Friday, January 4, 2008
strangly....i'm still blogging...
haha
anyway....today went back to school after yesterday's MC
today like one of the more slacking days....
math, PE and bio
went for PE today thinking i can handle the training after recovering
bad choice.....bad idea.....should have taken joanne's advice and don't go for PE
my body still cannot cope....
do all the stuff at the fittness area there but cannot run
wanted to, by felt like fainting....
after PE went back to class.....on the way back also felt like fainting
wtf....sleep outside class while waiting for kelly to come up with the key
it seems so go eat already...leave the guys at the 5th floor there waiting....WTF
than nik opened the top window and tried to climb into class
haha....breaking into our own class
he scared anything happen and he fell....
in the end....i climbed into class and got everyone's wallet and phones before sleeping in class till i was released when nik returned from break and it seems that someone has opened the door while i was sleeping......
sleep until people come in also dunno....must still be a little sick
dunno y people feel that the bio lect was boring....
i felt that it was quite interesting....strange
fencing today....sick body made me sleepy after a 5 point match
went home after that.....rest at home....hope can go for chanbara tomorrow
today posting day 5 EAGLES reflections
longest day of the camp.....4k words....
enjoy....
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Day 5
The day started like any other day at the farm and we gathered in the hall at 0700 to start the day off. We were told that the morning run that day was cancelled to give the groups more time to get their presentations. My group grabbed some breakfast and carried on with the power point slides and the presentation. Soon it was 0900 and the presentation was to start. But, the sky does not allow us to have a nice day and it rained cats and dogs throughout the morning making it hard for whoever is presenting to talk over the sound of the rain. Also, all the clothing and shoes we placed outside our tents are soaked through and many had to go into the heavy rain to collect them back into the tents. My tent mate went into the rain and collected our clothing and shoes and placed them into our tent before coming back to the hall soaking wet.
The first up was me and I gave a thirty minute talk on the insects we have caught in relation to where we caught them as well as what are their roles in the environment. Along with the talk, I also handed out some of the insect we caught to the people to give them a hands on experience with the insects and let them come close to the insects we have been working four days with and for. There was also bringing the rhino beetle out of its container and letting everyone have a chance to feel how it is like and also to let them interact with insects without a barrier in between.
My presentation went well as I felt that the people I was talking to were quite entertained at my presentation. Next was my group mate’s turn to present as I stayed behind to help him if he losses track of anything. The other group mates who were not presenting went to visit the other group’s presentation and see what they have done in the past four days.
After my group mate’s presentation was over, it was my turn again as the other members were caught in the rain and could not make it back in time to do the presentation.
This went on another 2 more times before we told the whole camp about the insects we could find in the farm area and their effect on the crops and vegetables in the farm. We also touched on some pest control methods that were organic to help the farmers keep the pests in check.
After all this is done and over with, my work for the whole camp is now over and I can finally rest. Lunch followed and we ate well and readied ourselves to visit the other group’s presentation in the afternoon. But the skies do not allow us to do that as it pours harder onto the camp and there was a real risk of flooding. We were told to bring our bags into a room behind the hall to keep them from being washed off if a flooding occurs. The girls were to go first followed by the guys. We worked fast and soon all the guys had their belongings in the room and some were helping the girls in bringing their belongings into the room.
The afternoon was wetter than the morning as the floor of the floor was wet and this made the power sockets we use for the laptops dangerous as there is a risk of shocking someone. Everyone is somehow trapped in the hall and cookhouse area due to the heavy rains and lighting risk. All the remaining groups presentation were held in the hall and cookhouse and it was quite cramp as the hall had to hold six groups and cookhouse had to hold four groups and all the people watching the presentation. I learned that some the other groups had problems like being trapped in mud, for the soil group, or lost in translation, for the people groups, and also equipment problems for many of the groups.
