Trippin' Back To Victorian Times

In truth, there is usually a unique combination of factors that shapes each an every individual. This is no different for me, though I will still contend that a major influence on who I am today originates from my teenage days in Victoria Institution. I've been back from the US for over a year now, but it was not until last Saturday that I finally paid my alma mater a visit with the VI Scouts' Campfire as an excuse.

I was surprised by the noticeable changes in the school, but at the same time also by the lack of them. I did hear some time back that the scout den caught fire and burned to the ground, but it was only when I visited that I saw the new Bengkel KH that had been built over the ground. As for the scouts - well like most other extra-curricular bodies in the VI today, they've been pushed to the brink with limited allocation of the school's resources; they now share a small room that used to be the Red Crescent Society's sick bay once. It was certainly saddening to listen to the current students' accounts on the state of matters in VI today.

Regardless, I was there to witness the Campfire - a traditionally annual event that has thankfully survived all this madness. It began with the usual lighting of the campfire by the Guest of Honour, and interestingly enough it was a familiar old face who did the honours - Mr. Othman a.k.a Semang.

The performances were very typical (frankly, hasn't changed since my days.. haha) - the sketch was cheesy, the dances were cool and the Rescue Act was as thrilling as ever. What was disappointing though was the turnout, which was poor to say the least. Perhaps part of the reason was Malaysia's football match against Liverpool going on at the same time in Bukit Jalil. Despite the poor crowd, I still managed to bump into some old faces like Miss Shanti, Miss Nirmal and surprisingly two of my APD seniors - Darren Lo and Low Jun Fay. We spent the night catching up on old times, and it was nice to learn that the two of them are doing well, yet they've managed to keep their characters pure and unchanged. Staying true to the old times, we headed for supper after the campfire before calling it a night.

If all that wasn't enough, I bumped into Sui-Jon on my way to lunch on Monday. The best part.. he tells me he's just started working in the SAME building as me. Now what were the odds? Anyway.. as one would easily predict, it was a few more trips down memory lane over a couple of lunch sessions that followed over the week. Frankly it seems we could organize a pretty big Victorian meetup sometime soon, with Naqiuddin working in the same department as me and a few others from our batch working around the area. We are after all in the middle of KL, aren't we?