mistreatment

I've been returned all my test papers. This time, the scores range from near-perfect to a bare pass. Some examples: For biology, I scored 40/50 for the class test, while failing the lab assignment by one mark. On the other hand, I scored 29/30 and 40/70 for my chemistry and Chinese tests respectively. The rest is up to you to imagine.

Rehearsal today was pretty interesting. We now have a box containing various brands of rosins. The purpose is to allow us to try out different rosins, and also if we are considering to purchase a new rosin we can sample the existing ones first. Undoubtedly, this is a generous contribution.

However, I was disturbed by an incident which happened during rehearsal today. Initially, the conductor ordered a sec 1 violinist to do 40 push-ups for supposedly not obeying the concertmaster's request to sit down. He added that the boy had disobeyed both him and the concertmaster, so it was 20 push-ups each. The conductor also told everyone to watch him do the push-ups, and that he had to do proper ones otherwise they would not be counted. He also asked sarcastically if the boy wanted to do the push-ups in installments, but the boy completed them eventually.

After that, the boy was made to stay in push-up position, while the conductor told everyone that all committee members and acting section leaders had the authority to pump (order someone to do push-ups) anyone who disobeyed them. Also, if anyone refused to do the push-ups, he would triple the punishment. He told the boy to repeat what he had said. However, the boy said 'double' instead of 'triple' - and the conductor ordered him to do another 20 push-ups. The boy cried softly after that.

This is uncalled for. First, the conductor humiliated the boy, just like how many domestic workers are treated nowadays. Mind you, the boy meant no malice. He merely did not pay attention to the instructions - surely he doesn't have to be treated like that! Second, the conductor punished him severely for incorrectly repeating what he had said. The former has certainly portrayed himself to be a person of mean disposition, if not a sadist. There were also several incidents in the past when he was amused because a boy could not properly do push-ups he had asked the latter to do.

For your information, I have in the past also been given similar if not worse treatment in RISE, only that I did not take them personally. But now, I feel that the time has come when others should become aware of such nasty characters, and most importantly, do not learn from such bad examples - which is the biggest mistake one can ever make.

holiday

I've come to realise that school holidays literally mean 'break from academic lessons and assembly periods'. In other words, it is not truly a break. However, we have the luxury of waking up after the sun rises and perhaps even sleeping early. Or rather, these are more like basic necessities, only that certain groups of people and organisations have legitimately deprived us of them, for reasons which seem to be more compelling but are in fact nowhere near it. Don't you agree?

Over the holidays I have to complete several assignments and go about doing my music RE. Also, string ensemble rehearsals are scheduled to be held on Monday and Friday morning - which means that I'll have to wake up early and make sure that I arrive on time so that the conductor will not be furious and mete out ridiculous punishments.

Right now my top priority is to be well-prepared for tomorrow's ABRSM theory paper (grade 8). After that, I can relax for a short while before starting on my homework. That's it for now - I will update further when I find the time to do so.

stupid mistakes

I fell sick yesterday because of two stupid mistakes.

Two days ago I did my usual routine of jogging 3.2 km in the evening. Yesterday morning I had a sore throat but did not feel feverish, so I went to school. The first lesson was PE and we did a 2.4 km time trial. As expected, my timing of 11'29 was lousy. I felt uncomfortable during the next lesson, and by recess time I had already developed a fever.

My class was scheduled to support the tennis finals held at Kallang Tennis Centre from 2 pm. Despite being unwell, I stayed on because I wanted to witness the matches - under the hot sun.

I felt terrible when I got home yesterday. My temperature rose to 39.0 degrees Celsius at about 11pm, but subsided this morning. I am still having a mild fever. I just hope to recover by tomorrow morning so that I can sit for my Chinese test.

Bottom line: It pays to make stupid mistakes.

review

You may want to search last Friday's newspaper for the article 'How to attend college and still get educated' (ST Review, 3 March 2006).

Read the entire article, but scrutinise the last three paragraphs. Happy reading.

Click here for the definition of 'careerist', which can be found in the second-last paragraph of the article.

try this

For those of you who have music background and want to find out you score for perfect pitch (or absolute pitch), click here to take the test. Here are my test results:

AP rank: 1.00
Pure tone score: 36.00
Piano tone score: 36
Congratulations! You have Perfect Pitch.

Credit goes to Remus for introducing it to me, therefore I shall openly announce that he too has perfect pitch. You can read his blog for his test results.