attended 'scottish fantasies', a classical concert performed by SSO + a chours including SSC.
guest solo violinist was good, but not good enough. i don't know much about violins, but i have a feeling a 1728 stradivarius may not carry a bruch melody through, with all the dynamism in tone and volume required, especially when juxtaposed against a billowing orchestra. for goodness sake, 1728 is still during JS freaking bach's time! something from that era ought to be used to play handel or mozart, ah yes, mozart.
her tone was like a coloratura's (spelling?) at the high range: sweet, agile; ascending notes tend to go a little little bit sharp. but a coloratura doesn't have the dramatic tone! maybe it's the strings? anyway, i can imagine how nice the violin would sound with a mozart piece, you know, something like the soprano in the 'magic flute'? harhar...
anyway, 2nd half was very interesting and even GOOD at parts... the chorus sucked occasionally, though. basic problems like blending within the section (technical problems)... yucks yucks yucks. oh, mr toh's ex-student, phua ee kia, and the yjc mep teacher ms yap performed in it.
i actually chatted with ms yap a bit at MOE during the scholarship tea session (way back last year, when i was still seriously considering teaching physics at 25). she's quite cool leh, RJCian, MOE scholar, and so actively involved in the local arts scene. she's part of some quartet called 'curious attacks', along with phua ee kia. check this website out for more information: http://curiousattacks.googlepages.com/
ate pineapple cheese prata topped with honey at kent ridge after the concert (YUM YUM!), at some shop called the 'cheese prata shop' i think, it's really really near NUS, along the expressway if i'm not mistaken. chatted with jeff and ms ng from acs about the concert and stuff haha...
i must complain to my readers about my spending habits! katong laksa, barley drink, ice cream, prata, milo dinosaur! ok fine, the laksa + barley was my lunch. ah yes, add a taxi fare from holland v to orchard (actually shared by 4 people, but it's still money spent). speaking of holland v, met up with chenjie/ryan/yiwei/keegan (the usual gang la) this afternoon too :)
if you can see my continuous but incongruent train of thought: i miss the community hospital carolling group!!! kwan rui, xi xun, sam, wen jun!! of which i have not seen kr and xx at all this year... and i strangely(?) miss s06c haha :$
perhaps it's my reluctance to admit to things i'd rather deny. not just about admitting i do miss people. (tangent: it's even more impossible to lie that i miss things/people whom i don't. urgh!) like, i've always been telling people i HATE classical music, reading, and chinese traditional music (ok, i DID honestly hate CO music, but that was back in primary school). don't know whether i really hated classical music or reading or not, but i really seldom listen to classical music or read serious books (well, relative to the amount of time i spend doing other things).
but i can't say i hate them you know. hell, i've been going for more classical/cultured performances than ever! and i managed to sit through hours of orchestra playing which i never thought i could (must be the mep training). and, i finished one novellete this year :O:O and am going to read more. i like recordings of some classical music, especially pieces i'm more familiar with, such as piano pieces which i've played before. to be honest, i like baroque music *gasp!* more than Classical music (note the capital C, it refers to the particular era of approx 60 years, not the entire history of western classical music - small c) and my future resolution is to practise the piano so that i can beat my peers in who currently pwns just about anyone else but have decided not to pursue piano in college MUAHAHAHA. not that i'm taking a music degree, though, hm. *thinks hard on how impossible this goal is to be achieved*
i think all these self denial is my way of trying to be 'part of' the mainstream. similar to how i cringe when the fact that i listen to more japanese (pop/rock/whatever) music than other types is declared to a large audience haha. actually ah, i do listen to asian pop lor, like mandopop hits on the radio. in fact, the first station i tune to is one of the chinese stations (then 99.5 and 92.4). but then i don't have a good retrieval of memory, so the melodies i listened to gets chucked into the depths of my brain, never to be refound till i listen to it again, then i recall. plus, i don't freaking memorise lyrics :|:| hence i can't sing on demand (i think i've mentioned that in the previous post).
