9V-SMU, 9V-SKA. SIN-SYD on the 1000th 747...

... back on the 1st A380.


Well, luckily I managed to snag 4 economy tickets on the return leg of SQ380, and decided to go with my friend (who helped me get the tickets) and family. I had a relative on the same flight, but in business class.

I may add more pictures later, as my shots are spread over about 3 or 4 cameras.

My family decided to go first, on the 24th, to visit the Blue Mountains near Sydney, while my friend came the day after, purely for the flight.

We arrived at the airport around 1 hour before the flight, and preparations for the inaugural the next day were in full swing.



The beautiful Changi Airport Terminal 2








Welcoming the A380



Gate F31, and preparations were well underway for the next morning


To my delight, at gate F35, I saw 9V-SMU, the 1000th 747 built. Boarding was quite efficient, and we were soon on our way out of 20C.






The dinner in flight, chicken with potatoes, which was really nice. I especially liked the smoked salmon appetizer.




Dawn over Australia



Fogged up

We landed on 34L, i think, but I can't be sure. We then taxied over to the gate, past a sister 747.




The pilot was kind enough to let me visit the flight deck and snap a few photos.







9V-SMU









Some shots of the Blue Mountains

Ratatouille!









A farm in Megalong Valley, where we stayed



The next day, we headed back for the airport. Unfortunately, due to an accident of sorts, there was a traffic jam on the M5 motorway, and we barely arrived at the airport in time, 45 minutes before scheduled departure. Fortunately (for us), the A380 flight was delayed for some reason.




The huge A380 model in SYD



Economy class check-in counter



oneworld



The whalejet herself





New decor in the airport



A live band at the gate area.



Frontal view



This was nice, but i don't know what it was. I think it was a cake.

The party at the gate was nice, Captain Robert Ting (chief pilot) was walking around talking to people, and there was free champagne (although I'm underage for that, sadly). Afterwards, due to the delays, the holding area was cut in half as the gate next door had to be used by a Jetstar aircraft. I went with my friend to the Silver Kris Lounge in the airport.



9V-SMU was back, with a Thai friend. Although the 747 flight was scheduled later than the A380 (if I'm not wrong), she departed first. Symbolism for a Boeing fan like me?



SKL in Sydney


Soon after, boarding started (1 and a half hours late), through all 3 aerobridges. Unfortunately I do not have photos at present due to my phone battery running flat, but I might have some when my friend sends me his photos.

I was in seat 55D, an aisle seat. The first thing I noticed was that besides a big pillow and a thick blanket, there were black bags on each seat, about the size of a laptop case. Inside was an array of souveniers, including a limited edition 1:400 diecast model of the A380, a Rolls Royce pen, a handy bag for use when taking liquids through security, a calendar and some various other things.

Also, there were 2 Krisworld magazines, one of them the regular and the other a special edition for the A380, packed in a nice case.

We taxied off about 20 mins after boarding, and moved to the runway. When the engines spooled up for takeoff, a round of applause erupted in the cabin. Another round of applause ensued as 9V-SKA rotated and flew off the ground.

Soon after takeoff, champagne and starters were served, which included salmon mousse, prawn cocktail and chicken Waldorf salad. I might have a picture of the starters, but not at the moment. Myself and my friend took a walk around the cabin, while my family settled down to enjoy the new Krisworld.

At this time, I had already begun recharging my handphone, and thus I was able to take more pictures.



The new Krisworld



The spiral stairs at the back of economy



The upper deck galley, the lift was just to the side



Sunset over central Australia



Looking down the stairs



The Singapore Girl

As my aunt was in business class, we were allowed to enter the business cabin, and I got a nice view of the premium cabin.



The "Grand Staircase" down to suites.



Myself posing in a business seat

At this point, meal service in business was starting, so we got kicked out. Around this time, I met MadameConcorde, who also introduced me to Tsen Tsan. Myself and MadameConcorde chatted a while, then my friend and I went back downstairs.

I've scanned the menu here, for your viewing pleasure.



Autographed by Captain Robert Ting and a couple of FAs



Autographed by Stephen Lee, chairman of SIA





Autographed by Matt Moran



Autographed by Sam Leong








Unfortunately, my photo of the meal seems to have disappeared, but if I find it, I'll put it up here. I had the Asian set, which was absolutely wonderful, something you'd never see in economy anywhere.




I watched this while eating, an interesting feature that tells you all about flight, such as how runways are chosen for takeoff and so on



The dessert, some ice cream, which was pretty nice.



Economy cabin (upper deck), Capt. Ting walking down the right aisle



Lift to the main deck (for carts)



Galley

Throughout the flight, me and my friend kept trying (and failing) to sneak a peek into Suites, though later on we eventually managed to do so.



The office software allowed me to read the PMDG 747-400's manual while in flight.

Around this point of time, as I had earlier been interviewed by a reporter from SilverKris, the photographer for the magazine came round to take a shot. I discovered he was an aviation enthusiast, and we chatted a while. Following that, he gave me his business card and I was surprised to discover that it was none other than KC Sim!

