couch potato

i'm so summarized to the point that providing the summary is too much.
what's the point...
makes no difference anyway.
everything feels like an assignment in school.
i'm not in school anymore, yet i feel like i'm still the same high school student who's trying to figure out her life.

so need to live in the present Earth, my mind is always wandering on some other planet.

december update

i have finally picked up my act and finished spacing the "first" movement of Ms. K's piano trio.
it was indeed a bit of work, took me 2 hrs to do the layout.

today was sort of productive.
i got to spend a full 30 mins work out on my new treadmill.
but i was actually planning on going to goodlife because my last payment would last till dec 24.
i've got to go more next week.

gosh, spent so much money for the past week.
first the wii, then the treadmill.
still in the midst of getting a new card reader so i can soft mod the wii with my SDHC.
already got the roms for the Simpsons Game and Cooking Mama.
it'll save me so much money if it works.

will be picking up another movement of the trio downtown in the afternoon.
hope i can beat the torch bearers and barricades, and make it back home before rush hour.
i am going to see the relay in Richmond Hill.
i mean, why miss it if they're gonna pass by right in front of u, right?
it's easy to just park the car at my dad's and walk to hwy 7 and snap some pictures.
darn thing i still haven't got my polarizer filter!

more late night baking

it's smelling reeeeeeally good in the house.
full of butter in the air.
i finally found a good shortbread recipe, thanks to Martha Stewart's website.
full of butter, but that's what so great about it! like it how it's all fluffy just like Karen's when she brought hers in last week in the Xmas concerts in London.
gotta go down and take some pictures of them.

oh yeah, and i've also made gae chal ppang again.
hopefully Nikki will quickly recover from her fever and get to eat them tmr.

i finally found the creme brulee ramekins + torch set at canadian tire.
took me a while.
none of the people who work there knows where it is.
i surveyed the entire store for about 15 mins before finding the only, last set in the clearance table.
now all i need is a good recipe, and some butane gas.

since i was there, i also checked out the treadmill machine i was looking for.
that's another $600 down the road.
it's the Horizon CT 5.1. what's neat about it is that it has hydrolic arms that helps fold up and release of the running bed. sort of like those new slow slamming toilet seats.
i think they do delayed payments, but i'd have to get a stupid credit card.
we'll see how that goes when i call them up next monday.

awesomeness

woohoo!
i'm now a proud owner of a wii!
yesterday we went to walmart in Richmond Hill and they had none left.
today i drove my dad to Trenton to pick up his winning bid at the AF base. on our way back in Brighton, we went into a walmart and they have at least 10 consoles there.
the manager was even afraid that they won't sell. what are the odds??

now i'm at the adrenaline crash, feeling really sore and nil in strength in my right arm.
why oh why did i play for 4 hrs straight? (*.*)

i have a big question too...
should i mod the wii? seems like there's a lot of malfunctions after hard modding.
maybe i should do it after the warranty expried?
but i don't want to spend so much money buying games...
what should i do?

expendature

bought a bottle of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA white Chardonnay wine.
i figure since i don't eat land animals, then i'll switch to white wine for a little while.
got 2 more beers, 1 german the other is estonia, i think.
and i've also bought a strawberry beer! we'll see how that goes!

we finally replaced the old toaster oven.
it's now a nice black and decker one that's a bit bigger in volume.
i just like the nice touch~

unfortunately i found a cheaper bundle of ramekin + crème brûlée torch at canadian tire, so i had to return the more expensive one at kitchen stuff plus today.
felt like i wasted gas just going there.
o well, they do have more stuff that i wanna get for the kitchen, so i'll eventually go there again for more!
and i'll have to get my deposit for the many beer/wine bottles in my garage... the beer store/lcbo is in the same plaza.

finished inputting the piano part of K's trio.
sigh... i really don't like to work with transposed instrument, but i'll have to do the basset horn part sooner or later.
guess i'll leave that last =P

tonight i'll be making white bread again, hopefully less dense, more fluffy.
and also a holiday treat... cranberry short bread cookies!

latest attractions

i'm currently totally addictive to the Dead Zone series, now on series 2.
the lead actor is cute and funny, and apparently he's a good person in real life too~!
totally falling in love with him!

as i was randomly looking for information about picking wild mushrooms...
yes, i'm thinking of learning it. chanterelle seems like a tasty one for cooking, so that might be my first search.
anyway, so i came across this forum that is SO druggie.
it's basically a drug user's site, discussing about different drugs and its usage, which area has what kind of dealers and shit.
seems like drugs are taking over across the globe.
i just want to try weed before i die! hahaha

on a totally unrelated matter...
if u get a second chance at something, would you take it?
given that the result of the first round sticks around and u're a different person now.

orchestra pains

this week is a driving marathon.
London decided to go Tues Thurs Sat with the programme schedule.
and Fri Sun is the Northumberland schedule (in Cobourg).
my gas bill has sky rocketed. good thing i don't gas up in toronto!

i have made up my mind to do the New World Symphony audition.
so i've got to video myself for the preliminary by december 15.
glad they have late application dates available. well, it's all about money.
the later u apply, the more money u'll have to pay.
i'm aiming to do this by dec 15, if not then jan 5.

as for the live audition, because montreal is on their list, i'll probably go there if i'm selected. but it is first on the list, on feb 1.
i am free on that day, but it's a monday where i'd have to teach at that fucking music school.
maybe i'll aim for march 2/3 in chicago. haven't been there yet!
even if i fail, it's relatively close by and i can do some touring.
plus is cherry blossom time!

actually, come to think of it, i might take a teaching monday off and go to Rochester on march 15. i hate that school, might as well get away from it and save some money on gas.
Rochester is only 3 hrs driving time away. it'll save me half the cost than Montreal and Chicago.

we'll see what happens!

Mass Murderer Kills Aagin

Musicians all around Toronto are now warned that a mass murderer is on the loose.
Tonight a renowned composer, Ludwig von Beethoven, was killed in a rehearsal. Along with his colleage Puccini who was unfortunate enough to be included in the rehearsal as well.
The suspect has also foretold that he will kill again tomorrow afternoon in an ethnic concert consists mainly of Chinese people.
On the hit list, there we see Mr. Beethoven and Mr. Puccini again, and Verdi, an old age Chinese amateur composer Tan M.Z., plus a few others.
We're expecting a large amount of blood spill in the Ford Centre tomorrow afternoon at the concert.
Please advise all loved ones to stay away from this facility.

Relating to this massacre, a number of professional musicians were also injured during the killing spree tonight.
Most suffered from useless repetition syndrome, heavy damage to the eardrums, and serious mental discomfort from idiotic behaviours exhibited by non-professional musicians.
The professionals are expected to recover from the trauma when pay cheques are issued at the end of the concert, and consuming large amount of alcohol.

This news has been brought to you by one of the victims, the assistant viola principal.

(c) All rights reserved 2009

God, please end this asap

it's so horrible playing with chinese amateurs.
they think they're still professionals because they played in china, yet they didn't know the standard here is much higher.
and what i don't like about them is that they verbally criticize people both in their own section and other sections.
there's this chinese assistant principal who has no respect for anyone around him including towards the principal.
then u have the viola principal who couldn't play, as usual. so i'm doing most of the leading, playing, and editing.
i resorted to playing with my carbon fibre bow so idiots around me won't damage my good wooden bow.
the seconds are just completely lost most of the time.
the firsts are probably the only ones who kind of know what they're doing.
really strong bass section, because 4 out of 5 of them aren't chinese and they're professional players, with whom i normally play in other orchestras.
the winds and brass and percussion have a mix of semi-professionals and students.
2 weeks of hell playing in a chinese orchestra directed by a certain Mr. T.

stuff i want but not necessarily need

this is my ongoing wish list:

kitchenaid stand mixer
grill machine
cotton candy maker
espresso/steam frother machine
UV filter for my D60
remote shutter control for my D60

movie talk

it was a pretty good experience watching 2012.
i wasn't expecting a good laugh out of it, but i did!
but there were way too many touchy scenes to soften up the intensity, and i didn't like that.
just hit me with everything at once. that's the way i like it.
the movie was long! 158mins, man!!
by the time it's done, my back, neck, legs were SO sore!
my chair was acting broken and smelly, which didn't help.

looking forward to a few releases!
there's kungfu fighting Sherlock Holmes on Xmas day.
Prince of Persia sometime next year around april or may?

apparently they're remaking Nightmare on Elm Street.
starting from Freddie's mob hunt to the nightly hauntings.
i still like the old Freddie much better.
some of the scenes look way too similar to the original version.
sorry, i just don't buy that.
originals are always better!

as the incompetent tech support would say: problem resolved - NOT!

so an update about the copyright issue.
my friend called me back twice.
the first time we talked and she said that took a picture of her Maggini model and her friend used that to make her business card.
and told me there's no way that's my viola in her card.
i told her i'm extremely surprised by that because of the antiquing and lighting being exactly the same on 2 instruments... which in reality is impossible.

then a couple hours later, she called me back a second time.
this time she talked to her friend who made the card.
turns out her friend finds her photo not suitable for printing, so her friend went online and looked around for a higher resolution picture.
somehow through some indirect link, she found my picture.
without asking for a consent for copyright redistribution, she took that and used it for the card.
and printed them out as a birthday present for my friend.

now that's all sorted out, she did promise me that her friend will not reuse that picture.
and since it's her birthday present, i gave her the ok to keep using the cards till they run out.

what a turn out.

legals

in case if anyone else reads my blog or came to this blog from a search engine, looking for the Canadian Copyright Act clauses about photography copyright, here it is:

Link: Canada Copyright Act, Table of Contents

Link: PDF version of the Copyright Act

pages in the act relating to your photography rights:

Link: Term of Copyright in Photographs

Link: Author of Photograph

Link: Ownership of Copyright (Read subsection (2) )

