Army post part 2..

Whew i suppose i can't meet my saturday deadline now...partly because i was stoning about this morning and because i spent my entire afternoon out buying army stuff at beach road and eating sakae sushi and walking around parkway parade with my mum. Evening was spent at my "Ah Kong's House Version 2.0" with my maternal relatives (almost just like old times).

Quite fun...we didn't play much mahjong or cards at all but a whole bunch of us cousins played a game intro-ed to us by bjorn..."Polar Bear". Very fun hahaha. Like 1 of us is the narrator to regulate the game and the other is the polar bear, undercover, and he/she chooses to kill someone "when night falls". When "morning comes", everyone debates who's the polar bear and votes to eliminate someone..a.k.a. "throw" him/her off the cliff or "hang" him/her with a piece of string or "drown" him/her in a bucket of water or whatever not. Then "night falls" and it continues till either the polar bear is eliminated or is the last person standing.

Later on we added a Hunter who knows who's the polar bear but has to convince the rest to vote against the polar bear (failing which he/she would probably be killed by the polar bear the following night for revealing him/herself), as well as an accomplice. The accomplice is to help the polar bear, but the polar bear doesn't know who it is and might just kill him by accident. It all became super confusing from then on. Like the polar bear might, on purpose, not kill the Hunter, and the Hunter or accomplice might point to someone else in order to hide their identity. Did pretty damned well myself, thanks to some super acting skills (heh heh...) but i kinda preferred being the narrator anyways.

So i enjoyed myself in the end, although when i thought of all the work i had to do tomorrow before my book-in i became all depressed again (as usual..). Still, spending the day out was a risk well worth taking. I could've stayed at home and got more things done, but still, if i had spent the time doing my scrapbook page and played another 8games of dota i don't think i would've felt any much better. Family time IS important.

Anyway to continue my Army entry (where was i...oh yes right after field camp a.k.a. 11th Feb)..After field camp my hands and arms were all scarred and bruised from all the leopard crawling, but i still felt like going out during my bookout! So on the 11th i went out with my mum and uncle, aunt and 2 of my cousins (darren and jasmine) to eat at Moonfish - formerly known as Spagheddies - (at Millenia Walk...my family are like regulars there) where we ordered like a heck of stuff.

Then i went over to chinablack where they were having some post-JC party. Saw a few VJ dudes/dudettes and my sergeants and one of the platoon commanders. Felt so weird seeing them in clubbing attire. They looked like...normal people...so unlike back in camp. Some of my NS section-mates were there - Kelvin, Chris, Baorui and Wenhao. The rest of my platoon, except for Wilson and Joash, all said "K man, set!" or "Hmm...maybe i'll go" or "I want to go leh, but i'm not so sure..." or simply "No way Jose, i want to/need to do this/go there/sleep/pack bags/play comp then all pang seh us. Aiyoh. Like kelvin said; bo on then just say "no" lah. Sigh. Next up after POP is Lingerie Party at dunno-what-club. Better have more go sia.

So in the end, i just hung out with my section-mates and Joash. Quite sad. Then didn't dance also...like the dance floor looked so messy and sweaty and the people i went with all didn't want to dance (except baorui lol). Plus there weren't many girls there 'cos there was like a flood of NS dudes..not that i'd go jio the chiobus though..i'm like so super-shy. 0_o To top it all off, the music at one point was pretty..weird. The drinks at chinablack also not very consistent..although i guess it's to be expected at $2 a glass. I ordered a vodka-lime for example, and sometimes i could taste the vodka and sometimes i just tasted iced lime. Bought a whole jug of vodka-cranberry as well and shared a Long Island iced tea with joash. After that i grew really sleepy so i left the club at around 3am. Was drunk enough to fall asleep in the cab on the way back home. But i didn't drink much compared to my friends! I don't think i can really take much alcohol..like not a heavy drinker and personally i prefer light mixes to those strong "men's drinks" that i see people buy. If you take me to a club or bar you won't expect me to drink much. Same goes for functions; a glass of wine can last the whole night for me.

