The simple things that make the day much more bearable This post would take a bit of challenge to write.About a couple of weeks ago, I have committed myself to write positive things on this blog. The challenge would be how to write a positive post when the day has not been all that smooth. Then again, just like every cloud has its silver lining, if one looks closely enough, there's usually something positive in each day that has passed.Physical pain and discomfort struck me today. I wonder if it's going to be a monthly affair? Hopefully not. Anyway, I am glad to say that I have survived almost the entire day, and am still alive!In the late morning, there was a wedding worth celebrating for. One of my friends whom I have known for 16 years got married today. Congratulations to the couple. There was a sermon given by a pastor during the wedding ceremony at the church. With the physical condition I was going through, it was quite commendable that I could still remember one of the things that the pastor had said. It was somewhat on the value of forgiveness, and that "the person is more important than the issue". This would be something to be mindful of if someone significant gets us upset due to any issue.I managed to see one of my good friends, J, at the wedding. J was rather thoughtful to attempt to get her 11-months old child to comfort me when she realised I wasn't feeling near my best. In the afternoon, she sent a caring message which was much appreciated.This evening, I have yet another chance to listen to a concert, Suddenly Last Summer by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). I was given complimentary tickets to the concert. This time, the tickets were a birthday gift from SSO for my birthday this year, which was many months ago. Thankfully, SSO has decided to give flexibility so that one could even request for complimentary tickets to a concert that is held months after one's birthday.I am thankful that I managed to sit through the entire concert, and paid almost full attention listening to the orchestra's brilliant rendition of the Second Symphony by one of my favourite composers, Brahms. It was a fulfilling experience to listen to a symphony, by Brahms, live! I wonder why, I seemed to hear an underlying sense of yearning for something in Brahm's Second Symphony, particularly the second movement. The music also seemed to suggest that one was struggling both internally and externally to attempt to get closer to fulfill one's yearnings. Maybe that is why I like Brahm's symphonies. There seemed to be underlying complexities even in the most beautiful passages.I also enjoyed the Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 that was played during the concert. It was a very interesting composition indeed. I think I would listen to Strauss' music with a different light in the future.After the concert, on my ride on the MRT train back home, I shall be grateful that the passengers who stood near me actually tolerated with me humming tunes aloud on the MRT train all the way from City Hall station to Ang Mo Kio station. I wasn't humming very loud actually. Nevertheless, I was humming away. I needed to make some music to distract myself from the physical discomforts and to ease the pain. So humming became the most natural thing to do. Thank goodness for the tolerant and understanding strangers.Back at home, I received a caring message and gift via Facebook from RL and ET. These caring messages and acts of kindness helped bring comfort to make the day much more bearable. Thank you, RL and ET.Yes, I am alive. Thanks for the simple things that had happened today that made the day much more bearable.I hope I have managed to write a positive post afterall? 16 Sep 2008: Breathingtaking Blue Mountains The train took me to Katoomba, and I headed to a visitors' centre to exchange for a copy of the Explorer Bus guide book. This guide book doubled up as my bus ticket for the day. The Explorer Bus allows its passengers to travel about 30 different stops around the Leura and Katoomba area.It was a pretty windy day, and was rather cold. I eventually had to buy myself a pair of gloves before hopping onto the Explorer Bus so that I could better bear with the cold. Strangely, when it was rather hot at certain parts of the Blue Mountain.I am glad that I visited Blue Mountains on my own. This gave me quite a lot of autonomy to plan my routes. In addition, I get to put myself to a challenge of travelling about the mountains on my own. I am happy to share that I have been able to travel about Blue Mountains, with the help of modern transport facilities like the Explorer Bus, the Scenic Skyway, Scenic Railway and Scenic Cableway, on my own. Travelling about Blue Mountains on my own made me realised that I was stronger and more independent than I had thought of myself.The sceneries at Blue Mountains were breathtaking. Those were sights that I would not get to see in my own country, Singapore.For the information-savy people, according to Wikipedia, "Blue Mountains is a mountainous region in New South Wales, Australia, which borders Sydney's metropolitan area". "The name Blue Mountains, is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance".I don't know how to best describe my visit to Blue Mountains in words. Maybe the photos that I have taken could fill me in?Walking along the Scenic Walkway, an elevated timber boardwalk.Learning to muster one's courage to walk ahead on my own, while keeping safe.Beautiful flora of Blue Mountains.Human beings are small in comparison to the magnificent mountains.I like how the shadows cast themselves on the grass in this photo.Do you wish you could be there too? 16 Sep 2008: The ride to Katoomba After a night enjoying beautiful sights at Cockle Bay, I got a night of rest and woke up close to 5 a.m. to get ready to travel to Blue Mountains.My initial plans were to sign up for a guided tour about Blue Mountains. Most of these guided tours would require at least advanced-booking to be made, at least one day before the tour. However, I decided against the guided tour because I wasn't confident if I would be fit on 16 Sep 2008 to join the guided tour since I wasn't feeling well on 15 Sep 2008. Furthermore, XS shared with me much earlier that it was possible to travel about Blue Mountains on one's own. Eventually, my choice was to travel to Blue Mountain on my own, and to explore it solo.In order to reach Blue Mountain, one could take a CityRail train to Katoomba station. I ended up getting myself a ticket to the Blue Mountains ExplorerLink that combines CityRail travel to Katoomba Station and day access to the get-on-get-off Explorer bus out of sheer convenience.I had diligently woke up early so as to catch the first CityRail train to Katoomba. By the time when I reached the Central station, it was just after 7 a.m. Purchasing the Blue Mountains ExplorerLink ticket was quite a breeze. The main challenge was that because I was new to the railway system of Sydney, I took quite a bit of time to find out which platform I have to board the train from. Thankfully, the staff at the station were quite helpful to give me directions and I eventually board the right train before it set off for Katoomba at 7.25 a.m.One thing I like to share would be the seats on the train. There's a mechanism on many of these seats that allow the passenger to reverse the direction to which the seat would face. Certainly, it would be easily to reverse the directions of the seats than to turn the train 180 degrees.Before reaching Blue Mountains, I simply looked out of the window of train to see what was out there.I like this shot because of the contrast between light and shadow.Blue Mountains, here I come! 15 Sep 2008: The evening After the trip to St Leonards, I took an evening nap when I reached the hotel. The nap was a necessity that helped me feel better.When