Well, the holiday vibes are setting in, yet I'm still the busy guy that I usually am during the hols. Every single day of the past week was spent doing something important for CCA, band, church, chem SPA or PW. (Actually some not very important) Can't wait for December. Perhaps I'll be less busy then. Or maybe not.
***
Guitar
Last monday was the final guitar practice before we took a break cos of the PW presentation season. And I was pretty disappointed by the practice cos of a few reasons. I did have fun with the section 2 peoples and with some S03N people at lunch after the practice, but overall it was quite morale deflating.
It began innocently enough with sectionals. I took section 2 cos Ling Ting wasn't there at practise, and I could see the section 2 people were practising hard enough. Their pace was pretty ok, some of them were faster than others, so that made it pretty hard to have practise as an entire sectional. One thing I was disappointed about was that some of them didn't seem to have practised at home, cos they were constantly asking me how to play this and that. It didn't make me too happy, but I was there to help. Overall I was still pretty satisfied with them.
But then ensemble practice was next. It was horrible IMO. Well, won't talk about it in detail. But heres what I'd like to say to all RJGE people visiting this place...
1. Practise hard, and practise smart. Ummm, practise even if you aren't doing it hard or smart.
2. Its 6 months to SYF! And we have lots to do. Not too much time is it?
3. Please be serious... Don't waste time or get distracted. Ensemble time is too precious.
4. Don't forget rule #1: once everyone is ready to begin playing, they should keep quiet and not play their instruments until told to do so
I may be asking a lot from you guys, that I admit. So once I see you guys do these 4 things, even in minute amounts, I'll be totally happy. I don't need everything to be perfect. And I'll reiterate rule #1 the next time round, as well as state my expectations so that everyone's clear on them.
Yup thats all for reminders.
Composition meeting after that was an absolute waste of time, and a few people got left out. I wasn't too happy. I think that it should be more inclusive, or at least they should explain certain things that other people didn't understand. Yeah I know who Yngwie Malmsteen is. But others don't. So explain it clearly please. Oh well I'm just there to supervise and help in the performance directions. So yeah I'll let them do as they please.
***
Eden-Sol
The last meeting was on tuesday to conclude everything and reflect about the concert. There were a few touchy feely issues thrown in, and some things that I didn't agree with were said. To me salvations are still most important, and thats the reason for our success. Cos the things most important to God are:
1. The Great Commission
2. The Unity of the Church
3. The Obedience of his Disciples
It doesn't matter how we've grown and how our lives have changed, or even how many sacrifices we made. Cos even if all that has happened, but things close to God's heart wasn't fufilled through what we did, it would have been meaningless.
I think through this concert we fufilled all the above things God holds dear. Especially the second one. All of us from different churches and denominations came together to do God's work, and thats a success that God wants to see. Even the Chris and Cat issue was an example of how we achieved unity as a body of Christ and thats what is so amazing. And thats what we should be aiming for.
The thing that made me confident that it was a success was that it was the first time students from RJC bonded together to work on a project like this one. It has never been done before, and we're the pioneers. Even though we made a few mistakes, we have to applaud our own courage and obedience for such a thing to come alive.
So once again, kudos to all those who've helped!
Haha something surprising was revealed that night... Won't say what. I think some of you guys know already. Its got something to do with Choon Wing and Rachel. Ahh I made it a bit too obvious but well. Maybe its a good thing. Cos I can comment on it later.
Went for Nat's grandpa's wake all the way at Woodlands. It was a good thing that my dad fetched me from the MRT cos the route there was totally confusing. Well the wake gave me some time to think on my stand on the issue of Catholic and Christian relationships. Specifically that of my two close friends. But most of the time was spent talking to uncle Kenneth and his wife, as well as enjoying both my brother's antics.
Once again throughout the wake I felt numb as I always do at every funeral. But that night I felt sorta empty. Will tell you guys why later.
***
Chem SPA
Came to school that morning with inadequate sleep. Whilst Mr Wong gave us back our result slips I was slumped over the desk with my headphones blasting music in my ears. Mr Wong was kinda ok with that. Everyone else beside me was mugging chem SPA and that got me sorta nervous and I started mugging as well.
