Death by camping

I just spend my Sunday evening marking test papers :)

and didn't know whether to laugh or cry at some of their answers.... Some answers make me wanna pull my hair out... some make me wanna strangle them... Some just make me ROFL... really one...

Am I a lousy teacher? Or are they lousy students?


Anyway, here are some of their answers for the Camping Badge (basic test). I will leave them to you to decide..

___________

 
Give an explanation for each of the following items found in a Basic Survival Kit.


b. bivvy bag
- It is dark orange in colour and you can carry cool stuff inside
- can be made into toilet fences
- a orang- coloured toughened plastic bag
c. waterproof matches
- prevents water from wetting the matches
- to avoid burn out of matches when they touched the water
- it is matches that will not burn out even if it is a little damp
- it is waterproofed.
- matches that wouldn’t extinguish if it touches water
e. water sterilizing tables
- you can get water when you eat the tablets
- to keep steady when you are in the water
- to prevent headecs
- to prevent leaches

List 7 points to consider before pitching a tent.
- do not pitch your tent between two mountains
- the grass must be all the same length
- it must no be under trees that are old and can topple over
- not under big old withered trees that may topple over at night when asleep
- not near a cave in case of wild animals inside
- don’t camp under a river
- beware of big wind because it might blow your tent away


List down 4 tips to ensure camp safety and hygiene.
- if in a dusty area, bring eyewash and wash eye every evening.
- long pants to prevent leeches to suck your blood
- always build a fire infront of your tent when sleeping
- try to bath daily if water is available
- Don’t simply eat the medicine in the nature
- bring insect ‘stopper’ to avoid from the attacking of insects
- do not bare foot
- change your clothes twice a day
- by not placing the boots near the campfire. It might catch on fire.

State why a sleeping bag should be unrolled only before you get into it.
- so you can fit into it
- when you just unrolled the sleeping bag and you go and get something, they might be animals go into your sleeping bag, so this is why you should unrolled and immediately get into it
- Because like that only we go into it
- a sleeping bag should be unrolled only before you get into it because you cannot go in
- so that you can get into the sleeping bag
- so that insects or any other animals can get in
- if we do not unroll our sleeping bag, we cannot get into our sleeping bags and we cannot sleep in it because it is too small


Thank God I am not taking them out for a practical test... I will certainly "laugh-die-me" the whole time.. Oh wait, maybe we will all be dead before that... Sigh *wipe tears from eyes*.. What am I going to do with this bunch of spoilt, pampered kids?

next time

I wanted to continue posting on my Melbourne Trip. But I'm feeling lazy and not really in the mood to screen my photos and upload it... Cos every time I look at my photos, I think about how much I wanna go travel and travel and travel... I need more money please...

I enjoy watching TV. One of the thing that I enjoy at the end of the day is going home and sit in front of the TV with my legs up. But its becoming so much of a habit. Once I sit, I don't wanna move... at all.... Just so tired... It's like my chill out time with my family and siblings.. and of cos the TV..

So yeah, today i got home and found my sister watching a movie. as usual i sat down and didn't move the entire movie.. haha... except to grab some ice-cream (my sister bought baskin robbins. how to resist? and its cotton candy flavour... i like :)  anyway, the movie was "Last Holiday". not sure how many of you watch it before but its a story about this lady who worked very hard as a sales clerk and she kept waiting for something big to happen. she waited and waited..and just work... one day, she had a small accident at work, bumped her head, went to see doctor and was was diagnosed with cancer and had only 3-4 weeks to live. it was so sad. she kept asking God, "why me? why me?". anyway, she decided to take all her money and go for her dream holiday. there she met some bunch of people, did crazy stuff and enjoyed her life. and to cut the long story short, she touched most people who knew her with how she live her life. i'm not going to tell you the ending in case you have not watch it.. but please do... its inspiring..

