致华岗艺韵2008全体台前幕后人员

作为华岗剧坊第三十届执委的主席，上任没多久的我对剧场艺术以及华岗剧坊这个组织已经体会到之前所没有想象到的精神以及执着。

事隔多年再度制作华岗剧坊本身的长年演出，来自各届学长的期盼已经构成一定的压力；何况今年距离演出的准备时间已经不多，更是让排练、开会的时间弥漫着一股迫切感。从上个学期远赴香港参加亚太学生戏剧会演的过程中我就已经开始感受到了执委们与杨老师讨论剧本构思时的迫切，甚至着急。从香港抵新的隔天例常活动时就公布剧组结构：二零零八年华岗艺韵的准备工作从那一刻开始就涉及所有会员了。

再接下来就是华岗剧坊的常年露营，我也就是在那时开始被票选为执委主席 的。或许是主席的工作范围以及性质的关系，身为主席过后对华岗剧坊、华岗艺韵的各个方面也多了许多了解。当然，附带而来的少不了责任二字。安排会员们分组排练，清理道具间等等从大到小的事情都成了我的责任。这样的情况下，想要不了解大局也不容易。

就在负着这些责任的情况下，我从一些以前看作理所当然、平凡不已的事情中看到了不少难忘的精神及美妙。我发觉，迫切的需要可以让人改变一贯的态度，全情投入去做一件事。上个星期好几天我都有到黑匣子看看，有时是自己去参加排练，有时候就只是去看看其他的戏进度如何。可能是旁观者清的缘故吧…… 就在我自己不必参加排练，去看看其他小组工作、给一些意见的时候，我更有所体会。我的导演有事不能出席，身为副导就得把责任扛下来，幸亏还有志豪帮我看着中一中二的同学，但还是难得有机会以第三者的身份去看别人排练。就有这么一次，我放学后闲着没事陪学政到黑匣子去看他们排练，才真正看到了一些平时忽略的东西。

今年的华岗艺韵动用的演员比较多，许多新来的会员也被设定为演员，甚至主角。这种情况对于华岗剧坊来说不容置疑的是好事：上台演出是我们可以给会员最好的吸收经验的机会，也是许多人当初加入华岗剧坊时心中的憧憬；然而，动用大量经验尚浅的演员在艺术的角度来看其实是一种冒险。但是在某种意义上来说，没有什么经验的演员更不会出现一些态度不正确的情况。学政导演的小品两位主角都不是十分的有经验的，但是他们两位对于戏剧的执着以及认真是华岗剧坊许多经验较为丰富的演员所遥不可及的。上个星期三，我的小品许多演员都因为第三语文课而无法出席排练，所以我们当天就没有安排排练。我放学后却又闲着没事做，到超市买了些食物回来的路上就到黑匣子去看看去看看。我的计划本来只是去看看他们的进度如何，然后就会宿舍休息的；但是后来发生的一系列事情让我难以自拔，陪他们排练到六点多钟才一起回去。

学政和瀚阳一起写的剧本要求使用一名女演员，就通过他人介绍找到了现在的人选；而男主角则采用一位今年初才加入华岗剧坊的会员。上述两位同学在剧场艺术方面之前都不是有很多的接触，我本以为他们在排练的时候可能会像很多新演员一样不是很认真，还在想我需要多多关心这部小品的进度。但是，我那天看到的东西彻底改变了我的想法。女主角从别的学校放学后马上赶过来，而且完全没有因为这样的奔波而影响她在台上的表现以及态度；男主角当天身体看似不太舒服，之前还要学政拿药给他服，同样的这也没有影响他的态度和表现。排练活动进展了一段时间，两名演员脸上的倦容都显现出来了。我看时间也不早了，但学政是导演在场，我也不好越权直接让演员休息，就发短信给学政提议他今天就排到这里。学政接到短信就告诉两位演员说排了这么久，差不多可以结束了。让我意想不到的是，两位演员异口同声回答说”先把这一段完成吧！”。我愣住了。华岗剧坊很多会员，和他们一起排练的时候都不难听到喊累、抱怨的。我看到的：一个新会员、一个不是华岗剧坊的成员，竟然展现如此值得学习的精神，乃是十分难得。尤其是女主角，竟然为一个不是自己学校制作出这么多力，值得敬佩。我觉得这两位演员应该受到表扬。

看到我们今年的制作中存在着如此正面的精神，对于演出达标的信心也有所提升了。我知道有很多其他人员所付出的努力也是十分宝贵的，只是我没能目睹而已；而那些在排练时比较好玩、不认真的会员，希望你们能多多向上述的两位同学学习。一起为华岗艺韵2008努力吧！

Fountain Pens

I expect many people to be surprised with this post. Perhaps some who read my blog often and remember what I write will even experience a sense of deja vu. Yes, this is it. A second instalment in, a series of posts dedicated to some of my more unusual habits and likings. Perhaps, I will name these posts “My Nuances”.

