Before I type a post too long to see the end, I guess I'll put this here first:
moved- to http://transcendingpeace.wordpress.com

I was just looking back at some of my previous blog posts today. Previous meaning from the start, in 2006. It's been a long way I've gone through these 2 and a half years. And I remember saying this in one of the posts. That I'll one day, look back and realize how immature I once was. And this indeed has come true. At least I was right about one thing at that time :D. But then, it wouldn't be my fault would it? We all were once young, and then we change as we grow older. I must say these 2 years have involved a lot of change. And I feel somewhat satisfied that I've recorded them in this form. I really doubt I'll ever read them again in my life. But I'll leave it here for bored people looking around for stuff on the internet. But then again, wasn't that how this blog started? From absolute boredom. But now, my life has a purpose. And I am sure of that. And.. I shall say no more, just that if you happen to read any previous posts and cannot believe I wrote them, yes, they were me. But not now.
spoke at : 7:04:00 PM


My holidays have been a really long one, filled with so much stuff- OCIP, rehearsals, Church Camp, Carolling and whatever else.. And I can't believe there's still 2 more weeks to go. I can't wait to go back to school, to meet all my friends, start lectures and tutorials again.. And then someone told me, "just take some time to rest". And I realized how beautiful that word was at that point in time, which was just a few minutes ago. And then now I'm thinking about choir. Somehow, it's the only thing that has etched such beautiful memories in my life this year. Nothing else.

I still remember signing up for 8 ccas during the exhibition, then I only went for 3. And I still remember choir auditions, when I didn't know at all what was going on, I just followed instructions to sing all the la's, smile and relax, by the teacher I knew who seemed to be in charge of us since day one in ac, and wore flowered shirts. After singing the Fairfield school song, forgetting half the lyrics, I left, not expecting anything. I didn't even know what a choir was all about. I just knew you'd get lots of cca points in secondary school. After the second audition, I was called to go for sectionals in the bass section. A bass 1, they called me, apparently, basses who sing their higher range. And then I met a few others, none of which knew what choir was about. In fact, none of them were from choir before, I think. We learned things like using our abdominal muscles to sing, breathing properly, and parts of 2 songs I clearly remember as 'Rytmus' and 'Pange Lingua'. Well, learning the parts were okay, but looking at the score gave me a headache. Having grade 1 music theory which I obtained in pri 1, the only thing I knew was that I had to sing higher then the black dots were placed higher in the score, and the same for lower. Oh, and that whatever we were singing would sound weird if the note was a sharp or flat, that which I identified by watching out for the #s and the bs. So I'll just memorize everything that my section leader taught me.

When I was accepted into choir, I thought I'll just go for a few rehearsals and then quit, because I didn't think that I would be the kind of guy who sings. I was actually intending to join lifeguards. But then, the way the teachers spoke to us after rehearsals made it seem like they were expecting us to stay. And I guess it psychoed me not to think about quitting at all. I was, in a way, afraid of quitting. So I continued, and I went for my first performance during founder's day, and got my concert gear.

Choir wasn't really that bad. I enjoyed singing together with the bass section, joking about the tenors, and just spending time together singing, laughing, and everything else. The music we created was beautiful. I never knew such beauty existed. Whenever I saw 'music' on someone's friendster profile, the first thing that would come to mind would be modern music. But then, this was different. When many parts came together, singing different parts, it was perfection. And there is no other word I can use, I just can't describe it. A tingling sensation would come everytime I sang with the choir. And then, I realized I never knew music. Choir was like being born into the world a baby. When my senses detected something new, I would be amazed. And I would appreciate it.

And then came something new. The teachers started talking about expression. That meant we had to express the music in our faces. Not knowing exactly what they wanted, I just smiled everytime I sang, and they seemed quite happy with it. So haha. okay. I continued to do so. Thinking that was the end, I got shocked again, when I heard "Bless the audience with your music". Again, it was like giving a baby a new toy. What does that mean? How do I do it? Aren't we just singing? I knew I was being blessed my the music, and by the choir, but blessing others? They aren't singing, how can they experience the satisfaction of creating such beauty? With so many questions in mind, my life in the choir went on..

We started learning songs to be sung for a competition held in Europe. There were 9 in total, and every rehearsal, we would work on those songs. I was starting to get the hang of music scores. I found out that sounds actually had pitched, and pitched actually had specific names. So I started learning music on my own using a virtual keyboard on my computer. I was starting to discover music. Just like working out the features of my new toy in this amazing world of music.

There was a particular competition song called "Karimatanu Kuicha", we called it 'kari'. Apparently, singing involved clapping and stomping too! Well, it was quite fun, until our seniors reminded us that we had to memorize the scores. Some of my bass seniors told me that last year as J1s, they would meet up during common breaks to practice this song together.

I enjoyed singing so much I could not give up that opportunity. haha.. So I discussed it with a fellow bass member, and managed to contact an alto. And then it went on to a few sops. Soon, I had a small choir to practice with! (The sops made the effort to convince me to invite some tenors too.) I got all their timetables, and we met up whenever we could to practice. Now my love for music had extended into school, and I never regretted giving up my breaks for it. During this time, I learnt how to use a tuning fork, and derive pitches from it. Then we started meeting in the mornings before assembly to practice, and started with the other songs too.

At that point in time, I looked back and was amazed once again. this time, by how much I had learnt from the choir. Not just in terms of music and singing, but I never thought I would be instructing a group of people in warm-ups, and in singing. Choir had me changed so much. Back in secondary school, I never felt this way towards my cca. For the choir, I could give up my mornings, my breaks, my time to learn music, to arrange practices. I never regretted.

