Avid readers (are there any left?) of my blog might recall the fateful day when I bit too hastily and greedily into a hard piece of garlic bread. What happened was that I broke my first lower molar on the left side of my mouth. That was almost four years ago and since then I’ve had it patched and repatched a few times. There was even once when it got infected and my dentist had to take the nerve out. Yes, yes, I hear you say—”Why didn’t you have it extracted way back then?” The answer is that I’m a complete wuss, especially after hearing people say how painful and difficult it is to pull out one of those big babies…

Fast forward to the present and I had an inkling that the molar was acting up again since it was giving me a numbing sort of pain the past few days. I had resorted to some ibuprofen when the pain made me wake up in the middle of the night. OK—enough is enough. I went to the dentist yesterday and here comes the scary and humorous part. He poked around the tooth, told me that it had broken yet again and it was loose. Before I could respond he yanked it out!! I almost hit the ceiling!! He quickly sprayed some anesthetic on the area which numbed the pain, and then he showed me the remnants of my molar…ugh, what a bloody mess.

Of course there is a gaping hole where my humble molar once resided but you know what? I don’t mind…and now—suddenly, I feel liberated about not having to constantly remind myself to bite or chew too hard on the left side. I’m not gonna do a crown or stuff like that (let’s not get into that here) but in a strange kind of way, the left side of my mouth feels relieved. Better out than in, I say!

Related posts

• The Gentle Dental (0)
• Go away, root canal (2)
• Beware the Ides of March (0)
• A Comedy of Errors (4)

This is the main title theme to the 1983 movie, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. I would like to thank my friend Susan P. for drawing my attention to this lovely music. It was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also starred in the film) who is perhaps more well-known for his music in another famous movie, The Last Emperor. Hope you enjoy this.

Related posts

• No related posts.

I guess humans have been complaining ever since God put them on this Earth. We complain about the weather, the economy, our jobs, relationships, and on and on. I’m glad to say I’ve actually managed to keep my complaints under wraps—I hardly ever complain about stuff but living here in Penang I do occasionally lapse into bemoaning why the weather is so hot and humid at this time of year. And then my brother’s emails from Melbourne jolted me. They have been having sleepless nights because of the extremely hot and dry weather and strong winds. Bush fires have encroached into their suburb and they nearly had to evacuate. Fortunately, through a combination of a change in wind direction and the skills of the firemen, they were spared this time. An added plus was they received some rain. They are not quite out of the woods yet, at least until the current hot weather lets up in mid-March.

Can’t imagine what mayhem would occur in Penang if we had strong winds and bush fires.

Related posts

• The ABC’s of Me (G) (1)

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi

I’m working my way through The Essential Rumi. The poem above has remained one of my favorites. Basically he expounds on the fact that as humans we have a wide gamut of emotions to contend with. I can personally attest to that. Every day we never know who’s checking in into our lives. We have to welcome each guest, regardless of their appearance (appearances can be deceiving, right?) and their demeanor. We learn from them, and yes, sometimes they teach us the hard facts of life. Rumi puts it eloquently in the closing, when he says, “Be grateful for whatever comes. Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”

I’ve always been tempted to shoo away the unwelcome visitors, especially Mr. Depression and Miss Anxiety. Some days they knock on my door and I yell, “Go away! I don’t want to see you.” And what do they do? Yup…they go for a quick walk and come right back, knocking more persistently than ever. So I guess Rumi’s right. You let them in and learn from them. And of course when Miss Joy comes I do the same too. The thing is, these house guests are unpredictable. They check in and check out whenever they feel like it. However, I’ve learned to accept this…every emotion is transient. Joy won’t last forever, but the same goes for unhappiness. Anyway, back to my reading. The Essential Rumi is heartily recommended—the translations by Coleman Barks and the organization of the book make it very easy to read and digest.

Related posts

• No related posts.

Fooling around with Psy’s mega hit. I recorded this using my Canon PowerShot G15.

Related posts

• Playing on a wonderful piano… (2)
• My Music (81)
• I want a new Clavinova (0)
• Back to Basics (4)
• “I’d like to learn the piano, but…” (1)

The piano teaching field is always unpredictable. Making a living out of it is a gamble, a risk. Like any other job, it has its ups and downs. I’ve had some wonderful students in the past but as my piano professors used to remind me—everything has a beginning and an end. No student, no matter how wonderful he or she is, is going to remain with a teacher forever. It’s a little sad when some students drop out for one reason or another; more so if they do so suddenly and I feel they have potential. Sometimes I click with a student, sometimes I don’t. And yes, at times they surprise me with stuff…like this new student who sent me this text. She was just shy and didn’t have a high opinion of herself, so I tried my best to coax her out of it by reassuring her that her piano playing would blossom and improve, given time. Getting this text from her meant a lot to me…at least I’m helping one student along and restoring her dignity to herself—she thought she’d lost it but it was always there, inside her…waiting to emerge.

