Wow...come to think of it, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. Tagboard's all filled up ey? And I see there's hatred in it too, cool! Say whatever u wanna say, I mean, u choose to hate me or like me and that's ur choice. Everybody have their point of view or their own thing to say about so I don't really care. If everybody were to like and love everybody, this world would have been perfect and it would be like a scene from one of those cartoons, happiness is like an everyday thing... There wouldn't be war, there wouldn't be hatred and there wouldn't be any complications. So, it's like a balance of good and evil. I know that some of the people out there hates me but hey... if that's what they want to do, go ahead cuz it's their own choice and there ain't any right or wrong in decisions...

Finally, I POP-ed from BMT life last Friday... time does fly somehow, it slides past swiftly without u realizing. It was a shagged out week for the last week of BMT. First four days was jammed with rehearsals for the Passing Out Parade and god damn, we really put it so much effort for it. Marching that parade square, over and over just to get a good run and under the hot tekong sunny weather, it really cooked us good. If u were to crack open an egg and just drop it on the floor, I can guaran-damn-tee u that it will get cooked. It's one degree higher than mainland. Anyways, back to the POP... so we rehearsed and another thing, we didn't have much rest although they said that we'll get some rest.. MY ASS! They kept on calling us to "heads out" to listen to instructions and do things when we're suppose to be resting. The last day was a 24km route march and boy... it was major shagness! Thursday, they let us sleep although we didn't.. cuz we had to pack our stuff for getting back home and also stuff to prepare for the parade. So there we were, had our early dinner then we head back to company line to prepare to fall in for our route march. we started marching off to the small parade square around 6 plus in the evening and we gathered there to count strength and all. 8 companies in all, doing that route march.. The PTP (Physical Training Phase) batch, Enhance Batch and the Obese Batch. Charlie,Delta,Echo,Foxtrot,Gryphon,Hawk,Jaguar & Kilo.. all at once doing the route march. Echo was leading the pack followed by Gryphon & Kilo for the obese batch while Charlie,Delta,Foxtrot,Hawk,Jaguar head out on another route.

The route march kicked off around 8 and troopers started marching off one company after another... For the obese batch, it was marching around the whole BMTC compound, and one round is about 2km so altogether we had to go for about 12 rounds to complete. At first, everyone was in high spirits and we were loud, my god, we were loud and so full of energy. Marching while singing and trying to wake the other companies who's still serving their BMT there up we go off... For the first 2km, we get to rest for 5 mins and the next 2 which is 4km is 15mins and the cycle goes on like that. 1 round, 2 rounds, 3 rounds... and slowly we were losing our energy although the other platoons are still going strong and loud but my platoon, we were slowly dying except for some of them who still have energy. When we reached into the resting point, the other companies were singing our cheer.. I was like, wow! They were givin' support to us like... I don't know, words can't describe... All of the other companies sang our cheer, the echo cheer and we were touched somehow and motivated to go on... And it's true, Echo Coy is somehow the most respected company, being big boys and all but still, we have the high spirit to go on and keep on trying. So we did, we marched on. On the 5th or 6th round, I was shagged out, feeling fatigue, sleepy and the pain on the soles of my two feet, I wanted to fall out but the boys motivated me and pushed me to go on and I was touched by that... They kept one shouting..."Come on Barney, u can do it! Mind over matter barney!" "Lagi sikit ajer barney, jangan fikir pasal kaki kau, jalan ajer!"... (Barney's my nickname in my platoon and not to mention the whole company, they know me as Barney cuz I did the stupid "I love you" song in Barney's voice when I first came in...) So I kept on marching, feeling the heat built up underneath my pants and shirt and feeling the blisters forming up under my feet, I pushed myself. So I kept on qoing, like a zombie walking around.. Time goes by and it was 3 plus in the morning and it was our last round... Reaching to the end point, everybody was back to life again, knowing that it was the last few distance before we earned our POP... We marched in strong, singing our Echo trademark song... And without knowing, we finally reached the end point. When the other obese companies came in we gathered in front cuz the sir wanted to speak to us. He was proud of us, so we sorta celebrated and we were shouting and cheering at that small parade square and well, gotta say things were a li'l bit emotional. Some of us cried and so did I... We hugged one another and I was going around saying thanks to those who pushed me to go on and tears rolled down because, we did it... All of us did. It was a moment and experience that no money can buy. After all of that, we head back to company line to put down our stuff and rest. They let us sleep.

That very afternoon after the route march, we got prepared to leave our bunk... said our last goodbyes to the bunk and had our last area inspection by our instructors we head off... carrying our belongings to the parade square. While waiting for the moment for us to march into that parade square and to show our families and friends the best parade their sons can ever do, we were all nervous and excited at the same time. The weather slowly changed, from sunny to cloudy to bad weather.. Saw the first lightning when it was only like a few more minutes before our march in and soon after that, the alarm sound off..."CAT 1....CAT 1..." and when that happens, all trainings are to stop and instructors are to put us under shelter. Droplets of rainwater formed up on the road.. slowly it painted the ground and soon, the next thing we know... heavy rain poured on us. Our heart broke somehow... I mean, we rehearsed so god damn hard for this very day and the rain just poured on us... why doesn't it rain when we were doing the rehearsal? Some were sad cuz to some of 'em, it's like something they wanted, to Pass Out with pride and not simply by walking back to families and go home. I was a li'l happy though, cuz my feet was all busted up and I don't think I can do the marching well and secondly I was impatient to just get home. Standing at the waiting point, we sang... we sang all the songs that we were suppose to sing during the parade and we sing that famous Echo cheer song.. and we sang many other songs.. The other companies joined in and I can tell u, that moment was a moment that showed how united we were... it was simply a beautiful experience. "Excercise cut" was confirmed and so... we head back to get our Duffle Bags and head back to the parade square to meet up with our own families. Everyone was saying their last goodbyes to their instructors and officers, who had taken care of them for the past four months. They may not show it but I'm sure they'll miss us like how they would miss the other batches of recruits they have... I went to the grandstand, saw my mom, my dad and p|uGGy... She followed my parents to see me Pass Out. It was cool, knowing she's there.

After we boarded the ferry and then the bus back to Pasir Ris... my parents asked Lina along to dinner at Magic Wok, the Thai restaurant. ate dinner there and it was fun.. and she followed me back home to see my kittens and after that hang out with B and Yan at MacDonald's near my place. Hang out, talk crap... and stuff. around 1 plus or 2 plus, we went our seperate ways. I sent p|uGGy home cuz I kinda worry for her to go home alone at that hour. And boy, the area she stays in, eerie.. I mean, it ain't that eerie but for a girl, it's kinda dangerous.. It's kinda dark and there was some renovation going on and stuff and u know..foreign workers walking around... so yeah..it's dangerous. Brought her safely back to her home, had a smoke with her and chatted for a while.. and then I got home.. At all this time, my feet was hurting like fuck! Right now, it's all swollen and there's like puss coming out.. It's, messed up.. Can't even walk properly and I can't even stand too long now.. it fuckin' hurts..

Aight...that's all..CHEERS TO ALL!

Pictures will be up soon... new pictures...