James Yong | 19 | Scorpio | Air Force Pilot Trainee | ex-RJC | ex-Canoeing | ex-NCC | ex-MM$ | ex-Y2Y network! | ex-South East CDC | ex-Meet the People's Sessions
>>This is a whole new friend who is cheerful, and full of crap here.. I simply love to meet new friends of many different interests and characters.! Friends are just so cool.! They form the basis of life, and serve as like-minded spirits who fill our empty hearts within.! Imagine living a life with no friends at all! That's gonna be so damn miserable.. So, if you're out there thinking the same way how i'm thinking right now, do come forth and be my friend!! Great friendship guarranteed. Nice to meet u!=)
Friday, September 04, 2009 Moving over to the UK in 2 weeks time!
WOW it's just 16 days more and I haven't even started packing my stuff! But no worries, I'm pretty sure 16 days is more than enough time. Just feeling more and more excited each day as I see September 20th inching closer.
Life in the UK is going to be a mind-blowing experience! A whole new country, whole new culture, whole new school, and new friends coming from all over the world! I feel so overwhelmed just thinking about going there to spend 3 years for my studies!
For the benefit of those whom I haven't been updating, I will be flying off to the UK to study Statistics, Economics and Finance (single degree!) in University College London soon under the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship. This scholarship is awesome man! Besides being able to go for my university education earlier than most of my peers, I would also be receiving a monthly salary apart from my overseas allowances while I'm studying! Best of all, I get to continue my pilot training after I come back from studies and be an air force pilot (if I can pass everything) as a career after that! I feel so blessed by this award haha.
For the junior guys who are interested in what I'm doing, you can consider applying for this scholarship when you enter National Service! And girls too! There's also a similar scholarship for women with the same benefits! But you would need to sign up to be enlisted and go through the tough but meaningful military training with the guys... haha.
Anyway, back to the main topic, I think I will miss all my friends and family a lot when I leave Singapore for a prolonged period of time. I have so many people I wanna thank and so many others whom I really really want to say a big "thank-you" to. The people who have appeared miraculously in my life, helped me out when it seems almost impossible to get out of certain troubles, and then left silently without expecting gratitude from me. I will find all of them and thank them before I leave hahaha.
Meanwhile, if you would like to meet up with me before the 20th (flying off at 2330hrs, Terminal 3 on an A380!), do contact me and let me know! I'm relatively free almost everyday as I have started to clear my leave from work, other than the packing which I seriously need to start soon. Hope to see you guys soon! =)
Sunday, July 12, 2009 The folks who passed airgrading 05/09
Here goes! (though the picture was taken ages ago):
From left: Me, Wesley (Director for Exercise Hotshot), Gwendolyn ("very good" friend), MAJ Boxer (course commander), Gerard (loves facebook), Shi Bin (loves more than facebook), Jui Sern (most horny-just kidding)
Friday, July 10, 2009 James is a qualified car driver now!
Took my driving test yesterday and at 4.15pm, by the time i finished my final driving test (the traffic police test), I was declared to have passed class 3C driving by my tester! Woohoo! (Lots of endorphins rush)
So, from next week on, you would probably see me cruising around in my black Chery A168 every night, trying to hone my driving skills and perfecting my car-park parking techiniques, which driving lessons do not teach. (You do know they only teach you how to park a vehicle with poles as guiding points right?)
So, this means, once I've perfected my techniques, I will be out full force in the weekend driving around from place to place! Heehah.
Here's a picture of how a Chery A168 look like:
Just to recap, I bought a Chery A168 (OPC a.k.a. Weekend/Night usage car) for my family usage back in February this year, when the COE was at its lowest point (haha). That certainly depleted almost all of my savings then (and now even-you know, a car no matter how big the discount is still a HIGH PRICE to pay!), but considering the price i paid back then and the satisfaction of owning a not-so-bad car, plus being able to go out on weekends with my family, I'd say that it's definitely worth it!
