1 DAY TO BRATISLAVA; Hope

Crystal's spots are fading.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY HOPE SHE'S ALL RIGHT, let's all pray for her...

2 DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Health/Trip

All right, chicken pox.

I just heard from Crystal that recurring cases are not uncommon. She herself might have gotten it, because she has small red spots on her arms, back and legs now, and the last time she got it was when she was 4 years old. For her, it's too early a stage to determine whether it's really chicken pox, but I just ripped from the internet that there are cases of chicken pox in which the fever and sore throat and dizzy spells are not involved, so there's a possibility our student conductor has contracted the virus... T_____T

(A POSSIBILITY WHICH I DESPERATELY HOPE DOES NOT EXIST. I get random red itchy spots on my skin sometimes too, scattered all over my body, but turns out to be some gross allergic reaction to my bedsheets -when they are dirty I suppose, I do not know why ;_;-, so I hope it's just a scare...)

Which means the chicken pox virus must have been floating around among us for quite a long time, and any one of us might have the disgusting thing lurking inside our bodies right now... Just that most of us who've gotten chicken pox before are immune to it. But there's the possibility of us all being carriers of the blasted virus.

Even Crystal might not have been spared.

So please, please, please, just do these 5 things from today onwards:

1) Drink a lot and a lot of water. Constantly hydrate yourself.

2) VITAMIN C. Drink twice everyday. (Urgh this means Shinny and I need to restock on our rapidly declining number of tablets since she adores drinking it so much >_> But don't drink too much even if it tastes heavenly, Vanessa said it'll go to waste, so just one in the morning and one in the night.)

3) Eat a lot of fruits and healthy stuff. Don't eat crap; do not be tempted for these last two days (and the rest of the trip; you can eat crap when you come back safe and well and healthy).

4) Don't scream, please protect your voice so you won't get a sore throat which might lead to fever which might lead to chicken pox. Also, don't exhaust or overexert yourself. It will lower your immunity and that distardedly virus will attack very easily.

5) SLEEP A LOT AND A LOT AND A LOT. Tonight, if possible, sleep at 10 or earlier. Rest well, let your body have time to refuel itself, so when you wake up you'll be energized and... healthy.

To The Group Leaders: Please check with your group members that they are fully equipped and they're taking good care of themselves. You shall be their parents. 8D

1) Edits to the trip booklet; Shampoo and Body Soap can be more than 100ml, sorry for the mistake. X_x

2) *IMPORTANT* PLEASE MAKE SURE AT LEAST ONE SET OF YOUR THERMAL WEAR IS WIDE-NECKED and doesn't cling to your neck because it would stick out of your choir uniform at the top if it's tight around your neck. If only a bit is exposed, please try to fold the neckline of your thermal wear underneath your uniform. Please check at home. If you can't fold it and pin it down or you don't have wide-necked ones (skin-coloured ones will still be conspicuous), I'm afraid you have to find and bring along a wide-necked, long-sleeved one for the performance.

Also, even though our sound was considered a 'gold' today, we all know that we didn't really deserve it. Please do not be complacent and think it's the best we have done already. Don't lose the drive and effort we've been putting in for the last few practices; at Bratislava, we'll have to put in twice as more.

I'm sure we all know this isn't our best.

You know you can go so much further; this is not where we're going to stop. Our standard is much, much higher than what we have achieved today.

---

TO THE SOP1S

Also, to any Sop1s who frequent this blog (I kowtow to your dedication), I think we all know that we're the ones dragging the standard down.

Don't shrink your voices back! Raise your cheekbones and eyebrows when you sing (DON'T BE AFRAID OF LOOKING STUPID, EVERYONE DOES IT), open your mouth damn big, and just blast it all out. If you have a voice that's deemed good by Miss Lim (you passed those scary auditions, remember?), flaunt it.

Don't be afraid or scared of making mistakes because nobody can be perfect, and mistakes are what we pick ourselves up from and what we improve from. Our main problem is that we don't focus enough, don't concentrate enough on our notes, and we keep going flat or sharp or switching to autopilot.

Watch the conductor, listen out for the other sections, and really, really focus. Please don't be scared! Everyone just PIAAAA. Really do your best to create the atmosphere, feel the emotions the song empowers, and we'll be able to do it and rise to the standard. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS TAKE MORE INITIATIVE TO ENTER, TO HIT THE HIGH NOTES, TO SING AS BRAVELY AS POSSIBLE. Don't rely on the louder voices and stronger people because every single one of us has to put in 101% effort to make this happen.

