Standard Obstacle Course

SOC sibei jialat~

let me explain the situation.
Yesterday
0600==IPPT 5 station test ___ managed to scrape the qualifications for Gold.
0800== IPPT 2.4 km run. ____ clenched the Gold timing by 5 sec. Shagged like shit
1000-1400== Precision Drill practice (even more shagged)
1500 == SOC Cat test!!!

2100== Officer announces for Pilot interviewees to book out and we did

Today
0800 == Report for interview
0900== realised that a 2nd email was sent out to tell the Admin that 4 interviews are postponed (including mine). Report back to Camp at 1330
(later at 1500) == SOC actual test
1900== book out


Kind of sucks to realise the admin screwed up. what is worst is to know that my 3 postponed khakis are all reporting sick and obtaining MCs. aka. no book in, no SOC. and thus making the loner marching back to company line from the jetty and the loner drawing arms late. shit, this sucks.

Tunkalahkah Masubajalan- Tunkalahkan

That's the word of command for 'Re-step on the forward march' in malay.

Field camp is finally over, marking the crossing of the 50% mark in BMT. In fact, there
s only 25 days left to my Passing Out Parade( POP).
Field camp was... really an eye opener. the 7 days in the pure raw jungle was really no shit. Perhaps the camp's intensity would vary from company to company. But in NINJA coy, I proudly proclaim that I have been through the worst... and survived. We learnt to build bashas in perfectly allignment within 15 minutes. We learnt to put on camoflage within a minute. We slept and performed leopard crawls in mud slush on a daily routine. We were woken up in the middle of the night with blanks and thunderflash before being forced in push-ups for2 hours. It was hell... but it was fun. Its really a bittersweet sensation and perhaps that is one of the solaces I can find here. Look carefully and you'll always find a slight beauty in whatever shit situation you are in.
Our Commando OC is very much notourious. An ex-commander of the Officer Cadet school with a hefty history of dishing out punishments. 600 jumping jacks because someone cracked his pet aloe vera's leaves without confessing. 60 push-ups followed by a 3-k run because someone dragged his boots. But because of this, I wish to share an experience I had.
Other than our OC, our sgts are f***tards too. Seemingly punishing us for the most petty reasons. For example, on the second day of field camp, high noon, blimmering overhead sun, right after Lunch. We were told to keep our food before our next lesson. Suddenly amidst the chaotic scene, we were told to fall in and be done within 30 seconds. (an impossible target) . Within half a minute, we were knocked down and doing push ups waiting for the rest. We cursed and swore for the unreasonable expectations of our sgts.

Later when I was chatting with an externally-attached sgt from Pegasus,
" did you know why you guys were knocked down so shiongly just now?"
'Cause we were ...slow and sloppy? (sarcastically)'
" Actually ah, the OC was hiding behind you guys. Your sgts don't have the heart to see you guys being punished by him. So they gave their own before the OC could come in. Bet you didnt know that right?"
Pain is most unpleasant, but the calmness after everything is over is memorable. Every night before entering my Basha to sleep, I would take a look around, up at the sky. Its beautiful how the unpolluted sky shimmers with the stars and constellations, how the bull frogs sing in the dark. Forget the shit we had and the shit that is about to come. Just take a look around buddies and enjoy. There is bound to be something good lying around. savour it.

Good Bye

You probably don't know this, but
When I said good bye the other day,
I meant it. Good Bye.



Maybe I shouldn't have smiled.

Gone

" I think you were blind... and deaf"
"... I think so too. All the excess hair must have gotten in the way"

I have always enjoyed our sushi outings. Its not the limitless sashimi/ tempura buffet that I enjoy. Its not the temporary sense of freedom knowing that I can eat anything I want. Its not the momentary overwhelming of senses I feel when slurping down hot soft shell crabs and cold fresh squids and Swordfish fillets. Its the company, the talks, the laughs, the banter.
Yesterday was probably the last sushi outing I would have with the 'sushi-gang' as my dearest sushi-buddy debbie leaves. Sadly, I had none of the feelings I craved for. The sashimi just tasted like raw fish while the tempura squirmed in my mouth like oil. No High. The talks, the laughs, the banter were gone. Although I wasnt able to talk ( left my voice in tekong), no one else bothered to talk. It was just silence. I really enjoyed everyone's presence but something's gone.
Gone is our happy past. Past sensations are gone and I am not sure if that is a good thing. Despite knowing this, there is still part of me that wants to cling on the what is gone not because of hope but the fear of change. But the fact remains today will soon be gone, like yesterday is gone, like history is gone.Gone, like Frank Sinatra, like Elvis, like Al Pacino's Cash. Gone, my high school dreams is gone, my childhood sweets are gone. Life is a day that doesn't for long.
All I would give to borrow a moment of today to invest in a piece of the past and at the same time secure a second of tomorrow.