hmm...this time 1 year ago...what was i doing? i remember! i gave my life to the SAF !
time flies sia...the times i had back in bmt...the buddies i made while'holidaying' in the little island of P.tekong..it all seemed so near. yet so far. cliche ain't it? but its no less the sad reality we live in
come to think of it..how many of my bmt pals do i keep in contact with? to be frank, i don't even talk to my buddy back then. Nick "ang moh" hwang ended up gettin SOM i heard and was my commissioning parade's 2IC. what an acheivement for that dude! the ppl i still keep in contact...prob song loo, vincent, kah woon, ryan once in a while. that's all man..out of 50 guys (ok i'll be honest i wasn't nice to all 50..let's take 30) i only keep in contact with4? that's sad...honestly!
met ivan in tekong yesterday. it was such a long time since i last saw Ivan Tan Hong Yi that he remembers my face and my name, but mistook me for a friend of his in PJC. haha...that's sad sia. atleast he remembers me la.haha..kinda remembered the time i saw kim joo in zouk. he came to shake my hand and i was like..."who are you?" crap...he remembers my name, who i am and what not...n i totally forgot him. now he's like mixin and interacting with all the local celebs sia..haha.real sorry man..
speakin of tekong, here's the biggest mistake i've made since puttin on the 2LT rank : i entered an army camp in a navy uniform! Frank told me to head down to tekong in no. 3 when i suggested i went home to change, so i stupidly did. since i came straight from duty in Tuas naval base, i was shagged n looked sad in my no3. when i reached pasir ris bus terminal, the 3SG there told me off straight..
3SG : i don't think you'll be able to enter.
(crap...as if you're gonna take me out!)
me : erm..i'm going in to see a friend.
(which is not a lie, since i was going in to see hansheng and frank)
3SG : you can try, but i don't think you can enter.
(wait a sec...are you challenging me? )
all this while i was in my uniform...and not to brag or what but i believed i wasn't covering the golden bar on my shoulders.
me : why won't i be able to enter? i'm just going in to see a friend off
( ok..abit of a lie..sorry)
3SG : well...you can try..

by now, i was really kinda ticked off. there was a SSG beside him and even the SSG said nothing much..so i was like..ok let me in now rite? and so i made my way in the queue and took the shuttle to the terminal. there queued for the ferry (yeah...i queued a little) and this 2SG there came and...
2SG : erm..what are you here for?
me : to see a friend..he's inside already
(which is no lie too...i'm still keeping my integrity)
2SG : where is your friend?
me : erm...inside already?
2SG : then why are you not with him?
me : i jus ended work so i'm goin in late..
2SG : you should be with him you know..
(yeah i know...but what am i supposed to do ? make him appear in front of me?)
at this point a MSG came over...and for a moment he stared at my epulatte in disbelief as if he has never seen a navy uniform..
MSG : what are you doing here ?
(oh man..why am i repeating myself??)
me : i'm going in to see a friend..
MSG : but why are you here? you should be with your friend
(argh!! help me please...)
MSG : alrite, take the ferry first..

man...frank said he entered the island with no worries and the ppl arnd him respects him..and y am i goin thru all these?haha. inside the island everyone stared at me as though they have never seen the navy. only the recruit at the gate doin guard duty struggled to salute me..a 3SG at the ferry saluted me. everyone else stared at me. even the school 1 school sergeant major saluted me, but asked me after that in a very...despising tone...
SSM : sir, why didn't you change your pass?
me : i'm here to see a friend..
SSM : what are you doing here? you are not supposed to be here, you know..
me : ...
SSM : where is he?
me : he's stuck in the auditorium and i'm waiting for him to come out. i came late cos i came straight from work.
SSM : oh..ok.

all this time he kept staring at my rank..as if tryin to see if they were fake. frank on the other hand enjoyed himself in the island cos he's in army greens. this sux! but can't expect much. i'm only a 2LT..the saddest thing is..SGT Ghaz, vincent and all left already..leaving eugene (whom i'm not very close to) and sam (whom i don't talk to much too..) so my visit back there has been...sad.
oh well..i shall return next year with my bro..haha