Yawns

Platoon done, didn't have the time or energy to update about the week before this one, so i'll just do a brief entry of the past events.

Platoon field camp was not too bad, but it shows that alot of organisation and pre-planning was required for a successful mission. It taught me many other important things, and all the small details on how to execute the drills properly. Sleep time was not too bad for an outfield training, so i couldn't complain much on that too.

Last sunday was my live firing. A horror for me as well, slept 2.5 hours the night before, and didn't even sleep the night after, in the end i ended up with only 3-4 hours of sleep in those 3 days. Nothing much really happened in camp after that. Now we have to prepare for our overseas trip, it's coming soon already, and i have no time to do stuff !

Ok, can't say much cause nothing really happened, signing out here.

Section done, platoon soon !

Ok, sorry for not updating as often as i liked, as i just had section training, and i was very very very busy with stuff so much so that my bookout time was mainly all sleeping. After national day, we proceeded with lessons on section training and moving on to field camp again. During this time i couldn't help but think about Guojie's hell week and whether hes all right now or not, as the tekan he go through is many times more that what i receive.

During section training that bookout before section field camp i kena guard duty and i foolishly did not sleep and watched all the crap television shows, and i ended up with only 4 hours of sleep. Add the 7 hours from the previous 2 nights due to floatation and another 7 hours for the next 4 days due to field camp and recovery. That got me so feverish before i headed home for a 12 hour sleep, which left me with like 1-3 hours before i have to book in again. Hence i didn't update, no more energy left. Then i booked in for live firing and that night we slept for like 1 hour 30 minutes again. Indeed, sleep is very important man.

Now the course is getting into the tougher phases, and even the instructors don't wanna come down too hard on us for fear or overkilling us with too much stuff. This is the part where everyone has got to focus, be careful and don't slacken. The good thing is that the training is fun and different, which i do prefer as to infantry where walking is everything and the drills are not so 'action-packed'.

Anyway today is a good day, had happy hour, w00ts. Downed 4 cans of beer for the night, been a long long time since i've ever touched beer. We had some music and good singing too.

And a quote of the day, from my dear OC.

"Winning is not everything, it's the ONLY thing !"

Ok i'm gonna die soon, platoon training starting soon, then another 'hellish' week again, gonna sleep less than 20 hours for the whole week. If i suddenly disappear again i'm so sorry, as much as i want to update the blog i don't have the energy.

4 weeks, 3 bars.

Long time since i blogged, yes i know, have been busy and laziness has been getting into me. Lots and lots of stuff done in the past few weeks or months. Basically i wanna try to blog more often to store all my memories of what i actually did in NS. Let me try to update what i've been doing from the last updated post till now. Been quite a while now, but i'll try to recall all the stuff i did.



Basically from march all the way till mid july i did my common leadership module and service term, in Ocs. I've learnt the basics to infantry and a little here and a little there, etc etc, and finally finished with the 24km route march and the senior [3 bar] presentation ceremony on that hill. That was the first time i ever slept standing up, same goes for the rest, many were just falling forward during the whole ceremony.



Then I received my posting, heading to Armour after service term to continue my pro term.



Then with a 2 and a half day break, SAF so nicely decided to send us to Brunei for some training. In the jungles there you see real and uninterurrupted forests and wildlife, along with real slopes and for the first time i understood what my BMT instructors said when water was precious. We did alot of very fun stuff there too, and the R&R was reasonable, at least i get to have some freedom during the trip.



Fantastically, i got the sucky part of the deal, volunteering myself to take the earlier flight to Brunei and touching back on Singapore soil half a day later after a brief mix up or gamble or whatever you call it. And so, after Brunei and a 2 hour flight, i basically had around 15 hours or 'rest' time before i enter Armour camp.



The first 4 weeks has been very fruitful, the first week having the beret presentation [gone through some shit just to get the coveted black beret too] and the happy hour where we all have to gulp down at least 1 mug of beer [shoik!]. Done driving, and almost completed all the gunnery stuff too. All those weapons make the GPMG look real puny too, just had a look at it today and it looks real small than when i first saw it in Ocs.



Anyway, lots of shit coming up real soon, bookouts are literally 24 hours for more or less the rest of the couse already and it's time to gear up and charge ahead. Now i understand what my instructors mean by forget all non-Saf stuff etc. I've got insane tests coming up threatening to cut my bookout time by 50% still, and it's not gonna do me any good too.



Whooops. Pretty late already, only caught 5 hours of sleep yesterday, gotta sleep tight tonight, so i'll end off my entry here. Night !

 

Renewal

Ahh ... block leave, one of the best time of NS life.

Managed to go out with BMT friends, JC friends, Secondary school friends and went to Sim Lim square ! Plus, looking back on my already ancient blog post, i might as well just update all those people reading my blog, only to have come back for the past 3 months disappointed.