Related posts

• The Ripple Effect (2)
• The ABC’s of Me (G) (1)
• Someone help me, I’m getting soft! (2)
• My Music (81)
• Hello, World! It’s me here! (6)

It’s bad news as far as I’m concerned. Microsoft has decided to mothball Windows Live Messenger (WLM) on March 15, 2013. Taking its place will be Skype (which Microsoft acquired for a cool $8.5 billion back in May 2011). I’m not a Skype fan—I hate its dated interface, its inability to support third party emotes, sending of files, tabbed chats, lack of online games, etc. Fortunately, I’ve found a great substitute for WLM, and that’s Yahoo Messenger (current version is 11.5.0.228). You can download it here. Here are some highlights of YM (Yahoo Messenger):

• Instant messaging with a friend or a group of friends
• Customize your IM experience with emoticons, avatars, audibles, and IMVironments
• A built-in media player to watch web videos and view photos with friends
• Play Yahoo games while chatting
• Cam with your IM friends
• Facebook and Twitter integration is available. WLM integration was disabled last year but since WLM is biting the bullet soon, it’s not going to be missed
• IM on mobile—iPhone, Android, or any Internet enabled phone
• Tabbed IM windows

So there you have it. WLM might be relegated to being just a memory, but there’s a good substitute for it. That is, until Microsoft has enough sense to port over the fun features of WLM into Skype.

Related posts

• Do you IM (Instant Message)? (2)
• WLM9 is still out (for me) (3)
• What’s up, WLM? Part 2 (0)
• What’s up, WLM? (10)
• The WLM Story (0)

What a nice way to start off the New Year. I was chatting with Heather (my friend from Ohio) and she told me this story about her dad. You see, when I was there I passed Heather some CD’s of my own recordings and she, in turn passed them on to her parents. Needless to say, they loved my CD’s and I wish I had the chance to meet them while I was there. Anyway, Heather’s dad had to be admitted into the ER due to a flu epidemic there—his immunity has been compromised due to his cancer, so when the bugs come around, they get him hard. With extra strength Tylenol to lower his 105°F fever and Tamiflu to kill the bug he spent a long ten hours in the ER being tested for all kinds of stuff, including pneumonia.

Finally they sent him home, and he requested his wife to put on “Philip’s music.” When he couldn’t hear it well he asked her to turn it up a bit more, since the stereo was in the living room. After Heather related this to me I was so touched…I’m only a humble pianist, and yet my music has given some comfort and solace to her parents, especially her dad, who is still recuperating from a nasty bug. On another note, I’ve had guests come up to me last night (New Year’s Eve) to say how much my music added to the festivities…truly, I am blessed with a job that allows me to give pleasure to others. I only pray that God will grant me more years to do this…and to expect nothing in return. Just to see people happy because of my music makes me blissful enough.

Related posts

• The Scourge of Musicians (0)
• The ABC’s of Me (G) (1)
• Someone help me, I’m getting soft! (2)
• My Music (81)
• Hello, World! It’s me here! (6)

One tends to get a little wistful when writing the last post of the year. Yes, I’ve made some mistakes. Some wrong choices. Some cock-ups. I’ve learned from them and put them in the past behind me. I’ve also taken some calculated risks. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I like to think I’ve become a kinder person and more compassionate towards my fellow humans. I’ve made some new friends, but I haven’t forgotten the old. However, I’ve become so much more grounded since my last trip to the States. I love traveling by myself, even more so to the US, where I spent four years of my life. There’s just so much to see in this huge country and I’m so fortunate to have made some great friendships with some Americans—thanks to Facebook and instant messaging I can always rely on any of them to carry me through my difficult times. And now I have a beautiful sister in Hackensack, New Jersey (you know who you are, heh)

My aspirations are to do more traveling in 2013. Saint Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I’ve always hankered to visit Italy—I think Italian is the most romantic language in the world, even more so than French. I’d go wild with my photography in such a picturesque country (and let’s not forget about the food). Doing the cities—Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, etc. Wow, that would be a dream trip. However, I’m also leaning towards the West coast of the USA, thanks to a friend in San Francisco (probably the most romantic city in the States). A road trip along Highway 101 from San Francisco to Seattle, Washington via Portland, Oregon (approximately 800 miles) would be another dream. Perhaps I need to get some larger capacity memory cards for my cameras, LOL.

Meanwhile I’m very comfortable in my solitude. I dislike crowds and tend to favor quieter places. I’ve become more introverted as life goes on, but there’s nothing wrong about that. Of course I’d be lying if I say that sometimes I do feel some pangs of loneliness, not waking up with someone on the other side of the bed, not being able to hold hands with someone I care about. I have questioned myself about looking for a soul mate, but the essence of searching is…there is no search (yup, a Zen aphorism there). Gonna do more reading too, and not forgetting my occasional glass of wine in the evenings.

Here’s to a great year ahead.

Related posts

• Wherever you go, there you are (1)
• The best years of my life (episode 1) (4)
• Thank you, God! (0)
• My new Photo blog is up (0)
• Canon PowerShot SX130 IS (0)

Went to watch Les Misérables this evening and what can I say, I was completely overwhelmed—this movie version is so well sung and acted…the music just sweeps and envelops you as it plays. Written by Victor Hugo and first published in 1862, the novel “follows the lives and interactions of several characters, focusing on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. Examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love.” (quoted from Wikipedia)

With a sterling cast made up of Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, and Amanda Seyfried, the singing was just sensational, particularly Hathaway’s emotional rendering of I dream a dream. I just lost track of time (the movie is 2 hours 37 minutes long) and before I knew it I was bawling my eyes out during the finale. This is without doubt, my movie of the year. Go see it!

Ed’s Note: Went to see it again on New Year’s day. Bawled my eyes out a second time.

Related posts

• No related posts.