English blog of personal response - Term 3 (2)

Articles used:
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/pub/naturewatch/text/a052a.htm
http://ecologyasia.com/news-archives/2001/jan-01/straitstimes.asia1.com.sg_singapore_story_0,1870,20114-980805540,00.html

------

If you are in Singapore now, look out the window.

If you say that all you can see is the wall of the next building, then find another window. But the vast majority of people will see something which has characterized Singapore as a unique city in the sense that we have something which most other countries would only have in the countryside, or a few scattered in the nearby city square, or in a bonsai pot at home. It’s called trees.

Trees, or the general greenery. Singapore has long been labeled the “garden city”, in the sense that we are pretty much what a tree-hugger’s dream city could be. There’s not one road which is not paved with greenery, not one building without a skirt of trees. There’s not much doubt that Singapore is green. However, not many can say the same about Singaporeans.

The article from Habitat News tells us about the installation of “green corridors” between residential hubs in certain districts; most regular joggers will know them as park connectors. However, it also says that there are many Singaporeans who have taken a decidedly weird attitude about these paths. Lily Kong, social and cultural geographer from the National University of Singapore, observes that many Singaporeans who do not use these paths, take comfort in the fact that they exist.

Isn’t it just the slightest bit disturbing that a person can take comfort in an achievement which he had absolutely no part to play in, didn’t know about until he read the newspaper, and wouldn’t care about if he hadn’t? Maybe. Maybe not.

Protecting the title of “garden city” isn’t easy at all. In the 2001 World Economic Forum, Singapore was ranked as one of the tenth worst environmental countries. This was mainly due to Singapore’s inherent lack of natural resources, coupled with the level of industrial pollution per unit of land area. But nobody can say that the government hasn’t tried. Singapore has tried to implement more eco-friendly machines and techniques in her developmental process. I’ve also seen newspaper articles displaying pictures of one minister or another leaning against a shovel, planting a tree at an environmental protection event.

Okay, fine. The government has tried, full stop. What about us as individuals? We can take all the comfort in the world that this agency or that company has started a recycling programme, but besides that, there’s not much we can say for ourselves. Singapore may be green, but many Singaporeans don’t give a hoot. Everywhere – anywhere – you go, you can see litter decorating the drains and walkways. Cigarette butts, drink cans, tissue paper, cardboard boxes, you name it, they have it. Town councils have to install more and more rubbish bins (which are, ironically, GREEN, probably in some faint hope that the visitors will look at the bins and not the trash) which we don’t use anyway. Many places have to employ cleaners just to remove our trash, and frankly, it’s disgusting.

So, when will we do something about it? When will we come out from under the mask of green which the government has so carefully hidden us under? If everyone could just decide that their cigarette butts would look nicer in a bin, it would make a world of difference.

--- 545 words ---

English blog of personal response - Term 3

Original Article - Premarital Sex: Whose burden?
The original article was written by Aaron Ng, undergraduate in the National University of Singapore.

---

Average age of Singaporeans experiencing sex for the first time? 18.4
Average age of marriage in Singapore? 30.2

These figures are alarming; but not as alarming as they could be. For instance, the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the world is in fact 143 per 1000 girls aged 15-19 years in sub-Saharan Africa; which would of course imply that the occurrences of sexual activity are even higher. 80% of British teenagers admitted that they had engaged in sexual activity while still studying in their junior college level education institute, or even before that. In fact, even though figures of pre-marital sex are rising in our country, Singapore is still widely considered as already a "well-behaved" country in terms of sexual activity. Still, pre-marital sex does have its consequences.

There are many associated social problems with pre-marital sexual activity, namely that of teenage pregnancy, teenage mothering, teenage abortions, and spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. All these are usually based on immature thinking and irresponsible Teenagers sometimes do not realise the consequences of their actions when fueled by impulsive passion and the heat of the moment. If the actions of the two partners lead to a pregnancy, the choice of abortion or raising the baby is a choice between a rock and a hard place. Sometimes, other consequences may show years later when one or the other of the partners is diagnosed with AIDS or HIV. By then, regret comes too late.

The best way to solve this is in sex education. Prevention is better than cure, so the question is, quote, "not whether something should be done about the issue, but who should be doing something about the issue." Does the duty fall to the parents and relatives? Or does it stand with the government and, in extension, the teachers?

Sex has always been a taboo in the Singaporean family society. Parents shirk at even mentioning the word, resulting in a trend of ignorance-breeds-curiosity in the child. Teachers are too conservative, and some may feel embarrassed talking about the topic. By secondary school level, the usual norm for introducing sex education, the student has already developed a skeptical and cynical attitude towards teachers and sometimes their parents, and it is hard to drill the concept of "safe (pre-marital) sex" into them.

I agree with the author's diagnosis. For example, the Dutch system utilizes a direct, pragmatic approach when dealing with sex education, incorporating biological information, values, attitudes, and communication skills from a young age. This direct approach has resulted in relatively low rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases in the country.

I feel that our methods are not targeted enough. Matters regarding sex should be regarded as fairly unconscious truths, instead of debate motions which have plenty of gray areas. No one needs to tell a student to look left and right before crossing a road, or to peel a banana before eating it. Why can't they do that to sex?

491 words

---

Other Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_incidence_of_teenage_pregnancy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS

sister's birthday

Today: 25th July 2007. Happy birthday, sis: 12 years old. I think...?

Haven't blogged in a week due to Maths and Chinese CCTs. I think I aced Math, and didn't do too badly for Chinese.

P.D. says my chinese chess skills are based on "radical" and "tyco" moves, but I actually think I'm improving. Here's my scores so far:

VS P.D. --- 4 Wins 1 Draw 1 Loss

VS H.K. --- 1 Win 0 Draw 1 Loss

And H.K. got OWNED by Arthur three times in a row (four?). With some of our help.

Investiture line-up still changing. 2 confirmed so far; Centuria & Phantom of the Opera.


--- interesting quotes ---
(not really a quote)

*raises head, watches Person A kick the ball, flies in a nice trajectory...*

*ball whacks me on the head*

heads up - tests

Tests coming round. Nothing else to say.


--- interesting quote ---

*reading from chinese textbook*

5566 = five five six six... oops...

friday the 13th again

Friday the 13th. Nothing exceptionally unlucky happened today, haha. Actually I quite enjoyed today.

In band, we're starting to have batch practice, i.e. the whole batch (Sec 1/2/3/4) will go somewhere around the school to practice together some pieces to play for Investiture.

Our songs:

1) Centuria (Batch Song)
2) Fate of the Gods
3) Utopia (unconfirmed)

This time, I am determined to get all my notes/articulation etc. correct, and try to match up to the Sec 3s last year (Sec 4s this year). Our batch has always been pretty... unenthusiastic when it comes to batch practice, so this year that has got to change. It already is, in some people.

Downside: I was the only clarinet today, and that might happen frequently from now on. And everybody says I play too soft...

1) Centuria (3rd clar) - It's the hardest batch piece out of the 3 (others are Crystal City Overture and Circle of Life). I think we sound ok for the fast parts, but the slow bits are empty (only like 10 Sec 3s came today). And I might switch to 1st.

2) Fate of the Gods (1st clar) - Listening to the recording, I must say that its very nice. It portrays a battle between good and evil (cliche!) and only revolves around one theme, so it shouldn't be too hard once I master the fingering. BUT, solo 1st clarinet = plenty of solo melody bits, and duets with the flute.



3) Utopia (haven't got the score yet)

Well, its still 1 month + to Investiture.

On another topic, I went to watch Harry Potter 5 yesterday. My father got some complementary tickets for the opening night, so why not? Also met some RI boys there, I know one by name, the others two by face. I didn't know they knew me.

It was... actually GOOD, unlike HP 4. People who haven't read the book may be a bit lost, but the plot is much clearer than HP 4. The good/evil distinction is plainly evident; white smoke = Order of the Pheonix, black smoke = Death Eater; green = Voldemort (Adeva Kedava), red = Dumbledore (Expelliamus?); fire spells = Voldemort, water spells = Dumbledore.


5 stars for the effects too. The final battle made me shiver.

On the other hand, sometimes the need for simple understanding by stereotyping was carried away in Dolores Umbridge. She is supposed to act the simpering assistant of the Minister, but the stereotype went too far. She was portrayed:

1) dressed in bright pink
2) high pitched voice
3) short, fat, old lady
4) smile stuck on her face

but

5) general bad guy
6) patronizing
7) cruel
8) control freak
9) unfeeling

That's a bit too much.

Anyway, goodnight.

popping by

Just popping by to put in some quotes.

And I just realised that this Friday is in fact Friday the 13th. Not that I'm the least bit superstitious, like *touch wood* =), but that day happens to be:

1) The day my RE SMP 6-page report is due (well its done)
2) Chemistry quiz (small matter)
3) The first band practice since Con Brio (actually I can't wait to start picking our Investiture songs, but we will probably practice something for National Day)

... but these are relatively small events.

Saw a band perform last Saturday at West Mall. 1st song: Some march that I remember faintly but I can't place it. I think it may be Blue Ridge Saga. 2nd song: A medley of Mamma Mia! songs including "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia!". 3rd song: Y.M.C.A.

All the songs sounded pretty simple, but the audience loved it. So did I, it sounded flawless from the 4th floor. Trumpets a bit soft though.

Maybe that's what our band should do for concerts; play simple and more appreciated songs instead of harded songs which no one has ever heard of. Maybe.

Also, saw someone I knew with his children in Parkway Parade on Sunday. I didn't say hi though.


--- interesting quotes ---

"My password has changed from asterisk-asterisk-asterisk-asterisk to dot-dot-dot-dot-dot..."

