Oceanbluesandsummerbreeze

My String Quartet Piece

2007-11-08T15:40:00.000+08:00

This morning, at about 10am, I went to Shue Churn's house to hear a very 1st live rehearsal of my piece for string quartet, "A Walk In The Woods". It is taken from "On Vacation", a set of short pieces for string quartet. After completing the piece some time ago, I finally got to hear it being performed "live".

The quartet consists of Say Ming on 1st violin, Shue Churn on 2nd violin, Yoong Han on viola and Wei Shing on cello. All of them are members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and they have all kindly taken time off their busy schedule to rehearse my piece. They'll be performing it this coming sunday, the 11th November 2007, at The Arts House, for the "1st COMPASS Extravaganza", where COMPASS members (including myself) can have a chance to showcase their original compositions. The satisfaction, joy and pride at hearing my own composition being performed by others, is simply undescribable.

Now I need to find inspiration to complete my other "On Vacation" pieces.

A Night WIth Friends

2007-08-04T17:39:00.000+08:00

I had a rehearsal with a freshman this afternoon. She's a cellist from Xi'an and she can play very well. She'll be playing for the first Noon Recital on the 13th August. The rehearsal went quite well.

Later in the night, sis and I met up with BB, Darius, Jennifer, Wai Keong and Fuzzie Wuzzie for the movie, "Disturbia" at GV Grand. It's a very nice and exciting movie and we really enjoyed it.

After the movie, Darius, sis and I went to the Kopitiam near Waterloo Street for supper and we ate and chatted till after 1am. It's nice to catch up with him after such a long time. Sis and I are looking forward to his mini-recital at The Arts House on the 13th August, under the "Living With..." series. It's a concert not to be missed! :P

Home Sweet Home

2007-08-03T22:28:00.000+08:00

We woke up at about 7.30am today to wash up and to finish up our packing. After breakfast, we rested a while more before saying goodbye to our room and the hotel. The service and staff there had been very good, so that's the reason I want to go back there again, not to mention that the hotel is located within walking distance from shopping malls such as Paragon, Central World and MBK. And the very famous 4-faced Buddha is also nearby.

The nice bell-boy got for us a cab to go to the airport, telling us that the flat fee from the hotel to Bangkok International Airport is 400 baht (about S$22). After thanking him, we boarded what would be the "hell-ride" from Bangkok. The driver was weaving in and out of traffic without putting any signals. Along expressways, he was driving at an average speed of 150km/hr, not even slowing down when overtaking, and at one point, he was even racing with another cab. Sis and I looked at each other, wondering if we would ever make it to the airport.

Luckily for us, we arrived there safe and sound. After getting off quickly, we watched the cab sped off again. We really pity his past, present and future passengers. Our local traffic police will love drivers like him! :P

We left Bangkok at about 2.15pm, and finally arrived in Singapore at the scheduled 5.30pm Singapore time. Dad was already waiting for us there.

It's really good to be back home, but I won't mind going to Bangkok again in the near future. :)

Recital Day

2007-08-02T23:54:00.000+08:00

Today is the day of Miti's recital.

In the morning, sis and I walked to nearby Central World shopping mall (picture above) to shop. It is a huge, very clean and new shopping centre. We were there at about 11am, and as there were not many people around yet, we took our time to shop and try on clothes. In the end, we bought only a handful. In the mall, we saw our local Charles & Keith, Bread Talk, as well as Marie France. We wanted to get some bread from Bread Talk, but when we saw flies flying around some of the bread, we decided to give it a miss. We then had lunch at Zen, a Japanese restaurant, before heading back to the hotel to prepare for the recital tonight.

Miti went with us the the concert hall, and we rehearsed a little there (picture below). It was much colder than yesterday on stage. My cold, which had more or less stopped, came back again. URGGH!

The recital started at 7.30pm. Besides Miti and myself, there were also 4 guest artists: a guitarist, a pianist, a flautist and a singer. They are all Thai musicians who are still schooling. The recital went very well in general and everyone was happy, including the audience.

Before sending us back to the hotel, Miti and his parents brought us to the Suan Lum night market to shop, but as it was very crowded and a lack of parking space, we decided to postpone the shopping trip to the next time when we revisit Bangkok again.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was already about 10.30pm. After bidding Miti and his family goodbye, sis and I went back to our room and we asked for room service as we were feeling hungry. We ordered a Pasta Carbonara (picture below) to share as we don't want to eat too much before bed. The pasta was good and so were the garlic breads.

After the meal, we packed our luggages to prepare for our flight back to Singapore tomorrow. I'm going to miss our nice and comfortable room, especially my bed. :) I will definitely want to stay in this hotel again.

Arrival In Bangkok

2007-08-01T23:35:00.000+08:00

Sis and me left for the Changi Budget Terminal early this morning at about 4.30am. Dad fetched us there (thanks, dad :->). After checking in, sis and I had breakfast at Han's. The BT looks nothing like our Terminal 1 & 2, and there weren't much to see either. Finally, the time came for us to board our flight, and we took off at exactly 6.30am.

We arrived at Bangkok at about 7.20am Bangkok time (or 8.20am Singapore time), and Miti (the viola student that I would be playing for) was already there, waiting for us. He had come with his dad to pick us up. As we were way too early to check into our hotel, they took us for our 2nd round of breakfast at the S&P seafood restaurant, beside the Chao Phraya River:-

View of the river from restaurant

The S&P Seafood Restaurant

L-R: Miti's dad, Miti, me, Miti's mum & sis

The place reminds us of our Boat Quay or Clark Quay, except that the river is much wider and longer. The food at the restaurant was simply delicious and we had a great time eating and chatting. Miti and his mum then brought us to visit the famous Grand Palace, which is just about 10mins away on foot.

Sis & me in the compounds of the Grand Palace

The Grand Palace, established in 1782, is really huge and beautiful, with tons of colourful and majestic architecture. It houses the royal residence and throne halls, as well as a number of government offices and the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha (picture below, in gold):-

This picture was taken from outside the hall, as photography and video is prohibited inside. We went in to pray and we also gave a small donation to the temple. Then, we continued our tour around the palace compounds. Lucky for us, the weather was very good, though it was very hot. Here are more photos of the famous palace:-

Phra Siratana Chedi, a reliquary in the shape of a golden chedi

Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn (The Royal Pantheon)

Golden Chedis

A miniature of Angkor Wat, crafted by the order of King Mongkut (Rama IV)

Statue of a Buddha

Chakri Maha Prasat Hall

Changing of guards in front of the hall

After the tour, Miti and his parents brought us to our hotel, the Novotel Bangkok at Siam Square. It's a really nice hotel and we were given a room on the top floor, much to our delight. They then left us to unpack and to take a rest. At 4.30pm, Miti met us in the hotel lobby to bring us to The Stock Exchange of Thailand building, where we'll be performing tomorrow in the Prof. Sangvian Indaravijaya Auditorium (picture below):-

It's a very nice small hall, with a seating capacity of about 300. The Yamaha grand is not too bad too. Miti and I rehearsed for about 2hrs, before heading for dinner with sis and his parents.

It has been an enjoyable day and we're looking forward to tomorrow already.

Hello, Bangkok!

2007-07-31T23:34:00.000+08:00

Early tomorrow morning, my sis and I will be catching a 6.30am flight to Bangkok. I'll be there to play in a recital with a viola student from the conservatory. It'll be the first time that we're going to Thailand, so we're kind of, excited. Hope it'll be fun! :)

Bangkok, here we come! :)

Last Jap Lesson

2007-07-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of my Japanese Basic Course. I won't be continuing to Intermediate yet as I won't have the time from next month onwards. I'm gonna miss the lessons, man! It has been a real fun 10 weeks and I've learnt alot. Now I need to speak it often so as not to forget it. I hope to continue with it whenever I'm free.

Get Me Outta Here!

2007-07-07T21:49:00.000+08:00

Sigh! I wanna get out.

Anyone out there?

Wait! I think I hear someone...

Or am I hearing things?

No! It's really someone coming!

Hey, I'm here!!!

Please look at me...I'm here...

Hey, lady! Please!

Great! She saw me. Quick! Open the door!

Sigh!!!

So Much For Now...

2007-07-06T21:00:00.000+08:00

I finally found the energy to blog again. Haha.

A few days ago, my student Gerald, told me that he scored distinction for his LRSM piano performance exam. He has matured alot both technically and musically, and I'm really happy for him. Bravo, G!

On tuesday, my sis and I had our 4th music arrangement class and we were taught how to use the Sonar IV software more in detail. It's much more complicated than Cubase and Nuendo as it has more functions than them. I'm looking forward to mastering it so that my music can sound more realistic. Haha. Can't wait for Eric, our teacher, to teach us more on arranging in different styles and genre.

That's all for now. My mind can't function properly (hasn't it always been the case? :P ). I have to try to discipline myself to sleep early for my brain to be normal again. Haha.

A Birthday Celebration

2007-06-15T22:11:00.000+08:00

Today is the birthday of Li Ying, one of my Jap class classmate. We celebrated for her by buying her a delicious Strawberry Shortcake from Four Leaves. She, in turn, bought a box of japanese red bean snacks for us. During the break, we had the celebration and took lots of photos and had lots of fun. The birthday girl must be very touched. ;) Below are a few of the photos taken today:-

This kawaii drawing in the birthday card is the wonderful artwork of Sarah

Group photo

Li Ying, the birthday girl

Happy Birthday, Li Ying! :)

Viva Violino Concert

2007-06-10T22:38:00.000+08:00

This evening, I played for Say Ming's violin students' concert at the YMS Auditorium. The turnout was very good, like before, and the concert went very well. There was also a buffet (thanks to the parents' contributions) at the end of the concert, but I gave it a miss as I was very tired after a long day. I'm going to have a good rest...*yawn*

My Jap Class Photo

2007-06-07T22:37:00.000+08:00

Here are members of my Japanese class. My teacher, Hashimoto-san is the lady in white V-shaped blouse, at the front of the photo. This photo was taken today, because Annabelle (the long-haired girl in between Hashimoto-san and me, also in white) will be away next week for 2 weeks, and she will be joining another class when she returns from her trip. All of us treat each other as if we had known each other for ages, and we can easily joke and playfully insult each other without anyone getting angry. There are also lots of laughter during lessons everyday, especially from the guys. They're a real comic bunch and even the teacher was laughing her head off during lessons. We really have lots of fun together, that's why this photo. I'm really going to miss them when the course ends. Hope to keep in touch with them.

