Eat Out, Kopi

Just came back from Tampines kopi session with Sam, Shawn, Fats, Kok, Firo and Gene. We were at Starbucks, and I finally bought something from there, LOL. I wanted to eat out after hours of washing my clothes full of sand. After Mom helped me put them in the washing machine, we were out for dinner. Initially wanted to go Pizza Hut, but Bro doesn't eat pizza, so we headed to some unknown place in East Coast. Had BBQ sambal singray there, and it wasn't so bad. After the meal, Dad sent me to Tampines. WEnt to PLC to say hi to Mr Lee and family, and Brenda was there, lawl. Cindy was working too. I saw new items on the shelves, and considered which ones to get for Arnold. But no space inside his cage, aww.

After that, I headed out for kopi upstairs. We talked about army mostly, and how fucked up people are, both commanders and recruits, lawl. Nothing much happened, and before I knew it, I was at the bustop with Fats, who waited with me for my bus to arrive. After it did, I was off home. Tomorrow there is a slight chance of meeting Bey. Maybe I'll finally see her after two weeks. Hopefully. Till next time then, goodnight.

Passed BMT

Passed. Not completed. Two criteria for passing BMT are overcome. Shooting and field camp. Wee. Now must complete it, BMT itself. Field camp started on Monday, when we have checked and prepared all our stuff. We marched 8km to the site, and I couldn't take the distance, lolz. Reached there breathless and fellout during the basha-building phase due to high temperature and dizziness. FuWeng was not there due to his retaking of his exams, so I had no one to help me with the building. But thanks to my helpful bunkmates, my basha was up after I joined the group. I dug the drainage system and we were done for the morning. After a day of lectures and demonstrations, we powder bathed after a gay demonstration from 2 guys from PL4. Shiok feeling, but only before we wear back our uniform, bleargh. After that, we slept in our bashas. I was alone. Until Weng arrived at midnight. After he joined me, not long after, a sergeant tried to take my rifle away, but luckily the strap was attached to my elbow, lawl.

Second day, we lay in sharp vegetation and drew our range cards. I didn't know how, so anyhow do. Lucky no one checked. We did some demonstrations that we learnt, and then it started raining. Heavily. Wore our jackets, and ate combat lunch. It was pasta! Better than first day I swear. Pasta owns. Ate in the rain together, like gays. But it was enjoyable. After the good thing, the bad thing came up. Muddy bags. Yeap. Our basha was built on a drainage system left by the camp people before us, and rainwater flowed through it and clogged up on on field packs. After 'trying' to clear the mud of our packs, me and Weng powder bathed, and I had pasta again for dinner, woots.

Third day, there was rain again, but slightly lighter. We were made to stay inside our bashas, and me and Weng had a good long talk. After dinner (spamming pasta whenever I could), we had a trap flare demo, and after that, a nightwalk in the forest. It was quite fun, and I caught up with Lance halfway, lawl. Some sergeants tried to block me, one even hit my head, lolz. That was basically it for the third day.

Fourth day, and we got a bombardment early in the morning, like around 0430. Made to walk around 2km before we returned back to the same place, and started on our shellscrapes. Kept digging until lunch, which was cooked food, lawl. As in, not combat rations, but packet lunch. After lunch, OC had a talk with us about family and stuff, touching speech that made some, including me, cry. After that, it was the distribution of letters from one's family. I didn't receive any though, except one from 2LT Joel. which I could barely read the content. Jem saved me after that, by lending me his umbrella pins, or else I could be confined for not bringing extra. We had packet dinner too, and then it was time for night snack while we dug. It was curry bun, and it was delicious. I was powder bathing that night, when they launched a sudden attack. I was naked except for my underwear, and got scolded for neglecting my helmet, lawl.

I shitted on the morning of the fifth day. It wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought. In fact, water bottle saved all the trouble of wiping, LOL. After shitting, we had our final event of the camp, which was the Group Battle Course (GBC) where we ran 2km worth of whatever we've learnt over the past few days. Weng saved the day being the leader, and he did overwhelmingly well. Lance on the other hand, was being funny, even got lost once, lawl. Oh, and he 'killed' Weng during one of the drills, ouch. I ate dinner late thanks to sentry duty in the grave. 2LT Joel dropped over to my grave and asked if I got a girlfriend, and thanks to TungKhng, we ended up talking about life for like half an hour before I went to sleep, LOL.

Last day of camp, and it started off badly. It rained after my sentry duty ended, which was around 0300, and I couldn't sleep until my next duty timing, which was at 0500, so I was being moody. Even shouted at HanWen unknowingly, sorry babe. Like every 5 minutes, one monsoon wind brought one gush of rain along the trees. Then once, it rained thoroughly. I had difficulty sleeping thanks to a jacket that prevented me from breathing properly, lolz. We buried our grave at around 0715, and made to collect trash while crawling, and back-crawling, thanks to idiots who threw rubbish anyhow. I helped cleaned the toilet after that, and found out that my field pack was taken by other people. After I finally found it, then we took the tonner back to company line. We were made to rush our bath and clearing timing, because our boat would be leaving at 1230.

