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Yesterday I left the camp at 5pm, and had my measurements done at Excelsior Shopping Centre, about an hour and a half later. I met up with sis, and we had dinner at Bugis' Chongqing steamboat. We also had desserts nearby where the sesame paste was so tasty. The beancurd with almond was also nice.
Today I'm off. And I couldn't force myself to sleep past 9.30am. If the weather is great after midday, I shall go for a dip in the pool.
Soon tomorrow will come, followed by sunday, and then monday where the regimental life process begins once again.
Now I feel like sleeping after waking up, simply an unwelcomed habit.
Till now I have yet to get my uniforms, and I think I will never. Officers are pressing me to wear one, because I am the only odd one out. Finally my 11B (NS identification card) has been credited with 170 bucks, so I went to the mart to purchase my uniforms. With this meagre amount of money which I cannot even buy more than 150 packets of Tong Gardens' cashew nuts, I could only get myself 1 set of uniform.
So what! 1 set?? The army expects me to wear this 1 set throughout the week??? I was told NSF would be provided 3 sets of uniforms FOC. It is good enough for me to purchase one using 11B.
Now I'm only left with a credit of 10 bucks. Obviously not enough for me to purchase PT attire and running shoes.
I am so not going to fork out my personal money to purchase, and I think none of the officers have the cheek to request me to do so as well! They will ask me to borrow others' cards to use, but I am not going to because I do not want to owe people bucks!
If the government wants me to provide service to this f*** king country of mine, then it should jolly well provide me with the necessities at no charge.
I called up the Central Manpower Base to complain about my situation, but the operator told me they are not in-charge of this matter, requesting me to deal with my own unit. My unit is unable to do anything, and I am not going to wear uniforms to work. So I asked if there is any higher authority I can speak to, and she gave me the hotline for Counselling as well as Personnel Managment Centre. I called the former, but he requested me to speak to my unit about my situation, and perhaps they will allow me to wear civillian clothings. I tell you, never before in history has a person wear home clothings to army!
But since I have a set of uniforms, maybe I should wear it on every Monday and Tuesday, before throwing them into the washing machine. So on Wednesday and Thursday, I shall wear civillian clothings? If the uniforms are ready by Thursday night, I shall wear it on Friday.
Tomorrow, by right, I was supposed to attend a cohesive day event at SAFRA Yishun. But last minute big boss asked me to stay in camp alone instead because contractors will be carrying out renovation work. I thought I could wake up at 8am instead of 6am, and could be dismissed at 5pm instead of 'don't' know what time. This is unfair, but then I have to accept it since I am the most junior of all. But all were given a day off on Friday. Hurrah!
This afternoon a new friend of mine came over to my office, cursed that I will one day be charged for 'AWOL,' or absence without official leave. But my superior, an auntie which I addressed her as ma'am, said I do not have to worry because she will 'protect' me. I wonder if her 'protect' is to give me more work to do, as evident on my first day with her, so I will have no time to go on AWOL.
Earlier today she dismissed me at 3.30pm, instead of 5.30pm so I can go Peninsular Plaza to make measurements for my 1 set of uniforms. But I'm lazy and returned home instead. Anyway I can go down anytime on Friday.
Many people taught me not to be 'garang,' which means doing things not within my job scope, because it's not worth it. Promotion is not based mainly on length of service, rather than performance. I just nodded my heads, and inside me I was saying "need you tell me?" Prior to that, a captain whispered to my ears that I shall not listen to those who teach me how to "keng," which means skive in hokkien. I remembered a guy saying to me on the first day of my enlistment that "buay keng buay choot peng," which means if I do not skive, I will never get out of army.
Enough of this rubbish encounters.
I came across Straits Times' cover page today and read that Genting will build a Universal Studios theme park on Sentosa with more than 20 rides if it wins the bid in the IR race. One word flashes immediately in my mind -> crazy.
Singapore, indeed, lacks a state-of-the-art theme park. Escape is just like a funfair to me, and not to the standard of a theme park. But the local's weather is scorching hot most of the time, so will people be so eager to hop onto the burning corkscrew? I wouldn't want to get the local residents into the picture. Those foreigners from China and Japan especially who are so scared of the sun so will they want to sweat it out in the park? To think that both countries are in the top list of Singapore's tourist arrivals' statistics. But of course the wealthy Indonesians (Singapore's top arrivals) are likely to visit, since many might be here along with their children for the casinos due to the close proximity.
