gee whiz...what a bummer! just when i thought we'd finally, as newly promoted sergeants, have free rein in the army (ok, maybe not exactly free, but at least having less people controlliong our every move) i find myself (and the 85 of my fellow sispec graduants) still stuck at the mercy of superiors; still branded as the dreaded label "trainees"! (read: scum of the earth/cockroaches/any other similar description) And why, u may wonder? (my sister laughed at the pathetic nature of my explanation, which believe it or not is actually true...)

because simply, although we've been officially "commissioned" as section commanders; infantry leaders, ironically we've got no one to lead - simply because our 'men' are still undergoing bmt!! hahaha....i'm laughing more in delirium than anything here, i mean, getting angry wouldn't change anything anyway. well yea. so that leaves us going through something called a UIP (unit induction phase), supposedly meant to help us acclimatise to unit life. yea, that means we still gotta fall in and march to the canteen - as a platoon!!! what outrage! what madness...to think we endured 8 months of pain and sweat to end up right back where we started. for goodness sake, take back our chevrons (the sergeant rank) already!!! we'd be better off as privates or even recruits! (at least they get e-mart breaks once every few days...)

okay...enough ranting about national service. i'm getting tired of typing about it.

hmmm...the weekend. the time of repose and rejuvenation - as for me, i usually get my fix at CTK. =) unfortunately i missed meeting this weekend cos i had a splitting headache...at times my head felt as though a fissure were forming on it's surface. it must be all those national geographic re-runs that give me that imagery...maybe it had something to do with that book i brought to camp - angels and demons. it's a typical hollywood type action thriller, btw. only with one major difference...it's central theme revolving around a Catholicism vs Science battle...one involving both morals and proven fact. it particularly appealed to me because i could relate to each side of the debate. let me explain: as a catholic, i felt a moral obligation to stand up for my religious beliefs, and found myself rooting for, in a way, for the Vatican and the camerlengo. (for those who haven't the foggiest what i'm talking about, and have any interest at all in thriller, fiction novels, i strongly recommend u check out the book. if you're interested, i would gladly lend u my copy) on the other hand, having been schooled for the past decade in the sciences, i've also taken up a particular interest in learning how things come about and why things happen the way they are - somehow having an explanation to things is like attaining enlightenment, in a way. it's like unraveling a mystery...something that religion tends to leave out. yet the issue of faith and trust in God tells me again that i want to believe, to have an unquestioning faith that asssures me in my darkest time that there's nothing to worry about; that feeling of comfort only God can provide... i kinda left me stuck between two worlds, in a way. caught on the fence, yet it also encouraged me to contemplate on my beliefs, what values i've been living by in my life thus far. I really hope you guys can get a copy of it - i need to know what others think about it...i can't get it out of my mind...at the moment though, i wouldn't wanna risk getting the opinion of any of our parish priests - i can almost anticipate exactly their takes on the book, this little piece of literature that has really captivated my attention like no other. the author, btw, is Dan Brown - the same guy who wrote the Da Vinci code.

raneth hopped off at 9:13 pm