<<=Memories Revived=>>

Enneagram

2010-07-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Enneagram Test Results

Type 1	Perfectionism	45%
Type 2	Helpfulness	37%
Type 3	Image Focus	61%
Type 4	Hypersensitivity	54%
Type 5	Detachment	58%
Type 6	Anxiety	67%
Type 7	Adventurousness	54%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	37%
Type 9	Calmness	70%

Your main type is 9
Your variant is self pres

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

type score type behavior motivation
9 49 I must maintian a peaceful and easygoing environment to be happy.
6 47 I must be secure and safe to be happy.
3 43 I must be impressive and attractive to be happy.
5 41 I must be knowledgable and independent to be happy.
4 38 I must be true to my emotions to be happy.
7 38 I must be high and entertained to be happy.
1 32 I must be perfect and good to be happy.
2 26 I must be helpful and caring to be happy.
8 26 I must be strong and in control to be happy.

My Shanghai Visitation 2010

2010-04-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

Day 1, 24 march - Arrival

It is unusual that I get to sleep in on the day of my flight, have some time to complete a half-done task of packing, and yet catch my flight while the sky is still lighted. My flight was scheduled in the middle of the day at 4.30pm; not a very popular time to take a flight. As I would later realise, it wasn’t such a good idea to take the flight to Shanghai at this timing either.

Everyone had already boarded the plane and prepared to go, but the flight was grounded by a sudden heavy downpour. I saw the raindrops like a curtain outside, as the China Eastern airplane moved round in circles along the runway, waiting for the rain to tone down before it could take off. This was like a flight delay but worse; being stuck to the economy class seat while waiting it out.

By the time the flight landed in Shanghai Pudong airport, it was already 10.20pm - no clock adjustments needed. As I was forewarned, it would take almost 2 hours to get from the airport to Vicky Luo's place. By then it would not be a nice time to arrive at their place; i would expect to enter a darkened house, her parents sleeping.

Upon claiming my baggage, I made an expensive phone call to Vicky using my Singaporean line, charged at international call rates. She advised me to take the airport bus, which would be only a tenth of the cost than if I took a taxi instead. However, the ride would be longer, and the terminal is still a considerable distance away from her house.
I chose the bus. It’s already so late anyways; being a little later won’t make much difference.

That bus i caught happened to be the last bus. Lucky me. The ride was a squeeze; more people came up, and all seats taken. I thought I could have a seat to place my bulky luggage... it ended up in between the seats' leg space so that someone else could sit beside me - at the cost of much discomfort for both of us. Among the passengers, they were talking loudly in Shanghainese dialect - sounding rather harsh and rapidly spoken, not much to my liking. When all the airport passengers had been taken on the bus, the bus attendant proceeded to collect bus fares; a clipboard in hand displaying stacks of differently priced tickets like mini post-its, tearing them out for each commuter as she collected the fares one by one. My ticket was to the terminal, the furthest and most expensive destination, costing me 24 Yuan.

I spent the ride looking outside the window and observing the landscape passed by - whatever of it that can be seen in the dark of night. For half an hour, the drive on the expressway took me by nothing but 4-lane roads, bridges, and an extensive network of overlapping highways. There were massive sky bridges that were at least 6 storeys high, to allow another 2 layers of curvy highway to cut under it. The scene was like an extreme race course. That was all i could see, illuminated by the widely-spaced dim orange streetlights. There was nothing but plain land and rivers on both sides of the roads; save for occasional landed houses sighted a distance off in the background.

Going onto a highway, my view was completely blocked by a very long row of partitions along the edges of the highway - and after several minutes of seeing what seemed like a blank green screen outside the window, the partition stopped, and we emerged in the middle of tall buildings and high-rise residences.

Indeed, the buildings were all tall and closely clustered, towering over both sides of the highway, but little did i consider the scene to be a vibrant city. I saw seemingly unpleasant apartments, like a building designed to cramp together as many rooms as possible to make solution for a big squeeze; much like the old residences in the New York City suburb. I saw old shophouses alongside with towering flats just beside them. Buildings were of all different shapes, sizes, age, design and colour, unevenly spaced, facing different directions, all adding on to one disorderly pattern. It could be inferred that Shanghai has been developing all too fast for its urban development authorities to catch up with and provide some proper landscape planning.

It was no doubt a long ride, but my mind was too occupied by thoughts to let me notice. I watched new passengers board and more passengers alight as we came to each stop. Soon as the clusters of skyscrapers vanished from the scenery and we entered the suburbs, the bus turned in and came to a stop at a small dark car park. There was construction going on at the side, and not even a place for a bus to park. Though it looked nothing like one, it was obvious enough that this was indeed the terminal - There was just me and 2 other passengers left on the bus, and the driver beckoned us to alight.

I gathered my belongings and looked outside at the uninviting surroundings and the slight drizzle; I was suddenly surged with uncertainty about how I would make the second part of the journey from here. In a way, I felt lost. As i came down the bus, i spotted someone standing in the rain, shielded by a purple umbrella. The umbrella lifted up to reveal a familiar face. . . It was Vicky.

The Luo Residence

The remaining travel to Vicky’s place was unexpectedly provided for – her dad had generously come with the car to pick me up from the terminal, even at that unearthly hour. Not knowing how Shanghainese address their elders, I decided to use Singaporean style; calling him shu shu, or uncle. And so it stayed that way.
I climbed into the Volkswagen’s cushioned seats and closed the door, feeling warm and cosy, away from the rain and cold outside.

I had imagined that I would have so much to talk about with Vicky, but it turned out we were both rather lost for words; other than intermittent short topics each followed by moments of awkward silence. To ease off the awkwardness, i would spend the moments of silence observing the suburb we drove through, drenched in an eerie gloom. Vicky passed me a can of what was supposedly congee... canned congee. But it was sweet and lumpy in texture; somewhat like Cheng Tng instead. I slowly sipped at the slimy gooey sauce and munched on the lumps of rice – I wasn’t really enjoying it, but I was hungry, so anything goes.

It didn’t take us long to reach their home. And what I saw of their house was a major shock to me. In this case it wasn’t the best for last – what I saw first were the most shocking. Entering the residence compound, there were several blocks of low rise flats around, with more down the road. Uncle parked the car and then helped with my luggage, bringing it up to a rusty metal gate with flaking-off green paint, like those of old abandoned shophouses.

“This is your house?” I asked Vicky rhetorically, still refusing to come to terms with it. The answer came as soon as I asked.
Uncle put the key to the gate and cranked it open, and all I saw ahead were shadowy outlines of motorbikes and scooters parked in the darkness of the small dusty basement, in which the lights would only go on motion-activated. When it did, and knowing that the house was all the way up on the 6th floor, the first thing I looked for was the lift. But nothing looked anything like a lift.
“There is no lift?” I asked.
“What lift? This is just a low-rise building!” Vicky replied sharply.
The only way up was through a narrow staircase, with occasional boxes left along the sides by the residents. I counted the storeys by counting how many times I would have to walk almost into pitch darkness before the lights would activate. Had I not done that, it would have seemed I climbed nine storeys before I reached the sixth.

The door of the house opened to a varnished wooden floor; and the dining table was straight ahead. The living room and kitchen were to the left and right respectively. The chairs and tables in the living room and dining area were all antique carved wood. Uncle welcomed me in with cottoned slippers to keep my feet warm. The slippers made much noise for each step treading on the flooring, which was hollow underneath judging from the sound of it. Even in the house, the air was chilly, such that one would still have to be fully covered up when indoors.

Moments later, Vicky’s mom emerged from the master bedroom to welcome me. Seeing her partially dazed expression, she must have fallen asleep during the long wait for my late arrival – she calmly denied so when asked.
From the first day, I was treated with great hospitality. The very first gesture was of course fetching me from the terminal. They stayed up really late just to welcome me, briefly showed me around the house and the room where I would be staying in - It was originally Vicky’s room, which Auntie ordered her to give up to me. The room was all tidied up and table space cleared, a brand new bed sheet and blanket never used before was spread on the excessively spacious queen size bed; add on a thick furry bed cover. They were constantly concerned over whether I was cold – thankfully I have a good tolerance for cold.
As is a deeply rooted culture of Chinese hosts, they asked me if I was hungry – indeed I was, but too shy to say yes. Uncle further insisted, but I opted to eat the canned porridge I had half eaten in the car.
“The porridge is not nice; don’t eat it. Wait a while, I’ll cook you some tang yuan.” He responded. And so there he was, cooking a big bowl of tang yuan – rice flour balls filled with black sesame and peanut sauce – for me and Vicky for supper at 2am. The delicious, steaming tang yuan warmed my body, but his gesture warmed my heart.

Earlier during the car ride, Uncle kept silent most of the time, occasionally exchanging a few words with Vicky in shanghainese. It was hard to even make a first impression of him like that. I also had only known Auntie for a brief moment on the first day. But right then I already knew they were really warm-hearted people.

Wedding Pavillion experience

2009-11-20T23:27:00.000-08:00

11 november 2009

it has come to a point where everything has become more or less routine. all that has happened has happened before. or anything new, seems rather small. now, i would try to talk about my spiritual life instead. during the past few weeks, God has come to be especially real to me. not because many wondrous things have happened, or that i can really feel God's blessings. it has instead been a low time. i cant see God's work bearing fruit yet, but i certainly can feel God working now. i cant say exactly what caused the difference. i could maybe say, blind faith.

One rather changing event was on last wednesday, when i had to do a learning opportunity that i had signed up for. this time it was held at the wedding pavillion, learning about the wedding packages that disney can provide. that day i saw the timing wrongly, and i turned up at 9am instead of 10am when it starts. The wedding pavillion is a really beautiful place, a tiny island close offshore, very serene surroundings, and with the cinderella castle far in the background across the waters. To the wishful couples, it is a romantic place to get married and have their wedding photoshoots. But for me, the beautiful and quiet environment was a good setting for me to use the extra 1 hour i had to spend time with God. It was as if God had planned that one-on-one session with me. after talking to God about all the problems and cares that were on my mind and letting God speak back to me, I got many things sorted out, truths revealed, perspectives changed and hopes lifted during that experience. I have come to call it 'the wedding pavillion experience'.

Indeed as it is said, it is during low times that you would turn to God more, learn to depend on and trust in Him. when things arent going well and you face disappointment after another, and nothing good is happening. i could have gone crazy or slipped into depression or just pass each day feeling hopeless, if i did not have God. i really had to take time everyday to reflect and talk to God, letting out all the negative emotions towards someone who is always there (if you believe); who knows exactly how i feel and what im going through, perhaps even more than i do; and who cares for me and will make sure that i am taken care of.
but when things are going all well, it is easy to forget about God. it is even more tragic if we were to think that it was all done on our effort and ability, not needing God at all. This low time could very well be a blessing to my spiritual life.
Now if God were to lift me up, pour out blessings on me and give a great upward turn on my circumstances, i would not become conceited, but look back on these low times, and remember who has supported me then, and brought me out of it.

What i need now is faith. I trust that God has a plan for me, that has me having much better circumstances than now. it is not God's will for me to lead a deprived life. all that im going through now is merely a stepping stone, or a chapter in the journey. i know for sure that i would be blessed by this Disney program experience that i feel God has put me in. It is nearly blind faith. God never told me that things would get better, but i trust that it would, based on how i know Him. at the same time i am not being conceited and think that i dont have to do anything, cause i am doing what i can on my part, given my circumstances. i know, such faith may seem stupid while i am going through this time and things still remain lousy as ever. but it has the very relieveing effect of dispelling worry, anxiety and hopelessness.
i just recently listened to the sermon on the SJC website called "how long, O lord." and yes, that has been one question that i have always asked, when i put my faith in God's timing and plans. How long, O Lord, must i wait till things get better? Of course, God never answers me on how long more i must wait. but when the time comes, i will know, with a surprise. such anticipation could actually be exciting.

My faith isnt strong; i probably would not have the courage to say all these if i did not logically see the hope of my circumstances taking a turn for the better. It is still something i have to work on, but i would say, it was something i hardly had before. Brothers and sisters in Christ, i hope that you could experience God greatly too, or share your experiences with me, and meanwhile keeping me in prayer.

Mission Siem Reap - Day 3

2009-07-28T00:45:00.000-07:00

First thing of the day is breakfast as usual, at 7. we waited for each other for about 20 mins before we started eating. then had devotions, with lots of discussion still, lasting until 9.
having a bit of time, having a bit of free time before the morning session, the guys got together for some male bonding through our newly invented game - tau pok poker! turns out to be a great thrill.

then we left for the orphanage. upon reaching there, the small kids recognised us from afar, came to greet us joyfully and came to us as we entered the compound. we entered the chapel and had some time to play with them. they were full of energy

The orphanage kids are really open and friendly, but very well disciplined. There is a strong culture of discipline yet with love. The older ones take care of younger ones, and younger ones respect their elders. They are all like one big family; harmonious, open and caring for to each other. it is a really powerful culture that if carried on, would nurture these kids into great loving people who would multiply the works of this orphanage many times over.

we had a shorter time of worship, with a quick repeat of 2 songs, and one new song 'oil in my lamp'. for games, played musical chairs. was easy to explain, and to make things easier, they played it before. so it ran quite smoothly. during the gameplay, we could see the culture of love and caring for the younger ones among the kids - when the slightly older ones held the small ones, helped them onto the chairs when the music stopped, and even gave up their seats to them.
the next game was supposed to be such that when the music plays, they would dance and follow my actions, and stop when the music stops. they followed my actions for a while, but soon began to do their own actions and ignored mine. so it became simply freestyle dancing time, and going with the music. everyone got into the mood, and danced around wildly. it wasnt much of a game, but more importantly we had fun.

next it was teaching english. same style as before, Kristen drew out the picture and Sarah wrote out the words. theme was shapes and musical instruments. the kids were spontaneous, but kinda died down after a while (lost interest) cause it was quite repetitive.

then we did fixing of jigsaw puzzles forming a heart-shape picture consisitng of bits of many pictures. we preapred 4 sets of them, so we split them into 4 groups. the kids were not too familiar with doing jigsaw puzzles, so most of it was being fixed by us.
the session came to an end with their lunch break again. they all assembled outside in some classroom/canteen area. we did a mini feeding session giving cookies to them. then we left the orphanage without any free play time.

lunch at Angkor Famous again, but ordered different dishes. the owner was nice to us since we patronised before. she gave us free durians after our meal, and came to chat with us. of course she had a motive. cause she also ran a fruit stall in adition to the restaurant. and she asked us to buy some fruits after that. but we didnt.

