my ODYSSEY in RJCO
The past week was super eventful. That is an understatement.
Oh well, the past week sort of just raced by in a blur.
Blur because everything took place so fast and it was gone before i knew it.
Blur because i can't really remember everything about it. Everything is in fragments, and i have yet to organise my thoughts.
Blur because there were just an infinite number of things to focus on, and i had to divide my attention and as a result, couldn't focus on enjoying the process.
Blur because i'm generally quite blur when it gets to such things. Just like 'huh' 'har' 'orh'.
I think my emotions are really a bit lag this time. Okay, much more than abit. I think i'm still in an emotionless state, or maybe it's just numbness.
I'm not sure why it's like that, perhaps it's because i haven't really had time to emo over such stuff, given that my past week was so uber eventful; perhaps my reaction is retarded.
Maybe being one of the main organisers of the concert, being personally involved in the planning has affected me as well. Just that i always thought that being involved on a personal level is supposed to bring on even more severe withdrawals, but i haven't felt that yet. Just like how i was suffering super bad withdrawals post rgco concerts, yet i feel close to nothing after a hsinghai concert.
Maybe my withdrawals have already begun, just that i haven't acknowledged them as withdrawal symptoms yet. I'm still stuck in the CO mood, and i don't want to switch back into academics mode, even though i know that A level are only 6 months away, and i'm so not prepared. Academics just don't seem important anymore. Right now, i just want to spend all my days with the CO people, go out for dinners with them, camwhore with them, practise pieces together. It's like how it was GP CTs today and i didn't feel much even though i know that i screwed up my compre, because i'm still stuck in a virtual reality filled only with CO stuff. The real world, of endless work and stress, just seems so unappealing beside the comforts of the CO world. At times like this i really wish there is a parallel universe, then i can jump into that world and continue immersing myself in CO fantasies. But i do recognise that this is only a form of escapism, the real world still awaits me. I'm supposed to move on.
I can't believe i've actually grown so attached to RJCO, or CO in general. If you ask me why i joined CO and stayed, i'll say it's because of the people, and the atmosphere in the orchestra. It's not so much of the music, though i have to admit that i prefer chinese music as opposed to symphonic band music, which sounds too brassy to me. There's just more variety in CO music, we have 5 distinct sections, plucked strings, bowed strings, cellobass, wind, percussion, and although they're all so different from one another, they harmonise very nicely. It's the people that ultimately attracts me. It just feels like a family, we're one big family coming together to perform, and this feeling is wholesome. I don't know why, but i just find that CO people are more sincere and less fake, and they're easier to relate to. This was what i discovered back then in RGCO, and i really love my batchmates and juniors and seniors.
So much so that i thought i couldn't develop the same fondness for RJCO. RJCO seemed so vastly different from RGCO, the style of practices, the expected standard and commitment, the cooperation with teachers and conductors. JC CO is really much more demanding than secondary school, musically wise, interaction wise, responsibilities and duties wise. Back in rg, lulaoshi was mainly spoonfeeding us, doing all the work. In jc, teachers are not really involved in the running of the orchestra, and i really doubt their sense of commitment sometimes. Conductor was also a major difference. After 4 years, i had finally accepted wangmama as conductor, and on to jc, thrown into a orchestra with a totally different conductor. I can only say that laozhou's style of conducting is really different from wanglaoshi's, and he can be quite frank sometimes. And i know that many rg people weren't quite able to adapt initially, but i believe in their flexibility and adapting skills. After adapting, they'll find that jc co isn't all that bad. I think i've come to love RJCO in a manner different from how i love RGCO. I can't exactly pinpoint the difference, but i'm glad that i can love both simultaneously. Looking back, i'm quite glad that i joined RJCO. It provided me with plenty of opportunities to develop myself, as a performer, teammate, leader, friend. We've also had some memorable times together, like all the dinners after practice and late night talks at the playground, which i really cherish and wonder if we'll still ever have the same experience again.
Alright, i've been blabbering too much. Let's get back to the point.
