Perth, WA

Sorry for the lack of updates. Here is a brief summary of the Perth trip.

Day 1:
Qantas flight to Perth. After reaching hotel, immediately depart for Perth Central to eat. After that we walked 2 km home. Thank goodness it was cool.

Day 2:
Trip to Bull Creek to see the RAAF Museum. They store a Spitfire, and this huge original Lancaster bomber. It took up the whole hangar. They also had this C-47 in which you could peek in the back door (the one you jump from). I looked in and then I suddenly remembered Band of Brothers. I then saw the static line up on the ceiling of the C-47. Then I looked down. Silence.

Day 3:
Trip to Fremantle. Went to this fish and chips place. Really good stuff. Highlight was the visit to HQ Western Australia University Regiment. They had this museum with all the WW2 tanks like M3s on the perimeter of the parade square. There was this re-enactor inside wearing the uniform of a Light Horseman in WW1. He let me wear his ammo bandolier (containing replica, actual weight .303 clips). Its quite heavy if you carry it by hand, but actually wearing it is quite OK. There also was this diorama called 'In Flanders Fields' with all the soldiers advancing over a parched, burnt land. There were also these mockups of a POW camp, with the cholera tent, and a figure with jungle ulcers. Awfully disgusting, to say the least. I wouldn't want to have any of those.
And thus concluded the Remembrance part of the trip. A wooden plank at the exit of the POW gallery summed it all up.

"When you go home, tell them of us and say - For your tommorow, we gave our today."

Day 4:
Swan Valley. Winery after winery. I'm a teetotaler. I don't drink, and when I tasted white wine, I think I was a bit doozy for a few seconds. I wouldn't want to down a whole bottle of the stuff.

Day 5:
City West. Bought 633 Squadron (book) there. Cheap secondhand books, but a very limited range.

Day 6:
Arrived in Singapore. Enough said.

I said it was going to be brief. I forgot to mention the flies going all over my beef. That was the worst lunch I had in years. And the most expensive. Price does not equal a good experience. Lesson learnt. Never eat next to a winery.

An Update

Well, back from Malaysia. Watched Madagascar 2 there.

and it was darn funny. The plot is quite well-woven if you ask me.

Funny lines:

***

Kowalski: [the plane has crash landed and the penguins are looking at a clipboard] Only two passengers unaccounted for, Skipper.

Skipper: That's a number I can live with! Good landing, boys! Who says a penguin can't fly?

***

(ultimate tough manly quote)

Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit, and a whole lotta duct tape.

***

Alex: [to Marty] I broke your iPod!

***

Private: In case of a loss of oxygen, please place your masks over your faces to hide your terrified expressions from the other passengers.

***

Julien: [after Melman has announced he has only 48 hours to live] "If I had only two days to live, I would invade a neighboring country, and force my ideology on them, whether they wanted it or not."

***

(best quote in the movie in my opinion)

Julien:"Well, you gotta march right up to this woman, right? You look her right in the eye, you lean forward, right? Just a little - almost all the way. then you let her, like, lean forward, just a little bit until you're just a lips' distance away from each other. And then you just tell her...how much you hate her."


Funny stuff.

Self-Education : Pars Secunda

Still have one part to go before I finish Differentiation.

Will move on to Integration.

Also learning French, German and Japanese simultaneously.

Why?

"Not because they are easy, but because they are hard."-JFK.

Airman #1

This is a picture I did up in half an hour. Depicts an RAF guy with a moustache. I put in #1 in the title because there will be more to come. Place comments in Das Postfach.

Danke.

Self-Education

It is my strongest belief that self-education is vital for the learner, because it encourages self-motivation, which is a key trait a learner should have. It also gives less trouble to teachers. If everyone educated himself well before the lesson started, the teacher would only have to correct what the students did not understand during his program of self-education, and the teacher could then expand further on the concepts and ideas the pupil has learned, allowing the student to think deeper on the subject and consequently derive the greater benefit.

(Enough of the essays.)

(And now for something completely different.)

