IPT 2/8

till trying to find out Bedok FCC's way of operating their IPT, because i remembered Maju FCC was way better organised...

should list out the sequence of going for IPT -

1. Check-in camera hp outside camp

2. Park my car at the mscp (it's too small, unlike Maju)

3. IPT inpro at some random counter, which they will only announce when it's ready. Long wait and confusing here if there's IPPT and RT going on at the same time.

4. Collect a particular colour tag (they have yellow, blue, green and red to confuse everyone)

5. For session 1, take the CAT test (IPPT). For session 2 today, i went to the gym to take my body "age".



6. At the end of session, prepare to outpro. The person who owns a particular coloured tag and number, say 01, 11, 21, 31, etc will help to collect the tags from next 9 guys. Return the tags and get the outpro receipt in return.

7. Get out of camp.

1st ICT - 7 to 9 dec

my buddies have already completed 3 high keys and this is only my 1st low key, not even high key! SIAN!

anyway this ICT was meant for IHL peeps, so i met all the nice people that are studying in NTU, NUS. A small number of us are finished with studies, so we'll join the gang for a major exercise in 2011.

over the 3 days our DyS3 briefed us on the training programme and some expected events for next year and year after. In 2010 the division will be occupied with SYOG, so no military callups except for range in Sept. There's also mob manning in Mar/Apr, which they claim high possibility of activation. In 2011 there will be a major exercise.

other stuff, there was ippt and healthy lifestyle run. Plus a CO conference where we got to interact with all the key appointment holders. But my company's OC and CSM went off early... so never got to talk to them personally about my appointment. Hopefully there are no hiccups with it...

FINALLY

after making so many attempts. Let's talk about last weekend 1st - i went in to try and the breakdown was:

#1: put in the tag at the reader, mounted the bar and did only 1 when PTI said Sir, you haven't inpro yet? I looked at the LED screen, **** it told me to inpro first without registering the 1x.

i almost wanted to scream at him because i wouldn't have gotten the tag without inpro first.

#2: mounted the bar again, 4x. ARGH

#3: mounted the bar again,..... 4.5x. I JUST COULDN'T DO 0.5 MORE!

just now was better. Did 5 without much ado. Only had to swing a little to do the 5th.

PASS LIAO LOH!

No monetary reward? It's ok. Just get this year's done and over with

end of remedial training

wednesday marked the end of RT! POP loh!

met Alvin Pang and YB at Maju, chatted a little before i went to try the chin up bar. Mounted it and pulled a total of 4.5 times.

just that 0.5 more would be a pass! Never mind, i will and must clear it, plus avoid IPT.

remedial training phase 2

i'm nearing the end soon, in 2 weeks. It has been 1.5 months going in and out of Maju.

Partial failure..

going to burn my upper muscles. Aim for no IPT and straight pass?

remedial training

back to army after years of studying (slacking). Failed ippt last window, paying for it by attending RT. Like the OC of the Maju FCC said, since we're there treat the sessions as a good time to recondition our bodies, other than reasons such as networking, talking cock, slacking, hiding, etc...

luckily, the petrol is partially subsidised by my service pay.

largely, i'm enjoying it so far. But to pass ippt in Phase 1 seems difficult. Most likely promote to Phase 2..

3 more sessions to end of Phase 1

since i have company for the RT, we always carry on for dinner at Bt Timah. Today was at West Coast Plaza. Had sinful NYNY.

WX's Pizza


KW's fish n chips


My sinful spring chicken

the army linkage

had a small gathering with some army friends, at Jason's place. Has been quite a while since i met up with some of them, because everyone's busy.

realised time has passed a great deal, it's about 4 years since we knew each other. In Dec 2003, we were just out from BMT, posted to Signals Institute, then accidentally got bundled into the same infosys platoon because of our education background. So, we are from the engineering/technology sector (and still is, for those employed), except for the JC mates. After training for 2 months, 95% of us went to 3 Signals.

the rest of 2004 and 2005 was spent in the unit, then later with the higher ranks of my unit's division level. As the same goes with any army guys, the worries were mainly on time outside camp, physical fitness and unit exercises plus saikang. Later on at the division, the time outside problem was gone, but was quite tiring due to transportation - wake up at 5, take 1st bus at 5.20, reach camp at 6.30, end at 6, reach home at 8). Then there was girlfriend to worry about - so many things!

