Destined for a new journey

Months have passed alongside with changes that occur. April 2011 marks the beginning of the new chapter of my life. Indulging in nostalgia, I picture myself as a solitary figure, almost silhouette, walking alongside the wave of gentle ocean during sunset. Step by step, my feet touched the sandy soil, smooth and rough at the same time. And there seemed to be no time limit, just a setting, just a moment.

Sometimes, my feet bleed when the shells cracked my skin, disturbed. Sometimes, the bitter cold wrapped against me, as if pushing me to retreat. And many times, countless tears fought trying to win the storm of life. However, I move forward. Not knowing when it would end.

Like an ugly duckling who wondered around searching for identity, I had lived that kind of life. Thirsty to know 'who I really am', and I had been hunting for the answers for eons and ended up in myriad of human sorrows and heartaches. Being lost, I would have fallen into deep darkness...

Amazingly, grace is calling. And destiny would never fail. When you have been chosen, you couldn't run away. Miracles offer an unthinkable direction and I responded. Indeed, when a good shepherd is He, my Lord would never let me go astray. I have returned to the purpose of life. And I have cherished the new identity that would never be taken away. A meant to be, like the miracle that transformed the swan.

Yes, I am still a lady who loves solitude. I am the same melancholic fellow who appreciates aesthetic beauty of arts, music and literature, a sure idealist person with complex personality, yet undeniably, towards the better. I have founded my calling. I have discovered the new beauty, the intimate presence of The Lord of the universe, how great Thou art. Reasons behind I understand naught, wisdom of man would never attain to comprehend. Never would I expect the bestowing of such privilege. Only I know, it is an honour to heed. What I have before would all be secondary and I am pursuing the higher voice, the higher purpose, even though prices have to be paid.

and now, though there are only one set of footprints, my Lord carries me. Our sights couldn't see, but faith does. And He will never leave me nor forsake me evermore.

Dedicated to : my beloved brothers and sisters whom have been sent by Him to bless me. My gratitude towards all of you. God bless.

The Cat and the Butterflies

The Cat & the Butterflies

Simple artwork, dedicated to my workmate, Phoebe.
Her smile always encourage me and made my days better.
It will never be coincident that we both like cat and purple =p
I love you and this painting is for you and it comes with a message:

" For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
~ Psalam 139 : 13-14

You are precious in His sight.

Thank you Lord for allowing us to work together :)

I love her

Despite having busy days as a full time house-wife and a piano teacher, she still serves faithfully as piano accompanist at church, she takes English lesson, and regularly join another choir group in the city.. and recently she is taking flower arrangement course.. and that's the roses that she proudly arranged and displayed at our living room.
This woman is my mom.

It takes like almost 20 years for me to truly understand her.
She is very strong and independent woman. Beautiful, strict and never tolerate things against her rules. The queen of the house she is.. and I never remember her spoiling me. She always pushed me to achieve the best and sometimes, she is just too stubborn. Yes, we disagree on lots of things. I argue with her lots and sometimes never comprehend what is on her minds.. However, looking back at my own self, I do have her reflections.. I have her strong will, I have her stubborn mind, and I am critical just like her....

Realizing this, I want to be a better daughter for her. I know I am not a very good one.. and I don't know how to show my affection to her. But I do cherish her .. I appreciate her for what she has done for me, for taking care of me, for teaching me and especially introducing me to music..and my faith in Christ.

Having her is a blessing and I love my mom.

Lord, I thank you for giving me my mom.
Thank you for my dad
for my brother Jason
my brother Joshua
and thank you for my family..

The Phoenix

~ The Phoenix ~ my painting produced on 15th March 2011.

Moomba Festival

Moomba Festival 2011 ~ 13th March : Moomba outing with my beloved friends Tika, Erlin, Ben, Mik & Stephen =p Though it was only an hour and we had to left because of the rain.. most of us had a great time. The fireworks were cool and the 3 rides !!!! I love them all !!!!!! That moments were just.. Super Fun ! Made me feel younger, excited and vibrant! The night was followed by a mini rendezvous at the cafe as the rain poured and the temperature dropped ~ hot chocolate and mud cake was simply bliss ~~ Best Moomba Trip compared to the last 3 times in the past. Thank God for the friendships and thank God for the fun !

