are you that charitable?

Quote "its not my style to contribute to charity this way, I will usually contribute money instead"

will money really settle the problems of the needy? yes, no doubt it will be used to buy equipment and necessities for them. but will you prefer to stretch out a helping hand to them get past the day, week, month, year better?

Some may think charity work is shit work with no returns, but in actual fact, the satisfaction of making someone's life better.

Okay, Why I decide to take up Candle of the Soul project? Quite simple reason, I am part of a bunch of people that hurries through the pace of life. Sometimes ignoring the needy that goes along the street begging for that few cents in our pockets to get by the day. But how much dollar and cents can we give to ensure that all have a full stomach at the end of the day and a warm, cozy night ahead.

Been to Korea twice, korea is a country known for its harsh winter. At the peak of it is -20 degC (or worst). I was there at the begining of winter, about 5 degC, was crossing an overhead bridge, saw this old granny sitting in the middle, what is she doing? begging of course. I can't help to think, how much can 10,000 won (about USD 10) help her in this cold weather. The experience strikes me hard till this day...

Won't it be nice if we could just slow down our pace to do something to improve their lifes? So i pray for an opportunity, and it was answered! So i am heading the Campfire project hopefully will bring joy and warmth to these disabled kids! =) the other is a CD project, expected to launch in December.

Candle of the Soul CD - Soft launch begining of December
Campfire @ Sentosa - 31 March 2007

Well.. if you do read this post, and do want to help out. Tag or call me! I am constantly open to volunteers!

End of the day.. are you that charitable? and in what ways?

Auf Wiedersehn!

pre-enlistment update

well, just thought of sharing what's going on so far.

NS enlistment is round the corner, in about 3 weeks time. so ya, there goes all my freedom. anyway, been looking forward to it. just the thought of my freedom..... all the time that i bump around. Grr... hehe! so.. its 3 months in Tekong. Weekend book outs, road march, field camp, physical training. Wow...

Heading 2 charity projects under the name Candle of the Soul. 1 is CD album, songs by physically n mentally challange ppl the other is a Campfire. Things have been going... even though the ride so far is bumpy.. it will smoothen out by itself eventually. i hope. hehe! if there are volunteers out there interested to help out, especially the Campfire. pls let me know. I need all the hands in the world i can get! Will be a fun, exciting event.. nxt yr.. haha!

will be dropping into Surabaya, Indonesia to visit the disable kids end of the year. hmm... having a photo exhibition in mind. will it materialize?

So with the recent NBC n alumni performance @ CVSS concert, i guess that's about it for me being active in band tis year. wonder if i could join SWO for end-yr concert? hmm... Well, got to work the timings out again. life will be a total change with NS coming into play.

yesterday's SWO prac was a blast! all the exciting pieces like Samurai by Nigel Clarke, Passion of Christ... Wee..! enjoy, thou was tough! they are proposing Sydney trip nxt year somewhere in june, well... we shall see how it goes. i am skeptical. haha. coz of personal experience. nothing to do with SWO.

Well.. that's all for now!

Auf Wiedersehen!

SFF - Team France

my humble shots.. Zoom out of VCH after my performance.

NDP fireworks another day k? coz not taken with my cam. Till then...

Auf Wiedersehen!

SFF Round 1

Failed attempt at Team Italy @ Singapore Fireworks Fest. But manage to capture this.

All pics taken so far are from Canon Digital Ixus 400 if ya wondering.

Auf Wiedersehen!

fresh from the cam

this is what i get from a restless Saturday morning, a pile of music scores, a conductor's baton and a digital camera. haha.. Fresh from post processing..

till then again...

Auf Wiedersehen!

1 Macro, 3 B&W

bored at home.. again, i was browsing through my hdd, looks like time for me to shoot more images.. haha!

a rose for you? give me some food...? Once again, my favourite in black and white
Product shot of my computer's mouse
Till then..

Auf Wiedersehen!

National Band Competition

Yeah! comp finally over... so the Shuqun/Compassvale/Zhenghua Combined Alumni Band (freaking long name!) got GOLD!!!!!

