Lesson learn from a fish

Do you know what time and space can do to you and your career advancement? Been at the right oppurtunity, right place, at the right time and with the right people around you is very important as my Encik have thought me recently through a nice story.

Once there was a very very attractive aquarium fish, lets call it Nemo. Nemo was the star of the fish tank among hundred of fishes, always attracting glances from passerby. His price tag grows and grows each day but no buyer came forward to purchase it home. So sad....but the owner of the aquarium kept it well fed and ensure the water condition is tip top. Comfort, peace, abudance of food...what more can Nemo ask for? He got all the good friends he need around him. He is in the perfect time and space right now. But Nemo hunger for more, in fact Nemo was having a really boring time in this fish tank that was getting too peaceful and quiet for him. Nemo is raring for Adventure.

One day a huge flood swept through the town and together with it, swept away all the fishes in the Aquarium. NEMO was free!!! Or was he? Instead so swimming around the Aquarium shop, hoping that his good owner will pick him up (rescue him, Nemo decided to swim towards the ocean...how brave of him. The current is strong but that does not deter him from making life changes. Its seems to Nemo that the grass is greener on the otherside.

When Nemo reach the ocean he suddenly found out that there is many many fishes as attractive as him! He is no longer the center of attention. Since he got use to been spoon feeded, he was slow to hunt for food. He is no longer well fed. The water condition was pretty bad, its sometime cold and sometime warm and sometime dirty, Nemo no longer live in comfort. Nemo got lots of close shave with predator like Sharks, he might die anytime. Oh, poor Nemo...if only he was not so bold and ambitious.

Got the morale of the story? Well, if everyone in your work place or company is performing very well, its difficult for you to shine even if you are talented. When you got a good job, don't be a smart Alec and try to achieve you dreams and desire... dreams and desire or ambition usually don't turn out the way you want it....just too much expectation and too little results eventually. Lastly, its a dog eat dog world out there, thank god if you have very supportive colleagues.

Sheares Bridge Run 04.

I hardly have more than 5 hours of sleep last night before waking up at 4.30am to meet my bro, P.C Wu for a taxi ride downtown. We are both going to participate in the Sheares Bridge Run a.k.a Army Half Marathon since most of the runner are actually from Army units.

I reckon there must be over 5000 participants this morning from competitive runners going for 21km and non competitive ones running the 21km, 12km and 5km categories; I was in the 21km non-competitive instead of the competitive one since I never run more than 10km in my life and if I were to fall out half way through the run, it will not be too demoralizing. The run starts at 6am sharp and with a few minutes to spare I met my secondary school teacher who was also running 21km for the first time and have a quick pre-run chat with him. Before anyone knew it, the starting horn was sounded by some big shot from the Armor unit.

The first 5km took me from the Sheares Bridge towards One Fullerton and next a left turn towards Marina South. From 5km to 12km, I was running on ECP, through the East Coast park before reaching a u-turn that will bring all runners back towards the city again. I have never ever ran pass 10km at was quite surprise my breath and strenght was still holding well at the 14km mark, somewhere around National Stadium. Confidence took a better of me and I make a big mistake which I will suffer later, I pick up speed, change my breathing style and attempt to overtake as many runner in front of me as possible... a very very risky manuver.

At 17km, I start to feel my leg muscles straining from the stress of running above my normal pace. Not even those motivational sign along the path like "No Pain No Gain" or "Pain is temporary, Victory is forever" could lift my mine of the tingle feeling in my leg. My pace have obviously slow down a bit. Although I am not running out of breath, those shagged out legs just refuse to pick up speed.

18km, 19km...2 more km to go. 2km is just a short distance to me since I am accustom to running this distance below 9mins. Apparantly the last 2km seems to be the longest section of this run. I almost give up running and have the intention to walk the rest of the distance but the onlookers and cheering crowd makes it a bit embaressing to just walk to the finishing point. Bo pian, just keep on jogging...some ladies even over tooked me...ha ha.

I speend a good 20min on this last stretch of run and hit the finishing line happy that my morning 21km ordeal have finally ended and I can go home for a good well overdued sleep. Sadly, beside getting a goodie bag and a few packet of Marigold HiLo Milk...I fail to get my hands on the medals that were given out to those who complete the 21km competitive run. Haiz.... even if I crawl back and complete 21km, I should still be able to get the medals...just too bad.