OK fine. i'm behind the times when it comes to western contemporary music. sorry, can't take the jarring sounds i hear on 987 or 98 fm sometimes...
last.fm (a website + programme)is one of my avenues to reintegrate myself haha! you guys ought to try it too! too bad they only have selected 30 sec clips. tsk.
another random thought, after reviewing what i've just written: hopefully i won't break contact with the more-than-just-accquaintance-but-not-close-enough friends. haiz!
okok enough for one night, bloody hell i'll never recover from sleep deprivation at this rate (my fault) XD
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
weekly updates
1. phantom of the opera was worth every dollar :) although i wasn't always moved by the emotional bits of the musical (and i was dozing off during the start of the second half - blame that on my sleeping habit and the relative inactivity on the stage at that time) the voices were really good, and there weren't any cracks from the singers LOLOL. the visuals are really stunningly beautiful, methinks. there's something i like about the presentation of "masquerade" and the musical's theme song; i suppose i like loud (volume) and quicker-paced songs.
2. i still failed SOC. and my EX shoes and boots plan kind of failed, to some extent. ok, so basically i was to do SOCs till the end of the week. seeing negative improvement in the timing, it was pretty obvious my muscles can't quite take the daily 12+ minutes of strain (yea that's how bad my timing is, but factor in the 1+ min i stop at the low rope obstacle) therefore, i finally saw the MO for my long persisting numbness + odd sensations in my toes. the MO, who's probably used to seeing hordes of trainees seeking an opportunity to slack off, relented without persuasion and gave me EXCUSED FROM FOOTWEAR till the end of the week!!! :O was shocked and happy when i saw the results of my status :P
and so i skipped the following physical activity (a march), but the immediately-following NIGHT OUT too :'( because status personnel cannot have night out :( never mind, i still had lots of pleasure pigging out at the canteen.
and! the higher-ups decreed that there shall be no more SOCs for the rest of the week. oh well, good also la, since everyone just booked out tonight instead of tomorrow morning if there were SOC :D so here i am, typing this at midnight... heh.
3. i hope i get a good posting result. pray for me!
4. Operation *er hem sensitive, non-SAF related information* must not fail! will keep you people updated on its progress in time to come...
5. i listen too exclusively to the same artistes. i must listen to more mainstream western songs so that i can sing on demand ARGH!!!! and that would require memorising lyrics, which i don't :\
okays, gotta sleep now, my dry eyes are back in vogue, curse the dry weather and the winds which blow into my face!
2. i still failed SOC. and my EX shoes and boots plan kind of failed, to some extent. ok, so basically i was to do SOCs till the end of the week. seeing negative improvement in the timing, it was pretty obvious my muscles can't quite take the daily 12+ minutes of strain (yea that's how bad my timing is, but factor in the 1+ min i stop at the low rope obstacle) therefore, i finally saw the MO for my long persisting numbness + odd sensations in my toes. the MO, who's probably used to seeing hordes of trainees seeking an opportunity to slack off, relented without persuasion and gave me EXCUSED FROM FOOTWEAR till the end of the week!!! :O was shocked and happy when i saw the results of my status :P
and so i skipped the following physical activity (a march), but the immediately-following NIGHT OUT too :'( because status personnel cannot have night out :( never mind, i still had lots of pleasure pigging out at the canteen.
and! the higher-ups decreed that there shall be no more SOCs for the rest of the week. oh well, good also la, since everyone just booked out tonight instead of tomorrow morning if there were SOC :D so here i am, typing this at midnight... heh.
3. i hope i get a good posting result. pray for me!
4. Operation *er hem sensitive, non-SAF related information* must not fail! will keep you people updated on its progress in time to come...
5. i listen too exclusively to the same artistes. i must listen to more mainstream western songs so that i can sing on demand ARGH!!!! and that would require memorising lyrics, which i don't :\
okays, gotta sleep now, my dry eyes are back in vogue, curse the dry weather and the winds which blow into my face!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
this is a most fantastic, unbelievable week!
first, i've been worrying like hell about my impending extra (guard) duty, which was to be carried out this week, ever since last saturday. then, to my utter relief, the extra duty was to be on tuesday, hence saving my S$147 dollars and the pleasure of meeting my dear closeknit group of friends :)
BUT, there was to be an SOC period before my guard duty, or was there not? i changed into my SOC attire, when i was called to fall out of the SOC group (YES!!!!!!!) girls may want to ask their guys how horrible SOC can be, if you're still not adjusted to running as fast as you can but not too fast else you'll fail all your obstacles, and how the swing trainer + low rope fails a good number of people (including me). so, no SOC is good!
BUT, my company scheduled its FIRST NIGHT OUT ON TUESDAY!!!!!!! :'( imagine my sadness when i saw my bunkmates book in at 10pm (i was standing at the gate)
during that shift, jeff smsed me saying that yiwei got into NUS architecture! then came and went a flurry of sms-es and phone calls, which flustered my fellow guard duty-mate who reminded me i shouldn't be using the *er hem* phone during duty XD
so anyway, I GOT INTO NUS ARCHITECTURE YESSSSS!!! my life is going according to plan so far :D
the rest of the week was quite ok, just a couple of bumps here and there. like, how i got very irritated with some of my bunkmates for laughing and chatting away at the top of their voices callously, while a few of us were trying to sleep >:( nvm la, i got over it quite soon.
*haiz, dunno why i feel so distant from him, though we've known each other for more than 2 years. is it my fault, or his? haha. i guess our personalities are incompatible, though we're still ok friends, but not close buddies, which in fact, he managed to make, not one but two, and within my section leh! an irrational sense of jealousy comes over me whenever he chooses to ask favours of other people instead of me hahaha! i must be quite ego to think that people ought to be always looking to me first for any help. don't worry i'm not angry or anything with him, but i'm just trying to understand myself a bit better. i suppose i'm too introverted to interact with a lot of people, so i end up being quite selective about my friends in the end. friends meaning those i actually talk to; i'm genial to everyone else, thank you - i'm not the cold kind of person, just (usually) introverted*
ANYWAY, i evantually got my first night out on wednesday! and - oh my gosh - did i spend a hell lot on eating :D ice lemon tea, 2 prima deli pastries, andersen's ice-cream in 2 hours HOHOHO!
random: keeping a ledger has made me a stingy poker lol!
fast forward to friday. did AOC, quite fun, and i could actually climb a rope :D:D:D my confidence is restored!
on the same day, i completed 'the picture of dorian gray' by oscar wilde finally! a big thank-you to jeff, who kindled my interest for literature. i realise i am eligible to read books without feeling a sense of stupidity for not understanding the full meanings of texts. 'dorian gray' by the way, is quite an intriguing book that touches on a lot of philosophical/social issues, such as marriage, role of women, and especially pleasure. a really twisted book, i must say... haha...
and good news to myself: i finally conquered the swing trainer on saturday morning! :D:D realised that you CANNOT sprint your first 700m until you get exhausted, else you have no energy for any obstacle. in the end, my timing was 11:30 (which sucks actually, but considering that my previous timing was something like 13 or even 14 minutes, it's fantastic). now, to pass ALL the obstacles at one go -.- (failed low rope during the rundown, but i could do AOC leh??)
released from captivity at 10am :) rushed to katong mall, watched a rather substandard piano masterclass (fault lies with the performers who lack a LOT of basics) but still, was quite a good refresher to me. i wonder if i do have the potential to do classical music performance hm? nah, just a random thought.
point of going all the way for the masterclass wasn't for the class actually, but to see my lovely ex-piano teacher and yiwei and chen wei :) we ate really sinful stuff after the masterclass, never felt so happy after eating a basic meal for soooo long! fyi, i ate (FAKE) katong laksa (they didn't even snip the noodles short so that you can use only a spoon!) and char kway teow and homemade barley. loved the cockles, i don't know why?? i used to really HATE them as a kid, they got this fishy gooey smell, taste and texture to them. now, i kinda like it being squished in my mouth!? i'm growing up, man. oooh, and any food with lard, for example char kway teow, is SHEER HEAVEN. eating the fried pieces of lard is pleasureable!
