Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to mi, Happy Birthday to me!!!!
A new year of fun teenage time.
On monday, my form and co-form teacher had bought a birthday cake for the January babies and i was one of them. How sweet!! I was rather surprised, cuz it didn't happen to me before. There were three others. Taifung's on the thirteen, Xiao Lu's on the sixteen, mine on the seventeen and Edgar's...dunno when. Anyway, it's really sweet of the teachers. Thank you all sooo much!!!!!!! Today, after school, Venessa passed me a drawing block card , decorated on the front and classmates well wishes on the inside. How touching! This is also the first time i'm having such an experience and i find it fun and memorable instead of presents, presents everywhere. I will certainly treasure that, you mark my words.
Birthday girl
kah mun
Thursday 17 January 2008
Tuesday 15 January 2008
A day turned bad
I was counting the days to my birthday and this devastating news hit me right smack on my face. Wu Xiao Zhong, the chinese orchestra sheng/suona teacher i had respected a lot, had passed away.
The first reaction my body makes is to freeze, and my mind was running like a debate tournament, to which if this is true or not (in which i sincerely hope its not). As fate would not have it, after the CCA, the conductor pulled us to a corner to confirm this terrible news.
Later things became hazy, i remember staring at a crack in the wall while the conductor droned on and on. Then, we went down to the toilet at the first floor, where i finally let my pent-up tears flow. I really can't believe it. Can'tcan'tcan'tcan'tcan't!!!!!!! This was so not true!! I cried and cried in what seemed that had never happened for a long time. The tears would have filled buckets and hiccups knocked on the walls of my throat.
Wu lao shi was a great teacher to us-me, Xiao Yun, Janice and Vivan- sheng players. Although we had some arguments that left each other unhappy, we had shared a bond. He was patient and understanding, i remembered him willing to spend extra time (when he was already so busy) to help us with our last minute parts (3 days before SYF 2007). I also remembered that that was the last time we had a lesson with him.
I did not have much of a good impression of him the first time he taught me. He had ask us to play a part of a song we hadn't learnt and left us there, while he teach some new students. However, as he took us for classes(CCA) every week, i found out that he was not what i thought he was. He was always encouraging us whenever we did not manage with our parts of the song well. He would also praised us when we did well, and i remembered it gave me loads of encouragment and courage to learn songs and stay in the orchestra.
I remember a time before SYF 2007, when the conductor recommended us to apply for extra lessons at her music school. But when we reached there, i realised there is money involved and called up my parents. Unfortunately, they do not allow and threw me into a fix which sent tears to my eyes. After a talk with my father, the conductor get the idea that i was not allowed to apply . But Wu lao shi offered to teach me for free that night and i was really grateful to him. At that time, he looked teacher cum fatherly to me and i felt comfortable and relaxed when he was teaching. After the class, as it was raining cats and dogs, he also offered to drive us to the nearest MRT station, which we gratefully accepted.
Even though he had only been with us for only five months (Dec 06 to April 07), each of us has fostered a sense of community with each other and with Wu lao shi. Each of us felt a sense of dread when the conductor confirmed the news...
He deceased on the 9th of January 2008, due to a fall which half paralysed him on 8th of January. Had set up a blog in memory of him. http://dedicationtowuxiaozhong.blogspot.com/
The first reaction my body makes is to freeze, and my mind was running like a debate tournament, to which if this is true or not (in which i sincerely hope its not). As fate would not have it, after the CCA, the conductor pulled us to a corner to confirm this terrible news.
Later things became hazy, i remember staring at a crack in the wall while the conductor droned on and on. Then, we went down to the toilet at the first floor, where i finally let my pent-up tears flow. I really can't believe it. Can'tcan'tcan'tcan'tcan't!!!!!!! This was so not true!! I cried and cried in what seemed that had never happened for a long time. The tears would have filled buckets and hiccups knocked on the walls of my throat.
Wu lao shi was a great teacher to us-me, Xiao Yun, Janice and Vivan- sheng players. Although we had some arguments that left each other unhappy, we had shared a bond. He was patient and understanding, i remembered him willing to spend extra time (when he was already so busy) to help us with our last minute parts (3 days before SYF 2007). I also remembered that that was the last time we had a lesson with him.
