Friday, March 25

just to add on to my previous entry...i really miss life in bmtc...i miss the training, the calamaderie among fellow recruits...i miss my platoon mates...how we wld always motivate one another no matter how hard training..no matter how much we always lk to complain abt stuff, we wld always know we'll go through this tog...everyone wld work hard to complete what we were given...no one trying to find ways to slack ard....it really feels very motivated with all these pple ard...i wld gladly cheong sua with these pple ard...

jel; 10:00 am

yest was supposed to be the start of the course but other than the introductory lecture in the morning, we practically did nothing else for the rest of the day...was damn disappointed in their training schedule....

i realise the mentality of the privates are such that since u are in unit, u are not those who lk to cheong, otherwise u'll prob be in sispec or ocs...furthermore they seemed to have sealed their fate and want to slack through the rest of their ns life...yest, i see lots of simlilar cases when we were told to fill up sandbags....come on, why can't u pple put in a little bit more effort in doing the job given to u?....i can't stand those pple whose ultimate aim is to slack through their ns life....

i guess there are pple who envy what i'm dong now...as a combat clerk unofficially and able to enjoy a bit more welfare...i wld say they felt unfair that we go through diff fate...a guy who obtained silver in ippt and is pes a gets to do all those clerical work most of the time while others who fail or barely pass ippt and is pes b has to do all the cheong sua job...a few even said why i wasn't posted to command sch...i guess i can't help it...its not lk i didn't indicate i wanted to go command sch and wanted to slack...they posted me to do such a job...its not lk i chose it or chao geng my way through it...so pple out there, dun complain already and do your best in whatever ur vocation is....

yest had a nice break at junction 8...cafe cartel is simply my favourite place to have my meals...i'm going to go there more often in future...but thats provided i go apply for my uob debit card first for the 10% dicount there....

jel; 8:04 am

Tuesday, March 22

yest was a horrible day which ended off quite well...when we reported at sungei gedong camp, they didn't really know what we were supposed to do cause our course starts this thur....so basically we didn't have anything to do till then...at first they told us we can book out every night, causing us to be very happy...later, they told us we can take leave for these 3 days, lifting our spirits even higher...after a while, they told us we had to stay in which made us damn disappointed cause we were prepared to book out already....for the rest of the afternoon, we practically did nothing...evening came and we were told we can book out for the night...we were of course delighted although we were quite pissed with the management....then some of them were dispatched to our various units which we were suppose to report to for today and tmr...the units will be where we will be staying tue and wed as well as the rest of our ns life after we attend the course at the school of armour in sungei gedong camp....i was lucky enough to be picked by the officer tog with another 3 to go to keat hong camp cause it just opened last aug and its super new...

today at keat hong camp, it was a super duper slack day...mainly because we haven started our course, so we were told to act lk we had imp stuff to do which we didn't...me and kevin were posted to s3 department of 8 SAB...basically after attending the course, our main job is to do clerical work cause we dun get much chance to drive the vehicle ard...only has to maintain it occassionally and use it for outfields...so we will be stuck in the office and doing stuff and because of our academic results, we'll be given projects to handle lk this yr's ndp stuff cause our camp is in charge of it...given our mostly clerical work, i think we are pretty lucky to get combat pay which is lk 550 each month...

we are beginning to enjoy our first day there...not only is the camp new, i felt lk i was a perm staff there...there was no restrictions and nobody to control u lk in bmtc...its because my department is the bridgade unit...no marching to cookhouse, freedom to roam ard (no need to march from point to point), 2 canteen breaks per day, no time limit for lunch and canteen break...just go to canteen and cookhs when the time comes...i love the freedom i enjoy...cause there was the 40 sar unit which had to train and do stuff as in bmtc which is real boring...so i considered myself lucky...oh ya, my unit doesn't need to do soc which i hated a lot....only have 5 km run on tue and fri...atp range once in a long while and standard ippt test once a yr..i have to keep my own training schedule if not i'm going to die..whole day just eat and stay in office...tue and wed is our nights out which means we can book out in the evening and come back to camp by 2330...sometimes with permission, u can do so on other nights too...then after office hr, we can use the internet at the cybercafe (there's no coffee there)...

