Foundation In Arts Explained!

I'm in a strangely generous mood lately.So much so that I haven't refuse anyone anything the past couple of days.Maybe that has something to do with my being selected for interview for the School Achievers Scholarship Award,or SASA for short.The fashion in which the news was delivered will never be forgotten,and for good reason.I was told of my selection by none other than Yeoh Jie Cong,a friend I met at the BRATs workshop earlier this year.As a SASA recipient himself,one of the conditions was to work for 148 hours at the HELP University College Marketing Dept.His main task that particular day was to break the news to all successful applicants.

Now this may seem mundane,but wait.It was around noon,almost 1 pm.This being the holidays,I was still in bed sleeping,having a particularly good dream.I was being knighted,when the world started vibrating.It was my phone ringing.

Not pleased with having my good dream interrupted,I showed it when I picked up the phone.There was a guy at the other end,putting on his best formal voice.Though I was still a bit groggy,I recognised it but couldn't placed my finger on whom.Then,he told me I got selected for the SASA interview.An awkward moment of silence later,he broke into a laugh and asked me if I knew who it was.That bastard.

And so,on the 6th of september I am to present myself at the main campus at precisely 12.30 pm.In anticipation,I have started practising my best speech voice,learning from the masters themselves.Our very own politicians.It's a wonder what Youtube can contribute towards your future.

I applied for Foundation in Arts.In honour of my impending awardance of the scholarship(yes,I am that confident),I have decided to help my fellow peers by explaining the programme.

It is a one year programme,consisting of 3 semesters.Each semester lasts 14 weeks.Within the year,I am to learn 11 subjects which differ with every semester.7 are compulsory while 4 are electives.Each subject will have 4 and a half hours of teaching a week.

Semester 1
1.Intermediate English
2.Finite Mathematics-a course conventionally required of business students, in which the curriculum brings together several mathematical topics, including basic probability theory, an introduction to linear programming, some theory of matrices and determinants, and sometimes an abbreviated account of calculus.(I'm screwed)
3.Computing Principles
4.Study Skills-Abilities and approaches applied to learning.Includes removing distractions,time management and notetaking.(wtf)

Semester 2
5.Advanced English
6.Critical Thinking Skills(wow)
2 electives

Semester 3
9.Statistics
2 electives

Electives
Introduction to Business Principles
Introduction to Marketing Principles
Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Principles of Accounting
Economic Principles
C Programming
Internet Principles
Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism
Introduction to Public Relations
Introduction to Human Communication
Introduction to Legal Studies
Psychology for Personal Development
Visual Basics Programming

I've chosen Intro to Human Communication,Psychology for Personal Development,Intro to Hospitality and Tourism and Intro to PR.Though I am not aiming for the hotel industry,I am not interested in the other electives.Plus,who knows?I might like it and make it full time.

Assessment
Coursework and Assignments 40%
Mid term and Final Examinations 60%

Not bad really.At least it's a better system than the one being used at school,which places more emphasis on exams.Just because you managed to memorise the whole syllabus does not make you good at that subject.

So there you have it.My most rajin blog post.

On a side note,this is the new Green campus which will be completed by 2011.My god,the colour palette is fugly.

Holy Internet Time Dump,Batman!

Thanks to a certain teacher's appalling scheduling skills,my school's SPM trials are after the holidays.Therefore,the Fifth Formers have 1 week of no school to prepare.Most would take this opportunity to revise or organise study groups in order to cover the entire Form 4 and Form 5 syllabus.Some have even offered me a helping hand,to join said study groups given my weaknesses in almost all the subjects.

I spit on that hand.

Tristan Toh is a man of principle.And he has plenty.One of them being not to touch any educational material at all during periods of rest and relaxation.It's the bloody holidays for chrissakes!Lighten up,unbutton your collar,let your hair down,wake up at noon.

And what better way to waste your time than to stare at the computer screen.Better yet,play games WHILE staring at the computer screen!It's double the fun AND you get some exercise too!