and the movie caught me thinking.... what will i do with my life if i only had a couple of days or weeks to life? life is crazy sometimes. everything seem so right and then suddenly.. something happens... and life changes... and what matters is how we take it.. we give up or we take it by the horns? sometimes its much easier to give up... to just sit there and not do anything.. after all, what's the point... i keep telling my young people, to go out and do something.. this generation is just so complacent... its like they are living in their own fantasy world.. they sit around and just waste time.. and wait for things to happen... i keep reminding them.. do something.. life has so much to offer.. even if you are doing something wrong.. so what? doing something is better then doing nothing at all.. at least you learn and grow from it...

i guess lately everyone is so concern about how short life is with the many natural disasters and war that is going on... and is like you blink your eyes and your life has gone passed... i cannot imagine what will i do if there is an earthquake or a tsunami in malaysia... its just seem so impossible... but then again, nothing is impossible lately... who knows, God might just decide to wake us up suddenly :)

one thing i remembered about the movie is she was standing in front of the mirror and she was just telling herself..." Next time we will do things differently. We will laugh more, love more; and see the world. We won't be so afraid. "... and i thought to myself.. what will i do if i have a next time?

some people say that i have changed. i think i did. i know i did. all i ever wanted when i was younger is to become successful and famous and have lots of money and lots of nice shoes. but now... its just meaningless to me... yes, i still do like nice things.. i still need money.... but its not my goal anymore... i always wanted to conquer the world... and yes, i still do.. but in a different way.. in a different type of world... because what matters at the end of the my journey, is what i did with my life.. and the people whom i have touched...

You and I know the secret of life... its butter.

life is just so short... its time to do something... maybe i will start my "book of possibilities".. its not that difficult.. i love life. there is just so many things to do... anyone wanna sky dive with me? or maybe join the mercy corps? or just go do something?

Camps, Poking Pencils & a Scary Trip

I just got back from 2 back-to-back camps. It’s a 3 days camp, follow by another 3 days camp. And boy, it tiring… Well technically I did not attend the second camp but going on the first day and staying over on the last day counts. :)

The 1st camp was ANTS which means Advance NCO (Non-Commission Officer) Training School. I was there to brainwash coach the young people… Seriously, I feel like I'm getting older and should stop doing stuff like this. Well, a few years ago, surviving on a couple of hours of sleep, and aching bones due to hard cement classroom floors and the ewww-try-not-to-touch anything toilets was nothing… But now, it’s too much for my older body :) My body seem to feel the aches, the hard cold floor and the lack of sleep much more now… But that again, its all for a good cause…

Me class..

Anyway, I forgot to take a picture of my makeshift bed. The floor was really really dirty loh *think of government high school classroom floor*and I decided to use the desk to make a bed. Smart right? Yep, I combine 4 tables… Luckily I sleep like a corpse and therefore won’t accidentally fall over the edge.

Before I start disclosing all my bedtime habits, I spotted this poster on my classroom door.

It reminded me so much of my school days. Never poke your ears with a pencil... Hahahaha..

Anyway, 2 nights ago…meaning on Wednesday, I decided to join my BB company members who have gone for a Boot Camp @ Outbac Broga, Semenyih…and joining them means driving there after work by myself as they have gone there the day before on the bus. And me being the super confident, macho girl told my parents not to worry as I know the place quite well, after all, I stayed in Sg Long for 2 ½ years. But I was wrong… a couple of hours before I started my drive, I Google map the place and spend 1 hour trying to figure out how to get there. It wasn’t anywhere I have been before. And the nearest landmark is Nottingham University, Semenyih. Anyway, I left work @ 8pm, and headed towards Semenyih. Google map direction says that the journey will take 51minutes.

