i seriously think that God is a good and faithful answering God. Firstly i enlisted into probably the toughest company in rocky hill but i am bless with super good commanders that really take cared of us!

every night without fail i will always allocate time to pray and one of the thing that i pray for is a gd vocation aft i pop. got in HQ 4 Singapore Armor Brigade. i must say i am very bless to be in here.

monday when i report to my new camp at kranji, we just sat there fill in 2 forms, had lunch, met with our platoon commander who is a captain which shock all of us. the next thing was to pack our stuffs and book out and report to sungei gedong for driving course.

my pc is a very nice guy. the first impression he gives you is that he is a fierce person. but in actual fact we can actually joke with him and he is a very welfare person.

being posted to brigade means we got alot of welfare. 5 days work week for us and usually we can knock off at 5.30pm everyday. is a stay in camp. however, we got nights out on every tuesday and thursday and we are required to be back by 11pm. from no leaves, my captain reinstate 2 days to me which i can use it at the end of the year.

although my vocation is to be a bronco driver but because i am with brigade it means i will be a part time clerk as well. will only require to drive if there are exercises.

life in sungei gedong also very good because the sergeants attached to us from signal branch are very good as well. led me to believe that the ppl in brigade are all very good. not very regimental!

we need nt join in 5bx, wake up at 6 plus go for breakfast. on those days that have live run where we need to run 4.2km on monday, wed, fri, we will participate aft that prepare for lecture, lunch, cont with lecture and knock off. usually RO will end before 5 and by 7 or 7 plus i will be fast asleep in bunk.

brought nth to do in camp so get bored too easily thus i will always slp early. wake up at abt 9 plus meet ch and go chat with him.

next week will b tougher because i will going outfield for driving and alot of servicing and maintainence to do. but i am looking forward to finishing this course so i can get out of 42 sar and go back to kranji camp.

the only thing that i am worry is abt the internal posting. i hope i won't get posted out of logistic branch. love it if i can stay with logis till my ns days are over.

going to report to my new camp in less than 8 hours. sigh the feeling is so sian. kindda gotten used to civilian life and now got to go back to being a soldier.

went to jog after cg before going for family dinner. along the way my big bro was telling me his friend say the camp that i am posted to is super relax. on the other hand my twin bro was telling me that is not slack got alot of outfield and standby. there goes my weekend.

i don really know what to expect in my new camp...

spend yesterday with ch, glenn, jr and van at city hall. after svc was supposed to meet up with char but than last min change to next sat. glenn went to look for a new shoes but i think waste too much time at expo, by the time we were at city hall all the stores were closed. what happen to the night life in singapore??

head to raffles city cafe cartel to settle our dinner. great time fellowshipping with them. doubt this will cont anymore. above, ch was trying his best to help me down pest by trying to murder me in public.

realised i have been spending too much. with building fund around the corner i got to start saving.

after thinking for like few months..i guess i have already change directions. i have always dabble and hesitate for a long time. i wanna focus on one area from now onwards. to focus on my ministry and really devote more of myself to my ministry.

really thank God for a good friend like dan. even though hardly talk to him or meet him up but he is always there for me. always providing encouragement and a listening ear.

got my posting. had some trouble sleeping the whole night. i remember i think van asked me this question btw infantry and armor which vocation would i prefer. i choosed armor. sigh..true enough i got into armor. HQ 4 SAB at kranji. not my desired vocation. but the good thing abt my posting is i am posted to headquarter.

hq is different from unit. according to alot of people, hq is alot more slack and relax as compared to armor unit. talked to alot of my friends wad jackson told me make me quite look forward to report on monday. he told me got alot of free off, go there be clerk only during outfield drive tank. also not sure on monday will that be the case anot.

wonder can i book out every night or must stay in since is hq and brigade.

however i think alot of my platoon mates got better vocation. only one out of 40 plus in my platoon become rifleman.

gonna meet my platoon up tonight at starbucks at marina to jus chill and talk about our new vocation. probably this is the last time we gonna meet one another also. hopefully i am wrong.

tmrw hopefully can get enough ppl to go and play soccer. after that need to rush down to philip securities before it closes to get my acc done. after which go attend svc. so many things to do but so little time. monday 0800 must report to my new camp.




in less than 12 hours i will be able to check my posting. sigh..dunno can fall asleep anot. too anxious abt my posting. dying to know where i am being posted to.

met up with glenn to exercise this afternoon. went to jog before we went swimming. i think if glenn nv asked me i think i would be pigging at home. super tired don't feel like doing anything. but i am real glad i did not.

