thinkJAZZ.

you see the world in black & white

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04 September 2012

I was looking through my old posts yesterday, and figured it has been awhile since I blogged (more than a year, to be exact), so I decided to come and type something. It's not everyday I get to blog while sitting at Macdonalds, while waiting for my best friend's flight~ Not using Windows live writer either, because something's wrong with the configuration... and I have to say, the new blogger REALLY does look more user friendly... thank goodness they did something productive in the past year.

Right, so Sam's leaving for UCLA, and I'm a little too early since Dad drove me to the airport. Makes me feel like BBI SV trip all over again! Just that well... I'm not the one leaving this time XD

Alot has happened since my last post, and I'll just list some of the few highlights in my life thus far. Reading the past posts has also made me realise that my style of writing and english language proficiency has improved and I could only hope that with occasional HASS essays, this post would be a pleasant read.

SV trip with GoTrade was awesome and beyond comparison to any trips I have experienced (ok except maybe Bratislava/Vienna in sec 3)
Working at Sweet Dynasty was a tiring, but rather rewarding experience.
I'm currently teaching piano and earning some cold hard cash
A level results were decent... not as great as my Os, but good enough to get me into Universities
I rejected NUS and NTU for SUTD, preferably ISTD course, I didn't care to apply for SMU.
Currently in NUS Wind Symphony as a guest trumpeter.
Trolling on LoL is awesome, even though sometimes I'm a noob and suck too much.
The blood witch was the main dish at the Sashimi Party.
Preordered Assassins Creed III Collector's edition and I CANNOT WAIT FOR 31ST OCTOBER
Belinda has already left for Carnegie Mellon University

Right, so as you can see... that was ALOT that has happened... and I haven't had time to record every detail, since well you know, I think in this decade, facebook has overtook blogging by leaps and bounds, generally.

Well I think Sam is finally arriving soon... so if I abruptly cut off this post, I think you can figure out why.

Alright, I seem to have lost my touch for blogging, I remembered when I could type for HOURS, in the past just blabbering on about what I did today/this week... now all of it just seems really shallow. And as you can see, my later blog posts have all been about certain issues rather than what I had for lunch. Oh man I was such a lame kid back then, and I do apologize for my posts taking up unnecessary space on the net.

Well, today is gonna be a rather busy day... lunch (which I presume is a teacher's day treat...) with Rejoice Music House, and then sectionals with NUSWS Trumpets. Oh my god, I think the trumpet is the best instrument EVER, and I'm improving at it so yay! Speaking of teachers' day... I got my first teachers' day gift EVER from my 6 year old piano student. Such a cute kid, though she can be rather talkative and lose focus of piano classes :P We had an amazing get-together with Ms Judy Tan too, and with the oddest but most lovable classmates (: It's funny how we were never THAT close in JC, but are still able to like go out and have dinner like good old friends.

Ok, Sam has yet to call me, but I think this amount of content is adequate for one post. I hope to see you soon again, my dear blog, let's hope I don't neglect you over facebook!

20 August 2011

Omg. so many things has happened since my last post.

I guess I shall start with National Day Celebrations at school.

National Day Celebration & Aman’s birthday (:

National Day brought back so many fond memories of last year. I remembered playing for the weird YOG thingo last year… and also going to film section farewell video with section batchmates ^^ Ahh… those were the days~ J1 doesn’t seem so long ago… suddenly. So… well, compared to how fun (and lame) YOG celebrations were last year, National day was kinda crappy this year. The outdoor showcase by HCIMB was good, despite some slips and weird changes to SG Flyer. LOL. But… that was probably the only positive thing worth mentioning in the entire celebration (and no I’m not being jealous here) well at least I got to study org. chem during the celebrations LOL.

