New fantasy route 968/968A

Service 968 will be operating with effect from 19th May 2008. In fact, it should be 968A since tomorrow is a public holidays. Yay. lol.

Benefits of 968/968A
1. To provide a direct and fast link for residents living in Woodlands estate to the city.
2. Acts as an alternative service from Woodlands Interchange to Republic Poly. It can also provide direct links within the Woodlands estate to Republic Poly which is currently served by only 169, 902 and 911.
3. To provide a direct link from Woodlands estate to Bukit Panjang town.

A close shave

Yesterday, I almost got knocked down by cars rather while crossing the road. It was a close shave.

I was going to Hougang Point while on my way back from work to home. So, I reached a traffic light junction between Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and Yio Chu Kang Rd. There was a couple in front of me riding a bicycle together. At first, I thought they had pressed the button for crossing the road. However, I realised that they hadn't when the green man doesn't appear while the traffic lights along the road parallel to the route that I was crossing. So, in an attempt to save time and seeing that there were no cars going in the direction which will intercept to the route that I was crossing, I crossed the road. By the way, the roads have 3 lanes on each direction. So, I had to cross a total of 6 lanes of road. After crossing the 4th lane, the traffic lights on the road parallel to my route of travel had turned amber and red very quickly. I noticed something was wrong when I saw the cars start to stop.

At that time, I was still in the middle of the 4th lane towards the 5th lane of the road. My mind couldn't think of what to do next at that time but my instinct told me to run to the other side of the road. I started to run towards the other end of the junction when the cars at my left started to accelerate. And while running, I noticed that none of the cars bothered to stop when they saw people still crossing halfway along the road. There was no honking of the car horns either to warn me of danger. Phew. What a close shave.

Fantasy route change.

Fantasy route change. With effect from 11th of May 2008, service 89 will be extended to Ang Mo Kio and renumbered as 129. The former 129's route will not be used. Service 109 will also be withdrawn while service 74 will be shortened to Hougang.


Pros of the changes
1. The demand for the new 129 I think will be rather high as it taps on former 89's demand plus it runs parallel with 25's route from Ang Mo Kio to Hougang Ave 2.
2. It is the fastest and direct route to travel from Sengkang to Ang Mo Kio.
3. Direct link from Hougang Ave 2 to Pasir Ris and Changi North areas. It is also faster to travel from Ang Mo Kio MRT to Pasir Ris MRT as compared to 88.
4. Provide a link from Changi North areas to the North-South Line.


Cons of the changes.
1. Residents living in Sengkang and Punggol lose the links to Bukit Timah and Clementi Rd due to the route amendments of service 74.
2. There is no direct bus from Serangoon, Hougang Ave 3, Pasir Ris Dr 1 (eastern part) to Changi Village due to route withdrawal of 109.

Ways to deal with cons.
1. 129 will pass by the stretch of Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and Hougang Ave 2. So, from Serangoon to Changi North, one can take 147 to Hougang Ave 2 and transfer to 129.
2. To travel to Bukit Timah from Punggol or Sengkang, take 88 to Hougang Ave 8 or 129 to Hougang Ave 2 or 136 to Upper Serangoon Rd and transfer to 74. 74's route will be the same as stated in Transitlink Bus Guide 2008.
3. From Pasir Ris Dr 1 to Changi North, one can take 39, 53 or 81 to Loyang Ave, cross the road and transfer to 9 or 19.
4. From Hougang Ave 3 to Changi North areas, take 81 to Pasir Ris Dr 1 and transfer to 129.

As usual, an update

It's going to be May soon and there's only two more months left back to school. To be honest, I am not really excited upon going back to school. It means having to learn all the theories and formulae which I have put it at the back of my head. No more time to play games then.

