!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> Past. Present. Future: July 2007

Past. Present. Future

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Every week’s training is like putting urself under the grinding stone. A rough uncut diamond dats slowly polished. So far from perfection, but still...we’re slowly getting there.

Field camp in tekong was thankfully short. It was memorable because it finally bonded the section together. there were many sweet moments to laugh at, though there were alot of shit dat we went thru also. it was a learning experience. a journey of self-discovery. i look back with a feeling dat much more can be improved. i wasn’t physically or mentally fit as i sized myself up to b. n i made a promise to myself to put in more effort n push myself harder for the trainings from now on, motivated or not.

coming week’s soc n the 10km run. n following dat, the dreaded Guards Assualt Course (note i typed dis in caps, a sign of the reverence n fear i attach to dis event), after dat we finally pass out.

time to get some sleep to make up for wad i’ve lost dis week. sleep in the army’s a premium.

alvin ong dozed and watched the sawdust trampled night @ 11:08 PM 

Sunday, July 22, 2007

when i bookout again next weekend i’m going to aep exhibition at sam. looking forward to see an old friend. my a level paintings on display. its been chao long.

looking at the art i did back in jc made me wonder if i realli did all dat. theres dis sense of achievement. i’ve been there done dat. but it seems i’ve left my art days behind. haven touched the pencil ever since bmt. the day i walked into tekong ferry terminal. n reading those words for the first time. “Its not wad u leave behind. Its wad u gain in the days ahead.” the artist turned soldier haha.

the 2km coastal swim at east coast was a veri salty n thirsty experience. its fuck fustrating trying to swim against the tide. u can kick n push all u want in the sea. but when u look back at the shoreline, u realize u’ve hentak kaki at the same spot for the past 1/2 hr. n when the waves come the moment u’re trying to get some air into ur lungs, the dirty sea water goes in. drinking it is like drinking petrol. not a veri pleasant experience.

dis week just got more intense haha. n we’ve come to a stage where we’ve become expert thumb suckers. field camp coming up dis week. time to suck thumb even harder.

alvin ong dozed and watched the sawdust trampled night @ 8:21 AM 

Sunday, July 15, 2007

survived another week

the uob painting of the year exhibition’s on again at the jendala. goodness. its been 2 years already.

Paul Coelho’s The Alchemist is a real treasure trove of meaningful entries n bits to chew on. Its a book of contradictions; at once being veri down to earth wif its life inspiring passages n stories to make u get thru a tough week. but at the same time, also veri esoteric. the plot’s quite unconventional. it doesn’t seem to follow any logical chain of events. rather events just happen by chance. the desert also gives it a veri spiritual feel. veri original stuff.

had heli descent dis week. was memorable in the sense dat i will always remember my first jump. its been a long week. one thing. my happiest moment of the day wd b the time when i finally get to lie on my bed n concuss like nobody’s business. u momentarily get to leave ur cares behind n put off ur worries til the next morning. of course, there’s always the possibility of a turn out. but so far, we’ve onli had one.

i forget the past. i forget abt the future. focus on the present. n i try to find it within me to pull myself thru. n when u lose the ability to hope, just take it all in n suck ur thumb realli hard.

booking out every week n reflecting on the week’s training, suddenly it all becomes veri meaningful. though i wd veri veri much like to haf been someplace else, theres no turning back. but of course, when i book in wif the heaviest of hearts, its a totally different matter altogether.

in about a mth's time, after much blood, sweat n tears, we'll all b standing on victory square wif our khaki berets. think abt it. the army's realli a character-building experience.

alvin ong dozed and watched the sawdust trampled night @ 12:36 AM