Monday, December 05, 2005
I can't believe me and Tong got stung by bees at ngee ann poly yesterday afternoon. It's quite embarrassing when you tell people about it. I mean as army guys, as combat soldiers, we get stung by bees in a poly? In the civilian world, of all places! I mean it's common to get bitten, attacked or disturbed by animals and insects when we're in the jungle training but to get jacked by bees is really no comments. However, they left quite a painful bite on us. Tong kena only 1 while I got two. We are not sissies who go around making a big fuss because like I said, just a couple of bites. It's not as if we were attacked by a swarm of them. I didn't managed to get a look at the culprits because we were busy trying to run away from the scene. Little did I know that one of them actually followed me back to the swimming pool area and stung me again on my right hand. I was like asking myself why my hand suddenly felt so painful and hot. I looked at it and saw that damn thing again.
In the midst of trying to flick off the bee, I dropped my half-eaten fish & chips on the floor. That really pissed me off, not the bee sting. It made me wonder what brought about the attack on us. I mean I actually walked through that path leading to the sports complex in ngee ann without any trouble the first time in the morning. It was only until I went to fetch Tong who forgot the way to the squash courts that we got attacked. There could only be one reason, no thanx to Tong's perfume. It can't be my fish & chips really. Bees ain't carnivores. The bees were attracted to his smell and for don't know what reason, they probably thought that we were flowers that cannot be harvested(honey). Well, the painful lasted only awhile, the usual burning sensation.
Squash was fun and I needed the exercise anyway. I don't want to forget how to play squash totally. It's been so long since we played and trained competitively. I see all my juniors surpassing us as they have been playing constantly unlike us. Jun Jie improved so much as evident by the thrashing I got from him. Can't believe 2 years ago, I was making him run around the court. Dropping him like there's no tomorrow. Today, it's pretty much the opposite.
It's funny to hear that everyone of my junors are enlisting in April. For my batch of people, most enlisted in January. I was the exception. As usual, Tong likes to make us, the April batch feel bad by saying that they will ord earlier than us. Well, you don't argue with facts do you? It's true that they will ord earlier but it's really a trade off. We get a few months to enjoy while they go in 1 month after the As. Like I told Myanlee. at least you guys go in knowing your A level results, you know your future and you go in with a piece of mind. You decide your future before you go in. Do well, go and in wait for your ord date to arrive before you go university. Do badly, choose either to retain or take the As again as a private candidate. The thing about being a guy in Singapore, we don't have much of a choice. We are not like the girls, who can afford to retake the exams because they have the luxury of time.
My squash juniors remind me of myself before I enlist. So much time on my hands and seeing friends go in one by one. It starts to get lonely. At least they have the company of each other till April. You get ready for prom, dye your hair, do nothing but go out till your cash runs out and start looking for a job to earn extra bucks. I mean only those with thick skin will keep asking their parents for money. It's time they start to appreciate how hard you work to earn that $1. You only know till you start to earn it yourself. Maybe then, you will become a miser like me? Spend only when you need to. I ain't a commander, just a freaking man and my pay isn't between the range of $700 to $1000.
Like Tong said, if only my juniors were enlisting in January, they can start telling us about their own experiences in bmtc. They were listening attentively to me and Tong's stories about army. Just like what I was doing when Simon, Tong and Homan told me about theirs. You start to wonder whether you will go through what they went through in bmt. Well, what's the point of knowing so much and scaring yourself? It's to let them enjoy themselves before the nation calls coming.
I still remember what Simon told me the night before he enlisted. "It's time to take a bow and go in" Well, I said that to him the night before I went in as well.