A few months back,I found this awesome collection of point and click adventures on Newgrounds.com.Being a sucker for the classic Lucas Arts games back in the day,I was instantly hooked to the dry humour,head scratching puzzles and general weirdness of Reemus's world.It has a talking purple bear,death slugs,giant ants,man eating plants,politicial intrigue,betrayal,and did I say A TALKING PURPLE BEAR?!If you think the Internet is dominated by generic Yahoo Game-types,you're most certainly wrong.The Journeys of Reemus warrants countless playthroughs,just to see the multiple endings and the sheer wit that the creator,Zeebarf incorporated into his work.This series is a definite must play.If you doubt the truth of my words,check out the game's page on Wikipedia.Yes,it has it's own page!In fact,if you're still reading this passage instead of already clicking the links,what the hell is wrong with you?!Isn't the first sentence of this paragraph appealing enough?

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/439589
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/459042

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/471838

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/501740

Economic Crisis

Contrary to popular belief,I am not a rich person.I may be tighter than a duck's butt when it comes to emptying the contents of my wallet,but that doesn't mean I have the GDP of Liberia stored away someplace.I am a student after all,a student still dependent on his mother's ability to hold her job mind you.I got some savings,yeah,but I have no direct control over where it will go to.The mum's got the bank account book stashed in a secret compartment of her office,and I made the terrible mistake of not memorizing my account number when I receive it for inspection at the end of each month.

And like any other individual in this sad ball of rock and water we call Earth,I have a few special wants.'Kehendak' for all you Ekonomi Asas students out there.Right now,all my allowance is going to my needs,with nary a little left each week to save.And there's plenty of things I wanna get,all equally important.Here's the lowdown on my wish list,for all you sibuk people reading this self indulgent post.

I confess,I have a huge ego.I may like the idea of being an open-minded person with humility to boot,but I am not.I can't bear watching films starring a female lead in a setting where the males are portrayed as sexist,savage and uneducated assholes.I understand that females have been the overlooked and mistreated gender in history,but these films tend to overexaggerate the villainy of the antagonists.And I am a pretty traditional kinda guy.I believe that if a woman can do it,a man has to do it so much better.

So when my friend Avisha managed to climb Mount Kinabalu,I had this nagging feeling that I should be able to do it too.I know I am a prick,but my ego is pretty uncontrollable.With this motive in mind,I roped in a few of my male friends to join me on this quest to prove that males are the dominant species.Lol.

The only obstacle standing in my way is the high cost of such a trip.Without counting accomodation and meals,the trip will set me back about RM300.

Besides that,I do not have the right hiking gear.A simple haversack like the one above is priced at RM200,and that is considered cheap.I also need boots as well.



SPM,let alone trials is not quite over yet.However,I am already planning my college expenses.And one of the key items I must possess would be a laptop.Currently,I own a desktop but naturally it would be difficult to take from place to place.College work definitely requires a lot of project work and presentations,so a portable laptop would ease my burden of having to rely on noisy and unhygienic cybercafes.I don't need a high end one,it just has to be able to perform when I need it.Cost?RM2.5k to 3.5k.



I am also a notorious procrastinator.Though it's been half a year since I turned 17,I haven't even taken my Undang.Since I plan to do some internship during my free time,I'm gonna need a ride to get me to places I have to be.And I require a driver's licence for that.Total amount for Undang plus driver's exam?RM850+.

You know the bulky cameras of yore?Like the first Kodak easyshare above?Yeah,I still own that hulking piece of crap.To add salt to injury,the camera's been battered and bruised countless of times.The battery compartment has to be held down by tape for God's sake!And it is only 3.5 Megapixel!A new slimmer camera?In the RM400-RM600 price range please.
Update!
I got a new camera!Pentax Optio M30!7.1 Megapixel!Sure,it might be a hand me down from my dad but hey,beggars can't be choosers.It's still in tip top shape and really slim.So it's one item off my list,one burden off my shoulders.Thanks,dad.

