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nights of booze and partying

Friday 28 September 2007 by ranon

so it's been 5 days since i've arrived in this foreign land with its unimaginably cold weather. the friends made here have been mindbowing, never did i exer expect to be able to adjust and fit in so easily coz i mean, afterall, this is a foreign land and the brits and europeans are known to be stuck up and arrogant. but, the group that we hang out with, like diana constantly reminds us, seems like a scene pulled out of friends, the tv series. haha. we've a kazakhstan born russian girl, a german girl from konstanz, an american dude all the way from florida, and two of us singaporean guys. haha. it's really crazy, and we've gone about cooking and going out to coventry and oxford. the crazy things we do. and of course, the endless beers at my place and the merry making. haha

so yes. i'm adjusting to life well here. the weather's unthinkable, but the people are great. you can just talk to anyone on the bus coz they're all freshers, and they're international students! so yea. just came back from coventry and as much as the seniors say it's a boring place, the history's mindblowing. the cathedral was so awe-inspiring, it makes you stop to take in the scene and you feel the lump in your throat build up. the old cathedral was burnt down by incendiary bombs during world war two, so what's left are the walls and they look great. the new chapel was cool. with so much literary inference and relevance. i'll post pics soon!

cherios

bushwhacked

Wednesday 26 September 2007 by ranon

so from where i left of last entry, the first step out of the airport to the coach bay was greeted by a cold wind that wouldn't have felt out of place in a singapore shopping centre with its aircon on at full blast, but this was outdoors in the great open, and it felt chilly. so i boarded the coach, found a nice spot and dozed off. i awoke midway through to glance outt the window to see where i was and instead, overheard the girl next to me say "singapore" as well as "chinatown and little india" to her friend. so i turned, said hi to both of them, said that i was from singapore and we struck up the conversation. so from henceforth, we went about orientation pretty much together. johanna from germany and diana, the kazkhstani-russian. then there's the american dude who lives across my room who hails from florida and speaks with such a heavily accented english it's almost unrecognisable. and there's ming zheng from s'pore. haha.

so we travelled all about campus to look for tesco's to buy groceries, tolietries and all other nonsense. had a great day walking around the place trying to figure out our way around, and putting up with diana's endless dry humour while attempting to christian me "the spy" and ming zheng the fat noodle and matt (the american dude)a killer of ducks and squirrels. so we got lost, so what, we had lotsa fun. exploring the grounds, the forests and the lake and all the other hostels was fun. and plucking berries off the trees upon diana's persuasion coz she grew up in the mountains, and then eating them was hilarious. haha

had dinner at the union and that's where we started our drinks made alot of noise, drumming the table and howling like animals. haha. wild cats. then there was the traditional barn dance which featured some country band playing while people were guided through the whole dance sequence to it. left around 11 and walked the girls back to their dorm and now i'm here. all unpacked, washed up and clean. and falling asleep. haha. tmr's oxford. can't really type now coz of the fatigue, but here are the photos!


just as i imagined it to be

on the bus to warwick

home, for the next 9 months at least

ducks. they're all over campus i tell you

crazy loopy diana

on the way to johanna's place

when you have ducks like these on campus,

you get shit all over.

slacking in diana's room, which has her own personal toilet. unfair. haha

sexed up american bloke - matt

my first english sunset

that's why i said she's crazy. chasing ducks for dinner.

sunset once again, over the lake

barn dance!

touchdown

Tuesday 25 September 2007 by ranon

I’m finally at London’s Heathrow airport terminal 3. After an excruciating 13 hours ride that included a very huge hiccup at the start, I’m finally in uk! Haha. The plane was delayed for about 15 mins at the start coz there was some engine problem and for the full 15 mins, there was NO aircon. It was so damn stuffy.

But the flight was beautiful. we flew over central asia and russia, over krakow and moscow and nuremberg. and as we approached heathrow and the plane began its descent, the city lights came into view and it was spectacuar. it was exactly how i envisioned it to be, right out of the movies.

So, i basically fell asleep the whole flight here and only woke up after all the meals were served. Haha. Still managed to get my rightful share of food eventually. So now I’m in a lil café here at the airport waiting for the warwick pickup service to start at 8, and I don’t know what the time is now. Shall ask the counter girl.

So yes. The last 24 hours were mindblowing. The truth has finally sunk in that I’m now in the uk and am about to embark on another stage in life, a stage I’ve been looking forward to and planning for in the last 8 months or so. It was a tearful farewell at changi airport, no thanks to my mum. And thank you all for being there. The clique – denzil, cass, chew, Daniel, claud and qian. The platoon – cpt alex, warrant eric, pk and andre. The others like cj, cpt eric, dingwen, jie wei, wei shu, joyce. Thank you all for coming down, and for the presents.

