Sec 3 Camp (II)

So I had a pretty comfortable 1st night..great that our tent wasn't leaking one bit...and those sponge camping mattresses were really comfortable ;)
Thanks to some of the very gentlemenly 3-3 boys in my group who offered to help with dismantling our tent, we quickly dismantled it after we threw our bags out of it :P Thanks for taking the initiative you guys ;)
Was a little surprised to come back from the toilet to find everyone singing the national anthem followed by the school anthem....don't think we did that last year...but nevertheless, I suppose it's good practice.

Raring to go? :)

Personally, I was pretty excited about the 52km of cycling..it was a personal goal to finish it as well, as we didn't manage to complete the cycling last year due to a heavy downpour on our way to the last checkpoint..so was quite determined to finish it this year.
Sunblock...deepheat....gloves....helmet....bike........and WE'RE OFF!

As I was cycling....a lot of the sights and sounds became increasingly familiar....the houses...the greenery...the turns and bends..the cowdung even...haha....it is indeed nice to be away from Singapore after a tiring 2 terms.
This year, there seemed to be more casualties than last year. Had 2 people fly off their bikes.....and numerous with cramps along the way. Thankfully I was armed with my deepheat, so just kept giving blobs of it to those with cramps....but I think I'll bring the spray one next year (IF I'm cycling again), seems to give more immediate relief than the rubdown one. But actually, cramps can easily be prevented, you just gotta apply the deepheat BEFORE you start cycling, and at each pit stop. It really serves to prevent your muscles from cramping. Really. For both cycling trips, I've not had a single cramp ;)

Strangely, I actually find the exact same biking route more physically demanding this year. Could be because I was a little unwell...and also the slight lack of breakfast coz it was too painful to swallow the food due to my throat. A few times I actually wondered if I was going to make it...coz I was getting increasingly tired at each pit stop (& of course the butt aches don't help)...and seemed to be cycling with decreasing speed..

But YAY, proud to say that I made it :)
Even though at the time when I reached Taman Negara campsite...I was like.....err...don't know how to describe also. Just so tired out that I was stoning for a while when I reached there....no sense of jubilation or success...just.....total EXHAUSTION. Haha..it was actually quite funny when I thought back about it.....

We made it!! :)

In fact I was so tired out that I told Sharon "Can I just set up my tent here...don't want to walk already.." Hahha.

Upon arriving at the actual camping site, we were greeted with numerous stories of leeches and muddy trails....which made trekking the next day sound sooo un-enticing.
While waiting for the boys to settle their CIP (to clear the rubbish at the campsite) and their tents...this little kitten suddenly approached me from behind =)
My goodness, it's so super cute! See the way it's enjoying the scratching that I was giving it...but the poor kitty was also coughing I realised. Yes, COUGHING. In fact it was coughing non-stop...poor thing...could actually hear him wheezing as it breathed....

To our relief, the guides decided after dinner that the boys should have an early night in preparation for the trek the next day, so it was off to dreamland soon after dinner... :)

(to be continued)

Sec 3 Camp

My 2nd Sec3 camp in CHS, and I must say, it was as enjoyable as the first one that I went for last year. In fact, I think it was even more enjoyable this year as I went with the batch that I have taught since they were in Secondary 1.
The past 3 years have seen me doing much more adventure related activities like trekking, climbing, rafting, caving,abseiling,kayaking, camping outdoors because of my CCA and sec3 camp....thankfully for me, I actually enjoy and look forward to such activities ;)

This year, I was again assigned the combination of Trekking-Cycling. Though I had really wanted to either be assigned to a group where a majority of my form class was going to be at, or to a different combination from last year..but I guess, school needs comes first.

So, 26th May finally came...was kinda zonked out coz of some family matters the 2 days before that... Sped to school real early, only to realise I left my whole classes PASSPORTS at home! Wah, I almost fainted. Thankfully the roads were clear because it was so early in the morning, so I just sped home to pick them up before going back to school to meet up with the rest and settle all the admin stuff in the hall. Grouped with Sharon this year, was super fun!

