02 August, 2008

Twinkly Twinkly

Sigh... the twin sisters are all sciency now. Bloody stargazers... Haha

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,
—Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Twinkle, Twinkle little star,
SOON, we'll know just WHAT YOU ARE! :))))) HAHA

Haha indeed...

01 August, 2008

School... and other burning questions.

No. 1... I do NOT... I repeat do NOT have a thing for Cynthia. I am also not promoting her to any male readers out there! This came from 2 different individuals as well... Sheesh. I'm just fascinated by the fact that this little shy girl with her book sitting a discernible distance away from Gerard on the same 2 seater couch has grown up into a young confident lady. That's all. Seriously...

No 2...

A small number of people have indicated to me that I mention school but not my area of study. One even said that driving school is not school. For the record, I'm not taking driving lessons... yet... So I'm going to clear the air and talk about school. Those who've heard this for a million times can either click on the little x at the top right corner of your screen or click on the little red dot at the top left corner.

Now, I suppose I'll begin at the beginning. The importance of the beginning cannot be Diminished. After all, the beginning of a good story always Augments the main story. Never think that it is too Minor and dismiss it for you'll lose a Major part of the whole. Alright... I'm rambling here. Those who know Music Theory will understand what I'm rambling about.

Some months back, I was thinking about my future and the choices I had. I could do my private 'A's, go back to poly, sign on or do distance learning. To be frank, none of them were very appealing to me for various reasons. I was seriously at a lost about what to do. Out of the blue, someone mentioned to me, " Eh, why don't you try out for music? MOE are looking for music teachers. " Now, that really intrigued me and got me thinking. After all, according to the person, NIE accepts any Tom, Harry and Dick for music. Or so he/she said.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. After all, music is my passion and I love it to its deepest core. Give me a proper instrument(Steinway or fender... kidding) and I can play all day. However, there was a snag; I could not sight read... or read scores for that matter and my scales, fingering(get your mind out of the gutter) and technique were horrendous. In the end I decided to pray about it and I got others to do the same and the general consensus I had was go with the music and so I applied with MOE online and received my first shock.

They asked me for my grade and stated that there was a minimum requirement of Grade 5 theory and that I had to audition with at least a Grade 6 piece. They also stated that it was working with NAFA and that I would be there for 3 yrs and receive a Dip in Music before heading west to NIE. It didn't seem to me now that they accepted Tom's Hairy Dick in there! I mean, I have a grade 0 and I can't do classical music for nuts. Nevertheless, I submitted what was basically an empty application(save for my details) and hoped for the best.

Surprisingly, MOE called me up and asked if I could go for an interview with them. I thought to myself, "Maybe they interview all applicants. After all, they're paid OT and its government resources so they probably don't care." I went down and talked to them and basically told them that there was no mistake in my application and I indeed have never recieved music training. I told them that my main instruments were the electone and the keyboard and they said sure, they'll contact me if I'm shortlisted for the audition. To my greater surprise, they called me to tell me that that I was scheduled to go for an audition at NAFA which comprised of 2 pieces, sight-reading, aural and a theory test!!! I was nervous as hell. This was where the buck stops, I told myself. Now my gift of the gab and my bs counts for nothing. To make matters worse, there was a miscomm between the 3 parties and on the day itself, the head of department of music called me and told me that they only offered piano. This was on the day of the audition itself!!! To cut a long story short, I had to change my piece at literally the last minute. It was horrendous. I couldn't do the sight reading at all, my touch and technique were not good and the theory test included history, of which I knew nothing about. The only good thing I had going for me was the Aural segment. I was done for, dusted, finished.

Point to self. When God says he will do something, he will do it. Here I was, not trusting in HIM and being all worried and preparing myself to fail because logically speaking, they would not take me. God though, does not work on human logic. The bottom line is, I got accepted and I was the happiest person alive at that moment. I was jumping like a lunatic and didn't care that I looked like a fool doing it. Well, that's how I got into school and its only the 2nd week, but I know God will see me through. I know its not easy but hey, nobody said that it was going to be easy.

Till the next time then...

28 July, 2008

I hate Mondays

Mondays suck big time! Argh!

My bloody timetable on monday is so screwed up. 1hr lesson in the morning, followed by a 8 HOUR BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the hell is that!?!?!?

21 July, 2008

Sleepy... Zzzz...

Argh... It is not good to attend a wedding dinner with lots a wine 1 night before your first day of school! Lesson learned!

Although... The food was excellent as it was a rich couple's wedding. This family is basically one of those high society types. Case in point; the brides younger sister was the valedictorian last year at SMU. Some other obscure cousin/family friend just returned from Oxford where he was studying Political Science, Econs and Philo. Oh yeah, he's on a PSC scholarship and he wants to start work in the PMO. Yup... high flyers all right.

