Oceanbluesandsummerbreeze: June 2006

Friday, June 30, 2006

Egg-Shell Sculptures

These egg-shells are carved by using laser beams. Aren't they amazing?

Thursday, June 29, 2006

He Bangs, He Bangs

I went for the 1st recital of this year's Piano Festival tonight, together with my sis and D. The pianist was Alexander Markovich from Russia.

When he came on stage, we couldn't help giggling, because he's so HUGE, but he has a very cute and smiley face. His programme included works by Ravel, Schumann, Kreisler-Rachmaninov and the lesser-known Polish-born composer, Xaver Scharwenka.

The moment he started playing, it seemed as if the piano had deeply offended him. He was banging and banging on it throughout the whole recital and he was playing at lightning speed, so much so that many of us (we 3 and some of the audience) felt that he was playing in a heck-care manner. No doubt his technique is very good, but the tonnes of wrong notes due to super-fast speed and the consistant bangings really got on to our nerves. I felt as if my ear-drums were going to burst anytime. His handful of lyrical passages couldn't save him either.

After the concert, we met 2 well-known piano teachers. One of them said that it was horrible, while the other said that she felt like throwing a book at him.

Hopefully, the other 4 remaining pianists for this festival will take pity on our ears. We certainly do not wish to torture them any further!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Modern Granny

On my way to meet YC for lunch today, I spotted a very happening granny.

She's quite small and hunched over. Her greyish-white hair was neatly bunned up. Her lips were bright red and she wore big dangling earrings. She wore a white shirt tucked neatly into what-looked-like-black-leather-tight-skirt. She also wore boots and carried a haversack which looked too heavy for her fragile frame, and she was walking slowly, oblivious to the stares around her. I was totally amused when I saw her. I also applaude her courage to dressing in that manner at her age. I don't think many people will have her courage, including me! Hahaha!

Monday, June 26, 2006

A New Shuttle Service

Now, there're little shuttle buses coming into my estate to ferry residents from my estate to a nearby MRT station. They come quite frequently, so I often hear the engines of the buses the whole day. My once peaceful estate, especially in the afternoons, are now punctuated with bus engine noises. It can be very irritating, as I'm used to the calm. I'm just very thankful they didn't put any bus-stops in front of my house! Haha.

The bus fare is a flat-rate fee of $1.15, which is very expensive, considering that the MRT station is not too far from my estate. Even old folks and students have to pay that price. No concessions for them. Therefore, up till now, not many people take it. Most of the time, when the buses go past my house, I don't see anyone in them, except for the driver. Occasionally, I can see at most, 2 passengers in the bus. Also, due to the poor response from the residents, instead of picking them up at bus-stops only, the buses also pick up residents waiting outside their houses. Haha! It's like your personal driver, only much cheaper. Now, whenever I feel bored, I'll wait for the buses to pass by my house and count how many people there are in each one. Sometimes, if I recognise a familiar face, I'll go, "Hey, that's XXX staying at YYY!"

Well, let's see how long this bus service will last. I'll give it at most, 3 months. Unless they reduce the bus fare, otherwise, they might have to call it quits soon.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

A Mistake

Gerald, my ex-student, came to my house this afternoon to install Sibelius 4 for me. Thanks, G! As my desktop computer is now a little "crazy" (it will sometimes restart by itself), I brought down my laptop from my bedroom for him to install. It was a mistake. My laptop is connected to my mixer, clavinova and hi-fi, so disconnecting it from them may prove a little "dangerous", as I must remember how to connect it back later.

After successfully installing Sibelius 4 into both my laptop and desktop, I brought my laptop back to me room and connected it back correctly. Unfortunately, when I wanted to do some recording at night, I discovered that there's no connection at all between my laptop and my mixer. I restarted the laptop, but still couldn't get any connection. There's no response from my mixer. URGH!!! I need to do some urgent recordings and this had to happen. I've already sms-ed a friend for help. He's the one who installed and connected my midi programmes for me. Hopefully, he can fix all these problems soon!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

TV Addicts

Here's a photo of my mum and my baby nephew watching TV together yesterday afternoon. Little Day Shaan had just woken up from his afternoon nap, and the moving images from the TV caught his eye. He looks equally cute, front view or back view. :)

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

A Morning To Remember

Early this morning, I went to the hospital for a general health check-up. The last time I went for one was about 10 years ago, so I think it's best I get another one now for safety's sake.