After that, I had some mono deal fun with band peeps! and then left to prep stuff for Aman’s birthday ^^ we ended up treating her to jack’s place. And omg Tongzh and I coincidentally wore a Cookie Monster and Elmo shirt respectively! XD So um there was alot of camwhoring and Sam’s red velvet cake was a stunner. I figured that since Aman was born on national day… so I gave her a red notebook (also because I kinda had a recollection that she mentioned she liked the colour red) WHICH SHE LIKED Open-mouthed smile It really rocks to see people like stuff that you make. And so we hung around abit before going home… and I went to mug with mak XD

National Day

So my section went abit crazy since we kind of missed National Day last year and started feeling nostalgic. So we decided to hang out and mug and go watch FIREWORKS~ Well sadly, LiTing couldn’t come and YuZhen had to give the fireworks display a miss )’: Other than that, we camwhored ALOT at the railway before embarking on the journey to the floating platforms. We have so many more pretty pictures to add to our collection of really pretty pictures! yay Open-mouthed smile The railway is a truly amazing place >) Eventually we hopped on the bus and made our way there… and there was a hell lot of confusion taking MRTs here and there. It was almost close to 8.00 so once we were out of the train, we SPRINTED THE ENTIRE WAY THERE. Holy I haven’t sprinted in so long it was kinda like parkour and kinda fun XD Then we met up with some boarding school peeps and um kinda SQUEEZED our way into some NUSSU booked place. The security guard (or whatever) was kinda annoyed at all the people pushing so he was all snarky and like “DON’T PUSH OR I WON’T LET YOU IN.” HAHAHAHA. The fireworks were pretty (as usual) there were so many different colours (d to d transitions HAHAHA) and all the sparkly stuff are so beautiful. I think it rocks to be Aman / Pau cause the nation celebrates your birthday with FIREWORKS AND AIR POLLUTION.

Then we went for dinner and bubble tea with Box and ZIqian and did alot of spastic things. Lol. Still, band people rock. we are like so awesome XD

Pau’s birthday!

Omg Pau’s birthday was so epic. IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE CREATION OF AN EPIC PAU LOOK-ALIKE CAKE THAT SPANNED OVER 2 NIGHTS. Holy. It was probably one of the more creative baked creations I had ever done. Boj’s idea of using a mixing bowl to bake the cake and then overturn it worked so well. well the top fell apart :x but wrapping it with plastic wrap and freezing it for a day salvaged the situation ^^ It was my first time making a spongecake (boston cream pie recipe! Thumbs up ) and I’m so glad it turned out so well. of course, I added my own touches like adding vanilla extract… filling the middle with strawberry glazing gel… shaping it like a pau with white whipped cream and lastly, red food colouring for the signature pau dot. It was so beautiful! I seriously have to make more cakes like this. I guess the fun in baking is not only about just making a tasty cake… but also embarking on creative ventures in decorating a cake like this one.

We had a blast prepping for pau’s birthday celebration. The journey to KAP was rocky with obstacles and zomg yuzhen fell D: But well, at least Bobo had a cake or it would be a DISASTER. The size of the cake was just right for our 8 man strong section and I’m pretty glad everyone finished it in about 3 bites. LOL. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME :’) I should totally consider baking as a career. LOLOLOL.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

HEHE so many things happened on my birthday! It was as good as, if not better than Last year! And zomg I can’t believe I’m 18. I don’t feel instantly different though… I still feel like the silly kid I’ve always been xP

FIrstly, dad made me meesuah in the morning <3 and I was kinda rushing/ late for school. Then I saw Jane while walking in and went to talk to her. and I was kinda like “I THINK MY SECTION IS UP TO NO GOOD.” WHEN MY SECTION LITERALLY AMBUSHED ME FROM BEHIND AND BROKE INTO BIRTHDAYS SONGS. HAHAHAHA. I WAS SO SHOCKED ZOMG. BEST SURPRISE EVER LOVE YA TRUMPETS <3 Then it was the normal flag-raising… gifts from Zheng Yu and Yi Ying… and and and a celebration for Iris and I from fac comm!

So after assembly, I was getting ready to go when THE ENTIRE HCJC BAND BROKE INTO A BIRTHDAY SONG. ZOMG?!?!?!?!? I was like D< WHAT THE HELL!!! But awww thanks band I love y’all ^^ Everyone else heading towards class was like looking and I felt kinda embarrassed… and boj appeared with CAKE. THAT WAS GREEN. A GREEN TEA CAKE. We camwhored abit… cut the cake and had MORE GIFTS. O: They gave me a really posh, cute grey handbag and a GROW YOUR OWN CRYSTAL KIT (which I just began growing) zomg they know me so well!!! <333 aww I was kinda sad that the celebration was a little short… especially since it was mostly my fault for coming late )’: So I went to class with a plate of green tea cake (which tasted awesome btw… FIRST GREEN TEA CAKE I HAVE EVER EATEN AND I LOVE IT EVEN THOUGH I’M NOT A FAN OF GREEN TEA) and feeling extremely happy!

