I began the week with a weary, pessimistic post. I'm very, very glad to be able to say that I'll be ending the week with an optimistic one =)

Everything fell into place so well. Now, I shan't reveal my beliefs over why everything worked out so well. Another superstition of mine, haha. But anyway, here's what happened:

Of course, first obstacle was the Marketing project (PBL). We aced it though, my group. Everything we did was spot on, we all spoke quite well... It was as close to perfection as you can get. Felt REAL good after our turn when our tutor spoke to us and said that we did everything well.

Second obstacle: EC (Effective Communication) makeup test. Now, most of you would probably be saying 'What're you worrying about, your English good what!' but nevertheless it was a hurdle I had to overcome. Was nervous before and kinda-sorta nervous during, but aced it as well. I gave the teacher an easy decision to make: an A grade, no question about it. Felt good, the way I breezed through it and met my own expectations effortlessly.

Third obstacle... I don't wanna go into it, too long and complicated, plus I think not many people would actually be able to appreciate how seriously I felt about the troubles. Band-related stuff, and they all worked out as well. No stone left unturned.

A bonus point to be taken from the week: I'm now recognised as THE public speaker, at least in my class. I've received endorsements from my CD (Character Development), FOM (Fundamentals of Marketing) and EC teachers that I'm a top-class speaker. I don't mean to brag, but it feels really nice to have something tangible to be proud of.

Other matters now. I went back to AMK on Thursday (yesterday) to just check out the band camp going on. Basically just followed BT around after dinner as he went to take the Junior Band. It was a real throwback to the past, hearing his voice giving instructions, hearing the Sec Ones playing (they're not too bad, to be honest)... Reminded me of a whole spectrum of things, including practices back when I was a Sec One, as well as practices in the hall... Even the fact that he requested all the fans to be off so as to not affect the sound. All little details that make me reminisce. Most seniors go back to look at their juniors and/or to catch up with their old section mates. I go back to, mainly, soak in the atmosphere, to remember old times. To catch up with myself.

Nothing beats that feeling, really. I went through Hell and Heaven in my time in AMKSS Band, and these little things were what made it all worthwhile.

Ah, nostalgia. 'Tis a powerful emotion.

It's been a tiring and taxing few days. And that's an understatement.

I find myself now just willing the week to finish as soon as possible, just so I can finally get to my holidays. I haven't felt this bad about school for some time now, but the shit's just all piling up at the moment.

Uncertainty rears its ugly head again, as well as trepidation (over the FOM project), and of course we can never discount our old friend, fatigue.

There's just so many things I want to have over with at the moment, it's not even funny. And this is coming from someone who laughs at almost anything, so you know it's serious.

Many things of note have happened in recent times that I haven't had the time/energy to blog about. One, is that despite my extreme slackness in my studies in secondary school, I have managed to bag an award for my Combined Humanities and will be heading back to the ol' secondary school on the 11 July for Awards Night to receive my certificate or whatever it is they want to give me. This was as big a surprise for me as it would be for anyone, considering the standard (or lack thereof) of my studies in secondary school, but it's a pleasant one nevertheless. Looking forward to it =)

The other event which has happened recently is this: Recently, my school has been having a fair, a bazaar of sorts, with various 'pasar malam-ish' food being sold, as well as some other stuff like clothes and board games, amongst others. One of the main attractions though, is this palm reader man named Master Khor, who is offering his services at a discount for students of the school.

Like any other cynical, intelligent person, my first thought about this attraction was 'Hah, just for a laugh'. However, after watching him at work I believe that this guy is the real deal. It started when my friend decided to have his palm read for fun. There was a list of topics to choose from, and $20 would get you all the topics, while $10 would only get you two. My friend only had $10 to spare, so he went with the topics 'Love' and 'Career'.

As my friend was having his palm read I stood next to him, listening to everything this Master Khor fella said. Now, my friend being Boon, my best friend of 9 years, of course I knew some things about him that no one else knows. And, spookily enough, the palm reader got it all spot on. He wasn't being vague about his readings either; most of them were quite specific.