My appointment was at 8am. I was a little late but luckily, I didn't have to wait long. A friendly receptionist took my particulars, and told me roughly what I'll be doing, and what to do. She was always smiling throughout and ready to answer any questions. Then I was shown to a doctor for a general checkup.

After that, a super-friendly nurse, an auntie, checked my eyes, then took a blood test for me and chit-chatted with me at the same time. She said she'll try to get a 15% discount voucher for me. So sweet of her!

Then I had some x-rays and ultra-scans. I didn't really like the scans, but I must say the bed in the scanning room is very comfortable. I nearly fell asleep on it. Hahaha.

At about 10.45am, when I went to pay at the reception, the receptionist and the auntie asked me if I would like to have breakfast at their little food counter before I leave. I declined at first, but they said that the porridge is very delicious and I can have my choice of either coffee, tea or milo. In the end, I accepted their kind offer.

After payment (by the way, I received a 15% discount as promised, maybe because I spent alot, haha, as well as a complimentary ticket for my parking fee), I saw that the nice auntie had already put on the table, a bowl of chicken porridge and a box of sandwiches, and she even prepared for me a cup of hot milo. I was so touched! I thanked her and sat down to enjoy the food. The porridge is good. Very fine, smooth and really tasty.

Before I left, the auntie came to bid me goodbye. My goodness! She should be nominated for the friendliest nurse around, man!

Anyway, I left the hospital in a really good mood. The auntie especially, and the receptionist really made my day! :)

Monday, June 19, 2006

The Cyst

I went to see my family doctor this afternoon because of a cyst on my upper left eyelid. It has been there for sometime already, but I didn't feel like getting it checked out till today, as I didn't feel any pain or discomfort. But to play safe, I finally decided to see a doctor about it.

After checking my eye, my doctor told me not to worry as it's not dangerous at all. I can either get it out by going through a tiny surgery, or let it disappear by itself. Whew! What a relieve! He said I can even wait for 6 months to a year if I want to get it out by operation. In short, I do not need to worry. It's harmless. Nevertheless, I think I'll still have it operated on when I return from New Zealand next month.

For now, I'll have to bear a while more with it. I can't wait to get it out.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

For My Dad

Today is Father's Day. I would like to pen my thanks and appreciations for my dad on this special day.

Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I'll always remember the blue, double-sided pencil-box you bought for me when I was in primary school. Thank you for coaching me for maths; for cooking for me when mum's not at home; for buying the back-massager for me when you knew that my back ached; and not forgetting the time when you went into JB twice just to buy the framed-up J.S.Bach poster for me. I really appreciate all that you've done.

I also know that I argue with you a lot, and sometimes I said hurtful things, and I'm really very sorry for making you angry. I know sometimes you do certain things certain ways because of certain reasons, so I will try to understand and compromise with you more in future.

Dad, I'm very proud to have a dad like you and I love you.

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

My Superhero

Superman has always been my superhero from young. I remember watching superhero-cartoons such as "Superman and Friends", "Wonderwoman", "Batman and Robin" and "The Adventures of Mighty Mouse" (not Mickey Mouse), but Superman was the only one that left a deep dent in my brain. I guess that was how I came to like tall and macho men. Hahaha.

Then came the Superman movies, starring the late Christopher Reeve (picture on left). To me, he looked and acted most like a true superhero. Better than those who acted as Batman and Robin, or Spiderman, and of course, The Incredible Hulk. I was for a while, saddened by his death, especially, when I read the newspaper headline, saying "Goodbye, Superman". At that moment, I couldn't believe that he was gone forever, that he had became part of history. After that, I combed any vcd/dvd shops that I could find to get hold of the Superman movies that he starred in. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any.

Soon, there'll be a new Superman movie coming up: Superman Returns. Brandon Routh will take on as the superhero. Physically, he resembles Christopher Reeve alot, but I'll have to watch the movie for myself to see if his character lives up to its name.

In my opinion, Christopher Reeve's Superman role is simply irrepleacable, and I will always think of him as a true blue Superman and not any normal human being. To me, Superman is Christopher Reeve, and Christopher Reeve is Superman. May you rest in peace!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

In Love With Nature

I had dinner with Judy this evening. She was my JC classmate and we haven't seen each other for sometime as we were both very busy. We had Japanese food, afterwhich, we went to watch the movie "RV", which means, "Runaway Vacation". It's a very funny and entertaining movie, which also features beautiful, natural sceneries of Colorado. You could hear the "oohs" and "wows" coming from the audience (including me) everytime a beautiful scene was shown. They really make me feel like being there right away. Haha.

I've always loved beautiful, scenic places, be it the mountains, the oceans or nature's handicraft, such as the Grand Canyon, or the Twelve Apostles. Just the sight of them calms my mind and I've even thou

ght of where to spend my twilight years. They make me want to get away from the clutter of buildings that I see everyday. It will be really nice if I can take a long vacation to visit these places with a group of fun-and-adventure-loving friends. Their locals are really lucky to live among such beauty. My craze for anything scenic made me auction on eBay some years back for a pack of scenic postcards from USA. I spent quite a handsome amount just for the pack. Now, come to think of it, it will be much better if I can be there personally instead of just looking at a pack of cards.

Ok. I guess it's time for action. I shall start planning for my next trip.

Mother Nature, here I come!

(photos taken from www.rockymountainscenery.com)

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Early Father's Day Dinner

We had an early Father's Day dinner this evening.

We brought dad to The Rice Table in Suntec City. It's an Indonesian restaurant serving mainly rice with dishes that you can easily get at hawker centres. The dishes include fried chicken wings (a must-try), fried chilli kangkong (a seafood restaurant near my house has tastier ones), otah (nothing special about it), satay (also a must-try), spicy squid (it taste more Thai than Indonesian), fried Ikan Bilis with peanuts (the same as those you get with nasi lemak), grilled chicken (I didn't really like the taste), and tauhu goreng, just to name a few. It's buffet style, but the good thing is that you don't have to get up and get the food yourself. The waiters will serve you, and if you would like to have certain dishes again, you can ask them to "refill". In other words, for the price of $19.80++ per person, you can eat all you want.

Who knows, I may go there again just for the fried chicken wings and satay, not forgetting to mention the nice and cosy ambiance.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

A Last Minute Request

This afternoon, a neighbour came over to my house to ask me if I could record the piano part of some choir songs for her. She sings in a choir, and as she'll be leaving for vacation soon, she hopes to be able to bring some songs over to practice. As she's quite a nice lady, I said ok, and asked her when does she need the recording. She told me that she needed it in two days time, and I was like, "in two days?!" Today is already saturday, and that leaves me about one and a half days to do the recording! I was somewhat quite pissed, as some of the songs are totally new to me, and I might need time just to practice them, not to mention recording them too. So I told her that I would be busy these two days, but I'll try to record as many songs as I can. She was fortunately, ok with it. After thanking me, she left.

I just don't understand these people. Why do they always do things last minute? Do they think that I'm so free as to sit around everyday waiting to do things for them? If such people come my way again in future, I think I may just tell them off. I don't want to stress myself up over such people. Hmmph!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Prison vs Work

IN PRISON
You spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell.
AT WORK
You spend most of your time in a 6X8 cubicle.

IN PRISON
You get three meals a day (free).
AT WORK
You only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it yourself.

IN PRISON
You get time off for good behavior.
AT WORK
You get rewarded for good behavior with more WORK.

IN PRISON
A guard locks and unlocks the doors for you.
AT WORK
You must carry around a security card and unlock open all the doors yourself.

IN PRISON
You can watch TV and play games.
AT WORK
You get fired for watching TV and playing games.

IN PRISON
You get your own toilet.
AT WORK
You have to share.

IN PRISON
They allow your family and friends to visit.
AT WORK
You can not even speak to your family and friends.

IN PRISON
All expenses are paid by taxpayers with no work at all.
AT WORK
You get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for the prisoners.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Don't Talk To An Indian Fellow Passenger On A Flight

An American gets on a plane and finds himself seated next to an Indian. He immediately turns to him and makes his move. "You know," says the American, "I've heard that flights will go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger. So let's talk."

The Indian, who had just opened his book, closes it slowly and says to the American guy, "What would you like to discuss?" "Oh, I don't know," says the guy, smiling. "How about nuclear power?" "OK," says the Indian. "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff, grass. Yet the deer excretes little pellets, the cow turns out a flat patty, and the horse produces muffins of dried poop. Why do you suppose that is?"

The American guy is dumbfounded. Finally he replies, "I haven't the slightest idea."

"So tell me," says the Indian, "How is it that you feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?"

Oceanbluesandsummerbreeze