Thursday, April 12, 2007
20:29:00
the feeling is of a dazed person, staggering around the place.that's how i feel at the moment, even 7 hours after the event of my life.if you're a band member, you'll know what i'm talking about, but for the benefit of those who aren't, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Band has achieved the top award of Gold with Honours in today's SYF Central Judging of Concert Bands, making us only the 2nd band to do so, after the powerhouse that is St. Patrick's.it's such a big achievement, it's almost unbelievable, honestly. which explains why, unlike other band members' blog entries (which are filled with superlatives and exclamation marks), this entry of mine is typed so 'calmly'. i'm still in (partial) shock.the best thing, i think, is that we didn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary on stage. we played as we normally do in practices (at least in the past 2 or 3 practices), which shows that we've got what it takes on a normal basis.so, for me, the whole process was something like 'wait for our turn, go on stage, play as per normal, get off stage, wait for results'. it all went in a blur, in a way. before i knew it, 6 months of hard-ass work had just passed, and i was having a sausage mcmuffin as a late breakfast.we went in to watch the 2nd half of the morning segment of today's judging. EVERY other band played Sunrise. shiiiite. play Sunrise till the sunset, lol. i was tired, and nodded off quite abit. disrespectful, i guess, but i really couldn't help myself.then, results time. i sat with Eugene on my left and James on my right. i was tense as hell. the announcer made the tension worse by doing the obligatory long thanking speech for the sponsors and whatnot. just as well we were the 3rd band to play, or i'd have died from the suspense, lol. we were band No. 79, so here's how it went:'Band 77, Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary... Silver!' cheers followed. i was as tense as ever.'Band 78, (insert school name here, i forgot who it was, so sorry)... Silver!' i got tenser. would the judges' high standards come to bite us in the ass?'Band 79, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School... Gold, (a goddamnit short yet tense as hell pause here) with Honours!'i let loose. screamed myself hoarse before collapsing in my seat, tears of joy uncontrollably coming out. High-fived James, hugged Eugene. Shaking in my seat from pure, unadulterated joy. 'I've done it. I haven't let my seniors down.' kept repeating over and over in my head. that was my main motivation, anyway. to not let my wonderful seniors down. and i had done it. our band were celebrating like idiots, which was quite disrespectful to the other bands, i suppose [we were the only Gold (not even counting Honours) band this morning], but the emotion was simply uncontrollable, honestly.we went out of the hall to get our instruments. everybody was still going nuts. as i walked towards the instruments, Rui Shan and Yan Ling came towards me, both speechless, with red eyes, and gave me hugs. with all this pandemonium going on all around me, i continued my path to the instruments (crowded, y'see), and had another with Clair. made our way down to the waiting area, where i looked up into the sky, and thought the thought, 'Thanks. Thanks, so much.' i know i'm not Christian, but it just seemed right to do such a thing.the SMSes started coming in. cheers, all! thanks again.i'd like to thank all the teachers for their support of the band, all the behind-the-scenes work. it's very often this unnoticed work that is the most important, and they've done all they can, whenever they can, to make things happen, so, thank you very much, teachers.and. i think i'll leave a whole paragraph for this. Mr Brando Tan, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I know, i haven't been the best member you could possibly have, and i'm no fantastic trumpet player either, but in all honesty, my waking-up in regards to how the band works and what makes band such a magical activity, was mostly thanks to you. i've been under you for 3 1/2 years, and i've seen the regime change quite dramatically. comparing this year with 2005, the preparation process is significantly different. i think it was down to your ability to adapt so quickly to the new environment, that got the best out of us this year. Thanks, really, for everything. this may sound cheesy, but hell man, you changed my life. it's been a pleasure working under you, it really has been. I'll be sad to leave your guidance as a band instructor. My heartfelt thanks, once again.Juniors, it's time to step up. I hope i've prepared you guys enough to be able to make the step up without too much hassle. take good care of your Sec 1s, they'll be the ones taking part in SYF 2009. make it so that they will be able to experience what you guys have today. as always, any troubles, i'm always available, be it via phone or msn or whatever. Cheers. you guys deserve what you got. remember that. you only get what you deserve, so keep striving for excellence, and you'll get excellent results in whatever you do.'Band 79, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School... Gold with Honours!'
the words will ring forever more, in my mind.
Winston.