Well, I've come back from Hong Kong. It was a nice trip. Went to CAS, GFS, TST Fire Station, lots of other places. I have learned much.

Yesterday during YM, we touched on this topic of "Freedom is questionable". My goodness, this is Philosophy in Church. There could be nothing more fun. Argument, debate, logic, reason, and counter-argument.

What is freedom?

Within our worldly confines, there is none. We just move from one prison to another.

So is freedom attainable? Is it real?

Yes it is. But not worldly freedom.

The greatest freedom is the only freedom.

Armistice

It was on this day on which the armies stopped fighting 90 years ago.

Today, Remembrance Day is a day marked to commemorate the sacrifices the Commonwealth soldiers made for us.

Unfortunately, very few know of this day here in Singapore. Have we forgotten the sacrifices of Dalforce, ANZAC, the Plymouth Argylls?

Over here, people stare at you with that "is that guy gay?" look when you wear a poppy you got from donating to the RBL (Royal British Legion for those who didn't know).

A simple poppy. Small but meaningful. Yet misconstrued badly in our day and age. I envy those in the Commonwealth Realms. At least they still recognise this. What happened to the rest of the Commonwealth? Did not the British, Indians, Gurkhas, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders fight for your peace, your freedom, your lives?

We take freedom for granted today.

We fail to recognise our freedom was earned in blood.

"That freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have courage to defend it."-Pericles


LEST WE FORGET.

AAR

Well, camp is over.
It was probably the most hectic and nightmarish one I ever had to run.

1st day. Some people didn't turn up for Energy course so Sec 1s had to fill for them, interrupting training time. At night, it rained heavily and the tents flooded. We had to remove the tents and luggage by hand. I got my new long pants muddy :(

2nd day. The Sec 1's drill was lousy. We had run out of time for drill and dinner, and so we declared Emergency. From then on, we scolded and screamed like they do in ITC Catterick. The Sec 1s responded well though. They improved their drill dramatically, as if a miracle. God answers prayers. We had Lights Out at 0100h, so they only had 4+ hours sleep. We had 3 because of boot polishing.

3rd day. Their drills were still good, all passed their drill exam, held a Passing Out Parade. Very good, introduced UDI drills.

Overall, this camp, to me, is a reminder of what God can do for us. Gott mit uns.

30th Post

Tomorrow is UG Camp. 3 days of intense training (not mine, my corporals are training the private men.)

We get to handle pace sticks!

Pls pray for me. Camp will be until Saturday.

Pray for my corporals that they will pull this off well, and for the private men, that they will co-operate.

Achtung!

I have made it. I am on to Secondary 4. No study camp. HURRAH!

Yet the results are hardly impressive. If I don't do something, my hopes for Warrant Officer could be dashed. Above average school grades. Tough. What do I do now. I do not want to waste my efforts.

I must do my best for O-Level.

God defend my battered soul.

The road ahead.

Soli Deo Gloria - To God alone be the glory.

He has done so much for me thus far, and I should continue to depend on him during this next challenge:

O Level Chinese. The Big One. Preparations are underway.

Pray for me.

Ne'er a dull day

How exciting can life get. In 5 minutes, I get know I've been nominated for a 6-day educational deployment to Hong Kong by Lee-sir(UG), and I'm getting a flu jab.

Never a boring day.

Frei

I have survived...for now.

I am super worried for my HCL and Maths. If something goes wrong, I might end up in the study camp at the end of the year.

Prayer. It's the only way forward now.

Apart from that, at least the exams are over. I did better than I expected. Gloria.

Heh... I got my bday present already. A pair of hobnailed boots. Good for drill, work and outdoor use. It goes CLICK when you walk. The sound is addicting. :)

Time to catch up on exercise.

Preparations for War

Still have a lot to cover before exams, but I'm making good progress.
I won't be blogging much, but do pray for me, my brothers and my sanity.

Godspeed to those taking exams as well.

Glück ab Kamerad!

Fallschirmjager

Exams around the corner, studying really, really hard. A lot hangs on the results of this ordeal.