Waiting to board our 2nd bus after the Malaysian customs..

After a pretty long bus ride, we stopped for our final group lunch before we split to our respective campsites. Couldn't really eat properly though, coz I was suffering from an inflamed throat, which I think was getting worse by the minute, even though I was already on antibiotics for 3 days already. Swallowing was a chore, as if there was a razor blade going down my throat.

Heard many students complaining about the flies around their drinks and food at our lunch place...I think some of them probably never saw so many flies at congregate around their lunch ever. Which is why sec3 camp is good for them...toughen them up..

Many more hours to go after lunch to reach our campsite...I think our bus got a little lost on the way coz we had to stop a few times to ask for directions (i think). Saw a bit of rain enroute too...just look at the clouds outside my bus...

Nevertheless, I think the clouds are beautifiul..........so I'm biased... :P

Thankfully we finally did get there, and before we got onto a boat to get us across the river to our campsite on the beach, there was a short briefing by our guide Sulaiman.

The view of our campsite from across the shore..

First time I'm camping by the beach..quite cool I must say..

That night, there were repeated flashes of lightning...was a little scary coz it literally lit up the whole beach whenever there was lightning...signalled impending rain for us that night. What was even more worrying was that one of our groups hadn't even arrived at our campsite even after we had all finished with our dinner. Turned out that they were brought to the wrong campsite, and then had to travel all the way back. Thankfully all was well and they reached us at around 9+.
I was quite surprised that we were offered camping sponge mattresses...pleasant surprise, since I wasn't expecting anything but an empty tent to sleep in..........

(to be continued...)

*knock knock*

Guess who visited me a couple of days ago?

*Meow*

This cat is soooo cute..first saw it when I exited the lift that night, and saw it sitting on the floor. Then after that it came really close to gate, and even stuck its paws into my house, to touch my toes =)

A pity my mum would kill me if I brought the cat into the house, if not, i surely will :P

So, after borrowing bagpacks from others for the past 2 years, I have finally gone to buy my own Deuter bagpack today! =) A big thanks to C for helping me with it ;) It's a 40 litres bagpack which is expandable to 50 litres..think the size is just right... So YAY, for once I'll be using my own big bagpack...and its maiden journey, would be the sec 3 camp!

I am really looking forward to the Sec3 camp...not only because I like taking part in such activities, but also because it signals the end of the term. Can't wait for June Hols....though it won't be much of a holiday for me, due to the many commitments that I have in school, but at least, it's a breather period from term time. I had initially wanted to go for just a short trip...just to get away and relax. But looking at my schedule..haiz. Nm, I shall go and watch many many movies...hee..

Below are just some pictures that I took over the last couple of weeks, which I wanted to blog about, but just didn't due to whatever the reason.

At Toa Payoh sports hall after the CHS B div Basketball win...

Heh, we're all smiles coz CHS just became champs again ;)

Just some graphics that S sent to me via bluetooth which I find super duper cute :P

2 street buskers at Ang Kio Central yesterday...

*yawn*..sleepy..

More sky pics... :P

Haha...forgive me..I can't keep myself from snapping pics of the sky & its clouds...just love the look of it..... :)


Mostly are taken in CHS...

CHS morning sky...
.....and the same morning sky... :P
Aaah, CHS in the evening...think the building looks kinda cool like that...

Hmm, I can't remember where I took this one...could be when I stopped at a traffic light on my way home....didn't turn out as nice as it looked in real-life...

Well, a few days ago my dad decided that he wanted to clear one of the cupboards in the house so that he will have more space to put his numerous photo albums. And he asked me about this suspicious looking little brown paper bag...saying that it contained my stuff inside..

So I peered inside, half thinking that he made a mistake..but true enough, the things were mine...AND, they were things that I would reeeally love to keep with me, for a long time to come. They were little notes and letters that friends have given to me over the years, since I was in secondary school...JC...university.......