As mentioned earlier, the entire week literally just flew by.
Since 2 weeks ago, i haven't been able to concentrate in class.
To my subject tutors, i'm sorry if i fell asleep in your class, or spent your class time doing co stuff, or didn't do your work, i hope you understand that that period was indeed very busy for me, what with h3, co and all.
Concert week was the best. There was co almost every day of the week, but i'm not complaining.
3 consecutive days of co from monday to wednesday, and i reached home at about 11pm on average. Even though physically draining, the practices were fun, because we were finally feeling the urgency, and i think our standard really reached a new level that week, although it was starting to drop by the time wednesday came, understandably, because we were all starting to get tired out.
Thursday was spent worrying about co stuff, such as flowers.
I remember rushing down with esther to far east flora in search of flower bouquets, but their service was damn bad, so in the end, we used back the same florist shop as rg.
And there was just no time to write notes. I'm very regretful about that. Reservation orders for ticketing flooded in on thursday and friday, and i was kept busy with ticketing stuff.
Friday was THE day, long-awaited and anticipated and perhaps dreaded, but it finally came. Before i know it, we were already on the bus to SCH, and all i can recall is laozhou calling me to rush us. Yes, i'll have liked to get to SCH sooner too, but what can i do if the bus came late. Rehearsals began, and my zhongsuo chose that appropriate time to give me problems, where the tongxin just came loose of its cork, so the whole metal pipe was sliding down, and i was trying hard to hold it in position using my lips. Thankfully yanglaoshi was there, and he helped me tape the cork to the pipe.
I don't really remember much of rehearsals as well, just that it ended late (because we started late) and we had to rush our dinner. And i was swamped with ticketing work to do again.
Concert finally started, the first thing i was aware of when i stepped onstage onto the suona platform was that the turnout was great. More than 90% of the audience seats were filled. Wow. That's a major achievement!
We kick started the concert with taiyang, a piece that i feel is very suitable as the beginning piece because it's so symbolic, like a rising sun at the start of the day. Well done kweky, xuewei and yannie!
Next up was yimengqing, the xianyue ensemble piece. That piece went well, i've received lots of positive feedback regarding it, so well done joyce!
The next 2 songs were huangtuqing and pirates of the caribbean. I think xiaoxue looks absolutely pretty in the black dress. I can't really comment much on their playing because i'm not professional enough, but i'ld just say that i think suona played well for that piece. So well done shida and xiaoxue, and well done sherm and joss! Pirates, the song i'm most nervous for. Gah, still think i screwed up the piece. My pitching was horrible, and the solo part can be improved further, although it was already an improvement from rehearsals. And i can't believe i squeaked on my second note. It was so obvious somemore. And for the solo part, i just felt numb, like how i felt last time bars before my solo part in shanghaisuixiang during syf. The feeling is quite gross, it's like i don't feel anything in my fingers except the pinprick sensation, ah the numbing sensation. I guess i still have stage fright and a fear of solos, so i shall avoid solos in future and leave it to the pros. But well done hongbin, his cello solo was really very nice, and thankfully he was in tempo. And well done to bingliang wenyun joyce yezi for arranging such a nice piece! I think pirates was rather popular among the audience, so great choice to include a pop song!
After intermission was qiuyun. I think shunta performed well, so well done! And wow, he has so many fans in the audience. I don't really have much impression of the tanbo item, but i'm quite glad that the guzhengs played well. So well done guzhengs!
Our last 2 pieces were mi and dong, 2 blockbuster pieces. I think mi was the only song that could have possibly been sleep inducing, for the front part, well i agree it was too repetitive. But the kuaiban totally woke everyone up. According to peien, who was sitting along the raised part, she saw the audience jump in their seats when we entered the kuaiban suddenly. There were quite some screwups for this song, but overall i think for those who know how to appreciate such abstract music, it was still a good rendition.
Dong was the finale piece, i think we played it better than our rehearsals. We encored huahaoyueyuan, and the audience were sporty enough to clap along, even though they were lagging towards the end.