Hajimemashite --- How Do You Do?

2007-05-26T12:54:00.000+08:00

For the past 5 days, my sis and I were having intensive Japanese beginners lessons, and I'm really glad we took the intensive course instead of the part-time one. We learnt so much these 5 days and we're very glad that we can now read and write, although slowly, in Japanese Hiragana writing. We're very glad that the teacher hardly speaks a word of English, so we are forced to understand what she is saying, and it has worked for us so far. :) We can also speak simple Japanese and it has been really fun.

We're already looking forward to next week's lessons. :)

My Broadjam Win :)

2007-05-21T21:10:00.000+08:00

This evening, as I was browsing through the broadjam contest website, I found that my instrumental piece, "In My Dreams" won the April '07 Monthly Song Contest, under the Soundtrack category!!! I'm really, very happy! It really gives me alot of inspiration to write more music.

It's a miracle!!! :)))

My First Jap Lesson

2007-05-21T15:44:00.000+08:00

My sis and I went for our first Japanese Beginner's course this morning at the Ikoma Language School at Shaw House. Our teacher is Ms. Yuko Hashimoto and she's a really very patient teacher. There are 9 students in our class and we had alot of fun speaking and writing in Japanese. There're tons of written Japanese characters and I sure hope I can remember all of them! I'm already looking forward to my next lesson. :)

Prata Feast

2007-05-12T22:33:00.000+08:00

I met up with another JC mate, Siew Hong, this evening for dinner at the prata house near my house. We haven't seen each other for ages and I'm glad to say, we still look the same --- young, that is. Haha. We shared 3 huge pratas, plus pieces of curry chicken, and we ate till we almost burst. I swear I will not touch pratas for some time. *BURP*

A Chicken Day

2007-05-09T23:08:00.000+08:00

Pway Kheng & Me at Wiener Kaffehaus

Today at noon, I had lunch with my JC mate, Pway Kheng , at the Autrian eatery, Wiener Kaffehaus along Neil Road. The ambiance is very cosy and nice, and the food is very good. We had it's set-lunch, consisting of soup, chicken with ham and cheese filling, a piece of butter cake and a cup of tea. The chicken is deep fried but not oily, and it's really delicious. In the end, it amounts to about $14 each person. Quite worth it. I won't mind going there again.

L-R: Hong Hong, Tian Rong, Me & Suan

In the evening, my sis and I brought 2 YSTCM students, Hong Hong and Tian Rong to the Stevens' Road YMCA for dinner. I had the Oriental Chicken Salad as usual, and the chicken is so good. Then we had some spicy soup which is very good also. Thick and tasty. We ate and chatted till after 9pm, then we sent them back to their hostel.

The chicken-y food that I ate today are simply DELICIOUS!!! I won't mind eating them again. :)

Nina Kotova

2007-05-06T23:20:00.000+08:00

Last night, my sis, Darius and I attended an SSO concert featuring Russian cellist, Nina Kotova. She's a model-turned-cellist and she performed Dvorak's Cello Concerto. We caught a glimpse of her during interval, and she's very pretty and looks younger than her 35yrs.

This afternoon, I rehearsed Shostakovich's 2nd Cello Concerto with her at the conservatory, and I had a chance to chat a little with her. She's very warm and friendly, without any diva airs. She also wrote me a nice little note on my score as an autograph.

What a lady! :)

Dinner At Tao's

2007-04-25T23:30:00.000+08:00

Frankie, me & Phu Vinh

This evening, I treated Phu Vinh and Frankie to dinner at Tao's Restaurant at Paradiz Center. Both of them are amongst the batch of graduating final year oboe students from YSTCM, and Phu Vinh will be returning to Vietnam tomorrow morning.

We enjoyed the food very much, especially the delicious grilled mushrooms. Simply wonderful! We also chatted about anything and everything, and it was interesting to hear their future plans. Frankie also kindly developed a handful of photos for Phu Vinh and me, and he also wrote a nice, short note at the back of each photo. Thanks, Frankie! :)

I'm going to miss playing for the both of them. They have both improved and matured alot in their playing and I wish them all the very best for their future endeavours.

YSTCM 1st Graduation Dinner

2007-04-24T23:47:00.000+08:00

Today is the first day of the year-end juries. It started with the cello department. The jury started at 3pm, and after about one and a half hours, the whole semester of hard work was completed for the 7 remaining cello students.

Then, I practiced for a while and hung around in the conservatory, as there would be the first graduation dinner for the final year students at the conservatory foyer at 7.30pm.

When the time neared, Suan, LJ and I went down to the foyer and it was already crowded with students, staff, invited guests and VIPs. Tony and a handful of his students from his jazz class were providing soothing music as everyone mingled and chatted away. We mingled and took photos with some students, before we were all "shoo-ed" to sit down at our respective places for the dinner to start.

Dr. Bernard Lanskey and Mr. Goh Yew Lin gave speeches, and Dr. Lanskey also read out a heart-warming letter from Dr. Steven Baxter, who's at the moment recuperating in the States.

Dinner was buffet-style, with lots to eat and drink. The food was not too bad, especially the dessert.

We also had fun chatting and taking photos.

By the time we left at about 10.45pm, most of the people were already gone, except for some, who were still chatting away.

Anyway, it was a night to remember for all. Below are some photos from the dinner:-

Lu Yanmin, moi & Li Mao

Elizabeth (cello), Tony (Bass), Diana (Keyboard), Wai Lun (Trumpet) & Zhang Yi (Violin)

Moi, Mr. Goh Yew Lin & Suan

Moi & Zhou Mi

YSTCM's lovely foyer-turned-"restaurant"

Moi, Pei Ying & Suan

A Few More Days To Freedom, But...

2007-04-23T20:40:00.000+08:00

I had a whole afternoon and evening of rehearsals and lessons at the conservatory today. The jury starts tomorrow with the cello department, and my last jury for this semester will be next monday, then I'll be free! Yeah!

But...I'm going to miss this semester.

It has been a great but busy and hectic semester, but I've really enjoyed every minute of it. If I have a choice, I would like this semester to start all over again...

An Organic Affair

2007-04-22T21:47:00.000+08:00

Late this afternoon, I had my first organic hair wash at the N.O.S. (Natural Organic Salon) along Upper Thomson Road. It's a cosy little salon, linked to an organic store next door. I've tried organic food before, so I thought it might be fun to try some of its products.

As I was a little early for my 5pm appointment, I went to the organic store to buy a packet of yoghurt and honey biscuits (the cocoa-flavoured one is quite good) for myself, and a tin of manuka honey sweets and honey for A, who has been sick since two weeks ago. Hope she recovers soon.

When my turn came for the wash, I told the lady I would like to try the organic shampoo for rebonded hair. She used the High Hydratation (HH) formula Pro shampoo on me and it smelt really good. The lady also massaged my head and it sure was heavenly! Sigh! I simply love massages (except foot massage!)! She also moisturised my hair, and after blowing dry my hair, my hair felt really soft and it looked very shiny. I read the ingredients and found olive oil in it. Apparently, their salon products do not contain ammonia and thiogliacolic acids, which are both harmful to the hair and toxic to the environment. Immediately, I bought the HH shampoo and it's HH formula pak 19 conditioner.

Oooh! I can't wait for my hair to restore it's natural health and shine! :)

A Ball Game

2007-04-17T19:11:00.000+08:00

This morning, at about 10am, I went to PGP for a badminton session with ZY and AW. The last time I played badminton was ages ago, and it felt really good to pick it up again. ZY is quite good at the game, and after a while, I was already sweating like a pig. I haven't perspired so much in a long time and it felt really good.

We ended the game at about 11.15am, as I was already aching all over and I was too tired to continue. This is what happens when one doesn't exercise often. Haha.

Now that the conservatory vacation is nearing, I must make it a point to exercise more often. I need to continue with my daily morning qigong sessions (hopefully I can wake up early enough to go for it) and also pick up golf again. My clubs are "rotting" in my store-room at home...

The Phantom of the Opera

2007-04-15T21:15:00.000+08:00

Today is Judy's birthday and also our "Phantom" day.

We went to the Esplanade Theatre to watch the 2pm matinee of The Phantom of the Opera, and were we glad that we went. The whole plot, the acting and the music + lyrics especially, were really touching. The Phantom, acted by Brad Little, was the best, and his pitch-perfect singing really moved me to tears. The most touching part was right at the end, when he ran after the Christine character, saying "I love you" 3 times. The way he whispered "I love you" the third time brought tears to many, including myself.

It was really enjoyable and I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Another Enjoyable Evening

2007-04-10T14:03:00.001+08:00

Last saturday, my sis and I attend the conservatory orchestra concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall, featuring world-renowned cellist, Qin Li-Wei playing Tschaikowsky's Roccoco Variations. He was really amazing and as the audience couldn't get enough of him, he rewarded them with 3 encores. It was really enjoyable.

Dinner with Kawai before the concert was great too, as the food was really delicious and Kawai is such a funny and nice guy. My sis and I were laughing so much we nearly spat our food out.

After the concert, the 3 of us went to Harry's Bar at Boat Quay to listen to Tony's gig. Sean and his friend, Eiffel joined us later, and we had fun chatting and drinking.

We finally left after midnight, as I had to teach at 8am the next day.

It was a really fun and enjoyable evening! :)

I've Finally Updated...

2007-03-26T22:21:00.001+08:00

After nearly 2 months of " sleep", my blog has finally " woken" up again.

I had been really busy (thus too tired to blog) with the conservatory with graduation recitals and concerts, and with 5 more graduation recitals to go, I can sort of, relax a little to blog.

During this period, I have mainly :

* attended numerous concerts at the Conservatory and also a handful of SSO concerts;

* watched 2 movies;

* had a qigong-healing session with a qigong master from China;

* Chinese New Year usual routine;

* attended Sa Chen piano recital;

* attended Chick Corea's concert;

* attended Tony's jazz class at the Conservatory;

* played for 13 graduation recitals at the Conservatory;

* played for Cellissimo concert; and

* had tons of rehearsals and lessons at the Conservatory.