there's a taiwan outfield next yr which we'll prob take part in...at least i get a chance to go there even without going ocs or sispec...there's saf day which i'm supposed to take part in the parade..that means there's training..hope i dun get in the parade for the ndp one, if not i'll be training seven days a week..which i think it's impossible...but i'll definitely be helping out in the ndp one way or another...oh and tv, xbox, ps2 are all allowed in the bunk, provided whether u want to bring in or not...

ok, thats abt all i've to say...tmr i'll be back in and repeat what i've done today...i think i need to enrich myself these 2 yrs with other stuff...i'm not going to waste my 2 yrs in ns learning military stuff which i'm not going to apply after my ord...and unit is slack to the extent that i can't stand it...i'll definitely have to go do something to keep myself occupied..

jel; 7:55 pm

Sunday, March 20

today is the last day of my block leave...feeling quite sian today...tmr will be the start of a new phase of ns...this feeling was exactly the same as the time i was abt to be enlisted...having to go to a new environment...having to adapt to the surroundings...but i guess its part of life....everyone from falcon one will be going their own separate ways...its sad when u know that there will be some pple whom u may nv get to meet again or prob some who may get to know closer friends in their vocations....but i believe true friendships will last through life....u do not need to meet up with some friends so often but yet the distance bet the two will still be close...thats why i treasure and value friendships...

spent a very nice afternoon at secret recipe...very peaceful and quiet...exactly what i've wanted it to be...the cakes there are indeed yummy and its the perfect place for an afternoon tea...the conversation was rather fruitful, i wld say...and things turn out pretty well..its hard to put things down in words but i guess its interesting things will turn out this way...

to all falcon one pple and other ns men, take care in your new vocations and God bless

jel; 8:57 pm

Saturday, March 19

You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or trying to be someone else.

You only bring him enjoyment by being you.

Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty in creating you.

jel; 1:10 pm

Today is sat. My block leave is ending tmr...these 2 weeks have been rather well-spent although there wasn't enough time for me to do all that I wanted to do...being through quite a bit experiences during this period and has gained and learned pretty much from them...

Got to know mel much better during this block...I've met up with him on more than half of the days of my block leave...I wonder whether he got sick of seeing me so often..haha..its quite strange cause our friendship sort of grew towards the end of bmt and esp after bmt...dun rmb talking much to him initially during bmt...only know he always call my name whenever I walked past him esp along the corridors..haha..but I knew this guy genuinely care for his platoon mates...I rmb the time I vomited, he was the first one to extend a helping hand although he didn’t really know me...and the encouragement he gave during our 8 km route march...the first proper conversation I had with him was during the second might of sit test...just happened that our tents were next to each other and our buddies were apparently missing so we ended up chatting...its strange but we managed to chat for an hour although this was the first time...seriously, you’ll get to really know someone when you're out of camp cause that’s when we can do our own stuff...that's why through the few days with mel, I really got to know a lot more abt mel..as I've always mentioned, he's someone who is quite diff from the usu friends I've met...it's a diff feeling going out with him and other friends but I do enjoy the different experience...

