- CLOSED -

Yeah. My blog is now officially closed. But feel free to read the old posts =\
Currently working on something else =)

SAF Day! And I have clerk duty =\

It's SAF day today!
Supposed to have some parade in the morning but due to the rain, we had a wet-weather ceremony xD
Then we were provided breakfast.. everyone except the OCS cadets MUAHAHA.. Somehow we just can't help laughing at them =x

And... It's HALF DAY TODAY!! Wheee....
How nice, and I have duty today -.-"

Supposedly Joshua's duty, but on monday, he swapped with me.
My off on monday, his on tuesday, and somehow I had duty on monday (i forgot! =x)
So to avoid running back at 3pm for duty, I asked Joshua to swap with me.. and his is on Wednesday.
At that point I am still unaware of SAF day and the subsequent half day =o

So yeah, I sort of traded the extra 7hrs at home for a whole afternoon and evening.
What a good trade.. And yet another empirical evidence why I shouldn't enter the business world.. I'll just be killed in an instant haha xD

RIP MJ.

Michael Jackson.
1958 - 2009.

Sad news. I loved some of his songs and definitely his slick moves. I bet his "moonwalk" will go down in the history of music and dance. No doubt about it...

You know what's the weirdest thing about humans?
We all find random reasons to hate and flame someone, but when he/she dies or leaves the world, everyone mentions only the good things about him/her.
Its wierd huh, human nature..

Hate while alive, Love after death.

Duty reflections

Few things I learnt:
1) The staff lounge sofas, though they look nice and comfy to sleep on, they are not!
the arm rest part (where your head lies on when u attempt to lie on the sofa) is inclined downwards. hence throughout my sleep, i had to make a conscious effort to tilt inwards to fight against gravity. GAH.

result == 3hrs of sleep or so in total + midnight reading of Java book == sleepy;

2)Zam is damn cute/funny when he's sleepy and half awake.
When I asked him what we gonna have for breakfast.
He said: "No breakfast. If you wanted to eat, you should have went off to the cookhouse before we opened up the building at 6.30am".
And I was about to ask "But how I leave the locked up building when you have the key and you're sleeping?", but then he fell asleep again.

result == empty stomach + silent laughter;

--------------------------------------------------

Today helped out with the navy event the whole day.
And I got a new appointment!

I am now teh "PRESENTER DIRECTOR"! Phear me!!! Rawr..
My scope:
-> Click powerpoints. HAHAHA
-> Provide smooth transitions between the changing of screens from one laptop to the other
-> Play the background music before the overseas delegate arrive and stop when they sit down

Man, its one tough job indeed. I definitely deserve such a powerful and high-ranking sounding appointment like "PRESENTER DIRECTOR". Hehe.

The lonesome night of a SAS Duty Clerk

Alright. It's my first SAS Duty Clerk duty today. First time I gonna stay in since I got posted out of Delta Wing line as a Private (PTE).

Did all the routine stuff liao, now resting, so went to the Staff Lounge to use the computer while my other partner (non-OOC), the Orderly Enlistee slacked in the Duty Room with 2 other enlistees who stayed behind (one has foot infection, cant walk home. other one accompanying. so nice of him)
Password doesn't work. What the heck.
No choice, go down to first floor and use the computers at Student's Lounge.
No lights. What the heck.
I'm like currently using a computer in PITCH DARKNESS. ALONE.
Normally I would freak out. But what the heck, its my only Internet access point -.-"

So here I am, using the computer in the DARK. I can't believe it. I can barely see the silhouette of my hand when I stretch it out (and its only because of the light from the computer screen).

Bah, enough of my current situation...
I noticed something peculiar yesterday. Apparently quite a few females, including JC classmates like Vannessa, around me have dizzy spells. I was thinking it might be because of me (lol jk), until my sister got it too. Then I had to go and fetch her from the MRT station. Ran there and killed my knees (I have knee inflammation and I haven't ran for nearly 2 mths haha), assisted her to the nearest taxi stand and helped her hobble the rest of the way home to bed to rest. Tiring sia, maybe because I slack too much for too long liao >.<

Event #1:
Dragonica Party on 27th.
E2Max@TheCathay.
3pm ~ 7pm


Event #2:
(Ex) Dota clan outing
27th.
Dinner at Chomp Chomp.
Initially supposed to be last week, but got rescheduled (till an unknown date... up till now)


Event #3:
Dragonica Movie Outing
27th. 12pm.


Event #4:
Family dinner! My mum just dropped it on me after I agreed to go for the Dragonica (DGN) movie outing. But its in the afternoon so till then it was ok.. Until these 2 Facebook notices. Aaah...

Dang 27th is such a popular date.
1) DGN movie outing
2) family dinner
3) DGN party
4) (ex) dota clan outing

Aaargh.. decisions decisions =(
I could try to manage my time and rush around, but then, some timings just clash.
And damn I wish I have a "Manta Style".

Okays, gtg prowl again. Ciao.

Edit:
I'm back! After like 10min haha..
I got the new password from the 2 other people who stayed back. Whee, now I can use the computer without being in the pitch dark room alone xD

Funniest Movie Experience. Ever.

Decided to gather at WQ's house at 4.30pm after he's free, so Justin, Sin Chin and me decided to catch a movie in the afternoon around 1~2pm before going.

Bought 3 tickets of "Hannah Montana: The Movie" for 2pm at Tampines Mall GV.

But SC was late! Gah.. So Justin and me waited and waited.. When SC came, it was 2.15pm already. Hoping that the advertisements haven't ended yet, we rushed up to the 2nd floor (Theatre 6 is 2nd floor of Tamp GV).

I was leading the trio, and I ran towards the entrance, with the number 6.

There were 2 doors, left and right.

Since we came from the left, I looked at the hall layout to locate our seats so we can get seated ASAP.

And we did, we rushed down to our seats.

Thank god the advertisements were still playing.

And it continued playing...

