WARNING!
SUPER DUPER LOONG AND WORDY POST AHEAD!
dont say i didn't warn you =P

hmms. shall recap on NCO?
i try ah! remember whatever i can
you know ah...my super memory of mine -___-!


121007-Day one!
first day of NCO!
reluctantly woke up at 5am.
was feeling superly horrible and weak
was intending to skip the first day of NCO at that moment
couldn't stand it
what i was feeling was horrible
empty, broken, tired, weak
but i just dragged myself out of bed.
was actually thinking, it's like once-in-a-lifetime thing
had no regrets! luckily i didn't skip it (:

left the house at around 6+!
really dark. walked all the way to the MRT station carrying my horn
nicee feeling
cooling and everything (:
sat the train to khatib mrt. didn't know i was on the same train with sweeling!
and of course, had tons of stares by people cause of my loveleh horn -_-
hah. saw tons of people at the MRT station
maces and instruments, flooded by people wearing NCO t-shirts
headed to nee soon camp by shuttle bus!
reached there, waited for around 1.5 hours?
and they finally started the briefing

first activity! lecture
some lecture huh. abit weird =X
some quotes were...really weird lahh =X
footdrills next! taughed by the officers there
can't really remember what happened ah. =X
after that. teabreak!
hah! their teabreaks are always the nicest : DD
and they serve the nicest food for teabreaks! for some reason =X
with cooold drinks. whee~
sat in a circle with the hornists! (:

after that, ice-breaking games!
was okay la...but my group kinda small compared to the others.
lunch next! packet food.
hmmmm. lunch was okay (:
lunch with hornists as usual! (:

after lunch was the worsst!
had music rehearsal at the white house, which we thought was kinda near to the multi-purpose hall.
BUT IT APPEARED NOT!
we had to climb slopes, walk in circles, walked for whoknowshowmanymetresorkilometres
had to carry our 2.5-4kg horns for a very long distance
everybody was grumbling lahh T_T
reached there at around 15-20 mins later? or maybe longer o_o
by the time we reached, everybody didn't have the energy to play the pieces anymore
exhausted like crap!
best of all, we had to CARRY OUR INSTRUMENTS BACK TO THE MULTI-PURPOSE HALL AFTER REHEARSAL!
tiann ahhh T____T

dismissed after that!
day one ended (:


131007-Day Two!
woke up at 5am again
horrible feeling
went to khatib with sweeling this time round
reached nee soon camp by shuttle bus again and all that
waited for around an hour
had footdrills first thing in the morning! at the parade square
tiring ah! sweating like madd
abit malu ah. was actually wearing huayi's PE shirt that day
and you know, the big big HUAYI word is sooo visible even from far, right?
yup. and i heard a guy said in chinese "huayi sec ah! my former school leh!"
stunned awhile. and turned left when i was supposed to turn right -____-
so obvious! T__T
super tired after drills~

display technique after that!
formed parade and display technique blocks (:
practiced the display techniques
difficult for most of us at first! cause most of us are from concert bands, and obviously we don't do this kind of formations and everything~
even some of the military bands don't do this kind of stuff!
but after doing it for a number of times. it appears fun and okay! (:
super funny sometimes. people dunno what to do, when to turn, when to walk, when to mark time and all that!
fun experience ((:
hah. have to thank kaiting for helping me out sometimes!
heh XD

had tea-break after that!
as usual, yummy food with cooold drinks (:
band majors ate alot! hah. to the extend of the drum majors having very lil to eat
=X
lecture next!
SUPER HILARIOUS!
was asked, "what are the qualities a good leader should have"
hah! and we answered the lecturer with the points from yesterday's lecture!
super funny i tell you!
laughed like crap XD
and someone shouted, "expect the unexpected,always be ready for surprises in life"
hah. and the lecture said, "what do you mean by that? expect the unexpected? do you have any examples?"
and the person replied "that was unexpected"
SUPER HILARIOUS I TELL YOU!
with the tone he spoke in.
laughed like mad~
XD
hah. and somemore very funny answers by the majors.
one quality they answered was even "loyalty to the country"
like, LOL?!
that point was actually one of the core values(?) of the SAF?
you know, something like school vision and mission those kind of stuff.
it was put up in the room =X
and they just mentioned everything they saw as the values of the SAF
super funny..funniest lecture x)
we gave 43 qualities
=XX!