Today I woke up ten minutes' late at 5.40am, due to my cell phone's fault. I had a bad time rushing to get myself prepared in 20 minutes' time.
I waited at my bus stop for no. 9 or no. 35, both of which will take me to Bedok interchange. 5, 10, 15 minutes of waiting had gone by, still no sight of the buses. I could have taken no. 2, no. 24 or no. 31, but they will drop me outside the interchange instead. So how? In the end I took no. 24, the third bus during my entire wait.
I reached Bedok interchange, queued about 10 minutes for no. 168. The time was 6.50am, and I have to report by 7.30am. How am I suppose to reach Seletar Camp from Bedok in less than 45 minutes? In the end I alighted at Tampines and called a cab; the operator told me it will arrive in 10 minutes' time. In my mind I asked why were there so many 10 minutes of wait just in one day? I waited for it at the MRT taxi stand. 10 minutes had gone by. Still no sight. The cab driver called me, and I told him my location. He said he would reach in a few minutes' time! I was like "WHAT? STILL A FEW MINUTES???"
I walked to the main road, trying my luck to hail a cab. So fortunate was I to get onto one almost immediately. The other cab driver called me and I told him I have gotten into another cab.
I reached Seletar Camp late by 5 minute, even after I ran to the office through a shortcut path in which my new colleague told me. But earlier on the taxi, I called him up asking if he could help me sign-in. Thankfully, my weekend has been saved.
10.60 bucks on taxi have been washed down the drain in what felt like the longest ride in my life, as well as waiting for the never coming bus.
Finally I have been posted to my new unit as I requested, dealing with NS registration and reservist matter. There is a young lady working in the same office, but I find her more of a brainless slut, making infeasible suggestions on a retreat for regulars. I pretended reading a book, while eavesdropping her conversation with the boss.
When boss left, she walked past me at a time I was reading my book and shouted "SO FREE AR STILL CAN READ BOOK!!!"
I remained composed and replied "there isn't anything for me to do so read lor," and I continued reading.
This week has passed extremely slow. Dad drove me to camp every morning at 6.30. Next week onwards I will be taking bus, so have to wake up at 5?
I must, even though I highly wish I could avoid, be used to:-
1. Waking up early, way before the roosters cuckoo;
2. Taking long bus ride of at least 2 transfers, totalling 1.30 hours;
3. Acting busy when there is no work to do;
4. Acting obedient;
5. Getting scolded by officers, even if I am right;
6. 12 hours of work;
7. Putting down all my dignity, cleaning, greeting sirs knowing that most would not reply, etc; and
8. Half-hour leisure time each day before I turn to bed.
I am most displeased with Point 7. A message was sent camp-wide by a major emphasising on strict conformance to military courtesy. That means a low-rank personnel has to greet the officers, in order to avoid punishment. But since the major emphasises on COURTESY, shouldn't he also ask his muther fucker officers to reply when being greeted????? I always thought courtesy is a two-way process. A camp mate told me we have no choice, just get used to it. I wonder if officers from other countries are the same as that of Singaporeans. I am really doubtful.
But to be fair, there are one or two officers who are really good.
Today when I got onto the second deck of the bus, I saw three unoccupied seats behind. So I walked to the back. When I reached, all seats were occupied by the bags of those passengers, all were asleep. Despite my calling them "excuse me," there was not even a response. I know they were sleepy and didn't hear me, but shouldn't people be considerate enough to put their bags on their laps, especially knowing that it is a peak time? Singaporeans are just so Singaporeans.
I have been reading the news lately, especially those pertaining to the IMF. Many foreign delegates praised Singaporeans for their warm Asian hospitality, that they were greeted everywhere with a smile. Reading those news just wanna make me puke. You will know why I say this. All fake!
I guess I am going crazy talking about Singapore, as if I am not a Singaporean. But I have no choice because I don't get to choose my nationality. When I saw some officers' cars's window pane being pasted with Singapore flag stickers, I am fantasizing about breaking those stupid windows into bits and pieces.