"My birthday is on the 29th of Febuary. I have four birthdays a year."

07/07/07

*this post was written on 07/07/07 but posted on 10/07/07*

Today's 07/07/07!

Con Brio's over. I guess it was OK. Everyone was singing along in the encores and we were all feeling pretty high, but there were a lot of jumbled parts in the harder songs, and the whole band lost itself in Gershiwn!, fluboes lost themselves in Whistle, and I lost myself badly in Snow Caps and Mononoke.

But what's over is over. Now I'm stuck with piles of homework (particularly RE) and 3 pop quizzes in all three Sciences. I mean, look at this:

Wednesday: Physics Quiz
Thursday: Bio Quiz
Friday: Chem Quiz

lolz.


--- interesting quote ---

"由于 = cuttlefish!"

"由于 = got fish!"

"由于 = got luck!"

"由于 = hesitate!"

another homework night

Another late night grill.

And I realized that I over typed some completely irrelevant stuff... shame to waste it, so I'll just put it here.

---

Joseph Pulitzer was born in Mako, Hungary, on the 10th of April in the year 1847. He aspired to become a soldier, and applied to three different armed forces, but was rejected by all due to his poor eyesight and weak health. He traveled to Boston (as rumors go, he jumped ship a few miles off the coast and swam there) and worked several odd jobs while studying English and law at a library. He got a job as a journalist for the Westliche Post, but soon was promoted to editor and publisher. After his marriage to a woman from Washington named Kate Davis, he became head of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and with his efforts the paper’s circulation and popularity rose.

His fame and fortunes rose as he travelled to New York in 1883, and purchased The New York World, which prospered with his leadership. During his time there, he engaged in various legal battles to win the support of the public, including the printing of an incident which accused the U.S. federal government of a fallacious payment to a French canal company. Pulitzer was applauded by the public on his efforts on their behalf. He died in 1911 aboard his personal yacht.

Pulitzer was regarded as a tireless, public-spirited journalist. His concerns reached beyond his newspaper company; they tried to uphold the power of the press, with the interests of the public at heart. This is summarized in a quote by Pulitzer in 1904: “An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself. The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations.” It is his righteous spirit which caused the founding of the Columbia School of Journalism, and the implementation of the Pulitzer Prizes.

---

Took me a while to realise it was off-topic.

Concert tomorrow. We are still lacking ushers and ticket sellers at the door. Guess some people will have to double up.

Band was amazingly not too bad today. Except me, when my lower joint keys got stuck midway through the practice. And then when I neglected the key signature by accident...

--- interesting quote ---

As usual, I will try to protect anonymity.

*I accidentally drop thumbrest on floor. It rolls to where A is standing*

A: *jumps up* Where is it!?

Everyone else: ???

A: The cockroach?

B: Thumbrest lah!

Ok, I shouldn't make fun of people but it was too funny to resist.

con brio

50th post today!!! But on to other matters.


define:con brio - With spirit and vigor. Commonly used in conjunction with Allegro or Vivace.

Who: Raffles Institution Military Band
What: Con Brio - A concert.
When: 06/07/07 (Friday), 7:30 PM
Where: Raffles Institution Auditorium

As Why and How are best left unanswered, let me go on with the repertoire.


Not in order (mostly):

Carmen Fantasy -- pls no...
Mononoke Hime Melody -- expressively nice
Gershiwn! -- o!e my favourite
And Then The Ocean Glows -- exhausting
Spanish Fever -- exhilarating
Snow Caps -- loud and nice
Bandwagon -- hard... sort of...
Whistle While You Work -- not too bad
It's A Small World -- arrgh


I can't remember the rest offhand. But its still an exhausting effort.

Intensive practice up till Friday. Must sleep now to recharge for tomorrow.


--- interesting quotes ---

Note: I shall try not to offend anyone.

Quotes someone somewhere:

In 2005, RI Swim Team C'Div won the nationals. The Straits Times said that *some school* pledged to win it back next year.

2006, we won again. The Straits Times said *some school* did well.

This year, we hope that the Straits Times will just say that they better stay on dry land.

*SUPER LOUD claps* from audience.

first week of T3

It's hard to adapt to school life again after the blissful holidays. I nearly fell asleep during lessons (for some people it's routine, but for me it's pretty rare), and during PE I kept missing the volleyball. Had a terrible stomach ache on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but it's better now (hope not avain flu?).

Feeling random!

--- interesting quote ---

(I've decided to forgo ratings)

*playing Tai Tee (how to spell?) on the bus to KL*

A (new player): "...what's that? 3, 5, 6, 9, Jack?"

B: "All clubs lah!"

A: "Clubhouse?"

------------------

*now playing bridge*

C: "No more cards ...I win!"

*shuffles cards back into deck*

*C stands up*

D: "You're sitting on a card."

band trip to KL

I'll be AFK from 22/06/07 (Fri) to 25/06/07 (Mon) in KL, on a band trip.

Although, they couldn't have picked a worse time. This is the rush period for homework and projects... and the last 3 days of the school holidays are spent in KL... well, at least we get Monday off.

We'll be performing for the Malaysian version of the SYF. Hope we don't let ourselves down, but I think that we are quite good... well my opinion only...

Other than that, we are giving a performance in a shopping center in KL. We are supposed to wear a MAROON (?!?! what the... ?!?!) long-sleeved shirt. Only after buying the shirt then I realised how ugly maroon was. And is this how you spell maroon? Or is it marroon?

Anyway, a week back I was practicing my clarinet, and everytime I played a certain note a light bulb in my room would vibrate and make a shimmery noise... something about resonance frequency... but then I just decided not to play that note too loud anymore. Although breaking glass using sound only happens in movies and books.

Night, blog. Need to report to school at 6:30 tomorrow to set off early.

Knowing me and holidays, I'll surely realise I've forgotten something by the time I get there.

awakening

Better wake this blog back up.

With what?

Went for radio/electricity DMP today and yesterday. Burnt myself four times with the stupid solder. Dripped a blob of melted iron flux on my pants; I don't know how to get it off. The solder is worse than superglue. Unlike superglue, its pretty fatal if you drip it ON YOUR FINGER! but luckily that didn't happen to anybody. Hehe its nice to see the fruits of your labour, being only one of less than 10 (I counted 7) peoeple out of a class of 30 to finish the FM radio. Sadly, mine can only tune in to:

1) The channel with Traffic Watch
2) An Indian song channel
3) Mandrin pop channel
4) English news channel
5) 92.5 FM (not sure if this is redundant with Traffic Watch)

So qiao that when I turned 92.5 FM on at home it started playing a clarinet concerto.

Anyway, going to sleep now.

back

Gosh, it really looks like my blog is dead.

But then, looking at EVERYONE ELSE'S blog, mine looks really alive.

Actually I was away on holiday from 03/06/07 t0 11/06/07. Forgot to put up a notice.

Maple item drops starting today. Need Maple Soul Searcher. Hunter level 42, going on 43. (no comment, please)

last day of school for T2

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL OF TERM TWO.

It's amazing how time flies.

It's also very scary.

I shall not elaborate now, just finished Mapling in Cass (Hunter lvl 38), and doing some lousy quest which requires 300 State-Held Rice from some mice (Retz) in a cramped (Helios) tower (nightmare for a Hunter/Crossbowman/Sin BTW) and after (what was it? One and a half hours?) some time i only got 240 of them... but I shall not elaborate upon that because this is not a MapleStory blog.

Whatever. Haran was taking photos of everyone today, because he and Kartik are going back to India during the hols. I wonder how he'll get the piles upon piles of homework done. Bring to India? Then what about the groupwork?

Need to sleep now. Tomorrow is the RI Founder's Day, and 17/31 people from our class need to go (inclusive of yours truly). Half of us won't turn up anyway, if I know my class.

Night.


--- interesting quote ---

Teacher: "The President of the United States wanted to go to war with Iraq, but Congress..."

Student: "...was beating around the Bush."

Rating: Ahahahahaha! (5 stars)

This was REALLY REALLY funny, would you believe it.

English blog of personal response - Term 2

I don't believe it. Its here again. Wow.

Here goes. After seeing so many of my friends' blogs having articles to do with the ministerial pay hike, chat room + teenagers = *censor*, and Tony Blair stepping down, I shall try to do something a bit more unique. Of course, it may not be, because this story is pretty well known. This article is about a teenager who used his neighbour's wireless Internet access using a laptop computer in May 2006. This article was written in November of 2006. It is taken from http://mcpmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=1115. It is a societal issue.

- Blog of Personal Response to Current Affairs -

---

Report: Singapore teen faces 3 years' jail for tapping into another's wireless Internet
November 11, 2006 - 2:05PM

A Singapore teenager has been charged with tapping into someone else's wireless Internet connection, a crime that carries a penalty of up to three years in jail, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Garyl Tan Jia Luo, 17, is the first person to be charged with this crime under the Computer Misuse Act, the Straits Times reported.

The report said Tan is accused of using a laptop computer to gain unauthorized access to a home wireless network on May 13.

The newspaper said a neighbour had apparently lodged a complaint against Luo.

Most notebook computers and personal digital assistants can detect unsecured networks and easily gain access.

Tan was released on a bail of 6,000 Singapore US dollars (US$3,855; euro3,000) and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

If convicted, Tan faces up to three years in jail and fines of up to S$10,000 (US$6,425; euro5,000) under the Computer Misuse Act.

---

The offender was one Garyl Tan, 17 years of age at the time of offence, who connected a laptop to his neighbour's unsecured wireless network and used the access for online gaming and checking his e-mail. He was put on probation from using the Internet for eighteen months, given eighty hours of community service, and sent for psychologist consultation, already considered a extremely light punishment. This was the first ever reported incident of this nature in Singapore, and many worry that it would not be the last. There are a couple of problems on hand here, and they are rampant everywhere, in young adults and school-going teenagers.

