I had to stay over in school last night for the Choir Camp. The school was really quite different at night. The staffroom became unusually quiet. Cockroaches became my companions in the stillness of the night. They sounded as if they were starving and were calling out to me desperately.

At a quarter to 12 midnight, the Choir was still bursting with energy. I couldn't help but respond in wonderment and awe at their inexhaustible energy. By 2a.m, there was a throbbing pain in my head, nudging me to enter snooze land quickly.

It was a somewhat daunting experience, especially when I had to sleep alone in the staff room, with silly thoughts of Mas Selamat joining us for the camp in the wee hours of the night at the slightest sound I heard. Well, there was an old security guard on duty overnight. However, it didn't help very much to see him fast asleep at the guard post, oblivious to my presence when I did my patrolling at night.

Nonetheless, apart from all the discomforts of camp, I think it's all worth it to see the students enjoying themselves and forging a stronger bond with one another.