The Final Bray

Jerome the verbose zebra takes his curtain call. He trudges along the chain of evolution (hopefully in the right direction) and transmutes into a talking monster on insectosaurus.blogspot.com.

I thank all who have been following this blog, and also apologise for the scant updates ever since work began in earnest. I am leaving this old site behind because talking in the form of a braying zebra gives me schizotypal tendencies, and I want to try something new, in the form of a talking monster, which most people attest I bear close resemblance to.

Besides making frequent references to my unmistakable overbite, I hope the new blog will be as refreshing to my readers as my recent life changes have been. As cliched as this may sound, but a new journey truly awaits, because my ORD date beckons, and I now begin life as an A&E trainee, amongst other exciting commitments. Quarter-life crisis hadn't been easy (everyone goes through this right?), and I guess the best way to go through this is to share my thoughts with my readers, hopefully learning a thing or two from you guys in the process!

Cheers, and see you guys at my new home. =)

WORK is a 4-letter word; and it rhymes a little... *ahem*

close to 3 mths since the last post, only because work has been piling up and there is no time to clear it.

realised i hadn't really gotten even 1 day's break in 6 months, where i can wake up at 10am and lounge at home or walk around town for the day. even though i have taken 1/2 day off it still means work in the mornings, and often time work spills over and the 1/2 day off technically becomes 1/4 day off and therefore meaningless in offering any form of rest. life cycle now is pretty much work, train, work, train, more work, and more training.

had the opportunity to travel to 3 different countries, though it is all work-related, and frankly, travel can be quite stressful with all the packing and unpacking; even more so if you are there for serious business, with your boss. though my boss made it as pleasurable as possible.

then had to waste energy dealing with random fires and conniving egomaniacs who spread half-truths and do nothing but sow discord, for agendas that continue to baffle any human being with a sensible amount of maturity. wow. felt so good typing this out and lifting it off my chest.

work continues to increase and the recent or imminent changes to office and team only means more work and stress. i seriously need a break, but i don't see any opening where i can just take leave and have time to myself. still biting on tight and hopefully work can proceed smoothly.

ave Q and snow white coming up. let's see if i manage to get leave surrounding these events.

The silence of the zebra

It's been 2 weeks since the last post.

1 word best describes what happened following the exhilaration of June race.

Busy.

Capital B.

Naturally there was no time to blog or even put a status update for Facebook.

Pardon me.

YAWP!!!

Jerome had a fruitful weekend. Singapore Dragon Boat Festival was an incredible experience, and he believed his team-mates had similar sentiments. The race was intense, but it was only sweetness when we charged to the finish line through the heats, through the semis, and then the finals. The last charge gave an incredible high. It was a potent cocktail of endorphins and adrenaline.

"Ready for last charge!!!!"

"Ready!!!"

"3... 2... 1..., go now!!!!"

And who can forget the "Any sweat?! NO SWEAT!!" routine during one of our heats. Anyway, Jerome is glad that everyone in the team had a good time, judging from their smiles during the group photo. We took third in the finals, a powerful encouragement for us to do better in future races.

Short post. Cos too many emotions involved. Too difficult to put into words. So I'd rather keep it short and sweet.

(-_-)v

3-point turn

ONE
Yesterday was the team's last gym training session at Kallang. On the glass door was a notice in a cheerful yellow hue, ironically emblazoned with a somewhat poignant message that suggested that gym entry will be free this week because it will close down for good on Sunday.

Many of us hold dear memories of the Grand Old Dame. She had her heydays when Singaporeans would descend in throngs to support the national soccer team and decorate the stands with shades of white and red. The Kallang Wave swept the entire stadium into ecstasy, and the Kallang Roar resonated with passion and pride. Today, the Old Dame takes her rest. The stands are cold, wet and silent. Drab grey walls are a far cry from the iridescent colours that lined the structure during National Day. Yet, this should not be a sad moment. Instead, we should look forward and herald a new era of our sporting arena, an era that will inject fresh, youthful energy to our burgeoning culture of active living.

