Long time since I last blogged. My blog is dying... No time... Morning leave home, at night return home to sleep... everyday... but it is worth it...

NPC is in 4 days time... Must be prepared...

Something to take note for myself... Now because of NPC a lot of lashings and guylines are getting wet and soggy, after NPC have to sun the lashings and guylines and rearrange the poles for the upstairs store...

I think the secondary 4 level should plan next year's PLTC and UTC in advance, maybe in january or december or something, so that the QMs can start preparing the list of equipment needed and all that...

Tired... Anyway, First Class Hike is tiring. Not so much the walking, but doing the post-hike log. But a worthy experience in preparation for CCA Hike.

Yes, today's NPC training went quite well, we managed to practice, and do our stuff. But I think we can, as a team, work harder and faster. We must have a greater sense of urgency. We must also take good care of ourselves. Make sure we do not get injured or sick. Work harder, faster. quicker!

Tomorrow have to go for PLC. Hope it goes smoothly and productively.

Busy... Busy... but not stressed. Taking it in my stride. Don't think I'll be able to blog at great lengths this time round or anytime soon. Blogging just for the sake of blogging now in this post. No time to type any reflections or anything. Yes, so I better stop here to stop wasting precious time. Just to remind myself to do a reflection on PSLTC...

I just realised that my posts are getting shorter and shorter. But I have not learned less in a day or something like that. It just means that I am getting busier. I guess it will get shorter increasingly as the days pass and as NPC draws nearer. But never mind, not writing out learning points in the day, or in this case typing out, will not mean that I have not learned anything. Just no time.

By the way, I was thinking through and thinking deeper into Kenny's metaphor for reflection. Here's how it goes:

Our life is like a taking a bus. The main purpose is to get to a specific place somewhere far away. We roughly know where we want to arrive at.

However, we have not taken this route before, and there is no direct bus. So we have to change buses. The problem is, we do not have a bus directory, and we are not quite sure of what buses to take before we get there.

So while taking our bus, we have to stop at bus stops, to reassess our route, and that is just like reflection. To see if we are heading in the correct direction. The direction we want to go towards.

Standing at the bus stop, we do not look ahead, but instead look backwards, looking for the next correct bus to take, to set us on the right path to our destination.

In reflection, we too look back at our lives, and reflect on the learning points. We then choose how we want to change the way we live for the better based on these learning points. We then 'choose the bus' we want to take next, so that we can head in a better direction, and get on it.

No one looks ahead when waiting for a bus. One has to look back for the buses.

So reflection is just like a bus stop. We must make that effort to get out from our comfortable seats, get out of our bus, and change to a more suitable bus. It is easier not to reflect, and just zoom through our lives. But are we heading in the correct direction?

Sitting on the bus, we can only look ahead, we cannot look backwards to assess our route. Likewise, we must make that effort to reflect, to make sure that we are heading in the correct direction.

There is no direct bus in life. You sit comfortably for too long without getting off? You miss many chances to head in the correct direction. The more chances you miss, the longer your detour.

Have you missed many bus stops? Make the effort.

My first NPC training today! I was a little uncertain as to how it would turn out. And I must say I think we did quite well. Especially in setting up the tent and improvising of gadgets. Lots of learning points for improving our standard. But got to work even harder!

But I learned something else today. Today's training changed my perception of NPC. I had all along thought that NPC would be some camp that would be more tough than PLTC, but I was glad that it is not. I mean, yes, we have to work super hard and will be super tired and all, but from another point of view it would be more fun as there are fewer boundaries and we can stretch our creativity and that is something fun. Such as... hmmm.... never mind, I shall not leak secrets. But yes, I will do my best for NPC. Goal: Go for the gold!

Learning Point

Received feedback on the store cleaning about myself in general.

I have to be more decisive and clear with my instructions. I also have to be more firm when getting people to do something. I have to set time limits. Set a target. Be more strict. I also have to be more alert.

Yes, I agree. Although its not in my habit to scold people, there is a time for everything. Maybe with scolding then people will realise what has to be done in a period of time. Maybe then will they take me seriously. I must change to be a person more firm when something needs to be done. That means I must be less of a joker than before.

With regards to being more alert, thats something that I have to constantly remind myself about. But then I think my lack of alertness that day was probably because of insufficient sleep the day before. What with the scouts dinner ending near to 11.00pm. But then again, yes, being alert something I need to be. How to change in this matter of aspect? I don't really know how, maybe just constantly reminding myself would be a effective start.

Here is a story I came across and would like to share...

My Friend Saved Me From Doing The Unspeakable

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"

He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. We may all impact one another’s lives in some way. Look for that in others.

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.


I came back from swimming. Felt really refreshed. Something about the exercise made me feel like blogging. There was this story that flashed back across my mind. Something I still find meaningful even though I have come across it many times on different occasions.

I thought I would record it here so that I can read it a few more times. And also for those reading this blog. This story is just simply amazing. And inspiring.