Though I could sleep well after I got home but the strain in my leg kept me awake the whole afternoon, a testament of my first 21km run. Guess I will train well for next year run and hopefully get a better finishing time. Oh yeah, I complete 21km in 2Hrs 23mins...Hmm can buy 4D 0223, system bet,

Transport system

Went through 4 different type of transportation today.
--Cycle to and fro work,
--took a taxi to work shop to collect my bike which was broke down recently
--Ride the bike back home
--Took MRT to Doby Ghaut station to meet a friend
--Drove his car

Whee....5 different transport a day, I broke a record :)

STAND AND EARN MONEY but not a chicken

Today work can be consider the most unproductive so far in my 4 months of work. I was basically standing and using eye power to watch my seniors doing their work. Beside lunch time when I could really use my hands to work for my stomach, the rest of the day my eye is the only one working. I felt so guilty not to get invole in doing some aircraft maintainence work but my senior were just too eager to work than bother about letting me (and my buddy who is also a junior) to get some hands on experience. I end up chatting with my buddy, who I always call him Garfield, while the rest were working. Er...actually its not as bad as I think, occasionally we still lend some hands and legs like passing them tools, helping them to clean up work areas and return tools. Just felt so demoralize of been under utilize. I can't just stand there and earn my salary right? Lets just hope this is the last time this things happen.

Just recently brought a 80s Cartoon "Patlabor" 机动警察。Been watching it for the past few weeks. Its a cartoon I use to watch when I was young, in primary school but have no chance to really finish it due to school commitment and also not able to understand the story much due to my age. The anime trace the story of Special Vehicle Unit 2 (a robot police squad) experience with using robot call AV-8 Ingram Patlabor to fight crime committed by robots call "labors". Just a little background story here, the anime is set in the future where human use robots to work for them not only for good but also as a crime tools... thats where Patlabor step in to put a stop to, often with undesirable, amusing outcome. Well, you gonna watch it to appreciate.

Phantom TA200~Riccardo first bike 

I become an electrician!

Whew!!! My bike is finally fix up! Not by any mechanic in the bike shop but by myself (ego goes up a few level). Was able to take some time off work to "eat snake" during work today and I happily help myself to the tools advailable in my work place for fixing my bike. Seriously, it is a HUGE offense to use Aircraft maintainence tools to work on stuff other than the Aircraft but hey? Who knows it except for my senior who happen to spot me and silently told me " DO ANYTHING YOU WANT BUT DON'T GET CAUGHT". Hmm...isn't that the motto of a thief, burguler, mugger, pick pocket?
Just a few cut and twist of wires and my headlight was back to normal. Saved myself some money which could have go to those bike shop. Oh, for those who don't know yet, I have rode all together 2 bikes till now, a Honda Phantom 200cc and right now a Piaggion Hexagon 150cc. Both of them have been a good horse but the scooter (hexagon) seems to drink a lot of "WATER".

Anyone read HERWORLD magazine before? Well got my hand and eyes on my sis HERWORLD magazine and was totally SHOCKED and what I saw inside. It cost S$5.00 but was really really thick for a magazine, but I was truly astonished by the.................................................amount of advertisement in them (ha ha, were you thinking of something else?) out of every 10 page, I reckon 9 are for advertisment. Tsk tsk tsk, women sure is a big market to capture. If I took away all the advertisment, I guess the magazine content is less than FHM or even the SAF Pioneer magazine which cost a measily 50cents compulsarily deducted from my salary and stuff into my letter box. I go back reading FHM eventually...

Fixing an Old Bike on a Sunday

Woke up earlier than usual today cause I need to bring my scooter to a bike shop in Yishun industrial area to fix up. Damn, wonder what happen to it. After leaving my bike at a paintshop for 1 week to give it a new coat of yellow paint, it start to give me problem when I rode it back home.

First the headlight was gone. I have to rely on a small orange back up light to make myself visible to other traffic user at night.

Second the steering bar tends to shake sometime while riding.

Wonder what the paint shop did to my beloved scooter, or was my scooter rebeling against the new color I gave it?

So here I go, woking up at 9.00am sharp hoping to get my bike fix up early in the morning so I could go downtown in the afternoon. Well I was too early, apparantly the bike shop I intend to go to was open but the guys all are having breakfast. I ask them if they could fix up the bike in the morning and they told me to come back in the afternoon. Wah lau,got money for them to earn they don't want.

So there I go, have to spend my afternoon at the bike shop repairing this Old scooter. Wasted fuel and time just to hear them say NO to me. Argh!!!

Touch down on Earth

RaSeaf to Control, we have touch down on earth-- 17 Sep 9.35pm

Well actually I just woke up... from dream land

What a good day it is today. Work only start at 12 today and I have extra hours of sleep today. Gonna be a tough day later on cause gonna go for field excercise practicing fire movement and digging trenches. Damn, I thought I never have to experience any of this Army stuff when I am in the Air Force. Unfortunately I am posted to Sembawang Air Base, home of the Rotary Wings (Helicopter). The base is a major supporter of Army operation here we are required to know how to survive outfield in the heat, trees, mosquitoes and mud. Luckily the field exercise is only conducted once a year.

The outfield exercise will last from 12noon to almost mid night. sigh, there goes my friday evening. Hopefully we don't meet any predators in the forest. May god bless us all....