Thomas goes into the army...nice.

So i can't be bothered to back track...but i guess i should at some point (no doubt that point will come and i will have forgotten what i did and when i did it, but life goes on)
So Thomas, my lovely Taiwanese boyfriend of well about 6 years if not longer..i can't remember, has joined the army....
Ok crazy thing to do right. well he had little choice if he wanted to stay in Taiwan. He has British passport and previously had in ARC (a visa to work here) Then the law changed and it was taken away as he has not done his Military service yet...as he's Taiwanese and male he has to do it for a year, which was previously 2 years so i should be grateful really.
Anyway he's away for a month of basic Training..and from what i can tell it's a like being in jail...lots of pointless rules and you don't get the chance to challenge them as they can punish you...nice.
This may be ok if your young and need to learn how to grow up and be a responsible adult and listen to people that are wiser and older than you... However Tom is there, he is over 30 (but thinks he's not) and has a PhD. the people who are telling him what to do and when to do it are a: younger than him, and B: far less educated than him. This can't be easy and is thus taking a toll. He tells me the two and a bit weeks in to the month and he got to fire a gun. This was the highlight of the whole dam thing. Everything else is pointless and boring (him learning to shoot a gun is pretty pointless too, as in the lab we don't normally have to shoot plants to kill them. However it was fun...so he tell me..i'd be scared i think that someone else with gun in their hands who may only be 18 and mentally unstable might just point that gun at me...not sure i'd be too stoked about firing riffles...
He tells me that he has to wear a face mask 24 hrs a day..yep when he is asleep under a mosquito net he has to wear a mask, and they come and check during the night, not just him i might add but all of them. Its mental. they say its to prevent germs...what ever! He got really sick the first week he was there with a throat infection and had to have 3 iv drips...he got to lie down for them..but was made to do other pointless physical work while he was "off sick" thus he didn't get to rest and thus had the illness for a long time. Every tiny brake that they gave him he had to go to the medics office to get medication ect... They did sign him off of work, but that just means that he doesn't go outside...instead he painted ceilings and attended lecturers about trench warfare...nice.
So he gets a week off on the 3rd of July, which is great can't wait. i just hope that its better than the weekend he just had off last weekend... It was not really off...he had to report to his officer every 3 hours (well at specific times) using a code word to make sure that it him (SERIOUSLY!) and had to be at his parents house by 10 pm every night. If he missed it or was late then they can take things away from him or punish him in some dumb arse way.
I was anti the whole making people go into the army thing but now i really hate it as i think its just such a waste of time. Toms not going to benefit from this, his time could be better spent...with me!!!
yes i am selfish and wish that he was home with us, i miss him and can't wait to see him in a week or so.
He finds out where he will be posted for the year on the 1July, he may get a uni place 75% chance of that, and that would be in Taipei...however if not then he could be posted to a little island in the middle of nowhere where he'll be for 3 months then off for a month...I don't like this idea at all, and pray he be in Taipei..but i guess it's up to God and what plans he has for Tom. So i try not to worry about that just yet.
Sarah seems to understand that tom isn't around and there is no point to ask if we can see him today (which is her normal question of the day). she also doesn't want to watch anything that had army stuff in it now as it upsets her. She told me on the way home the other day that she going to be in the ermy (ie army), so she can see tom. Cute. but fortune has it that here its only the men that have to join...plus she's about 16 years too young!
I'll try and post a photo of Tom's new crew cut...Sarah didn't want to touch his hair when he came home, she was on his shoulders with her hands behind her back, bless her.