Anyway, I went to Pasir Ris yesterday for a mini gathering. For this, I will like to take this opportunity to thank Pearline and her family for the invitation. The food is good and the ambience is great. Besides, yesterday was the day where I witnessed my cousin Ian who has just been enlisted for National Service two weeks ago. This reminds me of myself two years ago where I rushed from Tekong to the previous gathering organised at the same place. He looks more tanned than me two years back. Perhaps this is the best evidence of how rigorous NS nowadays is. All the memories of the BMT life two years ago suddenly flood in my mind with all the marching commands and the left and right timing said out loud by the timer. He seemed to have adapted to the BMT life. Anyway, boys are compelled to serve NS, serve the country so no choice lah.
So, as usual DOTA and NS life are the main topics of discussion yesterday. I guess it can last for several days just talking about these. I remember two years ago that I was having this thought that I would hate Pasir Ris town as this place reminds me of book into Tekong at Changi North. The feeling of extreme boredom of BMT life, the separation of family and your own comfort zone to serve the country. Luckily, two years have passed swiftly without me knowing it. Pasir Ris has changed quite a fair bit. There is a new cinema and a shopping centre now at Downtown East. The traffic congestion at 2000 hrs over there seemed to signify the crowds over there. Downtown East has surely become a more popular place for entertainment.

So, anyway, my cousins and my brother and I have agreed to meet one day with our friends for a DOTA showdown. While I was hoping for that day to come, I wish my cousin Ian all the best and be in good health.

A busy week

This work week passes really fast as I am kept busy for my whole course of work. For this week, I have been working under the receiving department of the warehouse. Numerous goods with confusing part numbers have been coming in and I have to match the part numbers and descriptions in the delivery orders with the purchasing orders in the system. This process alone takes at least a day. There are about a hundred of those items to be matched one by one and to add on to the hassle is there is no sequence nor pattern between the items in the delivery and purchasing orders.

So I have been matching and updating the items received in the system for the pst three days. Besides, there are numerous problems that I have identified during the course of matching like the physical part number is different with the part number stated in the DO. In addition, some descriptions of the items which are seemingly similar is different from what is stated. Sigh!!!

Anyway, I have completed Neverwinter Nights 2. This boss the King of Shadows is harder to beat and it requires strategies to be able to beat it. The whole combat lasts for around two hours alone. It is quite a fierce and intensive battle. Some of my characters die and revive again including my main character. My main character is a cleric who has a resurrection spell plus I have another cleric character on my team. Coupled with the good graphics and animation, I have enjoyed the battle.


Now, I am back to the old game DOTA which the latest AI map is v6.51.

An update for a loooong time

Time flies in the blinking of both eyes. This phrase is used I think during my GP AQ question. lol. Indeed, one month or perhaps two months have already passed without me knowing it. I have worked for Allegro Manufacturing for almost two months now. As I have mentioned in the earlier post, I am getting bored. I have learnt several things, like calculating of goods, using of several big machineries to handle big goods and also get a chance to see big crates which are taller and bigger than me. It sounds easy to count the physical quantity but when a lot of goods come in simultaneously, it becomes a challenge. There are many different kinds of goods and for me, I differentiate them by looking at their part number. However, most of the part numbers are long strings of code. In addition, some different goods have almost similarly "looking" part number (one number or alphabet different.

However, in my opinion, it is the best period now till the commencement of university. I don't have any homework or projects for me to do after work. I don't have any responsibiliies during my work. I am tasked to assist my colleagues in their work. Besides, I don't have to study till late at night. So, for now, I work in the morning and afternoon, play at night.

Neverwinter Nights 2 first comes to my mind if someone is to tell me to list down the games that I can think of. I am currently embarking a quest as a virtual character in the game to eliminate the greater evil dubbed "The King of Shadows." It seems to sound very impressive but its strength will be known to me when I engage him in the battlefield. I have actually played Neverwinter Nights 1 before and I utilised my 2nd lowest spell "Searing Light" to eliminate the final boss. The boss seems to be very resilient in terms of inflicting physical damage or spells onto him as commented by my brother.

For Neverwinter Nights 2, I have restarted once due to a bug that has resulted in a failure to advance my quest. In my opinion, Neverwinter Nights 2 is a rather good game with a balance of pros and cons between the different classes which one can choose from. There are classes for the specialisation of physical attacks, spell casting (more spells casted per day or learn a greater variety of spells), healer, nature, archer, knight, rogue and several others. Besides, their plot quests and side quests are clearly indicated in the journal and the person to look for are marked in the map prominently. I do not have to read the guide as extensively as Final Fantasy 8. So for now, I am on my way to the King of Shadows. Wish me luck.