While the obsession with polishing shoes date back to when I was in Secondary Two, I only grew to be accustomed to writing with a fountain pen somewhere around the very end of 2007. The story goes that the year-end vacations were so blissfully protracted that even the tranquillity found it difficult to really occupy me. It was this boredom that spurred me to dig, out of the mess that I call my room, my calligraphy pens. And how ironic can it be that the medium through which I learnt the ancient skill of penmanship was of such modern origins like the Internet! It is in front of my computer that I practised and acquired the Chancery Italic hand, because what I had at hand was a set of edged-nib pens. Due recognition to hard work and the advice from fellow calligraphy enthusiasts on the Internet, I finally managed to muster a passable excuse for an italic hand. It was alleged by many on the penmanship forums and instructional websites that the Chancery Italic hand is suitable to the “everyday needs” of most people where edged-nib fountain pens can be used instead of oblique nib holders. However, to use the type of language required for history essays, it quickly became apparent that this cumbersome albeit charming and elegant hand was more suited to the lifestyle of a retiree or someone in managerial positions instead of mine which demanded a large amount of writing to be completed in a short period of time (e.g. Humanities Test, Language Tests etc). Being a reluctant realist, I quickly practised the cursive hand according to Austin Palmer’s suggested method to bring it up to speed to face a year of studies I anticipated to require a lot of writing. And that is the story of how I grew into using cursive writing as opposed to the manuscript printing taught to us in primary school, that of boredom being a motivation. And the subsequent adoption of fountain pens was born of necessity since I felt unable to produce quality script with modern pens; the lower amount of strength and economy of ink needed to write were mere collateral benefits.

I also find it crucial to explore this point about the lack of instruction in cursive writing in our institutions of quality today. According to what I have managed to gather from family members and other resources, the cursive hand had been the everyday writing hand of individuals educated a few decades ago; while at the same time being the writing hand first taught to children with certain learning disorders instead of the conventional method of printing in childhood before switching to a cursive hand in the course of secondary education. Receiving primary education in Malaysia, there was no instruction regarding the cursive writing hand in any form, not much difference from the Singapore education system, even when one would expect the Malaysian counterpart to be less pragmatic more closely associated with traditional Western ways. In primary school, writing had been a large part of the pedagogy, mostly mindless copying of phrases and textbook articles. Personally, I cannot see any function of this mindless copying other than honing of the students’ writing (I do not subscribe to allegations that copying of phrases will commit them to conscious memory; memorising phrases and words is not the way to learn languages, exposure is.). But this apparent function of writing practice, in my opinion, constitutes a negative impact on the handwriting of the students. The large volume of writing that demands to be done often encourages students to slacken on letter forms and join the letters or characters together; without applying the widely accepted and recognised standard of a “fair hand”. This results in a pathetic hybrid between printing and cursive writing observable in the marred handwriting of many Malaysian students, mainly male ones. I was not taught this by anybody, but being the headstrong person I am, I learnt and practiced on my own and somewhat mastered it now. A fountain pen has replaced a Pilot Super Gel as my everyday pen and the edged nib pen is reserved for more formal occasions or writing demanding greater aesthetic appeal.

