Monday, June 1, 2009.

life is really so scary and cruel.

In just about 1 months' time, after Presentation (of which I'm eternally grateful for), they'll be gone. Literally, gone. Imagine, there may be a high chance I'll never see most of them for the next year or so, and I may not even see some of them throughout my entire life.

Our lives may not cross; pathways may not intersect.

And what do we have left with us? All just memories, fragments of what was in the PAST, gone, irretrievable and lost forever. People, so worthy of being friends, where will they be?

Will I recognise fellow Chamber mates in the year to come? If I see someone on the MRT in 2 years' time, can I still be able to know that we were once CCA mates, playing on stage in that hall, getting Gold with Honours together?

It's not easy at all, leaving and parting, knowing that in many cases everything's all but lost. Maybe a handful of friendships, but how long will it take before some of these friendships vanish? How long before they become acquaintances? How long before we stop communicating? How long before a friend becomes a stranger?

Friends become acquaintances, acquaintances become strangers.

As our life journey diverges, we break up, slowly but steadily, unless we put in A LOT of effort.

JC is painful; so much we lose! 12 years' worth of friendships, 12 years' worth of experiences, 12 years' worth of joy. Do we just let it die off so easily? Do we just let something special die and fade off, flickering away? Do we just let it be but an experience?

NO. I cannot accept that.

I'm scared! There's this very nice comfort zone, of friendships and bonds that were painstakingly built up from scratch, and there it is, ever-present in school. And once it comes, where will we be? Thrown into a completely new environment, without many familiar faces.

And now how?

I'm scared. It means so much, all of you guys. I cannot lose it.

Time is cruel.

Labels: CCA, friends, Life

{ 11:51 PM }

Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

by all accounts i should be over the moon now.

this week (or rather, the past 2 days) was really kind to me from one point of view. really, i have absolutely no reason to feel sad. after all most other people would just go mad and drown themselves in happiness.

but i cannot bear to.

really, i dunno how many people we hurt as we jumped and screamed and hugged when they announced our results. after everything sank in and being told to sit down and relax, the truth suddenly struck us.

i cannot be happy after everything.

right after everything i rushed over, and i felt very bad. i didn't belong there. what was i doing there? it sounded so superficial, so hollow, so insincere.

and when i saw them all, i literally broke down. for the 1st time in years, i felt a tear.

on the bus ride home i was alone, all at the back, while most of the bus just cheered and celebrated. i cannot fault them; they have all the right in the world (just like me) to celebrate and be merry! after all there's everything to be proud of. i just felt so bad that i was quite a mood dampener.

it's this emotional attachment i have. i will never consider myself leaving RISE until i'm dead or suffer from memory lapses. they are in me; i am in them. i cannot bear to see them like that, shattered, devastated, heartbroken, because i know it hurts for them, and even if i never felt it myself, i can roughly feel how it pains them, because i feel for them.

i'm honestly not at all disappointed in them. they have made me feel so so proud of them. i've never had such fantastic fabulous juniors in my entire life before, and i'm really proud of you guys for what you all have done.

i have utmost confidence and faith in all of you guys. be stronger, bounce back from this setback, and i'm waiting to see you guys all in your next concert, all fired up and happy to make music.

love you all! <3

Labels: CCA

{ 10:04 PM }

Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

it's 8 days left.

Labels: CCA

{ 1:40 PM }

Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

the sky's very very fine today. near-total clear! even in the morning, early afternoon, evening and night.

i could see stars.

=D

anyway had chamber just now. the piece's fun, not *that* hard to play but very fun nonetheless.

finally for once i actually get to play a work of my favourite composer!

(ohyeah and hammering on your g-string for a large part of the piece is soooo cool. AND G-STRING is most probably not the thing you are thinking, naughty naughty.)

anyway i decided to retake Os after changing my mind rather suddenly.

not a shocking thing, seeing as Kenneth and KC are but 2 ppl I know who are retaking, but something i need to get used to. of course some people may label me as mad for retaking with a b3, but that's the only logical option for me.

and as tony summed it up: "If I were you I would do so too."

so from now i shall work hard, get that darned A and be happy.

and for some equally strange reason I actually got down to re-reading group theory (which is like "WHAT?" and some weird incredulous look).

don't ask.

just like how people shouldn't bother so much about why i call myself lumpy (which has happened twice so far and will most probably happen tmr and on orientation).

turns out that nearly everyone who knows my real name STILL call me lumpy despite me telling them my real name.

not that i'm being private or what, but it's just that I'm helping you save a bit of trouble (isn't it so much easier to call me lumpy? more memorable).

ok this post isn't getting anywhere (just like myself.) so.

