benp
institution of torture: NUS (Undefined Faculty)
years of existence: 23
occupation: part time student and full time stoner
ideal ambition: STILL shepherd's assistant
realistic ambition: mad scientist (who saves the world)
Friday, June 30
Extension
of course, i reacted as most pple wld - "insane!" i yelled. this reaction is a result of BMT. but then i considered.. its not a bad idea. good job, relaxing enough, peaceful on islands, and, well.. decent pay. plus we don't hv to go outside to look for a job to occupy us while we wait for NUS.
Probably that last paragraph - last two, infact - has probably got some of ur jaws to drop. especially if ur a guy. girls jus dont get ns. and fighter jets. and etc. but thats a fact of life. was reading smthg by neil humphreys abt NSmen. smthg so true, abt how i tired my sister and brother and whoever was watching Black Hawk Down with my meagre knowledge of M-16s. (which i'll gladly announce that i hvnt seen in AGES).
Now i hv to do some research abt F-16 fighter jets and F-5 fighter jets. how to differentiate them. and its so troublesome cos i cant bring any "bytes" into the army computer. no idea why. why i can't bring bytes FROM my com, i understand. but INTO the com? viruses? hmmm...
I mistakenly went down to play soccer. attempt to at least. i decided i'm not gg to try out for the FSS team. need to buy boots. geez. unless i bring my first (and only) pair of boots. which are ancient. and by ancient i mean older than me. think how old that is in footballboots-years..
So excited abt tmr. why? i shan't say. not here at least. hurhur. okay i feel dirty. gg to bathe for the next hour or so. exaggeration no doubt. okay. ciao
out.
Tuesday, June 27
Beret
Which brings me to my next point, or rather, probably ur next question - "What the hell am i doing at home?". Its a good question. They give me night's out, and i choose to come all the way back home, foregoing the free dinner laid out so graciously at the cookhouse. crazy? nah.. my mom laid out a wonderful free dinner for me at home too. so voila i'm here visiting my home; and having to start making my way back to TAB at 2145. respectable 3 hrs back at home - computer, guitar, tuition room.. etc..
Anw, i digress. i was on the subject of uniforms, and i'm so glad to say that i've achieved my objective in the army. explanation: in BMT, i decided that my goal in the army would be to...
GET A BERET!!!
Wooo i'm so happy i got a beret! And after struggling to put it on for the rest of the day (after 1500hrs) i finally came to this. (see above picture).
Well, they say the Beret needs seasoning, so well. and the colour.. don't ask me, i also don't know. it says greyish blue, but it looks more like greenish blue-ish grey. either way the colour is cool. goes well with anything. yep. unlike the mismatched red or overmatched green.
Anw, another significant event was that yet again i've evaded IPPT test. make no mistake, IPPT is what i dislike most abt army. cos IPPT is a test where we actually hv to work. grrr... work and stress about passing simultaneously. ohh i so wish i pass it. albeit a month-long hiatus from physical training.. oh well. back to camp now then.. sleepy~
out.
Sunday, June 25
The Sadist
Saturday, June 24
Pawaii Kawaii
anw this dilemma of long entries is a result of the fact that i've been super busy the past few days. plus there was smthg last time that i wanted to say. abt the fox and the sour grapes. which i really believe that pple dont give enough credit to the wise old fox for being able to think rationally to remain happy. i mean, so he can't get the grapes. then he reasons to himself perhaps there's a reason for him not to get the grapes. a bigger reason than himself. so basically why do we say "fox and sour grapes" in such a negative tone? the fox is wise.. wise enough to see the "bigger reason in life" that many of us fail to see..
so don't use the phrase in a negative sense. capisce? haha.. okaaay..
in any case today was the RCC (Regina Coeli Choir) concert. the peeris-influence on the RCC is relatively high - jackie n jon esp.. and it has what every S'goon district choir has to have - a nerva ambassador [my choir has TWO nerva's.. think abt it]. anw RCC has 3 peeris's, even more than any one SFX choir - 7am has 2 (including me); 9am has 2. then again, 9am has gomez's as well.. but well.. bit further in the relations line. anw the concert was great.. and i think that what i saw is the face of catholicism in the future - esp with all the youth groups springing up, even in SFX church - the cell-group phenomenon, aided by a strong music ministry. its quite exciting to live on this verge of smthg so new and exciting; we seem to be following the footsteps of our Christian brethren, and i believe definitely its a good thing. oh well.
