June is ending, and for once, i'm happy about that. normally, the end of june would signify that it was time to go back to school for another 3 months. but since i'm no longer in school, the end of june now just means that i'm closer to finishing my 2-year liability.

i think i'm lagging on updates, because i haven't even blogged about last week's class chalet. there's not much to say actually...it was about the same thing we do at all chalets. mahjong (in which i lost quite badly), PS2, drinking, catch up with each other etc. etc. it was nice seeing (almost) everyone again, as some people couldn't make it. oh well. there'll always be more gatherings, right?

seems like i can never win at mahjong. i don't know why, but people seem to be able to draw better tiles and build better hands faster than i can. well, maybe it's not fair to say that i'm horrible, seeing as someone else played for me for most of the time. guess i need more practice, or better substitutes. heh. i'll treat these losses as "tuition fees", and aim to win them back some day.

new trainees come in tomorrow morning, which means i'll be booking in later tonight, at around 11:30. i still have close to an hour before i have to leave for camp, or half an hour to 45 minutes before i shut the computer down. i really pity the guys coming in...they're in for quite a hard time, especially under my CSM. but i'm happy too, for a completely different reason. from tomorrow onwards, there will be people in the company (excluding regulars) who ORD later than me. cheap thrills, i know, but it's somewhat comforting nonetheless.

well, i should probably end this post soon. it's almost time to surrender my freedom book in again.

-random thought of the day: I wish it was December.-

Thursday marked my first month in sungei gedong, while friday was my 6th month in the SAF. seems like it was only yesterday when i enlisted...no, wait. that's a big lie. truth be told, it feels like it's been way longer than a day. i must admit though, that it feels very much shorter than 6 months when looking back and reminiscing. now, only about 18 more months to go.

while i didn't enlist yesterday, i did go back for judo training for the first time in...11 to 13 months? coincidentally, i caught them at the end of training camp, which meant that they were nice and tired (i.e. easy pickings). yet, i found that playing with them was still a challenge. either shows how good they've become, or how old and rusty i am. probably both. well, thanks to the training session, my muscles are aching, and my fingers feel abused. i must really start to work on gripping again.

you know, a few things really made my day during (or rather before) the training session. the first was catching up with some old schoolmates, and the next was the juniors' reaction when they saw me. it's nice to get such a warm (and loud) reception despite being absent for so long.

i thought i earned a little treat for hitting the 6-month mark, and so i went to watch pirates today. for the first time in a long while, i felt that my movie money was extremely well-spent. i'd have gladly paid $5 more to watch it. no spoilers from me, so all i'll say is this: i like the way they resolved the plots, though i thought that some scenes were a little too boring/draggy. oh, if you do go and catch it, make sure to stay until after the credits finish rolling.

i'm in a pretty reflective mood today, particularly after watching pirates and taking a slower-than-necessary walk home. as i was about to cross one of the roads, i noticed a sign which said that the area behind macdonalds would be closed from march 2004 to end 2007. two things came to mind: more than 3 years have passed already, and the sign is now inaccurate, because macdonalds has been replaced by a 24-hour hawker centre. so...oh well. if 3 years can go by just like that, i'm sure half that time will pass even more quickly.

one of the more prominent themes in pirates has to do with agreements/promises/obligations. quite fitting, seeing as i'm fulfilling an obligation of my own. only difference is, i didn't willingly submit to it. in fact, you might say i'm still opposed to the idea of compulsory NS. on the bright side, life in the army isn't as bad as life on a pirate ship, so i guess i didn't draw the worst lot in the bunch.

i suddenly have this great reluctance to return to camp. i mean, the feeling's normal, it's just the magnitude which is surprising. maybe it's because there's outfield scheduled next week. well, at least there's stuff to look forward to next week, like the T20 chalet and double XP weekend in CoH.

ok, that's about it for me. i think i should go and enjoy my last few hours of freedom for this book-out.

-random thought of the day: How do pros make things look so easy?-

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.-

You know, there isn't anything really interesting happening now. i'm a week away from the end of my course, and i'll know my next posting soon. hopefully i get something interesting, like armour (or to be a little more ambitious, guards). of course, i wouldn't object to staying in HQ doing slack stuff either. as long as i stay away from infantry, i think i'll be happy.

slightly more than 4 months have passed since i enlisted. that's like 1/6 of my army life gone. it seems really fast when you look back, but from personal experience, i know time literally crawls by when you're in the midst of it. well, at any rate, there's only 20 more months to go. only. depressing, isn't it? still, thousands of people have done it before me, and there will be thousands of people doing it in the future. so, i guess i can stick with it all the way.

actually, life isn't really that bad. there are the bright moments, like meeting up with my JC classmates yesterday. well, about 9 of them anyway. it looks like with the april BMT intake, all the guys in class are now serving the nation. so i expect future gatherings to be full of army stories and whatnot.

well, it's just about time for me to go. i still have to do quite a few things before book-in tonight.