So. I had cake for recess… and spent econs reading all their awesome, heartfelt messages. The pictures are so pretty!!! I felt so loved! Next, after physics tutorial, I ate acy’s homemade cheesecake. ZOMG IT’S SO HEAVENLY AND COMPARABLE TO LIKE A STARBUCKS / COFFEE BEAN CHEESE CAKE Thumbs up and I shared it with people cause sharing is a really wonderful thing to do and it makes me happy when people are happy ^^ Soon after, I HAD MY CELEBRATION FROM SAM TONGZH AND AMAN. A FREAKING STRAWBERRY CUSTARD PIE LIKE THE ONE NED MAKES FROM PUSHING DAISIES <3 And it tasted BRILLIANT too. We handed out the pie to the class (more sharing ^^) and they gave me a gift… A FREAKING JAMIE OLIVER CREME BRULEE SET ._. and I only said I wanted ramekins. what the hell lol. So…. I have a blowtorch now. Apparently it was a joined effort from tongzh, sam, aman, nicholas and junyang. so thanks thanks thanks!

That was kinda about it after I went home with Jane! HOLY CRAP THANKS FOR HELPING ME LUG MY SPOILS OF WAR. But… the celebration does NOT STOP THERE.

Peach Party!

Hehe, well at least it started out as a Peach Party! But while waiting for Mak… we saw MX at the high school bus stop! and while boarding the bus, we saw TTW! So it became like a mini Fuchun gathering and we went for good food at Jack’s Place. Also we had a chance to catch up… discuss about our awesomeness and Mak, Jane and I decided on something kewl to do after As >8D IT’ll be like a one day affair. LOL.

Gotreat!

omg I really love being a gotrader. we do so many awesome things together and eat so many wonderful things. Well, I was there early, so I explored HMV abit while waiting. then… Medz was full of people ): Eventually, we ate a little at soup spoon and went for drinks at Gustimmo Di Roma. Hell I love Gustimmo. There’s ice cream, souffles, booze and just about everything awesome. I tried a margarita!! It’s nice leh! kinda like the type of mixed drinks I make at home but with crushed ice >8D and licking the rim of the cup was so much fun >8) Then my fellow gotraders surprised me with GOTRADE APPAREL. SERIOUSLY IT’S DAMN AWESOME. GOTRADE APPAREL. YOU KNOW IF GOTRADE IS SUCCESSFUL, ALL THE EMPLOYEES WOULD HAVE TO WEAR IT. AND I CAN BE SNARKY AND ALL “WHERE’S YOUR GOTRADE SHIRT? WHAT?! YOU FORGOT?! YOU CAN GO HOME NOW. YOU DON’T NEED TO COME TOMORROW” So overall, it was a freaking fun and cool outing. The only thing I love about being 18 is probably alcohol. lol.

and so. I shall go off to mug and go for dinner (AND MARGARITAS) with belly later ^^

07 August 2011

My head is like bursting with SO MANY AWESOME DREAMS I JUST HAVE TO WRITE THEM DOWN. CAUSE THEY ARE SO AWESOME. LOL. And I’ve finally found time to do so.

The one with Pots

When I say pots right, I don’t actually mean like hardcore marijuana. I mean pretty, white, handcrafted clay pots. And oh, by the way, I’ve decided to name ~~my dream boy~~ I mean, the dude who appears EVERYTIME in my dreams Adam. Just because I don’t know who he is, and Adam’s so apt because it just means man. Like X means unknown. OK LET’S GO

So Adam and I were supposed to go watch F1 or something. and the cool thing was, they are having some Hell’s Kitchen challenge at some restaurant that overlooks the F1 track. So well, we wanted to make it (F1 AND GORDON RAMSAY I MEAN SERIOUSLY LOL), but more than that, we were also super secret agents and we were told to deliver some White Pots to that same destination. And…

The dream began with Adam and I at some arctic environment. We were caught in the middle of a blizzard and we had our pots. By the way, the pots we had to deliver weren’t packaged/ bubble wrapped, so it made the task incredibly hard. So, as bits of snow pelted on our frozen faces, we approached towards this underground hatch. There was like a glass pane in the snow covered ground that belonged to one of the windows of a mall. Adam kind of signaled that we had to take this route lest we freeze, so I kicked the glass pane open and we dropped through the opening.

So we were in the middle of all the hustle and bustle you would find in a shopping mall, with our pots. We removed our fur coats and snow boots, tossed them to one side and started running at the speed of light. We pushed people aside since we were kind of rushing for time to get to the destination on time. Adam suggested that we head towards the carpark and hijack the car. We explored the carpark abit, and decided on a black BMW, and as Adam was loading his pot into the boot, I had a sudden realisation… WHERE THE HECK WAS MY POT?! Dreams are irritating like that, so I had to retrace my footsteps and run all over the mall looking for it. It was frustrating as hell, but I finally found it near the bathroom ._. And so, we managed to reach the destination on time. end of story.

I went to camp

This was kind of weird in a sense that I went to this camp that had all sorts of real life extinct species on display. Just that they were real small. and someone explained how over the years species will evolve into smaller types… like Pterodactyl to birds and mammoths to elephants. So we had weird small jurassic creatures in the camp. That aside… I think the highlight of the dream was the fact that I tried to steal food from the kitchens. LOL

Sad

Hmmm… as for this dream, I guess I don’t wanna talk about it much since it’s quite personal. But it was quite sad. There were alot of chasing , running away, crying, and regretting the fact that I had not dared to take the risk… and the opportunity is slipping fast through my fingers. Well, I guess the good thing was… the feeling of acceptance in the end and how it would actually be impossible in reality.

Damn I feel damn sad now.

13 July 2011

Hello folks.

I know it’s kind of abnormal for me to blog so frequently and all, but recently I have realised that I CAN do quite a good job at writing if I am really inspired / feel strongly about it. So I’m going to practice my use of vocabulary, sentence structures and such with the following post. And, in the event that you feel that I’m referring to/ targeting any persons in particular, I have no intention of doing so, so let’s keep it that way.

RIght, so for this post, it mainly revolves around teachers. Either keep on reading, or leave now.

Lately, I’ve observed that the Government is trying to lure more people into the Teaching Profession. Not to say that it is a bad thing, but the quote “Teaching is the only profession that teaches other professions” is kind of presenting a much too ideal version of the job, so please don’t fall for it. Because, in the past decade of my education, I could not help but realise that approximately 85% of the teachers I come into contact to, are truly annoying in various ways. As such, I kind of feel indignant for those who are actually doing an exceptional job in educating, as well as caring for the well-being of the next generation… which, will play an extremely important role in moulding the Singapore of the future.

You see, the problem lies in the fact that these so called “teachers” have little, or NO PASSION for their job. To put it bluntly, they are simply here because

they want to pass time, and get paid for it
they suck and can’t get a decent job anywhere else.

Often, because of their lack of passion, perhaps coupled with some not-up-to-standard qualities, students end up having to SUFFER. And I really do not think that is fair. I didn’t, you know, pay you to let my child suffer, such that you can satisfy your perverted sadist tendencies?! Speaking about perverted sadist tendencies, this brings me to my next point, about how I absolutely detest teachers who abuse their authority.