Fantasy route change. Withdrawal of service 149. Amendments of services 62, 80 and 100.

Click on the picture to view the enlarged version plus the route details although the picture looks ugly. lol.



Anyway, my fantasy route change. I feel that the 149's route that I have created runs parallel with the current 62, 80 and 158. So, I thought of extending 62 to Marina Centre, extend 80 to Punggol following the former 149's route and amend 100 to ply Serangoon Ave 1.

62 will be extended to Marina Centre a little bit different from the former 149's route. It will be going via Victoria Street while the previous 149 went via North Bridge Rd. The reason is 80 is already plying North Bridge Rd and hence I do not wish to duplicate too much of 80's route.

Yi Heng has found a job in Citibank which is commencing on onday. One of his job scope involves dispatching letters to other banks. It is like delivery services. However, it is done on alternate days. In addition, you can work overtime to complete the stack of cheques and letters hat you have pending to be delivered to the clients. When delivered, the client or a representative of the receiving organsiation will have to sign the acknowledgement form to prove in black and white that they have received the cheque or documents. That is like my favourite job no doubt the responsibility is high in safeguarding the $$$ plus checking that the amount and quantity qritten in the acknowledgement form is correct. This is due to the fact that I like to travel and it involves travelling to many places. Besides, $50 transport allowance is given to the dispatcher and I think I won't have to spend $50 for transport. Just buy a bus concession stamp and it involves all my transport needs.

I tried to find other jobs with my friend Yi Heng but no luck. All the jobs require urgent manpower and I am required to start work on the next day. However, I feel that it is too rush for me since I am still committed to my current job as warehouse assistant.

On my hobbies and interests, it was only recently that I found out that my dream job will be to become a bus route planner if there is such a career. It involves creating new bus routes, plus the reasons for such bus routes created plus the demand factor necessary to sustain the profitability of the route. How this comes about is actually since I visited singapore bus forums. I noticed that there are several people who have written numerous route suggestions and posted into the forums. There are arrows and road name to describe the route details. After that, I thought of using Transitlink Bus Guide format to record my new fantasy bus routes created. So here it is. I use Microsoft Word to create the tables merging cells and splitting cells. It looks similar but is different if one examines carefully. It is simply interesting. Plus I can add the types and number of buses that are permanently deployed onto the amended or new bus sevices.

Fantasy roue change 151

Fantasy route change. Service 151 will ply Hougang Ave 1 instead of Hougang Ave 3 from 24th March 2008. For more route details and the pictorial illustration of the route, please click on the image as above to see the enlarged version.

The rationale of changing 151 to ply Hougang Ave 1 which seems to run parallel with Hougang Ave 3 is that there are more residential estates and HDB flats along the road. In addition, many of the commuters who board the service are going to places like Bukit Timah and Clementi Roads where there are educational institutes. SO it is best for 151 to reroute to ply the road where it is nearer to the residential estates. The next reason is that there are several bus services that goes to Hougang Ave 3 stretch the road from Hougang Central. 87, 51 are the two services which fit the bill. By rerouting 151, it creates an uniqueness for this service and it fits the idea of looking from a commuter's perspective of creating bus routes.

Amendment of service 77 (Fantasy route change)

Click on the image to see the enlarged version.

Service 77 will ply Bt Batok West Ave 3 / West Ave 6, East Ave 6 with effect from 16th March 2008. The amended service 77 will benefit residents residing in Bt Batok West Ave 6, East Ave 6 to provide a link to the city.

Fantasy route change Service 52 withdrawn

Fantasy route change. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
Service 52 will be withdrawn with effect from 10th March 2008 due to heavy duplication with my fantasy route 104.

Basically, service 52 runs parallel with 104 from Sin Ming Rd all the way to Toh Guan Rd at the Jurong East area although there are minor differences in te two routes at Clementi town. Commuters can choose to take 104 instead to get from Sin Ming to Clementi or Jurong area.

