Category: Mundane

As promised, I have uploaded some pics at Flickr, and more at Shutterfly.

Take a look. What you see here are the ‘not-so-sucky’ pics. After taking a look at the professional photographer’s photos… I’m having second thoughts about sharing these… 😛

I have dumped a lot into the recycle bin because they were badly taken. There are a lot more which I have not put up, so be sure to call me or email me if you need them. Those that I am sharing could be at lower res, as well, I am not too sure about Shutterfly.

You’ll notice that I did not take much shots indoors. My built in flash unit sucks!

Really wonder if I should get a slave flash unit for my camera. Taking indoor shots are a pain…

Now countless pleas have gone unheeded. It’s an argument that is old, but yet unanswered.

Is the privatisation of public transportation really for the good of Singapore?

The situation now is the rising prices for taking public transport. Now i’ll just list down some of my observations.

What they say :

• Rising oil prices and other operation costs.

What we see :

• Duplication of resources. An MRT engineer at SMRT does almost exactly the same thing as an SBSTransit engineer.
• Wasteful ‘competition’.

• A free shuttle service is provided for commuters between dhoby ghaut, little india and chinatown.
• The route is already provided for by SBSTransit’s north east line. Thus, adding a free shuttle service is a wasteful cost to SMRT.

What they say :

• Introducing more than one service provider introduces competition, thereby forcing existing providers to become more efficient, and provide a greater level of service.

What we see :

• Unique routes. To get from point to point, there are not really a lot of real alternatives to take. Hence, each company has a monopoly on their individual routes, so there really is no real incentive to improve efficincies.

• This is a point I will not be able to prove. As a commuter, I see no tangible improvement in the service provided by either company. The grumpy impatient driver driving the bus I have take ten years ago is the same grumpy, impatient driver that he is, only a little grumpier and a little older. Previously, he was a TransIsland driver. Now, he’s an SMRT driver. Same difference…

Before you think that I am blaming the ‘gahmen’ for wasting money etc… Let me try to balance the argument up a little.

The short term suffering of the middle to lower income aside, our ‘gahmen’ is once again guilty of nothing more than the usual foresight at ‘doing what’s best for the nation’.

Privatisation allows the companies to venture out of our tiny red dot, to do business.

Profit-motivated companies will face less restrictions at venturing than a stat board would. SingTel is doing this. SPServices is doing the same. DelGro Corporation, the parent company of SBS Transit is actively doing business overseas as well.

So, don’t expect the gahmen to Nationalize (define :- Opposite of Privatize) our public transport companies, ever.

In the end, “LPPL”… Logic still works out for the greater good of singapore. Aiyah, poor people in Singapore, work harder la. Don’t take bus lor, walk lah… GST increase? Work harder la. Don’t eat lor. Charge us for air? Don’t breathe lor.

Finally out processed today. The hardest day to get through by far. Back hurts like hell today. Spent the entire morning playing ‘bluff’. Tricked Michael Thiam like crazy.

Questions :-
1) Why did the entire battalion have to play cohesion games at the very last hour of the very last day of ICT, when the rest of the day was spent doing nothing?

For cohesion. Depends on what cohesion means. The entire bunch of reservists felt cohesive enough. As I was f**king out loud about the inefficiency of the out process. Someone from another company, another platoon whom I have never seen before told me to “relax… last day liao. Just tong finish this stupid thing, and get out.”

2) Why were meals indented for the entire battalion for the entire ICT when we could have left early for most of the days?

Must be because SFI kao bei that they waste resources and earn too little, since most reservist personnels do not want their food. “Right hand pocket, put to the left hand pocket”

3) Why survey is done before out processing?

Because out processing is the most time consuming, and has the most inefficiency.

4) Video cameras and phones are really banned in camps because of security meh? In out ICT camp, need security one meh?

No.

SAF Spent a lot of money on these series of commercials to make soldiers look damn garang…

some bloody idiots make stupid video clips… makes soldiers look damn gu niang…

Aiyah… whatever it is… its over. Now its time to focus back on work. and focusing on getting my back healed by Monday.

Nothing much to say. Except that in one day, I managed to read half of the book I had started one week ago. “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” by John Gray.

I stayed overnight in bunk on Sunday. Reported sick on Monday. I must say that the waiting time at the Medical Centre had shortened tremendously.

I used to complain to anyone who would listen about my bad experience with the medical centre last year. The system at the medical centre in camp was extremely inefficient. I had reported sick last ICT in the morning at 8.30a.m, and only received my status printout and medication at 3p.m. in the afternoon. By 10a.m. I had seen the MO, and was waiting for the results. Having waited an hour, I asked the medic on duty periodically for the results, starting from 11a.m.

By the fourth time I asked, at around 12.30p.m. The medic told me that everyone went for lunch. (Including the medic who was around at 12p.m. whom I was checking with constantly) Somehow, he, and the others who was there, neglected to tell me. I was waiting like a idiot for so long, and they happily went for lunch without telling the supposedly sick patient. (I had a fever, by the way.)

Anyway, this time round, the whole process at the medical centre took less than one hour. I got my “Attend C” status (can go home) and some medication by 9.30 a.m.

But why could I finish half a book, you ask?

This time it is the procedure of my unit that is the problem. Since my company is off for exercise, I come under the jurisdiction of the ME Platoon for that day. However, the ME Platoon was leaving in the afternoon, they were handing over the ‘sick party’ (the lost and wounded) to a Warrant Officer in charge of the ICT unit.

Thus “the sick” were told to wait for instructions as we were to have a briefing with him. Estimated time of arrival? 11.30 a.m.

I was told, “Why don’t you sit around the office, and relax? We will be leaving at noon, then the warrant officer would brief all of you.”

The time was 9.45a.m. when he said that. 2 hours away from time of arrival of the esteemed warrant O’. Of course I didn’t wait. I went to bunk to finish half of my book, had a short nap, and still made it in time to meet my guardian for the next 3 days.

At the office, the warrant officer basically said that, since the rest of the unit is out for exercise, we cannot possibly join them. However, we cannot possibly “zhuo bor lan” (his exact words) either.

I am not sure if he got confused over our medical status, or whether he was genuinely being nice to us sick folks. In the end, he allowed the “Attend C” to go home and report to him after their “Attend C” status is over, but asked those on other excuse to report to him thrice per day, although meals were not provided.

Whatever, I was just happy to leave. My back was killing me, I was coughing pretty badly, and the MO gave me lozenges and gargling solution for it. Up till today, the medical centre still maintain the policy of ‘no antibiotics’.

I am staring to sound like a old lady. (Literally…)

Now I am sitting in front of my computer, I feel tired, but cannot sleep. That’s because when I lie down, I feel nerve firings through my legs, my neck, my hands randomly.

The worst attack I have ever had was when I twisted in my sleep. An intense shot of pain shot through my nerves in my body, and no matter what position I lie in, I feel the pain. Hwei Min was there and I was literally screaming, and sobbing, not knowing what to do.

Whenever I lie down and I feel an ache in my back sometimes, I feel an overwhelming sense of fear rush over me. I start to imagine the worst, I start visualizing what is causing the pain in my spine. I start to imagine what will happen if i lose my ability to move my limbs. I think of the consequences to my family.

Knowing what I learnt from “The Secret”, I know I should not focus on it too much, and instead, look forward to a full recovery. But lying down, feeling and jolting at every single tingle of my nerves, it’s hard, you know?

So I am sitting in front of the pc… googling for information about my injury. I came to looking for news about Michael J. Fox, and somehow found some inspiration from watching an interview of him on Youtube.