The schools I have attended have all failed in their NE for sure.
Life's kinda hard for the past two days. Two years will seem to be two centuries. I am able to stay out from camp until further notice, but twice every month, I will have to handle 24 hour operations duties, which will fall on weekends on alternate months.
Even though I stayed out, I have to wake up very much earlier than those who stayed in. My alarm will go off at 5am, and I have to be out by 5.30am, if not I can forget about reporting punctually at Seletar Camp by 7am. I have no idea why 7am when our office hours will commence from 8am.
I hate the notion that we can only declare end of day only when the colonel has returned home. So even if he stays in the camp reading newspapers at his own leisure till 8pm, we can only leave after 8pm even though our official timeout is 5.30pm.
This morning when the colonel came to office, he saw only three people present. So he started shouting across the office asking where is the rest. As if I will know where the other officers had gone to. Most probably below God is him.
Worse is that we have to act busy even though there is simply nothing to do, so now I have a taste of what meiyin has gone through in Sunny Holidays. The only difference is I have to act for the next two years.
Till now I still have no uniforms. Blame it on my direct enlistment at Seletar Camp. I am the only one who wears civilian clothing in the camp.
I hope for more better days ahead, but my future looks bleak.
I thought today is Friday soon after I woke up, just to be saddened by the reality that it is Saturday. My week-long rest at home has concluded as of yesterday. Saturday and Sunday aren't counted am I right?
Soon Monday comes and I will be serving my damned country which receives my highest personal condemnation. Sad to say, but it's my own view. Just as I was reading the Straits Times this morning, A few participants of the IMF quoted the Singapore government as "authoritative." What I want is liberty, although I know it is impossible for a small country like Singapore to condone liberty just like the U.S.
Brushing aside this unworthy discussion of my country, I met up with ken and shaf for a picnic at ecp. We bought our groceries at Giant parkway, before sauntering in what we felt was a wonderful weather unlike the past few days of thunderstorm.
We played UNO cards and packed up at five plus, fortunately not having the chance to welcome the fresh drop of rain.
I left by bus to Bugis and had steamboat dinner with my, sc, sh and wc. The mala (spicy) soup was really superb, not losing to the one I had in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The flower crab meat tasted sweet, but I only had one because of my laziness to operate on it using my bare fingers.
I returned home after dinner, not in the mood to walk any further in a horrendously packed Bugis district. Security officers were patrolling the area, and I felt like being in a war-zone area, true as to what nb described its workplace in Suntec. The latter is most probably worse where the IMF meeting is now in progress.
Yoga lesson tomorrow, and I dread waking up early at eight thirty. I have missed the lesson twice because of my NZ trip.
Yesterday I met up with nb at seven thirty at Orchard and we had dinner at Breeks. We ordered chicken cutlet bab, which just tasted like normal fried rice, the only difference that it was spicy, but not too spicy to my liking.
We caught the Devil wears Prada at Cineleisure, and I can tell you I just like exactly the character of Miranda, being bossy, demanding and practical. But I can't imagine myself working for such a boss. The show is glamorous, revolving around flashy high-end goods like D&G, CK etc, and of course Prada.
I reached home past midnight, and my eyes were half-closed. Ever since I returned from NZ, I still haven't adjust to Singapore time. For this week ending, I slept early at 11am (or 3am in NZ) and woke up at 9.30am (1.30pm in NZ). Otherwise, I would have slept at 3am local time, and woke up at 1.30pm local time.
It has been raining from morning, and gone is my plan to take a dip in the pool.
