「 Eric Lim yawns... Monday, May 29, 2006 」

BSLC finally over liao n finally got the corporal rank. @ the same time posted to armour trainin institute in sungei gedong camp 4 my ASLC. Sian tat camp is realli located in the inner of lim chu kang area tik got 2 spend more on transport liao. Sadly cant get in2 PTI due 2 my ippt grade. No more green or khaki beret but black beret... Armour ok lar mai hiam tio ho lar. Mostly likely will train 2 bcome tank commander. Ha nw heard tat inside tank got air con muz b quite cosy in there n may hav free trip 2 australia 2 train. Ha the best of all is i got leave until 5 jun which is nxt mon 2 report.

Although i m quite happy tat i didnt stay in SISPEC 4 ASLC, i will definitely miss the place, sgts, warrants n my pltmates. We realli went thru alot s a plt- leg raise, rifle overhead in high kneel, leopard crawl in fbo, no slp 4 2days, kena scolded wif alot of vulgarities, the pain when ants crawls arnd ure body s u prone on their nests... Dunno y these sufferings tend 2 b the more memorable ones. There r oso enjoyable ones like the last wk we wore gas masks machiam like terrorists n go other bunk wack pple, every1's ability 2 slp almost anywhere durin nutcracker, master oh.... 2 mths so fast pass liao. Hope u all will b able 2 enjoy much in ure new units.

Tis wk i oso bcome older liao. The POP day is oso my bday. 2 mark our POP, we had 2 road march overnite 28km. Den nxt mornin went 4 parade. Wad a memorable one rite? Aiya anw nt every1 got 2 bk out on their bday oso so i can consider quite fortunate liao. The rd march was ok lar after all the trngin we went thru in BSLC. Upon reachin the 12k rest pt, it was 12am oso n @ there my plt n sgts celebrated my bday wif me. Luckily tis yr no bday bash. We started @ 9 plus n ended @ 4 plus. Went back bunk n bathed n got ready 4 parade. 3 mths of trning 2 get the PC put on the corporal rnk 4 u. Overjoyed n realli 十分感动 until i almost kena tear gas again.

Tat day my class pple oso celebrated my bday wif me @ settlers. Really enjoyed myself there n thx alot 4 organising it. Thx alot 4 the pair of shoes which is shared by jm, hm, aaron, alv, ant, wh, kh, yz, hf, wc. The pair of shoes is veri nice n i will try 2 take gd care of it juz like the wallet u all bought last yr. Got 2 thx gk 4 the necklace thingy which i oso dunno call wad. It is veri nice but 2 bad cannot wear in2 army. Lastly thx 4 the choc cake frm wc n hf n the milocino ordered by yz. Ha u all realli noe hw 2 搭配 all choc stuffs but anw i oso like choc n long time nvr eat such things in army. U all realli made my day! Sorry if i miss out any1's name 4 the presents coz i oso dun realli noe who contribute.

1 wk of leave n i oso haven realli planned wad 2 do. Sian most of my frens got 2 bk in or report 2 new units, leavin me rottin @ hme again. Tik i better washed up my army barang barang n dried them. @ the same time, better go swimmin n runnin 2 regain my physical n cmbat fitness. Any1 noe of any place 4 me 2 train SOC? @ the same time got 2 find some1 2 go gym wif me 2 help me spot bench press. Ha may end up chiongin 4 great s'pore sale 2 get some items. Ha it is oso time 4 me go arnd s'pore 2 find delicacies 2 eat oso. Lastly hopefully can go help out my fitness jnrs wif their mid yr selection camp. 1 wk of leave sure pass veri quickly but i m oso quite curious abt my armour trngin. Hopefully tis wk of leave will b meaningful n enjoyable n charged me up 4 another phase of trngin.

