Flashback mania

Since I left RH, I haven’t had much time online coz of NS and all, during which time I’ve actually wanted to chronicle some stuff, but didn’t have the time to do it. So I’m gonna bring all that back in a series of “flashbacks”, just to satisfy myself :) . I feel like some Indian cinema director now, talking about flashbacks and all…hahaha! So each time you see “Flashback” in the title of a post, do me a favor and imagine the black and white striped spiralling concentric image that used to so frequently symbolise flashback segments in Indian cinema decades ago ;) . Stay tuned for more flashbacks to come in between posts, as and when I can find the time to get online.

Man In Blue

Woah...I've been away quite awhile, and reading other folks' blogs has already taken up much of what little time I spend online these days :P

Well.....here I am...back as a NSF...without my pink IC...after 4 long years (which is pretty much why I spend so little time online). I was actually quite excited about getting back, since I presumed I'd be sent back to my former unit (and thats what the PNS dept guy told me as well). I was really looking forward to getting back to the action-packed life of an instructor. Sadly for me though, I got entangled in a tug-of-war for my services between my former unit and the recently formed centralized Manpower Branch at the Police Cantonment Complex (PCC). It was flattering at first to see the Head Training at PKTC and the Head Manpower at PNSD having a little email and sms-war which lasted about 3 days, on why I should be attached to their respective depts. But it didn’t take long for it to dawn upon me that the 2 Mandais (FYI, Mandai = Head, in tamil) were just each trying to pull me over to their side so that they could squeeze as much productivity out of me as possible since they each knew I had a good track record. In the end, Manpower Branch prevailed since I was already there in the same building at PCC. The Mandai is an Indian chap who is a former RI boy as well, and he seems to have taken a liking to me.

Unfortunately, working in an air-con office, with a personal cubicle, tip-top office surroundings, and a damn-close-to-town location, were just not the perks to lift my spirits. I need to move around, do different things, and have some action. Sitting all comfy in an office from 8.30am to 6pm everyday just ain’t my cup of tea. So, that’s how my return from disruption kicked off about 3 weeks ago. Depressing to a certain extent, but only because of the work nature and the surroundings, not so because of the people. The folks at PNSD have been great and very welcoming. The other officers have all been very nice to me and have done all they could to help me fit in. Frustrated to a large degree, I’ve ended up spending much of the past 3 weeks staring out the glass windows of the lofty glass cladded building from my 7th floor office like some jailbird yearning for freedom..hahaha….

After 4 long years in school, being surrounded by more paperwork was the last thing I had envisioned prior to my return. Nevertheless, I’m not making a show of my state of mind and have chosen to take up making things work out for me here as a challenge. What’s life without some challenges, eh? Hehehe…. I guess I’ll try to make good of the pros here. The lads here are good company and fun to work with; and though the working hours are long, there’s lots of room to accumulate off-days which I can claim later on. Town is just a few mins away. After 2 years of NS at SOC being the only Indian in Training Branch, I now have an Indian muslim chap in the next cubicle, Niyaz, who’s a good fellow and we get along real fine. And of coz there’s my Mandai, Vijayendiran, and the PNSF PO who is an Indian woman officer. So I get to chat in Tamil at work too, which was hardly the case at Training Branch in SOC. So, this is where Fuzz is gonna rot for the next 3 months for a change. Who knows, I just might end up enjoying life here by the time its over...or so I hope.

Signing off,
Jailbird Fuzz.