Monday, July 30, 2007

Overall Feeling about Red Cross Camp

Overall Feeling about Red Cross Camp

Red Cross camp was my 3rd camp before my school starts. Compared to the previous 2 camps, it was a lot more relaxed in terms of physical activity. It compensates with much emotional and mental activity. As this was a community service project, it serve a different purpose to those participants.

I will pen it down in details once i find the time. Today (the next day of camp) I had to attend English Language Course which lasts the whole week. Plus, i have to train for my IPPT that commences next week and meetups with my 2 camps group mates at the end of the week. Not forgetting I have to move house back to Bedok, my time is packed for this week man!!!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Red Cross Camp tml

Red Cross Camp tml

Tomorrow's my 3rd camp before school starts. This time its Red Cross Camp. It should be something different from the previous 2 since this is more of community service based.

I have received a brief itenery for the camp. There would be some community service being done during this time, get to visit the Blood Bank. So i am looking forward for a different experience this time. Will record it once im back.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Sports Camp

Sports Camp

My 2nd camp - Sports Camp "Smashin '07"

This was my 2nd out of 4 camps. I was looking forward to have a great time and i wasn't disappointed.

Day 1.
We had to reach early as usual. I was a little shack since i slept quite the previous night. I still managed to be the first to reach for my group. Once everyone's here, it was the usual ice-breaking session to get to know the ppl in the group. The grp was smaller as compared to Bondue. We had only 8 ppl in it (4 guys + 4 gals).

After lunch, it was the first highlight of the camp, Amazing Race. This race was even better than Bondue. Some of the interesting events that happened in Amazing Race : -

1) After our first station, our next stop was at Sports Hall. It was not the best of start i must say. There, we had to compete against another team in Akido, boxing, and Muay Thai. Though it was the simpler version of the real game, our group's physique could not match the other grp. Guys in the Akido event was simpler out-muscled and thrown ard like barble dolls. I can still remember how i flew off. haha... But after that, was pretty smooth sailing....

2) Next station was to Kallang to play soft ball and dragon boat. On the way to the dragon boat's station, Jasper, our faci managed to hitch a ride. Never did we know that it was the first of many hitch rides that we got. For dragon boat, we had the chance to taste how tough the sport is and how much coordination is needed for the whole team to forward together fast. We had to ride to the shore, solve a puzzle and ride back. Tiring it was, i felt it help bond the team together to work even harder for our next few stations.

3) Next was off to Sentosa. On the way, Meiqian, our PR girl managed to hitch our next ride. the kind uncle was waiting for a grp of primary school kids and he kindly fetch us to the nearest stations, saving us time and effort walking.

4) To go to sentosa, we took the new Monorail, considering it was the first time i took it, it was a new experience for me. There, we had to play touch rugby which was tough considering the fact that there was so many rules to remember and none of us played before. Anyway, the next station was another highlight event. We had the chance to take a new ride, Ludge. It was a ride where we had to sit a "open" cable car up a hill. Once reached, we would ride downhill back to the starting with a kinda manual cart. It was awesome, when the vehicle pick up speed. I managed to do some drifting on my own around some of the bendings. Totally Cool!!!

5) We knew that we were among the leading pack when we had to proceed to Potong Pasir. There, we got the chance to try out archery. I was the first to shoot the targets ( which were actually balloons). Each of us had 3 tries. With me complaining that i did not have my specs on, I surprised everyone by hitting all of my tries. WoW!!! I did not expect that myself. Was pretty cool experience. However, we had to do a forfeit at that station. We were made to pick up items from a box, inside filled with worms/maggots. Though it sounds yucky, it was still ok.

6) From the next clue, we had to head to Yishun Stadium. From Potong Pasir, it was pretty inconvient, and the thought of hitching another ride came to mind. We were waiting at the bus stop when Meiqian took the chance to approach a indian guy who was waiting at the side of the road. After some negotiating by her and the gals, the driver who incidently was from Salvation Army agreed to drive us there. Initially, they only agree to bring us to Ang Mo Kio station. However, in the end, there were so kind enough to fetch us all the way to the stadium. We were so touched by their actions.

