First reservist is over. Woot.

It wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be, and I'm such a cynic, so you know I imagined the worst. Haha. I was told by my MTO that I'd have to follow the reservist battalion (the HQ company, 4th Watercraft and 5th Watercraft companies) for the exercise, but he was fine with it when I said I didn't want to. Wahahaha. I guess I would've handled it fine if I had to go in the jungle again, but I really didn't want to bother anymore. :P

Staying in camp for the period of the exercise wasn't just sleeping and doing nothing, there were spare drivers to take care of (well, not really - they basically took care of themselves) and there were orientation to do as well. But since orientation was taken care of by the active side, me and my specs (that's specialists, ie. sergeants, to you, fiz, not spectacles haha) only had to help liase between the reservist drivers and the active personnel. There were time to slot in some pool in between too, so it wasn't all that bad. :D

I didn't notice my picture was being taken, thus, unable to suck in my gut. Hahhaa. Bah!

Monday was busy with preparation for the exercise, the million things that had to be done, plus making sure the drivers report to their respective companies, and finding replacements for those who took MC. Busy busy, multi-tasking to the max. To the point where I'd answer a call, end it, answer another call, end it, forgot about the previous caller's request, answer yet another call, end it, continue with what's at hand, remember a request to me an hour ago, proceed with that, remember the previous caller's request, proceed with that, saw a note on my pad about a different request, proceed with that, got another call about a previous request, proceed with that, and repeat.

This went on to the point where if I wasn't doing anything at all, I knew I must've forgotten something. Hahahaha. I was with 2 other transport supervisors, 2SG Adrian and 3SG Nick, and Adrian had mentioned to me on the first day, "Don't worry. If they need something from you, they will find you again." How true. Haha.

I found it interesting how many people I had to liase with, and it became quite hard (since I was new to it) to recall everybody who called and what they wanted, even after jotting down notes sometimes. Must improve on my note-taking skills, I suppose. Haha. But near the end of the reservist period, I managed to reach a point where I remembered quite a large number of my drivers' names and where they were supposed to be, driving which vehicle. At that stage, these information were pretty much useless 'cause we were all done with the reservist. Hohoho.

Tuesday was nothing much. More orientation and more pool. There was a problem with a vehicle, which was quickly solved by the workshop, then the day was pretty uneventful. I fell sick that night, down with flu, fever and headaches.

Wednesday was a dizzying day. 'Cause I felt dizzy most of the time.

Adrian found out that the exercise was cut the night before and that everyone was back, stores were already being returned and vehicles were already being washed. Wow. A 7-days-high-key with only a 2-days-1-night exercise. That's good!

So we facilitated returning of vehicles to the active side... Which was, to my surprise, bloody easy and smooth-flowing. It was good that most of these reservist drivers have done the things they were doing several times before. Made things easier for me and the rest of the transport supervisors. A few vehicles were held back, to return only on Friday, as they were being used to do store runs and as safety vehicles for the next day's event, which was IPPT. *Gulp*

On Tuesday, I had already planned to take MC on Thursday. I knew I won't be able to pass IPPT (hell, I've never been able to pass it ever) and Adrian and Nick advised me to take MC, otherwise I would have to return for Remedial Training when I fail the IPPT. I forgot how many times one would need to return back to camp for RT, but I know it was a lot. And I wasn't ready to do that.

But on Wednesday I was really sick. I told Adrian, "Every time I want to take MC, I'd really fall sick. For once, I'd like to take MC when I'm actually not sick!" Adrian replied, "Wah, that's power man. You're willing your body to be sick." I said, "Right. Mind over body, right? Haha."

Thursday I was home. Sick. For real. Not chao geng. Haha. I went to the doctor, got my medications and went home. Ate breakfast, misread the dosage on my cough syrup bottle (I took 2 tablespoonful of it, instead of 2 teaspoonful - rox), conked out almost immediately. Woke up at about 8:30 pm (yes... how many hours of sleep did that make?!) and ate dinner, ate medication and fell asleep again. Was really sick, and I really rested. It was so real that it felt almost comedic.

And I came back on Friday. Nick wasn't around on Thursday either 'cause his new-born baby had a viral infection and he had to attend to her. Poor kid is only a few weeks old, and Nick didn't think to defer his reservist. He forgot, I think. He hadn't been called back to reservist after 10 over years, if I'm not wrong. He didn't mind though, 'cause he enjoyed his stay at Club 356 (SCE). Haha. Anyway, Friday was easy-going. Went for breakfast, pool, PS3, checked on the last vehicles to be returned, said goodbye to some of the people I knew back in the active side, went for a briefing and out-processed.

It was a really great time with Adrian and Nick. We worked very well together and I think we got along famously. Even though we were all quite different, we just wanted to get things done properly and quickly, so that we can have time for ourselves. And even though I was a bit more "on" than your usual reservist (even when I was an NSF, I was hated by my drivers for being "on" *sigh...*), they were fine with it and they had good words for me behind my back. Which I was/am not accustomed to.

Nick said, "You've restored my faith in the youngsters." He explained that in his job, he meet a lot of young people who couldn't care less and always do the absolute minimal (okay, this is not verbatim, but this is the gist of it that I can recall). I wasn't sure of how to reply to Nick's and Adrian's constant compliments, always thinking they might be making fun of me, but they seemed to be rather genuine. Even now, I'm not sure. I'm always skeptical in this type of situations. Gotta work on my self-deprecating mindset.

There we are, from the left, 2SG Adrian (software tester), 3SG Zul (a non-working bum) and 3SG Nick (a big-shot lawyer at a bank - I forgot his title... Oops). Self-named "Team Cutthroat" since we always played Cutthroat pool. Haha.

Nick drives this little vintage car... I have no idea what it's called 'cause I'm not a fan of cars. I'm sure A.A can name it though. :P

I got in it one time... I was so scared I would break it!

I couldn't appreciate the car, but I'm sure it's an expensive little sucker!

By the way, these pictures were taken using a Sony Ericsson P990i in Seletar East Camp... Not by me. Hurr. :P

Okay, that's it for my reservist stint. I've officially been un-busy-fied and school starts soon, but I really need to get my ass up and start - seriously - looking for a job. I've slacked for over half a year and that's really bad. No excuse now. Got a few things to complete first, and then, back to proper job hunting.

And I will post some pics from my cousin's engagement ceremony next. Really.