Spiders 2

Weak direct-to-video sequel to the direct-to-video classic "Spiders." The original Lion's Gate film was an absolutely delicious heap of guilty-pleasure garbage, which featured teens investigating a government facility overrun with weapons-grade super monster spiders.
Like the original film, "Spiders II" boasts some impressive CGI effects. The monster spiders look really good here. But the film takes itself way too seriously. It starts off with a bang, then gets too talky, and finishes with a mildly entertaining climax.
A couple boating in the high seas run across another ship that was burned to a crisp. After a storm destroys their own craft, a giant cargo liner that happens to be in the area saves them. As it turns out, the cargo liner is being run by a mad doctor using the same super-spider technology we were introduced to in the first film to impregnate unsuspecting victims with "Alien"-like spider eggs. The husband, impregnated with one of the eggs, starts acting paranoid, and when he becomes suspicious that the crew of the ship is up to no good. Naturally his wife (Niznik) doesn't believe him. In the end, however, she turns out to be the tough-ass Ripley-esque bitch of the picture.
I still haven’t figured out yet why injecting spiders egg into humans and hatching them got to do with any DNA projects? Nonetheless, though not much of action, it’s still worth a shot when you have free time to spare.
Rate: 7.5/10

26/12/05

Merry Christmas ^_^

It’s the 25th of Dec again! Once every year, Christmas will come knocking on your door. On Christmas Eve, which was yesterday, lap asked me out to watch Chronicles of Narnia, which in turn changed to The Promise due to overwhelming response from Singaporean for Narnia. But in the end, we ended up eating dinner at Fin at Marina Square (which few BMT close friends and I went to just weeks ago) and playing dota at a LAN shop. We only played one match and even at 3v5, we won hands down. Tiring day but well, it was good to be with close friends for the Eve. Today, Christmas itself, it was the same as always, like any other festivals, I celebrated with relatives. And my cousin organized a birthday party at Costa Sand Resort today too. So I went to two place eating buffet. And having games and performances. It was a short gathering, with fun and laughter, some catching up and around 10+, back home to rest. Finally, I’m getting my appetite back. Hmm, all my festivals all year round is the same, how I wish one day, to break the mono life…

25/12/05

Never ending OT!!!

Finally confirmed posted at TAB PAC. But my official posting orders haven’t arrived yet, which means I still have a lot of inconvenience such as not having my own email account (which is extremely vital in this job at intranet), EDS account, AIOPS account, ISACC card and such. And this whole week I had been working over time all the way. Normally its 5.30pm to knock off, but I always knock off at 8pm. Even for my half-day which was supposed to knock off at 12.30pm, I knock off at 3pm. Like what I said in an earlier post, I’m just too slow in working, I believe it is a trial period for myself, one week learning, one week hands on myself, for the next week on, I will work harder and more efficiently, I hoped…

22/12/05

First hands on at work!

Today is the first day that I actually did some parts of my job scope myself. I knew I must have lazed around too much, and abit too cautious on my first try. I actually have to work overtime to finish a small amount of work that would have required much lesser time. But still, I think I still made some minor mistakes and some confusion over some small parts. Well, I think I will go back to work tomorrow and ask my upper study about the queries I have, even if they seem stupid a question to ask. Its time to start my brain working, work at an efficient rate and produce quality work. I’ve been too lazy for these past few months… And I actually didn’t update my blog at all! Nonetheless, the blog posts for these past months will be up, I am actually writing everything in words currently first before posting them up. And I notice something strange, whenever I am at work, I would have loss of appetite, bad stomachache, nauseous and wanted to vomit, I don’t know why, maybe it’s the stress? Or am I suffering from depression? Anyway, I hope these symptoms end soon…

19/12/05

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Baudelaire siblings are likable and clever, Violet (Emily Browning) young inventor, Klaus (Liam Aiken) reader and researcher, and baby sister Sunny (Kara Hoffman Shelby Hoffman) has sharper teeth than most beavers.
Unfortunately, none of this can alter the fact that after their parents perish in a terrible fire, the Baudelaires are placed in the care of Count Olaf, a man who is either a demented evil genius, an egomaniacal actor, Jim Carrey, or all three. Aided by a troupe of theatrical misfits, he hatches one outrageous plot after another to get his hands on the orphans’ vast inheritance, like the one involving the train.
After not being run over by a train, the Baudelaire children are removed from Count Olaf’s care and go to live with their Uncle Monty (Billy Connolly), a renowned snake expert. Things end badly after the arrival of a suspicious lab assistant named Stephano, a phrase which here means “Count Olaf in disguise.” The children are then shuffled off to their fearful Aunt Josephine’s (Meryl Streep). Sadly, disaster ensues, due to the appearance of a mysterious peg-legged sailor, an expression, which here means, “Would Jim Carrey with a peg-leg fool you?” Alarmingly, Count Olaf then hatches his most dastardly plot of all – a ploy whose real-life conclusion will give him control of the Baudelaire fortune!
The Baudelaires will have to stick together and use every ounce of courage, ingenuity, to stop Count Olaf. All may seem just as a series of unfortunate events, but all these only contributes to a real beginning. When all three of them stick together, there is home…
Rate: 7.5/10

18/12/05

King Kong

A classic film remade. 3 hours of outstanding play made the $9.50 more than worthwhile. For those who have watched it before, the first and second one, this third one is worth a catch still. For those who have never watched it before, this is a show never to be missed. Peter Jackson made all the state of arts so lifelike, so real, the dinosaurs, the Skull Island, the 1930s New York City, never to forget of course the King Kong. 1st hour on preparation to Skull Island, explaining the characters, love, characteristics, practically how the story came about. 2nd hour on the adventure on the island, the barbaric natives whose god is Kong, how they capture Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) for sacrifice to it, the dinosaurs, the huge insects and the various kind of life form only found on the island, the King Kong fighting scene and how the rescue mission went, together with the capture of King Kong. 3rd hour will be the typical scene in New York City where King Kong breaks loose and searches high and low for Ann Darrow and finally falling to its death from a high building. The most interesting part I guess would be the 2nd hour where King Kong fights with all its might, saving Ann Darrow from all kind of dangers and showing off his male superiority. Well, he would always stand upright and tilt his head, showing to Ann Darrow just how he is a King on that island, which practically sent the whole cinema went laughing. Naomi Watts is one of the best candidates for this film also. Quoting one of Carl Denham’s (something like that, not exact) in the show, “Jack said that there is a person best suited for the role, when I saw you, I knew it would be you. As the audience looked at you, they will cry along with you.” Seriously, I’m not sure whether its her acting skill or natural born this way, the scene where she cried, with tears rolling down her cheeks, or just looking sentimentally at King Kong, brought tears to my eyes and made my heart sank, especially at the last part where Kong eventually died. Watch it again if you have the time, definitely send yourself to the cinema with your family, friends or spouse if not, its a show that must be watched in the cinema, anywhere else, pirated DVD/VCD or downloaded crap, you will regret it. “Its not the plane that killed the beast, its the beauty...”
Rate: 10/10

17/12/05

Loss of appetite

I’m not sure why, maybe it was the stress from work, darn, I would never have guessed a clerk work in my Tengah Airbase is so stressful. The complexity and quantity of work are so much even though my work scope is reduced for now. I always have a bad tummy and no appetite at all for this week. Sigh, and today Qi and a few of us went to Sakura to celebrate her birthday late. Maybe it just wasn’t a good time, I’m not trying to be disrespectful or anything, it’s just that I’ve totally no appetite at all. I need to regain my appetite again...

16/12/05

Wig

A Korean film. Scary? NOPE. Storyline? TYPICAL. About a lady who bought a wig for her sister going bald from illness. And hey, that wig came from her husband’s mistress hairs (or not yet, because she loved him). And wait, I don’t even know if that’s a male of female from his/her looks. They said hairs were all sources of life. So eventually the wig took over her sister and tried to be with the husband. In the end, that lady burnt the wig, killed her sister and her husband (or ex more appropriate) died while saving her. Bad show, don’t waste money, case closed.
Rate: 3/10

11/12/05

Valiant

Valiant, an eager young pigeon files to London to join the Royal Homing Pigeon Service dreaming of becoming a hero. And he does, despite his small build; he manages to fly back an important message that can turn the tide of wars during World War II. This is a rather short film (just like any other animation), with a simple plot. A typical outcast, becoming a hero in the end, winning the heart of a beauty.
Rate: 5/10

11/12/05

Chicken Little

Chicken Little saw a piece of Sky falling and alerted everyone in town, causing mayhem. Not even Chicken Little only dad and his friends believed him and he became the laughing stock in town for very long until… He luckily became a baseball star, the town hero, after bringing a point for the town’s team. But it doesn’t last long until on the night of celebration, a piece of sky fell again. This time round, he alerted his three close friends, the ugly duckling, the fish and the pig. Through some adventure, they found that it was actually alien and were shocked to discover of a possible “invasion”. Again, his own dad doesn’t believe him. Well, in the end, the aliens really invaded and his dad believed in his son finally, and worked together to send the alien’s son back to its parents, saving the town. Thus, Chicken Little really became a real hero and like any other typical animation, he had the heart of the ugly duckling. But at least, its heart-warming when his father finally believed in him, and the laughter this show brought, well worth a watch.
Rate: 7/10

11/12/05

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

The worse of all the Harry Potter series, I cant explain why but it just is. Some said it was distorted from the original story, but I know not because I don’t read the story. This series touches on the affairs of heart. There is weak climax but overall a rather strong film maybe due to the fact of squeezing everything to 90minutes. But all that is worthwhile waiting for this film is probably only the revealing of Lord Voldemort, the actor and how he looks like. Hardcore fans of the storybook Harry Potter may not like this film, but movie fans may want to watch this during free time.
Rate: 7/10

22/11/05

Zathura

A kid version of the Jumanji dated 10 years ago. Brotherly love lost and found. Adults may find it somewhat abit too “young” for them, but actually, it isn’t too bad. A game of adventure with no quitting, putting the player straight into experiencing with their life, in space. The arts is great also, marvelous planets and stars and the galaxy. But compared with Jumanji, it still didn’t quite pack a punch.
Rate: 6.5/10

20/11/05

Malcolm Canteen

My first time here since coming to TAB in September. A simple place with a rice stall and a noodle stall and of course, drinks stall. Reasonably priced and good food, no wonder there isn’t many duty personnel eating over at the cookhouse. Too bad it closes everyday straight after/during lunch, so most probably I can only have my breakfast here. But anyway, I’ve plenty of time at my disposal now so I guess I will frequent here, hopefully I don’t get myself too fat too soon, haha.

