Christmas Contest

hey... merry X'mas and happy new year to all! in view of the our one year graduation from vjc, we have an exciting contest for all. guess who the person in the below picture is!!!!!

























still no clues? let me give u some hints...







contestant F1: mrs spencer

contestant F2: Ms TOmato

contestant F3: ms pimple

contestant F4: ms black pregnant lady
pls submit your votes at the tagboard!!!NOWWWWWWWWW...may the force be with you...ends 5th jaNNNNNNN !! challeeettttt....

new year eve contest

Due to the popularity of our Christmas Contest, we decided to follow up with another exciting New Year's Eve Contest. You people know the rules don't you? Here we go....





















Miss sunshine
Miss horrible
Miss colourful
miss cool
same date!

new year contest

Due to the great great demand for our lovely photos and exciting contest of the century, we've painstakingly come up with our final piece... special prize will be awarded to those who get all 3 correct during the chalet!!
























miss celery miss broccoli
miss carrot miss spinach
thats all le!!
join in all... dun give any hint to your friends... u can also message to our coordinator ms jenny the answers too!!! have a nice nice holiday everyone!!!! =)

Merry Christmas

Walked down Orchard today, and the atmosphere was really different.

For one, it was especially warm. There was a buzz in the air. It was as if something was cookin', and everything was making everyone feel fuzzy. Yet it was relaxing, and there was no rush for anything.

It was also very crowded. There were people everywhere. Everyone seemed to have company. It was hard to find loners passing by this very bright and warm alley. Really heartwarming.

Lastly, there were Christmas trees! Like HUGE ones everywhere. They were really big, and people were taking photos of them and with them.

Kinda reminds me of SDD, the Christmas tree.

ah... warm warm feeling :)

have a Merry Christmas everybody! 'Tis the season to be jolly! If it ain't now, it ain't ever!

your guide to training in australia

haha shuwen might have something to say about this, but here goes anyway...

• of the 30 or so days i spent over there, only about 10 or so days were spent outfield. the rest? spent in bunk or camp, sometimes happily slacking away and sometimes being instructed to do some very stupid stuff

• and then even when we went outfield most of the time we sat in the 'vehicle' going from place to place for long long periods of time. so long that the butt and back seriously hurts. and even when we didn't sit in the 'vehicle' there really wasn't nothing much to do.
  

• the climate there was very nice to train in. i guess the air there was very dry so we didn't really sweat a lot. during the day time even with the relentless sun beating down on us we still remained quite dry, and when a breeze blows it is really shiok. so we could go like 4 or 5 days straight without ever changing out of our uniforms. and for the more commando ones (including me) we didn't change socks and underwear for like 4 to 5 days straight outfield. and best of all, they still remained relatively smell free even after 4 to 5 days, hehe.

• the sun rises at about 0430 there. so when you wake up the sun is shining already. a far cry from what most of us do in camp.
  

• the nights were very cool as well. although on some nights spent outfield it was really freezing cold even with like 3 layers of clothing we couldn't wait for the sun to come out and for the time to wake up.

• the base camp we stayed in had surprisingly good facilities. good enough to stay for longer than a month.

• the canteen there really saved us. cold drinks on hot days. warm food on cold nights. although the prices there were overkill. A$3 for a 600ml carton of milk. A$3.50 for a hot dog. A$3 for fries (chips, they call it) so on and so forth. but not like we had a choice anyway. i thought i wouldn't spend much money over there but somehow my money drained very quickly thanks to the drinks.
  

• BUT...the place where all our 'vehicles' were parked were located a good 20 minutes walk away from the camp. i estimated a 1 km walk there. considering that we had to go there almost every day when in camp...good exercise for the body, but very tiring.

• great scenery over there. if you train somewhere on the singapore mainland, and you throw a stone, chances are it will land somewhere urban. over there there were plains stretching as far as the eye could see, ending in tall majestic mountains.

• it sometimes felt and looked like tekong over there though. but it was very dusty. very very very very dusty.

• i don't know how many trees we knocked down while bashing through vegetation. it was a slow and painful process, taking almost an hour to travel like 5 km. it was very dangerous though. a 4 storey tall tree being knocked down and falling right on your head means instant death even with a helmet on.

• the training area was said to be 4 times the size of singapore. so this meant that when the drivers drove they often drove more than 100km in a single day. by the end of the exercise most drivers drove more than 1300+km (!!!)