BYE BYE BUSH,
ONWARD OBAMA!

Labels: CCA, Life

{ 9:07 PM }

Saturday, July 19, 2008.

edited note (20/07) -

arrgh how i wish blogger was as good as livejournal.

I was planning to actually minimise this post, such that everyone who wanted to see it could see and everyone who did not want to see it could choose not to.

Call me mad, but I thought that was a really good idea.

I blogsurf a lot, and I start my daily dosage of blogsurfing by starting from my blog (duh).

To be honest, I can't bear to read this post again. I couldn't even bear to read Renhao's email to the Sec4s.

Letting go is just that tough.

note: This will not be posted to the RISE-08 yahoogroups, cause I see no need to spam the rest of the members with my droning and reminiscing, and that they wouldn't like it too. If you (actually, and thank you) find it worthy to be read by the rest of the CCA, feel free to post it on the egroups. If you intend to post it (which I would be honoured to see you do so), please do not post the postscript (for obvious reasons). Thanks.

To all fellow members of RISE:
This would have been my 12th email post in my history of RISE (see above), and will perhaps (barring other circumstances) be my last ever. What I experience now is perhaps something which you will probably only get to experience when you are like me, writing my last mail to all of you.

Last year, 2 of my seniors, Yu Zhou and Xue Qian (two whom I admire most deeply for their undying commitment and passion to RISE) wrote a similar farewell message, thanking everyone for a wonderful 4 years they had. And so I am here today as well, to thank each and every one of you, for teaching me so much these 4 years, and giving me a 2nd home for me to live in.

In Sec 1, I remembered the times I had playing Bridge with some of my fellow current-Sec 4s as well as my seniors. I was led in (prematurely, and wrongly, I think now) into this CCA by then-chairman, Jing Xun, who taught me all I had to know about RISE.

In Sec 2, Remus and Kevin left a great impression on me as I further got to know many more people and help the juniors (among which are some members of the 2009 ExCo (you know who :) ) join this great CCA. As I struggled to fit into my class, I found solace in my CCA, who had people of the same wavelength as me.

In Sec 3, I experienced SYF full-blast for the 1st time, and that was probably the hardest point of my life so far. The torturous practices, intense atmosphere and whatnot left me defenseless and frightened, but we managed to pull through, all 50++ of us, and got a standing ovation at Carnegie (which I hope I'll never forget for the rest of my life.)

The night before SYF, I remember myself with Shawn Neo and Mr. Ong (and someone, if you remember who you are tell me) at S11, very anxious about the next day. That was perhaps the 1st time in my life I ever felt like sacrificing all for my CCA, as everyone felt the pressure as a CCA. Shawn comforted me even as he had to undergo much more pressure than me (as concertmaster), and I truly felt how great my seniors were.

Now, in Sec 4, I stand here hoping I did leave a mark like my seniors. Through my constant nagging and bugging, I hope I managed to impact just one junior, for that would be enough. I, as a senior, feel that if my seniors managed to leave a mark on me, for me to succeed as a senior, I must have had impacted at least 1 junior.

And I hope I have succeeded. Only time will tell.

These 4 years have given me so much, in terms of memories, and there are people that can never be repaid even after countless times of thanking. Nevertheless, these people must be thanked.

1) Mr. Sze, for all your guidance and support. With you, we are what we are today, and I thank you sincerely for that.

2) Ms. Shen, for the behind-the-scenes admin. Working with you this year was a blessing for me, and I admire your dedication to our CCA.

3) Mr. Ong, for your tireless work in this CCA. Though you may know not that much as Ms. Shen or Mr. Sze, you still dedicate so much of your time (when you could have been marking my chem assignments or sleeping) to RISE, and for that, I salute you.

4) The ExCo of 2008, namely, Kai Cheng, Shang Xuan, Zhao Kai and Ben Wee, for all the crap you had to endure from me (especially Kai Cheng!) and all the support you gave me. Without you guys, RISE would never have achieved anything at all. We should go out for a drink sometime eh?

