The Chevrons is a club specially for all the Warrant Officers and Specialists (also known as Advanced Saikang Warriors) of SAF (including NSFs). Well, it was nice that they decided to give us a free membership card (which I received by mail today) but I’ll probably never go to the club mostly because the club is so far away.

And gosh, they had to make the card expire on the day I ORD; Singapore at its finest.

Tags: national service

I was targeted by some weird woman.

I boarded Bus 21 at the bus stop opposite Kaki Bukit Prison School and I was minding my own business. The next thing I know, some weird woman in her late twenties looking really cock started talking to me and asking about my age and about NS.

I thought it was just some friendly stranger who saw a rare sight (i.e. someone wearing Smart No. 4 on a bus) and decided to just talk. But no, I realized that something was amiss when she started talking about beer drinking and about what kind of beers I drink.

Come on, everyone knows I am a social drinker and I abhor the taste of alcohol totally. Sometimes, I wonder I put myself to finish that glass of cocktail when I obviously don’t like its taste. I digress. The woman started asking about where I live, whether I have a girlfriend, whether I drink regularly, when I drink, and the last straw came when she asked me for my number. She even had the audacity to asked me if I wanted a second girlfriend! (Of course, I lied about having a girlfriend. I didn’t think so much into this and randomly blurted out an answer. Turns out that I did the right thing. Read on to understand why.)

I gave a fake one and had to resort to calling some of people on my phone to save myself from talking to her. It was that bad. Unfortunately, it turned out she was going to alight at the same stop as me and I had to endure it all the way to the end of my bus ride. And guess what, she even offered to ask me out for a drink and wanted to treat me to a can of beer after the bus ride.

Gosh, I wonder if I were tactical enough in handling the situation. I think I gave more information about myself than I intended to, including my name.

I ranted about this to my mum and she said that woman was probably a prostitute of some kind looking for a new client. Bless me. I am nineteen for crying out loud. Go pick on somebody of your AGE. The weirdest thing she asked me NOT to acknowledge her if I see her on the streets. You bet I’ll do more than that. I’ll just ignore her the next time I see her. I think the bold text more or less supports the hypothesis that she is a prostitute of some sorts.

I hope I don’t see her again.

Tags: weirdos

It seems like I have been rather stressed of driving to the point that I even talk in my sleep about it. Let’s start from the beginning.

For the uninformed, I am now currently on a Military Class 3 License Course conducted at the SAF Driving Circuit at Kaki Bukit. The conducting of the course is handled by ST Kinetics. The driving instructors are well known to be… overly zealous in their work and often shout at the trainees instruct their trainees in a slightly louder than normal voice and the tone is slightly unpleasant.

It seems like I have been tormented to the extent subjected to the above to the extent that it left an impression in me and I would re-enact them in my sleep. Weird. I don’t remember having any dreams about that.

In hindsight, the shouting seems to work sometimes. Though it demoralizes you to the extent of having a phobia of driving as I overheard one of the instructors saying, it helps more than those instructors outside who simply want to earn your money (or so I hear).

At the end of the day, I just want to pass the driving test and get on with life.

Tags: driving, national service

After the famous Mas Selemat escape and a string of other events, Ministry of Home Affairs has done it again.

What annoyed me was not the fact that it has happened again but what the Minister has to say regarding this event. What it means is perfectly summed up here.

With the pay he is drawing (which many people, like myself, can only dream of getting), I am sure he can do a better job than to blame everyone but himself for this kind of screw ups. In another place, we can be assured that he will have either resigned or been sack. It seems like Ministers don’t have the word “resign” in their dictionaries in Singapore.

The Singapore government is rather screwed up. Suffice to say, it is still doing a relatively good job compared to other countries.

Tags: singapore

According to Eric, this is the last year where I’ll be a teenager because this is the last year where my age has the suffix “-teen” in it. And it so happens that my lunar birthday is today as well. What a coincidence which, again, according to Eric occurs once every nineteen years.

Had a drink just now and even though I am far from being drunk, I can feel the drowsiness seeping in. I need to hit the sack soon.

Mr Wong, Miss Lim and gang gave me a wallet for my birthday and the design turned out to be an imitation/parody of the Intel logo. Real nerdy. Thanks a lot guys!

