ORD Lor cum Chinese New Year

Finally, the long awaiting day has come.
ORD Date: 7th of Feb 08.

On the 6th February 2008 which is also New Year's Eve, I went back to camp to sign MINDEF Clearance followed by the collection of my pink IC.

This year New Year is especially a joyous occasion as my ORD date is the first day of the Chinese New Year. There is a chinese proverb that says "Good things always come in pairs." I believe that this year will be especially a lucky year. I guess everyone is busy but happy in welcoming this New Year because it starts on Thursday.

I hereby wish everybody a prosperous and a Happy Chinese New Year 2008.

SBS Transit services during Chinese New Year Festive season

SBS Transit Night Owl services 1N to 8N will operate from 6th February to 9th February 2008.

Taken from SBS Transit press releases.

SBS Transit North East Line

On Lunar New Year's Eve (6 February 2008), the last Northbound train will depart HarbourFront Station at 1.55am and the last Southbound train will depart Punggol Station at 1.34am.

The last Northbound train towards Punggol Station and southbound towards HarbourFront Station will depart Dhoby Ghaut Station at 2.04am and 1.56am respectively.

SBS Transit Chinatown Direct Services (CT8, 18 and 28)

Three Chinatown Direct Services (CT 8, 18 and 28) operating hours will be extended for the period between 30 January 2008 and 6 February 2008 as follows:

30 January - 6 February 2008 9pm to 12 Midnight
6 February 2008 11pm (CT8 & CT18), 10.55pm (CT28) to 2am (following day)
7 - 10 February 2008 No operation

SBS Transit CityShopper Services

The CityShopper services, viz 551, 575, 576, 577, 578, 579, 580 & 581, which offer direct connections from eight neighbourhood towns - Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Hougang, Punggol, Sengkang, Simei, Tampines and West Coast C to Orchard Road and Suntec City, will be operating from 10.00am to 6.30pm on the eve of Lunar New Year. These services will not operate on 7 February 2008 & 8 February 2008.


Amendment of operating hours to other services

There will be no operation for the following bus services.
179A, 68, all Premium bus services, Fast Forward services, 11, 96, 502, 518

Visit www.sbstransit.com.sg for further details under Press Releases.

Change in Operating Hours of several SMRT services starting 6th February 2008 till 8th or 9th of February 2008.

Adapted from SMRT website. Visit www.smrt.com.sg for more details.

Starting from tomorrow, 6th of February 2008, several SMRT services like 177 or so called the Fast Forward services like 854E and 963E will have their operational timing changed.
Besides, SMRT feeder services' operational timing will be extended.
Night rider services will operate on 6th, 8th and 9th February 2008.
Kindly look at the posters for more details.

New fantasy route 41

I have created a new fantasy route 41 which plys between Eunos and Potong Pasir. It will be in operation with effect from 11th February 2008. It serves Eunos, Paya Lebar, Sims Place, MacPherson and Potong Pasir. It provides direct links between Potong Pasir and the nearest East-West Line and also Sims Place to Paya Lebar or Eunos.

Update: Renaming of SBS Transit Bus services

All posters are taken from SBS Transit Website. Visit www.sbstransit.com.sg for more details.

Basically, these trunk bus services have alternative routes operating at certain hours in addition to or in place of the original route. All these alternative routes are now placed a suffix of M besides the service number to let commuters know that the bus is currently plying the alternative route instead of the original route as it arrives at the bus stop.

Divisibility Tests of 7, 11, 13, 17, 19

Today, I want to share some divisibility cum remainder tests that I have created myself for 7, 11, 13, 17, 19. There are more to come.

Reference example:
Prime Number (p) ( a, b, c, cycle goes on. )
Take a number for example:

966 mod p = 6a + 6b + 9c = Answer
678966 mod p = 6a + 6b + 9c + 8a + 7b + 6c = Answer


7 ( 1, 3, 2, -1, -3, -2, cycle goes on. )

Example: 678966 mod 7 = 6 + 3 x 6 + 2 x 9 - 8 - 7 x 3 - 6 x 2 = 1

11 ( 1, -1, cycle goes on. )

Example: 6789 mod 11 = 9 - 8 + 7 - 6 = 2

13 ( 1, 10, -4, -1, -10, 4, cycle goes on. )

Example: 678966 mod 13 = 6 + 6 x 10 - 9 x 4 - 8 - 7 x 10 + 6 x 4 = -24 mod 13 = 2


17 ( 1, 10, -2, -3, 4, 6, -8, 5, -1, -10, 2, 3, -4, -6, 8, -5, cycle goes on. )

67896623 mod 17 = 3 + 2 x 10 - 6 x 2 - 6 x 3 + 9 x 4 + 8 x 6 - 7 x 8 + 6 x 5 = 51 mod 17 = 0


19 ( 1, 10, 5, -7, 6, 3, -8, -4, -2, -1, -10, -8, -11, 5, 4, -6, 9, -2, 3, 7, cycle goes on. )

678966231 mod 19 = 1 + 3 x 10 + 2 x 5 - 6 x 7 + 6 x 6 + 9 x 3 - 8 x 8 - 7 x 4 - 6 x 2 = -42 mod 19 = 15

A trip to the hospital (Perspective of a patient)

Last Saturday on 26th of January 2008 at the morning, my dad and I brought my grandpa to SGH ENT centre for his appointment. My grandpa had been complaining for the past week for ear pain. So, my uncle had brought him down to A & E for an investigation followed by an appointment made by the SGH staff to ENT centre.

We arrived there 45 minutes earlier than the stipulated time which is at 0945. So, we registered and put the referral letter into a tray provided. After waiting for about 0.5 hrs, we knew from the counter staff that his appointment was actually scheduled on the day before instead. So, she wanted us to come back on monday instead for the appointment because they only saw private appointments on Saturdays. However, the appointment was given by the A & E staff with the stated date and time. Later, we knew that the A & E staff had written the date wrongly. Luckily, the doctor in duty had kindly agreed to see my grandpa to get medications and also to know what the diagnosis of his ear pain. However, the screw up had caused us to waste one to two hours of our time.It was likely that his ear pain was caused by the two ulcers in his vocal cords that radiated to his ears. In addition, using their special equipments, the doctor had shown to my dad and I that his ears contained a lot of wax and some strands of hair which might also be causes of the pain. An eardrop and some pills had been prescribed by the doctor. Fortunately, it was nothing serious but to play safe, my grandpa was to come back in a month time for a follow up appointment.

This trip tot he hospital had enabled me to see the perspecive of the patient. Usually, in the medical centre, I will make the appointment to the NSman, writing the appointment date, time and the venue. So, any discrepancy to any of the above following will cause great inconvenience to the serviceman and indirectly to myself.
This trip to the hospital had made my grandpa happier as it was the first time that I accompanied him to the hospital.

Minor fantasy route changes in service 17

Click on the image for an enlarged version.

Fantasy route change
With effect from 3rd of February 2008, service 17 will ply Sengkang Ctrl instead of Sengkang East Road. This is due to the rising number residing along Buangkok MRT and Sengkang Ctrl. In addition, it provides a new link from Buangkok estate to to the nearest MRT station. The image shows more details on how the change is done.

Rename of the alternative route parent route

Just a note, some of the SBS Transit alternative bus services like 98A, 162#, 163A will all use the suffix M instead. For 98A and 162#, they will start from 28th January 2008. They may still be other alternative bus services which will be renamed too which I couldn't confirm yet as of now.

In my opinion, it is a bad idea to use M as a suffix. Last time, before the Nite owls the Ns come out (1N to 8N), the previous Nite Owls services contain Ms as the suffix. 162M is used by SBS Transit not long ago as a Nite Owl service. Besides, it doesn't make any difference by renaming it for services which already have a suffix behind it like for example 98A and 163A. Commuters differentiate the different bus services simply just by seeing whether the service has a suffix behind the parent bus service.

Just a thought.

Long and Winding Routes?

The picture entitled "Long and winding route" appears in The Strais Times on the 19th of January 2008, it shows a long and winding route if she takes public transport and a shorter route if she has taken taxi.

In my opinion, the information regarding about the choice of bus-mrt-taxi route being circuitous is incorrect as there is a shorter route. If her choice is bus/MRT, I will recommend her to take 165 at her house to Commonwealth Ave West Blk 410 which is the bus stop immediately after the bus turns right into Commonwealth Ave West, cross the road to transfer to 183. She can stop at Science Park Rd B01 bus stop. According to SBS Transit website, the in vehicle timing is 72 mins and her fares will cost around $1.81 which is faster and cheaper than the bus-mrt-taxi route as mentioned in The Straits Times.

Besides, this route is not as circuitous as the above route mentioned. I just feel that it paints a very bad impression on the option of bus/MRT or even LRT given the fact that this option is available. Commuters are not informed of the availability of this option.

One reason for this is that trunk service buses simply pass by too many bus stops which are hard to differentiate. Luckily, there are bus service guides installed at every bus stop now to guide the commuters around. However, it is not enough to guide the commuters to their exact destination since the bus stop only describes the nearest landmark.

In addition, the current electronic directional inquiry is isolated to buses or MRT only. Hence, the commuters have to waste a lot of time to plan out a suitable and the best route for themselves to their destinations.

I hope that there is a 3 in 1 (Bus/MRT/LRT) electronic directional inquiry service which can be accessed through the cellphone or the internet to advise the commuters the best route to take to their destinations.

