I wish everyday was as fun and exciting as this Wednesday

I had one of the most wonderful Wednesdays this week and as with all my blog posts, I dedicate them to my friends and to all the beautiful people in my life because without them, there'd be no one to share my food, musical and everyday experiences with.

Woke up a lot earlier than usual to do some work. Was super excited to be meeting up with Bella in the arvo so I practiced piano and finished some a musicianship harmony and a harmonic analysis. I'm getting a lot better at doing them both and with the exam in less than 2 months, I just hope I can learn all my theory in time :(

Travelling to the city, I always like to read on the train. Recently I started reading "Like The Flowing River" by Paulo Coelho. It's a book of reflections and thoughts from his online blog, compiled into a small book. It's filled with many beautiful stories, anecdotes, experiences in his life he shares with a charming wit and beauty. I really want to share this short story, as it was one that got me thinking as I gazed out the window in the train:

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked: ‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:

I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special. ‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

source: “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho

I really really love Paulo Coelho's books because of these little gems of wisdom that fill the pages of his novels. I don't know how he comes up with these - I suspect he adapts them from various sources he has - but they're just so fitting and I feel wiser myself with every story. He has loads of them - www.paulocoelhoblog.com - if you're interested :)

Moving on, I'm not a frequent traveler to the city and so when I walked to UTS to meet up with Bella, I took a major detour and ended up being quite late. She took me to Charlie Lovett for a chat and she even shouted me a drink - Freckled Ice Chocolate whilst she had the Blended Ice Chocolate. The Freckled Ice Chocolate contained very small 'freckles' of chocolate (Sexy Ecuadorian Chocolate) in it and whilst being very tasty at first, becomes annoying when all the freckles sink to the bottom and clog up the straw. The Blended Ice Chocolate was much richer in chocolate and I actually prefer it - it being cheaper by a dollar too! Nevertheless, I had a great time chatting with her :D If you read this, and I know you do sometimes, THANK YOU :D

Somehow, every time I have a conversation with someone, if we manage to talk for long enough, it always ventures towards the future and our plans for it. It's daunting because I'm still in the segway between high school and university, but so many others are beyond that, earning money on a cadetship, starting internships, going on exchanges and so much more. I don't regret my choice of music and not going to Uni yet, but I can't help but wonder what I would be doing instead if I had gone for USYD Comm/Law. Would I be happy? What would have become of me?

After she had to go home, I rung up a few people - they were still at uni and so I met up with Smel, Sandhya and a guy called Scott. It was my first time to the UTS Haymarket Campus and boy was it filled with Asians. I thought S was going to study so I brought some stuff to do until dinner with B but instead, ended up chatting for almost 3 hours! Once again, seeing people all suited up and talking about which firms they wanna work in makes life feel so real. It was so awesome to talk to Sandhya about Baulko hehe I really missed that school. It was the type of school you loved not for what it was, but for the friends, the people who made up the school and all the great times and things that happened there.

Met up with Bosco and more people from our musical group all came along to join us for dinner. Bought some food from Chinatown and had it at Market City. Got called up to pick up Kel from Town Hall station and so ran all the way to Town Hall with Smel to try and find her because apparently her phone had run out of batts :P Bumped into Joseph on the way there and it was pretty cool because he was going with us too! :D Gave up after looking for 10 minutes - we figured she was smart enough not to wait at Town Hall and miss the musical - she knew it was at Star City anyway :P

And what do you know, there she was! Met up with all 16 of the people who were interested to seeing it with us and WHAT A GREAT MUSICAL IT WAS!

