Good morning Air Wing this is your CDS speaking..

Late book out at 6am on Saturday, early book in at 6am on Sunday. SUCKS BIG TIME... bleah)):

1. Doesn't help that i only spent 4 out of the 24 hours with my eyes shut.
2. Doesn't help that you can actually come back and study for the test due tomorrow.
3. Doesn't help that being the Cadet Duty Sergeant on a weekend, I can actually slack off during this period of time.

I want my freedom back! I guess they really meant it when they say that freedom is priceless.

KC is currently snoozing in the duty room while i type this, and i guess I'll catch up on some sleep once I'm done with this as well. I missed breakfast this morning and my stomach is starting to grumble, catching some Z's may help to alleviate my hunger problem. Hopefully we can go for an early lunch and start studying once that is over.

We come from OBS, we forgot OCS

Last week the entire Air Wing was at Pulau Ubin for a 3 day program at OBS. While it wasn't as happening as the last time I was at OBS, it was definitely fun and I did learn quite a lot about communicating effectively. This kinds of ties in with all the communicating and motivational stuff that i'm picking up all through October.

The fourth public university is due to open on our sunny island in 2011. It's called the "Singapore University of Technology and Design" (SU) for short. (I think the person who did the acronym was seriously lazy, but then again picking between SUTD and SU i'd rather the latter). It's a blip on my radar screen, the Newcastle Uni one has been holding itself from me for quite sometime. I think I'll wait for news for it's partnering Chinese university.

I think the idea behind SU is quite unique never before had we have two foreign universities coming together to create something special on our soil, especially when they both come from supposedly opposing school of thought and methodology. If this works as it should it would add a lot of variety to our existing education landscape. 2011 is still some time away hopefully by then I would reach a decision on what my future would be.

CWC

I got a squid this week, one of the major ones. The previous CWC thought I was good enough for the job, especially when I motivated the lot during field camp back in BMT. He thought that "that" could be replicated here.

This has definitely not been one of the most fun things I've done here at OCS, but I definitely did learn a lot. While saying in detail all that we did might be classified, I think sharing some learning pointers should be alright.

Learning points
1) You don't have to do wrong things for you to get punished, You get punished when things fall out of place when you're in charge.
2) Never expect that all things in the schedule to be prepared once you are there. Always be prepared to get the key to locations, and all materials ready beforehand.
3) Your men depend on you to be on the ball at all times, never be in a state where you are unaware of anything.
4) Situational awareness is important, greeting officers and paying compliments are as important as issuing instructions and should never be forgotten.
5) Issue good and clear orders, always run through them to tie up any loose ends. And always check back with the men to ensure that orders are clear.
6) Stand by bed is unpredictable, and can sometime take hours.

I notice how different it was when I was section IC in BMT and now when I am CWC in OCS. It has made me realize how different life as a specialist and as an officer would be in future. This appointment has made me realize that the creed is not for show, but a genuine list of what is expected of you.

I am an officer of the Singapore Armed Forces,
My duty is to lead to excel and to overcome,
I lead my men by example,
I answer for their training, morale and discipline,
I must excel in everything I do,
I serve with pride, honour and integrity
I will overcome adversity with courage, fortitude and determination,
I dedicate my life to Singapore.

3 Weeks Confinement

I feel like...
1) I'm lacking drive, motivation and in addition to that a large sense of insecurity and inadequacy.
2) I lack time to think, to make sense of everything.
3) I can't really seem to see how every guy on the outside seem want to get "in".
4) I can't really get the idea of why every girl seem to think that being "in" is something special.
5) Maybe it's time to feel a little positive...

POP loh!

I must say throwing that cap into the sky lifted a lot off my shoulders.

Pre-NS life was mainly a slack and relax affair, even so I still can't believe that I wanted so badly to be enlisted during that period. Should have taken more time to enjoy all that is beautiful.

NS life thus far has taken a surprising lot of getting used to. BMT life wasn't quite the way I imagined it to be. I guess gone are the days where it was just with my rifle, my buddy and me. Modern day BMT seems a little more competitive than I would expect with many enlisted young men hoping to get into command school mainly OCS.

Post BMT life has been quite enjoyable thus far, however I must add that the air of apprehension about the life after posting still gets to me sometimes. I shall despite all else aspire to live and enjoy my block leave as much as possible. (After all it's taking up 5 days of my annual leave)

NS has "cliched as it sounds" given me a new insight into this phase of life that every male Singaporean has to go through. The thought of booking out knowing that somewhere out there, someone else my age and up is looking at the sky, land and sea ever ready to repel anyone who threatens life as we know it, is comforting.

Knowing well that many past Singaporeans have walked down this path has also been an added comfort during tough times. Having a tough mentality that is difficult to break down is definitely an asset while in NS. As such I have learnt to take things positively and in all things give thanks. You gotta, It makes every book out special.

Review

In trying to cram whatever time left prior to enlistment to reading books that I'll hardly have time for in the next two years. I recently had the pleasure of reading "INDIA", written by Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Sanjeev is also known as host of the tongue-in-cheek Bitish talk show "The Kumars". Just a little teaser on how outrageously funny he is, you can catch him and the family having an interview with Michael Parkinson. Who by the way, hosts another very popular TV talk show as well, but that perhaps is for another day.

The Kumars with Michael Parkinson
(Part 1 )
(Part 2 )

INDIA by Sanjeev Bhaskar
Picture courtesy of Amazon.com

Unlike the title not everything in the book is about him and his travels around India. While, he did travel to the India and felt the richness of its economic centers, tasted the produce of its bread basket and seen the products of its industrial landscape. What i found most interesting was his sojourn to find the hometown of his parents which was in Pakistan.

The Partition of India displaced about 12 million people, whom at the proclamation of independence of the two states of India and Pakistan had to move themselves from what has been their homes for generations to unclaimed residences and squatters across a line drawned up by an "unbiased" Briton, The Radcliffe line.

The only difference between the peoples of the two sides of that crude line was religion. In other words the creation of a Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India.

One can only imagine the displacement of almost 12.5% of the known population of the two states at that time. The horrors being mobbed and attacked by your neighbours of countless decades just because of your religion is to me entirely unfathomable. Nor is the hundreds upon hundreds of new refugees seeking shelter in places where sanitation and infrastructure was already at its seams.

Many left not being entirely sure if the move was for temporal safety or a permanent displacement. Many moved in with a Goldilocks mentality not knowing or caring if the real owner was going to return. Many sought shelter in slums that are shockingly still there today.

The personal toil and stories that each one of them faced from disease to incredulously long travel by way of buses, trains or even on foot to their new homes, has left an indelible mark on my thoughts about the Indian subcontinent.

The book has given me an unseen picture of the internal tensions that lies within the contemporary history of the subcontinent. It also adds to the rich layers that already surrounds my opinion of this incredible land.

Seven Deadly Sins

" The Seven deadly sins are Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Knowledge without Character, Business without Morality, Science without Humanity, Worship without Sacrifice and Politics without Principle."

"There are people so hungry in the world, that God cannot appear in front of them except in the form of bread."

- Mahatma Gandhi