Monday, May 30, 2005
@3:44 PM
He is dynamic...
He is charismatic...
He is humorous...
and needless to say..
he possess excellent musicality..
He is..
none other..
than..
Mr..
Soichi.
(Note: I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling for his name. Well..at least tt's how I pronounce it.Gee. =D )
Mus'art is honourable to hav one of the SYF Central Judging Band Comp's adjudicators, Mr Soichi to be our guest conductor for this afternoon's rehearsal. Indeed, he came in at the right time to brush up our 'Impressions of Japan' since we're already technically quite well-prepared for the music..except for a few hiccups here and there. Oh well. Anyway, he really made full use of that precious 3 hrs to pin-point at our mistakes and remedy them on the spot; we played and stopped. Played again and stopped again; with the sole purpose of achieving perfection. He's strict, yes. However, I felt tt what else cld be better than to rehearse the doubtful part over and over again so that the correct tune will eventually get registered in our minds? I like that. =D
Through this session with him, I understand Impressions a level higher and appreciate the shape and colours of the music a great lot better; The appropriate style to use on the piece especially. One thing which as musicians we're fully aware of..only that we've the tendency to overlook - musical notes are not jus plain notes to play and forget. Every single note are equally important; Jus like every lyrics in a song. The notes are for us to play and FeEl with our hearts and souls. Jus like playing the third movement of Impression. It somehow or rather never crosses my mind that the expressions are closely tied to its main melody. I've always been too concerned abt achieving perfection on its technical part..so much so tt I've actually compromise the beautiful melody with jus playing plain notes. One learning point which I've come to truly appreciate, all thanks to Mr Soichi. =D
A meaningful and inspiring rehearsal with Mr Soichi, I've also learnt abt what differentiate a Gold and a Gold with Honours medallist band; A Gold medallist band has what it takes to be a well-balanced one, with the first players strongly supported by the second and third parts' players of each sections. So what abt GWH then? It's the special elements that they hav in the pieces they played; most prob the style of music tt they've grabbed well. And tt's precisely the purpose of Mr Suichi's visit today. Imagine a thousand and one bands playing Impressions at WMC. How musart cld stand out from the rests depends on how creative and outstanding we cld put our performance across to the judges.
A miscellaneous I was taught is tt it's not always wrong to pepper our music with expressions on our own; It doesnt mean that there's no dynamics written on the music and the players cld jolly well follow and play mere plain notes. No..tt's not the way. Sometimes the composer may be due to certain reasons,forget to add some expressions to the piece.(Haha. It does happen according to Mr Soichi =D ) So if the band cld play the music using appropriate expressions for the particular part, and most importantly, cld play it fantastically well such that when the judges listen to it and say,"Wow, maybe we cld really add that to this part of the music," wldnt tt be a plus-plus point for the band?
These are merely some learning points that I wanna share..cos' I find them very useful. For no reason why, I find Mr Soichi inspirational and in one way or another, motivated me to add even more gallon of oil for WMC. I've made a superb right choice going for the competition. Band..really makes my life more meaningful than ever. =)
Yearn for the days of innocence
Friday, May 27, 2005
@1:42 PM
"Meridien JC downs Victoria JC in the dark."
As I read about how MJC soccer team brought glory to the school with a Championship title in their "A" Division football final on Today, I cldnt help but to cheer for their victory. Am extremely proud of our soccer team! ^-^ Still rem that they came in fourth (I guess) last yr at Inter-school soccer competition and was somewhat disappointed. So now the boys made a comeback and beat the defending champion- VJ with 7-6 in the penalty shootout. Well done, Meridians!
Hmm..It seems that MJ is on the right track to achieve the school's vision. Well..keep it up MJ!
Err..btw, I dun understand why the college's name has been constantly mis-spelled as 'MeridiEn' instead of 'MeridiAn'. Humph. Hope that the newspapers will get it right the next time.
A good news to announce:
"I PASSED my Advance Driving Theory!"
YaY!! Din expect it to be a smooth-sail, so much so tt I cld actually pass it at a single attempt. The greatest achievement was I din even hav any driving experience before challenging the test! Frankly speaking, I even had qualms of not making through the Advance theory despite my thorough preparation. This is due to the difficulty of the booklet I was given; Booklet A. Yea, tt's the one. Whatever it is, I'm glad to pass the test and so now, I can proceed on to attain Class 3 PDL and start driving lessons! Yesh~ Real driving and not the imaginary sort when I did my theory test(cos' I need to visualise this and that to ans the questions). Haha~ =D Ganbatte, Huili!!
Counting down to my last day of work:
3.5 working days =/
Yearn for the days of innocence
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
@7:05 AM
Everyone was happily chewing away at the MacDonald-taste-alike Marry Brown's fries when suddenly Zari sensed sth wrong somewhere. As she whispered the content to Hid, an orginally-smiley face Hid has had suddenly underwent a 180 degree change to a serious look. So the whispers passed on but of course, stop short at the Bdae gal who later saw the light of the matter..
'Shin's mug!!!'
