Dead & Gone

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Warning: Very long post

Memories which will never be forgotten.

Hello people!

I know this post is a little late cause I was waiting for the pictures to be uploaded, plus blogger wasnt really helping by lagging.
First and foremost, credits to peggy, apryl and leejie for the pictures and some parts of their post which I think is quite meaningful.

Happy reading!

Day 1
reached school at 7 cause we were supposed to leave school at 7:15.
In the end, we left after singing the national anthem and headed to punggol jetty.
and I was in the same group as:

Apryl
Leejie
Munjun
Peggy
Cheryl
Fornia
Amalina
Timothy
Budi
Ridhwan
Alfisha
Wei Ming
Wei Kang
Cody
Jun Wei

After reaching the jetty, we reached the OBS reception centre where we sat there under the super hot sun for a long time while waiting for the other schools to arrive.

Finally, after other schools arrived, we had our briefing conducted by one of the instructors.

We were not combined with other schools cause we were taking a different course from other schools.

Aww, so sad. I thought we could make more friends luh.

Anyway, we were introduced to our instructor Tracy and we were called Rajaratnam a.k.a. Raja while the other group was Gandi.

Had some admin stuff and headed off to pulau ubin!

While waiting for the instructor

While walking to the jetty

Tracy!

One of the water houses we saw on the way

Leejie!

On the ferry with apryl and peggy!

Upon reaching, we settled down at a place and surrendered our valuables before having our lunch!

After settling down.

Our locker where we kept all our utensils.

The basin where we washed our utensils.

Our first meal in OBS.

Rajaratnam girls.

We were then brought to our bunks to visit our store and to unpack all our food.

Camwhoring outside our bunk.

Our food ration for the next five days.

After all the unpacking, we had some ice breaker games.
And we wrote our goals of wad we want to achieve on a piece of paper which is actually a jigsaw puzzle when connected to each other's paper.
We took our tents, 4 in total, to our allocated sleeping sites to pitch our tents.
We got attacked by mosquitoes cause we were all wearing shorts.
Pitching of tents was quite easy.
Played some random hunting game next.
Had to look for some objects with the clues throughout the campsite.
Kind of boring and stupid.
My team was just walking around aimlessly,
but that was when i saw a wild boar!
Just the buttocks of it cause it was running away when i saw it.

Gathered back and waited for dinner.
That night, we had our dinner, which consisted of rice and some canned food, by the sea.

Tracy washing our rice.

Cody applying toothpaste on the bottom on the pot so
that the base doesnt get burned.

Cream of chicken!

Check out the beautiful sunset.

Ain't it pretty?

The food finally cooked after a long time.

The rice did taste alittle horrible cause there was a distinct burned taste in it.

The fish luncheon was cold and tasted horrible.

The other can food were still okay,

and we ate in the dark cause there were no lights.

Washed the mess tins and pots in the sea before heading back to our store.

Showered and packed our bags for the next few days cause we were actually leaving the camp site for 3days and 2 nights.

At about 10, there was a fire drill, but we dismissed it as some slip off by other people.

So we ignored it as it continued to ring for a long time.

However, we were actually supposed to assemble when we heard that bell, so we reached the place last.

Had some debrief and went to sleep.

Walked in the dark to our tents.

And my sleeping mates were apryl, leejie and munjun!

Our tents. Imagine 4 people squeezing into 1.

Day 2
woken up by the guys at 5am when we were supposed to wake up at 530.

They woke up very early luh and purposely made alot of noises.

Unpitched our tents and went back to our bunks.

Continued packing our backpacks and had our breakfast.

If im not wrong, we were supposed to have some high element games but it was postponed due to the rain.

So, played some indoor games.

Played some hand action thingy and the one who lost had to do a forfeit.

Well, i was the unlucky few and i had to ask a male instructor if im sexy.

Cody, amalina and ridhwan had to do it too.

Then we had another game.

Had to step on some mat with numbers on it.

It required teamwork and communication.

Quite frustrating cause we restarted a few times but it was quite fun.

Lunch was next and got ready for trekking.

Our lunch which consisted of biscuits and bread.

Our super heavy bagpacks.

Joined gandi and started trekking.

Trekked abt 20mins to camp 2 with our supposedly 15-20kg backpacks.

Super heavy.

After reaching camp 2, put down our bags, and prepared for kayaking.

Used the tri-yaks.

Had some water confidence to test our lifejackets and went kayaking.

kayak-ed with apryl and weikang.

However, it was just a practice to teach us hw to kayak and capsize.

Cap sizing is fun, but the water was super salty.

Plus we had to use our strength to flip the triyak over and that wasnt easy.

Next we had to gather in a straight line and we were asked to stand up.

Starting from the back, then the front and lastly, the middle.

The unluckiest thing was that, i was the middle person, and there was nobody on my right.

Poor weihao and weikang.