I don't even wanna calculate how much my wish list is gonna cost me.All I know is I truly want all of them,pretty desperately.In fact,I'm so desperate,I have resorted to joining a variety of contests.To name a few:Red FM's Fourplay(unfortunately already ended),Fly FM's online contests and The Star Power of 9 contest.

And they say only adults feel the economic pinch.Sigh.

The Tao of Algorithm March

Yes,you've read the title right.The Algorithm March is not just some silly dance sequence that you perform when you're bored or fooling around with friends.No,it is DEEP and full of MEANING.And it imparts valuable advice that can be applied to your life!All in one catchy song!Unconvinced?Read on for the explanation,step by step!I'm such a nice guy.

Take one step forward and reach forward

Ippo susande maenarae

The song gets straight to the point,hammering home the fact that you will achieve nothing if you do not just take a step forward and reach for your goals.Everybody has ambition,but not everybody can fulfil them.And why is that?Because people are too afraid to take the initiative.In school,we've always been spoonfed by the teachers and our increasingly overprotective parents.Individualism is frowned upon and you can even get arrested for it as proven by any member of the Opposition.However,you are suddenly thrust to your own means after you leave school."Be Independent!" the adults say,but unfortunately that's all they say to you.And so you live the rest of your life with that nagging pain on your shoulders.What is it called?

FAILURE.

Take one step forward and you're a better person

Ippo susande eraihito

You'd be surprised by what you can achieve when you take that initiative.Want to ask your crush to the prom?Have that dance?Share a ride home?Sneak into the bushes?To quote a very wise man,"Just Do It!".But don't blame me for what happens after you snuck into those bushes.

Turn around and bow to the person

Hikkurikaete pekorinko

Survival of the fittest.It's a dog eat dog world out there.No matter how good you are,there's always someone better than you.And once you've admitted defeat after foolishly challenging that fact,what should you do?You pay your respect!Respect for one's superiors shows character,a key quality sought after by employers.So swallow that pride and bow.

Walk sideways and look around

Yoko ni aruite kyorokyoro

Sometimes,we take too many steps forward.And more often than not,we lose track of our past,who we are.Therefore,it is important to walk sideways to reflect upon your past,all the good times and bad times too.Analyse your mistakes,and rectify them.If you have none,improve upon your achievements.Success is a journey,not a destination.We must always keep moving.At the same time,look around for more opportunities.And once you've found said opportunities,you grab them and milk them for all it's worth.

Wait a little here and do a wide swim

Chotto kokorade hiraoyogi

Ah,but how do you grab those opportunities?Don't forget,there are other fish in the sea,and they all want their prey.There's only one thing to do to counter your competitors.Swim.And don't just swim.Swim wide and fast.

Kneel for a bit and pick up a chestnut

Chotto shagande kurihiroi

Some opportunities are obvious and clear and you do not have to look far and wide to find them.However,so does everyone else.Although it is important to grab every opportunity,sometimes we should tackle those that the others avoid,the ones that are small.There are no such things as small opportunities.They may be tiny and are like finding a needle in a haystack,but they are there.So kneel for a bit and pick them up.Who knows?You might find one with potential to grow.

We'll put air in it.Woosh woosh!

Kuuki iremasu shuu shuu

When you found a gem that noone else knows about,you blow air into it and make it noticeable.Thus,those who had brushed it off earlier would slap their puny heads with regret and agony,which would further enchance your confidence.Technically,you cannot blow air into a gem,but Confucious enjoys using metaphors and in the spirit of this blog post so should I.

The air is inside pyuu pyuu!

Kuuki ga haitte pyuu pyuu

Congratulations!Your tiny gem has grown into a huge ass diamond,bringing with it wealth and prosperity!And it all started from one step forward.The mind boggles.

