Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
--------------------
Surprise! It's some random Muslim public holiday today! And I got 24 hours off. Only a few hours left before I have report back.
From this, you can already infer a few things about what's been happening with me so far in NS and stuff. Firstly, due to a whole bunch of crap, I'm not really allowed to post much about how life is there etc. BS isn't it. Oh well. I'm starting to get used to things like that. But I'll try my best without breaching any of their lameness. Basically, stuff that everyone either already knows, or could find out easily.
To be exact, it's actually Hari Raya Haji, some random holiday that I didn't really know about. When I went off for my enlistment, it was a pleasant surprise to find that we were actually given this public holiday off, as well as 48 hours for Christmas. The pleasantness sort of ends there. Maybe.
I'm not going to name my company or anything else, probably get killed for it. But in terms of where I was posted, I must say I think I'm quite lucky. My superiors seem vaguely human, in the least. The horror stories of NS from those who passed before me seem irrelevant and far-fetched, too. That is, until I got a glimpse of other companies. Once again not saying anything, but it just made me glad I had the commanders I have. Really, thank God for that, this was something I was truly concerned about, feared even. God delivered of course, once again.
That said, military life still sucks. No details (this is annoying huh), but I think, especially for the first few days, the challenge hasn't been too much on the physical side. Instead, another factor has come in, which was probably the greatest challenge, and still will be for a while to come I assume. The words "mental stamina" probably don't mean much to many people: definitely not to me. Until I went into camp. The essence of what made life so difficult in the first few days was this: Can you live with a bunch of people who have complete power over you, and surrender pretty much all your rights into their hands? You basically have no rights other than those they find appropriate to award you. These can be relinquished at any time. Perhaps that made it clearer why having unreasonable commanders can drive one insane. Vulgar commanders don't make it much better. No more about that.
Living without freedom, true freedom (control-freak parents don't count), was probably the greatest test of my mental stamina in my life. I found my mind simply shutting itself down, refusing to comprehend or try to reason out the circumstance I had been placed in. In doing so, I think it made it possible for me to zombie on, forgetting what I was doing. And life went on. Do what I was told, don't ask why, and when done, wait for the next thing you're told. Can I get used to life like that? Probably. Can I live with it? No. I don't think it will ever be possible for me to truly live in such an environment. The restrictions on my mental capacity and other less physical aspects are simply too overpowering. The only prized qualities (that I can see) seem to be obedience, zeal, and physical fitness. There is really very little else that seems to count in the environment I'm living in. Frankly, I fear the damage it will do to my mental capacities, which does happen to be stronger than my physical aspect.
I do happen to have been placed among people possessing similar educational qualifications to mine, but there's still a difference. Fact wise, their probably smarter than me. But in terms of their general knowledge, I feel they're sorely lacking. This is a classic example of the contrast between educations in a country like Singapore, compared to somewhere like Australia. Simple example: (Filling up some form) "Are Catholics Christians?" Me: "Yeah." Other random: "No they're not!" Me: "Sigh++." They've been educated in an environment where things like religion and other aspects are barely touched on. I doubt they know anything about the fact that they're actually Protestants, like me, and Catholics are just another denomination of Christianity. Of course, the only things they know are from their own churches, who would of course tell them that Catholics aren't Christians (go go conservatives -.-"). Which they go on to believe. Nothing more on that: I'm just thankful that I didn't get some bunch of school drop-outs.
But through the actions of my company commanders, I think I'm slowly learning to handle living in such an environment. Can't really say anything, but my commanders really know what they're doing. And they understand the situation, possessing a measure of compassion on top of that. That makes for some powerful solutions to arise for myself and those around me to relieve the pain of innumerable negative emotions.
The physical aspect was just picking up before I left. It's been more lectures and things up to now, like introductions, opening addresses etc. Boring stuff. But better than training. Thankfully, it's progressive, and a program designed for those who failed the physical fitness like me. Hopefully it will be bearable.
Of the things I miss, number one on the list would be hot water showers, definitely. Always hated cold water. Still do. Close second is music. Yes, music. Apart from some super crap quality radio playing somewhere during meals, there pretty much isn't any music around. Why not bring in my ipod this time? No time to listen to it. Everything you do has a time limit. Not meeting the time limit means you die. Put it this way: Sometimes, you know from the start no one's going to make the time limit. That said, we have a grand total of 1 hour (relinquishable, of course) to attend to our personal matters. This includes calling anyone, using your phone, showering, brushing your teeth, shaving, packing, getting ready for the next day, washing your clothes, whatever else you need. Oh by the way, queues exist for showers, sinks and cubicles. Good luck, have fun.
I'm off, hope it doesn't get too bad in the next few days before christmas comes around. Next post then =)
OK OK! I know I'm avoiding the whole thing with the results. As yet, it's still classified information :P... Not going to release to the group of you yet, need a few more results from some key people ^^. Here's a clue: I felt the results weren't good enough, though I'm not necessarily disappointed: Rather, I'm annoyed because I believe I could have done better. However, if I attached my results to this post, I feel that many of you might rage at me. That said, my results might appear at a later stage... Watch this space ;)
Bye.
