SE Journey 2008 - Worst Concert Ever

Oh my goodness... my blog is as good as none! I miss those days where I just sit in front of my comp blogging! I have yet to type in ANYTHING for my June's Korea trip. How worse can I get?

So, I've decided to sit down and do a blog entry on this year's Journey concert. This year's repertoire is much much manageable than last year's. I always enjoyed Bach's string pieces and his Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 is my favourite. However, this year seemed to be very rushed. I felt that there wasn't enough practices and rehearsals were not very proper. Perhaps ZH felt the pieces were easier, and the increase in the number of better players this year, as such, even on the day of concert I was feeling really lousy.

What I hate most is those CXXXX people who come and go as they like, don't listen to conductor, don't attend sectionals regularly, and worse of all, LIE so innocently!!! But of cos not all of them are like that.

But in V1 Section, it was terrible. I even asked if they are playing V2 for Brandenburg, and they replied yes. When audience clapped and we started the piece, they were BLOODY HELL playing V1. WHAT THE F***!

Being the fifth stand, we can't even hear the front stands! In the end, our Sinfonia and Concertos, I just merely air bow! FEEL LIKE CRYING! All these years I've playing, even the most difficult John Williams pieces, I also never air bow loh!!

Hence that makes my determination to do Grade 8 in Violin in the next two years.

Want to thank my colleagues and their partners who came to support me. They commented that the band could not make it. Horns were OUT OF TUNE. And their entries were bad. Sigh. No budget, what to do.

One thing good about this concert was that YT came back to play with me!! My stand-partner I dearly missed last year. And some good friends made - YQ and WK! YQ is like 6 years my junior in MSE. HAHA! But he is a really funny guy. Without him, practices would be boring!

Some pictures to share:

YQ and I

KY and I

WK and I

YT and I

The V1 Section

Samantha and I

The Orchestra (not full)

Taken after the Concert

Hope next year's concert will be better!

April 2008

Hi Everyone! I have not forgotten the password to my blog. I'm just too tight-up with mostly - work. It has been so long you've never heard from me. I guess I have to start typing in my entries soon.

I managed to go for a good trip last December to Japan, namely at Tokyo to Osaka. It was fun! I have never been to such a cold country where I have to wear Winter clothings. Hence I prepared heat packs, turtle-neck cotton wear and a big black knee-length jacket from Winterland! However,my legs froze as the cold wind blew as I only have one layer - jeans. Japan is a really nice place. Its citizens are courteous and civilized. Their country is so clean and so organised.

I've had the tastiest RAMEN at ramen museum. Its soup is so creamy!!



For more photos you can log onto my Facebook. HEHE.

Cheers for the year ahead! School has been fine. I'm adjusting really well, and I've learnt to handle all the tasks we're given. There's just so much work, and multi-tasking is one BIG skill you have to have. I've also learnt to work more efficiently, and now I am able to spend more time on TV and sleep. =)

Next, would be spending time with my friends. There's just so many friends I haven't kept in contact, like Yuhua, David, Jiehui, Choon Pang, Yvonne, Meihui, my String friends, NIE friends. I miss them all! I have not forgotten all of you!!

He is A.T.T.A.C.H.E.D.

He is attached. No wonder he didn't ask me out on my birthday. I will never get my ruby gems from him. SIGH. Whatever will happen, will happen. What is not mine, will never be mine.

Journey 2007

Journey 07 ended yesterday night at NAFA Theatre. This year we didn't have much time for rehearsals. That explains why my bowings were messy as well as I can't manage a few parts of the repertoire. SIGH. Never felt this helpless before. I even felt like pulling out at the last minute.

Rehearsals were screwed up. But luckily, we managed to pull through the concert. Barber in Seville was never-ever so nicely played. I was like "WOW" after the struck of the last chord.

Harold in Italy was ok. Not as bad as I thought it would. Tchaikovsky's String Serenade was ok. Managed to do Waltz properly. Sun Ke's Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto was good!!

There were alumni who came to watch. Some unexpected faces, and some older alumni were back. It's heart-warming to see alumni giving us their support! Yiting gave me a blue flower!! I LOVE BLUE FLOWERS!! THANK YOU YITING!

After the packing up, we sat at Mr Bean's. The usual thing we always do after concerts. The food is quite nice! HEHE. Left the place at about 115am. Was really very tired. Burnt-out over the whole week's daily rehearsals. My left shoulder and arm is very very tired! Have to put YOKO YOKO. And got a red mark on my shoulder. PAINFUL!

Some photos:

Andeline and I

Me, Gerard, Yiting

Violin I Section

Full Orchestra with Dr Yeo in Viola Solo

Full Orchestra Group Photo

NOW IT'S BACK TO WORK!

BOO HOO

The website I pay to download music is now closed!!! AND I HAVE CREDITS WITH THEM!!!! NOW I CAN'T GET MY MONEY BACK!!!

And I only realised it today!!! IT WAS CLOSED DOWN 3 MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBSSSSSSSSSSSS

Flowers for Jiehui on her Birthday

Changes

Hiiiii, it has beeeeeeen so long since I blogged. Ever since school started, I have been kept super busy. Cannot really take it anymore. Everyday go home at 6pm, and I was locked in the staff room last Friday!!! Just feel like crying inside!!