Overall, i think our performance was great! There were a few minor glitches here and there, but still a commendable effort overall. The comments received were really very encouraging, and i feel really touched. I think RJCO has the potential to be so much more than a school orchestra, and through the concert, we've shown our resilience, and our potential as a professional orchestra. I think the audience found that the concert was well worth the money, and i hoped they left with the impression that co music is not boring.
I think this concert is one that we can all feel proud of, where we've shown our audience our true standard. SYF awards pale in comparison to the success of this concert. So what if we missed our gold with honours last year. I think our concert more than proved that RJCO is more than capable of attaining such a high musical standard. And ultimately, what matters is that the audience left feeling satisfied and having a good impression of RJCO, and i believed we succeeded in doing that.
After concert, we stayed over at kweky's house. I was so tired (mind you, i've been sleeping at 2 plus 3am consistently the past 2 weeks) that i slept through for the most part, and unfortunately, missed seeing hongbin being drunk and his rendition of 'shutup' then singing qiuyun; shunta sleeping on jason's lap and jason playing the erhu just above his face and shunta was sleeptalking. Nevermind, there are always photos and videos as evidence. Anyway, great note of thanks to kweky for offering her house for stayover! Hope we didn't impose too much on you and your family. Your mum is damn nice!
Concert for me officially ended when we separated after prata lunch the day after concert. I went home to sleep, obviously.
And concert was over, just like that. I'm still in a state of disbelief, and unable to face up to the reality.
Before concert, jason was asking me if i wanted concert to come.
I said no, not because i wasn't looking forward to it, but because i didn't want it to end. The times we spent practising and bonding together were fun, and i don't want these fun times to end.
Now, after concert, I still feel the same way.
I really don't want concert to end, but the reality is that it has ended.
I suppose all good things must come to an end. It is time to move on to the next big thing in my life, my As.
Yet, i can't let go. Of the past, of the good times, of the memories, of the fact that my short term future life will be revolving around academics.
I don't want it this way. But if i could change my fate, i would be God already.
Sigh, i can only try to accept what life throws in my way, and make the most out of it.
When life throws you lemons, make lemonade.
There are so many things that i'll miss.
I'll miss...
Laozhou scolding us when our attendance is bad or when we're late
Hongbin's interactions with laozhou as his girlfriend/wife
Where the Jimmy!
Mr Black!
trying to secretly play handphone games during dazu
trying to secretly mug during dazu
trying to lipread what others are saying during dazu
crapping with joss and sherm during pracs
the aircon when it's not working
the aircon when it's functioning too well
blasting the suona at 9am on saturday mornings, shocking the construction workers
covering my ears to shut out the loud sound of the suona when it's intentionally directed in your direction
eating our favourite chicken drumlets
all our dinner sessions and heart-to-heart talks at the playground
And here's a whole long series of thanks.
Thanks...
to my family classmates exclassmates ex-co mates and other friends for coming down to support! (i think i have one of the biggest family support group)
to my 2 dearest juniors who performed so wonderfully during concert (to quote laozhou: ni3 men2 chui1 de2 hen3 bang4!), and for the beautiful pirate ship, i am honestly touched by your efforts gone into making such a meaningful present for me. (the pirate ship is currently sitting atop my piano for all to see)
to shida for being a wonderful SL and all your advice posted on the blogs and for the amazing duet with xiaoxue.
to xiaoxue for the pirates earrings (hung on the ship lol) and the amazing duet with shida.
to siyun for putting in much effort to improve your skills
to weizhong for providing much entertainment with your screams, and for your random comments after long periods of observation!
to dizi sheng j1s for being part of rjchuiguan'08 and being part of the whole big family and for the times spent together during our outings.
to esther for being a great SL and helping me in my various duties such as tending the ticketing booth and accompanying me down to the flower shop
to fiona for taking the initiative to plan dinner outings (though spontaneous) and for contributing crazy ideas
to the rest of percussion section for being such a nice bunch of people to hang around with, and for your enthusiasm in coming for dinners. I really enjoyed those dinners!
