As I write this story, I am 5 days away from the Operational Ready Date of my National Service Stint. It has been a crazy 1 year 10 months that I never thought I would go through. Thus, I am inspired to write a story based on my journey in the armed forces. . Every Singapore Son will go through this. A story of blood, tears, sweat, love and friendship and mine began with a phone call…
3/2/2010
“I cannot believe you are going to enlist” Moon weeped gently over the phone. Moon is my girlfriend for 2 years. More about the two of us later.When I heard her crying over the overseas call, my heart ache. It did not help to lessen the nervousness that I felt in me at that instance. I rubbed my cleanly shaven head and put down the phone after assuring her that everything will be okay. But will it really?
I attempted to sleep, but no matter how many sheep I counted, sleep eluded me that night.
4/2/2010
The next morning was chaotic. My mom was extremely worried. And when she is worried she starts nagging. And when she starts nagging, I will feel frustrated. normally. That day was special. I dont know if its the butterflies in my stomachs or because I know I am going to be gone for the next 2 weeks on a foreign island but the nagging just does not seemed as irritating as it ought to be.
We double checked, no, triple, no, quadra… Anyway, we checked my personal items again and again. I had some pretty traumatizing experience from uniform group. Not bringing an item on the packing list is akin to killing the the instructor’s parents. He will fuck you in out right left upside down. This logic is something I never really understood till today.
We finally reached the JETTY. There are some pretty scary looking green uniformed people trying to usher us and get us into order. Whats that rank? Sergeant? Leutenant? Leftenant? Sergeant major? So which one is bigger? Ah… this confuses me.
We board the ferry on our way to the training island. It was a ferry full of anxious kids and parents. My mom looked around and commented ” you look the skinniest”
Thanks mom for the reassurance.
I havent been that much of an athletic person. Although I enjoy outdoor activities, lazing around at home is also my favorite activity. I have been skinny my entire life. Not very good looking either. How I managed to get a girlfriend remained a mystery to many.
It was true though, my mother’s comments. Although I was trying very hard to psycho myself that those people are fat, not strong. But who was I trying to deceive…
When we reached the island, it was time for us to split…..
