I AM BACK FROM OBS PULAU UBIN!! however before i comment on my journey, i shall just note something which i realized before i went for OBS.

i. have. bloody. CELLULITE. on. my. thighs.

my mom thinks im nuts, but i do. really. its kinda scary, you know. GRAH. ohwells.

now on to the fun part! my watch is JUNKO. named after Junko Tabei, this jap woman who was the first woman to scale mount everest. really funky. and my dear watch instructor is chu ai! who resembles vivien a lot. matt and gero agree with me. sca-ree. haha.

alrighty! for propriety's sake, my watch consists of me, saniah, gwen, rachel, gero, sheena, mufeng, yikun, yeming, xinyi, and the four guys (yile, zuiqiu, matt and ben). now i shall just do a summary of each day.

day 1:-
tiff gets appointed food i/c. meaning im in charge of feeding everyone and making sure no one dies. hohoho. store i/cs are yile and zuiqiu. and thats it. haha! took photos, did trust fall (yile is damn fat) and slept in pretty tents. and apparently chaota pots are not fun to scrub. i wasnt used to obs yet, and then i couldnt sleep at nite, kept slapping insects and yeah, stuff like that. stuck in a tent with sheena and mufeng, haha whee.

day 2:-
climbed the rock wall! made it to panel 5 of the 6 panels there! then i tried to touch the top but i couldnt cuz the thing was slanted and i just couldnt reach. boo. kayaked 1 km to our next campsite, along with three other watches (Marco Polo, Magallan and Shackleton). the beach was super gross. it had sandflies and other things. then we had to form a human chain through itchy grass and it was super horrible. but at least it was worth it as we finally reached the campsite! and it rocks! cuz it has very little insects and the rocks are kinda nice. then we cooked and watched the sunset at the same time.

the stars are really beautiful at nite. but sand in your shoes is gross. and then my watch was on guard duty haha, and then we just told stories and talked. and fantasised about stealing the kayaks and rowing back to the VERY VISIBLE mainland. haha, with all its pretty city lights and stuff. =( ben tells really lame ghost stories that arent scary. LOL!

day 3:-
rowed the whole 15km all the way to our new campsite! i learnt the importance of heart and soul, and i peed in the sea WHEE! its a really good experience, to go down spritzing. hahaa... i think the most important thing is not giving up even when there is pain or tiredness, cuz everyone is tired and in pain and we're all in the same circumstances. just dont give up! yay! i also learnt the importance of hydration. oh wells, ive a pretty nice tan now haha.

teamwork is important cuz...
you screw up without it.

day 4:-
built the raft!!! and rowed out to the middle of the quarry filled with pretty rainwater. and then WE WENT BACK AND QUARRY DIPPED AND SWAM ZOMG THAT WAS DAMN HOT KAYS. in my opinion, definitely one of the more memorable moments, with everyone splashing around and laughing and joking with their oversized obs lifejackets on. i think obs lifejacks are damn bulky but they can REALLY FLOAT. njc should buy them! HAHA! but njc wont cuz they dont want people to enjoy capsizing haha! really its super nice to cap with that hot lifejack.
okay then we went trekking. on some weird rescue mission to rescue some casualty. which turned out to be our waterbottles and we had to lug it all the way. so its like all of us were hydrating like crazy to lighten the load. LOL. our bags are also super fat. about 12 kg or more.

then we went nightwalk once we got back to base, and then it was a serious occasion where i got to think about lots of things. coincidentally, i was stuck between gero and matt, the two other canoeists, and because it was dark we all linked hands. i could really feel the togetherness and its always comforting to have hands to hold in the dark. plus cuz we're all canoeists, i had the opportunity to think about my CCA and what it holds for me when i return home...

day 5:-
slept damn well. got my first shower in 3 days. got my first TOILET CUBICLE in 3 days. damn hot, man. finally got to brush my teeth too! walao the first shit is the best man.

