I think i will do a post on meeting up with ol' SA classmates b4 one on my recent trip to P.Aur where i got my Open Water Diving License..
wats the difference after several yrs when u meet ol classmates again in a settin dat we prob never had since b4 goin in2 army?
a bit awkward at 1st...but den when we start 2 eat n drink together, the ol frenship comes back..n considerin e fact dat the majority were ex-officers there n i'm the onli ex-specialist...a lot of specialist pride at stake...juz kiddin...but of course talk about the days in army training la...n we agree in principle dat the most dangerous man in the SAF is a YSL(young second lefttenant) with a map...
but now all grow up oredi...a lot of things seen from different perspectives...n some things i guess dun realli see the same way...after u spend time overseas, u do become a bit more careful n try 2 b discerning coz no one to look out for u...n begin 2 plan for future...in sg..watever it is...a lot of things can fall back on family...come back holiday relax a bit but also take up courses n prepare for nex sem...den yr end must find temp job in archi firm liao..on the ball a bit...can't relax at home too much..after ang mo classmate again overtake ...n they can b damn talented in archi dis kinda course one...wif all the drawing n writin...chinese ppls cannot win ang mo writin ang mo essay one i realise...
but i do miss my classmates n days in secondary sch...even Darrell whom i'm not so close to anymore...mayb Leonard (big mayb)...n i'm sad dat some of them went in2 things like MLM n allowed it to shang gan ching...but i'll still treat them as frens...
oh...today an interestin thing happened...some one from 46 called n say 1206 last time never process..so now must go down to cmpb n pay...2 years after ORD...n it was dis new RQ...$13.57...like dat also can ah? SINGAPORE BOH CHENG HU LIAO LOH!! must b now got LRI now dats why need dis kind of bao sua bao hi, bao ka cheng min kia...CCB..KNLBPCB.....ok...need 2 stop...shall relate diving experiences again..
:Mood Todae (left)u noe...on the eve of the eve i depart for home for the holidays, i make a few startling realisations..
God how i miss my Singlish n Singlish roots n accent...was watchin Just Follow Law after all those horrid submissions yesterday nite n i realised wat a wonderful relief it is to see pple who think like mi n speak like mi n dun look at mi like some weird alien..u noe, just a short while back i was tryin to explain to an australian caucasian classmate of mine wat Singapore was like...n i realised that we're quite unique...capitalist n modern like Hong Kong...yet speakin a rich pseudo-English language called Singlish..like those in the Carribean who hav a tendency to swing left politicalli...
from a purely historical perspective (n listen here Johnnie Choong) we're very much like the satellite kingdoms that flourished in the wake of the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine...first there was Niccaea n later Russia, Bulgaria and other Slav states...n were in turn, influenced by other cultures as Byzantine influence faded...juz look at Vietnam n Cambodia...arisin from the decay of traditional China n the rise of communist China...Singapore could also b said to have arisen from the decay of pre-modern China and to some extent, pre-colonial India..n as those traditional influences faded away, we looked to the capitalist West...no class struggle n no money comin in until much later...we are a society in search of direction at heart...its not money dat drives us...but a search for identity...just look at the Spirit of popular Singaporean films..search for meaning n identity? of course...while i hav Socialist tendencies...i am not socialist n i generally reject the traditional socialist view of history n society..
so yeah, we're a hodge-podge of different cultures searchin for a n unique identity...dats wat i told my classmate...pple n ideas meet in Singapore...if u aren't open to new ideas den dun come to Singapore..if u think dat e world is onli as large as ur little World-Vision donation each month..well, think again..juz as we shd b open to Australian humanitarianism n civic responsibility n national pride...u also shd b open to our more 'restrictive' way of doing things n the fact that we do indeed respect our leaders n would never want 2 see them carricatured like John Howard even if we had all the freedom to do so in the world..at least we dun shoot our opposition in Singapore...
i realised howevr, also dat Singaporeans r juz too materialistic n ambition-driven...n i dun agree with dat n all the associated elitism n cronyism..yes, i dare call it dat...CRONYISM..n if some silly blog-reader wants to post some lame messages defendin her world-view like on someone else's blog some time ago n be all rude n insultin...its time to call on certain forces...here are where my Socialist tendencies come in realli handy..when one day, a new, Social Conservative government arises dat protects the interests of the Singaporean man-in-the-street n small business...n works to tear down the structures of elitism in Singapore..which contribute nothin...those dat do might receive some negotiated settlement...dats politics after all..den u shd fear...very much indeed...n dat is a solemn promise n 24 K guarantee...
oh, Guevarra does live...believe it...
i sometimes hate these assignments...u finish dem n realise dat others alwaez do so much better...n u go away feelin down..but den...i realised thru 1 particularli bad assignment grade dis year dat if u dun reach the bottom n noe wat its realli like...u won't think of gettin better..at the bottom, there's no where to go but up...n dat galvanised mi...
dis reminds mi of one of Jono's grandfather stories...i remember Staff Vincent at AETC sayin to us when he was givin out extra duties to some fellow trainees dat the purpose of extra duty durin trainin is so dat when u become a full-fledged specialist u become numb to it n when a Master Warrant or Senior Warrant Officer like AE's Lao Chek makes u sign 7 for some stupid infraction, u can shout loud loud, Thank You Sir! Staff Vincent was one of those old-timers who was strict yet fun...Engineers got ISO for trainin system but in Armoured Engineers, onli got i A**h*le...wat Welfare for soldiers?! Welfare is tough training..so wartime got to lay minefields under fire not as scary as trainin kena k*n by Instructors...we loved him for it nevertheless..
n also Mr Ng in 46 SAR...who used to share cigarettes wif members of the 'OK' group of specialists which i was part of..kena extra or regimental duty on weekends by CSM? nevermind...join mi in the armskote..after finish we smoke together..n i'll never forget e phrase he shared wif mi dat helped mi decide to study overseas...Jonathan, it doesn't matter where u're from..wat race or language or religion or nationality..if u're a mother-f**ing c*nt or dick, u're a mother-f**ing c*nt or dick regardless..they're everywhere..his gung-ho, devil-may-care-but-i-sure-as f*ck-don't attitude broke many mental barriers n psychological chains for mi..
dats how i learnt confidence..e system alwaez is a mother-f**in c*nt wherever u go..whether in Singapore or Australia..but even as we trust God...we need to fight back ...C*** B**s are there onli to b f*cked as a very knowledgeable officer once said...so start doing ur job...
