The end is here.

But before the end comes, there's time for another meeting. The planning committee for the CCA Extravaganza met up this morning to plan all the stuff about the event. We ended at around 2pm.

When the end comes, where will you be? When the end comes, what will you become? When the end comes, will you change?

Had the End-of-Year Council Meeting this morning, where the Councillors (and a few Care Reps) received the duty list for next year. ELDDS in the afternoon.

Had the trial run for both Orientation and Orientation Camp today. In the end I reached home at 8.15pm because I had a long discussion with Mrs. Lim regarding the traffic flow from the classrooms to the hall.

Sunday. A few more days to a new year.

My father accompanied me to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building this morning to register for my identity card. Maybe because it was 9.00am on a Saturday that there weren't a lot of people in the queue. I didn't have to wait long for my turn. The attendant behind the counter first took my fingerprints digitally. Then she scanned my photo into the computer. The photo, truth be told, wasn't very good; I should have taken it with my short hair and I should have smiled.

Anyway, after the registration procedures were over, I headed back via MRT to school, where I had on-site planning in the new campus with Mr. Chee regarding the traffic flow of classes in the respective places (please see the previous entry for the two areas of concern). It wasn't very easy, considering that firstly, it was a new campus and secondly, the classroom arrangement was pretty much fixed, meaning there might have been jams and long waits here and there. Eventually we sorted them out before noon. After informing Mrs. Lim about our proposal of the traffic route, I went home to draw out the plan on the computer.

Boxing Day, but I still have work to do.

Went back to school to meet with Jane to work on the duty list for the councillors next year. We worked in the new canteen, where occasional parents and their soon-to-be-Secondary-1 children walked past to get to the bookshop in the school.

We finished at around 12.15pm. I hurried to Ginza to buy a simple lunch (McPepper and a regular Iced Milo), then took away the lunch to eat it in school.

ELDDS started at 1pm. Today's session was to see our performances for the CCA Extravaganza next year. Unfortunately, my group, who had wanted to change our script, didn't do so during the long break, which meant we had to come up with the script and perform it to the audience next Tuesday, which is the next ELDDS session (the last ELDDS session of the year). In other words, we're roasted.

At night, I was told to call Mrs. Lim, who wanted me to plan a rough sketch of the traffic flow of the classes next year in two areas: 1) from the parade square to the classrooms, and 2) from the classrooms to the hall. I worked till past midnight.

I wish you a Merry Christmas,
I wish you a Merry Christmas,
I wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!

May all your wishes come true ASAP! :P

Went to Yan Chen's house in the afternoon to discuss a bit about the Geography project. Then went home to enjoy the Silent Night...er, okay, maybe not that silent.

Today is the Registration day. I arrived in school very early (6.40am). Once we had put down our bags in the HOD room, we headed to the new campus where a thorough check was done on the student leaders' appearance. Once that was done, we immediately went into our positions. The 7 EXCO members who were present each took up their positions. I was stationed in the old campus to check the student leaders there. From time to time I had to reposition some student leaders, for instance to get parents to use the zebra crossing to cross the road.

At 9.10am, the student leaders in the old campus started to walk over to the new campus for the duty switchover. By 9.30am, the first parents (with their child) began to appear in the canteen. That's when the busiest part of the registration exercise started.

Kegan said it was a total flop. A parent murmured "bad planning". The people behind the uniform trying counter said it was messy. However, all in all, parents seemed satisfied by the service our student leaders provided.

After the registration, I rushed over to supervise the moving of our ELDDS stuff from the Reading Room to the Drama Studio in the new campus (which in reality is only a normal classroom). By the time the moving ended it was 5.30pm. I went home at 6pm, after we found some stuff in the new campus and we returned it to the attendant in the old campus.

Today we had the trial run for tomorrow's Sec 1 Registration. After giving out the name tags and a little briefing on the duties, we moved to arrange the tables and benches in the canteen for the buying of books and uniform. I underestimated the size of the canteen - it was really big. Along the way, the Sec 2 councillors gave constructive feedback about the arrangement and proposed a few changes, some of which we took.

