ORD loh！！！

(This passage is written in separate days, my mood for writing in either languages switches everyday. Haha... So do forgive me for writing half in Chinese and half in English.)



一晃就两年了。还记得入伍的前一晚，心情是多么的紧张，完全睡不着。入伍当天一大早就得到　Ｐａｓｉｒ　Ｒｉｓ　Ｂｕｓ　Ｉｎｔｅｒｃｈａｎｇｅ　报到。还好，当时有弟兄姐妹来送行，让我倍感安慰（你们送给我的鼓励手册让我非常感动）。但是我还是充满着恐惧感去迎接一大堆的未知。在　Pulau Tekong　上，卖猪仔般的坐上　Tonner，剃光头，穿着难看的衣服排队拿难吃的食物，让我觉得像自己像在坐牢似的。。。　还好三个月的基本训练就这样过了。最难熬的莫过于六天的　field camp　。。。但在这三个月里让我学习了　not taking things for granted。我的　platoon　也是疯狂好玩的一群，所以才让这三个月的训练没想象中难熬。

三个月的基本训练过了后，很幸运地，我被分配到宪兵部队 （MP)，经历了两个月的宪兵基本训练。那段日子我是快乐的。MP 真的是一个很不错的 vocation。

但快乐的时光仅止于此，两个月的宪兵基本训练后，被派到所有宪兵都抗拒被派到的 sub unit, 就是 post out 到 某个 infantry unit，能留在总部的美梦就这样破灭。。。

在被派去的第一个月简直要了我的命，我差点就得了忧郁症。。。那里的 commanders 简直不当我们人看，而受到那样的对待是因为他们说想把我们训练到有 infantry mindset。。。什么屁嘛，原本以为当了 MP 就不用再受这样的苦，难怪没人喜欢被派到这里。。。我当时几乎每餐都吃不下饭。。。 我猜只有我们这些苦命 MP 是唯一当 MP 当到一点尊严都没有的吧。。。 别的人出来就在DB 骂人，我们却窝在这里被人骂。。。 过后事情慢慢到了忍无可忍的时候，有一批人投诉回总部，生活才得已改善。。。

Deployment - 我执行了一年多的事情。。。 它让我避开了 chiong sua 但也无意中把我带入前所未有的忧郁和孤独感，我感觉跟神和弟兄姐妹的关系越来越疏远，deployment schedule prevented me from attending church. Suddenly I felt the whole world don't really understands me, I became very disappointed with people and was so frustrated with the situation I am stuck in... This kind of feeling lasted for months and nearly drowned me... However things happened in army brought me back to reality and as I felt I couldn't hooked on to anyone for support and comfort, I turned to God.

Actually my Army path is quite eventful, since I am the more responsible one around (I am not being thick skinned, its a fact. Haha.), it did not bring more advantages, but people start taking me for granted. I was always doing extra deployments (3 SIR, APEC & Tekong). A series of events also got me so demoralized (H1N1, round incident & SW deployment with a problematic platoon).

Now as I looked back, all these events made me a stronger person. I realized much more things about human relationships and not taking things for granted. I can say I have matured quite a bit. I am also more happy nowadays so don't worry people!

I am entering another phase of life. Goodbye to my 2 years of service. Its time to go and work hard for my dreams. If everything goes according to plan, see you Hong Kong in 3 years time! I would like to go back to where I belong!

My Sister's Keeper

Went to watch "My Sister's Keeper" today and the long lost sense of satisfaction of watching a really good movie was finally back. This is one movie that really touches your heart.

I will briefly touch on its plot. This story is about a family with one of its members, the older sister in the family, Kate, having Leukemia since young, to save her, her parents decided to give birth to a test tube baby which will have genes that matches her sister as both the parents's doesn't match with her genetically. So from young, this younger sister of Kate, Anna has been donating blood, bone marrow and stuff in order to save her older sister who eventually recovered. Unfortunately, Kate had a relapse of Leukemia when she was 15 and her kidney eventually shut down completely, so in order to save Kate, Anna would have to donate her kidney to save her sister, but she "was not willing" and decided to sue her parents for using her body against her will. The story developes from here about the burden of a Leukemia patient in the family and with a twist in the end that breaks your heart.

