5th entry: A gift from my beloved

On Singapore's 46th anniversary of its independence, my beloved gave me a Samsung Galaxy S2 for a present.  Its not the first time he has given me an expensive birthday cum Christmas present - he bought a Panasonic Lumix digital camera with several functions that usually only a DSLR will have, and since then we have taken countless beautiful photos with it. My beloved wanted to give me an i-Phone 4, which I was reluctant to accept initially, but when we were at the phone shop today we were drawn by the National Day telco promotion and I succumbed to the smart-phone craze that has taken the world by storm of late. Soon I will have "joined the club"! What is more important to me than being a new and proud owner of a good phone, is that this is a gift from my sweetheart, and everytime I use the phone (as well as the camera), I make new and beautiful memories of our life together as One couple in the process. Of course, in time, the gadgets will eventually be replaced as they undergo wear and tear, but my love of, and my special relationship with, my beloved sweetheart will only grow deeper and mature.

*Darling, I love you... kiss kiss hugs hugs*

4th entry - Another In-camp Training

Its my 6th in-camp training.  My first was in 2005, then 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.  Everytime I attend the training I learn something new about this camp and get to know interesting people.

In 2005, I got to know Richard, Bernard and Chun Yong.  Richard is a father of 2 beautiful daughters and we were in the same cohort of NSmen for 4 sessions. He has since joined Chun Yong and Bernard in the Military Reserve, and he wrote in to volunteer extending his service with the SAF (he must be one of the rare few to do so) but he was unsuccessful. Chun Yong is a successful and aggressive broker, a father of 2 boys; we were only in the same cohort in 2005. Bernard is an easy-going foodie who got along really well with Chun Yong, Richard and myself; both of us are the only ones who are still single and also of the same age. He joined the military reserve earlier than Richard (2008 was his last in-camp).

I also met Ken, who was an ardent adventurer and trekker. He just returned from Spain, and has quit his comfortable job at DSO to pursue a career that he was more interested in. I wished I had his courage and his resolve...

In 2009, I met Yen Seng, a lifeguard. He was serving his active NS. The following year he was called back for ICT, and he is still a lifeguard. Although he was studying he deferred his studies to set up a pre-school with his fiancee in Jakarta. His motivation inspires me and I hope he succeeds! :)

This year, I got to know a training professor who enjoys research into politics in the region.

What I enjoy most about my NSmen experience is the opportunity to meet different people and widen my social circle. Sadly, it is difficult keeping in touch with all of them beyond the 2 weeks training.