Harp recital

The lunchtime concert this week features a harp recital by two professional harpist; Yu-Hsin Huang and Gulnara Mashurova.

The not-so-knowledgeable me didn't know harp could play solo. Rather, I didn't know harp can make such beautiful music. When both of them sat down and started plucking the strings, I was mesmerized by the sweet sounds of harp.

They played on humongous harps like these.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing sounds of harp as they waltzed through the repertoire:

• JS Bach - Sixth French Suite
• Enrique Granados - Spanish Dance No. 5
• Isaac Albeniz - Cordova
• Carlos Salzedo - Tango & Rhumba
• Carloz Salzedo - Chanson Dans La Nuit
• Bernard Andres - Parvis

I particularly loved Bach's Sixth French Suite. The Allemande movement was impressive and simply lovely.

After the wonderful performance, they kindly obliged to answer questions that the audience have. And there I learnt that professional harps like these have 47 strings made of nylon and metal, weigh about 88 pounds, have 7 foot pedals and requires tuning several times a day.

The next time I listen to an orchestra, I'll be sure to listen carefully for the beautiful sounds of harp.

～みはる～

29.02.08 - Leap Day

Today is pretty extraordinary, because the date occurs only once in 4 years: 29th February, the extra day for the year. I call it the 'Leap Day'.

What makes it all the more significant, not necessarily completely pleasant, is that:

First, we finished putting the 3000 pieces puzzle!!

For recreation, my supervisor had bought a super-difficult 3000 pieces jigsaw puzzle for all us lab members to play when we feel bored or tired in the office. Initially, the brilliantly colored cathedral seemed like one truly impossible feat, but the enthusiasm of each and every lab member caught on, and soon we found ourselves frequently crowding around the frame of the puzzle, addicted to putting the pieces together. And in a month, we completed the 3000-piece puzzle. We were particularly determined to finish it today, because we wanted to commemorate the departure of one of our members, R. It is quite meaningful, because all of us, including R, had cheated much of our working time to play this jigsaw :P The puzzle we put together had been a bond that strengthen our ties and given us much fun together.

The epilogue was particularly satisfactory and fun, because 4 of us - LB, Shal, MH, and myself - were bending over the table, our faces nearly touching the puzzle as our eyes scanned excitedly over the remaining few pieces that would fit. The last few pieces were not easy as they were all black, so we were frantically exchanging pieces and blindly trying to fit each piece, while competing to see who would finish her 'zone' fastest. We all felt exhilarated and satisfied when the 3000-th piece was fitted snugly and tada! - our puzzle is done!

It's not so much the pretty picture to me, but rather the memories of putting it together that makes the serene cathedral looked so beautiful.

It would be nice if my boss gets another 3000-piece jigsaw....


Second, as mentioned, my colleague, R, chose to depart our lab for her new job today, the Leap Day.

While it had been only 6 months since we started working together, I had enjoyed working with her because having a post-doc with me was reassuring, in the sense, I could consult someone more experienced than myself in doing my project. I had accepted her decision for departure when she informed us last month, and I thought, 'People come and people go, it's great we have known each other'.

And I thought I wouldn't be sad. But today, somehow, I didn't really want to ask her what things she might have to pass to me, because suddenly, I felt a pang of sadness that she will be leaving. Although it hadn't been long, she had been my partner from the moment we started this new project together, and I have become so accustomed to her presence and philosophical expertise that it didn't occur to me I would feel the emotional impact when she leaves. I supposed it would be a bit harder the next few weeks, that I when I swivel my chair around, she's no longer sitting behind me and there's no one to share stories and opinions about our bacteria, or lives, or any everyday happenings for that matter.

But somehow, I learnt from her that we need to accept and cherish people in our lives and the memories they give us, because life is impermanent and change is constant.


Third, if I hadn't called today Leap Day, I would call it Emotion Day. Somehow, a torrent of pleasant, and unpleasant, emotions churned throughout the day, making me feel happy and sad all at the same time.

Today I saw an acquaintance depressed, and it makes me sad that I do not know how to help her. Also today I hear a family member unhappy, and that I cannot do anything to help, it makes me even sadder. And when I felt like I had to tread on eggshells with these people whom I care about and are depressed, and that I do not know how to deal with them to make them better, I am simply overwhelm by sadness. It just makes me think, 'Allow me a moment of selfishness. Why is it that everyone seemed to have the right to go down, and that I had to shoulder all these dark clouds, for if not, they will break?'.

It's not that I didn't want to help, but everything had to come at once that it is so overwhelming. And it is pretty frustrating that I find myself, again, emotionally weak, no matter how strong I thought I was.

But it's not all sad. I had some happy things going on too, but, believe me, negativity can wipe out all happy feelings in one wave.


In a wishful sense, eventful Leap Day will come only once in 4 years. I hope.

～みはる～

Negativity of sorts

I'm kinda seething right now, because my former landlady has been insinuating that I allowed more than the contracted number of people stayed in her house. And she get to know that from 'neighbours', people who live at my level but never see, or say 'hi' to us. I'm suspecting her daddy told some tall tales. But I let it slide; besides who can win an argument with a frail old grandpa. Young people are always in the wrong, no matter how right they are. But 2 things I cannot let slide:

(1) accusing that I do not keep my word. When I say I did it, I did it. When I say I didn't do it, I didn't do it. I absolutely hate it when people say they trust me, but still have the cheek to distrust my words.

(2) believing hearsay when confirmation can be obtained directly from me. I don't understand what crap 'good relationship' she claims we had when she believed what neighbours told her and never asked me anything for clarification. I have never really seen or talked to the neighbours, nor have the neighbours the friendliness to make conversation with us. And it's not like we're problematic. Looks who's the one in trouble with loan sharks.

In other words, I loathe hypocrites.

At the repeated insinuation, my offended receptors ticked and I angrily made it clear that the number of tenants had always been the same. She claimed I was defensive and aggressive, ruining the 'good relationship' we had. With that I lost my cool, and sarcastically threw back that it's so nice that with such a good relationship, she would rather distrust me over neighbours. I've never quite lost my head over such small issues, but she just hit the offensive nail by indirectly questioning my integrity; the one thing I never compromise.


I'm also pretty sad right now, because Mum just told me that one of the kittens at our backyard might have got into a little accident and as a result is now limping. Couple of weeks ago, two of the 5 kittens were gone; either drown in the huge drain behind our house near their playground, or kidnapped by somebody. And one of them is my favorite, White-paw. She is so sweet to look at and now she's gone. Then left 3, sad little kittens -Siren, Noisy, Sleepy- meowing pitifully for food, like a broken family. And awfully, the remaining black kitten, Sleepy, is now limping and don't look too healthy. No longer do we see the kittens playfully wrestling, lazily napping together, or meowing together in full force pleading for cat food. Hopefully they make it through adulthood.

～みはる～

DSLR

Been fooling with DSLR during my trip home recently.
And this is the outcome of sis and me clicking away.
We loved it.

And the tigers in our backyard...

A whole family of 5 cuddling together, sleeping in the morning cold.

A portrait of two sisters: White-paw & Noisy (who incidentally, had become FAT)

Siren insists on a sister portrait too.

We called this Sexy. He loves sexy poses.