lunch next!
packet food again ._.
music rehearsal next
prac display techniques again!
but this time, with our instruments.
when most of us are able to get the hang of it after a while,
we started doing it while playing the pieces we memorized.
totally difficult!
i couldn't cope at first, cannot march correctly and play at the same time
T____T
first of all, i can't play while marching
when i can finally play some notes, i couldn't march in time, or i end up marching on the wrong leg -_-
ya la. those majors or whoever who've done it before from scratch will be able to know what i mean
carried up my horn. arm ached like mad!
totally not used to it...cause usually i put my horn on my leg while playing =X
learned stuffs too! like changing playing positions for the horn for marching, from 'up' to 'down'
tiring ah! like flinging my horn with one hand~
couldn't do it at first T_T
managed to do it a few times..but super slowly x_x
couldn't feel both my arms after the end of the day x___x
totally NUMMB!
marched under the sun with instruments too~
mr siao took a video of us doing the formations!

dismissed after that!
headed homee after that! with bubble teaa XD
muahahaha. and I LOVE MY MUM! she massaged my arm when i got home! cause i said it was totally aching like crazyy
SO SWEET OF HER, RIGHT?!
: DD


141107-Day Three!
as usual! woke up at 5am and all that~
but this time, it was raining in the morning! with the cold wind and everything
struggled my way to the mrt station this time, freeezing cold x_x
footdrills first thing in the morning for camp! but this time, in the multi-purpose hall
didn't do footdrills, but instead, my group went to collect water o___o
carried down the water containers to fill them up with water
was asked to use puppy faces while asking to for ice o_o
in the end, mr siao have to ask the person-in-charge himself =X
by the time we finish collecting, footdrills almost ended!


display technique again! omg. super tiring x_x
with instruments and everything, did all the formations
most of us still unsure! but got the hang of it somehow =X
tiring ah! carrying horn. at playing position T___T
but the tubas, trombones are far worse than us ._.
arm aching as usual!

lecture next! a meaningful one (:
omg. this lecturer can sing i tell you!
lecture was about "music inspirations and aspirations"
hah. and he talked about stuff about his life
how he learned music although he was blind and all that
he sang for us! one bon jovi song. we shouted for encore after that
and he sang ronan keating-when you say nothing at all
NICEEEE.
he played his guitar
exactly the same as the song! but much clearer (:
love that song again, although its old
as long its nice to me...NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!
hah. that's why i'm putting it as my blog song now x)
somehow, inspired me (:
when you have a strong passion for something, GO FOR IT!
(:
hah. after that watched our video
LOOOL! SUPER FUNNY XD
laughed at our own mistakes
hahaha. and the part when mr siao zoom-ed in on the person marching on the wrong leg
it looks so funny!
it's very obvious though x___x
hahaha. and zoomed in on robin too
XDXD
looked at the formations forming. cool! (:
know where we should improve and stuff like that, then headed back for tea-break!

tea-break! usual stuffs (:
team-building games after that! woohoo (:
my group completed the 3 games at the first station superly fast!
completed when the other groups were still playing the first game
muahahahaha (:
other games were quite fun too!
stepping stones was lol?! =X
hah. and the blindfold thing -.-!
dunno what levels of hell =X
lunch. usual (:

music rehearsal was done in the field
under the sun, carrying our instruments
drum majors saw us practice! cheered for us (:
hah! and we finally got a chance to look at the drum majors practice during break!
LOVE THEIR FORMATION!
so cool. i love macework
looks so fun (:
practiced until 6. had duty after that
had to clear the grandstand -.-
carried pails of water and splashed it on the seats =XX
left the place at 6.30! which is super duper late.
only reach the mrt station at 7. ._.
as usual, bought bubble tea (:

ya la! and something super freaky happened while i was walking home
by the time i reached jurong east, it's like..super dark! near 8pm
even the sun set already
was walking home alone, happily drinking my heavenly bubble tea =X...when i suddenly felt weird
when i turned around...
GUESS WHAT I SAW!!!!!!




i saw two rows of white teeth following me.
like...OMG?!
an indian followed me can!
when i turned around, he was smiling or what
FREAKED OUT LIKE MAD!
walked faster towards the nearest block of flats
loitered at the bus stop..dun dare continue walking home alone mah x__x
ya la...in the end he loitered somewhere near the bus stop while i was there.
and when his back was facing me..i quickly chiong-ed home using another longer route
IT'S SO FREAKY I TELL YOU!
imagine walking home alone and you turn back, all you see is two rows of white teeth
and the person followed you
omg x________x
no offence ah...it sounds abit racist and stuff...
but its super duper freaky lahhhh!!!
reached home super late!