to joyce for being a great SL and librarian, for copying scores without complaint, for your neat handwriting, for your great threshold for stress, for your arrangement for POTC, for leading xianyue for yimengqing. I don't know what RJCO would do without you la.
to shunta for being comic relief and for being so pro-ded in your instrument xP
to hongbin, for being a great SL and welfare head, for ordering all our dinners as well as costumes, for being laozhou's girlfriend (great source of entertainment)
to rachel and kwuanboon, for taking time off your busy schedules to come back and guest perform for us!
to huimin, for agreeing to help out again this year after your help in syf last year, for committing to co as if you're a member
to other guest performers, for coming back to help us guest perform
to ack and gillian for coming back so often and helping with concert booklet
to laozhou, for being a great conductor and source of entertainment during practices, for selling so many tickets and helping us settle much logistical stuff
to mr chan, for staying back with us for practices and not being angry when we return keys late
to ms lim, for all help in ticketing and publicity matters
to mdm ng, for all you've done for us
to the helpers, for coming down to help us make our concert a success
to the rest of the orchestra, for being a part of RJCO and contributing in every way possible
to jason, for being a wonderful chair, a great working partner, for liaising with mdm ng, for taking charge and directing the orchestra when i don't feel like a leader.
Now that my term as vice-chair of RJCO 0708 has ended, i've been reflecting much on what i've done. I feel that i've been rather inadequate as a vice-chair. Perhaps due to procrastination, or just plain lack of initiative, i haven't gone beyond the basic duties of a vice-chair. Some problems still exist with the current co, and that is partly the fault on our part, for we haven't made enough effort to bond everyone. Sometimes i just feel super antisocial and i'll keep to myself, letting others take the lead, but i suppose that's not what a vice-chair is supposed to do. I suppose i do not mix around enough with people from other sections, sticking mainly to chuida, hence i'm not as exposed to their concerns and aren't so close to them. I apologise if you haven't been comfortable in RJCO, hopefully the new batch of chairs would be more successful in this aspect. (:
Let's look forward to the future then!
Oh well, the past week sort of just raced by in a blur.
Blur because everything took place so fast and it was gone before i knew it.
Blur because i can't really remember everything about it. Everything is in fragments, and i have yet to organise my thoughts.
Blur because there were just an infinite number of things to focus on, and i had to divide my attention and as a result, couldn't focus on enjoying the process.
Blur because i'm generally quite blur when it gets to such things. Just like 'huh' 'har' 'orh'.
I think my emotions are really a bit lag this time. Okay, much more than abit. I think i'm still in an emotionless state, or maybe it's just numbness.
I'm not sure why it's like that, perhaps it's because i haven't really had time to emo over such stuff, given that my past week was so uber eventful; perhaps my reaction is retarded.
Maybe being one of the main organisers of the concert, being personally involved in the planning has affected me as well. Just that i always thought that being involved on a personal level is supposed to bring on even more severe withdrawals, but i haven't felt that yet. Just like how i was suffering super bad withdrawals post rgco concerts, yet i feel close to nothing after a hsinghai concert.
Maybe my withdrawals have already begun, just that i haven't acknowledged them as withdrawal symptoms yet. I'm still stuck in the CO mood, and i don't want to switch back into academics mode, even though i know that A level are only 6 months away, and i'm so not prepared. Academics just don't seem important anymore. Right now, i just want to spend all my days with the CO people, go out for dinners with them, camwhore with them, practise pieces together. It's like how it was GP CTs today and i didn't feel much even though i know that i screwed up my compre, because i'm still stuck in a virtual reality filled only with CO stuff. The real world, of endless work and stress, just seems so unappealing beside the comforts of the CO world. At times like this i really wish there is a parallel universe, then i can jump into that world and continue immersing myself in CO fantasies. But i do recognise that this is only a form of escapism, the real world still awaits me. I'm supposed to move on.
