Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play

I am smiling.

My head is throbbing from sleep deprivation and exhaustion; my ears still ringing with the intensity of the deafening music; my voice cracking from my futile attempts to interview over the booming of the gargantuan speakers; my legs wobbly from holding my slumped figure up the entire day while doing marathons between backstage and workstation; and my mind is having an assignment-overload-breakdown.

But I am smiling.

Not just because I took a photo with Jeremy the cute Red.fm host, though it did make me giggly and tipsy all the way home.

It was because:

1. The event was BRATs infested.

Which meant…reunion with ma’ fellow camp mates, albeit a thin slice of the whole BRATs Cats cake! And meeting new annoying teenagers awesome people from previous groups. Hello, Alex, Adrian, Andrian, Aza and Christine!

But you know what the best part was? William being there (: The William who is perplexingly random and whose remarks are at times mind-bogglingly confounding and incomprehensible. The William, who loves blood and gore and practices sadomasochism in a cult-like manner, or so he claims. The William, who travelled more than 4 hours down from Penang to volunteer at Cheer 2010.

And thanks to him, I got the chance to cover the story of the Vuvuzelas.

Of course, every single article would not have been possible if it weren't for everyone's involvement. So thank you, guys!

Like Tristan said, it was our first field assignment outside camp. We need improvement but it was still a job well done (:

2. I got a bite of the behind-the-scenes cookie as a mini journalist.

The experience tasted like syrup on a plain pancake of expected reports on the teams. I dashed between the sidelines and the backstage, I interviewed the cheerleaders while trying to make my scribbling legible, I relaxed by watching the performances when it wasn’t my turn to squeeze information out of them, I savored the feeling of crossing the exclusive section of media and invited guests and I got to sit at the judges’ area, on the floor, provided I wasn’t busy slaving.

3. I saw past the pom-poms, glittery costumes, glossy lips and painted faces.

Before today, I was anti-cheerleading, or more specifically, cheerleaders. Probably because SOME of those from my high school that I knew were airheads, drama queens and attention seekers. But given the opportunity to interview them and watch the performances from a different point of view, I saw a side of them that I used to refuse to acknowledge.

They were performers, for one. They stumbled, they slipped, they fell on stage, but they never faltered in their routine, never shed the smiling mask, never displayed their disappointment. This is what I called showmanship. You know, MBE performers could really do with learning from them. Everyone ALWAYS looked like someone just died or they had eaten rotten food.

Two, they were pretty friendly and open. They were willing to be interviewed even when they had just executed a ‘less than perfect’ performance, even when one or more of their squad members were injured and recuperating on the stretcher. Funny thing was, some of them were actually…shy. I mean, judging on what they did in front of a stadium full of supporters, it was absurd to think they found the mike even intimidating. Of course, there were those who clamored around me when they heard the word ‘interview’, but it was just a handful.

4. William’s camera was a survivor!

All the other cameras, including DSLRs, died. No kidding. William’s was also on the brink of battery exhaustion but not before we took photos with Jeremy. Yes, it was crucial and with utmost importance we did so. At first, we were just aiming for a group shot, what with the depleting battery power and all. Till someone went, “Jeremy, can I please have another photo with you?”

“Yes, of course you can!”

SQUEALS.

Jeremy Teo of Red.fm, you made my day (:

We took a group shot with 2 of the judges and Terry Ong, the other Red.fm host as well. Wheeee. The celebrity-ness of it all made me all frizzy and fuzzy.

Much love

Terry, you were awesome too!

William was starstruck 'coz he got to take a photo with the oh-so-hot Ying Hui. HAHA XD

So, yeah. Cheer 2010 was nothing like I had thought it would be. It gave my prejudice and stereotype impression of it a big slap. I loved every moment of it. Next year again, perhaps? Provided I go there as a BRAT.