一鸣惊人

This is what i call 一言惊醒梦中人:

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Dear comrades in competition,

I believe many of us weren't 100% sure that we are going when Wai
started asking around 2 months back. Everyone has their reasons for joining
this group.
When i first joined, I was thinking that having a chance to experience
a guitar competition is something new to me. I've never participated in
any competition. And my first one will be in Germany.. hmmm.. quite
exciting.
But then again, I wasn't really sure if we can win. I was thinking it's
just for experience and winning isn't my agenda, just a bonus if we really
do win it. So i've joined Genus Germany.

In a flash, we are only left with 13 days to the trip. I wonder again
if I am mentally ready. I wonder if you guys are mentally ready for a
competition... The trip still has the fun and relax charm, but maybe
it'll be more fulfiilling if I really felt that I am going there to WIN and
not just to "perform".

I asked myself.. why the hell do i want to win this competition... and
I think think think...

I want to win it because it's my first competition, my first
International Guitar Ensemble Competition.
I want to win it because .... it's great reputation boost for GENUS
(and hopefully we can ask CFA for new guitars again.. hahahahha)
I want to win it because ...I can't stand reading websites that
blatantly claim they are leading the guitar ensemble standards in the world.
I want to win it because ..we are probably the first guitar group in
Singapore to join international guitar ensemble competition. We are
indirectly representing our country! Don't want to lose face.
I want to win it because I don't want to become the runner-up and only
to realised we lost by a little bit because I fumble at some part that I
could have practiced a little harder.
I want to win it because it'll be something I will be proud of for
years to come... "Singapore guitar ensemble wins international guitar
competition in Germany !" hahahah ... this is a nice dream.....


... it's past midnight now and I only have 12 days before leaving for
Germany.
I do not know what you guys think and what will be the reasons you want
to join this competition, but whatever it is, I am going to burn my
fingers till 12 days later and then enjoy the trip with no regrets !

Feel free to add to above reasons & See you on Saturday!
Brandenburg at dotted crotchet 66... Pheweet!

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Cant believe this came from someone who is normally so reserved and quiet (esp. in a large group) and would not even stand up to "oppression" from Suitcase-man. haha..

也许这将是个重要的转捩点...

If everyone in the competition group believes as he does, and work super-hard within these couple days/week, then maybe... just maybe..

在这里先预祝 the GENUS TEAM 马到成功. 凯旋归来!

MASAK的完结篇?

We had a Masak celebratory-cum-farewell dinner at Equinox last night.

Celebration for our successful performance at the University Awards night (that was 1 month back). Farewell for Wai, who is going to the States to pursue her Masters degree.

It's been a long time since i've stepped into such a posh and expensive restaurant, and the 6 of us managed to chalk up a bill of >$600 quite easily. It didnt even fill out stomachs adequately, cos subsequently, we had to adjourn to Out-of-the-Pan to have our deserts!

In hindsight, maybe we should have gone to Greenhouse, since it offers us a nice buffet spread (which most of us would have loved!), and we'd probably have saved quite a bit of money as well. Still, the experience at Equinox was not just for its food (which really wasnt that fantastic, if you asked me) for more for the ambience and the experience.
*Mich, Barber and me visited their loo, and found ourselves "wowing" at the nice wine-cellar decor as well as the posh "waiting room" in front of the ladies....

All in all, we had a nice evening, chatting about the usual things - genus, the upcoming competition in Germany, suitcase man's ambitions, Barber's brush with romance at the Esplanade (==comments deleted==).

I look forward to more such nice gatherings with good friends. But let's try to go somewhere with good food, and easier on the pocket. :P

Late-comers

You gotta wonder how come some Singaporeans can be so, so hopeless when it comes to keeping time - especially for a wedding dinner.

It's not a new thing, it's been going on for ages. But sometime down the line, people began to set the inplicit one hour "benchmark" to be the de facto standard for late-comers. This means to say that the wedding organisers (be it the wedding planners or the hotel staff) will only start the dinner proper, one hour from the time stated in the invite.

This sucks because for those people who bothered to turn up ON TIME, it'll be a long long wait.

I just recently attended a relative's wedding dinner, and this bloody habit of starting the dinner one hour after the supposed start time just made me so fed-up. What I cannot understand is, why cant some Singaporeans get it into their heads that for ANY APPOINTMENTS, the acceptable time for late-comers should be no more than 15 minutes? That is to take into account the little, but unpredictable stuff, e.g. traffic conditions.

Of course, we all know that there are days where you'd virtually take twice (or 3 times even!) as long to make a trip, simply because of the weather, which then causes bad visibility on the roads, which then results in a couple more accidents, which eventually produces a jam as long as the Great Wall of China - on our ERP-powered expressways.

But these are the one-offs.

What I'm talking about here, is people already assuming the one hour "padding", thus setting off late, ie. being late intentionally. And in the case of wedding dinners, these late-comers get "rewarded" because the host/planners/organisers actually wait for them.

With time, the one-hour late rule has become a norm. I guess it's a case of "if you cant beat them, you join them!".

I will remember to be one hour late for the next wedding i attend.
(ok, maybe 50 minutes late, just to be sure i'm there for the 1st dish!)