After a hasty bookout, while waiting for Dad, I went to Mcd to buy a DBC. Went to Kembangan with Dad to eat nasi ayam, before heading home. That's basically it for field camp week. Full of kneeling that destroyed my knees, and proning which destroyed my elbows. A lot of running which worn me out, and of course sandy uniforms that made me itchy. We ate while having camo on our face, resulting in camo-eating, lawl. Ah well, the most fucked-up thing in BMT is now overcome. Next will be the test next weekend. Now it's time to clean the sand off my uniforms. Till next time then, goodnight.

Civilian Route March

I walked for quite a bit of distance today, in addition to a freaking long bus ride in the noon. Was cleaning Arnold's cage, before eating prata in front of comp in the morning, before bathing and setting off for Jurong at around noon after a fail dota game with Jem and Eric, lolz. Took 66, and passed by Sixth Avenue, so nostalgic. Upon reaching Jurong, I wanted to activate my ezlink card, but can only use cash, and the ATM there like, cannot dispense cash, LOL. Walked all the way to IMM to withdraw from the only place I know since I went there once before with Bey and Char. After that, called YanHao to enquire about the location of the Emart near IMM. He told me Areit. Went there and roamed around the building for like minutes, before accidentally coming out of the back door and actually saw the place where the Emart was located, called The Chevrons.

Had to come out from the front door of Areit and then walk to the front door of Chevrons, which took awhile, and quite a distance. Met TungKhng at the Emart, and we helped each other get things needed for the camp ahead. The queue was bloody long, so I was glad we could help each other. Spent about $10 worth of cash items buying cloth and ropes. After that, we went outside and saw an ATM, LOL. Bloody hell wasted my time going to IMM to withdraw. Then I saw the next best thing. Saw a shuttle bus which travels between the MRT station and Chevrons. Wtf. I totally =.="-ed. Bade farewell to TungKhng before taking the shuttle bus back to Jurong East MRT.

After activating my ezlink, I took the train to Outram, and towards Clarke Quay, to meet the guys for dinner. Reached CQ at like one hour earlier, at 1600, before the meeting time, so I went to eat at BK first. There wasn't any empty space, so I went to eat at the bustop. Not bad leh, apart from the smoke of nearby smokers, I got glances of pretty girls walking past and boarding and alighting, lawl. Some old uncles also doing the same thing as me, LOL. After finishing, I still got half an hour left, so I went to the toilet, to read newspaper, LOL, and of course, heavy business. Peaceful and quiet.

Met Lucas at the MRT escalator, before Wes, Firo, Kok and Gene arrived by taxi. We stayed at the atrium talking about field camp, until Shawn arrived. Went over to Waraku to eat, excluding me of course. I just sat there talk, lawl. Ordered a dessert though. Some ice cream worth $3. Paid for the guys using my card, yay, though I wished we were at a CapitaMall, LOL. After paying, we went to Subway to buy cookies, and I found out I was short of cash returns. After Lucas' help, found out that Wes underpaid, LOL. Wes left after paying me, for his other things. The rest of us walked over to Timbre to drink.

Timbre was full upon arrival, so we walked yet again, this time to Esplanade, for DXO. How lucky can we get, that the place was holding a staff function, so outsiders were not allowed to enter. This time round, we walked to Suntec, and went to a place opposite the Convention Centre, called Paulaner Munchen. After finding a seat, I went off to deposit the cash returns. Saw Fats along the way, and he followed me. I also went to topup Bey's card, since the AXS machine was nearby. At the pub, I did nothing but listen to others talk about field camp, apart from watching soccer from the reflection on the windows.

After drinking, we parted ways. Lucas went home, Shawn and Fats took the MRT, and me, Kok, Firo and Gene took taxi back to Tampines, where we ate at Mcd near Gongz's house. Continued watching soccer there, before rushing off for the last bus home. Talked to Bey on the way home. Will miss her so much for this week thanks to field camp. Kok and Fats survived it. Lucas and Johan survived it. Hopefully I will too. This is it, the time to survive. How lucky my spell as IC ended just in time before this. Now all I must do is tahan. I'll see you next week, Bey. Till next time then, goodnight.

Counting Strength

On the day of my bookin, I did nothing much. Only remembered feeding Arnold before leaving the house for Pasir Ris. My parents sent me there, and I got separated from my section because they took the first boat. I had to be with the majority of the platoon because I was IC. Nothing happened much that night, not even pack checking.

We had our grenade throws today. And yes, we wore SBO, and marched to the site. I got scolded in front of Platoon1 and 2 and confined by CSM for not finding him on Friday of the previous week, putting priority on bookout instead of SBO check. After throwing the grenade, we had packet lunch. Found out that Nigel and JiaHao blew up their targets, while I myself threw like a cockeye, LOL. Went back to camp and got a nice long rest while the other two platoons went to throw grenades. Had AGR after that, and nearly fellout for stitch due to a bloated stomach. I had no mood for noodle party that night, because of the lack of respect I get as an IC. Yes, I know I suck and I don't deserve it.

Saw Shawn from IITSC during breakfast, but I needed some time to recall his name after he spotted me, LOL. Led the 6km RM, and we went to Rocky Hill for the first part, rested on the fields, and then marched back towards our IFC site, where we got hell. We were made to redo our 'tents' over 5 times. and then punished for countless of times, till 3 people were sent to the medic for collapsing. JunRong and HanWen were two of them. That night, we were made to redo the tents again, and we still couldn't get it right. Had difficulty clearing up the bunk that night because we were out the whole day.