Yeah..we were actually careless enough to leave behind the 49.90 customized Shin mug at Pasir Ris bowling alley when we made our way to Airport's Marry Brown. I have to say that unfortunately, the bdae gal has no fate with her fav star's mug cos' eventhough Fit went to check out the spot where we left the gift, what was remained, was a mere Swaroski (is that how you spell the brand?) bag tt was used to carry the present. Obviously, the gift was stolen! A lesson for us to learn - always check before we leave a place. =/
Despite the undesirable incident, our mood as well as the bdae girl's were not spoilt though all of us felt a tinge of pitiness. Luckily we bought other gifts for her as well; a bag and a card.
So we had a fulfilling yet fattening din at Marry Brown in T2 after we bowled at Downtown and thereafter, we had ice blended drinks at Starbucks. It was truly an enjoyable birthday bash especially with crazy people like Fit and Kailing who really made us laugh like nobody's business(a good exercise for our diaphram too! Haha~). ^-^
Tt was Saturday.
Sunday..
Hmmz..I had a wonderful day on Sun..but I shant elaborate here. Haa~ It's a secret! =D
Today..
Had mus'art from 10.00-12.00noon. Thankfully Dad drove me to the CC..else I would hav to force myself up early in the morning to take public transport.
The Holland trip is already settled. Yah..I'm going. Have been pondering to go or not to, taking into consideration that my school term start late July and the trip is exactly ard those times. Well..this is a rare opportunity for me; to rep Sigapore in taking part in such a prestigous competition- World Music Contest. Once every four years. If I miss it, I would hav to wait for another 4 years. And there's no way for me to predict what will happen then. What if again, I cant make it for the contest? Cool my heels for yet another 4 yrs?? a.k.a 8 yrs from now? Since it's only the school orientation and 3 days of lessons that I gotta miss, I've made up my mind to sacrifice. In life, there's always sth that we need to sacrifice. In economic terms, when a choice is made, there gotta be opportunity cost. So my opp cost here wld be schooling, and also to widen my circle of uni friends thru orientation ba. It's okay..well..it really is. My parents esp my mom's consent was truly a hard earn one..as well as the audition tt I managed to pull thru. Thus, I'm prep to bear the cost. => Am looking forward to the contest. Gotta add lotsa oil for that! =)
Btw, I've made another major decision too.
NTU Economics.
Meanwhile, I'm also appealing to NTU's Business. Hope to get a place in the course. However, if not *touchwood*, I'm fine with what I'm given. =D
Yearn for the days of innocence
Saturday, May 21, 2005
@11:52 AM
You Are 24 Years Old |
24
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
|
Yearn for the days of innocence
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
@12:29 AM
After crossing the road..
"Hey! You're from Damai right?"
"Yeah! I recog you!"
*laughs*
"We used to be in the same Chinese class in Damai mah.."
"Huh?! Really? I dun rem leh.."
*Feeling soo pai-seh*
"Oh yeah, you're from TPJ right?"
"Yeah..you're from MJ right?"
"Yeah..eh..I always saw you ma.."
"Yah! I saw you too. But you didnt seem to recog me."
*Laugh out loud*
"No loh! I tot you dun recog me that's why I didnt dare to call you."
"You're Sim Hwee Lee right?"
"Oh my goodness. You mean you still rem my name?! I dun even rem your name!"
*Ultra pai-seh at tt v moment"
*Haa..I'm Kelvin."
"Oh yeah..you're from 6/4 right? You know Jiunn Tong?"
"Yeah..I rem you as his friend."
"Okay..Haa."
As we walked along the carpark towards my block..
"Hey you stay at Blk 607 right?"
"....Yeah.."
"Oh..I stay at Blk 611."
"Ooh..okay. Byee~!"
*Grinz*
"Byee!"
What an interesting encounter. I used to coincide with Kelvin soo many times. Yet each time we tot that we cldnt recog each other and thus, we merely went on our separate ways without any greetings. And goodness gracious. He cld still 'lian ming dai xing' call my name! How honoured I felt.=D For once, someone cld recog and rem my name without myself remembering theirs. *Haha* Good feelings wor~~
He's already in NS now. Tall and well-built, he towers over me as we walked side by side. In fact,if not for my another pri school mate, Huiling whom both of us coincided in Bus 60 earlier, he wldnt have made an advance to greet me.. Cos' I was chit-chatting with her in the Bus, and she was like asking me, "Hey! Tt guy was also from Damai right?" HmMm..so I guess he somehow or rather overheard us ba. However, he doesnt seem to rem her. =/
Well well..no matter what, how nice to bump into them! ^-^
Yearn for the days of innocence
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
@1:13 PM
NTU Economics VS NUS Building and Real Estate
DotSsSsss........
Arghh.
What a Dilemma.
Yearn for the days of innocence
@11:46 AM
Your Japanese Name Is... |
Hana Yamaguchi
|
Yearn for the days of innocence
Sunday, May 08, 2005
@1:18 PM
Band Serial No.04 : Meridian Junior College
*
**
***
****
*****
******
GOLD
I may not be present at that time when the results were released.. but the above was how I imagined the emcee wld announced it on that day - 5 May 2005, Thursday.
Finally.