okay then we had a FOOD FIGHT! hahah i shall not elaborate. the memories are mine =)
poor ben and rach though. LOL.

thank you Junko watch for making this a memorable 5 days. like church camp, i think OBS is a time for self discovery, and what i discovered only reinforces what i realized at church camp. these two camps along with CAP have given me a god whack and i realize now how i should live my life. thank you to CAP, church camp and OBS. =)

matt, i share your sentiments for your final sharing. keep going on and perservering! im sure one day we'll make it. =)

i really do appreciate toilet cubicles, running water and electricity a lot more now! <3 my watch! yay everyone!

tomorrow is death.

today is the eve of the Hell known as Outward Bound School. today is possibly the last time i will ever feel clean and fluffy again. starting tomorrow, the stinking pit that is Pulau Ubin will overcome.

Eeks.

*pauses*

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALP!!!!!!!!!

wish me luck.

lots of stuff to blog about! we have church camp, friday and upcoming obs on the agenda!

okay on to church camp, which was completely 1337. roomed with amanda feng and fully got to know her and her family a lot better. it was really nice to chat with her night after night without any worries at all. both of us were in the group NT Virus, which can be read as "antivirus" but actually stands for New Testament Virus. the actual explanation of our team flag and our team name would take a very long time so just take it at face value kays. BUT WE WON CHAMPS FOR TEAM BANNER SO BLAH.

first day the fun stuff was not much, just sermons and transportation. cuz well everyone is tired and stuff. the second day was cooler cuz we had sermons as well as ESPN captains ball! which my team won cuz we had a ton of youth and young adults that could fully whack. we had kenneth who was a marvellous tall defender and whacked a ton of balls away. we had reuel and terence who could run around like crazy, due to the wonderful youthful exuberance which permeated our team. we had kyser, who practically ran around like crazy cuz well, if youre in the singapore sports school's track team, id guess you have a load of stamina too.

and well since each team had to have two girls at least, we had me and en xuan. ahahah. and the adults just stood by the side and cheered like crazy every time we got a goal. and of course most people got to play cuz we'd swap a couple of minutes ehre and there. and of course we won cuz its like our whole team running around was young and stuff so we outran the rest of the teams. HAHA.

third day we had sermons (the speaker was really good!) and fear factor tele match (but it rained boo) and fun nite!

WHICH MY TEAM FULLY WON AGAIN.

hahah thanks to reuel's mom who made the script and we acted it out. boo amanda feng, michelle, en xuan and i had to be the ah lian "pretty women" and we had horrendous glittery outfits and fake tattoos and short skirts. plus we had to bimbo around on stage, flirt with lau ah peks and dance to "staying alive".

i have never been so horrendously embarrassed ever. especially since my outfit was the worst. but since SOMEONE had to wear it and the other three were being so conservative, i thought id be nice. and kyser and terence were being pervy and asking me to take off my sweater. cuz i had it on to hide the grossness of my outfit. which was quite revealing and quite glittery.

HAHA. at least the adults were nice to thank me afterwards for being sporty. oh well. it was kinda fun anyways haha. once you get over it. had to sneak into the guys' bathroom to help reuel, terence and kyser put on their fake tattoos cuz they didnt know how to. ahaha. completely surprised ben chan when i walked in. the three guys had to be pai kiahs so the tattoos were pretty much a necessity.

then we photowhored. we meaning our group in general. photowhored with kyser a bit before he went off to snap pics with this cute little girl in our group haha. then on the last day i photowhored with jean and xiaoxi and jonathan and shoo feng. bahahah.

wednesday was SHOPPING DAY practically. bought myself the 1337 X/1999 DVD and two bodyglove shirts. then the day after that we went home bahhhh.

