Empress : Kaiserin

2011-06-28T20:10:00.003+02:00

うわあああああーー
死ネタやっと見つかったあああー
１３話のおじさんは無事だったから死ネタほしいいい
悲しい辛い悔しい話が好きだから
いやいや、おじさんは無事でホンットによかった！！！
超嬉しかったわ！
無事なのでおじさんが死んじゃってバニーちゃんが泣いたとかキレたとかという妄想してて、罪悪感もないぜ～っ

http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=19868611

なかなか見つかるのが難しいのよ～
あああああすごっくもっともっと読みたいわ～
ププ～ヽ( ゜ 3゜)ﾉ

2011-02-08T19:26:00.003+01:00

しぬほど忙しすぎ（涙）

リハーサルばかりばっかり、自分の練習時間がない！
コンサートは今週の木曜と金曜になります。
ふーん。
早く来ないの？
毎晩疲れた。
コンサートはいつもこういうことに...
早く普通の日々戻りたい...

とにかくこれすごい
http://twitter.com/#!/side1master/status/34549849718267904

2011-02-01T05:53:00.004+01:00

えー
餃子カレーだー

http://www.shirokuma-curry.jp/?p=custom&id=11927128

カレー毎日食べても飽きない大丈夫だ問題ないし餃子もだいだいだい好きしー
餃子カレー食べてみたいなあ～

CoCo壱が一番好きだけど、餃子カレーない
んー渋谷の近くみたいね～
行きたいいい～

あ、お腹すいたなう...

2011-01-28T19:26:00.000+01:00

WORLD BOXの「でっかい静雄とちっちゃい臨也の本。３回目」読了～
このシリーズだーい好きー！
WORLD BOX様マジ天才！

最初このシリーズの存在を気付いた（笑）のは去年の7月頃かも。
そして、「1回目」が手に入ったときはコミケ78の前日ww
「2回目」はコミケで売られた。
手に入ってとっても嬉しかったわ！
BONSの列に並びながら「2回目」を読んだ。
待てないからな！^q^

四木さん！

四木！

キャアアアー

...と、ちびイザ可愛すぎていきつら！
WORLD BOXのちびイザ超好き！
ちびイザ足りない！（笑）
でっかいシズちゃんとちびイザの非常の日常生活すごく面白いし、ちびイザの四木パパへのパパラブもかわええええええー

「４回目」期待してる、もちろん。
何日も何月も大丈夫だ、問題ない。
何年はちょっと...けど（汗）

あああちびイザヤアアアアアアアア

（幸せに爆発しちゃった）

m(_ _)m

2011-01-17T16:05:00.003+01:00

もうこんな遅い時間ですけど、明けましておめでとうございます！

お久しぶりブログの更新...（涙）

でも色々があったんですね...
9月-10月コンサートがいっぱいあったし、11月に初めて関西行ったし...
そして、冬コミに行こうか行かないかことで困ったが、結局12月下旬にギリギリ東京への航空券を買いました。

もちろん最初は冬コミのために行きましたが、同人家の友達に会うこともできました。

あっそうだ！
数ヶ月前に香港人の同人家の友人に英日の翻訳してと頼まれた（必死に）ことがあってその翻訳された同人が冬コミの2日目に売られました。

あああ恥ずかしいいいーーー（爆発）

そ、それは最初の翻訳した同人誌なので、あぁぁああー

うんうんそれはデュラのシズイザ本です！

シズイザでもイザシズでもとにかく静雄と臨也超好き！v
あんな短い時間（まだ一年間ですよ！）であの二人のラブ（デュラじゃなくww）にハマるのを何回でも考えてもまた信じられない、ビックリしたですよ...
さすがあの二人の魅力...
最初はシズイザ派ですけど、最近受津軽が好き^q^
着物やっぱりエロイ！^q^
たまらない！^q^
っていうか、臨也ラブ！
（おいおいちょっと関係ないでしょ！）

トピずれすみませんでした（涙）
今反省してんです。

香港人の友人がまた春コミに可愛いサイケ本を出したいので、私も翻訳者として巻き込みます...（つω・）

はい、がんばります。

そして、今年も宜しくお願いしますね！m(_ _)m

たっだいまーーー！

2010-08-23T12:52:00.007+02:00

夏コミから帰りました！
今回のコミケットは最高！！って思います　ヽ(oﾟｪﾟo)ﾉ

三回目のコミケだけだけど、毎回は戦争のようですよね（汗）
とくに夏の...
まあ、まだ生き残りましたけどー（笑）

今年リーボンがまだ好きです...
でもデュラララ！！も突然にちょううう好きになちゃったし、好きな漫画家も増えています。
これで？同人ばかり買っちゃた、いっぱい買っちゃった、帰国のとき荷物は大変だｗｗ

コミケの前日、台風があった。
いいことじゃないけど、コミケの皆は助かりました！
一日目の朝は涼しかったし、すっごく曇りでした～
二日目はも９時半前同じ天気でした。
でもその後太陽が出てた、超暑くなりました...
あの日の正午は３５度になりそうだった！ヽ(; ´д｀)ノ

それでも、一番恐ろしいのは三日目です。
朝。ゆりかもめの窓から。青空。
ヤバイ。と思った。
８時半から太陽が強かった。
皆も我慢してて、１０時を待ってて、早くビッグサイト入りたかった　(＞人＜;)
夕刻にホテルで新聞を見ました。この日は３８．１度だった。
恐ろしい、恐ろしい...

ｗｗ
でも生き残りましたよーｗ
皆さん、お疲れさまでしたー！

いまの部屋同人どこにもあります（汗）
片付けたいけど、本棚が足りません...（汗）
来週IKEAに行こうか...？

TLから...

2010-07-15T17:50:00.004+02:00

今日の夕方にコミコミスタジオの通販事務所でえらいことがあった。
ツイート読みながら、爆笑してたwwww

あらら、最近BLCDを聞いたことがないね！のに気付いた。
あかん！(≧ﾍ≦)
いつも同人を読んでばかり。
アタシ、なにしてるの！？（怒）
でも、まだ読まない同人がいっぱいあるし．．．
山盛りになっちゃったし．．．（・ω・;;）

来週の土曜日はSommerhausタイムにゃ！！
wktkですよー☆
ミヌーにゃんに会いたいー
一緒に住んでる２週間を楽しみにしてるわー
２週間はあまり長くないけど．．．と思う（汗）
けどね、後では．．．夏コミだああああああああー
はい、そうそう！
夏コミのために東京に行きまーす！
コミケットの宿題をいつもしてるわー
２日目はちょっとめちゃくちゃそうね(^ω^;)ゞ
デュラとリボーンの日です。
両方も好きすぎて、２日目はアタシにとって、あちこち忙しそうね、ひひ～！

今年の夏、最高かもー！ヾ（oﾟωﾟo）ﾉﾞ

2010-06-06T19:18:00.002+02:00

こ、これ欲しいいいいいいいいい～

デュラララ！！静臨時計より、このDVDがいいじゃない？じゃ、静臨時計の代わりどうでしょう...

ホントに辛いですよ！＞.＜

2010-06-02T18:33:00.004+02:00

非実在青少年条例はコミケに影響するか

去年、夏コミと冬コミ両方にも行かなかった。
去年、いつもいつも「コミケ行ければいいの？」「コミケ行きましょうか？」って考えてた。
去年の８月の東京へのきっぷはちょう安いだった。
去年の１２月下旬仕事がないし、時間もちろんあるし...ちょう暇なのに。

結局、去年、両方のコミケにも行かなかったことはもう変わられない。

今、超後悔している。

「待って、しかして希望せよ！」...ではないかな、今の？

2010-04-13T15:18:00.000+02:00

「ドタキャン」の意味知らなかった！（^－^)／

http://zokugo-dict.com/20to/dotacan.htm

今わかったけど！（^－^)／
便利な新語だね～
｢新」しくないかもしれないけどｗ

2010-03-11T11:41:00.001+01:00

先生に会うだけなのに浮かれすぎだ。今からデートに行くかのように、そわそわしている。実を言えば、友梨奈が急に帰ると言い出した時、ちょっとだけ嬉しかった。友梨奈が帰れば、先生に会いに行けると思ったからだ。
認めたくないが、今の僕はちょっとおかしい。高校性の時ならまだしも、卒業して七年の経っているのに、今さら元担任に懐いてどうする。
そうだ。僕は明らかに先生に懐いている。先生と過ごす時間が地心いいから、何度でも会いたくなるのだと言い訳してきたが、それはつまるところ、先生が好きだから一緒にいるのが楽しいということに他ならない。
でも僕はゲイじゃない。だから先生が好きでも、その気持ちは恋愛感情になり得るはずがなかった。これはあくまでも同性の友人に抱くような好意だ。大体、男に恋なんてするはずがない。できるはずがないじゃないかーー。

ー英田サキ先生の「恋ひめやも」

きゃあああって思ってたんだけど〜

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今日の一番好きな件

2010-03-02T12:12:00.000+01:00

「好きすぎて疲れた。手に負えない感情に振り回され続けるって、死ぬほどしんどいから」
いまひとつピンと来なかった。相手に疲れることはあっても、好きという気持ちそのものに疲れるというのは、どういう感じなんだろう。

ー英田サキ先生の「恋ひめやも」

これは棚橋は水原先生と一緒に海に行った時です。

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2010-03-01T17:02:00.001+01:00

本ならネット通販でも買えるが、実物を手にとって確認したほうがハズレがないし、思わぬ拾い物をすることもあるので、できるだけ本屋で買いたい派だ。僕にとって本屋は理屈抜きに楽しい場所で、そこにいるだけで気持ちがわくわくする。

ー英田サキ先生の「恋ひめやも」

その件を読んでから、ちょっと感動しました。
そういうことって思いました。
だから本屋へ行くことがそんなに好きです！

今回は私の2冊目の小説です。
頑張ってと思います！
今回は英田サキ先生の作品です。
英田先生がいっぱい小説を書いたことが昔から知っているから、
いつも先生の作品が読みたいんです...
やっとチャンスが来たし、この話が面白いそうです。

今ウェブカレを遊んでいることは水原先生のせいかもしれませんね。(汗)

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Reboraji!!

2010-02-05T06:03:00.000+01:00

山本: なあ、なあ、獄寺。もし雲雀が遅っ来ったら、どうする？

獄寺: 絶対魔拳。

山本: じゃ、骸どうする？

獄寺: 絶対魔拳。

山本: ザンザース？

獄寺: ゼッテエエ魔拳。

山本: じゃ、獄寺の姉貴どうする？

獄寺: ... 魔拳。

山本: ツナは？

獄寺: お見逸れしました！

2010-01-24T14:02:00.003+01:00

やっと諾氷だよね！
やった～♥

とにかく、同人家が「They're adorable, but to have Denmark-tan and Nor-chan getting it on would leave Ice-kun in tears.」と書きました。
そう！そーうですよ！
そういうとおりですわ。
そうと思ったんだ～
:DDD

だから丁諾があまり好きじゃありません。

2010-01-24T10:08:00.002+01:00

アイスくん好きですよ。
だからどうしていつもいつも丁諾丁諾ばかりですか!？
>:EEEEEE

~~３Pもいいから、いい加減にしてください！~~

かわいいそう...
あぁもういい...

T.T

2009-12-20T12:45:00.002+01:00

骸様は無事だったら、あたしはも安心します～♥

そして、マティアスのチャラソングが大好きになっていますよ！
あぁ～好き～メロディーが綺麗と思います!

最近宮本先生の「ナイト・ウォーク」を読んでいて（はい、もう一度ですよ～）、この作品がもっと大好きになりました！
先生の魔法だって、チャラたちが愛すべきです～

にゃあ～まだQCがありますが、したくないんです... (>.<);;
最後のコンサートが終わってから、ひますぎるようになっていて、無精者になちゃった...
すみません！

2009-11-22T08:48:00.002+01:00

お久しぶり！最近色々のことがあって、更新ができませんでたした! >.<

今週の金曜日に、宮本先生の「The end of youth」が発売です！！嬉しいでしゅううう～
先生のtitle namingセンスはすごいですよ。
「眠れる月」の番外編は次のCharaがあります。
「十三夜」という。
似つきますね =D

2009-09-18T23:31:00.004+02:00

昨日はも本仁戻の「恋が僕らを許す範囲」の悲しみです。
今日の昼間はUnit Vanillaの「SASRA 1」のドラマCDの鬱です。
ふーん。ボクは一体なの？！
あ、でもSASRAの話はとっても面白かったです！音楽はとっても美しいし、声優たちもすごく素晴しいです!エジプトのシーンのインパクトは強いですよ、記憶に残っています。
セシェンの声はとっても優しいそう、女っぽいと思います～ <3
セシェンの最後のシーンに泣かせました。
声優さんは本当にそごいです！
その声でセシェンの痛みを感じられました...
中国のシーンはちょっと短いのに、話はも素敵でした。
痛みと幸せとでも混和されました。
よっちんの声が大好きになっていますよ～
終決は本当に痛ましくて...きます！

2009-09-14T15:45:00.002+02:00

終了しました。

たくさんスクリプは。
できましたよ。
はぁ、やっとね。

ＱＣのはもうすぐ来るかもしれませんが、ちょっと休みがあるのは良いですよ～
こいでみえこ先生のそうですね。
あ、そ！
大和名瀬先生の作品を校正するそうです。
そう、あたしが。ふーん、この方の作品を校正してみたいので...
校正係になったときに有名な先生たちの作品を校正するつもりです。
大和名瀬先生の作品があまり好きじゃないけど、あたし一徹な人じゃありません。

しかし、今休みましょう～

2009-09-04T09:01:00.000+02:00

やっ...やべ、やべ...
今ストレスがいっぱいよ。
時々頭が痛いです。:(
土曜日の大事なことtとか、校正とか、仕事とか...
や...最近もMWの常用癖がある。
しまった。
本当にヤベ。（＞.＜）

でもね、かんべあきら先生の作品のスクリプが取っちゃた。
やった！
嬉しいことはこれ一つだけ。

ふーん。我慢しろうと思います。
頑張ります～（＞.＜）

2009-08-28T09:24:00.001+02:00

嗚呼！！！アシュさんは本当に本当に優しい方です。
起きたから郵便受けを開けました。
アシュさんの名前を見つけた瞬間に「え？まだスクリプト来た！？でも今度はアシュさんからかな。」と思いました。
だって、違いますよ！
ＬＰの一員になったこと、本当に幸せがっています。
嬉しいです！
もちろんあの時「確かに翻訳されろので、時間の問題だけ。」と思ったし、辛抱しようと思っています。
だから、だから！
アシュさんのメイルを読む時、本当にブックリされました！
ドキドキワクワクになったし、とっても嬉しいです！
全員におくらないんです。
ちょっと特別がります、アハハ... ^^;;
アシュさんは僕宮本先生の作品が大好きのことを覚えています！

このメイルは今日のプレゼントのようだね～　<3
先生の竜さん、一番大好きです！

2009-08-19T01:48:00.001+02:00

疲れた。
どうして午前2時前にそんなに疲れたし、眠いし、分からない。
まさか、sight-readingのせいのか！？
夕方いっぱいsight-readingをした。
だから！？

真夜中、真夜中。

も真夜中だよ！

明日生徒は一人だけ。
後で、夕方ProkoちとAugustくんと会おうと思っていますが、Prokoちは時間と場所も決めませんよ。

フン。

あぁ、早く寝た方がいい。

じゃあ。

Nvm, I'm not making any sense, whahaha.

2009-08-14T14:15:00.001+02:00

先週休んで、ビーエルが触られませんよ。
でもね、この時にＢＵＭＰ　ＯＦ　ＣＨＩＣＫＥＮの素敵な歌をスキになったんですね。
超ぅぅぅ大好きですよ！

だから校正のことはも一週間止まったんですよ。
スクリプは四つが待っていたけど、何もできませんでしたね。
この一週間は終わったら、校正を続けるつもりですよ。
土曜日から夕べまでもスクリプの二つを取りました、F-listも全部読みましたよ。
早すぎかなぁ～昨夜も第三のスクリプが始められました。
でも今回は長い時間をかかるかもしれません。
今回のスクリプの翻訳者は...ちょっとあまり上手じゃありません。
言語の方はもちろんなんか良いですが、翻訳の方は...ちょっとね。
先の二回は違うですけど。
第一スクリプはちょっと簡単だし、一日間ぐらいかかりませんでしたね。
これは花王冴子の「チカンダイリー」でした。
最近（も半年じゃない！？）学ランのフェティッシュがありますよ...クフフ。
受もかわいいし。XD

第二スクリプはとっても簡単で、本当に良かっただね。
翻訳者もすっごく上手だし、日本語と英語もトクイですよ。
あたしは「スキと言って」の翻訳を耽りました。本当に嬉しかった！！
この話は年下攻がありますよ。
ハハ、お久しぶりですね。Ｏ＝＾＾＝Ｏ

ふーん。そんなに速く校正するだね...
校正のことが良くなると思います...？
こういうことだったら、嬉しいかなぁ...

でも、いつもいつも頑張ります！！

2009-06-23T07:15:00.003+02:00

おかしい...かも。

実はね、最初の校正したスクリプトは「帝王の甘い罠」なんです。それでもデビューのスクリプトは「それでもやっぱりキミが好き」そうですよ。かまいませんですけど、まだおかしがっています。

今ＱＣerになちゃって、プロジェクトにもなりまして、頑張ります！

夕べ宮本先生のブログを読ました。先生の「バニラスター」と「プリーズ新装版」は7月に出ます！ひゃあほおおお～～　:DDD
すっごく嬉しいね～　とっても！！期待しています！^_____^

2009-06-17T06:15:00.004+02:00

第五のスクリプトは終に差し出しました～　今回はタカツキノボル先生の作品です。すっごく楽しかったや面白いますよ！~~校正中鼻血がイッパイXD~~
PanくんとPくんとJちゃん、お蔭様！
それなのに、まだまだだねって思っています。今、まだ良くなりたいです！
今回のあたしはもっと厳しいので、スクリプトの校正はちょっと難しかったと思います。

でも頑張ります！

^___^

今月の15日は宮本佳野先生のお誕生日でした！メッセージを言送りました。先生の「眠れる月」は２冊かもしれません。ちょっと失望して、憂かったんです。こんな素敵の作品は一番大好きだから、もっともっっと読みたいです！でも先生の「コーリング」は面白くなっています！

2009-05-21T17:17:00.002+02:00

x________________________x

Handed up my fourth script, and... I have to admit - it was very difficult.
I ended up translating most of the original myself - even though there was already a done-up script in front of me, I can't ignore the fact that it was quite out from the original >.<
So I tried... though it was beyond my capability.

T___T

Thanks to Jchan - because she really really helped out a lot - I managed to submit the script today. Not in the promised one-week, but in five days' time. I'm quite happy, but at the same time, totally relieved. I hope Boss give me a few days of freedom before sending in the next script, and I really hope this will be easier to proof *___*

Jchan really really saved me this time. I wonder if I can really be of any help to her next time. And of course to Pandora too. He must have been fuming thinking "why did this jerk throw me only questions and never start a decent conversation recently?!"

Hontou ni arigatou m(_ _)m

2009-05-06T11:18:00.003+02:00

アハハハ... 突然scanlationグループの一員になりました。
どうして忙しい時にそんなにした、わからない。
スキだから、すきにした？
かもしれない。
あたしの気持ちかもしれない。
それはお返しと思う...
たんぶんね。

あたしにとってそれはお大事ですから。

ちょっとビックリしたね、できなかったって思った...
本当によかったと思う。
Pandoraのお蔭様で、昨夜できた、メイルもした m(_ _)m
その後ストレスは一瞬間に無くなった。

へへ～今後もっともっっと忙しいそうね！
楽しみにしているよ～

2009-05-03T15:37:00.004+02:00

It was still around the rainy season then... Recall the rainy season earlier this year, do you? We are starting to behave like Germans - we complain when there is too much rain, and suddenly now the temperatures rising unbelievably one complains there is now no or too little rain.

I'm a rain lover, so no complaints from me. And I hate to sweat, so I hate even the sun ^^;; Currently suffering from PCS (=Post Concert Syndrome, a term me and my ex-classmate from German class came up with... Ahaha...) I'm so glad I decided to perform Berlioz's Faust!

2009-04-28T22:13:00.003+02:00

A walk to an evening rehearsal <3
Higure ga daaaaaisuki :3

2009-04-25T10:56:00.003+02:00

Random shot during a rehearsal break end of last year lol

2009-04-17T17:38:00.005+02:00

あたしね、あめを食べることが少ないよ。
~~でもさ、これうめぇだぞ！~~
（笑）
これは美味しかったじゃあ～

2009-03-22T11:36:00.002+01:00

It was red sky in the evening yesterday.