Also, BITE YOUR WORDS FOR EBESUKEDONDONESSASSA AT THE SQUEAKY HIGH NOTES. We sound like... twittering things who can't make heads or tails of what they're saying.

Sop1s have the potential to do it, so believe in yourselves... Let's do our best for the rest of the choir, for Miss Lim, and show her what we can achieve.

---

Just 2 more days and off we go to Bratislava, where we'll rise to our very best.

Jiayou, good luck, and take very very good care of yourselves so we'll come back with "GOLD" written all over our beaming faces.

6 DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Reminders

I apologise for the late post, but here's some last minute reminders in case you've forgotten/somehow did not check your handphone for the choir messages and randomly decided to hop along here to check out the blog (The case in which you are wonderfully dedicated and I credit you for that!)

REMEMBER TO:

1) Bring your court shoes

2) Bring your CHEQUE MONEY

3) Bring your JACKET MONEY ($28)

4) Bring your REPLY SLIPS (the money one, and if you haven't handed it in, the HCI workshop one)


Drink water, memorise and go through your dynamics/details, and you can even practise hobbling around in your court shoes and testing out the Jaakobin actions by yourself at home first.

Have confidence in yourselves. Sing out, never shrink back, never show your fear. Don't let it affect your singing.

Only 2 more practices and a workshop to go.

Tomorrow, show Miss Lim we're not scared of her, we're not going to hesitate, and we're ploughing on, trying as hard as we can.

Let's do better than the last practice; this time, really put in your heart and soul. Because when you enjoy yourselves when you're singing, when you move with the song, when you hear your voices soar as one, in unison, you will truly feel,

and then we will finally be making music.

12 DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Winter Clothing/ Black Stockings

heyhey choir! =D for those who need to get winter clothing, you all can go down to PARKWAY PARADE's Winter Time store to get them cause they're currently having a winter wear extravagant sale till 30th Nov!

and also, all Winter Time outlets are having a up to 60% off discount! =D yep! You can find them at Vivocity #01-141, Centrepoint #02-20, Marina Square #03-159, East Point Mall #03-06, Northpoint #02-50, Jurong Point #02-04, Hougang Mall #04-16, 605 Macpherson Rd #01-16, Parkway Parade #02-21/22 and Suntect City #02-049! yep!

Or if you would rather, theres a warehouse sale at the outlet at 605 MacPherson Road from 10am to 8pm daily, till the 30th Nov =D

and also, for your black stockings/leggings, you can get them from Robinsons, you can find them at Raffles City or Centrepoint =D haha, but i think all megastores like Metro or John Little should have them too. =D yep! so make sure that you all get your winter clothing and stuff ready on time k! It's going to be very cold there, so make sure you have enough to wear, and bring extra in case you need to wear more than expected, ok? =D

Lastly, make sure that your long johns DONT COVER YOUR NECK, cause otherwise it would be seen peeping out of your uniform when performing ._. yep! so make sure your long johns are wide collared if possible yes? =D

TAKE CARE DEAREST CHOIR, AND JIAYOU ALL THE WAY! YOU ALL WILL SHINE IN BRATISLAVA LIKE THE SIRIUS! =D (im not sure if im right, but the sirius is the brightest star in the universe! ^^)

12DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Checklist!

Hey choir, below is a rough guide of the number of things you need to bring for the trip! ALL THINGS MENTIONED ARE SAID BY MS LIM, SO ALL OF THEM ARE COMPULSORY, otherwise stated (:

The agency might be giving us one checklist too, but nvm, just in case (:

Alright, here's the checklist: (copy paste to microsoft/notepad/blah. print it out if you need. )


** OKAY, YOU ALL NEED NOT HAVE EXACTLY THE NUMBER OF THE ITEMS

`COMPETITION
1. Hair Ribbons ( red and white ones, we'll give them to you)
2. Black Court shoes
3. COSTUME!
4. BLACK STOCKINGS
5. Hair pins/clips/rubber bands (if necessary)
6. Hair gel (if necessary)
7. Competition Song Scores


` CLOTHING
1. 3-4 pairs of jeans
2. 6-7 pieces of clothing
3. 6-7 sets of undergarments
4. 3 sets of night wear
5. 4-5 sets of Long Johns
6. Jumper/cardigan(if you are afraid of cold, bring more!)
7. Big Winter Coat
8. Ear muffs (optional)
9. Cap (optional)
10. Super thick GLOVES
11. Super thick SCARF


`FOOTWEAR
1. Sport shoes
2. 6-7 pairs of thick socks (or more)
3. A pair of slippers/sandals..