Last night, Zhou Mi and Gao Quan treated my sis and I to dinner at New York, New York restaurant at City Link. I had fish and chips and the portion was too big for me to finish, but it was quite delicious. We then had fruits-and-chocolate fondu for dessert. We had lots of fun and laughter chit-chatting about anything and both ZM and GQ really make a very cute and loving couple. SIGH! :P

After dinner, we parted ways and my sis and I went to Brown Sugar to attend Kwai Sum's post-birthday party, after which, we went to Jazz@Southbridge to support Tony and Wai Lun. We met Jon there and he kindly bought us drinks. Wai Lun and Diana came later and we chatted while listening to Tony play. Mario, the jazz pianist was really good, and I'm thinking of learning jazz piano with him.

Wai Lun later joined them in 2 numbers, and he sang and played on the trumpet. He's really brave and I must say, really good for a first-timer in a public jazz performance. We're all very proud of him.

Later, we had some fried chicken wings to munch on while chatting, and by the time we decided to go home, it was already after midnight. We were tired but what an enjoyable evening it was! :)

How To Ask Your Boss For A Salary Increase

2007-01-28T21:48:00.001+08:00

One day an employee sends a letter to her boss asking for an increase in her salary:-

Dear Bo$$,

In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould be under$tanding of the need$ of u$ worker$ who have given $o much $upport including $weat and $ervice to your company .

I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.

Your$ $incerely,

Marian $hih

The next day, the employee recieved this letter of reply:-

Dear Marian,

I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet .

NOw the newspapers are saying the world's leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if the United States may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections, things may turn bad .

I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.

Yours truly,

Manager

Jiri's Birthday Party

2007-01-14T18:23:00.000+08:00

Last night, at about 7.30pm, my sis and I, together with 2 conservatory students, went to Mr. Jiri Heger's house for his 60th birthday party. There were already a handful of people there, and by 8.15pm, his house was already full of people. We met many nice people, such as the famous young-and-talented local conductor, Darrell Ang (photo below with moi):-

Mr. Dennis Lee and Mrs. Lee-Toh Chee Hung:-

Maestro Wang Ya Hui, SSO Principal violist Zhang Man Chin, Violinist Qian Zhou and YST Conservatory Director Dr. Steven Baxter:-

YST Conservatory Deputy Director Dr. Bernard Lanskey:-

Our very own world-renowned T'ang Quartet:-

Mr. David Mitchell, a music-crazed lawyer:-

and our birthday boy himself, Mr. Jiri Heger, SSO ex-Principal violist:-

Dinner was buffet style, and there were lots to eat and drink, not forgetting the delicious birthday cake. We had lots of fun, catching up with friends and photo-taking, and we really enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

We finally left for home at about 10.15pm, tired but happy. :P

Morning Exercise...

2007-01-12T12:09:00.000+08:00

./oFor the past few days, I've been going for qigong at the Botanical Gardens, and I must say, the morning air and all the stretching and breathing are really great! I felt really refreshed after doing all the exercises. Below are some photos taken at the gardens before 8am...

Happy New Year! :)

2007-01-01T23:48:00.000+08:00

We were still in the middle of our mahjong game, when we heard shouts of "Happy New Year" outside my cousin's room (we were playing in his aircon room). We were so engrossed in our game that we forgot about the arrival of 2007. We stopped our game and went out to wish everyone "Happy New Year", and we also went to my aunt's room to see fireworks from there. That's also the reason why we go to her place for countdown every year. Haha.

I took pictures and video of the fireworks with my new camera, and as I was leaning out the window to get a better view, my camera case dropped 13th floor down below. I gave a shout, and shocked everyone in the room, and they asked what happened. After telling them, some of us leaned out the window to look down, just in time to see my camera case floating down and disappearing into the dark. I was still in shock but I was very glad that it wasn't my camera that fell.

After borrowing a torchlight from my uncle, I rushed downstairs and searched for the case amongst the grass and bushes. I found nothing and guessed that someone must have found it and taken it. Just then, my cousin Wing Sheng and his wife, Irene, and another cousin, Bi Ru, came down also to help me look for it. Then Wing Sheng said that the case could have landed on the roof of the passers-by walkway. He climbed up to take a look and sure enough, my camera case was lying there. He finally got it down for me and I was very glad to have it back. After thanking Wing Sheng profusely, we went back up to my aunt's place.

We continued with our mahjong game and we finally ended at about 3am. I was the big winner with $18.70 in winnings. Haha. Then, we headed for home at about 3.20am.

I woke up at about 8am, and later in the day, went to Thomson Plaza with my sis and I bought a nice, denim camera case for my new camera from Popular bookstore (the case I was using before belonged to my Olympus digital camera).

In the afternoon, I spent hours transferring my contacts from my old phone to my new phone, as I was still not used to it. I managed to finish transferring all before bedtime. That was about 8hrs in total, including dinner and breaks in between. By then, my fingers were aching and a little numb.

Happy New Year everyone, and may we all have tons of peace, happiness and good health! :)

Last Day of 2006...

2006-12-31T23:56:00.000+08:00

I had my very 1st qigong session this morning at the Botanical Gardens. I was there with an aunt (my mum's youngest sis). Some of the patterns are quite hard to follow but in general, it was quite easy. The most important thing is for the body to be relaxed, then the "qi" can pass through the body. The instructor and the members are very friendly and helpful and they make me feel at ease straight away. Our session started at about 8.10am and ended at about 9.15am. I hope to be able to go for the sessions every morning, if possible.

In the early afternoon, Serene, my sister-in-law and I went to the M1 shop at Paragon Shopping Centre as I wanted to change my Samsung handphone to a newer model. I settled for the Samsung SGH-Z230 model, where it has both 3G and Tri-band functions, which will enable me to use my phone anywhere in the world. I also bought 2 3G SIM cards at a special rate of $18.90 for both, instead of the usual price of $26.25/card. I'm very happy with my new phone and can't wait to use it .

Later, at about 4.30pm, my parents, sis and I went to another aunt's (my dad's youngest sis) condo for the 2-year old birthday celebration of my niece (my cousin's daughter). We had buffet and BBQ and there were quite alot to eat. I like the dry mee siam best, because it's sour enough. Haha.

After the birthday cake-cutting, the 4 of us, together with my brother, Jaan, Serene and little Day Shaan, headed for another aunt's (my mum's 2nd sis) appartment for some more food and mahjong, and to welcome 2007. It has sort of, became a "rule" to go to this aunt's place on the last day of the year to celebrate. My aunt made yummy laksa and we ate like pigs. Haha.

Then, my sis, 2 cousins and I had a game of mahjong on a rectangle, glass table, as my mum and 3 aunts were having their own mahjong game on the mahjong table.

As we played, we were also counting down to the new year...

More Photos From Seoul...

2006-12-30T21:08:00.000+08:00

Sunset at Incheon International Airport

Dale, Pincye, Suan and me just after going through the customs

Our room 591 at Holiday Inn Hotel

The Christmas "tree" at our hotel lobby

Korean stores by the road

The War Memorial of Korea

Rehearsing on stage at Seoul Arts Centre Concert Hall

Backstage of Concert Hall

Posing with Professor Hae-Won CHANG, President of Ewon Cultural Center

and also

organiser of "Asia Grand Piano Concert"

Our Singapore team and our Korean partners

Group photo: Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore teams

2 Korean student artists and us

Enduring the freezing weather near Dongdaemon

Goodbye, Seoul!

2006-12-29T20:39:00.000+08:00

We woke up at 4.30am this morning to prepare for our departure for Singapore. Our coach ride from to Incheon International Airport was at 5.55am, and our flight was 9am.

We arrived at the airport at about 6.45am, and after checking in, we went for breakfast at the bar and grill beside our boarding gate 43. We had green tea bread sandwich and green tea, and the bread was a very refreshing taste from our normal bread. At about, 8.35am, we boarded the plane to get ready for take-off.

The flight was generally smooth, and we arrived in Singapore at about 2.45pm. It's home sweet home, but I still miss the trip. Haha.

Here are a few photos of Incheon International Airport...

On Our Own

2006-12-28T23:57:00.000+08:00

This morning, at about 9.10am, we met BB for breakfast at the La Stella restaurant in our hotel. BB was down with quite a bad flu as the heater in his room was not working, and they later changed him to another room. BB did not join the 5 of us (Sutini, Dale, Pincye, my sis and I) for our outing. The concert organiser actually organised a shopping trip of Namdaemon, an open-air tourist shopping area, for us foreign performers, with lunch included. Somehow, we Singaporean team was left behind to fend for ourselves. In the end, the 5 of us decided to go to Dongdaemon (another shopping area) ourselves, and we took the subway.

Due to language problem, we wasted quite a lot of time searching for Dongdaemon, and in the end, we settled for a shopping area near it. It looked just like our OG shopping center, and most of the items on sale didn't look too "appetizing". However, we did have a delicious and hot lunch of rice cake in dumpling soup nearby. By the way, the temperature was -6 degrees, and it was really FREEZING, especially when the wind blew, so a hot bowl of soup really helped!

We returned to the hotel after 3pm and saw the other teams in the lobby. They had also just arrived from their shopping trip. The moment they saw us, questions like "What happened to you?", "Where did you go?" and "How come you were not with us?" flew out of their mouths, and we had to explain to them. Then, we 5 went to look in on BB, and luckily, he was much better.

As BB had decided to stay in his room to rest, he did not join us for dinner at the Pizza Hut next to our hotel. The food was delicious and we 5 had fun chatting and laughing.

Later, Sutini, my sis and I attend a Korean friend's piano recital at the nearby Ewon Cultural Centre, while Dale and Pincye went on their own. After the concert, we 3 returned to the hotel, and my sis and I packed our luggages for our departure for Singapore early tomorrow morning.

Sigh! I'm gonna miss this trip! It has really been very enjoyable!

Concert Day

2006-12-27T22:01:00.000+08:00

We (BB, Sutini, my sis and I), together with the Hong Kong and Malaysia teams headed for our rehearsals and concert at Seoul Arts Centre this afternoon at about 1pm in a chartered bus. Here are some Korean street scenes along the way...

We reached the Arts Centre in about 40 mins, and we were all very impressed by it. It is huge and it looks very majestic...

The inside of it was even more impressive, especially the concert hall. We were told that it's the biggest concert hall in Korea and it has a seating capacity of about 2400...

After our rehearsal, we hung around inside the Arts Centre and chatted amongst ourselves, and also with the Malaysian team and some of our Korean partners.

We had sushi for dinner and it was quite good, except for the raw stuffs which my sis and I don't take.

