You're my MVP (:

Sunday, November 15, 2009 @ 5:27 AM

SLE Camp was the best!(: Okay, i admit that it was plenty of suffering, cursing, tears, blood and sweat. But overall, i think the camp met its stated objectives, which is great!(: Just gonna blog in a skeleton here, which is a shame because i''ve got no energy to put down all that the camp was to me.

Day 1 (Wednesday, 11/11/09)

1. Challenge Rope Course at Shines Outdoor Adventure Centre
The vertical playpen was certainly a challenge, but i felt like a parasite there because i was depending on people to help me up to the next level. Poor Hui Ting had to stone up there just to wait for me, and i really regretted putting on the sunscreen which did nothing but just made my hands slippery. And poor Edward used up all his energy helping me up after him, he completely didn't have any more energy left to go all the way to the top. But it was certainly a great experience, given the challenging nature of that course. You're literally working against gravity up there :( Thanks Hui Ting and Edward (: Next was the high wall, which yet again tested our teamwork abilities. I felt really sorry for Anil and Iskandar; having people step on them one after another is no mean feat! But we managed to get everybody over the wall in the end, so it was good (: After that was some obstacle course, which Zhi Yang succeeded in getting everyone across. After lunch was the negotiation course, which i teamed up with Yu Ting to attempt. Basket, there were no belay harnesses, we had to harness ourselves. In short, if we ran into trouble up there, nobody can help us. The only way to get down is to complete the course. I completed the course, albeit with much difficulty. At the same time, i had to instruct Yu Ting because she was losing her marbles(i.e screaming my name every 5 seconds) up there. Sorry Edward, but i didn't desert her. There's a limit to my physical strength; i'm a girl after all! (:

2. Camelot Changi
We had our dinner there, then all got scolded heartily for packing in a most unwise manner. As a form of punishment, we had to pack and unpack ALL our belongings close to 3 or 4 times. Come to think of it, the camp itself is a punishment -.-

3. Night Trek/Amazing Race from Camelot Changi to East Coast Park
Set off from Camelot at 10pm, and trekked the entire distance carrying our extremely heavy packs. Looking back, it's not really an experience that i would venture to remember. All that kept me going for that insane 21km was the thought of all the weight that i was going to lose, haha (: The tasks at the checkpoints were also designed to create trouble. We had to snag a couple and sing a love song to them, do 100 chin ups, 100 push-ups, 100 leg raisers and 100 jumping jacks. I swear i won't ever complain aout 2.4km runs anymore. Speaking of swearing, i was doing plenty of it on the way. Most of our conversations go this way....

Me: I think we're reaching soon.....
Fitri: *after 45 mins* Where the F*** are we going???

But i must really thank Chin Siang for his memorable quote, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. I thought about it and decided that it made sense, and finished the entire 21km feeling slightly less disgruntled.

4. Tent-Pitching
Reached ECP at around 2.15am, and proceeded to pitch our tents. Got scolded (yes, again) by Rodrick for the way we arranged the tents. Everybody was feeling really cheesed off at the whole lot of them after that. Went to shower at the half-open shower area, and somehow managed it. Tried to fall asleep around 4am despite the humidity. Told Chin Siang, Amos, Dinesh and Salamun to wake us up at 6am so we could do sentry duty with them, but they let us sleep in because they felt that we needed our rest(: Thanks guys! (:

Day 2 (Thursday, 12/11/09)

1. Raft Building at Boys' Brigade Campsite
Went down to the beach to build our rafts with the spars, barrels and plenty of rope. I must say that the rest of us were not of much help, since only John could tie knots. And the barrel that me and Yu Ting tied (i think) just came untied the moment Anil sat on it. Oops. Was trying to fix the raft when it started pouring, and we all ran to the nearest shelter. Came back after the rain stopped, and tested out our raft (: It was a fun experience, and i felt a lot more confident after Edward, Anil, Chin Siang, Amos, John and Iskandar sat on it. If it can accomodate 6 guys, then 6 girls won't be a problem (:

2. Lunch : Outdoor Cooking
I think i just demonstrated my helplessness when it comes to cooking, because Salamun and Amos were doing most of the cooking, haha. But Amos was being cheeky, cooking and eating at the same time (: The lunch turned out quite okay, though i swear that there was sand inside it. Eeek. Wati's story wasn't a tale!

3. Campfire and BBQ Dinner
The planning for this was a complete flop, and we all got scolded by Rodrick yet again (How the heck do you expect us to plan a campfire AND a BBQ dinner in 3 hours?). But we somehow managed to churn out food by 6.45pm, after which i saw the person that i most didn't want to see at that point of time. Urgh. Campfire was at around 7.30pm, which Mr Tan attended. After the campfire, some people continued to dance, but it certainly isn't my thing, so i went back to the canteen to eat marshmallows (:

4. Punishment : 45 push-ups
Doing 45 push-ups at 11pm at night certainly isn't appealing, but the thought of my long comfortable shower spurred me to just go ahead and KNOCK IT DOWN. Slept around 12.30am that night, but it felt damn good (:

Day 3 (Friday, 13/11/09)

1. Team Relay Challenge
We were supposed to pretend all the 8 groups were stranded on one deserted island each. We had to work out a way to build a bridge to connect to the other groups. Salamun, living up to his motto to 'make us proud', decided to give all our resources to Group E and just call for help, lol. In the end, Sanath got us to spell out 'HELP' with our bodies. Dinesh and Quraishiah were just having a good rest, lying down on the ground. Poor Salamun's 'E' was getting distorted after a while, haha. But Amos and Chin Siang trying to do the 'P' really just cracked me up. So cute! And i was lying on Wati's feet (:

2. Lunch at Pastamania!
Break camp at around 11.30am, and the bus dropped us off at Sembawang MRT station. Went to Pastamania for lunch, and also get my dessert treat from Yu Ting (: Thanks Yu Ting for the Chocolate Mousse! (: Saw all the SLE people at Macdonald's, just opposite from Pastamania. Went home on the MRT after that, and everybody was giving me and my gigantic pack weird looks. Eh, my bag was even bigger than those of the NS men! (:

This is it (: But i think this camp could have been hell for me if Group F wasn't there, supporting me in every way. Thanks to Fitri, Wati, Atikah, Quraishiah, Amos, Chin Siang, Dinesh and Salamun for always being there and always obeying my instructions. Best of all, you all actually made me enjoy being Group F's leader! (: Thanks a lot you guys! (: Thanks also to Group E, for working so well with my group and giving your two group leaders such a laugh with your campfire performance! You lot rock! (:

And i shall end off here (: