.NSman.

..there weren't any big "woohoo!" or "..for he's a jolly good fellow.." or "hip hip hooray.."..just the usual handshakes and "congrats." from strangers..and as the admin clerk took me through the procedueres..i half-listened as he pointed to the lines and asked me to read through and "..sign here..here..and here..". And when he finally took out the pink card from a small safe, along with a cert. of service..something jumped inside me..but not like an ecstatic feeling waiting to erupt, more like an anti-climax feeling..like i waited for 2 years for this moment and suddenly it was over..

wow. so now i'm a civillian. an nsMEN..no more nsF.

...then came the pats on the backs, the smiles from colleagues as i walked into my office to say bye..the usual "wah KNN u ord already?! n*bei.." and "oh sh*t dude! now ur a bloody civillian!.." and xihui n alex did their usual "aiyoh so sad..i still remember the first day u came..haha..u were still bald and u carried the big Arena bag.." the heartstrings were tugged..and the familliar faces were bittersweet for me..even sze failed to make me miserable one last time by tokking about my status n her life..and when i finally got out of the building and back into the car, leaving the place for one last time..i waved to the MP standing at the side of the road, his rifle slung on his neck as he looked aimlessly infront of him..i couldn't help but feel relieved..dat i finally didn't have to live under military rule (to a certain extent..) or serve under its law..but to say i couldn't bear to leave the place would be a lie..for i could..especially when my head was throbbing from the heat..and somethig in me just wanted to put as much distance from the place as i could and as quickly as possible..maybe it was really just e headache..or maybe it was me preparing so much for it the moment just didn't live up to my expectations..but wadeva it is..i went to collect my i/c..and my freedom.

..and i finally got it.

-PTE (NS) Lionel Lee