31st March 2008
Monday
Sick like a Dog
This brings us back to a couple of years back, when saying such things suddenly became popular among my group of friends.
We tend to describe things with comparison to a dog. Maybe because dogs are man's best friend?But the point is we taunt people using the animal (xxxxx's dog) and we describe things by comparing it to the animal (ugly like a dog). Why has the dog such a great influence on us?
Maybe because in chinese, we call lackeys 走狗. And the term dog sprung out of the chinese term. But what about descriptions? Well, I think it just happened because it sounded funky.
Anyway, I'm currently sick like a dog. With a bad cold that took me completely by surprise and a throat that's drier than the Sahara desert.
Anyone got fast remedies for such shit, please drop me a comment. I need to recover ASAP.
Oh, and I have PS on Wednesday afternoon.
"Life is about improvisation - making the best out of a bout of illness"
-Han Yong
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
神童（Shindo）
25th March 2008
Tuesday
神童
I just finished watching Shindo. Apart from gushing over Riko Narumi, this movie portrayed some of the vulnerabilities of being talented. We usually think that talented people have it easy. But when you know someone who is blessed with real talent, most of the time people refuse to acknowledge their talent and treat them like some weirdo.
That might or might not be true. It is merely based on my speculations that people are afriad of things that they do not understand. Does that really happen?
The few characters in Shindo represents a few elements in a person's life. There will always be the someone who motivates you and give you that little burst of energy to move forward. Then there is the one who relies on you for that motivation. And behind all of us, there is someone who supports us quietly, providing without ever asking questions.
I skipped school again. Partially because Music Appreciation lesson is simply too boring. And my PS got postponed to tomorrow at 2pm. I'm still thinking about the Schagerl trumpets, especially the C trumpet. To me, I still find the intonation hard to swallow. I guess I'll have to ask Smith tomorrow about the trumpets.
"Some emotions are better expressed through actions than words"
-Han Yong
Tuesday
神童
I just finished watching Shindo. Apart from gushing over Riko Narumi, this movie portrayed some of the vulnerabilities of being talented. We usually think that talented people have it easy. But when you know someone who is blessed with real talent, most of the time people refuse to acknowledge their talent and treat them like some weirdo.
That might or might not be true. It is merely based on my speculations that people are afriad of things that they do not understand. Does that really happen?
The few characters in Shindo represents a few elements in a person's life. There will always be the someone who motivates you and give you that little burst of energy to move forward. Then there is the one who relies on you for that motivation. And behind all of us, there is someone who supports us quietly, providing without ever asking questions.
I skipped school again. Partially because Music Appreciation lesson is simply too boring. And my PS got postponed to tomorrow at 2pm. I'm still thinking about the Schagerl trumpets, especially the C trumpet. To me, I still find the intonation hard to swallow. I guess I'll have to ask Smith tomorrow about the trumpets.
"Some emotions are better expressed through actions than words"
-Han Yong
Monday, March 24, 2008
Once in a while, you realise life isn't so bad after all
24th March 2008
Monday
Once in a while, you realise life isn't so bad after all.
Firstly, I apologise for the lack of updates. (Mostly due to my own laziness and addiction to WOW.) Addictions are evil things that eat away your time, this I have learnt.
Every now and then, I like to stop whatever I am doing and take a break, look back at my progress and evaluate. Usually all these leaves me in a pretty depressed state. I shan't elaborate on that. But recently, my evaluation caught me off guards and I saw a side of me which is much more positive than my dark personality.
For once, I saw massive improvement in my playing. It still needs a lot more work, but I am really pleased with where I am now after 3 months of hard work. Hard work really do yield results.
My audition to NAFA was on last thursday, 20th of March. The auditions went really well despite the many mistakes made during principal studies (PS) [I will be referring to PS quite often in my latter posts.] the previous day.
So audition day started off early in the morning at 8am. My audition time was at 9.45am so I had to come in early to warm up and get my chops working. I started off with reading Today newspaper. Irrelevant to the audition, but it helps get my mind working. Then at 8.20, warm ups begin with some stretching and arppegios. Tonguing exercises were next. By 8.40, lips and tongue were awake and fresh.
8.40 to 9am included reading through the score and last minute research on the piece, composer and arranger. 9am was theory lesson which I sat in with caterpillars in my tummy, waiting to become butterflies. 9.30 am arrived and I met Rebecca outside the classroom before going to the Gamelan room where auditions were held.
At about 9.45, I went into the room with Rebecca and things started to ease up from there. The butterflies that were happily fluttering away before entering the room flew away after I played a few notes to test the acoustics. Danza Movida was very successful and it sounded very much better than what I have ever played during rehearsals. Berceuse was the hardest bit of the auditions. Lucky for me, Mr Adams told me to stop before I got to the technical parts.
