Yup, yesterday was my 27th Birthday. So just in case you're desparate for a gift and also more desparate to get into my good shoes, here are some nice little playthings you may wanna consider....

Update: I am so tempted to buy this (click link).... but S$135....OMG...

Presenting..... Final Fantasy Advent Children toy set!

The Bad guys....

The good guys...

And the cool guy...

*rubs hands with glee....*

Well Michelle said she did some 'magic' to her blog and that I can't locate it in google or technorati....well she's right!

Anyway, as usual curiosity got the better of me and I tyoe 'snowparang' into technorati...and found this: http://cowboycaleb.liquidblade.com/index.php/archives/2005/10/18/liddat-still-can-blog/

But still I'm still left wondering how she got to know your blog....anyway, have you done the meme? Mine is done but I do not know who to link to....

Ah dui, dear Karen tagged me with this disease called Meme but didn't give specific instructions...but somehow I managed to understand..

Five weird habits of mine:

1. I bite my nails and tap my front tooth using my thumb nail when I'm thinking
2. I WILL fall asleep in a moving land vehicle (bus, car, taxi), even if the journey is only 5 minutes.
3. I breath through my mouth.
4. No matter how badly dried up, bloodied or painful my lips are I do not use lip balm!
5. I can fall asleep (and comfortable so) in a kneeling position, body curled over and head on the ground in front of my knees. My friends call it the 'Mecca sleeping technique'! I've used this to great advantage on uncomfortable long distance bus rides, wet and cold moutain hikes and any other places where I find it a little too hard to fall asleep...

Unfortunately I still have not though of who to link this to....so this is incomplete ok....

Well for those who don't know, I'm actually allergic to Paracetamol or Panadol. So please don't feed me with these common medication!

But that's only slightly relevant to this post. I'm still in Thailand, and as you can see from my previous blogs good food is abound in this Land of Smiles.

So are some.....Fear Factor food...

In a nutshell, the worms (those they buy in aquarium to feed the Jin Long Yu and LuoHan) taste quite good actually when fried well, with a strange nutty taste. The slightly fatter worms, though, has a slightly squishy centre which may not be THAT palatable to the common man.

But that's nothing compared to what I'm going to try:

The pincers are very hard! And crunchy as expected. I do not know what seasoning they used to fry the bug, but it taste vaguely like....chicken essence? The head though, is nice, with the right blend of crispiness and taste.

The adomen part, however is TERRIBLE! Soft and bitter, it fit the taste of what I imagined an insect will taste like!

The best part is, after eating the 2 pincers, the head and half the adomen, I began to feel an itch around my lips and mouth! OMG. Then I began to feel dry in the throat......I had a similiar situation when I ate an innocent looking sandwich, which later developed into red rashes around my whole face....

So I just gulped own a bottle of water and 'detox' with some mangoes and fried bah kua....seems to help! Lucky ah, else cannot imagine the consequences when they knew I report sick because...I ate a scorpion!

Who wants? I can pack a few from here to Singapore...

A typical biker's outing goes like this....

• Forum/SMS/whatever info is passed: Meet at GP (Geylang Patah) Esso, which is basically the first Esso petrol kiosk you'll see northbound from Singapore on NSHW, at xx:xx time.
• xx:xx time plus 30 minutes, all except one is present.
• Contacted the lost sheep - KNN first time in 2nd link and lost the way!
• xx:xx time plus 50 mins, finally everyone here.
• Travelled in convoy (bikes in zig zag formation, around 100 km/h). Because most of the bikes are below 200 CC, we took the leisurely pace. Else it will be 'clear carbon' session, whereby all bikes will hit top speed in around 15-25 seconds (and that's around 180 km/h - 300 km/h depending on what bike)...
• Reach the place, secure a good parking slot (with the help of the restaurant owner preferably.)
• Take 20 minutes to order food...and irrespective of where or what restaurant, they will ask for their favorite Malaysian food. Like Yue Guang He Fen, Ma Lai Feng Guang etc.
• Food arrives! What was a supper session turns out to be a feast...as shown:

Cereal prawns, sweet/sour pork, fried fritters with fishcake.

Chili crabs - it was a promotion period, at RM$26 per kg! Cheap!

Mee goreng and sambal fried rice
 

Crab fried with salted eggs. First time eating this, nice! Did I mention crabs were at promotion rate?

Last but not least, frog legs with chicken essence. Yes they poured one bottle of chicken essence into the boiling frog legs. Suppose to match tongkak ali...

And after everything is gobbled up and paid (about RM$27 per person), photo time just before we suit up and head home.

Yes it rained while we were taking the bloody photo. But reached SIngapore uneventfully. This blog is late because the person who took the photos were unable to post it up on time. And for some reason the fantastically taken photos (Nikon D50, no less!) was posted with a measly 320 x 213 resolution...hence the small size.

