Saturday, May 19, 2007

Weather: rain
19th may 2007
Music: i wont say i am in love - the cheetah girls.

hi.
Ok. sorry if i havent touch this place for 1 month ++. i know a lot of you find it weird. well, ever since 1st april lots and lots of things happened. yeah. and some made me thrilled and excited, while some made me depressed and sad. lately, i am worn out, burnt out and tired. Yeah. Ok baa. where should i start. okok. i start with this first.

Family
GONNA GET A NIECE TOMORROW! WOOHOO~~ CARNT WAIT! haha. Jovan is gonna have a sister! gonna be another person's uncle! WOOHOO~~ yayyayayayayayyayayayayya! *SHOUT SCREAM CHEERS* OLLLAYYY. hahaha. carnt wait carnt wait. haha. jojo gonna have a sister lers. yeah. haha.xue mei jie jie asked me and sisters to think of her name. haha. dunno lehh. we were thinking Emily, Edwyna, all the name start with E 1. hha but then she said she wanted "chloe". haha. then i noticed something by myself. See arhh. put together 2 names =?
JOVAN
CHOLE
v.s.
JERMAIN
CHO

hahahah! so cool! weeeee~~
Grandparents birthday recently also, haha. yeah. of course got photo all this laa. But then later parts then post laa. ok? haha. Dion also recently changed, as in to more monstrous. and we only found out the reason ytd that she was bullied by boys in school. haha. yeah. saying that they call her cucumber or dinosaur or something like that. yeah. haha. only to find out that dion got a lot of boys who are liking her in school! haha. DUH~ pretty, smart, cute, talented, who dont like. haha. yeah. so thats a relief, today she stopped her monstering! haha. and the best part is that, she finally dared to take up her flute and try hymn to the infinite sky! WEEEEEE~ haha. yeah. its a difficult piece. haha.

BAND
"Hai sing catholic school.... silver." The emcee anounced. All of us band mates sat there dazed, astouned, shocked. The only thing that we did, was clap. The other bands were already on cloud nine; screaming, shouting, cheering. We walked out of the conference hall in our sea blue uniform to the open space to take back our instruments. My eyes were red, but I didn't cry. Just upset. I didnt cry, is because, I already did my best. I took my piccolo and flute, and lugged my feet all the way to the bus, all together with the other band members. Some of them were teary-eyed. Some, with tears streaming down their face. Everyone walked dreadfully to the bus. But all I can say is that, everyone was quiet.. I sat in the bus, stoned-face, and thought about what happened earlier that day...

That morning, the sec 4s get to go to school late. I woke up early , with sunlight streaming in from the window. Hope and anticipation can be read off my face. "GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!" i told myself. After having a fufiling breakfast, i changed to my band uniform and headed to school. Entered the school gate and headed for the band room...When i entered the band room, I can see all sorts of emotions on everyone's face there. Some had the word "worried" on their face, whist some had an enthusiastic look. But there is one thing that everyone had in mind; that is "lets do our best on stage! what medal also nevermind.". Thoughts ran like the wind inside my head, whirlpools swirled heavily. my head pounded. I thought about the high-est As and B flats that i have to reach for zodiac and the meledious flute solo that i have to play in sunrise. " What if i can't reach the notes? or i panic at the solos?. but anyway, with a worrying heart and butterflies in my tummy, i changed into my sea blue and pure white uniform, set up my flute and piccolo, and sat in my place. did some warm ups on my own.

"Band stand...... Band greet mrs chua."
"gooooodd mornningngngn. mrrss chuaaa..."(echoy effect)

yeah. mrs chua was wearing black that day, like a normal band practice. Did some warm ups, and played through zodiac and sunrise once through. I thought that we sounded pretty good in the band room. superb i would say.haha, and during that time, my high notes from the piccolo can seem to naturally come out! and my flute playing seemed to be not bad that day. Many seniors always say: " try to reach your peak in playing during syf day!". Yeah. by that time, we went up for lunch and then settled down. Headed down to the band room, changed into our band uniforms, boarded the bus and then headed to the conference hall.

In the bus ride, we were all going: "PEANUT BUTTER!" different sections coming in at different times. eg, clarinets just went PEANUT BUT.. when they said BUT, flutes started going at their own tempos PEA.., then oboes started PEANUT BUTTER. hahaha. if people who arent from haising would go into that bus, they would most probably go: "this band very hungry izzit? haiyoo. peanut butter peanut butter. eat so much later get fat arhh. Hmm, maybe should get jelly to go along with it,, then you get peanut butter and jelly!" ok. i am crapping. haha. so i stop. but anyway, just for info...

"peanut butter contains peanut. peanut(in bio lab discovered), when burnt, can sustain the flame there for a very long time. As we all know, fats in the body are burnt. Fats contains about 38g of fats per kilojoule. Hence, there is alot of fats to be burnt, that means, a lot of energy can be used as activation energy(For chemistry) to give an endothermic reaction to continue burning. you should also try to put the flame at the different colour(darker blue colour) of the non-luminous flame(physics) for the maximum burning, conduction can then occur. and then.."

hey. hang on a second, why am i suddenly talking about physics biology and chemistry? sot sia. die ler. study till sot lers. haha. okok. anyway, back to the topic. Flutes were sitting at the back of the bus, and usually being the SUPER GUAI KIA section in the bus. i think we left the rest of the woodwinds astounded on the fact that flutes can be crazy as well. we were going after peanut butter, we were going... CONCENTRATION CONCENTRATION THIS IS A GAME OF CONCENTRATION 1,2..2,3..3,4..4,3...3,1...1,3... bla bla bla. as you can see, 3 is appearing the most, because, i happen to be number 3! (those who play concentration will understand) then section was SABO-ING me laa! BLEAHH. so unfair. haha. cos SL mahh, nice to bully mahh. HORR?? hahha. yeah laa. duhh~~ fun mahh bully SL. hahaha. yeah! dont you just agree that bullying SLs are fun? DUH! haha.but then horr, bullying juniors more fun laa. OOPS. haha. yeahh. jkjk.=). but anyway, thereafter, we went HAI DAI AA HAI DAI, HAI DAI AA HAI DAI. (tsunami) haha, yeah. so the chitter chattering. haha. Then when we finally decided to soften down, we realised something. Flutes were making the most noise. OOPS. hahhaa. Hence here, i have 1 conclusion to make. "HSC FLUTES arent that guai all the time kay! we all got our crazy and wild side der horr!". haha.

Then, we got into the conference hall and settled down. we were all starting to get a bit nervous. Cool breezes of air from the gigantic air conditioners in the hall were blowing across our faces when we emerged from the front door of the conference hall. My hands felt kindda cold. We sat down in the hall waiting for our turn to enter the tuning room(that place is used for practising and doing some final checkings etc). Our toshikasas(seniors) came! manning toshikasa was there. she was going, good luck good luck! Of course, our faces were going a little white. I felt tinges of adrenaline pumping into my body. Kai yi was also spotted. haha, though he was our flute tutor when i was only a mere sec 1, i said HI!, though I dont think he could remember me. haha. Think he didnt hear. so got into the tuning room.

In the tuning room, some conference hall person said:" you have 15 minutes. starting from now." Mrs chua got to work right away, like a busy bumble bee. we tried starting of sunrise, and zodiac. tried to tune a bit here and there, here and there. and before we knew it, 15 minutes was up. We had to get out of the room, and wait for our turn to enter the main hall. The place we all dread. the place we know that either we are gonna glow with glory or sulk with depression. The band then walked up to outside of the main hall. waiting for our turn. The moment of truth. We heard a band, i dont know which 1, who played merry widow. They sounded good I tell you. good. I heard piccolo parts there. NICE mann i tell you. haha. real nice. Then of course nervousness and tension got into me that i had no choice but to run to the toilet and go wee wee. after peeing, i washed my hands, looked into the mirror, and i went, lets go jerm! JIA YOU JIA YOU JIA YOU! and ran back to the waiting area of where my band is. The band who is about to perform...

Mrs chua said 1 last line:" DO IT FOR ANGLICAN, DO IT FOR NGEE ANN!" and we strode into the main hall...

"Band number 94, haising catholic school band, they will be playing set piece sunrise, and zodiac by hardy mertens, lets give haising catholic school a hugh round of applause."

