Sunday, August 27, 2006
Gongshang
Gongshang GonshangHere's where we belong...In school I could only recall these 2 verse accurately.. Dont ask me bout the rest cause the words won't come out right, if you know what I mean... ;p Primary school was the time of
many firsts, first time I was on my own without my mom, first time I stood up for my own right, first time I shave my legs, first time I mentored my band juniors, first time I pissed the hell of the bookshop uncle, first time I performed on stage as a singer and as a trumpet player, first time I thought I had a best friend (Eng Bee Hian) and first time I fell in love with the coolest dude in band (which is my longest standing crush up till now).
Mrs Ow was my nightmare.. She had a mushroom mass of semi white hair with ultra straight short, straight fringe. She had coarse voice and I have always wondered, when I was at that age, how silly of God to make 2 genders in one body. She was a terror every student feared. If you have read Matilda, you would be familiar of the persona of "Mrs Trunchbull". The only difference is, Mrs Ow had a
male's exterior. I still have the chills when I mention her name.. my senses get hyper-sensitive and the hair onmy head, literally stand. Its bewitching I tell you.. For a goody-two shoes like me, to be running at least 200 meters from her, is really something. Every year-end, I pray that God would be merciful and not let Mrs Ow to be my PE teacher ever again... Until Primary 6.
I sort of know, who I really am, when I look back in my school days. I was always one of the smart- ass girl who would rather do her homework in class so that I could play with my neigbours when I get home. I was a fleeting bunny. I hang out with different crowd of people every recess time. The 6.5 (Special class) peeps which had Reny Vivienna and Beidah (who are friends till now) and the sorta plain Janes from 6.2 and 6.1 who are not so plain afterall like Noraidah, Zahara, Khairani, Norliza, Suzanna. I remember the chinese dudes too like Yaohan, Weijie, Alvin Yeap, Lionel Yeow etc. The malay dudes, I had crushes on like Fadly Basir and Farhan.
I love them equally good but of course I'd rather chill with my band friends (yes, I was from the Gongshang Brass Band...) like Daryl cause I had the biggest crush on him, Shufaat, my Baritone friend, Maslenie, my fellow Cornet player, Faisal Othman, my tuba neighbour and the other juniors around like the dude we call 'Big Head Small Body' and the 'Cornet Twins'. We had this bond going on during Primary School days, cause we all had one comman enemy, Mrs Tsing. The blastered band teacher who told us to march up and down under the DAMNED hot sun for hours......! Hours, I tell you. I became ultra dark in Primary School because of this woman! I hate that idiot, if not for the stories she love to tell us... I would have put glue on her seat when she had a boil on her butt. I especially love the early times when I was coached under Liu Jia Hua and Weiwen. There was Buck Hui too (and I spent my trumpet days with him in Dunman Sec) Jia Hua was the best player and I always look up to him. He was my mentor and my guiding star. Both Weiwen and him spent hours perfecting my embouchure (which was screwed up right after they graduate) and my stamina. These dudes are the best of the best. The song that best represent them in "Aida"..I bet they can still remember the long list of Cs at the end of the song. I would actually sit beside Jia Hua to marvel at his veins which pops out at the side of left side of this head. (You, reader, must be wondering how good my memory is... you must understand Jia Hua was the first boy I had a crush on...) They could hold a note longer than anyone and they could adjust their note anytime, anywhere. Stacatto, accented, anything you desire. It was a priviledge that was rightfully bestowed to me, and I cant help thinking how I failed them :( Good thing Daryl is still kicking it well with his trumpets. I saw his Friendster account and something caught my attention. He said,
"Don't play the trumpet, let the trumpet play you...." So true...
If only Dunman provided me better grounding in Trumpet playing, I could have been better man.. Dunman put me straight up to senior position and I was excluded from training.. weeps.. Some of the nostalgic pieces we played were Ming Tian Fei Ken Hao (fav song), Hello Dolly, When the Saints for Marching In ( my first song), Smurf Marching Song, Rockin in the USA, Superman and Aida (which only the Seniors were allowed to play :(
Apart from band, I recalled those times, I really focus in class. Truthfully, the teachers there taught me to be a respectable being. They tenaciously and deliberately slipped in useful lifelong skills like being conscientious and descipline. They rewarded me for diligence and cooperation and now I really realise the benefits of teaching those skills to young, impressionable minds. Day to day, I recalled work in primary school to be manageable and a breeze, apart from Maths. I was competitive and very active in sports although I never really had a chance to join atheletics due to my commitment in Brass Band. Anyway, I hated the grass then.
I love going to school , though I dread waiting for Faizal, the neighbour who always goes to school with me, outside his house. He was either still drinking his Milo or wearing his shoes. I love eating in school because they gave me free milk and good mee soto. Drinks then, was only 10c. Cool eh. I usually didnt carry much cash to school and my staple turned to the Hero bun instead of mee soto. When I am not chilling with the girls (I typically cant stand them very much when they started talking bout guys, cause I know I cant seem to flirt with guys as well as they could), I was usually on my own, walking around the basketball court and looking at guys play soccer and basketball. I remembered how I wish, I had a huge group of friends I can always depend on and have fun with. I wished I had a best friend who could look out for me. And I was clueless that those wishes will come true in a matter of 2 years. But thats a story for another day :)
Myra Abd Kadir~ at 10:43