151107-Day Four!
as usual, woke up 5am and stuff like that again -.-
display techniques first thing in the morning!
did the usual stuffs~
haha. had to think of dance moves for one part
one guy from _____ school gave a super crazy idea
their instrument is sooo light! of course they can do it!
unlike us the hornists and saxophones
if we spin with them ah...you will see horns flying around in all directions -.-
totally pissed with him after that! hornists and saxophones made our dance moves instead =X
everyone's doing the formation correctly! moving and turning in different directions (:
yayyy (:
had a SAF Bands Heritage Walk after that
had to walk to the white house again -_________-"!
ya la...and so we walked there, climbing slopes and walking in circles
but this time, without instruments! thank god (:

Heritage Walk is SOOOO FREAKING COOL I TELL YOU!
explored the white house!
and i LOVEEEEEEE their resource library!
IT'S HEAVEN! makes you wanna be a SAF band member =X
whatever scores you name, you can find it there
concert pieces, marches, exam pieces, brass quintets, scores for horns only or whatever instrument and whatever you name it,
THEY HAVE IT!
and if they don't have it, they will buy it for you!
like, OMG?!
isn't that cool!? they have concert DVDs,VCDs and all sorts of instrument handbooks, conducting handbooks or whatever you name it and everything
and all their scores are properly arranged...neatly, in rows put nicely in files on shelves
their library is huge!
there's a sofa for you to watch the DVDs too!
wahhhh! heaven! everybody was WAHHHH-ing away.
super cool x)

headed on after that. walked around the place
SUPER NICE! they have over 20+ practice rooms! and these rooms are sound proof!
SO COOL! and every room is air-conditioned, with a table, chair and a stand
but it's small though
NICEE! only if our school have them *dream on weijuan!-_-*
oh yeah! and heard a horn player practicing while walking around
HER TONE QUALITY IS NICEEE I TELL YOU!
envy envy x)
headed to the recording studio and everything! uber coool-ness x)
saw a trombone-quartet while walking around one of the studios
NICEEE! THEY WERE PLAYING CANON IN D!
adadadas~
omgomgomg. their tone quality and everything is sooooo nice!
their chords are heavenly!!!!~
words can't describe how nice it was...=X
me and shan hui was reluctant to leave ah. wanted to hear them play finish the piece T___T
the first group to complete the tour!
and...I LOVE THE DRUM MAJOR'S MACE!
sooooooooo nice! it's gold in colour!
yeah. and there's a lion on it
super nicee! went gaga over it. the design is super nice laa (:
yup. and the drum major did some macework there.
everybody was wooooow-ing (:
overall, I LOVE THE WHITE HOUSE!
it's fully equipped with stuffs a musician ought to have
no worries, cause whatever you need for your instrument or anything will be there(:
yup. and the officer there told us there's a shortcut to walk down to the multi-purpose hall
-______-!!!
why didn't they tell us earlier!
hahaha. and everybody was giving this -_______- face =X

lecture next!
funny lecturee...but abit theory-ish ah~
hahaha. and what the lecturer said is true!
one scenario in the band room:

*band practicing a certain part of the piece, where the woodwinds aren't familiar cause it's full of running notes etc*

and a cymbal player getting ready cause his part to play is reaching soon...

*cymbal player slowly counts*....5 bars later.....8 bars....*

cymbal player: *finally! coming le coming le! finally get to play after so long*
*lifts cymbal up, ready to play*

*about to play....*

conductor: STOP STOP STOP! CLARINETS! WRONG NOTE! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FLAT NOT NATURAL!!!
cymbal player: -___________-! *sian look*

hahaha. and when it goes on and on and on....
*3 times..5 times...8 times...uncountable times..until the cymbal player gets fed-up cause he doesn't gets to play...*

*8 bars later..when the cymbal part was supposed to come in*

conductor: STOP STOP STOP!!! CYMBAL PLAYER! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME IN! AND WHY ARE YOU SITTING DOWN!!! whole band! play from ___ again!

everyone: *sian look* -___-

isn't that super familiar? =X
ya la. it happens everytime. when i lift up my horn ready to play the note and then have to stop -___-
whole auditorium was roaring with laughter XD

after that, POP rehearsal
run through everything a few times
went home!
bubble tea as usual (:


