End of an era

I've finally uploaded the piano pieces played for the ANZAC concert. I find that uploading onto youtube surprisingly easy. Hence, from now on, I shall probably start uploading more clips and make this blog a little more interesting.

Yesterday I had my first piano lesson for this month despite the fact that we're more than half way through May. In fact, so far this year, I have not had a single month where I've attended all lessons. The main reasons were either uni got in the way or my piano teacher, Ms Ling, feeling too sick. When I reflected the latter reason to her, she told me that she was pregnant! Two things instantly when through my head, of which I only vocalised one - I congratulated her on her pregnancy and was genuinely happy to see her becoming a mother.

Ms Ling has always been an idol to me. I like her classic yet stylish dress sense, her humour and of course, her piano talents. She can make the Crazy Frog tune sound sassy. Ms Ling, being 10 years older than me, is more than a teacher. She's also a girlfriend, someone who shares magazines with you and that you could confide to. The news of her pregnancy made me feel like there was a certain distance between the two of us. I feel like she is going through a rite of passage that confirms her status as an adult. I on the other hand, feel so young and naive. She will become a mother in November. She'll have to take care of a child, to teach him/her the ways of life, to commit this to raising this child for at least 18 years. In November, probably all that I'll be doing is fretting over uni assignments and what to do on weekends. The only teaching/caring I will be doing is non-committal tutoring jobs. See the difference?

I think the other thing that will be a big change is that I won't see her so much anymore because her pregnancy means she won't be able to teach as many lessons. So from next week, I'll be having a new piano teacher called Yvonne. Will she inspire me the way Ms Ling does?

I'll miss you Ms Ling!! T___T

Last week

Man..I'm sick. That's soo not cool. =.="

Anyways, because I'm feeling crap at the moment. This is going to be a short blog.

Last Wednesday was the biannual piano performance at my music teacher's studio. I played Melody in F by Rubinstein and Arabesque by Burgmüller. If you know these songs, you'll recognise their stark contrast. The first is quite slow and as musicians say, dolce. The latter is faster paced involving staccato beats and played with a sense of resolution (resoluto). Anyways, I think I did okay despite the fact that I forgot the starting notes for Melody in F when I started playing, and that my fingers were experiencing their version of wobbly knees. Apparently, unlike previous years, we were marked!! Yesterday I got my results - 87. I guess that's not bad.

My dad took a video. I was going to upload it on my SoundClick but something's wrong with my account. I'll have to fix it later.

Thursday night was the official launch party for 85 Broads. Overall, I found the night and the speakers very inspiring. It rekindled my ambitions for greatness (hohoho..how cliche) that I seem to have lost over the last couple of years. I also 'networked'. I hate that term. It makes making friends seem so derogatory, as if everyone is there for one another because of some kind of utility value.

I'm hunting down photos from that night because there was a professional photographer present so I didn't really take all that many photos. Thank goodness Eliza had the wisdom to take a precautionary group shot just in case the professional photos cannot be found:

The fruit of my networking =.=
Yun, Me, Christy, Yusha & Eliza

In Friday's design class, we watched a DVD on Norman Foster's 30 St Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin. He is such an incredible Architect. Who would be so bold and come up with such a daring design?? To me, the Gherkin embodies modernity as well as capturing the nostalgia of the pre-industrial age through its exterior colour scheme. The building reminds me of one of those ornamental China eggs. The intricacy of the design is also amazing. Each landing is twisted 5 degrees to allow natural air ventilation spiraling up the building, but also from an aesthetic point of view, it gives the whole building a feeling of movement. As well, the building narrows at the top and bottom to allow a feeling of spaciousness to pedestrians but does not compromise the actual floor space. Watching the DVD makes me want to study Finance or some money related course just so that I can perhaps work with the Swiss Re one day and use the Gherkin. *sigh

www.foliophoto.co.uk/images/gherkin_l.jpg

Excited about sharing my new finding of the day, I raved about it to Alice, my dear friend and aspiring Architect, later that night. All she said to me at the end was "yea..I know about him already. Your point?" -_-'