Once I picked up cursive writing, it felt so natural to me. Somehow, it felt like the given way to write and that I had been writing so since young (which is not true). But that is my perception. I am not sure if many people share my sentiments, but I really prefer writing to typing on a computer because the flow of the pen over paper, in a way, stimulates my creativity and thought. In my field of studies, the humanities, flair is something very important and I value it greatly. For this matter, one would naturally write with less force when using a fountain pen and thus allow the pen to actually glide across the paper in a smoother manner. Aesthetic advantages aside, there is another, more pragmatic edge of fountain pens over ballpoint pens. Among many friends of mine who uses normal ball point pens or mechanical pencils predominantly, I have observed the utilisation of great strength in writing, and the occurrence of calluses on the side of the middle finger due to the great force exerted. There is absolutely a relationship of causation here, since I used to write with a great amount of force, imprinting my words on the entire pad of paper and had calluses my finger due to the vice-like grip I used to employ. However, the transition to fountain pens signified a paradigm shift in the way I write. Somehow, I now hold my pen with minimal force and thus experience much less fatigue when writing. According to certain authorities on penmanship, a fountain pen or a calligraphy pen should be held only tightly enough to retain the pen, with the actual contact between flesh and pen being made by bringing the nib to bear on paper. In other words, the pen is resting on the paper and merely guided along by your hand. For me, this has solved a chronic problem of forearm fatigue when writing because of my old habit of crushing the pen between my fingers and maintaining wrist flexion throughout the process of writing. Of course, the smaller amount of force used in writing does not make my hand much smoother or softer to the touch since I lift heavily. But to those members of the fairer sex out there who need to write frequently, this may be a change for the better.

Well, I don’t wish to ramble any further. Many people will remain faithful to the Bics and Pilots of modern origin; but it is my intention to stick with a Sheaffer representing the cultural and economical glory of the Roaring Twenties. And with that I terminate my tale of how I came to adopt a fountain pen for everyday use.

Mid-Term Reflections

The year 2008 marks my entry into the Hwa Chong Institution Humanities Programme. In the first place, my choice to pursue a Humanities-focused academic journey was not made lightly nor thoughtlessly.

Amidst the barrage of criticism and sarcasm directed at the Humanities Programme, including the classification of its members as “muggers” or “nerds”, I indeed considered the prospects of selecting another track of study to pursue, such as the sciences. My results for the sciences had been good, even excellent by some standards since Secondary One; I was also rather interested in certain aspects of the sciences, mostly about how certain things work. I believe that had I chose to read science in my upper secondary years, I would have survived well, perhaps coping even better than what I am doing now in the Humanities Programme. As I look back upon the time when I was making my decisions for Special Programmes option, it occurs to me that how close I came to making a bungle out of it. While I love to spend my time reading up about the scientific explanation for certain phenomena or certain properties exhibited by certain objects, I have since discovered that my interest does not extend beyond the very surface. For instance, I am highly interested in the workings of the bullet-proof vest, how does such a thin layer of material can so easily insulate a person against a round of brass travelling at terminal velocity? But telling me that the high tensile strength of Kevlar further reinforced with the twisting of the fibres would suffice. Information about the chemical properties of Kevlar or the formula to derive the strength gained by twisting would be lost on me. Such an attitude towards the study of science would not be very conducive to the kind of in-depth and detailed analysis the science guys are used to.

As one poet whose name I fail to recall so aptly put it: The pursuits of the scientific, mathematical and logical disciplines are all great pursuits, they keep us alive; However, the beauty of the arts, music, literature and the humanities are what we stay alive for. It was a very brief glimpse I had of this particular piece of literary work, so brief that the poet’s name was not noted. But such was the gravity and force of this statement that reached out so much to me that I remembered the essence of it till today. This is a view that I identify very much with. Not to say that the scientific people do not appreciate this or that they are inferior; it would be better to say that they are the noble ones who keep us alive while I am the selfish one who enjoys life. Had I chose to read science, I may not have to stay up so late for so many days; nor would I have to plough through so many profound readings; nor would I have to miss so many recess periods.

Life could perhaps be described as hard, even cruel, by many people. But I am enjoying it! For me, I seek satisfaction in everything I pursue. And that is the prime motivation for me to strive hard in everything I set out to do, as more is achieved, higher achievements are required to give me the kick. From such a perspective, the decision I made to enter the Humanities Programme does not only signify a turning point in my academic studies, but also a turning point in the way I live my life.

At this point, I feel the need to mention one very significant event that happened just a few days ago. 1^st April is designated Projects’ Day Preliminary Judging for the year 2008. For the first time since the first time I set foot in Hwa Chong Institution as a student, I am doing submitting two projects for judging this year, not including the mandatory Humanities Research Paper which I did not submit. And it was not with the nonchalant, indifferent, otherwise known as “bo-chap” attitude that I undertook the commitment of three concurrent research projects. Also for the first time, I actually dedicated so much of my time to these projects! In Secondary One, it was the disinterest that resulted from a project that I would call mundane and insignificant; In Secondary Two it was the sheer amount of slack I cut myself that resulted in the pathetic excuse for a project of mine to fail both the preliminary round and the second preliminary round. Somehow, I managed to find the drive and motivation to seriously commit to a project; perhaps it was the assimilation shock from the Humanities Programme or perhaps it was the introduction of extremely academically inclined and competitive people around me, but it certainly boosted my morale and ignited a flame deep down inside me. A passion for whatever I set out to do. Possibly also due in part to the nature of the projects I undertake this year, I feel much more empowered and able to develop them. For once since Secondary One, I actually feel confident that something positive will come out of my projects. Not just that, but the sensation of the fiery conflagration of passion within is extremely satisfying indeed. Again, like the choice for a rigorous course of academic study in the Humanities, all the late nights and the long days are well worth it, just for the passion and enthusiasm derived.

