I know this is wicked, but here are more of my memorable thoughts about college life:

• 4 AM fire alarms in the dorm—trust me, this is no fun. The alarms are deafeningly loud, nobody except a zombie could sleep through this. There was an incident where a resident (probably drunk then) hit the alarm one fine morning. He was expelled soon thereafter.
• > 100°F temperatures during the Fall semesters. It’s just so hot. Fortunately, it’s dry heat, and practically every building on campus has air-conditioning. Temperatures drop drastically during the evenings though, so that brings some respite. The trick is to keep drinking fluids (no, not alcohol) otherwise I’d probably get dehydrated fast and pass out—not a pretty sight.
• Accompanying music students was fun, because I got to know about the various instruments first-hand from them. I’ve accompanied violinists, flautists, brass players, etc. And vocal majors are fun too, because half the time they seemed to be more nervous than I. The wonderful thing was that these students were serious in what they were doing—we’d be discussing tempi, sorting out difficult passages, and more often than not I had to make them feel at ease. No, I wasn’t a fierce dragon, it was just their nerves, honest. Modesty aside, when end-of-semester juries approached, my phone would be ringing off the hook—sometimes I would try not to enter the Music building, because I had frantic voice and instrumental majors searching in vain for an accompanist. Are we having fun yet?
• Going to my first American Football game was an incredible experience—the UA stadium is so darn big, accommodating more than 57,000 people. And the UA’s Marching Band played their hearts out during half-times, fantastic. Last but not least, eye-candy in the form of the cheerleaders.
• Attending various music concerts on campus was great too. There were many free staff and student concerts happening all semester at Crowder Hall. I managed to catch Kenny Rogers at the McKale Center as a friend decided not to go and gave me the ticket—so why not? He was in top form, crooning in front of 15,000 fans. I saw George Benson, Chuck Mangione, and Spyro Gyra too, among others.
• I also vividly recall all those solitary practice sessions in the Music Building basement. There was always a cacophony of sound coming from the practice rooms, and sometimes it was so difficult to concentrate on what I was playing. There were metronomes tick-tocking, it was crazy. But there was good interaction between us music students, discussing stuff, sometimes just goofing off, that sort of thing. Yeah I thought those were stressful times, but they seemed very carefree compared to the present. I want to go back!
• Don’t tell my mom, but hee hee, I found time to watch TV and movies too. This was the era of Dallas, Dynasty, Hill Street Blues (let’s be careful out there!), Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., etc. The first Star Wars trilogy had yet to end, in fact I watched Return of the Jedi here in Tucson. And Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan had just come out. And E.T. (great flick) The list goes on and on. I usually watched TV in the lobby area, but when a friend wanted to sell his small TV for cheap, I bought it for a paltry $10. Later when I left the States for good, I sold it for $20—how’s that?
• I can’t leave out the music that I liked at this moment in my life. For starters I was just getting into Pat Metheny (I have so many of his CDs now) the man’s a genius. Not forgetting Styx, Journey, The Alan Parsons Project (listening to it right now!) Oscar Peterson, Al Jarreau, etc. That’s the great thing about music—evoking memories of years past for me. What a cliché, but those were good times. And last but not least, classical music—I loved it, especially going to the Music Library during my free times, pulling out a record or two and then just listening. Pure bliss. Unfortunately, when I brought some records and cassettes home, they warped and gave all kinds of trouble—thank goodness for compact discs! My classical collection now is completely on CD.

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You mean there’s life in college? Sure thing—I wake up in the mornings, shower, eat breakfast, go to classes, have lunch, attend more classes, run some errands or do some chores, complete my assignments, study (couldn’t leave that one out could I), have dinner, watch some TV, study a bit more, and then go to bed. That’s a typical day, and of course sometimes, it gets very humdrum, but that’s the way it is. I did allow myself some leisure time too, otherwise I’d go nuts. I remember frequenting the Gallagher Theater on campus to watch movies—it was cheap then, about $2 per movie. And it’s only $3 now!

Other times, I’d be in the games arcade, killing some aliens or joining a friend in a game of pool (I was actually getting pretty good in this). Or I’d go to the bookstore (after its refurbishment, the SU bookstore was a pretty nice place to while my time away) or the Main Library—no surfing the web in those days, so I’d read a lot, be it my own studies or other materials. I remember subscribing to TIME and Newsweek magazines—the US editions were far superior to the International edition that I get here in Malaysia.

It was also the time where I had to do some ensemble performances. I remember hooking up with a guitarist by the name of Jeff Williams for some Jazz Combo credits. It was fun, there was this one time we played at a place called the Sawmill and other friends dropped by to lend support. And the tip jar—now that was an important thing! How I wish I could have one in the hotel where I play now. Those were good days, earning some (tax free) pocket money.

The American university system also required me to take elective classes, especially during my freshman and sophomore years. So I did, with subjects like Atmospheric Sciences, Geology, Sociology, Psychology, Oriental Studies, etc. Plus I had to do two semesters of PE and I opted for Golf, of all things. Nice thing about this was the fact that I could head off from campus to the Tucson Golf Course (I hitched rides with another student who was attending the same) and I’ll never forget Coach Tatum. Oh, he was funny, and he was always picking on me. He’d say stuff like “Phil, watch the ball, not that pretty girl beside you.” Coach Tatum, if you’re reading this, kudos to you!

I also worked as a busboy (a restaurant employee who clears away dirty dishes, sets tables, and serves as an assistant to a waiter or waitress) at one of the teachers’ restaurants for a semester or two, since I learned that it was tax-free and foreign students were eligible. However, I recall that I was taking a massive 21 units of classes, but I persisted, because the minimum wage wasn’t so bad, and again, I had money in my pocket, my own hard-earned money (I think my parents were proud too). My boss at that restaurant was a middle-aged lady of German origin, Hilda. She was a kind soul, and I got along very well with her and the other student employees. There was one week when I was having a really bad cold—she told me to take a day or two off but I stubbornly refused, because that is one busy restaurant. As a busboy I worked non-stop right from the moment I clocked in until I clocked out. It was tiring at times but it was a terrific experience for me.

I now had my own circle of friends, so I wasn’t feeling too lonely. I attended quite a few study groups, usually with other music students. It was fun to study, debate, ask questions, and someone would always bring along a huge pot of coffee and cookies (yay!) At this time too, I was singing or playing for the University Community Chorus group—it was a mix of college students and people from within the Tucson community. It was great fun then, to just chill and talk to people who were so friendly. This is a far cry from what you see on TV or the movies. Interacting with real people from the community, I liked that.

The Spring semester was coming to an end. My parents decided that it was better for me to take a break and return home for the Summer, rather than paying for accommodation, meals, etc. in Tucson (which would actually cost more than my return airfare) It was nice to be able to return home to Malaysia and relax for a while. Before I left, I asked Joan at the International Student Office whether she’d kindly mail my Spring semester grade report to me and of course she said yes. So one fine summer’s day, I receive this note from her in the mail, together with my Spring ‘81 grade report:

It turns out that I scored A’s in all my classes with the exception of one, where I obtained a B. Nevertheless, my GPA of 3.8 meant that my Scholarship would continue for the following academic year—yay!!

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