Perhaps a directional inquiry hotline can be set up to advise commuters the best way to get from place to place subjecting to feasibility and costs.


My comments and opinions about recent land transport reforms.

302, 976 changes

Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

302 will be reintroduced plus 976 will have some minor route changes with effect from 27th January 2008. 302 frequency will be the same as introduced in Transitlink Bus Guide 2007. 976 will ply Choa Chu kang Central instead of Chao Chu Kang Way. In addition, 976 will not go into Choa Chu Kang interchange. Passengers who wish to board 976 to Bukit Panjang or to Choa Chu Kang Crescent can board at the pair of bus stops outside Choa Chu Kang interchange/MRT station.

Night Owls services enhanced to enable travelling between or within HDB towns.

Link: http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2008-01-14-01-L.aspx
Adapted from SBS Transit. Click on the image to see the enlarged version. Visit SBS Transit website for more details.

Even though SBST has improved its Night Owl services, I still prefer the way Night Riders work. Night Riders is a bi directional night service which transfers between different its services are free. Besides, they pass by more bus stops and can act as basic bus services late in the night. However, they only operate on fridays, saturdays and eve of public holidays.

Roads Closure affecting service 400 with effect from 7th Jan 08

Link: http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2008_01_14_01.pdf
The link is taken from SBS Transit website. Click on the link to see the image. Visit SBS TRansit website for more details.

In short, some parts of the road Marina Grove and Marina Park will be inaccessible to vehicles, thus, service 400 will be rerouted with effect from 7th January 2008.

转角遇到爱 Corner with Love

I have just watched the show and a written article entitled "Corner with Love". Both storyline is slightly different but both of them are touching stories.

Link to the written article: http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/h/f/zhjyda/

In life, sometimes we are forced to do things due to certain external circumstances and hence, because of that, we give up certain things that we really cherish. Communication is very important in expressing one's thoughts and feelings pertaining to any events that have occurred.

I admire Xin Lei as she is able to stand up despite encountering many hurdles. She was previously living a wealthy life. After her parents became bankrupt due to cash flow problems in their business, life for her have been going down. However, all the things that she has gone through have let her realised that simple life has its benefits too.
Xin Lei is full of pride even before and after her life has completely changed. She is always very confident in doing things. After encountering many problems and numerous temptations, she has managed to overcome all of them. She would rather live a simple life and to give up a luxurious life just to be with the one she loved.

I admire Qin Lang too. When Xin Lei was down and out, he was the one that cheered her up, provided her accommodation at his house. He even lied to his grandma that they are lovers so that Xin Lei would not be chased out of the house by his grandma.
In short, Qin Lang was a guy that treasured friendship and he was very helpful towards friends. Even Xin Lei only knew him a few days only, Qin Lang is still willing to help her as mentioned above.

An excerpt extracted from the article which I feel the most touching in the article at http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/h/f/zhjyda/: “我知道你喝醉的时候，总是会胡言乱语，喜欢高声唱歌。所以，我一定会让你好好的唱个过瘾，绝对不阻止你。”秦朗对着尚东说着，画面彷佛回到心蕾喝醉酒的状态。

　　“我知道刮风下雨的时候，你会害怕打雷闪电，虽然你总是倔强的说你根本不怕，但是我还是会在你身边保护着你，不让你受到一点惊吓。”秦朗笑着，想到了在山上的时候，心蕾害怕又不承认的表情。

　　“还有，你早餐的时候喜欢吃肉松，但是不喜欢吃酱瓜。你心情不好的时候，嘴巴会嘟起来，不想和人说话。你的嘴巴很坏，喜欢和人抬杠，但是心肠很好，又非常有正义感，看到不平的事情一定会挺身而出。我还知道……”

　　望着尚东，那一句句的声音虽然是出自于尚东的嘴，但是心蕾彷佛看到了秦朗的脸孔，透过了尚东，对她深情款款的诉说着这些话语。心蕾迷惑了，她的眼眶湿润了起来，这些小事情，为什么尚东都会知道？

　　“你怎么都知道？”心蕾有些哽咽，她深深的看着尚东的眼。

　　“因为……我爱你。”我爱你，所以我在乎你的所有事情。这样的话，似乎是秦朗的心意透过了尚东的嘴，在她眼前，确实的告诉了心蕾，让心蕾的眼眶，一下子就亮盈盈的充泪了。

　　心蕾低头看着尚东交给她的戒指，那枚戒指，让心蕾好象看到了秦朗，这个世界上，除了秦朗之外，没有这么了解她了，但是秦朗却不要她，反而要她嫁给尚东。"

Driving Test

Today is the fateful of whether I can obtain a Class 3 License. With a little bit of luck and skill, I successfully passed the test. Actually, I had 18 demerit points, 2 points to failure. Looking back at my test results, there is one part which I feel unfair and I shouldn't have obtained that 8 demerit points. Actually, my car has stopped at a junction between a minor road and a major road and I am at the minor road. There is a "Stop" sign over at he road. So, at the time which I have reached the junction, a lorry was approaching from the left to the right. The tester wanted me to turn right at the junction. However, I stopped at the "Stop" sign. While I was decelerating halfway, the tester wanted me to brake slow and turn right straightway. He had given me permission to ignore the rule of stopping at "Stop" sign. I wanted to wait for the lorry to pass by me before turning right. I had looked out for other cars and there were none at that moment in time. However, since the tester insisted on me turning right straightway, I turned right and caused the lorry to slow down and take evasive action to prevent an accident. So, it became my fault and hence the 8 demerit points arose.

I will like to thank Mr. Heng Ngu Ang Meng, my driving instructor for teaching and imparting me his driving knowledge to me. I remembered my first lesson that the car engine had stalled many many times which some almost result to an accident. Perhaps, it is all because of these dangerous incidents that I had encountered, driving is something I think I must concentrate and be prudent. Thank You Mr. Heng.

71, 86 and 140 changes (fantasy routes)

The above picture is a fantasy change by me. It will take place on 11th February 2007.

Service 71 which is created by 1 or 2 years back is quite heavily duplicated by the current service 86. Hence, service 71 will be withdrawn with effect from 11th of February 2007. Service 86 and 140 will be amended on that same date to cover the areas which service 71 has plied. The exact details are shown on the picture.


Punggol <-> Fernvale: Service 86.
Punggol/Sengkang <-> Bishan St 22: From Punggol: Service 74 or 86 to Punggol Rd at Blk 298A and transfer to 88. From Sengkang: 88 direct.

Rivervale Drive <-> Jalan Kayu: 140

Romantic Princess

I have started to watch Romantic Princess on Youtube even though the show will be broadcasted on Channel U on the 24th January 2008. I am probably anxious because I am bored at home and also just wanna to see how the show is like. Wu Zun and Angela Zhang acts as Jin and Xiao Mai respectively in the show itself.
The show depicts how love and romance develops between the two of them even though they quarrel and bicker at the first time they meet each other.

Even though I have not finished watching the whole show, some times, I do wonder in a native way, the moment you wake up in the next day, you realise that you can be a princess or prince living in a palace, no need to worry about earning for a living. That's very good. After watching this show, it tells me that in reality, it is not as easy as ABCs. Friendships, social networks, family relationships, are all brought into the context now. Which one is the most important? Are you willing to sacrifice one for the other?

That is something that perhaps even I can reflect on. Anyway, that show is nice. You guys should watch it.

Yesterday, on this fateful 28th of December 2007 marks my last day of official work at Dieppe Medical Centre. I will miss my friends there. So, anyway, I have been concentrating on playing games recently like FF8 on playstation and Dungeon Siege for computer. Old games are still equally addictive when I play it as they are good.

My RC Block Party is organised yesterday on the 29th of December 2007. Actually, one thing that I dislike about Block parties is that I will hear negative comments about someone in the RC. So, anyway, I learn a bit of balloon sculpuring yesterday. Still a noob. I can only make three kinds of swords which to the pro, is relatively simple to make.
For this, I will like to thank Amy's daughter Jamie and her friend for helping out at the balloon sculpuring stall.

This year's coming to an end. I am going to ORD soon but I have not handed over my stuffs to someone. No one has been designated by my superior to take over me. Besides, after my batch, only 2 out of the 6 people in the medical centre have the card which is required to access the computer. This has been a worry in my mind.


Looking back in this year 2007.
I introduce numerous bus routes and 2007 is the first year that I document all the bus rotues that I have introduced. In 2006, I write my bus routes into a A4 sized book with a pencil. However, when it comes to amendments, the whole thing will become a mess. 2007 is the first year that I document in Microsoft Word, print it out and put it in my Transitlink Bus Guide.
I feel that 2007 is a year that I mature a bit and view life in a different manner. I remembered quarrelling with NSman twice which one is over the phone and the other is face to face. I have also met new great friends in 2007. I am still slacked as usual in this year and pick up balloon sculpuring just recently. Actually, I didn't expect the long balloons to be able to twist that well without blowing off. (The above statement shows that I am a noob at balloon sculpuring). Perhaps, I will learn more patterns and give a flower shaped bracelet to my future girlfriend. lol. 2007 is a year where I pick up driving skills.
As usual, life is full of different tastes be it sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy. It is courageous of us to face the numerous challenges awaiting us. And I am still naturally nervous when it comes to facing the challenges.

My days are numbered with regards to the days in my camp. I am left with less than 2 months before I ORD.
Recently, I have attended First Aid Course organised by the CC. It seems like a refresher course to me. I have forgotton how to tie an open bandage for upper limb wounds and the way to carry the casualty. To me, it simply wastes too much of my time cos this first aid course has two sessions which take up one full day.