Following that, MadameConcorde celebrated her birthday, with guest such as Steven Lee, chairman of SIA, and other VIPs. The cake was nice. Soon after, she came around looking for KC, but she couldn't find him. So, my friend went to look for him. After a while, he was found. While they were talking, I went back up to business to look around a bit more.

The refreshments were served, and I had the shepherd's pie, which was, again, excellent. I tried the udon as well, but it wasn't as nice, and the prawns tasted a little suspect.



Matt Moran's pie



The playlist function on Krisworld



The new economy handset

Soon after the refreshments, and all too early, we began our descent and approach into 20C, with Capt Ting announcing that it would be the first commercial autoland of the A380. As the plane landed, I noticed that the effects of pressurisation were less noticeable than on the 747, but not that much. We landed to another round of applause, and yet another as we taxied in. When the aircraft docked and stopped, again another round of applause. My family deboarded first, but my friend and took the roundabout way upstairs, through the business, down the Grand Staircase to suites and out door 1L after walking up and down the suites.



Economy Class upper deck




Business Class



The new Singapore Airlines Suites

We disembarked to the sounds of a percussion band, where most of the VIPs were personally thanking everyone. I met MadameConcorde there a final time, and we took a photo together, which I might upload later as it's on my friend's camera. We were also decked with a garland.



The live band at the gate.



First to fly the A380.

After leaving, we went to baggage claim and customs, then enjoyed a free limousine transfer back home.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and I hope to get on such a flight again (maybe ANA 787?). It was also a pleasure meeting all the forum people and talking with them, and I hope that I get the chance to have such a wonderful experience again.

Help

Is this 21.12.2006 again?

Con Brio

Wow, it's been almost 2 months since my last post, and I realise the trend of posting only after a band performance continues. So, Con Brio 2007, the first concert without my batch in it, and, I realise, the first concert to have come through a full cycle since Prometheum X in the age of the dinosaurs.

About 5 of us from the RI batch went for dinner, after some of us watched Transformers (cool Camaro). We bought back for the others, and made our way to the lecture thea... auditorium.

Somehow despite being ushered to the front, and despite my recommendations, the rest of the batch decided to sit way back. I smelt trouble, but had little choice.

True enough, the entire first half was killed for us by the hall acoustics. Perhaps also due to the heaviness of the pieces, and I did feel that And Then The Ocean Glows was done much better at SYF. Still, I feel that the pieces (Carmen Fantasy, Mononoke Hime Medley, Snow Caps and Ocean) would have been much better in front. I can't really comment on them either, given the lack of proper sound quality, which makes judging them difficult.

During the intermission, I went down to visit the band. They didn't seem too happy with the first half, but all the same, they were looking forward to the second half.

Thankfully, during the second half, we moved down to the front row. The concert went much better after that. We expected the junior band, playing Crystal City Overture, to sound horrible, but surprisingly, they sounded OK. Not the best, but very decent, especially for a sec 1 band.

The band played Whistle While You Work, with the very standard and almost overused entry gimmick, complete with Mr Oura's whistle solo. From the front, the band sounded much better, and despite a few glitches, this piece was done well.

Bandwagon was also done very nicely, and I had no complaints about it. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves more, and relaxing. Samuel did a good job with the solo.

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, another redux from Prometheum XI, was done nicely. Flutes I think could have been a bit louder and clearer near the end, but still pretty nice.

Gershwin! was a piece I'd not heard before, unless it was done at Play 05, though my memory fails me. I was impressed by this piece, it was done very well. I especially enjoyed Samuel and Jia Wei's duet (call me biased if you want)

Spanish Fever was the last piece of the concert. Would have thought they'd save it for the encores, but nevertheless, it was done quite well. I wondered why Steven stood up near the end, didn't realise Winston was standing up as well, given his lack of stature.

Che Sara as an encore was ok, though I would have thought it would be better as the last piece and Spanish Fever as encore. A bit too slow for encores, but still, it was ok.

The band had a surprise for us, their second encore was It's a Small World. I never in my life expected this piece to be used as an encore, and hearing them play it still evokes that fond memory of MyRIad and the Esplanade. The audience really loved this piece, and some gave standing ovations to the band after that.

Overall I'd say the concert was technically not as good as I would have hoped. However, it's clear that the audience really enjoyed themselves, which, if one thinks about it, is the true point of any concert. The second half was done quite well, though I wish the band could have played at a better venue.

Going back to the band room brought back fond memories of my own days in RI. It's been almost a year since Prometheum XI, and those good times we had. I'm saddened by the turn of events in RJC. Our batch has split up, and even though most of us were there at the concert, half of them didn't even want to go for dinner together. I'm sure they had their reasons, but still, a little gathering of a group once so close-knit would have been nice.

