I think I have much better things to do than to blog today, so I'll blog what I can remember the next time I update.

Tomorrow is El Minstrel VI already. I am so excited. I'm sure it will be a very good concert. All our hard work will pay off tomorrow night. I will be going to experience something magical once again.

Before I end, I would like to wish everybody reading this a very MerRY ChRiStMAs! I really enjoyed Christmas this year. I want to thank everyone who has made it possible for me to enjoy today. I really like the place where my family went for dinner. It is somewhere in China Square. It is really a very nice place. I think everyone should go and dine at there.

Merry Christmas to all.

It is amazing how playing with the band can change my mood. I can be feeling down and tired one minute and happy and energetic the next. Sometimes I wish that I can play my instrument for the whole day, only stopping when I'm eating and sleeping. I guess it is impossible for that to happen.

It's Christmas eve. So far, tonight seems just like any other night. Anyway, I finally managed to do some Christmas shopping this afternoon. I spent a few hours walking around Parkway Parade but ended up buying nothing. In the end, I went to Tampines mall and bought most of the things there. My memory is failing me. I realised that I had forgotten to buy presents for some people only after I had board the bus home.

Finally I am beginning to feel that Christmas is coming. There is some mood in the air when the Christmas songs are playing.

I don't know what I am writing. There is no link in whatever I am writing right now. Anyway, I met a weird person at Eastpoint mall yesterday. I was on the escalator when he suddenly turned round and asked me if the 'thing' I was holding a bass clarinet. That was about all I can remember before he went somewhere.

One more thing that I want to say is that Singaporeans are becoming very inconsiderate, especially when it comes to public transport. Maybe the government should hold another campaign to make people courteous again.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I guess that getting at least 20 hours of disappointment and sadness for 2 minutes of complete happiness is worth it. I don't think anybody will know what I am talking about here. It shouldn't make any sense to anyone.

I'm grateful that I have so many nice friends around me.

I've been accepted into Victoria JC finally. I am so happy despite all the waiting and the trouble that I had to go through. I mean real trouble. I had to rush home and then to VJC this morning after the teacher called me and told me to get my secondary school results and go to VJC. After that, I had to submit a form to Temasek JC and return the lower portion of the form to VJC, not forgetting, going back to AHS for band practice. I don't mind waiting if I can be accepted. VJC has accepted me but I am still waiting to be accepted. (If you understand)

In total, I took 7 buses to transport me around the same area. I went for the barbeque organised by the VJC band people and reached home not long ago. It was at Coasta Sands East Coast, meaning I had to go back to the same bus stop again. I think it was the fifth time for the day that I am returning to that area. I'm getting bored of that area even before I am in VJC.

It's just a few more days to El Minstrel VI. I am quite excited about it. How I wish that tomorrow is the 26th December. I just realised that Christmas is very near. I do not believe it. Till now, I have not bought a single Christmas present for anyone yet. I'm left with 2 more days before Christmas. I still do not feel the festive mood yet. Maybe I'm too busy with band.

I'll stop here for tonight.

I shall be selective on what I write about in here. I really like Showdown For Band. It is a really nice piece, especially the middle part. The feel of the music is really very nice. I think it changed my mood for the better. I don't mind playing that piece for every concert. It is really just too nice to just sit in the library cupboard and left untouched. It should be played for warm up. I'm not saying that it is good for warm ups, but it is so nice that it should be played that often.

I think I should write about yesterday's concert. It was really great. It was magical. I really enjoyed myself. The concert seemed to be over faster than I wanted it to. I am so glad that it was one of my best. Working hard really pays off. There is one part where Tian Ying and I would play the bassoon cue and it would always sound unclear but it sounded very clear on the concert. I think it is the best concert I had ever played in so far. There were so many supporters. It was very enjoyable. I must thank everyone for making it such a success.

I feel that all the hard work that the band has put in has been paid off during the concert. That is what band is about. Even though band practices are tiring and might seem very boring at times, all the efforts would be paid off. I can still remember that I really disliked one of the pieces because there was a long note that lasted for 16 bars but when it came to the concert, the note was more than a note. It was part of a beautiful piece. It was music and not a note. I am so touched that quite a few people told me that my playing is good. Actually, I am more touched that I have actually made a difference in the lives of some people and that there are so many people who care for me. Thank you so much.

I'll write more tomorrow.

I think the concert was very fun. It is one of the best concerts I have played in and I really enjoyed myself. It is the first time ever so many people I know came to support me. Thank you all so much.

I don't think I can ever bear to leave VJC. Please let me in and let me stay for 2 years.

