I was right on track in fulfilling my childhood ambition to be a doctor after entering 1 of the 3 triple-science classes in Secondary 3. I represented my class Seondary 3C in the inter-class chess competition which we came in 3rd. Only the top 2 classes had trophies! NO FAIR!!! My Biology and Form teacher made everyone participate in the Australian International Science Competition organised by the University of New South Wales. I took part in it for the 1st time and only time. Only 3 students got the High Distinction award and all were from my class. 2 of them were ASEAN scholars and the 3rd one is from Singapore and it is ME! lol. I entered Victoria Junior College after some appealings because of my poor Preliminary Examination results. However, I did well in the University of Cambridge GCE O level Examinations, scoring 7 As and 1 B3 to re-enter VJC based on my own merit.

I entered the triple-science faculty (the best faculty), in my relentless pursuit to fulfill my ambition as a doctor. After entering class 97S14, I took up Guitar Ensemble as my extra-curricular activities. Believe this or not, but most of the ensemble did not know how to play the guitar and we held 2 concerts in a 1.5-year span. Only a few actually played in the concerts, the rest were "ghost or phantom" guitarists. lol. You Get It? The second concert was held at the famous Jubilee Hall of Raffles Hotel. Imagine what sort of crappy music we were giving to those foolish audience! We even had the audacity to pose on stage after the concert despite not knowing how to play the guitars properly. lol. At the end of college year 1 Promotional Examinations, I took an aplitude test organised by the Prime Minister's Office and I got some fantastic results not expected of me! My academic performance was bad and just before the University of Cambridge GCE Advanced level Examinations, I had chicken pox and that greatly affected my preparation and morale. I did poorer than expected in the examinations, scoring only 2 As.

Just barely a week after completing my last "A" level examination papers, I was conscripted into the army Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) "Echo" company, platoon 20. My fellow church-member was my platoon sergeant and I had a relatively easier BMT, Thank God. I was posted to School of Military Medicine (SMM) platoon 2 after 3 months. Life was better and I started going for interviews for studying Dentistry and Law. I also took the "manual dexterity" test and the "Law Assessment" test. In the end, I got into Pharmacy which was my third choice. :( I got a shock to learn that I was posted to former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) best combat unit 1st Singapore Infantry Battalion (1 SIR) as a combat medic!

My stay in 1 SIR was tough mentally and physically. I was posted to a platoon where I was the only tertiary-educated soldier. Most of them were smokers, uncouth and had socially unacceptable mannerisms. However I soon got used to them and some were actually pretty nice guys! The physical trainings and outfield exercises were so frequent that it wore down my morale. I went to Thailand, Taiwan and Brunei in my stay in 1 SIR. Other than the location of the camp, there was nothing good about it. Time ticked away slowly and soon I was posted to Pasir Laba Camp's Army Training Evaluation Centre (PLC ATEC) for my last 6 months of military obligations. I went to Thailand twice in my 6-month stint there. It was a blessing in disguise to be posted there and I enjoyed my stay. May 28th, I was posted back to 1 SIR, in preparation to be released from military service. I am presently learning to drive and it is quite difficult. On Thursday 7 June 2001, I will be a civilian once again after becoming a military personnel for 2.5 years.