held up jeff for quite a while as a result, finally met up with him (yiwei tagged along) and finally set off to bo's birthday bash :) great friends around, great food, great entertainment (consisting of a paid ameteur band and an impromptu performance haha). after watching them play the keyboard, i wonder if i have the musical intelligence to actually play any improvisation up to scratch :'( as you can see, i am bipolar with respect to the confidence of my abilities. i'm probably quite realistic, though.
really miss the company of these people whom i'm so familiar with.
OH SHIT I JUST REMEMBERED. i forgot to take home the peacock mask! sorry teri, heh~
life is so good to me~~~ i really don't think i deserve some of it, really :S
ok need to shower + sleep now, i got the entire day out, again :P singapore poly river raft race (which has become a family tradiiton kind of thing to attend, due to my dad) and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TEEHEHEHEHE *gleaming eyes*
BUT, there was to be an SOC period before my guard duty, or was there not? i changed into my SOC attire, when i was called to fall out of the SOC group (YES!!!!!!!) girls may want to ask their guys how horrible SOC can be, if you're still not adjusted to running as fast as you can but not too fast else you'll fail all your obstacles, and how the swing trainer + low rope fails a good number of people (including me). so, no SOC is good!
BUT, my company scheduled its FIRST NIGHT OUT ON TUESDAY!!!!!!! :'( imagine my sadness when i saw my bunkmates book in at 10pm (i was standing at the gate)
during that shift, jeff smsed me saying that yiwei got into NUS architecture! then came and went a flurry of sms-es and phone calls, which flustered my fellow guard duty-mate who reminded me i shouldn't be using the *er hem* phone during duty XD
so anyway, I GOT INTO NUS ARCHITECTURE YESSSSS!!! my life is going according to plan so far :D
the rest of the week was quite ok, just a couple of bumps here and there. like, how i got very irritated with some of my bunkmates for laughing and chatting away at the top of their voices callously, while a few of us were trying to sleep >:( nvm la, i got over it quite soon.
*haiz, dunno why i feel so distant from him, though we've known each other for more than 2 years. is it my fault, or his? haha. i guess our personalities are incompatible, though we're still ok friends, but not close buddies, which in fact, he managed to make, not one but two, and within my section leh! an irrational sense of jealousy comes over me whenever he chooses to ask favours of other people instead of me hahaha! i must be quite ego to think that people ought to be always looking to me first for any help. don't worry i'm not angry or anything with him, but i'm just trying to understand myself a bit better. i suppose i'm too introverted to interact with a lot of people, so i end up being quite selective about my friends in the end. friends meaning those i actually talk to; i'm genial to everyone else, thank you - i'm not the cold kind of person, just (usually) introverted*
ANYWAY, i evantually got my first night out on wednesday! and - oh my gosh - did i spend a hell lot on eating :D ice lemon tea, 2 prima deli pastries, andersen's ice-cream in 2 hours HOHOHO!
random: keeping a ledger has made me a stingy poker lol!
fast forward to friday. did AOC, quite fun, and i could actually climb a rope :D:D:D my confidence is restored!
on the same day, i completed 'the picture of dorian gray' by oscar wilde finally! a big thank-you to jeff, who kindled my interest for literature. i realise i am eligible to read books without feeling a sense of stupidity for not understanding the full meanings of texts. 'dorian gray' by the way, is quite an intriguing book that touches on a lot of philosophical/social issues, such as marriage, role of women, and especially pleasure. a really twisted book, i must say... haha...
and good news to myself: i finally conquered the swing trainer on saturday morning! :D:D realised that you CANNOT sprint your first 700m until you get exhausted, else you have no energy for any obstacle. in the end, my timing was 11:30 (which sucks actually, but considering that my previous timing was something like 13 or even 14 minutes, it's fantastic). now, to pass ALL the obstacles at one go -.- (failed low rope during the rundown, but i could do AOC leh??)
