2007. BYEBYE.

As we turn the final page, 2007 comes to an end, with many pleasant memories deeply etched under it. It was an important year for me; many significant events occurred in the past twelve months. This is the time to review (and swoon over, if possible) the many things that have made 2007 special:

Forming the band. It all started when cK sent me an SMS saying that she snagged an audition spot for us, and the four of us, Louise Claire cK and I, with the new addition of keyboardist Amanda, met up to jam. And miraculously, we could. (after a 3 year hiatus) XD We saw a notice in one of the studios that we went to, and it read “Don’t Ignore This Notice”, and from there came our name, Don’t. Ignore This Notice. From there we played at the opening of the Asian Civilizations Museum’s youth wing, AsianBeat ‘07 and our biggest gig of the year, Giving from the Heart @ the Atrium. The band has undoubtedly been one of the greatest motivations this year (like when you keep thinking: JAMMING AFTER SCHOOL) and we winz. Once again you can check us out HERE. I just wanna shout out to you guys – D.ITN is WINZ.

Guitar stuff. The Gold with Honours we clinched at SYF’07, the many memories of scoldings and pep talks and extra practices before SYF, the ensemble being at its tightest, the praises we got from the Strings teacher i/c, knowing many many more guitarists better…all of that cool shizz that you never get on normal days. The first time I ever felt really stressed over anything and the first time I felt that our performance deserved a 100/100. And of course the first time my name was put in as Arranger of an ensemble piece, for an official event. Then came the cold, harsh reality that our award isn’t really what it is, falling back down for a while before picking up again during concert. And of course, Concert’07! My first time arranging for handbells as well as guitar, playing a piece I half-composed, rearranging practically all of the concert scores, getting awesome reviews for our Harry Potter medley and La Cumparsita, it’s something I won’t forget ever. And of course the biggest bonus – getting a scholarship for it. Guitar, as everyone knows, has been the only thing keeping me going for the past 4 years. So leaving the CCA is really…weird and heartwrenching. Though really I haven’t come to terms with it yet, so that’s all for now.

Academics-wise, I hit my GPA target, I passed ONE Chemistry paper, I didn’t do too badly overall, so I’m pretty content. I could have worked harder, but I say that every year, it becomes redundant.

I met batman <3. It’s been five years but this is the first time I’ve actually gone down to meet him. 17122007. That’s a day to remember.

Yeah I guess those were the high points of ‘07, experiences that I could never have again, so I treasure them a lot.

So. End Of Year Meme!

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
AsianBeat’07? Skipping O levels, meeting Batman in person, played the violin in public, had my own arrangements premiered. Painted my room yellow.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions? And will you make more for next year?
I…didn’t make resolutions. I think. I will work on Mission 101. It’s more practical.

3. Did someone close to you give birth?
YES. My cousin who gave birth to my nephew – FISH!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
Aussieland.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
SEKRETplans going on. And of course, good grades. More food maybe. And metabolism.

7. What dates from 2007 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
180407 – SYF ‘07, where we got Gold with Honours for the first time.
070707 – Reverbere ‘07, because the Guitarists collaborated with the Ringers and we played Harry Potter and La Cumparsita fantabulously well.
171107 – Went for my very very first autograph session and I got to meet Batman and his very cool bandmates up close!
291107 – D.ITN’s biggest gig in 2007, which lasted 1.5 hours!

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
Graduating from secondary school, gigs with D.ITN.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not treasuring the people around me very much. And not really bothering to keep in touch with many others, and hurting too many people by mistake.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. I am strong.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Max, my mixer.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Fuzzy, Zebra, Bimbim and #2, because they are the coolest people on earth.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Can’t recall. Some typical tourist behaviours that I witnessed on my Aussieland trip.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food. Pretty things.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Refer to #7, and leaving Secondary School.

16. Compared to this time last year, are you…
a) Happier or Sadder? Happier.
b) Thinner or Fatter? Thinner. By a bit.
c) Richer or Poorer? Much poorer.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Jamming, mugging, reading, practicing instruments, playing pool, exercising.