I got a little annoyed when it was compared to Wicked because Dr. Zhivago is a musical in a different dimension. It's a musical not solely there to entertain. Wicked was a fantastic musical because of its visual appeal as well as its many humourous moments. Of course, the music was memorable and there were a few songs like Defying Gravity and Popular. Doctor Zhivago is different because of all the themes, emotions and events it manages to deal with. For me, the best part of it was its ability to capture your heart and make you feel everything that was happening in the moment, whether it was in the song, the dialogue or the drama. And who could forget Mr. Warlow as Dr. Zhivago. He was just as good as I thought he'd be but not as good as I imagined him to be. I wanted to hear more raw passion in his voice and instead, I heard a wonderful and clean technique, blending oh-so-well with the other principal females. I wanted to hear him take on higher notes, bigger climaxes and feel the frustration, anger and love that was the character of Dr. Zhivago.

The music was very well sung and there were a few memorable songs, especially 'Now'. That is a truly great duet which I don't mind listening to all day long. It's getting late and I'm losing concentration, but this was definitely worth all the money I paid for it. The musical dealt with a lot of issues and for some, I can understand if you thought it was rushed, but it captured the emotion and feelings of the characters and moments very well. I'd gladly go and see it again.

I leave you with this photo of us as a group :)

We bought out a whole rectangle of seats - all 16 of us - and this is our row, minus Belle and Smel on my left. Top row coming up next!

Yes, I know the photo's blurry but we look oh-so-happy here!

Gonna go to bed zzzz. Have to wake up in 5 hours for my piano lesson :(

Performing at Burwood RSL, Pigging out at Churrasco!

Quick update on what I've been up to for the past week!

Thursdays and Fridays are always very hectic for me. They're the days I do the most music mainly because I have to prepare for Friday lesson and on Fridays I have a piano lesson AND a musicianship lesson. I usually sleep really late (3am) on Thursday nights to finish off my work. I don't know how I survive Fridays without getting sick or dozing off. I guess that thanks to my ability to sleep in the car on the way to lessons, I manage to get a bit of shuteye :)

Saturday was quite an interesting day for me. Back in January, our Youth Group went to a Chinese Retirement Village in Castle Hill to visit the elderly, play Bingo with them (more like play for them) and perform a few songs for them - getting them to sing along. It was loads of fun and a few of the Aunties asked us to come back to play for Senior Citizen Week in Burwood.

Unfortunately, everybody was busy that Saturday and so they asked me to do a little piano recital for them at Burwood RSL Club. I was given around 10 minutes to do whatever I wished on their 'piano'. Little did I know what piano they would give me. I was expecting an upright piano - a small grand if I was very lucky. What I got instead was well, a little surprising.

This is me playing Yamaha's fusion of a grand piano and an electric keyboard. It looks like a very very small grand piano, the keys and the pedals feel very real. But the way the sound was created was entirely electric so when I tried to play loudly, it didn't happen!! Funnily enough, nobody gave a rat's ass as long as I played something nice for them to listen to.

There was talking throughout my whole performance and well, I couldn't care less. I played a Chopin Nocturne, Debussy's Gardens in the Rain and a piece I composed myself. Well, actually - I just improvised on a melody I made up and said that I 'composed it for the senior citizens' hehe.

The event was actually quite big and I played for 200 or so people. It was an event subsidised by the government and one of the representatives V. Judge was there, along with the Mayor and his Deputy. They were all making great speeches about how happy they are to be here and teaching the old people how to vote for Labor. It was funny because they spoke to everyone like they were children - "I was the one who rallied the government for your new bus! I told them, this is WRONG, kind elderly citizens like you should not be left trapped in your homes. It's not right!". I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

There were other performances by some Chinese dancers, a few Chinese choirs - they did some old Classics like "Moon represents my heart - Teresa Teng" and the Chinese national anthem and lots more. The funny thing was, they had no shame! Some of them were close to their 90s and they just sang their heart out, singing and dancing with the music. Makes me realise how insignificant age is - because you can still have a great time, smile and be called 'handsome' even when you're old!

