Saturday, February 23, 2013

So its my birthday today! 20 years old!
I feel so blessed right now...
(feels a warm fuzzy feeling)

Being 20 is very much different from being the me from a year ago.
My 19 year old self didn't know many wonderful people who has existed or yet to exist in his life. He is also socially awkward and really quiet. In a year, he has learnt to appreciate many things in life, especially loved ones. Army has taught him to play a bigger role in his family, taught him discipline, increased his tenacity, hardened him to make him braver, exposed him to people from diverse backgrounds, attitudes and personalities. Army has hastened his ascend to adulthood.
His family has taught him to be more responsible, to be more mature and taught him to love.
His old friends as well as new ones have given him companionship, with many new experiences and joy everyday to brighten up his life.
His personal laptop, has faithfully served him during weekends, as a source of entertainment, research and communication.
If my body could talk, it would have said that I was doing well, that I was fit but try to cut down on fried foods. This I will consider, because fried foods are my terrible pleasure.
If my wallet could talk, it would have told me to save $20 by cutting down on fried foods. And to stop squishing him into my jeans.
Over this one year's time, I have also lost people who are dear to me. Rest in peace 3rd Uncle. I will miss you but please don't worry about me. You have always called me your little cricket, but I have now grown up. Your little cricket will remember you and love his family.




A BIG THANK YOU to all who wished me a Happy Birthday today! It made my day very much!

Thank you friends, buddies, we haven't met in a long time but you've all contacted me through Facebook to wish me well. I will try to organise something so that we can meet up soon!
Thank you unit peeps, especially those who had ambushed me during midnight, conducted 5 waves of light-stick throwing raids and danced madly like a wild mob as the clock struck 12, before throwing an assortment of light-sticks as well as shampoo bottles, a helmet and a field pack onto my bed!
And those who bought me cake at Fish & Co. as well as made me stand on a chair wearing a ridiculous crab hat while holding a lit sparkler, thank you so much, it really was memorable!
Also, thanks Anthony Bak Kwa, for making me totally drenched with the fire hose when we did area cleaning at ground floor during afternoon.
Thank you Mum and Dad and Sis for buying me delicious cakes and celebrating my birthday when I got home!




20 years have been quite an experience. I have recorded only a tiny bit using this blog!
I wonder what will happen in another 20 years time?
Maybe I'll look back and reminisce.
As I have said, the writer of the exercise book doesn't stop writing. I wonder what surprises I have in store (・。・)...







signing off

Call Of The Wild at 12:36 AM

Sunday, February 17, 2013

CHINESE NEW YEAR visit to Ivan's house:

It was funny to see the little kids   (Ivan's nephew, nieces or cousins) run away from us as we enter his home. They ran away from us while shouting: "HERE THEY COME!" and taking cover in a room.
Here we see Bryan holding the Game Of Thrones book collection we bought for his belated birthday. Incidentally, I'm the print on my shirt looks similar to the book collection :D



Melvin Chew came with us, but he didn't take a pic with us



This is me, basking in lucky glory. AND LOOK! random Hersey Kiss!


The past week has been a mixture of hectic/lazy.
Many a times have been spent in temples, praying for peace, prosperity and success for the family.
As well as entertaining guests who pay home visits, meticulous attention was paid on my 5 year old nephew who has an attention span of 5 minutes.
Well, all I can say was that in 2 hours, he has touched all my childhood toys and played half of the games on my laptop.
He's the tasmanian devil from Looney Tunes!
Ivan's nephews reminded me of him... Laughter*
I expect my work in my camp to be back to normal pace. Especially since its after my only major exercise before my ORD. Maybe I shall start my daily reading once more :) This time on The Arabian Nights!


I've also started to research extensively on South Korean electropop songs. Most are actually quite catchy. I tried listening to them while I walked back home and they made me feel so light-feeted.

XOXO by HUS


enjoy!





signing off.



Call Of The Wild at 6:48 PM

Saturday, February 02, 2013

YAY! Major exercise is over!

