Tuesday, June 10, 2008
14th Student Leaders Convention (Not camp! We're civilised!):
Speak fool! What, mortal! Die smiling! In Azshara's name!
Astonishingly, I could utter dota quotes during SLC. From left to right for hardcore dota players (wait, it should be for the amateurs) :
Speak fool! - Abaddon, Lord of Avernus
What, mortal! - Nevermore, Shadowfiend
Die smiling! - Akasha, Queen of Pain
In Azshara's name! - Slardar, Slithereen Guard
Yep, pretty much what I randomly hissed/shrieked for the first and last day. Oh yeah, "speak fool" was used quite often during meetings.
This year's SLC was well, pretty much what every single SLC was, is, will be:
Just superadeliciouspunkyippeextremeexhiliratingodlyou-wouldn't-miss-it-for-your-life!
Just linking random words together. My vocabulary's pretty depleted now. Guess it's just one of those moods. Okay, this year's experience was totally...Unexpected. And there I was thinking I could anticipate everything after having gone for it last year. But well, every SLC experience is different. Yes, the people make the difference. So the first day's morning was registration and all. I forgot to bring the indemnity form but then again they didn't collect it anyway. I was frantically searching the list on the notice board in front of Oei Teong Ham Hall, trying to find people I knew that would be in my group. Curses! None! After looking at Edwin, Jonathan, Chuan Yu, Kai Yuen all in different groups and clusters from me...There's always the silver lining no doubt. Immersed in an entirely foreign environment, I could know more people, and practise my interpersonal skills. Not exactly foreign since SLC was in Hwa Chong and it was my second year participating in it. So I was hoping for a facilitator I knew and thank Gaia who granted me my wish. Although she doesn't really deserve it on the surface, she created Man whom in turn humans and therefore, my facilitator, descended from. Digress not boy. Presenting my group:
Facilitator: Samuel Lim Zong Sheng
Members:
Me
John Yip (Hong Kong)
Saritha
Mardhiah
Cameron Brumby (Australia)
Abigail
Han Song
Basserat
Amanda
Dayang
Teresa (Indonesia)
Kay Hian
Head Facilitator: Marissa Chan (MARS)
Cluster director: JOYslyn
Amazing race was a blast as compared to last year. And nope it's not the race itself but the experience. Maybe I got a more interactive group I suppose. Last year I only spoke to like 2 girls from my group most of the time. This year I spoke to like almost everyone. And probably because after OB Sabah I found the distance covered laughable while I was lamenting about 2 hours of walking last year. Not to forget our MARSnifique Marissa head facilitator which gave us so much allowance. Last year's facilitator was much more bubbly than Samuel this year (Justine :)) but hey, a guy and a girl. Gender differences extend to disposition too, really. Samuel was still fun though but you can't go as high as Justine if you're a guy. Don't blame ya! For the race, we dominated! Thanks to SAMUEL and MARISSA! Excellent monsieur! We started off...Having a discount. because the first venue was so absurdly far at the Singapore Art House, Marissa kindly conducted the first activity in front of this giant white monument which well, phalic symbol. Anyway, ok the last two words were just desultory. So we did this writing on the back thingy to pass a message. A poem to be exact. And Marissa was so kind to give clues and all. We solved it relatively quickly I guess thanks to John. And I suppose Marissa was closing one eye, half-blind to our passing of whispered words rather than writing on backs. So for the subsequent tasks, they were a breeze! We loved the bonus on-the-way points, those that were awarded for spotting stuff like "woman wearing Gucci sunglasses" or "two schoolgirls". We completed that and the car brands one. We managed to spot every single car brand I think. I remember the snatching sweets game in the underpass which was rather a scam since it was a blatant giving away of marks. And there was the rubik's cue activity which I completely ignored since I was completely clueless about that multi-coloured "magic box". And we were supposed to solve one face, which I couldn't even do...Yet, still I refuse to learn the arts of unlocking Pandora's Box, for I wouldn't want to release the evils within no? Sadly, Samuel couldn't join us for the first half because of SMO but he still did during lunch! Haha, Cameron was such a comedian. He was like all hyped up when we went to burger king. Apparently, boarding school food is fit for a king of garbageland? Now we have Cameron who detests most Asian food, and well, hates Burger King's onion rings not to mention the awfully high metabolism rate. Then there were tasks like forming a giant "I Love 14 SLC" with any items participants had on hand and stacking shoes to reach the 60cm threshold. But one of the best tasks was the transferring of water. Ming Xuan was the OT member in charge of that station haha. But then again, he refused to tell me if the water was potable while Samuel said "drink won't die one lah". We were supposed to transfer approximately 300 ml of water from one point to another with the distance between the two points being about 50 metres. The catch? Do it using 15 straws. Now, the retarded thing to do would be to use the cover-tip-of-straw-with-finger pressure method. Since we were to beat a timing of 40 plus seconds, we went along with the conventional but sensible way; sucking the water into our mouths using straws and then spitting it out into the other