Everything falls into place

The last couple of weeks had been really interesting. I celebrated my birthday early this week to great fanfare, promoted to 3rd sergeant, after having passed my IPPT for the second time, and the F1 Race!

Sometimes you get experience short periods in your life where everything just falls into place. Its like God or something was being generous with you during this period. For whatever reason it may be, i am really grateful. Like I said, it has been an interesting 2 weeks or so. 

So first things first, last weekend i attended the Games Convention Asia at Suntec City. It was a little bit of a letdown for me. I expected the event to be somewhat bigger in video games coverage. But nonetheless, it was still buzzing with people and events all over the floor. There were also exclusive demos of upcoming games like the much anticipated Guitar Hero World Tour and Mirrors Edge. There were many other exclusives on display, but im interested in these 2. It was really fun demoing the game and ill definitely get it when it hits stores right here in Singapore.

On that day when i attended the convention, my friends asked me out for dinner over at this really posh japanese restaurant, Tampopo, over at Central. The 8 of us took quite a while to get our seats (weekend duh?) but our patients pays off and much to our delight, the dishes that we ordered were really  good. I think it closely reminded me of my trip to Tokyo Japan on holiday early last year. The raw salmon with rice don was really good and fresh. Everything from the rice to the sashimi itself was top notch. It came to our suprise also that Edmund Chen was there too. It was interesting to bump into local celebrities now and then. 

So the weekend was over and i had to get back to camp to celebrate my birthday there. It was a complete disaster, but in a fairly good way. I knew that my mates were gonna do something nasty to me on that day itself, and i knew they were planning all along for the past day or so. But what caught be off guard was the sheer dedication and the great lengths they took to prepare it for me. So here’s what happenend. 

I happened work in the evening and i broke my fast right after. I went back to the office to settle some outstand issues and all my mates were there as well. Little did i know that when i came back to the office, they gave me this huge surprise! All the food, the cakes, the people who worked in the office were there as well! They bought me this really tasty Bengawan Solo cakes, fast food, and other finger food. I was thrilled. But that wasnt the end. 

Little did i know that they were so prepared to sabotage me till i was almost in tears! Suddenly they bound me to the chair with lots of masking tape, took all the creamcakes and food that i thought was for the feast, outside of the office. Me, bound from the chair, they carried me outside too. From there, all hell broke loose. They smeared the cake all over my face and poured soap water and cold water all over my body! I was literally helpless. I struggled my arms to break free from the masking tapes, but it was bound too tightly. I just gave up and let them do thier thing. It was a bittersweet birthday bash that i experience while i was in camp. Total surprise and shock. My 21st birthday, ended in such an unexpected turn. Ill never forgive them for what they did to me 😉

They even took photos of the entire thing. I swear i will never show such things in here. It was utter humiliation.  So friends out there, who wants to see it, its a no no. No matter how much you beg for it, i will never post the pictures.

Speaking about IPPT, i took it while i was fasting. That was a feat by itself, because i never expect to pass in the first place, but i did eventually. It was a pain. I literally ran like a mad man just to pass my 2.4km run. I was 3 seconds away from the failing grade. The ippt was a week before my birthday, and i was thrilled that i managed to pass. My name was submitted up so that i can be promoted to 3SG. And the day of the IPPT test was 2 days after officially serving 1 year in NS. What great timing. Like I said, the birthday, the GCA, the IPPT, just falls into place.

I had 1 more surprise in store for me during the last 2 weeks. Right after the dinner with my friends, i went back home. My parents were there and i bought an album, by Disturbed at HMV. I was kinda surprised regarding the perks offered to UOB Cardmembers when shopping at HMV. Apparently you can redeem your SMART$ points to buy your album. I bought mine for free, redeeming it fully over the cost of the album itself. I was kinda glad that i didnt have to pay a single cent for it. But the funny thing was i didnt know how much points i have left or how much was spent for the album. But i didnt care anyway. So long as i paid nothing for the album im completely fine. 

So i went back home and went back to my room to place all my wallets and stuff from my pockets to the table. And came back to living room. Suddenly out of no where, they were holding a white paper bag and greeting me Happy Birthday. It was an beautiful Skagen, Titanium Mesh watch that i always wanted the first time i laid eyes on it. In my mind i was like OMG OMG OMG is that for real!? You really bought me a $275 watch for my birthday!? I was completely speechless. I did not expect anything from my parents and demanded nothing from them, and yet they bought me the watch that i loved. The best birthday present EVER!

So there you have it, the most interesting 2 weeks that i had in a long time.