friday i hung out with JUNYI, SHIYUAN and you. it was a girls' day out, then you came along for the movie then afterwards you left. so only for the duration of the movie was it not a girls' day out. MY THANKS TO JUNYI AND SHIYUAN for being wonderful dear people and i really do miss you two dearly. we hung at kino (i know. what geeks yeah?) and ogled the graphic novels and other things, before going for the movie and subsequently hanging at mos burger and TALKING. bwahahah. thank you dearies for a wonderful day. thank you Junyi for your prezzie from Japan! hahah.

so today is saturday, and there's obs on monday. God bless us all, and may He protect us from the evil sandflies, mosquitoes and filth that is Pulau Ubin. hahah. thank God for everything that has happened so far this June, i quite enjoyed it. this holiday was truly a good one and it reminded me of how much i have been missing all these six months since i left DHS, GEP and everyone. especially CAP and church camp, which was a real eye opener to how i have been living my life, both as a Christian and as a newly minted IPer.

and i can really say that i dont like the way i have been living as both ways. and im glad God took the chance to show me that this holiday.

WHEE TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HERE ALL THIS WHILE. I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

^_^

today was nat sch db competition. wont state prizes won by team or anything cuz im just not in the mood.

ehh. cherry and i were in crummy moods as the afternoon wore on, and so we moaned to each other. and then later my parents were nice and gave her a lift to the mrt so my mom and her had a chat and stuff. suffice it to say that cherry is now the person who prolly knows the most about my life and my future plans right now. grah. hahah.

so i rowed. and then i didnt row. then i moaned. then i went for tuition. story of my day.

ryan thanks for the aCAPpella. (hahah shoutout!)

hrrm. today generally sucked i guess. gonna go to church camp tmr, may it be as good an escape as CAP was. then after that going out with junyi and shiyuan and you. so thats fine i guess. at least my june is ending on a good note. no trng for me though, im sure people are gonna be mad. but seriously, forget it man.

zzz. hrrm.

//end moaning.

just remembered to mention something kind of important. i actually came up with a poem today!

...while i was rowing. =.=

so it was like i was almost freaking out in my boat. but not quite cuz everyone knows that if youre scared in a k1, you will confirmed plus 100% guarantee chop CAPSIIIIZEEEE.

so to calm myself down, i actually said the poem out loud, thinking about every line and just blurting it out into thin space. now i just remember the first line.

my grave of fiberglass and plastic

yeah. i remember i said it again at the end though, and i also mentioned something about dying and something about how the boat cuts the water surface and alluding it to actual cutting of the flesh. just generally how im DYING IN MY K1 GRAHGRAHGRAH. which explains the recurring image of the grave and the mentioning of fiberglass and plastic cuz the boat is made of that.

i have got to continue it someday. but im just putting my idea down here so i can expand on it later and not forget. =)

whee. i love poetry. POETRY ROCKS! hahaaa. toodles then.

harlo. i am back from trng, where i stoned half the day in the container classroom pretending to mug and then rocking out at trng in my k1.

ehh. i pick the best places to cap. at the bloody 1000m mark. i am in wtf-dom! in my defence, i was turning and tilted a wee bit. grah. chews on sofa. this is so screwy, im not even supposed to be capping! eeks.

anyhow i was pretty stable, only my speed (cuz of my horrible fitness level) was quite slow. blahblahblah. was trying to promote CAP to gero and cherry. and was happily passing time by alliterating in my notebook. LOL.

bah. im sleepy. and im watching the CAP dancers' rehearsal. ZOMG its kinda funny. bahahah. wont put the url here in case certain kaypoh people go and see me dance. then i will be so embarrassed. >.<

hey i just realized that ms chua's camera is so fuzzy that you cant see anyone's face! least of all me cuz some scenes im like in the back, like the finale. bahahaaa!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd3Gup5HFg8

so its safe to put the url here. realized btw all you dancers, we kinda forget to "wash our windows" quite a bit. especially the finale, everyone stalled for a beat or so before proceeding. hahah. anyways anybody who is so boliao to go check where i am, a clue is that im wearing the blue GEP shirt and grey shorts. which should be pretty obvious already la.

bah. i still remember the dance steps kays, i really do! =) awful bored now, and ive to go pack for church camp. bye folks. xD

choon hiang made me do his dumb quiz. bah. so here i am...

