A little whisper in the dark

The long paper trail

I used to play the trumpet back in secondary school, well, it wasn't because I was musically inclined, but extra curricular activities were compulsory for every student. And so I had to choose one, since big brother was in a military marching band playing the drums, for lack of a better choice, I signed up.

As it turns out, lack of interest often dooms an endeavour to failure, none better exemplified than this one - I hardly learned how to play the trumpet, couldn't figure out the notes on the music score, and at this stage I discovered that skipping band practice meant I could go play elsewhere. And so, lack of attendance became no attendance, somehow I manage to leave secondary school without having been hauled up by the teacher in charge for not having an extra curricular activity. I suppose my name was nominally still on the roster, maybe that's why, but I never got any ECA points. Not that I really cared, anyway.

Much later, I enlisted in the army, and there was a recruitment going on for the armed forces marching band, (and this is how far back records go around here) I'm told to go for the audition with some other bald-headed blur recruits. We're asked what we used to play, I said trumpet, and then off I went to join the queue. Most of them were excited, asking one another which band they played for, competitions and stuff. I was absolutely aghast......

Pretty soon it was my turn on the stage, and I picked up the trumpet, looked at the auditioning panel, and said, I forgot how to play. I didn't know what to expect next.

"OK, fall out, return to your company!"

I suppose they see enough guys like me. But I hope that next week, when I sit for my Biometrics exam, my memory won't escape me and leave me wondering what the formulas for the 1 and 2 sample T and Z-tests, and chi square tests are......

posted by Chung Leong @ 6:52 PM