Sunday, January 30, 2005

survival is paramount.

hi, as i tap away on my keyboards, enjoying the free civilian life, i am reminded of my comrades who are away in their bunks, preparing for lights out. you wonder, why am i not in camp at this point of time? well, if you really need to know, i AWOLed.
yeah you're stunned.
ok, the truth is because i have a psc psychological interview tomorrow morning and my PC is so nice to grant me leave from today until tomorrow. which is quite a smart move actually, because we wont be doing anything after we book in today anyway, so letting me stay here and saving my time is better.


so how has the past week in the army been? well, the truth is, i have been enjoying the army life tremendously. it really is hard to believe, but i do like it. its a worriless life, and whilst you're physically tied and bonded to the camp, your mind is absolutely free. there's no worries, nothing to think about, no grades to worry about, all you do is just enjoy yourself. well, that is if you really like PT, which i do, so i kinda enjoy myself doing all the runs and stuff like that. the pumpings take a little getting used to, but after that, it becomes great. even BCCT training has turned fun, after we started mocking the instructors by being super enthu and acting as if every BCCT lesson is like going to war. the only thing that i don't like about PT at this point of time is CPT, not because it's tiring, which it isn't, but rather because its such an absolute waste of time. it's supposed to warm you up, but after all that waiting, you're cooled down anyway. and so it's just something like going thru the motions, which really sucks.

the discipline and regimentation of the army lifestyle also take abit of getting used to, but after you've adapted to it, its ok. the instructors are not overtly unreasonable either, so as long as you're on the ball and don't be lazy, life's rather easy. they dont' screw us much anyway. sargeant darryl and benny are also clearing leave and that makes life much easier for us too. sargeant denzil is like forever acting cool, but sargeant goh is damn funny. and we always kid him, and he doesn't mind. maybe cos he's only one yr older than us. but there's always a time to be serious, and we respect that, and that makes life easier for the platoon too.

suddenly, it seems like army life is rather enticing. now, if only i can get that elusive SAFOS, or that not so elusive SMS, then life will be good. very good. firstly, i'll get paid for doing what i like to do. and secondly, i'll be able to live my dream. so the next step is actually to get into OCS, cos i can't really control my grades at this point of time. then that would be great. some days, you just wonder, and you feel lucky to be living the life in army. i mean, its hard to say that hawk coy is just another ordinary company, for the very simple fact that THE WHOLE COMPANY and i mean each and every single person in the whole company, which is 200 ppl, takes S PAPERS. that's bloody balls impressive, and hawk coy is just special. reveille at 0600. just ask around BMTC, who the hell reveilles at 0600? nobody! but we all go thru the same syllabus as all the rest, just that the method of implementation is different.

on another issue altogether, booking out is kinda boring. it seems like there's nothing much for me to do after booking out. and everything costs money. in the army, nothing costs money. all you need is an 11B and you can get anything, anything in the world you want!!! i exchanged my useless pink NRIC that i have never used at all in tghe 2 yrs since i got it for an 11B, the best thing you could ever ask for. your 11B gives you meals, gives you shoes, gives you shirts, shorts, uniform, everything!!! that's how good the 11B is. it rocks! ok , but booking out is boring. as in there's nothing much for me to do in the civilian world either. all the ppl i know are either working or busy or in army, so that's sucks.
sleep is the only comfort. but then again, there's a limit to how much one can sleep.
and going everywhere with a cap on is also a dumb thing to do, and its just stupid.

oh anyway whhatever... imma going off noww maan.. wish me luck for my interview tmr.

this is damn boring. army rocks. civvy sucks.
i am the best soldier in the SAF.
i am the best soldier in the SAF.
i am the best soldier in the SAF.

mervyn at 1/30/2005 01:45:00 PM

Thursday, January 20, 2005

back from the army.

hi, after 14 gruelling (not really) days, i'm finally back from the army. having been in there for 14 days, i realised that i really kinda like army life. it's really fun, with so many friends around to talk cockk with, having to go thru all that training, and the discipline and regimentation inside, its kinda cool actually. like nobody really wants to discipline us but they have to do it simply because its a tradition kinda thing? but sometimes it really does help to get things done.

booking out was kinda boring. didnt really look forward to booking out actually, just that booking out will give me some real relaxed and admin time. which is good for me lah. but in army like everything is taken care of for you, you don't have to worry one bit. i think this is the only time when you can just do anything you want with no worries. after the recruit phase is over, you would be put in leadership roles, and everyone knows with leadership comes responsibility. so it gets kinda stressful after awhile.

army training is kinda slack, in my opinion. its really quite progressive and you could really go in with no fitness and get up to shape with the training they give u. they kinda tailor different programmes to your needs so its really good. and they also teach you to move fast. no more sluggish movement that we all were familiar to as teens. everything has to be done fast fast fast. which is kinda ironic too, cos all army programmes are preceded and interceded with long periods of waiting, which makes you wonder what happened to the punctuality training that the sargeants gotten when they were recruits. and its damn funny, cos after you've warmed up, you gotta wait for the actual programme to start, and by the time the real exercise starts, you're cooled down again.