Rules: Express your Love for SEVEN and get others to know more about you.
:D Copy and Paste the following into your own blog and complete all SEVEN bullets of the SEVEN questions. Then, pick SEVEN people to pass it on! Have fun!

SEVEN things that make me smile:
# a good joke =)
# being with the people i love.
# seeing a hot dude walk by! (HAHA.)
# threatening to break someone's teeth x)
# seeing the newest manga out on the streets.
# when i row for the fun of it!
# surprises~

SEVEN ways to win my heart <3
# sweet
# kind.
# good talker.
# at least like most of the stuff i like.
# dont be annoying.
# play nice =)
# ehh. have time for me.

SEVEN things I believe in:
# God. duh.
# Santa!
# grades arent everything.
# sleep cures all ailments.
# doing what you love is what makes life good.
# more gun control is exactly what the world needs.
# friends are important, and so are family. =)

SEVEN things I'm afraid of:
# sharks.
# getting bad grades. bah.
# getting into trouble.
# screwing up
# ehh. dying.
# losing touch with the dhs mates.
# messing up with a friend.

SEVEN things I do everyday:
# sleep
# play
# mug.
# row.
# sms.
# talk.
# TV

SEVEN people I want to see now:
# JUNYI
# dhs mates.
# CAP mates.
# canoeists
# you, id guess. =) goodness knows where you are though.
# SY, cuz ive got the new X/1999 in my hands!!!
# shiyuan

SEVEN people whom I choose to do this:
# junyi.
# shiyuan
# ele
# samc
# kevin
# js
# any bugger from dhs 2k '05 la.

greeting fellow earthlings, after a long hiatus, I AM FINALLY BACK!!!

(cue applause)

anyways the reason why ive been off for a while is cuz ive been sick. sick as in mind blowingly sick. sick as in whole family is sick and thats why im sick kind of sick. yeah.

but im kinda fine now so yeah. anyways i have devoted my life to the pursuit of happiness. thus i shall go eat my sandwich and say bye now. whee.

AND THE HWACH VID IS UP ON YOUTUBE. WHETHER YOURE AN '06 CAPPER OR NOT, JUST GO WATCH IT KAYS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnadsrpDslo

have fun. =)

and ryan, i want my final aCAPpella. we have gotta meet up someday so you can pass it to me. haha. CAP CAP CAP~

HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM CHOON HIANG'S BLOG ABOUT THE DANCE GROUP. or more specifically OUR dance group. i know some dancers do come and stare at my blog now and then hahah, so here is an excerpt to convince you talented lot of people (unlike me, who has the grace of a freaking horse) to keep on dancing! i.e. people in the front row like louise, michelle, victoria, haslina and blah. yeah.

After that was Dance. The girls put up this sort of sexy synchronised dance thingy. It was...it was really mesmerising, to say the least. I had no idea people could do those movements so synchronised and in such a cool way. Half the guys like had their mouths open and eyes popping out. I am proud to say I wasn't one of them though. XD

yes thank you choon hiang. anyways if anyone knows the title of the songs which we danced to, please tell me. cuz i really wanna know! hahah thanks. off i go now to hang around our CAP '06 e-group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hawthector

eh dont join if youre not an '06 CAPPER! people can tell you know.

<3 CAP.

here's a big shout out to everyone (CAPers or not) who tagged on my tagboard! to CAPers, i miss you already! to non-CAPers, I MISSED YOU TOO! hahahah.

im like going into post-CAP syndrome. much like PMS, only in a more subdued way. sob. i need my daily dose of ACAPPELLA! i cannot do without it~! the random daily ramblings of our dearest councillors. now i am reduced to staring at my LAST ISSUE of aCAPpella and reading it again and again and thinking of all the good times we had.