He gave some pretty encouraging comments such as "very musical performance", "beautiful tone" and some other stuff. All in all, the audition went well. Looks like my hard work is finally producing some results!
Monday
Once in a while, you realise life isn't so bad after all.
Firstly, I apologise for the lack of updates. (Mostly due to my own laziness and addiction to WOW.) Addictions are evil things that eat away your time, this I have learnt.
Every now and then, I like to stop whatever I am doing and take a break, look back at my progress and evaluate. Usually all these leaves me in a pretty depressed state. I shan't elaborate on that. But recently, my evaluation caught me off guards and I saw a side of me which is much more positive than my dark personality.
For once, I saw massive improvement in my playing. It still needs a lot more work, but I am really pleased with where I am now after 3 months of hard work. Hard work really do yield results.
My audition to NAFA was on last thursday, 20th of March. The auditions went really well despite the many mistakes made during principal studies (PS) [I will be referring to PS quite often in my latter posts.] the previous day.
So audition day started off early in the morning at 8am. My audition time was at 9.45am so I had to come in early to warm up and get my chops working. I started off with reading Today newspaper. Irrelevant to the audition, but it helps get my mind working. Then at 8.20, warm ups begin with some stretching and arppegios. Tonguing exercises were next. By 8.40, lips and tongue were awake and fresh.
8.40 to 9am included reading through the score and last minute research on the piece, composer and arranger. 9am was theory lesson which I sat in with caterpillars in my tummy, waiting to become butterflies. 9.30 am arrived and I met Rebecca outside the classroom before going to the Gamelan room where auditions were held.
At about 9.45, I went into the room with Rebecca and things started to ease up from there. The butterflies that were happily fluttering away before entering the room flew away after I played a few notes to test the acoustics. Danza Movida was very successful and it sounded very much better than what I have ever played during rehearsals. Berceuse was the hardest bit of the auditions. Lucky for me, Mr Adams told me to stop before I got to the technical parts.
He gave some pretty encouraging comments such as "very musical performance", "beautiful tone" and some other stuff. All in all, the audition went well. Looks like my hard work is finally producing some results!
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Out of the blue
8th March 2008
Saturday
Out of the blue
All of a sudden, my blogging frenzy returned. After countless days of having nothing to blog about, I suddenly have a few posts within a week.
My practice schedule has been pretty chaotic recently. Because of hours of choir practices and unholy bedtimes, I'm pretty much slacking off on my practices. I should be putting in more hours of work from now on. The results are showing now that I have quite consistent practices (minus one or two days off occasionally). And I am pretty much satisfied with where I am now.
I've been flipping through old posts and I realised that my blogging style has changed again. No more narratives. No more philosophical posts. No more rantings. Instead, it's all about looking back at the past now. That isn't good, although a little reflection every now and then does help a bit. I'll try to get rid of the new habits and revert to my old style, though here is another angsty and confused post.
My classmates are getting back their A' levels results. And here I am about to start year 1. My peers are about to graduate with a diploma in about a year's time. And the nearest diploma in sight is 3 years away. Am I on the right track?
I think my time will be better spent on moving forward rather than thinking about this question which has plagued me for more than a year. The amount of 'if only' questions I have asked myself can easily make up a full report by itself.
Saturday
Out of the blue
All of a sudden, my blogging frenzy returned. After countless days of having nothing to blog about, I suddenly have a few posts within a week.
My practice schedule has been pretty chaotic recently. Because of hours of choir practices and unholy bedtimes, I'm pretty much slacking off on my practices. I should be putting in more hours of work from now on. The results are showing now that I have quite consistent practices (minus one or two days off occasionally). And I am pretty much satisfied with where I am now.
I've been flipping through old posts and I realised that my blogging style has changed again. No more narratives. No more philosophical posts. No more rantings. Instead, it's all about looking back at the past now. That isn't good, although a little reflection every now and then does help a bit. I'll try to get rid of the new habits and revert to my old style, though here is another angsty and confused post.
My classmates are getting back their A' levels results. And here I am about to start year 1. My peers are about to graduate with a diploma in about a year's time. And the nearest diploma in sight is 3 years away. Am I on the right track?
I think my time will be better spent on moving forward rather than thinking about this question which has plagued me for more than a year. The amount of 'if only' questions I have asked myself can easily make up a full report by itself.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Secrets revealed!
5th March 2008
Wednesday
Secrets revealed!
You know you have been slackng on your blogging frequency when all you get frm your first sentence is typograpihcal errors, typographical erorrs, and more typographical errors. In the short span of one sentence, there are already four misspellings.