I met an Italian couple - the only non-Asian people there. They were such lovely people - I have a big soft spot for Italian people. They spoke Italian to each other and the husband, who spoke pretty good English and had a very contagious smile loved my music and loved to talk with me. When he asked me how old I thought he was - I said around 60? Imagine my surprise when he told me he was actually 84! :O

We talked for a very long time. The wife told me how to make tomato paste, the husband talked about Italy and drinking wine. They were quite sad to see me go after my free lunch.

SUNDAY was another crazy long day. Went to play for the 9am mass, then Youth Mass rehearsal at a totally new location. We were placed in the staff room instead and it's a smaller space so everybody was squished but we improvised and it was quite fun :D I'm really starting to get the hang of leading praise and worship. I'll probably go to Rice this year to see how they do it and learn something. There's something very special about the big Christian Worship rallies that gets you all hyped up, inspired and in love with God. It's such a wonderful feeling.

Returned home after the 11.30am mass and lunch to practice piano before heading out to my friend's 21st birthday party at Churasco Brazilian style BBQ =D

I was a little reluctant to go because I was SO tired after my morning but I wouldn't want people to bail on my birthday, so I ate a whole heap of fruit - for the sugar, and rushed out to catch the train with J to the city. The place, though expensive - $35 for all you can eat MEAT, was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. SO. MUCH. MEAT.

I had a peak at their kitchen and it's just filled with meat, skewed on a long steel rod turning round and round, glistening and cooking to perfection.

My first servings of Mid-rump steak and some other part of the cow. All very well marinated, with sauces at your table. The round green sticker-looking pieces of paper were there to notify the waitresses to give MORE or to stop giving more food to you. Of course, mine was turned to GREEN - give me more please - the whole night :D

Really good cuts of meat - tender and juicy. With the special spices they give you, it slides into your mouth and down your throat within a few juicy bites.

My first plateful ^^ of food. Seriously, once they get started, the food just KEEPS on coming. You can see the Mozarella cheese on the left, then a slide of lamb (rare and oh so tender), chicken breast on the top left hand corner, honey mustard ham on its right, with rice, creamy potatoes, sausages and rice. There was a vast variety of food available and we just kept saying YES even before they asked us if we wanted some :D

Then we got crackling pork belly, cheesy bread, scotch fillet marinated with a mustard-like sauce, small sausages and there was a particularly spicey beef steak they gave us later I forgot to capture onto my camera in my eating enthusiasm :D

My awesome friends from Church - there are a lot more but a lot of them couldn't make it. Everyone looks super happy here and very full too! :D This would be the group where cantonese and english are alternated with lightning fast speed. The stories they told me about their adventures together were hilarious and very entertaining. I had a really amazing time with these people. It takes dinners together, camps and quality time spent together to really get to know each other and I'm so glad I didn't bail on this dinner!

Had a really nice chat with J after dinner on the train back home. I hope we all go for our dreams, because those who follow their dreams and don't give up - I believe - will find true happiness. Everybody has their vocation in this lifetime and to find it, then find satisfaction in it is a lifetime goal which I think is the key to leading a life with no regrets. So all you out there who have dreams, GO. FOR. IT. It's not too late, don't let money stop you, and most importantly, don't let yourself stop you.

One of my all-time favourite quotes (one I write in front of my music scrapbook to motivate me :D)

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

— Mark Twain

So there's my week. Hope all you out there has been having an even better one. I'm going to see DOCTOR ZHIVAGO tomorrow! Super excited and really hoping it will be a fun night.

Ticket delivery!

I absolutely LOVE receiving things from the mail. Whether those things are books or anything else really that's addressed to me, I love the feeling of opening up the parcel or envelope and seeing what's inside.

And so it was extra extra exciting when I opened up a yellow envelope to find THESE:

Well, there's actually four all linked together but the camera's too small to let me capture them all in one frame. We're going to see it WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 8pm =D I can't wait. It's probably not the most outstanding musical in the world, because it's still relatively new and it's based on a more tragic and dramatic theme, but I know that it's a musical that's worth seeing! I'll be sure to type up a little review with a few pics (hopefully) afterwards. I pray and reallyyy hope that we get Anthony Warlow - so Mr Warlow, if you have the time to follow my blog LOL, please perform on that night. pretty please :)

That's all for now. More news from Japan especially about the nuclear crisis and big earthquakes that are only aftershocks - I kinda feel like I should have used the money from the tickets to donate to Japan. I love that country, I love their people, their arts, culture and technology. Stay strong!!

