T'was the rehearsal before CHMA 2010

Just thought I'd put up some photos that I snapped of our final rehearsal before the night itself on 15th May. 

It's amazing how the whole event managed to pull through this year.  First and foremost, CHMA's never been so early in the year, it's usually in July.  Secondly, ticket sales were never a concern because the event's always been very well-supported and attended by CHMA alumni and other old boys of the school..but not so this year..could be because of the break we took last year (due to H1N1, the concert was cancelled last year), or the cluster of CH concerts in this 2 weeks...or just a general declining interest...I don't know..

As of CHMA night, my favourite number is now 89, because there were 89 tix sold on the night of CHMA itself.  Though it's great, it was an unnerving time preparing for CHMA this year, what with the lack of ticket sales till the day before, sound/lights system tripping the power a few times during our full-dress rehearsal the night before and whatever other "small" little irritating things that happened.

Many would have heard, that our piano fell onto one of our stage crew's foot JUST before the concert was to start, and one of the groups got disqualified from the compeition, both a first in my few years of handling CHMA.

But all in all, I'm just SUPER glad that we managed to pull off another year of CHMA...many thanks to those who came to support the event by buying tickets, be it willingly, or half-willingly because you were coerced into it somehow.  Your presence really made a difference to the finalists and crew, who spent time and sweat preparing their performances. 

Thanks to the large bunch of old boys who came back to help (special thanks to S & M for taking over as backstage crew after the piano accident, for sacrificing being able to watch the show as audience & sweating it out with the rest of the young crew:) ) and support the event from the night before through to CHMA on the day itself.  Thanks also to the few colleagues who turned up to show support amidst horrendous deadlines and commitments to fulfill, your presence made a huge difference.

And finally, kudos to the IMedia crew, I can't believe we made it ;)

So here are the shots..
Creative Expressions Merit Award Winner: 24GB

Solo Vocals: Jacob Chin

Solo Vocals: Goay Dow

Instrumental Merit Award Winner: Shaun Tan

 

Solo Vocals: Leon Lee

 

Solo Vocals: Chong Kuan Hoe

 

 

Solo Vocals: Li Jian Wei

 

And this is just to show that as one of the producers of the show, what do I spend my time doing amidst running final rehearsal? WRAP GIFTS & WRITE CARDS FOR GUEST PERFORMERS & JUDGES.

 

And this is us, flashing tired but relieved smiles after the whole event concluded for the night.

And this is my absolute FAVOURITE picture of the night, because of the background meaning of us sticking out our pinkies :)

And thus concludes our journey for CHMA 2010...

This was me yesterday....the feeling of being MALIGNED and wronged...a simple matter that could have been avoided, but spiraled on its own into a big hoolabalu because the person didn't bother to check for facts and just made assumptions rigged with selfish reasons.....why are people like that?  I though we were friends and we understood each other.

And this is me today.  From being maligned, to being given a cold shoulder when I took the first step and stretched my hand out to offer an opportunity for explanations & reconcilliation.  All I got in return, was a cold reply "Ya, am okay." to a friendly/concerned "Are you okay?  Are you very stressed?"  I took it upon myself to give the benefit of the doubt that when people are stressed, they tend to jump at others.  But I guess, this is it.  I have made up my mind to let the person wallow in whatever anger and misconceptions that the person has.  Let the person be. 

On top of that, I still had to deal with more people demanding that I give in to their opposing requests.  Do I look like I can do so many things at the same time?  Be given a cold shoulder, and settling everyone's requests?

I think, I don't have that ability.

CHMA.Join.The.Party.15th.May.2010.

I'll be there.  Will you?

It's April already..

I figured I better publish this blog post which I started on 3 weeks ago, before I decide to totally discard it...have been so busy I didn't have time to actually finish this post that I started.  So am just gonna post this for now, and perhaps after I've recuperated on my serious lack of sleep since 2 weeks ago, I'll blog somemore about most recent happenings of last week :)
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(Post Written on 2nd week of April....)
Hmmm....so it's April already, and 3 weeks of the term has passed me by.  Seems I left my blog in an air of negativity just before the term started...mmmm...no good....  What I didn't get to update however, over the last 3 weeks, is how the sermon in church on the weekend JUST before term started really encouraged me & gave me an immense sense of peace before this term began.  It was on a most familiar passage from the Bible, Matthew 6:25-34..

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?   Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labour or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." 