The last point for this blog-post: Although I would love to take a picture of my own Chery A168, I still do not own a decent digital camera of my own at this point in time and hence am unable to accommodate that desire. Sobs. I'm still trying to save up to buy a camera, and I believe that I would be able to do so before departing to London in September for my studies!
Yup, I've came back from Australia since 2nd June, and I PASSED AIR-GRADING COURSE! Woohoo Awesome. (Happiness index: x10)
However, it's so unfortunate that since I'm departing to London during end-September this year for studies, the period is too short for the Air Force to place me in any course. Thus, I've been just floating around in a relatively idle state in Air Force School since I came back from Australia and I can't help but profess that life is soooo BORING!!!
June gone, 1/3 of July to be over pretty fast, hopefully the month ahead will be more exciting, fun and fruitful!
Meanwhile, I must really proclaim that facebook is such a convenient and easy way of staying updated with your friends and updating your status/progress. You just have to use only simple, short sentences each day! And that's how i keep others informed of my progress during airgrading course. Used "bankai" a lot haha.
Sunday, April 19, 2009 Current Status: Pilot trainee, and going Australia 27th April
Before my blog goes into hibernation mode again (like it's always been prone to), let me provide some updates of my life and its heading before I unwittingly go missing again haha.
First thing first, I'm SOOO HAPPY that I'm finally a pilot trainee now!!!!!!!!! Though the chances of eventually succeeding in becoming a full-fledged pilot is extremely low (passing rate is usually around 10% to 20% per course), I delight in being able to fly to Australia to enjoy the scenery and immerse myself in the wonderful world of aviation soon on the 27th April (coming soon!)! Down there in Tamworth, I will be taking up the most basic flying training (air grading) course whereby trainees will be put on a highly steep learning curve to learn ALL about basic flying (from conducting checks on the instruments, taking off an airplane, flying it around accurately, transmitting on radio to the relevant controllers, to landing), everything within a month!
Although I may not make it eventually, I think that this experience of being able to fly an aircraft up in the sky is worth my bestest efforts put in, and I'm gonna put in all of my sweat and soul to pass the course, for the rewards are so awesome if I can succeed! And of course before that, I would like to thank my friends who have been supporting me since ages ago in my aspiration to take up the route as a pilot trainee. You guys rock! =D
Here's a picture of the aircraft which I will be flying for the month of May 09 (the CT4B):
Life's getting pretty much exciting from here, and I look forward to the journey which I will be embarking on. Right now it's almost all about studying flying notes and preparing myself for the Tamworth experience. Haha being a pilot trainee really demands high standards - with lots of material to study, intensive training to go through and many other tasks to handle! But tough as it may sound, the rewards are absolutely tremendous.
To all my friends, I will definitely miss all of you, and if we can't meet up before I depart, I really wish that we can meet up as soon as possible after I came back from Australia to catch up on lost times! Haha.
Alright! Let's hope for the very best in the future. Cheers to all! =)
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom. Yes we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness. Yes we can. It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land. Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can. We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics... they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 A To Z Of Kiasu Philosophy
Singaporeans are always Kiasu (afraid to lose)! Aiyo hear until don't want to hear already. These "A to Z" sounds quite accurate though. Here it goes:
Always must win Borrow but never return Cheap is good Don't trust anyone Everything also must grab! Free! Free! Free! Grab first talk later Help yourself to everything I first, I want, I everything Jump queue Keep coming back for more Look for discount Must not lose face Never mind what they think Outdo everyone you know Pay only when necessary Quit while you are ahead Rushing and pushing wins the race Sample are always welcome Take but don't give Unless it's free forget it Vow to be number one Winner takes it ALL! ALL! ALL! Yell if necessary to get what you want Zebras are kiasu because they want to be both black and white at the same time.
Haha alright I know I haven't been updating this blog for a long time, and the promise of a Taiwan blog post hasn't been fulfilled yet. Sigh this blog always seem to have a tendency for periodic hibernation huh? I must admit the owner is extremely lazy (But hey, sometimes it's really true fatigue from my daily hectic work, but still...)
