Orientation

Compiled from notes from the time i didnt have internet access (curses!)

300706- 2245hrs

Have just settled into the hall, with the third wave of moving over and done with. Now im just lacking a few things here and there to settle this room as my home away from home. Sheesh. I didn’t want to, but I brought a lot of stuff over. Good thing my brother was here to help me move over.

The rooms more or less to my liking, with only one thing that really irks me. I STILL can’t connect to the internet. Apparently that will have to wait until my matriculation. DAMN. Somehow, I feel very lonely. Quiet. Like there’s something missing. I think I’ve become an internet junkie. Hooked onto the sweet taste of the gravel of the information superhighway. On the bright side, I’ve still got my music!

Waiting for Tim to move in too. Now Huili, me and tim are in the same block. What are the chances? Haha. I guess Huili did have great pulling power. I wonder if hall life is right for me. See if the activities suit me lah. If it’s all sports and games……. Well. We can see where that goes.

Damn this chair is low. Typing feels uncomfortable at this table. Writing as well. The table is a wee bit too high, the chair a wee bit too low… Maybe I can get used to it. Maybe not.

Went for jamming earlier. Sean, Keong, KH. Spent a lot of time waiting…… But it was fun. Just thrashing around, working our ways to the songs. Need more practice on all sides. Haha. Damn I need to practice too. I might bring my guitar over to hall, but see how. As it is, there isn’t much space to put it.

Somehow I think I missed the pizza and movie night. Couldn’t find it. *chuckle* Maybe it finished early. But I cant seem to bring myself to believe that. At least I managed to unpack to my liking. I need to find the kitchenette or pantry around here. The only communal facility I found was the toilets and the washing area. Apparently washing clothes is free, but drying will cost. That’s not too bad lah. Sun drying usually works.

Somebody please give me an internet connection soon. Im starting to suffer from withdrawal. Aaaaaargh.

010806- 0045hrs

Spent half the day at a useless Engin tea session. I mean, what the fuck man. We’re already in the engineering faculty, spare us the recommendations and details that make the degree soooooo good in the eyes of the world. The elaboration on the different disciplines was ok, but the only real takeaway was the usage of the CORS. And apparently that will be covered in the hall as well. So I pretty much wasted half a day when I could be playing my arse off doing stupid things and acting stupid. (Not my usual acting stupid, but stupid in a garang and enthusiastic way). Bah.

On the bright side, the people here are nice. They’re friendly and are easy to talk to. No problem interacting with the seniors, they’re more than happy to jabber off. Haha. My OG seems to be half foreign. Well, that’s interesting. Not much interaction between though, due to the inability to decipher their accents. Ah well. There’s always time to learn. At least I found a few people doing the same course. Haha. The engin tea session held a lot of meetings with old friends (mostly acquaintances) … Sec Sch, JC, BMT, OCS, unit…… Amazing. I didn’t know I knew that many people.

Orientation… Well. Cheering? Yeah. Mass dance? Yeah. Mass games? Yeah. But most importantly, theres the spirit. Its almost tangible. The pride of the group, the pride of the hall… Its warm. Friendly. And welcomes us with open arms. Those who choose to stay that is.

The Rag is AMAZING. There are no words I can use to describe it. The scope is astounding, the design is visionary, and the execution? To mention it as done with painful precision and tender loving care would demean it. The Rag is the embodiment of the TH spirit, the vigour of its residents, the energy of its tenants, the boldness to strive above and beyond its limits, transcending the boundaries of conventional wisdom. I now understand what it means to the TH-ians. What it means to be TH. It is to have pride in what we do, and to do our best, striving not for greater glory for yourself, but for the hall.

Heck, its what army was always meant to be. Above self, beyond others.

For hall and country.

020806- 0120hrs

On groups, in bonding. Dance en masse. The solemnity of the hall cheer. Ideas are like balls. The mood intensifier of good music.

Second day. I must say it was much more interesting than the first. Although the OG seemed half dead (I.E half gone.) I strongly believe the guys in my OG are ninjas. They seem to disappear when they’re not needed. Which leaves me to look lost and lonely and walk around. Haha. Well at least the OGLs are still there to talk to.

I seriously ponder my inability to talk rubbish. I’m not a chatterbox by habit. But the silence seems to press in so. Grasping at random threads of conversation seems to be so irritating to me. Maybe its because I don’t do it well. Haha. Laconic by nature, I am.

The mass dance was… disjointed. It felt very strange. Well im not one to really comment, not being a professional on the subject. But it did get a little psychomotor out there. Yeah. Maybe its just me and the few others who are having problems. But hey, since it’s a mass dance, nobody’s going to notice one person. That’s the beauty of strength in numbers.

The OGLs presented their hall cheer. I was struck by their solemnity. It was… beautiful. United in the voices, their actions… Any cult would be proud to have them as their cheer squad. A church congregation couldn’t have spoken with such conviction. Their actions were defined to military precision. I guess that’s because the guys WERE from the army. What a surprise. It was rousing, definitely.

Its always amazing what happens when you bounce ideas off other people. I hope the skit for starry starry night will be a success.

We had a great game in the evening, gladiator. Catapult warfare and running around tied to each other. I don’t know about you, but running from projectiles always gets my adrenaline going. The thrumming music from pirates of the Caribbean helped quite a bit. Its like cannons. Yeah.

Long day. Night out.

020806- 1347hrs

Taking a break before lunch. Had a fantastic series of games earlier. Some were quite disgusting, involving vegetables and fruits… Some were rehashes of normal games… All were fun. It was heartening to see that the OG is getting more involved. Together we managed to win the free-for-all game involving all the groups. Wonderful. Now just make sure that most of the OG people are around all the time…… and it would be perfect.

It is true. Lose your dignity and just go crazy. It does makes things more fun. Its even better when everyone does it. For God’s sake man, this is an orientation. Its not like looking stupid for 2 weeks will scar your life forever. Open up… Open up…

030806- 0310hrs

Supper again. I swear. That place is definitely not going to be the be all and end all for supper… its so… limited? What the hell. Theres only so much you can eat there. There’s gotta be someplace better. And I will find it.

Did my stint as the IC today. Heard a few funny comments. “You look like a Maori.” “Did anyone ever tell you that you look Pilipino?” “Are you pure Chinese?”And the all time bestseller, “Are you a second year student?”

There’s more and more international people in the group. Gotta take a few photos later on. French, Canadian, and an ABJ. Yup, that’s right. American born Japanese. Photos coming later.

I see why TH doesn’t have a fright night. The last game we played was scary enough. Following a walking, jerky character and imitating its movements… Man. Im wondering what happens if we find out we were following the WRONG character… Now that’s right out of a horror movie. I think we all had fun. Personally I find that’s more important than who won or lost. I’m wondering if that’s the wrong statement to voice when staying in a hall where winning seems to bring so much pride to the residents. Something to ponder over days to come.

I’ll have to say the games are interesting. And the situations and scenarios devised are ingenious. Looking forward to more.

Matriculating tomorrow. Finally some internet access? Yes please. *Booming evil laughter* HOHOHO…

060806- 0300hrs

Somewhat confused. Maybe im looking at the wrong signals. Whatever lah. Lets not think too much about it.

Past 2 days were quite fun. The night games were interesting and increased in complexity and scale. I’m impressed by the results of the effort they put into doing the games. It is a long long way to go for an orientation. But impressive nonetheless. Leaving out details of the game to maintain the surprise for future people who come in. Ya they all do that. The level of secrecy is amazing too.

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Well orientation is over. The welcoming ceremony WAS touching. Moving to tears even. Some call it a hostel, we call it home.