Away from the typo-s, here is another post to bring some life to this dull place. I seldom have time to post long posts, so the only other alternative I have is to do short bursts every now and then. Blame it on the limitations of the human body. I wish i could run on only 30 minutes of sleep everyday and still function at my best.
Everyone has had to endure some form of commitment or other. It might be work, or study, or relationship. Even blogging is a form of staying committed. Getting committed is easy. Staying committed is hard. For example, this blog has been running for almost five years now. But my posts are still coming, despite the low frequency.
Anyway the title of this post refers to how I have discovered a way to increase productivity while practicing. And how to maintain good chops. But the reliability of this method has yet to be proven. Well, after it has been verified and proven reliable, I will share it with everyone else.
"The only way to improve is to accept your mistakes and move on."
-Han Yong
Wednesday
Secrets revealed!
You know you have been slackng on your blogging frequency when all you get frm your first sentence is typograpihcal errors, typographical erorrs, and more typographical errors. In the short span of one sentence, there are already four misspellings.
Away from the typo-s, here is another post to bring some life to this dull place. I seldom have time to post long posts, so the only other alternative I have is to do short bursts every now and then. Blame it on the limitations of the human body. I wish i could run on only 30 minutes of sleep everyday and still function at my best.
Everyone has had to endure some form of commitment or other. It might be work, or study, or relationship. Even blogging is a form of staying committed. Getting committed is easy. Staying committed is hard. For example, this blog has been running for almost five years now. But my posts are still coming, despite the low frequency.
Anyway the title of this post refers to how I have discovered a way to increase productivity while practicing. And how to maintain good chops. But the reliability of this method has yet to be proven. Well, after it has been verified and proven reliable, I will share it with everyone else.
"The only way to improve is to accept your mistakes and move on."
-Han Yong
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Happy food
26th February 2008
Wednesday
Doctor's prescription: Happy food.
This place has been rotting for quite a while now. I realised that the analogy from the previous post was not the least bit accurate. Looks like i need more research before coming up with some accurate quizes.
Anyway, here's the gist of the post. Doctor's prescription: Happy Food. What on Earth is that? Well, that is my way of calling food that fuels the positive part of the soul. It sounds silly, but there really is such a type of food that exists. It may be different for each individual, but the feeling after consuming these type of food is akin to puffing on marijuana. My Happy Food gives me energy and positive feelings. It brings me back up to a positive energy level when I feel utterly devastated by a day of practice.
But as the saying goes, 'too much of anything is bad'. So even if Happy Food manages to save you from the abyss of despair once, twice, and even thrice, it might not happen every time.
Earlier on in the year, I mentioned that the Rat year will be tough, but the cheese will be worth it. Well, now that I have seen the toughness, I really want the cheese to be totally worth the effort.
Wednesday
Doctor's prescription: Happy food.
This place has been rotting for quite a while now. I realised that the analogy from the previous post was not the least bit accurate. Looks like i need more research before coming up with some accurate quizes.
Anyway, here's the gist of the post. Doctor's prescription: Happy Food. What on Earth is that? Well, that is my way of calling food that fuels the positive part of the soul. It sounds silly, but there really is such a type of food that exists. It may be different for each individual, but the feeling after consuming these type of food is akin to puffing on marijuana. My Happy Food gives me energy and positive feelings. It brings me back up to a positive energy level when I feel utterly devastated by a day of practice.
But as the saying goes, 'too much of anything is bad'. So even if Happy Food manages to save you from the abyss of despair once, twice, and even thrice, it might not happen every time.
Earlier on in the year, I mentioned that the Rat year will be tough, but the cheese will be worth it. Well, now that I have seen the toughness, I really want the cheese to be totally worth the effort.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Restraint
15th February 2008
Friday
Year of the Rat
This is a little late. But here comes the Lunar New Year wishes! I wish all my readers success in everything they do, be it studies, work or social life.
Since it is the year of the Rat, let me start this post off with some rat trivia. First off, a rat can last longer without water than a camel. I bet you didn't know about that. And talk about rising population. Did you know that rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants?
Useless trivia aside, the Rat year is a not so pleasant year for Snakes. The main prediction is that wealth and love life will have problems arising every now and then. And it is not a good year to take gambles involving money or any monetary matters. As for social and love life, singles will have problems finding a partner, and couples might have conflicts arising.
Throughout this not-so-festive period, I have exercised strict restraint on the amount of goodies I consume. And not surprisingly, I managed to get past this period without having a sore throat. Somehow the not-so-festive festive period seems rather enjoyable with less illnesses keeping me in bed. During this period, I have already distributed $98 of my wealth away through Mahjong and Blackjack. Talk about poor luck.
