MusICian

well, i thought it’d be too common already. nevertheless, happy new year to all my teachers, friends, students and family members (not in order of merit)! 2006 has been a great year, full of ups and downs, full of surprises. it’s been a year of dreams and dreams come true. it’s been a year of pure passion and music. it’s undoubtedly one of the best years i’ve ever lived! i’ve been true to myself, true to my passion, true to my loved ones, true to music

so, sincerity sums up 2006! may 2007 be filled with the same sincerity, if not more, and may 2007 be a more fulfilling one. NCWO, PRSS, Gold with Honours!

countdown was funny! met sweetie at city hall, saw a scandalous couple at city link, had nice dinner, shopped a while, ate good stuff at coffee club, shopped a while more, then we waded through the crowd and parked ourselves at a ‘comfortable’ spot near the merlion. played 5 rounds of sudoku, saw some small fireworks, then saw the REAL THING. FUAH. the fireworks display hor… FUAH. hahaha. waded through the crowd, dealt with some disgusting ppl who kept pushing, reached the mrt, sent sweetie home, recieved a complimentary box of pineapple tarts for my family, took cab back. even in summary, that was a lot done! considering i also played pool in the afternoon with my dad. hahaha.

what a great year gone! and what a great year ahead it’ll be! i’ll look forward to SYF this year. let’s achieve some great results. and i’ll look forward to NUSWS’ InTempo concert on 18th march! cos i’ll be playing a solo piece. hehe. oh yes! early bird tickets available till 15th january! early bird tickets are $11, normally they’re $13. my students, if you buy from me, i’ll subsidise $1. hehe. to make it an easy $10 lah.

and i’m definitely interested in the mus’art july concert! maybe the same piece, maybe another one. let’s see how much i can handle

going out! Happy New Year!!!!

finally. i’m back home. time for a good rest, then prepare for countdown tmr! anyway, band camp was great

christmas! ok, it’s already the day after boxing day. but still, merry belated christmas to all! thanks for all the christmas wishes and greetings, really appreciate them. i had an unforgettable christmas day! nothing much happened on christmas eve, except one big dinner at my cousin’s condo’s function room. chatted with relatives and walked around aimlessly. there goes christmas eve!

christmas day was much better; my date with sweetie! we went to vivo city, bought tickets for Death Note 2, then went upstairs for our ‘picnic’. ate the delicious pizza bread sweetie made then attempted to finish my chao tar garlic bread and the heaty ruffles chips. all the bread made us quite ‘full’, so we had some leftovers. the discouraging holocaust made us decide to search for a pair of shoes for sweetie. we eventually found a nice pair at URS for quite a fair price too! the weather looked more encouraging, so we packed tao huay and tao huay zui and headed for mount faber for a few hours of crazy time. haha. after visiting jewel box a while later, we decided it was time to get back to civilisation, but we missed the only bus that came up the mountain! so we decided to walk down mount faber, which proved to be quite a chore holding the penguin and carrying my bag. after we finally reached the foot of the hill, we took the first bus we saw (for 1 stop) back to harbourfront! then of course, it was time for dinner and movie! Death Note 2 was great! after that, i sent sweetie back to eunos and we both rushed home for our fav tv show

oh yes, my present! a wonderfully chosen wallet! my favourite design out of those i’ve seen! thank you, sweetie

this year, surprisingly, i got 2 shirts that i actually liked (from my aunts, who usually didn’t pick that wisely). and of course, a present from geraldine, a present from Ms Neo, and a present from Ms Neo and Mdm Yeo combined. not a lot, but i liked most of my presents! i only frowned at a few shirts i recieved. haha.

alright, now for band camp.

solo competition’s tmr. i have a feeling it’s gonna be a walkover, because i haven’t heard of any other contestant so far. none from the woodwinds, i suppose. well, i dunno, some freshie might just join the competition. the idea of a walkover doesn’t seem that exciting. anyway, i’ve been listening to and practising Immer Kleiner the whole afternoon and evening. not that i practised a lot; but i’m not a last-minute person when it comes to music. so i decided that i’ll cope with whatever i’ve prepared! must photocopy my scores…

band camp! that means i’ll be away from home and my laptop till saturday. good thing; i don’t wanna be so dependent on the internet! this band camp’s gonna be interesting, cos i won’t be around for 2 of the 3 practices. they coincide with my other band prac schedules, so what should i do? go for 1 prac each! haha. seems like the best solution. but the problem is that only NUSWS has 3 pracs this week; mus’art has 1 and nan chiau has 1. commitment, passion and work. this is moral blackmail!!! oops.

nah, i’ve decided. 1 each. i’ll be there for the NUSWS sectionals anyway. ok, that’s it

i’ll disappear for a few days then. bye~~~

great great dinner at sweetie’s place last night! her parents were wonderful hosts and i was treated to a feast of braised duck (which was really fantastic), some vege which i dunno the name for, and steamed silver pomfret! i had all these with 2 bowls of rice, and loads of nice soup. superb meal! and we were talking about how to make soup over dinner. so enjoyable! a step closer to my future in-laws! hehe.