Praying for the World

A quick post before I get some good ole shuteye.

Had a very busy day today. Woke up at 10.30 XD and realised I had barely 6 hours to practice piano. So I shot out of bed, quickly brushed my teeth, checked my mail and made my extremely filling breakfast drink. Instant oats + chocolate + walnut tea with milk. Much better than Up n Go :D

Practiced like mad for the next 2 hours till lunch and saw the death toll of Japan skyrocket to more than 10,000. Complete shock. I imagine how much I've experienced in my life and as Paulo Coehlo calls it, each life is a universe - a universe of emotions, experiences, loves, hates and efforts. 10,000 of them, just blown away. I have this tragic image in my head of 10,000 candles just blown out by a massive gale of wind. How can man say they control the universe and the world? How can we say that you can do anything as long as you have money? It's nuts when our ego makes us feel invincible and powerful - because earthquake could be the end of you. I've really learnt to appreciate life more and to really make the most of everyday.

Afterwards, talked to my dad about the situation in Libya and I like how he always gives me the alternate side of things. He asks me how I think these protestors are funded? How did they get all the machinery and artillery to protest? And he tells me the chilling story of America funding wars and violent protests in secret so the civil turmoil will eventually result in America 'saving' the country and claiming authority over it. Usually those places are places where they can benefit - oil. He asks me how terrorists are funded? Who are the enemies of the Americans? Why does America choose to back up Taiwan in its attempt to gain independence from China?

It's a sly, cruel and truly complicated world we live in.

Back to piano practice and i'm really enjoying the new piece I'm playing - the Dante Sonata by Liszt. It's based by an epic poem called The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. I'm starting to get the hang of this piece and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I do hope I can perform it for my friends some time :D

Then I went and taught for 2 and a half hours. It's rewarding I guess, when they practice and when I see the smiles on their faces, but it's so tiring. I had barely 30 minutes between two students to have a bite of dinner and pack my badminton stuff.

BADMINTON was amazingly fun. For the first time, I played a game with the adults instead of mucking around with my friends. I was caught off guard and couldn't really find my rhythm, but it was fun and I got a few good shots in. Then I mucked around with my friends and then played a singles match with my very lanky and tall friend. It was intensely fun and so exhilarating to have the court to yourself and unleash tricky drop shots, powerful smashes and crafty net shots :D

I then played a doubles match. It was mighty funny because it was two tall and lanky people versus two short people haha but we ALMOST WON, if not for me getting quite tired and losing concentration. We lost 14-15!! It was one of the few times the match went into deuce. I need to practice my tricky drop shots and find ways to not use up all my energy so quickly!!

Had a hectic day and need some shuteye!

Graduation

Probably don't have time for Luxembourg today bahaha gosh I'm not very good at keeping my blog promises.

Drove with mum to UNSW today (on a Sunday), not to go to Uni - hell no! but to go to the AMEB graduation ceremony that I was invited to. In hindsight, I really don't think it's worth it. It's all classy because we are told to wear gowns and stoles according to which award you're getting (Amus or Lmus). I was going to catch the train then bus it to UNSW, but after looking out at the blistering hot weather, then looking down at my black pants, shoes and long sleeved shirt - I decided against it.

The gowns are soo annoying. There aren't any buttons or anything to keep it in place, so it kept falling off my shoulders everytime I moved around too much or sat down. The stole was another unnecessary accessory I wore. It hung from my neck and kept slipping to one side. Very annoying. I wish I could wear the hoods that people with more academic achievements were wearing. you're not meant to WEAR the hoods on your head - just meant to rest on your shoulders. I really don't understand these ceremonies. Half the examination boards looked like court jesters with their funny colours and head gear they wore onto the stage hehehe.

