Thursday, June 19, 2008
Japan - detailed post
Day 1 - arrived in RI in a taxi with dao bo...cant believe that it costs 26 bucks =.=...so expensive...then we go up there, take down the bubble-wrapped instruments...put them in the atrium, then stone until the buses and lorry came...Mr Jee was like telling everyone to tuck in their shirts, but obviously, some ppl nvr listen...i mean, if its a uniform, FINE...but its like, we got ppl wearing RI polo, ppl wearing tailored pants...so yah...looks so not uniform...then the lorry came...then the bus ( and a mini bus ) came...poor lucas, eric and austin..they reached the airport first via the lorry and have to carry everything down...but its great training for your biceps!!...haha...then we checked in, ate dinner...Dinner was a damn fun affair, but it proves that you shldnt bring your parents along when your batchmates are arnd...we were like discussing Russell's 4 girlfriends...(i think they include winston, lucas and zhenyi and some random person)...russell was looking like he was ready for the kill when he rejoined us...then we just stoned and waited for our plane lor..im so excited man...its been like 10 years since i sat on SIA...then we found out that SJIMB was also taking SIA, in the same terminal, but different locations...PHEW..BUT their departure gate was just beside us...to clarify, they dunt have departure halls, just one big chunk of space with different departure gates...i still find it miraculous that changi airport didnt have anything damaged...i was half-expecting a fight to break out...
Day2 - ok...so jerald and i just sat bside mrs tan and hear her emo-talking abt alot of stuff...i faintly rmb something abt austrailia, abt jap ladies etc etc...then its time to board the plane...my oh my...SIA is certainly a different class..i mean, there is so much legroom that instead of being like some ppl, who wanna watch the movies or play super mario all night long, i just wanna sleep...and trust me, its nice to sleep on a SIA flight...i was stuck in between mr jee and austin...austin was like sleeping throughout the whole flight...mr jee was watching powerpuff girls (!!)...i watched half an episode of simpsons, then fell asleep...when i woke up, i tried to play pokemon, but found it too boring...so yeah...breakfast was alright, for me at least...i mean, im not used to jap food lah, but given that international selection was gone, i just have to make do with what i have lorr...then arrived at osaka kansai airport, took that tram to the customs...then have to go through some imba process...fingerprints, taking camera shots etc etc...then went to get our luggage and bubble wrapped instruments...the first thing i noticed abt japan was the nice weather...the bus drivers were damn friendly...then we boarded the bus...went to nara deer park...nice scenary..but better ones would come afterwards...LOL...the deers were damn cute!!!..then went for lunch..lunch was quite nice...ala carte...then went to osaka toin high school...they had a symphony BUILDING...note, its not a hall...its a BUILDING!!...omg...if only RI can do that for us...then we practised our pieces for fukui concert...mr oura was pissed at ppl who didnt sleep on the plane that morning...but hey, srsly, we took SIA cuz its more comfy to sleep on it than on like say some other airlines...then the osaka ppl came...then got big big confusion...they got 175 ppl...compared to our 44...so yah, seemed quite overwhelmed...then they took out their shiny new instruments!!!omg...ok...maybe they are not new, but its still shiny...then i saw like wad ...8 xenos?maybe one Conn...and i felt jealous..but hey, the suaning part is to come later...we tried bandwagon ,dance celebration and merry widow...and they managed to play them well...very well in fact...one thing i noticed abt these ppl are that they like to end their notes nicely...it gives you a round feeling, rather than like say a constipated sound...anyways, we got suaned..i mean as a band lah...individually i would say that the sec4s and above are prolly still in their league...but hey, 2 years down the road and they would be in another league...then ate dinner with them, went back to our hotel...I GOT A TRIPLE ROOM!!...omg...so alastair, leonard and russell came in to crash our room...played cards...then sleep...damn tired...