Seriously, alright, I do agree that there must be a certain amount of respect we must show you, since well, you will be the ones passing down your superb knowledge (if it is even superb to begin with). But still, I don’t think you have the right to you know, do certain things “just because you are a teacher”. I understand to an extent, disciplinary action MUST be taken when students commit offences and such, but still there is a limit to that. So um, I missed the deadline of submitting work by like one day, are you seriously going to make me face the wall, pull my ears, slap myself, (whatever) in front of the entire class, destroying whatever self-esteem and passion for learning that I still have in the process? Also, a more concrete example would be the use of handphones in class. You forbid students to sms in class, while you are allowed to answer an “important” call “just because you’re a teacher” The first thing wrong with that, would be double standards. Which is to say, if I had an important call, regardless of whether I’m a teacher I can answer it? Secondly, you are not being a good role model to begin with. Students (especially kids) learn by modelling after adults. I’m sorry if your life sucks because you are having such a hard time stopping students from using their phones in class. You kind of really only have yourself (and/or you impassionate colleague) to blame. Thirdly, is the fact that authority, can seldom justify your actions. Stating that you can do such things because you’re a teacher, is like saying I can take over the world because I’m a President. Sounds convoluted? you bet.

The next point I would like to touch on, is the responsibility of these teachers. Several of them take up too many commitments in the school just because they have to, or they want to seem more all-rounded. Of course, this touches the sensitive issue of CCA teachers. I understand that many are possibly forced to be in charge of a CCA and take care of several administrative matters, but point is, since you’re already there, you might as well do your best, make something good out of it, and if possible, gain some experience and skillz from it right? I mean, you would be really stupid to just waste this opportunity and be present, mark stuff and waste your time. To me, it’s kind of like students trying to complete work from other subjects in a certain lecture. And next, do you really think it’s acceptable for you to just sit around, and take care of admin stuff when your students are training and practicing so hard? I’m not saying you should treat them to a buffet when they obtain a gold or something (though that would be nice, lol), but the least you could do is to make yourself useful by being a source of motivation, and if possible, provide some advice.

Ok, I’m coming to the end of this post. The last thing, I would like to bring into the discussion, is how most teachers always have this mentality that they are right ALL of the time, and refuse to admit it when they’re wrong. Ok it’s true that teachers are right most of the time, after all, how could you be hired to teach a bunch of nitwits if you get all your facts wrong? You would just be a nitwit teaching nitwits to be even more nitwit-ish. But, I don’t see what’s so bad about admitting your wrongs, when well, it’s really a mistake. Ultimately, though, I guess this all boils down to the “authority” portion. Some teachers just get so ballooned up with pride that their head is the size of the moon, and they just cannot accept the fact that they are wrong. Which is just childish. As cliché as it is, it is true that everyone makes mistakes, whether you are a teacher, a CEO or a commoner.

Ok to sum up, I feel extremely bad for the teachers who are actually making teaching a profession to look forward, and look up to. It is also rather inspiring to know there are those out there itching and willing to share their knowledge, and nurture the next generation. As for those teachers who are just not passionate enough… I don’t even know if you deserve to be called “teachers”

09 July 2011

Ah right. I realised it’s really common now that I only blog once or twice a month, since most of my life is recorded by status changes, facebook wall updates and tweets… But, right now, I’m still feeling so ecstastic, I decided this was worth noting down in full prose.

This week has got to be the happiest week of my life.

Frankly speaking, Blocks weren’t all that great, due to my lack of time to study. Some part of me wished that I hadn’t signed up for the Stanford EPGY program for Quantum Mechanics, but then again, I wouldn’t have been enlightened about Quantum Cryptography and stuff. I have to say though, it was an amazing course, I definitely benefitted from it, but I probably could have benefitted more if I paid attention to Bra and Ket vectors. Hah. So, had to miss band trip ): and sacrificed studying time. Yep, but I think I’m quite contented about GP and math, at least, cause I was really at my best. Right, maybe not math… If I had started earlier, I could have pwned the paper with like 80 or 85 and gotten away with it… but right now, let’s just stick to 71 XD

So, back to the happiest week of my life. Well actually, got back Math, got A, Top 5 in class ^^ Physics was not good. MCQ was like 21/40. Lol. Well, at least I managed to pass! But there were alot of careless mistakes here and there ): Quantum saved me I guess :P Topped the class for Chem MCQ with like 19/30! LOLOLOL. I MEAN, SERIOUSLY NOW. When Rudy called my name first (cause he arranged it in nicely) I THOUGHT I GOT LOWEST IN CLASS. TURNS OUT I GOT HIGHEST WTF RIGHT?! So, yay happy!

