Sunday, December 28
I woke up at with a headache. It felt horrible to see no one at home - again. What am I suppoe to do today. I decided to turn on my computer hoping to find some people to talk. Only saw Melvin. The school holidays are coming to an end very soon. Should I be working or should I just gate-crash into a JC. I have no idea. I hate to be face with this decision. The future is bleak. What can I do?
I talked to Melvin. The conversation was as usual, so pretentious and aimless. I tried many times to address this friendship problem, but it seems like my efforts all went down the drain. I am not putting any blame on anyone. But I just feel frustrated to see this 10year friendship slowly wither away. It really hurts me to see so.
We talked on and on as the tension was brought to greater heights. I felt as though we were going to break if we had carried on and I decided to let go. I went offline. Once again, I sat in front of the computer tearing again. I don't get the problem with me. Why am I so likeable to cry in front of the computer.
I talked to Melvin about everything and I just started sobbing. Maybe I was explaining to him all the things that have been suffocating me all these while. But even though we had problems with each other, he showed me concern when I was down. He said to me, 'when you are down, 6******* (his home number) is always available for you'. That really made my day as I see the hope that will surface from this peril that we are going through.
So I've cried enough and was reminded about tomorrow's concert. I need to cut my hair and get my attire ready. I went to compass point - super cut, to have my hair done. It is my first time going to saloon so I decided to give it a try since my parents told me to do so too. I wondered around the shop waiting to be served. One of them greeted me and directed me to a stylist, her name is ShinE (not shine but Shin E). I had no idea what hair to try so I flipped through the magazine. After several minutes, I saw a hair which appeals to me. So I gave it a shot. Not too bad actually. One hour plus plus spent on hair cutting. I feel so vain. But it was a nice experience. I have become a member of the saloon now and maybe one of these days I shall patronise it again.
I anticipate tomorrow's concert. Not only is it my first concert after so long (since July, I think), it is Meridian's JC debut concert. Hope it is a good one as the public holds quite a high expection of the JC. many await to see what this new-born JC has accomplished within this year 2003.
2004 is coming. I think it is going to be a good year for me. I shall and will make it good no matter what. Kiss & Smile
-Crazy Being/ Paranoid/ Hopeful
8:43:00 PM
27 Dec '2003
Received a phone call from Ching Si at 6.45am.. So tempted to continue to sleep. But I can't as there is going to be a rehearsal at Victoria Concert Hall at 9.00am and I have to go for a heavy breakfast now!! Fumbled my way through the living room and got into the toilet. Ready - Leave for MacDonald, it was 7.15am when I am suppose to meet there at 7am.. haha..
I saw Eugene and Joel. I put down my stuff and went to buy my breakfast. Oh, it felt great to be able to sit down with your good friends and have a nice breakfast on such an adorable morning. So comfortable. Love it. We finished and Ching SI arrived. And so we headed for VCH at about 7.45am.
We alighted at Clarke Quay only to find that we actually have no idea how to get to VCH from here. Panic. We walked round and round. Even thought of asking those westerners (don't be surprised as they are quite familiar with Singapore). But eventually, we managed to worm our way into the right path and headed for VCH.'
It was about 8.40am when we arrived. Thought we could go and look at the merlion but who knows those Meridians were already loading the stuff onto the stage. Efficient aren't they? The empty, quiet morning in VCH was pierced through by the warming up of the trumpet section. Wish I could stay at Mac forever. Dream on.
The majestic opening of Jubiliant Overture marks the beginning of our tiring day. We ran through the repertoire, I thought it was rather good. Hopefully it will be so on that day. It was rather cramp on the stage though and the trumpet section was always the out-of-tune ones and we seems like the only section with the most movement throughout the whole concert. Home, I wonder why? Anyway, I am beginning to hate Concerto Da'more. I can never get what Ms Sia want us to play and it seems that Benny is not coordinating with me. It felt as though both of us are competing who is louder. But it wasn't his fault, I also cannot match him. Different way of playing and trying to figure out what MS Sia really wants. AFX was another sickening piece. Both of which I am playing first trumpet. But luckily Justin's sound still blends into mine quite well. Thank god.