And playing...

And playing...

And we were like "Wah siao liao, the advertisements nowadays so long sia, 33min then finally starting".

And then the movie started...

With the title "I love you, man".

HOLY SHIT. Lol...

Ah well, we just sat through and watched it anyway. It was a good and funny show.

On the way out, we checked the hall number.

Guess what? Halls 5 and 6 are next to each other.

Hall 5 was the left entrance, Hall 6 was the right entrance.

Holy shit. I thought the hall had 2 entrances, like most other cinema halls...

No wonder we were wondering why the ticket seller said "Hannah Montana" had only the center seats for the 5th row from the front when there were like 4 blank rows behind us throughout the whole advertisement and movie screening. Lol. It was so damn funny that we laughed about it all the way to WQ's house >.<

SAS

Yup. Currently posted to SAS (SAF Advanced School) temporarily, where they train CPTs and MAJs to further up their ranks. Apparently Joshua and me got posted there at a lull period where they are no batches/classes, so its pretty slack according to them... And it is.

We only helped clean up and arrange 2 rooms today, the rest of the time was sleeping and reading of books. Lunch break is no longer 20minutes long and we even went to the library xD

Guess what's the best part. It's supposedly 8am-5pm. But today we were told to book out at 4.30pm. Lol.. And the lao jiao (experienced people) there say its common. Haha.. I think we both are going to enjoy our stay in SAS until our posting out from SAFTI MI. Lol.

Posting...

Got 1.5hrs worth of notice from LTA Faizal to pack up everything and move off to SAFTI-MI HQ HR department to report for our posting.

In the end, I had to book out with a backpack and a whole thrash bag filled-to-the-brim worth of OCS items.. Imagine a green santa with a huge white bag going home.

Here's the supposed timeline of what happens to OOCs:

1) Hang around in wingline and help out

2) Posted to HQ HR department where they decide where you go temporarily

3) Posted to temporary place within SAFTI-MI to help out

4) When it is decided on whether you are going to recourse or not, you will then either stay on till your recourse or be posted out of SAFTI-MI respectively.

Apparently we'll get our temporary postings on Monday only, though we heard out of the 5 of us, 3 will become the School Sergeant Major's runners.. The crap? He need so many runners for what? One carry his stick, one carry his beret, one carry umbrella for him ar? >.<

Life of an OOC

The difference between the life of a cadet and an OOC is seriously heaven and earth.

Just having spent 3 days of my NS life as an official OOC, I could see the vast difference.

- You get treated with more respect and they are more willing to acknowledge your existence.

- There is less regimentation.

- Your workload is much lesser.

 -You get to see the fun side of everyone (while they're not in front of cadets) and many other funny stuff.

- You get to go anywhere you want, unless you're needed to help out to do something.

- You have freedom over when you eat and what you eat, same goes for your sleeping hours and resting periods.

Seriously, the list goes on and on...

And the only drawbacks are "pride of becoming an officer" and lower pay.

Then again, ranks sell for around S$1 in the SAF shops xD

Dragonica Pre-OBT is OUT!

Yeshh.. It is out.

Pre-OBT launch

Fire it Up!

Host:	Dragonica
Type:	Causes - Rally
Network:	Global

Start Time:	Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 5:00pm
End Time:	Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 9:00am
Location:	Dragonica

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=89260742301&ref=nf

Find out more at:

http://dragonica.iahgames.com/

Join me and add me in game ^^

Ign: SozoS

OOC

Condition:

1x Patella tendinitis (some knee cap inflammation or "Jumper's knee")

1x Back Strain

Medication:

1/12 ATT B

2/12 OOC from OCS

Hm.. I wonder where I will get posted to.. I heard some OOC people become clerk, others become medics or even RP... And of course, some chose to re-course. Will I re-course? Er.. Currently, no. Until I find some motivation to do so =\

Btw, here's some info about my knee..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patellar_tendinitis

My new girlfriend!

I just got hitched people. Have a look at my girlfriend =)

Haha.. No la, that's my ah ma. Pretty right? ^^

Went out with my family yesterday for dinner at PS TCC.

Wanted and promised to treat my ah ma to a good meal with my OCS pay since I got in.. But then she had some eye operation, so it got delayed till today lor.. Oh well.

Apparently she likes to eat the bread there A LOT. Haha..

New trend?

Overheard a couple talking at Vivocity yesterday.

They're about 20+ ~ 30+ years old. The guy is apparently apologising to the girl for maligning her due to some miscommunication.

(Paraphrased and translated from chinese)

Guy: "I love you I love you I love you I love you..."

Girl: "You know why I angry not. Its not that I cannot forgive you. Its that I hate it when people malign (yuan wang) me..."

Guy: "I know. That's why I love you what.. You always touch me.."

Girl: "I know.. but this time you really did it lor.."

Guy: "Okay okay, I'm sorry. I love you okay.."

Girl: "Okay. I want you to apologise on MSN."
Guy: "Okok.."

Girl: "And also apologise on Facebook"

Guy: "Huh? Why Facebook?"

Then the rest I didn't really catch.. But, new trend huh. LOL..

Belated birthday celebration =\

Had a super postponed birthday celebration for my sis. Like 2wks late >.<

Wanted to treat her bday meal with my OCS pay on her bday but i was sort of running late for booking in.. The next week, she went MIA. So it dragged till this week =.="

Had no idea what to get for her bday so I consulted friend.

Went to Minibits and got her a necklace with a mini crown ring with small pink "crystals" in it.

Had a nice long chat. Never had one like that since months =\

One quote she seemed to stick close to (which her friend told her):
"A smart girl always leaves before being left"

It refers to her episodes of BFs when we were talking about it and I asked who initiated all the breakups.

Sheesh. Some quote her stupid friend taught her.

An Interest in Interest.

Discussed my one of my long held belief with my parents today.

It was regarding interest rates and how to minimise amount of money used to purchase an item, especially big ticket items like a house or a car.