Seeing this happen, I decided to have my palm read too (same topics as my friend), and lo and behold, he was right on many counts again. Some of the things he mentioned about me were my cold exterior (and no, I did not show any form of coldness throughout or even when we were queuing up), but only because I'm very (maybe too much) observant, spotting all the little details in people. I also have a very good sixth sense , so he said that I should trust my instincts.

Another thing is that he said that I am very creative, and if I use my creativity right, I could do some really big stuff. However, if I misuse it, I could screw myself royally, so I gotta be careful there. He also said that I'm very logical (sometimes too much, again), and that I have what it takes to be a success in the future. Best of all, I have a kind soul =)

There are some things he said about the 'Love' part of his predictions that I'd rather not talk about; they're private to me and maybe only the ones I trust the most. As of now I've only told one person and I think it's gonna stay that way. He didn't pull any punches either; if there was something bad he'd say it. For example, he said that another of my friends is egoistical (he is, haha), that I'm tied down by loved ones, and that because he thinks too much about it (like me), my friend could possibly never get together with the girl he likes.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, to say the least. I'll definitely be following some of his suggestions; he was quite right about everything, why shouldn't I just go along with his suggestions? Besides, I have nothing to lose (the suggestions do not involve any sort of risk of any kind).

Well, one more week. I'm tired, very tired, and also quite weak emotionally due to various kinds of emotional beatings I've received lately. I'm just dragging myself across the finish line now.

Wish me luck.

Some of you must be wondering why I haven't said a thing about Man Utd's amazing achievements this season. Why I did not say a thing after we won the Premier League on the last day of the season. Why I did not say a thing about making the Champions League Final for the first time since 1999. Well, the fact of the matter is, with the Premier League title going down to the last day, I was too nervous to say anything about it. And then, after we won that, I was too nervous for the Champions League to say anything about it. Now, after it's all done and dusted, I can finally talk about it all.

Some of you might know that I am a very superstitious person. I hardly ever watch Man Utd matches 'Live', because I believe myself to be a sort of jinx to their fortunes. Sounds stupid, I know, but I do have anecdotal evidence to back this superstition up. The only matches I've seen in full this season were the 4-0 win over Dynamo Kiev and the 4-0 win over Villa, both of them matches which were either deadweight (Kiev), or one I felt mightily confident about (Villa). However, this should take nothing away from my support of my team. I'll tell you why.

Most fans (at least Singaporean ones) would probably be going 'Man Utd champions! Woot!'. While that's all fine and dandy, it's not a very good measure of how much the person supports the team. I have actually cried tears of happiness at 3 key parts of the run-in to the two title-winning games:

First time: The Champions League semi-final 2nd Leg against Barcelona. Granted, I didn't watch the match live, but I've seen the reruns of the match as well as video clips of Scholes' goal, and every single time I've seen it (3 times), I've cried. I just start sobbing when I see Scholes receive Zambrotta's poor clearance, set himself up for the shot, then let rip with a trademark Scholes effort, totally unstoppable. Why? Because Scholes is, well, Scholes. A long-serving and brilliant member of the United squad, a certified United legend. For him to score such an important goal... It's just fantastic.

Second time: The final Premier League game against Wigan. Once I got news that Ryan Giggs had scored a second goal to all but secure the title for Man Utd, I rushed down to watch the final 10 minutes of the match. When the final whistle blew, I shouted in delight. The best was yet to come, however. Watching Ryan Giggs, Man Utd's appearance record holder at 759 (and counting) appearances for the club, and club captain, step up to receive the trophy and raise it triumphantly into the air also made me start sobbing, crying tears of joy once again. Why? Because Ryan Giggs. 'Nuff said.

Third time: Obviously the Champions League Final. Having seen only the penalty shootout so far (on Youtube), there's not much to pick from. Nevertheless, Van der Sar's trophy-winning save also made me cry. Seeing the whole team (including the management team) run towards him from the dugout and the centre circle, that's just amazing. It reminded me of the images at the final of '99, with Solskjaer being mobbed after scoring the winner. I cried, I cried unabashedly.

The best thing about all this success is all the fate and destiny associated with it. It had to be Scholes to score the goal to send the team into the CL Final. It had to be Giggs to score the goal which clinched the Premier League title. And it definitely HAD to be Giggs to score what proved to be the winning penalty in the Champions League final and winning the two biggest trophies an English club can win in the same season he becomes the new holder of the record of making the most appearance for Man Utd. As captain, too.

Of course, we cannot forget that this amazing season is on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, which makes it YET more special. The survivors of that disaster were in the audience of this historic achievement at the expense of the club.

All this history and fate and destiny intertwined in the success of Man Utd is the main reason why I love them so much. I honestly cannot think of another club whose success has so much history involved with it, from any part of the world.

So I'll end off by saying that I'll always be a Man Utd fan. It's been 9 years since I started supporting them. I don't intend to stop, ever.

SALUTE THE DOUBLE CHAMPIONS! KINGS OF ENGLAND, KINGS OF EUROPE!

So I've been mostly on my back the last two days with a mysterious and inexplicable recurrance of mumps.

In case you didn't know, mumps is one of those sicknesses that should only occur once in a person's lifetime, like chickenpox for example. So imagine my surprise when I was awoken with pains in the sides of my head at 4am, Thursday morning. I woke up thinking, 'This can't be for real' but the mirror confirmed it; mumps. Again.

As such I've missed 2 days of school, so the long weekend has become an ultra-long one for me. Nevertheless it still feels like I didn't 'earn' it, if you know what I mean. I've spoken before about 'earning my keep' when it comes to work and holidays/weekends, and this time it's no different.

There was supposed to be a test today too, but I managed to work it out with the teacher and I'll be getting a 2nd opportunity at it next week, I think.

In my spare time I've mostly been sleeping off the effects of the medication (drowsiness, mostly) and just, as per normal, surfing the net. Blog-hopped cos I was seriously bored, and read things I... Well, I don't know how to describe what I feel about them.

Mainly I suppose it's the idea of the person blogging, the impression I get of the person from reading his/her posts. And then I compare that with what they showcase in real life, and I feel that many, many people are either betraying themselves, living second lives, or have multiple personalities, myself included.

Let's use me as a case study, eh? Now, for me it's not a case of betraying myself or living a second life. I just have 2 (that I can distinguish so far) distinct personalities: The one that you see in the flesh is a fierce-looking, but actually quite funny person. I do sometimes 'turn off' and go into my own world, but really it's for the best (I'll go into this at a later time, it's long enough to deserve a post of its own). In this particular persona I laugh at lame jokes, dumb jokes, and politically incorrect jokes.

Now the second persona, the one that appears on this blog. The serious, introspective, perhaps in some ways boring person. The one that looks at everything that happens around him (or at least those that he does notice) as well as within him and spells everything out in the hope that by doing so he'll have a better understanding of the world. The one that sometimes feels despair for this world we live in and the direction it is taking.

Now those two are almost polar opposites, right? Here's where it gets confusing; splice those two together and the result is the full product. How can two such very different personalities co-exist within the same body and not cause some spontaneous combustion of some kind? That, there, is the complexity of the average human being (or at least as far as I know). You see, the thing with me is that I can have both personas working together at the same time, cos they are able to mish-mash together.

Some other people's multiple personas are too different for them to combine without a volatile reaction and that's when we get people who talk one way in the flesh but then appear to be a completely different person on his/her blog. I feel that this kind of situation is pretty sad, but not in the 'Christ you guys are pathetic' sense. Rather, it's in the 'Ah well. Take your time' sense. I think I managed to find myself pretty quick, in terms of what defines me and what are the unique aspects of my character. Other people might take longer, some might even never do it. Who's to say?

Anyway, it is interesting, isn't it? This multiple personality thing almost all of us have.

I'll end off with this song which describes everything I've said to an absolute tee. Cheers guys.




Billy Joel - The Stranger

Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now
You've been there yourself

Once I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognise
When I pressed her for a reason
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now
You've been there yourself
You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he isn't always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along


Just a little anecdote I forgot to talk about when it happened:

I watched United's 4-0 win over Villa, right? Well, remember how the first goal was scored? It was from a corner, with Ronaldo flicking the ball into the net after it dropped for him. When the corner was about to be taken, the clock flashed 15:50-something. I told myself, at the time, 'If the corner is taken after the clock goes into the 16-minute mark, United will score.'