5) All my seniors for inspiring me in every way. Special mention MUST go out to Jing Xun, Sam Lim (the older one, not the younger one), Shawn Chang, Dom Seet, Remus, Kevin, Shawn Neo, Yu Zhou, David, Yiyang, Wang Xiang, Xue Qian, Adriel, Matthew, Yu Ze, Cheng Han, Nick Hsien, and Kuangnan for all that you have done for me, and I hope I have manaed to emulate you all this year.

6) Everyone in RISE now, my batchmates and my juniors, especially the ExCo '09, for making my years in RISE such a blast.

Now, as I stand here uttering my last words, I wish to impart some words of advice (how qualified I am to say these, I do not know), and I hope all of us can improve as a CCA (even when I am not around).

To the Sec 1s and those who joined us this year (Shuhuan) - Perhaps I won't ever officially work with you all again, but I hope you guys can help the next batch of Sec 1s assimilate into RISE easier. Next year will be a roller-coaster year for everyone (including me I hope), so stay strong, believe in one other (as I realised myself too, one's best friends in CCA will 100% be batchmates), and never give up. Whatever you do, you guys must make more friends, and make those bonds (not chem again. sigh.) stronger as you undergo what I would say is one of the hardest 6 months. Never give up!

To the Sec 2s: You guys will be Sec 3s, the long-pants users, and will lead the juniors for most part next year. The juniors will be lost, and you will be the beacon for them. Guide them through next year's tough life, teach them, speak to them (like how Shawn did so to me), show them the light and make them feel wanted in this CCA. The ExCo '09 needs you guys, and please help them through next year.

To the non-ExCo Sec 3s: You guys will be the biggest seniors, people whom the future Sec1s look up to, and people who are the best (in technical skills). As I told you guys privately during campaigning, please do help the ExCo no matter what. They need you guys, and the ensemble needs you guys. Give your heart and soul in RISE, for even if you don't get your CCA points you might have deserved (like Yu Zhou and Xue Qian), you at least get the respect from your juniors, which will last you forever.

To the ExCo of 2009: Hold on tight guys. Being in the ExCo requires dedication (which I can see in you all), hard work and teamwork. No matter what comes your way, do stay together as an ExCo and stay strong, even in the face of adversity. Lead the ensemble, inspire them and guide them through the rough seas of next year. And no matter what, remember - As (I know it's not good to quote this, but I find it particularly apt) Albus Dumbledore said (adapted), "You will always find that help will always be given at RISE to those who ask for it."

And to all of you,
The Sec 4s are leaving RISE, leaving behind this wonderful CCA in all of your hands. Do take care of it, and while you do so, learn from it and its vast treasures,
and (yeah, perhaps clichéd, but most apt),

Auspicium Melioris Aevi.

Lumpy
P.S. I teared one drop or two when I wrote this.

Why, I'm not too sure.

Is it because I miss RISE? Or is it because I feel insecure having to leave?

As Daron (Chairman '09) wrote yesterday on his blog (and I quote (w/o permission),)

"RISE BBQ last night, albeit mad and insane with the water bombs and all, left me feeling quite empty and sad after that.

after this we wouldn't have the sec 4s there anymore to help us and lead us, and now the weight of leading the ensemble has been passed to us.

it's sad, really. ): will really miss the sec4s, but i guess it's all part and parcel of growing up. promise to lead the ensemble to greater heights, or at least i hope :D"

And as I read this, I realised I had the exact same feeling he had when I was Sec 3.

Let me turn back the clock, and I would gladly join RISE 500 times over. Let me turn back the clock, and I would mark down with enthusiasm the period 3.30-6.30 on my timetable. Let me turn back the clock, and I would want to get water-bombed by everyone again.

Why, oh why, is leaving so difficult?

And as I ask myself why, I play Mahler's 9th symphony. The whole idea of his 9th was about how one accepts death, and leaving from this world.

It may sound too abstract, but that's exactly how I feel now.

And I thank RISE for having introduced me to this world of classical music.

Thank you RISE. I'll miss you.

Labels: CCA

{ 9:30 PM }

Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

side note 1-tmr is mufti day. I SHALL WEAR CONCERT ATTIRE TO SCH. maybe not. anyway i'll wear a 4B/RISE related t-shirt and dunno-what-pants (concert?) to sch.

side note 2-exco results out! gratz to the exco of 2009: chair - daron tan, vchair - tan renhao, qm - adi chew, librarian - jin chentian, treasurer - low weng hong. shan't comment much, but i think they can do well.

anyway i was feeling quite emo after the rhsl. was feeling sad not because of me missing rise (it wasn't that feeling) but of sth else.

so when i feel sad i turn to music. and just nice i was listening to mahler 9 quite recently. and mahler 9 is something one does not listen to at such a young age. it speaks of death and life, and was composed when mahler was dying (curse of the ninth - a self-prophecy?).

it is a really emotional work, dragging you to the depths and bringing you up just bars after. just the thing i need right now.