7) Upon reaching Yishun, we realised that we were the first to reach... YES ... FIRST!!! We were totally excited. Hurriedly, we took our victorious picture and went off to hide. We didnt want to let others know that they were not the first.. haha...

8) Next was a little surprising for me, we were told that we would be watching a soccer match later after dinner at the stadium itself. It was between Tampines Rovers v Korean Super Reds... Unbelievable.. First half was kinda quiet.... No goals, all groups were tired. I guess most of us cant wait for the match to be over... At half time, the organisers came with a brillliant idea. Bettings started going out. It was for timing for the amazing race. With each correct guess, teams could get their timing to be cut short. Now, that got everyone's excited about the 2nd half game.
2nd half was noisy. We were practically shouting all the way for every call, every foul and goal. This is also the first time where i heard so many cheering when yellow card was awarded. ( one of it was to guess the no. of yellow cards awarded... )

Tired as we were, back in school after bathing, we still managed to play some games in the room and catch some supper at Kopitam before we turn in.... ( next day we had to wake up at 645am!)


Day 2.
Day 2 was equally amazing. First half of the day we were at the pool games. We had to compete in 4 different stations. Among the members, i was the only non-swimmer. However, i tried to particpate in as many activities as i could. It was tiring but fun as we had the chance to pose some funny pictures, jump around the pool. Unfortunately for me, i got knocked in my knee when we played captain ball. We were in the low pool so i hit myself during one of my jumps to protect the ball. Weather was cold too. There wasnt any sun as the whole morning was threathen by rain. Luckily, the event went on as usual smoothly.

In the afternoon, we were trying out some sports clinic namely frisbie, handball and floorball. There, we had a great time trying out all the sports. I managed to score some goals too... haha... But then again, i had to hurt myself. This time, it was on my finger where i sprained it.

Dinner time was fantastic. We had buffet.. Loads of food man! In the end, perhaps we took a bit too much, there were leftovers. We manged to used it though as punishment for a game. It was a game where one person had to say 3 facts about himself, of which 1 of it was actually a lie. The rest of us would have to guess, and those who fail would have to clear some food. A good game to me as it help us to get to know each other in a different way.

After dinner, it was stage games at SOA conference hall. Games were different from Bondue but were equally entertaining. All of us managed to laughed our stomachs out for every game. Good news were followed after that. That night we had the luxury to sleep longer. Our wake up timing was 1030am for the 3rd day. Still, before we turn in, we took a trip down to Rocher Road for Tau Huay- beancurd. The gals were talking about it since day 1.

Day 3.
Unlike Bondue, Day 3 had another round of games. This time was telematch that was held at various places around the campus. Each of us had to go through five stations. Intellectual ones like the guessing game where members had to act/pose for a guesser to guess. Wet ones like passing of water bombs to fill up a pail right at the end. Physical ones like Dodgeball. Dirty ones like Rolling tyres where participants were dirtied with flour. Soapy ones where we had to run soapy balloon obstacle castle. One thing im very proud to say is that we won 4 out of 5 events, with the fifth coming a close 2nd.

At the end, during prize presentation, out group came in 2nd for both amazing race and for the telematch. Amazing!!! That would be our uses for our group's outing in the near future. Oh.. i got to mention this too. Because the camp had a theme based on superheros/cartoon characters, all the facilitators had to dress up a character at the end. All costomes were so funny. Some memorables ones were Austin Powers whose costomes are so real, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles whose spinning actions were very funny! Little pony who managed to shout out some stuffs from its ass, and not forgetting our very own transformers who tranform from garang kuni's cardboards to a cupboard robot!!!

This camp is definitely one of my best camp yet... Looking forward to meet the guys and gals again soon!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Bondue Group Picture

Bondue Group Picture

This is the final grp picture before we went home after camp. Just tot of putting my views on each of my group mates. Hmm... let me start from the facilitators...

Jit : He is one cool guy. Very smart guy. He controlled the grp well, giving some good, lame jokes at times. I always find it amusing when he and Iris fight it out with their war of words.