“and now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for… The winner of BBI 2011 is… GOTRADE”

I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW HAPPY AND GLAD I AM TO HEAR THOSE WORDS. OH MY GOD.

It all started about 5 months ago, when we first formed, and I was invited into the group because, well, I was labelled the “dreamer”. In a sense that, I had really creative ideas (okay I didn’t know that my ideas were THAT creative, so thanks) And it all started with a simple idea of trading everyone’s unwanted items that others may want. This concept slowly evolved into something really intricate, a sophisticated service that was so well-thought out in almost all aspects. We constantly improved our original Business Plan during our Elevator Pitch round, and right up to the Finals, it was close to perfection. And When we presented it, we presented the concept we’ve grown to love so much throughout the past five months, with such an astounding passion… and I’m proud to say that each and everyone of us left the stage with no regrets.

What, really irritates me though, is how some of the other groups just copied our presentation styles. They basically ripped off our “next big thing” line which we featured so widely in our Pitch. Then as one of the big shots (judges) had pointed out, “ideas get copied because they are good”, and if we got ripped off… it just goes to show something. Now I’m not being complacent here, I’m just applying the facts of life to a situation. But the thing is, they have improved (even if it is by ripping off us), and so have we. If during the PItch, when we haven’t even reached our pinnacle, and we were already so good, you could’ve imagined what we could hold in store for the judges during our Presentation in the Finals. The judges basically commended us on how amazing it was to see the time and effort we had spent realizing our dream of making GoTrade a reality, and also on our tagline “revolutionizing the way people consume, one trade at a time” (kudos to the CEO!) The Q&A, I felt, we tackled quite well. There were alot of questions we had never thought of, mostly with our OCRC and stuff, but I felt, we impromptu-ed quite well. That’s what you get when you know your service so well, you can present it to anyone without having to refer to facts and such. Well, when they came up to give general comments, I kind of expected that we would win this, since out of all 3 finalists, it appeared to me that we have the least negative comments, but I wasn’t about to get my hopes up, and let it fall into the darkness of the abyss.

When the moment finally came, we linked hands and hoped, with all our hearts. I was basically dizzy with anxiety, and felt like throwing up. When I heard the hard start of a G, and not a V, which was followed instantaneously with our team name, I jumped out of my seat with such joy and excitement I was amazed at it myself. Even now, this still feels so surreal. This was followed by Reception with the judges and mentors. OH MY GOD. It was like we were mingling with future investors and business partners (which, we are. LOL) They commended us on our amazing presentation, told us that we were SO GOOD. We also discussed with some of them like, oh how we could improve on them. Some were ideas that we have thought of, and rejected, but most were rather insightful. About how we should look at current models, and improve on it so much, such that we have an advantage. And so many came to commend me on our design!! OH MY GOD. They thought I like designed games?! but I was like “no, mostly print ads, and webpages haha” They even asked what Program I used to make our powerpoint! I was like “oh MS powerpoint 2010” Then the lady went “oh, so it’s all default in the program?” Then I said I used Photoshop to customise some stuff! Speaking about powerpoints, I accidentally stole the clicker cause I slipped it into my pocket and forgot all about it until I was off the stage. LOL. AND I PANICKED XD I’m really happy now. I really feel like there are people who actually get me. I think my designs tend to appeal to a more mature age group, and when I design for students, I may tend to forget about that they could be looking for less sophisticated and more raw, crude and vulgar concepts. Okay, I should totally write an article about targeting age groups in designs, publish it on design sites and get money. There were also some comments that the standard this year was alot better than last year. I figured it was because we set a really high standard during the PItch and everyone had to achieve it if they wanted a shot and winning this. During the Finals, we improved even more, and brought that standard even higher.

I’ve really been so inspired during this entire competition. Firstly, to do marketing in Uni, and next, that I could actually do design and get away with it. This experience was such a fulfilling one, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy doing another team project as much as I have accomplished this. Our team, is truly amazing. We’re all similar, yet different at the same time. We gain so many insights, not only by coming up with different ideas, but also through criticizing, and refining these raw bursts of inspiration in the process. ‘Twas heavenly. BBI is something that I will remember for the rest of my life as Cryizzle.