Labels: CCA, Life

{ 8:46 PM }

Friday, June 27, 2008.

Went for scherzo yesterday and saw quite a number of people, including a benyong who obviously didn't feel in peace (he and classical music? hmmm.) and a eugenegan who surprisingly turned up (when we all thought he was there for a girlfriend, turned out otherwise).

Concert was ok, although i hoped there was more classical music (as in, i'm a purist so i am "allergic" to non-standard classical music like FEET-STOMPING).

After the concert, i went with yiyang to attempt to break into the dressing-room (he is mad like me), and i got locked in the stairwell AGAIN. (during renaissance someone locked me in there).

conclusion: yiyang is evil.

So there was school today, despite the claims that it was a staff training day. As in, it made no difference to me, cause i had to go back to sch anyway. Should have popped by at vivocity and/or sentosa if i had the time so i could run into the teachers.

And now an inequality question which sounds like it came out of a particular programme booklet.

Let a, c, e, g, h, i, k, n, o, t, u, y be real numbers, with (again) being a positive integer.

Solve this inequality:

Thank you once (again)! < 3

Labels: CCA, Life, school

{ 8:20 PM }

Monday, June 23, 2008.

comment: I never knew my prose writing skills improved so much, i could ACTUALLY create the correct intention. Let's just say, 2 people (+3 if you count the people I met in school earlier that day) know the truth. Plus a few hundred more seeing me walk down the streets of Raffles Place with her.

yeah it's not a real her, it's supposed to be an "it". well i was just bored and angry at socdoc. nicholassyn do you get it now? please, DON'T send me random emails at 10+ just to find out who my supposed "gf" is. people are not so free.

Anyway go for scherzo and like, keep me company leh.

I do have a lot of faith in the next batch, seriously. I hope they all can work hard to help us rise to greater heights (pun intended) so that at least I won't feel so worried. Yes I know I'm not a good example, but I hope if any of you sec3s see this, i hope you can be inspired to live up (or surpass) my expectations (like you so promisingly showed me a few times past). I trust the sec3s can do well and not misplace my trust in them.

Sec3s FTW.

Labels: CCA

{ 8:41 PM }

Saturday, May 31, 2008.

double edit: just listened to our recording of william tell and all i have to say: well done guys!

edit: I planned to acknowledge all non-current-RISE members in the next post, with other stuff, but due to Jerald's insistence, I shall acknowledge some really important guest players that I have interacted with (strangely, most from RI).

Besides the 1st one, in no order of merit:

JERALD HAN! (cause he's de facto SL, so he comes 1st)
PATRICK CHO!
JAMES ANDREW JR. GUNAWAN!
BENJAMIN NI!
KENNETH NG!
BERNARD YONG!
DAVID ZHAO YUE!

Thanks guys, for playing for RenaISsance 2008, and I promise you a treat. Seriously.
PS. Jerald don't ever bring that pack of cards when you get treated.
Quote David: These cards are from Jerald's house, what do you expect?

This post shall be the 1st of at least 2 posts, cause i dont think i can cover it all.

What can I say? The blood, the sweat (literally) and the tears, we've seen through them all.

Concert was great, mr. sze was looking REALLY happy after everything.

Some screwups did occur, like the early cello entry in magicfluteoverture, the piccolo screwup in fugue as well as us getting severely lost in 3/4 bar.

But ask me to relive the experience again, and I will.

I want to stand on stage again, pushing the grand into the hall. I want to stand on stage again, packing up the unused stands and chairs. I want to stand on stage again, to see the appluase and acknowledgments, especially from the seniors.

