December 10, 2005
gold*
i intended to post an entry charged with emotion, because the experience we had at genting highlands was pretty mind-blowing. but it would be hard as it's impossible for me to regurgitate every single detail that took place. after all, there's certainly a difference between being there and experiencing the various events, and reading it off people's blogs.
throughout the entire week, all of us were on a steep learning curve. we learnt from our mistakes, differences, and lessons. we learnt to bond, made new friends, and forged close bonds among people. we played, screamed, shrieked, had fun, talked our hearts out and laughed. we gained a lot from this experience, but we suffered losses all the same. spirits were dampened, and there was discomfort amongst friends as temperaments were shown and facades were removed. well, i guess it's just swings and roundabouts.
all in all, the whole experience was truly unforgettable, and it was something worthy to be etched on my memory forever. i'm glad our band came back to singapore with smiles on their weary faces because i'm sure every single one of them enjoyed themselves with the utmost fun. i wouldn't trade anything for that, i swear =)
before i start my ramblings on anything, i need to be thankful for everyone who made this trip possible and enjoyable. ms sia for not forsaking us at any point in time, the teachers i/c who tried their best to watch over us by checking our rooms after lights-out on the first night (haha right), the exco (especially jun and kailing for standing strong for all of us), the seniors for their encouragements and support, and every mjcsb member for putting in so much effort in their practices thus making our gold with distinction award possible =))
i have so much to say! and i haven't got clue on how and where to start.
i liked the fact that our lights-out timings got later each night, and that the clarinet section finally has a full section photo =) i liked it when mr minowa praised vincent for his marvellous clarinet solo and when mr noname said that clarinets' high notes were very nice =) i smile to myself all the time as i recall how we cheered and shouted when they showed the scores of our set and choice pieces
before penalty. 443/500 for the former and 453/500 for the latter =) the title isn't important cause we all know in our hearts that we ARE the best band there. i'm glad because all of ms sia's and our efforts paid off, and i'm happy for the fact that everyone stood by each other during trying times.
the band experience alone is extremely awesome. therefore needless to say, the fun we had with our friends and sections is quite unimaginable. sarah and i only managed to sleep well on the first night because we had people crashing our rooms till uncivilised hours on subsequent nights. and i never knew that abigail could screamed so loudly until that night when she crashed charity's room to play cards. i wouldn't know that sarah actually likes to laze in bed if she wasn't my room partner!
we spent an immense amount of time taking numerous photos, and i think i'm gonna have a hard time getting people to send me the photos now. maybe i'll post a photolog soon. after all, a picture says a thousand words =)
yu know, i've never seen mjcsb so bonded. haha i wouldn't think that all of us would actually be willing to sing out our parts the night before the competition when ms sia told us to. it's really quite impressive, with everyone singing their own parts for noah's ark coupled with dynamics and articulation =) and i've never seen us so driven and motivated to clinch our desired award. during the competition we just went up and really gave our best shot and i swear that was the best noah's ark we've ever played. the storm part made quite an impact on me and i was seriously having goosebumps! and all the soloists (justin, hong wei, vincent, xiao jun, and more?) did great of course. all percussionists too! i've always considered percussionists as soloists cause they do play individual parts all the time. oh yes, and donovan's f-horn part was good too. haha, basically we just rocked the house man! hahahahah, i couldn't have been more proud. mjcsb is love! =)
nothing would have been possible without ms sia. her persistence, her strong pursuit for excellence, her encouragements, her love for the band and everything! i liked the way she fought for us so our actual scores (before penalty) could be shown to the world since the organisation was transparent with the marks, and i thank her for believing in us. it really touched my heart when she cried and blamed herself for the cause of our penalty. but she was certainly not the cause. without her, we'd be nothing.
these five days really slipped away
too quickly. if only time could be put on hold. i don't mind going back there again though the weather is cold thus making it a total chore to bathe. and the cafeteria sucks to the core and it looks more like a canteen. and the pressure is so high up there that it makes it difficult to hold long notes and i sound like a gas leakage.
the fun we had, the new friendships made, the bond we had and will continue to have, and the overall experience are irreplaceable.
band no. 3, meridian junior college -
gold with distinction =)
Thoughts Aloud at
1:20:00 pm