Chicken Wing

Realised that I've been eating chicken wings for lunch almost everyday in the cookhouse. There seems to be an endless supply of chicken wings in the kitchen such that they must be served everyday. >_> Now I know why ppl say being in OETI will get one fat. Honestly I dun really fancy the cookhouse food in OETI, still prefer the tekong food, which is more satiating IMO. Used to look forward to meals in tekong but now I dun have the desire to do so. Probably this is the result of being overfed, haha. Haven't been running for abt 3 weeks, feel so weak and unhealthy now.

Newcomers to the class today, all staff sergeants undergoing advanced technical training. Haiz, I feel small and insignificant. One of them is a lady. Sometimes I really wonder why females would rather sign on to SAF when there are better jobs out there. So many guys wish to evade NS but yet some females would willingly sign on and serve the country. Guess this is patriotism and love towards our country...

Trying to stay awake for the entire duration of a self-study lesson is so tough! Firstly I dun really understand the contents, too chim for me. Secondly the environment is so conducive for sleeping, hehe. Thirdly, probably not enough sleep due to watching world cup matches. (but it seems like no matter how long I sleep, dozing off in the classroom is still inevitable sometimes) Today some ppl were caught sleeping and had to sign 3 extra duties. I slept too but was fortunately not caught, hehe. Soon when practical lessons start, perhaps I'll start to appreciate theory lessons more.

Gaining weight

Sigh, can feel myself gaining weight alr. Keep eating but no exercise. The paus and pastries are too irresistable during the adundant tea break time. Today was an extremely slack day, spending most of the time in the computer lab learning abt basic workshop tools, with several tea breaks (canteen breaks) in between. Almost dozed off while looking at the comp screen, the materials presented were too incomprehensible. So many bizarre technical tools to memorise. The simplest would be vernier calipers and micrometer screw gauge, so familiar with them liao.

Area cleaning is pretty jialat. 35 ppl in charge of cleaning up such a huge area of workshop + classroom corridors + locker room + toilets + roadside + smoking area, compared to the 70 ppl in the prev batch. Have to do it everyday somemore, haiz. Cleaning up oil spills is such a hassle!

Now I sleep also can dream abt bolts and nuts, zzz.

OETI

It has been 2 days since I was posted to my new training camp. Not as bad as I expected, probably cos the first 2 days were just induction programmes and settling several admin matters. Spent most of the time in the classroom, reminds me of school days, haha. I think tough training will begin to roll in next week, which also marks the start of mandatory guard duties. Abt 1 or 2 every month, sian. Managed to evade my first guard duty this month, which means I might kena more next month, haiz.

Used to see a lot of sergeants during BMT, now keep seeing warrant officers, staff and master sergeants, quite scary in a sense. Even my class has 2 staff sergeants and a big shot corporal (becos of his background). At least there is somebody more senior to guide us along. =) Some officers seem quite fierce and strict while some really looks very friendly (the always-smiling type). But then it's too early to judge...

I think the 'horror stories' of the armoured wing is really true. Even the instructors indirectly confirmed our fears, and told us not to compare with the other wings. I guess I just have to accept my 'fate', hopefully can ku jin gan lai eventually.

Wonder how technical training syllabus is going to be like...expect it to be quite boring at the start. Nvm, it shall serve as a preparation for my mech eng course 2 years later.

Still can't reduce the travelling time (for 1 trip) below 1 hour, and I realise my ezlink card value is dropping drastically. I'm going to spend like $50 per month on transport alone, yikes.

Now the first world cup match of the day starts at 10pm instead of 9, zzz. Need my beauty sleep to keep me awake for the next day's lessons >_>. 2 matches simultaneously too, but then there will be always one of both which is more interesting to watch...hehe.

P.S. Aiyoh what happened to Saudi Arabia ah? Isn't it supposed to be the best soccer team in asia...>_>

End of Block Leave

After more than one and a half week of idling, my block leave has finally come to an end. Reporting to my new unit tmr, not knowing what to expect. Hopefully the 'OETI = Only Eat, Talk, Idle' saying is true, haha.

Watched the Japan vs Crotia match just now. Haiz, so upsetting. Such a crucial match for both countries yet it ended with both nil. There is probably some chance left for Crotia but I think Japan can get ready to pack up and go home... Anyway I think Japan's gk is quite good, made a lot of nice saves. But then the blunder he made in the first half was lol...

Heard that the semifinal and final matches will be held at ard 3am. On a weekday too. I think many would sleep early then wake up to watch the matches before going to work/school. Hmmm, shld I do that too?...Haha.

Techie

Ok, suspense's over! Got to know my posting this morning, which is going to affect the rest of my ns life. Posted to OETI, at Ayer Rajah camp, as a techician for armoured vehicles. Sian, why 'armoured' out of so many other types of vehicles?? Heard armoured is the most siong one among all the vehicle techician training in OETI. And they are always dismissed the latest (which give rise to a serious problem that is really bugging me now). A lot of ppl are telling me that, so I guess it's very very true. Haven't go into unit alr demoralised liao, lol.

Glad to have a friend who is also currently in OETI training as veh tech. Got lots of info abt the unit from him, as well as the horror stories of armoured training. Haha, I might be exaggerating but he told me to be mentally prepared. >_> That's how serious the situation is. Oh, maybe he's exaggerating too...haha.

Maybe I shld stop comparing within OETI and start realising how lucky I am compared to pes A/B ppl who kena-ed much siong-er vocations than me. It's alr very good that I can get to go home everyday and need not undergo tough physical trainings and exercises. Only need to bring PT kit and running shoes for the first day.

