2009 and 2010

I thank God for a new year!

Let's start with SPM. It's finally over. No more bio, moral, history, chem, physics(i'll miss this), add maths(i think i'll miss this too), maths, JUNGLE OF HOPE, POEMS AND SHORT STORIES, CHAIR, SEA KID, AS TOUGH AS THE CORAL, still have to take a BM paper and english i think. MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC here i come.

That was written last year. So. It's the new year and the door has opened for me to do my foundation in music.

A recap of what has been done last year....

SPM then there was music camp. My first tour. To Singapore.

We travelled by bus and had a long, long wait at the border on the other side. Long cues, people cutting cues(not our own people) and people line-hopping(yes, our own people, and yes, I was one of them).

On the first night(the same day we arrived), 5 of us decided to get a little adventurous with Singapore public transport and go see this flute technician. We got on a bus, got off at an MRT station, got MRT tickets(they're actually CARD, like those bank cards, very unlike our 2-sheet material LRT tickets) and the adventure continued. We had to switch lines halfway through the journey and managed to get to our destination. BUT, we ended up waiting outside the centre because the guy had gone off for dinner. So we sat there for about 15-20 minutes, I think...walked around the space there was, taking photos, more photos, even more photos...and what else...oh yes, WAITING.

He came back and not only did three of us get our flutes checked and adjusted, we got to test some pretty incredible flutes! Lol. And a couple of piccolos as well. He told us, "After you try these, you wouldn't want *will not mention brand* piccolos anymore...", and true enough, that was exactly what happened. Then again, us being students...the most common phrase when it comes to upgrading an instrument or something along those lines..."no money...". So we have to content ourselves with being on the outside, looking at those instruments through the glass window. Yes, let's be content.

The highlight of the trip to that workshop was being able to just delve a little deeper into the flute world....and the two poor violists had to wait for the three awestruck flute players who were too engrossed trying out flutes and piccolos. Oh, and getting 'souvenirs'. After all that was done, we paid a visit to Orchard Road to see the lights and stuff, then we started back to our lodging and had quite an adventure on the way back that night.

Had the concert in the YST Conservatory Auditorium. Beautiful hall. Not good for strings though. And the stage was really cramped. No space to move about! It was a very memorable concert. LOL.

Went back to KL, had rehearsal there and then performed. On the 24th, took a bus to Ipoh and stayed with Darlz and her family, who made sure I enjoyed my Christmas. Caught up with friends I haven't seen in ages, ate food I can't get Here, then left for Penang on Boxing Day.

In Penang, a good summary would be...went up Penang Hill, ate lots of Penang hawker food, spent time with friends, played music, had fun, ate some more, then got to meet new people and expand my music circle, had fun with the New Year Concert (thank you, EK!!) then sadly, left Penang. I will be back.

Went to Kedah for a few days and spent time with relatives, whether at work or just entertaining little cousins, then came back Here.

It's good to be back, but at the same time, I wish I could've stayed longer over There.

Guys who are leaving the orch, all the best wherever you're headed. Those close buddies, I really gonna miss you guys, and hey, a lifetime's not too long to live as friends. I'll remember you guys and the moments we shared being silly, talking, laughing at each other and all that. To those who are gonna get a second shot at it, I wish you all the best as well. I look forward to another year with the rest of you!

I thank God for all you guys who made my 2009 end year hols so memorable!

I'll be spending this year with eccentric people like myself and am looking forward to this new chapter in life, this direction I've chosen in coming to the crossroad. Congrats to the new student leader!! Lol.

2010 here I come.

To : anyone willing to read this post and be challenged...

I thank God for Doulos!

Doulos came about a year ago(Doulos is the world's largest floating bookshop. Or was, at least. They took the ship apart this year or something). So what did I do? I headed over to the Bargain Corner and bought 80 bucks' worth of CDs. They weren't That expensive. 20 bucks per 4 CDs. Good deal. So I got 16 albums. An assortment. Among the 16 CDs, there's this one album by Freddie Kofi, journey:destination paradise. It's classified in the R&B genre.

I was listening to the album today and there was this one song that jumped out at me. This is a shoutout to all SPM candidates (and the rest of you).


trust in the Lord
and be of good courage
and He shall
strengthen your heart

you don't have to be afraid
of the storm that is passing your way
your life is not over
can you hear what the Father says?
you don't have to worry
just trust He will make a way
keep your eyes on Jesus
all your troubles will fade away


So that song hit me. What did I do? I finished listening to the entire album and pressed the PLAY button again. This entire album, as the title - journey:destination paradise - suggests, is about stuff we go through in life, and my dear friends, especially those reaching crossroads in life, I feel this came at just the right time. Our ultimate destination is to someday be in paradise with Him. For now, we face tests and trials (be they SPM or college and uni apps or whatever else there is) BUT, He will take our overcoming and He will use us as living testimonies for Him. So guys, let's stand tall, roll our shoulders back and look at our challenges right in the eye and trust in the Lord to work things out for the best according to His plans.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28
People, trust in the Lord!

Singin' in the Rain!!!

I thank God for the friend who got me the musical Singin' in the Rain starring Gene Kelly!