Surprise! It's some random Muslim public holiday today! And I got 24 hours off. Only a few hours left before I have report back.
From this, you can already infer a few things about what's been happening with me so far in NS and stuff. Firstly, due to a whole bunch of crap, I'm not really allowed to post much about how life is there etc. BS isn't it. Oh well. I'm starting to get used to things like that. But I'll try my best without breaching any of their lameness. Basically, stuff that everyone either already knows, or could find out easily.
To be exact, it's actually Hari Raya Haji, some random holiday that I didn't really know about. When I went off for my enlistment, it was a pleasant surprise to find that we were actually given this public holiday off, as well as 48 hours for Christmas. The pleasantness sort of ends there. Maybe.
I'm not going to name my company or anything else, probably get killed for it. But in terms of where I was posted, I must say I think I'm quite lucky. My superiors seem vaguely human, in the least. The horror stories of NS from those who passed before me seem irrelevant and far-fetched, too. That is, until I got a glimpse of other companies. Once again not saying anything, but it just made me glad I had the commanders I have. Really, thank God for that, this was something I was truly concerned about, feared even. God delivered of course, once again.
That said, military life still sucks. No details (this is annoying huh), but I think, especially for the first few days, the challenge hasn't been too much on the physical side. Instead, another factor has come in, which was probably the greatest challenge, and still will be for a while to come I assume. The words "mental stamina" probably don't mean much to many people: definitely not to me. Until I went into camp. The essence of what made life so difficult in the first few days was this: Can you live with a bunch of people who have complete power over you, and surrender pretty much all your rights into their hands? You basically have no rights other than those they find appropriate to award you. These can be relinquished at any time. Perhaps that made it clearer why having unreasonable commanders can drive one insane. Vulgar commanders don't make it much better. No more about that.
Living without freedom, true freedom (control-freak parents don't count), was probably the greatest test of my mental stamina in my life. I found my mind simply shutting itself down, refusing to comprehend or try to reason out the circumstance I had been placed in. In doing so, I think it made it possible for me to zombie on, forgetting what I was doing. And life went on. Do what I was told, don't ask why, and when done, wait for the next thing you're told. Can I get used to life like that? Probably. Can I live with it? No. I don't think it will ever be possible for me to truly live in such an environment. The restrictions on my mental capacity and other less physical aspects are simply too overpowering. The only prized qualities (that I can see) seem to be obedience, zeal, and physical fitness. There is really very little else that seems to count in the environment I'm living in. Frankly, I fear the damage it will do to my mental capacities, which does happen to be stronger than my physical aspect.
I do happen to have been placed among people possessing similar educational qualifications to mine, but there's still a difference. Fact wise, their probably smarter than me. But in terms of their general knowledge, I feel they're sorely lacking. This is a classic example of the contrast between educations in a country like Singapore, compared to somewhere like Australia. Simple example: (Filling up some form) "Are Catholics Christians?" Me: "Yeah." Other random: "No they're not!" Me: "Sigh++." They've been educated in an environment where things like religion and other aspects are barely touched on. I doubt they know anything about the fact that they're actually Protestants, like me, and Catholics are just another denomination of Christianity. Of course, the only things they know are from their own churches, who would of course tell them that Catholics aren't Christians (go go conservatives -.-"). Which they go on to believe. Nothing more on that: I'm just thankful that I didn't get some bunch of school drop-outs.
But through the actions of my company commanders, I think I'm slowly learning to handle living in such an environment. Can't really say anything, but my commanders really know what they're doing. And they understand the situation, possessing a measure of compassion on top of that. That makes for some powerful solutions to arise for myself and those around me to relieve the pain of innumerable negative emotions.
The physical aspect was just picking up before I left. It's been more lectures and things up to now, like introductions, opening addresses etc. Boring stuff. But better than training. Thankfully, it's progressive, and a program designed for those who failed the physical fitness like me. Hopefully it will be bearable.
Of the things I miss, number one on the list would be hot water showers, definitely. Always hated cold water. Still do. Close second is music. Yes, music. Apart from some super crap quality radio playing somewhere during meals, there pretty much isn't any music around. Why not bring in my ipod this time? No time to listen to it. Everything you do has a time limit. Not meeting the time limit means you die. Put it this way: Sometimes, you know from the start no one's going to make the time limit. That said, we have a grand total of 1 hour (relinquishable, of course) to attend to our personal matters. This includes calling anyone, using your phone, showering, brushing your teeth, shaving, packing, getting ready for the next day, washing your clothes, whatever else you need. Oh by the way, queues exist for showers, sinks and cubicles. Good luck, have fun.
I'm off, hope it doesn't get too bad in the next few days before christmas comes around. Next post then =)
OK OK! I know I'm avoiding the whole thing with the results. As yet, it's still classified information :P... Not going to release to the group of you yet, need a few more results from some key people ^^. Here's a clue: I felt the results weren't good enough, though I'm not necessarily disappointed: Rather, I'm annoyed because I believe I could have done better. However, if I attached my results to this post, I feel that many of you might rage at me. That said, my results might appear at a later stage... Watch this space ;)
Bye.
Posts