Think I better show you what I mean :P

That would be me in the middle with my two new friends whom I met at the ceremony. Surprisingly, they were all older than me. One's doing commerce, actuarial studies and the other comm/law haha kudos to them, hanging in there with music :D

Ceremonies like these remind me of Presentation Nights and Awards Days back in High School, though with less speeches and excellent musical entertainment - not that the entertainment by us Jazz Ensemble wasn't amazing. These performances were short and oh so sweet. I never knew the Euphonium could sound so beautiful. I also fell in love with a violinist playing a beautiful 3rd movt of a sonata fantasie by Franck.

Afterwards, I bumped into a lot of people! I saw Mr Wong, Pattypoo and Grubsy! Pat just came back from Medcamp and Grubsy was there to support his little cousin who got her Amus :P I swear she had more flowers from her parents and family than any of the performers there! And I went home empty handed. Nobody thought to hand me some flowers :(

Upon persuasion by Grubs, his parents and my mum, I reluctantly paid $115 to have my certificate put up on a plaque so I can 'show off' to my students that I have so and so award and qualification. I think I much prefer my trophies :D

Big day of practice tomorrow. Gta get some shuteye. Hopefullly get a hair cut soon...REALLY need it :( it's like a mop on my head. yarrkkk

The Way You Are

Did something really silly on Thursday night. But before I go into that, just a quick update.

I am now officially going to World Youth Day Madrid this August, from August 7 to August 25. Afterwards, I'm really hoping to stay a little longer afterwards to go to Rome and maybe visit some cities in Italy. And because this isn't just a holiday - it's a pilgrimage - there are WYD formation events I have to attend in preparation (spiritually and linguistically) for Madrid.

The pilgrimage I'm going on is called Pilgrim's Way and is one of four pilgrimage packages that the Parramatta Diocese have and I'm going on this one because my parish priest Fr Fernando is leading this one and it's super exciting. Going to land in Barcelona, spend a few days there, then go up to the south of France (Lourdes) for another few days, then back to Madrid. There'll be a few bus/train rides I'm sure, but there's going to be lots of walking with a massive rucksack on my back.

As part of the WYD preparation formation events, there are nights when I have to go to a particular Parish Hall (like St. Pats or the one in Penrith St. Nicholas) to hear talks by notable speakers and organisers of the events, meet the people there, learn SPANISH :D and have discussion forums.

This month, there are two choices of formations to go to. There was a whole day one in Penrith and a two separate nights one in Parramatta. My friends and I decided to go to the two separate nights one in Parramatta. Part 1 was on Tuesday and that went really well. Bethany (one of the organisers) spoke about the sacraments in such a tender and loving way and after some discussion, we went into the chapel where Beth had put up icons and paintings of biblical scenes with candles everywhere - the whole chapel was lit up by candles. She played the music of Taize and burnt incense. She told us just to pray. And it was such a touching and tender way of seeing (icons), smelling (incense), hearing (music) and feeling God (well, in our hearts), that if I had been given more time there, I would have completely surrendered myself to God physically and emotionally.

Part 2 of the two separate nights was on the 23rd of March. And guess what I, on thursday night, booked to watch on that night?! DOCTOR ZHIVAGO!

As soon as I realised (which was last night), my face distorted to pretty much D: and I checked the notice several times to see whether I was reading the right date.

So, instead of going to Part 2, I had to go to the Penrith one today. It was an all day and the only way to get there for me was to catch the train. I arrived a little late (cos the express train didn't come =__=) and I had to walk from Penrith station to the church. I was a little worried because I knew absolutely noone today, apart from a few people I met at a discussion some time ago, but there was noone I knew well. I said hello to one of the priests there and went about getting to know some teenagers my age. And guess what? We got to know each other really well - I ended up acting real silly sometimes because well, they are kids from Blacktown and they're not really that sensible. But we had soo much fun! :D Met probably my first Sudanese/African friends - who were freaking hilarious and I really enjoyed the two talks by two Fathers and the Mass in the middle.

