Fire @ Outward Bound School (OBS) in Lumut, Malaysia

There is something about light that draws people to it. Perhaps there's a tiny little pyromaniac in everyone waiting to get out at the opportune moment blazing with fiery gusto. This brings me back to events that happened not too long ago, weeks in fact where a hundred odd teenagers were left to die in the place people call nature.

I recall the day we set out on our expedition (Outward Bound School-OBS) which required us to kayak all the way to the campsite. Six hours later we were stranded on a beach halfway day due to bad weather which was a pity because everyone was pumped to finish the remaining journey. But what to do? The waves were getting to big for kayaking so we had to be transported by boat instead.

Reaching the campsite we were greeted by rain. Not the pouring-down-in-torrents-rain but rather the not-so-much-but-enough-to-annoy-you-rain. We set camp and went looking for firewood. Firewood=food so firewood=important. Somehow there was this other canopy covering this huge pile of dried wood. Well, rain makes it hard to find dry firewood.

I was miserable at that point. Wet and tired- those two don't make very good combinations. Throw in the fact that we're all stuck on an island its only a matter of time someone gets an emotional breakdown. Still it was nice seeing everyone pitch in and set up camp. It didn't take long and thank God the rain stopped after that. Some dry clothes helped cheer up my mood.

That pile of firewood went to our amazing campfire. A camping trip is not complete without a proper campfire! Right in the center of our camp we dug a small hole which would later serve as a spot where we congregate for the night listening to the horror hiking stories from the other group (We had two groups, one starts with kayaking the other with hiking) and drying laundry.

That is one BEAUTIFUL campfire.

The group soon realised that it takes loads of wood to maintain a fire. Next day we were smarter. We basically gathered firewood the whole day. Nothing much to do anyway on an empty beach plus considering the fact that we will only begin hiking the next day. In the end we got a nice pile of firewood which I insisted were grouped in the four piles- tinder, twigs, medium sized wood and big ass wood.

While we're on the topic on fire, here's a small tutorial on how to start a fire compiled from the vast experience all of us had in honing our fire making skills during camp.

The Pyramid Campfire Technique
1. Dig a hole. I don't know what purpose it serves but as you can see in the pictures, it looks nice.

2. Get your four groups of burning material (*Tip: Do it before dark. Its hard to find firewood in the dark)

a)Tinder (Ape ni?!: Dry leaves, grass, toilet paper, etc)
this helps you start the fire and gets it going. this goes right in the middle.

b)Twigs
use the twigs to build a tepee or pyramid shaped dome around the tinder. this method makes sure that the fire gets enough oxygen. and as you might know......oxygen is essential for combustion.

c)Medium wood
do the same thing as you did to the twigs. build a tepee around the twigs.

d)Big Ass wood
repeat previous procedure. normally once you get the fire going the rest is a no-brainer. you just keep adding wood.

3. Marshmallow. Optional but recommended.

Many good memories were formed around this circle of fire. A place where warmth is shared among friends. Look up and the stars fill the sky with little dots of light. I am reminded to look up in the sky at night more often. To think how we miss amazing things like this which happens every night.

I miss those little moments we had during OBS. That's me, remembering the little details of events that transpire. Good thing I had my camera with me. Oh, and those who are wondering. No, I DID NOT kayak with my camera. Crazy! We had boats that transport our camping bags and miscellaneous stuff considering that the kayak does not leave much room for luggage. My camera was lyring snugly in the bag in three layers of plastic cushioned by two layers of clothing. All is well.

School starts in a little more than a week. I'm trying to gain momentum towards that day, staring work and building it up towards that day. I finished reading a book- The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown so its a good sign that I'm getting more productive. There's so much to do! And I've barely scratched the surface of it. I just hope that I got enough done by the end of next week and be all prepared to rock the start of a new term as Head Boy. Expectations will be flying high but I intend to have a blasting good year no matter what. And I can't wait to see what interesting people the new intakes will bring.

The past year in KTJ has been nothing short of amazing. Its always funny to think how random it was that I plopped up in this school but somehow I did. God works in mysterious ways. I'm gonna need Him more than ever in the final leg of this race.