Still, I have to motivate myself to keep this blog updated :P

A lot has happened over the last few months, I really don't know where to start.

Firstly, there was the X-country run. My timing improved by 6 minutes, from 29 to 23. This isn't remarkable to most people, but to me, a record is a record. After all, the run is about fun and a lot of running.

Then, there was prelims. Honestly, I could have done better, and there is no way to sugarcoat the truth that if I don't work harder, there is no way I can enter any JC of my choice. It's true that everyone says in the O level, your L1R5 will be half of your L1R5 in Prelims. I'll be overjoyed if that were the case for me. 15 / 2 = 7.5

Still, I shall not be too stressed out about this, because there is always Prelim 2 to strive harder.

Next, there was my brother's 21st birthday. It was held in Changi Cottage, which is a chalet by the beach. The place was more of a relaxing place, rather than many-facilities-to-enjoy kind-of place. The only bad thing was that it was held in the middle of my Prelims, and bring my studying materials there to study was a failure. I only read one page of my SS notes :P

Ultimately, I enjoyed myself, as it was a fun party with many friends and family there. The cake was a grand 2-tier cake :D

Also, I stepped down from the Prefectorial Board, as well as from Choir. First, I'll talk about PB. I was a Prefect for 1 year and 1 school term. Truth be told, I can't say I thoroughly enjoy it, but I absolutely do not dislike being a prefect as well. So being a prefect is more or less a bittersweet experience.

In Sec 3, my class had a balcony outside. My classmates would often play soccer there. Being new to PB then, I really did not know how to stop them. I guess if I decided to stop them, I would be a hated person in the class. However, my teacher told me to do the right thing. So I did. My teacher then told me to be a prefect, there must be moral courage involved. I guess being a prefect is a thankless job, but someone has to do it, and to do it right. Being a prefect did make me get dissed by a few people, but at the same time, I guess it taught me how to be a better Victorian and leader.

Moving on to choir. Unlike PB, I have more experience in choir. Choir has brought bittersweet moments as well. There were times where I got pumped by SLs and the Comm, and there were times when we all cheered and celebrated after a great performance or that we received the Gold with Honours award in the SYF. And then I became the Treasurer. Being a Treasurer does not mean I just settle monetary things in the choir, for that makes me a Committee member as well, and that means I have to set an example for my juniors, and help them out.

Choir was a new experience to me. I was a Scout in Primary School, and it was my 2nd choice in the CCA list, choir being the first. I did not know what to expect in the choir, neither did I bother about the stereotypical comments about choir people. To be honest, I was more looking forward to getting an A1 for my CCA, I guess that thought changed after I entered the choir and when I became a senior.

In Sec 1, I could not differentiate between my parts and other sections parts. I guessed I was singing Soprano countless times. Good thing my SLs did not know. :D

In Sec 2, there was SYF. I guess the seriousness of it kicked in, and I learned my parts.

In Sec 3, I became a Comm member. I tried to set an example to everyone, and motivate the juniors in my section to work harder.

In Sec 4, there was SYF again. I guess since then I was a Comm member, maybe that's why I didn't learn my parts so seriously. It was a good thing I managed to perfect my singing of the songs. I mean, in Sec 2, I would replay Kucinta (that year's choice of song) over and over again until I could at least sing the song such that it met the requirements of my SLs. But in Sec 4 I guessed I slacked a bit. Hopefully I learned from this.

Anyway, over the course of preparing for the SYF, there were many setbacks. First, the lyrics to Ronde (a French song, and one of our song choices) were insanely difficult to memorise. Even I had some mistakes. Mr Kwei said that difficulty-wise, 10% is the tune, 90% is the lyrics. And I agree. There was also the time we decided to practise in the auditorium, to get ourselves used to various venues, since we do not know how we'll sound like in the School of the Arts hall. For some freakishly scary reason, our sound and quality tremendously dropped when we sang in the auditorium. Mr Kwei would frequently cut us in the middle of the song to tell just we are off-pitch, sharp, flat, etc. It was frustrating and demoralising, which made me wonder if we had already sounded like that initially, or was it the venue which affected us this way.

Fortunately, after a few practices, we did improve, and sounded better than we did in the music room. It was definitely a great achievement, and from then on, we "improved exponentially" as how Mr Kwei put it.

During the actual SYF day, we all had butterflies in our stomachs. We knew we could get GWH, but will we screw up? Entering the hall and standing on the stage, I tried to put on a smile like we are supposed to. I scanned the area - there were a few choirs sitting in front of us because they had already finished performing, and in the floor above was the judges. I was nervous, but I focused on Mr Kwei and sang out. I keep telling myself that it would be my last performance (but actually it wasn't), thus I have to give it my all.

We rush and went sharp for the second and third song, but overall it was OK. We did better in our usual practices, though. Kenneth Tay, who was watching the performance, said we were in the Gold-Gold with Honours range, so it will be difficult to determine our award. Many said we would get gold, while others kept high hopes and prayed for a Gold with Honours. We headed back to VS with heavy hearts.

After we got back to school, we headed back to SOTA for lunch. I felt that it was quite silly that they made it compulsory for everyone to go back to school. This was not the case 2 years ago after our performance. So Jason treated some people to a Sushi Tei buffet, which was awesome. :D

Then we slowly enjoyed our ice cream and headed to SOTA, waiting patiently for our results. Unlike 2 years ago, there was no TV outside that is showing the results announcing that was going on inside. However, I had a ticket to go in and listen to the results. Sitting in the chair, I got more nervous as the announcer says each choir and their award. At last, she reached choir number 21, which is VS Choir. I sprang from my seat and cheered loudy when she announced we got the GWH award. The judges who were sitting in front had to turn around and "Shh-ed" us. I sent the good news to Jason, who was outside, and he told the good news to every who was with him.

SYF has been a tiring but fruitful experience, and we did not let VS down and continued the Gold streak, and adding another award to the school. Also, 4 years in Alto FTW :D

Another significant event would be the ISG (Inter-Section Games). I played soccer for Alto. Even though I could also play Captain's Ball and Badminton, I decided to let the juniors get themselves involved instead. After all, the two sports above is not something I'm good at. :/

Anyway, I played as a defender, and enjoyed myself.

Our scores:

vs Soprano: 2-0 (win)

vs Bass: 0-2 (lose)

vs Tenor: 6-5 (win)

The Tenor match was the most exciting. I persuaded Hendrik to join our side. He was about to play on the Tenor-side, with Rifdi, Jun Yew, Benjamin, Cheng Kan and etc. If he had not joined, we might not have won. We were intially leading 4-0, but the Tenors put up a good fight and fought back.

Altos got 2nd place in soccer, 3rd place in Captain's Ball and 1st in Badminton. Overall, we were the winning section of ISG!! We actually beat Basses by a mere 1 point overall.

Lastly, there is the June Holidays. The time now is past 12, the 26th of June. School starts tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about going back to school, but overall I do not want my holiadays to end. It sped by really quickly, one reason was that the first week was used for extra lessons.

Anyway, I managed to complete my holiday homework (most of it), even all 4 E-Math and 4 A-Math Papers. However, I think I should also have spent more time studying, especially my weaker subjects such as my Humanities and Languages.

It's back to school, which means back to a whole term of intense revision, and with Prelim 2 and Mock Tests coming up, I guess I cannot afford to slack. Of course, I do not want to have a burn-out as well.

New term, new targets, new expectations.