played the piano at her place. wah, i really should practise more. sweetie showed me her fast sight-reading and nice playing while i showed her my chord improvisation and arrangement! haha. quite fun! when it was time to go, i was a little reluctant, but then i shouldn’t stay too long at her place lah. don’t wanna bother her family too much.

wah, her brother is so tall and muscular. i better not bully her man.

anyway, such an enjoyable time was enhanced by a phonecall from my mentor, who once again opened my eyes to many things and we cleared the air about some issues. our working partnership is unstoppable! it’ll stay like this for a while

i’m gonna get a wonderful christmas this year! and of course, a great start to a great 2007. GOLD with HONOURS!!! let’s aim for that dream

you don’t need to do much to be someone’s friend. all you need is a sincere heart, and sincerity will do the rest. it doesn’t take much to make someone dear to you happy. just give him or her your most sincere friendship, and that will make their day. to my friends out there: i cannot offer you money or treats or drinks at your favourite pubs; i can only offer you my true and most sincere friendship. do not expect anything more or less than that!

and i sincerely wish all my friends happiness. specially for one of my dearest friend and mentor who is going through quite a bit right now. may you sort things out real soon! you have a huge bunch of friends right behind you

yup. officially sunburnt. after a few games of basketball under the hot sun, my arms are all red, and so is my nose. and my feet hurt cos it was impossible to wear my slippers and the ‘floor’ was simply concrete plus sand. nevertheless, i had fun at basketball even though i missed almost all my shots and missed ALL my lay-ups. i AM rusty. haha. the price to pay was to have blisters on my feet, which i’m sure will pop out by tmr. well.

after basketball, i was officially turned into a muah chee. they actually prepared a huge hole which i was forced into and they buried me alive! with only my head and shoulders (not the shampoo) left in the sun. i almost couldn’t breathe! took a few crazy pictures and stuff. then there was this incident where this bodyguard went way overboard in scolding lynette for swimming with a leg cramp. i thought a friendly reminder would be enough; there was no need to show that he’s SOMEBODY and then spoil everyone’s day.

the day at sentosa ended with our 2nd piece of our concert; we were forced to shower and get out of there, or face a bigger and dirtier shower. so we did and we got out, and i realised that i have been cut off by starhub again. twice this month. i just felt that the hotline people could have been more helpful by reminding me of the outstanding amount that i still owe, instead of happily cutting me off again. i’m broke. and unhappy about it. plus the first time the tech support made me wait almost 10 mins before they actually answered the phone. and that was at 0015, just past midnight! disgusted. and then this time they had to wait like 20 mins before reconnecting my phone, and i was stranded in vivo city trying to get to a public phone so that i could contact the rest. the only public phone i got to had faulty speakers. sickening. and i was hungry. never piss a hungry man off. or rather, never piss me off when i’m hungry.

pool was kinda ok. i guess i was way too tired to concentrate and i couldn’t pot even the basic shots! tough shots where i normally manage were all haywire too. ball spins were out of the question. too sleepy! how to concentrate??! haha. well ok, i managed just a bit, could win some games.

finally got all my photos up my laptop! i wonder how am i going to find space on C drive. oh well. try my best! clear space!

changkat concert tmr and i haven’t attended any rehearsals. *gulp* time for another heart-attack sight-reading session!!???

can’t help but feel a sense of uneasiness about what’s going on these days. there are some people that i really want to cheer up but somehow it seems the harder that i try, the more it backfires on me. i don’t really understand and perhaps i should try not to understand. i agree that sometimes, being sober isn’t exactly the best way out. ignorance is bliss. and innocence is a total blessing. the lines get thinner and thinner these days; you really don’t know when you cross them.

am i really a good analyst of details? i really don’t know. at least my EL results don’t reflect that way. perhaps i was meant to learn that much about the situation, or perhaps, it was deliberately revealed that way. i’m not sure. i see a friendship fading, and somehow it feels like i’m pushing the other person away. but no, it has never been my intention, and it has never ever crossed my mind to even do anything to destroy such a friendship! what irony. maybe everything’s fine. maybe i worry too much. whatever the case, it is certainly a cause for my uneasiness.

perhaps things have been going unexpectedly smooth for me. or have they? i remember slogging for this concert. but it isn’t only my effort. most of it is my mentor’s effort. but yet, i seem to get most of the recognition. this isn’t fair; without my mentor, there will be no me. at least not in NCWO anyway. so for the immense support behind the scenes and also in front, i thank Mr Png for being a great teacher to me, educating and teaching me the tools of the trade. and i thank Mr Png for being my friend. let me be yours too, for life!

sorry for being mushy here. and sorry for the uneasiness. i can’t help feeling a strange sense of premonition and anticipation after the conversation today. i sincerely hope nothing’s wrong and nothing will go wrong. but i somehow feel that my hopes are pretty vague. please let me know the truth soon. something’s holding you back?

