Last Updated on 2017-05-25 , 6:21 pm

To a typical male, there are a few life-changing events in his life: the day he got his first girlfriend, the day he got married, the day he got his first house, the day he got his first kid and the day he got his first grandchild. But to a male Singaporean or Singapore PR, add one more to the list: the day he got ORDed.

To those who don’t know, ORD is a verb to denote a Singaporean’s discharge from the two-year conscription (usually the army). So, what do we definitely do once we receive our pink / blue IC?

Dye hair
For two years, we have only one hairstyle and one colour: high slope and black. During weekends, we try our best to style it differently, but that bloody damn slope is still screaming “I’m in NS now!”. With a different colour, we become a different person. We tell the world that now, we only book into hotels and chalets, and not to camps.

ORD party
Together with a group of friends whom you have stayed, fought (literally, okay?) and makan for two years, you’ll have one last one whereby you have to scream aloud in The Chevrons (a club for army personnel): “ORD loh!” If you don’t believe we do this, just go to The Chevrons on a Saturday and count the number of “ORD loh!”. But don’t go there if you’ve 1 year 11 months left before you ORD.

Find a job
Whether you’re going to further your studies or work full-time after you ORD, you’ll still need a job after you receive your pink IC. For two years, you’ve spent so much time doing so many things; to tell you that you need not do anything for a week is going to be a culture shock. You might just go to a toy store, buy a toy rifle and start cleaning it.

Throw all NS-related things in the storeroom or under your bed
Let me tell you how it feels: you stuff everything into that big bag given to you on the day of enlistment, leaving only two sets of uniform in your cupboard. Then you place that “alibaba” bag somewhere that you won’t see.

It’s almost like breaking off from a bad relationship: you feel and yearn for that freedom, but somehow, you know that it has not completely ended. Because reservist beckons sooner that you expect. Did anyone mention mob manning?

Post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and whatever social networking sites you use
You need to tell the world about this for two main reasons: 1. People can start to ask you out more often because you’re just so free 2. Laugh at those who are envious of you

Start exercising again
Because, well, three months before we ORD, we tend to enter a phase called “ORD mood” whereby we don’t care much about anything in the camp. We spend more time counting down to the ORD date than training. And so, we balloon from 70 kg to 90 kg, and now that we’ve got more time, it’s time to join a gym—only to realise things in the civilian world actually cost money.

Set post-ORD resolutions
Works much like new year’s resolutions, these resolutions are usually more achievable because we used to be restricted by our commitments to NS. A new life calls out to us. What we didn’t expect to find out is that the cost of living suddenly increases exponentially: a daily expense of $2 per day in camp explodes to $30 per day in Causeway Point.

Always bored during your commute to and fro work or school? Here’s the best solution: download our app for new articles, Facebook videos and YouTube videos that are updated daily…and most importantly, exclusive contents that are only available in our app! It’s your perfect companion for your daily commute!

Click Here to Download the App!

 

This article was first published on Goodyfeed.com