LiFe oF gUohU...cHp 207

so much for the previous post. and nw, credits and photos to those who crossed my path for OBBD.


Awang Alak Betatar.


Haji Ruslan. my instructor for the grp. he's the man who takes us for a spin in his nissan skyline @140kmph. and he's the man who bought us coke and icecream. and he's the man who takes us on our expeditions and all. though at times, i felt so unfair and selfish that i judge him as an instructor and questioned his act silently without due respect.














Tonni. the very first bruneian kid i actually talk to for the whole course. and also my kayaking partner for the first day of the sea expedition. He's the man dude. super outgoing. super good runner. super strong. super funny. and he's only 16.














Jason. A proud member of the 5 penguin commandos in the group. a 15 yrs old CSM in NCC. strong chap. talks too much. complains too much. give a lot of excuses and act lazy. but he's the man. he do as much as he talks. and he's crazy.


What ! grrh. what sia. knn ccb fuck it la.











C.K. another proud member of the 5 penguin comandos. another CSM in NCC. looks damn rebelious. look like a gangster. but he's kind at heart. and he's damn helpful. credits to him for carrying the 3000 dollar water purifier for the jungle expedition. and CK is my acting cute partner !

u got problem with me huh? go toilet cubicle talk lar !












Herman. 15 yrs old NPCC chairperson in St Hildas Sec. my thinking partner who always engage in thinking conversation with me. he's a real thinker who thinks deep. but do too little. and he's the time keeper for us all. esp when he brings his alarm clock ard. from the hostel to the jungle and out to sea. not forgetting the vainest in the order of the 5 penguin commandos. always influencing us to style our hair when we got nth better to do. and kudos to him for his winnie-the-pooh wet tissue paper.


hor. herman hor.






Man in red : Effendi or affectionately known as andy. a staff from OBS. the 43 yrs young man who is in charge of our well being in Brunei and the staff who tagged along with my grp. and a person i've been looking up to for the whole course, giving me valuable comments on the things we do.

food. andy. food.

man in blue: luqman from TKSS NCC. it so happen so that he happens to be the son of my lecturer in SP. and he's the only malay muslim in the grp. he's the man leading us with prayers for every meal. he look fierce. but he's nt. he's part of the 5 penguin commandos too. and mr fierce looking has a loving gf in his sch and it's going for 3yrs already. and luq is always the most fortunate one to ALWAYS falls alsp every night in the tent.

That's sick man. sick.


Joshua. A 15 yrs old NCC (sea) cadet. talks too much. do too little. very wayang. act buaya. he's the one that occurs the wrath of every one in the grp. so much so tt he act mudpie with earthworm for dinner in the jungle. and his act results in him having a birthday bash everyday. but he got what it takes to becoming a good leader. let's hope he'll mature over time. hopefully.

Happy birthday joshua. Is it ur birthday today?










Cherie. or more affectionately know as shaolun or pampered urban kid to me. a 15 yrs old CSM in SCGS. with tt sweet girl look of hers, i've never expect her to be so garang. she can run. she can trek. she can kayak. and she can get dirty without complaints. and even offers to help me carry my stuff for me during the jungle trek! i simply am full of admiration for her.

Jungle Boy : well done urban pampered kid. u very garang leh.








mandy. FIERCE 17 yrs old CI from cresent girls and ACJC. very fierce. very very fierce. she's the girl i made breaking down in tears. and i have no wish to mention tt incident again. all i can say is she isn't whom she appears to be. and she's my river kayaking partner who went pinning me in the river and sea and bully me. and i have to add that i've better expectation of her as a leader and see things from a helicopter pt of view. and the courage to venture out of her comfort zone, nt just being being handicapped by her weakness. but nevertheless i hope she have had a good camp by her standard.








boy from left: dani. a 15 yrs old bruneian boy who do too much talks too little. but mark my words, u'll be damn impressed by him. he's my natural scout for the jungle trek. he is the compass and map himself. and he makes spoons and chopstick and cut leafs to hold food for us. he's the man. he's the jungle boy! oh dani dani dani.

boy next to dani: epenny. mr random who always do things randomly. he can build a campfire stack from a grp of pen when i was raising my voice at the grp to be constructive. he can stop halfway during the trek and sharpen a stick. he can just try to push me off a steep slope during the jungle trek and pull me up again. he's completely random! and all he response is a good sign. omg.


peace never dies




Thika. she who never stops smiling never will. and my lollipop provider.
