To be frank, my heart has never left RIMB. Rwinds is fun, the people are nice, and the songs are fun to play. But no other band will truly be as satisfying as RIMB was. The band has a kind of spirit, madness Shuotian calls it, that binds its members together. Where else can one go to feel so rejuvenated, even after such events as depressing CTs or even a funeral mass? When I go back, I'm greeted with smiles and hugs from people like Jerald and Bryan. Going back to watch my own section practice has always been one of my favourite activities, and I wish I could do so more often. Rwinds, as I said, is fun and all, but it doesn't have this sense. I don't even want to think about RJCSB. That band is simply a place to go, play music, and go home. Quite frankly, the band is dead. Not in the sense that it's dying musically, but the spirit is not there. Our batch there is divided, my own section mates don't even say hello when I greet them. It's obvious where my heart still lies.

Post SYF

Well, this chapter of band has ended with RJCSB getting gold for the SYF. We practiced hard for it, and I can't say we were that happy, but in the end I don't think the award mattered that much for me.

But first, a brief rundown. We started with Safari, naturally. Personally I think this could be done better, even if we did switch only 3 weeks before the SYF. Still, no major blunders anywhere and some of the audience said it was quite unique (in a good way), so I suppose that's good.

La Mer was played quite nicely, according to most people in the audience. Granted it did seem off balance to me, but I think that was because of my position in the stage. We did it nice and expressively, and you can see that Mr Oura really put his all into the piece. If I'm not wrong, it's sort of a dream piece to him, and I'm happy for him that he finally got his chance to conduct it. Kudos to the soloists, and to the whole band, for putting in effort and playing this piece well.

Of course, the result was unexpected. I think all of us felt disappointed at the result, not helped by the fact that schools like VJC were cheering their hearts out. I can imagine the J2s were particularly upset, and I think we all were, for our various reasons. Granted I didn't feel as bad as I think most of the band. Perhaps to me, the award didn't really matter as much as the fact that we did play well, and we did manage to send our message across, a feeling reinforced now that I read some comments on our playing. I suppose mainly my regret lies in the fact that Mr Oura never did get a Gold with Honours. Still, I think that as long as we played our best, which I believe we did, he'll be happy. At least I hope so.

Well, SYF is over, on to less serious stuff such as busking. I just hope the school doesn't decide to do something stupid like replace Mr Oura or continue to deny us a band room (though I'm quite happy with RI's, it does seem rather sad sharing the band room). Other than that, good experience, and I gained much from it. I'm going to miss La Mer, actually, regardless of what I said at the start of the year.

SYF 2007 - JC category.

Well it's slightly more than 12 hours to our performance at the SYF 2007 central judging. Safari, by Adam Gorb, and La Mer, by Debussy, are on our repertoire.

So, after close to 5 months of working on the 2 songs, we're finally here. It's been a long time, and I started out pretty much hating La Mer, after coming out of a Coda II and Prometheum XI filled with more conventional songs. I've grown to like the song though, and while I can't claim I love it as much as pieces such as The White Tree or Vox Stellarum, I do enjoy the song, especially its climaxs. Might even miss playing it when all this is over.

So tomorrow would be the climax of all our work. Will we get the Gold with Honours that has eluded Mr Oura thus far, or will we obtain Gold, or even silver or below? Part of me does have this apprehension, yes.

But in the end, what does it matter? It doesn't matter to me what we get. What would matter to me would be how we play, what message we can send to ourselves and our audience. Cliched, I know, but true. I think in the end, the award means nothing. Music is meant to be enjoyed, not judged. What I want is to be able to see what the songs describe, especially La Mer, a very evocative piece. I hope to actually be able to see images through the music. Admittedly Safari isn't much, but of course it would be good to convey the feel of the jungle in this rather wild piece. La Mer of course, is about the wind and the sea, at least this movement of it is. I can almost imagine the sea as we play, the howling wind, crashing waves and yet moments of calm interspersed. This is the image I hope we can send.

As Mr Oura said, be possessed by the music. On the basic level of course, stuff like tone and all needs to fit the piece. In that respect, I hope to be able to play the bari sax for Safari, then turn it into the cello and double bass it's subbing in La Mer. La Mer was composed for an orchestra, so if we sound like one, the music comes across well. Then there's, as I mentioned, the message and images to be sent. I think as long as we put in our emotion into the piece, and we do know ourselves what kind of a message we want to send, our performance should come across beautifully. I can see that Mr Oura already has devoted himself to tomorrow, La Mer especially. Hopefully I can live up to his expectations, and by extension, the rest of the band.

I suppose the final message I want to send myself is that tomorrow, enjoy the music, enjoy the stage. Play your heart out. For me, the main aim is to really make our music beautiful and enjoyable. Even if you are just out for the GWH, if you do this, it should come naturally.

Tomorrow, we will make history. As the ocean glowed for RIMB, let it rise again in its power and might in La Mer.

To all RJCSB members out there, all the best for tomorrow.

Today.

Well, today was interesting. Wanted to go down to RI sectionals, but they changed to concert last minute. So I went to watch Meet the Robinsons with Paul. Always nice to spend some time with a close friend.

RI SYF is in 3 day's time. Good luck, we're all standing behind you.

SYF thus far.