Link: Moral Rights (Relates to explicit crediting to the author)

= = = = = = =
i have just sent an email to the friend, now asking for the contact of the person who made her business card.
i know i can take legal actions to have my picture's copyright performed now.
DV just helped me analyse the card, and he agrees that the lighting is exactly the same as the picture in my ad.

badness

i just found out someone has used a picture that belongs to me in her business card.
and she is a colleague.
i'm sending an email to let her know that her friend who did the business card for her took my picture.
i hope her friend didn't charge her for making the card, or else i can sue her friend.
it seems like her friend scanned it off the Elegant Brides magazine and keyed out the background, making it a white background.
so of course, it'll look amazing because it took me a freaking 2 days worth of processing that picture.
how do i know it? because i recognized it the moment i saw her card, and she gave me her card.
i took out the magazine, my back up image file, and boom - there it is.
all the antiquing are exactly the same.
except her card was horizontally mirrored.

so not only finding out Anthropologie doesn't have shoes, there's also this copyright infringement...
i am pissed.

shoes shoes shoes!!

as i've showed Piggie, i've got these nice Pierre Michel shoes for $26.99 + tax!
so a pair of concert shoes under $30! plus there's airmiles and store points.
sorry about the blurriness. my macbook's webcam is low res.

should've just went straight to the shoe company.
spent an hour at pacific mall and they have nothing interesting at all.
if i pay at least $30 cash on a pair of chinese made shoes, might as well get it from a better source, and i can pay by card.
i also went to 2 winners for the past few days and found nothing good there.
oh well. shoe company is now my shoe hub! gotta love their clearance sale.

still, i really like the Bewitching Booties from anthropology.
hope there's time tomorrow to check them out before dinner!!

the hunt begins

i'm looking for a pair of replacement black concert shoes.
requirements:
under $50 (before taxes)
cute
comfortable
1-2" heels
can run with if necessary

so far, no luck at the shoe company and hillcrest mall.
tmr i'll check pacific mall before i go to the student's house.
hopefully there'll be something interesting.

Edit:

found these from Anthropologie...
it's called Bewitching Booties.
they're $222! but very nice!!

lingering

i miss the autumn air again.
but if i plan a hiking trip now, all i'll see is brown and dead things.
maybe i'll plan one in the winter when there's snow.
at least the dead stuff are all covered in white~ XD

i lent my viola for a colleague and she brought it back yesterday with a surprise.
she noticed i like taking photos, so she gave me a nice frame for a 5x7 picture, plus a very cute thank you card.
how nice of her!
female koreans are so polite~

time to go get my rehaired violin bow.
hope they didn't destroy it down in R, or on the way to the north.
and i'm seriously thinking of replacing my sister's old bow with a carbon fibre.
oh, and cut another bridge too. it's totally warped.
but that's for another day.
now i need to save up some money for the next few weeks and xmas.

hiking day

i had a great time today road tripping!
went to Eugenia Falls first, a short detour to Eugenia Lake, then made my way back to Hoggs Falls, and lastly to Mono Cliffs Provincial Park.

Eugenia Falls was rather disappointing. the height is great, but the water volume was so small that it feels like something's stuck upstream.
if it wasn't that slippery today, i would've went on the trail around the cliffs. it's pretty awesome with the height, and i was fearing that i'd fall over and die plunging.

got myself a small souvenir from Eugenia Lake. i was surprised to find shells washed up to shore. and it was just a docking shore!
there's at least 4 different kinds of shells. the wind was not too chilly so i stayed for a bit.

Hoggs Falls is definitely worth the time. it's a small, yet handsome falls.
tremendous sound with the water roaring down. lots of water!
i wish i could get to the bottom of the falls, but it was way too slippery everywhere after raining for 2 days.
i would definitely go back during the summer time and check out the greens.

by the time i found Mono Cliff's parking lot, it's already gotten kind of dark.
but i still spent a good hour there in part of the trails.
it's another place that i'll need to visit again next summer and autumn.
all the leaves have pretty much fallen off. it'd be a great sight to see burning colours of maples.
also didn't get to the caves, i had to make my way back to the parking...
by the time i reach the entrance on the way back, 4 cyclists and a dog passed me by.
i can't imagine getting out of there in total darkness. bravo to them!
when i got out of the parking lot, i needed to turn on head lights...

it's a fulfilling day.
the pictures aren't great because the light's dim.
and i couldn't take pictures with myself in it because the timer's acting wacky.
time to get a remote!!!

October road trips

i had a great time taking pictures at Mill Pond last sunday.
and i completely forgot about the piano quartet rehearsal...
good thing i asked Kevin to give me a ride, so when i got home his car was parked right outside.
i dashed in and took my viola + music and ran to his car.
that was embarrassing. hahahaha~
good thing we still made it on time! well, it was getting dark early, so i went home "early".

even more excited for tomorrow's road trip.
first i'll lead a fellow violist to David's place in Flesherton for repairs. then i'll have lunch in town, then head a bit northeast to Hogg's Falls.
after that i'll make my way southeast to Mono Cliffs at Mono (near Orangeville).
and then head home when i'm done enjoying the great Ontario outdoors!
looking forward to tomorrow!!

contemplation

out of my time zone again.
gotta resume normality... soon...

good news though, getting my viola adjusted next wednesday!
finally - after 2 years of out of whack!!
all thanks to that fucking asshole who knocked the sound shield which landed on my bridge, luckily on the side.
i really hope the other girl wouldn't come. love to see Mono Cliffs by myself and with my camera.
then i can spend whatever amount of time there as i please... well, till i have to go back to civilization anyway.
i think i'm making a hobby out of photography now.
it's nice taking pictures of nature. nothing but me, my camera, and Earth.
right... as if i don't have enough alone time already...

turns out the arrangements that the quartet from Ohio are pretty good, at least from what i could see.
we'll find out how it sounds tomorrow, if we get a chance to read them during the gig.
love playing flamenco type music.
now i have to find time to reciprocate and send them our files, which i haven't prepared yet.
hopefully i'll have time to do that during the weekend.
and by weekend, i meant sunday.

saved by the bell

just got a call from HMV Woodbridge.
my mum's bday present finally arrived!!!!!
i better go get it before they decided to give someone else a chance to buy it.
my mum's bday is tomorrow~

disappointments

i had my hopes up a bit too high.
Durham Regional Forest wasn't as good as i have imagined.
Twickenham was actually much more beautiful and it's much closer.
not a lot of trees have turned colours yet, so it's still rather green in Durham.
i'm going back to Twickeham, hopefully coming Sunday to see if there's more colours yet.
but if i'm able to visit David Prentice on that day, then i'll take a look at the creek and trees around Orangeville!
got to call him tomorrow before i go teach.

gosh... i really don't like teaching the shy one.
no sense of tone, rhythm, nor discipline to practise...
sigh....

fall planting

time for some tulip planting!
hopefully i won't get a "frost bite". hahaha~
i was gonna go to the gym today, but didn't realize the retard rehearsal starts early tonight.
oh well, working in the yard is still some form of oxygenated exercise.

did i mention this?
my mum saw a bunch of aggressive squirrels in the backyard the other day.
weeks later, which was last week, when i wanted to "harvest" my sunflower seeds...
all of them were all on ground, all eaten.
*SOB*

thoughts written unspoken

back to that orchestra's rehearsals.
i never liked it because of the dictator conductor.
高傲卻沒能, bad combo.
o well, i'm just there for the money and meeting old friends.

i finally got paid for the rest of my work for the Hart House Orchestra.
it's very satisfying having done a big job and compensated.
this cheque will take care of 1/5 of the cost of my musafia case.

Mahsa's wedding is not until next year.
i still wanna go to a moderately hot place for the winter.
California seems to be a good idea, but who would go with me??

gonna head out to the gym now!
hope i can spend the entire 30 minutes on the treadmill today!

thanksgiving long weekend

it has been a nice relaxing weekend.
well, not that relaxing... i was cooking till 4am saturday night.
sunday's trip to the apple farm and Fork of the Credit was fun, but it was cooooold.
at the end of the trip, my dad and i actually saw very tiny little snow flakes!

today was fun too.
my parents and i went for dim sum at around 1pm.
so i had to cancel my 2pm student just in case we ran late... which we did not!
but it was a good decision because i was so tired at the end of the day.
after dim sum we went to 3 parks: Headwaters, Twickenham, Richmond Green.
they're all parks within Richmond Hill. so i guess we had a day tour around our own town!
out of the 3 we visited today, i like Twickenham the most.
if we were there around summer time, it'd be so wonderful with all the wildflowers.
but we got to see some nice leaves too at this time. would be better if we went next week because there's still a lot of green.
Richmond Green was totally red. they have so many maples in there, so the colours were just stunning!

next time i guess i'll just have to go by myself.
mum doesn't like to walk, so we only walked half way before we turned back to the car.
if i were to go on my own, i'd spend the entire day exploring all of the trails in completion.
but i did get some nice pictures even though it's only half completed!
maybe next week! i'll see if i can make a trip to David Prentice and get my viola adjusted.
should be nice at around Orangeville.

weirdness

i had one of those weird dreams last night.
so i appear to be "the chosen one" and i have to go through this process to achieve my wings.
after i've got those wings, things started to get really bad.
first, there's this big flood. but somehow the building where i went through the process where all my people are seems to be able to withstand the flood.
but the rest of the land is not.
so i had to use my wings to fly over these flooded valleys to several points to perform a rite to stop the flood.
my first point is to first use my wings to fly to point 2 - ok, easy enough to say, but it's really hard to fly over water when there's gusting wind.
when i got there, i had to find this blackish grey tabby kitten and take its brains out.
apparently it's part of the sacrificial rite.
of course, being a cat lover, i couldn't kill it on the spot. i held onto the kitten and flew to point 3.
that's when i woke up by my dad's repeated attempt to get me to fix the damn internet connection.

