I really like performing at the seniors centre...a lot of the residents really appreciate it. Some are very moved and tell me very charming stories. A few have asked me to come to their room after I play to look at their memorabilia.
While I'm sure it really brightens their day to listen to me play and for me to visit with them, I'm equally touched by their endearing treasures.
One man showed me his collection of his son's programmes. His son conducted a symphony orchestra for over 30 years and he kept all of the concert pamphlets. He gave one for the upcoming season, which will be his son's final year conducting. He also showed me pictures of his wife and daughter, who are both sopranos.
Another man told me that he carved the wooden ducks in his room by hand. I didn't believe him, so he showed a photo album - of all the dozens of things he's carved and crafted, from baby cribs to cabinets and more.
And this morning, another man took me to his room and showed me his digital piano. He's been trying to learn how to play the piano using beginner books. I told him that one of my teacher's most loyal students started with her 20 years ago - and he started when he was 60! (He's quite an accomplished performer now.)
It's the simple moments like these that really make my day! :)
Sunday, 10 July, 2011
Saturday, 9 July, 2011
My mom, Tarzan
Everybody is your sister, brother, aunt, or uncle in Chinese culture. A few weeks ago, one of my "sisters" arrived from China.
She's the daughter of my mom's best friend from childhood. We had her over for a couple dinner parties and my mom got all excited. She told us tons of stories from when she was little.
Apparently...my mom was a biiiig tomboy. And this is a woman who's a Chinese literature major turned accountant whose lifelong dream was to become an anchorwoman. Not that thrill-seeking.
She told us that she and the girl's mom were super-close when they were little. They used to have "swing" - it was a tiny plank of wood hanging from a tall tree, which would have broken all the safety regulations today.
My mom (who was tiny!) would sit down and her best friend would put her legs around my mom's waist and stand. And they would swiiing...till they almost fell off.
Sometimes when my mom was left at home to be babysat. Her friend would climb the tree to my mom's room. She pulled my mom out of her room through the window and they would jump out of the window. Once they were free, they would play outside the whole day like monkeys.
After they were done, my mom climbed the tree back through the window into her room!
My mom points zealously at her many freckles. "These," she says proudly, "are from too many fun afternoons in the hot sun." It's true. She has tons of freckles.
It was all rather surprising for me to discover this since it came from my mom, someone who doesn't let me or my brother get into any kind trouble at all - like any good mother.
The moral of the story: never judge a book by its cover...even if it's your mom.
She's the daughter of my mom's best friend from childhood. We had her over for a couple dinner parties and my mom got all excited. She told us tons of stories from when she was little.
Apparently...my mom was a biiiig tomboy. And this is a woman who's a Chinese literature major turned accountant whose lifelong dream was to become an anchorwoman. Not that thrill-seeking.
She told us that she and the girl's mom were super-close when they were little. They used to have "swing" - it was a tiny plank of wood hanging from a tall tree, which would have broken all the safety regulations today.
My mom (who was tiny!) would sit down and her best friend would put her legs around my mom's waist and stand. And they would swiiing...till they almost fell off.
Sometimes when my mom was left at home to be babysat. Her friend would climb the tree to my mom's room. She pulled my mom out of her room through the window and they would jump out of the window. Once they were free, they would play outside the whole day like monkeys.
After they were done, my mom climbed the tree back through the window into her room!
My mom points zealously at her many freckles. "These," she says proudly, "are from too many fun afternoons in the hot sun." It's true. She has tons of freckles.
It was all rather surprising for me to discover this since it came from my mom, someone who doesn't let me or my brother get into any kind trouble at all - like any good mother.
The moral of the story: never judge a book by its cover...even if it's your mom.
Friday, 8 July, 2011
Thoughts on LRCM
At my ARCT convocation a year and a half ago, I thought, "Great! After 11 years, it's finally DONE!"
Then this woman walks over and hands me this booklet. She excitedly says, "You should try this - it's new!"
It's was the syllabus for the new LRCM (Licentiate) piano performance examination which is equivalent to a Master's in music. So the AR isn't the end of things after all! Ahh!
Pretty much everything in the repertoire syllabus is impossible...from Liszt's piano sonata to Ravel's Gaspard de ls nuit. And then there are concertos like Rach II and III, etc. :O
I've attempted a few LRCM pieces so far on my own:
...with dubious results.
I'm not sure if I'll one attempt the exam (ever) but in the meantime, I've gotten yet another reason to keep practising! :)
Then this woman walks over and hands me this booklet. She excitedly says, "You should try this - it's new!"
It's was the syllabus for the new LRCM (Licentiate) piano performance examination which is equivalent to a Master's in music. So the AR isn't the end of things after all! Ahh!
Pretty much everything in the repertoire syllabus is impossible...from Liszt's piano sonata to Ravel's Gaspard de ls nuit. And then there are concertos like Rach II and III, etc. :O
I've attempted a few LRCM pieces so far on my own:
- Bach's Partita No.1 in B-flat
- Mozart's Fantasie in c minor
- Chopin's Polonaise-fantasie
...with dubious results.
I'm not sure if I'll one attempt the exam (ever) but in the meantime, I've gotten yet another reason to keep practising! :)
Thursday, 7 July, 2011
Dreaming of Tribal Art?