Another uniform day. Went to the rifle range for our live shoot. Took the tonner to the site, and had nasi ayam lunch after the daytime shoot, woo. Missed two targets, one was because I aimed at the wrong lane, lolz. The mamashop van arrived after lunch, and we were able to buy snacks and drinks. Bought Snickers and Redbull, lawl. During the break before night shoot, we built the tents again. Did quite well, but it all didn't count really, because we didn't build it after a march, not with our SBO. During night shoot, my glasses fogged up many times, and I think I missed like a ton of targets. After everything was over, and I was pooped from collecting leftovers bullets, I felt a jolt of energy returning to me, because finally, after nearly one week, we had a change of IC. Woo! The feeling shiok sia. We reached back at camp at 2345, that's 16hrs spent at the rifle range, lolz. Had night snacks, and 3SG HanJie told me the food not halal after I swallowed one bite, LOL. Luckily got cheese bun after that. Slept at around 0015.

Enlistment day today, and to show that SAF is caring, 3SG HanJie and DJ gave us apples and pears to eat in front of the civilians, LOL. 3SG DJ wanted to bring us to Emart, but one superior arrived in time to ask what we were about to do, then told us the Emart not open yet, LOL. We had vending machine break, and I used the opportunity to eat noodles, but alone, sadly. We had packet lunch after that break, because of the packed cookhouse. Then we were off to Emart. Bought some camo cream and extra notebook and thermometer, and toilet rolls, LOL. 10 rolls for $1.80, credited. Who don't want sia, LOL. But sadly, the heat powder was out of stock, and the cloth I needed wasn't there either. Went back to bunk and had another vending machine break. We had some PT after that, and got a rare canteen break after packet dinner. The first thing I notice about the canteen, is that it's the mamashop van we saw at the rifle range, only that it got stoves, LOL. The only thing worth eating there is the halal roti john. Nice price for Singapore food, and nice taste for Tekong food. Watched AFV while munching Crunchies and drinking rare Vanilla coke. That night, we found out that our PS got promoted to 2SG. Goodgame, lawl. After that we got nothing to do, so before we sleep, we polished our boots. Had the hunch to call Burn and asked where he was enlisted to. He said Ulysses, and that's like next door, LOL. Waved at him and summoned Jem to do the same, for fun, lawl. Del to enlist the next day.

We did some PT this morning, in front of civilians. We cleaned our weapon too, but not in front of them, lolz. And I got pumped and "Ah lanpa" for not cleaning the rifle properly, lawl. We got our ezlink card, and then it was bookout time for IPPT passers. I'm one of them, but I'm also confined, so I went to ask about it. 3SG DJ said as long as they keep quiet, don't ask, lolz. But that doesn't mean don't have, haiz. Anyway, packed my things and left the bunk with JunRong and JiaHao, the other passers from my bunk. Jem was staying, and he stared at us as we marched off for the ferry. He also told me he saw Del in Whiskey, lolz. In the ferry, I asked JunRong and JiaHao if they wanted to eat, but JiaHao wasn't feeling well, so off home we went. Took bus home today because Dad was working. Now I'm home with nothing to do, and I need to go Jurong tomorrow to buy some camp stuff, haiz. Fucking boring to go alone, but bobian is bobian. Till next time then, goodnight.

Second Movie Outing

Just came back from a whole day of being outside. From 0930 to past midnight. I got to see Bey again today. Set off for her hometown at the said time, and reached there at 1100. Met her at the usual spot again, and erm, tio caught again, I think by the same Indians a few months ago, LOL. Met them again when we were ging down the lift, and I wished them a Happy Deepavali, LOL.

Walked over to Jem's bustop and took bus to Lot1. Saw the pasarmalam first thing we arrived, and we bought tako and bandung to share. Then Bey bought shark fin soup. We sat in front of Mcd to eat. Went up to the cinema level, and bought tickets for the movie Cloudy..Meatballs. While waiting for the movie time, we went down again to the pasarmalam, this time to buy otah for Bey, and then we sat at the Roof Garden to share the otah. We watched the movie after that, and just like our first movie outing, this was fun too. Funny movie, worth the holiday charge, ow. Bey enjoyed it too, thankfully, but she was feeling so cold inside, I had to provide warmth for her *cough*.

Went downstairs after the movie, to eat at Pastamania. Then we were off home, again by bus. Bey was playing with her new 4x4 Rubiks all the way. As I walked her home, she passed to me something, something for me to remember. A letter of memories. It made me cry when I read it, after we parted. I went to the photocopy shop to make a copy of it, for something in two weeks' time. I waited for my parents to fetch me, because we were heading somewhere else after that. Mom had an errand for me, to take something Bro left at my cousin's house. Took the LRT to Segar where they live, and met them there. Followed them to Greenridge where they ate at Banquet, while I had soya bean, cousin's treat.

My parents picked me up there, and we headed straight for Woodlands, for some 'open house' thingy. Had 3 servings of rice there, lawl. And watched Chelsea lost against Villa, LOL. Then saw Man U scored two against Bolton, before leaving the place for Marsiling, where we sent a broken-down laptop to my aunt's place for her husband to try and fix. Goodluck to him. Anyway, just got home, and tomorrow by context, is booking in day. Sian. Being LPS for this week will be hectic. Hope I don't get fucked, too much. Till next time, goodnight.

