Last week was one of the most tiring weeks I'd ever experienced in the army. We had a summary exercise(that is, an exercise that was made up of all the earlier exercises we had earlier in the course) codenamed Ex. HAWK. Let me run you through the list of things that we did. The night FIBUA(Fighting in Built Up Areas) was especially memorable. With our night vision gear and well rehearsed movements, it looked as if we were filming a counter-terrorist movie. But training is still training, and I do not realy have the confidence to say that in a real war, what we had trained for would be effective. On to the happy stuff. Caught up with the ol' Fairfield Prefects gang last evening. We met at Fish and Co. at the Glass House. Dinner was especially eventful. Over at another table, there was a birthday bash going on. Then the birthday girl came over to our table(like she did to every table) to tell us that it was her birthday(I suppose it was some dare). Interestingly everyone was a real sport, giving her their well wishes. We too, made quite a din when she came over. For a moment, the restaurant felt more like a club then an eatery. Well dinner was satisfying, but then some of them had to go home right after we had finished(its always the case isn't it?). The rest of us went over to Ada's house for an early morning session of mahjong that lasted till 6am today. Haha, we didn't really play till six, rather we stopped at 3 and everyone just slept in her living room. Oh yes Joanna, if you are reading this, I will never forget all the nonsense that you were blabbermouthing to Kenn this morning. Its hilarious. Hahah poor Kenn. The early morning breeze must have made you a little wheezy... I can't remember that last time I had so much fun within a day... Heck, it was worth it! Savant at 9/26/2004 01:50:00 pm ; (0) comments What is this life full of care, We have no time to stand and stare, No time to see when woods we pass, Where squirrels hiden their nuts in grass. Savant at 9/19/2004 07:54:00 pm ; (0) comments Photos are up! Just like I'd promised. Click on the links on the left to see more, under the titles Taiwan and ASLC: Pop. 1 week in platoon sergeant course. No complaints. Its been good so far. They treat you with a lot of respect, there isn't any lights off timing, and you can go to the canteen anytime you want after office hours. Not forgetting to mention that the people there have real coursemanship even though they might be ranked higher than you. All of us are trainees and we try our best to listen and follow whatever instructions given by the appointment holders. Had Ex Lovelost on Friday. Basically a revision on our breaching methods, except that now the appointment holders for platoon commanders have to navigate all the way to the correct places, instead of the instructors telling us what to do. Everything went well I guess, nothing special happened. I'm currently holding the Armskote IC appointment. Its quite tiring and stressful. You have to be in the armskote room and get ready the arms for the course, plus you have to ensure that certain protocols are followed. Since this was my first time doing armskote, I naturally committed a few mistakes here and there. Was chided by one of the Staff Sergeants from the CSM course, but it really doesn't matter. All of us are here to learn. Ex. Punchhole is next. Its a platoon level ambush exercise. I'm given the Machine Gunner appointment, and I think it will be real fun proning and blasting away a few hundred rounds. Needless to say, the cleaning process will certainly give many of us headaches later. 3 more weeks before the course ends, but some part of me wishes it to be extended. Probably because I dread going back to my unit at 5SIR. Haven't got used to unit life yet, its too regimental for me. I want to lay back and let things go by slowly. Man, am I lazy or what.... Hahaha I guess I am... Savant at 9/12/2004 03:03:00 pm ; (0) comments Its true when I say, "Humans would always believe anything they read as long as it seems true enough" One of the top reads now(or a few weeks ago) is the book "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. I have not read the book yet, but I have no plans to read it. Most of the things that I've heard about this immensely popular novel were that it dealt with issues concerning religion. My friends who have read the book suddenly began to question the authenticity of the Bible, and they'd sit in groups discussing certain topics mentioned in the book. Worse of all, they feel as if they have been suddenly enlightened and feel good about their new found knowledge. People read the Bible and they believe in God. Now that they've read the "The Da Vinci Code" ("oooooh"), some of them suddenly start questioning their faith, even the Muslims in my company have been rattled by the book. I've been talking to people about the bible and many of its contradictions for some time now, but they've refused to accept it. They just can't see how something that they have been reading most of their lives could be fake. Well, maybe its because I can't gather whatever I know and put it up front in a coherent manner. One problem about humans is that they believe too much in stuff that they have had no contact with. One of my friends actually believed an article in which a halo appeared above an extremely "holy" pastor somewhere in the States. When I asked him why, he said that it was because it appeared in the news and it was taught to him by his Sunday school teachers. But he hasn't seen it happening, he wasn't there, but yet he believed. What great faith! Just like how millions of people believe in a little book called the Holy Bible. Do you see the absurdity of it all now? Why guys? Have you ever asked yourself why? What makes you believe in something so wholeheartedly when all that you've known about it, is through your teachers or stories told by your friends. Why is it that, when you know that some stories in the bible don't make sense, you do not question it but instead, shrug it off as something that God planned that only higher beings would understand. As long as someone somewhere, writes something that sounds logical, people would believe it. Dan Brown's book could just be another bullshit novel that he concocted in his spare time, and now he's sitting at home counting his money. If you really wanna know more about the mistakes in the bible, click on my links, they are much more comprehensive. Then again you may not, which is no surprise. Take a look --->here Great reviews! Like how some people feel after they've read the "Holy Bible". What if tomorrow Dan Brown announces that his story is fake? Well I guess people would be disappointed. Pity. P/S:Oh yes, I hate unit life... argh! Savant at 9/05/2004 09:31:00 am ; (0) comments
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