released from captivity at 10am :) rushed to katong mall, watched a rather substandard piano masterclass (fault lies with the performers who lack a LOT of basics) but still, was quite a good refresher to me. i wonder if i do have the potential to do classical music performance hm? nah, just a random thought.
point of going all the way for the masterclass wasn't for the class actually, but to see my lovely ex-piano teacher and yiwei and chen wei :) we ate really sinful stuff after the masterclass, never felt so happy after eating a basic meal for soooo long! fyi, i ate (FAKE) katong laksa (they didn't even snip the noodles short so that you can use only a spoon!) and char kway teow and homemade barley. loved the cockles, i don't know why?? i used to really HATE them as a kid, they got this fishy gooey smell, taste and texture to them. now, i kinda like it being squished in my mouth!? i'm growing up, man. oooh, and any food with lard, for example char kway teow, is SHEER HEAVEN. eating the fried pieces of lard is pleasureable!
held up jeff for quite a while as a result, finally met up with him (yiwei tagged along) and finally set off to bo's birthday bash :) great friends around, great food, great entertainment (consisting of a paid ameteur band and an impromptu performance haha). after watching them play the keyboard, i wonder if i have the musical intelligence to actually play any improvisation up to scratch :'( as you can see, i am bipolar with respect to the confidence of my abilities. i'm probably quite realistic, though.
really miss the company of these people whom i'm so familiar with.
OH SHIT I JUST REMEMBERED. i forgot to take home the peacock mask! sorry teri, heh~
life is so good to me~~~ i really don't think i deserve some of it, really :S
ok need to shower + sleep now, i got the entire day out, again :P singapore poly river raft race (which has become a family tradiiton kind of thing to attend, due to my dad) and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TEEHEHEHEHE *gleaming eyes*
Monday, May 14, 2007
on sale
anybody wants to watch phantom of the opera?
i may not be able to watch it, because of some stupid thing >:( which isn't totally my fault. i don't even KNOW when during this weekend i'm not free yet!
i'm very pissed about it!!!
anyway, details are as follows:
Sunday, 20th May 2007
2.00 pm
Esplanade Theatre
$147 (incl. of SISTIC charge)
Stall seat (Row O Seat 19)
that's a bloody good seat (the 2nd most expensive one) and it's such a waste if it's not taken up. if you're interested, can you please message me? first come first serve basis hor! oh btw you'll be sitting with bjorn and beow and maybe baldwin (don't know if he bought the ticket or not) and maybe one or two others.
*ack i haven't told bjorn that i may not be able to go*
in the event that i can actually attend the musical (i don't know when i'll know if i can or not) i'll recontact you yea?
sigh. here's bye-bye. till the next weekend, or the following one :(
i may not be able to watch it, because of some stupid thing >:( which isn't totally my fault. i don't even KNOW when during this weekend i'm not free yet!
i'm very pissed about it!!!
anyway, details are as follows:
Sunday, 20th May 2007
2.00 pm
Esplanade Theatre
$147 (incl. of SISTIC charge)
Stall seat (Row O Seat 19)
that's a bloody good seat (the 2nd most expensive one) and it's such a waste if it's not taken up. if you're interested, can you please message me? first come first serve basis hor! oh btw you'll be sitting with bjorn and beow and maybe baldwin (don't know if he bought the ticket or not) and maybe one or two others.
