FOC

As promised, here's a full account on MSA FOC 07/08... from my point of view. Before I begin...

Programmers' identity - Bandana which we donned on proudly throughout the camp!

Day 1

This was the day the freshies arrived... being the nice and kind seniors, we were all set to give them a warm welcome by waiting for them at the bus stops which were designated as drop off points.

And so I was stationed at the Hall 2 bus stop with Yoke Hwa, Ka Hong, Siew Li, Ping Ting and her AMSISA mates. The first batch of freshies were supposed to arrive at 7.30am but they turned up at 8.55am. We were worried about the second batch arriving before we were done helping the first batch to check into their rooms because we're shorthanded. Fortunately most of the first batch checked in when the second batch arrived at around 10am.

By 1.40pm the final batch of freshies arrived. We brought them to lunch first because the hall office was closed for lunch. I'd inadvertently revealed to the freshies about the tradition of Hall 6 people ponding birthday boys/girls AND the fact that my birthday is around the corner. Now one of them is trying to figure out where exactly I stay in the hall so that he can pond me on my birthday.

Nevermind that... we were done helping all the Hall 6 freshies to check in by 2.45pm and I went to Hall 8 to talk cock sing song with whoever's willing. That's where my new roomie came into the story. He was without a room when he arrived and sent to Hall 6. The lady in the hall office then assigned him to my room and that marked the end of my single room deluxe suite.

After that we gathered at Hall 3 function hall for the opening ceremony of the MSA FOC 07/08. The freshies, now assigned to their respective orientation groups (OG)

which were Famiglia, Tarquinius, Kazoku, Genos, Lanza, Philia, Porodica, and Sulale. These names were consistent with the theme of the camp - Ohana.

After that each group conducted ice-breaking games, I was assigned to Porodica and played a few games with the freshies before leaving to prepare for the intergroup ice-breaking games.

That night itself Lanza freshies experienced their first ever Seven Wonders.

Day 2

Administration work in the day time and more games at night. The 4 games conducted were Pass the Precious, Thou Shall Not Pass, Human Pinball and Pick the Cups Game. I was stationed at Thou Shall Not Pass game and it was a nerve-wrecking game. The freshies were so excited that it was practically as though we're watching 2 factions at war.

Some of the guys were basically kneeling and praying as though they've scored in the World Cup final whenever their group nicked a point. It was a very comical scene. All of us laughed and screamed our lungs out as the game progressed.

Day 3

Combined games! I was basically cheering Porodica until I got tired and slacked with Yi Chin and Elaine at the shaded area. After that each group painted a portion of the Malaysia map allocated to them and we took a whole MSA group picture with the map. Up till now everything was still relaxing for me since I didn't need to run around.

Next up - Unspeakable Truth, Unbreakable Egg... each group would have to use straws and rubber bands to build a protective structure around the eggs. Hall 6 suddenly became much noisier than it was as it was the venue where we dropped the eggs.

Here comes the tiring part... PHOTOHUNT. I was assigned to Famiglia and they probably had the best sense of direction. For every destination, they've picked the shortest route and managed to find 6 locations before we had to end things earlier for... SP Walk Ghost Walk.

There was a lot of walking to be done as I was the first usherer, and Shaun also wanted to take photo with me after his convocation... so I was practically running back to LT 2 pavilion every time I guided the freshies to the holding place.

Joe and Wai Seng are now part time workers in a Japanese factory.

Once I was back in my room, I immediately went to bed out of sheer fatigue.

Day 4

Lost Day!!

From what I've heard the freshies had a lot of responses watching the video. Yi Wang's self-promotion obviously worked! I was in charge of City Hall station and conducted the Pass the Message game. All the groups that played the game had failed miserably as the message got distorted after each person passed the message using the cups. Lanza freshies had even concocted their own message halfway through!

We had lunch in Marina Square before the guys headed to Fort Canning Park to kaypoh. We stopped by at Picnic Terrace to witness Lanza(again!) playing the dot dot dot game. Unfortunately the rain got heavy and we had to stop all the programs for the day in FCP.

So what did we do while stuck in FCP waiting for the rain to subside?

CHEER FIGHT!! Needless to say, programmers, who were thoroughly outnumbered, weren't even close to being the loudest... I dare say we're the most spirited ones though. We all had a good time cheering our hearts out(in exchange for a hoarse voice).

We made our way back to NTU for dinner. Barter system was incorporated into the dinner so that we could get more interactions between groups. But some negotiations were plain ridiculous. In the end, Porodica settled with cheering, dancing and singing to get all the cards they needed.

Day 5

I missed all the dunkings and a good whole chunk of the day's programs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sniff*

I stayed in water for too long and got hypothermia. But I was back and kicking for SP games!!

First off was the SP revelation... it was too obscene. Too many guys strip half naked, which isn't always a pleasant sight.

Flame of Love - we were basically squirting water at anything and everything that had a flame on it. After the game was done, we gathered at LT 2 pavilion once more to watch the sketch performance by each OG. Porodica snatched the win with a convincing performance that cracked everyone up.

After that we presented the best OG, best male & female freshman awards. Then we clubbed till 4.30am... where many guys decided it was time to strip half naked... AGAIN!

Final words

Sorry for the lack of pictures... will post them up once I get hold of them. But if you want to have a sneak peek - my dear ACP will gladly show you.

I haven't had the chance to formerly thank all those who were there when I had hypothermia so I hereby thank you first... you know who you are.

And finally, thanks everyone... programmers especially, for making this FOC an unforgettable one!