Anyway, so many changes took place in school. Feel like crying!! Now need to draw markers and only got one ream of white plain paper for the whole semester. Why must we be restricted to all these when they are a necessity??? I just don't understand the management. They always decide things without consulting us. And stick a piece of dumb white paper on the wall above the photocopy machine one early morning to "inform" us of the change. I mean, can't they just inform IN ADVANCE during the torturous weekly staff meeting?!?!?!?! ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! And now, they want to rearrange the tables in the staff room. I think I'm going to get affected. Anyway, maybe one day when I reached school, I won't find my things there. BECAUSE they will take action before informing.

Was so stressed up over the second observation. In the end, Number 2 wasn't free to come in. So only RO came in. Damn damn stressed. Cos' it's my second chance to prove myself. Luckily, the review was good. I hope Number 2 won't have time to come in in Term 4 and RO can submit this observation for evaluation.

MH is coming home this Friday!! YEAH! Don't know to feel happy or sad. Happy because there will be someone to enjoy food with me. Sad because the house will be noisy and the toilet will smell and more plates to wash. BOO HOO.

Went house hunting for the past few weeks. Most probably the en bloc will be successful. So tiring to go house after house man!! Cos our criteria is so high. Mum wants a good and big kitchen, MK wants a room by himself which means the house must have four bedrooms, rooms must be big enough to put study tables, wardrobes and beds, and for me, another piano. Then the house cannot face east or west, must be accessible, and most importantly must give a good home feeling. SO you say la, how difficult it is?!!??! Then there were a few choices to select from. Eventually, we got the last house we saw. Haha. 145 sq m. Expensive, cos' property prices are so damn high now. Now still undergoing paper work. It'll be done maybe in Nov. Then we'll renovate the house, and move in hopefully by June 08. Hehe. When MH comes back, we can show him the house.

1st Blood Test

There was a free blood test for all staff today. With MUCH effort making time out of my heavy timetable today, 200 cc of my blood was taken out from my left hand. I even signed for extra tests to be done on my blood. Total cost was $188. ZZZZZZ heart pain.

The needle didn't make much pain at all! I was so surprised by the gentleness of the nurse. But my blood flowed so slowly, I sat there for more than 5 min to get 200 cc of blood out. And my left hand was numb throughout cos' the nurse did not loosen the constriction band on my arm.

HMMMM..... even more thoughts has to be put in if I want to donate my blood. My brother always asks me to donate blood, but I fear that HUGE needle. Now with my blood flowing so SLOWLY, how much time will I need to fill that bag of blood?!?! Oh man, I think my whole body will go numbbbbbbbbbbbb.

Back from Beijing

Oh I'm back! The trip was overall - FUN. Of course, there were many times when I was pissed off by my students. The food was not bad, despite most of the meals were vegetable-based. The best of all is I managed to eat my MA LA NIU WA and SHUI ZHU YU.

The hotel stays were memorable - all alone by myself! HEHE. Then some teachers and I went drinking beer and eat meat-sticks and talked. It was a really enjoyable time together. The tour guides were also nice. I managed to have some good chat sessions with them.

Didn't buy much there. Only a HU LU SI (chinese musical instrument that is like a flute blown vertically). A top that I can wear for racial harmony day. A packet of dried MA LA steamboat paste.

I think I don't mind going again next year. Just hope I go with the same company again. ^_^

Trip to Beijing

Tom afternoon, I'll be flying to Beijing. Taking Singapore Airlines there! WOW! I wanna watch movies and listen to music and play games!!! I hope my students DON'T bother me!!! It'll be a 6-hour flight there, reaching there around 11pm. Then we have to take the coach for about 45 min, then perhaps wait another 1 hour to check-in. I just hate the process of checking-in. Then have to unpack, bathe and check on the STUDENTS!!! Then, sleep. I think it'll be around 2:30am already!!! SHUCKS LOH!! And guess what? Have to wake up at 6am again! And they will have breakfast, travel to school in coach for half hour, and hopefully reaching the school by 730am where the school will welcome us with..... Lion Dance perhaps? HAHA!

Oh man! I'm foreseeing SUPER boredom when students go for their lessons. Maybe I'll just nap in the lounge. I HOPE THERE IS A LOUNGE FOR US!

Ever since Minkie went to serve the nation, the house is left with 4 members. A nice number to sit round the coffee table for table while enjoying the 7pm drama serials and MH complaining about brown rice. Then MH left for US, leaving 3 members. So I made a point to always be home for dinner. Now I'm going Beijing tomorrow, the house will be cold with 2 members. =( And when July comes, it'll be left with me cos' my parents will be away in Japan and MH won't be back yet. LONELY LONELY ME!

I hope to be able to relax and have fun during the China trip. Then when I'm back, it's hectic cos' next day gotta give out report books and surely got SJAB camp stuff to settle. Then 3rd June will be going Subang Jaya, then to Redang!! WAHAHA! Alrite, I must remember to work too. Time is not enough.

Happy 22nd Birthday Carey!! *Ribit Ribit!*