Finally we were released. yeah. I went for lunch with my fellow trumpeter. There was so much to talked about. The girls were asking all the questions and creating questions for us to answer. Active girls I must say. The guys were like o tired and speechless while the girls were so active. They even asked 'are you all feeling tired and falling asleep?' ha..
We headed for Long John Silver and ate. Nothing special. Then we went shopping, not with the girls but with Jutin. My!! First time a few girls walk behind the guys following them to shop. I thought it is vice versa. Anyway I was too tired to be shopping. I think I was like sleep-walking. I still had to rush down to concert later. AJC concert.
Met Joel at tamping MRT station. He suggested going with me to the concert. SO we went together. We arrived at 5.30pm. Jut nice the concert started. But AJC had only like one exit and so we made a big turn before entering the school. It was 5.40 then. Missed the first song.
The first thing that befalled on us was the MC'ss voice, he suxs. He is lame and so retarded that we could hear it the minute we step in. Felt like kicking him off stage.. There was no script. It was all spontaneous but it was just so bad. Not only that, I attended last year AJC concert. It was great so this year I was expecting something similar. But I was totally disappointed. The pieces they played were boring. And it sounded very unrehearsed. As though they were sight-reading it. There was a lack of balance too. Can only hear the outer voices. The middle sections are just sandwiched and muffled. They played AFX too and one part - ' SInging in the rain' - the clarinets sounded like chickens with the compliment of irritating flies like the trumpets.. It was more of a farm graffiti X rather than American graffiti X.. haiz... What happen to AJC band? And the alumni. It is worse than the main band. Especially A tuba player who looks like an uncle. he is so sharp yet he plays at the top of the band. Sickening. But it wasn't all bad, the encore pieces were nice. Maybe because of bad choice of piece and bad arranging that the band sounded terrible.
After the concert, we met Xiang You and Simon. We went to Ang Mo Kio hawker centre for dinner. I ordered so much they had to share the food. ( oops!!). It was nice to eat though. I don't think we have much of this kind of chance after school reopens. Everyone will be aso busy with their own things. I don't I will get to see my juniors that often too so might as well eat to our fill now. Smile. We separated, one group went home, the other went to the arcade. I was in the arcade group. We played our heartss out. from racing to gun games. It was so fun. Although so tired, I still had so much fun. I feel so relieve that I made it this far. Monday is the concert and I am looking forward to it.
-Anticipating.
12:56:00 AM
26 Dec '2003
There was supposedly an optional band practice however it was changed to compulory. Knowing that I had a long celebration the night before, I was too tired to go to band so I kamed around in Joel's house. Ironically I woke up at 9.00am, just in time to go to band but I couldn't be bothered. ( I felt so guilty afterwhich, haiz.)
I wasted half my day at Joel's house watching them playing games and screaming away..(felt so sick and tired just looking). I wish I had gone for band. Ching Si came over and join our lame morning. Stupid fools, selfish morons, lazy bums. Haiz. We left at about 1.00pm, only to bump into meridians who were just released from band. Oh damn, met my SL and he questioned me. Haiz. I felt so bad and ran to the bus-stop before.
I was asked to cut my hair but I just couldn't be bothered. So I went home to turn on my computer. It threw tantrum at me by coming up with errors and it keep hanging. Irritating. I got so fed up that I uttered some vulgar language and went to sleep. Slept from 4pm until 6pm. I forgot to turn on the air-con and fan. It was so warm yet I could sleep. Amazing.
I woke up with a terrible headache. It felt as though my brain is exploding. I started wondering about the house, looking for something edible. There was none. Only chocolates. Si Jun called and asked me to cycle. I went ahead despite feeling giddy.
