Two Girls, a Piano, and..

musical genius!

This is nothing short of an extreme UNDERstatement about the two girls I just seen, or more appropriately put, heard, just minutes ago on youtube. I was browsing for some new piano pieces, when I clicked a link with the picture of a little girl beside a huge piano. Let's face it, who wouldn't want to see or hear a young kid play the piano. If you are a normal and sane person, you would be at least interested when a kid plays the piano because either 1.) it's extremely funny and down-right hilarious when a kid mindlessly hits away at the keys of the piano making the most indescribable of sounds with the hint of innocence and joy in their face (as it seems so bad that it's good^^) or 2.) the simply mind-blowing and breath-taking moment, when a little child not even reaching a double digit age, sits in front of a piano and plays a piece SO friggin good that you might have a good chance of forgetting that the one playing such a piece, is a kid that also likes to play with toys or in the playground. And what's more, these pieces: Gnomenreigen, Solfeggietto, and even personal compositions, are their own band of genius that only a few dare play, and many only dream of playing. This combination of musical genius and irresistible charm is something that's just out of the ordinary..EXTRA-EXTRAORDINARY at that..

And without further a do, though I would have liked to give at least some introduction to the two girls I am talking about, I fear that what I may say might fall short of portraying who they are and what they can do. So why don't I just stop talking, and let their fingers on the piano do it for me..

UMI GARRETT

and

EMILY BEAR

"True genius thinks with the brain of a genius..

..and sees with the eyes of a child."

t a K E C A r e

summer sunset..

It's June, that means summer's on the horizon, and it's setting real soon..

Now would be the time to 1.) be excited for enrollment, which means reunion with close and dear friends, which means schooldays, which ULTIMATELY MEANS..allowance! *imagines holding a lot of money and fans himself* Money does make the world go round even if just a little bit^^ 2.) temporarily lose excitement when I realize I forgot where I put my enrollment folder, only to discover it under piles and piles of paper from last schoolyear (and thus 'welcome back excitement') 3.) discover a lot of things you could have done in summer time, but never realized until now. AND 4.) feel remorse at such a discovery and for not having done enough to enjoy summer as much as I thought I could have. And at that I realize the irony of summer: that at the beginning when you have so much time, you know so little what to do; and when it is ending you suddenly figure out what to do only to find that you have little or no time at all. Tsk2. I'm starting to think I could believe that guy who theorized that (pardon me for inconsistencies) "When you go look for something it does not usually come to you, and when you're not looking for it is when it suddenly comes to you" or something like that.

But for all it's worth, what has come to pass is something we cannot change (unless your an alien, time traveler, or esper for that matter). And I have to say, it might not be the best summer I have had, but it's not the worst either. Although I havent really proclaimed any summer to be my worst, so it doesn't leave this one completely out of harms way. But still, this summer has it's share of moments and experiences, discoveries and learnings. Not to mention the things I have done and have failed to do though it would be completely BORING and DRAGGING if I had to narrate and explain the different events that had filled my summer. (Either I am concerned for the reader not to get too bored, or I am just too lazy to do so considering the possiblity that noone ever reads this) So, concerned or lazy, with someone reading or not, let's just sum it up shall we? Using the power of bullets (if you know what i mean..ahaha)

what i did..

• arranged and cleaned my VERY messy room.. (ever since we moved in just recently)
• endured endless weeks of internet drought.. (leading me to discover new things.. new 'fun stuff'..^^)
• fixed my LG flip phone.. (one of the 'fun stuff' i did..well it was after i broke it first 2 weeks back.. :P)
• wrote 3 new songs, and learned two new piano pieces.. (45% of summer fun was thanks to music)
• downloaded and watched anime.. (55% of summer fun was thanks to anime..lots of anime at that)
• chores and 'summer work'.. (99% of summer boredom..*please don't tell my parents* ahaha^^)
• TRIED learning basic french.. (salut..comment t'allez-vous?)
• learned LATIN prayers.. (pretty nifty and neat..totally)
• some plumbing, electric wiring, and carpentry around the house.. (the handy-dandy-man..ahaha)
• went to the beach.. (like duh, it's summer..why wouldn't I?)
• went to a couple of lunch and dinner parties.. (definitely one of the contributor for what's next^^)
• gained "some" weight.. (one of the most common tragic effects of summer..tsk2)
• gained "teeny bit" of height.. (more like a microscopic centimeter..maybe it's the hair)

what i didn't..

• publish a song, and finish rewriting another.. (schedule was too hectic..ahaha^^)
• finish learning my 3rd summer piano piece.. (guess that'll have to wait till next time)
• read a book.. (it's been a month since i got my hands on a book, and it's bothering me much)
• open my old wooden stash for the whole summer.. (i usually open it every week, the least)
• cut or trim my hair for 1 month and 1 week.. (my hair hasn't been this long in a long while..and curly^^)
• be asleep at nightime.. (i'd like to believe i have evolved into a nocturnal being..but maybe it's just insomnia)
• be awake at daytime.. (but being a vampire ain't that bad ain't it?.. ;P)
• mention all the things I did and didn't do in this blog.. (lol)

summer's numb3rs..

• 2.. musical compositions conquered in the piano.. (still needs some practice though..)
• 3.. songs i've written.. ("Please Don't Let Me Go Just Yet", "The Music that's Taylor", "The Only Girl for just Another Guy" *unpublished*)
• 4.. movies i have downloaded and seen.. (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, 5 cm per second, FFVII:Advent Children)
• 6.. anime series i have completed watching at least twice.. (FSN, FMA, Kanon, Clannad, Claymore, and Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya^^)
• 7.. times i've watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.. (in all sorts of orders.. @.@)
• 30.. days i haven't read a book, let alone touch one.. (that's got to be a record)
• 37.. days i haven't cut my hair.. (not the most, but definitely one of the longest times)
• 40.. km *estimate* of bicycling.. (i finally got my bike back at the start of summer..oh joy)
• 218.. km *definite* of driving.. (my dad finally let me drive the van..oh stupendous joy)
• infinity.. the number of times I spent being bored.. (ok, so it's not exactly infinity, but it really did seem like it^^)

and some other things I am either too concerned for you or too lazy for me to type down. Not that anyone's reading right? (i am definitely just joking, if there is someone ELSE other than me reading this^^) And with such and all the afforementioned details and useless side comments, that is generally what me summer was about.

Thank God for Music and Anime which had kept me sane and for the most part forgetful of the swarming and negative thoughts of boredom and regret. But most of all Thank God for time and opportunity, of summer and all the things we get to see, hear, feel, smell, EAT..and the people we get to spend it with..and the discoveries and learnings, most important of which (and I have made this as a resolute resolution in order to save myself from further misery of suffering all the 'thinking-what-to-do-and-then-what-to-do-next' engima, and the summer irony of a late coming realization of what I was looking for all summer-long) I decided and am not having second thoughts about it how silly and childish it may seem; to have a small notebook and I shall name it ("SUMMER SUNRISE" please dont mind the corny name^^). And in it I will write all the things I would like to do, to see, to hear, to feel, to smell, and even to eat when summer came. And make sure not to lose it, like last time, in order to be happy as summer deems to be, as God wishes us to be.

So from today, when summer sets on my horizon, I'll be waiting with heart and mind (and stomach) better prepared, along with my "SUMMER SUNRISE" notebook (please dont mind the corny name again^^) in hand ready and happy to face the coming of a new summer, God willing, the coming of another summer sunrise. Until that time comes, I face the summer sunset and say..

au revoir et a bentot mon ami..

t a K E C A r e