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The beginning of an end. Part we must, but hope our friendships will last
January 30, 2006
January 29, 2006
NS Chapter 2: CNY Break ( first non confinement week)
This is our first long breeak... next book in thurs night 1955 hours :) training this week has been slightly tougher as compared to the previous week... but no prob, since everyone's doing it together. Till this point of time i would say that what my OC says is very true: Mind over body. One's endurance hinges on mental strength. Different ppl have different degrees of endurance. Thats what makes a mentally strong person outstanding. I guess i shld be able to grasp this idea by now. Conquer the tiredness. Using ur brain. Its not easy. Its difficult to put aside the pain or weariness on one's body, cos its directly impacting on u. But its the inner strength which is more powerful, yet entrenched more deeply and elusive. Its really hard to tell urself to be metally strong, unless u are one who's really capable of drawing the inner strength by ur own unique way. Thats what i believe. I'm still in the process of finding the magic formula.. What i call the EAST: Endure and survive technique. Brain playing tricks on u... one's brain can perform miracles.. wonders... its up to us.
SOC: My first lesson was ok.. an eye opener i would say. 11 obstacles and runs both before and after clearing the obstacle. Second lesson. I had problem with the swing trainer, or the monkey bar for laymen language. the bars are thicker, wider spaced apart. I didnt clear that obstacle, i am really disappointed. I believe its my technique. i can do more pull ups than a couple of my section mates, and yet i couldnt clear the obstacle while they can. Many of us had severe blisters on our hands. We persevered. We kept trying despite our blisters, some even had blood. OC told us to be strong. As he said :
Pain is temporary, it reminds u that u are alive
It may sound a little extreme, but its really a phrase said remarkably well. then approaching the end of the lesson OC wanted us to form 3 rows... and clear the obstacles we learnt before. We were reluctant. Cos of the pain and everything. But we did it eventually. the last row to complete was punished by OC... but eventually the whole company volunteered to do with us. Copany spirit. It was a memorable moment. We did 50 pushups in total, in various styles. I liked the spirit. OC was slightly contented from his expression. True enough, when we approached the last activity og the day strength training, OC cut short our last excercise. Delighted as we were, OC explained the rationale. He likes to say: soldiers, u want to do things your own way or my way? do it once, do it well. When u do things my way, u wont like it, understand anot? understand anot? understand anot, understand anot.................... and he keeps making us reply...... yep, i sort of digressed a little, but what i meant was that we shld always have the company spirit. We shld always move like lightning, shout like thunder. train with alot of effort. Show determination. That was what he meant my OUR WAY. That small little gesture by OC sort of lifted our morale my a little. That way the training was already back to back... so it was a huge relief when we were given free time to recuperate after that.woo hoo...
Development: tough training always hailed as development. We did alot of pushups. But we all did it in the light of training, the attitude displayed wasnt totally reluctant, not indifferent. Some of us took it in a positive light. Record breaking man, i remembered we did like 300 to 400 pushups in one particular day. It sounds scary, but good training. U feel great after that. really. sense of achievement. I like a particular quote my OC said:
Pride is inversely proportional to morale
Very true indeed. I believe i will feel it the most during my upcoming field camp which will be tough as what the commanders say. They want to break us down. Its the time where we can see who our true friends are. It will be a good experience in retrospect. No one in his right mind would look forward to tough treatment. But i will try to remain optimistic. After everything, our pride will be high. We will lift up our heads. "Ninja,Ninja all the way... we like it here we like it here we found ourselves a home a home sweet home. "
Happy New Year to one and All. I wish everyone a prosperous and smooth year ahead. Look forward to the new year! :)
SOC: My first lesson was ok.. an eye opener i would say. 11 obstacles and runs both before and after clearing the obstacle. Second lesson. I had problem with the swing trainer, or the monkey bar for laymen language. the bars are thicker, wider spaced apart. I didnt clear that obstacle, i am really disappointed. I believe its my technique. i can do more pull ups than a couple of my section mates, and yet i couldnt clear the obstacle while they can. Many of us had severe blisters on our hands. We persevered. We kept trying despite our blisters, some even had blood. OC told us to be strong. As he said :