The wedding was an eye opener all right. She had an expensive and talented group of singers(that would be Isabel, Cynthia, Martha, Del, Theodore and myself at $88 apiece) and an even more talented musician (refer to previous posts) to do her songs. Said musician was also at the lunch reception but more on that later. The 1st reader read the reading like it was some kind a BBC story-telling session. The prayers of the faithful required the use of a dictionary(for some people la) and it included things like " ...the couple, raised in an environment of order and respect for their ancestors... " and " ...in this tumultuous sea which we call life..." which were filled with powderful English. They had some 45 min long photo session to cap off the church wedding.

After the wedding, we headed to a chapel-looking house in Binjai Park for the lunch reception. The red carpet was literally rolled out and there was a very nice and fancy tentage on the lawn with a chef slicing roast and dishing out potatoes. There was salmon, scallops and duck and seafood risotto which were not bad. There were people sipping their wine by the pool while the above mentioned musician played jazz on a grand which was in a little corner of the living area(take note that their little corner can accommodate a grand and I said living area, not living room). The piano was of course mic-ed up to a sound system where a soundman idly fiddled about with countless knobs and levers. The couple arrived in a Rolls Royce and confetti cannons were fired. All in all, quite a nice house I must say. Of course, they had their 3 maids complete with uniform to clean up the considerable amount of confetti which littered the driveway so no worries there.

That was all on a Friday but of course, a wedding will not be complete without the dinner which was duly held at The Sentosa Spa and Resort last night. There was a four piece jazz band and a pretty ok singer( I say pretty ok cos I've been to South Bridge and Bellini's) with a pretty high vocal range. There was an opening speech... no wait, opening address by the valedictorian who talked about bloodlines joining and all that. The food was fabulous though and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Menu :
-Lobster Salad
-Shark fins Soup w/ Crab & Abalone
-Prawns
-Scallop w/ Celery
-Mushrooms, Vege & Abalone
-Stewed Duck
-Red Grouper
-Seafood Fried Rice
-Really Really Fantastic Tiramisu!

There was something quite novel about the dinner and that was the fact that everybody was separated from their families and seated according to "interests"/age which led to a lot of confusion among the guests. Luckily for me, I'm a pretty chirpy chap and was able to mix around. It wasn't too bad actually. My table was basically Catholic and single-sex educated and considerably younger than me(with the exception of the future minister from Oxford who's 22). I basically had 4 IJ girls(2 ex, 2 present), and 1 each(all alumni) from St. Gab's, St. Pat's, RI and ACS. It was a pity that Cynthia did not join my table as she was stuck with older people and I would have liked to have her company as we're in the same school now. Anyway, I was seated in between 2 girls who could hardly have been more different. On my left, was Theodore's niece, Victoria, who's 18, extremely outgoing and friendly, bubbly(or bimbotic depending on who you ask) and not too bad looking. She speaks in a slang and as far as I know, is pretty sporty(tennis). She's not gorgeous but a beautiful dress, make-up and immaculate tresses can make a helluva difference. She's kinda shallow though but fun all the same. On the other hand(my right to be exact), there's Joy, who's a CJ-ian(the new kind which hang out at the library), kinda plain looking(black specs and cardigan), witty in a dry way, loves rock and "blessed" with an aversion towards SJI guys(at least those in CJ). I had an interesting time though and it was quite enjoyable. We even had a toast to youth at our table which got the evergreen table next to us staring. Oh well, at least I did not wake up to a hangover this morning.

P.S. I just have to say this. I'm pleasantly surprised to see how Cynthia has grown from a shy little girl to a beautiful outgoing young lady. Younger guys, if you're interested, she's a Portuguese(mum)-Chinese(dad) 18 yr old with a lovely dress sense(inherited from both parents) and she's currently single.

17 July, 2008

So exciting!

Haha... Yup the title says it all. I'm really quite excited about starting school next week. I had a really boring orientation on Tuesday and the only 'excitement' came about when I looked up and saw my Ex sitting 1 row in front of me! What are the odds!?!?!? Oh well, not that it matters anyway.

I know I'm gonna be bloody stressed when school starts. The fact that I'm like super not qualified for this while everyone else is. I've also not studied for a gazillion years and my brain might be rusty. Argh!!! Just when I'm getting comfortable with my slacking lifestyle.

Can't wait and yet dreading it.
Monday!!!!!

16 July, 2008

Its Over...

Well... that's all settled now. We've done the 7th day prayers and everything so its time to take a break. I've been relatively busy due to Uncle Stanley's funeral as I've been doing all the music stuff. The really emo day was Saturday as it was the funeral itself. After 3 and a half days of pink, beatles/bee gees and cards, we finally got down to wearing the traditional black/white for the service and the funeral. Many thanks to Audrey, Rebecca, Nicky, Pearl, Rachel, Aunty Anna, Cyrilla and Ligna for singing in my little choir. The support of my friends really meant a lot to me.