On another plane, there are also rather great changes for me in terms of my EP3 (formerly CCA). For those faithful readers of my blog, you would have seen the post last year on the Ong Teng Cheong performance. It seems that the spirit of that particular performance had extended itself to this year. In spite of all the academic commitments that I have to fulfil, I still prioritise Chinese Drama over many other things. A case in point can be found in the ongoing Humanities Youth Research Symposium. The initial justification for not applying was due to the planned performance in Hong Kong, which was cancelled. Mr. Samuel Lim actually asked if anybody wants to participate in the symposium for a second time, after I was informed of the cancellation of the Hong Kong trip, but I expressed no interest despite this being a good chance for exposure and building up of my portfolio. However, the calling of responsibility towards the short play we are putting up for national competition overwhelmingly compelled me to pass this rare opportunity off. I knew it would be a quixotic bid to apply for the symposium and attempt to juggle it with drama rehearsals; only one could be chosen, and that one, was Chinese Drama. The camaraderie in the Chinese Drama Club is, to a large extent, virulent; so much so that the Secondary One batch were already caught up in the spirit and participating with zest in our activities. And this choice is one that I have not regretted, and I am now well-primed to dive right into the chaos of national competition. Those of you who are fortunate enough to secure a seat in the smallest theatre I have performed in to date, you would be able to see first-hand the results of our toiling for almost a month of daily rehearsals. For the others, there will be updates as soon as its over.

 

 

Polishing Shoes

Among my close circle of family and friends, it had became common knowledge that I like to polish my shoes. And that is true. I find relaxation and tranquillity in polishing my shoes. Now, this polishing I am referring to should not be taken to be the same as what most of the leather-wearing population does: Layering polish on and then brushing the shoes. For me, that is far too active an activity to facilitate relaxation; and there is a limit to how many times you can repeat that since the shine generally doesn’t get any better. What I am referring to here might be more familiar to you guys in uniformed groups; it is what the British military colloquially term bull polishing and according to one website, the Calvary Guards dubs it bobbing while the general population would likely know it as “spit shine” or “spit polishing” or whatever innovative names you come up with.

But again, my point is not the terminology; nor the results, which could be extremely impressive and satisfying; but the process. It is this process that really draws me to spending a portion of my free time polishing my shoes.

To facilitate proper postulation of my point, I am forced to bore you with the steps to a pair of gleaming, mirror-finish shoes/ boots. Firstly, you remove anything and everything from your leather, that is, strip off any old polish or dirt, mud…. Then you do what most of the folks out there do, apply a generous layer of polish with a brush and then WAIT FOR IT TO DRY before brushing off. Some people just apply and continue brushing, which really wastes polish without achieving much. The standard procedure is to have two brushes, one for applying and one for removing the polish. Though usually it doesn’t matter since you are just doing what is known as “pre-layering” for the subsequent layers of wax. Once you complete brush polishing and get a decent looking pair of shoes, you can grab a piece of cloth (the British military seems to advocate a Selvyt jewellery polishing cloth. But for me with cheaper taste, I use any piece of old cotton. Just avoid synthetics.), wet it, dip it in the polish and then apply it to the leather in circular motions. With time and hard work, you achieve the hard shine of military boots.

By now, I speculate that many readers of this piece will be bored out and think about how tedious and repetitive this task is. The very repetitiveness of bull polishing is what I intent to discuss here. For me, I think that this quality of polishing shoes is what makes it so beneficial to somebody like me who wishes to have some time to think and reflect in peace but prevent myself from falling asleep from thinking without other forms of occupation. The repeating of moving my hand in circles applying polish provides a pace for my thought and reflection without occupying me too much mentally and intellectually to prevent the flow of thought. Put in simpler terms, polishing shoes supply me with space for thought while keeping me awake by its sheer simplicity of motion and, pardon me, thoughtless activity. As in I don’t have to think about the task at hand but yet stays awake and obtains a rhythm for thinking and reflecting about other things.

