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)
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.
Hey that sounds really good man hahaha. Sounds like you're getting some good publicising :P.
ReplyDelete