Ambush From One Side

Now we dun talk about smaller wars, whats there to prevent a huge conflagration of emotions? I felt this billowing surge of emotions rising within. Im confused... isit a welter of hidden emotions? Or a cacophony of sadness and happiness? Whicheva is real, as far as in concern, i hope it'll infiltrate into my mind again.

So, i woke up late. Again and again... Mom fetched me down to YanYu's house. Angela looked so different again... and she is so adorable. She wasnt crying at all, only making little noises to attract YanYu's attention. Well, i tuned the Pipa and started practice while she attended to her baby. When we resumed lesson, she was telling me that she heard me play and pointed out my mistakes. So, we went through ShiMianMaiFu, and there are some parts which aint played correctly yet at all. Its my fault, though the nails played a big part too. I practiced till my index nail worn off into an odd shape, which affected my angle. Moreover, the sides of the index nail has become edgy, which caused the noises. But well, its not totally the nails, its me too. I dunno why, but i cant find the right angle. I once found the angle, the position, the feel of it. Now, its all gone...

I think my ShiMianMaiFu performance would be shattered into a million pieces. I'll recieve fake comments, and definitely some critical remarks deep in their heads. Well, im used to such criticism. Moreover, after listening to the recording that they used for their practices, i think the dancers are more used to it, and they dun usually listen out. They stick with the recording so much that a slight change might be major for them.

Well, after lesson, i asked YanYu whether she would wanna watch my performance, and she told me that she'll love to. So, i think im going to get a complimentary ticket for her if possible.

Mom fetched me, and we went back home to look for my uncle, then we went out for lunch. Mom and uncle quarrelled, and im not surprised! Uncle kept calling Mom when she was in Malaysia. And she was pumping her petrol, then the phone kept ringing. Her petrol burst out because its too full, and she kept complaining and scolding the Malay lady who was pumping it. Then after so many missed calls, the phone still continued ringing, my uncle obviously continued calling... Well, so... he got a scolding from Mom.

I suggested that we go Jack'sPlace, because im treating them for lunch. Theres an outlet near our place, and so we drove over and got ourselves a seat inside. Its the busiest Jack'sPlace ever. I dunno why, but its always full during lunch. Its kinda amazing how hot the outlet can be, though its located somewhere kinda strange.

So, i ordered mine, and Mom kept asking the waiter, who couldnt speak good English, about the difference between the dory fillet and the fish and chips. Well, the guy kept telling Mom that the fillet means a piece of fish without bones, and thats all... Anyway, i think Mom didnt understand... which i tried explaining too. She was so troublesome! She kept asking, and the guy kept explaining. He was patient enough to tackle all of Mom's stupid questions. So, uncle finally ordered baked rice, which wasted all that time asking about the fishes... Mom ordered boneless chicken... I ordred a mixed grill, and i drank 3 lobster bisque. In additional, i didnt get the escargot, but i got sauteed mushrooms and baked mushrooms with cheese and lobster.

I had a great meal! I was so full... and i drank so much soup. I loved the soup! Its like the best soup ever! When the bill came, i was surprised that its so cheap. Its merely $68 for all that amount of food! I had my fill, and its time to pay. But uncle refused to let me pay, so he paid instead. I didnt complain, because theres nothing to complain about...

We went back home first, then Mom went upstairs to shit while i waited in the car. It was so hot, and i refused to go upstairs. So, i stayed inside the car, which was burning... and i was cooking like fried chicken. I fell asleep... and soon, Mom came and she fetched me down to school, first to Nana's house to fetch her down to Chinatown too. I was sleeping, and when i woke up, we're at Nana's house, waiting for her to come down. And we're like there for so long!

When i was in school, i went to look for QingLun, and asked about his work. Then, without company, i went over to the library to look for an opera DVD to watch. I thought maybe i could finish up my review, but who knows... i couldnt, because i cannot concentrate on the review while watching the opera. The opera was in Italian, because its by Puccini, and i have to keep my eyes glued to the subtitles...

Well, its an opera by Puccini, called 'Turandot'. The interesting thing is that its set in China, BeiJing. Its during legendary times, and about this prince who fell in love with a cold and cruel princess, named Turandot. Its very interesting! The props and the costumes were fantastic. What captured me the most was the way the whole opera was brought to the audience. The singing was great, and its the first time that i feel so in love with an opera. The themes of the opera was clearly driven into my heart, and the touching arias really brought me to tears. I loved the characters, the story, the costumes, the setting, the music and lastly, of course the singing! I'll tell u guys the story again next time... and im going to prepare it for my 800 word review, while also for my history oral exam. We're suppose to prepare ourselves for an opera's sypnosis, and share it with a group during our oral exam. I think its pretty exciting...