My driving test is coming soon too. So now, I have to start reading a bit of books, recall all the so called rules when driving in the circuit. I think I need more practise about driving onto slopes, S course and crank course. I mounted on the kerb once during the previous driving lesson. SIgh!!!

As the new year approaches, my family has a spring cleaning to welcome the new year 2008. Old things which are of no use is discarded. While spring cleaning, my mother mentions about a playstation 1 given by my cousins to us. I didn't even know about it. So anyway, I have connected it to the TV and everything works out. So, I have one new source of entertainment. Presenting "playstation 1".

So, I hope that Transitlink Bus Guide 2008 will come out soon with the latest prices in bus fares. There are quite a number of routes added mostly by SBS Transit. I am also eager to see how bus routes change when the Circle Line is officially opened in around 2010. I guess by then, a lot of bus routes will be withdrawn or shortened.
Besides this, for my fantasy routes, after the Circle Line opens, perhaps service 71 will be withdrawn while Service 86 will be extended to Punggol and Bishan while following service 71 route. Service 140 will be going to Sengkang via the deleted service 86 route.

Wish everyone here Merry Christmas.

Return of games

As of date, I have returned my cousin Dragonshard, Stars Wars Command (RPG Game) and The Battle of the Middle Earth II.


I have a DOTA outing with my cousins and my brother today. As usual, my skills need more honing up. The matches played are very exciting just that our team lacks of coordination and teamwork especially for the first match. The heroes that I am comfortable are Broodmother, Slayer, Lighting Revenant, Tidehunter.

Block Party is around the corner. I went around to sell tickets with my chairman and also some of my fellow members at nearby residential blocks. So far, I have managed to sell 2 only. Poor sales. Sigh!!! It is going to be 2008 soon. My ORD date is approaching. Yay!!

Borrowed games part II

Out of the 5 borrowed games from my cousins, my com is unable to play 3 of them. And besides that, Medieval Total War is part of Rome Total War collection. Sigh!! This is probably due to insufficient graphics card memory.

Medieval Total War is a rather complicated game in terms of the factors to take note for example, Income and Expenses, Morale and Loyalty of the population, Spies and Assassins. Anyway, I play easy difficulty and my mission is to achieve dominance over the lands. After I have conquered about half of the whole empire, there are frequent unrest and the population started rebelling the moment my army leaves the province to protect another province. So in the end, I couldn't meet the deadline stated in the game.

Cityshopper Routes updated

The following 8 new Cityshopper routes 551, 575, 576, 577, 578, 579, 580 and 581 have been updated in the blog. Click on their respective links to view the route in greater detail.

New Bus Routes Updates Cityshoppers Service

adapted from SBS Transit website. Visit www.sbstransit.com.sg for more info.

SBS Transit is going to introduce a series of premium bus services known as the Cityshoppers Service to provide a direct link from residential homes to the city for shoppers. There are 8 services which are going to be introduced with effect from 15th December 2007.

They will start from 1000 - 1630 on weekdays and 1000 - 2200 on weekends and public holidays.

Fares range from $3.30 to $3.60. Standing is prohibited.


In my opinion, fares ranging from $3.30 to $3.60 is rather expensive. If I can make a choice between the previous express services 501 and 502 and the cityshoppers services, I will still prefer the express services. Fast and not as ex as this though it may be more crowded.

Borrowed games

Thanks to my cousins who have lent their precious collection of games to us.

1. Dungeons and Dragons Dragonshard
2. Starwars Republic Commando
3. The Battle For Middle Earth II
4. Medieval Total War
5. Rome Total War which includes Medieval Total War, Medival Viking Invasion expansion Pack and 3 Disc of Original Rome Total War.

By the way, I am documenting all this to remember the correct number of things that I have borrowed from them. Once again, thanks to them.

Amended (fantasy) route 129

Click the image for a larger version.
One of my fantasy services 129 will be extended to Ang Mo Kio interhcange to serve the busy Ang Mo Kio estate. Besides, the route from Yio Chu Kang to Ang Mo Kio is unique too. In addition, it provides a faster link from Ang Mo Kio to Pasir Ris besides 88.

Service 129 will be extended to Ang Mo Kio with effect from 16th December 2007.

011207 outing

Yesterday is the first day of the month. This reminds me of my KPI (Key Performance Indicator) that I have to do next week. A new month marks a new beginning, a beginning of the countdown of my ORD (OPerational Ready Date). A new month represents a month less to my ORD date.

Yesterday was rather an eventful day for me. My mother, my younger brother and sister and me went to National Museum of Singapore. I had only gone to Asian Civilisation Museum with Diana two years back and I can confirm the fact that numbers appeal me more than words. History is actually very interesting but perhaps it is not my cup of tea. That's my perception in my past.

At first, when we first stepped into the museum, there was noone in sight except this group of us making a din and breaking the silence. We bought a ticket priced at $5 each. I thought that I would be just viewing some exhibits or pictures that has been preserved since the ancient times with some words of explanation besides the picture itself. Never did I think that the museum can be so high tech. As technology progress, museums will have to become more high-tech. Upon scanning my ticket on the gantry, the officer in charge gives everybody a "Companion" machine each. This machine acts like a virtual companion or I should say a virtual tour guide of the museum.

"Enjoy Treasure Hunting" was the last words mentioned by that officer just before we were embarking a journey to the past as early as 14th century. I found more and more "treasures" and "artefacts" displayed along the way. Two hours is just insufficient to view everything in the museum. It started as early as in 14th century, how the tribes were residing in Singapore, their cultures and so on. Life was simple. They led a self sustainable life at Singapore in the past. Barter Trading was practised. The virtual companion gave more details of the artefacts that we had come across. Besides, it guided us the story flow of the history of Sinagpore.

A scene that in my opinion is the most unforgettable will be an Amercian woman visiting the opium dens which were rampant in the past. She was terribly shocked, shunned. People ranging from middle aged to the elderly were smoking opium intensely to forget and alleviate their suffering. Opium became their food for some who were already starving. The Amercian woman looked at a man lying down on a long hard bench, ashamed. Her companion, a guy told her not to look at the man. "He was once a scholar but now he has lost everything. So he turns to opium to forget the past," said the companion. There are certainly many many more stories to uncover but sadly I could not view them all during that day itself. After two hours of walking around, my brain was unable to digest the information.

After patronising the museum, I went for a dinner with Pearline and her sister Mic. Please pardon me if I have mistyped your names. Everyone of us chats for a long time even after our dishes have arrived with the guys discussing about DOTA and gaming while the ladies discussing about shopping and family related issues. We went to Crystal Jade Restaurant at Plaza Singapura then TCC for dessert. Till nw, I still don't get what does TCC represent.
Yesterday was a great discovery to my curosity at the back of my mind. Qn: Consuming too much sugar/glucose causes diabetes? True/False.
The answer is false. Though my doctor has mentioned it before, he didn't mention the reason behind it. And besides, my mother has experienced people who has consumed too much sugar having diabetes. Anyway, Michelle's notes have explained the reason. The amount of sugar consumed is independent of the level of risk of getting diabetes. However, I was stil puzzled. Since obesity increases the risk of getting diabetes, does it mean that thin people with BMI <18.5 will not get diabetes? Does eating too much sugar cause obesity? These questions soon surfaced in my mind.

Lastly, to end, I will like to thank my Aunt and Pearline for the D&D (Dinner and Dessert) treat respectively. Thanks ladies.

Updates at blog

Added links at sidebar to Route Information of the New Premium Bus services 538, 539, 540, 542, 543, 544 and 545

Food for thought

In recent days, there has been heavy downpours in many areas of Singapore causing the weather to be cooler at night. But as a result, there are floods occurring in certain parts of Singapore. At night, while I am resing comfortably at home watching TV, I am pondering the type of programmes that are broadcasted on the television, be it entertainment or drama serials over the years. For drama serials, I have definitely watched more drama serials from Korea and Hongkong instead of Singapore. This can be due to the fact that the plots for these dramas are different from locally produced dramas. They are more interesting, exciting in terms of plot advancements and the characters also act very well.

For entertainment wise, music and songs seem to be the limelight recently. The recent show titled 'S Pop' is a show that reminisces the lyrics of the various chinese songs created by the songwriters. This show is to promote chinese songs and music and to give recognition to these songwriters who have put in their utmost effort and feelings in creating those songs. The songs with the lyrics depict what the writer is trying to express.

It is like, once in a while, I feel that wanting to be in the limelight, wanting to be the centre of attraction. However, upon thinking of the consequences and the adverse effects of it, this holds me back. Sometimes, I will imagine that if my passion is to create good songs, instead of creating bus routes, perhaps I can be more famous. If I have a passion of singing, perhaps I can be more famous. If I have a passion for sports, perhaps I can be more famous. I start to think of all the interests that I have, why the interest and passion for bus routes. Even though one can agrue that everybody is unique and worthy and it is nothing wrong in having this passion, I am just pondering, is it unfair to me? Is Heaven unfair?
I don't have a concrete reason of why I like bus routes. Since young, I have been reading Transitlink Bus Guides and the bus routes automatically go in my mind. It all comes so naturally without any environmental influence from firends, siblings and relatives. It comes purely out of my own.