「 Eric Lim yawns... Tuesday, May 23, 2006 」

Monday we learnt abt chemical defence. Got 2 wear the mask n the special suit machaim like astronaut liddat. The suit is like winter clothing quite warm inside. Den learn some drills frm video which mostly involve decontamination by usin some powder substance. The urine n defecating drill in chem affected area are the most funny 1. 1st decon glove 2nd decon pants 3rd decon areas tat will b touched...even toilet paper oso decon. By tat time, u decon finish i tik i might pee or shit on my pants liao. @ the same time, the demostrator in the video act until veri awkward liddat. @ nite, went 4 PTI trial wif 3 frens which juz involve swimmin. Walau eh long time nvr swim liao n we r supposed 2 swim 50m freestyle followed by 50m breaststroke. Worst of all, @ the start, all juz chiong After the 50m freestyle, super shagged.

Tues mornin went 2 the smoke chamber wif the "astro" suit n mask. Once i stepped in n they burnt the tear gas pellet, i began 2 smell smoke in my mask n my lip gettin hotter which it is not supposed 2. Super suay. In there, we do some exercises like jumpin jet, den we do the canister changin drill 2 change our filter. Lastly, we had 2 remove our mask, open our eyes n say our rank, name n NRIC. The sgt saboh me after sayin once ask me repeat again. Wah i started coughin like siao plus my face like being applied wif wasabe super hot. The worst is step out of the smoke chamber. Wah the wasabe becomes chilli padi n mucus n tears start 2 come dwn. I realli "cry" like siao lar. After tat bkout n end up in hme now.

Tis wk i oso got my final interview wif my sgt in which he showed me my overall result 4 the whole course. Ha the result is realli unexpected lar esp my peer appraisal which i tot i will nt fare so well. After showin my result he began 2 tok abt my strgth n weakness. His comment abt poor decision makin is oso realli wad i tik abt myself- indecisive. I a lot of time cant realli make decision n dun dare 2 risk wif a decision which may fail. Worst of all, is keep worryin abt tis n tat which leads 2 indecisiveness. Realli 坏习惯 liao!

4 more days 2 POP. Tolong tolong tis yr all i wan is just let me get in2 PTI. Bein PTI shiok lar everyday 8-5pm onli somemore got free time can go gym or train. No more camo, no more field camp. Hwever the graduatin is super horrible. Swim dunno hw mani k, den fbo clear soc, finally 5k run in fbo. No matter wad tis is so far the best postin liao...

「 Eric Lim yawns... Friday, May 19, 2006 」

Shld b my 2nd last wk in SISPEC BSLC course liao. Sian tis wk is the most xiong wk coz of ex nutcracker. Monday got confidence obstacle course n advance obstacle course. Heng tis 1 no run dwn n green fatigue plus helmet onli. Anw tat day due 2 safety reasons some of the obstacles cannot b done. 4 AOC, do tunnel, inverted jaccob ladder, step up n some thin plank obstacle. 4 COC do combat jump frm 5m n those high element rope stuff. Got 1 super funny got 2 make ureself across a rope usin the slow loris method.

Tues realli zhuo bo lan. Learn rappellin but juz learn the safety harness. Sispec dun hav the saf issued rappellin ropes 4 us 2 do cliff rappellin. Wad a waste! wed mornin take bus 2 mandai n hav lesson abt shell scrape n fire trench until evenin n den stand 2. By the time they ask us 2 stand dwn super dark liao. It was den we started diggin our shell scrape. Heng i m short the length no need 2 dig so much. Dig the depth is easy but when it is time 2 dig the length, fatigue started 2 set in. Heng my lao jiao buddy who is alreadi a corporal come n help me when he is done. Soon we started our fire trench in which we got 2 dig until my shlder lvl in buddy lvl. Ha lunk realli on my side coz my sect got 1 person fell out so his buddy came 2 join us 4 the fire trench.

Everytime like tat wan. Durin the start, every1 super pia until fatigue begins 2 set in. Abt 2 plus, the lao jiao asks us 2 go n rest 1st while he continued. He realli superman. I slp until 3 n took over until 4. Soon the trench becomes quite deep liao got 2 use a tool called hun key 2 remove the xcess sand. Ha i super buay dong kept dozin off. When they passed me the filled up hun key, i juz empty it 2 pile up a big pile of sand 4 coverin up purposes on the 3rd day. Upon returin the empty hun key i juz doze off again. The mosquitoes there super horrible my wrist n hand like each kena 25 plus bites. We liddat until 5 plus den ended n rested.

