sometimes the small things are important too

well, i have the pictures of the scout competition in my computer at home so i'll get them up when i have the time. the boys did quite well, we made it into the finals for all the events which we registered for and although we only came in 2nd for the trestle race, i think it's good that the boys got more exposure to the competition. this would mean that at least now they have an idea of what the standard is like and won't be asking me all the time what the winning timing was the last time and what was expected of them. Our bridge finished with a silver and our tower came in with a bronze. Very disappointing. The bridge people learnt a very important lesson that day, that sometimes even the small details are important. We made them take down and build the bridge 3 times because they kept on making silly mistakes and not paying attention to the basics. That resulted in the platform at the top being slanted and also the whole structure not being vertical but instead looking like it's falling down. Like i told the teacher, it seems that our boys haven't learnt that if they do things right the first time, they won't have to repeat things and in the end, won't tire themselves out doing things for nothing. and also, they seem to be unable to notice the details (like how they should have made sure that the platform wasn't slanted before bringing it up). but nevertheless, it was a good chance for the boys to learn. Daryl would agree that with all the effort we had put in, we deserved more but there is only so much that you can do as a leader. It still depends on the boys to try their best.

it's interesting that even the smallest things matter in a relationship. maybe it's not obvious, maybe it's been ignored one too many times. a lot can change in a week.

YAHOO!!!

CONGRATS to my dearest girlfriend for not biting her nails for 10/11 days, or something like that!!

i love you even more now... haha

americans

also, have any of you guys seen the trailer for the movie Adrift? i mean, seriously, how fucking stupid are americans?

"Set on the coast of Mexico, six long-time friends go on a cruise in a luxury yacht. Things go wrong when everybody jumps into the water, leaving only a baby on board, only to realise that they forgot to let down the ladder and there's no way to climb back onto the boat."

oo. lets sail out into the big blue ocean, take a short swim in the ocean while the baby is asleep. Oops, seems like daddy's boat doesn't have a diving platform. Too bad the freeboard (height of ship's deck above water) is too high for us.

just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber,

there you go daryl

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

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me engineer talk good english.

perry bible fellowship

Comic strips that have a warped sense of humour.

An idle mind is the devil's workshop

i'd like to apologise to the S11 people for being so busy. Scouts has been filling up most of my time right now such that i can't meet you guys on weekends. The competition is only 2 weeks away and the boys are really putting in a lot more effort now. Friday and saturday meetings usually end at 930 to 10pm and after that it's dinner at orchard for me. After spending the whole day out, i find it hard to want to go out and rather just head home, especially since i have to wake up early on saturday for scouts and sunday for church. I'd really like to hang out with you guys but i'm afraid i'm just too busy.

as for more photos, here they are.

so we didn't actually get it completed by friday but here's one side of the gateway, it's supposed to be a statue of St. John Baptist De La Salle with his arm outstretched to form the arch.

Head of both statues (Rubin/Tay: My crozius)

the bridge event boys have come up with their bridge and we had them test it out on Saturday. looks like things are going well and when i can release photos of it (it's all a big secret), i'm sure you'll have second thoughts about scouts and that we actually DO know how to have fun unlike some other CCA's which march around all day and do push-ups.

was going to post pictures of wala's but they're mostly on Jan's blog so go over there to have a look.

back to the title of this post, i realise that i do ponder about certain things in my life whenever i'm travelling. It is most probably the only quiet time i have in my day so i like to think about stuff. Like how i have to be sensitive to people reading this post, thus ALMOST defeating the purpose of having a blog where you can put out your opinions. Other things also pop out like how i realise that being a catholic for 22 years doesn't really make a difference in my life right now. I know/believe in Jesus and all that but i sometimes feel that he doesn't influence my life. The whole doing good for others, i do it because i want to, not because i want to score points. I make an effort to be nice/polite/helpful because it is a considerate thing to do. Isn't this a lot better than doing good things in the hope that someone will recognise you even though that someone is omnipresent?

