Battle of Thermopylae

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I could pass.

After three days of battle a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks, revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians volunteers. Though they knew it meant their own deaths, they held their position and secured the retreat of the other Greek forces.
The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war.

The subsequent Greek victory in the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian navy destroyed. Xerxes was forced to flee to Asia and left his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle for one last time. The Spartans and other Greek allies assembled at full strength and decisively defeated the Persians in the Battle of Plataea, putting an end to the Greco-Persian War and with that, Persian expansion into Europe.

The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment and good use of terrain to maximize an army's potential, as well as a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. The heroic sacrifice of the Spartans and the Thespians has captured the minds of many throughout the ages and has given birth to many cultural references as a result.

'Before this battle is over, the world will know that Few stood against Many.'

Lunar Stories

I met up with the usual group 2 weeks ago on a friday.

It was actually quite a coincidence.
I was meeting Annabelle to go shopping for her shoes at Far East while little did I know that the rest of the escapees from Woodbridge were in town too.
I waited for some time before she arrived at Orchard Mrt. I did try to contact a few others before that and managed to find out that they were either already dwelling in town, or on the way there.

What's more shocking was that Brandon was one of the people.
Given the fact that he's been to town for only like around 20 times in his whole life.
Ever since he heard the news about bombings and SARs, he has been avoiding crowded places almost completely.
He doesn't shop for new clothes.
I bet his undies are like 20 years old too, with a genuine smell of maturity.

I couldn't believe it,
but I had to admit that my friends were actually following me, copying where I went.
It was too good to be coincidental.
Xuguang and Mike were at Far East while I was still waiting for Annabelle to reach.

I didn't want to go there and meet them first because I was afraid that they were still busy fondling with each other.
It was only when Annabelle met up with me then we went to Far East to meet up with the two of them.
It was our own plan initially.
So even if we were to come upon them and they were still rubbing against each other, we could just pretend that we saw nothing and continued walking further.

Alyssa came soon afterwards and all 5 of us had dinner at this Japanese restaurant. After having our meals, Brandon, Ivan and Alex came over to Far East to join us.

Ivan looked totally different when I first saw him that night. He was wearing formal and it was so unlikely of him.
He looked like some CEO of a big company,
who got sacked on the first day.

Annabelle saw him and whispered into my ears.

'I thought I saw Mark Lee'.

The truth was,
he attended some job interviews earlier on so he wanted to look as presentable as he could be.
Hope he gets into whichever company he applied for.
He deserves much better since he has already wasted so much of his time in this bad company of friends not inclusive of myself.

We went to Wisma to further shop around and Ivan's girlfriend, Jasmine made a short appearance before disappearing again.
She came to us with this package, with those kind of paper used to wrap Bah Kwa.
For a second, I really thought that she wanted us to try some of her Bah Kwa that she had queued for in Chinatown.

Brandon was excited and said,

'Wa Lao.. Amanda wanted this all along lor.'
'That time I actually wanted to buy for her one.'

As Jasmine opened up the package, the tone became softer accordingly.
It appeared to be a top that she had bought and not Bah Kwa like how it seemed right from the beginning.

Brandon became silent.
I was then confused as to whether Amanda was crazy over Bah Kwa or the top that Jasmine was holding on to.
All I know was that it's not a good idea to wrap something that somebody is going to wear with paper used for Bah Kwa as well.
Personally I think it's too oily for any human body to withstand it.

We rounded up that day by slacking at an old spot in Simpang Bedok.

Chinese New Year came and first it was the reunion dinner.
I had dinner with my family at this Kbox in Marine Parade.
It was inclusive of a room and buffet dinner.
Not to mention having a few talented stars among us.

It was a night of pure madness with everyone singing their hearts out to any old songs that they could think of. I didn't want them to feel competitively tensed that's why I kept my voice unheard.

Every now and then,
the worst kind of singing anybody could imagine would be heard.
Similiar to those strange noises produced by a cock early in the morning.

And my dad would still clap his hands and shout,
'Welcome to Hollywood!!!'

Such insanity.
What mattered most was that everyone did enjoy themselves.

Chinese New Year first day,

Collect Bonus.

Chinese New Year Second day,

Collect Bonus from another company.

I had declared myself Bankrupt in the Straits Times so all gambling activities were thus voided.

Do not be fooled by those who go around telling your relatives that they are working as bankers with a high income and great prospects.

They probably are,
but only during card games.