i wonder how gd a peeris-choir wld be. definitely we'll leech on our more accomplished cousins. haha.. i'm glad to be from such a musical family; though sometimes i wish i wasnt because its really hard to be anybody other than a miniscule pawn - i always get the feeling that the age gap of 7 yrs between me and jackie is to blame for the fact that i believe that i'm still quite small (young) there. and it won't change. plus i believe anthony will experience the same thing. oh well..
yesterday was pawai maintenance day - we had to go there to pluck grass from the courts. in case anybody doesnt noe, i'll repeat myself. again. my platoon (flight) is in charge of pulau pawai which is a live firing area for the RSAF. i'll include a picture from google earth; i hope it isn't "wrong" in any way.
Anw, its quite cool, seriously.. i wont give a zoom in picture of my island, but its the middle one. and if u see properly, u can see my little bungalow-resort-chalet on top of a hill with 200+ long steps up. hai.. thats the onli problem with the place, with the exception of the overwhelming population of mozzies.
But seriously i'm so glad of this "vocation". not because its a slack non-physically-challenging vocation, but because there's a certain romance of the sea which captivates me. i always thought it was smthg that everybody shared, but in a short survey (i asked one other person) i realised that isnt true. in any case, its true for me; and the fact that i look around my bungalow-resort-chalet and i can see the sea on all sides; and the fact that i see the sun rise and set over the sea jus adds to that wonderful feelign of anticipation i hv abt gg to the island. that island, i mean..
i suddenly rmbed some show abt "gg to the island". the show is "the island" i beleive. and its so different.
Anw, lets hope the island doesnt let me down.
gtg.. ciao~ out.
Wednesday, June 21
F.S.S. - T.A.B.
Anw, to those who don't already know, i've finally spent a day at tengah air base, which is really in the tengah (middle) of nowhere. So exciting.. seriously. and so officially i'm not in the Army anymore, even though i'm in that no.4 uniform (green sh*t).
To those who want to know my schedule as to know when i'm free or if i hv weekends off etc:
My job in the army is to maintain an offshore island used for (R)SAF training purposes (i'm still not used to putting the 'R' in front of the SAF). ANw, so i'm basically there 4 days at a time, taking either a weekday shift or a weekend shift. weekday shift is mon-thurs; weekend shift is thurs-mon. if i'm not on shift, i'll follow a regular working week. with the exception for the fact that i may hv off days here and there due to the fact that i hv to work on an offshore island. Seriously, the security on Tengah Air Base, henceforth referred to as TAB, is quite scary - they even had a x-ray lehh!!
i very scared sekali i say smthg i not supposed to say.. but i doubt i'd even be told anything of that sort.
Due to time restraints, only what i need to say has been said. actually i wanted to make a heartfelt dedication to my former platoon, but i'll do that next time - they deserve it. As well as a complaint at the overuse and misuse of the phrase "fox and the sour grapes". I really dont understand why pple seem to think that the fox was wrong to do what he did.. anw, more next time. gtg already. must sleep!
G'nite.
Out.
Sunday, June 18
Happy Fathers' Day
I was attempting to stay up late last night. then i changed my mind - i began attempting to stay up. but at 4am this morning i realised the magnitude of the task i set myself, and fell asleep without much trouble. and so naturally i woke up at 1145 and had breakfast at 1200, went to chruch at 1330, had lunch at 1500, watched abit of tv before looking at my watch at 1730. oh well..
i hv to go back to camp tonight, probably my last night there - oso the last night i'd be seeing my platoon; and i believe that they warrant a fine entry here @UVLight.com. some day lah.. haha..
i can feel smthg different abt me this afternoon - church camp mass.. suddenly alot of memories came flooding back to me.. my own church camp, when i found my way back to God and the Church. and i remembered smthg that i told myself ages ago (5 yrs ago).. The reading was about the Transfiguration, about the apostles who saw the Transfiguration (the full revealing of the divinity of Christ) and how those same apostles hid in their upper room for fear of men after the Crucifixion from lack of faith. they saw it with their own eyes, they felt it with their own hearts, yet they didnt believe anw..
i couldnt believe i'd ever doubt the existence and love of God. and here i was five years later, doing just that - not doubting His existence.. but moreso his Love. and i'm very glad that i went for this church camp mass that brought me back in time to my pre-confirmation days. even had this fleeting thought that the pure white cassock looked good on Fr Gerrard. and wondering if i'd ever look as good in it..
then i held myself back and told myself i'm jumping too fast.