I woke up at about slightly close to 8 p.m., the food court at Market City that was nearby the hotel was closing for the day. I ended myself up eventually at Dixon House Food Court, located along 80 Dixon Street.After much contemplation, I ordered the Bamboo, Mixed Vegetables with Rice from the Jack's Chinese Kitchen stall. I wasn't very hungry, but needed some food to give me some energy. After my trip, when I showed my maternal grandmother the photo of my dinner for 15 Sep 2008, she remarked that the dinner looked good. The truth is that the ingredients were indeed quite fresh, and the dish would be perfect if the chef had not been overly generous with his use of salt.Anyway, I bought myself a glass of fresh soya bean milk, and it saved the night. It was deliciously fresh, and just the right taste. It also helped to wash away the effect of the generous serving of salt found in the Bamboo, Mixed Vegetables dish.Dixon Street is just about 15 minutes leisure stroll from Darling Harbour. I have heard about the beauty of the Darling Harbour in the evening, and I decided I shall go there and take a look. The evening skies of Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay are beautiful indeed. I was glad that I had brought a mini-tripod along and could use it to enable me to hold the camera steadily enough to capture the beauty of the evening scenes.Imagine that there's a lovely, gentle breeze when one sits down at Cockle Bay. Generally, it feels peaceful to be there even though there's jazz music from the nearby food and pub establishment.Savour the beauty of the night skies for now.Cockle Bay, near Darling Harbour.Looking towards Darling Harbour. 15 Sep 2008: At St Leonards One way to manage pain is to look at the positive sides of things. On my way to the shop that sells sheet music, I looked at the brighter side of how I have managed to find my way safely to St Leonards single-handedly. That probably showed that I have at least the capability to navigate about places on my own.St Leonards is a comparatively more laid-back neighbourhood compared to the urban Sydney City. I quite like the sub-urb character of St Leonards. I do not have a map about St Leonards so I was basically relying on the limited visual memory that I have had of the map of the locality which I had some glimpses of while I was at the station.I am pleased to share that I managed to find my way, safe and sound, to Zephyr Music. My objectives to visit Zephyr Music was to browse through the sheet music publications for double bass. I was hoping to find some suitable sheet music for diploma exams. However, it did not carry the Dragonetti's Concerto in G major (orchestra tuning) and the Bottessini's Concerto in A (orchestra tuning) that I was keen to purchase. Anyway, I got myself a publication containing orchestral excerpts for the double bass player. I also bought for myself a few charts that contain German and Italian musical terms.Needing rest to recuperate, I headed back to the St Leonards station once I was done with my purchases. On the ride by to Sydney city, I took a photo of the Sydney Harbour Bridge while I was on the train. Enjoy! Make your influence positive A colleague of mine shared with me a YouTube video titled Children See, Children Do. It's a rather poignant video for me. My heart ached a bit to see how easily children could be influenced by the significant people in their lives.Whether you watch the video or not, I suppose the message is that the children are learning from us adults, every minute. They see, and they do. If we hope to pave the way for the future generations to be positive, we have to start by making our influence positive.That's quite a challenge. Are we game enough to do our part to make our influence in this world positive for the children? 15 Sep 2008: Travelling to St Leonards It was early afternoon by the time that I finished my lunch and was done with the entertainment provided by an amusing seagull. I was ready to travel to St Leonards by CityRail. I wanted to visit a shop, Zephyr Music, which is located at 51 Hume St. It sells sheet music and more. Although I knew that the most convenient way to travel to Hume St would be by CityRail, I did not have any idea which railway lines I have to take in order to get to St Leonards.Thank goodness, I was used to travelling solo, and I had a network map of CityRail with me. After taking some time to figure out the network of CityRail, I realised that I have to travel from Circular Quay station to Wynyard Station, and then transfer from the South line to the North Shore line.Alright, after figuring out which railway line I should travel by, the next step was to purchase a ticket for myself. There are quite a number of choices for passengers travelling by CityRail. I could choose between Single Trip ticket, Return ticket, Day-Tripper ticket and more. Once I have purchased the ticket, I was ready to set off for St Leonards.The ride to St Leonards from Circular Quay actually brought me to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge via the railway tracks. It was quite an experience simply because it was new to me! Soon, I reached St Leonards.When I arrived at St Leonards station, I looked at the local maps that were found there to find my bearings, and to figure out how to get to Hume St. It took me a while to figure it out for I felt a little giddy. I should be grateful that I did not faint from the period pain that hit me that afternoon. Realising that I needed pain relief, I got myself a bottle of drinking water and Panadol from a pharmacy near the station. The Panadol has an interesting package. There were a lot of kind of pain-killers to choose from. The staff at the pharmacy was pretty helpful to point me to the Panadol Rapid Handipak that contains 10 caplets. That was what I would need, something with not too many Panadol tablets, since I figured I won't need more than two tablets.The pain-relieving properties of the painkiller took some time to take effect. Anyway, I mustered strength to find my way to the music shop. The shop would close by 5 p.m. so I wanted to get there early enough. Looking back, I'm proud that I was able to manage the pain and function adequately. 15 Sep 2008: The amusing seagull The Sydney Opera House Essential Tour got me more keen to go for the Backstage Tour. After much contemplation, I decided it was worthwhile to spend AUS$150 to go for the Backstage Tour, and I eventually went to the Box Office to buy a ticket for myself for the Backstage Tour scheduled on 17 Sep 2008.Thereafter, it was time for lunch. I bought Fish & Chips from a food outlet located near Circular Quay. When I sat down to have my lunch, I was greeted by a seagull. A seagull that amused me.My lunch that day: Fish & Chips.As I was eating my lunch, the seagull looked at me with a keen pair of eyes. Maybe it was not looking at me. Maybe it was looking at the Fish & Chips in my hands. After a while, I noticed it was jumping on the spot. Was it trying to capture my attention? I was amused and humoured.Whatever it was, I decided not to give in too early to this seagull even though I realised that it had wanted a share of the Fish & Chips that I was eating. The thing was that the Fish & Chips was pretty hot because it was cooked only after I had made my order. It won't be too safe to feed a seagull with piping hot Fish & Chips, would it?I sat on a bence facing what you see on this photo to have my lunch and the seagull stood beside me most of the time while I was having lunch.While having my lunch, the seagull continued to find ways to attract my attention. On a few occasions, it made a few calls. I also had the opportunity to observe this very seagull being so alert with all signs of potential availability of food nearby it. There was a person who finished her lunch and left crumbs of it on the floor. This