gollysmolly

First day there, the ACE leaders all got there and we helped to move the stuff to wherever in preparation for the boys boarding the buses to go to Kluang. Long story short, we made sure there was an efficient transfer of students and stuff alike from SJI to our campsite at Kluang. We also got cool shirts and a nice ACE hat which would distinguish us as ACE leaders… Quite cool, it’s black and it helps keep the sun out of your eyes (but it still heats your head up too fast)…

So anyway,  204 was quite manageable lah, but pretty noisy (I’m sure just like any other S2 class)… And not only that, but on the way to the Institute of Haiwan, we took a rest stop on the Malaysian side of the causeway AFTER we left the customs point dead last… Wow, what ingenuity =P when you’re dead last, enjoy the race?

So yeah, we were definitely last, cuz no other groups stopped for a rest, and then suay suay MUST get stuck on a bridge, cuz our bus was too late and had to pass by other buses coming away from the campsite (since they alr delivered their students safely)… So it was like tipping precariously as we crossed the small bridge when all of a sudden, the bus jerked and came to a dead stop. The tyres were moving, but the bus wasn’t, so after awhile, we were ordered off for safety reasons, while they tried to salvage our ride.

Well, we tried, but since that didn’t work out, we had to transfer all our stuff, including the life jackets underneath the bus to another one that turned around to get us (turned out to be one of the buses used by another class) and brought us all the way in to the campsite where we were so relieved to be there (nearly an hour late)… So relieved were we that we FORGOT to take the life jackets down! Costly mistake, don’t really know if it was rectified, but we SORTA got screwed for it…

So yeah, we pitched our tents, and helped them pitch theirs, and then we settled in and had our very first assembly… Already the instructors were chewing our heads off (what idiots) for not doing this, for doing that, for everything and anything… They could get on ANYBODY’s nerves… GRRR! They made the teachers look like angels… So after assembly and lunch, we had our first activity, and that’s where the real fun began…

Since I was in charge of orienteering (activity leader), I had to assist the teacher (Mr Alphonsus Gregory) in that particular activity, by basically helping with all the stuffs that we were using, and all the things needed to make it work. So it was a bit like the Amazing Race, and there would be a ACE leader or teacher at certain stations that were considered road blocks, and since my station was a test of a critical orienteering skill, it was made compulsory later on (the same went for Matthew Koh’s station)…

So yeah, Matthew Koh and I were activity leaders for Orienteering, and it was probably the most slack of all the activities (for us, that is)… So he took the bearing station (poor guy, everyone knew his answer before they went there) and I took the pacing station (how fun; walk here, walk there) and all we basically did for each activity is to stand there and wait for the groups to come and find us…

For me, I found an old chair nearby, so I used that and could sit under the shade… I also "borrowed" my father’s camera, so I took some pics of the camp, but I have no idea how to upload them =P when I find out how, I will, trust me =) lolz  And nearby, there was a Malay family (probably in the farming industry) with a small boy and two girls. So after their lunch, the boy was playing with the pony (which I also took a picture of), and he was always staring
at me for some reason or other… Quite freaky and since his siblings and himself were all conversing in Malay, I had no idea whether they were talking about me or not (most likely were) -_-"

So yeah, I was basically sitting there, just waiting for the groups to come and find me, then they would come and do the pacing thingummy, which is to walk from a pole to another pole far away (that had my waterbottle on it, so I was dehydrated) as maked by me. They then had to calculate the distance between the two poles, and then they could go… BUT, it seems as if the poor sec two boys had lost ALL their brains during the EOY exams! Everyone that came to my station had trouble doing simple calculations like 75/100… They couldn’t tell it was 3/4, until I told them! Poor, poor boys…

(The ACE Camp 2 boys just came back, and I still haven’t finished typi
ng this out, lolz)

Well, pretty much ALL the orienteering sessions were like that… Quite boring, I know, but
with each round, it got more efficient, and soon enough, we were experienced enough to run it smoothly without flaws or glitches (except for sabotage here and there)… Plus, there was the waterbombing at the end of each round, as a prize for the winning group (the group that got most points), that was always quite fun to watch… Boys in white T shirts getting wet! Ignore that last line…

Anyway, that evening (before five) it rained, as it did with all other evenings… *Sigh* how depressing, especially when its so muddy and disgusting, and you’re in a camp, with nowhere else to go or to run to… All of us stuck in our tents, with some stupid idiot shouting at us to switch off our torchlights and to shut up… What kinda camp is that?!!? Talking enhances friendship bonding, and how do you find anything in your bag without a torchlight?!?!