| You Should Travel to Thailand |
 You may enjoy getting spiritual at a Buddhist retreat... Or just feasting on a ton of cheap and amazing Thai food. |
| You Are 30% Extrovert, 70% Introvert |
 You are quite reserved You aren't afraid of social situations... But you very much prefer to go it alone And why not? You're your own best friend! |
| You Are Most Like John F. Kennedy |
 You live a fairy tale life that most people envy. And while you may have a few dark secrets, few people know them. |
| Your Stress Level is: 45% |
 You are somewhat prone to stress, especially when life gets hard. When things are good, you resist stressing over little problems. But when things are difficult, you tend to freak out and find it hard to calm down. |
| Your Personality Is |
You are sensible, down to earth, and goal oriented. Bottom line, you are good at playing by the rules. You tend to be dominant - and you are a natural leader. You are interested in rules and order. Morals are important to you. A hard worker, you give your all at whatever you do. You're very serious, and people often tell you to lighten up. In love, you tend to take things carefully and slowly. At work, you are suited to almost any career - but you excel in leadership positions. With others, you tend to be polite and formal. As far as looks go, you are traditionally attractive. You take good care of yourself. On weekends, you tend to like to do organized activities. In fact, you often organize them! |
| You Are 48% Gentleman |
 Generally you act like a gentleman, but sometimes you're careless with your manners. Most people know that you're trying your best - and that's usually good enough. |
| You Are 60% Boyish and 40% Girlish |
You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be. |
My days are numbered. I will be enlisting on 18 September 2006. CBRE DG will be my unit. At first dad lied to me that DG stands for dog, so it is a dog unit. That freaked me out, because I am afraid of dogs to say the truth. Once I was being chased after by a stray dog near my grandma's place in Ceylon Road, but an oncoming lorry prevented the dog from chasing me any further.
CBRE DG? Chemicals, biological, radiological and explosives defence group. You know the most cruel thing is that I have to travel 1.15 hours to Seletar Camp where it is located, when there are many other vocational institutions near my place.
Life can be so dreadful. My whole life has been a great deal of travel. I do not mind travelling as far as 1000 miles internationally, but I mind travelling 100 miles domestically, within this small red dot on the world map which I have no sense of belonging.
Singapore Poly is far from my house. But I chose there because of its reputation. My future school, NUS, is even further. But I wonder two years down the road will I give up on my education. I hope not.
Whenever I travel to the west of Singapore, I feel very far from home in the east. I associate west with woods, i.e. forest. Whereas beaches and recreations in the east.
21 years have gone so fast
wake me up when 2008 comes.
Now I'm back home. New Zealand can be really boring, at least for those days where there were no activities. But it's such a scenic place, where Lord of the Rings was filmed entirely on this land of purity.
Complete freedom! It's 100% Pure New Zealand!
On the 1st day - Friday 01 September 2006,
We flew by Singapore Airlines SQ297 to Christchurch. I watched 4.30 onboard while sipping my glass of Bloody Mary which tasted awful, and slept semi-consciously. I hate night flights!
On the 2nd day - Saturday 02 September 2006,
We arrived at Christchurch after a turbulent flight through the massive thick clouds,
On the 1st day - Friday 01 September 2006,
We flew by Singapore Airlines SQ297 to Christchurch. I watched 4.30 onboard while sipping my glass of Bloody Mary which tasted awful, and slept semi-consciously. I hate night flights!
On the 2nd day - Saturday 02 September 2006,
We arrived at Christchurch after a turbulent flight through the massive thick clouds,
and was greeted by a pleasant weather, around 18 degrees celsius.
But soon, I felt the country's pace of life is really laid-back - all terraced-houses, many trees and few people. No high-rise buidling, except hotels, and no shopping centres, just shopping outlets, almost all selling the same tourist souvenirs.
In a half-asleep mode, we took a shuttle bus from Cathedral Square to Christchurch Gondola.
The Cathedral Square
Rallies for "Peace and Justice for the Middle East" near Cathedral Square
If you take a close look at the photo above, you can see the American flag being inverted.
Seriously if they want peace for the Middle East, ask them to behave.
The top of the hill offers a bird's eye view of the city, and the cantebury plains - the largest expanse of vast land in NZ.
Riding on the Christchurch Gondola
Night came alive with the Maori performance, and sis was invited to perform to the audience. The Hangi Maoris were the first settlers of early NZ. When the Europeans later reached the shore of NZ in search of better prospects, the ferocious nature of the Maoris killed many who threatened their livelihoods.
Soon after, we were brought on a tour of the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, and got to see NZ's national bird, kiwis! But it's a whole lot of bore!
This pig is of different breed. Its mother is ten times its size, and looked too disgusting for me to wanna take a photo of it.
