..:: 296. The One With POP ::..

yeah finally POP... now for the flashback...

dreaded going back to camp cos everyone will be talking about nothing except results. my bunk only 3 guys didnt get As but the more i hear from other platoons the lesser the chance i am going into university. well heck. ok ya, one of my infamous bunk mate got A1 for his GP. He was commenting how bad my english was when reading my autobiography. Anyway i meant it to be a casual writing just like in blog or msn. So if any of you guys reading my blog now, please beware.

the final SOC evaluation was on monday and i thought i would fail my low rope obstacle. but alas, i passed it with a pretty good timing of 9:31. fastest in my section and second fastest in my platoon. surprisingly i did better than my other 2 section mates who were, wah, damn fit. My buddy said i could do better because i can run and he's not good in running. Conclusion: Talk so much in the end i still win him in SOC no matter what.

Then came the most dreaded event: 24km route march. We started at 1500 and ended at 2356. Had to wear my parade boots which were not seasoned cos i left my other boots at home. Same old abrasions at the thighs but still i cant believe i had done it.

Packing to go home was hard. I didnt bring any stuff home during the last book out so i got lots to carry. threw away a lot of stuff though :(

9th March. My mum put on my jockey cap for me and some of my army friends drooled at my sis which i thought they might be blind. :P

Felt elated that i do not need to go back to tekong for any re-test. whole company only about 30 do not need to come back cos many have to re-do their SOC.

was pretty angry the day before POP... had a debrief session with my section commander. He was evaluating each of us in the section and he said i probably go SISPEC!!! arghz. whats worse, 'you still can have the chance to go OCS even if you get posted to SISPEC'. though i find it hard to accept but if i cant make it to OCS, i guess it must be my peer appraisal. The peer appraisal was done before i was made the platoon IC so didnt have much chance to perform. somemore i not the kind who wayang so not many took notice. Well, but my platoon sergeant said i got the chance to go OCS so i still keep my fingers crossed. My buddy, bloody hell, while queuing for dinner, was telling me 'aiya, dun be so mad. I'll may see you here when u come back as a specialist'. wah i was fuming, deep inside i was thinking, 'you think you confirm can go OCS big deal ar? ' Actually leadership skills, i dare say he havent proved that he is better than me. His relationship with platoon definitely better than me cos i have this habit of being selective with people i talk to. Thats my biggest drawback. IPPT i think i can only win in 2.4km and definitely SOC. Running is no doubt most important thing in army. i hope they focus more on running and endurance :] and those military skills, like technical handling, first aid, marksmanship, camouflage, drawing of range card, i am slightly better.

anyway the criteria to go OCS are getting so incoherent just like choosing the platoon best. my platoon best cant work with his own platoon and almost the whole platoon hated him. Seeing a few who are confirmed going OCS, i wondered what they are looking for in OCS. Someone who got screwed by an officer for not being able to account for his men? Someone who leads passively? Someone who is well-liked by his platoon?

Anyway, i am just happy that i had done my best in BMT. Especially when a few of the sergeants had given me their trust and support. I was given the right to pump recruits... :P

oh yeah, i got my ipod shuffle. its really cool but apple really know how to earn money. i had to buy the usb charger for 54 bucks... arghz. ipod shuffle had an internal battery that is non-replaceable. but still its sleek and cool :] quality gd. i can shuffle or un-shuffle the songs. :]