this was my ARTOFLIFE

Life has sort of revolved around choir these past few days, but it's all finally coming to an end! :D

Although I wouldn't say that the performance for the 25th anniversary was bad, it could have been better, but I enjoyed my moments on stage. Cloudburst was super fun to sing, hearing the sound dip and swell accordingly, and I like the tinkling sounds that the wind chimes thing produced. The finale thing was a little ... -.-||| though. Haha, I have no idea how to phrase that into proper words without demeaning the efforts of the people who produced/performed it. The flowers that Sneha and the others and Navin gave are currently sitting in a vase beside my table, looking very pretty :D

The new exco of 0910 was announced during practice just now, in which we ended like super early because there wasn't real practice as Mr Kwei wasn't coming down. Yeah, I was quite amused by the 'speech' that the new bass sl gave, 'we must own'. Haha, spoken like a true gamer, in which he and Ren Zhi and Hong Zhi were discussing about DOTA and Pokemon during lunch at Pizza Hut. Yes, I was bored enough to join them, the internet wasn't shiney enough to entertain me, though I'm not sure that hanging out with the guys would have been entertaining, but oh well, I was hungry.

In total, I think I've spent about 1 and 1/2 years in AJchoir, in which I have to really say that I enjoyed my J1 year more, the sound that we had was much more impressive, though I wasn't as close to the people... not that I'm that close, but at least I know them more... Ah well, no big deal, since that's exactly how I operate through life, just drift by and do my own thing.

Anyway, school has been irritating, I am so not up for that bloody math test on Wednesday, 'hello failure, we've been very well acquainted, haven't we?' But it's a relief that June is finally creeping up, in the sense that I have got some time to catch up with everything. And I mean everything. I seriously haven't been paying much attention to real life...

8:45am - this lazy person greeted the day with a half scowl, shutting off the alarm on her phone reluctantly.

9:45am - leaves the house in a haphazard dash, knowing that she'll most likely be late to the meetup. No surprise.

10:37am - reached Novena mrt station and spotted Denise immediately, yay! :D Annabel, late as usual, no surprise, really.

11 plus - Annabel finally arrives and we head to Novena Church. Met up with Brother Ed and Aaron and Justin. (Who haven't really changed, haha) Listened to the erm... session? with them even though I'm not Christian/Catholic/whatever.

12:32pm? - Went off for lunch at this hawker centre after a little sojourn to St Michael's School, or something. Had this kway chap thing? Yeah, pretty cheap. Talked for quite some time, since we only meet once a year, so there's quite a lot to talk about.

1:30pm - Denise had to go off for her tutoring thing, good lah, earning big bucks. Lol, so we decided to make a move too. Annabel and I followed Brother Ed to this art gallery thing in Tanjong Pagar because we were that free. Aaron and Justin moved on with life's busy schedule. We took a bus from the hawker centre to Novena station and from the station to Raffles Place where we walked to Tanjong Pagar and  Brother Ed took us sightseeing, sort of, walking past temples and shops where he'd explained a little about them. Side job as a tour guide?

2:30pm - Met Brother Ed's friend, Lily? Yeah, then went over to the Tanjong Pagar CC for the Art exhibition.

3.00pm - The art exhibition started and *gasp* I saw Mr Tan! D: Remember our sec 1 days? Calligraphy for art lessons? Yeah, that Mr Tan. Imagine my horror, multiplied by hundred, especially when Brother Ed saboed me into taking a picture with him. Gads, and Annabel just sauntered away without rescuing me...

4:12pm - Parted ways with Bel who went home to... game. >.> Walked over to Borders, couldn't find the books that I wanted... Blah. The Murakami section was looking a little empty...

5:30pm - Waited for Yoke Cheng at Dhoby Ghaut station for caroling with Vocal Consort.

6.00pm - Reached Concorde Hotel and went into the holding room, where Yoke Cheng socialized with people. I daydreamed a bit? Haha, refreshed my memory of the people. Had warm ups and ran through the songs. Didn't seem to have a lot of altos this time...

7:00pm - Performed at the lobby area of Concorde, beside the Christmas Tree. Kim and Klara came! :D Thanks, man.

7:35pm - Ended the entire performance, my feet were totally killing me, I really wanted to just collapse there and then, but... pride got in the way.

8 plus - Waited some people to go have dinner together, even though I don't really know them... but they seem pretty nice. :) So yeah.

9 plus - Headed home with Yoke Cheng who alighted at Khatib. Talked to Kim a little on the phone about our performance which was certainly quite lackluster. Oh well. (I felt AJ could do way better with lesser people... but eh. First times? Idk.)