First, there is the problem of computer gaming addiction. From the perspective of a typical gamer, they think that they are not addicted, because "my friends play more than me". Then the real question is, how far are you willing to go just to play those computer games, or chat with your friends? In the case of Garyl, a probation report said that he had few friends, and was addicted to online computer gaming. The evidence shows that he was prepared to tap into his neighbour's Internet connection to game, probably knowing that it was illegal to do so. Ignorance is no excuse.

The next problem is that of the access itself. Some people might argue that the neighbour's router was unsecured, and he was only checking his e-mail. I would like to rebut by saying that, if my house door was open, would that constitute a blanket invitation for strangers to come in without my knowledge or permission? Even if they had absolutely no evil intentions? The answer is no. The neighbour's neglection to secure the network does not justify Garyl's deliberate exploitation of it.

This is my stand on this issue. However, as I have stated earlier, this is not a distant, faraway problem existing in unstable teens. This is a current and ongoing problem. And it doesn't just apply to computer addiction. For example, how many of us have ever downloaded and exchanged copyrighted music files... for free? Handphone games? D.O.T.A.?

This brings out my last problem, and the underlying problem to this whole issue; what do we do when we think other people are not looking? This value of integrity and respect has tried to be drilled into us by teachers from primary school and up. Many of us put up facades, trying to live our life as a lie, even though we know - don't deny it - what we have done. We can hide from society for a lifetime. Up to now there is no solution which can be injected by others. The change has to come from within.

This is not a complete perspective of this issue; there are plenty more related factors and problems existing. However, the undeniable and eventual realization is that there is such a thing going on out there... and we are all part of it.

- 495 words -

Bibliography & Resources:

http://mcpmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=1115

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37005

And again! Our teacher rules that we have to do TWO... sad. This one's from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/271331/1/.html. It describes the issue of saving plastic bags by bringing reusable bags to go shopping at supermarkets, and the introduction of a "Bring Your Own Bag" Day. This one is more of an environmental issue.

- Blog of Personal Response to Current Affairs -

---

100,000 plastic bags saved on Bring Your Own Bag Day By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia

Posted: 19 April 2007 2028 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore's first Bring Your Own Bag Day on Wednesday managed to save an estimated 100,000 plastic bags.

According to leading supermarket chains NTUC Fairprice and Cold Storage, they cut the number of plastic bags by up to 60 per cent.

They also sold about 20,000 reusable bags.

At one Cold Storage outlet, most shoppers say they do not mind if they have to donate 10 cents to environmental projects for every plastic bag they take.

"If they donate it, it's up to them, right? But I think I'll bring my own bag. It makes more sense," said one lady shopper.

"I have no objection because it's contributing to the eco friendly system. I think it's good! For us businessman, for shopping we don't carry a bag! But for housewives, yes, if they have time to bring their own bag then it would be a good idea," said another shopper.

But not everyone agrees.

"In the first place it's an inconvenience to me. On an everyday basis, some of us [are] in a rush, then it'll add up to a big amount. But I guess as a habit it's always good to recycle," says one customer.

Some viewers told Channel NewsAsia that paying "10 cents per bag is way too expensive".

One viewer said she saw "two women who went shopping at a mart without shopping bags and brought the (NTUC) baskets home".

Others argued that for families who shop in bulk, it is "not feasible to bring over 20 reusable bags just for that one outing."

There were also suggestions for supermarkets to waive the charges for plastic bags if you spend $50 or more.

So it looks like the habit of bringing your own shopping bag to cut down on the use of plastic bags will take some time to cultivate.

But with so many reusable bags available in all shapes and sizes, sometimes all it takes is a little planning in your shopping schedule and you too can do your bit for the environment.

One shopper says she has some 10 reusable bags, and keeps one in her car at all times.

"You know you're going shopping. You know you're going to need bags, so why don't you just use [or] bring them!"

Some retailers, like furniture store IKEA, plan to charge shoppers five to 10 cents for its plastic bags from this Sunday.

Therefore paying for the convenience may just be the start of a new trend in Singapore. - CNA/yy

---

On the 18th of April, the National Environmental Agency launched the Bring Your Own Bag Day, just before Earth Week, a day meant to promote awareness of the Earth's rapidly depleting natural resources, and encourage the minimization of waste in Singapore. Major chain supermarkets such as Carrefour, Fairprice, and Giant sold trendy reusable bags. All in all, an estimate of 100,000 plastic bags were saved that day.

//

This is one of many ways which have been devised to let Singaporeans develop the habit of recycling. Over the past decade, the government has tried many methods, such as the tri-coloured recycling bins we see in public places today, and now they are debating to introduce payment for our plastic bags; to let Singaporeans value their bags a bit more.

//

However, first, let me disambiguate the figures a little. On average, Singaporeans use a total of over six million plastic bags a day. How much difference does a hundred thousand more or less make? Furthermore, knowing the Singaporean affinity for freebies and freebies only, coupled with the hustle-and-bustle nature of our lifestyle, most Singaporeans are usually too busy to bother remembering to buy, bring, or carry with them reusable plastic bags, rendering the act of selling reusable bags pointless. Most argue that bringing over 10 reusable bags is too much of an inconvenience on their part. It is clear that the idea of reusing plastic bags may take a while to even be accepted by the most open-minded, least of all everybody. I believe that the Bring Your Own Bag Day was a good but perhaps fuitle gesture on the part of tree-huggers and environmentalists.

//

Nevertheless, it is a start. If the government decides to charge extra GST or service tax for each plastic bag, people would perhaps stop taking them for granted. Even a charge of five cents per bag would reap S$125 million of taxes each year. That money could go into other projects related to helping solve the problem of waste in Singapore. Such an act would be logical, and perhaps effective to a large extent.

//

Still, the main problem here resides in the mindsets of Singaporeans. If we are not willing to accept a bit of inconvinience and sacrifice, no matter how many recycling bins and free reusable bags the government plants around, this problem can never be resolved. We need to be aware that Singapore has little land to dispose of its waste, and we have to cut down on the amounts which we generate. We need to take action, to have a feel for our environment, and not take even such minor amenities for granted. Only when everyone respects and cares for the environment, and to a indirect extent, the future, then can any project relating to environmental conservation be effective.

//

- 471 words -

//

Bibliography & Resources:

http://singapore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/04/bring_your_own_bag_day.phtml

//

//

Looking at my writing, it has definitely deproved since the my last post of personal response.

broken down bus

On the way home, the 157 bus I was on broke down. The whole bus had to evacuate. First time experiencing that. The whol bus was tilted like 30 degrees to the left because of one popped tyre. Most people reluctantly rushed out.

Nothing else to report.


--- interesting quote ---

English worksheet: "Professional trumpeteers have a shorter life span than other people. Fact or opinion?"

Some guy in class: "Poor *insert my name here*."

(they can't tell a clarinet from a trumpet for nuts)

Rating: Aha! (1 star)

nearing open house

Open House is coming up. We're playing:

Spanish Fever
Bandwagon
And Then The Ocean Glows
Che Sara
Those Magnificient Men In Their Flying Machines
It's A Small World
Silvercrest

And other assorted pieces. These are our more "interesting" pieces; but too bad we couldn't have included Gershwin! and other pop/jazz/blues songs. They are more appreciated (by P6 students).

Total timing for playing the pieces: 40 mins
Break: 20 mins

Rinse, dry, and repeat. From 8:00 am - 12:00 am on Saturday.

O.o

Not sure if I'll survive Saturday.


--- interesting quotes ---

A: "Wrong note!"

B: "It's accidental lah!"

A: "???"

(get it? "Accidental" as in b & #... oh never mind)

Rating: Ahahahaha! (4 stars)

------------------

*counting in 7/8 timing*

"One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Se - ven*

*everyone laughs!*

*back to the piece*

"One - Two - Three - Four - Fi - ve*

*I choke on clarinet mouthpiece*

Rating: Ahahaha! (3 stars)

------------------

Qn: What is the enzyme for glucose & (something else)?

*I think of protein: protease, lipids: lipase*

My ans: Glucase

Result: Gone case

Rating: Ahaha! (2 stars)

NAPHA

Phew, haven't blogged for a week; too busy celebrating the end of CCTs... on the computer that is. My Maplestory lvl 31 Hunter has shot to 34, nearly 35. And before you say that Maple sucks, let me say that I don't care; to me its fun and time-killing.

Amazing news to report; I have passed NAPHA. That really rocks! Last year I got a Bronze, passing either by a few seconds or cm or push-ups. Now, I solidly passed most things by at least 5 (ICPs, pushups, cm) and one whole minute for the 2.4 km run. To you this may be some insignificant achievement because you're all getting 10 minutes for 2.4, but to me, this is some miracle.

Haha, nothing else. Band practice with Gershwin! was fun, and I could play all of it. Not so for Witness though. We're performing at RI Open House on Saturday, hope we can attract a big batch of P6s.


--- interesting quotes ---

If A = 1, B = 2... and Z = 26, the only word which will give you 100% is ATTITUDE.

The context in which this was spoken was too serious for a rating. But its a still cool quote.

CCTs are here again

CCTs again...

But I got back the results of the Math CCT done last month and...

Maths: 27/30
Percentage: 90.0%
GPA: 4.0

I AM SO HAPPY!!! FIRST 4.0 FOR MATHS SINCE SEC 1!!! AND A SOLID 90%!!! WOOT!!!

YAY!!!

And to top that off...

