Calendar of Events (Year 1 Sem 2 Vacation)

Above was what I was involved in for the past 2 months of academic year-end holidays.

Temptation, Sensation & Aggression

Media & Info-Comm Technology (MIT) Club Freshmen Orientation Camp 06/07

6-9 April 2006

It was a camp like no other I had experienced before. Sure, it was more tiring than your ordinary camp, but the fun I had more than justified for it. As part of the Games Personnel (GP), I joined around 20 others in organising the activities of the camp. Not knowing each and every of my fellow GPs as I was the only one from my diploma course, I initially struggled to get out of my comfort zone when striking up conversations with them. Near the end and after the camp, it felt much more comfortable speaking to them.

Day 1. The main activities of the day were the Battle of the Zones and the Night Walk. Battle of the Zones was basically 12 station games split into 4 zones. The game I was in-charge of, Web of Dexterity, was an advanced modified version of the common Spider Web game. This time, players had to face the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal challenges of being stuck in a Web while collecting "items" along the way within a time limit.

Temptation lurked about as the freshies were gotten prepared through ghost stories and the like for the main activity of the first night. The Night Walk through the campus scared most of the freshies, even if they did not admit it openly. The numerous props, which included Sadako dolls, combined with the realistic makeups of some of our "scare crew", enhanced the dark, scary atmosphere of the route. The freshies were released pair by pair from one end of the campus (FoodCourt 1). I was stationed with Yong Xian at the upper lift landings of the T15 block. Our scare object of choice: the dustbin. When the freshies made their way up the pitch-dark lift from the ground floor, the doors would open on the 4th or 5th floors (I depressed the lift button and then hid). Imagine a stream of light and a rounded-edged dustbin (the height of a small child) suddenly appearing right in front of you (just after the lift door). Later, when the freshies got up to the 6th floor and continued along the route (past another innocuous-looking dustbin), Yong Xian would suddenly push the dustbin off the ground and hide. The freshies, not a long way in front of the dustbin, got shocked at the abrupt loud "plomp" which penetrated through the night's silence. Some even screamed. Way to go, Dustbin Crew!

Day 2. Sensation = Sand-sation at Sentosa! The freshies definitely had fun going about from game to game at Palawan Beach, Sentosa. The game I was in-charge of was Quidditch, basically Captain's Ball except that there was a hooped goalpost which the ball had to be scored through. The final game, Battle of the Millenium (a.k.a. Tug of War) got everyone hyped up with its intense physical demands and enthusiastic cheers from the onlookers.

After we got back to school, the main activity for the night was the Labyrinth of Panic. The objective was to gather as many gems (light rings) as possible around the campus's 4 zones, while staying out of areas that were closed. Teams had to avoid "Demons" (confiscate light rings), and look out for "Guardians" (grant light rings upon completion of a task).

Day 3. Teams competed against each other in the Amazing Race in this show of aggression. The Race started off with the mini-game Food Chain at Chinatown. Each team was given the first food item to start off with. The last letter of the first food item will determine which letter the second food item (of their choice) begins with. Upon completing the third food item, teams went back to the starting point where they were given the final (fifth) food item upon completion of a task. The teams then finished their fourth and fifth food items and reported what they have eaten. Before releasing them for the actual Amazing Race, each team had to consume a whole unpeeled lemon without using their hands (they used their mouths instead).

What better way to spend the last night of the camp than to hold MIT Club's traditional Shim Nite and Disco Nite! A shim is basically a she-him - a guy dressed and dolled up to be a girl. They look kinda like transvestites. Each team sent a representative, and, along with our senior shims, made the whole Shim Nite a rousing success! For privacy reasons, I will not display any shim photos here, but you get the idea. Similarly, the Disco Nite rocked the classroom through the night with the top hits of Hip-Hop, Funk, Techno, among other genres. Along with our expert DJs Chalk and Hadi, I controlled the overall PA mix. Most of the freshies certainly enjoyed this nightclub of "havoc".

Day 4. After singing a few camp songs, doing the Friendship Dance, writing testimonials on each other's backs, and a photo session for every group and everyone, the camp ended on a good note. The newly kindled friendships didn't stop there - there's a Reunion for everyone (even those from the School of MIT who did not attend the camp) coming up soon!

Personally, I really enjoyed the camp even though it was the most tiring one I have ever been too. Probably because I was part of the Organising Committee. I wanna thank my fellow Game Personnel "Agressas" for being such great people to be with, and the Group Leader "Honchos" for a job well done guiding the freshies. To all freshies, I hope you enjoyed the camp. Be seeing you around in MIT Clubroom!

"MIT!" "MUST BE THE ROUTERS!!!" (Official Camp Shout-out)

Easter Sunday update: School's finally starting tomorrow after 2 months of break! Year 2 already... by the way, I've met the Year 1 DMAT juniors - and my - they're a sophisticated and talented bunch! And I've got FOUR of them from my secondary school! Alright... gonna have dinner now... will update again soon... *geared up for a whole new academic year*