Noisy is not only fat but lazy too.

Lazy noon nap.

L-A-Z-Y

～みはる～

Of quizzes

I don't do this kind of stuff often... but curiosity and childishness got better of me ^^

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are Belle. You are strong, deep, and you are not a slave to petty superficial things. You are independent and allow yourself to see inner beauty without sacrificing your values. You are almost too good of a person.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Just so happened Belle is my favourite Disney girl of all.

Which Type of Music Should You Listen To?
	You should listen to Classical Music. You are sophisticated, intellectual, and complex--not to mention a bit snobby sometimes. Not everyone understands you, but hey, you know you're better than them.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Just so happened I like listening to classical music.

What City Should You Live In?
	You should live in Paris. The city of lights will appeal to your appreciation of beauty and romance. You are a lover and a poet by nature, and Paris' sensitive charms will be a perfect match for yours.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Just so happened Paris is my next dream vacation city.

Try it?

～みはる～

A moment please...

Happened to read a very inspiring article in the newspaper several days ago. It seemed as if the writer had reflected everything I had at heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~*~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A MOMENT, PLEASE…

On a bracing cold February morning two years ago, I stood, alone, on a little bridge over a fish pond in the temple of Shi-tenno-ji in Osaka, Japan.

I cast the burdens from my heart to the fish, and silently called them to gobble up the detritus. I promised to feed them with real meal when I return to the shrine dedicated to four mythical kings who brought Buddhism to the islands.

Perhaps it is my vivid imagination, but they swam from far and began feeding, on something that must have drifted to the spot where I had cast my sorrows.
I believe, somehow, I am beholden to fulfil this pledge to fish who wait, in their watery habitat.

The heart has grown weary since that Lunar New Year.
Tomorrow ushers in another new one, ruled by the Rat, with an opportunity for renewal.
The hopes of the past year have dimmed, but many new dreams flare again.

Who knows what the fates have in their works for us, in the months to come? Even Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy, says in her oracles that no one can know his true destiny.

Life is a journey that begins from the moment we enter this world, but it does not come with a roadmap that leads to that promised land where all our wishes are fleshed out in colour.
It is more like a ticket to ride into the unknown, weighted with emotional baggage along with the way. There’s so much we dream to achieve in a lifetime, places to go to, people we hope to meet and adventures to live.

But few of us dare to follow the compass of our heart, but go with the reality of our mundane lives, hemmed by human fears and frailties, instead.
And, of course, some day, we start counting all the if-only and why-hadn’t-I of life, and wonder if it couldn’t have turned out differently.

Maybe yes, maybe no. Life is like a football game, where players must look for opportunities, or create them.
The rules of play may be pre-determined. But the score of hits and misses is still up to us.

We are all players in life’s great game, but without the luxury of extra time. Or, as Liza Minelli sang in the old movie Cabaret, start by admitting, from cradle to tomb, it isn’t that long a stay.

Why waste time, lingering on regrets and self-pity?
The past cannot be lived again. But today, and the future, can be planned for.

This Lunar New Year, I have therefore resolved to put away fears and disappointment, rather than let them block my forward path.
I will carefully make plans for the rest of the year to come, and live each day, as it unfolds.

Above all, at some point, I must return to that pond in the shrine, and to the Guanyin (Kannon) temple at Asakusa in Tokyo.
Though Guanyin is universal, it is at Senso-ji that she feels most special, for personal reasons.
It is there, too, after my last visit to the shrine with its three-inch golden statuette, that my faith was tested.

But I like to think that my belief had never wavered, for it is to her that I return again and again, for guidance.
In the end, it is faith that keeps us going, and leads us into the future without fear.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

By Alistair Tan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~*~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

～みはる～

初めてのヴィオリンレッスン

A month ago, I went for my first violin class.
A month later, I'm enjoying playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ^^

Kotomi, my beginner's violin

It really helped that I had some background theory in reading music. Because I was able to read the score, I could channel my efforts to improve on my pitching (I'm quite the opposite of pitch perfect) and fingering (my bones are most inflexible).

On my first lesson, I received my pre-ordered beginner's violin (which from now on shall be called Kotomi) and naturally, was quite excited about playing it. When my tutor picked it up and strummed the strings, her face fell. "This is very out of tune". Daang. So while I played on her violin, she helped me tune Kotomi. So she was turning the scrolls, tuning and tuning, and suddenly the A-string snapped. We both looked at Kotomi, dumbfounded. A brand new violin snapping. My, it sure gives lots of confidence.

But it could be my tutor tweaked the A-string scroll a little too much. So we changed the A-string, which was a good opportunity for her to show me how to change the strings on my own.

One month later, Kotomi is doing well and sounding good, except when I bow weird (which is like 70% of the time....? ^^;) We have covered most of the notes on the first fingerboard position, so I could already start playing pieces in D and A major. やった！

I'm looking forward to the day I can play a violin sonata.
これからもがんばります！

～みはる～

Nodame in Europe

FujiTv seriously threw money into this:

The highly popular classical music Japanese comedy drama returned with a special 2-episode sequel. Get this: it was filmed in France and Czech Republic over a duration of approximately 3-4 months. Which is why you see....

.... backdrops so gorgeous they make you wanna fly to Europe.

.... gaijins who speak Nihongo.

....conductor concours in historical concert halls in the mecca of classical music (Prague).

.... Mozart playing in a chateau. (yes, that is Ueno Juri cosplaying)

Coupled with Tamaki Hiroshi and Ueno Juri reprising their roles as Chiaki & Nodame, the 2-episode special screamed MUKYAAA. Uh, that is Nodame vocab for FANTASTIC. The directors to this drama never failed to deliver the best. I salute their incredible production so well done; it seemed to me they had brought the manga alive. The story followed the manga storyline very closely, right down to the dialogue. Of course some scenes were adapted to the practicality of filming, but the changes were pretty insignificant. Furthermore, the music followed the manga religiously. We actually get to listen to all the classical works mentioned in the manga, such as Ravel's Miroirs, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, etc.

What was incredibly unbelievable and hilarious was they managed to get angmohs speaking fluent Japanese. Jean Donnadieu, the French conductor character, was rolling in Japanese, not French! It turns out they cleverly used foreign talents or half-Japaneses, such as Wentz Eiji (Frank) and Becky (Tanya) which gives the drama such novelty. Furthermore, they introduced a lot of new characters, which is very refreshing. I can't even start picking a favourite, because I like all of them!

The sceneries really took my breath away. The directors had generously included outdoor shots, making the audience feel like they are in Europe with the main characters... which is so captivating. And it goes without saying, the music is so fantastic it melt my ears. What was very clever of the producers was they managed to use the music at the appropriate points of the drama, captivating the audience with the power of illusion and sound.

This is like the best 2-episode special I've ever watched. It is worth sitting through the 4 whole hours simply because.... it's Nodame Cantabile. If you don't watch this, you're missing really good stuff.

Images from Memento. Visit them for great reviews.
Official site: Nodame Cantabile

～みはる～

The Persistence of Memory

On the first day of this month, I had my very first taste of a gala orchestra concert smack in the heart of Singapore's finest concert hall. It was probably the most upscale concert I have ever attended. (evening dresses and kimono's!!)

