End of Year 2010

I am back in my hometown to celebrate the days of Christmas and New Year. I gather

with my church friends to do our carolling and celebrate the new year's eve together, under the flash of fireworks, hang out with my close friends to celebrate Angelo's 18th birthday and go for good food, our bowling game and also watched Sherlock Holmes together with them (although I have been reading the novel on the same title every single day, as I'm only left with this legendary book to read at home!).

Here is added later after the new year:

I also went to Lembang, Bandung, West Java with my family. I was breathing the "totally different air" and experiencing the "totally awakening atmosphere". Needless to say, we had our good food and good sceneries.

I love the feeling of vacation after so much hardwork during the semester. I would like to thank my mom, dad and sis, my relatives, my teachers (yes, none of you are a "former teacher" of mine) and my friends who had been supporting me through the year.

Some of the photos are right here. Enjoy your last days of the year, everyone! :D

Sports, Education, Arts

One day during my lunchtime, I sat on a chair in some food court, waiting for my lunch to be served. As I was holding my wallet and saw it from its top, I could see different colors of the banknotes that I had. 2 dollars, 10, and 50. I only intended to take a glance on each note, and as I started with the $10, I found what was printed more interesting than merely its color.

On the reverse side of the $10 note, I found 5 people, each of them doing different kinds of activities: sailing, swimming, soccer, badminton and running. On the bottom-left of the note was printed in capitals "Sports".

Now let's take a look on Indonesia's own banknote. We can find Maitara and Tidore Islands on the Rp 1.000 note, along with Pattimura, and it shows how we, as a nation, appreciate the Islands of Maluku. It works the same for Singapore. The people here appreciate Sports very much. Many times the media mentioned the country's vision of being one of the top 10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010. We can also see the lifestyle of the citizens here has a lot of sports activities. Seeing the five different sports on one frame made me proud of being here.

Next I took the $2 note, and it has "Education". Considering the fact that $2 notes are the smallest amount and oftenly seen (well, perhaps I'm saying from the "not-so-high" class point of view), the importance of education seems to be highly regarded by the people here. And yes, I would mention that Singapore has one of the best education in Southeast Asia.

The last banknote that was in my wallet was the $50 note. It was "Arts". Again this fact shows how the people here appreciate arts. Came into our mind easily would be Esplanade, where Phantom of The Opera and CATS, as well as Turandot and La Traviatta had been performed before. I always appreciate arts on the same level as sports; the balanced portion of the two will shape a good character of a man, but of course it is not for me to argue why "Arts" is presented on a higher amount of banknote.

Sports, Education and Arts. All of us should realize that they are equally important for the future of any country.

I have been searching to find the different banknotes of this country. You should know why I am checking them out after reading up to this point. For those who are curious, $5 turns out to be "Garden City". Recently I also found a $100 dollar note, and curiously checked out what was printed there... and when I flipped it...

"Youth"

Wow, wow, wow. This country is truly amazing.

Short Escape

Today I went to Johor Bahru with my friends - my first oversea trip since the new academic year as well as my first trip to Malaysia - and watched a movie that had not even been released in Singapore or Indonesia: "The Proposal". The ticket costs much cheaper than those in Singapore cinemas. I really loved the way Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock acted.

There are always things to learn when we visit another country. We ate good food (again in lower price), had so much fun and I felt glad to have my break today. When I arrived back in my room, I said to myself, "Welcome back to reality. You are in your final year of study."

Rested for a while, then went to practice again.

Back in Shape

I thank God for recovering my right palm injury. He is never too late and never too fast.

I am full of gratitude for continual love of my beloved parents and sister.
To my landlord, I appreciate your right decision for my injury treatment.
Fortunately enough, I am studying NAFA, making it possible to enjoy good music that might perhaps had stimulated my recovery (in case you wonder, it refers to Nelson Mass by Haydn, considering how Haydn lived long life).

Not to forget, thanks to my teammate Fahmi, thanks to my classmates (especially the six Indonesian girls...), thanks to my friends who were there to support, especially Sam, Javier and Pamela.


I am heading to Vietnam next week, Ho Chi Minh City to be exact. Fresh after winning the injury-plagued season of Lucien Wong Competition, we shall see what challenges await next.

This is the blogger's own writing, published to you from Singapore.
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam.

New Story: A Letter to My Son

---Order Now!----

*Trailer*

....
To me, with every great person always stands a great friend. For Moses, it was Aaron, David had Jonathan, just like how I have Reinard, and you, my son, seem to be getting along well with Cody. Cody had become not just your companion, but also your inspiration, your advisor, and your spirit, whether you realized it or not. You should appreciate him; he's the person to whom you should share your glory and victory.

And you yourself, are named after Aaron, the person who assisted Moses in leading the people of Israel to freedom. Aaron might not be as high-profilic as Moses, but he played important role in helping his companion. Therefore I hope you can be a great helpful friend to Cody, as well as a selfless and faithful servant to God and fellow humans.
....

New Story: Reunion Dinner

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*Trailer*

....
Before I finished, Dad shouted, "How much do you think you can get from begging by the street? What a shame of you and all of us if any of our relatives or friends see you!"

I didn't reply him, turned around and took my money box. I opened it and let the money poured onto my bed. Coins scattered, some small amount of paper money showing $2s and a few $5s, but there were five pieces of them showed $10.

Dad looked at it and took those $10s, then said, "How did you get this, my daughter? I hope you didn't steal."

"Did I just surpass your daily income?" I said confidently, although now I think it was impolite.

"Spyronze was there. Yes, Spyronze Ramsquad the pianist, together with his friend Enrique the chef, Nathania, who often appears in tennis matches, Princess Emily and another unknown girl. They stood in some distance from me, but they were watching. Spyronze came to me alone to put the money,saying that he enjoyed my playing and told me to keep up my spirit. So I will not stop and I will do this again on the second day of the Christmas."

"But the way you play your clarinet.. it must be nothing compare to the music he listens everyday on concerts or at the palace." Father remarked.

"Yes, he only said he enjoyed it, so it didn't mean it was virtuosic or in amazing tone or whatever. I've said to you, Dad, and I wrote it in the board that always accompanied me, 'My name is Melinda. I do this for my own will and my own heart.' That's why I get their appreciation."

I took another plastic bag which was obviously have better quality than any plastic bags in our house, "So, for now, let's enjoy our dinner. And..this is from Princess Emily. A sweet and sour fish and a steam fish. I brought this home for our dinner tonight. I hope the whole family will enjoy it."

Both of us were silenced for a while, then Dad turned to me and hugged me, lowering his voice and said warmly, "I love you, Melinda. Happy New Year."
....

Another New Year Up Ahead

Things coming up in 2009:

- My 18th birthday
- Presidential election of Republic of Indonesia
- 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
- Weekend III Antiokhia Bonaventura
- Inaugural Lucien Wang Competition
- Cultural Performance Competition
- Chinese "Niu" Year
- CATS musical in Esplanade Theatre, Singapore
- Williams Sisters as part of doubles entry list in all Grand Slams
- Graduation of my fellow high school cohort in Canisius College, some of them will be arriving in Singapore
- Own-composed piano solo piece of the year: Forgiveness for solo piano
- First-ever Asian Youth Games 2009 in Singapore
- Releasing in cinemas: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
- Moment of aesthetical numeric: 12:34:56 07/08/09

Yeah, that's all I can think for now...

Happy new year, world!
Enjoy our year ahead!