3resilience

Well: first proper post on this blog. It still feels like a novel thing to me; usually when I'm writing in the journals, I'd do an entry every four or five days, and if we had major work to do I could go almost a month without writing anything. The thing you realise when you write with your hands is that lots of things are more important than recording the happenings of your daily life. When it takes an hour to write an entry, then you don't want to spare that time because it could be used on going out, or doing work, or sleeping. And so, as Joel puts it in his blog, when I'm not writing, then that means life is eventful.

And life has been eventful, because of all the post-ORD activities. On the day itself, went to KHwee's place for a stayover with other CHS people. It's amusing to see that despite having gone through the army experience and having left the teenage years behind, all our pranks and jokes still refuse to die off. There's a certain mode of living and communicating when you're with the guys. Whenever we're in a group it's so easy to revert back to that mode.

Then on Wednesday evening met up with Conan and Joel for some pre-Deepavali drinks at the old place, the Yard. And we talked of philosophy and, more importantly, the future, something that hadn't occured in a really long time. Life is starting to resume, and we are starting to look forward again, and it's an exhilarating feeling. It recaptures some of that excitement we had in our final JC year when we were all looking for a university to go to, and were all talking about the grand plans we had for life. Coming out of the army, it's like being reborn again, like you're being given a second chance to relive those days. In this way, too, it shows that army life was tangential to the normal continuum of our chosen paths of growth and learning.

Thursday went to my mum's friend's place for Deepavali lunch, and was reminded of my partiality towards Indian food. There's something quintessentially wholesome about a mound of rice and various curries being eaten off a leaf, something homely and fundamentally fulfilling. And then met Joel again to watch Lions for Lambs, the first movie that's come out about the Iraq war. It's a primer on the Iraq war and its issues, ranging from the usual argument on whether to bring the troops home, to wider political, philosophical, and even social points about how the war is conducted. There were some pretty incisive viewpoints raised; one particular one that stuck was the point that most of the grunts fighting on the frontline come from the segments of society most neglected by the government and the establishment, creating an ironic situation in which those most likely to defend the American way of life militarily are also those least likely to benefit from the American system economically or socially.

Yesterday met up with some of the guys from OCS. Honestly, I'd expected it to be rather awkward, because I haven't seen these dudes for close to eleven months, and so few actually do the kind of work that I did in the military. But to my surprise we managed to stay until 2am reliving anecdotes from our training days, and giving the army life a sound beating. The time spent in the military has really left its mark on everyone; that much is inevitable, I think, if you have to live through it for twenty-two months. What sets people apart is whether you manage to turn an unwanted situation into something meaningful and productive. And I think everyone has managed it in his own way; though it is rather obvious that depending on the kind of work you do, you have different priorities. Being in command on an operation definitely gives you a different perspective.

So it actually has been a week filled with fun and excitement, what with our ORDs. In fact, sometimes I think that there could be too much going on, because there hasn't been a day of the kind of complete relaxation that we dreamed about when in the army. But on a certain level I do realise that this is the way to go, a healthier way to live life. And anyway, now for the first time in four years, time is not an issue.

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Anyway, for your viewing pleasure:

1, 2, 3, 4 by Feist. Wiggy was the first one to show me this vid on one of our late-night trips home, but I didn't know the title. I happened to hear it on the radio again last night, and so managed to relocate this amazing one-take video. It's mind-boggling how the choreographers managed to pull it off.

And this is Raving Rabbids 2 for the Wii. Greg discovered this on GameSpot. Where do these guys get their ideas from...