Nostalgia

Just a moment ago, on one of the channels of Starhub CableTV, it was showing a recording of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2005.

Seeing the Edinburgh Castle on television and hearing the sounds of bagpipes brought me fond memories of the few hours that I have spent in Edinburgh last year. I hope to have a chance to visit Scotland again.


Parts of the Edinburgh Castle. Scotland.




Bagpiper. A wax model.




Outside Edinburgh Castle. People were waiting to buy the tickets.



To find out more about the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, please check out: http://www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk/index.html

Would it cheer?

Feeling down,
and lifeless
Would a bright flower like this
bring some cheer?












This photo was taken nearby the National Museum of Singapore.

Music can be healing

As it seems to be a rare affair to hear Franz Joseph Hadyn's oratorio The Creation performed live in Singapore, I decided that I would stretch myself a bit by dragging myself to the Esplanade Concert Hall this evening.

It proved that I had to literally drag myself there. I don't feel well. The nausea feeling continued to haunt me for a great part of the afternoon. It did not help that I was almost constantly coughing due to the poor air (and of course, the fact that I have yet to fully recover from the bad cough). I felt I was just mustering whatever patience that I have to prevent myself from blowing up from the irritability caused by the feeling of discomforts.

Hoping to comfort myself from the discomforts of feeling unwell, I decided to pamper myself by having dinner at ichiban boshi at the Esplanade Mall. It is a nice place to unwind, and I managed to get myself a seat that faces the Esplanade Promenade. The food is nice too. I had a dinner-set consisting of beef udon, tempura, sashimi, sushi and a red-bean pastry. I felt pleased that I have ended my dinner with a sweet pastry. Isn't it nice to end things sweet?

The dinner helped me feel a little better, and I felt ready to listen to The Creation performed live.

The hardest part to bear for tonight's concert was trying to inhibit myself from coughing. But in the context of a concert hall, this was much easier to be achieved.

Firstly, the air in the Esplanade Concert Hall was well-ventilated and not too humid. Next, with such world-class acoustics, I could hardly hear the noises from outside the concert hall. With few noise and no disturbance, I found myself better able to bear with the discomforts that often comes from inhibiting myself from coughing. But admittedly, there was one point when I had successfully inhibited myself from coughing, but I felt my entire face turning bloated. Thirdly, music can heal. It can be a joy and relief for the mind to simply focus on a nice piece of music and be temporarily relieved of one's discomforts. In addition, I have prepared myself some lozenges to soothe the throat.

Anyway, as the title of this post says it, music can be healing. I felt a sense of balance and a general relief from the discomforts (except for those points when I had to inhibit myself from coughing) during the concert.

Maybe I can't have enough of aural tests, I found myself trying to guess the chord progressions as the orchestra was playing The Creation. I am still not very competent in this. I can only say that I am fairly confident at recognising the V-I cadence. Aside from hearing out for the chord progressions, it felt fun to hear how the different instruments relate to one another.

For tonight's concert, I particularly like the recitative sections sang by the bass-baritone, Andrew Greenan. I like his deep voice. I like voices that are rich and deep.

Whenever the chorus sang, it felt uplifting. I also realised that I was fascinated when I heard the chorus singing in an undertone.

The Creation was the only programme for the two-hour concert tonight. To be able to keep me interested for two hours without me falling half-asleep, I think the performers must have played fairly well. A fairly inspiring concert.

Music, it seems to have certain healing powers.

Ready to discover more of Singapore

(image source: http://www.museums.com.sg/attach/es/es.jpg)

It has delighted me that I have managed to get myself a copy of the Singapore: The Encyclopedia today. According to sources, this encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference on Singapore to date.

I reckon that this encyclopedia would help me gain a better understanding of this country that I call my homeland. I suppose it would also serve as a good source of reference for me when I want to find out about the various places that I have been to in Singapore.

Special thanks to toycon who has helped with the purchase.