I was really confident that all my concepts were right, but oh well I guess complacency is a pretty horrible thing. Just found out from Mr Wong that I got some stuff wrong. Oh well I guess that taught me a lesson.
Enough about that. Although that mistake was large, I hope it didn't affect my marks too bad. After that, Eden-sol went to plaza singapura for lunch. Carl's Junior to be exact. We discussed lots of stuff which I don't think I should reveal. After that we stepped into Yamaha to take a good look at all the band equipment, then a lady who had to be at Paradiz for an interview needed us to show the way. So being good RJ students we were, we brought her to Cathay and showed her where Paradiz was. (At least I learnt from the mistake with the RJGE outing)
After that we sat at B1 of Cathay and played bridge, and I introduced trading bridge to them. They were pretty excited about it so we sat there playing for quite some time. It was raining so we ran all the way to the MRT station. After that everybody left for all their respective stuff.
I was on the train with Choon Wing. And this is the part I think I can reveal. I told him to be physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally strong, not only for himself but for Rachel as well. The Catholic and Christian issue was delicate and tough to handle. And both parties would be stressed by it. But if you notice... Earlier in the post I talked about something.
The Unity of the Church
And if this relationship is truly God breathed and God initiated, the glory of God will truly be shown through them. And I let Choon Wing know that as long as this glory is shown, I would respect their relationship. Once I said that, it felt like a burden was lifted from me. And it felt wonderful. I hope what I said really helped him.
Soon he left and I was left on the train to think about my own feelings about this issue. And this was what I thought. For most of my teenage life I felt the need to protect Rachel, and I've been doing it quietly from the sidelines. Initially I don't know why I did it, but now I know for sure. God was behind it all. When I first started doing it I thought it was attraction, but now I know better. It was a strong brotherly love in Christ that stemmed from God.
Thats why when I found out Choon Wing and Rachel were a couple, I could let go so easily. And that night I felt really refreshed, cos the burden of taking care of her became someone elses. Not that I would just wash my hands off the situation, but Choon Wing would be doing most of it from now on. And that night yet I felt empty cos a major part of my life was gone, I decided to protect their relationship any way I could. And I was happy.
Now I think they're doing pretty good. And I'm really glad! All the best guys.
***
More to come!
***
Guitar
Last monday was the final guitar practice before we took a break cos of the PW presentation season. And I was pretty disappointed by the practice cos of a few reasons. I did have fun with the section 2 peoples and with some S03N people at lunch after the practice, but overall it was quite morale deflating.
It began innocently enough with sectionals. I took section 2 cos Ling Ting wasn't there at practise, and I could see the section 2 people were practising hard enough. Their pace was pretty ok, some of them were faster than others, so that made it pretty hard to have practise as an entire sectional. One thing I was disappointed about was that some of them didn't seem to have practised at home, cos they were constantly asking me how to play this and that. It didn't make me too happy, but I was there to help. Overall I was still pretty satisfied with them.
But then ensemble practice was next. It was horrible IMO. Well, won't talk about it in detail. But heres what I'd like to say to all RJGE people visiting this place...
1. Practise hard, and practise smart. Ummm, practise even if you aren't doing it hard or smart.
2. Its 6 months to SYF! And we have lots to do. Not too much time is it?
3. Please be serious... Don't waste time or get distracted. Ensemble time is too precious.
4. Don't forget rule #1: once everyone is ready to begin playing, they should keep quiet and not play their instruments until told to do so
I may be asking a lot from you guys, that I admit. So once I see you guys do these 4 things, even in minute amounts, I'll be totally happy. I don't need everything to be perfect. And I'll reiterate rule #1 the next time round, as well as state my expectations so that everyone's clear on them.
Yup thats all for reminders.
Composition meeting after that was an absolute waste of time, and a few people got left out. I wasn't too happy. I think that it should be more inclusive, or at least they should explain certain things that other people didn't understand. Yeah I know who Yngwie Malmsteen is. But others don't. So explain it clearly please. Oh well I'm just there to supervise and help in the performance directions. So yeah I'll let them do as they please.
