Saturday, July 29, 2006

One step closer to Hell...

Really, i am getting closer to hell with every passing day. This week was a horrible one, and my thighs and kneecaps are screaming for rest.

I decided to reveal a tiny bit of my training since well, some outside guys have seen it. Shall elaborate more later. Heez.

Anyway, just when i thought Boat PT(doing PT with a black rubber boat) can't get any worse, our instructors introduce us to... Chow Run. You see, in NDU, they refer meals as Chow, so literally, Chow Run=Meal Run. For this week, before every lunch, we have to carry the boat on our head, run around the parade square and i tell you this is no fun at all. It is mentally and physically exhausting and everyone starts to dread lunch as it means Chow Run. Oh my goodness, why do i have to do this just so i can eat lunch? This sucks man.

This week is also same as last week, more and more physical training just to prepare us for Hellweek. The only other highlight other than the infamous Chow Run is the Vocational Assessment. For thursday and friday, NDU conducted Vocational Assessment for guys enlisting next year to see whether they make the cut to enter NDU. Well, both the thursday and friday group saw the Chow Run and guess what, i heard two different reactions from them. According to my OOC(Out-Of-Course) friends who are bringing them around for the assessment, the thursday group find it quite FUN to have Chow Run while the friday group was scared out of their wits that none of them wanted to come into NDU. Well, all i can say is, you better pray hard and very very hard. Or else, welcome 27th batch of Naval Diver trainees, drop.

Anyway, the cycle of Static PT, Boat PT, Sea Circuit, Sea Swim, Chow Run, 6km timed run and IPPT will continue on until Hellweek and the only way is to suck it up...

Sunday, July 23, 2006

I decided to stop giving my posts a title unless necessary as well... it is kind of sianz to keep using "Back...", "Random" etc.

This week is both a physically and mentally draining week. The week seems to pass by slowly and with the training getting more intense and more closely packed that there seems to be no rest time at all. Somehow i feel like i am a zombie, dragging my tired and exhausted body around. Furthermore, the only rest time, which is normally after dinner, is used up for cleaning equipment and by the time i come out of the shower, it is time for lights-off. Than the sleeping time are also getting shorter. All these are definitely taking a toll on my body and due to prolong exposure to sea water, cuts which i suffered are not healing up at all. I have a large wound on my left ankle and normally it would heal by 3 days. Guess what, 1 week passed and it seems like the wound is a fresh one. So to try to minimise the pain the wound would cause while walking, i adopted an awkward way of walking and i really regret it. Due to this plus the over excess use of knees for running and static PT, my left kneecap now has a sharp pain whenever i move my leg and when i don't move it, there is a feeling of pain there. Oh great.

Than while you are trying to motivate yourself to go on, the authorities of NDU dropped a bombshell. Due to medical problems and injuries, my friends went out of course, one by one. I felt the most pity for Mun Wei, Si Yan and Marcus. They are strong physically but because their body can't adapt to some water-related training, they had no choice but to leave us. The thought of seeing your friends not joining you for training anymore plus the fact that we can't bring handphone into camp had most of us discouraged. Really, one needs a lot of mental strength to carry on.

Now, those who survived the cut are divided by height into boat level and with the training now directed towards Team-Building Week(Hellweek in short), it means that every boat is fighting against each other for good deals. You see, Hellweek is meant to create a strong bond within the members of each individual boat so that they will work as an united team. So to prepare us mentally for it, every training we do is a competition among the boats and the best boats get good deals. That is how i earned an extra liberty for this week, on top of the one given to everybody. Physically, the training are squeezed togther so as to stimulate Hellweek as training is continuous without break during Hellweek.

I am tired, both mentally and physically. I don't know whether i can push myself on and with my kneecap giving me problem at this inauspicious time, it is either i become a Hellweeker or a out-of-course person...

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Random...

Spent my "precious" weekend at home playing none other than Final Fantasy 8. It is simply so fun and engaging that i just can't leave my seat in front of the screen. Just managed to divert my attention away from the game to pack up for book-in.

