Reading(s).

While I was reading a textbook on one of the modules for the incoming semester, I fell asleep. Not suddenly, but the words slowly lulled me into a stupor and before I knew it I was...Is this a portent of things to come? With practice comes habit, so now comes the perfect time to master the skill of not-sleeping-while-reading-textbooks.

><

ICT I

Whoever said that reservist training is slack and easy going should really slap himself in the mouth. How is a 10km walk on day 2, IPPT on day 3, platoon battle course and combat night march on day 4 considered low key? The CO should pull his head out of the books and freaking take a walk on the ground with the men. That's the problem with staff officers, who do not know the meaning of adequate rest and recovery and how the excesses of civilian life can wreak havoc on one's fitness. That's also not to mention the various other soldiers from other units - how could one manage a 12km combat march after 6 years outside of the Army (he fell like a tree during the night march) ? Too much doctrine can get into one's head.

The men could have chosen not to attend this ICT, but by threatening to IV drip people who fall out and by denying medical treatment to those who claim they are ill is simply inhumane. We're not professional soldiers. Now what's the SAF hotline and my MP's number?

Getting Together

It's not easy to arrange a simple get together these days. People have commitments and it's not easy to find a day when all are free. Some just do not give a damn and will not be available anyway - other friends take precedence probably. To them (well there's strictly only one so far), I'm officially dropping them from my contact list. Though that'll mean they get left out for whatever outings from now on, I should think they won't mind. Ciao!

The old airport road market is one of the rapidly diminishing places in Singapore where one can enjoy good affordable food! That place is unlike Chomp Chomp or Newton, where BBQ seafood and oyster omelet stalls inundate the place, hoping to snare the unsuspecting customer with 30 dollar tiger prawns, but is like an ordinary hawker center with ordinary local food like fish ball noodles, dumpling noodles, fish soup and the like. And to top it off, it's decently tasting. I wouldn't say it's fantastic but it's reasonable. And it's very accessible from Bedok =).

MLM

At the insistence of a friend, I attended a 'business proposition' yesterday. I asked for more information, but was told that he was not the best person to dispense such information and that I would need to attend the talk to learn more from it. The first thing that came to my mind was. oh no, another effing MLM talk. My BMT buddy said exactly the same thing to me. Those who signed on with such companies are indeed well trained in recruiting!

Anyway, I've always been curious as to how these schemes work. The pitch was held at a modest ballroom at the Copthorne, and the speaker was some ex commando ex accountant turned MLMster. The first 20 mins was spent ridiculing the participants and their names (but that was probably just his own warped brand of humor), and the next 20 was spent on concept of franchising (think McDonalds, Subway) and the need to cut the middleman out of the supply chain.

Finally, after 40 minutes of a frankly quite tiring to listen to speech, he moved on the most important part. He represented Amway, Alticor, BritCorp, all of which are established MLM corporations in the States. The companies sold household necessities like shampoo, face wash, toothpaste etc. Now, instead of letting large companies like NTUC play the role of the distributor, he said, YOU be the distributor. For those in the crowd who didn't grasp the significance of this, he laid out an array of figures - 4% of everything sold at McDonalds goes to the founder (and he's 6ft under) so that amounts to about a few million daily. Of course, there's the mandatory introduce-the-top-producers section after the talk. We were shown how ordinary people like you and I can become top producers but were not told how much they made.

And therein lies the basis of most MLM schemes - they feed on one's desire to get rich, to break out of the rut, to earn as much as possible and the like. It's probably the sole motivation that drives the MLMsters. The speaker was very smart and careful not to state that his scheme would put you on the same level as the founder of McDonalds or Subway. Instead, he demonstrated that franchising works (it obviously does) and that he was offering us a chance to be a franchisee marketing daily necessities. He was also careful not to overstate the gains that one would get from buying the company's plans. At the end of the talk, many questions were left unanswered, such as the basis for the commissions and the franchisising system which the company offered. We were told that we had to attend another talk if we were interested.

Bottomline: I didn't like the way the speaker insinuated that we should disassociate with friends and even parents who are broke or not as rich as they should be. There's obviously nothing wrong with hanging out with people for who they are, and not what they are.

MLM works. But it is more suited for those who think that money is the means to all ends, including happiness, that to accumulate material wealth is the only Great Aim in life. And of course, if you would want your friends to associate you with their toothpaste, shampoo and face wash salesman. ><

IPPT

Gosh, I'm going to take an IPPT tomorrow without any prior training. I guess I'll just aim for a pass ><.

