After my first translation job that my boss suddenly hooked me up with in the middle of a Mahjong session on a public holiday, I finally had the first hand experience of how hard it is to translate a 9 page long speech.

It was exceptionally difficult because I had to translate agencies, policies and tonnes of phrases localised to the English Language. I had a good laugh looking at what Google Translate had to offer during my 9 hour translating stint that lasted till 3am; my boss wanted it by 10am.

I thought of sneaking in a sentence about me getting rewarded with a day off, but I didn't had to. Looks like a fair trade to me.
 

So glad to be packing my field pack on Halloween where everyone is out there is getting themselves freaked out under the moonlight. Technically I wasn't really packing, just checking the things that I have safely chucked out of sight for a year remains there. Many thanks to my camp having a mobilisation; so that I have the opportunity to assure that these beloved items do not end up being whisked off to some other dimension or plane.

Each time I look at the duffel bag and field pack, it brings back fond memories. I still remember the auspicious day where I was dragging those heavy baggage up 4 storeys; it pretty much felt like death. It would have been so easy for me to lose my footing or balance and tumble down the stairway; I even wished for it to happen.

It did not, sadly.

In any case, Halloween's not my thing. 

Finally get to take a breather from the short yet hectic week.
Handling 3 papers simultaneously while still overseeing store work made me very edgy.
More work looms as I have to project my unit's expenditure for the next 6 months.
What joy.
Many thanks to others' overspending.

Let's just say I'm not in the best of moods because some people just have blatant disregard about the purpose of an self-initiated inspection.

Even if the report reflects poorly on your logistical processes and documentation, you should be glad that we offered our service to help you dig up all the mistakes. It serves as a reminder to save your own sorry ass before it perishes. (We haven't even scrutinised your spending yet! Maybe that ought to be in the scope of the next inspection.) Furthermore, this audit report is circulated internally and won't get to see the light because it is self-initiated. There is absolutely no point in "beautifying" the report. The mistakes have been committed and even if you may wish to clarify on them, if they're deemed not valid, you can just strike it off your mind. There's no need for me to strike off the observations until the whole report ceases to exist.

If you're think we're nitpicking, I can assure the audit team has closed one eye in many instances before the report drags out to be far too lengthy. If all you have to say is that we are too strict, then I'm afraid you haven't seen what strict is until you are queried by worse audit teams. Let's see what you can say to them them if you can't remedy the simplest of mistakes now. Maybe you should choose the harshness of the audit, like selecting a difficulty level in a game, won't you?

And some people just don't realise when they have to be equipped with some basic equipment for wartime, they need to have a set for their own. What, you're going to borrow someone's armour when people are shooting bullets at you? Who, in the right mind, will lend you theirs?

Trying to understand the rest of the human race gives me a migraine.

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I was not there; I did not die."

- Mary Elizabeth Frye

The beauty of this poem brings me to tears.

I confess that I may be sloppy in my logistics work at times, but who the hell in the right mind turns over the mattresses for the duty personnel twice in a year. I'm sorry honey, but this is not how taxpayers' money is spent. If you truly think about improving the welfare of your soldiers this way, please use your own money to pay for the mattresses.

Prudence does not exist in the dictionaries of many in the organisation, apparently.

The flu, which has plagued me for the past 4 days already, better bring something good.

Something like weight loss from all the constant sweating. One can only hope, right.