I'd like to think that my subconscious trying to tell me something important when I sleep, but I can't find anything reasonable in the madness of my dreams.
A few weeks ago I dreamed that I solving a murder mystery. I found a dead body under a car and was then told to look in a cookie tin in my house's kitchen. I found a cheque for $10 million that was crossed out and read $2 million instead.
That one actually had a somewhat reasonable plot, but last night I had a really vivid dream that made absolutely NO sense:
I was in a space ship with a bunch of other teenagers. We were preparing for a space mission, apparently. There was this gigantic refrigerator in front of us...
We were all seated on the ground packing it full of frozen treats. We put in exactly 8 boxes of caramel ice cream and tons of boxes of ice cream sandwiches. However, we were having trouble fitting it all in.
All of sudden, I was at a Native reserve by myself. I went inside this huge tent as big as a store. There was a stout British woman dressed in a sage green Khaki getup with round, horn-rimmed glasses.
She was sitting down and showed me how she made North American aboriginal artwork. She was holding a stuffed buffalo toy she already made and sewed on parallel vertical stripes with a needle - first blue, red, and then white. Like a messed up French flag, I thought.
Then suddenly I woke up at 6:30 to my alarm.
I've been trying to think about the dream's significance because it's so unexpected and contains so much precise detail, but I'm completely bewildered. I evidently have a very peculiar subconscious...
A few weeks ago I dreamed that I solving a murder mystery. I found a dead body under a car and was then told to look in a cookie tin in my house's kitchen. I found a cheque for $10 million that was crossed out and read $2 million instead.
That one actually had a somewhat reasonable plot, but last night I had a really vivid dream that made absolutely NO sense:
I was in a space ship with a bunch of other teenagers. We were preparing for a space mission, apparently. There was this gigantic refrigerator in front of us...
We were all seated on the ground packing it full of frozen treats. We put in exactly 8 boxes of caramel ice cream and tons of boxes of ice cream sandwiches. However, we were having trouble fitting it all in.
All of sudden, I was at a Native reserve by myself. I went inside this huge tent as big as a store. There was a stout British woman dressed in a sage green Khaki getup with round, horn-rimmed glasses.
She was sitting down and showed me how she made North American aboriginal artwork. She was holding a stuffed buffalo toy she already made and sewed on parallel vertical stripes with a needle - first blue, red, and then white. Like a messed up French flag, I thought.
Then suddenly I woke up at 6:30 to my alarm.
I've been trying to think about the dream's significance because it's so unexpected and contains so much precise detail, but I'm completely bewildered. I evidently have a very peculiar subconscious...
Wednesday, 6 July, 2011
Strawberry Social
One of my favourite things to do is perform. I play the piano at a seniors home and I love my very receptive and appreciative audience, but I also got to enjoy and help out with a lovely strawberry social last week.
Image source:
http://detalovemamapapa.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/strawberry1.jpg
I was sitting at the table with the residents with dementia since they tend to wander off. I also know all of them from performing on their floor, so it's just like sitting and chatting with old friends (no pun intended).
This is what we all got to eat:
- strawberry shortcake
- strawberry tart
- chocolate-dipped strawberries
- strawberry ice cream
- strawberry juice :)
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to enjoy the event for once rather than having to entertain!
All in all, it was an unexpectedly nice surprise, but one that I really enjoyed. I guess that sometimes it doesn't take much more than strawberries to have a good time...
Tuesday, 5 July, 2011
Before the Tooth Fairy...
There was a time in a my childhood when the Tooth Fairy did not exist. This was a time when my parents were poor students...figures.
We would go outside on the warm Texan mornings with my latest tooth.
If it was from the bottom of my mouth, I'd throw it on the roof. The tooth would thus "grow to the sky".
If it was from the top of my mouth, we'd bury it in the ground and it would "grow down to the earth".
Sounds really one-with-nature, doesn't it?
Fast forward to the modern day....my brother recently managed to lose one of his lower jaw teeth.
Unfortunately, the *Tooth Fairy* was a little forgetful two nights ago (somehow it might have been my mom's fault). He was looking for the $$$ under his pillow, but all he found was his tooth.
So I pretended to get my Blackberry from my backpack and in the process grabbed a loonie. I reached into his pillow and "found" something. Voilà!
I told him what I used to do with my lost teeth in the ancient days before the tooth fairy. We threw his latest forgotten tooth on the roof...albeit, a very different, larger, Canadian roof.
How things have changed...
We would go outside on the warm Texan mornings with my latest tooth.
If it was from the bottom of my mouth, I'd throw it on the roof. The tooth would thus "grow to the sky".
If it was from the top of my mouth, we'd bury it in the ground and it would "grow down to the earth".
Sounds really one-with-nature, doesn't it?
Fast forward to the modern day....my brother recently managed to lose one of his lower jaw teeth.
Unfortunately, the *Tooth Fairy* was a little forgetful two nights ago (somehow it might have been my mom's fault). He was looking for the $$$ under his pillow, but all he found was his tooth.
So I pretended to get my Blackberry from my backpack and in the process grabbed a loonie. I reached into his pillow and "found" something. Voilà!
I told him what I used to do with my lost teeth in the ancient days before the tooth fairy. We threw his latest forgotten tooth on the roof...albeit, a very different, larger, Canadian roof.
How things have changed...
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