18/11/05

First Day of Downgrade

A very boring day, reported at around 8am. Stayed inside the Training Branch, enjoying the air-con, having short naps every now and then, and only occasionally helping out when the sergeants need help. 1730 went back to bunk, took a shower and sleep. What a boring day, and more to come till I get my posting.

17/11/05

Downgrade!

After being in training for 9 weeks, I’ve confirmed to be downgraded. Actually, the date of downgrade dated 19/10/05, nearly a month ago. I’m not sure whether it was my officer that didn’t want to let me downgrade or what. I got this downgrade letter personally from the medical officer when I went over to take some painkillers and lotions. Of course, anyone would have guessed it would have been my officer pulling stunts, but oh well. I just felt it was wasted for my 9 weeks in here that I can’t POP along with the rest…

15/11/05

DVD Burner

Too many stuffs in my PC and I’ve been calculating between external hard drive and external DVD burner. After serious consideration, I’ve decided for an external DVD burner. It costs around $180 for the external DVD burner and a bundle of 50pcs DVD. I guess it would be an early Christmas present for myself to help the storage of my data in my PC. A trip down Sim Lim and testing out, it ends my day, sad ns life.

12/11/05

All About Love

Another Andy Lau film. Andy Lau plays two characters over here. Both as husbands of Charlene Choi and Charlie Yeung respectively. He first portrays a successful doctor with a bright future that has no time for his wife Charlene, working nearly 24/7. All these changed when his wife Charlene died during an accident and he regretted. Thus changing his life as a civil defence working in ambulance instead and strictly following his schedule. But one time, he changed his rules upon a return trip and saved Charlie Yeung in a car accident, and coincidentally, Charlie is dying and she had a heart transplant years ago, whose heart belonged to Charlene! Andy Lau felt a thing for her and checked up on her, maybe it was the heart linking. Then upon learning that Charlie’s husband had left her for Japan and that she doesn’t have much time left, he decided to impersonate to leave her with a good memory. Alas, she knew from some point of time that he was not her husband but really appreciated his intention. And when her real husband is back, she is already on the verge of deathbed. When she went, Andy Lau received a letter from her, telling him she was thankful for his accompany all this while on behalf of her husband and it was time for him to let go and move on with his life, said on behalf of Charlene’s.
Rate: 7/10

06/11/05

Mr & Mrs Smith

A poor show. Both of them talking, revealing how they met, how they assassinate each other and how they finally went back together to survive. No climax, not a strong film and boring at times except for the gunfights. No revealing of the boss behind wanting both of them dead and no practical ending of the film. Waste of time and money, if not for Brad and Angelina.
Rate: 5/10

05/11/05

The Longest Yard

What took me so long to see this show, I don’t know, but luckily I watched it or else I would have regretted. Paul Crewe, a renowned football player went into a prison. The warden and prison guards threatened him into forming a prisoner team to engage the guards’ team. Its real exciting seeing how they plan and train and recruit during that short one-month, becoming a real football team. But during the climax of the clash, the warden threatens Paul Crewe with a charge of murder if he doesn’t lose deliberately. And which he did, but only under the agreement that his teammate will not be attacked during the match. After he saw his teammate falling one by one, he decides enough is enough and he goes on the pitch but none of his teammate believes in him anymore. So he had to brush through all the tackles alone to regain his teammates’ trust. He told them the truth, which was really touching at this point of time, and they forgive him and work together to win the match.
Rate: 8/10

05/11/05

Seed of Chucky

Do you like pure core and violence? If you answered yes, this show is for you. I watched this show only because I wanted to follow the Chucky film. Chucky and Tiffany child is actually a split, a boy and a girl where the boy is gentle and peace loving and the girl is as violent if not more than her parents. In the end, Tiffany (remember that doll bride?) and the boy and girl get reborn into human by dark magic, with Chucky supposedly dead, but at the ending of the show, an arm of Chucky was sent to them, and I guess another series will be coming sooner or later. Don’t they ever know that extending a show that was not supposed to only bring doom to it? The first was the best; the second was not bad, the rest just was not right.
Rate: 4/10

01/11/05

Ghosts of Mars

I wonder if anyone even hears of this show before. But remember XXX2? Well, the main lead there is the main lead here too. Anyway, this show is about the accidentally release of the ghosts of the original Martian that resided in Mars before. They went on to possess the human on Mars (Mars is a colony of Earth), in a bid to kill and expel all humans whom they regard as invaders. When you killed the possessed, the ghost just comes out and possesses another, it doesn’t end. And it looks like a low-cost film. Maybe Ice Cube isn’t famous then. But watching the babe Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube fighting free is not too bad still. Just too bad there isn’t really an ending and the gunfights and explosion just looked so low-cost.
Rate: 4.5/10

30/10/05

Ghost Ship

A salvage crew that discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea soon notices, as they try to tow it back to land, that "strange things" happen. One by one dies, only Julianna Margulies survived. It is about a devil killing to earn souls by setting a gold plot. This devil never dies, it goes on and on, killing and killing, finding new ships, the expression on Julianna Margulies at the ending, says it all.
Rate: 6.5/10

30/10/05

Doom

The making of the classic game, Doom. And as like any other film, it is another scientist experiment went wrong, changing humans into demons. Reaper is the selected one, though injected with the new chromosome; he became the super human instead of the demon. See the epic battle between him and the Rock. Unique point is the 1st person shooter mode, just like when you are playing in game. Full of climax and is a strong film. If you missed it, buy a vcd or dvd to watch.
Rate: 8.5/10

29/10/05

Night Watch

This whole show is in Russian! Basically it’s about the night-watcher and the day-watcher, each representing the light and the dark. After a long deuce, the “one” is born, and has the power to turn the tide completely towards one side. Both race to enticed him to their side. A father who’s wrong years ago, had the child in despair and choosing the dark…
Rate: 7/10

23/10/05

Brothers Grimm

Matt Damon and Heath Ledger take on the roles of Brothers Grimm in this film, and hey, it’s not a film about the actual Grimm brothers that wrote those fairy stories, but a film on a pair of brothers Grimm. The Brothers Grimm is a pair of bogus that team up with a couple of people to cheat rewards out from village for bogus exorcisms. But now, they encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse that requires their genuine courage instead. In this film, you will be able to see characters from the fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers coming to live, Little Red Riding Hood, Gingerbread man, etc. Watch them fight against all odds to defeat the witch queen and restore peace. This film is dark, yet beautiful.
Rate: 8/10

22/10/05

BCSS

BCSS refers to Basic Chemical Survival Skill. It is a 2-day course, during which we will be wearing Mob-4 all the way. Just when we thought long-4 was terrible, hot and stuffy, Mob-4 is way worse. Then we did all the drills, the procedure of wearing and taking off, the Mob-1, Mob-2, Mob-3, Mob-4. It will just make you wonder how anyone is going to war in that kind of gears? Though I agree that protection against chemical or even biological attack is important, but surely lighter wears can be improvised. And because of my lungs problem, I’m being excused from the gas chamber, I felt that it was really a great pity, as I really would like to experience how it is like after going through all the drills and the course for the whole duration…

21/10/05

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

The Corpse Bride is a wonderful emotional yet fun story with heart. The visuals are so amazing that you'd have to go see the movie with your own eyes for its impossible to explain its perfection. The characters all look stunning and there are so many wonderful new characters in this movie that will keep your eyes glued on the screen. The voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson are packed with fantastic emotion and acting. The score goes very well to the movie and the four songs that are performed sound wonderful. My favorites were "Remains of the Day" made me feel like dancing: it was such a jazzy fun song with the cool voice of Danny Elfmen. And my other favorite was "Tears To Shed" it broke my heart. Helena Bonham Carter sang that song with such heartbreak I loved it! The story is very entertaining and it has so much heart in it and Gothic like background. It is about a shy groom that practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman. And she rises from the grave assuming he has married her. I loved the dialog some of my favorite lines were "Why Go Up There When People Are Dying To Get Down Here" and "Can A Heart Still Break Once It's Stopped Beating." But the most important thing is that this movie makes you feel less frightened about death. Death in this movie is a lot funnier than living and the dead are always having a good time and partying that you feel like dying is not so bad. You should take anyone to see this movie if their paranoid about death it will soften their fears, Overall I strongly encourage anyone to go see this movie.
Rate: 8.5/10

15/10/05

Having Fun With Weapons

It’s so fun handling all different type of weapons in the army. The GPMG, the SAW, the AR15, the LAW, etc. But the chore of maintaining the weapons is really tiring and tough. Now I just want to fire all of them! But just too bad I can only fire SAW and AR15 due to the fact of being out of course… If I have a chance, I would really much like to handle bigger weapons like those on tanks, mobile vehicles, aircrafts, vessels, and submarines… It is in army that we can legally handle and fire weapons disregards of scale! Oh well, back to dreaming again…

14/10/05

Tales of Eternia

Based on popular Playstation RPG of same name. Though the characters in Tales of Eternia are fairly archetypal, they remain interesting and charming throughout the production, with nice character design, good interaction between the leads, and a lot of cute girls. (Look in particular for Hayashibara Megumi in a non-squeaky role as Maronne, and Horie Yui as the klutzy, cute, wannabe minstrel Corrina.) The acting is, while not spectacular, quite competent, which is a good thing because there isn't a whole lot of action to be had in this series.
Wait a second. A fantasy adventure without a whole lot of action? Well, there are a few action scenes (at least once an episode), which are for the most part capably handled (with named attack moves, and "Crystal Spirits" which facilitate elemental magic spells - and even tips on which spells to use!), but since for the most part the cast is marooned on a tropical island, there isn't a whole lot of exploring or monster mashing to do. High-powered moves take a back seat to character interaction, and while the development of the plot seems only the enhance the archetypal nature of the characters, it's still done effectively and a nice change of pace from series like Bastard.
Of course, a lot of people might not exactly care about the whole adventuring bit, as the concept of a gaggle of cute girls on a tropical island means lots of scenes where the girls are less than fully clothed.
Of course, when you get to the actual plot (which does eventually kick in), it's occasionally (and thankfully) clever and innovative, and it's helped immensely by the glossy, colorful, and generally pretty animation, which only rarely goes into the territory of stock or degraded footage. Even the seemingly filler episodes advance the story in subtle ways, and while we could've done without a couple of the clinches in here, it's forgivable. And while the background music isn't buy-this-soundtrack-now good, the opening and ending tracks are very nicely done.
Being as short as it is, Tales of Eternia is unlikely to be a magnum opus of fantasy anime. But it's pretty, cute, and has a good sense of humor, which is definitely enough for the dedicated fantasy anime viewer. Enjoy!
A solid series that is consistently entertaining, gently funny, and very cute. Those who aren't big fans of fantasy with lots of pretty anime girls may remove one star.
Rate: 7.5/10