Maths Performance Task 1: 15.5/16
Maths Performance Task 2: 14/14
Performance Task Overall: 29.5/30
Percentage: 98.3%
GPA: 4.0

Hehe. Not that this is another CCT but still it's nice to have nearly full marks even for a PT. AND MATHS TOO.

Back to mugging.

KOed - Physics, SS
Unplayed - History, Biology

recovered

I'm much better. Could go to school today.

CCTs coming up for everyone (3/4/5 CCTs depending on number of subjects), so can't blog long.

...

Nothing to blog on. Sad.

Oh ya... a funny incident on the bus home today.

Some Hwa Chong Institution girls were on the bus. Then the bus was just passing HCI... then one girl noticed, and pressed the button... then all the girls noticed, but too late... the bus went pass... then all the girls gave an excited(?) scream... strange. Then they all started blaming each other for not looking out. Quite loudly.

They got off at the next stop (which was quite far away) and walked dejectedly back. O.o


--- interesting quotes ---

"OOOOOOOOI!!!... ... ... *agonized choking noise* ... ... SOMEONE FARTED!"

Rating: Ahahahaha! (4 stars)

recovering

I'm feeling better now.

Couldn't go to school because in the morning felt weak all over... whole body felt hot... but sleep is the best medicine. After sleeping to 10 am then taking a bit of medicine made me feel better. Now I'm almost cured. Hope the doctor will give me MC for today (if not ggxx).

Still have a bit of heatiness though.

feeling sick

I feel sick.

Fever, flu, nearly vomiting.

Hope sleep can cure it.

Arrgh.

unhappy

Not happy right now.

Practice today was... never mind. I though going through all the old songs would be easy and fun.

Fat hope. Me and Wen Jie were switched to 1st Clar for all the songs except Ocean and Midsummer. THEN, we were supposed to SIGHT-READ all of them. "Spanish Fever" was fine, because 1st, 2nd, 3rd Clar are all the same. "Bandwagon"... now I've got running notes instead of melody. Could sight-read about a quarter of it at the fast tempo that our SL decided to put it at. "A Midsummer's Night Dream" was terrible. I KNOW we've played it before, BUT it still has 5 flats/6 sharps!!! I couldn't remember the fingering at all, and got scolded. "Princess Mononokoe" was a nice song, but I still couldn't sight-read it. "Gershwin!" (now I remember) is a fun song! But still could only sight-read about half of it.

Because of that, the seniors were very unhappy.

HELLO. This is the FIRST day that we've recieved all these scores. WHY can't you let us practice it instead of judging us on our FIRST, SIGHT-READ performance!!! I mean, the whole purpose of sight-reading is to let us get a feel to the song, not to learn the song after running it a few times through. And you've played them before, you know how it sounds like, but we don't.

Another thing.

---

SL: "Do you know whose Gershwin?"

Everyone except Sec 4s: "No."

*SL looks incredulously at BM*

BM: "He's the guy who composed Rhapsody Blue!"

*everyone except Sec 4s looks confused*

*SL and BM buries heads in scores*

---

Ok, maybe that was a little exaggerated.

But I honestly feel that that was quite unfair. How are we supposed to know who is Gershwin. Do YOU know who is Gershwin?

Maybe its just me again, not playing well. Maybe I'm being stupid criticizing others when I play so lousily.

But still.

And our clarinet tutor is SOOOOO nice! He bought us PIZZA!!! TWO WHOLE PIZZAS!!! From Canadian Pizza 2 (two) 4 (for) 1 (one). Wow.

But still.

"Spanish Fever". "Bandwagon". "A Midsummer's Night Dream". "Princess Mononoke". "Gershwin!".

That's a lot to practice before Wednesday.

Hey that reminds me, no school on Monday because RI sports/musical (and uniformed? not sure) groups did so well (well at least we/they think so) in their competitions/SYFs that the Headmaster declared Monday a school holiday!

YAY!

And Tuesday's a public holiday (Labour Day)!

YAY!

And Wednesday's back to school!

...

Never mind.

I think I'll start a interesting quote section.

Whoever I quote, if you have any objections please inform me and I shall delete that quote.

...

I AM SO RANDOM!!!


--- interesting quotes ---

"Dialogue Obeservation Test & Assessment; DOTA"

Rating: Ahahaha! (3 stars)

new songs

Our conductor shortlisted some songs for our July concert. Some of them are old (to the Sec 3s/4s) songs like "Spanish Fever" and "The Bandwagon", but there's this new song that starts with "G" and ends with "!" and its a very nice jazz/rag piece. Must work hard to master it.

"Midsummer's Night Dream"... would be acceptable if it wasn't in a key with 5 flats, then a key with 6 sharps. O.o... nightmare to learn, hard to play anyway.

No mention of SYF from our conductor yet.

Also another funny incident today. The loudspeakers suddenly blared to life in the middle of Physics, and somebody announced: "Good morning school! I am pleased to announce that the badminton team got Gold!"

Class claps and cheers.

*expectant silence*

*...*

*...*

Physics teacher: "Was that all?"

Class laughs.

It was funny for the moment.

RV & RISE SYF

Today's results...

Raffles Voices (Choir): Gold

Raffles Institution String Ensemble: Gold with Honours

All musical groups in RI have got Gold for the first time... to different degrees that is.

Final tally:

Raffles Voices: Gold
Raffles Institution Chinese Orchestra: Gold
Raffles Institution Military Band: Gold
Raffles Institution Guitar Ensemble: Gold with Honours
Raffles Insitution String Ensemble: Gold with Honours

Arrgh. Overpowered.

And RV is (really very) good! How come they didn't get GwH?

And I didn't know RIGE was so good. But I guess they are.

On another note, I found out today that my tution partner (Sec 3, in RV) is actually the Soprano SL!!!

O.o

I though all Sec 3s and 4s broke their voices and couldn't sing alto/soprano. And Sec 3 already SL...

All for today.

progess report one

Ending my last post on the subject of marks, I forgot that I got my first progress report back (Term 1). Its not too bad... but not exactly what I hoped for either.


Subjects counted in GPA:

English Language: --------------- 75% --- 3.6
Higher Chinese Language: ------- 62% --- 2.8
Social Studies: ------------------- 74% --- 3.6
History: ------------------------- 80% --- 4.0
Mathematics: ------------------- 62% --- 2.8
Physics: ------------------------- 70% --- 3.6
Chemistry: ---------------------- 60% --- 2.8
Biology: ------------------------- 77% --- 3.6


Other subjects:

Physical Education: -------------- 80% --- A+
Philosophy: ---------------------- 73% --- A


If you total up the GPA, considering Maths is DOUBLE weightage...

... you get...

... *presses calculator*...

... 3.29.

Not bad, not good. But last year my total GPA was 3.34.

However there is hope. Chemistry is set to rise with the recent test having a solid 4.0. Chinese... ok lah no hope of improving, even maintaining will be exceptionally hard. Maths MUST DO BETTER (IT'S DOUBLE WEIGHTAGE!!! Physics and Bio are fine, BUT can be raised to a 4.0 each. English and SS are also fine. History must maintain this borderline 4.0.

So, basically, I must pull up Maths and Chem (forget Chinese, impossible). At least to a respectable 3.2 each.

And don't ask me how I got 80 for PE. I either bronze or fail NAPHA every year. It's just that this module was swimming/water polo.

And all my teacher comments basically say that...

I:

1. Am a serious learner (I am?)
2. Am a respectful pupil (that I know)
3. Pay attention in class (definitely more than most)

However, I also:

1. Need to be more assertive (ok, ya i do)
2. Read more Chinese books (... zuo meng)

I could have told myself that.

RIGE SYF

Am in partial shock.

Raffles Institution Guitar Ensemble. Gold with Honours.

Sincerely, good job.

But I still feel a bit disappointed.

Also, all the SYF Sec Sch Band results are out.

Grand total, out of 150 bands:

03 x Gold with Honours

16 x Gold
67 x Silver
58 x Bronze
06 x Certificate of Participation

For full results, click here.

That makes RIMB in the top 98% - 87%. No chance of getting into Presentation.

Why am I calculating this? SYF is over. We shouldn't be disappointed or anything.

I still feel a little disappointed. But mostly relieved. This aftermath will become interesting on Monday when Mr Oura speaks to us. I think. I hope he isn't too disappointed with us.

Realized today that our Maths teacher is very hardworking. Its too bad our class does neither see nor appreciate that.

Another happy set of marks back, the Chemistry CCT we did in Term 2 Week 2:

Chemistry: 28/33
Percentage: 84.8%
GPA: 4.0

Yes!!! At last, a clean and solid 4.0, nearly GwH (haha)! MCQ full marks (including bonus), the rest was fine. Still unable to beat Haran (31/33), but whatever, 4.0 rocks! Especially seeing that Chem was my WEAKEST subject last term (60% only).

ouch my foot

I nearly sprained my foot walking down the stairs in the library today. Ow, it still hurts.

Volleyball rocks! Our newest PE module seems to be the most fun (besides water polo) so far in RI. Must learn how to deflect the ball properly; always goes into the net/onto the floor.

I have also heard rumors that the Sec 4s will not come to concert practice anymore to prepare us (Sec 3s) for leadership posts. Clarinets will DIE. So will trumpets i think. And flutes (not counting piccolo and oboe).

No band practice was weird today. I never thought I'd go home so early on a Wednesday (my longest day).

SYF

Band number one hundred and twenty four.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Raffles Institution Military Band.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Gold.

*polite applause*

.....................................................................................................................................................................................



Gold. GOLD.

