「 Eric Lim yawns... Friday, August 25, 2006 」

Slack wk xcept 4 the 3 SOC trngin. Physically n mentally strainin. Mon starts off wif SOC in the mornin. Wah i cant blieve it. The front 700m run i was pantin like siao. Nvr run until so tired b4. 2 my horror, i cant even clear my lo wall n lo rope 1st try. Timin 2 words can described onli. F up. 11 min plus. 1 wk of outfield plus fatigue caused my timin frm 8.32 2 11 plus. Ended up kena scolded 4 nt puttin in effort. Haiz i alreadi tried my best liao almost puke out my brkfast. i oso human nt robot can always maintain myself in tip top form.

Tues trainin 4 tis sun AHM. Run 6k timin nt bad. After tat had lect den afternoon svc tank 2 prepare 4 handin over. Finally no need 2 touch the tank liao. Wed SOC again. Did quite a no of run dwn timin wise 8.59. Ok lar got improved frm the prev 1. Tat day shiok got nites off. Went JP 2 eat n play arcade. Thurs lect the entire day until evenin. Wah tis wk i super tired s fatigue started 2 build up. Normally durin lect, i seldom slp wan. But tis time rnd it was clear that i realli KO! After tat went vehicle shed 2 paint tank. Sian 3 person per tank. Spent 2 hrs plus we onli painted 1 side of tracks 4 4 tanks onli.

2day mornin SOC again. Sian tis time rnd my timin bcame 9.15. Cant blieve sometimes things can b so unreasonable once u do something wrong. I was tgted once n once again 4 nt achievin timing which i shld achieve. No matter wad, he wld juz say it is gd 2 c pple puttin effort but it is realli disappointin 2 c pple without fightin spirit... The worst of all is he went 2 check my water bottles n asked y it was empty. He promised us tat after the 2nd SOC run dwn, those who pass the timin wont hav 2 do again. So i passed the 2nd run n started drinkin water frm my bottles. Surprisely he nvr keep his promise n make us do again. In the end he checked my bottle. I told him i drank the water onli after my 2nd run. Siao i nvr meet his xpectation he like quite unreasonable n say i lack integrity. Wth! u nvr keep ure promise still say i no integrity...

Realli spoil my day. Gettin insulted 4 no reason. Nxt wk trial test i will make sure i run a gd timin 2 show him. Tis wk my body is realli tired after the outfield somemore the last wkend i nvr rest well which leads 2 such poor performance. @ the same time, i was nt the onli 1 whose timin is droppin. Of all y he chose me. I oso wan 2 fite 4 my best timin but tis time rnd my body condition forbid. Last time i kept pushin n train hard 4 my 2.4 timin n he saw tat. Nw bcoz of a unintentional drop in timin, he juz let it off @ me. Suay ar!

Tis sun Army half marathon. Will b runnin 10k frm padang 2 orchard back 2 padang again. Sian got 2 run @ 8am liddat. Dunno whether shld i run 4 my best timing or juz reserve energy 4 monday SOC trial test. 8 sept 1.40am flight sian 10pm got 2 reach airport liao. Ha haven changed $$ yet n packed my stuffs. Left wif 14 days liao. Tik abt $400 shld b enuff 4 me 2 buy things 4 my frens n relatives n my food. Bubble tea plus red pepper fried chicken steak. Shiok!

「 Eric Lim yawns... Sunday, August 20, 2006 」

Tis wk entire wk spent on outfield 4 single tank battle course. Anw finally uploaded most of the pic taken usin course cam. Can go n look thru the pic by the link bside. TCC, if u all wan 2 get all the pics n video, msg me on msn n i will send u.

Monday woke up veri early 2 go draw ammo. Passed by SISPEC realli missed my time there s private. So fast i nw a corporal n within 2 mths a 3rd sgt liao. Sian the moment i went back there i was handed over the fake 1st sgt rank n became the Leader Platoon Sgt.

The job of the leader platoon sgt is quite busy. Got 2 ensure my course mates meet the timing the instructors gave, distribute manpwr 2 do various tasks, organise the place n activities concurrently n lastly muz b 4ward lookin n b initiative 2 come up wif instructions 2 further enhance the work flow. Heng my course mates cooperate wif me or else i kena alot of xtra n things liao. Ha actually LPS nt bad lar durin daily BOS n AOS, u juz hav 2 remind them the time left n check their progress n no need 2 get involved in the svcin. Hweva, if they cant finish within the timin, den u r in 4 big time.

