To my not-so-many loyal readers out there, and all those who happen to chance upon this insignificant blog of mine, I proudly declare that I can now drive a Mercedes. I've learnt how to drive this new toy of mine in a mere 4 days. It's cute, so cute that it's sexy. And I for one acknowledge that I'm one hot medic, so now I'm a hot driver cum medic in a sexy mercedes that literally kicks up a cloud of dust. YEE HA!
To be honest, I've spent the week learning to drive a BV 206, a transport vehicle with two carriages. You might find it quite familiar, think Pixar's A Bug's Life and voila!, it looks a fat caterpillar powered by a mercedes benz engine. How's that for cool ;)
I can't deny that I've been blessed the past few weeks, and God has answered many of my prayers, even those I "jokingly" prayed for. Take for example today. I prayed that everything will go smoothly bla bla bla and ended my prayer with, "for fine weather...... and perhaps a bit of rain, just so we don't have such a hard time washing the vehicles." Well, that came true this morning and what started as a sprinkle at first, turned into a pouring rain the moment we reached shelter. I sat there and just watched, amused and amazed. Cool eh?
Not much has happened through the course of the week (pun intended), my last weekend was the highlight, though it lasted for only a day. Even though I missed home (I had stayed in camp for 7 days!), I spent most of my Sunday outside, first going to church, then lunch with the TFers, before meeting my insurance agent since I signed up for a savings plan. You see, I spend so much effort saving and still end up spending everything in the twinkle of an eye - by behavioural economics can give a terse explanation of my actions. And so, forgoing the current liquidity would be a better trade off to the lack of it in the near future ie 25 years time when I mature together with my savings plan.
I was at Wisma talking to my agent, sipping a cup of tea which cost $2.00 but still affordable for my agent ;). She had commented just a while ago that everytime she met me, I was alone, doing my own shopping, and if I did not misconstrue what implied, that I lacked friends. Fine. Thankfully, Chun Wee and Zihao walked past and I caught their attention, had a small chat before I turned my attention back to my agent, victoriously. "Secondary school classmates," I declared when she asked. At least I showed her I wasn't a hermit.
I caught up with them later at the Heeren and found out about their intention of getting a birthday gift for a friend. Incidentally, they got for Keng Piang a soft toy turtle - that says A LOT! Brought them to fourskin and luckily I met Uncle John, who owns it. *[Cheerleader style] Connections, connections, build build connections.* I managed to get a 50% off for a T-shirt i handpicked for them plus 20% off a canvas belt that I bought. I like it. I like it. I really really like it. Okay bimbo mode off. Borders was the next destination we stopped at where I caught sight of a hard cover version of Edgar Allen Poe's complete works. Ah, at $15.95, it's a small price to pay for such a book, not less the priceless opportunity to satisfy my soul devoid of literary works and the freedom of personal interpretation, buried by the regimentation of military life and mind numbing daily activities. The wonders of literature.
Since I'm on the topic of literature, I'll say I managed to derive quite a bit from Ha Jin's War Trash, which I managed to finish during the week. Fiction, but based on actual events, Ha Jin tells of an individual forced to join the Chinese Volunteer Corps. Caught in the Korean war, he finds himself trapped as a POW stranded between two ideologies - the communist and the nationalist.
With regards to the aftertaste of reading the book, I for one seem to bear a deeper hatred towards communism but at the same time, it made me question the meaning of a war. How worth it is it to fight for an ideology or a belief? We can view the act of laying your life for your country as patriotic but in the end, aren't we like pawns on a chessboard, controlled by the leaders at the top with their own goals? Taking the analogy of playing a game of chess, even literally, the sacrifice of a chess piece requires no feelings, no conscience, no sense of guilt. Who will mourn the deaths of soldiers except their loved ones? How much, in the eyes of the government is a soldier worth? Is the soldier just a chess piece, an piece of ammunition or even as the author suggests, war trash - useless if not for the purpose of death? Is serving this nation a noble cause as they claim, or something that is forced upon us? May this be food for thought for those in the army.
To end off, here's an interesting conversation that took place between Ivan and I on Sunday.
Ivan: Hey could you teach me how to act gay at home, which your sister told me about?
Me: Huh?
Ivan: Then we could both act gay together and freak her out!
Me: [Still wondering why Gloria would say so] But I don't act gay at home. I just behave normally.
Ivan: Oh okay...
Me: Erm....Forget what I just said .... I'll ask her when I get home...
So much for questioning my sexual orientation. Maybe one day I should conduct a poll. Haha.
