=l

It's one of those days again...

Chinese New Year was ok. I didn't do much visitation. In fact, the only place I went to was my grandmother's place for lunch. We met everybody else there, so it was done in just one place. Not much ang bao received, but the density of the money was high.

There are just too many things on my mind right now. So to make things a little lighter, I will just blog about the kinds of people there were in my platoon during my basic training.

The Black One - Basically the only Indian in our platoon. Cheery guy who couldn't stop smiling or laughing even when the corporals were scolding him. The subject of racist jokes, but nothing personal. We like him.

The Chubby & Cute One - Probably the fattest and heaviest of the entire regiment. Cute as a teddy bear. Makes everybody laugh, even the hardiest of corporals. Good instrument for corporals to make people laugh, therefore inflicting punishment. Good fun.

The Cheerful One - Can't stop laughing. Probably the first guy I know to have signed extra guard duty due to being irritatingly giggly. Nice guy.

The Mini One - The shortest, but also the fittest. The only guy to have passed IPPT, because he's the only guy who can pass his pull-ups. Aimed to be a Physical Training Instructor, but ended up being a clerk due to his weight. Buffed up as a bull, short as a gnome.

The Greedy One - The one who eats the most. The guy who lost 2kg in 13 weeks while others lost more than 10. Also a trouble-maker and joker. More towards the irritating side. The Ultimate Saboteur.

The Hated One - Only liked by a handful of his own kind. Generally the most inconsiderate and racist guy I've met. Stupid enough to get caught smoking in the toilet, along with a handful of his own kind. The very first guy whose face I would very much love to punch. Mysteriously disappears during bunk cleaning and other dirty works. Much better now though. Also an Ultimate Saboteur.

The Family Guy - The 21 year old who already has 2 kids. Has a criminal record. Irritating and sometimes racist. A saboteur.

The Cut-Queue Squad - A squad of people who cuts the queue during our meals. Namely made up of The Greedy One, The Hated One, The Family Guy, and others I can't really remember. Normally made up of 4-5 people. Tactics include faking to play catch and trying to joke around with the people in front. Doesn't go straight to the front because they know the first few have to serve the rest. Gladly volunteers their friends to serve the line while they enjoy the food.

The Psycho One - Socially handicapped. Likes to be alone. Can't remember names even after being in camp for 9 weeks. Speaks with a strange accent, probably Englishy-Americanish- Singlish. Contains rage til the last moment and blows up by screaming 'F***' in the bunk. Quite sadistic when it comes to using power tools and thinking of ways to torture the corporals before killing them. Mumbles to himself after every sentence. Much improvements now.

The OC's Pet - The one with good skills in digital design and creativity. Always asked to do posters and lesson plans for the OC or anything for that matter. Eventually evolved the idea of slacking in the office while the platoon does PT. Also the guys with the high-tech lap-top. Ended up slacking with him for the last 3 weeks in BRT. He managed to lose weight even without doing PT for a month or so. Job now? Administrator in the instructors' office. And he's loving every moment of it. Also a great mind for jokes.

The Light-Duty One - Wore his uniform only once, in the 13th week on the day of our passing out. Never wore his uniform before that due to lower limb injury. Never done PT. Have the shiniest and newest boots in the entire platoon. Nice guy. Platoon's photographer.

The AWOLer - AWOL aka Away WithOut Leave. Disappeared after 4 or 5 weeks. Probably arrested with a police case and put in Detention Barracks by now.

The Italian - An acting graduate from Laselle. The favourite among everybody in camp due to his roots. The only white in the whole regiment. A great joker. Totally motivated to make a difference. Mr. Perfect. The only recruit in our platoon to get into the Emergency Response Specialist.

The American-Born Chinese Singaporean - Always seen with The Italian. Has American accent. Probably the youngest in platoon. Sometimes insensitive. Otherwise ok to get along with.

The Acting-Instructor - Longs to be an instructor. Irritating at times. Likes to act-smart.

The Kengster - Keng aka acting sick. Champion in hand-clapping (a light form of exercise for people who are sick). Claims to have health problems without certification.

The Best Buddy - The buddy who AWOLs after 5 weeks or less. Got his girlfriend pregnant. Borrowed $30 from his buddy and disappeared. Never came back to camp. Who's his buddy? Me.

Believe it or not, there are actually more to this list. This is just a glimpse of what holds in that traumatizing camp.

Until then.