Friday, November 30th 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAY!
There's so much I want to type about, but simply have no time to.
I'm currently trying to multi-task eating my lunch (of weird-looking instant noodles found in the noodle drawer) and typing and trying to remember my lines for emceeing tonight.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I've to leave for Malaysia, squashed up with my family in the car for 8 hours straight. How I'll survive, I don't know. I wish I had some electronic-game thingies to keep me occupied. I'll have my iPod, though, and maybe some books. I could read up on Elvis or something.
Will be back on 8-10th.

Been having an ultra-busy week so far. There's this choir concert tonight, and I'm giving the pitch for Søk Herren. Must remember to put it down after I blow this time. The last time I gave the pitch for that song, I forgot to put it down and ended up having to clap with the pitch-pipe in hand!
I've come across some beautiful thoughts and quotes the past two weeks, and I'll leave you guys with one. My conductor said this while we were learning a new song:
It's like a rhythm. We can't see our heart beating, but we can feel it beating, and know that we're alive.

Sunday, November 18th 2007

Friday was so fun! We had a Livingstones meeting, even though half of the watch wasn't there. They couldn't make it or something. We ate at Subway, "we" being Jolene, Yiqi, Glen, Kai, Constance, Lizzie and I. It wasn't a very good gathering, because somehow the conversations split into two clear groups. Constance, Lizzie and Kai in one, the rest of us in the other. I don't know what the other group was talking about, mostly about people they knew. Our group was talking mostly about Squirrelface. LOL!
There was a lot, a lot of laughter in our conversation about Squirrelface.

I went for my third ballet class yesterday, got my first pair of shoes! The girls in my class are so skinny, you'd think they haven't eaten in months. Need to practice my ballet moves, couldn't get the combined movements right. I find myself looking forward to each Saturday.

I love "Blades of Glory"! Some parts of the story may be stupid, but I love the moves. Feel like going ice-skating. I like the fact that Jon Heder looks like a girl in the movie.
I love the chemistry in the movie, when they're skating to "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith.

Wednesday, November 14th 2007

Only yesterday did my choir start on a new piece, this Italian love song. While learning it, my conductor started talking about Italians, and how they're always so dramatic. (No offence.) There was this one sentence she said that stuck in my mind, like an annoying piece of chewing gum at the bottom of my shoe:

They'd rather love and be in pain than not love at all.

It kept coming back to me, hour after hour. I thought about it, and I thought, " I'd also rather love and be in pain than not love at all".

I've heard people talk about love. It's a sensitive topic. They use words like "magical" , "wonderful" and "extraordinary" to describe love. Some say it can't be described, it's just this feeling, but a very good one. I don't know how to describe love either, but I know it would be terrible to live a life without love. I'd rather love and be in pain than not love at all.

Next topic.
Were you readers ever forced to tell someone off? It's your duty, it's your job to maintain order and togetherness in the group you belong to, but if someone really sticks out in a bad way and you were forced to step in and say something, how would you act, knowing that whichever decision you chose to make, you'd get hated by someone?
Were you ever driven to the point where even that someone's bad behavior bothered you? Would you tolerate it and save yourself from that someone (comes with the whole group hating you), or would you just nail it down and get hated by that someone?
I hate this feeling, getting hated for doing my job. It's like there are choices but I'm not given any good ones, ones that'll save myself.

Monday, November 12th 2007

Is it possible to fall in love with a person by just listening to his/her voice?

It's 3 days after OBS, I miss Squirrelface! I miss his in between tenor and bass speaking voice. Once, I heard him singing to himself, it was nice. I'm so glad he followed us around for all five days.

Sunday, November 11th 2007

I love(d) OBS! I wish it didn't have to end, even though I was running out on clean clothes to wear. Tough and simple life.

I just dug up one of the Hi-5 songs I used to love. "L.O.V.E". Now I understand why I liked it so much, it's so catchy. Simple but nice. I used to jump around on the sofa to that song when Dad was asleep.

Let me type about the first part of OBS.

