We have divided up our training workload between ourselves as of this morning. NBS will be the grown-up of our team and I, the rebel child. How professional.

Tweedledum to my Tweedledumber, really glad to have you on board! :)

There's so much going on right now, even pausing to take a breather is a bit of a luxury on campus these days. The work seems never-ending, with people from various quarters reminding me of things yet to be done, deadlines getting close and commitments yet to be fulfilled.

But it's also an exciting time because a lot of what I'm involved with seems really worthwhile, with positive benefits to look forward to in the long run. Apart from KI which is for the most part unexplored territory for everyone, starting up a campus newspaper -- for real, like the Planet, or the Bugle -- has been keeping me awake just thinking of the possibilities.

Yes, it's going to be an incredible slog to get things started. We need to establish our identity, our credibility, and work with a sense of purpose, urgency and responsibility, and our reward is in our increasing readership and in perhaps sparking off intelligent, purposeful debate amongst our students, staff and the community beyond. Wow. Bold, ambitious words coming from a sloth like myself. But there's nothing like getting in on the ground floor and pioneering something new that gives a guy a rush.

Gotta thank Amy who's taught me a lot from her own experience today, and the KI kids for their initial reviews of our news website. We've launched our first issue, but there's still a long way to go before we can even get the design, layout and content looking more professional. In this respect, since both staff advisors and student writers are all co-learners in the news publication business, progress may be slow but hopefully steady as well.

Hope our readers will be patient and not lose faith in us while we work on getting it right.

What used to be "The Red Pill" is now in the process of rebranding. Currently known as NY Connections (or ConneXions), the writers for the now defunct publication have now turned their attention towards more tabloid-style journalism with weekly updates and lots more focus on personalities and human interest stories particularly from within campus. Well, that's the plan, anyway.

We've already soft-launched the inaugural issue and hope to meet our most demanding publication schedule without fail. Let's hope the news coverage will also be relevant and popular with the student body, to keep our motivation (and readership) up. Else, it's gonna be a loooong year.

Finally caught Lion-Witch-Wardrobe, NBS making history with us again by staying up till past midnight. Must say it was doubly excellent of her to join us as she had watched LWW once already.

I dunno. Somehow, reading the Narnia series in my younger days may have been the more magical experience for me. Not that the movie didn't have exciting bits -- like the escape from the slowly unfreezing waterfall or the grand-scale battle sequences -- but the hand of deus ex machina seemed to be working too obviously, making escapes too convenient and victory too easy.

Even Aslan's supreme sacrifice didn't have all that much impact on me since the narration didn't bother to build his credentials much further than mythical being, talks a lot, shouts very loudly. His resurrection being due to a quirk in the interpretation of a pretty in-your-face and literally carved-in-stone clause in the law of Deep Magic was also a bit of a let-down. I expected more of Aslan than just counting on being released on a technicality.

OK. So Lewis wrote the story as a close parallel to the Gospel, but of course it isn't the Gospel else he'd have bred a whole new religious sect, the Narnites, or something. Still, by being so derivative, it only goes to show that potatoes really don't boil twice.

So much rain. Non-stop since this morning. Wonder if it affected the big civil defence exercise of this morning? Yes, the one announced a couple of weeks ago to be a surprise "attack" on our public transport system, though not TOO much of a surprise to prevent panic. I wasn't using public transport today, so I guess I missed out on the excitement. Well, apart from seeing a squad of Gurkhas armed with machine-guns and their culturally identifiable khukri emerging from City Hall MRT station. Anyone with a 1st-hand account of what was going on in the tunnels at Ground(s) Zero? Inquiring minds wanna know.

June and I were at Sunday service at 9am. It's the 1st time we've entered the new sanctuary since it opened in November. Wow. We haven't been to service in that long, huh? We have been naughty. Anyway, the space is hi-tech cool in design. Lots of glass and steel, with stone and laminated wood to keep things warm. Lots of sharp angles and hard edges, especially in the pews. After a while, I got tempted to use the nice, soft kneeler as a seat cushion instead, but propriety prevailed -- this time.