seagull was so alert that it flew almost instantaneously to the source of food and claimed the food. I got to witness how this seagull tried to protect its find from another seagull with a short fight. Goodness, maybe this seagull was really hungry?While the seagull was eating the crumbs of food that it has successfully protected from its contender, I have had some peace away from the seagull.The Fish & Chips were quite good. It was just that I was not at my best state of physical health, and by the time I ate about 70% of the meal, I could no longer bring myself to eat any further. By that time I was done with my meal, the Fish & Chips had cooled quite a bit.I left the tray of the uneaten Fish & Chips from my lunch on the floor. The seagull was pretty careful. It did not even attempt to touch it, although it looked very intensely at the Fish & Chips for quite a while. Realising that it was probably feeling fearful, I pushed the tray of Fish & Chips further away from me, and tried to look away. That moment, the seagull quickly seized a piece of fish to savour. It was quite interesting to see how it enjoyed its meal. Thereafter, it took a piece of chips.I was pleasantly amused by this seagull. Anyway, in order to refrain from overfeeding it, I decided to throw all the remaining food from my lunch into the nearby bin. It was time for me to set off for St Leonards, which is located at the Northern part of Sydney. A great treat for the ears Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay in the background. (Singapore)Many thanks to JY for her lovely company both for dinner and an inspiring concert to Stirrings of Youth performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on 4 Oct 2008. I won a pair of tickets to this concert a couple of days ago with good luck.The concert was a treat for my ears. The conductor sensitively led the orchestra to create refined, sensitively-interpreted and spontaneous sounds that left me enjoying almost every moment of the concert. I was deeply inspired by the sounds from the concert. Even though my auditory memory could not fully remember what exactly I had heard at the concert, I could remember that I was moved and inspired by the entire performance during the concert.Here's the programme that I was treated to for the concert:DEBUSSY - Prelude to the Afternoon of a FaunMOZART - Concert-Rondo in D major, K. 382PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10SCHUMANN - Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120I am not someone who would listen to Prokofiev's music on a regular basis. Yet I was glad that I had listened to his first Piano Concerto during the concert because I was struck to hear what a genius Prokofiev is as a composer. He simply writes very good music. I was struck by the originality and intensity of his First Piano Concerto. Alright, I am not a critic, but my ears told me that Prokofiev wrote very well as a composer. Vladimir Feltsman gave an impressive and intense rendition on the piano, making every moment worth listening to.Cheers to the orchestra for putting up such a fabulous concert.I am glad that I had attended the concert. It gave me a lot of good food for the mind and the soul. I felt energised internally. Sharing the good-luck-rainbow with you Last Friday, on 3 Oct 2008, before meeting up one of my good friends, Mystic, for dinner, I was at Marina Square area running an errand. I happen to look up at the skies and I saw, a rainbow. A rainbow that looked as if it was just beside the Singapore Flyer (a giant observatory wheel) from where I stood. It was a lovely sight. I stood there for a while admiring this simple and delightful sight.Personally, I think having to sight a rainbow requires some good luck. If you are like myself who believes that seeing a rainbow means that one is in good luck, and will bring one good luck, here's to share the good-luck-rainbow with you! May it bring you lots of good luck.When I see a rainbow, I would often be reminded of the lyrics from this song Over the Rainbow from the production, Wizard of Oz.Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blueAnd the dreams that you dare to dreamReally do come true May your dreams come true. Week 40 of year 2008 on the double bass 28 Sep 2008, Sun: The fingers remembered even after the break, yet again. Maybe I was more relaxed after a recharging break in Sydney, somehow despite having not practised on David Heyes' arrangement for the double bass of Pachelbel's Canon in D for quite a couple of months, and having a fairly long break away from dear husband (i.e. my own double bass, kept at my home), I actually managed playing through this work with just a couple of major glitches.It was a recharging practice. Somehow, Pachelbel's Canon in D has a soothing effect on me most of the time when I practised it. The aim for the practice was to work some of the more difficult parts slowly so as to help the fingers remember what they should do when I were to play fast. I was on a practice high actually. However, knowing my physical limits for the day, I stopped practising after half-an-hour. My body was feeling physical exhausted having walked from Dhoby Ghaut area to Chinatown, and back, for close to 6 hours. I deserve to be nice to myself.1 Oct 2008, Wed: It's a public holiday and I was able to have a day free from work. I used quite a bit of time to continue working on David Heyes' arrangement for the double bass of Pachelbel's Canon in D. As the focus of the practice was to achieve a sound sense of rhythmic, I used the metronome that I had purchased a month ago to help me tap the tempo. The metronome came useful as it gives out loud tapping sounds. I could sense my rhythm was more steady by the end of the practice session.2 Oct 2008, Thu: There was no double bass lesson for the day. I worked on selected passages from Dragonetti's Concerto in A with the help of the metronome. Yes, achieving a secured sense of rhythm was one of the key goals. Similarly, I aimed for clearer articulation of the sounds. I enjoy the sensations of working out my fingers.4 Oct 2008, Sat: I continued to practise a selected passages from Dragonetti's Concerto in A so as to improve the quality of the articulation, and to help the fingers familiarise themselves with the passage.It's nice to be back practising. 15 Sep 2008: The Sydney Opera House Essential Tour The walk from Circular Quay to Sydney Opera House was short and enjoyable. The very first thing I did when I reached the Sydney Opera House was to buy a ticket for myself to the Sydney Opera House Essential Tour, at the Box Office.I'm glad that at least the physical pain that I had experienced in the late morning that day had not stop me from attending the Essential Tour. Thank goodness.I was lucky that day, as part of the "Spring Special" promotions, the price of the tickets to the Essential Tour was reduced from AUS$35 to AUS$29 per pax. I would still go for the tour even if there's no discount. Yet, psychologically, a dollar saved is still a dollar earned.Prior to the start of the tour, I walked about the open areas nearby the Sydney Opera House. I was fascinated with the lovely harbour views and the design of the Sydney Opera House. I also spent some time browsing the Sydney Opera House Shop.Seagulls flying!At 11 a.m., the tour I had registered for was ready to commence. There was at least twenty people in the group. I was the only person from Singapore in the group! Everyone was asked to deposit their bulky belongings in the Cloak Room. That certainly helped to relieve me of some baggage.Sydney Opera House is an remarkable architectural masterpiece. Jørn Utzon is the architect who designed this fabulous work. It is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 28 Jun 2007. I cannot fully describe how just by being in the building, and exploring about it had brought