And for the first time I spotted a rainbow at my place, after so many years!! But a rainbow against a reddish backdrop, a queer sight indeed (and the reddish hues more enchanting than the rainbow arc itself, I find).

2009-03-15T19:51:00.007+01:00

The second day of CNY we went on the usual house-visits.

And oh the horror on Pandora's bed D:

It's more fun when it's upside-down XDDDD

The last photo taken by Pandora himself - I think it freaks me out the most DX

Other than that, metinks his room is cool!! And me wants the bed. Pretty colour. I got tempted into buying my own set of Onmyouji, oh noes.

2009-03-11T19:12:00.005+01:00

Ohisashiburi~

After a year of trying my lappie finally decided to ~~become one with~~ bluetooth-connect with my handphone orz

Anyhowz! I was giving a vocal workshop at this school in July 2008 - and they had this old piano in their music room. Wut, is this an antique or something? I don't recognize the brand, I think my handphone cam can't capture much too...

But for pianists and keyboard-lovers - look for what's so wrong/unique about this piano:

And somebody tell me what is this (extinct?) brand already. Figures, really.

2008-11-25T18:16:00.005+01:00

これはうまいだぞ！XDDD

Bought this during my April vacation from a shop at Nakano (Tokyo), but only ate it after I flew home. Whahaha. But I was just made a fan of plum of a few months, so I didn't dare buy more than one.

After savouring it, it got me even more addicted to plum flavour!!

Of course, my favourite is still plum tea. *craves*

Onigawara Monaka

2008-10-25T07:01:00.004+02:00

あんが大好きです!
これは白あんです～
とっても美味しかった！
あぁ、五月に伊勢丹のスーパーで見ちゃった。（そして買ったもちろん＾＾；；）
もう一度見るなら、たくさん買おうと思います！

Anyway, this is white an.
"An" is what the Japanese calls bean, or bean paste...? I never really come to understand what that word really means, nor if there is any difference between "an" and "azuki".

For I'm a big fan of Azuki. And hence when I stumbled upon this at a supermarket, I knew I have to try. The only regret though... I only bought one... T___T
After savouring it one afternoon at home... Omg, I wished I had bought more. My very first taste of white "an" ish soooo heavenly kyaa~~

But haven't been able to spot it ever since.
Zannen deshita ne~~

2008-09-03T11:12:00.003+02:00

Close to a rehearsal venue on a Monday evening

2008-08-03T20:46:00.006+02:00

OMG.

O.M.G.

OMGOMGOMG!!!!!

I found it in our local supermarket at J8!

Awesome <3333333

I bought this out of randomness on my first night in Tokyo last winter (picture taken on the hotel bed lol). I was at Shinjuku's Kinokuniya Books and shopped till closing time, and realised that everywhere else had closed as well except for the benri stores. (And I haven't had dinner yet...) So this benri store was selling this, and the first thing that hits me was the description "string cheese"; "Hokkaido" came later. Ahaha.

And back in the hotel room I tried it. Awesome. And regretted I didn't grab seconds. :(

Now they are bringing this awesome finger food here!! *dances in joy*

2008-07-31T16:26:00.006+02:00

Since I'm on LJ hiatus, I'll post here.

Reason for my seemingly out-of-the-blue hiatus, is that this is an annual thing I commit myself to do. Because Franz has been such a huge significance in my life - and how I came to know him, and got fascinated by him at first sight, I can only think it was Fate. That was almost 10 years ago. And looking back, I saw what a big part he has played; moulding shaping my life, into what I am now. So I'm putting off one week - for dear Franz, because he shall never be forgotten...

And that is the reason.

Now to bring things into lighter note - this week is my last week at the school; some of the children know that, and I blame it on myself I'm been too blinded by selfish causes to notice their little feelings. Some of their cards are very touching, but some are actually quite hilarious. More than anything else, I think I had fun, though honestly? I'm tired. And exhausted. The lack of sleep has been going around for this whole month, and I'm never used to waking up at early morns (5.30am!!). Only if I really HAVE to take up this kind of assignment, I rather avoid it the next time. What made me do it this time? Well, I'm planning a huge vacation end of this year, and I thought I might need to call for urgent extra fundings if I want to keep up at travelling at least twice every year, and next year's plans are looking quite off charts. I still have two more classes to finish off, and then... I can happily set my alarm clocks to my usual 11ams again.

2008-07-26T21:30:00.002+02:00

Taken yesterday as I was on my way to the last job of the day...

I thought the rain was late for a month. It started to get real wet (and pouring) since Monday... Yesterday wasn't spared too. I was wearing my new shoes and I was really hoping to avoid puddles at all costs. I had my usual taiyaki for dinner (only for Fridays) fresh and piping hot - nyaaaa, the tail was crunchy and delicious (lol). Then I realised that perhaps the rain clouds were just following me - when I was having a casual conversation with Tatai-san later in the evening about the weather, she seemed to have this impression that it was rather sunny in the afternoon.

Hmm hmm... Yet strangely enough the rain clouds cleared this morning, and right now the night feels pretty warm. No rain today, and it seems there shouldn't be any tomorrow...?

2008-07-20T19:13:00.000+02:00

I've finally decided to get this blog moving again... Say, it's almost eight months since the last entry! Since this is my very first blog, I'll not close it down, and looking back, I did want to post the vacation experiences here... but looks like I got stuck at Texas.

The reason behind this was mainly... after a few weeks in Austin I stayed in Japan for another week, and I realised I took too many pictures there... Hence, procrastination sets in and all because I knew the photo uploads eat time and I was after that in full swing preparation for a three-night production of Verdi's opera La Traviata, and the posts never continued. I intend not to do that any more - the photos and posts were already posted at my LJ and I'm still too lazy to re-post them here.

What remains for this blog... is, I guess, just random rl posts? All fandom and future vacation posts will not appear here anymore - I've decided they belong to LJ. Will also transfer old posts to LJ as well, so that this remain a fairly organzied blog, while my LJ stay as a heap of mess, my dump and heavily filtered but comfy home of my rants.

Sore ja... mata!

Beez desu.

Austin

2007-12-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

Tried to stay in bed for as late as possible. In the end I got out of bed after 10. Metinks it's not late enough. Things to do today? Clear stock (the groceries I've bought since I arrived), pack and utilise my last chance online to the fullest!

Uncle returned to work today, so firstly, it's a stay-home day, which is ideal for me; and secondly, I need to borrow his wife's lappie to access the Net this time (since he brought his to work). I stayed up late last night to sort out the photos; today they're all burned to 2 CDs in total. That's around 810 MB in total. And most importantly, sent the confirmation email to Shimizu Ryokan. Ha, I forgot it's already the 18th over at Kyoto!

Proko online, then lunch... And I started with cleaning the ice cream... But my cough is hindering me - in the end I only finished Ben & Jerry Strawbeery Cheesecake and half of Haagen Dazs Baileys. Gomen ne, Proko; if you've lived next door I'd have passed the remaining to you.

My last sundown in Texas. May not look very good since I'm on my tiptoes trying to catch the scenery over the fence... Oh I am short.

17.15 Uhr (Texas time)
Uncle returned from home. Dinner was roasted chicken from the supermarket - and was very nice!

Bathed and adding finishing touch to my packing. Omg - my luggage is already full... Maybe some tiny spaces here and there to squeeze future small gifts and all, but completely no space for the books, cds and whatnots on my shopping list! And I am also starting to doubt if I am actually entitled to a 32kg weight limit instead of the usual, since my final flight after Christmas can be interpreted as a short trip from Narita to home. Hence perhaps just 20 kg limit instead... T___T

Schertz - Enchanted Spring Ranch - San Antonio - Austin

2007-12-16T00:00:00.003+01:00

Intended to wake up around 7 (hotel breakfast was from 6 to 10.30am), but was awakened way earlier by ST who was an even early riser. It paid off though, to lose some extra sleep for a breathtaking sunrise from our window; I wasn't there for the full treat though; the horizon was already in its glowing orange hues when I drew the curtains back.

Nevertheless, still a beauty.

I decided to have a morning bath and pack while ST went down to the hotel lobby for breakfast. I was tv-ing when she returned, encouraging me to take some breakfast. I had decided to just perhaps have a hot drink, but I ended up getting two servings of meat patties with mustard. The patty was really tasty and tender, but it was actually the mustard that made me goe for seconds, lol. Their hot chocolate was yummy too. So rich! I can't remember clearly now, but I drank about 2-3 cups. Ha, my first proper breakfast in Texas ho~~

We left the hotel after 11am. Uncle drove back to the ranch area (which we were at last evening). It was just one long straight stretch of road... Uncle had to stop and ask for directions several times. We were definitely having trouble locating the ranch (where Uncle had planned for us to visit).

We drove to what was clearly the end of that stretch of highway, and ended up in a beautiful (and rather secluded) town. A river runs along the edge of the town, and the surroundings looked so enveloped in nature, quiet and peaceful.

Random town pic

Seems like dear Uncle was ready to give up and head for home, BUT we eventually found the ranch after all - and that's after around an hour of driving aimlessly? The ranch's entrance... was really not ehm... very obvious. The name's "Enchanted Spring Ranch". Once again, though the sun was shining strongly, it was still cold. However, I decided to leave my coat in the car and put on an extra pullover (which I brought along coz I was prepared for it) in place of my precioussssss coat. We had three guides to show us (and a couple of other American visitors) around on a wagon.

The slow wagon journey was very very bumpy. Haha... I wasn't surprised when one of the guides warned us we might fall off the wagon from our seats solely due to its tremendous rocking.

We made two stops along this 15 minutes ride. And all the wildlife around us. Not something I've expected. Zettai omoshiroi.

First stop, to feed the fishes here. The fishes were totally gigantic whoa. However I was more attracted to the surroundings here. A tranquil another world.

And then came along a llama!! And I happen to like llamas~~~

Second stop. Basically there was this swing that was filmed in a very famous scene from a past movie. I can't remember what was the film title mentioned, but it doesn't mean a lot to me, meh. But the surrounding is still very pretty.

Our wagon, and one of the guides

Then the return journey, which we passed by many other animals...

This is actually one of the guides' dog, lol :)

Deers...

A REINDEER!! The feeling was delightful, coz it was so close to Christmas then? This was my best shot; the reindeer was running so fast after its counterpart I had no time to change my cam to iso mode ahaha

The second part of the tour was based in this "cowboy town". The guides said it was frequently used as a film set. Meanwhile, some animals (eg. bulls, cows, goats, etc...) were also reared along the cowboy town.

Remember the llamas? (actually there were two; I only took a photo of one previously). They managed to follow the scent of food (there were some on the wagon) all the way here! Ha, cute!

Then, meet the bull family

This is one good lookin' Highland laddie!!! I've always loooooved Highland cows; this is the first time I see them with my own eyes...

Quite a cute lad isn't he? *marry me!!!!!!* (lol)

Look at his feet!! *___* (pic below)

Wandering around the cowboy town...

I can't remember what time we left the ranch, but by then it was pretty warm. Still cloudless skies, but the sun... gosh... the sun was merciless. It was another hour's ride back to San Antonio for lunch, and it was that the sun was shining where I was sitting, totally roasting me.

Lunch was at Panda Express, and it was a treat from ST and me - coz it was gonna be the last outside-meal with Uncle's family, so showing some gratitude for their hospitality for these two weeks. The heat was almost unbearable.

Then another 2-3 hour on the road as we head back to Austin. Uncle decided not to stop at the two "Outlets" as planned, coz the kids were all worn out. However we did not go straight home. I was tired too so I slept in the car - when I woke up it was all dark, and the car was parking at "HEB" (supermarket). Rather surprised I didn't come to wake up to see the house's garage lol. Oh yes, and I was suddenly hit by a terrible dry cough. o___O Shit.

Yep, after dark and it was all freezing again. Spent another two hours in the supermarket - my basket was full of drinking chocolates and milk-favouring straws. Decided to bring some back for friends since I've tried them and they were really yummy. At the counter the cashier was teasing me: "All chocolate?" I sheepishly said "ya, ahaha..." to him. Geeez... Rather embarrassing, but I'll save the trouble explaining that those were not for me... Nyaa~

At night I started my packing. Tomorrow was a stay-home day coz Uncle will be back to work, and then the morning after tomorrow ST and me will be on our way to the airport.

Austin - San Antonio - Schertz

2007-12-15T00:00:00.002+01:00

Woke up around 6.30am to bathe and pack... only ST and Uncle were awake. Then chatting via Skype with relatives from home - and what a racket over at the other side. We were scheduled to leave by 8am, but were delayed by some kind of children/domestic matters; so in the end we left the house only after 10.30am. o___O;;;

In the meantime however, me and ST were already packed and ready! So ST went ahead to clear the yard, while I took a stool from the kitchen and sat myself comfortably on the cemented pavement of the yard, watching her and indulging in the cold tempatures and quiet surroundings. Such peaceful sanctuary, sitting and enjoying the cold breeze while sipping hot mlk from my mug. Kimochi~~~~~~

In the yard - my view of bliss

10.30 Uhr (Texas time)
We finally set off, followed by a brief stop at the petrol station. Then an hour drive before lunch at San Antonio - KFC, for the third time. The same stuff we ordered, for the third time. Brrrilliant. Meh.

Random pics taken along the road:

Don't let the nearly cloudless sky fool you - it was actually pretty cold outside, accompanied with chilly winds

We took the highway and drove past downtown. Looks deserted and empty for a Saturday. Anyway, that white building on the left (poking out of the trees) is City Hall.

Strange ne, the streets are really empty though it's the weekends...

Perhaps coz everyone's here...?

Plains and farms passing us by...

Oh yeah, before lunch we did drive pass a lot of signboards with places named after German words - Schlitterbahn (a theme park metinks), Toepperwein, Fredericksburg, etc. Am amused.

Another sign - another location in German. Somehow it makes me feel like if I was actually travelling on German highways, coz of these familiar sights

We continued with our journey - and Uncle's GPS rocks (so much more efficient than those I've seen back home)!!!

A church...

We passed by a mining area or something... a stark contrast to the surrounding greens

Crossroads :)

Another hour passed before we reached Seaworld, finally, around 2pm. A ticket is not cheap - 48.99 USD. Under the impression that Seaworld sounds like a water theme park (and I don't know what else to expect) I was afraid I would wet my coat... but in the end, coz of the gusty cold winds, I brought along my coat and scarf.

Welcome to Seaworld

First stop was the Sea Lion Theater... for a sea lion show of course. There was a surprise for first time audiences - a trap door on stage right opens; a gush of water (an awful huge amount of it!) and the people sitting at the front rows got really wet!! YOKATTA. Hontou ni YOKATTA. I would cry, and then goe into a fit or killer mode if anything happens to my coat! RAWR. >:EE

Next stop at 2.30pm was the 4D Theatre. And what a hell of an experience. My first four-dee you know? The crab legs feeling at my feet sets me in full alert for anything that comes suspicious. Lol - silly isn't it? Screamed at the bees and the bats - coz they were so damn big and "near"... WTH... when at the back of my mind I know they are unreal. Whahaha. So I was making a lot of noise; screaming and laughing, muahahahaha. Even closed my eyes at the bees part... coz I'm so damn scared! So not entirely feeling goooood, but it was a first experience, and so there. I think I was just completely caught off-guard and then overwhelmed. Ha ;)

At 3pm was a dolphin-plus-killer-whale cum acrobats show Viva!. It was just... WOW. WOW. WOW. The stunts... reminds me very much of Cirque de Soleil :DDDDDDDDDDDDD And the ~~extra~~ funny man (second picture below) was indeed very funny. XDDDD

We were off to see the aquarium at The Coral Reef - and an impressive one. Very beautiful. Not the fishes nor sharks, but the rays of shimmering sunlight emerging from the schools of fishes at the upper level of the waters. The effect was magical, like angel dust pouring into the dark depths of the waters. Kireiiiiiiiii~~~~~

The best shot I could get - the rest were all total failure. My cam is not very capable at taking pictures in insufficient light... T___T

When we were out of the aquarium it was coincidentally the feeding time for the dolphins at the Dolphin's Cove.

Next, we tried very hard to locate the stables from the map. But it was our noses that led us to our desired destination haha. The stable was... pretty much strong smelling. The clydesdales (giant species of horses) were incredibly HUUUUUUUGE! :O

I really like their furry white feet!!!

A closer look...

A short coffee break after all that walking in the cold. It was exactly 5pm (also Seaworld's closing time) when we were done and ready to leave. It was a lovely sight of the family walking towards the setting sun...

Drive towards tomorrow's destination; Uncle's intention was to locate some hotels along the way... Beautiful, beautiful sunset. The palette of lush colours on the horizons... And what a sight it was, the last 15 minutes of the sunset... Golden orange hues... fading into pink, then purple, and lastly blue... First time on isolated roads after darkness fall - and that's because we are now in the ranch areas. We even got to stop for a deer crossing the road! :D However, the area was too isolated; there wasn't a single hotel along the way at all. Uncle had to drive us all back to San Antonio instead - another hour or more of driving.

Dinner before checking in at a classy hotel (Hampton Inns). Me and ST shared a room with... 2 king-size bed. OMG... And the bed was jump-able (:DDDDDDDD) Overall I felt so pampered as I went around the room poking at cool stuffs!!! Soaked in the tub for an hour or so... felt reeeeeeally great... The mouthwash was icky though. Out of the bath, the bed was bouncey comfy and fluffy. Oh, and extra cloud-fluff toilet paper. Whoa. *____*

Austin

2007-12-14T00:00:00.000+01:00

Today was a slack-at-home day for me. Same usual routine, blah blah, found out cold water cures sore throats better than warm water, at least for my case. Chat with a couple of friends via Skype, which fired the reason for me to stay at home while the rest of the house members left for "Toy R Us" and "Best Buy". Basically toys and eletrical stuff. Not interested, and a good lame chat with people at opposite end of the world is more alluring, whahaha.

What else can I say? I think they won't be out for long, since we are to have a early day tomorrow. If weather permits, I heard we are bringing the children to "SeaWorld" and perhaps an overnight stay somewhere near before returning home on Sunday evening. Monday will be my last posting session, and Tuesday dawn I'm setting off for the airport... FOR JAPAN!!!! *___________*

Three tubs of ice cream left in the freezer. So yep, we will be able to finish them before we leave. And that feels not too good, since it signifies half of my vacation time has passed. :(

Everyone returned around 7pm... with a kitchen playset for the children. I palmfaced... The living room (also the kids' playroom) will be moarrrr messy than ever, that I can predict.

We had giant crab as part of dinner. Then the adults learnt how spoiled I really am when it comes to "chores" involving fingers. That I was always served ready-to-place-in-mouth crab meat instead of wrestling with the hard parts... Lala~~ Uncle called me "Da xiao jie". Lol.

It's been a while since I marathoned such an amount of anime. But somehow I prefer it to supermarket trips. I wanna watch some more, but we are waking up early tomorrow, around 7am sharp? So I'll just leave it to future chances. And... seems like I'm looking forward to the overnight stay at the hotel/motel tomorrow, so much more than the whatever SeaWorld thingy.

Austin

2007-12-13T00:00:00.001+01:00

Guten Morgen!! Woke up around 8 plus because of a commotion - a plumber-cum-carpenter has made a visit to repair the 2nd floor toilet and the yard door. And I slept well - finally. "Nua"-ed on the bed till 9 ha. Had a very very very extremely totally WEIRD dream, but Hotohori was looking pretty. <3<3<3 *heart*

A stranger's arrival! And do I have to explain about the privacy screens again, which are making this pic looking so awful? >:E

And the children amuses me. An awful lot.

The eldest is so convinced it's her fishy birthday cake with coloured candles. o___O;;

13.14 Uhr (Texas time)
...and still at home. Home-cooked lunch = yay saved from fast food lol. Heard that we might be going to "Outlet" again! Yeeesh! Coz I have my eyes on one particular pair of gloves, and the lost one gives me more than enough reason to get it now. :D

because ST convinced me to take a pic of our neighbour's tree

14 Uhr (Texas time)
Uncle's wife found my lost glove under the front seat of the car!? OMG!! What is this? Trying to change my mindset about getting the gloves? Half of me is happy I got my full set of gloves back; the other half now in a dilemma if I should really get a new pair nevertheless...

We reached the same "Outlet" we visited four days ago. More than two hours spent there. I went to the shop - seriously, I an not fated to get those gloves. They didn't have my size (small), and what was left in the store were XL ones. WTH!? I bought a pair of nice-feeling pretty-purple socks though. And came this close to buying a stuffed toy dog, lol. Coz its fluffiness is so irresistible. And 10 USD less. Only flaw is that I think they are defects, or at least, not well made. ST bought her gloves.

