What were his last thoughts during his final moments? What were his last wishes?
I have been asking myself these questions for the past few nights when I lie in bed. When I was first informed of his misadventure on Wednesday shortly after noon, my first reaction was "How could it be? What happened?". I was in total shock and disbelief. I just saw him online on Messenger the previous night. He just updated his Facebook profile the previous day. I looked through his photo albums of his travels on his blog a few days ago. A successful career beckons and a beautiful life lies ahead of him, and now this? I was really hoping this was all a bad joke or at least some misinformation.
My mind was in complete disarray as the truth started to sink in. I talked to another friend over the phone that evening and we shared our views. Dumbfounded, disturbed, shocked were the words we used to describe our feelings. If this is predestined, then it must be the worst planning ever done for a person's life. That night, memories of all the times we secondary schoolmates have shared as a group came flooding through my mind.
The outing to East Coast after our 'O' Levels. The overnight stay at his house prior to our BMT enlistment (I remembered we even went to the canal along Avenue 7 to watch the sunrise). The sumptuous supper outings at Kopi Thiam, Chomp Chomp and Changi Village. The furious DOTA sessions at the LAN gaming shop. The exhausting night cycling sessions. How about that insane midnight run at Punggol Park, and the infamous "no-name chair" incident at that Bedok South hawker centre? These are just a small portion of my memories of the time we shared with EJ. There are just too many.
EJ as a person always had that competitive edge and great mental strength in him. He always gave 110% in everything he did, and that is just so EJ. I am sure he was not made canoe captain and PS for nothing, as he always exuded the kind of charisma that could only be found in a great leader, a natural-born leader. Being in the same army unit as EJ, I could really observe the respect his men had for him. In NTU, when I had problems with my assignment, he had no qualms about sharing his ideas and helping me out. Despite all his achievements as a sportsman and as a scholar, he did not put on any airs and this is the EJ I have come to know and respect.
All these thoughts had been occupying my mind for the last few days as I anxiously waited for further updates. I received a few calls from secondary schoolmates who had not been in contact for a while, and they expressed their disbelief and shock as well. We shared our growing-up years after all, and I realised this bond that was forged during our formative years will never be broken even though each and everyone of us has embarked on his own path in life.
Sadness and sorrow at this point is inevitable because a great friend has been taken away from our lives. His passion for life has definitely touched us, and he will continue to live on in our memories, to motivate us as we move on with our lives and to encourage us to live life to the fullest just as he did.
Farewell, Eu Jin. May you find peace.
WG
Likewise, I cannot imagine what has happened to Eujin. Everything seems to be running so well for him and I cannot believe such tragic would befall him. And I felt that we have lost a great friend and a great friend who has touched us in many ways and another.
My memories of Eu Jin go back to our days in secondary school. Seating just next to me were TS and Eu Jin. Then, he was already much more muscular than us. I always got sucker punch by him for various jokes we played. I remember the jokes we made of all the teachers, the discussion of getting the porn albums across our school that entices everyone during recess, and how funny it was when he strode along with his new black Armani underwear when we changing after our PE lessons. Like HWG, I also remembered all our supper outings from Chomp Chomp to Changi Village, and our night cycling adventures. And how we always ganged up on Derrick and made fun for whatever he did.
Perhaps what was really memorable for us was staying overnight at his place before BMT. I remember the discussions we had when we were all falling asleep. The morning sunset we got to see when we walk along Avenue 7 was breathtaking and I can still remember vividly how we exclaim at the sight and how we were so encouraged about the future that lies ahead of us.
Eu Jin has always been someone who is very encouraging to me. Living just a level below him in our university hostel in the first year, I always find both TS and Eujin a good friend to have a talk with. There was always a joke between them and how each would try to tease on how much the other had finished their tutorials and notes. I also remember how we surprised him for his birthday, and how Debbie planned to have his friends to hide behind the closets and all to spring a surprise for him in his room. And I can remember the little cake fight we had after. It was really a wonderful memory.
It was really hard for me to accept that I have lost a great friend like him. Though I may not be of his closest friend, he has already touched me beyond as a great friend to have with all the memories along the way. For what he had achieved over the short amount of time, academically, career and life, they have always been something that we can admire and be motivated of.
I like to send my warmest condolences to Debbie, his family, and his friends.
“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.” – Leonardo da Vinci
Justin
Where to start? I will begin by saying that there was so much about you, Eu Jin, that I could have known and shared but never did.
METAL - Best Group for Sports Unlimited IX.
Thanks for the memories. You'll be dearly missed.