That pretty much sums up my main motive behind polishing shoes, leaving the almost equally-important results. While brush polishing imparts a soft shine to the leather, bull polishing smooth out the surface of the leather by filling up the pores and indentations with wax from the polish. With a little practice and elbow grease, it is easy to achieve a stylish hard shine. From my perspective, a glossy shine just about carries off any type of leather footwear. Shiny dress shoes make a formal impression while shiny safety/work/ammo/combat or whatever-you-call-it boots project a clean-cut and masculine image.

Contrary to what others may think, I am actually very aware that there exists an almost hundred-year-old invention called patent leather. It is inherently highly glossy and shiny, but lacks the natural creases and wrinkles of non-patent leather. While bull polishing yields leather equally shiny as patent leather, there will always be regions of creases where it is less shiny, as opposed to the homogeneous shine of patent leather. Furthermore, polished leather attains a patina over time and wear that makes it all the more attractive while patent leather age to resemble glossy rubber (Reminds me of the black rubber boots worn by market vendors). In fact, the very fragility of the polish finish makes it more precious and attractive to me. With the satisfaction to boot, I really don’t see why anyone would choose patent leather over a bulled finish. Unless, of course, they do not have the time.

One for the Record

It was with a heavy heart that I stepped out of Theatre 7 of Orchard Cineleisure on Saturday. For the first time in about three months, I was able to free up enough time to go out for a day of fun with my friends; For the first time in three months, the weight of assignments and test marks are off my shoulders; For the first time in three months, I was actually so relaxed, free from the rigour of academia.

I ought to be happy. In fact, for most of Saturday, I had been in a happier mood than I had been in for a long time. We went to the book store, Burger King and generally walked around the place while enjoying the light jokes punctuating our chatter. All seems well, and well they were. It was the last item on the agenda for the day that was different from the light-hearted and sometimes even mindless chatter that was so enjoyable.

It had been a decision by common consent that we watch the film adaptation of, local author, Catherine Lim’s novella “A Leap of Love”; one that caused some of our friends who were looking at watching films from other genres to ultimately not join us on this trip. Entitled “The Leap Years”, the film adaptation was produced by MediaCorp. It seemed like the average drama or romance film produced by MediaCorp that would prove enjoyable but usually lacking of insightful reflection. However, the power and beauty of prose wielded by one of the best, of the Singaporean literary world is not to be underestimated. Of such intricacy was the play of emotions and fate in the film that I was taken by surprise and enjoyed the film thoroughly. The beautiful interaction of the characters in “The Leap Years” raised many questions in me, so much so that I was still thinking about it after I arrived back in my room.

As we walked out of the theatre, I was more silent that usual, a far cry from the excited mood I was in for most of the day. Chern Yuen was also noticeably speaking less than usual, possibly also absorbed in deep thought like me. Amidst the chatter engaged in critique of the acting and technical aspects of the film, I could not find the drive to respond. I was thinking about the fundamentals of the film, the very plot. Some of the experiences of the characters in the film rings frighteningly close to heart. Is it worth the wait? Not only for love, but also for other things in life. What if you choose to wait and end up losing both ways? And about the wedding scene, it raised another question: Did the bridegroom make a good decision to sacrifice himself for Li-Ann? Granted, his move is logical and expected, in the face of such undying love. But we should ask ourselves, what would we do, when faced with such a situation? Raymond was the noble one, but are we capable of really loving somebody so much as to deny yourself the pleasure of her company?

Currently, I am not confident that I would do what Raymond did if I were him. It is most probable that there would not be much happiness or bliss to be had if Raymond and Li-Ann had gotten married, that much is clear. However, the crunch of the decision is going to be painful, excruciatingly so, even if it is obvious that the choice is the logical one. Perhaps this reflects to us that persevering for the correct albeit painful choice may be the only path to bliss and happiness…

My overall experience of watching “The Leap Years” can be summed up in one word: Impact-ful. The acting of part of the cast might not be too good, as pointed out by my friends. However, the plot, in my opinion, is good enough to make up for that. It had been a long time since I learnt so much from watching a single film. I must borrow the book from Xue Zheng soon to have a look at the story in the way meant by Catherine Lim, in the original print version.