I did not have much of a good impression of him the first time he taught me. He had ask us to play a part of a song we hadn't learnt and left us there, while he teach some new students. However, as he took us for classes(CCA) every week, i found out that he was not what i thought he was. He was always encouraging us whenever we did not manage with our parts of the song well. He would also praised us when we did well, and i remembered it gave me loads of encouragment and courage to learn songs and stay in the orchestra.
I remember a time before SYF 2007, when the conductor recommended us to apply for extra lessons at her music school. But when we reached there, i realised there is money involved and called up my parents. Unfortunately, they do not allow and threw me into a fix which sent tears to my eyes. After a talk with my father, the conductor get the idea that i was not allowed to apply . But Wu lao shi offered to teach me for free that night and i was really grateful to him. At that time, he looked teacher cum fatherly to me and i felt comfortable and relaxed when he was teaching. After the class, as it was raining cats and dogs, he also offered to drive us to the nearest MRT station, which we gratefully accepted.
Even though he had only been with us for only five months (Dec 06 to April 07), each of us has fostered a sense of community with each other and with Wu lao shi. Each of us felt a sense of dread when the conductor confirmed the news...
He deceased on the 9th of January 2008, due to a fall which half paralysed him on 8th of January. Had set up a blog in memory of him. http://dedicationtowuxiaozhong.blogspot.com/
Wednesday 9 January 2008
New Year New Beginnings Old sads
It's a new year (9 days late...) and of course Happy New Year Everyone!
I started this new year in a new class and new subjects which includes,
1.English (duh)
2.Chinese (duhduh)
3.Elementary Mathematics (which is not at all elementary as it sounds...)
4.Additional Mathmatics (which we haven't started on yet...)
5.Pure Chemistry (a must)
6.Pure Biology (oooh...i love this subject)
7. Pure Geography (my fav!!!)
8. Elective History (no comment)
9.Social studies (no comment either...)
10.MSP aka Malay Special Programme
Today after school, we had MSP and our new teacher, Cikgu Salina, proposed to set up a blog on our class (seventeen of us) in malay and in which we were able to interact and converse in malay to help us improve in this subject. After all we would be taking O'levels for it. So the blog was set up and the address is : http://www.mspatnchs.blogspot.com/ . It is formed like this, 'msp' is (duh!) this language i am learning now, 'at' is...ok it's obvious. Lastly 'nchs' is the acronym of my school. In that, each of us posted one post each and there is a group photo of the eighteen of us including of the teacher. Today was just our second lesson and i already find it quite enjoyable.
To dampen my spirits, i remembered yesterday's unhappiness which comes from-you guessed it-Chinese Orchestra aka CO. The conductor came in and yadda yadda yadda about this and that-which you might get it if you read my previous posts-and she really went so far as to actually group us according to our capabilities. There were six groups-Chinese flute, Erhu, Strings, Cello and Double bass, percussion and lastly my group, Sheng and Suona (in which currently has no suona players in it).
Do you whats our rank?............last, "GREAT". I get it: we are so bad that even the percussion are better than us. Self esteem sucks. This brought up a problem that i thought resolved after the SYF last year, -(we were training so hard and as each part of the song is important, so are the players. Before the SYF, i had a self esteem problem with CO. I constantly (and maybe my pathner in same instrument (PSI) did too) felt that the orchestra 'left us out' and i always had trouble properly playing my allocated parts until the SYF, when we were 'last minute' given the parts of the suona and managed to master it in time for the compeitition.
This 'heavy burden' made us feel proud and at last, important and felt in the orchestra family.)- However this was not to last till yesterday when this unhappy thingy happened. The conducter 'curtly' tell us that because our 2 juniors,(who were playing the zhongyin sheng),were not good and that the 2 of us gaoyin sheng were not very good, that's why we were placed last. Crap i tell you they are. The 2 juniors who did not do well is not entirely their fault. Ever since they joined the orchestra last year, they were always neglected by the sectional teachers as they were busy teaching the new suona students.
Results?