Pain is temporary, it reminds u that u are alive
It may sound a little extreme, but its really a phrase said remarkably well. then approaching the end of the lesson OC wanted us to form 3 rows... and clear the obstacles we learnt before. We were reluctant. Cos of the pain and everything. But we did it eventually. the last row to complete was punished by OC... but eventually the whole company volunteered to do with us. Copany spirit. It was a memorable moment. We did 50 pushups in total, in various styles. I liked the spirit. OC was slightly contented from his expression. True enough, when we approached the last activity og the day strength training, OC cut short our last excercise. Delighted as we were, OC explained the rationale. He likes to say: soldiers, u want to do things your own way or my way? do it once, do it well. When u do things my way, u wont like it, understand anot? understand anot? understand anot, understand anot.................... and he keeps making us reply...... yep, i sort of digressed a little, but what i meant was that we shld always have the company spirit. We shld always move like lightning, shout like thunder. train with alot of effort. Show determination. That was what he meant my OUR WAY. That small little gesture by OC sort of lifted our morale my a little. That way the training was already back to back... so it was a huge relief when we were given free time to recuperate after that.woo hoo...
Development: tough training always hailed as development. We did alot of pushups. But we all did it in the light of training, the attitude displayed wasnt totally reluctant, not indifferent. Some of us took it in a positive light. Record breaking man, i remembered we did like 300 to 400 pushups in one particular day. It sounds scary, but good training. U feel great after that. really. sense of achievement. I like a particular quote my OC said:
Pride is inversely proportional to morale
Very true indeed. I believe i will feel it the most during my upcoming field camp which will be tough as what the commanders say. They want to break us down. Its the time where we can see who our true friends are. It will be a good experience in retrospect. No one in his right mind would look forward to tough treatment. But i will try to remain optimistic. After everything, our pride will be high. We will lift up our heads. "Ninja,Ninja all the way... we like it here we like it here we found ourselves a home a home sweet home. "
Happy New Year to one and All. I wish everyone a prosperous and smooth year ahead. Look forward to the new year! :)
January 22, 2006
NS Chapter 1: Confinement period
woah... 2 weeks has passed by.. Its my 2nd time booking out already, all thanks to hari raya haji. well this 2 weeks of ns has given me a taste of what the next 2 yrs of my life would be, or if not tougher than this. This 2 weeks of adjustment period has introduced me to a totally different environment. A more regimental, disciplined and effective way of life. the ppl there love vulgarities apparently, and use them quite frivolously... as conviniently as a comma or a full stop. Some commanders employ vulgarities in a hilarious way, making it sound comical. But i can assure u that the spouting of vulgarities during serious scoldings are harsh and intimidating. I am in ninja company, dubbed as one of the more "xiong" companies. The sergeants admitted it themselves. My sergeant told me that if we do not hate them, that means that they have failed in their duties. They also said that the best form of welfare is tough training itself. Every new recruit would shudder upon hearing that, especially when they havent get accustomed to life in the army. As compared to the what other companies told their recruits that a happy company is a good company, being in ninja is indefinitely a stark contrast to recruits from other companies. the oc is commando officer. He often quotes: The world is cruel, men are selfish. He doesnt want us to show that this slogan is true. And if we do... the world is cruel will turn true. And it means that hell would be unleashed. He hates ppl dragging their boots. And i mean it. Just because one person dragged his boots, we got the latest book out timing and earliest book in timing. He's a very on the ball commander.... comes for every training... be it strength training or even our route march. We hate his presence, cos its like a country on high alert. Every movement not done well or too slow.. he will be shouting at us, or even punishing us. Its like some big shot clamping down on ur neck. and u are like treading on dangererous grounds every now and then with him around.