I'm back home, after 2 weeks! I really miss home!

2 weeks of doing night shifts have past. It was tiring to say the least, especially in the wee hours of 4am onwards.

I believe that it has built me up to be more responsible, as well as bring out the best and worst in my platoon.
Sleep deprivation truly is scary i tell you, it makes one irritable, crazy, angsty, confused and downright hilarious.

My typical day goes like this:

Light.
There was light, brilliantly flickering, pulsing onto my closed eyelids.
I hadn't worn my spectacles to sleep, everything was a blur.
I woke up as the rays stream through the foliage behind my company line.
As a zephyr tickles the land, the leaves rustled in the warm evening air.
I stare out through the window beside my bed and was mesmerized by the golden shimmering sea of leaves and light, like hundreds of flickering torches.
I then looked away from the window and saw a singular flickering torch, like someone beaming a Morse code to me.
It was a platoon mate trying to wake me up with his flashlight.
Sometimes I wake up to the sound of rain.
I stare at the crystal raindrops fall, while the wind whirls the clouds into a pirouette and the evening sun dresses them in costumes of pink and purple gossamer.
I also stared in horror at my shorts I've hung out to dry, as it gets pelted by globules of water.
Hastily, the shorts were rescued, half wet.
I sit on my bed, half-dazed.
My tongue feels like sandpaper, so I groped about for my bottle of water.
The water quenches the thirst and my tongue is revitalised. It rapidly dances along the rows of teeth.
Then, disgust. The water tastes like pool water. Swimming pool water. Because I realised I haven't washed my bottle for quite a while..
The sheets on my bed are crumpled and creased. So are my half-wet shorts.
I get up, usually at 5 to 6pm, later if I had a tiring night.
I wake my friends up because it is dinner time. We usually eat noodles. But we get sick of instant noodles quite easily, so we went to the cookhouse.
By 7pm, we return and laze around for quite a bit till 10 where we begin to get dressed in our long fall uniforms, jokey cap, shin length socks and boots.
We board the tonner (the army 5-tonne truck) at 10.45pm below our coy line and begin our journey to Kranji camp.
I like to sit just right behind the driver's cockpit, because it allows me to see the surroundings and feel the wind.
I feel my platoon mates playfully squeeze me into the corner.
The tonner starts up and I cough and splutter just like its engine because of the noxious fumes it releases.
We chat and laugh as the tonner grinds its gears and jerk into movement.
Sometimes, I will stare out of the tonner just to have the wind weave through my hair, only realising too late that the wind also contains high levels of dust. (why are the colour of street lighting in Singapore so yellow?)
As we approach a tree lined expressway, I can smell the damp earth and lush greenery, a moist and comforting kind of smell but as we approach the busy roads, the acrid burnt rubber smell fills the vehicle like a fart wafting in an air-conditioned room.
A sudden jerk and we know that we've reached the camp entrance.
A another jerk, now its time for us to alight!
We change shifts with those who have done the morning's and Hi-Five each other, as we take our seat at the helpdesk as commanders go about planning their strategies for a glorified version of Risk.
Help me login to my account
Why can't I get my email to work
I think my phone line keeps getting cut
May I print this document
I want to transfer this file to... the
What did the traffic light say to the car
Why does this program keep crashing
Help me set up some benches and chairs
Have a biscuit, have some drinks
Don't need to be so stress one...
My projector cannot detect...
My computer is very laggy
Is the server up?
How come I haven't receive updates..
How do I copy and paste...

: these are some request we fulfill. So you can see that my job is actually quite relaxed as compared to those in the infantry :)
I consider it a blessing sometimes.

We take a supper break at 12am, then continue our shifts.



Without knowing, the Sun beams down upon us and its time to return back to camp. A tonner arrives to pick us up.
We see the morning shift and smile as we pass down our responsibilities to them and moved off in a cloud of acrid rubber smoke.

Hello Mister Bed, its nice to lay down on you once more! And I drift off into slumber till evening once more...




signing off.





Call Of The Wild at 5:22 PM