went back to army camp

woke up 7 early 8 early this morning because gotta report back to camp for some admin stuff. last nite house got pai pai to 天公* (err... the Jade Emperor??) somemore the 天 (sky) didnt coorporate, heavy rain, so was delayed, ended up sleeping quite late. almost 2am then sleep. this morning woke up at 5+ am... wah sibei stoned...

my unit was hidden somewhere in the northwest region of Singapore. i did a Google Earth on it - but predictably couldnt find it - and it measured a linear distance of about 26km from home. like very secretive like that hor, but actually if you ask anybody who had gone through national service, they should know la. i mentioned before that me got called up for oversea exercise, so today went back to take peekture and pa zharm (innoculation).

last nite jio my fellow comrade to share cab. bopian the place super ulu (remote) only got 1 bus service plying the main road outside the camp. so if take bus me still gotta walk quite a distance to the gate. then walk somemore to the reporting area. wah lau you think road march meh? me is reservist nsman liao, of course must use my brain right?

at the gate we were directed to a certain auditorium for in-process (book in/check in/whatever you call it la...) but we blur le, dont know where it was, so being the smart, operationally-ready, camouflage-cladded, gdp-contributing, nsmen that we are, we reported to the 'default' meeting area lor. when all things fail, you know sure can find the reser- oh oh, nsmen there one...

... its called the canteen.

networking
go back camp was not an entirely bad thing la. you got to catch up with old friends you normally might not meet outside one. got one in-camp last time, could even be termed 'educational' ok!! then, i learned about stocks, properties, cars, and photography all in 2 weeks! this kind of kang tao (opportunity) how to find? haha!!

but today no time to be so educational la. mainly just updating each other on the latest niah niah. then joked around lor. some of us can bs a lot. haha!

phototaking
one of the 2 main things for reporting back to unit today. interestingly, it was still done using analog camera! not that SAF low tech ok. mai siao siao, SAF very high tech one. so high tech that full time national service can cut by 6 months ok. maybe the guy taking the peektures preferred to use analog cam bah...

when its your turn, you gotta assemble your nric no. using some Scrabble like tiles. then you took your pic with the number below your face, ma jiam convicts like that... hmm somebody should send the guy for Photoshop conversion course. heehee...

innoculation
the procedure was as follow:

1. look for your name in the name list (aka nominal row) and take note of the serial number associated with your name. the clerk in charge will also tell you which type(s) of jab you need to take.
   
2. tell the medic your number for each jab that you require. this is for recording which jab(s) you took.
   

when my turn came, the clerk looked up my name then told me, me no need to take any. because i got 神功護體, hahaha!!! joking la... 2 years ago i went to Ex Wallaby that time already tio jabbed liaoz. havent expire yet.

e-mart
somehow, we the nsmen outside typically dont like to shop with wifey or galfriends, came into camp like kena let loose in sim lim square like that, buy pants, buy tees, buy boots, trackshoes, now even got sandals! wah lau, like great singapore sales like that. think even more exciting than gss manz - the great e-mart shopping spree!!

some of the stuff actually were quite useful in our normal civilian life also. like:

• no.3* leather shoes - can wear to office;
• black socks - to match your no.3 leather shoes, heehee!
  
• running shoes - got Brooks and New Balance to choose from;
• white running socks - got elastic bands around the feet area somemore. very secure!
• black shorts - wear at home, wear to bed, wear to downstairs coffeeshop also can, haha!
• sandals - although not Teva but only s$13. somemore got buckles one, more secure than velcro;
  

the good thing about buying the items above: you pay using your SAF smartcard credits! unless you run out of credits la, then you have to pay by cash. song bor?

my buddies tried on the footwears until the e-mart ah lian boi simi song (not happy). haha... ma jiam like some gals go to Charles & Keith like that!

AOB
other things we did today...

• briefing on unit and training related stuff - didnt pay attention... all forgotten liao.
• lunch - proudly presented by Singapore Food Industry but the ah soh's and ah peh's didnt do the cold dish presentation thingy le...
  

* 拜天公 - a tradtion practised by hokkiens. its basically a prayer session to the Jade Emperor (i think) in the early hours of the 9th day of cny to give thanks and to pray for good fortune in the coming year.
as far as i know, this was the first year it rained during 拜天公... ~ bengz

* no.3 uniform - one of the various types of uniform in SAF. no.1 is the guard of honor uniform used in NDP; no.2 is another type used for official occasions; no.3 is for office use; no.4 is the camouflage uniform.