Anw the best i can do for now is be a good person and be caring towards everyone. even those i dont like. its hard, but i'd better get to do it.. i guess i'd feel loads better if i do that rather than what my previous entry suggested..
~*~
I would like to wish all fathers out there a happy Fathers' Day, as today is Fathers' Day. I wont dedicate anything on my blog to my Dad, cos i noe that he'll nvr see it anyway; he's not the internet savvy type. anw perhaps in some sorts this blog entry was dedicated to my Heavenly Father. And how appropriate is it that its Fathers' Day.
Saturday, June 17
Utopia
but the good news - its over! no more NDP.
Then i got some horrid (potentially) news.. tengah air base contingent is oso in NDP.. praying hard now..
And one more parade - supposedly a Change-Of-Command parade - but i'm jus going to take it as a thank-you parade to us, 20/05 platoon, who were ironically referred to as permstaff of SI by the emcee of the parade.. ironic considering the fact that immediately after the parade we'll be leaving that god-forsaken place. and all single-fingered salutes will be welcome.
so i came to this conclusion - we're parade veterans. i think the frequency of us (20/05) in parades is really one of the highest of all NSFs..
no, parade specialists. normal specialists hv their rank insignia on their sleeve; but ours is up our sleeves on our sunburnt skin. the national flag of red-and-white imprinted/tatooed on their forearms..
and i've fallen into a saddened state. again; typical of me on saturdays/fridays. for some reason. sundays, after church i'm pretty much rejuvenated and rearing to go, but its these saturdays and fridays. and i believe i talk too much. SAF shld consider reducing my security clearance. its not a matter of trust; its jus diplomacy. its my fundemental flaw, to be diplomatic and promote world peace, at least in the tiny little world around me.
i used to be relatively good at it. u hear what u need to hear. u don't hear what u shldn't hear. if u hear too much of what i hear, and u'll probably wage wars against others.
its this that's wrong in 20/05 even. there's so much bad-mouthing and talking-behind-backs that i can't stand it. maybe its the influence of fana and khairul against this; perhaps their fervour in putting it down, that i can't stand it. i'd jus be frank. frankness won't win u friends. maybe tactful frankness wld, but i'm still learning.
yes, i've changed. do i like it? not really, but i could learn to. quite fed up of this good-boy-nice-to-everyone image. only problem is whether i'll overcook it and become this evil-boy-nice-to-nobody. doubt so, but its a possibility.
but really, i wonder if there is such a world where everybody can live together without squabbling over differences. and then i answer myself - its so freaking impossible unless everybody has been zerorized (in signal terms, this refers to being reset to a blank slate). so theologically if heaven was this utopia of peace, we'd all have to be zerorized?
and yes i've had these images of the perfect world. and i'm not lying, or exaggerating when i say i saw no human beings, with their materialism and greed and suffering. again, i think i'm really beginning to sound like ms trunchbull and her "perfect school is one where there is no children", from matilda by roald dahl... oh well.. can't wait for church tmr.
out.
Tuesday, June 13
CzechMate
Anw, i'm still thrilled with the fact that the past few mornings i've been sleeping arnd 1-2 and waking up arnd 10-11. obviously watching the world cup. and i realised that while i've usually been an england supporter due to liverpool influence, my other team that i always tend to support is still arnd. and even better, i believe. as far as i'm concerned, the best team of euro 2004- the czech republic. and i hv adopted a new and atypical (among singaporeans) favourite.
All around pple support england. even those who can't stand conforming to the crowd tend to support holland. i guess to be a true non-conformist one must support a certain Togo or something.
