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In a blink of an eye, this long awaited dinner that Mrs Seah, BT and a few of us alumni has been thinking about for the past 1-2 years has finally come and go. 

The initial idea of the band dinner was purely for reminiscence sake; to gather everyone from AMKSS Band that has walked this music making path alongside with the teachers and BT. In fact, when this idea was first brought up to me, i didn’t cross my mind that i would be the one organizing the event and planning the show, even though i wish to attend it as much as possible.

The idea of possibility and feasibility came into picture, whether we could really pull off such a stint with a substantial desired amount of guests as a standalone event itself. There were several alumni gathering occasions, even not made official that were organized prior to this dinner to gauge the kind of turnout that we can expect from our alumni guests. Events like the BBQ that was previously held at the MPH of Mrs Seah residence, joining the secondary school band members for their inaugural band dinner, POP,  or even joint performances and concert with the main band.

For most of time, due to the schedule differences and unforeseen circumstances, the turnout would be just average, or rather it was mostly groups in clique and the few other common faces. Thus, somehow i was hesitant that this event would be successful, considering the statistics patterns shown.

However when i was arrowed the task of organizing this band dinner, it was the optimism that BT and Mrs Seah that pushed me on to believe that it’s possible. As much as i loathe the job of being a liaison and organizer for such events, i feel that for the commitment and affection that i carry towards this organization, i wouldn’t mind putting in extra effort for this to materialize, though things were not as smooth sailing as i thought it would be.

Firstly, the date. In order to accommodate all levels, be it JC students, Undergrads, working class etc, so as to inform the alumni early to free up the day and also to maximize attendance. That was how 30th July came about.

Secondly, the venue. Mrs Seah, with the help of KDZ has been sourcing for the venue for quite sometime. We had to factor in the accessibility of the venue, together with the buffet spread menu and the price package. We were this close to signing the contract with Peninsular Excelsior, before the recommendation from my cousin came in about NUSS Guild at Suntec where we managed to bring the price down to $50/- NETT. Yes, it was supposed to be of a much higher price because other than the food you’re eating,  what we’re paying involves renting the venue, and paying the staff that’s clear your plates and refill your drinks.

Thirdly, the price. This was a huge concern of mine. Like Angeline (one of the older graduate if you dk) said, "$50 is the price of our one meal, but it might be their (the younger graduates) one week allowance". I was pretty, or rather very worried that the price would deter many, which my worries has proven me right. $50/- is a lot for a 17 year old to come out, especially when most are still students.

I thank all that have to save and scrimp for the rest of the week/month in order to attend this dinner, and i hope that you have enjoyed yourselves and found the event meaningful and fulfilling.

Forthly, the attendance. With the help of several batch representatives, which i thank from the bottom of my heart because you have guys have lessen my job/workload by a lot. To Jiahao, Tommy, Yuqing, James, Cybil, Pupeng, Hazmei, Shi Zheng, Jia Yan, Sharlyn, Wei Xiang, Wei Lin, Chenning, Melissa Butt, thanks for your help during this period to engage your batch guys and to encourage and persuade them to attend this event, although it felt like im arrowing shit to y’all, but i’ve seen that you guys have really did your best.

I saw weilin’s SMS to my brother to persuade that guai lan kia to come, i feel relieved that im giving the right task to the right people. Once again, thank you.

 

Next comes the programme. To be frank, there wasn’t a concrete programme to begin with. Partly due to my commitments with my camps and other holidays i wasn’t able to do a good job on this. Thanks to Mrs Seah and her collection of photos that lead back to eons, i was able to come out with a video, although the video was made like 5hrs before the dinner.

To the younger batches, sorry that there wasn’t a lot of photos of you guys, because it wasnt stored in our photo archive, and there wasnt enough time to get the soft copies of the photo albums from y’all. As such, i took the liberty of Facebook technology to sieve out a few photos, really a few, so that you guys will not feel so left out, i could have done better, if given more time.

In a nutshell, i really enjoyed myself last night, and felt that everything was worth the effort, even though the preparation stage was kind of messy, stressful and hectic.

 

To my seniors and batch mates: It was great seeing you guys again, and to talk like old times and reminiscence about the past. Although we might not be the best band or best players around, but its the hardship and company that has engraved these memories deep down in our heart; something that i will cherish and treasure.

It was also an experience to see BT go clubbing with us, and drinking our hearts out at the after-party.

 

To my juniors: I hope that you dont feel that you have been left out during the dinner because of the insufficient exposure and "airtime" that you have. I must emphasis that everyone single one of you makes up the history and plays a part in making this event a success. AMKSS Band has came a long way to where it is today and it is important to know that we were once nowhere.

 

 

My heartfelt thanks to all of you guys that has attended and made this possible.  

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