-random thought of the day: I'm falling sick again...-

Remember how i said army was a lot like school? in the past weeks, i realized that the similarity doesn't just stop at results. it extends to rewards and punishments as well. you see, last week, i got one of my guard duties cancelled because i did well in a test, and because someone else got an extra, so he filled my spot. but this week, i got an extra for sleeping in class. karma. oh well. i just hope that my warrant's joking, or that he forgets (if he's serious). highly unlikely on both counts, but i can still hope, right?

oh. there's something i believe i haven't mentioned yet. the reason you're able to see a post on wednesday is because now that i'm based in the mainland, booking in and out has become much easier. that's why they now have a wonderful thing called a night off, which should be a weekly affair unless you screw up really badly.

would you believe that i'm already halfway through the 4th week of my 6-week course? time really flies, no? and to prove that point more convincingly, about 1/6 of my army life's gone by already. only 20 more months to go. seems dreadfully long, but it'll be over before i know it. just have to stop counting the weeks/days/minutes/whatever.

i probably should get going now. book-in's at 10:30pm, and i still have to go get my hair cut.

-random thought of the day: Exercise on Friday...-

I saw this interesting thing on quite a few blogs recently, and decided to give it a go. after all, it's been quite a while since i've done this kind of "about me" thing (except for the 6 weird facts one).

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

booking in again later. this book-in feels more sian because i've been given the honourable responsibility of defending stagmont camp from terrorists, spies, and other improbable threats next friday and sunday, aka. guard duty. it's almost like confinement, except that i have a little time off on saturday.

speaking of confinement, my cousn's entering tekong on tuesday. from first-hand experience, i know how hard it is, so i'm not cracking jokes or anything like that (though the thought did cross my mind...). anyway, i know some of my friends are going in within the next few days as well, so all the best!

there are some things i had wanted to blog about, but for some reason, they elude me at this point of time. oh well. i'll follow up if i ever remember what they are.

-random thought of the day: Must return library book.-

During my week-long stay in stagmont camp, i have found out several things about my course. the bare essentials are that it's going to be 6 weeks long, and we will learn "the basics of radio and line communications". something tells me it's going to be a long 6 weeks.

well, the life at stagmont (i swear, i still have trouble remembering that name) isn't too dissimilar from tekong. we still march from place to place, participate in parades, and have stand-by-beds. nothing really that new, except that we only have physical training 2 days a week, as opposed to the 5 in tekong. need to train more. still, i must admit that it's not all bad. being out of BMT does have its benefits, like getting to book in and out in civilian clothes, keeping longer hair, and having a bit more freedom, amongst other things.

as for the course, i find myself a little stunned. we have to learn physics stuff like kirchhoff's and ohm's laws, and some technical things like modulation and grounding. all that's fine with me, but i simply cannot understand why we have to learn networking. how are signalling and networking linked? the fact that the lectures are extremely conducive for sleeping doesn't really help things either. makes me feel like i'm back in JC again.

i guess i'm pretty much adjusted there already. life's made easier for me since 15 people from my platoon were posted there, and i'm bunking with 3 of them, along with 5 other guys. we get along pretty ok, and i found out that one of them went to the same primary school as i did. how's that for a coincidence?

well, that's about it for me. i still have to go to the hardware store to get 2 spanners and a roll of green tape.

-random thought of the day: Speed through skill?-

Even CoH can't distract me right now. i logged in for about 40 seconds, then quit the whole thing. it's the nervousness acting up. something like pre-enlistment day, but a little better and a little worse at the same time. doesn't really make sense, right? then again, many things in this world don't make sense either. like conscription.

if i were to follow my original plan, i'd be asleep by now. but since i'm still awake, i guess you know that plan's been thrown out of the window. now, my latest plan is to sleep by 12, or 12:30 latest. quite accomplishable, if only i didn't have to pack all my stuff into their bags.

sianness...i'm not really looking forward to tomorrow.