09/10/05

Seven Swords

Tsui Hark was the flagcarrier of Hong Kong action movies during the 1980's and early 1990's. Now, Tsui Hark is back, with Seven Swords, a character-driven and action-packed adventure.The story of Seven Swords is set in the 17th century, in which the conquering Manchu has established a new dynasty. A new law, which bans people from practicing martial-art, is issued to crack down any rebellion. The bloodthirsty Fire-Wind (Sun Honglei) forms a private army to enforce the law for the new empire. He not only kills people violated the law but also targets at whoever he can find, because he is rewarded for every kill. While Fire-Wind�s gang is raiding a wedding ceremony, an old man shows up to stop them. He is outnumbered and badly wounded before barely escapes the hand of Fire-Wind�s men. On his way to Bowei Village, he meets Wu Yuanying (Charlie Yeung), daughter of the village master. In the fortified village, the old man warns the villagers about the coming of Fire-Wind�s army and then he is identified as Fu Qingzhu (Liu Kia-Liang), a cold-blooded police officer of the previous dynasty, with Fire-Wind as his right-hand man. Fu claims he has already given up killing but no one believes his story except Wu. At that night, Wu Yuanying persuades Han Zibang, the horse wrangler, to set Fu Qingzhu free. Following Fu�s suggestion, three of them travel to Mt. Heaven to seek help from Master Huiming (Ma Jingwu). In Mt. Heaven, Fu retrieves his sword he surrendered, Wu Yuanying and Han Zhibang each is received a sword, and Master Huiming�s four disciples, Chu Zhaonan (Donnie Yen), Yang Yuncong (Leon Lai), Mu Lang (Duncan Chow) and Xin Longzi （Tai Li-Wu）are ordered to help the people of Bowei Village. As the seven warriors ride out of Mt. Heaven, the legend of a band called the Seven Swords begins. The action scenes are never as nice as what Tsui’s past film has achieved. Like all other period films of his, Tsui Hark once again threw us loads of crazy designs. Each of the seven swords was crafted with distinctive features and functions to coincide with the personality of its user. Fire-Wind’s men and a woman look nothing but mean, thanks to the hair, the armories, the battle tattoos and the weapons according to Tsui Hark’s sketches. The story is dragging along the length of plot, and unnecessary romance has been added in. Overall flow of the film is smooth yet there is simply no climax at all! Simply to say, I think he had tried to make his film artistic? The first 30 minutes was okay, the next 30 minutes was not bad, the last hour was simply too boring except for some action scenes. Hopefully, he can produce something like his past period film, I sounds like an old man here, but true fully, his past films were way more better than this one, hopefully Seven Swords sequence will be much better.
Rate: 5/10

09/10/05

Skeleton Key

Strong-minded Caroline Ellis is a driven young woman with no time for local tales of witchcraft and black magic. The young hospice worker is determined to make enough money to attend nursing school, even if it means taking a job as a live-in caretaker for the elderly owner of an isolated plantation house an hour's drive outside of New Orleans, deep in the atmospheric Louisiana delta renowned for the locals' mystical practices and powerful ceremonies. The decrepit Terrebonne Parish mansion is home to born-and-bred Southerners Violet and Ben Devereaux and both the house and its occupants seem weighted with somber histories. But for Caroline, the setting is unimportant--she's there to do her job, caring for Ben after a stroke has left him nearly paralyzed and mute. To make maneuvering throughout the large home an easier task, Violet entrusts the new live-in with a skeleton key that unlocks every door--including one that Caroline discovers obscured by a bookcase at the back of the house's attic. Seemingly forgotten, the room holds an intriguing mix of antiques, mirrors oddly banished from the rooms below and artifacts apparently connected to the practice of a strange kind of magic--a folk magic that conflicts directly with Caroline's common sense and pragmatic way of thinking.
The more Caroline explores to the help of Ben, slowly reveals the truth of the house, where a black couple lives forever through the dark arts/magic. But their magic works only when the victim believes in that certain arts, in which is a course they did slowly to poison the mind of the victim. Basically this show is about dark magic, simply no way in connection with the skeleton key, why the film name as such, I have no idea. There is abit of twist and turns when it slowly reveals that the couple is practicing dark arts to live forever and who they are. Other than that, there is absolutely nothing worth seeing in this film. Don’t waste your money, don’t waste your time, you can do something else much better.
Rate: 3.5/10

09/10/05

Wait 'Til You're Older

A new movie by Andy Lau. A story about a small boy who kept running away from home because of a supposedly broken family. His real mother died, and he was forced to live with his stepmother by his father. He wanted to grow fast, to be independent and out of the family, and falls in love with his teacher (Ying Cai Er). One day, he stumbled upon one medicine which hasten the aging process and thus fulfilling his dreams. He knew he grew up but what he didnt know was the aging process won't stop.

He did what he wanted to but couldn't when as a child. He went about helping everyone. His best friend, Da Xiong was finally accepted by the school basketball team after being kept out of that social circle all along. He helped his teacher (Ying Cai Er) to break out of the love triangle with the vice-principal (Lin Jia Dong) who was getting married with Miss Wong. And last, he finally realised what his family was about and what was meant by a complete home. The family was pieced together again. He lived through his life in a short 4-days period, but was a meaningful one, as he did and realized matters that he probably might not be able to in a normal life.

The ending was expected from the start, there just wasn't any antidote for anti-aging. It was abit sad yet a happy ending. Conflicts were solved and everyone else around him was going to live happily later on because of his efforts. Too bad he really aged on and died. It was most touching when he died in the arms of his "stepmother" (Karen Mok), saying "Let me help my mum to apologise to you, i don't wish for both of my mums to be sad", finally acknowledging her as his mum, and piecing the final bits to complete his home, where the movie finally drew to a close.

I think the show time will ends around the corner, i urged anyone who haven't watched it to go to the threatre right now, its not a MUST-WATCH, but definitely worth the ticket price. Go along with your family, your girlfriend/boyfriend or a couple of your best friends.
Rate: 8/10

09/10/05

The Myth

Intrepid archeologist Jack (Jackie Chan) and ambitious scientist William (Tony Leung Ka Fai) set out on an adventure that leads them to the greatest discovery in Chinese history. Their journey starts in Dasar, India, where they stumble upon an ancient sword from the Qin Dynasty, and a magical gemstone that appears to be able to defy the force of gravity. These finds not only lead them to a mythical mausoleum, but also connects Jack to his dark past life. Through strange and provocative dreams, Jack sees himself reincarnated as Meng Yi, a general who fell for the First Emperor's beautiful consort Ok Soo (Kim Hee Seon) some 2,000 years ago. As Meng Yi commands his troops in an increasingly desperate war against rebels, he also has to battle his own inner desires in choosing between eternal love and loyalty.

Back to the present day, where the final secret of the First Emperor is about to be revealed, as the two adventurers successfully enter the Heavenly Palace – a fortress loaded with death traps and unspeakable evils. But the closer Jack comes to this precious and final truth, the more he gets lost between the past and the present.

It is a story about the love and romance between Meng Yi and Ok Soo, where Im particularly enchanted by the beauty and the emotions of Ok Soo. She is just so beautiful, and her emotions on the face, occasional sweet smiles is so enchanting as opposed to Meng Yi's face which always felt like he is stuck between the devil and the sea. As the movie goes on, it begins to portrait fully and clearly the life and experience of Meng Yi and his encounter with Ok Soo. We already know that Jack is the reincarnation of Meng Yi. At the last part, when Jack tries to bring Ok Soo (ate the immortality pill) out of the Heavenly Palace which was crumbling, she sadly refuses and says she believes Meng Yi will return for her, as Jack revealed that he is not Meng Yi at all. Im not sure about the others, but me myself felt a tinge of saddness, deep into the heart, why they cant be together at all, Meng Yi had died long ago defending the path against the rebels. I would really have hoped to see them together at the end, sigh. And also the heavenly fortress is just so... magnificant, amazing, just look so grand and glamourous. The OST, Endless Love I & II sang by Jacky & Jin Xi Shan and Sun Nan & Han Hong, really touch the hearts, no matter in terms of just listening to it rhythm or the words, the song, really depicts the centuries deep love between the 2. It is not a must-watch film, but this 2 hours movie is definitely worth the money, and worth my recommendation to anyone.

For more movie review, go here: The Myth
Rate: 9/10

01/10/05

Ragnarok The Animation

Having recovered emotionally from the death of her brother Keough, Yufa, an acolyte, and her childhood friend, the swordsman Roan, set out for a new journey across the Rune-Midgard Kingdom. They are joined by the merchant Maya, the magician Takius, the hunter Judia and their old companion, the assassin Iruga. However it seems all is not well in this world, especially since Keough, who was believed to be dead, starts appearing to them once again...

Just before i went to my new vocation unit, i managed to get the whole episodes of Ragnarok The Animation. And today, i managed to finish watching it, despite the very little amount of time left for book out (I was spending the whole of saturday buying stuffs for my new unit). I have not played the game itself, but i feel that this animation shows the towns, monsters, npc, and characters well each uniquely. This is my first time writing a post about an anime, im not really sure how to comment on one, so may not be very descriptive to the point. This anime shows the character slowly developing over time, romance and relationship among the party's characters. And there's always these party of three comical characters to add in some fun and laughter, but hey, they made a major impact on the victory of the final boss, the Dark Lord, somehow or rather.

For me, MMORPG or any RPG made into anime is fascinating for me. This is the type for me, if anyone has any recommendation, pls tell me, =D

A Sound of Thunder

Today, as of discussed yesterday, Joey and I went to Jubilee to watch “A Sound of Thunder”, the 3pm one. Somehow the person didn’t understand that we wanted middle row, and gave us the last row, and Joey didn’t check, and so, we were high up there, watching the show with the exit sign emitting bright lights straight at us throughout.