i will always call you sir, till the day that i die. this is my promise.

before i forget once again, a big big thank you to all the sec 1s who helped out everywhere they could, and for coming down for all the practices even though most of the time you had nothing to do. you guys really made our job much easier! and i’m really grateful for your contribution to the band. do work hard for SYF!

ok. Con Fuoco, the inaugural of its series, is over. verdict? IT WAS GREAT! as usual, you guys always give us heart attacks; rehearsals always left much to be desired, while the actual thing was a real killer. we sure did rock Kong Chian Hall! i’m real proud of you people. NCWO rocks!!!

well but i wished everyone could’ve chipped in some effort to clear up the place real fast before all the photo-taking and other stuff. i know you guys are excited, but let’s get our job done first! of course, we didn’t wanna hold back your excitement. after all, it’s your first concert, and you really ought to celebrate! i would if i were you. haha.

thank you, band, for sounding great tonight. i really really enjoyed my conducting segment, and i also really enjoyed repaying the good playing with my elf act

thank you, jasmine, for the christmas tree, and all your hard work. but control it a little; i know how you feel, but keep it under control, ok? thank you for the wonderful huge card! this one’s really really nice! i truly appreciate it. and thank you for the wonderful sunflowers to make my special day complete! you guys may not know it, but this is truly my conducting debut; the first time i led a band for a piece in a concert! and i got to conduct 2! haha. thank you sir, for the opportunities and the mentorship

also, a huge thank you to all who came to watch! my sweetie, who did give me her dazzling million dollar smile; desmond, who dropped me a very encouraging sms before i took my dinner; meiling, who came all the way down to support us; nick, cloud and huishan for the support and the gift (i’m gonna love it man) and also the laughing at me; hongliang and wenhui for supporting this old friend and bandmate of yours, and also for sending sweetie to the bus stop; my mom and dad, ah ma and cousin who came all the way here to watch me perform and conduct; mandy and daniel who took time off their busy schedule to grace this occasion, and all who have supported me in some way. THANK YOU!

thank you, NCWO, for making my conducting debut a success! you have no idea how much this means to me! really really grateful. let’s do another good one on 22nd; attract all the future sec 1s to band!!!

ok… concuss… ZzzZzzzz……

oh yeah, our inaugural concert. to me, all these still feel like a dream. i thought an evening of enchanting music was all we will get. but i knew Mr Png would fulfill his promise of giving us an exclusive concert, and he did. so here we are, past the point of no return. our passion brought us this far, and our passion will bring us to a successful concert!

thank you emcees for being such wonderful workaholics. thank you for the meticulous checking of pronunciations and figure of speech. thank you people for doing such a great job in the decoration; i’m sure the hall will look fantastic tmr! thank you members for all the ideas thrown out at us. although we didn’t use all the ideas, we appreciate the effort and every idea counts; we mix ideas and form new, better ones! thank you for coming back on thursdays to practise your parts. we are really begining to sound ready for concert! thank you leaders for keeping order even though you have enough things to worry about. btw, that’s your job. hahaha.

so, outing next week? haha.

let’s rock Kong Chian Hall tonight! (friendster timing weird one, it’s 12:17am, 16th Dec now)

and may i see sweetie’s trademark mi si ren smile tmr

(edit)

sorry, forgot to mention a few people! thank you to all graduating members and alumnus, you all have been really great! all the extra time taken for coming to practices, going through sectionals and guiding your juniors; you guys are great! and a real big thank you to all guest players for your hard work despite this not being your band. big thank you to Mr Pisit for working wonders with the trombones and brasses!

ain’t i lucky to have you all? it’s an honour to conduct you guys. thank you

speech speech speech! script script! and a whole load of stress that i don’t need. who needs stress anyway? haha. but well, i’m getting loads of it from all directions. i just hope to get a few things right. firstly i feel i’ve already over-explained jason’s case. i don’t owe anyone anymore explanation. don’t get me wrong, i’m not upset over this. and i’m not angry. just putting my foot down this time about this matter. secondly, i think it’s just unfair that certain things are not discussed when they ought to be discussed, and certain decisions should not be made if people are not there for the discussions. i’m not your junior, by the way, so watch your tone. lastly, rest assured i’ll deal with the problematic issues in a fair manner. i have always been fair, and i will keep things that way. because that is what mr png has always taught me.

on a lighter note, i’m happy to see that our members are giving the concert all their hard work! the decoration team is superb, i’m sure i’ll love the good job you guys will present to us. members and alumnus have been coming back for extra sectionals to polish up their parts, and also their instruments, and i’m truly grateful. things are turning out well and we will give a good concert, full of the right impact, and then we will have more say in Con Fuoco 2 being held at a better venue!

and i’m glad to see many members maturing in their thinking.

ok, i’m really overworked. i shall push on for this final stretch! may the concert go on smoothly, and may we truly enjoy our very first concert experience! most importantly, have loads of fun on stage, and bring the audience into the mood of this season of sharing

spread the love!