GAFAR. Remember his name forever, and hate it.

So the next few days were pretty boring, except for the usual tent-flooding and Gafar-hating, except that we didn’t have field cooking and campfire, so the camp in itself was quite uneventful… Until it came to the makeshift campfire in the longhouse, where I was doing my water duty (not really mine to do, but I did it anyway)…

But here was this boy (Aaron, as I later learned his name) who obviously had no clue what to do, and was probably dumbstruck as to the task he was just assigned. I mean, everyone has SOME stage fright or another, right?  So yeah, he couldn’t really find a suitable card trick to do, and after about fifteen minutes, I poked my head out to call Mr Soo in to make some sense of this sticky situation.

Sorry I have to go, but I promise a part two =P,

<GABZ>

Tonight was nothing much, except a nice dinner and some excellent company to go with =P

Anyway, so after choir this morning, I went for Youth Rockers with my Mum and it turned out to be an interesting session; one in which I could participate… But that’s not the point, cuz after that, we went shopping for a meeting that my Mum was having at my house, where she invited all her fellow Little Rockers to come and try to finish up the last few chapters of their bible study, but that was out of my league, since I alr did my job yesterday, running around like a madman fixing this, setting that up, not to mention entertain a p4 girl who was understandably extremely bored….

But all that was yesterday’s news, cuz she had fun, and I had fun, and we had fun together (what are you thinking of right now?!?!) with the dogs and Ning and all… So I wasn’t THAT bored, like I would’ve been if I was all alone at home, with nothing to do… Kinda like today, where I was playing Motherload and watching new episodes of House on YouTube…. Oh well, guess I couldn’t wait for my Mum to get the DVD…

So yeah, where were we? After that small tea party, it was time to cook up a storm for dinner… Rib-eye beef steak and two rack of lambs with all kinds of seasoning to go with, as well as mashed potatoes (which had to be replenished after one big bowl was gobbled down) and a simple salad… Pretty much enough to make anyone full up, especially if you top it all off with a glass or two of fine red wine =P

So that’s quite a mouthful (pardon the pun) to say about dinner, but I think I was quite elevated (or probably just mildly high lah) to a state where I was deliriously enjoying myself in the company of my wonderful family, who bought me a nice dinner just cuz I got lucky in my FYE =)

Yum yum yum,

So on Monday, I didn’t go to school… Ain’t my fault! My mommy told me not to go =P  so me, being a guai boy, didn’t go, and therefore, didn’t waste my time there =)  Instead, I stayed at home and caught up on my sleep -_-  muahaha

So on Tuesday, I went to Gift of Love home with Legion and all, had a nice time there, fun and all with all the sec ones and twos, good time suanning Melvin too =P  it’s becoming increasingly fun, dunno why… Maybe I should get my conscience checked or sth =P lolz…

So on Wednesday, nothing much happened, except I wanted to go out, but couldn’t drag myself to go, so I went to buy my stupid FBT shorts for NCC… Grr to them, and Grr to NCC… *SIGH* one more year in this CCA that I never wanted to join in the first place =(

So today, we got back our results, and this is just a rough guide, but yeah, this is pretty much it.

English     75%
Chinese    56%
Geog         70%
Lit             67%
Bio             66%
Physics   70%
Chem        76%
A Maths    86%
E Maths    95%

So yeah, that’s pretty much it… Go calculate whatever u want from these results or whatever you want to do with them lah… (Just don’t do voodoo can alr… =P)

Thanks a lot for believing in me, especially in all the times I was slacking off and not studying (which is probably most of the time)… And thanks to all those who helped me study, including NATZ, Belmond, Marcus, etc etc.

SEE YALL IN S4!
<GABZ>

One word: BORING!!!

That was how most of the participants described it… That’s probably cuz of the general mood set at the start of the camp, since all of them were bascially forced to come…

But for the facils, it was a whole different story…

Even Kenny Wong recognized it as an OT (Organizing Team) camp more than a participant camp… LOL, and we totally agree!

Basically, on the day of my last exam, I was supposed to help Ms Soh with some A maths stuff, and I could see the marks for half of the paper, and tell the whole level (if I remembered it), but I’m not likely to remember it, so don’t ask me =P

SO ANYWAY, after that, I went ALL BY MYSELF to SPS, where I was half an hour early, and basically the first one there… Cuz I thought I would be late, since I left only an hour before 2pm (the meeting time)… So, being me, I took a cab.

