The Very First Day...Tekong!

As the counter reads less than 24 hrs on my blog now, I was looking back at the past two years, feeling amused at the transgressions, "misfortunes" and incidents that occured...

"Beng ah, got everything ready or not?" "Yeah, I think so", I replied in a not so convincing manner, peering my sad-looking mug as I checked through my bulky bag. That was filled with junk that were unnecessary, as I realised to my horror later. Ten rolls of black tape. Check. 5 pairs of white socks with toes. Check. Prickly heat big bottle. Check. And so on.

It was time. Lunch was like eating lead. Carrying my holiday resort bag, I slowly made across the park, accompanied by my parents and sister. As I stayed a 5 min distance away from the Pasir Ris Bus interchange, I was considered more blessed than others. At least I did not have to travel 2 hrs to my army camp. (which I had to eat my words much much later).

Shaking my head in futile resistance, I joined my sad crowd of men (or rather boys, which the SAF calls us), lingering there like someone had cast doom on us. Pretty girlfriends provided the occasional eye candies, or "creeps" as a good friend of mine would call them, but still, it gave little relief to my heavy heart.

Forgot what had happened, but it was probably too insignificant to remember. Anyway, I soon found myself on the Penguin Express, reputed for its express service across the sea by being slow. "Wah, you so good ah. At least this time the ship to Tekong got comfortable seats", my father quipped, in an attempt to cheer me up. "..." Soon, we walked across the jetty, which says "Welcome to Tekong!" Wow. Matched my attire man. Holiday resort with a holiday resort bag.

After that, we were separated from our loved ones..ok, parents. Glump looking men, including me, were herded to rows of chairs, in which my sergeant major (which I wrongly saluted and found out much later) gave us our 11B. Even though the scene was quiet, you could sense a sea of anxiety and restlessness, plus sorrow, in each one of us. Since men are the less expressive half, we gulped and bottled the sadness.

"Remember, you all must say WITH OUR LIVES! Repeat after me, WITH OUR LIVES!" "....with our...... lives". The sergeant major drilled and rehearsed with us the SAF pledge ad nauseum, which we were supposed to say with pride in our parents. We succeeded..after the fifth attempt. That moment was the first of the many incidents to come of the phenomenon which we call "wayang". And for God's sake, scrap that video showing "50 DAYS from Boys to Men!"

Meanwhile, our parents and some girlfriends had a hearty lunch of chicken rice. They were then herded to the auditorium, where we were already there for the past 2 hrs or so (rehearsing the "WITH OUR LIVES" part). Expectedly, we gave a rousing performance that might have brought a tear or two to girls and parents, but sadly, not us.

After we had our share of chicken rice (at last), we waved goodbyes to our parents. It was night time by then. One company of men were squeezed in a training shed, where we had to inspect our duffel bag for our necessities. (amazing, since somehow, the duffel bag defied the law of physics by managing to squeeze everything) It was dark. The men were tired. The sergeants were angry. This meant hell was about to erupt. But since today was the honeymoon day, nothing happened.

"...@#$#%, how the hell do I check when the light is so poor?" I mumbled to myself. Unlike Harry Potter who had the luxury of Hogwarts school to check all his magical equipment, I was stuck on an island with testosterone filled blokes. "No problem then Stuff the equipment and Go back to your bunks! Now FO" "..wow, now they ask me to stuff everything back in again. Great."

The best part was that after shaving our hair, we had to drag our 15kg bag all the way to our company building. My bunk was at the 4th storey. And no, we don't get to use the lift. "Ugrh, .." I panted as I was dragging myself and the bag up the stairs, squeezed in the crowd smelling each other's sweat like a pack of sardines.

It was ten thirty. "LIGHTS OFF EVERYBODY". Gloomily, I stared at the ceiling, with my newly-shaven hair, dressed in grey PTs like a POW. That time, I would have done anything just to wear the RJ PE shirt and shorts again. Here, I look like a fool. And rightly so, they assume you to be. "I wonder how everyone is doing"as I thought silently to myself. Everyone else included Thng, Raymond, Ginway and others, since I came the last, 2 days after all of them. 2 days of hell must have passed for them. Meanwhile, Alvin Ong and Eddie Cai had already experienced one monthh at Tekong, right after graduation dinner, sadly.

And that marked the beginning of hell.

Note: which is ending in 2 days time.