Noteworthy! 05

Played the 3rd and 4th movements of the Brahms Horn trio at Noteworthy! 05 last Saturday - a concert organised yearly for the RJC chamber orchestra and MEP alumni. Well I belonged to neither, but just as back in the old RJ days, I couldn't help but join in the fun :). This year, I had the good fortune of playing with 2 excellent musicians, who were incredibly good-natured and fun to perform with.

Anyway, I'm reminded again how much fun playing chamber music can be, especially with musicians of similar temperament and competence levels. Am still quite intent on getting a permanent chamber music group going, which meets regularly just to play pieces for fun. It would be fabulous if the group was big enough so that people could just get together and pick up any random chamber work just to jam. It's something that's really meaningful, but I don't see happening very much here. I think it'd be great not just for closet musicians like me, who love to play but aren't pro, but even the career musicians, especially since most end up holed up practising the solo repertoire alone for hours and hours.

ORD LOH!!!!!

And so it's finally over.

And like most supposedly momentous events in life, the actual act of ORDing was expectedly low-key. No overwhelming feelings of euphoria or nostalgia.

The journey to camp to get my IC was a totally different matter though.

In my hurry to get out of the house nice and early today, I forgot to bring, of all things, my clearance and FFI form. And I only realised this a couple of bus stops away from camp. And mind you, I live in Marine Parade, while my camp's across the road from Tengah Airbase. Yes that one that's in the bloody tengah of no where. (translator's note: tengah is malay for middle)

Anyway, seething and fuming at my own stupidity, I made my way back home. Fortunately my mum was on her way out to town so that saved me the bus journey from the MRT station back home. However, I spent a total of 4.5 hours travelling to camp. Talk about working hard for your pink IC.

Interestingly enough, I discovered that there is a limit to how long you can spend in a train station, a limit in which overstepping results in a $2 admin fee. And because I took the train from Boon Lay to Bedok and back to Chua Chu Kang without stepping out through the gates, I naturally ran over the time limit. Serendipitously, I was only charged $2 plus the fare from Boon Lay to Chua Chu Kang. The only good thing that happened in the morning.

Ah well, whatever the case, I shall repeat, once more with feeling,
ORD LOH!
You can't quite say that without a smile on your face, can you? :)