Day3 - we went to USJ...it was fun to say the least...we took the spider man ride twice...it was really fun...jurassic park also...hollywood dream was erm...non existent for me...haha...k, i admit that im scared of roller coasters...but back to the future was disappointing...i mean, when you go into a volcano, you expect to feel hot air...instead, we felt cool air coming out...then erm...backdraft was also disappointing till the last part...after USJ, we went to dotonburi...we didnt manage to get into Yamaha...cuz its holiday for the workers on wednesday...but we went to some other imba music shop...now i know why these jap ppl are pro...with so many method books on offer, and so many good professionals out there to teach you how to play your instruments, you have to be pro...and oh, the trombones there are damn cheap...i really wanted to buy one...but no money :[...but i managed to buy a trombone swap..HAHA...now i can do wad alastair and fat sam do after concert...and i got an orchestra excerpts book for trombones..hmmm...not too bad, quite fun....then played card games in hotel again...
Day4- hmmm...nothing much to talk abt...just erm...we went to kyoto...stopped at the golden pavillion...then reached fukui...ate a typical jap meal...which was damn damn damn nice...then went back to the hotel...guess wad we did again...oh...and some snrs...found out the function of the P1 button!!and they went to some sec2s rooms and switched on that channel and locked them inside...whoa...
Day5 - we went for rehearsal...the fukui symphony hall was erm...fantastic...to say the least...there were chandeliers, there was an organ...and the pipes were damn nice...to be honest, i dunno which one is better...esplanade or that one...that just proves how much emphasis the jap ppl put into music...and i mean band music, not your heavy metal...if only singapore could have done the same for us...rehearsal was alright...but my tone sounded funny...but luckily, it became right at the end...the bento lunch was something that i would pay 4 bucks in s'pore for...but heh, it aint available in s'pore...after that, we went to tojinbo, where according to abtzy, if you swim across the water, you would reach north korea...like who would ever wanna do that...then dinner...then cards...
Day6 - Concert!!!..the morning rehearsal was screwed up...mr oura seems pissed...not surprising given that the fukui conductor is his teacher and obviously, he didnt want his band to be humiliated...sigh...but the concert was alright...and that erick miyashiro guy was just plain imba...he could hit high notes like freeeeee....and according to austin, he is muscular, not fat...haha...nice analogy austin...
Day7 - we had an exchange with the fukui band...i gave away my cards and my tie as they were like so happy with it...nvr mind that i didnt get anything in return...they would prolly have given me the wristband if im in yingzhe's position instead...but seriously, it is more heart-warming to see their smiles than to get something to wear on your hand...well, it was fun, but hey, all good things have to come to an end...so yeah...time to say bye...oh...did i mention that they got a bandroom which is half (or 3/4) of our hall and they got section rooms??i am so so so so so so jealous...then we went back to osaka...ate shabu shabu (?)...and austin came up with memorable quotes...abt beef...oh...he actually declared war against eating beef...nice one austin...went back to the hotel, crashed samuel's room..****ed a few ppl...and watched indiana jones...haha, that was damn fun...
Day8 - Have to return to s'pore...really felt sad...seeing that homework pile...how i wish i could have stayed in japan for a longer time...lol...better still, have homestays with some of the jap ppl...LOL...but yeah...thats the end...good bye japan, but i will be back soon...i promise...
David said 10:30 AM<3
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
NIPPON!!
omg..japan was fantastic...everything there was perfect...or to some extent, really unbelievable...the toilet bowls are digital...the music is great, their gimmicks at concerts are fantastic, the amt of space that the school sets apart for the bands are really eye-openers, the food is really delicious, the ppl are really nice and the weather is really really great...can u believe if RI will set apart like say 2 floors of the admin block for us???i dunt think so, but thats wad the jap bands have...and one of them have a whole building to themselves...that was the one that really makes me green with envy...oh and not forgetting that they have practices every day of the week, with each prac at least 4 hours long...and the cheap instruments..(a xeno only costs like 4 k sing over there), the books that they have which will help them improve and the overwhelming musical talents over there whom those students can look up for if they want some professional help...over here in s'pore, band is just something that u spend your afternoons at...if you are lucky, you may be discovered by some scout and taken for intensive training, but thats where it all ends...if only RI can place more emphasis on band and make us something that they can really be proud of...no offence to the rugby team, but HEY, if u guys havent won anything significant for the past decade, maybe its time for the school to start looking for something more impressive, other than studies...we are good at studies, but in the real world, studies is not everything...sigh...how i wish i was in those jap schools...