Pass IPPT!

Oh yeah baby. Anyway, before we get on to the title, let's recall what happened after I bookout-ed on the 10th of October. As usual, I was bored and couldn't sleep after I got home, so I called Mr Lee to ask if I could work for the day. He said he'll call if there was any vacancy. If the end he never called, and I called Kok. He asked me go Suntec accompany him. I found out later that Del, Firo, Wes, and Gene would be going there to find him too, and they were meeting at PLC. Went to Tampines PLC and did some 'work' for Sophia, stepping on a piece of cloth to block some sewage water from flowing out of the floor. After Gene finished work, the 5 of us set off for Suntec.

Met Kok at Epicentre (some Mac shop) where he looked around for some stuff, before we walked to Delphin Lifestyle Mall where Kok and Wes looked around for headsets. Then we ate at Funan KFC, where Jem joined us. The 7 of us then walked all the way back to Suntec to meet dear old Sam and Fats, and we went to have dinner at Tonkichi. Little did I know that 'ton' means pork in Japanese, until I went inside, LOL. The Fuji Apple drink, which could be found in Tekong for 80cents (not purchasable for us Vipers), is worth $3 in Tonkichi, LOL. Didn't purchase anything there, just spamming water, and talking about NS.

Sam sent some of us home after that. But when I reached home and slept, Mom called and informed me of a late night birthday celebration for Gramps and my cousin, who share the same birthday. We went to Swensens at the airport, and had icecream. I was sleeping most of the time, until my Milo Indulgence arrived, lolz. Nothing much happened after that, apart from me topping up for Bey. Then it was home sweet home.

Blogged a month's worth of posts the next day, Sunday the 11th. Did nothing much that day, since I wasn't meeting Bey. Met Jem and Flo at Mcd for a quick bite before booking in. Had IMT (individual markmanship trainer) on Monday, and my hand bled after cocking up the rifle, but I only found out after they turned on the lights, ow. Had parade rehearsal after IMT, for our 'departure' to BMTC School 3. It was tiring having to repeat everything many times, but it wasn't that bad. Had our haircut that night, for those whose hair had grown reasonably alot since the past month. Met the rare spawn Felicia, the barber, the s/he that everyone had been talking about. S/he cut my hair, lolz. But s/he's better than the other two because s/he's careful, unlike the other two anyhow cut, lolz.

Had IST (IPPT skills training) on Tuesday morning, where we spemmed IPPT stations for two hours. Played Chinese chess against Nigel after that, but it took so long that others had to intervene to make it end fast. I won in the end, hoho, thanks to help of course. We had parade rehearsal again, and I wore my new boots. It was also the start of MMSS (mass magazine stealing session) whereby people stole magazines from those unaware, and I hate to admit I'm one of those unaware ones. Even the sergeant of the other company we were 'supposed to be', stole the magazine of the liutenant, and he thought one of us stole it, lawl. At night, we had grenade lecture, because we'd be having the dummy practice soon.

The final practice for the parade was held on Wednesday morning. MMSS again as usual. After that, we headed for the Recruits' Annex where 2LT Joel gave us an in-depth explanation about command school and the different army vocations. Got a short nap after that, before the real parade started at around 1700. Surprisingly, it wasn't so difficult, nor tiring. Maybe because we did it so many times, lolz. I was sleeping while standing, and missed one command, but luckily I wasn't spotted. At night, during gym lesson, I had the 'honour' of leading the warmup. And after that, bloody hell, was forced to change footwear twice for returning rifle sling, and then the tekan session for field pack, though I don't know wtf for. Someone wasn't happy that people were complaining about him. Tch.

We threw dummy grenades today, and I'm proud of myself for hitting the target area on the standing and kneeling positions, though not the proning one, lolz. One dummy grenade thrown by a Platoon2 guy fell into the sea, lawl. Had EI (express interest) talk after that, to gauge how many of us actually loves the army, lawl. Guard duty was on the radar, and there was supposed to be 30:60 in the afternoon, so Lance and Xiang volunteered themselves so they won't have to run, but in the end it was cancelled because of IPPT, so.. lawl, they volunteered for nothing. Anyway the most dreading thing happened after that. I became the platoon IC, or LPS (supposed to be 'learning platoon sergeant', but sergeant MingLiang from Platoon2 termed it as 'lampa sqeeuze', LOL). It wasn't so bad the first day, but it'd be as days go on. That night, people had noodle party, but I had noodle to party with, LOL. So yeah, I slept early.

Friday finally. Bookout day. But it was IPPT in the morning, and I passed! Just like the title says. Got 5 points for 3 stations, and I think 3 for 2.4, and sadly 2 points for pullups, which contitutes a pass. Now I get to bookout on Fridays hopefully, yay. Did GAC (grenade assault course) after that, and omfg it was fucked. Had to leopard-crawl for the first time, and it was like, hell. For specs people especially. And I got sweat in my eye. It was fucking painful. Luckily my turn came when the sun was behind some clouds. Others got it bad, from sunny, to rainy. Had lunch there, and then we were off to company line for rifle cleaning. I had to run one whole round around a lorry to get to the front of my platoon because they left no space for me to walk, LOL. Then it was rush hour, or rather, rush 10mins, because that was the amount of time that we had to pack and change into our BO (bookout) attire. We stood waiting at the TFT for like half an hour before our boat arrived. Others who arrived after us got their boats, like wth. FILO (first in last out) sia, programming language.

