Memories of time past

It's like 4 am in the morning and I got attacked my mosquitoes on my bed, so I laid on my bed fighting the itches and trying to get back to sleep. Church at 730 am ( I have to leave house then) tmr! But as I tried to get back to sleep, all these memories started coming back..

Specifically of my time in OCS.

Suddenly I was thinking about my time in my bunk in OCS. In service term 1. It was a sad time then. I felt like someone who had their freedom given to them and then taken away again. Context: I was in OCS Tri-Service which lasted 1 month before I went to Paya Lebar Air Base for Pilot Selection for 2 months. During that time I had more freedom; could come out more often and stay out, and Australia was really a blast. Haha. Then suddenly I was back in the OCS bunk again.

Can imagine how depressing it can be. But I rem it was a very aimless time for me. I didn't know God then. I didn't know what I was there for. Sure I had that potential to do it; I knew I had, but I didn't see the point. All I wanted was freedom.

And then I had my back injury, which caused me to had to do regular visits to the physiotherapist.

*Flash forward a few months*

I'm doing guard duty now, but it's not the regular guard duty. I was supposed to stand at the edge of a training area to make sure no one got in. Supposed to stay from morning till late at night. Alone.

There was going to be no one within 1 km of me. Only trees and mosquitoes and what not.

It was still okay in the day, spent it fighting mosquitoes, but when night fell..

All I saw was a gravel road and forest all in front of me. Hp batt was running low. Needed company.

There was a shed by the side of the gate for me to site down, but it was small. Only enough to fit a chair and a little more. But I didn't want to sit inside. It would obstruct my vision.

So I sat in the middle of the gravel road, with the gate just behind me. Forest. Darkness.

I'm glad I didn't allow fear to get to me that night. And well, glad I didn't see anything. Ha..

I was raped by mosquitoes though. Had like at least 40 bites on my back by them. They could go through the uniform. Super mosquitoes.

Well, I was so glad when I saw the Rover come and pick me up for the night, at about 11pm like that. Home at last. Or camp. Haha.

*Flash*
I sit in the office with Amin, the admin clerk and LTA Spencer. I remember the Staff Sgt's face as well. Not a very nice guy. But LTA Spencer and Amin were really nice people and they were my company after I out of coursed from OCS.

They're not really very kind to people who genuinely had problems because alot of times there are people who 'chao keng'. I remember my PC wasn't very happy with me. He thinks I'm not pushing myself hard enough.

But it's a back problem, and even the physio told me not to carry weights. I think the physio got a littled peeved when he heard my PC still asked me to do stuff. Ha..

But anyway I Out of Coursed eventually and spent the remaining of my OCS days before I left for a unit with the Echo HQ people, Amin, LTA Spencer and Major Lam. Major Lam was another really nice uncle. Haha.

Anyway I only keep in contact with LTA Spencer now, once a year. On our birthdays..

Oh then LTA Adrian who's one of the company's officers: Think he just graduated from SMU last sem, or maybe going to this sem. See him once in a while but he doesn't recognize me..

*fast forward*
So I'm on a van now. Travelling to my new unit from OCS.

And I end up in Keat Hong Camp as a signaller. Really run down, and all the things were falling apart. It was a new to me. It was about 10 months in schools where all the training took place, now I was in an operational unit...

which the men practically did nothing but eat and sleep! Ha..

Anyway that's another story for another day.

But to think back on those days. I was just ... there. No aim. Just there. Lived day by day. All I was looking for was the time I could go back, and spend time outside in civilization.

But thank God for a purpose now. For zoe life, a life beyond the natural. A life filled with visions and dreams and hope for the future. Because God answers the question of where we come from, we also know where we're headed, our destiny.