The endless hours...

I was promising myself I would do this post sometime. Finally here it is, and couldn't have come at a more suitable time too. Well, this post is strongly dedicated to the members of DHSAWC (or as some of you prefer, AWCRAP. heh heh.). Non-members can stop reading here. Joking lah.

Alright, now that I've started, where do I go on next? There's so much to say, so little time before I really want to go to sleep...

First thing that comes to my mind the moment someone mentions air rifle would be training. Training in the morning, training in the afternoon, and, most fun of all (some of you know) training at night. All crammed into the holidays. The time we spent was probably much more than most other CCAs in our school, since our competition, for some reason, comes much later than others. I know the time we have spent on this training was very long, and got frustrating when we don't have time for work or play. Mostly play right? Still, we persevered. Hard.

Let's go back a little further. Say, Term two and three. Training was not as bad then. Two, or for some three times a week. The problem then didn't lie in frequency, but really the time that ended. All of us always reached home after the sunset. Even I, one of the people living closest to CDANS (though not very close) never dreamed of reaching home before it turned pitch dark. But we seldom complained, we seldom grumbled. Even when training would stretch till unearthly hours, we didn't leave irresponsibly.

Further back again. 2006. That's a long time ago for me. I remember during the first training. Woah cool. I'm one of the only people who are soloing this CCA, and I was starting to feel really alone. Plop my bag down on the dusty chair and sat down beside it. Mdm Noora then asked me to take attendance. Good thing I started early, so I could get used to it faster. Before we shot, she picked up the gun and showed us how to hold it properly. Well, it wasn't really perfect, but it was kinda amazing. She put the butt of the gun to her right shoulder, held the grip and threw the gun up. It landed perfectly on her fist. All while pregnant. Woah cool.

That day was the first time when I saw people who were in the same CCA as me. It really was a long time ago, and think about it. Even seniors who, for some unfathomable reason, are reading this. Can you remember the first time that we actually met people from our CCA? What did it feel like holding the gun awkwardly? What were your first impressions of your team members?



Most of all, how much different does it feel now?



I've thought and reflected over these many times, and was really surprised at how much we've changed, both towards others and in ourselves. Before this year - actually, before I started taking attendance, I couldn't name a person in this CCA to save my life and and half of Singapore along with it. I simply had no idea who's name was which, and it took me a few weeks to be able to remember everyone's names. I still feel kinda guilty about it everytime I thought about that fact.

Also, shooting, I believe this is a sport that trains your discipline well. Most of us are very crazy in some way, be it in school, at home, or stuff like orientation or something. But the moment we start our shooting, everyone adopts a different attitude. I'm sure that this sport really has changed our attitudes and personality just the slightest bit, even though many of us probably don't recognise it. I do. If I wasn't in this, I'll be in trouble for skipping 32 out of 33 sessions of some UG for 2006. The 33rd being the first day.

I hope that everyone who is shooting nationals would read this before they do, but I highly doubt it, this being a highly obscure and deserted blog. But still, remember that at the very least, we still have each other's shoulders, we have each other's support, and we have each other's arms. Always wide open.