i guess flood land is flooded forever! >(

wow, watching Lexx does give me weird dreams...

stuff that happened and will happen

since there's no more streaming episodes of Lexx left, i'm downloading the rest of it.
hate to miss an episode and never find out what happened.
now i can watch from the start again! well... when i have more time.
i've also resumed Queer as Folk, now at season 3 episode 12.
it's slow for me since i haven't followed shows for a few months.
now that House and Heroes are back on, i can finally restart my lovely world of dramas.
kind of miss it!
i'm looking very much forward to january when Lost and Being Human come back.
it's going to be a very exciting season, with Lost being in its last season.

orchestra is picking up too.
i've got booked for Peterborough for their Christmas concerts already, so that's good.
not looking forward to the drive though.
it would be much nicer in the fall time when the roads are still clean and leaves are in nice colours.
oh well... gotta do what i gotta do!

i am looking forward to this sunday.
the whole family is taking a trip to Mississauga for some apple picking (this part i don't like) and trail walking.
i'm there for some nice fall pictures, hopefully there's a waterfall... if that's the same place i saw in my searches.
great opportunity for me to get more practising on photo taking.
this time i'll remember the tripod!

as to the new pub that i wanna check out...
that should happen soon!
i really wanna get a taste of their food before they turn into something else again.
that spot seems to change ownership and type of establishment quite often...
we'll see. maybe early next week.

gah gah

i think i'm coming down with a cold...
very stuffed, sinus blockage, head exploding...
but when i'm playing, it seems to be less annoying.
maybe it's because the trumpets are blowing in my ear so i'd feel that pain first.

it's super cold out without my wool jacket nowadays.
guess it's time for Canadian winter soon.
i should get a new down coat this year.
my old one has been in use for the past 6 years. time to retire my old friend.

the Beatles CDs are still not here yet...
i'll go and check up on them in person on monday.
can never trust people working in hmv, especially when they're still in training.

stuff i need/want to buy, but don't have the money to buy yet:
1) snow tires for my Rav 4
2) more comfortable black concert shoes (i think i'll go shop in London in November)
3) backup battery for my Nikon
4) a sturdier tripod for my Nikon
5) the next generation of iPhone - this will be my next phone when my current contract ends in a year
6) original DVDs of a few TV series

and some more

so i went to Remenyi's yesterday to buy a mute for my violin.
bumped into Rosa again because there's a piano sale that's happening.
she said she was busy with the sale, so she didn't have time to email me back about the prices.
turns out the Luxury Exclusive model is only about $1500 for a double case.
i'm sure my jaws just dropped on the floor right there.

she also called downtown to see if there's a replacement part for my profile stand's middle knob.
yes, it was so eaten away that actually requires replacing...
hopefully i'll get word about that soon. for now i'm using a long bolt to hold it in.
i really don't wanna use a screwdriver every time i adjust the stand.

now getting back to the mute that i originally set out to get.
because it was only $1.70 compared to the couple grand that i'll be spending...
she gave it to me for free. =)

i've looked at most big stores for the Beatles CDs.
none of them have it in stock.
Sunrise is selling for $290, no way i'm getting them there even though they have stock. i mean, surprise, surprise. who the fuck would spend so much on CDs?
so my best bet is the $239 set i'm ordering from HMV.
please have them soon... my mum's bday is coming in a few weeks...

future plans

after a long wait for a month, i finally got word from London.
luckily i've got work for most of the bigger works for the season.
so i won't be turning fingers at home doing nothing for 9 months.
still need a lot more work though, there's still some weeks when i'm totally workless.

i've decided to just go for the musafia double case rather than an al cheapo.
since there'll be 2 instruments in there, might as well get a sturdier case.
this will also serve as my good violin case because i don't have a good one at all.
all of my violin cases are broken. and i'm using my old shaped heavy viola case for my old viola.
$2000-$2400 budget, hopefully it's covered by insurance too.

having said that, my budget for the next travelling plan will be reduced to less than $800.
and my first vacation days is around early june... not much choices for cheap tickets there.
unless i'm driving, which will limit the trip to eastern canada only.
but that's a bit far in the future. we'll see what happens when it gets closer.

mum's birthday is coming up. she mentioned that she wanted the Beatles Stereo Box Set, which is supposed to be around $190.
bestbuy is selling at $220, with no stock but possible shipment this thursday.
so i'll have to wake up early and line up to try for a set.
meanwhile, i've made an order at the hmv at woodbridge (near the music school where i teach on mondays). they're selling at a fucking $239.
but it's her present, so i gave a $10 deposit and got myself in line for a definite copy if i couldn't get them at bestbuy.
sigh... money money money.
all down the drain.

after weeks of sleeping late and doing nothing, i'll need to get back on a better routine.
sleeeeeeeep.
nighty!

證實了...

我能做的只有把您永記於心, 還有希望您能早登極樂. namo amitabha.
多謝您給了我多年的歡樂, 我會記得買第 49 期的!

不捨

不知不覺間, 跟小新的認識已經 10 多年.
今晚到過 fb 上小新的板塊, 看見關於臼井儀人老師的消息, 再看雅虎的頭條新聞...
真的希望那不是老師...
*淚*

無言了...

tired from looking at kids

sigh...
parents and their kids...
i'm so happy my parents weren't forceful with me in my music lessons.
rather, i was that sleepy kid who just won't pay attention at group lessons.
look how i turned out.
hor hor hor.

i like my second student of the day better.
cute little boy, just like a white sheet of paper. i can basically teach him from the start without correcting other people's problems.

tomorrow i'm subbing the entire day for Simon.
kill me now.

unattractive business

gonna start teaching 2 new students in the music school tomorrow.
euh, the dread.
fuck the commute, have to get there at rush hour.
time to look into 407.

back!

wow, can't believe how much i did NOT miss having an internet connection!
a bit worried about the phone part though, 'cause i still want my parents to be able to find me in case anything happens.
it was a good camping trip. lots of eating, lots of hiking.
but the down side was my freaking allergies.
it's gone haywire.
i think i was exposed to too much of nature.
o well, back to more city pollution now.

can't believe how big the pile of emails i've got.
1/3 of it was just pure junk, bulk mail.
but the rest require replying with a brain.
i think i left it out in Killbear.

OH!
apparently while i was sleeping the other night, 1 of the guys (Major) spotted a black bear at Ooi's car sniffing at the trunk!
talk about close encounter!!
i wonder if they'll all run away and left me for dead if the bear ever attacked our camp.
luckily it just went away peacefully.
but they're all amazed how quiet the bear was because the only one sound that Major picked up was a small twig breaking.
they were playing Monopoly Deal at the time - quite a fun game!!!

lots of good stories, ask me later ;)
nighty night!

going not so far far away

i'm at that point again where i'm not sure if i'm having a really strong allergy or it's actually a cold.
claritin seems futile, my eyes are still itchy and the throat/ear cavity are killing me with itchiness too.
hopefully when i get to the great outdoors it won't get too worse.

ended up with a total of 4 people including me for this camping trip.
o well, at least we're still going! =D
it's Killbear Provincial Park, and it's near Parry Sound.

rendez-vous in civilization next thursday!
have a gooooood long weekend, everybody!

恭賀老陳 (^o^)

Happy Birthday to Piggie!!!!!!!!!!!
although i couldn't personally hug you today, but by next year, i can!
yay!

overkill

i have finally input everything in Holbrooke!
now all i have to do is tidy up the spacing.
this is one of the more painful parts because it's nearing the end, but still tedious enough to piss me off.
especially when it's a full score and i'm doing this whole score in landscape orientation with nearly all parts present... that's about 15-20 staves at one point.
a bit off today going to sleep at 4am.
i was way too involved trying to finish this score.

let's see... haven't been to the gym for a while again.
need to resume that.
obvious not tomorrow, since i'm too sore now.
o yeah, my wrist is still sore from de-weeding the lawn.
and my allergies aren't helping either.

gosh, is it just me?
it's really dry for the past week.
not to mention the coldness in the air.
i think we're definitely into the fall season.

hungry all day too

yay! i'm so proud of myself!
got viola, cello, and bass left to check for dynamics and articulations.
after that i'll input the sax part and adjust spacing.
then i'll be free of all Holbrooke!!!
can't wait to finish it.
i think i can actually finish everything by the end of tomorrow!

still haven't bought the new Simpsons season yet.
that's ok, i'm still waiting for prices to drop.
but i've got to remember to use the certificate before october.

today is rather chill.
but i still managed to de-weed most of the yard in between Holbrooke sessions.
my dad helped too towards dinner time. we're both covered in blisters and chilled to the bone.
it's THAT cold today!
i left the window opened for most of today, and it's freezing cold like beginning of winter.
maybe it's because there was no sun?
or maybe it's because i was listening to 極度恐怖熱線 all day??

tired

tidied up Holbrooke movements 1 and 2.
i can say that they are now completely finished.
now all that's left is the messiest movement 3.
what's left are the articulations, the actual note check, and inputting the sax part.
hope i can get this done before the end of the month.
then i can go celebrate the historical moment with Steve and King Henry's Limbs.

fuck administrative mumbo jumbo.
nothing beats private teaching.

too much at once

it's great! Ms.K is giving me more copy work in the future!
hurray!
that also means i'm owing a few beers to Steve. he's the referrer.
gosh, i wonder if they have veggie food at King Henry's Limbs?

friday is body exam day.
hope they won't take too much blood out of me.
i need some of it to stroll through Hillcrest Mall, and drive home.
hmm.. will my iron count go down because i'm going veggie?

i think my mum is pretty determined in just cooking more veggies for this week only.
for some reason she thinks my diet only last a week long...
guess i'll have to do my own cooking starting next week.

really don't want to go to that orientation tomorrow.
what is there to orientate for 1.5 hours???
i've already done the walk through the school. there must be tons of administrative Scheiße to deal with.