It was the last chance to break my personal best on the ergo, but I messed it up and fell short. The team showed its playful traits again as we scrambled from station to station to take our parting shots in the gym after training, including crazy poses of various team mates tackling incredible weights or synchronising their ergo stances. Dinner again at Old Airport Road where discussion was naturally about the coming race and the race line-up. Jerome will need to start visualising his race sets so that he can focus better when the day arrives. He can already imagine the adrenaline-charged atmosphere at the start line, eyes focussed on paddle, are-you-ready, attention!, and the air horn... (to be continued)

TWO
Race issues aside, Anon (as the anonymous philosopher who leaves poetic comments calls himself) is now beginning to challenge Jerome. He has left a total of 8 messages thus far. The last message was particularly provocative:

brayed jerome the zebra,
"tell me who you are"
as he sought to make headway
against anon's wiles and ways
but poor jerome he did not get far.

Contrary to what Anon believes, Jerome has already gathered a few clues on his true identity.
1. Anon leaves messages in two main time frames: 11pm-12mn, and 4am-5am
- this suggests he is either a nocturnal animal or someone who is not in Singapore
- if he is not in Singapore, he is either Jerome's overseas friend or someone who happens to be overseas
2. He has quite a good command in English, using words like "wiles", "forlorn", and appears to rhyme pretty well in an effortless way
3. He said, in his seventh message, that "in case you forget, I ain't finished yet" and used one of Jerome's smilies (-_-)v which may be lifted from his post "Happy Feet" following his reference to a certain persona.

Interestingly Jerome has a strange feeling that not all 8 anonymous posts were from the same person, because some of them have glaringly different language styles.

In any case, with the clues above, Jeromes has generated a list of differential diagnosis involving 6 identities.

Jerome will now wait for Anon to strike again before he flashes his arrest warrant.

THREE
Talking about "arrest warrant", Jerome is naturally dismayed when he heard news about a Singaporean clearing our local customs with a wrong passport. It's the third mistake from the Home Team in 6 months, and the word "complacency" is now overused and turning somewhat vulgar in newspapers and radio alike. Considering thousands cross our customs everyday, and this being the first case of its kind, Jerome remains confident of the competence of our Home Team. He is glad the authorities are transparent about the matter, and he looks forward to process reviews and system improvements that will preserve the safety and security of our nation and her people.

Public announcement over.

Thank you all for reading this rather self-indulgent entry. (o_0)"

Happy Feet

Jerome realizes that he has been blogging a lot lately, though many of his recent entries have been devoted to sorting out his career priorities. Of course there was that episode about the mysterious philosopher, and if you have no idea what Jerome is braying about, check this out. Anyway, the philosopher has quietly faded into the background, in the same insidious way he appeared from nowhere to leave his first poem.

The coming week will be a hectic one.
2 x PLAB calls
1 x RT cover
1 x appreciation dinner
1 x carbo-loading dinner
Possibly 3 x papers to table for next CSM
And of course, 1 x June race

Jerome hopes his small boss clears him for an OFF claim this Friday so he can rest and sort out various errands before the June race this weekend. If big boss is reading this, maybe he can leave an “ok” in the comments page also. (-_-)v

During this trying period Jerome finds an good avenue to channel his depression into positive energy by plunging himself into training and thinking of nothing but DGB. And this clip from Matt Harding, which Jerome has put on repeat for 5 times, lifted his spirits. He loves happy faces, happy places, and happy feet.



On a side note, Sis bought Lego Indiana Jones and the Original Adventures PC game during the PC show last weekend, but Jerome only had time to complete 2 levels. Admittedly this one seems a lot harder than Star Wars because characters are brand new and do not have special abilities that are as intuitive as the familiar galactic critters. Jerome will probably look into the game again next week when he has more time.

Otherwise, Jerome shall now head to bed and fantasise about his own round-the-world trip, leaving his mark with his very own quirky dance steps.

Go speed racer!

Today was exciting. After training some stayed behind at Bedok Reservoir to catch Hydro Sapiens, though strangely the water body remained quietly vacant at 1930hrs and the show was expected to start in another 30 minutes.

Anyway Jerome went off to Tampines Mall with SS instead, and finally got his haversack and sandals! Hopefully the footwear doesn’t abrade his skin again. BW, who happens to be an army regular, came along for dinner at Fish and Co. Haha I remembered him for his original and self-deprecating humour last time at Bugis Junction’s Swensens. He was kind enough to give us a treat though it's only my second encounter with him. What’s more, I got a ride back home on his bike! Haha. Helmet on, paddle bag slung behind my back, and off we went! I was practically smiling the entire journey home. The rush of the wind on exposed skin, and the howling echoes in the helmet covered ears, were invigorating. And it was the first time I could experience what squeezing in between cars was like! Hair was still standing on end after the ride, not because of jitteriness, but because of the constant gusts of wind while on the road. A little uncomfortable, and this makes me want to get an Adidas windbreaker for Dad when his birthday comes up in a couple of months.