After the break which followed, we moved into trial run mode, where the 4 EXCO members who were present (besides me) and the PSG members who were to help out tomorrow acted as parents of Primary 6 students who were going to come tomorrow. Unfortunately, most of the student leaders didn't realize that they were parents. Seeing that the time was 1pm already, we sent them off to lunch wherever they wanted to (which made them very happy). Jane and I went back to the old campus to work on the computer there drawing the new arrangement for the bookshop area.

Returning to the new campus at 2.20pm, we wolfed down our lunch (duck rice) which Mdm Yong bought for us (really have to thank her) and began our trial run all over again. This time, we only had 3 EXCO members around (including me), so all we supposed to be parents. In the end I don't know what happened to me.

After that I only remembered I went home at 7pm with the name tags of those who didn't turn up in one hand and my class banner on the other.

EXCO meeting today at Kegan's house. I was very late in reaching Commonwealth MRT station, where we were meeting to go to Kegan's house. When we reached his house, we waited for Edwin to turn up from his church session. We sat around the dining table for the meeting.

Towards the end of the meeting (which was around 5.30pm), I went into the bedroom with the computer to work on the name tags for the lower secondary councillors while the rest of them outside, inspired by the drills they did yesterday, learnt how to receive a prize uniformed-group-style (which involved marching, saluting and a lot of banging the floor with our right feet). I almost missed out on the fun, but I followed suit just before we ended the meeting and headed home.

Today is the moving day.

I entered the new campus first at 6.50am to prepare for the Symbolic Move. At around 7.30am, word reached me that Shao Ming was down with a high fever today, which meant a substitute is needed to carry the state flag. That person (me) went back to the old campus quickly to look for Ms Wassan.

I had to wait for Shao Ming's blazer, which was with Wei Loong, who has not arrived yet. Back in the Student Lounge, Kegan was in his long sleeve shirt (he will be carrying the school flag), and the other Councillors were walking around. Wei Loong was still not here when we gave out the class tags to the Councillors.

He only arrived at around 8.07am. I quickly took the blazer and tried it out. Size 30, it fitted Wei Loong, not me. So turned out Wei Loong will be the substitute for Shao Ming in the end. Quickly, we moved to the Parade Square, where the students and the CCA contingents were starting to form up. After doing what I needed to do, I headed to the back of the CCA contingent on the right with Edwin, getting ready.

Basically whatever happened next were what we rehearsed in the previous days, except for the position of some of us as a result of Wei Loong's substitution. We crossed the road, reached the gate and opened it. The lion dancers pranced across the line marking the entrance into our new premises, then moved swiftly up the slope to the new Parade Ground.

After the singing of the National Anthem, the recital of the Pledge and the singing of the School Song, we all became a little relaxed and informal. With a school cheer that must have sounded for at least a 1km radius, the event ended and it was refreshment for the guests and VIPs. Jane and I served the drinks, but we had work to prevent students from drinking those; there was orange juice from McDonald's at another corner. When everything was over, we took a group photo before packing our things and heading back to the old campus to get our belongings to go home.

Back in the old campus, after returning cones and posts used for the event, I headed back to my old classroom to take down our class banner (Symbolic Promotion). I tied it up and brought it back to the Student Lounge, where the other Councillors were. By 1pm, only Kegan, Shu Zhen and me were left singing at the top of our voices. I went home for lunch, but realized I forgot to bring back the banner...

Originally today I went to school on Symbolic Move business (to make final preparations in the new campus), and also to check out the new canteen so as to estimate the size for the Sec 1 Registration. In the end I stayed till evening playing suggested games for next year's rapport building.

Today's trial run for Symbolic Move. Basically that's what we did.

Arrived in school early to settle some things for today's meeting, then went forward to meet the Councillors and Careforce members for the Sec 1 Registration meeting. It's also today that I first stepped into the new school building proper. (My first step into the new campus grounds is yesterday; I only went as far as the car porch.)

It was a few minutes past midnight. It was only when Wei Loong exclaimed and Bernice brought out the cake that I realized slowly:

I've grown one year older.

I wasn't the only one; Wei Loong was also celebrating his birthday today. Unlike me, though, he goes all out to publicise his birthday.

It felt strange as the people put the candles, lit them and sang the birthday song, because it was the first time I was celebrating my birthday with my friends. I didn't even cared to celebrate that Sandra won Survivor: Pearl Islands; it must have been one of the happiest moments of my life this year. I wasn't even expecting anything.

