Goodbye, 6.7! ='(

It's over.

They came, they played, they stayed & they left.

30 Nov marked the last major gathering for 6.7 2007. Perhaps I have to be really specific with regards to the name of the class as there were 6.7 in 2000, 2001, 2002 & so on... and there will be 6.7 2008 next year... But one thing is for sure, they were and they will never be the same as 6.7 2007. =) (FYI, there were suggestions during our recent meeting to drop the current class name in "decimals" to 6 Passion, 6 Integrity, 6 Excellence etc. What do u think? Change or no change?)

The colourful plastic cups that were thoughtfully name-painted were supposed to be placed all around the bungalow before all of u arrived, so that u could run around the house searching for your very own cup, and at the same time explore the place that u'll be staying in for the next 12 hours. It was also meant to be your door gift. Somehow the paint hadn't cured at 6am that day (Yes! I woke up @ 6am too!) and I had to scrape that idea. Nevertheless, we have to thank four other teachers who helped me in painting these cups the previous night. Hope all of u like it! =)

Hmmm... 31 of u were there to write history. =) Xintian, Wanshi, Jia Xuan, Hazel, Tsae Woei, LyeKit, Malathi, Peiling, Pavani, Angelica, Kimberly, Irina & Sis Adeline, Yimun, Aaron, Aloysius, Aravind, Bryan, Jang Wook, Gary, Junyong, Neil Brian, Cheng Wei, Ryan, Marcus Yeo, Edmund Ong, Marcus Tan, Chuan Chee, Junwen, Zhao Xuan, Edmund Wang and Kean Wah. Marcus Tan's mama & Edmund Ong's mama and little brother arrived later in the afternoon too. And don't forget my two "little" cousins, Sharrie & Cindy, who were of great help that day! xD Sharrie had just completed a four-day leadership camp from Mon to Thur, yet agreed to help me out on Friday, so I am really grateful. =D

It was 8.50am when the school bus finally left APS for the resort. While the rest boarded the bus, I took Kimmie and Xuanxuan, together with my cousin, so that we could have some time to stick some balloons onto the wall before the main body arrived. The journey was about 25 mins. The bus arrived barely 10 minutes after us.

Surely, the run-around-the-house-to-search-for-cup activity wasn't that necessary afterall. These pesky kids soon ran wild & clumsy with their water guns & super soakers, and many were drenched from head to toe in no time. U would have thought there was a heavy downpour, or that they had fallen into the pool. It was so boisterous that any possible invisible occupants of the house would have been banished into space. =S

No harm done I guess, to let all of u go wild & loose once in a while. All work & no play makes Jack a dull boy. I am sure your mind & body will work better if u take some time off for relaxation. But do remember to balance work & play, else too much play makes u pay. It'll be too late for regrets. (",)

Many were eager to check out the facilities @ Aloha Loyang. The basketball & street soccer court, arcade room, swimming pool & our Pasir Ris coastline. Tennis court is a little further away. Do u know, I would have allowed u to swim in the pool with appropriate swim wear and with my supervision? I emphasized safety before and upon arrival, don't u remember? =(

Then I think it was basketball, soccer, frisby, captain's ball, arcade, TV & some card games for most. It was to be a Free & Easy (F&E) day for all. If I had to do the planning, then I would be merely punishing myself. =P Hence, everyone had to entertain themselves with activities that they could think of within that not-so-confined space & time. Captain's ball was one of my favourite PE activities back in pri sch. Besides agility & speed, teamwork is utmost important to scoring a goal. In case u are not aware, Sharrie is a school netballer. Netball is very similar to Captain's ball, except they use a net just like basketball but without the backboard. This explains why she played really well. She was overly aggressive during the game though, which I didn't expect, and unfortunately Kimmie was quick to pick up this aggressiveness. This is what I meant by negative influence, and it always comes subtly and sub-consciously. Victims are usually not aware of it. =( I am not complaining. This is physical contact sport. Wimps, step aside! Ahaha.. xD

I ordered Canadian pizzas for lunch and it arrived at around 12.40pm. Last year I ordered 8 pizzas, but there were 3 boxes left over. Hence to reduce wastage, I decided to order 6 this year. In the end, I think it wasn't enough. =S

After lunch, I sneaked out to White Sands Mall with Aravind to buy a fruit cake from Four Leaves. Hmm... Did u notice our affinity with the words "leaves/leaf"? Our class blog "petalsnleaves" and lucky charm "four-leaf clover". =D We wanted to give Xintian a belated birthday surprise. Her birthday was on 28 Nov. xD I didn't forget his birthday was on 3 Nov. I bought him a present when I was in Bintan. I merely forgot to take it out in the rush to plant that surprise bomb for Xintian that night. No wonder he looked all so gloomy. He thought I have forgotten all about him... =(

It was very windy throughout the past 4 days when I was there. The lady boss at the bicycle rental shop commented that the wind only started to blow recently. It was definitely the best time to fly kites. The last time I did so was when I was in Sec 2 at Punggol Park. I am not surprised even if u would to tell me that u have never flown a kite before. Kids nowadays are over-stimulated with mind-boggling technology-related games that such activites are never fun to them anymore. It's a pity. It rained twice while we were there on Friday. But it was short each time, and it somehow helped to dispel the heat for the day, paving way for a cooling night ahead. Of course, we went cycling too. $5 per hour, $8 for 2 and $10 for 3. $15 for overnight rental starting from 5pm. Seriously, we don't even need an hour before some started complaining being tired. We cycled along Pasir Ris beach which we aren't that unfamiliar with. We were there during the September term break, remember? Think some went to sit by the wave-breaker to do self-reflection (a.k.a. act emo).