I was from a co-ed school, and encounters with the opposite gender were not rare. (I bet many of you saw this coming.) But anyway, some things happened during this time, and I can't help but speak the very least about it, as it has been a part of my life in the choir. Yes, that's the least.

We went on the competition, and won. To me, those 3 titles we had, those 3 golds didn't mean much. Choir had given me friendship, had shaped my character, changed my life. What more could I want?

On one of the days during tour, a question was raised. "We always talk about blessing others with our music, but what exactly does it mean to do that?" And then that question struck me again. I reflected on my performances. All this time I had been expressing the music on my face. I enjoyed doing it as the music spoke to me. It was natural. But then, blessing others? Was I really blessing others by doing that or is there some other secret formula, or something I'm not doing yet? I didn't quite get the answers that were thrown out, so the question continued to hang around in my mind.

After tour was our concert, which came quite quickly after several rehearsals. By then, the music and I were one. I knew it inside out, and gave my best for the performance. Then the teachers started talking to us about comm. I had already considered it before, but I didn't know exactly what it was. Again, it was something new in choir for me. I knew I wanted to serve the choir. It was my passion. everything in it. The people, the music, they were all beautiful.

So I signed up for president, and section leader, thinking that it would be fun to be able to lead others in such a way. After all, I knew I had enjoyed it when we were practicing during our breaks in the early part of the year. However, my interview results were different. I was nominated for Property manager and Resource & Relations. And I had no idea at all as to what their responsibilities were. I just knew that the pm was someone who would scold you if you left things behind, and turn on the air-con before rehearsals. The r&r gave out scores and tuning forks. I admit, for a period of time, I was extremely disappointed that I could not get the position I wanted. I wanted it too much, that my intentions had changed. I still wanted to serve the choir with all I had, but there were other motives I found in my heart. After talking to God for a very long time about it. I refound my wanting to serve the choir. This desire was pure. To serve the choir, to serve God, and nothing else. I gave a speech, and became r&r.

I quickly got excited about my responsibilities, and set many goals to achieve, one of which was to clean the store and create a database of the scores we had. I'm now still working on it.. haha..
But other than resource, my title had something else. Relations. My predecessor didn't speak much about it as the resource part took a long time. I just knew that I had to be concerned about the members in the choir. I encountered cases in which there were conflicts within the choir, or problems that some members had. And after a while of trying to help them, and trying to understand the situations, I knew I had discovered relations on my own. Aside from all that, relations was quite 'free for all'. In the sense that I had ideas for the choir discussed it with the comm to put them into action. Of course, at this point in time. I need to give credit to my senior r&r, I couldn't have gone through so much without his constant guidance. heh, and if you're reading this, I'm sorry for disturbing you even when you cca season was over. I guess choir bugs us even after we left huh? haha..

Just about almost a month ago, I had a stayover with some friends from the choir. We were walking back to the house, singing carols at the same time. A lady walking in front of us heard our singing, and remarked that it was beautiful. That word was on my mind for a while, but I shoved it away. She asked us if we could sing for her friend who lived in a condo nearby. Without giving our reply, she assumed consent and brought us to her friend's house, and we sang 'O Come, All Ye Faithful". And then, halfway through the song, a sudden realization struck me when I saw the expression the lady's friend had on her face. Both of them were smiling, but it was a different kind of smile. I could sense their surprise, their awe, and their appreciation of the beautiful music we were creating. They could feel the music they way I did. Exactly the same way. And there was no doubt about it. They loved the music even though they weren't singing at all. And I knew I was blessing them, so I gave my heart, my love for music, love for choir, and every bit of meaning in the lyrics I had. I was blessing them. At that point in time, I wasn't even singing to a proper audience, it wasn't tables of ASEAN officials, or judges for a competition, or family members and friends. They were just a stranger and her friend. But it was the performance in my life I gave the most. Finally, I was giving music. Not just pitch and dynamics, for they were just a part. But true music, it had everything.

Carolling has just ended, and so has my year as an ACJC choristor. It has been great, and every other word I can find to describe it. And I look forward to the year ahead.
spoke at : 8:35:00 PM


I was just watching a video that my dad took while we were carolling, and I realized just how much I loved singing and blessing with music. And now I realize that there are only 4 more days of carolling. I'll treasure it :)
spoke at : 8:17:00 PM


Hey everybody! Christmas is coming! and we're carolling, so come whenever you're free to watch us!
15th Dec
1230-1300 @ Prudential Tower
1330-1400 @ Equity Plaza
16th Dec
1245-1315 @ Keppel Tower
17th Dec
1230-1300 @ Capital Square
1315-1345 @ Samsung Hub
18th Dec
1245-1315 @ Ocean Tower
19th Dec
1230-1300 @ Samsung Hub
1330-1400 @ One Raffles Quay
22nd Dec
1230-1300 @ Capital Square
1330-1400 @ One Raffles Quay
23rd Dec
1245-1315 @ Keppel Bay Tower
spoke at : 9:14:00 PM


Sarawak was great! I miss my students..
spoke at : 10:34:00 PM


I'll be going to Sarawak from tomorrow until 24th November, so I guess, I'll put this post here or the blog will be quite inactive for a while. Anyway, we're going there to teach English to some Primary school students, and worked very hard to prepare for it. I suppose I'll have fun. See ya all!
spoke at : 8:00:00 PM