Mon 2 wed do the same thing. Wake up early, do BOS, den start wif the single tank battle course. It is like doin circuit trngin. They set up various tgts along the route of travel. All u hav 2 do is 2 command ure driver 2 drive along the route n when encounter the tgt, give command 2 ure gunner 2 execute all the drill. Crew RPG on fire! We day time do tis nite time oso do tis. @ the same time, within a crew, we will rotate 2 b driver, gunner n cmmder. So end up waitin alot. Quite slack 4 outfield compare 2 last time infantry realli chiong sua sia

@ nite end the day wif weapon cleanin n AOS. Wad a killer combo! We ended up slpin veri late almost everyday n woke up early. Ha outfield quite funny wan. Dunno is it bcoz of the lack of slp or wad. A lot of pple is like shut dwn includin me. Dun hav mood 2 talk cock or crack joke. Our conversation is realli cut 2 realli abt the single tank battle course. U eat liao? Hw's ure run? Whose turn liao? Need help? Later do wad?...etc lar.

But heng lar tues n thurs nite course com allow us 2 go back n bathe lar but the timin they giv veri short. Bathe liao got 2 go back outfield liao dun even hav time 2 call hme. Thurs n fri more xiong do camouflagin 4 the entire tank wif camo net n got timin 2 meet. Sian keep gettin entangled in the net super frustratin but heng lar still passed the test wif quite gd timin. Thurs we oso got our evaluation test 4 single tank battle course oso. Tis time rnd the tgts r placed @ diff place quite challengin.

Fri noon i was busy packin my stuffs @ the trngin shed. Den a toner came n i saw some1 wavin @ me. i was like erm who is he ar. Den i continue packin n c the combat engineer sign on tat toner. Den i was like oh alvin lar. After a square face oso pop up n wave @ me. Ha aaron. I waved back @ them. Didnt noe i tat day so suay i waved @ them oso kena scoldin frm my course com. Fri afternoon went back camp @ last. Unload all the barang barang frm the tanks n sent them 4 washin. Abt 10 help out 2 wash tank while the rest cleaned weapon. Sian we washed abt 5 tanks until 12am den slp. I was realli drippin frm head 2 toe. When the cold wind blow, i was like shiverin non-stop. Imagine washin tank in taiwan @ nite tat's it liao lar.

Nxt day did svcin on the tank frm mornin until 3 plus den bk out. After bk out went out eat dinner wif my class pple. Ha keep tokin abt our times in jc n pw oso. Ha dunno y still tok abt pw. Shld b happy tat it is over liao rite. Finally摆脱 frm all those craps like flyin chicken bones in kfc, aeroplane flyin, seal laffin. Haha. Hw i wish i was in jc again. Ha wif my height confirm no prob wan. Go back sec sch oso no prob.

Nxt wk more relaxin xcept 4 SOC trngin. Furthermore, they promise more nites off most likely on wed ba. Most prob goin JP again play the bball game. Haha. Got 2 start paintin the tank 2 prep 4 POP parade. Sian nxt sat nite got 2 bk in 2 ensure 7hrs of slp 4 army half marathon on sun mornin. If i nt wrong shld b runnin frm esplanade 2 orchard ba. Siao all the pple in navy, army n air force will gather n run. so many pple run i tik i will end up walkin ba. Haha. Left wif 2 wks plus 2 taiwan liao. Anw nxt sat 5pm any1 free wan 2 go newton eat?

「 Eric Lim yawns... Saturday, August 12, 2006 」

National day mornin bk out due 2 guard duty... Den go temple 2 pay my respect 2 my grandma n grandpa, my great grandma n my dad's ex-fiancee. Sadly since i was born i nvr c my grandma, grandpa n great grandma b4 onli their photos. Till now, i realli respect my mum. She will always cook gd food 2 let my dad 2 offer the food 2 his ex-fiancee n durin qing ming, nvr fail 2 accompany my dad 2 go 2 her tomb 2 clear up without complainin got 2 wake up so early instead of havin jealousy. My dad oso nt so 忘本. 30 yrs liao still nvr fail 2 visit his ex-fiancee.

After tat meet up wif tat turtle in beach rd 2 buy his stuffs n go play pool wif him @ the concourse. Hope he is doin well in brunei forest nw. After tat went hme slack until bk in timing. Look @ the national day parade realli makes me look 4ward 2 my POP parade which is due in 2 mths time. Hopefully i can win something in my course n make my parents proud on tat day. Guess by nw alex, stanley, andy n yuqiang has gotten 3 stripes liao. Ha alex get posted 2 gedong camp s signal spec so suay. 1 yr plus in tis camp he sure complain wan.

