Iskandar - Z ; Whatever That Means

These are some of my squadmates. NS1 of 2011. The atmosphere in our squad is great. Every one has something to be remembered for. Good or bad, i'll remember them for the 4 months i have lived with them. They are the ones we share the craps, the punishments, the life lessons, the routines and of course the good times in HTA.

These are my bunkmates. Now you see who's the boss? Yes its me. 2 chinese, 6 malay, 1 indian and 1 indonesian chinese sharing a room. Guess which one is the indonesian? He is the one to my right. His name is Joel. The laziest person i can think of. Sleeps almost 75% of the day. In class, lunch breaks, whenever possible. He is now an NPCO. To his right is Liang Kui, also NPCO. He became the squad's first timer because he is proud of his history in uniformed groups i.e Scouts. The chinese sitting on the bed on the right is Ben. He is one of the oldest in the squad. Now he is in Range together with me until ORD.

This is Nuzwan. NSOSO. Dont really know what it is. My buddy. How did he become my buddy? The instructor said that the person whose bed is opposite your bed will be your buddy and there he was. I will miss him for sure. He's always getting into trouble but fortunately he has me. Because as his buddy, i will always have his back. Getting him out of the trouble. But it was all worth it. He is worth my effort.

Here is Syafiee. Now a support & technical officer. My right hand man in the bunk. But is bed is to my left. Syaf is the bunk IC since the first day that he volunteered to take that responsibility. We call him the Tuan Rumah or Houseowner. As for me, I'm the Penunggu Rumah or House Occupant. He's the one that will know my face expressions for anything that happens around us. Having him makes my trainee life better because he will always have ways of balancing the seriousness and jokes around.

Abu has the record of being the only indian in my squad. Apparently i'm the only one who speaks tamil to him. His bed is to my right. Always the one i poke fun with because he is very sporting and takes life easy. He is the coolest indian that i know of. He has his straight forward way of doing things that had created friction but at the same time gained respect because of it. Without him, i would have one less person to laugh with. Now he is an Airport Police.

This is Hafiz. The most hardcore prayer. He prays 5 times a day even when we dont have the time. Sometimes he forgets if he already prayed or not so he prays again. He almost never gets things right. First i thought he was irritating with his inability to follow instructions but now, i still think he is irritating. But in a way he is one of the people i will miss because without him, the bunk will be without a person to nag at. For that, he is a Staff Assistant.

Shahmeer. He is the coolest person in my bunk. He does not give a shit about anything. Just does his thing and what happens, just happens. One of the person caught together with me for sleeping on the bed during training hours. But after that, he still sleeps on the bed. Just like me. Will miss him because he almost never makes anyone angry or get into bad trouble. He will be protecting the Singapore waters as a Coast Guard.

Nasir is forever with his theories and his re-enactment of things that happens. He can make you go into a delimma to choose this or that, given that this will be like that and that that will be like this that kind of thing. Savvy? He always jokes around and he is very ambitious. His jokes are the type that you will laugh about because you are too speechless to even say anything. Now he is training to be an NPCO.

Beside me is Char the Strongman. Now a Coast Guard with Shahmeer and a lot more. Infront him is Azam the chinese-looking guy also in Coast Guard. Beside Azam is Safwan. He is the Permanent Light Duty in our squad. His current job is classified. Extreme right is the man with speed. National footballer Fadhil Noh ran the 2.4km in 8min20sec with a knee undergoing recovery from surgery. This is as far as i can go. It would be long to read about a review on 33 different people right. There you go, NS1 of 2011. Till we meet again.

So lets start with the high light of the month. How do you spell POPCORN without the CORN? It is spelled as POP!! Which also means Passing Out Parade that we all have been rehearsing for since early May. It ended well with a lot of memories being flashed back into my mind. I might have said my squadmates are blur sotongs especially my buddy who was the person i looked out for the most. They are the small details that played a big part in my life in HTA. If there are anything that has helped me to get through everyday in HTA, it would be my bunkmates and squadmates if not garfield. Garfield have been my everyday motivation telling me that the excitement of the day is building... Slooooowly...