A Breakdown of 6 Bands participated in the Open Division:
1. Mus' Art Wind Orchestra - Gold
2. Temasek JC - Gold (Top Band)
3. Ngee Ann Polytechnic Concert Band - Silver
4. Shuqun/Compassvale/Zhenghua Combined Alumni Band - Gold
5. Singapore Management University Symphonia - Gold
6. Raffles JC - Gold

3 Bands including us played the same choice piece - Machu Picchu
3 Bands excluding us played the same set piece - Second Suite in F for Bands

Happy and many congrats to the following 2 bands:
From the 2nd Division: Sembawang Symphonic Winds - Gold (Top Band)
From 3rd Divison: Riverside Secondary School Symphonic Winds - Gold

Other details of the comp - http://sgbandfusion.com/nbc2006_results.htm

No pics yet.. Will upload if any becomes available to me. I will post my thoughts and comments next time la, brain very tired now.. haha! Once again, Congrats to all.. Every effort put in is paid off!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Concertstück for four horns

Great recommendation for all horn players!

Concertstück for four horns in F major, Op. 68
12 January 2007
7.30 pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Haha.. I know the concert is next year, but just mark it down on your calendar k? Concertstück (a.k.a "Concert Piece") a piece unusually scored for 4 solo horns with the orchestra. Very unique piece and I highly recommend hornist to go! Of course if there is a horn concerto concert, haha, that definately must go also..

Auf Wiedersehen!

Landscape & Travel

backing up some of my folders. just thought of sharing some images.

A Walk down Memory Lane?

First 5 are from Ayuthaya, Ancient Capital of Thailand. Showing the ruins and country side of Thailand.

Well, the last one is quite familiar to all i believe..

Auf Wiedersehen!

15 years of music making

Wheee..! its over finally. the horns have pulled through Mahler. parts which is written for 7 horns and done with 4 horns.. wonder how we do it. anyway, i think i sound pretty alright jus for minor hiccups during encore. mmm.. the concert is 3 hours long. one of the longest concert i have done. phew! candid moment- shake Kenneth's hand while standing up in full view of the audience just before Mahler. haha! Overall the concert was quite good!

Guys that made it happen
(Left to right) Tze Jun, Kenneth, Me, Alvin
Singapore River la..Another perspective

that's all la.. till then!

Auf Wiedersehen!

a little update

Guten Tag! Wie hist du? World cup is here! oh whatever.. haha..! nothing to much to write also...

okies, my violin is finally fixed. so happy! can start screaching away at home and irritate everyone. hahaha!! kidding, i will properly learn and master the instrument and upgrade the size till i hit the string bass. haha!!

yah, currently mahler fever.. Symphony No.1 every weekend. concert is this coming Saturday. biggest work i ever undertaken. my lips are practically red every weekend. and i love the horn parts.. Woooo...! well, still no match to the German orchestras like Berlin, Wiener or the Austrians like the Vienna phil .. for what i know, LSO (London Symphony Orchestra) horns are... *speechless*

oh yah, was on my way home from work crossing the junction at my house mrt there. Guess what.. all traffic came to a standstill to allow the motorcade of the Japanese Emperor n Empress drive by.. Awesome sight!!!! haha! don't get to see such things everyday.

anyway, that's all la, will update post SWO concert. till then..

Auf Wiedersehen!

don't slam the phone

i realise i have no tolerance for people who slam the phone on me. still a little pissed.

what happened? okay i received a phone call which i assume its from a MLM company la, claiming i won some fantastic prize from a lucky draw which i participated in. Which is totally not true la, coz i never participated it. Funny thing is, they claim the lucky draw that i have participated is within the past one year. But i response, saying i never participate it within the past one year, and quickly they change their claim that it (the draw) happen more than a year ago. Again i told them is not possible, coz i am a student. and immediately they hang/slam the phone on me.

okay, i am totally fine with answering such nonsense calls, and i handle such calls by rejecting them nicely lo. but i think it went too much as to suddenly hang up my phone. i think its basic courtesy that they end the call nicely even though they don't get a lead for their sales or whatever stuff they are involve it.

do note that the person answering the phone is also paying for airtime, and they don't wish to receive such treatment from an unwanted phone call.

so what am i trying to say, slamming the phone on people will jus add fuel to fire or start a fire.

my 2 cent's worth.

