Entries
Tuesday, November 28, 2006: "Wings clipped; nowhere to fly ..."
That is a self-quote - in the doctor's room yesterday, that was how I felt and I drafted it into a message.
Before heading to the East Coast for the Choir Barbecue gathering, I had to head to the Spine Doctor's at the Health Promotion Board. According to the X-ray, the curvature's actually improved by three degrees. I'm still in a daze - I really can't believe it. Looks like prayers for the Higher Authority to fer auxilium have helped. However, it was because of this that I missed Section Bonding.
Then after that, down to the ECP (P standing for Park) it was - I joined the Choristers. However, it pretty much looks like the leaders' plans might have been scuppered by the rain (if they had planned for outdoor games, that is; I wouldn't know because I was only there at 4). Nothing much was happening; some were in the shelter while others - including the leaders - were walking around. Then after that the leaders decided they wanted to move the two plastic bags of water bombs to the beach and Elizabeth needed an assistant (Denyse and Yun Min were handling one pack). Guess what Rachel did? She went something like "Oh, my dear Elizabeth," and I don't remember the rest of her words (yes, I'm aging), but it was in such an amorous tone that I went "Lol?", quizzically as well as in disgust.
(I remember getting a call from Sharon - via Liz - about an invitation to her caroling group's musical around this time in the shelter, but I just cannot remember when in this sequence of events. All I remember was that Liz was looking at me weirdly and I was thinking, "No way that can be from my family; none of them know Elizabeth's number!")
I got the job (finally, a meaningful way to spend some seconds) and followed the leaders down to the beach and there we wrote things in the sand after they'd brought the water bombs to wherever they'd wanted them to be (halfway there, we stopped for a rest and the plastic bag handle that I was carrying snapped. Grr...). Then the leaders gathered everyone at the beach for a dog-and-bone game hosted by Rui Wen and Wan Ping (with a water bomb for the 'bone' of contention). In the end, we were bursting so many bombs that our hosts decided to just let us have a water bomb fight. I suppose I'm not really used to wet games (I was shocked at how wet I became), but it was enjoyable in a way. Then I went back to the shelter to get my things and change into my dry outfit, but in the end I ended up getting everyone mobilised (because I told Wan Ping about it and she got everyone around the area to help) to find my sock, which I ended up finding near the shelter. -_-"
So anyway I went to Mcdonald's to swap outfits, and found the whole place congested due to - what else - the whole load of Choristers waiting to change. I ended up being the last to change, but I did it as fast as I could, and walked back with the others who'd gone to McDonald's to change (they'd stayed behind to wait out the rain, or for some other reason). By this time, the leaders were busying themselves with the preparation of pit 26. Cherissa came at around this time and I requested that we have a shot taken together. Since she said she wasn't quite settled down yet, I let her do what she had to while Rachel, Charis, Jia Xuan and I had some fun taking turns to snap each other. Usually my hand isn't shaky, but I have no idea what happened then - the photos I took were blurry. Soon I got a Cherissa-and-I shot, and some of the juniors wanted to be taken too, so we had a few group photos as well. (Unfortunately for you I have a no-uploads policy; I'll be e-mailing the photos out soon to those whose email addresses I know.)
The leaders at pit 26 were cooking way before we who were working on pit 27 were, because of their headstart. Admittedly, I was just chit-chatting (I found out that Jia Xuan had also been a primary school chorister - we sang part of The Silver Train together), but I jumped at any chance to help - I willingly carried out Rui Wen's instructions to the best of my ability, but the only task I succeeded in doing was getting plates and cutlery. I really wanted to help, but it seems that I might have been 'extra' again because the place was pretty much overstaffed. Due to the "fleeting flames" over at the pit here - we had to light up at least four times - we ended up with a lot of uncooked food at the end and Liz decided to shift everything over to pit 26 when she and the other leaders saw it.
I just wish I could have stayed to clear up, though.
Here's the message I drafted, which pretty much sums up how I felt the whole day:
Wings clipped;
nowhere to fly, though my soul touches the sky.
I'll be there, Choir.
Regardless of how late, I'll be there.
An anagram of words?
Sword; as a warrior, to live by.
So therefore,
these words I'll keep: I'll be there.
I will be there, by my word;
I shall be there.
Really, I wish I could've stayed to clear up.
Impossible circumstances - prison bars.
Singing off here.
~Seraphine Chorister~ sang in The Butterfly Garden
[8:18 PM]