I am very tired today. I think I should spend more time resting. I couldn't fully concentrate during band practice today even though I tried my best. I could not help it. I'm very sorry for not being able to concentrate because I was too tired. I couldn't even count rests properly even though I was able to do so for the same pieces yesterday. I feel very bad.

I am going to sleep by 11 pm tonight. I need the rest. I still have a very long week ahead. Kelvin wants me to go for Mus' Art's band practice this Thursday night. I do not know if I will be able to make it. I have a feeling that I will fall sick soon. I still have a concert this Saturday.

I will stop here. I am still feeling very empty.

I had to share instrument today because there was a shortage of instruments. I played for the first half. It was quite tiring. The warm up was fine but the tuning was bad. I think we spent 5 minutes tuning and I had to hold the tuning note. Then there was a piece that required stagger breating with a long note that lasts for 20 bars or so, with the tempo at 60 beats per minute.

My memory is seriously getting very short. I cannot even remember things that people said even 10 minutes before. I need more sleep.

I'll try to update tomorrow, if I am not tired after the full day. I have a full dress rehearsal for Saturday's concert and then I have to teach somebody.

I have 2 band practices tomorrow. I will most likely need to share an instrument with somebody tomorrow. I will update tomorrow and continue from here.

I woke up at 6.30 this morning and I had to force myself to wake up so that I would not be late. I had a piece of bread for breakfast before walking to the bus stop to wait for the bus. (It is not considered a slice of bread because it is one of those you buy from bakeries)

I seriously felt that the rehearsal was quite a waste of time and it ended an hour later than it was supposed to end. Next week will be more interesting. The band practices will come back. I think I would rather be playing music than to put up a skit. Anyway that's what a band is for - to make music.

I am tired. I slept for 3 hours this afternoon and woke up feeling even more tired. I should have slept a little earlier last night instead of watching the VCD and chatting till that late.

Next week will be the most tiring week I will be going to have in quite some time. I will have band practice every single day. In fact, the marathon will start tomorrow afternoon and last all the way till the following Monday before I will get a break on Tuesday. So many of my practices clash that I will not be able to have an instrument to play on Monday and Friday.

Anybody who wants to go to Anglican High Concert Band's concert, El Minstrel VI, which is on 26 December 2004, 7 pm, please look for any band members for tickets or leave a message in my tagboard. Tickets are at $10 each and the concert is held at Victorial Concert Hall. For VJCSB concert, which is on the coming Saturday at VJC's auditorium, tickets are at $5 each. Lastly, for Mus' Art's concert, tickets are priced at $15 and $20, it will be held in VCH on 29 December.

I am looking forward to Wednesday's section outing. I think we will be playing badminton at Marine Parade Community Centre from 6 to 8 pm. I just hope that I can save enough money so that I can afford dinner.

Christie and Christa are now in Pulau Ubin and Christie is tempting me with all the fun activities over there. I won't mind if I can have some fun at East Coast Park or at Sentosa, even if it is for a day only. I think I am deprived of fun activities.

I had a chat with some people last night on MSN and I am still confused over what I should do. Should I wait, take the move, or stop?

Later on it was when I wanted to get my hair cut. I walked all the way to the barber shop just to find out that it was closed for the day. I had to walk home again. Guess I'll have to wait till Saturday before I can get my hair cut. I think that my hair is very messy now and it is quite long already.

I watched Cellular on my computer when I got home. It's a pity that these shows are all the same. The good person always wins. I need not even feel anything for the good person although there were so many set backs.

The lower winds section is improving fast. I hope that they can become even better and learn faster. They are already learning quite fast now, but if they can improve faster, it would be better.

I think I'll stop here for tonight.

I must thank Christie for helping me to enlarge the background picture.

I really have no idea of what to write in here anymore. It seems that I do not have a life any more. I don't seem to have anything interesting to write about anymore.

Let me write about yesterday. I was on bus 197 to VJ yesterday morning and I overheard someone critising the government about not allowing smoking in coffee shops. I think that she is only reflecting very badly on herself, saying that she is a smoker and that if they are not going to allow smoking, they might as well ban the sale of cigarette in a very sarcastic manner. I would be overjoyed if smoking was banned in Singapore. At least I will not have to avoid the smoke that some inconsiderate smokers blow straight into my face.

Forgive my poor use of English. It is deproving at a very fast rate. I cannot spell properly, cannot phrase my sentences properly and cannot think properly.

I am beginning to get irritated by my sister although sometimes she can really be of help. My father has bought her a new hand phone and since she started using it, it is always not on silent mode. Must she do that to remind me that her phone has so many more functions than mine?