• they don't call it wallaby for nothing. many kangaroos around. some were even daring enough to hop just opposite the canteen, very close to our camp.

and as for Rockhampton town...

• nothing much to talk about. i estimate that rockhampton town was the same size as Tampines and Bedok towns put together.

• eating over there is scary. since australia is a western country you only eat western food, so we ate western food during our day off and R & R there. and it was about the same for all meals. meat meat meat meat, salads, and then more meat.

• going to a supermarket over there is an eye-opening experience. why? ratio of soft drinks to bottled water over there is like 100:1. all carbonated drinks. no stuff like green tea or whatever tea we are used to over here.

• they have a lot of snacks (i.e. potato chips). and they sell them in HUGE packs. me and my motel roommate bought this huge gigantic pack of crisps containing 30 small packs for only like A$6.50

• and the frozen food section there is O.O gigantic frozen pizzas for only like A$5. and lots of MRE (meals ready to eat) over there as well

• although the Sizzler there pwns Singapore's Sizzler. The salad bar is enough for a very filling meal already

• shops over there close at about 1700. so there isn't really much nightlife there except for pubs and whatnot. food outlets close later though.

If I think up of anything else interesting about Wallaby then i'll add on

-erjian

3 more weeeeks!

Today marks a special occasion, where I escape from my armour camp, leaving behind the punishments, sleepless nights and countless scoldings for good, towards the sweet comfort of SAFTI MI where I'll join Jenn Haur and all my other friends from infantry, signals, logistics, engineers, air force and navy for our final joint term. We'll be having intensive drill sessions lasting the whole day for 2 whole weeks, where we'll march march march round round round and round, and practise standing still for hours, in the process, getting burnt by the sun and a very distinct tanline on our forehead.



But it'll all be worth it. All our training for the last 9 months will culminate in that special moment on 15 DEC 2007, where we'll finally be commissioned.

You all are invited to come and watch the parade if you want, we'll be more than glad to see you there. It will be on the afternoon of 15 dec, at safti MI. Inform me or jenny if you wanna come.

Wilbur

Class Chalet 2008

5 Jan 2008, Saturday

Aloha Loyang, Garden Terrace E.

Confirmed (:

Class Chalet

Hello pple..

Class Chalet.. supposedly on 31dec, 1 Jan..

Sadly, my uncle wasnt fast enough to book our ideal garden terrace (2 room) at aloha loyang for the new year celebration.

It's available on the following weekend, saturday. 5 Jan 2007.

Are you people available? Esp Shuwen?

Tell me k. I will book asap... after couple of replies from u all. :p

college day 2007

harlow!

i know this is kinda late.. but i got the pictures for it recently as well.. so here you go....





A very good afternoon to our Guest of Honour, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence, Dr Ong Chit Chung, Chairman of the Victoria Executive and Advisory Committees, our former Principals Mrs Lee and Mrs Chan, our Principal, Mr. Chan, Vice-Principal Mr Fong, teachers, distinguished guests and fellow Victorians. It is with great honour that I stand before you today, having been given the opportunity to represent the class of 2005.

Often when I introduce myself as a Victorian to others, I see the “wow” on their faces. And I guess that VJ must be a happening place to be in since it warrants such an envious reaction. I am grateful to be a part of a college with such a fine reputation. When I look back at what many of us call our second home, I feel the key to VJC's magic is the PEOPLE.

Perhaps you will understand better if I share with you the typical traits of Victorians. Victorians enjoy role-playing, from famous superstars attending Oscars, to superheroes saving the world and pirates in search of treasures; we start off our journey here with a bang at orientation and likewise created one for the freshmen when we became seniors. I thought our annual pilgrimage to the Fountain of Wealth had become a tourist attraction when I saw foreigners whipping out their cameras to take pictures of us executing our famous mass dance moves.

A Victorian is a food connoisseur. We know the best eating places in Siglap, Parkway, Suntec City and Orchard Road, and we will grab hold of any fantastic deals available. I'm sure many Victorians like me will know where to get the best $1 bubble tea round the overhead bridge at Parkway Parade.

Victorians don’t like traveling in daylight. We set of from home early in the morning to make it in time for our lessons and it’s not until the end of our training session, preparation for SYF or concerts that we call it a day, returning home late in the evening for a well deserved rest.