Wow... judging the last 2 days has been very tough. Out of 50 schools, only 1 got Gold with Honours, and very shockingly it wasn't RGS. I really don't believe it...

Well, RIMB, the baton's with you now. Get that gold, for RI, for the alumni, for us, the batch of 2006, for Mr Oura, but more importantly, for yourselves. Prove to us that we were wrong when we predicted the band would die this year. Unless there's a major earthquake or a nuclear attack I will be down there at SCH on the 16th. I want to be able to say proudly that I was from that band up there, that won the Gold with Honours despite the strict standards. I want to see Mr Oura walk out of SCH with a smile on his face. Most importantly I want to be moved to tears by your music on the day, and I want to see you all celebrating and cheering your hearts out. Let's hear a repeat announcement of the 13th of April 2005: "Raffles Institution.... Raffles Institution... Gold with Honours"

I'd also like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and respect for Mr Oura. To quote him recently on his blog:

at the SYF, let's send our message to the people with love.
music without message is really boring and it is not music , just a sound (or noise)
if the message doesn't have any love in it. something awful.

only the message with full of love makes people happy.

i believe our music will give them the best message ever.


How can you look at that and not be filled with admiration. One of the few things still holding me to RJCSB is that I want to continue under his guidance, at least for one year more.

I also remember another quote from him

"We will make history."

RJCSB and RIMB will score.

Memories

Was just talking to Chester and was reminded of the old days of RIMB. Our batch was the paragon of batch unity and spirit. Without fail almost every day almost the entire batch would converge on 4R and go for lunch, be it at S11, J8 or in school. After band, we'd just hang around in the band room until we were chased out by the teachers. Tuesdays and Thursdays saw many of us hanging around in the band room as well.

I am reminded of all the songs that we played in our last year... Silvercrest, Le Carnival Des Animaux, March and Procession of Bacchus, Jalan Jalan, Overture for Symphonic Band, Carmen Fantasy, Whistle While You Work, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Bandwagon, Highlights from Ragtime, Army of the Nile and Spanish Fever, as a band. As a batch, we ended off with Utopia, Titanic Medley, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park and the promise that we would forever remain together.

We held onto this too, even after Investiture and Lilies by the River. We still went for batch lunches together, visited the band many times during the term, mugged for CTs together and during the hols, went for quite a few batch outings. Batch chalet/refugee camp at Jeremy's house, numerous movies such as Death Note, Night at the Museum and so on. All the while we were saying we could never be parted. What happened after that?

On the 3rd of January 2007, something somewhere blew up, and took that with it.

It pains me still to listen to our Investiture recordings, especially Titanic Medley. Where did that go?

A Tempo XVIII

Well, my first concert with RJCSB, as well as my first concert with 2 runs, is over. It was ok, I guess, but not as satisfying as Prometheum XI or Coda II. Friday started out bad for me, for numerous reasons, and the concert wasn't that good either. Mr Oura certainly was not happy. Saturday's was OK though, so I shall talk about that.

The concert opened with Metroplex, which is a reasonably nice song with 3 movements, as it were. One fanfare opening, one bluesy sax solo and a fast jazz thing. The song was quite ok, not much to comment.

La Mer was ok, musically, but I didn't really like it. Neither did the audience, it seemed. Royce especially said that it sounded disgusting when arranged for a band as opposed to an orchestra. For my part, I find it a boring song, and I wish we could have put in something like Vox Stellarum.

Kaze No Mai was nice, being I think the only song in which I got a main melody part besides The Stars and Stripes Forever. I like the song, it's very Japanese.

Can't say much about Postcard from Singapore, except that I quite liked the second movement. I think this song was quite well done as well.

Miss Saigon was next. I thought this one was quite nice, but apparently the trumpets had some difficulties. I love the ending of this arrangement though. The helicopter/timpani cover was a nice touch, I suppose.

The ensembles were ok, we had a percussion ensemble and a jazz brass quintet. Pity there wasn't a sax ensemble though, would have liked to have one.

RIMB was next with And Then the Ocean Glows. I was very impressed by their performance, given the standard I had seen previously. Seeing the old band play on stage, and do reasonably well too, was a very emotional experience.

We entered with The Stars and Stripes Forever. I love this song, and I really enjoyed playing it, especially the quaver rundowns. My favourite song of the concert.

Norweigian Dances wasn't that nice, but I think we did OK. Boring for me though.

The sax solo song, I Need to Be In Love, was nice. Unlike Friday, the saxes stood up for the first part, which was nice. Didn't do that since Prometheum X a long time ago. The solo was pretty nice.

Sounds From the 60s was quite nice, I think it was quite popular with the audience too. Surfin USA is quite a nice song, though I prefer more symphonic stuff.

Silver Screen was better this time than the last, though I think there could have been a bit more improvement. It really fits the storyline though, the whole silent movie thing.

Our encore was Takarajima, which is a nice song. Pity the sax solos were a bit too soft though.


So, yeah. Not much I can say. It was fun, but not as much as Prometheum or Coda. Hopefully next time will be better.

Steamed.