Kate, the main character in the movie was really human. This movie is different from the other "terminal illness" movies out there. Instead of the usual strong willed character, Kate was weak, she was vulnerable emotionally, that was why we can relate more to Kate. Kate has been suffering since young, when her cancer relapsed, she was really tired of it and wanted to let go as she knows she will not make it this time and she does not want to continue to become a burden of the family, however in order not to upset her mother Sara, she keeps mum about her will. Her mother on the other hand was obssessed to fight her way through to make sure that she gets treatment which in the end made her fail to notice her daughter's plea of letting go (which other family members knows or feels it). Actress, Sofia Vassilieva (Kate) delivers splendid acting and together with the convincing make up of a dying cancer patient, you will definitely feel for her.

Another character in the movie you will feel for is Sara, the mother (Cameron Diaz), if you know what is D.I.S.C personalilty test, this mother is definitely a D. She has been working so hard to make sure her daughter Kate stays alive all these years that she became unwilling to listen to other's opinions and insist doing things her own way. This made her became ignorant or unaware of the emotionally changes or problems that her family members including Kate is experiencing. Her world was so constricted and narrow on saving Kate's life that she became cut off from anybody and everything else. She was a stubborn fighter in life and she makes sure she does not lose and that makes her character seems so pitiful because she was unwilling to move on. Cameron Diaz here was amazing, I am now convinced that other than playing Charlie's Angel and other comedic roles, she can handle a serious role like this.

The understanding between Anna (Abigail Breslin from "Little Miss Sunshine") and Kate was also very heart warming and touching. Anna was so much matured than kids at her age and this was due to what her family has been going through all these years. Their relationship will definitely make your tears drop.

The breaking point of this movie is when Sara finally understood how Kate feels. The scene where she broke down (she did not cry almost throughout the whole movie given her strong personality) and it was Kate who was consoling her was just heart breaking. Before that I was just tearing, at this scene, I was sobbing, Haha... I tried so hard to control but no, it just went all out and it was embarrassing because I watched with two male friends... But luckily I was not the only one crying, bascially the whole cinema was filled with sobs. Haha...

The morale of the story is sometimes letting go of your burden might not be a bad thing, even though its sorrowful to let go, moving on is also just as important.

So if you are intending to watch this movie, please prepare lots of tissue before entering the cinema especially for the females, I highly recommend this movie and I think you will too find it worth the money.

Movie rating: 4/5

Life wasn't that smooth during the first few weeks in our new unit. Anyway, things are getting much much better now. Days in MPTS was still the best, got to meet up with some of my section mates during the MPTS days on one of the weekends, watched "Marley and Mesome", had dinner and talked about recent life, some are under SPDS course, (another torturous course) but some are enjoying life. Hope to have more such gatherings in the future. Anyway, deployment starting soon, don't know what is it like. Will see... In the meantime, here are some photos of our section gathering.











My graduation photo

I am a Military Policeman

Woho! POP lo~~~ I am officially a Military Policeman!!!I must first thank God for putting me in MP, I really do like this posting and throughout these 9 weeks, it has been an enriching journey. I learnt things that other normal infantry soldiers would never ever learn in their lives. Now that the basic training has come to an end, its time to really apply the things I have learnt or even learn more new things. Anyway, I am posted to 6 SIR, yes, 6 SIR, the most feared posting for MPs, I am joining the MPs who the other MPs call "the chiong sua MPs", I am not going to say what are we going to experience, this you can ask me personally. I am not quite sure whether will I be happy in it coz I hate chiong sua stuff one, but I must really thank God that 5 of my section mates are posted there together with me, I am really lucky coz we are already quite bonded during our MPTS days. Anyway, thank you MPTS for all the things and of course training my physical fitness until I can get silver, haha...



Zhi Cong and me



Most of my section mates



Woho! MP brassard!!! No more trainee brassard~ Where got time where trainee brassard??? Haha...

