{tagged}

1) At what age do you wish to marry?

- Hmm probably 24 or 25 something like that.

2) Where will you go if someone sponsored your ticket?

- America! Haha

3) What's your favorite thing to do?

- Reading (among other things)

4) Do you think money can buy happiness?

- No

5) If you have one dream to come true, what would it be?

- That I have everything that I want and could ever want.

6) Do you believe you can survive without money?

- Survive as in survive, yes. But not in day-to-day life.

7) What don't you like about yourself?

- Probably that I hold grudges but not as much as before.

8) What do you understand about life?

- At certain points you have to make decisions or the tide of things will make decisions for you. If so, then you won't be very happy.

9) What do you usually like to do during holiday?

- Relax, go out... play pool

10) List 3 good points of the person who tagged you?

- Honest, positive and courageous

11) List 3 idols you always want to meet.

- Dave Grohl, Pele and General Petraeus (ha ha)

12) Are you in love?

- Well yeah

13) What do you want to do when you see the person you used to love?

- Make conversation

14) In 4 words, describe yourself.

- Idealistic, pays attention to detail, optimistic, fun-loving

15. Who do you think is the most important person in your life?

- My father

16. When was the last time you had your heart broken?

- Probably 4 years ago

17. Blonde or brunette?

- Brunette

18. What music have you been listening to recently?

- Rihanna (haha)

19. What is your least favorite animal?

- The toad

20. What would you do if you are given 1 million dollar?

- Save 60% of it, invest 60% of that, and spend the rest.

INSTRUCTIONS: Remove 1 question from above and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 5 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

(Heh heh am only tagging 3 people)

{of books}

I haven't been reading a great many books this year, but I'll tell you about a few I've read in the past couple of months that I remember of:

1) Squaddie: A Soldier's Story by Steven MacLaughlin

An interesting read, described by a certain review as being the British Jarhead, but of course with differences. This is the story of a British Army infantryman in the new millenium, as opposed to Jarhead's tale of a United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper in the first Gulf War. I'll recommend this book to anyone who would like to take a look at the life of the average modern-day British soldier. The book is the telling of his story starting with a glimpse of his childhood and why he wanted to become a soldier in the first place, and on to his tours of duty in both Iraq and Northern Ireland, and what happened there and afterwards.

2) Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

I haven't seen the miniseries but I've been wanting to for quite some time. Got to read the book first though, and I guess now that it's better I did the reading before the viewing. I think the book basically tells the same story as in the series (duh!) and more, because they can only fit so much on screen. It tells the story of Easy Company, 2d Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division (the famous Screaming Eagles), US Army, right from their start while undergoing training in Toccoa, Georgia, to their time in England, then D-Day, then in various battles against the Germans and finally into Germany and the end of the war. I'll recommend this to anyone with the slightest hint of interest in the military and/or WWII history.

3) A Dirty Distant War by E. M. Nathanson

My father bought this for me. Seeing that it was fiction but based around true events, I started reading it albeit reluctantly. However, after the first few pages, I was kinda gripped. The book's location and setting weren't exactly my favourite (the India-Burma-China Theater, WWII), but I appreciated the differences between that and the traditional image of WWII projected by books like Band of Brothers. The book tells the story of an US Army Major sent to China, and all the tangles the war had created in China. Not for the average reader I think, but again, anyone with an interest in WWII fiction could consider this.

4) A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

THE popular science book. I'm convinced that anyone thinking of doing Astrophysics or Physics at undergraduate level will want (and need) to read this book. And everyone else, for that matter. I just have this feeling that everyone should read it. It offers an insight into the workings of the mind of one of the most prominent physicists of the past century. I particularly liked Hawking's playful scientific prejudices, which just go to show that even at the forefront of discovery and at the highest levels of science, humans are still human. The first couple of chapters were easy to digest but as the book progressed, the language got a bit tougher and the ideas a bit high-level. Anyhow, again, I recommend it to everyone: read it a couple of times if necessary, but at the end of it all, you'll come out enlightened. A tour de force.

{of soldiers}

In the British Army, an infantry Battalion is about 700 soldiers and is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel as Commanding Officer (CO) with a Major as Second-in-Command (2i/c). The Battalion is made up into 5 Companies (a Headquarters Company, 3 Rifle Companies, and a Support Company). The most senior soldiers in the Battalion are the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) and the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS), holding the ranks of Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) and Class 2 (WO2), respectively. Battalions are numbered.

A rifle Company is then about 100 soldiers and is commanded by a Major as Officer Commanding (OC) with a Captain or Lieutenant as 2i/c. It's made up into 3 Platoons and a Company Headquarters. The most senior soldiers in the Company are the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) and the Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS), holding the ranks of WO2 and Colour Sergeant (Staff Sergeant in other than the infantry) respectively. Companies are usually lettered, but sometimes they're given names instead.

A Platoon is then about 30 soldiers and is commanded by a Lieutenant or a Second Lieutenant, with the Platoon Sergeant holding the rank of Sergeant as 2i/c. It's made up into 3 Sections of 8 soldiers each, plus a Signaller, a Mortar Man, the Platoon Commander and the Platoon Sergeant.

Each Section is commanded by a Corporal, with a Lance Corporal as 2i/c. The other 6 soldiers are usually Privates or the regimental equivalent. A Section is usually again divided into two Fireteams (Charlie and Delta), Charlie being commanded by the Corporal and Delta by the Lance Corporal.

The fireteam leader will usually carry an SA80. The 3 Privates divide between themselves an LSW (a longer-barrelled version of the SA80), an SA80 with UGL (Under-slung Grenade Launcher) attached, and an FN Minimi LMG (light machine gun). In addition to that, soldiers often carry with them a LAW (light anti-armour weapon), and smoke and HE grenades.

I believe that the RBLF is modelled on the British Army: it has 3 Battalions and a Support Battalion although there's not much info on the net as of yet.

{dreaming}

These past few days I've been having multiple dreams in my sleep. Sometimes the dreams are random, but other times I guess they reflect our inner desires and the workings of the subconscious mind...

{shaving}

One of the best feelings I've felt in my life is getting a shave at the barber's on a fine Sunday morning.

{running}

I've just got back from running. Most of the time I just jog, but sometimes I run. I'm happy and satisfied every time I complete a jog or a run.

Running (or jogging) puts me at my physical limit. I know that every time I run, I'm doing my body a favour. I'm letting my heart pump blood to my extremities. I'm increasing my lung capacity. I'm clearing my head. I'm giving myself the chance to sweat. I'm working myself out.

8 weeks ago, my time for 2.4K was 12.5 min. Last week, I did it in 11 min 50 s, just 10 s under the RBAF limit (feel free to correct me). I feel I've improved over the weeks, although I know I can go a lot further.

I jog about 2-3 times a week now, and run about once a week. Most often I do about 3K, but sometimes I do 4K although I most often jog 4K, not run it.

{change}

"Di antara cabaran paling mencabar ialah kesediaan kita mengakui kelemahan yang ada, di samping tidak pula lambat untuk membuat pembaikan-pembaikan."

Excerpt from His Majesty's Titah in conjunction with National Day last year.