The time was 2355hrs and the crowd was gathering at the riverside area of Vivo City. Nick, Justin and I took a little spot on the railing at the far end of the walkway. I listened in as they spoke of their experience in NS. I knew this day would come, when my friends will talk about how much they suffered through their vocations, how hard they had to climb, how long they had to march and how heavy their field pack was. All the sweat and grime, a familiar yet distant scent that I used to know. All I could say in reply was, "I'm just an RP" as I shook my head in sadness.
90% of these people are probably teenage girls.
Joey pulled Justin and I in at a queue. They've been waiting for forty minutes and Justin mumbled,"I feel so cheap" when we got into the line. It was for some Channel 8 live show with Lucify and Patricia Mok. I wasn't so interested. Those days are long gone.
"But you get to see celebrities!" yelped Steph, Joey's girlfriend.
"What, celebrities? Singapore? Those aren't celebrities."
The countdown began, and my fingers ran over my camera, awaiting the fireworks. The two of them on the railing wouldn't budge. Twelve midnight. It's the new year. The ship horned and shrieked. The night sky lit up with the fireworks but I couldn't see. I ran down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of it.
I did, and it wasn't spectacular. So I didn't bother.
Justin can never look straight into the camera. Or maybe he was. Or thought he was. I don't know!
The ride to Bishan with the purpose of prawning was smooth sailing and there weren't as many cars as expected.
Sgt. Lyndon... I mean... Mr. James... called me and there was his trademark giggle. If you ever heard it, it'll sound like a cross between the child of a hyena that mated with another human and on coke. We planned to meet after that.
But things changed, and Joey left with his friend. We met Lyndon at Bishan and hailed a cab. Justin saved the day, and we went over to Circular Road for supper.
How much fun it was. I walked down the street, amazed at how some people would succumb to alcohol and lay piss drunk on the road as their friends tell each other he'll be fine the next morning. I hated that. I hate getting drunk. For one, you become a burden to others and they'll have to babysit you.
I sat in silence as the three of them spoke about their NS life. I have nothing to say. Just the little vignettes I had in camp. My NS life is as far away as anyone would expect.
Justin brought us over to the Home Club where his friend got us a seat. I bottle of stout in front of us and this will be the night.
We haven't met in a long time, and Justin has some issues on his mine. Somewhat related to what I had, and we confided with each other. I felt really close to him that time, and I couldn't be much happier. There was so much love, so much honesty and sincerity. This was a friend that I would keep.
There was a period of time when Lyndon and I were alone. The speakers were thud-thudding a mix of electronic beats and he asked,"Have you ever wondered what you could have done if you continued your BSLC?"
I knew I let him down from bailing from SISPEC. But I thought it out way beforehand.
"I have... and I think I could have done so many things."
"You could have led a squad by now. What happened to you? What happened to that enthusiastic, siao 'on' Audi from BMT?"
He's still here, deep inside. The other two have gotten their gold fitness badges and endured countless camps and marches.
I look back with pride as I see myself pointing fingers at my platoon mates in the scorching jungles of Tekong. My sweat trickling down my cheeks as the seep through the camouflage cream on my face. That bastard of a recruit, they say. What could I have done?
I'm sorry, did this picture scare the shit out of you?
Nick and I related stories that were never told to our sergeant. Slowly, I felt, the conversation falter. There was no point in talking anymore. We've told the same stories over and over again. But back in my mind, there was a topic which I spoke to Justin about. And it's something I had to let it out. That was all I was concerned about. I did, and I was relieved, though unsure if I did the right thing.
The night went by quickly and the mood was great. Drunkards started forming up outside the club, and the place was littered with plastic bottles and cigarette butts. I don't want to be them. I wanted to remember this night to its smallest detail. This was a special night. I planned what I wanted to wear. Even my underwear. I was with people that made significant changes to my life and I had all the money in the world to splurge on. This was a special night. Where we had it all. All the time, all the joy. Freedom. And rock and roll. A night where we're rocking in the free world.
We left around 0530hrs. Justin went home with his friend via the bus. Nick and I walked around for a cab until we reached Chinatown. He's such a big person now. I looked at his arms and they were mosquito bites on it. It wasn't the same young Nicholas I knew from BMT. He was leaner and the look of his eyes reflected what he has been through for the past three months. I knew that the next day he'd be in a plane on his way to Brunei for an exercise.
He eventually got a cab and I bailed after some awkward stares from hooligans. Apparently we cut the queue. My sister and her boyfriend were on their way to pick me up and I agreed to meet at Clarke Quay MRT. Here I was, walking alone from Chinatown. Nick called me shortly after.
"Are you okay? Did the gangsters get you?"
He called again a second time but we got cut off. An SMS came in and he thanked me for the wonderful night. The thanks belong to him, in my opinion. I SMS-ed Justin to see if he was okay and thanked him for the warm welcome into the new year. Things were looking great.
Batman and Robin.
I received quite a few SMS-es from friends. A first, really. I was amused when Leon, the singer, sent me an SMS. It probably was another mass-SMS greeting, but at least he still had me in his phonebook. There were some numbers that came in that I don't even recognize so I sent back a thank you note anyways. I called Jayden, too, to send him my wishes.
Last year, I spent the celebrations in a dingy KTV pub with a bunch of friends I don't know so well. My ears were bleeding from drunken Chinese men singing pop love songs. This year, however, I listened in to the sweet voice of companionship. I didn't spend much money that night. There was no need to. Year 2008 was a good year for me, and I wanted it to end on a similar note.