Theory: 

Instead of buying them by installments, save up enough and buy them in a 1-off payment.

Pros:

-> Pay a total of less money

-> Reduce the hassle of installment paying and fear of not being able to pay the next installment

-> You will probably "finish paying" earlier than if you bought by installment

Cons:

-> Will not have the item until you have saved enough

How does it work? Lemme illustrate with some figures:

[Note: The following are simply figures to explain my idea, not real figures]

--------------------------------------------------

Assume the money are in real terms (i.e. taking into account of inflation),

Item to purchase: A 5-room HDB flat

Price (NOW): S$60,000

Price (20 years later): S$140,000

[Assuming property prices rise, which is quite common, at an average rate of S$4,000 per year. Furthermore, SG being small and densely populated, property prices increase rather quickly]

Installment Plan: (20 years) S$10,000/yr or around S$833/mth

Total amount paid (by installment over 20 years): S$200,000

Amount put aside to buy the item in 1-off payment: S$10,000/yr or around S$833/mth

Time taken to save enough to buy in 1-off payment: 10 years

[Price (10 years later): S$60,000 + 10x S$4,000 = S$100,000]

Total amount paid (by 1-off payment): S$100,000

Amount saved: S$100,000

Time saved: 10years

--------------------------------------------------

Of course, the example may not be reflective of the real world, but that's the gist of the idea. Save time, save money, just endure without it for a while.

Some things that my parents put forward (they disagree with my theory and say it was childish, naive thinking =\):

-> Random events

Like suddenly 5million people decided to come to SG to stay, hence ramping the prices up by a heck lot in a short moment. In that case, payment by installment will be cheaper as the rate is already fixed while the payment by 1-off is dependent on the price at the point of purchase.

-> Amount of interest paid in total is less than the amount of appreciation of item

For example, in total, you pay S$40,000 in interest over the years. However, after you have paid finish, the item had appreciated by S$50,000, hence you have "profited" S$10,000. Meanwhile, the payment by 1-off may end up paying more than by installment due to the unexpected increase in value of the item.

To discuss about the above argument, there are some things to be squared-off.

First off, what's the use of interest rates? They are to ensure that the seller does not lose out, if not profit, from the buyer after the buyer has completed paying back everything. This means that the total amount paid by the buyer should be equal, if not more, than the price of the item in the future. Hence, the seller will only lose out if there is an unexpected increase in price of the item after the installment rates have been agreed upon.

Secondly, in the above example, it has been assumed that the interest rate is more than the appreciation of the house. If not, HDB will be "losing" by selling the house at that installment rate.

Thirdly, just to clarify matters, it is a fact that people who buy HDB on installments realise they pay up to 2~3 times the actual price in total after they finish their installments. For example, they buy a 5-room at S$50,000 with installment. After clearing their installment, they have effectively paid a total of S$150,000. This is a real life example. So er, even if my example may not be perfect but it is sort of realistic, in the way that the total payable is insanely high.

Also, the installment rate is decided when you buy the house at S$60,000. So you have to follow up the plan till you pay finish all the installments. Meanwhile, the price will likely to be always lower than the final total amount paid, so 1-off payment will allow you to get the item faster, given that you save/pay at the same rate.

Okay, now to touch on the points put forward by my parents:

1) Random events are beyond our control and hence can hardly be considered as an arguing factor against/for the theory

2) My parents are very very sure that property prices will definitely rise faster than the amount of interest rate payable, hence it will definitely be more expensive to save and buy in a 1-off upayment. Sure, I agree that unexpected appreciation of item is the only factor that will probably upset the theory. However, the whole point of interest rate is to ensure that the seller does not lose out, or even gain, in the transaction. So, the difference between the interest rate payable and the appreciation should be negligible if not having more interest rate than appreciation. Furthermore, it is foolish to simply assume that property prices will always rise at rates that are quicker than the interest rate. Just take a look at the property prices in US. It is FALLING. Of course SG has less space and rising population, but still, one cannot simply assume prices will rise forever, just like the case of the US property bubble.

Regarding the disadvantage of not having the item till you can save up enough to buy in 1 shot. There's a "shortcut". Borrow from your parents/relatives to chalk up enough to buy in a single payment first. Then pay them back at the rate you would have saved to buy it previously. That way, you would get the item cheaper (since it hasn't appreciated yet) and immediately. While whoever lent you the money will get a nice interest rate (after all, the person will get S$100,000 in 10years for lending S$60,000 now, which is around 6.7% annual interest. Neat huh).

Hence, I still believe that my theory will hold.. Anyone got comments on it? What do you guys think?

What if Delta Wing was a DotA hero?

Haven't been blogging in a long while. Or at least it felt a long while (It felt like months have past). Oh well..

So, what if Delta Wing was a DotA hero?

It would definitely would be Anti-mage or Nerubian Assasin.

Why?

Anti-mage

-> Mana Break

Nerubian Assasin

-> Mana Burn

Famous DotA quote (or more like character speak): "Time is mana".

You get my drift..

Given the same training syllabus, our wing always have lesser admin time, later book-out times. It's not making sense. It's not like I hate or loathe the training (in fact I like certain stuff I'm doing/learning there), but the free time we have is seriously not making sense. Sierra wing booked out today at 8am, we booked at at 3pm? Last week we booked out at 4pm+. What happened to 5day/5.5day week, whichever it is following.. And on public holidays, we don't book out the night before, we book out the late morning or early afternoon of the public holiday itself. What kind of public holiday is that? -.-"

To top it off, every single book-out we have so far, we have tons of reflections and precis (some lesson textbook) to read and memorise before book-in. I mean even if we don't do anything but study 24hrs (seriously only 24hrs after minus-ing travelling, meal times, etc), we will barely be able to finish it due to fatigue (you know.. Econs.. Decreasing rate of returns). So what happens to book-out? What happened to the family time? What happened to the socialising time? What happened to the leisure time? It's as good as staying in camp with the exception of better food and lodging. Zzz..