But still, Czech Republic. nvm i think u can jus go read up on a world cup update on any of the thousands of blogs/websites all around bearing the same news, and often the same perspectives too. i shan't be the conformist that i tend to be and turn my blog into a hapless worldcup blog. tut tut tut..
Anw czech republic ground out the biggest win of this tournament, 3-0. definitely flowing football in all respects. beautiful, but too bad i didnt hv anybody awake to share my awe with. (it was the midnight game).
though again one can argue abt conformism being a paradox of itself.
Watched cars yesterday, and, unlike in x-men, i wasn't fool again to leave the cinema before the credits were over. and i was laughing n laughing during the credits and wondering why they hv to do this.. and then, of course.. they want to make pple watch the credits so pple wld see their names! but then, i think i'm wrong in that respect. surely it wldnt matter whether or not we see names or not - a name is just a name if we don't know the person. eg. we might hv heard of arthur ashe (a tennis arena is named after him) but i doubt many wld hv ever seen him play. i mean many of my generation (the BLOGeneration).
ah heck i'm gg to play my computer game again. and i missed breakfast today. so hungry.. grrr... oh well.. ta..
and i won't play minesweeper today.. because..
yes, i won.
out.
Sunday, June 11
Premature Fare Well
But its far cry from what its been made out to be. of the matches i watched, first match was a show of defensive haplessness (no exaggeration) and the second, a show of offensive haplessness.
But well.. its still the preliminary rounds and i can't care too much.
still all the world cup action can't take the attention away from NDP rehearsal. the penultimate one. (and i pray very hard that is true). there was perfect weather for parades - the Cat 1 thunderstorm arrived soon after us. and the sun indulged the clouds with all its extravagant glory, leaving us mere light. but alas, as a little one (ZhangQY) once said, perfection is imperfect so we can't hope for perfection. As perfect as the sky was for parade was as imperfect the ground was - soaked, and i wonder if highbury (the home of the gunners, where we had our previous parade rehearsals) or anfield would ever enjoy such pitch condition.
so everytime we go pom-pom; pom-pom; POM-POM-POM! and stamp(squish) our feets an inch into the sludge that we're marching in, the mud and water tends to splash up; sometimes up to 3 feet into the air. we might even expect parabola of mud-travel to pass over the head of a platoon mate (ZhangQY).
and if ur still scratching ur head over his logic of "perfection is imperfect", stop. u might eventually bleed to death.
Yes, if u've noticed, this is already like the second last week at stagmont camp (and in the army). soon i'll be off 7 bus stops further from home, in the abyss of singapore that is the west. and so i realise that while i tend to call everyplace i "stay" at, be it Marine Parade (VJC), Ang Mo Kio (AndSS), or plainly S'goon (HoMe), i've nvr even bothered to wonder if The West would ever reach that intimate relationship in my heart - it'll nvr be "home". It must be the homeliness of the army. and yes, that was sarcasm.
i've already been picturing an emotional farewell to stagmont camp with a single-fingered salute pointed straight at the heart of the place.
to no individual in particular, no worries; its to the general concept of the army. seeing how much time i waste in army i keep thinking if perhap it would be better if they work us a tad harder and release us a lot earlier. that way we do the same amt of work in total; but we're released to serve our country academically and financially earlier. see my logic?
But since they don't want to let us serve our country in more productive ways, i'll just enjoy my stay - i've already diminished the army's fabled lack of privacy; bunk 1.4 stands proudly in the corner of bunk 1; away from the chinese serials and meaningless (foreign to me) banter. Its my less sociable self in that bunk 1.4, quietly reading my book [by the way, i finished frederick forsyth's ICON - super cool] or attempting to learn malayalam.
Today's been more uneventful. Spent a good deal of today playing computer. till its scary.. but my brother's not at home, and its so quiet without him. even though with him its relatively quiet these days with him burying his head in his relentless mugging.
Okay i think its enough. let me just go and enjoy today - statistics hv shown that i've been a lot more happy than average over the past 10 months; smthg i do wish to continue. duh, everybody longs to be happy. except those self-sadistic pple out there who jus find that being miserable is fun. yes, i'm quite sure they exist; perhaps i was once like that. hahaha..
