I thought that the phenomenon of campus security making up its own rules occurred only in movies involving American academia. Today I was barred from entering the college compound with Q-tip, whom I brought with me to work. Whose rule was that? Whenever did "no dogs allowed" become campus policy? How quickly people forget...

Our campus once excelled at dog-friendliness. We hosted a posse of dogs who patrolled our compound and kept it safe. They knew who belonged on campus and who didn't. At night when it got dark, the dogs were known to escort late-staying students out to the main gate. All they asked for was a meal a day and a place to stay. How much better security could we have asked for? They didn't understand much English, though. But lately, this deficiency seems less and less of a problem for the employment market.

When it was time for campus redevelopment, for their own safety the dogs had to go stay in the kennels at staff expense, which we gladly paid. Unfortunately, once the new building was complete, they didn't come back. Guess we forgot about them after that.

And now we have this lamentable situation. Here we're trying to teach our students to respect life in all its myriad forms. Human beings don't live alone on this planet; moreover, we won't survive on this planet if we became the only species of life on the planet -- which, sadly, is what we seem to be expending a lot of energy on these days. And then we implement a "humans only" policy. And we wonder why the state of the world is such. Go figure.

On a happier note, in the afternoon June, JY and I met NBS in her home element: Fuji Ice Palace. That's the 'first' I mentioned in my previous post. I miss ice-skating in winter so I took the opportunity to take my blading L-plates and see how well they can put their skills to use on ice. Pix follow:


Despite our hand signals, people continually speed past our road-block. Maybe we should also face the other way?


...3 ...4 ...5. Yup, I still have all my fingers.


JY isn't here by accident. She's here to accompany her CT kids too.


JY and June insist there should only be 2 in this picture. I'm just so thick skinned.


You guessed it! Today's secret number is 2!

And finally, we got news this evening that the scavenger quest was over and we didn't win it. :( Met with the team at Blu Jaz to comiserate over mango smoothies and chocolate shakes. And Q-tip provided some much-needed pet therapy for everyone. Good girl!

Started the day with June and JY at J8's Ya Kun Kaya. Totally screwed up my order. Instead of teh-o, I got teh, and my order of cheese toast with kaya came without the kaya. Guess the auntie at the cashier's counter didn't speak English as well as I thought. Then again, 'teh-o' isn't really English, is it?

For once, the 3 of us had a coordinated blading session in Bish Park. As a trio we circled Park II a grand total of 5 times almost continuously. It was bright sunshine today, quite the contrast from yesterday's dismal dreariness. It was still relatively early morning so we had to dodge cyclists (including a mad little boy way over the speed limit), dogs, L-plate bladers, etc., but the girls are showing great improvement. Less fear, more enjoyment, fewer falls.

Dropped JY off at home then met Weng and co. at No 49 Katong Laksa for more scavenger quest strategizing. I stole Wendy's parking space unwittingly (sorry, Wendy!) but she was prepared to be forgiving this time. This place Weng swears is the good one, and, yes it was pretty ok. Problem with laksa is that we shouldn't classify it as 'food.' It counts more like a 'snack,'and anything that tastes this good can't be healthy, anyway.

While we were there, Weng brought us to Puteri Mas where June bought a box of powerful durian puffs that didn't survive long when our little party tore into it. The sign on the shop claims "100% durian." Wonder what they make the pastry out of?

After this little motivational boost, we hit town again looking at the Orchard Road shopping malls for any sign of the next clue. But till now, we've had no luck. Bah.

All throughout today, in all this activity, I haven't been feeling so good. My bones ache, I have a slight headache, my throat is sore and I've been sneezing too. Hope it only because I slept badly last night, and not that the flu I've been incubating all year has now chosen to hatch. Not a good time, you hear? Anyway, I'll try to sleep it off tonight as tomorrow promises to be another exciting 'first.' See how.

Picked up JY and met Chewy for blading again. But although the weather had cleared up from last night's downpour, the pathways were still wet and slippery, no condition to blade in. So we ended up occupying a couple of park benches while the girls scared themselves silly swapping "real-life" ghost stories. Hope for better weather tomorrow.

Continued our scavenger quest in the afternoon. We've moved on to clue 3 already and it's a toughie too. The earlier clues only hinted at the names and locations of the places we needed to find. This clue is very clear about what we're looking for, but the challenge is a needle-in-a-haystack one. There are so many of these things around, the trick is to identify the right one.