I can't believe i've actually grown so attached to RJCO, or CO in general. If you ask me why i joined CO and stayed, i'll say it's because of the people, and the atmosphere in the orchestra. It's not so much of the music, though i have to admit that i prefer chinese music as opposed to symphonic band music, which sounds too brassy to me. There's just more variety in CO music, we have 5 distinct sections, plucked strings, bowed strings, cellobass, wind, percussion, and although they're all so different from one another, they harmonise very nicely. It's the people that ultimately attracts me. It just feels like a family, we're one big family coming together to perform, and this feeling is wholesome. I don't know why, but i just find that CO people are more sincere and less fake, and they're easier to relate to. This was what i discovered back then in RGCO, and i really love my batchmates and juniors and seniors.
So much so that i thought i couldn't develop the same fondness for RJCO. RJCO seemed so vastly different from RGCO, the style of practices, the expected standard and commitment, the cooperation with teachers and conductors. JC CO is really much more demanding than secondary school, musically wise, interaction wise, responsibilities and duties wise. Back in rg, lulaoshi was mainly spoonfeeding us, doing all the work. In jc, teachers are not really involved in the running of the orchestra, and i really doubt their sense of commitment sometimes. Conductor was also a major difference. After 4 years, i had finally accepted wangmama as conductor, and on to jc, thrown into a orchestra with a totally different conductor. I can only say that laozhou's style of conducting is really different from wanglaoshi's, and he can be quite frank sometimes. And i know that many rg people weren't quite able to adapt initially, but i believe in their flexibility and adapting skills. After adapting, they'll find that jc co isn't all that bad. I think i've come to love RJCO in a manner different from how i love RGCO. I can't exactly pinpoint the difference, but i'm glad that i can love both simultaneously. Looking back, i'm quite glad that i joined RJCO. It provided me with plenty of opportunities to develop myself, as a performer, teammate, leader, friend. We've also had some memorable times together, like all the dinners after practice and late night talks at the playground, which i really cherish and wonder if we'll still ever have the same experience again.
Alright, i've been blabbering too much. Let's get back to the point.
As mentioned earlier, the entire week literally just flew by.
Since 2 weeks ago, i haven't been able to concentrate in class.
To my subject tutors, i'm sorry if i fell asleep in your class, or spent your class time doing co stuff, or didn't do your work, i hope you understand that that period was indeed very busy for me, what with h3, co and all.
Concert week was the best. There was co almost every day of the week, but i'm not complaining.
3 consecutive days of co from monday to wednesday, and i reached home at about 11pm on average. Even though physically draining, the practices were fun, because we were finally feeling the urgency, and i think our standard really reached a new level that week, although it was starting to drop by the time wednesday came, understandably, because we were all starting to get tired out.
Thursday was spent worrying about co stuff, such as flowers.
I remember rushing down with esther to far east flora in search of flower bouquets, but their service was damn bad, so in the end, we used back the same florist shop as rg.
And there was just no time to write notes. I'm very regretful about that. Reservation orders for ticketing flooded in on thursday and friday, and i was kept busy with ticketing stuff.
Friday was THE day, long-awaited and anticipated and perhaps dreaded, but it finally came. Before i know it, we were already on the bus to SCH, and all i can recall is laozhou calling me to rush us. Yes, i'll have liked to get to SCH sooner too, but what can i do if the bus came late. Rehearsals began, and my zhongsuo chose that appropriate time to give me problems, where the tongxin just came loose of its cork, so the whole metal pipe was sliding down, and i was trying hard to hold it in position using my lips. Thankfully yanglaoshi was there, and he helped me tape the cork to the pipe.
I don't really remember much of rehearsals as well, just that it ended late (because we started late) and we had to rush our dinner. And i was swamped with ticketing work to do again.
Concert finally started, the first thing i was aware of when i stepped onstage onto the suona platform was that the turnout was great. More than 90% of the audience seats were filled. Wow. That's a major achievement!
We kick started the concert with taiyang, a piece that i feel is very suitable as the beginning piece because it's so symbolic, like a rising sun at the start of the day. Well done kweky, xuewei and yannie!
