I feel like shit. Pardon my incoherence. A few hugs now will be nice.

I don't like changes. I think changes are made based on male chuvinistic decisions --- people around who have nothing else better to do, will purposely put these other people who have nothing else to do too, to good use.

They call it manpower management.

I call it army personel abuse.

I didn't realise the importance of the SRO (school routine order) last Thursday. It had my name on it, requesting that I report to the HQ SWI on Friday to get my new posting. I was going around "err-ok-hey-I'm-getting-my-new-posting-tomorrow". Perhaps its because the 20++ hours sentry duty ahead of me the next day, numbed all my senses. Perhaps I'm too ignorant, callous, whatever. I got too carried away doing nothing then.

I had hoped intially that SISPEC will keep me in Alpha Coy for a recourse. Afterall, Alpha is hosting the 41th BSLC (Basic Seciton Leader Course) for the next batch in September. No harm in keeping behind a hopeful soldier who just wants to be an infantry specialist, right? And he's recovering quite rapidly now. With proper control, not much running --- none, come to think of it --- my knee feels stable. Except for a full-squat, I can do almost everything liao leh! I surprised myself one time when I ran up the stairs, took the corner at full sprint-stop. Whoah.

Frankly, I'm very disappointed with the timing of the posting. If it had come like 2 weeks later, I'd have been to tekong, ate lots of durians, rambutans, pretended to be a sergeant and fuck people. Even 2IC told me I'd be personally be responsible for their durians meals everyday. Duran Party.

*weak smile*

I would be able to see people like Zachary turn into corporal. And I'll witness Desmond --- who used to complain alot of the change since he got posted to Charlie Coy --- get his berat. Maybe I'll see Jonathan Chan crossover to OCS.

Sigh.

Maybe it's god's intention to make me as disappointed as possible, because I wanted to be a sergeant for the wrong reasons --- like fucking people. So I'm punished this way to make sure I change my perspectives.

Well, fuck you, understand?

Pushing my pay back to $350 from the $450 combat pay made me bitter all the same. At a time when money is so important, you want to send me back to the recruit-pay abyss. You know what? I'm tired. I'm tired of all these changes. I'm tired of all these limits you set so I feel now like a fly trapped in a spider web. I'm tired of becoming bullied, shoved around like dirt on the floor.

I'm going to Stagmont Camp tomorrow, and starting anew just like you meant me to. And I'm going to fight back even harder.



****



I've decided to go work after my NS liabilities have finished, to earn more money to pay for my tuition fees. As an air steward. Cool, eh? Then maybe I'll get free tickets and take Ma out for travelling. Yeah. That would be nice.

For now, there are 3 OOCs in Alpha coy, starring yours truely, Chow and Jonathan Chew. Jonathan Chew, having OOCed because he was having nipple problem, was naturally given the coined-name Nipple Man.

Nipple Man has been a very proactive person, despite of his status of Excuse Uniform. All I have to say is, he's not the lazy fucks you normally find for someone who wished to OOC. The champion star of this particular post is all about Chow.

Chow OOCed because he had a slight flat-foot problem, and also because his knee cap was out of the normal position. Instead of getting a solution for his permanent problem, Chow had been procrastinating his problem by going to expensive clinics; one of his excuse letters that allow him to downgrade permanently to non-combat status costs $80. Nothing much to brag about, but he nonetheless complained in the coy office that he had to pay such a ridiculous sum. A down PES letter from a government hospital can be completely free of charge.

I read through his letter a while later out of curiosity --- c'mon, the letter was opened, lying on the COS table screaming to be read. According to the letter, which was littered with doubtful words like "seemingly", "apparently", "not obvious", the doctor wasn't very sure himself what the exact condition of the knee is, but the flat-foot problem is very very serious, which will ultimately result in Chow being down PESed.

A life as an OOC in Alpha usually begins with one of us going downstairs at 5.30am to man the company phone line. If the previous day was an outfield day, either Chow and/or I have to be outfield manning the gate of the outfield. Nipple Man is the generous kind, who will offer to go down alone to man the gate. If we have continous outfield of 5 days, you'll see him downstairs at 5.30am, while both me and Chow will be snoring like a mad fuck.

I usually wake up at 6am, despite having no alarm clock. After that, I'll rush downstairs, making Nipple Man go for breakfast cos his vegetarian breakfast is quite limited in numbers. Wheras Chow will sleep until 7 plus am. Occasionally, he won't even wake up unless me, Nipple Man or Joel (Lim) goes up to tell him to wake up.

WTF!!

For someone who used to be from Mohawk Coy in BMTC, he sure is lacking in some discipline. And when he wakes up, he'll stone the hell lot. Alot of times, you'll see him sit on his bed for a fucking long while before he wear his boots. One time, I shouted at him.

"OOI...what you doing? Hurry up ah, go downstairs!"

He'll hurry and finish wearing his boots, then sit down and stone more.



-_-"



Just this weekend, he took another long weekend --- I have no idea why. He was supposed to stay in camp till Saturday, with me while Nipple Man takes his turn to book out early on Friday night. No problem with Nipple Man, because last week Chow and I took the long weekend. But Chow is another different problem altogether. When he came back from outfield on Friday night, he just sat at the COS table while everybody was busy cleaning weapons/eating night snacks/changing into admin to sleep.

