Hello!

Finally there is a NEW post! Life has been fine and maybe mundane since enlisting in National Service. Spring has long gone and Summer's heat is making life unbearable in this tiny red dot. I was about to write this year so far has been a rollercoaster ride, but I realised I wrote this for every year lol. I missed the chill days in 2011 and 2012 when I was freed from any responsibilities or homework.

Anyway, back to main point, National Service Basic Military Training was a walk in a park for me oddly. It seemed as though my floorball physical training before the start of A division was much more physically demanding than my training to be a soldier. What a joke pes B2 is and I am regretting why the heck I am in army. I went into BMT thinking it was an optimal period to beef up my physique and train my discipline, but towards the end, I thought the entire training was useless because there were not many avenues for me to experience the strict regimentation. To put it bluntly, most of us will not be able to stand a chance against any substantial enemy. Heck, some of us could not even use a gun.

Nonetheless, enough of the rant, I found NS to be a period for me to reflect on my past 18-year journey in Singapore. As the old adage goes, "When a door closes on you, another opens", I gained invaluable solitary time in exchange for sacrificing 2 years to defend the sovereignty of a 716.1 square kilometre piece of land. I shall not indulge in disseminating more information on the internet lest any of it breaks the military confidentiality rule.

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Recently, I had an epiphany to remember my late P5&6 form teacher, Mr Dicky Quah. I could still vividly remember his sending all the rowdy boys out of the class because we were talking shit. LOL we exploited the chance to continue chatting about soccer and other crap like what we are to do after school or thinking of new nickname for other classmates. He is a superb teacher who really taught me a lot more than just the usual subjects dictated by MOE. Honestly, I could not forget him telling me I will remember him not for his efforts in producing a bunch of exemplary students but for his numerous lessons on social etiquette. All I can say is, Mr Quah is a psychic! I was so trained by him that nowadays, I always cover my mouth when I yawn even when there is nobody around me.

Furthermore, I cannot forget his treat to multiple $2 Chicken Cutlets haha. Every time a person scored full marks in any test, he would treat that particular fortunate child chicken cutlet. Needless to say, my friends and I enjoyed tons of chicken that we grew wings before Red Bull did.

Moreover, I cannot pardon myself for not mentioning his dedication to improving our class' academic progress. Mr Quah and 龙老师 were two of the most passionate teachers I have ever met. June and September Holidays remedial lessons for the entire class were accompanied by pizza hut treats which came out of their pockets. No matter how much Mr Quah said his pay was "peanuts", he would still fork out goodies to encourage us.

After writing about him, I think I did not do him enough justice as his life cannot be summarised into these few paragraphs. One thing that I regretted I did not do was to buy a plate of char kway teow to his funeral as he always told my friends and I that he wanted to be a char kway teow seller when he retired.

So, here's to him. A great man and a greater teacher! :)