Delta.

We come from many places,
All across the land,
Of many different races
Together hand in hand.

United we stand
Divided we fall;
Ready to serve our nation's call

[Chorus]
We come from OCS,
We are the very best
Leading with dignity and pride
Wherever we go
We will always know
Our spirit lives forever more

Loyalty to country,
is what we all believe.
To lead, excel and overcome
is what we must achieve.

Forever strong and valiant,
we'll give our lives and more,
never ceasing to serve Singapore.

[Chorus]

Back to Camp

Going back to camp tmr liao.. OCS it is huh.
Managed to finish a new C++ job for $50 in 2hrs yesterday lol..
I wish NUS c++ assignments are this easy. I wish. Haha

Don't feel like typing much nowadays.. Maybe its the "going back to camp liao mode" =\

Dragonball Evolution

Ang moh goku wins. The visual effects were great. But the ki channelling looks lame >.<

Feel like watching/reading Dragonball because of the movie =\

DHS Chalet + DSTA Scholarship

Had DSTA scholarship round 1 interview at 12.40pm on Thursday, then rushed to meet WQ, Justin and Jun Kiak at Costa Sands Burger King for lunch at 2pm. After that we checked in and slacked till people started coming..

We then played poker, barbecue, mahjong, mahjong, mahjong, mahjong, then check out.. Half way through my first mahjong game, I got a phonecall from DSTA saying I got through and I have a 2nd round of interview the next day at 1.45pm. Wth.. Oh well.. We also had midnight captain's ball. It was quite retarded.. Everything was so dark and everyone's silhouette looked the same. Rofl.. But it was fun XD

In the end, I slept for like only 2~3hours.. Then I rushed home to wash up and change before rushing for the 2nd round of interview.. Yu Hui said its a group discussion and I'll totally die if I don't have any kind of information. That freaked me out so much I actually tried to read up on defence news during that short 30minutes I spent at home..

Guess what? It wasn't even a proper interview. It was more of a situation test... that lasted 4 hours -.-" But I find it pretty fun though. Hehe.

C++ Mastermind v1.0

Whee.. Finally finished coding a personal project - C++ Mastermind.

Ever seen a text-based Mastermind game on Command Prompt/MS DOS?

(Bet you havent.)

Ever wanna play it?

(Don't think you'll be super excited to, either =\)

Anyway, just download it and test it out for me =P

Steps:

1) Go to:

http://www.freewebs.com/sozos/junkyard.htm

2) Click the last link and download!

or..

1) Just download from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jnnzwyzqqot

P.S. Read the "READ ME" >.<

Race to Which Mountain?

Pretty good show. Always liked shows where people have extraordinary powers, makes you have fantasies (not in the sexual way la -.-), only that in this one they ain't human. Oh well.

Pokemon?

Saw some kiddo wearing a pokemon shirt and it reminded me of one of the songs we edited during our Cougar skit..

Pokemon Theme Song (Original)

I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause
I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each Pokemon to understand
The power that's inside

Chorus
Pokemon!
Got to catch them all "Echo: It's you and me"
I know it's my destiny
Pokemon!
Ooh, you're my best friend
In a world we must defend
Pokemon!
Our hearts so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I'll teach you
Pokemon
Gotta catch 'em all!
Gotta catch 'em all!
Pokemon!

IPPT (Pokemon edited)

I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To pull up is my real test
To jump far is my cause
I will run across the island (<-- refering to Tekong)
Training two point four (2.4)
Every station I come to face
The problem that's inside

Chorus
SBJ!
Gonna jump damn far! "Echo: It's 216"
I know it's my destiny
Pull up bar!
Ooh, you are not my friend
Its so hard to do just 6
Shuttle run!
Gonna turn round fast
Why can't I get 6 points from you?
Don't forget there's sit-up and there's
two point four (2.4)
Gotta train 'em all!
Gotta train 'em all!
IPPT!

POP Loh...?

POP-ed yesterday and spent the whole day sleeping away to make up for the 1hour of sleep I had before the 24km route march and the immediate Passing Out Parade right after.

The 24km route march was pretty interesting.

Before we commenced the march off, I asked a Gryphon sergeant..

Me: "Hey sergeant, what's in the field pack? How come you all managed to fit everything inside your field pack without having it bulging?"

Serg: "Er.. The standard 10pack items less the store items, which means only 6 packs lor."

Me: "Really? I thought we had to carry our whole cupboard items along as we ain't going back to our bunks after the march..."

Serg: "Eh? Since when? We left our non-6 packs items at the company office. Anyway our office is just over there what.." *Points to G Coy*

Me: "Wah.. So welfare ar.."
Serg: "Welfare? Where got.. Its standard la."

Me: "....." *walks away*

And its true! Most of us got pissed at the marching pace and the "OMG GOT PUDDLE LETS DODGE IT, and end up making the others behind halt" of the companies in front leading. No wonder we keep hearing from our commanders that Cougar always buay tahan 24km march. I heard the previous batches overtook all the companies in front and even ended at the end point like 10min before the next company marched in -.-"

Towards the last 2 checkpoints everyone were like walking zombies (me at least >.<). I was like just moving forward. My head was blank from lack of sleep and I was just using my eyes and legs to follow the field pack of the guy in front of me. Not to mention our more-than-extra-weight field packs causing numbness to both my shoulders, which ended up with me using my hands to carry the weight off my shoulder throughout the march.

And oh, it was fun too. We had karaoke sessions at the back of our platoon. It was like KTV Mobile or Human IPod, whatever name you prefer. We spammed singing songs we can remember lyrics of off our heads and everyone who knew will just join in. It was the only method that was able to keep me awake and turn off zombie mode XD

After the march was the parade which was quite lame as well, because there was one part at the start where we rest for like 1hr before we march into the parade square and scam our parents that we just finished our route march, and we're doing our cooling down exercises now before we start the parade proper. And guess what, we were camping just behind the trees whereby we can see through and see our parents sitting. Oh well.

