Saturday, August 20, 2005

Masitna Showdown

Well, pretty dramatic episode in camp this week. The subject of Masitna, which is none other den Mas himself, finally realises that more and more people seems to be pretty intolerant of his actions. And so, he confides in Ryan, who out of kindness, assumed the role of a mediator and tried to reconcile things between Mas and the ever-growing Masitna Society. And dat took place in the form of, the 'Masitna Showdown'.

Just in case you are aware of the existence of the online sanctuary of Masitna, and begin to think that the revelation of its existence to the subject itself has taken place, fear not. Negoki wun allow his fun to stop. The holy grail of Masitna remains hidden from 'the one'... and what happened was merely a talk between 5 Masitna warriors, the mediator (Ryan) and the subject, Mas himself.

If you think I am going to delve deeper into what happened during the talk, you are to be disappointed. I will not. Reason being the talk was solely meant to give 'the subject' a chance to know what majority really feels about him (though I know many will be more interested in all the itsy bitsy juicy content of the talk,) and thus giving him a chance to change. Hopefully, this will bring about a change in him, and we all know changes take time. Therefore, time is what we're giving him, and we'll not discuss the details of the talk, at least not until the time is appropriate, that is after an agreed 2 weeks grace period...

Putting the subject itself aside, this 'Showdown' which was originally intended for the good of the subject itself, turns out to bring much more good then originally intended, or expected. It gave a rare chance for me to see a different side to the people that I see everyday, and thought I knew well enough of. The truth is, even if 'the subject' does not change or check his behavior thereafter, I believe some good has already come out of this 'Showdown'.

For the first time, I see how the people of my band actually come together as one, discuss, and attempt to resolve conflicts and differences in an extremely civil and cohesive manner. And how when faced with such a tricky situation, everyone handled it with such grace and effectively and objectively conveyed their message across. How well 'the subject' receives what was given to him, that really solely depends on him.

Having so many people come together, and for the first time, put down in words how they felt about each another really warmed my heart. It gave us a rare chance to say things we feel about one another, which otherwise will seem awkward to be openly discussed. Our initial 'impressions' of one another... the respect for one another.. the concern of how each other felt etc. And it suddenly dwelled on me how much this means to me.. and that how much we have bonded with each other as fellow bandsmen. And it made me realise too how fast all these might come to an end.

For instance, Ryan, whom I only barely started to know better, is going to ORD soon.. in 2 weeks time to be exact. What he did to try help 'the subject' seek reconcilation with the rest in our band is truly admirable in every sense. His genuine kindness and goodwill really touched me.. although it's more to help the subject den anything, yet I feel that what he has taken the time and effort to do is what many others will not have the capacity or capability or compassion to achieve. And this speaks volumes of his character which definitely left a deep impression in me.

I hope that after this incident, all of us can realise how much it takes for us, us fellow bandsmen, to come so far.. and not to take things for granted, and that our friendship will continue to flourish for whatever time we have left with one another.

As for now, I've got to get my bags packed. Will have to go meet my fellow bunkmates soon, to top up groceries that'll last the week (IPPT, GOHs, CODs... have to stay-in everyday) Right now, my bunk's cupboard is pretty devoid of comestibles.. after being savagely attacked by scavenging friends from other bunks. No thanks to Jansen and Thomas.. (Haha.. joking lar~)

Will end for now.

Cre8tivesparks at 8/20/2005 03:27:00 PM

0 gave a piece of their mind