monday

i did manage to finish Ms.Kuzmenko's score, and went to the gym before that!
first day of veggie is alright, cooked some very tasty zucchini in butter and garlic.
yummmmm!

this morning i almost ran into a spider's nest.
the net is huge, but the spider is small. good thing i had my glasses on and spotted the unusual spider hanging in the air.
gosh, just thinking about it grossed me out.

one of my 5 sunflowers bloomed!
it's HUMONGOUS.
well, 4 of the stalks are really thick, and the one that bloomed is the strongest and tallest out of all 5.
there's no sunflower seeds in the head yet, so i'm guessing it bloomed yesterday or the day before.
haven't been out to the yard for a few weeks.
my allergies have started, so i'm guessing ragweeds are in. Benadryl did nothing to help me, so i have to spend the bucks to get Claritin.
at least my itchy eyes are subsiding.

get to watch a teen's movie today after finishing the copy work - City of Amber.
it's actually quite a scary movie for kids to watch, but i guess teens are ok.
got some good morals and adventures in there too.
can't believe how fat Bill Murray is...
for some odd reason, at certain angle, he has a bit of John Cleese in him.
i think it's mostly the droopiness of his face.

yay! 1am!
making progress!

plans

finally watched Planet of the Dead, the first of David Tennant's last 4 episodes in Doctor Who. really cool stuff for this one, very nicely done!
can't believe they actually foreshadowed the Doctor's "death" in this episode!
i really don't like the face of the 11th Doctor... he looks, well, weird.
how i wish David could've stayed for a while!!
o well.

got the entire day to myself tomorrow.
first thing is a balanced breakfast, then going to the gym.
haven't been to the gym for the past 2 weeks, so another $27 wasted. i was soooo busy!
then i'll be finishing up Ms. Kuzmenko's copy work. hopefully resuming Holbrooke.
nothing beats the fulfilment of finally finishing something.

hope it'll be an easy transition for my new diet.
my wheatgrass is totally dead, so i'll need to get the new ones replanted.
then when i resume the wheatgrass routine, i'll be on the ideal diet.

next week

i think i'm ready for my meatless days.
it's more of a mental preparation than a physical one.
i don't think ditching meat will cost me much harm health-wise.
just not desiring it will take a bit of determination.

that leaves me one question...
what do i do with the left over salami that's in my fridge right now?

Steve texted me finally about Holbrooke.
looks like my deadline's approaching!
gotta whip myself harder!!

a week well wasted

finally got the arrangement done for this sunday's wedding.
now i'm arrangement free for the week!

can start working on Ms. Kuzemenko's piece.
hers is more urgent, and it's also much shorter and simpler.
gosh, i truly appreciate hand written music that i can actually read!

i drafted a response to that new orchestra's "appointment".
basically i'm say: not gonna take it if i'm not getting paid, fuck you for not offering me the principal seat.

got a load of stuff to do before i can take a few days off in september to camping and enjoy the great ontario outdoors before it turns into ice.
looking back, i'm finding myself more productive this year.
although i'm still uncertain of where my career is heading in the coming year.
but it's ok, i'm going through it. it's just like back to 2005 when i got out of school.
well, except now i'm 4 years older, and a whole lot wiser. =)
budweiser!
muwahahahahahaa~

yay, get to sleep by 2am!
sweet dreams!

more work, please!

i've finally finished Holbrooke movement 1 for real.
there was no solo part in there before, now it's complete with all parts!
moving onto movement 2 tomorrow.
movement 3 has all the notes from the parts, but i'll have to verify everything with the score... it's the messiest of all.
i found parts that's not in the score, and something in the score that's not in the parts.
what a pain in the butt.

really have to thank Steve for referring Ms. Kuzemenko to me.
i'll be off to get a sample from her tomorrow in the faculty, to see if i could get it ready for september.
i think i'm starting to become a professional copyist nowadays.

now that i've conquered Holbrooke, i'm invincible.
muwahahaha!!

hey, big spender!

just spent a hefty $400 on cargo liner, 1st and 2nd row floor liners for my Rav4.
i was debating to whether go with the Toyota OEM or WeatherTech.
i saw Ooi's WT liners, they look really great fit and practical. so i chose it over the OEM. well, aside from the fact that Toyota doesn't have the perfectly fitted liners for both rows.
the cargo liner is a few dollars difference between OEM and WT. but i read that the WT ones don't smell and i asked the guys from one of the Toyota dealers - he says the WT one is actually softer. of course, because the OEM is made of plastic and the WT is made of rubber. i need to lift it to access the under panels quite a lot for my hidden storage area, so a softer one would be easier.

i'm tired of looking at ugly unfitted mats that my dad saved from previous cars.
i mean... the smelly, dirty, old ones in my car right now.
over the years, these oldies have soaked up a lot of salt and dirt that i can't even take out. and i don't want to spend the time, money, and resources to have them cleaned.

ok, i think i'm just justifying for spending so much.
gotta get ready for gig in Alliston.
first time fiddling!
only practised for an hour to learn how to fiddle.
here i go!
yeeeeee-haw~!

cramming

glad that we can work something out with the camping situation!
looks like i'll be driving up with either George or Amy with the rest of the non-essential stuff (coolers and something big) while the others head up first to set up tents.
darn, that means i'll be missing half a day of activities already!
but that's ok, at least i'll grab a full dinner instead of possibly cooking there.

this week is loaded with lots of stuff to do.
well, this week and next. there're 2 important weddings next weekend, so i'll need to gather the music now and arrange for a rehearsal.
both brides are music majors, so i'm expecting more business from them.

one of my viola students is doing her exam next week.
still missing one piano music, but hopefully they'll manage with an extra rehearsal sometime before this week ends.
my gr. 8 violin student just settled down in her new place, so she'll have to postpone her exam to the winter session. so glad that she didn't apply for the summer exam yet, i wouldn't want her mum to waste money.

i'm about 1/4 way through the 3rd movement of Holbrooke.
gosh, can't wait to get this pile of handwritten shit out of my hands.
not only the 2 versions of parts don't match markings, they also don't quite match the score as well.
i think the copy i'm working on right now will be the first computerized version.
hahaha~
i get a serious headache and dizziness every time i worked on it over 3 hours.
i'll have to continue this throughout the week, hopefully get it done by the end of august.
really don't feel like dragging on any longer, it's just not right. i'm known as a fast copyist!

just printed out 2 $10 certificates from bestbuy.
i'm totally gonna use them to get my new Simpsons series 12th.
the earliest to expire is in october, so i guess i can just buy it the day it comes out?
the price isn't going down until half a year later. o well....
i'll think about that later.
time to snooze.

good day

i think i've got all of the coming week's arrangements done.
just need to get some parts from U of T for the wedding in 2 weeks and i'm good to rest my finale for a bit.

the Escaflowne arrangements turned out pretty well.
need a read through before really performing it though... there's some weird stuff in there that's.. well, weird.

i'm gonna start working on the Holbrooke tomorrow. finally.
and i think i'll need some beer to go with that.
and get some nachos heated up! XD
yes, i need that much reward to start doing a job!

my dad kept dragging me to this convention on sunday.
i really wanna sleep in, so i'm just ignoring him and giving him excuses.
so far, it's working. =)

i can't believe it's already been almost 3 months since i've been back from the Banff/Jasper trip!
really wanna go back. i think i'm starting to persuade my parents and Bobo + Potato + Nikki to go in 2 years as a family trip.
it'll be an awesome one, and i can't wait to go back!
but before that - need more money first!

more sleep, less internet...
good night!

惡靈退散!!

today has been a bad day for me indeed.
after being under the sun harvesting my wheat grass for half an hour, i've got a splinter in my cuticle (the white part at the bottom of the nail) while trying to get my glove to whack some flies away.
ouch!
then when i finally juiced out all the goodies from the grass, i spilled it all over the kitchen floor and some on my white pyjama t shirt.
now isn't that nice? good thing the green mark on my t shirt looks "professionally done", or else i'd have to throw it away. yes, the stain will not come out because we don't use bleach.

i've decided to stay home for the rest of the day to avoid anything worse.
was planning to go to the gym today... darn, wasted money again, didn't go at all this week.
well, i guess i'll need the time to sort out some duet music for tomorrow and start finishing that fucking Holbrooke score.

last bit of whining before going to bed

i'm in a high production period, started last week.
arranged a lot of songs that i mostly disgusted last week.
but this week, i'm arranging stuff that i actually like.
it's anime week!
thank goodness there's a wedding that asked for anime stuff.
so i've decided to expand that section a little more. and by little i meant a lot.

i just stopped right now 'cause i'm too sleepy and i'll need to get my fat ass to the gym tomorrow.
got the violin 1 + cello lines finished for The Story of Escaflowne.
this is one of my tearing songs. much like 君をのせて from Laputa.
there's a few more from Escaflowne that i meant to arrange, but i don't think there's enough time this week.

i've GOT to finish copying Holbrooke. it's already august and i think Steve wanted it by september.
i'm so fucked!
guess i'll have to do that next week... got a week off to rest from arranging.

i'm glad my grade 8 violin student called.
and i'm glad she didn't apply for the summer session exam, 'cause she hasn't had lessons for a good 2 months by now.
we're going to resume next week, and hopefully she's been practising.
i just don't understand why kids these days are so busy with a gazillion things to do beside school stuff.
i used to just roam free on Reclamation Street climbing lamp posts with my bare limps, and check every crack and doorways for abandoned kittens to take home to adopt.
oh, those were the days.

week of computering

got a few old arrangements transcribed for trio.
now we've got a few more songs to hang on for the hour.
more to come at the end of this week when i get next week's stuff ready.
gosh.... can't believe how much sheet music i have in the hard drive...
over 1G of scans, one of them being the band score for Bohemian Rhapsody!!
it's just awesome!!