So.. I'm no longer a recruit, neither are my fellow coy mates. We're all privates. Now what? Posting to another unit after a block leave of around 10days. Why don't I feel anything, unlike everyone else who is like "OMG POP LOH POP LOH POP LOHHHHHHHHHHH..."

Maybe I'm weird =\

Decisions Decisions...

A levels are over. What to apply to now?

So many options.. Bah.

Scholarship choices:

-> PSC

-> NIS

Courses:
-> NUS Double Degree Applied Math/Comp Sci

-> NUS Math

-> NUS Comp Sci

-> NUS Comp Eng

Which ones?? Aaaah...

Zeh A level results Zare Outz

Got my company pictures liao ^^

[If you are looking for me, I'm not wearing specs >.<]

Cougar Coy Formal Shot

(I'm somewhere near the center right side on the 2nd standing row)

Cougar Platoon 3 Formal Shot

(I'm at the center on the last row)

Cougar Platoon 3 Informal Shot

(I'm on the left side "twisting my hips!" the way I'm supposed to do BCCT XD)

Also got my company tee. Yay!

[Shirt Front - An intricate logo on the left chest]

[Shirt Back - A claw with our motto "Everyday, Stronger, Better, Faster. Cougar"]

[Shirt Logo - 2 cat heads flanking "C", in between "Cougar" and "Stronger.Better.Faster. "]

The shirt logo actually quite nice la.. But the sewing screw it up I think.. The cat heads quite cool but the words cant see properly one.. Bloody hell.

Ah btw, something that you all non-Cougars don't have on your LBVs...

A cougar badge and a name tag:

It currently stinks like mad cos I haven't washed it and it's been through rain/sweat/soil etc for the past 2months. We had to put our surname behind for our name tags. I wanted "Pika Choo" but my buddy and section mates say that's too childish so I changed to "Ha Choo". Kinda regret now. Who cares about childishness when you're in the army XD

Today was the release of A level results, everyone gets to book out earlier including those not taking A levels (lucky bastards!). Bookout-ed on Fri when everyone else I know book out on Thurs night.. $%^&*(*&^%

Results ain't stellar but within expectations, enough said =\

Guess I gonna spend the rest of my bookout time thinking what to apply etc.. Bleh..

Toilet Paper?

Had a bad diarrhoea on one of the days when we went outfield.

It was horrible.

There was no toilet paper and I forgot to bring tissue paper.

While I eased myself, there were bugs and flies roaming around me.

When I was done, I looked for alternative toilet paper sources..

Hm..

Leaves?

Wth, no. They're all muddy.

Dropped white tape from previous markings?

Am I sick? How old are those already...

Twigs?

Am I getting desperate? -.-

Then I searched my LBV for anything I could use...

RCK (Rifle Cleaning Kit) Cloth?

Eh.. If I use then I'll be carrying it with me throughout. Eww..

Wash with water from waterbag/bottle?

Eh how the.. I'm not some gymnast.. And it seems gross.

Suddenly I saw the light...

Thank you 2LT Anshul and you being insistent on us bringing WRITING MATERIALS everywhere we go. Now I fully appreciate your intentions. It was meant to be our makeshift toilet paper in times like these (Or at least thats what I used rofl) I tore out all the blank pages and wiped my butt >.<

Sirens everywhere.

"When the whistle blow, sirens everywhere."

Not true for Cougar.

The fire siren rings for nothing. For long periods of time.

We don't get ringing in our ears due to gunshot during live range.

We get them from hearing the spoilt fire siren ring for over an hour.

And it happened twice already.

If somehow a real fire breaks out, we're all dead.

We no longer respond to the fire siren like we are supposed to lol.

My ear still can faintly hear the ringing sound till now... SIAN ARH!

The Giant Blisterified Rat of Tekong

Yes its true.

There exists a giant rat in Tekong.

Its around 1.7m+ in height.

And it happens to be me.

On the first day of book-in, I wiped clean the whole biscuit tin of food I brought in.

By the 3rd day, my section ran out of food. The only survivor (Wei Jie) was forced to ration out around 3 miserable packs of biscuits per day. I was so hungry I had nightmares =\

By the 5th day, my platoon ran out of food.

I had to resort to eating strepsils and stuff like that, not because I was sick or whatever, but because I was too hungry >.<

About blisters.. I hate them so much. SOOOOO much.

Just from SOC I kanna 4 burst blisters. Usually can do swing trainer and pull-ups. With the blisters, I can only cross half the swing trainer before the pain overwhelms me and my pull-ups drop by half or more -.-"

While my blisters are on the way to recovery, I had another SOC and they broke again, then I failed SOC #$%^&*(

Ninja.

During one of the nights in camp I had to get out of my bunk after lights out to do smth (basically eat and then brush up cos i'm so hungry, as usual). Then my buddy is like "OMG don't suicidal. Get caught = die". Then I'm like "I'll ninja there." And I did.

It totally reminds me of the last day of field camp...

At the wee hours in the morning, a few of our rifles were taken (either stealthily or by force) by our sergeants. Fearing confinement and all the shit (for me I was pissed cos we were told there was going to be a dawn attack and I wanna rambo them with the rifle and blanks), 3 of us - my buddy, another bunkmate called Wei Jie, and me, decided to steal back our rifles.

Before the field camp we were told about rifle stealing and we asked if we can steal our sergeants' rifles, they said ok, as long as we can find it. Hence, we started our movement, at 5.30am when its still dark. We applied all the tactical shit we learnt and crept all the way down to their tents. The prowlers and sentries on duty (fellow recruits) didn't even notice us rofl. Once I even had problem locating my buddy to pass down a message (I was the "front scout" cos I was like the most experienced amongst the 3 of us, I knew all the stuff they taught on the first teaching =\).