My posting's out, and it looks like i'll be a signaller for the next 21 months or so. they're sending me to the school of signals in stagmont camp to learn how to operate the nice, sophisticated (and probably faulty) equipment which will be my best friend(s) for my NSF life. i'm actually quite nervous about this whole thing. it feels like before you enter BMT, but only worse because you're expected to know certain things by now, the implication of which is that you can't screw up as much as before.

to a certain extent, getting posting results are like getting academic results. in fact, the whole SAF is pretty much like the singaporean education system. BMT is analogous to primary school, where you learn the basics of army life. then, you take your PSLE (sit test, peer appraisal etc.) and move on to secondary school (your new unit). some will make it into the more prestigious schools, like SISPEC and OCS, while others go to more ordinary places. for my secondary school and JC admission, i was fortunate to get into the schools of my choice. ok, maybe it wasn't exactly my first choice, but in the end, i still decided to go there. now, i guess i sort of know how it feels to be one of those people who were forced to be somewhere they didn't want to go to.

honestly, i'm not too excited by my posting. people are telling me that it's going to be nice and slack, but for some strange reason, i've suddenly developed the urge to be more physically active. must be something in the air in tekong. you know, something tells me i'd be happier (or at least better off) in guards. signalling sounds so boring. i think it's because i'm under the impression that anyone can operate a signal set, but it takes a special something in a person to rappel down from a helicopter. i believe the root cause of my slight displeasure towards my posting is because i'm looking for more of a challenge. this leads me to a very important question: what's wrong with me?

another reason i'm not looking forward to the remainder of my NS life is because of my friends' posting results. while i know this shouldn't affect me much (if at all), it still sucks quite badly to hear SISPEC and OCS being thrown around everywhere. i mean, how nice can it be to know that in 6 to 9 months' time, you'll be outranked by most of your buddies? while i admit they worked hard for it, there's this little thing called human ego which makes a person not want to be inferior to his/her equals. so...i guess it would be kind of awkward if my friends were posted to my unit later. but oh well. i'll deal with it when/if it happens.

there's something very romantic about falling raindrops illuminated in a car's headlights. i made that totally random observation earlier on as i was on my way back home. you know what? i don't know why i'm mentioning this. maybe as a reminder to myself in the future, or something along that line. well, at any rate, it'll be good reference material for fanfiction writing.

is it odd to be "just friends" with a girl? on thursday, i met up with one of my 1st intake classmates to catch Mr. Bean's Holiday (which is a great movie, by the way) and to support the cat high bowling team at the nationals. for some reason or another, my juniors don't seem to believe that we are not romantically involved. oh well.

ook...it's getting kind of late, and i don't feel sleepy as of yet. maybe i'll log in to CoH and run a couple of missions. or maybe i'll just stick to healing people in The Hollows. i do feel rather bo liao now.

-random thought of the day: Sian.-

POP LO!!!

about 800+ people were screaming those 2 words on an island north-east of the singaporean mainland today. for those unfamiliar with the concept of national service, the abovementioned "POP" is pronounced as "P-O-P", and it stands for passing out parade. in essence, it's a parade (duh) where close to 1000 recruits are mass-promoted to privates after their BMT. in the process, they stand still for extended periods of time under the sun, silently cursing at the VIP for coming up with such a draggy speech, amongst other things.

so...like it says, i'm a private now. yay? i don't know. while it feels good to no longer be the lowest life-form in the SAF, i'm sure that there are hidden responsibilities and expectations which will make life tougher from now on. so...give and take i guess.

i feel rather annoyed with myself. apparently, in the frenzied state of mind i was in while packing, i put my wallet and phone into my buddy's bag. not the smartest of moves. it creates a lot of inconvenience for quite a few people, especially since i have plans to meet up with many many old friends over the next 2 to 3 days. it's rather difficult to co-ordinate plans with others without your phone. oh well. though i'm not 100% sure that's what happened, at least 90% of my recollections point to that being the case. man, don't i feel dumb now. well, as long as my stuff's in the hands of someone i know, i don't mind being inconvenienced this way. after all, it's better than having absolutely no idea where they might be, right? sadly, this means i may have to make a trip to bedok early in the morning, then to yishun in the afternoon. sian.

shifting the focus to happier stuff, i got myself a new computer chair! it's sort of a congratulatory present for finishing BMT. it looks nice, if i do say so myself. but the real benefit is that it doesn't retain heat at all. i can now stay in it for a much longer time, which is useful since i need to do some serious gaming in my free time. if i give myself a $195 reward for surviving 15 relatively slack weeks, i really wonder how expensive my (self-given) ORD present will be. i'm thinking in the order of thousands and above.

ok...it's getting late, and i should probably be asleep by now. after all, my day starts at 7:30 tomorrow, and standard SAF regulation says at least 7 hours of sleep is needed. and i wouldn't want to disobey the rule, would i?