The show starts by showing the boss of the Time Safari Company, Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley), demonstrating the whole procedure of hunting in the prehistoric time, the safety measures taken to ensure that history is not altered in any way, in any size. They hunt for the same Tyrannosaurus at the exact same spot and time, makes people wonder why one hunting party doesn’t meet up with the previous ones (loophole Mr. Scriptwriter)? Then came this lady, Sonia Rand (Catherine McCormack), barging into the office and spraying reddish liquid onto the clients. Shouting that history will be altered and unknown consequences will occurred if the trips continue, as she was pulled away by the guards. Travis Ryer (Edward Burns), the main scientist responsible for the trip (he did it just because he wanted to study the extinct animals’ DNA from remote), caught up and asked the guards to let go, as he was very interested to know what Sonia was trying to say. And then they went on to talk about their initial interest, plans, and tricks pulled by Charles Hatton in the contract for doing the whole thing and well, nothing happened.

Then there was this one time, when there was an accident, whereby one of the personnel, Tech Officer Payne (David Oyelowo) damaged one gun without noticing it, which enabled the story going of course! Because the guns were designed and programmed in such a way that not until the lead, Travis Ryer starts to fire, no one can, just another precautionary measures to make sure clients do not shoot at anything else. So it goes on, they thought it was just another usual trips, until when the tyrannosaurus starts to threaten their life and their guns are malfunctioning. This starts the whole thing. (It was supposed to die there and then, but instead it was chasing after the hunting party, strange huh?) Travis Ryer tried to distract it until the guns were fixed, and both the clients were given instructions to hide behind the bushes. And long last, guns fixed, tyrannosaurus dead again, and they embarked on their way back. What they didn’t notice was a footprint left behind, with soils, which probably meant that someone DID step off the tracks. And the all-resourceful Charles Hatton manages to convince the clients that it was once in a lifetime, hard to get, escaped from death trip, which, stupidly both of which accepted.

On the night itself, there was some sort of a wave moving through the whole city. I don’t know what it was also until later part where they said it was a time wave, supposed to bring about the changes abruptly in an instant that was supposed to come slowly throughout millions of years. Strange plants started to grow in the city, tall, odd ones. This was the first evolutionary change. The very first to be affected will be the very first to come in the wave. No one thought of anything yet, just felt strange, awesome eh? Only until the next trip, whereby the hunting party went back to the designated time only to find that the tyrannosaurus was already dead, and they met up with the volcano eruption that was supposed to come 5 minutes later. The computer in charge insisted that it was right in the sending of time; Travis knew then that something is very wrong. After which, he went to find Sonia, trying to get some answers from her. Then strange things happened. There was a cry from outside her apartment as they were in the midst of their discussion; they went to open the door, only to find a human being covered by small, black things. That figure fell, only to reveal that it was ‘eaten’ up by the ‘insects’ that looks quite like ants but much bigger. Both of them panicked and Travis Ryer started spraying water from a hose to try and halt the marching army of insects. This unknowingly sparkles one of the electricity area. Travis saw it and pulled Sonia along as they jumped off the balcony. They were supposed to be dead in this way, but just at this moment of time, another time wave hits. And they fell onto the branches of an enormous tree, which was not there just seconds ago. They were astonished to find that the city is now, a tree city, full of forested areas.

All of them gathered at the Time Safari. It was decided that Travis would travel back to stop the hunting party so that all these evolutionary changes would be stopped and everything be back to normal. And just when Travis was traveling, another time wave hit again! And because of this wave, they realized that it was impossible to travel through the time wave to reach that time when everything started to change (hunting party). But quickly, Sonia came up with one and only way, and that was to throw Travis further back in time (hunting at 65million yrs ago, thrown to 65.1million yrs ago), before pulling him forward 0.1million years to the actual scenes. But this way, the atomic particles are simply not stable enough, and Travis only has a time span of 15-20 seconds to stop the hunting party. Clearly not enough, they have to find out exactly what did they change, so they could tackle the problem straight away in the limited time allowed. Viewing from the video, no one can seem to find anything wrong. But a check discloses the fact that an extra 1.3grams was brought back. Charles Hatton find that the Anti-Bio something feature (sorry, didn’t remember the name) was too expensive to be used and didn’t use it at all, which would have stopped any bio items from entering this dimension. There was no time left, human will be affected in the last time wave (supposedly humans are the last to be affected by the changes), which was no more than a few more. They HAVE to find the clients to know what was brought back.

In a party of five, Travis, Sonia, Payne, Dr. Lucas (Wilfried Hochholdinger) and Jenny Krase (Jemima Rooper), they decided to find the client that was always in a frantic state during the trip, because they believed he had the most possibility of stepping off the track. They moved through a park, the nearest way to the client, where they were observed and followed by an unknown thing. Payne while complaining about wanted to go home accidentally stepped on a thorn-like stem, where it quickly snapped up and pierce its thorns into him. They heard noises and shuffling of movements, in turns leading to hasten pace and they were out in a more open area soon enough. Out of a sudden, a creature jumped out of nowhere and grabbed Dr. Lucas away. Travis immediately entrust the injured Payne to the ladies and chase after it with his hydro gun. He was stunned to find out what creature it was. It had a gorilla face, strong limbs and two very long teeth, longer than a vampire, having a tail too (komodo lizard with gorilla face and cobra fangs?). With no time to lose, Travis fired a shot at the creature, which was useless as the gorilla (I will call it this here xD) had some sort of armored body. It was amazing, because the hydro gun has firepower no less than shotguns, except that it was shooting ice instead of bullets. The gorilla ignored him, trying to eat up Dr. Lucas, but upon repeated firing, the gorilla was frustrated at being disturbed for his meal, he turned to face Travis, stood up high, raising its arms (like a gorilla), growling and showing its fangs. Travis took the chance and shot it at its chest/throat, which luckily is penetrable. Payne died here, killed and eaten by countless gorillas, as he was too injured to go on anymore.

The rest finally reached the place, which was near a mall. At the time of their arrival, they saw a father bringing a child right into the mall, to find foods. Gorillas attacked them, where Travis came in the nick of time, shooting at its throat and saved both the father and son. Then they saw, the remaining living residents actually lived inside a cage, and all armed, to fend against the gorillas. But if all the gorillas come and attacked together, I believed it was of no use, haha. They found the client in his apartment along with several other survivors. They checked through his equipments from the trip, nothing was found. He told them this (something like this): “Just because I was frantic, it doesn’t meant that I forgot and didn’t watched my actions, I did my safety precautionary measures well too!” which I think makes a lot of sense, another way of saying “do not judge a book by its cover”. Knowing that they had no chance of making their way to the other client on foot, this client offered his car to them.

Upon reached the destination, they were astonished to find that some people actually killed among themselves! When they reached the client, he was behaving strangely. In the end, he killed himself, marking that the changes could not be stopped. It was only here, that they knew, the plants that have the sensitive thorns-filled stems, which likes to attack people, actually have poison in the thorns, which causes hallucinations and mental breakdown of victims. And then, they saw it, a dead butterfly under one of the boots. Just imagine a butterfly that died just five minutes before its actual one (volcano what), could cause such a big change? During their drive back to the Time Safari (who knows what changed after many time waves), they were not alone. Creatures with wings attacked them (giant bats =D). The bats rammed on the side of the car, tore open the top cover, and there goes our dear Dr. Lucas (just simply cant escape death). And right at this moment, they were hit again by another time wave, throwing the car to its side. Strangely, all the bats disappeared.

Inside the Time Safari, they went to find out whether the time machine was still available for usage, and to search for anything they could find for usage. While Travis opened the cupboards, he found the police officer (deployed by the government to ensure time traveling is safe) hiding in one of them. The very first that the police officer muttered was: “Keep your volume down, you wouldn’t want to wake them up?” and he refused to leave with the rest for search of time machine. So after Sonia gotten the hard disk (containing program for time traveling), they left, leaving him behind. He was scared, and knew not what to do, and finally decided to follow them, which was rather, abit too late a decision. By then, the gorillas jumped from above (just what are they? Bats also? XD) and surrounded him, there goes another guy~

While walking inside something like a train, they found no way out, and decided to walk back. And at this very instant, the top of this place collapsed and buried the back. Water gushed in and filled the place. Knowing that the train would not be waterproof for long, Travis suggested blasting open a window and swim to safety. Jenny hesitated and asked for a little time for her to prepare mentally, and right at this time, a sea monster burst right in and pulled her out (eaten I guess). Water started to rush in, Travis and Sonia had no time to lose. Travis covered Sonia, as the sea monster (sea dragon I would call it) returned track. Of course Travis lost in the battle with the sea dragon, but well, luck would always be with the heroes and heroines. A big chunk of rock felled and cut the sea dragon into 2. Right then, Sonia dived back in and revived Travis (obviously drown but yet…).

Then they made their way back to a local university (I suppose Sonia works here). They were glad to find the time machine still intact. Travis began locking Sonia’s research lab up as they already knew the gorillas were hot on their tracks, coming in from all direction. As Travis prepare for take off, another time wave seems to hit, and the gorillas only had seconds more till they would break through and invade. Sonia timed it well, the doors were blasted open by the time wave, but Travis had already gone back in time. Meanwhile, all the gorillas were gone (god knows where they went) and well, we got a chance to see the evolved form of humans, lolx.

Travis upon reaching, was in blank, but quickly recovered to stop the client from falling off the track. After which, he hastily told Jenny about what happened. Jenny of course was surprised to find 2 Travis but was quick enough to remain calm. Then Travis disappeared into particles. When backed at Time Safari, everything was back to normal; no one could remember what had happened, those that died, well, were back to life. Jenny immediately pulled Travis to a side and passed him a red ball; containing the information of when the other Travis was speaking to her during the hunt. On the following day, Travis went to find Sonia (again on same day huh?) to pass her the red ball, telling her, that it would be useful for use against Charles Hatton and to shut down the Time Safari, ensuring the history, the present and the future would not be altered.

The show is basically about 100minutes long, but I was not able to catch some parts of conversation, due to the fact of slang, fast speaking and no dialogue. Whenever I watch any show, it is a must for dialogue, as I used both my ears and eyes to ‘hear’. Overall, the plot is fresh, though not much of any particle effects, no romantic developments, and the usual monster eat human. Certainly a movie worth paying for, though I’m not sure what, but it attracts. Abit of lengthy post this time, I think I almost wrote the whole story down, but just as of what I am, I love to do this, don’t blame me if I spoilt ur appetite for the show for disclosing so much, =>
Rate: 7.5/10

16/09/05

My Vocation, My New Unit...