luckily for us, the entire division was mobilized for NDP 2005; the large scale of preparations for the 40th year of independence meant constant book-outs to City Hall, only a minimal number of military exercise; better welfare in general. I followed my superior to all parts of Singapore for his meetings and rehearsals, and even got to view a 'sample' of fireworks at Tanjong Gul Camp. In short, without the NDP preparations, it would be plain boring for 2005.

closer to ord, we all had our plans then. Those who could make it to local university were prepared to put rusty minds to use, Elvin even started studying part-time before getting out (Signal battalions traditionally have a higher number of well educated soldiers, so the culture is different compared to that of an infantry or combat engineer battalion, for instance.) The rest were getting ready for working life.

after ord, there were the frequent kopi sessions where we talked about girls, rather the lack of them, studies, career, etc etc.

now those who are studying are almost done, those working ones are doing well in terms of career advancement and earnings. Jason and Dan have gotten married, many of us are happily attached. There are new goals in life now, no more pursuing of IT gadgets crazily, but to plan for more serious stuff; personal set of wheels, marriage, having children, just to name a few.

suddenly, age is catching up. Getting closer to the number 3. Cannot play play as though we are still 20 or 21. A wrong step and we will be left behind.

let's see where we are again when we reach 30.

ps: butties, i want my kayak sessions to come back!!!!

si ling and ccis gathering

on sunday, after the kayak, i received a complimentary ride from alvin to vivocity. We were late for 40 minutes, thanks to my guest, the jam at the vivo car park entrance, and then finding a lot after the jam. Then we talked about someone which i didn't really want to talk about. Since we have nothing much to do with each other anymore...

had dinner at Hong Kong Kim Gary cha chan teng. Not bad, and certain stuff are adapted to the local taste. For example, my supreme curry is real hot. In HK, even finding curry is a problem, not to mention about the chilli spices etc. The milk tea is alright, i'm not fussy and thus found it to be close to what i had there. Ambience wise, it looked like the typical restaurant, no reservations allowed though.

HK cuisine is still better to be experienced in HK itself... another example is imported dessert shops in SG. Taiwanese Ice Monster 冰馆 vs. HK Hui Lau Shan 许留山? Forget it... have both in Taiwan or HK instead.

but, hope to use the free 30% voucher by end of this month...

Many branches in HK itself, Malaysia and finally SGP


Ordered an appetizer - egg toast at $2.80 (NICE!)


yup, the chicken curry baked with swiss cheese - $9.90


Closer look...

had a heaty talk upstairs at the open area. Then received another ride thanks to JF's boyfriend. Not bad to drive for this kind of situation..

vesak day was largely spent with army kakis. Met at AMK, bought our housewarming gifts (all wine, sadly) and cabbed to Jason's new place. Very nice 4 roomer, simple yet a nice place to call as home. The original master bedroom was modified (toilet access, 1 side of wall and door hacked/removed) into an entertainment room, with glassed partitioning. Then the adjacent room was again modified (open toilet access and hacking of store room) into the master bedroom. Overall, very spacious. I think i'll get a resale next time too.

The host was cooking when we arrived


Pizza too!


Entertainment room, with PC, Wii, etc


I looked happy in my sleep

i think i'm not a good drinker. Drank around 1 cup of red wine, then felt so sleepy. While the rest were busy eating in the living room i silently opened the glass door, sat on the sofa and went to lalaland. Even when they came in, i continued to sleep. The same as my father in this aspect - drink beer/wine, then crash into bed almost immediately.

jason's wedding

he's the first in the army group to get married. Really fast, but i believe he will benefit the most if he wants children asap.

Menu


Hmm...


Hong Kong mates

i overslept; having a headache now. Argh...

NSF up lorry

when someone posted in Hardwarezone that a NSF went AWOL with his rifle, no one took him seriously. Subsequently, that post got locked down.

The SPF got activated silently

about 12 hours after that posting, police managed to find him in Orchard Cineleisure after activating 200 MIB people. Yes, with his rifle and some live rounds.

let's analyse this case - HWZ's extremely powerful intelligence has found out some many traces of his past. He is CPL Dave Teo Ming, unit is 1 SIR. He has about a month of service left, simply means he is ORDing soon. During his time in army, he commited some offence and ended up in DB. He had a girlfriend, however they split ways 5 months ago. While she has found another she, he seemed unable to let go and kept contacting her.

on Sunday 2359hrs, he was found missing while doing guard duty. I would assume during the guard inspection parade based on that weird timing.

he is very surprisingly a normal and handsome looking guy.

