April in an entry

I realised that I've only been writing about my thoughts and reflections lately as opposed to actually documenting the recent goings-on in my life, though it's not like there's a lot going on at the moment anyway (finally, I'm no longer misquoting this '22' reference lol). Still, enough happened this April to warrant an entry!

To start off, I started taking driving lessons last Sunday under the guidance of a private instructor recommended to me through my aunt, and as much as I'm glad to have taken another step towards finally going behind the wheel, I believe that I'm also in for a (literally) bumpy journey. Recalling how I struggled rather terribly with the steep learning curve back when I was learning how to ride a Class 2B bike last year, I definitely have misgivings about my ability to drive well, but no matter – I believe I will still make it in the end, regardless of how unpleasant the experience gets. Even now, after having gone for just two lessons, I've already received quite a fair amount of criticism from my (unfortunately) Chinese-speaking instructor with regards to my ineptness and lack of coordination. But I guess I'll have no choice but to take all of that in my stride and try my best (hopefully he doesn't end up pushing the limits though... ha ha ha).

In other news, my company went to the range last Monday for the second year combat shoot, and it turned out surprisingly well. As usual, I expected myself to be the black sheep that brought my team's overall score down and took away any possibility of ever achieving marksmanship, but the results indicated otherwise. I was even shocked at myself for doing well enough in the individual shoot such that I could also hit the mark to become a marksman. I attribute this to the fact that this year's shoot was much less demanding compared to the utter mess which was last year's – some shooting positions were excluded, leaving behind the manageable ones. I won't admit that my shooting skills have improved though, because if anything, marksmanship is naturally repelled by me – I'm just lucky that it gave me a chance this time (whoop).

Last Wednesday night, the clique (somehow I really hate using this word, but it'd seem awkward if I substituted that with a list of names, idk) from cell group came all the way down to the Wild Wild West to meet me for dinner and a catch-up session. It's actually a follow-up to a rough plan to meet that Huiyen & I casually thought out while on our usual Saturday night bus ride home.

Initially we had trouble finding in a good place to eat, and eventually we  settled with Kungfu Paradise (all in the name of the Bedok Point memories Christon & I had, hahaha). Evidently, we had A LOT of food (as usual), and after a couple of laughs we headed to Westgate in search of a nice rooftop to chill... only to end up playing in the children's playground there instead.

(I find this photo really amusing for some reason, as if we would actually make it to the jacket of a K-Pop album if we tried a little harder)

Haha really thankful that they came down though, there's never a dull moment with these people. :)

Booked out of camp the following night for Good Friday, and reached home just in time for a nice meal with my parents at the zi char place opposite where we live after they were done with their usual evening jog. My mom ordered a little too much food, and my rather hostile reaction to that made me realise that I've been growing increasingly irritable towards her, and I really need to stop that (thankfully though, we ended up having an interesting conversation after dinner that night about the goings-on in her workplace). I'm guessing a reason for this change in attitude is that I've been spending too much time away from home to have a proper conversation with her. Either that, or we've been arguing more often lately because I tend to vent my frustrations on her, which, admittedly, is something I really shouldn't do. Yet as I'm typing all this out on my phone while sitting on my bed in camp, I'm suddenly finding myself missing her a lot. I just wish to be a better son, and I'm definitely still learning (I love you Ma, despite and in spite of everything that may try to drive wedges between us).

Moving on to more lighthearted affairs, I went for the Good Friday service before booking in to do guard duty the next day, and I have to say that I enjoyed the drama production quite a lot this time round! This year, they retold the resurrection of Jesus Christ from a retrospective viewpoint, i.e. they recalled the series of events backwards from Easter, so that's something refreshing and different. That evening was also none other than a timely reminder of the steadfast love that God has for us. Truly Christ is risen and given us new life, and for that I'm thankful. :)

So here I am, back in camp and tossing and turning around on my bed, once again waiting patiently for yet another week to end. Over the next few days, I'll try to post more when I can. There's still quite a lot that I want shared in this place, so I'd better buck up when it comes to cultivating that writing habit. Till then for now!