The next day it was non-stop packing and getting ready to book back in. As usual i got like super depressed just before leaving the house and it lasted till afternoon the next day. We then had SIT test, which included 1 day to march 12km to the campsite and set up camp and 2 days for the actual test. The test involved a reservist officer following a small group of recruits to different stations where we had "situational tests", basically like "you have to cross an acid river so what the **** do you do". Scouts kinda stuff. There were fast marches in the morning as well..i think it was all of that which ended up killing my knees.

2 days after that was our IPPT (something like NAPFA) and 16km route march after that. And of course i didn't take part in either 'cos i went to the medical officer a.k.a. MO for my knee pains. He kinda swivelled my knee about for a bit and gave me 7 days of "Excused RMJ" - excused running, marching and jumping. SAF just loves using short forms, don't they.

So here i was, expecting to use my new-found free time to do laundry and pack my cupboard, but as i was walking with my section-mates back to the buck, POOF! Out pops a Ninja sergeant. One section-mate is excused from boots and the other had a back injury, so in the end i was the only one chosen to be conscripted into the saigang (err..hokkien for "shit-work") army.

There was a platoon 1 guy who went as well, and 3 platoon 4 dudes who went down thinking they were there to load up jerry cans onto the tonner (a sort of truck) but instead loaded THEMSELVES up onto the tonner. So we went about setting up water points for the marching folks and came back to BMTC school 2 as late as them AND i almost got punished with guard duty WHILE the rest of the injured squad (which numbered almost 20) got to sleep for an extra 4hrs. Damn. Next time if i'm injured i'll try being a little more discrete. Maybe then i'll get the rest time that i..er..deserve.

The next day we had our really-real live grenade throwing event. Nothing much to talk about, to be honest. Just a lot of waiting. The grenade throwing itself wasn't THAT spectacular too. Couldn't see much from the viewing window as a spectator, and as a thrower i had to hide behind some stone structure when i threw the grenade so all i could really register was a really really loud "boom".

Confinement was next; the OC (a.k.a. the guy in charge of our company) had locked us up for a total of about 18 extra hours (including sleep time) to clean up our bunks, toilets, etc. So we had a late bookout...again. After bookout it was yet another big rush; i had to do so many write-ups AND go shopping AND do some chatting AND eat with my parents AND watch my anime AND whoop a few people at DotA AND take a nap all in 12 bloody hours. That really stinks. I was still super exhausted when i booked back in on the same day.

The following week wasn't very memorable...just a lot of setting up of waterpoints and loosening sand for the obstacle course for OTHERS to use. When i had any free time, i'd stay in bunk to re-do my packs (err..how to explain what fieldpack packs are...), come up with cheers for Games Day (I'm in the Cheers Comitee..still dunno why i "volunteered" for it) and write this super-long entry. Was a bit..wiser..after past experiences, so i managed to balance manual labour with a healthy dose of sleep. All in all i spent a lot of my week with Edwin and Guoyin...they were like my saigang/slacking companions lol.

The last day was the one with the most activities...after Battle Assault Course in the morning - where we used our basic close-combat training on some dummies...all those battle-cries were quite embarrassing to be honest - we had our SOC (Standard Obstacle Course). For most it was their actual test; for the injured/sick squad it was only our diagnostic. Still, i wanted to go for a good score, so i aimed for a 9min 30sec timing. Missed it by a total of 1 minute...the obstacles aren't a problem for me; all the climbing and jumping is like playground stuff...but my stamina kinda sucks after such a long period of inactivity; it wasn't that great to begin with anyway. I'll try to get a better timing when i go back during block-leave for my actual test. At least i'm in Category A now.

Right after that we rushed off for dinner and then it was our one and only FRIDAY BOOK-OUT...Woohoo! Well...and i'm done! That's 3weeks of army crap for you! Next week will sorta be my last week in BMT...Passing Out Parade (POP in short) is on 7th March, and after that it's my block leave till the 20th, when i'll have to report at my assigned unit for duty again. I'll know where i'm assigned to on the 17th of March. Hopefully i'll get something easy...like a desk job in particular heheheh...although that kinda needs a PES downgrade. I can still go to Commmand School, but my attendance record kinda sucks, what with lung infection and knee injury and all, and i haven't been very enthusiastic about army stuff at all since Day 1, so i can probably say goodbye to OCS (Officer Cadet School). I smell a SISPEC (School of Infantry Specialists) appointment coming along for some reason though. Whatever it is, i just hope i'll survive.