On the same day, barely a few hours before my graduation parade was actually my graduation ceremony for my Diploma. Like finally. After three and a half years course of study i am a diploma holder. Hopefully this can take me further in upgrading my life and making things better for the ones i care for. My mum was proud of me when i got into poly because i would be the first in her family tree to do so. Now that i have graduated, she's even more proud of me.

Presently, i am the a pirate with a gun. No i'm just kidding. I'm a Range Instructor in HTA. Well not the first time being an instructor but its something new. So far so good. They say i will shoot so much that i will get tired of shooting. Looking forward to that and of course i will be going for shooting competitions if there is any. Side track a little bit, i will most probably be going for a license conversion which will allow me to drive a police van or a police car if they need me to. Sounds like fun. :)

With that being said. I have happiness available 7 days a week. 5 days working office hours and another 2 days off. So might be getting myself into a little bit of something to occupy myself.

Yet to watch Pirates of the Carribean On Stranger Tides but i will consider it. I have watched the first three ones until i can remember some scripts and thus, bringing it back to camp and enacting it with my squadmates. Drink up, me hearties, Yo Ho!

On the other hand. Here's something that you might want to check out or look out for. Pretty little liars. A good friend of mine recommended it to me and now i'm on it. Its a series just like prison break or heroes kind of show. If you're interested, Welcome to the club!

So whats new for me? Here's something new. No more tests for me. All done. What is left is training for POP. Maybe some things may suddenly come into our schedule like first aid course or PSOC maybe? I dont know about that. All i know that i'm done. But not totally done. After 11 weeks living with people i never knew before 8 Feb, i'm starting to give in to their craps and stupidity in the things we all do.

Of course with intention. Be good to them and they will be good to me hopefully. At least for the first 10 weeks i have instilled a mindset in them that i'm not an easy person to win over but i still can adjust myself. For 10 weeks i've been annoyed by the debates and the stupid jokes that they make. The unnecasary routines they do. The illogical theories they make. The unrealistic plans to beat the system in camp.

Now, i'm all set to be part of them. Maybe not the debate part but the stupid parts. It what makes NS life interesting. If we follow all the rules, we miss all the fun! So here i am, bringing down my standards just so i can have more fun when i'm in ground zero. But main intention still stands. I'm on it for the peer appraisal.

Have a great weekend!

PS: my new laptop wallpaper is something that motivates me everyday

My Friday evening was spent at Pasir Laba Camp when i attended my bro's passing out parade, achieving the 3sg rank thereafter. Really glad that i made it there because i had to request for early book out to get there in time. Went for the parade with his parents, sister and Hijjah. Proud to say, he is one of 12 Distinguished Honour Graduates that receives the Golden Bayonet as recognition of his outstanding performance in the unit.

So what more motivation do i need. My bro just got the award by doing his natural best in everything. He never said he was aiming for the award nor did he compete with anyone to get it. I have to say, even i myself am aiming for one of the awards. I have three to aim for; Best in Ops, Best in Academic Studies and Best Trainee. Ultimately, its the Stattuete Award i'm eyeing. From now on, I'll give my all in everything that affects my position for the awards.

He made proud of me and the people around him. Everyone was saying congratulations and compliments were all over him. This really have motivated me a lot. Dont tell me it does not motivate you.

The good people that never gives up on each other.

The good people who stayed with each other even when the days get darker.

The good people who comes into mind from the time i wake up to the time i fall asleep.

 

I'm glad you liked the video i did. I started working on it from 1st December 2010 if you need to know that. It was something to show my appreciation to the best group of friends i have in my life. The best things in life are the things that can't be replaced. And i hope i got that message across to you.

Today is book-in day. So while you are busy with your weekday routine like work-home cycle, school-home cycle or even staying late at school to study for your coming exams, i'll be looking at the same 33 faces of my squadmates that most are not really pleasant to look at or be with at all.

Suhaili: Happy Birthday last thursday. Too bad i'm in camp right. Now we can sewa kreta from bukit batok already bro. Since you not P-plate and you 21 already. Looking forward to that.