10:38pm - Reached home territory. :D

11:12 pm - Played a little piano just to keep my fingers happy. :D

12:48 am - Still not going to sleep yet. Haha.

Performing at VCH is strangely nostalgic, considering that Kranji choir did perform on that stage quite a few times, and now performing with AJ choir is on a totally different level.

Anyway, managed to meet up with Kim, and Chee How and Ms Ong and Amy and the rest of my juniors even though I don't exactly know them, lol, I'm such a bad senpai. Saw Mr Liew as well, but I doubt he remembered us.

I think out of all the performances, I enjoyed VJ's the most, even though they recycled their songs back from their concert, (which we were guilty of too) I found that they sounded nicer this time round, or maybe it's just me? I somehow liked Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine. I don't know if it's the steampunk thing influencing me currently, haha. The rest of the performances were sort of boring, not because of the singers, but mostly I couldn't due to a lack of engagement with the songs.

Is it crazy of me to think one thing and immediately another part of me scolds myself for it even as I argue back? I mean, I'm arguing about myself to myself? Anyway, my mother's doing her last minute worrying/packing. Yup, she's off to China for a week! That means freedom, well, a slight degree of it,  but still! :D

Choir practice was sort of tiring, thanks to the medication that I was still on. I really wanted to fall asleep but couldn't. Had to look intelligent, or at least alive, since I'm standing in the front row. Think I'll be killed by Mr Kwei if he sees me drifting off. Heh.

Apparently, someone recorded our performance yesterday at Bugis Junction, some... lame-arse function by Lee Hwa Jewellery that basically sucked. We were made to squeeze in some tight corner originally, until the organizer took pity on us, I think, and shifted us to a slightly better position. We sounded bad, thanks to the acoustics and timing issues. But at least, the alto section could be heard. >.>

Well, we saw Utt and Michelle Chia... though I wasn't really... interested? I mean, not really people that I care about... Utt was in this weird black/red combination of soldierly attire... and his hair was urgh, slicked back and overall looked like someone out of some tv drama of the 1980s? Michelle Chia was wearing some very gorgeous heels with neat laces and shiney texture. :D I admired her shoes first then I realised it was her, lol.

Shaun, Jia Li and Sofia came down to see us! :) Though I think Jia Li and Sofia were at first heading to some history lecture thing but were late and decided to ditch the lecture and spotted us! Lol.

Then I went over to meet up with Aishah and Amirah and Atiqah. Omg, all the 'A's people. Aishah and Amirah came down for the performance too, but I somehow lost track of them. Wow, I'm such a brilliant friend. =.= So yeah, hung out for a while until we discovered that the last train was about to arrive soon so we ran like mad to the train station. Lol. It was pretty fun in a way.

Finally! No more siglap sessions! It's really quite irritating to travel all the way to the other side of the island when you're in a hurry. If there wasn't some time limit, then long rides in empty trains would be fun. But not when you're trying to find a corner on the train and some obnoxious woman is elbowing you and you're pointedly trying to point out this fact without being rude or causing a scene but she blatantly ignores every squirm that you make or any dirty looks that you shoot her way. Hello, lady? Let's face it, I'm not some toothpick and you're nearly a cow, albeit a short one, but still. >.>

So I had lunch at MOS. Or I planned to do so. But it was packed so I ended up just taking my food away to sit at this random fountain. And read Smoke and Mirrors while eating so as to entertain myself. I quite like to eat alone, as long as I have a nice quiet spot to myself.

Met up with the rest at Raffles Place and I docilely followed Shermaine to the performance venue. Total fail, I tell you. If you asked me to go by myself, I'll never have reached there.

Okay, so it was a pretty long day which started at around 1 plus, 2. We had a sound check, a run through, some sectionals, yada yada and well, I'm falling sick, by the way my throat felt yesterday, sore and a little scratchy. Not my best condition, but still alive.

VJ's performance was pretty good, I really like the solo tenor who did Gaudete but I preferred Wild Empire's rendition more. Is the Wild Empire performing this year??? I wanna go watch! XD

So overall, long day. Knackered. I think there's nothing much to say really. Typical performance though I felt we could have been better. I mean, we had better times, I guess. And I don't even want to mention my own slips. D: Forgot the lyrics midway. I think no one noticed even though I was in the front row.

Choir's back to haunt my ass. While I do like to sing, I don't exactly like to spend so much time in school to practise. So it was with mixed feelings that I dragged my feet to the choir room.

Was horribly out of practice because I can't even hit high notes decently, omfg lah, I sounded like a dying chicken trying to sing the opera before gasping its last breathe. So it was quite obvious that I sucked on my vocal test. Argh. Hated my voice then... really really disgusting tone.