Microbe

I went to Ang Mo Kio Library last sun and borrowed a book titled Microbe. Before this book, I have read other books about the description of pirons other than bacteria and viruses or parasites which are commonly known to cause diseases in humans.

Prion receives a name from this phrase as mentioned in the book. Proteinaceous infectious agent.

An example of a prion based disease will be mad cow disease which thankfully doesn't occur in Singapore yet. Little is known about pirons I guess as of now since a search in wikipedia reveals little of how prion manage to cause diseases in humans.

Prion is actually a protein present in our brain. However, if abnormal prions manage to enter our body for example with contact with patients afflicted with mad cow diseases, these abnormal prions can somehow twist the structure of the normal prions in our brains and caused them to become abnormal. These abnormal prions can kill brain cells and left plaques which are large clumps of abnormal prion proteins. The book describes the final appearance of abnormal prion "infected" brain as shards of glass in the brain. Under a microscope, one can see many holes in the brain. Patients can experience neurological defectslike for example sudden mood swings, sudden bursts of laughter, inability to walk. Ultimately, it leads to dementia and complete failure of nervous system and death.

What is unique about prions from bacteria and viruses is that it is able to multiply and reproduce without any genetic material. There is no DNA, RNA molecules and so on. It is just a normal amino acid or protein that we can easily acquire. And because of that, abnormal prions are hard to eradicate. It has been mentioned in the book that prions still remained infectious even though surgical tools that have been utilised on a prion "infected" patients are sterilised, autoclaved. Until the prion, autoclave treatment was able to kill every organism known. Besides, prions are tested for their strength too by exposing them to tons of radiation. As it happened, prions are not deactivated even after tons of radiation. Although prions are so strong and lethal, mad cow disease seems to be a less known disease than HIV.

Mysterious and scary isn't it?

Part time job

I have managed to find a job as warehouse assistant in a SME manufacturing company. It is similar and also different from the one that I have worked previously in DBS.

In this job, I don't really have a job scope. As the sole temp staff in the comapny, I often get pushed around in departments when assistance is required to complete a job. I learnt a bit of picking out stuffs labelled with codes from the warehouse and a bit of updating in the system after the goods have checked with the correct quantity. I also did a bit of data entry of invoices and receipts in the computer. I learn as I go along. I get a chance to see how people use machines. The heaviest load I have handled is 1500 kg crate using a hand operated pellet truck. There is automated pellet truck which is able to transport crates and pellets onto the second level of the warehouse. Plus there is a forklift which can lift out heavy crates from the delivery truck into the warehouse. It is quite cool actually to see how pellets play a major role in easing man's burden in handling heavy and bulky goods.

But as time goes by, it becomes routine and it can get boring over time.

Fantasy Route Change (Amendment of 25 and 26)

Click on the image to view an enlarged version.
Fantasy route change. From 1st March 2008, service 25 and 26 will ply Chai Chee St/Dr instead of New Upper Changi Rd with effect from 1st March 2008. This is one of the measures to improve links to estates with only one feeder service serving. It helps to improve links to other towns from Chai Chee estate and to alleviate 222 demand to Bedok.

ComfortDelgro introduces 7 more premium bus services at 25th February 2008.

Click the image to view the enlarged version. Adapted from SBS Transit website. Visit www.sbstransit.com.sg to see the exact route details and the fares for these services.

ComfortDelgro will be introducing 7 more premium bus services to Shenton Way/Fullerton Rd from the various towns like Punggol, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Ang Mo Kio, Sengkang and Bukit Panjang. This will take effect from 25th February 2008. Transitlink Bus Guide version of the routes details will be coming soon.

Care those who cared for you

As I have said in my earlier post, I will like to share some of the interesting functions described in this interesting books entitled "Hepatitis Liver Disease" about liver functions.

The author starts by describing the clear and apparent function of the brain, heart and the stomach. However, there is no single verb that describe what the liver does as it has numerous functions to perform.

