Official last day for the J1 CTs before the permanent posting results are released tomorrow. It's kinda' sad, kinda' nostalgic as the kids sat together in the hall not knowing if they'll see each other again when orientation begins on Wednesday. Group shots and other photo opportunities all round and so the morning passed all too quickly for them.

Meantime, a couple of graduating students asked me for letters of recommendation and to fill up forms of personal appraisal to stand them a better chance of getting the course they are applying for at the U. This sort of request is usually by students who are applying for overseas Unis, but recently the local institutes of tertiary education are adopting a similar application procedure to assess candidates from an all-round perspective rather than just by grades alone. Another indication that things here are becoming more comparable to the realities of the rest of the world. Our kids have been too protected for too long. It's good to see that we are in a way beginning to let go.

Monday evening bowling practice for the Gutter Boys. Me with my new ball, leaving Vince who didn't have a personal ball, a situation he quickly rectified at the pro bowl shop. Shoes, ball, bag in a package and now our whole team is fully kitted up, no need to rely any further on the availability of house equipment. You could say we're taking this game quite seriously now.

But can we bowl? A slight improvement on my average (140 over 6 games); Yee needs to find his form again but he's slowly getting there; Anthony's doing ok (156 average over 3 games); and Vince improving his game too -- good first throws because with his new ball he has to deal with the increased weight and custom grip and so he's throwing with more caution and accuracy now; but we could all still bowl with a lot more consistency. Scattering strikes and spares isn't going to put us up there with the best this tourney has to offer. Will we be good enough? We'll find out this Thursday when we play our first match of 6.

Dinner at the bak kut teh place on Balestier Road. Anthony will kill me for publicizing this secret but there is a public parking lot hidden behind the eating places on Prome Road so there is no need to fight for scarce parking along the main road or park illegally in the area. It's free parking in the evening too!

The bak kut teh is in a clear soup, lots of garlic cloves and meaty, chunky bones to gnaw on. It still doesn't compare to the one that used to be at the defunct Hill Street Food Centre (now an overgrown vacant lot), but it's still quite good.

Turned down Anthony's suggestion to have another practice game after dinner. No point overtraining. Priority set for rest and sleep tonight. So what am I doing blogging? Um...