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sleeping, eating, blowing up at my brother.

19. How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas is Over, But New Year’s Not Here Yet!

20. What was your favourite month of 2007?
DECEMBER.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Nope?

22. How many one night stands?
0.

23. What was your favourite TV program?
No idea. Don’t have one. Those chinese drama serials.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

25. What was the best book you read?
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Don’t. Ignore This Notice!

27. What did you want, and get?
A mixer.

28. What did you want, and not get?
A 4.0 GPA. No actually I didn’t want that.

29. Favourite film of the year?
Enchanted

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
It was a holiday. I forgot what I did, but since I forgot, it probably wasn’t very interesting. I was 16.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Getting into Semis for Asian Beat? But getting a compliment from a random stranger was satisfying enough.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Um. Laid-back? Not bothered?

33. What kept you sane?
Don’t. Ignore This Notice! And some of my classmates.

34. Which celebrity did you fancy the most?
SHAOWEI.

35. Which political issue stirred you the most?
Um. Thai politics?

36. Who do you miss?
Some unmentioned people.

37. Who is the best new person you met?
FUZZYWUZZY P______H_____.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you’ve learned in 2007?
Tell the band to come for prac one hour earlier than the intended time.

39. Quote a song lyric that best sums up your year.
Sitting at home and doing nothing makes you fat (YOU FAT.)

40. Which is the best band on earth?
Don’t. Ignore This Notice! FTW!

It’s been a year of growing, making decisions (to quit, or not to quit?) and enjoyment. Maybe when you realize that time is slipping by so fast you tend to notice new things about old experiences everyday; something I never understood for my whole secondary school life, until this year that is. The time I’ve wasted! Maybe I’m finally growing up. Whatever the case, I’m out of that emo-teenager phase. Be thankful, world! I’ve found what I really love, and there’s no other way to go but UP now.

HEY HEY YOU YOU I DON’T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND

Alright, so gig! Yesterday! At the Atrium of Plaza Sing!

Went alright. We didn’t play to an empty crowd, so . And we attracted quite a bit of shoppers to listen. Mm.

Met the band at our usual jamming place after lunch (and they all came late tsktsk) so we only had enough time to run through our set ONCE before the real thing. And we left out a song all the way till a few hours before the gig. :O But practice went okay, no screwups everyone was prepared and we sounded decent, except for cK’s bass which kept untuning itself. We headed off to Compassvale, armed with a keyboard, a guitar and a keyboard stand. Collected equipment from Compassvale, Bukit Timah and Toa Payoh, and rushed down to Plaza Sing to meet the organizers and stuff, and to set up.

Yeah so the gig started and everything was cool, crowd was lively, people were nice. All that. So here’s a big big shoutout to the people who came, Dr. S for the kickass guitar amps, Hyqel for the keyboard amp, Amos for the drumset & setting up, Regina (our stage manager), and Louise’s uncle for ferrying us around in his kickass van.

Anyway, am looking through our videos now and I’m spotting flaws and stuff we can work on. We weren’t too bad for our first major gig, but I think we need more stamina. But who cares it’s over and I deem it GIG OF THE YEAR so we win.

Louise says HEY HEY YOU YOU I DON’T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND.

Mandy, hotsexyzebra Claire, Val, Louise, cK. After the gig when we were all high and….bouncy.

Lay down a list of what is wrong

I went back to guitar practice today, as the 100% illegal student (I wasn’t even in school uniform) and Mr. KT stared when I walked past him. He had the most puzzled expression on his face, to whether I was a student or a random parent/relative of a Year One student. It must have had him stumped, why I was carrying a violin case and a gigantic laptop bag in school, in home clothes. But anyway, point is that I went back to see the juniors. Or at least what was left of them. There were less than twenty people around. That’s less than a third of our ensemble. And CCAO is when? Friday? =.= I really shouldn’t be bothering about such stuff anymore. Afterall, I’ve graduated and passed the baton on. It’s up to YY to care now. There are just some things that you have to let go of. Transcribed a score for them and packed up and left for lunch with the parents.