Yes, I was at Esplanade Concert Hall experiencing classical music played by Singapore Symphony Orchestra, with a special appearance by the world violin child prodigy Sarah Chang, in a Gala concert themed: The Persistence of Memory.

Repertoire:

• Ravel - Rapsodie Espagnole
• Michael Hersch - Ashes of Memory (Asian premiere)
• Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D, Op.47

I must say, I'm surprised I enjoyed it a lot. In the past, classical music, not to mention watching an orchestra, would put me to sleep. However, I had come to develop a liking for classical music, and as well as appreciating orchestral music.

The performance for the gala was conducted by Maestro Lan Shui, whom I think is great. I especially liked the first movement of Hersch's Ashes of Memory; it was moderately paced tinged with melancholy. Ravel's work was also fun to listen to, especially the last movement.

Of course, the attraction that drew me to the concert was Sarah Chang. I paid to watch her play live. And it was worth it. Her violin-playing was top-class and the sound was just beautiful. But darn, she refused to oblige us with an encore. If she does come back next time with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, I would be grabbing for the best seat.

I enjoyed the concert so much that I'm towing my sister and WW for another concert in April. This time, I'm paying to listen to Brahms' Symphony No.1 in C minor. Yes, it's Chiaki's song. *cough*NodameCantabileUberFan*cough*

My only complain though, is the timing of the concert. I had to skip dinner in order to travel down to the bay for the concert. Darn hungry throughout the performance.

Can't wait for the next show!

～みはる～

Petition for a safe journey home

All Malaysians in the same boat, please take a few minutes to sign this petition, here!
The news: Online Petition for Nian Ning

It is heart-breaking and frustrating to yet again see this happening. Interstate express bus crashes have become such a mainstay news in the Malaysian media, that it feels indifferent to read of another crash occurring at the highway which took XX lives.

But how does it feel when someone of your age group from similar background coming from the same place is killed in a crash on the same route in the similar vehicle you so often take?

It feels like it could have been YOU on the bus that had crashed.

I'm talking about the 25th January Slim River bus crash which robbed Lee Nian Ning (and Mohd Zailani and Pang Boon Eng) of her (their) life (lives).

According to the news, Nian Ning took a bus from Penang to KL to visit her friends. Absolutely what every youth who are studying/working overseas and back in Malaysia for holidays will do. Vacation is one time to catch up with good ol' friends. Something I would do too.

So she jolly took one of the many express buses serving the North-South highway to the waiting arms of her friends in KL. To their dismay, she never made it there. And why is that? Because the driver with 13-road summons under his belt, who do not have the right to steer the passenger-filled carriage, divided his attention between SMS-ing and speeding on a rainy highway. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that such reckless driving will only end one way: in death. The driver was said to have lost control, the bus overturned an incredulous THREE times before hitting the road divider, flinging out its passengers, killing 3 in the process. Sadly, Nian Ning was one of the 3.

What was especially unbelievable was that the authorities are irresponsive over the tragedy and the damned bus company is neither apologizing for the glaring fault on their part nor showing remorse to the loss of lives they had caused.

What was appalling was that the driver had 13-summons and still driving a passenger vehicle AFTER the Transportation Ministry did a so-called thorough clean-up operation to weed out such unqualified drivers. Did someone say 'corruption'?

What was infuriating was that the damned bus company did NOTHING to clean up its act after regulations were 'refreshed' following another high profile bus crash last year. Did someone say 'tidak-apalah'?

What was terrifying was that I had so frequently taken buses from this damned company to travel home for my holidays.

What was heart-breaking was that Nian Ning's parents had their treasure snatched away from them because of ONE person's irresponsibility. Imagine the reunion dinner they were excitedly anticipating with their daughter who flew back from overseas had turned into a memorial. Imagine their hopes to see their daughter graduating as a brilliant doctor will never come true. Imagine the sorrows of losing your love, your young. Imagine the pain of losing your child in such a cruel way. I can't imagine.

All it took was an irresponsible driver and a corrupted transportation enforcement to snuff out the promising future of a vibrant youth. Wait, let me correct myself.

To snuff out the promising FUTURES of our vibrant YOUTHS.

Please, (government of) Malaysia. When are you going to gather your act?
What does it take for you to start taking this matter seriously?
How many more youths (no, Malaysians) must die before the people who shouldn't be driving are stopped from taking the wheels of the express buses?
How many bus crashes are you waiting before you remove the irresponsible services of the bus companies?
Are the lives of 'ordinary' Malaysians not valuable? (My, I'm sure the situation would be so blown off the top should the one who died in the crash is the child of some top brass)

I cry for the loss of Nian Ning in the Slim River crash that should never happened.
I cry for the loss of all bus express crash victims who never saw their justice served.
I cry for the loss of compassion in the Malaysian government over the value of Malaysian lives.
I cry for the loss of integrity in the people who are entrusted to make our journey home a safe one.

Tell me, how am I supposed to tell people I'm proud being a Malaysian? It's such an embarrassment.

In memory of Nian Ning, and all victims whose justice was never served.

Thank you to friends of Nian Ning who started the petition for endorsing a change.
Visit their website at Bus Crash No More.

Let us each do a little, with hopes of bringing a change to the system that had so long robbed the lives of our loved ones.

～みはる～

Time will...

...show the true and ugly colors of the ones who had been blinding you all this while.

...shed the façade of the ones who had been deceiving you all along.

...tell you truths to the lies you have been living with.

困難な始まり

まだ新年に入ってばかり、もうたくさん大変な事が起きました。
ちょっときついと思う。
大分は悔しくて悲しいですが、でも少なくても嬉しい事もある。
それは良いことなんだろう。。。

It's barely 3 weeks into the new year of 2008, yet it seemed like a year's worth of events had occurred. It had been such a turbulent 3 weeks, I don't even know where to start. It's like out of a sudden, I have been put through an endless series of tests to check where my (emotional) breaking point is. Nevertheless, amidst the days of frustration and tears, I also experienced warmth and hope.


#1 - New Year's Revelation

For most of our new years, my family and I would join some merry-makers, ushering the brand new year. If we aren't at Dad's company dinner in some hotel patio, we'd probably be joining the hotel guests in the coffee lounge where the band will sing while tourists and staff dance and make jolly fun. *cough*hangingoutwithparentsstyle*cough* Because spending the new years with my parents and sister is most important to me, I rarely hang out with my peers at clubs or hip parties.

However, this year Mum suggested a dinner in a bistro-restaurant at the sea, so we thought it'd be something novel. The restaurant sits on top of the sea, at the pier facing a beautiful sunset. It had chic decor and seemed like an exciting place to celebrate the new year.

Bistro-on-the-sea

However, when we set foot inside, it was evident that the management was haphazard and ill-prepared to deal with MANY customers. I mean, this is a new place, and all Pgites are people who love to try out new places, so this chic place is bound to be flooded on New Year's Eve. But there was only one manager running around trying to organize e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g and one poor cashier girl trying to get guests to pay up before entering the premises. The rest are foreign worker waiters who do not have the authority to manage the event. Our seating reservation was screwed for reasons I still do not know, and Mum was pretty infuriated that we didn't get the veranda table she initially booked. We finally got a table with not too bad a view, but it turned out to be some sort of a blessing, I think.