And also, as of 7jun, i'm abt a quarter way thru NS. more than a quarter in fact. soon. 513 to go...
Out.
Sunday, June 4
Kallang Whimper
Even the whiff i experience is enough to let me forget the blazing sun overhead, the barking parade RSM, the in-an-extremely-vulgar-mood ISM (institute sergeant major), and the general feeling of dissent throughout the SI students.
But i'm glad i am able to stand in the middle of the Kallang Stadium in all its (local) grandeur before it is torn down.
I think they're taking their own sweet time dismissing us. They are leading us around the Nat'l Stadium like they're wondering how to keep us occupied. All the aura of first being in the middle of the Nat'l Stadium has worn off, and now i'm just dying to get on the bus and get back home. Where's the Bus??
Ahh.. finally.. AirCon!!! and the blazing heat has had its negative effect on us. i think all the chinese are sunburnt. i'm just burnt. no, charred. but at least i'm not made into sum of my friends - there shoulders are white, their forearms, red. White and Red. The contrast is REALLY evident.. me, on the other hand, light brown and dark brown; not so evident..
Need to get sunblock. We had earlier told the bus driver on the journey to the stadium that he's allowed to go slowly on the trip TO the stadium, but on the return trip there'll be no allowance for that. And he's complying..
And its a great time to sleep; and dream of karaoke later in the day, and probably missing my 7am mass the next day. Where i will sing n sing n sing n yay.. maybe i'll sing josh groban and try to do the best i can. maybe i'll sing to make sum1 cry too.. but i think for reasons different from if they cry to josh groban's rendition of "you raise me up".
maybe i'll miss england's 6-0 demolition of jamaica.. (in a mystical voice) yes, i see the future.. muahahaah.. riiightt.
ok out.
Friday, June 2
AirForce - Above All
so the drivers hv to go to work early, and thus they leave their spouses earlier, so we hv less kids, and so we'll hv the case of an ageing population which means that there will be less productivity and hence there will be economic slowdown, and eventually our neighbouring countries wld become economically stronger than us and hence the SAF will begin to get worried and hence further economic failings and then we'll all DIE!!! (takes a deep breath...)
Ok.
i think i'l book in tonight. which would mean very very soon. grrr... at least a little while at home la. i think keira is coming home soon, but i'm not sure when.. and that 10-sec phone call didnt help.. which is really why an indian can nvr survive in japan. its a culture shock.
i've realised that i'm not so bored this week - there's always smthg to do.. watching chinese ch8 serials etc. i think it slightly beats ultimate boredom. thank God for subtitles.. but still i think eventually it gets lame and boring - if u watch enough of it. then there's chess, chinese chess, etc.. and of course an attempt to learn a new language. and its fearsome how bunkbest can learn languages (i.e. malay language) at the speed he jus picked it up.
Nvm. i hv 30days.
and i'm getting quite fed up of telling pple that Malayalam is a language. cos it is.
and singapore idol fever is trying to hit the pple.. i think abt 37.2 degrees of fever.. but still i can say that already we hv more talent being showcased in this initial 7 pple than the whole lot last season. i think lah.. i think the mop-head rocks..
in the words of my sister, "twohill for president".
Anw i think my Singapore Idle platoon had to put up a wayang today as we were checked by higher authorities.. hai.. so we had to wake up and even switch of the TV!! argh.. but anw i can't wait to get out of this platoon and into tengah air base.. (if that's where i'm going..) at least then i can hv saturdays. and a normal life, at least.. and perhaps pple wld be more disciplined. hm.. i guess its not discipline in question, but self-discipline - discipline without authority. i acknowledge some of army policies are idiotic and jus blody well for show, but at least basic hygienic discipline...
oh well.. waiting for saturday to be over. and waiting for 19 june.
i am so tempted to make another day-counter to the 19th of june. but i think it takes up a fair bit of space. anw i'm so glad i'll be through with the army cum 1906. and yes. i am THROUGH WITH THE ARMY CUM 19 JUN.
gg airforce mah.. =)
out.
(i wonder how commands are given in america.. definitely no ke-belakang pusing's etc..)
[and fredriech forsyth is a damn cool writer.. man...]