Victorians love creating a splash wherever we go, be it at East Coast or even the koi pond in school. We make waves, sometimes on our own but most of the times with the help of fellow Victorians. Just like Project Discovery 5, when ODAC members made a cycling expedition to Malaysia with Touch Diabetes Singapore - what started off as an ODAC project grew into a college event, involving all students racing on stationary bikes in the canteen to raise awareness for Diabetes.

So with the combination of great people and great opportunities that the college provides, it is the magic formula for success, which our performance in and out of the classroom can testify. Machines will be mere pieces of metals and systems will be just empty talk without committed people like you. People is what make things tick in VJC, I’m glad that we have no lack of passionate students, teachers and staff who are highly driven, making VJC a land of possibilities.

On behalf of the graduating class of 2006, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thank you to all the staff at VJC. To all the administrative and support staff, we thank you for running the school efficiently so that we can concentrate on realizing our dreams in VJC. Kudos for going the extra mile to take care of us. I still remember the days before prelims and “A” levels where many Year 2s like myself would order our dinner from Jancy in the Admin Office so we didn’t have to study late into the night on an empty stomach. To all the teachers, we thank you for your dedication and patience with us. I remember Mrs Yik spending her precious time explaining to a few of my classmates chemistry questions even though her daughter was hospitalized with appendicitis. The unwavering support all of you have given allow us to have the confidence to do well both in and out of the classroom. We look upon you as more than just mere academic tutors, but also as mentors who provided our young souls with the guidance we need when you took time to interact with us outside class on top of your heavy workload. Will you all now join me in expressing our most sincere appreciation to this amazing group of people, without whom, VJC will not be what it is today?

And to all the guests present here today, thank you for being partners with us as our college continues to strive forward, this goes out especially to all parents who have been most understanding of us. I will also like to take this opportunity to thank my parents and sisters.

[some Chinese phrases here since my parents are more conversant in that] (does anyone have any software that allows me to type chinese characters to recommend?)
And to Yufen and Yuling jie jie, thanx for being such good role models that I can follow.

Last but not least, to all my friends who graduated, we had a great time in VJC and let’s not forget them as we know move on to the next phase in our lives. I make a simple request to all of you to keep in touch with one another, so when years down the road during the college anniversary of any other function, we can once again gather and immerse ourselves in the Victorian Spirit. And to all those Victorians who are still schooling here, I hope you have had an enriching time in VJ thus far, continue to bring to the world Victoria’s fame and our intent to keep her flag unfurled.

Nil Sine Labore

Thank you.

jennhaurcame, saw, blogged

who's going?

=D

ann-dee-pee 2007 @ marina

well since shuwen asked for a summary i guess i will have to oblige, having been through like NDP 7 times. Although I only saw the show way back during the first combined rehearsal, so I can't really describe in full detail everything that happens. Liang Hong can fill you in though since he was up on the gallery (I think).

Essentially the novelty this year stemmed from the totally different surroundings, no more national stadium but a grand new spanking gallery seating 27000 directly beside esplanade, opposite ritz carlton and marina square. And the view from the gallery is really spectacular. And when evening comes it becomes very windy as well.

This year's wayang was divided into 4 segments: pre-parade, parade, 3d (die-namic dee-fence dee-splay) and finally the show. I only wished that I brought my camera to snap some pics with, but oh well...

So during pre-parade:

• Some extreme motorbike show involving aussie folks with a totally incomprehensible accent
• Singing and dancing
• More singing and dancing
• Yet more singing and dancing
• Sheikh Haikel rapping out malay folk songs
• TPJC and ACJC getting owned by Bukit Panjang Government High School in dragon boating. Get this, JCs getting owned by a secondary school. Goodness.
• The Red Lions doing their usual parachuting.

Parade:

• Hmm, same old same old. Only this year the secondary school uniformed groups marched out with umbrellas as though they were holding rifles
• The Guard of Honour this year (i.e. contingents from Army Airforce Navy and Police) formed up at Suntec City Convention centre for their final prep before marching all the way to the gallery. The state colours were also unveiled at Suntec before being brought to the gallery.
• The President inspected the whole parade this year, not just the guard of honour. Not that he's garang, he did it onboard the pickup truck all the way.
• Flypast by the 3 F15s was damn loud this year
• 21 gun salute by 20 SA was also damn loud this year. Unlike previous years where the NDP took place at National Stadium and the arty guns were placed near the Kallang River and all everyone could hear was a dull thud, this year it was really BOOM. And it stunned quite a lot of people when the first shot fired suddenly.

