My last recruit's evening..

Oh what sound beckons..
The drawing of old memories from their yonder years
The joy, the cheers, the laughters, the jeers..
How they echo out my younger years

Oh what sound beckons..
The command and control over the lower ranks
Not by my bar, but by my heart
I led the sergeants, the recruits and the men...

Oh what sound beckons..
When rallied voices joined in one accord
my words then their replies
Oh how i love to lead the lot..

Oh what sound beckons..
The joyful shouts and pride exclaimed
The winners, the losers, the neutrals left
Only but the empty chairs remained

Oh what sound beckons..
My younger years, my youngers years..
Oh how i miss the army songs
the words we sang, soldiers together..

Oh what sound beckons..
The echos down the fading days
My days are numbered in passing scores
tumbling out in rolling waves.

Bob

Interview with a photographer.

What a life he leads. Camera in hand, he crosses boundaries and space to get the shots he disires. Around the world he tracks, a truckload of stories he packs home.

Kinda reminded myself of what I wanted to do...

Pack my drawing board, camera, guitar and ipod.. I wanna track the globe in search of a sight worthy to be captured in my lens.. The faces of life. The candid shots.. the impromptu moments.. the past that I want frozen in a timeless dimension.

Bob

I'm not a particular fan of Superstar.. never really followed the show.. but i just happened to get a peek at my home telly, and saw the hottie Junyang, losing to the visually impaired.

The fans erupted.

The sister beseeched us not to focus on what he lacks, but what he has been gifted with.

I tot Junyang would win.. but boy was i shocked.. and mildly surprised.

Am glad that the partially blind guy won..

Really..

I want the world to know that the lesser of people are able to make their mark in this world.. i wanna know that the world is not all about looks, material stuffs, image, fame and glamour..

I was not really attractive.. introvert.. very much imperfected... but God is good. I changed a lot eversince i came to Christ.. outwardly.. and inwardly.. i am where i am becoz of God. But as much as I've changed, i will never forget my past.. and i know what the less desirable people feels.. Their insecurity.. their lack of self-esteem and worth..

Everyone thinks i rather the blind win is coz my ex felt he is very handsome.. but hey.. that's the past.. n it's so childish to harbour any hurt towards him.. n i really dun mind what has happened..

Oh well.. hope my gal aint angry reading this.. yes.. this is one thing i'm not secure with..

Cheers

Bob

Dritfting down memory lane..
glancing at those former daily affairs
Never did they seemed the same
a lil more, i wish, i've cared

The places i once lived
Void decks i used to run
alongside the canal beneath
with all my childhood fun

Sadly, the rustic feel has left
Old structures overrun by new
only their memories i have
So strong a lost i feel

Granny was a very strong woman
guilding this lil boy, lil me
I would try to lessen her burden
As she transacted effortlessly

Yes, I was that granny's lil boy
As everyone knew me by
By her side I've toiled
Because I love her ceaselessly

Now everyone seemed a lil older
along with this lil boy
But i'm boy no more
Their memories i'm not found

Saddened..
I missed them all.. so much... so much..

I wished I could speak Hokkien.. I wished I could tell them.. look at me! I've grown up! and I remember you! Please say you remember me too..

When i bought a sweet from them recently... it was not so much i wanted a sweet.. rather i wanted to stand where i used to buy my candies as my granny would pay for them.. the stall owners will always play with me.. yes.. i fondly remember...
so i stole glances at her wrinkled face.. white strains of hair streaking across her head.. her fashion sense never really changed.. i miss how she would call my name so fondly...

i'm a big boy now... look at me..

Ah Jian...

There are 3 dimensions are in constant interaction, namely; Past, Present and Future.

This is my interpretation of their co-relationship.

Future: Planning phase
Present: Execution phase
Past: After action review

Future:
It is very much like any industrial/commercial workflow. The organisation would gather a team of people to identify the problem and then brainstorm for a solution. Experience sharing and trial testing are extremely useful if it's an initial attempt at that concept.

Present:
The execution of the well-thought out plan. The trials and testings are based upon simulated environment. but life's uncertainty is a definite constant, therefore contingency plans and reaction force on the ground are what I would call part of the conceived plan.

Past:
When all's over, the team re-orgs for a debrief. Lessons learnt and pointers picked up are the key highlights of this phase. The informations are consolidated and then implemented and considered for the next project.


Now, that's the end of the intro.

I'm not some business solution speaker. Those that i've mentioned are based upon what I have learnt over the years.

Rather i'm ever so intrigued by the turning of tides.. the passing of time and it's fleeting moments long gone. It doesnt even mater if it's gone for a short while. Once time has passed, it's gone forever.

When i was young, I'm always that lil boy you see down the streets. Whining when things dont go my way, crying when i'm at my wits ends and smiling at anything that might bring some prospect to my childish desires.

Young I was.. and young i tot i'll always be. Time just crept by, slowly but sure. Yes, I was mildly aware of it's movement. But i never did bother to give it a hoot or 2, coz it's progress was negligible. And so I was deceived until recently....

I had a primary sch reunion.. The people looked kinda the same. Maybe coz we meet every year or so. Therefore we are constantly undated of everyone's evolution over time. The an unfamiliar face took seat next to me. Puzzled, i just brushed him off as a 2nd-tier fren of one of my friends, of whom i wasnt very interested in. Until someone posed the qn to me... "ni zhi dao ta shi shui ma?"(You know who is he a not?) Curiosity arose, i replied cautiously.. who?

"Jinquan."

Immediately my brain went into full steam ahead. The clanging of gears, grinding of chain rings and hypertreading of information. I raced back in time and found this kid whom i saw crying over Science PSLE, playing basketball, and looking every scrawny and small.

Freak... He IS MY LONG LOST FREN!

Yes. The classic example of the full blown effect of accumulated lost time. a good 10 years have passed. A living speciment.. speechless for a brief moment... before i unleashed waves after waves of questions. Unable to contain my excitement.. i simply blabber off as much as i could. Rendering him as speechless as I was when i first had the revelation.

Yes.. time has played a prank on me.. i turned around to reprimand time.. but time was never found the same again. Time took on a different facade everytime i seek it. Still remembering how I begged God to record down my Comissioning Parade prior to our entry. The cheers, the band, the pride... so much i have given just for that day.. and now that day is almost a year ago..

I wished for time to stand still.. So that i can appreciate what I have now.. to fully enjoy it seems so hard.. yet time ever not forgiving.. just stepped on and on...

Oh well.. time.. take some time to sit by my side.. let me grasp your hand.. and stare into your eyes.. to see the mysteries you hide..

Oh well...

I'll be oldified before i realise... perhaps I could catch the comms parade video recording God has prepared for me..

love...

Bob