time got a little shifted this week. need to work out on tues and thurs instead.
so i'll need to control my binge eating a bit.
it's great timing because Nikki just ate all my tostitos chips...
she basically took all the large complete pieces right out of my plate.
i was "scolding" her but she's still minding her own business and ignored me.
i felt so powerless (/o\~)

my legs and butt are feeling a bit numb from all the sitting.
it's so gross out there with the gloominess and rain and hotness.
i've been wanting to go out to the trail again to take photos with my Nikon, but no luck so far.
and i'll have to tidy up on the wheatgrass by product now that i've harvested most of it.
the soil's stinking from lack of drainage, so i'll need to air it before reusing for another planting.
got about 2 days worth left... a little low on supply.
and the rain's not helping either with no drainage.
hopefully there won't be too much infestations in the remaining greens...

can't wait to have a real quartet gig!

busy bee me

i didn't expect to get a close up on Wedding SOS!
and WITH LINES! hahahaha~
well, conversation anyway. mostly Cameron the groom and Jane the planner talking.
Jane really is a pro, she knows what she wants.
got paid for an hour but i was actually playing 1.5 hrs.
hey, but i got TV coverage, so that's ok! ;)
i think i have a nice book full of solo violin music for a good hour now.

able to squeeze in some time to watch a couple episodes of Twisted Tale.
it's wicked!
very bizarre, some are funny. like the episode The Patter of Tiny Feet.
well, i guess it's because Catherine Tate was in it! she's great!

off to another wedding saturday afternoon.
hope i can find this place... sounds like it's in a condo.
and the bride is asking for a weird song.

got lots of copying and arranging to do.
looks like i'll be occupied till the summer ends.
but i've got nachos and corona to keep me company while i'm working at home.
so it's all good~ =3

good job!

last night mum decided to replace our current plastic oil container with a glass one.
well, she's been scheming for that for a while actually.
and of course, i checked Golda's Kitchen for her because they have practically anything that's related to the kitchen.
so i found this nice italian one at $14.50:

being mum, she wanted to hang out and shop with me, so she wanted me to get her to Golda's Kitchen.
the problem is, their store is at Winston Churchill & 401, which is about a 45 minute drive for me.
so today after gym, i tried my luck at Loblaws, Bombay, Urban Barn, and Solutions.
i was sooooo lucky! found the exact same thing, and for a cheaper price at $12.99.

one small disappointment at the gym though...
i bounced back to 128.5lbs!
i guess that means i need to squeeze in another work out session on sunday morning on top of my mon, wed, fri sessions.
on the other hand, i was able to jog slowly on the machine for 10 minutes without getting a serious stomach ache!

i'm so proud of myself for today's achievements!! XD

let's hope that i can also finally finish that Holbrooke copyage.

talk about food

i'm getting back to the habit of eating cheeeeese.
and i'm pretty lucky lately finding 50% off stuff from Loblaw's after my workout.
this is bad, very bad!!
well, i'm now at 127.5lbs, so i guess i can indulge just for a little bit.
today i've got gouda, and double cream brie.
gouda is new to me, but now that i'm munching on it, i think i've had it before at receptions!
it's goooooooda!
i like it!

also bought some baby back ribs.
i'm gonna oven bake them for my dad, since his birthday is coming up and we have NO IDEA what he wants.
so i'm just gonna cook him a nice fatty meal.

it's all about the flowers

i've just bought these 2 books!


now when i take photographs outdoors, i'll know what i'm capturing!
should've bought those books online. it's so much cheaper.
but since i've bought them already, i don't wanna waste gas to get them refunded.
it'll take a while to ship to my place too, and the packaging is just gonna pollute more of our beautiful earth.

run fat fan run

i'm proud of myself!
able to lightly run for 5 minutes on the running machine!
and of course, being on a tight schedule, i had to do a shorten workout yesterday.

took me 30 minutes to do grocery afterward.
and then spent 2 hours to cook.
but the meal was FINE~
now, i'm smelling like a rotten onion!

today is an easier day.
just gonna arrange the last piece for Jenny and then go over to midtown to meet a client.
kind of miss my busy life.
reminds me of my undergrad days.

DIY

realized last night that i have a wedding card that's too big.
now i've made an envelope that's simple and big enough. =)
it's basically a big sheet of A4 size paper with designs on it.

if anyone wants the template, i've got it in .psd (photoshop file).
for people who don't care about quality, here's a jpeg file.

i need to tidy up and organize my room.
first thing to clear my work area would be getting a new book/media shelf.
my current shelf is now at almost full capacity.
time to look around at ikea! =)

gotta remember to do groceries after gym...

cheer up for me!

so my dad ended up getting me the Golla bag.
i'm happy with it. it's compact and CUTE~! (=^.^=)
guess i'll get the National Geographic bag out of my own pocket much later.
it's a handy backpack for travelling to far places when i want to take the nice camera.

i had a very wonderful dream last night.
i was a guest star in Doctor Who with my favourite doctor, David Tennant~
they even had an interview with David and i at the end of filming! hahaha!
it really felt like i was filming because i can see cameras running around with me.
and my happiest moment would be running up a flight of stairs behind David, and then slap his butt when i caught up to him.
by then, i think we were way ahead of the cameras. however, the director said it was a good take and didn't need to redo the run. awwww...
i think i'll miss him A LOT. he's gonna step down from the 10th doctor after this year's 5 episode transitional series into the 11th doctor.
the next doctor better be good! it's hard to take after David!!

after being sore for 2 days, of course going back to being inactive, i'm waking up early to go to the gym this morning.
hopefully i can last an hour of continuous exercise without getting sore again!
my plan is to exercise 3 times a week - monday, wednesday, friday.
will try to stick to it as much as i can...

can't stop spending!

now it's time to look for a camera bag.
i'm indecisive between 2 very different bags.
here is my dilemma:

the Golla Dina shoulder bag


the other is National Geographic Earth Explorer small backpack

or a medium size


prices are $49.99 vs $134.99 (small) or $189.99 (medium)

the best thing is, my dad's gonna cover this one!
so if i get the more expensive one, i'd have to persuade him.

spending and spending

finally got my hands on the D60 bundle.
maybe it's because today's the last day for the current deal, so BB was flooded with people.
took me 45 minutes to pay up.
incidences that showed me the incapacity of BB's cashier staff:
1. one guy dropped my 55-200mm VR lens "lightly" by accident, which i demanded to get another one.
2. took both the operation manager and the cashier to figure out that the bundle wasn't automatically packaged into the system. i had to tell them what they should've known.

need to get a SDHC card for the new camera.
i can't save pictures right now because there's no card included with the kit.
and i don't want to buy from BB because they're way overpriced.
can't wait to start taking some high quality pictures! =D

found more slugs in my cut wheat grass location.
i hate removing and salting them to kill them off...
my new wheat grass planting is now in a deep tray. at least it's not on the ground and it's mobile.
just learned that i can use coffee grounds to keep slugs away from the garden.
maybe i'll start drinking coffee in the morning so i can have enough grounds to surround the entire veggie garden!
might have to punch some holes at the bottom for drainage on the tray.
also thinking about aerating the lawn since it's turning quite yellow and patchy.
will see if i have time next week to do that.

i'm gonna sleep early tonight.
last night i was moving some picture files for my mum, which led to me sleeping at 6am m(@o@||)
i wanna get back to the routine of sleeping at midnight!

a green day

day 3 on wheat grass juice.
i couldn't stand the grassy taste alone, so starting day 2 i've been mixing fruit juices in there as well.
it's almost a 2:1 (fruit:grass) ratio.
today i've mixed carrot + apple juice in there too.
needless to say, there's way too much fruit juice, so i had to force my parents to finish it off for me.
i do feel a lot more energized after having wheat grass juice.
but could it be because i'm still jet lagging??

nearing the end of copying movement 2 of the Holbrooke.
i can't believe how long this Scheiße is taking me!

more spending

went and touched the Canon XSi and Nikon D40 & D60.
i'm gonna get the D60.
it's like $800 + taxes if i go and get the long zoom VR lens...
my mum just gave me $200 in cash and my dad says he'll contribute $300 of his tax refund to my pool.
so i really just have to pay around $500.
but still... this is really expensive for a camera.
but it's my first DSLR!
maybe i should wait a little bit more?

the price of cleansing

diarrhoea...
from the grapefruit i had yesterday?
or the 1/8 cup of fresh wheat grass juice from my garden yesterday?
wuuuuuuuu~~~~!!!
regardless, i'm losing lots of colon deposits.
hor hor hor

managed to de-weed and de-clover the garden before another shower period flood on me.
yay!
and i found 2 slugs in my wheat grass batch!
gotta be careful when i wash the grass next time...
don't want to ingest slugs in juice form p(*o*)q

determined

darn, looks like it's gonna rain on Canada Day.
i was thinking of finally burning some money this year by buying fireworks.
o well, even better for me. saves some $ from the fire.

still can't adjust to work mode...
will have to soon, need to finish off Steve's copy work.
can finally go have some new kind of food with him when i'm done this thing.
muwahahahaha
i'm getting so fat.

another payment at goodlife.
gotta start resume my exercise schedule again.
another money burning thing if not.

after so many days away from home, the wheat grass is finally all grown and maintaining its alive status.
not for long if i keep it there unattended...
so i'll have to harvest it tomorrow after the Caledon gig and juice it before my student comes.

alright! hoping back into bed for a few more hours of quiet time.
(i power napped for 2-3 hours right after dinner.)

at last

finally home!
i can't explain how much i miss my own bed, the tranquillity, and my work.
o wait, i don't miss my work!

photos to follow on facebook.
now i must finishing unpacking and laundry then jump into the shower.
of course, SLEEP right after!
got so much to do!