When I got there, we stuck to our own cliques. I remember clinging to the IJ girls in my watch. Initially, I was hoping for no other IJ girls in my watch, so I could start afresh, if you know what I mean. It wasn't too bad, even though there were IJ girls in my watch. There were many other people from other schools to get to know. I think we had ice-breaking games on the first day, it was pretty boring. We had our first taste of the fierce jungle mosquitoes on/at Ubin.
Terrible, I tell you. They were swarming us like bees.
We also learnt to tie different knots, which we had to use in our tent-pitching. I met Yiqi, who is also from choir, and it was great because we could discuss it.

Dinner on the first day was a mix of rice, mini sausages and boiled peanuts. There were baked beans too but I didn't have any. I shared dinner with Lizzie. The rice turned out like porridge, but it tasted good after a long, tiring day.
We finally settled down in our tents at around 11pm, after showering and spraying a layer or two of insect repellent on our bodies.

We rose dark and early the next morning, since the sun wasn't even up yet. I think it was 5.30am. My body was all stiff from sleeping on the bumpy ground through the tent. We washed up and got ready for P.T.
P.T. wasn't very tiring. It wasn't as bad as my choir's, but it was still P.T. They had several games, too. Breakfast of biscuits and fruit, then we changed into our long-sleeved shirts and long trousers and "wet" shoes, and went to meet Elton at the instructors' lodge. We then all went down to the sheds to learn about kayaks. I remember it was drizzling, but we were going to get wet anyway, so nobody cared.
We learnt how to hold the paddles, how to get into the kayaks correctly, how to steer the kayaks, and then came the real thing where we actually went out into the sea in our kayaks.
I discovered I'm sea-sick.
Vomited into the sea once that day, when we were learning the basics of kayaking.
Will continue the rest another day.

Friday, November 9th 2007

Elton: Livingstone!
Us: Wooo!

OBS was awesome! Won't type about it tonight simply because I'm too lazy, and also too tired.
Will post some lyrics, though. Josh Groban's "To Where You Are".

Who can say for certain
Maybe you're still here
I feel you all around me
Your memory's so clear

Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be (?)
That you are mine
Forever love
And you are watching over me from up above

Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile to know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are

Are you gently sleeping
Here inside my dream
And isn't faith believing
All power can't be seen

As my heart holds you
Just one beat away
I cherish all you gave me everyday
'Cause you are mine
Forever love
Watching me from up above

And I believe
That angels breathe
And that love will live on and never leave

Fly me up
To where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile to know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are

I know you're there
A breath away's not far
To where you are

Sunday, November 4th 2007

Yesterday was a very productive day.
I went swimming in the morning, swam 6x50m. Not much, but it's more than the last time.
Then I came home and practiced some guitar chords.
In the evening, I went for my first ballet class! My sister went with me. Tiring but I enjoyed it. It's like you can move so freely without being laughed at, because everyone else is doing the same thing. I think I want to continue taking ballet, but perhaps starting again in January if I don't have time to go for classes in Nov/Dec.

Gonna spend today just lazing around, memorising choir scores, maybe picking up some groceries, cooking stew, and packing for OBS. Can't believe OBS is tomorrow. All my Sec school life I've wanted to go for it. Now that I am going for it, I feel scared. Just scared that I won't be accepted, or things like that.
Looks like I'll just have to type about it once I get back.

Friday, November 2nd 2007

I'm listening to "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban on Youtube. I forgot how beautiful it is. It has absolutely beautiful lyrics. I remember when I first got the CD, I loved that song.

Things are finally looking up again. A few good things happened today, and even though we didn't have any really cool, interesting lessons today, they were fine. I lived through the boredom. I can't believe it was the last day of school today. I'm upset that Mr Fausta Tan isn't teaching us next year. My SS actually improved! I'll also miss laughing at him.
Thank goodness there's still choir in school.

OBS is on Monday! I'm excited, but I'm also nervous. I don't know what'll happen there. I hope I'm up for it.

I'll just post a photograph I found on the internet months ago. It's at the head of the post.