Even though I have complains to Heaven of being unfair, I still believe Nature advocates balance and in moderation. I may be in luck some day though this passion is permanent. Bus routes will soon become my life and perhaps my occupation in the future who knows.

Just some updates about my work life here. I will be on leave from 301107 to 101207. Actually, I don't intend to take leave for so many days at one shot as I will feel bored having to stay at home. Anyway, I am so called coerced to take those leaves and if not, I will have insufficient days to clear all my leaves. Finally, my ORD date is approaching nearer and nearer. I can see the light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Amended (fantasy) 109 with effect from 2nd of December 2007

This announcement is one of my fantasy bus route change of service 109 from Serangoon to Changi Village.

Service 109 will be plying Hougang Ave 2, Ave 3 and Tampines Rd instead of Hougang Ave 9, Sengkang East Rd. This is to avoid excessive duplication with service 17 which is already using these routes to get to Pasir Ris area. In addition, there is an existing service 89 which provides the link from Sengkang to Loyang Industrial area and Changi Village.

Besides, this new service 109 is providing a new link from Hougang Ave 2, Ave 3 to Loyang Industrial area. The journey from Serangoon to Pasir Ris will be faster too with this new route coming up.

Lucky incident

Luck goes round in a cycle. I have met with several unlucky incidents while I was playing Heroes 3 with my brother as mentiond in my previous entries. However, I guess that luck is something that prevails as a cycle. I was doing a GP question about luck in my A levels. I was entrusting my GP results on the word luck alone. And friday, lady luck has helped me.

Let me describe the incident on friday.
I was designated to be the cover medic for an excerise on friday at Pasir Laba Camp. It was a whole day thing and I had to stay in. Of course, I felt so depressed at that point in time cos I have to stay in, having stay out life for a very long time. Frankly speaking, I thought that it should be ok to stay in but after spending considerable time thinking about it, staying in meant that there were also night activities. Hence, things will become more complicated. I will then have to send (if there are any) casualities to the nearest 24 hrs medical centre. At that time when the news is told to me, there was no further details about which part of the Pasir Laba Camp the activities are conducted, when to report and other admin stuffs.

Anyway, when Friday 23rd of November arrived, I wited for the driver or the in charge to pick me up at the medical centre. I waited from 8 onwards. At that day itself, it is also the SAF Medical Corps 40th Anniversary. Some of my friends will be going to the event itself and hence at around 1030, they can leave there together with my MO. I can actually go there and take a half day but too bad, I have medical cover on that day. Coincidentally, I found ut that my cousins were coming to my hse on that day itself on Thurs, the day before my cover. And besides, since one of my colleague is going to do that cover on the weekends and he was supposed to do Khatib Duty on Sun, I am supposed to do duty today. On the whole, because of this cover, I had to stay in two days which were fri and sun.

I waited anxiously, thinking about the type of activities that the excerise was about. I was running through the procedures that I needed to do in case there were any casualities during the excerise. So, at around 1030, I continued waiting despite the fact that my colleagues are going to the event. After they were gone, I decided to call the officer who was in charge of the excerise to inquire about the indentation of medic for that's day excerise. So, in the end, the excerise is only commencing on Monday instead of Friday. Thus, my weekend is now free. Yay.

Luck is a very mysterious thing in my opinion. It comes when you least expect it. Misfortune comes when you rely on luck too much. The above statements are just my opinions and view on luck.

Amended services 18 and 60 into Bedok Nth St 3

Click the image for a larger version.

New fantasy bus route
Taken with effect from 25th November 2007, Service 18 will ply Bedok Nth St 3 instead of Bedok Nth St 1 to provide a direct link between Bedok Nth areas and Tampines areas. Meanwhile, 225 freq will remain the same.


Click the image for a larger version.

New fantasy bus route
Service 60 will also be plying into Bedok Nth St 3 with effect from 25th November 2007. This new service will provide a direct link between Eunos and Bedok Nth areas.

After going to Bedok several times, I have realised that though 225's route is short, it is very high in demand. So, I presume that in order to benefit more people who are staying or passing by that area, service 18 and 60 which are short haul trunk services can be extended. Besides, since Eunos and Tampines are just neighbouring towns of Bedok, it is good that Bedok Nth has direct buses to them. So, to go to Bedok Reservoir or Eunos CC, simply take 60 if u r at Bedok Nth St 3 instead of taking 225 to Bedok then transfer to 60.

Food Exhibition at Expo

I went for a food exhibition yesterday on Sunday at Singapore Expo. The car park lots were full up to a point that my uncle who drove there had to park to somewhere else which he had to a bus.

As soon as the doors opened, we made our way in as soon as possible to grab the seats. Judging from the magnificent number of people, the number of seats and tables provided for us to tuck into our meals would surely be insufficient. Anyway, after we grabbed, we went to hunt for our food. I bought some ordinary stuffs like popcorn chicken, $2 per bowl "shark fin" and some cookies plus fried bread. My mother and my auntie went around and bought anything which looked unique to them. In the end, I had to carry bags of goods back home.
I guess probably due to the fact that I have eaten too much fried stuffs, I develop my mouth ulcers today. My words that I pronounce is unclear.

After visiting the food exhibition, we went to the Giant's Hyper store located at Tampines Ave 10 near IKEA and COURTS. As usual, my mum and auntie went for a shopping spree, buying a range of products such as fruits, veggies and clothes while the guys like my brother, my cousins and me went to view the latest electronic gadgets and computers.

Enjoy your day and wish everyone's gd health.

Birthday thoughts plus heroes 3 thoughts

OMG!!! I am already 20 after yesterday. Hmm. I look at myself in the mirror and questioned myself, "Have I changed for the better for the past one year? Have I become more matured?" I guess probably not.

People always say and I myself believe that after 2 yrs of tough NS life as National full time serviceman, I will get more matured. Indeed, I have learnt a lot of things during these 2 yrs NS life. I still have 43 more working days to my operationally ready date which is on the 7th of February 2008. I have learnt to talk to people, explain the procedures to them in a concise manner and also to handle customer's enquiry and to refer to the relevant authorities for other enquiries.

For providing customer's enquiries, I realise that he or she may enquire about things which are beyond our scope and it can be frustrating at times as more people treat the medical centre as some directory to look for the other authorities.

Everyone else excluding me and a few others have already orded and have looked frantically for a job. lol. I am still stucked in here.
Looking back, I have already joined the Residents Committee for about 2 yrs. At first, I was shy in approaching others to buy tickets for block party as I am not that type that like to pester others or force others to purchase the tickets. Anyway, after a certain period of time, I will feel accustomed to the idea of selling tickets and hence that awkward feeling diminishes. This also applies to my NS too.

Recently, for the past 2 days, I have decided to pick up Heroes 3. It is indeed an addictive game which is worth playing over and over again. However, it is a pity that the computer controlled players are not really smart and challenging enough.
I start an allied match with my brother yesterday with the map entitled "The Last Continent." To me, that match is really a curse. I have encountered several unlucky incidents. First and foremost, as I feel that Town Portal and other teleport spells like Dimension Door is rather cheating, my brother and I have decided to diable the spells and artifacts that will cause us to have it. Town Portal provides us to have the links back to our own towns and hence, it becomes easier to protect our towns when we are out for our adventure or conquest. Besides that, the armies can be combined easily to one hero. This means that that hero will be my main hero, the hero which conquers towns for you and protect your towns at that same time via Town Portal.
I feel that the beauty of Heroes 3 is that they have 9 towns, each with their unique abilities coupled with the effort made by the game makers to make them very balanced. In addition to that, Heroes 3 has taught me more about planning, before making any moves. It is not just planning on just combat alone, planning how to move around, planning on how to defense your conquered towns successfully, planning on building the structures of the towns to maximise your creature growth. It is vital for the economy and the creature growth to be balanced in order to get a good start.

Yup. Let me recall the few unlucky incidents that I have encountered while playing Heroes 3. First and foremost, with no Town Portal and Dimension Door, I have to pick at least two heroes, train them to attain good stats while my brother concentrates his army strength on just one hero. He is lucky to obtain Angel Wing after combating the dragons in Dragon Utopia. This angel wing artifact enables him to fly around in maps and to fly over obstacles. Thus, it enables him to conquer towns which are across the seas. For me, I am not that lucky. My hero have failed to learn Logistics which increases the hero land movement speed by 30%. Hence, my hero movement speed is very slow. Besdies, coupled with the terrain's penalty, I move even slower.

That's not all. I have tried to conquer some towns using these two main heroes. After that, the main heroes of the third strongest player came at my territories to invade my towns. I lost 2 towns at one go. I have 3 Infernos towns together in a piece of land. I was left with only a Inferno left. As Inferno has castle gate which enables me to town portal within Infernos. My main hero in the ned have to conquer one Inferno which is not in this piece of land, town portal and attack my enemies.

Another incident is that after a couple of weeks, another enemy hero arrives with an intention to conquer my Rampart, a town which is on the other side of the map. He successfully invades the town. So, I called upon one of my main heroes with a decent force to conquer the town back. However, for the first time in my life that I have witnessed, the enemies cast prayer on their units, boosting their defence, attack, speed of their units. Hence, eventually I lost and I have to rely my another main hero which has a slow movement speed to get my town back.

As for my bro's case, no one has ventured into his territories to invade his towns. He is rather lucky. It has been two times since I have played with him, and for these two times, he is lucky and I am unlucky.

Sigh!!!!

New bus stop located along Changi Airport Terminal 3

adapted from SBS Transit website. Click on the image for a larger version.