We went out to cycle at about 8pm. I passed by a pasa malam and decided to buy some fire crackers. We headed for Punggol Park. Played around with the fire works and stuff for a while. As I looked at the sparkles, I asked myself 'why is it that beautiful things alway don't last?' - sad, isn't it?
We finished the whole big packet but still had another one. SO we went to a lovely garden sort of place in Seng Kang to continue the fun. We created rockets thinking we could launch them but ended up making a smoke out of the Seng Kang estate. Haha.. Too bad. It was really fun to play with fire and those candles and crackers. They are simply lovely but too bad they only last a while. By then it was about 12.00am, so I headed home.
-Nothing-better-to-do
12:19:00 AM
Saturday, December 27
A bit laGGING... I am actually updating things that happen two days ago or yesterday.. but cannot help it as I been home late these few days.
25 Dec '2003 ( Christmas Day)
I woke up at 1pm.(gosh.. I miss breakfast, nevermind) then as usual I turned on my computer only to be aggravate by it on Christmas. It either keeps giving me stupid error messages or hangs.. irritating computer. Now I await to go to Joel's party at 4.00pm. But actually I reached there at only 6.30pm.
I went to Joel's christmas party last year.. it was fun to just mingle with his family. They are such lovely people. (Joel, you must treasure your family, haha so corny.). This year, I think it is going to be fun, without **** *** at least, what a relief. phew..
I arrived only to be welcome by this group of shrilling voice. Oh it is Jonathan and Gang.. figures.? There were humans packed at every corner of Joel's house, each busy with their own stuff. Interesting.. I got used into the environment and helped myself to the food before unwillingly mingle with Jonathan and Gang. So sick of their gossips. Haiz.. Jeremy and Ching Si were around but Melvin and Eugene were absent. It felt weird without them. The five of us (plus Joel) are such close friends and such festive season without them felt weird on me. Maybe I am jusst paranoid.
It waS SINGING time. everyone gathered near the sofa in the living room and join in the tune. I must say Joel's aunt were really enthusiatic when it comes to singing. Their soprano voices simply enchants us. And the mini performance put up by Joel and his cousins.. (oh they are so adorable..). They sang 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'.. something like a unplug session. Nice. Joel is so good at acting cute but he looked like some senile oldies acting cute amongst the children. Haha, no offence.
We sang and ate again and again. There was a request made on the kids' performance too.. Joel also revealed a bit of his trombone skills.. it was lovely, a bit mis-pitch though.. but nevermind. It felt so warmth, wish my parents were around too. Happy hours always seem to fly, don't they? Everyone left and it was time to clean up. I think it was about 12am then. While Jonathan and Gang pondered whether to stay over, I took my shower (I am staying over in view of the band practice tmr, but lookss like I have to give it a miss.. I am too tired).
I slept on the floor.. knowing very well that there is a nice bad waiting for me at home. Fool!! Well, it was fun and I truly enjoyed myself. Thanks for everything. I miss Mum and Dad all of a sudden. Wish I had gone home to celebrate with them. Sorry. What's next.. hmm... Countdown to New Year!! Yeah.. PArty time!!
-Guilty-Anticipation!!
12:42:00 AM
Friday, December 26
24 Dec '2003 (Christmas Eve)
I did not actually have to lame in hougang.. Although the morning and afternoon were terrible, I had a great night. I came back from all the laming and went online. Yong Liang then came over to chat with me and he asked me whether I am interested to watch any musical? So I agreed knowing that I had nothing to do too. We met and NEL and headed for Victoria Theatre.
When we arrived, I realise that it was actually the musical starring Sharon Au entitled 'Happy Ghost'. I was so dying to watch it finally this is the chance. We were late for about 5 minutes but till we didn't really miss much. I saw Sharon. She acted with such concentration and expression. I think I am in love with her (She is very good!!) The whole performance lasted for 2 hours. It was the first time I attended any musical and this one indeed made my Christmas eve worth it.