So who wanna join me in the next Biker's makan trip?

This is actually my first time spending CNY away from Singapore. Quite sad actually....how I long for the ba kua, the pineapple tarts, the mahjong...

Anyhow, the Chinese population here do have some sort of celebration. Instead of Chun Dao He Pan �i�t"ž‰Í"È�j, they set up stalls along the monsoon drain (or river, depending on your perspective) near to their landmark the Yah Mor (a statue of a female warrior). In true Chinese fashion, they have a big getai here with live band, and even a Chinese wayang show!

I read ShuHann's comments about food....and here I find more! But before that I've already been to their biggest flea mart/night bazaar called (you gotta love the Thai's english!) - Save1. Although only like half the size of Chatuchuk's carpark there's still plenty of interesting things to see. Plus since it's at night, it's cooling. The biggest attraction (which I think Chatuchuk do not have) is food! I just list down what I had and you be the judge:

1. BBQ chicken kebab and chicken backside (1 stick each) for 20 THB
2. Dried pepper beef for 20 THB (not very nice but I though it might taste like ba kua...)
3. Fresh orange juice (250 ml bottle) - 10 THB
4. BBQ squid with fucking spicy sauce - 5 THB
5. 3 x baby crabs fried until only the pincers are too hard to eat - 10 THB (best!)
6. Kiwi ice drink - 15 THB

So total of 80 THB, which I did not finish 1 crab and the dried beef! For comparison, the New YearBlack Pepper Pork Sandwich with Curly fries I just ate from MacDonald's cost me 99 THB!

Anyhow, yesterday along the stores we bought:

1. 2 packets of dried dumplings - 10 THB each (cannot finish)
2. Guava and green mango slices (very nice! And 1 whole fruit each pack) - 55 THB
3. Fried carrot cake without the carrot and replace it with shrimp roe - 10 THB (a bit hard, but nice)

There's still oyster omelette but no tables for us so we didn't buy. We took the food to a nearby bar/restaurant and ate the food with Heinekken Beer and a plate of Sweet and Spicy chicken with cashew nuts. And watch Chelsea get thrashed by Newcastle 2-nil at FA cup. Oh btw 'they' are my drivers that drive me around the town and to camp....

So Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!

Greetings from Nakhon Ratchasima (also more commonly known as Khorat or Korat)! It's has been a hectic 4 days since I landed here (although I still manage to sneak in 2 thai massage session!).

Unfortunately, against my better judgement I decided not to bring my bulky camera. I have a smaller one but 'ahem, ahem' spoiled it while on her Europe trip. Not that you guys will miss much though. Korat is basically quite a small town that has been developing quite steadily, no doubt from the help of frequent foreign armed forces (US, Singapore, Malaysia etc) coming here for exercise. The weather here is definitely dry and usually cool.

I'm surfing the net only after 4 days since landing here because I've been searching for a cheap internet booth. The one in hotel cost 60 THB/30 min. The wireless service cost 200 THB per hour. This one, a small 'lan shop' concept (most lan shop no internet) not dissimiliar from Singapore's in the largest mall in Korat called....THE MALL, offer internet at 20 THB per hour! Yippee!

Language is definitely a barrier for me. Fortunately, I'm saved by the large horde of sergeants and warrant officers that can actually converse in Thai. Things in Korat is cheap but you have to search for it. Things in THE MALL, however are not cheap. I just ate a KFC 2 piece meal using metal fork and knife, and it cost me 95 THB. I ate my dinner at road side stalls yesterday: crepe with banana (yes it's true!), 15 pork satays for 30 THB (I showed them 5 fingers when ordering, and they gave me 15...I think minimum is 15 sticks lah), one stick of deep fried stuff which is good. And a can of Lipton honey lemon tea from 7-11 (which is everywhere here, just like Bangkok). I was searching for hot tea but couldn't find too. All these for 20+30+10+13=73 THB.

Besides food, there's some shopping to be done too. Here is where THE MALL shines. Especially clothes, where even the design for men is quite caried. But price like Singapore leh...

Today is also the day my 53 colleagues flew back to Singapore to celebrate CNY, leaving me and one SSG. So sad....only my 1 kg (now left 800 gm) of Xiang Wei ba kua to accompany my lonely CNY. But then not complaining, cos it means I have more time to do work!

Please send me your gift request!

Well yes, poor me has to take the 0800 C-130 flight to Thailand to prepare for the exercise there. In fact, because I'm Logs and Finance (which basically encompasses everything except Flying) I've the privilege to spend my CNY there! Fuck... I'll try to update the blog if I can get a decent internet connection there.

Knowing my untimely trip, my family decided to have the reunion dinner earlier, 2 days ago.