3D

• Commandos rappeling from Benjamin Shears. Some screwup happened this year whereby some sparklers were accidentally activated prematurely when they were rappeling.
  
• Lots of 'explosions' here and there.
• Infantry men from 3SIR wayang-ing down the steps of the gallery, among the audience with helmet LBV rifle HUGE goggles and some fancy equipment.
• Police SCDF and army showing off their vehicles. On a related sidenote the army's drivepast consisted of 2 Bionixes from my unit and 1 Primus (the tank with the freaking huge gun) from 21 SA also from my camp. While we get to stay out on Fridays and go to floating platform directly on Saturdays the people involved in the drivepast (the soldiers in SBO who pop out, the vehicle commanders and the drivers) stay in on Friday night, wake up early to draw arms, prep, low-load the BX, do their stuff at NDP, low-load it back after NDP, send arms then book out very very late after NDP.
• Naval divers diving into Marina Bay from a Chinook hovering very close to the water surface.
• Lots of boats doing donuts around Marina Bay.
• Apaches flying past as well.

Show segment

• Um I don't really care much. Lots of people moving around in fancy and impractical costumes with props, both which will no doubt find some sad end in some SAF storeroom never to be used again. I have to admit I fell asleep during the first combined rehearsal when the show started.
• You'll never guess the chaos below the gallery before the performers come out.
• There was these few guys dressed totally in red roller-skating around the platform in between segments spouting some very corny phrases. Apparently one of them fell down trying to skate up a ramp, and it was captured on national TV. I couldn't stop laughing when I watched the repeat.
  
• Well Soka seemed to provide most manpower for the shows.
• Kit Chan's makeup is seriously thick.
  
• The only interesting and novel thing about the show segment was the remote controlled kites by this local enthusiast kite group (www.goflykite.com). Made for a spectacular sight when the brightly lit kits flew around the platform at night.
• Heng I'm not 46 SAR who were the ones controlling the performers and the props and getting bullied, pushed around and taken advantage of by the performers.
  
• I seriously regret not taking my camera along. A picture really tells a thousand words here

And so that's NDP for ya. Same old same old NDP, just different location, different setting (much better, I think). On the actual day itself it didn't feel like NDP at all. It just felt like another combined rehearsal, just that this was the last one. And as a contingency task force which my unit is supposed to be we didn't get scrambled at all. So NDP and the rehearsals to us was just mainly waiting. We did a grand total of like 6 things during NDP and the rehearsals:

1. Sleep/ wait for our shift/ play some portable game console
2. Stand around
3. Eat
4. Go to toilet
5. Watch the parade and the performers and the guard of honour
6. Form human barricades.

That's SAF for ya.

erjian came, saw, blogged

NDP!

NDP is over! finally.

i must say it got quite tiring towards the last few rehearsals, and i just wished it be over soon, so that we can all move on...

and i am sure most of us are quite glad that it is over :) it was quite a successful show in my opinion, and i guess that makes everyone happy! at least we get to see the fruit of the hard work...

but i personally saw it 5 times! hahaha... so gone was the novelty... hahaha...

university has started for the girls! hope you all are having fun and studying hard! that which starts will come to an end :D

then again, maybe we would wish it never ended... but we all gotta grow up :)

take heart!

Routine Posting: 35 SCE "Power Projection" Alpha Company

hello world!

i saw Er Jian at NDP! hahaha... seems like the engineers and armour division are working together for this big event!

NDP is really interesting, especially when you see all the preparation being done behind the scenes. to see the march past up close is really something. not every time do you have the chance to see something so glorious in your face.

and we see tanks, special forces, boats, cool helicopters and super paratroopers weekly!

i guess that's worth all the hard work, to just wear that uniform for that one moment of glory.

and you know, we may not have our uniforms anymore, neither would we have the chance to wear them even if we had, but maybe we would all have that one moment of glory in our own ways and times too! :)

hmmm, these parades really make you think :)

anyway, Terence is in my camp! and he is really big and strong now! and for being big and strong, he and his merry band of men have to launch more than 50 boats every NDP rehearsal since last week...

yup, i guess it's such sacrifices that really makes NDP NDP :)

i really hope Terence becomes my sergeant, because my current one is quite sadist! life will be so interesting then! imagine...

"Permission to carry on, Sergeant (Terence)!"

"Carry on!!!"

