Aspirations and CNY

ASPIRATIONS
-- a fund raising show put up by the NTU CAC (Cultural Arts Centre?) for the children's cancer, comprising of 19 ECA grps items from NTU.
Note emphasis : it is the FIRST TIME they've got NINETEEN grps performing tog!! WOWee!!

Mmm.. ok given that it's the festive season i shalln't be too critical here (Hub - Will send u the scoop via email) but if you wanna rate it, u will need a negative scale. In history, this is the 1st time i've walked out half way thru a show w no regrets. The only highlight aside from the pleasure of my twirling red princess... erm.. hmm.. ok the jam band was quite good.

So.. ok, lets progress to something more festive and interesting?

CNY
The chinese new year where families get tog to eat, meet up with old frens and relatives whom you never bother to call upon anyway... Getting the latest gossip -- who's married, who's having babies... A time for the older generation to ask the usu 'ole so concerinng squirmy questions -- " eh so when r u bringing someone back?? So how's married life?? Starting a family soon?? So when are you getting a job??..."

U start to wonder at the pure waste of time where you could be tanning at sentosa beach or rock wall climbing. I really wish our family had certain traditions that we do together like some of my frens'. They cook tog, they go to the temple tog, they play majhong...
Mine is like a war zone underlined with mines. A false step and boom... every single actioned is judged -- is it proper, how come so old no gf, married oredi still taking ang bao...!!! OMG!! I just wanna puke.

I love my cousins, esp those who grew up around me and right now it's tempting to set a new tradition that we'd uphold till forever and pass down to mini pp like James, Rachael (our niece/nephews) etc etc.
We shoud start a majhong or dai-di club!! Or a rock climbing club man. Frell, CNY is really super boring except for the yummy carrot cake or yam/pumpkin cake made by my dad's cousin, and my 4th great aunt has cool physio shoes from the hospital w i'm gonna try getting my hands on. Towel material at the top and so feet-fitting! Almost like my leather jazz shoes.

Damn just realised 'cos of work am gonna miss 3 sat of dance!! arrgh...

Oh yes.. another funnee thing about family communication is the broken telephone syndrome. "So how's your back, i heard u tumbled down the stairs at work while carrying a dog?!!!"
"Oh hey congrats, heard you've finished your uni, now going overseas for housemanship?!!!"
If world news were so accurate -- u'd be better off with soaps - lol.

Hilarious!! Makes you wonder at the imagination of your family members, maybe they're not so boring after all! And they are concerned if u truly fell ill 'cos i got an enquiring sms w tho was tot wrong, had touched me.
I also wish my Dai-bak best of health in the years to come, and not to give up the fight.

So in the way that families go -- guess i should appreciate the fact that we still bother to meet up and talk cock. And have burnt porridge for dinner. It's the thot that counts afterall. Next year i'm gonna bring cards, my laptop and Naruto.

Have a happy Chinese New Year everyone...
but i think most pp are more concerned that V-day's coming up huh!!
Hahahahahahaha.....

Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Fr 27.01.06, 19:30 Uhr, Extrakonzert
Cappella Andrea Barca
András Schiff, Leitung + Klavier
Radovan Vlatkovic, Horn

Konzert Nr. 17 G-Dur KV 453 für Klavier und Orchester
Konzert Nr. 3 Es-Dur KV 447 für Horn und Orchester
Konzert Nr. 24 c-Moll KV 491 für Klavier und Orchester

AHhhh today is the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday ,.... Which prompted me to amazonize for more mozart goodies.... So by some organized coincidence, I am going for a concert tonight :)

What's really cute : I like the wig on google's opinion of this day. I am now wondering if they actually save an online gallery of google's theme designs... I think this one is kinda cute.