The pre-concert performed by students finally started at 7.30pm, and the main concert, the one we were playing in, started at 8pm. Our item was the 3rd one and when our turn came for us to go on stage, we were all very excited. Performing in such a grand concert hall to an almost full house, with 4 pianos on stage, and 8 people playing together simultaneously, was totally an experience of a lifetime. We enjoyed ourselves so much on stage that we nearly didn't want to leave the stage. Haha. And the audience response was overwhelming! There was a total of 12 items and 97 pianists from 7 asian countries, and we were told it was the first time such a concert was held in Asia.

Sadly, all good things have to come to an end. The concert ended at about 10.30pm, after which, most of us went for a reception at the foyer of the concert hall. We had fun chatting with some audience and performers, as well as taking lots of photos. We then left for our hotel at about 11.45pm.

It was truly an enjoyable and memorable day and we are really glad to be part of it!

Departure To Seoul, Korea

2006-12-26T21:22:00.000+08:00

Today is our trip to Seoul for the Asian Grand Piano Concert.

Mr. Benjamin Loh (BB), Sutini, Dale, Pincye, my sis and I met at Changi Airport at 6am for our 8am flight, and after checking in, we went through the customs to do a bit of window shopping and also have breakfast. Then, we boarded our SQ plane to get ready for take-off.

When the plane got to the take-off runway, it stopped there for quite some time and we were wondering what was taking it so long to take-off. Then the Captain announced that there was a slight technical problem with the plane and we had to return to the airport to have it check. Once back at the airport, we were told that the technical problem was due to a defect of the anti-collision avoidance system. In the end, we were delayed for 2 and a half hours, and we only got to take-off at about 10.35am. We finally arrived at Incheon International Airport at about 5.20pm, instead of the scheduled 3.15pm.

Once there, the guy who came to pick us up, told us that we had to wait for the Hong Kong team before heading together to Seoul's Holiday Inn Hotel. So its more waiting again.

When the Hong Kong team arrived a while later, we gladly set out for our hotel as we were really very tired already. What's more, we were scheduled to rehearse with 4 Korean pianists at 7pm tonight, so we were actually rushing for time.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was already 7.30pm, thanks to the traffic jams on the roads. We put down our luggages and rushed over to Ewon Cultural Centre, which is luckily, just 5 mins walk from the hotel. The 4 Korean pianists were already there and they didn't look too happy, naturally. After explaining about what happened, they sort of, eased a little and our rehearsal started. We played Bach's Sicilienne and Kevin R. Olson's A Scott Joplin Rag Rhapsody, both arranged for 2 pianos, 8 hands, but were doubled with 2 more pianos. We also played Rondo, for 3 pianos, 12 hands, composed by my sis and I, with another 2 Korean pianists. We all had alot of fun.

Then, we headed for dinner at a little korean restaurant beside our hotel, before turning in for the night. There would be 1 more rehearsal tomorrow afternoon at Seoul Arts Centre's Concert Hall before the actual concert tomorrow night. We were very tired, but very excited. Can't wait!

Christmas Shopping

2006-12-24T21:10:00.000+08:00

Judy, my close friend since my JC days, and I had lunch at Crystal Jade in Bishan Junction 8 today, then we did some Christmas shopping at the shopping mall. I bought a Japanese-made mini xylophone from Muji for Day Shaan, and a Canon Ixus 850IS digital camera for myself, to take to Seoul on tuesday. Then, it's more presents for a few more people.

Long live shopping! :)

The Perfect Gift

2006-12-21T23:27:00.000+08:00

These past few days I've been shopping, shopping and more shopping. Christmas is just around the corner and it's really great going around, searching for gifts for family and friends...and also for myself. Haha. Sometimes, I can spend hours going around, looking for the perfect gift, and it can be really hard getting that perfect gift. You have to make sure that the person on the receiving end will like it and not already have a similar item of what you've bought. Sometimes, I'll ask them things like their favourite colors, but by asking that, they will roughly know that you're getting them gifts, so that will, sort of, spoil the surprise. Therefore, I'll try not to ask, if possible, and hope for the best, that they'll like it and also they won't have a similar item.

Despite that, I still like getting gifts for people, especially when they least expect it. The surprise looks and smiles on their faces really make my day. :)

HIROMI --- The Formidable Pianist

2006-12-17T23:12:00.000+08:00

Tonight, after dinner with Ming Yen and my sis at the Garlic Restaurant at The Esplanade, we headed to the Concert Hall for a jazz concert by the very talented Japanese pianist, Hiromi. I must say that I have never, ever seen anyone play like her. Her energy, charisma, and un-humanly lightning fast and impeccable technique simply blew the whole house away. We were simply amazed by her stage presence and the way she delivered each piece like water flowing out of a tap. The music seemed to flow non-stop each time she started playing and I like to mention again, her insanely crystal clear, lightning-speed running notes and repeated notes really left us speechless. She did not have a tiny hint of fatigue at all, and she looked like she could play on and on forever. She really looked like she was having the best times of her life on stage.

Besides audio entertainment, she also provided visual entertainment, such as head bobbings to accented chords, feet-stampings, jumping up while playing loud chords, and cute facial expressions. She was accompanied by 2 other talents: Tony Grey on the electric guitar, and Martin Valihora on drums. All 3 of them were graduates from the world-renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, and their chemistry was simply remarkable.

At the end of the concert, they were greeted with thunderous applause, wolf whistles and screams from the audience, including me. Haha. I couldn't help it. They, especially Hiromi, were simply FAN-TAS-TIC!!!

At just 27 years old, Hiromi is certainly someone to look out for. She's a really big source of inspiration to every musician, especially pianists, and I'm already looking forward to her future concerts.

Quote of Wisdom

2006-12-10T21:39:00.000+08:00

As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two... -- Sir Norman Wisdom

A Little Gathering

2006-12-09T23:41:00.000+08:00

This evening, at about 6.45pm, I went to Danil's (left picture) house for a small gathering with his family and a few friends. The gathering was in rememberance of him. Eleana (Danil's mum) made very delicious pancakes for dinner, and we all sat around the table to talk about him while eating. Everyone has fond memories of him and it was clear that he is going to be dearly missed by all who knew him.

A while later, I proceeded to the piano to play Chopin's Nocturne in C# Minor, Op. Posthumous for Eleana. This Nocturne was Danil's favourite piece (and mine too) and she hoped that I could play it for her. Danil had heard this piece after watching the movie, "The Pianist" and he liked it so much that he wanted to learn it, and I remember teaching him how to play it.

After playing the Nocturne, Eleana asked me to play also Chopin's Etude Op.10, No.4 (Danil was halfway through learning it before he died). I did an impromptu performance, even though I haven't touched the piece in ages, and the result was quite disastrous. Luckily, Eleana and everyone else in the room were appreciative of my effort, so I didn't feel that bad.

After chatting for a while more, I left for home at about 8.05pm as I have to pick my sis and her student up from Parkway Parade.

I hope everything will turn out fine for Danil's family, and hope that they will have many happiness to come.

Hope For The Best

2006-11-23T20:39:00.000+08:00

The second half of this year hasn't been smooth, at least for me.

Can't wait for 2007 to come.

Hopefully, everything will be much better.

A Final Farewell

2006-10-27T23:37:00.000+08:00

I went to Danil's wake this afternoon at 3pm for the last time, before his funeral at 3.45pm. There will be a short service at 3.30pm. His family were already there, and so were some friends and relatives.

I greeted Albert, Danil's elder brother, then I walked towards his mum, Eleana. As I was calmer today, I thought I could comfort her, but the moment she saw me, she gave me a hug and we started to cry. When she told me that Danil respected me a lot and he kept saying he didn't play well during piano lessons, I simply lost control. I cried even harder. I really regret not finding time to fit in Danil's piano lessons the last few months, and I'll deeply regret this for the rest of my life. Eleana also said that Danil had plans for his future in music, which sadly will never happen.

As we took our seats to prepare for the service, it started to rain heavily. I guess, heaven is also crying for the early demise of such a wonderful boy.

While seated, I looked at Danil's coffin, at his photo, at the rain outside, and at the people in the room. Aleksander, Danil's little brother, was walking about innocently, and he even went up to touch the coffin. Looking at him, I told myself how nice it would be, to be a little kid, where there are no worries and emotional burdens.

The service started quite on time, and after saying a few words about Danil, the Father led us in the song, Because He Lives. The solemn atmosphere slightly lightened when the Father sang wrong words to a melody, and he quickly apologised before continuing the song. After the song, he continued with a prayer, and another short speech about Danil. He lifted the heavy mood once more by mis-pronouncing Danil's family name, Shagimardanov. He struggled with the pronounciation everytime he comes across it.

When the time came for the coffin lid to be closed, the Father asked us to take a look once more at Danil. I went up to look at him one last time, and my tears fell again. The thought of never seeing him again really saddens me. I remembered in my February 8th 2006 post, I wrote about Danil telling me about his family uprooting to France. In the post, I wrote how I'm going to miss him and his family. Now come to think of it, I'd rather he uproots to France and I miss him, than miss him in this sad way.

I shook hands with Zufar, Danil's dad, and we hug each other and our tears fell again. I guess we all know how much we're going to miss him. Then I told Zufar I won't be able to go to Mandai Crematorium for Danil's cremation and he nodded, understandingly. Part of me actually wanted to go, but I was afraid that I won't be able to take it, so when I knew that I had accompaniment at the conservatory, I was glad that it saved me the agony of making a decision, whether or not to go for Danil's cremation.

As I stood at the back of the room, watching the other people taking their last glance at Danil, the most touching sight came from his family. Seeing the back views of his parents, elder brother, and little brother (in the arms of his dad) huddled together, looking down at the coffin, can really bring anyone to tears. And the sight of his 72 year old grandmother, hugging and crying over the coffin, is enough to make even the stone-hearted cry. I'll never forget these 2 touching scenes.

After Danil's coffin was closed, he was wheeled out to the funeral van, waiting to take him to the crematorium. His family stood beside the van and watched the men push the coffin into it. Then the van set off for its destination. Danil's family got into a black mercedes and followed behind, while some of the other people followed in a chartered bus or their own cars. As I watched them drive off, I said a silent goodbye to Danil. I'm really going to miss him. I hope he knew how much I've enjoyed teaching him, as well as doing piano accompaniment for him. He was such a talented musician and a great person. He was always so courteous and humble.

At the moment, the only thing that will remind me of Danil, is his Christmas present to me about 2 years ago. It is a little box of 4 green scented rose candles, put in a cute little red santa claus paper bag. Zufar had told me he will make me a copy of a video of Danil and me making music together, Danil on the flute, and me on the piano. I'm looking forward to having the copy.

Dearest Danil,

You are a great person and I'm really glad to have known you. You'll always be my beloved student and I'm going to miss you alot.

May you rest in peace.

Lots of love,

Shao Ying

Alone With Danil

2006-10-26T21:48:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I went to the Christian Columbarium, off Old Chua Chu Kang Road to attend Danil's wake. He's put in the "Hallelujah" room at The Garden Of Remembrance.

When I reached there at about 3pm, I saw, pasted on the door, a piece of paper with Danil's name, his date of birth, the date he died, and the time he died, which was 8.43am. The bottom half of the page stated the date and time of the services and his funeral. Already tearing, I didn't want to go in yet, so I stayed outside the room for a while. When I felt ready, I opened the door.

To my surprise, the room was locked. I thought like us Chinese, there'll be people around 24hrs/day until the funeral. I called Zufar, Danil's dad, and he said that he had just reached home from the wake as his family needed him. He asked me to ask the people in the office to open the door for me, which the man-in-charge did. I guess it was my fault for not telling Zufar what time I would be there.

When I entered the room, I saw a white, glossy coffin with Danil's picture next to it. Feeling really emotional, I went up to the coffin and looked inside. The Danil lying there looked different from the Danil in the picture and the Danil that I know, but I could still recognise him, especially his cute nose. My tears were flowing non-stop by now. I just stood there and stared at him. For a moment, I hoped that he would open his eyes and smile at me, and tell me that he was just playing a nasty prank on all of us.

When I sort of calmed down a little, I started to talk to Danil. Before I could go beyond 2 sentences, I was all choked up and I couldn't continue. I want to tell him that he had been a very good student and I'm really proud to be his teacher and he'll always be in my heart.

I stayed with him a while more, and before leaving, I left a little note for him in the blue book at the entrance of the room:-

Dearest Danil, I'll miss you.

Rest in peace.

Love, Shao Ying

I left the place with a heavy heart. I'll have to brace myself for his final service tomorrow.

Remembering Danil...

2006-10-25T23:30:00.000+08:00

At about 2.37pm this afternoon, I received a phone call from Jeremiah, a violin student that I've accompanied before. Here's part of our conversation...

"Yes, Jeremiah?"

"Uh...Miss Low..."

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"You have a Russian student, right?"

"Yes. Danil. What about him?"

"...he passed away 2 days ago..."

"WHAT?!"

My Russian piano student, Danil Shagimardanov, had passed away on tuesday morning, to be exact. He had died in his sleep. He was only 16. I just couldn't believe what I've heard. Before I knew it, my tears started to fall. It was too sudden and I couldn't accept it, even till now. Later in the afternoon, I called Danil's dad, Zufar, and he told me Tuesday was Danil's birthday. His family wanted to surprise him with a birthday song and went to wake him up, but he couldn't be woken up. Zufar also told me that Danil seemed very tired on Monday. The doctor said that he died of cardiac failure. How could that be? He was such a healthy and lively boy.

I remembered the last time I saw him was on Friday, 9th June 2006. He was taking his flute LTCL diploma exam at Millinia Kawai, and I was his accompanist. I remembered him waiting for me in the waiting area. He was a little nervous but he played well in general. After the exam, I offered him a lift but he rejected as he wanted to buy some things nearby. Then we parted ways. That was the last time I saw him. Due to our different schedule, we couldn't arrange any lessons after that.

Then in August, Danil's mum, Eleana, called me to arrange lessons for him in August, but I asked her if we could start lessons in September instead, as I was busy with concerts and accompaniment. She said ok and she'll call me back to arrange. When she didn't call back, I thought Danil needed to prepare for his school exams, as September was also the exam period. Therefore, I also didn't call him to arrange for lessons. Maybe they'll call me after his exams, I thought. Then came this shocking news. If I had known that Danil will be gone so soon, I would have arranged lessons for him no matter how busy I was.

I really, really, really regret it. I didn't even have a last chance to talk to him or see him alive. This is just so unfair. He was still so young and he was such a lovely and courteous boy.

I'll always remember his "Hello!" when he's outside my house, to let me know that he's here...

I'll always remember the way he greeted me...

I'll always remember the way he played on the piano...

I'll always remember his cute facial expressions whenever he played something wrong...

I'll always remember our conversations...

I'll always remember his cute face, especially his nose...

I'll always remember his voice...

I'll always remember the way he wore his shoes...

I'll always remember the way he ran up the slope from my house to the bus-stop...

and I'll always remember how much I have enjoyed teaching him and doing accompaniment for him.

Danil, I'm going to miss you. May you rest in peace.

"Decay" Of The Brain

2006-10-23T16:18:00.000+08:00

Early this afternoon, after lunch, I went to NTUC to buy groceries, but my main aim was to buy some more lizard traps, as the darn lizards in my house are out on the prowl again. One of them had s***ed on the box cover of my health supplement, and about 2 nights ago, I stepped on another lizard s***. Totally pissed off, I was determined to get rid of them...again.

When I reached NTUC, I shopped for kiwi fruits, strawberries, bread, vegetable salad, biscuits, green tea and yoghurt drinks. I had forgotten about my lizard traps. I only remembered them on my way home. That meant that I would have to go to NTUC again another day to get them.

Sigh! My brain is starting to "decay". I seem to forget things easily. I think it must be the lack of sleep, exercise and stress.

SIGH!!!

Can't wait...

2006-10-22T22:52:00.000+08:00

I finally found the time and the urge to blog. :)

I've been busy the past few weeks and I'll be getting busier with more concerts and jury exams coming up next month, not to mention the stacks and stacks of music to practice.

Can't wait for December holidays to come...

Yummy Dinner

2006-10-04T23:35:00.000+08:00

This evening, my mum and I went to a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio to buy dinner, and we bought black pepper crab, steamed crab, fried noodles, sweet and sour pork and chilli kang kong. They were all very delicious, except for the steamed crab, as some of the crab meat tasted very unfresh. But we all enjoyed the food very much.

Yummy! *slurp* :P

An Enjoyable 4-Hands Recital

2006-10-03T23:41:00.000+08:00

This evening, my sis and I attended Albert Tiu and Thomas Hecht's piano duet recital held at the conservatory's Concert Hall. They played to a full house and I must say that they deserve it. They were really good. The musicality and chemistry between them were very obvious and the audience simply loved them.

They gave 4 delightful encores, including a Piazzolla Tango arranged by Albert, and a "Happy Birthday" song arranged by someone. They played the birthday song because today happened to be the birthday of Albert's wife. Ain't she lucky?! :P They also played a march by Schubert and they showcased their comic side by acting as 2 mischievious kids while playing. They really made the whole house roar with laughter.

In short, it was a very enjoyable concert and we're looking for their future ones.

My Weighing Session

2006-10-02T14:11:00.000+08:00

I'm taking my weight now.

Don't squeeze me, leh!

Hey! Something's moving!

Wait! I haven't taken a good look yet!

Sigh! I wished I hadn't looked...

Is This Stupidity Or What?

2006-10-01T23:04:00.000+08:00

Just now, I read an article about a guy, who's laptop was stolen in a food court. After further reading, I concluded that it was the stupidity of the guy. He had left his laptop unattended while he went off to buy food. After numerous articles about unattended belongings being stolen in public places, he was stupid enough to do what he did. I don't understand these people. They just don't learn.

Let's hope that he'll be smarter in future.

Long Day...

2006-09-30T22:43:00.000+08:00

I had accompaniment the whole day at the conservatory today, from 9am to about 8pm, with a few breaks in between. Very tiring, but enjoyable.

Time to rest for tomorrow. Another whole day of.....teaching. Sigh!

A "Hot" Evening

2006-09-29T15:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday evening, I met my sis, Darius and Jae Sern for dinner at Marina Square. As I had a few super yummy fried chicken wings (thanks to my brother) before meeting them, I was quite full by the meeting time, so I ordered a bowl of pork and vegetable dumpling soup. It was so-so. The soup tasted funny.

After dinner, JS went back first, so the 3 of us walked over to Esplanade Recital Studio for a piano recital by Albert Lin, afterwhich, we went to Harry's Bar for a drink and chit-chat. I ordered Star Wars, and by the time I was halfway through the drink, I was already "burning".

My face felt really hot and I didn't know how red I was until I saw the photo of myself. We also ordered a basket of spicy potato wedges and it was super delicious. D and I couldn't stop eating, and by the time we remembered to leave some for my sis, the basket was nearly empty. Luckily she was too engrossed with her new handphone to notice the food. Haha.

We had a great time chatting about anything and by the time we got ready to go home, it was already nearing 11.30pm.

It sure was a "hot" and fun evening! :)

My New Blogskin & Mahjong

2006-09-28T14:59:00.000+08:00

Darius came over to my house yesterday afternoon to change my blogskin. After spending lots of time trying to fit the picture onto the whole screen with no success, we settled for this finished product. I like it very much in fact. Thanks, Darius! :)

After dinner, Darius, my sis and I proceeded to our "multi-purpose" music studio for mahjong. It was really fun! I was the big winner for the 1st game, but Darius was the bigger winner for the 2nd game. All the money that I won at the 1st game went back to him at the 2nd game. No need to say who was the big loser. Haha. By the time we ended the game, it was about 12.45am.

It was a fun evening and we're planning to have another session before Darius goes to serve our dear country. Haha.

Michael Head's Oboe Works

2006-09-23T19:55:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I played for the oboe studio class at the conservatory, and one of the students played 3 short pieces by British composer Michael Head (1900-1976):- Gavotte, Elegiac Dance and Presto for oboe and piano. They're really beautiful pieces. They have the feel and the mood of English countrysides. The student and I really enjoy playing the pieces. They have given me inspiration to write a piece for oboe and piano, which I'm now working on. I hope to present it to you guys soon.

My Broadjam Music Link

2006-09-22T11:54:00.000+08:00

Last night, I've uploaded a handful of my compositions onto the Broadjam (www.broadjam.com) website. I've added the link to my blog and it's under Shao Ying's Music on my music links. I also have a direct link to it at www.broadjam.com/shaoyinglow . Those of you who want to have your music posted on Broadjam can sign in as a member on it's website but you have to pay a membership fee, which has a different cost for a different package. The website is very interesting and you can also sell your music online, and even sell them to US radio stations direct!