To end on a lighter note, the sabbatical week ahead will be more focused on rehearsals for 《蚊子蚊子我爱你》 and《明天受阅》. This will be a good not on which to end the term for which my results are, up till now, pretty satisfactory by my standards. For those who have not watched “The Leap Year”, I urge you to watch it soon. Its well worth the ticket price for the story and the enlightenment, if not the technical aspect.

What is Chinese New Year?

It has been a relaxing couple of days for me, away from all the readings and essays and the “academic rigour” of the Humanities Programme. Since coming back from Singapore, the readings have not been read and the writing has not been written. But here I am updating my blog (finally :D); and thats because some things in life are more important sometimes. While my love for the Humanities could propel me on usual days to overcome the heavy workload, the nostalgia and cultural significance of Chinese New Year would ultimately emerge triumphant. After all, its just a few days in a long year Come on….

Right, now that we have established the legitimacy and justifiability of this blog post, lets get into the real stuff shall we? Since I was back here, the so-called “celebrations” largely involved eating, drinking and talking. Granted, there definitely exists rich traditions and customs for Chinese New Year; but apart from those, I guess Chinese New Year involves lapsing into a state of relaxation and ease just for these few days :).

Upon superficial observation, it may appear that Chinese New Year Celebrations involve a series of complex and exotic traditions and rituals. However, what Chinese New Year is for me is that everything eventually boils down to inter-human socialising. The essence of such celebrations largely involves 拜年 (visiting each other) and otherwise getting together for a meal or sharing a chat. Even the 年夜饭 or团圆饭 that is allegedly significant in many ways to symbolise good luck etc. seems to me to ultimately boil down to the primal need for human beings to communicate. It is the reunion and catching up that counts instead of all that symbolism and signs. My point is, Chinese New Year for me is a chance (you can even say “excuse”) for us to renew neglected relationships and socialise. So I believe we should let Chinese New Year be a time for catching up with the so-called customs as a platform instead of enslaving ourselves to the many and complex symbolism involved

Will be posting some pictures soon

黄城戏剧营2007－你够戏心吗？

The story goes that I was somewhat “forced”, or rather, strongly persuaded to participate in this drama camp organised by the Chinese Society over at the JC section. It is obligatory that we as members of 华岗剧坊 show our support for affliated drama club 黄城. My reluctance at first to join this camp was mainly due to the fact that I would have to return to school during the holidays, which can be quite troublesome. But I guess that the extra effort to get up earlier is worth it for the experience.

For three days, we got to experience dramatic performance in a new light. Instead of the often hypnotising 编导活动 we carry out during regular CCA activities, we were accorded the chance to indulge in three days of games, TheatreSports and various lessons on technical theatre. I cannot speak for public opinon, but personally, I much prefer technical lessons to monotonous attempts to teach us some aspect of drama.

The camp participants were split into groups numbering six to seven, with certain unique names. My group was named “Bashful”, an innovative use of the word indeed! Besides Han Cheng (a.k.a. pundit’s twin), the rest of the members of my group are not from Hwa Chong Institution.

On the first and second day, we were instructed in the artistic aspect of drama by 黄美兰老师. Apparently, she comes with an impressive array of achievements. The lessons were mainly about effective blocking on stage. Nothing much to talk about here as the lessons were pretty much similar with other drama lessons, but it was great fun.

Besides the performers and art behind a play, the importance of the technical crew cannot be further emphasised. Without the lightings, the sounds, the props, a play will be dull and uninteresting. As such, we were also introduced to the various techniques applicable to produce a decent play. For props, each of us had to construct a “photo frame” from sheets of plywood. We were told to cut out a square from the material with a jigsaw, although I think that was not the best tool to use for cutting straight lines. I would have preferred to utilise a plywood saw so as to not tear the surface veneer of the plywood. Nevertheless, I think they are trying to give us a chance for exposure to power tools. Then we filed smooth the saw lines with some square files and a couple of round parallel files. Basically, it was quite a rough job even after painting over the plywood, but it serves the purpose of holding photographs very well for the ease of construction.