various things

mmmmm, those crepes were delicious!
Nat, if u need the info to La Parisienne Creperie Restaurant:
http://www.la-parisienne.ca/
93 Bronte Road, Oakville.
gosh... still full after so many hours...

just downloaded Amal, as suggested by Piggie.
and as i'm watching Red Dragon (omg, Edward Norton is SO hot!), i'm downloading a parody of Silence of the Lambs...
it's called Silence of the Hams.
LOL!
just go to youtube and check out the trailer.
it's guaranteed funny!

k, just another cup of hot tea and i'm off to dreamland.
lately i've had some very odd dreams.
last night i dreamt of myself killed in a bus crash along with other passengers.
but we're all in limbo.
and the moment i said namo amitabha at the back exit door of the bus, i was able to get out from that door to the real world and become alive again.
yet, later to find that i re-entered into the same wreckage at a particular turn and returned to limbo again.
very odd indeed.
maybe my dreams take part in my fear to sleep...?

sigh...

need to practise more...
my dexterity is now part of the pool of disappeared skills.
pitch precision is also there, well, it's long gone. =P
maybe after my trip.
i'm at the store everyday this week so there's no way i can practise =(
but i did get a lot of arrangements done.

alright, i'm sleeping now!
making progress =)

sudden changes

a viola student cancelled because of sickness, then today a violin student called to cancel today's lesson.
now i'm free most of the week to do my july & august arrangements.

just finished arranging I'll be Seeing You.
i hastily copied a piano score, missing some guitar tabs, a few months back in London.
so it's not the best source to work from.
but nonetheless, it's one of my favourite songs and now it's playable in quartet. =)

i haven't slept at all last night, because i was afraid that i wouldn't wake up in time to take him to the airport.
plus i was at the store all day to help out and make the arrangement.
well, i did take a 3 hr nap in the early afternoon. still...
rather exhausting, with muscles aching.

didn't go to the mexican restaurant, so we're gonna go tomorrow instead.
expecting good tasty things!
u should visit their website, once you visited it you'd wanna eat there eagerly!
http://www.elrinconmexicano.ca

disappointments

i was just thinking about my sleeping problem...
since i'm gonna be flipped over 12hrs in 2 weeks, is there a point of me sleeping early until then?

got an update from the ESO, apparently they have an international audition happening in september?
do i really wanna go to Alberta yet again?
moreover, do i have the funds to go there again??!
highly doubtful.

going to Mexican food in a few hrs, El Rincon Mexicano, i think.
hope it's good!

complaints are directed to nowhere

if u have a pc, DON'T EVER UPDATE ITUNES TO ANYTHING HIGHER THAN 7.6.2!!!!!
took me 2 hrs to get around the bug, and regretfully losing some of the licenses to my paid, downloaded classical music.

sigh...

oh yeah, since i'm at it, don't try Nando.
it's a horrible "portuguese" chicken place.
if u want to have the real stuff, i'll personally bring u to London to an authentic portuguese restaurant.

i can't believe how fucked up those unsatisfying, minimal waged people are at walmart.
can't do a simple void & redo right.
dude, the customer is always right. don't blame ur retardness on me, i can't fix ur fucking brain.

there, much better.
while i'm waiting for the avi->mp4 conversion to finish, i'm just pondering what other songs and videos i can load up to Bobo's ipod.
hrmmm...

*burp!*

still feeling very gasy...
i've had the lamb curry for lunch and i'm still feeling full...
ok, no more spicy curry from now on!

bought a new laser mouse for my macbook.
i'm tired of dragging slurs and assigning articulations with the touchpad.
this mouse is awesome, only cost me $10 (originally $14.70). i went to the store an hour before it closes, and they only had 1 more left!
today must be my lucky day!

i had a sight reading session with some amateurs tonight.
gosh, i play worse than usual. i think it's 物以類聚.
and u know what's even more frustrating?
the guy who invited me, who's an acquaintance i met through common connections, asked me to give out his business cards for him... as a violin teacher. and he also asked me to refer him some gigs.
right...
i'll do that after going through my list of professionals and friends...
sorry, that's just the way it is!

finished arranging Melodies of Life!
now, what should i do next?
maybe i'll finish Only Love. it's also one of the arrangements i've left undone for over 2 years...

ok, sleep first!

things to do

thank goodness i have expired yogurt left in my fridge!
well, it sounds worse than it actually is... i opened the seal after the expiry date, so the yogurt should be fine.
anyway, so i dumped about 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt into the overly spicy lamb curry (about half a cup).
and zeeeeeeeest! totally countered the spiciness! so i managed to finish eating all of it! yay~ no food wasted~

o right, and drinking a cold can of coke also helps to get rid of spicy sensations on my burning tongue.
talking about my tongue, that salty tasty is gradually going away.
gosh... i'll never eat that much wasabi flavoured seaweed at once ever again...
lesson learned.

now i have to go out and quickly make sure my mastercard is paid in full before they add on any interests.
stupid PC machines and their maximum daily deposit amount...

got a sight reading party with Kevin from YSO. it's more mid Beethoven and russian stuff, i think.
all's good for me as long as there's reading!

too hyped up on various things

i've gotta stop pulling late night work again... this has taken a very heavy toll.
but i couldn't stop arranging Melodies of Life. it's such a nice piece.
i started arranging this last year, and it has been sitting in my macbook half finished ever since.
i've just finished putting in all the notes right now, guess i'll have to leave the articulations and other markings for tomorrow. and then print it out for the next reading.

so gasy....
after teaching, i had some time before going to Bobo's place to pick up her ipod - i need to fill it up with my collection.
anyway, so i went to this Tamil take out place that's in her neighbourhood.
i got a meat curry combo with lamb, and sweets - gulab jamun & a cashew/pistachio roll that looks like this:

also got a tandoori chicken leg for Bobo's family to try. apparently it's non-spicy, and very tasty.
the combo that i bought turned out to be really spicy.
i'm still suffering from the heavily onionized salad and overly spicy hot lamb curry.
still have like half of it left so i'll have to finish them for lunch.

next time i'll just try the tandoori chicken leg and butter chicken...
no more hotness!! my stomach can't handle it!!

o yeah, i was being a pig yesterday and ate half a bag of wasabi covered seaweed...
now when i drink plain water in the morning, even after brushing, i would taste saltiness in the plain water.
it's so damn weird!!!

good night/good morning.

lobsters were on sale for $4.99/lb.
so i bought 2 small ones for dinner last night.
it's pretty good for its price!
we didn't finish the big one, so we're gonna make lobster squash soup for tonight's dinner.

finally finished gathering stuff for the stand-in quartet for June 13.
i still have to get some stuff ready for the main quartet on the same day, but it's not as urgent as this one.
basically i had to finish arranging, photocopying, and organizing by, like, now.
then get the music to Emily after teaching today.

Holbrooke is still at second movement at the moment.
i haven't touched it since last week, but it's on schedule.
good thing i don't have to print out anything for this job.
my ink just cleaned out, and the refilled cartridge is acting funny.
basically i need a new machine in all, but i don't have the money for it.
heck, i don't even have money to rehair the violin bow...

can't rumble on...
gotta go sleep for a bit.

想當年

突然間好懷念以前小時候吃過的零食.
其中最想再次碰到的是滴滴樂.
就是先把白色粉溶入開水中, 再滴下那紅色液體.
紅色液體會在水中凝固變成固體.
想找一張圖片都找不到, 就似曇花一現的在市面不久就消失的無影無蹤.
這就是我的童年呢.
難怪我的記憶力那麼不好... 很多我經歷過的都淡忘的很快.

in and out

went to the Newmarket court house to get my jury duty excused.
hopefully the judge will let me off this time, and call me before i fly.

also went to Lowe's to get some flowers to plant.
i really like the plum tree, but after spending some back breaking time to put it in, my dad wants me to return it because he has a fruit tree phobia.
so i'd have to get it exchanged for something else tomorrow.
sigh... i really like that tree.

i managed to find the original cantata #147, Jesu bleibet meine Freude.
which is commonly known as Jesu Joy.
gonna extract that and replace the one we have in the folder.
yay!
i've been wanting to do this for a while!

give and take

i was rather rude to my mum this afternoon on the phone, because i was swarmed with shit to do.
so i went to buy a Dufflet cake as an apology.
this is the lemon raspberry cakelet:



apparently Loblaws at hwy 7 and bayview started carrying Dufflet cakes.
i don't need to go to midtown to get bigger cakes anymore!
but they don't have the kinds that i usually buy... like the NY style plain cheesecake.
i was the second person to ask for that cake today, so hopefully the lady who works at the counter would start ordering them.
until then, guess i can start trying out each one of them, since i haven't had most of the selections they have there!
yummmmmm~

whinage

after finish copying the first movement of that big copy job, i've decided to reward myself by catching up on Heroes.
i've already caught up on House, so i'm happy to get updated with Heroes too.
both shows have really good season finales. i think Heroes has finally decided to progress the plot line, thank goodness.
now all i have left is Lost. then i'll finally watch that one new episode of Doctor Who.
but i won't be rewarding myself till i'm done the second movement, which isn't as long as the first. it'll be a while till new seasons come out, so i better savour the remaining episodes i have. maybe i should reward myself after finish the entire work.
yeah, that sounds a lot better.

right after finishing the copy work, i'd have to start arranging for july's gigs.
got back on track with my arranging speed. this summer is nothing but catching up on what i've missed out. of course, that should also include my practising as well.
i feel a lot more re-energized musically after the Banff trip. it made me relax a lot, so my right hand has a good grip again..
i've lost the grip about 9 months ago for unknown reasons.
maybe i'm worrying too much about the future...? who knows? i could be more worried about not having a life partner than anything else =P
gah.
time for rest.

can't feel my face

it was an awesome concert at Cobourg!
i had no idea what the concert's about, all i knew from the music they sent is that it's a jazz/pop concert.
turns out it's a very jazz concert.
and the guest artists were really really good.
there's Peter Appleyard the vibraphonist, John Sherwood the pianist, Dave Young the bassist, and Terry Clarke the drummer.
omg, it was such a cool concert.
each of the guests were super talented and grooved up the whole crowd.
i was clapping like a seal and wooohoooing like a 16 yr old.
the only down side was that i got home at around 1am 'cause i was obeying the law going with the speed limit.
good thing i did 'cause there're so many cops around tonight.
plus the stage was a fucking sauna.
there's no oxygen in there whatsoever.
at some point i was about to fall asleep and then fall on my face.
now i should go to bed...

more tripping

uploading all my trip pictures to facebook now.
wow, so many pictures...
it'll take a while to finish all of it.

gonna go to Cobourg for an orchestra gig.
hope it's gonna be sunny and nice so i can take some pictures while i'm there.
Cobourg is close to the lake, so it should be quite scenic.
plus i have 2.5 hrs for dinner before the concert, and i am gonna go there early so i have time to rest up before the rehearsal.

back home

i felt like a twirling idiot yesterday.
remembered my noon client whom i did meet, but forgot i made an appointment through email with another client at 2pm.
good thing it's their day off!
so proud of myself making them hire a quartet rather than a trio.
although i'm not playing in it, i can hire 1 more friend.
now the problem is photocopying all the necessary music because we only have 1 set of quartet folders.
that's gonna be such a hassle.
taking roughly a $40 cut because i have to do this.

i think my brain needs to readjust to civilization life.