Dinner was buffet, which was only average in my opinion. One thing I was very unhappy about was they gave us huge, heavy ala-carte plates for buffet. I could barely hold the plate with one hand, how am I to get food from the buffet line? When I actually returned to my table with my food, my hand ached from holding the plate that weighed a tonne.

There wasn't much entertainment after dinner, we were basically sitting around waiting for midnight, while taking in the sea breeze. However, by 10pm, more patrons entered, filling up the whole place. The entire restaurant was changed into a club, and more youngsters came in in large groups for drinks. The family-atmosphere escalated to rowdiness, and Mum began to feel uneasy with the clubbers and noise. We weren't particularly enjoying sitting in the stench of alcohol and tobacco, so we left the place some 1.5 hours before midnight.

We ended up hanging at the pier a stone's throw away from the restaurant, enjoying the sea breeze and waiting for fireworks. It was quieter compared to the restaurant-turn-club. However, half an hour before midnight, a sudden cacophony of glass smashing and metal stuff being thrown from the direction of the club pierced thru the quiet. Alarmed, we turned to the direction of the club, and much to our shock, an entourage of very angry young people were forcing their way into the club, smashing all the beer bottles, glass tables, metal chairs and decoratives along their way. It was like watching a gangster movie come alive. More glass smashing sound was heard as the group entered the club, destroying whatever they had in sight in anger. A brief moment after, the entire group came running out and away from the club, supposedly before the cops come after them. The aftermath: broken glasses everywhere, tables and chairs were thrown over and sinking into the sea, Christmas trees were turned upside down, and other guests started leaving.

Thankfully we had left earlier, if not, we might had been caught in the fray. But I wondered what happened to the guests inside the club. In Malaysian style, the authorities came long after the angry group left - like what use is there, all culprits had gone scott-free.

This is one new year I get to see first-hand how inept young Malaysians are at anger management. And I am so disappointed to see such immaturity plaguing my society.


#2 - A Catty Tale

Remember Siren? The stray kitten I was feeding when I was back home? Apparently, she had siblings. We ended up feeding, not one, but 5 kittens. Although perplexing, it was interesting watching the kittens interact with each other.

Siren, very adapted to life-being-fed-by-humans, was particularly nasty to her siblings, which were brought down from the rooftop where they had been living this whole time in hunger and isolation. Two of her siblings, Noisy and White-Paw, actually had been watching us feeding Siren all this while, and they were so hungry that they jumped down from the roof to get food from Siren's bowl. However, Siren had no intention to share her food, so we actually had a live show of cat-fight in the middle of the night. White-Paw is what you call "scaredy-cat". She's always crouching behind a brick and snaring at us. The two later additions, Black1 and Black2, were also very apprehensive towards us, and received the same nasty treatment from Siren. However, Siren soon loosen up to her birthmates and they were even seen to sleep together later.

Five tigers guarding our backyard

Sleeping together in the flower-pot, which doubles as their playground. Cuuuute, ain't it?

It's cute to have kittens in your backyard, but not particularly so when they stink like hell. God bless you in your stray days, kittens.

#3 - The Elusive Property

Just when I thought we have found a good house for lease at a good location, the 'owner' dropped us the bomb that he is not the registered owner of the house and the house is not approved for lease. A torrent of other complications arose with regards to that house, and after several very stressful days of intense contemplation, I decided to drop the house and risk searching the already-inflating market for another.

What followed was another week of frenetic scanning of classifieds, calling some twenty-over property agents, viewings, negotiations and frustrating decision makings. It was one hell of a week I never want to go through again. I could not concentrate on preparing my seminar; every 3 mins I would be clicking on the refresh button on the classifieds website. To add salt to wound, I had to periodically attend some talks in an international conference held in campus and had also a deadline to meet with my supervisor over preparations for my seminar presentation. On top of all that, I had academic classes as well as my language and music classes. It was like, in several days, all horrible things piled on me, one after another. I began to feel financial constraints as most of the houses we viewed fell within the range of $1800-2500 rental per month. So much so that I actually entertained the thought of quitting PhD and get a real paying job.

Amidst the madness, the strings of fate toyed with us. You see, the case is like this:
My friend's friend had a friend, Z, who intended to rent out his property which is located in the area of our interest. So my friend introduced me to Z, and we made an arrangement to view his apartment. Both me and my housemate, J, took liking to Z's apartment, but since Z was asking for rental that slightly exceeded our budget, we tried to negotiate with him for a lower rent, of which he told us he would consider. At the same time, we kept searching for other apartments, before landing on the above-mentioned 'complicated' unit. So after ditching 'complicated' unit, I happened to browse the classifieds and saw an advertisement of apartment for rent that happens to be the block next Z's apartment. Naturally, I contacted the agent and arranged for viewing of this new unit. When we reached the location, the agent told us there was a typo error and the unit we will be viewing is located in the block where Z's apartment is. And voila! Upon reaching the unit, Z was standing at the door waiting for us. So it was HIS apartment placed on the ad! Talk about coincidence. All of us, Z, my housemate and I had a good laugh. We asked him to consider renting the place to us if we agree to give him the rental he initially proposed. However, this time round, he has increased his asking price to a higher amount in accordance with the market price, which again, slightly exceeds our budget. Again, we asked him to consider us.

As the situation was becoming more desperate, my housemate J asked his friends to see whether any acquaintance happened to be renting their property. J's friend told him that she has a friend whose friend is renting out his property in our area of interest. J excitedly told me the good news, but when I heard of the location, I warily suggested to J that he should ask for the block number, just in case it is Z's apartment again. So J asked his friend and his friend's friend about the exact location of the apartment. Guess what? It IS Z's apartment!

What are the odds??
My friend's friend's friend is Z.
J's friend's friend's friend is Z.
My agent's agent's client is Z.

The mind map looked something like this:


In a light-hearted conversation, Z exclaimed, "You guys are so desperate ah?!" Why did we end up seeing each other for three times, through different portals?! All of us had a good laugh, and agreed it must have been fate.

But fate or no fate, Z's still putting up his apartment for a price that was slightly beyond our budget. In the end, we managed to find another decent apartment around the vicinity for a lower rate. Although we didn't make it to Z's tenants, it was nice to have met such a warm guy and in such a series of fateful encounters.

#4 - 6 month PhD Seminar

In the midst of all the stress coming from property hunting, I was scheduled to give a seminar on my PhD project. It is part of the School's requirement that all PhD candidates have to give a 30-minute presentation to the public on the topic of their research project. And of all timings, they just had to arrange me to give the seminar at such a time when I had a greater crisis in hand. It was the most harrowing two weeks of preparation for me, because I could not concentrate on drafting out a good presentation while frantically hunting for a house at the same time. It stressed me more that I had a deadline to meet my supervisor to discuss the flow of the presentation, and do a mock run in front of her. I didn't want to give a sloppy job, but I was totally not in the state of mind to produce a good presentation. Somehow, my supervisor sensed my harried state of mind and allowed me time for preparation to the very last minute.