There were a lot of tops I was tempted to buy, but I kept telling myself I'll find better stuff in Tokyo... so difficult to look away...

...so I looked up the sky instead. IN AWE.

18 Uhr (Texas time)
Again at the Vietnamese Noodle House. Ordered the same thing except for the change of noodles type. I couldn't order most stuff on the menu coz there were beef, or the meat was BBQ-ed. Sore throat remember? When I ate the vegetable tempura (Uncle's wife cooked them) this afternoon it has gotten worse.

After dinner we crossed the carpark to the opposite supermarket, and the night was extremely extremely cold. I wasn't expecting the sudden drop in temperature so only a thin blouse ontop of my turtle neck and ME DIDN'T BRING ME COAT. Crap. I really shivered in the less than one minute journey from the noodle restaurant to the supermarket.

Bought nothing from there though. Same usual routine when we got home - bathe, wait for hair to dry, sleep.

Austin

2007-12-12T00:00:00.001+01:00

Woke up after 8.30 Uhr. Witnessed the school bus picking up kids through the neighbourhood - and that famous yellow colour (of the school bus) reminded me I was in the States.

Ha. Coz I'm not really a tourist here in Texas, more likely as a niece visiting a uncle for two weeks - I don't get to interact with any locals at all, and even if we are outside interaction is kept to a minimal. So this journey far away from home, doesn't really feel real - well, except the winter temperatures and dramatic drop in humidity here that is.

Leon's gloves! I kidnapped them just to photograph them; they are reeeeeeally too adorable... *___*

It's cold today. The coldest so far. At the Korean Supermarket it was really freezing - 5 degrees with blowing winds to be exact. I'm all the more glad I made the right choice getting this winter coat. Its price is a nightmare, but it's keeping me very warm! My poor face which is exposed to the chilly winds though... I needed to protect it with my black scarf... Anyway, back in the supermarket, a lot of Japanese products there, which I found pretty much contradictory. They might as well open up a Jap supermarket and make me happier.

Next is "Target", and an impressive supermarket of the high end I would say. Bought quite a lot of stuff, from nailcutter to orange juice. Quality food ne! The romano garlic sourdough sticks for example. I had my eyes on a shrawl, a pretty plum colour - but it was the very last piece and wasn't in a good state. T___T It would have matched my black clothings very well... Why don't I have any affinity with purpurish tones shrawls?

18.30 Uhr (Texas time)
We returned home. Uncle's wife is frying something for our dinner - what I yet not know. But it's stinking up the whole house, and there's nowhere to run (except to the freezing outside)! Even the spare room, the furthest room on the 2nd floor reeks of the oil smell. Eww... Here goes my clothes... DX

20.30 Uhr (Texas time)
Second Uncle was online on Skype. Just before we started dinner. So imagine the laptop and cam at the dining table and the chatting... and most of us already hungry... ha...

Dinner was gooood. Sushi!!! (See, only a week without Jap food and I'm already dying.) Also chicken steak... which goes very well with the mash potato gravy from KFC. In fact, the gravy goes well with anything, lol.

Austin

2007-12-11T00:00:00.001+01:00

12 Uhr (Texas time)
Just in case I hadn't mention it before - Uncle's house was located in the suburbs, so except for Uncle, all of us have not yet seen what the city area is like. Today's lunch was a little special... and rather far away. We drove around 40 minutes to downtown for an Italien buffet.

Here are some random pics I took in the car during our looong journey there:

Our very first time seeing high rise buildings in Austin. Ho~

Apartments, still under construction. (So neat-looking and spacious. Hoshiiiiii~~~~ Really would love to live in here~~)

Ha. Shot with special effects. ;)

o___________________________O Look voodooish, but if I didn't remember wrongly, it was just a tattoo shop.

The buffet place! *eats up the place*

Yep. That's how it looks like. And the restaurant was pretty crowded (heard from Uncle that the buffet price was reasonably cheap for their good food) by the time we got there. It was actually quite a long wait, since our headcount numbered up to seven...

Anyway, I overstuffed myself coz there was so many varieties of pasta (at least 8-9 of them) and I wanted to try all of them! LOL... So I was mainly poking at the pasta dishes and ignoring the pizzas (think it's a pity? but I really only have one stomach...) The children were just crazy over the mozzarella sticks and apple soda (ewwww to me), and the adults picking regularly on the deserts. Me? I didn't try the ice cream, since I believe we have better ice cream back in the fridge (lol), and the deserts were just okay... EXCEPT that the tiramisu cake is sinful... *___________* Ya... I wanna try the pasta again... *_____* It's really authentic Italian... Me miss the pasta... *droooooools*

15 Uhr (Texas time)
Aunt needed to make a trip to the bank after lunch, and once again I continued with the random picture-taking during the short drive...

The pic looks much more awesome in its original size, but I'll spare you the GIANT ahaha.

Foto ish overwired *coughs*

I got pretty worn out looking after the two girls in the bank, so in the end I just sat on a chair while they climbed all over me. Leon made me laughed continuous with his jibberish talk when his face got kinda stuck between my ass and the chair. ROFL.

Then to Uncle's office, coz it's just nearby. The view from his desk is splendid.

We prepare to leave for home as it will be getting darker very soon. Uncle's colleagues back at his office had informed him about the Christmas light up events around town area, and we happened to drive by one gigantic one.

"Trail of Lights" - seems the preperation work is not finished yet... feels so isolated...

Lake Austin; very beautiful under the darkening skies

It's barely 5pm, but the peak hour jam on the highway has begun. Traffic is slow, but at least it wasn't too bad and was still moving.

The peanut butter jam

18 Uhr (Texas time)
Back home for the children to nap (they were totally worn out). But I decided to sleep too (the only chance to get a good sleep is when the children have slept and are quiet). The thing is, I slept till 11pm. Heh. Got to miss dinner (yay) since the pasta is still in my tummy...

Anyhow it has been hot today! A 27 degrees, gosh!

Spent too much time on the Net in the end, accompanied with tubs of ice cream; slept around 4.30 whahaha.

Austin

2007-12-10T00:00:00.000+01:00

7.47 Uhr (Texas time)
Woke up freezing cold, and early. It just rained, as I can see. Me first to wake up, and it feels rather awkward. The pain is subsiding... but still lingering. Let's see how fast I can get over it. Dance the tune of escapism... is something I'm pretty good at... though it may seem like a negative aspect...

Hard to type with freezing fingers, but who's to blame when I'm still wearing a T-shirt? Ha. This post comes after a couple of One Piece episodes. It’s impossible to survive without anime :p

Oh yes... I remembered the scene when I woke up this morning. Let me do some explaining first - the youngest kid sleeps downstairs, and the two girls sleep in a room upstairs. Me and ST sleep with them while the parents in their own room. We do have a spare room with a mattress (also where our luggages are), but no one sleeps there.

I vaguely recalled some commotion in the middle of the night, in the middle of my sleep - the children screaming and the parents distressing... And the morning scene was remnants of last night's chaos - which I found pretty funny in a sense - I was the only one on the bed with the 2nd kid. I got down and the eldest sis was sleeping on the carpeted floor in front of the storeroom (or was she closer to the bathroom?), ST was sleeping in the spare room. Both parents on bed knocked out. It's funny in a sympathetic way.

Ice cream in the freezing morning. The feeling is totally addictive! I went over three rounds of it. Then since it was cold weather I finally decided to have my Hot Christmas Chocolate. Mmmm...! And with real candycane bits!

And other chocolates I bought... Hershey’s Kisses Hot Cocoa Flavour, and below, Hershey’s Sticks. This is a little too sweet to my liking though...

I put on my clothes meant for this winter for the first time; it was all short sleeves before. But it was hot in the house all dressed up so I went outside the yard and woooo!! It was all misty and foggy!!! Very winter-like, ne? But fog also means rain...

The square-ish texture is due to the privacy screens; pic taken from indoors...

And now from the yard - as you can see, it's all fog... and the cold :D

13 Uhr (Texas time)

All the fog while travelling on the road

KFC for lunch... again. We ordered the same thing... again. But the kids loved it, so whatever. At the end of dinner it got REALLY windy, so it's the cold PLUS wind. Very very cold so I finally wore my coat.

Went to HEB for groceries. Drinking chocolate again, coffee for Mum, snacks, something for my hair, and Bailey's ice cream (!!) from HD. Lalala~~~ The fifth pint in the fridge. Whahaha.

16.30 Uhr (Texas time)
After that Uncle dropped ST and I at a shopping mall chain, in front of the Barnes & Nobles store. Once shopping into the bookstore I subconsciously walked towards a display of literature classics. It was almost unreal to see Franz's face staring at me. I had to look twice... and then a weird feeling came over me - his famous portrait... on Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray?! How insulting, and yet, it was just plain weird. Okay, they meant to flatter his looks? But I can't help but relate that to the ending and I just don't like Franz's image being used as part of one's imagination for the horrible horrible ending.

Whoa. I picked up a manga I believe could not be found back home; the rest I read on the spot lol. Yes, I'm getting fond of Yoshinaga Fumi-sensei's works.

Blame! looks very interesting, but they didn't have the entire set to begin with. :(

An hour and a half spent at the bookstore, and another half hour at Hallmark, where I found fabulously noisy cards! You know those “talking cards”? They’re fascinatingly irritating! If not for the price, I would have bought back some and “noised up” the whole house haha (which I did by the way in the shop lol). Then it was time Uncle would come by and pick us up, who's also on his way to pick up some gardening tools.

When we were done... it had gotten even coooolder...

1.30 Uhr (Texas time)
Last one to sleep; everyone was knocked out, and I was close to it anyway. What I tried was very crazy? Switched off the lights on the ground floor and the home was in complete darkness. So I felt my way up the stairs to the spare room... put my glasses away, and then lastly feel the way to the bed. Took some kind of manoeuvring not to even generate any form of noise, and of course to trip over the two narrow safety gates at each end of the stairs.

Austin

2007-12-09T00:00:00.000+01:00

Was waking up at random intervals. Not that it was warm or anything; more like I just couldn't get to sleep. Basically if one tries too hard to sleep it makes it an even harder task, oder?

But. I dreamt of Jun Jun! Surprisingly. Or maybe not, since I did the Jun Jun meme last night. If I happen to have time again and do a NariKen or Okia-sama one, will I get to dream of either of them? Whahaha.

Woke up before 9.30am. Er, everyone was up before me again? Ha. Then I shall make it a habit. :p

Around noontime we set off to IKEA for lunch. I think the food here is more salty, but the family settled for the afternoon meal here because of the meatballs. Lol. I had smoked salmon salad (yes, nothing do change, except that they call it by a more unpronounceable name here) and also pasta. But the Alfredo sauce (they call that here) is tasteless and the shredded cheese too salty. Meh. A very filling meal nevertheless. I shall repeat again: their servings are gigantic here.

Today's skyshot of 1 (more to come :p)

IKEA Restaurant

I have been complaining to ST (and everyone else) that the weather is too warm for winter here. It has been above 20 degrees since I arrived, but around 3pm the temperature suddenly dropped. Very welcoming cold strong winds. Yay.

After lunch we head on to a place Uncle calls "Premium Outlets". Apparently a outlet for branded goods, sold at really affordable prices, or so they say.

Told you; more skyshots... XP

We reached the outlet

Food Court, it states, but nothing like ours D:

"Premium Outlets" huge compound

Lovely design at Polo Ralph Lauren. The GAP outlet here doesn't sell any bags to my disappointment. And Burberry's bags still make me look five years older though I still hope to own one someday. A shop called Ann Taylor has clothes to my taste, but I decided to save up the money first since I still have 10 days to survive? Another shop sells classic winter clothing and the gloves are a temptation. Very very elegant looking, and the right colours to match my black coat too. :)

It has dropped to 12 degrees around sunset. Yay. I skipped dinner coz there were only fast food at the food court and by the way, the pizza slices are cruelly enormous (hence no appetite). Keh.

We hastened to the car - the winds were blowing real strongly while I was still sipping the remaining of ST's iced Oolong Tea. In the car my left hand was practically numb from holding the cold drink and I searched for my gloves. I found the right hand side but not the left hand's. Shit. And frantically digging for it in my bag - all in vain.

Meanwhile the kids were screaming cold. My apologies, but I find that amusing :x

Reached home; I turned the luggage inside out upside down blah blah. I must have dropped it somewhere sometime ago. Maybe even before I reached Texas since I did not check for my gloves even then. Couldn't find it anywhere, so it's really gone and I have not even worn it. Really really pissed off.

Damn. I really need them for Japan? Meaning I need to get a new pair. And I should have then bought the pair I had my eyes on at that winter wear shop. Don't think we're returning there anymore.

Yeah. I wish to end here now. Just let me sink in dismay on the loss of my glove.

Austin

2007-12-08T00:00:00.000+01:00

9 Uhr (Texas time)
Ha. Now I'm the last to wake up. At 9am! I'm never an early waker, ne. And I would have slept till ten - I hadn't fulfill my dose of at least 6 hours of sleep.

Now they know I don't breakfast. Though I don't really mind ice cream for the morning meal. Whahahaha... (I'll try to curb myself from ruining my image too much in one day LOL.) And expensive Earl Grey in the morning. So exquisite! :D

11 Uhr (Texas time)
A walk around the neighbourhood, followed by a short drive to the nearby playground.

Just outside the house

The corner of the neighbourhood

O Christmas Tree... the alternative

And more trees...

We went to some "Chinatown" for lunch. A Vietnamese restaurant. Seems like Americans are accustomed to large servings. I ordered my noodle bowl "S" size, but it seems "XL" to me when it was served. Their spring rolls have a, erhm... rather unique taste. Then grocery shopping again at the opposite supermarket which caters to the Asians here. I even found our local brands there! I was so tempted to buy the other favours Vitasoy drinks not found at home - red bean and coconut, but meh. Oh, they have a lot of Japanese products! I have an entire row of Ramune on the shelves, and went OMG I wanna bring all of them with me. But I am spoiled when it comes to carrying weights, so I hope I can find them in Tokyo at a reasonable price too... Don't wanna carry 10 Ramune bottle in my luggage chasing trains in Japan, lol. Another tub of ice cream - Azuki favour! I think our hosts are freaked out by now by going What?! Ice cream again!?

We now have five pints of ice cream in the freezer.

On the highway

...?!

Reads Drive-Thru Pharmacy. Now how I wish we do have it back home.

"Chinatown" - at the carpark

Back home we passed by a huge cemetery. The flowers on the graves suddenly evoked in me memories of Franz. It was lucky I was at the back seat, and everyone except uncle (who's driving) and I were knocked out and dozing off due to the jetlag. Coz I cried and called out silent my beloved's name so many times from the innermost depth of my heart. I recalled the scene in Bayreuth earlier this summer.

23 Uhr (Texas time)
OMG, OMG, I can really sleep. Actually the children were all knocked out at the supermarket, so we headed for home. Around 5pm when I had my rounds of ice cream I went up take a nap too. By the time I woke up darkness has fallen. I thought perhaps the sunset is getting earlier due to early winter... when I was up from bed and I checked my watch... it was 11pm! WHOA.

Woke up... and bathe. Then I realized they're all planning to go shopping at another supermarket again. o__O;; So... I told them I'll give it a miss this time. ~~Also living up to my idea of slacking: home, Internet, tea and ice cream.~~ Dinner was overnight KFC chicken. Didn't want it at first... but submission came later.

So when the rest of the house left for the supermarket I'm typing this right now - sipping my hot tea and once in a while heading for the freezer for the tubs. The Azuki ice cream is premium stuff man.

4 Uhr (Texas time)
Uh-oh. Now looks like the little boy has taken a liking to me as well. o__O;;

Reluctantly off to bed at 4.30 Uhr, and didn't sleep well either.

Austin

2007-12-07T00:00:00.000+01:00

12 Uhr (Texas time)
Yep. Can't believe I slept till this late. However as I write now (2pm Texas time) ST is still in bed. :p

The way the sun is shining, it definitely doesn't feel like noontime. :) I'm gonna like it here, heh.

Here’s the view from the back of house. Huuuuge giant yard. Awesome.
(This is the best shot I can give, due to the privacy screen.)

Uncle passed me some ad brochures from the huge pile of two-weeks accumulated mail. And, perhaps coz of my empty stomach (hopefully!) the fast food varieties surpassed my imagination. Maybe I might really fall prey to the calories here... Oh dear... Coz they look overly tasty to me, though ~~they're really just plastic food~~ at the back of my mind they all look like junk food to the world. Aaah! Sin and temptation! Can't flee!

And what's the worst? They have A&W here. Shit. Totally shit. *_____* For years I miss their food. What makes you think I'm gonna curb my appetite now?

So in deep shit.

18 Uhr (Texas time)
And finally everyone, except the children, is up. I don't know what to anticipate for dinner, but my very late lunch, spread out in the past 3 hours (lol), consists of marshmallows and homemade noodles. Also need another cup of hot chocolate, waiting for the boiler like, right now.

A sudden urge to go grocery shopping. What would I bring back for myself? Earl grey tea (yes, yes, can't live without it...), chocolates and omg, maybe the Cheddar Cheese Ruffles!! If they allow it, I might also bring tubs of ice cream back... Oh, and then I need conditioner... Hmm hmm.

Started to watch anime on Uncle’s lappie. One Piece and Bleach ahaha. Who says I have to run dry on anime here? >D

...but. The children are waking up. I guess that's the end of anime-ing?

21.40 Uhr (Texas time)
Dinner, at the nearly KFC. Lol - because the first meal outside is inevitably fast food. The food, however as I understand, will be much better than back home. The chicken more tender, and even free flow of drinks? The concept is different, yep. The coleslaw is superb! Just a hint of vinegar and it did magic to the taste already. The salad with Ranch dressing instead of Thousand Island or whatnots; I've gotten used to salad with vinegar so I love it. The mash potatoes... I guess it tastes the same?

22.30 Uhr (Texas time)
Grocery shopping at Walmart. The kids have clinged to me? Anyway, we shopped till one plus in the morning since the store open 24 hours. A giant store like Carrefour, except you'd never see Ben & Jerry ice cream at less than 3 USD. My shopping bag: drinking "Christmas favoured" chocolate, ice cream, chocolates, Earl Grey tea, chocolates, peppermint tea, ice cream and ice cream. Lol, I'm not repeating myself for amusement. Seriously - a lot of chocolates and 3 tubs of ice cream. Woohoo~~

3 Uhr (Texas time)
Supper time! Lol, or rather, ice cream time. Muahaha. Heaven... Especially the B&J "Cherry Garcia". I've decided to spend all my money on tubs of ice cream - they are all too affordable here!

Home - Narita stopover - LA stopover - AUSTIN!!

2007-12-06T00:00:00.000+01:00

7.45 Uhr (local time)
32kg! You don't know how much I am rejoicing now! Yes, I found out that my baggage limit is actually 32, not 20 like the other airlines. This is totally awesome. Now it's less one worry for me - if my luggage in Japan do really run out of space I'm really going to get another one. Wa-ha~~~!

10.10 Uhr (local time)
The plane finally sets off - though the flight was scheduled to be on 9.50 Uhr. Hmm hmm.

We lifted off, with me having only an hour worth of sleep. So it was half sleep and half entertaining the children, then half movie-ing. Lack of sleep makes it difficult for me to concentrate on Ratatouille, though it was a good movie. And everything Remy spoke I imagine Daisaku's voice over the original English voice. :)

Lunch was okay. Since the international menu was offering beef as a main course, I can only go for the Japanese one. Main course: rice with stuff, and side dish: cha soba. I'm amused, coz I think cha soba can be a meal on its own? In the end I was stuffed, leaving out the bread though. The soba is just okay - but since I'm generally a soba lover I'd down anything soba lol. However the wasabi tofu (nani kore?!) [edit: I believe it’s a terrible attempt at creating 胡麻豆腐] and prawn is totally WEIRD.

16.30 Uhr (Japan time)
Seriously the sight from the plane (yep, I got the window seat) is breathtaking. The clouds are so mushroomy-looking, lol. ~~So everything Japanese has to be SO kawaii?! lol~~ And I'm already witnessing a sunset. At least that gives me an estimation of what to expect two weeks later. Something inside got me real excited; though not actually visiting Japan yet, I'm already here. The sunset is really gorgeous, its orange hues so so prettier than southern Germany's! The best has yet to come though: we all saw Mount Fuji's silhouette! And indeed, seeing its perfect cone is better than browsing through photo books. Kirei dane... ♥

17 Uhr (Japan time)
It is almost completely dark, and the lit-up nightscape of Japan is indeed beautiful. I start to make guesses, about when we would pass over Tokyo. No absolute answer that I am certain of - but the brightest lights should belong to Tokyo :)

Touch down in Narita was a smooth one; however the children were crying (especially the youngest) because they didn't know how to deal with the ear pressure thingy.

