Open Fire!...

For those who don't know, I'm having a GEP Camp this week, stasrting from today till Friday. So while the Express are still working hard on their studies, we'll be around the school (or even outside the school) learning new stuff the classroom probably couldn't teach. But let's talk about what happened on this quarter of the camp, shall we?

Today started with the discovery that our class doesn't have our key. And not just that, but the entire IP section of the level (2.9 onwards) were also affected with the same senario! The only class within this spectrum not effected was 2.11, only because their Keymaster forgot to return their key to the estate office and brought it home instead. So the rest of us either 1) Camped in their classroom while waiting for Assembly, or 2) Endure the elements and be merry along the classroom corridoors. I had to quickly go for a Committee meeting anyway, so it didn't really leave a scratch as I was already heading for the Prefectorial Boardroom. :)

After the meeting about [Confidential], I went back to the Red Level to do my Morning Duties and told the classes on the level to "Go for Assembly NOW!!!". I'm starting to get use to my new duty spot, and it feels interesting when you inspect the classroom once all the students are at the Parade Grounds, only to find a classroom or two unlocked. Then I'd have to bring my marker with me into the room and write a message on their board on behalf of the Prefects to lock their doors properly. Rather interesting, I must say.

Once everyone was dismissed back to their classrooms, we got our bags and headed for Lecture Theatre 1, where we were being brieffed o the details of the camp. We also had a guest speaker who was a reporter from The Straits Times, and he was sharing with us his idea of 'being a man', then later ammusing us with a bonus of little details about the Press we don't really know of as the public. He even showed us these pictures that had to be taken off from the paper drafts due to the fact that they contained 'cencorable stuff', like a real beheaded woman, a real dead soldier and a real corpse of a real suicide bomber.

After the guy's speech, we were dismissed for Recess, after which we were to meet at the assigned venues for our Elective Programmes (We were allowed to choose what activities we wanted to participate in.). Mine was Combat Skirmish for today, and I had togo to the PE Office to meet up with the instructor(s). When I got there, I was 20 minutes early and no one, except the Express classes that were having their PE, was there. So I decided to have Recess again at the Swimming Pool Cafe (Their cookies OWN!). After finishing those golden-brown chunks of love, I made my way back up to the PE Office, which by now Tim, JKitt, JKiet, Matt, ZW, Michael, Arjun, Kevin Beck and many others that I knew were present.

The teachers-in-charge, the instructors and the Sec 4s in-charge of this Elective were still not atround, so I ended up doing pull-ups at the pull-up bars near-by. I finally achieved 17! Yay! And my target for this year was to reach 16! But still, I've got to sustain this 17 - No use being able to do 17 when you can only do one set of it. Then when my classmates that were present wanted an encore, I did another 10, then I refused to do anymore as I wanted to save my energy for Combat Skirmish. This resulted into me being forced into arm wrestling and thumb wrestling. Sheesh.

Soon the teachers (Mr. Gavin Ang and Ms. Kavita) arrived at the scene, along with the Year 4s, so they took our attendance and the payment for the activity. Then we were told to divide ourselves into 4 groups, of which Arjun helped register my class, along with friends of our class, as one group (Team D). Once divided, we were sent to the Boarding House to observe our terrain/boundaries and do a little strategising in our teams. The instructors soon arrived with the weaponry, and they gave us a short but imformative introduction to the game. We were even told to take off our ties and un-tuck our badges. Hmm. Once done, it was time for Teams A and B to play the first match. And that was a good thing, as we had a chance to watch all the action from the 2nd level, giving us a view on how we can improve on any mistakes they were making.

Then it was our turn to battle against Team C. The Clashes of Teams CD. How ironic and punny. Afte praying the Psalms 91:7 Prayer ('A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all round you, but you will not be harmed.'), I geared up on my weapon and prepared for battle. Being a 'patriot' to my team, I decided to be one of the guys who had the risk of the Frontline. And boy, was it fun! I mean, running about firing at people and blasting them out of the terrain! And it's family-safe! I truely recommend this game to my friends and family! To cut the whole NS Story short (If I typed about it, you'll have to suffer another five or six paragraphs, so I'm just going to save those paragraphs somewhere else and leave the tiny details to myself.), our team won! Overall! Yay! Payers work when you want them to!

