You know how people say Stagmont camp is more like Slackmont camp? well coming from a unit that i OOC-ed (out of course) from, i guess life has gotten a lot more regimental! on the bright side, i am now finally learning something useful in camp, learning some networking and computer-ish knowledge day by day and even though we have lots of (stupid and redundant) rules we need to follow, i am still glad that i have moved from 30SCE to Signals Institute. this is how my first week of life in Stagmont camp has been like.

OKAY some cool background knowledge. i was from Pioneer Junior College, and guess what! the camp is right net to it! its like every single time i march to the cookhouse for meals, i would definitely get to see my school! :) i REALLY REALLY miss school so much. Army life is so horrible, i would gladly accept taking my A levels twice, rather than to serve 2 years of national service. i mean just compare the vast difference in freedom! in the army, literally whatever you do is dictated by your superiors, which leaves with no room for much dynamic thinking or whatsoever, and all you got to do is follow. So everyday, day in day out, new rules, new lessons, follow follow follow, 2 years and you will be done! Luckily for me, my course sergeant and course commander, who is a warrant officer is really really kind! and reasonable ;) so comparing my life to the other comrades of mine in Signal Institute, i would think that i am actually having a "better" life than them. The cookhouse food is pretty awesome xD just that im not really used to all these marching around stuffs as i came from unit. Frankly speaking, coming from a unit and now being back to a trainee, its been hard trying to adjust my lifestyle. or whatever there is of it. Timings become a whole lot tighter, less freedom is a definite thing and one thing that i am REALLY unhappy about, is haircut. I ABSOLUTELY can't believe it we got to shave our heads to the no.1 hairstyle that we had in our recruit days back in BMT! its ridiculous! i am unable to see why they would actually implement such a redundant rule. Dissing it off as "oh you guys are trainees that's why" is just stupidity. but then again, its the army. so? follow ;) suck thumb like what some people say!

What i am really glad about Signal Institute is the facilities! in terms of the stuff that we are able to utilise for our learning of networks and radios, its just so much! not to mention that well its so much easier learning by ourselves rather than to sit through boring lectures. there are still lectures? but just not all of the classes are like that. more over, the learning environment is so good with just so many experienced people on the ground, so willing to teach us! SI is really different from other camps. We have IWFs, which is the Integrated WorkForce people and they are so helpful! well at least that's what i can testify for my IWFs! not only being so helpful, they are so humble, even after going through so much in their lives! Some of them are actually retired signallers who actually went on the field like the Gulf War and came out. SO SO SO  SO different from the leaders that we have now in the SAF. :) now, many of my superiors turn out to be really cocky, even though i have no idea why. but since they have a rank, gotta respect that rank. thank God those superiors are not my direct superiors :P but then again, OH YES YES nearly forgot, its sooo much more cooling to sleep in the SI rather than in my previous unit 30SCE! in 30SCE, we could literally sweat in our bunks. now thats how hot and stuffy our bunks can get. in the night. However, in SI, its so cooling that i actually get to sleep properly, as in sleep sleep sleep throughout the night and wake up in the morning, rather than in 30SCE, when i would sleep, wake up, sleep, wake up *checks clock* 4am... *stays awake all the way till morning*. For the first time in my unit life, i actually do not have black rings round my eyes! the accommodation in SI is really wonderful. Even though the things can be a little run down and old, i absolutely dont mind!

Out of coincidence, Hisham, who was my platoon mate in my Dragon days in BMTC is now in my bunk! and surprisingly, another familiar person in my bunk is my school's (PJC) top scorer, Andy! and i actually knew him through a debates competition. pretty cool huh! i guess singapore is just way too small. wanna know another cool thing? i actually bumped into my primary school friend who was in the same clique as I! his name is Ke Gin. and oh oh my fellow church mate whom i have known for very long, Donnie, also happened to be in the same Signals Operator course as me! :D my my my Singapore sure is too small eh!

:)

welllllll i am FINALLY out of 30SCE. not that i ORDed even though i wish i did :P just that i have left camp to Stagmont camp, gonna become a signaller, dont know which type yet though. Actually, come to think of it, even though i regard that army camp like its hell, its actually not that bad! you know like how 2 rotten apples spoil the whole basket of apples? yeap the same concept. at first it was the two admin specs (sergeants) who really made my fellow clerk and my life really difficult, but now, its just one left ;) i am not gonna put up here on the "wrongdoings" of my sergeants, but all i can say is that we were mistreated. at one point in time, my injuries were only getting worse. now, im out! ;D wow life has taken such a big turn! last time, i was totally fighting fit, always so ready to 'chiong' or rush. now, i can barely run. oh wait i cant even run! T.T like seriously.. sobs!  the good news is that yesterday, i popped by the medical centre and had my knee checked out and the physiotherapist decided to discharge me from physio! well thats an awesome news to hear after all those insane physio i have desperately been trying to do. i have always wanted to get back to all my previous activities. speaking of which, its been over a month ever since i touched plastic parts and moulds.. and i still have outstanding projects to finish. oh coming back to my knee, now the physiotherapist says that i should continue my cycling and currently i am doing 8km in 15mins with resistance. :) well once i can reach 30mins without feeling pain in my knees, i can start RUNNING!!! :D well actually i tried sprinting and running for short distances? like 400m....ermmm its manageable. :S

i really do hope that when i get to signals camp, life can get a whole lot better :) as in not just about in signals camp, but also for my NS life after that. life has already been so hard on meeee! i think, so i would definitely hope it goes a whole lot easier on me ;)

maybe its time i actually got a blackberry or a huawei phone that i can remove the camera, then i can bring em into camp, then i can continuously blog about my thoughts! if not on a weekly basis, based on the limitation of my time, its like i just talk about how my life is like and not so much about my thoughts. like my thinking,,hmm,....