Reached White Sands, and had BK with Junrong, Lance and Xiang. Then after settling down at home, went out again to Starbucks for kopi with Wes, Kok, Fats, GinYan, Gene, Yanhao, Firo, Shawn and Jem. Went to buy Milo at Mcd for drink, because going Cheers to buy a sandwich, and heading home for rest. But when I reached my void deck, I was summoned to go eat prata with my family. Treated them to it anyway, for fun. There goes $20, lawl. Till next time then, goodnight.

One Month has Passed

Erm yeah. One whole month has passed since I wore the green SAF no.4 uniform. Just came back from camp via one of the earliest boats, and am now back home settling down. Waiting for my afternoon outing with Gene, Firo, Del and Kok to Suntec for whoknowswhat. Anyway in the meantime, let's recall what happened within the first month of my army life. Thanks to the parting gift that PeiFen gave me (and Kok, Jem and Fats for that matter) it's kinda easy to recall unforgettable events such as my first time getting a rifle, or almost died from a physical training (PT) session, and so on. Let's start of with the morning of Thursday 10th of September.

Thursday 10th September
Woke up for meal before dawn (yeap, it was fasting month if any of you had forgotten), and forgot what I ate, LOL. Anyway, didn't sleep after that, and prepared everything for the departure to Pasir Ris. Before I stepped out of the house, I cut off my tail myself, and placed it neatly next to my laptop. Then I was off with my family heading for Pasir Ris. Took the MRT there, and reached at about the said time on the enlistment letter. Saw Jem and his mom and aunt, I presume. Took the bus to SFT (SAF Ferry Terminal) and then board a ferry to TFT (Tekong Ferry Terminal, not The Frozen Throne, lawl). When there, we were separated from our family, and proceeded to surrender our IC and then get the SAF ID card (they call it the 11B) in return. Then we got our company information. Viper, the V Company. Proceeded to the auditorium for the ceremony, and oath-taking session. After the ceremony, the non-Muslim families went to the cookhouse with their sons to have their final meal before parting ways. For the Muslims, well, we just sat outside the auditorium listening to one guy talk, LOL. After that talk, I bade farewell to my family, and the Muslims guys proceeded to join the non-Muslims. We got our items and whatnot, and I found out that I got into the same platoon with Jem, but not the same bunk, or section, as they call it. A section consists of 10-16 soldiers, 4 sections form a platoon, 4 platoons form a company, 4 companies form a battalion, and so on. So me and Jem are in the same platoon, along with 47 others. After the items check, we carried them to our bunks on the second floor (oh fuck it was so tiring, couldn't imagine how other platoons do it, as they are on upper floors). I got to know my bunkmates. First off is the guy sleeping directly above me. Junrong's his name. Bey's cousin Char. I'd say Junrong is the male version of her. Height ratio, voice, talking style, all similar. It's so similar, it's scary. I didn't know much about the others yet though, only their names. HanWen and JunHao, two quiet people. Lance and TungKhng, comical people. Nigel, a quick-talking Indian. JiaHao, a sarcastic bastard. FuWeng, my bed buddy, a thoughtful and selfless person. YuXiang, or Xiang as I call him, a calm person. And Joseph, an intelligent 'lawyer', lawl. After getting to know my bunkmates, they went for lunch, while the Muslims stayed behind. After lunch, we all did some basic army stuff like setting up our IBA (integrated body armour), something we wear to protect our body. After the basics, we proceeded to dinner, and I finally broke fast after a very tiring day. Had my $2 haircut after that, and finally became botak. Went back to company line to have LP (last parade), where we check strength and perform water parade, which on the first try, was omfg-gay. Drank 500ml of water at one go. And that was after dinner too. I nearly puked. That was when I noticed a sergeant from another platoon. It was Khairi, from Telok Kurau Primary. He was a prefect in 6A, while I was just a normal guy in 6B, lawl. Admin time came after that, and I was able to use the phone finally. Called Mom, and then called Bey. Told them both I was fine and doing great, though it was tiring. After washing up, it was time to sleep.

Friday 11th September
It was raining that morning, and we were introduced to our lockers, or rather, method of managing them. Looks like there is a standardised way of arranging the items in it. After that we attended a talk by our OC (officer commanding), who is like a principal of the company. We also had our first fire drill, where we need to rush to the company line with some important items. Any missing items may result in confinement, ouch. Had our first interview with our PC (platoon commander), 2LT (2nd lieutenant) Joel Quek, and he asked me how interested I am in command school. Gave a 3 because at that time I didn't know wtf was that, LOL. At night after breaking fast, we had an insurance talk at the auditorium, and that was where I saw some familiar people in the company. Me and Jem are in Platoon 1, and in Platoon 3 I saw Eric Ang from GET, and Dinesh from TPAC, and from Platoon 4 I saw Chevalier from Damai Secondary, and WeiEn from SIP. Wow, quite a bunch, lolz. That night during admin time, I poopoo while talking to Bey, lawl, in order not to waste time.