"One, two, three..."

hahaha!

actually not really lah, we will just all turn operationally ready and slack together, just like JC days, but now in the absence of Mr Gi. we were in the same schools and vocation for up to 13 and a half years! what a long time... and a REALLY small world! not to mention we live within 2 km of one another...

good bye world! i will be back soon :)

PS: welcome home Wilbur!!! Quick quick! let's eat ice cream and grow FAT!!!

SIG OPR - INFOCOMM2

In what is most likely to be my last contribution here before I pack my bags off to CCK on Monday, I am a signaller!

Time in Tekong passed painfully slowly, and block leave went by me way too fast. I have not played enough, have not eaten enough, have not slept enough, have not...generally speaking, have not slacked enough. Soon I will be wearing my smart 4 and marching from one place to another again, except this time in a different place.

I am actually quite happy I am posted to Signals, because I (think I can) learn some fun stuff inside, although I thought perhaps it would be better to be at least a Specialist inside rather than a Man. But it doesn't matter anymore, since I can't change anything, so I shall just live with whatever is given to me.

My dunno-how-many-week course in Signals Institute is known to be slack, where I will spend entire days having lectures and entire nights with nothing on. Should be a good thing, but then again, to be isolated from the rest of the world and getting barked at by people with more stripes and crabs than you aren't anything good.

Good luck to everyone in whatever you do. Till the next time...

thewestdoor came, saw, blogged

35 SCE

Block leave is coming to an end! It's back to being a soldier.

I realised why being in the army is so scary. It's because you are inevitably detached from everyone and everything that goes on around you, and the life you lead is often lonely. The world seems to move on without you, and such isolation often brings out the worst in you.

Kinda scared of going back, but if it doesn't start, it will never end.

Oh well hope to meet up soon! Take care guys... Until then, 35 SCE bridging pioneers!

PS: Take care in Australia, Shuwen!

Obese = happy?

I figured that since I am having my block leave now while everyone else is busy with work/army, I shall have an attempt at keeping this place alive.

I'm not sure if any studies had been done before, but going by what I had experienced in BMT, it appears obese people somewhat lead happier lives.

My company was just next to Eagle Company, the extreme obese batch who went in with the Jan people and passed out with us, meaning to say, their BMT was six months long (and I do wonder how they survived it).

Just to share some interesting things...

I can still vividly recall during my first two weeks of confinement there, there was once when it was raining heavily as lunch approached, so my sergeant told us to go to Eagle to do our pull ups (they have sheltered pull up bars). Upon reaching there the Eagles guys were there too, and one happily yelled out: "Yo Falcon! What's up?"

Yes it was wrong, so we corrected them. The whole lot, upon realising their mistake, (literally :p) roared out in laughter. It was not the mistake that I remembered; it was the happy tone and mood that I could not forget.

(Later I realise they have a very close relationship with Falcon, which was just adjacent to them. According to my good friend in Falcon they used to bring food in and give to the Eagle guys haha. The relationship was there since 01/07, and it continued on to 02/07)

Another memorable incident was during my 24km route march. My company was the first coy for the 20-to-24km portion, which was from the old Sispec grounds to the parade square. As we marched past Eagle company (whom I have no idea why they didn't do 24. They no need to do or have they done it before..?) the entire company stood by their windows and cheered for us, and also for the CO who was infront of us. I guess they cheered for the entire school behind us as well. (Falcon received the loudest cheers I heard. Before the march they were told that Eagle would wake up from their sleep to cheer them haha)

How can I forget Games Day? Their mascot danced in front of the CO at the grandstands!

Ok, enough of Eagle. The Gryphon mild obese batch whom we the outgoing recruits had interactions with for the last couple of days was also a similar bunch of guys. To the others it would have been demoralising to see a batch pass out while they just started their BMT there, but these guys cheered and sang songs with us and wished us good luck etc, displaying genuine (at least to me) smiles on their faces.

Ok back to the topic. I always wonder how they seem to be able to stay so happy despite being in that place (Oops. Haha jk). One theory I came up with was that because they are obese, they are already used to how people look and point fingers at them, so maybe they do not really care anymore. Get that built into their mindsets, and they live for themselves and not for others. What matters, is that everyday is a happy day.

I kind of envy them for being able to do so. I see myself worrying all kinds of shit like where will I be posted to, what I should study in university, what kind of jobs I should get, how much money I should spend this week, how I am going to deal with that colleague with that f-up attitude etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

thewestdoor came, saw, blogged

POP 2

Hello everyone, how have life been for you guys? I apologise I have not contributed an entry here for a long time. That's the problem when you have your own personal blog.

