06 03 2015

It's yet again, the inaugural SPA Handover of the year.

I was from the... 25th batch (if my memory doesn't fail me), and it seems like we all have aged WELL, seeing so many new batches after us. It doesn't really matter if you've graduated from the club/school, what really matters is the whole bunch of us still sticks together despite going off separate way after the Diploma.

Hmm, so... Here's what I did on that day.

Unknowingly, I took an unofficial half-day leave and went home at 12nn so I could pack my stuffs and get ready for the pre-event meal at Holland V.

Rose Latte

D'Good Cafe, Holland Village

Supposedly, we should be having our lunch at Nahkon (did I get it right?) Kitchen for some Thai food, where the other outlet is at Hougang, but when we got there, it wasn't ready for operation yet. Such a bummer, so we ended up at D'Good Cafe and I finally had my Steak & Cheese Pie (because it kinda reminds me of NZ - tho not as good but it's better than nothing)

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Lunch's out, so we made our way to SP.

Strolled around SP since we were early and SP is still undergoing some transformation. Why did you have to come up with the new Sports Arena with the high wall only when we graduated... (Then again, I am glad that our officer is fighting for the alumni to use the facilities in SP)

Speaking about being early...

I thought we were early because the event started at 6pm and we strolled to the LT and got there by 6.15pm. No one was at the reception so we really thought we were too early... Little did we know, everyone (most of them were current students) was already seated and we felt so awkward...

SPA 31st Handover

The Graduating Junior, Eeching!

& my BFF

A lot of the new age alumni weren't there yet or not even attending it...

Doubling up the awkwardness.

(& it was quite... Boring in a way. I'm sorry having to say it so directly but... It was indeed, less fun/happening than the past few handovers)

Anyhow, buffet was actually sponsored by one of alumni from the earliest batches, can't really comment on the food 'cos we didn't really eat but it was weird that they served hot coffee and tea for the buffet dinner.

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Next part of the event was just some videos made by the juniors to showcase their gratitude towards the graduating seniors and also, some photos they took throughout the year for some of their expeditions.

Most of the new age alumni didn't stay till the end, so did Shini and I because we had a movie to catch at 9.20pm. We took our leave first and kinda rushed for the movie, 50 Shades of Grey.

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Timing was good, we got there when the advertisement was still showing, didn't miss any part of the movie at all and wtf, it was still full house despite the movie has been showing for 2 weeks already??

Anyway, LOL there were 2 girls being denied for their movie (not sure what movie was it because it wasn't showing in the same theatre as us) and the staff had a hard time dealing with it. The girls were pleading him but he couldn't do much and got sandwiched in between the patrons and the management LOLOL sucks to be him.

The girls are dumb enough to try their luck at Cineleisure... I can't even.

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50 Shades of Grey

The movie ain't sexual (in a way) at all, and instead, I felt so sad watching that movie lolol so deep. There was some sex scenes with nude bodies but the genital parts weren't really shown so it was nothing or rather, quite alright.

I wouldn't spend time reading the thick story books though but the movie, is just saddening and the OST by Ellie Goulding, is good enough to stir my emotions (not really so totally immersed into it and start crying) but it's just sad in a way.

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BECAUSE WE HAD LUNCH AT WEIRD TIMING...

After movie, we walked from Cineleisure to Rochor Tauhuay (we always walk around in town, as far as - from Tanjong Pagar to Orchard before) to get some supper (doughsticks, beancurd, soya bean milk) before cabbing home for the night.

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07 03 2015

MacRitchie 12nn Run

Apparently, the morning run became a 12nn run because we couldn't wake up on time. Tell me about the heat and weather and rocky trail. Conquered an approx. 8km run with a few almost-sprained my ankle incidents because of the rocks.

Of course, I was one shade tanner after the run and not a bad job having to run on an empty stomach but the calories burnt was restored, over-restored for the late lunch at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar, then dinner at the restaurant at night (impromptu) with the family.

Talk to me about my abs.

It's fading.

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08 03 2015

A day full of napping.

I was drifting in and out consciousness.

The weather was so hot it gave me migraines.

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09 03 2015

Fat.

Feeling fat constantly.

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10 03 2015

Time.

Time is crawling.

Please save me.

 Sister's Island (Pulau Subar Laut)

Somewhere in the South of Singapore

Hey guys!

How was your weekend? :)

I was kinda recently on a hiatus quite frequently but sorry to inform that I am still pretty much alive and kicking. Just kinda needed some time off doing real things/adventures, getting out to spend time with the sun.

That being said, I was kinda cut off from any source of virtual communication (except the walkie-talkie and VHF we had to use for the trip) during the weekend because of the expedition organized by my juniors.

1) Not wanting to use the phone while on board (Piloting the boat + the sea water... It's better to be safe than sorry)

2) Can't really see stuffs on my phone under the sun (The reflection of my screen + the super scratchy screen protector)

3) The hut we took as our accommodation for the night was further away from the jetty (The reception was pretty bad for Starhub users - We were constantly getting Indonesia Telco Services instead)

4) A getaway, means a get-away from the hustle bustle city. For a quiet and relaxing (but sleep deprived) weekend.

5) I'd probably got no friends (The horror BUT my few close friends were with me on the island itself)

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The en route to Sisters' Island was alright, no major hiccups...