So far, i've enjoyed my BMT days, albeit tiring, however it was one of those memorable experiences. How often do you get 50 boys and get them to hold weapons, punish them etc. ?

As for goals or resolutions i've set this year, not too bad, i've satisfied a few of them, pretty pleased.

1. Enjoy my NS life - Done and still doing.
2. Buy more computer hardware - got myself a new 22" LCD ! My old monitor was spoiled.
4. Take up swimming again, as a hobby or exercise - Did a 30 lap swim sometime last week, felt quite good.
6. Try to do 15 pull ups, with the help of NS - Only 10 so far =/
7. Possbily a 6-pec ? Else just trim off that tummy of mine. - Still a big tummy.
8. Appreciate my family - Done, and still doing.
9. Go out more with friends - Done, and still doing.
10. Be satisfied with my A level results, try to get a scholarship - Pretty satisfied, but was too lazy for a scholarship.
11. More money, or i rather have more financial control - Well, did try to curb my spending quite abit.
12. Save up some money for my future - So far, a little $$ in my bank acc.
14. Excel in anything i do - I can't assess myself.

Tomorrow i'm booking in to my new unit, good thing it's near my house. Much better than Tekong where i had to travel to Pasir ris ... So ... tata ~

*Will write more about NS when i feel like it. [now isn't really a good time]

Restart.

It's the new year ! What a way to start it off with more resolutions ? Jason's one seem pretty interesting, haha, feel like copying his, but then again, i'll have my own.



But anyway, this are my new year resoutions.



1. Enjoy my NS life.

2. Buy more computer hardware.

3. Improve my overclocking skills.

4. Take up swimming again, as a hobby or exercise.

5. Know how to play a song on the piano.

6. Try to do 15 pull ups, with the help of NS.

7. Possbily a 6-pec ? Else just trim off that tummy of mine.

8. Appreciate my family.

9. Go out more with friends.

10. Be satisfied with my A level results, try to get a scholarship.

11. More money, or i rather have more financial control.

12. Save up some money for my future.

13. Get a light tuition job for the weekends for extra cash. Any takers ? ^^

14. Excel in anything i do.

15. Get rid of my "equal-action-sickness".



Haha. What's 15 ? Let me explain.



All along, from my primary school days, i always believed in 'equivalent sides'. It was a 'queer' habit i had. Every step i climb up with my left foot, i must ensure my right foot will also get a step. If a flight of steps has a odd number of steps, i'll rather jump up the last step than take another with my left/right foot.



Same many other things. Say piano, when there was left hand/right hand scales, it didn't really matter which of my hands was weaker in scales, rather, i choose to practise the same amount on both my hands. You might not have noticed it but it has lessened in the past few years, hopefully i can get rid of it.



Anyone had the same problem ? Haha.

 

Reflections

The new year has come and gone, our playtime is over, girls have to find a job and guys will either take the shave or find a temporary job too. It's been an eventful year, yes, and i would pretty much want to use this entry to recall the main events of 2006 for me.

I'll start off with CCA. Odac, at the start of 2006 we were destined to close. However some who didn't not want the club history to go up in smoke continued fighting, and for some funny reason the next batch was merged with cross-country to form XAC. Didn't last long though, as i thought, and it was the first and last batch. Well i didn't wanna argue with the school management, as it was their final decision already. Perhaps a simple letter will suffice, but they will not understand what the significance of a deep friendship culture embedded within the school, and the reason they gave was commercialisation [Streamlining the activities into the extra activities] , which neither of us could understand unless you examine the school as a big 'business'. Oh well, a lost battle right from the start and i do pity my juniors who just went cca-less after 1 year. Thinking back, what should i have done ? I wonder, but as i ponder i realised i'm not going to be able to do anything to change the situation. What i might have done will only delay the event that will eventually happen.

Also took part in 2 adventure races, but with sort of dismal results. I guess i'm just unlucky. Nevertheless, all the outings, the races, the trips out, i all enjoyed them. Will be hard to forget those memories.

In march i went on the Manado trip as a CIP trip. To be honest, i wasn't all enthusiastic with the trip initially, but this gut feeling was one of the most inaccurate feeling i've got in my whole life. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of the trip, the interaction, the playing time, the sharing of knowledge, the scenery on top of making alot of new friends there. I've learned a few other things there, if you want to excel in what you are doing, enjoy doing it. Also, the letter Mr Tan made us write to ourselves and open up 6 months later does show how much you have grown. I like the idea, might do one before going into NS. Also, would like to thank the teachers. Some are not not teaching in our batch and because of the trip, cannot present the A level results to my seniors.