In the end, is there much of a difference if i told St Peter that i was good because i wanted to help people or because the big boss told me to be. If there wasn't a difference, that would mean all good people are always "saved from the fires of Hell"? So why have religion in the first place? Is your God actually that different from mine? Can He actually be that fickle to not let you in because you didn't believe in Him but nonetheless have been a good person? You may think so, but you forget that you're just human, and you can not even begin to imagine how he would think like. Maybe that's why i'm not too concerned about switching religions when the time comes. Doctrines are a human invention and therefore are flawed. They have always been open to interpretation and as we all know, there's error carried forward. But how far can you actually stray from "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." I believe that God is present and that he looks out for all the do-gooders. What i don't believe in is the differences in the present Church about who is right and who is wrong.

There have also been other things that regularly come up during these quiet times but i don't seem to remember them once i step out of the train/car.

feeling good, sort of

my fellow psycho adult leaders, Sean (green shirt) and Marcus (singlet)


Sec 4's and half built heavily modified abseiling tower.


Heads for the gateway, more pics when fully completed estimated by Friday.


Kitchen shed for sec 1 orientation. The ground looks a lot worse than in this picture. It currently looks, feels and smells like a mangrove swamp.

So preparation for the upcoming competition is progressing well. We were talking about it yesterday and it seems like every meeting a new problem surfaces. Yes, they don't repeat old problems, they create NEW ones.

feeling good because i finally set up the network in my house such that my sisters can print their documents from the laptops without disturbing me on the desktop! no more excuses for them to use the desktop!!!!

sort of because tutorials start next week, signaling the real start of school and time to go back to the library.

i want pictures from wala wala tushara!

update

to my dear readers of this oh so boring blog, i owe you an update.

since my last post, i've been very busy and happily occupied with things to do. first of there were exams. it felt like it was only yesterday that i came out of the hall feeling like i was going to fail my thermodynamics and mechanics.

then it was the small party we had at the chalet. nice to see the guys all back and to meet nesh after so long. lots of catching up, not too much booze, the kind of party that i like. after that was my trip to UK to visit my dear girlfriend. spent lots of time together and did lots of grocery shopping. the secret is out, gillian and i like to do grocery shopping together. and also other types of shopping, but more grocery shopping than anything else. we went to lincoln market which was a christmas market and had my first taste of mulled wine, which is red wine with herbs and served warm. didn't really like it. as for the lack of pictures, it's because i didn't bring a camera, and if you want to see them you have to ask gillian for more. we're boring that way.

christmas in bath
watched lots of tv in bath. those should be gillian's feet i think

notice the cup in the background.

all set for dinner

my remote control car

more presents

everyone

making mince pies
Note: British people are a weird bunch. minced meat is actually an assortment of fruits. there are other examples which i do not remember at this moment.

more pies

mowing the lawn/earning my stay

gillian slacking in the house while taking a picture of me mowing the lawn.

ellie, gillian's niece, gillian's competition for the day.

kisses for piggy backs.

aaron.

at the pump room having tea.

well so i had a really wonderful time in bath. spent my first christmas with gillian and it was very nice. got to know the family quite well. hopefully her dad can still remember my name the next time i see him. haha.

so ever since i've been back, it's been a whole lot of scouts scouts and more scouts with a little bit of school in between. the boys are preparing for a competition in the middle of february and time is running out. it doesn't help that the scout HQ hasn't properly laid down the rules as these competitions are usually rife with cheats and more cheats. this is mostly caused by insider information which we don't have and people playing around with the rules due to the lack of proper standards. we are trying our best and we know we play fair. but sometimes silver isn't just as satisfying as getting overall champion(which we are so capable of attaining) when you compare it to playing it fair and being honest. the rain isn't helping very much as it has made the whole area in front of the scout den a nice mud fondue. we have pretty good ideas for the main events and the other activities need lots of practice though time is running out. so my time after school is mostly spent on scouts and going down to help the boys.

one of the ventures (J1 and J2 old boys) made a comment when we asked them to help the scouts out. This boy said that previously, ventures didn't need to do any work and they were the ones telling the boys what to do. I of course didn't say anything and just told him to do what i told him to do. but what the ventures don't realise is that the whole reason why they are still the working minions/slaves is because they are unwilling to step forward and say that they want to be in charge. It's not just about ordering the boys around. it also has to do with problem solving and coming up with solutions and also thinking two steps ahead. but people will always complain.