We are supposed to have 7 hrs of sleep. Reality is always different. 6 hours at most. Very little time to do personal admin. haiz... need to do laundry, bath and prepare for next day. Really tired, but must get use to it.Thats what the 2 weeks for.... i really dunno what's the full fledged training like.. It'll be after tonight when i book in.........
Cya for now :)
We are supposed to have 7 hrs of sleep. Reality is always different. 6 hours at most. Very little time to do personal admin. haiz... need to do laundry, bath and prepare for next day. Really tired, but must get use to it.Thats what the 2 weeks for.... i really dunno what's the full fledged training like.. It'll be after tonight when i book in.........
Cya for now :)
January 03, 2006
3rd Jan 2006: 2 Days to NS
Orientation 1 started today in vj, not for me of course.. IT was really fun to see year ones entering vj and starting their new life in vj! It is always the same transformation: Puzzled when first come in, to enthralled when learnt of the new vj culture, then to fun when they finally got acclimatised to the environment in vj. At least i have gone through the whole experience, and i have enjoyed it thoroughly, especially in choir. I went to school in the morning, then to calvin's house in the afternoon, with eugene... It was our usual 228 again... ( fifa) 228 was enjoyable...we created our own tournament named "Lautenia Cup" (derived from laut-nya) haha... We all decided to choose teams with equal strengths each. I chose Charlton, eugene chose Boca Juniors, while calvin chose Auxerre.. Oh and sad to say, i was knocked out by Benfica... haha.. oh well, i wasnt that good as eugene and calvin... Eugene managed to beat a 5 Star team Lyon en route to finals... And of course calvin was the only worthy opponent in the finals... so ya.. in the end.. Auxerre vs Boca Juniors.. haha... And it was really an exciting match!! 1-1 was the score after end of second half..the match went to extra time...during the 117th minute, eugene scored the decisive goal.. And yes! Victory is sweet! Boca Juniors won the Lautenia Cup...! :P
lol, sorry to bore u all with the minute details.. It was really a whole afternoon affair, so i thought writing it down is worth it...haha
Evening: Tealight session with Vj choir. Concourse @ VJ. Moment to rmb.2 yrs of singing.. a lifetime of legacy. I was very impressed by Joshua's speech. He critically analysed our problems in a very succinct way.. The clique thing..Let me give u my thoughts on it :) Cliques do exist in the first place because the "frequency" among different ppl are different. From the first day of sch when we start to mix around already, the background of ppl do influence the choice of friends they like to hang out with.. Sec schs for example. However, the lack of willingness to hang around with other schs may largely be due to different interests.. different mentalities, and different habits.. Differences in character and behaviour, makes conditions unfavourable for stronger bonds to be formed among 2 different groups of ppl. hence, the cliques will remain. I personally dont feel that it is wrong to have cliques, for it is ridiculous to demand that we always go out in one very large group.. it is not plausible in all instances. Small groups would be inevitably present. and as i said, these groups would be instinctively be formed by grouping ppl with similar interests, mentality or rather "frequency". The idea of one big united Vj family cannot be discarded or belittled however. It is nevertheless crucial to stand together as one. I remembered in Bremen olympics 2004, august once said that we are the vj choir. And each and everyone of us has the name vj choir. We are all equal, and share a common identity. We are 1 choir.And no man is an island. That was the idea of unity. The idea of sticking together, the idea of putting in our best for the sake of ourselves, and for the brand of vj choir. We cannot afford to see ourselves as individuals, for we are invariably entangled in a tight meshwork-- the vj choir. We sing not for ourselves, but for the choir. By improving our standards, we are consistently adding credits to vj choir. By winning competitions, we earn the honour for the choir. We must be proud of it, for we are the vj choir. All these words may seem long... but unfortunately not all ppl (even yr 3s) have lived by it. I am not blaming anyone here.. but just felt that we could have been better. Well, life is not always the way we desire. I accept it, and with honour. VJ choir to me will always be special.
