Not just a game

Try reading this post while listening to the video at the bottom of this post with the lights off :)

While reading up on Lavender Town Syndrome (supposedly the screeching noise in the background of the theme music of Lavender Town in the original Japanese Pokemon Red game caused the deaths of hundreds of Japanese children, majority through suicide), I came across something more believable and more disturbing.

I'm sure that a game that carries as much symbolism as this has different meanings to different people. Personally, I feel that it is a statement on the tempting and corrupting effects of power. When we are equipped with such power that we can take down anyone who opposes us without breaking a sweat, we tend to forget the moral implications of utilising such strength, until the consequences of our actions one day come back to haunt us.

And in case you were wondering what the Lavender Town theme sounds like:

Just so you know, I've heard this theme a few times these past few days and I have to say that while it's certainly pretty creepy in the wee hours of the morning, I'm certainly not contemplating suicide at the moment.

Speed through skill

Posting results are out, and tomorrow I'll be headed to Stagmont Camp to train to become a signal operator. I should be ecstatic about this result: signals has long been known to be one of the slackest vocations available for combat fit NSmen, right up there with military police, police force, air force and navy. And to a certain extent I guess I am glad. After all, it's much much better to be a signaler than, say, a rifleman. But when you see practically all of your friends being posted to SCS or even OCS while you are stuck as a man in a vocation where you will never be able to shrug off the label of "chao keng", the feeling doesn't sit well somehow. It's not so much about missing the glory of being a commander, but I want to be able to look my friends in the eye and say "I'll be going through the same thing with you."

I guess it's like Bryan said: since I have so much more free time now, I should focus on spending it effectively instead. Maybe start studying for SATs or something. Every man's a leader, not just the commanders, which I guess is true to a certain extent, even though it does sound rather patronising. And in the back of my mind, hope for a conversion course.

I don't know why not getting into SCS feels like the world to me. Really I have so many more important things to worry about, such as why I still haven't gotten replies from NUS and DSTA, and yet I can only focus on these short-term matters which will barely affect me 20 months down the road. I guess it's like what I previously mused, that we tend to gravitate towards what is most current instead of what is most important.

Speaking of which, I need to find a way to say to NUS as tactfully as possible that they should really confirm my application into their university before inviting me to an interview to one of their programmes. And on a date I can't make, no less.

Where is the finish line?

Hello, the blog is not dead yet.

Truth be told, so much stuff has happened since the last post that I can't really remember exactly what happened, nor can I be bothered to try and recall, so I'll just stick with the main points.

IPPT was still a fail, all the way to the end, so hurray for consistency. What really made me pissed off at myself was not that I was inadequate, but that I was nearly adequate. Twice I attempted to do the pull-ups, and twice I only did 5, just short of passing. And when I tried again back at NJC yesterday, I somehow managed to do 6. Well, in any case it was too little too late, so I'll just have to brace myself to become rifleman W S Hong.

After IPPT, we had hours upon hours of graduation parade practice. Every day spent waiting in SBO, waiting in FBO, waiting for that half an hour or so of marching and standing around under the blazing heat, before the cycle repeats itself. Luckily there were a few merciful showers which cut down what would otherwise have no doubt been a hellish period of continuous drill practice.

And then there was the 24km road march. Yes, it was held during the cool of night; yes, we didn't have to bring any store items with us; but n nonetheless, it was difficult; very difficult. I can still recall that period of time between the 16km and 24km mark: we've been marching for hours, everyone's worn out, the end is nowhere in sight, nobody feels like talking, it's just step after step after painful step. Still, we made it through the grueling trek and threw our jockey caps high into the sky on the floating platform. Yes, we're all trained soldiers now :)

Looking back on my BMT experience, I have to say that I'm really satisfied with it, or maybe I'm just a naturally optimistic guy. Yes, platoon 2 was the craziest in Falcon, but it was also because of that that we earned a sort of quiet respect from the other platoons, I guess sort of how people feel about Kestrel but to a lesser extent. I've heard people from other platoons call us the PTP batch (PTP stands for Poor Thing Platoon by the way), but at the same time I've also heard people say that platoon 2 is in a class of its own within Falcon. All in all, I can say with pride that I was from Falcon P2S2.

So my past few days have been spent going out with friends every day, trying to make the most of the very very short one week that we've been given. Perhaps of note is that I visited NJC yesterday, for the first time since receiving 'A' level results, and Lionel and I managed to talk to Mrs Hue for a bit. I felt a bit guilty talking to her, since I was an expected econs A student who ended up scoring a C, but basically she just encouraged us to look beyond 'A' levels and recognise that university is main thing that employers will be looking at in future. I guess it happens to us all the time; when you devote all your time to the pursuit of a goal, it seems like the biggest thing you could ever achieve, even though there are probably other goals beside it that are of equal, if not greater importance. Whether it be 'O' levels, 'A' levels, or even SCS or OCS now that we're in the army, we always tend to aggrandise whatever is most current for us instead of what is most important to us. Which of course begs the question: what is the most important thing? Or maybe, what should be? I don't think these are questions to be answered by an 18-year-old greenhorn. Maybe we go after all the small targets because the overarching objective has yet to be found.

On a random note, I just listened through Last Chance To Reason's new album Level 2 (I thought it would never come out -.- ) and played through Pokemon White, and I highly recommend both. Pokemon White especially caught me off-guard; I was expecting yet another cheesy defeat-bad-guys-and-become-champion plot, but there is an actual fleshed-out storyline here with legit plot twists and character development. When I was roaming the final castle, the combination of the stellar new CGI graphics, epic strings-choir music and plot climax made me feel like I was playing Final Fantasy. And the best part is that even though I just completed the main story arc, I know that I still have a lot in front of me with plenty of side-quests and after-story content. Not to let Level 2 be left out in the praise, I just played the demo of their game of the same name which uses the album as its soundtrack, and it's a really intense and fun arcade shooter that will definitely appeal to fans of retro games. Get both. NOW.