On my big day of beckoning in 1982, I nervously reported to Central Manpower Base. My parents and brothers were there to see me off.

My stint in the army made me respect a machine which we called a typewriter. Make a silly mistake while typing five copies of a document and you will need to bring out your trusty eraser. Rub, rub, rub... and re-type again. Make another mistake at that spot again. Then, rub, rub, rub... and this time you get a hole there.

Ahh... thank goodness we were not in the ISO 9000 thing or something like that then.

I became something of a touch typist during my National Service. I even managed to obtained a Certificate of Proficiency for my typing skills. The then instructor, Sgt. Mary (probably a Warrant Officer by now), proudly told us that this piece of paper would qualify us as a certified typist. And we could look for jobs as typists in all government departments. Wow! I was impressed!

Where could someone go for their National Service?

• The Singapore Police Force
  
  My real respect to these ladies and gentlemen who make Singapore the safest place to live in!
  
  
• The Singapore Civil Defence Force
  
  You know, at one time when I was very young, I wanted to become a fireman. Well, so much for a school boy's fantasy.
  
  
• The Singapore Armed Forces
  
  That's where I grew up, didn't I?