I found myself a home

This might be abrupt to my AVID readers ( I know you're out there! All ... 2 of you ) but I had my Passing Out Parade for NCC today. Words alone cannot describe how I feel. Well, actually they can, but I just wanted to act emotional. Anyway, having watched others fling their berets into the sky for 3 years, it never occured to me that one day, me and my NCC brothers would be doing the same thing. I mean, after all we have been through, to simply step down is unbelievably ... surreal.

Well, I guess every great journey has to end one way or another. And what an amazing journey it has truly been. I was never really a touchy-feely kind of guy ( there is a reason people call me Rocky ) but I would just like to say ... from the very bottom of my heart ... that through my time in NCC, I finally understood what brotherhood and bromance really meant.

I mean, these guys, they're not just your simple friends, they're your "brothers from other mothers" as Xiu Ming would put it. And I'm proud to call them so. Inevitably, after countless of physical training sessions and drilling with these guys, you will form a great bond between one another. It's ingrained into your very being ever since the moment the entire platoon is forced to support one another as your PS forces you to pump on the rocky terrain under the bloody seething heat of the sun. But it was worth it. Heck, some of us even grew addicted to push-ups!

And we're ... we're like BOYS you know. We're smelly, immature, ridiculously crazy boys who spend thier time crooning (albeit terribly) to Adam Lambert or Lady Gaga. We wrestle one another, poke fun at one another's hair, whack one another for no apparent reason and list goes on. and I just love that about us.

For me, the definitive time for my batch was the Bintan trip. I thought that it really made us grow closer to one another. I still remember us leaping off the boat into the gleaming, transparent sea, or drinking hot milo after a riveting kayaking race in the background of the setting sun. Ah, those were truly the glory days.

In terms of us working as a team of specialist, I guess we really made our mark. Each of us had our strengths and flaws.

Ryan is the tough-as-nails Part B PS who always has ingenious ways to condition his particularly "unique" platoon.

Xiu Ming makes all our days brighter with his antics.

Chin is the ever-smiling and gleeful Part A PS.

Jerome's the annoying yet truly and undeniably passionate PDS Head.

and I know I will regret this ... but Tan Kuan Ting, to me, is and always will be one of the greatest CSMs I've known.

As a Discipline Head, did I truly make NCC a more disciplined unit? Truthfully, if you ask me, not really. But I always did try my best. I learnt to grow into my role as a disciplinarian, particularly with the the specialists. I wouldn't consider myself to be a particularly great Discipline Head, but I always perservered and overcame my fears and for that I'm proud of myself.


Somehow or rather, that all equates to GOLD UNIT. so NCC 2010 FTW !!!


And how can I forget the splinter group formed in NCC?! I may not say this much but the "Fanboys" remain dear to me as my best friends. If I wasn't in NCC, would I have known that another brilliant Indian Star Wars nerd was just lurking, waiting to be found? If didn't go for the Bintan trip, would I have known that Jerome knew all 7 forms of lightsaber combat? Hence, I thank destiny and fate for bringing these amazing individuals to me.

Best. Photo. Ever.

Yet, in the end, I'm still upset. I'm upset that I'll never croon to "Tonight's gonna be a good night" with my friends anymore. I'm upset over the fact that I won't get to watch people tap out one by one to Jerome's Figure Four leg lock. I'm upset that I won't get to see Xiu Ming shit his pants as he anticipates Damian jumping of the top of the cupboard. I'm upset over the fact that I'll probably never go to Macdonalds again, lugging a bulky bag and making fun of Omar's academic status along the way. Most importantly, I'm upset that NCC has made its exit.

Pang Sai Kia Kuan Ting summarised it the best when he said "I'm a smelly pervert" "I have mixed feeling about this". However, my days in NCC will go down as the definitive and best days of my ridiculous teenage life. So I just really wanted to say thank you to Kuan Ting, Deepak, Chin, Damian, Ryan, Jerome, Xiu Ming, Omar and all those who made this possible. Thank you for always being there for me, thank you for making my time in school so unbelievably fun and enjoyable and thanks for bringing light into my life. You guys are the best.

I loved it here, I loved it here, I found myself a home, a home, a home ... sweet ... home :)