`PERSONAL
1. Lip Balm
2. Moisturiser
3. Face Cream
4. Make up set ( BASIC ONES: LIPSTICK. BLUSHER, FOUNDATION)
5. Toiletries ( toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, shower gel, towel & facial foams blah blah)
6. Comb


`OTHERS
1. Your own medication ( VITAMIN C! panadols, flu tabs, stomach ache pills, motion sickness)
2. Electrical kettle (confirmed)
3. Water bottle (can bring 2x500ml)
4. Heat pack
5. Thermal flask
6. Portable iron (at least one per group)
7. Camera (optional :D)
8. Adaptors! The transformer thing! The plug thing! :D (confirmed)
9. Watch! (remember, 1 euro!)

That's about the checklist :D Tag on the board if you have enquiries? (:

If you guys need any clothing for the trip like long john, scarf, gloves, caps etc etc,
go to this website and check it out!

Its really good, go and browse through the website, it teaches you what to wear, how many layers blah blah.

JIAYOU CHOIR! <3>

16DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Jacket Design

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW FOR SOME REASON, THE JACKET IS COMPULSORY FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING FOR BRATISLAVA as we will be wearing it to sing for our outdoor performance, atop many many layers of clothes you can wear underneath so we'll look cool, neat and synchronized in our lovely fat jackets.
---

So after Crystal and Abigail tweaked the colours around and made it really beautiful, the front design of our jacket should look something like this:

And this is the design for the back. The string the girl is holding in the front design will be connected around the jacket to the back. Also, it's supposed to be horizontal, so flip it over in your mind:

Any comments, please feel free to hurl on the tagboard!

The weather forecast for Bratislava for today seems rather bearable:

7°C

Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: W at 21 km/h
Humidity: 81%

Sun

11°C 5°C

But take a look at the estimations for the next couple of days (It's not even December yet.):

Mon

8°C -1°C

Tue

6°C -2°C

Wed

2°C -2°C

So we're SERIOUS ABOUT THE WARM CLOTHING.

And yes, 16 days. I hope you're singing the competition songs in the shower everyday and practising as much as you can.

Also, please be reminded that choir starts at 12.30 on Tuesday.

Take care, drink water, and have confidence in yourselves that we'll bring that gold back. Never , ever give up. If you give up on yourself, choir's going to give up on you. And then our voices will never soar in unison, to reach that gold, and we'll be shackled to the ground forever.

So give your all. Just a little over two weeks left; let's make the best out of it.

18DAYS TO BRATISLAVA; Jacket Sizing

HELLO CHOIR.

This is our new blog to inform you guys about choir and important stuff, so do remember to drop by often! There isn't much time in choir to discuss these kind of things, so we had to do it the online way.

Do not worry, we will be changing the template as soon as possible. (We're going to make our own cool one really soon)

ANYWAY, on to business. Please TAG AT THE TAGBOARD at the side, and indicate the size you want your jacket to be, together with YOUR NAME. This is applicable only for those who are going to Bratislava.

The jacket's a pullover, not a hoodie, because the design looks nicer on the pullover. Pullovers look like this:

Estimated Sizing:
XS - Size 36 for PE shirt
S - Size 38 for PE shirt
M - Size 40 for PE shirt
L - Size 42 for PE shirt

(XS is loose for Abigail, and M fits Crystal. You can do the maths~)

It's unisex, btw.

Please take this seriously, and YOU MUST SPECIFY no matter what. We will be counting the numbers.

Those whose friends are overseas, please sms Abigail to tell her what sizes your friends are because we need the sizes in by Sunday night.

THINGS YOU MUST DO PRIOR TO BRATISLAVA(more will be told this Thursday)

1) Prepare your Long Johns (IMPORTANT) or borrow from someone! Remember you need to wear them for 9 days. Take a look at the HORRIBLE WEATHER FOR TODAY. Lowest 3DEGREES. Imagine how cold it'll be when it's later into winter. ._.

8°C

Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: N at 10 km/h
Humidity: 93%

Fri

10°C | 3°C

2) If you have trouble finding Long Johns, find Abii (91186582). She should might have the contact. Whoo baby, efficiency! 8D

3) MEDICATION. If you have any special illnesses, you must remember to bring your own medication as we do not have special stuff for you other than panadol, motion sickness pills (Abii's finding!), pi pa gao, and more panadol (menstrual).

Remember to practise and remember every single detail your leaders, Miss Lim, Miss Teng and Louisa told you. You MUST take time out of choir to practise,

or we won't be able to keep Miss Lim.

Drink water, and stay healthy. YOU'D BETTER HAVE MEMORISED YOUR SCORES BY NOW. SWALLOW them as much as possible. @_@

You can do it.

Love, Shinny&Debbie