sepak takraw!

for the first time in my life, i played sepak takraw during my standby duty in SOC yesterday. it's not a very popular sport in singapore, but it certainly is among my squadmates, who were very kind to teach me the rules of the game, as well as the roles of each player in a team.

it's actually a game consisting of 3 players in each team, a server, a feeder and a killer. (that's if i'm not wrong). so a feeder feeds the takraw ball to the server, who serves over the net to the opponent team. they are then allowed to control the ball before juggling it back to the other team by the 3rd hit. any parts of the body can be used to control the ball, except the hands. a killer's role is to kill the game with a strike using his head or his legs.

it was very amusing how i struggled initially to adapt to the rules of the game and how i caused my team to lose points, but they were very patient with me. as the game went on, i grew more confident and at ease with the flow of the game. whenever i scored a point for the team, it gave me a sense of mild achievement. and according to my friend, it's a tradition of the game for teammates to always give high fives and low fives to one another in between games as a motivation.

to me, it's more than a new sport i've learned: it's something that teaches and advocates strong teamwork, communication, and understanding among team members.

i can't wait to get back to the game! heh.

there's so much better vj can do.

For the courtesy of those who are unaware, the A division soccer tournament has just concluded. Perhaps to most, the outcome isn't expected at all. The Championship had gone to the underdogs RJC (I hate to say this). MJC lost out narrowly to them 0-1 in the finals that took place yesterday at the National Stadium.

Oh wait. Where's VJ?!

If you haven't already know, we got knocked out in a semi final clash against RJC, which ended in penalties. We were down to play for our pride in the 3rd/4th placing match against SAJC, a team which we drew 1-1 against during one of the group matches. The final score for that match was 2-1 in favour of VJ, which in doing so, earned a crucial top 3 placing.

Why the sudden turn of tables this year round? Why wasn't VJ in the finals for the first time in 8 years?

Many would attribute to the fact that this current team did not have as much teamwork as they should, which in other words, means that they are more individualistic. Some may say that complacency set in. I would say that a strong reason why they lost out in a vital semi final match was the absence of the teacher-coach Mr Tan. He wasn't there for medical reasons, and his absence was surely felt, as the team looked lost and disorganised most of the time. The team's discipline was also on a low as some players made gestures to suggest overconfidence. Nevertheless, we still have to acknowledge the fact that they must have put in their best in every game, despite the pressure of retaining the Championship.

I say: Well done, Victorians!

I believe I mentioned before that this VJ generation was more enthu and more willing to cheer their hearts out. But I was on the verge of taking back my words yesterday. It was a 3rd/4th placing match, a match not as important as the finals, but a match that still needed as much support or even more than past matches. But what I saw was rather disappointing. It was the smallest crowd size I have ever seen, backing our team. The student council were absent. And I figured why. They must have banked their hopes more in the hockey girls match that was happening concurrently. Well, the thing is, both the 3rd/4th match and the hockey girls finals were against the same opposition, SAJC and yet the size of SA's crowd at the soccer match was about 4 to 5 times more than VJ's.

As for the finals, RJC vs MJC, I honestly but reluctantly admit that RJC played a better game. They were more composed in attacking, but not so much in defending. Well, attack is the best form of defence. And that's probably what they did. But as I was watching the game, I could not help but notice how VJ's team was seated on the far left end on the field, looking rather reminiscent of how it feels like to play in the finals.

After the finals, I met up with one of my juniors in RJC, who was obviously very ecstatic over her school's victory. She told me how low profile their soccer team was in past years compared to other sports like rugby and table tennis, but they quietly trained very hard this year. There's something she said that striked me - 'this (RJC's victory) shows that as long as you put in hardwork, you can achieve what you set out to achieve.'

So perhaps, it is time for VJ to do some reflections on what had gone wrong in the sports season, not only for soccer, but also for other sports like the hockey boys which could have done much better. This is probably not VJ's year, but setbacks only serve to make people stronger. One thing is for sure: we will be back stronger next year.

Nil Sine Labore.

updates updates.

It's been a short but dynamic 2 weeks since my last post.


Update #1
4th May marked my return to my police tactical squad after 3 months. It had been the day I was looking forward to for quite some time. Yet, there was a sense of reluctancy to embrace unseen challenges that could come my way with effect from that day.

Perhaps, my reluctancy stemmed from the knowledge that I would be thrown with huge responsibilities, not only as a squad leader (being the only sergeant in the squad), but also as a new driver for our trademark ang-chia (red vehicle) called the petra vehicle.