me much inspirations. Maybe the photos could not even do it justice. Photos and writings may not fully express how awesome the Sydney Opera House, so I am glad that I was simply there to experience it.The tour group climbed up these flights of stairswhich are normally out-of-bounds to members of the public.The view of Sydney Harbour Bridge from Sydney Opera House. After climbing the flights of stairs.Taken at Sydney Opera House.Just outside the Concert Hall of Sydney Opera House.Outside the concert hall. I love the curves and the lines.The inspiring sail-like structure.I believe that no visit to the Sydney Opera House would be complete without knowing its history. One thing about the Essential Tour that I particularly like is that it gives visitors an appreciation of the history and significance behind the Sydney Opera House. I simply love it and would like to point readers to read more about the history of the Sydney Opera House here: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about/house_history_landing.aspxOther than learning about the history of the Sydney Opera House and the amount of challenges that were met in building this fine architectural masterpiece, tour participants were also treated to a tour about various parts of the Sydney Opera House. These include: the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre. We even had the pleasure to catch glimpses of a rehearsal that was held in the Concert Hall. The acoustic was good.I learnt that the Drama Theatre has a ceiling that is constructed based on principles similar to our refrigerators at home. It's probably apt that the tour-guide described the Drama Theatre as having 'a refrigerated ceiling'. What an interesting technology.We also learnt that all the stage-managers who work at the Sydney Opera House, at the time of our visit, were females. Perhaps it goes to show that the job would go to anyone, irregardless of gender. Cheers.The waiting area outside the Opera House.The ad of Europa Galante's performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons caught my eyes.The Sydney Opera House.The tour ended at the Opera Theatre with a video of the soft-spoken Jørn Utzon who designed the Sydney Opera House. He shared a inspiring quote at the end of the video. A speech which I wished that I could have jotted down back then. If not, I could only remember the essence of it vaguely by now. However, luckily, I've found a YouTube video on Jørn Utzon, and I've found the quote that he had quoted: "Give me a job so that I can devote myself with love and skill 100%. Then it is not a job anymore, then it becomes an art and an expression of love. And this is the Opera House."Do check out the YouTube video. On the side, I am in the process of finding and securing a job that I can devote myself with love and skill 100%. May I get there soon.An inspiring tour that I am glad I had went for. I highly recommend the Essential Tour to all first time visitors to the Sydney Opera House who likes architecture and/or the performing arts. 15 Sep 2008: Walk towards the Sydney Opera House For myself who plays on a musical instrument, and has the pleasure to perform in concerts at least twice a year, a visit to the Sydney Opera House, the performing arts venue in Sydney, was simply essential.However, before my visit to Sydney, I had checked out the programmes that would be performed at the Sydney Opera House during the period of my stay in Sydney and no particular programme interested me. Admittedly, I have very specific preferences. I love music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic period. On the side, it was sweet of my friend, XS, to have also checked out for suitable concerts at Sydney Opera House before my arrival to Sydney. She's definitely spot-on to realise that none of the programme held during the period of my stay would interest me.My next best option was to check out the Sydney Opera House's Essential Tour. After much contemplation, I also went for the Sydney Opera House's Backstage Tour on a different day. I am very glad that I have went for these two tours. It was simply an eye-opening and inspiring experience to simply be inside the Sydney Opera House.If readers have figured it out, my destination after walking a long stretch of George Street in the morning of 15 Sep 2008 was the Sydney Opera House. Here's to share photos of my walk towards the Sydney Opera House from the Circular Quay area.Circular Quay.Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.Sydney Opera House.Taken from Sydney Opera House.I must say, the walk towards the Sydney Opera House was an absolutely beautiful one. There were simply so many lovely sights to admire.Please stay tuned for more about my visit to the Sydney Opera House. EastCoastLife n LG Contest Photo credit: from Eastcoastlife.Fellow blogger, Eastcoastlife, has been extremely generous. She offers to give away the latest model 60" (152 cm) Full HD Plasma TV sponsored by LG, to ONE lucky winner! Of course, this is possible because of the generosity of LG.What does one have to do to win the LG Full HD Plasma TV?The answer is simple: Just take part in the EastCoastLife n LG Contest.The contest is opened to all legal residents of Singapore (except employees and the families of LG and EastCoastLife). Simply read Eastcoastlife's blog from 15th September to 25 October 2008, and answer the ten questions for this contest and then submit the entry to the specified address. The entry must reach Eastcoastlife by 12 midnight, 25th October 2008.More details can be found here: EastCoastLife is giving away a 60" LG HD Plasma TV!!The winner will be announced on 26th October 2008, 10 p.m.I am not interested in television, even if it is the latest model. Even though there was a nice plasma television in the hotel room that I had stayed in while I was in Sydney for holiday, I did not have any interest to watch it except to catch glimpses of the Australian's local news. However, yours truly would like to make an attempt at this contest. If I should ever win the Plasma TV, I will sell it and donate all the sales proceeds to a specified charity.Anyway, if you are keen to win the Plasma TV for whatever reasons, please check out Eastcoastlife's contest now. 15 Sep 2008: Solo walk along George St During the meaningful meet-up with my friend on 14 Sep 2008, I've learnt from my friend a bit about how happiness can be achieved by living each day as if it was one's last. It is about learning to live each day fully, with no regret. A simple yet profound insight.Reflecting, I'm glad that I've set aside time to travel to Sydney to visit my friend. Meeting XS is one of the things that I wish to do, for at least an hour or two, so as to live life fully, without regret.Somehow, my mood for the morning of 15 Sep 2008 was as sunny as the sunshine that shone through the glass ceilings of the hotel's lobby. The air-well looked so lovely against the sunny skies. With a light-hearted mood, I began my day with a solo walk along George Street.Many of the shops were not even opened for the day when I began my walk along George Street, to head towards the Sydney Opera House. The city of Sydney is beautiful in its own way. One way to enjoy the sights of the city is to travel about the city by foot. I was glad that instead of using the railway, I walked from one end of George Street to the other. The walk probably took me close to half-an-hour at a leisure pace.The Central Baptist Church.A relatively quiet city in the morning.I learnt from RL that 'Hungry Jack' is an international variation of what we commonly know as 'Burger King' in Singapore'.Near Town Hall station.I like how the branches of this tree hid the building in the background.15 Sep 2008 was a special day. I learnt, when I was nearby Town Hall railway station, that at 12 noon that day, there would be a parade for the athletes