He sat there like he just took drugs.

The OC saw him stone while on his way out to see his trainees. OC turned 180 degrees to face me. "Eh, why your friend ahhh...he's always...." he showed the stone face.

-_-

(He was quite comical at it.)

"Yah lor."

I skipped out to let the OC talk to Chow after I suggested that he might be thinking of his Indian girlfriend. While I was outside the office cleaning weapons a while later, I saw Chow walked towards me. "Hey Shawn, OC let me book out." Then he was off.

Unfair? Or was he taking advantage of the situation?

Having a brother like mine is as good as having no brother at all. Ever since he found out the usefulness of the magnetic card that we used for public transport, he had been moving in and out of the house like it a hotel.



With the invention of the EZ-Link card, he even has the ability to buy MacDonalds. So for now, my brother remains MIA while on some AmazingRace activity. He even proudly called me just now, telling me how his team won number 10th, out of the 100 over participating teams.

I was passed this postcard.




I shouldn't be going.

I think I'm a bit late --- but which bloke in the army wouldn't be? The durian season is here again! Usually at this time at Grandma's, I'll be devouring tonnes and tonnes of durians like it's free.



It almost is lah. Think of a single small durian that can go as cheap as 50sens. For the days that
follow, when I eat, or shit, or breathe, or fart (Ulysses!), the smell of lovely durian is sure to come out. Ma bought some durians, 3 for $10. They tasted good enough, more bitter, sweet and gooey. I asked the durians to cam-whore for me, they gladly complied ;-)





I left some for you.


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Dang. They're so eage to strip themselves for you.

I grabbed this off an email that Shirleen was spamming everyone with:

*ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST*

Count every " F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

(SEE BELOW)

HOW MANY ?

WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.

The reasoning behind is further down.

The brain cannot process "OF".



Incredible or what? Go back and look again!!

Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius.
[image: Einstein's
picture]<http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/ae77.htm>

Three is normal, four is quite rare.

Send this to your friends.
It will drive them crazy.!
And keep them occupied
For several minutes..!
*


More Brain Stuff . . . From Cambridge University.* *

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.* *

cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy,

it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but
the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was
ipmorantt! if
you can raed tihs psas it on !!*

Psas Ti ON !

My day will start at 5.30am, unless I have someone to cover my ass for me, which unfortunately Chow is a lazy fuck who'd wake up only at 8am or something. Then, I'll be doing what a call-girl operator will do to get his pay --- yes, I answer the bloody phone. Then I'll go for lunches at the cookhouse or canteen, depending on availability of cash in my pockets. Then I'll wait till the night time for the CDT (company duty trainee) to come into the company office, brief him on the procedures to answer phone calls, then go back to my bunk to sleep.

I never exercise unless you count the endless walking up and down of stairs as of any help to get rid of the tonnes of calories that I put on. Days when I'm bored, I'll ask Chow to cover my arse for me by displaying his face in the office, I'll then walk over to the store to talk to the CQ. His real title is CQMS. Most likely, I'll be asking Hisham how things work around here, or else, Ariff, Dax, Kama or Dzul will be entertaining me by fighting each other. Really, if every company were to send a couple of guys for an inter-comapany sumo wrestling competition, we have alot of candidates who'd do the job nicely.

Most will find it relaxing, manning the keypress, answering calls, occasionally talking to the friendly OC, and get a friendly-fuck by the Encik. hurhur. The discipline is lax, so as to allow you to showcase your discipline. They want you to show your material to them, and not they attempt to instill in you the same basic soldier skills that one should have already aquired in BMTC.

Becoming an OOC in Apha Coy has made some look forward to only one thing --- bookout. Bookouts consist mostly of half a night off, meaning you bookout after the Routine Order or the CDT has come into the office, then report back to company line before the day starts at 5.30am. Even that has stopped when the new 2IC came in. Oh well. WTF cares.

One sure thing I've learnt that I shared with WO Farhan; when you're a trainee you wished you're OOC, when you're OOC, you wished you're back in as a trainee.


Headphones: my best companion now

The floorball championships have started. I took a day-off on Thursday, (which stirred up lots of trouble but that I'll explain in another post) to support the guys girls. It was the guys I wanted to go support, but the information wasn't very clear, so ended up Hilman and I, together with 4 other boys who are still schooling in Yishun JC, were at NTU to support the girls.


Mariam...practising her kung-fu floorball. Err...All thanks to Alvin, her shi-fu.


And the games began! Serena in blue chiong-ing to get the ball.











That's Hilman in red, my idol! One of the only guys I know who can single-handedly dribble the ball across the court



And the girls scored against VJC


Isn't that Jabster? Why's she hanging with the MI people?


"Flank! Flank! Down the flank, bitch!"





4 goals against VJC's zero, with 8:15min left to go



Narbei...want to play cheat


5-0 with 4:58min to go






Victory!


The next game was with MJ, admittedly one of the worse teams in the JC/MI arena. Last year, they played rough, often seen pushing our girls around. I remeber Izzah got really mad with the captain, threatening to tau-pok her on the court.








Victory against MJ, 2-1!




Happy team...happy to go home for the physics test the next day.

And just when I thought the baby swinger is one of mankind's most ingenious invention;

Note to self: jot down on the OOCed experience.