There is still the need to alight, although we will be boarding the same plane an hour later. A visit to the ladies, and ah, do I finally understand Shen's description about the toilets. I didn't play with the "butt washing" gadgets, simply coz it wasn't convenient then, plus I will get my chance very soon. The funny thing is, I took more than five panicky minutes searching for the "flush button", since the panel is full of queer buttons for the itchy fingers. In the end I discovered it was a manual flush system. Ha. Me are stupid.

18.30 Uhr (Japan time)
Punctual lift off. Another dreadful 8 hours plus to endure. Rather reluctant to leave Narita, as you would have expected of me.

Flying over the Pacific Ocean, and everything outside is pitch dark. Not a single light from a ship. And I am hungry. ~~Where's my food?! Lol.~~

19.15 Uhr (Japan time)
Super! A brushing (teeth) set is distributed. Cool. Coz I haven't had this kind of treatment from other airlines before. And something I forgot to mention: my seat is purple. The mini cushion is purple. Now that's something to me.

Dinner was great. I ordered white wine, but I guess I'm just drinking for the sake of drinking. No matter how frequently I attempt to drink (wine), I honestly still find its taste awful.

The white wine onboard was much stronger than the usual stuff, so I was getting sleep already straight after dinner, lol. And I dozed off just like that, with my movie paused for like an hour or so? (I have no awareness of time throughout.) The movie? Now it's a Jap one, Jigyaku no Uta. Coz it's got Abe Hiroshi in it, heh. After the recent movie Hero, I guessed that reawakened my Abe-fangirl mood. Haha. Didn't really like his character here though... I even thought the movie a bore until the last 30 minutes, where it got really better. And I cried buckets (okay, exaggeration - just tissues). The prostitute and yakuza part is so touching! (And Abe's hair rocks at this part lol.) I think if Judy-chan read till here she's gonna poke me about the yakuza thing that's been going in me recently, ahaha.

Finishing the movie I got really nauseous, coz of that queasy smell coming from the kitchen. Ewww. Switched off the screen and all, and pulled up the window panel. A heaven of stars greeted me. Finally it dawned on me the best place to view constellations - above the clouds. A sudden regret why I did not bring my astronomy books with me, but the fact that I can finally see the constellations on the other half of the globe, with my own eyes, excites me. Seriously I wasn't looking very forward to the Texas part of my trip at first (because I kept despairing we won't have enough time in Japan), but I guess things might be looking bright after all!

And also something I had never witness personally before - the moonlight caressing the top of the landscape of clouds. It was like another heaven altogether. A silent, tranquil, deathlike yet peaceful picture. It just makes my being here worthwhile.

7 Uhr (present location time - around Hawaii)
Dawn... and then the most dramatic sunrise I've ever seen. It started with just a blue line across the horizon, and out of nowhere a pool of light in the middle of the clouds. Wow wow wow. It evokes images of volcanic eruptions but is so much more of a phenomenon. And of course this orangey piece of sky above the clouds slowly lights up.

Sunrise taken from my window seat... ignore the reflections!!! >_<;;
(click on pics for bigger ones...)

Breakfast... was bad. Or perhaps because of my increased expectations after two meals? My bad. Maybe I should have ordered the Western breakfast instead of the fried rice - the bacon was so sinfully nice... The fried rice was rather tasteless; perhaps coz I am already spoiled by our own concoction of "fried rice" back home. First I tried to make it more appetizing with pepper, but eh, no. Then the green chilli, but they were more sweet and salty instead of spicy and sour? Wtf. In the end I invented Seafood Butter Fried Rice (or whatever the order of the words lol)!! I took the butter meant for the bread and mix it with the rice. Yum. Next - the peach tart I expected to taste sweet - was sour. Opposite from the chilli! Lol. Okay, okay, I'll stop complaining - I think I'm too spoiled, oder?

Pictures from my seat again... above somewhere near LA

11.25 Uhr (LA time)
Touched down on Los Angeles. Yep, got in (or, got "admitted") smoothly. The luggage hull isn't something exciting... However the state of the airport... not too impressive. Is LA supposedly a poorer state or something?

The temperature is perfect! Finally auf Wiedersehn to hot and humid weather. I got my coat on. And it's time for lunch.

...which I skipped. I'm finally feeling shagged man. Close to 24 hours since I woke up from my bed at home. So imagine how little I slept? That would be perhaps an estimation of less than five hours in 48 hours (remember I slept for only an hour or more the night before my departure?) Something I'm proud of... and rather regret as well. Lol. (Oxymoron yo...)

The airport food was rather pricey, but I'm sure I can get use to it. At least it's not as bad as Munich, that's for sure. Anyhow the veggie + rice dish is being sold here, for like 7 USD and above. That's whoa to me. And again, sushi being overpriced to the extreme as well. Meh. But why do I want to take Asian food in a Western country. It's always a bad move, leaning from my past European experiences.

We checked-in into the domestic airport (a different building) lounge six hours before our final flight. The custom procedures here is even more strict. And left me in a rather foul mood since I'm already dying for some sleep. I kept telling myself I would never care for another trip into the States if it's just for holiday. Meh.

Once in the lounge I sat myself on a comfy seat and never once did I leave the seat until we board the next plane. Complete knockout lol. I just sat down and dozed off, while the others were taking turns babysitting the children or exploring the huge place. Geez, I was a bad (but tired) girl.

When I really did wake up for real (I was awakened at intervals when announcements were made or when the children cries) it was already passed 5pm (LA time); darkness has fallen, and it has gotten pretty cold.

18.45 Uhr (LA time)
Our flight was delayed for 30 minutes. But once in my seat I went back to my sleep again - for three straight hours (the duration of the flight). The air stewardess woke me up once and I mumbled "water" I guess. Lol. Seems like a dream though! I really would like to just sleep through the whole journey but I was concerned how dehydrated my body really was.

00.25 Uhr (Texas time)
Finally. Finally. Finally. No more flights. We are heading out of the airport. We took the shuttle bus out to the carpark, where Uncle parked his car and off we goe to the American road.

It's a different feel altogether - their roads and traffic rules. Also, like what someone has told me before I left, Texas is totally a fast food place. Seikai desu. Everywhere along the highway you spot fast food restaurants. o__O

20 minutes on the road, and home unpacking. I will not comment on the house, because it's not fully furnished yet. The design is, however, something fresh and lovely to me. Is this how I'll get motivated to start on Sims 2 when I return?

This night I slept at 6am. Ha.

2007-10-22T14:55:00.000+02:00

Twenty-second of October. And what a wonderful date it is.

...and how many years have I been celebrating this day, as important as breathing is to me? Once again, it is this time of the year... I confess, I did not put in as much effort like the past years, and the sharing of poems were late, terribly late.

And this, is from a somewhat four hours of thoughts and limited German... Inspiration is hard to come by.

Auf Wiedersehn, Fruehling.
Der Herbst kommt.
Die Blumen bluehen nicht mehr.
Der Duft, damit der Wind oft bringen, gruesst mir nicht mehr.

Sommer, ade.
Der Herbst naht heran.
Lebens Strahlung, glaenzend nicht mehr.
Die Umgebung, lebendig nicht mehr.

Und bald treten
Einsamkeit
und ganz vorbei, die Kaelte an.
Alles wird gewelkt, der Laub und Hoffen und Traeume;
zum Stillstand gebracht.

Jedoch, am diesen Tag!

verlassend nicht mehr
aussichtslos nicht mehr
leblos nicht mehr
ich spuere ein allumfassendes Gefuehl,
es so ueberwaeltigend und fest
und doch, so sanftmuetig, so liebevoll ist.

Bist du?
Bist du die Praesenz, die mich geheilt und getroestet hat?
Du wendest mein Gesicht von der farblose Oede ab,
du haeltst mich warm,
ach du!

Der Geburt deiner Existenz ist ein Geschenk des Himmels!

-- dein Francesca

Herzliche Gluckwunsch zum Geburtstag, Liebe!

Opera Studio presents Acis and Galatea

2007-09-07T13:48:00.001+02:00

Hmm... I'm not good with words, but just to say that this Händel opera is probably a "premiere" in SG, so those interested should really go attend it. Opera Studio is a small (but growing!) opera company/group founded this year by foreign singers in SG. I am the rehearsal pianist for our "Galatea", so basically I won't be performing but will be in the audience. For once! :) Care to join me?

In my opinion the music is beautiful, and I'm sure the performance will be too. In any case if anyone is interested in the story of Acis and Galatea, here's the link from Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acis_and_Galatea

Hope to see you there!

2007-08-12T23:14:00.000+02:00

Tonight's performance went well. Not just mine, but everyone's. And the most important aspect tonight was that everyone had fun. Hey, at least I really did enjoy myself.

I took this chance for self-criticism. Or self-evaluation.

And those composers' works which were being performed tonight - wow, I really admire them; I totally fail at composing, ahaha. Loved all the works tonight!!! :D

I thought I took it easy the whole week, but was quite surprised I started to get nervous around 10 minutes before my performance. And from the experience I brought back with me from Munich, my worst nightmare wasn't the fast heartbeats or gripping tension, but dry throat. I was glad I made that run for the water, lol.

The few seconds we went through the stage door it almost feel unrealistic. Like oh? really? I'm on stage? It's really on? When I positioned myself at the centre of the stage floor it was like darn... the lights are in my eyes. I was mentally ready to make eye contact with the audience but seriously, I would see nothing except make out outlines of humans, lol. I still cannot figure out if it was for the better or for worse.

The show was on and the music ready to go. But it took me quite a while to get the feel and calm myself down, so the first section of Bellini wasn't up to my own expectations. Voice a little down under, I feel, in tone quality. But luckily a rather dark tone is required for this song, so though not planned it was still in context, ahaha. For Mozart it was yay for the high B. Yeesh :) Rossini I hit the first high Ab better than the rehearsal (yeah, the rehearsal I went uh-oh, but the performance was like yokatta...!) though the last sustained Ab was oops! Heh heh. Went a little flat but I decided to hold it till the end. Schubert - no forgotten lyrics! Recently I had been mixing up the words "muntern" and "Fischlein". Geesh. The first Wolf I though my voice was a little worn already; I held the high notes all right, but it didn't feel all that great and so I know. This temporal exhaustion continued through the beginning of the second Wolf till the chromatic melody - I guess my energy level was perked up again. Yokatta ne, because I did the last page (the "Gekuk!" page) with nice Abs. Lol. So braggy. :x

Overall, pretty happy with my performance. One of my better ones le. I see improvements - I have learnt to "colour" my voice without tensing the intrument, so I consider that a breakthrough. And something I was unable to do a few months ago - to act and sing at the same time without forcing out the air. Meaning I have learnt to free the voice, which is really important. I really did a lot of excessive facial expressions since the audience tonight demanded more "entertainment" than musicianship. The only unhappy thing is that the translations were not printed out, if not the audience would have understand the songs (3 Italian and 3 German) much better. So I was glad I added in the movements and expressions.

Anyway, there's always room for improvement, and vocal range can always goe wider and wider. XDDDD And I'm really happy with the high notes!!! High B in Mozart was bulleyes (IMO :P) and the Gekuk! Abs (in the second Wolf) was better than at home. Of course some credits have to go to the acoustics too.

And as I said, it was really fun. Was really feeling so natural on stage that I lost myself in my own world of songs. It was only after bowing at the applause and Proko and I exited through the stage door that the whole thing hit me - that the performance was over, I was on stage just now and, er, hey girl, back to reality ~~(which is backstage XD)~~.

I felt good. :)

[Edit: And also a HUUUUGE DANKE to Proko. Many people said we were really ensemble-wise a match, but boy, they couldn't imagine the time and hard work we went through during the numerous rehearsals! ;) And thanks for your time too!!!]

Muenchen | Zu Hause

2007-07-08T00:00:00.000+02:00

Our day of departure today... back home.

Sigh... T__T

I regretted not conquering the three lake district (Schliersee, Tegnersee and Spitzingsee) near Munich as planned. BUT - I'll beeee back!!! *bites*

Basically, it was a day wasted in the airport. Mum always like to get to places 4-5 hours than one should, so I was a victim of severe boredom.

And more boredom on the plane from Amsterdam back home - finished Marie Antoinette where I left off that time, watched also The Terminal (which is rather nice) and some crappy other-things.

Muenchen

2007-07-07T00:00:00.000+02:00

It was just shopping in Munich today. Boo.

Went to Karstadt to get chocolates and MARZIPAN. *__* Saw Princess Princess DVD , but it was so ex and not the complete set. Cz. Then we wanted seconds on the delicious Krustenbraten after last week's yummy experience. However, we forgot today was Saturday and the stall closes early, so... darn... Lol. We settled on a Weisswurst Platter instead at the Bistro Restaurant in front of the Rathaus, then a Vietnamese Restaurant (but the stuff were all salty there >_<).

At night it was a chain of movies in the hotel (lol) including The Mummy and 12 Monkeys, all in German. Hehehe.

Honestly, I think the fun had kinda dampened towards the end of the trip... :(

Freiburg | Muenchen

2007-07-06T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today we toured the city of Freiburg. I went to the Musikhochschule there, haha. But still (my personal opinion please) nothing beats Muenchen's.

We returned to the Schwabentor (some historical city gate) by the Strassenbahn and alighted at Oberlinden. We walked the area by instinct and ended up at the foot of Schloss Berg, lol. When there's a hill or anything climbable, I gave in to my weakness. Kikiki~~ Up we goe~~ and reached Ludwigs Hoehe. The view was fantastic!

Schwabentor

Freiburg's drainage system - really impresses me, and the water's so clean!

Way to Schloss Berg

There's something about the buildings in Freiburg that I really like

Schloss Berg lies pass the gate... of some kind...

Muensterplatz, from halfway up Schloss Berg

The city of Freiburg - from Schloss Berg

Going downhill, we reached Stadtgarten and later, Karlstag, which is a windy pedestrian bridge built over a road function. I think it's a unique idea.

Destination Muensterplatz. And the Muenster of course. There was a busy marketplace in front of the Muenster. I believe it was because today was a Friday. Found the cylindrical packing I wanted - all the way at Freiburg... Kyaaa~~

The marketplace in front of the Muenster

Part of the Muenster

And at the cafe Max we experienced the Germans' pastime - Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake). Parents ordered a Torte, and me? I was just fulfilling a dream - BLACKFOREST CAKE!!!! The authentic one, woohoo~~ The cherries are more sour, but ooooh there's really brandy (or some sort of liquor) in the cake. YEESH! That should be how the Blackforest cake should be! Lalala~~~

Blackforest cake! I overindulged and oops... too late for the cam! XP

Torte and Latte Macchiato = Kaffe und Kuchen Time!

A stroll towards the Hauptbahnhof - we went passed the Alte Universitaet, then the current Universitaet, Stadtheater and the university library. Freiburg is dominated by its university; that's why the city is labelled "university-city".

Alte Universitaet

The current Universitaet

At 17.40 Uhr we board the train to Neustadt... T___T Farewell Black Forest!! And crazy train transfers again:

18.35 Uhr - Ulm
22.17 Uhr - Ausburg
23.45 Uhr - Muenchen

And checked into another hotel. Think everyone slept after 2am this night. Geez.

Lindau | Freiburg

2007-07-05T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today's destination was Freiburg. We transferred in Basel, and thus travelled through Switzerland! It was a completely different feel between German and Swiss sceneries from the train, but both are fantastic. ;)

Five minutes after alighting at the Swiss station Basel we were on our way to Freiburg. My regret then - we didn't get to spend more time on Swiss soil, lol. Our hotel in Freiburg has great facilities, and of course that includes Internet access. That explained for that comment in German at my tagboard, hehe.

12.10 Uhr and we caught the train to Titisee. I really caught the sight of the legendary deer sculpture and the cross between Himmelreich and Hinterzarten! :D At Titisee the weather remained obviously freezing. Hiked a little of the nearby Black Forest, but I had to spare a thought for my parents so I stopped before it got too taxing. Was rather disappointed.

Titisee in the Blackforest

Titisee - the lake itself

In the Blackforest :D

The lake from the Blackforest. And it's not as freezing in the forest :)

More Blackforest. Doesn't seem so black when close after all eh? XD

Took the train to Schluchsee, a larger lake and located even higher than Titisee up in the Black Forest - however we didn't stay there for long. The rain came down even harder on us, the cold stinging. We returned to Freiburg. :(

Watched the broadcast of Wagner's Die Walkuere from the Bayreuth Festspiele 2007 on TV. Lengthy (duh), but awesome singers. Sir Simon Rattle was the conductor.

Regensburg | Lindau

2007-07-04T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today was another day of travelling, from Regensburg to Lindau - meaning travelling from the most eastern part of southern Germany to the most south-western part.

At 7.44 Uhr we took the train to Munich, and from there boarded the 12.21 Uhr train to Lindau. We reached Lindau, an island on Bodensee (or "Lake Constance" in English) at 15.15 Uhr. The weather was still crazy cold, and it seemed like it was brewing up a storm on the island. After checking into our hotel for the night - a huge apartment, and with a tub! :D (However I did not bath that night, sadly, because the temperature had dropped drastically).

Our bedroom, and stove!

We still have more than six hours before darkness falls. Hence we went strolling along the coast line, but seriously that wasn't a wise thing to do. It was SUPER WINDY, till my ears hurt. >_<

The railway tracks

And finally the sun...

..but the wind blew on

I'm not exactly sure with the direction, but the opposite mountains/coasts are Switzerland and Austria (and even France?) at certain angles. *shrugs, because I'm confused myself*

The harbour

Ahaha... I have to post this. And no, I do not believe the fairy tale originated from Lindau... XD

Threatening rain clouds were gathering ontop on the island, and it did look really intimidating, so we had instant noodles back in our hotel room (lol - since we were provided a kitchen, why not? XDD). The weather improved a little and we went out again, this time to the harbour. Mum said that the lighthouse at night was beautiful. Okay... I did feel a little deja vu here... Lol. And obviously the weather had to spoil it for us. 20 minutes later the rain and wind returned. And since Lindau's an island and we at the harbour completely exposed to the nature elements, it was worse than Regensburg.

The tempest approaches. Awesome.

The harbour as the light faded

It was actually very dark, but I used ISO to snap this. Hence the pixilated effect. Eeks.

I didn't want to waste our precious time here, regardless of the weather. We walked round the island before returning to the hotel when the temperature dooped. (XD;; what an expression.)

We found the narrowest alley here, hehe!

Regensburg | Passau | Regensburg

2007-07-03T00:00:00.000+02:00

Woke up real early this time at 6.45 Uhr. We planned to catch the 9am train to Passau today, but a shocking event happened while we were still in bed sleeping at 2am. The train workers in the whole of Germany went on strike! I was still so stunned - the announcement at the display board was in German, so in disbelief I thought that I must have read wrongly or something. It was only when I read the papers did I realise that it was all for real.

Never thought we would be caught in this situation.

The first train listed on the display board at the station was supposed headed for Munich at 7am - but it had been delayed for more that 90 minutes. The same goes for the trains down the list, with the words "wegen Streik" beside every listing. Of course, our train was not spared as well.

Our train to Plattling (our transfer point) only set off at 10.25 Uhr, and when it reached there the train delays became worse and worse. We were at the platform waiting for the train to Passau and the announcements came now and again - "the train at Platform One (our platform) will be delayed for 5 minutes", then "...will be delayed for 30 minutes".

The train came 37 minutes later.

Platform Nr. 9 - that's our train. But the neighbour Nr. 8 got a worse situation; the train to Munich was scheduled to leave at 9.44 Uhr, but there will be a 45 mins delay. Ya, the train just sat put there. Poor passengers...

So the WHOLE morning was spent on waiting for trains. We reached Passau only at 13.10 Uhr. And since we expected the strike to go on for the rest of the day (it was really quite a serious matter; many trains did get cancelled - we were just lucky we ain't that unlucky) we decided not to spend too much time in the city just in case we get stranded here without trains back to Regensburg (back to our hotel and luggages).

I hope you do recall the River Donau at Regensburg? Well, it reaches Passau just before entering Austrian territories.

The Donau

The castle up there is the Veste Oberhaus

"To the Blue Danube", it reads. But... the river was behind me, not up ahead... Were those words made to only look pretty?

"Flood water levels". Floods are inevitable in cities lying next to rivers, so there are a lot of these signs in these cities like Passau, and also Regensburg.

