as well.

STAFF SERGEANTS
A Staff Sergeant (SSG) in the Singapore Armed Forces ranks above First Sergeant (1SG) and below Master Sergeant (MSG). It is the second most senior Specialist rank. Staff Sergeants are addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", but never "Sergeant". Staff Sergeants may be appointed Company Sergeant Major if they are due for promotion to Master Sergeant. In this capacity, they may be addressed as "Encik" (Malay for "Mister") by the officers and specialists in the company. The permission to do so by junior enlisted men, however, should not be taken for granted.

MASTER SERGEANT
Master Sergeant (MSG) is the highest Specialist rank in the SAF, ranking just above Staff Sergeant (SSG) and below Second Warrant Officer (2WO). Master Sergeants are addressed as "Master Sergeant", or "Master", and not "Sergeant".
Being the most senior Specialists in the SAF, Master Sergeants have an important role in guiding young soldiers. They often hold instructional positions. Some may hold the appointment of Company Sergeant Major (CSM). Within the company, the Master Sergeant is addressed by his appointment, "Sergeant Major". Officers and specialists may refer to him as "Encik", the Malay word for "mister", but the permission to do so should not be assumed by junior enlisted men.

Focus on 2 popular robots bought from pasar malam stalls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ARDENTASH AND RINO

The Pasar Malam stalls are back at Bedok and Hougang, and I bought some stuff from there...

- Star Saber toy

- Victory Leo toy

- Star Wars Monopoly set

- Spider-Man 3 cards

- Bookmark magnets of Transformers and Fantastic Four

I also ate a few Ramlee burgers on certain days... and bought a few more stuff at the Metro outlet at Century Square.

And now, Im gonna talk abt the two protagonists from the Transformers Victory series :-)

STAR SABER

In the year 2025, a skilled swordsman named Star Saber is chosen by God Ginrai as leader of the Autobots. Star Saber transforms into two robot forms, a smaller robot/plane named Saber combining with a sky sled known as the V-Star to form a larger ship or robot, similar to Ginrai combining with his trailer to form Super Ginrai. It is in this form he is known as Star Saber. His primary weapon is the star saber, a powerful sword. He also has a standard rifle at his disposal. In this form, his helmet/face resembles Optimus Prime's, with a Red helmet rather than blue. The smaller Brainmaster component that enters Saber's chest and becomes his face is named Yukio, which means Courage. He may combine with Victory Leo (The rebuilt God Ginrai) to form Victory Saber.

In the various Japanese Transformers series, all of the robots made into toys carry serial numbers, usually preceded by a letter denoting allegiance, or a new series. Star Saber's serial number is C-324. He is also the foster father of a young human boy named Jean (the French masculin pronunciation), who he rescued from the remains of a Destron (Decepticon) attack. Like any father, he wants what is best for his son, even taking the time to personally arrange Jan's transfer to a school so he could be with children his age.

Star Saber makes his first true appearance in the premiere episode of Transformers: Victory entitled "Star Saber, Hero of the Universe". This first episode also introduces his foster son Jean (pronounced Jan), notable members of the Autobot forces such as the Brainmasters as well as the Decepticon Emperor of Destruction Deszaras and his Dinoforce. He is apparently nigh-legendary and is considered the greatest swordsman in the universe.

As Supreme Commander, Star Saber has come to Earth in order to track down Deszaras, who has become the number one threat to space. Meanwhile, God Ginrai and his forces (which include the Godmasters from Masterforce), battle against Overlord and his troops. Deszaras is pleased by the fact that Star Saber himself has had to come to face him, as it is acknowledgement that he is now the most dangerous Decepticon alive. He is also eager to settle scores with Star Saber and it is clear that there is bad blood between the two. In their earlier battles, Star Saber is able to fight off Deszaras with relative ease, even though Deszaras himself rarely dirties his hands.
It is revealed later that when Star Saber was simply a commander (as opposed to Supreme Commander), he learnt that Deszaras had constructed a gigantic space fortress in his bid to be named Emperor of Destruction. Leading an Autobot army, he encountered Deszaras' forces in deep space in a violent battle. While the armies fought, Autobot strike teams sabotaged the fortress, draining it of energy and causing it to fall into a Dark Nebula. In the same episode where this is revealed a furious Deszaras, roused to fighting fury by the memory of his defeat, battles and nearly kills Star Saber. Star Saber is only saved by the fact that Deszaras had expended much of his energy trying to reactivate his fortress, forcing the Decepticon to retreat.