going back to guest house but no time for rest, we left for Marie's house via tuk tuk ride. a distance out of town, through narrow paths, into the village. it was a bungalow nicely built and furnished, surrounded by other less fanciful houses and the poor village houses. Marie has been using her home for ministry to the village kids in the area, befriending them and perhaps conducting activities with them. we went there to help out in her work with the village kids.

first up was meeting a group of 8 village boys (only 3 were well built) and headed to a nearby open field to play soccer. we mixed the teams, having Acacians and cambodians on both sides. excess acacians stood at the side to watch. As we played, i felt really hot and dehydrated and tired after just a while. i thought it was just me, but later i realised even the spectators were suffering and we all got sunburnt. plus we all didnt bring water and were like dying in the open heat. the score came to 5-0, and the game didnt continue after we decided to take a half-time. we went back to marie's house.

we fell exhausted on the garden pavillion and bought water, which we downed like thirsty camels. the house was open to us to go in and use the toilet. the toilet was tiny and it stinked bad. plus when i used the sink, suddenly the whole thing fell off and broke. i told Marie about it and she said she knew it was faulty all along... i sat on the sofa and played with the 2 cute cats in the house while there was a dog and bone game going on in the space outside.
then we gathered all the kids (now all small ones except for 2 and the interpreter) and we played momentum in some area just outiside the bungalow compound. there was a shack with people preparing stuff nearby, and thick grass or piles of debris surrounding the space. so we were made to squeeze in the space and run around in it. it was rather small, but that meant much faster action and less running distance. the game was very good at having fun and interacting with them. everyone had lots of fun without hardly any verbal communications required, and it went on for a long time until everyone was exhausted.

by 6, we prepared to leave. waited for the tuk tuks to come and brought us back. we had some time to wash up, and then we had a special dinner of pizza (delivery) with soft drinks, eaten in the guest house living room. most of us had to sit around on the floor, and watched many fat lizards scurrying on the ceiling, trying to attack a moth.

to round it all off, we had a debrief on the day's activities. we all felt the village ministry was somewhat empty, not much was done. discussed till about 9, then slack around in the room. Tee introduced us to a card game which can be played by everyone together, but making use of 2 decks. played several rounds lasting till about 11. maybe some had programs meeting after that, but as for me, i went to sleep.

Mission Siem Reap - Day 2

2009-06-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Breakfast time was scheduled at 7am. so we had to wake up at 6.30. by 6.30, the sky is already starting to light up. i got up first, used washed up and went out to the meeting area for breakfast. gathered around in a sleepy atmosphere. once breakfast is ready, we helped ourself at own timing (not waiting for the rest to come). breakfast was just bread (baguette) with spreads, and milo from both packets and powder.

at 8am, we started the devotions session, using just the material found in the missions booklet. also did a bit of worship (2 songs) and then a round of sharing, which takes the main bulk of the devotions time. (topic: start, stop, continue.) as the scribe, i had to take down points shared.
9.30, we briefed through the programs for the day (which only been planned the night before)

By 10.30 we left the guest house for the orphanage. Tee led the way, travelling along the main road of the urban area where lush hotels and old, cheaply built shop houses stand side by side. roads were poorly maintained, with cracks and holes, very dusty and polluted too.

going past the urban area and onto a dirt road, the poverty was becoming more evident as people set up shaggy roadside stalls selling petrol or other misc goods. vehicles travelling along the dirt roads would stir up a cloud of dust all around. the road was uneven with bumps and craters which turned into puddles following rain, and junk strewn around. this is especially on the side of the road, where pits/trenches are there intendedly to prevent flooding, but instead turned into filthy cesspools with black water, rubbish all thrown inside, weeds growing in it and a few wild chickens scouring the rubbish for food.

there were many kinds of weird smells everywhere.

when we reached the orhpanage, the kids were gathered in the hall, with tiled floor and kiddy paintings of biblical stuff all over the walls. the older kids had all gone to school, leaving only the really young ones not more than 10 yrs old there. they all clumped together at a corner first, and we had to take a while to warm up to them. communication was a major barrier. one of the best things that helped us open up to each other was the cameras. we took pictures of the kids or with the kids and showed it to them, much to their amusement. soon the kids became all enthu about taking pictures and even took the camera to snap randomly. some of us then started playing games with the kids.

at 11.30 we started the program with songs (God loves you, Jesus loves me, There is none like you), the kids knew 'Jesus loves me' and sang it loud in english with actions.

for games we played samson, lion and delilah. they didnt know, and it was very hard to explain to them. had to go through Seyla the translator, where some points probably got distorted. it got everyone confused and unsure, such that during the game, the Samson group catched and Delilah ran.
we only played 2 rounds before the kids had to go off for their lunch time and maybe school.

we proceeded to Angkor Famous restaurant for lunch, ordered local dishes to be shared among the table, with rice. we reached back at millenium at 2pm, and had an hour break. followed by a breifing and discussion for the afternoon orphanage session, and then left for the orphanage again when we were ready.

the afternoon session had more kids and slightly older, cause they came back from school. because we didnt have time to get any more lyrics written out on mahjong paper, we just had to reuse the songs we did earlier. but this time, we took some time to explain the lyrics to the kids, and Seyla translated for us.

the games played were duck duck goose. it was easy to explain this time, easy to understand and gameplay is simple. after just a little demo, the kids got into action. they got the hang of it soon after, ran around really energetically and really enjoyed it.
then we played the 'moving along chairs' game (dunno whats the name). this one was hard to explain and Seyla got confused, cause cant break down the instructions. once again we demoed for them a few rounds. then the kids tried. and soon they got the hang of it.

therefore we learn that demonstration is the best way to teach the kids, and then let them try it out. we may not even need to say a single word.

Next, it was english teaching session. Kaimin was arrowed to teach, and he had to do it quite impromptu-ly. we had 2 small whiteboards; for one Kristen drew out an animal or fruit, and KM wrote out the word. the kids shouted out the answer whenever they knew, and getting participation was quite easy. but it was rather messy and were unsure about how much the kids actually learnt after the session.

then it was the drawing session, where the kids were given paper and colouring material, and asked to draw out the animal or fruit we asked for. most of the young ones were lost and didnt know what to do, just did nothing, waited for us to teach them or some copied from the older ones who could draw. most of the drawing ended up being done by us. but it was a powerful conencting tool where we could mingle and interact with them closely.
Skaly, a 14 year old boy who looked much younger, was one of the best artists among all of them, and he gave me his art piece.

the program for the day supposed ended after this, but we stayed to play with the kids for some time more. we played in our own small groups, while some kids played among themselves like 2 small boys wrestling.
the kids were really hyperactive this time. Kaimin got crowded around by kids who clung to him and gave him their drawings. Michelle got tau-pokked by a bunch of hyper kids.

upon leaving the orphanage, it was time for us to hunt for a good dinner spot. we walked around in circles surveying the reastaurants in the area, and settled for a nice higher class restaurant on the 2nd storey. price was not much higher than other lousier ambience places.

returned to the guest house at 8. had debrief and discussion in kristen's room, and the rest of the time was free. save for those involved in planning the next day program. lasted till almost midnight.

Mission Siem Reap - day 1

2009-06-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

flight time was scheduled at 2.35. meeting time was set at 12.30. but we were kiasu and went early. left the house by 11.30.

at the airport, we met the Phuket team just before they checked in and set off. got to talk a while, give them our blessings and send them off.

soon the rest of the team came. after checking in our luggage, went for a quick lunch within 15 mins and had to rush off without finishing our food (sth i hate) and then waited at the gate for another 10mins =.='

we boarded the plane by 2.15 and by 2.35 it was clear to take off.
Away we go to Siem Reap...

arrived there at 3.45 local time (1 hour earlier than SG) the airport there looks like some beach resort. then we packed all our luggage onto the back of a van which brought us to the Millenium guest house - the place we stayed for the mission trip.

arrived there at about 5pm. the place was very dusty, but still we had to remove footwear inside. we decided on our rooming, and were assigned our rooms. girls on 2nd floor, guys on ground floor. [Dora makes a big fuss cause she was made to room with her dad]

the rooms were not so good, but not bad. had a fan and aircon, hot water, proper beds and blankets. but all very simple. my room had a very bad view - just outside the window is a stranger's shack with tools hanging from the walls. the window was kept closed for the whole trip.
when i first used the toilet, by first impressions, it failed. i turned on the tap, and as the water flowed down the sink, suddenly 2 cockroaches came running out of it! one stayed in the sink and the other leaped out onto the floor.

everywhere, every place in Siem reap, you can see spirit houses. along the street, outside houses and shops. even in the millenium guest house, there were at least 2 spirit houses and 2 altars. such is the idolatry of Siem Reap.

6pm, left the guest house for dinner. at this restaurant with fairly good ambience. we tried many local foods like Khmer soup and curry, Lab, Lok lak. good value for money.
along the way, can see alot of nice posh hotels and restaurants, along with old cheaply built shops and houses just side by side. foreigners are found in the posh areas, and the locals in the rest.
we did some grocery shopping at a minimart on the way - buy water and breakfast for tmr.

8pm, gathered at the meeting area of the guest house for a talk by Fhonkie, to share more about his experiences in Siem Reap, the situation here, stories. We were warned of the high level of spiritual warfare here, affecting our emotions and also spiritual attacks on past missionaries. got us scared and praying. [but there was none for the whole trip]
it was also during this meeting that we finally got our draft of places we can go to for ministry, and our time table. i think we are the only group that didnt know before hand.

when we returned to our rooms and proceeded to wash up for the day, at 9.10, there was suddenly a blackout throughout the guest house! just at this time, ppl were bathing halfway in every room, and started making alot of noise. as for me, i was just about to take off my clothes in the toilet when it happened. nice timing. it was pitch dark in the toilet and a small bit of light in the room. power was restored after about 5mins.

we went to sleep early; no social activities this night.

Mission Melaka 08 (Events)

2008-12-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

Trip events

7 dec

- set off and arrival

the scheduled time for departure was 6pm that sunday. there was still DG, E3 and jym as normal, but due to a birthday lunch earlier that day, only came halfway during jym. after jym, we quickly gathered our stuff, got ready, bought some last minute stuff from esso and by 6 set off to Queens Street in separate vehicles. there were volunteers to drive some in their cars, and for me it was uncle khairon's van with a bunch of others.

reached queens street after not long a ride, then transferred to the coach that would take us all the way to malacca. it was big and spacious, more than any coach i ever taken. each seat was so wide that 2 ppl can squeeze in, and lots of leg space, so i could lean back a lot without cramping the one behind. to make up for the extra space, the seats on the left were singles.

first half of the trip, we were all rather quiet. after the immigrations, the bus lights were turned off so it was all dark and we were forced to sleep. later on, some restless ones woke up and went to other ppl's seats to talk. soon others joined in and it grew into a commotion, so then we all woke up. there was no toilet stop at all until we reached the hotel. so for some like Kenneth, they had to hold their bladders and suffer for the rest of the trip.

by the time we reached hollitel, it was already 10+. we had no dinner but brought food which we had on the coach. still, we went to the coffeeshop just next door for ramlee burger supper. took really long to come. but we waited for each other before going back to sleep.

8 dec

- treasure quest rehearsal

waking time 7am, had devotions, then to peach restaurant for breakfast and waited for the bus to arrive. was kinda disappointed to find out that the bus was a 1960s bas sekolah, which was the bus we used for whatever transportations for the rest of the days.

the bus took us to the mini malaysia site, where the treasure quest is held. gathering at the amiptheatre, we ran through the emcee activities with the BP emcees, then kester gave us a briefing on all that would happen for treasure quest - the team building games, clues to the pictures, the puzzles, the overall gameplay. there was some kind of malaysia tourism promoting advertisement program going on at the amitheatre so we had to leave after that. it was raining heavily, and we were worried about what to do if the weather would be like that tomorrow.

- MYFC debrief

according to the schedule, it was free time. but instead we went to the MYFC apartment for a debrief, especially for contingency planning. then a large group set out to buy the goodies for the goodie bags and prizes, while the remaining stayed to discuss the treasure quest. when they returned with loads of goodies, we started packing the goodie bags and prizes along the narrow walkway to the toilet. it was very squeezy and nobody could cross over to go to the toilet. ended up a mess, and ran out of goodies for the goodie bags. but there was still enough for all the kids though.

before we left, MYFC split us into groups as facils and gave us the list of the children in our group. they also provided each group with a card game to play with the kids. there was a variety of games, randomly distributed among the groups. sleeping queen was the most popular and everyone hoping to get it, but only 3 were given out. my group got Chomp.

we were free until dinnertime (which wasnt much time.) we played blackjack and decisive dai di, then had dinner at porridge place, had some debrief later at night in 304. we then split into our own groups to discuss, pray, and practice our game. my group consisted me, joycelyn and phoebe lim, with 6 kids in the group; all girls from CIJ. so we played chomp until lights out time - my own version of chomp, which was continued to be played by the rest of the groups after that, and the original version never played! (i find my version much more fun anyway)

9 dec

- treasure quest day 1

today we had to get up real early for devotions, then had a quick breakfast before going to meet the first batch of children at pahlawan macs. there were some children there already, inclduing Audrey from my group. we sat at the outdoor tables and tried to talk to her but was quite quiet. a while later, Florence came, and then we started to play chomp. another 2 came later. for that day my group only had 4 girls who came. and i had an unexpected experience of malaysian kids - they seemed so mature for their age of 11, and spoke good english...

boarded the bus and made way to mini msia. they all sat together so was hard to build bonds on the bus. over there, after clearing the 'check-in' and assembling at the ampitheatre, the emcees from BP church did their warm ups and games, which i found rather stupid and could see the kids didnt really enjoy it, even if they made alot of noise.

then when its time for race, we solved the starting location puzzle and started at Negri Sembilan. first few stations was rather messy, unfamiliar with the handling of it, and the kids were not warmed up too. later on the kids got on the momentum and became more enthu, team dynamics also got into place. was nice to see. but of course there was some technical problems too.

dint know how to really conduct some of the station games so a few screw ups or delay. i was quite strict on the games, just until it becomes boring. and i read out the questions part to them after they finished finding their pictures, when i should have given it all to them at the start.. wasted alot of time. also at the 3rd last station from the left, thought we had to cross over to the other side, but later realised there was also sabah and sarawak further down left. the kids got angry for that...

in the end, we ended up second last place. and i bought them ice cream as a consolation prize. of course before they leave, we have to give out the chistmas party invitation forms. then we together headed back to macs.

rest for the day, apart from a debrief in the afternoon and another at night to prepare us for the next day and next batch of kids. dinner at the porridge place. rest of the time was in the room playing blackjack and poker, betting on pumpings. (Junting owed 300 push ups. ahha)

10 dec

- treasure quest day 2

like the previous day, there was devotions, breakfast, then to pahlawan macs. meet the kids and play chomp. when i saw met the new batch of kids, i knew it was gonna be much harder. they were all chinese speaking, though they could understand english. all except 1 or 2 out of 7 were very quiet and unenthu. plus becasue of the bigger number of children, had to split into more groups, so it was left with me and small phoebe as facils. i was prepared for a tough and unfun time.

at mini msia, had the warm up things again. was a bit different and better, but still stupid. as for the treasure quest, the kids were rather cooperative, and became more enthu after a few stations. they were quite excited in finding their pictures and answers, though they didnt talk much. not so much uncertainty and screw up like the first day, but still came in one of the last groups too.

routine for the rest of the day was same as previous day, except we didnt have so much time to play cards, somehow.

