Its really strange returning to the blog after almost 6 months of lull period. Really seems like i've vanished off the face of the earth and suddenly made a comeback. Must say its pretty fun reading the stuff about BMT though, makes you feel really good about yourself for living thru all that shit and how much you've come of age....haha. but seriously, its amazing how we've actually changed over the past 6 months since enlistment. Having seem more of the world in the army, you tend to look at the world thru different eyes, and of course, come to appreciate the little things in civilian life that u usually take for granted.
Life in OCS now is certainly better than in BMT. No doubt training is tough, but at least you feel more like a human and a person with dignity. You are addressed by ur name and not some fanciful hokkien term. You go thru shit, but it'll probably be all worthwhile in the end, hopefully. It also gives you some reason to feel good about urself.
Sigh, next week is platoon field camp. Heard from delta wing that its seriously quite xiong...I mean, i dun doubt it man....charging up the hill and doing platoon fire movement is certainly not a joke, esp for the GPMG gunners and the poor guy carrying the tripod. Poor Morris tripped while running down the hill and hit his heard against a rock. The other day i saw him in the cookhouse he looked as if he had mascara on his eyes. Poor chap. I mean, he's a bright spark and hopefully this doesn't affect his mental abilities in any way. This illustrates my point...for many of us, being a soldier is seriously not the best way we can serve our country.
One thing i've learnt in OCS, though, is to take things one step at a time, and to live each day as it comes, as Gabriel says. The whole course is 42 weeks and its pointless to be constantly worrying about the tough times that are to come. Its really more healthy to appreciate the beauty of the day and to be happy with the circumstances. Life will be a lot less miserable.
It can be quite discouraging and disillusioning when you see ur friends disrupting for medicine though. On one hand, you want a quick fix to ur suffering, but on the other, you know that it will be fulfiling to go thru OCS and that u might actually have a better life studying in Australia. Thing is, thinking about the 2 years left to ORD is a pretty daunting thought.
We had demo live firing this week. Its bloody scary business, looking at the devastation that just half a kg of TNT can do to you, or how a freaking bangalore torpedo can loosen the soil so much that quick sand forms there. Sometimes, you know that war is inevitable, but its just unfathomable how one human being can turn a claymore on his fellow human being. The backblast is enough to make you scared shitless, not to mention the lethal zone.
Went back to RI for the scout campfire tonight. Lotsa techno music and dancing and girl guides gyrating on stage. Sometimes you just wonder if you might just bump into one of these juveniles at the next mambo night. Its really great meeting up with all ur friends and seniors and just updating each other on ur lives.
Sunday...less than 24 hours to book in... see you soon, folks.