So grasshopper,you have succeeded in mastering the art of the Algorithm March.But do not think it is over yet.Others might have heard of this little phenomenon,and are busy practising it right this moment!Do not relinquish your lead!Keep doing the march again and again.And if you managed to get your friends to join in the line,all the better.Not only is it more fun,you can share your embarassment with them!If you are new to this,do it now!The question isn't "Why should I?".It is "Why shouldn't you?"

Here We Go A-Marching

Yesterday,me together with 33 fellow students and 3 teachers attended the show KakiBlue playing at the KL Performing Arts Centre.KakiBlue is a comedy musical about 3 friends who just finished SPM and expect a fun-filled holiday.However before they could even relish the possibility of being in bed till 1 in the afternoon,they are summoned in the form of an SMS to attend National Service.Naturally,they have their own conceived images of the camp,and the play's about their adventures during their stint at their Butterworth post.

I first got wind of this while surfing the web for plays to take my peers to.I am the president of the English Language Society and I am ashamed to admit that our club is not the most popular or active club around.Our membership is pathetic,especially if compared to even the Maths and Science Club.The blame has to be put on the previous BOD,who have never organised anything that the whole school could participate in.They only take into account their own members without a thought for the ones who are intersted in the English Language but are too busy to join the society.Therefore,I took it upon myself to organise a trip to KLpac to watch a play and hopefully improve the society's standing.


Once I got the necessary details,I swung my plan into action from the date to the bus and everything.Naturally,things did not run as smoothly with my blur secretary handing the letters to school late and the staggering number of people who pulled out in the last minute.Thankfully,I managed to pull through and make this plan a reality.

On the day of the trip itself,I encountered many problems that were out of my hand.The show starts at half past 8 and I told everyone that the bus would arrive at 7.Although the bus was 5 minutes late,everyone was here,everyone except Sheikh Ammar,a Form 3 student.Finally after 20 excruciating minutes,I was able to pull him out of his dad's car and into the bus.Next,the traffic.I forgot that there was a protest march and it caused major jams in KL.Although we weren't in the worst one,it definitely took a long time.So I managed to breathe a sigh of relief when we reached Sentul with 5 minutes to go.However,the bus driver got lost.after 10 minutes of driving around looking for the entrance,he stopped at a mamak restaurant to ask for directions.When we finally found the way to KLpac,we were 20 minutes late.I was able to get hold of our tickets,but was told that we would have to wait until it was intermission time before we were allowed in.

My blood pressure definitely rose up a few notches that night.

Programme book:RM 5
Badge:RM3
When the woman was walking around with the merchandise,I thought it was complimentary.I was wrong.

Me and my sis posing for a photo in front of the banner while waiting to go into the theatre.

The ones who do not just sat around and mope.

Finally after being bored for 10 minutes,I took the initiative to ask the woman if we could enter.We could,and were allowed in for the last 5 minutes of song and dance before intermission.

Pros first.I have to give props to the choreographer and the musical director for the excellent dance moves and songs,which are parodies of famous numbers from the 50s and 60s.Their acting was also great,though some do not agree with me.The same people are pride themselves as auteurs,you see.Pfft.

And now the cons.The dialogue is unbearingly cheesy and choke full of moral values,as if the scriptwriter wants to force them down our throats.And the ending leaves much to be desired.Really,really abrupt.

After the show,it's the obligatory photo time!

I was happy that although the participants had some complaints about the show,they still enjoyed it and thanked me for organising this trip.I know this is so not Tristan and you are allowed to puke but truly felt touched that my work was appreciated and that made it all the more worthwhile.

Roll Call:

Wilson Wong and his sisters,Sheikh Ammar,Mun Han,Ayuni,Elizabeth Chong,Putri Hayana,Dayana,Izlin,Liyana,Janice Theresa,Ashley,Cheryl,my sis,Balqis,Alysha Khazlida,Aizad,Azielia,Ilham,Ruzain,Bhindia Pooja,Harith,Calvin,Zhafir Zarkasha,Jackie Chua,Chan Siew Jan,Nabil,Faisal,Alifah,Emira,Yin Hun and Sze Munn.