It was all in good timing that we passed by the Rathaus at 14 Uhr sharp when its glockenspiel (Bavaria's largest) started playing. It wasn't very interesting but I thought at least it's more in tune that the one at Munich's Rathaus. Lol.

We continued our walk to the tip (also the end) of Passau, a sceneic spot called Dreifluesseeck (lit trans: "three-rivers-corner") where the rivers Inn, Donau and Ilz converge.

Pretty, deshou? Also note the colours in the waters differentiating the two rivers - something I find so cool and intriguing :D

I suggest clicking on this picture if you haven't been doing so to the pics I've posted. I think this should explain the unique location of Passau. :)

The coast of Austria. I'm not joking. Just a swim away.

Climb to the Veste Oberhaus

To catch an even better view of the convergence I suggested making a steep trip up to the Veste Oberhaus. Very tiring climb. The best view is located halfway up the climb to the top, where the steep path suddenly opens into a rather spacious area surrounded by the Oberhaus' wall. Climb up the parapet and a gorgeous view awaits you. Here's mine:

And at the top of the Veste Oberhaus...

Passau sandwiched by the two rivers you're seeing

Back down from the hill - the Donau again

We returned to the city and proceeded to Dom St. Stephan, where it holds the world's largest Domorgel.

Only a third of the organ

Passau is a really small place; we were done with our city tour before the train arrived after 17.11 Uhr, bringing us directly back to Regensburg. It already started raining there - to pass the time I went to their shopping arcade to shop for gifts and a cylindrical container for the Liszt posters I'd bought from Weimar.

21 Uhr and I was standing before the Steinerne Bruecke waiting for nightfall. I really wanted to see Regensburg in all its splendour at night, but the cold from the rain and the winds was so unbearable! I could barely feel my hold on my umbrella anymore so I gave up waiting for complete darkness to set in. Even my face was getting numb... I think it was still rather beautiful at half-light, though of course if I were to wait there for another 20 minutes (I had already stood there for an hour) perhaps I would have experienced it. Sigh... Wasted effort ne?

It's a bad shot, I know. The result of numb fingers, lol. The video turned out better, but I'm not going to upload it...

Regensburg

2007-07-02T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today we planned to tour the city of Regensburg, so ENOUGH of train travel for today - we stay put in this city for once. Lol.

The weather was "furchtbar" - that would be how I would describe it. It started raining in the morning, so it was impossibly cold and windy throughout the day till late evening.

My first plan for the day - head out to Walhalla, a Greek (or Norse?) temple constructed by one of the past kings on a hill located 10km from the city center. It was a long bus ride, and a dangerous climb up (since it was raining). The route up consists of dirt tracks and they were very steep. But my sense of danger was always dimmed as usual, but the view from the temple was rewarding. From there you peacefully look over a long stretch of the River Donau (or in English - "Danube"). A superbly scenic view.

Halfway up the climb, overlooking the River Donau

Walhalla - the picture doesn't look pretty, since there was restoration work in process at that time

Overlooking the Donau from the Walhalla - from my right

Overlooking the Donau from the Walhalla - from my left

Steps down from the Walhalla. However due to the rain it was too slippery to walk down - basically the steps are not very broad.

Journey downhill - we decided to take the safest route back down, the vehicles' path since trekking down the dirt path would be twice more dangerous than climbing up

The rain was really a hateful element today, but we didn't really want to waste the time there sitting in a cafe and sipping hot drinks. Took a bus to Dachauplatz and walked to the Alte Kapelle. It was a very worn down unattractive old building, but guess what was inside! We were mesmerised too.

Interior of Alte Kapelle

Next stop - Dom St. Peter. They were raising funds for a new organ (they currently don't have one), and a small corner was being set up to ask for fundings. Look what I found:

Regensburg ist die kirchenmusikalische Hauptstadt der Welt.
-- Franz Liszt

(Go Babelfish or Google to check out the translation if you don't read German.) My point is - they quoted Franz! Ach... We proceeded with our walk and coincidentally reached Porta Praetoria. This attraction has intrigued me ever since I came to read about it. It's remains of the main gate ("Porta" is Italian for "Gate") of the Roman camp in Regensburg in AD 179. I find that really, really cool. The rest of the remains of the settlement, if not destroyed, still lies 10 meters under the current city of Regensburg. Yeah, I have a weakness for archaelogical excavations... ^__^;;

Old building

Awesome, ne?

Dom St. Peter

Main entrance of Dom St. Peters, but again... restoration work. I think they were trying to clean up the dirt

Porta Praetoria

Arrrgh, old German prints are hard to read. "Porta Praetoria of the roman fort Castra Regina built in AD 179 by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Discovered in 1885." [The original sign states: Porta Praetoria des roemischen Kastells Castra Regina erbaut um 179 nach Christ von Kaiser Marcus Aurelius. Aufgedeckt 1885.]

Pictures/diagrams speak a thousand words. BUT I won't translate the text, lol.

I discovered this short pillar a distance away from the Porta Praetoria. The inscription...

Near the Rathaus stands a well-known (supposedly once-royal) Confiserie called Prinzess. Their speciality's chocolate, and so many unique ones do they have! Spent around 13 Euros on 200g of chocolates and a 100g of Marzipankatoffeln. *__* Chocolate is love, but marzipan is heaven! Following that, we went to the Altes Rathaus to collect some information about Regensburg. I made it a point to visit Dampfnudel Uli, but the royal shop definitely has its own haughty timing.

Yea, yea, RAIN... T__T Party pooper...

Do I have to translate this too? Alright... Here's the bottom bit of the words: "Opening hours - Tues to Fri 10.01 to 18.01 hrs - Sat 10.01 to 15.01 hrs - Sun and Mon closed" Geez. And to think I came all the way here from Sg.

We settled for Wurstkuchl for dinner - something warm and German. Finally I get to eat sausages with SAUERKRAUT!!! Yay, yay, yay... And their homemade honey-mustard was fantastic.

The back of Wurstkueche. The sign on the wall reads "Old city wall built after 1320"

Front of Wurstkueche. What a cute little house they've got there.

We crossed the Steinerne Bruecke (over the River Donau). By now the rain was slowly subsiding... but the cold was still spoiling our day. Then again, I never fail to get myself an ice cream despite the coldness. Muahaha. It was nice for it to stop rain - I never liked the idea of having rainwater in my ice cream.

Steinerne Bruecke, or "Stone Bridge" in English

Ya know, Regensburg has the cutest birds, lol.

On the bridge, with River Donau underneath

To my right: Donau

To my left: Donau :)

The bridge also crosses two more rivers/tributaries. This is the one next to River Donau...

...and the third one

At the opposite end of the bridge

Old city gate

Royality, ahaha... :D

Weimar | Regensburg

2007-07-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

After a fabulous breakfast, I headed out to the Park an der Ihm. It was 9.55 Uhr and I sitting in front of the Liszt Denkmal (monument). A few minutes after ten I went into Liszt-Haus, which is less than 30 steps away from the monument.

"Here lived Franz Liszt 1869-1886"

Liszt-Haus

All those details about Franz's travelling makes me want to follow his footsteps, haha. But hey, it's not impossible. ;) The busts in the second room are so beautifully made, and yes, I saw the famous cast of his hand. Is love.

On the second floor (where Franz occupied during his time) all furnitures has been retained in its original setting. You cannot imagine how nervous I was making my way up the stairs. The setting around me (after reaching the second floor) makes me feel Franz's presence, that Franz still dwells here. On Franz's desk was displayed the death mask of Beethoven - I did not expect to see this here, but I do know that Franz owned it. Wow.

In conclusion, I thhought I really like the rooms! I believe that rooms speak volumes about personality, so yes, the rooms warmed my heart, especially that study room (the largest room, with two pianos) - that was brilliantly designed!

At 12 Uhr I bade farewell to the house and walked for a half hour to the station. I don't know what was wrong with the weather now - it's super hot! >:E

We boarded the train leaving Weimar but it was only an hour later that I realised we got on the wrong train. SHIT. You can underestand I was apparently the "tour guide" here throughout our trip since I'm familiar with how the transport network works and that I can communicate in German. So it's no stress for my parents but really despairing for me. We had alighted in the middle of nowhere - and even I have no idea which region of Germany we were in. Plus all those Franz route I took from yesterday morning till this afternoon had transformed me into a rather emotional mess. I found it very stressful to be in my situation.

Random shot out of frustration

Sometimes having a heck-care attitude is of the best. We boarded the train heading for Zwickau, and luckily there was an information center there. I asked for the train information I need, and to my horror, the train we should board was scheduled to leave in two minutes - with me at the entrance of the station (first floor), and my parents with the luggages at the second floor farout platform. DOUBLE SHIT. (Lol.) Yeah, I ran and ran... But I guess Germans were very understanding - "this girl is chasing the hell out for her train." Ahaha. Seconds after we were on board the train moved. o__O;; Is crazy.

17 Uhr and a transfer at Hof station. I was just glad that we were already in Bavaria. *phew* There we took our final train (yay no more transfers... =__=) to Regensburg and reached our destination at 20.37 Uhr. We were an hour behind schedule, but I don't care anymore. WE REACHED REGENSBURG, and that's enough reality for me to stomach.

So much for train travel. I guess everyone should have a bucketful of adventures to share right? This would be mine to tell. *dies*

Ahaha. Random shot again, but it took me a few seconds to figure this one out~~~

The window by my bed. I really love this room. Oh, it was around 8 or 9pm.

Muenchen | Bayreuth | Weimar

2007-06-30T00:00:00.000+02:00

I slept for barely two hours; I had stayed up late to pack (since I returned so late last night =__=;;) and woke up at 4 Uhr. Geez.

We caught the 5.05 Uhr train leaving Munich, made a transfer at Nuernberg and reached Bayreuth at around 8 Uhr. There I headed straight for the cemetery. I was rather astonished by myself that I was still able to recall the route after a year. However, unlike last year, I did not come empty-handed.

Before 10 Uhr we reached Haus Wahnfried by bus. I had a long hearty chat with the old lady at the Liszt Museum. Nothing much has changed; perhaps only the huge portrait at the entrance seemed new.

Liszt-Haus

It was still early so I wandered into the garden of Haus Wahnfried. Was only there to snap photos, since I didn't do a good job last year. Now everyone can see Wagner's grave. Whatever.

Haus Wahnfried

Haus Wahnfried: the gardens...

...where Richard and Cosima Wagner and their dog (bottom picture) was buried. Ya, this is the grave. No engravings, no tombstones, just like that.

It reads "Here lies and watches Wagner's Russ (the dog's name)." -__-;;

If one is crazy like me to travel from Bayreuth to Weimar, let me advice that he/she must be prepared for a heck of train transfers. It was so last year, and it was still as troublesome this year. We had THREE transfers to make - that means carrying our luggages and running like mad up and down the stairs to different platforms. x___x

(12.07 - 12.57 Uhr) Bayreuth - Lichtenfels
(13.03 - 14.08 Uhr) Lichtenfels - Saalfeld Saale
(14.25 - 15.01 Uhr) Saalfeld Saale - Goeschwitz Saale
(15.10 - 15.39 Uhr) Goeschwitz Saale - Weimar

Yeah, we died.

Checked into Hotel Liszt (again ^__^;;) at 18 Uhr and the room was grrrrrrreat! So big for three person, yahooooo! Mum and I decided to take a walk around Weimar. Of course, everything was already closed after 7pm, but we didn't want to waste the time when it was still bright (the sun sets around 10pm here). So, we passed by places like Liszt-Haus, Park an der Ihm, Theaterplatz, Franz Liszt Musikhochschule, Gruener Schloss, etc.

Park an der Ihm - Liszt monument :)

Park an der Ihm - Shakespeare monument. Last year it was badly vandalized so I couldn't take a picture, but I guess they finally gave him a bath, haha.

Goethe's garden house, obviously closed, but last June I was inside, looking at the original manuscript of his Erlkoenig *__*

Franz Liszt Musikhochschule (doors opened to all!)

Sorry if this is a bad shot. My bad... :( In front of the Franz Liszt Musikhochschule

Awesome!

Found on a wall: reads "Here once stood the house, wherein J.S. Bach lived from 1708-1717" Next sentence - "F. Bach was born here on 17. Nov 1710 and P.E. Bach on 8. March 1714"

Okay, call me lame if you like. Liszt Rd and Schubert Rd as you can see. Hehehe.

I soaked in the tub that night. My first tub after staying at so many hotels. Haha. The bath took two hours. *hides*

Muenchen | Oberschleissheim | Starnberg | Muenchen

2007-06-29T00:00:00.000+02:00

Schloss Oberschleissheim at 10 Uhr. The name refers to a family of castles - made up of the Altes Schloss, Neues Schloss and Schloss Lustheim. I wasn't especially interested in seeing what was in those castles, so we hearded straight for the magnificent gardens. The largest garden compound is situated between Neues Schloss and Schloss Lustheim, and how beautiful and spacious it is!

We have arrived!

First step into the gardens

Oooo... greeeeeens...

The back of Neues Schloss

The gardens

Neues Schloss

Notice the building faraway behind the fountains? That's Schloss Lustheim

BUTT UP! XD;; A female swan feeding

Schloss Lustheim

Incredibly spacious

Finally a closeup of Schloss Lustheim after a looong walk. Strangely doesn't look like a castle to me; isn't it small compared to the massive size of the Neues Schloss?

I walked to the end of the castle compound and saw this - isn't the design cool? So looooong, lol.

At 14 Uhr we were back in Munich's city center, me getting roses for tomorrow's occasion (I'll explain in the next post). It seems that my parents were rather restless so I suggested heading to Starnberger See, a lake far out from Munich where I've visited alone last year.

Starnberger See ("See" means "lake" in German)

The docks

The lake, the swans, and the cold...

We spent a rather long time in Starnberg and I barely made it in time for the Munich's opening celebration (they called it "Festspiel Nacht") of the Munich Opera Festival, which was held at 20 Uhr. I reached Marienplatz at 19.45 Uhr and I ran like crazy to the celebration venue, Fuenf Hofe, a huge shopping complex equivelent to our own Ngee Ann City.

I attended the narration of Alice in Wonderland (in German of course), which was obviously another publicity method for the new opera premiering tomorrow night. Sigh... I would like very much to get tickets for it, but we will be leaving Munich tomorrow morning. T__T After listening to a chapter's narration, I caught a performance of early love art songs done by two sopranos and instrumentalists (oboe, keyboard and cello if I recall correctly?) and the presentation was quite interesting. The Festspiel Nacht was really very happening; there was always different performances taking place at venues all around Fuenf Hofe, and I had a hard time deciding where or which performance to attend next. Outside of the shopping mall avant garde piano music was being played - by a composer apparently - and it seemed like he was rather being well received.

I queued for more than an one hour, but it was worth it - I got to see Kent Nagano conduct! The programme was very interesting, and still I see Germans not really to accept unconventional music. I hope that's due to the cause that the concept and intention behind the modern pieces wasn't properly explained to them. It was all good fun though. It started to rain and I managed to reach the hotel at around 23.15 Uhr, two hours later than I'd expected. Haha.

Muenchen

2007-06-28T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Sorry I lost the momentum of the posting. Uploading the pics on blogspot is a pain in the ass! >:EEEEEEEE So after three days in vain I turned to Photobucket, which proves a friend. ^__^]

8.30 Uhr at the Hochschule and found out that there wasn't any need for me to take the theory section. Was that a good or bad sign I had no idea, though I prefer to be pessimistic. So, this is the start of my holiday. :D

We decided to take a morning stroll around the Koenigsplatz area. Mum always wanted to see what was at the end of the street and we found ourselves at Karolinenplatz. Out of boredom I suggested walking an entire circle around the monument (of some kind), and sighted Frauenkirche, looking as majestic as ever. We didn't know we were still so close to the city center. ^__^;;

Then it was time to check in into another hotel. I really didn't like the previous one anyway, so I was fine with this arrangement. At Karstadt to buy some hiking maps - I was having plans to be adventureous again... XD Then at Ludwig Beck where there was such a huuuuge collection of classical recordings, but I could only grab a Liszt volume recorded by Leslie Howard... because the cds were pricey here, and I should spare a thought about how much weight we were going to carry home at the end of the trip. This was just the start of the journey!

If there's something I'd recommend doing in Munich, that would be tryig out the Viktualienmarkt's "Krustenbraten". I'm quite sure only one food stall at the Markt sells that, and it's rather expensive for its size, but it's heavenly. Personally I prefer it to the famous Schweinhaxen.

The May Pole at Viktualienmarkt - it's too tall so I had to split it into half.
Another pic from Viktualienmarkt
Giant shrimps! :O

We walked our way though unfamiliar streets and alleys and reached the Bayerisches Staatballett... and located Schuhbeck's beside the Ballet House! I have read about it before in a travel itinerary but soon forgotten about it. Everyone got to taste their home-made ice cream, but they also have their on chocolate and spices shops sandwiching the ice cream one. The queue was crazy.

Getting lost - I thought the little figure is rather cute, whatever it is up there for
We discovered a spacious and cool opening admist the hectic city center! I believe it's called Alter Hof
Really loved the apartments at Alter Hof
Bayerisches Staatballett
Schuhbeck's ice cream!!!!!! Is love ^__^

Along Maximilianstrasse we walked passed the Muenchner Kammerspiele and then Schauspielhaus, and realized that the street caters not only for the rich (you have Huge Boss, Doir, blah blah shops along Maximilianstrasse) but also for performing arts lovers. Out of curiosity we wandered down the other end of the same street (opposite of Nationaltheater). Mum wanted to check out a curious-looking building and I reckoned it was at the other side of the river. We never came to find out - it was really very far away. -__-;

Muenchner Kammerspiele
Schauspielhaus - nice lovely poster there, isn't it? *__*
LOL

I finally entered a bookshop I've been dying to visit since last year, and although it did not have the Liszt books I thought it would have, I found some really cool biographies and books about music and theatre there. :D

We crossed the Nationaltheater and Odeonsplatz to take the subway train to the Universitaet stop, I having challenged everyone to finish covering the whole length of the Englischer Garten before sunset. Ahaha, we did it in three hours! It killed our feet totally. I absolutely did not expect us to end up at the Studentenstadt subway station; that's waaaay further than I thought we would have walked! We covered an entire transport network zone. ^__^;;

Finally took the subway home, but not before ending the evening with a stop at the Hauptbahnhof - Currywurst for dinner. Yay!

//

Poster advertising the new opera "Alice in Wonderland", which will be premiered on the opening night of the Munich Opera Festival, an one-month event. Another one with Kent Nagano below.

This is the only pic I managed to upload for the whole of three days!!! >:EEEEEEEEEE (Sorry to be making a fuss at Nagano's poster though, oops...)

Even more Opera Festival posters alongside the Nationaltheater building
Entrance of the Nationaltheater
An even grander shot of the entrance. The opera house is HUUUUGE alright?
The flags read "Munich Opera Festival"
We sighted Radio Bus Nr. 1 and Radio Bus Nr. 2 on our way to the subway station because Lang Lang is performing on Saturday night here and look the stage is being set up!

Englischer Garten is huuuuge to contain everything a Garten should have | the greens | the torrents | the Biergartens | the feathered | and lastly the waters :D

Muenchen

2007-06-27T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: 9 to 13 degrees]

Reported at 9 Uhr as usual, and an hour later I was in an assigned warmup room. I had a Boston grand at my disposal! Unbelievable! I was expecting an okay grand, or even just a German upright, but this! At 11.25 Uhr I sang. The room wasn't to my advantage; the air was really dry. I had then to rely on my personality to perform.

At 12 Uhr I was free. Totally free. I had been cautious about what I eat, but singing was over and self-control is always limited. XD Did grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket and bought junk food like Milchreis, 4 sticks of Giotto and milk! Muahahha.

16.30 Uhr: My last day at MM. I used the upright this time (coz the other rooms were all booked) and frankly it sucks. It was a relaxed session - played through Bach and Liszt (what I had left) and did an hour long of sight singing.

Muenchen

2007-06-26T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: ca. 16 degrees; terribly windy]

My first day - not really nervous; or rather trying not to be. Keeping up a cheerful spirit and reported at the Hochschule at 9 Uhr. The warm up room I used had two Steinway grands! And so does all the other rooms. At 13 Uhr it was my turn, which I think I did okay.

At MM at 15 Uhr, but I think my voice was terrible. Was it the lack of sleep or was it too early? I had blockage in my passage, and I was not happy about it. Had a light meal at Mac, and then I slept there for an hour, lol. At 19 Uhr I was back at MM for another hour's practice, and the voice was awake and I more satisfied.

