I've moved. Misembittered
- posted by K. C. @ 12:03 pm

 
Well I wouldn't be doing this blog justice if I left it to decay would I?

Here's a summary of my life, from the 10th of December 2003 to now.

10 Dec 2003
In Singapore, we have compulsary national service. Thus on that day, I was enlisted in BMTC at Pulau Tekong, in Taurus Company. I'm in platoon 1 section 4. PTP batch, which means it's pure physical training from then on, supposedly...

11 - 19 Dec 2003
...when we probably did more stand-by areas and stand-by bed than we had physical training. Yesh, the physical training was at a reasonable pace and difficulty for me, but all the 'regimentation' and 'standardisation' crap was getting on my nerves. Everything has to be done the same, to the teeny things like how near your fork should be placed next to your spoon in your cupboard.
The beds are okay, we didn't endure too much unreasonable crap, but the way we lose our freedom is depressing indeed. So many things disallowed, so many things have to be done, no matter how senseless.
At least, at that time, the platoon mates were still nice to each other. You know the ways egos clash when people start to get to know each other, it hadn't happened yet then.

20 Dec 2003
Parents' visiting - our parents got to talk to us, and look at our bunks and the area for a few hours in the afternoon. Everyone was delighted, and morale was high.

21-24 Dec 2003
PTP phase continues, and by 24th we have the first ever bookout.

25 Dec 2003
Felt sick, fever, stayed at home the whole of the bookout, sad eh?

26-30 Dec 2003
More PTP, booked out on 30th instead of 31st, because that's the BMTC school anniversary.

31 Dec 2003
In an extreme act of decadence, partially justified by my getting of my first pay, I bought the Sennheiser HD497 headphones I had set my eyes on quite some time ago. Cost $109, but they're really great. The sound is clearer than what you can even imagine. Stayed at home waiting for the last minutes of 2003 to pass by - what a loser I am.

1 Jan 2004
Went cycling with Weizhen in the morning. Considering I was still rather sick with all that mucus and all, the climbs felt horrible. Ate at Casuarina Road prata again, but didn't enjoy it much as I was sick and all. Booked in again to Tekong.

2-3 Jan 2004
Only 2 days of training, and it's the weekend, bookout!

4 Jan 2004
Rather depressed, it seems like everyone else got something to do with their weekend, and I'm not welcome. Ask them out for a movie, and they say they're watched it before/they know they won't like it/they're busy with other friends/they're saving money. So, I pass my weekend alone. All the friendships, and we're drifting apart so soon? Not something I want to believe, definitely.

5-7 Jan 2004
Standard Obstacle Course lessons. Whoohoo I can finally do the Jacob's ladder! The Platoon Sergeant was rather annoyed at how badly I did, when finally, on that day I did it with no problems for the first time. Nerves. That was the real obstacle I had. Have trouble with the low wall and swing trainer though, hope I'll improve at a faster rate.
Guard duty for the first time on the 7th. Quite a slack one, comparing it to the guard duties conducted by Mohawk (we had Leopard coy). Walking around BMTC in the night and using the walkie-talkie to report your presence at every check point isn't that bad. Would have been better, but the guy, by 'buddy' (as in, a buddy system here, each person in BMT pairs up with someone else who sorta is responsible for each other etc) I did the duty with isn't exactly the kind of person I can talk to.
Somehow, the training programme included swims practically every single day. Wonder why. Swims are one of the less tough types of physical trainings we have, but they sure as hell are troublesome.

8 Jan 2004
My platoon-mate, from the same secondary school as me, informed me that: one of his ex-classmates had informed him that one of our ex-teacher's husband had passed away in Indonesia. No further news;no one told any of us any more. Had canteen break at night, informed my ex-classmate in Platoon 4 about it, who apparently had no previous knowledge of it (despite him usually knowing all about the latest news about anything related to the ex-class).