*ack i haven't told bjorn that i may not be able to go*
in the event that i can actually attend the musical (i don't know when i'll know if i can or not) i'll recontact you yea?
sigh. here's bye-bye. till the next weekend, or the following one :(
Sunday, May 13, 2007
one month late
sorry bjorn, i've been putting this on hold for so long haha! anyway, i think i'm beginning to idolise his qualities!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Lo
he's professional singer, composer, producer and graphic designer! (plus, he's bilingual!) and he was 29 when he launched his professional singing career (2005)... i didn't think that older singers would be as well-received as younger ones who just emerged from the teeny-bopper stage haha... i think he's proof to me that i can pursue what i intend to do: get a design-related degree and moonlight as some sort of musician. woots!
back to the music! being somewhat partial to RnB/pop(ular) music, i quite like his song arrangements. like "erica" where he integrated a cappella elements into the song, now that appeals to my choral background! basically good mainstream music, style-wise very typical of mandopop.
hacken lee's music gives a nice twist to the kind of music i usually hear. got influences from all over the place, like classical Western and Oriental music... and i like the elegant saxophone introductions to some of his songs, makes me think of classy restaurants... i'm beginning to form this conclusion that cantopop is mainly ballads, or at least the cantonese i know (bjorn, my cousins) like to listen to ballads haha!
thanks bjorn for lending me your CDs in your efforts to educate me in cantonese lol! i'll review the other artistes soon :) like vincy and edmond leung (interesting airy tone). i think my only exposure to the dialect is when i go back to malaysia, which happens only about twice a year (and due to NS i can't find time to go back. shit.)
somehow i find the inflections of the dialect so befitting of pop melodies, better than mandarin, hmm...
meanwhile, my dear classical-only friend is going to explore new genres of music, going over to his place to exchange my CDs for his WTC (well tempered clavier) by JS Bach :) i remember being spellbound by a recording of prelude no.12 in F minor book I (played that for DipABRSM) by... err Argerich i think, eh no, aiyah can't recall already, i don't even have that recording :(
still haven't found the perfect songs to lend him. he likes relaxing/soothing music, and i'm supposed to find pop/RnB/rock music that's soothing?? i think he needs classical pop (crossover) music. i like hayley westenra and charlotte church and sarah brightmann and russell watson and josh groban and... although i must confess i don't listen to them much, an occasional hearing is always so pleasant.
currently listening to: shiina ringo/the cantopop CDs i got
soon listening to: rachael yamagata/hayley westenra (when i get hold of their albums)
*i realise i prefer listening to female voices. hm.*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Lo
he's professional singer, composer, producer and graphic designer! (plus, he's bilingual!) and he was 29 when he launched his professional singing career (2005)... i didn't think that older singers would be as well-received as younger ones who just emerged from the teeny-bopper stage haha... i think he's proof to me that i can pursue what i intend to do: get a design-related degree and moonlight as some sort of musician. woots!
back to the music! being somewhat partial to RnB/pop(ular) music, i quite like his song arrangements. like "erica" where he integrated a cappella elements into the song, now that appeals to my choral background! basically good mainstream music, style-wise very typical of mandopop.
hacken lee's music gives a nice twist to the kind of music i usually hear. got influences from all over the place, like classical Western and Oriental music... and i like the elegant saxophone introductions to some of his songs, makes me think of classy restaurants... i'm beginning to form this conclusion that cantopop is mainly ballads, or at least the cantonese i know (bjorn, my cousins) like to listen to ballads haha!
thanks bjorn for lending me your CDs in your efforts to educate me in cantonese lol! i'll review the other artistes soon :) like vincy and edmond leung (interesting airy tone). i think my only exposure to the dialect is when i go back to malaysia, which happens only about twice a year (and due to NS i can't find time to go back. shit.)
somehow i find the inflections of the dialect so befitting of pop melodies, better than mandarin, hmm...
meanwhile, my dear classical-only friend is going to explore new genres of music, going over to his place to exchange my CDs for his WTC (well tempered clavier) by JS Bach :) i remember being spellbound by a recording of prelude no.12 in F minor book I (played that for DipABRSM) by... err Argerich i think, eh no, aiyah can't recall already, i don't even have that recording :(
still haven't found the perfect songs to lend him. he likes relaxing/soothing music, and i'm supposed to find pop/RnB/rock music that's soothing?? i think he needs classical pop (crossover) music. i like hayley westenra and charlotte church and sarah brightmann and russell watson and josh groban and... although i must confess i don't listen to them much, an occasional hearing is always so pleasant.
currently listening to: shiina ringo/the cantopop CDs i got
soon listening to: rachael yamagata/hayley westenra (when i get hold of their albums)
*i realise i prefer listening to female voices. hm.*
Saturday, May 12, 2007
many things
You're a Fine Arts!
