Saturday, November 25, 2006
{flew in at
5:12 AM
i am doomed! i have not packed my luggage for the trip on monday to HK and i have not even considered what i am going to bring. maybe cuz i have no time to really think about it! but will do something later on to change this fact haha.
imagine this senario --- its quite true actually and might be happening to you sometimes!
' you have a vry close fren whom you talk to abt some stuff. you have another very close fren whom you talk to with some other stuff (assuming band and life are two the different 'stuff'(s)) You are able to talk alot when ur 1-on-1 with the person. but when this two good frens of yours some together and the three of u go out, u might feel like you have nothing to talk abt at all while the two of them has alot to tok abt. you will feel kinda left out. or maybe it happens when you go out in a big group.. you don fell like toking as when ur with them 1-on-1. ' its kinda funny la. some of you might not understand what i just typed. haha. its kinda confusing. but... ya, it juz struck me how true it is to many people!
hongkong trip is on monday. excited about it but i have to give a speech infront of the hongkong students at the schools we are going to exchange with! and the subject of the speech has nothing to do with band at all. its gonna be something i will definitely dread alot.
today i stood infront of the band at one point in time at the hall. the sound was great. i thought that the band really sounded good and it looked big to me.( okay.. its considered average for a concert band la... haha.) good job!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
{flew in at
8:46 AM
a post for the perth-ians! especiall elizabeth and gino. my bestest friends! haha (eli im posting this cuz i was gonna post le.. but u tagged too early :P) haha
ok.. firstly... hope all of you had a great time there. could see all of u DID have a good time at perth. although i have never been to perth, i would definitely like to go there. Although is all sight seeing and very little of shopping and chilling out, it still beats to the many other Australia countries like GoldCoast, Melbourne and Sydney which i have been to that is the opposite of Perth i guess. once in a while, getting back into the breezy air and hearing the waves crash along the shore.. its so peaceful and nice. really allows one to think deeply about things . rather than being stuck in Singapore where everyday i have a list of things to do and being one the move everyday. I cant wait to just have the money, buy a big bungalow by the sea at another country and just stay at the balcony relaxing and playing with all the dogs that i would buy. Life might not be as hectic and time might not past as fast but i yearn fot that time to come. haha. okay.. back to the perth-ians. i admire all of u la. and thanks elizabeth and gino for getting me presents! i like it alot and dont think it does not look nice k eliz. anything that is a present is nice! haha
so......... a big
THANK YOU ELIZABETH and GINO!!!but its great having you all back too la. kinda wierd without u guys around. so WELCOME BACK and YAY to me. (",)
ok... band today.. i think the band will be alright going to hongkong in this arrangement and in this numbers. the sound is there and there does not really seem to have much of a difference. im excited to head to HongKong definitely and i noe we have done sufficient preperations so that nothing will go wrong during the trip. the members have also done their part by practicing their scores and doing the bookmarks by the time given which i am glad of! I think the band is definitely heading in the right direction and band camp is coming up soon! snother bonding session for the band members but i think going to HongKong together will really let and allow the band members to understand each other more and have a greater understanding of another country's culture etc. also, understanding their fellow band member's habitS! i learnt all these when we went to Genting last year and i hope the sec1s and 2s will learn the same too!
band tutorship tomoro! finally im going for 1!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
{flew in at
8:04 AM
whoO! band was good today- to me. thats because huijia wa back and beside me again! my best horn senior is back and I can finally talk to her again in band! We always talk alot during band last time and now... its back to talking. but just for these short period of time. but i also like sitting with nicholas huang la! haha. but it was cool to see all the seniors back to prepare with us for the hongkong trip. 'once a band member, always a band member'! Hence, to all the seniors who are back for this short while, your still a bedok iew concert band member and always will be so do not feel wierd or out of place ya!
to all Sec4s and 5ns congrats on ur completion of your 'o' levels! sit back and relax while u await the resultS!
hongkong trip is 5 days away! its gonna be fun i know but the preperation for the trip is killing me. with the preperation of band camp too... arrgh. so many things happening at one time and everything has to be done like so soon.this saturday got some kind of CCA open house and have to get a booth ready. Ms Ong is back which is 'phew' and Gino, and eliz, some starrs and some moons are back which is great! they must have had a fun time at perth while im stuck in singapore! But in the end, i hope that everything will turn out just fine after all the busying these few weeks and we will get to have a memorable yet enriching experience in HongKong! SO band members... look out for a great time in HongKong! (",)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
{flew in at
9:58 PM
just finished reading Animal Farm. okay i think its gonna be my book review's chosen book.
yesterday some dm/bm had an outing! too bad i could not make it! would be looking forward to the next one which is SOON!
i'm reading so many story books now. suddenly its like im trying to convert on into a bookworm. in the day, i read my literature book "Thr Joy Luck Club" and at night i read "Animal Farm" and from tonight onwards, im gonna read "War of the Worlds" and after finishing this book, im gonna read "To kill a Mocking Bird". I ask myelf... am i mad?! i think not. thats the only way i can head to just to improve my stupid english and raise the grades up!