On the 16th of April, 2007, RIMB achieved a Gold in the Singapore Conference Hall, continuing its traditional streak of Golds, clinching its 17th consecutive gold in 34 years. It was a moment of extreme emotional conflict, as when the announcer read, "Raffles Institution Military Band... Gold...", there was polite clapping from the audience, but there were no loud cheers or exclamations from the group of RIMB banders in the front left cluster of seats, yet nobody broke down, nobody looked disappointed.

It took me a while to sort out my feelings then, because I was obsessing over how I SHOULD feel, or how OTHERS would feel if we didn't get at least a Gold. I was trying to calm myself enough to push these thoughts aside, and observe what emotion welled up first when the results were announced.

Of course, if we had gotten a GwH, we would be jumping up and down in joy. But even when we played, we knew it was nearly impossible for that to happen, we knew our standard. So it was interesting to see what happened after that. When "Gold" was announced, I felt immense relief; we did not break the Golden streak set before us by our seniors, we did not do worse than RICO, we did not get Silver.

So it has passed. The storm has gone in a flash. All the buildups, the darkening of the clouds over us, the heated lightning flashing between us sometimes, the blood, sweat, and tears, has climaxed in the 10+ minutes when we played our hearts out. Now, everything is back to normal.

Yet it wasn't our best. We TRIED our best. But we didn't DO our best; the song wasn't played to the best that we could, and everyone knew that in the end.

Yet that is life. We can practice for ages in a homely, familiar environment, then when the real day comes, anything can happen. Life is unpredictable. And that is the factor which alters our showmanship; it all comes down to one single flash point, then the chance is lost forever.

But hey, we did it. We may not have been able to make every crescendo, every octave jump, every emo part, but its the EFFORT that counts. As long as we know we did it, we did it.

On a seperate note, congrats to all our soloists today! You all were great. Sunrise starting was fantastic. Saxaphone soli was good (except for the starting perhaps). Flute/clar harmonic solo was good too. Ocean; piccolo/flutes were on time. Even second flutes, you managed to come in exactly on time and perfectly together. Forgive me if I have neglected anyone.

And also, congrats to everyone else. Soloists may have the greatest pressure and responsibility, but you all played a great part too today. OK, we may not have made all the harmony and all the tempo. But we tried.

As for me... I squeaked FOUR times throughout the whole thing. And played too soft; I was nervous... even though I thought I wasn't going to be. My mouth sort of dried up halfway. Well, I tried too.

Some other interesting little things that happened:

• I met the Balesteir Hill Secondary School Band Drum Major whom I know from church (is it Alvin?), but he didn't see me.
• Our dedicated alumni from just one batch back to twenty batches back came down to support us. Wow.
• My SL gave out the encouraging message cards (which a lot of effort seemed to be put in printing) after SYF... they were supposed to be given before... lolz... but anyway they were touching...
• We did the band cheer twice, unusual, but it was full of spirit. Even the Sec 2s and some shyer Sec 3s joined in the second time. I nearly sprained my wrist.

SYF is over!!! Let's look to tomorrow!!!

On another note, no band for a week... deserved more, but we can't let our standard drop.

deep breath before the plunge

I can't resist posting. Its my only source of comfort now. But I have nothing to post... wait a minute.

Lets see what everyone has to say about SYF. Hope you all don't mind we copying your messages (I'll credit you!).

By Brian Cheung, RIMB Percussion'06:

---

It must be very pressurising, knowing that RIMB has a tally of sixteen consecutive SYF Gold awards.

It's a tradition of excellence that all of you must believe you are continuing. Strive for anything less, and you'll stumble. Whether or not the band gets the Honours, all of you must give your best. Aim for the best. If you don't think you'll get the Honours, then you won't. Don't let it be a pleasant, added surprise if you get it.

I know it must be confusing with all these different and seemingly contradictory messages from different people about what you should really do, whether to enjoy your music, to aim to beat the other bands or what have you.

I believe that, first and foremost, a band should always be making good music. Once you've achieved that, you will know that you deserve the Honours.

I'm beginning to sound a little abstract ><. I have no doubts at all that all of you will play well tomorrow! All of you sounded very good together the last time I heard. Remember that you're giving a performance, not competing. Play with pride, not nervousness. Always tell yourselves that you've practised for months; you won't screw up. You won't screw up. Look confident, sound confident. Be confident. You're a performer. You're performing to entertain the judges and audience. You're performing because all of you have put in so much time and effort, and you don't want to let any of your bandmates down. You're performing to show Mr Oura that the band cares about making music. You're performing to tell us, your seniors, that you've built on everything we taught you.

And at the end of your performance, give yourself a little smile (like what Mr Oura does sometimes at the end of a piece), because you've played well.

Do us proud!

Love, Brian

---

By Benjamin Ni, RIMB Percussion'08:

---

This is it.

100,000s of litres of tears, sweat and blood shed.

10,000s of scoldings, remarks, and lessons learnt.

1,000s of hours spent worrying about this day.

100s of hard, hard practices.

10+ minutes: the time taken to play both pieces.

1 SYF. It all comes down to this.

But whether we clinch the pivotal GwH or not, we don't care. For it is not our main priority. As Aaron has once said to me: it's not about the medal. It's about enjoying your stage time. Because we enjoy making music, because we want to pass this joy on to the audience. To show the time and effort we have put in. Like RGS, our goal is to be happy with what we have played, not to aim for the Gold.

This is it.

---

By Jerald Han, RIMB Percussion'08:

---

Hey guys,our only SYF with RIMB is less than 48 hours away. i juz wanted to remind ourselves about... well, ourselves.

2 years ago, Melvyn said we were the revolutionary batch to be.Honestly, I couldn't care less about that comment at that time. Then we went on to sec2, where most of us found ourselves closely attached to the sec4s at that time.

They made band a home for us. They spent time teaching us, passing on skills that have been here for many years, and many years to come. At the same time, they pinned their hopes on us, every single one of us. in case you haven't realised, as much as we were dependent on the current J1s, they too depended on us to keep the RIMB spirit alive. Don't think that you are just a minor share of the band, because you aren't.

I enjoy the company with you guys, and i hope you enjoyed your company with me. SYF is a festival celebrating youth, the vibrancy of youth (and adolescence?). No matter what we do, just go on the stage and have no regrets. Don't forget whatever Mr. Oura said during practice, whatever our seniors have left us with, and don't forget we have each other. it's all in that 1 chance, to show the raffles in us, to show the RIMB in us.

to ryan, hips, yingzhe, samuel, lucas, austin, eric, david, alastair, benjamin, russell, joel, wenjie, jiahui, bryan, leonard, i wish you guys a happy SYF.

Jerald

jayyh

---

By Samuel Cheah, RIMB Saxophones'08:

---

now its less den 23 hrs away.

in 23 hours, we could be emoing alot

or we could be jumping around in ecstacy.

it's our choice.

---

By David Zhao, RIMB Trombones'08:

---

HEY GUYS...this is our one and only syf for RIMB, so lets make it amemorable one...lets prove to our seniors, esp the J1s whom we have feltvery very close to, in fact more close than any other batch, that ourstandards have not dropped at all...that they have not been a failure intheir handling of the band...think abt it...wad do we want to leave thesec2s and sec1s with when we leave?wad farewell gift do we want to presentto the sec4s when they leave?WAD MEMORIES AND INSPIRATION DO WE WANT TOLEAVE OURSELVES WITH AS WE SEEK TO PRODUCE A FANTASTIC CONCERT NEXTYEAR???...do you want our juniors to have this pressure of pulling the bandback to its glory years juz bcuz someone played an off-tune note tmr?or juzbcuz someone cant be bothered to look at mr oura but at the goddamn scoreinstead??...do you want the sec4s to be remembered as the batch who has forthe first time in dunno-wad-number-of-years fail to lead RIMB to gold(letsnot talk abt highest attainable award first kay) juz bcuz some guy cant bebothered to play music???or juz bcuz some guy cant be bothered to rmb hisnotes???...LASTLY,wad inspiration do we want??A victorious memory of usgetting gold??or a sad scene where we have failed to live up to ourexpectations by getting silver, or worse??if we get that, how are we goingto motivate ourselves for next year's prometheum??Think abt it seriously guys...wad we do tmr...wad the band achievestmr...will have drastic impact on OUR band next year...HOWEVER, the ironyhere is not abt whether we get gold with honours or COP..its abt the way weproduce our music tmr...if we have done our best, do everything Mr Oura toldus to and still get a COP, its OKAY, its perfectly alright...BUT, if we havenot done so...if we play music like doing our chinese paper(to some), andget a COP, then too bad, we only have ourselves to blame....What mr oura istrying to do is to let us give it our all, so that we will not regretanything when the results are out...look at rgssb for example, even thoughthey got a gold(which is like a damn damn damn damn damn high gold), mr ourawas still happy, even ecstatic, at the achievement cuz they have tried theirbest to produce music,which is the WHOLE POINT of SYF...So guys, tmr when we walk up onto the stage, we shall walk up onto it withno fear and no pain...when we leave we must leave with our heads held...wecan produce great music, and we will do so tmr for mr oura...TMR, letsproduce music, not win the award, for mr oura, for our seniors, for ourjuniors, for somebody special, for ourselves, and for the bandWE SHOULD WE MUST WE CAN WE WILLMiracles must happen, so why wunt it happen on us?

---

By me, RIMB Clarinets'08:

---

Everyone's giving encouraging messages.

=)

I would never have thought that of our batch some time ago. I thought only people like David (Lee) could try to give inspiring (close enough) speeches and lead the band.