DK. her name is too long to remember as therefore affectionately known as DK to us. the petite girl is always apologising to me and us for her actions. u need to be more confident of urself my girl. and for goodness sake, dun cry so much.














sitinoriah. my sea kayaking partner 2. she's quiet. very very quiet. and lacks confidence. but thanks for entertaining me for the 11km kayaking trip. u ought to speak up more girl.
















mariah. my logistic assistant.( in name) very vocal. very anxious. but always willing to lend a helping hand to all.

my god















some significant people who cross my path for the camp other than those from my grp.



asyri. 18 yrs old bruneian boy. he's currently playing as a leftback for brunei's under 19 youth team. he's a damn fun guy to be with. taught me a lot; be it useful bahasa melayu or the insights of a typical bruneian lifestyle. it's time to quit smoking dude.

samseng, come singapore settle ur problems with me lar. come. i'll be waiting.











sameer. my friend of 3 yrs since CIBTC. without him, i might nt even consider the OBBD course much. he's the big brother to his grp and a really good listener to me. giving me really valuable comments when i feel confused for the course. thanks for being there for me for all these times. and it's time to quit smoking. it's time to be healthy and feel healthy again my friend.












gabriel. a 15 yrs old NCC CSM from catholic high. he's the hero who did not brush his teeth and bathe for 6 days. and wear his student leader shirt without changing for 6 days. but he's very proactive. and give interesting point of views.















hanley. 15 yrs old CSM from YTSS. very proactive boy who shoots his mouth off like nobody's business. he's fun to be with.
















me, huiping and shermaine. they are 2 fellow lifesavers from the same batch as i do. knew them way back when i was in sec 4. all thanks to them that i embarked on the OBBD trip. esp to huiping who asked me in the first place. and know wad, the pic the 3 of us took in the museum was actually published in the BORNEO times. i shall scan and upload tt pic as proof soon !

guohuilist turned back time on Wednesday, December 20, 2006.

LiFe oF gUohU|...cHp 206

ok. i'm back from my OBBD course. and though it isn't as challenging physical and psychologically as i thought, i had my fair share of learning and experiencing something new. like embracing the bruneian culture with awe. like seeing the difference btwn a typical sg kid and a bruneian kid. and knowing how much i have changed for the past few mths. and hw much i've matured. and how much i have not changed over the yrs.

basically the whole Outward Bound course is not really much of a physical and psychological challenge for me. perhaps it's due to my age and what i've been thru over the yrs. it just reinforce what's in me, the things i used to teach in npcc, a chance to practise a different style of leadership, seeing the 15yrs old kids as peers, respecting them as one and working together as one.

yes, FYI, i was one of the oldest in the grp. ok. i was the oldest beside sameer. US being at 19. a couple of CIs, a whole bunch of 15yrs old NCC and NPCC cadets. tt makes up the contingent of 30 from SG. joined up with 28 bruneian kids for the outward bound experience.

day 1 was basically the flight, checking in, ice breakers and all.

day 2 was the sea kayaking expedition to an island whr we stay overnight and kayak back on day 3. we clocked a total mileage of 11km per trip. tt makes 22km approximately for the whole journey. had the luxury of partnering 2 different bruneian kids, tonni and noriah on both diff days.

day 4 was spent hiking up a 700ft hill to do some abseiling in the rain.

day 5 to day 7 was the jungle expedition in the rain forest followed by kayaking downstream in the river back to the OBBD logistic center.

night of day 7 doing solo night in the jungle. day 8 moving into the youth hostel in brunei.

day 9 was doing some not very constructive CIP.

day 10 was in cultural tour in brunei whr we visited the museums in brunei and the 7km personal challenge jog.

day 11 was the flight back to sg. and 3hrs of shopping in a mall in brunei. had some food in the ONLY mac in brunei. catch eragon there too with some grpmates.

ok. how's tt for a brief summary of what i did over the past 11 days. didn't exactly suffered a lot. beside the horrible sandfly, mosquito and unknown bug bites on my bodies. it was more of a holiday for me. a good time to put down everything on hand at the moment and enjoy a back-to-the-basic lifestyle. appreciating the little things in life. trust me. i feel so good without having to answer and phone calls or sms for the moment. and abt the many things i had to do. and to get back to the healthy lifestyle of waking up and slping early, do some jogging, pushing myself to do things that i've not done for the past few mths. basically sweating it out. might be a torture to some but i actually enjoy it.

i've found back the trust from others to carry out their roles and responsiblities without being strict and having regulations. i was the logistic IC for the team. doing the shit stuff for them when no one volunteered. actually i did not do much. just handing out logistic and keeping them. no scolding. gentle reminder and all.

though at times during the course, i'm somehow quite confused over the roles that i have to undertake. being the most senior participants in the grp, i felt that i have a duty to watch over everyone in the grp, to motivate them all, to egg them on to try to lead and be proactive, at times, so much so that i'm almost being the faciliator of the grp. ( which i am not supposed to be.) at times, i am being the act like i'm training them as thinking leaders. (which shld nt be the case). That resulted me in not sharing my fair bit of information and ideas which I have gained and have had over my yrs as an npcc instructor. it's confusing to know when to take the backseat and whether i've been takign the backseat for too long. yet, i do not want them to overrely on me to make decisions and forgo their chances of trying to lead their fellow peers. it's complicated. to view them as peers on the same platform, yet experience do not allow me to think and act the same way as they do. tt's more of a personal challenge to me. to ponder abt the actions that i have to take.

which i thought i did manage very well, in becoming a better listener. to consider and compare others' suggestion with mine, ponder abt it before giving constructive feedback. i'm so glad i'm able to do it. esp when i realise that i've not been doing so in these recent yrs.

but these at a price, that i neglected the feelings of a fellow ci. that i trust and expect her to be as strong as who i thought she would be. and left her on her own. and refrain myself from helping her with her weakness and reassuring needs. and that all ends up in a nasty outcome in which she broke down in tears in front of me.



and i realise i learnt a lot from the course. nt exactly the physical challenge part. on interpersonal skills.

and i realise hw much i've grown. esp when i see 18 yrs old kids. from the way they carry themselves and the way they converse. like a typical spoilt brat from SG. and that of an arrogant instructor in his cca.

it was a real eye opener to meet ppl from all walks of life in NCC and NPCC. you have ur ASMs and CSMs of the NCC and the chairperson of NPCC, the CIs and all. ppl with different working style, attitude, mentality and character. there are some who goes boasting abt their abilities ( if it ever makes them feel better), others who couldn't care less abt their satisfying their needs more than others. and there are overly obsessed instructors abt their CCA and would not venture forth to embrace the culture of others. and to that of childish 17 yrs old KIDs making childish comments abt everything and anything under the sun. and u have ppl who are more than willing to lend more than just a helping hand and listening yr, offering constructive comments and interesting points of view how things shld be done.

but who am i to judge or even change them ?

and i realise hw much time has changed me. the way i carry myself. the way i think. the way i speak. and the way i lead.

but nevertheless, having facades is nt very guohui. and i'm glad i made my stand thru my actions.


OBBD. a real eye opener and a real wake up call to me.


damn my post is incoherent.

guohuilist turned back time on Monday, December 18, 2006.

LiFe oF gUohU|...cHp 205

i'm pretty screwed over doing my assignments. Forgot the send the files to myself. and tt's pretty great coz i cannot complete my assignment on time.

and i have to catch a plane 10hrs later to Outward Bound Brunei.

so at this moment. i'm pretty stressed up. will bite if agitated.

had a pretty rushed week trying to settle everything before i embark on my OBB trip. and i haven exactly finished what i planned to do.

had our little 2hm gathering on fri. went to look for ziyan first at boonlay, accompanied her and her fren to CCK before heading to orchard for dinner. i overstayed for the trip with a boarding time of 4.30pm and alighting at 6.30pm. tt will be a deduction of $2 in addition to the normal charges. met zr at mph before they accompanied me the shop for my bag. and then to meet mich and jasper. had dinner at swensen. the service was pretty bad. complained and had service charge discounted. then to hongkong cafe at cine for dessert, plenty of chatting. and plenty of fun trying out 3G calls.

had a haircut on sat at roxy square. courtesy of zr recommendation. then to eat at parkway. then to HIGH at katong. then to supper.

and plenty of slp today. and packing of stuff for OBB. and trying to settle my assigment thing.

and am feelign pretty bad nw. do not disturb. bite when agitated. grrrh

guohuilist turned back time on Monday, December 04, 2006.