Here are lyrics to the new song in the cbox. Courtesy of ingeb.org (Deutsche Volkslieder)

1. Hinter den Bergen strahlet die Sonne,
glühen die Gipfel so rot,
Stehen Maschinen, die woll'n mit uns fliegen,
fliegen in Sieg oder Tod.
Hurra, wir starten, hurra, wir starten,
wenn die erste Morgensonne scheint,
Fallschirmjäger, Fallschirmjäger
gehen ran an den Feind!

2. Hoch in den Lüften fliegt unser Vogel
stolz und frei durch die Luft,
Standhaft und ehrsam sind unsere Herzen,
wenn das Kommando uns ruft.
Hurra, wir fliegen, hurra, wir fliegen,
wenn die erste Morgensonne scheint,
Fallschirmjäger, Fallschirmjäger
gehen ran an den Feind!

3. Hoch aus den Wolken stürzen wir nieder,
tief in die feindlichen Reih'n.
Gegner, wir kommen, habt ihr's vernommen,
bald wird der Sieg unser sein!
Hurra, wir springen, hurra, wir springen,
wenn die erste Morgensonne scheint,
Fallschirmjäger, Fallschirmjäger
gehen ran an den Feind!

Ardua

This is not good. My drill standards have been questioned. By arrogant people no less.

Cheerfulness in the face of adversity.

Have to train more even though exams round the corner.

From here, the only way is up.


PER ARDUA

AD ASTRA

To the stars

Baptised already. It is a new beginning.

The ceremony itself was pretty much usual, but kinda funny though. I really need to get my glasses fixed XD

After coming out of the water, the situation was what I called "the time when you feel most accepted and encouraged." In the space of 5 minutes, I had shaken more than 10 hands, possibly 20.

Then came encouragement cards.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting such things. I get the occasional encouragement note from the friendly YMM Barnabas every now and then, at random times, but usually, I never get encouragement or congratulation for anything I personally do, anything I have gone through, passed out of, things that mean a lot to me. When I passed out from UDI, FGB, SNCO, all the congrats I got were from my DG and my coursemates.

Never anyone else.

I was shocked. I felt rather uncomfortable for the next few days.

And I realised how much I had missed for years.

And I realised how long I had survived without it.

You can go a long way without encouragement, but when you realise it, it hurts real bad.

That's where hope in God comes in. P.U.P. has taught me a lot about trusting in the Lord no matter what happens, even when all the world betrays you.

Only He can save us from our despair.

God defend us.

I am reminded of a song that I used to hum throughout UDI. (Man, you can never get enough folk music on this blog, aye?)

The Minstrel Boy

The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy right shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!

Oh yes, and 633 Squadron will play in the background when you visit. What joy.

Commissioning Ceremony

Tomorrow is Baptism. It is a symbol of being dead to sin, and alive in Christ. It is the sacrament of justification by faith, bringing us in the closest union with God as a result.

It is commissioning.

It is commissioning to do the Lord's work.

We get no sword from this 'commissioning parade'.

But we get so much more...

We are God's Sons and Officers.

The End

The last hurdle is over. Gone are the days of slogging tired butts to the Police Academy. UDI Course is OVER!!!

And I have successfully passed out as a full-fledged UDI (Unit Drill Instructor). Thanks to God for getting me through this physically and mentally demanding course.

Getting baptised in a few days time. Lots of major events in the space of a few weeks.

Day before tomorrow

O level prelims tomorrow...pls pray for me.

PUP Wk 7

It's amazing how God takes care of us. For the past 2 weeks of PUP, ways of handling stress have been taught (examples from David). He would place complete trust in the Lord, leave it in His hands and then praise Him.

UDI course coming up. It is a most ominous affair. Only God will get me through all 3 days of it.

The Navy Hymn

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

I'm back

Well, I managed to recover. It was pretty much a really hellish week, probably worse than that at National Camp. Couldn't eat, couldn't do anything but sleep. Felt terrible. Thank God for pulling me through that week.

Anyway I'm back in action, and alive as ever. Sunset is available for download on my shoutbox, credits to the Band of the Royal Australian Navy. Really nice tune. If only they put up Evening Hymn as well.