The nxt day 6.15 am throw 1 thunderflash disturb our slp. Mayhem again. Den got 2 jump up n fire blanks....The 2nd day i struck lottery oso. I kena leader sect commander 4 my section... Despite the fake 3 stripes, i still hav 2 do alot of thing n wif staff arnd mayhem is like anitime frm nw. Rank is a badge of responsibility. Daytime filled up abt 25 sandbags den do FOPK @ our fire trench n touch up on our harbourin base. In the afternoon, we practice

After last light stand to n dinner, i stayed @ my shellscrape until i dozed off. @ 10 plt runner came 2 wake me up 2 report 2 plt hq. Wah lau eh upon reachin there staff asks the LPS n all the LSCs 2 high kneel wif rifle ourhead 4 quite some time. Blame me 4 nvr go n check the APEC n let them infiltrate our base. Sian ji bua went back n settle the sentry n apec shift wif my sect pple n every half an hr got 2 go check tat they were nt slpin. 2 am the sergeants launched another wave of attacks @ various sections. Reinforcements got 2 run frm 1 place n another n i got 2 run 2 plt hq 2 report 4 quite a no of times in the dark. Got 2 times i fell in2 shellscrapes but @ least better than fallin in2 a firetrench. Attack until 4 plus den wan us 2 cover up all our shell scrapes n firetrench. After tat head back 2 coy line.

Tis wk juz got my 5 corporal rank. Sun got 2 go beach rd 2 sew them on . So fast nxt sat pass out but until nw still dunno i will stay @ echo 4 ASLC or post 2 another unit. Hopefully tis time i can get wad i wantedn let us rest a few days b4 another course starts.

「 Eric Lim yawns... Saturday, May 13, 2006 」

Tis wk kept laffin abt MIS n TFM. Staff kept emphasising we r diff frm other plt coz we r the Mentally Insane Soldier livin in Total Fuckin Mayhem. He even started a committee 2 make the shirt. Ha the design ok got our fav leg raise n rifle overhead in high kneel position but heng they used TFM s shortform or else i wont dare 2 wear out the shirt. Indeed, 8 wks of mentally n physically stressed out under staff, i m quite proud of wearin tat shirt liao. Anw tis wk, nt veri enjoyable despite no outfield. Staff super pissed wif us n even striked off the tot of makin the shirt despite he demanded it initially

Mon learnt abt combat life savin. We learnt hw 2 use bandage 2 dress fracture wounds 2 minimise n hw 2 tie tonnie key 2 arrest haemorrhage on victims whose arteries r cut. If somemone realli suffer severe bleedin on thigh near the groin area, we r supposed 2 tie tonnie key tight on the groin area 2 stop blood loss. The medic den says liddat the victims' balls will b gone but his life is more impt than his balls. Ha but some pple wld rather die if they live w/o balls. Tat day quite slack despite havin stand by universe. tat day i oso sian jibua coz my nxt day guard duty is replaced by my fren who misfired durin grand slam. Tis means tat i hav 2 go 4 the 16km rd march. Tat nite oso had sect comm knowledge test which is our final test in tis course.

Tues combat life savin test. Heng i passed the test n will b havin my cert on POP plus CPR cert. Tat day our CSM conducted stand by bed 4 whole coy. I oso dunno y some places a bit dirty csm asks us2 clean onli but our staff said he is utterly disappointed wif us n will confine us on fri. I was like super angry when he said tat. Of all days y muz confine on vesak day s if we no need 2 celebrate liddat. The 16k rd march is quite tedious. Dunno whether we 2 long nvr rd march liao quite a no of pple fell out after juz 4k onli. Tis time rnd in sispec we wld rest 4 a while after every 4k onli nt like bmtc after every 2k will rest 4 a while. In addition, in some part, we r like doin fast march. Fast march realli veri jialat 4 short pple like me. All those tall pple walk 2 steps i m like walkin 4 steps 2 close up. Super sian n taxin 4 me.

