Funny ;)

Here's an e-mail full of jokes forwarded to me by one of my piano students. It is soooo funny that I thought I would share it. ;)

The Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, 'Please wake me at 5:00 AM ' He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM .. Wake up.' Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.


WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?'
'Yep,' the wife replied , 'in-laws'


WOMEN'S REVENGE
'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.
'No,' she replied, ' but my husband refused to come shopping with me,
and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN
(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root,
and still be afraid of a spider.

W O R D S
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, 'The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, 'What?'

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, 'I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. ' The wife responded, 'Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;
God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

WHO DOES WHAT
A christian man and his wife were having an argument about who
should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, 'You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.'
The husband said, ' You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.'
Wife replies, 'No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee.'
Husband replies, 'I can't believe that, show me.'
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says..........'HEBREWS'

God may have created man before woman,
but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! :)

Just want to wish all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! :) I hope everyone's having a good and relaxing holiday season! :) I intend to practice lots, read, simply relax, and hang out with friends this holiday. I look forward to having a week of schedule-less days, doing anything and everything that inspires me at the moment! ;) I feel the festivity, although I am currently not in crowded Orchard Road. I was teaching in the Orchard area on Monday, and got home as soon as I could after a quick dinner, and it was simply too crowded and crazy....everywhere. There was also a traffic jam, and getting home was rather slow and stressful. A friend invited me to go feel the festive atmosphere at the Esplanade today, and I declined. Somehow, it might be weird, but I simply cannot feel the festivity when it is very crowded; it just makes me feel very stressed out. Perhaps I am not very tall [though not short ;)], but I simply cannot see what's in front of me, most of the time, in a crowd....nor breathe....haha ;) Yes, I agree that the lights and activities must be very attractive and fun though. ;) In any case, I thought Christmas is about family and home anyway, but then again, I am not Christian, so I do not know the correct answer. Perhaps it's anything you want it to be. ;) Any reason to celebrate is always very good!! ;) So, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all! :) May the new year bring lots of beautiful surprises and lots of happiness for all!! ;)

More Christmas Presents from Students

Today, Tuesday 23 December, is my last piano teaching day for the year 2008. :) Below are more Christmas presents from my dear students. Thank you very much!! :)

Yummy cookies carefully baked and wrapped by Ee Meng herself. This looks so professional. ;) Thank you Ee Meng! :)




Belgian chocolates and card from Connie. The card is very sweet & thoughtful, and I love good chocolates anytime. ;) Thank you Connie! :)



This beautiful Jim Thompson hot-pink photo-frame is from William and Samuel. Yup, they are the most adorable pair of twins I have met! I would love to have twins, someday, if it happens, hopefully? ;) I love the card they drew. It's so sweet!! That's our piano space that they drew. They even drew the two photo frames on the wall, the door details, and yes, I usually sit on the left. Children are simply amazing! ;) According to Mrs. Jolene, they chose the present for me....children are very perceptive & naturally intuitive, ya? I love the colour, design and all....perfect photo-frame in Sherina's world. Perhaps the elephants will help my memory somewhat too. ;) hee hee ;) Thank you William and Samuel! :)

Thank you lots&lots all of you again! :) I feel so warm, fuzzy, and loved. ;) I appreciate it a whole lot! :) Hugzzz ;)

Ending 2008

The year of 2008 is coming to an end! :) I will be having a one-week year-end teaching break starting next Wednesday, 24 December,2008 to Thursday, 1 January, 2009. I will be seeing all my dear piano students again starting Friday, 2 January, 2009. Time does fly when you are having fun. It's always very rewarding for me to see my piano students improving with time and effort, and to see the smiles on their faces and feel the enthusiasm, despite the hard work they have to put into consistent practicing! Yes, yes I might be demanding musically and in discipline, but I believe not unkindly so. ;) A little break from teaching is always good for the soul. ;) However, I do look forward very much to 2009! :)

Below are pictures of Christmas presents and travel souvenirs from my students & their parents, in order of appearance. Thank you very much! :) I truly appreciate and feel the sweet thoughts and efforts! :) Thank you too to all my students & their parents who have been showing kind, warm concern and understanding over my recent heart issues ;) I feel so very lucky to have such warm relationships with my students&parents, as well as such wonderful, caring students&parents. I am sure the upcoming little mending break will make it all better. Yes, yes I am very much human and very feeling. And actually I believe that my playing and interpretations of pieces reflect that aspect of me as well. Thank you to all my students & their parents!!



This Chinese fan is from Ruiyee, who got it for me in her recent school trip to Suzhou/Hangzhou. I miss Shanghai/Suzhou. Thank you Ruiyee! :)




This box of chocolates is from Michelle and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Hong Kong. Michelle looked so very happy and refreshed after her trip. :) Hong Kong seems to be a very popular destination for my students this year. Thank you Michelle! :)




This cuttlefish snack is from Yue Xin and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Taiwan. It's a specialty snack from the place they visited in Taiwan. Thank you Yue Xin! :)


This beautiful embroidered silk bag is from Connie and her parents, who got it for me during their trip to Myanmar. Connie's mum has elegant taste, and she says that this bag will be useful for me during Christmas and Chinese New Year. Mrs. Lin is very thoughtful. I would love to visit Myanmar someday! Thank you Connie! :)



This perfume is from Helena and her parents. They are currently having a family holiday in India, and Helena says in her e-mail today that she has ridden a camel, and it's, quote, "FREAKY-FUN"! That's an interesting way to describe the experience, with alliteration device thrown in as well. ;) I would love to visit India someday too. Thank you Helena! :)




These calming incense are from Kelly and her parents. Calmness is always a virtue. ;) Thank you Kelly! :)

These dainty, quaver, Moshi Moshi earrings are from Wende and my friend, Yee Jiun. These must be every piano teacher's dream earrings, with all the blink-blink included. ;) Thank you Wende and Yee Jiun! :)





These soft towels and cute cupid are from Ling Kee and his parents. The cupid reminds me of one of my friends, Thomas Manhart and his recent post on Facebook...hee hee ;) Thank you Ling Kee! :)


Thank you very much once again to all my wonderful students & their parents! :) I very much appreciate all the sweet thoughts, love and concern. :) I love you all! :) Thanks lotsy ;)

Monday & Memories

Yesterday Monday, 1 December 2008, was such a beautiful warm day! :) Bright and sunny! :) I woke up to crickets chirping, and I teach a old colonial house at Nassim on Mondays where there are a lot of trees and fresh air (no air-conditioning :)) , and the crickets were chirping there too that day. ;)

I like the sound so much because it reminds me of my childhood in Beijing, where my father was sent to work. So I spent a good part of my childhood in Beijing. We used to live outside the city, in the countryside, where it was more peaceful, and the air was cleaner....although at that time the air in Beijing was pretty polluted too, but mainly because of coal-burning, industry, and sand-winds from the North. One of my favourite memories of Beijing were the tall trees that had leaves shimmering and rustling in the winds during summer, accompanied by the crickets chirping, under the glorious golden warm sun. The leaves really do shimmer....I do not know what species of trees they are, but I haven't seen them in Singapore. The rustling sounds they make were really beautiful too. Throughout Monday I kept thinking how I miss those childhood days.....