Saturday 12th September
Today we learnt to march, in our no.4 pants, and normal army shirt (no.5 as they call it). We had our first lecture on how to adapt to army life after that. We also had our first PT, though I forgot what it was. It was bloody tiring anyway. Had briyani for dinner, and saw Ahmad from IITSC, Daniaal from TKPS, and Huseini from DMSS, at the cookhouse. Once we got back to our bunks, I showered and washed my smelling clothes. Had our LP, and our PC talked to us informally.

Sunday 13th September
The Muslims waited for half an hour from 0430 to 0500 for one of the sergeants to take us to have our meal before dawn. We had our first cadence run, where we run and sing together as a platoon. We also had some situps and pullups regime, and I found out I couldn't do even one pullup. Funny, I did 5 on my first day in NS, in front of my platoon. Now I can't do nuts. Must be the food. Making me heavy. I felt dizzy awhile afterwards, because we had some marching and drills. Also, I showered twice today, because I was fucking uncomfortable on two occasions.

Monday 14th September
We had our first 3km route march today, with our helmets and IBAs. Needless to say I was overwhelmed by fatigue that I fell out and vomited (nothing to vomit anyway, only saliva came out) at the side, and the sergeant got the heart to tell me that it was not convincing. And naturally, vomiting means I already broke my fast. It was a halfday I guess. At night, when I passed by one of the sections' clothes-hanging area, I saw a name S E Tan, LOL. The word 'setan' means satan in Malay, lawl.

Tuesday 15th September
Today I didn't fast at all, because we had an injection, or two, for immunisation purposes, at the medical centre. Had a talk by the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force), and wanted to express interest, but my eyesight was simply over the moon, LOL. Had our first ST (strength training) after that, where we lifted dumbbells and throw medicine balls. I also witnessed one of our sergeants shouting at new enlistees from another company because they drank from our company's water cooler. It's wrong, I agree, but shouldn't they consider if those enlistees never even knew about it. As leaders, they should really think again before acting. I began to not show my interest of becoming a leader, thanks to him.

Wednesday 16th September
Woke up earlier than usual today, because we needed to march a few km to another island, joined by reclamation, to have our rifle-giving ceremony. The ceremony was from 0430 to 0830, a good 4 hours gone. The non-Muslims had breakfast while we sat around, and we had a bonding session with our commanders. Sergeants Joshua, Gordon, DJ, HanJie and Roderick, are in charge of our platoon. Sergeant Gordon is such a smart person that we nicknamed him WikiGordon, because he gave us a history lesson while we had breakfast, and kept using chim words, LOL. We had live-firing today for 8 lucky people from each platoon, but sadly I wasn't one of them. We came back to company line to have our first 2.4km run, not together as a platoon, but as per normal. CLocked my timing at 11:47, that's 4 minutes better than my NAPTA. Went to the gym at night for a lesson too, and basically that's it for the day. Oh, and I broke fast again today at the live-firing, because of the dehydration. It was a halfday today too.

Thursday 17th September
It was a thunderstorm in the morning, and it was so cold that I woke up twice because I was shivering. Apart from a running lesson called AGR (ability group run, where people of dirrent timings run together for a certain amount of time), we had a swimming test, and I was thankful and relieved that I passed, and I don't need to attend any further swimming lessons. But on a sad note, Jem failed, badly, because I took back my goggles just before I swam. He was struggling in the water, and I only realised it was him when our PC pulled him back to the side. Poor guy. That night, Nigel got a fever of 38.8, even he was surprised about it. He went to report sick. That night in the bunk, I sent Bey a birthday message. It's her birthday the following day.

Friday 18th September
Bey's birthday today, but sadly I couldn't do anything about it. Had IPPT today, and I'm sad to say that I failed, but not because of running, but pullups, for the first time in my life, I failed because of pullups. I did zero. Nil. Zilch. 250cm SBJ, platoon best. 42 situps, joint section best. 9.65s shuttle run, normal timing I guess. 2.4km's timing was 12.12, a passable time. Basically pullups was starting to irritate me. At night, we had a Standby Bed (SBB). In the army, there's a SBB and SBA (Standby Area). In SBA, commanders check our platoon areas, including bunks, corridor and toilet, to see if they are clean or not. If not, well, as Lance calls it, we do our hobby, which is pushups. In SBB, it's all above, plus our lockers, or some call it cupboards. Anyway, the SBB took more than it should've. We were held back for two hours, and it ate into our admin time. We only had 20mins to bathe after that, and if we were to do anything inside our bunks, it'd be in the dark, all thanks to our PS (platoon sergeant) Joshua.

Saturday 19th September - Sunday 20th September
Bookout day! But my happiness was only for the daytime, even though we had an extended 5 basic exercises (5BX) in the morning because we weren't echoing loud enough, and a tiring 3km route march (RM) with rifle, a surprise PT after that, in the freaking heavy rain, and a 3.5hr long SBB. Yes, even with all these, I was happy to finally board the ferry and get my butt off the freaking island. My family fetched me home, and omfg. Well, you can read everything here. I don't like repeating myself, especially on things like these. Oh, and for the record I only broke fast 3 times in the span of 10 days in the army, with 2 of those being halfdays, lawl.