Took almost two hours to get home from Penrith by public transport haha but all in a good's day of new experiences.

________________________________

I promised photos in my post a while ago and I haven't delivered, so here's probably part one of many of my luxembourgian trip :D

Okay. I lied and got distracted. and it's super duper late. LOL next time, I promise ;D

Couldn't think of a title either so named it after a really really nice song I'm in love with by Kina Grannis and David Choi - check it out! A beautiful song by two beautiful people, esp Kina. *big cheesy grin*

Operas and Concerts GALORE!

A quick post to vent some of my immense excitement for the following Operas and Concerts which are coming to the Sydney Opera House these few months.

1. Carmen - Bizet (French Opera) - (15 Jan till 30 March) - REALLY WANNA SEE THIS, especially because I found out I missed a Free performance of it =__=

2. Madame Butterfly - Puccini - (7 Jan till 3 March) - Need to book this one soon!

3. Barber of Seville - Rossini - (4 Feb till 29 March) - Looks interesting too!

4. Ray Chen playing Brahms' Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 - ( 10 Feb till 14 Feb) REAL SOON!

5. Edo de Waart conducting Rachamaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto (played by Joyce Yang) and Rachmaninoff Symphony No.3 - THAT one's going to be EPIC! (7-11 April)

6. Tim Minchin versus the Sydney Symphony - (24-27 March) I have absolutely no idea who he is, but he has MAD reviews for being a brilliant singer, pianist and comedian.

Could probably watch most of the concerts for $32 and the Operas under $70. The seats won't be fantastic, but I'm definitely bringing those Opera Binoculars! =D

So excited. If anybody wants to go watch any of these with me, comment or give me a shout on facebook. I'm going to be poor, but hey, I think it'll be worth it!

But what if it doesn't work out?

There are always moments in your life when you begin to question your dreams. At times, it comes from people who are closest to you, steering you clear from what you have always believed in. Sometimes, whatever you're working on, just isn't giving you the results you want.

Today, M came home after talking to a family friend about my GAP years and my dream to go overseas to study music in America; how even if all else failed, I would go back to Medicine and there were plenty of places which accepted mature students. The family friend tells her this case where a girl did the exact same thing as me, tried music for a while, stopped and now is finding it excruciatingly hard to get into Medicine. They're asking her to sit the HSC again. I know, right? WTFRICK? :O

It's not the story which bothered me. I knew it's a pretty ridiculous story and I'm sure with my ATAR, as long as I don't wait too long, I can get into the course I want to. It's the fact that my mum said that "All those years, just wasted. You better have a good think about what you're doing".

See, the thing is, I never really have a good think about what I'm doing. Yes, I plan it. Yes, I think about it and ask for people's advice. But I've always...just gone with the flow. My teacher suggested that, since I like music and have some talent for it, that I should consider it and see if it gets me anywhere. So far, it has! I've always felt like He's up there guiding my path, holding my hand and I have complete faith that it's what He's doing now. I've always just believed that with the right amount of hard work, some God-given luck and my charming smile, that I would be able to achieve what it is I want.

When I thought about the possibility that Colburn might not accept me, that I may just end up teaching little kids piano at home, or doing some Commerce degree and finding it hard to find a job, or having not enough money to even get a girl to marry me and start a family, I started to get real scared. I wondered if what I was doing was going to be worth it. In a way, I'm really following this path drawn up by my Him and my piano teacher.

I know it's dangerous to have doubts. But it's been my dream! I dream of being a conductor one day, doing a piano recital once in a while, playing some Chamber Music and teaching some students at Festivals and a University somewhere. It'll be hectic but I'd be living what I love. I just don't know what I would do if it all suddenly began collapsing on me. It's scary to think there's a chance this could happen. But then, I guess, that's what faith and hope's for. I gotta stay strong. I gotta hang in there and just do what I gotta do. The rest will sort itself out. I pray.