***
Eden-Sol
The last meeting was on tuesday to conclude everything and reflect about the concert. There were a few touchy feely issues thrown in, and some things that I didn't agree with were said. To me salvations are still most important, and thats the reason for our success. Cos the things most important to God are:
1. The Great Commission
2. The Unity of the Church
3. The Obedience of his Disciples
It doesn't matter how we've grown and how our lives have changed, or even how many sacrifices we made. Cos even if all that has happened, but things close to God's heart wasn't fufilled through what we did, it would have been meaningless.
I think through this concert we fufilled all the above things God holds dear. Especially the second one. All of us from different churches and denominations came together to do God's work, and thats a success that God wants to see. Even the Chris and Cat issue was an example of how we achieved unity as a body of Christ and thats what is so amazing. And thats what we should be aiming for.
The thing that made me confident that it was a success was that it was the first time students from RJC bonded together to work on a project like this one. It has never been done before, and we're the pioneers. Even though we made a few mistakes, we have to applaud our own courage and obedience for such a thing to come alive.
So once again, kudos to all those who've helped!
Haha something surprising was revealed that night... Won't say what. I think some of you guys know already. Its got something to do with Choon Wing and Rachel. Ahh I made it a bit too obvious but well. Maybe its a good thing. Cos I can comment on it later.
Went for Nat's grandpa's wake all the way at Woodlands. It was a good thing that my dad fetched me from the MRT cos the route there was totally confusing. Well the wake gave me some time to think on my stand on the issue of Catholic and Christian relationships. Specifically that of my two close friends. But most of the time was spent talking to uncle Kenneth and his wife, as well as enjoying both my brother's antics.
Once again throughout the wake I felt numb as I always do at every funeral. But that night I felt sorta empty. Will tell you guys why later.
***
Chem SPA
Came to school that morning with inadequate sleep. Whilst Mr Wong gave us back our result slips I was slumped over the desk with my headphones blasting music in my ears. Mr Wong was kinda ok with that. Everyone else beside me was mugging chem SPA and that got me sorta nervous and I started mugging as well.
I was really confident that all my concepts were right, but oh well I guess complacency is a pretty horrible thing. Just found out from Mr Wong that I got some stuff wrong. Oh well I guess that taught me a lesson.
Enough about that. Although that mistake was large, I hope it didn't affect my marks too bad. After that, Eden-sol went to plaza singapura for lunch. Carl's Junior to be exact. We discussed lots of stuff which I don't think I should reveal. After that we stepped into Yamaha to take a good look at all the band equipment, then a lady who had to be at Paradiz for an interview needed us to show the way. So being good RJ students we were, we brought her to Cathay and showed her where Paradiz was. (At least I learnt from the mistake with the RJGE outing)
After that we sat at B1 of Cathay and played bridge, and I introduced trading bridge to them. They were pretty excited about it so we sat there playing for quite some time. It was raining so we ran all the way to the MRT station. After that everybody left for all their respective stuff.
I was on the train with Choon Wing. And this is the part I think I can reveal. I told him to be physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally strong, not only for himself but for Rachel as well. The Catholic and Christian issue was delicate and tough to handle. And both parties would be stressed by it. But if you notice... Earlier in the post I talked about something.
The Unity of the Church
And if this relationship is truly God breathed and God initiated, the glory of God will truly be shown through them. And I let Choon Wing know that as long as this glory is shown, I would respect their relationship. Once I said that, it felt like a burden was lifted from me. And it felt wonderful. I hope what I said really helped him.
Soon he left and I was left on the train to think about my own feelings about this issue. And this was what I thought. For most of my teenage life I felt the need to protect Rachel, and I've been doing it quietly from the sidelines. Initially I don't know why I did it, but now I know for sure. God was behind it all. When I first started doing it I thought it was attraction, but now I know better. It was a strong brotherly love in Christ that stemmed from God.
Thats why when I found out Choon Wing and Rachel were a couple, I could let go so easily. And that night I felt really refreshed, cos the burden of taking care of her became someone elses. Not that I would just wash my hands off the situation, but Choon Wing would be doing most of it from now on. And that night yet I felt empty cos a major part of my life was gone, I decided to protect their relationship any way I could. And I was happy.
Now I think they're doing pretty good. And I'm really glad! All the best guys.
***
More to come!
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