We played till 2am in the morning, then went to "bed"; I took up a spot on the beanbag chair. Positioning the pillow under my head and holding my birthday present (a green light stick) in my hand, I slowly fell asleep to the music of Stefanie Sun...

***

I felt someone lightly tap my feet. Opening my eyes, I realized that was Kegan, and the sky has lighten up. 6.55am, my watch showed. Slowly, we got up and did our stuff. By the time we were changed and stepped out of the house, it was 7.45am. Reminding ourselves that we had to be in school by 8am, we got down, took a short bus trip and then took 2 taxis (guys in one, girls in one) to school. Arriving in school at a few minutes past eight, someone told us later that the event this morning (Symbolic Move on-site planning) will start at 8.30am instead. Panting slightly, we went to put our stuff in the Student Lounge and had a sandwich before heading out to the parade ground to start the planning.

The whole thing ended 2 hours earlier than scheduled. Maybe the teachers realized there were a lot of things to decide and settle. While the others headed home, Jane and I still had a lot of things to do. The first Sec 1 Registration meeting is tomorrow, and we had not prepared anything. We spent the whole afternoon doing the stuff needed for tomorrow, going home at 6.40pm.

By the end of the day, I had clean forgotten that today was my birthday.

This morning, I went to school for next year's Orientation Camp trial run. In my bag were clothes, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel and a windbreaker. That's because the EXCO's staying overnight in the school tonight. I thought we were going to hang out in the school for the whole day, so I brought my overnight stuff.

Anyway, we played some of the games, with some involving water bombs. I only got a bit wet. I was later informed that we were going to Ms Wassan's house to stay for the night as the school might be deemed unsafe to stay during this period. Then noon came and I went out for lunch (chicken rice) with Kegan, Wei Loong and Bernice. After lunch, the others went to their respective destinations (Kegan and Wei Loong, home; Bernice, I don't know), while I headed back to school to enjoy a quiet (and boring) time.

Fast forward to 4pm: I was at the bus stop with Edwin, who had planned to meet Kegan to go to West Bowl together. At 4.25pm, Edwin received an SMS message to board the next 197 we saw. We did. Arriving at the bus stop in front of Clementi Stadium, we headed to West Bowl, where Jane was already waiting at the last lane with her overnight stuff and her mahjong set. We booked the games first, then waited for Wei Loong, Bernice and Ms Ang to arrive.

After our games, we got into Ms Ang's car to go to Jurong Point. Bernice said she wanted to cook spaghetti tonight, so we were going to buy the ingredients. Besides, Ms Wassan was not out from her meeting yet. We headed to McDonald's after getting what we needed at NTUC FairPrice to rest our feet and wait for the signal to go to Ms Wassan's house.

It was around 7.45pm when we arrived at Ms Wassan's house. When we stepped into her house, it was like stepping into an Ikea showroom. One word: Cozy. We settled down; Bernice and Wei Loong immediately went into the kitchen to cook. Some of us played mahjong. It was around 9pm when dinner was ready.

After dinner, I dove into the sofa, turned on the TV and watched the Survivor: Pearl Islands grand finale at 10pm while the others continued to chat at the dining table. By 11pm, everybody was in the living room, some playing/learning mahjong and me still watching Survivor. The Sole Survivor was going to be revealed very soon...

To be continued...

I almost gagged when I saw a message on our EXCO MSN Group message board with the title "Meeting URGENT!", only to find out later that the Sunday it was referring to was next Sunday.

So, another boring Sunday. Didn't feel like starting homework...

Went back to school to finish up the painting of the ELDDS banner. Went back one hour past noon.

The Student Council had a bowling outing today. Originally planned as an ice skating outing, it was changed to bowling after poor response.

I arrived at Cathay Bowling Centre (at The Chevrons) at around 12.40pm. The place definitely looked better than the other bowling centres I've seen. I sat down on one of the bar chairs to wait for the rest.

