... D: And I promised myself that I wanted to try my hand at something new. Dang. Yes, people. I've once more signed my soul to choir. And yes, after another bout of testing... I am no longer a soprano. Instead I have dropped to an alto. Damnit lah. Alto lines are so much tougher to learn... because they're not the melody line hence it's easier to become influenced by the sopranos and... then? One giant mess.

Oh well. What's the worst that can happen? Hopefully everything will just go smoothly and... guess the base line is just practice more and learn not to be a mindless sheep?

In other news, I had an OMFG moment on the train. I freaking saw my primary school crush again. And... this time he's so much hotter, tanner and taller. Just to think that a few weeks back, I was confiding to Jia Xuan that if I saw those ex-crushes again, I'll definitely fall for them again, and... fate sent him into my field of vision. Haha. Nah, not going to do anything about it anyway. He's in SA now and has probably already forgotten me. After all, we were merely classmates that... disagreed most of the time.

Labels: choir

>.> Wasn't really in a good mood this morning... the entire day was eaten up in dread of Mdm Yong's frightful 4 laborious hours mock exam. Even the only teachers who heard the announcement for the ridiculous thing gasped in horror. Real, unaffected jaw dropping shock and disbelief. So yeah, had no choice but to undergo her torture treatment, from 1:30 to 5:30. At least that was the time that I left at since I crapped through the stupid thing. Bloody waste of my time, I tell you. In fact, I actually fell asleep while writing, and ended up writing something that even I couldn't comprehend. Good luck to her, when deciphering my handwriting. And the room was so freaking cold that almost everyone was shivering. Half the time, I was hiding my hands in my bag, sneaking out only my right hand to write every now and then.

I think Sharon and I were among the first few to finish, and we quickly left, before Mdm Yong could think of anything to detain us further. Anyway, I had a concert to attend, and I really don't need or want to hear Mdm Yong's speeches. Rushed home, changed, grab a quick bite and I'm off again. All thoughts of homework and responsibilities were chucked to the furthest part of my mind. Like all the way to Timbuktu.

Met Kimberley punctually, unlike meeting guys who are always late. >.> And fashionably late has already become so passe. Anyway, we talked a lot on the train, from the most random to the most irrelevant. Okay, so most of them were gossip and criticisms about people... your point being?

Fine, I'm moving on, alright? Sheesh, go get some patience.
We were kind of late, because we got the tickets late... yeah, and still haven't paid Hope Mi for the tickets. We got pretty good seats, quite near the front, so everything was really clear. There were two foreign schools, from Philippines and Hong Kong. Both schools gave wonderful performances, but I kind of prefer the HK school, as they were so much livelier... all the dancing and moving around.

Temasek A Capella Group was cool, especially the beatbox thing that the guys did, but I didn't quite like the soloist, her voice was a bit too airy and the words muffled. But overall, they made quite the pretty picture.

NJC had this brilliant soprano that sang a few solo lines in the Ko Matsushita piece and her voice was damn gorgeous, so rich and so effortless, yes, I am jealous. I really really love ACJC's mermaid song to bits. They were just so haunting that I felt caught in the siren's web. And the coolest thing was that they had their alumni in the audience who stood up and sang the song along with them. I must say that we were very lucky, because there were not one, not two, but four alumni just singing directly around us, be it beside or behind. The tenor behind had this to-die-for voice, so husky and so soulful. And the soprano beside me was really good too, though I didn't really pay attention to the soprano line. I focused mainly on the male sound this time because this main melody seems to be from the guys.

The closing ceremony was kind of cheesy, with the purple and white pompoms that we used back then for the syf fiasco. There was also much balloon popping, confetti pulling, and loud mainstream music blaring away.

I got home at about 11, kind of not much of a big deal, except for the fact that there's school tomorrow, and I'm dead tired. Too bad skipping school isn't an option. Not for me anyway.

Labels: choir

I dislike rehearsals a lot. Almost hate it in fact.

Bzzzttt... [blank screen with screechy sounds as tape plays back. Old school style][too much samurai champloo...]

I came to school earlier then yesterday, knowing that Mrs Ram will be late, but not as late as Mr Shasi. So, arrived just in time and settled down quietly because I didn't complete that SS thing she told us to do. Heh. Was too busy, really. Really. It was pretty fun, her lesson, and I was quite entertained by the people in my class.

Maths was alright, but quite boring anyway. Cos it's Maths. No other particular reason. Did my stupid corrections for my stupid mistakes, but whatever, I'm so over that stupid exam. [Can you just sense the valley-girl accent? Haha.]

Literature was quite a work on the nerves. [any sense of that? Think that's an expression mistake] Miss Lee gave back the lit papers... [drumroll] I passed! Whew, that's one load of my chest, since I thought I really screwed up those papers and she hinted that we didn't do well at all... so yeah. Wished I could have finished the lesson though, but left the class at 1215. Don't be so surprised at my hardworking attitude, cos I actually do like Lit lessons. They're interesting and well... interesting. Keeps us on our toes and all that jazz.