The cross forming the centrepiece suspended above the stone altar is a nice touch. Contrasting with the rest of the techno theme, the cross is a simple perpendicular arrangement of 2 hewn tree trunks which appear neither processed nor finished; but rather left in more or less their natural state.

And since the new sanctuary is built below-ground, it should be cool and well-shaded enough to be a great place for prayer and reflection during lunchtime downtown. But it's strictly BYOB -- bring-your-own-bible. Too bad I don't work downtown anymore.

Got rained out of our blading plans. At least we had a nice kaya toast breakfast with JY at J8, though blading was out of the question. Met Chewy who was at J8 too, accompanying two of her students who were participating in the 93.3FM DJ audition today.

By about midday it didn't stop raining, so June and I abandoned everyone to go for lunch. Thus we were not around when JY decided to take a shot at the auditions herself. Definitely an interesting development here. Maybe we're witnessing the start of a dramatic career change for our good friend? We'll see, when the results come out next week.

Hard to believe but about year ago, I attended my niece, Rachel's, 1st month celebration; and today, she's already a whole year older. Happy birthday, little Rachel!

The obligatory dance party to mark the end of O1 week.


Wonder if we'll ever see the kids this lively again?


Council puts the "hop" in hip hop.


Whoa! Who put the lights back on?

Nearly killed a motorcyclist on my way home from the party. Stupid idiot went straight on a turn-left lane while I was turning left from the adjacent lane. Good thing I took the turn slowly while he charged straight across my grille, else I'd still be scraping bits of him off my radiator right now. Imbecile.

JC1 Orientation activities take us to Sentosa today.


After my recce of this place on Tuesday, I just had to come back with more people.

Spent the day on O1 duty on Sentosa in the bright sunshine... rain... sun... rain... The weather couldn't make up its mind at all. Must have been quite frustrating for Amy and her crew to decide between dry and wet weather plans. My sympathies.

I appreciated the outing despite the weather. It was a refreshing change from the usual routine of the curriculum. And June could join me outdoors too -- on what might be the last few days of her involuntary "extended leave" from work. She got a job offer while we were sitting on the beach. The job pays slightly less than her old one, but she likes the location and the change of industry. The news boosted her spirits tremendously and the Billabong outlet got a happy shopper as a result.

Back to the old grindstone tomorrow. TGIF.

Gosh. Mei's comment raised my eyebrows a bit. If after spending 2 years on GP and not knowing what its purpose is, then that really is my fault for not making it clear. I'm not making that mistake again with my sole GP tutorial this year. For the record, the purpose of GP (as I define it) is as follows:

The GP student should learn to...
1. Observe things that are not right in society/the world.
2. Empathize with the situation.
3. Seek to understand what’s going on (from different points of view).
4. Evaluate the situation from a socially responsible, moral/ethical basis.
5. Make decisions to initiate/facilitate change for the better...
6. in a respectful, yet authoritative manner.

I think most of the problem is that I/we tend to focus almost exclusively on step 6 -- which is where the essay and the comprehension exercises actually fit in -- while conveniently forgetting to train students in the previous 5 steps beforehand, where the meat and potatoes of GP actually are. See what happens when we all focus on working for grades instead of working to develop the self as a person first?

Sorry, guys! Thank God you all passed anyway, despite the oversight, eh?

Subject combo talk for KI today must have been quite funny to watch if a movie camera had been pointed at the audience from behind my shoulder. Apparently, when I start talking about something I've prepared, I can seem to go on forever. I had been given a 10 minute slot, but my spiel ended up "way over the time limit" according to official feedback. The camera would have picked up lots of hand signals from the peanut gallery where the staff were sitting as various colleagues would have been gesticulating frantically for me to cut, cut, cut it short. But wrapped up in the excitement of having a cordless mike in my hand, and focused on the crowd of newbie students, I kept going like the Energizer bunny.