It's worth checking it out for composers/songwriters/singers or any music-lovers.

A Beethoven Recording

2006-09-21T23:33:00.000+08:00

I did a recording of the 1st movement of Beethoven's 5th Cello Sonata with Tang Jia this afternoon at the conservatory, and we had a lot of fun recording it. As the recording engineer is very good, plus the "reflective" accoustics of the rehearsal studio, our recordings sounded very professional and impressive.

I can't wait to get a copy of it when it's ready!

My Handphone

2006-09-20T21:20:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, my sis and I went for rehearsals/lessons at the conservatory, and when we reached there, I realised that I've left my handphone at home. I was charging it and I had forgotten all about it until then. Left with no choice, I went for my rehearsals.

After my 1st rehearsal, I had to borrow a handphone from a student to call the student for the 2nd rehearsal, as she was 10mins late. She arrived 5mins later to say she sms-ed me to say that she'll be late, but as my handphone was at home, I didn't get her sms.

Halfway through our rehearsal, my tiny mechanical pencil dropped behind the piano keyboard cover, so I had to borrow the student's handphone to call my sis, and ask her to call Eddie, the conservatory piano tuner, to come and help me get my pencil out.

After our rehearsal, I had to borrow the student's handphone again to call my sis to go home together.

When we finally reached home, I went straight to check my handphone and found that I had 1 missed call and 4 sms-es. 1 was from the student telling me that she would be 10mins late.

My goodness! How inconvenient it is when one doesn't have a handphone. I guess I'm too "pampered" by my handphone such that I "can't live" without it. I have realised the importance of having my handphone around at all times.

"I promise I'll never forget you again!"

Good Friends

2006-09-19T21:23:00.000+08:00

"This is Teddy and Me!"

"We are good friends."

"Tickle, tickle!"

"Let me tell you a secret!"

"Gasp! What's that smell?!"

"Heh! Heh!"

Cello Masterclass

2006-09-18T22:28:00.000+08:00

This evening, I played for a cello masterclass by American cellist, Stephen Framil, at the conservatory. He has a doctorate degree in music from Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker.

4 students played for him, and works performed included Shostakovich's 1st Cello Concerto (1st movement) and Cello Sonata (3rd and 4th movements), Stravinsky's Suite Italian (1st 3 movements) and Kodaly's Cello Sonata Op.8 for solo cello (1st movement).

Framil talked mostly about the bow arm and vibrato for the concerto and Suite Italian, and a few of us felt that maybe he didn't know the works well enough to talk about them. But when he came to the 2 sonatas, he was very at ease and he taught with such detail (especially for Kodaly) that he could have easily gone on and on if not for the time restrain.

The 2 and a half hour masterclass finally ended at about 8.30pm. I wished he had talked more about the concerto and Suite Italian, though.

It works!

2006-09-17T23:29:00.000+08:00

This morning, I went to check on the 2 lizard traps. I found a big, fat lizard trapped in the one next to the computer table. Unfortunately, the other one in my studio is empty. It's either the baby lizard is super smart, or the bait in the box is not tempting enough for it.

Nevermind. I'll leave the box for one more night and see how. If it's still not trapped by tomorrow, then I'm going to use insecticide.

To the baby lizard: I know where you're hiding!

Lizard Traps

2006-09-16T23:07:00.000+08:00

The irritating lizards in my house, including a baby lizard in my music studio, really got on my nerves, so I decided that I have to do something about it. Therefore, this morning, I went to NTUC to buy a packet consisting of 2 foldable lizard trapping boxes. They come with baits in the middle of a big patch of sticky surface. Tonight, I'll put 1 in my studio and 1 next to the computer table to see if it works. If it does, I'll go buy a few more to put in the other parts of the house.

Sickening lizards! Waste my money!

Well-done!

2006-09-13T22:21:00.000+08:00

This morning, I went to the conservatory to rehearse with Ekachai for the conservatory's Concerto Competition Finals. He played Elgar's Cello Concerto.

When we got to play at about 12.30pm, we were told beforehand by the head judge that we would be stopped halfway through the slow, 3rd movement, but in the end, they listened to the whole concerto. Later in the afternoon, Ekachai called me to say that he won 1st prize. I was, and still am very happy for him. He really deserves it.

Well-done, Ekachai!

A Night Out

2006-09-09T23:31:00.000+08:00

I had dinner with Judy, my JC classmate, this evening at Ang Mo Kio Central's Jack's Place Restaurant. We chose the place because we like it's cosy atmosphere. Tonight's dinner was also my pre-birthday treat from her. Thanks, Jude! :) We chit-chatted about everything, including lasik eye surgery which she did some time back. She has perfect eye-sight now and she's really happy with the end result. After talking more about that, I was, sort of, tempted to give it another try, but we'll see.

After dinner, we went to nearby Courts to look at laptops and furniture. After browsing through the store for a while, I ended up buying a clothes rack, while Judy bought a nice red foldable chair. I was very tempted to buy it as it was really comfortable, especially the head-rest, but I didn't want any naggings at home, so I decided against buying it. :(

Maybe I'll dream about it tonight...

Unfortunate "Accident"

2006-09-02T23:52:00.000+08:00

I finally have some time to update my blog.

This past week especially, has been packed with happenings such as our SSO rehearsals and concerts, YST Conservatory rehearsals, lessons and Concerto Competition Preliminaries, rehearsals with students taking their ABRSM and Trinity Graded and Diploma examinations, and my own teachings.

This morning, my sis and I went to the Conservatory to play for the preliminaries of the Concerto Competition. Ekachai and Yi Bin played very well and I'm very happy that they both got through to the Finals, which will be held on the 13th September.

In the evening, together with our parents, we went to VCH early to get ready for our 2nd "Mozartiana" concert with the SSO, where we played Mozart's Concerto for 2 Pianos in E flat Major. The past few orchestral rehearsals and last night's concert had gone quite well, especially the cadenza of the last movement. Very unfortunately, tonight's cadenza wasn't as good as last night, due to some very unfortunate "accident".

I hope I can get over it as soon as possible. If not, it's going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

Rare Musical Genius

2006-08-19T17:05:00.000+08:00

Below is the link to a video showing a very talented 3-year old little girl on the xylophone. She's someone to watch out for!

http://www.robpongi.com/pages/comboMOKINHI.html

Helen

2006-08-16T22:46:00.000+08:00

Helen (middle) and friends

I received my British friend, Helen's email today, and it is great to receive her news after such a long time. She's a classical singer and has a very good voice, not to mention that she's a really nice lady too.

I remember meeting her the first time in 2000, and we had many fun sessions together, me on the piano, she, vocally, and we worked through many songs by composers such as Duparc, Schumann, Wagner, Gershwin and Reynaldo Hahn. As that period was just before the Lunar New Year, I invited her to our family reunion dinner. She gladly accepted and we all had a very enjoyable and memorable dinner. It was also her first reunion dinner with a chinese family, so that was very special for us all.

Later that same year, when I went to UK, she kindly invited me to stay over at her nice and cosy little appartment. She also took time off her busy schedule to show me around.

Helen came to Singapore again early last year and I invited her and her friend to my house for another family dinner. We also took some time off to work out more new songs together, which we hope to perform in a concert in the near future.

Helen, hope to see you sometime soon! :)

Another Day

2006-08-15T23:12:00.000+08:00

I played for someone's exam this morning and his examiner was the famous London-based Malaysian pianist, Dennis Lee. What a small world! He's still the same soft-spoken, goody-goody guy.

After the exam, I met Corinna Chang, an established piano teacher and also Director of Klassique Music (www.klmusik.com.sg) , a music school at Balmoral Plaza. It was nice seeing her again, and she showed me her music school and we had a nice time catching up.

At 8pm, I had accompaniment with Li Mao at the conservatory, and as the building is huge and quiet at night, it was quite scary. I sort of miss the old interim building which is much smaller and cosier, but I like our new accompanist studio as it is much brighter (a whole wall of windows) than the old window-less one. Yanmin joined us later, and as I said in my earlier NZ posts, there're lots of laughter around these 2 jokers. The NZ days with them were really fun!

Time for bed. Will write again soon! Good night!

Goodbye, Cyst!

2006-08-14T22:15:00.000+08:00

I finally went to a doctor to get rid of the irritating cyst on my left upper eyelid this morning. The cyst has shifted downwards to the edge of the eyelid and it cost me so much discomfort that I decided to bring forward my appointment for tomorrow evening to today. I don't think I could wait another day anymore.

The doctor said the cyst was infected, which explained the discomfort. She first injected anaesthetic to my eyelid, then she made a tiny cut to let out the pus. Then it was over in a few minutes.

Now, even though my eyelid is still a little swollen, I'm just glad to have gotten rid of the cyst. I pray hard that it won't return ever again!

From YST Conservatory To Esplanade Recital Studio

2006-08-11T23:48:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, at 4pm, my sis and I attended the Director's Welcome Speech at the new conservatory's concert hall (above photo) to introduce newbies, current students and staff. It has a seating capacity of 650, and we're looking forward to performing there. As there're quite a number of newbies this semester, life at the conservatory looks set to become more and more interesting.

After that, my sis, Liu Jia and I skipped the reception and went up to our accompanist studio to look at the new arrangements and we're quite pleased with it. The only problem is the Steinway & Sons baby grand in our room. Someone "stole" the piano key lock, so there's a gaping hole on the piano, where the key lock used to be. Also, Singapore's main Steinway & Sons agent, Robert Piano's logo on the right hand side of the piano was also gone. Now in it's place, is a sticky mass of glue which was used to glue the logo to the piano.

Suan (in blue) and me with "our" Steinway piano.

We left at about 5.10pm as I have to be at the Esplanade Recital Studio for a 5.30pm rehearsal with Tee Khoon for the Singapore National Youth Orchestra chamber concert at 8pm. We would be playing Beethoven's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8 in G.

When we reached there, we saw many familiar faces, such as Hoe Kit, Ike, Alan, Nicholas, Yi Bin, Cheryl and Beatrice. A few of us did some catching-up while waiting for our turn to rehearse. Then we had our delicious roast chicken rice dinner, kindly provided by Mrs. Wong, the GM of SNYO.

Tee Khoon, me, Ike and Hoe Kit

The concert started at about 8.05pm and Tee Khoon and I played at about 8.20pm. We played through the whole sonata, and besides a few stupid slips on my part, it was otherwise very exciting and enjoyable. I guess the audience also liked it, judging by their immediate warm applause.

