Tradition, Piped-in Music, and Socks

After an invitation to return to my alma mater, Penang Free School, to coach the Choral Speaking team for a third year, it turns out the expectations are a bit much – that they want me to go back within the month, which is just not possible, what with work and projects with Mahidol and Chulalongkorn Unis. A pity really, perhaps a little lack of planning, and effort to keep up relationships with the few alumni with keen interest? Pity. Tradition is important, especially in a place like Free School. It is a word which means more than the annual speeches, where right before that some military cadet shouts out things like “Rrrrrusooo - Khiiiak!” which always sounded to me to be something from the vocabulary of Gollum or Ja Ja Binks. It should mean maintaining ties, culture, a belief, a concept of what makes things worthwhile.

On another note, it was a rather musical enigma why my colleagues a floor below my apartment could hear me practicing – especially from their bathroom. After much experimentation, it turns out it’s a kind of piped-in music – from my kitchen sink down the pipes. It seems like a prelude to every piece is plugging up my sink. As such it seems that Harry Potter has practical application… that, and “You can’t ever have too many socks.”