We learned about how the soil in the farm is suited to growing crops as well as how the soil losses its minerals over time. Also how the lives of the farmers and Malay people are like and what they do for a living as well as what their cultures are like. We also got a rare chance to see pictures of the marriage of a Malay couple the group went to on the fourth day. I also got to see the fruits of my labor when I went to help the surveying group to map out the farm as they complied all their readings and came up with a map of half the farm. The birds group showed us pictures of the birds they have taken as well as the way to tell birds of the area apart from each other. The temperature group was the best as they gave us a full review of their whole camp experience along with their data telling us the temperature of the farm changes greatly while the temperature of the forest changes very little.
It was interesting to hear the same camp that I went through but from the views of another person and hearing his thoughts on some of the events that happen during the camp. We got to know why we saw the soil people covered in mud on the 2nd day. They were trapped in a mud pool while collection samples and thus were covered in mud. We also got to know why the temperature boys were collecting their thermometer so later in the 3rd night. It was because they were caught in the evening water activities and were later punished for using the bicycles without permission, causing them to leave their thermometer in the paddy fields until night time and thus went to get it with us while we went to set the light trap.
After all the presentations are over, all the groups are free to do whatever they want as the leaders had a meeting to wrap up the day’s events. We were told to have a performances ready for the campfire that night but as it was still raining, many thought that it was cancelled. We took a long break and watched as the water level in the pond we were playing in just yesterday rose close to breaking its bank and we feared for a real flood may occur. But lucky, the rains reduced its might and the water levels stop rising and saved us from the flood. But as the rains might return at night and flood the area, we were given new sleeping areas so that we are safe from the flood if it did occur. The girls were to sleep in the rooms we placed our bags as there were beds there for the girls to sleep in. the boys were to sleep in the mill on foldable beds like those from mawai.
There was room for three boys to sleep on real beds and as the person in charge of assigning the three boy’s sleeping areas knew me, I was told to sleep in the bed. I rejected the offer but she insisted that I go. I made it clear that I did not want to sleep on that bed but she thought that I was stupid and wanted to sleep on a foldable bed rather than a comfortable bed. For me, I prefer to sleep on the foldable beds as compared to real beds as the real beds are sometimes dusty and dirty. This made me think, would you rather give up the risk of sleeping on something that no one has slept on for an unknown period of time just to have a soft mat under you? I have done slept on a dusty bed before and I fell sick the following day, therefore I rather sleep on the foldable bed that night and save me from feeling unwell the next day. For her, who has most likely lived in bliss her whole life and slept on nothing but high grade beds, sleeping on the floor for the past few days must be terrible and this is a nice change for her. But she must know that not everyone feels that way, and this is common in almost everyone, feeling that everyone thinks like oneself.
With that, we must move our bags out of the rooms for the girls to move their bags back into the room and make the bed. We formed a human chain and brought the bags out quickly. As the rain was smaller at the point in time, we quickly ran and placed our bags in our assigned areas and took what we need and returned to the hall to get ready for what might happen next.
What followed was dinner and some time to plan out what we were going to do for the campfire night later but without a campfire due to the rain. Therefore, we placed benches in the hall to form a little stage to have our performances. As the two insect groups have been working together even before the camp started to help get tools and materials for the traps, we decided to join forces and come up with a bigger performances together. The members of the birds group were from my class and so we again joined forces and formed a three group performances to bring up to stage later. The problem with having so many people is that some of them will be doing nothing while the others entertain the masses. We tried to even out the load to make it fair for everyone performing.
The idea we came up with was the act out some of the more famous advertisements we saw on the television. And to start the whole performance off, my friend and I will act out a play we watched to buy some time for the others to prepare for the advertisements they are acting out. The ones we came up with as the mocca advertisement about a bodybuilder selling him house while is very popular with the people. Also the M1 advisements about calling a cookhouse in Indian from Singapore and buying food. The last one is the credit card advisements about buying birds. With that, we went to the campfire and watch what the other groups had to offer.
The first group up did a little song and acted out the words into action into a mini musical video. It was rather entertaining but it lacked something that made it a memberible performance. The next group did the same act but with a different song. It also lacked that something that made it wonderful.
The next group remixed the song “the 12 days of x’mas” into the “6 days of EAGLES” and replaced some of the words to fit the camp’s theme. To add in some fun, they threw some brown rice into the air when they sang,”5 bags of rice” and acted out some of the lines to make the whole song funny and enjoyable.
