Alkaline trio.

When I was in primary school back home in Singapore, we had this "buddy system" at the beginning of every year, in which every new Primary One student had to be attached to a student in Primary Six for a couple of weeks to help them get used to school life -- the older students would, for a couple of weeks, buy food for them in the canteen, show them to the toilet, or even just talk to them to make sure they were coping alright.

I was reading the Straits Times online earlier this morning, and came across the article about the third National Serviceman who recently succumbed to his injuries from the plane crash in Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. The plane had crashed into a storeroom, the poor 19-year-old boy happened to be inside, and as a result died on Tuesday from 50% burns on his body as well as from inhaling too much smoke. I found his name really familiar, and wondered if it could be him, but at the same time I wasn't very sure because there could also be thousands of guys in Singapore with that name.

I decided to watch the video attached to the article to see if there was any extra information to confirm my doubts. At one point they showed a photograph of him and the reporter mentioned that his funeral was held in my neighbourhood. It was then that I realised, he REALLY was the 7-year-old Primary One kid that I was attached to twelve years ago - it is really weird that I still remember his name and face so clearly, but he was such a cute and smart boy that he'd left a very deep impression on me, even after all these years.

I can't believe he's gone.

I mean, I obviously never kept in touch with him since 1995, but somehow reading that he'd died in such a way, and at such a tender age, made me really sad.

Life is unpredictable, so make sure you do things that make you happy.

Condolences to his family and friends...

Now this applies both equally to you and I
The only thing we share
Is the same sky
These empty metaphors
They're all in vain
Like can't you see the grass is greener where it rains?

Bell X1 - Eve, The Apple Of My Eye.