So, 1215. Met Yan Ting and the others and headed out for lunch. Didn't know that Joey was oblivious that she had to leave and ended up going home instead. Blah. >.< Anyway, we reached Republic Poly in the afternoon. I don't know the time, since I don't own a watch. And I don't need one too.

Do I need to go through the boring details? Let's just do fast forward here.

Settle down in the auditorium, listen to Miss Tang's erm... speech cum lecture cum instructions. Then went to the dressing rooms that smelt funny. Came out for movement run, had a tea break. Went back and rotted in the stupid dressing room, and watched a bunch of the boys make a fool out of themselves. Damn entertaining, I tell you. Then we went out for warm ups and then sat through band's performance which could be better, and Pei Jun's item came up. Next came our turn and it could be a million times better, of course. Exited the stage, grabbed our stuff, listened to more talk, and headed for the bus that would bring us back. Trudged home, scruffy and untidy, iPod earphones blaring TOKIO HOTEL :hearts:, dismissing the glances that disapproving passerbys shot at me. Mind your own businesses. Arriving home, I noticed that no one was around, but hey, dinner's on the table, so no complaints. Showered and all that jazz and had dinner, which was great: crabs, prawns, vegetables and soup. Add three episodes of great anime? Downright relaxing from this boring day.

Yeah. Rehearsals suck. But hey, I'm still alive, so... oh, what's the big deal?! Anyway, main thing? NO school tomorrow, NO rehearsals tomorrow. I can sleep in for once without waking up early just for fanfiction.

Labels: choir, school life

The ACJC concert was brilliant, and I enjoyed myself tremendously, although I kind of wished that they would perform more upbeat songs. Majority of their pieces were pretty wistful and sad, but pure loveliness of music. They were really expressive and one could feel the stories behind the songs, weaving into colors and lights through the use of words and sounds. There were some songs I didn't quite like, though it's merely my prejudice and not the lack of quality. The concert hall had great acoustics, but when it was totally silent, the emptiness kind of hurt the ears. Or maybe it's just me being overly sensitive. There's something I want to nitpick about though: the concert's title. The Esplanade's concert hall was a little too formal to be called 'An Evening With Friends', not like the cosier effect that VCH has or even SAM. But overall, I'm glad I went.

Labels: choir

SYF 2007: Silver. Again. Not that I'm not grateful that we got a silver instead of bronze or even c.o.p. But... this is like the third time I got silver for syf. Primary 5, Sec 2 and now... it's like I have some sort of fate with silver. But we have come this far, and I am glad to have shared this experience with everyone, though I might not know many of them, especially those not in my section. I would like to thank everyone for their hard work, because even though a gold was not reached, we learned many things on this journey.

[1] reached school at around 10, and was immediately ushered into the makeshift girls' changing room. So, I changed as swiftly as I could, trying not to feel self-conscious. Then we moved on to do our makeup... which made me think of those chinese erm... demoness from the archaic martial arts tv dramas. Do I make sense? Haha, anyway, the blush was heavily applied, and it clashed with the turquoise eyeshadow which was supposed to match with our gowns.

[2] started practice at like about 11:40? Anyway, we did the usual; warm-ups, then went through the songs etc. Details I can't really remember... too tired.

[3] lunch... was free, so I shall not complain. Yeah, it was free. Note that and make your own inferences, I'm sure there are clever people out there.

[4] the bus ride to VCH was uneventful as I dozed fitfully against the window. I didn't really want to sleep, but was pretty tired, besides, no one was talking to me... I was awake by the time we reached. So no harm done.

[5] I wasn't really nervous when I went up on stage, for VCH had became somewhere familiar to me, having performed there before, and being to concerts here. Besides, the lighting was comfortable and cosy, unlike our previous venue for syf. I did what I could, trying to recall what we learnt, and putting the expressions into our faces. My cheeks actually hurt... not used to long periods of extended use, since I'm not a very 'smiley' person.

[6] after the performance, we stay to hear the results, since we were the second last choir for the day. Miss Ong led us all outside for a talk. She seemed pleased with us, and commented greatly on our improvement. I was glad, but a doubt nagged inside me; what if she was consoling us in this manner? Anyway, we cheered a bit, and then went back and waited. Waiting sucks; I don't really wait and today, I was especially impatient.

[7] Few schools had gold, and there wasn't any which achieved a gold with honors, there were a few c.o.p and bronze, and then silver. Jia Xuan of BP High too received a silver, and she was like really disappointed, like us. Unity Sec erupted into cheers when they heard they got a silver, we met our own silver with stony silence, and frowns. Some even cried. I was sorely disappointed, even though I know gold was not something that we have reached, but I hoped, and was disappointed.

