Preparation!

Firstly, a disclaimer: I do not feel I am prepared for NS AT ALL

Quite frankly, whatever I’m going to share with you here will sound much more than it actually is. That’s just a fact. Furthermore, I can be very sure that no one can say that they are 100% prepared for NS. No matter your physical fitness or mental fortitude, I’ll wager that they’ll be pushed to their limits. Heck, I’ve not even enlisted yet and I’m already spouting nonsense.

So, to prepare myself for the arduous journey ahead, I’ve been running 5k twice a week, lifting weights once a week and playing Ultimate Frisbee pickups thrice a week. Once again, in my honest opinion, far from enough in terms of training. On top of that, I’ve been eating mostly homecooked food, and avoiding fried stuff.

Stuff I’m bringing with me on my “vacation”

Preparing for NS includes packing all the essentials required for survival. This will include: 50 packs of instant noodles, a bottle of tequila and Fifty Shades of Grey.

I jest

I decided to make a trip down to the Beach Road Army Market to see if I needed anything outside of the blue list that was mailed to me by the SAF. Turns out, some of the shopkeepers suggested I purchased a few extra things that I might need, or receive too little of, from the items issued upon my enlistment. These include:

an extra set of Gutters (something used to keep your pants tucked underneath your socks)

Zip Lock bags of various sizes

Some black tape

Prickly Heat powder

a Zebra Marker

an extra army shirt and singlet

a pair of army issue white socks

All of these items costed just a little over $20 but TAKE NOTE! These items are what the shopkeepers recommend you purchase. I don’t know as of now if I will really put all these items to good use. I’ll edit this post again after a few weeks in the army to tell you guys if these items are worth the purchase.

These, along with everything else in the blue list, is packed into a compact foldable bag, labelled with my initials and I'm good to go!