Click the image for a larger version.

Services 24, 27, 34, 36, 53 and 858 will call at a new bus stop at Changi Airport Terminal 3 with effect from today. All of them will call at T3, followed by T1 and T2 respectively before proceeding back.

Finally, T3 is done. Maybe one day I should go to Changi Airport to visit the new terminal.

Graduation Ceremony

Yesterday, I attended my sister's PCF Serangoon Graduation Ceremony 2007. My is is going to be studying in a primary school next year. She will need to learn about adapting the longer hours in school.
Thinking back 14 years ago, when I was almost the same age as her, I remembered that for my batch, we didn't even have a graduation ceremony in my kindergarden. At that time, we were kust told by our teachers to don the so called "graduation suits" with a square shaped hat. After that, all of us were taken our individual photo for memory. I couldn't remember really a lot about my kindergarden days, my classmates' names and their hobbies. Anyway, nowadays, before the batch of kindergarden pupils graduate, they are "forced" by their teachers to learn some dances and songs so that they can perform on stage. It is rather hard to become a teacher and also a student. However, in my opinion, it is gd for the students as they learn fast at young and hence, it is easier to teach them and expose them to learn new skills. Every class contributes an item and at the finale, all the students ang together a finale song. I should say I am impressed by the students performances. Some of them really danced well despite their young age.

My mum is busy again to make more Malays' clothes. By the way, my mother is a tailor who works at home. She specially makes Malays clothing for them to attend their major events.
So recently, her Malay customers have some events to attend this monthand thus my mum receives several bookings by the Malays to make new clothes. I thought after the annual Hari Raya Pausa period which is the peak period, she can finally relax. Sigh!! She still have to work every day. I guess her business is becoming more brisk as the economy is improving.

I have my driving lesson this morning from 0800 to 1100. Actually, I take up 2 lessons 1.5 hrs each today. After driving for 3 hrs, I feel pain at my lower abdomen region, probably due to the prolonged awkward position when I was sitting in the car, pressing and releasing the clutch. I learnt more about parallel and perpendicular parking today plus some driving around ubi area.

Anyway, I am tired today after going out to town with my friends. Enjoy your day and gd luck.

3 dogs stare

While walking at a certain place, I saw 3 dogs lying at the floor, semi conscious. When they hear my footsteps, 1 by 1, they start to turn their heads and look at me with a menacing look. I was too terrified to respond in my head while my legs continue to walk. lol. And by the way, the dogs are known to harass people along the way according to the people residing a that area. I am quite fortunate that they just stared at me just now.

That's all folks.

Just a thought

Recently, I have become more and more frustrated of working at Dieppe. Although I am well aware of how lucky I am to be posted at Dieppe which is a stay out unit, I still feel sian and frustrated.

The first incident, in today, I have made an appointmnt with NSman to MMI for his Treadmill test. I have asked him regarding about which day he is free to do his tradmill. He mentioned 19th of November. I called MMI and found out that the slots for 19th of Nov 07 is fully booked. So, I slot him on the 16th of Nov 07. I called and informed him and he said ok. After that, the Admin site said that I will have to reschedule his appointment on another date. And the reason is because they can't pay him while he is on ICT period. This reason is rather amusing as just because of this trival reason, I will have to reschedule him. Besdies, they said that I can schedule him on the 9th or 12th of Nov 07. lol. Schedule is so tight and I doubt MMI have the slots for him. What about the payment for asking him to come down for the treadmill?

I have been wondering, since he has spoken to me that he will come down for tradmill during his ICT period, the admin site can treat this like a last minute walk in and pay him accordingly using manual payments. I guess with the introduction of e health, more administration procedures have been laid out instead and hence all of us have more work to do. I was thinking, with the introduction of new systems, shouldn't things be made easier. If not, I will rather utilise the old system instead as it is more reliable and less work.

Another factor that I am getting frustrated is that I finally realise more significantly the difference between work friends and personal friends. We can be good friends but when both of us are working together, the situation can be different.
For example, there will be office politics all over. I am starting to realise this recently. People have been trying hard to be lazy. Of course, that is human nature. But isn't sharing workload the way to go to ensure fairness? Perhaps I feel indignant as the workload currently now is not evenly distributed among us. Though, I dislike doing treatment stuffs like cleaning wounds and drawing bloods, I can do it voluntarily if no one is around and I have to draw blood on that person.
Knowing stuffs such as the admin procedures are good. However, the problem comes if you know too much and you are being too responsible and efficient. Other people from other branches will come and look for you to assist them in filling up some medical information which I am proficient in digging out in the system. Imagine, I am unaware of anything, I can just push the things to other people to do. Of course, if that guy has so many things to do, I will try and help them in whatever way I can. It is because of the above statement, I unknowingly learned some MOPA skills. I learned how to type clinical entries, do a statement of case in prior to a medical board, doing medical board stuffs all by myself. However, I just remained as an assistant to my colleague who is a MOPA. In case he requires assistance for me to type some case, I wil assist. Of course, my main role is still to trace docket which contain medical information, make appointments, track X Ray flow.

Perhaps I am frustrated by the fact that work is just conveniently pushed to me and a few other colleagues to do. In my opinion, it is always this few people who gets the lion's share of the job. I am always the one that gotten the scoldings from two Nsmen which really angered me till emotions got the better of me. All because I volunteer to inquire more about him. For the most recent case, I have documented in I guess end sep or early oct entry in the blog. I feel that everything is arrowed to me.
From the latest din created by me and the NSman, I have realised that I need to learn how to control my emotions in certain tense situations. Especially in situations when I know I am reasoning with people who I know obviously that they are at fault, I will tend to lose control and unleash my anger. I have done that previously on AJC Service Learning project. So, now I tolerate the Nsman's nonsense in the recent incident as I know that being service oriented, it seems inappropiate to quarrel and scold him as it might have serious repercussions. I guess that I will have much to learn be it emotionally, mentally and in work.

Thinking back 2 years ago, I feel glad that I have joined the Residents Committee. It provides me a chance to learn more about leadership, learn more about social interacting skills, persuasive skills. I recall a period when my friend deals with a rather tense situation in a composed manner. There is a guy who complain to him about things not done and so on and so forth. He explains to him, maintains his stand while he phrases his words which sound soothing to the ears. He will be my role model to learn more about social interacting skills. Human relationships especially relationships at work can fluctuate quite a lot.

Looking back at the things that I have written just now, my thoughts seem to be disorganised but in summary, it all zooms down to venting out my frustrations on this blog, my aim of controlling my emotions in tense situations.

Anyway, enjoy your day. I hope that evryone is in good health.

Short service trip 173A

adapted from SMRT website. Click the image for larger version. Visit SMRT website for more info.

Almost similar to 859A. Its purpose is to provide a link from the last train at Bukit Batok MRT to Bukit Batok St 21.

General

Yesterday, I went out with a group of friends to Marina Square to celebrate Jiaxing's birthday. We met at City Hall MRT station control. So, from my house, I can take 147. I reached the bus stop at 1635 but the bus came at 1655. Woah 20 minutes wait. Not only that, the bus is like 85-90% packed. So, everyone is squeezing inside the bus. However, halfway on my journey, when the bus is around 70-80% packed and a commuter flags the bus at some distance from the bus stop, the bus driver ignored and continued to drive on. I can understand that the bus driver must be behind schedule but I guess customer service should always come first. One can't expect that passenger to continue waiting for this service since there are still some spaces available in the bus. If I am that passenger, I will get very frustuated.

Besides, I have noticed the pattern that 147 buses always disappear between the 1630 - 2000. Perhaps a serious bunching problem has occurred during this period. While I was waiting for the bus, I saw 3 service 147 buses passing by. Sigh!!! It is very frustuating to see the service worsen.

On the other hand, it was a good choice to dine out at Swensen during birthdays. So, since Jiaxing's birthday was on yesterday, we got one main course and one ice cream free. Besides, as Swensen is celebrating some award which I guess is some excellent service or performance award, they are introducing some 1-1 package for sundae.
So, guess wat. We order 1 Giant Earthquake and we get another Earthquake free.
So, in the end, all of us were very full especially we had to clear up lots and lots of scoops of ice cream. For the flavours of the Earthquake, on normal circumstances, people tend to choose the 8 flavours. For us, we exclude the flavours that we don't like or was not available. Then, when the 2 earthquakes came simultaneously, people who were dining at neighbouring tables turned their heads and looked at us while the waiter calmly placed the 2 earthquakes on our tables and poured some water into a bottle of dry ice, causing columns of smoke to be emitted. The 1-1 thing was indeed a surprise and we really enjoyed ourselves.

The single decker WAB buses

Scania K230UB (WAB) has finally hit on the roads today. The buses according to The Straits Times Report have a capacity of 87 passengers (58 standing and 29 seated).

Several buses have been deployed on service 100 and 174 today. Be the first to check it out.

Just an entry

I had intended to write it yesterday but didn't have the time to do so.

