FFI

Went to my reservist unit today for my FFI (Fit for Infantry) - IPPT phase I review. All servicemen >35 years old had to do this to make sure that you will not collapse and die after completing the 2.4 km run of the IPPT. This was the second part of the FFI. The first part was about a month ago. Oh... what a waste of time that was. After making all the way to the unit, all they did was take 2 tubes of blood for lab investigation. The appointment the unit gave me was 8 a.m. I had to wake up at 6 a.m. that day as the unit was very far from where I stay.... arrghh!! I think the medical centre should upgrade to using syringe for the vacutainer system. They are still using the conventional needle and syringe. Then after taking the blood, they pump into the vacutainers. Sigh... he took so much blood from me and the excees was thrown away... arrgghhh. What's more my vein was so prominent and yet he had some difficulty drawing blood. He had to 'fish' about before he was able to get a free flow. And all the while while he was 'fishing' I was staring at it. I got a blue-black that lasted for about a week.

Today's appointment was in the afternoon. As I reached Yishun MRT station quite early I decided to roam about a bit going to Northpoint and Golden Village Yishun 10. Even though Singapore is not a very big country, there are still places that I seldom go. Yishun is one such place. Unless I had reservist, its unlikely that I'll set foot on it. However, as I walked about I started to reminisce about my days when I was serving NS. I spent about 2 years of my life in Yishun area as my unit then was also near Yishun. Sometimes during our given night offs, me and a group of my army friends would go to Northpoint to eat or walk about. Otherwise, we would go to Golden Village Yishun 10 to catch a movie. Golden Village Yishun 10 was the first multi-screen cineplex in Singapore. However, as more and more cineplexes appeared, it is now no longer what it used to be. With dipping attendance rate some of its theatres were rented out. Nowadays, it is also screening Bollywood movies. Well, yes... as I was walking about I was thinking about the times I spent with them. After NS, I had lost contact of the majority of them... sigh.

Anyway, back to my FFI. For this time round, I had my blood pressure taken, BMI calculated, urinalysis and ECG done. Talk about urinalysis. I was expecting it as I saw the medic getting ready a dipstix. But, I didn't expect him to ask me to pee right over the dipstix. I was a bit surprised. I thought I would be given a urine bottle. Hey... I work in a lab and we use urine containers. It was a bit like cultural shock initially. But, as I think about it this is also a good way to save the environment. So, I managed to wet the dipstix with my urine, put the it inside the sleeve provided and handed it over to him. The final thing to do was to see the MO.

My result? I passed my FFI lor. Don't know what will happen if I fail it. No IPPT? Anyway, I was deemed cardiovascularly fit. But my chloresterol level is slightly high leh, including my LDL. How hah? My HDL is also high. Must watch my diet liao which I think is very difficult....sigh.