11 dec

- treasure quest day 3

the batch of kids was slightly lesser than day 2, but more than day 1. we were split back into our day 1 groups with 3 facils per group. our group this time consisted of 4 8 yr old girls and 4 12 yr old boys, who were friends and classmates of each other, and one of the boys and girls were siblings. so team dynamics was there from the start, and they most of them were very enthu, open and friendly. i was told that this day 3 batch would be chinese-speaking, but these 8 kids were all english-speaking instead, and cant even speak chinese.

activity began with the emcee thing again, and this time it was worse than ever. the 3-part malaysian states cheer was already so lame and inappropriate and the emcees were told about it, but yet this time round they dragged it even longer, and we were all pissed off and couldnt wait to stop.
then for the treasure quest, things went on much more smoothly this time, being more familiar with the gameplay and also being abit more lenient. the kids were also very excited and would snatch the clues from me and each other. in the end we finished at around the middle positions. good enough.

after returning, we were free for lunch and were given lunch allowance to eat wherever we wanted. so we ate at macs, with slightly different meals offered and only slightly cheaper. some of the kids also had macs with their parents, and would wave at us when the chances came.
we ate outdoors where stray cats loitered. i threw a fry at one, and it did not eat it.
going back to the hotel, there was just one debrief, then skit rehearsals in 301. but more time was spent wasting time and playing a fool, which was unknowingly caught on camera. some of the NGs during the skit were rather hilarious.

12 dec

- christmas party rehearsal

this day was initially intended to be used to join the BP church ppl at the villages to help them in their tracking. but somehow the plans were cancelled, and so we went down to wesley methodist melaka instead for an actual site rehearsal. it was quite useful, cause the place was different and we needed to know how to adapt our spacings and placings. we split up into our different roles for the christmas party, for me was more skit rehearsals in a room, and when we were ready, we had a full run of the christmas party. that was something we didnt do before.
we stopped at a roadside hawker centre with cheap food for lunch. bought a plate of economical rice for RM3, for what could have cost $4 in singapore.

- bridge league

because of the cancelled program, we were left with a half day of uninterrupted free time. so a whole bunch of us guys gathered in my room to play bridge, and there birthed our own 'bridge league' system , where there was the A league get to play on the bed, and the B league which played on the mattresses below. every round, the 2 winners from B league would be promoted to A league, taking over the 2 losers from A league. so we were all fighting to get to A league and to stay there. this was even more so after the spare mattress once collapsed right onto the B league playing area during a game. so we were joking "haha, B league budget stadium collpase!"
we played a total of around 15 rounds that day, using the leagues system.

13 dec

- Wesley methodist church Melaka

it was time for the christmas party, the actual thing. so the first one was in the morning, held at wesley methodist church melaka, for the english speaking group of kids that we invited earlier after the treasure quests. (for me there was florence, allyna, celina, beatrice, and the 4 boys.) with the full rehearsal the previous day, we were able to settle in quickly and know what to do. soon the kids started coming. just a few in the first half hour, then at actual time many more arrived. the kids were given choice hand art and their name tag with different color, separating them into groups by age. i was assigned to take care of some 10 yr olds, who were all very unresponsive. we were to do our own group ice breaking while waiting for the program to start.

it first started with the emcees doing all sort of warm-up activities; like caterpillar, claps, cheering and fruit dance, which were much better than the BP church's. then i hosted the games: aye aye captain and disaster game. then there was singing of christmas songs, then the skit, then a short message by ivan chan, then we all got together to sing 'best present of all' and finally we were despatched back into our groups to tell the kids about the candy cane story and try to bring them to accept Christ. there was quite a good response; the kids in my group mostly ticked on the response form that they wanted to accept Christ. seed planted.
after it all, there was refreshments provided for everyone, and it was like our lunch.

- Melaka baptist church

we had a debrief and a while of rest before going to the next destination for the christmas party. the melaka baptist church was in a very ulu place, had to go past a maze of landed houses and a huge cemetery to get there. surroundings were all old houses, and the church looked old too. but step inside and we were all met with a surrpise - the interior was so beautifully furnished and decorated, with all the lights on the ceiling, the christmas trees, 3-tier stage, cool musical instruments and with aircon. it was a so much nicer place than WMCM.

this time we even had a good space behind the stage to hide before the skit. i was forced to have a mustache drawn on to give me the 'innkeepers look', but because of that i had to hide behind the stage for the whole time until the games and skit, unable to go out to meet the kids. was a long and boring wait behind. covered myself to go have dinner first.

because this christmas party was meant for the chinese speaking group of kids, the emceeing was done in chinese (kenneth tried his best, and siyu tried to help out.) then the games i spoke in english, siyu translated. and then for the skit, we were suddenly told to do it in chinese too, and i was stunned caused we never practiced for that before, and my chinese vocab is limited. but it turned out fine, better than i thought. didnt sound awkward or giving too different translations. and then came the very interesting incident where i called for ppl to come see the newborn baby as part of the skit; the kids thought it was for real and they all rushed forward to see the baby, which was of course fake. captured on camera, it was like a tsunami of kids.
then for the story sharing, i realised my group was actually better in english than chinese, so i need not share in chinese. and when they filled up their forms then i realised, they were mostly already christians =.='

- Devotions preparation

because i was scheduled to lead devotions with joycelyn the next day, we planned to meet to go through the material beforehand. dunno why, but we ended up doing it in ivan & hq's room, while they were away. and the passage turned out to be rather difficult and not straight forward.
it went fine for a while, then we hit tough spots and differing viewpoints. we were actually neither opposing nor agreeing with each other, but it was so 'interesting' that hsin qin joined in, and later also aik hong, which only made it worse by dragging on the 'discussion' even longer when our patience was already exhausted and i just wanted to settle it and go to sleep.
i experienced many different emotions during that whole incident, having spent almost 2 hours stuck in that room, missing out the fun outside and in the end hardly going anywhere in the discussion. but in the end we reached consensus and settled for it.

14 dec

- church service
for sunday service we were to have it at WMCM, instead of the usual Christ church Melaka for previous trips. the sanctuary was quite nice, with a glass panel in front showing a waterfall with a cross in the garden outside. it was an english service which wasnt very traditional, the equipment there were up to date, and the christmas songs they sang were kinda modified.

after the service there was refreshments outside, not much nice stuff. stayed there a while then i went to toilet. when i came out i went back to the refreshment area and i realised none of our ppl was there. i went around the whole church looking for them, and still nobody. then i thought they left alr but doubted so cause i was just gone a short while and they wont leave me behind. i waited outside in the field, then i saw joshua running back. then i realised they did leave without me... so he led the way and we ran along the road to the bus which was already a few hundred metres away, stopped along the side. was rather embarrassing.

- mahkota

we were free n easy for the rest of the day, so i joined a bunch of guys to spend the afternoon at mahkota shopping centre. had lunch at the food court upstairs, where the food was comparably expensive; then played some bowling (cheap, charged by hour), then to the arcade just for a few games which lasted shortly. lastly, we went to the supermarket and bought a load of cheap goods, like $1 socks, ice cream, and chewing gum. got 15 3-packs and 2 bottles of them.

- jonker street

went at night on foot, was a long and narrow street with alot of pasar malam stalls. alot of souvenirs there, but not interested. food there was surprisingly not cheap. a sausage waffle cost RM3.50. ate laksa at some restaurant along the way, bought drinks from stalls, 3 packets of poppers and some gula melaka at the end. the street was actually not very long, but it look so long because it was so crowded with human traffic. some inconsiderate groups form a whole line across and create a barrier. and gridlocks do occur.

-pahlawan

after returning, we had just a short time left before it was time for the movie to start. we had earlier bought tickets to watch Twilight at pahlawan cinema. but ppl came back, took so long to get ready, but we had to wait for each other. so we ended up 20mins late for the movie.
halfway through, there was technical difficulties such that the screen was blank and could only hear the sounds. everyone was jeering cause we were missing an exciting part at the baseball game. it took them about 5-10 mins to fix it, by then the part was over. no compensation was made. but after all, it is cheap malaysian cinema. the show was quite nice and interesting, with the effects and all, except for the lame romance plot. show ended past midnight.

dec 15

-departure & return

early morning, just after our last devotions and breakfast, we were on the bus and headed back home. the trip seems much shorter than the 8 days it was, and was sad to leave. it was a straight trip back with no stops except one for toilet break. journey took less than 5 hours. at the immigration, the scanners found my whole load of chewing gum cause i put it too high up in the bag. whole thing got confiscated.. what a waste. the bus dropped a group of us at KAP macs along the way, and the rest went to church. so it happened to be so convenient for me, and we ate first at macs before going back on our separate ways.

Mission Melaka 08 (trip elements)

2008-12-15T23:23:00.000-08:00

- hollitel
The place we stayed for the mission trip was Hollitel Melaka, same hotel as previous trips. the previous time i was put in a small room sharing with 2 others and hardly any space left. This time i was roomed with 3 others (JT, Kenny, Kenneth), but in a much bigger family room (204)that can comfortably fit 5. so we had a lot of space, but the family room upstairs (304) had even more space - with only 3 girls in that room. The guys rooms were on 3rd floor and girls on 4th.

our room wasnt all very splendid though. just on the first day, the toilet lights suddenly went out when junting was bathing halfway, and never to come back on again for the rest of the mission trip. we learned to bathe and wash up in darkness, and leave the door slightly open to let some light in. there was no proper place to hang our towels, except on the bar beside the toilet bowl. it was usually not dry by the time we had to use it, and sometimes got wet from the shower. the toilet was really small, considering its for a family room. the aircon was also dripping alot, so the chair and area under it gets wet all the time. temperature is also erratic. Despite all this, we didnt complain to the management. or even if we did, they didnt take action.

- room politics
From the first day, we guys from 204 balloted for our sleeping places in the room over a game of decisive dai di everyday. At first, the 1st and 2nd takes the queen size bed, 3rd and 4th takes 2 matresses on the floor. but because of the incident on the first night where i shared the bed with junting and pushed him to the corner during the night, we changed our policy such that the 1st gets the whole bed to himself, 2nd and 3rd beside the bed, and 4th sleeps just outside the toilet. throughout the trip, i got 3rd place twice, and the rest of the time 2nd. never got 1st, but never had to sleep beside the toilet.

- meals
for lunch and dinner, we ususally had it at places within the hotel's neighbourhood. we tried different places each time though. but on certain occasions like day 4, 5 and 8 lunch, we were each given allowance to eat at outside places on our own. breakfast is always at the peach restaurant and orders placed in advance, except on day 7 and 8 when the bus uncle brought us to the dim sum place for breakfast. there is usually no supper except for day 7, at the satay place, again recommended and brought there by the bus uncle.
food in malaysia is cheap - about singapore price in ringgit at coffeeshops, but only about 20% cheaper at fast food.

- devotions
every morning we had devotions, first thing in the morning. we would gather in 304 (the family room with lots of extra space) at the specified meeting time. each of us were rostered for leading devotions, and a few for worship each day. i was usually late and came in halfway through worship. somehow 204 ppl were always the latest few to arrive. for devotions we would follow the daily bread, and would go in a round to read the bible passage then the daily bread. then it would be open to time of sharing and discussion.

i was rostered to lead devotions for day 8, with joycelyn. so the previous night we met in ivan's room to discuss on the passages, and it turned out to be a real tough one. somehow it fluctuated into a sort of quarrel which lasted for time lost track of, with tempers arising and patience pushed to the limits. this was made worse when hsin qin and aik hong joined in. the whole thing lasted about 2 hours and seen a whole mix of emotions in the room. yes, looking back, it was an interesting incident.

- missions debriefing
during the rest period everyday, after a main event or before one the next day, there would be debrief sessions. meeting place also in 304, and would discuss how the day's event went and how to take things from there, or briefing by the ppl in charge about the next day's events and making necessary arrangements and coordination. so the debriefs could last quite long, taking away much of our free time.

- casualties
it was so far so good for the first half of the trip, but starting day 5, people started falling sick. and it came all around the same time. first it was davin who suddenly had a fever that lasted 3 days and had to be sent to the mahkota medical centre, then Big phoebe, also fever, just before the christmas party so siyu had to last min take over as Mary; and Joshua who had vomiting on day 8. A few others also showed viral symptoms but didnt escalate into a full sickness. This was despite Henry's preventive measure of giving us vitamin C tablets every morning.

Operation DHL

2008-12-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

JYM camp 1 - 4 Dec 2008

Operation DHL (delivering hope & love)

MAIN EVENTS

- Amazing race (day 1 afternoon)

from what i heard, the places to go were in clementi, bukit timah, queensway and 1 more area that Acacia didnt go because they ran out of time. I couldnt join in due to GOM test. returned to church from school to join the camp at 5+.

-Predator and prey (day 1 night)

held at botanical gardens, involves a scissor-paper-stone type of 3 teams catching. Agape is blue team, to catch orange team Hagios and avoid green team Pistevo.

my team had the disadvantage of having our base in the middle of the 2 other team's. when the game started, we took so long to distribute ribbons, discuss our plans and take action. by the time we were ready, the greens have arrived at our base and started attacking those just outside, and camped there. my team ppl were just staying in base most of the time and running from greens the moment we get out. we were just really unwilling to go out of the comfort zone and get some action, so it became boring. after a while we set off towards the orange base, only to find that there were hardly any oranges there, but the area was crawling with greens. started running all over again.