David said 9:07 AM<3
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
JAPAN!!
lols...im at the airport now...awaiting my flight which is at 1:10 am...ystd night was quite fun...roaming arnd the new terminal of changi airport with my batch...this is gonna be one day that i wunt forget for long...we met some SJIMB guys...turns out that they are also going to japan, going on SIA, but just one departure hall away frm us...they going tokyo, where NYCB is...haha...hope they have fun there...hmmmm...its been quite a long time since i took SIA, so yah, im gonna enjoy it alot...cant really talk much here given the time limit that i have...but its really nice to go out to a new country, especially with your band, mr oura and the teachers...really learn alot abt each other and can really have fun together...
David said 12:10 AM<3
Sunday, June 01, 2008
RISE (again)
well...rise concert was quite fun...learnt quite alot, not the practical stuff but the mental stuff which gave me lotsa motivation...oh btw, im talking abt ziluo and aldwyn, not the way the SE ppl treat instruments...yeah...i admit, i may be a tad younger than them lah, so my practical standards shouldnt be better than them, but hey, in the world of music, age doesnt really matter...i mean, when mozart was 6, he would prolly have owned like a few thousand pianists who are at least twice his age...so yup, must start working hard now...hope getting a teacher will help and maybe getting into SNYO would confirm that i didnt waste 7 years trying to play a trombone properly...SNYO isnt everything, but its a gage of yout standard...and of course, being prinicipal trombone for RJCSB...it aint gonna be easy, but when you have feelings for your batch, for the music, (not for that band yet), have the respect for the conductor, you would want to do your best for the band, and thats wad im gonna do...
okay, on to the more serious stuff...WHO THE HELL DO SE THINK THEY ARE??...i sometimes wonder why mr oura didnt want to form an orchestra with the SE guys...maybe he loves band too much???...but frm my experience with SE, the only thing that they like, or have respect for seems to be the bandroom...given that their own "varese" was taken away...i admit, i would love to play for them again, but when i play for them, im playing for the music, not bcuz im a rafflesian and have to play for RISE...im totally apalled by their behavior and their treatment of our percussion instruments (and to some extent, their own instruments)...when someone tells you to hold the timpani by the legs and not the skin, you jolly well listen bcuz that instrument costs more than your life and your violin/viola/cello/double bass and its not yours...you are a noob in handling of percs and wad makes you think that you can just do wadeva you want with something that you dunno???really stupid...nxt, we all know that you have done us a great favour by lending us your double basses and we returned it by lending you our perc instruments for your concert...but hey, the deal stops there...we didnt abuse your double basses right...we didnt like go scratch on them for put a tuba on them right???...we lend you our percs doesnt mean that we give you the rights to abuse our percs...also, its really stupid to put your violins on our timpani...firstly, there is every chance that your violin will drop off...and secondly, you are destroying the timpani...sometimes right, i really agree with wad trevor sze said "i cant believe im in RI"...really stupid...lastly, who the hell gave you permission to play samba on our instruments????...and for the record, it doesnt sound remotely nice...it sounds pathetic...
okay...now im done...but to be honest, there are some really nice guys in SE, just some idiotic guys who have just destroyed their nxt year's concert when they dunt seem to understand instructions...no matter what, even if im in rjc nxt year, im gonna make sure that our percs dunt land in the hands of SE...
David said 10:12 AM<3