It was hard walking through the gates. It meant severing ties that were grown and bred back home temporarily for 9 months or so. 9 months can change a lot of things. People and friendships. It was intimidating walking through the gates looking as if nothing was holding me back. There were so many things pulling me back and I knew I had to let go just to pursue what dreams awaited for me here. It’s scary, but I know 9 months down the road, I’ll be back with the same bunch of people, and like jun ren said, friendships aren’t made to be broken that easily. Friendships aren't sustained merely through constantly meeting up, but it goes way beyond that. I’m trying my best to stay in contact with all the friends left behind hoping that I do not become a mere memory.

It was amazing to see who came to see me off.

Friends from Chinese high council like wei shu were there. I know han jie tried to come down but he was caught up with something else. They reminded me of the bestest school days one could ask for back in Chinese high, where everything seemed so much simpler and smaller then. It was also a time when things were always taken care of back in secondary school. Very reassuring. And there were the council days and the endless work to be done. Very fulfilling.

And then there were the bmt buddies dingwen and jie wei, it was nice seeing them there again, reminding ourselves of our foolish endeavours back in bmt that saw dingwen flying across the room in the middle of the night. Haha. And he appeared tonight with a bandaged leg and in crutches! The effort put it to travel from tampines to the airport in that. Thanks dude.

And there was the platoon. Oh man. They made the last 10 months in 36 sce so memorable. I learnt so much from the older guys, and had so much fun with the younger dudes. Haha. My mahjong sessions with chew andre and james. The beach outings. And the latest craze, company of heroes, which I will attempt to learn. Who could forget the Thailand trip where so many people got drunk along with the endless shopping and bargaining? I still remember carrying fat ass chew on piggy back to the main road only to be rejected by taxi drivers who didn’t want a sorry drunk boy in their cabs. haha

And of course there was the clique. All our clubbing sessions. My mambo nights with chew esp!! Haha. And everything else, from qian’s gig to our one and only beach outing, to our failed attempt at a proper mahjong session at cass’ place coz we ended up teaching denzil and no money was involved. I’m gonna miss all you guys. And zouk, and dear dear farasha. My mushroom and cheese prata. Oh luat!! Haha.

It was nice tracing back how far I’ve come looking at all the friends who appeared, and all the friends who didn’t but somehow or another made an attempt to meet up in the last few days in Singapore.

There was the Chinese high clique- Kelvin jia kai and qing zhen, minus Xavier. Kushinbo on Saturday and a long long chat that involved hiding excess an fruit tart in the candle holder of the min hot pot, only to be found out by the waiter who asked me whether he could clear it. Haha. What embarrassment. Haha. I remember the days back in the boarding school, where in retrospect, seemed a lot like living in a bunk in the army. Haha. Minus the strict regulations, there were the PT sessions that involved running around the namly area and coronation road, and the gym sessions at the waterfront gym. Haha. There was the endless mugging prepping for the prelims and O’s. how we used to sneak out of the room to watch tv late at night at the pantry area. Haha. And how all three of my room-mates stripped me and threw me out of the room, making me walk up and down the corridor in my underwear. Haha.

There was the eti gang that basically consisted of the cbre guys. Haha. Dinner at fisherman’s wharf across central at Clarke quay. The fish looked small, but the batter made all of us so damn full after the whole meal. It was good seeing them all for the last time, bitching about people we didn’t like during our cadet days, and just reminiscing about all the gruelling exercises we had gone through. And now that we’ve commissioned, bitching about people we didn’t like at work. Haha. Notice how the cycles goes on and on. Amazing I tell you. Haha. It’s gonna be great seeing them a year later and hear more stories of how they’ve ord-ed and moved on to getting new temp jobs, while ppl like denzil jon and cj continue their noble service to the nation. Haha.

Ok. I still haven’t figured out the time yet, but I see people I red wearing the university of warwick orientation shirts and carrying placards that read orientation. Think that’s my call to go. The temperature outside’s 10 degrees centigrade. Haha. It’s warmer inside than outside. And did I say that there were 2 other guys on the plane wearing the same jacket as I am. Haha. The influence of zara. Haha. Ok. More updates when I’m finally settled in..