Weather had treated us fairly well, like no big storms or scorching hot sun. It was kinda gloomy at some points of time or rather, the sun was kinda playing hide-and-seek with us.

Then again, in any ways, as long as you're out in the sun, the best solution is to apply sunblock so you won't regret and which, I finally, certainly, DID 'cos I didn't wanna get nagged for days again.

Paddlers had all managed to complete their paddling from West Coast to Sisters' Island in the choppy sea condition. The formation was quite compact as the number of participants was not as large as the other SIKEs.

Distance to Sisters' was much longer, it's literally a long stretch from Pasir Panjang Fairway to the end of Sentosa Island, heading towards Sisters' but still, a job well done for them to be able to complete the trip.

The route planned was straightforward and despite the long stretch of paddling, and just paddling, the paddlers and those in the powered pleasure craft aka the rubber dingy, get to see Sentosa Island in another view (IN THE SEA)!

Tanjong Beach, Siloso Beach, Palawan Beach... and the kinda mouldy Merlion. Oh, not to forget, we also get to see the MBS, Singapore Flyer, Marina Barrage from Sisters' Island. Not a bad deal after a few hours of arduous paddling under the sun, right?

The only worrisome thing was the freaking monkeys which stay in Big Sisters' Island (There's a small Sisters' Island opposite but it was already being occupied by another group of organization/campers who took bum boat there).

The log team was being attacked by the monkeys and they were saying the monkeys were ferocious, stealing our food (log boat got there first to unload their stuffs), showing fangs and backside at them, chasing after the log team.

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Let's beach up!

 After about 4 - 5 hours of the paddling, the group of adventurers finally got to the island to beach up their kayaks and had a face-off with the monkeys (Just kidding, most of them were afraid of the monkeys instead). At least, it means there would be more people to take care of the stuffs.

The expedition this time round was slightly different from the usual sea expedition 'cos... The number of alumnus who participated was of a minimal, less than 10 and the usual ones didn't come at all.

The alumnus used to cook A LOT and there would always be leftover, the input would be more than the output despite it's a paddling event but not this time round.

None of us bought any food, we were literally just a service provider (for being the boat handler) and so, we were kind of waiting for food most of the time HAHA but we didn't have the time to really get stuffs since everyone had to work prior to the trip.

So basically, the alumnus (not me hahaha) just napped after their shower, napping while waiting for dinner and I must say, Sisters' Island is a pretty awesome place for photography (excluding the monkeys). There are few stretches of breakwater which we can easily walk to and sit down to enjoy the sea view while catching the sunrise/sunset.

Simple dinner was served by the juniors (Macaroni + Fusili Pasta with pan-fried chicken fillets) as the dusk was setting in. The night was peacefully spent... Until I was woken up by the sound of the waves (I am a super duper light sleeper) and the presence of Edwin who happened to be standing beside me (Kinda scary but I think he came to the table to take the torchlight or whatever for his toilet trip).

The good thing is, the mosquito repellent from BKK, in milky lotion form is the best thing invented on Earth. It smells damn good, it's not sticky and does its job well to fend off the mosquitoes. OH, it's only 50baht, scream with me people, scream with me. It's probably the only sea expedition that I had minimal itchy bites, thank goodness for this wonderful invention.

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Rise & Shine.

We were shining before the sun even shines at us.

The group of us was supposed to walk to the breakwater, sit back and relax while enjoying the sunrise but this brudder of mine (in the photo below), said he had been witnessing lightning during the last hour and recommended that we should all stay in the hut, rocking our hammocks while trying to catch the sunrise... That's what we did in the end, and I am seriously not a fan of lightning too.

Then, after breakfast prepared by the juniors (pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausages), we kinda started taking photo on this super-bent coconut tree. A TOTALLY GOOD SPOT for photography... Explains the first picture above before this lengthy post.

After a few solo shots of mine, my brudder came up to me, wanting to snap pictures together with me... As I was seated down previously, he was asking me to stand up for the photo and this was this outcome:

Lending me a helping hand 'cos...
I can always count on him.

Maybe it doesn't look high enough here but it's quite a distance (vertically), and the trunk isn't that thick but the tree managed to hold us all when we were taking the group photo (6 of us, me being the furthest away from the ground, having feet cramps while trying to balance...).

Featuring the SPAA
NJ (Me), Jian Wei (My brudder), Sung Wen, Wei Chong, Shini (My partner-in-crime), Edwin (My PBYX)
(Left to Right)

Anyhow, we set off slightly earlier for the journey back to West Coast and the traffic along Pasir Panjang Fairway was kinda heavy, with all the big-ass tanker ships docking in and out. Paddlers were all so shagged out under the hot sun and still had to speed up their paddling to get out of the channel but YAY, they did it.

5 hours of the physical-draining paddling, they finally got back to the west side of Singapore, AKA West Coast Park/ Poly Marina (Under SP)/ RSYC. Oh, which I've just realized, after beaching up all the kayaks and boats, debrief with the alumnus and then the washing up...

We didn't take a group photo after the trip with the current comms and participants OMG why like that but it's okie, memories stay...

I hope Monday has been good to you and also, weekend was a blast for you!


Sisters' Island Kayaking Expedition 2014
Southern Island, Singapore

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