I woke up at 11.56am, "disturbed" by a phone call from a concerned platoon mate in BMTC. And it reminded me to check my posting, available from 12pm onwards.

I logged into the www.miw.com.sg, and after a few fruitless search for the correct portal, i used the search function instead. As i enter my particulars word by word, my heart beats doubled and threatened to jump out of my mouth at any time, as i watched in silence, my vocation, my new unit.

ARGH!!! I'm posted to Tengah Air Base, and as a Regimental Policeman! Why can't i be a Regimental Policeman at SFT, Amoy Quee and Kranji Camps??? And i'm doomed to take taxi everytime, because the place is so far away! Anyone lives near CCK? Let me rent a place there bah...

I just called the unit also to inform them about my specialist appointment on the day itself on the afternoon, trying to see wat kind of arrangement would they make. And i'm very much interested to know wat is installed there for RP, wat do we do, and wat kind of training we have, etc.

And i just unpacked all my stuffs last week to say, now on Sunday, im gona dedicate the whole day to pack my stuffs back, and be ready for my new vocation.

ARGH once again, anyone as suay as me? Probably not... I was exempted from MP, so here i am, going for RP...

Last outings from Tekong, Band of Brothers Unite!!!

*Grumbles, Grumbles* Actually I still have not decided whether I wanted to come for this so-called National Heritage tour yet, but my sergeant called me last night to made me go to settle some issues. Because of my injuries, I asked my platoon sergeant and he asked me to make injury claims. So that’s the cause of it. Because if I want to make injury claims, I need to write a report and meet up with the OC to approve it, basically a whole lots of paperwork for me and my sergeant. So after confirming with my sergeant, I chose not to make injury claims as long as I have my 11B with me, government will pay specialist and treatment fees.

I woke up at around 11am today, opposed to the usual 12pm (sleeping at 5-6am everyday xD). After settling some matters, I went for my shower, and after grooming myself, I went off to the bus stop at around 11.55am. Because I don’t have any polo-tees, I wore the company one instead, and upon arriving there, there was not much ppl wearing it =x. I reached at around 12.25pm, as I haven’t eaten, I went to the Old Chang Kee at White Sand to grab a bite first. Not until 12.47pm, was much people arrived. We were supposed to gather at 12.45pm. Oh well, I guess everyone’s back to themselves after no more restriction as recruits. Total strength was 40 for the day, short of 8… After counting strength and settling some paperwork, we set off around 1.15pm.

Our first station was Johore Battery, which we arrived at 1.30pm. We went down to look at the majestic gun, and the super huge shell it fired with. It was the first time, which I know we did have some big guns for defense during the World War II, except that it was used to guard the sea against ships and not against infantry at the North.

Our 2^nd station was the Changi Chapel and Museum. It was really a fruitful trip, knowing about the life of the POWs during the war. How they sought mental relief and will to live on, through religion. There’s a lot of rebuilt of the structures during the wars, items, and facts, that really fascinated me throughout the 1hr+ in there. Oh ya, by the way, there’s this small outdoor café over there, the stuffs of which are expensive, but there was a quite chio lady maybe in her early twenties working there also, =P

Our 3^rd station was the NEWater plant. Maybe because I had just been there during March of this year due to the National Education of my polytechnic, the place simply does not appeal to me at all. Imagine the ‘agony’ of going through the same thing twice, exact same things, XD. I do know about how precious water is to Singapore, the water treatment between Singapore and Malaysia and what plans Singapore is undertaking to meet the water demands in future.

It was Sergeant Shaziran’s Birthday today! I’m not sure how many of us went to celebrate with him, but because it was a very last minute decision to celebrate together and there was no plan at all, I didn’t go along. Roy, Chopchop, MJs, TKW, and me went over to Simei instead, to dine at the Sakae Sushi buffet. I wanted to use my student pass (which I still kept with me) to enjoy paying less, but since all four of them were paying adult price, I went along too, $19.50, arghh. Well, for 3 months, I haven’t been eating much of rice to keep my weight down, this meal made up all of it instead, XD. And also I saw just how much MJs can eat, its really an amazement, just how can someone eat so much. On the other hand, TKW ate so little; it was like barely eating at all! After which, TKW, Chopchop and Roy went back home, while I followed MJs back to Tampines.

Oh yes, I went back because I wanted to go to NTUC, so it was a nearer choice. Then since it was still early, we went to a LAN shop to play games. We saw some of the rest over there, so shocking, Zeren, Mario, Keith, Rex, Ruiming, Melvin, etc. I played with MJs on a dota map with others because the rest were already engaged in a game. I used Dwarven Sniper while MJs used Lunar Moonfang against Lich and Lycanthrope. And it had been so long since I last did an ownage, much less to this extent. Luckily at times I have MJs playing the supporting role (though he didn’t play very good), if not I wouldn’t have been able to survive at some times (though at last stage, 2v1 doesn’t matter anymore). I was level 23, while they are still at 15.

After playing, we left at around 9+; I went to food court to buy some food for my mum before accompanying MJs to Serangoon (shop name) to browse through music albums. They really had a bad placing of items, maybe because of cheap price, if not, I wonder who will come to this shop? (MJs of course… =.=) After wasting much time in there, I asked MJs to ask the shop assistant for help instead. A 1min talk settled the 30mins search. There was no Elva’s album there.

So finally, I went home in Bus service 72 and reached home at 10pm+, nearly 11pm, so dead tired… that I just want to have a sleep… but still… I think I will probably sleep at 5am today again.

13/09/05

New games…

After playing for a few days, I’ve really become bored or should I call frustrated with Thang Online. Overall, I don’t mind having all sorts of creatures sticking at a place, where some can kill in an instant, but rather the skill system (which they call unique) is a real frustration. Just thinking of training the skill so hard to level it up, only to combine with the same skill with lower level, 1+3+5+7 = new skill level 1. And this goes on and on... just imagine that in order to progress, u definitely need new skill, but most probably most could only stop on the 2nd skill. The entire game sell is the first skill... Just imagine getting to the 3rd skill... how much time and effort would be required? And cant possibly retrained the 1st skill from level 1 on a level 100 creatures whereas compared to a level 1 creature? Pure stupid I would say.

So because of this stupid unique feature they have, I went on my search for new games or possible old ones, just any nice one to occupy abit of my free time, I simply have no idea now wat to do with so much free time, lolx. I've come across alot or most games in the industry since the whole day was spent browsing through the games. There was some that requires payment and you would definitely say, "anyone in their right sense of mind would rather burn up their cash than to pay to play". There was only a few that rightfully deserved paying for. There was also much that I believed would never come out of beta alive, even if they meant to be free forever, cos they sucked too much. Then i finally settled on Myth Wars Online and Gate to Heaven (the one which I wanted to play like on January? No idea y I didn’t) because they were the best for Free Games, there was a couple more, but 1 person cant play so many games at a go, lolz. I wouldn’t be so stupid as to pay real life money to play a virtual game, no matter how fantastic it will be. On my list though, there was some, which I don’t know if need to pay or not, but definitely a must try if free to play, namely, Lord of The Rings (battle for middle earth?) and Dungeon and Dragon Online, etc.

I started playing Myth Wars Online first. Well, just remind me never to play any MMORPG that is 2D trying to act as if 3D… only 2D game that is nice, is basically, a 2D games boasting the good areas of 2D, acting as it is instead of trying to be a 3D one. Few good examples are Gunbound, Maplestory, etc. It just felt like a normal 2D RPG game to me, no way is it in anyway similar to any MMORPG. It is not a game worth recommending to play though I haven’t went much deep into the game.
Rate: 3/10

Hmm, Gate to Heaven, I should have played it earlier this year, shouldn’t I? Well, most probably because I was not able to dl the game, I was with RoseOnline and A3(which aren’t too bad either). This game, well, at least it doesn’t try to introduce some kinds of unique features that are totally frustrating! And the NPC sells items up to level 79(maybe 80 but not higher). This way, no one will be so desperate hunting for items at level 79 using level 30, 40 gears? It is good in some sense, it cost a lot to purchase from NPC, and all of them don’t come with added attributes, which make hunting abit more worthwhile because of added attributes to boast performance. But just in case u aren’t able to find any of ur gears during hunting (4 hermits race x 2 awakening path = 8 types of gears), well, it’s good to purchase from the NPC, which provides gears for all 8. Moreover, you can craft items also; maybe some in between gears, funny gears and stuffs. And about funny items, I think u need to pay for premium items, which looks good and is absolutely powerful and useful for low level to mid-low level. The BGM, sound effects, color particles (magic/skill effect), graphic aren’t too shabby too. There are some automatic quests, which will be automatically obtained during training if you reached the designated level or higher (maybe need to complete earlier automatic quest, i'm not too sure though), some NPC giving specific quests. And a Messenger [Betty] whom u can craft quest scroll from (a very good way for training, training on the specific monster, and completing quest at same time); repeatedly for the same quest until ur level is too high for that quest. Rewards can be chosen also, namely Experience, Zen Experience (a limit that skill is based on, higher level of Zen enable learning of higher level skills), Zen Mastery (points whereby u can distribute into leveling the skills u obtained, by far, the best reward quest), Nak (in game currency, i’m very poor still because I play myself with no help, so to me is important also, gives quite a lot), items (some useful, some not, not sure of higher level ones). Then there’s energy pack, different level and type, which u can purchase to replenish different amount of RA and SA (hp/mp), higher level (better) type, cost a lot more for recharge. And also the help features is useful, containing information, not like some other games namely FlyFF that has empty online help. It also has a craft item guide, where u can see wat ingredients for wat items, lolx. For me, I have chosen an Earth Hermit, going to be a transformation spirit warrior, not a good race and path to choose but I’ll stick on to it. My character nick is Kraazg in game if anyone of u is already on it or want to start playing. There’s a lot more about it which I may have forgotten to note down, just play it, you will discover, XD
Rate:8/10

11/09/05

Three brothers meet again finally after a month? XD

Because of having most of my weekend eaten off, normally I only have like half day to one day excluding sleeping for my book out. And I basically just wanted to rest only, so I haven’t been meeting up with my best pals, LapTak and Joey for nearly a month, maybe more or maybe less. And so here we are finally, meeting up, all 3 of us together, ^.^

Actually, LapTak wanted to watch some shows at Cineleisure, but just the day before, I have watched with Joey 2 movies in a row. And LapTak don’t watch a lot of movies type like horror films (I don’t pay to scare myself), local films (vcd out fast), Chinese films (not worth paying to watch so little and vcd out quite fast too). So we decided to meet at our usual hangout, AMK central. We did the usual stuffs, eating lunch, talking craps, about gals (normally surrounding Joey), money, soccer, life, etc. Then we went over to Raiders to play DOTA and abit of Half-Life, how I missed playing these games. All of us are rusty after a long time of not playing.