Alus: This week is going to be the final one for your IA. hope you will remember the things you learnt. Most importantly, it falls on your birthday week and also Ayid's birthday week. So if i dont get the chance to wish you on monday night or tuesday morning, here's an advanced wish to you, Happy 19th Birthday. May you be blessed with more happiness and success. Brace yourself for something amazing.

Ayid: Alus tolong convey je kat dia ye.. Same thing, if i'm too busy, still, Happy Birthday on Saturday. Eh, saturday kan dah bookout.. Takpe lah.. Birthday present aku dah bagi in advance kan.. Hehe tapi tu pinjam je.. Anyway, take care of aku nyer motor and jgn sampai kena kejar ngan map rempit. mat rempit pun tak blh kejar pasal motor aku kuat gila.

Till the next weekend, i'll see you soon.

Finally the day have come. I'm going for National Service after 5 months of holiday. Feels good and sad at the same time. To my fellow CIs, i got something in store for you guys. Hope you guys like it. Hopefully you all can make it in the first place. Till 18th Feb, i'll see you then.

To Ayid: Jaga motor aku baik2 ye

To Alus: Kalai rindu message ye. malam boleh reply

To Ayda: Hope you'll be fine without me on the other side of your phone

To Suhaili: Biasa juga bro

To Iqa: Dont worry abt me, i'll be fine

To Ayu: Jumpa lagi! Lama tak nampak ayu

To Rudy: Ah Rudy pun sama-sama hilang ngan ayu

To Faizal: My first weekday in 5 months ah bro. Hope your next weekday comes soon in the form of uniform

To Zimah: ALLLLL THHHHEEE BEEESSSTTT for sem exam!!!! Remember we must graduate together!!!

Others: See you pretty soon fellas

 

10 days to go before i am in camp for most probably every weekdays for the next 3-4 months. So let me list some of the most biggest problems i have, just at the right time before i am unable to attend to the problems.

First problem is that i discovered that my bike is in the process of great damage. Need to check piston, piston ring, block etc.. Which means that i have to full service. Which leads me to my second problem. I have 10 days to choose from. 1 of it booked for soccer, another 2 of it for work, another 2 or 3 days of unconfirmed work which just happens to be CNY period.

I have one free day on Tuesday which i actually planned to get ready my things for my enlistment but seems like that is going to be the day i go to JB to service my bike. Well lets just see how it goes. Maybe i need to reschedule my get ready my things to be on some other days. Hmm CNY holidays means almost all the shops in Singapore close right? How great.. Pfft.

Respect is important for me. As a son, as a brother, as a friend, and most importantly, as a person. But i get the most awful feeling and the most shitty feeling when people do not give respect as much as they would like to get. Respect is not about putting your head lower than everybody older than you and being older does not mean that you automatically get respect.

Respect is something to be given because of some reasons. I respect my parents because they have brought me up and they definitely worked hard to bring up 3 children. Things at home are not happening the way it should be. I did not just realise it but i have been observing it since i can remember. My house has become a nest for some people to come and stay and go as they please.

My father is the head of the house because he is. If he is not around, as the eldest son, i assume to be the head of the house. But no one listens to me because nobody cares if i am the head of the house or not. Whatever i say does not have any effect on anyone. That is because the respect for the head of the house is not there anymore.

Even the respect for the house itself does not exists. "Rumahku, Syurgaku" means that "my home is my Paradise". But why do i feel most insecure in my Paradise? Why am i feeling that my Paradise have been breached through, like the doors of Trojan City. Opened up to people who are not supposed to be let in.

I do not like the feeling like i am in the wrong blood. Like whatever my vision is not shared by anyone. Whatever i think is not same to anyone. And to know that my vision is definitely the right thing to do and nobody things likewise, it sucks.

Truth is, my sister brings her friends back home everyday. Absolutely nothing is right about this. First, she's a girl and she brings home a guy who might be her boyfriend. But it does not matter if that guy is the boyfriend or whatever. They are not married and have no legal relations in the eyes of the law and more importantly, in the eyes of the religion. He have no right to be in this house, let alone into the room, without the permission of the head of the house. And i dont know what time he comes in or out of the house but my sister leaves the house door unlocked. I dont know why but i suspect that is so that guy can go in easily or something. Come on where's your respect for the house? For my house? You come into other people's house as if it was your own house. Once i earn my place in this family, i'm not keeping things to myself anymore.