Muenchen

2007-06-25T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: 17 to 25 degrees]

Reached the Hochschule before 9.30 Uhr, and I could already witness the scene for tomorrow. It was rather unnerving, but I was thankful I made the effort to visit a day early so that I would be more mentally prepared.

Setlled the admin stuff at the office; Frau Klein was really helpful and friendly, and put me at ease straight away.

Went to MM as usual but plonged for three hours this time - really really spent after that. At 18 Uhr we went to an Italien restaurant at the Karlsplatz Bahnhof for dinner and my Carbonara poasta was absolutely delicious! It's so sad why the restaurant was so empty - I felt that it deserves more customers. The cooking was so tasty.

Blueberries were finally in season today; got some back and ate it leisurely on my bed. For the first time since I arrived, it rained.

Muenchen

2007-06-24T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: 22 to 25 degrees]

We woke up early to catch the morning scene of the locals going to church. At 9 Uhr we were seated in the area where Michaelskirche stood, watching along, since half hour later I had an appointment at MM till 13 Uhr. I was really drained by the practice, so I decided to return to the hotel. My intention was to nap but I ended up watching Much Ado About Nothing instead. Lol; Shakesphere in German... And what fate - last year I caught the film Love's Lost Labour on TV in Austria and now this. The similiarity both films share is that they both feature Kenneth Branagh. And I adore the artistry of Kenneth.

Left for Odeonsplatz at 17.30 Uhr and reached the Nationaltheater in less than 15 minutes. Tonight was the performance of Mozart's Die Zauberfloete by the Bayerische Staatsoper but my standing "seat" was a disappointment. I could barely see one half of the stage. I could only comfort myself that there were people with far worse "seats" behind me - I think they could barely see the stage at all! Still, it was a full-house, crowded in all seats categories. And the heat was unbearable up where I was standing.

The staging was comical, but the first half of it was rather conservative. But the second half the staging was fantastic, and totally looked costly. I believe everyone was there for the Queen of the Night - I myself too, and she deliver that impossible aria perfectly! Wow on the high notes. Papageno was really funny, and the Papageno-Papagena duet - that was a unique interpretation!

I reached my hotel around 22.40 Uhr and that shocked me. I did not expect for the opera to end that late; it started at 18 Uhr! I seriously wondered what went wrong. However, to be able to see the sky in painted sunset hues was a consoling sight for lost time. I was rather upset I got back this late, since I have an important errand to run early morning.

Took a bath, and immediately went to sleep without dinner.

Muenchen

2007-06-23T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: 19 to 25 degrees]

Today was the day we had to move out of the current hotel into a new one (at Karlstrasse) nearer to the Hochschule.

Very little was done today - my regular visit at MM and dinner (Scampi Salat) at Marienplatz.

The waiter lied to me "Scampi" is fish! Luckily it turned out to be a delicious prawn dish.

This is how scary Marienplatz on a Saturday can get. Eeeeeeks! Crowds! >.<

Muenchen

2007-06-22T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: 19 to 23 degrees]

At 9.30 Uhr I went to the Hochschule but the Pruefungsbuero was unfortunately closed! To think I even woke up so early for that... =___=

Practised again at MM at noon and when I was done, strolled from Neuhauserstrasse to the Nationaltheater (around a 30 mins walk). I was actually intending to get myself a ticket to the opera but was too lazy. But I finally found the tiny speck of movitation today, lol.

I had thought that the Abendkasse would be where I should get my tickets - never did I realise that it's only opened a few hours before performances. So walking along the length of the Nationaltheater I was astonished to see how huge the theater really is! Finally we reached the Box Office, which is a surprisingly modern building of glass (stark contrast to the historical Nationaltheater stone building), and bought my ticket to Die Zauberfloete! But all was not joy: Expectedly the seats were almost filled, and what was left were 123 and 17 Euro prices. I got the 17 Euro standing ticket; because I don't love Zauberfloete enough to spend a bomb on it. In the end I was mistakened as a "Studentin" (German "Student" means English "uni student") and I was asked to pay only 10 Euro. :)

And we all opera lovers know the SOLE purpose of attending a Zauberfloete performance. Kikiki~~~~ *_____*

A long stroll in the Hofgarten, till it started to rain. Sheeesh! When we reached Weinstrasse for dinner the rain stopped again. This time I intended to eat "German" so I ordered Fischfillet mit Kartoffelnsalat and for everyone's dessert, Germknoedel mit Vanille Sosse. *___* Even more yummy that yesterday's dinner!

Hofgarten: Right, center and left

We took a train to Koenigplatz and walked all the way to the end of Karlstrasse... which in my opinion was a crazy thing to do. It was getting dark and we were all getting tired. Boo...

Muenchen

2007-06-21T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Temperature: Amsterdam - ca. 10 degrees; Munich - 17 to 20 degrees. Summer? You gotta be kidding.]

Arrival at Amsterdam - around 6.25 Uhr local time. At 7.25 Uhr - our transfer flight to Munich and we reached Munich's city center at about 10.40 Uhr. I headed straight for Movimento Muenchen to book the rooms, then joined my parents at Marienplatz, where I intend to gather information about upcoming concerts in Germany (not just Munich) from the Rathaus.

The famous Neues Rathaus...

...and Marienplatz

From 14 - 17.30 Uhr I was at MM. They had an Ibach grand. I rather like the touch, though it was rather soft except till the low registers, and the room had good acoustics. :)

For dinner I had Schnickennudel mit Salat, and it was unexpectedly yummy. Love the salad dressing too!

Weinstrasse - a street next to the Neues Rathaus, with a whole stretch of cafes with yummy ~~menus~~ fooood :D

...this cafe offers cheap German food!

Muenchen

2007-06-20T00:00:00.000+02:00

We reached the airport at around 20.30 Uhr. Our flight was scheduled at 22.45 Uhr, but there was the plan for dinner, so it explains for the rather early arrival.

Around midnight "dinner" was served. The food was rather under my expectation; it was a bad attempt at imitating our local friend noodles. However the dessert tasted great. :) I tried to read but my mind wasn't working in German and the turbulence was really bad (or however you phrase it, lol) so guess what - I watched Pan's Labyrinth, something I've always wanted to watch after Pandora's influence.

Getting to sleep is a huge effort, and after numerous attempts I gave up and watched half of Marie Antoinette before breakfast (which was much better than the "dinner") was served.

MacMillian - Rehearsal II mit Orchester

2007-05-25T23:40:00.000+02:00

OMG. I'm now standing in the first row, and extremely vulnerable from the back. It's easy to understand what I mean - out of tune high pitches, excess vibrato, funny consonants and vowels from the unknown voices behind you. And so keeping at the right pitches (and sometimes volume as well) is very distracting. But at least, it gives me a chance to check out how the string orchestra is doing.

It is really interesting actually to be at the exposed row - making new friends and being able to catch a glimpse of the strings score, and how the section is doing. Isn't it just nice to sing without brasses? It most certainly did.

The string writing is crazy. I'm not a string player (erhu not counted XD) myself but even I can see the high level of difficulty. Very new/modern techniques of playing, high squeaky notes and something that the choir enjoys from - pizzato and con legno from the double bass. I myself don't find that something to giggle off, but in fact am very intrigued by the effects it produces.

We finally get to rehearse through the last movement from the first bar to the last. The choir sings materials from the 2nd movement for two pages, and the rest is orchestral. Normally we would stop here to save some rehearsal time but the conductor tonight decided to proceed till the very last bars... And the silence inbetween the occasional repetative violins' descending motive... till the piece ends with silence... This "silence", for it plays such an important role in the music... moved me so close to tears. This simple silence, is not simply a performance of 4'33", but a moment of overflowing, intense emotions. I've come to realise that this work is a gem. And I do pray that this ethereal silence can be once again be experienced in the concert hall tomorrow... and that the audiences will help themselves create this chance to savour the moment of "enlightenment" in regard to the masterpiece.

Musical Extravaganza @ VCH

2007-05-13T23:24:00.000+02:00

I think it was the largest bouquet I’ve ever received.

And it consisted of so many unique variations of flowers and plants that I have definitely never seen before. Wrapped in grand-looking ribbons and decorative papers - most delightfully, in purple! - The bouquet must have surely made me look tinier than I already am. A big thank you to the choir committee who managed to give me such a pleasant and costly surprise.

And obviously everyone did have a lot of fun, including myself. :)

The Sound of Music

Another last-minute decision by the music director (MD) on the choir’s walk-in entrance - which started off the concert. I am just glad that he also decided to conduct as well; it is indeed a demanding task leading the choir (who was spread out amongst the audience) with an overly-popular song, of which everyone has their own finest version up in their head. :P

The challenge was at keeping the constant tempo for everyone, and the communication problem was nicely solved. :)

The Music Man

One page of abrupt and near-dissonant introduction and two bars of a closing perfect cadence was all I need to play for this place. This is a special piece - written for speech choir. However, I wasn’t at all relaxed but at the edge of my seat - for the choir. Gradually though, the tension eased as the music proceeded bar by bar… The choir pulled though all the problematic areas - where they usually would break down during rehearsals! I bet MD was as relieved as I am for himself and the singers.

Send In The Clowns

Everything went fine here - nicely paced, pleasantly harmonized... At the a capella bars however the pitch dipped, and the audience definitely wouldn’t know this, but MB and I were grinning to each other then, haha.

Begin The Beguine

I was quite taken by surprise: the pace returned to a faster direction, but I managed that change okay. It was no doubt a challenging piece for the choir while the piano plays syncopated rhythms throughout - and I know everyone tried their best. Well done!

West Side Story

I was not involved in the youth choir item and need not play for them. Considering this my little break, I wandered backstage and stumbled upon a rehearsal taking place - then did I realize it was a Sunday (and that the Children Choir holds their practices on Sundays). I immediately had a hunch who was conducting the choir and taking a peep into the room - indeed I was right - I saw my voice teacher! It was all good timing; a few minutes later the children choir was dismissed and I went on to greet my surprised teacher.

Les Miserables

The most challenging piece of the evening. I gathered my thoughts together shortly before the short break was over. Plentiful of tempo changes and even more of sticking my eyes to MD’s hands. This selection offers solo opportunities to the choir members - meaning I have a handful of soloists to accompany, and hence roles and egos of different shape and sizes (if you understand what I mean, lol). The worst thing though, I was without a page turner and my scores were inserted with gadgets everywhere - dog-eared pages here and there, scotch-taped pages now and then.

The Fantine soloist was a pleasure to accompany - strong voice and steady sense of pulse. It was however towards the end of I Dreamt A Dream that a page turn failed me. Thrice I tried in vain, and hastily I landed on an alien chord just before the choir’s re-entrance. It was a big OOPS for me, but the show had to go on.

The rest of the middle section did not offer anymore “chance music”. B (one of the soloists) sounded rather tight, but A and S (who sang a duet) were so perfect a match! K was especially difficult to follow - he had a long solo but never keeps to the tempo, lol.

The Rhythm Of Life

I think R shocked everyone (who noticed him, like MD and I) by his rather sudden exit in the middle of the previous piece... only to re-appear in a coat and tie... Rrright... I can understand, but I think his exit was badly planned though...

He was my duet partner for this piece, written for choir and piano four-hands. It went well and that was the end of the first half.

And my job ended as well. In the second half the choir performed with a band. Pianist!Me bade farewell together with the first half, chorister!Me appeared in the last half. I decided to help out when I noticed during last night’s rehearsal that the band was too loud and the choir too soft, sounding like background music to the instruments.

When You Believe

Poor M missed her entrance but MB kindly guided her in :) It was definitely no stress for me then that I was away from the piano, lol. I was just enjoying the fun.

Andrew Lloyd Weber Medley

Well, this last selection was so easy for everyone, wasn’t it? Why - I wouldn’t tell! XP Secret between MD and I, and it’s going to remain as that till you bribe me with enough chocolates. Muaha.

Oh, did I mention I sight-sang this number? XP

There was an encore, so the concert dragged on. Sadly, to have to work on Mothers’ Day... and that I was totally spent after the concert... I didn’t feel energized enough to celebrate the day with an evening dinner. But I still did - with my gown and giant bouquet, so how eye-catching could it be? XD

Genting - Day 4

2007-05-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

[Sorry for the delay in posting - I misplaced the photos in some other folders so it took me some time amidst my busy schedule to locate them. ^__^;;]

8 Uhr
I overslept! The others had went for breakfast and had gotten back, waking me up. Ooooops... No breakfast for me then. T__T I leaped up and dashed to bathe.

8.30 Uhr
Checked out from the hotel. Whose idea was it to get to the bus terminal this early!? -__-* Finally the smoke (that condensation theory blah blah...) from our mouths when we spoke. Why? So strange because it isn't cold at all today. :( I only wore a shirt instead of two as I usually did.

The bus terminal. Hideous colours, I'd say.

9.30 Uhr
Finally found our bus we are supposed to board. The start of Return is always gloomy, isn't it? I don't really want to stay here longer, but I don't feel like going back either.

10 Uhr
Left Genting. Some pics I took on the bus while we proceed downhill:

Another personal fav. I really like the effects here.

10.30 Uhr
Stop by a warehouse. And I found Beryl's Tiramisu chocolates! Who cares if I have already bought Tiramisu chocolates from Genting? Grabbed five boxes. <333

Here are the surroundings about the warehouse:

I love rural settings!

XD;; No questions. It's all just random!! XD;;

12.10 Uhr
I knew it. Another jam. See? See? So let me check my loot: Socks, Famous Amos cookies (leftover from Sunday) and chocolates. I'm a happy girl.

12.20 Uhr
Oh, it was a short jam. Oh well. But after a smooth journey the bus made a stop at Yong Peng again. Boo, it was really dull, so I was dying to reach the checkpoint. They decided to stop for 45 minutes. o__O;; Oi, oi... I don't understand why they want to delay the arrival time. Dotz...

You can see this everywhere along the highway. I can remember these "objects" from last year's KL trip, and still during this trip, they never fail to evoke references to Dumas' depiction of telegraph from his Monte Cristo novel. ^__^;;

Link to friend-locked LJ post

Anyway, we reached home at around 6pm. And so this is the end. Of trip.

Genting - Day 3

2007-04-30T00:00:00.000+02:00

7.30 Uhr
Wakey wakey. Darn, my clothes still reeks of smoke. >:EEEE

8.10 Uhr
Breakfast is... okay. A lot of eggs -__-;; But I like the scrambled eggs best. Breakfast in a form of buffet, but not much variety. The rice for the Nasi Lemak is just plain overcooked rice! *pukes* The mee is better, the sambal chilli diluted. Sausages and ham too much MSG. I end up downing a lot of water. There's cornflakes, but the warm milk provided looks like... there's a layer of solidified whatever with brownish/yellowish spots. -__-* Luckily for me there's still cold fresh milk. I never touch the bread and pastries. The jam and butter and whatever looked so digusting! Bad presentation. A bowl of yellow paint (butter) and orange goo (jam). I can't recognise what's in the rest of the giant bowls. Cz.

So, the best for breakfast is actually ice water, which is imperially proclaimed "extreme cold" because it made Empress' fingers numb! :P

We didn't really do a lot today. All's just walking around and getting lost after I took another 20 minutes nap in the hotel.

Look what we spot outside the window next to the basement lift lobby!! It's so beautiful, so breathtaking... Just look at the sea of clouds below us! *____* (the blue tint is the result of the window pane filter)

Now at the 25th floor, where there's no bluey filter :D Looking gooood, ne?

Another shot

And another angle

I am too lazy to get the theme park tickets, the weather also is too unpredictable - it starts to rain ever earlier than it did yesterday, so most of the crowd have retreated to the indoor one and it's so crowded I used it as an excuse to opt out riding the Euro Express and trying out the Motion Picture. Okay, so I went back on my words but I'm really feeling too laid back to do anything exciting today.

The Body Shop - I love the window display there

We decide to split up and I grab one of us to goe for the Genting Skyway instead. Kinda reminded me of the Jennerbahn at Koenigsee minus the cloud and the speed - you see, everything reminds me of my German trip here; the temperature, the wind and whatnots. That's why "first"s are so important. It leaves everlasting impression.

Going down...

...to rock bottom

And here we goe again... returning to heights...

...and the overhanging fluff...

...and into the clouds

Baskin' Robbins (spelling?) Mint Chocolate Chip shake - for RM 15.50! I think I'm going overborad in indulgence, but this is only the beginning! >D Then shopping - socks (because the colours are so pretty!) and chocolates X333 And most are Tiramisu chocolates, YAY. :)

Realised SnowWorld is lame - they offer you -6 degrees of temperature, but no snow! I guess the 40 minutes allowance is only for photo-taking and time-wasting. So I saved that sum of money and got myself a fried ice cream, which is so petite. *palmface* I'm rather pissed off by the vendor too - how can somebody who can only speak Malay (I'm not telling him to learn Chinese, but just to understand and/or speak simple English) and still be able to work in a tourist resort?! I have no problem communciating with anyone else here.

After stocking up (for tomorrow's long ride back) we head back to our hotel, and I did something really crazy on impulse.

21 years old is me - and I had my first pedicure.

I always wanted to try it, but I had to have mine done out of home. Lol. It isn't cheap either - RM 98. But it's not the sum that's outrageous. Think of Empress with painted nails. Seems I'm really on holiday mood. Ahaha. The leg massaging before the "colouring" totally killed me. At some point it's nice and comfortable, but most of the time Yeeeoooooooch!!

The whole pedicure lasts for more than an hour, where I watch people undergoing back and head messages have their back broken. o__O I'm glad I didn't sign up for that! When I am done everyone's already waiting for me outside the shop. Oops! Yea, they are shocked what I did to me toenails. Teeheehee. So unlike the real Empress right? Buahaha.

Dinner
Very nice rice dumpling and banana split as side orders. Had really delicious grilled fish for my main course. The menu describes the dish "with special Hainanese sauce". I thought the sauce tasted more like the one from Cafe Cartel, loo. Yummy nevertheles. More stocking up again, then back to the hotel.

Early packing up and washing up, then room party and television. YAY! The tv is boring...! until tonight. At first it's a lame movie adapted from a picture bok, and when I finally took the iniative to switch channels we end up with The House of Flying Daggers. Okay, the acting sucks, the fight sequences (choreography) sucks, the CGs are too fake. BUT still we watch on since the set/sceneries and the costumes are very lovely. Okay, to be honest, we didn't watch the movie from the start and have no clue it is about. Party, party, snore.

Genting - Day 2 / Part 4

2007-04-29T00:00:00.003+02:00

We decide to explore the rest of the area. Next stop - Hotel Resort. I love the lobby! And the decors on the first and second floors display very refined tastes. The buffet area looks good too, unlike ours.

Lobby. Small, but nice ambience

A view of outside, taken from inside

2nd floor

The wall next to the hotel's buffet area. The tubes are filled with interesting stuffs, all labelled, from the norms: short-grain and long-grain rice, dried cinnamon, glass noodles, to silly things: prawn crackers (the "raw" transparent kind), honey stars, kellog's cornflakes. Ahaha.

Hotel Resort's Buffet area

There's a casino (Monte Carlo) there - it was a good experience there, except I nearly collapsed from excessive passive smoking. I stink of smoke.

WTF.

Casino Monte Carlo. Dare ka, ano hito?

Head to the cable car station, and gosh what a queue! I want to ride but I lost the argument: I'll beeeee back tomorrow! >:EEE Oh, before I go to the next point, the scenery is just fogged up by the massive clouds and it's tremendously windy! Weeee~~ Weimar. Like Weimar! (Because I've been obsessed with cold temperatures ever since.)

At the Genting Skyway, and: QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ. I hate queues.

Bought Famous Amos cookies because I can't resist! Double choc cookies. Yum!

Hotel Genting is just soooo grand. The lobby is really in a class of its own. There's another casino there. My company forces me to enter the place but the smell of smoke is so intense even before I reach the entrance that I back out. I even feel lethragic. Boo.

Thence stands Hotel Genting amidst the clouds

Escalator up the 2nd floor, where the Casino de Genting is

Second floor! Grand, isn't it?

~ Friend-locked LJ post ~

There's a Thai fair of some sort at another area of the hotel, and at the end of the exhibit is a line of food stalls selling Thai food. So... dinner time! The mango rice is really good! The mangoes sweet, the rice yummy. One of our company comments that the Tom Yum Noodles tasted authentic, but I find it toooo spicy. When the soup goes down the wrong way, my throat will hurt.

The fair

"Manga" rice :p

Tom Yum that stings D:

More walking around in circles. Plans to goe to the casino at our hotel, but I'm really beat. Then someone complains dinner isn't enough for self and we head for a second round of dinner at a Cantonese restaurant. Food is rather good there. But the desserts are weird. Red Bean Ice for me; the scoop of ice cream is indulgence but the red beans are rather bitter. Hmm.

