Of B and me Part I Christmas Eve 1998. A conversation between me and my kan mei, a close and dear friend of mine. The topic for the day: my persistent singlehood. Her thoughts?

"It's like this. You would make a very good husband, but you are not a terribly exciting boyfriend."

To which another friend reply upon my telling of this anecdote, "Yeah, but don't you have to be a boyfriend before you can get to the marrying part?"

I must admit that phrase bugged me for a while after I heard it. In a sense, it sums up the essential dilemma of being a nice guy in Singapore doesn't it? Best case scenario, you get really close to her and hear all the stories about how the boyfriend's mistreating her and how she wishes he were more like you. Worst case, she thinks you are of alternate persuasion and tries to set you up with another like minded friend of hers. You just can't win.

Of course, the fact that I endured a string of bad luck and rejections in secondary school didn't help. It came as a relief in JC when for two years, I concentrated on (and distracted by) other pressing stuff (and nope, studies was waaaaay down on the list) and surprisingly, wasn't attracted to anyone in particular. A relatively stress free two years as I didn't have to be on best behavior and presentation around the girl that I like. Although of course, the fact that I'm entering National Service straight after my 'A's means that snowball's chance in hell that I would get attached in the next three years. Then again, I must have knocked my head too much in NS cos for nine months after BMT, I was too busy in Midshipman school to worry about the lack of a significant other. Weekends were usually spent in camp preparing for the coming week's activities. Time marches forward relentlessly and it was only after the commissioning parade that I had anytime to myself and really reflect on my life. I was proud of myself for having gone through the entire course successfully and decided to reward myself with a relaxing day doing nothing but reading in Borders.

Which is where I met her.  ¶ 7:22:00 pm 0 comments

  "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love you, Tomorrow..." Only realised this recently but...



Well, not quite but my entry for the Singapore Blogger Convention 2005 naming contest has been accepted. Tomorrow Tea Party is doing quite well, thank you very much, at 10% of total votes as of now. Thank you all, those who voted for me.

Funnily enough, jseng noted a similarity between it and a certain world changing event. yc even wrote a post on it. I must admit while the syntax was definitely an inspiration, I never meant for it to be 'belligerent' as one comment puts it. Really, not all bloggers that confrontational you know.

Blog Wars
Episode I: Men in White Strikes Back

It is a dark time for bloggers. Although AcidGate has blown over, bloggers are still wary and continue to post disclaimers before every post.

Evading the dreaded Men In White, a Tomorrow Alliance of bloggers lead by mb, miyagi, xiaxue, adri, calm one plus many more has established a new not so secret website on a remote server in some French Polynesian island where it is less likely that they can be sued but with internet laws these days, who knows for sure?

The evil lord of the MIW, Darth Bleach, obsessed with finding this server, has dispatched thousands of search bots into the far reaches of the internet....

*Scene 1: Underground bunker somewhere in Labrador Park...

mb: Bad news people. We just got word of the latest initiative from our sources in the academy. The MIW are going to organise a national inter-school blogging championship.

rest: *gasp!*

xx: But that means...

mb: Yes, the MIW still don't get it. And future generations will be mind wiped to write only approved posts on their blogs.

calm one: No way man! I'll kick them three ways to China if they do that!

miyagi: Calm down, calm one. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side of the blogosphere. Bigger problem, we have. A disturbance in the blogosphere, there is. Looking for Tomorrow server, Darth Bleach is. Destroy his bots, we must.

adri: Our Apple Xserve G5 should be able to take anything Darth Bleach can throw at us. I suggest we should go after the server that's hosting the blogging competition instead. Knowing Darth Bleach, he's probably still using Windows NT4 since he's too stingy to upgrade all the computers in use.

mb: Hang on, I'm receiving an priority one message. Go on, General jseng.

jseng: We have received word from the Cowboy Caleb. He's with a farmboy from Malaysia and they claimed to have the secret plans to the secret server hosting the interschool blogging championship.

mb: Affirmative. Bring them in.

*Doors swoosh open. Cowboy Caleb and Kenny Sia walks in.

cc: Whoa, this is quite the operation you have here.

xx(whispers to adri): Look at his hairy legs... Oooo I want to marry him!

mb: Gentlemen, welcome to the Tomorrow Alliance. Time is of the essence. You brought the plans with you?

ks: Yes. We have discovered that the location of the servers are actually in the Integrated Resorts on Sentosa.

miyagi: Mm, insidious and devious, Darth Bleach truly is.

ks: That is right. That $100 entry fee is nothing but a smokescreen to prevent you peasants from entering and finding out the truth.

calm one: What are we waiting for? Let's go blow those servers out of the water.

mb: Hold on, we cannot be rash. How will we be able to afford the $100 entry fee into the IRs?

Wedge: That's impossible, even for a computer.

ks: Its not impossible. I'm a Malaysian so the entry fee doesn't apply to me. And I used to sneak in the Batam IRs in my T-16 back home.

mb: Enough talking; man your ships. May the blogosphere be with you.

*Scene 2: Somewhere in the IRs...

Wedge: Red 2 standing by

ks: Red 5 standing by

jseng: Lock s-foils in attack position

ks: This is Red 5. I'm going in.

*ks runs up to the door and kicks it open. Inside it rows of IBM servers, manned by MIW having a cup of tea with Darth Bleach.

db: I have been waiting for you. I am so glad you decided to accept my invitation to tea after all.

ks: We are not here for your foul tea Darth Bleach, but to rescue the blogosphere from the foul manipulations of your blogging competition.