Thank you for coming!

Ad Persuasion

So the news have probably spread across the nation.Yasmin Ahmad is gone.I must admit,I am no fan of her films.IMO,they were too unbearingly slow paced and play along racial lines too much.However,I do admire her adverts she's done for Petronas.Below are my picks of her best,in no particular order.

http://

http://

http://

The Chinese New Year one is probably my favourite,though the others are just as good.I am Hokkien after all and the women reminded me of my grandaunts and grandmother during their annual mahjong session.Good times.

Thank you Yasmin.

Painting Japan White

Over the years,my tastes in music differ through various phases of my life.There was the "bubblegum phase" when I was a lil kid,listening to boy bands and cringe-worthy pop anthems.Then,I grew up and entered the "Seoul Man" stage,where I tried to be black and started memorising the lyrics to gangster rap songs and the like.Hardly a few months pass by before I entered the "Rock God" phase,where 80s rock and 5 minute guitar solos took up much space on my phone's memory card.Nowadays though,I've wisened up and cautiously pick my favourite music,careful not to choose songs that I will regret liking later in life.But there's one man whom I will never be ashamed of revealing myself as a fan.Before I begin,please watch the video below.

http://

Surprised?I bet the initial hip hop sequence caught you off guard eh?

For a brief history of the man known as Jero in Japan,watch the vid below.

http://

Jerome White,otherwise known as Jero in Japan,is the first black singer in Japan.And the genre that he has chosen is a unique one.He sings "enka",which literally means "performing song",a sort of old lounge music.The main demographic for this particular genre is the elderly.Therefore,not many youths ventured into it when becoming singers,bringing the genre close to death in Japan.Therefore,many record labels were reluctant to sign Jero as they are still running businesses after all and profit is king.Thankfully,one company decided to take a gamble on him,with the hopes of reviving the local "enka" scene.They did not make a mistake.Jero's debut single "Umi Yuki" which means Ocean Snow reached #4 on the Oricon music charts and sales shot through the roof.His fanbase was not just limited to the old as the young were attracted to his style of mixing old music with hip hop elements.

Jero attributes his love for singing "enka" to his late grandma,who sadly passed away 3 years before he became famous.when he was little,he would visit her house and listened to the "enka" records she brought along from Japan.Later,he even joined in her karaoke sessions,perfecting his Japanese.He clearly loves his grandma,and spends a lot of time with her.Her wish was to see him becoming a famous "enka" singer,unfortunately unfulfilled.However,it is obvious that if she were still alive,she would be proud of her beloved grandson.

On a side note,I am now scouring every music and DVD store I visit for his album.And no,I am not buying pirated copies or illegally downloading his songs,all in support of my current favourite singer of all time.Gambateh,Jero!

Dodge,Duck,Dip,Dive and...Dodge!

The truth was,I know nothing about the rules of dodgeball.Whatever knowledge I had of the game came from that Vince Vaughn movie and American teen flicks where the jocks bullied the nerds.Despite that,I almost got a team together from school when I first heard of The Star R.AGE Campus Dodgeball Championship.Sadly,we noticed the Campus part right before registering.Lucky me then that Ivy mass forwarded an email to all BRATs to join the tournament,age restriction be damned.Naturally,I was excited and gloated all about it to my friends the next day.Mature I was not.Anyway,I signed up right away and started annoying every BRAT on FB asking them to join,forgetting they had college and something called a Life.Regrettably I wasn't able to participate in the coaching clinic at Lake View as I was to go for a campfire at CHS(details two posts below).So I decided to train by myself and ignorantly felt that jogging five rounds around the lake for a week before the tournament was enough.


It wasn't.