We cancel our late night plans to the casino. All too tired. I'm the first to take a nice, long, hot bath and found myself in bed writing this.

Oyasumi. :)

Genting - Day 2 / Part 3

2007-04-29T00:00:00.002+02:00

gegen 9 Uhr
We finally got bored, and me, seriously tired from lack of sleep (because I was the only one who didn't sleep throughout the entire bus journey) and decide to sleep or waste time sitting at the lobby waiting for our rooms. I slept now and then through the one half hour.

The reception at around 9am

10.10 Uhr
Rooms, finally! Beds finally! However I have to be very honest - I am utterly disappointed. Apparently the tour package offered the cheapest room - the room has 2 single beds with 3 pillows, plus the window is facing a yellow ugly wall. -__-;;; It's okay that we squeeze into two beds, but the room is really small to my dislike, and worst of all, the mirror faces the bed. o_O;; Pandora will definitely understand why I can't goe easy about it. It's up to the rest if they agree to put something over the mirror tonight; I'll be sleeping the furthest away from the mirror by any means.
We caught up with another 90 minutes of sleep in our room and each took a nice hot bath before leaving for lunch.

Couple of pictures from the lift lobby at the 25th floor (our floor):

Few more from the lift lobby at the hotel basement:

13 Uhr
Lunch at the hotel cafe. The food there doesn't look appetizing at all, but we want to save some time since it is getting very crowded everywhere else. "Roti-something" is unexpectedly filling and good. I have craved for rice because I was so hungry then, but the prices there are rather hefty.

Lunchy!

After lunch we explore the outdoor theme park, and golly, it looked like so much fun!

I'm never interested in amusement parks but I thought since I'm on holiday I should change my outlook of things just for once. We reach the entrance beside Hotel Theme Park, and then because I was so distracted by the cold temperature outside - it is really getting close to what I experienced in Munich and Weimar - I managed to persuade the rest to take a walk outside. I am only wearing T-shirt, shorts and a scarf around my neck. The clouds are descending quite dramatically and the rain came so suddenly. Escaped back to shelter indoors, and our theme park plans busted. :(

Entrance of outdoor theme park

Notice the cloud situation getting worser by the minute...

My Fav Pic!!! :D

Genting - Day 2 / Part 2

2007-04-29T00:00:00.001+02:00

6 Uhr
Everyone done with breakfast at around this time. Still 4 more hours till check-in time, so we wander around the Plaza First World, snapping shots and making a fool of ourselves. Keep in mind that not a lot of people is around, the shops are still closed and the indoor theme park is practically dead. Hence, a sleeping complex - so to speak.

Overall shots of the Plaza First World, with shops and restaurants:

Kyaaaa~~~ This happen to be my favourite shop! The stuff they sell are so fluffy, but then they're nice to see and indulge in, but no point in spending the monies... Aaaah, I'd work in this shop! :D

Window shopping: Bonia

Window shopping: Carlo Rino

Equally digusting and sinfully yummy: Baskin' Robbins (sp?)

Yaaaay~~~~ Kenny Rogers, hohoho~~~ *drools* Unfortunately they don't serve the nacho cheese there... ;__;

They also have Coffee Bean in the Plaza. Hmm... Is there also Starbucks? Can't remember. Anyhow, apart from Burger King and KFC, their Pizza Hut sells more varieties of pasta than ours. >:EE No fair! But most of the restaurants are so-so here.

Now onto the exterior of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not exhibit:

Personally I find this rather cute ^^

An unintentional effect :P

And this is one weird sight. No idea if this is left exposed with a purpose, or...

And now for the main attraction of the Plaza, the indoor theme park:

Taken in the lift

Overview of the indoor theme park

Genting - Day 2 / Part 1

2007-04-29T00:00:00.000+02:00

1.15 Uhr
It is a long bumpy journey, making writing rather a feat. It's just alternation between music with darkness, and more studying with light. I think I may be able to finish the Takt und Rhythmus Chapter before dawn comes. As I am thinking of giving me eyes and brain a break, the bus comes to a halt. Apparently a serious long jam along the highway. I don't know my geography in regard to this, but in my deduction some unpredicted events, or that everyone is heading to the same place, for a desired indulgence called Holiday. I don't mind the stalling of time, although most of the people in the bus (I'm the youngest!) seems rather restless.

1.30 Uhr
In the darkness I spot at my left (where the grassland is) a cow figure staring in my direction. Awww. At first the white shape doesn't make sense; perhaps I was slow, perhaps it is just the darkness (no road lamps along the highway). Lol. Cute! Then I realise it might be a cow farm or something, since I notice this long fence between me and the cow. No, pural form: COWS! So many of them, all in white (or at least it appeared vaguely so in the darkness), roaming, lying around, and only one out of all was staring straight at me. If it has been daytime I could have taken photos. Awww...

3 Uhr
I think I drifted into sleep for almost an hour. And then I couldn't sleep any longer. Whoa. I start on my chocolate caramel corn snack when I feel that I'm getting more and more wide awake. The thing is, how in good timing it actually is - I finish the pack just as the bus start moving again. So, just imagine how long the jam was. The scene is just at the left side of the road, the side where I am seating. And still I can't make out what really happened. A long chain of lorries and private vehicles stalling at the side of the road, occupying like half (or more than) of the whole stretch of the road. I'm just writing what I was observing, but I fail to make any sense of it. Oh well, after stalling for such a long time it feel almost strange being back on the move again.
(P.S. I later found out it was really an accident; a collision between two trucks, and the driver behind the first truck was, er, smashed and crushed... right in the middle. In other words: flattened... O__O)

3.30 Uhr
Another stop. I stay on the bus this time. And hopping from seat to seat (er, of course not the other tourists' seats... Dotz...) barefoot and taking stupid pictures. Lol. All except two (me and an old man) remain on the bus.

Front of coach, and... NOBODY!

Back of coach, and still NOBODY! Hohohoho~~

Eto... Examples of nonsensical pictures? XD

Empress' Throne One
(Lol, seems like my empire's on a budget... XP)

Empress' Throne Two
From the top: Me water(bottle), my scrapbook where I wrote all the crap you're reading now, my portable reading light (the black object clipped to the scrapbook), Die Musikausbildung - Band I (the orangy book), my preciousssss player, cam pouch ~~and barefooted feet~~. Yay purpur pants!

Soon after the air-conditioning is being lowered down. Phew, previously it really knew the meaning of the word "blasting". I had then to wrap my head with my black scarf or I would have gone bald before the end of the ride. Ahaha.

3.50 Uhr
I think we are passing by KL, and I am seeing the Twin Towers a distance away, still as beautiful in the night skies. The roads are windier still and a huge difference in heights. Night rides with my portable reading light and mp3 player are complete love. I think only the driver and I are awake now.

4.07 Uhr
Bus stops at BHP Petrol Station. Okay, first time seeing this petrol station name. Anyhow I'm just plain lazy right now to resume studying. It's raining quite heavily now. And I'm a little tired. My back is killing me. Ah yes, I sound like some old hag, right? My waist area needs some relief! Don't forget I have some old injuries there. Sigh.

4.20 Uhr
I have a feeling we are going uphill. All is really pitch-black now, save for the bus' headlights. We are going up so high that it starts to get foggy, and for my side, imagine trees in the fog! Darkness awakes imagination, so it really is astounding! However, the road starts to lead downhill, then do I realize the bus is just passing by a hill. However, when we are reaching the real "Genting Highlands" the road starts to steepen again, but real bad now. Those turns are really acute and steep! And there's the fog (or clouds). At a certain level when I can catch a glimpse of how high we really are, the fog worsens dramatically, I can barely see anything further than 2 meters away; if it is not a frequented route for the bus driver, it'd been hard for him.

We reach Hotel First World, und I looooooove the temperature! It's cold, I am close to shivering (I am really wearing very little - T-shirt, threee-quarter shorts and sandals, what do you expect? :P) but still, recalling the Weimar experience (6 degrees with chilly winds) it's still not too cold. But the lobby is very impressive - in design and size too.

Some snapshots of the outside, lobby and reception area of the hotel:

~~Landing~~ Alighting/Boarding Bay, or whatever.

No! It's not the photo nor the cam, but the clouds that's making it seems foggy! :D It's around 16 degrees.

The "outer" lobby. I didn't use flash coz I like it dark. And it IS dark there anyway :)

"Inner" lobby. Plain, but it's the sheer size that matters.

Reception. But don't expect any staff there since it's only 5am...!

5 Uhr
Breakfast at this Noodle Shop, except that we are only buying the hot beverages from there and eating our own bread instead. Lol. I never breakfast! But I am obliged to... :( Because the hotel check-in time is only at 10, we have to entertain ourselves with the abundance of time. A walk around the indoor theme park, I'd be sure to try out that 4D Motion thingy, despite my age... Hey, since when did I really grow up?! Ripley's Believe It Or Not exhibition is also interesting.

A short walk outside the building: my body is slowing adapting to the cold - borrowed overcoat is no longer needed. Yay. And then everything here is just fog, cloud, fog, cloud. 16 degrees, the display announced: that's just like the typical temperature during many of evening rehearsals. Pech.
I might buy some earrings from here - perhaps finally a reason to get piercings. Meh.

Genting - Day 1

2007-04-28T00:00:00.000+02:00

Okay, not really considered "day", but oh well... :P

I'm going to use the German term (coz me like) Uhr, which means HRS to most of you.

20.30 Uhr
The bus starts off, passing by Prince Edward Rd. Achso; we have Prince Edward and King Albert! :D *coughs* Okay, enough fandom, more description. Gomen ne, I really have to include this irrevelent point in. XD;;

OK. The Tuas checkpoint. The first time travelling on the Second Link. I think it shows pretty well I don't get to travel a lot. What the crap. Because of the late hour, there's hardly any queues at both checkpoints, and hence very little waiting time. I'm rather surprised at the Malaysia checkpoint though; it is not as rundown as the one near to Woodlands. Well, better still.

After the checkpoints it's just music and reading and trying to keep the seat warm (it's effortless, really!). That's why I hate coach travelling. But if it gives me the chance to do things I seldom find time to do - like reading books (mostly in German because I still forced myself to study though I'm on vacation. @__@) I brought with me, I can find no fault with this decision. Oh, if only the Count is less thicker... I could finish it during this trip instead of leaving him behind at home.

Before 22 Uhr (I think) the bus makes a stop at Yong Peng. At first I am reluctant to alight since I've already made myself so comfortable on my seat. But since there's a convenience store beside the coffee shop I made the decision to stock up, lol. Chocolates and pockys and most importantly bubblegums! Chewing gums are out of the question: I want to irritate the peeps on the bus. *gets killed*

Yep, the store beside the coffee shop.

And the coffee shop itself... Which looks sooo boring and rundown. Haiz...

Angst folgt Abwesenheit

2007-04-27T17:12:00.000+02:00

...aber ich denke, dass ich Entspannung zuerst erstreben soll, und dann die Angst erfahren. Bald, unter 24 Stunden, werde ich euch verlassen. Ich bin nicht sicher, wie kalt oder windig da wird, aber, ich werde nicht zu viel mitbringen. Nur ein paar Kleidung, und alles meine Buecher! Lieber Franz, du bist immer mit mir... Und sollen wir durchbrennen?

Urlaub, ich komme zu!

(kommt mit einer Lampe und einem Glas Wasser aus der Kammer; sie setzt das Glas auf den Tisch und tritt ans Fenster)

Brackenburg? Seid Ihr’s? Was hört’ ich denn? noch niemand? Es war niemand! Ich will die Lampe ins Fenster setzen, daß er sieht, ich wache noch, ich warte noch auf ihn. Er hat mir Nachricht versprochen. Nachricht? Entsetzliche Gewißheit! – Egmont verurteilt! – Welch Gericht darf ihn fordern? und sie verdammen ihn! Der König verdammt ihn? oder der Herzog? Und die Regentin entzieht sich! Oranien zaudert, und alle seine Freunde! – – Ist dies die Welt, von deren Wankelmut, Unzuverlässigkeit ich viel gehört und nichts empfunden habe? Ist dies die Welt? – Wer wäre bös genug, den Teuern anzufeinden? Wäre Bosheit mächtig genug, den allgemein Erkannten schnell zu stürzen? Doch ist es so – es ist – O Egmont, sicher hielt ich dich vor Gott und Menschen, wie in meinen Armen! Was war ich dir? Du hast mich dein genannt, mein ganzes Leben widmete ich deinem Leben. – Was bin ich nun? Vergebens streck ich nach der Schlinge, die dich faßt, die Hand aus. Du hülflos und ich frei! – Hier ist der Schlüssel zu meiner Tür. An meiner Wilkür hängt mein Gehen und mein Kommen, und dir bin ich zu nichts! – – O bindet mich, damit ich nicht verzweifle; und werft mich in den tiefsten Kerker, daß ich das Haupt an feuchte Mauern schlage, nach Freiheit winsle, träume, wie ich ihm helfen wollte, wenn Fesseln mich nicht lähmten, wie ich ihm helfen würde. – Nun bin ich frei, und in der Freiheit liegt die Angst der Ohnmacht. – Mir selbst bewußt, nicht fähig, ein Glied nach seiner Hülfe zu rühren. Ach leider, auch der kleine Teil von deinen Wesen, dein Klärchen, ist wie du gefangen und regt getrennt im Todeskrampfe nur die letzen Kräfte. – Ich höre schleichen, husten – Brackenburg – er ist’s! – Elender guter Mann, dein Schicksal bleibt sich immer gleich; dein Liebchen öffnet dir die nächtliche Tür, und ach zu welch unseliger Zusammenkunft!

Weihnachtskonzert - Second Night

2006-12-16T23:11:00.000+01:00

I can't quite recall what Herr Lim said during the warmup earlier in the evening, but I remembered whatever he had mentioned made me just rather bad. Because of this I realised: we are a good choir, but not yet the better half here. Not yet.

This is the second night, and perhaps one actually expect us to perform better? Personally I feel a little drained. No, very drained in fact. I don't know what the others feel, but I'm very tired, from last night's performance and this morning's German lesson. However I wasn't going to spend the first half of the concert trying to catch up on sleep. It was Saturday night! Pris and I decided to sit by the stage door and listen to what exactly the orchestra have to churn up for these three nights.

I think it was lovely music for a first half!!! Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Duke Ellington's version of it - each of the composers' movements placed for means of comparison side by side. So the end result: you get a classical ballet version - the original version - and then witness a jazzy (and near big-band style) rendition of the main melody unfold before you. I think it was all good planning from Herr Lim!!! :D It was a very enjoyable first half, with more and more choristers joining us at the stage door; but the fun ended so soon. The last chord sounded, the audience in the hall applauded, and we had to return to the waiting room to gather our scores and refreshed up. Then it's queuing-up time again - and I got myself a juggler's hat (among the pile of props and hats), completed with noisy bells. Hehe...!

Last night's performance was definitely better. I really feel that everyone on stage was tired, including the orchestra. Our singing was so-so, SM's singing too. After that it was just following the programme - more orchestral music, and I think it was during Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer that the brasses (or was it the percussions) started off with a twice-as-fast tempo! Everyone was shocked, but luckily everything was under control again after a few bars. A false start, you can say, lol. And that's why I deduced that the orchestral players were tired as well. During the sing-along we finally put on our funny hats (for those who have them) and it helps get rid of the lethargic feeling of singalongs for me. The tenor beside me got a reindeer hat with this red nose dangling in front of him!! Haha, so much fun again!

So everyone's finally high towards the end of the concert and just one more night to go! ^__^

Weihnachtskonzert - First Night

2006-12-15T23:07:00.000+01:00

Because someone bugged me to update this blog... :P (Today is actually 4th Jan 2007. I'm just posting accordingly to the date of the event.) So strange, because I'm always too plain lazy to start writing anything, but when I did start, I throw up a hell of a length.

First night of the concert is supposedly refreshing and exciting right? Not for me. I've been rushing on the German presentation since last night, and I was just so tired and unable to focus on anything else. At 18.30 Uhr was the warm-up, and it was, in my opinion, our very first "serious" warm up. Unlike in the past, when our warmup consisted mostly of fixing out passages from the music, this evening was just vocalising and some pair up activities (which I don't really like, but, oh well...). I think we just had too much time to waste.

The chorus wasn't involved in the first half of the concert, so we were given a huge waiting room, where it was really rather cold. I just sat on my chair while most of the choristers evaded the room, either for a drink nearby, or sneaking into the concert hall to listen to the orchestra. I was half-dead, but still working out the final details for the presentation tomorrow. People seemed to like my red top, while people also like to gossip, and that was rather irritating when there was a clique just next to me. Pris was just indulging in her Gameboy, lol.

Time seems to pass by fast when you're kept busy. Seemingly a short while it was already the interval and all gathered and lined up. Alan gave me a Santa hat... but I just wasn't in the mood. =____=zzz You get it.

I think we did well. And so did our Soloistin, SM. Then a long orchestral interlude (for us), where my ears caught some lovely orchestrations. The orchestral rendition of Sleigh Ride was OUCH! The percussion... clapped my eardrums real hard. I am referring to the "clappers", lol. The solo trumpet "animal call" was fun! Anyway, on other pieces, I like how the horns' O come let us adore Him just magically creep out from the strings' Jingle Bells, and the Carol of the Bells was very enchanting.

I felt so lethargic during the carol sing-along finale. Sigh... At the end of the concert it was just - ah, two more evenings to go.

[Edit: Oh yes, I almost forgot about this. I was asked by Sharon to play for her performance on December 6 but unfortunately I had already committed myself to a concert rehearsal (Candles of Advent) on the same evening and so she had to look for another accompanist. Unexpectedly, Sharon turned up on the first concert night of Candles and we chatted. She then mentioned that her accompanist for her performance was terrible, and I felt sorry for her. I recalled giving her Tomiko's contacts, but knowing her pretty well, Sharon wouldn't say such things in front of me if the person concerned had been Tomiko.

And back to the scene in the waiting room, still during the first half of the Christmas concert, NY suddenly approached me, telling me that she wished to speak to me. I was puzzled, and then she suddenly startled me with "Sharon M. sends her greetings." And once I continued to probe I realised - Mein Gott! She is the accompanist for that night! Well, too bad that she didn't make a good accompanist, but that point of this additional post is to point out again - what a small world...!]

Rehearsal II mit Orchester

2006-12-14T23:50:00.000+01:00

Reporting time pushed back to 21.15 Uhr. I was already so sleepy when I set off from home. Hope to reach the venue so that I could catch the orchestra's Nutcracker (the big brass ~~jaaaaaaaazzy~~ band version), but they were already playing the Christmas favourites... Wokay... Too late.

Rehearsal was more fun tonight. Herr Lim wanted to go through the sing-along (for the first time, actually) and I felt like running off. Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! NOT AGAIN........!!!!! *dies* We realised that though everyone (I hope...) knows the tune of the carols, not everyone knows the lyrics! Ahahahaa! Like Deck the Halls most of us went:

Deck the Halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la;
'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la.
La la la la la la la la, fa la la la la la la la la~~~~~!
La la la la la la la la, fa la la la la la la la la!

Ach! We, the geniuses of all times! XP Of course, there are another variations - my friend happened to be substituting the "la"s with "blah"s. Heh heh! The brasses also managed to whip out some chromatic notes during the sing-along, and that serves as another entertainment/amusement to us all.

I spitted my words a little too ~~far~~ much. Ahem.

SM was late because she was involved in another concert earlier, and even I agree that her tone was lovely tonight. :)

I wonder what kind of fun will be install for us tomorrow! We are not performing for the first half of the concert, so how about a drink and some card games, then up the stage of a round of outoftuneness? Herr Lim will spank us, lol. ;)

Rehearsal I mit Orchester

2006-12-13T23:58:00.000+01:00

Reporting time was 20.45 Uhr (so late!), but the orchestra was still rehearsing. The chorus sat around; you know, the Nutcracker programme wasn't bad at all! Love the big-band sound, woohoo~~!

Because the tenor won't be coming, poor Herr Lim and the orchestra had to do some "fill-in" music, but it still sounded festive. :) Me is in festive mood.... :P

The chorus was up on stage at 21.30 Uhr. No comment. But John Rutter sounded so much nicer with the orchestral accompaniment, so that is glee. Sitting next to Bernardo, so that's something nice too - German-speaking time! 8D

Reached home after eleven. Wow... *whines* ~~Had nothing to do anyway.~~

Interlude @ KK

2006-12-10T19:32:00.000+01:00

It was just a small kleine performance this afternoon.