Anyway, there was a slight mis-comm as Joyce was not aware that Aunty Doreen wanted to have the song 'Because You Loved Me' dedicated to Uncle Stanley and that my Uncle himself wanted the song 'Angel' to be played. As a result, when the eulogy was done, she simply stepped down from the pulpit and Fr JJ just stood up to do the final commendation. Thankfully, Ron and myself decided to change the final song from Amazing Grace to Angel. I personally thought that I did quite well for the song. I don't mean that my vocals were exceptional or anything like that. I simply sang with my heartfelt emotion and let it all out through the music. Really glad that I could fulfill 1 of his last wishes.

The 7th day prayers were something else altogether. He wanted dancing and 70's Disco music and so we duly obliged. It totally didn't feel like a wake/funeral thing and I suppose that's what he would have wanted. In the end, the police came up twice because someone complained about the noise. You should have seen the look on their faces when they heard that it was a 7th day thing. They didn't know what to believe! It was quite hilarious looking at them. Oh well, I'm glad that its all over now. The week has been really draining but I guess it must be worse for his family. I really hope that God will comfort them in their sorrow.

10 July, 2008

Congrats

Just a little note...

Congratulations to Benita for being officially deemed intelligent by Singaporean Society. She managed to figure out who her SJI stalker was and passed the 'intelligence' test by putting her analytical and deductive skills(honed by NUS for 4 yrs) to good use.

* Round of applause *

=)

'Sadded'

If you're wondering why I've not been blogging these few days, well I've been busy. My Uncle Stanley passed away on Tuesday and I've been doing 'night duty'. Of course the casket company does not provide wireless internet services and by the time I get back every night, I'm too tired to do anything.

I'm more worried about Elliot compared to Aunty Doreen and Stuart because he seems to be suppressing his emotions, which in my experience, is never a good thing. If I lost my dad now, not to mention 15, I would be devastated and inconsolable. I just hope and pray that he'll be fine.

I hate death... Its depressing...

04 July, 2008

For Lydia

All right! A big THANK YOU to Lydia Lee for contributing to my musical advancement by donating her piano to a poor struggling musician such as myself. It is really very much appreciated.

* Cue in Applause *

Lydia by the way is my cousin on my mum's side. She's in the cheenafied NYGH ( and that's why I had to do her English essay for her... Haha ) but then again, I'm going to a cheenafied school soon as well so who am I to judge. Speaking of NYGH, this reminds me of an incident that happened to me in secondary school. It explains why I do not have a very good impression of NYGH as that incident scarred me for life.

I was in Sec 2 and I was travelling on a 151 to either KAP or Ee Jin's house and the bus was pretty full. I was lucky enough to get a seat along the aisle and was settling down for the journey through the 'atas' school belt. This 'atas belt is basically SJI, SCGS, NIE(then, now NUS Law), THE Chines High, Hwa Chong JC, NJC, NYGH and MGS in that order. That explains why I managed to "chiong" for a seat.

Anyway, as the bus stopped at the bus-stop opposite NYGH, this cute( to my untrained 14 yr old eye ) NYGH girl boarded the bus. By that time there were no seats left and she had no choice but to stand. To my initial delight, she chose(I'm using this word loosely here) to stand beside my seat. For the benefit of those who have been living under a rock, NYGH's uniform is a white sleeveless pinafore which on the right girl, can look complimenting. Its quite similar to SCGS's uniform. I couldn't believe my luck as I could check out this cute girl for my entire journey. I couldn't have been more wrong about my luck. To my horror, she raised her arm right beside me to hold on to the handles and she revealed a blossoming private garden( not to be confused with private's garden ) right in the direction of my face! I felt like gouging out my eye as I felt that it had been defiled by this grisly sight. The bible says that it is better to lose one's eye if it causes you to sin. Well, my eye was causing me to sin as I was cursing and swearing under my breath for a good 5 minutes. I mean, her bush was hairier than mine( at that time ) and it was really unsightly. This is not stubble we're talking about hear people... Its hair!!! After that momentous life changing experience, I never looked at an NYGH girl the same way again.

I hope that no boy will ever have to go through the torture my eyes went through. I know its not good to stereotype but the sight ( and smell ) of her bush will always remain etched in my memory. Its highly unlikely that you can ever forget what you see if you ever peer into the pit(t) of hell. I hope I've not offended anyone in this post. I'm just relating my experience.

P.S. I have nothing against St. Mag's girls but I absolutely hate and abhor their uniform!

03 July, 2008

Sing, Sing A Song...

