Omg I really should be sleeping but...

Yes. It's 1.13am by my clock and I have again submitted to the lures of my computer.

I am currently under a lot of pressure and stress. There's SOO much to be done before I leave for my trip to Germany and I fear I will not have all the time I need to prepare everything.

Things yet to be done:

- Fill out early Voting form.

- Study hard for the UMAT

- Perhaps organise something for my birthday

- Finish learning and memorising the 4th movement of my Beethoven Sonata

- Perfect everything else in my repertoire

- Enter the Galson District Piano Eisteddfod

- Extend my Travel Insurance

- Organise some day-to-day Itineraries for Vienna/Berlin

AND SO MUCH MORE >:O

Oh, and to the main reason why I am posting this. Today I received a pleasant email from my Inbox with the following Subject: Masterclasses with Professor JP (yay!)

And this is how it goes:

18. INTERNATIONALER KLAVIERSOMMER 2010

MEISTERKURS Prof. JP (USA)

Dear participants,

we look forward to have you in Bad Bertrich very soon. Once again students from around the

world have signed up:

Esther Kim, Christopher Au (IT'S ME =D why Christopher? I have no idea), Paoley Tija, Sam Dharma, ......and the list goes on..

The closest train station to Bad Bertrich is Bullay/Mosel. Arriving from Frankfurt airport

you have to switch trains at Koblenz. Trains from the airport run every hour (direction Bonn-

Cologne) and take a little over one hour to get to Koblenz. In Bullay we can pick you up by

car. There is also bus service (not very frequently) and taxis. We recommend you arrive by

either one of these trains on Sunday August 8:

Koblenz

Bullay

13.23

14:06

15.23

16:06

These are trains on the line from Cologne to Luxemburg. Arriving from Cologne you may not

need to switch trains in Koblenz.

These are not the only trains, but those are the times we will be able to pick you up in

Bullay. If possible try to let me know when you plan to arrive. If possible do not arrive after

16:07, because then the time before the opening recital of the festival (7pm) featuring Anna

Malikova (Moscow) might be too short.

The concert is in the „Kurfürstliches Schlösschen“,

also the location of the master class. Bad Bertrich is a small town, everything is within

walking distance. The concerts are free for all students. Enclosed find the festival brochure.

We kindly ask you to mail us your time of arrival. Bad Bertrich has a bakery and convenience

stores. Please have the course fee ready in cash on Monday August 9 (no checks, no credit

cards).

Please bring appropriate attire for the master class final concert. Also bring bathing suits; the

admission to the fabulous new thermal spa is free to students.(coolies:P) The master class fee is due the

first days of class in cash (Euros). Please make plans to vacate the apartments on Saturday

Aug. 21 before noon. If you have very early return flights Saturday morning you may have to

go to Frankfurt Friday night. You will get your housing assignment upon arrival. Please let

me know now if for any reason you cannot attend the master class.

Sunday August 8 I can be reached all day by dialing 0171/49 41 653. If there are any

questions, please call, write, or email.

Very sincerely,

MS

Well, that's all I really wanted to share with you tonight.

On a very excited and jovial note - I BAKED COOKES!! Melting Moments to be precise. And they were very yummy and I wish I had made more :) More on that soon.

Gotta sleep, gonna try and wake up at 7am to do some UMAT before Church!

Hopeful

Ah, time to blog again.

It's been a while, I know. Almost a month, in fact. And guess who's going to Germany in a month?? ME !!! :DD

I get so excited thinking about this in bed that I end up tossing and turning, grinning from ear to ear, imagining how much fun it's going to be. It's probably why I've gotta get into the 'work hard, play hard' attitude. I don't think my life would be complete without travel. Does it sound insane to want to hire a car from London and drive it around Europe? Or even purchase a Complete Europe Rail Pass and visit villages, enter museums, maybe take up some odd jobs to earn a few bucks, then spend it all on food. I guess for Asians, being brought up by a very sheltered environment makes you timid; afraid to take that extra step.

Only this morning, when I told my mum I had gone jogging in the morning, she would frown, saying "You shouldn't run around in the morning, the cold winter air will hurt your lungs". A more extreme situation would be her trying to dissuade me from going to the City. She had heard about drunkards and beggars mugging Asian teenagers from the Chinese newspapers - DAMN the Chinese Newspapers !

I'm worried I may never be allowed out clubbing or partying - I'd be murdered if I returned home at 2 or 3am.

