Independence Day

In December 2007, Josiah has finally held onto his on bottle which he had been drinking from for the previous 5 months. A sigh of relief as he rejected the milk bottle at 7 months and I expended my means of feeding him milk. Usage of spoon and training cup equated to nil returns. The idea of using a straw for him to drink milk from a cup hit me one day and thank God, it worked afte a trying 7 days. I was sure those 7 days seemed liked it will never end.

OB Australia

Leaving for Australia was exciting back in November 2007 but it was the hardest thing I could remember doing for that year. Exciting as I was going to be attached to OBA for a month, hardest thing to do was to miss Vanessa's birthday on 1 November and leaving Josiah for a full 3o days. This sums up how much I'm emotionally attached to them.

Upon arrival in Australia, I was greeted by the very very very cool swirling air that chilled my bones when the doors opened. I was whisked off to the bush 7 hours later to embark on a 10-Day programme with a bunch of Hwa Chong Institute boys. The unknown hit me and I was feeling like a participant 6 years after my participation in a 21-Day course in OBS as a new staff.

The importance of maintaining hygiene while out in the bush is something which OBS can really adopt. Meal times were a challenge as I had to eat Muesli or what Singaporeans (actually I think it's only me) call 'cornflakes' for breakfast, rolls aka buns with ham, cheese, vege and not forgetting the infamous VEGEMITE, arghhhhhhhhhh................ Ok, compose yourself, dinner was most sumptiuous as we went down to chopping, cutting, stirring, adding seasoning and lastly, appreciating the darkness as it masks the presentation of your dinner while you savour it.

The rest was history and the most important person I met and felt most comfortable with is Will, an American who chose to look for a greener pasture upon graduating from a US University. We shared many stories and cleared any misconceptions about US and Singapore while maintaining a positive perception of the other, hahahahaha. That was the best 10 days I spent in Australia.

Being at the base of OBA, Tharwa was a challenge as LJ and I went through their Operations Manual aka TSR and many other manuals. At the end of it all, we found it most beneficial as we suddenly had so many SSS (staff suggestion scheme) that could have freed us up for 10 years.

The pictures include the watch that I was attached to, a dead tree taken in the evening while trekking and the 3 Dai Di Kings of Tharwa.