I think, obviously, I got what I wanted.
We didn't get drunk! Cheers!
Happy new year to you, my readers.
90% of these people are probably teenage girls.
Joey pulled Justin and I in at a queue. They've been waiting for forty minutes and Justin mumbled,"I feel so cheap" when we got into the line. It was for some Channel 8 live show with Lucify and Patricia Mok. I wasn't so interested. Those days are long gone.
"But you get to see celebrities!" yelped Steph, Joey's girlfriend.
"What, celebrities? Singapore? Those aren't celebrities."
The countdown began, and my fingers ran over my camera, awaiting the fireworks. The two of them on the railing wouldn't budge. Twelve midnight. It's the new year. The ship horned and shrieked. The night sky lit up with the fireworks but I couldn't see. I ran down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of it.
I did, and it wasn't spectacular. So I didn't bother.
Justin can never look straight into the camera. Or maybe he was. Or thought he was. I don't know!
The ride to Bishan with the purpose of prawning was smooth sailing and there weren't as many cars as expected.
Sgt. Lyndon... I mean... Mr. James... called me and there was his trademark giggle. If you ever heard it, it'll sound like a cross between the child of a hyena that mated with another human and on coke. We planned to meet after that.
But things changed, and Joey left with his friend. We met Lyndon at Bishan and hailed a cab. Justin saved the day, and we went over to Circular Road for supper.
How much fun it was. I walked down the street, amazed at how some people would succumb to alcohol and lay piss drunk on the road as their friends tell each other he'll be fine the next morning. I hated that. I hate getting drunk. For one, you become a burden to others and they'll have to babysit you.
I sat in silence as the three of them spoke about their NS life. I have nothing to say. Just the little vignettes I had in camp. My NS life is as far away as anyone would expect.
Justin brought us over to the Home Club where his friend got us a seat. I bottle of stout in front of us and this will be the night.
We haven't met in a long time, and Justin has some issues on his mine. Somewhat related to what I had, and we confided with each other. I felt really close to him that time, and I couldn't be much happier. There was so much love, so much honesty and sincerity. This was a friend that I would keep.
There was a period of time when Lyndon and I were alone. The speakers were thud-thudding a mix of electronic beats and he asked,"Have you ever wondered what you could have done if you continued your BSLC?"I knew I let him down from bailing from SISPEC. But I thought it out way beforehand.
"I have... and I think I could have done so many things."
"You could have led a squad by now. What happened to you? What happened to that enthusiastic, siao 'on' Audi from BMT?"
He's still here, deep inside. The other two have gotten their gold fitness badges and endured countless camps and marches.
I look back with pride as I see myself pointing fingers at my platoon mates in the scorching jungles of Tekong. My sweat trickling down my cheeks as the seep through the camouflage cream on my face. That bastard of a recruit, they say. What could I have done?
I'm sorry, did this picture scare the shit out of you?
Nick and I related stories that were never told to our sergeant. Slowly, I felt, the conversation falter. There was no point in talking anymore. We've told the same stories over and over again. But back in my mind, there was a topic which I spoke to Justin about. And it's something I had to let it out. That was all I was concerned about. I did, and I was relieved, though unsure if I did the right thing.
The night went by quickly and the mood was great. Drunkards started forming up outside the club, and the place was littered with plastic bottles and cigarette butts. I don't want to be them. I wanted to remember this night to its smallest detail. This was a special night. I planned what I wanted to wear. Even my underwear. I was with people that made significant changes to my life and I had all the money in the world to splurge on. This was a special night. Where we had it all. All the time, all the joy. Freedom. And rock and roll. A night where we're rocking in the free world.
We left around 0530hrs. Justin went home with his friend via the bus. Nick and I walked around for a cab until we reached Chinatown. He's such a big person now. I looked at his arms and they were mosquito bites on it. It wasn't the same young Nicholas I knew from BMT. He was leaner and the look of his eyes reflected what he has been through for the past three months. I knew that the next day he'd be in a plane on his way to Brunei for an exercise.
He eventually got a cab and I bailed after some awkward stares from hooligans. Apparently we cut the queue. My sister and her boyfriend were on their way to pick me up and I agreed to meet at Clarke Quay MRT. Here I was, walking alone from Chinatown. Nick called me shortly after.
"Are you okay? Did the gangsters get you?"
He called again a second time but we got cut off. An SMS came in and he thanked me for the wonderful night. The thanks belong to him, in my opinion. I SMS-ed Justin to see if he was okay and thanked him for the warm welcome into the new year. Things were looking great.
Batman and Robin.
I received quite a few SMS-es from friends. A first, really. I was amused when Leon, the singer, sent me an SMS. It probably was another mass-SMS greeting, but at least he still had me in his phonebook. There were some numbers that came in that I don't even recognize so I sent back a thank you note anyways. I called Jayden, too, to send him my wishes.
Last year, I spent the celebrations in a dingy KTV pub with a bunch of friends I don't know so well. My ears were bleeding from drunken Chinese men singing pop love songs. This year, however, I listened in to the sweet voice of companionship. I didn't spend much money that night. There was no need to. Year 2008 was a good year for me, and I wanted it to end on a similar note.
I think, obviously, I got what I wanted.
We didn't get drunk! Cheers!
Happy new year to you, my readers.
Posted by
Audi
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