YTuesday, March 13, 2007

Orientation. Wait, Didn't I Do This Before?

I know I haven't posted an update in a while. I prostrate myself before your shining glory in my futile and pointless attempt to grovel for mercy. You are good and beautiful and wonderful and righteous. I am not worthy.

Yea. I'm sorry. It's just that I have been pretty busy during the past week. JC life is tough and all that. I love being a pity whore.

So, on the 8th and 9th of March ACJC held the second orientation, during which the second intake students would familiarize themselves with their new school, meet new people, and master their "AC Rich Bastard" attitude and look, that apparently, we all possess. The first intake students, (myself included) were also invited back to have a good time, and hence, not have to go for lessons to learn new things and do the things we were supposed to do.

All in all, a pretty decent deal for us.

For those of you who don't know, I did post my thoughts regarding the first orientation previously. If you would like to see it, go look for it yourself. Don't be lazy. When you're done, come back.

Now I think it's pretty obvious what this post is going to be about.

Compared to the first one, second orientation was, I'm sorry to say, a dismal failure. However, I must state that the blame cannot be placed soley on the council or the OGLs. (Orientation Group Leaders. Duh.) Neither can it be placed on me. I'm not evil. I don't go about destroying people's lives. The blame, I have to say, is to be placed upon everyone's shoulders. Everyone, from principal lady that drives a blue BMW to canteen uncle that sells bottled iced milo at $1 each, and new student who was rejected from NJC and sent to ACJC instead.

Second orientation is neither here nor there. For the first intake students, it was just a chance to slack off. Many of us already were already content with the first experience, it was wonderful, something to be remembered forever. Being forced to go through it again was quite pointless, really. As a result of our mandatory participation, we weren't as enthusiastic as we could have been. You know how it is with kids right? Tell them to do something, and they won't. Forbid them to do something, and they freaking hell will do it. What can I say? We're complicated.

For the second intake students, orientation is an incredibly awkward experience. They are thrown into a situation where they are alone, surrounded by a group of people who are relatively close. They are forced to make friends and integrate within a few hours. Many of them have preconceived notions of ACJC, and are desperate to head for, what they believe to be, greener pastures. In my OG, I remember this RV guy with transition lenses, who had a look of absolute glee when his appeal to RJC was successful. Congratulations to him.

The leader people had to do a lot of work for the first Orientation. I could see it in their faces. It must have been really tiring. Having to do the same things for the second one, must have been a struggle. I'm sure they spent hours interrogating themselves.

"Why the hell are you doing this? Stop wasting your time. Don't waste your time caring for these J1 morons. You've got exams coming soon. Flee! Flee like the wind!"

Yes. That's what they would have done.

As a result of all the contributing factors, we ended up with a half-hearted attempt. For example, on the first day, my OG, about 20 people, turned up, but we were more interested in lunchtime. On the second day, about 3 people didn't come. By the middle of the second day, 10 people were left participating in the games. Hooray for our passion.

However, there was a silver lining to this massive cloud. Those who did participate did have fun. Not because of the games, mind you. But because we acted like idiots. And whenever people act like idiots, a good time is guaranteed. We also had a really good time during our dinner break. I don't know why. Maybe it was because it didn't have the feel of an official event. Perhaps the reason was that we were out of school. I have no idea. Don't expect me to know everything.

This second intake business has left me emotionally drained. As you may know, I'm not the most involved person in the world. Angelina Jolie adopting another child from Antarctica isn't really on my priority. It's wonderful that there's a new Nokia phone coming out, go tell your mother. There are some things in this world I just really can't be bothered with. However, there are some things that I do care about, and one of those things are friends. And it's very painful to have them taken away from you. About 8 people, a third of my class, couldn't make it back to ACJC. It's such a shame. I got to know those people, laughed, played, shared, and now I won't get the same chance anymore. Even as things are now, I barely have enough time for myself. Though this may sound cold and abnormal, I would rather have not met them, than to have this happen.

I know this post isn't particularly funny. Give me a break. I'm tired. You can't expect me to be a joker all the time. There are times when I'm boring. But you can expect the next post to be more humorous. I promise.

Oh, Da'yl stone.

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