When everyone got there, we were basically preparing for the next day, so that was quite uneventful lah… Until that night, when Belmond, Lennon, Hwa Xiong, Mathias Lim and Jared Koh came home with me for a one night stay before going to SJI the next day…

So we swum for awhile, then they went up to watch TV, and Belmond, Lennon and I stayed in the pool for awhile longer to talk about weird topics (that u don’t wanna know about)… And slept quite little, cuz we got up at five (about two and a half hrs of sleep) to get ready to go to school…

At SJI, we were quite bored, cuz I didn’t join in any of the Icebreakers, and it was almost bascially a Josephian camp, cuz there were only like 7 Patrician participants; even the Patrician fcails outnumbered that….

SO ANYWAY, they had walk the talk while most of the Secretariat was ferried by car to SPS (in my case, a van in which we were playing cards at the back… LOL) so that we could settle ourselves in to welcome them…

Since Belmond and I were Makan King and Queen (I was the queen if u have to know), we had to take care of the food, and basically, the whole canteen was our responsibility…

So anyway, we prepared lunch, and there wasn’t much problems cuz it was prepacked food, (except that it kinda sucked), and ppl kept wanting to take more, cuz it wasn’t really enough for adolescent hungry teenage boys who just walked the talked….

And we will WALK THE TALK (clap clap)…

So that wasn’t too bad… After cleaning up, it was mostly slacking in the Sec (secreatariat) shop (try saying that out loud, fast) with Lennon and Kenny and all the other slackers in their… Who didn’t need to do anything else but play on the com and do something if a problem arose…

So when dinner came, we went out and found it was a buffet, with real catered stuff like those metal thingummies with fire underneath =P  as well as good food (or at least it LOOKED good, like lunch did) and so we tried a system where we dished out food for the group on a communal plate and gave it to them to distribute amongst themselves.  DIdn’t happen; the greedy ones took a lot, and left barely enough for the ones at the end of the feeding line….

So that was one of the major problems in dinner, and surprisingly enough, it caused enough stress for me and Belmond… Trust me, you don’t even wanna know how much =P  and therefore, this was a problem we had to resolve before tomorrow’s dinner. Thankfully, Belmond came up with a brilliant plan; to come up individually and scoop each dish on their plate, such that everyone gets around the same portion of food. This way, we could minimize selfishness and keep others from coming back for more….

So anyway, that night, we were really tired, and most fell asleep even before the facils meeting began… LOLZ, but other than that, the meeting was quite good in identifying such problems as the makan one, and suggestions to solve them (in this case, we already had some)… So that was okay, then after that, we went to bathe (in toilets with cubicles) and sleep in Parmenie (with air-con)…

Thank God for Parmenie =P

Anyway, we pretty much conked out that night, cuz all of us were quite tired, and some had to get up the next day at five to wake up their participants for the morning run (which most were excused from)… Luckily, the makan ppl were excused due to the arrival of breakfast, for which we needed to be present and fully ready for, not half dead like most of the rest….

So anyway, we served breakfast, and I doubt that it was enough for anyone, cuz it gave like three small pieces of food, like we were on a crash diet or something (that’s why Belmond and I shared a vegetarian meal later, which had six pieces, and a lot tastier)… And then they were off to different places for their service work, in tie with the value of Solidarity with the Poor.

That left us pretty much the whole school, and more importantly, the whole Sec shop to ourselves =)  and u can probably guess what we did (or maybe not)…. Basically, we played com for awhile and spent the rest of the time sleeping (or maybe that was just me =P)  cuz I was still a bit tired… Anyway, we served lunch, but all the groups came back at different times, so we gave them their food (and it wasn’t great as usual) and they went to sleep for awhile, waiting for the other groups to come back and for the afternoon sessions to start…

After we cleaned up, we went to slack even more (and were actually INSTRUCTED to go rest so that we could put up an energetic front for the participants) and I tried to sleep, but it was quite hard cuz of all the noise, but eventually we did… And I slept even more, so that I could have energy for that night (and the next day)…

So at dinner, our system worked, but there wasn’t enough for seconds though, just barely enough to feed everyone in the camp… At least everyone got to eat, but the poor participants were hungry =(  *sigh* i feel so bad for them, they pay for us, and they go hungry, and they’re the ones who have to do all the activites…