We parked at Marina Square to begin our hunt. Moved on to CityLink Mall, the Capitol, Peninsula Plaza and Shopping Centre, some of the shophouses on North Bridge Road, caught the 190 to Orchard Road where we went pounding mall after mall searching for an outlet matching the description given in our clue. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Again, maybe it's the way we're interpreting the clue that's throwing us off. I dunno.

Had to give up by about 5 to prepare for dinner at MJ's. Pot-luck involving 2 generations of Drama Club kids. Nice to see everyone together one last time before we all scatter to the 4 winds next year. The guys, especially, who are fretting over their army enlistment in the next few days.

Good luck and God bless, everyone!

Began the first of many discussions to come about the future, in particular, the changes I'm going to face in 2006. Everything changes. New subject, new CCA, everything I've become familiar with over the last few years has become new again. New P, new syllabus even. So much uncertainty is grounds for much apprehension, but there is an equal amount of excitement as well because there will likewise be room for experimentation and improvisation along the new learning curve.

Questions I'm asking myself are:
How might curricular and co-curricular activities run concurrently and seamlessly with one another?
How much learning-by-doing, learning-by-experience am I capable of planning and executing for next year's kids?
How might I work effectively with a new grouping of friends and colleagues on next year's upcoming projects?
How much of the programmes, systems and learning that I've developed and acquired so far do I want to relinquish to those replacing me in my previous portfolio, and how much do I take with me as I take up my new portfolio?

Regardless, the key to dealing with change is to get organized. Know what resources I have on hand, what resources I need to acquire and by when. Learn to see what's coming up on the horizon, give whatever system sufficient lead time to effectively deal with it; and remember that I'm not working alone but with others who share my goals too.

My biggest problem is in estimating lead-time, procrastinator that I am. Sounds like someone needs an organizer for Christmas. Then the other thing is, hope he actually uses it next year. Heh.

Working on a new clue now. The previous one -- the one we spent 3 days on -- we had already solved on Day 1, but we didn't notice the checkpoint marker though we were in the right location. Doh. But clue 2 has me stymied. The riddle is so cryptic, I don't have an idea what kind of thing we're supposed to be looking for. Lots of theories, but a dead end every time. *scratches head making sparks fly.

Spent the day driving around. Let's see... Goldhill Square, Chinatown, Holland V, Serene Centre, Vanilla Pod (got firmly kicked out 'cos we refused to pay the $3 entry fee into the Orchid Garden), Orchidville, Catholic Church in Yishun, Jalan Kayu, Millennia Walk. See? Chasing down every lead, no matter how tenuous.

We gave up at Marina Square where we had dinner at Wakaru. At this Japanese restaurant, all the staff shout their welcome at every new walk-in. Must be a Jap custom, but we're not all that used to it, having our meal constantly interrupted by a chorus of "irrashaimase" every short interval. But the staff are very friendly, always smiling and attentive people. Foodwise it's nothing to rave about. My sushi-udon combo came in larger portions than I expected, so there's quantity for the price; but the maguro, salmon and yellowtail were chewy -- I've had better.

Over at Serene Centre, I found a copy of Civ IV! Police chases are now passe. It's time to build Empires! But I had a problem loading the game the first few attempts. Apparently, there's a problem working the game out-of-box with ATi video-cards. Thankfully, the latest 1.09 patch solves this annoying glitch so I got to start indulging my megalomaniacal tendencies after all.

Bwahaha...zzz.

Has it already been 5 years? Then here's to the end of one P's "reign," whilst we await the beginning of another. The P's been in the business nearly the whole of my lifetime. That's a lot of memory to recap in the couple of hours the college spent in a tribute concert to her this evening.

Not sure how many other Ps get a send-off like this one, but there are lots of people who have fond memories of her, so I suppose this concert's for them too, to express their gratitude and honour her contribution in the service of education.

The P probably wants to be most remembered for her passion in promoting Chinese culture in a society that seems to be fast forgetting its roots. That our multi-ethnic department put together a Chinese-y item that actually looked well-rehearsed and one that we didn't play for laughs like we usually do must have tickled her a bit, at least. 10 EL Dept tutors bashing away on Chinese drums in unison to a Chinese beat, shows that even we (many of whom claim to be the bane of our Chinese teachers' lives) can find something good about Chinese culture to train in and put up for public display.

Let me register my appreciation to the 2 Pugi kids who coached us, and to my 9 colleagues who kept rehearsals fun and lighthearted even though we were all stressed out learning the rhythms on top of everything else we had to juggle over the last couple of weeks. You're the best!