Career Interest Inventory
Brought to you by Tickle
just to reconfirm (again!?) that i am really, truly interested in what i am interested in right now.
i can't believe that an interview can create self-doubts. zzz. if the wisdom and intuition from a 60-year-old man is to be taken seriously, that is. well, it's true that i enjoy music the most - very interesting to try to deconstruct the music in the head as it's being played *brainy look* - BUT! must my career be suited to my greatest passion? people who are most passionate about their work do the best, definitely. however, there are practical reasons to consider. what do i do with a degree in music???
"why don't you consider becoming a music teacher?"
simple. too young to consider teaching as a career (give me 20+ years and i'll seriously consider teaching), and i'm presently interested in exploring and expanding my abilities, such as going into breadths and depths of creative fields. AND, becoming a teacher at 25 isn't quite a wonderful choice, both for the teacher and the student, since the teacher is only trained in academic areas and do not know much about the working (corporate?) world which would have enriched the student.
(apologies to any teacher-wannabes for my negativity)
don't worry, i'm not upset about rejections or what, i'm just:
1. puzzled why i got all the way into the final round(s) of selection
2. as puzzled why i was quizzed on relatively straightforward things during the final round of selection (i suppose the sceptical panel decided to give me a chance to prove myself during the panel interview, and i screwed it up la)
as a bystander, on second thoughts the interview was quite amusing in a sad(istic) way...
"good afternoon"
*door clicks*
As Clifford sits down, Mr Chairman asks "are you born in Singapore? Where are your parents from? Where was your brother born?"
Now, this takes the cake. The other active interviewer (ie. the one who pops the questions) asked "What will you do if Malaysia and Singapore had a war?"
*Shit. I've asked myself this exact same question millions of times, but never could find a satisfactory answer. Now, i almost wanted to say i would have run away from both singapore and malaysia to a neutral country, but that would be selfish and irresponsible, so my answer was an ambiguous, indirect 'i don't know'*
"Why not fight for Singapore? anyway you'll be fighting against the regimented m'sian army, you wouldn't be killing your relatives..."
OK I SCREWED UP THIS PART BADLY. i FAILED TO REALISE, at that point of time, that the m'sian army protects my relatives!?!?!? i just smiled at the interviewer. oh, how foolish!
so from then on, the interview went from bad to worse to the WORST interview i ever had lol!
at least i remembered who designed the new supreme court! see, mugging a bit about what you intend to study helps (although i didn't expect to be asked about such stuff in the P*cough*SC interview - was mugging for the NUS archi interview, which was cancelled for reasons i don't know) BUT, i did myself in for saying he also designed new york ground zero, what the hell. (libeskind did it, not norman foster!)
ANYWAYS, i'm probably one of a few (rotten) mavericks who managed to infiltrate the heavily fortified defences of the P*cenSored*C selection process! I must have pissed the The Chairman off! now, who, but me (unintentionally!), would dare to offend the head honcho who's in command of the civil servants! :O
that aside, i'm so darn glad my field camp is over! this one was terrible, really (and i thought the previous few were quite good). because of a nearly 30-km journey around tekong (the exercise is appropriately named 'wanderer') and 2 days of doing the same activities O_o and a big thank-you to my sect comm, who sacrificed his chance find for me to save my sorry ass, big time!
shit la, may have to forego so many good things next weekend for a stupid, forgetful thing i did. at the cost of my best company of friends and S$147!!!!!!!!!! that sucks, right?
ok, no more time for talking, going off to eat dinner w/ my brother now! will update soon!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
is this how you write a poem?
my first attempt after my silly little haiku written in primary 4.
it (the primary 4 haiku) is something like:
beautiful apple
*description about its appearance*
juicy and tasty (or something similar about its taste)
***
what am i thinking?