Band... there is so much things to do. i think i had a nightmare last night of my conductor scolding me for some stupid reasons. hmmm.. i think im thinking too much about band nowadays that i fear it even in my sleeps. haha. but i guess it will be ok. whats more, band is in my interest and its what i like to do and a place i would look forward to go to! It is 'band' that made me noe many many other people from other schools that i have never oven heard of or schools that i never thought i would be conversing with. everything good had to be earned i guess and there WILL be bad times in life too!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
{flew in at
5:34 AM
holiday homework and band is taking up my entire holiday. when im in school, i have to concentrate and spend my time on band. when im back, its time to mull over my homework. what kind of holiday is this? and i am actually complaining about it when its actuall time to get used to this life! actually, i would not mind having NCO all year round. okay maybe all month! it was fun and the frenz made were great! i am talking so much bout NCO still cuz nobody really can get their mind out of it i believe and no time soon, can i also not be bothered over the thoughts of NCO camp.homework --- i do not have the same attitude i have towards homework now anymore as compared to last time. maybe last time cuz it was close to the eams and i loved homework for some stupid reason and hence, always love doing homework. but now, its the holidaY! and the mentality is juz not right la. students see holidays as a time to relax and go out while teachers see holidays as the time for the students to catch up on their syllabus and to be moulded into a better learner once they are back to school throgh all these giving of holiday homework. the word 'holiday' and 'homework' out together totally contradicts each other.... ... ... but i guess i still have to do it.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
{flew in at
6:51 AM
I just watched an advertisement.. it shows the mickey family with goofey all those characters setting up a christmas place in preperation for Christmas having so much fun playing with snow. that brings me back to my childhood... i wanna play with snow like i did in the past at winter countries. i wanna revisit these countries. i wanna revisit the underwater world and movie world in australia looking at all these characters again. but like always said, life can't be reversed and neither can ur childhood be happening again right. being in the age of a teen is stressful but fun. it might get worst next time so i think i better treasure my life noW! (",) its fun
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
{flew in at
5:00 AM
Sec 3 preperatory workshop is over!I can't wait for the end of Sec4s. which basically means too that i can't wait for my 'O' levels. haha. not saying that i am prepared for it now but its just that i can't wait to cross this hurdle and continue the race to my future. all these seems so slow now as life is. band today was okay. we had to play all our HK trip pieces and do some timing. some unhappy thigns happened but it can be forgotten. as one says to always forget the unhappiness! haha.i have piles of holiday homework and its really PILES! seriously, this is not a holiday. the only thing i would probably like or miss after this EOY holiday end will probably be my NCO band camp and the trip to HK with my band! thats is all! the rest are like chores that i have to do everyday. tiresome and boring. also, not gonna forget all the concerts i will be going to.today is Xiangyi and Samantha's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!and to my DM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY XIANGYI! YOUR A YEAR OLDER! MATURE NOW! haha.thats all. tomoro is a free day for me :D
Sunday, November 12, 2006
{flew in at
8:23 AM
NCO! A once in a life time course!
Day 1
NCO. I have always awaited for the time to come to attend this spectacular course ever since i stepped up. Perhaps a course that every single band member would want to attend. However, it was only for the Band Majors and Drum Majors to attend. To my surprise, some of those who attend were not the majors but were either Sectional Leaders or just normal band members.
Me and Xiangyi arrived without knowing what to expect. I was so excited and can’t wait for the camp to start but however, also feeling dreadful to come as I do not knoe whether or not I was able to fit in fast and well despite the pre-camp for band majors and the briefing session which got me and XY all wet.