Time really flew. lol. The word "flew" is used here instead of "flies" means that it is in the past. This is due to the fact that I am feeling bored and thus penning down my thoughts in a diary. There have been a few encounters where I felt like creating a diary or blog to document my daily life. This can be due to external factors for example, watching this Korean drama titled " Precious Family." The father in the show writes a diary to inform his deceased parents regarding about the evens occurring when they are not around. He has a purpose, motive of starting to write his diary while I have none. This is probably the explanation of why I am so fickle minded in writing a diary last time, abolish this idea a few months later, start my diary again after one year plus. I am really fickle minded in many areas too bbesdies writing my diary as mentioned earlier. One such area is swimming. I used to swim every Tues and Fri, then every Fri to build up my stamina. However, I have not swum for a very long time since Feb 2007 I guess. So, I hope this time, I will not be fickle minded again in continuing to write my diary. Then again, it will be difficult to continue this conquest if I have no motive of writing it.
Anyway, all the above comments are just thoughts that flowed through my mind while watching the show just now.

Today was a rather swift day as mentioned in my first phrase "Time really flew." PTE Lau (to be formal) and I went to Army Logistics Base to collect 3 Medical Officer Bags and 11 Medical Operational Pouches. Before collecting all the above items, wehave to check whether the items are in gd conditions, and of correct quantity. Besides, their expiry dates have to be checked too for expendable items. So, in the end, it took us up to 3 hrs plus to finish checking all the stuffs. It feels mundane having to check items and items again for 3 MO's bags and 11 MOPs. Besides, the in-vehicle journey from my camp to ALB is around 1.5 hrs to and fro. However, I still feel that it is essential to check all the stuffs as my friend and I have found some expired and missing items from the bags and MOPs. For this "excursion" I called it, I volunteered my own service because firstly, I have never really ventured into ALB which is at Choa Chu Kang Rd near Lim Chu Kang area. I guess it will be fun to know how the infrasstructure looks like, the buildings that are located in the vicinity. In addition to that, I will like to witness the types of buses that are deployed on service 172 and 975 which passes by ALB and also the respective passenger loads in the afternoon so as to gauge the demand of my newly created service 974 from Bukit Batok to Lim Chu Kang (Loop). Many events will be lined up as we say gd bye to October and welcome the month of November. In my household, there will be 3 persons including me who will celebrate their birthdays this month alone. So, wish us Happy Birthday.

I also have some thoughts regarding about the rerouting of some bus routes when Circle Line opens in 2010 or 2012. I guess that I talk about that tomorrow judging from the number of words that I have written today. Enjoy my day and wish everybody gd health.

Driving Lesson

My driving is still noobish if there is such a word. I still can't control the clutch and will get nervous if anything goes wrong. I am still paranoid about one day, I will crash into a car if I am carless.

As of now, my brother is having his exams. O levels have commenced and he still presents himself as a rather slacked person to me. I infer this impression from the way he studies and the way he got so easily distracted by my sis mini gameboy games. lol.
Anyway, wish him luck for his upcoming exams and anyone else for their A and O levels.

Enhancement of service 372

adapted from SBS Transit website.

Just to make things clearer, the earlier posts are all my fantasy routes amendments while this post is happening in reality with effect from 28th of October 2007.

Some minor route amendments for 963

Details of 963 route amendments:
1. 963 will be amended to cover Clementi Rd, Clementi MRT Stn instead of covering Clementi Ave 6
2. It is amended for the purpose of covering some deleted sectors of 146 and to reduce duplication of 188 which also provides a direct link from Harbourfront to Clementi Ave 6.
3. It enables a direct link from ITE (Dover) or NUS (Lower Kent Ridge Rd) to go to Clementi Stn besides the only sole service 95.

Shortened 146 route Hougang - Harbourfront

New 146 Hougang to Harbourfront

Total of 31 stages per trip.
Reasons for the shortening my one of the longest fantasy routes:
1. Fare stages too long. (47 stages)
2. Lots of bus services duplication between Harbourfront to Bukit Batok.
166, 188, 963 runs parallel with the deleted sectors of 146.

Route change of 986 wef 14th Oct 2007.

Details: 986 will be plying Hougang Ave 2, 10 instead of Upp S'goon Rd.

Commuters who are taking buses to Ubi or CCK at Upp S'goon Rd can take 51, 72 to Hougang Ave 3 and transfer to 986.

ORD Mood

I think I am in ORD mood. I start to come later for work in army and become more hot-tempered as I am lazy to do the work assigned to me. The medical centre that I am working at is a funny place. There are 2 main groups in the medical centres or so called the cliques. We have our cliques while the other has its own. We see how it goes then. lol.

Today is a medical board day, another busy day for me as I have to assist the MO personal assistant in typing all the Nsman cases. It is a day where Nsman get to endorse their Pes status based on the chairman's decision and the patient statement of case.

Around a week ago, I sent a casualty to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He fell down from the roof on that day, was suspected to sustain spinal injury and hence, the medics put him on the spinal board with a C collar placed on his neck. I was waiting there at the waiting area for around 2-2.5 hrs to know about his outcome and also to obtain back my C-collar. No one has called me. I become very annoyed in waiting aimlessly and take the initative to ask the nurse of how is the outcome of whether or not he is seeing the doctor. Anyway, everything is settled by 8 pm and we reached camp at 9pm. What an eventful night and I wouldn't want to send casualty again.

I have mentioned about bus bunching problem in Sgforums in bus forums. The reaction from the forumers is like "1 bus 3 mins also complain", "Complain so much, and how r u going to solve the problem?" lol.
I am lazy to reply them. I am just highlighting the problem and whether the relevant authorities do something about it is ok to me. If they choose to ignore, it is fine with me. I feel that there's a link between the rising ERP prices and this bus bunching problem. By finding a gd solution to solve ERP woes, it will solve traffic congestion problems and hence solve the problem of bus bunching as the severity of this problem depends on the traffic conditions.
It is interesting to see that different forums though under Sgforums, generate different reactions. In sg forums, under speaker corner, a forumer created a thread about Minister of Transport was stumped in a query asked by the residents. After that, some forumers complained about the bus service standards saying that they have to pay more but the standards do not increase proportionally with the prices or remain stagnant or even decline.
Seeing that, I posted what I had observed last saturday about bus bunching problems which is linked to the decline service standards as mentioned by the forumers. However, I posted this in bus forums under sgforums.

Anyway, in my opinion, forums are a gd platform to discuss and share information on what we have and to debate whether issues we have in mind.

Just a thought. :)

Quarrel

25th of Sep 07 is an eventful day for me. Last year on this same date, my medical centre is conducting a medical board. Exactly one year later, the same thing occurred with more dramatic events.

This event main star is me and another person which is an nsman.

It started when I went to lunch with one of my fellow collegue. So, this guy person A came while I was going for lunch. According to one of my collegues who stayed back at the medical centre, he was feeling very sick and hoped that he could be the first to be seen. When I was back from lunch, his hand was positioned at the stomach, coupled with the facial expressions, I could infer that he had stomachache. As a gesture of kindness, I asked him whether or not he wanted to report sick. However, his reply was that SAF Medical centres are useless or something like that. He mentioned that he had reported sick umpteen times in SAF medical centres, but nothing seemed to be done about his problem. I mentioned that perhaps I could let him be seen first so that he could go back home quickly to rest.

After a few minutes, I saw him pressing for stomach, seemingly to be in great pain. I asked him again. His replies were the same. However, I asked him for his identification no so that I could find his relevant documents and put him in the front of the queue.
I checked with the schedule of people that was supposed to come on that day, and his name was not in the list. Then, he asked me, "Is my name on the list?" I replied "No."
His replied that he would call the relevant authority that insisted on him coming for the board itself to lodge a complaint.

After that, another person, person B came to the medial centre but he requested to be the first to be seen becuase he had urgent personal matters to be settled at home. So, forgetting about the previous guy, I slotted him to be the first.

Then, a confusion occurred as there were more people who were not scheduled on that day came to our medical centre. Thus, the whole lot of documents were carried out and re-sorted such that the attendence of the personnels that had come was confirmed.

So, the order of that person mentioned earlier person A was shuffled. After the second guy went into the MO's room, he was very infuriated and pissed off. He came to the registration counter to make a din, shouting at me like how come he wasn't the first to be seen by the MO as I had promised?
I admitted that I had promised that he was the first or second to be seen thinking that if he was scheduled for that day. Since he was not, it was not fair to let him, the walk in guy go first. Anyway, he asked me to call that relevant authority to inquire the reason for asking him to come down for the medical board. He explained to me that his handphone was running out of battery. I asked him whether or not he knew the number. He suddenly became angry and scolded me of being ignorant and not knowing the number since I was working under that organisation. I just kept quiet giving him a stare and he kept asking whether I would call. There was nothing that he could do and I knew that calling that authority would not help as that authority is actually a medium to refer to the other agencies that was in charge of scheduling a date for him for the medical board.

Anyway, what I feel is that, he sure knew how to act. Till now, I am wondering the reason that he had to explain to me without me asking him that his phone didn't have battery so he couldn't call to lodge a complaint.

Many thoughts

Today is a good day, a Sunday, a weekend, meaning that I can sleep late and don't have to work at all. I was having a forum session earlier on in early afternoon and the topic was revolving around the issue of CPF, its recent updates, the impacts of the changes to the society.

I don't really comprehend the idea of how CPF works. It is too complicated for me coupled with annuities and longevity insurance for the elderly as a form of assurance that they still have $$ when they have passed away. It is a wonderful experience for me to hear comments and feedbacks from others. Hmm.

Sgforums have been having spams recently. Spams actually to me is quite common as I have received quite a bulk of spam or I should phrased it as "junk" emails every day by from strangers. Sigh!! I have to live and adapt to this new kind of life as technology is proliferating. That's the bane of having improved technology.

Just a thought.

Extension Of NR1 and NR6 to HarbourFront.