To be honest, most of us are nowhere as good as our seniors. Imagine, next year Prometheum (or even this year Investiture?), us leading the band, being the seniors who the rest look up to, playing all the solos, creating the correct harmony, mastering the technicals and teaching our juniors. A few of us are already proficient enough. Some others have already taken up the stressful role of a soloist. Some of us will have responsible EXCO positions next year, while others will have become SLs. We will be the backbone and support of the band (look at the Sec 4s now; then look at the rest of us). If we fail, who is there to push us? Who is there to punish us? Who is there to inspire us? We have to inspire each other, or ourselves. After SYF, we will have to intensively train ourselves to match up to even the Sec 4s this year, not to mention the J1s and J2s.

But the proness isn't everything. Even though we aren't the best, even though we may not be the proest band (to be proven tomorrow), we still will have tried our best. Even if the announcer reads "Raffles Institution Military Band... ***enter lousy results here*** ", we won't feel too bad, we won't break down and cry (too much) and we won't regret. Obviously we want a GwH. Or some might be content with a Gold. But all this is immaterial in the end, so long as we try our best, and do our seniors, Mr Oura, and alumni proud.

This has been said many times, by many people, on many blogs. Therefore I just want to wish everyone a contented SYF without regret. That's all we need.

Most if not all of you won't be awake to read this (after taking Mr Oura's advice that is). Some might read it after SYF. You might be full of ecstacy, or full of contentment, or full of fulfillment. Never mind what we got. We know we did our best.

---

I feel slightly better now.

Take a deep breath.

And go to sleep. Need rest for tomorrow.

We should! We must! We can!

For better or for worse... in 17 hours, 14 minutes, 34 seconds.

calm before the storm

Literally. And figuratively. Haha. But really, SYF is just... there. Here.

The calm before the storm... will our ocean glow? Will it be our sunrise or a sunset?

Its just less than a day to SYF. No matter how I try to be calm, I have butterflies in my stomach. (no really!) I was never so nervous before.

Today was our last practice. Even the Percussion SL'88 (which is almost 20 years ago!!!) came down to give an inspiring boost to our morale. What he said actually brought a lump to my throat: (this is the gist of it)

---

This year SYF...

We Should: Because we love making music. Because we are passionate towards RIMB. Because we deeply appreciate our conductor.

We Must: Because we owe it to our seniors. Because we owe it to our conductor. Because we owe it to the 32/33 years worth of seniors who have got Gold/GwH before us.

We Can: Because we have given all we have. Because we have put in our blood sweat and tears. Because we know that we have practiced, and we know we can do it.

We Will: Because we will. Because we know we will. Because we know that we should, must, can, and therefore will do our best, and walk off the stage with pride and without regrets.

---

For those who don't know, this is our band motto: "We should! We must! We can! We will!" It encapsulates the approach of the Rafflesian Bandsmen to every endeavour with the desire, the sense of duty, the belief in our ability and the determination. It is the rallying cry that motivates and spurs the Band to give the very best in every undertaking.

We have put in the effort. We know we can. Now, its boils down to our showmanship, whether we can duplicate the results in the band room to the stage.

Whether we can get our GwH or even Gold is attributed to this. No matter how much we practice, we still have to prove that we did on the stage. But the more we practice, the better our chances of duplicating it. Everyone, just remember your crescendos, your phrasing, your slurs, your emotion, your tone, and everything else... and we'll be fine.

Thanks to...

1) RIMB banders.
2) RIMB alumni.
3) Parents, friends, teachers.
4) My dedicated and sole tagger ahbander/thetagger/passerby.

...for your support and guidance.

So now...

Singapore Sunrise.

And Then The Ocean Glows.

We should! We must! We can! We will!

For better or for worse... in 22 hours, 44 minutes, 47 seconds.

friday the 13th

I'm only posting because its Friday the 13th. Not that I'm superstitious or anything.

Full morning concert practice, which was supposed to be accompanied by full afternoon sectionals/concert but I had to go to some stupid Parliment House visit. What's the point when Parliment isn't in a sitting? Last year's courthouse visit was better. Then we were told that we would be dismissed at the House (why couldn't you tell us earlier?), and since I don't take MRT often I had to agar-agar my way back home.

Now, we're one of four remaining two-years-ago GwH bands who hasn't performed yet. No GwH band has mantained GwH so far, all dropping to Gold or Silver. Let's be the first!

Piano exam results out 101/150 yay I passed!!!

Doomsday in 70 hours, 40 minutes, 41 seconds.

a nice quote

"Gold with Honours is just a cake with a cherry on top. Sure, maybe its more exciting, but the cake itself is nice as well."

Someone quoted this. Not sure who.

True. GwH isn't everything. It's the spirit behind the playing that counts. Even if we don't get the cherry, if we really played our hearts out that day who cares?

On the other hand, GwH is still a nice thing to get. And we still should not aim any lower that that.

Doomsday in 90 hours, 54 minutes, 32 seconds.

improvement

My 25th post.

Our ever-fluctuating trend of standard has picked up again. I can only hope it peaks at SYF.

Band practice was good, no matter what the BM says. The atmosphere was there, most of the notes were in time etc. but still some section troubles. I still suck at running notes though.

Tomorrow's a holiday (staff-traning day lolz) but still there's practice tomorrow, 8 am - 1 pm. Then I have a Parliment House visit, 1:45 pm onwards. No more holiday.

*sighs*

Another Gold with Honours band today. Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Band.

Even River Valley got Gold.

... ... ...

Doomsday in 93 hours, 2 minutes, 42 seconds.

SYF approaches

Actually, SYF approaches isn't the best title ever; SYF was always approaching.

But 5 days to D-Day, it seems alot closer than ever.

I find that I worry too much about other people screwing up than me screwing up. If a soloist screws up, I have this internal wince, but if I screw up, I don't feel anything.

That's not a good sign.

RGSSB got Gold. Saint Patricks got Gold with Honours... the ONLY band out of 50 bands so far to get it.

So... out of 63 secondary school bands so far...

1 got Gold with Honours.
7 got Gold.
55 got the rest.

Please, please, if not Gold with Honours, then at least Gold.

Please, may we turn the latent hope inside each of us into a rushing flow of energy that will course through our limbs, up our diaphragm, into our instruments, and move all listening. Even though not many of us openly express it, many of us do have the passion and the fire needed to melt the hearts of the audience and judges, and make sure that, no matter what we get, we don't regret it. We're almost there, one final push and miracle is all that's left to give, all that's left to hope, and all that's left to expect.

Thats a bit dramatic, but never mind.

Practice today was... not bad. Although we were given a lecture at the start about how RGSSB > RIMB... which is probably true... and also about how some of us had the audacity to go and watch RGSSB SYF performance instead of staying in RI to practice (instigated by our BM)... the rest of the practice was OK. But everyone, watch you crescendos. Brandon, Jia Hui, PLAY LOUDER. AND IN TUNE. For me, I need to stay in timing and train stamina.

Thursday practice, Firday practice, Saturday practice, tentative Sunday practice... then ggxx.

AAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!!!

Time flies! I'm a band senior, about to take part in SYF. What happened to good old drills in Sec 1??? To the irresponsibility, the skipping, the learning to play, the fun?

Doomsday in 115 hours, 39 minutes, 8 seconds.

slackest day ever

Today was so slack. I don't know how the teachers all managed it... but today was super-slack.

1st period: English. Not the most intensive subject ever.
2nd period: Physics. Teacher didn't come.
3rd period: CLE. PDI for 4 ppl in the class, rest slack. Luckily, I wasn't chosen.
--- RECESS ---
4th period: HMT. Teacher arrived nearly 30 mins late.
5th period: Chemistry. Dismissed early.

--- LUNCH ---

6th period: Biology. Nearly fell asleep... not because of the lesson, just because I was super-sleepy.

All in all, over two and a half hours of slacking. Plus the early dismissal and the non-intensive subjects. Then, if you count those in my class who don't do Biology... they got a long lunch. Then the Indian scholars who don't do HMT...

This is a lucky day.

Well, band seems to have made up for the disappointing Saturday practice. Although clarinet sectionals weren't as good as they could be, the combined sectionals with the other woodwinds was OK. I thought my tone was quite good today. Even David didn't scold Xu Ke too much today.

Speaking of that, I notice our BM sometimes can be a bit unreasonable towards Xu Ke. As everyone in my section knows, I have a stamina problem. When my lips become too tired, I start becoming airy and making a air-blowing-through-saliva sound. As a result, I often lower the clarinet from my lips for a few seconds while everyone else is playing, and then start again. This happens quite often after 2-3 hours of intensive sectionals. On Saturday, Xu Ke did the same and our BM then arrowed him, because he didn't make any air-blowing-through-saliva sound like me.

Not everyone gives such an obvious indication to being tired, you know.

Also noticed that sometimes, after sitting down and playing for 20 mins or more, then getting up, I have a sudden dizziness and flickering in the head. Could be oxygen deprivation. But, its only momentary, and fades away after three seconds or so.

Hmm... also realized that Andy/Xu Ke/Brandon have solved (mostly) their tuning problems. Just in time for SYF.

Anyway, no homework today! Yay!

Note to self: Even if I cannot recover for the next day's band practice, must still try to practice more at home. So far last week only like half and hour at home?

bad practice

Today was horrible.

Tempers running high throughout the band. Tuning took half an hour, then when we played we were not in tune anymore. I somehow wasn't at my best today, and fumbled the easy running notes. Tone also way off. BM and SC not happy with each other.

Now, I've got chinese tution.

Today is horrible.

some marks back

Physics: 22/30
Percentage: 73.3%
GPA: 3.6

Not too bad. But if not for my ridiculous 7/10 for the MCQ section and my fumbling the bonus question, I might have got higher. Class average is 19. At least I got a "Well Done" on my paper.