Then at night, we rushed off to Sumo House to eat, since it was already near closing time, haha. After a sumptuous dinner, we walked slowly to the bus stop, and we made Joey wait for bus together with us again, hahaha. Then we went back to watch soccer matches and discuss about our predictions and discussion earlier. We only spent 6-7hrs together, but time was not a factor to the extend of how we enjoyed ourselves.

10/09/05

Movie day~

After my POP, i've decided to rest for one full day for my body to totally recover before i decided to go out at all. And i contacted Joey and Laptak to watch movie today, but only Joey responded, oh well.

So, after checking the location and the time, we finally decided on PS GV, to watch The Cave on 2pm and The Maid on 4.35pm. Since The Maid was a local film, and quite abit of people said that it was really a horror film and was quite nice, i've been looking forward to it all these while, scared that no cinema will be showing it after i pop, haha.

Like wat some people said about The Cave, the plot is always the same, human goes inside cave, parasite (not virus zombie blah blah) creatures infest human, human becomes creatures bearing parasite and this goes on and on. And it never did explain wat happened to the initial explorers, were they eaten up or converted to beasts? If converted to beasts, wat made them? Parasite? Wat parasite and how? Beast? But beasts killed them for food, cant believe anything left for mutation! Even the ending is absurb, three person got out of the cave alive. But, one thing that was very strange, was that they went all the way miles under the ground, why would an underwater passageway lead them to a river above ground? Remember, it was already MILES UNDERGROUND!!! Wat's more? The beasts can move underwater, so, why didnt they move out of the cave themselves? Simply one thing to put is, the story plotter just didnt really think it thorough and far and hastily came up with a stupid film. Only and i do mean only thing that was good about the film, was to finally see how the beasts look (LOL), and all the actions, well, also thinking of who would be the next to die, how and when.

The Maid... i thought, well, Joey too, didnt really expect the cinema would be so packed, since it was an old film(14th Aug) and it was only a Friday... sigh... the story plot is very simple, yet from some point of view, quite stupid. About the horror parts, well... they are HORRIBLE, you can say they are scary, only because they were all the same, sudden image and sudden outbreak of sound, and on a second thoughts, anyone would think of "why the hell is this happening here, wat the heck it gotta do with the movie and its plot?". Was this show about "a maid" or was it about the "chinese seventh month-hungry ghost festivals"? I or maybe WE will never know, we are not the story writer, we dont know wat he was thinking of, but we will forgive him only because it was his first attempt at horror film. Like i said, the plot is very simple, about an idiotic son(cant find any other description xD), whom their parents thought was like a child never could grow up(which was wrong cos he did grow up, physically definitely, maybe abit 單純, 幼稚 or simply moronic but definitely has abit of adult mentality there), raping his maid, who had been in good/close relation with him(sister to brother kind only). The maid tried to report to police, the parents because of deep love and care for him, tried to dissuade her, which fails and in turn leads to the father tieing up and burning the poor maid alive. The moron son commited suicide because of this and only to return one day to his parents during the Hungry Ghost Festival, trying to find his bride(ahem, the maid...). Then the parent found a new maid to work(which they chose specially, looking abit like the old one). Initially, we thought nothing of them until the whole thing came to truth, actually they wanted the new maid to consent to marriage with the son, before killing her, so that the son could finally be married even if dead. Well, somehow at the very crucial moment, the son suddenly remembered that the maid he liked was dead already, killed by his father, he screamed and shouted, trying to prevent another wrong doing. Well, ironically, he pushed his father and he burnt his father this time round. The mother wouldnt give up, maybe it was the old maid, Esther looking after Rosa(new maid), the mother was ran over by a truck, =x And the ending was clear, Rosa took Esther ashes back to The Phillipines and thats all for today. Maybe it was with too much an expectation that came along with great disappointment.

And first time in 3 months, i took the North-East line back home, buying myself a sumptuous dinner of Burger King, lamb burger, yum yum. So-so shows for the day and great meals for the night, time to sleep~~

09/09/05

finally... POP!!!

After "suffering" for 13 weeks (supposed 13, maybe 12 now), from 11th June to 7th September, its finally POP day for me!!!

A combined of mixed feelings was wat i felt. Im happy to finally leave Tekong, and attended my BMT course(not completed since i have injuries and unable to attend some physically demanding lessons). But at the same time, i felt a tinge of saddness pricking at my heart also, due to the fact that it has been my 2nd home for like 3 whole months. And most probably i wont be able to see any of my band of brothers in there, that had been with me through those hardships in Tekong, because of different vocation.

For the pop parade, though i have been in alot of parades, big and small, since i was in my NPCC days, im very very much wish to be part of it. I cant help but felt that something is missing from my BMT life, for unable to march through, running in, singing, doing the Infantry Roar and throwing the cap into the sky together with the rest. And only fault i can find with is with my legs, and no one know how much i blame them for suffering injuries.

When everything was over, i went over to my Mum, and she proceeded to take a few photos for/with me around the giant Infantry Statue in the TFT. And since we were taking quite abit of time, i was lucky to be able to take photos together with Dennis and Zhongyi since they were also coming to take photos.

This was the first time, and probably the only time, that sailing across in the fast craft, has the sky been so gloomy and the sea waves violently as if weeping and saying goodbye to these bands of brothers. Probably was the rainy season, but no one can help but felt that it too was sad to see us leave. After getting off the fast craft, my Uncle Mark and Aunt Serene brought us to East Coast Road, Bedok area to have dinner, it was a very sumptuous meal, though i can hardly remember the name of the restaurant now, haha.

Reaching home at around 9pm+, i spent quite an effort in sorting out my stuffs, washing the laundry, checking out on wat i had missed out for the past weeks and finally, a good night sleep, way through the morning and till the sun wakes me...

07/09/05

Confinement = BORING SUNDAY,,,

I was supposed to be booking out this Friday, but due to a route march scheduled at night, the book out was postponed to Saturday morning. What made it worse was that i was late for a mere minute on the last book in, thus, ending up spending the whole Saturday at camp...

Maybe it was just because of BMT, that's why the confinement was rather... full of freedom sorta. Together with the rest of the confinees, all 12 of us, we only spent 3 hours cleaning the parade square. The rest of the time, i was reading the comics 熱血江湖 1-16 that thankfully Junyang lent me before he booked out on Friday, eat, sleep, or watching dvd with the rest.

Luckily i was kept occupied for Saturday, if not, super boring, i heard that confinement at unit is worse, like doing physical training all the time. Then i booked out on Sunday morning 8.45am and only managed to reach home like 10am because of lesser cabs on Sunday over at SFT. Basically, the day was spent playing some game, eating PIZZA(yummy!), watching TV, and here i go again, back to camp at 5.30pm.

BORING DAY it was... another to come next Friday night, where i have to book in on Saturday night... another short book out to go... Waiting patiently for POP, where i can finally relax during the block leave.

Im also starting to clear my stuffs now, bringing back stuffs at camp back home slowly via this week and the following one so i wont have too much to bring back on POP day... Which is on 07/09/05, anyone wanna come for it, just tell me, i have 2 tickets available, sms me =)

28/08/05

STRESS FRACTURE II, GAME, ANIME, BOOK IN DAY~

Ahhh... because i usually off my hp at camp, i asked the NUH staff to call my mum instead. So she told me that my Bone Scan to confirm my stress fracture, is scheduled to be on 31/08/05 8am! Guess i have to take an off pass from my platoon commander again for this medical thingy. And i have to ask whether SAF will pay for me or not because the staff told my mum that i need to pay $45 for this Bone Scan!!

Hopefully, just hopefully, my case is a minor one and not a serious one that will affect me for life, one thing that is always hanging on my mind...

I also decided to stop playing FlyFF, because i think there was a server wipe, where all characters of everyone was backup to the date before the 2nd server came up due to faults in 2nd server. I dont mind training my character again in this hard to level game, but having to redo all the quest, collect materials, buy cheap stuffs from store/market again is something that dont really appeal to me, so the game is off.

Then now im trying out Thang Global, im not sure how it is since i didnt really play it yet, seems like MuOnline type of game though, which i dont mind playing, of course like i said before, im not gona be addicted to it, i need a life, haha.

And, also, the anime im dl right now... Ragnarok the Animation, Tales of Eternia, all episodes, but i think i wont be able to dl finish in short time, maybe a month or so, sigh... Then i saw Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, well, then i decided to dl it also. I finished dl the 1st episode, it seems really really nice right now, but still 24 episodes left to go. I think i seen that it has 25 episodes or something (i think i think xD), but the anime available right now is up till 20th episode only. Anyone watching any anime same as me, or got any anime nice to watch to send or burn? =P Oh ya, its quite a headache right now how to free my disk space, i've got like 20GB to 30GB eaten up by the system already, and im thinking on whether to buy any cd/usb drive/mp3 player to burn my songs/anime/movie to, so as to free space for me to dl more stuffs... oh well... wait till after my POP then i decide bah...

If anyone notice, i put date at the bottom right of my recent post because im in a rush recently and didnt manage to put up the posts i wanted to. And thus posting everything at a go today, haha ^_^||

Phew... again, time to book in yet again... I've gotta go right now to pack my stuffs again, wash up and ready to go... Luckily its gona be a longer weekend the next book out, which is on Friday night and last till Sunday. Im very free, anyone wanna jio me go out pls? =x

21/08/05

Owww... missing the Situation Test...

Haiz... At first i thought i would be able to join in the Situation Test despite my status, just without going for the 12km route march, but later on Wednesday was confirmed that i was not allowed to. Sit Test is a criteria for passing BMT, and it was rather more relax than field camp, to think that i had to miss it. I think the reason was probably because of the 4km and 2km fast march on Friday and Saturday morning.

