Misfortunes

One thing I know about misfortunes is that like a pack of wolves, they never strike alone. At least that's how I experienced it.

The first misfortune struck me the earliest and fastest, before I even had time to blink. It involved my ATM card, which was sucked back into the ATM because I did not take my card out immediately after I punched in my withdrawal. I was taking my sweet time rifling through my wallet and throwing out some old receipts as there was no one else in queue. Never in my imagination would I expect that to happen. Of course, if you really think it through, it is possible and probably needed for safety measures. Unfortunately, humans only start thinking AFTER something had happened. I was one of the unfortunate ones who learn things the hard way while many people knew it through their friends. That was really a 'WTF!' moment, like being stunned for one second before digesting what had happened.

Sickness. This second misfortune is my biggest bane. It creeps in slowly and lingers, at times coming out at full force to torment me. The few days rehearsing in Chancellor's Hall had been an agonizing period for me. I was having a cold, which I lightly regarded as due to the lack of sleep or the long period of being cooped inside the air-conditioned CH. However, things worsen from here. I developed a throbbing headache, which paired with a fit of sneezy and runny nose is enough to make you want to lie in bed the whole day and rest. I would have been glad if I'm sick on my off-day so I could recuperate but no, it had to be on the day of the our first full-dress rehearsal, which everyone must be present. Do I need to mention, when one is sick, being tucked inside a set of stuffy formal attire with a tight coat is not a happy thing to do? Worse, with my aching body, I have to contribute my part to the logistic labour of moving the chairs and stands up the stage and down again in my most 'comfortable' attire. That day indeed made it to my list of worst days ever in my life. Luckily after a good night's sleep and drinking in a lot more water, I felt much better the next day, although there was still some occasional sneezing and a dull sensation in my head.

The 3rd (and thankfully last) misfortune was stealthy and only attack in short successions periodically, until the situation aggravated to the point of no return. It happened on my W910 Walkman phone, which have been my good companian on long-distance bus journeys and my evening's joggings. After more than 1 and half year, it had finally broken down. It started with the 'cancel' button being less sensitive and eventually damaged, which I don't mind because it is not really important. But soon, more buttons start losing thier sensitivites (including the call button). At least I could still survive with the bare minimum of texting messages and receiving calls. That was what I thought until the last button also gave away, leaving me with a handicapped phone that could only receive calls and do nothing more.

The notion of having to start the semester with a physically unfit body, a financially constrained wallet, and a handicapped phone that can't save my life when I need it to is really depressing and demotivating indeed. Not to mention, more commitments will rear their ugly heads soon if I'm not steadfast and let these misfortunes weight me down. I was very determined to at least resolve one of them before the semester begins.

Luckily, this weekend I finally had a break and went down to Ipoh with some of my CO pals. Eating good food and watching Inception was on my priorities, but nothing top buying a new phone! After borrowing a huge sum of money from my friends (which left me with a bigger debt), I finally bought a new phone. It is a Sony Ericsson classic phone, which I feel is sturdier. I'm still partially blaming the sliding mechanism of my previous phone for its demise, as it was more fragile and prone to wear and damage.

I tried to watch "Inception" but due to its bad timing and with most of my friends preferring "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", in the end I watched the latter. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" left me with no taste whatsover. It's neither good or bad, just neutral and so-so to me. The storyline is the typical happily-ever-after fairy-tale ending type and is predictable. But I have to give credits to the cool special effects, the characters, and the nice soundtrack in it.

Sunday is long over as I'm ending this. Monday and a new semester is here to greet me with a fresh wave of new expectations. Thankfully, I am now in good health and feeling more of normal healthy self. It's only soon (I hope) before I finally get a hold on my ATM card.

A short update

I'm back from training. It was as tiring as I thought. Fruitful? Well, I can't put a gauge on that word here. Things have taken an unexpected twist. It's each to their own perspective on how 'fruitful' the training turns out. Anyhow, I'm glad there is a two days reprieve for us to take a break.

Despite a few bumpy moments, things seem to have been better for now. From this week onward, we will be rehearsing in Chancellor's Hall, which is a totally different environment compared to our snug and cosy CO room. The sudden huge span of space renders our orchestra seemingly hollow and scattered, and this applies to the sound as well. Yet, space will be the main issue that we need to grapple with when the other schools' students are here. I will be waiting to see how the scenario of everyone cramped on stage looks like.

Plus, since there is a no stage crews or logistics, we, the performing members have to do the laborous work of moving the chairs and score stands up the stage before the performance, and down again after the performace. Each must (or should I say 'ideally') be done within 1 minute with minimal noise. Everything must make sense in this world, doesn't it?

Though the remaining few days of my semester break will be mostly occupied with rehearsals and practise, I will like to find a day to go down to Ipoh to catch the latest movie- 'Inception'. There's a lot of good reviews on this sci-fi movie, so I'm looking forward to it. Anyone fancy an Ipoh outing this weekend?

Results are out!!

Midnight. There's something unusual about this midnight. Almost everyone in my gtalk contact is online.

Well, most utpians do stay awake past midnight, but this night is different. The long awaited moment has finally arrived. In my case, 2nd year 1st semester result is out! But it's out late for around 40 minutes so after many intervals of refreshing on the result page, I finally get to see it!

My result is exactly what I had expected it to be (if you'd read one of my previous post). Nevertheless, I'm not too depressed by it. I had been mentally prepared for this way earlier before the real result is out and had long regarded this as a well-fought battle of the past. For now, focus on my present, plan for what's coming up next. Of course, I am far from being satisfied with my result so I must work extra hard this semester!

I will be heading off to Alor Setar for 2 days for some orchestra practises with other secondary school students. Compared to the previous school we went to, we should be expecting this training to be tougher, more serious, and possibly a tad less friendlier. The 'horror stories' that we had been told didn't manifest themselves much in the first school, but who knows what will happen in the upcoming school we are going to visit? No matter how things turn out, it will be a tiring trip, so let's hope the end result will be fruitful. Next update is till then.

Pre- 2nd Year 2nd Sem

My blog is getting a little bit dusty again so here I am.

My status? Currently back in UTP one month earlier before the new semester kicks in. UTP Chinese Orchestra will be involved in 2 upcoming performances: Konsert Diraja (which our Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak will attend) and Tapestry of Colours (will be held in Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra). Both are monumental events that will be in their grandest scale, hence the reason why I'm back one month earlier to practise for them.

It was a rough start to settling down. The management was so strict in handling our accommodation till the point of stupidity and defying common sense. I won't eloborate further. There's so much to rant about and I don't want to turn this into a long-winding post. In short, I just wish UTP management will at least put some trust in its own students and treat us as mature and grown-up adults. Enough said. Despite that, I'm now back in my permanent room in V5, with a good internet connection so I'm grateful and happy.

Life's so far so good for me. It was not all work and no play. The practising hours may be gruesome to look at but we did get enough rest and plenty of days off. Base on personal experience, this period of month also observes some closer bonding between UTP CO junior and senior members, as well as strengthening ties between secondary students from other SMK schools. The way I describe, everything seems to be on a bed of roses. Well, not quite true. The worst has yet to come. Deadlines are creeping nearer, and I have a feeling somewhere somehow there's a tensed-up spring ready to snap. For now, I will ignore this gut feeling and focuses on my practices. To my batchmates, holiday is edging closer to the end so enjoy it to the max!