Finally MJCSB has made her presence felt. A Gold medallist band are we..so do RJC, ACJC, VJC, TPJC...no longer are we questioned of our standard. This is the final verdict.
Well..of course, we ought to maintain such optimistic performance not for one year but forever and ever so long MJCSB exists. I've faith that the subsequent batches of the band will be able to uphold the existing standard. MJCSB, we CAN do it!^-^ Cheers~!
I was watching the AM session of the SYF at SCH. Frankly speaking, almost all the bands that I've heard are truly of a substance which one opponent cldnt take lightly of. After listening to the first 3 bands performed- ACJC, HCJC and NYJC, I cldnt help but to worry abt MJSCB, as to whether they cld outshine them and clinch the highest star. I've to admit that my juniors were quite nervous on stage cos' I cld feel from the slight rush in their music. In spite of that, throughout their performance, I was comfortable with their wholesome, rich sound- a large improvement from the recent band exchange in the school hall when they sounded quite dispersed then. Well Done PpLe! Tt's the tone yeah? Am glad that the band reaped whatever they sowed. It proves that hard work counts. Only when you cling on to your goal dearly, and is determined to work hard to achieve it, tt you wld certainly not be let down.=)
Beside MJCSB, I'm also very pleased with my first 3 mths' JC, NYJ's performance. To my dismay, they were awarded a silver. I tot it's truly unjustified. No doubt the band performed their best that morning; Movement for Rosa- a piece they played with heart and soul which I was quite impressed with really. Probably it's merely a wrong choice of piece tt landed them in such state...tt I thought if it's so, it wld be a great pity.
*sigh*
Yearn for the days of innocence
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
@3:33 AM
Happy Monday!
It's been long since I cld slack ard at home on a weekDay. The feeling is certainly great. ^-^ Well..not to say that I dread work..in fact, work makes me appreciate my break even more. =D
Went to ECP yesterday with my 310 gang. Cycled for an hour and a half which explains the sunburn on my arms, legs and..nose a.k.a the most disturbing part (*Dotz*). It gives two different facial tones- a burnt nose resting on a fair complexion making me looks soo... tenene. Argh. Anyway, hav to thank JT for looking after our belongings.. and to his dad for the free ride to our meeting point. Thanks lots! =D
Supposed to realise our long-lasting unfulfilled Kbox goal but we ended up 'lying flat' in Mos Burger after cycling. Cos' we were jus too tired!-_- Moreover, we missed the prime time too; by the time we were back to Parkway area, it's already three; simply not worthwhile for us to book the 2-7pm session.
With a satisfactory stomach, we shopped ard the mall..and visited Sembawang where I finally bought my Stefanie Sun CD! Haa. Despite the cheaper offer of 9.90 bucks for the China version, I decided to support the artiste with my orginal purchase. Though it's more ex, well..no regrets. =D After Sembawang and Poh Kim's visits, all of us were aimless cos' we were simply at a loss of our next destination..And we actually cooled our heels beside the mall's directory for nearly 25mins(!!) only to crack our brains for the next activity. Oh boy.-_-|| Eventually we arrived at a decision- Slack at Changi Airport. Haa. It seems to be the best option out of what we've came up with. Ironically, it almost became the worst one cos' it costs us 30 mins to wait for tt Te-ne-ne Bus 36! You imagine pple come and go, boarding and alighting the buses YeT the time had seemingly stopped for the five of us- Juanx, Bow, Bee, Leen and I; We stood right at the same spot for the span of 1800 seconds jus for that te-ne-ne Bus 36 to come! -_-||| How infuriating! We even had the most lagging bus- Service 15 came and went 3 times! Frankly speaking, we had no choice but to suspect that the last Bus 36 seen (while we were crossing the overhead bridge) might be the last service. But of course we overturned the conjecture cos' hello?! It's only 5plus; How cld tt be?! Thus we made up our mind that we shall board the fourth Service 15 if Bus 36 did not appear by then. And when we saW that Bus 15 was coming on the opp side, we were all like 'Oh my Goodness. Are we really heading home like tt? (when we didnt feel like it). Where's the magic no?!!' Fortunately our prayers were answered- Bus 36 came before Bus 15 and best, it was only in front of the latter. What a close shave! Phew~~~
Had din at staff canteen..ate the Fried Hokkien Mee mixed with its Balachan Chilli which was indeed.... Shoik!(although it's hot and spicy). And for no reason why, I suddenly had this craze on Pulot Hitam (boiled black glutinous rice with coconuet milk) cos' I ordered twice within day- one in the morning at Parkway Foodcourt, another at Airport T2. Haa. Feel like eating it now too. Yummy yummy! So we ate..and I wondered how we started chit-chatting abt some spooky, errie stories tt gave us goosebumps. After Jendela Tan a.k.a Juanx sharing, I decided that in future, I'm not going to plug-in when taking lifts..in case gt that chanting.... Goodness. Feeling goosebumps le. Den Rainbow was very cute; She purposely plugged-in during the sharing session so tt she cld conveniently gave the spooky lift story a miss. hAaHaa. =D
What a tiring yet enjoyable day..
Looking forward to the next public hols when we wld be going KboX!! Yeah! =D
Yearn for the days of innocence