My team had the worst tactic to go about the game, especially given the tactics of our predators and prey. Green were aggressive and patrolled around in pairs or single, waiting to ambush unwary blues. Orange just went hiding or to some unknown place we couldnt find them. But we blues went altogether to the orange base area in one whole big group!! needless to say, that tactic proved to be really useless and dumb, as seen when the greens rushed in and scattered the group like a wolf invading a herd of sheep. and how are we supposed to effectively find and catch any oranges by going in a big group.?.. it was a pitiful time.

problems with the gameplay:

light sticks feature was no use at all. just had to stay in base and they are safe. or like my group did, hide it in really unobvious places like behind a corner dustbin, and covering up the light.

place was really dark and the ribbon colors cant be seen until we got so close that its too late to run. had to keep asking ppl "what color are you?". also caused alot of unnecessary fear, like my own teammates running from me, thinking im green.

can exploit by hiding ribbons to prevent identification before seeing or asking for colors.

can exploit by taking off ribbons and pretend to not have one to avoid being caught, then put back on when want to. or else, walk around without ribbon to serve as decoys.

- Telematch (day 2, afternoon)

held at ECP, at a grassy and swampy open area away from the beach. place was very muddy and wet and had a lot of creepy crawlies among the grass and soil. there were frogs, big ants, grass spiders, earthworms and even centipedes, like one which crawled onto my foot. major freak out for some of the girls.

first game, spin 10 times before running across a soapy mat to a pail of water to draw some using a plastic bag held with 2 fingers. water to be filled into a 1.5l bottle.

2nd game, spinning 5 times before running to a plate with an apple, take a bite then to another plate with polo sweets hidden in flour. no use of hands. was quite gross as the flour gets onto our face and clothes, plus the apple juice mixed with flour was disgusting. unhygenic.

3rd game, captains fruit. captains ball but using fruits and vegetables instead. each faction to play twice with each other, thus we split into 4 teams of 7. during my game, the ball was a tomato, which bursted beyond recognition and had to be changed twice. easy to catch with 1 hand. at the end of the round, i caught the ball as a 1 third of a tomato peel. other rounds, the balls were cabbages, bananas, rock melon and the infamous giam chye.

- indoor game (day 2 night)

game had to be cut short because the session before that ended an hour late, leaving only an hour for this game. played as 1v1 of faction, each side deploys 15 people around the team space separated from the opponent's by a barrier of sleeping bags. players are to lie down and each side take turns to throw 3 pillows onto the other side, hoping to hit opponent players to eliminate them. the sleeping bag used for throwing kept bursting open and was later replaced. a captain can advise shooters on player locations but didnt really work. my opponent players were hidden at the end or at corners and pillars while my team was nicely spaced out all around the space. wasnt a good tactic. game ends when 5 out of the 15 are hit.

- missions game (day 3 afternoon)

the game with the most amount of planning and preparation put into it. intended to create a real life RPG, in the setting of the upper levels of the church as Singapore and lower levels as communist vietnam. objective to smuggle as many bibles as possible to vietnam people.

game money is earned by answering general knowledge qns in a 'prayer session', or asnwering ivan's tough riddles and puzzles, or doing song & dance, or doing jobs in vietnam. money is then used to buy bibles, visas or bribes. also receives an income every 10 mins which is affected by nunmber of 'souls'.

my role was a vietnam police together with wai kit, to check on player visas and confiscate any bibles or excess cash discovered with players in vietnam. the whole game followed a timeline of events marked by 10mins intervals, each one having changes in situation, such as increase or decrease in income, prices, points and security. police operations are varied according to the level of security stated. managed to bust a number of bible smuggler operations, and uncover lots of bibles (or CDs) in bags. bibles had to be given to pas andrew in vietnam in order to gain the points. had to guard him closely.

players started to use exploits like sneaking out of the window leading to the spiral staircase to enter vietnam, which saves them from the checkpoints. it was illegal and the bibles brought down through the illegal entrance were disqualified.

last 30mins, secuirty level was 0, so i went to join in the player activites to observe. the last part was quite a mess and rush. but agape wont the game!

CAMP ELEMENTS

A&M

at first, asked joel to take one for me. later when i came, was given another one. so i decided to stick with having 2 mortals since many poor campers still had their name in the envelope and had no angel. so i got - Clement and Davin. wrote to both mortals using different handwritings and writing styles. Davin couldnt figure who i was and thought i was a young girl, but clement knew it was me very soon. coulnt find the chance to buy goodies for my mortals until the 3rd day evening. so meanhwile made use of church sweets and letters. clement was nice enough to buy his angel a choc bar.. my angel wrote at first in a way that really made me convinced it was a younger boy, at least 3 years younger. for the first 2 letters someone else helped her write. but after that, she wrote it in her own handwriting and style. made me confused. then on her last letter, it really sounded like Kara. but it turned out to be - Big Phoebe...

Baths

bath time was quite limited, given that there was so many guys to bathe in just 3 cubicles.but we all managed to get our fair share of baths for the camp. some overlaps onto dinner time, and while waiting for the Q, can do other stuff.

had to bathe in cold water, which resulted in much shivering when having the session after dinner in the aircon sanctuary.

free time

there is little free time available, the only ones being in the wash up times while other have their bath, or a little time just before lights out. except the last night which had no lights out but sadly i had to be at home to sleep. the free times were usually used to play cards and write A&M letters.

Meals

the food for the camp was satisfactory. not fantastic but no complaints either. lunch and dinner was mostly mixed rice or meat rice, other than thai food on day 2 dinner and western on day 3. breakfast was mainly bread, but sometimes had bee hoon, porridge, chwee kueh. drinks was just milo for breafast and supper, and water for the rest. rather budget...

Sessions

the sessions, conducted by Joseph Chien, were great. very engaging and interesting. they are among the few i come across that can really catch and maintain my attention throughout, and also provide lots of useful, new and meaningful points. learned a lot from them. i guess its the speaker that counts in making it good.

Sleep

guys dorm in the auditorium, girls in the old chapel. apparently the old chapel wasnt big enough and some girls had to overflow into the youth office. guys dorm had more than enough space for everyone though. i took my sleeping spot on the stage just beside the cross on the wall. nice spot. having to sleep on the floor, had to use my towel as bedsheet and sleeping bag as pillow. but later during the sleep the aircon got so cold and i had no blanket. had to change sleeping bag into the bedsheet, use someone's bag as pillow, then use towel as blanket. much better after that...

Cord of 3 strands

2008-06-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

CHORD OF THREE STRANDS

location: shah alam, KL

venue: concorde hotel

date: 10 - 13 june 08

view from room window

other side view

Concorde 1 hallroom

Day 1

Woke up at 7+ and drove to church to gather for boarding. was one of the earliest there. waited for about an hour more in church before the bus left for KL. on my bus there were half of them from GCCC and the rest from english con, but many i dont know. the only jymers on my bus were gab, addy and michael. it was a long boring ride in which was thankfully entertained with 2 movies screened on the small bus TV. (mr bean holiday and home alone 3. ) Joshua foo forced the whole bus to play a lame numbering game and his daughter gave us Q&A on the movie.

At 1.30 our bus reached Seramban where we stopped for lunch at some chinese restaurant and had a 10 course meal. (maybe less.) food was good, but easily found in singapore. after that it was just another short drive away from the concorde hotel. when we had all arrived we gathered at the hallroom called Concorde 1 for welcome, briefing and introductions. then we got our keys and checked into the rooms.

my room was 809, separated from most of the other jymers. only joycelyn+joyce+janelle and junting+kenneth were on level 8. the room was very ordinary. no special deco. 2 single beds, 1 extra pillow that i used for all 3 nights, a simple TV, and 2 dressing tables at the corners. standard toilet with a bath tub, toilet bowl and sink, and not much space to move around. view from the room is of a busy crossroad linking 4 main roads. landed houses nearby and tall buildings in the distance. not far away is a really huge mosque, constantly blasting islamic chants through some loudspeakers.

i went around to visit other ppls rooms, and rally a group of us to go explore the place. we looked at the ground level shops which were nothing of interest, and the 3rd level gym and swimming pool. then at 6+ we had our dinner at Concorde 2 which had round tables for meals and buffet outside. First night dinner was not so good, other than the mushroom soup which ran out quickly and was replaced with an inferior type. session 1 started at 7.30, had bilingual praise and worship followed by sermon by terry wong, talking about the camp theme.

after the session there was icebreakers (should have been done earlier). we had to go around finding a few facts of at least 2 ppl, from the 2 other congregations. (1 from GCCC, 1 from chinese.) many of us didnt get the instruction and had asked both ppl from one other congregation. then random ppl were picked to come onstage to introduce their 'new friends'.

all ended at 10+, then went to crash darren's room where we played cards and had instant noodles. after awhile they said were tired and wanna sleep so i went back.. but found out they actually stayed up to watch soccer instead. had a bath and went to sleep slightly past 12.

Day 2

intended to wake at 7.50 and go down early for breakfast. but joel set the alarm for 8.15 and then hogged the toilet so i could only go down at about 8.40. still had plenty of time for breakfast though. the 2nd session started at 9.30. speaker was Chris Kam from DUMC, spoke about the prodigal son very dramatically and related it to God's fatherly love for us.

after the sermon we were split into cell groups, for adults is by bus and for jymers into factions. Agape people present was almost as much as the other 2 factions combined. we didnt discuss about the sermon much as we were supposed to do but instead played games, first some in a circle and then sardines. just a few rounds before going for lunch at usual place.

after lunch we were split into our camp groups which is actually the first 4 buses as normal but with bus 5 distributed into them. must be flower related so we came out with names like morning glory, rafflesia, sunflower and my group orchid. after coming up with and doing our group cheer, then we had games like poison ball and dog & bone. which was probably the only times we could earn group points.

there was a break time so a large group of jymers went to the field to play. there was a group playing touch rugby and the rest played handball. we played for a short while then took a break. then some strangers took over the field to play soccer and so some jym boys challenged them. later the touch rugby ppl disbanded and we combined to play more handball in that space. i played barefoot and there was alot of small stones on the ground and also a rough cement patch which hurt my feet if i ran there. so tried not to move around too much. sun was scorching and blinding.

stopped playing at 6, went to wash up and then go for dinner. was quite late and managed to finish dinner just in time before the session 3 started. speaker also chris kam, talking about strongholds and spirit vs flesh. had a brief cell time then end the days programme. this time i went to janelle's room. a few others crashed the place too. talked crap, watched CSI, eat snacks and passed the time quite fast. i stayed a little longer until it was past 12, so its janelle's birthday alr. when she went toilet the rest of us hid and kept quiet. but there was not enough space behind the bed so joycelyn hid at the corner but didnt realise the mirror reflected on her so janelle saw her and spoilt the surprise. but we still wished her happy birthday. celebrations saved for later.

Day 3

woke up at 9, still sleepy after a few sleep relapses. late for breakfast, so just ate as much as i could while they started clearing up the place. when they reached my table at the end i took some food along. session 4 was by pas daniel also from DUMC, talking about spreading the gospel. he boasted about all the small opportunities he took to share the gospel with strangers. was especially fond of indian men.

the next few hours were free and easy. a large number of jymers were taking the chartered bus to mid valley which was no included in the package so extra $15 to be paid. but i decided to go also. about 10 of us had lunch at sushi king while the rest went elsewhere. didnt order much stuff but my bill came to about 20 ringgit. not much difference from sg. checked out many clothes and fashion stores but didnt buy anything. not interested or too ex. waste a lot of time.

next we stopped by the arcade. i watched strangers play some lame shooting game and they spent a lot of tokens on it. then watch ivan own AI on marvel vs capcom. then we played the bashing buttons game and made a lot of noise. this was when junting's wallet got lost/stolen together with about 300 ringgit. lucky no IC or ez link or important cards.

combined with others and went to coffee bean for a nice blended coffee and blew more money on it. soon it was time to go back. gathered at the meeting point and waited for the rest to come. janele's bd cake had been bought and they were so cautious of not letting her know. so they hid it in ivan's converse shoe bag instead, and made me the cake bearer. then i went up the last bus and headed back to hotel. there was some time left so i explored the nearby area but found nothing much.

i washed up and got into my attire for the 'flora and fauna' theme dinner celebration for the night. had no flower shirts so i wore fish instead. surprisingly many ppl did not adhere to the theme, or simply put a plucked from the vase flower on their ear or shirt. since we were rather late, all the tables had been taken up. there should be exactly enough seats for everyone but the empty seats were all distributed among the tables and we didnt know which was empty since many ppl had gone up to get food. so a group of us went outside the hall to the reception table which was not used then, and brought chairs and occupied for ourselves. henry found out and got angry and accused us of being antisocial.

when the celebration started we went inside and were given a new table for ourselves, right in front. there was a lame cheering thing and then the worm or chains game whatever its called. then the winners for the flora and fauna pageant were nominated and voted for with our cheers. there were 4 categories but the 3 girls were so equally liked that the judges decided to let all 3 win. though i think SIA girl wins the other 2 hands down. then the prize for the best group was presented, and orchid was indeed no1. finally, we had some closing ceremony which involved everyone getting a small candle, light it and place it on the front table where 3 large candles signifying the 3 congregations stood. soon there was a table full of 200+ small flames encircling the 3 candles, 1 of which kept collapsing. bad sign.

then it was almost nearing the next day and we rushed to set up janelle's surprise. a group stayed behind to distract while another used the candles to form words along the swiming pool, and brought the cake, sparklers on standby. all meant to be a surprise but somehow janelle already knew, said it was abit too obvious. but she still came up and acted as if she was surprised anyway, and cut the cake by the pool, but brought it into the lounge to eat. after the whole thing the next hour or so was spent in david's room with many others to supposedly play poker but was too distracted by V4 vendetta. lasted until about 2.

Day 4

wake 8+, had breakfast which was almost the same as the previous day (sausage, bacon, soup, chocolate and jam pastries...) had the last session by terry wong about visions of the church and the rebuilding project. after that theres not much time for anything else, so just pack up all our stuff and brought it down to place in concorde 5. then went for lunch at usual place, lunch was somehow better than the past 2.

we waited in concorde 1 for the buses to arrive and boarded 1 bus at a time; bus 1 was last to board. but still, the first to arrive.during the ride we were called out to share our thoughts about the camp and anyhting that impacted us. almost everyone went up and said good things about the camp but i made mainly negative comments. almost everyone on the bus was called up, so it took up a lot of time. after that we watched home alone 1.

probably inspired by pas daniel, after sharing her thoughts, she proceeded to ask the tour guide of our bus in front of everyone if she would like to know more about God, and any qns she had about christianity. of course she was quite shy to say like that so my mom had a private talk with her. and within just about an hour of sharing, she actually accepted christ. she had christian siblings and went to church a few times but wasnt motivated to be serious yet. the harvest was ripe, just waiting for someone to harvest it, and it happened to be my mom.

halfway through, the bus took a stop at yong peng. bus 1 was first to arrive, so we were obviously faster. over there was a provision shop, a food court and a souvenir shop where i got a few things. did a brief round of shopping then went up the bus again to head to singapore. continued watching home alone. after we crossed into singapore, the girls gave us another Q&A. by then we were almost reaching alr. so there was a time of silence on the bus before finally arriving at church. once again, first to arrive. even after we left church on our separate ways, the other buses had not came yet. after that, we were all on our own, when it ends.

