Private Ng's Inaugural Address to the Nation

Dearest people,

It is my utmost honour to announce this day the most jocund news of yours truly's demise from the ranks of officerhood-to-be. I cite verbatim from the authorities the following reasons offered

1) Cadet Ng was too lame to be an officer. He broke his shin.
2) Cadet Ng couldn't quite kick it. He broke his shin.
3) Cadet Ng seemed to want to learn driving more than becoming an officer, so we let him. Also, he broke his shin.
4) Cadet Ng sometimes uses words too aureate for our plebeian ears. We cannot tolerate such hifalutin behaviour. Besides, he broke his shin.
5) We have other plans for Cadet Ng, now that he has broken his shin.

I must say, it was truly bittersweet in a rotten sort of way. Like the taste of cheap chocolate the kind of which you don't know if the sourness is part of the palate or if it came from mold. There're obvious perks, of course. I can now...

1) Learn driving.
2) Learn a new language, or rather, learn an old new language since I put Arabic on hold after going through basics before *shudder* army assimilation.
3) Have time to annoy the heck out of these people claiming to be my friends, who lamented the lack of time to catch up when I was stuck in camp 6 days a week.
4) Start on an ACCA.
5) Study for the SATs, if only because I have learnt I am disallowed from writing in English for an Americanish exam.
5) Learn how not to write in point form.

I don't relish the congratulatory tones I've been receiving these days. Sure pride comes from within, not on the shoulders, but there's nothing to be proud of in prematurely culminating any endeavour that one sets on. Sure there're the perks of free time and opportunities to leave hell more often, but those were the exact rights we forsook already on Day One, when priorities were set.

I think there've been some confusion between happiness and enjoyment. It is possible to be unhappy in an enjoyable situation.