Being late for morning classes is becoming more of a habit for me lately. Just on Tuesday, I woke up at 8am to rush for an 8.30am class. I did not think much of the reasons until this thought struck me as I was trying to wake up this morning.
Phone Alarm went, "We have all the time in the world... Time enough for life...To unfold.. All the precious things love has in store.. "
Maybe that was why I always snoozed my alarm for at least 1/2 hour. It is an incredible and beautiful song (We Have All The Time In The World) by Louis Armstrong. I set it as my alarm ring tone since last December. I think it's the psychological effect of listening to the same first phrase every morning which caused me to develop my tardiness for morning classes. Enough of excuses said.
__________
Last lesson of the week ended today and I welcome yet another break - the Mid-term recess. Kind of a misnomer as this is, as usual, more of a period to catch up with project work instead of taking a real break.
Days after the Chinese New Year break weren't as hectic and stressful as previous semesters. The difference could be attributed to the relatively much lighter workload that came with only 4.5 modules, and no more band practices. 'Highlights' of my life in the previous weeks include:
Week 7 (starting 18 Feb)
- Wed: Finished my case study write up on Zara Fashion + journal for PH module.
- Tues: Watched a few presentations by Steve Jobs. Once again, moved by his speech given at Stanford's Commencement 2005 where he talked about seeking for the things you love to do, and possessing the faith in your life events that they will someday lead you to where you are happy to be.
- Tues: Learnt parallel parking for the first time, when I had only learnt normal parking one week ago! Not that I was good at that. Think I'm beginning to develop serious doubts and losing confidence in my driving instructor's ability to guide my through my pass on my first try.
- Mon: Gave a presentation which obtained good reviews from the prof (Yay!). Grades ka-ching! Oh yah. One group member forgot totally about the presentation and wore casual. Wth.. *See below*
Week 6 (starting 11 Feb)
- No project meetings this week. Wow! Quite rare.. Wahaha.
- Finished case study write up on Apple Inc. Which was why I was inspired to view Steve Jobs presentation. He and his team from Apple are really brilliant innovators.
- Finished FI assignment
- Tues: Learnt parking for driving for the first time.
- Mon: Presentation postponed. Just as well. A miscommunication with my group members left me the only one wearing casual attire. The rest wore business attire. Wth..
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
Lunar New Year
Happy Lunar New Year to all~!
Been slacking too much over the Chinese New Year break.
Think I need to find a very compelling reason to motivate or to push me into shifting into higher gears.
And I think I slept too much too. To the extent that I can actually remember the 3 different dreams I have in one day. My last nap today wasn't intentional though. Read a fixed income text which sent me swiftly to ZzzLand.
Now, I'm working on a stupid part for my BP presentation on the coming Monday. It taught me a lesson not to be late for meetings again. Arrived just in time to hear the next meeting's agenda and receive my assigned question which turned the toughest in the case studies. "Make a brief comparison between ISO certification and Singapore Quality Class certification". WTF. There's no text for it. Have to slog through the ISO website and SPRING Singapore website and to make sense of the massive amount of information presented to me. Learnt quite a fair bit of interesting stuff which is useful for business management in the future. However, the fact that I have already spent 3 hours on something which I have yet to complete is depressing. Not to mention I have already come across information which can easily answer the other questions.
Been slacking too much over the Chinese New Year break.
Think I need to find a very compelling reason to motivate or to push me into shifting into higher gears.
And I think I slept too much too. To the extent that I can actually remember the 3 different dreams I have in one day. My last nap today wasn't intentional though. Read a fixed income text which sent me swiftly to ZzzLand.
Now, I'm working on a stupid part for my BP presentation on the coming Monday. It taught me a lesson not to be late for meetings again. Arrived just in time to hear the next meeting's agenda and receive my assigned question which turned the toughest in the case studies. "Make a brief comparison between ISO certification and Singapore Quality Class certification". WTF. There's no text for it. Have to slog through the ISO website and SPRING Singapore website and to make sense of the massive amount of information presented to me. Learnt quite a fair bit of interesting stuff which is useful for business management in the future. However, the fact that I have already spent 3 hours on something which I have yet to complete is depressing. Not to mention I have already come across information which can easily answer the other questions.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Ay Caramba~!
And it was over in a flash.
Come to think of it. The concert time is even shorter than our usual rehearsals, which could go on for up to 3 hours.
This is the view from my seat.