Scary thing is, I may have oversold myself and KI. At the Q&A session, a lot more students approached me with questions about the new subject than I was prepared for. There is a limit to the number of students I can take on, though I didn't actually mention this because I wasn't quite sure I'd interest enough kids to even come close to it. I hadn't thought of the possibility of an oversubscription, yikes! Well, until tomorrow's subject selection exercise, I shouldn't speculate. And I hope that whatever I promised them today, I won't let them down if and when they do sign up.

Joined Vince and Amy in the evening on a final recce of Sentosa before the College descends upon it en masse on Thursday. We needed to see what the condition of the beach was like after the big new year's eve party. We also needed to get entry tix for a small hoarde of kids and staff in advance. Actually, that was Amy's job. I think Vince and I were just there as comic relief.

Had a good dinner at the Sakae Sushi on Siloso Beach. On weekdays, when there isn't much crowd, the conveyor belt does not function. Sushi is made fresh in the kitchen and the salmon sashimi was very fresh. Wasabe was a little flat, but the meal was enjoyable nonetheless.

Guess everyone's busy gearing up for the new term. Me too. This year, I'm taking on KI, what I used to call the New Subject in these previous pages. My first duty is to inform the new batch of J1s about this new option they have in tomorrow's subject combination talk, and hopefully -- if I don't scare them off first -- NBS and I will have some students to teach this year.

I've generally drafted out what I want to tell the kids, so since I've put some effort into the text, you might as well read it too. Click here.

'Cos it's new to me, I'm open to guidance in the instruction of this subject, so feel free to comment and let me know what you think, 'k?

The gas burner gets a workout at our Yishun Dam cookout. Franks 'n beans, scrambled eggs, Spam, corned beef and pork, and assorted junk foods on the menu.


Q-tip makes friends with Celine and CW.


What we think of Ribena-Smirnoff!


Didn't we do this at Rach's place exactly 1 year ago?


It only takes a spark...


Somehow, pyromania and celebrations go hand-in-hand.


Happy New Year, Q-tip!

Once in a while I give out "model answers" to exam questions.

There are a number of things I planned to say over the last couple of days, but I can't summon the energy to put them all into coherent thought. It's the end of the year and I'm tired, so I'll just dish out a little practical vacational advice here:

DO NOT seek to maximize vacation time by minimizing sleep time (duh!). For the last couple of weeks I've been sleeping past 4am trying to squeeze the last remnants out of December 05. Some days I don't go to bed until I realize that birds are singing in the trees! Those are really wasted days since I don't wake up again until past noon, so the whole exercise of maximizing time becomes a total farce.

Result: bio-clock gets upset causing loss of temper, loss of patience, loss of good humour, thinking of uncharitable thoughts, even outright hostility. June noticed this especially when I'm playing NFS:MW in the wee hours -- I'd be verbally abusing my virtual opponents for their anti-social driving behaviour in language that's unprintable in a PG site like this one. Can you say, "road rage?"

Will be going into hibernation mode these last few days before term begins again, if only to stock up on lost sleep.

Discovery of the Day: "Don Your Personal Pie Club." Weird name, I know. June and I were wandering around China Square when I noticed this signboard advertising chicken pie. We still haven't quite got over Harry's pies of last year's vacation in Sydney so of course we had to go check this place out.

The counter guy was very happy to see us and immediately introduced us to the pies on display. The look in our eyes must have told him we were an easy mark. The regular sized pie is shareable between 3-4 pax, assuming it isn't the only thing on the table. We bought a quarter pie to sample and it was good. The Signature pie has a light flaky crust, hot and moist inside with bits of carrot, potato and green peas accompanying the chicken strips that define it as a chicken pie. The guy said there were different grades of spiciness, and the wedge that we tried already kept our stomachs warm and happy.

Also on offer were NY cheesecake, which the guy assured us was of pure Philly cheese manufacture, and chocolate fudge cake for those who want "afters."

And so...

unofficially, the end-of-year vacation has ground to a halt. Back to work tomorrow, and in a way, it'll be nice to get back to the old routines I've grown accustomed to. Nothing like a bit of structure and predictability for direction and purpose again. Bear with me, I'm trying to be positive here. But Workyear 2006 is still a few hours away from now, so let's imbibe the last of our vacation to the dregs while we still can.