In my opinion, the most fun-filled activity throughout the entire camp was 《戏寻城说》, some sort of variation on “The Amazing Race” with the challenges mostly relating to skills we will find useful in the field of dramatic performance. The most memorable station was also the first we went to, where four members of the team had to line up and make up a (sometimes nonsensical) story while experiencing sensory overload from deliberate disturbances by the facilitators. It was extremely taxing on our concentration skills, but it was great fun! I actually found it easier to concentrate if I project over the noise and try to drown them out

Throughout the duration of this activity, I experienced, in my opinion, what was the highest point the team got to in terms of camaraderie. Sure, my right triceps surae is hurting from all the running and hopping, but that’s a small price to pay for all the fun

To sum this up, the camp was a noteworthy experience; The activities were fun; The lessons were quite informative; Hell, even the camp song was really great! But all that was not what made me like the camp so much. I think most people would agree that the most valuable benefit from joining this camp was knowing people: New friends, fresh acquaintances, new pals… What the extremely politically-inclined would call “networking”. But whatever you call it, it ain’t going to matter as long as positive relationships were forged.

To all the camp organisers:” You guys made this camp so great! Thanks for the experience…”

And to my camp mates:”We may not have met before, we may not know each other’s name, we may not see eye to eye; But thanks to this camp, we at least had the chance to meet each other!”

Flickr Account

I just created a new Flickr account and uploaded all my pictures there. Please visit the “Pictures” page for more details.

6U/2005 班聚 (6U/2005 Class Gathering)

So, here comes the post I promised about the class gathering. The story goes that I attended a gathering with my ex-classmates in primary school on the 18th of November. It was held in a friend’s residence, and it happens that she resides in a condominium (so we have the added benefit of access to the pool ).

I went together with two other friends who hitched a ride in my car and we were one of the first boys to arrive, except Han Loong was there the earliest. We entered the house to see Han Loong lounging (read: slouching) on the sofa. And there were several girls helping out in the kitchen, presumably preparing some foodstuffs. After putting down our bags and settling down a bit, we

were asked to go down and reconnoitre the area we will be utilising for the bulk of activities. The pavilion we were using was a little bit wet because of the heavy rain and a little bit dark because it was not time yet for the automatically triggered lights to switch on. Otherwise it was okay. A few boys and me wiped dry the whole place and arrange the ingredients intended to be cooked in a steamboat later on. We were also simultaneously chatting and joking.

As soon as the preparations were done, the girls came down as well. We rigged the electric steamboat and the cooking was underway. Meanwhile, Kuok Zhen succeeded in turning a powerful halogen lamp (at least 500W I suspect) originally facing the pool to face inwards into the pavilion we were in, despite me informing him how hot the lamp will be. And hot it was, as hot as standing in the path of a side boom on stage. Suddenly, everyone was laughing. Why? Because most of the boys were already drenched at this point in time by sweat, rain etc. And some of us, namely me, began to smoke under the glare of the halogen lamp (The water was evaporating. Though I would like to assert that I was and still is sizzling hot! ). It became a good laugh for everyone while we enjoyed the food.

Later on, after we finished the food, we proceeded to play around and in the pool. As expected, there was a fair amount of attempted “pushing-into-the-pool” going on, but for most of us, we left those who were seriously reluctant to enter the water, for whatever reason, alone. The only exception being Han Loong pushing a girl into the pool against her wishes. Fortunately Jia Nee was sporting enough and no severe repercussions occurred (apart from several threats to Han Loong ). To Han Loong: Don’t do that again, please.

Other than the uncalled-for action at the pool, the whole gathering went rather well. All of us enjoyed the food very much. Specifically, Wen Hao’s passion for the food was reflected fully through his gobbling down at least 5 bowls of food by my estimations. (basically continuous eating ) One thing I must not neglect to mention is the pudding made by Jia Nee. Basically it was semi-liquid but we devoured it all the same. Haha. On a more serious note, the effort put in should be appreciated by all, regardless of what the end-product turned out to be.

It is really comforting to know that we, as friends since primary school, still have the heart to get together even after we seldom see each other. After such a long period (okay, not that long.) of each going our own ways and pursuing our own ideals in different places and different schools, we still fit in and chat and joke just like when we were still in primary school. This is concrete evidence for the argument that true friendship transcends time and distance.

I certainly do hope we will remain in contact and friendly throughout our school life and well into our career. However, I understand all too well the fact that a friendship needs care and maintenance. And so I will strive to do what I can to keep in touch with these friends. Fulfilling the promise to keep in touch we so zealously pledged during the last few days leading up to graduation from primary school.

