Paul "Kami" Lim: October 2006

18th October 2006 marks the end of my NS life. It's been like 2 and a half years since I've graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and entered in the what-known-as the ~~"scariest"~~ "sacred" time of every male citizens of Singapore.

My NS Life...

Started out my journey in Pulau Tekong Gryphon Company Platoon 2, I enjoy every single bit of it (except the arm skote IC part, which of course, FUBAR(Fcked Up Beyond All Redemption).

Started out my journey in Pulau Tekong Gryphon Company Platoon 2, I enjoy every single bit of it (except the arm skote IC part, which of course sux).

For brothers in arms, Comrades for life...

Training in tekong is not as tough as I thought, thanks to my positive mindset of being a sniper (which in the end, it's just a dream) and aiming for SISPEC (which of course, didn't manage to get in too). I still remember the "fun" we had during bunk cleaning, the feeling we had when we book in and out, the ups and downs of my bunkmates. It was fun at that time. If I thought unit is so sucks, I'd have asked my buddy, Jimmy to screw me more before we POP. Of course, not what you're thinking XD We aren’t 302...

That was also the time when I realize that shooting aren't that hard at all, but how the heck did I miss the marksman requirement? In other words, being over confidence sucks... Still remember 3SG Erizeman... Still remember the 5 days field camp which I "luun" my shit for 3 days before releasing all at one on the 4th day morning... Still remember the IPPT which I finally passed after for so long... Still remember those days...

Eish, Jun Hao, Kui Bao, Fin, Najib, Peter, Me myself, Jimmy Goh, Hwei Neng ,Fariz, Jimmy Lee, Louis and Jun Wei... All the best in your future ventures...

The dark days of my NS life... well not really...

It was a time of dark sky in my NS life... The first day I entered that manifest den, I can feel a new chemical is being produced from my body, it makes me numb, it makes me wanna puke. I still remember the amount of time we waited for allocation of bunk, the noise we produced (I was quiet, cause I was lonely T_T) before we got screwed upside down by Incek Paul (then, the Training Warrant Officer), and the long road we marched before we arrived in our bunk.

On arrival of the bunk, I can sense, the spirits of those who ventured into this den but never returned again, the warning signs from the scar of the building which battles after battles against time have fought... Mother Earth is telling me to be careful...

I still remember the 40x16 jumping jet I did that result in a micro-fractured toe. I still remember the "ORHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" turnout siren!

A siren which will wake any dead people around, if there's any. I still remember the "RARHH RAHRHAHARHAH" dog barking CSM, which scolds and give us instructions in a language we don't understand at all, and then punish us cause we never do them. Of course, the rumour about how crazy is 1SG William treating his men and how the men treat him back. It was dark and cold...

But then, there was light at the very end of this dark path, the light which shows us our clear path. 3SG Dennis, 3SG Jacky and last but not least, 3SG Lye. The instructors of Platoon 4, which punish us with reasons, took care of us when we were down, tekang us in a way we enjoyed very much, keep us fit while make us shack. I'd like to specially thank 3SG Lye for training us this way. This is my first time in my life that I gotten silver for IPPT. (quote: (after doing 8 pull ups) Wow! Surprising!)

After which I still remember the last 3 day in PLAB. It was like fighting in a war... You watched your comrades "shot down" one by one in front of your eyes. A company of heroes, reduced in size one by one... We have about 15 people who are chosen to stay in PLAB, and was removed from the crowd. We've got about 20 people taken away after the 2nd day. Mental pressure is high. We are wondering when will it be our turn... Then it was the 3rd day when I receive the announcement that I'll be posted to Air Force School. You know, at that time I was like "What the **** is AFS? O_o??" Just put us there and get over with it... -_-

We packed our stuff and moved out to the "collection" point. LTA Soh from AFS fetch us over to AFS for briefing. I was surprised at how the management goes. Cause it was simple, clear-cut and vague. I absorb as much as I can before we are told to go home 15 mins later. Finally the long wait is over...

And the road to ORD...

So my job now is simple, do duty everyday and wait for ORD. My hatred over FDS still stays. I always thinking about whether the reason that I have to do guard duty everyday, is due to the fact that I didn't even do a single guard duty in Tekong? I feel like talking to no one when I entered my new unit. I just wanna finish my duty and go home... But it was the people from my shift who taught me stuff after stuff. There isn't a unit without internal conflict, however the conflict is there to realize on each other and build up the bond we had with each other. Also for me, it's to spice up what we are doing cause it's really boring job... REALLY... Gosh...

I remembered telling someone about how time passes so fast if you're looking backward, and how time passes so slow if you're looking forward... It's true... It's enjoyable looking backwards at how fast the time have passed. From using the old gate with an OCT, to lobos helping out (2 batches), to issues on TVs, issues on management, issues on internal conflict, issues on chao gengs and mcs... it was hilarious ^_^;;

So after serving the nation for 2 years and 2 months, including serving Air Force School for 1 year and 6 months, this is the stuff that I received from them. I was rated very good in both conduct and performance. But I heard a certain person gotten excellent for both. So conclusion is... another lesson in life learnt for me ^_^;;

My advise for those who're still serving NS, do not look forward, you'll make your life miserable. Just make everyday a day you'll remember, cause when you look back, time will eventually passed by fast.

My advise for those who haven't served NS, don't worry. It's not scary at all... time will passed very fast(if you only following my method). The time when you're scared out is the time when you approach your ORD. Cause at that time, alot of responsibility will be pushed to you all at once...

My final advise for those who haven't served NS, AND those who haven't received their posting...