Catch me if you can!

After being through A&E, Jerome knows very well that biking is a dangerous way of travel. Yet, not everyone is able to afford a 4-wheel drive. More often than not, bikers are middle to lower class workers who pretty much just want an independent means of travel without busting the bank account. And biking is tough. The exhilaration from the cold winds will probably wear off after the 3rd journey down the same expressway. And they have to brave torrential downpours and negotiate slippery roads when the skies get angry. Jerome still remembers a time with COE for bikes is only $1, and now it is well above $1K. Owning a vehicle is getting prohibitively expensive these days. Rising fuel levels, agonizing jams, and exasperating ERP charges continue to burn motorists’ pockets and intimidate Jerome as he takes his first step towards car ownership. The onus is now on the relevant authorities to improve public transport and encourage more to adopt this environmentally friendly means of travel. Initiatives, such as Iris and increasing peak hour train frequencies, are a good start. Here’s looking forward to more improvements on our public transport system, and smoother traffic on the roads.

On a side note, Jerome doesn’t mind another bike trip to stimulate his senses again! (-_-)v

Paradigm shift

Bro rented Pleasure Factory, a movie which generated quite a lot of talk when it came out with an R21 rating last year in Singapore. Inspired by true stories, Pleasure Factory gives a tender look at the reality behind the openly secret and suitably colourful world of prostitution in Geylang.

Jerome has always wondered why anyone would offer something so personal with such nonchalance along the streets. Every night, the red-light district bustles with a curious air of eroticism: ladies dress provocatively and flaunt themselves at beer-bellied, middle-aged uncles, and the latter return approving looks before both parties disappear into the dimly lit rooms of unnamed hotels in intimate pairs.

Oddly enough Jerome had such a conversation with Coach a couple of weeks back when Coach drove the zebra through Geylang to get to the nearest MRT station after gym training. Jerome pointed at the scantily clad ladies and asked, with probably an over-righteous tone, why anyone would demean themselves with such a job. The consensus of this brief discussion was that most of them must have heart-wrenching stories to tell; stories that explain why they were forced into this unpleasant predicament. Those who sell their dignities for the sake of branded apparel probably make up only an insignificant minority.

Indeed, Pleasure Factory looks beyond sleaze as a commodity and exposes the raw emotions behind 3 of such “pleasure providers”. These people do not derive enjoyment from their brief encounters with strangers from the streets. It is, but only, a means of living. They are after all still human, and they seek true love, a relationship based on mutual trust and understanding, and not one motivated by lust or shameless lechery.

What made Jerome weep was the story of a prostitute mother and her daughter, the latter whom was initiated reluctantly into the shady business because of unfavourable family circumstances. As a busker croons the heartrending lyrics from月亮代表我的心, the mother looks forlornly at her daughter. She didn’t have to speak. All her emotions have been rightfully represented by the lyrics.

你问我爱你有多深，我爱你有几分。
我的情也真，我的爱也真。
月亮代表我的心。

They hugged, with tears in their eyes. A simple scene carried by an old song, but demonstrating the powerful, fundamental emotions of true love.

True love comes in many forms. Besides the affection between a mother and her child, Pleasure Factory delves into the emotions between an uncertain teenage army boy and his fellow buddy, a scene that was unfortunately removed from the DVD so that it can be distributed with a sanitised M18 rating. (Found out about this after checking out some forums.) Jerome shall not gripe too much about censorship here for it will warrant a separate post in itself.

Jerome now understands the industry along the streets of Geylang better. The next time he heads down for 豆花, he shall not scoff at the lonely figures loitering at hotel lobbies anymore. Instead, he will try to empathise. Jerome is using “try” here because, after all, it is a paradigm shift for him.

Truth be told, after the movie, what puts Jerome off are the ah peks with alcohol breaths who saunter down the streets with lustful smirks on their wrinkled faces, and hang around Yangtze cinema to fantasise on movie posters of meaningless R21 screenings.

Yet, ironically, they are the ones who drive the industry.

This world, if you hadn't realised, is full of contradictions.