Before I start anything, allow me to yell:

POP loh!

I did not find 9 weeks a short time. I found it painfully long, and am rather glad its over. Training was not easy, but I had fun there too. On a sidenote, Yong Rui was in my coy, in another platoon. I talked to him quite often, and he's pretty much the same as before.

There is no need for me to list out everything I had done for the past 9 weeks, since Liang Hong has already done a pretty good job out of it, and I did more or less the same things he did. The differences are that my SIT test was less xiong than his haha, and I had painfully little PT. G Coy only did one 30:60, not a single 60:120, and we only had one AGR. You can say I was quite lucky to pass IPPT.

For those who misses Tekong badly and wants to know what's happening over there now,

1) New Pokka vending machines churning out bottles and cans of Pokka green tea, blueberry, oolong tea and POCARI SWEAT are now available. Sad they came a little too late for us to enjoy.

2) Three more companies are coming up in Sch 1, namely Q(?), Y(Yankee) and Z(Zulu). They will be residing at Rocky Hill Camp, which is the old Sispec grounds. They have 02/07 Apache, Gryphon and Krestel to thank for, because we cleaned up that very, very dusty place. They will take tonners to and from the ferry terminal, which means no need to march when booking in or out, but the trade-off is they will be very isolated from everyone else.

3) Apparently they switched back to grey admin shirts. I can't confirm it though; my observation is based only on the new A, G and K mild obese batch. If it is true that means 02/07 is the only batch to have brown admin shirts, which makes us stick out like sore thumbs.

4) No one mentioned anything about potential officers needing to go through Sispec before entering OCS, so I think there is still a direct intake from BMT. Say, there are alot of false news from 01/07 huh? Where on earth is my $450 recruits' allowance? Haha.

5) Not sure whether I can say this, according to Sch1 CO this batch has a record highest number of heat injury cases. Not exactly surprising if you see the time of the year we are doing our training.

So what's next for me? A good 11-day rest before I report to my new unit next next Monday. Posting will be out on the 22nd, perhaps I will update you guys then.

Rumours are there is a Guards intake in this batch, so I am crossing my fingers. Already 2 days ago my 2IC read out names of people shortlisted to be Infantry and Guards recee troopers, and heng my name was not inside. Maybe if it had occurred before enlistment I wouldn't have minded, but my mindset has changed now.

Private Sum came, saw, blogged

POP

BMT is over!

so all in all, the things we did on the little green island were as follows:

1) got a lot of heavy stuff
2) got a green IC
3) got a green EZ-link
4) met all kinds of people
5) 5 BX
6) IPPT
7) Strength Trainings
8) Agility Group Runs
9) 30:60/ 60:120
10) Standard Obstacle Course
11) M16 Technical Handling
12) Live Firing
13) Grenade Throwing!
14) Field Camp
15) Individual Field Craft
16) Fighting In Built Up Area
17) Foot/Arms Drills
18) Games Day
19) Parades
20) Polishing of boots
21) Punishments
22) Pull ups before every meal
23) Situational Tests (which included 2 Artillery drills and 1 Casualty drill on day 1, 3 Artillery drills, 1 Casualty drill and sniper drill, 2 leopard crawls on day 2)
24) Route Marches
25) Learnt new songs
26) got blisters and injuries
27) made commanders angry... and happy... and proud.

so much for notes on a greener island.

on hindsight, BMTC has really taught me quite a bit. It was a place that showed me my limits, opened my eyes to new people and interesting situations. It was there where I learnt independence, courage to overcome fears, to look out for others and to draw strength from them. In that place, I saw the most beautiful sunset, and the most vast array of stars ever in my life so far. Because of BMT, I have learnt to treasure every little thing that comes my way, because in those little things hope was found, a hope that one day life will be nice again.

Take care, friends from all places. I wiill miss you guys a lot. We came, we saw, and we rocked Tekong.