who had taken part in the Beijing Olympics 2008. These athletes would parade along George St. A long stretch of George St was to be closed to the traffic so as to make way for the parade. I did not go for the parade because I was not interested in it. Nevertheless, I managed to catch glimpses of the preparations for the parade.Preparations for the parade. The roads of George St were sealed segment by segment.No more car, because of the parade of the Olympics athletes.The parade for the Olympics athletes probably started nearby here.It was a pretty interesting walk along George Street I must say. The flashing red-man This is a traffic-light trivia. In Singapore, when the green-man of the traffic light for the pedestrians flashes, it means that pedestrians who have yet to cross the road should not cross the road, but should wait for the next green-man to appear before crossing. Once the red-man appears, one should have reached the other side of the road, and that's the time for vehicles to have their way.Interestingly, I noticed during my short vacation in Sydney that Sydney uses a different system for its traffic lights for the pedestrians. The same system was also observed when I was in Melbourne for slightly more than 24 hours. Maybe this system is used throughout Australia?Instead of a flashing green-man, the flashing red-man is used to signal to pedestrians who have yet to cross the road that they are not to cross the road. These pedestrians should wait for the next green-man to appear before crossing.I did not realise that the traffic lights for the pedestrians operated differently in Sydney initially. As such, the first few times I crossed the roads in Sydney, I had wondered why the pedestrians seem to have such a short a time to cross the road. Why did the traffic lights turn red so quickly? That was because I thought that I have to be on the other side of the road by the time that the red-man appear. I was wrong, I was simply in a country with a different traffic light system.Maybe I was too conditioned to the traffic light system in Singapore. I found it a little hard to determine when the vehicles would have their turn to have the right of the way with a blinking red-man system. It was just too hard for me to differentiate if the red-man was blinking or not.RL would probably be amused that yours truly had actually stood near a traffic light just to do a video recording of the flashing red-man in action. Anyway, please sit back and be amused. Some entertainment with a trivia like this can be educational and interesting.Here's the link to the YouTube video of the flashing red-man that I have uploaded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhyrYNXat1w. Please look carefully to find the traffic lights for the pedestrians. May the good luck spread to you This post is intended to spread positive vibes and good luck around. May you catch some of these.This morning, just out of fun, I called in to the Symphony 92.4 FM call-in contest. The first two times that I tried to call the hotline, I could not get through. Anyway, I decided to stick to my usually strategy, to call at least three time before giving up. And when I made my third attempt, I got through!As such, yours truly is one of the lucky winners of a pair of complimentary tickets to an upcoming Singapore Symphony Orchestra's concert: Stirrings of Youth.I'm looking forward to listen to Vladimir Feltsman play on the piano. I've heard him on one occasion, and he looked very cool when he plays the piano. Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is also something worth listening for because it is seldom played live in concert. I am looking forward to listen to Lü Jia's interpretations of this well-known Debussy's work. I don't know much about Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor, but the very fact that one of my favourite composers, Brahms, was in some ways influenced by Schumann, makes this Symphony a work that I would be keen to listen to.So with good luck, I have got myself complimentary tickets to listen to some good music. Maybe one thing to learn is, don't give up too early, do make enough attempts.May the good luck spread to you. Good luck to you. 14 Sep 2008: the evening adventures The privilege and honour to have the company of a good friend has made the evening a meaningful one. After driving across the beautiful Anzac Bridge, we continued a journey on the roads of Sydney.We stopped by at the private studio of a local artist, and good luck enabled me to speak with this artist who does pretty good nudes and landscape paintings. It was interesting listening to his ideas and approaches towards painting. We saw a painting that he had done which my friend liked very much. I wished I was a little more energetic to be more engaged in appreciating his works. Perhaps the time difference and the challenge of adjusting to a different climate have got me to use up quite a bit of my energy by that evening. Anyway, all the best to this artist. May he get a chance to achieve the artistic milestones that he envisioned.One of the other stops that we had made was one of the local supermarkets. This was a special tour, I should think. Afterall, this was my first visit to a local supermarket for this very trip to Australia. Furthermore, it was a tour about the supermarket with a good friend. The food produces that were available at the local supermarket looked pretty fresh.One of the last stops for the evening was Chinatown, Sydney. My friend had wanted to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Market City but it was closing by that time of the evening. We were not even in time for the last order of the day. That was how we eventually ended up at Chinatown to have Chinese food. My friend generously treated me to a lovely dinner. I was more than contented to have good company in her, and to get to eat vegetables for the dinner. Many thanks to my friend for her treat to bread with pesto and camomile tea earlier the day too.We spent some time catching up over dinner. My thoughtful and kind friend gave me a lift back to the hotel after the dinner even though my hotel was simply a few minutes walk from Chinatown.That evening, I wish I could have a stronger auditory memory. My dear friend sang a couple of lovely tunes in her car. Those are her happy tunes I suppose? She said she sang those tunes because she felt happy. Her tunes were infectiously happy and those tunes have a delightful effect on me. It has brought joy to me to know that my friend is happy. I care, and I wish XS bliss every moment. 14 Sep 2008: The meaningful meet-up with a treasured friend Anzac Bridge.A special post like this deserves a meaningful and thoughtful introduction. My instincts told me that I shall begin this post by pointing readers to one of my favourite chapters from The Little Prince written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, translated from the French by Katherine Woods. Chapter 21. The essence of this chapter will provide a meaningful introduction to my memorable and meaningful meet-up with a friend of mine whom I cherish.This is a friend who has 'tamed' me, like how the Little Prince has tamed his rose and the fox: The heart-warming birthday greetings, the few amusing notes that were sent, the greeting cards that have brought delight, the phone calls after school hours, the treasured company, the trips to concerts together, her interesting insights to life and friendship, the respect and thoughtfulness that she gives to her friends, her simply being herself and more.Or was it that I have allowed myself to be tamed? Anyway, she is probably one of the first friends whom I make conscious efforts to establish friendship at a deeper level. The moments meeting up with her in Sydney were precious and meaningful because I was meeting up with a good friend whom I cherish.While