Batam Pic?

Was just going through the weird pics and vids we took when me, Fi, Kat went to Batam last week. Stumbled on one I took myself and it reminded me of Amelie.

Amelie

The weird pic

No, really, I swear it wasn't on purpose!

A pic from our room balcony, (you can see construction going on the left, they are building a new wing)
Me likey the pool~

My most hated sentence

I think I have figured out which sentence I hate to hear students say, from a teacher's point of view.

"Huh... it's so hard/difficult!!"

Especially when they utter it even before trying to play it. I've heard this sentence at least ten times today and it's seriously starting to irritate me.

I'm gonna ban all my students from saying that sentence.

How can it be hard when you haven't even tried it?!

Return and rules

Returned from a 1 night trip over at Batam, Harris, Spa included.

The trip itself was good, the Spa was -very- nice and the people at Harris were fantastic.

But I'm feeling inexplicably foul.

I don't understand why.

Either
1: I returned home to a lot of work left hanging
2: I returned home fairly broke
3: Work
4: Broke
5: I expected it to be fun-ner (if there was such a word)

Bah, I think it's bad timing on my part. Life doesn't seem to go the way you plan, no matter how you plan it.

Still, all the knots in my shoulders are completely kneaded out and I never knew I had such vampirically pale skin after a good scrub down.

Definitely going again, just for the Spa and Pool.

Harris is good.

---

Ack, feeling used again. When will I be able to spend time with humans who won't take advantage of my time/money/emotions?

It's tiring to keep watching out for my own well-being. Do everyone spend their entire lives like that? I certainly hope not.

I've had had enough.

-Ask me, never expect from me
-Talk with me, never at me
-I won't be around if you've never been around.

Three simple rules.

A little pat

Taught at school, and had a most rewarding lesson thus far today.

One of my kids, a young girl. When I first took over her lessons, she was one of the students who always had a terrified look plastered on their faces when they enter the studio. Like I'm a fire-breathing, ten-armed, blue-skinned monster. Asking her a question will always make her whimper, getting her to learn a new song was like giving her a death sentence.

You get the idea.

Today, after we had the practical lesson (where she had been very enthusiastic about perfecting the song we learnt last week), I sat down to mark her homework. She stayed at the piano and played songs we learnt previously. On her own. Flawlessly and with very obvious enjoyment.

At that moment, it felt like a pat on my back.

This girl had been phobic about playing in front of me. And most kids usually don't bother replaying old songs they learnt long ago.

But she played, every single one, in the book. It was like a mini-recital of her own.

I'll never forget that moment.

Enough!

Wake up peeps!

Constant complaining, moaning, groaning, bitching, swearing, cursing your life or your situation never makes anything better.

Don't get me wrong, everyone bitches once in awhile.

So watch what you say, always think before you say anything. Do you complain too much to the people around you?

If you do, ENOUGH!

Constant whining just makes you lose your friends.

Take a deep breath, think about something happy to talk about instead.

How beautiful the sunset was today, your latest buy or accomplishment that made you happy, something funny your family or pets did. No matter how minor it may seem.

Share the love and joy, not the pain.

Everyone has pain, don't impose yours onto others unnecessarily.

Talk WITH people, not TO people.

Heh

Heh... was trying to figure out my expenditure this month and realized that I went over-budget. Like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy over. Luckily the VS spree didn't have the clothes I wanted in stock.

Or I'd be eating grass for the rest of the week.

Muaha.

Last Song in Piano/Guitar Vers.

Welp, was searching Youtube because I felt like listening to the song again, when I found a Live version of this song, in Guitar. (There was another one that was nicer, but it got taken off Youtube.)

Last Song Live with Guitar


And Last Song Live again, with the Piano


(I'm ready to cry all over again.) I need someone to teach me the Guitar! RIGHT NOW!!

The Musician

Not me, the song is called 'the musician', at least, by the fans. A piece of music Allen Walker played in the D.gray-man anime.


Heh, listening to it again made me realize how badly out of tune the piano is. Also, at least 3 mistakes, pedaled too much and rushed at one whole section. Can you figure out where?

---

Details
Title: The Musician
Composed by: Wada Kaoru
Transcribed by: Xald Balghostriped
Played by: Ginny
Score can be downloaded here (Look under D, D.gray-man, and Musician)

Process: Took me 5 whole runs to get all the notes in, about an hour to sort out the fingering on the right hand and working out kinks. Total time spent practicing was about 2 hours, video taken properly after the 8th try. (The rest was full of mistakes.)

Review: Need to keep reminding myself never to rush songs especially at climaxes and be more aware of my finger position. Noticed that I keep sticking my R.H 2nd and L.H 5th out.

Strange Day

Had a really strange day. Well, it was actually frustrating and infuriating but I've simmered down quite a bit thanks to a complaining session with Sis. Okay, let us start with the good.

Had a lesson with WsB again after a 2 week holiday break. Click here for details. Lessons with him is a challenge in witticism, and a battle to the death on who can out-smart the other. (Hey, I wasn't the one who initiated the battle! Seriously!)

Round 1:
We started on a new song, Happy Birthday, found in the practical book.

WsB: I tried out this song a few times during the holidays.

Me: Oh really? Why? Is someone's birthday coming up?

WsB: My Dad, next week! HELLO~?! *smirk*

(Yes, he did mention about the Dad's birthday like a month ago, which I clean forgot.)

Results of Round 1: He got me good.

Round 2 (ding ding ding!)

Theory time, he did not do his work at all, so I sat him down and made him plow through his assigned homework.

WsB: That's... an F!

Me: Nope.

WsB: What?! Okay then... C!

Me: Nope.

WsB: What??!! It's a B!

Me: Stop guessing and count the letters properly!

WsB: I KNOW!! It's an E!!

Me: ....G.

WsB: Bah.

Round 2: It's a draw! (I think.)

Round 3:

After losing to me in theory (boys, lol), he proceeded to grumble to himself which sounded suspiciously like a couple of spanish words thrown in.

Me: Spanish? You know spanish? (Yes, I was shocked.)

WsB: *looking smug* Yes.

Me: Where did you learn it from? Your parents?

WsB: TV. Duh. You know spanish?

Me: Coupla words here and there.

WsB: Senorita?

Me: Miss.

WsB: Senor?

Me: Mr.

WsB: Bueno?

Me: Good.

WsB: Bleh.

End of lesson: 2:1, winner goes to me! Heh!
Think about it. A 6-year old quizzing you Spanish. How strange is that?

---

Bad thing:

I lost all my Sunday students. I'll just summarize it into four words. Bad planning (NOT ON MY PART!) and Foreign Talent. I'm gonna miss my kids. *sigh* I just hope they will take to this new teacher. *double sigh*

The news came as quite of a bit of a shock. Been teaching these kids (and adults) for a couple of months, they were already getting used to me and my teaching tempo, and now, they are suddenly shuffled a new teacher. Sheesh.

As Sis said, I'll just fill up my slots with private kids. But I will miss these kids. *Sob* How discouraging. Oh well, time to chin up and plough on!

Whoops

Yesterday night, lolling about in bed replaying Crisis Core while recalling my behavior the past half year.

Whoops, I've been a real ass.

I haven't been nice enough to the people I should be nice to. Haven't been talking to the people I should have more.

Schedule aside, it's time to catch up on the lacking areas.
It's time to be less calculating.