I guess, it was not the first time I heard a sermon on the above passage, but the sermon that was preached on that Saturday sounded as if it was specially written for me...it spoke about how some of us live with a "poverty mindset", how we beat ourselves over things that we feel we've failed to achieve & are upset about, and then feel all depressed and suicidal, & talked about how we forget that God is waiting for us to talk with Him, and is actually not hiding from us, contrary to what many people think about how it is difficult to find God when you try to.  There were many other pointers in the sermon that I felt spoke straight to my heart about the frustrations that I had been going through for the whole of Term 1, & I really felt a sense of peace after that church service. :)
So...here's a photo update of the many things that had been going on since Jan, but I never felt like I had the mood to post nor talk about :)

Vietnam Trip 09
Highlights of the trip, seen through pictures :)

Pho Bo..which translated, means beef noodles.  SUPER yummy staple that we ate almost every day while in vietnam..

Coffee :)  This little device helps to brew the super thick and strong smelling vietnamese coffee..we all bought one or two back for our loved ones at the end of the trip :)

This is what it looks like on the inside...

Cao Dai Temple.  Our day-trip out to this temple took us HOURS on the road...was a most intriguing temple...colours very atypical of those that we see in normal buddhist or taost temples (like pink, light green)..  Caodaism is the 3rd largest religion in Vietnam after Buddhism and Roman Catholicism.

The very elaborate Cao Dai worship service which is open to tourists everyday at 12noon.

Very yummy malt-covered fried donuts...we couldn't resist buying it on to eat on the bus for our day-trip out.

Cu chi tunnel.  One of our destinations on our day-trip out.  One of the most significant battle grounds and underground community living of the Vietnam people in the Vietnam war with the Americans.  Now you see him....

...now you don't!  This was how the Vietnamese people ambushed lots of the American soldiers during the war.

War Remnants Musuem.  A place that we started off with looking at tanks, helicopters, guns...then went on to seeing this "Crimes in Phu Quoc Prison".  Sigh...really very brutal & depressing...makes one wonder how people can treat other human beings in such terrible ways of tortures.  I guess this is what war does to people, makes them lose their senses.

This was me BEFORE I looked at the exhibits on the inside of "Tiger Cages", which held all the descriptions and pictures of all those horrendous and horrifying tortures that the people went through during the war.

When I saw this exhibit, I literally let out a scream and jumped towards my friend...because the exhibit of this tiny cell that the prisoners-of-war stayed in looked so real.  Those who know me, will know that I'm a person who rarely screams over anything.  The fact that I screamed...sigh....looking at the exhibits really caused the few of us to ponder and reflect...so sad....

Love the sight of the sun's ray peeking out from behind the dark clouds...got to see this really nice view of it after our visit to the war remnants musuem..

Just another beautiful view of the sky :)  Taken when out on our road trip and on our way back to the hotel in the bus... :)

This is interestingly a common sight on the streets of Vietnam, short little tables and short little chairs in restuarants and other street shops. 

Just one of the many sinful snacks that we had during our trip... :)

We saw this along the streets in Ho Chi Minh...seriously the land of PIRATES :P

Onboard a junk ship in Ha Long Bay, where we stayed one night on the ship..what you see is already the ENTIRE room, there's no more space on the left and right of the beds, and the picture is taken from the door ;)

For photo enthusiasts like me, Ha Long Bay was a really nice place to visit...loads of opportunities to keep clicking..

At the end of a cave exploration at one of the caves of Ha Long Bay..

Seriously love shots of the setting son reflecting off the ripples of the sea...

Love this shot taken of me by Z too...black and white photos always seem to have a nice feel to it..

If you visit Vietnam, go to this ice-cream joint called Fanny's.  SUPER delicious ice-cream!

Clamshells being roasted at one of the markets.   A pity we didn't get to try it in the end...

At one of the lakes in Hanoi, there's this place that has an exhibit of a GARGANTUAN embalmed tortoise!  Apparently there's this legend about how the tortoise took a sword from a prince from long time ago...that's why this picture that I'm pointing to has a sword on the back of the tortoise.  Seems the last sighting of this large tortoise was somewhere in year 2000, pretty recent!

Passion...where are you?

I said I'd post after a few days of rest..and now, I'm 1.5 days away from term reopening...down with a persistent cough since last Sunday, and now all I am doing is looking forward to the next public holiday, which would be Good Friday.  Well, considering that the next long weekend is gonna be just a short(?) 2 weeks from now, makes the upcoming Monday more bearable I guess.  But yet I ask myself, does it have to be this way?  Why all the negativity.....I can't understand it either. It's almost as if, the love and passion that I once had, has slowly evaporated over the last 10 weeks.  I think about it with a tinge of sadness, that my actions are but just a routine now, and a robotic-like reaction to what is expected of me.  Whatever happened to the deep satisfaction and joy that I felt, even when it was really tough-going, but I felt that it was all worth it?  I used to really love what I do...I really did.  But now, there are but just pockets of what I used to love that barely keeps me going....

