Life Update!

Hullo!
It's me, Irfan! My lack of posting has made this a very very very forsaken blog. The purpose of which, currently, is only for me to look back through my archives and relive those memories of my secondary school days and occasionally laugh out loud at myself. Well it was today that I sat down and thought, why not create new memories? So here I am now. I guess I will pen down (rather type out) the happenings that have occurred since the last time I posted in 2013.

Since so much stuff happened I guess I will be breaking this up into different portions. Why not start with the most prevailing chapter of my life now yeah?

National Service in the Police Force

Yeah! You read that right. I'm now a fully-fledged police officer! But first I will begin with my roots, although I will try to make this as brief as I can!

On 7th May 2013, my hair was unceremoniously shaved to the shortest it has ever been since my age was still a single digit. Got a portrait photo taken which will ultimately be pegged to me all the way until I ORD next year (2015) in March. On that fateful day, so many things were running through my mind. However none of those bothered me as I took my oath and was introduced to my new second home for the next 3-4 months. It was only that same night that it finally hit me. Most of the freedoms I had prior to enlistment were now gone. I can only see my house once a week, and was forced to kick the habit of whipping out my phone whenever I got bored. I could no longer commit to weekday gatherings and had to take and carry out orders again, which was something I had not done since I was 14! But in that low point in my life, I realised something very important. I was not alone on this boat named the S.S. National Service.

The squadmates that I have met and spent those 4 months are the people that I can confidently say have been through the same thing that I have. The same one for all, all for one punishments, the unforgettable moments that stayed with us up until the point we POP-ed. We understood the meaning of manning up to our own mistakes and facing the music for what we did wrong. Although we all had a common consensus that some punishments were uncalled for, we sucked it up and pulled through. The one punishment that will always stay with me was not what you would expect it to be. Long story short, it had nothing to do with pumping or any strenuous physical activity. It was a day where a single line cost me a thousand word essay to be done by the next morning.

Now I want whoever's reading this to understand, it is near impossible to write a thousand word essay on the basis of a single line. Like, "oh I shouldn't have drawn it and I'm sorry", would have sufficed to tell the entire story. But no, it had to be a thousand words. Of course, I got it done, under the light of my NS phone I wrote and wrote to the point where I was just trying to put words on that paper.

Anyway, that happened and a whole lot else happened which was all part of the NS experience. After those trying four months, the day my squadmates and I were looking forward to finally came. POP! That was definitely one of the biggest milestones in my life. As I marched proudly in my police uniform, I kept looking towards the audience looking for my parents. At the end of the POP OH!!, and a celebratory squad huddle, I scrambled to look for my parents. Then there they were, coming down the steps, also looking for me. When I made eye contact with my mum, I'm not ashamed to say that tears welled up in my eyes as she came running towards me and hugged me. I guess it was the spur of the moment that made me so emotional. That day made me feel the most free that I've ever felt in four months! I've made unforgettable, and sadly, forgettable friends throughout the course of my basic training. All in all, it was a great experience and I would happily live through that life again for a day if I had the chance.

Anyway that was my basic training. I was posted out as an "Assistant Trainer" in a place called Police KINS Training Camp. To be honest, I had no idea KINS existed until I was posted there. As the police van brought us into the camp, my jaw dropped. Not in awe, but at how unbelievably run-down the place was. Half of the buildings were boarded up, and there were even sections where vegetation had completely taken over, leaving crumbling cement structures behind. It was like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie. First impressions aside, I have to admit that after that first day in PKTC, things didn't get better at all. Soon, me and my new intake mates were equipped with the skills to become weapons and tactical trainers. Not long after, we were teaching full on lessons to KINS Troopers. I loved the aspect of teaching, which was why I was enthusiastic over the idea. My intake mates were not exactly on the same wavelength as me and we got off on the wrong foot.

They started to exclude me from stuff and kept making sarcastic remarks at how good I was. At first, I got me so riled up that it got to a point where I almost lashed out. But luckily, I pulled myself together and decided to ignore all that and just go about with my work. As the days went by, I guess everyone else saw that I was not the big shot know-it-all the painted me to be. The remarks got lesser and lesser and I got happier and happier. We've all also realized the value of teamwork and how petty skirmishes among ourselves would do no good for each other. Today, I can confidently say that the trainers at KINS are like a well-oiled machine, ready to do our job at a moments notice. Though we may grumble and even seem lazy at times, we do get the job done! I've still got a 7-8 more months to go in this camp, and by golly I am going to make every minute of it count. The friends I've made here are those that you want to keep for a lifetime. we've been through so much that we know each others' temperament and how best to work with each other. Basically, my NS life is at an all time high ^^

Hehe that's me on the left!

WOW. That was a lot of typing. BUT WAIT. There's more!

My Hobby Of Music-Making

As my description might tell you, I am a percussionist. Just a little background, I've been a percussionist ever since I was in Primary 2. My first instrument was a pair of maracas, which I shaked with all my might when I was younger (:

Being in the Police Force, or being incarcerated in Home Team Academy did not stop me from my MusArt Youth commitments on Saturdays. I regularly went for practices in preparation for various concerts. Most common remark was "Irfan you botak ahh!!!". I got used to that in the end though :P So yeap, I still managed to enjoy music making during my NS life. I played in a number of concerts which I am not able to name off the top of my head now. But let me tell you, being able to play in a band, is one of the best experiences next to having squadmates. Just like being in a squad, everyone in a band is together and working towards a common goal. Seeing everyone move together, breathe together and enjoy making music together on stage is an experience that is simply awesome. Performing and presenting a piece that we've all been working on for weeks to an audience, and to end it off with applause. Well that's just something that money can't buy :P

I've also made countless number of friends through music. Being part of the committee in MusArt Youth, I got to know many other like-minded individuals who have the same passion for music. I simply love how easily we all click when we're talking about band (:

I was also active with the Jurong Junior College Symphonic Band for quite awhile even after my graduation from the college. I met my juniors and "grand-juniors" and imparted to them whatever I knew to prepare them for SYF 2013 and the Danza Di Colorie Concert. And I just gotta say that those moments are etched in my mind and the memories will stay with me for a long time to come (:


My Education Life And Future

As an NSF, I've been bombarded with questions about what I'm gonna do upon my ORD. Well it's time to reveal, that I kinda, sorta flunked my A levels. Even though technically I didn't fail any of my subjects, my grades are never enough to make me pull through into the local universities. I've applied twice and rejected by all Unis twice. Of course, I will be trying again next year, with the addition of several other private universities in the mix. Yes I know anyone reading this will then ask me, "why didn't you retake A levels then since your grades weren't good?"

I have to be honest here. At the end of J1 after my promotional exams, I was having serious thoughts of dropping JC and going into a polytechnic. I barely scraped through promos, literally. After much thoughts, I decided to go ahead with it anyway and wing it. Well, it didn't pay off apparently and I am now stuck in the middle where I am neither here nor there. Didn't do bad enough to retain, and I didn't do well enough to get a spot.

However, throughout all that, I was convinced of one thing. My burning desire to be a teacher. This desire was spawned ever since I became a senior in my primary school band. I liked how my juniors looked to me for advice and how I saw them improve with my very own eyes. Even as a senior in the band during my secondary school and JC days, I revelled in seeing my juniors improve with my guidance. I loved how they slowly grew and matured before my very eyes.

I plan to do that for my future students. I want to make a difference in their lives and helped them succeed in life. And wow, being a role model for someone has always been a dream of mine. (:

Well that's mostly what I've been up to! There's still a few more things to say but I guess I can leave that bit for later.

Cheers!