And so the day we anxiously wait 364 days of the year every year comes to an end. Well, there're still a couple of homes left to visit later, but officially, Christmas is over.

Didn't feel all that Christmassy this year, though. It was more like, suddenly It's here! Lots of seasonal food on which to over-indulge, lots of family to greet, a frenzy of wrapping and unwrapping of presents, all over in a whirlwind 48 hours.

It must have been the lack of an adequate build-up to the event for June and me. There's usually a sequence of activities to undertake that enhances the anticipation. Things like putting up the tree, taking slow strolls through the malls selecting gifts and admiring the deco (which was horribly commercial this year in particular, I thought), and preparing our share in the feasting (we usually roast up a fab turkey and put some salad together) gets us in the right frame of mind to celebrate properly. We've been naughty this year and did none of the above. No wonder we feel more like Grinches than Santas.

Oh well, 364 more days till Christmas 2006. Let's hope it's a good one.

Enough time for one quick sneaky entry. Lunched at Friends, Maju Avenue. Opted for the regular set over the Christmas special. Didn't want to spoil my appetite for dinner tonight.

The pumpkin soup was a good starter. It kept the tummy warm and happy in anticipation of the main course. The lamb shank I got was quite a massive hunk of meat over a bone that would have kept Q-tip happy for weeks. There was a lot of meat, and it didn't have that sheepish smell that mutton usually has. Tender and kept moist with a generous helping of gravy. Carnivore time! I was so tempted to drop my cutlery and gnaw on the leg directly, but there was a nice, polite family at the next table and I thought I'd better set a good example.

June let me try some of her crispy pork. 3 fine slices of breaded pork chops that I can only describe as "delicate," almost melt-in-the mouth quality.

Dessert was a small bread pudding (I've had lots of this stuff over the last week, oddly enough) served hot and sweet. Strong coffee (Grinder's) to finish off.

Attentive service too. Staff kept coming around to clear dishes and top up cold water.

And now, preparing for dinner with the clan, carolling and Christmas countdown... :)

Christmas celebrations have more or less begun. We took June's parents to Equinox for high tea, literally. 70 stories high and the view was quite stunning, especially as the sky was quite clear and we could see right across the sea. So odd to be looking down on buildings that usually block out the sun from the sidewalk, but from this elevated persepective, the whole cityscape appears so sim-city like.

High tea was basic: local standard tidbits like spring rolls, lotus pau and siew mai, but they also had a passable laksa as well. There was a section for sushi and also a section for scones with Devonshire cream and strawberry jelly which was a nice touch. Our 2 nephews enjoyed the chocolate fondue fountain the most and had to be physically restrained by their grandparents from picking up more marshmallows and strawberries to pour chocolate over.

We did a little shopping at the toy fair in the atrium of Raffles City before taking the Wongs home. In exchange, M-i-L gave us a number of her "ownself-make" fruitcakes. Those we intend as Christmas gifts she decorated with a layer of icing and created a little winter diorama on top of each using figurines she bought from Phoon Huat. Ours she left undecorated 'cos it's going straight into our stomachs.

Anthony and Wendy were the first recipients of M-i-L's fruitcake this year. We met them at Samara for cold beverages in the evening.

Other purchases today: Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" and Eminem's "Curtain Call" CDs. We happened to be in Chinatown for a while in the afternoon.

1 more day till Christmas...

I think M-i-L's calculations for the winter solstice are off by a couple of days. June says the proper way to celebrate dong zhi is to have a clan reunion and have a big feast including tang yuan soup all round.

We marked the occasion tonight according to the Wong family tradition: cook up a hoarde of wo tie dumplings in both deep-fried and boiled varieties, and eat them with a dip comprising fresh chilli padi paste, black vinegar, sesame oil and thin shreds of ginger. Eat until silly. Simple and easy.

The longest night of the year also reminds me that it's only 2 days till Christmas. Really? I haven't been paying attention. Sigh.