the food in the army is really good too, though it gets really boring after awhile eating chicken wings all the time. its like the saf has invented some secret manual 1001 ways to cook chicken. all we eat is chicken all the time. there's no meal that passes where there is no chicken on the dish. i'm serious.

having been in the army for fourteen days have really allowed me to have a glimpse into the army life. and i realised that its kinda ggood. and i really take pride in the army uniform cos its really cool and it makes me feel like a real army man! i like it alot man.. hopefully i can get a SAFOS.. then that will be great! then i can be an army officer and make the SAF a better and more effective organisation.

more next time, i got no inspiration to write at this pt of time.
yea! take care

mervyn at 1/20/2005 07:06:00 PM

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

ARMY

yes, im finally going into the army. give up my pink ic, give up my status, give up my fanciful ways. give up my hair. give up my freedom. give up my room. give up my hot water shower. give up my identity.
but what will i get back.
i will get, a bed, a bunk, a platoon, platoon mates, section mates, buddies, lessons on independence, fun, fun and more fun, discipline, waking up early, fitness, lotsa fun, maturity.
hm.
doesnt sound like a bad exchange.
update more in two weeks time.
til the 21st of january.
in the meantime, keep me in your thoughts. and await the good news.
haha.
take care guys!

mervyn at 1/05/2005 05:01:00 PM

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Reflections. (Part 2)

ok, so on day 3, we had this really interesting thing called the navigator course. the main gist of it was that we were given a map, and a silva compass, and told to find our own way. things were starting to get interesting around here. and so, as the name had it, we were supposed to navigate our way and find a few check points. things were getting interesting when we found our first checkpoint. the funny thing about the mountain was that the graves were along the path and oblivious us really didn't know we were walking and resting on graves, cos they looked like little molehills. kinda scary and disrespectful if you think about it, but it's ok lah when we found out in the end. to think i was even poking the grave with a stick. but the scenery was just perfect. but anyway, as we walked and walked, the alarm bells started ringing. why haven't we found our desired path yet? so we thought we might have misssed it or something, and that started our interesting journey to and fro to and fro. the crucial crux of this issue was that the turn we were looking for was actually about 300 metres ahead of where we turned back. and so we went up and down up and down like maybe 4 times, each time being unable to find the turn. which sucks. made the whole group's morale really low and everyone was just tired and demoralised. which sucks. but u know, its like. the numerous lessons which could be gotten from this. its like, we were unsure of where we were going, and so we turned back, cos we were unsure of our route. i mean, like, we panicked cos we were uncertain, and this uncertainty made us panic even more. and the more we walked here and there, the more lost we were. the thing was that we confined ourselves to one route and were absolutely utterly convinced that that was the route, when it might have been too myopic a view. seriously, that happens many a times in real life. and the thing is that, we will never know anything til we try. so we should just try and not really be too afraid of anything. but that don't mean u just heng chong zhi zhuang la, i mean, to take CALCULATED risks.

day 4 was a solo experience in the little diamond valley. i was dropped off quite near to the origin, and that place really was damn good. i went river crossing with leon, and the crystal clear waters were absolutely amazing, they were so damn cold and refreshing and it gave a much needed jolt to my tired system and it woke my entire nervous system up. the rock i lay on was so cooling and it really made one get good vibes from it. the coolness from the rock combined with the natural heat from the sun made for an excellent resting opportunity and the moment was just so perfect man. the place where i was sitting was the part where the calm water turned into a rapid so there were splashes of water and sounds and all that zen zen thing. nice. really nice. the rock formations there were really good too and i did a little rock climbing of my own. which was really fun actually. gets one all heated up on a winter afternoon. i wish i was there now. actually i wouldnt mind doing my NS there. its such a cool idea. i like. anyway, we were supposed to spend a little time reflecting and doing all those kinda zixu type of stuff. and according to sung, the nature would speak to us... haahaahhahaa.. classic line there. anyway it was really fun and all and i really enjoyed just stoning out there and laying there and relaxing.. totally fun.. and dumb leon got his shoes wet on the river crossing back. smart move i must say, and then he had to dry his dumb shoes til nightfall. when it got really cold. dumb leon hahaha.. when we got back. it was the same old thing, only this time we could get to our luggage and we had to prepare for the expedition and all that cos we were going on an expedition the next day so we had to get our food and all that and allocate all the nonsense. quite a tiring task and quite tedious too. i hate logistics work. but somebody's gotta do it. preferably not me though. but anywya, that night we were all super tired and i just went to sleep man. couldnt think much. just sleep. sleep was the usual affair, cold, and lotsa mid-night waking ups. i enjoy my waking ups and asking leon what time it is, which is an hourly affair for me, and leon has to wake up too, which is good, cos at least someone's sleep is disrupted too. but actually i was really afraid cos we had to make breakfast. oh ya but anyway we slept in the main tent the day before and got woken up by sung, so that was probably the main reason why i was so afraid of oversleeping. sleeping in the main tent was just totally shiok actually, lotsa space and all that. really good....



[to be continued]

mervyn at 1/01/2005 05:17:00 PM