I was pulling them to balance myself.

And and, we were all actually made to sing songs while standing!

Imagine everyone standing, and a few instructors purposely sped pass us a few times with their speed boats causing us to lose our balance due to the big waves.

We nearly fell until the last strong wave.

Everyone lost their balance and stuggled to balance themself.

Unfortunately for me, I was only a few inches to sitting down, and weikang lost his balance and the whole triyak flipped, and we fell into the water.

Weihao meizi and darren's tri-yak fell too.

Only we fell into the water lah.

So unfair. And the water was super duper salty.

Returned back to camp and the 5 crosscountry people rushed off to bathe cause they were heading back to mainland for the competition.

Showered.

And the toilet is unbelieveable.

Smelly to the max and the shower room is pathetic.

It does not have a door to close, but a cloth to pull and cover.

Somemore the cloth is not even big enough to cover the entire hole.

Abit scary to bath cause people can see through.

Anyway, had instant noodles for dinner.

So much nicer than the food we had on day 1.

Cleaned up and had briefing on our sea expedition.

We had to kayak around pulau ubin to reach camp 3.

We kayaked from the black circle all the way to the

green circle. ( credits to apryl for finding this map!)

Almost 1 whole round around pulau ubin luh.

13km in total.

Chose our leaders.

Munshi- navigator/leader.

Weihao- sweeper/ last man.

ridhwan- left person( forgot the name)

budi- right person

The others had to kayak among them.

Slacked and went to sleep.

Day 3

woke up at 5, unpitched our tents, packed our backpacks and prepared for kayaking.

We were supposed to meet the instructors at 655 but we dragged till 7+.

Loaded all our backpacks into the motherboat, had a short briefing and started off.

Took 5 long hours to complete the expedition.

It was a real sense of accomplishment cause we were already considered fast and it wasnt easy

kayaking against the currents at all!

Normally it takes other people 5-10hours to complete but we hit the record time!

Though it was very tiring along the way, but we did have lots of fun.

Chatting and playing with each other during breaks.

Nearing the finishing line, we all played a stupid race game to motivate each other.

In the end, other groups cheated!

They started off earlier than us!

But it was quite fun though.

Anyway, this expedition is really quite meaningful.

It really required our endurance, perseverance, teamwork and motivation for one another.

Anyway, reached camp 3 and we settled down.

Pitched our tents and we didnt bathe due to the lack of water.

The water there is very limited and sometimes the water would be brown.

Very disgusting, so we just changed into clean clothes in the tent.

Btw, the toilet is very very far from the campsite we were at.

Its just a trail with plants and trees beside it.

Very creepy.

And once, it was alr night.

Cheryl and amalina wanted to go to the toilet themself.

We didnt let them go alone.

In total, 8-10 people accompanied them to the toilet, including me.

The road there was really very ulu and quiet.

Budi even claimed that he saw a snake.

Alfi!

Our ulu campsite.

We were give 3.5 hours to accomplish some stuffs.

And had a briefing regarding our hike back to camp1.

We had to find some checkpoints on the way ourselves using the map and compass.

So, the others were busy packing, while me junwei and ridhwan were busy plotting the map.

Thanks valentino for helping us!

Went to sleep soon.

Day 4

woke up at 5, unpitched our tents, packed our backpacks.

We were an hour late.

We could tell that Tracy was angry with us but she just didnt scold us.

The way she talked really made us feel guity.

Anyway, started our hike at about 8am.

Met with some disagreements in the beginning but we solved it.

We were suppose to find 3 compulsary checkpoints, but we missed 1 and we didnt have enough time.

One of our checkpoints.

And its very meaningful.

It was a very long and tiring walk.

Imagine us, carrying a 15-20kg backpack, hiking for 7.5km.

Another adventure which required our endurance, perseverance, teamwork and motivation.

Reached back camp1 around 1pm.

had our lunch and went up a very ulu forest to pitch our tents.

Everywhere was just trees and more tress.

And we actually took just 10mins to finish pitching.

It was a big sense of accomplish cause we actually started pitching much later than gandi but we completed it earlier than them.

Everyone was helping one another.

Even Tracy praised us for that.

Had our belaying station after that.

I belayed arpyl and she belayed me.

Quite fun but tiring to belay others especially those who climbs very fast.

Poor Cody was crying in pain as his 'ahem' was in pain cause apparently, alfi didnt really know how to release the rope and we had to waste extra time.

Poor Cody.

Next was rock climbing.

I was the first to climb and sadly, i did not reach the top.

I struggled in the beginning, and when i caught up, i didnt have enough time.

Awww, so sad man.

Felt utterly disappointed in myself.

The rock wall, but its actually higher in real.

And i was only 2 boxes away from the top!

Starting preparing for dinner after that and we combined with gandi.

It was the first time everyone gathered together and helped one another.

We ate with smiles and laughter.

It was really fun talking and joking with one another.