-woo-li--wooo-hoo. screams, shouts. claps, applause-(you get the idea)

When i strode in, I was trying to keep cool. But of couse, butterflies were fluttering in my stomach, and my heartbeat was going faster than usual. with my flute, piccolo and recorder, I walked in with the rest of the band confidently. We were all afraid. Who aint? But we must potray ourselves as a very confident band. I looked at the audience. The audience looked at the band. I was zooming my eyes like a scanner to look for our seniors. And i was flabbergasted, astounded and going WOW. At the right side of the hall(from my side laa), the whole row occupied haising seniors. All our seniors, from xinhui toshikasa's batch all the way down to manning's batch. Huizhen, manning, lynette, xinhui, etc etc. I spotted. "to do my seniors proud.." I told myself. I sat down on my chair. The hall went silent. The air was still. In my cosy grey seat, i looked up. The 7 judges were gazing at us. Rumours were heard that they are going to be pretty strict this year. But i brushed that aside, and looked back at them. My eyes went taut. not my eyes, my suspensory ligaments.( BIO, CHAPTER ON EYE), I stared at them. Not looked. Mrs chua walked into the hall. The hall erupted with applause and all the WOO-LI--WOO-HOOS. She walked in majestically(MRS CHUA IS COOL KAY!) in her black outfit- a polka doted blouse and her granite black top. We stood up as 1, and sat down when mrs chua gave the cue. This was it. This really was it. "F-TUNING NOTE!" she mouthed. Raised her baton, and we gave that note, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. stopped. She gave a slight nod. I tightened my diphragm, closed my eyes, and started feeling the ambience.

The timpani went derm, derm, derm, derm dom derm... bass trombone: Buaa buaa buaa buaa(going up!)!!. I can sense the uneasiness and nervousness in hakeem, my good friend and bass trombonist. haha. But it was well done on those four notes kay! And the melody from the horns and running notes came in soothingly. I felt the mood and atmophere. The beautiful melody with the running notes went along with each other till it reached the senza part...(the free expression part, erm, in this case was doing bird sounds). Flute 2s came in with their dadi dadii... dadi dadi.. ta. ta... ta.. DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... the clarinets. Oboes acting as the woodpeckers. Flute 1 as the soaring birds and piccolo(ME!), with the hoppping of the birds. Unlike other schools, I felt that haising's senza was the most innovative and creative! Other schools just kept on reapeating the rhythm and notes that the composer gave, haising went anyhow crazy bird like 1 ok! haha. i started out my senza like the bird who just woke up. with the notes D, C, F, G, D, A. slowly slowly introducing the notes. i didnt went like whatever the composer told me. Saxophones came in with the melody, Like a professional saxophone player, who sat in the park, enjoying the bird sounds, playing a song to go with it. Like trying a person to get an inspiration you know. yeah. and of course, this continued until the flutes and high clarinets took over the melody. yeah. However, during the bird parts, during the second time, i used recorder, and i was trying to flutter the high A on the song. like a bird chirping. yeah. and used piccolo again. The senza felt like the birds were getting more and more alive, vibrant, bursting with energy, all ready for the new day!

The song went on with the flutes and high clars taking over the melody. like the sun rising slowly. Then we played. As the song crescendoed and grew louder, the butterflies were calling on the moths and insects to come to my tummy. I was getting more and more nervous as my solo in the song was approaching. like doomsday you know? haha. then, the moment that i have been practicing for, the moment that i have worked hard for.. the melody softened for the flute solo to come in. At first, i was pretty unconfident about it. then slowly, I played with more expression and vibratoed. And ended it with wei jun coming in with his flute 2 solo, like 2 ppl below on earth commenting on the beautiful majestic sunrise which has just rosen. When it finished, i heaved a huge sigh of relief. i think i made it too obvious, cos i saw huizhen and xinhui toshikasas giggling. haha. yeah. should be laa. and then, the band continued playing till its maximum(the ending) where the sun has rosen, looking up at the great big mighty sun with respect and admiration...

The piece ended, and we allowed the last note to ring thoroughout the hall. I was already delighted inside, that i managed to finish 1 task already. All that i worked for. haha. yeah. then zodiac. the piece that i more fear than anything. my hands went cold. my toes were wriggling. I stared up, and stretched my neck. I gazed at the light just above mrs chua that were giving us warmth and light, making us the centre of attraction. i took a huge breath..