Still, I can’t believe we actually won this. Time to cut out all those vouchers from 17 and use them when I get to California ^^ or something. Now, I just want to do really well for A levels, and really have a ball of a time at Silicon Valley with the team mates whom I love so much <3

But for now, I’m looking forward to High Tea, Trumpets JTS <3 and H3 Physics test that’s to follow

Oh my god. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

05 June 2011

I’ve been getting an array of such vivid dreams that I don’t think I can remember them all. It’s like if I don’t take the effort to remember them, they’ll simply vanish. I’m even starting to think that all my dreams mean something… they have so much in common. I hope I’m not going crazy.

I was part of this group of survivors who were fleeing their country that was being brought down by war. Amongst us were mainly peasants; farmers, blacksmiths, sailors, fishermen and the like. Some of them were my family, and some were people of my village that I knew. So we arrived at this foreign country where we at least had a chance of survival. Most of us were reluctant, and unconvinced that we could actually have a life here in this foreign land. Therefore, there were several who were groaning and complaining and thinking of our homes. Eventually, I got pretty fed up, so I stood up to address the rest of the refugees, many of which were adults and the elderly.

“As of now, we have no home to return to,” I began, “at least if we set up our lives here, we might be able to survive. And remember that we will have each other.”

I guess that made things more positive, and the refugees started working hard, even if everything had to start from scratch. However, what I had not told them was that, I had intended to make full use of this time to garner enough resources and to devise a plan that will bring us back home. I had no intention of staying for far too long.

My dream fast-forwarded to a few years after. Several of the refugees had indeed taken my advice and many had turned out to be successful merchants in their area of trade. When we first arrived, this foreign city had welcomed us with much hostility and now, similarly, they had enforced new sets of laws that would prevent us from leaving, the reason of which I did not know (dreams are funny like that). But somehow, I’m aware of my duty and what is required of me to ensure that my people could return home safely. So I arranged for ships to take us out of this city, while gathering our countrymen to fight for our freedom.

By dawn, people had started piling into the ships that lined up neatly along the docks. There were guards that were sent to deal with us and prevent us leaving, of which me and a few of the mercenaries fought with to buy time for the others’ escape. Just as the last ship finished loading, I signalled the mercenary to board the ships, while I dealt with the remaining guards (which were now growing rapidly in numbers). Arrows were being shot to destroy and sink the ships. A few of them were sunk, which couldn’t be helped, but most of them made it to the open sea. I snatched the last few seconds and dashed madly towards the last ship while being rained by arrows. However, it seemed that I was betrayed; by my own fellowmen. Despite me helping them, they didn’t think I was pure or patriotic enough to deserve returning to my country, especially after I have urged them to make the best of whatever we had here, however foreign. The perceived me as one who had no ties and love for our homeland, and labelled me a traitor. With that, they began to sail off. I was the only one left stranded, with an angry mob of guards after me. I knew I had to get onto the ship… somehow.

So I dashed madly of the pier and dived into the waters. The impact sent me spiralling towards the depths of the ocean, but I soon picked myself up and swam with all my might, panting and all towards the ship. My muscles had started to tire, but I was gaining on the ship… I couldn’t possibly give up now…

The next thing I knew, I was lying on the cabin floor, drenched, and coughing up a great deal of seawater. The atmosphere was sombre, and the only light came from a single dim light bulb that hung by a thin wire from the ceiling. There were other refugees huddled in small groups around me, but they did not seem to care about my existence. Well I guess it’s better than having several enraged refugees coming towards you with pitch forks, demanding for your life. I wasn’t sure how I had managed to survive, or get on board, but a part of me knew, somehow, that it was that same friend who saved me. That friend who appears everytime I’m in some form of danger, only to guide me out of it. How very mysterious. I decided to ascend to the decks for a better chance of drying myself. The breeze was wonderful, with a hint of seasalt in it. And in the distance, I watched as a familiar island drew closer.

***

I’m kind of sick of seeing that same friend over and over and over again. It’s so mysterious. I never really know his face, his appearance, but rather it is the feeling from which I can conclude it is him. To date, I have killed evil witches with his advice, escaped from execution, and dodged missiles with him. I really wish I knew of his identity, then again he could just be a fragment of my overactive imagination.