I had a really great time during the 'choir' practise for Theodore's nieces wedding. It was basically Theodore, Martha, Isabel and myself singing. I think Del will be joining us too. It was really great to be back with the band and for once, I felt confident about my singing. We usually do secular songs with insanely high keys and I'm not very confident about my singing when I'm with them. I mean they're all great vocalists. However, this time, they were on my turf; church hymns! Whahaha! Isabel was really phenomenal on Ave Maria( Schubert I think ) and I'm glad that I don't have to do all that Latin. Anyway, I met yet another musical guy today.

Now, for those of you who know me well enough, I don't call any Tom, Dick and Harry who can play an instrument musical. This guy though, really showed me what a big gulf in class there is between a professional and myself. His name is Kenneth and his musical journey is pretty amazing too. He is self-taught and started playing at a relatively late age of 15. After his NS, he flew down to the States to audition for a place in an academy to do his degree. This is someone who didn't read scores and had no lessons. He made it through and he does about 2 big projects a year(like at the esplanade) and also teaches (He used to teach at La-Salle). This guy's chording is really damn nice and his transposing is damn cool. I mean ppl like me are stuck with simplistic dominant chord transpositions! Argh!!! Did I mention that he sings well too and has an amazing range? Anyway, I think the Church is really has quite a few talented musicians and I hope that it won't chase them away. Of course, they can't be too arrogant as well.

To prove my point(and to give you a rough gauge my standard of musical)...

Terrence Teo - Super Arranger and professional. Humble and a nice guy too! The one who tricked me into playing for Charismatic by saying that he wanted to take a 1 month break which ultimately lasts till today!

Kenneth - Refer to above.

Trevor Nerva - Another talented professional. Sings well too.

Desmond Seah - Pianist from Holy Spirit. Not as good as some in this list but that's due to the fact that he's not a professional musician. He also does not possess any Dip/Degree in Music but good enough.

The SVDP Guy who played for Jacino's wedding - I forgot his name but he's not bad. Jazz and especially R&B pro. Also not a professional Musician.

The Idiot - As much as he's an arrogant SOB and a major prick, I can't deny that he is talented. If I were to be less biased, I would put him higher up this list. Gets into too much trouble though.


The really great thing about this is that these are only musicians in the North District. That's also considering that I do not know people from Star of the Sea, Risen Christ and the one in Woodlands. Essentially, its six people in 4 Churches! Oh well, hopefully, I can reach the halfway mark after 3 years!

02 July, 2008

My Piano!



My lovely piano... Thanks to my Aunt!





This has got cheaterbug Italian words like andante, presto, larghetto, maestoso etc. ... They all sound like pasta choices to me!






The very gay 'heart' sticker that Lydia pasted. And my foot... Not sure how that got in...


Elton John - Sacrifice

It's a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation's strong

Into the boundary
Of each married man
Sweet deceit comes calling
And negativity lands

Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through

And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all

Mutual misunderstanding
After the fact
Sensitivity builds a prison
In the final act

We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burns

About Bacon

Bacon...
Ahh...

I just love it. The lovely fragrance it produces as it sits on a heated pan is just heavenly. There are not too many aromas that can be so tempting like bacon. Thin, streaky bacon. My heart complains but my tongue overrules it. Greasy fried bacon!

01 July, 2008

The Force Is Not Strong In That One!

Goodness... I just visited Regina's blog and saw this! Hilarious!

Watch it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIIbWKbHF2k

Patting myself on the back...

Slack kinda day today as I was totally in the mood for lazing around. Frankly speaking, I've been in THE mood for quite awhile. Woke up in time for lunch only to realize that I was broke and I forgot to 'withdraw' money from my favourite bank. Damn.

Well, I had to make do I guess. I checked my fridge out to see what I could find that would pass off as a decent meal. There was ham, bacon and half a can of mushrooms that I had used yesterday. I contemplated Spaghetti Alfredo yet again but I was kinda lazy. I settled for an omelet and fried bacon with bread. I got down to chopping up the ham and shrooms and threw in a sausage for the heck of it. In the midst of chopping, I realized that I had a hell load of ingredients and I had to use 4 eggs for my omelet. 4! I don't even want to think about the cholesterol going into my body. After my fattening lunch, I got down to practising some pieces on my new second hand piano(kindly donated to my aunt). Of course I would like to have a grand in my house but I have no space in my already cluttered house. Oh yes, did I mention that I was broke as well?

Anyway, I'm digressing. I started playing a few(well actually only 1) songs before I got bored and started fooling around with chords( as usual, lacking focus). I was pretty pleased with my self as I discovered/learnt a new jazzy and bluesy sounding rift based on the I. VI, II, V progression. Anyway, i spent a good 30mins perfecting it and finding variations for it till I was satisfied. Nothing in the world gets me so enthu except for music. Hopefully, when I start school, my enthusiasm and zest for t will not fall. I'm gonna be damn busy even without all the extra music stuff which people keep calling me for. Oh well... I'll just see how everything goes.

Going for Lit Comm. meeting soon... Sian
Cheerios.