BY THE WAY, HI JUNYI. TIS GOOD THAT YOU ARE BACK FROM THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN. (or bloody sanitary napkin, whichever one you want haha)

being to CAP has taught me so much about the arts, writing, myself and the things that i do. when i went to CAP, i was almost scared by the way things were. they were so...normal. unlike the hectic shit i go through every damn day in njc. mugging, rowing, mugging, rowing. tis a neverending cycle. its almost made me lose track of whats really important. it almost made me lose the GEP in me. i went to CAP, i hung out with EVERYONE and i saw the talent and ability in each and every one of them.

being without rowing or mugging for five whole days in CAP has rid me of all distractions, and honestly i can really see the light now. i still will keep rowing! of course. but yet i refuse to let myself get too dedicated to it now. it is a CCA after all, and nothing more. when i leave, it will be nothing more than a special memory. there is so much more to life than just rowing and mugging: writing, speaking, being YOU.

i saw the way the councillors spoke in aCAPpella, and i realized HEY, i used to speak like that. that was the way we all did, all us artsy morons. and hanging out with jass and daniel really taught me a lot about us. even hanging with zhenny and limpeh taught me different things. us going through the dance steps together was really really a shared experience.

now i am nothing more than an automaton of singapore. mugging and CCA-ing and nothing else.

and it saddens me.

i refuse to not let myself turn out that way. like prof thumboo said, i have to keep writing. i have to find myself in the words and language that i use when i put my pen to the paper and free my soul. when i write, i will think of CAP. and thinking of CAP will remind me not to become what i fear i might. a robot. a mugging, rowing robot. theres so much more to life than that!

CAPPERS!~ please, give me a reunion soon. i love you all.

and thank you for teaching me what is truly important.

heart&soul will go the distance, but its comforting to know that after that, there will always be an outlet to pour out my soul and free my imagination. to write, and remake language, redefine life.

CAP. always and forever.
GEP. always and forever.
may i never forget that.

i know i told choon hiang that i was only blogging about CAP the next day cuz i was tired so here i am! =D

CAP WAS AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY CRAZILY LEEEEET.

//enter huge rant about CAP. dont read unless youve time to spare.

summary: me in group 2, me in dance workshop, me loves my councillors and me loves CAP.

from the beginning now!

DAY ONE:
registration, tea, orientation. met my mates in group 2. we chilled and played gay games like polar bear and whacko. did the opening ceremony thing and then had our first plenary. which was alright until the later parts when it got boring. then had excursion briefing, found out that my group was going to SPH. then had dance workshop, met the wonderful joey chua, and discovered that i so cannot dance HAHA.

met mostly just group mates, like the RGS girls (shiyin!), the MGS chiobu (cara) and the silent boys (choon hiang from RI, kenneth and lester from HCI and ryan from HCJC). ryan is also a canoeist. which is actually pretty cool. hahah. then went to sleep like a good little girl, at the stipulated sleeping time.

sadly i wasnt as good for the next THREE NIGHTS. xD

DAY TWO:
woke up freaking early. at like 630. went through second plenary. this is by far my fave. edwin thumboo's poetry rules. and the way jonathan webster did the analyzation of it was completely cool. i loved the parts about the star of david. or maybe i just like analyzing poetry in general haha. then headed off to screenwriting workshop where i met a hell lot more people like daniel the PAP boy whom i kind of knew before CAP but never talked to (history drama '05, remember?) and hung with jass tan.

then had our excursion and then our dance workshop. found that i couldnt stretch as much as i would like to. SNUCK OUT TO BLOCK B (my room in block E) TO DO SCREENWRITING WORK WITH JASS AND DANIEL. woot siaa. didnt get caught either. went back to room only round 1am. jass was such a wuss anyways. xD

DAY THREE:-
third plenary. this one sucked. didnt understand shit from top to bottom. went for screenwriting again and bs-ed in there. apparently now dan is officially PAP boy, im WP girl, and jass is NY girl. hahah! then hung out for pottery and then dance again. did my moves, messed them up a bit but bah. joey chua has taken to calling me "sportswoman" or "canoeist" HAHA.