Guess that many people would have known these piece of good news. There are late buses available now from Sentosa to my home in case I chiong late at night. :)

The first time that I took a Nightrider service NR6 which passes by my hse was during a saturday when I was doing an NDP cover at Clarke Quay. The cover ended at 0030. As time passes, I realise that for saturdays, there are still lots of people and couples hanging around Clarke Quay and during 2200 onwards, the number of people sitting by the riverside at the stone steps increase. They sit around, laze around and chat with their friends about anything with their snacks on their hands.

Singapore Nite Life is booming and I guess that in future, SBST will also extend their Nite services to Harbourfront Int.

Car Driving Lesson

Hehe. I had my car driving lesson this morning. It was rather enriching as I had learnt many new things.

1. When the clutch is slightly released, the vehicle will move on its own. This will be known as free wheeling. When the speed of the vehicle is maintained, I can actualy release the clutch completely and the engine will not die off.
2. I have learnt more about right turning techniques using the steering wheel.
3. I can increase the engine revolution to 2 or to 2.5 before releasing the clutch pedal to half clutch position. When releasing to half clutch position, engine revolution will drop slightly but due to the higher engine revolution, the vehicle will not vibrate violently.

My engine dies a couple of times while making a turn and it is probably due to me releasing the clutch pedal too quickly while the speed of the vehicle is too slow. But I have managed to overcome this problem.

All thanks to my driving instructor Mr. Heng.

Vanessa Birthday

Today is 25th of August 2007 a saturday. And today is Vanessa Birthday. So, Ben, I Allan, Jeremy Wong, Joanne and her hmm should be "bf" bah Doro and Alvin went to celebrate Van's birthday by eating prata at Prata Cafe in Thomson near Long house. There is a rather wide variety of prata but I still prefer the chocolate prata at Casuarina Prata at Upper THomson. That's probably because the fact that I like chocolate.



I have just added some links relating to my hobby and some official links which everyone can link it to whenever u need help in finding the right routes to your destination. :D

PM National Day Rally Speech.

I have just watched this year PM Lee Rally Speech. He talks mostly about aging population, education and housing problem and solutions. One thing I am interested in is the way how Singapore is going to build this new town Punggol under the project Punggol 21+. I hope that the town will really look like the town that is portrayed in some of the architectural designs. Looks like my bus routes will have to be rerouted in around 10 years time.

Service 16 extension to Bedok

Service 16 is extended to Bedok wef this Sun 19th August 2007. The pic below is I have created for the benefit of those people that bring Transitlink Bus Guides whateverthey go. They can copy this pic, save it and print it in 4 inches by 5.5 inches. In thatcase, it can be slotted into Transitlink Bus Guides.




I feel that Bedok is a town that is very accessible. For exmaple, if u wish to go from Bedok to Orchard, u can take the MRT, or 7, 14, 16.

Personal Statement

Luckily, Jiaxin just reminded me just now that tomorrow is the day that I must hand up my personal statement. I have the misconception that the personal statement is handed up at 26th of August 2005 but instead, it is handed up on 26th of July 2005. So, I am pondering, ruminating and cogitating now about my contributions to my college. Hmmm, actually not a lot. So now, I have to write down my three strongest qualities or which best describe me.

Civic Mindedness/Social Consciousness
I have participated some community work when I have the free time. One of memorable projects that I have participated is the Service Learning Project. My participation in this project reflects my most strongly held values and I really know myself much better. I was assigned to be the In Charge (IC) of a group known as Spidey with my friend. So, we had the responsibility to look after 8-11 years old kids that were in our group and to liven up the spirit within the group. It was a certainly a tough job although it may seem easy because I must have the stamina. In the first day when the project commenced, I felt that I tend to be paranoid about the kids safety as I was very concerned. I told them to stay put together and if some of them were going to the toilet, I would be following so as to ensure their safety. During lunch, if there were some spare time, the kids were playing soccer in the mini field and I would be watching closely at them so as to ensure their safety. Much energy is spent on running around, chasing after naughty kids during the three days of the project. During free time, I also had to play with them and talked about the things that they liked about. One boy called Nicholas told me that he like playing Role Playing Games such as Red Faction and about controlling an aeroplane to obliterate the enemies. It was fun talking to him as I got to know him better. I also talked to some other kids in my group about their interests and encouraged them to bond together and be united. This is one way of allowing them to communicate more among themselves and to the ICs.

Perseverance and Determination
The days of doing community work were certainly memorable as I had learnt and acquired new knowledge. I also participated in Kampung Senang Charity Performance last year in Kallang Theatre. I had to learnt sign language which I had not learnt before. The teacher called Joyce taught the sign language class very passionately. She had opened the doors into letting me view the beauty of sign language. Although sign language was rather difficult to learn, the passion of Joyce in sign language spurs my interests towards sign language. After the first session, my classmates and I attempted to communicate with each other using sign language. We laughed together as we saw ourselves making hand actions for the first time. I had to learn the sign language in order to perform the charity show. I would spend some time during my December holidays just to familiarise with the newly learnt sign language. Later, I was assigned to the umbrella group. So, the whole sign language group and the umbrella group need to coordinate with the movements to perform. My classmates and I practised every Saturday night for about 2 - 3 hours just to familiarise with the constant changes to the formation. At times, I really frustrated about the constant changes to the formation but high morale of the group and the incessant encouraging words from the coach and Joyce push me further to persevere and to be more tenacious.

Adaptability and Flexibility
A time when I had to be more flexible than usual will be the period when my friends and I were assigned to organise the formations of the March Pass and to recruit manpower and settle the logistics for it. Two months before the Track and Field Meet, my friends and I were cracking our brains to brainstorm the formations of the March Pass. So I started to stay in school longer due to meetings with my friends to discuss about the formations of the March Pass. When the Track and Field is approaching, we stayed in school up till half past 8 in the night for every three days or so. I had to be more flexible and manage my time well during a period of three weeks before the Track and Field Meet. There were many changes to the formations of the March Pass and the logistics. Initially, we propose to use helium filled balloons but later abolished the idea because of the constraints that my friends and I encountered which is cost. So, we change our plan to use flags as adornments to make the March Pass Ceremony more grand.

Z Pop Concert

Today is a fun filled day yet and a tiring day and yet a sad day for me. This day is a day when I am experiencing many different emotions. In the afternoon, while I was on my journey to City Hall, I was boarding bus 147 to Victoria Street. In the bus, there were many acts of kindness as the youngsters and the middle aged people give up their seats to the elderly. First, when the bus arrives Upper Serangoon Road, I witnessed a middle aged woman giving up her seat to another old lady carrying a walking stick. That really made me happy. I was feeling happy at that time because it was a rare moment to witness such acts of kindness in a bus. When the bus approached Bendemeer Road, another middle aged woman was giving up her seat to another old lady who was walking unsteadily. The third act of kindness occurs when the bus was reaching Serangoon Central, another middle aged woman was giving up her seat to an old man. Three acts of kindness were displayed and I had seen them all in the bus 147 while I was going to City Hall. :)
Upon arriving City Hall, Diana, her cousin, and I went to the new National Library in Victoria Street. Upon arriving there, I was full of anxiety about tremendous amount of books located there and the wonderful and nice facilities being well installed in the newly opened National Library which opened yesterday. However, upon arriving there, I was astounded by the one rule in the library that we were not allowed to bring bags into the library. Maybe, the security guards were tightening their security as bags might contain bombs. Another thing that I felt strongly was that in lvl 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of the library, there were no books. The books were situated at lvl 7 or above. So, in order to browse those wonderful books in the National Library, we had to use the escalator to go to lvl 7. Besides that, the books in lvl 7-11, the books were not for loan. They were only reference books. Sigh!!! Besides, the topics were very specific for each level. At level 7, the books were all about history of countries and in lvl 8, the books were all about business management. So, the books there were not really suitable for me to read for the moment. Furthermore, when I browsed one of the books there, that book entitled "History of the Middle East" gives a overview about the Middle Eastern countries. It talked about the many different aspects of life in the Middle Eastern countries. It talked about the society, economy, geography and politics in the Middle East. By the way, the things that the books were written were at the villagers level. The contents were very detailed and I think that those books were very suitable for research on the Middle Eastern countries.
After visiting the National Library, we went to Mac to have a rest and to eat. After eating for about fifteen minutes, we went to Suntec City Convention Centre to watch the Z pop concert. The concert was an eye opener as this was the pioneer time that I was going to a concert at such a massive scale with mayn famous singers such as JJ Lim Jun Jie, Tanya, Celest and many more famous singers. Basically, I found out that sitting down on the floor could be quite tiring as my feet were getting numb as I sat on the floor, cross legged, for a few hours. I witnessed the idea of image coming in when the celebrities were dressed up in a certain way that really depicted a certain personality. First impression is really important as in the case of the superstars as they need to be popular with the masses and having a good first impression certainly enhances their popularity. The climax was at 9 pm when JJ Lim Jun Jie finally appeared before us, attracting swarms of crowds, especially ladies and I could tell you that he was really talented. Firstly, he could sing well. Secondly, he could play piano and sing at the same time and thirdly, he could play the piano and his mouth at the same time. The term here "playing his mouth" refers to using one's mouth to create rhytms and beats. For JJ, he used his mouth to produce fast moving beats and rhytms that were indeed good. I loved his beats and rhytms and they made me feel like shaking my body.
After the Z Pop Concert, I went home by taking a bus and so I went to the bus stop just outside Suntec. However, the roads were still closed due to NDP so there were no buses plying on the road. So I walked to another bus stop. Then after standing at the bus stop a few minutes, two tourists were approaching me to ask for directions because they were lost due to bus diversions. But then, actually I was not really sure of the temproary routes that the buses take. So, actually, there were two ways. The first way is to take bus 111 to Stamford Road and take bus 147, 166, to their hotel. However, I didn't really know on how to explain which stop to alight because they were tourists and they were not really familiar with the places in Simgapore. The second way is to take the MRT and then transfer a bus to their hotel. However, the walking part to the MRT was really far from the bus stop where I was standing. So, I feel really sad for being unable to help them.
I have told this incident to Diana and I am grateful to her for consoling me and making me feel more relaxed. I believe that time can heal my wounds and my disturbance.