Following what happened today, I, as well as some of my batchmates, have become very distressed. I shall start ranting from here on, so please do not read on if you don't like this sort of thing.

Now, last Saturday, myself, Paul and Shuotian, among a few others, fixed up the RJCSB A Tempo XVIII ticket sales booth. We came up with the idea of doing a world map, with our repertoire written on it near the respective countries. So we had to skip sectionals to go over to J8 to buy materials, and since a real map was too expensive, we searched throughout Bishan library for a book with a world map. After coming back to school, we went to make the world map, and set up the booth.

Today, some of the J2s deemed our booth "unsatisfactory". They thus decided to tear it down, and rebuild it. As Paul, Shuotian and I were about to go for lunch with Bernard and Shu Yi, we were kidnapped by them, scolded for slacking around and screwing up the booth, and then asked to help remake it. The current remake stands now in the canteen.

As you can imagine, I am none too happy about this. Firstly, we invested large amounts of time and effort, and some money as well, in getting this done. We searched Bishan Library over looking for a big enough world map, and hunted for the various materials. We then painstakingly spent time drawing the world map and designing the booth. Yi Ding had drawn out the continents and landmasses very carefully, spending a lot of time on this. Wen Chong was also assembling the blue background, which was not an easy task. In the meantime, the rest of us were busy putting up the black backing for the board, and deciding what to write. After the map was done, we put up the blue background, then carefully cut out and glued all the continents on, which was not easy since some pieces went missing and had to be redone. Much care was also taken in cutting out the continents, ensuring that they were cut as close as possible to the shape. Shuotian was spending time designing a nice banner, along with Paul. Joan and myself were doing up the concert's details, myself drafting out the design while Joan went over them nicely in silver pen. Following which, Shuotian, Wen Chong and Yiding had to leave. The rest of us finished up the banner, and did up the map nicely.

So, as you can see, being called slackers did not hold too well for me. Firstly, there were some J2s hanging around watching us do our work at various times. If they felt that the booth was unsatisfactory, then why did they not tell us when we were building the booth, not after? Secondly, the fact that the booth was unceremoniously torn down, without even telling us, was really unfair, especially given the hard work we had put in. Finally, after a long and stressful day involving a very nerve-wracking piano exam, I was looking forward to some rest at lunch with my friends. Instead, I, as well as Paul and Shuotian, had to endure scoldings by the J2s for doing a bad job with the booth, then asked to help out, eventually doing little except standing there, as the J2s were doing most of the work. I gather Shu Yi and Bernard were not happy as well, especially as Bernard was not happy in the first place that I wanted to wait for Shuotian before going to eat. The finished booth, was in my opinion, not an improvement over the old one.

I mean, we made sacrifices and put in hard work on that. Shuotian had his badminton training, and though he wanted to rest after a tiring practice, he stayed as long as possible before leaving. Paul had to skip church to ensure that the board was up. In the process of doing the banner, he spilled lots of green flourescent paint over his uniform, which no doubt made it a lot more difficult to wash. I had to rush off immediately after the board was finished to go out, which meant that my dinner was postponed to 11pm. I'm sure everyone else must have wanted to go home after a long day as well.

The fact that we put in a lot of effort, only to have the work that we spent so much time and effort on torn down just because some people found it ugly, is seriously enraging. I shall not say any more, except that I am very steamed about this whole matter. I think I can say the same for Shuotian, Paul, Joan, Yiding, Wen Chong, Ling Zhang and anyone else who helped out with the original booth.

Memories...

Found a CD full of nice photos from various November events.

Graduation Ceremony Aftermath











2nd National Air Race




Graduation Dinner




































My favourite one
























Isn't it amazing how, just 3 months ago, we were all proclaiming our unity and love for one another as a batch? And now?

Rwinds Chalet.

Well, just came back from the annual (as of last year) Rwinds post-Coda chalet. It was quite interesting. Started on Friday night. I met Shuotian in city hall, and we went for dinner. Then we headed off. On the way there, we were joking about going there and finding one guy sitting alone on the couch. Guess what we found when we got there?

Wasn't as bad as that in the end though, since we were joined by others, Henry and Yanlong first of all, followed by a few others. After playing cards a while, someone found a mahjong set. Went to sleep after 2 rounds of that though. Interestingly, I heard that Teng Kok, one of our conductors, is going to be an econs teacher at RJ.

In the morning, me and Shuotian woke up at 6:30, and went off for band. I had fun admiring the early morning arrivals into Changi Airport while walking out. Reached J8 at 7:30, had breakfast, then went to RI.

Band was rather boring, we just went through Silver Screen and La Mer. Vox Stellarum > La Mer. I wish we had some more interesting songs. Still, not too bad, Kaze No Mae especially is nice.

After that, we met Jeremy, then the 3 of us shared a cab back to East Coast. When we got there, we joined a game of frisbee. I kept getting distracted by the... scenery though. Quite some nice ones too, the highlight being a 747-400 of KLM.

Eventually, most of the people there, except myself, Shuotian, Jeremy and Teng Kok left. However, more people arrived. We tried some funny card game called Bang!, which was quite fun.