Maths: 12/13
Percentage: 92.3%
GPA: 4.0

If only this was a CCT!!! Instead, its just a normal TA on Statistics... but I'm putting it up here because it looks nice. Don't ask me how on earth (260/350 x 100%) managed to become 80.6% instead of 74.3%. All I can conclude is that my calculator hated me that day. But 12/13 for a TA is quite good. Only one full marks in my class... Arthur, or Ah De. A few got 12.5/13 (too bad) and more got 12/13. Someone got 1/13. Thats proness.

I can see that my grades are slowly improving... except for Chinese. Well, if my Chemistry CCT comes back with a 3.6 or higher, I'll jump for joy.

And I thought that my studies weren't good. OK, they're not that GOOD but ABOVE AVERAGE. At least.

One more thing must vent about. Who ever heard of band practice on Good Friday???

RICO SYF

Well, RICO got Gold.

Now there's no reason we shouldn't get Gold with Honours, seeing the CO got Silver two years back and we got Gold with Honours.

Nothing much to post now... just came back from band practice. What I'm most worried about are:

1) I squeak during the performance.
2) We play off tune. (especially Xu Ke & Andy)
3) Soloists screw up.
4) My timing during Storm goes haywire.
5) Other people's timing during Storm goes haywire.

Sigh.

What a life we live. If there's no CCTs there's CCA. No CCA then there's lots of homework. No homework... there's CCTs.

After SYF, we'd better have a few months of break.

inspiring message

Message I found on the percussion section blog, by a former RIMB percussionist:

---

It's a shame how contrived that concept of an "ownage" concert is. I'm sure that after four years under Mr Oura's guidance all of us know perfectly well that, as a band, music always comes first. Our objective is to entertain with our music. Sure, the gimmicks and "creative ideas" add to the degree of fun and entertainment, but ultimately it is our music that must determine how successful our band is. Which is why it is encouraging that most of us know SYF should be our main priority, and that practice is the only way we can play well.

And there's the competition. It is very much agreed upon that competition can only push players to strive for better results, but as musicians who are we competing against? While each band (and each musician) can and should learn from one another, should our aim be to "own" all the other bands? Such an ostentatious approach to making music -- surely it's not what we seek?

I hope we are not in this band to beat all the other bands, win cash prizes or gain fame and reputation, but because we love making music and wish to perfect our music so as to provide entertainment of the highest quality.

So, practise for that SYF Gold with Honours and aim for the top -- not for the bragging rights, but to prove that we're good musicians and have entertained.

---

Shame I can't write stuff like that. Still, he has a point. Deeply wrapped in rhetoric and hyperbole, but a point nonetheless. But huh, I can see that some of our band members are working towards this.

MUST... GET... GwH!!!

track and field meet

Bayley won the Track & Field Championships 3rd time running oh yeah!!!

T & F standings:

1) Bayley
2) Morrison
3) Buckley
4) Hullett
5) Moor

This event is held annually, and is a inter-house event, which means that the five school houses (namely Bayley: yellow, Hullett: black, Moor: red, Morrison: blue, and Buckley: green) compete against each other to win. Bayley (my house) won hands down, coming in 1st for U14 and U17, and 2nd and 3rd (wait not too sure) for U13 and U15. Bayley rocks!!!

An interesting event happened at Bishan Stadium halfway through the meet. A football team came on the field to practice, and we didn't know who they were, until someone recognized one of the goalkeepers as LIONEL LEWIS (!!!), goalkeeper for Singapore Lions, the national football team. And the as soon as THAT happened, I spotted one RI boy run down to the pitch and ask for his autograph. LOL.

However, I, being completely ignorant about anything happening on the soccer stage anywhere, even more ignorant about how to play it, kept asking who on earth was Lionel Lewis until I got an answer. Pardon my naivety.

Got back our Bio papers again, and they added one mark to mine cause of that marking error so ole!!! 36/45 = 80% = 4.0!!!

Nothing much more to say today, just reminder to recommend to the next year Bayley House Captain either to make nicer cheers or just stick with "let's go bayley, let's go" because a long wordy cheer isn't exactly what cheering is all about. Not saying there wasn't effort put into it.

Also, good luck to RICO, the Raffles Institution Chinese Orchestra, for your SYF tomorrow!!! Bring back for us a Gold With Honours!!! Especially after skipping the T & F meet to practice the whole day!!!

GOOD LUCK RICO!!!

If they get GwH and we don't, the RICO guy in my class is going to kill me.
If we get GwH and they don't... I'll be too happy to kill him back.

feeling bored

I'm bored. This is going to be a long post.


SECTION I: Fifty things about myself:


01. What is your full name? - Shan't tell.

02. What colour pants are you wearing? - Brown.

03. What are you listening to right now? - My computer CPU making weird humming noises.

04. What are the last four digits of your phone number? - Would I tell?

05. What was the last thing you ate? - Dinner. Chicken drumsticks and rice.

06. If you were a crayon what color would you be? - White or green. But I'm not a crayon.

07. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? - My dad.

08. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite gender? - ...the gender. Duh.

09. Do you like the person who sent you this? - We're schoolmates/acquaintances. And I sort of copied it from his blog.

10. What's your favourite drink? - Milo or orange juice.

11. What's your favourite alcoholic drink? - Too young to try.

12. What's your favorite sport? - Swimming.

13. What's your hair color? - Black.

14. What's your eye color? - Black.

15. Do you wear contacts? - No.

16. Siblings and their ages? - Irritating sister, 12.

17. Favourite month? - December.

18. Last movie you watched? - Eregon. That was a long time ago.

19. Favourite day of the year? - My birthday.

20. Are you too shy to ask someone out? - Never tried.

21. Summer or winter? - Winter. I love cold, I hate heat.

22. Hugs or kisses? - What kind of question is this? Hugs.

23. Relationships or one night stands? - Relationships.

24. Chocolate or vanilla? - Vanilla.

25. Who is most likely to respond? - What does this mean?

26. Who is most likely to not respond? - Ditto.

27. Living preferences? - Messy and quiet, except when I play the clarinet.

28. What's on your mouse pad? - ...my mouse?

29. What did you do last night? - Go home, blog, sleep.

30. Favourite flavour? - Vanilla or strawberry, depends.

31. Can you touch your nose with your tongue? - Obviously not.

32. Did you just try? - Luckily no.

33. What inspires you? - RIMB!!!!

34. Favourite type of car? - Don't know... but it has to have freezing air-con and good stereo.

35. Favourite type of flower? - Don't have one. But daffodils come close. Don't ask.

36. How many keys are there on your key ring? - Strangely, I don't have one.

37. Can you juggle? - I wish.

38. Can you put your toes in your mouth? - No. Neither am I stupid enough to try.

39. Do you have a crush (or a relationship)? - Nope.

40. Name of your crush/stead? - Error carried forward.

41. Star sign? - Don't know, don't care.

42. Favourite movie? - I love Star Wars, Harry Potter, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables... and many other of these genre.

43. Favourite girl or boy? - Don't have one.

44. Ever been kissed by a boy or girl you like? - No.

45. Favourite brand? - Of what? If its clarinets then it would be Buffet.

46. Movies or series? - I enjoy both; english movies and chinese serials.

47. Novels or short stories? - Both. but i prefer novels.

48. Online chatting or SMS? - MSN.

49. Shoes or barefooted? - Shoes. I hate being barefoot unless at home or in the band room.

50. Backpack or slingbag? - Backpack. But I may consider slingbags next time I change bag.


SECTION II: Fifteen things about myself... three are false!!! Guess which ones:


1) I like playing the clarinet.
2) I have failed NAPHA every single time in secondary school.
3) I love playing chess.
4) I never actually knew the names of the BM and DBM of the RIMB'05 until Sec 3.
5) I can't do more than two proper situps.
6) I am the youngest in my class.
7) I first used Yahoo! mail, then Hotmail, then Gmail... because one of my friends shifted too.
8) I still play Maplestory.
9) I have only gone LANning four times in my life.
10) I don't like vegetables.
11) I don't have a girlfriend.
12) I like movie themes as compared to any other songs.
13) I think that my teachers this year are all boring.
14) I like composing short music pieces on Noteworthy freeware.
15) I have the lowest clarinet stamina in the RIMB clarinet section.

CCTs over (again)

Yeah! CCTs over!!! Again!!!

*waves goodbye to CCTs. Again.*

Physics was OK-OK. Chemistry was EASY for once. I might get high marks. Math TA was ALSO easy... but that's because statistics is inherently easy.

Whats the point of having CCTs in Term 2 Week 2? Can't they have put it before the holidays or even better, at the end of this term?

Now, I can devote all (most) of my time to mastering Ocean and Sunrise. I don't think my Sunrise needs much work because SOMEONE'S SECTION LEADER went to shift SOMEONE from 2nd SOME SECTION to 3rd SOME SECTION. And all the 2nd SOME SECTION parts that SOMEONE has been playing for the past TWO MONTHS has suddenly been filled... with bar rests. All thanks to SOMEONE'S MARVELOUS AND WONDERFULLY FORESIGHTED SL.

(hint hint)

SIAN!!! I'm going to fall asleep in those bars. 2nd and 3rd are no different... except that 2nd plays the whole thing while 3rd plays only the beginning and the end.

So, its just Ocean then. I think I have more or less mastered the fingering... now its just increasing the tempo notch by notch until I can consistently play every semiquaver at correct timing. Chorales just need to play deeper and have more emotion.

Our BM says that this song is supposed to make people cry.

...

Guess this is just some form of exaggerated encouragement on some higher, BM level. Seriously, even if you listen to the professional recordings I doubt anyone is going to make more than a sniff.

Which reminds me; today I stayed in the band room till 5 pm, practicing with some other trombones, horns, and a piccolo. We listened to our "professional" (referring to the recording equipment and methods not our playing) recording of the rehearsal at the SCH. It was better than usual, but nothing compared to the real pro recordings. Woodwind semiquavers are all screwed up, especially the endings. Brass are OK.