We're still stuck on our scavenger quest. Today, Q-tip accompanied us in her carrier bag and because she's quiet, no one suspected the presence of a little dog within their premises.

Our first stop was M-i-L's house where we delivered to her our fur/drool/spew-encrusted living-room carpet which she decided to take over when she heard we were throwing it out. Guess moms are like that -- can't stand to see things go to waste.

We began our hunt in earnest at I Am, an exclusive menswear establishment in Suntec City Tower 1. We took the elevator to the 8th floor to find it, and again we found the service to be excellent. We pretended to be an engaged couple getting married "next year." The sales staff were very helpful, making recommendations for our big day. While I tried on a couple of spiffy dress shirts, June looked around the shop for signs of a clue. No luck, though June said I looked better in the pink shirt than the orange. Even I was impressed with my image change, even if it was only temporary. If I was rich, I'd probably dress like that all the time.

Midday we explored Little India. Many restaurants around and such wonderful spicy smells making us hungry, but because we had Q-tip in tow we postponed lunch till later. The bak kut teh place in Balestier was ok with Q-tip so we grabbed a quick lunch before visiting the Sun Yat Sen Memorial nearby. June's never been there before so since we were in the neighbourhood...

Made a couple more stops around the area before calling it a day. We needed a new carpet so we dropped in at a carpet shop near Geylang Serai. The proprietor recognized June 'cos we bought our previous carpet from him last year. Nice new carpet for the living-room: $80 (after a $5 discount for being a "regular customer").

Met Anthony and co. for dinner at EastSide. Wednesday is "Beefeater's Night." For $4.99 you get a steak dinner, and quite a sizeable portion too. I ordered mine with herb butter, but I think something was wrong with the butter. It came in a cold, round pat on top of the steak, and it wouldn't melt -- which was probably a blessing because it tasted a bit off. So I removed the whole thing and liberally applied ketchup. Worked just fine, though next time I'd opt for either the mushroom or black pepper sauce instead.

Ended the evening treating everyone to a round of dessert and coffee at Sketches, Robertson Walk. It was time to use the $100 voucher Q-tip won for us at Halloween. June said the tiramisu was too sweet, though I thought it was ok. But we both liked the tartufo I ordered. Guess we need the motivation to keep on our quest tomorrow.

Must be blog fatigue. Feel more tired after my vacation than before. Can't say much about the last couple of days. Mostly running from one possible checkpoint to another on another scavenger quest. Not that the experience hasn't been a fulfilling one: It's great having some kind of excuse to go look at some places where normally I wouldn't dream of stepping into -- places of such poshitude that the first thing I would expect to see is the bottom of the security guard's boot.

But oddly, despite the rags June and I were wearing, we got the same courteous service everywhere we went. The auntie at Katong Antique House offered us her homemade Peranakan cookies to sample (and June bought a couple of jars after that). The lady at Amor Meus showed June a secure way to tie a sarong. Even the tailor at Victor York was patient with us though we showed up at his doorstep after closing time, and he was still busy with a genuine client at the time. We discovered a very quiet, comfortable library at the STB where we could just sit and read in peace. Even the poised receptionist at the Fullerton abandoned her post temporarily to get me some info that I asked for.

We also made a few detours along the way, "since we were there already." Style:Nordic, on Ann Siang Road, sells decorative hand-crafted household items, clothes (Nudie Jeans, anyone?), shoes, and all things Swedish. June took a fancy to the wineglass rack-chandelier combo on display, but she restricted herself to a wooden gnome and 100g of assorted Swedish candy.

There is also a collection of Makansutra-approved hawker stalls next to the Esplanade where we found a slightly crispy version of o-luak (oyster omelette) which I thought was very good, though ordering $6 for a medium sized portion soon became a demonstration of the law of diminishing returns. Greedy, lah!

Oh, and somewhere in the last couple of evenings, we caught Jackson's Kong. Another example of man's cruelty to animals, whom Jackson is careful to emphasize are sentient, intelligent and just as deserving of life as we are. Leave them and their natural habitat alone, please. And stop trying to turn everything we touch into profit. Remember what happened to King Midas?