Tuesday, April 04, 2006

MIT FOC: The Miscellaneous Items List

The Singapore Polytechnic School of Media and Info-communications Technology Freshman Orientation Camp is coming. MIT FOC, in short.

I have created a list of items to bring, which are actually mostly redundant. The criterion for the list: if something that we need isn't there, it goes into the list.

Thus the list has things like scissors, assorted stationery, can openers, fans (satay or battery-powered), tiny foldable chair, whistle, and the like. Things that you don't bring because you think it would be provided.

But no, the MIT seemed to only have three pairs of scissors (officially). We had to use a can opener from a penknife, which was lousy of course. Goodness knows how we would have eaten the nyonya kaya if there wasn't such a thing. Stationery; because it is the sort of thing that gets lost easily, and who brings these things anyway? It is assumed that they are in abundance somewhere.

It seems to me that such small things are held in low regard, simply because they are easily replaced. I am not one to waste, or throw away something without thinking of how it may be reused.

A foldable chair earns a place in the list because I have been suffering from a sore bum and back pains. It feels as if someone has done a karate chop to my back. My right hip joint is sore everytime I rise up from a cross-legged position. Strangely enough, I don't get pins and needeles, just pains here and there. Moreover, a foldable chair can provide you with a seat anywhere you want, and it is cleaner, too.

A whistle is needed, because we AgressAs are in charge of games. It's hard to keep shouting for people to stop when the time limit's finished, so a short blast from a whistle would do.

As for fans, it goes without saying. A battery operated one would be more silent, but a big satay-man-type fan would also do. Of course, if I want a manual fan, I would be better off using a more compact foldable Chinese fan, but it doesn't seem singular enough, compared to a satay-man fan.

I'll see what I can do. More on the other things in the list, if possible.