10 days of "leave"

Well, I passed out from BMT on the 13th March 2007, and now its 25th March 2007! Hehe. What had I been doing for the past 12 days? Lol, I had my block leave which can be easily translated into a holiday for me, except that army calls it block leave. Haha.

One thing which I did alot was to contribute to my region event. During my leave, I did alot alot of filming for the event. Haha, I took on many roles as well! Professor, passer-by, Ah Long, SARS victim, friend of main lead and I don't know what else. So how do they differentiate the different me's' in the video? Well, some roles I wore a cap, some I wore shirt, some no cap, some polo-tshirt, some jeans, some shorts. Thats how alot of Meng Hui's' were created. Haha.

Well, I did alot of catching up with some my friends whom I have not met for a really long time. Particularly my secondary school friends. So I used some days to go for buffet with them, then watch movie. And I also played soccer with my friends from junior college and made new jerseys as well. Well, just some things I don't get to do when I am trapped in a protected area every weekday.

I also managed to go G12 after a really really long time! Ha, nothing's changed yet, except for the fact that Derrick can be back with us for good. I am also no longer the songleading coordinator anymore. Ha. Food's still good and the fellowship is still better. :D

Well, of course I spent alot of time playing game! I have not had so much time with my computer for the past 9 weeks and of course I must spend time with the little old CPU of mine. Haha. Played almost every single game I could get my hands on: FIFA, football manager, Red Alert 2, Everquest, Audition, Ultima Online, Warcraft3, Need For Speed:Underground... just some to mention. Woh, satisfied.

And of course, I spent alot of time praying and sorting out my thoughts. My heart has been deeply troubled for the past few months. I always thought she was just playing with my feelings and messing around. And that was where all the troubles and bitterness came from. But after thoughts and prayers, I finally managed to solve everything. Its like putting a rock off my shoulder and being able to jump again. The bitterness was all gone.

It was not her fault at all. She wasn't playing with me. It was just me getting slapped by God. It isn't the 1st time I went through this. God has specifically told me His plans but I just chose to ignore it. Well, this was just what I got. God sometimes have to slap me a couple of times to wake me up to His will. And it ain't easy. It wasn't any of our fault. Everyone of us is born imperfect, just that this time, I couldn't accept her flaws and she couldn't accept mine. Nobody was playing with nobody. It just didn't work out coz it was not the plan. So its just this way, and I just have to pick myself up and continue on my way like how I used to before.

And thats how my block leave ended. It ends with me being posted to SISPEC. To be trained as a sergeant, an infantry leader. Nothing really great. I wanted to go to OCS but theres really no choice when it comes to posting. So tomorrow I'll be gone, back to dressing up like a piece of grass again.

A'Levels are OUT!

Haha, I got my A'Level results last Friday but didn't have the time to post it. So here goes!

English Literature: C

Geography: E

Economics: A

General Paper: A1

Not really fantastic but I hope it can allow me to enter university. Applied for Communication Studies in NTU, praying that my GP A1 can make them consider me!!! Looking through other uni courses right now. Heh, gonna be applying for all 3 universities :P

My Reflections In BMT

I am about to pass out from Basic Military Training(BMT), and I was told by my commander to write a reflection on my experience in BMT. Well, I wrote one, so I thought I might as well post it on my blog as well so I can remember it. Heh. So here goes:

When I was first enlisted on 12th January 2007, I told myself “I had better not waste my 9 weeks here.” And I am more than proud to say that I had not waste my 9 weeks on Pulau Tekong. My experience in BMT was truly meaningful and memorable.

As I look back at the Meng Hui 9 weeks ago, I can see a marked difference with the me now. Not only have I grown fitter physically, I have also matured to be a more patient and confident person.

Physically, I have become much fitter. I remember when I took the IPPT CAT test on the 2nd week of enlistment, I failed the test due to my SBJ. I also could do only 7 chin-ups and my 2.4km timing was 11.39. As I went through training, I could feel myself getting fitter and being able to do better for my IPPT. During my IPPT diagnostic in the middle of BMT, I could achieve a “PASS”. Finally, when the real IPPT came, I managed to achieve a “SILVER”, and only due to my 2.4km timing which had been improved to 10.45. I could also do 12 chin-ups and my SBJ jump was 234cm which earned me 4 points, allowing me for a chance to get gold. This improvement in my physical fitness is something which I am really happy about.

I have also become a more patient person. In the past, I can’t stand waiting for things to happen. I didn’t like to just sit around and wait. But when I came to Tekong, there was a lot of waiting to be done. Almost every now and then I will have to wait. Just sit down and wait for instructions, for the instructors to come, to go back to bunk, to send arms etc etc. Eventually, I became more patient. Patience played a big role in my time in BMT as it helped me to not lose my temper against my fellow recruits who seemed to be weaker and was slowing down the group during training such as route marches. Because of this patience, I was also able to play a role in helping to encourage my friends to press on to the end. I am glad I have been moulded this way in BMT.

I have also grown to be more confident. Some things which I thought I couldn’t do had been accomplished by me. I remember at the start of BMT, I thought a 24km route march was crazy as I could hardly do half of that. Eventually, I made it, and I find it a great accomplishment. I am more confident of myself that I can achieve things that I thought I couldn’t. And that theres really no end to pushing the limit.

Friends have played a very important role for me in BMT. I am very very happy to have known the buddies in my section, platoon and company. From not knowing each other at the start to pushing each other on at the end, we have gone through a lot. No one can survive in the army on his own, and I have learned that very well. Helping each other out during difficult times is a very important factor for surviving in BMT.

And lastly, I feel proud that I learned military skills in BMT. It is truly something that can be learned only in the army. I feel happy that I can at least call myself a soldier, and no longer a blur boy marching around in a military camp.

Surely, it is not what we leave behind that matters, it is what we gain in the time ahead. I am glad I have not wasted my 9 weeks on Pulau Tekong.

Ang Meng Hui
10th March 2007