It was about 10.00pm then so we decided to walk to Esplanade as the crowd was heading in that direction. There was a horde of people over there probably waiting to countdown. As it was rather early, we headed for Marina square to grab something to fill our stomach. By the time we finished our food, it was 11.30pm and we reversed back to Esplanade.
By this time, a larger crowd had shown up. There was a performance by the TJC Choir (not that fantastic) so we sat around and await Christmas. 5,4,3,2,1!! Merry Christmas!! Esplanade is such a boring place. Everyone is so civilised and quiet. No atmosphere at all. So we headed for Orchard.
Over at Orchard, it was so crowded. There were people everywhere. Then we noticed some 'attackers' (people who bought spray cans containing foam and strings) going around spraying people. So we armed ourselves with a few bottles of spray cans too. Those people selling it must have made a lot. Everyone just went around spraying. There was no hostility nor strange looks. We are just getting into the mood. SO we went around attacking and being attacked. It was so fun. This went on until 2am or so. We were 'injured' and tired and ran out of 'weapons and cash' so we went to the MRT station. It was closed. So Yong Liang called his Dad to pick us up. Thank god otherwise we won't know how to get home. Orchard, by then was buried under spray cans and litters. There were like over thousands of cans lying everywhere. The cleaners are going to have a hard time.
We waited a while before hope came. I boarded his Dad's car, exhausted yet animated. This is the best Xmas eve I ever had. The atmosphere was jusst right and everyone just wanted to party. Cool. Wish I had more friends with me then. But it was fun lah.
-Animated
3:37:00 PM
Wednesday, December 24
Yay.. today is Christmas Eve.!! What am i suppose to do? ( I have no idea..) i think i will be busy laming myself around hougang area wondering what to do next. I so look forward to christmas.. especially lots of celebration and gift exchange.. hooray..!!
Yesterday:
I luuuvvvv MJC Band.. they are sooo cool.. Nice people, nice teachers and nice activities.. We had a tiring day as the concert date is drawing very near. I never felt so tired after a band practice even those i had in montfort. However, every MJC practice seems to drain all my energy away so much so that I can only think of sleep afterwhich. It is amazing how the conductor Ms Sia can exhaust us with her repeating skills. But she is a very very nice and fun person though. Love and miss ya.
So we had our christmas celebration wonderfully sponsored by Ms Sia and delicately organised by the ex. com. The simple lunch was all that was needed to make our day. Everyone sat around and joked. SOme were laughing away ( i think is Shermaine, she has the nicest and most natural laughter i think..^_^). Joel was saying how much he wanted to make friends with her because she was so humorous. We were making fun of the mis-sspelled card for Ms Seah (supposedly Ms Sia). So Ms Sia reminded us that she is from SIA ( Singapore International Airline) and we asked whether she is Ms SIA 2002 izzit? And Shermaine blurted out that she was actually Ms SIA 1990 which will make her seem so old.. Haha.. and everyone was like laughing so loudly. It was fun, really.
The most exciting part of the celebration, the gift exchange, or rather the search for your gift. Everyone rushed around the christmas tree and only the few of us, Joel, CHing Si, Eugene, Sharif and I were pretending to be civilised by sitting at a corner waiting for the people to clear before taking our turns. It was so fake cause we were like so dying to get our present yet didn't want to appear to 'ah-so'. Funny.. I got my present - it was gummies from marks and spencer
(expensive, i heard). Thank whoever gave me that. I gave out some cards to Jocelyn and Emma and they were so excited. Jocelyn is such a cute girl, the way she speaks is so innocent. And I wonder whether Emma was crying or laughing but he looked really pale by then. Rest well, Emma.
I went home wanting to sleep but my friends popped up at my house. It was Melvin and Andy. They looked as though they were dying from boredom. I let them in and told them to make themselves at home. I tried to turn on the com only to find that it was down. Oh my god! I panicked and called Yong Liang. He told me everything I didn't understood but I managed to find my recovery disk and save my com. Now it is doing fine (at least for the moment). Yay, I saved my com. I can be good at this too. Lame. It was such a simple job to put in the disk.