I knew I needed to adapt quickly so that I would not be caught unexpected when these responsibilities eventually present themselves to me. I sense a difference in the way my squadmates now treat me, vis-a-vis 3 months back. Though unsaid, it was obvious that they look up to me for certain directions. They are very supportive of me being their squad leader, even though when I first got posted to this squad last July, there was a huge misunderstanding between me and the rest of the squad. Such improvement in their attitudes towards me did not come effortlessly. As much as they tried to accomodate me, I went an extra mile to compromise my attitudes and values, in a way as to make myself welcomed. This has took me 10 months to accomplish.

Being a driver certainly isn't an easy task. I am hurled with immense responsibilities of making sure that our vehicle is in tip-top condition, of ensuring safe driving for the 7 to 8 men in my column, as well as the ability to drive safely under stress during contingencies or emergencies. My admiration goes to the previous driver whom I took over from, for he has been a driver for almost a complete year.

That is about all, as far as my NS life is concerned.


Update #2
Recently, Salman influenced me to pursue a hobby. Indirectly, of course. And it is rather interesting, but occasionally risky. We explored and visited lost deserted places in the East 2 Sundays ago. Here are some pictures.

Shortly after this photo was taken, we spotted a golden monkey!

Guess where we are! Hint: We could be washed away when the high tide comes. (that's why it's occasionally risky! =P)

I guess we're into our own individual world of photography. Background: Shipping Jetty off Pasir Ris Beach.

Update #3

I had my first physiotherapy session at CGH last Saturday. People may wonder why, since I'm an active person in sports and exercises. Perhaps, I have been too involved in sports, particularly soccer, that resulted in me requiring physio treatment.

Last October, 5th October to be exact, I was playing soccer at SOC soccer field during our emergency duty. At one point of time, I was standing on my right leg, with my left leg attempting to block the ball swinging by. Before I knew it, I heard and felt a thud on my right ankle and collapsed onto the ground. Incredibly, I had the nerve to get up and continue playing. But not for long, because less than 30 seconds later, I felt a second 'thud' again. This time, I felt a sharp pain. That left me limping off the field.

Weeks passed and my right ankle improved, to a state which I believed to be complete recovery. But it wasn't until repetitive recurrences of my right ankle during sports especially soccer that I finally decided to consult a polyclinic doctor. This decision didn't seem fruitful at first, because all he did was to chide me for engaging in sports even though I knew my ankle was weak, and to refer me to a specialist at CGH. And if it wasn't frustrating enough, I had to wait 3 months before I get to consult the orthopaedics doctor at CGH.

I guessed that my right ankle would have completely recovered by the time of my CGH appointment. But I can only be wrong. During that wait, there had been numerous occasions when I felt my ankle snap. When this happens, the pain is usually acute, and goes away after a few seconds.

After consultation with this specialist, he recommended me to take an x-ray, then undergo an ultrasound scan. Both tests revealed nothing incriminating. That brought me to my first physiotherapy session at the Changi Sports Medicine Center.

After asking some questions, my physiotherapist went on to do some physical tests on my ankles. She stretched my ankle to the left, asking me if I feel any pain. She did the same for all directions, for both ankles. And there was one position which my right ankle could take it, and there was a 'clicking sound', as quoted from her. Later on, she used a model of the ankle's anatomy to explain what causes the clicking sound. As she calls it, it is due to the snapping of the tendons holding my ankle bones together. When an ankle sprains, the ligaments tear, and they tear permanently.

When I asked her what should be done in order to completely recover from this, she listed 2 options, one being rehabilitative exercises and two, surgical repair. As soon as I heard that last two words, my heart sank. I never knew it was that serious, until that moment. But she mentioned that her diagnosis might be inaccurate because it is merely based on visual observation. She recommended that going through MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) will help determine the real fault.

Oh well, I can only pray for the best. For any of you reading this, two pieces of advice: 1. Never regard any health problems (however minor) lightly, because if you do not taken preventive measures in time, it might escalate to something more serious, something which might not be reversible; 2. They say regular exercise is good for your health and body. I say exercising intelligently.

end of updates. stay tuned for more...

I got 4 days off, without having to take leave!

This has got to be the best offer I've had in a long time. Haha.

Let me explain why.