Most of them arrived 15 minutes past one. We booked our lanes, got our shoes (I forgot to bring socks, which meant an extra $1 for the socks) and went on to play. My first game was okay. The second game we had was a bit rush, because we were supposed to finish by 3.45pm, so that the management can prepare for a tournament that's coming up. We had 12 players, and we were supposed to finish within 1 hour. Eventually we did finish just as the time reached 3.45pm.

Once we were done bowling, most of the people went to the arcade on the ground floor, but I wasn't really interested in arcade games, so I went home first.

Arrived at Ginza Plaza's McDonald's at around 8.45am. Today is Operation ELDDS Banner (i.e. painting the ELDDS banner), but first we had to pick up the rest of the materials. Cai Ying arrived on time, but Xin Jie and Shan Ying weren't in sight. We left at 9.30am after learning that Xin Jie had forgotten the time and deducing that Shan Ying was still sick.

Crossing the road, we went to get the cloth, the paint, the brushes and the turpentine. When we returned to school, we were a few minutes late; Casandra and Xun Wei were already waiting at the foyer. We put out the newspaper and cloth on the ground and waited for Xin Jie to arrive because she was the main designer of the banner.

She arrived a few minutes after we had laid out everything. She proceeded to draw the outline of the design on the banner with a chalk. Once she was done drawing our ELDDS mascot (two little "aliens" back to back, one with a happy face and one with an angry/annoyed face), we began applying emulsion paint.

We finished applying a second layer of the emulsion paint. We discussed a little about the colour to use before deciding that we had to change one of the colours. We sent Cai Ying and Casandra to make the trip while the remaining three of us took a break. They returned with lunch and the paint we wanted.

After lunch we got back to work painting the banner. We packed up at around 5.30pm, but the banner needed a little bit of touch-up. We're meeting to finish the banner painting on Saturday.

Originally had wanted to start on my homework today, but just couldn't find the determination to start it. Ended up at my computer for the whole day. Plus, very rainy day it has been, too.

I almost forgot to go to school today to plan for the ELDDS banner. Thankfully, I wasn't late. Caiying, Xin Jie and I sat down at a few minutes past one to plan the ELDDS banner. At the end of the planning session, it turned out that we were going to use Xin Jie's design for our ELDDS T-shirt.

We went to Ginza's McDonald's later, where the girls bought fries to eat while designing the Orientation Camp T-shirt (that's not ELDDS-related). After that we crossed the road to the market to get the materials we need. Unfortunately, as we didn't bring enough money, we could only order the cloth for the banner and buy a can of emulsion paint (which I brought home). We will be painting the banner on Thursday.

Went to school today to sit in and listen to the Orientation Camp 2004 Planning Committee's meeting. After the meeting, a few of us went to West Bowl to play a game of bowling.

Nothing much on today, except Star Awards 2003 tonight.

Today I'm quite addicted to following the 22nd SEA Games in Vietnam. Glad to see Singapore winning golds.

Just relaxing, playing computer games. The usual.

Went to school this morning to pack the Student Lounge. Some other EXCO members packed some of the things in the Student Lounge yesterday morning. I had intended to go as well, meaning that I'd have to rush out of the class chalet. In the end, under Kegan's continuous persuasion and the temptation of bowling, I decided not to go.

Kegan was the only person around when I entered the Lounge. Nobody else came in for another 30 minutes, and during that 30 minutes we couldn't pack a single thing because none of us knew where the previous batch last stopped yesterday. Bernice and subsequently Mrs. Lim came along, and only then we started packing the rest of the stuff. We stopped at around 1.30pm for lunch, where I had a bite from Mrs. Lim's lunch. I went home at 2.10pm for my full lunch.

After lunch, I went to Westmall for an interview where I was the interviewee. The interviewer's group was doing a research project, and their research project is one in many others that will be compiled into a book, to be released next year. I was already notified earlier this year by the group's teacher-in-charge that I will be interviewed.

I met the interviewer outside the library and went to KFC for the interview. The interviewer, probably a Sec. 2 girl, wasn't exactly professional. I doubted she passed her oral examination. (No offence to the girl if she's reading this.) We finished the interview at around 4.00pm, after which I headed to the Singapore Post Office on the 5th storey to turn in my NKF Donation cards (with the pathetic sum of money). I headed home after that.