Monday 21st September
After spending time with relatives, my parents sent me back to Pasir Ris for bookin. Met most of my bunkmates at White Sands, most of them with their girlfriends. Saw Lance and Nigel with their girlfriends, and then met Jem, but without Flo, because she was overseas. Was walking with him towards the exit, when I bumped into Xiang. And his girlfriend. Guess who she is. HongYee! Now that I think of it, Xiang does look like the guy Hong Yee kept showing me the picture of. I was fucking surprised. What was more surprising was that Lance was a primary schoolmate of HongYee. Imba connections. Lance seems to know Hilyah and Shane too, lawl. So yeah, bade farewell to HongYee and got back onto the island of Tekong with all the dudes. We had an unpacking session just to make sure nobody brought in illegal stuff. Junrong brought ALOT of instant noodles and pringles, lolz. After the session, we headed off to sleep.

Tuesday 22nd September
We had a marching glitch today. 3SG (3rd sergeant) Joshua was supposed to command our march, but he went straight into the office when we reached the company line, while the rest of us still marching. Not knowing where to go, we headed straight until the parking lots of the tonners. Auto-piloted back to company line via a big round, and finally got back to company line, and stopped by the sergeant, lolz. Today's ST, they forbade 3kg dumbbells, so I suckthumbed must carry 4kg ones. Then it started raining, so we continued training in the training sheds. Did some uber-imba exercises that 2LT Joel came up with, including the Hindi pushups, the Viet crunches, and Buddha claps.

Wednesday 23rd September
We had another 3km RM today. Came back from the march, and straightaway got into a 'game' made by CPT (captain) Jeremiah. The money game, where people have to get into groups making up the price stated by him. Those who cannot find groups by the end of the round, will be punished. A good way to interact, I agree. Also because I ever got punished, LOL. Had some rifle practises before our AGR, and at night, we witnessed the first HALAMPA jumping jack. It was so fucking hilarious, that my section kinda did it together in our bunk, and other sections came by panickingly wondering wtf we got punished for, lolz.

Thursday 24th September
We had our first field pack inspection today, because tomorrow we were going to have our first FBO (full battle order) RM, where we'd carry our IBA and firld pack, along with rifle and helmet. Pure hell. Pure 15kg+ on our shoulders. It rained heavily again today, so we had our TH (technical handling) test in the training sheds. TH test tests our capability to handle our rifles, and I nearly got a retest because I was just fucking slow (I think I still am). After the test, we had the soldier-pledge ceremony at the MPH, which was motherfucking hot. Seriously, they need more windows, or sliding doors, rather than bloody normal doors. We felt like being inside an oven.

Friday 25th September - Sunday 27th September
Had our first FBO RM in the morning after FP (first parade). After that, we rushed back to our bunks to prepare for bookout. Didn't even have lunch, just some drinks and icecream. During booking out, TungKhng was caught bringing tent pins back, though he wasn't wary of it. In the end, he suffered one confinement, but that'd be another day. Went to Discovery Centre and learnt about the army history at the Army Museum. After that, took a bus to Jurong Point and ate at LJS with Junrong, Lance, HanWen and TungKhng, before walking around the place with Lance to kill time, and waited for my cousin to fetch me home. Well, actually the whole story is here.

Monday 28th September
Nothing much about today, because I only remembered 2 hours' worth of admin time and we were all knocked out in our bunks.

Tuesday 29th September
Today I found a snack inside the cigarette litter box, and it was fresh! Happily enjoyed it at one corner before suffering our first 4km RM in FBO. Oh by the way, FBO consists of helmet, rifle, IBA and field pack, while SBO (skeletal battle order) consists of everything mentioned minus the field pack. So every RM before FBO was mentioned, was in SBO, except the first one which excluded the rifle. When we came back from the march, one of my platoonmates' rifle part was found by my PC and he was confined, which is a VERY light punishment. He could've gone to DB (detention barracks), which is rumoured to be worse than prison.

Wednesday 30th September
We did BCCT (basic close combat training) today, under the freaking hot sun. I punched and punched till I nearly knocked-out. The sun wasn't being forgiving, yet. AGR was next, and as we made our way to TPS (Tekong Parade Square), suddenly a gigantic cloud covered litrally the whole sky. I was grateful for that. Thanks to it, I was able to complete AGR without much fatigue.

Thursday 1st October
Today we had another 4km RM, but as we were warming up for the march, I hit myself with the scope of the rifle, resulting in a painful sensation above my eye. As I was doing pushups I realised that blood was dripping from my forehead area. I panicked and wiped it away, waiting for the toilet break, then I rushed to my bunk and plastered my head. Throughout the march, I could feel the pressure the helmet was putting onto my forehead area, making me uncomfortable and dizzy. I replaced the plaster later that day and plastered it in a more comfortable manner. My platoon helped with some loading and unloading of files for the enlistees coming in October, and formed a human chain to a storeroom in on the second floor. Had footdrill after that, and we had to 'hentak kaki' so many times, that I felt numbness in my legs.