We both went back to our room and Beatrice came in a while later to chit-chat.

I left at about 9.15pm to pick up Suan at Paragon. There was a jam from the Esplanade all the way to Dhoby Ghaut, due to road works and also, people parking their cars by the road to watch the fireworks. I finally arrived at Paragon after 25mins, and it was another jam from Paragon to CTE on the way back home.

What an interesting day!

Shopping Sprees

2006-08-09T23:22:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I was in Jurong East to play for someone's exam, and as I was early, I did a little shopping and ended up buying 7 skirts for a total of $207. 2 of them are denim material. Another 2 are for my sis-in-law. It may be a little pricey, but the skirts are really comfortable, so it's worth the buy.

Today, which is also Singapore's National Day, I spent about one day shopping with my family and relatives. We ended up buying lots of clothes and some accessories, and we were all very pleased with what we've bought. It was really enjoyable!

Maybe we should plan another shopping spree soon! :P

Happy Birthday, Almond!

2006-08-07T21:50:00.000+08:00

Today is Almond's birthday.

We were talking about his and Berry's birthdays a few days earlier, but unfortunately, no one remembered it today. It only occured to me that it's his special day only just now. I guess it must be due to what happened yesterday. Both he and Berry dugged holes in the garden, and were punished by my dad. So I guess no one was in the mood to remember it. Feeling guilty, I went up to Almond and sang him the "Happy Birthday" song. Both he and Berry looked at me with question-marks on their faces. Then I gave them some tidbits before locking them up for the night.

Almond, I promise we'll remember your birthday every year from now on, no matter what happens.

Happy Birthday! *muack!*

Learning To "Fly"

2006-08-05T19:06:00.000+08:00

Day Shaan is learning to "fly".

Struggling to "take off".

Still stuck on the ground.

Gave up in the end.

Travel Bug

2006-08-04T22:24:00.000+08:00

I spent much of today surfing the net for suitable photos for my new blogskin, and I chance upon a number of really wonderful photography websites with beautiful photos to match. I've added them to my photography links. Looking at those photos, especially the travel ones, make me want to chuck everything aside and just travel the world and take pictures. The more I look at the photos, the more I itch to visit those beautiful places. In my next life, if I'm not a musician, I will want to be a travel photographer or a travel host. It's just great being able to travel the world, looking at different cultures, trying out different cuisines and visiting exotic and scenic places. It's my perfect dream.

I shall make it a point to visit as many places as possible before my time runs out. Afterall, life is short so live it to the fullest.

Next Trip

2006-08-03T23:20:00.000+08:00

This morning, Mei Yei came for lesson and instead, we chatted for about 2 hrs. She has just returned from Munich where she spent a month on a German-language scholarship. We exchanged our Munich-Christchurch experiences, and after hearing her interesting account, I couldn't wait to visit the country. We sort of agreed to visit parts of Germany and France together next June, and we plan to spend about a month on the trip. That'll mean we'll be out of touch with the piano for a month, so we plan to look for lodgings with pianos or near music shops. Can't afford to have rusty fingers when we get back.

Oooh! I can't wait!

Late Night Out

2006-08-03T01:54:00.000+08:00

Last evening, after rehearsal, LM, LYM, LH and I had dumplings for dinner. LM did all the cooking for the dumpling fillings as well as her veggy soup, and I must say she's quite a good cook. The rest of us helped to wrap the dumplings and it made me feel like I was back in Paris again. During one lunar new year back then, my sis and I and a group of Taiwanese friends would gather in our hostel kitchen to make dumplings and Taiwanese onion pancakes.

We ate and chit-chatted, and after dinner, LH left first to meet a friend. LM, LYM and I then headed for Kbox in Clementi, where we sang till about 1am. As I was still having a little sore throat, I managed to sing only 3 songs. LM and LYM sang their hearts out, and I must say that they, especially LYM, have quite good voices.

By the time I reached home, it was almost 1.40am.

What a night!

Ho, Ho, Ho

2006-08-01T22:47:00.000+08:00

I played for A's exam this afternoon, and her examiner looks like Santa Claus. He's rather big in size and he has a nice, bushy beard. His kind, fatherly face puts you at ease right away. He's also very friendly and appreciative. Won't it be nice if all examiners were like him? Then they'll make exams less stressful.

Lunch With Vincent

2006-07-31T19:00:00.000+08:00

My sis and I had lunch with well-known Canadian producer-songwriter, Vincent DEGIORGIO today at Muthu's Curry at Race Course Road. He's here for a few days on a social visit to meet up with friends. It was nice seeing him again since last September. We had a nice chat and the food at Muthu's is very delicious, though very spicy. I'll definitely go there again.

Onion Remedy

2006-07-30T21:52:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I found out from a student's mum that putting sliced onions beside you when you sleep can help to kill germs, especially when you are sick. It can also make you feel better the next day. You can also put the onions anywhere around the house that are germs-infected. She has been using this method whenever her kids are sick and it has always worked.

The mum kindly brought me a plate of sliced onions today to put in my studio to kill my flu germs, so my studio now stink of onions. The smell is so strong that I felt like vomitting everytime I open the door, but for health's sake, I had to bear with it.

Hopefully this method will work for me so I don't have to visit a doctor anymore. Haha.

Where Is The Music Spirit?

2006-07-29T23:12:00.000+08:00

This evening, my sis told me the results of the Trinity competition held at NAFA, and how a not-deserving pianist managed to get a prize, while 2 very deserving pianist didn't win anything. I wasn't surprised. After attending and playing for so many competitions here and abroad, I've come to understand one thing:-

If you want to take part in a competition, you don't have to play well. You just need a very influential teacher and you'll be safe and bound to go through all the way to the finals. Not surprisingly, you may also win a prize, whether you deserve it or not.

After taking part as accompanist at a recent international competition, I found that the biography of competitors and who their teachers are, are very important. 1 competitor has 2 of the most famous names in the international music scene as teachers, so even though he acted like a clown on stage and his playing was so-so during the quarter-finals, he somehow managed to get to the semifinals. Another competitor has a Naxos recording contract under her belt, so even though she played like s*** during the quarter-finals, she got through all the way to the finals and eventually won 3rd prize. Not forgetting that during the quarter-finals, she played on the instrument belonging to the head of jury, as her own instrument got "lost". She was given a few to choose from and not suprisingly, only the one belonging to the "high-and-mighty" suited her. Her own instrument miraculously appeared after the quarter-finals. It is no wonder that most of the other competitors hated her. Sadly, a very deserving and talented competitor with no impressive background was shown the door at the quarter-finals.

In another competition, the judges consisted of teachers, and the competitors? Their very own students. So it was a fight between the teachers as to which of their students should get through to the next round. They gave their own students very high marks and other students, as low as possible. 1 judge even gave a competitor (obviously not his student) 0 mark even though everybody expected this competitor to win the top prize. It was later speculated that the judge knew of how strong the competitor was, so he booted him out first, so that his own student would be safe. Not surprisingly, his own student won the grand prize, even though he missed 2 lines of the concerto during the finals!

Very unfortunately, the above are real-life examples of what is happening in today's competitions (hopefully, not all!) around the world.

To the above judges:-

Aren't you suppose to judge a competitor by how well he played during the competition, and not who his teacher is, or how impressive his bio is?

Aren't you the least concerned that your judging has confused many people, such that they don't know anymore what is good playing?

Aren't you ashamed that you have lowered the general music standard doing what you did?

Aren't you ashamed that you have shown utter disrespect to the composers doing what you did?

In short, aren't you ashamed of yourselves?

The Haunted School

2006-07-28T22:33:00.000+08:00

This evening, a student told me that the school that she was teaching in is haunted.

Just earlier today, as she was walking up the stairs to the staff room, she heard someone whispering her name. She looked up and down the stairs, and around her, and couldn't see anyone. Feeling freaky, she quickly walked to the staff room and told one of her collegues.

In another incident sometime back, she locked up the band room before leaving for home. Early the next morning, she received a call from the school security asking her why she left the room door wide open, but she was very sure that she locked it.

She also told me that a student in her school has the 3rd eye. She sees 3 ghosts in the school, sometimes wearing the school uniform, sometimes headless. A number of students have also seen them wandering in the school premises.

Now is the lunar 7th month, also known as the "month of ghosts". May all the ghosts and spirits rest in peace.

Christchurch Concert Hall

2006-07-28T18:20:00.000+08:00

Christchurch Symphony Orchestra

1st Sitting Position

2006-07-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

My baby nephew tried sitting up on sunday. He could only manage a hunched-forward position at the moment. I can't wait for the moment when he could sit up straight! :)

NZ Taxis vs SG Taxis

2006-07-24T12:23:00.000+08:00

When I took my 1st taxi ride in Christchurch, I saw on the meter that the starting fare was NZ$2. I was very pleased that it's cheaper than Singapore, where the starting fare is now S$2.50.

I happily chit-chatted with the cabbie, and when I happened to glance at the meter again a few minutes later, I was shocked to see that the meter had jumped to NZ$8.40! I just couldn't believe my eyes! Then I stared at the meter to see how the fare works, and found that the meter jumps by 20 cents instead of 10 cents, like it does here in Singapore. I also found out that for every km, it costs NZ$2.40, and for every minute of waiting time, such as waiting at traffic lights, or worst, traffic jams, it costs NZ$1. In the end, my journey of less than 10mins cost me NZ$13.40! My goodness! It was so expensive!!! It cost more than the 20 min-trip from my home to the conservatory, where the distance between them is about 19km. Imagine if Singapore charges $2.40/km. For 19km, it'll cost $45.60, not including waiting time at traffic lights! And we'll have to pray really hard that there'll never be traffic jams!

Therefore, from now onwards, I shall stop complaining about our local taxi fares.

Yummy Souvenirs of Christchurch

2006-07-23T22:31:00.000+08:00

I just returned from Christchurch last evening. The city itself was quite boring, maybe because it was winter and most shops close early, not to mention the gloomy weather most of the time. Fortunately, I had LM and LYM with me. These 2 are real jokers and they really made my stay memorable.

The 1st day when we arrived in Christchurch, LM's host drove me to Thomas's Hotel, the hotel where I stayed for 4 days before shifting to YMCA, located just down the street. Maree, the friendly receptionist at the hotel, showed me my room at a quiet corner of the hotel. She then showed me an electric blanket on the bed and taught me how to use it. Before she left the room, I asked her if anyone has ever been electrocuted by the blanket. The amused lady giggled and said, "no, but you'll be the 1st one".