Australia 08 day 1 - 3

2008-03-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

The day trips from home

(18/2) Day 1 - Arrival

airplane view of sunset

mel city map

woken up at 6am by lights breaking my peace. my eyes remained closed for several minutes following. my facial muscles were too tired to move. i felt my way to the toilet and splashed some cold water.. then my eyes were opened. We did some last minute packing, making sure nothing needed was left behind. delaying longer than sceduled, and called for cab at 7. its been a long time since i woke up and stayed up before sunrise.

On the taxi, tired as i was, i couldnt get back to sleep. so i just gazed out of the window, at the surroundings illuminated by twilight. nearing the airport, the rising sun caught my eye. it was big and dark orange, seemingly just few metres above ground. a rare sight.

we had BK breakfast at the airport after checking in (already late so we had lousy seats) and used the free internet there. we got on the plane and flew off at 9.30. my seat was at the back, with nobody behind me. this allowed me to lean the chair back many degrees, and fell asleep; which wasnt so good an idea because i didnt know the entertainment availabe as that good. Lunch was served on the plane.. plain tasting pasta in cheese.

theres this Quantas entertainment on demand, where i can select from a variety of movies or tv serials to watch. so when i woke up i watched one of the latest movies there: stardust. a movie with nice graphics, characters and special effects, but really lousy & unrealistic storyline and action even at fantasy standards.

just after the movie finished, it was time to land at perth, for transit to melbourne. landed 3pm sg time. at the airport i took pictures of the plane docks and the scenery behind it. the tall buildings were all clustered at a distance, the rest all nature and a vast blue cloudless sky. then theres long customs to clear, a shuttle ride to another part of the airport and then boring wait at the departue hall. then the flight was delayed an extra hour, leaving only at 6.30.

as the plane flew over perth, i saw at first the land just covered in shrubs and trees, and later an expanse of barren wasteland, probably the outback. caught the sunset through the airplane window, creating a beautiful fading line of light across the horizon. this possible thanks to the plane having extra seats, so i changed to a window seat. the transfer plane was an old model with smaller seats, no entertainment except a plug in radio and no pillow/blanket. dinner was better than lunch, though also pasta. this time its spaghetti. and what i like about quantas meals is that the dessert is a chocolate bar and ice cream, instead of some yucky salad.

arrived in melbourne at 1.30 local time (GMT +11) no customs this time so it was much faster. we were greeted by my uncle at the airport, and my cousin isaac drove us to their home. the place was really dark at night and the civilisation is sparsely spaced. the temperature was like aircon outside, but inside the house it was warm n stuffy. we didnt take long to settle in the house and i slept on the long sofa. joel and isaac also slept in the living room.

(19/2) Day 2 - into town

victoria market

some arts building behind

melbourne city

Woke up at 10+, still feeling very sleepy. its only 7+ sg time. i went out into the kitchen and i saw the big garden outside... looked very nice with rows of plants lining the walls. the thermometer in the garden read 30 C. we hung around for for quite some time, eat glutinous rice breakfast, then left for the city area. isaac and his parents followed us, we reached city at about 1. it was quite a long drive. so inconvenient to do shopping.

melbourne city area was very diffren from orchard road. no highrise shopping centres. just rows of shops along the road, only ground floor. first stop is victoria market, sth like a wet market but the raw meats are in an aircon section. outside are the fruits and dried stuff, clothes and souvenirs. prices at the outer stalls are horribly expensive, like a lime the size of a ping pong ball going for $1 each, or 100g of green beans for $2. in the aircon section there was also all kinds of cheese in many colors and kangaroo meat (tastes like fish but a bit sweet, and texture of tenderised beef. )

we had lunch at the Bratwurtz stall, selling some kind of german giant hotdog for $5.50, plus 80 cents per condiment. mine was spicy pork flavour with added cheddar cheese and sauerkraut; disgusting sour watery radish strips. they all threw away their sauerkraut, but i just ate mine for thrill. after some of us finished eating, we went off to look around the place. the bratwurtz is so big that i nibbled it slowly, and until we had to get into the car and go off, i still havent finished it. (at least half an hour later.) when going our rounds around the inedibles section, the market was alr starting to close and stores everywhere packing up. isaac managed to buy a shirt with a comic print on "how stick people became extinct". apparently it was a dirty joke and it got him into trouble with his mom. went to a jeans shop having a promotion, but they are still so expensive. the cheapest is $20 and highest $99. surely the latter isnt 5 times better.

next we took a walk around the city, the part with higher buildings but less than 10 storeys and upper levels not open to public. there was hardly a lot of people roaming the streets, unlike the crowds of orchard rd. the weather was getting very hot by then, and the heat can be felt even in the shade. definitely hotter than average in singapore. luckily i was in shorts. after going to the information counter for info on the place (and cooling down with aircon) we went to some arts building where theres a gallery of aboriginal paintings and craft work on display. then we went to a sciencey building with winners of animation and games contest's works available to test out.

then we took a tram down to some river with lots of buildings at the sides. there were mostly restaurants and hotels. we had run out of water and were dying in the sun. but we didnt sweat much cos the air is dry. some sparrows were rubbing themselves in the sand to cool down. finally at 6.30 my uncle arrived and fetched us back to the house. we had a nice home cooked dinner made by my grandma who lives there now. its the only time we can have a break from western or restaurant food.

after dinner, wine was brought out and then i gained my liking for wines. it was a strong and sweet wine that i couldnt have enough of. while slowly sipping away we watched singaporean movie just follow law on dvd. my uncle fell asleep on the floor during the show (although the show was quite funny) and snored really loudly, stopping only when jerusha woke him up when he got too loud. we slept at 1, again in the living room. i took the couch this time. it could incline like the first class airplane seats. but still, it wasnt flat and i got stiff neck sleeping on that thing. uncomfortable.

(20/2) Day 3 - Dandenong

the misty town & road up the mountain

a display in the antique shop

scenic view from yarra winery

display of wines at the winery

on top the giant's chair

woek up this time earlier about 7+, hearing chatter around me. the adults were all up at the table eating breakfast. it was raining and so obviously much cooler. the thermometer read 17 degrees. fell back to sleep awhile more then lazed around. my uncle went first to fetch a friend and her daughter Nicole, who would join us for that day. when we were all ready to go, we set off for the dandenong mountains. my parents still cant pronounce it right despite many corections. fist stop was kinda along the road, with some shops along it. visited an antique shop with alot of expensive figurines and display items and artifacts. theres also statues and a unused well outside. we didnt buy anything i guess.

also went to a coffeeshop. this time its literally coffee shop. sells a wide range of coffeebeans, coming in different flavours and also coffee sweets. we were able to open the containers and take a sniff at each flavour, but alot of them smell alike. it was raining now and the weather getting very cold, especially at this high altitude. the town was covered in mist. temperatures a far cry from the previous day, and the most extreme weather change in the trip. even a thick jacket wasnt enough.

had lunch at pie in the sky, restuarant selling mainly pies. unlike the pies usually found in sg, these pies are huge and can feed 2 ppl for lunch. mine was full of meat filings in sauce, making it very rich and filling. i had to donate my chips due to fullness. extra sauce costs extra, like at most other places in aus. as Nicole was allergic to cooking oil and dairy products (how pitiful), she only had salad without dressing.

we had intended to spend the whole day at dandenong, but due to the rain we decided its not so good to go today. for one it was too cold and visibility is reduced, so shots arent so nice. so we went to yarra valley, a place full of vineyards, farms and wineries. we visited 2 wineries, had wine samples, and bought a few bottles of fortified shiraz, a nice sweet wine. there was also an apple farm outside one of them, where the trees are small but harvest plentiful.

then we went uphill again, probably somewhere near dandenong, and there was a restaurant where we hid from the cold winds and drank hot chocs. from there was a wide view of the farms and some town below. too bad it was quite misty. there was a random landmark called the giant's chair, just a big wooden chair. the 3 boys then decided to climb up to the top, but proved to be harder than it seems, and too high to jump down.

nearby the restaurant was a quiet and desolate garden which had a few statues in it. there we also saw the first UA (uniquely australian) animal: the Kookaburra. this one made no sound, just sitting on the branch quietly, watching us. but it isnt really afraid of humans. when i threw stones at it, it just curiously watched the stones fly past.

after that it was time to return home, had a homecooked dinner at 8 and followed by 5 (very small) glasses of the wine we just bought. watched some old action movie on dvd , bathed at 12.40 and slept at 1+ on the mattress this time.

CADC FOC Day 3

2008-02-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

arise 2
cant really rmb what time did we have to wake up, but as usual i was one of the hardest to get out of the bed and the last to leave the bunk. a few seniors had to come in and personally drag me out of bed. the sky was already bright, so probably about 8 - 9.

- PT
this time the PT was even worse. we were made to run... nobody was to jog or walk, to the desolate basketball court, where we did more exercises, then a lame blindfolded game about finding group members through making sounds.

- breakfast 3,
we had breakfast at about 10+. all there was were a whole tray of carrot cake, half black and the other half without sauce. the plain one was really plain and hardly anyone ate it until the black one finished. even the black one wasnt very tasty either. but we were very hungry so we stuffed ourselves with the plain stuff anyway.

- songs practice 2
more songs practice, the same old songs, to prepare for the campfire. whats the point man. we could just go there and learn it on the spot. theres the book for us to refer to... the only thing that needs to be learnt is some special moves and fill-ins that we dont bother doing anyway. its not like as if we are performing for some audience other than ourselves.

- telematch 2
we were brought down to the field where the previous telematch was held... the area surrounded by tall chainlink. now there was 2 areas marked by raffia strings. this time the game was about sending a catcher into the designated area and go around catching the members of the opposing team, which would be all inside. the cather is to hop on 1 leg and if he fall, go out of the boundry or lets his other leg touch the ground, he will be replaced by another catcher from his team and points deducted. it was played by elimination style and thundra didnt get into the finals.after that there was another game involving more water bombs. face off in the middle, do scissors paper stone. winner throws water bomb, loser runs from it.

- lunch 3
the games thing ended at about 3+. it was so late that we thought there was no lunch that day. but well there was, and the late lunch was also for a reason, that is, so we dont need dinner. yet.

-mr and mrs st john

some bo liao thing about cross-dressing up a guy and girl from each group using simple material like masking tape, newspaper, and balloons. our guy had a naturally ah beng face and so we put on red cheeks and water balloons as breasts which sagged badly. the skirt was a terrible spread of newspaper. very unglam. our girl ended up loking like some robot instead, with a newspaper suit and cartoon color paper tie. so of course our group couple was a flop, but gaia's couple was rather well done, especially the guy-turned -girl.

-bath 3

my soap was running out and i had difficulty getting lather out of it. difficult conditions extends bath time. i was stuck in the toilet so long that others came and went, leaving me alone there.

- discussion 2

it was too short a time given to plan our activities for the campfire. gathered on a bunk bed we discussed. we had to do songs and a skit. we chose about 5 songs, some english some chinese. but i didnt sing them. the skit was just briefly structured and to be done impromptu, which i am bad at.

- campfire

the time came for the highlight of the day, and maybe the whole camp. i am not a fan of campfires cos the mood just doesnt get to me. the plan of the campfire was such:a few songs from the booklet led by the seniors, then songs from a group, more booklet songs, then group skit, and so on 4 times.

we sat on a big canvas sheet on the grass beside the beach, facing the sea. the fire burned sometimes so big it made the seniors sweat profusely and got to us as well. the ambience was quite unique and memorable - darkness all around besides the fire, a calm dark sea with reflections of light from the jetty or the distant cityscape. i coud see the singapore big wheel thing from there.

the songs from the booklet were either too long and hard to catch (eg. the young ones, boulevard) or just too lame and bo liao (eg. eppo e tai tai, gako the frog) for me to be involved in.

the skits for each group was to follow a certain title, like 'fate of the apples' or for our group, 'fate of the scholar'. for our skit, i was made the main character - harry potter, the magic scholar. (that was my nickname during the camp cos some ppl thought we looked alike and started calling me that.) scene 1 - harry potter and classmates having magic lesson. teacher asks them to cast spell. first 2 fails, then harry utters a spell and the wand (a pen with light) glows. teacher praises harry and frowns on the other 2. jealousy brews. scene 2 - at a dinner n dance event, classmate tries to get close to a girl and she shuns him. she goes to harry and asks for dance. (i just went in circles.) more jealousy brews. scene 3 - harry peeing in the toilet. (i held position over a pail of water used for the fire.) the classmates come in and attacks harry, supposedly killing him. moral of the story, be too good and you get killed.

- surprise!

we were all hungry after and also during the campfire. we had been deprived of dinner so i hoped for some supper. it was already 11+. we went back to the mph and it was closed, all dark inside. the seniors with us uttered some access code and a reply came from inside. we were told tha supper was waiting for us and so we gotta do a loudest food cheer ever. when they were satisfied, they let us in and i was in for a big surprise.

the disco light was turned on, shining multicolor dots on the ceiling to make the starry feel. when we first entered, the song 'close to you' by carpenters was played. a dim light was turned on so we could see the spread laid out for us on the table. there was spicy macaroni in sauce, fried chicken comparable to KFC, baked cornflakes in rich chocolate sauce, and other really nice food. the commandant came up to say some words of closure. it was a really nice way to bring closure to the camp.

from then on the mood was changed, like the seniors were no longer in control of us. later on, loud funky music played and the ppl danced into the night. as for me, i was too tired and went to sleep first, amidst the booming music which is just as loud from the bunks.

CADC FOC Day 2

2007-06-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

- arise 1
We were forced awake at 8am by someone shouting into a loudhailer outside the bunks. After a while the went inside the bunks to flush out those who were still inside, or in my case, still on the bed. I was hardly able to get up. stayed half asleep for the next couple of minutes after i complied under their pressure and got out. i had had less than 6 hours of sleep.

- PT
as if we werent tired enough, we were made to do morning exercises in the mph. the usual stretches, paired exercises and jumping jacks. made me feel like fainting after that. After PT there was other things to pass time.. cant rmb. prolly more briefing.