People from RISE (current) that I MUST thank:
Kai Cheng, for doing so much for the concert,
Shang Xuan, for the strings, the prog booklet and many more,
Zhao Kai, for scores, concert-day arrangements,
Ben Wee, for concert-day arrangement and 1st violin sectionals,
Jon Shin, for helping us in so many ways (like musically)

Sec 3s:
Ren Hao and Chentian, for being always with me even if your parents scold you,
Zhiyuan, Yihang, Shuhuan, Benn, Matthew Lo, Jon Chow, Minjian, Weng Hong, Yunfei, Daron and Adi, for your contributions to moving instruments safely to there and back (as well as night rhsls)
Ben Lee, for being ever-so-entertaining and a great concertmaster who saved me during the fugue 3/4 time

Sec 2s and Sec 1s who were overly-enthu in helping out. I'm glad the enthu spirit is still alive and running, and even when I leave it will be there for a long time.

And of course,
Mr. Sze (reasons can be left out).

Lee Foundation Theatre is a special place for me. It was the 1st time where I performed publicly (i.e. not on Raffles campus) and will be my last official time performing as a RISE member. When I played that D (last note of Britten), i played it with force, knowing that that will be the last note I play as an official RISE member in a concert.

Should I feel sad? I honestly don't know.

There's still camp to look forward to, and i promise that it will be spectacular, involving weird stuff (tekan) and other funny funny things. At least there's a last chance for me to do something to my 2nd home, a place I can go to have fun (like the spectacular 13 trick-win by weng hong and chentian)

Will talk more about other stuff in next post.

Labels: CCA

{ 1:28 AM }

Monday, May 19, 2008.

At RI Open House:

Chentian receives SMS from Renhao.
SMS: "The stupid mrt security b***h thought that my viola is a bomb. And ask me to open and show her."

Gives new light to all the viola jokes around, like this one:

Q: Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a violin case?
A: They think he's carrying a machine gun and might be about to use it.
Q: Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a viola case?
A: They think he's carrying a viola and might be about to use it.

Enjoy: Viola jokes
More viola jokes
More more viola jokes

Labels: CCA

{ 12:22 PM }

Sunday, March 9, 2008.

Strangely enough, 2 posts within less than 1/2 an hour. And of considerably different mood.

From Jerald's blog:
compare and contrast. hasn't the education system taught all of us to fall in love with this tool?

great! now let's exercise some of it.

Here's a short excerpt of what Mr. E Wigeysingha wrote about the Rafflesian Spirit in "The Eagle Breeds A Gryphon":

"The Rafflesian feels for the school because his destiny lies with that of the school.It is that strange feeling that surfaces when watching a softballer make a home run, the hockey player sounding the boards with a well-timed shot or a drum major catching his falling mace, that reaches its height especially when the school team is down and struggling to come back from behind."

Now here's what's in the handbook:
"The Rafflesian feels for the school because his destiny lies with that of the school. It is a powerful emotion that surfaces when watching the softball player make a home run, the hockey player sound the boards with a well-timed shot or the rugby player successfully race across the field to score a try. The feeling reaches its height especially when the school team is down and struggling to make a comeback."

well there's been enough talk going around, i guess. We fight for what we love even though we have been removed from the picture time and time again. Since recognition is something we hardly get, we'll just do without it and get used to it. We recognise ourselves, as all five of us are made of nothing less than passion and power.

The spirit fading? no, it's just divided into a whole lot of smaller parts and locked up.
Instead of asking ourselves what the school can do for us, why not ask what we CAN do for the school.

We need change (coughOBAMAcough). The spirit of sporting glory is entrenched within the Rafflesian Spirit. But how about the spirit of musical pursuit? How about the spirit of the Uniformed Groups' discipline?

We need more support. We need to convince the populace that RI is not a sports school. We need to take drastic action to remind the people up and down there that RI has other CCAs too.

We start, by making sure that we actually respond to the commands by the parade commander properly.

We start, by making it compulsory to go for concerts, just like it is compulsory to go down for match support.

We start, making sure the left-out CCAs do not become forgotten.

It is time we did something.

Labels: CCA

{ 11:08 PM }

Friday, November 30, 2007.

SNYO concert was not bad.

Mr. Lim (conductor): We are going to play for you 2 encore pieces, one of which is called Overture to... what was it again?

*turns to 1st violin front desk and asks*

Anyway it was quite exciting, and Strauss' "Tod und Verklärung" (Death and Transfiguration) was quite nicely done.

Oh ya and cbw commented on the violin of the soloist being expensive -.-

Shawn is now officially known to all as the (insert particular girl's name here) guy.

Anyway today was library catalogue, where i shot myself with a gun and suffered an "identity crisis".

