The JAGA

I just got back from a hectic schedule of Road Shows, Meetings and a Secondary School Leadership Camp.

Phew, and to think that right after my camp, I actually rushed down to the Victoria Theatre for my second viewing of BOEING BOEING!! It is HILARIOUS! That's why I caught it twice!

I am really surprised at myself, given the fact that for the last 2 nights I only had the equivalent of about 6 hours of sleep! Amazing... no wonder, I'm finding it hard to understand my Gundam Seed Destiny as it played
across my monitor... I'm already beginning to see my red warning lights flashing on my eyes, indicating low sleep level...

If this entry gets published halfway through, you'd know I have gone into screen saver mode...

Well, the funny thing was I had the privilege of not being assigned any roles for the camp. Now, in any instance this could be a good thing, like you get to sit around with any groups of students you want and have fun with them.

But in this instance, I became the Ad-Hoc personnel... in short Bao Ka Liao! I'd help out in videoing, taking shots with camera, helping out in packing and unpacking of logistics and finally, I got the honorable job of...

the JAGA...

in case you're wondering what this new English word means, you won't find it in the dictionary. And No... it is not a new order of the Knights of the Force invented by Mr George Lucas in the newest Star Wars Prequel.

It is actually a romanised translation of a Malay word that means 'to look after or guard'

Yup, there you have it, when the trainers, which means the rest of the TYS team excluding mua had to go for debrief and they need someone to look after the sec school kids, they'd call upon...


the JAGA...

that is yours truly, Mr Aaron Chow Jia Jun. (and thanks Joyce for propagating my name in full, complete with surname for the rest of the TCS HQ, so that many of the Comms Re ppl now call me by this very title)

While the trainers are having their debrief, I'd be tasked with noble job of...

making sure the kids have their supper, showered, washed up and go to sleep... on time.

I'm like a nanny for the camp.

The kids get really restless at night, so like what every teenager in their puberscent, under developed minds would do, they'd like to gather together, stay up late at night and tell each other ghost stories. Much like what adults like to do too, except we do it at more expensive places like KTV lounge, Starbucks, pool parlours... :P and we talk about more mature stuff like... , cars, horror stories of flat resales and renovation contrator woes,
shole sales, and not being able to catch up or download the latest episodes of gundam seed destiny or worse still, have your friends give you the spoiler for the next episode of gundam seed destiny... "BEN!!! I'll never forgive you for this!!" ... yeah, pretty scary stuff...

The first night was pretty tough cos I have these 2 perverted boys who each time they walk past the girls' dorm, start making panting and mourning noises. Images of change parade and making them do pumping came to mind immediately... thank the Lord for witholding my wrath upon them...

Anyway, it took me a long time to get them to settle into their sleeping bags. They tried all kinds of tactics, like begging, threatening, twisting my words to get away with sleeping on time. But I put on a brave front, and spoke to them in my deep baritone voice... to EX-ert my authority.

Finally when I got them to switch off their lights, they were still whispering to one another and flashing their lights around the room like a discotheque... yup, a preview of what is to come for these young lives...

Well, so to make sure their lights and whispering stopped, I leaned against the window and stared at them through the darkness. Some of the boys were quite freaked out and kept saying, "Cher, you stare at us like that, how to sleep?"

I maintained my silence.

The boys quickly hid in their sleeping bags.

I gotta admit, I was playing with them as I get a kick out of making them freaked out. Hahaha...

Anyway, seeing that they were all quiet, and knowing that they were actually bidding their time with me, I took a little walk away from their corridor.

Goodness, when I came back, after having only left for a mere 3 minutes, they were already holding a conference in the dark with their torchlights on and huddled with one another!

I walked into the room and ordered them to go to their sleeping bags. They begged to tell just one ghost story, but I refused, and finally they went back reluctantly to their sleeping bags... to bide for their time...

But this time, I merely stood there and didn't leave the room. Now, they got it and kept quiet as mice. Then one boy asked, "Cher, you keep standing there, how we going to sleep?"

I said, "I'll leave once you're asleep."

"Cher, you no need to sleep ah? Very late already le."

"I'll sleep when you guys sleep."

After which there were a bit of hugging and tangling of bodies, as the boys tried to play funny, and I shall not elaborate the details...

But I just stared... and I stood there, and I stared... till they went to sleep...

The next morning one boy actually said he saw me still standing there when he woke up at 2am in the morning. By that time, I was already tossing and turning in my bed, and I really wonder who he saw... Hahahaha... the power of suggestion, leave an image long enough in their minds and they start hallucinating. Parents, you can try that on your kids next time.

Well, there you have it, the Jaga strikes...

I had an easier time with the kids the next night as they already knew I meant business and that I won't relent easily to their requests. So, after a bit of tussle, they reluctantly went to bed.

The cool thing is, I got positive feedback later from my camp commandant that they were actually quite thankful that I was hard on them to keep to the lights out time despite the hell they gave me. I guess they appreciated their time of rest and were able to enjoy the next day's program better.

Yup, cool... makes me wish I got a Jaga to keep my bed time hours too... hahaha... oops...

The power of discipline. :)