How I got into OCS...

Below is the email i send a couple of close budds on my recent posting...

Dear guys

This email is to let you guys know what has happened really and how I managed to get into OCS...

Actually, to tell the truth, I haven got a real idea also... I was pretty much a slacker and real bum when I was in the island. I had actually adopted the mentality to serve without doing the more then required by the 5th week on the island... as Nicholas can testify, I was slacking most of the time doing stuff such as visiting the MO and getting status tag! but for the sake of 'face' i think getting into sixpec and becoming a sarge is the minimum standard... hmm... well, when I am not slacking I can be garang at times too!

Being a sarge is actually not what I have in mind too... it is to answer to peer presure and maintain the family honour... as you can see my bro is a 2nd Sarge, so cannot lose to him by too much... well, partially because Nich is a sarge also... i cannot lose to him and throw face in front of the boys mah... hahaha....

On the fateful day when the e-posting results was revealed, I was going to JB with my family... That is also the reason why when Nicholas called in the evening and asked me where I go, I actually told him that I was going to JB (Hahahahaa!~) before that, I was actually keeping my fingers crossed that I will be going to SPF! I reckoned that being a Sarge on the home team is better then being a sarge in the organisation! I even began to harbour the glimmer of hope of going to SCDF... screw it man... I was ready to be a fire-fighter at this point...

my friend was the one who checked for me... I was in a car bounding towards JB when my friend called and told me that I was going into SIXPEC... well, I wasn't that elated with the posting but I wasn't that disappointed either since it meant that I could enjoy the fruits of my labour after another 2-3 months of training... well, with 7 people from my section going to SIXPEC, it meant that I will be meeting my friends there... all is not lost at this juncture...

I went on to shop in Giant hyper-mart... I was in the midst of buying groceries (dun ask me why, I was being a filial son to my parents...) with my hands full of soya bean milk pack when this Sgt called my dad on his handphone and asked to speak to me... Dad was shocked and thought that I will be charged or be sent to the slammer or something for leaving the country... my HP for some unknown reason is unable to auto roam and i couldn't detect any available network...so i switched it off...

An excerpt of our conversation goes like this:

Sgt: This is Sgt X calling. I would like to speak to private Tanxy.
Me: arh?! yes? (shocked)
Sgt: You are private Tanxy ?
Me: yes?!
Sgt: your IC number is S******** ?
Me: yah ?!
Sgt: you checked your e-posting already?
Me: err... yes. It says that I am going to SIXPEC. report monday 0830 at pasir ris interchange with all standard issued equipment.
Sgt: your posting has been revoked.
Me: *stunned* huh....
Sgt: you shall report to OCS instead. Congratulations private tan!
Me: *splutter* thank you sgt!

( For the next thirty seconds or so, I just stood there staring at my dad's HP on my right hand and holding on to the soya-bean carton on my left. Shoppers might think that I am a promoter promoting handphone or something... )

The first thought that raced into my mind is that there must be some kind of mistake or something... Me? OCS ? some kind of kok-up maybe... I then held on to my dad's hp for the next 15 min or so as the sgt might just call back and tell me that he got the wrong guy...

He didn't call....


so I waited...


and waited...


and waited...


until logical sense told me that I am really going to OCS... I was flabbergasted and utterly shocked at the turn of events...

my brother was suan-ing me at this point by calling me names and my parents were like so proud that their son got into OCS... my uncle who was with us immediately got into his lengthy lecture about the days when he was the NCO of some now defunct army camp...

And that was how i got into OCS... I still can't believe it now...

oh yes, I will be confined for 3 weeks in OCS... i will be back in october... celebrating my birthday there as well... drats... drop me a SMS if there is anything important... I doubt my HP can last though....

Yours
Jonny


Wish me luck in OCS man!~