Booking in... somehow i always have mixed feelings towards it. One part of me wish to just stay out of camp and saty at home while another part of me wish to book in as i can be with my friends again to either endure through tough training or talk cock under the sun. Haiz... how contradicting...

During that one month of absence, lots and lots of things happened. I figured i just went through one of the biggest emotional rollercoaster ride ever. Ups and downs are super common in life but sometimes, when you are down, you really hope for the companion of one of your close friend. I had initially wanted to record down those joys and sorrows but i decided not to. Sometimes, when you have a option to forget it, take it. Ignorance is bliss...

Anyway, got to go now. Got to pack up my bag and my feelings and face the brand new week hopefully with a smile...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Back...

Been a while since i updated. Yes i am lazy haha.

Anyway, quite surprised that i got 2 successive long weekends and i am super grateful and appreciate it a lot. This week was a rather tiring week but one of the most rewarding one. I passed two evolutions this week - hence earning myself a long weekend this week - and i survived thursday's "Hell Morning". Why called it "Hell Morning"? Simply because we woke up at 4.30am, considering we slept at 11.30pm and survived Sea Circuit and Boat PT, two of the most physically and mentally draining training. As they always say, "Suck it up."

Had Liberty too this week. I decided not to go home cause it is a waste of time. Yes, no doubt i can see my cute little nephew but what is the point when i can only stay for at most for 1 hour before having to rush back to camp? So we went over to Sun Plaza and well, all i can say is that it is quality time spent with my friends.

I guess that is all for now. Time for bed...

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Updates

[Note: This post is supposed to be published on 28th May(or 27th or 29) but blogger ran into some problem and refused to publish this post for me and before i knew it, my computer's motherboard crash and the power box... So i have to send my poor computer for repairs and oh my goodness! It took 1 month to restore my computer to its original state. So, sorry guys for not updating. Lots of things have happened during the 1 month and as much as i wanted to share with you guys, i can't. So don't worry, this blog is still up and running and i will still be around whinning and complaining...]

Finally back to civilisation... haha. Had my field camp for the last five days and it really make you appreciate the things you have. For five days,

I slept in a tent that is only knee-length high,
Slept on both soil and cement ground,
Endure coldness in the middle of the night,
Powder bath myself every night,
No water to shower or wash my teeth or my face,
Put on camo cream everyday.

Furthermore, i also had to

Prone myself on soil, hard and soft, most of the time during training,
Leopard crawl on mud, soil and cement ground full of small rocks,
Endure bites from ants.

But in short, it was rather fun. The five days was a breakaway from civilisation, having no contact with the outside world and all you see everyday are trees and all sort of vegetation. Besides, the combat ration, although a bit little in quantity, was not bad. Throughout the camp, there are ups and downs but hey, we endured through it. Although we had little sleep(partly due to the terrain) and had to do sentry duty, it is a whole new learning experience whereby a little mistake by the sentry could cause his buddies to be in deep shit.

Anyway, i am happy it is over. No more sleeping in the jungle and definitely no need to hold my shit for five days anymore... hahaha.

Oh ya, i just watched X-Men 3. Nice show, a good conclusion to the trilogy, although it pale in comparison to the previous 2 instalments. The actions are not as exciting as last time, the plot is a little difficult to apprehend but it become clear in the later part of the show and somehow the show seems to end a bit abruptly. But overall it is still quite good.



Finally, Beast is included in the show. Was wondering why left him out previously. He is a rather important character in the comic/cartoon series and i am glad the show does him justice this time. Juggernaut was also included. It was fun to see him too, especially with that idiotic helmet of his which he said make him look more handsome. Haha. Quite happy with the cast of the show as the people included are those we the fans are familiar with. It is always nice to see familiar faces ya? Haha.

Oh, sometimes, movies do try to send out messages. This one is no exception. The messages i roughly get is that we should not discriminate the minority and instead should respect their rights and freedom. And if you are a member of the minority and the chance come for you to join the majority, will you stay true to yourself and celebrate your differences or simply blend into the majority? These are just some of the messages the movie is sending and really, one question just float in my mind. Will i take a firm stand in what i believe in even if my views are different from the majority?