4 days and 3 nights in school, just for preparation of JJC O2 camp and executing all our plans. The OGLs, the teachers and us, the shadows, have worked very hard for this camp. From my point of view, it was a success when the campers were self-motivated by the end of the day. Towards the end of the camp, this line really made my day, especially when you realise that while the OGLs get to have OG outings, shadows don’t:
“The satisfaction of being in the planning committee is different from campers and the OGLs” - Mr. Leow
Just in case some readers don’t get it, shadows are J1 OGLs who are chosen to be in the planning committee. And hence, we are the last batch of shadows in JJC since there will only be one in-take from 2009 onwards. And I will put some facts very bluntly:
- I never intended to be in shadows, and was very fussed when I was selected
- I was the one who tried to skip mass dance during my orientation, but failed
- Being a OGL was a goal right from the end of my orientation, and when I couldn’t, I was disappointed
Difference now and then:
And just like Mr. Choo said, many of us have changed. We talked for a while during e-web and he said that I was just so much different on-stage doing mass dance and the camper I was just barely 1 month ago. Aside from my hair, I can’t really say how different I was. But for Brenda, Jacelyn and Jieheng (all were my OG-mates, OG15!), I just saw the changes in them and it just made me smiled thinking about it. Jacelyn had the most significant changes, from a emo-girl who don’t give a damn about her own well-being, is now smiling over little gestures her campers gave to her. This is not just a satisfaction I felt as a shadow, but as a friend of theirs.
Mass Dance:
Camp was not as difficult as I thought it would be, it was more than just difficult. I thought mass dance session would be okay, 2h session for first day, should be no big deal. The hell with it, I could have knocked myself out. To emcee, to dance with maximum enthusiasm and to deal with another session tomorrow was… fcuk. The worst was that Hendy was having fever and I had to put him on the platform. The 2nd session was not any better, only that the campers were much more supporting and they kinda love dancing to 5 colors.
If any campers are reading this, I will tell you that my job is already simple while on stage. That fractured little finger don’t make a difference when you groove to the music and enjoy yourself. The pain only comes after that session but that is totally alright with me. Your instructor, Cheri and the dance attaches are people you have to thank much more and beyond if you enjoyed the session. Teaching and giving instructions is not easy, just try, I can’t do it. The attaches are your OGLs and they worked very hard to get the dances right. They just come up to me and ask me to revise the steps. They want to keep dancing to the same music until they can get it right:
- Jieheng and Wanting were my first pair who I drilled to death for mass dance
- Hendy was down with fever yet he wanted to be a part of the whole session
- Alyssa had problems with her foot but she still strive on until the session is over
- Shuyee was a last minute replacement and above all, she tried her very best to get the steps right. She was the one who bugged me the most to teach mass dance and recap it many many times
- Rongguo, despite his seniority and experience, was willing to humble himself and learn from a n00b like me
- Howsun is a natural performer and dance, so what can I say more?
They struggled much more than me for mass dance, believe me.
JJ Night:
2nd day of camp was my most tiring day, because I simply got complacency right from the beginning. I didn’t expect myself to take charge of all stage instructions, from the setup to coordination at the very last few hours before the event itself. I never read up on JJ night stuffs, and was unclear with many things. When the seniors asked me how the extended stage was gonna be like, where the laptop should be placed, what stage decorations were gonna be put up - I simply couldn’t give an answer immediately. The fatigue from mass dance was brought forward to JJ night preparation, so someway, I was under an amount of stress. I got very quick tempered (as I can remember) with things that went wrong, from AVAC to mass dancers, and I am teribly sorry. Eventually everything went smoothly, and I was just so damn glad. Behind the curtains, Jingwen was my PA and I was grateful she was there to help out. Was just so sad that I cannot be in the crowd but in these shadows, I saw and realised many things:
- Aravind had a sprained ankle and he can skip his way into the hall, wow
- Chunhui finally grooved to the music after so many days of orientation
- OGLs really tried very hard to get their OGs high
I was happy that OG15 people came back! Among them were: Wanqing, Ivy, Lavinia, Shana, Eduard, Dhiya, Zhiwei, Apple and Susian!