1.New suona students did not perform at SYF simply because they 'could not take the pressure' and all efforts came to naught.
2. 2 junior's enthusiasm was depleted, they simply had no interest in learning the instrument anymore.
3. We got placed last.(in the orchestra family)
Easy as that. You might ask why i care sooo much, last, so what, no big deal, if you know yourself to be good then good it is. But no, it's not that simple. If psycological stuff (emotions and feelings of people), are so easy to understand and cure, why would we need to study it?
Ok fine, the four of us knew somewhere we were ranked among the bottom somewhere in our hearts but does the conductor need to make it so obvious? It's not as if we thought that we were very good and all...but hey, we have feelings for goddness' sake you noe! We can't possibly take and swallow such a blow. Now I'm intimidated by the better orchestra players again...
someone help me
kah mun
I started this new year in a new class and new subjects which includes,
1.English (duh)
2.Chinese (duhduh)
3.Elementary Mathematics (which is not at all elementary as it sounds...)
4.Additional Mathmatics (which we haven't started on yet...)
5.Pure Chemistry (a must)
6.Pure Biology (oooh...i love this subject)
7. Pure Geography (my fav!!!)
8. Elective History (no comment)
9.Social studies (no comment either...)
10.MSP aka Malay Special Programme
Today after school, we had MSP and our new teacher, Cikgu Salina, proposed to set up a blog on our class (seventeen of us) in malay and in which we were able to interact and converse in malay to help us improve in this subject. After all we would be taking O'levels for it. So the blog was set up and the address is : http://www.mspatnchs.blogspot.com/ . It is formed like this, 'msp' is (duh!) this language i am learning now, 'at' is...ok it's obvious. Lastly 'nchs' is the acronym of my school. In that, each of us posted one post each and there is a group photo of the eighteen of us including of the teacher. Today was just our second lesson and i already find it quite enjoyable.
To dampen my spirits, i remembered yesterday's unhappiness which comes from-you guessed it-Chinese Orchestra aka CO. The conductor came in and yadda yadda yadda about this and that-which you might get it if you read my previous posts-and she really went so far as to actually group us according to our capabilities. There were six groups-Chinese flute, Erhu, Strings, Cello and Double bass, percussion and lastly my group, Sheng and Suona (in which currently has no suona players in it).
Do you whats our rank?............last, "GREAT". I get it: we are so bad that even the percussion are better than us. Self esteem sucks. This brought up a problem that i thought resolved after the SYF last year, -(we were training so hard and as each part of the song is important, so are the players. Before the SYF, i had a self esteem problem with CO. I constantly (and maybe my pathner in same instrument (PSI) did too) felt that the orchestra 'left us out' and i always had trouble properly playing my allocated parts until the SYF, when we were 'last minute' given the parts of the suona and managed to master it in time for the compeitition.
This 'heavy burden' made us feel proud and at last, important and felt in the orchestra family.)- However this was not to last till yesterday when this unhappy thingy happened. The conducter 'curtly' tell us that because our 2 juniors,(who were playing the zhongyin sheng),were not good and that the 2 of us gaoyin sheng were not very good, that's why we were placed last. Crap i tell you they are. The 2 juniors who did not do well is not entirely their fault. Ever since they joined the orchestra last year, they were always neglected by the sectional teachers as they were busy teaching the new suona students.
Results?
1.New suona students did not perform at SYF simply because they 'could not take the pressure' and all efforts came to naught.
2. 2 junior's enthusiasm was depleted, they simply had no interest in learning the instrument anymore.
3. We got placed last.(in the orchestra family)
Easy as that. You might ask why i care sooo much, last, so what, no big deal, if you know yourself to be good then good it is. But no, it's not that simple. If psycological stuff (emotions and feelings of people), are so easy to understand and cure, why would we need to study it?
Ok fine, the four of us knew somewhere we were ranked among the bottom somewhere in our hearts but does the conductor need to make it so obvious? It's not as if we thought that we were very good and all...but hey, we have feelings for goddness' sake you noe! We can't possibly take and swallow such a blow. Now I'm intimidated by the better orchestra players again...
someone help me
kah mun
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