I have nothing much to write on right now. I am quite tired.

A lot of people is falling sick lately. I hope that they will recover soon and that I will not fall sick. I still have band practice tomorrow and Wednesday at VJC from 9 am to 5 pm. I wonder how I will survive this.

I am tired. I will update tomorrow.

If I still remember correctly, we had band practice in the air con hall in the morning. Mr Chua came and conducted his pieces as well as ran through Holiday Treats and Santa's Christmas Symphony. I did not even understand the pieces. 2 more weeks to the concert and we are still sight reading what we are going to perform for the concert. This is unbelievable.

I had lunch at block 85 and then went back for drills. The sun was doing a great job providing me with a tan that I very badly want. This is the first time in months I am doing drills. It's very fun to do drills. I just like it.

After drills, we played captain's ball. All thanks to my idea, we won the other team by 1 ball after losing 0-1 in the first half. Anyway, after the game, my father fetched me home. Thankfully he was on leave or I wouldn't know how I would go home, bathe and have a quick meal before going for the concert at night.

The concert wasn't that great nor impressive. I feel that the tuba section is slightly overpowering and what I heard was more of notes rather than music. The oboist was very good though. I like the tone and the expression and phrasing.

We went to downtown east after the concert to have supper and I ate at least one and a half packet of fries. All the calories that had been burnt in the afternoon was replenished.

Saturday morning my mother woke me up and asked me if I wanted to swim. I was very lazy and I wanted to carry on sleeping but after thinking of the amount of fries I ate the night before, and the fact that my sleep was interrupted, I decided to go swimming. I swam around 30 laps before getting tired and bored. I really wonder how some people can swim continuously for a few hours. It just gets so boring swimming up and down the lane and doing nothing else.

I went to the JC concert at night. The concert was quite good although I was unable to appreciate more than half of the pieces, especially those Chinese sounding ones. If they had performed pieces that are more common, maybe I would have enjoyed the concert more.

Jun Jie and Steffi got a free ride home from my father. This is unbelievable. They got a free ride home after a free concert.

I woke up at around 8 this morning and went back to sleep after replying some SMS-es and sending some SMS-es. I was really tired after so many full days and so many activities.

The band practice at Mus' Art went on quite smoothly. Roller Coaster was really difficult to sight read. Everything was so fast that I ended up following a bassoonist just to find out that I was actually playing at the wrong place. It's a little hard to explain it here. Anyway, I like the Concerto for oboe. It sounds very classical and it's very soothing. The only thing was that the room was a little too cold and I was very hungry halfway through the practice.

I think I am really going broke. Every note and coin I have in my wallet does not stay for more than 1 day. I ought to learn how not to spend so much and save my money. Right now, I still have to buy a box of reeds and treat 7 people lunch but I do not have any money.

Anyone who knows of any part time job with very flexible hours and reasonable pay please let me know. I am desperate for money.

I'm already quite tired right now. I will update tomorrow.

Graduation night was sort of like a normal dinner, nothing very special apart from the fact that I couldn't recognise anybody because everyone was dressed up in clothes that one would not normally put on. The service at the hotel was bad. They wasted a lot of food and drinks were not served. Even after helping ourselves to the drinks, the waiter only cleared our empty glasses but did not refill any of the glasses. Even the tea that was refilled only once was cold. I don't think I will ever go back to Four Seasons Hotel anymore, unless they can improve on their service and serve their customers better.

The food wasn't really great either, although there were some dishes that were quite delicious. I feel that the best part of Graduation Night was after the dinner when we took pictures. It was so much more enjoyable than listening to the boring MC talking some stuff that probably only a few people were interested in and making foolish comments. Then there was dance. I think that there should be a lot more slow songs. Anyway, I'm so happy that I got a chance to dance with someone.

The whole event ended around 1 am and I took a cab back to a hotel at City Hall to join the rest. We did not do much there, only some chatting before some of them went to sleep while the rest played cards. I managed to catch some sleep even though they were making quite some bit of noise.

In the morning I had to go back to school. There was band. Band practice was quite interesting yesterday. We finally played The Merry Widow after having not played it for such a long time. We also did the last portion of Iris that we have not touched on, and the first half of Welcome. Welcome is quite a nice piece to me. I finally managed to figure out the bass part when I taught the lower winds this morning. It's actually quite easy, after going through it a few times but I do not understand why they can clap the rhythm, sing the melody, but not play it on their instruments.

I am bored now. I think I'll stop here for now.