- breakfast 2
another food cheer required.. then were served breakfast. small quantity but quite good quality. Fresh French toast with kaya. tastes really good. but only entitled 1 slice per person (2 halves.) an extra tray was passed around and i was able to kop another half. but we were still hungry after that.

- worksheet & discussions
we were given a lecture about CADC - what it does, what activities, its values, slogans or whatever, the names and roles of the higher committee members, and after that we were given worksheets to test us on what was said. we all had to complete it and get it correct. we copied each other's correct ans, but there were still soem stuff we all didnt know. so they in the end gave us the answers.

- treasure hunt
this isnt exactly a treasure hunt. each group was given a paper and plastic bag. theres a list of items we need to get, they were quite specific. and a set of riddles of which the ans are the names or identities of seniors, and we gotta get their signatures. for example, one of the clue is 'SAME'. we translated that to chinese, 'yi yang'. so we have to get signature of one of the seniors called yi yang. another one is 'casualty's darling'. we deciphered that to be the first-aider. These people usually be hiding or runnign around. and when we finally get their attention, we have to do request in order to get the signature, like doing a group dance with stupid actions.

for the items, there were things like Nike slippers, a red flower, Sony ericsson hp, 3 strand of 15cm hairs, the longest grass, the heaviest stone, aluminium water bottle and other specific or weird stuff. when times up and we submitted our items and signatures, some tried to make fun by drawing those missing items like the red flower. and they actually accepted it as a half-item.

- lunch 2
for lunch, not sure what there was, but it was better than day 1's, in both quality and quantity.

- more slack
a period of free time. spent it in the MPH. i was feeling really tired and having a running nose. usually that means im fallng sick soon. so i was trying to get some rest leaning on the wall in a corner, but everyone was so noisy, and they wont even let me be in peace by forcing me to join them in the 'bonding' games. only after repeated refusal on grounds that im not feeling well did they continue their ruckus without me.

- telematch
i reported my condition to the camp chief, but he was reluctant to let me stay behind to rest. he said, only if i really fall sick. so i just joined in and test my endurance.. how long more before i break down.

we went to a grass field surrounded by high chainlink fence and barb wire like a protected area for our telematch. All the material were laid out, and upon seeing the setup i alr knew i was in for some heavy activity to agravate my condition. there were 4 lanes of stuff, 1 for each group.

players from each group are sent out 1 at a time. 1st, they would eat a dried sour plum. must spit out the seed and swallow everything else, then proceed to turn 5 rounds with a pole to the head (i really hate this. it unneccesary and torturous. just after doing it would seem like ur on a boat in a violent storm.) then throw a stuffed dice, and do pushups according to the amount indicated on it. i was lucky... got 1.

Next, gotta drink coke from a 1.5L bottle and solve a puzzle at the same time. after solving can continue and the puzzle rejumbled, but in the end the group must finish the whole bottle. next, eat a dry biscuit and kick chapteh at same time. must kick 5 times and finish biscuit before continuing. then the person before should be sitting with a botle over head, waiting to get wet. gotta soak water from a pail and squeeze it into the bottle until it reached a mark, then pour it away, then the previous person proceed and u take over to be wet by next person.

For the final part, people will Q to do some kind of slide stunt. the person would run a short distance before diving onto a big plastic sheet with water and oil on it, slide across and grab a coloured waterbomb at the end of it. the judge will give a number of rubberbands according to the 'niceness' of the stunt, and an extra for grabbing a bag with the group's color. those who finish first would wait at the side to watch others do the stunt while tolerating the very oily body and clothes.

- beach games
we went to the beahc after that. the camp was split into 2 parts of 2 groups each. 2 groups will do some maze thing. the whole group stands in a line and hold the shoulder of person in front. all between the 1st and last person in line wil be blindfolded, then go throught a maze with pits and color waterbombs on the floor and strings that u gotta go under or over, guided by the 2 seers. points awarded for bursting a watebomb of group color (only the blind can do it) and points deducted for bursting other colors. During the game, gamemasters would add on to the ordeal by spraying water from a hose, tickling and taunting them.

The other 2 groups would be given some time to build a big sandcastle without equipment. after times up the 2 castles will be compared, judged on creativity, looks and explaination. i dug into the sand and found black sand below. i used that to make roads for the castle. after comparing, comes second part, where we are given time to tie waterbombs, and once war is declared, we throw the bombs at the opposing group's castle while defending our own. the castle will be judged again on appearance after the bombing.

at the end of the games, the 2 parts will switch over for the other games.

- bath 2
we definitely had to bathe. the oil and sand and wet clothes and whatever other stuff were intolerable. needless to say everyone else also bathed, so the Q was extremely long. i didnt stand in line. i sat at the side and chatted with a stranger who invited me and his friends. his name is aaron fang, a big-time-slacker turned studious St Gabs student who qualified for SAJC but chose poly after his bad JC experiences during CJC 1st 3 month.

- dinner 2
it was just a big tray of char kway teow for dinner. bland, unnutritious and unvarietied.

- CSI
after dinner, the camp chief called all of us for attention. he sounded very serious then, and we had our ears peeled to listen. he said sth like this: " i guess all of you heard a loud scream around dinnertime last night. someone was murdered in camp grounds last night. the police are now investigating the case, and have asked for your assistance in the investigation. now i will bring one group at a time to the crime scene. Aqua, you are first."

I was freaked out. i seriously thought it was real. my mind was racing... i expected this to come out in the news and i would be a so-called witness to a murder. i prepared for some hairraising details at the crime scene and hating every bit of the suspense. again, my group was the last to visit the 'crime scene'. i found somtehing amiss when the groups who went did not come back. so finally my turn came, and we were led to the MPH! my anticipation turned to disappointment the moment i saw 2 seniors dressed as policemen, standing behind he door. so its all a make up story!

At the 'crime scene', we were told to take note of whatever we saw. there was a chalk outline of the body with some tomato ketchup at the head area, a toolbox, a broom, a bracelet, a metallic water bottle and some other items to act as clues.

We were given a paper telling of the people suspectedly involved in the murder and a short description of them. of cos, they were played by the seniors. we had to go around asking the involved people questions and try to gain clues to the case. each group was suposed to guess who is the murdrer and tell their version of the story. we would be given points for the correct guess and closest version of the story. these were some of the cast:

zheng ke ai - the deceased. murdered at her school classroom. bad in studies.
heng mei li - ke ai's close friend. owner of the bracelet.
chung heng - a cleaner at ke ai's school, talked to her often
(4got name) - ke ai's ex-boyfriend. angrily broke up with her after she went for another guy
(4got name) - ke ai's current bf. a playboy working at a bar. secretly having affair with mei li.
Satae - a bangalah maintenance man who was at the crime scene suposedly to fix electric fan.
(4got name) - ke ai's form teacher, gave her alot of attention and held long remedial classes.
Dr. Sun - the doctor who did autopsy on ke ai. told us clues on the time and cause of death.
Some other carelafairs (or calefairs) included ke ai's mother and sister, sitting with mei li at the funeral; mourning away while burning hell notes , a colleague of the bf at the bar; who can tell some stuff about him, ke ai's classmates who were partying away, and 2 other teachers of ke ai.

my group concluded that the murder was commited by mei li and ke ai's current bf, to get rid of her from the love triangle. Dr sun was the biggest clue. he said ke ai was strangled, with nail marks on the neck, suggesting its done by a girl, and also suffered a fatal blow on the head with great force, suggesting its done by a man. so we added in the bf to the prime suspects. so mei li strangled while the bf hit her with the water bottle.
Other group's story varied... like mei li hired satae to kill ke ai. lol.

- re enactment
then it was time for the real thing. a reenactment of the murder was shown.
ke ai and meili was having remedials with the form teacher. sudenly, the teacher switched to his dark side and went into a murderous rage. he knocked meili out (dropping the bracelet), then strangled meili while confessed he liked her, but she kept hooking up with other guys. and the teacher had long nails. ke ai struggled and tried to fight back, so he took the metal bottle and hit her head. then he switched back to his normal self, felt guilty and ran. satae came in to fix the fan, saw the 2 bodies, dropped the toolbox and ran. chung heng also came in to sweep, saw the odies, dropped the broom and ran. then meili woke up, saw the body and called the police. the end.

- washup and lightout 2
really tired from the day's activites, i again treasured whatever time for sleep i had. i found it amazing that my running nose went off over time and my tiredness eased during the beach games. but the tiredness caught up just at the right time, when i could hit the bed at last.

CADC FOC Day 1

2007-04-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

- meeting and arrival
On the morning of 31 march 2007, i woke up a bit earlier than usual, and got ready for the CADC FOC. My dad offered to fetch me there, which eased the burden of carrying my heavy luggage around. The stipulated meeting time was 8am. I thought i had to be there on time, if not the bus may leave without me. When i arrived at the meeting point, a crowd of campers formed a large cricle. The PCs were conducting introductions and icebreakers, and i had to join in. We played the game of concentration and blow wind blow and some others which didnt last long. But i found the icebreaking time rather boring. the bus came only at least an hour later. And one thing i really hated was that everything was conducted in chinese. Everyone spoke chinese. I had enough of cheenah environments that i dont survive well in. But it is said, do not conform to the pattern of this world, so i stuck to speaking english instead of adapting to speaking chinese.

When the bus came, we all got on, and as usual i was one of the last to get on. but there was still plenty of space and i found 2 seats for myself. 1 for my bag. during the bus trip there some seniors went around talking to the campers as it got very boring. at least the ride wasnt very long.

We reached the ferry terminal on the west coast and waited quite some time for the ferry. Meanwhile we were forced to play more icebreaker style games at some open space at the terminal. And later when we went on board, i found it was not much of a ferry. Just a boat, enclosed and with aircon. Can fit about 30 - 40 ppl only. 2 of them were needed to transport all of us. even then we had to squeeze 3 ppl to some seats. During the ride we sang some campfire songs like christ in the vessel and eppo.

- camp intro
When we reached the jetty of st johns island, many seniors were already there waiting, and they formed a row at both sides to welcome the campers with a cheer as we walked past them. We first gathered at the small clearing outside the jetty entrance and posed for a mass picture, then we made our way to the campsite, where we spent most of our time in. We walked along the beach, but up on an artificial path. There was no dry sand below.

Then we came to an uphill path which lead to our campsite. At first impression, it looked like a prison. Tall chainlink fences with circular barbed wires on top. The buildings looked like army barracks and its located on top a slope. At the foot of the slope, the PCs who were with us gave a loud cheer in chinese, supposedly some kind of password, then those in the camp shouted back a response cheer. Then we went into the campsite.

Inside, many seniors were standing in 2 archs. on one side were the PCs and ICs, and on the other were the camp cooks and MIU. The campers stood in the middle, and we were given an introduction of all the seniors. The process was really draggy cos after each senior was introduced, they gave a short cheer like "(name)(role) x2". Then the campers were sorted one by one into their groups, and with each camper called out, they also gave a cheer "(name)(group)x2" There were 4 groups, supposedly named after the ancient elements: Aqua (water), Fira (fire), Gaia (Earth) and Thundra (storm). I was one of the few last ppl to be given our group, and i was posted to group Thundra, the 4th group. usually the last group to do activities which require one group at a time.

After that really draggy intro we were led to our bunks. Its just 2 rooms , 1 for all the boys and 1 for all the girls. In each room there were 2 rows of many doubledeck beds, of which the mattresses and pillows did resemble those of the legendary Kem Kaizen. But at least the floor was cleaner, tho its just concrete without flooring, and we r allowed to wear footwear. I just randomly settled on a bed, but it turned out there was not enough beds for everyone, so we had to combine 2 beds for 3 ppl to sleep.

- mascot & cheer
we spent the rest of the time of the day in the multi purpose hall, except for lunch, dinner, bath and the highlight of the day. First, we had to design our group banner or mascot, using a white cloth , markers and pencils given to us. We also had to come up with the group cheer, so we split the 2 tasks among 2 halfs the group, and i was to be doing the mascot.

My group was quite dead at first.. we all just stoned and didnt come up with any idea for the design. The most enthu person in my group, Sandra, had to take the lead and started designing on a rough paper. she asked us if we r ok with it, but since we had no ideas of our own, we had to. i looked around at the other groups, as well as the other half doing the cheer... they just stoned and looked at the blank paper. my group was the first to make any progress. In the end, Sandra had to come up with the cheer as well.

After the plan for the mascot was done, then my group started to take action and transfer it onto the banner. i found the design rather plain, so i made my first move to give the letters 3D effect, and then to help draw lightning bolts, raindrops, clouds and the names of our members. A few did remain passive, but there were not enough material and jobs to go around anyway.

- lunch 1
We had lunch along the narrow pathway outside the MPH. each group to a table which wasnt big enough. we had to squeeze quite abit. for every meal, theres this stupid rule that we gotta come up with an original food cheer each time. only after the cooks approve then can we eat. for example: "you are my dear cooks, my only dear cooks. you make me happy when im hungry. you never know, cooks how much i love you. please dont take my food away." sung to the tune of you are my sunshine. We sent representatives to collect food for our group. the food came in large metal trays or bowls. for lunch we had stir-fried spinach, minced meat and pork bone soup. the malay eat special stuff. the food wasnt enough for us.

- SA & songs practice
during the camp there was a special 'secret admirier' activity. something like angel and mortal. gathering back at mph, we randomly picked a name. this time must be opposite sex. but since theres more boys than girls, remaining boys had male SAs.

I got a female to admire, but she wasnt admirable at all. her name was rachel yeo. fat, ugly, unfeminine and chor lor. when playing a game, she was supposed to say "toing". so she did but sum1 couldnt hear and asked her to repeat. and so she shouted "TOING LAH!!" it made my hair stand. what a disgrace to be her admirer. nobody wanted to trade with me either.

Then we had a long n boring practice session for the campfire songs. songbooks were handed out and we were forced to participate by doing actions or clapping along while the seniors demonstrate. even learn the lyrics for some of them. was super sian. even for them.

- bath 1
finally, bath time. but i didnt bathe cos afterwards was a night activity. spent the time in the bunk trying to get rest on my bed. Was a little hungry, so i took out my half eaten sandwich i left in the bag, and to my disgust i found it infested with ants so gotta throw away. A whole trail of them was going to and from my bag side pocket. the trail led to outside the window. took a long time to get them away from my bag. nobody had insect repellent to lend me. we werent allowed to go outside the campsite, so couldnt explore.

- dinner 1
( forgot what we ate, but it was bad.) during dinner halfway we heard a really loud scream; a scream out of horror. came from somewhere not far away. it freaked us out, but we didnt go find out what caused it.

- quarantine
straight after dinner we were sent into our bunks and we were locked up. A few of the seniors guarded the door and make sure we dont get out and brought a pail of water for us to wash hands. we didnt know what was going on... they were preparing the place for the fantasy quest activity. the quarantine was to induce the element of surprise for us. This lasted at least an hour

- fantasy quest
it was time for the highlight of the day. this activity was scheduled to last till very late, like 2am. even before it started i was very tired alr. but i thoght its a pity to miss it so i forced myself awake when i had to.

First, we were led into the mph. the windows were all sealed with newspapers, and props done up. the lights were off. there was a cardboard castle in place of the seniors bunk door, ppl standing on platforms shining torchlights, and some burning pot like those at chinese funerals, burning paper to create the smoky ambience. It began with a skit as a prelude to the story. a princess and a woodcutter fell in love, then an evil prince fought with him, won, and captured the princess. So we were supposed to go out around st johns island, find clues to secrets, and in the end obtain a magic potion to subdue the prince. All the characters were acted by the seniors.

We had to go to a number of destinations, the next one only known after completing one. A book was given to us, in it was a map of the place in their own fantasy form, such as some wooden structure like for hanging swings named as 'mills of thread' on the map, and a common guardhouse named 'tower of despair'. there were 2 types of destinations: some with people. they have to be convinced to help u and may ask for sort of a forefeit, before u get the next clue. the other type is just an area with clues hidden in a plastic wrap somehwere and must be searched for. each group has its destinations in different order, and thundra's was the worst... well dispersed about. at the last destination, there would be a bottle with coloured liquid of the group's colour.
aqua=blue, fira=red, gaia=green, thundra=yellow.

our first stop was the mills of thread, where there r 2 girls in red dress and plasticine all over to look like sores, looking down all the time and sewing a cloth. as we approached, she shouted, "stay away! dont come any closer." we all started to poke fun at them. then she shout at us to stop laughing, then we got serious and start askign her for clues. and they would always try to be difficult, and ask qn we dunno how to ans. if take too long to ans, would ask us to get lost. but in the end, they will tell the clue, if not cannot continue. they will just drag as long as possible until we sian. the same goes for all the manned destinations. also stated that cannot mention the name of the evil prince or they will go crazy. and they pruposely try to make u say it. for mills of thread, we were required to bring them the longest hair to 'complete the sewing.' first time say too short, 2nd time then accept.

next, find clues in some bushes along a path. the plastic wrap is very small and need to use torchlight.

next, at a house got a woman n a crazy girl with a chopper, chains on the feet, walking around and making funny noises. this 1 not much questioning needed. just have to sing nursery rhymes for the child, then we got the clue.

next, find clues in a basketball court.

next, at some very dark area with alot of trees got a man sitting on the ground. as usual, cannot go near. then he demand that we bow before speaking. after convincing, got to sent a girl up to him. so sandra went. he ask her to clean his hand, then he sudenly pull her to scare her. he whisper the clue to her.

next, find clue at a nearby hut. the aqua potion was there, so obvious.

next, the tower of despair. got a girl, supposedly the evil prince ex lover who under a spell became ugly. the tip was to talk about inner beauty. she played hard to convince and we stand there a long time trying to answer. then we have to find a hairclip among the grass for her. and there were decoys.. at first pick a wrong 1, got scolded, then gotta search again.

next, find clues at the jetty.

next, near the jetty got some guy, supposedly a priest, dressed in the priest robe. The tip was to talk about money cos hes greedy for money. but this time can go near and face not hidden by hair or darkness like the rest. easy to convince. then gotta search for a bible n cross made of paper around the area.

finally, at a nearby grassy area, we found our yellow potion and proceeded to the end point somewhere near campsite. we were 3rd position in the race.

after we returned to the mph, the conclusion skit was shown, with the woodcutter using the 4 potions to kill the prince. then a boy was volunteered to open the castle door to rescue the princess, and when he did, a guy in the princess dress came out and hugged him. Then the credits and cast were revealed.

- wash up and lightout 1
i took this time to bathe. not many people to compete with me for the cubicles. then i went to sleep. tho the bed wasnt comfortable, i was too tired to bother. slept fast.

Prelude

2007-04-09T01:20:00.000-07:00

This Freshman Orientation camp was organised by the Current Affairs and Debating Club (CADC), some cca in SP. It was not really meant to get the campers to know each other, cos theres not much point to that. After school starts we'll hardly have chance to interact and stuff, cos we r from many different courses and schools. Its just in the name of fun and enjoyment, and maybe giving us a good impression of CADC so we would join it. I probably would, anyway.

In the process of signing up for the many FOCs offered, we had to go thru a series of rooms where the different clubs would offer their stuff. So there was this School of Business Club (SBC) that is compulsory for business students like me to join, and they told us about their FOC and gave me a brochure. It sounded quite good so i signed up for it for a fee of $15. That was about all i had in my wallet and i paid on the spot.

Then later i passed the CADC room, and i thought their FOC was really attractive. For just $10 we would spend 4 days 3 nights at St Johns Island. The impression i got was lots of time spent playing by the beach, with nice sand, coconut trees and refreshing waters. (well, it didnt really turn out as i expected. the water was murky, most of the shoreline was artificial, and hardly any time spent on the beach.) So i made no hesitation except to peep at my SB brochure; ... the SB camp was on 9 - 12 april, doesnt clash so i thought, and i proceeded to sign up for the CADC FOC. But my wallet was drained by the SB camp, so i couldnt pay on the spot, resulting in my place in the camp being able to be taken by others who pay.

Then i went home and looked thru all the brochures again, and i found this receipt that i was given for payment for the SB camp, and on it was indicated that the camp was actually on 2 - 4 april! it clashes with the CADC 1!! I decided that the CADC camp was better ( longer, cheaper, and held at an interesting new place, rather than in the SP campus for the SB camp.) So i told the SB camp IC that i wanna back out, but he told me he has problem refunding me, he will try find a way. ( and until now he hasnt.)

A few days later, a CADC senior called and told me that the camp had reached its quota of campers. there was no more space for me. I was just a bit sad cos that camp sounded like fun. Now im forced to go for the SB camp instead. Frustrating. If only the CADC room came first, i could have secured my place there and dun care about securing the SB camp.

Then just a day before the camp, i went to SP with a friend to collect some goody bag, and at the same time i went to look for Chung Heng, who was the vice camp chief. He told me when i signed up that he could secure a place for me even tho i didnt pay, so i wanted to confront him for breaking his word. But he wasnt there. Instead, some other CADC senior simply told me that they could easily squeeze in a few more, and let me in in exchange for payment on the spot. And yes, i brouhgt just enough with me. And i secured a place.

'Phew. that probem settled. Im going to st john's island!! ' But that coused a new problem - my refund for the SB camp. i just had to trust that the Sb camp IC would find a way to refund me, which seems very fair. But they couldnt. So i had to treat the CADCC as $25. A waste of money, but actually $25 would still be very cheap for the CADC camp.

CADC FOC index

2007-04-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

DAY 1
- meeting and arrival
- camp intro
- mascot & cheer
- lunch 1
- SA & songs practice
- bath 1
- dinner 1
- quarantine
- fantasy quest
- wash up and lightout 1

DAY 2
- arise 1
- PT
- breakfast 2
- worksheet & discussions
- treasure hunt
- lunch 2
- more slack
- telematch
- beach games
- bath 2
- dinner 2
- CSI
- re enactment
- washup and lightout 2

DAY 3
- arise 2
- PT
- breakfast 3
- songs practice 2
- telematch 2
- lunch 3
- mr and mrs st john
- bath 3
- discussion 2
- campfire
- surprise!
- closure

DAY 4
- arise 3
- breakfast
- packing up
- departure
- home sweet home

Kem Kaizen - day 1 activities

2007-03-22T03:19:00.000-07:00

Upon arriving at the camp, we had an intro to the place, then we were split into our groups to make out team banner. I was in team 3 and called our group OI. Members included kester, joel yeo, johnston, hannah, kaonn, sherilyn, darren, andre, caleb and me. We were given paint n brush to paint our banner but we hardly used the brushes. We just sprinkled all colours of paint oon the banner, and painted different parts of our body and make a print on the banner. After our banner was done we had lunch.

After lunch we prepared to go for some trekking down a stream. We first had to climb up the mountain. But just a few minutes after starting our journey, the hot sunny weather very suddenly changed and it started to rain heavily. A refreshing and cooling shower to repel the heat, but because of it we had to turn back. We sheltered in a hut and played the hand entangling game until the rain stopped.

So we went uphill for a distance until we reached an old WW2 bunker, then we went down a slope and into a stream. Then we walked along and inside the stream, all the way down. Then we made our way up again on another path up a steep slope until we reached a place almost as high as the clouds, where we can see down the mountain a vast green scenery. Then downhill again, where it started to rain again. We reached camp totally drenched. The water track was rough, with uneven depths at each part, shaky rocks, sudden plunges and sinking sand. The land track had thorny bushes, fallen trees, puddles of mud and lots of leeches that can cling on to u unknowingly until it bites. My first secessful bite was by a big one, and i had to endure it through the whole water track and thereafter.

Then until dinner thime nothing much happened.. except for seeing joycelyn propese to kester as part of truth and dare.
//
At night we had the night walk. Just a walk through a very short path which leads back to the same place. But theres no light other than the moonlight, and dim lightsticks to show which way to go. A nice opportunity to get in close touch with nature and gaze at stars.
/
Then it was time to wash up and sleep in that awful bunk, on those awful beds.

Kem Kaizen Overall review

2007-03-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

Date: 14 - 16 march 2007, 9am - 4pm
Cost: $190 singapore dollars.
How can it be so expensive when everything there sucks? If i knew its like that its like that, i wouldnt have gone even if its free. I went because i was told the servers would be 'in charge' so i have to go. Ended up to be a lie.

Campsite
A cluster of huts and haphazard wooden houses. The 3 meeting areas are built above a reservoir. Bunks and a gathering room called a Dewan is located further uphill. Theres an area full of abstacle courses and stuff.. like monkey bar, improper bridges and ropes, along the reservior. The place is in close touch with nature, so u can easily find wildlife intruding the area. The owners keep cats and chickens, which run around and dirty the place with their droppings. The cats not only dirty the place, they disturb us by constantly mating, making loud noises in the process, and coming up to us, rubbing our feet and even going into the bunk and lick our shoes.

Bunks
The worst accomodation i ever had. I rather sleep in tents, pee in the bushes and bathe in the streams. The bunk was a room with a walkway and raised platforms on its the sides. On the platforms, beds were laid side by side from one end of the room to the other. There were 9 beds per platform. The room was very poorly ventilated. No aircon, only 2 ceiling fans. It had 2 windows beside the door, and another 1 on another side, but were always closed. So the room is always very stuffy and whatever stinks cant escape. The only source of air was the main door, which isnt even enough to supply air to the middle of the room, let alone the far end. The floor has a plastic waterproof flooring, same as the platforms. The room is on the same level as outside, so rainwater could flow in and flood the place, like what it was like when we first arrived. The whole floor was wet and full of sand and dirt. And theres no way to get rid of it. Even so, i dunno y, we were not allowed to wear footwear. We are forced to walk barefoot on the filthy floor. The beds were just thin old matresses on the concrete platform. They were smelly, some mouldy and had sand on them. The bedsheets were probably never changed. Its a surprise theres no bedbugs.

Toilets
As for the toilets, its so poorly built that a corner is always waterlogged. There were 5 cubicles, 3 for shower, 2 with a hole in the ground they call a squat toilet bowl. They had rusty metal doors which couldnt close properly. It is opposite the door and has only a 5cm tall opening above for ventilation. Hows the shit smell gonna escape like that?? The whole toilet is only lighted up by 1 small lightbulb. the 2 side cubicles are all dark at night. Theres no flush for the bowls, and no shower in the shower areas. only taps to fill pails to flush n bathe. And the worst part is, theres no drainage for the floor outside the cubicles, and the toilet is built an inch ABOVE the bunk. So whatever water comes out of the cubicles ends up in our sleeping area. These malays are really 'smart' architects.

Canteen
Very poor hygiene. actually i would rather sit on the road and eat my meals, if not for difficulty of holding the plates. The tables are covered by the same plastic things in our bunk floor. Swarms of houseflies can be seen on it, and they hover around us during meals, sucking at our food and drinks when we r unaware. The table is full of lizard and fly shit. Cats come n rub our legs and beg for food during meals. The chairs were made of plastic and were all stained and black. The tables were closely spaced, so theres no space for ppl to walk between them if ppl r sitting on the chairs. (the table is long, not round)

Meals
The food was quite ok. can match some lousier catered foods in singapore, though not a match for most hawker centre dishes. Had food like curry chicken, diffren types of veg, sotong balls, fish nuggets, chilli potato and tofu.

After meals we have to wash our own plates, cups and utensils. And the wash area were also very improper. The bar soap provided was like nothing i used before.. hard like chalk unless its soaked and hard to wash off. The sponges were dirty and smelly. Used for ages by everyone washing their stuff. Prolly alot of decaying food still stuck inside. So the cutlery were never clean enough for me and i have to double wash it before using.

If that doesnt sound bad enough, a real life experience should do the job.

C&C Day #2 - part 3

2007-01-04T02:09:00.000-08:00

After a bit of reflections on the games and stuff, the rest of the time was free until 6. We were allowed to go esso to buy stuff, so alot of ppl went n esso was very crowded. I gave another letter plus kopiko sweets to my mortal , and recieved 2 packets of famous amos cookies from my angel and a card saying "' enjoy. =) " What a waste of card.
My angel was a person of few words, but made up for it with more actions, in the form of buying me stuff. My mortal was also a person of few words.. cos he never wrote a return letter.

The remaining free time was used for more target practice using the same rubberbands. But somehow there was a big deprovement in accuracy. Hitting score of 20 in 15 shots was hard to come by. Sometimes cant even reach 10. Suspect something wrong with the bands... pull too much until lost elasticity or sth.
During dinner time, it was raining slightly. Bad sign.. cos we were expecting night games later.

After dinner we had a briefing of the night game. we were shown a map of labrador park, where its to be held. we were told of how its played, the rules, and the starting point of each group. But before the game we first had some P&W which lasted until 8.30. i tot they may have forgotten the time or sth. leave at 8.30+, and the game prolly would take quite some time, means we will return at least 11+.

in the game, we were to go around the park searching for cartoon stickers. each group was given 1 lantern that is required for seeing the sticker. if we find 1, we gotta record the cartoon character on it. if along the way we meet another group, we gotta do scissors paper stone and the losers lantern gets blown out. groups without lighted lanterns cannot continue searching and must return to base for relighting. the clues we were given: they r not in places without nearby lighting, not along the beach, and mainly on directional signs, monuments and historical boards (educational info for visitors.)