When we reached their tent, we peeked in and looked around for shiny objects (our blank attachments on our rifles were silvery). I saw one but when I was about to peek closer, I realised the sergeant was sleeping on that object, and he was turning around. Basket. So we continued searching.. Just then, the alarm clock rang. WTH.. Siao liao, then we retreated and fell back.

All the while, Wei Jie was damn funny.. My buddy and me doing all the tactical shit so as to avoid detection, then Wei Jie WALKED openly on the open road. Rofl.. Then he even dragged his feet, causing all the sandy sound. Bah.

Anyway, feeling pissed at failing to get back our rifles, and feeling useless during the dawn attack, we decided to contribute in our own way - set up a early warning system so the rest can be prepared and choing at the first sight of enemy.

The plan:

- I set up a solo listening/observation post some 50m from the sergeant's tent. When I see people carrying weapon walking towards us, I'll cover the lightstick on the tree I'm hiding behind.

- Seeing that, Wei Jie hiding halfway to our harboring (ie camp) site will cover his lighstick

- Then my buddy Justin will sound off to the rest (ask them wake up etc) and choing down to attack or smth lol

It sounded damn cool and good and we carried it out. But on second thoughts it was quite funny and stupid lol..

Anyway, I camped there till the sun came out and I was caught by a sergeant -.-"

No more concealment by the dark, and the trees at our campsite are all lik 15cm in width. So even if I was proning and stuff, they could see me from 100m away. Rofl.. And Justin told me Wei Jie was sleeping while I was keeping a lookout. Basket.. Lol.

Looking back I think it was quite dumb.. But a very interesting and funny experience haha.. Ninja skills put to the test, though we failed XD

Happy CNY!

First day of CNY.

Went to visit relatives and get ang baos (i.e. red packets), aka pai nian...

This year was quite interesting. 2 things happened.

1) First blood

On the way out of our house to our first destination, we bumped into our neighbour living 4 floors below. We greeted her happy CNY, and then she gave us ang baos. On the spot. No cue. LOL. Unexpected first blood.

2) Taxi?

Before we left our grandpa's house to our grandma's house, my sis made an argument that we should take the cab. When asked who will foot the crazy bill, she said "Use ang bao money la! Kor (i.e. brother, i.e. me) and me split lor. You see ar.. We pay like $8 each, you all (refering to parents) fill up the remaining few bucks. Then we go there earlier, we catch those people visiting ah ma (i.e. grandma) before they leave, then we get back more than $10++. Its a great investment!"

Rofl. Best argument she ever given in her entire life that I've heard.

Tagged by Hakeym

Lol this is so retardedly funny. Its like fill in the blanks and you end up with a retarded message XD

Dear Qian,

I don’t really know how to tell you this, but I’ll join the monastery. I think I realised it when I quoted Santa in your camping car and I saw you sit on my avocado plant. I’m sure you’re frostbitten enough to understand how awful I’ve felt.. I’m returning your ring to you, but I’ll keep the oil stocks as a memory. You should also know that I never will forget our friendship. Greetings to your frog Leonard.

Love,

Davin

P/S: You’re so lifeless, Smelly Armpits Hakeym.

RULES:
#1 Do the “Letter MEME”.
#2 Tag no less than 5 other people, and leave them a comment, informing them that they have been tagged.
#3 Copy the “How-to” Letter Meme, and finish your Journal entry. How you do the Letter Meme:
Dear(the last person who text you), I don’t really know how to tell you this, but __1__. I think I realised it when/on __2__3__ and I saw you __4__5(1)/5(2)__. I’m sure you’re __6__ enough to understand __7__.. I’m returning __8__ to you, but I’ll keep __9__ as a memory. You should also know that I __10__11__. __12_.Love,(your name).P/S: You’re so lifeless, __13__ (the name of person who tagged you).

1. What’s the colour of your shirt?
Blue - Our romance is over
Red - Our affair is over
White - I’ll join the monastery
Black - I dislike you
Green - Our horoscope doesn’t match
Grey - You’re a pervert
Yellow - I’m selling myself
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You’re a loser
Other - I’m in love with your sister

2. Which is your birth month?
January - That night
February - Last year
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on sesame seeds
May - First of May
June - When you put cuffs on me
July - When I threw up
August - When I saw the shrunken head
September - When we skinny dipped
October - When I quoted Santa
November - When your dog ran amok
December - When I changed tennis shoes

3. Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Pizza - In your camping car
Pasta - Outside of Chicago
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad - As you ate enchilada
Chicken - In your closet
Kebab - With Paris Hilton
Fish - In women’s clothing
Sandwiches - At the Hare Krishna graduation
Lasagna - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a state of trance
None of the above - With George Bush and his wife

4. What’s the colour of your socks?
Yellow - Hit on
Red - Insult
Black - Ignore
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - Put leeches on
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the toupee off
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive out

5. Boys: What’s the colour of your undergarment? Girls: You have 2 parts(1) What is the colour of your bra(2) What is the colour of your panty?
Black - My best friend
White - My father
Grey - Bill Clinton
Brown - My fart balloon
Purple - My mustard soufflé
Red - Donald Duck
Blue - My avocado plant
Yellow - My penpal in Ghana
Orange - My Kid Rock-collection
Pink - Manchester United’s goalkeeper
Beige - My John F. Kennedy-statue
Other (please state) - The crazy monk

6. What do you prefer to watch on TV?
Scrubs - ManO.C. - Emotional
One Tree Hill - Open
Heroes - Frostbitten
Lost - HighHighHouse
Simpsons - Cowardly
The news - Masochistic
Family Guy - Senile
Top Model - Middle-class
None of the above - Ashamed

7. Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful I’ve felt
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That Santa doesn’t exist
Angry - That your pimples are at the last stage
Depressed - That we’re cousins
Excited - That there is no solution to this
Nervous - The middle-east
Worried - That your Honda sucks
Pathetic - That I did a sex-change
Ashamed - That I’m allergic to your hamster
Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men
Over joyous - That I’m open
Other - That Extreme Home Makeover sucks