After that, Shuotian and I went to play pool and air hockey at the entertainment center. When we got back, we had an interesting game of charades. I still fail to see how to act "Alvamar Overture"...

The next morning, we didn't do much. After checking out ,we went by the beach to play frisbee and volleyball, and, in my case, admire the scenery. After that, I had a few rounds of pool with Shuotian before leaving.

In all that was quite a fun time. I just wish more of my batch had gone though...

JC life.

Wow.. time seems to have passed by fast. It's already the end of week 3. Seems like orientation, coda and all that were barely a week ago.

Anyway, orientation was ok, I suppose. The activities were quite fun, and our OGLs were a very nice bunch. They really made efforts to make us feel welcome in RJ. My OG is good as well, though I can't really connect with them that well. Still, we had some fun times there.

My class is very good. Got quite a few people I know, including Bernard. Also, I got to know this nice girl, Shu Yi, from RGS. She seems to treat cars in the same regard I do aircraft, which is interesting. Been nice knowing her so far, really helped me a bit in getting adjusted. Also, the RJC photocopy shop is a huge ripoff...

RJCSB seems fun, as always. Especially the time during La Mer when jazz music suddenly blasted from the band room speakers, or when Yiheng pretended to be a head doctor. La Mer is quite challenging, though personally I think it sounds boring. Vox Stellarum would make a good SYF piece. Ah well, maybe next NBC or something...

Yeah, band is quite fun. I wish more people from my batch would join though, especially Chester. It just isn't the same without them... Also, my LOTR medleys are coming along slowly, been working on ROTK for a while. The White Tree is a very very nice song. Problem is, ROTK's going to be long. 15 minutes or so. It promises to be the best work I've done so far though. Somehow I wish I could one day hear, if not conduct, it in a concert, though probably it will never happen. Still, one can dream, no?

Alone...

Sigh... My willingness to go to the ends of the earth for people who'd barely lift a finger to help me astounds me.

I think what happened yesterday was just a physical manifestation of how I've been feeling for much of recent times. I've worked so hard for many people, but few have actually done much for me. Perhaps I'm being a bit selfish, but I just wish that I could get something back. Just once, I would like to receive, not an expensive or lavish birthday present, but a nice sincere card. Something a bit more personal.

In some ways, I think the best birthday present I got this year was Zi Guang's. At least that was more personal...

Coda!

Well, my first concert with Rwinds, and also the first full concert Rwinds has put up, Coda 1 being a joint effort with RJC. I'm glad it went well.

So as usual, we started off moving percs down to the atrium, along with instruments. Then we spent half an hour or so waiting for the lorry to turn up, after which we had to move the instruments over to the columbarium gate since the construction prevented the lorry from coming in. Still, we did it quite fast, and we were soon on our way to VCH.

The usual at VCH, soundchecks and tech rehearsals. Was very rushed though, i think we took barely 2 hours, and at the end of it all I had 10 mins to eat dinner and prep before going up to tune.

I swear I had nothing to do with the mc script... But I liked it :)

So, we started with Conzensus, a rather slow, stately deal. I like that song. Allows me to lounge a lot in my comfortable range, sometimes going a bit lower. Quite good job, overall.

Suite on Celtic Folk Songs was next. I always thought Celtic was Scottish? Anyway it was quite good. March was ok, I think listening to the recordings, some people might have been confused at the dal segno and repeats, but overall good. Air was nice. I loved Wenyang's picc solo this time, though I still think it sounds better on a flute. Reel was ok, though a but slow, and again, people were confused with the dal segno repeats.

Danse Diabolique, I think the song that has given the sax section the most trouble with all those quaver running bits. Well, at least I managed to get them this time, which was quite good. Also, the trombones did well, compared to some pracs.

Mononoke Hime Medley was up next. Playing it brought back fond memories of Investiture 2004... I also have to say that this is the only band score I've seen where the bari sax has more to do than the tenors. Comparatively easy song, and it was quite nice, especially the horn solo.

Vox. Vox vox vox. I like it. Vox Stellarum has a nice ring to it. And the composer/conductor, Wong Kah Chun, is imba. Some may not agree with me, but I like this song quite a lot. Then again, I've always liked the kind of heroic style that's used a lot here. Also, up there on stage was the first time I've ever been able to pull off the whole song without any mistakes, technically. Of course, some parts were too loud/soft etc, but overall it was nice. Very challenging piece (though I think La Mer is more troublesome). I hope I get the chance to play this one again.

The intermission turned out to be very chaotic, compared to the usual. I guess it's because about 20 batches or so worth of people turned up, as opposed to the usual 3 you see in sec schools. Backstage was quite packed, and it was quite difficult to get around.

I can't comment much on the ensembles, since I was backstage preparing for my own. Our performance was the first time our full section actually played the songs together. It seems we were well received, and I quite liked Sin Yee's arrangement of An American in Paris. I think I did quite well for my standards too, though some slipups in both songs. The getup was interesting though, seems that the audience liked it.

