1 February-14 March 2oo8
Camp Galore. A month. Two weeks. That's how long (short) it was. From the planning stage. Meetings in family lounge, rejecting proposals, mix-matching proposals, accepting proposals. Cramping in the den, discussing details, picking up gadget poles, measuring gadget poles. Sending proposals to seniors, hoping for improvements, taking in their advices and suggestions, smiling at their encouragements. To the practical stage. Buying materials, drilling holes in the board, sawing sticks to exact measurements. Meetings in cybercafe, spreading materials all over the area, starting work anxiously. Putting miniature poles together, tying on nylon threads, completing a knot, a lash. Coping with a 6cm long pole with two pairs of thick fat hands, trying to replace our hands with thin tweezers, making miniature pots and pans out of aluminium foil and paint. Camping in macdonald's for more than 12 hours a day for the whole week of holidays, looking at the sky turning for bright to dark, packing to go home just to continue into the early hours of the morning. To the day before submission and the day itself. Reaching macdonald's at 8am, bringing the materials to team-mates, helping out for even just that hour, going to school for council camp, returning in the night from bbq, finding team-mates still burying their heads in the structure, begging parents to stayover for a night, staying-over for the night, ordering macdonald's in the midnight, staying up till the morning, bringing the materials to macdonald's again, touching up for the very last time, walking to school as a team, leaving the structure on the teachers' table, worrying if the teacher will remember, unbearing to leave the structure, afraid of not being able to see it again. All was done willingly, unconditionally, hoping that standards will be brought up. We had disagreements, we had arguments, we had failures, we had grumbles, we had fun, we had laughter, we had success, we had cheers. It was all not easy, but we did it, together. A light pat on the back, a simple msg on the phone, a small word of encouragement, a whole lot of differences it made. Thanks to all CG-mates, we had great times together, and they will live on as memories in our hearts.