we were talking abt the nike run 2008. how i wish next year nike will organise another of this event. kindda miss out on this year. heard from glenn that boys like girls came down to perform as well. i promise next year i will be there if nike is gonna org it again.

after the whole exercise, we decide to head back to my place while waiting for van to join us for dinner and short fellowship at starbucks. talked quite alot...quite a number of my friends are attached and one of them is gonna propose to his gf real soon. i am assign to be his runner.

anyway we were talking abt getting attach as well. but we will leave till aft we finish army before we decide on anything. army don leave us with much time as well for anything else.

i think life will be great if can chill out at cafe everyday. not everyday but rather like once or twice everyweek. just sit down enjoy a cup of whatever drink and just talk talk talk talk to the wee of the night.

jus came back from jogging not too long ago. finally able to go for a morning jog. i feel like i have been eating alot lately. need to exercise more. is not easy to be discipline to exercise everyday. wanted to jog everyday but realised that is not easy. but at least i did manage to do some form of exercise everyday either carry weights or go jogging. still not so bad.

went out with ch and van. sort of like our last time hanging out together since ch would be like in camp for guard duty etc. and after this week both of us will be reporting back to camp sigh. life would be great if we did not have to be stuck in camp. another 20 more allowance from SAF and i will be free to pursue my goals.

kindda surprise to hear that ch is starting to save up. he was telling us that he sign up something with uob which will require him to save 200 each month. i think me and him we are growing older. time to start thinking of our future.

went orchard to shop. return home empty handed. had dinner at sushi tei at paragon. did not really know that paragon had an outlet. usually i will visit the one at taka instead.

was thinking of chilling out at either starbucks or coffee bean at orchard but we decide to head home and go McCafe instead since we can hang out there till we drop dead. pick both of them up before we head to east coast mccafe. enjoy my time at there with both of my good friends. play cards, enjoy our double choc frappe, talk crap and had breakfast there.

don think there is anymore such chance for me to stay up till now jus chilling out enjoy my day since army eat up all my annual leaves for this year. now i don even know whether i can attend asia conference.

gonna take a short nap and hopefully get in the mood to go over my bro's condo there and swim. today must spend more time exercising.

time really flies...now i am left with only thursday, friday, sat and sun. and tmrw i will know my posting. i think i will settle for any vocation except infantry and guards. hopefully get a good posting.

recap..monday went vivo with ch, jr and van. kindda last min meeting. i guess i just enjoy meeting my good friends up and just spend the day with them. shop ard vivo. ch, jr and myself got ourselves some new tees. i realised this whole month i have been spending alot. need to curb my spending a bit.

tuesday i think spend the whole day at home watching city of angels. managed to finish sleepless in seattle as well. i think both movies show tom hanks and meg ryan at their best. spend the night actually watching this taiwan variety programme with my mom. they were talking abt top 10 classic love song that shook taiwan. from there me and my mom strike up alot of conversation. talked alot abt those classic song since i am also a fan of oldies songs. aft which went to get supper for my family.

quiet in love with my new running shoes. is super light weight it feels like i am not wearing anything at all. manage to get 40% discount for it as well. i think i need to invest on some good running shoes. i think is a old model or something.

side track a bit kindda disappointed with how Manchester United started their season. another sluggish start. wonder when will they hit the gears. languishing in the epl, losing the european super cup and began the defence of their UEFA Champion League crown with a draw.

the last 4 days have been a real turmoil. kindda hard to imagine 3 of the big 5 in the wall street are being acquired by different banks. i wonder what is install for us the next few weeks. this is the worst financial crisis. US is in recession, europe is slowly entering recession. doubt this financial crisis is gonna clear anytime soon. maybe can get something out of this whole mess lik tycoon mr oei hong leong in today straits times.

4 days have passed and just like that i am left with another 7 more days and i will be back in camp. sigh...so far i have not done much. like wasting my block leave away. but manage to get my running shoes, meet up with my friends and jus fellowship. the last 7 days i must do something constructive!

friday went over to shang's place in the evening for a time of fellowship. played cranium a game that stimulate your brain. is very tough game but is a very very fun game. just that we did not have enough time to complete this game.




attended today svc as i had to serve as well. i think i need to learn more. like today's svc it was quite bad. not the usual standard, there were tense moments. well moments like these are learning steps.

i need to remember about the basic things. cannot take it for granted that everything will function properly. and i wanna learn more of the technical side of chorus board as well. so in case if there is any problem i can remedy the problem on the spot. still a long way for me.