But... we really don't want to go back there, don't we? :)

a wish to talk. they were busy.
a wish to be free. they were angry.
a wish to tell stories. they were asleep.
a wish to be missed. they passed by.

a hope for a change. stagnation.
a hope for rest. time pushes on.
a hope for company. busyness speaks.
a hope for freedom. a cruel joke.

thus, arises

the need to pray,
the need to forgive,
the need to endure,
the need to release.

at the crossroads,

crossing my fingers,
crossing my heart,
steeling my mind,
falling apart.

when blood dissipates, and water floods the gates

that which is given can only be lost, but never be taken away

where is everyone now/what is everyone doing now?

doing this because there hasn't been any new entries for the past month!

yiting - ???
stephanie - ???
erjian - armour infantry
shuwen - ???
yanho - some flying experience programme
nigel goh - with the police
nigel tan - ???
huiqing - ???
chunteck - military police
minning - working at prudential
lianghong - BMTC Scorpion
angela - working too, forgot where
weihong - Air force
wesley - BMTC Leopard
jiejun - ???
terence - SISPEC
wilbur - OCS
shuyu - still working at the airport
jonathan - SISPEC
szemin - ???
mohan - in india
qingwei - BMTC Gryphon
sean - pia-ing for A levels
jennhaur - OCS
zhouchu - ???

Book-ed out

2 weeks and 3 days are over just like that.

soon everything will be over just like that.

army really makes you appreciate every thing that you have in life.

forget the ten years already. hahah... we all shall meet up soon...

:)

joining the tekong club

right, good luck to lianghong, wesley and qingwei who enlist this week and join the tekong club.

these 9 weeks will be over before you know it ;)

I just realised the significance of army life. Enlisting means letting go of schooling days, of days of being a little boy, and moving on.

Makes you wonder sometimes... about so many things.

This is when a bittersweet laughter says it all, where words fail to express what the mind thinks and the heart feels.

Merging?

All right apparently the two Victorias are thinking of merging to form a six year programme(which will mean VS becoming co-ed?). I think there is a report from the New Paper, and in case you say they are plucking news out from mid air, read here.

thewestdoor came, saw, blogged

Back to the jungle..

This blog has been rather dead for some time, so I figured I might probably just write some random stuff and liven it up a little bit before I book back into camp, which I don't know where yet...

Very soon in a few days time, we'll all have to report back to our new unit. And in just a few weeks time, more will start to experience the NS life in Tekong.

Well, going to NS has made me 'realize' 1 thing.. I use 'realize' because although I have thought about it before NS, my military life has made it even more real and true to me.

Well, this thing is actually just the simple fact that everything, good and bad, will come to an end. For me, there were many times in NS when I was just thinking to myself, "OH man.. when will this end?" For example, during my initial 2 weeks confinement.. I couldn't wait to book out. Also, during the first few nights of my field camp, I was quite sick and had a very bad sore throat, I was wondering how I was going to survive field camp.. But I did, and amazingly my throat condition even managed to become better while outfield. During our situational test, after we had our compulsory 'tekan' session, my commander told us.. "Just keep this in mind, no matter how tough the going is, it will have to come to an end. Use that thought to keep yourself going."

And yes, I find it a very powerful tool - to know that whatever shit we may be going through will have to come to an end. But yet, the other side is true also, that whatever good things we are enjoying will have to come to an end too. Everytime I book out, I wish that the weekend was longer.. and as I lay in my cosy bed for the night, I will always be hit by the realization that the very next day, I would be spending the night in camp. Even now, our block leave is coming to an end... and we'll have to report back to our new unit.

After reflecting through this very simple realization, I've come up with a very simple philosophy. Love it or hate it, you still have to go through some things, so why not try to love what you're doing? Its really easier said than done, but many things, once they're over, you don't have the opportunity to do it again. As I reflect over my primary, sec and jc life, I know that I miss those days. Each phase has a very special meaning to me and has helped me develop as a person. Even now, I miss some parts of my bmt life.

Some say life is short, but really, anything that has a time limit can be considered short. For me, our memory is what makes life seem short. 18 years of my life can just flash by in my mind within minutes, and I think to myself, "Wow. 18 years have past.." We may have a seemingly long future ahead of us, but I can imagine myself when I'm 42 years old thinking, "OK.. Half of my life has just gone by. Time flies... " (The projected life expectancy for s'poreans is 84 i think)

So now, bearing in mind that I'm doing what I'm doing only once and it'll all come to an end, I look forward to treasuring my training and whatever I'll be going through. And at the same time, I hope that I'll not only be able to develop as a person, but I'll be able to find some special meaning within what I'm doing.. So at the end of my life, I'll look back in gladness at all the meaningful things that I have done, and hopefully be able to say, "Ok God, I'm ready for the rest of eternity."

POP loh!