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“保持联络”
这个词语在我们的纪念册里出现的次数是如此的频繁。
当时我都在想，我们写归写，答应归答应，到底会不会做到？
会不会只是濒临毕业时的短暂感慨？
面对多姿多彩的中学生涯，来自四方八面的新同学，会不会就如徐志摩一般“挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩”？

这些质疑，我不单是在质疑别人，我最质疑的是自己。
是，即将毕业时我是深切的感到不舍之情。
可是，我不肯定到底这一份不舍之情会化为保持联络的行动；
还是一旦上了中学，有了新的朋友，就会把这份不舍忘去？毕业了不保持联络，久而久之就会疏远，就算见面也会难以启齿。

再久一些，小学同窗的那份友情也会淡去，仅剩埋在脑海深处的一份回忆。
未来的哪一天，若偶然唤起了从前的这份回忆，也已经事过境迁，逝去的友情也难以挽回。

上边的这一段文字，写得这么沉重； 会读到这里的读者，应该都算朋友了。。。
如果小学同窗有机会读到本人这一段浅见，多少也会唤起从前小学玩玩闹闹的回忆吧。。。

上面几段文字的沉重，现在看来没有必要了。
我提到的质疑，照目前的情势来看，也算是我多心了吧？

前两天，我们还在办班聚。
虽然不是所有人都出席了，可是大家还是玩得很开心。
虽然不是所有人都出席了，可是还是显示了还是有很多的人记得小学的生活、怀念小学的同学的。
只要这一份怀念、这一份记忆还存在，我们应该也还会履行我们所说过的“保持联络”。

这次的班聚，告诉了我一件很重要的事情：
可能我们当时看起来像是“挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩”。
可是如果继续读完 《再别康桥》，也不难看出我们的影子：

“但我不能放歌，
悄悄是别离的笙箫；
夏虫也为我沉默，
沉默是今晚的康桥。”

毕业的那天，不一定有大肆地表达出离别的不舍；
班聚的那天，则肯定有明显地显现出同窗的怀念。

Street Soccer Game with Ex-schoolmates

When I spent some time today to actually read through my own blog, it seems that traffic has been rather slow. Posts are few and far between and comments are scarce at most. But now I have something to share after the spur-of-the-moment post a few days back to celebrate my joy at successfully entering the prestigious Hwa Chong Humanities Programme (not that other programmes are not prestigious. All Hwa Chong Special Programmes are highly sought after). Now that the excitement at entering my programme of choice with several rather close friends for company, I have more time and free mental capacity to carry out reflection and, my favourite, thought.

I woke up quite early on Friday to meet my ex-schoolmates for a game of street soccer at the basketball court in close proximity to my house. (It may seem comical to play soccer on a basketball court, but hey, its an informal game of street soccer la. We use the supporting columns for the basketball hoops as goalposts.）When I was in primary school, we would usually play soccer together every Saturday. Last year, I played less as sometimes I was back in school during the weekends. This year, I seldom joined them as I return to Johor Bahru less frequently and the increasing academic and co-curricular commitments for me and my friends prevented us from spending all our weekends playing soccer. Now that it is the school holidays for both students studying in Malaysia and Singapore, it is a good chance for us to play more frequently and catch up while doing some physical conditioning for form maintenance during the school holidays.

I noticed some trivial but interesting changes in our playing pattern since the first time we played together around Primary 5. Before, all of us chased after the ball (typical of children) without regard for any form of formation or tactics. Essentially, we followed the ball, not the captain, not the formation. Put even more simply, we were like a bunch of monkeys fighting for the ball

As I heard someone mention “walao. 全部人围在那边抢，像小学那时一样”. (okay, we generally don’t speak such cultivated and precise Mandarin, but its along the lines) a smile flashed across my face. It was rather humourous to realise suddenly in a flash of inspiration how much we have changed since the days we always quarreled big time over small things like whether its a free kick or penalty kick… haha. But on a more serious note, this simple trigger of my memory made me ponder over how much we have changed over the years. And fortunately, how our friendship simply transcends the changes. Not a great surprise actually, considering that our friendship had been forged by at least 4 years of studying in the same class.

We ended up playing from 0800 till around 1100, with only brief water breaks in between. While this may be because the pace of the game was not very fast and we were socialising as much as playing soccer, I feel that having familiar people to talk to and laugh with also helped keep up our stamina. Its actually possible to forget how hard you were sprinting in the previous minute when you are laughing over a joke popped by a friend (usually at somebody else’s expense, but always good-natured).

I know this cannot be put adequately into words, but what I want to say is: It sure feels good to catch up with friends from the past.

By the way, I just returned from a class gathering with ex-classmates. I will follow up with a detailed account soon. Enjoy the holidays, people!