Mum had teriyaki don for dinner, while I wept eating spicy pork rice set with kimchi! Sis' bbq chicken rice wasn't as tasty as mine. All for NZ$32, around the same price as Ajisen.
And yes, all NZ's beds are so comfortable; you'll just sink into them!
On the 3rd day - Sunday 03 September 2006,
We checked out from Camelot on the Square early to catch an Intercity coach to Dunedin, the second largest city on the South Island after Christchurch.
Morning tea break was all but sandwiches or fish fillets for the rest of the trip, not too expensive, around the price range of Starbucks in Singapore.
Cows and fluffy sheeps roamed throughout the farmlands in plentiful, confirming their superiority over the human population. Meadows are blooming as NZ welcomes a start to spring.
Arriving into Dunedin bus terminal, we took a taxi to Scenic Circle Dunedin City Hotel, our roof for a night.
I'm kinda turn-off by the way they arranged the third bed
Catch some warmth
We joined a one-hour bus tour of the city, just like that of Hippo bus in Singapore, which brought us to NZ's first university - Otago University, first girls' high school and first chocolate factory, it's historical railway station, botanical gardens and finally the world's steepest street - the Baldwin street at an incline of 49 degrees.
The Octagon
Who is he? I do not know
Baldwin Street - the world's steepest street
Otago University - NZ's first University
Dunedin Railway Station
Sunday is a ghost town! Many shops were closed for the whole day. Dinner was at a restaurant called Etrusco at the Savoy, serving one of the finest Italian cuisines in town. The ambience of the restaurant was lightly lifted by the pianist, set against a wooden cottage-feel. My cabonara made me wanna puke, so I exchanged with sis' marinara.
Sis played a round of jackpot at Dunedin Casino, so small in scale just like on a cruise ship. We rather tuck into our comfy bed.
On the 4th day - Monday 04 September 2006,
The previous night, I checked out for supermarket in Dunedin. So I brought mum along Dowling Street which was filled with Artist galleries, and took a left turn to Cumberland Street to reach a supermarket called Countdown.
The previous night, I checked out for supermarket in Dunedin. So I brought mum along Dowling Street which was filled with Artist galleries, and took a left turn to Cumberland Street to reach a supermarket called Countdown.
Cumberland Street
Countdown Supermarket
Mum bought 6 Cadbury chocolate bars selling at NZ$2.79 each, around S$2.90, simply a bargain. We came across a minimart in Christchurch on the last day selling at over NZ$6.
Sis called for us to be back at the hotel for check-out. Then we walked to the First Church which claimed itself as Edinburg of the South.
First Church - Edinburg of the South
Sis left for the Internet cafe at Civic Centre for work purposes, leaving mum and I sitting at one of the benches in the garden outdoor. And I made a reservation for dinner tonight.
Is this an electric car?
We had brunch at Subway, the three of us sharing a footlong sandwich. An NZ teenage in front of me was having one by himself.
Again, its a long coach journey of 5 hours to Queenstown - the tourism capital of the world. It's an adventurous town where the bungies are in action, shotover jet ride, skydiving and more, but due to time constraints, we did not manage to try the shotover jet. I shall return one day on a backpack in later years when I have saved enough money.
We stayed at Sherwood Manor hotel, situated at Lake Wakatipu - NZ's third largest lake. The hotel shouldn't be called a hotel, because it's like a chalet, with a living room (with 2 beds though) and a bedroom with a double bed. The glass-door entrance at the living room was a floor-to-ceiling type, overlooking the lake and snow-capped mountains.
View from room
Our dinner was at the top of the hill, called the Skyline Restaurant. So we had to take a gondola uphill, just like how you would dine at Mount Faber. It offers a panoramic night view of Queenstown and its mountains and lakes as backdrop.
The buffet selection was great - fresh prawns, mussels, lamb chops, honey stewed chicken and more. The pastries were best, especially Tiramisu, where I thought of Sharlene because of her blog "tirabaileys." The chocolate mousse - fantastic. All melted in my mouth. But it's pricey at NZ$64 per person, inclusive of gondola ride. But I've worked hard over the past few months to earn for this trip. So I heck.
