Friday, August 18, 2006

SMU Circle Camp 2006

Circle camp run 3 was a blast. I'm really glad I went for it. I love my OG mates. The pre camp outing went well, but i heard countless horror stories about the earlier runs, so i was reluctant to go. In fact, i was seriously considering doing the 150hours of CIP instead. haha, but what was I thinking? I wouldnt want to miss out on all this fun for the world.

We already started to fun within an hour of reporting, playing some chicken/eagle game. Cindy is a pro! We then warmed up to our lovely campsite and played all the mandatory games while waiting for lunch. Who knew that games like "tui tui tui" and "yee har" had such a big impact on us later? Big Titty Cow Girls! Anyway, the group's morale was pretty high after the giant's finger game. I felt pretty indignant when we were made to redo the near perfect attempt. Bleah, my fault! But nobody blamed me and everyone just did whatever we did earlier. I love these people. They have like skyhigh tolerance or something. This was extremely evident when we played the slapping n pinching game. Gosh it was so cruel. I even cried! (red face) Cos of the pain and because i couldnt bring myself to hurt another person. Long after dusk fell, we headed to the area near Changi Hospital. The girls were scaring ourselves silly there. It turned out that we didnt go to a real haunted house e.g. the old Changi Hospital. Instead it was a fake one which wasnt creepy at all. The guys were gallantly helping to make us feel better by walking around us. Its the lunar 7th month and im not taking any chances. Call me superstitious, but i dont mess around with stuff like that. Oh yeah, thanks to Justin and Zhihao for drinking our spit-infused water! (yucks!) So midnight came and went, we were the only bunk with our lights still on. More games...

Morning alarms went off and we treated ourselves to unsatisfying breakfast. Next, we arrived fashionably late for the wizards challenge or something like that. We did ok for that. The rain came which saved me from the maze part. I didnt really like it cos it was pretty boring. Plus i realise i suck at the superman game. Haha. Then it was kayaking! The rocks or debris on the beach were really threatening. Anyway, Cindy fell unto them when we came back. How unfortunate, and i had to to send her to the strangely hyper medic who seemed to experience pleasure to see someone in pain. Before that, I have to talk about our adventure on the high seas. After detailed planning and strategising, we managed to move people on kayaks without any speech involved. haha. we are gonna be famous for our estascy cheer (which was caught on video!) on the kayaks with a spectular jump off the kayaks at the end. The guys got a scolding for that though. Then we had a campfire in the evening. I am so proud of the Europeans - Big Titty Cow Girl was the star! He stole the show completely. Haha. Well at least i now know that stuffing a sleeping bag under your shirt is much more effective than Maximisers. Hehe. Oh what's up with Mambo songs!? yikes, some retro songs are nice, but im not a hardcore fan of mambo songs. Might as well do some old-school DDR or para para. I want my RnB & Hiphop. Did u hear me DJ??? But it was great dancing under the stars, near the sea and with a group of friends. In the wee hours of the morning, there were more "Have a nice day" n polar bear/ panda game. We crashed at arnd 3am i think.

The next day, we had to stomach the worst meal of the camp. It was just plain white bread with some spreads to go with it. Urgh. oh well. The final challenge started soon after and after that mad adrenaline rush, we made 1st in our 5th wave. Thank you CK for downing that gross drink ( i think it was water+flour+ other mystery ingredients, gag.) Thank you R85 for letting me survive that car ride on the wooden homemade cart at a crazy speed. Haha, Thank you ALL for making the camp so memorable. I miss u all already!



R85 (el nino) hamming it up for the cam

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Homecoming

The flurry of activity which happened for the past few weeks has left me breathless. So pardon me for the lack of updates.

Firstly, it was the fascinating and rewarding Bangkok shopping trip. On top of the shopping, I love the people and their glorious food(which was so very, very affordable)! I now declare my devoted admiration of the pretty Thai boys! haha. Most of the people we've met, have been adorable and really warm towards us. We tried to flatter school-girlish shopkeepers by telling them they were really suay (beautiful). We thanked everyone everywhere profusely with Korp Khun Ka. You see, when you show obvious appreciation for their service, you dont need to dish out as much in tips. Haha. Oh, they thought i was a local too. You know you have to believe that when my mumsy Foot Massage masseur told me that i resembled her daughter. haha. Ironically, the infamous Bangkok traffic jams brought us laughter and joy, rather than causing us distress. Perhaps its because only we are capable of cramping all 6 of us into a cab, along with our gazillion shopping bags, and still manage to amuse the smiley cab driver. Having that said, I'm currently suffering severe withdrawl symptoms from the thai coconuts. Sigh, theres no other place like thailand to produce coconuts like that. I think i'll just marry the person who can provide me with a lifetime supply of fresh coconuts. Haha. Anyhow if you were wondering about pictures, the trip wasnt really picture worthy because our hands were usually full with bags and more bags.

Our Airasia flight was delayed for about 2 hours, after much turbulance, we landed at near midnight on wednesday night. I then rushed off to Asoc camp the next mrning. I had a good time at the camp despite being ill-prepared, badly sunburnt and then intoxicated with alcohol each night. My new friends are great company and that has led to subsequent outings even after we broke camp. The unexpected chilvary and gallantry the guys showed to us girls were really suspicious. We gather they pulled up their socks when we were jokingly discussing about how asian girls prefer cauasian men to asian men. hahaha. I miss them all already. . Oh and thanks to the guys who willingly ferried us around with their automobiles. They are the next best thing after AIR-CON. Haha. I found my shopping partners in Michelle and Rita too. we got some matching stuff on our shopping trip. I think i showed tremendous restrain while shopping because so many stuff here is being sold in Bangkok for a much cheaper price.

The latest update would be my visit to Raffles Hotel yesterday afternoon for their wonderful Hi-tea buffet in the gorgeous Tiffin Room. The service was immaculate, the food was exquisite, and the company i had was lovely. The staff impressed me tremendously and I can only feel embarassed by the stingy tip i left on the table for them. Thank you so much for making Huiting's (belated) Birthday celebration such a memorable one. I'll let the pictures do the job now.
Posing for the camera a la bollywood style

The gorgeous facade

The grand fountain in the courtyard

The elegant Tiffin Room (in between dining hours)

Us upon discovery of the camera's timer function...

The surprise birthday cake

My party of girlfriends