Was at the CD store, got the great mass in C minor, to celebrate Mozart. It is the wonderful mass piece that is played during the ocean scene in "Les triplettes de belleville". This movie is so touching, it is so like a musical (nothing is ever spoken, the sound track is so great)

Holliger and Lebrun

Yesterday, was at the Heinz Holliger concert, where he was conducting
Joseph Haydn -- Sinfonie D-Dur Hob. I:101 "Die Uhr"
Ludwig August Lebrun -- Konzert Nr. 1 d-Moll für Oboe und Orchester
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- Sinfonie g-Moll KV 550

I was almost considering not going for the concert, just because, he was conducting the week before with the tonhalle orchestra and it was such a disaster, the orchestra refused to communicate with him, and he was definitely pushing his interpretation for the Jupiter symphony too far.

Ok, so his attempt at the KV 550 was actually much better. The tonhalle orchestra was playing with a different set of people (acutally, the set that I liked better)... The concert master is a lady, and I think she helped the communication a lot. (funnily enough, Holliger is swiss, so there shouldnt actually be a problem, since the swiss should be proud of their home grown talent.)
KV 550 played too often. At some point, one could hear lovely "voices" echoing in the first movement. It was captivating, and HH definitely did a lot of time warping.
Movemnt 2 was a disaster, he did a Long Short Short, and WAY to excessive, I dont think I was the only one who was going nuts, and I think, he really dragged the piece ... crazy, really spoilt the climax of the first movement.
3. Movement was a lot better, where he tried out stuff, where voices came out a delayed times.. Movement4 was towards the more classical interpretation, since I suppose he was trying to pacify the audience from walking out (Which actually with the Jupiter, I actually did).... It was not a bad decision I would say, but he did still manage to implement some new interpretation for it.

The highlight for the evening was him playing the oboe, where he pplayed lebrun (conducted as well). I think he has a lovely interpretation of it, and I actually never heard a Lebrun in my life...).. Now it is an Ohrworm (song in my head), and I bought the CD promptly (HH with the Berne Camerata)... The CD great, but the life performance was fantastic, He has such incredible ability to hold his breath and squeeze that lovely voice of an oboe. HH is prob. right handed, I think his left ring finger (or is it the middle) had difficulties with the trills at some time (coming out unevenly), but even then, it didnt really disturb...

Mr Penguin, Mr Duck and Mr Lusty-smile

Orlando by Handel

On Friday night, Orlando was running in the Zurich Operahouse. The piece is typical Handel. Have an impression it is not very well known, because I tried to get the libretto for "consolati o bella" but couldnt find it. Consolati o bella is a terzett in the piece, where there are three sopranos singing together (one of the sops is supposed to be a man -- Medoro, Angelica and Dorinda). So Dorinda finds out that A and M are together, and since D likes M, she is heartbroken (in fact before this, there is a scene where M "professes" his liking for D, so she is led to think that M was in love with her). So now, A and M sings to D to consoles her of her grief... Somehow, I like the controlled soprano-s :). Unfortunately, in the performance, A was a much stronger/powerful singer, while D is a very high pitched sop, her voice as often too thin, so there was this marked imbalance.

However, William Christie was the conductor, and the music flowed beautifully. Singing.

Since it is almost impossible to find the libretto (plus my translation, didnt like the one provided with the libretto)

Consolati o bella
A+M : Consolati o bella --- Consolations babes
Gentil pastorella --- Lovely shepardess
Ch'al fine il tuo core --- at the end, your heart
E' degno d'amore --- so love worthy
E amor trovera --- and find love

D: Non so consolarmi -- I am inconsolable
No voglio sperare -- I wish not to hope
Piu amor non puo darmi -- for love can no longer offer
L'oggetto da amare -- the dearest object
Che perder mi fa -- that i have lost

A: Non perder la speme -- Dont lose hope
Ch'e l'unico bene -- the only goodness

M: Hai l'alma costante --you have a steady soul
Per esser amante -- that is made for love

D: No, solo fra pene -- no, only for suffering
Il cor vivera --- does my heart live

i wonder

how much can a person take
when the world comes crashing down around u

when u feel u can't take anymore
u still do
and wonder if that's the last straw

resilence is miraculous, unexpected and not necessarily welcomed
at times u wonder why dun u just crash -- it'd be so much easier

why do we fight for wat we believe even if it seems impossible?
hope?
faith?
naivity?