To describe liver in simple terms, it is an organ in your body that acts like a highly reliable watchdog, grocer, housekeeper, bodybuilder, energy plant supervisor and sanitation engineer as quoted in the book. Liver is required to process and sort gallons of digested food from the stomach and intestines daily and it must be able to detoxify thousands of substances - ranging from alcohol to bug spray to turpentine fumes. It must also be able to dismantle old red blood cellsand recycle whatever parts that can be saved. It also must have a shared responsibility with the kidneys to control thyroid hormones which influence metabolism. There are other many many more functions of the liver.

The author continues by describing that the liver accomplishes all the functions or missions silently, working in the background, never advertising its presence. And besides, when a part of the liver is damaged or removed, it is sometimes called upon to regenerate itself. When the liver is damaged due to an infection of a virus like Hepatitis and other on, the symptoms that is experienced by the person are common for other illness like for example, flu, fever. By the time you get symptoms specifically for liver disease like jaundice, the liver may have been damaged.

So, I would like to say here is don't neglect those who cares for you silently, or who have been giving you the support in silence. Your liver is one, perhaps another person makes two which you don't know. Treasure them before it is too late.

Amended Service 146 route

Click the image for an enlarged version.

Fantasy route change. Service 146 will be amended with effect from 21st of February 2008. It will be plying Middle Rd, Bencoolen Street and Prinsep Street. For further details of how the change will be, kindly refer to the picture shown above.

198 extension to Soon Lee Bus Pk

Fantasy route change. Service 198 will be extended with effect from 24th February 2008 to Soon Lee Bus Pk. Click on the image to see an enlarged version of the route detials. It will mainly plies St 71, St 81, St 82, St 75 where currently only feeder service 243 plies.
It provides a link between Jurong West to Jurong East and Buona Vista. In that case, time is saved in transferring buses at Boon Lay interchange.



I will be introducing a series of trunk services to places where there are a single feeder services to provide links to other towns. It aims to provide a faster link than to spend time transferring buses or MRT at the interchange.

Ever since I have Orded from the army, my life has become rather mundane. I am still on the way of finding a part time job to kill time. So meanwhile, I am slacking at home, or at times I will help my mum to do some housework. In my opinion, it actually feels rather good to slack once in a while as I know that I will not be enjoying for long. This period will perhaps be the only time when I have zero responsibilities and burden. lol.

Post New Year sickness is commencing in my house in the past few days. My younger brother and sister have been afflicted with colds and flu. I get occasional colds with my nose running on some days.


Some things that I am looking forward will be a new job that can last till my uni orientation, interesting medical books about diseases and inheritation of defective genes, and of course, new bus routes.

On the 19th February 2008, at 2030 in Channel Newsasia, the show entitled "I Journalist" will feature on several bus fans who are really passionate about buses like for example the different models of buses, the buses deployments and so on and so forth related to buses. If you guys want to know more about the world of buses, watch this show then on next tues.

Born to compete?

I have read numerous medical books about diseases. Well, I am interested to see how these small microrganisms work their way and how our body fends off against them.
In addition, I have come to realise one thing. For self interest and for survival, human beings have to compete or sometimes fight with each other.
This world is a dog eat dog world. It is also applicable to the world of bacteria, viruses or even pirions.
Our body immune system is made up of these microrganisms that help us fight against other types of "bad" bacteria and viruses.
Everyday and everytime, the immune system fought countless battles against "bad" microrganisms. Getting sick or even symptoms are indications that the body is engaging in a fierce fight. Even for plants, they also have to compete for sunlight if there are too many of them.

Competition is inevitable. We compete for results in schools, we compete for performances at workplaces, we compare among each other about materialistic things like cars, and so on.

Competition results all becuase of supply and demand factor. If there is a shortage of supply or if the demand is too high, competition will result. Suppose if demand and supply is balanced or kept in check, I will infer that's the only way to eliminate competition. Then again, will that always be the case? Are we born to compete?

Just a thought.

Fantasy route change. Withdrawal of service 82 and 119. Introduction of new feeder service 373.

With effect from 17th February 2008, service 82 and 119 will be withdrawn due to heavy duplication from the other trunk service routes. Service 373 will also be introduced at the same date to cover from Punggol to Punggol Rd End towards Punggol Jetty. Alternative routes are provided in the poster after service 82 and 119 are withdrawn. Route details for 373 are also provided in another poster.

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.