Evening Hymn (The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended)

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.

As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

Attend B

As can be implied from the actual posting, I am not on Pulau Ubin. In fact, I'm not even going there. I am on Attend B (sedentary duties only) until the end of the week.

National Camp...gone.

Must have disappointed a lot of people...Sorry.

Will make it up somehow...

Hopes

I'm supposed to be in church now, but I'm sick and so I am here. National Camp is tomorrow. Really hope to be well in time. I have had amazing recoveries that took 8 hours. But even if I don't, really hope to join up on 2nd day. If cannot also, what to do? It was fun while it lasted. All the rehearsals for the dikir barat, all the admin and time spent coming up with lyrics. It was fun.

Hormat kepada panji-panji, hormat senja...TA!

Happy National Day to all of you out there. Singapore live on. Of course I don't go around saying that. It could kill me. There is a limit to every worldly pride. I shall only boast of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.

Why do so many people associate soldiering with national pride. Soldiering is a profession. The media tells you that soldiering is for 'the defense of the nation'. 'It is a sacred duty'. Truth be told, these are not lies. But these are superficial to the true nature of soldiering. It may seem like fun, but soldiering is one of the most painful, bitter, tragic, terrible, miserable professions to be in. Why do I like it then...am I abnormal? Do I seek out suffering for its own sake? No. I don't understand it myself.

Then, another question. Is loyalty a virtue today? Have we become so INDIVIDUALISTIC that we FORGET what is really IMPORTANT? Has loyalty become an ideal? An ideal reserved for samurai of yore? Exponents of bushido? What has become of us? Why can we not speak of loyalty without being SARCARSTIC? Why do we seek to please ourselves and not the more important beings?

Man is sinful.

Only God can control.

I live in an age in which loyalty is scorned, and the loyal are the hunted.

Only God can control.

God defend us.

Promotion Pending.

Tomorrow, I will be receiving the S/Sgt. epaulettes. It is a mark of responsibility. Only use to glorify God.

National Camp coming up soon. should be fun, less siong than other camps I've attended, although this is the longest one so far. Why couldn't I be on the one NCC organised...this one must go Ubin, PLC I can go anyday, anytime. Anyway, I will be missing school. Have to do PUP in advance.

Post lag.

Sorry, I haven't been posting for a while. Been loaded with work (still am but breathing a bit). I passed FGB. The hurdle is cleared, prepaing for UDI course. Attended school's choir concert yesterday. Lagi pro. Well, going to finish P.U.P. now. Adios.

An Die Kampf!

HQ came to inspect us, we learned a lot of new things today. We should improve though, how is beyond my means. I can't control everything. Leadership is a core competency. I have to learn it better, and practice it better.

Tomorrow is FGB course. 10h of non-stop drill. Nothing I hate, nothing I particularly enjoy.

God help me, it's war. Just this hurdle to clear before Drill Instructor Course.

10th Post

10th post already. Not bad.

Really busy this week. Tomorrow, the Physics and English projects are due, next week is History and the week after is Chinese...

Taking the TD Gold and Heritage courses tomorrow for UG, followed by Footdrill Gold on Saturday at HQ. Oh no.

The last time I went to HQ for a long period of time, it took a few weeks to recover from the psychological trauma. It was so bad even the AFIs noticed it. Just hope my State Of Mind is positive, so I can meet the challenge. Not just that. Never cease to pray. It was reliance on God which got me through the Senior Noncom's course and it will be reliance on God which will overcome this hurdle...

Another week

Well, it's been tough.

Friday: Took Total Defence Silver Course, going for Gold course this week.
Saturday: FPS Competition. Then went for piano class.
Sunday: Baptism class, PUP W2.
Monday: School, return books to library.

Yup, that's pretty much it. Looking forward to another busy week. Still got Literature project to do.

Attend C

High fever today, Attend C. Stayed home, doing homework, resting. Pray that I will recover soon, I can't afford to miss lessons. FPS Comp coming up, doing research.

