Reservist Interim

Dear Diary,

Just came back earlier from a visit to the new Changi Airport Terminal 3. I must say that it looked awesome although the retail alleys could be broader. The viewing gallery is no longer right at the windows of the building but separated by a chasm. I love the sunlight-reflected roofs that give an awesome feel to the lightings of the entire terminal. The place was surprisingly crowded. I had to kinda limp a little because of bad muscular strains along my hamstrings (somewhere near the biceps femoris region). I also suffer a bad contusion just below my left knee. It hurt a lot when I knelt during prayers and the receiving of the Holy Communion at the altar earlier. I guess I was a little unfortunate to be part of a platoon to be selected for a critical military assessment. The other medics scot-free! Unfair, unfair…. Haha…

I will have to book into military camp tonight again and can expect more aching muscles because of further assessments for the whole of next week. Sigh… oh well, I am already looking forward to the week after next. Hope to meet up with a couple of friends for movies and meals! Yay! The army wasn’t all too bad actually. They gave us tonnes of pretty good food and I realised that my tummy is actually getting bigger! Hmm… of course, I also treated some genuine casualties of which one involves a sergeant who fell in a bunch of lalangs (long grasses) and knocked his chin against his rifle. It was a massive gash and I did a pressure dressing for him. Subsequently, sent him off to the medical officer for suturing. Military training is getting tougher and more dangerous as we grow older. I could certainly feel that when I rushed to dig my shellscrape (which is basically a huge rectangular hole where a soldier can prone in it for concealment and cover, probably a width about 1.25 times of my shoulders, a depth of 1.5 times of the thickness of my chest and a length of my height) within the stipulated 45 minutes. I had an aching back after that.

However, there is joy in the interactions with old buddies. =) Then again, there were also some debates. Ironically, theological topics. Maybe Man is born polemic in nature. Frankly, I was just compelled to defend infant baptism, church tradition, ecumenical councils, apostolic succession and prima scriptura against a Baptist “assault”. Sometimes I really wonder if I border “Anglo-Catholicism” these days. Nonetheless, I now view more favourably the history of the Church and the traditions that sprung out of it. No matter what the Anglicans are taught in Singapore, we must know that our history is rooted in apostolic succession, prima scriptura, catholicity and ecumenical. Need to brush up on Christian apology. Okay, it’s a guy thing that we somehow always like sparring, hahaha… After a good debate, we still remain good friends! ;-)

Got a new year card from a long-lost pen-pal yesterday. I think I wrote to her many letters during my college and army days… not exactly sure actually. I replied her through email, hee… Then again, I am so glad that God used me in those pen-pal days to bring her to Christianity with a pen. Like Saint Paul, yeah? Hahaha… I never met her before. According to our own shared “tradition”, we ever sat on tables just beside each other in the KFC restaurant in Ngee Ann City on one afternoon during my university days unknowingly. Apparently (I don’t know how we got to that topic), we actually realised we sat at the exact location on the same date and time! We remain anonymous to each other though… pen pals forever, haha…

As for my dear resurrected computer… I thank God for it. My dad did nothing to my laptop but when I switched it on yesterday, it worked! Somehow the internal battery that was supposed to be “dead” came alive! A small miracle to remind me that the past is something to be cherished and not forgotten! =) My colleague told me that the customers at my former pharmacy branch miss me… haha… nice nice! You know, I never really got away from work completely. I still get phone calls to advise and deal with rostering issues. My Baptist army friend was suggesting the teaching profession. Suddenly, even radical occupations like teaching Biology in college may just be an option for the future. I just pray that I make a decision that God intends me to. All the best and talk to you next weekend!

God Bless,

Andrew