It's only July, but we're already learning songs for carolling. Am also with ambigueous feelings on this because I'm not exactly a Christmas person, with the whole birth of savior thing, but on one hand, it's good that I'm not exactly familiar with all the carols, or else I'll have a hard time sticking to my alto line obediently.

Gosh, I'm still feeling the highness! :) Maybe it's the caffeine or the fact that our concert was a SUCCESS! :) I mean, we totally owned the audience, I think. Even though there were minor slips here and there, but overall, I really really really loved our performance. Damn, I wish the night never ended. I seriously love the feeling of singing together in an entire group, with everyone singing something different and yet sounding just brilliant together, and I'm glad the aj choir is just that wonderful and more.

So yeah, exceptionally long day indeed. Reached City Hall before 10 because I didn't want to be late and keep the others waiting, only to find that the others were later than me. Charmaine had to go off early due to admin com meeting, but the rest of us remained at Subway decorating presents for the J2s. And yes, I have the artistic talent of a demented 5 five year old kid. Seriously. ... And I find that I don't really have anything to say to them... like, I haven't exactly talked to most of them in reality... it's just the normal hi-bye routine. I'm not exactly personable, or sociable... so yeah. But shall think of nice things to say...

By 12:30 we were at esplanande stage door already where we got the stage pass that allowed us to traipse around without getting barred. And found that many people were already there while the alto j1s were having their little bonding session where I learned more gossip from Pamela and the others. Choir is a very scandalous cca indeed. *nods head sagely*

Blah, I wished I brought my camera along, because it's not everyday that you get to step into the hallowed halls of esplanade and be allowed to use your camera with ease. During concerts, the ushers always have to cut in with a 'excuse me, but no photography is allowed' sort of spiel which is really annoying, but not their fault. Yeah, so no cam-whore pictures. Even though I did cam whore on other people's cameras, haha.

The rehearsals and all that were pretty normal, considering that this isn't really the first concert for me, but a really major one though, since we are the main show, and not like... part of the show, especially in the kranji public performances. But anyway, the night was simply wonderful.

I don't know, but to me, I felt that the time we had on stage was just too short, I wish we could stood before the audience longer, and enjoyed the moment further. Even though everything from the second half was so rushed, haha. I love being on stage, part of my gigantic ego, I guess. I wish we could have this magical moment again.

Sharon and Kailing got me a rose! Which is currently residing on my table in a simple vase that only serves to accentuate its loveliness. Would take a picture, but I'm too lazy. Min Jie and Jia Li got me a gigantic lollipop, which is simply too pretty to eat! Can I keep it forever in the wrapper? Haha, it'll probably rot before long, I think.

Bumped into Navin at HMV so because I was alone, we ended up getting Starbucks, and can you believe that the poor deprived boy had never had Starbucks?! It's just so... DEPRIVED!! I totally love love love Starbucks. And I wanna get a job as a barista, I mean, doesn't the job title just sound cool already? Like you're something cool, not like mere waiter or promoter. Heh.

Okay, I think I'm just rambling and it's already later than I expected... tata, people.

To those who went to the concert, hope you all enjoyed it to bits! :)

There is something about economics lectures that cannot fail to put me to sleep. Must be the air, or the manifestation of Morpheus. But anyway, as soon as I step into the auditorium, whip out my books and my mind starts to drift slowly, slowly, slowly into the Land of Dreams.


No. of times I pinched myself to keep awake: 10
No. of times I actually dozed off: 4
Conclusion: Pinching doesn't work. >.>

We learned the choreography for the JC1 song, 'Sixteen Going on Seventeen'. The IC, Zhongyi was pretty pissed at us because we weren't exactly cooperating well. And it was damn hard to remember all the little steps here and there because there were just too many actions.
I'm not well known for my dancing skills. Just merely the lack of them.

At first, I was paired with Sean, yes the one from Kranji. So I was learning the girl version of the actions. Midway through as we had an interruption for College Day tag run, he asked if he could switched partners. And of course, being the very gracious and kind person that I am, how could I say no when he wants to dance with his girlfriend? Yeah, so I swopped with Crystal and found that I had to learn the guy version instead because Crystal's original partner was a girl. >.> The major bad thing? My partner's a soprano. And with my wonky grasp of the song... yeah. Please, can you just imagine? I'll just be swerving over to the soprano line... that's what you get for wandering into soprano territory.

And I miss being a soprano, damnit. Even though alto's pretty fun too.  It helps with my grade 8 aural exam actually. Maybe this is the universe's way of helping me prepare for my upcoming exam. It's going to be some time in July to September. Please let it be it September because I'm grossly unprepared and will die a terrible death at the hands of my teacher and of course the parental figures.