And what did i do during these 3 days? Sai Gang Warriors loh. Because i was excused from heavy loads, well, i was not allowed to carry heavy stuffs, basically meaning i didnt do much also. The first day was quite boring as i together with a friend Kah Wee, was "stuck" at the camp site from morning till dark, and only returning to our coy line to sleep at 1.30am.

On Friday and Saturday, because of some people making mistakes, i didnt really go back to camp site (lucky me) and was resting most of the time at coy line, only at times, doing some stuffs for the cqm (doing store stuffs) and cleaning some rifles. Most of all, the best was all of the status people doing Sai Gang was having fresh ration instead of the combat ration.

But still today was not totally a nice day at all, most probably our worse timing for book out ever. Booking out at 7.30pm, and i reached home at around like 9pm or so taking a cab... sigh... Less than 24 hours and i will be booking in again... what to do... it's a NS life...

20/08/05

STRESS FRACTURE??!!!

Havent been posting for quite a while since the last book out was abit rushed and basically i was just resting at home, to nurse my tired body back to health...

Then on 15th Augest, i booked out from camp to go over NUH for my medical checkup at the ortho department. It was a very tiring day, i treated my camp mate(2 booked out with me) at Ah Kun Kaya Toast before returning home and reaching at around 10am. Then i slacked a while and met my big aunt at 12pm after finishing my roti pratas (YUMMY~). Then we reached there, wait here, wait there, basically alot of time was wasted waiting.

From the x-rays done, i was diagnosed to be suffering from stress fracture, which had plagued me for slightly over 2 months already. I was really in a dilemna as on what to do. To push on and complete my BMT? Or to be out of course and due to recourse? But i really shouldnt waste the 10 weeks in tekong, just like 2 more weeks to POP... So i asked the specialist not to put me out of course, and she consulted a professor and put me on status first instead. Then i will have to go back to camp to consult this matter with my commanders...

By the time i finished dinner, it was already like 8pm when i reached home, then i quickly took a shower and took a cab down for booking in.

15/08/05

Field Camp finally OVER!!!

Ahhhhh.... my 7-days Field Camp in Tekong is finally over man! I was basically 'confined' for 2 weeks due to their planning of starting it on a Sunday. The 7 days were so tough to endure and go through... alot of anger, frustration... but at times fun and laughter too... So i cant really say that i did not enjoy even a single bit of it, haha.

First day - I was basically still on my excuse from lower limbs, so i didnt go for the 8km route march from company line to camp site. Well, i was instead with a few others helped the cqm (company quarter master?) set up the stuffs, carrying this and that. By the time we were done, we were already shagged... (some kind of light duty eh?)

Second & Third day - Basically just some lectures on IFC (Individual Field Craft) and some practices, quite slack actually.

Fourth day - Morning was abit rush, as we had to practice artillery drill or some sort, and had to pack up in little time, to rush off to our next destination, the Malay School. And after that, simply a rest day for us... and oh ya, it was my first day in toilet for shitting, ^.^

Fifth & Sixth day - Practice and practice (sixth day was digging trench etc), nothing much actually, but damn tiring to say...

Last day - Yay, finally the last day! And we only need to pack up stuffs in a hurry and march off to the BIC (Basic Inoculation Course?) ground for our BIC, a 70m crawl stimulation real life war ground. I was constantly looking beside my instructor to follow his pace, in which i managed to do so... but just after the 20m mark or so, there was a bigger sand particle that got stucked onto my elbows, it was awfully painful, so much so that i can barely keep my pace and started to lag behind... well... i used watever strength remaining of me at the last part, and ignoring all pain, rushed to the end of the course =)

Shortly after, we went back to company line, and it REALLY was a very rushed day. We were not entitled ample time to eat, pack, wash up (darn rifle too, and some really slow ppl...)... and rushed off in less than 2hrs later to catch our fast craft back home. Luckily for me, i had my mum back home at night to help me wash up all the clothes and stuffs, during which, i could really sense all the tireness in me, luckily i didnt go out that day, if not, confirm will be dozing off every now and then.

Then on Sunday, after waking up, decided to continue packing stuffs and readying. Afterwards, i went out with Yanting(rest arent free/interested i guess xD) for the 4pm+ show at Bishan J8: "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory". As usual, it was another show without any climax, and sort of ended abruptly. But it has certain parts which really was enjoyment, laughing through, fascinated at, etc. A show that captured my attention throughout again, but it was really rather short, only 1hr40mins or so only, maybe there should be more, oh well...

Today mah... basically nothing, just lazed around and play game (FLYFF). Decided to go and watch "Seven Sword" tml with Joey and Lap... but it will have to depend on when i will wake up, since i need to fold and pack everything back into my duffer bag, and ready for book in. So if i wake up too late, i guess the show will be put off to this Saturday, my next book out(hopefully so).

My weight fluctuates between 65kg-68kg these few days, now stabilizing between 67-68kg. Hopefully will be able to get between 62-65kg, stabilizing at 64-65kg by end of my BMT. I know i kept on harping upon this topic, well, i make sure i do, so i can make it. And also, i finally received the letter of NUH medical appointment today, oh well... i have to make sure i get the referal letter(which i left at bunk in Tekong) and an off pass for sunday (cant basically book in to sleep, and book out next day?) when i book in tml (or consider today)... sigh...

Graduated... looking back...

July 28th, i booked out early despite just under went 2 days straight of Live Range Rifle Shooting Test (2-3hrs sleep each day), took a cab with Mario home so i could take a shower and appear fresh for my graduation ceremony this day, punctually...

But while i was waiting for Han Boon, well... we were both late... so we ended up standing outside, and i was bored to death standing alone in the queue. Until Jerryl started a conversation along, we knew each other during one of the semester when we were in the same class. Actually the whole ceremony was like very fast or something. After waited for quite some time outside, the queue started to move slowly to slot into the queue accordingly to the stage for presentation of certificates (holder without cert... xD). I gave the name slip... went over, shook that guy hand, forced a smile from my face holding the holder, and then moved off... Just suddenly a thought came to my mind... why did i rush so badly for this ceremony... i was alone in there, friends not nearby (didnt come back in or move off already), and my mum did not come (since i didnt confirm with her whether i'll be home today, she went to work)... it was like so meaningless...

Then i thought i heard moving off to block "F" to collect my cert, so i move along... wondering why it was block "F". I reached "E", saw lina chong, a lecturer in charge of the cca one, chatted a short while with her and then moved off to "F". I was there, moving around aimlessly, for wat seemed like 10mins, "this cant be the place" i thought. Then Ah Boon called and asked where i was, and then i realised i screwed up, it was "S-129" instead... Then i went over to the food court, saw no one, went over the side, no one, so i moved on... back to the block where i have been studying for the 3 years... then realised it was "I"... =.= Then i doubled quickly back to the food court, still no one, so i thought i might be at the wrong end... and so i was... Felt bad to make Xiaoqi waited for me there. Then both of us went off together to collect the certs. It was abit blur at first since Agnes said it was 3rd floor, but "129" should be first floor mah... so after abit of jumble up, we finally got to that place. At the same time i met DiHao & Lawrence too, finally, more friends, xD.

After we were done, both of us went to the NYP Lounge together. Over there, i saw Agnes again (supposedly she said she was gona meet friends, so strange eh...), Lawrence, and then finally Daniel, Jayson, Shivani & her MUM(Dad also maybe)! Oh ya, oh ya, Diana also, OMG, she was so skinny, a really big difference compared to year 1. I was abit shocked to hear from her that she broke up with her boyfriend, since she was very serious in the relationship, maybe her boyfriend's possessive behaviour isnt something she could tolerate further. Actually i wanted to take a photo with everyone one, just that no one is around, and i have no camera, the thought went off straight...

After finishing up my food, i went to the computer lab on level 4 with Xiaoqi to find Daniel and Yanting. Really really envy those outside with so much free time, once again, the boredom of NS surfaced. They were trying to get materials for the exams for Sun's Java Certified i guess. Then shortly after, daniel left for Matthew & gang. Well... i used the opportunity to changed my expired password (which is abit pointless maybe). Well, then afterwards, Xiaoqi, Yanting and me went over to Bishan J8 to grab a bite at KFC, which was decided after MUCH decision making, lol. I think we were done eating at around 2pm or so, i only drank a cup of lemon tea as i was still feeling bloated. Actually i wanted to move off after the 'lunch' so that i could go back home to hang the clothes that i brought back and washed earlier before i went for the graduation ceremony. But it was like so long since i really have a "REAL LIFE". Im not sure about qi and yanyan... but i really enjoyed moving around with them, talking, chatting, joking at times. Then at around 4pm, i decided to leave, and told them i was going back home to hang my clothes, if time/circumstances would allowed, i would have stayed around longer with them, until they meet up with Agnes & the rest for dinner.

I went back to AMK, bought comics for this week at the usual shop, met up with Joey for a quick dinner at Sumo House before taking a cab back home, since i wanted to hang my clothes fast, or else they wont dry in time. After i reached home, i quickly changed to my shorts and started hanging all my clothes, by the time i was done, it was like... 5.30pm already. There was simply no chance they would dry in time.

By 8.00pm, my mum returned home and ironed my uniforms, making them dry, neat and tidy. Luckily i still have her with me. But the rest of my laundry well... still remained wet at this point in time (1.20am). After finishing this entry, i think i gona have to pack them in anyway, i have no choice since i needed to book in at 6.45am very early later and i really need abit of sleep at this point in time.

And oh ya... the earlier hours in company of qi and yanyan, really brought back alot of memories and made me really look back into my poly life, and reflect on it. There had been alot of times where i had made alot of stupid decisions and mistakes, wrong decisions maybe, sometime i had no choice, sometime i dont feel like taking care of anything and things as such. There was mostly no life in my poly years, which now i have to learn to reflect on why it was so, and try to adjust myself, to prepare myself for after NS (i dont think i will have any real life while in NS). Gah, im not really sure wat im trying to write now also, but if time would have permitted, i wished that i could relive my 3yrs of poly life again... And listening to songs, depicts parts and parcels of moments in my poly life, no one knew, but each and every single song that i learnt by heart actually carries certain meaning, with regards to someone, some matters, some time, some feelings. Not even my best pal Joey will know all the songs tat i learnt (only some)... Images will appear everytime i sing to myself the songs, one of the way to keep my brain in storage of memories (sad or happy...) that really meant alot to me... haha... i really really regret all decisions and mistakes made in these years... all except for one...

Oh well... time to silence Joey on MSN, and get myself to bed after packing... nitez... Signing off...

