the past, part i

Before I left for my studies, I had a short stint in a unit largely responsible for the administration of our reserve forces. Work was pretty mundane actually. My workplace was in a laid-back part of the island. Walking along the long driveway leading up to the hill where my office was, one could almost imagine himself in a back-to-the-40s time-warp. This is no exaggeration, for the blocks used to be hospitals in the Second World War. Some blocks had housed British and Australian POWs, one of whom painted the Changi Murals. In retrospect, life there wasn't bad. Regimentation, if any, was minimal. I had the luxury of getting to go home everyday, much like any other office worker. It was a position my conscripted peers would envy. I had to stay overnight to guard the front gate once in a while, but it wasn't frequent. The officer in command took a rather relaxed attitude towards disciplinary matters. I don't think anyone was really stressed over the rather tedious but mindless paperwork that is the staple in such an outfit. It was uncanny that we enjoyed these privileges because of a certain amount of discrimination from the headquarters. It was sometimes said that the unit was a backwater for people whom the headquarters didn't want. We were misfits in some ways or other. On my part, I couldn't see how I could be branded a "misfit" though. The upside to that was that we got housed in a place far away from the command of our headquarters, and we took liberties with rules.

My conscripted peers generally came from very different social and educational backgrounds from what I was used to in those past 19 years of my life. I was out of the comfort zone of my high school classmates who were mostly book-types. It was not a crowd with whom I could discuss my interests with, much less understand my aspirations at that time. When I said I was going to do physics, I got asked in response: "What? Physiotherapy?". Actually, the fact that I attended high school had set me apart from most of my peers, some of whom had dropped out in middle school. I was met with clueless looks when I tried to communicate my academic interests to my peers. I'm not sure if they felt slighted in any ways, or if I had put my foot in my mouth. It was a world I had never seen. In retrospect, that contrast was striking. I was perceived to be the extremely privileged amongst my peers --- something which I wasn't conscious of. There must have been jealousy and a certain disdain meant for me then.

My duties ranged from collecting mail, printing and folding letters, calling up servicemen to update their records, and on one occasion, visiting the "un-contactables" at their homes. It was an easy life that gave me free time to study undergraduate material in advance during working hours.

I didn't think I saw any value in my working there, at that time. To be honest, it was menial work. Even the boss admitted that when he had a chat with me one day. That must have been one of the reasons for my desire to get away. As things later turned out, I had the option of leaving for undergraduate studies in a subject I've always loved. It was clear to my bosses and peers what I should choose, given that the opportunity open to me was very hard to come by, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear the same opinion if I asked the people I knew then. It was all as clear as crystal, or so I thought.

(To be continued...)