P.S. I’ve no way of uploading this entry to my blog now, so it’s gonna be backdated. I already miss you guys. And truth be told, I teared at the holdgate reading the messages all of you sent, and reading the note that came with the jacket. Thanks, for the memories, and the companionship. There’s so much left behind, but it’s time I created new ones without you guys, and you guys without me, and we’ll have so much to share the next time we meet. We’re all growing up. And I’ll be back a changed man.


lil miss grumpy

the council buddy

the girls.

platoon 3. hooyah!

36 dudes

bmt s*** c*** buddies

the clique

platoon 3 hq

mum all red and teary

the rare guest

bro. and the weird ntuc plastic bag. haha

buddy!

RCK for the last time

everyone. thank you.

burnt

Wednesday 19 September 2007 by ranon

dinner last night with jon and cj. simple fare at thai express at city link, before heading off to menotti , an italian restaurant at raffles city, for wine and desserts, with a free margarita pizza thrown in. dinner was satisfying. extremely satisfying. and dessert wine's a refreshing new change coz it's much sweeter, not as bitter and slightly sparkly compared to normal red wine. complemented the desserts perfectly.


eod buddies


one for the night!

sentosa with the platoon today. met andre at harbour front who was glamourously late, but luckily marcus was there to drive all of us in. tanned for a bit before staff tay came with the food. basically everyone contributed some money to a pool and a buffet was catered for all of us. haha. but it was weird, a first even, that we had prawns and chilli crabs at a beach. haha. but no complaints man. beggars can't be choosers and i was damn hungry. took quite a bit of photos and then it was swimming and beach soccer and just alot of running around. haha. i'm damn burnt and every part of my body feels very raw and tender. haha. and jonathan didn't make it although he contributed the most since it was part of his incoming treat. he lost his wallet on the bus, along with my isac card!! and the powerpoint presentation that i'm gonna use during tmr's briefing's in it! fuck. so i've to go back to camp early to redo them. fuck. but you've gotta sympathise with jon lar. his wallet gone, and he didn't even get to make it for his very first outing with the platoon. that's gonna suck. headed down to cathay with some of them. they were playing company of heroes and i went to learn. haha. finally got home and am now lying on my bed trying to ease the burning sensation.


mr. lancer.


the platoon warrant.


thailand buys. the shades i mean. not the guys. haha. and andre, don't suck in your tummy. haha


the 3SGs.


the team commander who gave me my last bomb call and the scheme c captain.


finally, platoon 3! hooyah!


washed up

mindblowing weekend

Tuesday 18 September 2007 by ranon

had every intention to blog yesterday but was called away early in the morning. more on that later. haha.

so saturday lunch was spent with the chinese high and nanyang councillors at new york new york. mini slc gathering i suppose. it was great to see so many of them after so long. ppl like han jie whom i haven't seen since he left delta for medicine. haha. and damien poon who i last saw while doing guard duty in nee soon camp. esther yeo whom i've not seen since i bumped into her along citylink mall some months back. it was great catching up with all of them.

it kinda reminded me of council days back in chinese high. the fond memories of council sai kang with han jie, cleaning up and painting the council room and running about the school getting stuff done. yes, there was shit work to do even back then. and damien poon, my fpp buddy. all the crazy meetings at the craziest of times. and the final showdown during slc, where we spent wild times in the boarding school and bringing all the foreign participants about singapore. who could forget us oversleeping on the convention day and having to endure han jie's blackest face the whole day. haha. it was fun. those days back when we were so much younger. now everyone's bogged down by one thing or another, school, army, what not.

it's good to take a memory trip back into time with people whom you've lost contact with. it's assuring to know that no matter how much time has passed, people still stay more or less the same. shared memories remain a part of its contributors. it was nice seeing all of them again, knowing that you've not been forgotten, and that they have never left your mind. their habits, their nuances, all a part of memory that affixes their attributes to identity.

on a lighter note, it was my first time at new york new york, never really got a chance to try it coz people highly discouraged it. but i got a good dish i guess. carbonara with roast chicken. excellent stuff. haha


what i insist is an awkward couple photo. they're not by the way. a couple. haha


han jie and his addiction to cotton candy


ai lin pretending to be camera shy. haha. i'm sure.


what poon calls a stepford wife. hmmm


what the bill came up to.


the 8th SLC organising committee. the whackiest ever.