The next group up was another mass joined group like our own and their performance had four parts in it with some involved those watching to join in the dance and songs. I feel that this is a great idea and it set a bench mark for my group, which was the last to perform, to make our performance as good as theirs.
For my group, I somehow became the next in power went our leaders left to have a meeting with the teacher in charge. I planned out what advertisements came when and what props are to be used and what to do in between each act. It was soon time for my group to go on stage and perform and I lead the way and went on first to tell those watching what will be happening through the performance.
First thing was the play by my friend and I which was to buy some time for the others to prepare whatever props they have. The play was set in a lecture hall and it was a lecture on the sheakspear plays in general. It was copied from a video I saw on YouTube, I felt that it was quite funny and I felt that many will think that way as well. Therefore, my friend asked if I could do the talking part and guide him in the acting and entertain the watchers. I agreed to do so as I have also wanted to act thing out for a long time and this is the perfect chance. It did its job and so much more, everyone laughed at the play and enjoyed it which brought joy to both my friend and I to be able to perform something that everyone liked.
What we planned after my play was the first advisement which was the mocca advisement that almost everyone in the camp watched before and agreed that it is a big joke. That is why we decided to use it as it can make a big impact on the watchers. In the real thing, there was a bodybuilder selling his house using many different bodybuilding poses. We decided to do the same only with three people acting rather than just one. To make them look like they have a big build, I asked them to put on life vests to give them a big chest look. They came on stage in their life vests and said the first line that made everyone break into laughter as they all knew what it was. The crowd broke into laughter after every line and action made by the three actors and this made our whole performance even better.
The next advisement is one from the telecommunication company M1 about how now one can call overseas with any extra charge. It shows an Indian man in a cookhouse picking up a call from Singapore and taking the person’s order later to find out that his caller is from another country. We had an Indian girl from the other insect group play the Indian man and our groups BPS boy to play the person calling. As the Indian man in the advisement had a strong Indian accent, the girl had to change the way she talks to match the man’s accent. Like the advisement before, this one is greatly talked about and is a joke to many. When they went up to act, as soon as she started taking orders, the crowd burst into laughter again. It was another successful part of the play as everyone was talking about it even after the actors left the stage.
The next and last advisement is an old one about a little girl buying birds for her brother who is going on a journey. But she only had enough money for one bird when she wanted to buy five. The old man came in with a credit card and brought all the birds and went to help the little girl in wishing her brother good luck for his journey. We of course could now find so many birds to release and so we decided to let everyone think that there are birds there. We had a short little girl from the other insect group to act as the little girl buying birds and others a play the old man and the bird seller. Sadly, this one was not as great as the last two and did not get much laughter from the crowd but I felt that the actors did a good job.
That was the end of the group performance and next up was the games section lead by the two MCs for the campfire. The first game was a guessing game where we have to guess what an actor was acting out. The first victim was chosen and given the word he must act out. At first we all through it were just a word, but it proved other wised when in the end, it was a sentence. This made the game much harder and with the risk of a punishment for the person who could not get the message across and failed to act out whatever sentence he or she was given. The next victim failed in his efforts to act out a long chain of words which make no sense at all. The person who threw up all these was the female MC that night and the camp was rather angry at her for coming up with these challenges which cannot be completed within the given amount of time. After the 2nd victim failed in his attempt, she let him off the punishment planned and promised that the next person with get that punishment no matter what.
At this, the next victim was chosen to be from my performing group and as the female MC was from our group for the camp, we wanted her to go and play the game as well. At first she protest and claim that she was not from the group. But due to the whole camp chanting her name, she had no choice but to go and have a taste of her own poison. As she by her that the next person with get the punishment no matter what, the whole camp gave her wrong answers to whatever she was acting out so that she will get the punishment. After the time is up, she was to undergo punishment. But she tried to worm her way out of it by saying that her whole group that it with her as part of one for all and all for one. But only to meet rejection by us as she said so herself that she said that she was not from our group. This is sadly very common everywhere, people do not want to do something and claim something just to claim something else when it takes a turn for the worse. She went through the punishment alone and protesting the whole way.