Went online to find Wei Lung and he suggest we go cycling. Eventually we didn't but we went around, together with Si Jun And Ching Si. Wondering around Seng Kang area with a big plastic bag of potato chips and sweets, we found a playground to sit down. I love laming around with my friends. We can chat and eat and it was like so relax. I treasure these times. Love my friends too. I love everyone. I love the world. I am so Lucky.
-BLeSseD
11:28:00 AM
Saturday, December 20
18 Dec - A very special day of my life - My Dearest Mum's birthday. Coincidently, Farihin held his so-called farewell dinner which didn't seemed like one at all. We went to Seoul Garden to lunch and pent quite a bit of time and money over there. It was fun though. Looking at the sec 3s and sec 2s make me recall the days of politics. Juniors boot-licking up to the seniors. Seniors vying for power was nothing new over the years and i guess I have come to accept this imperfect of human beings.
We then dispersed and went on with our own things. Most of them went to see LOTR (the most anticipated movie of the year, indeed it was not a disappointment) while I went to meet my family for the celebration. Last year I bought her a hand bag, what about this? I walked aimlessly across the shops along orchard only to find nothing suitable. Both not within my budget and not my mum's taste. Flowers! However it was a lot of money for a few stalk. Finally I gave up and headed to meet them. I felt so sad that I was unable to get anything for her. Hopefully I can make up for it some other time.
Korea-
Day 1 [Part 2]:
Arrival at the airport was a total new experience. It was actually chilling on my cheeks. I never knew I would be abe to feel this kind of weather. Incheon (Korea) airport was yet to be completed however it was quite a nice and presentable airport. Spacious and organised. We came out of the arrival hall and waited for someone to pick us up. During which, I headed for a shop within the airport compound. 'Mini-shop' was the name. I thought it was no different from our local 7-eleven but the foodstuff and all that came in attractive packages. It was so tempting to grab a few of them.
We were first brought to Korea's no. 1 paper-making industry. It was a three and a half hours ride - boring. Halfway, we stopped by a street where those 'barang-barangs' were sold. We managed to grab some hot potatos and I bought ice-cream. It was crazy though but I wanted to see how it was like tasting ice-cream under 1 degree celsius. Haha, it wasn't that bad though.
Over at the Paper industry, it looked more like a museum as they displayed how paper-making evolved over the years. We wondered around the place for a while before being taken to a room where we could actually become paper-makers. I made my own paper, it was thrilling.
Then we were bought to a local restaurant where we had our first Korean meal. It sucks. It looked like rotten rojak (vegetables and rice and egg yolk) placed in claypot. We were told to mixed all the ingredient so that it will not burn in the hot claypot. It was our first encounter with local delight 'Kimchi' too. No difference. Both tasted horrible. I dread what I am going to have for the next few days.
The horrible lunch was finally over. We headed for some mountainous area. It was going to be a 4 hour ride - Oh god! Upon reaching our destination, we were greeted with the chilling wind that sent us shivering. However despite the harsh weather, the scenic view was what kept us going on. Rocky cliffs, stone temples were some of the things we saw. At the peak of the hill, there were stacks of rocks everywhere, it was a mean of wishing employed by the Koreans.
The sun was just above the horizon, it was about 5pm Sinapore time when the sun was about to set. it was a awesome sight.
We dropped by a BBQ restaurant for dinner. It was such a relieve to hear that we will be having beef and chicken for dinner. At least there is no rotten rojak anymore. Even though there were some weird soup and snacks, the dinner was good enough for us. We headed for the hotel where there was heater, nice bath-tub and bed. It felt really comfortable just to look at them. I laid on bed watching TV (Star-world) and realised that Korean TV shows had no censor placed. Unlike SIngapore, There were naked figures walking in front of the Tv like no one's business. I turned it off as my cousin was sharing a room with me. Haha. Shit man, I was down with flu and headache so much so that I cannot sleep. It felt as though I was going to suffocate. I need more clothes and a nice bath. First day was really enjoyable and it made my day. Korea is such a big and robust place. I look forward to what is going to come for the rest of the trip.