Banff Day 6

tuesday, may 19

woke up early again to get ourselves ready.
good thing we all packed last night.
get to finish pretty much everything in our food bin except the shaved cheese, rice and jam. i think someone took the rice and jam home. dunno the fate of that cheese.
Amy made us some delish but spicy congee for breakfast, but somehow i felt hungry all day long. so we went into town to McDonald's.
i got some hot cakes and tea there.
before that, the guys paid for the parking ticket, and i also went to get my last post card to mail out.
OMG, i had to walk a block away to find a store that's open and sells post cards.

anyway, we had some time left so Eric and i went into the Whyte Museum.
at first i thought it's just an art exhibition sort of museum. turns out they also have some history stuff and we took some nice pictures there too.
we got to use all 3 of our museum passes. yay!
then we went to the airport, which is now. we're here early so we had to wait for a while.
pondering what to eat for dinner before we board.
guess it's time to go home.
good trip =)

Banff Day 5

monday, may 18

we all slept in today. yay!
finally a night which all of us slept soundly because Amy's not snoring!
hahahahaha~
we went out for a bit of shopping in town (in Banff, of course) because it started snowing when we were having breakfast.
all of us bought a lot of stuff, and i think i'm currently broke... did some last minute shopping too.
forgetting that it's Victoria Day, the post office was closed so we had to find a place to get some stamps.
after all that, we decided to finally step into the Banff Park Museum. it's really a natural museum with lots of specimen, but it's still pretty cool.

for lunch, we went to a nice pub restaurant called Wild Bill's Legendary Saloon. here we had some "exotic" stuff.
Eric ordered the Buffalo burger with soup and hot chocolate, Paul had the Chicken BLT Club House with soup and hot chocolate, Amy had the Wild Boar burger with mashed potato and hot chocolate, and i had the Elk burger with fries and hot tea.
to be honest, our buffalo, wild boar, and elk burgers all taste the same.
maybe it's the grill that made it just taste like charcoal.
but the food's great and the prices are really good for the amount of stuff that we got.
we were all hitting the wall at the end of our meal.
but we had to order the Banana Changa for dessert, and it was a good choice.
it's basically banana wrapped with a tortilla flour crepe and deep fried, then drizzled with honey, other syrups that i can't remember, and sliced almonds.
it was delicious!
i couldn't finish my 1/4 because i'm totally full, but i would if i had that little extra space in the stomach.
i also managed to wrote 6 of my postcards in the restaurant~

after that we went out for a walk down the nearby Bow River.
the trail leads to the Bow Falls, but it's quite a long walk with the time we had on hand.
i guess we spent waaaaay too much time on shopping.
we turned back to get back on the car to drive up the Sulphur Mountain for hot springing.
that's when we found out we've got a parking ticket.
yes, a parking ticket in Banff. it is possible.
$30 for parking at a 3 hr parking, no parking after 6pm.
but we get a $10 off if we pay the fine promptly. isn't that a great deal?
$20 for a parking ticket downtown, where can u find such a great deal?

anyway, we went up the mountain and soaked in the Banff Upper Hot Springs for a good 1.5hrs.
that was the most relaxing part of our trip.
but it's rather cold today, because of the low pressure system. and that's why we got snow today till the late afternoon.
so when we were not in the pool, it's just so damn cold, especially when the wind is blowing.
still worth it to soak!
got pretty dark when we left - which is like 11pm, when they close.
couldn't get a nice picture of the non-streaming fall that brings the spring water to the pool. guess i'll have to go back next time for that!

the guys feel hungry after soaking, so we decided to go get something to eat in town.
turns out everything was closed, even McDonald's closed early.
but i managed to spot a pizza/sub place which was still open.
it's a good pick since the food is nice and the price is right!
the guys each had a foot long sub and Amy & i split a pound of wings. since they don't have any hot drinks, we all decided to pop it up.
a nice conclusion to our stay at Banff.

in the morning we'll have to wake up early and finish all the unfinished food down in the large freezer in the hostel.
then off we go to do some last minute stuff in town like post cards and stuff.
and lastly we'll be on our way into Calgary to fly home.
let's hope we'll have enough time to look around in Calgary.

Banff Day 4

sunday, may 18

it's a looooong day today, but it was fun!
woke up early again to heat up some leftover chicken congee for breakfast for everyone, and get the quick lunch ready to go.
then we're off to Jasper Bus Depot for the rafting tour pick up.
another detour today was going to a surprise stopover at a sight location.
it turned out to be an outlook of the North Saskatchewan River.
very nice site indeed.

once we got into town, with some minor obstacles that need not mentioning, we got to the rafting site at the Athabasca River.
this is such a clean glacier river!
the water level is rather shallow at this time of the year, but we can clearly see the rocks at these shallow parts, which is most of our floating tour.
needless to say, because of the water level, there isn't a lot of splashing around.
but we did manage to get stuck about twice.
with the first stuck point being really shallow and rocky, we had to jump on the boat rather vigorously before we could go off again.
our guide, Kyle, who looks like a shorter Canadian version of Owen Wilson is a very skilled rower. he's also a born and raised Jasper local who knows his area.
i couldn't believe how great the weather worked out for us. the wind was strong, but it's warm enough when we're on water.
and it almost wanted to rain but didn't at the end of the tour.

by the way, the boat behind us had a small accident with one of the passenger.
they bumped onto a big rock, the one which every boat would eventually bump into.
but an elderly lady didn't grab onto her rope well enough and lost balance. i believe she hit her neck onto the rock before someone held her back and pulled her up.
we were quite concerned about that.
that rather spoiled our trip.

after the tour, we stuck around town and did some shopping.
i finally bought my "Canadian Fast Food" t-shirt.
we ate at a family restaurant called L & W for dinner, at 5pm.
hey, the food and price is not bad. but portion is really a 1 person size.

on our way back to Banff, we stopped at a few sight points.
i think we first stopped at the North Saskatchewan River Crossing point, on the bridge.
there were 3 deers on the open when i spotted them and told Amy... then she yelled in high pitch, "ELK!" and scared them off... grrrrr...
realizing it's dangerous to take pictures off the highway, so we pulled to a side trail to get to the bottom of the bridge, which leads to a trail to the actual river.
it was a nice, short walk.

forgot to mention, before i took over the driving part, Amy was driving the car till about Tangle Creek, i think.
well, it was until she made 2 very dangerous unprotected high level ramp in high speed...
we all stayed very much awake after that!

anyway, it was getting darker and darker, but we still made about 2 stops to take some last minute photos at the Bow Lake and Bow Glacier.
too bad it was too dark and too cold. we couldn't get a good shot at the glaciers and the fall. there's also a trail that leads to higher grounds closer to the glacier but it's closed because there's still a huge amount of accumulated snow.

can't see all of Jasper and Banff in a week.
there's just way too many good trails and sights!!
and i'd love to see the sun rise and sun set on higher elevation too.
did i mention that the sun rises at around 5am and sets at around 9pm??

Banff Day 3

saturday, may 16

with Amy's snoring, it was quite hard to get a good sleep having slept late the night before.
anyway, we went to the bus tour today.
but before that, Amy suggested to go to the Banff Gondola.
it was a nice detour.
i think i had a mild altitude sickness, that made me feel light headed in higher places.
gotta eat more carbs then.
we got some very nice pictures up on this Sulphur Mountain.
it's kind of cold there though, because it's pretty high up.
too bad we don't have enough time, or else we could take the side trail that could get us to the Cave & Basin site.

on our way outside of Banff downtown, we encountered a few wildlife.
first is elks. 2 of them - both male and female. they were crossing the road when we spotted them.
then we saw 2 mule deers, which other drivers obviously didn't see and scared them away.
then the bus driver pointed out a osprey nest on top of a bridge structure, when we crossed that bridge.

our first stop was Johnston Canyon.
indeed it was the trail i was planning to take for monday, so i guess we're doing something else that day...
we only had 50 minutes there to see everything. needless to say that's not enough time to see the canyon.
there's the upper falls trail and the lower falls trail. Amy and i went to the lower falls, and we were able to get some very nice pictures. we were able to spot 2 chipmunks playing. they were FAT. i mean, FAAAAAT!
the end of the lower falls trail was a cave, which we did have enough time to go in and get some pictures with a big crowd of people.
on our way back down, we bumped into Eric and Paul, who proceeded very slow...
we were already making our way back, which means the time is up...
at the end, we had to wait for them at the bus. grrrrr...
wasted me 2 long distance calls to get to their voicemails.

the bus driver told us that the Moraine Lake was closed.
i was so disappointed.
but what's even more disappointed would be seeing Lake Louise being frozen still.
i was totally expected blue waters and nice flower beds nearby.
instead, we got the Victoria Glacier pretty full, and Lake Louise very white, with no flowers whatsoever anywhere in sight.
that was the end of our tour.
o well, better luck next time.
it really isn't a great time of the year to go to Banff/Jasper right now, because a lot of the sites aren't thawed yet.
the best time would be the last week of may, before the summer flight price hike.
but because Eric and Paul work normal hours, i can't ask them to take so may business days off.
darn.

hope it's better tomorrow...
rafting!