8. What’s the colour of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your ring
Yellow - Your love letters
Red - Your Darth Vader-poster
Black - Your tame stone
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - The pictures from LA
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your contact book
Grey - Our matching snoopy-bibs
Purple - Your old lottery coupons
Pink - How awful I’ve felt
Other - Your memories from the military service

9. The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your photo
C/D - The oil stocks
E/F - Your neighbour Martin
G/H - My virginity
I/J - The results of your blood-sample
K/L - Your left ear
M/N - Your suicide note
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X - David’s tricot outfits
Y/Z - Your grades from college

10. The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Always thought of
C/D - Never will forget
E/F - Always wanted to break
G/H - Never openly mocked
I/J - Always have felt dirty before
K/L - Will tell the authorities about
M/N - Told in my confession today about
O/P - Was interviewed by the Times about
Q/R - Told my psychiatrist about
S/T - Get sick when I think of
U/V - Always will try to forget
W/X - Am better off without
Y/Z - Never liked

11. What do you prefer to drink?
Water - Our friendship
Beer - Senility
Soft drinks - A new life as a clone
Soda - The incarnation as an eskimo
Milk - The apartment building
Wine - Cocaine abuse
Cider - A passionate interest for mice
Juice - Oprah Winfrey imitations
Mineral water - Embarrassing rash
Hot chocolate - Eggplant-fetishism
Whisky - To ruin the second world war
Other - To hate the Boston Celtics

12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand - Warm regards
USA - Best regards
England - Good luck on your short-term leave from jail
Spain - Go and drown yourself
China - Disgusting regards
Germany - With ease
Japan - Go burn
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
Australia - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt - Get away now
France - In pain
Other - Greetings to your freaky family

13. What is your favourite activity when hanging out with mates?
Gathering for drinks – Ugly pig
Football – Silly duck
Shopping – Kisser
Indulging for food – Cranky banana
Movies – Smelly Armpits
Snacks – Horny wolf
Snooker – Tiny stuff
Bowling – Sexy grandmother
Outdoor activities – Vain pot
Having a long talk – Nose picker
Taking pictures – Dumb person
Other – Burn yourself

Persons who have to do this:
1) Gorden
2) Qian
3) Winston
4) Fawwaz
5) My sis

Field Camp Loh.

Yup. Field Camp just ended.

6 days of no bathing, brushing teeth, washing face. 5 days of no shitting (gave up on the last day lol)

Perma hungry. Perma thirsty. Perma tired. Perma camo on.

Been eating both my and my buddy's combat rations almost everyday cos he has no appetite and i'm perma hungry.. I spend half the time (literally) in field camp eating whenever i'm awake. I took snacks from everyone who would spare haha.. Best meal still had to be the KFC on the 2nd last night. All thanks to BMTC Sch 1 being in the festive mood. Heh.

High points:

Battle courses

Where they test us on the combat skills and techniques through a simulated battle route and objective). I don't know why but I can pick up, understand the rationale and memorise the drills and techniques just on the first teaching during lectures. But apparently a lot of people around me are struggling with basic routine stuff =\

Can drinks in Accessory packs

The best thing ever in field camp. Seriously, whatever you do, try to gather so many as you can and avoid trading them away lol.

Low points:

Tekan

Well, obviously.

High kneel

Out in the field camp, whenever we're not walking or moving, we have to stay in "High Kneel" position, where one of ur knees is on the ground while ur other foot stabilises you. Both legs have to form 90degrees. Try it on grass, you can probably last a good 10 minute easily. Try it on rocky sandy area like our camping (ie harbouring) site, and you'll cry.

Overall reflections:

I still feel the same about "Things will come, its just how you react to them that will determine the outcome". Some people really buay tahan all the crap we're all getting and break down mentally. Others start f**king each other for every single small thing, and it kinda gets on my nerves seeing everyone doing it to each other when we're all in this together.

Another thing that I always believed in also cropped up - "Everyone makes mistakes, give them chances". Since we're been tekaned and f**ked by our sergeants and sirs, almost everyone gets all pumped and flared up. When one person screws up something, no matter how small, everyone else will f**k him. I mean c'mon la, no one's perfect. Not everyone's born a perfect soldier. Even the OC made minor mistakes during the field camp. There was once when Platoon 2 was being scolded very badly by their PC because one guy screwed up. It resulted in the whole platoon hating him, even his buddy turned his back on him. I was like WTF LA! YOUR buddy and YOU turn your back on him. Well apparently, not only I felt like that. Their PC felt the same way and he got f**ked soon after.

The past 6 days (ignoring the previous week which we were confined before the field camp) have been pretty meaningful. Learnt quite a lot of stuff. Though physical fitness wise, probably would have deproved due to lack of PT, but our mental fitness definitely improved. For those who are afraid of the field camp, I got 2 things to share:
1) Dont worry, I heard most Coys slack off. Their field camps are like picnics, unlike ours.

2) You'll get shit anyway, just adapt and face it. Take it on like a man.

P.S. In NS, f**k means screwing him over like scolding and abusing him mentally via verbal and/or physical methods.

You love guns? Wait till you enter the army.

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To all CS and action-movie lovers out there,

Sure, its cool to shoot and stuff. You might even imitate characters and run around with guns, hiding behind pillars, etc. But once you get into the army and lug around a weapon (at least 4kg, depending on what kind of weapon you get. But in BMT you are only assigned the SAR21).

You cannot (you're supposed to, just don't get caught):

- drop it

- dirty it

- leave it unattended

- aim at things with your weapon (not even the bird sitting on the ledge)

- cock your weapon unless you're told to do so

- fire unless you're told to do so

You'll soon find that having a weapon is a chore than fun... At least until you get to shoot.

--------------------------------------------------

Sorry. Just ranting about the extra load I have to lug around and take care of =\

The going gets tough.