-random thought of the day: I can't believe i did the infantry roar in front of thousands of people today...-

After 3 days on the mainland, i'm seriously dreading going back to tekong. there's just something about the booking-in process that's a big turn-off. on the other hand, the consolation is that it's a 3-day week, and i'll (hopefully) never have to go back to the island after this.

apparently, i've been tagged. upon going to the blog in question, i realize i have to do this:

Instructions: This is what you are supposed to cut and paste if you decide to participate in the tagging game. Each player of this game starts off by giving 6 weird things about themselves.

People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.

After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog.

weird thing number 1:
i don't understand why clubbing is so popular, or why people would want to do it regularly. as i've said last year, once is enough for me.

weird thing number 2:
to me, chem is easy, and physics isn't too bad. most people tell me i'm crazy, but that's just the way i'm wired. however, i'm terrible at maths and humanities, so i guess it sort of balances out.

weird thing number 3:
i have conversations with myself to sort my thoughts out and/or to provide motivation.

weird thing number 4:
my taste in music is...different. for some reason, i can't stand rap or hip-hop. instead, i prefer slower songs, and if they're by relatively older bands (like MLTR), that's an added bonus.

weird thing number 5:
in my 18+ years of life, i've only found 1 other person who shares my birthday, whereas i know at least 5 or 6 people born on 13 october.

weird thing number 6:
i have an irrational disliking of over-stretched rubber bands. don't ask me why; i don't know either.

ok, i'm done. i'm not going to choose 6 people because i figure they'll only do it if they want to. so, if you chance upon my blog and feel like doing this, go right ahead. if not, i can't force you either way.

you know, i still haven't done my university applications yet. something tells me i won't get them done this year, but since i'm (involuntarily) giving 2 years of my life to the nation, i guess i'm not too late yet.

i probably should end this post here. i'll update again late next week on finishing BMT, my new chair, and some other random stuff.

-random thought of the day: I'm rediscovering some songs buried deep in my playlist.-

Well, here it is...the moment you've been waiting for for the last 10 hours or so. my results are as follows:

Chem - A
Physics - A
Econs - B
Maths - C
GP - A2
Chem S - Merit

while i can't honestly say that i'm shocked, there were a few surprises, both good and bad, such as my econs and chem S. good for econs, bad for chem S. i was really hoping for that S-paper distinction, but it didn't come. and as for maths, i knew it was a lost battle after the paper ended, but seeing the concrete evidence printed out on my results slip still didn't feel too good. i mean, who likes to see a C amidst As and Bs? an AABB would have been (and looked) so much nicer. to make things worse, my maths teacher was the one giving the results out. i really didn't know how to face her at that time, and i probably still have no idea how to do so now.

while i cannot say i am happy with the results, i can say that i have met my barest minimum expectations, and i can find some contentment in that. AABC A2 is something that i can live with, though it is extremely difficullt to get used to right now. nevertheless, as a wise home tutor of mine once said, "life goes on". the world won't stop turning because your expectations weren't met. to borrow an army expression, LL suck thumb and accept it.

it's kind of strange that very few people are online at this time of the night. i guess most are out celebrating/drowning their sorrows, whichever's applicable. i highly suspect it's the latter, as many people i've met and/or called today seem to have performed below their maximum potential, except for a few AAAAs floating around.

oh. i finally met up with the class again after close to 3 months. everyone's looking good, and we appear to be still as bonded as before, and maybe even more so due to the army boys' sharing of experiences in tekong. it was nice to see some people again, and yet, it felt kind of...less special than what i was hoping for. i guess you only remember the good things about people if you don't see them for a while, or so it seems with my class.

well, i'm suffering due to lack of sleep (i've been up since 5:30 am). so, i'm off to take a shower and catch a few z's. see you all again sometime!

Results day. i'm having pretty mixed feelings about it. on one hand, i'm happy and a little excited, because i got to book out early (heh) and i'll be seeing my classmates again later in...4 hours' time or less. and i'll (obviously) be receiving my results, which is also why i'm feeling rather afraid now. i can only guess at how i've performed, and i don't like my predictions.

still, it's been set in stone since last november, and today is merely confirmation. so, i think i'll just go expecting the worst, and maybe i'll be in for a surprise. as i've said during O-levels results day, please forgive me if i appear to be too happy, and please understand if i'm a little moody after getting my result slip. all the best everyone!

-random thought of the day: Lunch appointment at 12:30 later.-