I arrived at the venue at 8ish as the email stated to be there by half past.Boy,I should have understood the term 'Malaysian timing' better.Melissa was the only one who came before the clock struck 9.Then Andrea,Sandra and this BRAT whose name I didn't hear.
Many teams had already gathered there by then and man,were they intimidating.It was obvious to see that many of them had been training and had experience participating in tournaments.It didn't help matters either that some of them were fit therefore,harder to hit.From the forwarded email,there were at least enough BRATs to make two teams.Sadly,that did not materialise.The last ones to arrive were Tan Kel Vin and Jir Wan.In desperation,we turned to Niki Cheong,whom many may know as the Bangsar Boy,to help us as he used to be a BRAT...in 1995.We were up against Boomers and we learned the hard way that you should never judge a dodgeball player by his physique.What they lacked in body size they made up for in skill.Long story short,we got trashed.10 nil.On a side note,I was out mostly because I stepped out of the lines too much and not because I got hit.And my throws were horrible.I only managed three(or was that two?) kills and had a lot veer off course.Yup,jogging didn't help,except for my brilliant but ultimately useless as a whole dodging.

Players in action.

The two commentators(Sarah Lian and some dude)on duty gameday.Unfortunately but logically,more people were interested in the games than them talking.So much so that I saw the dude having the time to just walk around One Utama aimlessly.

At around 1ish,the BRAT took on the RAGE team in a friendly match.What we thought was an easy match turned out to be not.Some dude called Max and Nasa Maria Entaban's boyfriend were good,throwing and dodging wise.Final result?A shameless 2-2 draw.Well,at least I hit Niki!

After that,there was nothing to do except watch the games as there was no work for the BRATs.Not being the one who likes to sit around watching other people have fun,I decided to go home.Before I begin,please be informed that the topic of this post shall now change to public transport.

• I waited outside One Utama for a bus at 2.24 pm.
• I boarded a bus at half past 3.Question time!
  Q:If one of the stops listed at the side of the bus says KL Sentral then the bus does stop there right?
  A:WRONG!!!!
  I counted about 3 such encounters until I got the right bus.WTF.
• I arrived at KL Sentral at 4.15 pm.
• Train under repair.Waited until half past 4.Had to run as the correct train was all the way on the other side of the track.
• Reached Subang Jaya at 5.05 pm.

Amount of time spent from One Utama to SS 15 Subang Jaya?
Approximately 3 fucking hours.

I can't wait til I get my first car.

JK Rowling and the Half Milked Franchise

Obviously,I am no fan of Miss Rowling's novel about the boy wizard who sports a ridiculous scar shaped like a lightning on his forehead.Daniel Radcliffe's horrible 'acting' in the movies did not help change my mind either.I don't know about you but I've always felt that Miss Rowling is not a very good storyteller,at least after the movie rights to her line of books were sold.Since then,her characters have lost their magic and being made to resemble more like their counterparts on the big screen.In the first three books,I've never imagined Hermione to look like Emma Watson or Harry Potter like Daniel.When the first cast list was released,I found myself laughing and predicted a flop.Well,I have been proven wrong but my judgement remains the same.The Harry Potter line is one of the worst movie franchises to ever grace the cinema and television.Don't get me wrong,I love fantasy and I love Brit movies even more.But when Miss Rowling made her first million off Harry Potter,I felt that she released her books just to keep raking the money in.After all,it does not matter how terrible the writing is as she's got an established fanbase,ready to strike down naysayers on fan websites,forums and blogs(for another example,look at Twilight).I must admit that I did read her last Harry Potter book,though it was due to my mother having bought it at Giant and insisting I read or else I'll say goodbye to my allowance.I've already had my doubts that it would be the final book,and the poorly written epilogue seemed like it was copied and pasted from some fan fic site.Sure enough,she announced sometime after that she will write more books based along the Potter universe.What,Harry Potter's Kids and the Umpteenth Resurrection of the Dark Lord?Harry Potter True Hogwarts Story:I Was Dumbledore's Gay Lover?In conclusion,you definitely won't see me lining up to watch The Half Blood Prince after it premieres in local cineplexes.Heck,I didn't even watch Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.But what's sure is that it will break box office records around the world.And you can bet Miss Rowling is not gonna stop milking her cash cow.Oh no.She's not done yet.