So ya, yesterday was also a thanksgiving session. It was heartwarming. Seniors hugging juniors. Shaking hands. Well wishes. Yea emotions were written all over our faces. I sincerely thank Mr kwei for his dedication throughout my past 6 yrs in choir. He has been one man with absolute committment and unwavering determination in promoting choral music in Singapore. Thank you Nelson! I also ought to thank the music co and exco 2004-2005 (yr 3s) i mean. They managed the choir very well. I thank gabriel for the patience and encouragement all the time. Thanks for telling me i've improved, but i need to tell u that u have been one great man who have grown and became more professional throughout these 2 years in choir. U too made a great leap in choral singing and i have no doubts abt it :) Thanks for leading the choir. As what shawn said yesterday, the choir would not have been led by anyone better. =)
ok thats all for now.. will be enlisting soon. Cya ppl.. Good luck and have fun.. will post again as soon as possible :)
lol, sorry to bore u all with the minute details.. It was really a whole afternoon affair, so i thought writing it down is worth it...haha
Evening: Tealight session with Vj choir. Concourse @ VJ. Moment to rmb.2 yrs of singing.. a lifetime of legacy. I was very impressed by Joshua's speech. He critically analysed our problems in a very succinct way.. The clique thing..Let me give u my thoughts on it :) Cliques do exist in the first place because the "frequency" among different ppl are different. From the first day of sch when we start to mix around already, the background of ppl do influence the choice of friends they like to hang out with.. Sec schs for example. However, the lack of willingness to hang around with other schs may largely be due to different interests.. different mentalities, and different habits.. Differences in character and behaviour, makes conditions unfavourable for stronger bonds to be formed among 2 different groups of ppl. hence, the cliques will remain. I personally dont feel that it is wrong to have cliques, for it is ridiculous to demand that we always go out in one very large group.. it is not plausible in all instances. Small groups would be inevitably present. and as i said, these groups would be instinctively be formed by grouping ppl with similar interests, mentality or rather "frequency". The idea of one big united Vj family cannot be discarded or belittled however. It is nevertheless crucial to stand together as one. I remembered in Bremen olympics 2004, august once said that we are the vj choir. And each and everyone of us has the name vj choir. We are all equal, and share a common identity. We are 1 choir.And no man is an island. That was the idea of unity. The idea of sticking together, the idea of putting in our best for the sake of ourselves, and for the brand of vj choir. We cannot afford to see ourselves as individuals, for we are invariably entangled in a tight meshwork-- the vj choir. We sing not for ourselves, but for the choir. By improving our standards, we are consistently adding credits to vj choir. By winning competitions, we earn the honour for the choir. We must be proud of it, for we are the vj choir. All these words may seem long... but unfortunately not all ppl (even yr 3s) have lived by it. I am not blaming anyone here.. but just felt that we could have been better. Well, life is not always the way we desire. I accept it, and with honour. VJ choir to me will always be special.
So ya, yesterday was also a thanksgiving session. It was heartwarming. Seniors hugging juniors. Shaking hands. Well wishes. Yea emotions were written all over our faces. I sincerely thank Mr kwei for his dedication throughout my past 6 yrs in choir. He has been one man with absolute committment and unwavering determination in promoting choral music in Singapore. Thank you Nelson! I also ought to thank the music co and exco 2004-2005 (yr 3s) i mean. They managed the choir very well. I thank gabriel for the patience and encouragement all the time. Thanks for telling me i've improved, but i need to tell u that u have been one great man who have grown and became more professional throughout these 2 years in choir. U too made a great leap in choral singing and i have no doubts abt it :) Thanks for leading the choir. As what shawn said yesterday, the choir would not have been led by anyone better. =)
ok thats all for now.. will be enlisting soon. Cya ppl.. Good luck and have fun.. will post again as soon as possible :)
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