Mrs chua walked onto the podium again, and mouthed to us: "peanut butter... peanut butter." I was already mouthing the words. 1, 2, 3 go. DA DAD ADA! I TOLD YOU! IT WAS SOLID OK! SO SO SOLID! wE SHOCKED THE AUDIENCE! WOOHOO~~ some of them were covering their ears. I thinked some of their hairs stood too. I am pretty worried about those 2 notes. but i remembered what my mum smsed me ealier that day in chinese: " Dont think so much about the prize, think about the song more! dont care about the gold. just do your best. I love you" . and i did remember asking my gods to bless me on stage. The melody went on. like a lion trying to vent out its frustration. then my piccolo part was approaching. it could mean me crying after the piece or going with joy after the piece. DA DA DA DA! PI!!!!!!!!" OH MY TIANN! I DID IT! I DID IT! WOOHOO~~ mrs chua told me that i would remember that note for the rest of my life. and itell you, i will. and of course, the second 1 went PI! as well! WOOHOO. and there was another part of the song which is a 3rd octave A flat, and i managed to hold it out with confidence and stability. Our zodiac was solid. You really can sense the frustration of the composer, the lions roar, the anger, the rage. There was 1 part of the song (part C) where the euphos and trombones were having the melody. I tell you, for the first time, I felt tensed at that part. which is what we are supposed to feel. and A was really like a dance, like what it was supposed to like. PICCOLO WAS DISTINCT ON THAT SONG. I CAN SUMPA! WHICH WAS WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! haha. mr and mrs chua was asking me to come out come out. and all this while, i though iw as supposed to blend. I MUST COME OUT! haha. yeah. and i did. however, i thinked i rushed at part F where the trombones and trumpets passed the rhythm to picc. haha. yeah. But that was the best zodiac that i ever enjoyed. hha

mr chua once told us that zodiac was composed by hardy mertens. he was probably taking his masters degree for composing and couldnt stand the stress, so wrote this piece. docot hardy mertens was the lion in that piece, going the DAD ADAD Ato vent out his frustration. our zodiac was solid, and we really really rocked the hall..

the piece ended on a high note.. We took our files, and walked out of the hall. and when we reached out of the hall, our stone-faced, serious turned into smiles, joys, glees, and everything. Inside me, i was practically screaming like a crazy booboo already. I was smiling and delight with joy. WEE! I DID IT I DID IT! I REACHED MY PEAK! WOOHOO. OLAY OLAY. I WAS GLEEING WITH A GREAT BROAD BIG SMILE. hilary was over there: "congrats on the high b flat! IT ROCKS! and your solo rocks kayy!". haha, and i was congratulating pratically my section, etc etc. I was happy, delighted with joy, etc. then, i saw wei jun. He was looking glum, stoned-faced. and i approached him. yeah. then some talking, he felt all right again. haha. yeah. everyone was happy. everyone was delighted. we went in thereafter to hear 3 bands. then the results.

Of course, the tension and atmosphere everything was there. but since this post is so long already, i wont be a mean booboo and purposely make you tenseD. i just go straight to the point. "band number 94.." I was sitting with SU wei at the timE. i gripped her hands tigher. "haising catholic school.." inside me screaming, "WOULD YOU HURRY UP!??!?!"

"silver..."

THE RESULTS CONTINUED GOING ON. EVery single band in there was seen with smiles, shouts cries. i saw people crying with tears of joy. etc etc. Haising was the only band sitting there stone-faced. glum, etC. we went out to collect our instruments and went out of the conference hall. many people in our band were seen in tears. not joy. but sadness. My eyes were red. i admit. but i wasnt really that sad till i could cry. just upset. But i told myself, I did my best. and i will accept the results. yeah. on the way back to school, manning toshikasa, xue ying toshikasa and chelsea toshikasa was beside me and qiyun, we were talking on syf stuff. hha. yeah. and it kindda made me happy. haha.

Back in school, many ppl still were crying and everything, sad, solemn. yeah. haha. went to dinner then went home and rested already, ready to reflect on that day's activity...

I would like to thank my section for always there giving me support, mr and mrs chua, for always being so patient and caring for me. haha. (I EVERYTIME NEVER EAT BE4 COMING TO BAND. haha. then everytime mrs chua very nice tell me that i must eat. haha. =p) then, ngee ann for their pic! haha. yeah.

so thats about it for now. nxt post will be on results. check you all later. haha.


-jErM