My other concern is for the Competition I have to audition for real soon. I got called two nights ago that there is to be no more changes in the repertoire. That was like a massive WOAH WH-WHAT?! I had really wanted to change my repertoire especially because there are 3 out of the 7 pieces listed that aren't prepared. I was planning on changing two of them and leave the 1 to work my ass on. That '1' is the Liszt Dante Sonata. It's a BEAST of a piece. 17 minutes of music from heaven and hell, based on the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Despite my high hopes for this piece, my teacher, though impressed with how quickly I'm learning it, said "Even if you were Ashkenazy, you wouldn't be able to learn it all and prepare it by the 10th". I knew she was right. But where's the hope?!

I'm the type of person who has hope in everything. Federer could be losing straight sets but I'd still have hope that he'd pull through. Our volleyball match could be doomed even before we even started and I'd still believe we would win. It could be raining for the whole week, but on the night before our beach outing, I'd still believe that the sun would come out. Does that make me a sucker for miracles? Well, perhaps. I believe in miracles. I believe that things do come around. I can't help it.

She's suggested that I pull out at the last minute. I'd still prepare like a crazy chicken but I'd pull out. I'm a bit reluctant to do so. So I'll see how it goes. I want to play. I want to perform. But I'll probably need a miracle.

Whew, I feel a lot better now. So many thoughts racing through my head. I was going to start expanding on some of the Luxembourg stuff, but I think I'll do that next time. I need my beauty sleep!

:)

Old and new records

It's really been quite some time since I've last blogged.

It stuck me a little while ago how fascinating it is to go back and read something you've written a while back. It could be a week, or even almost half a year ago - as with my last post. It's fascinating how much has changed, how much has happened since the last time I made an entry and I feel like I need to keep recording this down; because life is such an adventure, eventful and exciting, with unexpected twists, surprises and delights. I don't want to forget it all.

Since my last post, I've been to Germany, visiting a small town called Bad Bertrich where a piano festival run by Professor JP was held. We stayed in apartments, cooking for one another on some days, and eating out on others (we mostly got shouted those dinners out - from a German Barbeque to the most wonderful dinner MH shouted us at her hotel). Stress was quite a factor on most days. We would wake up at 8.30 every day, grab some bread from a small bakery, rush to the practice rooms, do a few hours there, then have lunch, back to practice rooms (or exploring, as I like to do), attend Masterclasses (or BE in the Masterclass *scary*), drift off into sleep at the concerts, finally have dinner and enjoy pretty much the only 'free' time we had - watching Supernatural and Modern Family!

Sometimes we would go to the German bathhouse. Their idea of a bath is pretty much like a HUGE pool (indoors and outdoors) with some heavy water sprayers here and there and much warmer too. There were hot tubs, but I won't discuss that to much detail. Those who have heard my German spa story would know what I mean :/ I actually got my right ear completely blocked by the water there when I went for a swim - yeah, you could literally do laps.

A big highlight was the wine tasting tour the Festival paid for. We woke up early to catch a bus that took us to a bigger town by the river. From there we were taken by a small ferry to a certain village along the river where the wine tasting was. Our organiser MS took us to this wine tasting house and the best part of the day arrive. LOTS and LOTS of wine! They just KEPT coming! Bottle after bottle. The winemaster would take out a few bottles, pour some into everyone's glass and tell us in German what it was - we'd taste and if we didn't like it, there was a big glass for us to pour the wine we didn't want. Later, he put some bread, cheese and ham on the table for us to eat, served with lard. Lard is very very popular in Germany and it doesn't seem to make them any fatter! A lot of the Germans had big bellies - but I honestly think that's because of the beer.