And it just so happens that the soundtrack for a game I ordered arrived today. Another coincidence. I will probably write more about the game next time.

On a totally unrelated note, a good read about National Service of which we are all compelled to serve.

Tags: birthday, national service, the world ends with you

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and it’s time for me to give an update from the last post.

I finished BSLC on the 17th May 2008 and got posted to 1 SIR to be an Infantry Reconnaissance (recce) Specialist. I was torn between feeling excited and apprehensive when I got this posting because it is a very interesting vocation and at the same time, very physically demanding.

I stayed at Mandai Hill Camp (with some tales and misgivings which I will not post online because I am hum ji; please ask me in person for more details) for a month or so and began my military class 3 driving course on the 12th June until now. For the better or worse, the course is stay out and it costs $1.19 per trip to get home. The course ends on 14 July.

Sad to say, my recce course only starts AFTER those from ASLC finish their course. They finish theirs on 16 August and I begin mine on 18 August (most likely). It will last for eight weeks.

I went driving on the public road for the first time today and the experience was really different from driving in the circuit. You really HAVE to check your mirrors when vehicles take advantage of you just because you carry a “L” plate.

Oh, to all those who got posted to SISPEC today, welcome to Suffer In Silence Please Enjoy, Carry on. (New variation)

Tags: driving, national service, recce, sispec

The cost of living in Singapore is rather absurd. Say if I want to go to Orchard Road from my house, which is basically a ten minute drive away, I have to pass through TWO ERP Gantries, which is just absurd. Thankfully, it was Sunday and the gantries were not operating.

I was some sort of “model” for my friend today who was buying clothes for a male friend who is approximately the same size as me. It was kind of interesting to see myself in clothes I don’t think I’ll be buying for a while. I think it’s time to ditch the “T-shirt and Jeans” formula for something else and revamp the wardrobe.

My dad has been very paranoid these days, worrying about me when I am in camp. He worries if I can take the training, whether I can cope with the trainings mentally and physically etc. among a list of worries. I was telling him that I am fine and I can take care of myself and he said “I know you can take care of yourself but when you become a father, you will understand why I worry so much.” Food for thought. I wonder if I will be as worried as my father in the future.

Tags: national service, singapore

I’m back from the first week from BSLC and it was better than expected. The physical trainings were okay - at least I am enjoying them right now. The regimentation is rather relaxed compared to my time in BMT; it could probably just be my infamous BMT company though.

But I have to study! Gosh, I never expected to see textbooks and files of paper that are so thick. On the bright side of things, I probably will save my brain from further brain rot And I failed the first test with a 44/50 when 45/50 is required for a pass. =/

There are a lot of outfields from the fourth week on. Perhaps I might write something of my exploits when I have the time, in a discreet manner. I think I have/will lost/lose some valuable memories during BMT because I didn’t write them down somewhere.

I think I have signed up for too many scholarships. I applied for some of them without thinking twice because they didn’t require an essay and also because of other reasons.

Pasir Laba camp is so far.

Tags: bslc, national service, sispec

I hardly watch TV and I must have missed the “Instant ORD for MAS SELAMAT CAPTURE” report on TV.

It’s really lucky that we are currently still trainees or we stand a chance to be activated to catch this guy who literally threw our face away. Hearing tales of people being activated and not being able to book out for one month isn’t exactly pleasant. Let’s hope he is captured or found dead or whatever when we graduate.

Resumption of being a trainee tomorrow. I’m somewhat worried because, frankly, many considered BMT to be a chalet and I wonder how SISPEC will turn out. Let’s hope that being in Ninja had helped a little. :S Maybe I can post a little next saturday. For now I am keeping my fingers crossed on the many applications I’ve made.

Comd SAF BMTC wishes you all the best in your future posting.

Your Posting Order is listed below:

1.	You are posted to	SISPEC.
2.	Your vocation is	INF LDR(TRAINEE).
3. 	Your are to report to:	Pasir Laba Camp
 	 Reporting Date/Time:	24/03/2008 at 0800 - 0830 hrs.
 	 Person to report to: 	Chief Clerk 

Can’t say I didn’t expect this.