Movies worth watching

While doing a search for japanese and korean movies (yes I'm somehow attracted to those movies now after Suspect X and The Handsome Suit premiered), I stumbled upon this gem of a movie, Tampopo. Check it out after the jump.

Now, this is where I go omgwtfbbq.

April.

In the blink of an eye, the moots have come and gone and LAWR has ended! As with many other things in life, we don't appreciate things till they are gone. The entire process has had its bitter, sour and sweet moments, but on retrospect it had been a fantastic 4 months. The endless (and at times gruelling) study sessions opened my eyes to certain people and made me see them in a different light. But those days surely brought us closer and the fact that everything has ended has left me feeling that somehow, a part of me has disappeared.

Time heals, but I'll treasure those fond memories, long after the photos have faded and the company parted.

Stress is like a 1000lb bear wielding a chainsaw intent on putting fresh meat on the table for his cubs...

Radiohead

Tekapo, NZ

I just caught this on the news, and it seems that this place offers fantastic views of the night sky! A gateway to the milky way and the southern stars, as the newscaster put it. The residents are currently in negotiations with the UN to gazette the place as a UNESCO world heritage site, a starlight reserve site =).

Genki Rockets

Mint Royale Selects

Mint Royale - Singin In The Rain -

Ice Cream

What's up with all the overpriced ice cream booths that the law club is bringing in? Instead of spending so much effort on such stuff, why not look into overhauling the food at the canteen? Who the heck pays $2.80 for a scoop of ice cream?! Then again I think many actually do but to me it just doesn't make sense to spend as much on deserts as I spend on lunch.

I wonder whatever happened to the old man with his bike chock full of cheap ice cream! I miss those days when we students were satisfied with paying just 50cents for a large scoop of ice cream wedged between 2 slices of bread which simply melted in the mouth. Our parents would probably recall the days of the flavoured ice balls which they held in their hands while eating! It was messy, but I bet nice, satisfying and...simple.

Random Musing

I wonder who reads my blog. Leave a tag ya? The oral presentations today were much better than I expected and it certainly pays to go in with a relaxed state of mind and, well, leave yourself to the disposal of the panel and the tutors. lol.

Hands

It is said that our eyes are the keys to our souls, but what about our hands? Our hands are more than capable of telling veritable stories of ourselves. Take for example, a farm hand who labors 18 hours daily - his hand would be covered all over with bunions and calluses, testimony of his constant company with the sickle, the hoe and the like. How about a princess? I bet her hand would be all dainty and smooth with nary a bump of extra skin. In a way, we can infer a person's life from the state of his or her hands.
Now hold your partner's or friend's hand. Feel for rough patches ( perhaps from time in the gym or canoeing), look out for the wrinkles ( too much Sun!) and conjure a palm map. The physical manifestation's of a person's life - all in his or her hands, and this is something that cannot be hidden easily. ;)

We're all dreamers in our own right.

RTFM

My advice to many of life's problems - RTFM!

Sem 2 Report Card

It's only day 2 and yet it feels as if 12 weeks have passed with nary any rest in sight. The readings and research tasks given on the first day have all hit us hard. Few will escape unscathed, but time is the true test of men!

The Wonders of BTC

Not the food! Although a dear friend of mine claims that she misses it, I still the food isn't as good as one would expect from a school canteen. There's only one decent stall out of seven! Not to mention the exorbitant prices but those rich kids have cash to burn so no one's complaining :S.

Otherwise, one cannot help but marvel at how the pool table, the gym and the study rooms are so close to each other. Plus a club room to play cards in. Now that's what I call seamless transition from work to play ;), all within the confines of school!

What a weekend!

And it was spent on night cycling and on a nice dinner hosted by encik at his house. I must say that this night cycling event was interesting and full of thrills. It is amazing how we managed to navigate our way from East Coast all the way to Vivocity and back again in record time, all on the back of a local street directory. Considering that this was the first time, our goals were pretty ambitious and I must say it was a good night spent. For those who know me, I pretty much refrain from overnight activities unless absolutely necessary =P.

Otherwise, the gathering at encik's house tonight brought back many memories of yore. Although only mon, alex, dl and shawn turned up (among the nsfs), we had a great time talking about the good old times and all those stupid things that we did last time. Strangely, it is almost a year since I orded. I do miss those days at company line and would very much like to return there to take a look at the buildings and rooms that contain so much memory. I've had a very fulfilling NS experience, and made many good friends (for life) along the way. Till next year then =D. And the food rocks.