2011-04-13T21:00:00.000+08:00

Today's SMU interview was very long. Around 2 hours+.
When I first step in into the room, with another 5 guys, we were give a sheet of paper. On this sheet of paper are some qualities the School of Information System would like us to have. We have to give a specific example from our life which corresponds and best show these qualities. Next we had to write 3 questions targeting a specific area which cannot be answer from the website.
After this, we were given another sheet of paper. On the paper, they asked us to create a tourism website by sketching it on an A4 paper. They gave us some criteria which must be fulfilled when making the website as well as having to list the target audience as well as state how important information system will be for managing this website 15years from now. Furthermore, to add on to the difficulty, we are only given 15min to complete everything.
Some of us did not manage to complete it and did quite a sloppy work of it as we did not have enough time. We were then asked to present our ideas out to the entire class of 2 professors and 6 interviewers.
The first 2 guys who started the ball rolling set the bench mark pretty high. Hence, it was quite difficult and I was pretty nervous as I am not sure if I am able to perform as well as them. However, after these 2 guys (not to be mean) the rest of the people started bringing the bench mark lower as some did quite a hurried job on their sketch. Furthermore, some of them are unable to bring their ideas across and are not able to answer the professors well. Hence, when it reached my turn, I am not as nervous as I was initially. I believed I did reasonably well or so I hope. But since its over I shall not dwell upon it too much.
After this, we were given another task. Using logical assumptions and systematic plan, tell me how many words are there in a typical Straits Times newspaper on Monday. With so many assumptions to make as well as calculations to do within 4 minutes i did not manage to get a proper estimation and wasn't able to complete it. Hence, I believe i lost quite a few points for this part.
Then comes the Q&A session which was nothing much and finally we were dismissed after 2 hours+.
I believe that the interview was overall quite fun since we get to hear the opinions of each other and how others think. despite it being 2 hours the time past quite quickly. Also the format of the interview also change from what my cousin told me so it was quite a surprise to me.

As I planned to meet my army friends at 14:00 and it was 15:00 by the time the interview ended, I had to rush to Marina Square. There I found them chatting and playing monopoly deal. Typical I guess. Next we went play pool and then called it a day.

2011-04-12T00:09:00.004+08:00

Well, I guess I'll just restart my blog. It has been such a long time since i posted. Ok here goes. 2 months of BMT is finally over!!! To be honest, I thought it will be much tougher. However, it was really tough at points mostly psychologically.

First point about the psychological barrier is coming out of your shell as many put it. Stepping out of your comfort zone and being put under stress. You also have to start getting used to being ordered about, being shouted at as well as doing your own chores, being responsible for your own items. The worst part was during the field camp where we are forced to wear the same set of uniform for 3 consecutive days. It was very disgusting as you can feel all the sand particles as well as cold sweat and mud on your uniform as you changed into it. Furthermore, this caused most of us to get heat rash which made the field camp all the more torturous.

Secondly, it is due to my parents and grandparents being quite against me going into commando and I initially got influenced by them as well. Therefore, there was quite a lot of hesitations during my BMT course of whether I want to OOC(out of course) or not. It was not only the pressure given by my parents but also the fact that I accounted for my responsibility as the only child and other personal reasons. Therefore, I raised this issue to Staff EE and he told me he understands and arranged a meeting with Warrant Mathi. During the interview, Warrant Mathi asked me what was it that I really wanted if I was free from obligations-to stay on in the commando unit or to drop out and go to other units. I replied that personally I will like to continue with the course. After all i have pulled through the 2months of training with my mates and have formed close friendship with them. Therefore, I felt it will be a waste to just give up halfway and I knew it will be something I'll regret later on. However, if the family factor comes in I am not so sure about it. Therefore, I requested for time to talk over with my family about this during the weekend. Surprising my parents are supportive towards me staying on in commando after I explained my feelings. They accepted my reasoning and in exchange I must take care of myself properly. This is another moment where I realise how much my parents do care and support me.

However, there are also fun times during the BMT course. Some of the times comes from my bunk mates themselves. Being new to each other at first we did not chat as much but overtime we became more friendly with each other and jokes are being made. Most of them apparently appears to fall on me. However, most of the time I have fun with their jokes as well.

The training itself was also fun at times. Certain training that is. An example will be live firing where we went to another camp. It was there where I first shot a real riffle. Surprisingly it was quite easy to hit the targets as long as you do not make jerky actions. Also the recoil from the riffle was not as strong as expected in contrast with the sound it makes.

Grenade throwing is another fun part of the BMT course. The thrill and excitement of holding on to a live grenade and throwing it is extraordinary. I can feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest throughout the entire throwing of the grenade. Furthermore, it was not over after I threw the grenade. Due to a lucky dead grenade (or perhaps unlucky?) by another team I saw how a demo man set a C4 next to the grenade and how he ignite it. The explosion was really loud despite my earplugs being on and the ball or flame was big enough to engulf an entire car. It was really cool.

Swimming is another fun factor in BMT. Being a weak swimmer, I had to learn how to swim. However, it was quite relaxing and fun and i managed to succeed learning the strokes in the end. However, regrettably, I was not allowed to do the tower jump as I am still categorised under weak swimmer.

There are also a few memorable parts during the course of BMT. One of which is the riffle hanging over ceremony and the ceremony where we get our formation badge. It was really solemn and I remembered Warrant Mathi serious face as the forceful gesture he pushed the riffle into my hands and how tightly I had to grab it and pull it away. Another one will be of course the Passing Out Parade where we did our march, war cry and of course the throwing of our jockey cap signifying our BMT phase has finally came to an end.

There are of course not so memorable incidents as well such as being punished by the instructors as well as the thunderbolt operation. There is also a bunk mate where I never did get along well with.

All in all, during my BMT course, I believe I have become more matured and appreciative towards my parents and all the things they do for us which most of us normally overlook. I have also come to treasure my family even more then ever. Furthermore, I have come to realised that there is much more potential in me and that it is just the psychological barrier that stops me from achieving it. After all, I managed to run below 10min for 2.4km which is the first time I ever did it believing it was not possible for me. As the OC saying goes, tough times never last but tough man do.

optimism is the key