小娘惹 is one of the best Singapore production I have seen in ages, even though I did not watch much due to the fact that I am in army, but I did watch the final episode. Ahaha... (Thanks to Staff Chua, he let us go watch in the mess! Ahaha...) The filming technique is so artistic and the story telling is so well done, I was actually touched by the plot, (not one Singapore production can do that to me after 出路), wah, can fight with productions from other countries already. For the cast wise, I think pretty Jeanette Aw acting improved a lot, Joanne Peh's acting has already reached an exellent level. I think besides the plot, its the cultural aspect that made the series a hit. It has always been the case that when TV productions put in their efforts to film something about a certain culture, it will always be a hit, examples are like 出路，金枝欲孽，大长今, 宫, thats why I have always believed in what an ex Korean president said “文化是最好的卖点”. That also explains why Korean TV series has such an hit in Asia. I have read from magazines that Nonya culture is becoming a craze now, the same scenario as 大长今 when it was aired throughout Asia. Haha... I did fell in love with Korean food for a period of time after 大长今. I think that's the case with other people now. I heard Perenakan museums in Malacca are flooded with tourists. See how strong a TV series can do to bring people to appreciate certain cultures? Now that the DVD is out, haha... I actually want to buy it. I might wait for the whole series DVD out then buy, cheaper mar. Haha...

Anyway, on the hand, I did quite well for IPPT last Tuesday for the first time, even though I did not pass, but the overall improvement were quite a lot. My SBJ (From 200 to 215, this is why I failed, fail by 1 cm!) haha..., shuttle run (From 10.5 to 10.2), chin up (From 6 to 7), sit ups (41, my usual standard) and 2.4 (From 12.51 to 11.23, from fail to a silver timing sia). So very happy, a lot of people also did well and passed, so we were granted nights out on Tuesday! Haha... Next IPPT I aim for pass every single station!!! Ok, thats all for now.

Happy New Year 2009!

Hi everyone, its time I give my blog a 大扫除, got a bit lazy and unmotivated to do my blog, but finally got some motivation, so hope you all do read ar.

2008 was like a roller coaster ride for me, do not wish to elaborate on it, 懂就懂，不懂的就不懂，but I do want to talk about army life, when I just entered army, I thought life would be miserable inside, I felt so demoralised especially during the first day's dinner, I felt as if I was a prisoner (everyone botak, wearing the same ugly admin T and shorts, carrying a tray queuing up for sucky food served by irritating aunties). The first 1 month was really taxing on me physically because I have not been a person who is interested in keeping fit for the last 20 years of my life. But before I knew it, the tough training was actually unknowingly building up my confidence as a person and my mental strength. Especially after field camp, I learnt to appreciate a lot of things that I usually take for granted, (anyway, I like live range the best). BMT's life was made enjoyable by a bunch of crazy bunk mates and a group of great commanders! POP straight after the 24 KM route march was a very shiok feeling even though quite a number of people could not take it and fainted during POP. Anyway as I look back, 神真的很恩待我，even though the first half year of 2008 was tough, army didn't seem as tough as I thought it would be.


My platoon photos


My section photo, platoon 2, section 4!!!



Zulu warriors marching down the line ya~~~



POP loh!!!






Photo with Sergeant Fadzly



After the 11 days of block leave, God blessed me with a posting of MP. MP is practically slacker than other units in terms of chiong suaness but a lot of knowledge based stuff to learn, mostly military law. I think I am quite happy with the unit I am in and the things I am learning. In MP, we learnt things that are more practical and useful in life. Ofcourse, the fact of being a future MP makes you feel proud as you are a bit different from normal soldiers, (We are men that are given powers by the law). The no 3 uniform is also super smart (imagine wearing that on MP's POP). MP also quite welfare, for example, we can book in and out in CV. 总得来说，都是神的恩典啦！As for what kind of posting I will get after my basic training, I will again leave it to God, because God always has his reasons in putting me in different environments.

Anyway, thank you to brothers and sisters of CYYAM for the great great support given to me in 2008. We shared joy and even sadness. Its God's blessings, I have you all by my side. Last but not least, all the best for 2009 everyone. Wish all of you a blessed year ahead!