Caroling Reflections of an M3
Coming into its 3rd post in a series of potentially at least 5, this year's caroling certainly feels different..
13th December 2006 - Mt Alvernia
For the first time in 3 years, I've missed a caroling session. Well, it ain't no fault of mine I suppose, since Emed postings were still on-going and I was in NUH during that weekday. But haiz, I suppose it was a sign that time has moved along, and I'm no longer in the care-free (relative) years of M1 & 2.
Still, heard that the juniors did a pretty decent job there.. =)
21st December 2006 - St Andrew's Comm Hospital
First official caroling session! (for me anyway) This year's caroling's different indeed, and this is the first caroling session where I actually drove to the location! So exciting. But then the HDB parking of close to $4 did tarnish the excitement a little.. =P
Sops & Altos!
My 3rd consecutive year caroling at St Andrew's has seen me follow it from its old home somewhere in the East near Siglap, to its current home next to CGH for the past 2 years. Funny, even the coordinator's supposed to be the same, but she can't recall any of our faces. Well, neither could I recall her. So there. =)
Tenors & Basses!
Singing for St Andrew's has always been a "bitter-sweet" thing, "bitter" in a warped sense, cos there are 5 floors to carol through, with 4 different large cubicles of 8-beds to sing to on each floor. Hhmmm. 20 sets of 3-4 songs each? That makes for close to 60 songs in a 2-3 hour span. Wah. Even our regular repertoire at a guest's house ain't close to 30 songs. No wonder the rest got tired. As with each year, it's always fun to sing here, cos the patient are generally quite responsive, especially with family members who are visiting their loved ones. It brings that warm fuzzy feeling when after 3 songs, you walk up to them and shake their hands, wishing them a merry christmas, and that hope they go home soon.. =)
Us @ SACH!
22nd December 2006 - Prof Low's House
A perenial favourite with the seniors - almost all the seniors turn up for this "must-go" event every year - from the M3s- to the M5s, even up to HOs and MO years, the seniors turn up in full force to support the otherwise meagre caroling group of juniors. =) Hence, we obviously sound our loudest and best here.. =)
The whole CMS (juniors, seniors and grand-seniors all!) and a couple of M3 guests!
Oh, for the first time, I actually went up to Prof's house to have a quick look! Wah. Nice view of Bt Gombak's xiao-guilin.. Another first - I can't believe that I got sabo-ed again here. -_-" Of all places. Guess I have some scores to settle in 2007.. Muahaha.. =D
Oooh yeah, tenor power! =)
I will always remember the post-caroling interaction sessions - as we all sat around the catered food and lazed around in the chairs and and benches, the senior-junior interactions were just simply fantastic. Introductions were made between the pre-clinical and the clinical years, as everyone talked about everything under the sun! From relationships and gossips, to pointers about Medicine, to movies, and more caroling pointers, or just simply catching up with people you so seldom see now due to clinical years. The feeling's indescribable.
Summed up in something I overheard, said to Stephen, "If there's only 1 caroling session you can make it for, this is the one. The sessions at the doctors houses are always the ones full of fellowship and interaction."
How true indeed.
23rd December 2006 - Dr John Lee's House
Ahah! I drove again - and played chauffeur to the rest as I was the only one with the car. -_-" Oh well, good practice.. =) I suppose a return for the many other lifts I've taken from others in the past. =)
Pretty dandy. Some things don't change much, do they? Hhmmm.
Looking spiffy in an all-red ensemble at Dr Lee's house!
* As mentioned above, this year's caroling has many firsts. For the first time, we invited guests (non-CMS pple) to join our caroling rounds - JL, JJ, Jan, Jes (eh. now then i realised that they are all Js -_-") They were a much-welcomed and splendid addition to the sopranos and altos! And as a result, for the first time, the sops were actually loud and clear! =P well at least I wasn't exactly straining to hear the girls for the first time. That allowed the tenors and the basses to give full play to their various parts too..
Coming into the clinical years have resulted in us M3s being unable to attend most, if not all, of the practice sessions. I must confess, at first we were wondering if the M2s could hold ship without us. But our timetable didn't allow us much room to maneouver about, and thankfully, the M2s and M1s did quite a decent job within the time frame they had. Guess they can only get even better next year!
Felt a small sense of "paternal" pride as I watched the M2s and M1s coordinate this year's caroling session.. =) Juniors who were once under our "tutelage" as we struggled not to teach them the wrong things.. =P From fixing the timings and liasing with the respective personnels, to sending emails and actually getting people down for the various caroling gigs, and actually conducting at the hospitals and the doctors' houses, I personally thought they had done quite a good job. Kudos to the M2s for guiding their juniors!
29th December 2006 - Assisi Home & Hospice
Our final caroling destination this year. Getting pretty well-oiled since it's the last on our list of caroling fixes, it went pretty much smoothly as well. For the first time, there were actually kids around (well, you don't really sing to kids at hospitals unless its KKH or NUH kids' wards, or some doctor's house) and they were really lively, requesting for songs and singing along.. =)
After all the melodies and well-wishes, came the familiar sense of "emptiness" as always after a season of caroling. - You mean that's it? - This year's caroling has been a little shorter due to the shortened list of fixtures. We usually do up to 7 locations a year.
Short it might have been, but this year's caroling has brought on a whole ew spectrum of experiences and feelings.