Violin afterwards then I headed to Clarke Quay to jam.

Amanda’s back from Malaysia! (Gee, how time flies) And so the band is back in full force now. We worked out all our songs, picked out the ones we were okay at and tried to work a bit more on the others. Biggest revelation of the day was that Fairy is totally suited for Avril Lavigne. Means we’ll play more of her covers, and that she should write more bimbo songs. It’s been such a long time since we last jammed. A month at least? Through playing the gazillion songs in our set, I’ve come to realize that we actually do have some style, to call our own. Which is good, definitely (even though our playing really isn’t up to standard.) because we’re recognizable. We are going somewhere, we are. I’m kind of torn between getting hyped up for the gig and dreading it because it’s our first time playing such a long set, and there will be a big big crowd (or at least I hope), but we have like, 3 days to perfect all our songs, and we’ve only finished like half. And we’re not even confident (but we’ll be funny, this I promise) that we’ll pull it off decently.

Right I should stop worrying and start practicing.

Some people run right into the fire

Went shopping with Barbie yesterday; got new stationery for the new year, and stuff for THEBIGSEKRETPLAN. hee hee hee. And of course, my brother’s christmas present. (I wanted to get him comics, so I SMS-ed Mummy “what comics does didi want” and she was like “only story book. no comics.” :O) I was supposed to get my own christmas present, but I couldn’t decide on which pedal to get…so I will just hound Hyqel for the time being. 8 hours of walking around Vivocity & Plaza Sing, spending at only THREE shops, is a major, major feat for me. The best part is that whatever I bought was NOT on my shopping list! The initial plan was to get a new wallet, santa hats, a new belt, and start putting together a STAY-AWAKE kit for next year. Barbie wanted to find her durian restaurant. (Is there really a durian restaurant in Vivo?) But the wallets and belts at Vivo didn’t fulfill at least one of the 3 categories (Pretty, Practical, Cheap) so I didn’t get them, and the santa hats were non-existent!

Sometimes (fine, all the time) I think that I’ve been spending too much, and I didn’t find a job to balance out my expenditure, so that makes me guilty. And what makes things worse is that my brother has more savings than me. Which makes me feel even more guilty because I get more allowance than him yet HE HAS MORE SAVINGS. (and not to mention other than allowance, I’ve gotten quite a sum from random things, awards and all that.  

Man I need to have a more exciting life. I keep thinking that I shouldn’t be spending so much money now, because it’s not mine, and when I work next time I need to repay my parents a lot. Expensive child I told you. But I don’t know maybe my dreams are too ambitious maybe they might not work out. I have no idea. I mean, I know what I want to do but it’s pretty…adventurous for a 16 going on 17 year old, especially in Singapore.

On the bright side I have two upcoming projectzzz. Yay. One for Chinese New Year and one for…I don’t know what. I hope it all works out. Videocam, someone?

We’re back in action!

Louise & Mandy came over yesterday to work on new material. We being the insane ones of the five, managed to record our band version of Spinning In Circles, and our latest original – Christmas Is Over, But New Year’s Not Here Yet. It’s specially written for our upcoming gig. You can check everything out HERE.

The days keep getting better and better. From jamming with the band, visiting T3, seeing Batman <3, meeting new people. If this continues (which I think it will), 2007 would probably be my happiest year on earth. Today I received a Christmas present, from 22. Was very surprised, and happy. So here’s a big thank you to you!

The act of giving brings more joy than receiving. I’ve finally understood that. When you give someone something, it makes you happy because

• You know that no matter how small it is, it will bring a smile to someone’s face.
• It shows that you actually do treasure people. Like hey I like you enough to send you a Christmas card. Which also means that you’re not that much of a heartless freak.

And yes, after receiving the present, I feel that much more motivated to finish up my Christmas cards to people.

So, how many more days to the New Year? It’s funny, but this is the first time I don’t want to move on.

Because you’re worth it.

Today is a very special day because it’s Batman’s birthday! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BATMAN. I <3 YOU.

TOMORROW.