Wed we had our 1st ICCT lesson. 1stly we learnt front n back break fall. Heng ar i didnt encounter the worst pain a guy can exp s some of frens who landed hip dwn 1st durin their front break fall. Back break fall is the worst. Neck pain n upper back pain n muz ga ga fall backwards 2 execute it. Lastly learnt abt the 3 basic locks n practice wif my buddy. The lock quite useful s i exp the pain i had when my buddy executed on me. Hweva it is quite hard 2 execute in double quick time. In afternoon, staff said fri confinement is dependent on our area cleanin on thurs n fri mornin. Wah we spent the entire afternoon 2 clean the whole bunk up all the kiwi stains on bed, cupboard n floor wiped until i super tired. Tat nite i was quite disappointed s i was nt involved in the interview wif 1st guards. Sian dunno y they pick those slackers in my plt...

Thurs sect live firing which is quite near 2 ntu. Act he whole course is realli idiot proof n safe. Each bound is act made up wif 4 tires stacked up 2gether n the dist between 1 bound 2 another is 2m n there will b tgt 4 u 2 shoot @ so most prob u wont end up shootin ure fren instead. 2 ensure no cocksters, we had a dry run in which we fired blanks b4 the nite n day shoot. Ha the funny part there is even civilian tgts 4 us nt 2 shoot @ n most of the civilians tgts look like criminals. Our coy dunno y place the peein pt near ntu but blocked by little vegetation onli want 2 make us bcome the 2nd tammy. The probability of shoot @ such tgt is super small s it is located quite far frm the tgt we r supposed 2 shoot @. I tik the live rnd sect live firin is the best simulation 2 a real war. Runnin frm bound 2 bound in front of u wif m16 n SAW firin live rnd is realli an exp. But durin war dun tik i will dare 2 run frm 1 bound 2 another most prob i will leopard crawl instead.

The whole thing ended abt 1am n we rd marched back 2 camp n cleaned our rifle until 3.30am. The most sian thing happened. Despite the nxt day reveille is @ 6am, staff wanted us 2 stand by our SBO n items we brought out 2 b washed n clean durin 4.45am. We went up n washed up n did wad was req. Den i oso dunno y he is still unsatisfied n told us tat confinement on sat is dependent on our area cleanin @ 6.30am. Wif abt 1 hrs 2 go, we no mood 2 slp thus we all go did area cleanin. @ 6am when the coy sgt asked the whole coy 2 heads out, onli our plt responded. Thus he asked the whole coy 2 fall in within 2 min. Tat day i was like super bad mood- bkout nt sure, sat confinement nt sure, no slp, not much time 4 area cleanin n yet got 2 fall in. Bloody hell when our whole plt dwnstairs, some pple frm other plt still took their own sweet time WALKING instead of runnin despite of 2 min given. They got 2 slp while we cannot still can walk. My plt pple some shouted 2 ask them 2 hurry up. Wah when i saw the 2nd person walkin frm the toilet back 2 his bunk, i buay tahan n shouted STILL CAN WALK SOMEMORE. My 2nd wave of vulgarities is almost goin 2 come out if there is no sgt in front.

In the end heng our sgt gave chance 2 us s staff had gone hme. We bked out @ abt 7 plus. Upon reachin hme, went temples wif my family 4 vesak day n visited a medium who blessed our family 4 dunno hw mani yrs. Super sian he spoke in teochew n i dun understand anithing somemore wan 2 slp oso cannot. Tok until halfway after hearin wad the medium said, my parents faster left the place. @ the doorstep, i saw another grp of person n there was a ruggard woman kept cryin n refused 2 go in2 the medium's hse. My parents immediately asked us 2 go dwn by another staircase which left me quite surprised. Den they told me tat the medium just nw said got a person who is possessed will b reachin his hse soon. Upon hearin tat my parents said they better go 1st. Ha who noes we so suay meet them @ the medium's doorstep. Den we went 2 the nearby hawker centre 2 look 4 a zhi ma hu store but ended up walkin the place 4 half an hr b4 findin the store. The zhi ma hu n hua shen hu r the best i ate so far. After tat went hme 2 rest s no 1 wanted 2 go out. Wah i frm 3pm slpt until 4am den woke up new record 4 me liao.