Im so stressed...

Well, i had a great time watching the opera. The melodies were stuck in my head and the image of Turandot with her icy cold presence. The sacrificial love of Liu, the slave girl really touched my heart. I walked back to school with the light blue umbrella.

I got to school, and i headed for this international student's buffet with QingLun. We pretended to be foreign students, and got ourselves free food and some free gifts! So cool right? ShuMin and gang were there... and they were pointing to us, trying to reveal our identities. Its really funny... because i told DongXiao that im from Japan, and told her that my Japanese parents forgotten me when they were returning back to Japan during the WW2. And she asked then how did i survive so well alone and gotten so fat. I told her, because i eat at the international student's buffet every year.

They broke into laughters.

After eating, i was really full. Imagine, with that chunk of food from Jack'sPlace, how much more can i stuff inside me? Well, still quite a few, but i was really full for the day. I headed to drink soya with QingLun. I was really curious how the Ruans and the Pipa would improvise for DongXiao's ErHu solo. ShuMin kept begging me to play with her. I'll love to, but i had to rehearse with the dancers...

Jamaludin was there, inside and still having a class with the dancers. So, i stayed in another studio, and got myself ready. I talked to the dancers inside, and they asked about me too. Then, they were complaining about the practices. Well, same complaints in different form just like us, music students. Soon, i went in and got myself prepared. The other instructor was there, other than Aaron, who wasnt there just now. He went through some parts with me, and he had to rush off. I could tell from their eyes that they are really tired. The danced the whole day, and for the assignments, they had to dance and stuff. I could tell that they are alot more practically trained as compared to us. They are physically drained as well... unlike musicians, who are mentally drained from portfolios and their own principle exams.

So, i played with the recording after attempting to play with them. The music was out with the dance, and they practiced so much with the other recording that its so much different! I couldnt take it, i had to adjust myself... and even got to change one section and cut it into somewhere before another section. The divides were all wrong... and i had to keep watching the dancers. Its tough... and till now, we havent got to rehearse the whole piece together yet. Its either that im too slow, or they're too fast. Moreover, im always trying to drag, which in the end, turns out that im too slow. I dunno... its tough.

My arms were dropping off. After practicing, i headed to the computer lab to look for QingLun. Helped him with his work, editted his grammer and tried finding something nice on YouTube to entertain us. He was asking me whether he should work on Schubert or CPE Bach. Well, i'll prefer to work on CPE Bach for the keyboard sonatas. I even told him about empfindsamer stile, the sensitive style which was mostly delivered through CPE Bach's music.

Well, spent little time there. He headed off to Bugis, while i headed to a corner and practiced my Pipa. Tommy was there, with his friend. He told me that the audition was alright, though he made some mistakes. I feel glad that he isnt looking dull or feeling down. Thats good... just look on the bright side. Everything that has been decided cannot be changed, and theres a reason why. Theres always a fortune in disguise somewhere. So, Tommy and others, dun be sad if u dun get what u want. Unless ur a donkey, thats a different case.

I headed home myself. Mom went to Malaysia already... I waited at the bus-stop for so bloody long! I first waited for bus 851, which came after 15 minutes, and its so packed that i dun think i can even enter. So, i waited for the next arrival. It came after 15 minutes, so i wasted 30 minutes waiting, and lucky for me, its not packed... but kinda occupied too.

I found myself a seat, and my tried moving to another seat while my phone dropped. The lady infront didnt help me at all, knowing that im carrying such a heavy Pipa, and with so many wires around and my ugly black bag. Well, so nice of her. If i know her name, she'll be famous now.

Im going to play a game or something with LianWei before i sleep. Or better if i can watch a movie. Im going to teach tomorrow, so ive to wake up really early. Then, i'll head down for NUSCO rehearsal. Their performance is next week, and im not even prepared. I feel so guilty... And guess what? On that day, after performing, i'll have to rush over to NAFA for another performance of ShiMianMaiFu! How exciting? How organised and planned i am.

What troubles me most now would be my ShiMianMaiFu and nothing else, though NUSCO's pieces are kinda scary too. There are so many running notes, but thats fine... because i can smoke over. YiLeng told me that i'll be placed as the Pipa principal. But, im only a guest, its not right. So, i rejected and i hope that she'll arrange another Pipa player to sit outside while i smoke my way through.

On my way home, i met WeiDa on the bus. We talked... and he asked for my name. Its the first time that we're talking... and its impossible for me not to know his name, because he is like so famous in choir. No bad implications, unless ur thinking so.

Im signing off. Goodnight all humans, no animals.

Whats the point of an ambush, if its merely just from a single direction, which allows the enemy to flee in almost any other directions. Thats how i play my ShiMianMaiFu, that bad.