MSO Tributes to John Williams

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 's performance of Star Wars and Beyond ~ A Celebration of John William was certainly the best orchestra concert that I enjoyed most ~ And I thank God for this special opportunity to have this chance to enjoy the music so much ! The Saturday of 12th of March 2011, would be memorable and I really wish to have this opportunity again.

Firstly, John Williams has always been one of the master of film music that I respected. An American composer, conductor and pianist, he was educated in Julliard and had won numerous awards, including 5 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes. Notable in his works are the famous theme scores for the films : Star Wars, Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, E.T., Harry Potters 1& 2, and Catch me if You can. And truly, I enjoyed every single notes, every single pieces that was performed, all pieces were high and standards and really fantastic !

I grew up watching Jurassic Park, I watched E.T., even Star Wars and my mom used to play the soundtracks which meant I had been accustomed to the tunes and have grown up loving his music to such a degree that, it is never boring for me to listen to Catch Me if You Can's soundtrack and Harry's Wondrous World for 8 years ! And having this chance to listen to the live orchestra for these pieces played right before my eyes took all my breath away !

John William has this typical characteristic in his music which defines how much he loves it. The sweet beautiful melody, the clever usage of 'leitmotiv' and how he painted the characters of each different scores, proved how much genius he is. Main influences of his music are the prominent figures such as Strauss, Wagner, Prokofiev and Stravinsky and I would never forget the beautiful mournful tone from the solo violin for Schindler's List and would always praised the 20th century compositional idioms that he used in the opening for E.T.

Apart from that, MSO was so lucky to have the great maestro Anthony Inglis as the conductor. He is currently the Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra in London and has vast outstanding repertoires throughout his career. His versatility as a conductor, his eloquent of speech, the warmth and his deep understanding of John's music was obvious through his deliverance. The way he created the usual rigid atmosphere of the concert hall into high valued theater representing Star Wars with the costumes were entertaining, as if the conductor had transformed into the characters itself. And, I do personally love his English accent !

Trust me, though it sounded odd.. as I listened to the delicate tunes from John's music.. the music and the harmony melts my heart so much.. that.. the feeling and the emotion were incomparable... even to the feelings that I felt when I had my first date. That is how much strong I love certain music and John William's is one of my beloved.

He cares

It would be a waste not to share something good. And of course, no one but ourselves who experienced would understand best.

Especially in times of troubles, when you felt crushed, or when you had lost or even failed countless times. And thoughts like ' maybe I am not meant to be ' or ' perhaps I am just as bad ', would crept into your minds and made the rest of the day a gloomy day.

That was what had happened on the 10th of March, 2011. For those of my entrusted friends, they knew what happened, for I informed them, yet my pride never let them knew the exact feeling that I kept. I knew I failed, and yes I am not giving up, but, sometimes you did yearn at least a comfort. But no one would knew if you never asked for it.

And yet, one of my ex-colleague, and a good friend of mine, suddenly rang up out of the blue and offered to buy me a meal for lunch, which he never did before. Without even thinking, I thanked him and waited eagerly for the meal and I appreciated his effort and cares so much. And to tell the truth, I was about to forgo my meal for that day... Just a little hint of what had happened : losing $150 for nothing did made me a little bit down and I didn't have much money left..

Just when I had finished my meal, another friend and sister of mine, came suddenly and bought me my favorite plum tea. She never came before and she never did this before. And.. that was the moment when I came to a realization that... this were not a coincidence at all.. And my first instinct made me pondered and asked this question : " Are You comforting me, Lord ? "

It all made sense. I believe that, Alan & Winishe were sent and used by God to comfort me, though they may not believed it.

Even when the problem seems so small, even when you secretly bottled up everything inside, Your Creator, who knows the number of your hairs (Luke 12:7), will always cares what we are going through.

See I have engraved you on the palms of My hands;
your walls are ever before Me
Isaiah 49:16

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49: 16

Gothic Calligraphy Homework

It has been aeons... since the last time I really put myself to a certain degree of 'serious' artwork..

Though not exactly up to standard, finally I have managed to get a grasp of writing for A- Z Gothic lettering. Next, I can't wait to learn the Italic writing ~

Doing art work, which rarely did since I took Bachelor Music, was used to be my life for years.. I mean, painting and drawing are my first exposure to arts when I was a little girl. And I used to paint a lot..when I did my School back in Indo and.. during VCE years (Art & Design courses).. But since, I concentrated on music.. I didn't have time and motivation to paint anymore... and yup, I do miss it.While doing this project, the lettering was the hardest to tackle... all the words are supposed to be straight, rigid and in proportion... Mine doesn't ... Yet, I enjoyed during the decoration the most ~ The feeling of using my painting brush again was simply.. 'Zen' .. like what my friend, Len, always mentioned. Painting with brushes, especially in black, is just my forte.. and.. I love it !!!! Hopefully and hopefully... I will get inspired more to pick up painting again.