Nonetheless, I assure that a Taiwan post shall come! Taiwan is just too awesome to not share about! (Hahaha, anyone for another trip this year-end?) Erm, just stay tuned for now la. Happy Chinese New Year at the meantime. =)
Friday, December 26, 2008 Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday to sister!
25th December-not only was Jesus born on that day, but my younger sister too! Her birthday dinner at the Oasis certainly costed me a bomb last night, but nonetheless, a very HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY TO HER!!!
(3 more teenage years to go, unlike me, at the last teen already...)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 My Commissioning Parade
Officership finally! Now you can all call me 2nd Lieutenant James Yong (full of pride haha).
Just to spice things up a little, I will blog about my comissioning parade first before sharing about the wonderful experiences of Taiwan, which was so heavenly to me... =P (Actually commissioning parade also not that bad, with all the endorphins it pumped into your bloodstream upon the successful completion of the 38-weeks Officer Cadet Training.)
Here's how the commissioning parade square looks like before all of us entered (on the 13th December 2008):
And after the graduands of the 71/08 Officer Cadet Course entered:
In this highly anticipated parade, the extremely enthusiastic officers-to-be sang patriotic songs of 3 different languages, executed drills and marched in steps impressive to the audience, which brought us lots of claps and cheers from our much beloved family members and friends whom we have invited. Right before the award presentation for the 8 Sword-of-Honours for this graduating cohort, we also had 8 different religious leaders pray for us for a minute, blessing us with the good qualities of an officer, and hoping for us to serve as future effective leaders of the nation.
My proudest moments came when I was presented the Air Force Sword-of-Honour by the parade's reviewing officer-Mr Adullah Tarmugi, Speaker of Parliament, as shown below =) :
(Receiving the Sword:)
(The Sword-Winners:) Finally, the most anticipated moment of the parade-the changing of shoulder boards to signify the change of rank from a cadet to a true officer!
(Below: my last moment standing as an officer cadet...)
(The changing of my shoulder boards by my parents:)
And alas! A proud officer standing tall in front of all! (That's me and my family =D)
The Commissioning parade was indeed an awesome experience, and the feeling of successfully completing a whole Officer Cadet Course and achieving something for yourself was really exhilarating and worth the effort put in! For my juniors who have yet to enlisted, and are looking forward to worthwhile challenges to bring yourself up to a whole new level, do opt for officer cadet training, do your best in it, and achieve something for yourself out of it! It's definitely worth it. =)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 This BLOG shall be REVIVED!!!
After so long (close to a year) of not blogging, I have finally decided that I'm going to resurrect this blog again for the credit of the exciting events which I have gone through during this hectic, hellish yet exciting and rewarding (particularly towards the end) year of 2008! Yippee! 3 cheers go to simple2remember.
To summarize all that has passed during my absence in cyberspace,
from January to March - I was in Basic Military Training on Tekong Island as a recruit;
April to May - I was in Officer Cadet School adjusting to the new training demands of an officer cadet;
June to November - I was a trainee in Air Force School going through professional training to be an aircraft controller;
December (MOST REWARDING AND "SHIOK") - I finally commissioned as an officer, with a Sword-of-Honour, on the 13th December, and went to Taiwan for an awesome holiday from the 16th to 20th December with my coursemates!!!!!!!!!! (definitely wanna blog about this soon)
Haha though most of this year was dominated by training and a lack of social and recreational activities, the rewards at the end were truly enjoyable and totally worth the efforts put in! I will be sharing about those experiences really soon! So stay tuned!
Meanwhile, to all my friends, take care always and look forward! =)
From left: Me, Wesley (Director for Exercise Hotshot), Gwendolyn ("very good" friend), MAJ Boxer (course commander), Gerard (loves facebook), Shi Bin (loves more than facebook), Jui Sern (most horny-just kidding)