9 Jan 2004
Read in the papers about how the teacher's fell off a flat, and it wasn't suicide. SMSed around to many of my ex-classmates, who told me that it was an accident - tall man and low ledge, lost balance. Tragic indeed, she has 4 sons left to take care of, and from what classmates say, she's coping with it well, emotionally. She's used to her husband being away in Indonesia, so it's not too tough an adjustment to make, in terms of all the pragmatic, daily chores. My ex-classmates went to his wake.
But what irks me is, none of those ex-classmates took the effort to even inform any of us in Taurus coy at that time, and we had to rely on snippets of information here and there to get the picture. Such a major thing, and they forgot about us. I was pretty angry then. We couldn't go the wake anyway, it ends on saturday morning when we're still stuck here on Tekong.
The feeling of being left behind by your friends, the feeling that your friends aren't really friends afterall, the feeling that no one really cares, you get the idea. Why couldn't any of them - just one of them - give any one of the 3 of us a call or something. Or an SMS. Why didn't they even bother. If they hated me they could have informed any of the other 2 anyway. But why didn't they?
Am also rather disappointed by the fact that most of the SMSes I send never get a reply. Am I that hateable?

10 Jan 2004
Book out in the mid afternoon, rather than in the late morning, to pay for the extra long break during BMTC Anniversary.

11 Jan 2004
Yet again, alone at home. No one to go out with. Was rather depressed. Was venting my frustration on the walls - or rather - my knuckles. Not a healthy thing.

12 - 15 Jan 2004
Failed the swim test. Dammit. And did a route march on an ingrown toenail. Ow ow ow. Surely does hurt. And one of the sergeants was having a bad day then, and he vented it on us, made our lives difficult during route march, criticising us for every possible thing. Our OC had to step in to prevent our morale from going down too low. That was one depressing route march. We had 3 new guys in our platoon and one of them asked me - "are all your route marches like that?" and I didn't know how to answer.

16-17 Jan 2004
BMT officially starts, but the stuff we do is still rather like PTP stuff. The ET run was terrible on an ingrown toenail. Some blood visible after that. Fortunately, my toe got better from then.
The egos are showing. Everyone trying to assert himself as a leader to try to become an officer cadet. It's sick, the way people take their personalities and push others around rudely just to do that, it's depressing.
My buddy thinks that singling people out and criticising them in front of the whole section is going to make him a leader. And accusing others of being stubborn too, when some of his ideas are plain impracticable. Depressing. Hafta live with him for 10 more weeks. In fact, I don't think he has any leadership at all, but he tries too hard. I don't like to elaborate. If I were to continue from here, it would get rather vulgar. About him being naggy and all.
17th was bookout. Finally. After a really draining week.

18 Jan 2004
Had another taste at decadence, after buying The Darkness's new album and the Audioslave CD. And a $37 Nike T-shirt that supposedly keeps you dry and cool during physical activity. Met up with Conghan and chatted quite a bit, mainly about army and etc.

19-20 Jan 2004
We handled our rifles during these 2 days, and we got to learn the heavy responsibility that comes with it. Lose any part, and it's 7 years in the military jail, aka Detention Barracks. When sending arms back to the Armskote, a cocked weapon can cause the person to be charged too. Stress. But still, it gives me a sense of awe to be actually touching a real rifle. Booked out on the night of the 20th.

21 Jan 2004
Chinese New Year's eve. What more can I say. The same as it always had been. Except I felt really down. I want to forget about it. I don't want to elaborate.

22-23 Jan 2004
Chinese New Year. What more can I say. The same as it always had been.
- posted by K. C. @ 2:00 am

 
I can whine and bitch and moan about the things that have been happenning, but of course, it'd be nicer if I keep it all in and in this way retain my dignity. All I'm gonna blog from now on will have nothing to do with my personal life.
- posted by K. C. @ 4:25 am

 
Third Eye Blind - Slow Motion
From the album "Blue"

Miss Jones taught me English
but I think I just shot her son
cause he owed me money
with a bullet in the chest you cannot run

now he's bleeding in a vacant lot
the one in the summer where we used to smoke pot,
I guess I didn't mean it
but man you should have seen it
his flesh explode

slow motion, see me let go
we tend to die young
slow motion, see me let go
what a bloody nose
slow motion, see me let go

now the cops will get me
but girl, if you would let me
I'll take your pants off
I got a little bit of blow we could both get off

later baby, in the afterglow
two large coke we cut with drain-o
and your nose starts to bleed
the most beautiful will we read

slow motion, see me let go
we'll remember these days
slow motion, see me let go
urban life decays
slow motion, see me let go
and I don't

my sister eating paint chips again, that's why she's insane
I shot the dog in the morning, I shoot crack in my vein ... girl in you,
see my neighbor beating his wife because he hates his life,
there he knocks to his fist as he swings
oh man, what a beautiful thing
and just lie close to me, don't you grow to be
a junky-wanna creep