It sad that now the whole platoon is going their own separate ways...didn't have a chance to meet up with other platoon mates and get to know them better...other than mel, I've only met gan hong, han sheng, yee shen and yi en during this block leave..i wld say I enjoy going with diff grps of friends each time...when everyone go their separate ways, we wld meet new friends and may even build stronger bonds with them through the longer period of time spent with them, but I do hope that the initial experiences and memories that we share during bmt and the friendships that we've build from bmt will stay with us...

jel; 1:06 pm

Memories of bmt

I know this shld have been typed after pop but I've been too lazy to type this since there're a lot of other matters to settle first..but I've reminded myself to type this today...seriously, overall, this bmt has been a pretty gd experience for me...there may be complains here and there but to seriously think of it, the welfare that we've received wld have more or less compensated for it...I guess I was fortunate to be placed in a welfare coy which is comparable to the white horse coy...I've prepared for the worst before I came in and maybe that's why I've found it quite acceptable when I've been through bmt...

nine weeks is pretty fast but I've learned and matured quite a bit during this period...interacting with pple from various schools really expose me to a whole new environment...new friendships built and stronger ties established...going through this initial stage of army life tog as a whole platoon or even coy do help to make this experience more bearable...sad to say, this bmt was too packed with schedules...there wasn't really time for true friendship to be built which can last but nevertheless, its possible to find pple whom you really can getter along with...even outside of camp

If I'm going to recap everything abt bmt, it's going to take forever...that's why I've only mentioned abt my feelings on certain issues...overall, this bmt experience is something which I wld really treasure and is something which my gal friends wld nv be able to understand...

jel; 1:03 pm

Friday, March 18

these few days, i've been wishing i can be someone else....someone who may not be perfect but has everything i yield for...character, personalities, wisdom and charisma...but i guess its juz something to admire from afar...distance getting further with each moment....but i'm contented with the little moments that i had and i'll treasure them....

jel; 10:59 am

Thursday, March 17

mel finally woke up at 11 plus...we went to my home as i needed to change my clothes before we needed down to heeren to meet up with yi en...went shopping-window on the higher range products cause her mum is a manager in the distribution company...abt to get 40% discount on all products from mambo, armani exchange, black jack, ck, diesel and many more...me and mel got a pair of boardshorts from mambo which happened to be of the same design but diff colour...very cheap after discount...felt lk a vip there..i was quite impressed back there....

went to listen to some multi-level marketing talk at clarke quay....i wld say the speakers are rather persuasive and convincing...the thought of the prospects really attracts me but i dun have the time to do all these stuff at these moment...my sis gave me some advice as she did these before and she told me you need to work long term in order to reap the benefits...so i guess i just have to depend on my parent for financial support at this moment...sigh

i've made an important decision today...some very personal decision...i guess it'll clear a lot of doubts and confusions....i'm not sure whether it'll be the best decision but it sure puts me at ease after i've decided on it...now i'm going to put all my attention and focus into it and work hard towards it....if anyone dun know what i'm tokking abt, dun bother asking me, you'll know sooner or later....

jel; 9:52 pm

just woke up...still at mel's hs...he's still sleeping...yest was considered a cheap and fun day...at least i didn't spend that much money....han sheng and i came over to mel's hs...we ended up cooking and watching vcd...i decided to stay over cause i was too lazy to go back home....

sometimes i juz wish i can't be another person...someone who is not who i am now...someone completely different...doing things that i didn't be doing now....it wld feel great to breakaway but i have to stay to my faith...life on earth is not the end of everything........

jel; 9:57 am

Sunday, March 13

went out with yee shen and melvin to the IT show on fri tog with their friend livia...nothing of interest to me since i wasn't planning to get anything...just there to accompany livia who wanted to get a laptop...later ys, mel and i went far east plaza to shop...was at this shop selling bags and both mel and i were trying to convince ys to get the bag which we thought looked the nicest since he wanted to get a sling bag...spent a whole lot of time there but at least he was convinced in the end and i managed to get a side pouch for myself too...met up with mel's friend for dinner...he's a year older..got to know lotsa stuff from him...

sat was boring....morning went to nus open hs...just looked at the exhibitions and left soon after for the ne walk which was extremely a waste of our time...most of us couldn't really be bothered at all, but no choice, we had to go through it all...went to church straight after...was supposed to go clubbing at night with mel&pals at rouge but i wasn't really interested yest....

this morning, received mel's sms, asking whether i wanted to go IT show cause he wanted to get the creative muvo but when we reached there, the queue was so long that he gave up....wanted to watch movie at marina but the timings were not right, so in the end we watched lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events at yishun with qianli and anthony...it was a pretty entertaining movie...great cinematography but i didn't understand why ant and ql didn't lk it..at least mel appreciate it as much as i do...

the past few days had spent with many of my army buddies...really quite diff from the friends i usu go out with...they're a diff grp of pple..lk when i was talking to mel today, i realise it's really stuff which i wld nv experience or heard before....

jel; 9:20 pm

Friday, March 11

didn't have programmes planned out for yest...went j8 to meet sl to get my stuff back from him...was on my own later when he left and so happens that melvin called and asked me whether i was free...was prefect timing..at least i can keep the rest of my afternoon occupied...we went to watch hitch...months since i last watched a movie....i wld say i enjoyed the movie...makes one want to fall in love again...a great movie for couple..but too bad i dun have anyone special to watch this movie with...only my buddy and me...at least yest i found out mel is another guy whom i can go out shopping with....we seem to have similar taste and thoughts...thats gd...

going out with him and yee shen today...now still waiting for his confirmation...

jel; 10:49 am

Thursday, March 10

Second day after POP

Didn't have time to update on pop earlier...just before the parade started, the feeling was just lk the time I took part in the ndp mass display although this parade is a much smaller scale than that...actually the entire parade was quite short and boring...the only thing I enjoyed was probably the photo-taking sessions...really glad py and Candice can make it there and the fact that the 5 of us managed to gather to take photos...we have taken many photos tog before but this is one occasion that we must not miss having one taken...seriously, nothing could have brighten up my day than seeing the 5 of us tog on that day...of course, I took a lot of other photos with others...now I must start requesting the photos from a lot of them...

Met a few buddies at 11 at orchard and had supper at swensons...started discussing abt army stuff...it was a great chat esp when we were quite frank abt our views and happen to share similar views...I think this is one of only times I managed to have a long conversation with my army friends...nv had time to do that back in camp...went to kbox later...it was a great time there...nv had so much fun singing karaoke...got to sing a lot of songs which I wld not usu sing and singing with Melvin was great too...his key and pitch was just right and I could sing easily along with him...we really went crazy there...jumping on the sofas and hitting all the high notes...the feeling was great...and by the time we finished singing, our voices really went coarse...roaming abt orchard road later while waiting for the first train back...first time seeing orchard so damn quiet...very rare view...anw, it was a great and memorable time with them...hope I can meet them soon...

Woke up quite late..almost noon time yest...spent a while uploading songs on my ipod mini and figuring out the new features on my phone...didn't have time to play ard with the gadgets when I bought them last week...really very excited abt getting the ipod cause I have looked forward to getting one for a very long time already...met up with sl and alwyn first in the afternoon...we met a lot of familiar faces...it seems lk a large portion of btmc sch 1 were in town yest....met py and Candice after their work for dinner at sizzler...then it was back at esplanade to rest and relax...that place holds a lot of memories for us...spent lots of occasions there too...went to Indochine later with sl's platoon mates for a drink...that place is quite classy but we didn't spent a long time there too cause alwyn wanted to get home soon too...

jel; 1:02 pm

Friday, March 4

managed to book out yest night cause of the half-day earned..the whole of our section was very excited...it'll be so sian if we had to book out this morning lk the rest of our company mates...at least we got to sleep at home...but we were pretty lucky for the whole of this week..a lot of events went smoothly for us...anw, now we have brought back lotsa stuff back from camp...starting to clear our cupboards already and preparing for POP...the past eight weeks had been pretty fast and we were having some recollections last night abt our first 2 weeks....its unbelievable but bmt really passes by so fast...time is really very short...

today is results day...can't wait to go back sch, see my classmates and teachers although i can't say that for the results...hope my results will be within my expectations....

jel; 9:11 am