Before I begin this post, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the brains & hands of this inaugural gathering. So who are the masterminds & accomplices behind it? Notably, the masterminds are Xuan Ming, Dian Sheng, ably assisted by their accomplices Jun Xiong & Jun Wen! As well, not to forget the very warm show of support of the participants that made this event a success. If I left out any names in the process, please do forgive me for my STM eh (because I am getting younger mar..so I tend to forget older things that happened..LOL!)
Jin Hua
Zijie
Haojie
Kian Peng
Kelvin Wang
Alvin
Yung Wan
Dian Sheng
Xuanming
Junxiong
Junwen
Liangjie
Jiangang
Puthran
Jiejia
Mr Albert Ching
Sebastian Tan
Jiahao
The gathering started with a hearty catch up and dinner @ Da Pai Dang （大排挡）over two tables as the number of people attending is too big for one table. One table can sit about 10 pax, so we probably have about 20 people going! Can you imagine that? 20 people for the inaugural gathering! Probably next time the gathering will have to be in a restaurant perhaps like Swensen’s to accomodate this many friends going out together. But still nonetheless there was still enough in each person’s humour and laughter to ensure that the place became filled more with our laughter and chatter than the sound of either cooking or other diners having a casual chat over dinner.
The photos alone, coupled with the entry here is not enough to describe the fun level of the gathering. It is like someone telling you what it feels like to be at the Niagara Falls in the US, with all the sounds that you can get to hear at the great waterfall, and even if you get the best sound surround enough you may be able to achieve the same effects of hearing but you may never be able to see and feel it firsthand. After dinner the group took a group photo just outside The Central, and proceeded from then on to Game Haven @ Safra. It was truly a gaming experience to remember in the function room, as the participants fully indulged themselves in the LAN games & Nintendo Wii game console.
Kelvin took the opportunity to raise the awareness level among the event participants that the BB66th Alumni falls under the huge umbrella of the Stedfast Association, which is the alumni association of the Boys’ Brigade. Kian Peng also took this opportunity to add in the different ways in which ex-Boys and Alumni members can help to contribute back to 66th. Thinking back it is definitely a far cry from the early days of the graduating Boys where the common thinking among all was only to go back to help and serve the company. Nothing bad about it though, as the ex-Boys who went back to help in those early gained their respective experiences and probably got to know more people in the process. It is just that nowadays there is one more platform and a more diverse way to serve 66th!
Afterwhich from there a self-intro from everyone, and in the midst of all, a surprise was sprang! The youngest batch among the gathering is not from Batch 11, but from Batch 12! So it all goes to see how deciding to join the youth organization of choice can change a person’s life i.e. knowing good friends. It actually was a surprise to me, but it does not matter! At the end of the day it is all about fellowship and having fun with the friends that you made!
The party truly started after the self intro where the guys helped themselves to generous doses of LAN gaming with Call Of Duty. Split into two teams of five on opposing sides of 5 pax per team, it provided truly a friendly competition not lacking in the intensity of urban warfare! Amongst it all there were also friends enjoying themselves on the Nintendo Wii with the fun game of…(errr…I forgot the title already..LoL!)
So to conclude, the party ended at around 11plus pm where everyone headed back along the NE line followed by the NS line. Truly it was a experience difficult to forget if you are there to see how everyone talked excitedly about their gaming experiences, and how much each one enjoyed one another’s company on the MRT. Although I went home with my voice hoarse thanks to all the laughing which I had, but in the end somehow it leaves me with a pleasant gaming experience being able to see my friends enjoying themselves at the gathering, no matter whether it is the dinner or the gaming itself!
Three years on after graduating (for some), this group of Boys & ex-Boys still feel the strong bond that exists beyond their academic time in Woodlands Secondary School. I do believe that it is the same for everyone, and I do strongly feel that it is because of these and the many wonderful memories & times in the blue uniform in the youth organization of choice that makes this kind of gatherings more eventful! So come and join us in the Alumni & Exco for more healthy doses of such events!
Event report compiled by Ryan Tan aka Tiong Hwi on 15 March 2009