So I spent nearly 2 weeks rehearsing/on tour with the MPYO, performing in Singapore and KL. I get two days off for Christmas, then it's back to DFP from the 26th to the 30th, this time for the first ever MPO Jazz Camp.

    "As many of you already know, the participation to this camp is on an invitation-only basis. You were recommended by trusted musicians that considered you to be a great asset to this project."

Hahaha. I have a feeling I'm seriously gonna get my ass kicked.

***

I want to talk about camp. I have so much to say. But then again, what's the point. You've made up your mind already, so I'd just be wasting my breath. I'd probably come to a more amicable understanding arguing with a brick wall.

Apparently I'm very good at words and convincing others. Hmm, that's very rich, coming from certain quarters. It ain't December 2007 you know.

Apparently I also have ulterior motives whenever I say/do/plan something seemingly innocuous.
- When I want to stay the night on our day off, I actually have 'other' intentions in mind.
- When I want to go out and have a drink, I actually want to get other people drunk so I can blackmail them.
- When I say 'Hello, how are you?', I actually mean 'Hey I'm being really nice to you, do you want to be my gf?'

It's ironic that I actually planned to have a drama-free camp and to try my best to avoid any awkward situations from arising, both for myself and for other people. Don't think that I did not notice things going on here and there. I could have said a lot of things in the first few days and made things much more interesting, and maybe 1 or 2 years ago I would have, but this camp I respected your privacy and I trusted that we were all old enough to keep our opinions to ourselves.

I was wrong.

Well I guess even if David Ling tries to avoid drama/confrontations/Cold War, other people willingly create drama/confrontations/Cold War for David Ling. Ah well, I'm resigned to my fate then.

(Of course you don't have to believe a single word of the above)

***

I want to talk about camp. I have so much to say. It was great playing with so many other talented musicians, and I guess we all have reached a point where we have mutual respect for each others' talents and abilities.

It's funny that not so long ago, I'd have this feeling that maybe some of the other MPYO members sort of 'looked down' on me because I wasn't a pure, 100% classical musician. Maybe it was just me. But not any more. Even within my clarinet section, we have a good thing going on between all 4 of us and we are getting along well.

And of course, there's the Tribe. I guess with so many people gone and a number of new faces, things were never going to be the same. It doesn't help that we only see each other every 3 months, and when we do meet up for camps, those one/two weeks are so intense. The secret is probably keeping ourselves grounded in reality and not getting to carried away with the emotions and experiences during the camps. Our real lives are what we go through between the camps, and there isn't much point in creating a huge emotional bubble only for it to burst after each camp ends. And I can relate that to why I do not want to make the same mistake of getting attached to someone during our camps, but it is probably beyond my capacity to explain it sufficiently, and some people would just take it with a pinch of salt anyway.

Please tell me someone actually understood the above paragraph.

And can I be so optimistic as to think that in the future, when we look back at all this, we only remember the good things?

***

Dylan, I'm falling sick. I think it's from you. Not your fault though. Better sick than not having you around on the last night of camp haha.