why dun we fight sometimes?
eventho we've claimed that it's worth it?
why give up so easily?
it can't have meant much then.

wat is a family?
presence with no real reason?
wat does contributing to a family mean?
helping out/ being there...
i am there when there is need
dun cage me jus for your satisfaction.

is it so shameful to love someone?
will u bow to the standards of a closed minded society
or be free and true to yourself?

some conform so as not to hurt those they love..
some outta fear and acceptance...

i refuse to live a lie
and for that i accept the consequences

maybe i'm just a pessimist huh!!

postcard sunflower

Kitty Bitty Baby

OUR BABY GIRL!!
FIESTY...
hisses...

a day in the life

Who would've thought that doing laundry can feel so satisfying
and that folding of clothes can be therapeutically calming?

Or that watching someone iron her clothes with patient precision can be so enjoyable and heartening.

It's really no wonder there're so many homemakers out there. Even the men are joining the community.

This is really not to say that i enjoy doing housework -- totally not. But once in a while -- doing it yourself can be an unexpected luxury, especially if you're doing for someone you care about. Know what i would really love to do... is to care for someone full time and make sure that all her needs are met. To prepare fun lunch packages that i can send her off with, plan meals with a different theme everyday. Add some mini surprises once in a while.

mmm... contented sigh...

i so can be a tai tai!!!

Why are we here?

"Why are we here? It's a question that has troubled philosophers, theologians and those who've had one drink too many. But theoretical physicists have a more essentialist way of asking the question: why is there anything here at all?" -- Geoff Brumfiel

The big book index

So this appeared in the Economist this week

It is really funny because we can kinda do some demographical statistics / consumer preferences, and find out how sick and depressed our society. The good news, dieting and pilates are out :).

Nr 1 : Kids are in, but since there is only 10%, we know, reading is kinda out.
Nr 2-4,6 : Are these people really bored, screaming to break free, but so very conforming. It is incredibly warped, because if you click some of these, you will be recommended: Why do men have nipples? hmm... maybe women might one day be redundant?
Nr 5,9,10 : Ok, we are talking abt reading, get intellectural
Nr 7,8 : So this is the "let me get this for my wife" which, incidently, only 40% of the guys did... the 60% were wiser and got lingerie instead.

The big book index

Jan 5th 2006
From The Economist print edition

What Santa carried in his Christmas sack

FATHER CHRISTMAS is the man to ask if you want to know why the world is at, why you have eyebrows, why the best food comes from Italy, why drug dealers live with their mothers, or why for some people everything is shit. Which may be why more books are sold in December than in any other month.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia (Boxed Set).
By C.S.Lewis. HarperTrophy; $28.77. HarperCollins; £22.79

The release of the film of Narnia in time for Christmas provided just the right opportunity for a special re-issue of all seven of the C.S. Lewis books, although re-arranging them in chronological order has caused turmoil in the kingdom.

2. Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Questions.
By New Scientist magazine. Profile Books; 256 pages; £3.76

Perfect if you want to know how long you can live on beer alone, why you have eyebrows, or whether a compass works in space.

3. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.
By Thomas L. Friedman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 496 pages; $18.15. Penguin/Allen Lane; £14

The New York Times columnist and three-times Pulitzer prize winner explains how globalisation has made the world smaller.

4. Is It Just Me or Is Everything Shit?: The Encyclopedia of Modern Life.
By Steve Lowe and Alan McArthur. Time Warner Books; 288 pages; £5.99

A broadside against modern culture and the things we love to hate: loft living; bar-clubs; Tony Blair; chick lit; loyalty cards; IKEA; Kabbalah; bling and more.

5. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster; 944 pages; $21

How Lincoln won over his fiercest opponents and appointed them to the cabinet.

6. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. William Morrow; 256 pages; $17.13. Penguin/ Allen Lane; £8

If you want to know why Roe v Wade may have reduced crime and why drug dealers live with their mothers, this is the book for you.

7. Jamie’s Italy.
By Jamie Oliver. Michael Joseph; 336 pages; £8

A straight-talking, appetising selection of Italian classics from the telebrity chef.

8. Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners.
By Rachael Ray. Clarkson Potter; 352 pages; $13.57

The Food Network darling ensures you can put a different dish on your dinner table every night for a full year in just 30 minutes.

9. Teacher Man.
By Frank McCourt. Scribner; 272 pages; $15.60. Fourth Estate; £7.58

Best known for his miserable Irish childhood, Frank McCourt in his third book of memoirs tells of his years as an English teacher in the public high schools of New York City.

10. 1776.
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster; 400 pages; $18.51. Penguin/Allen Lane; £17.50

The rise and fall and rise of George Washington’s rebel forces and how they won the day and made history.

Don't despair

Maria and Chris

Picture of Maria and Chris during their Vacation in Sicily.

Maria, Maria, the sweetest girl I know :), and forever jealous of her youthfulness. While I am always asked to prove that I am not that old, Maria is always asked to prove that she is not that young,...

I believe eating her face cream might help (know someone who actually secretly did that for several years, and during which he had lovely complexion too :) )....

my cup of tea

Ahh, a quiet alleyway in Istanbul...

Wish for more Baklava...

puppet master

That's Julian (JLo) my best friend in Zuerich. One of our friends pointed out... best-friends are so high-schoolish :)... then he reconsiders and comments the way J&I are hanging out, it is really highschoolish anyway :).

So JLo is supposed to be the most eligible young bachelor around, the problem is that we are so dependant on each other, we kinda stick together during parties so there goes his chance of chatting up babes.... :) . His new year's resolution, apparently is to get a girlfriend, basically means, time to hunt for a new best friend :). (also means, I will have to stop going to parties with him ... VJ and I are on this mission. VJ will throw nice house parties with loads of cute babes, and I will not be invited :( (boo-hoo), and he will only invite JLo. Sigh, the sacrifices we have to make for a buddy's happiness. (actually quite enjoying the puppet mastering)

desperate housewives

rLatest dinner plan : desperate housewives.

Been sort-of the talk of the town... people hate it or love it... so since I needed some sort of back up plan for dinner, I took series one off the shelves.

So, every character (well, at least, important character) is a representation of a housewife type. Generally, I think the series is pretty lame, and the one important factor that keeps it going, is the suspense. SO the series starts with some housewife who commits suicide (pistol, shot in the head). The reason why she killed herself, is the only thing that keeps the series going. I mean, who is seriously interested in the other stuff (so we find out, all couples are cheating, there is the bitch of the block, there is the bad neighbour, there are the divorced pathetic housewives, there are lots of kids and potential teenage sex... what's new...

we want to find out why the young family is so darn strange, and it is some psychotic situation...

Am actually curious how series 2 can survive (ok, so I am not through with series one yet, as you can see, I am not really addicted, since I own the dvds for more than 2 months now... )... there must be some idea of sales around here...

UBS contemporary voices exhibition

Susan Rothenberg... I think she studied dancing, and is now a pretty famous painter. I was at the UBS contemporary voices exhibition. Didn't really fall in love with these, but rather, "the biker", unfortunately, I couldn't find a copy of this anywhere :(. The biker was of a cyclist working his way through a hugh puddle, you can feel the anstrengung of the cyclist, the water splashes literally... The style of paining is somewhat similar, but more towards the brush-strok-ti-lism ... whatever (a dash-version of pointilisim) that is if i recall correctly.