Mr. Ang and Ms. Kavita met up with a small group of us after the whole game, and we were exchanging comments on the game, our stratgies and what we looked like from both a fighter's and a spectator's point of view. Mr. Ang actually participated in games like this before (WOW!) and I heard both teachers commenting that they've never seen me run around that madly before. "I mean, he was running here, and there, like a mad Rambo!..." Ah, well.

Once all the rounds were played and the instructors collected the equiptment, they got ut a few forms and asked if anyone of us would like to have a free membership in Combat Skirmish. They were telling us on the benifits of this membership and what people do in the club, like go for BBQs, play the game at various venues and even get promotions (I meant 'General, Seargent' kind of promotion, not the '50% discounts, three week offers' promotion, mind you.). Many classmates registered, and so did I! The instructors had a little difficulty registering me due to my name (Hee hee...) but I got the card anyway! Yay! Some one in our class then suggested to play another round of this during thew June Holidays. And what a splendid idea! But it's a tiny pity for me - I was planning to ask my class a couple of weeks later if they were interested in having a BBQ at my place. Better scratch that out, I guess.

We then gathered around Mr. Ang, who lead us through Reflections, and we were enthusiastic in our comments. I could tell that everyone (Well, except the fat brat who couldn't tolerate a little dirt on his shirt) enjoyed themselves thoroughly and that the $28 dollars spent on this activity was worth it! The other guys are missing out on this, I must declare! They're truely missing out!

Once dismissed, I quickly made my way to the Bus Bay and stripped of my uniform to reveil the PE attire inside. Gasp! Relief after an energetic combat game. I was suppose to wait there for the rest of the canoers, Mr. See and for our bus, but since I was dismissed rather early, I could spend a little more time at the SAC (Canteen, for non-ACS(I)ans). Bought a couple of Char Sao Baos and went to the table that I knew the ussual guys like Tim, Niranjan, JKit, Joel, Kirby and probably a few others would sit. They weren't there yet, so I stood near by, faced towards the glass panels that provided a good view of the Bus Bay and any bus entering or exiting the area. I estimated that by my first bao, the guys would arrive.

And just like the thought, when I reached into the paper bag for the second bao, a voice behind me said, "Raemiguel Lee Fusheng!". I paused for a little while, then turned around to see Tim and a couple ofother guys placing their bags down. He was just about to ask me a question (I heard something like, "What's your Mom's full name, again?" or something like that) when he then remembered that Rush Hour was just about to start so he had to quickly go with JKit to the Italian Stall to order for his stuff. Ah, well. A minute after they left, I finished my food and left for the opposite direction. Pity.

For Water Training, Mr. See told Hao Qing and I to share the StingRay with Michael Ong and Shaun - Meaning we'd take the boat at alternate days. But since the latter pair has a competition this coming Saturday, we had to surrender the boat to them for the rest of the week and take New Tiger instead. Well, at least Tigers are a lot more stable, in comparison to StingRay. Mr. See introduced the Angle Seat (Play Track: Immaculate Chorus). It's just like a normal Racing K High Seat, just that the part where you sit on is tilted more forward. This helps support the paddler when he streches forward, giving him/her a better catch on the water and thus makes it good for sprinting. But he didn't want us to try it out yet, so we'd be waiting. And at the same time, Mr. See himself told us that our seniors hated the seat. Uh, oh.

Just fastforwarding to the evening, my Dad came back home and presented me this card game he bought around the City Hall area. It's called 'Pirates of the Revolution', and it's not exactly related to 'Pirates of the Carribean', but it's really interesting to play, esspecially for a guy like me who loves ships! The only problem is, I need another player to play the game with properly. Anyone wants to volunteer?

Proverbs 14:31! God bless y'all!