Friday, July 09, 2010
361. @ 6:16 pm
I think it's time now for me to pick up the puzzle pieces and recollect my own memories of SCRCY which have always been scattered all over the place instead of merely nodding along with what the others are able to recall because I want to have my own nostalgic blog post to tug at the heartstrings of readers (or at least my own) and make me remember fondly and with great pride the little things which have truly shaped and moulded me into the ex-NCO I am today.
I can distinctly remember the first time I heard about a CCA called Red Cross in Sec One, there was an unusually strong desire to want to know more about it. I still don’t know why but maybe it really was the uniform which I very strangely loved, so much so that it became the main reason as to why I jotted down RC as my first choice of CCA before choir and band and perhaps why, even though my very good pals whom I continuously bugged to join this CCA with me (and who actually put their names down on the CCA walkabout SCRCY namelist) ultimately didn't show much of a common interest, I decided to follow my heart and, despite my insecurity of having no friends around me, give it a go by myself anyway.
I remember the first briefing we had with the then Sec Three seniors when they handed out a sheet of paper filled with 'Do's and 'Don't's which I found extremely useful and when we received our first spectacle hooks which I really loved because they were actually thin enough to fit the frame of my then frameless glasses.
I can very clearly recall the first phonecall I received from a senior (Shafwaty Ma'am, to be exact) explaining to me vital information I needed to know for the meeting that was going to be held that week. I was a very confused kid and didn't realise through the phonecall that the NCOs were the Sec Fours who wore our school "skirts" and not some other random "skirt" like the blue uniform or the RC uniform during meetings until a long while after our first meeting when I figured out that the people who stood so tall before us in Gallery 2 where we played our very first double whacko were actually part of SCRCY (I actually called Elizabeth Ma'am "Elizabeth" because Mun Ching Ma'am told me to save her from being whacked with that name).
I look back at the week of our orientation when someone passed me a clear pocket containing a cheer for my group (Borneo!), a packet of peanut butter and caramel Oreos and a flash-card-letter by Sarah Tan Ma'am who was my group I/C and whom I didn't know until the day of orientation itself. I was that oblivious. I didn't even have a proper loose white-based shirt to wear and thus ended up looking horrendously unglam because my white shirt was pretty short and not meant to tuck in 360 degrees while I earned a very unwanted V-neck sunburn at the end of the day which stayed on my skin as a terribly obvious tan for months. I remember the boyish yellow and black Rider sandals I specially bought for the occasion but of which I detested very much. Oh, did I mention that that day happened to fall on my week of the month too? I guess you can now imagine how horrible an experience my second RC meeting was for me.
There was also the time when we met up with the Sec Threes to learn how to prepare our RC uniforms when I unknowingly jumped over one and watched as a lot of people around me started shouting and running toward me and I knew I did something wrong.
However, everything gradually got better after that (except for the way I styled my hair - I don't know what was wrong with it!) when our obsessions started to sprout out of nowhere - both the crazy and reknown ones (*ahem* Linda *ahem*) and the well-hidden secretive ones (*ahem* Ruth *ahem*). There was always the fear of who was going to be I/C that week, followed by the fear of missing items, drags and the number of punishments accumulated during a particular meeting. Pumpings were tough (I don't remember doing more than 80 at a go) but legraisers were worse because, although everyone tried to distract each other with the crack in the ceiling or the rainbow in the sky, my mind would somehow or another always remain focused on the amount of time left for my legs to suffer and how tense my stomach muscles were becoming. There were the Evacuation lessons taught by Indora Ma'am (the best scholar NCO ever!), basic First Aid bandaging lessons which I blindly thought I did very well in, very exciting and anticipated Footdrill lessons (I think I loved it then because Bronze was simple and not too tiring) and RCV lessons when all we did was copy down notes word-for-word from the visualiser. Angel and Ward was memorable because I had a wonderfully active angel :) I can also remember how annoying everybody thought I was (I am very sorry for my ignorance!) and how immature we all still were at that time.