Lo and behold, the corner was taken soon after the clock elapsed into 16 minutes, and Ronaldo went on to score.

Psychic abilities, anyone? :P

Week's finally over.

As I said in the previous post, this has been the most trying week I've had since I started school. Of all the things I had to do, most concluded in a satisfying manner, though there was one big blot on proceedings. Project-related, screwed up shit, and no, it wasn't yours truly who was responsible. As a result I'm pissed about it all.

I don't intend to elaborate on that, waste of time and effort. Other stuff worked out. I chose not to go to the band camp, but nevertheless did start talking to a few of the other Year One trumpet section people. It's been a huge change; for the first time in my life the trumpet section is actually quite substantial in size, and the majority of them were guys. Big difference from AMK, where the guys were ridiculously outnumbered and, at least throughout my tenure there, the section was always small.

Oh well, at least things are looking up, for the week ahead at least. No obligations to fulfill, nothing to worry about, just a regular week at school. And I've got this weekend which I intend to thoroughly enjoy. I earned it man, I earned it.

In other matters, I just feel like being straight up and say that for the last month or so I've been thinking about a certain girl. However, those thoughts have mostly dissapated. No idea why they have, but they have. Perhaps I'm just too busy with other things, like my schoolwork. I still have alot of things I don't know about and haven't experienced that don't involve a girl. School is sort-of-fun, where the worst case scenario still at least consists of the chance to joke with Vishal and Ying Wei.

I didn't have people like them around me when I was in secondary school. That led to me doubting myself and my beliefs on a constant basis. Still, despite the trials and tribulations I managed to keep my character and beliefs, and god-DAMN am I glad for it.

Well, off to enjoy my hard-earned weekend. A couple of late nights, and days filled with doing whatever the hell my heart desires. There's no better recipe for happiness, haha.

Been meaning to blog the past few days, but really just been too damn tired and occupied lately.

That's not to say I'm really free now. I still have stuff to settle, and some other decisions to make before the end of the week.

Much has happened recently. I completely owned my ITAB (IT Applications in Business) test, 110/120. I met up with Shi Kai and Abygail just to hang out on the same day. Ran into Price, first time I've seen her though I've known for some time that she and Abygail are best friends. There isn't much to say about the whole meetup, it was just to chill, to talk, to laugh. That sort of thing.

Joined the band, there's a camp on Friday. No idea if I'm going or not. On the one hand it'll probably do wonders in helping me to settle in to this new environment, on the other hand, I hate camps with a passion. I hate those dumb games orientation camps usually make us play. Now, before you think I'm the sort who would say 'I hate it' but then go along with it anyway, you'd only be half-right. If I didn't have a choice I would just try to make the best of it, but if I DID have a choice I'd be bitching non-stop. Still not sure if I'm going for it or not. I'll make my mind up by tomorrow.

Oh, forgot. I went out with my brother to Clarke Quay on Saturday. Parents were out of town, in Thailand, to celebrate their anniversary, so my brother and I were independent for 5 days or so. Had some stuff to drink while out with him. To be honest, while I think I can hold my liquor, I don't think it's likely that I'll find a type of alcohol whose taste I'll like. I've tried beer, stout, and now tequila and whiskey and none of them taste really nice to me. I'll probably never take up drinking, if only because I don't like the taste.

Well I guess that's been all. It's been a novel few days, some new stuff and so on, but I guess I'm making it all sound really boring here. That's just probably because I'm shit tired with all the projects I've had to do recently, plus the stress of making up my mind about the band camp and everything.

Tomorrow's another long day... Gotta be up early to meet with my group to finalise some presentation stuff. I'll be so glad when this week is over. It's been the most trying week I've had since I started school, that's for sure.

Till next time then =)

Abygail

Shi Kai

Tommy

Trumpets [Da Section]

Mabel

Samuel

Alter Ego

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