Sovereignty

What is sovereignty? Sometimes we use the term too often without stopping to think what it actually means. It refers to (quoting Ernest F. Row's How States Are Governed), supremacy. Such that the Sovereign is defined as "whatever authority is absolutely supreme in the State, so that from it there can be no appeal to any higher authority and no power anywhere to override its decisions."

So, God being our Sovereign, he cannot be questioned. He is above all things. Sometimes we think we can try and wriggle out of things but we cannot. But admittedly, it takes time to recognise this sovereignty, especially when circumstances of nature most foul assail us from all directions.

Currently I have problems which threaten personal freedoms and liberties. These basic, fundamental human rights seem to have departed me. I have no choice in the matter whatsoever. I cannot do anything to change anything. I cannot use diplomacy, lobby points, or any other tool of scaled-down foreign policy to get me in a favourable situation which gets me flying next year without other distractions. But perhaps being too good and reliable in UGs in Sec 1 to Sec 4 has proven to be my Achilles' heel, that I appear to be indispensible to the unit. It is not so. I have to go through all that and do nothing else and become a Cadet Subedar (I shall use this term Subedar instead of Lieutenant, its more secure and somehow appropriate. Go check yourself.) on paper, all for award points. It seems a rather unworthy cause, but I have no choice and this is my fate as for now.

Perhaps this is the fated trial for me to surrender all, and depend solely on God, who works for the good of those who love Him.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

-Henry F. Lyte

Clearing Everything

Well, today was quite interesting...now that the 2000-word History essay and CL presentation is done (all in 4h 10min), I'll have to clear the assignments and the stuff for D-Pillar retreat.

1 mile run tomorrow, 1.25 mile run on Thursday, then 1.5 mile run on Saturday, then 1.75 mile run on Sunday. Yeah, I'm crazy. What's new?

Preparation for Handover

I have yet to get out of one my CCAs, but today has been my worst day yet. Not because I did anything wrong, but because I realise they will have a very rough road ahead of them.

Well, I'm leaving in a few weeks so my main priority will be to instruct the new commitee on how to survive the next year.


Haizzz...

Why They Overcame

Well, B3 for CL 'O's seems rather dismal when you consider all the effort I put in since my B4 last year. I was expecting A1 or A2, but well, what can I do now? Honestly, it was rather disappointing at first, especially when I heard that some people, by some miracle, jumped to A1 from B4 last year.

The thought of retaking the exam (it would be my 3rd attempt if I did) raced through my mind. I had two choices, risk my other subjects or recover my lost pride.

Why lost pride? I always was the best of the best for Chinese. Topping class was relatively easy for me. If it was not top, it would be second or third place. No less, unless it was O-levels or some exams.

But now, I'm just like any other guy, considering that 14 from our class got B3. Perhaps this is God's way of putting down my pride. It may hurt, but he is the Sovereign, and I now don't really feel too arrogant about Chinese now (I wasn't that arrogant, but it was one of my claims to fame which I touted about er...more often than I should have).

For practical reasons, and because I don't have to worry about status so much now, now that I have none, I'm not retaking it.

It just reminds me of the reason how the Londoners overcame the Blitz.

They kept calm, and they carried on.

Preparations for War

So, Revision should of a high priority on my routine, in preparation for the fated days in October.

Chem test on Wednesday, Organic and Environmental Chem being tested. Nothing too difficult to handle.

British casualties in the 'Stan mount above 200, just heard that 3 Fusiliers were killed. God bless their souls, may they Rest In Peace.

Oh, why do I care for these poor brave souls, I live in a country where the biggest concern for any man is the size of his wallet...

Back tae th' battle.

Gahh, stressed now. I hae tae resort tae listenin' tae piobaireachd music tae calm me doon.

School choir performance tomorrow. Let's hope nothing bad happens.

National Day 2009

Well, its been another year. This year, the parade wasn't so bad. It was actually quite good. The music was better, the jokes were better...

Yesterday's BBQ was OK, just that everyone got the food while I was watching the parade segment, so I ended up, well, starving. The 4km run was quite good also.

Gah, I need to go back to mugging my guts off.

Der Tag der Ehre

I've had the title of the post put in a prominent place on my student diary (school-issued, won't say where as usual.)

Receiving the Sword really marks the culmination of all the years of blood and sweat in uniformed groups.(there were no tears. I've never cried in years. :D)

(Haha, the above statement just rhymed without me realising it.)

Ah well, enough basking in glory. Time to finish up all the coursework.

Will be attending the BBQ next week, as well as that run to CCK and back to 57. I forsee an interesting day. I shall partake in my favourite hobby of going through the NDP and spotting screwups. Probably part of the serjeant major's perfectionist streak (yes, I spelt serjeant correctly, it's just more archaic but is sounds cooler.) Hope no-one gets demoted this time. (Really, it would hurt hard if it did. Imagine getting demoted because you forgot to say something. It would really make more sense to be demoted for some real flaw in leadership, but this is rather cruel. Ah well, what can I complain about. It's a fact of life all Parade Commanders have to accept when they take on this very public job.)