Hollywood gonna raise my wrath
on the younger man psychopath
I insight a murder
for your entertainment
cause I need the money
what's your excuse
the jokes on you

slow motion, see me let go... (X3)


- posted by K. C. @ 4:08 am

 
KC's list of essential items to bring to army
Cannot do without:
1. 10 clothes hangers, 20 clothes pegs
2. nail clipper
3. lock with 2 keys (not combination lock, not too big)
4. toothpaste/brush
5. soap with box
6. lots of underwear
7. slippers
8. black pen
9. foot+body powder
10. extra battery for phone (charger is not allowed)
11. shaver

May do without but must get eventually:
12. lighter
13. black electrical tape
14. soap powder
15. rags

Makes life easier and optional:
16. pocket radio/discman (walkman not allowed)
17. black marker
18. non-prescription medication for common problems (panadol, strepsils, lomotil- for diarrhoea, cough drops)
19. a watch

Get there with lots of sleep beforehand.
- posted by K. C. @ 12:14 am

 
Grad Photos
- posted by K. C. @ 9:15 pm

 
*gone*
- posted by K. C. @ 6:18 pm

 
Millencolin - No Cigar
Tell us where you’re from
What you want to become
And we’ll say if you’re ok
Where did you go to school?
Right answer and you’re cool
Yeah, you’re the kid the whole day

You get a sticker in your face
Information about the case
So you know your potential
Don’t think you can extend
Don’t think you can extend, just comprehend
But I don’t wana hear it
No, it’s more than I accept

’cause I don’t care where I belong no more
What we share or not I will ignore

We will shut you out
We’ll put you in doubt
If you think that you’re special
We’ll tell you who you are
We’ll tell you that you’re close but no cigar
But I don’t wana hear it
No, it’s more than I accept

’cause I don’t care where I belong no more
What we share or not I will ignore
And I won’t waste my time fitting in
’cause I don’t think contrast is a sin

What they say is...
Go back, where you came from
They’ll tell you that, I don’t wanna hear
No, I don’t wanna hear
No, I don’t wanna hear it
No, it’s more than I accept

’cause I don’t care where I belong no more
What we share or not I will ignore
And I won’t waste my time fitting in
’cause I don’t think contrast is a sin
No, it’s not a sin

- posted by K. C. @ 3:52 pm

 
The Essential Tracks of late
1. The Darkness - Love On The Rocks - it reeks of the Freddie Mercury era of rock, but really, it captures the spirit of the 80s really well, well, they're The Darkness, the best 80s retro band so far! The guitar parts are really strong. I've read an interview of them in some guitar magazine - they said; if you play a Gibson+Marshall setup and it doesn't sound nice without FX, then something is really wrong!

2. R.E.M. - Bad Day - This time, Michael Stipe had really done it right. Taking the melodic style of It's the End of the World and working from there, their new single features a stunning chorus and lyrics that are somewhat thought provoking. Better than almost all of their stuff.

3. The Offspring - Hit That - their first single from their recent album doesn't disappoint. A classic upbeat track, it doesn't try too hard to be special, and that makes this simple melody work.

4. Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes - the band that had recently disappointed Singapore with their last minute cancellation has unexpectedly showed musical maturity, though I wouldn't bet on it being a sincere change, but a false pretense. Following into the footsteps of other similar bands such as Staind and Linkin Park, they've decided to do something slightly different to their usual stuff, and enter the realm of slow melancholy. It's not bad, but the recited background vocals mars the song.

5. Trustcompany - Falling Apart - nu-metal fans have a new band now - Trustcompany, which follows into the footsteps of Linkin Park and the like. Nothing too original, but it's not bad, considering that it's a carbon-copy of the previous successful nu-metal acts.

6. Billy Mack (real name: Bill Nighy) - Christmas is All Around - this lame spoof of Wet Wet Wet's Love is All Around is humourous considering the context of the movie Love Actually, but if you haven't watched that, you'll probably not find it funny. If you need a track to remember the movie by, this is the one.


- posted by K. C. @ 9:46 am