Is a big big day. Buddy is helping me with my letter now, (both of us with our half-assed Chinese) and I am STUCK!

We jammed today, without #2. It feels so empty without the bass. Then we sat around Clarke Quay and met Ball Boy. We autographed many balls. Made plans to go to Swee Lee but we ended up at Changi Airport instead. Terminal 3 is pretty. I could live there, really. We became airmail for a while, and watched the Singapore team return from the SEA Games in Thailand. I couldn’t recognize any of them, except for this table-tennis player, but I forgot her name. Maybe this is a call to pay more attention to Singapore affairs.

And then again, Hady Mirza is our first Asian Idol, that I know. So I do pay some attention.

I have two letters and a whole pack of Christmas cards to finish. And I am going out in the afternoon with Maylyn & Co. And practice, oh man. I need practice, badly.

Wake Me Up

So violin lesson on Tuesday was a major major wake up call. After Aussieland I seem to have lost it; my hands are crammy and I can’t react to things and even though I understand what he was trying to correct, I can’t do it. He got pissed, I got disappointed. Almost cried but I was giving myself the excuse that I just returned 2 days ago and I’m still a little wonked out by Aussieland. These are but excuses though. Audition’s in three weeks’ time. For the past year I’ve been fluctuating between “care” and “don’t care” about getting in but suddenly it all sets in and I really, really want to get through. Everyone says I will for sure but that’s a hard statement. It puts the pressure on, more than anything else.

Be strong, believe.

Yesterday night/today morning, I had a late night chat with one of my buddies.

You know how you regard some people that you mix around with everyday as your close friends, some you may even consider your best friends, and one day, when the time comes, you get separated and you don’t see each other everyday anymore. So you drift apart and all. One day you might not even know what to say to each other, even though you guys were tight say, a year ago?

Then there’s the group of friends, whom you don’t spend everyday with, yet you can talk to them anytime, no matter how long you’ve never talked to them? The buddy I’m talking about belongs in this category.

We talked for nearly two hours. The past, the present and the future all whirled into one long string of memories and thoughts. We made pacts. Sour candy and guitars. And after it all…

I think I’m thiiiiiiiis much less afraid to go to JC. And that’s a lot.

Maybe it will all work out. I hope it does.

Anyway so this morning I decided to start on my Christmas cards. I bought 24 of them. It seemed like a lot but after listing down my recepients I realized that I needed more. But I’ll get them another day, shall finish my first 24 before getting more. I ransacked my room and fished out my autograph book (to find addresses), the hype of ‘03, and read through all the entries again. All in coloured, scrawly, primary school handwriting. Even the teachers. And I realized that not many people knew their postal codes then. :O So I searched online for them (hee.) and off I’m going to prettify the cards!

(okay so maybe I’m going to practice violin, then work on the cards)

Back from Aussieland

With a spoilt camera, a koala, a wombat, lots of random Australian souvenirs, and a (hopefully?) closer family. Lots of drama involved. (includes an ambulance turning up on my brother’s birthday) We were with a tour group, and though we’ve been interacting for the past 8 days, there wasn’t any exchange of names, occupations, schools and the like. And we all had fun. So maybe that’s the difference between being in Singapore and going overseas to relax. Maybe this is why you can never relax in Singapore. Life is tuff here, I say.

 But I’m back and that’s all that matters. We sent the camera off for repairs today after lunch, and I can only collect it on the 20th, which is because am going out with Maylyn next week and no pics = Mummy says that I should get another camera, so that we won’t fight over our Cyber-shot and that we can take more pictures for ourselves and stuff. Daddy suggests an SLR.

I woke up bright and early today, and replied many emails, which made me happy. Both receiving and replying the emails make me happy. Life is good, coming back and getting back into routine, (though there isn’t really a routine now) seeing a packed schedule makes me feel that my life has worth.

And if you’ve noticed on the top, I have a new page and it’s called Mission 101. Basically it’s a to-do list, of 101 things you have to complete in 1001 days. Today’s my starting date, so let’s see how long I can stick to this, aite?