Upon arriving, I met Belinda, a girl whom I never really talktd to at pre-camp at the entrance. Then, me and Xy went to sit down and just wait for the music studio door to open. After it opened, all the majors from all schools rushed in and took a sit. I sat near Belinda and Lydia. Then, I saw QianYing. Mr Ng told us to squeeze as all the majors/representatives were going to squeeze inside there. Then, we were told to split ourselves up into groups of 15 to play this “power station” game. We splited ourselves up and proceeded to the MPH to play the game. Then 2 groups combined. I remembered a few people distinctively in the 2 groups… Sijia, HwaChong guy who laughed at Sijia “Eh, aren’t u the actress? I still watch your show lei… the zhen zhen one.. hahaha.” And sijia giving the ‘yaya’ look. Haha. Somemore was Alexa, Nicholas, jolin and er…. Others. Then we played the game and found it quite lame so we change it.. to introducing ourselves. Then played games, games and more games. Then when everything ended, alexa so happened to be beside me. So, we started talking about our bands etc and how I wanted to play flute/oboe. Haha. Then went into music studio and start playing our pieces….
Fanfare, Fanfare and Salute, Anchors Aweigh, Abba Gold, Lao Duang duan, For the people for the nation, Semper Fidelis, grand march, The Merry Widow, Jericho. All the pieces were nice and some were very hard with notes reaching up to high A for 2 pieces. Practiced real hard. Then I made my click of friends which were…LYDIA, ROYSTON, QIANYING. The 4 of us kinda stick together and during lunch, ate together too at the corridor. Anyway, after lunch, we saw the history of Singapore band movement. The one Mr Fahmi show us on TK band one. And then, we headed to the field, needing to memorise Anchors Aweigh. We got into our formations and started doing the marching and playing with instrument for quite long until 5pm where the NCC instructors came to take us for basic footdrill. Our instructor for my squad is a very funny guy lo. He does not speak good English but is very nice. We learnt the BASICS on day1 of basic footdrills which was just ‘sadia, sanandiria and berhakan diri’. Learnt a lot of things lo. Then the day ended and went home with taxi to the Newton Mrt station. Oh ya, it drizzled on that day too. And I wore shorts… so wired cuz it was FREAKKING cold in the room but with the NCO band like a family, it was needless to say, cosy!
Day 2 NCO
The second day of NCO started with us having to be at the field already to march and knowing how to play Anchors Aweigh and The incredibles and some other pieces. We practiced and did our formations. Then, had the display band technique training where we looked like fools marching with the booklet. Then know this HaiSing guy. Haha. Then after which went to have the lecture on leadership. Just sat down there and slept cause it was really very tiring. After which, we had lunch and then, went into the room and was shown that we have to memorise quite a lot of pieces by the end of the day. Mostly is the march past pieces etc and The incredibles. Then we proceeded to the field where we started learning our ‘show’ and had the domino effect after the incredibles. It was so fun. Something my band would never get to do! Then we played all the fanfare etc. where I did not really play well cause I forgotten all that I had memorise. IT takes time and a lot of practice!. Then we did this till the end of the day. At 5, the NCC people took us again and we had to march. Then, it rained heavily and my instructor did the ‘squad satu, squad dua, squad dia’ thing. I think I should do that too! Marching-NCO style! Haha. After which, my father came and we went home.
Day 3 NCO
We wore our NCO tee today. It was nice and cool to see so many 32! Haha. As we were told to memorise well our pieces , I did some memorizing. And the day started off with playing some games. The teambuilding games. Was fun la… but boring. After the games, we had our conducting lecture. I could really see some good conductors up there and they were really professional even though its their first time conducting and infront of the majors! Also, everytime the lecturer called bedok, me and Joanne would look at each other and my legs would go numb. Haha. But I learnt a lot of skills at the end of the day. Then we had lunch and then again, went to the auditorium to look at overseas band performances etc. Also, had a talk on the history of SYF and while waiting to enter, I got teased of being very compatible with QianYing and I then realized that Royston has a girlfriend. So embarrassing. After which, we proceeded to the field there to continue our marching and show. Then I was in first squad for display formation. And had to do a lot of turning and my position was the obvious one. Then I met the dunman high girl and orchid park guy – emelyn and Shannon. I made friends with her and we kinda talked a lot after that! Haha. Then we did our marches and I seriously can’t get it. It is difficult to balance marching with playing with actions all at the same time. It was tough. Haha. Then did marching with the ‘kenan belok and kiri belok’. This was fun but my hand was aching a lot as we had to marching with the swinging of 2 hands – 90 degree, 45 degree. Then we did some thing that led us to tall to short etc. I am not that short afterall I realized and then had a talk cock session. Haha. About wanting to enter the pub etc. haha. Then, the day ended at 630pm which was super late and I took taxi home once again with Xiangyi.