After dinner, we had Solidarity Lasalliana, which is basically a really nice reflection on the world around us, and ourselves…. So everyone attended, including LYNKsters and facils, and we had a nice reflection in the dim room, and after that it was the Affirmation Ceremony, but Belmond and I had to go prepare supper… So we left before the thingummy began, and we totally missed out on whatever happened lah =P

So nice right, Dieu Quang and Ian Chai wrote me an affirmation each… Of course I wrote back to them lah, but only after I received it cuz I was busy doing their supper =P  Thanks lots to them =)

Supper was quite quick; it was basically a bit of food (sth like breakfast) and some diluted Milo before bed, so after the usual routine was over and done with, we rushed to the facils room for the facils debriefing (that’s how long it takes to clear up) and had a good debrief before going up to Parmenie…

So anyway, we were stuck in the Sec shop for a while listening to captivating ghost stories, when we moved it up to Parmenie after we all had our baths and were ready for the night’s rest (cough cough cough)…  Crazy Lennon was too scared to bathe alone, so he hitched a ride with Kenny (nothing meant there…) in the same cubicle, and then after that, I had to bathe alone cuz Belmond snatched my cubicle…

So then after all the ghost stories (that freaked us out, but not a lot), there was some dance by Shao Ming filmed by Mat Han and supposedly posted on YouTube or sth like that, but anyway, after that, most of us went to sleep, cuz the lights were all off alr… Then there were the four of us sleeping really really close together cuz of all the ghost stories flying here and there, like four ppl in two mattresses or sth like that… LOLZ =P

So on the last day, Belmond and I woke up when the food arrived and he got a call, so I was a bit blurrer than him; I took time to find my specs and stuff and after I washed up, it was alr quite late, so when we went down for breakfast, it was alr there, and we had to start packing food and giving it out almost immediately… The groups were all taking their individual photos, and one by one they left for Heritage for their next session, leaving us to clean up.

After that, we were allowed to go rest before lunch while they had their whatever sessions, but no one could sleep, as we found out when we went up to Parmenie… Mostly, ppl were just like running all over the place, chasing each other (and it kinda started innocently) eventually leading to the tau pok of Alexstine and him being Char-Kway-Teowed…. LOLZ =P

Ooooh…. Char kway teow, oh char kway teow,
Roti prata, char kway teow.
Oh char kway teow, oh char kway teow,
Roti prata, char kway teow.
Teh tarik, teh tarik,
Roti prata, char kway teow.
Teh tarik, teh tarik,
Roti prata, char kway teow,

So the rest of that morning was just basically chasing all the facils down and having them Char-Kway-Teowed… Wow, they pretty much managed to get everyone (including Lennon, Kenny and other prominent ppl)… Poor innocent ppl like Eugene Lee and Dickson (SPS guy, dunno his surname) also kena, even tho they never do anything lor…

One pro guy; Mat Han… Never kena at all. Three attempts, three failed attempts. I am innocent though; no one would dare touch me, even Alexstine =)  So tell me, who’s more pro?

After that crazy session in Parmenie, we went down to Heritage for their last session before Lunch, and I was called out early by Belmond cuz lunch was there alr… So the same routine occured, now it was pretty much ritualized so much, but one thing was that it was the last meal we would be having as a camp. Never had I felt so much more relieved =P

‘Twas almost over.

The last session was called for almost too soon. It was time for their commissioning, and most of them wanted to go home. For me, I could live there a few more days =P…. But all good things come to and end, and this was it.

Commisioning and Farewell was beautiful; we celebrated and sang our hearts out, we laughed and smiled, but everyone knew it was the last time we would all be there together ever again. Then, when they left and all the cleaning up was done, the fun began.

We had a debrief session for the next camp, but I was busy piercing my lip with my school badge, so I couldn’t say much, if not I would’ve been more vocal than Amos =P  Oh well, let’s just hope they get me back for next year, then I’ll be as vocal as I want (provided I don’t come up with some other speech-impairing hobby)…

Anyway, it was time for dinner; pizzas and garlic bread with more bottles of soft drink than we could down.  Then it was time for dancing! Shaoming did his stuff again, now with a whole cast of background dancers, and there was even a nice surprise for Xian Yi, the bday boy! What a day for him to remember, the whole camp around him chanting Char-kway-teow to his torture as he received his Birthday Bash (quite literally)…

So anyway, it was finally time to go home, sadly enough… All the times we cherished were torn apart just like that =P  I know this blog post is pic-less, but for all the pics from the camp (maybe I might upload more soon) go here:
http://sg.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/beeto456/my_photos

Hope to see yall soon. and less of these extremely long blog posts!