I remember watching the Talentime items (Dance, Duet and Song) and making it a point to be able to be like the people performing before my very eyes one day in my RC life.
My first ever March Camp went by in the blink of an eye and I can hardly remember a thing about it.
I remember how quick and hard my heart was beating against my chest when I was I/C for the very first time in my life and how we had to wear our RC uniforms that day (I think it was for an accreditation) but having a scholar take over me as I/C instead because she was a Sec Three and how relieved I felt when I didn't need to report and command for things I didn't know how to. I cannot seem to forget the fact that I failed as an I/C when I was the last to change out of my uniform because I waited for a toilet cubicle to change in and exceeded the time limit.
I remember the anxiety brought about by my first June Camp when I forgot to wear my hairnet and all of us accumulated a huge pile of extra items from bag check. That was probably the time I learnt how tough staying in men's pumping position for more than ten minutes was and how ridiculous it was to have to do punishments right after a long-awaited shower. I still chuckle at the memory of being diam-ed by Sylvia Ma'am because she had to greet ex-NCOs while Qian Yi Ma'am and I continued suffering by stifling our laughters on top of the fact that I desperately needed to pee and the first time I heard her snort which made me have to struggle even harder. I learnt that the gym was a horrible place to sleep in especially if your skin was allergic to the blue mat. I worried about how quickly I had to do up my hair and wear my shoes the next morning to a firedrill whistle. Then there were the pretty difficult promos which a lot of us weren't very prepared for but weren't allowed to stay up to study. I didn't forget the time I actually dared to speak up for my dear styrofoam cups and the CFCs they released which did not make them good buddies at all and I can recall how much I missed it after it was all over.
I can still recall the weeks leading to our very first POC when Chloe (MummyPie) became extremely stressed out and frustrated with us during practices and how POC abided by the tradition when there would be tape barriers hung outside the RC room and how everything turned out a fussy mess. I remember the Milo we drank for tea and the Polar spongecakes we had to eat with our fingers (but they were very yummy indeed!). I remember how very little of our level cried albeit we knew the NCOs were leaving because I was very puzzled myself as to why I didn't feel unusually sad.
The next batch of NCOs took over and we became Sec Twos which was when we started our rigorous trainings for NDP (mainly because we were Sec Ones and didn't know the Silver syllabus yet). Then came along NFC practices when I was very proud to be able to learn both the Silver and the Gold syllabuses ahead of a lot of our level but also when I started to hate my favourite RC subject because practices caused my spectacles to slide down my nose even with the spec hooks on and were just too tiring for me. Our formation and armswings were lovely.
I remember all the weird silent conflicts I got myself into even though I was still very unaware of my surroundings and all I wanted to do was just to play.
Talentime changed its name to Arts Festival that year. Auditions were nerve-wrecking because there were two auditions for Song, one in the RC room and one in front of everybody when my name was called late among the voted shortlisted participants for Song so there was a tinge of sadness at first then a huge sigh of internal relief. The Dance audition was scary because I didn't want to hear my name being called to be sent back for lessons so my face literally lit up when the remaining few of us in the amphi were told that we got in. I remember the whole lot of practices we had to go back for and the time I took 50 minutes to finish eating a waffle from Waffletown even though Crystal Ma'am had finished eating a whole meal before me and all the random talk Song brought about between the NCOs and the cadets. I remember feeling like I wasn't good enough for Dance because of reasons everyone probably already know but still enjoying myself and giving my all during the actual competition auditions. I remember the rage that appeared on all the dancers' faces when we watched a dance way lousier than ours get into the finals instead of the effort we put in. However, I also remember how loudly I screamed in my pink cheongsam till my butt hurt when we heard "Singapore Chinese Girls' School" achieved champion for Song.
I know this was the year we were forced to grow up from being the babies of SCRCY to welcome our juniors whom we stepped out of our comfort zone for and assisted very diligently and excitedly. I remember teaching Maryam how to execute Bersurai during one of the many recesses we sacrificed to improve in our RC performance. I recall having to teach Lee Rui reporting procedures because she was my Sec One I/C and getting her to face a wall while practising. I remember feeling like our level was neither here nor there but extremely essential nonetheless :)
I remember the most dramatic March Camp in my RC life when punishments were abolished completely and how our quail egg buddies would also be abandoned on the second day and the amount of tears most of our level shed because we could see how much punishments maintained the discipline of the unit and how much it was part of a tradition in SCRCY and how much we appreciated it despite its toughness.
I remember the pretty tough firedrills that were set for us like the triarch (?) and the one where none of the casualties spoke English but how I was complimented for my reassuring anyway (sorry for the ego moment!) and I'm really sorry I kept failing my First Aid tests and never found the time to buck up even though I was sincere about wanting to improve.
I am ashamed to say that I only started studying for SFA one day before the test and didn't actually manage to finish reading the FA Manual in the end but scored second in the level for theory just behind Chloe nevertheless (27/30 - another ego moment!) :)
I must admit I can't recall much of June Camp that year (please don't ask me why because I won't know the answer) except for the night walk on one of the days which helped me discover how brave Pearlyn Ma'am was when she actually ran into one of the toilet cubicles in total darkness to hide.
I still feel proud of the POC gifts we made for the NCOs (folded stars in labelled medium Coke bottles!) and how the NCOs cried when we performed our medley for them and how much we bonded through the practices. Oh, I can't forget either the day when YC's Jelly Belly jellybeans spilled all over Gallery One and she still picked them up anyway because the sweets were expensive and she didn't believe she would get sick from eating them.
We soon turned into Sec Threes who bonded very often after all our RC meetings with the level circle and all the food (which were sometimes very limited). I loved it when the whole level could all just be real with each other, unafraid of the thoughts anyone would secretly harbour when we took turns to point out each other's flaws.
The first memory of achieving Top 12 Finalist for NFC!!! Oh, and not to forget how we hurriedly finished off our Fancy Drill item with thirty counts of perlahan jalan decided just a few moments before the actual performance because we needed to fulfill the time requirement and because we didn't think we would get through the first round of standard drills.
I remember the hectic and heavy responsibilities which were suddenly thrown upon our shoulders to lead the unit in a way by making sure the Sec Ones and Twos were well taken care of before meetings, how we made sure freshly printed labels were constantly renewed and how JY stressed over logistics oh-so-often.
We managed to finish learning Qian Yi Ma'am's choreography for Arts Festival Dance in a miraculous short amount of time, if I remember correctly, due to the frequent and last-minute changes made and how the judges kept praising us during the auditions nevertheless (I guess that's what tamed our disappointment when we didn't get through to the finals). We rocked Open Category with One Little Candle which used to be my favourite song in SC Primary choir :)
I cannot seem to recall camps well (or maybe I'm just refusing to because my brain is fried from all the lovely memories recorded above). However, I very vividly remember the dejection I felt when I couldn't make it for the whole of June Camp (my last June Camp as a cadet!) just because I was suffering from gastroenteritis (food poisoning) from the stupid Cambodia hotel (even though the breakfast was actually pretty good). Plus, I missed all the dramatic crying after June Camp when the NCOs announced that they were stepping down from that moment onwards.
However, we somehow still remained as Sec Threes because it just wasn't right to act like NCOs before the official POC and revealing of hierarchy so we waited. I remember how I wasn't sure if being the Organising Head-cum-Recreational Officer was good and how I kept going around asking everybody if my role was appropriate for me but soon got used to it anyway. I can't recall if I was actually aware of the tasks that would befall me and whether I was afraid of being in charge of events because my memory constantly fails me like that.
And that was how we transformed into NCOs, exceptionally excited on making history with our rules and proposed makeover of the room (which sadly did not happen because we didn't get our mini-fridge or boiler) and how we wanted very badly to up the discipline level by being stricter with the cadets and all.
Our school NDP formation was a total success!!!
The organisation for International Bazaar started out as a mess because I admit that I wasn't very responsible in handling the supplying matters and how Miss Hing gave up on me halfway when she actually chided me in front of the juniors (*ahem*) and told me to leave everything to her but how I wrote her a letter after that telling her that I would continue to organise it. Even though our letters to the many companies didn't receive any replies, I must really thank Carolyn and JY for saving my life with Breeks brownies and Ya Kun kaya and the H20 :)
I remember how meetings always saw me staying in the room and not knowing what to do just because I had no lessons I was assigned to teach until NFC practices came along (I remember how I was never confident of my Footdrill and how WQ gave me a -_- face when I asked her if I got chosen to be in the contingent) which didn't fail us either - Second-Runner-Up for South District standard drill and Top 12 Finalist!
I cannot forget how late we received news about the details for Arts Festival and how rushed our auditions were because we had to decide on things fast but how amazing practices were because Mrs Goh and Debbie and the Drama team were SUPERWOMEN who managed to finalise everything with us in a few months' time? Remember how the Dance song was compiled and edited wonderfully by Ruth at such a last-minute note and how we got into Top 5 for the first time in my SCRCY Dance life? Remember our one-on-one practices leading to and during March Camp? Remember how we crammed Song into one month or something and the frenzy we all ran into when we had to figure out how to save the piano accompaniment into our thumbdrives without the help of a manual? Remember the very adorable actions Mrs Goh taught us which won us First-Runner-Up? Remember how you, Chloe, wanted very much to give up on Drama but how we managed to pull through with a First-Runner-Up title with the group's determination and hard work? Remember how our level (especially Faeqa and Linda) were overjoyed when we informed them of the amazing results? Remember how we presented our two trophies to Mrs Low in front of the whole school?
I guess that's where things started to calm down and how I secretly started to dread the weekly meetings but how my excitement for June Camp and POC (yes, I was that tired of only being able to return home at 7pm on Thursdays) began to build up gradually because those were the only major events I could look forward to. I remember how some of us wanted POC to be pushed to the first week of July very badly but how the rest of the level preferred not to (and so we fought for our desire in vain). I remember how June Camp came and went, peppered with the best memories of SCRCY I could ever imagine all into those three days - the very tedious Mount Faber hike, Chloe frightening me with the frog issue, the amazement at myself when the SEVEN chicken drumlets/wing I devoured during Outdoor Cooking didn't actually make me full, THE ONE FROG I DISCOVERED PERVERSELY PEEPING AT ME IN THE ECO-POND TOILET WHEN I FINISHED SHOWERING, the very cold amphi environment at night, how Chloe forced me to finish up a huge amount of Froot Loops for breakfast on the second day and how I ate non-stop after that (Choco Chex, lunch, HUP SENG CREAM CRACKERS, dinner, oreo, Pringles and Jack & Jill Potato Chips) which made me feel nauseous after I woke up from sleeping at 4.29am staying up to finish up my letters along with the fun I had with Faeqa, Ruth and WQ in contributing to the video (I realise I speak very slowly...), the plate of Fruity Pebbles and the two slices of Butterscotch bread I ate the next day, the rushed lunch because of the rushed hierarchy board, OLD CHANG KEE CURRYPUFF AND PADDLE POP (LOVE YOU CHLOE - omg, I still owe you the currypuff money), our last Tick Tock Cheer when Chloe and I started getting emotional already and finally POC when I couldn't stop crying but continued to eat the Chip Smores anyway.
Which ends up with me now being an ex-NCO, my SCRCY life still floating around in my head and how, even though I've always had the warped impression that joining Red Cross was the biggest mistake and regret of my life, I realise that it really isn't because of how it has nurtured me and caused me to grow so much with the bountiful opportunities it has given me to realise my potential and how I will forever be grateful to it no matter how much I wanted to get out of the CCA because I figured POC wasn't what I really wanted when it actually arrived for real.
But as Ami did say, it's like everything ended on a perfect note and I guess it's time to accept it - because it's the truth ♥