But there's SO much more to this world than just staying at home, studying. I wanna get out there and experience it. The only trouble is, I don't know whether these experiences should be when I'm young, or when I'm older.

On one hand, I have this vision where I would go overseas to study - possibly Music, if I get into Colburn Music School. And I would probably have the best time in my life. I would go overseas once or twice a year, travelling to Europe for Music Festivals, Concerts and International Competitions everywhere. There would be pressure, stress, plenty of sleepless nights, but I would enjoy it in retrospect. Then I'm thinking I might do Medicine at Melbourne University or Sydney University, settling down with a good job and hopefully a wonderful family.

But by then, I'd be quite old. Is that a problem?? I'd graduate when I'm 28/29, then enter a specialty, I'd only start earning 6 digit figures when I'm at least 35.

I'm just worried I'd grow old with lots of wonderful memories and experiences of when I was young, but without much more than a penny to live out the rest of my old age.

On the other hand, if I started studying now, getting into a good course (UNSW Med), graduate at around 25, occasionally travelling to Asia, maybe to Europe on a rare occasion, then earning, saving lots of money. Ultimately, I'd retire early and live out the rest of my life (with someone :P) and THEN travel and experience the world.

I'm just not so sure which path I'm supposed to take. Any advice?

Anyway, to a more cheerier subject - what I've been up to recently!

I've been out and about a little more and boy, everyone I talk to now seems to be partying late, going out and meeting girls/guys. It must be University, and I don't think I can wait any longer for a dose of it.

I realise I've been going out on quite a few lunch 'dates'. It's actually very very fun to meet up with people and have brunch or even a cup of coffee. If there's anybody who's up for lunch/coffee, let me know ! :) Recently, I've taken a keen interest in Cafes, and I'd love to go out and try out a few more :D So who's up for lunch?

June 22

Mindy texted me one morning after my piano lesson and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn't heard from her in AGES and knowing how busy she usually is, how I'm always at home XD, it's no wonder I hadn't had a chance to chat. SY decided she would tag along (what a loser haha) and so we met up at Epping station and walked down to Cafe Topiary.

I had opted for this place because having bought the Entertainment Book, I had a '25% off the bill' voucher - yes, I'm serious. I had never tried it and neither had they, so why not? :)

Here's Mindy posing with my cup of VERY strong coffee. I had decided that I would try something different and new. Little did I know that what I had picked would come in such a small size!

Luckily, I had ordered soy milk with it and that served to nullify some of the bitter quality of the Coffee.

Wow, my camera is quite amazing hehe. This is Mindy with her Mocha, I think.

The Cafe had their own website until recently, and now it's down.... I was counting on it to remember some of the Menu. And Here comes the Food !

This would be my Big Breakfast Deluxe or something. It doesn't look like a lot, but it was definitely filling. I really like what they did with the Smoked Salmon - it looks like one of those Salmon Rolls at a Sushi Train. I have to admit, I wasn't very daring with this choice, but nevertheless, very tasty :D

SY had some Chicken Parmigiana with Smoked Salmon and a generous slice of Avocado. I remember her being quite full and happy with that, so it was probably worth it :)

This was Blue Cheese and Chicken wrapped with Bacon. Oh boy, that doesn't sound very appetising - I'm certain it sounded better on the Menu. This, was also very nice.

I think I can safely say that Cafe Topiary was quite a tasty experience. The service was very friendly and though the food was slightly overpriced, it was delivered with generous portions. The place could have been decorated a bit more - I saw some cushions and bean bags still unwrapped in a corner, so they're probably still in the process of decorating the place. I think the total price of that was around $41.60 (with my voucher), so that's pretty good !

I must leave now.

Richard just called and has offered me a job accompanying this girl for her competitions - which happens to be in the same place as mine!

The songs she's singing are absolutely beautiful - short (which is good :P), quite easy to play but so pretty!

I shall leave you with this song which I have liked for..ever, really. I used to listen to Rage on ABC every morning before it was no more, along with Video Hits. This was a song which never made it to like Take 40 or those countdowns, but SUCH a good song. I love Twista's rapping and the words in this song. It has clips from Coach Carter which are also interesting.

I especially like the Chorus:

Cuz I'm hopeful, yes I am, hopeful for today,

Take this music and use it

Let it take you away,

And be hopeful (hopeful) and He'll make a way

I know it ain't easy but that's okay.

Let's be hopeful!

Enjoy !