Anyway, back to the present! It's 2.30am already; long past my sleep time. I've got a lunch appointment with friends at 12pm and i've gotta rush and start AND finish my scrapbook page and packing by 8pm tomorrow! So good day to all you readers...for the VJ people, i hope i can catch up with all of you on wednesday! Good luck for the A level results! :):):)

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Long long army post coming up..

Whew...i'm now going to complete the most arduous task of blogging 3weeks of my life at one go...so sorry to those who've gone online, went to my blog, then went somewhere else cos there weren't any updates; i've wasted ur few precious minutes (awww..) To be honest, i haven't felt in the mood to write lately...like i'd go back home with little time to spare so i'd just pack my bag, play a bit of dota (err yeah so dota can be quite important), watch bleach, then soon it's time to book back in. When there's no mood, writing the blog becomes more of a chore that does not have to be done on time; it gets added onto your workload somehow and gives stress instead of taking it away. This time i was feeling in the writing mood, 'cos i was in camp writing a draft while my fellow platoon-mates were resting/sleeping. Was quited tempted to do the same, actually. 6hrs a day isn't enough.

I'll write about my NS experiences this time, because it seems the length of my civilian life is getting less and less each week...:\ So i kinda need some material to do any writing at all. (although looking back on it, deciding to write about NS life has given me TOO MUCH to write. damndamndamndamndamn)

Well anyway i had field camp from the 4th to 10th of Feb. All i can say is that it was a HORRIBLE experience with all the sergeants out to get us all the time; and they'd console us by saying that their previous batches had it much worse. Errr..right. The weather was also out to get us; it rained almost everyday throughout field camp.

The 2nd night was the worst; went to sleep in my basha (something like low-low-low class tent) at 10.30pm, and at 11om it started to rain. The water was hitting my face and boots which were like sticking out at both ends of the basha. An hour later, i woke up and woah i was like sleeping on a damn waterbed...at no extra cost i must mention. Turns out water had flowed into the drain dug out directly below me by a previous batch of campers..our own drainage (to direct crappy water out of the campsite) was sorely missing due to a lack of time to dig. Then at around 2am i woke up again, and this time my whole uniform and bags were drenched in like watery mud...turns out that the water had seeped through the groundsheet, and it kinda felt like sleeping in a river. Nice. Just couldn't sleep anymore..i was soaked right down to my underwear lah. Spent the rest of the night/morning eating biscuits with section-mates {silas kelvin baorui wenhao} under the pouring rain. Er..i don't have a picture to show you guys though...might've been able to put the scene into a music video or something, come to think of it.

I think it'll be really long (like duh...just describing one scene took so long liao!) and boring if i write down the details of the entire field camp, so if you (yes, you) REALLY, for some weird and perverted reason, want to hear it ALL, you COULD try calling me at 98786035, then MAYBE you can really hear me bitch. =| Er but no stalkers please. (yes i do get worried about them sometimes..) Anyway, a week after field camp, our commanders "asked" us to write our "Reflections on Field Camp" so i'll just put mine here (all done in a 15min rush i might add..so if there're any grammatical errors..)

Reflections on Field Camp 2006
By Ang Wei Ming Gregory, N3404

My first impression of field camp is that it was certainly very tough. Many of my commanders told us repeatedly that what they had gone through was much worse, but to be honest, Field Camp was probably one of the toughest and longest weeks I had ever had. Even tougher than A levels, I'd say. Or the Scout Group Training Camp I had gone through in Pulau Ubin, where we had a 5day 4 night hike. I had imagined it to be more difficult, with pumping and punishments going on all day long and with the campsite filled with mosquitoes. Thankfully, that was not the case, but still, imagining it and experiencing it first-hand turned out to be more different than I had thought.

