Entry 23: Saga Begins

Song Of The Moment: The Scrantones - The Office Theme
Why: It's one of the few short theme songs that really make me uplifted and happy. Captain Planet too. Kidding. It reminds me of the times I was half-naked in my room, studying for Psychology and watching The Office. All 4 seasons in half a week. And fawning over Jenna Fischer.

It's that time of the year again, where people like to list their resolutions (cue cliched joke #1468, 1024 X 1280) and give reasons why they should (and subsequently why they can't) attain their resolutions. I almost did that, but I realised I have no resolutions at all.

I could instead tell you about how in primary school, I threw green beans down my friend's uniform. Consequently, I was stripped of my Prefect rank, and just when I was about to be promoted to Head Prefect. Now that you think back, someone who snitches on green beans is probably an arse.

I could instead tell you about how in Chinese High, I was wayward in my first year and got a thrashing from my dad. I then joined the Scouts, a move which I will never regret for the rest of my life, and got to know the whole TCHVFG gang. The lot of us consisting of Jianbin, Gabriel, Chor Ming, AK, Zengsy, Albert, Raymond, Denzyl - we had lots of great times, the Venture Orientation Camp, every Saturday, the sort-of-flop camp which we organised (and had even more fun ourselves), and the times we pulled Zengsy to J8 just for kicks.

I could tell you about how I entered HCJC (JC! Not I!) with a score of 8 points, into the second best class of the cohort. I joined the canoeing team (another move which I will never regret for the rest of my life too), and learnt more life lessons than muscle mass gained.

I could tell you about how I entered the army without any expectations, not knowing what SISPEC or OCS stood for (in fact, I thought going to OCS meant you had to sign on, and I was reluctant to go OCS at first). I then went to Bravo 60/05, and had one of the best times of my life. With Lander, Russell, Joshua, Robin, Kenneth, Jianhong, RJ and Ang. I was truly happy, and for some reason that I could not fathom. Perhaps then, I knew I had a purpose in life, and probably I wouldn't know the reason until I start reflecting on my life in the Acceptance stage of my death. It was at this time that I got to know a girl who changed my life as well. I was then posted to BMTC Gryphon company, where I met even more people I would never forget. Qinhao, Melvin, Irwan, Hidayat, Weicheng, Kelvin, Nicholas, Robin - I would have never had a complete Army experience without them.

I could tell you about how I worked in Coastes and got to know people from all walks of life. Leonard, Kelvin, Ash, Junhong, Ken, Erick, Joan, Siti. Sure, some of them did not like me at first because they found out about my status, but things surely got much, much better in the end. They did not have much education, but I knew I mixed with the right crowd, given their streetsmart antics and different perspectives of life. I learnt more social skills and conversation-starting topics from than I ever could have if I took an office job.

I could tell you about how I came here to West Lafayette, not knowing a single person or a single thing that was happening. I was lucky to get to know a lot of cool people like Praveen, Daniel, Saurav, Bharat, Daryl, Jignesh, Life would definitely have been much worse without them.

There have been many other friendships forged along the way, people like Muye and Aze and.. many others.

I could tell you a lot of things, but it is what I have always found difficult to say that really matters. Praveen once said, "People don't know the power of a sincere apology." (I paraphrased it of course, so it fits nicely on your MSN or Facebook status) I am in the second year of the big 20 now, and I can gain admittance into more clubs than before.

So today, to those I have wronged in the past in some way or another, I just want to say sorry. Sorry to my parents, whom I may have failed at times and been a burden. Sorry to my brother, to whom I may not have been a good role model, what with me drinking excessively and partying and over-spending and all. Sorry to the ex-classmates whom I have always been lazy to speak to. Sorry to those whom I have neglected or did wrong to, people like Al or Junjie (Funny story, me and JJ. We go quite a some way back, going to Canada, studying in the same class, being in Canoeing. But somewhere along the way I became a bitch and things just don't happen anymore).

And that's the end of my first entry of 2008. I don't give empty promises for it to be a blast, but I'll try.