I then took a shower, and after wetting my hair, I reached for the shampoo and realised that I had forgotten to bring my l'Oréal shampoo and conditioner! After cursing at myself, I had no choice but to use the soap given by the hotel. Yuks! The next day, I was fortunate enough to find a l'Oréal hairdressing shop a few streets from my hotel, so I bought a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. I had many nice showers after that. Long live shampoo and conditioners!

Besides rehearsing with LM and LYM, and a little shopping around, there was nothing much to do at this time of the year in Christchurch. As we need to rehearse, get ready for the competition, and go for recitals at the festival, we can't really go out of the city. So we 3 found a solution --- EATING!

On the 3rd day, LM's host and her hubby brought the 3 of us to Willowbank to see kiwi birds and to have dinner there. The seafood (photo above) was quite nice, but I didn't like the raw mussels. I took one and nearly vomitted. As I didn't want to embarrass myself, I took big bites and quickly swollowed it. Then I rinsed my mouth with a glass of New Zealand red wine.

The next morning, LM and I walked to Harris' Cafe just next to YMCA for breakfast and we each had Pancake Stack (photo above: consists of fruit salad and yoghurt in between 3 layers of pancakes) for brunch. At about 5.20pm, the both of us and LYM went to the greek restaurant, "Santorini" for dinner, and I had Souvlaki (photo below), which is barbecued kebabs of lamb or chicken marinated in their specially created blend of nature's herbs and spices.

After that, we walked to "Party Warehouse" bar for a drink. We drank and chit-chatted till after 9pm. Then we left to return to YMCA, but we heard and saw a lady playing the keyboard at "The Viaduct" bar nearby, so we went in to listen to her instead. LYM asked for lamb chop and I asked for tea. LM burst out laughing while the amused waiter couldn't help grinning, and he told us that there're no lamb chops or tea at the bar. So we ordered a bowl of fries (photo below) and drank plain water.

On the 5th night, LM, LYM and I went to a vegetarian restaurant, "Deux de Lux" at the Arts Centre for dinner. The food was quite good, especially the fish fillet that I had.

On the 6th night, we 3 went to "Top Kapi Turkish Kebab House" for dinner and we had chicken, beef and lamb kebabs respectively. LYM also ordered garlic bread (photo above) as starter and it was really good. Very different from the garlic bread at pizza hut. It was a little oily but very, very tasty. Yummy!

The next evening, we went to the French restaurant, "Le Bon Belli" for dinner. After that, we visited a striptease club. As business was very slow that night, the bouncer charged the 3 of us NZ$10 altogether instead of the usual NZ$20 each. Aren't we lucky! LYM was quite fascinated with the dancers, and he jokingly asked why they entertained other men in the club instead of him. I told him that any sane nude dancers will hardly entertain a man sitting in between 2 female friends. After a while, LYM and I went to a pool table at the other side of the room and he taught me to play pool. It was very fun and I found that I played better with my left hand than my right.

On the 8th evening, we 3 went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner, and we also had homemade sake to warm ourselves up. Then we walked for about 1hr to "Garden City Bowls" to bowl. On the way there, we stopped by a huge Burger King fast-food restaurant for a drink to warm ourselves again as it was very cold and windy that night. At the bowling alley, we had coke, fries and sausages as snacks. We left at about 11.10pm, then we walked back to YMCA. On the way, we stopped by a Japanese restaurant for supper. We had fritters and seaweed soup and also more homemade sake.

On the 9th day, we had buffet dinner at a Korean restaurant. It cost us NZ$23 each and they had hardly anything on the buffet table. I wanted chicken meat and I couldn't find it, so I asked a waitress. She said "no chicken meat. Have chicken heart". Good grief! What kind of buffet is that??? In the end, I had wild mushrooms, vegetables, macaroni salad and potato salad instead. For a meal like that, it's really not worth the money.

The next day, I had omelette and toast for Harris' Cafe for brunch. It was delicious, but a little expensive --- NZ$11.

On the 11th day, LM, LYM and I went to "Red Lantern Hotpot Restaurant" for dinner. It was buffet style and it has lots of food to offer at a cheap price of NZ$20 each. We had our table filled with food and we ate and drank till we almost burst.

On the 12th night, and also the last night that I would be in Christchurch before returning home the next day, we 3 had dinner at "Tutto Bene", an Italian Restaurant and Pizzaria. The ambiance and food was very good. It cost us an average of NZ$30 each.

The next day, LM and LYM accompanied me to the airport and we had breakfast there. Later, on the plane, I had 2 fried fish fillets and mash potatoes for lunch, Tip Top Tub Vanilla ice-cream and Japanese rice crakers for tea, and spicy chicken with spaghetti noodles for dinner. I haven't had such delicious airline food for a long time.

When I reached Changi Airport, I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my family, who has came to pick me up.

In conclusion, this whole trip was a real feast for me, and I hope to have many more to come!

Greetings From Christchurch II

2006-07-20T23:13:00.000+08:00

Top Photo: Weekend market at the Arts Centre
2nd Photo: A brass ensemble performing at the weekend market
3rd Photo: Christchurch Art Museum at night
4th Photo: Direction signs at Christchurch Botanic Gardens
5th Photo: The Avon River in the Botanic Gardens

Greetings From Christchurch I

2006-07-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

Top photo: Ariel view of Christchurch
2nd photo: Thomas's Hotel, taken across the road from the Arts Centre
3rd photo: Christchurch Arts Centre with the city tram on the left
4th photo: A busker and his dog, Polly
5th photo: Inside the Great Hall, the competition venue for Adam International Cello Competition

Preparations...

2006-07-08T16:27:00.000+08:00

These past few days, I've been busy with teaching, rehearsals and packing for my New Zealand trip tomorrow night that I mixed up a student's time, and made her come all the way to my house for nothing. Sorry, A!

Today, I had last rehearsals with LM and LYM and we also played in a mini-concert at the conservatory for a few freshmen. The concert was just to let them run-through some of their competition programme in front of an audience.

Sigh! Still have some last-minute packing and a recording to do, and more teaching tomorrow. URGH!!!

Lastly, I hope that I can have access to the internet over there. I can't imagine 2 weeks without it!

Blonde Jokes

2006-07-04T22:26:00.000+08:00

I once knew a blonde that was so stupid that:

*She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice box because it said concentrate;

*She put lipstick on her forehead beacause she wanted to make up her mind;

*She tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order;

* She sent me a fax with stamp on it;

* She tried to drown a fish;

*She thought a quarterback was a refund;

* She got locked in a grocery store and starved to death;

* She tripped over a cordless phone;

*She took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept;

* She asked for a price check at the Dollar Store;

* She studied for a blood test;

* She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats;

* When she heard that 90% of all crimes occur around the home, she moved;

* When she missed the 44 bus, she took the 22 bus twice instead;

*When she took you to the airport and saw a sign that said "Airport Left", she turned around and went home.

Gas Leakage?

2006-07-03T23:05:00.000+08:00

A few days back, my sis and I came home late at night, and the first thing that greeted me was the smell of gas. I thought that there was a gas leakage somewhere so I asked my sis if she smelt it also. At first she said "no", so I did my own "investigations" and checked the gas oven in the kitchen. Everything was off and there was no sign of any leakage.

Then my sis smelt it.

We walked around the kitchen, sniffing hard at the air, trying to find out where the smell came from. Something made my sis open the refrigerator, and we finally found out the source of the gassy smell. It came from my mum's box of durians. The gas that we smelt was actually the smell of durians! Hahaha!

We both had a good laugh and we finally understood why so many people said that durians stink! :P

G. Bush Screensaver

2006-07-02T21:45:00.000+08:00

This is the most popular screensaver in the US nowadays. If he gets stuck, just move him with your cursor.

Have fun! :P

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm

A Magical Piano Recital

2006-07-01T23:04:00.000+08:00

This evening, I, together with my sis and D, attended the 3rd recital of the Piano Festival series, and were we glad that we didn't give it a miss!

The pianist for the night was 20-year-old Malaysian-New Zealander pianist, John Chen. He won the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition when he was only 18 years old, the youngest winner in the competition's 27-year history. Although young, his superbly mature and musical playing certainly surpass his age. He performed a programme of mostly French composers, and his playing was very sensitive and colourful throughout. Technically, he was impeccable. His playing was a total contrast to the 1st recital, and we all sat through the whole recital, totally absorbed in his magic. It has been a very long time since we've heard such a perfect performance, not forgetting that it was coming from such a young performer. He seemed very at ease and calm on stage and he had the piano totally under his control. It looked like he could continue playing the whole night, effortlessly.

After his performance, the audience didn't let him go without encores. He gamely played 3, much to the audience's delight. After that, we bought his CD recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and we also got his autograph.

We really hope to hear more of him in future. John Chen is certainly a great piano master in the making!

A Late Night Out

2006-07-01T18:09:00.001+08:00

Last night, I rehearsed with LM and LYM from 7pm to about 11.15pm at the conservatory. We're preparing for our trip to New Zealand next weekend for a cello competition.

My sis and D came to pick me up after the 2nd recital of the Piano Festival, then we headed to a 24-hr MacDonalds for supper. There was a group of people at a corner of Mac's, watching the World Cup on TV. Germany was playing against Argentina. Whenever each scored a goal, the group would cheer and clap loudly, and the 3 of us, we would break our conversation midway to listen out for the score. Later, we learnt that Germany beat Argentina to get into the top 8 teams. We chit-chatted till about 1pm, then we went our separate ways.

On our way home, D sms-ed us to tell us that his taxi driver asked him if we were his younger sisters, and D said yes. Hahaha! Thanks, D! We owe you a treat! :P

Egg-Shell Sculptures

2006-06-30T16:15:00.000+08:00

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

He Bangs, He Bangs

2006-06-29T23:23:00.000+08:00

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!

Modern Granny

2006-06-27T18:18:00.000+08:00

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!

A New Shuttle Service

2006-06-26T22:12:00.000+08:00

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.

A Mistake

2006-06-25T23:29:00.000+08:00

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!

TV Addicts

2006-06-22T23:32:00.000+08:00

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. :)

A Morning To Remember

2006-06-21T17:36:00.000+08:00

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! :)