Gulliver's Travels I think was quite nicely done. Most of the parts I was worried about turned out quite nicely, especially the bass melody in movement 2. I always wonder why movement 4 is the way it is though, considering the horses in the actual book are far from what the song would have you believe.

Tong Hua... the song I almost fell asleep (literally) in during a prac. Though my part was boring, I quite like the song.

Les Miserables was also boring for me, though I really like some parts of it, especially Do You Hear the People Sing. A good concert end, in my opinion.

Of course, it wasn't really the end of the concert. For our encore we had It Don't Mean A Thing, very nice jazzy deal. Considering we practiced the song once or twice only, it was quite nice. As with Vox Stellarum, this was the first time I managed the song properly.

So after the concert, we did a couple of photos, then packed up and moved stuff to the lorry. In an interesting case of deja vu, the bus was late. It showed up eventually though, and we headed back to RI for the traditional batch J8 visit.

Overall I was quite happy with the concert, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I must say that I enjoyed the many practices as well. Oh, and I'm in love with the RJC bari sax.
I think that I actually improved more through the 3 months here than I did in the last 6 months of my time in the RIMB. In the RI band, firstly, I was stuck with a rather bad instrument. It was easy to play, but the tone wasn't very nice, and it had a lower range. The RJC Selmer Paris bari, on the other hand, took a long while to warm up to. I have to use a lot more air too, which can be tough sometimes. However, the end result is much better.

Also, perhaps I had a bit more challenge during this concert than for Prometheum or Myriad. Mostly, the songs that we had for those concerts were very boring for me, and I didn't really have much drive to improve there. I mean, holding long notes doesn't take too much skill, and the majority of the songs I had then seem to do that a lot. Coda's repertoire gave me more stretching room, so to speak, and I could improve more with those songs. So, although I'm not that good yet, and still the worst of the Rwinds section, I think I still improved quite a lot.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed practicing and performing for Coda 2, and I'm also glad attendance was quite good. I look forward to Coda 3 (along with everything else that comes next year).

G?

So I'm supposed to come up with 10 things about myself beginning with G? Ok

1. Gold with Honours - My aspiration for RIMB and RJCSB next year. Don't disappoint me, ok?

2. Gulfstream - They make good jets, though I prefer heavier stuff myself.

3. Gondor Theme - Yeah, I like LOTR, especially this music.

4. Green - I like this colour. Very pleasant.

5. God - I am reasonably religious here...

This is getting tough

6. GE90-115B - Pure power in an aircraft engine, 115klb of thrust, compared to 56klb in the early rockets. What more could one ask for?

7. Google - What I usually use to search stuff. I like Google earth as well

8. G-BOAB - The first (and only) Concorde I ever saw.

9. GG - What I think a number of my relationships have ended up as

10. Goodbye - What? I can't think of anything else.

There you have it. Anyone wants a letter, just tag.

Singapore Center, Singapore 37 heavy declaring emergency due to severe turbulence.

Yeah, but seriously, now is a rather bad time in my life. Too many things to get confused about. Most of which is of course my relationships. I've been going on a roller coaster as far as those are concerned, and I really don't know what to make of some of them. Especially this one guy. I'm sure anyone reading this would know who I'm talking about. I somehow find a need for openness and a need to know for sure. Maybe that's the problem?

Does anyone read this anyway?

Bands....

Sigh... Most of my life these past 3 years has generally revolved around band. Either the RIMB,(now) Rwinds or (in future)RJCSB. I used to resent playing the barisax, found it boring. Now, I love the thing. Still, I can't help but wonder what will happen.

Raffles Winds.. the alumni band of RI, RGS and RJC. It's been a short, but enjoyable time so far preparing for CODA II, the end-of-year concert. I'm quite worried that I might not be able to handle some pieces, including Danse Diabolique. However, most of the pieces are fun, especially Gulliver's Travels and Selections from Les Miserables. Though I don't know my section mates well, let alone the rest of the band, they seem a nice bunch and I generally look forward to performing on the 28th of December.

Next of course will be RJCSB. Wish I could say much about it, but I have no idea what's in store, other than Play 07, SYF, A Tempo and NBC. Even more fun, I suppose.

The thing that worries me the most is my former true love... The RIMB. I have to say that it's facing some... problems, to say the least. We were fighting to maintain the standard of the band right from the start, and now, things seem to be sliding. Perhaps it's our batch's fault, or not. I don't know. People, especially the Sec 1s, somehow seem to not care about the band's future. I wish I knew why. Even though I am no longer in the RI band, I think I'll be as disappointed as, if not more disappointed, than any band member if they don't get a gold for the SYF. And I have to say, that seems quite likely now.

Ah well, once a bandsman, always a bandsman, I suppose. Nothing much more to say, except to wish all band members from all bands the best in any concerts or competitions they might be playing in.