Iris : One who is the more detailed of the 2. They have the Yin and Yang balance i must say. Always thinking of something to keep us occupied with games or chats. A very good facilitator.
Casey : Or rather Weihao. That was supposedly his real name. But in order to let us remember him better, he used Casey. One who looks serious upon first impression, but after many interactions, he is just one crappy guy who likes to share his fun and experiences. However, a little overdoing it when it comes to alcohol consumption. Control it bro...

Yee Huat : Had a nickname of Edwin given by Casey. Apparently, according to Casey, he has a very close resemblance of his friend whose name is Edwin. Anyway, he is a very dramatic person i must say. Big Actions along with this big eyes and smile, he is one that have many the girls laugh on many occasions.

John : A very guai boy comparing to all 4 guys. Can be seen from our small session of truth for truth. Still, an intelligent guy who shows his ability during our Polar Bear games.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Group 6 members - Bondue Camp

Group 6 members - Bondue Camp

Dawn : The one who came late on the first day of camp. Oh well, another smart girl who is taking double degree. One who almost choke herself in one of the game where we got ourselves all dirty from the crawling and rolling in the mud. Still, she was gamed enough in most of the games.

Jessica : As her face will tell you. Definitely a quiet looking girl who doesnt talk much, yet with such high intelligence. Would remember her words when she defends herself in Polar Bear... " Im ... Im... just a villager" and how she managed to fake everyone when she was the Polar Bear. Thumbs up girl!!!

Hilda : Hope i didnt get this wrong this time. This is the girl who support the same football club as me, LIVERPOOL FC. Yeh. We could catch a match together one of these days man. Looking forward to the new season with Torres around. Anyway, I would remembered her by her reactions to situations. She would pull that awkward looking expression when it comes to her turn or when questions stunned her out, and she would say that '' Im tramatised by that... " She share some of her short working experience in the bank and how bad her superior was to her while i share mine too... Girl, there's lots to learn when it comes to the real world. SMU is the place to learn from it.

Tiffany : One of the girls that i started conversation. First impression was that she was a sporty person. Indeed she was given her background of touch rugby. Remembered her blurrness on the first day where she accumulated the most forfeits. Was kinda reserved initially, but as time goes by, she began to open herself and starting to have fun, showing some of craziness during out journey in the amazing race (singing, shouting,brisk walking awkwardly.. haha.. i remember that). One memorable event would definitely be the qn game where she was nearly sabotaged by Jit with his qns of " Where is Mark (her bro)". it was until i used it back onto Jit that reversed the situation. Extremely funny during that game.

Shanru : Another smart guy who is going for double degree. Same as hilda, her reaction to situations tickles me. She would always have the "shocked, tramatic expression" on her face when she was sabotaged. Would remembered her when she managed to hide her identity as Polar bear for a few games during Fright Night, and it all happen when i was just beside her... Gosh. Oh, she was also the one who was beside me when we had to play the grape passing game. Though awkward moments, we still managed to play it out "safely". hahah...

Michelle : The first girl that i talk to in this camp. How so? Because she did not know which group she was in except knowing that Iris was the faci. Luckily, i was just beside her at the that time. That's how we started talking. A girl who is always trying her best to get to know everyone. Though sweet looking, she is into physical activities as she trains in running and attempt to join rock climbing. Ren Bu Ke Mao Xiang wor... dont worry about the fall with your bum during the prize presentation.. i will forget it soon... keke.. Hope to see ya during Sports Camp and chat up more...

That's all for my description. This is the start of the SMU life. A good start and i hope it stays that way. Networking is impt as many seniors have mentioned. So guys and gals... Do hope to enjoy more fun and work together in the near future... !!!!!!!!!

First of 4 SMU Camps - Bondue Camp

First of 4 SMU Camps - Bondue Camp

Just got back from Bondue camp today. Had a tiring time but yet fun and refreshing... Im finally back to school life!!!

Day 1 :
we had to reach early in the morning. Upon first meeting, we managed to make a simple intro to each other. The early part of the morning was occupied with ice breaker games... tiu tiu tiu, yee-yorh, superheros, hai dai... ... The intial period was a little awkward for some of us i guess... our facilitator keep commenting that we split lines among ourselves and that we should bond all together. well, i guess 3 girls and another 2 girls were friends before that so time was needed for us to bond. The next activity was the start of it...