I think being a veh techician is not bad, able to gain useful knowledge that can be applicable to our future lives. But then being a armoured veh tech might not be very useful...

Quite a few of my sectionmates got the vocation of 'support assistant'. I wonder what's that, sounds so slack lol.

World Cup!

Half my block leave is alr gone but I still feel I'm not spending it well enough. Have been reserving too much time for sleeping, an avg of 10 hours per day compared to 7 hours in BMT. Time to make my personal RO, haha. Lights out: 2400; Revellie: 0700. Maybe I shld give myself more time to rest lah, 0800 would be a better time.

Back to playing PS2 liao! Have been neglecting my PS2 ever since Maple Story was introduced to me. Now, for some 'confidential' reasons, I just dun have the drive to play Maple anymore. PS2 seems to be more appealing to me at this point of time.

Been watching some World Cup matches for the past few nights. Feels so fortunate to have SCV at home. Yesterday's Aus vs Jap match was the most interesting match I've watched (I normally watch only the first match of each day). Was thinking that the match might end up like the other 9pm matches (the 1-early-goal-and-that's-it kind) since Japan was maintaining its 1-0 lead until the 80th minute of the game. Suddenly the match came to a huge twist when Australia, for some reason, scored 3 goals within the last 10 minutes, at 84', 89' and 92'. Could see Japan was so desperate for another goal that they ignored their defense, haha. No one was defending when the last goal was scored, lol. Hence, Australia has become the big winner of the match.

After watching so many matches I still dun get the offside rule, even after reading up on it. Need someone to physically explain it to me, haha.

*sick**yawns*

So suay lah, first day after passing out already kena fever. 2 days of my precious block leave wasted like that. Seems like my leave only started today lol. Probably this is the price to pay for not reporting sick at all during BMT.

Anyone watching world cup now? The opening match is quite interesting, first few minutes into the game 3 goals were already scored. Wonder who will emerge as the winner...must be Germany lah, host country mah, if cannot then really suay.

Bye Tekong

Finally my BMT has come to an end. The past 6 weeks and 2 days feels rather short, still can remember clearly my woes of enlistment, not knowing what to expect. Indeed my BMT is like a honeymoon compared to that of pes A/B as there was a lot of time to slack and take naps, haha.

Really glad to be in Section 1 of my platoon, like what one of my sectionmate has described, it is a paradise in hell. My section produced the most platoon ICs and is generally more well behaved than the other sections. There was no one who created troubles and pulled the whole section down into a hot soup.

Was appointed the rubbish IC. Clearing rubbish from the bins can be quite a stressful job sometimes, due to the endless flow of rubbish thrown and sergeants wanted to see all the trash cleared during standby areas. Furthermore the trash bags were not readily available and I find myself having to compress the rubbish and making the bag so heavy to carry down to the garbage chute. Wished that I'll be granted permission to take the lift and that would make my job much much easier.

For your info, I did not go through POP. Was doing all the saikang behind the scenes. POC was just a short casual ceremony held at one of the training sheds, with the consumption of some cakes and pastries. =)

Checked my 2.4 timing - 11:53. Wow, this is the first time I've ever run below 12 minutes! So proud of myself...hehe.

Confinement

Almost kena-ed confinement this weekend, for not bringing civilian clothes into camp. >_< I guess my PS was just in a bad mood that day cos eventually he decided not to pursue the matter further, phew. Anyway the other platoons dun have such punishments so why shld mine have it? All the commanders were partly at fault too, for not reminding us beforehand. =( Fortunately it was a trivial matter, after all the whole company decided to standardise and not wear civilian for Recruits' Evening.

The number of ppl in my platoon booking out today is pathetic. An entire section was confined and all smokers were down for guard duty. Sigh...din expect such a nightmare just a few days before passing out.

IPPT:
The actual and final test in BMT. On the verge of failing all the stations but I think I still passed, yay! My 2.4 run was quite a miracle, cos I din expect myself to run so fast. Our 2.4 timing was not revealed so I can't really gauge how much faster I ran...

Live Range:
Shooting is fun! But I hate all the logistics which must be done before & after that. Waiting for my turn is boooring, and picking up RIA is such a chore. Not forgetting that my 'night shooting' was more like 'evening shooting' instead. -___- One advantage of being the 1st detail... This is probably another once-in-a-lifetime thingy, cos I doubt I'll get to handle rifles again.

Recruits' Evening:
The first segment hosted by the 2 DJs was pretty lame. Not a very good attempt to liven the quiet atmosphere. The recruits' performances were so-so, but the best one I felt did not win. =( Glad that my sectionmates were able to win at least a consolation prize. The best part was the last segment brought by MDC. Great cultural songs & dances which then climaxed into some sort of rock concert where everyone became so high and started to gather in front of the stage hopping abt.

Games Day:
Was a bit sian cos I couldn't watch the matches clearly due to the huge crowd. A lot of aimless roaming ard and there was no one to properly lead the company. But glad that we were still able to get 4th despite being a pes C company, yay! Some ppl went really wild; splashed water at Viper and started a fight, tore up Mohawk's banner and their angry CSM came to scold us. >_> Haiz, no sportsmanship at all. Then again, CO said it was part of the game, haha.

10km Route March:
Ya, I know 10km is nothing compared to 24km the rest of the school had to go through. Even with 10km some ppl were almost dying, with some not carrying field pack at all. I guess this is the life of being pes C, hehe. The whole march only took abt 2 hours and we were back by dinner time.

2 days left before I'm out of Tekong! Looking forward to POC and saikang during POP, hehe.