Hence, not much to report. Just that the auditorium was reallllly cold, and I'm glad I'm in my turtle neck. The dress code happened to be colour-tops and black-bottoms for the chorus, so I intentionally wore a black top with grey bottom. Muahaha. We did a sound check before the performance, and I get to complain that my chair was too low, so they brought in a totally high one - in eye-catching red. I LMAO-ed. Attention seeker! XP

The chorus was reduced to half its size today - I can understand it's "family day" on Sunday... But the acoustic on stage wasn't all that great either so when we reached the last song of the performance, Love Came Down At Christmas, their pitch came down as well. It was difficult on the piano, because the outoftuneness was so obvious it's almost a pain to be playing on "home key". Lol.

And I've to whine that I abhor the sun. The freezing stage is umpteen times better than outside. Nya.

Christmas Party @ GI

2006-12-09T22:33:00.000+01:00

I was invited by my German school to sing at their annual Christmas cum Graduation Party.

This year's party was at 18.00 Uhr, an hour earlier than last year's, and because the afternoon class ended at 17.45 Uhr, I guess many stayed back for the ~~free dinner~~ party. And to JJ and me, that was rather overwhelming - the size of the audience was overwhelming... So we became nervous. o_O;

[Pre-Concert]
I arrived 30 minutes before the party and met Frau Schaefer. I had asked about how the evening would go and she showed me the order of items for the evening. It was hilarious! I was the first to go, the second supposedly the ID, and followed by O Tannenbaum and lastly Stille Nacht. My pianist was confirmed - it was definitely JJ. However, the rest of the items need a pianist as well. So assuming that JJ is the pianist of the night, what was remarked beside each item (except mine)on the paper was JJ??. The double question-mark made me laughter. Poor JJ. Frau Schaefer later realised that I'm actually playing for the last two items (that particular class' teacher had wrote to me for help, and I had happily agreed). That was when Frau Schaefer finally knew I could play the piano as well. Okay... I didn't know she was ignorant about this fact... And seems like I might be in trouble for next year's party... @_@

[Concert]
Waiting is a pain. I became so nervous (since JJ and I only practised twice, and I still cannot digest my lyrics!), but my breath control at my first phrase was above average. I gradually relaxed and got comfortable with the audience, and then, hit the first B-flat nicely. I stumbled on the lyrics of course... oops...! But JJ's playing was very supportive and I reached the end of the song, Haydn's Nun beut die Flur. It's a five minutes long song, and with over-repeated lyrics and those melisma passages, I think it's a wonder I managed to pull through, concerning the fact that I only started with the song two days ago. The next song, Wolf's Der Gaertner is much more comfortable for me. I learnt it a few years ago, had performed it just this year at Miki-san's spring student concert, and personally I can identify myself with the song. So it's a piece of cake for me. But for JJ? The Steinway we had which rather Stoneway, so it was difficult for him to imitate the prancing of the horse in the background. (And that's why I LOVE Hugo Wolf!!! His Lieder are so full of imagination, with so many hidden details!)

ID was unfortunately absent, or that ID decided not to announce ID's presence among the audience - I mentioned this because JJ said during the dinner that he spotted ID. Perhaps of late-arrival? Perhaps of a lack of accompanist? I did not ask ID personally.

On to the carols. *SWEATDROP* Three consecutive days of carols!!!!! *pukes*

I had the privilege to accompany a horn player, and then lead the audience through the sing-along. The only worry I had was: am I stealing the show? It seems like I'm involved in every item in the end, and I didn't expect that.

By the way, Ulf was there (and I didn't expect him to appear), Annika wasn't there (when I expected her to come). Both person were my previous teachers. Renate, my current teacher, was at the corner of the auditorium, and she was such a kind, encouraging lady. Remember what I wrote in my LJ, that I was afraid of her being our teacher when I heard the news? I have come to like her very much. Next week will be our last lesson of the year and I want to organize a class dinner, but I will be performing for SSC that Saturday! Boo... T__T I have to come out with something. Definitely.

[Post-Concert Dinner]
...was damn unpleasant. Apparently my performance(s) in the evening had attracted unwanted attention - this boy (though the same age as me - or so when I overheard him talking - I strongly am against the idea of calling him a "man" or "gent", or whatever) approached me. And I, thinking that it might turn out to be some short conversation that happened now and then throughout the dinner, was happy to converse with him, and leading to him talking non-stop about himself, and he was boasting that he was a singer himself, a tenor from what I can hear from his voice, and offered to sing for me. I was like... Thought-bubble: OMG!? What the hell is this person doing? You're in public, and everyone's just starting dinner, and you just what?! I kindly rejected his absurd offer and wanted to start my dinner. I was with friends at the table anyway: my Mum, JJ and LT. And you know wtf he did? HE SUNG ANYWAY. WTF?! I was screaming in my head: SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPYOUDONTHAVEAGREATVOICEANYWAYSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSTFUSHUTUP!!!

I managed to halt sein Fessen by excusing myself for dinner. What happened next? He sat at the next table and started getting friendly with the people sitting there, and TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF so loudly that my table could hear him. LT was having this "like if I carrrre" look but it was generally okay.

Because we thought it was all over.

The thing is, our table was fully occupied because another couple was sharing it with us. They left... and you might have guessed it anyway - he walked over and asked if he could sit with us.

NO!

I just something that leans to the polite side - and anyway I generally mean no, you're not welcome at the table.

He returned to the table he was sitting previously. At occasions he would come back to approach me and talked more about himself. About how he was classically trained as a musician and was blooooody good at singing pop songs. An idiot could even spot the irony there. I just repeatedly make the excuse that I was still not done with dinner and could not like to hear him talk (so thank my lucky stars I'm a slow eater).

Less people around already - mostly done with the dinner I guess. There wasn't beer in the house tonight, sadly, so I guess it explains for the fast disappearance of people. Or perhaps it was all because of a particular someone.

Frau Schaefer came to our table and sat with us for a while. It was a hearty conversation among us, but sadly we can't stay too long in German because Mum was getting quite alienated. *pats her* I think Frau Schaefer was also disappointed there wasn't beer. Last year JJ and I caught her quite drunk and all ye know? Hehe.

And then, nightmare. Frau Schaefer left us and the boy took it as an invitation to sit with us. All of us decided to ignore him, but it was the last straw when he started talking to my Mum. Even though she was obviously showing reluctance to converse. I softly spoke to JJ and LT to back me up if anything happens and turned to that boy. I've forgotten what were my exact words (though I vaguely recalled "you're not welcome here", "leave us in peace" and "nuisance"), but I know that I was rather mocking, direct, and fierce.

I loved that sudden change of expression on his face.

And suddenly dinner was delicious, lol. JJ went for multiple helpings, the torte I had was whoa-sinful, hehe. And before we even knew how it started, the boy was complaining to Christina, one of the teachers around who had taught JJ and me before.

Mein Gott! Grrrow up boy! LT and JJ were all rolling eyes, and lol... I was just so fortunate that I had company. I'm very sorry about ruining their dinner though; if they hadn't been sitting with me, then they wouldn't have to suffer like this. I'm really touched. Friendship is stronger than relationship, isn't it? Okay, back to the scene. Apparently Christina knew about the situation (or that she knows what kind of person this boy is - taught him before, perhaps?) and helped us convinced the boy that he was DEFINITELY UNWANTED.

JJ later told me that he had whispered "Danke" [Thanks] to Christina when she walked passed, and she had replied with "Bitte" [Welcome]. Very nice of her.

We left the school but Mum's shopping mood was dampened. Okay, we then head back home, taking the same bus, putting the unpleasant encounter behind us.

I guess there is always a first time for everything. *shrugs*

Candles of Advent - Night Two

2006-12-08T23:56:00.000+01:00

The espresso, it being strong last night, wasn't working this time.

I remained as tiring as this afternoon till the end of everything. Whatever.

Same procedure - warmups at 18.50 Uhr. The music director and I were early at the performing venue, so we got ourselves the chance to work on more details. That was a good choice, indeed, because... I'll explain later. ;)

Warmups concluded real early today and I was bored backstage with the immense amount of waiting time. I really hate to wait. Ended up talking anything under-the-sun with Rahul, in German just to pike things up. Ahaha.

Some dissonant melody-notes at the opening carol. *shrugs* But the real start of the concert? I couldn't deny that the Gloria was good. The fingers were steady, everything went fine - in fact, more than fine! It went beyond my expectations, so I was pleased. Just thought that Louisa was better last night. And the chorus almost went a little lost in the concluding movement. Whoa - fortunately that never happened.

Second half... was not as good as last night's - at least that's what I felt. Some obvious wrong notes in Candles of Advent when those could have been avoided. But those piano interludes aside I managed leading the chorus and following the MD, which proved to be a feat when the spotlights were in my eyes this entire night. Didn't understand why the sudden change. *shrugs* But I suddenly felt the emotion of the music - too overflowingly actually - during Agnus Dei. The musical tension was just tremendous, immense. Just wow.

And I was too tired to do something about stage presence. Miki-san and Mariko-san (alas Neil wasn't!) were there. It was a sold-out concert tonight, and there might have been a lot more aquaintances I missed out. Because I was dying to head for my bed.

Off to sleep, meow.

~~And to last-minute memorise tomorrow's performance. I will be dead.~~

Candles of Advent - Night One

2006-12-07T23:29:00.000+01:00

[Because I think this blog has been deserted long enough.]

18.50 Uhr was the start of the warm-up for the chorus, but our music director wasn't there! I started them off with one of Sabrina's warmup - when our MD enters the hall, finally. I was urged to continue with another warmup, and I cheekily used one of our MD's. Tee hee hee.

Seemed like on last night's rehearsal (after I left because of this morning's event) everyone stayed back to go through the rest of the Christmas sing-along... and found themselves in a mess. Today, with the pianist around, we had to work out the carols again. Did I mention how I hate Christmas carols this year because I'd over-sung/played them for past concerts? But work is work. And I'm not the boss. Lol.

The concert started at 20.05 Uhr, with me discreetingly entering the hall from a side door and walking towards the piano. I wondered if the lighting crew was aware of this "subtle start" of the concert, for they slowly dimmed the light... till there was darkness. Luckily it was Silent Night in C major, so I have no problem improvising on the harmony nor do I have to panic about not being able to read the music in front of me.

Fortunately, the darkness didn't last quite long.

The chorus walked out from the doors, sung the opening carol facing the audience and had to turn back before walking up the stage. The "turning back" was a mess. Unlike what was discussed before; the people at the right should turn in a clockwise direction and people at the left vice versa, it was a complete mess. I had to restrain myself very hard from grinning too widely.

The programme started, and John forgot about Hark the Herald Angel Sing and began introducing the Vivaldi's Gloria. We had no choice but to push Hark aside.

Gloria starts with a long instrumental interlude. And I completely (and obviously) screwed it up. Oops. The bass notes sounded so wrong, lol! My mind was still cloudy and I couldn't decide which notes to play on... though I was seemingly reading the music. Arrrgh, my mind was a blank. Boo. I guess the coffee wasn't taking effect yet, but I know I only have myself to blame. More wrong notes at obvious spots throughout the movements, to much disappointment. Thought Louisa and I presented her solo pretty well though. She was rather easy to follow tonight, and we were 99.9% together. So that was something to be happy about, because we didn't practice much together.

The second half of the concert. Barber's Agnus Dei (transcription for chorus) went rather well. And all was well. Last item of the night: Candles of Advent. There were readings done by chorus members and also lighting of the candles of advent before each movement. The soprano's daughter is so cute! Oh, I shold explain: there were children walking up the stage to light the candles. Sweet. :)

I was rather glad with myself that I played the solo part of the first movement with perfect timing - in sync with the readers. Last night at rehearsal when I played the section a tempo we ended up with the second reader still halfway through his lines, lol. And we didn't get to rehearse that again. I was just going "trial and error" during the performance, and I ended the solo passage just right after the second reader stopped. Bingo!

Then sing-alongs again... =__=;;;;;;

At the end of the concert I had a very pleasant surprise! Sharon was there at the concert, and that shocked me! I thought she might probably come tomorrow... but no! There was some compliments from her that I took to heart - they were just so encouraging, so uplifting! I missed playing for her so much, and I'd love to hear her voice again! We promised we'll find some chance to do so next year. Looking forward to it!!!

(Sharon - as in Sharon Mendelssohn. Those whom I hung around with recently should have heard me talking about her, and I hold her in the highest esteem.)

And so ends my first concert night. It is always tiring to perform for a full evening, so I'm worn. Good night, and I hope I dream not. I need the zzzzz. :)

2006-10-18T19:12:00.000+02:00

The birthday wishlist is out.

:P

*flees*

A Short Note

2006-10-14T22:20:00.000+02:00

Dearest everyone,

I write with regret with the little attention I have been giving to this blog ever since I returned from Munich. While I do confess to the guilt to my seemingly little activity here, I would like to bring your attention - since I had received many feedbacks from friends - to the Germany entries, posted under the month of June. In truth I started posting all these wonderful memories that I cherish so much, ever since I am back. However, to remain faithful to my recollection, I had, instead, posted the entries accordingly to the precise day and estimated time, in the month of June. However, I had misjudged my capability of time management, because one can never predict the future, and while I had given myself a month to update the whole of my German experience, how many have passed since then and the postings unfinished! Do be assured that I will still presevere in completing this task while my memory has not fail me, but if out of curiosity has any wondered if I am still posting my regular accounts of everyday life, the answer is yes. I direct you to my Livejournal, its link you can find at the sidebar of this blog, where it is still often filled with my mindless rants and whatnots. I beg you to be patient, that till the time I gather enough time to accomplish my goal with concern to this blog, the above-stated Livejournal will stay my humble abode. Anonymous comments have been turned on and feel free to leave a sign of your presence - I would be most honoured.

~ Empress

(...or Chihiro,
or Bee,
or just plain me.)

Wien - Altes Donau - Neues Donau

2006-06-25T18:30:00.000+02:00

As promised to Mum to bring her to the Donau (is it "Danube River" in English?), we took the subway to the "Altes Donau" stop. This is the old path of the river, but either by natural or man-made causes it was already separated from the river itself. It was great to see some form of watery bodies again. Ah, my element! However, what Mum really wanted to see is the river Donau, so after spending a moment at the side of the old part of the river we board the train again, alighting at the "Neues Donau".

By the way:
Altes Donau = "Old Donau"
Neues Donau = "New Donau"

The sight of the river from the moving train was so beautiful! Especially during the evening, when the heat wasn’t that deadly anymore, and the soul had calmed down, ready to appreciate the sceneries better. There was a viewing bridge at the station, and I was astounded at the wideness of the river! It was really a beautiful sight. Sehr, sehr wunderschön. The river’s width was divided into two sides - man-made reason, most certainly - one side was densely populated by riverside restaurants and boat rental booths. It was almost like a summer carnival on this side, with loud music and festive lights along the riverside, not to mention the never-ceasing flow of human traffic. However, on the other side, all was tranquil and serene. Almost quiet, I could say, but it was unavoidable to pick up the constant booming bass of the loud speakers from the other side. I asked to be alone at this "more-tamed" side - I really needed some time to get connected back with my soul, and... silent tears. I never got to find out the cause behind this, since just after ten minutes my parents grumbled to me they need to get fed. In other words: "We need you to read the menu for us." Sigh... Right away, Your Excellencies...

Typical of tourists, we settled for this quiet riverside restaurant for dinner. It was already passed seven, and the weather was lovely. This was, alas, the first restaurant since we stepped into Vienna, and I finally understand what is the difference between Germany and the heart of Austria. The latter is so much more cosmopolitan, and it is reflected from the restaurant's menu (the same happened to later encounters in Austrian restaurant during our few days' stay). The names of the dishes are mostly in German, but are also influenced by the Italian language, if you understand what I mean. Had a hard time reading; so different from when I was still in Germany! (Felt so much more at home!) Parents' dishes turned out okay, but I tried to be adventurous and wanted to try something new, and ended up with a whole fish on my side of the table. I had mistaken the name as some kind of special fish cutlet, and well, oops...! The food turned out tasty though - except I ended up rather full even though there were leftovers on my ~~giant~~ plate. Ahaha. Our waiter seemed very friendly and helpful, and to let out one secret I actually didn’t plan to post here - we didn’t tip him. ^_^;;; It was father’s turn to pay for the meal, and I had previously forgotten to tell my parents there was a need to tip the waiters, unless their attitude/the food are/is really that unbearable. And it could be a shame to explain, in front of the waiting waiter (no pun intended), so... Sigh... We left the restaurant with the poor waiter looking rather cross, and I felt so apologetic... Hmm hmm...

Wien - Schloß Schönbrunn

2006-06-25T17:00:00.000+02:00

Alighted at the station closest to Schloß Schönbrunn at shortly before five in the evening. Unfortunately my father had an encounter with a pickpocket when we were in the station lift; Mum’s alertness paid off and she caught the girl before the deed would be accomplished. It was something that managed to dampen our spirit - appearance can really be deceiving! It was a young girl (seems younger than 20) with a little boy of around age ten; when she was caught by my mother the lift doors happened to open so she just fled with the boy (couldn’t tell if they were siblings). That really put a bad mark on my impression on Vienna, or Austria. Just because Vienna is an over-touristed place that thieves take advantage of us.

We headed on to Schloß Schönbrunn, the residence of Empress Elizabeth (also known as Sisi) of Austria past 5pm. It was a little annoying why the palace was built in a horizontal manner instead of vertical; it was a long walk from the end of the palace to its gates. And, because it was past five, most of the attractions were already closed. It was a huge regret that I was unable to visit the garden maze. It would surely be fun, I’m sure! However, only the park itself was still opened to the public; it would only be closed after seven. We did a loooooooong walk around the gigantic area; everything was so lovely, including the design of the park itself. Made our way up to the Gloriette, and the scenery from the hill was just unbelievably picturesque. The whole of Vienna in front of you. I was reluctant to begin my downhill journey.

Wien - Zentralfriedhof

2006-06-25T14:30:00.001+02:00

Next destination the famous “block” 32A of the Central Cemetery, where many famous composers were buried. We had to travel to the end of the subway line, then take a bus to the stop outside the right part of the cemetery. It would be no surprise to me if the Central Cemetery may be bigger than of the city center. I would easily believe it, truth or not, because it definitely seems huge to me. Three tram stops serve different parts of the cemetery.

It wasn’t too difficult searching for 32A, because the layout of the cemetery was really quite organized. Walking among the tombstones (yes, as scary as it may sound), I was thrown in awe by the sheer craftsmanship of the sculptures surrounding some of the graves. The first composer’s grave I stumbled was a shock for me. Hugo Wolf. Yes, my favourite Lieder composer. I never knew that he was buried in Vienna! My deepest respect to him.

I don’t want to make this post sounds that I was there to just spot famous names I know. It was a rather solemn visit for me, and instead of describing the time I was there I’ll just make it short and sweet. The other composers I paid my respect to: Johann Strauss Jr., Johann Strauss Sr., and Christoph Gluck. Leaving the most honorable to the last: Brahms, Mozart (actually a memorial), and of course, our most respectable men - Beethoven and Schubert, right beside each other.

It was only a month did I find out I did miss out more musicians/composers:
- Carl Czerny (ah, pech! And he was Liszt’s teacher... I should have researched this better...)
- Anton Salieri
- Arnold Schönberg (really?!)
- Lotte Lehmann (opera singer; I’ve read her books)
- Franz von Suppe (I’ve a vague impression that I did came across his grave, but, I can’t be sure...)

When we head back to the tram stop to wait for our transport back to the subway, some kind of phenomena (well I like to think of it in a supernatural sense) happened. We waited at the stop, and the number of people there soon accumulated to a crowd; not a sight of a single tram for more than 25 minutes! And soon after we started fussing about it, finally a tram from the opposite side came (it was to make a loop at the third stop of the cemetery before turning back towards our stop’s direction). And then another tram. And another. Yet another. There were at least seven trams moving at the same direction. We soon understood why – technical fault. But what was the creepy thing about it? The display on the trams showed “Zentralfriedhof” [trans.: Central Cemetery]. Yes, all of them. When we finally squeezed into the tram it was still display the same name even though we had moved pass the cemetery. It was only until the station where most of the passengers (including us) alighted did the display sign changed back to normal.

Fun at first thought, creepy at second thought.

Wien - Stadtpark

2006-06-25T12:00:00.000+02:00

We walked to the Stadtpark for the famous Johann Strauss II gold statue. Apart from that, there were also others’ in the park: Zelinka, Schubert, Bruckner and Franz Lehar. But it was difficult to enjoy the park itself. It was too hot, too hot!!