So we went up the buses. 4 groups to 1 bus. reached there about 9. my bus stopped at the entrance but the other went further in cos those 4 groups starting point is further. but it ended up that the game masters were impatient to wait for each group to take position so the groups started at 2 positions instead of 8.

My group took the straight ahead route and i was the lightbearer. after awhile, the lantern string slipped off the stick n dropped, etinguishing the flame. wasted trip. throughout the game we faced other groups many times. soemtimes we made peace, but abt 10 times the other groups demanded duel. and it was stupid of them to do so, cos they ALWAYS lost. its like as if our good luck made us invincible.

It took a long time before we found our first sticker, and then we got the hang of it and knew roughly where and what to look for alr. so we found another 3 before times up at 10.30. our 4 chars were winnie the pooh (on a historical board), the roadrunner wolf (on some monument with texts), tigger (on a direction sign) and tweety (on a cannon) . We were tied 2nd place with another group with 4 stickers. the 1st group had 6. out of 10.

it was tiring walking around n climbing up n down the hill. plus my sandal's bottom part came out halfway. (it was repaired by nailing after it broke the 1st time) and its really uncomfortable walking with the sandals half separated and nails jutting out. i had to use a stone to push the nails back in, but it comes out again soon after.

my group went back to base before times up. a few more still wouldnt give up and continued after time up. so the punctual ones had to wait at base for them. meanwhile a bunch of girls played some lame superhero game, which they got addicted to and played it wherever they went, whenever they had nothing to do. i took the time to try repair my sandals and i found joyce teo eating delicious lamb chop.

me: " joyce, going back for supper soon alr, still buy food... cant wait arh?"
joyce: " no, its free 1. "
me: "huh? free?! how come?"
jesse: " its cos she has gastric. u want also arh? wait till u got gastric then come n say."

at first i tot jesse treat her. later i found that the restaurant manager treat instead. partly out of compassion, but also cos its leftovers anyway i guess. but good leftovers.

When we returned we had a good supper. there was chicken pies, packeted sandwiches, ball donuts and sth else to choose from and enough for evry1 to have its fill. some leftovers were kept for the next supper.

i went to bathe early. i bathed like i normally do, plus since the conditions were bad, extra time was needed to make up for it. so i occupied the cubicle about twice as long as the other boys, and those waiting outside were rushing me to get out.

This time, i made some space aat the drumset area and slept there cos theres a carpet. plus its at a secluded corner so no1 to intrude my space and its not so bright there. abit dusty but nvm.

C&C Day #2 - part 2

2007-01-03T01:07:00.000-08:00

After lunch, we assembled at the chapel for the afternoon games briefing. The games was like a race to be held nearby at holland village, and only restricted to that small area plus a little outside, at the adjacent blocks. Each team had a different order of their checkpoints, but all were to be covered by each group anyway. It was mainly a race of movement speed, but it did require some thinking and directional sense, cos a mistake or ignorance could cause us to walk unnecessary distances and waste precious time and energy.

At first, my group was given a picture of a dustbin. We just had to guess that its a bustbin and we got our next clue. I didnt see what it is, but my group started rushing to the multistorey carpark. Everyone was running like as if they were chasing sum1. i just briskwalk to save energy. Jesse was nowhere to be found at the carpark. Kaixin then called him and he guided us to his location; some park up a nearby hill. He was sitting next to this area with smooth stones glued to the ground used to massage feet. And we were all supposed to walk 1 round over the whole thing. A short distance, but it really hurt. Feels like my feet bones are gonna break. It causes much more pain than massage.

After we all walked on it, we were given the next checkpoint: Burger King. Of cos we all knew where it is, so we ran there. We met Adeline next to the toilet upstairs and she assigned us to each take turns to wear a stupid santa hat with a spring on top and wish a different stranger a merry christmas. Unlike what i expected, nobody was shy to do it.

The next destination was block 2, and we had to count the total number of steps in all the staircases of the block. So we went to 1 staircase and counted the number of steps per level, multiplied by the number of levels, times the number of staircases. A calculator on the handphone was needed to do that. And then we called to tell the answer, but it was wrong. We found out that each staircase had different number of steps per level. So more calculation was needed. Finally we got the right answer: about 1500. On our way out, we spotted the watergun man coming and had to hide at some area beside the disposal point. Wasted some of our time.

The following destinations may not be in order cos its hard to remember the whole order. But 1 thing for sure is that the checkpoints were widely spaced so we had a good workout running around.
- We had to find out how much it costs if u got drunk n u need the services of driving ur car home for u. Found the ans at a small booth at the carpark: $50.
- We went back to the stone pit again for another round of stonewalk. Ouch.
- Went back to BK. This time we had to stand outside BK and shout our group cheer so loud that its audible from inside closed doors. We din even have a cheer so we jus come up with sth unoriginal on the spot. Every1 was staring at us like we were lunatics when cheering.
- Went to the mini foodcourt opp food junction. supposed to share 2 ways to live with any stranger there, but none of us were prepared so we sang 3 christmas carols instead.
- Sumwhere near coffee connoisseur, supposed to share 2WTL again, but ended up doing the nana song with actions instead.
- Went to Cold Storage to search for a packet of Bakkutteh and find the energy value per packet. Tried many packets there but all not the correct 1. Then finally found it hidden deep inside the shelf. Probably a sabotage by previous groups. We returned the favour.
- outside breadtalk, had to collect stranger's signatures on each of our group member's hands.
- Searched for the place offering hypnosis therapy. Found it, advertised on a banner hanging outside a shop along Jln Mera Saga. On the way out, met the token lady. We chased her from 2 directions and cornered her outside the bank. Nowhere to run, so she gotta give us a token.
- Looked for Joycelyn at some restaurant at the corner. She teach us some stupid cheer and we had to cheer it out with our group name in it.

That was the last station. time to return to church. On the way back, met another group who just finished also. Adrian and i jaywalked and quickly ran to the chapel. the rest of my group were too scared to jaywalk so the other group managed to reach the chapel and gather just a few seconds faster than us. Dropped 1 position cos of that and achieved 3rd place.

The games were scheduled to end at 4.30, but we all finished before 4. Apparently we all rushed the whole way through. Everyone was all sweaty and the aircon room stank real bad.
We also found out that the token lady wasnt a lady.

C&C Day #2 - part 1

2006-12-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

I was awoken by soft voices and sounds of movement from the other guys. I guess it was time to wake up. I went outside, and the sky was partially lit. There were already some others waiting at the lounge area next to the 'aquarium', or shuffling in and outta the toilets. Upon entering the toilet, i saw a crowd of ppl brushing teeth, waiting to use the sink or cublicles. I found an unattended toiletry bag and used the tooth paste for myself. Splashes of cold water on my face really helped to liven me up further.

Soon, we were all called outside to the carpark for warm ups. The ground was still wet from last night's raining and the air was cool, still and fresh. so cool that it felt like as if i was in another country during autumn time. It was a nice feeling undescribable completely by words. The instructor Junxu turned up in his singlet and shorter-than-short shorts. We did standard warmups like stretches and jumping jack, then kenny and hq was invited up front to demonstrate the 'dance' that we had to follow after. Super lame.

Then, a stream of ppl came into the compound carrying bags of packed food for breakfast. We were saved from more morning exercises. We went to the usual eating area for a breakfast of beehoon with fake meat (soya bean product) and veggies. It was in a very large quantity, even larger than a lunch portion. We sat in our groups to eat. Nobody in my group managed to finish it. Hazel was the closest to finishing, but gave up when theres only another mouthful left. Wasted, but she was still crowned the biggest eater of Hammerhead. The runner up was Joel Chua. I ate all the meat n veggies but hardly touched the beehoon.

We then had a time of mass devotions in the chapel before being dispatched into our own groups for more devotions. At 9, we went back to chapel for session 2. This time i cant remember anything taught. The session scheduled to last until 11.

The next hour was reserved for cleaning up the area of whatever messes made the day before. I spent that time practicing rubber band shooting with the rubber bands colected from the breakfast packets. High score: 39 (15 shots)

At 12 it was time for lunch. Cant rmb what was served, but good quality as usual i guess.

C&C Day #1 - part 2

2006-12-27T04:22:00.000-08:00

At 6pm it was time for dinner. usual dinner time is at 7, but somehow even at 6 i was hungry alr. Meals were held at the outdoor backyard.. under a shelter. My group was in charge of dinner duty, to serve food to the campers. A few ppl from my group was missing or busy with music pract and we had not enough manpower, so i had to engage help from the piranhas, and in turn we help in the cleaning up. i was serving fish cutlets, and there was plenty of garnishing of spring onions, chilli, onion layers and capsicum. So i gave some ppl lotsa garnish together with the fish. For some of the girls i just gave some spring onions on the pretext that veggies are healthy for them. If they still stayed on, id give them some fish. The meals were of good quality. fit for restaurant buffets. we all had a good fill of it. Some of the mealtimes were spent eating together with our groups, sometimes with random ppl.

After dinner, there was still a little time left before thefirst camp session started at 7pm. The speaker was Rev Dr Tan... and her name was never revealed. As a bible lecturer, she had a deep knowledge of the bible contents. But she treated all of us like lecture students and rattled on in lecture style. In the end, i cant remember anything taught during the session. Too boring to comprehend. Then some ppl asked her some questions.. like what would happen if Jesus wasnt awoken by the disciples during the storm. (of course nothing bad can happen. Probably the storm will go on but the boat wont sink cos Jesus is on it.) But after answering every question, she would go on to talk about topics somewhat related to the topics, so each qn took about 10mins to answer. Yawnzz...

After the session we had some time to go into our groups to discuss the stuffs that were talked about, before going back to the chapel. Then all the girls were evacuated and sent to the old chapel while the boys remained to play some mass games. First we played some rythm game, but everyone seems to keep blundering so we moved on to 7-up, where we gotta do a continuous headcount , but if ur number is a multiple of 7 or contains a 7, its replaced with a clap. Some wrote the taboo numbers down on a paper, but they still said them. We played countless number of rounds before getting a record of 90. And i had the honour of setting that record by saying '91'. Yeah... "The boy's '90' streak has been ended by John! (+4400 gold!)" Hahaha....

Next, we went outside for supper. It was raining heavily and cold wind blowing. It had been raining off-and-on for the whole day. Since the tap was outta order, i washed my hands in rainwater. Everyone was entitled to just 1 small pau for supper, and free flow of milo. My steaming hot milo was cooled down very quickly by the continuous cold wind.

Most of the people did not bathe during the 4.30 to 6 time slot so the bathroom was very crowded after supper. All the boys in the camp had to bathe is just 3 cubicles, so some may have to wait an hour before their turn comes. At about 11.30, i was one of the last persons to bathe. The water was cold, cubicle very small, no proper place to put clothes and water had to come from a hose attached to a sth like sprinkler.

The boys all slept in the auditorium. After some floor cleaning during the afternoon to remove all the shoe dirt, the floor was clean enough for sleeping on. I came in late, so everyone found their sleeping spots alr. I found a corner and slept there. The corner is the dustiest, but least people step there. There was just hard floor to sleep on, so i had to use my towel as a mat and sleeping bag as pillow. Halfway in the night i woke up cos the aircon was too cold. So i used the towel as blanket instead and bear with the hard floor. Since i was very tired, the hard floor and cold aircon did not stop me falling alseep soon after.

C&C Day #1 - part 1

2006-12-27T04:08:00.000-08:00

On 19 dec 2006, the Christ & co church camp began. It was to be held at my church since the camp isnt combined with other churches, so we can save rental cost.

That morning, i did last minute packing, attended to my bean plants, then set off for church. I left an hour before meeting time to be there early. When i left, it was drizzling, so i quickened my steps. Halfway into my journey, it started getting heavier and heavier, so when i finally reached church, i was soaked through. I went to the aircon conference room to dry up before going to the auditorium for registration and gathering of campers.

We had to go to the 'registration counter' to mark attendance, confirm shirt size, then draw out a name from a bag. i jumbed it all up, and using intuition, tried to feel which name would be the best, then i was hurried by janelle to quicly get one... and that lucky person i drew to be my mortal was... DERRICK WONG

After most of the campers had arrived, the camp commitee ppl gave us a long boring round of briefings, and then our groups were revealed. I was to be the asst group leader of group Hammerhead. My brother being involved in groupings, i got to see the groupings a day earlier. And one glance at my group members, i alr knew its gonna be tough. I could consider it a challenge. though im quite fond of challenges, but not plain unfair challenges. There were last minute changes to the groupings, but it didnt make it much different.

Then it was time for icebreakers. Icebreakers had been always the same for every camp i went to... always the same few games like wacko, random questioning, or some other games rather similar to those 2. But this time it was very different icebreakers. I guess the gamemaster Jesse is really experienced n skilled at creating interesting games.
For icebreakers, 2 groups will combine together, and the scores will go to both groups.One of them was not really an icebreaker cos we dun get to noe each other thru that. Every group sent 3 people and the players would sit in a row. The gamemaster will then call out numbers between 1-4, and the corresponding number of poeple who r next in the line has to stand up n shout "yo!" Its a game of quickness, cos u gotta count fast how many more ppl before it comes to u. My combined group was had the least number of ppl who survived to the final 4.
In another, the groups would form a row. the last person will run up to reveal a part of a movie poster, and pass the message to the first in the row. then that will be passed down the row to the last person. After piecing the information together, we are supposed to guess the movie.
Next, 1 combined group stand in a line and the other 3 formed a horseshoe. both sides will roll a ball to each other and the person hit will go into action. the person from the line will name all the people in the line, while the person from the horseshoe will pass the ball to the front of the horseshoe and the ball will be passed to the end. see which group faster.
Another 1 is about observation. 1 group forms a line and let the other groups memorize who is there, then send 1 person to hide. the other 3 groups will send some ppl to find out who is the missing person.

Icebreakers took 2.5 hours and ended at 4.30.The next 1.5 hours is considered free time, for us to wash up, maybe play games and write messages to our mortal. I spent the time hanging around doing nothing much and writing a letter to my mortal. during that time i also recieved a letter and sweets from my angel. i wrote a return letter, trying to guess who is the angel. Later i saw derrick peeping at my return letter... so that got me suspicious. but could it be so coincidental that the same person i picked picked me also?