It has been a long time since I last posted a video here so I thought now would be an appropriate moment. This is the Prelude to Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel. I’d like to thank my wonderful friend Crystal for encouraging me to “get on with it.” Actually she wanted to see my fingers fly so Crystal, I hope you enjoy this video. And the same to all my other readers too.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French composer who is perhaps best known for his orchestral work Bolero (it was featured in the 1979 movie 10 starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, and Bo Derek. It was used for a lovemaking scene, *blush*) I’ve loved Ravel’s music since my days at the University of Arizona. Although his musical output wasn’t extensive (his complete piano works fill just two CD’s; his orchestral works three) nonetheless he wrote very captivating and original music. I remember my Orchestration professor telling me that Ravel ranks up in the top three of best classical orchestrators, the other two being Berlioz and Rimsky-Korsakov. So there you have it.

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Maybe I screwed up. Maybe I should have stayed back for graduate studies. We make decisions in life which obviously can’t be reversed on a whim. When I left the University of Arizona after graduation I was only 24. Now I’m twice that age and am strongly thinking of returning to the States. Crazy isn’t it. I’m not definite about graduate school (the tuition fees now would probably kill me) but other factors are making me want to leave Malaysia, at least for a while.

I guess I could take a mini Sabbatical—haven’t had a proper holiday for years. Sometimes I am so tired of life here in Malaysia, I really am. Things are cheap, I’ll grant you that—but certain mannerisms about Malaysia and Malaysians never seem to change. I’m not going there because this is a touchy subject, ‘nuff said.

I know it’s senseless, or futile, but I keep asking myself the “What if” question. What if I had stayed back to do graduate studies? What if I had decided to remain permanently there in the States? Damn, my life might have been entirely different from now. Can’t quite forgive myself but what’s done is done. Can’t go back to the past but I can still look forward to the future with hope and determination.

Perhaps it’s not too late. I can’t turn back the clock—but at least I can revisit.

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It’s amazing how often people meet like ships in the night, and then drift away…it happened to me way back in 1981 when I met someone whom I liked a lot…our paths crossed for a brief semester at the University of Arizona, we went out for one solitary date, and then she just—disappeared. I was completely dumbfounded—she was a person I would have liked to know better. Slowly time made me forget, since I had other friends in college. Our two ships set their own different courses in the sea of life.

Fast-forward to 2009, and I was writing my blog series about my years in America. I intended to include some of my American college friends in it, and suddenly she flashed into my mind. Oh what the heck, since I’m on Facebook why not humor myself and do a Facebook search? Something just prodded me on, so I entered her name and clicked on Search. Lo and behold, the search results came back (there were several hundred entries) Gosh, am I going to search through all that? Again something urged me on, so I clicked on the first results page—nada. Second page, third page, fourth page, nope. And then there she was—slightly older no doubt (so am I) but there was that recognizable smile.

I hastily penned a message about adding her as my Facebook friend and clicked on Send. I remember writing something like “If I’ve got the wrong person, I do sincerely apologize.” A day or two later, I received an email from her, and eagerly opened it (I half-expected it to say that I’d got the wrong person) But fortunately it was her! And she remembered who I was. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, two ships have managed to steer back towards each other, after an absence of 28 years.

We’ve been using WLM to stay in touch since then…it’s delightful to know about what has been going on in her life, while I tell her my own gory details. This is not a publicity campaign for Facebook (and it doesn’t need it) but without it two friends would not have reconnected again. Friendship transcends all barriers, be they physical or otherwise. There is nothing more congenial than knowing and confiding in a good friend. Friendship is truly the best ship of all. Thank you for being my friend, Crystal.

“Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” Aristotle

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Now this is going to sound weird, and maybe I’ve been watching too many Twilight Zone reruns, but I will try to explain.

It was May 1984. I’d completed all the course requirements for my Bachelor of Music degree, and thousands of happy Undergraduates and Graduates like me were just waiting for Commencement (the Graduation ceremony held at McKale Center) This was a major milestone in my life, because it meant that I was now a formal Bachelor of Music, and that I would be returning home to Malaysia to carve out a living of my own. I was very fortunate that my parents took the trouble and expense (very last-minute, I might add) and decided to come out all the way to Tucson to attend my Commencement. I had told them that it wasn’t necessary as they had recently attended my brother’s graduation in London, England. I was worried that they were spending too much money. At that time in my life, I was looking forward to returning home (no more studying—yay)

Fast forward to the present—2009, and cue the Twilight Zone music, please. 25 years have passed—where did all those years go? And this is the strangest part. I woke up one morning, depressed, and it hit me like a ton of bricks—what if my destination wasn’t really my home? What if the place I left was actually where I should call my home?