Day 4 NCO
I started to think how much I would miss NCO already. Today, we started off at the field again where we were again told to memorise a lot of pieces. We went to the field very late… at about 850 where we were suppose to be there at 830. We juz loved playing Abba Gold! The building of the sound was so fabulous and cool. It was so united and I loved it man! Okay.. ya. So we went to the field and started playing and refining our performance. IT was seriously damn hot and I wore band tee that day. Was sweating and I think I stank. The oboes were so lucky as they need not play. Then the playing and marching was tough. Plus the kan kan movements… gosh! And I keep getting it wrong. Then up till lunch, we did the marching and then in the afternoon, we had our rehearsals for wet weather programme. We rehearsed and played and whoa… the sound in the mph was great and loud and fabulous. When the band played the resonance could be heard damn clearly! I had goosebumps man and even xiangyi said we were powerful. Did 3 such rehearsals in the mph then rested like 3 times.. cuz it was raining and we could not do any practice at all. Then we started playing the different instruments. I took the reedless oboe from dunman high first. Then the bassoon, then the flute form alexa where I faked vibrato :P and then the clarinet from the ACS(I) guy and then the trumpet from CHIJ. She damn cute lo. Everytime call her “CHIJ, CHIJ” then she will call “BV, BV” which sounded like “BB”. Haha. Then we practices again and then the rain started to clear and we went to the field but sadly, it started pouring again! Then we headed to the shelter. The DM was so good. They need not do anything but just rest whilst we had to play under the shelter and Mr Lawrence Siao got pissed sometimes… haha. And also we play wrong at times. Then we rested and listened to Mr Siao talk about the next day’s practice and the whole performance routine . As much as I tried to remember it, I could not. SO I just followed the crowd lo. So much things to remember! When to instrument down also must remember! Haha. Then we ran in the rain into the CCAB block and then start packing up and then we went home in the rain. Where we met this taxi driver who wanted the mase. Haha.
Day 5 NCO. POP
The last day. Gosh. I will miss all the NCO peeps and the playing and marching man! The Buddha joke told by the Hwa Chong DM and Nicholas saying that he can’t understand Chinese. They were all so funny. And the eating lunch where I always never eat finish. The laughing with QianYing and the irritation with Royston. The jokes we always make when Royton’s Dm came and the dancing music that Hwa Chong guy imitated. JunRong, a great guy. Jolin, a funny and loud girl. Lydia, the cool but still nice girl .Always keep watch of the time with her! Haha. The blur RI guy and the funny Melissa’s DM. MY horn section! Belinda, Sijia, Madelyn etc. haha. I will miss all of them.
The day started off with the mase playing where I finally was able to fling the mase up. Haha. Then a lot of fun and we went back into the music studio (me and Melissa) and then, we started playing in out practice area. Day 4 and Day 5 were the superb hot day. Day 5 morning practice was the time where I got tanned, Real tanned. We had to practice out basic footdrill still in the morning and I think MR siao and the NCC people not really happy with each other! Haha. Then the NCC guy keep saying Mr siao. And the Band majors were late and everyone was putting pressure on us. then we did our rehearsals under the super hot sun. The sun was really hot and it sucked when during the presentation of momentos part. We had to stand like idiots. There were two rehearsals and the dance was stupid lo. Lol. After the 2 reheasals which were kinda bad, we had to do another wet weather programme rehearsal.
Then it was lunch and then dress up and photo taking all the way up till 530om from 1230pm. We once again ate together with Cedar Girls too. Her twiler so cool and then we returned to play out instrument and play other instuments. It was practically slack time! Then I played the oboe with a reed now and trumpet! Haha. Qianying is so funny when I always disturb her. Haha. Then we took a lot of pictures. The we changed and then again, took a lot of pictures! Horn section pic, individual pic. Just too many to count. Haha. Then time flew as we took pictures as it was soon time to get ready. Then I heard thunder crashing and really started to pray it would not rain. Or else It would suck! And it did not. They give out the proficiency badges and we headed to the field soon after :P IT was a very nervous and exciting moment. I kept praying I would do well.
Then the moment came. We played well. then the display band one. Although I made a few errors here and there but at least I did enjoy myself and I believe that is the most important of all right :D haha. Then, the end of parade. It was the end!!! My friends… eli, yvon, xiangluan, Rachel, Darren, gino, sokyee, Amanda, chenchen, Audrey, weining, xiaowei, huijia, carin and MS ONG came! Thanks a lot to them. Got a sunflower. Took many pictures and really felt like a celebrity! Haha. Then went back to get my things and played changed. Took a lot of pictures on the way too. It was the end. But it would always stay in my head. This wonderful camp that I have gone through! IT IS THE BEST! :D