End of an era

Well, after 3 and a half years of band, I'm finally out. The past 3 years have been.. unforgettable. Some of the bad moments:

Torturous drills in Sec 1
Getting screwed by Jermyn's batch in Sec 2
Screwing up Play 05
Not going for the Japan trip
Barely scraping a Gold for NBC

And of course, the good moments:

Performing up front in Prometheum X
All the busking sessions along Orchard Road
Gold With Honours!
Playing well for Unisono
Performing at the Esplanade in myRIad
Barely scraping a Gold for NBC
Best concert of my life - Prometheum XI
Everything else

Well, all things must eventually end. It's going to be difficult for me to adjust to this new life, but I'll manage. I have to say that the band has been a major part of my life all this while. In Sec 1, it was merely a place to go to to get tortured by RDs. In Sec 2, it was a refuge from my troubles in class. In Sec 3, it was both a source of great joy and of frustration. In Sec 4, it became our band, our batch's band. Did we do well? I think we did. Not as good as we would have liked, but still alright.

National Day!

Well, this was one of the more interesting weeks recently. Started off with myself and Bertrand staying at Jon Seow's house until 1am to finish off a video for the school National Day Celebrations. Turned out ok, but we could have done better. Still, it looked quite cool, though laggy. The 20 second clip at the end, of the 3 F-16Cs in formation was the most frustrating to film, took us 3 hours to get right. When we did get it right the first time, the video software failed... In the end took 4 hours to film that final scene. I wish more people would be able to appreciate the time and effort we put into the 2 videos, military and commercial aviation, though I fear most did not.

Interesting quote did surface from a random Sec 1 during the video though. When the caption "Singapore Airlines now operates the largest fleet of Boeing 777s in the world" appeared, someone was quoted to have said "There's a typo, should be 747." Just for reference:

747



777



Ok, maybe I am a bit picky, but these are my two favourite aircraft we're talking about! Anyway, after that went for some history makeup. Originally wanted to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2, but was abandoned by certain people... So I just went home and slacked.

At night, I began a nice long flight. Since Bertrand and Xavier would be coming over the next day, I decided to fly from Singapore to Paris, on a Singapore Airlines 747.

Flight Number: SQ334
Aircraft: 747-412
Registration: 9V-SMS
Route: Changi Airport (WSSS) - Charles De Gaulle Airport (LFPG)
Departure Gate: F37
Departure Time: 2345 local
Arrival Gate: A4
Arrival Time: 0615 local

Surprisingly, even at night, with the Samsoft Changi scenery, PMDG 747-400 and tons of AI traffic, I got little or no lag. Anyway, taxiied to runway 20L, and was greeted by a long taxi queue, most of them my fellow SIA 747s. Took off after a short delay, and began the PMK12 departure. Flew over a nicely lit up CBD on the way out. Once the plane reached cruising altitude, I went to bed for the night.

Woke up the next morning to find the aircraft cruising slowly over central Russia. It was just before dawn. Dawn in Flight Sim is a very nice time of day, as you can see from the pic above. Also, a Lufthansa 747-400 flew parallel to the aircraft for a time, though we overtook it.

Bertrand and Xavier showed up quite late, though before we landed. We had lunch, then Bertrand landed the aircraft on runway 27L at Paris, while Xavier attempted to hijack it.

For the rest of the day, we spent time watching TV and doing some flying, then watched NDP. Why they used the song "Return of the King" from the LOTR soundtrack I will never know. We then went to Kallang to watch a VERY short fireworks display.

It was quite late by the time we got back, so Bertrand and Xavier stayed over. Xavier mainly talked to his friends (and Chester, for some reason) on MSN, while Bertrand flew traffic patterns (circles) around Seletar and various airports.

The next day, we got our hands on the Australian Simulations Piper Warrior III. The Piper Warrior III is a very nice, simple to fly basic trainer, which SYFC uses.

After Xavier and Bert left, I installed the Flight Simulator X demo. Runs ok, not as good as the final version's supposed to, but I can see it has potential. Water textures are sweet stuff.

Band the next day was immensely boring. I get about 4-6 bars of interesting stuff in the entire repertoire of 5 songs! Still, what can I do? I feel quite disappointed that the baritone sax seems to be a sort of afterthought in most music, but then I can't protest against a song just because it's boring for me, can I?

Yesterday went to the airport to see Xavier off. He would be flying the same flight I described earlier, SQ334. While most people wished him a safe trip, I told him I wouldn't need to, because he was flying a Boeing 747 and was guaranteed one. I wasn't joking either, I place full trust in that aircraft. Can't deny that I was a bit worried though, what with recent events. After that, I also went spotting with Bertrand. Qantas was surprisingly co-operative, sending a Boeing 747-438 and A330-302 within spotting distance. Pity Japan Airlines and KLM weren't.

All in all, I'd say this was an interesting week, had its ups and downs, more than usual. It was a nice end to the doom period, of July 9th - August 8th, and I got some flying done with the 2 new aircraft I got, the Piper Warrior and Carenado's Cessna 182Q Skylane II. All I need now is a yoke and rudder pedals, and I'll be quite nicely set up. Hope I get them in the future (hint to section in case they haven't decided what to get me for investiture).