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.