Hasty 4th Bk Out

Sigh... Half-way during the week, one of the Sirs told us a bad news. As of to meet certain quota, we gona have to drag on our saturday and book out late! Morale dropped low again for the company...

Finally got out yesterday with muscle aching everywhere, done like 200+ pushups & other exercises each for 3 days. Ate with a section mate at White Sands food courts and rushing to the bus stop to catch a bus home. I only managed to reached home like... 7.45pm. Then waited for my mum to return home as she said she will bring something home to eat. xD Then i was rushing again, taking a quick shower, before rushing to AMK central, to collect my new black plastic specs from the optic shop which closed on 9.00pm, and i reached there at 9.00pm as well after buying the comics for this week.

Then hastily rushed off to Bishan J8 to watch 'Crash' with Joey for 10.50pm one. We reached there abit early, so i read the newspaper bought at Fables to catch up with the news for this week. Hmm, actually 'Crash' is a very very nice show, it is very heart-warming and touching, with a theme about racist after the 911 attack on America. It will be abit blur at the starting, as it tried to showcast the lifes of multiple people at a time. But as you watch on, somehow you will understand the show as all these people are related somehow. Although there is no climax to the show, but at least it was a show that captured my attention throughout. And it ended quite late, so i have to catch a midnight cab back home, arghh....

Waking up at around 9.30am today, i just slack around, watching tv, eating, trying to rest. Im playing casually FLYFF (MMORPG) also, not addicted as before though. Sigh... time is almost up, need to start preparing to get back to camp. Next week will be my last book out before i get confined again as the field camp falls on the weekend... nice planning they have... sigh...

And my poor leg... i guess i can only go to a polyclinic after my field camp (as i can finally be out during the weekdays to go to polyclinic). Hopefully my is not a serious case and can heal by then, so i no need to go polyclinic. If not, i think it may very well really be a stress fracture and get me downgraded with only 4weeks left to go for my BMT then. Sigh, maybe if it really is too serious, i will sound out to the MO and try to ask him to get me a medical appointment asap. Sigh... sigh... i wish all the best for my leg... tired tired tired... back to camp i go...

Fantastic Four... 3rd bk out~

Yesterday, i booked out from Tekong for the 3rd time, the 2nd one this week. Due to a little "cock up", our 2nd ic was fuming with anger, and we booked out abit later than planned.

I have no idea, but im filled with tireness, and was constantly trying to catch a wink or two every now and then, unable to be beaming with life even though finally booking out. As usual, i went for lunch with platoon mates, and went straight home to wash my clothes to be ready for today's book in. Then i watched the comic books i bought earlier in the week, before heading out for AMK Central to watch Fantastic 4 with Joey and Lap Tak. But Lap Tak was late, so we missed the earlier part of the show. It was quite nice to watch, showing all their abilities and personalities. I did not see any of the originals yet, so i cant comment on how well the show showed their personalities (due to movie critics saying so). It is not a must see, but definitely worth the price to watch, despite only the 11/2 hours length only. The ending may depicts a sequence to follow. Im looking forward to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Chronicle of Narnia in the following book out.

I also went to make a new spectacle, a black plastic one to be used in the army. The optician told me that my degree went down, maybe due to lack of usage, which is good news. It was supposed to be $108, but they charged me only $100, able to collect on wednesday, but i think i can only collect on my next book out, which i hope is next saturday. And ya, while using my old spectacle watching Fantastic 4, i felt heavy on the head, seems like its true that my degree went down! ^-^

I've just ended my 4-weeks PTP phase, and officially entering my 9-weeks BMT phase in my next book in. Im also officially reporting back for duty after the 7-days excuse from lower limbs due to muscle problems on my calf muscles. Even though i dont think i've recovered yet, because i still felt extreme pain when pressure is exerted on my calf, i will try to my limits not to report sick or get excuse anymore. I know that if i did so, it will be extremely hard for me to catch up with the lessons going on.

I've just checked the weight scale (hopefully not spoilt), and found that i've lost some weight as well! HAPPY HAPPY!!! Oh well, i've got to try harder to lose some more, minimum is to lose the extra 10kg i gained during my IPP last time in NYP. Hopefully, im able to do so, getting to 62kg-65kg (lose fat, tone muscles!) by the end of this month. It will help alot for my BMT, if not, hopefully attainable by end of my BMT phase.

Just finished watching last 5 episodes of 九五至尊 (Jiu Wu Zhi Zun) on the tape my mum recorded for me, such a nice show... wont get to watch such nice one anymore... though i had hoped that the ending will be Li Daxia(Yong Zheng) being able to return back to time with Lu Siniang (and Rachael xD)... Ah... time running out soon, so little time for book out, sigh... time to have my shower and prepare to get off for book in... still so tired... haiz... -_-

Late 2nd Bk Out, still being buzy, no time to rest~

Well, Monday was my 2nd Book Out day, 'early' in the morning at around 11am. It was supposed to be on last Saturday, but because of certain reason, the whole company was retained (holy 7 1/2 days...). It wasnt very sail smoothing either! The contractor is like wanting to earn more, making things rather messy for the day, morale drop whole new low again (getting scolded, fed up at mess), luckily it was Book Out day, which ease the mood a little, and off went a company of high mood soldiers, not a mess of dying ones.

Mario "jio" some of us to eat lunch at White Sand first, well, initially wanted to eat at food court but he has a last change of mind to eat at Mc Donald's. OMG, its like as if bread bread bread was not enuff for breakfast in camp? Argh...

Then my plan was to watch Initial D, follow by War of the Worlds, with a section mate, Jackson. But he took too long to confirm the time to watch, which when i received his sms, im already sianz 1/2. So after i finish my laundry, i went to Bishan GV with my brother to watch War of the Worlds, it was quite a nice show, as usual the tom cruise run, but there's just too many lame people shown in it, always endangering others life and making foolish action, not heeding advice. It was quite packed in there, maybe many people kiasu trying to chiong the cheap ticket fees on Monday. Anyway, 2 1/2 hrs in the cinema was all worth it for this War of the Worlds. Though a pity i didnt get to watch Initial D, i dont regret it much, cos im not Jay's fan (but i do love and sing some of his songs), nor am i fascinated by the anime and comics.

Ah, and yes... Tuesday gona Book In at around 7pm, which i intend to leave my house like 6-6.15pm. But before that i need to go over to Tanjong Pagar area to complete my Aviva Insurance for SAF men, and also to retreive a form for my brother since he didnt buy last time and is leaving Singapore soon for exercise oversea. I asked Joey along since going alone is so lonely, haha, but which means i must wake up early also, dont wanna be late for Book In... Guess wat? I still have my 5 episodes of show to watch (King of Yesterday & Today)!

Have to thank my mother as well, for ironing my uniform for me today, haha, relax relax abit. Well... even when i Book In, im not going to do anything as well, since the Medical Officer excused me for Lower Limbs until Friday, yeah!!! Im not chao geng or wat, the pain on the calf of both my legs was really unbearable, im not sure how i can even "tahan" for so long before reporting sick...

Im not sure how tml is going to be, just hopefully nothing bad or wat... sigh... already looking forward to Saturday, another Book Out day... hehehe... Oh ya... theres something i felt happy about also, wont be saying here though, wahahhahaha... secret secret secret... 10 more weeks to POP.... weeeyaaahh! ^.^

First Bk Out in NS

Finally after 14 straight days in camp at Tekong for NS, friday 24/06 was my first book out day! Actually for these first 14 days, the training programme was not really that tough, and was quite relax, but maybe it was just my poor physique that made it tough for me. Im not fit, and was sick during the 2nd week, down with serious cold and cough. It made me weak and felt hard to breathe but i tried my best to endure and fight on to complete each one of the lesson, though it was a fultile and weak performance.

When i booked out on friday, i was so dead tired, i took the wrong bus 89 or something and went to Hougang Central Bus Interchange instead of stopping at a bus stop near my house. It was so tiring to carry that heavy field pack of mine and walking such long distance back home. The moment i reached home, i started packing out my stuffs for laundry, have dinner, bath and went to sleep.

Then on Saturday, i woke up in the morning feeling so weak and sick, that i was not intending to even get out of my bed! But still, i managed to pull myself out of bed and get to my family doctor down at Serangoon North. Dr Ling Chuen told me that my airway was too tight, and put me on a gaseous medicine treatment, where i had to sniff from some thing for like 30-45 mins. Truly it did help, by partially clearing my block nose, and my chest did not feel so tight anymore. Later he told me that my airway is not totally clean yet or something, and said i was always suffering from bronchitis, and now was the worse he ever seen, asthma on me. Oh well, i was abit shocked also. Then i told him about the leg pain i have, the symtoms and such, which was also affecting my performance during training as well. After some diagnosis, he concluded that i might have suffered from stress frazfture on my left leg.

Argh... i felt like im cursed or something, sigh... Then i went home, ate something, took the medication, and went out at night to meet up with joey and lap for a night movie. I felt much much better after the medication. I went to the comic shop first to buy the comics i missed out while in camp, before meeting them. Initially we wanted to watch "Intial D" (damn joey watched pirated "Batman Begins" and "Mr & Mrs Smith") already. But dunno due to joey or lap (maybe both), we ended up watching "A Lot Like Love", oh my gosh....3 men together watching this kinda show. While watching half-way, i felt like the plot was so similar, and if anyone can remember, there was this show on channel 5 a while ago entitled "Boys & Girls". And yeah, i dunno if it was because i watched "Boys & Girls" already, that's why i found "A Lot Like Love" is like so boring, there was countless time that i was so sleepy and almost fell asleep. I went back home, due to medication effect, i couldnt take it, and fell asleep, without finishing my comics yet.

Today, i woke up feeling much better, rest and medicine did help alot i guess. After slacking around, i went to the army market at beach road with my brother to purchase stuffs that i will need for NS when i book in later on tuesday morning. Actually the doctor wanted to excuse me for exercise (im not sure how long) but after hearing that i was having my physical training phase, he felt he cant give me that (i will be wasting the physical training phase and suffering at BMT), so he gave me MC for Sunday and Monday, so its 7.30am reporting at the ferry terminal on tuesday then, so early...

Oh well, now back home, watched some tv programme, slacking around, resting as much as i can, since i know booking in, confirm will be very 'siong' one. So so tired and sleepy... i just want to take my medicine and sleep now... I will pack my field pack tml then... zzzZZzZz