It's was quite ok food, as usual 'healthy' by my mother standards but most people will though some of us were vegetarians. The soup is pretty good though.

Ah well...some cute gifs and pics...might be offensive!

Ok bye bye! As you know from the Alaska Experience, pls email or leave a message here on your choice of gift! Or else elephant droppings! I'm not allowed meat stuff so don't ask me for pork floss...

365 days seem too short to last,
from my forceful grip, it slipped and past.
I open my empty palm and thought of what I did,
what I felt, experienced and tasks incomplete.

At work, everything is changing,
my OC, my S4, my Commander and some.
But poor me still stuck to the same posting
of mundane paperwork and meaningless glum.

Then lo and behold!
The phrophecy foretold!
Last year's finance assistant
this year's bloody accountant!

Not only did I shoulder the great responsibility
of managing millions not spent my me,
A new initiative - a 'spirit revitaliser',
I was to create the darn quarterly newsletter.

But not all is gloom and doom,
2005 was a year of many country roams,
To Thailand, Alaska and Australia,
and finally, to Hatyai on motocycle.

And some anticipation was quelled,
targets met and desire fulfilled.
Got my 2A, my Aprilia and my Dell,
Advent Children came out as well!

2005 also sprung many new experiences
mostly bad and definitely worth reminisce.
Dengue fever, accident and my first ambulance ride,
broken collar bone, C9L2 and no 2.4km to fight!

As I think of what else to write,
to phrase and trying to rhyme.
I must thank my lovely dear,
to not harass and gave me my own time.
Her trust in me was most uncommon,
and I'd love her with all my waking moments.

Of course there's still Masak,
like sibei gilat
but I'm one of you,
so you remain jialat!

Not forgetting MENUS,
and our regular saturday night fever.
55 Carmichael Road after GENUS
we played with renewed vigor!

All said and done,
changes, more to come.
2005, come and gone away
2006, come what may!

Ok, I know it sound kinda lame to compare one of the most prestigious occupation in the world against a form of transportation. But allow me to explain why I can draw lines of similiarity between these 2 people.

To do that, we have to travel back in time 7 freaking years ago in 1998....where I was know as Officer Cadet (OCT) Guay. Although that a time of physical torture and mental disuse, most of us have something to look forward to...in addition to booking out and long weekends. It was not long after the announcement of our A-levels result, and the time to submit our choices for entry in university.

I put my first choice as Medicine. Yes I was aspiring to actually do something useful and 'honorable' with my life, and I can't imagine a better way than saving lives. So with an almost flawless A-level results (4 As liao, already overkill), I was quite confident in getting into Medicine.

Alas! NUS decided that Medicine students must read newspapers and write coherently about topics they have absolutely no experience with aka GP result must be at least B3. I got a fucking C6. And thus relegated to my 2nd choice....Engineering.

Ok, still not that bad. I have an almost flawless Physics results all along my 2 JC years, with minimal lessons attendance and zero tutorials done. So I thought if I can't do something I really want to, at least I should be in something that makes sense to me and hopefully I can excel in? However, passion (medicine) suddenly becomes profession (engineering) and thus I began to think logically, to weight $$ and time and opportunities...and I decide to sign 4 years of my life for a study grant, in return to work in the organisation I'm in now.

So why an aerospace/aircraft related environment? To me aircraft is the utmost in enginnering, and perhaps the most exciting thing ever built by man - a machine that enable us to fly. Hence I did not sign on to this relatively cushy job, solely because it was a cushy and well paid one. I did have a fervour for flying and flying machines.

Yeah ok, but what the hell this got anything to do with riding a bike?

On first glance it sounded ridiculous however here I draw you a few similarites:

So I love bikes, because to me it's the closest to actually flying an aircraft. I definitely can't fly, as I have neither the ability, amptitude nor even meet the minimum physical requirements. 

You might think it's stupid but that's just means you can only drive cars or take public transport. Bikers will know what I'm trying to say. Of course if you're a pilot and chuckling to yourself...well I have nothing to say, cos I'm freaking jealous of you!

Anyway, this post is inspired by an 'incident' that I had the chance to observe last week. It was a review and interogation of a pilot error that almost went awry. I should not disclose too much details, but looking at the AVTR (A something Video Tape Recorder - records the HUD display of the fighter aircraft and thus its altitude, speed, bank, roll rate etc.) and seeing the altitude number falls so rapidly, my palm actually broke into cold sweat, just like what happen when I know I'm in a dangerous situation while riding my bike.... Thankfully the pilot manage to recover by a pure stroke of luck.

If there's such a thing as dedicating post, this one goes to Brandon, my former BMT mate and late accident pilot of the F-16. May you rest in peace, and protect the boys in the air.