But the most heartfelt sincerity must have come from CL Dept's GML who made an unexpected, unscheduled appearance right at the end of the concert. GML only returned from Taiwan late today and rushed down from Changi just in time before the closing item of the concert. She presented the P with a gift from the students and staff involved in the Taiwan expedition, then became all teary as she and the P shared a parting embrace. The P, after all, had been GML's teacher way back when.

So farewell, Mrs H! Knowing you, I doubt you're just going to fade away into the background, but you'll find new challenges to conquer in your post-retirement. Just like our previous P before you did and is still doing today.

Spent a crazy weekend hunting down clues to a scavenger quest we've got ourselves involved in. Make that "clue" 'cos by today, we haven't solved it yet! We've pretty much run around much of the island looking at some wonderful sites with NE possibilities; but no joy on finding our treasure. The location of our next clue -- the one we've been searching for for the last 3 days -- must be damned obscure. This evening, we declared a break and maybe by tomorrow, one of us will have a new brainwave and actually piece our first riddle clue together correctly. Otherwise it's just an exercise in frustration. >__<

Meantime, fitting my life around scavenger questing, from the previous week till today, Ive been learning something I've wanted to do for a long time: whack those barrel-like Chinese drums -- the ones they use for lion and dragon dancing. So the Department got a couple of Pugi kids to string us a few rhythms together, show us their drumming techniques, then cast us in front of a live audience and hope for the best.

The audience packs the Hall Wednesday evening, gathering on the occasion of our P's farewell tribute; a sort of "This is Your Life" kind of variety show with the EL Dept demonstrating that we can keep a beat in some rousing tub-thumpery, despite what we think of ourselves. Hope people won't see our effort as an attempt to drum the P out of college. The pun wasn't intentional. Heh. 7 simple, repeating sequences for a 150 sec performance, then I can rule one more ambition off my list as "fulfilled."

All that and I'm still slowly working my way up the "Most Wanted" list too. Hence some very late nights... like tonight.

We're at Kranji War Memorial this morning. Could this be the right place to solve our 1st scavenger quest clue?


June and Q-tip find it hard to smile in a place as sombre as this.


A little bird finds a perch.


Another gorgeous sunset at... where else?


Can you people please wait until after we sing, "Happy Birthday," before declaring how big you want your slice of cake to be?

Kaiser looks regal in his new blue collar. Or he will, once he grows into it. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes.

Last night was opening night for "Rent," at Kallang Theatre, performed by the touring cast from Noo Yawk. Yes, this is the one with Ms Mok (not Pat) in it to give an Asian audience someone to root for.

So much can happen in a year. Friends are made, lovers pair up, plans change, romances disintegrate, trust is betrayed, fame is gained, somebody dies. Not necessarily in that order but that's life, social beings that we are. And in this setting, we get the debate between order, control and profit vs. chaos, spontaneity and poverty; corporate systemania vs. creative Bohemia. Either way, the 2 cannot find a way to get along together. Interesting that in Singapore, we're trying to develop both in the same space.

Bohemia comes with a price tag. Crime, substance abuse, disease, material privation, disregard for established law and order. We want the benefits of a lively, spontaneous, creative, out-of-the-box lifestyle that Bohemia promises; yet consider our attitude towards the above. Wonder how realistic we are in our desire for a managed bohemian utopia? [Oy, get off the soapbox, you!]

The musical has lots of exciting, energetic choreography, nothing overcomplicated. Adrian was quite tickled by the character of performance artiste, Maureen, whose protest recital (the play-within-the play) was played-for-laughs silly, yet poignant; and because our seats were extreme left of the stalls, we got the full benefit of her mooning the entrepreneur, Benny, whose rent the Bohemians refuse to pay. Yay, Maureen!

Also lots of different musical genres blending together in the score, so there's not a boring moment anytime. There were a few technical hitches though, like sound and lighting cues not quite perfect yet. I was surprised when Mimi, Ms Mok's character, got a call from her mother, "Dónde está, Mimi?" Then I realised Mimi was supposed to be Hispanic! Wouldn't it have made more sense for her mom to call in Cantonese?

But what are we quibbling about? It's a great show, we had excellent seats and we got in by invitation, big thanks to Mary! Mary's invite included drinks with the cast as well, hence the dress code. We only hung around long enough for Ms Mok to make her appearance 'cos, well, it was our chance to be so close. She's actually quite small-built though she looks taller on-screen, and she has a very wide smile. Guess she must have been happy to see the couple of fans (not from our party, I assure you) who approached her for an autograph.