A certain person played with my phone and did something quite nasty. (Yeah, I know what the message was.) It's fun to play, but don't go overboard and waste $$$. Anyway just don't do it again ok?

RISE Library Cataloguing is very hard. Who ever said that it was easy at all? Poor librarians.

Labels: CCA

{ 9:08 PM }

Friday, November 16, 2007.

I don't know how to start.

I felt it was wonderful, having been in camps planned by my seniors, and now planning a camp, and a decently successful camp at that. Thanks to all fellow EXCO guys for your hard work especially kai cheng who slept at 3 on the day before the camp.

Rehearsals were mass suanning sessions-which other section gets suanned? As usual the violas never fail to impress-during note-by-note tuning we could hear chords. And the devastating pair of Nicholas Hsien and Yeo Shang Xuan (as front desk) were too powerful-lame jokes flying about.

During practice for John Rutter's "For the Beauty of the Earth":
Mr. Sze: Now let's add the violas, for some comedy relief. (cups ears)

Night game 2 was nothing short of fun and pure massacre! Zhiyi's "The Lair of Illumination" was quite well-received, cause there were a LOT of killer tasks (which included sadistic "memory" games, evil sudoku running, and penalties, penalties and more penalties). And my final clue still won all-no one found "the Lair of Illumination" cause it was so abstract.

"The Lair of Illumination resides at the "peak of the mRNA"."

And after that, we had our usual rite-spam bridge till 3. Apparently people won 7 hearts which is insane. And luckily I had (nearly) a whole room to myself meaning i didn't have to worry about lights.

Using a chemistry textbook as pillow isn't a bad idea at all.

Labels: CCA

{ 3:26 PM }

Wednesday, November 7, 2007.

freak, i'm in love with rach 2!



now my thumb looks green. better than kai cheng, whose hand looks green.
yiyang kai cheng and i managed to spray paint 20++ stands within 3 hours. That's a Guinness world record lor, considering kai cheng took about 2 hours to create the template. It looks real cool.

i bought "college physics" since i lost my noob physics textbook and needed a better replacement, so might as well. I started mugging a little, but i STILL prefer chemistry.

anyway rach 2 is COOL. i finally relented after huiyao's endless persuasion, and started listening to piano music. To my surprise it is NOT bad. but no matter how many times tang huiyao persuades me to listen to pop music, i won't.

I shall shamelessly declare I do love Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2.

Labels: CCA, Music

{ 11:21 PM }

Friday, November 2, 2007.

past 2 days were a blast.

we pulled off some crap for octet and yet managed to sound great. I was certain my tone was sucky, I bet i missed a few entries here and there, and after our item all 8 of us were like "we gg, we screwed up". Yet we actually sounded good! maybe we can do shostakovich octet someday eh?

Alliance Française auditorium is CRAP. We pay a lot for rent, get only 236 seats, suffer from either hand/finger-numbing aircon or lack of aircon. Furthermore, their dressing room (note: 1 dressing room only) is small, their unused wooden furniture still remains in like a part of the hall, their acoustics suck big time (apparently this place was picked for National Piano+Violin Competition cause the acoustics here reveal mistakes easily) and worst of them all, THERE IS NO BACKSTAGE. so all the basses and stands+stand carts as well as other instrument cases+bags had to be left on the stairwell+whatever we had left of the backstage and dressing room.

gpa wasn't exactly pleasing, but well. 3.88 isn't really good since i wanted 3.92 and could have gotten that if not for SS EOY Question 2A. come on, 6/15 is like sure 4.0 gone. and as usual japanese and chinese are the 2 culprits (and an unexpected SS culprit). anyway it is a big improvement, although i think i'm like 6th in class. 3.88 isn't that bad lar. heck, i was failing math in april, and now i got 100% for EOYs, and i didnt exactly revise for maths (i recall slacking in front of the com for 3-4 hours). But for all the effort put in, i think i didnt deserve it. i should have gotten less, but i'm half happy half sad. oh well.

science symposium @ HCI was great. we were teasing barry for quite some while. the nobel laureate had quite a cool movie, and the 3 other speakers were great (although i couldnt understand the 2nd speaker).

at the bus-stop barry decided to be dumb and called me, thinking i went missing (when i was merely in front).
barry: hey where were you? I couldn't see you.
HY: speak for yourself lor.

HY and Vincent were like "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." There were very funny stuff about that, and it was ridiculous and funny.