05 May 2011

is what the entire day has been about. Everything has been nothing but utterly ridiculous. From how I ridiculous ran to the bus stop and back to Salt again, to pass Mak her cup of chocolatey goodness, and to receive her last minute encouragements, to how the bus ridiculously broke down in the middle of the highway en route to Republic Poly. In a ridiculously short period of time, we are done performing, and are spamming photos ridiculously, from like section / batch photos to like Non – Nanyang Girls Photos :O We went back to Salt, had a ridiculously good time reading through the letters (even though they were meant for before SYF but whatever). We went for lunch, played Monodeal, goofed around abit, there was a flase alarm phone call, and finally, ridiculously enough, the real phone call came. I was seated directly next to the whiteboard, and our section was together. Liting was to my right, Yu Zhen behind me, and Walter infront. The announcer began, and we all got nervous. I held on tightly to Li Ting and Yu Zhen…

“Band 2, National Junior College… Silver”

and my heart sank, at the thought of Yiing Huey… what she had told me she dreaded the night before. Quickly after some contemplation, a series of cheers emerged from the phone; The first GWH band… ACJC. And we realised our results were so very close…

“Band 14, Hwa Chong Institution College Section… Silver”

And I never thought I would get a chance to ever hear those words in my life… ever. What a ridiculous result it was! Benz was like !?!? THE RESULTS ARE BULLSHIT. I like (y) And this was followed by a brief 10 – 15 minutes of silence, as the announcer continued announcing the results of other schools in the background. Gradually, as the announcer neared the end of all the results, sobs began to emerge from band members. I was mostly quiet and sighing… I didn’t know how to react. Then Hui Yao finally broke the silence… and looking at people cry, especially the friends that I’ve come to treasure and love so very much throughout the course of preparing for SYF… it really broke my heart. It suddenly hit me how much, and how hard every single one of us had worked. We had put our minds and souls into this, we ended Gloriosa with a glorious concert D Major chord that remained hanging, and resonating in the atmosphere even as we stopped playing and prepared to leave the stage. We played our bestest, and we left with no regrets. Most of us felt indignant… but I guess there is really nothing much to be done. I guess the thing about music is that, though it is a beautiful thing, it can also be extremely subjective.

For awhile, I started to think, what exactly went wrong? did I play “the Question” completely in tune? Was it because I screwed up my 3 bar soli? Perhaps it was attributed to that, perhaps it isn’t, but I felt good, because I really gave my all on stage. I didn’t let myself, truzzle, my section, or the band down. As I had probably mentioned in my previous blog post, I didn’t really care about the results. I guess it’s true… but perhaps I really felt that we played exceptionally well such that I’ve set myself for a fall. This experience in HCBand has nonetheless, been a meaningful one. I’ve gone through so much, and from it I’ve gained alot. I got to experience Band SYF, which though is still SYF, vastly differs from Choir SYF. I felt less nervous, and more relaxed… oh please we camwhored so much :P While tuning and waiting for our turn to play backstage, I was constantly keeping Truzzle warm, reminding myself to go all out and stuff. Also, Silver’s not neccessarily bad… I know I sound like I’m comforting myself, but it’s true., It gave me a chance to felt what it was like to get a silver… something I’ve never known in all my life.

SYF wasn’t neccessarily as bad as we thought… it was just plain ridiculous I guess. In fact, we’ve already reap several benefits by being a part of this. I’ve forged so much friendships during the practices, I’ve made so many true friends that will forever be there for me whenever I’m feeling down or doubting my self-worth. Not that I’m trying to be ego, but I’ve improved tremendously under the awesome guidance of and awesome SL (:. I’ve definitely gotten closer to my section (trumpets!) and also the band, generally. And hey! we even took a few profile-pic / wallpaper worthy photos!

This SYF experience will surely be a one I will remember till the end of time. It has made TRCC even more significant, apart from the series of Jubilates that took place. It has been an honour and a great pleasure to play alongside such dedicated musicians in HCBand. HCBand, it’s alright. If we fall down one step, we’ll make sure we climb back 3 storeys higher.

It ain’t over.