yeah baby. i get a $200 clothing allowance! and since the sum total of my clothing needs is a pair of long johns...woot! more money! and they even let you claim taxi fare to the airport when you leave and return. amd i'll get $21 / day in overseas allowance. pay me pay me pay me rsaf! you go girl!

on the crap side, its now likely we'll be quarantined for 10 days prior to leaving. major bummer. and we'll be quarantined for 10 days upon arriving there, too, so that's at least one weekend burnt. they had better give us compensation! ( <--- to be said in an utterly shameless manner )

today, for the first time in 5 weeks or so, i did some aerobic exercise ( making the distinction here because i went to the gym a few times. i am extremely proud of my discipline. { also to be said shamelessly } ). and i was horrified to find out that my 2.4 timing is now an entire minute slower than when i last did it in bmt. aaargh! and i need to take ippt on the 14th!

went to draw my flying gear as well today. its somewhat disconcerting to realise that everything - flying suit, socks, boots and gloves - is made of fire-retardant material. ( undoubtedly how they justify the $200+ price tag of a flight suit - which is really just a glorified overall. good thing we don't have to pay for the things... ) cheerful thought. also drew a smelly jacket which i shall liberally douse with cologne or something when i summon up the courage to bring it home - i'm sure dry-cleaning won't remove the smell. also included in my gear is a flick knife. quite lethal, except for the fact that its bright orange. c'mon, you could at least camo it? jeez. bright orange. or maybe they expect enemies to keel over laughing at the sight of it.