the meet-up did not involve much travel to the regular tourists' sites, the moments spent with a good friend is way more significant and meaningful than having conquered the Blue Mountains and having toured the Sydney Opera House altogether.My words of appreciation to this friend of mine whom I've met on the afternoon of 14 Sep 2008. She drove me about many parts of Sydney and lent me her treasured company. Many thanks to her for letting me know that my gifts to her were appreciated and came useful. I have had a fun and pleasant time getting the gifts for her. It was a bonus to learn that she has found the gifts apt. While I am still learning how to be a better friend, it was a humble success for me to be of some service to a good friend of mine. For these, I am deeply contented.I am also deeply grateful for the privileged opportunity to meet up with her, and to get to know this friend of mine better during this trip. I've learnt more about her favourite music and some of her aspirations.Many thanks to her for her treat to snack (tea) and dinner. She also gave me a lovely drive across Anzac Bridge, and the view was beautiful against the evening skies. The Anzac Bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Australia. On the ride across the bridge, she reminded me to simply enjoy the view and to stop playing with my camera. A very good advice which I followed after taking the photo below. Some beautiful moments are to be savoured with the eyes, and not through the camera's lenses.My heartfelt thanks to XS for her friendship and hospitality. Wishing her dreams come true and happiness.Finally, back to Chapter 21 of The Little Prince, treasure and make time establishing ties with friends. They make life more meaningful and enriching. 14 Sep 2008: Nearby Darling Harbour There's quite a lot to see at Darling Harbour. After my adventure exploring near Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay and the Pyrmont Bridge, I found myself at the Chinese Garden. This garden is known affectionately as the Chinese Garden of Friendship. The garden was "initiated by the local Chinese community to celebrate Australia’s 1988 Bicentenary" and "the Chinese Garden is the result of a close bond of friendship and co-operation between the sister cities of Sydney in NSW, Australia, and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, China." (see source). I read that New South Wales and the Guangdong province in China share similar climate.I did not visit the Chinese garden, but I took a couple of photos near its entrance. A kind elderly Chinese gentleman noticed that I was trying to take photos of myself single-handedly, and he came up to me to offer to help me to take a photo. Maybe in an unhurried pace of life, people get more chance to show the best side of themselves?Chinese garden. Sydney.Outside the Chinese Garden.After some photo-taking near the Chinese Garden, I headed back to the hotel. Some simple structures caught my eyes along my way back to the hotel.A sculpture that caught my eye.The ad at this Sydney Explorer's bus-stop caught my eye.Walking past Paddy's market.When I reached the hotel, I could not help but take a photo of the glass ceiling near the lobby. This glass ceiling gave one an interesting view of the air-well. Yes folks, by now you may have noticed that I have a liking for air-wells. Somehow the glass ceiling reminded me of the glass passage of the National Museum of Singapore. I enjoyed the view.Such relaxing strolls had done me good. I am feeling more light-hearted after returning to Singapore from Sydney. May you find moments that lighten your mood too. 14 Sep 2008: Darling Harbour and nearby After a short stop at Paddy's Market (Haymarket), armed with an umbrella in my hands, I headed towards Darling Harbour. The morning skies looked pretty peaceful. There was slight drizzle by that time of the day, yet there was a sense of adventure being able to walk in the rain, with an umbrella to shelter myself of course. The city of Sydney somehow looked so peaceful when I stepped away from the heart of its busy activities.Cockle Bay. The bridge in the background is Pyrmont Bridge.I was travelling on my own, and enjoying the experience of travelling solo. Finally, I reached Cockle Bay which would eventually lead one to Darling Harbour. Pyrmont Bridge that was nearby provides access for the pedestrians from the city to Darling Harbour. Only after my return from Sydney did I realise that Pyrmont Bridge is a swing bridge. There is a control box in the middle of this bridge that controls the mechanism to let this bridge pivot horizontally to let large vessles enter the inner harbour. How interesting!There was still a slight drizzle when I reached Cockle Bay, so I ended up in a shopping mall called Harbourside. There was high-speed internet access at $2 per 21 minutes and I used it to access the internet. That was probably my one and only time while I was Australia when I accessed the internet. After realising that I would end up spending time to clear junk mails from my work-related email account, I decided that I would refrain from using the internet. Afterall, I was on holiday.By 11.40 a.m., the rain had stopped, and it was perfect time to explore Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay and the Pyrmont Bridge. The sights there were simply delightful so I shall simply allow the photos to do the talking here.The elevated monorail that travels between Darling Harbourand the Sydney central business district.The subject matter here was the soaring seagull.Darling Harbour at the distance.The National Maritime Museum.My main subject matter here was the light-house.A tram to ride on.A resting bird?My lunch that day. The lettuce definitely could taste better.With such lovely sights to delight the senses, my mood was light-hearted. Whatever the weather could be, my moods were independent of it. Enjoying the carefree moments. 14 Sep 2008: The rainy morning I woke up on 14 Sep 2008 morning to realise that it was raining. It was quite a heavy rain. I asked for good weather later the day. On my way to the hotel's cafe for breakfast, the view from the glass ceiling of the hotel's lobby intrigued me such that I took the photo found above. Admittedly, I have a liking for air-wells as mentioned in one of my earlier posts.During breakfast, I spent some time looking through the photos I had taken in Sydney, including those taken during the lovely Korean dinner the evening before. In comparison, the Aussie-style breakfast that I had at the hotel was simply too plain. Anyway, I was thankful that I had food to eat for breakfast. Afterall, I'm probably one of the lucky folks who could have privilege to have three meals a day.The adventurous streak in me decided to set off from the hotel to explore Sydney's Chinatown and Darling Harbour. I made sure that I carried an umbrella with me, and armed with a wind-breaker, I was ready to set off.It was quite early in the morning, barely just around 9 a.m. When I was somewhere near Goulburn Street, I could hear from a distance, someone playing an erhu. I was basically walking about without any aim in mind. I ended up at one of the entrances of Sydney's Chinatown area. Chinatown was very quiet at that time of the day. Furthermore, it was raining.Once I was in Chinatown, the sound of the erhu became closer. I realised there was an erhu player basking somewhere near Dixon Street. The erhu player tried to play ''double stops'' on the erhu, and he played pretty well. I felt a sense of nostalgia and being at home when I heard the sounds of erhu playing Chinese music in a foreign land. As most baskers would probably appreciate, I gave him some tokens of appreciation for his good playing.Notice the erhu player on the left of the photo.Nearby Chinatown was the Paddy's Market at Haymarket. It is somewhat like the Bugis