Adrian's walnut bread -- which we devoured in the parking lot during the interval -- didn't last us long. As soon as was decent, we skipped out from the reception and headed for Teochew porridge at the Oasis complex. Food, at last!

I whacked my bush off today. No, it not what it sounds like. I mean I got a haircut. Think the kid who usually does my hair has left. That's what I understood from the new guy who gave me a Marine cut told me, if I've translated it correctly.

New guy's ok. Did a decent enough job but tried to engage me in conversation, which isn't my thing. Thankfully, I was engaged in a flurry of text messaging at the time so I was sufficiently distracted while he could concentrate on the job at hand.

Preparing for "Rent" opening night. Got complementary tix and we're expected to dress for the occasion. Dress code: Ghetto glam. Anyone know what that means? I interpret it as rapper-wear with lots of bling-bling. Ripped T (bearing "Yo' Momma" or some other vernacular idiom), baggy jeans, Nike treads, slick shades, NY Yanks baseball cap worn backwards, big-ass Mercedes hood ornament dipped in gold-plate hung round the neck on a security chain... Adrian tells me it means smart-casual. Oh. Well.

Too much NFS:MW means spending the night in the living room. Not because the wife's pissed off, but because running from the cops can be quite fatiguing, especially when you've been at it for the better part of the day. Before midnight, I switched off Watson and staggered outside to watch a little TV for a break. Almost immediately, I shut myself off and, try as she might, June couldn't wake me to go to bed proper. I lay comatose on the carpet, unwashed and CLs still in my eyes. Thank God for off days.

I could stand it no longer. Too long have I been deprived of a good video game. So I finally bit the bullet and picked up a Radeon x700 Pro to replace my useless 9800. For good measure, I also picked up "NFS: Most Wanted" and spent the afternoon driving recklessly at ridiculously high speeds, inviting the traffic cops to catch me if they could. In the early stages of the game, the cops are quite hopeless, and I have to slow down, stop and wait a bit before they can catch up then the chase is on again! What fun!

Couldn't progress far though. Went to pick up June after work then met Amy, Vince and TKS (CL Dept) bowling at Downtown East. The alley is quite a retro one, similar in design to the one at OCC.

3 games each, then Anthony, Wendy and Weng joined us. We all adjourned to Fisherman's Village for dinner. Nice place, I guess. Boardwalk dining by the beach which was nice, but the Cantopop didn't quite work with the atmosphere.

Sought dessert at Via Mare in Siglap. They have a decent bread-and-butter pudding and an ok brownie a la mode. But our main purpose was to play bridge. Think there're still a few finer points of the game I haven't quite appreciated yet, although I'm beginning to recognize I've made a mistake as soon as I play a wrong card. That's a start.

Oh, and before I forget, we've named the new kitten. His name is Kaiser. Bow before him or feel his wrath! Das ist alles!

Finally finished my marking quota by this afternoon. So tired, I spent the evening passed out on the living room carpet again. June wrapping Christmas presents around me. Is it that time of year already?

Once in a while, a reminder of our mortality comes up and makes one sober for a while. Today I attended a little ceremony to remember Mim, and to witness the award of a scholarship in her name to its first ever recipient, a Mr Robin Yong. In a simple, polite ceremony, we recalled the colleague and friend we lost 2 years ago as scenes of her life flashed before our eyes via PowerPoint slideshow.

I was prepared to be stoic through the ceremony, but then on one of the earliest slides I recognized a quotation that happened to be something I myself had written on her condolence card to her family, and I was quite touched that Yee, who created the slideshow, had chosen to include it. It felt like I was a part of Mim's circle after all, though I didn't hang out with her after she had mentored me through my first week in college. Guess at that time I felt I wouldn't have been able to live up to the kind of teacher she was, so I sought my own path as soon as I was able. Still, it's nice to be associated with one of the good guys, tenuous a link though it may be.

It hits me harder that she and I were born the same year, yet she didn't reach her 40th year as I did. Life is so fragile, so easily lost; but Mim's memory will endure because so many people regard her highly for the person she was, and for the things she did for them.

Mr Yong, you have enormous shoes to fill for the education you are receiving in Mim's name. Congratulations, and good luck!

Met early for 'blading at Bish Park for a change. JY bought us breakfast. That was nice of her.

