Day 1.
Had a weird acute back pain that day. Well, it was my butt actually. It'll hurt if I bent forward, even if I leaned over just a bit. Thus, it was really painful to change clothes. Got out bed late again :X Snoozed too many times.
Aloysius called to inform me of the plan to cab down to camp. It's an act of convenience (or sloth perhaps?); it was our first day after all. Seeing that I'll be late, they decided to direct the cab to wait under my house.
About 7.10am, I stepped into the waiting taxi while my lower abdomen screaming in pain. 3 of my fellow NDP Clerks were already inside. They were:
- Bryan, a mad computing genius who was with me from the beginning (like since Poly Year 1).
- Aloysius, a ki- I mean dude who looked and behaved like a 15-year-old teenager.
- Amos, musical guy and fervent brother from another church.
Randy decided to make his way there by himself, only to meet us outside the camp.
And as destiny would have it, the 5 of us entered the not-so-glorious gates of Nee Soon Camp (NSC), marching together towards our calling.
Well, not really. We were kinda lost and directionless, not knowing where HQ SCE (Headquarters Singapore Combat Engineers) is. After much wandering, we asked directions and finally found the place. Not without much sweat though.
HQ SCE INT Branch.
A place of big shots and high ranks. But they were pretty nice people. Our superiors introduced themselves, and got to know us better. More importantly, they revealed the paths that lie before us.
Thus they spoketh:
"3 of the fellowship shall depart to Selarang Camp next week, that they may assist in Multimedia.
2 shall remain here for 2 months, before departing to Seletar Camp, for the purposes of Website Design."
These aren't their exact words, but you get the gist =3
Selarang is
way far, near Changi Village. Thank the Lord that I am part of the Website team - Seletar is
soooo much nearer.
After that, we got a short tour around camp, visiting the highly important venues: the canteen, the cookhouse, another canteen, etc.
NSC is much more prettier than Sungei Gedong. Instead of dull & old buildings complete with dull & old trees, we have garden-like walkways surrounded with bunks that resemble condominiums. A swimming pool would make the scene complete. The dining tables were brightly colored, and they actually serve soya bean milk for lunch.
There you have it; NSC is nicer, nearer and more privileged.
Having nothing to do, we found ourselves dozing off at about 3-4pm, when our Head superior (a Lieutenant Colonel) spotted us. He said "Why are you all sleeping here? Go home!"
That's the best command I heard in my life. At his word, we left camp at about 4 plus, rejoicing for being posted here.
NSC - Best. Camp. Evar.
Day 2.
We were told NOT to bring our uniforms, but to wear civilian clothing instead. Everyone in the office was in shirt and jeans. After half a day of chatting/using internet/slacking, we were off to Marina Sands. Woot.
The whole of HQ SCE organized a "National Education" trip at
SkyPark! That's free $20 tickets for each of us :D
The last time I had such an event was in secondary school lol.
We took the elevator up to the 57th floor. When we emerged out into the SkyPark, I was totally mesmerized. The view from up there is simply
breathtaking.
You could see the far corners of Singapore from where I stood. People were tiny specks and cars were like Tamiya toys. From the Northern side, you could view the City Hall, Padang, Swissotel, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Padang, The Singapore Flyer, etc. I spotted Singapore Indoor Stadium, Marine Parade, East Coast Park eastward. There was Marina Barrage at the south, and a wide span of water speckled with ships further beyond. Islands outlined the southern horizon. Wish you were there!
Too bad none of us could bring cameras into camp. I would have taken tonnes of photos. But surprise of surprises - I bumped into my previous Usher Team Leader, Juliana, at the premises. And she had a camera. Thus I took a shot together with my buddies :)
Photos are not up yet though :(
After taking a group photo with the whole of HQ SCE, we were dismissed at like around 1.50pm! :D
Day 3.
Its down to Bryan and I. The rest were given off today, and they would be posted out the Selarang Camp next week.
After a rather free morning, we spent the rest of the afternoon photocopying stuff. Arrows from above hit our fellow colleague, and caused collateral damage to us. Being wounded with many arrows, our friend decided to pluck some out of his chest and fire them at us haha.
But we had nothing to do anyway, so we were okay with it. It's better than doing nothing.
We took shifts; one of us would photocopy a set of like 25 while the other spent the time drawing hahas. Then we would swap.
Sometimes I wonder, is this God's will for me to work together with Bryan?
It was by chance that I knew Bryan.
It was by chance that we worked together in our 1st project.
It was by chance that we were posted to the same camp.
It was by chance that we were both selected to do NDP Website.
And here we are both in NSC.
But was it really by chance, or the work of God?
Whatever it is, let God's will be done.
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