Garfield

This entry will have to be a short one because I'm feeling rather sleepy due to the lack of sleep I get in the PA.

Basically everyday, I'd wake up around 5:30am - depending on what we gotta do for that day, I'd force myself up in the morning. For me, I need at least 9 hours to be wide awake for the day. If I get anything less than that, I am not functioning at 100%. And quite often, I'd find myself getting heavy eyes during the day and whenever I get the chance, I'd take an afternoon nap. Don't ask me why, but I just need my 9 hour beauty sleep. lol

Last week, I was finally given the opportunity to be a provost officer. After having been given the role of Head Provost, I think I really need to know what it's all about.

So quite frankly, provost officers are OCTs who are given red sashes and a stick about one and a half feet long which we comfortably slot under our armpits. Don't ask me why we do it, we just do. lol, I never question the powers of the stick. hehe Oh, and we would never dare to smell the stick either.

So yeah, we'd usually patrol the mess as all the trainees and regular squads come marching or jogging to the mess. Our duties are to basically make sure they do the right drills and have their attires on properly. Besides having to do flag raising and flag lowering each day at 7am and 7pm respectively, that's our duties as provost officers.

I find it a whole lotta fun because I know how to be a provost officer after watching the other OCTs do it while I was still a trainee. Unlike my other squad mates, who mainly come from the army, I have refined the qualities of a provost officer into something that I would like if I were a trainee. So I'd try to interact with the trainees; talk with them, motivate them, get them psyched about the mess food (which many of us find to be unbearable at times). I reckon this kinda positive interaction is great. Good for me and for the trainees because life in the PA can get really dull at times. So at least by doing this, I'm keeping them positive for their short three months of training.

Somehow or rather, one of my friend mentioned to me that he disagrees with my technique. He said that maybe I should be more strict and perhaps not as kind. I knew that by doing this, I would be putting myself on the line with the respect of my friends. Even though I may gain the respect of the trainees, I might not get the same response with my OCT friends because by being so friendly to the trainees, my friends are left being the 'mean ones' while I treat the trainees nicely. It's a risk, yes. But it's a risk I am going to take. I think this is the right thing to do, and even if I don't gain the respect of my friends, I think I should be humble enough to empathise with our understudies.

Also, I know that when I say this here, there is a possibility that some of my friends in the OCT might read it, but I will say what I have to say because everything I say, I say in honesty.

I realise that coming back to the PA, and upgrading into the OCT course, instructors would tend to treat me differently when compared with the rest of my squad. Seeing that most of my squad mates came from the army, they are practically new birds in the academy. But as for me, I have been there for a good 3 months, enough time to get to know some of the instructors. And also, on top of that, being the statue award winner, my name carries the pride of the Police Academy and because of that, a lot of the instructors and trainers would tend to treat me differently. In some ways, I would be given 'special treatment'.

And of course that's nice and all, but I feel that I am losing the respect of my friends. Because the instructors care for me in that way, my friends might feel that they are somewhat biased with me and I don't want that. I want to be treated the same as them, irregardless of where we came from. I am still part of the squad and should be treated equally. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy this luxury, but I just feel that I don't think I should be given a more advantageous field.

Oh well, maybe it's just me. Maybe my friends don't realise this, and I hope they don't treat my differently for it.

Anyway, I've gone on longer than I wanted and so I'll end here. Got to enjoy my last day of freedom tomorrow before I am trapped back in there lol. Hope to have more stories to tell in the weeks to come. For now, I'll leave it as that.