An emotional and thought-provoking display of friendship between two young hearts with the passion and desire to discover a sound they can call their own.

the piano forest

despite the fact that the lunar new year has arrived, it is nothing more than 'just another public holiday' to me. guess 20 years of monotonous chinese new year visits to 'relatives-you-don't-even-remember-how-to-address' are more than enough to dampen the excitement inherent in this traditional festival.

a new beginning

life in army hasn't been this good since the day i got shackled to the life of a soldier. and it's been weeks since i've landed myself out in the field. has been spending quite a while teaching the new batch of aoc trainees.
as their instructor, the experience i had was way different compared to teaching cadets. as a cadet, one has to put up minimally decent behaviour wherever he is. words are carefully filtered before spoken, actions are properly considered before taken. there are always restraints and restrictions.
but things are different for the aoc trainees. there is an intrinsic element of sincerity between the instructor and trainees. the interaction with them is more of a heart-to-heart one than instructor-to-trainee. the ambience of our lessons was tension-free and enjoyable rather than a miasma of unease generated by a difference in rank, yet without compromising any aspect. simply amazing.

a chain of events took place over the past one week, both joyous and sadly unforeseen, to a point it almost got me breathless.

my second paternal grandma passed away just last wednesday hence i was involved in her funeral till saturday. as a result, i had to give cpt francis' wedding a miss as well as a gathering with my friends. well. though i wasn't close to this grandmother of mine, three days of commitment is the very least i can give as a grandson. seems like this year wasn't a good one when it comes to health and longevity. my first paternal grandma passed away merely few months ago. however the deaths of both my grandparents weren't entirely events of pain and tears. it brought my father's siblings together and happened to be the catalyst to heal the crumbling kinship. we even had a family gathering at my aunt's place during christmas. seems like curtain call to the feud which plagued my paternal family for the past decade draws near.

my friends came over during my birthday and on christmas eve for gathering & enjoyment purposes. guess the goal was achieved - dota, mahjong & naruto got us busily entertained. i am really grateful to my parents - they are very supportive and professional when it comes to playing host to my friends. i hope my friends felt the sincerity of my family.

equipped with an intangible library of twenty years experience, i've moved on

woah. time flies. just realised how detached i was from my blog. was busy back then. but these few weeks are meant for clearing leave. guess us instructors deserve this period of rest after putting in and going through so much. currently planning a fruitful schedule. dont wish to waste this short break.

went to suntec earlier for some shopping with my family. at the same time collect our family photos. and here's the best shot. felt it was near perfection.

for an unaccounted bayonet i had to sign 7 extras. 6 of them were cleared consecutively last wk. and it was tiring. since the duty personnel is the point of contact for all sorts of issues & problems within the unit. but it wasn't as bad as it seems. was a chance to know more pple in the unit esp those on guard duty. and i'm grateful to weapon specs andrew & desmond who bought egg tarts for me, of their own accord. in addition a little help here & there aided me through the course of my duty marathon. so it seems. no one stands alone. indeed. no one can.

the cadets commissioned ytd. 6 months ago i was in their position. times flies. sure it did. 20 yrs seemed to have passed unknowingly. guess it's time to think through what i want in life before i waste another 20 yrs. waiting for the time of my life..