We were told to reach at 9 am, only for the briefing to start at around 10 am.
At 10 am, we were briefed about what we would do, where we would be assigned to and what time we were expected to arrive the next day. I knew the parade for SAF Day will start some time in the evening, so I was expecting them to ask us to arrive maybe in the afternoon at the parade location or maybe in the late morning after 10 am, but for some reason, they wanted us to report to the airbase at 0630 in the morning, take the bus they have indented for us and reach the parade location by 0730 so we can have enough time to do "preparations" till 2 pm in the afternoon.
We will probably be doing absolutely nothing after the first hour of briefing at the parade location and we will only be dismissed after the last guy decides he has had enough of catching up with friends and stuffing himself silly with food and beer.
I'm already hating the last guy who's going to be leaving the parade, we are expected to work till 1 am tomorrow, that's fucking nuts. But the invited guest are all generally older people, so I doubt they are the sort who will stay up till wee hours in the morning gossiping about Army happenings and their family. I just hope they will all fuck off before 9 pm, we get debriefed till 10 pm and be released right after because I will be wanting to go back home and taking a bath straight away after that. These past 2 days, simply being present in the briefing room with the horrible air circulation is already making me feel all sweaty and sticky, I can only imagine how horrible it's gonna be tomorrow, I will probably start breaking out.
When the briefing officer told us that we had to reach the airbase by 0630 in the morning, he was considerate enough to ask who lived in the West side, that we could probably discuss with the sergeant about meeting us there directly, I raised my hand straight away and he took notice of me and this other guy seated behind me.
After he left, the sergeant who was in charge of the group I was assigned to comes over and briefs us about what we will be doing and he goes....
"Alright, so you guys roughly know what will be happening tomorrow, so tomorrow all of us will meet here at 0630."
....and I was expecting him to address those who live in the west (such as myself) who would heading directly to the parade location where to meet and what time we had to arrive, but he didn't, and he went on talking about something else, of course I was not gonna assume he was going to talk about it later, so I interrupted him and asked him what about those we were going to head to the location directly. He stops, thinks to himself for a while and goes...
"I think we all meet here at 0630 instead, it's a lot easier because you guys won't be able to just go in by yourselves, you will be denied entry."
Ummm... Fuck No~ that's not a valid reason to have me wake up at 0500 in the morning or maybe even earlier and have to either cab there for $20 or trouble my Mum to drive me to the airbase before the break of dawn. So I suggested....
"Can we just meet at the bus stop outside the parade location so you can pick us up instead?"
I didn't think that sounded like a ridiculous suggestion because suggesting for us west side people to meet at the airbase at 0630 in the morning, only to have them drive us right back to where we came from is even more ridiculous. The whole time I was the only one who was trying to convince the sergeant to let us (the west side people) head to the location directly, this other guy who also lived in the west for some reason just couldn't be fucked. Every time the sergeant denied my request, he just turns his head to his neighbor and gives a look of displeasure and that was it, I mean say something to back me up as well, why are you not saying something to make both our lives easier?
I think had I not raised my hand when the briefing office asked who lived in the west side, he would have probably just kept his hands down and reported to the airbase at 0630 like everyone else who lived in the east.
The sergeant didn't really fancy the idea of us heading to the location directly on our own and he suggested we could stay in tonight, that they will provide a bunk for us to sleep in, I was naturally really unhappy about it because it's such a fucking stupid and lazy as fuck idea, I mean how hard is it for you to just stop the bus at the bus stop for less than 5 minutes, pick us up and head into the camp together, just an extra 5 minutes compared to having us stay in camp for a whole night, so for the next 5 minutes as he was talking, my face had this expression of shock mixed with a little bit of disgust...
I was looking at the other guy and I really don't know what was going on in his head he didn't seem to give 2 fucks about it. Guess that's what happens when you have a car to drive you around. But come'on, even if I could drive, I wouldn't want to drive to the airbase only to have to drive back to the west again, that's wasting time, petrol and extra sleep.
The sergeant finally comes back to his senses after he finished talking, probably realizing how ridiculous it is to have us travel from the West to the East only to head to the West again, literally from one end of Singapore to the other and than back to the other, slightly further end again, and maybe also because of my scowl, decided to give in and allow us to head to the location directly.
After he briefed us, the lieutenant who is in my group along with the other ICT sergeant comes up to me and tells me they will be meeting up with me and the other guy at a control station near the parade location first before making our way over together, which was great because I really don't want to meet up alone with the other guy, would've been awkward.
After that briefing, we broke for lunch and by 12.30, we were released. I took the bus, train, bus combo home today, decided to give no fuck when I boarded the bus and just sat my way to the control station, where I gave some fuck and only sat for maybe 6 to 7 stops during the train ride before finally giving my seat up to this old man who definitely looked like he needed it.
At the 4th to 5th stop I was already feeling a bit self-conscious because the train was starting to get really pack and there I was tugged in the corner in my No.4 uniform looking at my iPhone, but all those who were entering the train were able-bodied looking individual who didn't look like they needed the seat desperately, I mean it would look weird if I gave my seat up to some beefy 20 year old dude because he looked like he needed the seat more than I did, because I am wearing my army uniform, a uniform that makes all the seats I take up become a reserved seating for anyone not wearing an army uniform. Wearing my army uniform and taking the public transport makes me feel obligated to be an extra nice Singaporean, and it's really quite tiresome.
So I was actually quite thankful that the old man came in, because he was a very valid reason for me to give my seat up, the old man was really nice when I stood up and directed him to the empty seat and even thanked me for the seat, a few stops later this other guy (who was not in an army uniform) who was seated across me also gives his seat up to this old lady who entered and she didn't even acknowledge or thank the young man for giving up his seat for her, she just plop herself down and continued talking on the phone without a care in the world. What a self entitled old bitch, I fucking hate people like her, sure the seat is reserved for older people like you, but IT'S NOT YOUR SEAT, you didn't pay for it, at least show some fucking gratitude by smiling when someone actually gives their seat up for you. The only contribution you made to society that granted you the right to occupy the reserve seating without having to get judged by the commuters was by simply growing old.
Anyway, when the old man reached his stopped, he actually thanked me again and gestured me to seat down, as if he was returning the seat to me, I smiled back at him but of course never went back down to seat because it just made me feel uncomfortable to be seated in my No.4 uniform and for that, I would like to Thank all you ungrateful Singaporeans who like to stomp soldiers like us for being humans who actually feel tired and need a seat every once in a while like the rest of the human race, just for $50.
After I got off the train, I went to the bus stop, boarded the bus and really couldn't be bothered to stand for another 20 minutes after having to stand in the train for the past half an hour, so I just sat my way through till I got home, the bus was also relatively empty so I didn't feel pressured to have to stand the entire time.
Total travel time was 2 hours, managed to reach home at around 2.30pm. If I was wearing my civilian attire, I would probably have dropped off at Bugis to buy a cup of bubble tea and fried chicken cutlet before going home.
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