Surprisingly, (not to sound boastful), the presentation went very well, and I was given positive feedback about my presentation. Which took me by complete surprise because first, I didn't have much data to present, and second, I finished preparing only 1 day prior the seminar. What was even a more pleasant surprise was that the chairperson of the seminar had a deep (and positive) impression on my seminar, that he said very nice things about my presentation to my supervisor. いやだな。。。

Well, at least that went well, and I don't have to worry about giving a progress report anymore for the remaining of the semester. What a relief!

#5 - Jobs Change, People Change

Just when I thought the unpleasant upheaval is all over and I could finally settle down in peace, three of the staff in my lab announced that they will be quitting their jobs by the end of the month. P had came to the end of her contract, SanSan and R decided to switch jobs for personal reasons. While P's departure was anticipated, the other two's announcement came as a shock, not only to me, but the whole lab. All the while we had been quite a closely knit lab, and losing the three of them is akin to losing some sunshine in the lab. SanSan has been such a warm and easygoing person, so everyone has pretty much became attached to her, and to have her leave would make us very lonely. R's departure came as a shock to me because I have been the one who worked closely with her on my project, and I had been learning a great deal from her experience. To have her leave would mean I would be steering the entire PhD project on my own. It is simply an intimidating thought to have to do it all alone.

However, I accepted their decisions and can only wished them well while I struggle to absorb as much knowledge from them as possible before they go for good. Nevertheless, their departure had brought my supervisor back to the frontline of research, which means I would have the chance to learn directly from my supervisor. Which is good for me, of course. So, there IS a silver lining behind every dark cloud ^^

Well, 2008 may not had a great start, but I'm looking forward to a busy and fulfilling year ahead. My one resolution (which I hope to uphold) is to build up patience, strength, compassion, and maturity to help me face life's adversities one at a time. Hopefully I remain this resolved in the 365 days to come!

～みはる～

ピアノの森

Piano no Mori

I just happened to be quite taken by the appeal of a grand piano in a sunny clearing in the depths of a forest.

「ピアノの森」 (Piano no Mori) is an animation movie about two elementary school boys with very different musical backgrounds and very different views about piano music. Amamiya dreams of becoming a famous pianist, and religiously attends his piano classes and practices very hard playing perfectly to the score, in order to realize his dream. On the hand, Kai's piano playing skills are self-taught, and his carefree playing reflects his interpretation of the freedom and enjoyment of piano music. The two boys became acquainted when Amamiya transferred to Kai's school, and Kai was excited to finally have a piano-playing friend. He proudly lead Amamiya to his secret base; a clearing in a nearby forest where 'his' piano stood. Rumors had it that the piano doesn't sound, but Kai vehemently disagrees. He insists that Amamiya plays the piano and hears it for himself.

However, when Amamiya hit the keys, the piano did not produce any sound. Disbelieved, Kai shoved Amamiya aside and played the piano himself. Miraculously, beautiful music resonated throughout the forest. Amamiya soon discovered that Kai could play the piano in the forest but he couldn't because Kai had played the piano with such genuine and sincere love and enjoyment for music, and it was as if the piano 'accepted' his honest feelings and reflected them in the sound of music.

Honestly speaking, the movie is quite bland, although there were some humor. It analyzes the differences in musical interest that is so common among the society; people who play to achieve technical mastery, and people who play for the pure enjoyment of music. It also hinted on the emphasis of concours on perfection of showmanship, instead of nurturing unique musical interpretations.

I watched this movie out of interest for graphical animation and classical music; other than that, I think it's quite a boring movie. So unless you love piano to death, I reckon you don't try this one.

～みはる～

明けましておめでとう！

あけましておめでとう！

去年お世話りなりました。
今年もよろしくお願いします！

～みはる～

Best Anime of 2007

In comparison, I had relatively toned down on watching anime this whole year due to various reasons, e.g. coursework, thesis, quarter-life crisis, etc etc. Hence, you can say I became more selective to the animation series/movies I would actually follow for its entire length.

Before I proceed, let me forewarn that I am pretty much an anime-philic, so this post will entertain only the like ^^.

I had only began enjoying watching anime about 3 years ago by chance. Actually, it was because the cover art of the Rozen Maiden vcd looked attractively gothic to piqued my interest and there was good discount to boot. I picked up from there and had since grown to love watching (and learning!) from Japanese animation. There were a lot of technical and creative aspects of animation I have come to appreciate and I sincerely salute the animators for the technical ingenuity and psychological exploration.

To cut the long story short, I'm here to review the animation series I liked best for the ones I had watched in this year of 2007.

BEST ANIME OF THE YEAR

This one wins hands down:

Code Geass ~ Hangyaku no Lelouch ~

Technical wise, Code Geass is a masterpiece. The animation is so good it makes you wonder how many people it takes to make the success of this production. The scenes involving the Knightmares were top-notched. The colors used were fabulous. The soundtrack was amazing. The voice cast was stellar. There can be no better candidate for Lelouch Lamperouge other than Fukuyama Jun. The plotting, character development, and climaxing of the story is beyond description. I was kept on the edge of my seat, episode after episode. I could keep ranting on. But the subject of my fangirlism has got to be CLAMP's character designs. CLAMP banzai.

Thank you, Sunrise, for bringing us the joy of Code Geass.

Image belongs to myucon


MOST CREATIVE ANIME

I don't think there's another more fitting than:

Dennou Coil

I was keen on Dennou Coil primarily because the leading characters were voiced by two of my favourites: Orikasa Fumiko and Paku Romi. At the end of it, I fell in love with Dennou Coil, not only because of the stellar voice acting, but because Iso Mitsuo delivered a show so full of imagination and novelty. Dennou Coil is mild yet exciting, so coldly high-tech yet so warmingly humane. I love every bit of it, except that I think there are too many recap episodes, that could have been used for character development. I absolutely adore the hilarity surrounding Tamako's reckless use of Satchii's and Megabaa's Dennou Tantei memberships. And I think the ending for this series is one of the most satisfactory I have viewed this entire year.

Thank you Ureshii for the fan-subbing, because without it, I'm totally lost with all the technical terms so necessary to understand the plot of the story.

Image from Ureshii


MOST BEAUTIFUL-ART ANIME

This one is no other than:

Byousoku 5 Senchimetoru

Animation art cannot get more gorgeous than this. The falling sakura petals are simply surreal, the whoosh of the Tokyo subways are so vivid, and the chugging of the JR trains are only one step away from the original locomotives blaring down the tracks in Japan. Shinkai Makoto is especially deft at amplifying the emotional impact of his fantastic art with fantastic soundtrack. I love the art and music from the moment I saw the high resolution trailer, and continue to love it long after I watched it. In fact, for the entire year since its release, the image of falling sakura surrounding Takaki and Akari became a mainstay on my desktop.

It's a shame the plot was quite weak and character development was less than satisfactory. But the emotions were well conveyed.


MOST EDUCATIONAL ANIME

I seemed to have learnt quite a bit from this show:

La Corda d'Oro ~ Primo Passo ~

This anime series strictly speaking, was not released this year, but the year before. However, it appealed to me because of the classical music theme and... the bishounens. Yes, this is one of the other show I would get all fangirl-ed on the pretty boys. Good (male) character designs there, Fujioka Maki-san. On a serious note, I actually learnt several interesting stuff from Lili's One Point Classical. Like, when the solo violinist's violin strings break during a concerto performance, the performance continues and the spare violin comes from the concertmaster, and that Bach actually had 20 offsprings(!)