Bish Park in the early morning is quite different from the one we're used to at midday. Early morning is full of people and their dogs. The dog run is busy conducting obedience classes; the 'blade rink is packed with kids training with the Skateline instructors; joggers, walkers, cyclists and some guy doing half-naked yoga throng the walking trails. It's a jumpin', happenin' hive of community activity, but it's a nightmare for beginning 'bladers like June who left the confines of the rink and ventured out into the park for the first time.

Maneuvering through the park means taking climbs, slopes, bumps and bends which a rink 'blader is sheltered from. Add a crowd into the equasion and my 2 L-plate companions get a very practical lesson in crash-landings.

A sudden downpour ended today's session early.

Got home in the afternoon to receive a delivery of a set of pet clothes for Q-tip. June had placed an order through the Petsonality website and John, the contact person, made the delivery himself. Now Q-tip has an updated wardrobe to model, but perhaps not today.

And could this handsome fellow be Belle's replacement in our house? We found him hiding behind a couple of bicycles parked on our floor in the lift lobby. He doesn't yet have a name, but he's quite good tempered, so maybe we'll keep him. He seems like a proper little gentleman wearing a formal tuxedo and sports a little goatee, so if you have any naming suggestions, maybe that description would help.

Slightly edited 20 Nov 2005:
Today the ladies (i.e., Sharon and Wendy 'cos June and JY sat out) get to try out the trapeze at Sentosa we've been raving about, as well as the Luge later. Check out the pix from our action-packed afternoon:


Theory lesson before the practical.


Weng prepares for take-off.


This is about the only maneuvre I could get right today. My timing's gone a little screwy.


The launchpad gets a little crowded with Sharon about to take off and Wendy anxious to take her first swing.


Wendy demonstrates perfect form.


A quick conference to see how we can help Anthony get his routine right.


Anthony in flight.


On our way to try out the Luge, Sentosa's latest attraction.


JY and June play it cool on the chairlift.


At the end of the trail. And JY braces for impact with Anthony's rear end.


Bravely ascending for the 2nd ride of the day.

Returned to the Trapizza in the evening for dinner. Shared the space with a beach wedding dinner which was more formal than a beach party should be. Fortunately, there was a sudden torrential downpour which drowned out the "festivities" then the party really got more fun with the guests just mingling around, nursing their drinks and ice-creams and flitting from wet guest to wet guest making happy chat. The guests even surprised the bride with a birthday cake that appeared when her attention was, erm... directed elsewhere by a friend.

The wedding party left our table unmolested so we, dry under our canopy, were free to devour our outstanding thin crust pizzas. We had a Sicilana (basically everything on top), a Quattro Stagione (four seasons -- pizza divided into quarters, each quarter sporting a different topping), and an Aloha (Hawaiian, duh). Fresh ingredients, explosively crispy crust. Yummy. Though as usual I would've appreciated a little less salt.

Last night we were at the Singapore Conference Hall to support Ivay who was playing trombone for Thomson Jazz, of which she is a member. Me and June with Amy and Yee haven't much of a clue about music of this nature, but Ivay's a friend and her musical ability is worth our appreciation.

Don't know enough to comment on the music, but it was refreshing to be entertained by a local band that really enjoyed what they were playing, without getting too caught up in delivering practiced perfection (the S'porean malaise). The music was high energy stuff, played with full confidence, and as far as my untrained ear could tell, the band played well together; and they were having fun!

Boppin' heads, swayin' shoulders, tappin' to the tempo when the music calls for particular instruments to rest, then picking up the beat naturally on cue shows the musicians are into the music and not just hangin' around waiting for their turn to play. Even C Smith, guest conductor for the Big Band segment, couldn't keep still, dancing to the music and switching from bass to bongos and back to conducting with fluidity.

The jive band segment (in which Ivay played) introduced a vocalist, Y Atienza, with a rendering a 3 bluesy numbers, one of which was "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," which rang a little bell in my mind because it seemed to me like the answer to a question someone asked some time ago, but I cannot now recall who had asked the question, nor what the question even was. *shrugs.

Shame-facedly confess that immediately after Ivay's performance, we slipped out during the interval to watch the late screening of "Goblet of Fire" in J8. The book was a whopping 700+ pages long, so the movie focused on the more exciting SFX driven parts and still it ran way over 2 hours.