Toycon happens to have posted several interesting trivia that are found in Singapore: The Encyclopedia. Here are some of these:
...the first person to put Tamil on the internet
...the Sultan Mosque was designed by an Irishman
...Metro is named after Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer(MGM)
...coconut oil was once used to light street lamps in Singapore

For those who are keen to purchase this encyclopedia online, I have managed to find the link to its publisher's website (Search under "Encyclopedia & Reference"): http://www.edmbooks.com/FS_bookstore.htm
(I think this encyclopedia is also available from major local bookstores.)

I don't know if you would find this encyclopedia worth buying, but I dare say that I believe it will be one of the best reference books that I have invested in for the year 2006. It will bring much delight to be able to gain more insights to my own country.

Thanks to those who have made this encyclopedia possible. I suppose there must have been a lot of good work put into this.

Disorientation

The white building is the Stamford House. Singapore.
According to G.Byrne Bracken's A Walking Tour: Singapore,
this building was constructed in the Venetian renaissance style.



Feeling down and ill. When one feels this way, the world looks disorientated.

Senseless

The coughing did not seem to get significantly better. I don't know how long it would take to recover from this senseless cough.

Except for the time when I was playing on the double bass, I was feeling out-of-balanced most of today. While playing on the double bass, I found myself more mindful of the way that I place my left thumb. Little thing like this actually makes a difference in my playing. Once I've managed to correct my previous bad placement of the left thumb (it used to be pointing up many of the times), it becomes easier to play more fluidly. Today, I found myself getting excited that I could actually play Marcello's Sonata in g minor much better and with more ease than I have done before. Cheers to MJ for all his guidance.

**
The drillings from the unit nearby can drive one's mind irritable after prolonged exposure. And pardon me, I have low threshold for noise and 10 minutes can be considered a fairly long time.

**
There were times when the drowsy feeling struck me. I felt nauseous. Out-of-balance, as if I could not fit in this strange world. "Would it matter to hold on?" I could only remind myself that all those were the temporary ill-effects of being ill.

At times one feels as if one is spinning in this senseless world. Change it, face it or leave it?

Journeys: The Road to Self-discovery

An upcoming event that may be of interest to some of you:

Date : 30 Sep 2006 - 01 Oct 2006
Time : 2.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue : Asian Civilisation Museum (Empress Place), Ngee Ann Auditorium
All screenings are free. Admission charges to the galleries apply.

Co-organised by the Embassy of Japan, Singapore.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore, and the fruitful journey the two countries have walked in partnership, Screen Shots is proud to present a weekend of Japanese films.

Based on the theme “Journeys”, these six films tell the stories of young Japanese from all walks of life, as they grow through journeys of self discovery and learn important life lessons about themselves and those around them.

Details can be found here.

The MPH Building

1908

I have just wrote a post titled Memories of the MPH Building.

Does if anyone have memories of this building to share?

Photo editing

Thanks to photo editing software, I am able to recover some of the photos taken on 15 Sep 2006. That day, I had dinner with my friend, Mystic, at Tavern Brasserie.


Chicken Cordon Bleu



I had steak with goose liver

Credits: All the above photos were taken by my friend, Mystic.

Talking about good food, does anyone here know of other places in Singapore that serves good food?

How to ease the pain?

It is just 8.27 a.m. in the morning and I can audibly hear the drillings from a nearby unit. The drillings do not make any musical sense to me. I have no wish to imagine them as percussive rhythms with mechanical sound quality.

Thank you for your good wishes, the running nose and the blocked nose that I was having have subsided.

However, the cough has gotten worse. The throat simply feels so irritably itchy, and that makes me cough much more frequently and violently than before. Now the muscles near my chest and abdominal areas hurt whenever I cough. Being sick is such a pain. I could hardly feel like talking to anyone these few days. Any attempt to do so was solely to express myself out of necessity. I can only be thankful that I am literate and can type to express myself. I can sign in simple sign-language (I sign using the Signing-in-Exact-English system) too but I hardly have anyone to sign with.

I went to see the doctor again last evening as the cough has not gotten better. Hearing how bad my voice sounded and the conditions of my health, the doctor gave me medical leave for today and tomorrow so that I can rest my throat. I wish I can feel better soon. It hurts a lot to be coughing so badly but I have no clue how to ease the pain except to follow the instructions to take the medications.

