What with MERS, being stuck inside and having to wander around with a funny haircut when we do get out, I've noticed that the shiny is definitely wearing off. Today I can say: One hundred days done, five hundred and forty left to serve.

Boot camp passed so quickly, I thought the rest would be over before I knew it too. Now I'm slowly coming to realise that it's not gonna be that fast. Even with new things to learn and unfamiliar things to do, there will be times when this will drag. For all of us here. And ways to cope with the drag are as individual as every guy here.

The more senior guys count from leave to leave even when we're allowed to see friends or go out at weekends. They're telling me it's not the same as being away from it completely.

Now I'm gonna find out whether they're right.

First leave to celebrate the first hundred days.

I'm determined to celebrate in style. And worry about the remained five hundred and forty days when I get back.