Next up was another game which needed a line of five people to pass a massage down and see what the original massage differ from the one that the end of the line. Two groups of five people were chosen by the female MC and the massages were made up by her. As by not the camp is somewhat going against her, the ten people she chosen changed the line she gave them into an insult to her. The games were cut short and went into singing to reduce the numbers of insults coming to her.
Singing is a classic campfire event and we all sang along to the master guitar player played the songs to sing. Songs will “country road” and “lemon tree” were sang as well as many more and we truly enjoyed ourselves singing beside close friends and new friends made during the camp. This was the time to reflect on what we have done over the last five days and what we will do together when school reopens. Singing along with some hot Milo and fried food was the best time I felt that I spent there and I was sure that many felt the same way as well.
That night we had no defined time to go to sleep and we could stay wake until the next morning if we could. To start the night off, I watched some shows on the laptop I brought to the camp with some of my friends. But, there was a blackout while I was watching and my laptop’s screen became the only light source and started attracting insects to it making watching anything very annoying. After I finished the one I was watching before the blackout, I turned my laptop off and kept it before returning to talk to my group mates.
The power was back on soon enough and I found my group mates eating and cooking instant noodles that we brought from Singapore and cooking it with the stove that the teachers asked to be packed in our bags. I got a cup noodle and waited for the water to boil. While that is happening, I was some people playing a game call O2 jam which is a keyboard game while needs the player to tap the keys to follow a chosen piece of music. The chosen music was a fast beat one and the player was pressing the keys so nicely in tune with the music and I was amazed at how fast the music was and how skilled the player was.
When my cup noodles were done, I set down to eat it while watching my friends sing “I have peace like a river” while doing the hand movements along with it. The girls could sing a do the movements very well but the boys could only concentrate on one thing and fall behind the girls sometime or are completely lost and watch in amazement at how the girls can multi-task. After finishing my cup noodles, I joined in with them and tried my best to learn the steps to the song. The first was to move my right hand from right to left and clapping and snapping my fingers in the end, that was for the “peace like a river” part. Next was to change the direction and got from left to right with my left hand while clapping and snapping my fingers in the end, this was for the “joy overflowing” part. Lastly, was to use both hands and go from my legs to the center to my head while capping and snapping my fingers in the end, this was for the “life everlasting” part. The worst part was to combine all three movements when the three verses of the song are sung together. When we tried it out, everyone could follow the “peace like a river” part, but after that, the boys slowly started dropping out leaving me and the three girls doing the hand movement and singing along. I could only do the hand movements perfectly but could not spare any more concentration to the singing part and remain silence throughout the song. Once we finished the “peace like a river”, “joy overflowing” and “life everlasting” part, the hardest section came in and that was to combine the three verses together with their hand movements. I could also follow this part until the fourth line where I just lost track and failed in completing the song at the very last line.
What follow the song was a game of truth and dare. We sat in a circle and spanned a bottle in the center and ask questions to whoever the bottle pointed to. Many interesting information came out of that game. What was fun was the dares that came out of the game. As a promised the group that if the bottle was to point to me, I will take any dares they could think of. It so happened that the bottle pointed to me and as promised, I ask for a dare. The was to say, “Will you marry me?” to one of the guides who was there with us for the camp. I walked up to him and said those words while kneeing down and entertained the group.
By this time, it was already two in the morning and some of them already went to bed. Some of the girls refused to sleep in the room on the beds as they also thought the same way I do and do not like to sleep on it as we do not know what slept there and when. I am also a little worried about sleeping in the mill and decided to move my bed into the hall and spend my night there. After I went to the mill and back with my foldable bed, I set up my bed next to those who were also sleeping there and went into the cookhouse to talk to my friends who were there watching movies and playing cards. I joined in the card playing and played till it was three in the morning. When they started to play a card game in which I have no idea how to play, I left them and when to my bed. Back on my bed, I talked to those around me and we reflected on what we have done that day and the four days before. It was half past three before I went to sleep and ended that very long day.
damn long....haha
died at
22:25
