Wishing for Tomorrow

{18th October 2010}
A poem that turned into a song that I wrote for someone who really doesn't matter anymore.

Wishing for Tomorrow.

Whatever, life

"When you're ten, they call you a prodigy. When you're fifteen, they call you a genius. Once you hit twenty, you're just an ordinary person. About three years until I'm ordinary." ~ Nanase Haruka, Free!
I can't believe I'm quoting a gay swimming anime. This is what my life has come to.

So... I've decided to do the one thing I swore never to do... pursue music as a future career path. =_="
Yup. I don't know if I'm being smart or stupid, oh well, I guess I'll find out 10 years down the road.
And yeah, if you follow that quote, by then I'll be really ordinary.
To be honest, the reason why I decided to choose music is partly because I want to live in Singapore.

I've been posting a lot on YouTube and SoundCloud lately, and I'm loving the response that I'm getting. Of course, this blog has been doing pretty well in getting views as well.

The audition for the college I want to get into is in February, the intake will only be in August.
So in between I have a LOT of free time, except for March-May, I have to attend National Service. XP

In the meantime, I have a few musical projects that I will definitely try to complete before March.
And I might offer myself up as musician / arranger / teacher for hire during the month of January till February.

I'll update this post when I'm feeling more inspired to wax lyrical.
It's late.

The 30-Day Studio Ghibli Challenge

I've had this post lying around my drafts for more than a year now. It took so long because of the gif hunting involved. I wanted to start editing it again after this happened, but yeah, had exams. For some reason, the middle of my SPM seems like a good time to post this long overdue post. Whatever.
I'll come back and edit it later.

Day 1: First Studio Ghibli movie?

Spirited Away.

To those who wait

{29th August 2014}
The little essay mentioned here has been returned for the day. Scroll down for writer's thoughts. Here it is, as written.

          It is almost dusk, I am waiting for her at the corner of the street. She has just landed in the country and she sent me a message asking me to wait here for her, the place where we last saw each other. It is cold, I wrap myself tightly in the scarf she gave me before she left, it still smells faintly of her perfume. I lean against the lamp post, tilting my head upwards to watch the sun say its final farewells. I close my eyes, and the memories begin to flow.

Scribble Something

{6th August 2014}
I haven't been writing much lately. I don't think it was writer's block, I think it was just me being too lazy to think about something to write. I doubt that I will ever write a book, I just don't have the discipline, a collection of poems maybe. After at least a year of no new material, I finally wrote a poem. Like most of my poems, it comes off as more of a song, which like most of my poems, it is. I used to compile all my writing (especially my poems) in this notebook.

Poetic Musings, by Rachel Wong Yen Yi.

But at one point I was writing a lot, almost two poems everyday, so I couldn't be bothered to update it, so now I just type them out and save them online. Which is easier, and dare I say it, better.

And so my wait begins

Today was my SPM (Malaysian O-levels) trial English writing exam. We have to write 2 essays, one directed, the other continuous.There are 5 topics to choose for the continuous writing question.
I chose: Write a story ending with, "All good things come to those who wait."

I wrote a love story. I have been reading a lot of shoujo manga lately and I watch Legend of Korra so the elements and many of the little moments are undoubtedly stolen from there, so it is in no way original. Unfortunately, I will not be able to share it until the paper is returned. Here's the first paragraph as a "preview":

     It is almost dusk, I am waiting for her at the corner of the street. She has just landed in the country and she sent me a message asking me to wait here for her, the place where we last saw each other. It is cold, I wrap myself tightly in the scarf she gave me before she left, it still smells faintly of her perfume. I lean against the lamp post, tilting my head upwards to watch the sun say its final farewells. I close my eyes, and the memories begin to flow.

There was something else I wanted to post but I lost the notebook I wrote it in. *sobs*

Update: (11th September 2014)
I got back the paper.
I got full marks.

A Melodious Symphony

I am so glad I was wrong.

Here's the program.

The time was short and long at the same time.

Unexpectedly, a lot of people turned up, so many that there weren't enough chairs! It was a great surprise because on Monday, less than 400 tickets were sold; Wednesday: 530+; Friday: 750+; and on Sunday itself, at least 1000. Almost everyone from my class turned up, they all sat in one row. They cheered for the band girls. I am very thankful that all my friends turned up.

I guess my conducting was slightly better. I was satisfied with my playing. Everyone played very well. There was finally percussion for Love Story meets Viva La Vida, and it was good. Apparently Frozen was quite good, I had fun, the only thing wrong with it was the PA system which totally sucked. It appears that our Pomp & Circumstance was better than the other school's. Everyone started clapping before the end of that, Instant Concert, and Can-Can. Unwisely, we did not prepare for an encore. So when the audience roared for one, I told Kam Yan to do Can-Can again.

The band girls kept speeding up the tempo for Can-Can, which we strings found hilarious because they were basically making life difficult for themselves. In the end we laughed together, with the strings laughing at the band, and the band laughing at us laughing. :D

It was amazing. All of us are so proud. The cheers and screams from the crowd were everything. We were so proud and high after that. Everyone wished we could do it all over again. Working so hard and putting everything all out there for the whole world to see was scary but liberating. Thank you all for this. <3

Get in line. For once, I was the one getting her picture taken. It's a very small, very vain thing, but it mattered to me. I got two bouquet of flowers, one from my mom, the other from the emcees.

My only regret: forgetting to take a photo with my lover/cellist, Xin Ying, who played the part of Hans for Love Is An Open Door while I played Anna's part. T_T But having only one regret is miles better than having a dozen. I am very thankful for that.

More photos here.

{7th to 8th July: Monday - Tuesday} Aftermath on Facebook and Instagram.
{9th July: Wednesday} An article about our concert popped up in the state section of the national Chinese newspaper.
{11th July: Friday} AJK meeting to decide on next year's committee.
{12th July: Saturday} AGM.
{14th July: Monday} Our last day at Symphony.

Reflections
The beginning
The finale
National Music Camp @ Langkawi Island (June 2013)
International Music Festival @ Genting Highlands (November 2013)
National Music Camp @ Penang Island (December 2013)
National Competition @ Penang Island (March 2013)

The end of this concert also means the end of my time with the AMC Symphony Orchestra. I know I should be sad, but instead I'm really happy. Thanks to this concert, I now know that I can win at life sometimes. Thanks to this concert, I have absolutely no regrets about the biggest and most constant part of my secondary school life. This is the end of the line, but also the beginning of a new one. I started this whole journey on a low note, and the last week was a whirlwind of emotions, mostly negative. I am glad and grateful that it ended on such a high note. I am happy that I can still smile at the end of an era.

Thank you. It was truly A Melodious Symphony.