Everyone was talking happily.

Cleared up at the washing area.

Everyone took turns to wash and scrub.

and oh, i saw another wild boar, a full view of it this time.

It looks like a pig but its brown in colour.

Anyway, bathed and met the instructors and headed to our tents to sleep.

The way to our tents was super duper ulu can!

No lights at all, except for our torches.

Even Evan( gandi's instructor) had to lead us and hang light sticks around to lead us.

Super dark and creepy.

Slept soon.

Day 5

Woke up early, unpitched our tents and waitied for our instructors to lead us down to the camp.

Packed and cleared the store.

Me, leejie and some others helped to scrub the groundsheets.

Hello Miss Au Wei Ming!

Assembled after all the clearing and had our last sharing moment.

Everyone spoke up, including the quiet ones.

Tracy's talk and stories is amazing.

We looked as if we all werent listening, but deep down I knew those words are echoed in our minds.

Whatever Tracy said was very meaningful and heart-warming.

The way she read the stories were full of feelings.

She even gave us a pencil after telling us the story of pencil:

One day, a pencil maker told this to his pencils before putting them into the wood box and sending them out. He told them "You will have to remember 5 things so that you'll go far in life.

1. Inner beauty. The lead in you is important. Your appearance might not look good but what matters most is the lead inside you. If the lead is good, the pencil is good.

2. Endurance. Since you're a pencil, you're supposed to write on whatever surface that you're supposed to write on and leave a mark there no matter how rough or smooth the paper is.

3. Someone has to hold you. A pencil cannot do anything on its own. Someone will guide you through your journey as a pencil so you will write on more things and go far in live.

4. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. There's an eraser behind you to erase whatever mistakes you make. If you ever make a mistake, use the eraser to erase the mistake and start again.

5. Always sharpen. When being sharpened, the lead gets sharper. When it does, get stronger. Don't be afraid to get blunt because there'll be someone to lead you forward and to sharpen you"

This story is very touching.

and credits to apryl for finding this story!

And we received our certificates!

We went through alot and it was really a sense of accomplishment and happiness to get our certs with our names on it.

Went to the canteen for our last meal at OBS.

Our dining area.

Bought our OBS shirts and camwhored abit after finally getting our phones back.

Tracy!

The Indiana which we didnt get to play.

One of the high elements which we didnt get to play too.

Gathered at the multi purpose hall for a debrief with other schools and headed back to mainland.

Canberra was the first too go.

Reached back punggol jetty and cam-whored while waiting for Mr Sim to fetch us.

Fornia!

Me, peggy, apryl, leejie and fornia!

peggy, apryl, leejie, me and fornia showing off our OBS shirt. hahas.

I'm so gonna miss Tracy!

Group pictures!

My journal!

Reached back sembawang and went to kfc to eat.

We were like typical campers lah.

Sat there and chit chatted.

Talking about the camp.

Overall, I did benefit alot from this camp.

Maturity, Endurance, Perseverance, Motivation and Teamwork.

These are all things which i will never be able to understand wads the true meaning of it.

We have learned alot.

Been through so much as a group.

Time passed so quickly throughout the 5days.

In the twinkle of an eye, 5 days had passed by.

Just like wad peggy said:

Tracy's right.

The pebbles we carried have turned into diamonds.

We are all happy we have the diamonds, yet at the same time we're sad we didnt take more pebbles.

This experience was indeed an eye-opener to me.

Trying out new adventures, taking on leadership roles.

I'll miss this camp, the happiness and fun we all shared together.

And indeed, like what the others say,

OBS is the best camp I've ever had.

There's something about OBS that stays for life!

Okay, i've took a very very long time to complete this post.

I actually started blogging on Sunday, but i kept dragging cause blogger was really lagging alot.

Haven been into much activites recently.

Just trying to catch up with the rest in class.

Btw, had some talk yesterday about our personality and career.

My personality is type S!

And the coach is really very humorous and sometimes gay with his girly actions.

Just a last bit of it.

Taggs!

peiling: hello. (:

Junwei: lols. sing song?

Apryl: LOLS. ya very funny.

Ridhwan: shut up lah.

JunWei: okay. done.

Alter server: I already know who you are lah. add me in msn then. baby_tyx@hotmail.com

Derrick: update liao! (:

Tiong: update le lah. (:

Ridhwan: Yeah! I miss OBS alot too! (:

Weikang: okay. link liao.

Darren: hahas. linked! yeah. i miss OBS! (:

Adelyn: okay. i'll hit you back soon. (:

Tiong: both!

Huanhui: hahas. im back already. (:

Tan Yee Kan: Who are you? I dont even noe who are you how do u expect me to find you sia.

Regina: okay done.

I'ved replied most of my tags already.

Omgosh! I spend 4 hours on this post.

Bye! (:

Baby,top.
Dead & gone. || 7:51 PM