Fizzled Out

I do so love a good campfire.However,I do not have the pleasure of being to a lot of them.Only two stick out in my mind as the best of the best,namely Bukit Bintang Boys' School 05' and St.John's 08'.The rest range from decent to god awful.The most recent one that I attended,Catholic High's,falls in the middle of those two descriptions.Now,I have high respect for CHS.They house one of the best scout and girl guide troops in Malaysia and their campfires have always held the reputation of being overelaborate and memorable.The rotation system also intrigued me quite a bit.See,each year the scouts and girl guides would take turns to organise a campfire.Last year's which was organised by the scouts was not perfect but they deserve credit for trying to achieve it on a grand scale.I haven't been to the one in 07' but the things I heard from my friends who attended were good.So naturally when Zhi Min invited my school's troop,I jumped at the opportunity.Right now,I pretty much regretted being too excited as the higher your expectation,the more disappointed you'd be when it does not materialise.So to satisfy your curiosity,here's the rundown on the night's campfire.The theme this year was 'Flames of Freedom' and is suppose to represent the growth of the girl guides movement at CHS.Misinterpreting the invitation we received,the new troop leader,John Chia thought that the campfire would begin at 6pm.Therefore,he set the time of departure from our school at 5pm.He thought wrong.Registration started at 6pm.We were approximately an hour and a half early.
The entrance to the campfire grounds.

We were definitely taken by surprise to how early we came.We were the first school to arrive and even the heads of reception were dumbfounded.Not knowing what to do,their course of action was to usher us to our seats and leave us to fend for ourselves from not being bored.

The syok sendiri band due to perform at the campfire.Our ears never bled so much.

Yup,those were the seats for all present.
The event proper only began at around 7pm.The emcees assigned to the campfire were obviously new to the whole thing and it showed while they were trying to liven up the atmosphere.They stammered and stuttered,trying to find the words that will bring about cheers from the attendees.They need not have tried as we were sympathetic to their predicament and made noise anyway.However,we had to stop when a teacher actually took the mic and told us to behave ourselves and not cause such ruckus.Just 5 minutes in and already we were told to shut up?I began to have doubts about this campfire.

Don't be fooled by my low quality camera phone.The phoenix was attached to some rope and was pulled upwards by three girl guides.
After the problem with the phoenix was rectified(it got stuck midway),we were presented to a video introducing the organising committee.Amateurish would be the polite way to describe it.The jokes were lame and repetitive and the worst part was we had to watch it again 5 minutes in.Next,the organising committee performed a horrbly choreographed dance routine which was painstaking to sit through.They clearly did not have enough practice and it showed from their constant long pauses between moves and the apologetic looks they give to the audience.A few games later came the worst band performances I have ever seen.The musicians were out of tune and unsynchronised with the vocalist,who thankfully possessed a defective mic.If the actual bands they tried to emulate were present,these boys would leave the campfire bloodied and crippled.

The only performance which went according to plan.

The campfire then came to an abrupt end at around 10pm when the booklet they handed out indicated that 11pm was the closing ceremony.This left many attendees confused and spewing vulgarities as almost all of them had told their transport to pick them up at 11.My troop was not impressed either and we had to wait close to half an hour before our bus arrived.This event will definitely leave a blemish on CHS's record.What pains me even more is the thought that my juniors who came along would assume that all campfires are this terribly organised and so avoid joining campfires in the future.I made a speech later in the bus about how that is not so but I did not feel that I changed their minds.This is my final year in scouting and this would be my final campfire.as the saying goes,"Go out with a bang".CHS's campfire was more like a small pop.