hung out at reuben's room (he went home in day 1 cuz he fell sick) with dan and jass. wanted to sleep over but had contacts on. dan walked me to room cuz i didnt know my way. took off contacts and put on specs. GOT CAUGHT BY NADIA WTFFFF. dan pretends to be caring boyfriend and walks me to dining hall to FILL MY FREAKING WATER BOTTLE. our excuse: i got scared and called him to lead me to dining hall. which is complete bs if you know where exactly my room is btw. nadia like followed us the whole way. freakyyyy. so jass has to sleep alone that nite. bah.

DAY FOUR:-
screenwriting again. slept through half of it cuz i was damn tired from last nite's shenanigans. bahh. had our plenary, by diana ferrus, pretty cool cuz its about black africans and things. went for get together dinner where i met other random people like austin from RI and i had to dress up all pretty cuz well its a semi formal event. the HCJC boys from another group did this backstreet boys thing which was so taken from youtube blah. but it was funny xD

later we all had to practise dance with the mates like joyce (my limpeh!), sian (pronounced SHAN. and yes its a girl.), huizhen (gigi leung lookalike), cheryl (rgs baller), melody (SAJC woman) and shiyin(...^_^). yeah was cool. we managed to master our moves!

that nite was the last nite so dan, jass and i pulled out all the stops. after our workshops ended, jass and i rushed to reuben's room (its still kind of his room even though he didnt stay bah) and we were in by 1115pm. lights out was at 1130 so it was good. we got the heads up that all councillors and teachers would be patrolling tonight so we decided to be safe and go in early. daniel came in round 1125. later he went off to invite choon hiang and austin. we all in by 12am. hung around and talked and made sure that no one was coming around to check us. dan had this cool idea, we hung up the bedsheet across the door so no one could see the light, and we put a metal plate across our door. this was so that when we peeked through the peephole and at the metal plate thing (dont ask me where he got it from) we could see the reflection of whoever was coming along the corridor.

later austin went off at 1230am and then we talked a while more before going to sleep at round 1am plus. woke up at 430am again and then stoned a bit more til 5am when everyone more or less really woke up. choon hiang went back to his room a while later and daniel went to shower. then dan came back at 530am or so and we chatted til 7am before we all went back to our rooms and got ready to go down for the LAST DAY AT CAP.

DAY FIVE:-
had briefing on CAP mentorship. then went off to prac dance. after listening to the same two songs for the last four days, it kind of gets stuck in your head. i also signed up to be a CAP alumni. then it was more or less closing ceremony time. then we had our performance. i told everyone to smile and relax, doing the whole canoeist propaganda thing again (train like you race, race like you train yadayada) just like i did to everyone during NAPFA (pain is your friend!).

then the performance went ok. rhythmic fusion was freaking pro. although sy looked like she was riding her drum. xD poetry slam was pretty ok too. i liked cara's group. that girl sure can scream. woots. then it was us, and i liked our final pose! HAHA. then it was mime and they were quite good. the fight scene was really cool. lastly it was JC drama and they were good. although i feel to really get the essence of the whole thing you need to watch it multiple times. which was luckily what my group got to do. all in all we watched rhythmic fusion 3 times, poetry slam 2 times, mime 2 times and JC drama 3 times. this was because we had a practice ceremony earlier so you get to watch everyone at least twice hahaa.

then we all moved to as7, where all the sap and byebyes came in. squished the councillors (shu may and chu), snapped a million photos, and said bye to other councillors like fadhly and pak. all in all it was a wonderful experience and i wouldnt have given it up for the world, or even one week of training (which i did give up for CAP haha). it was completely great and a wonderful thing. may CAP last for many many years more.

this is tiffany from dance/group 2/screenwriting signing off. all my love to CAPers and councillors. it was the best thing to ever happen this year. CAP always.