Auf Wiedersehen!

ticket updates

seriously, other than tracking the sales status of a concert. i don't really understand the need for frequent (every 2-3 days) of ticket updates. seriously, if a ticket is sold, it is sold and it will added into the sales figure right?

i think ticket updates has become a platform to irritate people for no particular reasons. seriously (for the 3rd time) ticket holders itself are very concerned about the sales status of their tickets too.. and trying very hard to push the sales. stressing day in day out so what's the point of reminding them to sell, asking them to improve the sales.

for me, i am neither a good salesman nor good in selling. and i truly believe in selling when people are willing to buy. what's the point of spitting out liters of saliva, persuading them to attend the concert and end of the day they getting nothing out of it?

my point is, why do update every 2-3 days? isn't weekly updates going to get the same figure? i don't think its ______ (what's the word?) to answer phone calls at a high frequency, and the caller to make the phone call out of his/her own expense.

i know i will get into serious trouble if this post has been read by certain group of people, but its my blog, and i am just giving my 2 cents worth. if you have read this and disagree and getting furious over what i have written, my thousand apologies. and don't worry, still pushing to improve the sales.

once again,
Ladies and Gentlemen presenting SWO concert:

17 June 2006

Victoria Concert Hall

6.00 pm

Performing:

G. Mahler - Symphony No. 1 "Titans"

Concerto fo Bass Clarinet and Band

Concerto for Trumpet

Pantomine - featuring Euphonium

Highlights from Chess

Les Miserables

Tickets @ $12.00

*Pls Kindly contact me for tickets!

Thank you for you support!

this post is written without the intention to harm anyone, anything, anywhere, anytime.

Auf Wiedersehen!

*i can be contacted by email, msn, hp or tag board

Enlistment

Title speaks for itself!

8 Sep 2006
BMTC School 2
8.00 a.m

5 more months to bump around. Next 6 yrs already planned out. Woosh!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Espirit De Corp

Okay, i am still feeling a little, haiz, in fact very sore from SYF even though its over for a few days.

So yah, even though pianist is not penalised for anything and i can actually ignore what has happen. But its WRONG to ignore it! Remember when I first came across this word/phrase whatever u call it "Espirit De Corp" which defines as team spirit. I am part of the team. So as a team, we are up and we are down together.

Team player - Someone who carries out his/her duties and responsibilities as part of the team
Team member - A person who is part of the team
Team Spirit - The energy that bonds a group together

I thinking i am just blabbering out. Thoughts still in a mess... still feeling sore.

feel free to ignore this post. Thanks!

Auf Wiedersehen!

SMU, SYF and others...

so today was SYF day huh.. just got back from VCH. Nervous as usual, hey i mean don't you guys get nervous before competition? the must buy, must have and must drink RED BULL!! energy boosting! the kids did pretty well for rehearsal this morning. and i think they did a good job on stage. results were...... very very disappointing. haiz. moody moody now and will last for next few days..

Well, peeps, be contented with whatever results achieve during a competition k.. don't get to swell headed or over confident with yourself! don't start blaming judges for the unexpected results. Good Sportsmanship! and yes, all pianist, please try out the piano before playing, u nv want the touch of the piano to become a shock to you. (if pianos were portable! the dream of all pianist!)

Learn from it, improve from it! Move on..

Received letter of offer for Bachelor of Science (Information System Management) from SMU few days back. hehee.. so happy, smiling as i open the envelope! haha! coz its printed Congratulations on the envelope mah! so you will know whats the content before its open. now i can't wait to start Uni life, but will have to wait 2 yrs later coz of you know what la! Bye bye to SNU n Yonsei la! hope i can still do the summer programme with them (that's another thing). and of course, i am accepting the offer!

something not related with what have been posted.

been extremely irritated with certain issues. peeps, please please please, learn to make comment that factual and not anyhow shoot things off your mouth. listen up! i will not tolerate untrue comments made against me! don't talk about defamation and slender to me when you yourself don't know the meaning of it!