On Friday which we already booked the river rafting, waterfall visit elephant ride and all, the sick guy was sick again. So only 3 out of the actual 7 of us went for the tour. They picked us up from our hotel and went to the waterfall where no one had the mood to have a dip due to the long ride which most of us slept through. So we just had a picture like above.

After the waterfall visit, we proceeded to the main event which was the river rafting. We could not bring our cameras along thus no pictures for river rafting. But i assure you it is total fun especially for adventurous people. We traveled along 5 km of river. We were given a choice to go another 4km for 500baht($22~) but we declined. We had enough for a first timer even though we all admit it wasn't enough fun. Its a must-try-again thing for me.

After that they say we are going to the place where there is the elephant ride. They said it was a short journey to the place but I didn't think so after i fell asleep so soundly. The journey was at least 45 mins long. We were mostly restless but we still went thru the elephant ride which was another thing that made me have motion-sickness. The elephants brought us thru their habitat. Just a short ride. They asked if we wanted to feed them bananas. Of course we had to buy the bananas. Sorry but i think the place feeds them enough.

After the elephant ride was the elephant show where this particular elephant did tricks like stand on 2 legs; 2 front or 2 hind legs only. Played with hula hoops, throw darts on a board of balloons and gave an "elephant massage" where this elephant stepped lightly on the person lying down on a mattress. Followed it was a monkey show. The monkey did normal tricks a monkey would do. Cycle, pluck coconuts, balancing on a rope etc. Then we were asked to take a picture with the monkey and so we did.

That monkey climbed up to my head. Damn monkey. It was supposed to sit on my lap or at least on my friend's lap. But monkey will be monkey. After monkey show was back into the van, popped my earpieces on Alus MP3 and slept almost all the way throughout the journey back to the hotel. Had a little bit of rest and went to continue shopping.

We had a 10 mins fish spa which costs 100baht($4~). It was reeeeaaaaallllyyyyyy ticklish and you must not move your feet or else the fish will not "project" on your feet. Just look at how much fish was at my feet area. We had take away for dinner back at the hotel and at 11pm, we headed out to the beach for countdown. We walked thru that road which is like Petaling and people was spraying each other with ribbon sprays as if they know each other.

We can't even get a decent picture without people spraying at us! Look at the crowd and this is not even the beach yet. The beach is about 100m away.

We reached the beach just in time for the 5,4,3,2,1, Happy New Year Phuket!!!! Fireworks was already blasting even before the clock was 12am. We continued our celebration with "Khom Loy" which is the lantern-like thing. We bought a 2nd Khom Loy together with a firework that cost us 600baht($26~). So we had our own firework blasting right in front of us! Awesome feeling it was!

Dont mind the green bottle yeah. Dont worry its not Carlsberg. The first firework we bought shot up to 9 times, each giving a different flower-flame in the dark sky. 9 beautiful sound and lightings.

Our second Khom Loy that came with a firework. But one firework wasn't enough. We wanted to buy one more so we waited for the hawkers to come by with one. Then that guy came along with one big one that he wanted to sell for 1000baht($44). We said we will not buy it unless it is 600baht($26). He played around with 800baht, 700 baht and half heartedly he agreed on 600baht. And we had our second firework!

We didnt waste much time is lighting that firework up. This particular one shot one explosive BOOM into the sky, like a missile it went straight up and exploded into the brightest and loudest and biggest flower-flame that anyone could ever ask for! Damn that feeling when you're right under the blast. We had enough for the night and went back to the hotel at 230am.

Next morning, it was back to Singapore. Oh let me rephrase. We were going to Singapore for a long long holiday. Hoping that someday, we will have the opportunity to come back home to Phuket. Hahaha... Our shirts just expresses everything; I Love Phuket!!! Till next time, Phuket, I'll see you again.