Meeting Professor JP would probably be the biggest highlight of my trip. You'd think a 75 year old would be walking slowly with a crane, maybe suffering from hearing loss and even some memory loss. This man had more energy than us, cracked jokes every five minutes, sculled beer like it was water and loved food almost as much as he loved music. But most importantly, JP, as scary as he initially appeared to be, took care of us like we were his own children. The thing that I admire most about JP is his attitude to music and teaching. It's like he is a great big ball of love. In his playing, his way of teaching, you could tell that everything he did was for the love of his art and his students. At the end of one particularly difficult masterclass for me, he said something I will never forget. He said, "Chris, I wouldn't spend so much effort and time teaching you this piece if I didn't believe you could do it." At the time, I was at the end of my wits, trying to play this to his standards, applying rubato and all the changes he wanted me to do. I loved every lesson that I was in.

And though I may put all of this experience in a fair light. There were moments where I was just completely overcome with stress and disappointment. MH is an amazing teacher and mentor, but there were moments when I felt that she was very harsh on us, especially during the festival. It was my third Masterclass with JP and I played a piece by Beethoven which I had practice so long and so hard for. I completely messed it up. I was so frustrated with myself, especially because I couldn't do correct all my rhythmic mistakes nor play the piece properly for the man I was trying to impress most. The Master class did not go very well, and to make matters worse, instead of being comforted, I got told off even more for making a mess of the piece. I was more angry at myself than anything. Why couldn't I play it well?! All that hard work for what?! I walked alone back to the practice rooms to correct my mistakes and halfway through I just couldn't hold it in any longer and everything I was feeling just rushed out of me.

So you see, it wasn't all happy fun and games. But I guess, like with all stormy nights and dark tunnels, the light's always just around the corner and for me, that was winning the Audience 1st prize at the Student Recital.

Other highlights would probably be the lush green scenery all around us. We were in the middle of a valley, surrounded by really green trees. The Germans take great care with their flowers, arranging them in bright colours on their window sills, road lamps and at the side of the street. It's amazing how much flowers and colours can do to liven up the place.

Anyway, that would be a quick summary of my first 2 weeks in Germany. I figured I'd do a bit of the past and recount a bit of the present - balance things out a bit.

Went down to North Sydney College of TAFE on Friday to apply for a Chemistry Course. I didn't do Chemistry for HSC (No sciences :P) and my mum's condition for me to take another GAP year was to do the Chemistry course. It's only for 6 months, 4 hours a week. It was to fill a pre-requisite for Monash University and hopefully, with a good UMAT and a good interview, there's a chance I could get in. Well, that's what my mum wants anyway. I'm still gunning for my music thing!

The people there were very nice and the Chemistry teacher seems like a pretty cool teacher. I kinda feel like I'm back in High school again. And it's a bit exciting to be honest.

Saturday was a complete waste of a day. I spent it watching Castle (GREAT SHOW BTW =D) and Psych (another awesome show). I think I'm really into detective and crime mysteries at the moment. I think I'm starting to like Castle more, especially for its extremely witty lines, the great connection between the cast, the nature of the murder mystery and the relationship between Castle/Beckett and Castle/Family. So fun to watch!! =D

Sunday - Youth Group (Don't forget the Lyrics/Musical Chairs game I invented turned a little too competitive) then Church and then lunch, coffee with Connie at Parra.

One thing I did find out about myself was that since my Europe trip and my huge dilemma about my career, I've grown to like talking about deeper subjects. Although games and sport (esp the tennis) still interest me, after talking to so many people overseas about their cultures, their lives and their philosophies of life, I've found that I've matured and that I love talking about culture, art, different ideas and travelling. It's hard to explain and though I try to deny that it's true, I think I've matured even more? I don't know, but I like what I see when I try to envision what I would like to be my future. I just hope I can work hard enough to achieve those things and that He will be there to give me those things that will bring me happiness.

I think it's almost time for me to go to bed. I'm trying to do a post more often. With photos and stuff soon.

:)