Next up was yimengqing, the xianyue ensemble piece. That piece went well, i've received lots of positive feedback regarding it, so well done joyce!
The next 2 songs were huangtuqing and pirates of the caribbean. I think xiaoxue looks absolutely pretty in the black dress. I can't really comment much on their playing because i'm not professional enough, but i'ld just say that i think suona played well for that piece. So well done shida and xiaoxue, and well done sherm and joss! Pirates, the song i'm most nervous for. Gah, still think i screwed up the piece. My pitching was horrible, and the solo part can be improved further, although it was already an improvement from rehearsals. And i can't believe i squeaked on my second note. It was so obvious somemore. And for the solo part, i just felt numb, like how i felt last time bars before my solo part in shanghaisuixiang during syf. The feeling is quite gross, it's like i don't feel anything in my fingers except the pinprick sensation, ah the numbing sensation. I guess i still have stage fright and a fear of solos, so i shall avoid solos in future and leave it to the pros. But well done hongbin, his cello solo was really very nice, and thankfully he was in tempo. And well done to bingliang wenyun joyce yezi for arranging such a nice piece! I think pirates was rather popular among the audience, so great choice to include a pop song!
After intermission was qiuyun. I think shunta performed well, so well done! And wow, he has so many fans in the audience. I don't really have much impression of the tanbo item, but i'm quite glad that the guzhengs played well. So well done guzhengs!
Our last 2 pieces were mi and dong, 2 blockbuster pieces. I think mi was the only song that could have possibly been sleep inducing, for the front part, well i agree it was too repetitive. But the kuaiban totally woke everyone up. According to peien, who was sitting along the raised part, she saw the audience jump in their seats when we entered the kuaiban suddenly. There were quite some screwups for this song, but overall i think for those who know how to appreciate such abstract music, it was still a good rendition.
Dong was the finale piece, i think we played it better than our rehearsals. We encored huahaoyueyuan, and the audience were sporty enough to clap along, even though they were lagging towards the end.
Overall, i think our performance was great! There were a few minor glitches here and there, but still a commendable effort overall. The comments received were really very encouraging, and i feel really touched. I think RJCO has the potential to be so much more than a school orchestra, and through the concert, we've shown our resilience, and our potential as a professional orchestra. I think the audience found that the concert was well worth the money, and i hoped they left with the impression that co music is not boring.
I think this concert is one that we can all feel proud of, where we've shown our audience our true standard. SYF awards pale in comparison to the success of this concert. So what if we missed our gold with honours last year. I think our concert more than proved that RJCO is more than capable of attaining such a high musical standard. And ultimately, what matters is that the audience left feeling satisfied and having a good impression of RJCO, and i believed we succeeded in doing that.
After concert, we stayed over at kweky's house. I was so tired (mind you, i've been sleeping at 2 plus 3am consistently the past 2 weeks) that i slept through for the most part, and unfortunately, missed seeing hongbin being drunk and his rendition of 'shutup' then singing qiuyun; shunta sleeping on jason's lap and jason playing the erhu just above his face and shunta was sleeptalking. Nevermind, there are always photos and videos as evidence. Anyway, great note of thanks to kweky for offering her house for stayover! Hope we didn't impose too much on you and your family. Your mum is damn nice!
Concert for me officially ended when we separated after prata lunch the day after concert. I went home to sleep, obviously.
And concert was over, just like that. I'm still in a state of disbelief, and unable to face up to the reality.
Before concert, jason was asking me if i wanted concert to come.
I said no, not because i wasn't looking forward to it, but because i didn't want it to end. The times we spent practising and bonding together were fun, and i don't want these fun times to end.
Now, after concert, I still feel the same way.
I really don't want concert to end, but the reality is that it has ended.
I suppose all good things must come to an end. It is time to move on to the next big thing in my life, my As.
Yet, i can't let go. Of the past, of the good times, of the memories, of the fact that my short term future life will be revolving around academics.
I don't want it this way. But if i could change my fate, i would be God already.
Sigh, i can only try to accept what life throws in my way, and make the most out of it.
