I got a big fat U grade for blood test today.
National service checkup went fine, it was much shorter then expected. The actual health checks were rather diversified, ranging from audio tests to chest x-ray. It spanned for around 2 hour plus in addition to the extra 2 hour computer test where they spam one with tests and about hundreds of IQ questions where you are supposed to complete in a time limit. Some totally retarded, some quite some fun. In addition, a small percentage would more of personality type questions and the last one was actually a survey.
First up was involuntary picture taking.
Now, some people told me that you can't go for the checkup with long hair. My hair isn't exceptionally long, (I've seen longer today, trust me) because you can't really take a photo which would be placed on the NS IC (or for the sole reason that you are going to take a picture). However, i was pleasantly surprised that the staff were armed with an arsenal of combs and water sprays which was able to tame my slightly longer hair and managed to make it look REALLY short and neat. Now, that was something I can't even achieve at home. (even if I wanted to). Impressed. In my fit of so called " amusement", I ticked highly satisfied in the entire survey form. o_o
The actual medical checkup was quite a pain. First station they asked us to urine on this piece of litmus paper look-alike. And then I seriously thought it was for some complex tests, but it turned out they asked us to throw it in the bin once we're done. This is my first urine test I've done on a litmus paper, and I certainly had to force my pee to come out by drinking a surfeit of water from the strategically placed water cooler. Along with the urine test, there was my most feared station, the blood test. Now, I would say I am pretty nonchalent towards all other forms of injections but I currently live with a horrible traumatic experience of having a needle impaled in my arm. Somewhere in my adolescence, I believe. I was afraid of needles since then, and till now, though I have become accustomed to ordinary injections, I still find myself unable to cross the hurdle and overcome the psychological fears of a blood test. probably because the thought of drawing blood from my own arm sickens me.
I turned pale. I thought " crap ". The old man attending to me was really kind and friendly and he was wearing a smile which was fortunately, not sadistic in any manner. He looked and me and as he slapped my forearm for my vein he realized I was partially trembling and I had problems clenching my fist. I was disabled. My heart beat was irregular, crescendo, crescendo, till the level where I could hear the pulse of it distinctively. It was rapid. I started to feel a warm sensation engulfing me, and then I felt giddy. I almost fainted.
I suppose these people who work there quite permanently would have harvested a decent amount of experience to tell between a "needle nonchalent" and a "needle phobic". person. Obviously, I was the latter. He politely told me never mind and brought me to an elevated bed platform where I was told to lie down and calm myself. I talked to myself, I told myself how useless I was. However, fearing needles is not something to really feel guilty about, after all, it's inevitable AND inherent. I don't think there's anything sissy about getting pale as you are about to be poked.
He came about ten minutes later when my heart beat became regular. He told me to lie down as he rubbed alcohol on my vein. I braced myself. I couldn't see him draw his sword (the needle). but I know it's going to be swift.I was impressed when he started talking to me, asking about my family, brothers, school, as he quietly injected it into me. I felt it, it wasn't pain. But after all I wasn't afraid of the pain but rather the thought and sight of it. I didn't shiver. Not at all. And before I knew it I was over and done with Station One.
And again, I was totally impressed by how friendly and amiable. And how they manage to coax a needle phobic into a painless experience. Again, in my fit of excitement (that station one is finally over), I ticked Highly Satisfied in the survey form.
Nothing else was really significant though some were interesting. Chest X-rays felt uncomfortable. Leaning your chest against a plastic machine that felt cold and unfriendly doesn't really seem too much like a good experience. There weren't private part inspection (which I was expecting). Audio tests were funny. There was this room where you played a game with the examiner. He played sounds from the right and left and you raise your hand accordingly. It really felt spastic, but I enjoyed that quick 10-20 seconds. The dentist was amazed at the amount of food particles between my braces. He was muttering weird dentistry lingo though.
I didn't like Station 6 where the whole room was filled with half naked males. There was a weird test which they plugged stuff onto your limbs and placed stuff on your chest (sorry, I fail to find the correct words to express this station). It was this ECP thing (I forgot the abbreviation, so forgive me) and it certainly felt quite spectacular cause they printed this entire page of minute graphs which looked soooo impressive. I wonder what were they measuring for anyway!
Finally I was led into a room where they asked to see your private parts. It was just a brief split second thing so I'm assuming they're confirming your gender. (which was ROFL!). Then they asked for medical history and then finally I realized they were going to give the verdict. End up, I got Pes A combat fit, which I guess was expected since I do not really have much medical problems, history or whatsoever. I don't even know what to expect. is this good? and why do I hear that so many people want to downgrade.
The whole thing ended swiftly. The entire medical checkup spanned 1 hour at most but what followed was a torturing computer test which was probably supposed to induce insanity in one. It was probably your "farewell gift". There were a myriad of questions. Or rather, sets of questions, each set came in boxes of 30-40 questions (but could be lesser on some weirder ones), and a time limit is set to about 15 minutes for each set. They had arithmetic problems, and a majority was PRIMARY SCHOOL math questions. They had rough paper and no calculator was allowed.
Though the pen-and-paper way to calculate stuff can be considered as effortless, it required an uphill effort for my right arm which was rather numb from the blood test. There was some evident pain as I wrote whenever I tried to scribble above a certain speed. I detested writing but I figured mental sums is going to be way too taxing for the entire 2 hour insanity test.
The tests were hilarious. There was a short term memory test where they asked you to memorize up to ten digits which was flashed in less than a second and recall it after a short interval of 2-3 seconds. The harder levels were tough. I hated visualization questions where imaging how stuff rotates was the foundation of the questions. I probably misread the instructions and guessed all 20 questions. Some were about reflexes, they flash numbers and see how fast you can spam them on your keyboard. There were English questions which test your relationship of definitions, which I probably got full marks for. The algebra questions was good and it makes me wonder if I am ever going to be enlisted into a bunk with people who doesn't know how to do such simple stuff at 18 years of age.
Some were plain stupid, while a majority were an insult to my intelligence. I'm sure the rest would agree with me, though there were some difficult questions, but I guess ultimately it doesn't matter. I don't even know what's the entire 2 hour test for. Is it going to have a big impact on us?
I left the place, feeling very fatigued. Now that I'm at home. I feel unmotivated to do anything.
Everything is temporal after all, isn't it. A few temporary moments make a bigger temporary moment and as time tends towards infinity do we still get a temporal moment?
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