bottle. And so, regardless of our fates, we sucked the water in, and became the suckers. Naturally, the OT knew from the very start we would do that and well, saturated the half-filled bottle of mineral water with coarse SALT. Point of saturation indeed as I couldn't keep the murderously salty salt solution in my mouth for more than 10 seconds while I ran towards the empty bottle at the end. Three-quarters of my way there, I burst into laughter and half of the contents spilled out from my mouth. But then again, no one's liable. There's the almighty indemnity form no? But I take my hat off to the OT. Kudos to whoever was smart/sadistic enough to think of this. And then we came across this wedding couple taking pictures while we were trying to find some underpass. So our incredibly generous FAC Samuel offered us $10, 000 if we could get a photo taken with them. And me, being so evil with my principles guided by expediency went up to request for a picture to be taken. The groom was amazingly spontaneous with his "Sure!". Poof! Our youth organisation just got $10, 000 richer (Youth organisations or groups would be awarded money should they complete their tasks at the various stations) This year's mass games was well, hardly a game. We did banner painting! *Pauses for sniggers/ZOMGWTFs* Yup, as compared to last year's water bombs, not as...Invigorating...But just like I expected with my superior deduction skills, the banners were just a small part of the grand design, the gigantic banner with all the other banners making up "I LOVE (Heart shape) 14th SLC". Though the adrenaline rushes were absent, the banner painting definitely served to bond the group better. After all, like Mrs Tharman said, it's through art that we express ourselves. Voici l'image:
You can see my group's banner at the top rightmost corner of the heart. It's rather conspicuous with the oversized "US". ~FulgentiUS~ And the trademark painted by me beside it - a rose. Ugly I admit but using only fingers and horribly diluted paint...I must say I did a fairly good job.
Day 2 was somewhat hectic. We did the same old discussion and drafting of action paper. And like last year, we were desperate for time. Due to my overemphasis on the elaboration of existing problems faced in the sphere of promoting creative thinking out of the three in "Developing Affective Education". And so, Samuel was so very clever to suggest splitting up. So half of us stayed behind (Although I did all the work) while the other half went to the computer lab to finish up our structure et cetera. In our hurry, we forgot about our budget...Nevertheless, I applaud my rigorous synonymising for the elaboration of problems, Samuel for facilitaing the discussion, Kay Hian for being such a helpful second opinion, John for raising numerous suggestions and giving us an insight of the rote learning in Hong Kong, Teresa for sharing about Indonesia's education system and comments on our proposed suggestions, Han Song for looking on the macro-scale level to evaluate our suggestions and the rest of the group for sharing about those splendid activites in your school that promote creative thinking. Oh yes! Miss Marissa Chan and Miss Joyslyn Lai was also very obliging and magnanimous in allocating us extra time in our time of need. "Care for a scone? Our French caretaker Elise does make such delectable ones." God, I'm going British. Ok anyway. I LOVED CLUSTER MEETINGS! They were so fun. Let's break my Cluster up shall we? Basically, we're made up of 6 youth organisations, namely Fulgentius (ME), Aine, Lumina, Aglaia, Odina and Sana. The notable groups? Fulgentius, Aine and Lumina. Aglaia, Odina and Sana did speak up but not as much. We could have been described as "spamming". But then again, it's one thing to spam without content and another to do so with finesse and substance. Sadly, Lumina lacked the latter. Aine was full of the former and spunk thanks to Shawn, Secondary Two from debates. Also know as the best delegate from my cluster. So, Fulgentius and Aine sort of formed an alliance to fend off Lumina which was repeatedly assaulting every group's presentation with questions. Verbal diarrhoea I call it. Notable spammer Nicholas was shooting his mouth off...And himself in the leg. Magnificent cluster meeting; much more tension as compared to last year.
Our darling ally, Aine. Taken during a 5 minute break in midst of our taut meeting. Yes it could snap anytime.
And this is FulgentiUS!
Day 3 was pretty much the same with more cluster meetings and our very first consortium meeting. Cluster meeting B means...AMENDMENT TIME! Muhahaha...Group politics really comes into play now. Divisions: Fulgentius/Aine VS Lumina Neutral Parties: Odina/Sana/Aglaia. I got my very first amendment passed with 5 for and 0 against :) That's the equivalent of a full marks. As for Lumina...Out of the 10 amendments they made, only 2 passed with a good 4 or 5 amendments garnering full objection from all groups participating in the direct voting procedure. Rephrase: Two pathetic one/two word amendments passed. Fulgentius and Aine (Especially me) made rather lengthy AND sensible amendments. I commend Shawn though, an astute child. And yet, he plays dota! Nonetheless...One must tread lightly when necessary. He was discerning in his judgement and made his points concise and to the point, rendering Lumina at a loss for words. Bravo! Brava! I decided to act a little Vancome and garnished my delightful time during Cluster Meeting B with a tiny dash of sarcasm. Abstract:
Original: "SPARK the creativity in you!"