Village of Singapore, in my humble opinion. Other than products such as fruit vegetables, clothing, CDs, flowers, homewares, sunglasses, jewellery, one could find souvenirs for the tourists here at Paddy's Market. The items that are sold there are pretty value-for-money. The Paddy's Market at Haymarket opens from Thursdays to Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. While trying to read more about Paddy's Market, I was lucky to chance upon a site that would give us a glimpse of the history behind Paddy's Market. Here's the URL: http://www.paddysmarkets.com.au/history.htmlThe rainy became lighter gradually, and I headed for Darling Harbour. The pleasant surprise of the morning was that I saw a lot of seagulls, near the Haymarket Paddy's Market. It was quite a challenge to take photos of them while they were flying, so I have taken a photo of them at rest.For now, please stay tuned for my walk to Darling Harbour on a rainy day. Week 37, 38, 39 of year 2008 on the double bass Photo credit: acroamatic.Week 37 to Week 39 of year 2008 is declared to be three weeks whereby I would take a break from my usual regime of practising at least four days per week.Anyway, I foresee I would still practise on the double bass once in a while during these three weeks so here is to keep a short record.7 Sep 2008, Sun: There was orchestra rehearsal in the afternoon in preparation for an upcoming concert. The orchestra went through all the concert's programme.10 Sep 2008, Wed: It was concert day! Before the start of the rehearsal, I practised the first movement of Dragonetti's Concerto in A major and the second movement of Dittersdorf's Second Concerto. The photo in this post is taken by acroamatic on the day of the concert. Thanks acroamatic.I have had fun playing for this concert. The Rossini's pieces were awfully challenging technically for the double bass, and I am just glad that I could manage at least 70% of it. Anyway, the programme was generally light-hearted and enjoyable, and that makes it fun playing for this concert. I must have playing on the double bass on 10 Sep 2008 for at least three hours.24 Sep 2008, Wed: My fingers remember! After a fornight away from the double bass, when I was back playing on a double bass during the orchestra rehearsal, the fingers do remember where to place themselves. Sightreading Schumann's First Symphony was a bit of a challenge because the fingers have not learnt where to place themselves.However when I was simply playing through Dittersdorf's Second Double Bass Concerto and Dragonetti's Concerto in A major, the fingers somehow seem to know where to place themselves even though I was not consciously trying to do so. Such an experience was delightful.Having some short breaks from the regular regime seem to do me some good.I'm now looking forward to practise on the double bass. 13 Sep 2008: A lovely dinner with RL Dinner. The yummy appetizers. Free-flow, I heard.I was later informed that the glutinous rice with green bean paste (Songpyun) were actually the Korean version of mooncakes.After a refreshing visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens, both RL and I headed for dinner. RL recommended me to a Korean restaurant. It seems that there are quite a number of Korean immigrants in Sydney.Along the way to the restaurant, we passed by the church that RL attends in Sydney. We walked along Pitt Street. Pitt Street is the street that is parallel to George Street.If my memory did not fail me, the Korean restaurant that we went to was located along Goulburn Street (?). RL kindly obliged to my request for her to decide on what to have for dinner. Yours truly was in the recharging mode by the evening after a day of travelling and was having difficulties making quick decision about what to eat for dinner! Dear RL was thoughtful to avoid choosing dishes that contains red meat. Many thanks to RL.Now just sit back and savour how the two ladies managed to finish up our servings of Korean food.Bimbibah, before it was mixed.Korean Ginseng & Bimbibab. This photo was taken by RL.Do you see how much we have enjoyed the dinner?Dinner was delicious and the company was good. I didn't expect that I would have one of my most memorable Korean dinners in Sydney, Australia. Yummy.Last but not the least, many thanks to RL for her thoughtfulness in getting me my first souvenir from Sydney. 13 Sep 2008: late afternoon with RL Taken during a stroll at the Royal Botanic Gardens.After being treated to beautiful sights on the ferry from Manly Wharf to Circular Quay, RL and myself headed for an outing about Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House and the Royal Botanic Gardens.Aside from enjoying the sights that we saw, we got ourselves busy with taking self-portraits of ourselves. I have to thank RL for helping me refine my skills in taking self-portraits. We managed to get a couple of satisfying photos of ourselves, with either the Sydney Opera House or the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.One thing I like about Circular Quay is that when I sat down, I could usually see many seagulls flying in the skies. The seagulls of Sydney are much quieter than the seagulls of Aberdeen, Scotland. Maybe I enjoy looking at how carefree the seagulls appear to be when they are flying in the skies?The Royal Botanic Gardens is located nearby the Sydney Opera House. This is a peaceful place to stroll about in the late afternoon.We spotted a couple of trees that had fruit bats hanging upside down from the branches. If it does not seem eerie to you, you could try to spot the bats from the photo found below.Can you spot where the bats are?For the patient folks, you would be rewarded with glimpses of the Korean dinner that RL and I have had, in the next post. 13 Sep 2008: on the way back to Circular Quay My short visit to Manly was a pleasant one. The trip back to Circular Quay from Manly Wharf was even more delightful in itself as both RL and myself came across some lovely sights while we were on the ferry.I shall let the photos do the talking.Stretching my imagination. Imagining that the sails were 'toy sharks'.Sydney Harbour Bridge!We saw a rainbow while on the ferry! May it bring good luck.Sydney Opera House, as seen from the ferry.Lovely Circular Quay.May the rainbow bring you good luck. 13 Sep 2008: Sunny day out at Manly The city of Sydney is situated on a harbour, and what better way to travel about this harbour than by vessels that float above the waters.After a lovely stroll along George Street, RL generously got ourselves a pair of ferry tickets to Manly. She was very thoughtful to try to help me get a good spot on the ferry where I could get a good view of the waters, and the sceneries. My photos probably could only capture a tiny fraction of the beauty of the Sydney harbour.Manly is about half an hour by ferry from the city of Sydney. On the way to Manly, we could catch glimpses of the Tarongo Zoo and the Northern part of Sydney from the ferry. It was a pleasant journey to Manly via the ferry.On the side, throughout my stay in Sydney, yours truly had more fancy taking photos of the landscapes than of people. RL helped make up for my lack of interest in taking photos of people by taking photos of the two of us using her camera. As such, for anyone who are on my Facebook account, there are likely to be more photos of me on RL's Facebook account than mine.Anyway, after enjoying cooling sea breezes on the ferry, we eventually reached the Manly Wharf. We walked about Manly towards the beach. RL saw that there was an outlet in Manly selling her favourite brand of ice-cream, Mövenpick Ice Cream. What a lovely discovery.RL and I had the good luck to come across very kind and helpful people. While we were in Manly, there was a stranger who came up to us and offered to help us take photos of the two of us. A friendly Sydney