After lunch, it was teambondin games, we had to go through 6 stations situated all across the areas. There were games we had to really get dirty, physical, or touchy... .hehe...
1) Crawl-crawl/roll-roll : This was our first station. We had to crawl and roll across a muddy patch, wear a t-shirt and to crawl back. All of us had to go through once... it is very rare but encouraging that the girls are willing to get dirty and rough it out too... Thumbs Up Girls!!!
2) Passing Grapes : This station was simple but yet so challenging. How so... All we had to do is to pass grapes from one person to another all the way. Yet, it is so challenging because we had pass the grapes through our mouths. My first reaction was "cannot be... they cant possibly let us do that..." haha... in the end, it wasnt a joke after all. It was kinda awkward because kudos to the girls, they were still sporty enough to go through it...
3) Dunking Heads : This was one of the last station. Here we had to do a relay collecting marbles which were hidden in a pail mixed with some shitty shit ( food like kuay teow, nasi lemak, raw eggs, etc) We had to dunk our head before finding a marble. At this station, our facis were so sporty to join in the fun to gain more points for the team. Double Thumbs Up!!!

After dinner, we made our way to Changi Chalet for "Fright Night" We were to stay there for a night. Here, we had a journey tour in OCH (Old Changi Hospital), where our faci had planted and made scary stuffs to frighten us. We had to wait for our turn to go in. In the meantime, we stay in the chalet playing Polar Bear. It was a game where it needs a lot of thinking, analysing, accusing... haha.. it was fun... helping us to bond. I must say that all of the group members are smart ppl... In each of the seperate incident, I could see why they are deservedly SMU students.

Fright Night was not too bad. We had to walk through a desinated route that was planned by the facilitators. We had to walk from station to station. In each station, a pair have to go inside the station and complete a specific task. The place is indeed scary. It was complete darkness (if without the light sticks) filled with broken planks, doors, uneven stairs, not to mention the many paint marking left by ppl who were here before. One regretful thing about it is that i and john did not managed to enter any of the station. They were only 4, so we were left out.

Day 2:
Morning was to make the trip back to campus. It was pretty relaxed till the day's challenge, Amazing Race.

It started off with a challenge against with another team. We had to win it in order to be able to move off first. The game we had to play was attacking touch dodgeball. Teams were split into 2 - attackers and defenders. The team to win is to be able to "kill" off the opposing defenders the fastest time. I was inside the defenders side. Keez... did a lot of running and dodging, lasting myself for pretty long. Anyway, tactics were crucial for this challenge. Our attackers were very smart to be able to comb the opposing defenders into a very constricted space. Winning the challenge we could set off first.

The whole afternoon was walking from station to station, place to place from fort canning hill to raffles to clarke quay. It was a relaxed one as we didnt run and hunger ourselves like what other team had done. Some of the memorable games we had to overcome :
1) Overflowing of ping pong ball : This game was at Clarke Quay at the fountain area. Here we had to tie cups onto our forehead, fill in water from the fountain, and try to let the ping pong ball in the pail to over flow out. All of our clothes were wet after this challenge. For me, My front side of pants were drenched shit... haha..
2) Sales Ice cream : At Raffles Place, right in the middle of UOB centre, Caltex Centre, we had to help ice cream auntie to sell ice cream. I must say auntie is very lucky that day. Sales was fantastic whenever groups were there selling. I was glad that many of the customers were so supportive.

At night we had a games cum stage performance. We gathered at the conference hall playing group games. I managed to participate the musical chairs, but i only managed till 2nd round. It was rough and tough with 30 odd ppl participating. Other games were dancing competition, beer drinking competition.

The night wasnt over after that. Alcohol was free flowing, unlimited. Groups continued their various individual games in many places around the campus. One game that was extremely funny. It was called Question game where we had to ask question to one another continously. Receipants cannot answer, instead they should ask question to another person. The high point of the game was this person where he is very slow to react. What was bad for him was that i would always point ask him questions. Simple qn, funny qn, rediculous qn... all he could not react in time. Everyone had more of their share of the laughs. I even feel bad about it.

I slept around 5 am.

Day 3 : It was a simple. Breakfast, packing, prize presentation and it was off to home.