Field Camp started off with a bang, somewhat; an 8km route march which I had missed as I was down with a flu and infected throat. When I had finally arrived at the campsite, recruits were already being punished for unsatisfactory bashas. Although I didn't do any push-ups for the first 3 days, I still felt the extreme mental stress that Field Camp dealt onto us; there was a constant struggle to accomplish tasks within a set time.

And time was certainly a big factor during Field Camp. 15 minutes to set up the bashas. 3 minutes to grab some stuff, bundle up field packs and fall in. 3 minutes to strip down to underwear. 5 minutes to powder-bath. 1 and a half hours to dig a shell script. Half and hour to prepare for the next day and go to sleep. There was a constant mental stress felt by everyone and many tasks often resulted in us going into push-up positions for failing to meet the timings given. Even with the many time extensions given, there was often an obstacle or 2 that would end up slowing all of us down in the end, like someone forgetting to bring an item or being unable to find it.

Teamwork was also a big factor during Field Camp, and acquiring it as fast as possible was the thing that would ensure our survival at the end of the camp. In order to pitch bashas that were well-aligned within the time given, we had to combine our efforts and do each basha 2 or 3 at a time, instead of people just working on their own. When we had to bundle up our items and fall in, those who were faster had to help the slower ones, instead of simply falling in and waiting for their fellow recruits. No man could be left behind. Slowly, it became more of a habit, instead of simply a method to avoid more punishment. The "tekan-ing" also slowly got less as the days went by.

The most memorable part of the Field Camp, however, would probably have to be the living conditions as a whole. Sleeping in a basha at night and camping outside was something I had experienced before, but had not gotten used to yet. Field Camp was really an eye-opener. At night, we had to maintain sound and light discipline, which resulted in night activities being really long as we had trouble searching for stuff in our field packs. There were no toilets, and we had to dig holes in order to do our "big business". Breakfast, lunch and dinner came in the form of rations, which tasted different from our regular food and was eaten with dirty and muddy hands. There was no bathing; on almost all the days we powder-bathed to wipe off the feeling of mud all over us.

Before the Field Camp, our Company 2 IC told us that our Field Camp could either be memorable or meaningful; to me it was both. All in all, I'd say the feeling of having gone through Field Camp is something like the feeling of having gone to a war-torn country or doing a big project; I am glad I went through it and I feel I've really learnt something new and developed myself, but it is still something I wish I wouldn't have to do again anytime soon. To be a real soldier, however, being outfield is something we really have no choice but to get used to.

Full of shit right?? Haha erps well anyway it's getting really late..i'll try doing the other three quarters (yes there's a lot more to go) by tomorrow. And i've not forgotten the New York Guide yet...i've got like a quarter of it left. Hope to see all u folks soon! :):):)

ps: hey jamie! hey sis! er actuali i've been posting quite a bit on the chatbox but IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE WORKING...dunno why...any experts around here who knows?
(experts meaning more pro at flooble/blogs than me. which in Singapore is pretty common..) if you people have problems posting you could sms me about it. i'll go check my flooble account in any case. hopefully i won't have to write an email to complain..

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I'm one step closer to the edge..How will the fall be like?

Chinese new year has been pretty...ok, i suppose. Not that much $$ collected, but then again i've grown not to care too much about it anymore. It's money within the family anyway, more or less.

After bookout things were kinda rushed 'cos i had to get back, bathe, change, and then go for outing with classmates an hour later. More like lunch, actually...all the shops were closing soon so not much to do. It's nice to see the class again..but not many came lah. Like celine, maryann, diana, angele, ming joo, chinhow, ben, chinleng, ian and kuangting. Spent a bomb there..like FIFTY BUCKS at fish&co :| my my haha really anyhow spend money. Conversation at the table was pretty predictable..guys & angele (she's applying to be female regular i think) talking about NS on one side and the other girls talking about their jobs on the other. Then there was me...trying to be conscientous but in the end just keeping quiet and focusing on the food...

