it's been 6 months
exactly 6 months ago, we commissioned as officers of the singapore armed forces. 6 months ago this day, we threw our caps into the air with such jubilance and immense joy. it marked the end of an excruciating 9 month wait. happy 6 months to the 63/06 occ batch of officers.
so i just came back from the 65/06 occ comms parade. went there as a table host and it was emotions abound despite it not being my comms parade. the day started out bad since we were told to report at 10 for some briefing by the new chief instructor whose name i found out is NOT kumar, contrary to how he looks like. he went through the same slides that were presented to us on thursday and the table hosts were not even mentioned at all. it was done by 10.40 and we changed and headed to jurong point. the gang from eti once again. liang jet and heng went to catch shrek while the rest of us lunched at fish n co, the regular's treat, who else. walked around for quite a bit before heading back to safti. it was a quick shower followed by a hasty change into number one and off we were to the parade square. oh, there were quite a few photos too! ended up watching the whole parade with jun ren and the rest before heading to the dining hall to mingle with the newly commissioned guys and had to play host to them and their parents.
it was great being back in ocs, amongst the company of friends who got through the toughest trainings and exercises here in the army, and friends who stood by you though the most painful of times. watching the cadets prepare in the morning, them rushing around, you could feel the tension bristling in the air. the intensity, the rawness of an impending celebration. it was something that they've been looking forward to in the last 9 months of their lives. there was an almost subdued elation they somehow seemed to escape from the quiverings of the smiles. i knew that feeling. i was there before and it was the wait that was draining.
the parade was a simple affair that made me think of the last 3 weeks spent back in ocs. what with the rehearsals, and sea-flying cockroaches, and ji dan mian, and table soccer and "ah, the great outdoors" contributed by jun ren. it was a sombre affair to a certain extent, each segment carefully crafted to take the parade through a cascade of emotional highs and lows. the 14 step march forward, the slow march, the march pass, the recitation of the saf pledge and of course, the finale. it wasn't too long ago that we were taken on this very same emotional journey and suddenly, everything feels so remote. i shared their excitement and mounting impatient trepidation for that one burst of energy and emotion.
ok. i'm falling asleep while typing this. i'll write more tmr abt today. i need to sleep. here are the photos to knock yourself out first.
the bro and kai jie
and there's dear chrissy baby and tat
"welcome to royal sporting house!" - me
posers
more posers
ah liang - he who wears his underwear only and hides under his blanket to talk to his gf
jet - permanent member of the LS trio. he who sweats too much.
heng - underaged sex is a crime.
jun ren - the bestest bro i had in eti, and even up till now.
dudes...
so i just came back from the 65/06 occ comms parade. went there as a table host and it was emotions abound despite it not being my comms parade. the day started out bad since we were told to report at 10 for some briefing by the new chief instructor whose name i found out is NOT kumar, contrary to how he looks like. he went through the same slides that were presented to us on thursday and the table hosts were not even mentioned at all. it was done by 10.40 and we changed and headed to jurong point. the gang from eti once again. liang jet and heng went to catch shrek while the rest of us lunched at fish n co, the regular's treat, who else. walked around for quite a bit before heading back to safti. it was a quick shower followed by a hasty change into number one and off we were to the parade square. oh, there were quite a few photos too! ended up watching the whole parade with jun ren and the rest before heading to the dining hall to mingle with the newly commissioned guys and had to play host to them and their parents.
it was great being back in ocs, amongst the company of friends who got through the toughest trainings and exercises here in the army, and friends who stood by you though the most painful of times. watching the cadets prepare in the morning, them rushing around, you could feel the tension bristling in the air. the intensity, the rawness of an impending celebration. it was something that they've been looking forward to in the last 9 months of their lives. there was an almost subdued elation they somehow seemed to escape from the quiverings of the smiles. i knew that feeling. i was there before and it was the wait that was draining.
the parade was a simple affair that made me think of the last 3 weeks spent back in ocs. what with the rehearsals, and sea-flying cockroaches, and ji dan mian, and table soccer and "ah, the great outdoors" contributed by jun ren. it was a sombre affair to a certain extent, each segment carefully crafted to take the parade through a cascade of emotional highs and lows. the 14 step march forward, the slow march, the march pass, the recitation of the saf pledge and of course, the finale. it wasn't too long ago that we were taken on this very same emotional journey and suddenly, everything feels so remote. i shared their excitement and mounting impatient trepidation for that one burst of energy and emotion.
ok. i'm falling asleep while typing this. i'll write more tmr abt today. i need to sleep. here are the photos to knock yourself out first.
the bro and kai jie
and there's dear chrissy baby and tat
"welcome to royal sporting house!" - me
posers
more posers
ah liang - he who wears his underwear only and hides under his blanket to talk to his gf
jet - permanent member of the LS trio. he who sweats too much.
heng - underaged sex is a crime.
jun ren - the bestest bro i had in eti, and even up till now.
dudes...