Thursday we got change of command parade 2 get busy. Heng my course no need 2 b part of marchin contingent which oso means we will b the sai gang party. Set up, arrange chair, put up banners... Ha warrant see asked me 2 go help him wif his stuffs. We go carry instructor chair, mount on bionix, 40/50 n tank den go wrkshop modified the chair. Heng he got rover or else we walk here walk there wif tat chair confirm die. After tat he asked me 2 b his camera cam go SOC runnin grnd 2 take photos of the various stations. Sian lookin @ the stations it reminds me of my SOC run the nxt day. After tat, went back 2 office 2 help him do the map of SOC runnin route plus medical evacuation route. Almost half day in the office wif air con. Haha slack rite?

Despite helpin him, he will make fun of me, keep usin some funny hokkien terms 2 ask me wad it means. Nw he always c me he will say gong gong ( which means dumb dumb).... After tat i joined others @ the parade s spectators n look @ those poor AI marchin.

Fri mornin SOC run. Heng warrant low offered the challenge who run below 8.45 no need 2 do 2nd rnd. Wah i was like dun reserve energy n just push on n run. The last stretch of run is the most horrible n tirin. It all depends on ure mentality @ tat time liao. Ha last time b4 NS, my bro told me SOC xiong i wld laff @ it coz i nvr tik tat the SBO n rifle will realli affect ure runnin. Tis time rnd i set my personal SOC record. 8.32. Veri delighted. Hopefully by the test my timin can go under 8. After tat run, always liddat wan not enuff of slp my head super giddy. Worst headache i ever had. Worst still, the sirs still asked me 2 go practice my lo-rope coz i got up the top by mere arm strgth. They said if i got technique can cut the timin alot... But i tik if i use their technique i will fall frm the rope lor.

The afternoon sian did turret activities 4 nxt wk single tank battle course. Den prep tank until nite 10 plus den bk out. I slpt all the way hme almost missed my busstop. Tis sun playin my 1st match s my instructors' team wif mingze, chok, pat n jason @ sin ming sec sch. Hopefully can win n dun get injured ba. Ha nw OOC i can go kill myself liao. Nxt wk my stressful wk. Single tank battle course. We r nw trained driver n gunner but nt commander yet. S the tank is movin, we will practice our command n ctrl n multi-taskin s a commander. 5D4N outfield feedin mosquitoes. Fri came back n wash tank overnite den sat do maintenance until nite den bk out. 2 end wif a super combo finish nxt wk i will b the LPS-leader plt sgt... I tik the job is more like lam pa sai. Yes u can command pple 2 do things but if cant meet the instructor timin, prepare 2 end up in knock dwn position until pple finish. Plannin n decision is the most impt. Tik my "decisions" will end me up wif signin myself 4 confinements ba. Ha nw can onli may the force b wif me ba!

「 Eric Lim yawns... Wednesday, August 09, 2006 」

Sian ji bua. Confinement wk plus 2 nites out. Wah super tiring sia. On monday rehearse 4 the ATI aniversary commissionary parade b4 the real thing in the evenin. Ha between noon 2 evenin we were slpin in bunk 2 so call conserve energy 4 parade. Heng tat parade is a success despite every1 stood on the parade sq onli looked 4ward 2 the mountin of vehicles 4 drive pass.

End of ippt phase but start of SOC. Wah wif 4 dummy mags + 2 full water bottle realli matters alot. After the 1st full run, i was pantin s if there is no tml liddat. Timin ok lar below 9 min. Siao warrant low tgt 4 me is below 8... My leg short run smaller steps some obstacles i req more time bcoz of my ht. Wah he best. He asks us go do 2nd rnd. The 2nd run i go lo wall is like i run run run den bang the wall cant cross... den 2 the swing trainer grab grab grab den drop. Hai demoralisin...

@ the same time tat wk spent time doin the last few lessons of crew drill. The most xiong 1 is the exit tank frm emergency hatch. But tis time rnd small size does help. Ha i was like makin my way thru the passage smoothly without any obstacles. Wed we had our crew drill test. Sian some of the stations did well while some like shit. Worst is i failed my crew drill knowledge test. Byebye 2 my hope of gettin tis course best knowledge award...

