2 years ago...

Investiture in 2003 had little significance for me at the time. Ditto 2004 and 2005, although they grew in significance over the years. Investiture 2006... At the time it felt a little insignificant because of Lillies on the River one week later, but still, it's a day that will forever be etched in my mind.

On that day, our batch was separated from the band we held so dear, and we've never gotten that back. There's a part of me that remains with RIMB forever, and the separation has left a wound, that time can cover up but not heal.

RIMB was really my home at the time, and I cherish the memories of the four years I spent there, especially those of my batch. Listening to our Investiture recordings, as technically bad as they are, still evokes feelings in me that I can't describe. Because all the music, and all the screwups.. they were ours, not anyone else.

While the batch as it was in 2006 is nothing more than a memory now, I'm thankful at least some small parts of the old ties remain. However, I still long (probably unhealthily) for what we were in 2006, a band of brothers.

Tomorrow is the Investiture 2008, where the batch of juniors (can I call them juniors? Friends, more like) I cherish the most will face the same thing we did. I think they'll come through better though, just a gut feeling.

While most in my batch may have forgotten, I'm afraid that I probably never will.

43rd batch of the Raffles Institution Military Band
Chen Shuotian
Jeremy Wong
Brian Cheung
Lu Yiding
Chester Gan
Jiang Lingzhang
Liu Wentao
Justin Ong
Aaron Theseira
Bernard Toh
Eng Zi Guang
Paul Ng
Michael Lim
Eugene Seow