After getting the new WAJA which my parents got for me, I have been getting to know my way around here.

Yes, I have had to travel quite a bit, be it for work, for practises, for school, or for fun.

I now know (also thanks to Elaine who has taught me how to go around) how to go to several important destinations:

Everyone I know here, knows what they will be doing in the next few years.

"I am doing 3+0, completing my degree next year."

"Oh, I am in year 2 now, got 2 more years to go before I get my UCSI degree."

"I'll be transferring to Canada next month, yay..."

"I have booked my flight to UK already, leaving next week to do my final year there."




And how about me?


I have no idea :)

I haven't a clue what my future holds now.
Where will I be going to complete my studies? Where should I even consider going? What options do I have now? What major should I take? So many questions? oopps.. I mean, So many questions.

Well, it is not as bad as it sounds. I sort of know, but nothing is certain. It has always been changing, still is changing...

Anyway, I have decided to leave many options open to myself.

I will probably, and very reluctantly, apply to La Salle-SIA in Singapore, for their degree in classical music, which I feel is a bad idea. The degree is toooooooooo general, no specialization, and might as well do the same kind of degree here in UCSI. Heh, if I want to do the same degree in UCSI, I will have to spend another 3.5 years again in UCSI. Not something I am wishing for.

I will probably, and still a little reluctantly, apply to Australia. Better than Singapore, but it will take me around 4 years to complete the degree there, and in the end, it will be a degree that I am not even interested in. Somehow, they do not have what I want. So, if forced to, I will still do it.

I will very happily apply to some US universities. Uni of North Texas, where Ian studied. If I do go there, most likely I will apply for their Music Education degree, it is not such a bad idea, that is, if I manage to get in :)

I will apply to Berklee College of Music as well. And the day I actually get to go there to study, will be the day snow falls on the Sahara. Such a great music college, and they have exactly what I want: Music Education, with a touch of old and new methods, and learning the modern ways of music, and... oh well, stop dreaming. If I do get in, and money falls from the ceiling, I would love to do a double degree there, perhaps degree in Music Education, and a degree in Film Scoring. It would be nice to work in LA for a few years, helping film music composers do their work for hollywood movies. Oh, no snow on the Sahara yet?

Oh, and amidst all the long days of working hard, I decided to seize the opportunity to get a little holiday of my own. Noah asked me to join him and his girlfriend up to Genting Highlands. And I thought why not.. I needed a nice break, and wanted to go far away from the city. So I said YES!

Another thing I was busy with lately, was the Orientation for the new students in UCSI.

As usual, this event is quite a complicated one. So many changes being made every day.. Having to always meet the Uni management to see what changes they have made on their side, getting the welcome folders ready, planning the whole intinerary, getting the committee moving, and the list goes on.

But to be honest, orientation is one of the few events in the Student Council that I enjoy most. I enjoy making sure everythign goes as planned, and thanks to a wonderful committee, that was made possible. And I owe them more than just gratitude for working so hard.

I was glad Prof Nor was happy with everything. After all, making her happy is something we "like" to do ;)

The new students were, as always, bored.... I mean, briefing after briefing.... who wouldn't be bored? But somehow, it never changes. So the only thing we can do in those 2-3 short days, is to slot in as much fun as we can. Easier said than done I must say.

Been busy lately, for the past two months, working....

Well, the music concert organized by JJ Pianoforte, the school that I work for, was a success. But it was a lot of work. Late nights in the music school preparing equipment, packing up books to sell on the concert night, recording down the prices, teaching the kids choir, teaching the youth choir, buying stuff etc etc etc etc etc... Glad it is over!

The concert was great. The kids performed well.

I was stuck in the audio room the whole time though, except for when I had to conduct the kids choir. I finally got the feel of what it is like to be in the control room during a concert. Usually, I will be upstage. This time, a whole new experience for me. Did the lighting, did the visuals on the screen, helped out with the sound.... Glad to have had that chance.

This happened most recently, about three or four days ago........

I bought Meg the Desperate Housewives DVD set (Season One) because she asked me to get it for her first since I was in the shop. And she won't be coming up to KL from Malacca till next week. So I decided, take the opportunity, watch the series, and see what the whole hoo-ha was about.

And boy, I gave myself a shock.

I watched the first episode, and BANG... I got addicted. I watched the first 2 discs, until 5am in the morning.

I watched the next few disks whenever I could... In between waking up and going to Uni, in between brushing my teeth and putting on my socks before going out to teach, before sleeping, after waking up... I just had to know what was going to happen in the next episode because it got more and more intense.

And now I know what the craze is all about, why so many people are sacrificing eating dinner with their friends just to stay home and watch the show. Well, too bad for them, they don't have the DVD set :)

The show is a remarkable one. It is so deep, so intense, and so DARK. Yet the humour is so plain and simple, you don't know whether to laugh sometimes.

Hello.. I must congratulate myself for breaking my record of the most number of days without blogging. Hoong Tze aka Lizard must be happy to finally see new entries on my blog. I hope she jumps for joy to get rid of those "few" extra kilos she has put on in Australia :)

I remember buying STOMP's VCD a few years ago and I was fascinated by their concerts. They are fantastic musicians. Basically, they use any household neighborhood materials and equipment to produce beats and rythms that make your jaws drop. They are performing at Istana Budaya. Unfortunately, as usual, they make the ticket prices so high to make people think the show must be really good or something like that. They expect students to pay the student price and not eat food for a whole month. I hope one day they will make tickets affordable for students like me and let us enjoy watching these world class shows. Imagine how many concerts I have had to miss just because they expect us to pay so much for the tickets. It is worth the money, but I still need to go on living don't I?

Hopefully one day I get to go overseas and be able to afford all these concerts and expose myself more.

I hope STOMP does a good show here and impresses everyone in KL. I wish them all the best......

 

 

Thank God for today....

I walked out of the car, and felt uneasy. I hadn't felt like this for the past week or even longer maybe. I felt so strange. I was thinking to myself "I haven't had this feeling for a long time"... I didn't know what it was, it just felt weird, and unusual. Then SUDDENLY I realised why I was feeling weird. I COULD FEEL THE SUN'S HEAT ON MY SKIN!!!

I looked up, and lo and behold, I saw clouds, and a blue sky. AMAZING. The haze situation improved a lot today. It is still there, the sky is still slightly hazy, but at least it is getting better and not worse.

Pictures taken 11 Aug, 11am: