I shall stop procrastinating and start penning down my reflections after I finally made the mark as a 4-month soldier and has passed out twice, once with the donning of the jockey cap and the other, just last Saturday on the 12th June 2010, the donning of the black beret as I metamorphosis into a proud armour solider. In case you are wondering why on earth am I blogging at such weird timing, on a weekday, and appearing online perpetually for the last 2 days, I am here to clear your doubts. I have been struck by the 'World Cup Fever' literally with a fluctuating fever coupled with a unique blend of cough, flu and sore throat which has in fact plagued me since 3 weeks ago just that it came on and off. This insurmountable illness only struck me hard on the Saturday midnight as I decided to catch a awfully sorrowful match between England and United States, which took place at an unholy time of 2.30am, especially when my immune system was down with a serious deprivation of rest after days of preparation for my passing out parade. Hence with the condition antagonised, I had no choice but to visit my family doctor (unable to use 11B!), who granted me a 3days ATTC 'block leave' before i booked into Keat Hong Camp again tonight, as a sub-conscious combat unfit solider.

Haiz, talking about this illness... I am not sure whether if i am just too psychologically wary or what, but the doctor did mentioned that if such cough do continues perpetually, there is a chance that it may not just be a common viral infection but that of bronchitis or even pneumonia. I know of such cases, like Tzin Wai and Xiang Quan, who has contracted such illnesses without even them being aware and I will not dismiss any possibility that I can be a victim especially with my recent loss of appetite and continuous giddiness. NS just screws your body system upside down and perhaps, i should give my lungs a good scan and the thoughts of inhaling too much 2nd-hand smoke over the past 2 months, further assured me that my lungs may be at stake.

Moving on to my status as a private solider, which i seriously detest and desperately hopes to disown, its about time that i reflect on the past 4 months before I moved on the next phase of training as a AI trooper in Keat Hong Camp. Some says that the 2 years in National Service will encapsulates a myriad of defining moments in your life and I have no choice but to agree it wholly and sincerely. 2 years in NS will no doubt be one of the most tumultuous times I have ever experienced, at least up to this point of time, and it's one journey that is life-changing and stupendously different from the life of a civilian, given that you have took up the normal path as a combat-fit solider and not the clerk that lepak in the air-conditioned office for 2 years. 4 months into NS has already crafted a much different me, and I have no idea how another 1 year 6 months is going to change my mindset and how I will function as a person. It's a obliged process that all 18 year old Singaporeans have to go through, and it changes a person by the rule of fear and through the use of intense and extreme pressure, to push one to his physical and mental limits. It strikes fear down my spine and somehow, i am apprehensive of such SAF method and going it through once is more than enough.

I still remember vividly the moment when National Service starts its first inroad into my life was when i received the letter for CMPB medical check-up during early last year. All of us was gladly excited and was comparing the time and dates while finding pals to go for the check-ups together. For me, I have no reasons to postpone my check-up so I gladly went alone to CMPB on a fine morning, skipping the bio lectures, to do a full body check-up. I went through stations after stations and finished the 3 hour IQ Test, more prestigiously known as the MAPAS test that can pre-determined the vocation BEST suited for you and whether you have qualities of a COMMANDER, as per instructed and finally got my PES Status- PES A. I was still a naive and ignorant 18 year old back then, who has completely no knowledge about national service, so i just gladly accepted my PES Status letter, since it meant that I am completely fine with no forms of ailments!, while others have already began to embark on their down chao geng missions to down pes. I was indifferent to the situation back then, and just went on to proceed with my studies thinking that: Shouldn't PES A be a piece of 'good news'?