This is the SAR21 welding soldier

here are some odd points -

- he is supposed to be leaving active service soon, why destroy his own future (and seriously at that) when the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter? Psychological problems that went out of control?

- how did he get the SAR21 out of the camp and to Orchard? Most probably, he dismantled the rifle.

- who will get the blame for letting an armed soldier out of the camp? Once again, many servicemen down the chain of command (in the guardroom) will have their asses burnt - the DO, BOS, Guard Comd, Guard 2, even his fellow campmate that prowled the camp with him. It's easy to laugh at Dave or those mentioned, however what if you are anyone of them?


there is a fact - good luck to those (including my bro) NSFs in service now, especially guard duties for this week. Besides the sad news coming out through ROs, i bet with my body the DO/BOS in your camp will be in ultra high spirits, doing turnouts or emergency drills like drinking water.

Dave might get alot of shit from this episode, but we should put ourselves in his shoes and not cast him down straightaway. After all, no one will want to muck up his own future by wantonly committing a (serious) military offence.

lots of stuff in my head

let's look beyond my loanshark role that i angrily adopted yesterday.

- blog-sphere -
i chanced upon somebody's blog. Didn't know that she blogs, and for 3 years already! She mentioned stuff like "he" blah-blah... but who is this he? Don't get me wrong, i've got no special feelings for her, but she has been linked symbolically via my ex and Wenqun. Anyway, a good read.

i've received some comments that my bro looks older than me. But hey, he's an improved product because he's more sociable (i have those AP look sometimes). Going by his personality, he should excel in the army. The only quirk is that he spends, thus savings are definitely recommended.

- work -
my cash register is still ringing for the 3rd week running. Went to sch with Jac this morning, it's better since i get to wake up on time. For many motivating reasons =) hope she recovers fast and well... no more chilli crabs!!!

there are lots of work to be done this week, hope with combined efforts the outstanding task can be completed.

my manager wanted to shift my desk to the Helpdesk room, to make way for additional staff that are joining our Dept. I was like omg! Isn't that full time helpdesk? I pray this won't happen soon. I rather not have a desk.

- army -
i read with sadness that Master Warrant Mike Gee has passed away due to cancer recently. His last appointment was RSM of 3 SIB. Although i have no direct links with him, i believe his men has seen him in a positive light. His sheer determination to stay alive for as long as possible is much respected by me (i heard of the sudden hospitalization since CNY 2006, through my boss)

now comes the shitty part. There's another silent mob coming Oct! Once again i'm appointed tio arrowed to be my detachment's 2IC. My field pack and SBO are gathering dust, and i have to clean and prepare them again. Roarrr.



- moolah -
i have ordered a Samsung U600 white, and expecting to collect later! But i've to get a microSD card, plus a Martin Fields screen protector for the phone, setting me back by another $50.

My dearest HK has managed to source for the cheapest SIA flight to HK in Dec, thanks to Airfares/Misa Travel! It's $520 per pax, after the relevant fuel and airport taxes. Not bad i thought, spend $150 more than a Jetstar flight and enjoy in-flight entertainment plus a meal onboard. Of course, the flight timings are good; depart in the morning and home-sweet-home at 10+ PM. Just nice to squeeze the last day dry in HK, but still able to avoid mid-night surcharges, or even take a bus home back in Changi.

looking forward to going to Airfares' office to book this weekend. And accumulate UNI$ for this mega bill. Good night folks.

bro's conscription to SAF

yesterday was ZQ's enlistment day. By chance i knew the Commanding Officer of School 2 (LTC Tang Kar Kee) when i served my Commander in Jurong Camp. So my bro and myself got aware of the company in advance - Mohawk!

4 years ago during my BMT, Mohawk is xiong-est of all! As if 5.00am reveille is not early enough, Mohawk kills the competition (duh) by waking up at 4.30am! This time round, one of the spec told me Mohawk toned down already. However looking at seriousness of OC and 2IC's face, i doubt not.

the programme was very much the same, even down to the tables being positioned at SAF Ferry Terminal (Changi). We were transported via private buses from Pasir Ris MRT to SFT, then took the Penguin passenger crafts over to Tekong. They should have continued to use SMRT/TIBS buses for better comfort... oh well.

