Recent Happenings

There's a lot to talk about since the last time I posted, which was before enlistment. Now, I've got a new occupation, new friends, and of course, a new hairstyle. I'm going to write this entry in parts, with the more recent being on top.

Passage 1
I just came back from worship rehearsal at church. Today, it looked like the sound system did not want to cooperate with me, resulting in almost all the mics not working after being plugged in. -sigh- So, I decided to try relying on cordless mics, but then they run on batteries which drain very fast, so that won't be a permanent solution to the situation. The church computer also had some problems setting up and reading data, so it wasn't really an easy time for me. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe NS caused me to loose touch with ordinary life so much that I forgot. Anyway, it didn't go too badly (by my standards anyway) haha

I'm quite happy with the way that things have turned out. I got posted to MINDEF, where I work in the G2 Army unit, which means that I get to come home everyday. I'm rather enjoying my work, which deals with admin and projects, and of course a fair share of restricted / confidential / secret info. (which we're all under oath not to disclose) There's really so much to learn, and I had a vast information overload on my first two days of work. I got sent for a course on my second day, and I turned out to be the only recruit there, which explains why I was so lost. Never mind, I will take things slowly.

Passage 2
Last monday was my enlistment day, the day which marked the big change from civilian life to military life. The instructions in the enlistment notice told us to go to pasir ris interchange and catch the free bus to the SAF ferry terminal, but I didn't fancy being packed onto public buses with complete strangers, so my parents parked at the beach park instead, and we took a morning walk to the ferry terminal where we had a long wait before we got on the ferry.

Anyway, we got to tekong, and the parents got a tour of the school grounds, while we were all sent to the main auditorium first to be trained to sit properly, and the proper conduct during the oath-taking ceremony. The sergeants used lines like "Eh, you sitting at a coffeeshop, is it?!" when some people were slacking in their posture. Anyway, they taught us to shout the oath out (yes, shout) just before the ceremony itself, and it was quite a miracle that everyone learned so fast. After the rehearsal, the sergeant then asked "Who here is from nanyang poly?", and when a hand was raised, he immediately asked "Eh what's going on at your school ah? Unbecoming!" Anyway, the rest of the first day went like clockwork, and the rest of my time there was quite enjoyable in many ways, especially with all the jokes by the WOs. And at tekong, they really feed us too well. I had trouble finishing almost all of my meals, and that was quite a waste of food. By the way, I'm in Leopard Company, Platoon 2, Section 1.

One evening, when my company was having dinner, they started doing flag lowering, so everyone was suppose to freeze wherever they were, and keep still until the whole thing was over. However, I was at the other side washing my hands, so I didn't know that they were doing flag lowering, until a COS shouted and pointed in my direction. I just started walking back to my seat when he pointed at me and shouted:"Stop! You over there!" Just then, I heard the trumpet playing retreat, then I realised what was happening. Well, you can't blame me, right? It was only my second day there. The irony was that after I complied, the COS started walking around while everyone else was keeping still.

It's late now, and I'm out of things to write, so it's the end.