When life throws you lemons, make lemonade.
There are so many things that i'll miss.
I'll miss...
Laozhou scolding us when our attendance is bad or when we're late
Hongbin's interactions with laozhou as his girlfriend/wife
Where the Jimmy!
Mr Black!
trying to secretly play handphone games during dazu
trying to secretly mug during dazu
trying to lipread what others are saying during dazu
crapping with joss and sherm during pracs
the aircon when it's not working
the aircon when it's functioning too well
blasting the suona at 9am on saturday mornings, shocking the construction workers
covering my ears to shut out the loud sound of the suona when it's intentionally directed in your direction
eating our favourite chicken drumlets
all our dinner sessions and heart-to-heart talks at the playground
And here's a whole long series of thanks.
Thanks...
to my family classmates exclassmates ex-co mates and other friends for coming down to support! (i think i have one of the biggest family support group)
to my 2 dearest juniors who performed so wonderfully during concert (to quote laozhou: ni3 men2 chui1 de2 hen3 bang4!), and for the beautiful pirate ship, i am honestly touched by your efforts gone into making such a meaningful present for me. (the pirate ship is currently sitting atop my piano for all to see)
to shida for being a wonderful SL and all your advice posted on the blogs and for the amazing duet with xiaoxue.
to xiaoxue for the pirates earrings (hung on the ship lol) and the amazing duet with shida.
to siyun for putting in much effort to improve your skills
to weizhong for providing much entertainment with your screams, and for your random comments after long periods of observation!
to dizi sheng j1s for being part of rjchuiguan'08 and being part of the whole big family and for the times spent together during our outings.
to esther for being a great SL and helping me in my various duties such as tending the ticketing booth and accompanying me down to the flower shop
to fiona for taking the initiative to plan dinner outings (though spontaneous) and for contributing crazy ideas
to the rest of percussion section for being such a nice bunch of people to hang around with, and for your enthusiasm in coming for dinners. I really enjoyed those dinners!
to joyce for being a great SL and librarian, for copying scores without complaint, for your neat handwriting, for your great threshold for stress, for your arrangement for POTC, for leading xianyue for yimengqing. I don't know what RJCO would do without you la.
to shunta for being comic relief and for being so pro-ded in your instrument xP
to hongbin, for being a great SL and welfare head, for ordering all our dinners as well as costumes, for being laozhou's girlfriend (great source of entertainment)
to rachel and kwuanboon, for taking time off your busy schedules to come back and guest perform for us!
to huimin, for agreeing to help out again this year after your help in syf last year, for committing to co as if you're a member
to other guest performers, for coming back to help us guest perform
to ack and gillian for coming back so often and helping with concert booklet
to laozhou, for being a great conductor and source of entertainment during practices, for selling so many tickets and helping us settle much logistical stuff
to mr chan, for staying back with us for practices and not being angry when we return keys late
to ms lim, for all help in ticketing and publicity matters
to mdm ng, for all you've done for us
to the helpers, for coming down to help us make our concert a success
to the rest of the orchestra, for being a part of RJCO and contributing in every way possible
to jason, for being a wonderful chair, a great working partner, for liaising with mdm ng, for taking charge and directing the orchestra when i don't feel like a leader.
Now that my term as vice-chair of RJCO 0708 has ended, i've been reflecting much on what i've done. I feel that i've been rather inadequate as a vice-chair. Perhaps due to procrastination, or just plain lack of initiative, i haven't gone beyond the basic duties of a vice-chair. Some problems still exist with the current co, and that is partly the fault on our part, for we haven't made enough effort to bond everyone. Sometimes i just feel super antisocial and i'll keep to myself, letting others take the lead, but i suppose that's not what a vice-chair is supposed to do. I suppose i do not mix around enough with people from other sections, sticking mainly to chuida, hence i'm not as exposed to their concerns and aren't so close to them. I apologise if you haven't been comfortable in RJCO, hopefully the new batch of chairs would be more successful in this aspect. (:
Let's look forward to the future then!