I wish we could have taken a class photo on the parade square, but well, if we two had no time to find Terence from the same company what are the chances that we'd have time to find Fok, CT, Jotm (who if I remember correctly were over on the other corner of the parade square)?

And I think I look much stupider. That's what 9 weeks over there does.

Hey

hey guys, just dropping by to like ask how is everyone?

before you know it, 4 months have passed, and our VJ life is really over with a few slips of paper.

results day was a great time to see everyone again, and like yeah it is really heartwarming to like gather once again as a class, like good old days. it was also like really nice to see the whole 05 batch gather once again, making noise and everything, even if it's for the last time...

just a short 4 months, and like everyone is really growing up and moving on already...

just hope all is well with you all ya? really glad to be meeting soon:)

The End

This blog is very very very very dead. Well, maybe except for the tagboard which seems to be thriving.

Anyway we all got the slip of paper that was the very reason why we came into VJ 2 years and 2 months ago in the first place. All the sweat blood tears stress and last minute mugging during that period in October/November finally manifested itself into a few letters on our result slip. For the girls, time to hit the books again. For the guys, 2 more years to go.

Frankly all of us did very very well. Some of us surprised ourselves. Some of us disappointed ourselves, but then again there's no changing those letters on our result slip.

So where do we go from here?

For those who did well good for you. Many options lie open to you. But remember not to rest on your laurels. This isn't the end yet.

For those who didn't do so well, this isn't the end yet as well. Treat this as a mistake, learn from it and work harder to open up more options and find more opportunities.

It is very gratifying to see one's own good results. It is much more satisfying to see the whole class do well together and celebrate together. Those 2 years together have been very very worth it.

And on a sidenote, keep 17th March free. And the weekend date (7th April) after our proposed 'class birthday' (on the 4th April) free as well. We want a proper class gathering, don't we?

Happy CNY

新年快乐

恭喜发财, 事事顺利!

P.S log on to blogger now using the email address 05s44@vjc.sg
for new password just add a '2' to the end of the present password
any enquiries or problems just contact me (i.e. the CT rep)

List of bald-headed guys

Doing this for fun...

For the uninitiated, BMTC is divided into two schools totalling about 22 companies, with 2 more companies coming up. School 1 has 11 companies from A (Apache) to about K (Kestrel)? while School 2 has 10 companies from L (Leopard) to W (Whiskey). Each company occupies a block of 5 floors, containing about 200 men. 1st floor is the offices and stores, 2nd to 5th floor are the bunks.

1 platoon (50 men) occupies a floor (Platoon 1 takes 2nd floor, Platoon 2 takes 3rd floor etc etc.), and each floor will have 4 bunks of about 12 - 13 beds each. A section will occupy a bunk. Hence 4 sections in one platoon, and 4 platoons in one company (with the exception of Pegasus, since their Platoon 4 is comprised entirely of 3 girls)

Weihong - somewhere in school 1?
Jenn Haur - Hawk Coy (school 1)
Chun Teck - Mohawk Coy
Jotm - Mohawk too
Yan Ho - Ulysses Coy
CT rep - Viper Coy Platoon 1 Section 1 (first guy in Viper)
Wilbur - Viper Coy Platoon 3 (i/c somemore)
Terence - Viper Coy Platoon 4 (wah, another platoon i/c)

Greetings from overseas

" Oh ya tell the class we said hi from Tekong. Me terence n wil in same viper company "

- From our beloved CT rep

thewestdoor came, saw, blogged

happy 19 birthday

to the january babies!

happy BELATED birthday to yiting! (13jan!) and happy EARLY birthday to zhouchu (30jan!)

YEA!!

so everybody, you know what to do on 30jan! i forgot yiting's bday!

to the guys: army comes and goes!

to sean: happy studying! hehe. the alevels come and go too!

to the girls: the break comes and goes too!

to the sad and bored working girls: the break is gna go soon! ur work comes and goes too.

to the happily working girls: ur work has to go soon.

to the unemployed: ur work is gna come sn!

to the scandalous: tsk tsk! :D

(: whatever it is girls and boys, have a happy day!

love, ( ______ )

For the REALLI clueless!! hahaha

Tis is gonna be a reali biatch-y post!! oppss!!

For the realli CLUELESS!!!

Guess who i saw a teaching seminar 2007??

Jenn Huar and MUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

I M A STALKER!!! heeeheeeheeehahahahahaha

Have fun at NS!!! WOOSH!

(",)