Wow, it was amazing...looking through that stack of letters and notes...so many memories of being in school...and the friends that spent those years with me..all the memories just came flooding back..was such a sweet feeling reading through some of those letters and notes that had been given to me so long ago...just unknowingly made me smile as I looked at them. Some of the notes, I don't even remember receiving.....also suddenly remembered that there was this gal called Serling whom I used to write to pretty often, all the way till I was in JC and she was in uni. Even found 2 letters that my brother wrote to me while he was in Melbourne.. :)

Think somehow, with the progress of modern technology, and the increased pace of life, e-mails and e-cards have almost totally taken over the traditional handwritten letters and greeting cards. Somehow..it's just that much sweeter and more heartwarming to receive one that's handwritten instead of one from cyberspace....it's just somehow different when you get to see the handwriting of someone instead of a typewritten letter... Of course, I must admit that I have also been sucked into the convenience of technology... so rediscovering that bag of letters just reminded me that, the personal touch is a very vital part of communication. ;)

There were so many letters and notes in that bag, I didn't have time to look through them all..but I thought it was worth capturing into photos.... pretty obvious that I am a very sentimental person... :P

Numerous aren't they..... :)

These are the letters from Serling..wonder if i would get to meet her again someday..

And these are from my brother in melbourne :) One of them was a card for my 21st birthday...

:) :) :)

OK, it's time to get back to work!

Photo finally ;)

Photo finally =)
The pictures with the Vballers on my bday.. ;)
Am just gonna post this one, the most 象样 one! (tho Z beside me looks kinda freaky..) ;)

This post was actually meant to be about something else...BUT, due to my own forgetfulness, I left the connecting cable to my phone in school..so the pics that I meant to post up with what I was going to say, shall have to wait.

*PHEW*

My gosh...I have finally finished 11 classes worth of marking!
Goodness me....I can't believe it... It's amazing when you can literally see the level of ink in your pen decreasing rapidly as you mark.......there was a day where I finished one red pen in one day. Scary..

Well, tomorrow's the day of reckoning. I don't even know how my classes did actually..because I do not have the overall collated marks. So i'll only get to see it tomorrow.
*gan chiong*
sometimes I feel as if I'M the one taking the exams...

OK, time to sleep.

Again

Over-reliance is an emotionally tiring process....but yet time after time it happens..
Told myself to be wary...but still, it happened... :(
Where's the exit, I need to get out..fast..

My marking's only half done...and I've double-checked the same scripts countless times....why can't people just put more effort into the way they present?!?

*moody*

Life after the MYE...marrkkkiinng..

Most of the sec3s would probably be relaxing at home now after a long 2-3 weeks of mugging for the mid-years (MYE)....which marks the beginning of an intense period of marking for us teachers!

The past 2 weeks saw me giving little remedials here and there to help prepare some of my sec3s for the mid-years...I sure hope they were helpful.

During one of the evenings after a remedial session, I took this picture in school..

I just love the look of those clouds....

OK, back to the topic of MYE. I must say, when I returned to my table on Thurs afternoon, I was kinda shocked at the sight of 11 classes of scripts on my table. I was almost sure that my table was SAGGING from the weight of the papers... -.-' Thankfully I'm marking half the paper only...if not, I'm so dead.

This is where I like to spend some of my time marking over the next few days.....my little hangout place Icekrimo =)


I think I mentioned about the place here before...Icekrimo is this little ice-cream joint that's near to Sin Ming..cosy little place that opens from 11am-11pm. So all I gotta do it park my little car at the private houses area...and take a very short walk there.
Apparently Icekrimo has been featured in the papers more than once. They've got interesting flavours like Horlicks..Chempedak...etc.. I do recommend the place if anyone's looking for a nice cosy place for an evening out with friends ;)

Okie, short post for now.
Gonna recharge and go to school to mark tomorrow..