i must open up
my heart
cannot lose any more
maybe i'll forget
~memory fade
no, not forget,
rather,
put aside
cannot take back what has happened
things won't be the same for me
it's because of me
not you
will time help
give me some
please
don't take offence
there's a part of you in me
***
omg, i managed to smoke a few stanzas! :O a pretty great achievement for me, since i have a mild phobia of language, i think owing to my disastrous primary/secondary school language results.
can you imagine getting 60+ for primary four english!?
it's not easy leh, i learnt all sorts of funky tenses (past participle?? perfect/past perfect or whatever-it-is-called) and parts of speech and REPORTED SPEECH and other types of words e.g. gerunds (i bet you don't know what that is!). english is a TORTUROUS language to master, in terms of grammar. i vouch for that, even until today (my SAT I result is a proof).
tangent: the english language test i took in sec 3, conducted by UNSW, was quite shocking to me because i got a high distinction in it. was expecting merit or something.
on the other hand, chinese is a total CHORE if you don't like the language (well, i didn't like it in primary school). memorising so many words and not even knowing what form it is (noun/adj/etc) spells ungrammatical sentences and hence low marks. it must have been divine intervention that helped me qualify for primary school higher chinese (phew.)
thank goodness for my wonderful secondary school chinese teachers! i had exceptional chinese teachers throughout my secondary school life :D
anyway, i'm trying to make up for my (perceived?) weakness in language, you know! :) ever since j1 i've started the habit of picking up chinese books or magazines (i-Weekly) to read, just to keep in touch with the language. My Paper (Wo Bao) is particularly good for HCL students, because it contains words which are explained in english, and the words tend to be very relevant to the HCL syllabus. as for english, i think the GP notes are quite enough, haha. of course i'm reading some novel, will talk more about that when i've read more.
ok, it's getting very late, must sleep, there's a ex-class gathering later at 1030am. if i don't sleep my mind will get cranky :
it (the primary 4 haiku) is something like:
beautiful apple
*description about its appearance*
juicy and tasty (or something similar about its taste)
***
what am i thinking?
i must open up
my heart
cannot lose any more
maybe i'll forget
~memory fade
no, not forget,
rather,
put aside
cannot take back what has happened
things won't be the same for me
it's because of me
not you
will time help
give me some
please
don't take offence
there's a part of you in me
***
omg, i managed to smoke a few stanzas! :O a pretty great achievement for me, since i have a mild phobia of language, i think owing to my disastrous primary/secondary school language results.
can you imagine getting 60+ for primary four english!?
it's not easy leh, i learnt all sorts of funky tenses (past participle?? perfect/past perfect or whatever-it-is-called) and parts of speech and REPORTED SPEECH and other types of words e.g. gerunds (i bet you don't know what that is!). english is a TORTUROUS language to master, in terms of grammar. i vouch for that, even until today (my SAT I result is a proof).
tangent: the english language test i took in sec 3, conducted by UNSW, was quite shocking to me because i got a high distinction in it. was expecting merit or something.
on the other hand, chinese is a total CHORE if you don't like the language (well, i didn't like it in primary school). memorising so many words and not even knowing what form it is (noun/adj/etc) spells ungrammatical sentences and hence low marks. it must have been divine intervention that helped me qualify for primary school higher chinese (phew.)
thank goodness for my wonderful secondary school chinese teachers! i had exceptional chinese teachers throughout my secondary school life :D
anyway, i'm trying to make up for my (perceived?) weakness in language, you know! :) ever since j1 i've started the habit of picking up chinese books or magazines (i-Weekly) to read, just to keep in touch with the language. My Paper (Wo Bao) is particularly good for HCL students, because it contains words which are explained in english, and the words tend to be very relevant to the HCL syllabus. as for english, i think the GP notes are quite enough, haha. of course i'm reading some novel, will talk more about that when i've read more.
ok, it's getting very late, must sleep, there's a ex-class gathering later at 1030am. if i don't sleep my mind will get cranky :
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