Nevertheless, Star Saber and his Autobot forces are successful for much of 2025 but eventually the Decepticons start inflicting hard blows. One of the first is struck by the Breast Force, who reveal their combined form of Liokaiser and severely wound him before being driven off by God Ginrai and the threat of further Autobot reinforcements. Another blow resulted in an ambush that severely wounded Star Saber and mortally wounded God Ginrai. Despite God Ginrai's rebirth into Victory Leo, it was a severe blow to Autobot morale and the unstable Victory Leo had to prove himself to the others (similar to the predicament the Dinobots once faced). The last blow results in the successful capture of enough energy to reactivate the Decepticon space fortress.

After Deszaras abandons the blindly loyal Dinoforce, the bitter Dinoforce commander informs the Autobots about the fortress' weak point. Star Saber leads an assault on the fortress and finally defeats his arch-enemy Deszaras in a final duel, after which the fortress destroyed by the Autobots after a hard-fought battle. Deszaras curses Star Saber before vanishing into the very dark nebula he'd fought so hard to free his fortress from.

VICTORY LEO

When the iconic Transformers character, Optimus Prime, was brought back to life in Marvel Comics Transformers series in 1988, he was recreated as a Powermaster - a Transformer which came with a small companion figure Hi-Q (a humanoid alien scientist from the planet Nebulos) who transformed into an engine and connected to the larger figure, unlocking the toy's ability to transform to robot mode. Naturally, Prime retained his famous red tractor trailer transformation, but could now also combine with his trailer to form a "super robot." In Japan, he was known as an entirely new character named Ginrai.

In 1989's Transformers: Victory the robotic God Ginrai rejoined the larger Autobot forces out in space, based in the G Nebula. However, attacks by Overlord drew his attention, necessitating the intervention of Autobot Supreme Commander, Star Saber, on occasion. In repayment for his aid, God Ginrai travelled to Earth to aid Star Saber in battle against the new Decepticon emperor, Deszaras, who inflicted devastating injuries to the Godmaster. His body utterly shattered, even Autobot scientists Perceptor and Wheeljack were unable to restore his mobility. Learning of a new conversion process conceived of by Star Saber, Ginrai insisted that he be subjected to it, even when Star Saber attempted to stop him - the process would completely transform Ginrai into a new form that could be used by Star Saber as a power up, and the commander refused to use Ginrai's body in so base a manner. Ginrai persisted, and the Autobots relented; Perceptor and Wheeljack initiated the process, and God Ginrai's body was completely reconfigured into the new form of the lion-bot, Victory Leo.
An unfortunately side-effect of the process left Victory Leo's mind and body unbalanced - immediately after his transformation, he began to run wild in his lion mode, displaying a more wild, feral nature than God Ginrai ever had, leaving Jan (Star Saber's adopted human son) dismayed at the apparent loss of the being he had considered his friend. When Jan was trapped in a collapsed building as Victory Leo battled the Breast Force, however, his pleas for help reached Victory Leo, and some measure of balance returned to his mind, leading him to rescue Jan.

Victory Leo was still not fully the being God Ginrai had been, retaining a more violent, short-tempered personality which sometimes brought him into conflict with the other Autobots - when Breast Force member Leozack impersonated Star Saber, Victory Leo realised that something was wrong, but none of his team-mates believed him. Even when Victory Leo tried to stop the Leozack from taking Victory Saber's combination information, the Autobots thought he was a traitor, until the real Star Saber showed up and Leozack was exposed, gaining Victory Leo his comrades' trust.

VICTORY SABER

When Deszaras threatened the Earth with orbital missile strikes if the Autobots interfered in the Decepticons' energy-gathering raids, Victory Leo had to be forcibly held back by the Brainmasters to prevent him from attacking their enemies and dooming the planet. Star Saber came to the rescue with a new unification circuit implanted within his body - with this new component, he and Victory Leo could combine their bodies into Victory Saber. Victory Leo's head, upper torso and arms attach to the back of Star Saber to form an upper rocket pack, whereas Victory Leo's main body and legs split into two and attach to the feet of Star Saber to form feet paddings. This combination, though incredibly strong, is exceedingly unstable due to Victory Leo's flawed personality.

When Deszaras finally succeeded in reactivating his colossal planet-destroying battle fortress, Victory Leo and Star Saber combined into Victory Saber and took to space to try and stop the deadly craft, only to be knocked out by its weapons and crash, unonsciousness, on its surface. Recovering as it transformed into its "Destroyer Mode", Victory Saber attacked again but was confronted by Breast Force combiner Liokaiser. At the same time, Jan arrived in his mobile mech with information that could destroy the fortress, and Victory Saber separated so that Star Saber could follow him into the fortress; Victory Leo took on Liokaiser and defeated him by hurling him into the fortress's cannon barrel. Jan then succeeded in beginning the fortress's destruction, and Deszaras, defeated by Star Saber, set the craft on collision course with Earth. Forming Victory Saber once again, the two heroes successfully destroyed the fortress and saved the planet.