Don't you agree? As friends, you have no rights to control your friends! expecting them to do things, appear at places as and when you wish! As teachers, there is no rights and privillages to controlling students. the duty of a teacher is to teach what you suppose to teach, and at most guide them through their life.

Don't speak of responsiblity, leadership and anything of similar context when u don't know the TRUE meaning of it or putting the words into actions.

i am so irritated!

oh yeah! i have written an essay on the art of conducting. interested to read? haha...

anyway, long post but that's all folks!

The desires of the righteous shall be granted (Proverbs 10:24)

Auf Wiedersehen!

That's life rite?

The past week has made me realize how life is so unpredictable. Running between 2 hospitals in a night. A perfectly healthy person can be brought down by virus or own body cells turning malignant. And now have to undergo treatment, chemo therapy, imagine pumping chemicals into your body that are out to destroy every cell in the body cause they are unable differentiate between healthy and malignant cells. As close family members, all we can do now is to pray hard for speedy recovery.

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing (Psalm 41:3)

So yah, I did mention life is unpredictable rite? Just received a last i mean really last minute request to be participate in SYF with a primary school choir as their pianist. Stress! Competition is in 2 Weeks. Wish me luck!

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolution of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. (Proverbs 3:25-26)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Moving on...

so yah.. results finally out after a long long long wait. Passed and completed Diploma course. What a big relieve after all the nights of mugging away for exam. Phew..! Going to miss school life. The classroom, air con, tables, chairs,Programming, Presentations, Stress, Stress and more stress and last of all.. crappy stuffs! haha! But got to move on liao..! Jungle here i come! (orh yee orh yee orh!!!)

Primary Education? Checked!

Secondary Education? Checked!

Tertiary Education 1? Checked! and to be continued!

National Education? Un-Checked!

oh yah! anyone have this book --> SAT: The offical Guide ? can lend me or give me. haha.. need to study for it la.

Leave you with this quote from the bible --> He giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Concert Annoucement!!!

SWO Concert 17 June 2006

Venue: As usual VCH

Time: 6.00 pm!! <--- Hey! Take note hor!

Repertoire:

Symphony 1 - G. Mahler

Trumpet Concerto, Bass Clarinet Concerto

Les Miserables

Highlights from "Chess"

Will post this up again at a later date. Tickets are available now. Please call me at 9xxxxxxx for ticket bookings. haha! and yes, i am also reachable by MSN, Multiple Email or the tag board just in case you don't know how to find me.

Hello 2006!

i know its way into the new but not that new year already. haha.. hope all had a enjoyable festive season! =)

so yah.. finish exams, waiting for results and expecting the dreaded letter. Kinda reminds me of the good old post O's days. waiting for results, rotting away at home minus the waiting of the dreaded letter. hahaha!

school life was pretty okay. lots of breaks around. always out of school for lunch. hardly eat canteen food this semester. haha! all thanks to the wonderful invention - Car. Well.. i am not the driver yet. haha.. soon..

been shooting photos alot the past two months, i will upload the photos to my photo albums over the next few days, weeks and months. Erm.. progressively la. haha! anyway, here are some shots. first 2 are from Istana. Our shifu with Unity secondary school on Istana grounds. I think i pretty neat to have it in black & white.

Metal birds guarding our skies at AA2006. The F-16 Fighting Falcon with the sniper pod. Head on shot of this bird. look lean and mean. FYI, F-16 are not design to fly. And the Singapore's own Apache Longbow back from detachment from US (see the bird from a different view). Trip made possible by my mum giving up her ticket. haiz... Oh ya.. check the Gulfstream jet. cool? its mine! muahahaha!

Orchids from Istana
Black & White of Shuqun's Shifu

F -16 Fighting Falcon

Apache Longbow

Gulfstream G450 own by yours truly!

so that all for now.. watch out for the next 2 post on Responsiblity and Leadership. Why i want to talk about? Because YOU make me talk about it.

I leave with this quote from the bible - The Lord shall guide thee continually. (Isaiah 58:11)

Auf Wiedersehen!