After that celine, maryann, ian, chinhow and i walked around town...ended up at Coffee Bean talking..with me watching them eat ice cream etc...:\ Argh lung infection sucks. Then i left to go dinner with extended family at Tung Lok! Haha my first time having reunion dinner w/o steamboat. But it was ok lah.

Next 2 days was non-stop extended family stuff. Which's pretty fun 'cos i have a total of like, 11 maternal cousins. Played mahjong, Halo, Soul Calibre, Sega, taitee, bluff, bridge...you name it we played it! Even made a bit at poker too...Very fun (Note: Greg does NOT endorse gambling! You should never gamble for money...it's just to play small odds for fun within the family...chances are you won't win when you gamble anyway. So don't go playing poker and say "Greg told me to do it" 'cos i'll find your handphone number and..and...spam you or smthn like tt)

Next time was lunch with classmates & goat & chingtze/jing ze -.- followed by bbq at goat's place! It was a tuesday btw. Said goodbye to School 1 folks like kenneth and chinhow...they were booking in on tuesday evening (aaawwww..poor dudes :D) Goat's got 1 big family too...a lot of er available female cousins as well...not that i'm interested!! Lol but goat's aunt was trying to sell CT off the the family's girls or smthn...either that or i was drunk that day..Haha you know last year i'd be proud to say i went a week or so without thinking about girls and without having a crush...but how long has it been THIS time? 6 weeks? No offence to his cousins and to any girl i've seen over the past few weeks but i really haven't even put them in my mind at all. LOL! Greg is despo no more what a miracle. Tze Yang's got a huge house with lots of fun stuff and a whole floor to himself..sadly couldn't stay there very long..Later on di&celine&jac went home while the rest went to watch midnight movie at Lido...sadly couldn't go myself...Just kenna a cold so deemed myself unfit for the late night journey..sigh.

Damn and i couldn't go watch cross country the next day! Had to go see doctor for x-ray and for my cold (and my mum's one for that matter..so many bugs spreading around this year) Sigh Goat went though. Haha like so enthu right. Apparently he's still v close to his junior class..or at least certain members of it..Why i hardly talk to my juniors anymore sia. I don't mind catching up leh..but like no outings recently (Maryann take note..) Don't have much to talk about compared to last time as well..Yesterday was just cutting hair then just stoning at the comp whole day.

Sigh...4 more hours and i'll have to leave home, eat dinner then it's time to go back to camp. If i'm really honest, i'd say i'm pretty frightened of what's to come. This saturday is field camp. Seven days outfield inclusive of 8km route march. And i'm in Ninja Company..which's pretty famous (or perhaps notorious) for their fieldcamp program. 7 days of hell, our commanders call it. And i'm not at all prepared to go through it all. Other companies complain of the mosquitoes, the dirt, the sweat, the abrasions, the blisters..how much worse would ours be? Our commanders told us to watch our diet during CNY and to exercise regularly, but with my illnesses, i haven't done any physical activity for the past 2 weeks.

Physically and mentally, i'm not prepared.

At one point i was considering whether i had to redo my BMT if i was still sick by field camp, or whether i should just tahan and get it over with. My doctor seemed to favour the latter (she highly approves NS for some reason). I was cleared of lung infection yesterday, but i'm still coughing non-stop and i've now got a cold to contend with. (My cold medication's notably absent..)

I wish i wasn't in such a dilemma now. But i've got no choice it seems. Regardless of my current condition, i probably have to go through it all. People say 7days is a short time...but from experience, 7 days of NS is VERY long. But i want to go through it...i'd prefer becoming an officer or sergeant and completing BMT now then completing BMT next time and only be eligible as a private or corporal. If i was feeling better i know i can handle whatever they throw at me.

Faced with an inevitable trip into the pit of doom, what should you do to make the last few hours of your life as meaningful as you can? Should you do something fun to take your mind of what's ahead? Do you make preparations? Do you spend more time with your family? More time with yourself? Anyhow i've got to lift my spirits up...i feel pretty empty typing all this without my usual jokes and pranks...

Time is running short...i'll have to go soon. See you people in seven days.

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