Fastforward to the present.
Today was Chingay preview. For those people like me who have absolutely no idea what is Chingay about, it is an annual street parade held in sunny Singapore as a part of the Chinese New Year festivities. It is primarily a parade of floats and other performances and is a major multi-cultural and international event.
Back to Chingay. I am singing in NAFA choir for the finale act which features a really nice song called 天网. And it really is my virgin time participating in such an event. I can't really say I am all that enthusiastic about this event, but if it generates revenue for the government by attracting tourists, what I feel about it does not really matter.
But just look at all the resources being wasted on the electricity spent, the props, the confetti, the stage risers, gallery seats, fireworks, and all the amount of energy and time spent on planning this whole thing. Can't we have this annual celebration held in a enviro-friendlier way? What good is portraying S*ng*p*r* as a tourism hub if all we can do is waste the Earth's resources to generate more money for the country's coffers.
Despite all the unwillingness to participate in this extravagant yearly event, I have no choice but to take part in it. But singing in choir is fun. Much more fun than playing in a wind ensemble. A change of surroundings every once in a while is no doubt refreshing, but still we have to return to our roots sooner or later.
Talking about roots just make my blood boil. It is sad to say, but I am utterly disappointed by my alma mater. Refer to previous post here.
To end of this horribly overdue post, here's an analogy for you guys to think about.
Imagine you are a drowning man at sea. A seaman casts you a lifebuoy and you hang on dearly to it. But the seaman refuses to pull you in aboard the ship. Instead he returns to his duties and checks on you from time to time. He sees you pulling the rope and getting closer to the boat and he threatens to cut the rope if you continue to do so. What will you do?
a) Hang on to the buoy and pray hard that the seaman will pull you aboard.
b) Let go and drift away, hoping to find another boat to save you.
c) Pull yourself towards the boat despite the warnings.
Friday
Year of the Rat
This is a little late. But here comes the Lunar New Year wishes! I wish all my readers success in everything they do, be it studies, work or social life.
Since it is the year of the Rat, let me start this post off with some rat trivia. First off, a rat can last longer without water than a camel. I bet you didn't know about that. And talk about rising population. Did you know that rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants?
Useless trivia aside, the Rat year is a not so pleasant year for Snakes. The main prediction is that wealth and love life will have problems arising every now and then. And it is not a good year to take gambles involving money or any monetary matters. As for social and love life, singles will have problems finding a partner, and couples might have conflicts arising.
Throughout this not-so-festive period, I have exercised strict restraint on the amount of goodies I consume. And not surprisingly, I managed to get past this period without having a sore throat. Somehow the not-so-festive festive period seems rather enjoyable with less illnesses keeping me in bed. During this period, I have already distributed $98 of my wealth away through Mahjong and Blackjack. Talk about poor luck.
Fastforward to the present.
Today was Chingay preview. For those people like me who have absolutely no idea what is Chingay about, it is an annual street parade held in sunny Singapore as a part of the Chinese New Year festivities. It is primarily a parade of floats and other performances and is a major multi-cultural and international event.
Back to Chingay. I am singing in NAFA choir for the finale act which features a really nice song called 天网. And it really is my virgin time participating in such an event. I can't really say I am all that enthusiastic about this event, but if it generates revenue for the government by attracting tourists, what I feel about it does not really matter.
But just look at all the resources being wasted on the electricity spent, the props, the confetti, the stage risers, gallery seats, fireworks, and all the amount of energy and time spent on planning this whole thing. Can't we have this annual celebration held in a enviro-friendlier way? What good is portraying S*ng*p*r* as a tourism hub if all we can do is waste the Earth's resources to generate more money for the country's coffers.
Despite all the unwillingness to participate in this extravagant yearly event, I have no choice but to take part in it. But singing in choir is fun. Much more fun than playing in a wind ensemble. A change of surroundings every once in a while is no doubt refreshing, but still we have to return to our roots sooner or later.
Talking about roots just make my blood boil. It is sad to say, but I am utterly disappointed by my alma mater. Refer to previous post here.
To end of this horribly overdue post, here's an analogy for you guys to think about.
Imagine you are a drowning man at sea. A seaman casts you a lifebuoy and you hang on dearly to it. But the seaman refuses to pull you in aboard the ship. Instead he returns to his duties and checks on you from time to time. He sees you pulling the rope and getting closer to the boat and he threatens to cut the rope if you continue to do so. What will you do?
a) Hang on to the buoy and pray hard that the seaman will pull you aboard.
b) Let go and drift away, hoping to find another boat to save you.
c) Pull yourself towards the boat despite the warnings.
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