BEST OPENING THEME

You Raise Me Up ~祈り (Romeo X Juliet)

This is tough. I dig anime soundtracks, so I find it difficult to pick a favourite. I quite like Kanon's "Brand New Breeze" for La Corda d'Oro, but techincally speaking that was last year's animation. For this year, I would go for Lena Park's "You Raise Me Up ~祈り~" from RomeoXJuliet. Her voice is powerful yet soulful, and successfully delivered the melancholy encompassing the tale of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.


BEST ENDING THEME

空の欠片 (Dennou Coil)

Another toughie. But one that has been playing the longest on my playlist is Ikeda Ayako's "Sora no Kakera" for Dennou Coil. The music and lyrics go very well with the theme of the animation series, so it gives a very impactful ending to each episode. Furthermore, I like the ending sequence, involving a strolling Densuke over changing backgrounds.


So there, these are the few of my favourite picks, and recommendations for this year. I'm already looking forward to next year's array of new (and returning) animes, particularly sequels of xxxHolic, Code Geass, and Tsubasa Chronicles OVA.

Here's to another year of great animation!

～みはる～

The One With The Purring Siren

We checked. Siren's a female.

I was pretty worried about this backyard stray since it was raining very heavily last night, and thus it was to my relief when the thin wails of meowing were still audible when I woke up in the morning. We tried giving her warm milk for breakfast, but she didn't seem to like the taste of milk that much. She actually seemed rather worn out, probably due to all the screaming she had done during the night. Before going out for lunch, I checked her out again, only to find her stuffing herself headfirst(!) into the drainage pipe, conking out of lethargy.

Coming back after dinner, we found her curling up forlornly behind the slipper, too tired to even make a tiny sound. We portioned out a bit of the Whiskas cat food we bought for her, and tried to feed her some red snapper. Siren is no longer afraid of us, so it didn't take much coaxing to get her eating. Much to our delight, she devoured the (what seemed gross to me) cat food happily and hungrily, and for the first time, I heard a close-range kitten purring. Her appetite seemed to improve alot as she was also willing to lap up some warm milk this time. (I'm kinda forcing milk on her because she looks so dehydrated!)

Siren seemed to have quite a small appetite for food and a large appetite for affection. After a few more chunks of snapper, she boldly came closer to my feet. Initially I thought she was attracted to the cat food slime on my fingers, but it didn't take long to see that she wants some petting. You see, that is the problem. The reason I never keep pets is that I am dermatologically sensitive to animal fur and the like. Dust, mites, fur, etc are my potential allergens, so if Siren touches me, I'll end up visiting the hospital. But this kitten is seeking some form of petting, so as she kept coming after me, I kept backing away from her.

Since the kitten didn't look like she's giving up, I put on an old sock, and using it as a glove, gave Siren all the stroking she wants. This stray is as bony as she looks. Frankly, I didn't know how to pet a cat and do not comprehend cat-body-expression. She wagged her tail upon stroking, and as far as I understand, tail wagging with cats meant they are agitated. But after some petting and playing around, Siren seemed to be comfortable around me enough to start showing me her claws and fangs. In fact, she became sufficiently daring to venture out the tar road at the backyard, skittering back and forth, refusing to return to the sheltered door step even when I hauled her back to her slipper-spot.

After Siren started biting me through the old sock, I decided that it was enough of pampering, and left her to fend for herself. It was my mistake to think that she would still be blur and vulnerable: this smart puss immediately ran back to the comfort of her drain-pipe spot once I left her alone on the road in the backyard.

All the feeding and petting might be worth it; Siren's sleeping and tonight we too can sleep peacefully minus the night-long caterwauling.

～みはる～

The One With The Wailing Siren

Sometime after midnight last night, I was going for a shower when I heard pitiful meowing from my backyard. Thinking it was just some random kitten in the drain waiting for mother cat to return, I didn't quite bother and went to sleep after a brief shower.

However, the meowing continued to next morning, and upon investigation, we found a sad, anorexic kitten crouching in the drainage pipe of my neighbour's house. The poor little feline, which I adopted the name Siren for its endless wailing, was jittery with fear and trembling in (what I presumed) hunger. It seemed to be using every bit of its remaining energy to cry out for its mother, which by the way is no where to be seen.

Taking pity on Siren, we tried to feed it milk (that's what kittens drink, rite?). Okay, I have not any pets before, so I didn't realize kittens despise cold HL-low fat milk. Siren refused to drink the milk I poured. Okay, so we heated the milk. Siren still refused hot HL-low fat milk. What a picky cat. Then we thought to feed it some leftover fish from dinner. Mashing silver pomfret(!) remains into easy-to-chew bits, I tried to coax the anorexic kitten to take some fishy nutrients. Siren wasn't very taken with the smell of silver pomfret, and it took a while before it stopped wailing long enough to eat some fish.

Nevertheless, Siren isn't eating much of the chunkful of fish I tried to fed it, and before long, it resumed wailing for its mummy again. I really do hope the mother heeds the kitten's call before Siren dies of wailing in the cold.

Siren refusing milk, crouching behind my neighbor's slippers in apprehension.

～みはる～

Kirishima

(This post is the English version of the previous one)

I've came back to my hometown for the year end holidays, and naturally, ended up doing what I do best at home: eat.

My family and I had a little Christmas eve treat by sampling the special Christmas menu dished out by the best Japanese cuisine chefs in town in a cosy little restaurant called Kirishima. All you Pg'ites should know this is the place to get the best Japanese food in the northern region.

We were tantalized with the freshest ever Sashimi Moriawase coupled with the freshed ever Garden Salad. Let me tell you that I have never tasted such fresh sashimi in town. This is something like you would get in Tsukiji Market at Ginza, Tokyo. Two thumbs up.

The appetizing prelude was followed by the main course, which is a palate of a variety of their specials portioned just right for a single helping. There's (another super fresh) Jumbo Ebi Fry, some fragrant meatballs I have no idea how they prepared it, and never-seen-before Futomaki generously decorated with grilled Unagi stuffed with really good things apart from seaweed. Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without a good helping of turkey perfectly done and blanketed with light gravy so good you would ask for more. A cute pot of donburi (something like soup) was served alongside the main dish. I can't comment much, except that it sends my tastebuds to heaven with the pleasing mix of yuzu (citrus) and all sorts of Japanese-style essence (kombu, bonito, etc etc). Two thumbs up.

Dessert was their special homemade Kurogoma (black sesame) ice cream, which I think is extremely good because it wasn't too sweet or creamy, and gave a satisfactory end to the already delicious meal. Two thumbs up.

I lost count how many thumbs up the Christmas set has earned.
Point being, every Japanese food-philic should visit Kirishima at least once.

