Waiting patiently

Went to Fairus's brother engagement reception. The food was terrific but the music I simply cannot hack. After that went to town and played LAN with Kelvin and Thomas. As tomorrow (or today) is Thomas's birthday, Kel and I decided to get him a watch. We chipped in a bit while he paid for the rest. In the end, Kelvin also bought a watch. I thought of getting one for myself but saw that the need wasn't there; maybe some other time (mind the pun).
All this reminds me of how fast the world is moving. Many a times we do not have enough time to reflect on the things that we have done. "Time and tide waits for no man" the saying goes. Maybe I should take a step slower and try to reflect on the things that I have done and most importantly whether I had gained anything valuable. Since now that we have less exercises, I could consider it.
Now downloading Maplestory; only left 25 more minutes. Also listening to Star Wars Ep. III soundtrack.

The worst is yet to come

Just came back from camp after a 3 days and 3 nights outfield exercise (ex. Buckspeed). It was by far the worst ex. that I had experience since BMT.
The BCS team moved off after lunch on Tuesday; it was raining in the morning and it was still drizzling when we left camp so the morale was low. The first camp site was at Tagore. We had to deploy heavy-mode BCS which was still fine until we had to build shellscrapes. The rain really dampen our spirits and kept our morale low. Although there was no casualty, it was tiring because we knew that we will be having a 10km walk on Wednesday night. We all slept overnight in the BCS and prepared ourselves for the worst.
The 10km march didn't start until around 6 p.m. We started at Lentor and ended up in Lor. Asrama. The march was the ultimate test of endurance for me. The weight of the stuff that we had to carry didn't make it any better. Bashing through the jungle took place from the start until around 8p.m. It was just the starting and I was nearly dead as we had no idea that we would have no resupply of water and have to make do with what we have until the end of the whole march.
After the first rest point, we realised that we weren't even halfway there. Talk about low morale! The march only continued to become worse as it was dark and we had to march until around 3 a.m the next day. To cut a long walk short, lets just say that we went under a drain, went up and down countless knolls and remained thirsty throughout. Not to mention shagged and hungry. We were about to receive casualty at Lor. Asrama when it started pouring and the time was 2a.m. We managed to catch some sleep at the training shed but had to move to a new location at about 3 plus and the rain continued pouring.
The new location was near sungei Gedong. It was raining and all our stuff was soaked in rain. There we walked for about 4 hours to Botak Hill. Our boots were soaked in dirty water and our morale went down with it. Upon reaching we set up a light mode BCS. Only then can we so called rest for a while and have our breakfast. Soon enough casualties started coming in but it was still managaeble.
Soon enough we moved to our final location and had to set up our last heavy-mode BCS which was a relieve but all of us were to tired and wet boots didn't help as our feets began to feel soggy and itchy. Luckily we do not have to dig shellscrapes. There wasn't any casualty so we got time to recuperate and with the tonner nearby, food was available. We even managed to catch some sleep while waiting for the parade around 10 plus.
The parade saw us getting another badge for battalion proficiency. We then packed up and loaded the stores up the tonner but we couldn't go back to camp and had to sleep at a training shed. In the end, we only made our way back to camp the next morning.
The feeling of going back to camp was indescribable. Finally we get to wash up after smelling of rain and sweat mixed together.
BUT...this is nothing compared to ATEC. So...sigh

Trying a shot at poetry...

A Toast to Life

To the years that we had lived;
Every second, minute, hours and days.

To the memories that will never part;
Joyful, nostalgic, devastation they will remain.

To the hopes and dreams that others have on us;
Parents, colleagues, friends that will push us on.

To the experiences that we attained;
Through knowledge, guidance, perseverance.

To the things that we hold dear;
Family, friendship, time hoping they will stay.

To the effort that we put in;
Whole-heartedly, sincerely will bear fruits of utmost sweetness.

To this one life that we are living;
No second chances, no playbacks, regrets aplenty,
Throughout the seconds, minutes, hours and days that we lived

CHEERS!

Note: This is the second draft that was originally written on the 230604 when I was still in SISPEC.

Home finally...not quite

Just came home after swimming with Kelvin in the morning. In fact, I got home this morning after being in camp for nearly a week.
Here's the story:
1. We are now on Ops Iodine which supposedly ends on Thursday but we still have to go outfield which is damn demoralising
2. I accidentally pissed Thomas off when i should have controlled what i say
3. The night march at Sungei Gedong saw me nearly dropped my freakingly heavy bag because it was straining my shoulders to the max
4. Bad news came in right after the good one; to cut it short, outfield cut short but Ops Iodine extended (couldn't tell the good from the bad)
5. Long weekend interrupted by the Ops (only had Sunday and Monday)
6. Found out that its going to carry on from 7th to the 13th of May which means that another weekend may be burned
7. Two more outfield exercises, Topspeed and Buckspeed before we down arms for NDP Carnival
Well, been a very stressful week for me and I need all the time I can salvage to not think about this.

Jukebox: Overture Jubiloso