Banff Day 2

friday, may 15

woke up with some red eyes. from the start i knew i didn't rest well.
after Amy made us breakfast, we left for the Columbia Icefield tour.
the pick up point was in Jasper, so we had to drive 3.5 hrs each way.
first thing we did was stopped and took a picture of a nearby mountain in town.
i also spotted this bird which flew overhead. nice white belly with all other parts in black feathers.
later i found out this bird is the Black-billed Magpie, which is a western north american bird, part of the crow family.

we left town at around 8:45am and i was worried all the way that we'll be late for the pick up.
we got there early and was able to do some washrooming before boarding the tour bus to the Icefield Centre.
from then on, i started having this splitting headache all the way down my neck and shoulders.

our bus driver was Marianne.
she's a very nice and knowledgeable guide originally from Quebec.
we had a super time with her!
we first stopped at the Athabasca Falls, which is AWESOME.
looks soooo beautiful and just stunning.
we were with Marianne, who was explaining to us how things come to shape before time and showed us around the planned trails.
Amy and i went down to the bottom of the lower river bank and we had some nice pictures there. we also touched the icy cold water, which was sourced from the Columbia Glacier.
very clean, very cold.

second stop was the Icefield Centre.
there, i ran into the washroom and threw up. now i'm starving and not feeling good.
we had to change to another bus that gets us to where the monster trucks are. and then go to the actual glacier with those monster trucks.
having threw up just before that, needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant ride to me.
when we got up to the glacier, it was SOOOOOO windy!
not only windy, but also FREEZING cold windy.
but it looks amazing!
i quickly took some pictures and went back into the monster truck.
after which i couldn't open my eyes because that made my headache worst.
the monster truck had glass windowed roof so the sun was not treating me well.
when we got back to the Icefield Centre, i threw up the second time and that made things a little bit better.
bought some souvenirs and then off we go, end of the tour.

for dinner we went into town in Jasper and had Earl's.
which is sort of like a mix and match multicultural typed restaurant.
the food was alright.
o, did i mention food was expensive?
i had a grilled chicken clubhouse which i find a bit salty from the bacon.
it also came with a tomato soup which i had to decline and gave to the other 3 to eat.
it was too sour for me.
$20 per person for this dinner.
i went back to the car myself to sleep off the headache while they went grocery shopping.
Eric drove the way back to the hostel in Banff and we got back at around 12:30am.

now i'm doing this double dated update and it's already 3:20am.
we're gonna wake up early tomorrow to go to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake with a detour to Johnston Canyon.
hopefully it's not the same trail (Johnston Canyon Trail to the Ink Pots) that i had planned for monday (18th).
supposedly it's gonna rain/snow on monday, and nice sunny weather for sat/sun.
we still have to get on the Banff Gondola.... too little time for too many sights!
until then, i better bid good night.

Banff Day 1

thursday, may 14

Amy, Eric and i arrived to Calgary airport pretty much on time and starving.
waited for about 2 hours for Paul to show up and off we went with a nice Nissan full size rental.
i believe we had wendy's for lunch that day somewhere in Calgary.
first stop was the grocery store. EXTREMELY OVERPRICED on basically everything.
however, it's still the most economic way for the 4 of us.
next the hostel, which is pretty nice.
very good on noise insulation. although it's a bit of a drive from town, but we can see the mountains right outside.
actually u can see the mountains pretty much everywhere u go.

our first tour was at the Cave & Basin Museum.
it's pretty late when we got there, about an hour before they close.
and we ran into a problem because someone forgot to check for new ticketing procedures at the museum and we had a bit of an argument with an arrogant receptionist.
anyway, we finally got the problem fixed and it was totally worth going to that museum.
very nice sights to see and we smelt some very strong sulfur - this cave was the first discovered hot spring of Banff.
very interesting history about it too.

it started SNOWING when we went out to walk 2 short planned trails at the museum site.
i didn't have my fleece with me, only my wind/rain jacket and a long sleeve thin breathable shirt under.
it was quite cold and wet when we went back into the car about an hour later.
but the trails were amazing!
sulfur, streams, and water everywhere!

we cooked our dinner at the self served kitchen back in the hostel.
it was a bit of a scramble but we ate somehow.
then off we went to sleep.
very exhausting day for me because i didn't sleep the night before and i had very little rest on the plane - i had to finish off the Benjamin Button movie... only watched half of it during my Edmonton trip.

flipping

i was just flipping channels on tv and nothing good was on.
so i stopped on Much and watched the end of Pimp My Ride.
man, i can't believe how incredibly funny and creative these people are!
now i wish i had my car pimped by them too.
but the product placement in this shit... was also unbelievably in your face.

ok, now i gotta get off my ass and go out to do some errands.

home sweet home

yay, home at last.
after the sunday rehearsal and concert with the Mississauga Youth Orchestra, i'll be officially orchestra-free for the summer.
got a few more things to finish off before i leave for Banff.
gotta remember to update my GPS and upload those trail maps.
and of course, finish copying at least the first movement of that big score.

the people at the hostel gave me a nice farewell.
got a nice bunch of roses, mini plant, and a chocolate cake!
thanks to everyone at the ACBB. you guys gave me a wonderful, wonderful memory for the past 3 years!
i'm gonna try out the principal audition when it comes out.
just for the heck of it.

hey, big spender

all the notes should be there in the first movement of that hand written music.
now it's just the nuts and bolts... which is the even more annoying part.
guess i'll have to wait till i'm back from London to resume doing that again.

also finished was my 3 day chinese herb medicine.
omg. what a horrible experience, every time.
when my mum was reheating, just the smell alone made me salivate and shiver.
thank goodness it's all done.

my last cooking for Orchestra London are these 缽仔糕.
made 2 colours - yellow and white. personally i like the yellow ones better 'cause i can really taste the cane sugar.
this week is my last week there. i hope they'll have more work for me next season.
hard to say. still looks kind of grim there right now.

still couldn't find the time to get some metal fences for my garden yet.
hope the bunnies will be away all week 'cause it's gonna rain all week.
i also need to sprout some wheatgrass and plant them before i leave for Banff.
hopefully by the time i'm back i'll have some grass growing rather than dead buds.

o yeah! got my jackets at Sportchek.
i also got a nice 20% discount on the North Face jacket that's not on sale!
the lady was so nice.
$80 for this North Face waterproof wind breaker:


$30 for this Columbia fleece:

refreshing

this hair cut cost me $23 including tips and everything. i gave the stylist this picture:

it's so light now, but static is still crazy.
the stylist used a shaver rather than a shearer, which i find disgusting, 'cause she's damaging my hair.
next time i'm gonna try another hair salon.
apparently a lot of people go there but it's in a very hidden location, in the same plaza where my dad works.

i've finally got an oil change! bought my car last august. it's may now, and i've already done 19700 kms on it. my poor blue baby.
my dad and i are gonna take a trip up to Newmarket's Lowe's to get some cheap organic top soil.
this summer i'll be at home mostly, so i'll finally have time to do some gardening.
yay! home planted free veggies!

oh yeah, my dad was being generous to treat me. we went to the chinese doc and got some "OMG! THIS IS VERY BITTER!" medicine, as described by my dad.
$103 for 2. apparently there's more stuff on my "prescription", so my portion was more expensive.

home sweet home

i think the one thing i missed the most was my own bathroom.
my own bathtub, to be exact.
since i'm the one who maintain it, i know how clean it is.
i'm not afraid to take a bath in it. for others, i don't know.
even hotel bathrooms can be quite dirty no matter how expensive the room is.

now that i'm back, i can resume that copying job.
sigh...

one more fulfilled

just finished Beatles' All You Need is Love.
so i'm now officially done arranging for this particular june wedding.
this one was referred by Sharon, so i'd better make a good impression.
well, plus it's a very grand, high profile wedding. it's taking place in the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
i enjoyed the arrangements. not easy, but not too difficult.

now i can move on to the other wedding arrangements.
i forgot how much i enjoy doing this.
it just takes a long time.

sigh... and i still have that annoying copy job...
really really hate hand written music!

gaaaaah

it's such a wonderful feeling to be doped on tynenol and various other kinds of chemicals.
rather amazed that i was able to concentrate at the morning rehearsal.
but as the day progressed, my brain just went with it.
got back from Chatham just now, and when i drove back from the hall, i ran half way through a red light.
good thing the on coming car was far away.

now i'm sitting in the hostel having some of that really nice portuguese chicken i've got from the portuguese place today.
i think my appetite came back because of this chicken.
the first time i tried it i didn't think much of it. just tastes like any other chicken i've had before.
but the more i had the more i wanna go back for it.
and the olives, mmmmm... just delish.
last time i got take out, i talked to the guy who delivered their roasted pigs. apparently this guy delivers to a lot of chinese restaurants in the Scarborough area too.
maybe i should've tried their lunch special today, they had roasted goat!
maybe next friday.

o yeah, i got an "acceptance consideration" letter from that new orchestra.
final decision and offer will be made in july.
this is the oddest audition i've ever done.
i only play once (on monday), and i don't have to play again - no more rounds. results in 3 months.
interesting procedures.