Now moving on, nothing much actually happened in between except for alot of studying. Coming to studying, i haven't really put in alot of effort when i look back, and so i don't really expect much as said before. So after exams, it was just plain playing. What i did was basically go online, went out with friends, went overseas with family and friends, a chalet, and a BBQ. Still, i would have preferred if my schedule was packed to the fullest .. hehe, then i won't feel so bored at home. Chatted alot with all my friends, got to know them better, or understand them, which isn't a bad thing, as most of these information is only given when you have somewhat earned their trust.

Rest of the time was spend going out, talking cock, drinking coffee, playing, playing and more playing. For now, NS enlisment is looming, and i would like to go in, finish up my NS and get the hell out. Not much crap like zhiyao =P on what you learn in there or the adversities you face, it's all just part of a male's life in Singapore. I do hope i learn a thing or two about life in there, and at least it's worth the 2 years. Let's see, prom. Some of my pictures are in friendster, you can go have a look at them, but to me, it was just one of the last events together as a batch of 05XXX students. It wasn't exactly exciting, but it was decent, lest for the price we paid. I shudder at the thought should the event get all emotional and how 'tough' these 2 years have been, with every girl ruining their make up with tears, that would be pretty amusing too. Haha. Me and my ... random thoughts. But again, it was good to meet up one last time with old friends and say a 'hi', maybe thank them for everything [which i forgot to do] ... and catch up a little on what happened during the holidays.

O well, it ends this long overdue post, might add another post today as well ... haha.

Silence

It's been 3 months since i last blogged. I wonder where i've been. Studying ? No. In fact i think i've slacked quite abit during the A levels, thinking back on it. I suppose you reap what you sow, so in the end i'm expecting as much as i got for O's. I could do better, but what's the point ? Show off to everyone else ? I believe in consistency and not a one time push to the finish. However, you see results being the top piority here, and that's the way of life which i have to accept. So, as much as i dislike this policy, i can't argue against it.

Where else have i been ? Class chalet was another one. *Speaking of chalet, i apologise as i was overseas and cannot attend the one for my secondary school. 3 days 2 nights of interaction with a group that i have been to tutorials to for the past 2 years. It was a refreshing experience as you now approach them with a mindset of enjoying and not studying. You get to see a person's different side; how they would normally react socially. Basically it was plain playing throughout the 3 days, and i think i contracted the 'Mahjong' fever there. Because of that activity, i only slept 2 hours for the entire 3 days. And luckily my birthday 'present' wasn't that bad after all. By the way, thanks to those who wished me happy birthday too.

After that, came home with a 2 hour nap and a 10 hour sleep i was more or less back to normal.

Next came lanparty. 'What's that ?' You might say, it's just bringing your computer down with others to enjoy lan gaming, on top of other fun activities. This time i was able to go down to Funan and bring my caseless rig, and unfortunately that attracted alot of stares from the public. What i was worried about is whether someone might steal something fron my computer since it was caseless to start with. Nevertheless, i enjoyed myself there and also slept 2 hours. This time i didn't take a bath for 3 whole days as opposed to the chalet.

After that, a 14 hour sleep brought me back to normal.

Last was the Vietnam trip i went to with my parents. It was 6 days long with 3 in Ho Chi Minh City and 3 in Hanoi. The latter had cool weather, around 20C, it was virtually like an air-conditioned city. Mostly sightseeing, shopping and eating, nothing much already. The traffic there is 'horrendous' in one sense, but it's very successful. Firstly they don't wear helmets when riding on motorbikes, [The last time the government there did it the traffic accidents went up by 30%] and the motorbike ratio to ratios is like 100 to 1 at least. Red lights without traffic police are virtually invisible, and zebra crossings are just for decoration. Crossing the road there for a first timer is pretty scary, but as long as you walk properly, the bikes will swerve accordingly. If you have no guts, you won't be able to cross the roads too. The only reason why i don't see accidents should be due to the fact that the motorbikes don't go over 60km/h.

Some pics to testify these statements =D.



I've been to a few places there, on top of the 2 cities, also Ha Long Bay, Cu Chi [is that a place ?] and passed by a trade city called Hai phong. Strangely, in terms of development, i think Hai Phong looks most developed, then Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. Hanoi is still the captial of vietnam as it posseses immense cultural value to the nation.

The food there is pretty good too, alot of vegetables, and for the whole trip i'm proud to say i've only gained 2 kg.

One particular thing i came across was this 'rice ball'. Simply by frying a lump of gultinous rice flour you get this with the air inside the flour expanding. It tastes fantastic and i was eating up every last bit of it too. Woohoo.



Nothing else already right ? I guess that explains the silence in this blog.

Will be off the malacca, busy snapping pics again i guess.

*This post is more of what actually happened [physically] rather than what happened in my head. So it might seem a little different from the others =D. The pics are thumbnails, should you need larger pics click on them.