Friends and the bangala band~

I write this at the risk of sounding gay.

But who cares, I'll say it anyway =)

There are a few friends that I'll really hold dear in my life, and those are the ones I'll probably find the hardest to let go under all situations. I'm just thinking back on my sec school days and reflecting back on the people who stood by me all these years, through all the crap and through the rain they were still there watching my back. Such people are rare, and I'm gonna salute them today.

Joel, I really really really miss you man. I was just looking back on your wedding pics and how it all pass so fast. Come back from Sydney soon, and I hope u'll be a daddy soon with ur dearest Jasmine! Haha!

Whye Heng, behind the cynicism lies a man of great integrity and faithfulness. You deserve my respect and my tremendous friendship. =)

Jack, what can I say? You are one heck of a caring brother in dark and bright times. I'm glad to be there for you too =)

Weiliang, my brother in good and bad times, thanks for the friendship and ur care. You are really one of a kind. Get a gf soon la, your queue's getting too long.

Jessel, i like ur style. You're a man of backbone. You fight like only u can for friends!~

Sebastian, you're a kind and sincere ah beng. You vouched for me just as I vouched for you in some difficult times.

To Amanda, to the one and only female buddy, I'll be finding a guy for u! hahaha!!

Shufen, my ex-cell member, u really know how to dig into people's lives and put ur interest in them. Thanks for putting ur interest in mine.

There are many more that i can't recall at this moment... mind's shutting down at 12am. To the reader, dun play punk ah. This is not some gay blog ok? Thanks

Pics!~

Hi folks, as u can see, a thousand words paints a picture, so i can't be bothered with too much words. Here.. we are practicing the energy saving policies which many companies will endorse anyway, to save electricity and cut down on manpower.

This is the kind of exams workers do. Tag my tagboard if u know what it is!


Sebas, you are a nerd. I'm glad u graduated!~ So throw them away!~ Or give them to Collin!~


Oh yeah, I ran the marathon, so i'm at the 37km mark. Shiong sia. Legs like full of fibre can't move.

Random pics for your random thoughts. Till we meet again.

A word so strong,
it cut into the very being,
a heart that went into a million pieces,
And a mind that was bleeding.

I am the light of the city,
a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden,
as the light is dim,
who would be able to see it?

Would a light be so dim,
and the one looking for a sign could not receive,
Down and he was distraught,
i wish i was there to shine forth and guide him back.

Why would God choose me,
a person who never looked beyond what's before him,
and brought him to a place of tremendous responsibility,
and trust in him just as he trusted the father

Every beat that was played,
it wasn't just a memorial to the dead,
but a statement to the living,
and a salvation ticket to the lost

Every beat that was played,
Was more than myself and my dignity,
It was a deep call to the poor,
And a weapon against the evil one

Every beat that was played,
let it not be one in vain,
but one of a sacrifice and the best one can give,
that it might do justice to the hurting and grieved

Let this poem be a memorial before you,
a heart that is wholely set onto you.
A poem made from the faith,
to go against the thoughts of fear

Happy birthday!~

I think it's the time where I will ramble and u will just look and wonder what I'm typing.

So many things going through my head, I dunno where to start. Why not with you?

Ok... apart from the lameness, I've been examing what the bible really meant by loving people. Is it just an affectionate pat on the back like how Jessel does it on Merv?

I got a whole lot of theory on it, but I think I will just keep it to myself for now. My mind's flat out like a drunken lizard.

To Mervyn, Happy Birthday to you today man. U're finally a yr older! And may u find the sweet girl soon.

A thought~

Sometimes I wonder,
If the feeling I felt was ever right,
Can feelings betray a friendship?
Can a brother kill someone with just emotions?

Dreams and Chips~

My first saturday at work. And onto doing welding again. Scary at first, but like first steps to walking, u wish u could run one day. And that was what i felt doing it. Polash was a bangala that helped me with it. Barely one year into his job, he did pretty awesome on his welding skills.