3o1o3 Class Chalet (Day 3)

We returned to the House after midnight. Wee Cheng, who had arrived at night again after his NCC day camp, was BBQing more chicken wings. The girls told me Wee Cheng's BBQed wings were so popular they were eaten up fairly quickly. I waited for one of his while watching the show the others were watching (a competition between sissies). It was good. The chicken wings, I meant.

Creeping up to the Bedroom, most of the people were sleeping in the room except 4, who were played Bluff. I strolled up and down, waiting for my turn to bathe. Once I was clean again, I went back to the Bedroom. The 4 were still playing Bluff. I waited till they were done before settling down beside Michelle to sleep.

I slept from 2am all the way to 7am. Today was check-out day. Some people had to leave early (way before check-out time). There were only around 10 people left when we checked out. We cleared up the rubbish on the table tops (the floor will always be dirty, so we didn't care) and packed everything we had into our bags, trying to be extra careful not to leave anything behind. I locked up the House at around 9.20am and went to check out, returning the BBQ pit and the stand along the way. Checking out was super easy; all I had to do was to slip the key into a box.

We waited for the shuttle bus back to Bedok. Once we reached Bedok MRT Station, most of the 2/2 '02 gals went off for their 2/2 '02 chalet at Downtown East. Maybe next year 2/4 '02 will have a chalet too. For now, the 3/1 spirit lives on, even if it's a bit sleepy.

When I reached home, the one thing that I didn't want to happen was to make myself unhappy. Unfortunately, my mum made that happen.

Right now, as I'm typing my entry and looking at my surrounding, it feels alien, whereas the House felt like home. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which home I preferred at that moment of time.

3o1o3 Class Chalet (Day 2)

We played well past midnight. Like any other chalets, the first night is never sleeping time. Even if I tried, I could only fake sleep. (That's when I close my eyes, loosen my muscles and try not to move even with the slightest provocation. In other words, pretending to sleep.) The lights went out at around 2am, but even then they weren't sleeping yet. Ghost stories and dirty jokes filled the room. Not able to turn in, I went downstairs. Some people were still playing PlayStation. I tried to sleep, but couldn't. By 4am most of the people in the Bedroom should have been asleep.

After brushing my teeth at around 6.30am, I headed out to McDonald's at sunrise to get breakfast. I bought a Big Breakfast meal, after which I headed back to the House, where I hopped into bed at around 7.30am. This time I did sleep, and I woke up again at around 9am. Most of the others were up already, and I believe they were either cycling or roller blading. Me? Didn't know whether I can cycle with the wound on my head, and didn't know (and don't want to know) how to roller blade (to find out more, rewind to June 19th's diary entry). Kegan also came around that time, so I took his CD album and listened to Stefanie Sun on Zhi Yuan's CD player a.k.a. Zhi Yuan's darling.

Had cup noodles for lunch, then headed back to the Bedroom to watch others play. I slept again for another hour, waking up at around 3.15pm.

At 4.30pm, while most people went to the beach to play volleyball, I went looking for the place to book BBQ pits. Walking around in the rain, I had to resort to calling the number given on a phamplet to enquire about where to book BBQ pits. I went to the Fishing Pond, then to the BBQ Kiosk (just next to the Entrance Hall) when I told the man behind the counter I needed a receipt. I tried to get some guys to come over to help me carry the things (a large-sized BBQ pit, a corresponding sized wire mesh and stands) back to the chalet. Actually, come to think of it, I could have carried it myself.

We set up the BBQ pit in front of our chalet and began heating up the pit by putting charcoal and fire starters. We sent a few people to get some other equipments we needed. A long time later we began BBQing the first chicken wing. It took another long time, and when it was done, Veronica (who was cooking the food) and a few others found it good. My mother ought to be proud of herself; she marinated the chicken.

Besides the chicken wings there were also cocktail chicken sausages, bacon strips, otah, garlic bread (simply bread with garlic spread) and potatoes. I didn't eat many chicken wings, but I had quite an amount of sausages, bacon and one quarter of a potato that was uncooked, despite the fact that it was steaming.

After that meal (time was around 10pm), Zhi Yuan, Tania and Juliet were going to be leaving, but not before another game of bowling. So the three of them, Kegan, Abraham, Delia, Michelle and I went along. Once their game was over, Kegan, Abraham and I played one game together. This was the game where I did my first spare, my first strike, and my score for this game, 83, was my best record thus far.