～みはる～

ごちそうさまでした！

今夜の夕食はごちそうだった！

家族と「霧島」という日本料理屋でクリスマスの夕食セットがした。
なかなか一番良い日本料理屋と思います。あの夕食セットもすごくおいしかった。

最初は刺身もりあわせだった。
すごく新鮮な鮭と鮪と白鮪を食べてみた。まじでうまかった。
あの石の上に立ってるのわさびも手作りものと思った。すごく新鮮感がした。

それから野菜サラダーができました。野菜もとても新鮮でおいしかった。

その次はあのセットのメェーンコースでした。
色々なおいしい物が皿にできた。
ジャムボ蝦フライや、肉だんごや、変わったふとまきなどした。
もちろん、タルキーもいただきました。クリスマスだからね。

そのメェーンコースと一緒どんぶりみたい物を飲んだ。
ゆずが入ったので、あたし特に好きだった。

最後にデザートだ。黒ごまのアイスクリームだった。
味はちょどよかった。甘すぎではなくて、薄くておいしかった。

けっ局はらがいっぱくなりました！
なんだか、こんなのごちそうは本当に久しぶりだった。
ごちそうさまでした！

～みはる～

Inadaptability

How adaptable are you to changes in life?

I had a shocking revelation that I am a pretty inadaptable creature.

A few days ago, I was performing my usual weekday routine of getting my butt out of bed, morning shower, eating breakfast - all in a bleary state of mind. It's Monday, so young people like me get the Monday blues. "It's the start of a working week. Ugh." そのところの感じね。

So I was chewing wholemeal + cheese washed down with chocolate milk when my cellphone beeped an incoming message. Reading the message sent a shock great enough to hurl me out of my Monday blues. No, actually, it hurled me out of my mind.

"Please move out by end of January - Landlady"

In the bleak rainy morning amid the bleary breakfast, I lost a shelter over my head.

When I finished reading the message I was in such a shock that I suddenly felt like a lost sheep in the jagged moutains, not knowing where to go or what to do. It was particularly difficult for me to accept that I will have no place to go in a month's time because first, the market rental price now is at its absurdly high peak with greedy owners and property agents taking the advantage to charge desperate tenants exorbitant fees. Second, I had just made commitments to language and music classes, which require an amount of budget every month. All it took was just an overnight, and I have been degraded from living comfortably to living off every penny of my-already-measly student salary. That shock resonated in my whole being for the rest of the day. It stressed me out so bad that I could not concentrate in my work in the office. All I could think of is the urgency to find another place before the stipulated deadline, and what would happen if we don't find it within the period of time, and how we are going to get an affordable place in the midst of the inflating market.

Shelter is a need for the living, and even the wildest animal would instinctively search for a new location in replacement of the abandoned so as to keep on surviving. Similarly, my damage control switch automatically activated: I began frantically searching classifieds for houses and contacting agents. But you see, although it is instinctive, the emotional impact didn't alleviate. I find it difficult to swallow the reality I had to accept. It made things worse that my rational brain completely comprehended the situation and could strategize procedures to overcome the problem, but my emotional brain could not help reacting negatively to the news. My emotional resistance kept building up, messing with my mind and concentration, until I just felt like letting frustrated tears flow. I was trudging listlessly home in the heavy rain with a growling stomach and unsettled mind and I wanted to just cry it all out, when my coursemate SY appeared behind me. It was like my Guardian Angel was aware how down I was and miraculously put comfort there beside me just when I needed it.

Holding back my floodgates, I lamented to SY about my shock of the day. Although I didn't expect any solution to come out of it, I felt better after talking it out. It helped me to accept the news a bit, and I did not feel as troubled anymore. It also happened a few friends popped my several messages to chat, and after lamenting to them, it helped me felt better too. However, I supposed the last thing that helped to dissipate the emotional shock was a phone call from home. Mysteriously, families know just when to call. In pouring out all my grievances over the phone and letting all frustrated tears flow, I somehow came to terms with reality.

In retrospect, I find myself inadaptable to changes. It took me a while to get over the emotional hangover before I had a clear mind to play out the strategies. What makes it challenging was the fact that I was completely aware of my incompetency and I know how to overcome that incompetency, but it is so overwhelming and powerful that I couldn't help but gave in to it.

Looks like I've much more to learn.

～みはる～

PS: Thank you all who had been there just when I needed support. やっぱり偶然はないと思う。^^

音楽の力

As scheduled last week, I went for the violin trial lesson yesterday after my Japanese lesson. To my disappointment, the actual violin instructor was not able to return in time from her orchestra performance overseas, hence a student/teacher (I think) relieved her position.

Okay now I don't want to sound shallow, but when I saw G, the student/teacher, I was slightly taken aback. Bespectacled and timid, I had thought for a moment whether I had entered the wrong studio. But as it appears, G was about to blow me away.

So we did a brief "Hello, how are you" before G shyly asked me what I know (and want to know) about the violin. I had thought it was a pretty standard question, so I just shared my tiny knowledge on violin with him. He looked really nervous, probably it was his first time teaching an adult, so I thought to help him relax by jokingly telling him to show off his violin playing skills. "Play me a song, show off your skills. Don't worry, I'm tone deaf, you can play anything and I'll think it's music. Haha" Very lame, I know, but was just trying to ease the tension. "Okay," G shyly replied as he placed his (very gorgeous) violin under his chin and positioned the bow.

The moment G drew the bow, the violin sang very beautiful music and he completely transformed into a very different person. There wasn't a hint of shyness or timidity; it was a very confident and graceful demonstration, and for the moment, I saw a different G. He exuded confidence and was very obviously enjoying playing the violin. I was really awed by the transformation before my eyes.

Then I thought, "This must be the power of music."

It goes without saying by the end of the day, I ended up with a violin and violin lessons every weekend beginning next year.

これもきっと音楽の力だと思う。

～みはる～

やっちゃった

やっちゃったよ、あたしは。

今日ね、ヴィオリンをさわって、ヴィオリンを買って、ヴィオリンの授業も決めたの。
あせったかったかな。
良いことか、やばいことか、よく分からないけど。
でもね、なぜか、やってみたいなぁって感じがあふれている。
今やる気満々そうです。子供っぽいかな。
でも自分で決めたし、楽しんでがんばらないと仕方ないよね。
では新たの年に新たの先生によろしくお願いいたします！
楽しみしています！

～みはる～

ツイシン：「この決を後悔しないように」祈っている。だってお金がかかるんだもん。

ぐうぜん。。。かな？

やぁみんな、元気してたかい？

Don't quite know why, but in quite a chirpy mood today (although I hate being chirpy). But anyway.

In my last post, I listed 5 resolutions (heck, it's not even New Year's yet...). And when I put those 5 resolutions as my "I Want To..." list on my blog side bar, I thought, "This will just be a wishlist if I don't do something about it".

Several days later, I received a call from the Japanese school I signed up, informing me that I've successfully been placed into a Pre-advanced Japanese class, after a 3-month wait. I was pleasantly surprised at the timing. There was I getting all pumped up about mastering Japanese, and mysteriously, opportunity presented itself for me to realize my wish.

ここで、ホリックのゆうこのせりふがします：「この世に偶然なんてない、あるのは必然だけ」。まぁ、そのおいといで。。。

So finally, I went for my first class last week. It was alot of fun. The class was comfortably sized, with approximately 15 students and one Maeda-sensei. All first Japanese classes run by default: 自己紹介(introduction). You know, the "Hajimemashite...hitotsu yoroshiku onegaishimasu" stuff. でもね、the weirdest thing was Sensei missed my 自己紹介- twice. First was when she did the attendance thing. The "X-san? Hai!" thing. She called on everyone except me. I thought I stepped into the wrong class or something. In the end, I had to called after her to call my name. Sooo not my idea of introduction.