Also, I asked my senior what we were going to do after SYF. He said we would prepare for Investiture. For those who don't know, RIMB Investiture is a band-organized day (either on a weekend or holiday) when all batches (Sec 1, Sec 2...) prepare 1-4 songs (the guideline is Sec 1s one song, Sec 2s two songs... but four songs even for Sec 4s is a bit much) and play them well as a batch. Then, certificates of promotion are given to everyone, promoting Sec 1s to 2s, announcing the new EXCO and SLs, and graduating the Sec 4s from RIMB. Then everyone goes for section dinner, presents are given both ways, SLs (new and old) make a speech, then everyone goes LANning and then home in high spirits, Sec 1s feeling this was the best day of their life in RIMB (no drills!), Sec 2s feeling the weight of becoming a senior, Sec 3s feeling the responsibility of leadership, Sec 4s feeling very sad and reflective, this being their LAST DAY ATTENDING BAND PRACTICE FOR RIMB.

Is that all? Prepare for SYF. Then prepare for Investiture. Then prepare for next year's concert, Promethium. Then prepare for... A bit meaningless. Why can't we relax a bit, learn a few fun songs (movie themes!!!) and skip practice?

That's what you get with a band with a renowned conductor. A band with 16 (going to be 17) consecutive Golds and Gold with Honours. Which is a 32-year streak. So if we don't get Gold with Honours, 32 years worth of RIMB members will come back and haunt us. I shiver at the thought.

Today has been fairly reflective and deep for me. But before we reach Investiture, there's still the dreaded SYF.

And to think, we dread something that we didn't opt to go for willingly. The 16 consecutive Golds and Gold with Honours made us. The 32 years worth of banders did. Our conductor did. How many of us actually want to go for SYF, when it causes so much turmoil everywhere?

But even if I had the choice to pull us all out of SYF right here and now, I wouldn't, partially because of shame and mostly because of... well, the 32 years of seniors. And band pride. And some complicated things.

Tomorrow we've got a Arts at the Atrium performance. Its just an event when the teachers book the Atrium for one recess, and we go down and perform. RICO (Chinese Orchestra) is performing after us, and I will die of shock and horror if they turn out to be better than us. They only got Silver two years back.

At least, since CCTs are over, I can play com (if only my parents would allow) and sleep early. Goodnight.

burning midnight oil

... so tired. Finished Chemistry revision and then Biology assignment. I should go to sleep. OK, I will go to sleep.

Why so much homework??? Why so many tests???

On top of that, there's still SYF practices.

Hey, what are we going to do after SYF???

... slack?

SYF rehersal

Yay! Gold with Honours is in sight again!!!

Rehersals at the Singapore Conference Hall today were very good, in my opinion. Sunrise was good, apart from a incident with the Alto Saxes. Ocean was better. Overall, good sound, but I shall refrain from giving a description for the sake of my Physics CCT on Monday, Chem CCT on Tuesday, and Math Statistics TA on Wedesday. On top of that, I have a Bio assignment due on Tuesday too.

Praise from our conductor is rare but when he says it he really means it, and we really deserve it. Of course, its usually followed by "but of course we still have much to improve..." etc.

Our conductor also invited a whole gang of conductors from different schools (I recognized a few from the musical exchanges) to watch us (and I suspect they sat there throughout the whole day watching all the other bands). At least the comments they gave were all quite positive.

On the downside, it ended at 10:45. Meaning that I reached home at about 11:30. Meaning no time to mug Physics. (but I would if I STOPPED BLOGGING)

Ah well. Hope the paper tomorrow is easy.

CCT results

I've got most of my CCT results back; except for English, and for Physics and Chemistry, which I haven't taken yet.

History: 16/20
Percentage: 80%
GPA: 4.0

This isn't actually a CCT, its called a timed assignment (aka CCT in disguise). Quite good marks, however, lots of people got this mark too, highest being 18/20. Paper was a piece of cake, but lack of time killed my conclusion, which might have been 14/15 but became 12/15. Inference question got 4/5, not bad.

Biology: 35/45
Percentage: 77.8%
GPA: 3.6

Noooooo! Missed 4.0 by one stupid mark!!! Luckily there's a level wide marking error, so I might just scrape 36/45. This paper was actually easy, but if I had not misinterpreted the chromosomal crossing over so badly I might have managed to do the bonus question.

Chinese: 40/65
Percentage: 61.5%
GPA: 2.8

Hey, not bad for a Chinese paper!!! Seeing that I got GPA 2.4 for my end-of-year results last year, a 2.8 is an improvement!!! FULL MARKS for the cloze section with words from the chapter, but 6/20 for the cloze without.

Math: 14.5/30
Percentage: 48.3%
GPA: 1.6

... lol. My prediction came true. All I can console myself on this was that the level-wide average was only 16.3, and this paper caused a huge uproar. Some super muggers managed to get 29.5/30. (... what the ...) First time Math was worse than Chinese...

Which makes an grand average of... *jabs calculator*...

Total Marks: 105.5/160
Average Percentage: 65.9%
Average GPA: 3.0

Not too good. Though if you just count GPA from average percentage you get 3.2 instead of 3.0. Hope CA will pull this up. Also, if my Biology gets 1 more mark (which is probable), I'll have 3.1. Physics and Chemistry have to be good!!!

Which reminds me. Physics is on Mon. Chemistry is on Tue. Math TA on Statistics is on Wed. But on Sunday, I've got a band rehersal/sound test at the SCH!!! HOW TO STUDY!!! Simple. STOP BLOGGING AND GET BACK TO WORK.

PS: My clarinet tone sounds a little better (new mouthpiece/ligature?), but technical skills have a long of way to go to be good. Noticed that my Chorale I and II are improving in terms of tone and expression, but Storm is still messy. Also noticed that (is it the new mouthpiece/ligature?) that I KEEP SQUEAKING. If I squeak during SYF I'm going to die of embarassment and shame. And guilt.

PPS: Back to work.

clarinet mouthpiece

Woot! I bought a clarinet mouthpiece yesterday!!! There goes S$118.00.

Unfortunately... it doesn't seem any different from my current one, which is loaned from the band room. It's not even Buffet (which is said to be the best brand for clarinet equipment), its Vandoren. (which I only recognize because all the clar/sax reeds in the band cupboard are all Vandoren)

I also bought a ligature for S$51.50. This replaces the traditional (full metal) borrowed ligature with a leather/rubber one. The ligature comprises of a adjustable length of leather/rubber encircling the mouthpiece, and where the reed touches it, there is a (real) gold support with green cloth padding. The knob for tightening and loosening the ligature is now on the opposite side of the mouthpiece (the side with no reed), causing me to constantly accidentally put it the wrong way round. I think I sound a bit clearer and rounder with this ligature compared to the band standard ligature. I think.

So, now my clarinet is an assorted jumble of parts:

Vandoren mouthpiece (mine)
BG ligature (mine)
Vandoren reeds (mine)
Unmarked barrel (band's)
Buffet upper joint (band's)
Unmarked but highly suspected Yamaha lower joint (band's)
Buffet bell (band's)

Which I suppose is OK.

Today, I had a RE meeting with external mentor, and arrived for band... half an hour before practice ended. LOL. Wasted my money. Didn't even get to show off my new mouthpiece and ligature. (OK, just kidding, I'm not a show off) But from what I gathered from my friends, this practice was apparently a very good one; everyone played well, conductor happy etc. Too bad I wasn't there. Spirits were high and everyone laughed when attendance was taken; Sec 3s (my batch) full attendance EXCEPT FOR THE LAST PERSON ON THE LIST. Lolololololol. But today my batch still had the highest attendance this year. So far.

SYF!!! 16th April!!! Gold with Honours a must!!!

first day of term II

First days are always bad. This one was worse.

Nearly fell asleep during English. This is the first time I have come close to dropping off during a lesson this year, even though the lesson was quite interesting. Sooooo sleepy!!!

PE. Horror of all horrors. 2 circuits round the school; must be at least 1.6 km! Then 10 chin ups (I did 3 assisted) and 20 inclined pull ups (ok, at least I did this). NOBODY was in the mood to play handball (even though it is the most fun sport I've played after water polo), so naturally we got scolded for not showing enough enthusiasm. Hello, try to play handball after doing 1.6 km. Well, most people might be able to; I can't. At least I was awake for the rest of the day after this.

Then came Math. The teacher was late for class, and then after that he couldn't recognize one of my classmates. (Poor Shang Hua. To have a teacher who has taught you for a term to say to you, "Have I seen you before?" is like some ultimate embarassment.) Well, maybe its not just my bad first day.

History, OK. Chemistry, slightly noisy but less than normal with some of the water poloists removed (no offense). CLE was completely quiet. For once.

Band should have been the high point of my day. But... not today. It is scientifically proven that at around 3:30 or 4:00, a person's energy level drops to its lowest point, but the woodwind section of RIMB today proved to be some exception. Having sectionals/concert with Mr Oura conducting, getting 3rd and 2nd clarinets sent out to practice (including me), will ensure you don't fall asleep. At least towards the end he was getting happier (I HOPE) with our Storm and Chorale II.

Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can buy a clarinet mouthpiece (I've finally got ang bao $$ from parents!!!) at Jalan Jurong Kechil. Although, since that place is a bit more expensive than usual, I might still continue searching. The shop which Dao Bo (my clarinet SL) claims is at IMM has mysteriously vanished.

I never thought one could be so concerned about his CCA. In primary school I wouldn't have even given Art Club (ART CLUB!!!) priority over piano lessons.

Thats a good thing? Right?