Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

31 December 2008

2008 New Year’s Resolutions: Resolved?

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 9:24 pm

In the dying embers of 2008, it’s time to evaluate whether my New Year’s Resolutions (NYRs) were fulfilled. So, here goes.

Now remember, I usually don’t make NYRs simply because I don’t get round to them much.

1. Blog/write more. Well, I’ve kept up this blog, and my other social networks. I could have done more but, owing to how busy I am, I think I’ve done pretty well. Yes!

2. Earn/save more money. In July, I quit my computer shop job to focus on the HSC. I’ve already bought all the stuff I want, so now is the time to save. Also ties in the financial crisis in recent times. Yes!

3. Build my social profile. Over the past year, I’ve said to myself that you need to gain respect. I think I’ve done that quite a bit this year. I’ve improved communications with others and have been a bit more flexible with outings. Yes.

4. Get out more. Not really. I’ve only done walking and lawn bowls. No.

5. Do well at school. Sort of. Next year is the HSC. Every bit will count towards that mark. ?

So 3 out of 5 NYRs successful. Not bad for someone like me who doesn’t like to set NYRs. You’ll have to see tomorrow whether I will set them for 2009.

25 December 2008

After Europe

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 3:52 pm

Apologies for the lack of posts for a month. I blame the Europe tour for that.

Yes, that’s right. I have just come back from a 20 day tour of Europe and the UK with the Barker Choir and Orchestra. I could write on for ages, but I think that it is best captured in photos. Below is the set of photos from my flickr page.

There are more photos to come; I still have not fully uploaded the best images.

There will be a new Chat soon to recount the last month or so. Thanks so much for supporting and reading!

16 November 2008

This past week

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 3:37 pm

Last Wednesday, this was celebrated:

It was so good to see friends being friends. A lot of work had gone into pulling off a big celebration for the two people. I helped out in the celebrations, handing out party poppers, which was fun.

Nothing else needs to be said.

Next week, tests and assessments. Go well in them everyone!

10 September 2008

Fun Maths Exam

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 6:24 pm

Today was the maths exam.

I must say, it was really fun. But I know I dropped a few marks though.

How did you go? Sound off in the comments!

8 September 2008

English Exam Today

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 8:17 pm

Short post from me.

Today was the final English Exam for Standard and Advanced.

Is it just me, or was the exam hard/worded badly/something bad?

1 August 2008

Battle of the Choirs: The Last Hurrah

Filed under: Attended,Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 1:44 pm

Friday July 25. It’s Barker Swings night, and the choir will be performing.

Tonight felt special, not because I was wearing the red and black for the last time, but because it was the last time we were performing from our ‘battle’ repertoire. JAllington, our conductor, called it “the ridiculous”, but we all loved it. That night started at 5pm, the rehearsal.

Nostalgia filled the room, as we were all moving to the music that we sung, what felt like, many months ago. Then, the choreography was changed to fit the longer version of “Say a Little Prayer”. For an hour, we went through moves with O’Brien, but in the end it was what she described “three songs mashed up into one”. We all felt good, now it would be up to the performance.

Five hours later, we were just about to enter the hall for our part of Swings. Everyone was hyped; it couldn’t get better than this. The Big Band started to play; we ran on, the crowd loved us. About five minutes later, it was over. Our last performance as the ‘battle’ choir was done. As we left the stage, I felt happy and slightly sad. Battle of the Choirs had been a great experience for all of us. Now, it was back to our normal repertoire and schedule.

Working for TV is very different to what many people think it is. On our filming days, there were many rehearsals to get the best camera positions, basically to get everything right. Filming 40 minutes of footage took about three hours! I can’t stress how unique and fulfilling this experience was.

20 July 2008

This is the end… (for now)

Filed under: Reflection — Ben @ 1:22 am

As the end of the holidays fast approaches (next Tuesday), it is time for me to ask myself, what have I done that was worthwhile? You know, every minute of every day in your life should be lived to its fullest. I’d like to share the answer to the above question with you.

I must say, that it was pretty difficult to get out with others, as most were away somewhere out there, or have gone skiing with friends or family. That was fine, so I turned my attention to preparing myself for school next term (lame I know, but it had to be done). With a shocking report card for the past semester, it brought a severe reminder of what would happen if this continued on.

On the bright side, I did manage to spend some time with friends. I had coffee with someone on their birthday, and made people happy. Lame I know, but it’s what I do best.

Spending money is something I (and possibly everyone) do very well, so I bought myself a few things to prepare for Europe at the end of the year. Lame I know, but it had to be done.

I suppose that this holiday was not full at all, but the time to rest was certainly welcome.

I know that sometimes, you think I don’t make any sense at all. To that I say never mind, because it shows how difficult some minds work.

It was a good three weeks, but reality must come back sometime.

13 July 2008

Just ridiculous.

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:35 am

So, it has been two weeks since the start of the holidays. And how do I feel? Really lonely.

I hear you asking, shouldn’t holidays be restful, fun, enjoyable?

Yes of course, but there is an underlying problem. It’s so bloody quiet around town and on the tubes. No one is in Sydney, everyone has gone away, and no one is online! On weekends, its worse.

This raises a lot of questions. Is it normal for people to go away at this time? Is my image of what holidays should be outdated? Or am I too closed up to know what really is happening?

I believe that I am getting out of my way to find out what people really do nowadays during these few weeks. What do people do? I think I am just forgotten about these holidays.

Please help out my mind to rest by commenting and answering my questions!

22 June 2008

The Formal

Filed under: Attended,Rant,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:46 am

Last night was the formal. I thought it was going to be a great night. Unfortunately for me, it mostly wasn’t.

To put it simply, the formal was a great idea at first, but it quickly loses its panache as the night progresses.

We started off with a three course dinner. Entrée was a green salad, then the main course was a steak. The steak was done really well. The atmosphere was very positive (as it usually is). Once dinner was over, things went from good to bad.

I was asked to nominate someone to ‘cut the cake’ symbolically and to say thanks. That was slightly surprising to the special someone, but the speech was terrible. (Almost) everyone cheered their head off every few seconds and I felt the spotlight taken away from me. Then came the dance.

In my opinion, the DJ really didn’t satisfy anyone. The music was this new stuff, I couldn’t tell. It did get better towards the end, then it was the end of the night.

I was beginning to question whether the night was worth it, but I didn’t let that get in the way. It is a problem of being under-recognised when you do so much for everyone.

On a lighter note, if you are reading this via Facebook, don’t feel offended. I thank you very much for all your support! In my opinion, the best form of recognition in this situation is a thanks, and a nice hug.

Link to photoset on flickr.

15 June 2008

Who am I?

Filed under: Forward Thinking,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:52 pm

I sat down yesterday evening and thought about how interesting my life is. It wasn’t.

It seemed that my life was made up of too much sitting down. Sitting down in front of the computer, doing school work, or just messing around. I wasn’t getting out much at all. Hey, think about the number of night outs and parties I’ve been to in the last year: 0. Nights are really boring for me. Even looking at Facebook photos makes me feel weird.

This makes me feel really bad, as it is a sign of becoming a social outcast. It feels like as if this is a death spiral; work work work and no play leads to “more devo”.

I think the reason that I feel this is that I am too different to everyone else. I’m not the type of person that goes to these “doing absolutely nothing” parties. I have my own style, but no one else likes it.

Do I need to change? Am I too different for this society?

Do I make sense?

PS: On a happier note, Coldplay’s new album Viva la Vida is out. Review soon (yes I am serious this time). Battle of the Choirs is on 7:30pm Sundays on Channel 7. I am in the Barker choir.

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