Class mood dull

For the past few days without Ben, there is fewer laughter in class from the Vanessa and Joanne gang. Yeah!!! The whole calss mood is a bit dull. Since Monday, life without Ben is like coffee without sugar. There is no sweetness and laughter in the class. Throughout the days in school, I am appalled to hear people asking me questions why I am so happy and why I am always smiling. Perhaps, I am practising the things that are advocated in the book about winning friends and influencing people. I don't know whether to behave in this way because this way of behaving is obviously very childish. However, many people including Miss Ong which is my secondary school p.e. teacher say that I look very young, like a 15 year old boy rather than a 17 year old. So, this is one of the image I present to others, as a boy rather than a man. Therefore, by right, I should act like a boy. Yesterday was a very memorable day. I have successful teased Katie and Ronnie. Doro comments that wordscan really sting other people. In the process, it brought laughter to the whole gang. I can finally sort of revitalise the mood before Ben was hospitialised in the gang to make them happy. However, that lasted for a very short time but within my heart, I felt a great sense of satisfaction. I felt that I had done something "great". Besides, yesterday's chess competition was a great success. The whole of group of the chess organisers had put down the heavy burden on them. Phew!!! For the recent few days, Alvin and I are passionately talking about games, about Trash. This game Trash is not a bad game. In fact, it is quite a cool game an trash are basically building blocks in the game. How I wish that in reality, this concept applies. Then, trash can be used as a resource rather than being treated as a waste. So everyone, please help whatever you can to save the environment.

Trip to East Coast Park to revise

For these few days, I am on a studying mood since all my teachers are pressurising us to study now to be prepared for A levels. Yesterday, I went to the Mac in Serangoon for revision with my friends. I had managed to finish my HCJC Prelims Paper and my Maths Mock paper. Woah!! After spending so much time doing these papers with many errors here and there, I finally completed the paper. In the night, I revised some of the topics studied in JC1 but in the end, I went to my dreamland.
For today, it is a sunday and my family was supposed to visit my grandma at her house. However, my grandpa called early in the morning just to inform us that my dad didn't need to visit my grandma as she was ill and it was raining. So, I was cooped in my home for the whole morning. In the afternoon, I went to East Coast Park to study and revise my JC1 topics. I was taking bus 76 all the way to Marine Parade and maybe because the bus driver was blur, the bus was going at a wrong route and upon realising it, he made one whole round at Geylang Road and Sims Avenue. Luckily, I managed to reach my destination. The wind was blowing continuously while I was looking intently at the physics textbooks. I finally revised ideal gases, superposition, waves. I still have a lot of topics to go.

Ben landed in hospital.

I just received this bad news today that Ben had injured himself and had been hospitialised. I felt a tinge oif sadness and worry within me. Actually, the whole class is very worried about me. At first, many of us are shocked upon hearing this dreadful news happening to our close friend. Ya, so today almost the whole class went to the hospital to visit Ben. When I looked at his face, he seemed to look touched and grateful that the whole class was visiting him. At the same time, he seemed to be in intense pain but he just tried to endure the pain in his fractured right leg. This is the first major accident that has struck one of my close friends. It sure impacts me greatly and makes me view life as very precious. I suddenly have this imagination of myself having an accident and landing myself on the hospital bed, my mum and dad will be very worried and my classmates will too be worried. I tend to be pessimistic but nevertheless, I wish to pay a tribute to all my organs in my body that thanks for being dilgent and hardworking workers. The whole body functions because none of the organs have stopped their operations. It may seem ridiculous but in fact, we are actually the brain and the rest of the organs are just our friends. These friends are really the best because they work for you without pay and they work incessantly from day to night and from night to day. These are the many things that I have learnt.

I have encountered a problem regarding more on my friend. One of my friends which I shall not state the name is the cause of the dilemma within me. Firstly, in the morning today, he asked me whether I wanted to attend physical education classes with him because since another of my friend had landed himslef in the hospital and other classmates including me didn't need to attend pe, for today, he was the only one that needed to attend pe lessons. So, he just wanted a person to accompany him to attend pe lessons. So he asked me whether I wanted to go with him to pe lessons later. I was quite fickle minded but I had clearly indicated a no in my answer. So in the end, he went home without attending pe lessons. The issue here is whether I have made a right decision just now. I have decided not to ask my friends because they have bias views against him and thus they will pass negative remarks about him. So, I had decided to tell this incident to my parents. My parents listened intently to me narrating the incident and about the probelm encountered. What they replied was almost what I had expected. They replied that my decision was correct, and besides, I should be more firm in making decisions. And they said that if I encounter a friend that liked to stick to others, I better stay away from him. These are answers from them. They are still whirling in my thoughts while I am thinking whether my decision is correct, fair and just to myself and to him.

Exam results

Exams are over and this week, I will be knowing my exam results. School went on as usual. During this period of time, I continued to play a little bit just to relax myself for the A levels. I have to admit that for this mid year exam, I did not put in much efforts. It was just that I put in some hours for practice. By the way, I have already known the results of my 3 subjects. I scored 76 marks for maths, 67 marks for my chem and 77 marks for my physics. So, I have only gp left. Sigh!! I think that I will do very badly for the paper.
For the past few days, let me recall what I am been doing. I have been playing Disciples 2 undead campaign and one good news is that I have already completed my undead campiagn. Woot!! I was very happy. Now, one of my goals is to complete the legions of the damned campaign which my brother has not completed. But for now, I play Heroes III as I certainly miss the fun turn based strategy gaming.
For this week, I will be teaching my students this Thursday. I have not completed my lecture notes on mole concept. I am starting to worry now. Besides, I have not finished with maths tutorial about continuous random variables. Sigh!!! My work is piling like a mountain but luckily I have done my gp homework about the failure of the Cancun summit. I took about 2 hours to complete the whole thing. What a waste of my time but nevertheless, I have learnt some things from this incident although I am not very familiar with it.

Exams over

Although it may seem a little bit too late to pen down my thoughts about the fact that my mid year exams are now over as it has ended last Thursday, I will still write down my feelings about it. First feeling or emotion that I have is the sense of intense relief as I won't have to study for a period of time. I can spend my time on other areas such as recovering my health and cough and playing games and to pursue my passion. Coincidentally, these few days are holidays and they act as long breaks for me to recover my helath.
Last Thursday, I had my tuition with my students. This time, I was more confident than the previous lesson probably because of the fact that I was more prepared and I had known them better during my first lesson. I had finished the topic about the particulate nature oif matter. I intend to give them a lesson on ionic and covalent compounds but later, I revised with them about mole concept since they had mini tests about mole concepts tomorrow. I hoped that they would have studied or revised a little about the test and recalled what I have said.
During these few days, I had watched movies and played some LAN games. On Saturday, I played LAN games with my friends which is Dota Allstars. It is a quite a new game and it has attracted a lot of people who are fans of Warcraft III. It really tests on one's speed and accuracy and also strategy. Based on my performance on last Saturday, I had one conclusion and that is I scored 0 points for all three categories. Congratulations for me scoring the lowest point overall. I think that games are tools that enhance our minds, to be quick and flexible and most importantly to think. However, constant patronising the Cybercafe certainly costs me a bomb. My expenses really shot up and hence I have decided not to go today.
Besides, on that day, I also went with my friends to watch a movie entitled "War of the Worlds". Initially, the story really allured me to watch it. It really criticised about man being complacent because of the fact that they think that they are the best race on Earth until one day, when aliens attempted to invade the Earth. These aliens also are very intelligent according to the movies. They have buried high technology robots long ago deep below the Earth and on one day, when there are dark and grey clouds hovering the big sky. People thought that they were just normal and ordinary clouds signifying that rain was coming. Actually, when thunder stuck, one could hear large sound seemingly the sound of electricity rather than the sound of thunder. One special point about the clouds was that the lightning always struck at one place. This is the first step to mankind's destruction as aliens travelled via the lightning to the robots deep underground. After that, there was an immense earthquake and the robots just came out from underground and started shooting the innocents. Many people died as shown in the movie while numerous buildings were damaged. Tom Cruise played the role of a father and he had been entrusted the responsibility to take care of his son and daughter. The first part was quite good as the movie mentioned about the father not having a good relationship with his son and his daughter would have asthma attack if she was frightened. For the middle part of the movie, it showed how the escape of the these three persons. The story was really realistic and good. The feelings displayed by the actors and actresses seem to be so real that a disaster has happened on a very large scale. The three of them were fleeing for their lives. In the movie, it had also shown the fact that man is selfish. However, for the last part, it had ended quite abuptly and I think that something is missing. For full details, watch the movie "War of the World".