Catch me If You can

First viewed the film on 10th February 2003 for the first time.
Have had read the novel twice in year 2002 and 2007.
One the 13th June 2010, I have watched it again for the forth time.
‘Till today,the impression never cease.. Do you concur?

Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank William Abagnale Junior & Tom Hanks as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, released on December 25, 2002, ‘Catch Me if You Can’ is a comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale. Set in the 1960’s the film chronicle the life of Frank, who before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, dead-heading to many destinations in the cockpit jump seat, and he impersonated as a Georgia doctor (complete with a forged Harvard Medical School degree). Furthermore, he created a phony document of Harvard Law Transcript and then he legitimately passed his bar exam and masqueraded as a Louisiana attorney, which is awesomely impressive... His primary crime was cheque forgery, becoming so skilful that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other cheque forgers.

Frank Abagnale is now one of the world’ most respected authorities, working with the FBI’s Financial Crime Unit on counterfeiting and secure documents, including check swindling, forgery and embezzlement. He has been a consultant, lectured and instructed hundreds of seminars worldwide and continues to offer his services for free to the FBI. Moreover, he has published several books, manuals and articles and has designed secure checks that are utilized by businesses worldwide

One of the factors that the film gets my attention is the setting. A near-flawless palette of period looks from the ‘50s and ‘60s times. The sequence of 'cat and mouse' chase between Frank Abagnale & Hanretty, also has succesfully created a lasting impression through its witty, clever scenarios, the humour that it contains and the mockery within. Especially the Soundtrack, which I still listen too for over 7 years, the collection and tone of music assembled dealt greatly with 1960’s pop culture. The fusion of several older generation songs with a similarly retro style of jazz in the underscore is obvious. John William’s composition for this particular film represents the perpetual chase. “The Float” is shifty with attractive rhythmic romp that is cyclical in its vibraphone and woodwind rhythms. It exhibits an excellent saxophone solo with ominous dramatic undertones.

Personally, I love “ Broken Home” the most, where the music volume has been reduced to melancholy solitude carried by a slow solo harp and lonely shadows of the solo sax and piano performances that graced the score's beginning. Perhaps, the whole OST has summarised a well-documented music album with indeed, a well genre-constrained score. The music simply never bores me. And it has been proven so strongly as I have listened to the soundtrack over and over again for more than 7 years.

Both reading the biography and watching the movie is inseparable. It would not be complete without doing both activities. Indeed, it has become one of my favourite movie to watch. While, the book itself is not to be missed, and if you decided not to read the book, you miss all the details.

Sources:
• Editorial Review, Filmtracks – Catch Me If You Can, written on 14th December 2002, revised on the 10th January 2009. Copyright © 2002-2010, Christian Clemmensen (Filmtracks Publications).
http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/catch_me.html

• Frank W. Abagnale, with Stan Redding , Catch Me If You Can – The True Story of a Real Fake, Bantam Book, USA 1980.

• Margaret A. McGurk, DiCaprio, Hanks have fun, so catch them if you can – The Cincinnati Enquirer, Friday, December 27,2002.
http://cincinnati.com/freetime/movies/mcgurk/122702_catchme.html

• Susan Goodwin & Becky Bradley, American Cultural History, Lone Star College – Kingwood.1960 – 1969.Copyright © 1999 [Kingwood College Library]
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html

• The Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Catch Me If You Can.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_Me_If_You_Can

Chinese New Year Eve 2011

I always love Chinese New Year Eve, as it is the best time to gather all families and relatives in Melbourne. For 2011, we celebrated the night for the first time at home. Except, the Yee Sheng (鱼生), all foods were home-cooked by the mothers of the families. Sadly, this year, my cousins : Shalyn 's family and Nith 's were not able to join us. Hope to see you guys soon. Looking forward to celebrate this with friends as well. And, I miss all my other extended families, cousins which are scattered all over many different locations. Wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year 2011. Giong Hi !

祖大家新年快乐。恭喜发财