Makan Queen,
<GABZ>

Now that exams are actually finally OVER!

(That’s not quite true, I still have Geog paper one tomorrow, but since when did I care about my FYEs, they’re all screwed anyway…. lol)

ANYWAY,

as i was saying before I interrupted myself…
 
I AM SUPER BORED!

not big enough?

I AM SUPER BORED!

Get the pic?

NO?!?!?

You must be illiterate…

Either that, or JUST PLAIN DUMB…

LLTC TOMORROW =P

Gonna have lots n lots n lotsa FUN FUN FUN FUN!!!

MUST rmb to bring camera…

I should go PACK now….


LAST PAPER TOMORROW!!!

Good luck to yall,
<GABZ>

PS  Like my NEW COLOURFUL blog?
 

It’s official.

FYE is screwed.

I didn’t mug,
I didn’t study,
I didn’t revise.

I am so dead.

BUT

It’s almost over.

Thank God.

Vacation,
Relaxation,
Celebration.

Here I come.

I’M SO FRIGGING DEAD FOR THIS FYE!!!

I totally screwed up, can’t study, can’t focus, can’t concentrate….. It’s just madness =P (IT’S ALL MADNESS)

Anyway, just a quick post before the FYEs are over and I get to go and celebrate at SPS with LLTC ‘b’ and all my friends, just a few thingummies here and there that are worth knowing =)

Momma’s Birthday
It was a Sunday, on Oct 1st, Children’s Day, and we sang nice childrenny songs that morning in church for mass, and after that I had $20 to spend at the church funfair…. muahaha all to myself some more… Actually (sorry to those at the stores) there was nothing much to buy, the food wasn’t great, and the games weren’t worth spending money on… Except maybe the tattoo thingy, which I got for $2 with nice shiny glitter….. ANYWAY, so yeah, nothing much except my cousin’s new crush being dunked at the dunking booth, and I saw Sarah again after a long time…. Hmmm, wonder what she’s back for =S  So anyway, I saw ppl like Ryan and Catherine, basically ppl whom I don’t see very often, and yeah, other nice ppl =P
That night, we went out for dinner at an expensive restaurant…. YUMMY =P  So we had goose liver and soup for appetizier….. EXTRA YUMMY =)  cuz the liver was soft and tender and tasty and SO GOOD!!! hahaha… Then the main course came and I ate to my heart’s content, though I would prefer something with more carbo in it…. Had some weird Beef Steak or something like that lah, not that tasty, although everyone said it was really good….. Needs more mashed potato =P
OH YEAH, I almost forgot to mention, the waitress came up to me and just poured one glass of wine for me without hesitation…. Do I really look legal? Nevermind, I was under parental supervision, so that’s fine…. And then we had an anticlimax of a dessert, and went back home for cake and prezzies, which my Mum enjoyed fully….. If I remember correctly, I got her a bear and a nice candle (with a holder) from the funfair…. LOLZ, cost about $10, but it was all from her money XP…. DIE, next year better start shopping early…. Oops, I have O levels next year (if I get promoted)…..

So anyway, a few days later, FYEs start, and here I am right in the middle of them…. Yesterday night, I went to the Esplanade to watch the internationally aclaimed Vienna Boys’ Choir, supposedly the best in the world…  The most fascinating thing about their really good performance is THEY DIDN’T USE MICROPHONES, and you can hear them crytal clear from about 100m away, including solo performances by <12 year olds….. Damn power lah, now I know why my Mum held them in such high regard, but truth be told, they’re still boys, even on stage (cuz in one fighting scene, two of them couldn’t stop fighting, and I don’t think that was in the script…) But yeah, that was fun, I went with my Mum and Kor,  in a small group of my choir ppl…. Then this morning have to sing, it was quite anticlimatic lah, cuz we can’t match up to them even in our best performance (cuz you need extra sensitive mikes just to hear us) and basically, they were great, so yeah….

Anyway, I prob should go back to mugging, but I’m bored with that, cuz I have better things to do (like sleep and blog and watch TV)….  I just can’t seem to study seriously, so I’m just banking on 100% pure angel power to help me thru the exams, and just get it OVER AND DONE WITH…..

I’m so screwed,

PS Pray for me, I’ll need it XP