Well, it did look kind of intimidating. In fact, I should feel a bit intimidated, considering that this is my first formal performance playing an euphonium. Surprisingly (and fortunately), I didn't.
Maybe because this was what I actually saw all the time.
This was also the first when I didn't get the chance to look at the audience. As a percussionist, you would definitely, at some point of time, have the luxury of time to scan through the audience slowly, and observed your fellow band members. As a wind player, I found myself looking at the score + conductor almost the entire time.
It also helped when I couldn't really notice the audience's presence once the lights were dimmed. In some concert halls, it would seem almost entirely dark in front. It felt exactly like a rehearsal, where you played to an empty room, except that you had the pressure to play everything right.
More importantly, all the hard work placed during the intensive practices made sure I do not feel nervous for the performance. Tmd. Practised until so hard, averaging 12 hours each week. Just want to heck care, and play to get it over and done with. Just kidding.
I did feel confident that we (and I) would pull this concert off. And we did - with a bang. Maybe there were a few glitches but no human is perfect. Encore cries sounded a bit like 'planted' ones. In any case, I felt good and proud after the performance. Personally enjoyed the extended applauses we received after our major works and the more entertaining pieces. Hurray!
Darn. Forgot to take one of myself with my instrument. Oh well.
More (selected) photos coming right up, once I get hold of the ones taken by others. Should be plenty to get hold of, considering the extended photo-whoring sessions we had after the concert.
Come to think of it. The concert time is even shorter than our usual rehearsals, which could go on for up to 3 hours.
This is the view from my seat.
Well, it did look kind of intimidating. In fact, I should feel a bit intimidated, considering that this is my first formal performance playing an euphonium. Surprisingly (and fortunately), I didn't.
Maybe because this was what I actually saw all the time.
This was also the first when I didn't get the chance to look at the audience. As a percussionist, you would definitely, at some point of time, have the luxury of time to scan through the audience slowly, and observed your fellow band members. As a wind player, I found myself looking at the score + conductor almost the entire time.
It also helped when I couldn't really notice the audience's presence once the lights were dimmed. In some concert halls, it would seem almost entirely dark in front. It felt exactly like a rehearsal, where you played to an empty room, except that you had the pressure to play everything right.
More importantly, all the hard work placed during the intensive practices made sure I do not feel nervous for the performance. Tmd. Practised until so hard, averaging 12 hours each week. Just want to heck care, and play to get it over and done with. Just kidding.
I did feel confident that we (and I) would pull this concert off. And we did - with a bang. Maybe there were a few glitches but no human is perfect. Encore cries sounded a bit like 'planted' ones. In any case, I felt good and proud after the performance. Personally enjoyed the extended applauses we received after our major works and the more entertaining pieces. Hurray!
Darn. Forgot to take one of myself with my instrument. Oh well.
More (selected) photos coming right up, once I get hold of the ones taken by others. Should be plenty to get hold of, considering the extended photo-whoring sessions we had after the concert.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Concert's tomorrow
I believe this concert will turn out to be the best in my university band life, for many reasons. For one, I was so moved by what we played for Malaguena and El Camino Real during our rehearsal. Goose pimples quality (It only occurs when I hear something really good).
More importantly, it feels great to see how the band has grown since I first joined it in Sept 2005. To see how people from my batch remain passionate about music and the development of the band. And to see how we manage to attract and bond with more people within our Symphonia family.
Concert is tomorrow. For some weird reasons, it feels just like any normal school days to me. There is no stress or anxiety in me over what is going to happen tomorrow. And yah, I have not even checked if I have the attire for the occasion. Heck care. I'm just going there to enjoy myself, and hopefully, as a band, we can draw the audience into our mood.
Would this be my last concert? I don't really know. But right now, I'm enjoying myself too much to say no to that question. Ay Caramba!
More importantly, it feels great to see how the band has grown since I first joined it in Sept 2005. To see how people from my batch remain passionate about music and the development of the band. And to see how we manage to attract and bond with more people within our Symphonia family.
Concert is tomorrow. For some weird reasons, it feels just like any normal school days to me. There is no stress or anxiety in me over what is going to happen tomorrow. And yah, I have not even checked if I have the attire for the occasion. Heck care. I'm just going there to enjoy myself, and hopefully, as a band, we can draw the audience into our mood.
Would this be my last concert? I don't really know. But right now, I'm enjoying myself too much to say no to that question. Ay Caramba!
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