From today's Straits Times, H1. Check this out...

This is one of the letters written by a 27-year-old inmate from his cell in Tanah Merah Prison. He was arrested for gang-related activities such as stealing and fighting in 2000 under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions Act), and is jailed indefinitely. His wife left him after he was jailed, and his aged parents are looking after his daughter.


Dearest daughter,
BEFORE I begin, let me enlighten you about the purpose of sending you a yellow ribbon. Let me tell you the story behind the yellow ribbon in a fairy tale so that it will be easier for you to understand.

Once a upon a time, there lived a very naughty man who did a lot of bad things. He was unwilling to change and did whatever he felt was right. His behaviour greatly affected people around him but he didn't care.

He was caught by the police. Locked up in a faraway place, he could see his daughter only twice a month. The separation pierced his heart like a sharp sword, killing him softly, but he drew strength from his child's angelic smile.

Slowly, a warm feeling surged from the bottom of his heart, prompting him to make a decision: He resolved to be good. He began to study, behaved himself and most importantly, treasured the presence of his only daughter, his little fairy who was growing up without a father.

Although he had done much on his part, he feared that his daughter might not accept him. So before he was released, he wrote her a letter, telling her that if she was willing to accept him, on his release day she should pin a yellow ribbon on her blouse when he came home.

Upon his release, reaching home, he saw his little fairy beaming at him brightly like the noon day sun with the yellow ribbon on her blouse.

Running towards him with her arms outstretched, she said: 'I love you daddy.' Gathering her in his arms, the father replied: 'I will never leave you again.' And they lived happily ever after.

Little darling, I made a mistake and I am paying so heavily for it, but what saddens me most is that my mistake is affecting you as well.

I know it is hard for you to grow up without a father figure to guide you and a mother's love to nourish you. I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused you. I will definitely change to be a better man, for my own sake, for your's, and for my parents'.

All I hope, is that you, my little fairy, will wear this ribbon I am sending you, which symbolises acceptance, on your next visit. I will truly be overjoyed if you come wearing it, showing you accept me.


I love you.
Affectionately yours, Father


So sweet right? I nearly cried, at six in the morning... hell for me during a.maths exam because I kept thinking about this letter...


Oh, and I made a 'wonderful discovery' about my school today. Some of my juniors can't keep their fucking mouths shut to save their lives and scream like they're raping each other. Others are simply incapable of not dropping their fucking calculators on the floor in the middle of an exam. Yat more of them are magically unable to flip a piece of paper quietly...

Music: Divine Grace
Singer: RO BGM

I'm getting pissed with all my friends suddenly going off and babbling about RO. I understand that they have their own interests and I shouldn't want to monopolise them, but it's getting very irritating when they start gabbling about RO over my head. Though I admit that RO is fascinating and its background musics are very good, that's no reason for you to go off and develope an obsession over it, so much so that you can get withdrawal symptoms over it.

THAT, you agree, is overdoing it, no?

And exams are bitches... so are those who set them ... I take that back, the teachers aren't bitches, they're just sadistic... I freak my mind out over a paper, then they come up with an easy one. Anticlimatic, no? Irritating... they make me nervous too... I still can't remember my trigo quadrant rules... All Stupid Teachers Crap... ASTC... all values positive in first quadrant, sine value positive in second quadrant, tangent value positive in third quadrant, cosine value positive in fourth quadrant. Understand why I can't remember now? I keep snorting over that All Stupid Teachers Crap... *cackles*