I had lit workshop @ CHIJ St Nicks today... super funny and engaging.... the lecturer gave us a lecture on prose and poetry.. quite an interesting talk
She introduced us to this poem... i find it super nice
Boats
You and your photographs of boats;
that repeated metaphor for departure,
or simply the possibility of a voyage?
What you cannot tell me, you tell me
with a vessel and its single passenger,
eyes fixed on some skylit conclusion.
Set apart and starkly upon a canvas
of tractable waves, brought to still
by the trigger-click of your camera,
like the sound a key makes when it
releases the lock. Your heart became
that lock; these images are how you have
always articulated distance, a withdrawal.
Darling, there are just as many ways
of saying goodbye as there are ways
of letting you go. The boat is narrow
like the width of my heart after
impossible loss, cruel resignation;
this heart you ride in. Love, if this is how
you choose to leave me, let me let you.
9:14:00 pm
Felt super random on what to post... And so i decided to post this:
Had to do help out on store for stock checking today.... Had to collect the messtins back and assist them in their first stock check... To be frank, I don't really like stock checks in the first place, let alone store dept... Bad memories especially when I do these things in the past alone... I remember i was doing Part-Time and they had stock check on that day... It was SUPER hectic! The stock check in NP is equally annoying (but funny) too. Apparently I was joking (as usual) about all the departments and their "amazingly small" workload as compared to store..
Actually, I found out that actually all departments have their pros and cons... like store has more stock check and maintenance work to do(more cons than pros for store dept though)....uniform dept stock check and the loaning out of items is also quite difficult, but at least things do not get tedious if there is no badges or stuff to submit.... P & P goes easy on stock check, but it is time consuming to plan parades etc... as for admin (I seem to be always anti-admin since nco camp 09), i really got nothing to say :)
Funny how I am being interpreted by the Sec 3s... Apparently I am a guy with
- Hair loss problems?
- 2 buck teeth?
- Elvis Presley style sunglasses?
Haha. I still had to think about who they were drawing until I realised that it was me... I lmao-ed. Oh, I seem to have something called N.I.L..... fyi, in case you smart people out there don't know what it means, it stands for
Nutritional
Irritational
Liver?!
Funny how some everyday words can turn into ingredients for laughter. Lols :D
It rained heavily today again... Got home drenched and wet... now super worried coz it's always rain that i kanna flu
10:03:00 pm
4 years have come and gone just like that, I have now officially passed out. It's a great milestone for my life in secondary school and being in NP really makes me learn a lot, A LOT of things that I would never have learnt if i had never joined this CCA.
I never knew the exact reason I joined NP, but most probably it's because I'm attracted to the type of stuff that they shown us. The young and immature me thought that those knots, lashings, campcraft related stuff and uniform looked good. Apparently after I joined the CCA, I had a feeling that it was wrong.
I remembered the first NP training, we had this little lecture in the classroom with our seniors (can't remember who) about some NP stuff, then had a ice breaker session. Being super shy at that time, I vividly remember that no-one dared to speak up and it was the NCOs that had to "force" something out of our mouths
I recall of all the tiring drill sessions we had to go through and how I was always feeling sucky abt NP at that time because our drill session always have the "kekanan lurus" treatment. Then the open universe during camps.... I remember how pissed off I was when we were asked to dump everything out of our bags in an impossible amount of time.... Life was kind of bad in NP in Sec 1 coz the training felt "dry" and (a bit) boring due to its repetitive nature. And and and, I always remember how the seniors like to put in the training schedule PT OR Games, and it turns out that it is ALWAYS PT.
Then, sec 2 came. It wasn't that bad. I feel that it is the most fruitful year because that's when we learnt the most things, had the most courses and had a great time with my squadmates. Although there was a bit of a hiccup in between. I got pissed off of my squadmates, my seniors, my life and the repetitive training sessions (for abt 4 to 10 trainings in a row, it was just campcraft and PT). And with an injured back, i missed trainings for a while before reflecting on my actions and deciding to go back, because ignoring a problem wouldn't solve it. So somehow (someway), I managed to survive Sec 2... But more was yet to come....
Sec 3! Life was torturous for the first three months... But looking back, the living hell that we went through from jan to march really benefited us A LOT. We were stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally. Got to take the sec 1 squad and uniform department. Kind of disappointed, but happy at the same time coz I took a squad that requires more time to be invested (they are after all, sec 1s, and more time is needed to train them), but I'm happy coz at least I'm taking a junior squad. Didn't participate in POP 2009, but at least I got to be the emcee... Hahas. :) September AGM came and I had a change of department and squad. Sec 3 squad '10 and store department... I still can remember the agony on Gerin's face when she knew she kanna admin... priceless. The first few months were hectic coz it was damn difficult to settle store stuff... haiz but got through that eventually though. 2009 was an okay year to me...
And finally, Sec 4! This year is an EPIC WIN! Things were like sec 3 but it just felt more fruitful... Somehow, my "rage mode" is more easily activated easily this year. Most probably because of the stress. Sometimes, I feel very very disappointed, but I know that I must not give up hope because it wasn't yet! The campcraft comp was also a great one... although we didn't get top 10, i know that we as a squad have bonded together even more closely. More squad lunches and dinners too!
And today, finally got to throw my beret. My 4 years of service in NP is now officially over. Now that everything is handed over to the sec 3s... I have one last milestone in my secondary school life... O Levels! Must study super duper extra hard! Because I want to see many many "1s" in my certificate next year!
So there it is, this is my NP story... Another long post... Thanks for reading :)
11:04:00 pm
Apparently my friends found it funny (thanks to my
superb comical skills), maybe you would too
This really brightened up my day :D :
10:58:00 pm
After 3 years, 4 months and 10 days, today, April 10 2010… it’s finally over….i have passed out
Yes, NP-POP was today, and somehow someway, apparently dismissal parade was the same old thing unique! The S4 squad was deemed as the GOH contingent and we marched as though we are entering a big-shot parade. Actually, it’s quite big shot okay? We are passing out! The feeling of taking off your beret is indescribable, and throwing it up into the sky makes things even more memorable :D
Then, we(me, Xin Ci, Timothy and MinMin) had the longest debrief that we ever had with the Sec 3s. Of course we had photo taking! And gave them our cards (as a way of expressing our gratitude) and little gifts, which would definitely be useful (I hope). And not forgetting our little farewell speech that we gave. Apparently, I could not hold myself no longer and I was the first IC to break down (Honestly, I thought I would be the last, or not even break down at all). Somehow I managed to hold it and tears did not roll down as I thought it would. Obviously I started a chain reaction where everyone started crying and I feel guilty.. :(
Didn’t get to say much because I did not know what to say and my throat was literally choked and clogged up, and like what XC said: “Say until you cry” It’s true, damn true…
The S3 and S4 guys apparently played basketball (an example of the disappearance of that fine line between juniors and seniors) after dismissal. The final score? 30 – 0 (or was it 40-0?). Of course, the Sec 4s won and gave them a thrashing. Squad lunched with AMQ GJJ JL VT TL NT BC GT TXC TMM AWL and GW. As usual, thoroughly enjoyed it! Some S3s came to KFC too, but that it doesn’t really matter. :D
Today is really an emotional roller coaster ride, which I have definitely enjoyed. :D
10:34:00 pm