yesterday had lunch together with my family minus my 2nd bro. on the way home had a conversation with my dad. begin to alter my plans slightly. decide to probably take a month or 2 after i ORD on 12 june 2010 to go travel around the world. i want to go and see the world, broaden my knowledge. was thinking of going to visit new york, paris, italy and spain.

that would kindda seriously alter my financial plans. but i think these visits will do me good. right now i probably have the cash to go visit one of this country. so hopefully end of my ord i will be able to have enough cash to visit these 4 countries.

kindda bored at home...and right now there no good movies. wanted to go and rent some classic titles to watch at home. want to watch this 3 movies.



not too sure whether they have these 3 titles anot. kindda oldies movies. maybe tmrw go over and see do they have these movies.

finally...probably soon can get to see a spyker car on singapore road. below is a 2007 spyker c12. quite like their sport car. i dunno but i love sport cars alot. not those asian brand but rather more of the continental brands.



finally POP lo! supposed to book back at 8.30pm to go for my make up grenade tmrw. but talk to my pc as i need to attend something in the morning i was excuse. and from now on till i go to my new vocation i can officially jus slack and relax and enjoy my block leave.

one thing is i am real glad that my mom came today. was msging pam because i wanted to skip the whole parade because my mom at first did not want to come. but decided to just go through with the parade thank God i nv ask my pc can i skip anot.

the parade was fun. after 3 months going through the high and low with the platoon we finally pass out of tekong. no longer recruit but private. gonna miss the guys because down there the people really very caring and understanding. even when my grandfather pass away the moment i book in most of my friends already start showing me concern.

even the following day when we had to do area cleaning..my platoon ic for the week was understanding when i did not help much.

hopefully they will finalise the plan to org a chalet for one last gathering before we go to our respective units.

supposed to go botak again for the parade today. however our platoon sergeant helped us. apparently there was a miscom btw 2ic and sergeant major. abt 2 weeks ago was supposed to be our last hair cut. so yest night they actually make it optional for platoon 3 and 4. so i decide nt to go botak time to grow the hair and prepare for spec hairstyle for the next 1 year 9 months.

as it was our last night in tekong. quite a number of my platoon mate actually stayed up and play ghost. a lot of ppl kanna prank. even my pc was kanna prank. the commanders opp at yankee company even thought they saw something. prior before that we had a party at section 2 with the commanders to mark our last night in tekong. generally even though i kindda hate booking into tekong each week but my platoon is by far the best and leave a lasting memories for me.

they wanted to prank me but because of the demise of my grandfather they decide out of respect let me off the hook. heard they actually do alot of funny and stupid stuffs like pee in ppl boots, take ppl water bottle mix coffee, tea, pocari sweat all kind of funny flavors. the small brown cardboard will appear on our metal cupboard, beds will start shaking. all the funny stuffs.

gonna miss them..hopefully i get to be in the same unit as some of my friends and we can probably "havoc" a little bit more haha.

later gonna meet up with yh, jason, hopefully ch and dunno who just go have supper and enjoy the night at amk. probably tmrw go swimming with ch and than head down to queensway in the afternoon to probably get a new nike running shoes. quite like the new design esp the sole area. hopefully is more durable because the price of the shoes is quite steep.

having more family meals together this week. gonna have lunch together at taka on a sat morning. probably if my dad join us we will go have chinese meal and from there i will jus buy everybody lunch. dinner on sunday at this place that sell good shanghai dumplings. been going there since we were a small kids. very long nv go there and eat miss the food.

hopefully on the 19th i will get a good posting. even ch manage to be a combat medic. so hope i can get a good one. like wad pam say one step closer to my ord.

i think there are some stuffs that i want to accomplish within my block leave, go to philip securities and open an acc, play some soccer, catch up on bleach anime, can't think of other activities.

i also dunno how to describe my pc. on some days he is quite bad but on some days he is a very good person. reason why i am still at home is because he allowed me to book in at any time i want today. i am thankful for this.


had thoughts of catching wall.e and make it happen this week or something. but i think by the time i pop on wed and hopefully don get confine on wed i think the movie wall.e will not be on the big screen anymore. seems like alot ppl want to go and catch this show thats why make me also wanna catch this show.

finally caught camp rock today. my good friend glenn intro this disney original movie to me like probably a month ago but did not had time to watch it. and yest it debut on disney channel so took the chance to watch it.

well got to prepare to leave hse to book in. taking the 9.30 fast craft back to tekong. looking forward to pop on wed!