I need to find myself back...and fast...else..how would I last till Nov?

Much needed break...

I can't even start to describe how relieved and happy I am that the March break is here.  Frankly, I've never looked forward so much to a break before in my 6 years of working...*phew*

So much to say...but don't know how to say them.....

Shall give myself a few days of rest first....

January Update..

I miss 2-1 '09.
I guess I miss the familiarity of a close-knitted bunch whom I'd gladly identify with as a FT....able people whom I can trust to get things done...kids who had already reached a certain level of maturity. 

2010 has been....I'd say, challenging so far.  It's been a long time since I've had to take up the kind of workload that I've been entrusted with this year.  And on top of that, have been given added portfolios too.  Most people would think that it's a good thing, afterall, being given more to do is possibly a sign that one is being noticed, and is an affirmation of one's ability.  But...for me, what I like most, is to be able to spend quality time on what I enjoy most, which is simply, to teach.

Another challenge is, that I have not had to work with small little 13 year olds for about 4 years now...and now, I've got 74 of them.

It's been really quite a hectic January I must say...and, I think my body clock had turned a little wonky.  I feel sleepy by the time it is early 12+am, fall asleep, and then wake at 4+am to continue working.  I thought I had already gone past this stage of work about 3 years ago?  AND, to add to it, I'm getting all sorts of funny aches and pains!  Have been to the doctor twice, and a sinseh once over the last 2 weeks.  Gosh, I'm not even 30!  Hmmm......but I guess, like it or hate it, I still gotta get through it somehow, so...hopefully I get used to the amount of things I gotta do soon.

At least a loong weekend is coming up for CNY soon, so, that's something to look forward to.  Just like the last 2 years, I'll be going over to Hong Kong to visit my maternal relatives for the festive season :)

Much has taken place in January besides work....and I shall let the photos do the talking..

Bro's wedding

My maternal relatives who came over from Hong Kong for my brother's wedding...this is us, along Orchard Road..all of them all happily holding onto a piece of $1 durian ice-cream that we bought along the road :)

The night before the wedding...my aunt and granny pasting the Xi (meaning "Happiness") onto my brother's room's door..

My cousin W and I on the actual day of the wedding... :)

My new sister-in-law together with my mum, brother and I.

My nephews and 2 nieces....cute right?

Maternal relatives :)

Firestation Hillside Gastrobar

Not sure how many people actually know that there's this old firestation at Upper Bukit Timah.  I think the concept is a little similar to that of Old School at Mount Sophia, except that for Old School, it was a old school-turned-Arts Hub, whereas for this place, it is an old firestation-turned-Arts Hub.  Inside this revamped firestation, is a place called Firstation Hillside Gastrobar.  Nice little cosy western dining place tucked at a small corner of the firestation with 'live' music on some nights.  Food's not bad, ambience is nice..quiet and beside greenery.  Definitely a nice little cool chill-out place for meet-ups.

Meet-up at S's house

Haha, what can I say, it's always nice to meet with old friends =)  And no, it's not that I love wearing the shirt I'm wearing, it's just that I had come from a newspaper collection community involvement project that took place that morning with the kids.

Meet-up with 4-1 '08

Met up with my 4-1 guys just a few days ago...am amazed at how they're always able to get a group of at least 15 out whenever they meet =)

If you enjoy attention on your birthday, you should celebrate it at Fish & Co.  Haha, the waiters and waitresses literally shout and clap simultaneously in a rhythmic manner to get EVERYONE's attention before they break out into the birthday song.  AND, on top of that, you'll be made to stand ON your chair, with a sparkler in your hand.  ;)

4-1 '08

Next update should be CNY in HK ;)  Now, it's back to marking my 2 million tests...

Nice teaching quotes

Saw some meaningful and encouraging quotes about teaching/teachers in one of those little calendars that Singapore Teachers' Union gives to their members at the start of every year.  Just thought I'd post it here, as a reminder and inspiration to myself to do always put in my best, as well as an encouragement to the rest of my friends who are teachers :)


"Teachers teach because they care.  Teaching young people is what they do best.  It requires long hours, patience, and care."
~ Horace Mann

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. "
~ Carl Jung

"The mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The great teacher inspires.  "
~ William Arthur Ward

"If you plan for a year, plant a seed.  If for ten years, plant a tree.  If for a hundred years, teach the people."
~ Kuan Chung

"In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers, and the rest of us would have to settle for something less."
~ Lee lacocca

"Whoever first coined the phrase 'you're the wind beneath my wings' most assuredly was reflecting on the sublime influence of a very special teacher."
~ Frank Trujillo