I'm sure it speaks volumes of next year's caroling session. Can't wait!! =)
13th December 2006 - Mt Alvernia
For the first time in 3 years, I've missed a caroling session. Well, it ain't no fault of mine I suppose, since Emed postings were still on-going and I was in NUH during that weekday. But haiz, I suppose it was a sign that time has moved along, and I'm no longer in the care-free (relative) years of M1 & 2.
Still, heard that the juniors did a pretty decent job there.. =)
21st December 2006 - St Andrew's Comm Hospital
First official caroling session! (for me anyway) This year's caroling's different indeed, and this is the first caroling session where I actually drove to the location! So exciting. But then the HDB parking of close to $4 did tarnish the excitement a little.. =P
Sops & Altos!
My 3rd consecutive year caroling at St Andrew's has seen me follow it from its old home somewhere in the East near Siglap, to its current home next to CGH for the past 2 years. Funny, even the coordinator's supposed to be the same, but she can't recall any of our faces. Well, neither could I recall her. So there. =)
Tenors & Basses!
Singing for St Andrew's has always been a "bitter-sweet" thing, "bitter" in a warped sense, cos there are 5 floors to carol through, with 4 different large cubicles of 8-beds to sing to on each floor. Hhmmm. 20 sets of 3-4 songs each? That makes for close to 60 songs in a 2-3 hour span. Wah. Even our regular repertoire at a guest's house ain't close to 30 songs. No wonder the rest got tired. As with each year, it's always fun to sing here, cos the patient are generally quite responsive, especially with family members who are visiting their loved ones. It brings that warm fuzzy feeling when after 3 songs, you walk up to them and shake their hands, wishing them a merry christmas, and that hope they go home soon.. =)
Us @ SACH!
22nd December 2006 - Prof Low's House
A perenial favourite with the seniors - almost all the seniors turn up for this "must-go" event every year - from the M3s- to the M5s, even up to HOs and MO years, the seniors turn up in full force to support the otherwise meagre caroling group of juniors. =) Hence, we obviously sound our loudest and best here.. =)
The whole CMS (juniors, seniors and grand-seniors all!) and a couple of M3 guests!
Oh, for the first time, I actually went up to Prof's house to have a quick look! Wah. Nice view of Bt Gombak's xiao-guilin.. Another first - I can't believe that I got sabo-ed again here. -_-" Of all places. Guess I have some scores to settle in 2007.. Muahaha.. =D
Oooh yeah, tenor power! =)
I will always remember the post-caroling interaction sessions - as we all sat around the catered food and lazed around in the chairs and and benches, the senior-junior interactions were just simply fantastic. Introductions were made between the pre-clinical and the clinical years, as everyone talked about everything under the sun! From relationships and gossips, to pointers about Medicine, to movies, and more caroling pointers, or just simply catching up with people you so seldom see now due to clinical years. The feeling's indescribable.
Summed up in something I overheard, said to Stephen, "If there's only 1 caroling session you can make it for, this is the one. The sessions at the doctors houses are always the ones full of fellowship and interaction."
How true indeed.
23rd December 2006 - Dr John Lee's House
Ahah! I drove again - and played chauffeur to the rest as I was the only one with the car. -_-" Oh well, good practice.. =) I suppose a return for the many other lifts I've taken from others in the past. =)
Pretty dandy. Some things don't change much, do they? Hhmmm.
Looking spiffy in an all-red ensemble at Dr Lee's house!
* As mentioned above, this year's caroling has many firsts. For the first time, we invited guests (non-CMS pple) to join our caroling rounds - JL, JJ, Jan, Jes (eh. now then i realised that they are all Js -_-") They were a much-welcomed and splendid addition to the sopranos and altos! And as a result, for the first time, the sops were actually loud and clear! =P well at least I wasn't exactly straining to hear the girls for the first time. That allowed the tenors and the basses to give full play to their various parts too..
Coming into the clinical years have resulted in us M3s being unable to attend most, if not all, of the practice sessions. I must confess, at first we were wondering if the M2s could hold ship without us. But our timetable didn't allow us much room to maneouver about, and thankfully, the M2s and M1s did quite a decent job within the time frame they had. Guess they can only get even better next year!
Felt a small sense of "paternal" pride as I watched the M2s and M1s coordinate this year's caroling session.. =) Juniors who were once under our "tutelage" as we struggled not to teach them the wrong things.. =P From fixing the timings and liasing with the respective personnels, to sending emails and actually getting people down for the various caroling gigs, and actually conducting at the hospitals and the doctors' houses, I personally thought they had done quite a good job. Kudos to the M2s for guiding their juniors!
29th December 2006 - Assisi Home & Hospice
Our final caroling destination this year. Getting pretty well-oiled since it's the last on our list of caroling fixes, it went pretty much smoothly as well. For the first time, there were actually kids around (well, you don't really sing to kids at hospitals unless its KKH or NUH kids' wards, or some doctor's house) and they were really lively, requesting for songs and singing along.. =)
After all the melodies and well-wishes, came the familiar sense of "emptiness" as always after a season of caroling. - You mean that's it? - This year's caroling has been a little shorter due to the shortened list of fixtures. We usually do up to 7 locations a year.
Short it might have been, but this year's caroling has brought on a whole ew spectrum of experiences and feelings.
I'm sure it speaks volumes of next year's caroling session. Can't wait!! =)
penned in the diary of memories by Alvin at
10:23 PM
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