It is supposed to be a resort, which means a place for relaxation and recreation. There should be no agendas, no rushing around, no deadlines to meet, nothing. Basically doing nothing is already doing something. Somehow, the kids were looking for high energy-sapping activities one after another to occupy themselves. See, what I said about over-stimulated kids these days through over-exposure to computers, internet, fanciful handphone features and other technology-related devices. MOE definitely considers all these as an extra edge for kids today as compared to years back. Hence, u can't blame them for setting tougher exam questions and implementing more demanding school work. Welcome to the world of survival of the fittest. =)

Most of u spent your time traversing among three places - bungalow, arcade and basketball court, till BBQ time. Thanks for not bugging me for things that u could do! =D And thanks to Adeline, Cindy & Sharrie for taking the initiative to start the fire. Without them, I am sure I would be doing that all alone. Hope the food is to your liking. =) Thanks to Marcus Tan's mama & Edmund Ong's mama for your help too! After dinner, it's back to the basketball court or arcade for most, while some went meditating in the bedrooms. The rest? No idea.

Casualty report for the day: Aaron twisted his left ankle while playing basketball. Pavani dropped and lost her handphone while cycling. Ryan fell like a lump of lard with a thud and grazed his arm on the pebble ground while wrestling with Marcus Tan.

The gals were told to hold Xintian back at the basketball court till 8pm, while we tried to set up a little surprise for her at the chalet. The lights were switched off and the curtains drew. But as I was lighting the candles, she barged in. SURPRISE! Haha... xD Nevertheless, those who were around sang her a birthday song, and I knew I could depend on Kimberly to lead us in the singing. Of course, we took more photos! =D

At 8.30pm, the return bus came. It was time for most to go home. 18 to be exact. She said to her, "I'll miss u," and they gave each other a hug. That was touching... ='( Their group of close friends also took some photos as last mementos. My last words to these eighteen were, "remember me."

The remaining "survivors" were Jia Xuan, Hazel, Peiling, Angelica, Kimberly, Aloysius, Jang Wook, Junyong, Cheng Wei, Ryan, Marcus Tan, Zhao Xuan and Edmund Wang. I can't remember what we did for the next two hours after they left. We played "Whacko" at about 11pm. Aloysius, Cheng Wei, Marcus Tan and Ryan were supposed to do a forfeit - belly-dancing with their T-shirts rolled up to reveal their bellies. But they went into hiding to avoid the embarrassing moments. Haha... I think everyone got bored by the game, so we went to the baskball court to play Captain's ball in the dark. After two games, we were back in the house again to take a break before our night walk. I was excited about venturing to the supposedly haunted "Red House", but Angelica and a few were not keen on that idea. We ended up at the beach again, with plenty of company from the bbq-ers there. The boys were kind of embarrassing, as they complained of aching legs and tiredness, while the gals didn't. Cheng Wei, Aloysius and Jang Wook even refused to move after a short break. Our future national security looks bleak... =O Then I heard repeated complaints of, "I'm bored," along the way. Seriously, it was kind of turn off, so I decided that it was time to return to the chalet for supper. Heated up some sausages, fishballs and crabsticks to fill up our rumbling stomachs.

I think most of them opted to stay awake throughout the night. Some said they wanted to catch the sunrise. Sunset perhaps, at the sea. I heard that Jang Wook slept in a very awkward position. Only if I could snap a photo of it. Haha... I realised nobody wanted to share a room with that poor Zhao Xuan, so I popped in and fell asleep on the bed too at 5am. Jia Xuan opened the door and greeted me sweetly with, "Hello, Mr Tan," at around 7am. I thought that sounded rather amusing. I shall make her record that and set it as my hp alarm clock alert! xD

Hazel appeared the most wide awake as though she had slept for hours before that. I am also amazed that Jia Xuan could still read a book despite the long sleepless night. The rest? In Nirvana.

We had satays, sausages, hotdogs, chicken wings for breakfast. But coffee was missing from my diet! I missed my daily dosage of coffee! As the weather was really nice, we headed for the beach. Nice breezy morning with nice friendly sun. It was definitely an excellent day to be at the beach. The seawater was cool as the waves lapped gently at our feet. She said, "we should have been here yesterday." I nodded my head in silence. I wrote on the sand. Hoping that the seawater would carry my message to all of u.

Soon it was time for the rest to leave too. We headed back to the chalet. Everyone seemed to walk really slowly. Perhaps they were tired, perhaps to buy time. The bus arrived promptly at 11.30am and we bade our final farewell. My last words to them? Remember me.

Goodbye, 6.7...... 2007.