Nxt wk exe nutcracker got 2 dig 1 shell script n a fire trench wif my buddy. Confirm dig until nxt day wan. Plus the staff mayhem thing confirm super tiring. Sian nw i hav been havin cough wif phlagms again 4 1 wks liao. All the lozenges like super lousy no effects @ all. Tik after ex nut cracker den report sick ba n hopefully dun end up goin 4 x-ray again. Muz b in gd condition 4 my POP in 2wks time 2 get my CPL!

「 Eric Lim yawns... Sunday, May 07, 2006 」

2day open mailbox hopin 2 c my uni admission letter but 2 my disappointment nothing. Den go on2 nus website 2 check. Ha kena environment engin. Den 4 ntu i kena business. After hearin so many 4As pple applyin 4 chem engin, i sort of expected tat i wont get the course i wan liao. Haiz 失望是难免的. Ha who asks me 2 screw up my physics durin A lvl.

Anw environ engin n business is oso wad i wanted durin the selection of the courses. Nw realli in quandary dunno which 1 2 take. Ha environmental engin is abt desalination, NEwater, land reclamation, sewage treatment etc. Yes alot of pple encourage me 2 take tis s s'pore care alot abt water issue n land reclamation so mayb it will b veri appealin in the future. Hweva engin job will b quite monotonous everyday go there do maintenance plus all the usual things.

On the other hand, i hav always wanted 2 start my own business. Mayb studyin business might b useful. Somemore wif a business degree i can get jobs which will nt b monotonous everyday got 2 handle diff things. Hweva business degree is like veri general aiya i oso dunno hw 2 put it. Nw interest vs future prospect. Hw 2 find a balance between tis 2? Sian still got until 5th june 2 decide.

Nxt wk short wk 4 army. Ha goin 2 learn those intermediate close combat moves n ya-ya-ya plus somemore 1st aid stuff. Tues regimental grd duty ha can miss 16km rd march. Thurs most sian got sect live firin b4 bk out. Sgts keep tellin us veri safe wan but i still 放不下心. Hopefully no blur cock or i dun cock up n end up shoot live rnd @ my frens den my future realli hol-lan liao. Definitely will look 4ward 2 the nxt long wkend. Got 2 bk in liao. Take care pple!

「 Eric Lim yawns... Saturday, May 06, 2006 」

tTis wk is the zombie wk. We all r like walkin dead esp after exe grand slam. Slpin hrs veri little followed by our staff's mayhem. Ha he keeps emphasizin the meaning of mayhem: total disorder plus extreme violence, leavin every1 in total confusion.

Tuesday went 4 sect trngin again @ lim chu kang area 2 do sect battle drill. Tat day realli strike lottery coz my sergeant took leave so staff took our sect. Wah norm sect battle drill got a lot of contact pts wan but he onli had 1 contacts pts but all drills do in tat contact pt. Tat fateful contact pt is @ a lalang field in which some of the grasses r taller than me. He super zai keep givin snipin drills, in which in some cases every1 dies xcept sect com. We deploy sharp shooter n m203 2 fire hedp @ sniper den he will say sniper escaped unscathed or u missed n den sniper reload, takes aim n shoot... u r dead. Wah super tirin we keep carryin casualties frm 1 side 2 another side 2 escape. Den bside sniper drill, got leopard crawl drill to n fro abt 100m each. finale is fire movement 2 n fro the lalang field den halfway he will suddenly say enemy right or left, thus we got 2 charge in tat direction. Buay tahan my lung really like goin 2 collapse. i like 1000 2000 3000 4000, supposed 2 prone dwn by 4000 but i too tired n juz fell like a fallen tree. But heng he is still humane n gav us rest in between 2wards the end n treated us drink @ end of trngin. Ha he damn funny. When pple say huh 2 him, he will say: huh is used when i come in2 a wrong ger. Den pple say dunno, he will say dunno is a malay word 4 chibye. Lastly when pple say no lar, "no lar" is a malay girl's name.

Tues heng my sergeant is there. Tis time rnd we did plt battle drill in mandai area near the zoo.
Got 1 time we got 2 cross the rd 2 another side of the forest which is veri near the zoo. S we cross the road, the drivers like damn shocked 2 c us crossin the rnd wif camo on our face, machaim we wan 2 attack the zoo. Den @ nite field pack inspection bcome tekan session. Our oil bottle nt filled whole lot knock it dwn. Powder nt filled whole lot leg raise. Kiwi empty whole lot flutter kick. Den cant meet timin 2 put in everythin so everythin out again.