Cougar is starting to show the siao side liao.. So far, it has been quite slack in comparison. The first 2 weeks were the "adjustment weeks", then the week after there was a COC Parade (Change-O-Command) and our sergeants were mostly involved, so we were quite slack. The true meaning of Cougar has just begun, apparently =\

Today was book-out day but out of my platoon 3 of 50 people, 21 tio confined.

Most were confined till 10pm (instead of 6pm) for failing the Show Parade (attire check in lame man term). While some were confined till 6pm the next day for losing their Jockey Caps, etc. My heart nearly popped out when one of the PC was reading out the people who would get confined. Siao siao, dont play play liao... The confinement has started man..

Some daily stats

Average hours of sleep a day: 5 (6 if I'm lucky)

Number of push-ups a day: At least 100 (during PT we do up to 150 push-ups in a shot, thanks to LT S M)

OTOT Training (Own Time Own Target): Everyday, for my Platoon at least (there was one night where we did over 200 jumping jets, 80 push-ups, 40 crunches, 200 Buddha Claps, 80 Flutter Kicks, and many other siao exercises)

Admin time (Time to brush up, bath, wash stuff, call, etc): 1minute ~ 45minutes (average was about 15minutes, the 45minute one was once off)

People who suffered from Flu, Cough, Sore Throat from Cougar, out of 170: Almost all

People who reported sick today: Over 50 (the company ran out of ATT B, ie light duty, tags, LOL)

We got scolded for not enduring and blah blah blah, so from now on, we can no longer report sick for flu, cough and sore throat supposedly. Can only report for stuff like fever, vomitting, diarrhoea, and other serious stuff like heads rolling on the floor, etc. Haha..

Ok la, the training itself is tough, but I think its worth it. If you put in the effort that is. If you do...

"Tough Training + Effort = Rewards" (in terms of a stronger you)

At least that's my philosophy. It's been working out quite well so far. In less than 1month, the number of pull-ups I could do increased by 5 =\

Another army philosophy I stand by is that "You'll always get shit no matter what, it all depends how you react to it. React positively, treat it as a training and you'll feel fine. Whine and complain and you'll find it torturous." Wah, suddenly so philosophical hor? No la, army too boring, only work body out, my brain like go on holiday liddat. I scared after 2 years I cannot study anymore >.<

The only thing I can't tahan (and loathe) is anything to do with load. Like running with the LBV (light battle vest), field pack, etc. I'd rather run twice the distance without any weights on me man.. Maybe its because my build is "cute-size" (quoting PTI Sunny, who always replaces "small" by "cute-size" haha).

Seen many friends enlist between 06/01/09 to 07/01/09. I even saw Justin and Terence cut hair. They're both in Taurus. Lucky sia, at least they got someone they know. When I entered Cougar, I didn't know anyone, had to make friends from scratch >.<

Anyway, I had a good chat with Justin after I booked out and reached home, via the phone. Told him some stuff he should look out for, compared Taurus with Cougar (then again, its his first 2 weeks..), answered some of his doubts, clarified some terms he's unsure of, etc. Was good. Always liked to chat with good old friends, but hardly had time since I was enlisted =(

DHS Homecoming 2009 + Section Outing!

Went to DHS's Homecoming 2009 today in the morning. Mis-timed and left my home late, ended up sitting at the upper gallery as the seats ran out. The performance was quite good and funny in fact. Wen Quan's drum performance is 10/10. Too bad he didn't tell me in advance he's gonna do that funny stunt (where he faked an accident of him throwing one of his drumsticks all the way to the back of the stage, and then pull out 2 more spare from his pants, stretching out his hands and giving the audience a wierd ass smirk XD)

After that, we (Justin, WQ and me) went to Cineleisure to have lunch and hung around till my Section/Bunk mates come at 2pm. We were supposed to meet at Somerset MRT at 2pm then proceed to Cineleisure. Ziluo joined us before 2pm.

Apparently, out of 12 people, only 4 people turned up. Yi Hong, Corn and CS said they cant make it at the very start. Justin went out with his other friend at Cineleisure (we bumped into him at the E2MAX @ CINE-L9 lanshop playing console games with his friend. He later went to catch a movie with his friend). Nich Eng wanted to spend more time with his GF (who wouldn't =\). LY and SX, our 2 china buddies, probably didn't understand my SMS and hence didn't reply lol.. So end up only 5 of us - Weijie, Wei Zhong, Nich Yong, Ip (our Hong Kong friend. Yes, our bunk got a lot foreigners haha ) and me.

So 5 of us + Zi + WQ + Justin played CS 4v4, then played Left 4 Dead VS Mode. It was damn fun haha.. And Ip is some secretly imba shooter la! He say he never play FPS for 6 years or smth, but he was like the top 3 fraggers while Justin and me fight for the top spot >.<

After that WZ gtg and the 7 of us went to play pool on the 8th floor. And I met Darryl at pool! Lol... Apparently he's in Raven. After around 1hour, everyone went home. Justin and me went to eat at Subway, before Bing Xu, Ting Wei, Sin Chin, Wei Cheng came to catch "Yes Man" at Cineleisure with Justin. Since I watched it already, I gave it a pass and went home.

Ting Wei's also in Raven. And from his description, his training seems tougher than Cougar leh.. Which is kinda wierd since the craziest companies in BMT are supposed to be Ninja, followed by Cougar. Bah.. Maybe Cougar is just being nice this batch.. Or maybe hell is just building up slowly.. Probably the latter bah. Before the first book-out it was the first 2 adjustment weeks. Before the second book-out (which is the current one), it was spammage of COC (Change Of Command) Parade and rehearsals, which meant Area Cleaning time for us to slack off. Let's just hope it doesn't get THAT crazy THAT fast, anything's fine as long as I can take it =P

Overall, today was quite fun ^^

(then again, tmr is book-in day.. more hell. Heh.)