[8] Unknown to many, yes, I did cry. But not a lot, just merely over active tear glands. I had actually promised myself not to cry, even if I did, I'd do it at home, alone. But the others who burst into tears affected me, and I found my own eyes tearing up. I kind of cried on the bus silently, tears which I refused to acknowledge, and stared resolutely out of the window. Luckily the bus ride was long, due to traffic and I got myself grounded with some meditation techniques.

[9] Long speeches from everyone who tried to wax eloquent about the whole process and everything. And I cried a bit. And everyone sang Oh Magnum Mysterium for the last time together, but it sucked since most of the girls were like teary and all, and we went off badly. But no one cared.

[10] thank you to everyone in the choir, thank you to all the teachers, especially the teachers-in-charge. thank you.

Since this is like the last time I will have a syf with this choir, I think I'll just do something here; write my opinions on all the sec 4s in the choir, present company excluded, of course.

[Kimberley] My dear dear sectional leader. Kimmi, thank you most of all. 'Cos you worked the hardest, out of all of us in the soprano section. And you worry so much about us, and blamed our mistakes as your own, which is a trait I wish you would change... I'm sorry we could get a gold, but don't take it too much on yourself, cos we did our best, and you know that.

[Wei En] ... if you read this, please don't be offended. She acts cute a lot. Trust me. But she is a good friend, though she has her faults too. Yah, overly insecure and dependent, but can be reliable.

[Joey] ... nothing much lah, but she was part of the reason why I joined choir in the first place. We were classmates in sec 1, so since we were selected by choir, we decided to go in together. Haha, we also skipped choir a lot in sec 1 together. And we were forced to go to practices due to the then scary Mr Liew.

[Yan Ting] a pity she wasn't performing with us for syf. Usually very lame, but still dependable most of the time, when she isn't annoying others or seeking attention. I'm not overly worried that she will be offended, since we say this to her face most of the time.

[Cheryl] she works too hard. She has put in a lot, a lot, a lot for this choir, and I feel that sometimes, she is underappreciated. Since last year, she has been stressed out over choir issues, and her grades slipped drastically because of that. Hopefully, with syf over, she'll have time for herself. A very very reliable person, who is also very positive.

[Yeah Jun, Wen Ting, Feng Ru, Hui Qi] don't really know them all very well, but they are pretty close to each other. Usually, if one skips, the others will follow, until syf came around the corner, and they became serious and came regularly. They're really humorous people, very fun to be with.

[Chong Ren] he is like the comic relief in the choir. And usually his actions are always funny, even though he doesn't mean it to be funny. Blur and a little exaggerating, but I feel that he is sincere in what he's doing, and that's the most important thing.

[Victor, Tze Yang, Joshua, James] don't really know them too, since they only joined like last year, but they're alright, I guess. Victor's a bit blur, Tze Yang... kind of sings in a funny manner, as if he's having a difficult time, cos he usually sticks his neck forward, something like that. Joshua... not too sure. James... attention seeker or something. But I think he's quite chummy with Chee How and Chong Ren...

[Chee How] well... my opinion of him is like a rollercoaster. There are times when he says something that actually makes sense and raises my opinion of him, then he spoils the image by saying something ridiculous. So my opinion then plummets. But overall, he's still alright, and quite nice actually when he's not being lame. Yeah...

[Tian Jun] finally, to our president, then I can go to sleep. He sometimes rub me the wrong way, so I get frustrated at him, but he's quite alright if you ignore his faults. Heh, I really really really hated the military style of discipline, since one of the main reasons I joined choir was to avoid this kind of thing. Heck, I even turned down the offer to join band because I didn't want to do the 'fall-in', 'fall-out' thing. But... he's pretty decent, so kudos for effort trying to be a good president. Maybe someday I'll remember him favorably... nah, probably not possible.

Labels: choir, people

It started off badly for me; dead tired, I could hardly even open my eyes against the weak rays of the sun. Gods forbid that at 6:45, the sun is shining brightly. No, of course not. Lazing around wasting time, I managed to drag myself to school before 8:30 so that I wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of being late.

Due to my fatigue, I wasn't in the best of mood, so having a long sectional with the tenors was not something that I looked forward to. So, after a looonnnggg practice, Kim finally let us off the figurative hook tearing through my guts and we went to get a bite.

I came back from the break quite refreshed even though the weariness was still in my bones. In a fairly good mood, I cooperated with Miss Ong as far as I could, even though I couldn't reached some notes due to my ever worsening cough. Yes, I said that I would go to the doctor, but the consultant fee... and okay, fine, I'm a bloody procrastinator. Sue me. I'll win cos I'm really a procrastinator.

Anyway, things passed fairly well, and at around 1 plus, we had lunch. Provided by the school. Yes, I'm preeetty sure that the expression on your face is anything but joy. And yes, it's mirrored by many of us in choir.

Here, an explanation shall be needed. At first, we were to go to the Yew Tee CC for our choral exchange, but midway, the organizers changed their plans, and moved the venue to Shu Qin primary school instead.

Labels: choir, school life