Friday 2nd October
We had a talk from the RSN (Republic of Singapore Navy) today. Unlike the airforce, the navy offers one position that doesn't require specific diplomas. I expressed my interest, and handed a bond form in. But the criteria is to pass OCS (officer cadet school) and get a place in a recognised university. That'll be difficult. We had AGR today, before the IPPT passers left the island for home. For failures, we had RT (remedial training), and since it was raining, we had it at the training shed, and my platoon gathered, sat on each others' legs and sang a song dedicated to 3SG Joshua. We got a punishment of Buddha claps after that, LOL.

Saturday 3rd October - Sunday 4th October
Nothing much happened in Tekong before we bookout. Just that our 3km run was cancelled, lolz. Which was good of course. Read all about that here.

Monday 5th October
We were supposed to have a talk about signing on, and AGR, but because of the heavy rain and lightning, they turned into admin time and IFC (individual fieldcraft) lesson. Had SBA at night, and Junrong was punished because his helmet was placed sengetly on the IBA, and I was punished for the fans being dirty, simply because I was the stand-in IC, aww. HanWen and Lance went for guard duty so yeah, the 3rd bed became IC, lawl. After that, some of my platoonmates gathered and we headed to the gym. I trained my pullups there, before me, Jem, Junrong and another platoonmate Gerald, went running together around the battalion square for 15mins, and getting some tips on improving stamina by our 3IC (third in-charge).

Tuesday 6th October
We had a SBB by our CSM (company sergeant major) today, and 3SG DJ was looking around, and saw my picture with Bey, and gave me a weird look, LOL. I felt uncomfortable. I developed runny nose that day too. Had briyani for lunch, and saw alot of CV people coming in because of enlistment. Some moms cry, LOL. Saw alot of chiobus too. That night, we had our first instant noodle party, where we drag tables outside our bunks and eat together, lolz. Many people kept telling me to be careful because I have an underaged girlfriend *cough*.

Wednesday 7th October
I didn't sleep well because of the runny nose, kept blocking my nose. Woke up to a great 4km RM, and we played another 'game'. Alright fine, it wasn't a game, just that everybody sat on each others' legs and we learnt some lessons from OC. I was squeezed in between Gerald and Aaron, lawl. My shirt was full of their sweat. Bleh, and I thought an open secondary school classroom after PE was disgusting, imagine this, LOL. CSM talked to us and told us to check out our bunks. When we went up, everything was in chaos. Chairs, tables, blankets, bedsheets, everything was all over the place. Just because our area wasn't in SBA conditions. We had to get everyting together again, and I was very relieved when I realised that my phone wasn't confiscated, because I placed it under my blanket, phew. After the cleanup, I realised that my flu was getting worse, so I packed one toilet roll into my bag, lolz. That night, we had a 3hr admin time before lights out, so we had another noodle party.

Thursday 8th October
Today was enlistment day again, and alot of CV people were seen, and of course, pretty girls. We were standing in front of the company line when the people passed us, but we couldn't turn our heads. One of the sergeants then cheekily told us to 'kekanan lurus' (turn our heads towards the right to check alignment) in order to watch the CV parade, if we dare that is, LOL. In the evening, I was chosen along with 5 of my bunkmates for guard duty, so we had early dinner, and set off for our destination, thus missing out on the night at our company line. We took a tonner to Rocky Hill where we were stationed. Settled down at the rest room, and the sergeants in charge of us, who are two recognisable physical training instructors (PTI), brought snacks. They were quite surprised to know that we don't get fleeflow vending machine at our company, lolz. I was partnered with Joseph for guard duty and omg was he a kan cheong spider, especially during the prowling phase. For sentry phase, we just played the word game for 2 hours straight, but during the prowling, I just wished he was a bit braver, lawl. Had a 4hr sleep in between, but it wasn't enough. Wanted to rest when prowling but Joseph was scared of getting caught, lolz, so bobian must keep walking.

Friday 9th October
We were supposed to have SBB in the afternoon, but it was cancelled, so the sergeants asked who wanted to go for prayers. Omg, haven't been praying for 3 weeks, and finally got a chance. Went to the prayer hall at Gryphon, and saw some people doing IFC in the hot sun omg. Anyway, after prayers (which was led by one of the sergeants, lawl), I wa sback at company line when I saw Zhen Xiang from IITSC, with a chocolate. The one on his chest that is. Saluted him, bowed to him, lawl. Talked abit, before he rushed off for bookout. It's amazing to know an officer, lawl. We did some pullups, and I managed to do 5, woo. Hopefully can pass nexxt IPPT, then can bookout Friday! Oh, we got scolded by Scorpion for singing an explicit version of the army song while passing by their company line, because they have two female recruits, LOL. We did RT again that night, and omfg it was hectic. 4 sets of 3 exercises done twice, all within a time limit. Siao sia, we count every count as 'last' to motivate ourselves, LOL. After RT, I had a solo noodle party after I washed my clothes, lawl. Got a chair outside and sat on the floor, eating and writing down the 'homework' given by OC while I was on guard duty.

Saturday 10th October
One month anniversary, and also bookout day, but for some reason, everybody's morale wasn't high. Maybe because it's the end of PTP (physical training phase) and next ween would be the start of BMT (basic military training) finally, lolz. It'll be difficult. Dad fetched me home by motorbike again like last week, and now I'm home.

That's basically it for my one month in army. It was tough, the first month, but it'll be tougher for the next two months. Hopefully I can survive through it. Till next time, goodnight.