October 20,2010
Wow, it's been a while since Ive written here.... oops.
Life has been pretty interesting recently. Over the past couple of weeks I've had two trumpet lessons with Steeb, attended two films from the VIFF/dates wth my sweetheart (SH), made my very first turkey,went out for dinner/ a show with my dad,went to speak to my neurologist (finally)cried at my sister's place and failed a midterm (not actually, I have no idea how I did). And there's more Im sure..
I started taking trumpet lessons from my frind Steeb a couple of week ago, and loving it! I'm borrowing Geoff's high school trumpet in the meantime because I dont want to buy an instrument and not want to continue playing in the future. After the first lesson I've come to respect brass players more than I did before. The very first time I played the trumpet I almost passed out due to lack of oxygen while attempting to hit a good note. Steeb taught me some good methods in playing the trumpet in which I can ACTUALLY play a note, and sound half decent! YAY. But on a serious note I'm really grateful that Steeb is taking the time to teach me how to play step by step. I know I can be difficult to work with (especially when it comes to playing instruments) at times, but I'm going to play the trumpet and sound fucking amazing doing it! If there is a will, there is a way, and I dont plan on stopping anytime soon.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see as many films at the VIFF as I wanted to, but I'm glad I was able to see the two that I saw. The first film was a Vietnamese film called, "Don't Be Afraid Bi!" which was about a boy who lived in Hanoi with his alcohalic dad with an infatuation for a young "Masseuse", a desperate mother taking care of her husband's dying father, and an aunt who falls in love with a student in her class. The movie portayed the innocence/oblivion of this 6-year old boy whose favorite pastime was playing around an ice factory. Of course in the film he has no idea the significance of the events occurring around him. I felt that the symbolism, the settings, and the cinematography were beautifully woven together as this boy, wh ironically is the one who is least scared in the film as life/death pass before his eyes. Beautifully melancholic.
The second movie I saw was a movie about the Tibetan monks in Tibet called, "Himalaya, A Path To The Sky" This documentary follows a 8-year old monk who remembers everything from his past life and the enviroment that he, and the other young monks live in.Their daily routines consist of cleaning their homes in the morning, attending philosophy classes in the afternoon, and helping the other monks take care of their monastary on the side of a mountain. This movie showed the viewers that we can still live without technology today and how it is still possible to live simple lifestyles today.
A couple of days later I took on the challenge of making the turkey for thanksgiving dinner. I was nervous for several reasons; 1) The bird is THE symbol of thaksgiving 2) My dad wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I had messed up the turkey, and 3) I would've lost all my self-esteem if the turkey was a failure. There was one point where I started crying because of the overwhelming pressure (which looking back now, was unecessary). The bird was beautiful. L came over a bit earlier to help SH and I cook/hang out which was a lot of fun. Later on M,N came over, with Ch and A arriving shortly afterwards. When A met SH's brother, his brother joined us at the table the whole night! (Which is EXTREMELY rare) The food was great too; there was the bird, potatoes, chesee stuffed pumpkins, portabello pasta and salad.
Last friday my old man and I went out on a date for the first time in ages. We went to see SH pla a show with his school band at a beautiful venue by school. Before the show we treated the SH to dinner at a pasta house which was alright. I had a pizza which was half-decent, and the old man had a cannenoli which was okay. But the show made the night worthwhile. The first group, the jazz singers from school did an amazing job with the songs given to them. And when SH came on with his band, he had a suprise solo which made my dad really happy. Overall, it was a good night. Oh yeah, I aso had my midterm that day too, which was brutal. I'm not good at writing under pressure, which I pretty much had to do the whole test. UGH. Thank god thats over for now.
On sinday night after work,-year old girl my sister (C) picked me up from work to go hang out at her new place which is super cute, but would be better without the fluorescent lights. First we had to go pick up some stuff at superstore, and by stuff I mean instant noodles which were delicious in a disgusting way. While at her place we gossiped about boys/friends/life and watched an Indian movie called, "Water" that my mom lent her. The movie is achingly beautiful. The scenery, the elements combined in this movie made my cry, angry, and lifted my spirit in the end. The movie begins with a 7-year old girl named Chuiya who recently became a widow and is exhiled into poverty with other widows in a small house in New Delhi. Seeing the living conditions and the abuse around her makes her want to escape, until she meets another young girl who is a prostitute, and the main source of income in this poor house. This girl meets a man one day by the river and falls in love with her, which is a sin in society around that time. That's all I cna say about the movie for now before I ruin the movie.
