Timed post
Having been the telephone operator for Raleigh over the past two Introweekends, one of the most common questions I've always come across is,
"What do you guys do?"
And I'll launch into a full-frontal assault/tirade of a 'pre-recorded' message that goes,
"..... most of our IW participants choose to go on an expedition... we run expeditions in Namibia, Chile, Costa Rica & Nicaragua, as well as Sabah..."
Honestly speaking, we're not that well-established in Malaysia i.e. in the sense that people have ever heard of us and what we do. Most individuals have a general idea of a "camp" thingy, and nothing more about the other community projects the KL support group does.
And explaining it, even to my friends is a chore I would say. Or probably, I'm just doing a bad job at it.
But one thing that surprised me most was a friend's remark one day, in that he used to think that Raleigh is only confined to a group of 'exclusively posh people with loads of money to spare'. Or probably spoilt rich brats whose parents could afford to pay for posh summer camps in different corners of the globe.
Boy, I was flabbergasted! Not by the remark, but by the conclusions that one could possibly draw. Hmmm.... we might have the odd Datuks and Tan Sri's here and there. But, to categorise us as rich kids? *lols* Now, that's something new...
That got me to ponder a bit. On why I set my heart upon an Expedition 8 years ago. I did not take up the challenge earlier as I wasn't too sure of my abilities to raise RM1500 (and another RM1500 more for equipment) for the 10 week Sabah Expedition. Anyway, Veni, Vidi, Vici!
Which brings me to a particular question. Why did I choose to do this? I honestly have no idea. It's just a desire I have in me, and unfulfilled childhood dream so to speak.
I won't be surprised that there are some quarters who would think that I'm crazy for putting in so much effort in being a 'professional beggar' aka fundraising just to go for a 5 week (yup, I'm on the 5 weeker now as they don't have the 10 weeker n July *dang!*) 'free labour spree'.
I'm not interested in the 'rich man goes to a war-torn zone to help the poor man' kinda idea. So helping eradicate poverty by building better facilities is certainly out of my 'mission statement'. I guess my desire for environmental conservation projects sparked my interest. But having said that, I hate to admit that I'm far from being the most environmentally friendly person. I still drive a lot, use plastic bags (though I tend to cut down) and well... you add to the list.
Whatever the reason I have for doing this, I'm sure the experience is worthwhile. No doubts.
___
Anyway,
It's barely T-minus 2 weeks to Expedition, and I'm sitting here in the room at 1.50am on a Saturday morning; 12th July 2008 typing this out. Well, if you'd noticed, this is a timed post (note top of this post). I'm unwinding after a whole day's worth of reading. Exams are round the corner and I've been sleeping for approximately 3 hours per day for the past 5 days. Despite that, I feel energetic and raring to go. I think the adrenaline's keeping me going.
And when I wanna relax, I write. Hence, this post (and a lot more).
I'm just too pre-occupied with the exams to sort out my expedition stuff properly. Have gotten most of the basic stuff required. Just some tiny knick knacks.
Oh well, we shall see come July 28th.
I endeavour not to go online during expedition. But I will keep you guys posted on my updates on this blog. I'll be mobile blogging whenever possible.
-LV-
And explaining it, even to my friends is a chore I would say. Or probably, I'm just doing a bad job at it.
But one thing that surprised me most was a friend's remark one day, in that he used to think that Raleigh is only confined to a group of 'exclusively posh people with loads of money to spare'. Or probably spoilt rich brats whose parents could afford to pay for posh summer camps in different corners of the globe.
Boy, I was flabbergasted! Not by the remark, but by the conclusions that one could possibly draw. Hmmm.... we might have the odd Datuks and Tan Sri's here and there. But, to categorise us as rich kids? *lols* Now, that's something new...
That got me to ponder a bit. On why I set my heart upon an Expedition 8 years ago. I did not take up the challenge earlier as I wasn't too sure of my abilities to raise RM1500 (and another RM1500 more for equipment) for the 10 week Sabah Expedition. Anyway, Veni, Vidi, Vici!
Which brings me to a particular question. Why did I choose to do this? I honestly have no idea. It's just a desire I have in me, and unfulfilled childhood dream so to speak.
I won't be surprised that there are some quarters who would think that I'm crazy for putting in so much effort in being a 'professional beggar' aka fundraising just to go for a 5 week (yup, I'm on the 5 weeker now as they don't have the 10 weeker n July *dang!*) 'free labour spree'.
I'm not interested in the 'rich man goes to a war-torn zone to help the poor man' kinda idea. So helping eradicate poverty by building better facilities is certainly out of my 'mission statement'. I guess my desire for environmental conservation projects sparked my interest. But having said that, I hate to admit that I'm far from being the most environmentally friendly person. I still drive a lot, use plastic bags (though I tend to cut down) and well... you add to the list.
Whatever the reason I have for doing this, I'm sure the experience is worthwhile. No doubts.
___
Anyway,
It's barely T-minus 2 weeks to Expedition, and I'm sitting here in the room at 1.50am on a Saturday morning; 12th July 2008 typing this out. Well, if you'd noticed, this is a timed post (note top of this post). I'm unwinding after a whole day's worth of reading. Exams are round the corner and I've been sleeping for approximately 3 hours per day for the past 5 days. Despite that, I feel energetic and raring to go. I think the adrenaline's keeping me going.
And when I wanna relax, I write. Hence, this post (and a lot more).
I'm just too pre-occupied with the exams to sort out my expedition stuff properly. Have gotten most of the basic stuff required. Just some tiny knick knacks.
Oh well, we shall see come July 28th.
I endeavour not to go online during expedition. But I will keep you guys posted on my updates on this blog. I'll be mobile blogging whenever possible.
-LV-
1 comment:
interesting, almost like how when i first went on expedition. i wasnt so much into the charity, community or environmental projects. i think it was the whole adventure of going off to some remote place for a long time that attracted me, and of course having a purpose and doing something meaningful in the meantime was the plus factor that made it whole.
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