jus came home from my grandfather wake. did sentry with my mom and aunt. probably in like 2 hours i will have to wake up and most probably go and get my pop ticket from my friend. decide to ask my parents to attend and help my mom forget and ease her pain and see me pass out from bmtc.

at the wake my bro reveal this week he had a big and sort of nasty quarrel with my dad. i don come from a family that uses vulgarities. i am not perfect as well because i do admit that under extreme frustration in camp i will just blurt it out to myself. but my stand is nv use all these words on anybody. i am not saying this is right and like i was telling my friends this is my flaw and i wanna change and not even blurt out such words under extreme frustration or during unfair punishments.

from my mom i realise why i need to change. she was telling me how rebellious we were when we were young but did they ever use vulgarities on us? got me to think alot how we have grown to be more disrepectful. because my bro was angry and frustrated such words are use. if i can curb and discipline myself i will not worry abt finding myself in such position in future.

i remember probably 3 weeks ago i was having a conversation with my malay platoon friend and we were discussing abt our studies. i nv thought of going abroad to study but ever since i enlisted with the army i started to think differently. considered going abroad to study. i know that my big bro is gonna apply and my twin bro wants and shld be most likely going as well to study oversea.

was driving home from the wake when i had this conversation with my mom. from there i found out what happen and also finally a secret i had kept for my bro from my family was revealed on this conversation. is another shock for my mom. is like one thing after another happening.

with this i have decided to abandon any thought of going oversea to study but to stay in singapore and explore other possibilities. in the end one of us will still have to stay back to be around.

since i am nv that interested in studying i shall just stick ard probably learn the ropes from my dad and mom and probably work towards my previous goal to work part time and study at the same time. is not like i view it as a lost not able to go oversea study but i think i rather serve my duties here.

i don really think i am the perfect son or anything. i don deny i made a lot of mistakes in life and disappoint my parents big time most of the time. but like i say ever since my mom op i learn to cherish them. with the sudden departure of my grandfather make me treasure them even more.

i can nv make up to them for what they have sacrifice for me. but if really both my brothers are going oversea to study i will definately stay back help out in the family business and explore other avenue regarding my studies here.

was thinking what have i done for my parents these past few weeks. actually not much in my 21 years. was thinking of dropping my parents a msg probably next thursday or friday to tell them meet for dinner. since i would also be getting my allowance from saf on the 10th.

time to show a little care and concern for my parents. even as i hear them talked abt my uncle and aunties already retired but they are still working hard not for themselves but for us. slowly step by step time to really be a real son to them.

last sunday i was given the chance to sort of lead the team while serving. really thank God for this opportunity given to me. feel that my direction sort of change as well. i am enjoying myself in the ministry and looking forward to keep on learning new things. my short term goal will be hopefully given a chance to maybe lead for 1 svc during asia conference. but maybe a bit tough. for now i will jus grab every chance given to me and learn as much as possible.

was supposed to board 8pm ferry but manage to catch the 2 plus ferry. received msg from my mom and bro that my grandfather pass away in the morning due to heart attack. the news came to sudden. the last time i saw him was i think during CNY.

my grandfather to me i feel is quite a positive person. he had heart bypass, stroke, diabetes, even had one of his leg amputated and have to control his diet. thing is despite all these he still full of joy hardly see him sad only except when he had his leg amputated.

i remember how we use to go over and slp, play, and the fondest memory i have is when he was still a taxi driver he will always bring the 3 of us ard and as a young kid i will always be facinated with the wiper whenever he goes to shell drive through to wash the taxi.

this whole week will not be attending any church meeting. will be down at the wake.

next wed will be my graduation parade. now i still thinking whether to attend anot. although my mom told me that she let me decide but i dunno shld i still get them to come and attend the parade since my mom is grieving.

probably will give away my tix to my friend if i decide not to get my parents to come since no one help me put on my cap.

thank God that i decide to sacrifice and complete my 24km route march if not i would have to stay in and go for a make up route march. generally it was quite ok. a sense of pride to be able to finish this 24km route march.

quite another frustrating week in camp. because we "miss" the audition for recruit evening when is not really our fault, our csm gonna confine us after pop. because i miss throwing grenade aft pop i get to book out and 2 hours later at 9pm book back in again when i can't even go for the make up.

don really understand why when we are going to pop so many stunts happen. it seems like recruits life is the worst because we are always getting confinement even on our block leave! work hard for 3 months only to be told that we are going to get confine.

was talking to my dad during the wake and he was telling me if there are so many restriction wouldn't life be tough. i cannot agree more with this statement.

Tat Kwek
21 years old

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