I have been hunting high and low for this, and I happened to walk into the class the other day and mention the musical, and guess what? Lo and behold, this particular friend of mine had it there in her thumbdrive! Lol! Thank you Kingston for you 4GB Data Traveller and whatever programme my friend uses to get all these musicals which are no longer in the market.

So here's to Singin' in the Rain, my dear friend and others out there who enjoy it.



Lol.

First-year-of-blogging-anniversary...

I thank God for everything that's happened between my last post and this one. Let me elaborate...

This is an overdue post, so since it's the 'holidays'(more like study break), I'm going to try and document some stuff now before I get back to studying.

In August, I attended another music camp. This time, it was a whole lot more fun. For one, we were in a hotel. Lol. Yes, walked to our practice venue(s) lol but with a whole bunch of buddies, colleagues...call them what you want. But yea, kids walking on the roadside carrying instruments. Lol. We played another lot of stuff...cut out parts(we had a time issue for our performance this time 'round) and sobz...cut out one particular section in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker - Valse des Fleurs which I liked. Ah well, we'll be playing it in December. Our performance this time was in conjunction with the Malaysian Youth Music Festival 2009, organized by the Malaysian Youth Orchestra Foundation. We did the finale show in Sunway Pyramid. Had fun with POTC, aye? Lol.

At Sunway Pyramid, I had a reunion with my 'long-lost lil bro', who also turned out to be awarded the best piano solo, diploma category, along with the platinum award. Lol. I'm looking forward to next March, bro!

Right before camp, I took my flute diploma exam. Lol. And got the results during camp. With wonderful favour from my Dad up there, I did much better than expected and got a really good pass. Yes, silent buddy, the figure means a whole lot more to me now. Lol. Again, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank God for His blessing and favour, my family for putting up with my crazy practice sessions, my teacher for pushing me even when I thought I couldn't go anymore, my tutors and flute buddies over at orchestra for their patience and advice, my other buddies who kept encouraging me, my prayer warriors who kept me in constant prayer and my friends who lent an ear to my rantings in the process of my prep for the exam. If I have left anyone out, I'm sorry, and please know that I DO appreciate you.

It's been slightly over a year that I've had this blog, and so, I would like to end this post with a prayer that whatever this blog contains, both now and in future, may it glorify my Father. All who are in support of that, please do throw in a BIG LOUD AMEN. Thanks!

A tribute...

I thank God for friends...

This is a tribute to you...lol...to the rest out there : ENJOY!

Deck-ING the halls...

I thank God once again for bringing me here safely...

I should get this started. First of all, thanks darlz(you know who you are) for taking time out to spend with me during my free time. It was good being able to meet up with u and just catch up on lost time. You didn't have to but I'm glad you did. There'll be more of such moments I'm sure, as long as we can liase properly and you don't have to send your phone to the Nokia Care Centre to ge it repaired and use a different number in the meantime...that sure speeded things up, didn't it? Lol. I appreciate the effort and the time you put into preserving what we have built up over the years and I hope that will continue. You are treasured.

This time was no exception to lots more hard work.

Thanks to Mr Kevin Field for taking the time to believe in us and guide us.
Big thanks to my section tutor, who came and was a great help along with great fun. Not intimidating, not threatening, and able to explain things to us in ways we would understand. eg, the KTM situation.
Thanks to my section colleagues for being patient with me and so encouraging. Carmen, for the books(I've started on them already!).
Many thanks to my roommates, you know who you are, for putting up with me.
Thanks to my buddy who at times just sat in silence with me.
Thanks to our concertmaster and I wish you all the best wherever you go and in whatever you do...
Thanks to everyone else for another great camp and concert.

Up to now, there's this indescribable feeling of having performed in that prestiged hall and a sense of loss...where I don't want the camp to have ended. Time seems to fly by when you're having a good time.

Then again, August isn't too far away. The in-house chamber recital will (hopefully, without any complications) take place then. All we can do now is to focus on our studies, and for some, work, until then.

All the best to my colleagues who will be taking music exams between now and then, to colleagues who will be having competitions, to those who will be having trial exams in preparation for public exams. Give it your all! God bless all of you and see you guys next camp!

Deck the hols with streams of music...

I thank God that exams are over...

Yes, no more worrying and stressing over juggling daily practice with studying and sitting for exams in school(at least for now...).

Tonight, I will be spending time with Ed, working on and polishing some stuff to avoid disappointment. This time, it will be more of a challenge, which is a good thing, of course.

The whole cycle starts up again of Saturday, and this time, we will be treated to seeing some of our colleagues(this is a term I picked up during the last camp) perform on the 2nd, little groups of our colleagues performing on the 5th and the senior team perform on the 6th. The lot of us will be doing the 7th June. Tickets are sold out, so to those of you who haven't got your tickets, sorry la. There's nothing I can do. Maybe you guys could book ahead for the August performance. I will let y'all know once I get the dates.

I'm excited...I'm jittery...will I be able to satisfy myself this time? I can never reach a limit to learning and I have such a long way to go. With help, guidance and correction, I am pretty sure that I will learn so much more this camp and it will benefit me in ways I can never imagine. All I have to do is be faithful, as God's Word says, and God will notice my faithfulness and reward me accordingly.

To all you guys who will be with me beginning Saturday...my 'colleagues'...I'm looking forward to it. Guys, let's give it all we've got!