-Waiting
8:53:00 PM
Friday, December 19
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make $20 an hour."
"Oh", the little boy replied, with his head down.
Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I please borrow $10?"
The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.
How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.
"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man. "It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $10 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father.
"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.
"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied. "Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."
So what is the moral of the story?
Don't work too hard...and you know what's the full word of FAMILY?
FAMILY =
( F )ATHER
( A )ND
( M )OTHER
( I )
( L )OVE
( Y )OU!
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY :
Share this story with someone you like. But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone you love. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family . An unwise investment indeed!
5:35:00 PM
Wednesday, December 17
Finally my computer is back to normal. It feels good to be able to use the computer again. I can't imagine the days without my computer anymore. I've been busy with Meridian JC band practice these days becasue their, or rather our concert is coming up. There is a certain level of expectations that many people out there hold of this JC and for those involve in the musical world, they will look forward to MJC band's debut concert and see what they have done for the past one year. There is going to be a practice today but I cannot make it as I am down with skin irritations that had been going on for the past few weeks. It went to its climax yesterday and I was forced to see a doctor. I had an injection which still hurts as I did not relax during the process. Cream and medicines were given. I hope I recover fast. As I had nothing to do due to my condition, here I am updating my blog. Now that things are going back to normal, I will be able to update my blog again. Embark on a journey with me as I recall the days in Korea.
Day1: [Part 1]
Even though people are complaining of economic recession, virus and diseases, the scene I saw at the airport goes to show that all these were just excuses to complain about the high taxes, I guess. I arrived at the airport at 12.00am and guess what, it was congested with hordes of people. Long queues and people complaining - what's new in a country like Singapore. It looked as though travelling overseas is F.O.C. Sigh.
After some struggle, we managed to grab the tickets for us to board the plane. We went to check in our luggages and haversacks so as to be able to enter the boarding place however the always-friendly Changi airport that I used to know of seemed a bit hostile today. Maybe it is because of the commotions that has been going on around the world nowadays. Sad.
I boarded the plane and the six and a half hours of flight is about to begin. The plane travelled for quite some time on the runway before accelerating and lifting from the ground. It felt great to be able to detach oneself from the ground. For the rest of the while, I slept and woke alternatively. Just then I looked out of the window only to be astounded by the scenery outside.
For the first time of my life, I knew the meaning of a starry night. The night sky was decorated with twinkling stars so much so that it was simply beyond words that can describe what I saw. Amazing. I think it was about 3 or 4 am then. At about 5.30am, I saw the most beautiful sun rise that one could ever see. The horizon divides itself into five different portion, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Pink. The baby colours blended themselves together so peacefully that it gave a warmth feeling. Then the sun started to reveal its face from below the horizon, its shy yet shining face shone on my face. I was overwhelmed by the wonders of nature. Wished I was able to take a photo then but it is forbidden on the plane. I anticipate more surprises coming my way.
-Overwhelmed
10:28:00 AM
Thursday, December 11
One week spent in Korea was definitely an enjoyable one. I think going overseas once in a while can really cheer one's mood. There are simply too many things to talk about on my trip to Korea but luckily I have it recorded in a notebook. So I will update this blog on my progress during this period of time.
I think my writing skills have become rusty cause I have not been writing for more than a week. Even life after Korea was not a relaxed one. I had to run here and there like some mad man. Till now then I have the time to update this blog. Sorry about that.
Well, I will probably divide all the happenings over at Korea into a few portion cause there is too many things to share and talk about. Await patiently for my articles. I may take some time cause my stupid computer is down. Sigh. You can also csee some of the photos I had taken over there. Quite interesting. I am going to miss Korea but I miss Singapore more so guess what I am back (duh!! lame..).. whahaha...
-Dearest
4:24:00 PM