culture, I suppose?After a short stroll from the Manly Wharf, we caught sight of the beach. Enjoy!Yours truly took delight in capturing a number of peculiar subject matters on her digital camera. One of these was: shadow.Many thanks to RL for being accomodating to my dietary preferences. Strangely, yours truly simply wanted to eat vegetables. Nearing lunch time, both of us embarked on a search for a suitable place for lunch. After walking about for quite a while, we finally decided on the place for lunch.Lunch was a pleasant affair. RL treated me to a lovely eggplant pesto ciabatta. Yummy. We spent lunch catching up and even talked about one of my favourite topics, i.e. the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Many thanks to RL for allowing me to have a chance to share my knowledge of MBTI. I am an accredited administrator of MBTI® and yet I did not have much chance to practise the use of my knowledge as often as I would like to during the past few years. As such, it was simply a satisfying experience to be able to tap on my knowledge of MBTI. Thanks RL for giving me the opportunity to do so. Many thanks to her for the lunch treat.After a pleasant lunch, we eventually decided to head back to Circular Quay, Sydney. I could not help but take photos with a slanted angle while waiting for the ferry near the wharf.If looking at the world with a different perspective could help one learn to be more accepting towards the differences between people, then may my photo below be a way to encourage people to see the world from a different perspective. Do you see that there's beauty even when something is framed differently from how you normally would?I'm glad that RL brought me to Manly. If left on my own, I might not have visited it since I don't have a keen interest for the beach. Yet, I am glad that I went there. The ferry ride was beautiful, so was the sunny Manly beaches and RL's company. 13 Sep 2008: A stroll along George St During my memorable stay in Sydney, I was staying in The Great Southern Hotel located along George Street. One thing I particularly like about the hotel was what I call as the air-wells. I realised that I have a liking for buildings with air-well. They somehow perform a useful function of bringing in light and air into the inner parts of the building. Such a function somehow makes air-well a fascinating feature to me. As such, I think I have had developed a rather peculiar interest to take photos of the air-well of the hotel on different days of my stay there.The Great Southern Hotel. Taken on 13 Sep 2008.In the late morning, I have the great pleasure to meet up with RL. Interestingly, I realised that RL and myself attended the same secondary school, the same junior college and were both previously students of the Arts & Social Science Faculty of the same university. I probably got to know her better during the university years though I had known of her existence before that.RL is a very kind friend. I still remember that many years ago, I was struggling to adjust to the university life when I was in Year One, and she was one of the kind souls on the university campus who would lend a word of concern and gestures of kindness whenever I met her by chance. Those seemingly simple gestures brightened things up for me and had made the transition so much more bearable. Perhaps it is hard to realise how such seemingly simple gestures could make a difference to one's day, yet they did. I suppose one cannot underestimate the power of a smile, a word of concern and a simple 'hello'. Thanks RL.Back to my meeting with RL. She very graciously agreed to meet me at the hotel lobby. That helped a lot for yours truly for I had yet to find my bearings about Sydney on 13 Sep 2008.We had a lovely adventure together that day. That was to stroll from one end of George Street to the other until we reach Circular Quay. It was a lovely stroll. I learnt that the location of the hotel is a very centralised one. I could get conveniently to most parts of Sydney simply because one of the major railway stations (i.e. Central Station) in Sydney was just less than five minutes walk away from the hotel.While strolling along George Street, RL and I caught up with each other on various aspects of our life. We had learnt earlier via Facebook that both of us have the MBTI profile of people with preferences for 'Introverted Intuition with Extraverted Feeling' (INFJ), and the awareness of it somehow seemed to enable us to connect with each other at a deeper level.Along the way, RL very thoughtful pointed out to me some of the major structures and buildings in the city of Sydney. Below is a picture with the Sydney Tower in it. Sydney Tower is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure.Once we were near the other end of George Street, we could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It's a magnificent structure.I was very lucky. When I reached one of the wharves at Circular Quay which was near one of the ends of George Street, RL graciously bought for me a ferry ticket to Manly. Manly is a popular seaside destination in Sydney. The weather for the day was ideal fora trip to Manly. It was a sunny day. More interesting adventure awaited us. The fingers remember! Today I had orchestra rehearsal. It was this evening that I once again play on the double bass after last playing on a double bass on 10 Sep 2008. Amazingly, after a break of two weeks, my fingers remember.Before the orchestra rehearsal and during the rehearsal break, I was playing through the second movement of Dittersdorf's Second Concerto for Double Bass and the first movement of Dragonetti's Concerto in A major. It was simply amazing how the fingers somehow unconsciously know where to place themselves and without too much conscious effot, I was playing those two movements. There were glitches yet there was a sense of spontaneity and ease with the playing. I love the feeling.Today, I've got to learn that the orchestra is likely to play "Autumn" and "Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons for its 30th anniversary concert next year. I'm looking forward to play them! Meantime, for this evening's rehearsal, the orchestra rehearsed Smetana's The Moldau and Schumann's First Symphony. I quite like the rehearsal.Having taken a break in Australia last week has done me good. Many thanks to my friends in Australia who have taken time to catch up with me and to show me about. Good news from the scan Urged by dear eastcoastlife, I went to consult a specialist to consult if there is any pathology for my frequent experiences of period pain. Today, I went for a pelvic ultrasound scan and the test results showed that 'no significant abnormality is detected', and I was discharged from further consultation and examination.There are some nice staff at the diagnostic imagery department. The scan required me to have a full bladder to do the transabdominal scan. I think I must have drank more water than needed such that I had a challenging time holding a full bladder. Thank goodness the queue coordinator and the counter staff provided assistance when I alerted them of my challenging situation. The sonographer was also very kind in helping to divert my attention from the discomfort of holding a full bladder so that I could get the scan done quickly and get over with it. These were simple acts of kindness to be thankful for.So the good news is that there's no pathology observed. Things look fine. I still can't explain the cause of the pain, and yes, Mistipurple would probably figure that I have declined the doctor's offer to prescribe me painkillers.Maybe one of the most helpful medical discoveries that medical students could research on would be how to ease and stop period pain using natural way, without painkillers. Could someone give it a thought please? This would be a blessing to many ladies.