after lunch, headed down to town to meet denzil jet and dex for 881. ok, i've gotta admit, i fell asleep at some parts of it, but but but, i caught most parts of it. i could even tell jet that the little papaya died of liver cancer. haha. beat that. so yes. hokkien is like the funniest dialect ever. thought that the star of the show weren't either of the papayas, nor the durians, but auntie ling, the roly-poly loud-mouthed and abrasive auntie. she was so natural and goddamn hilarious. haha. and someone explain the "techno" thing. haha. and may and choy are arguably to worst mandarin-speaking people on the planet. haha. their laser bras were very very madonna-ish. the cones and all, lasers included.

went to timbre to chill after the show and the beer was fine. food was good. music was better. company amazing. haha. so we were just talking about life thus far, and about everything else under the sun. again, it brought back memories of the times we had back in eti. those were the defining months in my army life where i spent the most memorable of times. the exercises and the turn-outs were tough to get through, but the people made all the difference. friendships are not forged easily, but the toughest times brought people all over the world together, fighting for a common goal. it's amazing how life makes a sport of people. i was telling dex how i didn't really like him back in chinese high and rj, but look where we are now. haha. the army really changes people, and alot of other things too.


los lonely boys.


dex - obviously drunk.


last one for the night

i woke on sunday morning to the smell of fried prawns and bak kut teh. it was 10.30 i think and after washing up, i snuggled myself on the sofa in front of the tv and started reading the papers. at around 10.50, the phone rang and my phone read "ops room". my mind froze for a while, my heart skipped a beat and i remembered i was EO. haha. and true enough, my 5th and final eod call for the year!! oh my god. i was elated. what a way to say goodbye to singapore and 36 sce. and though it took me away from what promised to be a sumptuous home-cooked meal, duty to the nation was of a greater importance. more important than a craving for bak kut teh. haha. and i had to eventually cancel on kelvin for our toa payoh lorong 7 oh luat dinner. damn.

dinner later with denzil jon and cj. one week left. 7 days.

all packed, i think

Saturday 15 September 2007 by ranon

so wednesday's mambo night was superbly brilliant, mind blowing in every sense of the word. the kiangs, thiam aik, max, daniel and co were all there. everyone was a lil tipsy and high, read this cass and qian. haha. excellent music amongst the greatest of company. mambo is seriously the bestest shit around and nothing comes remotely close to it. haha.


at first there were two.

then three.

and finally there were four. check out max acting cute. haha

and so the story goes.

there was once a man, an extremely grumpy man who found no love from the one he loved.


so one fine day she showed some love,


only to find he loved another




when cass starts to look like claud. haha


and when qian looks like, erh, qian? haha

so i woke up extremely late on thursday. 12.30 to be exact. i was supposed to meet the warwick people at sentosa at 1 but i figured since it was already so late, i might as well skip it altogether. so halfway into my mid-day meal, one of the warwick seniors called me and asked to join them for the bbq. so i thought why not since i was on leave. packed my stuff and headed down. got lost for quite a bit and finally found them at siloso beach near the luge. played the last game with one team and then headed to the costa sands resort for the bbq.

it was a fruitful day i guess. a mini get together for the freshers to interact with not only the seniors, but with each other as well. met future house mates and course mates and plans have been made amongst ourselves to go about orientation together. and we're gonna do spanish together as a core module! and i got myself a cook who takes the form of a rj junior and she's gonna take care of the cooking while i provide the raw stuff, sauce and the cleaning services. haha. we're so gonna party all day there. the seniors were a great help too. providing information about every single last detail, from living to shopping to partying to getting a phone line. it was nice sitting there, all sticky and hot in the still night, just talking and making plans. i'm so looking forward to flying suddenly. all the apprehension and uncertainty set aside temporarily.

today was work back in camp as usual, nothing more other than the fact that the enlistees pissed me off so badly during pt we did extra pt under my close and watchful guidance. haha. and now my abs hurt when i sneeze or laugh. haha. left early to collect my visa and oh man, i look like a guy high on drugs in my visa photo. haha. met my mum for dinner and managed to fleece her of certain essentials that needed to be packed into my luggage. haha. bought packets of sauces and instant mixes and and other brick and brack to bring over and satiate all singaporean cravings. haha. made new specs and bought a year's supply of daily contacts too!

came home and started packing. and i've gotta admit i overestimated what a 31 inch luggage can contain. stuffed whatever i could in and it's almost overflowing and i'm still not done!! oh man. gonna re-pack next week when i've more things to put in. packing's a chore. but, the excitement's swelling and rushing to my head. the next week's gonna come and go and before i know it, monday the 24th will come and off i go.

tmr's lunch with the chinese high and nanyang councillors!! mini slc gathering. yaay.

i'm counting down the days. ahhhhh. someone quell this excitement and ecstasy in me pronto.