The only mistake was coming here before midnight; from 7pm to midnight, the cost for each game per person was $1 more expensive than that from midnight onwards.

To be continued...

3o1o3 Class Chalet (Day 1)

Finally, after so many weeks of struggling, today came.

I first met up with Zhi Yuan at Bukit Batok MRT Station. After he went off and came back with butter and garlic spread for the BBQ tomorrow, we set off for Bedok MRT Station, seeing Samuel on the train from Jurong East to Bedok. Xianglong and Fang You were already at Bedok MRT Station when we arrived at around 2pm. Slowly more and more people arrived until the most important arrived 5 minutes late: Shifang, the only person in our class who is over 18. We booked the chalet under his name and he had to be around to check-in. We exited the MRT station, hoping to catch the shuttle bus to the chalet, when we realized we were a bit too late: the bus was already full. In the end, we took bus no. 31 to the stop in front of Mandarin Gardens and walked to the chalet.

We arrived at the Entrance Hall of Costa Sands Resorts (East Coast), a bit wet due to the drizzle. We checked-in (I was surprised we didn't need Shifang's identity card to verify) and received the key to room B1 (for this entry and the next two, room B1 will be referred to as the House). Walking through the jungle of chalet rooms, we arrived at the House which was just next to a side gate to the outside. I had a little trouble opening the door, but I did manage it.

The House was 2 storeys high (which was what we booked). The first storey consisted of a living/dining room (to be referred to as the Hall), a toilet and a shower room. The Hall consisted of two tables (one round, one rectangular), with items like a telephone, an electric jug and cups placed on the rectangular table. There were a few chairs and stools around the tables. The TV was mounted high on a TV rack above the refrigerator. The sink and tabletop (for placing food perhaps) sat below the windows.

The stairs led to the second storey, a.k.a. the Bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed and two bedside tables in the air-conditioned room. Two more single "mattresses" were pulled out, with bedsheets to cover them (although in the end the bedsheets were doubled as blankets).

Once I stepped into the Hall, the first thing I did was to place the two boxes of chicken wings I brought for the BBQ into the fridge. We checked out the House for a while, with me soaking in the coolness of the Bedroom.

Some people went out later at around 4.30pm. I myself walked to McDonald's later, trying to find them there. I realized for myself how long it took to walk to McDonald's. Seeing the canal only meant you've completed one quarter of the way. When I finally reached McDonald's, I was sweating but saw no one from 3/1 (or so I thought, as I might have realized later...). Walking back to the chalet in the threatening weather, I met up with the guys who were in the House when I left. I walked with them back to McDonald's, where we saw everybody having a little supper. I bought McNuggets and a cup of Coke, wolfed the former down and ran out with the rest to play bowling just next door. Here I found one of my new addictions: bowling. I was improving with every throw (well, most of my throws). Kegan (one of the bowling champs in our class), James, Zhi Yuan, Tania, Kuan Yee, Juliet, Veronica and Pei Ying played too.

After the games, James and I walked back to McDonald's, thinking the rest were going to have dinner (the time was 6.40pm). I used one of the coupons my mum left in my wallet to buy a McDipper Meal and a McChicken burger at $5.70. James bought a Filet-O-Fish meal. We then walked back through the drizzle. We had dinner in the Hall while watching Moon Fairy, the latest serial to premiere on Channel 8.

The rest of the gang came back when Moon Fairy was almost finishing, bringing back dinner from 7-Eleven. I headed to the Bedroom when the girls decided to watch Comedy Nite 2003. Originally thought to be totally taken by the gals, what with almost all of the gals throwing their belongings in the room, both guys and gals hung out in the Bedroom. Some people played daidee, a game played with poker cards, and the ever popular mahjong. If this wasn't good enough for anyone of them, they could head downstairs and play on the PlayStation Xianglong connected to the TV. It was later in the night when I finally learned how to play mahjong.

Some people left in the night (Kegan, for instance), while some arrived in the night (the list included Clarence, Michelle, Quan Ming and Wee Cheng). We played and played and played into the night...

To be continued...