TODAY, i would have spent exactly 2 years doing national service. sometimes i wonder how i've been able to last that long, despite being manic-depressive prone and hearing bad news all the time. there's seldom good news but there were a few this week- we had our acct training.. no more breakfalls and pretending to stab each other with a dagger- i'm off till next friday and then there's a cny break and then atec and then it's time to pack up- i passed soc on the day the window closes- i got a "prize" for getting full marks in a tsr test but escaped the CO parade, during which i would be expected to scream "sir!" when my name is called and march up to the podium..
i think it boils down to how you adjust to the army life. i know some people no matter what will do their best given the circumstances. some people are forced to perform because they've been arrowed to. i'm so not one of them but i don't think i coasted along also. i just tried to learn the good things from other people and bitch about the bad things. i'm lucky that the people i'm with are genuinely funny and share mostly the same interests. being specialists we have an advantage in that we can bitch about both the men and senior specs and the officers since we work with them rather closely. there are people like waiyong who was in the same section with me for 10 m0nths and is one of the guys who make me go 'i'm in such deep shit but at least i have so and so in the same shit'.
but enough reminiscing.
especially when i still have 2 more major outfield exercises to get through, with lotsa smuggled canned food and bread no less.

xy, if it makes you any happier i shall not talk about movies.
in fact i really suffer from media overload. jefferson calls me a "magazine person". why else would i plough my way through wallpaper, res, idn, us weekly, the star, rollingstone, entertainment weekly, etc everytime i reach the rag stand. how else would i know that marissa is going to have a same-sex love interest, or that gael garcia bernal is working on a movie with michel gondry, or that W has spectacular pictures of julia roberts.

now more importantly, who wants to catch shirley horn in concert? it's 19 march sat at the esplanade. it should make up for my missing dee dee bridgewater in 2003 so i really must go watch.