E-Web:
This happened on the last day of camp. I didn’t expect shadows to have a e-web session. Just in case you are wondering where we had this, it was behind the curtains on stage. I didn’t expect myself to cry. I didn’t expect myself to be so touched by words of my fellow friends. I didn’t expect the amount of gratitude everyone had for each other. It was beyond words that very moment. Mr. Choo kicked things off by passing to Jasper, who really earned our respects. Among all the shadows, Chingkit, Jasper were people I really cannot find words to show my respect for them. Pikachu passed on to me via my left pinky and I passed to Cheri. But it is more than just her I want to pass to, because if I could, I would have given to everyone. Right from the start of e-web, I was fretting over who I should pass to. Celisse is the one I feel very apologic to, really. Guess I will just write such stuffs in a separate post. Our e-web was not finished cause we still had duties.
So how far have I come? From one who wants to skip mass dance to become one who emcees for mass dance, and from one who hated to be in shadows to become one who now wishes shadows to never be disbanded, I really can’t tell. I hope everyone enjoyed and learn something from this camp, just like what I did in O1. If I did well in this camp, credits to my OGLs - Wanqing, Dixon, Ivy and Yanshan. They are the reason why I became a JJ leader. Thanks guys =)
Many were concerned about my fractured little pinky and from shadows to OGLs to campers, I appreciate it all. The jokes about it were fun, especially when the campers were joking with me. I really had fun crapping with them for that one minute, just seeing them laughing and smiling. I wanna mass dance with them on the floor! It was all worthwhile, at the very end.
And now… photographs!
Cheri helped me to sew my pouch! Thanks~ =)
Faizal and Gadis looked so wrong here.
F3~!
F2~!
F1~!
Abby had Syafiq’s proposal on her birthday! Wow.
Wanting and Jeremy looked so funny =)
Mr Chua welcomes you to JJC mass games, with love.
The O2 batch at mass games!
2nd day of camp, even more exciting games coming up for them.
Stomp addicts, would you like this? Features my dear friend, Fret the Winifred =)
The zi-high batch =)
Preparing the bombs!
An e-web session to bond it all. This is how OG8 bonds, lol.
And Syafiq ends our camp with this sexy-front pose =) Boobalicious.
Of course I have more photos, and much more videos, but I will just leave it unposted in this entry. If you want any photos I may have, just ask from me on messenger, yea?
I think I understand the Chinese proverb: 对事不对人 as I have the desire to write this.
Recently I have been looking through some blogs and felt annoyance. There was one specific blog, though not one of the few I looked through recently that made me reflected quite deeply. Why the hell do you count the days you have been with your ’stead’, because to readers, instead of making them feel that you love your partner alot, you make me feel like you are counting down to the day of breakup. Statistics is beautiful, but the thing about it is that, it makes all things look too materialistic. Especially when you use it on relationships.
Then at STOMP I saw this article questioning JJC’s usage of water in orientations. The debates were fascinatingly… childish. Things like “if you don’t use water, use fire instead!” and “guys can then take advantage of the situation while the girls’ shirts are wet” are completely nonsensical. Then there are statements like “think of the third-world countries.” It gets me to thinking that, why single out JJC for this issue. Yes, there is water wastage but the amount we waste as individuals are outrageous. If such people really care about resources imbalance so much, start at home - use pails to bathe, use the water thereafter to clean up the house. It is just annoying to see people pick on stuffs which they themselves are guilty of.
Today I went out with my mum, sister and grandma to watch Ah Long Pte Ltd. It was not a quality movie but I must say it kept me entertained. Sometimes highly rated movies aren’t always the best to watch. But that was not the issue, because I realized I haven’t talked much to my sister for a week already! Felt so lousy.
Because of the school stuffs happening recently, it is this that is inevitable: someone close will feel left out. From my secondary school friends to my family, I am not MIA-ing (missing-in-action). I cannot pay attention to so many at the same time because my concentration and energy is simply not there, please understand =(
Aye, she’s just an eyecandy, so don’t get too much into thinking about it (pointing towards people who were at Pizza Hut today). Thanks Mr. Chua for the lunch! OMG, 16 pizzas. Stonefish prompted us to work harder after this treat but in the corner of my mind, I would even if the treat wasn’t there. Mr. Chua and other teachers who helped us thus far, are already reasons why we have to work hard.
