Been there and back

The first day and the last day is always the longest.

Two weeks really blazed through like it was nothing, I'm finally back home again after spending some time in Tekong serving my National Service. Of course, I'm required to go back again this coming Sunday which is why I'm saving sleep for later because there's always time for those. Army changed me a bit, I won't say it gave me a 360 degree turnover but it has changed some aspect of things of me. The discipline, the responsibility, following rules and knowing the reasons for their existence somethings like that. If going to a Polytechnic meant you had to grow up fast, going to NS probably meant you had to grow up immediately.

It's a brand new environment and experience for me as guys like me have to deal with strict rules and training, albeit reasonable. My section is a fun bunch and I have pretty much gotten used to all except my buddy, which is ironic. One side of me wished to know him more while the other just dreaded it. He looks and acts serious, and strongly takes his buddy role seriously. He's not exactly a conversation starter either, in fact - I could say I know little or nothing about him and vice versa.

Awkward I know, but eventually I want this weird relationship to restart and get on with it. The ice between is still hard and I can't seem to break through.

And then there's the hardships, the physical fatigues, the "horrible" food, having to pick up new and vital lessons fast. This is especially another barrier of mine considering I'm a slow learner. I would still get there, just slower, but I can't afford to stop just yet. I really hope I can quicken my pace too, and I think I have at least shared this issue with my Platoon Commander.

Speaking of superiors, as long you don't cross the line or step on their tails, they can be pretty cool and funny people. Respect is also the main lesson I had to remember here, there can be actually a myriad of ways where you can unknowingly show disrespect to someone, something I found out during my stay there.

But despite the minor setbacks here and there, I'm pretty confident that I can breeze through this seven weeks, after all two weeks have already flown by. Booking out is an odd experience too, when you haven't seen home for a while, familiar sights seem totally out of place. I took an MRT home bewildered at my sights, it was pretty amusing for me.

This Sunday my section has to do guard duty, I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm a night owl anyway and it'll be pretty cool to stay up the night walking around of course, I can't totally slack.

After all - this is the army.