*A firefight breaks out and the bloggers quickly subdue the MIW.

all: Victory is ours! Let us get rid of these servers once and for all!

*gathers servers and dumps them into the sea. Cuts to scene of celebrations all over.

Scene 3:Three weeks later. A ChannelNews Asia broadcast

Suzanne Jung: This just in. A breaking news report. We just received word that the Tomorrow Alliance have scored a decisive victory against the forces of the MIW. In what has come to be known as the Tomorrow Tea Party, a group of Tomorrow bloggers .....

Fade out. Credits  ¶ 4:18:00 pm 1 comments

  At the beginning "Dragon Wing reporting for watch keeping sir! Permission to enter the bridge."

"Permission granted. IC, have your men been assigned their positions?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Take your positions. Charts are in the room at the back. Lookout, go ask the coxswain for a spare pair of binoculars."

I stifled a yawn as I entered the darkness. It was close to the witching hour, and the rest of my batchmates were already snug in their bunks below deck. We had just slipped off from Tuas Naval Base about five hours ago, having just bided farewell to our friends and family as we left for the first leg of our two month Midshipman Sea Training Deployment. There were crying from girlfriends and mothers as they thought of the two months separation before they next see us again. Fathers stood by stoically, with the occasional words of encouragement while little brothers ran about the ship, trying to take in everything at the same time. Course instructors were walking around, assuring parents of their children's safety. The rest of the ship was a hive of activity as seamen prepared to get the ship underway. We slipped off at sunset, standing at attention on deck and waving goodbyes to the people gathered on the docks.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out the people already on the bridge. The navigator was already helping to spread out the charts and briefing the midshipman on the ship's position and heading. Another midshipman was on the comms with the engine room finding out the conditions of the turbines. From the radar, I could hear laughter spliced with the beeping of the equipment. And over them all, the Officer of the Watch was in her usual seat, looking over all of us. Right now, she is merely the caretaker for the real master of the ship.

"Captain on the bridge!"

"At ease gentlemen."

He stood at the door for a moment, taking in the activity before him before making his way to his seat. As he settled in, the OOW walked over and gave her report. The midshipman navigator and radar operator called out their taking over of their respective positions. I spied the coxswain at the wheelhouse and walked over to him.

"Coxswain, where can I get the spare binos huh?"

"Over there, hanging by the wall" " Thank you coxswain"

Having gotten my equipment, I walked out and commence lookout duty. The cool sea breeze was chilly. I pulled my jacket closer and listen to the sounds of the waves crashing against the ship. Above me, the full moon shone upon the waters, leaving a reflection like the wake of another ship. Up above in the sky, the milky way snaked across the cloudless night sky, a dense river of stars so bright, its difficult to make out the individual stars that are a part of it. And the stars. Uncountable numbers of them spread all over, twinkling, immutable. Stretching from horizon to horizon, they were everywhere. Looking at them brings back that classic line from 2001: A Space Odyssey:

"My God, it's full of stars!"

I smiled and thought to myself: This should be a good trip.  ¶ 10:51:00 am 0 comments

  Backpacker "Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."
- Miriam Beard

On the wall of my room, there is a map of the world. I bought it when I first came back from the U.S. It covers nearly the entire wall, and is always threatening to fall down from its weight. On it are marked various crosses in different colors, each representing a place which I've been to, yet to go or am going to. Looking at these places, I can say that I have certainly travelled the off beaten path. Some of the more interesting spots marked on the map includes Timor Leste (formerly East Timor), New Caledonia and Johannesburg. Not your typical Decemember school holidays destinations.

It is unsure when exactly the traveling bug really bite in ernest. However, to satisfy that human urging to clearly identify a starting point, one can certainly point to a two month period in 1999 and safely say, "This is where it began." That is not strictly true because I am pretty sure the rough plans for my dream trip certainly began its gestation in my head when I first read about the crusades in secondary school. For that matter, I vaguely remember talking about a backpacking manifesto with certain classmates outlining our definations for backpack, acceptable accomodations and activities as well as daily budgetary limits. But two things stood out for that trip in 1999:

1. It was the first time I traveled on an international passport.
2. It was the furthest I had been from Singapore then.

That was a beggining and as beginnings went, it was a good beginning. I was in a foreign country, exposed to new things, experincing new sights and exploring my nascent photographic needs. I had funny experiences and tragic ones in the same place, occuring within minutes of each other. I seen things which I had only understood on a conceptual level from what I had gleaned from books, but was woely unprepared to take in in real life. That in particular, struck me hard, as a young man still trying to find his way in the world.

More on this in the days to come.  ¶ 10:51:00 am 0 comments

  On my own There was a time where I was not afraid to be alone. Not that I didn't have any friends or anything. Just that, I avoid the cliques that invariably form in most social situations. Meaning I do not hang out with any particular group exclusively to the extent of ostracising others as most were wont to do those days. Kept life interesting, as I thought then. Partly also due to the fact that I was pretty much value my own privacy and kept to myself more often than not as well.

Now all that has changed.  ¶ 4:00:00 pm 0 comments

  We pass by each other on the steps... ... and barely glanced at each other. You were talking to your friends with food in your hands. I presume dinner with your meetings and plans. I was on my way to the canteen.

It has been a while, yet it seemed like eternity. It was so different not that long ago, but everything has changed. Perhaps I could pretend; perhaps you could too. It will still be an illusion though. Broken cups can never be mended again. The cracks will always be there.  ¶ 7:46:00 pm 0 comments