Happy Chinese New Year!☺

Chinese New Year is just around the corner! I’m sure many families have already done their spring cleaning and changing of furniture. So has my family. We have already made preparations for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Firstly, we have grinded, laminated and polished our parquet flooring to perfection. We changed it from a worn out wooden flooring to a brand new looking parquet flooring. We also threw some of our old furniture like the ancient table and squeaky bed frame and replace them with new, better looking ones. Apart from that, we did a thorough sweep of the house, throwing away unwanted stuff and tidying the rooms.

Chinese New Year is one of the best times for reunion dinners. One of the best things I like about Chinese New Year is that I get to visit my relatives. On the 12th of February I there will be a reunion dinner for my father’s side of the family. We will be going to the same restaurant we go annually. While on the 13th of February, another reunion dinner will be held for my mother’s side of the family. With my cousins around, we will sure have a lot of fun!☺
Apart from the reunion dinners, we bought some Chinese New Year goodies and some oranges for the visiting of my grand-aunt. Every year, there will be a family gathering at my grand-aunt’s house. My cousins will be going too.☺ There, we will eat my grand-aunt’s home made noodles. Yum!

Chinese New Year is one of my favourite days of the year. Happy Chinese New Year to all!☺

My CCA - Concert Band

In secondary school, everybody as a CCA (except those who quited theirs).My CCA is the concert band. I had just recently joined it last year. A lot of people has asked my why I choose the Concert Band as my CCA. Well, as a piano player, I like music and I thought that Concert Band was one of the most musically inclined CCA, so why not? With the help of my piano background, I was enrolled into concert band. During this one year in the concert band, I have made many new friends and learnt how to play a new instrument- The Clarinet!☺

The Concert Band is a very heavy CCA as it requires you to attend its practices thrice a week, excluding the individual practices that you have to do everyday. But it’s worth the effort. Why? Because it confirms you an A for your CCA points. There are many activities that the Concert Band take parts in that will get you the CCA points you need. For example, the first was a performance in the school – Recollections ll. That was definitely a good experience as it was our first performance. There was also an exchange program with Green ville secondary. From the exchange program, we learnt how other bands practise. Next month, on the second day of the Chinese New Year, we will be performing at the Istana. We will be playing some tough pieces and other Chinese New Year songs. After that, we will be going for our overseas performance which is only held once every three years! That would definitely be something to look forward to.

The Concert Band is also like a second class. You get to make new friends. Sometimes, there are sleepovers and barbecues for batch bonding. That is why I joined the Concert Band.☺

Something That I Like To Do Alone - Playing The Piano

Everyone has something that they like to do alone. Some like to spend their time reading or listening to music, while others just like gazing at the sky doing nothing at all. Like spending time with your friends and family, spending time alone is equally important. Sure, you enjoy being social, being productive at school, spending time with your family, and all that. But meanwhile, your personality might be sliding out from under you. Without a little time to do what you like, you will end up leading a life with no “you” in it. So as you can see, meaningful alone-time is a powerful need and a necessary tonic in today’s rapid-fire world. So, set aside your busy schedule and get re-acquainted with yourself. Looking at solitude from a fresh angle, you will easily recognize its many benefits.

For me, it’s playing the piano. I like to play the piano when I am alone. Why? Because, I have been learning to play the piano since young and I enjoy it very much. And ever since then, playing the piano has been one of my favorite hobbies. What’s the difference between playing the piano when you are alone compared to playing it in a group? Well, you won’t have to worry about what people would think of your playing. In a group, I have encountered people that do not appreciate the piece and other people that interrupt the playing. A piano isn’t made for more than one pair of hands!

Playing the piano has many benefits for me. Firstly, if you excel in music, it is definitely something to be proud of.☺ Secondly, I enjoy playing the piano and it helps me relax and wind down after a busy week. It is also a HUGE help for my CCA (Concert Band). The piano background gives you the higher priority for the enrolment and the piano trainings help in finger speed, coordination and accuracy, subdivision, reading of score, and many others. Lastly it also helps me to appreciate other music periods other than just modern music. Like baroque, romantic and classical.

Therefore, this is why I like to play the piano alone.☺

A Problem Encountered and How I Solved It - 1st Day of Secondary School

Everybody is bound to face many problems in their lives. Some may be bigger than others, some are smaller. Whether is it a personal problem or a common problem, we all have problems. I am no exception. I have faced many problems in my life. For example, my first day of my new secondary school. You may not think this is a big problem, but to me, it’s a HUGE problem. I knew nobody! But this problem is different from others. There was only one way to solve it. And that is to make some new friends.

Fortunately, one of my primary school friends happens to be in my class. That is a huge relief for me as I knew no one else in my class! I looked around. Most of my classmates seemed to be facing the same problem as me. But, all this changed slightly when it was time for the first lesson. It was with our senior schoolmates. The first thing they did was to ask us to introduce ourselves to one another. Of course, everybody was reluctant to do so as we did not know each other quite well. (Although that was the exact reason why we were doing it).

After four periods, it was time for recess. During recess I decided to make some new friends. At first, I was a bit shy. But after some time, I managed to start a conversation with one of my classmate. My first new friend!☺ We talked and shared with each other about our likings and found out that we had quite a bit in common.
After the next half a month, I made a whole group of new friends and I am proud of it. So did most of the class. I was happy that I am able to fit into the class.

And that’s my first day of school in my new school.☺

Special Moment With My Family - The 16th of January

Spending time with your family is very important. For every family, there is always a special day to spend time together. For my family, the sixteenth of January is one of the most important days of the year (which also happens to be today). The sixteenth of January is my mother's birthday. Coincidentally it is also my birthday.☺ And if that's not important enough, it is also my parent's wedding anniversary. So, as you can see, the sixteenth of January is indeed a very special day for my family.

To celebrate such a rare and special event, my cousins and their parents are invited to come and celebrate this joyous event with us at a seafood restaurant. This is a rare occasion as my cousins and I live very far away each other. Unfortunately, two days before my birthday, my eye started to swell and i was unable to go to school. Because of this, I had to stay away from the crabs and other expensive seafood as the doctor said it will only irritate the eye further.
Nevertheless getting to meet my cousins was a great present itself.

After the great food, we went to the nearby arcade and had lots of fun family bonding time. Finally after playing, we went for a long stroll along the nearby beach until it started to get dark. That was when we had to say goodbye to my cousins.I will be looking forward to the next time we meet.