I did it in 30minutes. Well to Nottingham University at least. I was driving quite slow, trying to study the printed out map. And making sure I did not take a wrong turning. It was dark… When I finally reach Nottingham University, I was relieved as I was almost there. But no, after another 20 minutes , I realized I was lost and it’s scary. Really really scary… I meant, I have driven all over the place, outstation, for many years, quite often alone past midnight. But this, this is the scariest for me…

View taken while driving. Sorry its a little blurry as I did not want to stop my car to take a picture.

I was alone, driving on some road, I don’t even know where, without any street lights, with trees covering both sides of the road and no other cars or human in sight. And I kept trying to push out horror-stories-from-movie-scenes out of my mind.

Trip was from point A to B. See where the blue line extended itself? There's where I when. I don't really know how far I travelled or how many kampungs or river I passed, but one thing I know is that I passed by a Kampung starting with "K" and also I did passed the border into Negeri Sembilan. And please don't ask me why I kept driving, because I don't really know. All I can remember is that I kept driving and driving. Creepy huh?

View Larger Map

But thank God, I arrived at Outbac Broga at about 9pm+. Total relief…

I was glad I did come because this is what we did that night... *evil grin*

And I shall end this post with some random posters taken from the campsite.. The owner/ manager must be a funny guy...

The End.

*edited on 21/3/2011 with additional pictures

happy girl

It's really hard not to smile when I received SMSes like this. It makes the world seems so much brighter and happier...and the day much easier to go through..

When i see your face, there's not a thing that I would change.

cause u're amazing, just the way you are. and when u smile,

the whole world would stop and stare for awhile.

cause bee, u r amazing, just the way you are..

It makes me feel like I can conquer the world...

I'm just lucky, I guess..

Sights & Stuff @ Inner Melbourne

"If there is any such thing as a universal question, it may be this: Are we there yet? Generations of children have asked it. They have then grown into adults who have to answer the same question when their children ask."     - excerpt from ODB-

My twin sis & I are both planners. No matter its work, or personal, we are very organize people. We travel alot. And its not surprising that we planned wayyy in advance for our trips. We study the place we will be visiting and do lots and lots of research. And its always a marathon (in a good kinda way) cos we will try to visit as many places as we can. Rockstar on the other hand, its a laid back type of person. His view on travelling is "It’s the journey, not the destination." He enjoys what he can, tries to live like a local, instead of a tourist. And he complains whenever he travels with me. Hehe.. And i guess you will to if you travel with us.

But after many trips with him, I guess his laid back attitude has gotten to me. The trip to Melbourne was well-planned as usual but we were more relax. Each morning we wake up, spread the map on the bed and decide where we wanna go.

So this post will be filled with lots and lots of pictures...and I meant really alot.. and was taken throughout our trip there; hence the differences in sky light and weather.

Melbourne Central - Its like our very own KL Sentral, but with a much bigger shopping center. But whats cooler is that they build it around an old 'Lead Pipe & Shot Factory' which have since been converted into shops.

Sorry, couldn't resist taking this. Rockstar Bowling in Melbourne Central.

Notice that the sign says '...till late..'. Yeap, I realize in Melbourne they don't have a fix time in closing. If there are no customers or that day is a slow day, they will just close shop. How lucky is that?? *hint to boss*

St. Peter's Eastern Hill.

Its a small church/ chapel located just opposite its well-known neighbour, St. Patrick's Cathedral. They have this quaint, rustic looking, cosy feel to it. Oh, and I like their red door.

The huge and imposing St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Its so impressive and the hugest church I have ever seen. My pictures do it no justice.

The picture on the right is their 'pipe organ' and its like 2 stories high.

1st pic : The front part of the cathedral..

2nd pic : Taken from the front towards the back of the cathedral. The door at the end its the front entrance.

1st pic : Taken from the back towards the front of the cathedral.

2nd pic : See the 2 tallest candles. That's ours. We decided to drop some coins into the offering box and light some candles. I dunno.. maybe it makes us feel holier.. hehe.. nah, its was just for fun.. I guess being inside such a big church makes me feel so small and insignificant..

Just a random view of Melbourne city, taken at the corner of Parliament house.

If you look closely, you will notice a girl lying on the grass. Its common in Melbourne. Its almost the ending of summer and the people there are just trying to catch whatever bit of sun they can.

Parliament House.

Hotel Windsor. Just the name sounds grand.

Limo on the road.

The Forum.

Melbourne GPO

 *I think. sorry can't remember*

The Atheneum.

I think its a library.

The Ian Potter NGV Centre.

Lydia @ Fed Square Book Market and a grassy spot off Fed Square.

Federation Square.

See the beach umbrellas and chairs? Its just there for you to sit and sun-bask or people-watch. Nice..

Melbourne Visitor Centre.

If you are are visiting Melbourne for the 1st time, do drop by there. You can get everything there, from brochures, tours, info...etc...Its like the biggest 1-stop visitor centre I've seen... Oh, that's just the entrance. It goes underground.

Flinders Street Station.

St Paul's Cathedral.

We were walking past in on Sunday morning and the bells were just going on and on and on. Its so harmonious. I wish I can hear it everyday.. OK, maybe not everyday but more often la..

View of Yarra River, from different sides.

And its a proper cafe. Not like some illegal-under-bridge-mamak-stalls I have seen.

I wish we could have just sat under it, have our lunch surrounded by the river. Another thing you'll notice is that Melbourne weather changes likes a girl's mood. Seriously... No offence to womankind.. but it can be hot and sunny, and then gloomy, and then sunny and windy and then something else..

Some street performers.

There was this 2 guys dress in tights doing some aerobics and stunts. They even got some guys in the audience to help. Its really funny in a way cos they were a little gay and... especially the guy in pink top and gold leopard shorts... he was very expressive in all his movements. I wonder why some of the parents allowed their children to watch...they were hopping and jumping around in tight and bright underwear..but I'll give it to them..  they were good, and really sporting.. If you want to see more, ask my twinnie, she took video of them...

Batman Park just across the river.

I was hoping to see Batman, or even take a picture with him.

But its just grasses... and trees.. and normal people...

Melbourne Exhibition Centre..which looks very suspiciously similar to ours..

Maybe its the same architect..

Crown Entertainment Complex.

Its Melbourne newest complex with hotel, shopping, and big casino.

One of the entrance of the casino. I didn't gamble, I swear.. cos we have already spend all our money on shopping contributed in another way to Melbourne's economy. We just walk through it.

Royal Arcade.

Gog & Magog guarding the entrance.

Lydia.

Dungeon of Magic. It was close :(

Entrance to the Block Arcade.

Not reddish the building. Its the un-likey looking pathway into the alley. Just at the left side of the picture below. Zoom in if you can't see.

An old, grand looking arcade, opened in 1892.

Pic 1 :  Sidewalk cafes and quaint shops into the Block Arcade.  

Pic 2 : Inside view.

Chinatown.

City Baths.

Go read the history. Its interesting. It started out as a bath but have now been converted to a heath and fitness centre. Its nice to see how they retained their old identity with adaptation to the modern world.

Pheww.. That's the last of it. Looks tiring but its actually quite relaxing... Did not manage to visit many places that we planned too..

Forgive me if I have displayed any form of 'jakun-ness'. It's the 'living with passion' part of me that see things very excitedly... and after all, as what some people say, we still live on tree-tops.

OK, just 1 last picture of me. I'm not going to let my sister take the centerstage on my blog..

Erm, and its actually the only picture I could find of me.. all the others have her in them.. And if you still can't tell us apart, she has longer hair then me.. This is ME, not her...

Btw, this post its just the Inner Part sights in Melbourne. Wait for the others :) Oh, and I realise that the pictures on my laptop look much nicer cos I have a darker screen. So please, before you read my blog, lower down the brightness of your screens k? Then my pictures will look much nicer.. cos I selected them based on how they look on my screen.. For my sake, pretty please?