The second time Sensei missed me again was when we did a 自己紹介 exercise. We worked in pairs and are supposed to introduce our partner to the class after a brief getting-to-know-each-other time. Everyone introduce their partner, including myself... except my partner. So, basically, I was not introduced to the class, again. まさか、先生わざだったの？T_T

However, I'll look over it as a first day glitch or two. The class interaction was great, with everyone talking at ease. Much to my surprise, every single other student in the classroom is a working adult except me. I think I could have been the youngest in there. I was also quite surprised to find the level of Japanese in there not very high. I had thought with one year interval since my last proper Japanese lesson, I may need to work harder, compared to the ongoing students. But in the end, I had to explain some of the words and sentence structure that was used in the class to the other students. Although quite relieved the starting level is not too difficult, I'm still a little surprised (and maybe disappointed). でも、これからも日本語の勉強がんばります！上手になるまでに一所懸命頑張ります。

Have you experienced times where opportunities seemed to bloom at your feet at your every wish and request?

I think I may have.

After my Japanese class, I walked out and just next door, is a classical music school/store. On the door, a notice reads: Free trial lessons for violin, flute, saxophone, viola, ... (insert more instrument names here).

*Scrolls down to my last post* Learning violin is one of my other things-I-want-to-do !!

またここで、ゆうこのせりふがする：「この世に偶然なんてない、あるのは必然だけ」。なんか、私こうやって好きだ。おいといで。。。

I went into the shop and a very friendly man entertained my request. We discussed about playing violin, the lessons offered (i.e. talk money. No fees, no class), and the violin teacher they have. As promised on the flyer, he offered to arrange a free trial lesson for me to get acquainted to playing violin and also to get to know the teacher. I thought it was a pretty tempting deal to pass, so I (uncharacteristically spontaneously) took his offer. So, suffice to say, I left the shop with a violin class appointment next week.

In that one day, I was granted the opportunities and the beginnings to do what I had haphazardly listed in my last post. And it dawned upon me, that maybe that list will not become a wishlist afterall. I am still thinking whether to seriously take up violin because I understood my work commitments will only get heavier with time (teaching duties, thesis for confirmation, data to publish paper, data to write thesis, mentoring students, etc, etc), but at the same time, I wanted so much to give the girl in me, the one who loves music and never quite properly finish learning one instrument, a chance to do at least one carefree thing she had given up somewhere in her childhood for conforming to the society's demands. I would hate to look back and sigh, "I wish I had learned violin then".

偶然なんてない、でしょう？

～みはる～

金色のコルダ

You know when you watch a show and it makes you go, "If only I could do that..."
Thanks to Shiyun-san's recommendation, I'm now in a wishful-thinking-mode of, "If I had done music instead..." And it's all because of this:

金色のコルダ

La Corda d'Oro ~Primo Passo~

Yes, music is my mental staple food. My love for music began at an early age. I remembered doing solo chacha and Japanese dances for the annual kindergarten performances, of which elevated to something more ambitious like choreographing dance moves for Awards Day in elementary school. High school saw more ensemble performances; woodwinds, traditional Javanese instruments, choir and the like. My earlier university days were hyped with Latin dancing, which I had enjoyed alot. When music plays and the feeling is right, I could feel life and excitement coursing in my blood.

Even though I liked music since young, my formal music education did not start until I was in high school. I don't recall playing anything extravagant during my elementary days, apart from the pianica, tambourine, triangles and castanets. I had always envied my neighbour's daughter who could play piano very well, and each time I paid her a visit, I weasel my chance to touch the black and white piano keys, much to her mother's annoyance. However, my family could not afford professional music lessons until I was in high school. Some people thought that age is pretty much late for learning piano, but I was enthusiastic to finally be able to learn to play it properly. So enthusiastic was I that I managed to persuade my parents to sign me up for organ classes as well.

However, high school equates national exams, and soon I became burdened with schoolwork and practice. I began to slack on practice for schoolwork, to the extend piano classes became a chore and I was terrified of going to class because I could not play without practice. Finally I stopped piano and organ lessons and it never picked up from there.

Some time last year, the Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile aired. I was filled with nostalgia and, maybe, regret when the beautiful sound of music rolled out with each episode. Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Mozart,... the richness of classical music resonated the music I loved so much. Watching the piano duet by Nodame and Chiaki, I regretted not persevering through my piano classes. How I wish I had the discipline to complete my music education then.

And now, when I watched La Corda d'Oro, the sounds of piano and violin once again stirred my incomplete musical dreams. I wishfully thought, "What it's like to be able to play the piano at a concour? What if I had learnt to play the violin too?"

I figured this wishful thinking would come back to me, neverending, the next time I watch another classical music show, so I came out with a little "5 Things I Want To Do Before I Die" list:

1. Get a piano and finish my piano Diploma.
2. Learn to play violin.
3. Give a public piano/violin performance.
4. Watch a real orchestra concert in Vienna.
5. Master Japanese.

Number 5 is out of point, but I just want to speak another language.

Told you music makes my blood excited, didn't I?

～みはる～

The irony

It's one of those days I've had, but unlike previously, it grasped me.

I'm talking about little surprises. Allow me to explain.

I was alone at the campus bus stop, waiting for bus this morning to go grocery shopping, when another girl joined me in my wait. She's a total stranger, so as I do always, I just continued what I was doing, i.e. listening to music and staring into the green scenery across the street.

After some 5 mins of waiting (not that it was unpleasant; the breeze was gentle and the sun was bright..), stranger girl suddenly lifted her hand and waved in my direction. Surprised, I turned back, expecting to see another person behind me who would be returning her wave. However, there was no one. I turned back at stranger girl, who was actually waving to me. I smiled at her, and she must have taken that as a green signal to begin a conversation. And with that, I found myself accompanied throughout my journey to the shopping center.

In retrospect, I find myself thinking, "Ahh, I haven't seen such a person for a long time." To me stranger girl (called ZY as I found out) was cheerful and courageous in socializing, something I felt I, and my generation in the society, totally lack in. She took the initiative to warm up a silent wait at the bus stop, a silence I have come to thought as natural over my years living in an urban city. I mean, how many of us speak to total strangers while waiting for our transport? With all the security issues plaguing the society (mothers tell us not to talk to strangers, no?) ignoring the person next to you seems like the right thing to do. But surprisingly at times, it can be quite a warm and pleasant encounter, getting to know someone new this way.

Thinking about it, I wondered if I have allowed myself to meld into a hypocrite: believing that I am sociable, telling people I am friendly, advocating courage in others, labeling ill-mannered people as hypocrites when myself am cowardly and hypocritical to start with. It's so easy to point fingers at another person, blaming them for all things that had failed you (or rather you had failed) and shrugging off your responsibility. It's a comfort to our state of mind, convincing that we have done all right and no wrong, and what we are now is a consequence of their err.

How ironic a warm encounter can invoke all these unsettling emotions.

～みはる～