damian + turion

turion at 10:02

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

[170908] OL' SKOOL ROX

nothing beats old school music, MAMA MIA is a must watch, not just for the story and humour but for the wonderful soundtrack as well. Im bitten by the MAMBO bug.

4 popcorns out of 5

turion at 22:48

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

[160908] Damian, the misunderstood one

Friends and random people who visit this blog to read about my mundane life and my whining, whimpering and random outbursts, am I what I seem to be? Or do you think I am what I portray in person? hmmm, question that got me pondering, a colleague of mine pointed out to me that I should smile more and talk more (read: be more sociable and less of a loner, in simpler hokkien terms, dont be so DAO).

Erm, ok... do I portray a very fierce, unapproachable kind of persona? Maybe it's reflex action, afterall 8 years of service to the corps and a further 2 years in CD as an instructor hardly allowed myself to become a smiley, chatty, affable kind of a guy. But I hardly think I'm a dao kind of guy, leaning slightly towards the loner mentality perhaps, not so sociable perhaps but then again, i warm up slowly to people and you can't really fault me on that.

Why should I go around with a smile on my face? Makes me feel kinnda spastic and weird. I don't smile unless something amuses me and I don't dance unless i hear some music (ok, i take that back, that analogy doesn't work: I don't dance even if i hear music but you get the general gist of the statement im trying to make? Do you?) Oh well, can't be too bothered with that but just got me thinking...

Perfect example of a spastic smile, wouldnt be too nice for me going around with that look on my face would it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think i touched on this topic many times now, would you voluntarily commit yourself to a religion for the sake of love?

With the wide spread (& popularity) of Christianity (just an example, could be Buddhism, Islam or any other religion), chances are high when you meet someone new, that someone new might be of a different faith. So you go through the entire circle, the dating, the wooing and finally you got together. In the course of courtship, the matter of faith might be overlooked, afterall, when hormones and feelings of love are mixed together, everything else fades to the background.

But in time, perhaps you decide he/she is the one, that it's time to apply for that HDB flat together, what then? Most of the religions would require the other half to convert. (this is true for Islam and Catholics, not too sure about Christianity in general) Would you willingly do so? In my instance, a non-believer. Would I willingly convert and merely pay lip service to a religion i would have no faith in, no beliefs in and no trust in? All for the sake of love and a lasting marriage?

If I do so,i would just be lying to myself and my other half. And yet, if i don't it would seem that i do not perceive the relationship to be as important as my faith and beliefs (or lack of it). Damned if I do, Damned if I don't. A perfect catch twenty-two. No way out. How do I answer that question?

The saying goes: Love conquers all but does it now? Can it conquer faith?

I think the answer to that would be to find me a nice chinese gal who's either a free-thinker, an atheist or somebody who just doesn't care. Saves me the headache in thinking so much.

turion at 14:29

Sunday, September 14, 2008

[140908] we live to eat & eat to live

Spent a hectic 2 days catching up with camp colleagues, old & new spending time & money on the most basic and nourishing factor in life: FOOD. Thursday's dinner was buffet at Carnivore's, a Brazilian restaurant followed by dessert at Senzo. Interesting first experience at fine dining but the ambiance and setting not to mention the dessert was superb.

Ciocolatta @ Senzo

Yesterday marked the first time i visited arab street, place where everybody hangs out on a carpet with a bottle of sisha close on hand. Nope, i do not sisha thank you very much, it's the same as smoking, dont let people who tell you otherwise fool you, there's still tobacco inside and you WILL still die of cancer eventually. May god (if you believe in one, i dont but i figured most likely you would...) have mercy on your mortal soul.

Anyways, 20+ of us sat down at this gloomy lit first floor of the shop house awaiting the food and the appropriate time to break fast afterwhich, I dug into a plate of sumptuous mixed grill with tossed salad and fragrant briyani rice. Absolute heaven, the aromatic rice was rich with flavours of spices and seasonings and complemented the lamb rib, roasted chicken thigh and grilled beef perfectly while the salad though plain was seasoned with a healthy dose of black pepper to add a bit of ophmf to the dish. It was followed by a simple chill out session at tcc with snacks and drinks.

My friends, life cant get better than this.

turion at 09:46

Thursday, September 11, 2008

[110908] FREED

After 2 years... 24 months... 104 weeks... 728 days... 17,472 hours... 1,048,320 minutes... and 62,899,200 seconds, I am finally free. I figured I would be elated and be filled with joy and overwhelming feelings but oddly, I feel rather indifferent about everything. No doubt, I am glad that this mandatory phase and chapter in my life has come to a close but somehow, I had thought that I would be feeling more than the indifference I am currently experiencing.

Turns out to be the exact opposite of what I had in mind all along ever since I completed my training as a recruit, after the seemingly never ending and counting down to my ORD date. Regardless of the indifference, I am just glad that I can move on with my life now and look forward (hopefully) to a long, successful and enriching career.

As I look back upon my stint in serving the nation as an obligation as a male Singaporean citizen, I realized that I hadn't come out of the stint with much lessons learnt. All it did in imbuing in me was a fierce dislike and contempt at the way the organization was run by people who are assholes in the worst instances and incompetent idiots at best. No doubt, I am a poor judge for declaring the forest to be rotten because of a few bad apples but unfortunately, the good are few and far in between.

I would not miss anything about NS except the people with whom I had the pleasure, honour and good luck in meeting and working along the way through the shit that is NS@Jalan Bahar. Seniors who pointed, guided and imparted the necessary know-hows, tricks and advice along the way when I was starting to stand. Fellow batchMATE (not mates) in which to give moral and physical support to and bash through each and every day and Juniors, who were in my opinion the best that we could have gotten and proving that they are the very best amongst the 3 coys day in day out. I am glad for all their companionship along the way as we slogged, worked and get driven mad by the insane, unreasonable and often illogical management that pinned us down and free laboured us whenever a chance arise. For that, I am thankful. Sadly, like many before us, they are but another part in our lives, relegated to the back of the mind and the throng of society and space of time as we move on. Never forgotten but never destined to remain.

That is my NS experience in a nutshell.

ORD LO...

turion at 19:54

Friday, September 05, 2008

你常常说我很完美
没人能取代我给的一切
我就以为我努力更完美
我们就会永远
完美并不美我们多虚伪
你让我的好变成一种罪
完美并不美当你爱了谁
我的完美也只是不完美
后来你说我太完美
值得更好的陪在我身边
你不是我你怎么能体会
你有多么珍贵
我的完美成了罪

turion at 21:13

Monday, September 01, 2008

[010908] piracy is not theft, theft is not piracy

courtesy of Sinicker@livejournal: long live f.i.l.e s.h.a.r.i.n.g and Gaia!

turion at 20:04

Yesterday's memories

My past