Wednesday, May 04, 2005

I'm back

Haven't been blogging for a long, long time.. Not that I do not have to urge to, but somehow, just din really have the luxury of time to sit down and really blog.

If you have noticed, I have just changed my blog skin and also the background music recently. Thought it’s about time for a change and this current skin will reflect my current mood better. Like what my BSM (Band Sergeant Major) said, I still have a ‘long journey ahead’ of me… and I’ve got lots of stuff to learn, hurdles to cross and hardships to overcome. Nobody said it’s going to be easy, but I’ve just got to try… to pull thru it and prove myself.

Life back in Bands has been quite hectic... and even a tad stressful to a certain extent. But if anyone were to ask me, I’ll still reply with the same conviction that I still prefer life back in Bands. Not that I’m mad about parades and drills and stuff, but at the very least, I dun feel like some walking dead booking into camp everyday other day, just to dutifully waste 9hrs of my life away on a daily mundane basis.

Been thru quite a lot of my firsts in the past 1 plus month in SAF Band B. My virgin OCS parade, funeral (yes, we have to do them.. it’s a state obligation), Presentation of Credentials, countless Guards of Honour parades and also my very first Changing of Guards (COG) parade as the main band!! Learnt a lot along the way too.. ha~ Just for those of you fellow Singaporeans out there who’s totally unaware of such a thing as the COG, it is held on the first Sunday of every month when the Guards on sentry duty at the Istana changes over. The parade will commence in the heart of Orchard Road, between Hello Singtel building and the Heerens’s where the new guards, the Silent Precision Drill Squad (SPDS) and the main band will march off to the Istana, where the ceremony will den take place will the old guards and the supporting band waiting there.

The COGs (main) are always considered a fun thing to do for us bandsmen, cos it’s the rare chance for us Bandsmen to bask in the limelight as we marched proudly down Orchard Road in our smart Number 1 uniforms amidst throngs of curious on-lookers. As for me, my very first COG experience is definitely something I’ll find hard to forget, given the pressure of the preparations for it (first COG and I’m playing the snare drum.. (God! Have to memorise so many new marches!!) and also the funny incidents along the way. (Chenguo lost all his March cards… and even his shoe!! Bwahaha~!) Of course there were stressful and trying times when minor conflicts arose, due to the need to perform to expectations, the differing approaches to doing things, the tight time constraints etc, but all these are what make life in band interesting. Unlike my previous stint in MDC, everything was just such a bore. All the shows and dining-in and whatever were hardly interesting. (I was literally stoning thru all of them..) =P

Met up with the CO peeps again, after such a loooong time. Was back in HC to watch their last rehearsal just before the SYF, which is on the 3^rd of May. Was very touched to see the whole lot of juniors working so hard, all with the same conviction of getting that Gold with Honours. Gave the percussion section some advice and its great to see them really giving their best to improve their performance in whatever way possible.

Was there at Singapore Conference Hall (SCH) to support them again on the actual day, given that I’m on off. Must say it was quite a drama the whole day thru.

Initially, I was supposed to meet them all in Hwachong, but becos of the stoopid 157 bus I was in, I din make it on time. Stupid driver was driving so damn slowly dat he took all of half an hour just to drive from Bukit Batok to Bukit Timah Market, where he finally decides the bus has broken down! Argh~! I mean, shdn’t you try to drive at a normal pace instead of that snail-like pace?? (No offense to you, Sugui) And, for goodness sake, dun let more people on board if you suspect the bus is breaking down! And he din even seem to noe wat to do when angry commuters tried to get off the bus, even before he declares the bus to have broken down. Neither did he give clear instructions or explanation on wat the heck was going on. He seemed even reluctant to let people off! Gawd!! He din give out the complimentary bus tickets or even cancel the last trip when he declares the bus to have broken down!! Wat nonsense! But I was in too much of a hurry to give a damn. Wat luck!

Rushed down to SCH to pass the juniors the stuff I bought for them to use for the competition. (Anti-slip placemats to minimise unnecessary sound while switching between auxiliary percussion instruments) Thank god I made it in time, if not, I’m really going to make sure that stupid driver get it from me.

Watched NJ perform in the concert hall itself when suddenly, Pehling called. “Where are you? I need help!” I was thinking along the lines of someone from our team having fainted and in dire need to be revived or something. Turns out she just needed someone to help carry the loads of juniors’ barang barang. Kaoz~! We looked like 2 anxious parents watching kids compete when we scurried across the front of the stage with loads of their kiddie stuff lar~!

Watched Hwachong perform at the extreme right of the first row instead. Wasn’t really a nice spot to be in, given dat the 2 double bassists are basically all that I can see le. But it was still quite an experience. Initially didn’t felt much, just listening to them… it was only when I turned around and saw that glint in Pehling’s eye, the brows that were locked in perpetual apprehension and the cold sweat on her forehead dat I realised just how much this means to each and everyone of them. The teachers, the students and Wei… It was den dat I felt fidgety too… with butterflies in my tummy, so to speak. (How apt.)

Wasn’t their best performance, I must say. Glitches occurred where everyone least expected, and some of which are pretty obvious. But still, overall it was a wonderful attempt, given that <<梦蝶>> is pretty ‘alternative’ in the CO context, and technically, more challenging then the pieces put forth by the other schools. Thankfully the judges are in favor of more subtle, subdued pieces over the loud, majestic ones.

The eventual results were extremely gratifying. Hwachong emerged Champion as the only junior college that was awarded Gold with Honours. As expected, the kids were jubilant, seeing their weeks of hard work and efforts paying off. The complete results for SYF 2005 Central Judging - Chinese Orchestra (Junior Colleges / Centralised Institute) are as follow:

GOLD with Honours:

Hwa Chong Institution (College)

GOLD:

National Junior College
Victoria Junior College
Temasek Junior College
Raffles Junior College
Anderson Junior College

SILVER:

Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Jurong Junior College
Nanyang Junior College
Meridien Junior College
Tampines Junior College

BRONZE:

St Andrew’s Junior College
Yishun Junior College
Pioneer Junior College

Glad to have finished listening to 1 song 14 times in a day, (dat stupid set piece) and joined in the post-competition celebrations with the kids. Ha~

Cre8tivesparks at 5/04/2005 04:19:00 PM

0 gave a piece of their mind