When walking to another bus-stop i saw this sign which read "Elmira Heights" and i went LOL. Guess only people who listen to Shostakovich Symphony no. 10 will get it. In the 3rd movement, the solo horn plays the mysterious Elmira theme (E La MI Re A, otherwise known as E A E D A).

Fun tomorrow at cbw's house! Hope i don't fall down again.

Labels: CCA, Life, school

{ 8:37 PM }

Sunday, September 30, 2007.

i shall be infinitely shameless and come out of hiatus.

all of you people out there, please tell me you have time to spare on the 2nd November (incidentally last day of sch.)

RISE's only major (strictly rise) concert:

mesmeRISE
2 November '07
7.30 p.m.
Alliance Française
$10 (NEW EDIT. WE ARE POOR, SO TAKE NOTE, IT'S NO LONGER $8)

so please, come down and support dear lumpy. sec3octet>you.

by the way the ticket is supposed to be a secret cause it's INFINITELY cool. It's like, the BEST RISE TICKET ever. too cool my eyes popped out, serious. thanks kaicheng!

anyway whoever wants ticket/ticket design please approach me.

limited seats eh, only 236 tickets for sale. so be fast, book with your ticket agent now.

mesmeRISE > YOU.

Labels: CCA

{ 9:56 PM }

Wednesday, September 12, 2007.

It's been 3 months.

Close to 3 months-but those 3 months have flown by so fast. Yet I remember it like it was yesterday.

Those 3 months of stress, homework and school made me forget the wonderful memories. They were pushed to the back of my mind by the stress and homework, never to be retrieved. But today I remembered the fun. The excitement. The joy.

I was preparing for 3rd language oral (Ya majorly screwed up. 75% only! Looks like I am doomed for 3.6 3rd lang this year-seeing as i also got lousy CA1/2/3 marks.) My sensei trained us to answer the possible questions, and when me and my friend did a possible question list-i saw this question:
外国へ行った事がありますか。(Have you ever gone overseas?)
I was preparing for the next few questions that were bound to come-one was どこへ行きましたか。(Where did you go?).

And then I remembered New York.

I remembered the fun we had, the pillow fights (which did not involve me) and the card games, the Zhiyi-style bidding ("7 NO TRUMP!"), the nights we had around Times Square, the frequent visits to the CD megastore (with Ben Wee), the standing ovation amongst 2000+ Americans(we were strangers), the imba hand I got while playing bridge (I had 10 spades in my hand-nearly won 7 no trump), and most importantly, our bond we made.

I guess no chemistry can ever explain this bond; it is unique and special. It cannot be broken by heat; it stays true even under attack by free radicals; halogenation, nucleophilic substitution does nothing; it is even more stable than the C-triple bond-O bond with delocalisation. Why? It was the fun we had, that makes us invulnerable to these bond-breakers. Our bond is everlasting-it will remain for posterity.

We will remember the fun we had. We will remember the hard work and its payouts. We will most importantly, never forget Carnegie '07.

4 of the 5 members of our EXCO stayed together for the whole trip with the same group. We were really closely bonded, and hopefully neither of us will forget all the games, excitement and fun we had had on this trip.

But I hope, as time flies (like arrows, fruit flies like bananas), we will not let the barrage of tests, assignments and newer memories erode the memories-fine memories, that will aid us in improving our CCA. Fine memories that will bond us forever.

Carnegie '07. We must never forget.

Labels: CCA, friends, school

{ 5:59 PM }

Monday, August 27, 2007.

Dear all-I LURVE RISE EXCO '08!

I couldn't have hoped for a better EXCO. Wang Kai Cheng (Chairman, responsible 3A monitor), Yeo Shang Xuan (Vice-Chairman, Prefect of 3D), Me (Quartermaster), Low Zhao Kai (Librarian, 3D's "Pamela Anderson"), Chu Ben Wee (Treasurer, 3A resident violinist). Wonderful guys, WONDERFUL.

Anyway we had lunch treated by the great and revered Mr Sze, and spent a lot of time discussing EXCO matters. We were so freaking full, I promptly skipped dinner. My precious Maths and Physics mugging time are gone (wasted 6 hrs there) but I am willing to sacrifice (aiyah my Math RA marks are dead, so might as well), and I loved lunch-Fish and Co.'s double platter is gigantic.


Anyway, to end it all up: "Welcome to RISE EXCO."-Mr Sze

Labels: CCA

{ 7:34 PM }