Wed camo on n took bus 2 SAFFT 2 take fast craft 2 tekong. Den take toner 2 kgt unai which is our harbourin site. Ha tis is the 2nd time i take toner in SISPEC coz every time go outfield is take air con bus. Super suay my positn is veri near 2 an ant nest... bobian lan lan suck thumb so i put some maggi crumbs some dist away frm their nest n my position, hopin they dun come n pester me. In the aft head out 4 an ambush mission n den after dinner head out 4 another nite ambush mission. @ nite my little nite blindness realli cause a lot of probs 4 me cant even get in2 my position or exit the harbour base. Slp 4 abt 1 hr n my turn 2 do sentry frm 12-2am. Thru out the sentry keep hearin wild boars but they nvr come in2 our base. Ha or else can eat roasted wild boar instead of disgustin combat ration. Dunno y oso when i look @ my watch everytime it will b like 10min accurately frm the prev time.

After sentry i hugged my rifle n slpt. Den suddenly POP i immediatley woke up n took out my rifle n aim. Act it was trip flare went off n den the sgts began 2 enter our base wif a SAW 2 support fire n i looked @ my watch 2.44am realli wth. In the end, 2 rifles kena stunned when the 2 holders r slpin, 1 person dragged away s POW our harbour base has fallen. Staff was damn angry n made us do high kneelin n rifle over head n played mind games wif us quite some time b4 we headed out 2 another pt 2 do our harbourin. Heng i got M16 2 lift up onli. Howeva the other rnd i suay. Tis time rnd we nvr clear rubbish n veri disorganised thus b4 movin out we did our "fav" again n tis time rnd i lifted M203. Wah realli veri jialat but staff wld say moan n groan.. look @ ure pathetic face... Everytime c him confirm will kena something. 2hrs plus of slp every1 is mentally stressed n signs of fatigue r showin but gd thing is every1 kept pushin on.

Fri sucks big time. Rain 4 almost the entire day while every1 had 2 take turn 2 prone to b sentry. By den my uniform was smelly onli but due 2 the rain it become muddy n smelly. Heng aft i got mission 2 attack plt 3. Ha we back stabbed them n managed 2 get 1 POW which is marcus frm sa. Ha he was slpin while doin sentry. Den after tat clear our rnds by leopardin crawlin frm 1 bound 2 another n shoot blanks @ nothing. Den @ nite made our way back 2 bmtc parade sq 2 clean rifle n wash up. While cleanin, alot of pple fell aslpt n keep tokin 2 their cock like wad staff likes 2 say s their head keept tiltin up n dwn. Ha got 1 person clean n eat n almost oil his biscuits. Ha i oso buay tahan n my things i held started 2 drop without me knowin it. The camo cream damn hard 2 wash off esp the eyes area. Ha after wash up, i confirm still hav mascara wan. By the time we finshed everything 3am liao n den slpt until 5.30 woke up n prepared 2 set off back 2 SISPEC. Ha like staff always like 2 say, it is nt over until it is realli over n starts 2 threaten us wif the word mayhem.

2day upon reachin hme bcame like hungry ghost. 2 days of combat ration enuff 2 made me bcome liddat. Worse still the combat ration made me shit abt 3 times upon reachin hme. Went out wif my family 4 lunch n upon reachin hme, i knocked out while typin tis blog halfway. Sian nw got 2 make 200 cylum straws s our whole sect nvr make. Heng nxt wk slack xcept i got regimental guard duty on tues nite. Ha hopefully tat day guard commander allows me 2 order mac 2 eat durin my break. The followin wk Ex nut cracker in which we will dig our own grave n fire trenches... More mayhem comin up.... 3 more wks 2 pass out frm BSLC 2 bcome a chao corporal wif my green beret. Abt 4 more mths 2 get my 3 stripes n abt 5 more mths 2 get my khaki beret if i m posted 2 guards. By then realli leader of 6 men 2 set the pace s a sect commander n hopefully get 2 noe well the 6 men whom i will b fightin a war wif.