The more I thought about it, the stronger this feeling grew. It was as if I shouldn’t have come back here, I should have stayed on in Tucson. Of course events would have changed dramatically if I had done that. And yet, something seemed to be telling me that I should have stayed in the USA.

It’s a little funny ending my Years in America episodes in this manner, but I have made up my mind about one thing: I will return to the United States as soon as I can.

God bless all of you.

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Editor’s Note: Sorry, readers. Still no luck in locating all those pictures of mine. They will be posted here when found.

The time: November 1983. I was already in my Senior year and this would be my final Christmas vacation before graduation in May 1984. I had been to the West Coast already for the past two vacations, and the same scenario was now playing up in my mind—the dorms will be closed during the Christmas break, what did I want to do?

It’s surprising how things work themselves out. I received a surprise phone call from one of my cousins, Beng Keat. Turns out that he was in Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) with his wife and son, doing a Graduate course in business management or something like that. Now BK (as I’ll refer to him from now) was always a joker in our Yeoh family. I still remember his comical side, when he told me over the phone that my parents wanted him to check up on the man “from the desert.” He asked me what I was doing over Christmas, so I told him. He told me that his family was planning a trip down to Walt Disney World and Epcot Center over the Christmas break, and they “needed a driver.” Would I be interested? Yeah, why not.

So one fine day again, I found myself at Tucson International Airport, with my baggage. I was now heading on an Eastern Airlines flight to Raleigh/Durham, with a change of flights in Atlanta, Georgia. BK and his family were at the airport to meet me. They had with them some Malaysian friends who kindly provided the transport to take me to BK’s housing unit on the university campus.

Again, this was a nice change of environment for me. Durham was very cool, misty, and raining lightly. BK and his wife were wearing heaps of clothing and generally shivering. Me? I had an Arizona t-shirt with a JC Penney’s jacket over it. “Yes, it’s really the man from the desert,” BK quipped.

The housing unit wasn’t big, but I didn’t mind. There was a small living room and dining area. There was a bedroom, a common bathroom, and that was pretty much it. BK gave me a sleeping bag, and since there was hardly any space, I slept on the floor facing their main glass windows, and let me tell you, it was cold during the nights, but I didn’t mind. BK’s wife was a pretty good cook, and I did my level best to help out by washing the dishes, and other household chores.

Needless to say, I had an enjoyable time visiting Duke University, and I recall that they even had a grand piano in the Student Union building. Anybody was welcome to play on it, and so I did. We also did some sightseeing around the Durham and Raleigh areas, plenty of nice spots there.

Finally, it was time for the Orlando trip. One big snag—we didn’t have a car. So trust BK and I to scout through newspaper ads and finally he settled on a used Toyota sedan. A blue-colored one, with auto transmission. In those days, we didn’t have GPS so had to solely rely on maps. BK and I would take turns driving and navigating. As it turned out, I did most of the driving and navigating because my cousin (bless him) loved to have a snooze every so often. Anyway, I didn’t mind, as the US Interstate system is not hard to figure out, and once we were out of Durham, driving along the I-95 heading south was quite straightforward.

So we made our way down, passing Charleston, South Carolina along the way. It was wonderful to see a different part of America. I recalled spending a night in Savannah, Georgia. Then it was on to Florida, the Sunshine state, and where I had a slight problem, similar to BK’s. The I-95 was so straight in places, I found myself nodding off at the wheel! Fortunately his wife was very alert about this, and would be poking me to keep me awake.

We finally arrived in Orlando, Florida. We already had our accommodation booked before we left Durham so we checked in and spent a wonderful few days taking in Walt Disney World and the newly-opened Epcot Center. I’ll never forget the Kodak 360° theater—that was so cool! Unfortunately, BK and his family came down with the flu half-way through our sight-seeing. I was fine, but I think they were feeling quite sick. So I drove most of the time on the way back to North Carolina.

All in all, it was another good vacation for me, and sadly, my final one in the States. The following year (May 1984) I graduated with my Bachelor of Music degree and returned to Malaysia.

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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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