There is still so much work to work on in the office. Then again, life isn't about work. I suppose good health is important to the well-being of one's life. Maybe this bout of poor health is sending me a reminding message?

Now, the drilling continues. Ears plugs do not seem to help. If I feel a little better from the drowsiness caused by the medication, I shall play on the double bass for leisure. I just hope that doing so may help distract me from the noises. I wonder if anyone has invented a cost-effective silent drilling device?

How does one bear with the noises? I would rather, walk out.

Song Tag

I picked up this tag from one of Mistipurple's post.

For this tag, I am to list out seven songs, which can be in any genre; with or without lyrics; that I enjoy listening to, without getting bored.

(In no particular order)

1. Over The Rainbow. (From The Wizard of Oz. Music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg.)(I love its lyrics.)

...Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me...

2. All I Ask of You (From The Phantom of the Opera.)

3. Goodbye to Love (By Carpenters.) (I love its guitar solo and vocals-fade.)

4. Yi4 Qi3 Zou3 Dao4 (by Stephanie Sun, I prefer the Mandarin versions for its lyrics.)

5. If we hold on together (By Diana Ross.)


**And I shall stop at five. The bad throat and cough is affecting me.

Remedy for an injured tongue

Maybe the flu or the medication is making me feel drowsy. I had bitten my tongue by accident while having dinner. It hurts.

My youngest brother suggested that I drink iced-water to help reduce the swelling. It has helped quite a bit. He said it would be too painful to place ice directly on the tongue. As such, iced-water serves a better option.

Gosh, my tongue and throat are in pain. Please pardon me if I don't wish to talk.

October 06 in Singapore

It is rather hard to sleep with noises and bad weather, I might as well compile a list of notesworthy events and activities this coming October.

1. Mid-autumn Festival celebrations at Chinatown
16 Sep - 15 Oct 06

The blog, Bullockcartwater, has a post on the Mid-autumn festival celebrations at Chinatown. Please check it out for more details:



2. SSO @ The Racecourse
1 Oct 06 (Sun)
7.00pm,
Singapore Racecourse (at Kranji)

To be truthfully, I have never been to the Singapore Racecourse as Kranji yet. I have no idea what would be played, but this concert appears especially for those with young children. Admission is free furthermore. Good music brings quality to our lives.

3. The Twin Exhibition
now until 8 Oct 2006
Venue: Malay Heritage Centre

The exhibition brings guests on an insightful journey into the ancient links of the Bugis from Riau-Lingga with Singapore, through trade and early settlements.

There is a post on the Twin Exhibition here: Bugis Baubles

4. Let's Go Japan!
15 Oct 2006 (Sun)
10.00am - 7.00pm
Venue : Asian Civilisation Museum (Empress Place), River Room

Be heralded into the museum with a resounding opening of Taiko drums. Enjoy a warm cup of green tea as you observe the quiet art of the traditional tea ceremony, the contemplative way of Ikebana and the intricacy of wearing a traditional kimono. Try your hand at making traditional Japanese paper from scratch. Be mesmerised by the grace of the buyo dancers... (more)

On Medical Leave

At the verge of losing my voice. It is now hoarse and husky. I just simply don't feel like talking because the throat is hurting. There's a lot of work waiting to be worked upon, but my body is telling me that I must rest. It is protesting with mild fever, blocked nose, running nose, inflamed throat, general lethargy and a mind that feels heavy. As such, I have to take medical leave from work for today. The doctor gave me antibiotics and a few other medication.

It is a hazard, however, to be at home on a weekday. The construction site nearby my block makes more noises on a weekday than on a weekend. What is more, I can hear the noises of drilling from units above me. It did not help that there is also a lift-upgrading works at my block and that means more NOISES from the hacking and drilling.

A pair of sensitive ears can be a blessing to someone who plays music. Then again, it means one must protect oneself from the noises of the world out there. Maybe I should ask for ear-plugs for presents? But I do have quite some ear-plugs with me at most times. Though admittedly, using ear-plugs may not solve the problem, because I can feel the vibrations of the noise. I would have to live in a vacuum in order not to feel the vibrations of the noise.

I guess I shall play some music that I like so as to distract myself from the noises. Wish me health and a speedy recovery please.