161107-Last day of Camp! ):
it's our big day!
all of us prayed that it won't rain! if not all our efforts for the past 4 days will come to waste ):
rehearsals in the morning. run through a few times
after that. nothing much~
few hours before the actual POP, the girls have to drag all our stuffs to the auditorium, which is like..super far away T________T
dragged our horn cases, bags and all our stuffs there, and changed to our uniforms!
took picturess (:
ACTUAL POP!
IT DIDN'T RAIN! THANK GOD ((:
was singing shalalalala~ shalalala in the evening with...er...someone? can't remember who =X
too high lah! =P
formed up in our parade blocks...and waited for the POP to start.
haha. was looking at the POP banner facing us. looks like PASTAMANIA's banner -__-
POP rocked! everything went smoothly i must say (:
used every bit of energy i had in me to carry my horn throughout the whole POP
performance was great!
haha. band majors plan to steal the limelight from the drum majors after their performance kind of..failed =X
but some of us continued to play within the chaos! =)
drum and band majors from 33rd NCO ROCKED! : DD

POP ended around 7.30..close to 8.
ex-saxy sl, olga, natalie and syafik came!
actually could invite more...but we didn't know.
THEY SAID THE MAX TO INVITE WAS 3! -__-
my mum, bro and my mum's friend who was a horn player came too! (:

found out something!
the band major from hongkah sec is actually the daughter of my mother's old neighbour!!
which was like....er....more than 10 or 20 years ago? when my mum was living at...er...i think bukit timah? =X
coincidental eh?
was actually shocked when i saw my mum talking to the BM's father
i thought my mum was just having another casual conversation with someone who was sitting beside her or something..
when my mum told me...
totally shocked!
i was like: "eh...you're from hong kah right?"
and she said ya...aren't you the BM from huayi?
haha. we know each other...cause we're in the same group mah =X
and yeah! i think i know her when i was in sec one..when i went over to hong kah/jurongville for the thumbs up programme.
she sat beside me! cause i remember she's a flute player from hongkah
didn't know that we would both end up as majors!
TOTALLY SHOCKED DAO!
isn't that coincidental? x)

anyways, thank you melissa and olga for the rose! (:
ran back to the auditorium with sweeling! with our black shoes -__-
didn't have a chance to take pictures in our full uniforms with the whole horn section! everyone was scattered everywhere ):
super high lahh after that lah! (:
atmosphere was GREAAT! (:
went to JP for dinner with them. PIZZA HUT!
THANK YOU EX-SAXY SL FOR THE TREAT! : D
hahaha. "one photo, $10!"
took cab home with syafik!
have to thank this dear sweet senior of mine! he let me leave his horn at his place..so that i don't have to carry it back to school from home the next day
my hands were...totally numb. couldn't feel anything after the 5 days of camp
it's as if i just have a piece of flesh existing there..but i dont feel it o_o
anyway, THANK YOU SYAFIK! : DD
messaged mdm khaw after that, telling her that me and sweeling will be late for the open house tomorrow
and she agreed! thank god (:
reached home close to 11.
too high to sleep (:
uploaded the photos and bathed.
slept after that after watching some tv (:

that should be it! if i go into anymore extra details..you guys will be bored to death =X
haha! I LOVE 33rd NCO! : DDD

i miss the times when we sat in a circle and had our packet food together...
i miss the times when the hornists arranged our cases in a flower formation..
i miss the times when we did drills and formations together...
i miss the times when we complained we were aching everywhere together...
i miss the times when the BMs repeat what mr siao says cause he always forgets what he wants to say...
i miss the funny stuffs that mr siao says...
i miss the times when i had to wake up at 5am in the morning, and return home at around 8 everyday...
i miss watching the sun rise and the sky lighting up when i leave home and watching the sun set and the sky turning dark when i reach home...
i miss the times when we bought bubble tea after NCO everyday...
i miss the times when all of us had to endure practices and drills under the sun...
i miss the times when all of us complained how heavy our instruments are...
i miss the times when we helped each other collect food....
i miss the times when we encouraged each other to jiayou...
i miss the high atmosphere of POP...
i miss the friends i met there...
i miss the 33rd NCO hornists...
i miss 33RD NCO!

5 days of perseverance, exhaustion and fun.
our efforts and everything paid off! (:
learnt tons of stuff!
i were given the chance to go through it all over again..
i would say YES without hesitation!
although its tiring...deprived from sleep and everything
the experience is indeed unforgettable and memorable (:
and of course..definitely worth it (:
no regrets at all (:
33RD NCO IS LOVEEEE!
3 cheers! ((: