Figured i'd blog now, since i have some free time on my hands.

it's the end of my third week at sungei gedong (which is a place in mainland singapore, and not an offshore island). that means i have 80 more weeks to go! not that bad actually, considering i started off with 104. life there is still pretty slack, no outfield or anything as of yet. it's pretty monotonous, actually. but that'll change in another 3 weeks or so, when the trainees come in.

there's really not much to say about anything right now. everything's going quite smoothly, and i'm managing pretty well...except for the 6km runs. definitely need to work on that.

-random thought of the day: Bored.-

Unit life is really, really different from life in BMT/while on course.

my first 2 days in sungei gedong were spent doing completely nothing. my daily routine was just go for meals, sit in the company office, and stun. i realize that time passes slowest when you're bored and unoccupied. then again, i can't really blame anyone. all the major figures were away for their live range. luckily, by wednesday, the CSM came back and transferred me to another company (which is in the process of being set up), where i will most likely stay until i ORD.

sometimes, people don't realize how good they've had it until they're forced to make do in worse circumstances. sadly, i'm one of those abovementioned people. to think i used to say that stagmont camp was quite ulu. sungei gedong camp makes stagmont look like downtown singapore at peak hour. i miss the time when my bunk was a 3-minute walk from the main gate. now, the time taken to get to my bunk is about 9 minutes on average. the accommodation facilities are also rather old, and stuffy at night. not to mention the dust from the construction site surrounding the bunk. and don't even get me started on the mosquitoes (my bites are starting to look and feel like the horrible pulau tinggi sandfly bites). i really wish that i was back in stagmont, or at least that sungei gedong had stagmont-standard accommodation and accessibility.

well, so far, the new company consists of a CSM, about 9 sergeants, and me. by right, i'm the company HQ signaller. but by left, i'm the company signaller-cum-clerk-cum-bao-ka-liao man. lots of pressure, no? well, the superiors give the impression of being nice people, so i think things will work out ok between us. after all, i'm not the troublemaking type. not much anyway; i don't go out of my way to screw things up. we've established the basic routine and ground rules, so life will be that much more organized. i know i've said that i don't like regimentation and all that, but i do realize that zero organization doesn't work either.

well, i should think things will get better after the first week. i still have a bit of acclimatization to do, but it should be easier now with some friends (or at least acquaintances) there.

-random thought of the day: Watch this:-

6 weeks have passed since the commencement of my course, and i'm a fully qualified signaller now. in fact, i just passed out from SI today. this means that i (most likely) won't be returning to stagmont camp, unless my unit has business there in the future. in a way, i'm both happy and sad upon reaching this minor milestone. happy is because this means my ORD is 6 weeks closer, i've completed my course with no major mishap, and i've made new friends in this time period. sadly, none of these new friends are going to my next unit with me, so i guess i'm sort of stranded again. well, i'm hoping i meet some old schoolmates there or something. also, i've actually become fond of accustomed to life in stagmont, from the singing to the physical inactivity, so i'm expecting some (more) culture shocks in the future. furthermore, my new camp is located in a rather ulu place, so i don't really foresee that many nights off.

speaking of new unit, i don't think i've mentioned where i'm going, have i? of course i haven't. i've been withholding that on purpose. anyway, it's this thing called the AETC, or armoured engineers' training centre, which is confusing me at this point of time. am i going there to be on course again, or are they sending me there to support the engineers-to-be? well, whatever the case, i'll find out on monday. hopefully i get to wear a black beret. no offense to combat service support, but black looks nicer than blue when matched with smart 4 uniform. and both of them look nicer than green, which is partially why i want to stay away from infantry. i do wish i could wear the brown one though. there's quite a bit of prestiege associated with it. then again, army isn't about fashion, so oh well.

for once, i don't have to go to camp on a sunday. makes my plans that much more flexible. but it's not like i have that many plans these days anyway. i'll probably spend saturday night/sunday morning playing, then sleep really early to wake up on time on monday. after all, first impressions count, and being late on your first day isn't going to help things very much.

after about 2 years of waiting, spider-man 3 was released. i tried to get a ticket on labour day, but i think i crashed the GV booking server with my constant refreshing. well, it's probably because about half of the island's population was doing the same thing at the same time, so i don't feel all that guilty. so, i took the next best alternative, and went to watch it on my extra-long night off this past wednesday. spider-man 2 was a great movie, and i think it took remarkable effort on the director's part to make a sequel that could match its predecessor. i'm pretty contented with the whole experience, watching many conflicts being created and subsequently being resolved in that 140-minute period. the graphics and effects were breathtaking, but i have a little problem with the sound (Venom should not be screeching). storyline-wise, there were some big deviations from the comics, but i guess a little artistic licence can be applied. i guess for someone like me, who knows a bit more about the marvel universe than your average moviegoer, the show was a bit more entertaining, especially with cameos by Stan Lee, Sam Raimi, and other significant figures.

while on the topic of my long night off, i only got it because i went to donate blood. it was the first time in slightly more than 2 years i've done it, and only my second time overall. it was scary at first, but it felt quite satisfying after the whole process. perhaps i should do it more often?

-random thought of the day: Still need to buy shirts and jeans.-