My three months duty as sentry (security) officer has come to an end on Monday, when I completed my last night shift. I was due to be posted back to my squad on Friday, where I can start doing patrols again. I couldn't wait for this to end actually. One, it is really mentally and physically taxing. Two, it seems very generous to be entitled two off-days, but most of the time, the first off-day is almost entirely spent in lalaland. Three, anything we do comes under strong scrutiny from the top manangement because (quote) 'there cannot afford to be any lapses in security procedures' (unquote).

So I got Monday off, supposedly my 'sleeping' off. Yet, I was too eager to enjoy the start of my 4 days holiday that I put off sleeping and went to the gym to work out with a few of my friends. That same evening, I went back to VJ to watch them versus SAJC. As I later learnt, SAJC seems to be a powerhouse this year, level on points with VJ but superior in terms of goal difference. That itself justified the outcome of the match, as it ended 1-1. It was a scare, I must say, when SAJC scored rather late in the 2nd half. I thought VJ got off rather lucky when we equalised shortly after. Off the pitch, I felt that the VJ supporters this 'generation' are alot more willing to turn up for the match (at the very least) and alot more willing to cheer their hearts out. That's a good sign.

Tuesday was Labour Day, but for your information, shiftwork goes on regardless of public holiday. In fact, public holidays or festive season means more work for vocations like SOC, for the mere fact that there is a greater need to step up security patrols amidst the festivity. So I was lucky to have my second off-day coinciding with this Labour Day.

Wednesday was supposed to be my day shift, but I got off because I held a clean record of zero MC for the past three months. Actually, this is something that I am proud of, especially in an environment where so many NSF officers chaokeng or fake illness to get MC.

Today (thursday) is supposed to be my night shift, but officially, my duty ended on yesterday's day shift (which I got off for) because I'm due to report for work in my squad on Friday morning.

So there it is, FOUR off days with ZERO leave. What better offer can there be?

merit-o-crazy

I've been wondering, whether Singapore is really a meritocracy society after all. I think when we were still in school, we were all influenced to think that Singapore is indeed meritocratic. That's because you see so many testimonies of meritocracy, in terms of scholarships, achievement awards in academics, aethestics and sports etc. But I don't see much of that in NS right now.

It's strange how the Singapore Government has always been placing strong emphasis on the practice of meritocracy, and how it recently accentuated this point by proposing a pay rise for civil servants in order to retain and attract talents. Is that our Government's way of recognizing the talents we have - by giving them a pay rise, and in the means of this justifying its standpoint on meritocracy? It's subjective.

This thing about Officer Cadets of Police (I aint talking about army cos I'm in no position to comment), OCT as they call it, is rather weird. Just almost everything about it is weird. How people are selected for OCT, how people from army instead of police occupies a much larger proportion of OCT cohorts, and how these people upon graduation can put up such an aloof front after assuming key posts in various police units.

Let's talk about the first 'how'. There is this huge discrepancy, as far as I see it. In a cohort of 50 officer trainees, about 48 of them will come from BMT. You see, these 48 chaps are posted to the police after their BMT in army. The other 2 will be police direct enlistees, having to put in extra hard work to do well during his basic police training and eventually the interview round in order to be selected into OCT. So you see where meritocracy applies more in this case? Is there any fairness in this? I'm not bringing this up because I'm having sour grapes at not being in OCT. In fact, I feel alot better not being part of that.

The even more pissing off thing about these OCT peeps is how most of them swell in arrogance and aloofness when they start to hold key posts in units. They hold a rank of Inspector, which is among the ranks of Senior Officers. In that sense, they deserve some respect, but they sometimes forget that respect is to be earned. What they forget too, is that they're NSF like everyone else. Holding a key post, just because you're an Inspector who was eventually posted to OCT from army on no grounds of merit, does not mean you can show your weight around.

On the other side of the coin, there are some Inspectors whom I have relatively good impression of. That's either because they are police direct enlistees who had worked hard to be selected into OCT (and that deserves my respect), or they display a humble and friendly disposition. I just got in touch with one of my primary school friend, who is now an NS Inspector at MHA. After exchanging a few smses, he called me for a chat. He sounded quite the same as before, a friendly chap without showing any signs of superiority in rank whatsoever. It has been 7 years since I last talked to him by the way, and yet we felt at ease talking and catching up on the phone.

Some people say it is all pre-determined who gets posted to where based on the medical examination months before the enlistment, which constitute a few psychometric sort of tests. Whatever it is, maybe it is time to revise this system of selecting potential inspectors, with more compliance to meritocracy.

Peace.