It came and then it went.

The day is the 17th of october 2006. Today was not only the day of my ORD medical checkup,it also marks the birthday of my cousin alvin who turns 20 this very day as well as most importantly,it marks the the very last shift that i will be performing during my NS stint in the police force as come the 18th of october,i will commence my ORD leave clearing right up till the official day that i ORD,the 11th of november 2006. Well,the day commenced a little slower than normal. I had the priveledge of waking up later,40minutes to be exact as i only had to report in time for my medical checkup at 8.45am instead of the usual 7.30am which i normally reported for morning shift. As such,by the time i arrived at NPC,everyone was already out on their rounds. After changing into my uniform,i then made my way to Tanglin HQ where we were subsequently loaded up into minivans and transported to the old police academy for our medical checkup.When i was there,i met lots of my old friends,friends i got to know both during my first 3 mths of in-camp training as well as during the subsequent 3 mths of NPCO course training. We took the chance to do some catching up,to comment about how time flew,to joke about some of the interesting things that happened during the period of time since we passed out from camp. Most importantly,we were discussing about when each of us were going to commence clearing our ORD leaves. One by one,we gave dates pertaining to our last day at work and when it was my turn and i mentioned that this very day was the last day for me,there were some "oOoooOs" and "AAaaaAhhs" as some of them exclaimed that i was so lucky as they still had a couple more shifts to go. Yes,i was lucky as compared to those who would commence their ORD leave clearing later than me but the truth was,there were already a handful who were already on leave for several days. Now it was my turn to be envious of them and at that moment i commented about how wished that the medical examination would take longer so that by the time i returned back to my NPC to commence my shift,half the day would have been gone. That drew laughter from some of the people around me. In the end,contrary to what i had hoped for,i returned to my NPC with more than 2/3 of the shift to go. But that didn't really bother me actually,i was just focused on doing my job right,of going through the day smoothly and witnessing a well deserved closure to my "NPCO" life. Things went along rather smoothly and by the end of the day,i had driven about 100km as i shuffled between my patrol sector and other places,attending various messages which both me and my partner were despatched to. Then came the time for debriefing after a hard day at work. It was the time which earlier in the morning i was looking forward to,the time when i would return my weapons and equipment for the last time during my NS stint. However,something was amiss. I was not feeling the sort of happiness which i had pictured myself to be feeling. I was not overjoyed at being able to bid my NS life farewell,of saying goodbye to the people and things that have made up a significant part of my life for the past 1 yr plus. Instead,deep within me,i felt sad,sad that it was time to part,sad that it was time to leave this phase of my life behind. Looking back,i had really grown alot in the force,from a complete idiot in terms of police work to an officer who is now more proficient in his patrol duties. But one thing is for sure,i would not be where i am today if it wasn't for my team mates who over time i have come to regard as friends as well as family members in this second home of mine. They were the ones who had imparted the relevant knowhow to me,the ones whom i had weathered thick and thin with,whom i had i had joked and laugh with and most importantly,whom i had come to respect with time. My heartfelt thanks really go out to each and every one of them no matter how big or small a part they had played in this journey of mine. All i can say is that as i near the end of my NS road and begin to set foot upon a new path in life,i will definately be missing them,missing the times we all spent together. but one thing is for sure,i will try to come back in future to visit them,as long as they are still around in the NPC,and for as long as they can remember me. Many thanks to all Toa Payoh NPC team "charlie" personnel. I am gonna miss alot of things about my life in the police force,but most importantly,i am gonna miss you guys.