Evina was having so much fun on that machine =) To think that a J1 student can play that, wow. Then went under a shelter to crap about stuffs. Drink stuffs must have ‘feeling’ =)
I still appreciate nature okay.
The focused eyes of the Food IC, Junjie.
Gadis, Abigail and I!
Abigail can be quite crazy =)
I helped Cheri with her hair! Those are drum-sticks, by the way.
The girls.
I was in time to pose, but not her!
Joseph is emo-ing, I mean, CeQing.
Anhwa drawing on Gadis’ tablet PC!
And to end this entry off, here is the kitty that posed for me!
Oh I love this photo, find Evina! LOL.
Scolded, motivated.
Only after a long discussion with Cheri today, we realized there is so much to prepare.
I was rejected for SM06 combination. Here, my rant begins: Priority is given to students who scored better in L1R5. The rationale to rejections was that there are not enough economics lecturers. Bonus points are not considered for combination selections. So my doubt was, if a specific student takes the same course for JAE as he/she did for PAE, shouldn’t such students be priorities due to more exposure to that combination? I hope they can do something about it, because the answers provided to my doubts are simply… outrageous. They don’t convince me or make perfect sense. And I am nor debating about this issue for fun, it concerns my 2 years in JC.
745 McChickens, 100 boxes of pizza and countless KFC Chicken. Thanks Mr. Koh =)
Went to Crystal Jade Kitchen for Dinner with Jacelyn, talked alot. Apparently we concluded that some people slacked too much based on the ‘unwell’ excuse and get too grumpy when they don’t get the role they seek. =)
I dunno since when but recently, I began to realised that I will and I can do thngs so much better with the support and concern from people around me. Thanks!
Physical pain for the entire day. I was touched and worried by everyone’s concern when I said that I am going to lead the mass dance anyway. Cheri just gave me the go signal when I told her about it, and that just gave me more confidence to do well. Perhaps it was trust, or she just wants me to learn a lesson the hard way. I certainly hope it is the former =)
I really appreciate TK’s offer to help but I just want to clear up the mess I started. For PAE’s session, the session was kinda screwed because there were some last minute changes. Mr. Tan wanted us to keep on dancing instead of teaching, and we were only aware of it like 20s before the curtains opened. But guess what, the mass dancers were great. If any of them look up on stage and see 2 mass dance ICs being able to do the dances, it is nothing. But when you look around, and 4 more such pairs are doing as well with OGLs in the hall dancing too, that is impressive. They did what they had to do, but it just occurred to me that ‘old birds’ are not that easy to follow a lead.
So it was the JAE session that made me proud of being on stage. We kicked off with craps, and ‘Oh my Darling’. Whenever I look at the crowd and see some crazy people dancing like mad, I realized they are wearing Rono. Which means, those are the OGLs. They just remind me of the senior OGLs who were at O1 while I was at camp for PAE, I am so proud of them. The ‘new-birds’ were not so enthusiastic until the 2nd dance, Ain’t It Funny. I dunno if Cheri felt the same, or any of the dancers on stage saw it, but when I saw close to all of every guy in the hall kneeling down for one of the steps, I was so impressed and touched. Some OGLs even told me that this O2 batch is better than us for PAE during mass dance.
Suhyee was damn funny today. I am in OG24, and she was the OG IC for OG24, which makes her my OGL. But again, She is SCDC attach so she is under me! We were both confused but we settled that we are both OGLs so neutralization occurred =)
YOG was painful and fulfilling. My pinky began to hurt like fcuk, but the atmosphere blinded the pain for some moments. Partnered with Valerie at sector K, and kept disturbing Yiqian and her with russian accent. And Singapore won the bid for Youth Olympic Games 2010! Reminds me of the movie ‘300′ =)
So danced for 1.5hours like mad, really couldn’t take the pain anymore but I just can’t stop seeing Apple working so hard on stage along with the rest of JJCians. So I screamed like mad after OG dinner =) Pain, pain and pain.