This panel captures dances in the midst of actions. The really thing is larger than life size, hugh formats... was impressive, bit one needed perhaps space to view it.... The images here summarizes :)

the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.
 -- Robert Frost

New year :)

New Year, new stuff
News 1. Ralph and Justyna got married 30.12.
News 2. Tobias and Claudia got a baby: Daniel 28.12
News 3. Sabine's coming 11.2.06

News 4. Hmmm... Not much. Read our class reunion mails. People look very much the same, except the way mails go, it seems everyone's married with kids.... Plus I am now watching desperate housewives (only to find out why Mary Alice killed herself)... dont really care for the rest of the housewives :) I wonder how they keep the other seasons going. So, again, I panicked (upon the thought everyone being settled with kids,)... I AM SO NOT READY. (I am wondering because it is sour grapes?) Tick-tock-tick-tock----- kaboom :).


New Years resolution : ie not going to fulfil them...
- Learn snowboarding
- spend a day with my sister's baby
- call a friend each week.... If they are not home, it is counted as well...

Reboot : Reconfigure : get a job, set up a pension plan, wish for calvin and hobbes fun

Calvin and Hobbes list (in reverse):
2005: Julian 2004: Mireille, Sabine, Tacci 2003: Ed-millsion 2003-1998 Manolo Cristoph Fares Christian 2002 Maria 2000 Simone Micheal Louisa 1997 Christoph Ingo Barbara 1993-???? LM YS (best years!)
I suppose there will be more on the list, high school was pretty fickle :)...

When you wake up and want to have breakfast in the sun, these people actually oblige :) ... and force you to go on cycle trips, bring smiles to your face :)...

Some days you wake and
Immediately start to worry
Nothing in particular is wrong
It's just the suspicion that
Forces are aligning quietly
And There will be trouble

So I found out, super thing that families do, they send a newsletter that summarizes the year for the family and send these newsletter as xmas/new year greetings :). So cool.

New Year's Day

7am -- crazy banging on door
toss & turn
awake & tired
read
back to bed

8am -- cat is dying
8:05am -- cat died
i sigh contentedly w a mini snuggle

10:30am -- dog fight
it rains
lonely
yearning

11am -- dog bounces in all happy & well -- wtf is the emergency!

Noon
Kareoke? Movie? Class reunion? Book sale?
But i wait in hope for the rainbow
I tell but it's wrong
Sad

There's only rain
sigh...
nap to numb the pain

4pm -- cat fight
tiny holes
talks on phone to crazy client
chat w Joyce (short respite)
Pours w rain
White van w mummy

Night sets in...
more pain
no movie news
kareoke/ class reunion -- blast it all

Toss and turn
will it ever go away
tempted antihistamine coma
Some tears
help w sleep
A comforting hello...

11pm
warmth thru the phone and sms
almost whole again
peace
i'll be ok

lessons

Expectations are unavoidable.
The only thing u can do is remind yourself that not everyone is like u
or think/assume things the way u do
and then convince yourself very hard to accept it.

After that, all u need is the will power to not show the disappointment you've been put through.
If u can do that -- r/s are a piece of cake.

Love is all encompassing.
In theory only.

Nothing is perfect.
Not even the closest or most loving/giving r/s.
The key to it is the ability to still see the love even when things go wrong.
To remember how she was there for u, the things she'd do only for u...
To appreciate and rejoice in the beauty of your loved one.

If u can do that when you're fighting, then u'd be ok.
Often tho, we only regret after loosing it -- that is the main irony of life.

When we love someone deeply -- there are always greater expectations, thus shorter fuses and greater disppointments.
Maybe it's time to take a step back and ask yourself -- it is u whom u love more?

Do you love becos u need the person?
Or do you need the person 'cos u love her.

I need my love always
but sometimes I wonder is it more for my sake?
Or hers?
I'd like to think I would give her anything and everything.
Amd I think I can.
But I would expect the same back.
That's when problems arise.
It goes both ways.

Tell me what u feel.
I wanna know what you feel always.
Well, it's not always a good idea.
Emotions are irrational, to be tempered by the mind.
Often though the mind is not strong enuff.

Appreciate
Forgive
Love with all you've got

That's all anyone can do.