But wed it ends off with a nites off. S usual head dwn 2 jp n eat. Ha ended up in arcade playin the throwin bball game wif jeremy, mingze n jason. Crazy rite we like spent abt $20 plus altogether on tat game.

Den frm thurs 2 sat spent most of the time doin preparation of tanks 4 live range. Super hot n tiring inside the tank. Wearin the coverall in the tank doin svcin is like sauna. Sian the diff between us frm AI is manpwr. They got 11 pple 2 do svcin while we onli got 3 pple 2 do the entire tank wif same no of rd wheels s them but bigger gun n more weapons 2 clean. Washin of vehicle is worst... Ha but tankies dun dismount unlike AIs.

Sat noon they released us 4 half day off. Sian i dun feel like goin hme end up wif mingze n jason lookin 4 place 2 go 2. Initially say wan go town but end up go JP. Wah we like everytime go jp already quite sian liao. Ha tat day dunno wad happen 2 us 2pid n cock until still wan 2 go there. Ended up playin LAN n check my wk e-mails oso.

Sun live range. Wah we woke up @ 4.45 n had roti prata 4 breakfast. Thx 2 ws allow me 2 drive the tank 2 the live range durin the day or else if i drive nite i tik the vehicle will overturn. Tat day i broke my record again. Ha i drove up 2 40km/h but act against TSR liao. Convoy max spd is 30km/h. Ha i made it 2 the live range site unscatched includin the tank. Quite confident of my drivin liao.

After settin up all the barang barang time 2 start the firin. I wad the 2nd detail so we put on our ear plug n wait. Bang! Walau eh quite loud n the shockwave realli got shock us a bit. Dunno whether pple in jurong area can hear ar nt. Soon my turn liao. I do cmmder 1st while ws do gunner. After givin cmmd 2 fire, i stand by my bino. Bang! Wah lau eh i almost lost my balance s the tank swing backward n 4ward instantly due 2 the recoil plus counter recoil effect. My turn 2 b gunner liao. I m supposed 2 shoot @ 2 oil drums joined 2gether which form 91. 1st rnd i shot until 1 of the oil drum gone i tot i hit liao but ended up the ctrl say no n ask me 2 shoot @ the other oil drum standin. Bingo! When u fire the rnd @ the gunner side, super shiok got some breeze brush against thru when the gun fire. Sian but my mg firin juz made it n the nite tank shoot i bobo shooter missed...

Nw the most funny thing abt my actual day shoot. Durin AAR, my course com said he observed thru bino my rnd tat my 1st rnd projectile juz scrape the top part of 1 oil drum but the high spd coz the oil drum 2 topple n the real explosions came in when the rnd landed @ the wall behind the oil drum. Ha i kan tyco lor. Tat day we concluded our range quite late arnd 3 plus in the mornin den end. Super tirin n the worst thing is nxt day 7 plus got 2 do mg svcin n tank svcin until nite 9pm plus. Durin tat few days upon reachin the bed the moment i lied dwn on the bed n open eyes mornin liao.

I suay durin the svcin. WS helped me get some rags 4 me 2 pull thru main gun. Ended up no rags but got used socks so bobian i used it. S the course cmmder walked past me n saw me usin socks. He was like shocked n laff @ it.
Course Com: Ha wad the fuck u used sock 2 pull thru main gun.
Course Com: Ar nvm lar u knock it dwn 10 lar. Ought 2 respect the main gun
I: ....Permission 2 carry on sir! 1........10
I always kena tis type of suay punishment. Once i yawned durin cool dwn exe, my head giddy no oxygen so tend 2 yawn lor. Course com saw n
Course Com: Wah u nt tired still can yawn. Nvm u knock it dwn 30 lar. U bloody jo-nass!
I: ....Permission 2 carry on sir! 1........30
Course Com: Heard tat ure SBJ nt gd do 10 more tuck jump...
Suay rite... Yawn oso kena n he asked me knock it jokinly. Tik in tis course i kena the most of such suay punishments frm various instructors n sir... I joke oso kena.

Wah i had guard duty last nite. Do prowlin but heng got slp a bit in between my shifts. Nw still quite tired tik i go slp liao. Later 1130pm den bk in. Ha course com so gd give us longer break. Due 2 tis sweaty n tirin wk, wah my face realli overgrow wif pimples liao. Worst still, nxt wk got single tank battle course outfield 5D4N. I tik i can bcome MR ACNE after tat liao. Any1 got ani gd skin care prdt 2 recommend?