For a change, I'll post up lyrics to the songs in my imeem playlist.

Blaydon Races (by Geordie Ridley) c.1800s

Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs,
An' sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Brown;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's concert in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon.

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy."
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Now, me boys, for riders."

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

Its a Warzone

Today was O Level LC exam. Okay, i guess. FPS training was cancelled because of lack of time. (Oh darn, we have competition on Saturday.)

A friend of mine told me that Christ would come in 2014, and then proceeded to give a long list of evidences. However, it may all be just speculation. Someone probably said the same thing thirty years ago, and so on and so on.

Whether or not it is true, I leave it up to the reader to check up more and then decide. But that isn't the main point. The thing is, Christ is coming, there will be great persecution, and it could happen within our lifetimes or maybe not. We often take life for granted, but truth be told, time is running out. Make every day count for God.

(sorry if it sounds confusing. That's all I can say.)

忙死我了。。。

看來，這個星期真可以閙出人命來了。。。

星期一：FPS
星期二：FPS
星期三：補習，DG
星期四：FPS
星期五：UG
星期六：FPS
星期天：教會

還有很多功課要做，但要堅持到底。


我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。
我不可以懶惰。

1 Samuel P.U.P.

It's amazing what IBS (Inductive Bible Study) can change you. Today we did the 1st lesson on 1 Samuel (Chap 1 to 3)

Main points:
-God is sovereign (Examples from all over the Bible where certain women conceived only because of God's plan, otherwise tak boleh 生孩子。Take for example Hannah, Sarai, Elizabeth)
-Disciplining is neccessary for the young (Look what happened to Aaron's and Eli's sons. If only they had been rebuked earlier on, they wouldn't have to end up dead by God's hand.)
-Be wary of false prophets (False prophets will contradict the teaching of God, and they will fail in their words.)
-Be God-centric when giving thanks to God (Hannah thanked God for his nature, not so much for giving her a child (See 1 Samuel 2)
-Don't kacau people for what they don't have (Peninah kept on irritating Hannah year after year about her barrenness, adding insult to injury Note: It was a major disgrace in those days for a women to be barren as women, well were supposed to be for baby-making purposes mostly.
In the end, Hannah was so heartbroken Note: The Hebrew word that described Hannah's sadness meant broken; shattered. that Eli thought she was drunk when she came to see her. Please don't cause people unnecessary misery.)

See, so much out of 3 chapters. God's word is amazing.

Hallelujah.

Stand down and work.

National Camp training was okay, new people came. Watched the SPF band and Gurkha pipes do their Edinburgh Tattoo performance. Jai Gorkhali! (Hail the Gurkhas)

Couldn't go for the NE Show 2 because no more places. Never mind, always have next year.

And yes, Jeshrei is the first to reply on my shoutbox. Congratulations are in order. (claps)

A Brief Layup of Activities

It's going to be a hectic weekend. Let's see...

SATURDAY
National Camp Rehearsal - 5-6 hours
NE Show Facilitation (pending) - 6-8 hours

SUNDAY
Church - 5 hours (time well-spent. wouldn't miss it for the world)

and i still have tons of stuff to do.

Today was alright, finished the Crime Prevention module and test. After that played street soccer and then went home. Going to do hw now. Before that, I shall put up the imeem playlist at the right side of the blog. Watch out.

God help me.

四處亂跑

我今天沒做到了很多，一放學就去朋友傢去做FPS的東西，然後就回家。他家在裕廊東，我得浪費很多時間。真是的。我還得做很多，我教會現在有個新的PUP(Precept Upon Precept)，所以今晚要去做。我還要復習數學啊，日語啊，等等。。。

加油吧，知恩。

celer-et-audax

喂，大家好，我是知恩。這是我新的博客。我有時會用英文寫這個博客，也通常會用中文。希望你們能欣賞。謝謝。

"celer-et-audax" is the Latin phrase meaning "swift and bold". It is the motto of the Royal Green Jackets, and now the motto of The Rifles. It epitomises the spirit of the riflemen of yore, and their legendary role in battle, especially in the Peninsular War.