Because of its comparative brevity, the movie had some abrupt scene changes that made me think I was missing bits. What might have been a highlight of the movie, the Quidditch World Cup matches, was skipped over. There is a shot of the expansive stadium, the introductory fireworks of the Irish and Bulgarian teams, the flypast by uber-athlete, Viktor Krum, and on Fudge's cue to begin the match we cut straight into the post-match euphoria and the senseless attack of the Death-eaters. Even the roles of the Hogwarts profs became relegated to that of comic relief, with perhaps 1 significant scene each if they were lucky.

Still, it kept the excitement factor high, with lots of action to make the 2+ hours breeze by without feeling the strain. And, wow, the kids have grown up.

Wonder if there are any continuity scenes shot but deleted that will make their way into the DVD?

Spent the evening at the vet's. Q-tip appears to be limping a bit, favouring her right front paw and trying not to put any weight on the left. We tried examining her, but there's no sign that she's in pain or anything. Pressing on different parts of her paw yields no results; she carries on like nothing's bothering her. So we brought her to the professionals for a more expert opinion.

Very crowded this evening. A long line of pets and their owners spilling out onto the sidewalk from the clinic doors. And a little bit of drama with an irate pet owner who was unhappy with the diagnosis she got based on a faulty x-ray machine scan of her dog. She was so unhappy she called in the police, 3 of whom arrived and hung around the waiting area with the rest of us and likewise hoping to be called into the consultation room soon. They waited about a half-hour, all the while reminding the complainant that it being a civil case they can't barge into the doctor's office as and when they like. I'm not sure even they knew what they were supposed to be doing in this situation, other than perhaps taking a statement from the vet's side of the story. Other than that, I think they were prepared to make it up as things went along.

Eventually, we all got seen -- even the police. The doc observed Q-tip's limp and found nothing visibly wrong with it; more likely to be a sprain than a fracture. So we'll observe Q-tip for another few more days and then see how . But the vet also identified Q-tip as FAT and in serious need of a proper exercise regimen and a scaling of her teeth; for which we made a Monday morning appointment. Anyone know of any slimming centres for overweight dogs?

June joined our lunch crowd today, an unprecedented occurrence. She's taken 2 days off work to train with the college petanque team under ze French Master to improve her game. Good to see how serious she is with her training. Hopefully, we'll start beating people in doubles competitions soon, else our morale is going to remain in the dumpster.

Speaking of low morale, my training was at Plaza Bowl in the late afternoon and it was such a struggle to get my scores above 120. Amy pulverized me in our first 2 games with scores of 130+ and 140+. While I can be proud of her progress, I'm also terribly annoyed and frustrated with my inconsistency. Yee did well throughout, so next year the Phoenixes and Dragons are going to be very strong competitors in the college tournament, and Pegasus is in trouble 'cos I haven't found anyone likely to partner me for the doubles event who can adequately replace Anthony. JY, Chief of the Winged Horses, a little help please?

Anthony's letter finally arrived and it confirms that he's leaving us for greener grass. After all the uncertainty, it's a relief that we now know once and for all.

To send him off we took him to dinner at Sunset, next to the Seletar airport runway, for the "leaving on a jet plane" feeling. No special programme, just eat, drink, yak, torment NBS; the way we've always been.

We? Here's the guest list:
Amy
NBS
Darrell
Edward
Gerald
June
JY
Kim
Xmac
Q-tip
Vince
Wendy
Yee (in alphabetical order, more or less)
All to wish him well in his new posting and to say we'll miss him. Or not, for some of us :P.

Vince and NBS tried out bridge and Yee showed us the German variation which is more complex, takes longer to finish (17 rounds!), and requires pencil-and-paper to keep track of the score. The game's intriguing, but it does sort of cut the 4 players off from existing company, and vice versa.

And because of the uncertainty of his posting, we held off buying Anthony's farewell pressie. Maybe he'll get it in the next few days?

No photos. Forgot my cam again, haha.

Between June and myself, we couldn't come up with a name for our petanque doubles team, so HB put us down as "First Timers." Guess that's better than "Old Timers." Anyway, our tournament began reasonably well, going down a fighting 13-2 against one of the better pairs in the competition. That is, they consoled us with the fact that scoring 2 points off them was no mean feat.

Our second (and last) game saw us competing against 2 cute little boys who knocked us out 13-7. A couple of terrible errors early in the match put them far in the lead and our poor pointing finished us off.

By 1100 we were left with nothing to do so we took off and put in more 'blading time on our own.


On a roll.


Banking clockwise


Everybody invariably gets a shot like this.


On guard.

Oh yeah, thanks, Anthony for meeting us a Bish Park to return the water bottle which we had accidentally left behind at the petanque courts!