Penguin Merbau, i think it's not the usual craft assigned to Tekong

I was looking like him going to Hell on 22 Aug 2003

On the left of Tekong's Ferry Terminal - leftwards is a starting point for route marches

The right of the FT, BMTC School 2

once we reached, bro was separated from us for administrative work. Like surrendering of pink IC, and instructions on how to behave during oath taking. My parents and I went around touring the SOC ground, TMC, stadium, swimming pool and finally Mohawk bunk itself.

I don't know it's luck or what, the lift broke down while sending us up to 2nd floor. It's not surprising, since the lift is only used by perm staff, not by recruits.

the bunk was clean. My mum commented it's so clean, no dust! Of course no dust, because recruits clean it THEMSELVES, where got contract cleaners? Next was a mini lecture by a spec (have those xialan kind of look and tone) on the SAF field pack items, then we proceeded to the main auditorium for briefing by LTC Tang and the oath.

everything was so familiar. Enlistees have already been instructed to face the front of the screen, fists clenched on the knee, sit up straight. It's so SAF.

LTC Tang was very interactive, which was a very warm gesture from his rank and appointment. However it's a fact that many assurance made during the visit is often over comforting. The ultimate shit can only be felt by recruits themselves.

bro got to eat with us at School 2's cookhouse, followed by a slow walk towards the Tekong Ferry Terminal. By then, it was time for us to part, naturally. My mum was so emotional, probably more than my time.

Meal at School 2 cookhouse

The BEST food served at Tekong - the rest cannot be shown to visitors =x

I finally had the chance to visit my ex-coy, Raven!

Scorpion coy - warrant officer coy, so life is better compared to the rest

Whiskey coy

The sending off

Headquarters BMTC

School 2

Speedy Gonzales at the foreground - took that with my commander in 2005

See the rainbow?

my usual sentence - it's tough, it's tiring, but every Singaporean man goes through this successfully. furthermore, it's only 4+9 weeks compared to 6+12 weeks during my time. And pass IPPT, disrupt for 2 weeks.

Good luck

half screwed day, SIT Level 6 revamp

my Outlook calendar failed on me again! The entry that was supposed to remind me to cover Vincent's helpdesk for 1hr at 12.30PM vanished after synchronisation many days back. Darn Microsoft... but guess i gotta be more careful not to synchronise when Outlook is still downloading mails etc.

spent $10 on a cab, and the driver used the longer route out of Woodlands (BKE-->SLE-->Lentor instead of SLE-->Lentor). argh.

then i was burning backlogs of CDs when i used the wrong image on 1 disc. bummmer.

i'm quite a glutton today; lunch was chicken rice with extra rice and egg and mcd's ice lemon tea (my favorite), 2hrs later was early dinner, tomyam seafood soup. I've just finished a bowl of korean noodles as supper. oops.

bro is enlisting this coming Friday, and there's a rush in line with this important event. Family dinner, teaching him some basic stuff like folding a smart 4, black-taping a SBO (it's obsolete though), relating my past experience of field camp, range and grenade throwing etc. Finally the visit to Tekong... which i'm looking to, too.

now, for the ex-NYP-SIT peeps who are reading:

Remember the empty and open air compound at Blk L level 6? It's now covered up.
This is a view from the club room corridor

Many labs, teaching rooms being setup.
There is also a staff area, which is made up of the former L.619 to L.625 TRs.

Setting up of power suplies, network infrastructure, etc. The whitish floorboard... gets dirty easily.

shopping and jogging

went to NYP to do the usual CD burning and met Celeste to help her friend install the .NET compiler, then met Jac to think of gifts to buy for her 30 yo and 40 yo colleagues. See someone spend is of course fun... hehe. Any suggestion on where to get Liverpool stuff anyone?

after i got home, i planned to have my dinner. however, i decided to have a short jog since i haven't been exercising my body since the HK half marathon. the route i selected was rather short (i thought) and tough since it meanders through Marsiling Hill. after my dupper (dinner+supper), i pieced the maps and checked the distance through Streetdirectory. it measured 5.2km! not that much what?!


i'm really worried for my IPPT, because the window is 6 months away.

should i go for 8 times IPT (exempted RT if i fail) or 24 times RT (if i fail)? will i fail!? any advice bros?