Fulgentius' amendment: "SPARKREATIVITY"
Shawn: *comments* Simple wordplay
Joyslyn: Participant from youth organisation Fulgentius please stand to elaborate on your amendment.
Me: As you can all see, it's wordplay by joining "spark" and "creativity" together by substituting the "c" with spark's "k". Basically it's a pun. Yea.
Joyslyn: Thank you participant. Would anyone wish to comment on this amendment.
*LuminICHOLAS raises placard*
Joyslyn: Participant from youth organisation Lumina you have been recognised.
Nicholas: What do you-
Joyslyn: *Ting!* Participants are reminded to use the third person tone of register.
Nicholas: Sorry. What do you mean by spark reactivity?
Me: Oh. Fulgentius would like to introduce this term called a "verb" to Lumina. Yea so you see, "spark" is a verb. *Giggles and waits for the audience to finish laughing* And another term called a "noun". So in this case, "creativity" is a noun so when you put the verb and the noun together you get "SPARKREATIVITY".
Gaia, I love such people. Lumina was being rather self-contradictory though. Usually after seemingly having an issue with the amendment, they would still vote for it to pass...Strange really considering the fact that I thought Lumina would be luminous...And bright?
Day 3/4 was when my cluster joined to become one, differences set aside as we pit ourselves against OTHER clusters. I take my hat off to Shawn who repeatedly presented the same thing at least 5 times as Aine's action paper was chosen to represent our cluster. So he had to present again and again and again given his title as the presenter of Aine. But he got the best delegate thingamabob so I do suppose it was worth it. So our plan during the final consortium assembly was to spam other clusters for all we're worth. Sadly, Lumina and Aine kept spamming to the extent that Fulgentius could only speak once. And Lumina took a rather protracted time too. Aine with Shawn...Well, he's from debates...So he tends to beat around the bush to prove his point but he got reprimanded by Yu Quan the consortium director instead...There was this devilishly sweet Australian girl from the Cultivation of Leadership cluster which was the only challenge we faced. The other questions were insignificant as Shawn swatted them off effortlessly. Another amazing intellectual display of words leaving many stunned in front of the microphones. Sigh. The first consortium assembly ended abruptly in the middle of a heated...debate? Between Shawn and that Australian girl. Yu Quan had to cut them short due to time constraints just because our dearest Madame Lily Neo, guest-of-honour was soon to grace the occasion. It would be fun to have continued watching though. The second consortium meeting on Day 4 was just disgraceful. We had a final overall amendment just before and it was counter-productive...Basically, our cluster's (Promoting Creative Thinking) action paper outshone the other twos', no point denying. HOWEVER, "Betterment of Ethics" cluster's action paper was such a fluke that we spent 1.5 hours out of the stipulated 1 hour 45 minutes editing it to be fit for reading. This resulted in only 15 minutes spent on "Cultivation of Leadership" cluster's action paper. So we could only omit two major sections of two action papers and throw our own in unscathed. However, "Cultivation of Leadership" did a total revamp of their combined action paper by leeching here and there, plus a whole fat lot of synonymising. Copying ideas with a whole new packaging. Brilliant. And hey! There's a caucasian (The Australian girl) presenting! I like it! Caucasian ideas are always so fresh and innovative! Maybe that's why China's so horribly poor. All the Chinese innovations have been stolen and then wow, patented by Westerners. Now, don't get me wrong here, I still support Caucasians but I really feel my cluster's action paper should have been selected to be the best and represent my consortium. I needn't really announce the verdict do I? Emera from Cultivation of Leadership won bah! Disgusting action paper...Filthy crooks...Just because you knew there were time constraints so that we would be unable to question your action paper at all and point out the awfully ostensible flaws...Coupled with your ostentatious Australian presenter...Hmph! But oh, the Australian came to apologise to Shawn after the presentation. "No ill-feelings. I didn't mean anything so I'm sorry if you feel offended" Oooh. I guess we would still have to accept the unfair yet already passed judgement. So why remain sulky and lament when we could pretend to rejoice with the other cluster while secretly scheming to stab them behind their backs. But really, SLC's where we ought to be happy and have fun! But still...My cluster won for the consortium action paper last year...So...Well, what's done is done.
And what about the much anticipated Grand Finale? It speaks for itself. Grand Finale. Grand yes but never a finale. We will still keep in touch, the friends made during SLC. Notable performances though included OT, Facs, Constantine's "Wu Niang" dance and the marriage proposal of betterment of ethics to An Li their cluster director. Here's a picture of the marriage proposal.
And here are the links to the various performances mentioned above.
"Wu Niang" by Constantine
de FACto performance
OT performance
Learnt so much from SLC...Especially those trick questions which I learnt during OB Sabah too. Thanks to John from Hong Kong haha. I learnt A, B, C, D...And a few others while he learnt point abc and the fly is here/the fly is there. Sigh...Finally got this post done...But the chapter never comes to a close. So I'm making an official announcement. Development of Affective Education SLC Outing on 21st June! Get details from me on MSN, give me a call or drop me a message.
Fin.
Dark Memories[8:55 PM]
