fellowship of the orchestra=)

today went for vjco woodwind gathering...actually the purpose of the gathering was to see mdm wee before she leaves the school for tpjc...apparently she thought long and hard before comign to this decision to leave vj after 11 long, hard years. needed a change in environment, and maybe a fresh start.

i think i agree with her, that it's difficult to stay in one working environment for too long, and 11 years is like omg long!=P. wish her all the best in tpj, which shdn't be too bad, especially if they produce students like andrew.=P

had a long talk about studies, the importance of mandarin, our secondary schools etc etc...very interesting talk, which is too long to put here...had quite alot of afterthoughts about it after going home.

i think my time in VS did make me more mature than i would be if i was in a mixed school. but that's just a conjecture since i was NOT from a mixed school, and who knows, maybe i would have been a better person if i had been. but i feel that being in a all-guys school did make me wisen up to the world we are in. it's like a precursor to army; makes you see through the masks people have and the ulterior motives.

that's how i have this particular 'talent' for seeing through most people.

and i'm increasingly alarmed by the amount of work to be put in next sem. i fear, that i won't be able to spend time doing things that i want to, and instead spend my time immersing myself in the numerous tutorials and lab reports. i fear, that i'll be spending less time with my dearest. i fear......so many things...

i don't want to regret anything. so before this holidays draws to a close next week, i want to make the most of our time. amid all the bidding stuff and worrying about modules to take, i just hope we have some time solely together before all the engin rubbish kicks in again.

hopefully, no regrets.

2010!

first post of the new year! hoho. so 2009 is over. transition year, separating army from university life. made so many new friends, from iras peeps to university friends, and meeting many old friends that i've previously lost contact with.

overall, it's been a pretty good year. at least, i think i'm more or less where i expected myself to be. actually more=P. unexpected stuff do happen, and fortunately, its the positive kind of unexpected stuff. hopefully, 2010 will prove to be a good year as well=)

spent new year's eve at yan's house eating steamboat and playing bridge and rock band with the EE gang. haha. it was fun, and for me, quite heart-warming. better than going to crowded places and shouting yourself hoarse while squeezing with the tons of people around. or just staying at home and stoning =P

at the same time, held a belated birthday celebration for dearest at yan's place. after some time of meticulous planning and present-making by the EE gang, it was carried out to near perfection. the only non-perfect thing? not enough cake on her face=D. oops!=P

and the Z monster figurine was huge! lol. taller than her=P. and some kids were staring and pointing at it while we were on the train. quite funny lol.=P

hope you enjoyed your birthday this year, dearest. next year will be better=)

went out with s21 peeps on the 30th. i laughed so much my stomach muscles got cramp=P. LOL. from burning chopsticks to observing global warming in candle wax, to cam-whoring along clarke quay, to finding subtle ways to ask about 'forbidden fruit'...i just laughed and laughed.

good friends are hard to find, and even harder to keep. treasure them, for you may never find another like them again.=)

does the winner take it all?

The winner takes it all---ABBA

The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear

The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain?

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny...

such a nice song, so true too...the winner takes it all, the loser standing small. that's the natural order of things isn't it? can't be helped...

but to me, what's important is to not take for granted what you have now. it's a blessing, and a gift, to have people around you that care. it isn't a right. in fact, whoever's above always have a way of telling people that it ISN'T a right, by taking things away when it matters the most. a not-so-gentle reminder, just when we start to get complacent.

treasure everything you have. because regret is a terrible friend to make...

life's like that; one second you may feel like a winner, but how long does it really last? or rather, do you really think you are a winner? and vice versa, do you really think you have lost?

i don't know. because i've never really lost something i've felt is extremely important. and i don't wanna know.=X

but i feel, you wouldn't really have lost everything, unless you have given up on yourself. you can lose your wealth, your friends, your loved ones, but what you have left, is always yourself. trust yourself, trust that you can overcome all obstacles in front of you by yourself. because you have never really lost totally, unless you have given up on yourself.

it may seem too idealistic; how many people can claim to be so strong to stand up again after failures?

but do you have a choice? when left by yourself, do you actually have a choice, except to stand up again, and tell yourself, you must do it?

stand up and fight. because you know you must.