I'm not sure about it, but i think there was this one time many years back I dreamt I was working in a construction yard. And today, it just occured to me that I've been in the exact spot somewhere before, some rendezvous. I woke up not knowing if it was a dream or a nightmare. Hahaha. What do you think?

The place is a little bit military style, where people call you sir or boss. Kinda weird at first. To me, it's more about getting my job done and you getting your job done, and both going home happy. Isn't it like this for all jobs? Ideally?

Watched the Suzy Orman show, and there was this segment called "can I afford it". People would call her up on the talkshow and ask whether they could buy stuff, like kids going to their mamas asking for a lollipop. I was shocked when people asked if they could afford to pay off loans to service another loan using credit cards, and one even asked if they could buy a ticket to the casino playoffs which costs $10K!~

To all the gamblers or gambling wannabes who happen to trip over this blog, I respect your opinions and decisions to put your money on the edge and win it all with one shot in a casino. But hey, in the casino.. the dealers have hands that are faster and nimbler than those of David Blaine. Who are we kidding... would any casino hire me who can barely shuffle cards? Have you considered the odds against you in your hand compared to theirs? =)

All in all, though she's probably making a hell lot of money hosting talk shows, I sense the morality of the talkshow host who would put herself in a position where she could easily advise people on shares, stocks and bonds, and help her felllow americans out who are actually struggling on trivial issues.

Suzy, I may not agree on how you represented yourself, but you sure are impacting lay people one household at a time.

From student to welder~

As you can see.. the job of the welder is pretty glamourous. All the bright lights in your face is as close to heaven as u can get. Actually not really la.

I hand my first hands on with an electrode and I did my first welding on a piece of metal block. It was much more difficult than I thought. You gotta put a black UV shield to prevent your eyes from arc eye, a condition where u get temporary blindness. My senior superintendent had that many times. Kinda scary at first thought.

So I was like a kid playing with adult toys. It was pretty fun and neat. Just that the fumes a bit toxic la. To all the bangalas who happen to read this blog, I want you to know that I respect you tremendously and for all the hard work u put in. Leaving your family and wives behind is something many wouldn't do.

So apart from that, I gotta know the foreman and chargehands well. They all have like 25 over years of experience on average la! So getting their respect and trust from the worker to the manager is something that I gotta learn over time.

Alrighty, I'm going to church for dialect practice. If u need to permamently seal up your furniture or something with some hot stuff, you know who you can call la...

Better not be me.

Oil rigs and Superintendents~

Hey folks.. My first week at the shipyard has started!~ And for that, here's a totally random picture of my CNY dinner with Benedict and Collin John. It was awesome =)

It's an absolute mindblower.. for the past few days that have passed like a sneeze. But one concern is that walking around a shipyad is like walking around a landmine. You gotta keep ur head up and look out for yourself with every single step.

I don't really know much abt my direct boss, but from the looks of it, he's looks like one heck of a cool dude. Easy to relate to with no airs, he made me feel so at home with my singlish. And talk quite a bit of stuff that got me thinking.

My colleagues... man, i think it's one whole generation of welding superintendents that never quit their job for like 35 over years. I got to know my mentor... 37 yrs! But the record has to go to this chargehand (aka welding sergeant?) who worked there for 39 yrs! What do they see in this section that they wanna glue their entire lives in this environment? Wha lau, I can be their son liao lar. So working with lao jiaos (aka old birds), make sure u know where u stand as a trainee and a young man.

I really wanna know why they stayed so long, and i think i got a bit of a clue. But that's for u to call me and find out. hahah!!


I'm just pretty much happy to learn all the new stuff going around the yard, like a new kid getting his toys in christmas. Oh yeah man, those toys are worth $200 million each. So I just got one simple piece of advice before i rest my limp body..


When u buy an oil rig, make sure you know how to use it.