Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Basic....
Marching in is the recruits from....
May I present to you from BMTC the Traaaaaaaaaaained Soldiers!

The recruits leaping in jubilee, thrusting their jockey caps into the air..
The parents gave an outpour of applause, beaming with pride at their conditioned boys...

Yes.. boys they were.. soldiers they've been trained to be..

As the section commanders received heartfelt gratitude from their outgoing recruits, there I just stood at the control room... eyeing will a tinge of jealousy.. then i remembered a recruit of mine.. one i brought out of db and into one of the companys. I left the room, scouted the ground for him.. there I found him.. my recruit..

"This is my recruit, there are many like him, but this one is mine"

Finally.. my last parade.. something that I once longed for... but somehow or rather.. i felt kinda lost. Didnt know whether to be happy or sad.. my joy was mixed with confusion.. perhaps there was a dash of grief.. Then i grabbed the mic from the emcee and stole his lines... finally.. i could do something i've always tasked someone else to do... oh wad joy seep into this heart oh mine..

I recall the parting words of my clerks... and specs.. so many of them... expressing their lost when i'm gone... explicit as it may be... it touched my heart in a gentle way.. perhaps.. it's heartwarming to see trained commanders and soldiers casting aside their man-ness to reveal their humane side for me.. Some stole hugs from me.. some tried to get last min favours.. some expressed their lost when i'm gone... Some, made me feel like staying a little longer.. Alas..

Tomorrow i'll be seeing my ang mo pc fren.. a superb guy i've worked with in tekong.. for his farewell dinner and then seeing him off on Fri... wow... how time flies eh? People going on to their next phase of life. Like me, I've got my next phase waiting behind that door.. guess I gotta take that step one day.. but suddenly i dont want it to be so soon...

Dear blog.. tell me.. life is bittersweet.. aint it?

Regards
Bob