And all i want for X'mas..is you=)

feeling blessed, feeling joyous, feeling happiness like never before this festive X'mas=)

thank you, for being you=).

because you mean the world to me=)

back to basics

so results release was yesterday. everything was quite expected, though some that i thought i had screwed up i did quite okay, while the one i thought i did well didn't exactly get the grade i wanted. but oh well. everything balances out.

so we look forward to next semester. where i should be taking 6 mods. hmm...just checked it out on the timetable builder. it is actually feasible! since the SS mod i'm taking has only one 2hr lecture per week and no tutorials...looks fine to me. with some luck, i'll only have one lesson on tues=)

hopefully, murphy doesn't strike.=P
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so sem 1 is over! with the release of results, we can draw the curtains on the bridging semester where i attempted to ignite my brain after 2 or more years of inactivity. and the cultural shock of university is officially over too. gotten used to school all over again, gotten used to studying, gotten used to having cca activity, gotten used to... everything=)

therefore i think everything will just get better.

full steam ahead.

think will be busy next sem...6 modules, with the planning for emerge concert, with the practising for the concert itself. and of course, most importantly, spending time with my dear=) it all boils down to time management, and i'm sure everything will work out. it will=)
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was listening to 方炯镔's newest album last night. an album solely dedicated to singing other singers' popular songs, and honestly speaking, his rendition arguably surpassed all the predecessors. the first time in a long while in which i thought ALL the songs in anyone's album were worth listening to. listened to it repeatedly, and the 'touching' feel still remains. impressive. i felt so at peace listening to it last night that i fell asleep listening to it.=P just very impressive vocals, no unnecessary techniques, simple acoustic accompaniment.

very touching=). singing, back to basics.

i respect such singers, because they don't command as much media attention as the so called bigwig idol singers, but they certainly sing much better than the show luos, fahrenheits, jolins. yet they continue to put in effort to express the sort of music they love, to bring this music to their audiences. it doesn't matter if you don't look real good on stage, if you can't dance, just possess the purest voice to touch hearts. that's all that's required of a good singer.

and that's what i aim to do.


猜心---方炯镔

这样的夜
热闹的街
问你想到了谁紧紧锁眉
我的喜悲 随你而飞
擦了又湿的泪与谁相对...

originally by 张宇. but this singer makes it sound tons better =p.
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fri, sat and sun are all special days. hope you'll enjoy them as much as i think i will.=)

vivace!

went for vivace at st james today. it was not bad, really. quite well done. the song rundown was smooth, the singing was not bad and the ending was excellent=D. really a case of, so-high-that-we-didn't-care-about-the-singing-anyway kind of ending.

the last 3 songs were done with alot of energy, it was as though the performers were willing the audience to stand up and dance with them. but singaporeans being singaporeans(myself included), have this weird penchant to just stare stoically even though singers/performers are trying their best to make us high.

A for effort though=P

the new singers were not bad, except for the occasional off-key and forgetting of lyrics, which can probably be attributed to nerves. and khim and zhiyang were good as usual. overall, a rather good concert=). if emerge can be done like that, i would consider it a success actually=P

and, so weird, although there were many girls wearing 'interesting' clothes(really quite interesting=P) and all wearing makeup, i didn't really look at them. i was more inclined to look at this rather charismatic and shuai guy on stage=P. oops. but no kidding. my first impression was,' wow.he can be an artiste already'. just that he has the ability to capture attention.

impressive. when can i learn that skill?=P

Disclaimer: the last time i checked, i was still straight.=D

it's a sad, long journey to take alone..even just for a day..

reached home at an unholy timing after voices meeting in school yesterday. a 14 hour meeting. omg. mentally draining=P. had to decide 27 songs for emerge next year and more importantly, who to sing what, taking into consideration all the preferred song genres, the suitable genres that the vocalist can sing, suitable pairings, suitable vocal range, whether the vocalist can dance, act sexy...etc etc.

so many considerations, so many possible combinations, some of which may be potential screw-ups during emerge.

i think the voices peeps, if anyone is reading this, have to really thank joel and marcus. for the pure effort and hard work put in. and the faith they have in the vocalists. hopefully they can really pull it off, else it'll be a waste of effort discussing endlessly yesterday.

i think i'm like the bad guy in there, with jim. in order not to compromise standards, i would rather axe people, then to find them a song for the sake of giving them a bit part in the concert. maybe i'm just more hard-hearted than joel, yanjia and winnie.=P

but hopefully, just hopefully, the decisions we made are correct and everything works out =P. else...joel's gonna have a major headache in the buildup to the concert =X.

and i'm happy with my part=D. very happy. one song, no more, no less. i don't think i would be able to cope with 2 or more anyway. perfect=)

and it's day 2 of cycle 2 this week. a necessary evil, but very torturous. voices distracted me yesterday, but what to do today? i predict, my mood will just keep going downhill today.